Michelle Beadle (Brian Zak)
Quick, think of the nation’s best college hockey teams. Schools such as Michigan (nine national championships) or Boston College (three titles in the past five years) come to mind.
This year, however, there’s an unlikely challenger to the elite — Quinnipiac University. Located in Hamden, Conn., the 18-3-3 Bobcats are ranked No. 2 in the nation in the United States College Hockey Online poll, behind Minnesota.
It’s a rise nobody saw coming. A blend of players from across North America — from off-the-beaten-path towns such as White Bear Lake, Minn., and Petawawa, Ontario — have formed a threat to the traditional hockey establishment. Just four Bobcats players hail from New England, compared to 13 from Canada.
So, how exactly does a school with just 15 years in Division I hockey transform into a giant seemingly overnight?
Chris Kotsopoulos, a 10-year NHL veteran and former New York Ranger who now serves as the team’s radio analyst, feels that it speaks to the program’s desire to outwork other schools on the recruiting trail.
“You have to draw from everywhere,” Kotsopoulos told the Post’s John DeMarzo. “The coaches who recruited and scouted these guys, they’re out on the road recruiting 24/7, and there are also times when [assistant coaches] Reid Cashman and Bill Riga are out on the ice before a game, showing the arena to a recruit. The talent is there. They’ve found the right players and built up to this year. You can’t say enough about the recruiting process.”
Kotsopoulos also feels that the team’s facilities are a plus when it comes to attracting talent.
“Quinnipiac has built one of the best facilities [the TD Bank Sports Center] in college hockey, he said. It’s a modern facility and a nice draw when you bring in a recruit.”
This season has been the year where the hard work of recruiting and the advantage of modern facilities finally has reaped tangible benefits, despite a bumpy start.
After a 3-3-1 start, the Bobcats quickly climbed the ranks, having gone 15-0-2 since then. Quinnipiac’s hot streak has turned heads throughout the nation.
“I knew there was too much talent on this team for them to continue their slow start,” Kotsopoulos said. “I knew that they would eventually turn it around, but to this point? I don’t think anybody would have guessed that.”
On the surface, Quinnipiac is just another Division I hockey program trying to crack the elite. But look a little closer, and you’ll see that the seeds of a powerful program have been sown, in the form of ace recruiting and modern facilities.
Soon enough, we may see the Bobcats as a national power, and no longer have to wonder why.
Beadle makes a ‘Crossover’
Barely a month into 2013, bombshell headlines keep rocking the sports world.
And that’s just fine with Michelle Beadle, who told The Rumble’s Kirsten Fleming she hopes it stays that way for her anticipated new show with co-host Dave Briggs, “The Crossover” — which debuts from New Orleans tomorrow at 6 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.
“It sucks so bad,” Beadle said of missing recent headlines like Lance Armstrong’s doping admission and the bizarre tale of Manti Te’o’s faux-mance with a nonexistent dead girl.
“Te’o has been one of the best stories. It’s not done yet, no matter what he thinks his [Katie Couric] interview did for him. But somebody is going to do something stupid, tweet something or get arrested,” Beadle said of the guaranteed fodder for the Monday-Friday, 30-minute show.
“If not, we always have the Jets,” quipped Briggs, a diehard Broncos fans, who defected from FOX News.
The show — once tentatively named “Beadlemania” — is a refreshing cocktail of sports, pop culture and celebrity appearances where any topic is fair game.
“Unless we get a reprimand from upstairs, nothing is off limits,” the sassy Texan said.
Their inaugural guest is Mr. New Orleans himself, Archie Manning.
“It’s amazing to find a guest that encompasses everything about this [Super Bowl] game: New Orleans, football and the sibling factor,” Briggs said.
The pair are dreaming of landing a boozy Tom Brady
to loosen him up, Rob Gronkowski’s mother (“I want to know what she feeds them. It’s like a science project,” Beadle said) or the ever-unhinged Jose Canseco.
They just can’t be human Ambiens.
“I have my dream athletes [guests], but I know they’re not a good interview. I love Michael Jordan, but he’s not a good interview. Aaron Rodgers used to be fun, but [now] he’s too sensitive. It’s a turn off,” Beadle said.
With candid banter like that, “The Crossover” most definitely won’t be.
Sterling conspicuous at dinner outing
Longtime Yankees radio voice John Sterling was in midseason form at the iconic Old Homestead Steakhouse in the Meatpacking District this week. According to a Rumble spy, Sterling sat with his arm strategically positioned along the edge of the table for everyone to catch a glimpse of the gigantic sparkling 2009 World Series ring he was sporting on his finger.
Sterling signed several autographs, posed for photos and obliged one fan’s request by providing his trademark home run call — “It is high. It is far. It is gone” — sending the packed place into a frenzy.
Sterling assured a few concerned fans that Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera would come back strong, but Sterling wasn’t as confident that he would be making too many “A-Bomb for A-Rod” home-run calls, referring to Alex Rodriguez, who is rehabbing from his recent hip surgery.
Stat gives inside dish on pregame
The past few months have been a time for reflection and celebration for Knicks star Amare’s Stoudemire. In a feature segment titled “#STATFAN,” which is set to run in MSG’s pregame show tonight before the Knicks face the Hawks at 6:30 p.m., Stoudemire and his family sit down with Knicks reporter Tina Cervasio to talk about the eventful past year.
Stoudemire and wife Alexis Welch share never-before-seen photos from their private rooftop wedding in December and candidly discuss the past and what the future holds for the family.