Russell Joins Princeton as Assistant Coach

Jamie Russell (Michigan Tech) has joined Princeton as an assistant men's hockey coach.

The head coach at his alma mater from 2003 to 2011, Russell, 60, had also served as an assistant at Ferris State, Cornell and Providence in a coaching career that stretches back to 1984-85. He also worked as a head coach in the ECHL with Elmira and Worcester from 2014 to 2020, before spending the next four years with the South Kent School and the Selects Academy AAA program in Connecticut. He guided Ritten Sport in Italy to a 27-22-0-3 mark in 2024-25, before a brief stint as GM/head coach with the Fife Flyers (EIHL) last season.

A native of Kamloops, B.C., Russell skated on defense at Michigan Tech from 1987 to 1989, notching eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points and 134 penalty minutes over 78 NCAA appearances with the Huskies. He then played professionally for two seasons in the AHL and ECHL. His son, Ben, served as director of hockey operations at Cornell for two years, while his younger son, Charlie, is entering his third campaign as a forward at Maine.

2027 Women's Frozen Four Altered

The NCAA has made changes in the women's Division I Frozen Four schedule for 2027, which will be contested in Duluth, Minn. Instead of the previous Friday-Sunday schedule, the national semifinals will be now contested on Sunday, March 21, with the championship game following on Tuesday, March 23, all at AMSOIL Arena.

"Committee members’ rationale for making the change is to have all three games of the Women’s Frozen Four televised on ESPN’s linear channels," as stated at ncaa.com.

Wisconsin is the two-time defending women's Division I champion, having defeated WCHA rival Ohio State in each of the past two years.

Makar NHL's First $20 Million Man

Cale Makar (UMass) is the NHL's first $20 million man.

The 27-year-old defenseman from Calgary recently signed a new eight-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche that will pay him an average of $20.4 million per season, to the 2034-35 campaign, making him the NHL's highest-paid player.

Drafted fourth overall by Colorado in 2017 out of Brooks (AJHL) in junior hockey, Makar has spent his entire NHL career with the Avalanche, tallying 136 goals and 371 assists for 507 points in 470 regular-season games over his first seven full professional seasons. He has also recorded 26-64—90 points in 90 Stanley Cup Playoff outings, and led Colorado to the Cup in 2022 while also winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL's postseason MVP that spring.

Makar helped Canada to the title at the 2025 Four Nations Faceoff, and then a silver medal at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. He played two seasons at UMass, totaling 21 goals and 70 points in 75 appearances, and won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the NCAA's top player as a sophomore just before turning pro for the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He claimed the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2019-20, and is a two-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman.

Maryville Making D-I Jump in 2026-27

NCAA Division I men's hockey newest program will play a hybrid/transition schedule in 2026-27 as it begins its varsity history as an independent.

Maryville University will skate in 16 games against NCAA Division I schools this upcoming season, all on the road, including single contests at St. Lawrence, Yale, Princeton, Ferris State, Lindenwood, Quinnipiac and Holy Cross. The Saints will also play two-game sets at Lake Superior State, Bowling Green, Lindenwood and Alaska (Fairbanks). The home slate at the Maryville University Ice Hockey Center in St. Louis will include two games against NCAA Division III opponent Trine, plus two-game series against ACHA Division I club foes Midland, Liberty and UNLV.

Maryville will close out its inaugural varsity campaign with two games against the USHL's USA National Development Team in Plymouth, Mich. in late February.

Princeton's Ezman Joins Coventry (EIHL)

Jaxon Ezman (Princeton) will begin his professional career overseas, after recently signing with the Coventry Blaze of the Elite Ice Hockey League in Great Britain for the 2026-27 season.

Ezman, 23, a forward from Middleton, Wisc., spent the last four seasons at Princeton, tallying 22 goals and 28 assists for 50 points to go with 100 penalty minutes in 101 appearances. His best campaign came last year as a senior, when he collected career highs of 11-15—26 points in 34 outings as the Tigers finished fourth in ECAC Hockey, and came within an overtime goal of qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.

Coventry went 25-22-0-7 in 2025-26, finishing seventh in the EIHL.

Mammoth Extends Marino

John Marino (Harvard) will continue playing for the Utah Mammoth, after he recently signed an eight-year, $54 million extension with the NHL club he has skated for the last two seasons. 

Marino, 29, a 6-foot-1, 200 lb. defenseman from North Easton, Mass., had his best NHL campaign to date in 2025-26 when he tallied four goals and 32 assists for 36 points for the Mammoth, before adding his first career league postseason goal in six Stanley Cup Playoff contests. In 443 career NHL regular-season outings over seven years with Pittsburgh, Utah and New Jersey, he has collected 23-134—157 points to go with 1-6—7 points in 35 playoff appearances.

Drafted 154th overall by the Edmonton Oilers after his second season of junior hockey with South Shore (USPHL), Marino joined Harvard in 2016 after winning a Clark Cup with Tri-City (USHL). In three collegiate seasons with the Crimson in Cambridge, he registered 7-35—42 points in 101 games, while helping Harvard to two ECAC Hockey titles and an NCAA Frozen Four berth as a freshman.

 

TSU Cancels 2026-27 Campaign

Tennessee State University will not be playing NCAA Division I men's hockey in 2026-27. The university announced that the Tigers, who were originally scheduled to begin play in 2024-25, will be sidelined for yet another season, with the university still facing significant financial challenges. Tennessee State also opted out of the 2025-26 campaign.

TSU, which had originally announced in 2023 that it was adding the sport, would have been the first HBCU to feature a hockey program. Denver goaltender Johnny Hicks, a former TSU commit, led the Pioneers to a national title this spring, earning Most Outstanding Player honors of the NCAA Frozen Four in the process.