Home Blog Page 1078

Last Impressions, Part II

By
-

So, the weekend has passed, the tournament invitations have been handed out, and now, 16 teams and eight Hobey Baker finalists are going on to the NCAA tournament.

Of course, the main focus this coming weekend will be on the teams, and it should be. With a trip to the Frozen Four hanging in the balance, any talk of individual honors will be secondary, and rightfully so. That said, however, this weekend will be the last chance for eight players to make their case for the Hobey Baker Award.

Of course, for the two Hobey finalists who won’t be playing this weekend – Maine’s Gustav Nyquist and RPI’s Chase Polacek – all that’s left to do is watch and wait. This is more true of Nyquist than Polacek, as I think that in Polacek’s case (to borrow some Oscars terminology), “the nomination is the win.” However, as Nyquist remains the nation’s leader in points per game, the Black Bear sophomore remains a contender to make the Hobey Hat Trick. Of course, the Hobey voters tend to reward players who make the NCAA tournament, but given that Matt Carle won the 2006 Hobey in a year when Denver missed the tournament, it’s not out of the question for Nyquist to make the Hat Trick.

I think there’s at least one spot in the Hobey Hat Trick that’s up for grabs this weekend, possibly more. For a while now, I’ve worked under the assumption that Denver goalie Marc Cheverie was a shoo-in for the Hat Trick, but I’m starting to waver on that assumption, due to the presence of Cornell and goalie Ben Scrivens in the same East Regional as Cheverie and the Pioneers. Scrivens is going into this weekend as the national leader in goals-against average and save percentage, and if the play that got Scrivens those distinctions gets the Big Red to the Frozen Four, that spot could belong to Scrivens. I don’t see both goalies making the hat trick, so figure on one of them winning a spot this weekend (I don’t see Miami’s Cody Reichard in the mix here, if only because his candidacy suffers from the presence of another excellent goalie on the RedHawks in Connor Knapp, which makes it harder to assess Reichard’s true value to the team).

Meanwhile, I do remain convinced that Wisconsin’s Brendan Smith will be one of the three Hobey Hat Trick members, and I don’t see anything happening to change that. So, if one spot in the Hat Trick is going to Smith, and another is going to the winner of the goalie battle between Cheverie and Scrivens, that leaves one spot up for grabs. As I mentioned before, I could see Gustav Nyquist competing for that spot, along with a number of guys who will be playing this weekend.

If New Hampshire’s Bobby Butler could dig in and lead his team to the Frozen Four, he could definitely put himself in the mix for that third Hat Trick spot. I suppose that the same is true of Northern Michigan’s Mark Olver, although for some reason, it just doesn’t sound to me like it could happen.

From there, I think, you add in the two other WCHA finalists, Wisconsin’s Blake Geoffrion and Denver’s Rhett Rakhshani. Both have played second fiddle on their respective teams when it comes to Hobey contention, but that didn’t stop BU’s Colin Wilson from making it to the Hat Trick last season. That said, neither of these guys has been quite the presence nationally that Wilson was, so again, I don’t necessarily see it, but a big weekend at the regionals, and that third Hat Trick spot could be there.

Now, under normal circumstances, I’d be loathe to pick a Hat Trick that consisted entirely of players from one region, but that’s exactly what happened last season, so I have to consider it. I think that Nyquist and Scrivens are the two most likely players from the East to make it to the Hobey Hat Trick, but it’ll depend a lot on what happens this weekend.

So, those are some things to keep in the very back of your mind as you watch this weekend’s regionals. Sure, it’s about making it to Detroit, but three players can book tickets there, too.

Miami Pushes Denver Out of Top Spot in USCHO.com Poll

USCHO Staff Report
-

Miami will enter the NCAA tournament in a familiar spot — atop the national rankings.

The RedHawks played one last game of leapfrog with Denver in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, getting 28 of the 50 first-place votes to finish in the No. 1 spot.

Miami also is the top overall seed in the national tournament, which begins Friday.

Related link: USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll: March 22

Either the RedHawks or the Pioneers have been in the top spot in each poll this season. Miami was No. 1 in 16 polls; Denver led the other seven.

The Pioneers dropped one spot Monday after losing to North Dakota and St. Cloud State in the WCHA Final Five last weekend.

The Fighting Sioux moved up a spot to fourth, while the Huskies dropped a spot to seventh after losing the WCHA final to North Dakota.

Five teams picked up first-place votes. Miami had the majority, but Denver (6), Boston College (8), North Dakota (4) and Wisconsin (2) also finished atop voters’ ballots.

Wisconsin fell two spots to No. 5 despite picking up a No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament after a split at the Final Five.

Boston College (up one to third), North Dakota (up one to fourth), Cornell (up one to sixth), Yale (up one to eighth), Northern Michigan (up three to ninth), Michigan (up six to 11th), New Hampshire (up one to 12rth), Alaska (up one to 17th) and Maine (up one to 18th) also gained in this week’s poll.

St. Cloud State (down one to seventh), Minnesota-Duluth (down three to 14th), Vermont (down one to 15th), Union (down one to 16th) and Michigan State (down three to 19th) were among those falling.

Bemidji State remained in 10th.

RIT joined the poll at No. 20 after winning the Atlantic Hockey championship, marking the first time the Tigers have been ranked. They replaced Boston University.

Commentary: Miami May Now be Battle-Tested

By
-

It was a unique weekend at The Joe for many reasons. It saw one era continue and one come to an end. First, we give some recognition elsewhere.

There was one national championship decided Saturday night. It was at the Division III level and Norwich beat St. Norbert 2-1 in the last minute of double overtime in a game seen on CBS College Sports. It was the longest game in Division III playoff history. Mike McShane was the winning coach and he added to his legend as one of college hockey’s great coaches, having been successful at the D-I level and even more so at the D-III level at Norwich. In their 100th year of college ice hockey, the Cadets won a national title on the men’s side and the women’s team was a national finalist, losing the title game Saturday night. Congrats to the Cadets on 100 great years of hockey history and a national title.

Back to Detroit.

Miami didn’t win the CCHA playoff championship crown. By not doing so, they just might have themselves in the right frame of mind to win the national championship.

Now, not to blow my own horn here but I did say it on a CBS College Sports broadcast that I worried Miami wasn’t battle tested enough by the CCHA regular season to win the playoff championship. Not that I wanted to see the RedHawks lose. Pat Cannone played junior for me on Long Island and I’m a huge fan of him as a player. Tommy Wingels is a great kid to whom I had the pleasure of presenting the CCHA’s Best defensive Forward Award last week. There are a lot of people in that program I have a ton of admiration and respect for, starting with the head coach.

I was on record saying that same thing about the Canadian World Junior team and the USA men’s Olympic team, so that makes me and that “not being battle tested” theory 3-0 this season. RedHawks coach Enrico Blasi told me earlier this season it “might take us learning how to lose to learn how to win.” Losing to Michigan might have been exactly what the dominant and deep RedHawks needed to win this whole thing. That might have been the wake-up call they needed, the fire that lit the fuse.

There is a chance they will get Michigan again in the Fort Wayne regional next weekend (no disrespect to Huntsville and Bemidji State), and you’d have to like Miami. That is a hard team to beat twice in a championship situation. Michigan could be the most dangerous team in the dance, having literally picked itself up off the mat in the second half and become the best story in college hockey. The Wolverines made a stretch run on the back of a goalie, Shawn Hunwick, who hadn’t played much in his career until a month ago. Matt Hunwick probably blocked more shots in his Michigan career than Shawn as of three weeks ago, and Matt was a defenseman.

Pressed into service when the dependable and usually healthy Bryan Hogan got hurt at Yost against Notre Dame, Hunwick won that game, struggled in the next one at ND, and has been close to perfect since. Michigan looked awful in getting swept at Nebraska-Omaha in mid-February and at that point you had to wonder not only was their 19-year run into the NCAA tourney going to end, but would they even get home ice for the playoffs?

Then Hogan got hurt.

You figured it was lights out. What a story Red Berenson and his crew have written. It is as good a Cinderella story in college hockey as Bemidji State was last year or Maine’s run to within 52 seconds of a national title in 2002 after their coach passed away in the preseason.

Michigan bombed Miami and then the RedHawks nipped Ferris State to avoid being swept at the Joe. The last team swept at the Joe with national championship aspirations was Notre Dame, and it found itself in the national title game against Boston College three weeks later. In an interesting twist of fate, the Irish beat Michigan in the Frozen Four to get there. That game saw Bryan Hogan come of age as a Michigan goalie, relieving Billy Sauer down 3-0 and almost pulling of an improbable upset before a 6-5 OT loss.

Keep your eye on the RedHawks. They can score, defend, hit and play as well as any team on any given night and they need only a four-game winning streak, something they have done away from Oxford this season. The loss Saturday night should help make them more “battle tested.” Remember, the U.S. had to lose to Canada at the World Juniors before beating them to win the gold medal.

Now, back to those eras alluded to at the top.

The era of Michigan being in the NCAA tourney for a 20th straight year was close to coming to an end if it didn’t win the CCHA tourney. It did.

The other era that was ending was that of Shireen Saski and her great run of 11 years as the face of the CCHA on FS Detroit.

Saski has been a rink-side reporter for CCHA games and also a features reporter, host, and producer for CCHA All-Access. She has won three Michigan Emmys for CCHA stories and received nine nominations. That resume landed her on the Hobey Baker Award selection committee this season for a three-year term which coincides with her place on the Heisman Trophy selection committee the past two years for her on-air college football work for the Big Ten Network.

Rink-side reporters come and go in college hockey, but she stayed and did so because of several reasons. She had a tireless work ethic, knew her stuff and was able to get to the essence of what was on the line each and every game. Her pursuit of the real stories in each game, her ability to tell those stories in a live game or in a CCHA All-Access feature was what made her the best college hockey reporter on TV in America.

Seven seasons ago in prepping for a Michigan game I had for CSTV (now CBS College Sports) that weekend, I first saw Saski at work watching a Michigan game from the past week on tape. I had never met her or seen her work. After watching two periods and two intermissions I called my producer at CSTV, Ross Molloy, and said, “I don’t think our company policy is to use rink-side reporters but if ever do I found us a great one.”

He asked who?

I said Shireen Saski of FSN Detroit.

Ross, who was trained by some of the best in TV at ABC Sports on “Monday Night Football,” the Indy 500, the British Open and college football, was intrigued.

“Tell me more.”

I told Molloy that it was so obvious that this was someone who just knew her stuff and wasn’t reading off cards handed to her by a producer. This was a lady who spoke with authority about her material which gave you the impression that she talked to her subjects for stories that week. In-game, she related some current stories in a historical context of past games and seasons, meaning that this was someone who knew the league and teams pretty well.

Saski has co-hosted the CCHA awards banquet for years and has done a great job with co-host Fred Pletsch on that event. She has brought class, elegance and savvy to an evening that is choreographed extremely well. She has worked 11 CCHA Championships in that time, 10 as the rink-side reporter/host.

She is leaving FS Detroit and her coverage of this great conference to pursue other challenges. During her time there she has spent countless hours working with local charities and donating her time helping to raise funds for great causes. She is a cancer survivor who never let herself be a victim of a bad break but rather used her second chance to make a difference in other people’s lives, mine included. She has emceed the MAHA dinner for Michigan Amateur Hockey and several others in the Greater Detroit area.

In light of her remarkable career, some type of public recognition by her colleagues at either the banquet or on air this weekend was in order and maybe by oversight it didn’t happen. She is long on class act and short on ego which is why she never expected it nor would she ever want to be bigger than the event. She rested easily Saturday night when it was all over knowing that she had finished 11 years in her dream job covering Detroit sports.

She spent all day Saturday at the Joe talking with both teams extensively about the title game that night. As she did her interviews, many folks there came over to her to say goodbye and to wish her well. That included employees at the arena who she had gotten to know over the years and who had adopted her as one of their own. She was moved to tears several times at the outpouring from so many people whom she had known at the Joe during the past decade.

This will serve as the public recognition she deserves for what she has accomplished at FS Detroit and I’m glad that USCHO allowed me to do so.

As a kid growing up in the subburbs of Detroit, she grew up wanting to play center field for the Tigers. She rooted for her beloved Red Wings despite living in Connecticut while working for ESPN and later being a radio sports personality in Dallas.

When John Tuohey of FS Detroit gave her the chance to come home and cover the teams she rooted for as a kid she jumped at it and the rest is history. She has covered the World Series and four Stanley Cup Finals for FSD as well as a Frozen Four and numerous big games in the CCHA. It is a conference she has come to call home.

The coaches, players and SIDs put their trust in her as a responsible and ethical sports journalist. A Michigan State alumni and proud of it, you would never know where she went to school during a broadcast involving the Spartans (even when it was against Michigan) in any sport. There is no rooting interest in her professional work. She roots for the games to be good and the fans to be entertained by the telecast.

She was part of the broadcast team for the Cold War game in East Lansing and the Camp Randall Classic in Madison; the only broadcaster to be part of the two most attended college hockey games in history. That in itself is impressive. Both FSD and the Big Ten Network (which did the Camp Randall game) knew that she is the sideline reporter you want on a big college hockey game where the CCHA is involved.

FS Detroit will fill the role she leaves behind but will be hard pressed to find someone who could do the job as well and loved it as much as she did. It is hard to find someone who brought what she did to the table. She cared; she was the consummate pro who knew how to find a story, how to bring it out of people and how to put it into words and pictures. She knows what to ask and what not to, when to be compassionate with a subject and when to hold firm.

During a postgame interview this season, a coach asked her if she thought a goal that was waved off was actually a goal, referring to her having seen the replay. That’s being put on the spot. She smoothly responded “they called it no goal” and the interview moved on. A wrong answer there gets you fired or embroiled in a controversy. She played it off like a pro and all walked away with their dignity intact. That’s veteran savvy; that’s what makes a good reporter and enhances a good broadcast. It is why the NHL Network brought her on board to work the women’s Olympic team’s pre-tourney games as its rink-side voice. That is the esteem in which she is held in the business.

She leaves FS Detroit with her head held high and the respect of her colleagues in college and professional hockey as well as the many other sports she covers. She left on her own terms and at a time of her own choosing. Life will go on and new challenges will be there to tackle.

She might be replaceable to FS Detroit, but she isn’t to me. I guess that is why I’m looking forward to marrying her in July. She will be Shireen Starman then, but to her fans and supporters in Michigan she will always be Shireen Saski, the face and voice of the CCHA.

NCAA Selection Show Live Blog

USCHO Staff Report
-

Join us for a live interactive blog as the NCAA men’s hockey tournament field is announced.

O’Brien Held Up Title Hopes for Green Knights

By
-

Following the graduation of St. Norbert’s all-everything goaltender Kyle Jones, coach Tim Coghlin knew he had a big set of pads to fill for the team. Jones led the Green Knights to the national title in 2008 without allowing a goal in two games at the Frozen Four in Lake Placid.

“We obviously needed to re-tool the lineup a bit in the past couple of seasons and probably the biggest reason we didn’t get back here last season was the inconsistency we had with our goaltending,” Coghlin said. “If you ask how big a part of the success we have had this year comes back to BJ, I would say a lot. He has been very consistent back there and with our style of play he has needed to be very good since most of our games are tight and low-scoring.”

O’Brien has started 29 games for St. Norbert this season, posting a 24-2-3 record. His 1.63 goals against average is second in the nation behind only Ryan Klingensmith from Norwich who is parked in net at the other end of the ice for tonight’s title game.

That might seem a bit poetic that the two leading goaltenders in the nation are
matched up in a winner take all game to determine the 2010 national champion. Based on statistics alone, this one is going to be a low scoring affair.

In the semifinal matchup against the high-powered offense from Oswego State, O’Brien came up very big early, late and on several situations where turnovers created prime scoring opportunities for the Lakers. O’Brien finished the game with just 20 saves but the quality of the saves was what helped the Green Knights pull out the 4-3 win.

“I knew we were playing against really strong teams this weekend,” said O’Brien. I really focused on my preparation and the things that prepared me for success. I need to control my rebounds and be out challenging the shooters. I have had a chance to see the puck very well with the defense keeping things to the outside so I just focused one shift at time and that worked pretty well for me.”

Through three periods of the championship game both goaltenders have lived up to their advanced billing as regulation ended in a 1-1 tie.

In the first overtime Norwich found their second wind and assaulted O’Brien’s goal in search of ending the game. The junior standout made several spectacular saves on clean break-ins by the Cadet forwards and calmly directed all of the rebounds away from harm’s way. A pad save on a one-timer from the slot was followed by two more pad stops at the top of the crease to keep the game tied early in the overtime session where the Cadets seized momentum.

Thirteen total saves in the first overtime period had Norwich looking for additional ammunition as they headed to the locker room trying to solve O’Brien’s masterful goaltending.

In the second overtime, Norwich again came out firing from every conceivable angle and despite appearing physically weary at times, O’Brien kept the puck out the St. Norbert net as the game surpassed the prior record as the longest overtime game in D-III championship history.

With just 31.4 seconds remaining in the overtime period Norwich’s Kyle Thomas launched a shot from the right boards where O’Brien made two saves only to be beaten on the third rebound by freshman Pier-Oliver Cotnoir and Norwich took the national title by a 2-1 score.

“I thought Norwich had more jump than we did especially in the overtime,” said Coghlin. “As the game wore on it became more and more apparent that BJ was keeping us in it and that we needed just that one play, one chance to try and win it for him. We asked him to do a lot tonight and he more than gave us a chance.

Junior BJ O'Brien set an NCAA Championship record with 70 saves against Norwich (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

Junior BJ O’Brien set an NCAA Championship record with 70 saves against Norwich (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

“I was surprised when Klinger (Klingensmith) was named as the All-tournament team but I didn’t realize there was a separate award for the Most Outstanding Player and BJ certainly earned that tonight.”

“Last season we split the games,” said O’Brien. “This year I really worked hard in the off-season to be the number one guy and that work has paid off. It’s nice to be recognized for playing well but I would take the win any time over the personal award. I know this season will help me to only work harder to be better.”

Hard to be much better with a record breaking 70 saves. If he is back and healthy again next season, St. Norbert’s will be in the hunt for another national title.

Miami, Denver, Wisconsin, Boston College Get Top Seeds in NCAA Tournament

USCHO Staff Report
-

The NCAA men’s ice hockey committee might have had attendance on the mind when it put together the bracket for the 2010 NCAA tournament.

Miami, Denver, Wisconsin and Boston College earned No. 1 seeds, but the variations from complete bracket integrity with the third seeds appeared to be to get some teams closer to home, where they could bring more fans to fill the seats.

Related link: Printable NCAA tournament bracket
Related link: NCAA tournament page

Michigan goes to the Midwest Regional in Fort Wayne, Ind., to play Bemidji State. New Hampshire goes to the East Regional in Albany, N.Y., to play Cornell.

Northern Michigan is headed to St. Paul, Minn., to play St. Cloud State; Wisconsin also appears at the Xcel Energy Center.

RIT, the fourth seed in Albany, is one of the teams that stands to benefit from being closer to home.

“Being so close, it’s great for RIT — the student body, the administration, and our fans,” Tigers coach Wayne Wilson said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a lot of people cheering us on.”

The Tigers face Denver in the first round in their first Division I tournament.

“It was a goal we set for ourselves when we moved to Division I five years
ago,” Wilson said. “It’s been a lot of hard work over five years and I give the
credit to this team and the ones in the past.”

Boston College gets to stay near home as the No. 1 seed in Worcester.

“It’s great that our students and our local people can watch the game without traveling a great deal,” Eagles coach Jerry York said. “The No. 1 seed gives you the advantage of playing on ‘home ice.’ With Worcester, we’ve been there a number of times.”

Miami is the No. 1 overall seed, and it drew CHA tournament champion Alabama-Huntsville in the first round in Fort Wayne.

“We’re obviously very excited to the No. 1 overall seed,” Miami coach Enrico Blasi told the Dayton Daily News. “It’s a credit to the team and what they did all season.

“But now it’s anybody’s game. It’s 16 teams for a national championship.”

Alabama-Huntsville, which won the CHA tournament for an automatic bid, is the lowest seed in the tournament and therefore drew Miami.

“I don’t know if you look forward to playing Miami, but we’ll do what we’ve done all year and play the way we play and see how we do,” Chargers coach Danton Cole said. “Rico does a heck of a job, and I’ve seen most of their guys play in juniors out doing recruiting. They’ve got some dynamite kids there.”

With two CHA teams and two CCHA teams in Fort Wayne, there’s a chance for an all-league regional final.

Yes, even an all-CHA final.

“I’d love to play anybody on Sunday,” Cole said. “Our focus has to be on Miami.”

Wisconsin returns to St. Paul, where on Saturday it defeated Denver in the WCHA Final Five third-place game.

“I think we believe in each other and we believe that [we can make a run],” Badgers captain Blake Geoffrion said. “But right now, we are focusing on Vermont. That’s all we can control for right now. We’ll take it one game at a time.”

The WCHA and CCHA shared the lead with four teams selected each. Hockey East had three, ECAC Hockey and the CHA have two each and Atlantic Hockey has one.

“I’m really excited to get three teams in from our conference,” York said of Hockey East. “During the last few weeks we were always talking about is it going to be one, is it going to be two. Three looked like a reach there for a while. Also with Hockey East, it’s all different brackets. Now we can really root for each other. Now it’s, ‘Hey let’s get as many teams.’ We can get three teams in the Frozen Four. It happened in Anaheim [in 1999]. I’ll be texting [Vermont coach] Kevin [Sneddon] and [New Hampshire coach] Dick [Umile] this morning, ‘I’ll see you at Ford Field.'”

North Dakota, which faces Yale in the Northeast Regional, won the WCHA Final Five by winning three games in three days.

“I know it’s a tough matchup,” Sioux coach Dave Hakstol said. “I know that kind of year that they’ve had. They’re an extremely talented team, especially in terms of team speed. Keith Allain has them playing as well as anybody. It’s a great matchup, and it’ll be an exciting game.”

Here are the matchups with times and TV plans:

East Regional

At Times Union Center, Albany, N.Y.
• No. 1 Denver (27-9-4) vs. No. 4 RIT (26-11-1), 3 p.m. Eastern Friday (ESPNU HD)
• No. 2 Cornell (21-8-4) vs. No. 3 New Hampshire (17-13-7), 6:30 p.m. Eastern Friday (ESPNU HD)
• Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday (ESPNU HD)

West Regional

At Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.
• No. 2 St. Cloud State (23-13-5) vs. No. 3 Northern Michigan (20-12-8), 4:30 p.m. Central Friday (ESPN Syndication HD/ESPN360.com/tape delay 10:30 p.m. Central, ESPNU)
• No. 1 Wisconsin (25-10-4) vs. No. 4 Vermont (17-14-7), 8 p.m. Central Friday (ESPNU HD)
• Semifinal winners, 8 p.m. Central Saturday (ESPNU HD)

Northeast Regional

At DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
• No. 1 Boston College (25-10-3) vs. No. 4 Alaska (18-11-9), 1:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday (ESPN Syndication/ESPN360.com/tape delay 9:30 a.m. Sunday, ESPNU)
• No. 2 North Dakota (25-12-5) vs. No. 3 Yale (20-9-3), 5 p.m. Eastern Saturday
(ESPN Syndication/ESPN360.com/tape delay noon Eastern Sunday)
• Semifinal winners, 5:30 p.m. Eastern Sunday (ESPNU)

Midwest Regional

At Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Ind.
• No. 1 Miami (27-7-7) vs. No. 4 Alabama-Huntsville (12-17-3), 4 p.m. Eastern Saturday (ESPNU)
• No. 2 Bemidji State (23-9-4) vs. No. 3 Michigan (25-17-1), 7:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday (ESPN Syndication/ESPN360.com/tape delay 11:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday, ESPNU)
• Semifinal winners, 8 p.m. Sunday (ESPNU)

Contributing: Jim Connelly, Chris Lerch, Patrick C. Miller, Geof F. Morris, Benjamin Worgull

Women’s D-I Championship Chat

USCHO Staff Report
-

Executive editor Tim Brule, arena reporter Scott Bridges, women’s editor Brian Sullivan, D-III women’s editor Matt Rennell, and veteran women’s reporter David De Remer covered the national title game with over 550 fans. Read the recap here.

Spring Break?

By
-

For St. Norbert senior Markie Menacher, spring break thoughts naturally migrated to Cancun, Florida or any other warm destination where college kids convene to party and enjoy a break from school — especially one located mere miles from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Winters there are usually enough to make anyone think about a warmer climate, no gloves or hats and maybe even an early jump on the summer tan.

Markie Menacher and her father, Bill (photo: Tim Costello).

Markie Menacher and her father, Bill (photo: Tim Costello).

Not so for Markie!

Due to an ongoing love of the game of hockey and her relationship with one St. Norbert’s talented defensemen, Markie is spending her spring break in Lake Placid, New York with her Dad, Bill and about 200 other Green Knight supporters at the D-III Frozen Four.

Boyfriend Mike Bernardy (eight goals, 12 assists, 20 points) is a junior defenseman playing for St. Norbert and the relationship with Markie has spawned a hockey love affair across the Menacher family and friends back in Wisconsin.

“I never watched a game before Markie and Mike started dating,” said Bill Menacher. “Hockey just wasn’t a big thing in our family but it is now. We have 24 seats at every home game between all of the friends and family and we are really excited to watch Mike and his teammates.”

Never watched a hockey game? Seemed a little difficult for me to believe as I talked to Bill and Markie over lunch at Players Restaurant overlooking a frozen Mirror Lake in Lake Placid.

“Did you have any thoughts about watching a hockey game when you sat in Herb Brooks Arena yesterday afternoon to watch the semifinal game?,” I asked. “Yes — of course yes,” said Bill. “I think we all watched “THE GAME” in the Olympics back in 1980 and I have watched some Olympic hockey since but not really any college or pro hockey.”

Markie, on the other hand is a big fan. Of course she is a big Knights fan but she also got her hockey fix by watching the Green Bay Gamblers, a local junior team in Wisconsin.

“I really love watching the game and am a big hockey fan. It’s an exciting game to watch and it’s a great event on campus with the games at St. Norbert.”

So a big fan and now dating one of the St. Norbert players — any stress watching the games or superstitions before games?

“It’s definitely different watching the games where Mike is playing,” said
Markie. “Especially when he is on the ice, I get nervous hoping everything will go right for him and the team. I think that’s where the superstitions help.”

Apparently even at the collegiate level, hockey players are superstitious about certain things and particular rituals that are believed to promote good luck or positive outcomes.

“There are definitely things that have to be done the same way before every game,” said Markie. “We always have to go to the same breakfast place and Mike has to have Eggs Benedict. I have to layout his suit and clothes for each game — he won’t touch the clothes unless I do. He also gave me a winter hat I need to wear during the games — most of the time I hold it in my lap but I do wear it when things get a little too close. So far it must be working since we are here with another chance to win a national championship.”

As we looked out the window at a frozen and snow covered lake, I asked Markie:

“Wish you were somewhere warmer?”

“No way! This has been a great trip! Lake Placid is really a lot of fun and has such a great atmosphere walking around town. This morning my Dad and me went down the bobsled run and it was really exciting and scary all at the same time. Besides when Dad said he was covering the trip how could I say no?”

The Menachers have all grown to love hockey, including watching Markie's boyfriend, St. Norbert junior defenseman Mike Bernardy (photo: Tim Costello).

The Menachers have all grown to love hockey, including watching Markie’s boyfriend, St. Norbert junior defenseman Mike Bernardy (photo: Tim Costello).

For the Menachers and about 200 of the traveling contingent from Wisconsin, tonight’s championship game was not an expected destination this march but certainly a welcome one. As for the remaining friends and family who didn’t make the trip.

“They are all watching the game in a restaurant not far from campus,” said Bill Menacher. “This has been a great trip and we are already thinking about plans for next year’s Frozen Four in Minnesota.”

Tonight they are focused on finishing this season and hopefully watching one more win for their Green Knights — one more win that will end the season with a title and truly usher in the spring season at St. Norbert’s.

NCAA Championship Notebook

By
-

Overtime Finals

This was the fifth national championship to be decided in overtime. None of the prior ones went into a second overtime period. It’s the second time each of these teams were involved in one. Both lost in previous attempts.

The first was 1993, the first time they used a neutral site for Division III. Held at the Aldrich Arena in Maplewood, Minn., the final consisted of an intraconference battle between the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point. Stevens Point took the win, 4-3. This gave the Pointers their fourth title in five years.

It was another nine years before a final match needed extra time. Norwich led Superior, 2-1, when Colin Kendall scored not one but two of the most historic goals in Yellowjackets history. Kendall tied the game with 1:26 left in regulation. Then, just 26 seconds into overtime, Kendall ended it, giving Superior their one and only title in the quickest overtime game in a Division III championship final.

Two years later, fans were treated to free hockey again. In a defensive, goaltending battle, Middlebury and St. Norbert played to a scoreless tie after 60 minutes. However, when overtime started, it didn’t take long to finally see a goal. Kevin Cooper scored at 2:58 to kick off another string of national championships for the Panthers as they went on to win three in a row.

The last overtime final before today saw Middlebury on the wrong end of the results sheet. In 2007, Middlebury and Oswego fought a seesaw battle. The Panthers tied the game with 2:25 left in the third. But it was Oswego that got the last goal at 12:55 by Garren Reisweber. It was the longest championship game in Division III until today.

The previous longest NCAA Division III playoff game went 93:26 between RIT and Union in 1984, which Union won, 5-4, in the semifinal round.

The new record, of course, is now 99:29.

“Thank God it ended,” Norwich head coach Mike McShane said. “That was a tiring game.”

Norwich's Chad Anderson scores the first goal of the game (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

Norwich’s Chad Anderson scores the first goal of the game (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

“Getting longer and longer, you just keep getting [more and more tired]” Norwich forward Chad Anderson said.

“Definitely the longest game I’ve been a part of,” the winning goal scorer Pier-Oliver Cotnoir said.

All-Tournament Team

After resurrecting the All-Tournament team last year, they continued the process for 2010. The team was consisted of players from the two finalists.

Forward: Pier-Oliver Cotnoir (Norwich)
Forward: Chad Anderson (Norwich)
Forward: Johan Ryd (St. Norbert)
Defense: Steve Coon (Norwich)
Defense: Sam Tikka (St. Norbert)
Goalie: Ryan Klingensmith (Norwich)

MOP: B.J. O’Brien (St. Norbert)

“B.J. gave us the best opportunity possible,” St. Norbert head coach Tim Coghlin said. “I was a little concerned that Norwich goaltender was the goaltender of record here and then I didn’t realize there was an outstanding player award coming. I truly thought B.J. was the most outstanding goaltender here.”

All-American Watch

Six All-Americans competed in this championship weekend, five of them on the First Team.

On top of the list was the All-American epic goaltending duel with Ryan Klingensmith coming out on top over B.J. O’Brien. In total, Klingensmith stopped 62 shots on the weekend while O’Brien turned aside an amazing 90. Klingensmith’s career is complete while O’Brien has one year remaining.

“Unbelievable feeling,” Klingensmith said. “You’re last chance as a senior before your career is over in college hockey. To come out on top in the fashion we did, there’s no better feeling than that.”

B.J. O'Brien makes one of his record 70 saves (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

B.J. O’Brien makes one of his record 70 saves (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

O’Brien said, “Going down the stretch it was getting tiring, but at the same time we got here this far, I figured just keep making the saves and get a chance to put one in.”

The lone second teamer this weekend, junior forward Chad Anderson of Norwich, scored the opening goal in the final game. It was his only point of the tournament.

Norwich’s first team defenseman, Eric Tallent, sat out the final game due to a foot injury. He helped provide the defense in the first game which enabled his Cadets to beat Plattsburgh.

“Eric has been a great player for us,” Norwich coach Mike McShane said. “He helped us win it last night and all year.”

Junior defenseman Nick Tabisz of St. Norbert was a plus one in the two games.

Eric Selleck, the sophomore forward from Oswego, was the only All American from one of the losing semifinal teams. He did not get any points on Friday despite the box score showing him with an assist on Neil Musselwhite’s goal, which was clearly Justin Fox’s assist, not Selleck’s.

Repeat Champion

The past three years, Division III hockey saw brand new national champions: Oswego (2007), St. Norbert (2008), and Neumann (2009). This year, there was once again a repeat champion as Norwich took their third title (2000 and 2003).

When Tallent Is Good Enough

By
-

For senior defenseman Eric Tallent, this weekend was to be the culmination of a terrific four year career playing for Norwich in the Frozen Four with the goal of hoisting the national championship trophy on Saturday after one more win against St. Norbert.

The outcome of the game has yet to be decided but the role of the All-American defender from Garland, Texas has been determined by a lingering injury that has him sitting out his final collegiate game, unable to skate.

Tallent sustained a foot injury during the ECAC East championship game against Babson back on March 6. While not believed to be terribly serious at the time, Tallent found that he could walk without great difficulty but could not skate with the foot problem. Following a week of treatment and no skating, the senior was unable to suit up in the NCAA quarterfinal round against Elmira but was clearly focused on being able to play in Lake Placid.

“We didn’t want to force anything,” said head coach Mike McShane. “He just couldn’t put any pressure on the foot inside the skate so we wanted to have him get some treatment and rest and see if he could come back after the Elmira game.”

The week leading up to Lake Placid wasn’t much different as treatment continued and Tallent was limited to just one full practice on Thursday which had the Norwich camp optimistic that one of their defensive stalwarts and special team leaders would be on the ice to face Plattsburgh on Friday night. Based on the practice things looked good and when No. 44 skated out for the warm-up, the

Norwich faithful were excited and relieved by his return to the line-up.
Paired with his usual partner, captain Tyler Stitt, Tallent did not skip a beat and logged significant ice time on his regular shift as well as power play and penalty kill duty. Adrenaline from the excitement of playing in the Frozen Four probably helped to mask any discomfort during the game which the Cadets won by a 3-2 score. However, as the game wore on, Tallent was looking to treat the foot between periods.

“He said he could ice it between periods,” noted McShane. “We didn’t think it was a good idea to take the boot off between periods since we didn’t know if he would be able to get it back on to keep playing. He’s a real tough kid and he wasn’t going to miss being out there with his teammates.”

Senior Eric Tallent helped his team in Friday's semifinal win but had to sit out Saturday's championship game with an injury (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

Senior Eric Tallent helped his team in Friday’s semifinal win but had to sit out Saturday’s championship game with an injury (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo).

Apparently, the considerable ice time and physical play from Friday night’s contest against Plattsburgh combined with the short turnaround time to the championship game on Saturday was too much for the foot to recover from. During the warm-up for the championship game something snapped in the foot and Tallent told his coach he couldn’t go.

“We really didn’t have a lot of time to think about it,” said McShane. “We have been dealing with injuries all season. I never had so many knee injuries as we have had this season so we have had guys all year that have had to step up and get the job done for other guys when they have been unable to play. We went and found Pasha [Kozhokin] and got him dressed and out quickly for a little warm-up and then went over the game plan in the locker room and off we went.“

“I really feel bad for the kid [Tallent] that he couldn’t play. He didn’t play the last four minutes of the game last night, His last game as a senior and he couldn’t play but he helped us win all season and was a big part of last night’s win over Plattsburgh.”

As young as this year’s Cadet team is, the leadership from Stitt, Tallent, Serino and Klingensmith has been a big factor in the team gelling quickly and playing up to their number one ranking.

So the question was could the team pick-up for their ailing assistant captain and bring home the trophy in this the 100th year of hockey at Norwich.

After an arduous and draining 99:29 minutes of hockey including two overtimes, the Cadets scored with just 31.2 seconds remaining. Ten years after winning their first tile in 2000, Norwich is again national champions and Eric Tallent has seen his team leverage their talent to complete a dream season.

D-III Title Game Notebook

By
-

Overtime Finals

This was the fifth national championship to be decided in overtime. None of the prior ones went into a second overtime period. It’s the second time each of these teams were involved in one. Both lost in previous attempts.

The first was 1993, the first time they used a neutral site for Division III. Held at the Aldridge Arena in Maplewood, Minn., the final consisted of an interconference battle between UW-River Falls and UW-Stevens Point. Stevens Point took the win, 4-3. This gave the Pointers their fourth title in five years.

It was another nine years before a final match needed extra time. Norwich led Superior, 2-1, when Colin Kendall scored not one but two of the most historic goals in Yellowjackets history. Kendall tied the game with 1:26 left in regulation. Then, just 26 seconds into overtime, Kendall ended it, giving Superior its one and only title in the quickest overtime game in a Division III championship final.

Two years later, fans were treated to free hockey again. In a defensive, goaltending battle, Middlebury and St. Norbert played to a scoreless tie after 60 minutes. However, when overtime started, it didn’t take long to finally see a goal. Kevin Cooper scored at 2:58 to kick off another string of national championships for the Panthers, who went on to win three in a row.

The last overtime final before today saw Middlebury on the wrong end of the results sheet. In 2007, Middlebury and Oswego fought a see-saw battle. The Panthers tied the game with 2:25 left in the third, but it was Oswego that got the last goal at 12:55 by Garren Reisweber. It was the longest championship game in Division III until today.

The previous longest NCAA Division III playoff game went 93:26 between RIT and Union in 1984, which Union won, 5-4, in the semifinal round.

The new record, of course, is now 99:29.

“Thank God it ended,” Norwich coach Mike McShane said. “That was a tiring game.”

“Getting longer and longer, you just keep getting tireder and tireder,” Norwich forward Chad Anderson said.

Norwich's Chad Anderson scores the first goal of the game. Photo by Angelo Lisuzzo.

Norwich’s Chad Anderson scores the first goal of the game. Photo by Angelo Lisuzzo.

“Definitely the longest game I’ve been a part of,” the winning goal scorer Pier-Oliver Cotnoir said.

All Tournament Team

After resurrecting the All Tournament team last year, they continued the process for 2010. The team was consisted of players from the two finalists.

Forward: Pier-Oliver Cotnoir (Norwich)
Forward: Chad Anderson (Norwich)
Forward: Johan Ryd (St. Norbert)
Defense: Steve Coon (Norwich)
Defense: Sam Tikka (St. Norbert)
Goalie: Ryan Klingensmith (Norwich)

MOP: B.J. O’Brien (St. Norbert)

“B.J. gave us the best opportunity possible,” St. Norbert coach Tim Coghlin said. “I was a little concerned that Norwich goaltender was the goaltender of record here and then I didn’t realize there was an outstanding player award coming. I truly thought B.J. was the most outstanding goaltender here.”

B. J. O'Brien makes one of his record 70 saves. Photo by Angelo Lisuzzo.

B. J. O’Brien makes one of his record 70 saves. Photo by Angelo Lisuzzo.

All American Watch

Six All Americans competed in this championship weekend, five of them First Team All Americans.

On top of the list was the First Team All American epic goaltending duel with Ryan Klingensmith coming out on top over B.J. O’Brien. In total, Klingensmith stopped 62 shots on the weekend while O’Brien turned aside an amazing 90. Klingensmith’s career is complete, while O’Brien has one year remaining.

“Unbelievable feeling,” Klingensmith said. “You’re last chance as a senior before your career is over in college hockey. To come out on top in the fashion we did, there’s no better feeling than that.”

O’Brien said, “Going down the stretch it was getting tiring, but at the same time we got here this far, I figured just keep making the saves and get a chance to put one in.”

The lone second teamer this weekend, junior forward Chad Anderson of Norwich, scored the opening goal in the final game. It was his only point of the tournament.

Norwich’s first team defenseman, Eric Tallent, sat out the final game due to a foot injury. He helped provide the defense in the first game, which enabled his Cadets to beat Plattsburgh.

“Eric has been a great player for us,” Norwich coach Mike McShane said. “He helped us win it last night and all year.”

Junior defenseman Nick Tabisz of St. Norbert was a plus one in the two games.

Eric Selleck, the sophomore forward from Oswego, was the only All American from one of the losing semifinal teams. He did not get any points on Friday, despite the box score showing him with an assist on Neil Musselwhite’s goal, which was clearly Justin Fox’s assist, not Selleck’s.

Repeat Champion

The past three years, Division III hockey saw brand new national champions: Oswego (2007), St. Norbert (2008), and Neumann (2009). This year, there was once again a repeat champion as Norwich took their third title (2000 and 2003).

Final Five Name Lives on in WCHA, but With New Format

USCHO Staff Report
-

The WCHA Final Five name will live on, but the 2011 tournament will be a six-team event.

The moniker will reference the number of games in the tournament under the new format, which the league detailed Saturday.

With the addition of Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha next season, all 12 teams will take part in the postseason with six first-round series played on campus sites.

The six series winners will advance to the Final Five, with the top two remaining seeds getting a bye into Friday’s semifinals. The three through six seeds will play in Thursday games to pare the field to four for the weekend.

The third-place game will be eliminated.

“We are very excited to announce what we will feel will be a very positive evolution in the long and successful history of our WCHA Final Five beginning next season,” WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said in a statement. “A tremendous amount of work has gone into this process and numerous ideas and concepts were discussed. But ultimately our goal was to preserve the tremendously popular event we have now, continue to build on that success and add a couple of intriguing new twists.”

The Saturday championship game will be preceded by a Minnesota Wild NHL game during the afternoon.

McLeod said at a news conference Saturday that the league will continue its “Minnesota Rule,” which puts Minnesota in the late game on Thursday and Friday when it is alive in the tournament.

The league also unveiled a new version of the Broadmoor Trophy, which is presented to the Final Five champion. The new trophy is a bronze cast likeness of the Broadmoor Hotel, which hosted the early years of the NCAA championship and Colorado College hockey.

“The development of a new Broadmoor Trophy has been in works for a couple of years,” McLeod said. “We have been working closely with Steve Bartlett of the Broadmoor Hotel and Bill and Karen Busobusky of Blue Ribbon Trophies & Awards and could not be more pleased with how the project has come to fruition. Our MacNaughton Cup, which goes to our regular season champion, has long been recognized as one of the most impressive trophies in all of intercollegiate athletics and we know that this spectacular new Broadmoor Trophy will take a back seat to none. We are greatly indebted to the Broadmoor Hotel and want to recognize their long and significant relationship with the WCHA and college hockey in general.”

Three new trophies have been made — one stays with the winning team for a year, one will be on permanent display at the Xcel Energy Center and one will be a traveling trophy.

Scrivens, Power Play Both Deserve Attention

By
-

Much will be made of Ben Scrivens’ record-setting run to the ECAC Hockey crown, as well it should — Cornell’s senior goaltender, and league goalie of the year, deserves all that attention and more.

But what will likely go under-appreciated in the glow of the Big Red’s 20th conference championship was the team’s ability to draw penalties from a patently clean team, and also convert on those power plays for the decisive goals of the tournament.

At first, Union coach Nate Leaman pegged his team’s good penalties versus bad ones at, “about 50-50. I would say about half.” But later in the interview, he said, “The goaltender interference? That’s not us. The penalty to start the third? That was a bad penalty. The too many men? One man came, two men jumped.”

He eventually admitted without persuasion that he couldn’t remember too many “good” penalties that his team had taken.

Cornell took five penalties in the conference’s final game of the year, but compelled eight out of Union. That’s Union, whose Dutchmen’s season average was a mere 10.4 minutes per game.

“It’s no secret, a championship team has got to have good goaltending and good special teams,” said Cornell coach Mike Schafer. “[Our guys] were getting pretty frustrated coming back to the bench” after numerous power plays went for nought, he said, “but that second goal was a thing of beauty.

“They kept moving it around, moving it around, showed a lot of patience, had good opportunities, and finally were able to get that second goal, which was huge.”

Records Fall

Cornell and Scrivens became the first team/goalie to record consecutive shutouts in the ECAC Hockey championship weekend. The clean sheet brings Scrivens’ career mark up to five in league playoff games, which is also a record.

Continuing on a theme, the senior netminder’s one goal in four playoff games this year also sets a mark, and his 230:30 shutout streak establishes a conference bar as well.

Schafer ties current St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh with five league titles.

Final Bracketology: March 20, 2010

By
-

Here is our final Bracketology of the season. The games are all finished and this is how I think the NCAA Ice Hockey Championship Committee will think when it creates this year’s NCAA tournament (revealed 11:30 a.m. Sunday, ESPN2).

If you’re new to Bracketology, click here for the background.

If you don’t want to read the details, just look to your right on the sidebar for the Final Bracket Projection.

Here is the top 16 of the current PairWise Rankings (PWR), and any teams that have qualified and are not in the Top 16, meaning CHA champion Alabama-Huntsville, and Atlantic Hockey champion RIT:

1 Miami
2 Denver
3 Wisconsin
4 Boston College
5 North Dakota
6 St. Cloud State
7 Cornell
8 Bemidji State
9 Yale
10 Northern Michigan
11t New Hampshire
11t Michigan
11t Alaska
11t Vermont
15t Ferris State
15t Michigan State
25 RIT
— Alabama-Huntsville

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 RPI, and add in any autobids or current league leaders that are not currently in the top 16. The teams that are not are Alabama-Huntsville and RIT.

Looking at the head-to-head PairWise comparisons and the RPI we break all of our ties.

Therefore the 16 teams in the tournament, in rank order, are:

1 Miami
2 Denver
3 Wisconsin
4 Boston College
5 North Dakota
6 St. Cloud State
7 Cornell
8 Bemidji State
9 Yale
10 Northern Michigan
11 New Hampshire
12 Michigan
13 Alaska
14 Vermont
15 RIT
16 Alabama-Huntsville

Step Two

Now it’s time to assign the seeds.

No. 1 Seeds — Miami, Denver, Wisconsin, Boston College
No. 2 Seeds — North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Cornell, Bemidji State
No. 3 Seeds — Yale, Northern Michigan, New Hampshire, Michigan
No. 4 Seeds — Alaska, Vermont, RIT, Alabama-Huntsville

Step Three

Place the No. 1 seeds in regionals. Following the guidelines, there are no host teams, so that rule does not need to be enforced.

We now place the other No. 1 seeds based on proximity to the regional sites.

No. 1 Miami is placed in the Midwest Regional in Fort Wayne, Ind.
No. 2 Denver is placed in the West Regional in St. Paul, Minn.
No. 3 Wisconsin is placed in the East Regional in Albany, N.Y.
No. 4 Boston College is placed in the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass.

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 (unless you are a host school, in which case you must be assigned to your home regional).

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 Bemidji State is placed in No. 1 Miami’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 7 Cornell is placed in No. 2 Denver’s Regional, the West Regional.
No. 6 St. Cloud State is placed in No. 3 Wisconsin’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 5 North Dakota is placed in No. 4 Boston College’s Regional, the Northeast 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.

Therefore:

No. 9 Yale is placed in No. 8 Bemidji State’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 10 Northern Michigan is placed in No. 7 Cornell’s Regional, the West Regional.
No. 11 New Hampshire is placed in No. 6 St. Cloud’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 12 Michigan is placed in No. 5 North Dakota’s Regional, the Northeast Regional.

No. 4 Seeds

One more time, taking No. 16 vs. No. 1, No. 15 vs. No. 2, etc.

No. 16 Alabama-Huntsville is sent to No. 1 Miami’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 15 RIT is sent to No. 2 Denver’s Regional, the West Regional.
No. 14 Vermont is sent to No. 3 Wisconsin’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 13 Alaska is sent to No. 4 Boston College’s Regional, the Northeast Regional.

The brackets as we have set them up:

Northeast Regional:

Alaska vs. Boston College
Michigan vs. North Dakota

Midwest Regional:

Alabama-Huntsville vs. Miami
Yale vs. Bemidji State

East Regional:

Vermont vs. Wisconsin
New Hampshire vs. St. Cloud State

West Regional:

RIT vs. Denver
Northern Michigan vs. Cornell

Our first concern is avoiding intra-conference matchups. We have none.

So do we like our brackets?

Pretty simple and easy isn’t it?

How about attendance wise?

The West Regional is a killer. The East Regional is a killer.

Hey let’s swap the ENTIRE Regional.

So now we have:

Northeast Regional:

Alaska vs. Boston College
Michigan vs. North Dakota

Midwest Regional:

Alabama-Huntsville vs. Miami
Yale vs. Bemidji State

West Regional:

Vermont vs. Wisconsin
New Hampshire vs. St. Cloud State

East Regional:

RIT vs. Denver
Northern Michigan vs. Cornell

Now that’s much better.

Albany looks good with Cornell and RIT. Denver had to fly anyway, so why not fly to Albany for attendance purposes? NMU gets displaced, though, but for the good of attendance, it is a nice switch.

Then in St. Paul we’ve added Wisconsin and St. Cloud. That makes the attendance go up immediately.

So are we done?

Here’s one more thing to consider. How about a swap of New Hampshire and Michigan?

Why, you ask? Well, if you put one more Hockey East school in Worcester, wouldn’t your attendance go up? Yes it would.

But would you hurt bracket integrity?

Let’s take a look.

New Hampshire and Michigan are tied at No. 11 in the PairWise, and it’s broken by RPI.

But the committee might possibly look at this tie and say that Michigan is 11 and UNH is 12 instead of the other way around.

That would give us:

Northeast Regional:

Alaska vs. Boston College
New Hampshire vs. North Dakota

Midwest Regional:

Alabama-Huntsville vs. Miami
Yale vs. Bemidji State

West Regional:

Vermont vs. Wisconsin
Michigan vs. St. Cloud State

East Regional:

RIT vs. Denver
Northern Michigan vs. Cornell

Now that’s a nice bracket for attendance in Worcester, Albany and St. Paul.

Too bad we can’t do anything with Fort Wayne.

So that’s the bracket, right?

Let’s consider one more thing here.

There is debate about how ties in the PairWise Rankings are broken. Not how to break comparisons, but how to break the ties in the rankings.

Meaning that if two teams are tied in one spot, is it broken by who wins that comparison, or who wins the RPI?

I believe it’s by RPI, thus the breaking of the tie at 11 for all of the teams shaking out that way.

But what if it were by head-to-head comparisons?

The tie at 11 would go be broken this way:

UNH beats Michigan and Vermont.

Alaska beats UNH and Vermont.

Michigan beats Alaska.

Vermont beats Michigan.

So that would rank them as Alaska, UNH, Vermont, Michigan.

Meaning that the tournament would look like this:

Northeast Regional:

Michigan vs. Boston College
New Hampshire vs. North Dakota

Midwest Regional:

Alabama-Huntsville vs. Miami
Yale vs. Bemidji State

West Regional:

Vermont vs. Wisconsin
Alaska vs. St. Cloud State

East Regional:

RIT vs. Denver
Northern Michigan vs. Cornell

Could this possibly be the way that the committee goes? Breaking the rankings by head-to-head comparison wins?

Possible, but I don’t think so.

We’re going with two switches overall in creating this tournament.

• Swapping the entire Denver and Wisconsin brackets and sending the Denver bracket to Albany and the Wisconsin bracket to St. Paul.

• Swapping New Hampshire and Michigan because they are tied in the rankings and both in the third band because it will create less flights and better attendance.

That’s it.

The bracket is summed up on the sidebar.

We’ll be back for an analysis of the actual bracket Sunday afternoon.

CCHA Championship Live Blog: Saturday

USCHO Staff Report
-

Join us for live coverage from the CCHA Championship.

Last Train out of Albany

By
-

The NCAA hasn’t given up on Albany, but ECAC Hockey has.

This weekend marks the last time for the foreseeable future that the league will host its championship tournament in the Empire State’s capital city. Next year? Atlantic City … the city that’s “always turned on”. Multiple public-address announcements publicized the change-of-venue during the weekend’s games at Albany’s Times-Union Center, home of the last seven conference tournament finales; each announcement was met with vociferous disapproval from the crowd.

As distasteful as the town’s slogan may be for a family-oriented association like the ECAC Hockey league, the move was all but necessary for a league that is hungry for greater national attention. The championship weekend’s attendance hasn’t topped 16,500 since the spring of 1999, when both North Country teams (St. Lawrence and Clarkson) played for the crown in relatively local Lake Placid. Albany’s draw peaked at 16,217 for the weekend – and 8,637 for the title game – five years ago, when Cornell beat Harvard 3-1 to hoist the trophy.

Much of the problem rests in the championship quartet. Popular regional program Rensselaer didn’t qualify for a single ECAC Final Four in its eight years in the Capital District, and Union – in nearby Schenectady – only just made it this year. Since the conference has no control over the qualifiers, commissioner Steve Hagwell and the ECAC Hockey general committee are trying a different tack: go to the alumni, instead of the other way around.

Hagwell & Co. hope that Atlantic City will draw more successfully from the heavily populated alumni base in the greater New York City area, and Boardwalk Hall offered suitable facilities and the most attractive incentives package of those received by the league. ECAC Hockey approached practically every reasonable site in the Northeast, according to Hagwell, and A.C. was ultimately deemed the best option for not only attendance factors, but fiscal ones as well.

The commissioner remains tight-lipped about which venues a) responded to the league’s inquiries and b) what packages were offered, but he did mention that popular options such as Lake Placid; Manchester, N.H.; Bridgeport, Conn.; and Glens Falls, N.Y. were approached.

It obviously remains to be seen how well Atlantic City will host this tournament, but it should not be dismissed out-of-hand as an irresponsible or knee-jerk decision.

Eidsness Rebounds from Rough Start for North Dakota

By Tyler Buckentine
-

Brad Eidsness doesn’t recall ever giving up two goals the way he did to open the WCHA Final Five championship game. One minute hadn’t gone by in the first period before the North Dakota goaltender let in two St. Cloud State goals.

“I kind of took a look around and looked at our bench,” Eidsness said. “It’s kind of been the story of our year. We battled through adversity and we were able to settle ourselves down.

The Fighting Sioux rallied around Eidsness, who stopped all but one of the shots he faced the rest of the night, leading the Sioux to the crown with a 4-3 win.

“It was something special for us seniors,” said UND assistant captain Darcy Zajac. “We had our chances in the past but it just seemed right this year. It was a special moment.”

Garrett Raboin and David Eddy scored goals at the 40- and 50-second marks of the first to give a 2-0 lead.

“We came out quick and we were able to put a couple in the net,” Raboin said.

Ryan Lasch danced around Andrew MacWilliam behind the UND goal and tripped over the side of the net as he made a pass to Raboin in the slot who snapshot the puck over Eidsness’ glove for the first goal.

And 15 seconds later, it was a two-goal game. Drew LeBlanc carried the puck across the red line into the UND zone and left a pass across the slot to David Eddy. The Huskies caught Eidsness out of position and Eddy fired on the open net.

“Our guys were ready to go,” said SCSU coach Bob Motzko. “We had a little step. Two goals in the first minute, you’ll always take that. Our game plan was to get on our toes and play.”

UND got on the board 15 seconds after the Huskies’ Aaron Marvin went to the box for hooking. The puck slid into the slot in front of SCSU goalie Mike Lee and Chris Hepp fanned on a chance to clear. Corban Knight shot the loose puck past Lee.

The Sioux tied the game at 17:06 of the first when Jason Gregoire passed the puck down low to Evan Trupp behind the net. Trupp skated the puck around the goal and got the puck out front to Brad Malone who put it past Lee.

The Sioux got a 5-on-3 opportunity 4:21 into the second period when Oliver Lauridsen decked Danny Kristo in the face after the whistle and went to the box for contact to the head. The penalty came 45 seconds after SCSU’s Sam Zabkowicz was called for hooking.

Danny Kristo took advantage 1:01 into the two-man advantage when his shot from the point trickled through Lee’s pads. Chris VandeVelde scored 43 seconds later while still on the power play to give UND a 4-2 lead.

The goal prompted Motzko to replace Lee with Dan Dunn after Lee allowed four goals on 27 shots. Dunn stopped all 11 shots he faced in the final 34 minutes of the game.

“Our two goalies have battled all year and made each other better,” Motzko said. “Once we hunkered down after the timeout and the made the change, I felt we got stronger in the hockey game.”

The Huskies pulled within a goal with 3:14 left in the second period Travis Mosey circled behind the Sioux net and centered for Eddy, who snapped a shot past Eidsness.

But SCSU was unable to get anything past Eidsness for the rest of the game. Eidsness faced 15 shots in the third period and saved them all.

“I looked at our bench and I had a feeling I probably shouldn’t let in another goal or the boys wouldn’t be too happy with me if we had to go to overtime,” said Eidsness, who was named the Final Five all-tournament team’s goalie. “Playing three games in three nights, we really laid our heart on the line.”

The Huskies continued to fire away at the UND goal the whole third period, but a turnover in the Sioux zone resulted in a Matt Frattin empty-net goal with 41 seconds left in the third.

“That was the first time I was able to take a breath until the buzzer,” Hakstol said.

It was the third time the teams met in the Final Five title game. SCSU beat UND 6-5 in 2001 and the Sioux defeated the Huskies 5-3 in 2006. It is UND’s ninth WCHA playoff title in team history.

Another Slow Starts Dooms Pioneers

By Tyler Buckentine
-

George Gwozdecky talked about the importance of getting an early lead and the consequences of falling behind early Friday after his team lost to North Dakota in the WCHA Final Five semifinals.

The Denver coach could’ve applied those same thoughts after the top-ranked Pioneers found themselves stuck with an early three-goal deficit against No. 3 Wisconsin as the Badgers won the consolation game 6-3.

”I was certainly not anticipating coming here and going 0-2,” Gwozdecky said. “I’m disappointed in our performance, once again, but the five best teams in the WCHA are here and it’s going to be a challenge.”

Ben Street put the Badgers on the board when he banged in a rebound 2:21 into the game, Derek Stepan beat Denver goaltender Marc Cheverie high glove side 2:37 later and Blake Geoffrion tipped in a slap shot by Stepan midway through the first.

Adam Murray replaced Cheverie in net after the third goal.

“I don’t think our preparation was there,” Cheverie said. “Wisconsin showed up and we didn’t.”

The Pioneers dug themselves a hole the night before against the Sioux the night before, falling behind 2-0 early in the second period and were forced to play catch-up the rest of the game.

Denver’s sluggish start seemed to doom the Pioneers the same way Saturday afternoon.

“We didn’t give our goalie much help first period, partly because of us being out of position in front of the net,” Pioneers captain Rhett Rakhshani said. “I’m very disappointed in the start we had.”

Rakhshani made it 3-1 with 25 seconds into the second period. Unfortunately, the Pioneers failed to cut the deficit to one just like they failed to tie the game against North Dakota.

The Badgers scored a pair of quick goals later in the period and Denver answered with two goals in the third period but couldn’t get any closer. Seven of the Pioneers’ nine losses came after allowing the first goal.

It was the first time all season that Denver lost consecutive games. Coincidentally, Wisconsin remains undefeated in games following a loss this season.

The Badgers failed to capitalize on offensive opportunities in a 2-0 loss to St. Cloud State in the other semifinal game, so the fast start was key for the Wisconsin mindset.

“Keeping it simple was something we wanted to focus on in that great start,” Stepan said. “Just getting pucks on the goalie in traffic was key.”

Added Badgers coach Mike Eaves: “The start we had tonight was the exact opposite of the one we had yesterday. We got the jump, got some goals and it carried us through the game.”

Brown’s Volpatti Gets in Some Stats-‘Patt’ing

By
-

Senior winger Aaron Volpatti led Brown Bears in goals this season, but don’t let the numbers mislead you: Volpatti is a brawler, no doubt about it.

That’s why he took special pride in breaking the school’s single-season penalty record with 14 minutes in his final collegiate game.

The sure-fire pro — he’s had numerous bites already, and will likely be practicing in a new jersey next week — is in the top five in numerous Brown penalty categories, but he cemented his spot at the top with a 10-minute misconduct late in the third period of Saturday’s consolation game.

Volpatti’s second minor of the game boosted him to 105 on the year — but didn’t lift him past anybody on the leader board. That’s when he decided to go the extra mile.

“Before the game, I was informed that I needed [a few] penalty minutes for the single-season record, so I saw (referee) Chip (McDonald) before the game, and I said, ‘Chip, don’t be afraid, ya know … ‘ and he said, ‘well I’ll give you a 10 at the end of the game, or something.’

“I try not to get too many misconducts, but I got that penalty, and I said to Chip, ‘is that a 10?’ And he said, ‘do you want a 10?’

“I can’t really repeat what was said, but … yeah.”

The contrived chatter put him at 115, seven minutes past Ryan Mulhern, class of ’96. There are many, many more sin-bin visits ahead for Volpatti, but for just a moment, a player was happy to be skating in the consolation game instead of the championship. The misconduct probably wouldn’t have sat as well with head coach Brendan Whittet otherwise.

“The guys that were ahead of him were guys that I played with,” said coach and Brown alumnus Whittet. “We had some real knuckleheads back then. I’m glad [Volpatti] is the king of the knuckleheads.”

Maine Gets Counted Out … Finally

By
-

When Boston College forward Matt Lombardi scored at 5:25 of overtime in the Hockey East championship game, Maine’s season ended. What had been assumed so many times earlier this year finally became reality.

Time after time, people had counted the Black Bears out. Prematurely.

When they lost five of their first six games of the season, people counted them out.

Arguably, with good reason. Two years earlier, the Black Bears had finished ninth to miss the playoffs entirely. Last year, they squeaked into the playoffs, finishing eighth after going winless in their final eight regular season games. This year, they were picked in the preseason to again finish eighth.

Counted out in the preseason. Counted out after six games.

But Maine bounced back. The team caught fire, putting together streaks of 7-0-1 and 5-0-1. Suddenly, the Black Bears were back, returning to Hockey East and national prominence.

A stumble down the stretch, however, almost sent them on the road for the playoffs. Maine lost four of its last five and six of its last eight, holding onto a home ice berth only by the slimmest of margins, a tiebreaker with Massachusetts-Lowell. Arguably, the Black Bears had backed into home ice.

Count ’em out.

Then coach Tim Whitehead suspended starting goaltender Scott Darling. Here was the biggest of reasons to count out the Black Bears. With Darling in the nets, they were 15-6-3; backups Shawn Sirman and Dave Wilson had combined for a 1-9-0 mark.

Stick a fork in them. They’re done.

They lost the opener, 2-1, and after taking the second game, trailed in the deciding third game, 2-1, with five minutes left in regulation.

Count ’em out?

Not so fast.

Will O’Neill’s goal forced overtime and in the extra session Tanner House sent the Black Bears to the TD Garden. In the semifinals against Boston University, Maine seized an early lead with dominant play and held off a late charge by the Terriers to advance to the championship game.

Boston College remained between Maine and the title and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Win and the Black Bears were in. Lose and go home.

The Eagles, already guaranteed a berth and ranked fourth in the country, would be a very tough hurdle to clear. Perhaps no team in the country was playing any better.

The ensuing battle captured Maine’s entire season in a microcosm.

BC scored at 11:44 of the first period. Gustav Nyquist retaliated 24 seconds later.

BC scored at 15:19. Joey Diamond came back with one of his own 36 seconds later.

In the second period, BC took a 4-2 lead and though House narrowed the gap to one, the Black Bears still entered the third period down by a goal.

Twice more, the Eagles reestablished two-goal leads. With barely more than five minutes remaining in regulation, BC led 6-4.

Time to finally count Maine out?

Nope.

Spencer Abbott made it 6-5 at 14:59 and with the goaltender pulled, Diamond sent the many fans dressed in blue into delirium with the tying goal at 19:33. The Garden rocked.

Counted out so many times, the Maine Black Bears were now but one goal away from a Hockey East title and a shot at the national championship. Bloodied but unbowed.

In overtime, Lombardi ended their season, but it would be hard to imagine a team that showed more heart, resiliency, and old-fashioned guts than this year’s Black Bears.

“We knew we had the makings of something special this year and we were very determined to get back up every time we got knocked down,” coach Tim Whitehead said. “I’m proud of the guys that they did. On and off the ice.

“We really felt if we were able to get by BC, we’d have as good a shot as anybody to win the national tournament. So that’s a frustrating situation for us right now.

“[But] we certainly didn’t hold anything back. The guys left it all out on the ice and played with a lot of poise and a lot of composure under pressure. Unfortunately for us tonight, it didn’t go our way, but we’re very proud of how our student-athletes competed.”

And for very good reason.

1...1,0771,0781,079...1,531Page 1,078 of 1,531

Latest Stories from around USCHO

‘A proud day’ as former Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey captain Brodt tabbed new head coach for St. Scholastica

USCHO Staff -

Denver sophomore blueliner, recent Wild signee Buium tabbed USCHO Player of the Year for ’24-25 season

USCHO Staff -

Western Michigan’s Ferschweiler leads Broncos to national championship, named unanimous USCHO Coach of the Year for 2024-25 campaign

USCHO Staff -

After 48-point freshman season with Boston University, Hutson adds to accolades with 2024-25 USCHO Rookie of the Year honor

USCHO Staff -

Wisconsin’s Simms, McNaughton, Minnesota’s Primerano take home final women’s hockey HCA monthly honors for ’24-25 season

USCHO Staff -

Final HCA men’s hockey monthly honors for ’24-25 season go to Western Michigan’s Washe, BU’s Hutson, Denver’s Davis, Bentley’s Hasley, Minnesota State’s Tracy

USCHO Staff -

Norwich grad Dawes named new men’s hockey coach for Cadets, leaves Stevenson after nine seasons behind Mustangs bench

USCHO Staff -

Trio of All-USCHO teams announced for 2024-25 NCAA Division I men’s college hockey season

USCHO Staff -

NHL’s Devils sign Boston University forward Lachance, who gives up last two years of NCAA eligibility

USCHO Staff -

Minnesota men’s hockey coach Motzko, who ‘knows what it takes to have success,’ named head coach of 2026 U.S. National Junior Team

USCHO Staff -

Kaplan inks NHL deal with Philadelphia, leaves Boston University after junior season

USCHO Staff -

After pair of seasons, national championship with Western Michigan, Bump leaves Broncos for NHL contract with Flyers

USCHO Staff -
©1996-2025 USCHO.com – U.S. College Hockey Online