Tim Whitehead was relieved of his duties as head coach at the University of Maine on April 9. In the weeks since, not only has Maine director of athletics Steve Abbott yet hire his successor, but a prominent former player, Jim Montgomery, took the head coaching job at Denver, the university named Bob Corkum its interim head coach and Corkum, through university staffers, penned a not-so-cryptic open letter to Maine hockey fans that not-so-politely separated himself from Whitehead.

The last six weeks have left many in Orono scratching their heads, wondering what exactly is happening to the state’s crown athletic jewel, a program that was at one time, the envy of college hockey, past scandals aside.

But perhaps Abbott has another power play in mind?

According to a story in Monday’s Bangor Daily News, Abbott will likely name a successor next week. The paper goes on to cite sources reporting that UNH assistant Jim Tortorella, Yale assistant Red Gendron and former Ohio State coach Mark Osiecki are all candidates along with Corkum.

[Click here to read the rest of this column at College Hockey News]

The post From CHN: What, or Who, is Maine Waiting For? appeared first on The Mack Report.

A 5-foot-11, 174-pounder, Brennan suited up for the Cleveland Barons U18 team last season. The Delaware, Ohio native totaled 40 points (12 goals, 48 assists) in 62 games with the Barons U16 team in 2011-12 and appeared in one game with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL last season. The Phantoms drafted him with the 72nd overall pick in the 2012 USHL Futures Draft.

Brennan becomes the second player committed for 2015, joining ’96 forward Brett Seney who committed in February. Michael Babcock is also likely for either the 2014 or 2015 incoming class.

The post ’96 Defenseman Shawn Brennan Commits to Merrimack appeared first on The Mack Report.

Does Mike Cavanaugh being hired at UConn clear the path for Greg Brown to take over when Jerry York retires?
I’m sure there will be a search with a lot of qualified candidates involved, but people over at BC have nothing but great things to say about Greg Brown.

For some reason I thought Plevy and Gustafsson were both due in next year, but it looks like it’s actually the year after. I don’t see a lot of scoring help coming from the 2013 arrivals. But then again what do I know?
Plevy is now a 2014. The biggest reason is that he enjoys playing in Chilliwack and his younger brother also looks like he’ll be on the team next year, which is an opportunity few could pass up. New NLI rules — I believe you’re now allowed to sign a NLI up to two years before enrolling, not just one — make it easier for kids to play an extra year of junior hockey without the program running the risk of losing them to bigger programs. As for next year, it does open a spot for them to move up a forward — maybe Gustafsson — if they feel he’s ready and the player wants to come in a year early.

Who do you think gets hired at Maine?
Funny you ask. I’ll have a column going up on CHN soon and I’ll post a link. They seem to be down to three candidates, but most thought they would have announced a hiring two weeks ago.

Who do you think gets hired as the new assistant at BU?
Former Merrimack assistant coach (current Harvard assistant) Albie O’Connell is very interested in the job, according to sources. O’Connell is a former Terrier.

Of all the turnover this year in coaching, which firing surprised you the most?
If we’re talking firings, that has to take Jack Parker out of the mix (though I was surprised at his announcement, as most were) and George Gwozdecky, who it seems left on his own, albeit with some other institutional factors in play. I’d say the biggest shock when it comes to firings has to be Mark Osiecki out at Ohio State. He was really turning the program around. Their recruiting classes, though riddled with some decommits since the Osiecki announcement — was slated to be excellent the next few seasons and he was getting all of that done despite very little institutional support when compared to the way OSU supports some other programs at the school and just the other Big 10 hockey schools.

Saw your column on another website about Chael Sonnen and how you said he was the most marketable fighter in UFC? The guy has never won a title and is nothing more than a trash talker. That’s marketable? Stick to hockey.
Of course it’s marketable. Here’s a guy who has lost three of his last five fights, and two of them have been for championships. He talked his way into a title fight with Anderson Silva, almost beat him, and then earned another one from that. Did he honestly deserve a light heavyweight title shot against Jon Jones? It was his first fight since returning to the division! Please. But he had been ripping Jones for almost a year after Jones refused to fight him on five days notice last August and Dana White isn’t stupid, bad blood = money and he booked the fight. Now he’s going after Wanderlei Silva, for no apparent reason, and the talking has gotten to a point where that fight might be the main event for the Boston card this summer.
And again, this is a guy who has lost three of his last five fights.
Chael’s smart. He doesn’t shut up, he’s fine playing the bad guy that everyone hates — he’s obviously doing a great job at it — and he’s happy collecting big-fight paychecks that, if you really just analyzed what happens inside the cage, he probably hasn’t deserved since UFC 148 last year.
We can debate whether or not he actually deserves the fights he’s been getting, but the reason he’s getting them is because he’s marketable.

The post Mack’s Mailbag for May 20, 2013 appeared first on The Mack Report.

The Warriors will open the year on an arduous three-game road trip that includes aforementioned Wagner, an away showdown against last year’s NE-10 runner-up American Int’l (Sept. 14), and finally a trip to Southern Connecticut (Sept. 20) before welcoming Pace to Martone-Mejail Field for the 2013 home opener on Sept. 28.

Then, after a visit to the newest associate member of the Northeast-10 Conference, LIU Post, on Oct. 5, the Warriors will host defending league champion and NCAA Tournament participant New Haven for arguably its toughest league test of the year on Oct. 12 in North Andover.

After a trip to Saint Anselm on Oct. 19, Merrimack will welcome nearby rival Bentley to highlight Homecoming Weekend on Oct. 26 for a 1 p.m. kickoff. An eight-win team in 2012, the Falcons received votes in the final AFCA Coaches Poll and handed the Warriors a 38-21 setback in Waltham last fall. Merrimack owns an 8-12 all-time record against the Falcons and will look for its first victory over Bentley since the 2011 campaign.

The final two regular season tilts will see the Warriors travel to Assumption on Nov. 2. In one of the more entertaining games of 2012, Merrimack stormed back from a late, fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Greyhounds, 43-40, in the final game of the regular season last fall. Finally, Merrimack hosts Stonehill on Nov. 9 before facing a to-be-determined opponent as part of NE-10 Championship Weekend on Nov. 16.

Season ticket information for the 2013 season is available online and adult general admission plans start at just $30 per individual. For more information in 2013 Merrimack Football season ticket packages, please visit the online season ticket information page.

The post Merrimack Unveils 2013 Football Schedule appeared first on The Mack Report.

“I am very excited to be joining the UConn Husky family,” said Cavanaugh. “This job is a terrific opportunity and I think UConn’s move to Hockey East is a natural. I look forward to the challenge of building this program and I believe that my experiences over the past 18 years will help me lead UConn into this new era.

“College hockey is at an all-time high in the state of Connecticut right. The national championship teams that we had at Boston College had several players from the state on it and they were integral in our success. There is a wealth of talent in Connecticut and I look forward to recruiting the homegrown players as well as the prep schools. The state of Connecticut will be key in our recruiting efforts.

“I would like thank President Susan Herbst and Director of Athletics Warde Manuel for showing confidence in my abilities and giving me the opportunity to lead UConn into its era of Hockey East.”

Added BC head coach Jerry York, who has worked with Cavanaugh for 19 seasons, “I’m thrilled for Mike Cavanaugh to accept the head coaching position at the University of Connecticut. I think it’s a significant hire by athletics director Warde Manuel. He has hired a very energetic, knowledgeable, classy young man. Mike will be sorely missed here at Boston College for his contributions to our hockey program over the last 18 years. But, on the other hand, we wish him all the best as he starts a whole new chapter in his career.”

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A few years back assistant sports information director Dick Kelley (left) posed with former BC football great Matt Ryan, now the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, and BC SID Chris Cameron.

Long-time Boston College SID Dick Kelley is waging a courageous battle with ALS. Kelley is a popular figure in Hockey East circles and his story has drawn national attention. He’s been featured in recent lengthy profiles on Sportsillustrated.com and CBSsports.com. His courage is amazing and the BC community has gone to great lengths to help him.

Below are two of the best stories. At the bottom of each is a link to donate to defray the cost of his around-the-clock care.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/dick-kelley/

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/22206627/boston-college-publicist-kelley-inspires-as-he-battles-als

The post He is … BC! appeared first on The Mack Report.

Cavanaugh, who was reported to be one of the finalists alongside UConn interim head coach Dave Berard and former Denver head coach George Gwozdecky, has spent the last 18 seasons at Boston College coaching under Jerry York. He previously spent two seasons at Dartmouth and one year with York at Bowling Green.

Anthony reported the news on Tuesday via Twitter.

At Boston College, Cavanaugh has been a part of four national championship teams.

UConn is filling the position vacated by Bruce Marshall, who took a leave of abscence in October and resigned in January. The Huskies will open their final seasons in Atlantic Hockey this fall before joining Hockey East for the 2014-15 season.

The post Report: BC’s Cavanaugh Negotiating with UConn appeared first on The Mack Report.

On the other end was Merrimack head coach Dan Curran.

“I picked up the phone and he just said, ‘to sum it up, you’re going to Philadelphia,” and I was ecstatic,” said Voegeli, who signed a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles last week and will report to the team’s mini-camp this coming Friday. “About five minutes later my agent called and that’s when I started to realize that it was real. I still don’t think I’m down from cloud nine yet, it’s a dream come true.”

It was later cemented last Wednesday when the Eagles’  director of player personnel gave Voegeli his travel itinerary for camp and he also received a phone call from the team’s wide receivers’ coach, Bob Bicknell, who played college football at Boston College as a tight end and has been in coaching for the past 20 years.

“This is going to be a great opportunity,” Voegli said. “Like everyone when they start playing football at a young age, this has been a dream. To get this opportunity is something that I’ve thought about and dreamed about since I was about seven years old.”

After a breakout junior season Voegeli re-wrote record books this past fall as a senior, hauling in 108 passes for 1,500 yards, both of which led the nation for Division 2; he also caught 14 touchdown passes in 10 games. The 1,500-yard season is the most in Northeast-10 history — he was also named the conference’s Most Valuable Player — and his 14 touchdowns were the most in Merrimack history. He broke the 100-yard plateau in seven of 10 games including a record 269-yard afternoon against Saint Anselm (on 10 catches) and a career-high 17 catches (for 264 yards) against Pace.

A health sciences major, he’ll graduate this spring as Merrimack’s all-time leader in nearly ever receiving category including catches (211) and yards (3,554) and is second all-time with 34 touchdown catches.

He becomes the fourth player in just the last two seasons to sign an NFL deal following his senior season joining Shawn Loiseau (Houston Texans/Indianapolis Colts), James Suozzo (New York Giants) and Tony Johnson (Baltimore Ravens), all of whom signed last season.

“It’s a credit to our coaching staff,” Voegeli said. “It says a lot about the work ethic they demand here that the players are starting to get noticed. It’s definitely a credit to our coaching staff and our strength coaches. They always told me, if I wanted it as bad as I said I did, then I’d do whatever it took.”

Curran, who will start his first season as head coach next fall after taking over for the departed John Perry, has instilled a belief in the program, Voegeli says.

“The fact that my dream could become a reality only started hitting me when I started working with Coach Curran,” he said. “We had a conversation a long time ago and he said, ‘you’re good, but you can be better.’ He told me I could accomplish my dreams and that’s when it all started for me. I don’t think even I really believed I could get to this point and get this opportunity before he became a part of it. Then last year, working out with guys like Shawn (Loiseau) and Tony (Johnson), and seeing what they did, I was able to see what it took.”

Voegeli will hope to impress the Eagles staff not only with what he can do as a receiver, but also as a punt returner, where he averaged 11.6 yards per return his senior season.

The Eagles’ mini-camp runs from this coming Friday through Sunday.

The post Voegeli Off to Philadelphia Eagles Mini-Camp Friday appeared first on The Mack Report.

Babcock was picked 68th overall in the USHL Draft by Cedar Rapids last season, and it’s likely he’ll play there next season. He is the son of Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock and skated at the Red Wings development camp last summer.

Babcock visited Merrimack’s campus two weeks ago.

The post Michael Babcock Commits to Merrimack College appeared first on The Mack Report.

NORTH ANDOVER — Merrimack College head coach Mike Morgan doesn’t like to just toss around phrases like “heart and soul” of the team.

”They’re overplayed by most of us coaches,” he says.

But the fifth-year head coach uses those words when it comes to fifth-year senior captain Bryan Pollack, who will help lead the 11-2 Warriors into tonight’s Northeast-10 semifinal against Le Moyne (7 p.m.) at Merrimack’s Martone-Mejail Field.

”He is the heart and soul of our entire program,” Morgan said. “He is everything we want to be. He eats, sleeps and breathes Merrimack lacrosse and his entire attitude is everything we want in our players. The type of sacrifice I’ve watched him make for this program and for his teammates is incredible.”

A year ago at this time, Pollack’s focus wasn’t the postseason. After undergoing season-ending knee surgery last year, he missed all of what was supposed to be his senior year. Then his father, Edward, died suddenly at the age of 51 last June.

”I remember being at his dad’s wake,” Morgan said. “The last thing on my mind was lacrosse. I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Bryan outside the funeral home and one of the first things he said to me was, ‘I’m coming back next year.’ I remember telling him that we’d wait and see how it played out that he didn’t need to make any decisions, especially not at that time. But he was insisting. I think this season was for his dad. He wanted to get back and play as a tribute to him.”

Pollack’s return to the Warriors has included making appearances in 12 of the Warriors’ 13 games, all on a mended knee.

On the field, Morgan says Pollack leads by example.

Earlier this season in a game at Adelphi, an errant shot skipped feverishly towards the end line. Pollack, on a knee that still isn’t 100 percent, chased down an opposing defender and dove, at full speed, headfirst and full extended in order to remain closest, maintaining possession for the Warriors.

“That play could have been the difference between us winning and losing that game,” Morgan said. “If they get the ball there, you never know what can happen. … That just goes to show you the type of player he is though. He didn’t care if he got hurt, he was making a play for his teammates.”

And for Pollack, winning is all that matters.

“I never think about my knee,” he said. “That’s just how I’m wired. If we win, I’m happy.”

The decision to come back, which came with the risk of permanent knee damage, was a simple one for the civil engineering major.

“I felt like I wasn’t able to contribute last year,” he said. “I didn’t want my career at Merrimack to end like that. If I could come back and help on the field and off it, that’s how I wanted to finish here. Right now, all I’m thinking about is leaving Merrimack with a championship. That’s our goal.”

The quest starts tonight.

Familiar Foes

Merrimack beat Le Moyne 5-3, earlier this season while the Dolphins were the No. 1 team in the nation. The Dolphins have won three of the last five matchups with the Warriors including in the NE-10 Championship game.

“There won’t be any wholesale changes from either side,” Morgan said. “They know us, and we know them. We’ve played each other so many times, and in big games, it’s just going to be a matter of who executes better. The coaches know each other, the players know each other and we know each other’s games.”

Merrimack claimed their first-ever share of the NE-10 Regular season title on Saturday with the 16-11 victory over Assumption.

“I think that helps give some guys confidence,” Morgan said. “Even some of the individual awards, these guys are extremely self-motivated, and I think that this motivates them to go out and prove that they are the awards they won.”

Corey Lunney was named NE-10 Player of the Year on Tuesday for the first time in his career. Lunney leads the NE-10 with 43 goals and 57 points through 12 games. He ranks second in the nation in goals per game (3.31).

Merrimack has won ten straight games at Martone-Mejail Field dating back to last year. Over the past six seasons the Warriors are among the best in the country at home, owning a 35-4 record. In the four losses the Warriors have lost by a combined five goals.

“We love playing here,” Morgan said. “I know it’s going to be a great atmosphere (tonight).”

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