West Regional
March 29-30, Scheels Arena, Fargo, N.D.
Friday, March 29, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN, No. 1 St. Cloud State (30-5-3) vs. No. 4 American International (22-16-1)
Friday, March 29, 4 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN, No. 2 Denver (22-11-5) vs. No. 3 Ohio State (20-10-5)
Saturday, March 30, 9 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN, West Regional Championship
ST. CLOUD STATE
Season record: 30-5-3 (NCHC regular-season champion)
Playoffs to this point: Swept Miami at home, beat Colorado College in a NCHC semifinal and lost to Minnesota Duluth in the final
Top players: Forward Patrick Newell (21-26-47), forward Blake Lizotte (14-27-41), defenseman Jimmy Schuldt (10-24-34), defenseman Jack Ahcan (6-28-34)
Top goalie: Dávid Hrenák (23-4-2, 2.19 GAA, .908 save percentage)
Why they will advance to Buffalo: Theoretically, at least, the national No. 1 seed has the easiest road to the Frozen Four. American International and either Ohio State or Denver won’t be easy outs, but SCSU was on a major roll before falling in the NCHC playoff title game.
Why they will not advance to Buffalo: St. Cloud has bowed out in the first round of the NCAA tournament each of the last two years. Last time, it was as the No. 1 overall seed against the Atlantic Hockey champion.
For as good as St. Cloud State has been all season in putting together 30 wins, four of the Huskies’ five losses have happened since New Year’s.
Now would be a bad time to pick up No. 6, and SCSU isn’t taking any chances.
Their recent form is unquestionable. St. Cloud went 13 games unbeaten (12-0-1) before falling last Saturday against Minnesota Duluth — another top regional seed at the NCAA tournament — in double overtime in the NCHC playoff final.
By and large, life is great right now for SCSU, as shown during the NCHC’s awards banquet last week. Senior captain Jimmy Schuldt was named the conference’s top player and top defensive defenseman, and classmate Patrick Newell was named the NCHC’s top forward.
They were joined by Ryan Poehling and Blake Lizotte as SCSU’s contingent on the first-team all-NCHC list, and first-year head coach Brett Larson earned league coach of the year honors.
These Huskies want to keep the good times going, but there’s also a sense of unfinished business. In a way, SCSU is where it was this time last year, preparing for the West Regional while holding the No. 1 overall seed. After being upset by Atlantic Hockey champion Air Force last March, though, Larson is determined to keep history from repeating itself against another AHA foe.
“I don’t think our guys or us are really concerned with what seed we are. We’re concerned about our game on Friday, and that’s where we want our focus to be and we know that it’s going to be tough no matter who you play,” Larson said. “It’s the top 16 teams in the country, and our focus really is just being prepared for next Friday.”
Should SCSU get past American International, another tough foe would await in either Ohio State or Denver. However, now as much as ever, first thing’s first.
“We’ve always tried to keep our focus on the next week coming, and I know that sounds a little cliched, but the history of the tournament is that any seed can win.” Larson said.
“The No. 1 overall seed doesn’t guarantee you anything. What guarantees you something is being prepared, showing up and playing your best hockey. That at least gives you the best chance to be successful.”
— Matthew Semisch
DENVER
Season record: 22-11-5, (fourth, NCHC)
Playoffs to this point: Swept North Dakota in NCHC first round, lost to Minnesota Duluth in Frozen Faceoff semifinals, defeated Colorado College in consolation game
Top players: Liam Finlay (15 goals, 20 assists, 35 points), Emilio Pettersen (6-23-29), Jarid Lukosevicius (18-10-28), Ian Mitchell (6-21-27)
Top goalie(s): Filip Larsson (11-5-3, 2.07 GAA, .929 save percentage Devin Cooley (11-6-2, 1.84 GAA, .934 save percentage)
Why they will advance to Buffalo: The Pioneers have a very stingy defense. They’ve given up two or fewer goals in 11 of their last 15 games, so they tend to be in most games late. They may also have gained confidence from defeating Colorado College in the NCHC third-place game.
Why they will not advance to Buffalo: Scoring seems to be a very iffy proposition for the Pioneers. They are one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the country, and sometimes they struggle with consistency and had several games down the stretch where they could only score a goal.
After sweeping North Dakota in the first round of the NCHC playoffs, captain Colin Staub talked about how the upperclassmen had reminded the team that most observers had counted the team out, and while their season had gone well overall, they hadn’t accomplished anything yet.
The Pioneers went to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff and were blanked by Minnesota Duluth in what was essentially a one-goal game, but in the consolation game Denver rediscovered its offense against rival Colorado College. That may have provided the team with confidence, considering in the previous three games against CC Denver had only been able to score two goals in three games.
“I think it’s definitely important for us to have a little offensive confidence going into he weekend,” said Ian Mitchell after the CC game. “We know this is the time of year that defense gets that much tighter. For us to make some plays out there was definitely good, but we know next weekend a lot tighter.”
Denver is currently tied for ninth fewest goals scored as a team, barely more than two per game. Luckily, it has a strong defense anchored by two great goalies. Filip Larsson, who backstopped Denver past North Dakota, started against Duluth and only gave up one goal, while Devin Cooley played the CC game and also only gave up one goal. Denver coach David Carle has confidence in both goalies.
“We have two unbelievable goaltenders,” said Carle after the CC game. “I don’t think there’s a tandem in the country that’s better.”
Denver is young, tied with five other NCAA tournament teams for fewest seniors on the roster with three. They also have the most underclassmen with 19, but its underclassmen have produced. They are tied for third overall in scoring by freshmen with 103 combined points, and Calgary Flames draft pick Emilio Pettersen is fourth in the country in points by a freshman with 29.
Denver will face Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes ended Denver’s season last year, defeating Denver’s loaded offensive squad 5-1 in the NCAA quarterfinals. Denver is 0-1 against the Buckeyes in the NCAA tournament. Carle feels the team can gain confidence from the Frozen Faceoff.
“We’ve been able, I think as a group, to reflect and learn quite quickly. We are one of the youngest teams in the country; I think we’re the third youngest. I think a huge reason for our success is our players’ ability to look in the mirror and to learn from their experiences and then to be apply quickly.”
— Candace Horgan
OHIO STATE
Season record: 20-10-5 (first, B1G)
Playoffs to this point: First-round bye in the B1G playoffs and a 5-1 semifinal loss to Penn State.
Top players: Mason Jobst (17-19—36), Tanner Laczynski (10-20—30), Ronnie Hein (11-10—21), Matt Miller (5-17—22, with four GWG)
Top goalie(s): Tommy Nappier (1.91 GAA, .934 SV%), Sean Romeo (2.58 GAA, .902 SV%)
Why they will advance to Buffalo: They’re a veteran team skilled on all sides of the puck, and if either Nappier or Romeo gets hot, they’ll be nearly impossible to beat.
Why they will not advance to Buffalo: They can be rattled. They’ve won two games in their last eight and their first game in the West Regional is only the fourth game they’ll have played in March, so they’re rusty.
For Ohio State, the NCAA tournament is a shot at redemption. In 2018, the Buckeyes lost a Frozen Four semifinal game to Minnesota Duluth. For a good stretch during this current season, the Buckeyes were among the top five teams in the country and were playing for a top seed in the NCAA tournament.
Then the Buckeyes hit a three-game losing streak in mid-February, with a sweep at the hands of Minnesota and a loss to Michigan. Then after capturing the regular-season Big Ten title and earning a bye week in the playoff tournament, Ohio State lost a B1G semifinal game to Penn State Mar. 17.
They’ve earned at an-large bid, but in their last eight games, the Buckeyes are 2-5-1. Now, said coach Steve Rohlik, the Buckeyes understand that opportunity may only knock once. “We set our goals” for the season, said Rohlik. “We met our first goal and we certainly didn’t come close to our second one there. We’ve got a chance here to reach the ultimate.”
Rohlik said that the Buckeyes have “a sour taste in their mouths” following the 5-1 playoff loss to the Nittany Lions. “That certainly wasn’t the best week of play and we’re thankful that we’ve got another chance to do something about it.”
Ohio State is making its third straight NCAA appearance, and senior captain Mason Jobst said that there’s a positive, cumulative effect on the team. “Experience means a lot at this time of year,” said Jobst, a Hobey Baker finalist. “That first year was pretty crazy. I think they called our region the ‘Region of Doom.’ It was like NoDak, BU and Duluth, and it was like, holy cow. We were kind of taken back, but the team’s pretty relaxed [now] and just excited to get there and get this show on the road.”
As the No. 3 seed in the West, the Buckeyes will face No. 2 Denver, the team they beat 5-1 in last year’s Midwest Regional final game. Rohlik said that Ohio State is only concerned with one team: Ohio State.
“Everybody’s so good at this time of year that it really doesn’t matter,” said Rohlik.” Everybody’s playing the best teams right now, so it’s no matter if you know anybody or don’t know anybody. We’ve just got to be focused on us right now. That’s the most important thing. We’ve got to play our game and show up and be the best we can be, and that’s going to give us our best chance.”
“It is one-and-done and for our senior class, especially,” said Jobst. “We’re going to be laying it all out there on the line and trying to lead by example, and hopefully the younger guys will follow and see how much this means to us and how desperately we don’t want to go home.”
— Paula C. Weston
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
Season record: 22-16-1 (18-9-1 in AHA; first place)
Playoffs to this point: Defeated Army West Point (quarterfinals), Robert Morris (semifinals) and Niagara (finals)
Top players: Blake Christensen (16-30-46), Martin Mellberg (9-16-26), Kyle Stephan (11-15-26)
Top goalie: Zackarias Skog (19-13-0, 2.75 GAA, .896 save percentage)
Why they will advance to Buffalo: Why not? AIC has defied expectations all season, becoming the first Atlantic Hockey team to win both the regular-season and playoff championship since 2012. And looking at the track record of Atlantic Hockey teams in this tournament (Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010 and 2015, and most recently Air Force, which won its opening game the past two seasons), you can’t afford to take the Yellow Jackets lightly.
Why they will not advance to Buffalo: The Yellow Jackets are the 16th seed and were 0-6 in non-conference games in the regular season. Granted, they faced some tough competition (Providence, Quinnipiac, Massachusetts, Arizona State), but that’s what they’ll see in the tournament.
It’s been a season of firsts and mosts for the American International Yellowjackets:
– First regular-season title
– First playoff title
– First trip to the NCAA tournament
– First time ranked in the USCHO.com poll (19th on March 4)
– Most wins (22)
– Most individual points (Blake Christensen (46))
– Most shutouts in a season (Zackarias Skog (4))
AIC made its top seed count, the only higher seed to win a quarterfinal series, and then bested Robert Morris and Niagara in the semifinals and finals, respectively, both in overtime.
Eric Lang, in his third season as head coach, has seen his team make leaps and bounds since taking the helm: eight wins in his first year, 15 last season (along with the first home playoff series in the school’s division I era), and now 22 and counting in 2018-19, along with a couple of banners to hang.
That said, Lang knows the challenge ahead in No. 1 St. Cloud State. The Yellow Jackets celebration of their first championship will be short.
“We can’t just be happy to be there”, he said of his team’s first NCAA appearance after its 3-2 overtime win over Niagara in the AHA title game. “If we are, we’ll be in trouble. We have to hit the reset button fairly quickly but I want our guys to enjoy this.”
The Yellow Jackets offense features its top line of league scoring champion and first-team all-conference Blake Christensen (46 points), Hugo Reinhardt (16 points, including the game-winner in overtime in the championship game) and Tobias Fladeby (25 points).
First-team all-conference defenseman Brennan Kapcheck (24 points) leads a blue line corps that includes Patrick Demel (17 points), Janis Jaks (14 points) and Ryan Polin (9 points). Jaks and Polin were named to the AHA all-tournament team.
In net, junior Zackaris Skog (2.75 GAA, .896 save percentage) assumed the staring duties in November and has four shutouts this season, a school record.
American International takes the “International” seriously, with players from Sweden, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, and Norway.
It’s been a winning formula so far for Lang and his staff, who now prepare for the biggest game in school history.
“We’ve got to be able to do what Air Force did last year,” he said. “We’ve got an obligation to our league to make sure we represent as well as we can.
“Furthermore, we want to win more hockey games. We don’t want this thing to end. We made a great memory here tonight, and we’re hoping to make a couple more.”
“We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing,” added senior captain Shawn McBride. “We’re at our best when we’re playing tough defensively and then capitalizing on our chances. We’ve got to take everything from this weekend and give it our best.”
— Chris Lerch
