Last, But Not Least, Ivy League Schools Finally Hitting the Ice : Puck Drop
- Puck Drop: Wednesday , October 15, 2025
- Tuesday's Scores
- Wednesday’s Game
- Athletes of the Week
- Did You Notice?
- This Date in Hockey History:
- Hockey Quote of the Day
- We'll Leave You With This ...
Some of the final few teams who have yet to open their 2025-26 regular season in college hockey are finally taking to the ice to play tune-up exhibitions, including Brown University edging the Czech Republic Selects 2-0 on Tuesday night at Meehan Auditorium. We're talking about the Ivy League schools, of course, who have practice and game limits that translate to Oct. 31 openers, weeks after everyone else.
The Ivy League consists of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Pennsylvania and Yale. All have men's and women's programs minus Columbia and Penn, which discontinued its program in 1978. They play in the ECAC with non-Ivy League schools like Union, Quinnipiac and Colgate — and if you're wondering what kind of issues that's caused over the years its a big reason why the conference split into two leagues with Hockey East separating in 1984.
Yale, which is the nation's oldest collegiate hockey program, won the Ivy League's national title in 2013. Previous to that, Harvard won the 1989 championship, and Cornell won it all in 1967 and 1970, (it has yet to win a title on the women's side, but six teams made it to the national championship game).
Could the Ivy League change it traditional approach? Maybe as the hardline approach has been softening. During the offseason it did approve an increase in regular-season games from 29 to 30 (the limit is 34 for the rest of Division I). Moreover, this season is the first in over 80 years that Ivy League football teams will play in the postseason, and be part of the 2025 FCS playoffs.
Stay tuned.
Puck Drop: Wednesday , October 15, 2025
Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times ET.
Tuesday's Scores
MEN
Atlantic America
Canisius 3, Army 1
Exhibition
Brown 2, Czech University Selects 0
Wednesday’s Game
MEN
Exhibition
Czech University Selects at Yale
Athletes of the Week
Here’s something you don’t see very often. The AHA women’s player of the week, Matile Fantin, hails from Como, Italy. The Penn State freshman forward led all players in the conference with five points thanks to her first multi-point game at the collegiate level with two goals and two assists against Delaware on Saturday.
Some of this week’s award winners:
Atlantic Men
Forward: Stephane Huard, Jr., Sacred Heart
Defenseman: Lane Brockhoff, Gr., Niagara
Goaltender: JJ Cataldo, So., Army
Rookie: Maxim Muranov (F), Fr., Niagara
Big Ten (Three Stars of the Week)
First Star: JJ Wiebusch, So., F, Penn State
Second Star: Félix Caron, So., F, Ohio State
Third Star: Jack Ivankovic, Fr., G, Michan
ECAC Men
Forward: Brandon Buhr, Sr., Union
Defender: Antonio Fernandez, Jr., Colgate
Rookie: Ethan Wyttenbach, Fr., Quinnipiac
Goaltender: Mason Kucenski, Jr., St. Lawrence
Atlantic Women
Forward: Matile Fantin, Fr., Penn State (Como, Italy)
Defenseman: Danica Maynard, Fr., Penn State
Goaltender: Sophia Bellina, Sr., RIT
Rookie: Tatiana Blichova, Fr., Lindenwood
ECAC Women
Forward: Emma Pais, Jr., Colgate
Defender: Zoe Uens, Sr., Quinnipiac
Rookie: Taylor Senecal, Fr., Colgate
Goaltender: Felicia Frank, So., Quinnipiac
NEWHA
Player: Kayla McGaffigan, Assumption
Defensive Player: Maddie Quinn, Saint Michael's
Goaltender: Annika Lavender, Saint Michael's College
Rookie: Kayla Czukoski, Saint Anselm College
WCHA
Forward: Kirsten Simms, Sr., Wisconsin
Defender: Caroline Harvey, Sr., Wisconsin
Goaltender: Hannah Clark, So., Minnesota
Rookie: Maria Mikaelyan, Forward, St. Cloud State
SEE ALSO: This week's men's and women's rankings
Did You Notice?
• Wisconsin women's coach Mark Johnson told reporters that Laila Edwards will be out “for a little while,” but that “things could have been a lot worse.” The All-American appeared to suffer a knee injury during Saturday's 4-3 victory over Minnesota Duluth, and was seen using crutches on Sunday.
• The WCHA has two of the five NCAA Division I hockey programs to have an all-female coaching staff: Bemidji State and St. Cloud State. The Beavers are led by second-year head coach Amber Fryklund, while Mira Jalosuo is in her first season with the Huskies.
• Senior goaltender Chase Clark made 29 saves while juniors Walter Zacher and Rhys Chiddenton and senior Killian Kiecker-Olson all scored as Canisius opened Atlantic Hockey America play with a 3-1 victory at Army. “Chase Clark was very good in net for us again,” Golden Griffiths coach Trevor Large said. “Good discipline by us (in the third period). We didn't give up a lot of chances. We played smart, we played hard and we had control in the offensive zone for good chunks of the period. That's the best way for a quiet death for any opponent.”
• Canadiens Prospect Focused on Two-Way Game
This Date in Hockey History:
October 15, 1935: Willie O'Ree, the NHL’s first black player), was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
October 15, 1935: The St. Louis Eagles folded. They played for just one season in the NHL after previously being the Ottawa Senators.
October 15, 1951: UMD goaltender Jerome Mrazek was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
October 15, 1977: St. Cloud State center Mark Hartigan was born in Ft. St. John, British Columbia.
October 15. 1977: Earl Bartholome Edward Olson and William Riley were all inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
October 15, 1981: Minnesota State center Grant Stevenson was born in Spruce Grove, Alberta.
October 15. 1983: Oscar Almquist and John McCartan were both inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
October 15, 1986: American goaltender Tom Barrasso and rookie Patrick Roy both had a perfect night as Buffalo and Montreal played to a scoreless tie.
October 15, 1988: Former North Dakota right wing Dave Christian notched a hat trick and an assist to lead the Washington Capitals over the visiting New Jersey Devils 8-5.
October 15, 1988: Mario Lemiuex factored in eight goals during a 9-2 victory for Pittsburgh over St. Louis. He scored two and had six assists.
October 15, 1989: Wayne Gretzky scored with 53 seconds remaining in regulation to top Gordie Howe’s 1,850 career points, to become the league’s all-time scoring king. After a 15-minute ceremony Gretzky scored in overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings the 5-4 victory at Edmonton.
October 15, 1991: North Dakota center Brock Nelson was born in Warroad, Minn.
October 15. 1992: Former UMD defenseman Jim Johnson tallied 26 penalty minutes for the Minnesota North Stars in a 5-4 win at St. Louis.
October 15. 1993: The Minnesota Gophers played their first game at new Mariucci Arena, but lost 5-4 to Michigan Tech in the annual US Hockey Hall of Fame game,
October 15, 1996: Former St. Lawrence left wing Eric Lacroix recorded his only NHL hat trick the Colorado Avalanche blasted Edmonton, 7-2.
October 15, 2005: Former UMD standout Brett Hull retired. His final games were played with the Phoenix Coyotes, while wearing his father’s No. 9. Bobby’s number had been retired by the franchise when it was known as the Winnipeg Jets.
October 15, 2010: Bemidji State’s new arena, the Sanford Center, opened.
October 15, 2012: The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Lou Lamoriello, Eddie Olczyk and Mike Modano.
October 15, 2015: Thomas Vanek became the first former Minnesota Gophers player to score 300 career goals in the NHL, as the Minnesota Wild won at the Arizona Coyotes, 4-3.
October 15, 2015: Former Minnesota player Todd Richards was fired as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and replaced by former Maine forward John Tortorella.
October 15, 2023: Frank Vatrano, who played at both UMass and Providence, became the first Anaheim Ducks player to score a hat trick in a season opener during a 6-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Hockey Quote of the Day
"I learned more about professional hockey that season in Birmingham than I did in any other. We were animals. But it was fun."Rod Langway on the Birmingham Bulls
We'll Leave You With This ...
Patrik Laine honouring Ken Dryden before the Habs home opener 🫶
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 14, 2025
(via @CanadiensMTL) pic.twitter.com/soJb8bca0N
Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.
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