BC's Kevin Hayes Retires From Hockey

Kevin Hayes (Boston College) has called it a career.

The Dorchester, Mass. native has retired as an active player after going scoreless in five games this fall with Kazan Ak-Bars (KHL) in Kazan, Russia.

Originally drafted 24th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, Hayes went on to play in 805 career NHL regular-season games with the New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins. A 6-foot-5 center/left wing, he tallied 185 goals and 260 assists for 445 points in all, while also collecting 8-18—26 points over 56 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.

Hayes, 34, skated in prep school with Noble and Greenough in his native Massachusetts and then played four years at Boston College, registering 44-88—132 points in 142 outings with the Eagles. As a senior, he recorded career highs of 27-38—65 points in 40 appearances while playing on a line with Bill Arnold and the late Johnny Gaudreau, guiding BC to the 2014 NCAA Frozen Four just two years after helping the Eagles to a national championship.

The younger brother of the late Jimmy Hayes, who also played for Nobles and BC and in the NHL, Hayes put up his top-scoring NHL campaign in 2022-23 with Philadelphia, notching 18-36—54 points in 81 contests. He scored a career-high 25 goals with the Rangers in 2017-18, one of two 20-goal seasons in his NHL tenure, and also appeared in three IIHF World Championships for the United States (2014, 2017, 2024). 

Serratore to Retire at Bemidji State in 2027

Tom Serratore (Bemidji State) will step down as head coach of his alma mater following the 2026-27 season, when he will retire after more than 40 years of coaching, all in his home state.

Serratore has guided Bemidji to a 416-397-108 record over 25 seasons. all at the NCAA Division I level. In that span he has recorded eight campaigns of 20 or more wins, along with seven regular-season championships and three league tournament titles split amongst BSU's time in the CHA, WCHA and CCHA. He has also led the Beavers to five NCAA tournament appearances, including the 2009 Frozen Four.

A native of Coleraine, Minn., Serratore played two years at center at Division II Mankato State before transferring to BSU, where he played two more years at the Division III level with the Beavers and finished his college career with a combined 63 goals and 78 assists for 141 points. Following graduation, he began his coaching career as an assistant at Brainerd High School, before becoming head coach at Henry Sibley High School for two seasons. 

Serratore moved on to the college ranks in 1993-94 as an assistant at St. Cloud State, where he spent six seasons before returning to BSU as an assistant in 1999-00 as the Beavers moved to the Division I level. He then took the reins as head coach in 2001-02, where he has remained ever since. 

25 Years After 9/11: Remembering Mark Bavis

Twenty years since Sept. 11 has become twenty-five. Recirculating this piece I wrote years ago in remembrance of my friend, Mark Bavis, a former Boston University forward, NAHL assistant coach and NHL scout whom I only knew for much too short a time. Two years ago I got to visit the Mark Bavis Arena in Rockland, Mass. that was named after him, just over 20 miles from his hometown of Roslindale. He would be 56 now. Rest in peace, Mark.

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.