Column: The Year That Was 2018

A quiet Xcel Energy Center post-UMD's
Frozen Four championship in April 2018
(Photo: Nathan Wells)

Another year has come and gone in men’s college hockey. At least, calendar-wise.

December 31st ends up being a strange time to reflect over the past 365 days. Where it’s easy to turn the page to new on January 1st for most aspects of life, when it comes to college hockey, late December marks a midway point through another season. It makes sense to stop and take stock yet doing so for two halves of two different seasons? That can be tricker.

Still, as we try to make sense of the year that was 2018, several lessons seem to arise.

2018 was the year where the Big Ten finally looked B1G. Three schools made the Frozen Four, four made the NCAA Tournament and all seven teams made major statements. Ohio State rebounded and reloaded. The Buckeyes may have found love with (Sean) Romeo. Michigan, in its first year under Mel Pearson, owned the first three months of the year. Notre Dame did not miss a step and Cale Morris did not miss many saves.

Morris wasn’t the only goalie to make waves or come out of nowhere. His national championship counterpart, Hunter Shepard, continues to lead a Bulldog flock. College hockey’s Walls and Wolls remain in 2018, but there are also a Robson or a Cooley to break in and surprise in a land of Hawkey. There was even a goalie goal in 2018. Thanks, Atte Tolvanen!

American male college Olympians were a thing in 2018. Ryan Donato (Harvard), Jordan Greenway (Boston University), Troy Terry (Denver) and Will Borgen (St. Cloud State) made the most of the NHL skipping Pyeongchang with a throwback to a time when college players wearing Olympic red, white and blue was the norm. While the result wasn’t Brooks-eque, upstaged by Rooney, Pannek, Keller, Barnes and company, it did show that collegians can play with the pros. It’s no surprise three of the four already made their NHL debuts in 2018.

College hockey saw seniors graduate and said goodbye to more names. Minnesota head coach Don Lucia stepped down following 19 years with the Gophers. Dick Umile finished his 28th and final season at New Hampshire, one which served as a yearlong tribute for UNH’s longtime leader. Jim Montgomery and David Quinn waved goodbye as both moved on to the NHL while tears were shed for college hockey alums Andrew Carroll and 2015 national champion Mark Adams, both of whom passed away far too soon.

There were Johnny Walker red lights after goals and some (Adam) Gaudette finishes by the Hobey Baker Award winner. College hockey via Henrik Borgstrom, Casey Mittelstadt and others regularly made the Sportscenter Top 10 Plays.

We were reminded at times that some things are bigger than the game, such as a moment of silence before the Frozen Four championship game for the Humboldt Broncos bus tragedy that unfolded earlier in the day, and how tragedy can bring the college hockey community together.

It was a year of #NewMass and new teams. Greg Carvel’s squad began 2018 around .500 and end December as one of the top teams. Arizona State, the youngest D1 program, looks as bright as the Sun Devils have ever been with contending for an NCAA Tournament berth. Penn State, the second-youngest D1 program, strives for a third straight NCAA appearance with video game number goals from Evan Barratt (whose Mike Legg lacrosse goal against ASU could be from one), Alex Limoges, Liam Folkes and company.

The past 12 months was another where collegians represented in the NHL and were called early in the NHL Draft. 2018 was the year that Oliver Wahlstrom showed up on campus after being a 13 year-old commit to Maine. (Not Maine’s campus, but college nonetheless.)

Line names weren’t as prevalent in 2018, but college hockey still had some good ones from the forest (Dartmouth’s Timber Line) to not-ready-for-primetime (Michigan’s SNL Line) to foreign leagues (Michigan State’s KHL Line).

Blue bloods were not as successful either. Boston College, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin all sat out the NCAA Tournament. Boston University needed to win the Hockey East automatic bid. Michigan, Denver and Cornell, winning the ECAC regular season for the first time in 13 years, were exceptions to the rule yet each has seen ups and downs in 2018.

Speaking of the Wolverines, as NHL teams may be losing for Hughes, Michigan is happy to spend more time with its own. So is college hockey. 2018 saw some dynamic defenseman stick around such as Quinn, Harvard’s Adam Fox, Massachusetts’ Cale Makar, St. Cloud State’s Jimmy Schuldt and Quinnipiac’s Chase Priskie.

Northeastern won the Beanpot for the first time in 30 years!

Some old names made their way around. Princeton and Clarkson made NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in a decade. Bowling Green looks to finally end its own drought while AIC would like to make history of its own.

Some new coaches did too. Grant Potulny and Joe Shawan have made Northern Michigan-Michigan Tech rivalry more intriguing to those outside the UP. St. Cloud State WOOOOOed Brett Larson from Duluth after Bob Motzko went down I-94 to Minnesota and the Huskies spent the entire year near the top. Motzko, meanwhile, has taken to Dinkytown. Minnesota State’s Mike Hastings took home the MacNaughton Cup and an opportunity to coach Team USA at the World Juniors...we’ll see how that goes in the 2019 version.

We learned 2018 was Minnesota Duluth’s year. 2017 went out with the Bulldogs 9-9-3 and a national championship game appearance. 2018 leaves with a top-five ranking, a second half to remember, a .0001 margin of error, a banner ceremony and that elusive second national championship. Few things went wrong for UMD in 2018. Scott Sandelin’s team got some help, but more importantly made the most of its opportunities.

Which might be the biggest lesson of 2018 in a year where the unexpected became even more expected. It’s a strange time, one college hockey is becoming more accustomed. Bentley beats Boston College and no one blinks an eye. Minnesota saw the slim 1 in 64 chance on the final day of the season play out. Michigan found last-second heartbreak. St. Cloud State ran into the Air Force goaltender who head coach Frank Serratore calls “Billy the Greek.”

The Big Ten leapfrogging Hockey East and having a year on par with the NCHC might not be on the same level as some of those examples. Still, placing three teams in the Frozen Four is less expected than the fourth Frozen Four team, UMD, becoming the third final at-large bid to win the national championship in six years.

In 2018, not much else can be expected short of the west and east agreeing to not agree on an overtime format.

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