The top two teams are left standing in the ECAC Northeast.
No. 1 seeded Curry opened the game with three unanswered goals and held off No.4 Becker 5-1 Wednesday night. Check out Melissa Wade’s photo gallery from the game here.
The game acted as senior night for the Colonels, after their original senior night game had to be postponed due to the team’s hospitalization following nitrous dioxide exposure at Johnson and Wales on Feb. 17. This is the second straight appearance in the title game for Curry, who beat JWU 5-4 last season to advance to the NCAA tournament.
They’ll be meet in the championship by No. 2 seed and last year’s regular season champion Wentworth, who beat third seeded Johnson and Wales 4-3 in overtime. Jeremiah Ketts scored two goals for the Wildcats, who were undone by Matthew Dozois’ goal at 6:07 in the extra period.
MASCAC
The semifinals are set to begin tonight, with No.6 Westfield State traveling to No. 2 Salem State at 7:00.
Top seeded Massachusetts-Dartmouth will host No. 4 Fitchburg State at 7:30.
The winners will advance to the conference championship, which is set for Saturday.
A little short on time today, but the plan is to have a full preview of both conference championships in the column tomorrow.
We knew it wouldn’t take long for the Penn State program to take shape, and we’re starting to see a little bit of that emerge, on multiple levels.
This week, we learned the names of two Nittany Lions recruits thanks to recruiting guru Chris Heisenberg: forward Jake Friedman of the Eastern Junior Hockey League’s South Shore Kings and goaltender Tim Carr of the EJHL’s New Hampshire Junior Monarchs.
We also heard definitive word, through the Wisconsin State Journal’s Andy Baggot, that Penn State has received permission to interview Wisconsin women’s coach Mark Johnson for its men’s head coach opening.
My thoughts: We will hear more names connected to Penn State, so let’s not jump to conclusions. That being said, Johnson would be a great person for the job, and I figured his name would be connected to the opening in some fashion. I think it will take a lot to get Johnson out of Madison (and I’m not talking about money), but the lure of being able to do for Penn State what his father, Bob, did for Wisconsin could be appealing.
Meanwhile, I had a chance to meet Joe Battista, Penn State’s associate athletic director for ice arena and hockey operations, a few weeks ago when he was checking out a Minnesota-Wisconsin game in Madison as part of his tour of facilities. He was carrying with him designs for the Pegula Ice Arena — named for the program’s lead donor — and it looks like it will be an impressive building along the lines of many newer college hockey arenas. A single tier for student seating behind the goal the opponents defend for two periods could be imposing if it turns out like the pictures depict.
So what does this all mean for the future of college hockey? I get the sense that we’re going to start to get those answers soon. People who will be impacted by the development of a Big Ten hockey league are starting to get a little antsy for definitive words on when that entity will come about.
Here are my impressions from talking to people involved in the process: The Big Ten will sponsor hockey (like it or not), and if I was forced to predict the season that it starts, I would say 2013-14. Not everyone is convinced of that, or whether it would be good for Penn State to be playing Big Ten hockey in its second season as a program, but I think that’s where things are trending.
The Pegula Ice Arena should be ready for play in September 2013, a year earlier than projected last September, when Penn State confirmed its plans to form varsity programs. At that time, the school said it would be joining a conference in the 2014-15 season, but that timeline seems to have accelerated along with the facility’s.
What does it mean for the rest of college hockey? That, my friends, is the ultimate “stay tuned” question.
While both the ECAC East and NESCAC conferences play out the semis and finals of their conference tournaments this weekend, there really are more differences than similarities in the pairings for the final four groupings. However, one thing in common is the presence of teams from the lower half of the brackets, including three in the NESCAC tournament and two in the ECAC East. Is it just a sign of very competitive leagues? That’s for sure, but what’s really certain is nobody is taking playing anyone for granted at this time of year, particularly two six seeds that have made their mark in recent weeks and carry that momentum into the postseason.
Southern Maine and Colby both knocked off teams that many expected to win last weekend on home ice. The upsets that took Massachusetts-Boston and Middlebury out of the playoffs most assuredly have confidence growing in the locker room and two teams ready to face their next significant challenge in the semifinals.
Jeff Beaney’s Huskies endured a long cold January filled with the flu, injuries, and changing their style of play to be ready for this time of year. So far, the adaptation has seemed to take for a team that hasn’t had anything come the easy way this season.
“We identified some things pretty early on with this team that were going to force us to make some changes from our usual style of play,” stated Beaney. “It is very difficult to change what you are doing during the course of a season, but we knew it would help us to be our most competitive at the most important time of the year, and at least thus far it’s holding up pretty well. We have had some key guys really banged up, which definitely hurt our offensive output. When you have a guy like Zach (Joy) battling nagging injuries all season and getting the kind of attention that a goal-a-game type guy gets, you are going to have to figure out how to get things done, and it may not be pretty.”
Certainly one very bright spot for the Huskies this season has been the play of junior defenseman Paul Conter, who leads the team in scoring. Conter constantly gets the attention of the opposition whenever he is on the ice, but has modified his game this season to be a more complete player in the Huskies system.
“Paul has probably had his best season this year,” noted Beaney. “It was obvious when he first got here that he had great offensive skills, so it’s no surprise that he continues to put up numbers. However, this year he has sacrificed some of those opportunities to be more at-home defensively and has really put the team first with his play; that includes things like blocking shots and being more conservative with the puck. He has had to pick-up some slack for some other guys that have been injured or struggled a bit this season, but he has been a strong leader and is a big reason we are still playing in March.”
The Huskies certainly know they have an uphill battle in facing the defending conference and national champions from Norwich on their home ice. So do they have to play the perfect game on Friday to move on? No, but probably pretty close.
“They are really talented and can play you anyway you want to play it”, remarked Beaney after watching film of the Cadets in preparation for the semifinals. “We do not want to get in a track meet with them and we don’t want to play a big physical game either. We are going to have to be smart, not give them short ice to play with and really be cognizant of areas not to turn the puck over to them. If we can do those things and get the type of goaltending that Braely (Torris) gave us last week, we just might play more than one game this weekend.”
On the other side, Norwich coach Mike McShane is very aware of what a good group or role players, a little “puck luck” and a hot goalie can do in a winner-takes-all scenario.
“We played them the very first weekend of the season,” noted Norwich coach Mike McShane. “A lot has changed since then, but in looking at the film, their first line is really strong and can cause a lot of problems for anybody. At this point in the season and for just one game, if you have a hot goalie, some strong checkers, and play without many mistakes, anyone can win a one-game playoff, so we are not taking anybody lightly with so much at stake this weekend.”
Many of the same conversations are being had over on the NESCAC side where, as coach McShane would say, “nothing really surprises me anymore.”
Wesleyan, Colby and Bowdoin represent the lower half of the bracket this weekend at host Williams, and any team that wins will relish in the delight of their first-ever NESCAC tournament championship. Yes there is a six seed in play on this side of the postseason as well, and Colby now has the added opportunity of knocking off their biggest rival in their pursuit of the NESCAC crown.
Back in December, Bowdoin and Colby played their annual home-and-home weekend with one game counting in the league standings and the second being played as a nonconference battle. Typically, the teams have split the weekend, but this year the Polar Bears took both games, so game number three is for much bigger stakes come Saturday afternoon.
While Bowdoin’s season started out strong, hit a speed bump for four or five games in February and bounced back again, Colby has steadily built their play after a terrible start to the season that saw them struggle for the first 10 games of the season. During the second half, the Mules have been one of the better teams in the conference and have seen their reputation as a trap team transformed into an opponent that many teams do not want to match up against with their depth, size and speed. Senior Billy Crinnion has been explosive in the second half in leading the Colby offense, along with steady contributions from a number of other players, including Michael Doherty, “Spike” Smigelski and Wil Hartigan.
Fellow Maine resident Jeff Beaney likes what he sees in the Mules and wouldn’t be surprised to see them playing for it all on Sunday.
“Jim’s team is playing a little different style this year and right now they are going pretty good. If Cody can keep it on track in goal, they are a team that can beat anybody over there in the final four. Add in the difficulty in beating a team three times in a single season, Colby might just have a lot of things going their way this weekend.”
Backstopping the Mules in goal has been the resurgence of senior Cody McKinney, who was a big part of the team’s second half success, as well as last week’s quarterfinal victory on the road over Middlebury by a score of 2-1. McKinney has had solid numbers for the Mules since January, and his continued strong performance in goal will be needed to stop a Bowdoin attack that averages nearly 4.5 goals per game.
Generally speaking, it is difficult to beat any team twice in one season, so three times may be a lot to ask of Bowdoin in this classical clash of traditional rivals. You can always throw out the records when these two play, and the last playoff match-up in Brunswick went Bowdoin’s way in an overtime thriller where Colby had several power plays and chances to win in the extra session. So what happens here? It’s going to be a lot of fun finding out.
So, the match-ups in the ECAC East find No. 1 Norwich hosting No. 6 Southern Maine and No. 2 Castleton playing No. 5 Babson on Friday afternoon and evening, with the championship game scheduled for Saturday night. In the NESCAC tournament, No. 1 Williams hosts No. 8 Wesleyan and No. 5 Bowdoin meets No. 6 Colby on Saturday afternoon, with the title game on Sunday.
Basically this weekend, anyone has a chance to win. Cliché yes, but do it right for 60 minutes, play your best game and execute with few mistakes and any team can fall by the wayside if they don’t meet the intensity or level of play of their opponent, regardless of seeding or record. The final four in any conference is always special, and this weekend the hockey is sure to be spectacular, with everything on the line for a chance to play a second game this weekend and not take the long walk to the dorm or longer bus trip back to campus. The season has flown by, and now everything teams have practiced and played for is on the line. Enjoy it, because it doesn’t, really doesn’t, get much better than this.
Here is a quick look at this weekend’s respective playoff championships in the Midwest, Minnesota and Northern collegiate hockey conferences. The winners in all three will get a ticket to the NCAA Division III Tournament, which starts March 9 with the first round. The Final Four takes place March 25-26 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn.
MIAC Championship Final, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5 No. 3-seed Concordia (Minn.) at No. 1-seed Hamline Records: Concordia (12-10-4); Hamline (15-6-5) Regular season series: Split 1-1: at Concordia (Hamline, 4-0, Feb. 18; Concordia, 7-4, Feb. 19) Leading scorers: Concordia — Nick Thielen (4 goals, 25 assists, 29 points); Hamline — Brian Arrigoni (16-17-33) Between the pipes: Concordia — Kelly Andrew (11-6-3, 2.81 goals-against, .904 save-percentage); Hamline — Beau Christian (13-4-3, 2.41 GAA, .922 save-pct.)
The Pipers are banking on a bevy of experience to carry them to a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title. No. 11-ranked Hamline was methodical in defeating Gustavus Adolphus, 3-0, in its semifinal last Saturday, with Jordan VanGilder, Brett Burgau and Brian Arrigoni netting goals while netminder and MIAC Co-Player of the Week Beau Christian turned away 36 shots in a shutout performance.
Hamline’s roster features eight seniors — including three-time All-American defenseman Chris Berenguer – and five juniors.
“One thing we do have is players where this is their sixth or seventh playoff game,” Pipers coach Scott Bell said. “For Beau Christian, this is his sixth playoff game, and he has played in a MIAC championship before (a 5-2 loss to Gustavus, March 4, 2009). So I don’t think nervousness is going to be a problem.”
Concordia upset No. 2-seed St. Thomas, 4-2, in its semifinal, with MIAC Co-Player of the Week Ben Payne scoring twice and freshmen netminder Kelly Andrew making 27 saves to ensure the win. The Cobbers entered the postseason having reversed a 1-5 start by going 11-5-4 in their last 20 games.
The Cobbers have one senior, Michael Weiss, who has seen limited playing time, and seven juniors, including leading-scorer Nick Thielen. Starting goalie Kelly Andrew, who made 27 saves in the playoff victory at St. Thomas, is one of a handful of freshman.
“My guys aren’t real fazed by any type of situation,” Concordia coach Chris Howe said. “So, I guess, maybe they don’t know any better. They are just going out and playing, because that is what they do.”
NCHA Peters Cup Final, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 5 No. 2-seed Wisconsin-Superior at No. 1-seed St. Norbert Records: UW-Superior (16-11-1), St. Norbert (21-4-1) Regular season series: St. Norbert, 2-1 (3-0, UW-Superior, Jan. 20; 5-4, St. Norbert, Jan. 21; and 3-0, St. Norbert, Feb. 4) Leading scorers: UW-Superior — Talon Berlando (11-14-25); St. Norbert — Johan Ryd (8-15-23) Between the Pipes: UW-Superior — Drew Strandberg (10-8-1, 2.25 GAA, .916 save-pct.); St. Norbert — B.J. O’Brien (18-2-1, 1.65 GAA, .927 save-pct.)
The Green Knights are ranked No. 1 in the nation for good reason. Sporadic losses only served as springboards for new winning streaks.
One of the team’s rare defeats though, came at Wisconsin-Superior, when the Green Knights were shutout, 3-0, Jan. 20. It marked the only time the Green Knights were blanked this season.
“We have a lot of history with Superior playing in big games, and I think this game is no different,” Green Knights coach Tim Coghlin said. “When we played them recently in our building, one of the talking points that I talked about with our guys is that I said I thought Superior was the best team we’ve seen this year.
“It’s no surprise, to me, it’s who we see in the championship.”
The No. 1-seed emerged from the bye week by comprehensively defeating Wisconsin-River Falls, 5-3, last Saturday. Kyle Stroh scored twice while goalie and NCHA Player of the Year B.J. O’Brien stopped 12 of 15 shots.
The No. 15-ranked Yellowjackets showed no effects from an uneven 4-6 run down the stretch, dismantling Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 4-2, at home Saturday. Tyler Klein scored the game-winner while freshman netminder Drew Strandberg stopped 31 of 33 shots including 14 in the third period.
“In the league preseason poll, we were picked sixth of seven teams, so maybe we’re an underdog, but we’ve played well the last three weeks and have used every bit of energy to extend our season.” UW-Superior coach Dan Stauber told the Duluth News Tribune this week. “We had a stretch of five straight losses (spanning January and February), but four of those were by one goal.”
MCHA Harris Cup Finals, Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6, Adrian College Arrington Ice Arena Semifinal, 2 p.m. Saturday No. 4-seed Lawrence at No. 1-seed Adrian Records: Lawrence (14-12-1), Adrian (21-3-1) Regular season series: Adrian 2-0 (4-3 and 3-1 at Lawrence Jan. 21-22) Leading scorers: Lawrence — Matt Hughes (13-15-28); Adrian — Shawn Skelly (16-20-36) Between the pipes: Lawrence — Evan Johnson (13-10-1, 2.90 GAA, .910 save-pct.); Adrian — Brad Fogal (21-3-1, 2.19 GAA, .921 save-pct.)
The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs are coming off a two-week layoff, having earned the top playoff seed and a bye.
The break came as Adrian was arguably playing its best hockey of the season, culminating in a two-game sweep over No. 9 Milwaukee School of Engineering by identical 3-1 scores Feb. 18-19. The team is unbeaten in its last 14 games (13-0-1), and is riding a 10-game winning streak.
There’s a sense of urgency among the squad’s veterans, which includes 17 seniors, Adrian coach Ron Fogarty said.
“With an older group, they realize it’s either one game left or five or six games,” said Fogarty, whose team has won four-consecutive regular season crowns and is ranked No. 2 behind St. Norbert in the NCAA D-III West Region.
“They sense the end is coming near. We’ve played really well the last couple of weeks.”
By contrast, Lawrence season’s fortunes have been mixed. The Vikings were 8-8 since Jan. 1, losing three of their last four to close out the regular season.
Lawrence bounced back by sweeping Northland, 2-1 and 3-1, in the quarterfinals last Friday and Saturday. Josh DeSmit scored the game-winner in both contests, while senior goalie Evan Johnson stopped 52 of 54 shots to earn the victories.
“We certainly have a group of young men who have a great passion and desire to be successful on the ice,” Lawrence coach Mike Szkodzinski said. “However, it seems there are times where we don’t bring our A-game. When we don’t bring our A-game, we are beatable. When we do bring our A-game, we can compete with a lot of people.”
Semifinal: 6 p.m. Saturday
No. 3-seed Milwaukee School of Engineering vs. No. 2-seed Marian Records: MSOE (21-5-1); Marian (18-7) Regular season series: MSOE 2-0 (4-2, at home Nov. 13; and 2-1, at Marian, Nov. 14) Leading scorers: MSOE — Jordan Keizer (23-14-37); Marian — Dakota Dubetz (14-31-45) Between the pipes: MSOE — Connor Toomey (18-5-1, 1.77 GAA, .930 save-pct.); Marian — Alex Bjerk (11-4, 2.16 GAA, .915 save-pct.) and Josh Baker (6-3, 2.74 GAA, .921 save-pct.)
The No. 9-ranked Raiders’ took a more circuitous route to the MCHA Final Four, having to sweep Lake Forest in the quarterfinals despite having the conference’s second-best record.
MSOE has remained ranked among the nation’s Top-15 D-III schools most of the season, and features one of the most prolific scorers in Jordan Keizer, who’s is tied nationally with Johnson and Wales’s Jeremiah Ketts for most goals with 23.
Connor Toomey’s superlative 1.77 goals-against is only second to St. Norbert’s B.J. O’Brien (1.65 GAA) as the nation’s best. The Raiders’ netminder is tied for first nationally with four shutouts while his .930-save percentage ranks fourth.
Marian has its own stars on the national charts. The sophomore talisman Dakota Dubetz’ 1.80 points-per game is tied for third nationally. His 31 assists rank second.
As a team, the Sabres reversed gears after enduring a four-game slump in November to finished the campaign by going 13-2. Marian started the season 5-1 with a 7-3 setback at then-No.10 Adrian being the lone blemish.
It’s not that this weekend’s games between Wisconsin and Colorado College never had anything on the line, but the series has taken on a whole new meaning since the end of January.
Scott Gudmandson and Wisconsin went through February without a win, leaving the Badgers needing three points in the final weekend to get home ice for the playoffs (photo: Michelle Bishop).
At that point, Wisconsin was amid a five-game winning streak and sitting in fourth place in the WCHA standings, four points behind first-place North Dakota and six points ahead of CC. Scott Gudmandson was a brick wall in front of the net and the offense was providing just enough to win.
Then, the opponents got a little more tough, Gudmandson began to let more pucks through, the offense didn’t improve and the Badgers finished a winless February. Wisconsin was swept out of Omaha and St. Cloud while Minnesota left Madison with three points.
The Tigers now lead the Badgers by a point, and the season finale series is now a showdown for home ice.
It’s a definite possibility these teams could meet up in next week’s first round of playoffs, this series could be the difference-maker on whether that’s in Colorado Springs or Madison. If fifth-place Minnesota keeps its hot streak going at Bemidji State and eighth-place St. Cloud State comes up empty at Denver, Wisconsin and CC will be alone on an island in the middle of the standings.
One CC win this weekend will clinch home ice for the Tigers. The Badgers need three points to gain home ice because Wisconsin would then own the tiebreaker. The first tie-breaking criteria is head-to-head competition, and this is the only series of the season between the teams.
In addition to the comfort of home ice in the playoffs, neither team wants to hit the road to begin the playoffs. CC hasn’t won a road game since it swept Michigan Tech and SCSU on the road in early December. Wisconsin has taken itself out of games in the last four road losses at Nebraska-Omaha and SCSU, getting outscored 18-9 with two garbage-time goals in the most recent loss to the Huskies.
Wisconsin’s goaltending situation, which was so positive in the fall with Gudmandson platooning with Brett Bennett, has gone sour. The Badgers stuck with Gudmandson when he got hot and allowed no more than two goals per game over a 13-game stretch going into February. He gave up seven goals in the UNO series, five to the Gophers on Feb. 18 and seven to SCSU last Saturday on 32 shots.
The Badgers need the offensive outbursts they got from Mark Zengerle in the beginning of the season. The one-time WCHA rookie of the week scored 19 points with seven multi-point games in the first 25 games of the season.
The defensive pairing of Jake Gardiner and Justin Schultz has been one of the constants for Wisconsin through wins and losses. Schultz has 15 points in the 12 games since WCHA play opened after the New Year. Gardiner has 12 points in that stretch. Saturday at SCSU was the first time since Jan. 14 that neither recorded a point.
The Badgers are going to win this series and home ice if Schultz and Gardiner continue their high productivity from the blue line. Wisconsin also needs to find stability in net, whether Gudmandson or Bennett starts. One wrong move could cost the Badgers the game, and remember, CC needs only two points to lock up the sixth spot.
CC will get that win if Wisconsin gives the Tigers too many power play opportunities. The Badgers’ penalty kill has been terrible the past six games (74 percent) and the CC power play is 6-for-18 with Jaden Schwartz back on its first unit. The freshman has assisted on four power-play goals and scored one in the four games since his return from a fractured ankle. He’s been on the ice for all six power-play goals.
Matchups at a glance
Here’s a look at the series on the final week of the regular season:
Last meeting: The teams split in November 2009 in Minneapolis.
Special teams: MINN — 21 percent PP (14th in nation), 76.8 percent PK (55th in nation). BSU — 20.2 percent PP (17th in nation), 79.9 percent PK (41st in nation).
Streaks: MINN 5-game unbeaten. BSU 2-game losing.
Goaltending: MINN — Kent Patterson (26 GP, 13-7-5, 2.49 goals-against average, .920 save percentage). BSU — Dan Bakala (25 GP, 11-11-3, 2.40 GAA, .920 save percentage).
Leading scorer: MINN — Jacob Cepis (12-17–29). BSU — Jordan George (15-17–32).
Last meeting: The teams split in November 2009 in Denver.
Special teams: SCSU — 18.1 percent PP (25th in nation), 83.8 percent PK (22nd in nation). DU — 19 percent PP (20th in nation). 86.6 percent PK (6th in nation).
Streaks: SCSU 2-game winning. DU 1-game winning.
Goaltending: SCSU — Mike Lee (27 GP, 10-11-4, 2.84 GAA, .906 save percentage). DU — Sam Brittain (25 GP, 14-6-5, 2.26 GAA, .922 save percentage).
Leading scorer: SCSU — Drew LeBlanc (13-26–39). DU — Drew Shore (21-20–41).
North Dakota at Michigan Tech
Records: UND — 24-8-3 (19-6-1 WCHA). MTU — 4-26-4 (2-22-2 WCHA).
Last meeting: UND swept MTU in March 2010 in Grand Forks.
Special teams: UND — 21.7 percent PP (10th in nation), 84 percent PK (15th in nation). MTU — 17 percent PP (35th in nation), 76.9 percent PK (54th in nation).
Streaks: UND 7-game unbeaten. MTU 3-game losing.
Goaltending: UND — Aaron Dell (32 GP, 23-6-2, 1.98 GAA, .918 save percentage). MTU — Kevin Genoe (21 GP, 3-15-2, 3.61 GAA, .893 save percentage).
Leading scorer: UND — Matt Frattin (27-15–42). MTU — Milos Gordic (15-6–21).
Last meeting: UMD beat UNO, 5-2, in October 2001 in Omaha.
Special teams: UNO — 18.1 percent PP (27th in nation), 84.2 percent PK (13th in nation). UMD — 21.6 percent PP (12th in nation). 81.8 percent PK (32nd in nation).
Streaks: UNO 1-game losing. UMD 2-game winless.
Goaltending: UNO — John Faulkner (34 GP, 19-11-2, 2.46 GAA, .912 save percentage). UMD — Kenny Reiter (22 GP, 9-5-5, 2.39 GAA, .912 save percentage) and Aaron Crandall (16 GP, 10-3-1, 2.79 GAA, .894 save percentage).
Leading scorer: UNO — Joey Martin (11-23–34). UMD — Jack Connolly (13-36–39).
Last meeting: The teams split in January 2010 in Colorado Springs.
Special teams: CC — 21.9 percent PP (9th in nation), 80.5 percent PK (37th in nation). UW — 22.8 percent PP (8th in nation). 80.2 percent PK (40th in nation).
Streaks: CC 2-game unbeaten. UW 6-game winless.
Goaltending: CC — Joe Howe (28 GP, 13-12-2, 3.08 GAA, .897 save percentage). UW — Scott Gudmandson (26 GP, 14-10-1, 2.25 GAA, .919 save percentage).
Leading scorer: CC — Tyler Johnson (20-17–37). UW — Justin Schultz (17-28–45).
Three of the four teams earning a bye in the Atlantic Hockey playoffs go into the postseason on a roll. Air Force, Connecticut and Holy Cross are hoping that the extra down time doesn’t cool them off:
• Air Force went 6-2-2 down the stretch, including 4-0 in its final two weekends, to leapfrog Niagara and Robert Morris and claim a bye.
• UConn has won three games in a row and five of its last six, including a bye-clinching sweep of American International last weekend. The Huskies’ three-game winning streak is their longest in three years.
• Holy Cross is on a school-record 11-game unbeaten streak (8-0-3) that dates to Jan. 21. The Crusaders broke the 31-year-old record last weekend with a win and a tie against Bentley.
Rochester Institute of Technology, the other bye team and regular season champion, has cooled off, going winless in its last three games. The Tigers’ 18-game home unbeaten streak in AHA play was snapped last Saturday in a 5-2 loss to Niagara.
Getting over it
Nathan Longpre and Robert Morris slipped to fifth in the Atlantic Hockey standings and have to play a first-round game (photo: Robert Morris Athletics).
Robert Morris went out to Air Force last weekend looking to make history on several fronts. Senior Nathan Longpre was poised to set the all-time career posts mark at the school (he did, scoring his 137th point on Friday) and he and teammate Denny Urban were about to set the school record for most games played (they both did, participating in their 135th games on Saturday).
But the big goal for RMU was to lock up second place overall and a first-round playoff bye. The Colonials needed two points to clinch, but were swept by the Falcons in a pair of 4-2 contests. As a result, Robert Morris tumbled all the way down to fifth place.
“[Air Force] got what they deserved, which is four points,” said RMU coach Derek Schooley. “And we got what we deserved. We got good goaltending by Brooks Ostergard but it wasn’t enough. We had chances in both games. We were leading 2-1 [on Saturday] with 10 minutes to go.”
Now, instead of a week off and a best-of-three series, the Colonials face a single-game elimination contest against Mercyhurst.
“We’ve played a lot of one-game knockouts. We know what we have to do,” said Schooley. “We’ve got to readjust. We haven’t been below third place all season but that’s over and everybody starts fresh. We have to be ready for our first playoff game.
“[Mercyhurst was] the only team to beat us at the Island Sports Complex this season, so we know we have to be ready. They’re a good team and it’s a tough matchup where the fifth-place team has to play the seventh-place team.”
Round one
Here’s your playoff outlook for the first round:
No. 6E American International at No. 3E Army
How they got here: AIC was looking to escape the AHA basement this season, but dropped seven of its last eight games, resulting in a last-place finish. Army was flirting with a bye, winning three of its last four games, but finished ninth overall but third in the East pod.
Outlook: This is a battle of the worst defense in the league (AIC) against the worst offense (Army). Army swept AIC two weeks ago, but the shots on goal in both games were fairly close, with the Black Knights having big second periods in both games.
Yellow Jackets player to watch: Sophomore Adam Pleskach leads the team in goals (12) and points (25).
Black Knights player to watch: Cody Omilusik is having another strong season at Army in his senior campaign. He’s got 18 goals and 31 points to date.
No. 5E Sacred Heart at No. 4E Bentley
How they got here: It’s been a rough season for the Pioneers, who managed to avoid last place with a win in their final game of the regular season. The Falcons had an outside shot at a bye, but managed a single win in their last five games.
Outlook: It’ll be interesting to see who starts in net for each team. Steven Legatto saw most of the action down the stretch for Sacred Heart, but senior Olivier St. Onge played well in the Pioneers’ final game. Bentley had gone with Kyle Rank for the past several games, but also went with a senior in its last home game — Joe Calvi, who earned a point against Holy Cross.
Pioneers player to watch: Junior Matt Gingera leads the team with 16 goals.
Falcons player to watch: Brent Gensler is making a bid for AHA rookie of the year with a team-leading 13 goals.
No. 6W Canisius at No. 3W Niagara
How they got here: Canisius was in the middle of the pack in the AHA all year, while Niagara’s dynamic duo of Paul Zanette and Bryan Haczyk had the Purple Eagles near the top of the standings throughout the season.
Outlook: The Western New York rivals meet for the fourth time this season and the third time in their last five games. Niagara leads the all-time series 14-7-1, including 2-1 this season. The Purple Eagles’ goaltending was a little inconsistent down the stretch, but both Cody Campbell and Chris Noonan played well against RIT last weekend. The Griffs had trouble scoring goals earlier this month, but broke out in a big way against Niagara with a 6-3 win on Feb. 19.
Golden Griffins player to watch: Senior Cory Conacher has broken all the major career scoring records at Canisius. His 22 goals is more than twice as much as any other Golden Griffins player this season.
Purple Eagles player to watch: Paul Zanette was the AHA player of the month for February and leads the nation with 29 goals.
No. 5W Mercyhurst at No. 4W Robert Morris
How they got here: The Colonials were at or near the top of the standings for most of the season, but a sweep at the hands of Air Force in the final weekend of the regular season dropped them from second to fifth place. The Lakers have just one win in their past six games, but it was in their final game of the regular season.
Outlook: Mercyhurst was the only team to beat Robert Morris at the Island Sports Center this season. Since then, RMU is 8-0-2 on home ice. The teams were 1-1-1 head-to-head.
Lakers player to watch: Senior goaltender Ryan Zapolski has played in 28 games so far this season, posting a .921 save percentage.
Colonials player to watch: Senior defenseman Denny Urban has 39 points this season, tops among AHA blueliners.
Close proximity
The AHA wanted to decrease travel in the first round of the playoffs with its “pod” system, and it’s had the desired effect. The four first-round games on tap are between teams very close distance-wise.
• Canisius at Niagara: 20 miles
• Mercyhurst at Robert Morris: 125 miles
• Sacred Heart at Bentley: 135 miles
• AIC at Army: 125 miles
In an alternate reality (known as the ECAC or the WCHA), the Atlantic Hockey playoff picture would look quite different. Like the AHA, both the ECAC and WCHA have 12 teams, and everyone makes the playoffs.
The WCHA’s final six isn’t really an option (and I don’t like it anyway), but the ECAC’s setup would be fairer. The top four teams get byes and seeds five through 12 play down.
Using that system, the matchups would be:
• No. 12 AIC at No. 5 Robert Morris
• No. 11 Sacred Heart at No. 6 Connecticut
• No. 10 Bentley at No. 7 Mercyhurst
• No. 9 Army at No. 8 Canisius
OK, a lot more travel, but a fairer system. Making the fifth- and seventh-place teams face each other in a single-elimination game while the sixth-place team has a bye and the 10th-place team gets a home game hurts the league’s credibility.
The quarterfinals will go back to a straight standings-based seeding, but that means that either Robert Morris or Mercyhurst will be gone while two teams that finished ninth through 12th will survive. UConn, which has a bye, will not get a home quarterfinal series unless Niagara and Robert Morris both lose.
All Notre Dame needed to capture the regular-season title was a win at home. Heading into last weekend’s games, the Fighting Irish were a point ahead of Michigan in the CCHA standings. Friday night, Notre Dame beat Western Michigan in Kalamazoo while the Wolverines kept pace by beating Northern Michigan in Marquette.
Kevin Lynch and Michigan won the CCHA regular season title by sweeping at Northern Michigan while Notre Dame lost the home finale against Western Michigan (photo: Erica Treais).
When the season was over, though, the Irish were two points behind the Wolverines, because ND lost at home to WMU, 2-0, and UM beat NMU on the road again.
After the loss, Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson credited a tough opponent. “They wanted fourth place more than we wanted first place,” Jackson told the South Bend Tribune.
The Irish weren’t the only team to prove that home ice was no advantage. The Wildcats lost twice at home. The Buckeyes — who could have claimed a bye spot — lost five of six points to the Bulldogs at home. The Lakers lost two at home.
The only team that took care of business on its own ice was Michigan State. The Spartans swept Bowling Green in a series that did not affect the standings one bit; because Ohio State earned a point last Thursday, neither MSU nor BGSU could finish anywhere but where they were when they started their series.
A look at the final points is as good an argument for parity as any I’ve ever heard from a league that throws the word around frequently enough: two points between first and second; four points between second and third. Six points — two games — separate Nos. 4 and 7.
Makes me wonder how much home ice is going to matter in the first-round series.
For some people, exceptional isn’t good enough
MSU coach Rick Comley is an exceptional guy.
He’s a great family man. That’s drawn criticism from Spartans fans who faulted him for keeping regular hours at the rink in order to spend time with his family.
He’s a great coach. Among his many accomplishments, he won MSU a national championship in his fifth year as head coach — and that’s as many NCAA titles as Ron Mason brought to East Lansing.
He’s a class act. He’s always easy to interview, someone reporters want to spend time with — as much for his sincerely warm personality as his huge breadth of hockey knowledge.
What he isn’t, though, is disingenuous. He’s frank, direct, he doesn’t lack diplomacy, but people are quick to jump to conclusions that fit their own agenda when he speaks.
After Friday’s win over Bowling Green, Comley was asked — yet again — to reflect on his career coming to an end, and what he said was taken completely out of context.
“I keep saying this — and I mean this with no disrespect to Michigan State or anything — it’s not leaving Michigan State,” said Comley, “it’s the fact that there’s going to come a point here in a couple weeks when college hockey will be over. I’m a college hockey guy, not a Michigan State guy. That’s been obvious since the first day I got here.”
I was there. I got it immediately. The man’s been around college hockey his entire adult life, not just his nine years in East Lansing. He’s retiring from something that has defined the entire arc of his professional life, the bulk of his waking hours, and he’s doing it sooner than he’d like.
Perhaps predictably, there were people who took his comments the wrong way. I’m not entirely certain that there weren’t reporters who didn’t misconstrue his comments — and his last games in East Lansing brought plenty of people who aren’t exactly regulars in Munn Ice Arena.
So, after Saturday’s win, Comley felt the need to clarify a few things.
“Last night I made a comment that I’m a college guy more than I’m a Michigan State guy,” said Comley. “I don’t mean that. I want everybody to understand what I mean. I think of myself in a broad term. I’m really proud to have been at Michigan State. There are great memories. It’s a great institution. It’s a big, big part of my career, but I’ve got respect for all three schools that I’ve been at, so when I described myself as a college guy, it’s in no way intended to be a non-Michigan State guy. You know what I mean?
“I don’t know who last night, but somebody took exception to it. I’m trying to tell you in all honesty that I can tell you.
“One of the issues is that this has gone on and on. People want you to reflect. It’s not reflect just on the nine years [at Michigan State], so it kind of all gets capsuled. Please understand, this has been a very important nine years for me.”
It’s hard to get an audience to understand you when the audience has such a narrow filter. Comley even had to clarify a few things about the tie he wore on Friday night. It was a beauty. I remember diagonal purple stripes — wide stripes — but I think I’ve blocked out the rest. Comley explained that the tie was a gift from his granddaughter, Katie.
“Katie bought this for me for Christmas,” said Comley. “Her dad tried to talk her out of it, but she said, ‘No.’ I came downstairs before I came to the rink and she said, ‘Oh, Papa, I love your tie.’ So this is a Katie tie.”
When I remarked that video wouldn’t do the tie justice, Comley laughed and said, “No, not justice.”
That very tie was at the root of something else Comley felt compelled to clarify after Saturday’s win.
“I wore a tie last night that was a Christmas tie from my granddaughter,” said Comley, “so after the game a certain sports director said, ‘Look how happy Coach Comley is, giving me the thumbs-up.’ Well, who I was giving the thumbs-up to was Katie in the press box and I showed her the tie. So, yes, I enjoyed the win but …”
Comley and the press corps laughed. There was no need for him to finish his sentence.
For some folks, it’s not enough for someone to prove an exceptional class act on his way out of town. No, some would like to see the person on the receiving end of the bum’s rush reply with, “Thank you! May I have another?”
And clarification about another coach
Last week, I inadvertently ruffled feathers when I reported an offhand remark that Michigan captain Carl Hagelin made following UM’s 5-4 OT win over Western Michigan on Feb. 19. In my picks blog, I said that Hagelin had been told by Broncos’ head coach Jeff Blashill that WMU would get a win — helping out the Wolverines — against Notre Dame.
Blashill contacted me to tell me that he’d never talked to Hagelin. OK. So the reporter that I got the paraphrase from checked his post-game notes, and it turned out that Blashill was identified. The exact quote is this: “Talked to the Western coach and he said they’re going to get a win next weekend.”
As it turns out, this did transpire in the handshake line, but it was assistant coach Rob Facca — the most outgoing, funniest, exuberant and best-dressed guy in college hockey — who uttered the line, according to Matt Trevor, the assistant athletic media relations director at UM who handles hockey.
I apologize to Blashill — a total gentleman when he called — for the mix-up, and I appreciate his contacting me to set the record straight. It was a really nice moment after an intensely emotional game. The comment in the line, Hagelin sharing it in the spirit in which it was intended, Blashill’s phone call, Trevor clarifying — it all shows you how collegial this league is.
Girl Reporter awards, Part 2
Ladies and gentlemen, there’s a new decision regarding the award for Best Offensive Goalie. Last week, I said that MSU’s Drew Palmisano edged out UM’s Shawn Hunwick for this hardware, but I failed to take into account WMU’s Jerry Kuhn.
In fact, Jerry Kuhn is our Best Offensive Goalie for the 2010-11 season, having averaged .043 points per game. Palmisano averaged .040 PPG, and Hunwick .037.
Having examined all the stats again, however, I realize that I’ve missed a category deserving of an award: Most Penalized Goaltender.
With four penalties for eight minutes, Drew Palmisano is the inaugural Girl Reporter Most Penalized Goaltender. Henceforth — or until someone draws more than eight minutes — his name will grace this award, too.
Aniket Dhadphale Garbage Man Memorial Award
My plea for help with this award brought a lot of e-mail from Buckeyes fans about OSU senior Sergio Somma. With 10 power-play goals, Somma leads the league in the category and is tied for sixth in the nation. Most of these, I’m assured, have been of the trash-picking variety.
Congratulations, Sergio Somma!
Mike Comrie Most-Likely-to-Leave-Early Memorial Award
This year, there is a dearth of drafted, ready-to-go-pro talent among the underclassmen in the CCHA, so this one was hard. I had one nomination from a Nanooks fan, but I’m not sure the person nominated is someone likely to leave.
My pick is the player I was leaning toward last week: Bowling Green’s Jordan Samuels-Thomas. The sophomore from Windsor, Conn., has eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 31 games — three fewer goals and seven fewer total points than he had his rookie season in 35 games. He’s certainly a better team player this season than he was last year, but he still needs to work on his skating.
So why do I think he’s bound for glory? Because of Bowling Green. I think coach Chris Bergeron is doing an excellent job with what he inherited there, but that program has quite a way to go and the Atlanta Thrashers, who own the rights to Samuels-Thomas, may decide that he’d develop better somewhere else.
Ballot
My vote this week:
1. Boston College
2. North Dakota
3. Yale
4. Michigan
5. Denver
6. Union
7. Notre Dame
8. Merrimack
9. Miami
10. New Hampshire
11. Nebraska-Omaha
12. Minnesota-Duluth
13. Western Michigan
14. Maine
15. Rensselaer
16. Boston University
17. Colorado College
18. Minnesota
19. St. Cloud State
20. Wisconsin
Friday …
… I’ll preview the first-round CCHA series in my blog.
Psst … it’s time. Wake up, grab some coffee and find your sweater: It’s the postseason, and everybody is back to square one.
Crimson climbing fast
Who’s the hottest team in the league entering the playoffs?
Eric Kroshus and Harvard climbed from last place to the 10th spot in the playoff bracket by playing some of their best hockey of the season down the stretch (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
If you said Union, you’re totally right. On a 10-0-1 run, the Dutchmen are just stupid-good right now. But if you said Harvard, you wouldn’t be far off the mark. (Or you peeked at the section’s headline. Clever you.)
The Crimson is 5-1-1 in its last seven games, and only Union and Yale (6-1-1) enter the postseason on bigger rolls. Dead last only two weeks ago, Harvard is optimistic that the proper pieces have finally — if belatedly — fallen into place.
“There was a time when we just had to take responsibility for our record, but really say, ‘Hey, let’s try to regroup here, get ourselves playing the best hockey we can possibly play heading into the playoffs,'” said coach Ted Donato. “I think that’s what we did. The guys have responded. We’ve played good hockey for almost a month and a half now.”
The coach indicated an unlikely turning point for his team: a road sweep in the Capital District six weeks ago in which the Crimson scored only three goals.
“I think it was the weekend that we played at RPI and Union,” he said of the season’s pivotal weekend. “We actually lost both games — we lost at RPI 3-2 but outshot them 18-3 in the third period, and I think the shots were like 38-16 — and I think that even in a losing effort, we felt like maybe we had discovered something about how we needed to play. Then we came out the next night and played a very tough game against Union, and we had the lead until they tied it with about 10 minutes to go and then they won it with about a minute and a half to go, something like that.
“Those were two teams that were playing very well, they were two of the best teams in the country at home, and we went up there and played very well and we felt that we were getting the shots and getting the chances, and the puck just wasn’t going in the net. We had to find a way to create some more goals, some more offense. We were able to get our power play going, and it’s helped.”
Since that point, the Cambridge club is 6-4-1 and scored 30 goals despite being shut out at Yale and against Northeastern in the Beanpot opener.
“We’ve really battled to the front of the net, got some traffic there, got some pucks there, and maybe got away from trying to pass the puck into the net, so to speak,” Donato said. “We’re really trying to get to the dirty areas, to get more opportunities — to get pucks there, but also to get people there for rebounds. I think our power play has certainly been a big part of that as well.”
That power play is 11 for its last 35, scoring in five of Harvard’s last seven games, including 3-for-5 at Princeton and 3-for-4 at Cornell — both wins.
Team captains Michael Del Mauro and Chris Huxley and alternate Kyle Richter have been strong enough to keep the team steadily working in the face of massive disappointment.
“They did a great job in the face of adversity,” Donato said. “They kept the guys focused, they kept the attitude and the atmosphere in the locker room positive, and I think ultimately they created an environment that allowed us to have a little surge here at the end.”
The coach, captains and the rest of the team know that it’s in a funny place right now: A bottom-four team on a notable hot streak, traveling to one of the most remote venues in the league to play a Clarkson team it just beat seven days prior for a best-of-three, standings-out-the-window second season.
“It’s a brand new season,” Donato said. “We don’t have to lament on the fact that our regular season wasn’t where we wanted it to be. On the other side of it, it’s a whole new start for everybody. We’re playing on the road against a team that’s good at home, and it’s a long road to get to where we want to get to, but our guys are excited about the opportunity.”
One Crimson player who hasn’t been hungry for points is junior Alex Killorn, though I’m sure he’d love a few more, now and in the near future. With six goals in seven games and a league-high 4.62 shots per game this year, Killorn is a guy you just can’t keep off the puck.
“Alex continues to take his game higher and higher,” Donato said. “He’s a guy that we know every night’s going to be a concern for the other team. He’s got some physical tools, in his strength and size, but really his work ethic at both ends of the rink is something to me that has improved since the day he arrived, and even since the beginning of the season.
“I give him a lot of credit; I think he has been a big part of our surge at the end here. Every night, Alex is one of the best players in the game.”
One of Killorn’s greatest assets isn’t even part of his skill set — it’s sophomore teammate Danny Biega, a young blueliner with an eye for the flashing red light. A front-runner for ECAC Hockey’s defenseman of the year award (even if they call it the “defensive” defenseman of the year), Donato has even higher hopes for the third Biega through his system.
“To be honest with you, who knows how it’ll play out, but … you could make a case that [Biega] is the player of the year. If you look at the conference stats — which is really the only measuring stick, since we play less games than Union or RPI — first of all, I’m not sure when the last time was that a defenseman led his team in scoring. He was one of the league leaders in game-winning goals … he was probably [involved in] about 45 percent of our team scoring this season.
“From a points-per-game [standpoint], the percentage of the team’s offense, leading the team in scoring, the number of goals, the number of points, the number of game-winning goals, you can make a case that he could be player of the year. I understand that when your team finishes lower, you definitely get the short end of the stick, but to me, he absolutely should be the defenseman of the year. I don’t want to slight anybody else by that, but we certainly feel that way.”
As far as last weekend’s gut-check victory over the Golden Knights in Boston, Donato doesn’t see much point in reading between the lines.
“It gives us something to utilize, as far as a measuring stick, but we also recognize that it’s completely different,” he said. “We start from scratch. Clarkson gets to play from home. We won 3-1 with an empty-netter, and those kinds of games can go either way.
“But we’re excited about how we’re playing, and really our focus from here forward is to go out and play our game and dictate the way we want to play, and we have confidence that if we play that way, we’ll be able to find success. We have a great deal of respect for Clarkson, and the game we played this weekend — while it’s great to our confidence — it really has no bearing on the upcoming series.”
First-round ruminations
I’d make predictions, but where’s the fun in that? Gotta be patient and wait for my Friday picks!
No. 12 Colgate at No. 5 Rensselaer
The teams split 2-1 decisions, each losing at home. Colgate finished the season 4-2-1; RPI, 1-4-1 … not at all what we would’ve imagined a month ago. The Engineers had 18 goal-scorers in conference play this season, but would you believe that the Raiders had 17 of their own? While the ‘Tute is clearly the favorite in this matchup, it’s worth noting that the ‘Gate’s team defense has been better than its season average in five of its last seven games, while the Engineers offense has failed to meet its season average in 10 of its last 14 contests.
No. 11 St. Lawrence at No. 6 Princeton
The Tigers struck up a little mid-season sizzle with a 14-3-1 run between November and January, and it pretty much carried them into a home series despite a 4-6-1 ECAC record at Baker Rink. The run included 5-1 and 5-3 wins over SLU, as the Saints had pretty much nothing resembling any kind of streak whatsoever — SLU won consecutive league games only once, in a weekend home sweep of Cornell and Colgate in the first week of November. It may come down to a battle between rookies: The Saints’ Greg Carey against Princeton’s Andrew Calof and Sean Bonar. All three have been standouts this year.
No. 10 Harvard at No. 7 Clarkson
Nothing more to say about Harvard, except to mention that — to no one’s surprise, I’d imagine — senior Ryan Carroll is Donato’s default starting netminder, having won five straight starts with 12 goals against and a .933 save percentage during the streak. Clarkson looked like a serious contender until the holiday break threw ‘Tech off track: Once winners of six of seven, the Golden Knights lost 12 of 17 second-half tilts, allowing four goals or more 11 times, but scoring twice or less 10 times. Not good for the ol’ win-loss ratio.
No. 9 Brown at No. 8 Quinnipiac
Like so many of Quinnipiac’s opponents this season, Brown enjoyed a tie against the Bobcats. Twice, in fact. QU wrapped up the scheduled season 0-0-3, but looking farther back, you could say they were 0-3-5 before the closing bell … or, for that matter, 3-3-6, or 6-4-7, with nine overtime contests out of their last 15. In other words, they tied a lot. I suppose it’s a testament to their maturing defense and goaltending that the Q-Cats managed three points out of their last six games, seeing as they failed to score three goals in any of them, but goaltending — specifically sophomore Eric Hartzell — has been a pretty consistent strength for the Q all season long. Bruno was the league’s darling little rugrat at Thanksgiving, starting the campaign 3-2-3 and having just tied New Hampshire and Boston University on the road, but ended the season on a 7-12-2 slide. With top scorer Jack Maclellan out, that puts a lot of pressure on the much-discussed Harry Zolnierczyk to score more than he slashes (or trips, or charges, or cross-checks, or hooks …) in the postseason.
Player of the year
Thank you for your patience … so who will it be? Our devoted pack of amateur voters clearly favors Polacek, but do the numbers back that up?
RPI’s superstar actually finished tied with Yale’s Andrew Miller atop the league scoring ladder with 27 points in 22 games apiece, but beat the younger Miller in goals with 11. Miller blew Polacek out of the water with a plus-12 league plus/minus rating to Polacek’s meager plus-4, and spent less time in the sin bin (20 minutes for Polacek, 12 for Miller).
What of Brian O’Neill and Daniel Carr? Well, O’Neill finished third in the scoring hunt to the aforementioned duo with 12 goals and 25 points, sported a plus-11 rating and scored more power-play goals (six) than either Polacek (five) or Miller (four). Rookie Carr finished the regular season with 11 league goals, 16 points and six power-play goals as well, but managed only a plus-1 plus/minus in ECAC action.
Should we really knock out either Miller or O’Neill just because they’re teammates? Can the second-best player on one team actually be the second-best player in the league? Of course he can. So who should go? I’d say Carr is the obvious first cut, despite his outstanding season: His plus/minus just doesn’t indicate that he is an elite two-way player on a dominant team.
So how do we decide between Polacek and the Yalies? Well, we’ll have to flesh it out. Polacek accounted for about 15 percent of RPI’s points this season, both in and out of conference. Miller and O’Neill each made up a little more than a tenth of the Bulldogs’ production — between 11 and 12 percent, to be more specific. Polacek’s goals also comprised a larger percentage of his team’s total than Miller’s or O’Neill’s.
I will choose this point in the debate to say that I’d love to throw out all second assists and judge players by their true goal-scoring and play-making abilities, but I’m afraid that would just take way too long, so we’ll go with what we’ve got.
What we’ve got in the end is two players who may very well diminish each other’s achievements simply by playing together, though they combine to strengthen an indisputably intimidating team, and one player who doesn’t look as worthy head-to-head, but has meant significantly more to his team than either of the other two.
So my vote for player of the year — both here and to ECAC Hockey — goes to Chase Polacek of Rensselaer. The sincerest good luck to him and all other ECACers in the month ahead: May you bring back an award far more precious than anything I could come up with for a weekly column.
We’re almost at the point of handing out postseason awards (see below). Before I even think of a player or coach who deserves an award, I think we have to recognize the folks at the Hockey East office who have, once again, assembled a schedule that will allow the league regular-season championship to be played out on the ice.
Boston College needs better than a split to overtake New Hampshire for the Hockey East title (photo: Melissa Wade).
For the second straight year, Boston College and New Hampshire will face off in the final weekend series. The teams are separated by one point atop the league standings in what has turned into a two-horse race. The Wildcats have 38 points; the Eagles have 37. BC will host UNH on Friday night before traveling to Durham the next night.
Seriously, you couldn’t draw this up better with a crystal ball.
It’s been quite some time since UNH and BC played. The two squared off on Nov. 5, when Matt DiGirolamo made 31 saves in a 2-1 road win for the Wildcats. At that point in the season both clubs had unanswered questions.
Both teams had started slow by their own standards. UNH used that weekend as a springboard to success. BC stumbled in that game and then didn’t put things together completely until a month later when it swept BU.
But as we move into the final weekend of the regular season, both teams are playing very good hockey. The Eagles’ only loss in their last 11 was against a reinvigorated Northeastern team two weeks ago. UNH had a bump in the road a few weeks ago against Merrimack, but otherwise has been chugging along with consistent hockey.
Both teams admit, though, that after a long season they’re more than happy to be in a battle for the league title in the final weekend.
“It’s a unique situation that in the last weekend of the season we’ll determine where the trophy is going to go,” said BC coach Jerry York. “It’s been a long time since we’ve won the regular season.
“We acknowledge the fact we’re in a pennant race. We’ve held serve [to date] in the race and have played ourselves out of it. We’re excited by it.”
“It’s pretty exciting,” said UNH coach Dick Umile. “Here you are at the end of a long season, a very competitive one. And it comes down to the final game.”
Umile also acknowledges that the two teams are very different clubs since the Nov. 5 matchup.
“We’re a better team than we were then,” said Umile. “Kids have gotten better and improved. I’m sure Jerry [York] could say that about his guys.”
While many had high expectations for the Eagles coming off a national title and returning most key contributors, not as many were confident in New Hampshire. The Wildcats entered the season with a solid top offensive line that has performed to expectations, but untested depth, particularly in goal.
Though Umile isn’t overly surprised in his team’s success, he’s extremely pleased at the way things have come together over the past five months.
That begins in net with DiGirolamo, who was relegated to limited work heading into this season but proved his worth from the get-go and has led the Wildcats into the position they are in.
“You have to give [DiGirolamo] credit. He’s been tremendous,” said Umile. “He’s been so consistent all season and has given us an opportunity every night to win.”
While a regular season title will be the focus of both teams, UNH also has an additional concern for this weekend, and that’s solidifying its footing in the PairWise Rankings. The Wildcats struggle at times out of league and are much closer to the bubble than is comfortable for the team that perennially is a postseason contender.
“A win against a Boston College will help us tremendously [in the PairWise],” said Umile. “We need to win some more hockey games to solidify that we’re going to get to the NCAA tournament.”
For now, though, most everyone will be focused on the games at hand. Friday’s game will be televised on NESN Plus, as the Red Sox-Yankees spring training game will be on NESN — beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST.
And definitely get ready for some great hockey for, once again, this Hockey East race is the one to watch!
End-of-season hardware
With just a week left in the regular season, I’m going to go ahead and cast my vote for some of the key league awards. Understand, these are my selections solely and don’t reflect the opinion of my counterpart, Dave Hendrickson (maybe he’ll share his selections with you next week!).
So here we go:
Player of the year: Paul Thompson, New Hampshire
Runners-up: Joe Cannata, Merrimack; Gustav Nyquist, Maine; John Muse, Boston College
This honestly was the most difficult of the major awards for me to pick, as I think any of the four players I mentioned above can win the award. To me, Thompson was the offensive spark plug on a talented top line for the Wildcats. He did a great job of filling Bobby Butler’s shoes and is a major reason that the Wildcats are playing for the league title this weekend.
Rookie of the year: Charlie Coyle, Boston University
Runners-up: Brodie Reid, Northeastern; Michael Pereira, Massachusetts
Coyle lived up to all expectations for the Terriers and was consistent in his offensive production throughout the season. I think that Reid’s impact on Northeastern was strong but when it came down to it, Coyle to me is the rookie who made the biggest impact in league play.
Coach of the year: Mark Dennehy, Merrimack
Runner-up: Tim Whitehead, Maine
This award, to me, isn’t even a race. I think what Whitehead has done down the stretch to get his team tuned up for the playoffs is impressive, but Dennehy’s team has consistently achieved greatness throughout the year, reaching a number of major program milestones along the way.
All-Hockey East first team
G: Joe Cannata, Merrimack
D: David Warsofsky, Boston University
D: Brian Dumoulin, Boston College
F: Paul Thompson, New Hampshire
F: Cam Atkinson, Boston College
F: Gustav Nyquist, Maine
All-Hockey East second team
G: John Muse, Boston College
D: Blake Kessel, New Hampshire
D: Jeff Dimmen, Maine
F: Stephane Da Costa, Merrimack
F: Wade MacLeod, Northeastern
F: Brian Gibbons, Boston College
All-rookie team
G: Dan Sullivan, Maine
D: Adam Clendening, Boston University
D: Anthony Bitetto, Northeastern
F: Charlie Coyle, Boston University
F: Brodie Reid, Northeastern
F: Michael Pereira, Massachusetts
The Minnesota Boys’ Hockey State Tournament has long been regarded as one of the top prep tournaments in the country. The girls’ tourney, first conducted by the Minnesota State High School League in 1995 and moved to St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center in 2006, is still evolving.
Edina High School head coach Laura Slominski has a unique perspective on the state tournament. She competed in it as a player during her career at Burnsville High School, culminating in her winning the Ms. Hockey award as the state’s top senior in 1998, scouted it while an assistant coach at St. Cloud State and Minnesota, and has now led her Hornets to three straight tournament appearances.
“I think that it’s been fun to see the progression of the state tournament,” said Slominski. “Back when I played in it, there were only four teams, and rightfully so, because there were probably only four quality teams. One of the big changes has been that they’ve gone to the two classes and eight teams in each.”
Edina and Slominski opened the Class AA tournament against a Rosemount team coached by Tracy (Engstrom) Cassano.
“What a small world, right?” Slominski said. “We played together for four years at the U of M and had so many great memories together. We were even roommates for a while.”
As intriguing as coaching match-ups may be, it is the players that fans turn out to see. The first girls’ quarterfinal round I witnessed 11 years ago featured Krissy Wendell and Natalie Darwitz in successive games. While participants in this year’s tournament may not be months away from centralizing with the U.S. national team as those two were, there is no shortage of future college talent. Among the 16 rosters are 20 players who have committed to Division I college programs.
Rosemount featured forwards Allison Micheletti (Providence) and Rachael Kelly (Bemidji State), while Edina countered with defenseman Greer Vogl (Vermont) and forwards Sami Reber (Harvard) and Christie Brauer (Connecticut).
“One big strength we have coming into the tournament is two-thirds of our team has been here at least once, and one-third has been here twice,” Slominski said before the game. “I think the experience is huge, and hopefully we can take advantage of that early on and get on them right away so that their excitement doesn’t outweigh our experience.”
She proved prophetic, as Edina, seeded second in the eight-team bracket, jumped to an early lead on their way to a 6-0 victory.
“We have a lot of younger girls; none of us have ever been here in this situation before,” Micheletti said. “Some people might have been a little star-struck by the big ice, all the people that were there. And what we really needed to do was come out flying like we can.”
“Being a senior and our third trip back here, all everyone has ever dreamed about is to win a high school state championship as a high school player,” Reber said.
Similar plots played out throughout the first round of AA action. Sometimes, the less-experienced team triumphed. Usually, the team with greater depth of talent won. The one upset in the bracket occurred in the second game, when unseeded Hill-Murray knocked off the No. 3 seed, Lakeville South.
Lakeville forward Morgan Fritz-Ward and goaltender Chelsea Laden have signed with Quinnipiac University. Perry Wilkinson, their coach, says the success of the college-bound pair has had an impact on other players.
“They pick up their habits and realize how hard they work,” he said. “They get to talk to them about what they do off-ice and how they focus mentally. I just think when you have that type of talent around everyone else, it makes them decide either yes, I want to work that hard and be that good, or I’m content being the varsity third-liner.”
Hill-Murray captain Hannah Brandt starred for the U.S. U-18 team at the World Championships in January, including a four-point effort in the gold-medal victory over Canada. The junior has verbally committed to Minnesota.
“Hannah was pretty excited to get that out of the way,” said Hill-Murray coach Bill Schafhauser. “To be a player at the ‘U’ for her was a big dream. It does take a lot of the constant contact from coaches and scouts and things like that, and kind of puts it on the backburner, and she can just focus on being a kid and a high school player and enjoying the time she has with us.”
When Lakeville South scored the game’s first goal on a power play, her line stormed back on the next shift and got the equalizer. Brandt took over in the second period, scoring on an unassisted breakaway and assisting twice as Hill-Murray built a 4-1 lead and held on to win 4-3.
“She’s a ridiculously good player,” Wilkinson said. “She anticipated a lot of the things that our ‘D’ were going to do before they had done it.”
In the evening session, the top seed Minnetonka Skippers shut down the Elks of Elk River/Zimmerman, 3-0. Elks star forward Jonna Curtis (New Hampshire) didn’t recall being stopped as effectively.
“Right when you get the puck, they’re on you right away,” Curtis said. “They just didn’t let you get to the net, so it’s kind of hard to score.”
Minnetonka, the state’s top-ranked team throughout the season, features seniors Julie Friend and defenseman Rachel Ramsey. Friend, named Minnesota’s top senior goalie by Let’s Play Hockey magazine, will attend St. Cloud State next season. Ramsey, daughter of Miracle on Ice and NHL defenseman Mike Ramsey, has signed with her father’s alma mater, Minnesota.
“These two have been outstanding and gotten better every year since their freshman year,” said Minnetonka coach Eric Johnson. “Rachel is just a fantastic player. She has 176 points and our next highest scorer in school history has 88, and she’s played defense half her career. That just says the impact that she’s had on our program. It’s been great for our youth players to come out and see her and want to aspire to play like her someday.”
“Julie Friend in nets has been outstanding. I think her stats speak for themselves. She’s just a mature leader who’s fun to be around for the teammates and takes younger kids under her wing. When she gets out on the ice, she’s very focused. I think she’s got all the tools that a good goaltender needs.”
When asked after the game what impressed him about the Skippers, Elks coach Joe Heasley’s response was, “Everything.”
“Offensively, defensively, neutral zone, goaltender — they’re solid up and down,” he said. “They’re going to be tough to beat.”
In the last AA quarterfinal, future Gopher Rachael Bona put on a show, scoring four goals as her Coon Rapids Cardinals defeated North Wright County, 6-1.
“She just sets the pace for our whole team,” Cardinals coach Jessica Christopherson said. “Our kids really feed off of her energy out there. The trick for Rachael each game is to figure out what they’re going to give her.”
In Friday’s AA semifinals, Edina and Minnetonka advanced by not giving much to the top threats of Hill-Murray and Coon Rapids respectively. The two favorites focused their attention on Brandt and Bona, using physical play and sheer numbers to limit the smaller players. Reber had both goals for Edina in their 2-0 win over Hill-Murray, while Minnetonka moved past Coon Rapids, 4-1, on the strength of a pair of goals each by seniors Paige Baldwin and Carolyn Draayer.
The championship game many had expected, No. 2 Edina versus No. 1 Minnetonka, did not disappoint. The teams exchanged a pair of early goals each way. At 2-2 late, the game appeared destined for overtime until Minnetonka sophomore Amy Peterson scored her second goal of the game with under 40 seconds to play. Peterson showed incredible poise, corralling a loose puck and waiting for the goaltender to commit before zipping a shot under the crossbar as she was being tackled from behind.
Though the play made Edina the AA runner-up for the second straight season, it was no doubt something the former college scout in Slominski could appreciate.
“This is a high-pressure situation for these kids, and you’re putting some of the best kids in the state up against each other in those key moments,” Slominski said earlier. “As a college coach, you want to know who is going to perform for you down the line. There are a lot of great players who sometimes in the big games don’t show up. I think this tournament, a) if you’re able to make it here, you’ve proven that you’re the type of player and leader that can lead your team to great things, and b) how you play here shows how you can do under the big lights and with some additional circumstances that in a normal high school hockey game you’re not dealing with. To see how kids adapt to that, if they can still play at their highest level, I think that says a lot about them and how they prepare for games.”
When selecting a college and dealing with recruitment, it is invaluable to have coaches and teammates that understand the process.
“Having been through the recruiting process as a player, I know their side of it,” Slominski said. “And having been at the coaching level and having recruited, I know the other side, because I think that’s the piece that a lot of kids miss out on sometimes, is not really knowing when they get an e-mail, what does that mean. I think that because we’ve had some kids over the past couple of years experience the recruiting and the Division I status, our kids who are younger have seen that progress.”
In the small school Class A tournament, many of the games were one-sided. The four-time state champion South St. Paul Packers provided most of the drama, defeating second-seeded Breck in a 1-0 nail-biter, and then carrying a 1-0 lead into the third period of the championship against defending champ and powerhouse Warroad before falling under the Warriors offensive might by a 5-1 score.
Packers coach Dave Palmquist has taken teams to state a record 11 times and acknowledges that it would be desirable to improve the competitiveness of the Class A field, where several top teams collided in section play.
“I don’t think the State High School League always wants to get the best teams here,” Palmquist said. “They’re trying to get a wide variety of teams here and give more kids an opportunity. But if they could be a little more open minded to looking at some different options to getting some of the better teams here, that would be great.”
Warroad’s roster features five players committed to D-I programs, including four headed to North Dakota: senior goalie Shelby Amsley-Benzie, senior forward Layla Marvin, and sophomore forwards Lisa Marvin and Kayla Gardner. The newly-named Ms. Hockey in Minnesota, forward Karley Sylvester, has signed with Wisconsin. According to coach David Marvin, her Sioux-bound teammates don’t give her any ribbing about her college choice.
“I think they’re all happy for Karley,” he said. “She’s excited about going to Wisconsin, and who wouldn’t be, to play for Coach (Mark) Johnson and with their program. When you leave high school, a lot of people go their separate ways for a while.”
Advancing to the state tournament brings added exposure to players, particularly those interested in attending a college outside the Midwest, such as Breck forward Kayla Mork (New Hampshire).
“Sometimes coaches can run out here (during the regular season); they’re busy with their seasons, too,” Mork said. “I think it’s nice having all of the good teams here, so they can watch a bunch of players and young ones coming up, too.”
Young ones like Peterson, who showed up under the brightest of lights.
No. 2 Neumann at No. 1 Elmira
Elmira coach Aaron Saul returned home earlier this week after visiting his brother Adrian in Germany. Adrian suffered a serious neck injury last week in a hockey game, but fortunately is doing well.
“Adrian’s doing great,” said Aaron Saul. “He walked around the whole lobby of the hospital. The doctors say it is going to be a full recovery. We are all feeling relieved and very fortunate that there wasn’t more damage. It was tough.”
Coach Saul missed last weekend’s semifinal game, but his players rallied around assistant coach Dean Jackson to defeat Hobart 5-2.
“During the week is when all of the coaching really happens anyways,” said Saul. “I was fully confident in Dean Jackson taking my place. I knew they were going to rally around each other.”
Now, top seed Elmira will host second seed Neumann on Saturday in the ECAC West Championship game. Both teams reached the finals with a 5-2 victory last weekend, Neumann over Utica and Elmira over Hobart.
Neumann’s last trip to the league championship game was two seasons ago, when the Knights defeated Hobart 3-2 on their way to winning the national championship.
Elmira lost to Manhattanville in last year’s league title game, 4-3 in overtime, after the Valiants scored with one second left in regulation time to tie the game 3-3 and send it into overtime. Elmira also lost to Manhattanville 1-0 the last time the Soaring Eagles hosted the championship game in 2008.
“It is an ECAC West championship that we have had a couple of opportunities to win it and haven’t in the past, so our focus is to win a West championship,” said Saul.
Elmira and Neumann have met three times this season. Freshman Michael Rey of Neumann scored the only goal of the game on November 12 midway through the second period as the Knights won the first meeting 1-0.
The Soaring Eagles won the second meeting 4-2 two weeks later. They rattled off four straight goals in the last 20:20 of the game to win 4-2. That weekend started Elmira on its unbeaten roll that would last through the middle of February.
Neumann ended Elmira’s unbeaten streak two weeks ago when the Knights scored a pair of third period goals for a 4-2 victory at Elmira.
“We didn’t play our best hockey that night,” said Saul. “It was a learning lesson for us.”
Meeting in a championship game is a completely different situation from the regular season, with a lot more on the line. With two teams that are so familiar with each other, it can’t help but be a great game.
“It will be a fun night,” said Neumann coach Dominick Dawes. “In my three years here, it seems like we’ve played each other 20 times. Everyone is familiar with each other. It is about which team is going to go out there and execute. We’ve had three pretty good games this year. Both teams are playing for a championship, so everything else gets thrown out the window.”
“Obviously we’re excited,” concluded Saul. “We know what kind of team Neumann has and they have been playing pretty well the last month since they finally got all their guys back. We’re expecting a good game out of them.”
ECAC West All-USCHO Team
With the end of the ECAC West season upon us, it must be time for this year’s ECAC West All-USCHO Teams selection. As usual, there were a lot of players this season deserving of post-season honors.
It was particularly difficult to narrow down the list of forwards. There were at least a dozen players that could have easily been included this year.
Kevin Willer from Elmira is my ECAC West Player of the Year. Willer’s balanced attack, with 16 goals and 16assists, has helped lead the Soaring Eagles to the regular season title and beyond.
Rookie of the Year was a bit of an easier choice, as Michael Rey of Neumann earned the honor. Rey led the Knights in scoring and was tied for second in assists. As one of only three players to suit up for every game this season, Rey played a significant role in helping Neumann get through all of the injuries this season.
Gary Heenan is the ECAC West Coach of the Year. With 16 freshmen this season, everyone thought that Utica would need a bit more seasoning before being competitive. However Heenan realized early on that this was a talented young class and he gave them the freedom to find themselves on the ice. The Pioneers were on the verge of an NCAA bid this season, and the experience should prove invaluable next season.
ECAC West First Team
Forward: Kevin Willer, Elmira, Jr.
Forward: Tom Coffman, Utica, Jr.
Forward: Matthew Wallace, Hobart, Sr.
Defense: William Lacasse, Neumann, Jr.
Defense: Karl Linden, Elmira, Sr.
Goal: Darren McDonald, Elmira, So.
ECAC West Second Team
Forward: Darcy Vaillancourt, Elmira, Jr.
Forward: Mickey Lang, Manhattanville, Sr.
Forward: Evan Chlanda, Utica, So.
Defense: Brad Richard, Hobart, So.
Defense: Scott Farrell, Neumann, So.
Goal: Nick Broadwater, Utica, So.
ECAC West Rookie Team
Forward: Michael Rey, Neumann
Forward: Trever Hertz, Utica
Forward: Jon Gaffney, Utica
Defense: Adam Young, Manhattanville
Defense: Mike Slowikowski, Utica
Goal: Evan Smith, Utica
ECAC West Player of the Year: Kevin Willer, Elmira ECAC West Rookie of the Year: Michael Rey, Neumann ECAC West Coach of the Year: Gary Heenan, Utica
End of Another Season
Another year of the ECAC West is wrapping up this Saturday, which brings this column to a close as well. I would like to thank the coaches in particular for all of their assistance throughout this season. Without their willingness to take time out of their busy schedules to talk with me, this column would be impossible.
Finally, thanks to all of you, the loyal fans of the ECAC West. Our league may be small and neglected by the powers that be, but your rabid enthusiasm and loyalty is what sets the ECAC West apart from the rest.
All Rookie Team and Defensive Awards
This is the sixth year we’ve been helping out with these awards. I’ll repeat what I always do — I only coordinate this effort. I do not select these awards, nor does USCHO. The coaches do, in the same way they select the other SUNYAC year-end awards. I just count the votes since the SUNYAC did not want to handle more than what they already do.
The purpose is to bring some publicity to players who are not recognized by the traditional end-of-season awards. They may not be sanctioned by the conference, but I believe they hold the same credibility as the other officially sanctioned SUNYAC awards.
Here are the 2010-11 SUNYAC All Rookie Team and defensive awards:
F: Nick Jensen (Plattsburgh)
F: Rich Manley (Geneseo)
F: Zachary Vit (Geneseo)
D: James Jarvis (Morrisville)
D: Barry Roytman (Plattsburgh)
G: Kevin Carr (Buffalo State)
Best Defensive Defenseman: Kevin Huinink (Oswego)
Best Defensive Forward: Jared Docking (Plattsburgh)
FINAL PREVIEW
On the one hand, there is a lot of familiarity. Plattsburgh is in its 20th straight SUNYAC final. Fredonia is no stranger to success. It’s a repeat of the 2007 championship game.
“Here’s a team that’s played in 20 consecutive championships,” Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith said of his opponent. “That’s a tall order for us.”
On the other hand, there are some unfamiliar occurrences. A sixth seed is in the conference title game for the first time. The highest-seeded team in the final is a fourth seed, which of course means neither team had a bye in the first round, a rarity for a finals match up. The only home victory in the playoffs was Plattsburgh beating Morrisville, and that took overtime to get it done. In fact, three of the four playoff games played so far went to extra time.
If you cannot make the game, you can listen to the webcast, watch the videocast, or keep track with the live stats.
Fredonia (7-8-1, 14-12-1) at Plattsburgh (9-7-0, 19-7-1)
Déjà vu all over again?
I mentioned this last week, but what were the odds it would pan out exactly this way? Just like in 2007, Fredonia started the playoffs beating Buffalo State on the road. Just like in 2007, Fredonia stunned top-seeded and nationally ranked Oswego in overtime on the road. Just like in 2007, Fredonia travels to Plattsburgh for the championship game when neither team had a bye in the first round.
Will we be writing after Saturday — just like in 2007, Fredonia wins the conference title by beating Plattsburgh on the road?
“We can’t forget a few years ago,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. “Our players thought at home we were going to beat Fredonia and we didn’t do that. I’m going to remind my players of that game all week long.”
However, it was long enough ago that none of the current Fredonia players were on that team to draw inspiration from it.
“None of them were here,” Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith said. “The [current] seniors got here the fall after we did that.”
Fredonia likes to play a tough defensive style, clogging up the front of the goal to prevent any easy shots.
“Fredonia will play good defensive hockey,” Emery said. “I think hockey is all about defense now. I’m not in favor of that, but that’s the way it’s going. Defense wins big games in the playoffs. I know they are going to play really good solid defense again.”
Fredonia’s style works very well against the more finesse teams, as it keeps them away from the net content to shoot from afar, but against a team like Plattsburgh, which relies on the hard-fought, ugly goal, it may be a case of force meets force.
On the flip side, Plattsburgh will have to contain the SUNYAC Player of the Year, Jordan Oye.
“Oye is as good as any player in the country,” Emery said.
One area Plattsburgh had an advantage over Geneseo last week was depth.
“The difference in our game was conditioning,” Emery said after the semifinal win. “We were able to play four lines and six defensemen. I think our depth showed tonight.”
“They do have great depth,” Meredith said. “When you go into the weekends of play, you have to manage ice time so as not to wear guys out for the second game. When there’s just one game, you don’t have to worry about that. Our M.O. is pretty much run four lines and six defensemen, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Plattsburgh goaltender Josh Leis is coming off perhaps his best game of his career.
“Come this time of year, you’re only as good as your goalie,” Emery said after that game. “Josh is a really good goalie. His problem is being aggressive. Sometimes, he loses his focus, but if he sees the puck and is on his game, he’s pretty quick and pretty athletic.”
Meanwhile, Mark Friesen continues to impress in his rookie season, seemingly getting stronger with each big game.
Amazingly, Fredonia got off to a 3-8 start, and here they are in the conference title game and above .500 overall.
“To get to the point where we are now when we started the season at 3-8 takes a lot of mental toughness, to know we can get to where we want to be,” Meredith said.
“Hats off to Meredith,” Emery said. “He’s done a great job with his team the last couple of weeks. We had a tough win over there a couple of weeks ago.”
Plattsburgh beat Fredonia both times this year, 4-2 and 3-1.
“We’re just excited to still be playing in March,” Meredith said.
Somehow, I think Fredonia has more than just playing in March in mind.
Thank You
Since this is the last column of the 2010-11 season, here are my final thoughts.
We did something different this year at USCHO, providing our readers with more content at more timely moments throughout each week. I hope you all enjoyed it.
We also had a new Division III editor, Candace Hogan. She had to learn about the best kept secret in college sports on the fly throughout the season, but she did a great job cramming for the job, and, most importantly, putting up with us temperamental writers. She is dedicated to continuously improve Division III coverage on USCHO.
A big thanks to the coaches, who as always have been very gracious and patient with me. It makes the job enjoyable. And, thanks to the Sports Information Directors and SUNYAC Commissioner Pat Damore who make my job easier.
A special thanks to Janelle Feuz, the first full time conference SID … actually, Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations. The work and dedication she puts toward the SUNYAC is unmatched. She also happens to be one of the most pleasant people to work with, always with a smile. If you haven’t already done so, check out the revamped conference website she unveiled recently. Outstanding!
Thanks to Brockport for continously making the best pretzel in SUNYAC … heck, the best pretzel in sports.
It’s gotten to the point where my wife simply asks, “What time are you going to be home?” She knows I’m off to games every weekend. Her acceptance is a wonderful gift to me.
A special thanks to all you readers. I hope you liked the changes at USCHO. After all, I, and all the support behind me, do all this for you.
The Curry College Colonels defeated the Becker College Hawks 5-1 in their ECAC Northeast Semi-Final at Curry’s Max Ulin Rink in Milton, Massachusetts. The game also acted as Curry’s senior night after their original senior night game had to be postponed due to the team’s hospitalization following nitrous dioxide exposure at an away game on February 17. All but one player has been cleared for play as of Wednesday’s game. Curry will play Wentworth for the championship on Saturday.
Dan Sullivan, Maine: The freshman goaltender makes an appearance in the three stars for the second straight week after allowing only one goal on 34 shots in a pair of victories over then-No. 4 Merrimack. :: Dan Sullivan’s player page
SECOND STAR
Paul Zanette, Niagara: The Purple Eagles senior upped his nation-leading season total to 29 goals with a pair in each game last weekend against Rochester Institute of Technology. :: Paul Zanette’s player page
FIRST STAR
Garrett Roe, St. Cloud State: It hasn’t been a stellar season for the senior or his team, but both had an impressive weekend against Wisconsin. Roe scored twice in each game as the Huskies swept the Badgers to keep their home-ice hopes alive. :: Garrett Roe’s player page
A frenzied closing minutes ensured the first round of the playoffs in ECAC Northeast and MASCAC wouldn’t be devoid of any upsets.
Sixth seeded Westfield State scored three goals in the final 6:03 to snap a 1-1 tie and knock third seeded Plymouth State out of the playoffs.
Pat Nelson’s goal broke the deadlock, while Jeff Callahan and Brad Norkum added insurance. Norkum’s strike was an empty netter.
Tim Vleck scored the only goal of the game for Plymouth, while goalie Jack Astedt stopped 26 shots. Ray Monroe turned in 29 saves for the Owls.
Westfield State to No. 2 seeded Salem State Thursday at 7:00 Fitchburg State 4, Worcester State 0
The other game of the night was fairly devoid of any drama, as the Falcons used two third period goals to defeat the Lancers. Robert Vorse turned away all 28 shots for the shutout, while Kevin McCready and Kris Threlkeld each had a goal and an assist for fourth seeded Fitchburg, who will face top seed Massachusetts Dartmouth Thursday at 7:30.
Check back tomorrow for a rundown of the MASCAC semfinals. MASCAC Yearly Honors
As announced by the conference today: Player of the Year- Dennis Zak, Westfield State: The senior saved his best for last, leading the MASCAC with a 14-19 line in 18 conference games. Rookie of the Year- Daniel Miressi, Framingham State: A bright spot in what other a dismal season for the Rams, the forward led Framingham and was third overall in the conference with 26 points (16-10). Coach of the Year-John Rolli, UMass Dartmouth: An old hand at turning out winning seasons, it’s no suprise Rolli has a few of these awards stockpiled through his 26 years at UMD. This one is his first in the MASCAC, and comes after the Corsairs turned their first losing season under Rolli into a first place finish this year.
Click here for a complete list of the awards, including all-conference teams. ECAC Northeast Semifinals.
And then there were four.
Here’s some quick hits on tonight’s semfinal games, featuring the conference’s top four seeds. No.4 Becker at No. 1 Curry, 7:35.
The Hawks were one of the fews teams that had the Colonels number this year. Granted, the teams tied in each of their two meetings, but those ties reprsent half of the games Curry didn’t recieve two points during conference play.
Curry is one of the best skating teams in the conference, and can demoralized an opponent’s power play unit by taking it the other way: their six shorthanded goals were second in the ECAC Northeast.
In net, the duo of Travis Owens and Robert Dawson have proven more then capable, as the Colonels were second in team defense during the regular season, while boasting the league’s highest-scoring offense.
Becker used three unanswered goals to turn the tide Sunday in their playoff opener against Nichols. A few anaswered strikes against Curry would go a long way to helping the Hawks reach the championship. No. 3 Johnson and Wales at No. 2 Wentworth, 8:00
The Wildcats showed little dissapointment in letting a first round bye slip through their hands in the final day of the season.
Four quick goals helped JWU turn a 3-1 early in the final period into a comfortable 7-1 win against Western New England Saturday.
But in the playoffs, matchups matter more then seeds and JWU has proven it can take on the Leopards, dealing them all but one of their conference losses in sweeping the season series.
The Wildcats will roll out an impressive attack, led by ECAC Northeast Player of the Year Jeremiah Ketts, against Wentworth freshman Chris Azzano.
Azzano took over for injured starter Mike Jarboe midway through the team’s first meeting in November and has held down the starting job ever since, providing Wentworth with some stability in net.
The Wildcat’s Matt Cooper was honored as the conference’s top goalie, and has been a major part of JWU’s success this season.
Don’t overlook Wentworth’s skaters, who are led by the talented Jameson brothers, Skylur (13-7) up front, and Shaun (4-9) on the back end.
It’s not a novel hockey concept, but with all the on-ice talent, its probably going to come down to whch goalie is going to be up to the task of negating that talent.
The ECAC women’s league has named its end-of-season award winners and Quinnipiac freshman forward Kelly Babstock is the big winner, taking home top rookie and top player honors.
Cornell head coach Doug Derraugh has been named the league’s coach of the year, while Lauriane Rougeau from Cornell is the best defensive defenseman, Reagan Fischer from Dartmouth and Karlee Overguard from Cornell have been named the co-recipients of the best defensive forward award and Yale netminder Jackee Snikeris has been named goaltender of the year.
Babstock, a Mississauga, Ont., native, scored league-highs in goals (30), assists (28) and points (58) and was tied for second in league points (30) on 22 goals and eight assists. She currently leads all NCAA Division I freshmen in goals, assists and points and is second in points per game (1.61). She has been selected ECAC rookie of the week five times, player of the week on two occasions and also received Quinnipiac accolades, as she was named female athlete of the month for November and December.
The three all-league teams, as well as the all-rookie team were also named.
FIRST TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
Kelly Babstock, F, Quinnipiac
Rebecca Johnston, F, Cornell
Brianne Jenner, F, Cornell
Laura Fortino, D, Cornell
Lauriane Rougeau, D, Cornell
Jackee Snikeris, G, Yale
SECOND TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
Chelsea Karpenko, F, Cornell
Jillian Dempsey, F, Harvard
Kelly Foley, F, Dartmouth
Josephine Pucci, D, Harvard
Sasha Sherry, D, Princeton
Rachel Weber, G, Princeton
THIRD TEAM ALL-LEAGUE
Catherine White, F, Cornell
Kelly Sabatine, F, St. Lawrence
Liza Ryabkina, F, Harvard
Sasha Nanji, D, Dartmouth
Leanna Coskren, D, Harvard
Victoria Vigilanti, G, Quinnipiac
Editor’s note: This version of Bracketology supersedes one posted earlier in the week.
It’s time once again to do what we like to call Bracketology, college hockey style. It’s our weekly look at how I believe the NCAA tournament will wind up come selection time.
It’s a look into what are the possible thought processes behind selecting and seeding the NCAA tournament teams.
This is the next installment of our Bracketology, and we’ll be bringing you a new one every week until we make our final picks before the field is announced on March 20. Make sure to check out our other entries on the Bracketology Blog, where we’ll keep you entertained, guessing and educated throughout the rest of the season.
Here are the facts:
• Sixteen teams are selected to participate in the national tournament.
• There are four regional sites (East — Bridgeport, Conn.; Northeast — Manchester, N.H.; Midwest — Green Bay, Wis.; West — St. Louis)
• A host institution which is invited to the tournament plays in the regional for which it is the host, and cannot be moved. There are three host institutions this year, Yale in Bridgeport, New Hampshire in Manchester and Michigan Tech in Green Bay. St. Louis’ host is the CCHA, not a specific team.
• Seedings will not be switched, as opposed to years past. To avoid undesirable first-round matchups, including intra-conference games (see below), teams will be moved among regionals, not reseeded.
Here are the NCAA’s guidelines on the matter, per a meeting of the championship committee:
In setting up the tournament, the committee begins with a list of priorities to ensure a successful tournament on all fronts, including competitive equity, financial success and likelihood of playoff-type atmosphere at each regional site. For the model, the following is a basic set of priorities:
• The top four teams as ranked by the committee are the four No. 1 seeds and will be placed in the bracket so that if all four teams advance to the Men’s Frozen Four, the No. 1 seed will play the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed will play the No. 3 seed in the semifinals.
• Host institutions that qualify will be placed at home.
• No. 1 seeds are placed as close to home as possible in order of their ranking 1-4.
• Conference matchups in first round are avoided, unless five or more teams from one conference are selected, then the integrity of the bracket will be preserved.
• Once the five automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams are selected, the next step is to develop four groups from the committee’s ranking of 1-16. The top four teams are the No. 1 seeds. The next four are targeted as No. 2 seeds. The next four are No. 3 seeds and the last four are No. 4 seeds. These groupings will be referred to as “bands.”
Given these facts, here is the top 16 of the current PairWise Rankings (PWR), and the conference leaders (through all games of games of March 1, 2011):
1 Yale
2 North Dakota
3 Boston College
4 Michigan
5 Denver
6t Union
6t Merrimack
8 Nebraska-Omaha
9t Notre Dame
9t Miami
11t Minnesota-Duluth
11t New Hampshire
13 Rensselaer
14 Colorado College
15t Boston University
15t Maine
15t Dartmouth
— Rochester Institute of Technology
Current conference leaders based on winning percentage:
Atlantic Hockey: RIT CCHA: Michigan ECAC Hockey: Union Hockey East: New Hampshire WCHA: North Dakota
Notes
• The Bracketology assumes that the season has ended and there are no more games to be played. i.e., the NCAA tournament starts tomorrow.
• Because there are an uneven amount of games played inside each conference, I will be using winning percentage, not points accumulated, to determine who the current leader in each conference is. This team is my assumed conference tournament champion.
Step one
From the committee’s report, choose the 16 teams in the tournament.
We break ties in the PWR by looking at the individual comparisons among the tied teams, and add in any current league leaders that are not currently in the top 16. The only team that is not is RIT.
From there, we can start looking at the ties and bubbles in a more detailed fashion.
We break all of our ties based upon the RPI.
Therefore the 16 teams in the tournament, in rank order, are:
1 Yale
2 North Dakota
3 Boston College
4 Michigan
5 Denver
6 Union
7 Merrimack
8 Nebraska-Omaha
9 Notre Dame
10 Miami
11 Minnesota-Duluth
12 New Hampshire
13 Rensselaer
14 Colorado College
15 Boston University
16 RIT
Step two
Now it’s time to assign the seeds.
No. 1 seeds — Yale, North Dakota, Boston College, Michigan
No. 2 seeds — Denver, Union, Merrimack, Nebraska-Omaha
No. 3 seeds — Notre Dame, Miami, Minnesota-Duluth, New Hampshire
No. 4 seeds — Rensselaer, Colorado College, Boston University, RIT
Step three
Place the No. 1 seeds in regionals. Following the guidelines, there is one host team in this grouping, Yale, so Yale must be placed in its home regional, the East Regional in Bridgeport.
We now place the other No. 1 seeds based on proximity to the regional sites.
No. 1 Yale is placed in the East Regional in Bridgeport.
No. 2 North Dakota is placed in the Midwest Regional in Green Bay.
No. 3 Boston College is placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester.
No. 4 Michigan is placed in the West Regional in St. Louis.
Step four
Now we place the other 12 teams so as to avoid intra-conference matchups if possible.
Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding.
If this is the case, as it was last year, then the committee should seed so that the quarterfinals are seeded such that the four regional championships are played by No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5.
So therefore:
No. 2 seeds
No. 8 Nebraska-Omaha is placed in No. 1 Yale’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 7 Merrimack is placed in No. 2 North Dakota’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 6 Union is placed in No. 3 Boston College’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 5 Denver is placed in No. 4 Michigan’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 3 seeds
Our bracketing system has one regional containing seeds 1, 8, 9, and 16, another with 2, 7, 10, 15, another with 3, 6, 11, 14 and another with 4, 5, 12 and 13.
We have to place New Hampshire, a regional host, first.
Therefore:
No. 12 New Hampshire is placed in No. 6 Union’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 9 Notre Dame is placed in No. 8 Nebraska-Omaha’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 10 Miami is placed in No. 7 Merrimack’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 11 Minnesota-Duluth is placed in No. 5 Denver’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 4 seeds
One more time, taking No. 16 vs. No. 1, No. 15 vs. No. 2, etc.
No. 16 RIT is sent to No. 1 Yale’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 15 Boston University is sent to No. 2 North Dakota’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 14 Colorado College is sent to No. 3 Boston College’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 13 Rensselaer is sent to No. 4 Michigan’s regional, the West Regional.
The brackets as we have set them up:
West Regional (St. Louis):
13 Rensselaer vs. 4 Michigan
11 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 5 Denver
Midwest Regional (Green Bay):
15 Boston University vs. 2 North Dakota
10 Miami vs. 7 Merrimack
East Regional (Bridgeport):
16 RIT vs. 1 Yale
9 Notre Dame vs. 8 Nebraska-Omaha
Northeast Regional (Manchester):
14 Colorado College vs. 3 Boston College
12 New Hampshire vs. 6 Union
Our first concern is avoiding intra-conference matchups. We have one, Minnesota-Duluth vs. Denver.
So we switch UMD with Miami to fix that matchup.
West Regional (St. Louis):
13 Rensselaer vs. 4 Michigan
10 Miami vs. 5 Denver
Midwest Regional (Green Bay):
15 Boston University vs. 2 North Dakota
11 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 7 Merrimack
East Regional (Bridgeport):
16 RIT vs. 1 Yale
9 Notre Dame vs. 8 Nebraska-Omaha
Northeast Regional (Manchester):
14 Colorado College vs. 3 Boston College
12 New Hampshire vs. 6 Union
Anything else? We could swap Rensselaer and Colorado College to try to help the attendance.
West Regional (St. Louis):
14 Colorado College vs. 4 Michigan
10 Miami vs. 5 Denver
Midwest Regional (Green Bay):
15 Boston University vs. 2 North Dakota
11 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 7 Merrimack
East Regional (Bridgeport):
16 RIT vs. 1 Yale
9 Notre Dame vs. 8 Nebraska-Omaha
Northeast Regional (Manchester):
13 Rensselaer vs. 3 Boston College
12 New Hampshire vs. 6 Union
What else can we do for bracket integrity or attendance? Is there anything more we can do?
Nothing. It looks good from my standpoint.
More thoughts and education and plain wit on the blog. We’ll see you here next week for the next Bracketology.
Anyone who’s been reading this blog over the past three seasons knows the familiar refrain that comes up whenever a goalie is thought to be in the mix for the Hobey.
“Ryan Miller numbers.”
.950 save percentage, 1.32 goals-against average. A tough standard to live up to.
Dave LeNeveu had the GAA and then some (1.20), but the save percentage wasn’t quite there (.940 in that Cornell system that Big Red goalies seem to be penalized for, but we’ll get back to that when a Cornell goalie is in the mix). Brian Elliott backstopped Wisconsin to an NCAA Championship, but Matt Carle skated off with the Hobey. Dave Brown was in the conversation all season long in 2006-07, but Ryan Duncan got it. Dave McKee, Yann Danis, Brad Thiessen…you know the story.
No Ryan Miller numbers, no Hobey.
So of course, when I covered the Rangers-Sabres game on Tuesday night as part of a New York Hockey Journal story I’m working on, I had to get a word with the former Michigan State Spartan about those magical numbers that made him the last goalie to win the Hobey Baker.
“Minus the fact that we didn’t win a national championship,” Miller said, “that was pretty much a fairytale season. We had a great team, and everything seemed to go right except right at the end there.”
As you might expect, Miller has been too busy with the Sabres to keep tabs on exactly how things have been going in the college ranks lately as it concerns his netminding brethren. However, he did say that he doesn’t think it should take a reprise of (or improvement on) his 2001-02 stats to get a goalie the top individual honor in the college game.
“They look at number of goals and assists [for forwards],” Miller said, “but they also talk about who you play against. It comes down to more than just those stats. I think if you factor in the goalies playing against really strong competition, and you can take a team really far in the NCAA tournament, I think you have a goalie who deserves top billing.”
If you really want to read into that, “Really strong competition” could be seen as a dig at the Cornell guys, but I don’t think Miller was really thinking about it that much (and besides, ECAC Hockey is having quite a year, with Yale, Union, RPI and Dartmouth all in the mix for NCAA berths). I will say that I don’t think the next goalie to win the Hobey will come from Atlantic Hockey (sorry, Shane Madolora), but depending on the year, I think another goalie will hoist the Hobey sooner or later, “Ryan Miller numbers” or not.
Probably not this year, though, although I do think that Dartmouth’s James Mello, RPI’s Allen York, Merrimack’s Joe Cannata and Boston College’s John Muse are all worthy of consideration for finalist berths, with one of them getting a spot in the Hobey Hat Trick (and really, with Muse having a good shot at a third NCAA title in four years, he should get a long look).
What do you think? You think Miller has a point about his numbers not being a requirement for future Hobey-winning goalies? Who’s the most Hobey-worthy goaltender on the college ice this season? Leave your thoughts below.
With the 2010-2011 Atlantic Hockey regular season in the books, let’s take a look back and see how the coaches and I did in terms of predicting each team’s finish:
Team
Actual
Coaches
USCHO
RIT
1
1
1
Air Force
2
3
3
Holy Cross
3
8
8
Niagara
4
T4
5
Robert Morris
5
T4
2
UConn
6
11
11
Mercyhurst
7
2
3
Canisius
8
6
6
Army
9
9
9
Bentley
10
10
10
Sacred Heart
11
7
7
AIC
12
12
12
So we all underestimated Holy Cross and UConn, and overestimated Mercyhurst and Sacred Heart. My pick of Robert Morris for second looked good until the final weekend of the regular season, but with just three points separating second from fifth (and seventh from tenth), things indeed did go down to the final games.
USCHO.com AHA Player of the Week:
Paul Zanette, Niagara – As good a season as the senior has had in general, he probably wishes every game was against RIT. Zanette had four goals last weekend against the Tigers to go with the hat-trick he had in the teams’ first meeting back in November. He has 29 goals in all this season, tops in the nation.
Honorables:
Cory Conacher, Canisius – The senior forward factored in all four of the Golden Griffins’ goals last weekend, scoring three times and adding an assist to help Canisius to a split against Mercyhurst.
Eric Delong, Sacred Heart – DeLong had four points (two goals, two assists last Saturday to lead the Pioneers to a 5-1 win over Army and a weekend split.
Jason Torf, Air Force – The rookie stopped 53 of 57 shots to help the Falcons to a pair of 4-2 wins over Robert Morris and a first-round bye the AHA playoffs.
Andrew Olson, Connecticut - Olson had the game winner in both contests last weekend, a pair of one-goal wins over AIC. The senior leads the Huskies with 14 goals so far this season.
Men of the Month
And from the home office in Haverhill, here’s your official Atlantic Hockey Players of the Month for February, 2011:
Player of the Month: Paul Zanette – Niagara
Zanette is the second consecutive POTM from Niagara – Bryan Haczyk won the award for January. The senior had 13 points in eight games, including seven goals.
Other players nominated: Jacques Lamoureux, Air Force; Cody Omilusik, Army; Cory Conacher, Canisius; Kyle Fletcher, Holy Cross; Tyler Brenner, RIT.
Goalie of the Month:
Adam Roy – Holy Cross
Roy was 6-0-2 record last month with a 2.20 goals against average,
Other goalies nominated: Garrett Bartus, Connecticut; Shane Madolora, RIT.
Rookie of the Month:
Brett Gensler – Bentley
Gensler led Bentley in goals (five) and points (11) during the month of February. He finished the regular season with 13 goals, tops on the team.
Other rookies nominated: Cole Schneider, Connecticut; Shayne Stockton, Holy Cross; Ryan Rashid, Niagara; Ben Lynch, RIT
Kicking back
According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, Air Force coach Frank Serratore is enjoying his week off, bringing an adult beverage with him to a press conference on Monday. “In case you boys haven’t heard, I’ve got the week off,” he told the press. The Falcons are coming together at the right time, going 6-2-2 down the stretch against the west scheduling pod.
Getting My Vote
My USCHO.com Men’s D-I Poll ballot this week:
1. North Dakota
2. Boston College
3. Yale
4. Union
5. Miami
6. New Hampshire
7. Merrimack
8. Denver
9. Michigan
10. Notre Dame
11. UNO
12. Duluth
13. Boston University
14. RPI
15. Western Michigan
16. Maine
17. Minnesota
18. Wisconsin
19. Colorado College
20. Air Force
“We’re rooting for certain teams we normally don’t root for.” Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels on how the end of the season makes for strange bedfellows, following the Bulldogs’ tie and win over Ohio State on the road Feb. 25. “You can spin that any way you want it. At some point, you have to get on the road and win.” Ohio State head coach Mark Osiecki, whose Buckeyes would have had home ice in the first round of the CCHA playoffs “They’ve been there all year. I don’t know what to say about (Andy) Miele, (Reilly) Smith, Carter Camper and Pat Cannone. They come to play every night.” Miami head coach Enrico Blasi on the RedHawks’ top four scorers after the RedHawks swept the Lakers on the road, Feb. 26. Miele was 2-3–5 on the weekend; Smith was 3-2–5; Camper was 2-1–3; Cannone was 1-1–2. “I was really happy with our effort tonight. If we play like that going forward, I’m happy with that.” Lake Superior State head coach Jim Roque on the Lakers’ 5-1 home loss to Miami Saturday, Feb. 26, following LSSU’s 8-1 loss to Miami Feb. 25. “They wanted fourth place more than we wanted first place.” Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson to the South Bend Tribune, after losing 2-0 at home to Western Michigan Feb. 26 cost the Fighting Irish a regular-season CCHA title. “Confidence is a great thing. Confidence is only earned by wins. You can’t fake confidence. To be able to play against a great Notre Dame team and come out with a victory is going to give our team confidence.” Western Michigan head coach Jeff Blashill, to WKZO radio, after the Broncos beat the Irish in South Bend Feb. 26. “We’re completely happy where we are right now, but we’re far from where we want to be. We’re just scratching the surface.” WMU captain Ian Slater after the win over Notre Dame, also to WKZO radio. “We’ve got time to shake it off. You never know, maybe it’s a good thing. You don’t know yet. Hopefully, we respond to it in a positive way.” Jackson, again after the Feb. 26 game, quoted in the South Bend Tribune Mar. 1. “We had a two-on-one, we don’t get a shot. We have a three-on-two, we go offsides. We had power-play opportunities, don’t get pucks through. Our year in a nutshell. Not enough purpose to what we did.” Bowling Green head coach Chris Bergeron after a 2-0 shutout loss to Michigan State, Feb. 26, one night after losing 2-1 to the Spartans. “Everything seems to have been kind of an uphill battle this whole year. To finish the year with our first sweep and put the seniors out and Coach like that and having the excitement of singing the song after – it was pretty special.” Spartan Dean Chelios, who had the game-winner in the 2-0 win over the Falcons, on singing the MSU fight song in the locker room after the game. “It was nice. I’m not a glamor and glitz kind of guy. My preference would be to do nothing, but I appreciate what it was. It was nice.” Michigan State’s Rick Comley, on the ceremony following that 2-0 win, his last game in Munn Ice Arena as head coach of the Spartans. “After this weekend, we’re going to have to do everything we can to be prepared because we’ve seen what they can do if you’re not ready to compete last Saturday night.” Alaska head coach Dallas Ferguson, to the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer Feb. 26, on meeting MSU in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. The Nanooks and the Spartans split in Fairbanks Feb. 18-19, with MSU winning 6-2 Saturday, Feb. 19. “I think it’s good bragging rights right now. For this team, although we were picked first by some people, doing it is another thing.” Michigan head coach Red Berenson to the Michigan Daily this week, on capturing the CCHA regular-season title. “Hogie had a great four years, but I didn’t want the possibility of his last memory being when he was injured before The Big Chill.” Michigan senior goaltender Shawn Hunwick to the Michigan Daily this week, on why he gave up his own shutout so that his classmate, Bryan Hogan, could finish UM’s 5-0 win over NMU Saturday night. “We just have to forget about it and be ready to go. The second season starts with the playoffs and this is when it really all matters. If you lose, you’re done. You win, you move on.” Northern Michigan captain Phil Fox to the Marquette Mining Journal, after the Wildcats were swept at home by the Wolverines last weekend.
