Coast To Coast is FloHockey’s monthly, cohesive news on North American hockey and live-streaming partnerships.

The era of NCAA free agency has swept through college hockey like a thunderclap. Also known as the “Transfer Portal,” it has delivered both pain and pleasure to Division I teams, depending on what side of the portal you are on.

Minnesota native Bill Robertson took over the helm of the revamped WCHA in 2014. In two months he will be charting new waters as college hockey’s league of distinction for seven decades will cease to exist. FloHockey’s Tim Rappleye got a chance to debrief the man known as Billy Rob following the Frozen Four, a gratifying finale to a most challenging season. 

NCAA hockey media protocol is an emotional meat grinder. Three of the four teams in Pittsburgh will face, and ultimately surrender, to their season’s mortality, a step or two from snatching that coveted brass ring. 

On Thursday, Dryden McKay — College Hockey’s Mr. Zero — was named a Hobey Hat Trick Finalist, the only goalie among the final three candidates for the NCAA player of the year. The announcement came less than two weeks after the All-American had hit an all-time low point as a Division I athlete. 

The opening round of the 2021 NCAA Hockey Tournament featured all five Division I hockey programs from the state of Minnesota, adding to its unofficial nickname as The State of Hockey.