Illinois growing as hockey power despite lack of NCAA programs
By Ryan Lund Miami University freshman Louie Belpedio was still a few months shy of the delivery room the last time a Division I college hockey team represented the state of Illinois. A product of Skokie and youth hockey powerhouse Team Illinois, Belpedio is one of 61 Illinois natives competing on Division I teams across […]
OPINION: Sharp rumors hurt everyone involved
By Ryan Lund Patrick Sharp is a hard man to dislike. With a winning smile unblemished by a 13-year NHL career that landed the high-scoring winger on the cover of Chicago Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful Chicagoans” issue in 2011, Sharp is an instantly recognizable face on a team that seems to deal almost exclusively in […]
New Chicago Steel coach learns on the job
By Ryan Lund Dan Boeser had a lot to think about during the nearly nine-hour bus ride between Bensenville, Ill. and Lincoln, Neb. A former assistant coach with the United States Hockey League’s Chicago Steel, Boeser was named the team’s head coach and general manager on Feb. 11, after former coach Scott McConnell and the […]
After 35 years, Red Army finally gets its due
By Ryan Lund Names like Kharlamov, Fetisov and Mikhailov may be unfamiliar to North American hockey fans, but they carry the weight of world championships and gold medals to 59-year-old Chicago hockey fan Arkady Dontsis. Dontsis remembers their names, and one of the greatest hockey teams ever assembled, the famed “Red Army,” the Soviet Union […]
Hockey City Classic makes lukewarm return to Chicago
By Ryan Lund It started hours before the games began, with a souvenir hockey puck that mistakenly pitted Michigan State against “Michigan University,” and continued into Saturday afternoon, as mild temperatures delayed puck drop for nearly two hours. But while this year’s Hockey City Classic pitted Miami-Ohio, Western Michigan, Michigan and Michigan State against poor […]
