This is why I don’t get emotionally involved in sports any more. When I do, I end up dinged up. A fist pump with Ryan Kesler’s incredible empty-net goal for the United States against Canada on Sunday night, and my head swings enough to push the glasses from my face and across my eye. Yeah, I’m incredibly coordinated. And I’m pretty sure my glasses are too loose.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve got this week:
* Hat’s off to Maine’s Brian Flynn. And then some, I guess. When you put up a 5-2–7 scoring line in one game, you should get to take home every hat on a head in the crowd.
Flynn put up that eye-popping line Friday night against Massachusetts-Lowell, outscoring the River Hawks by himself in an 8-5 victory. He got only one goal the next night, however, and the Black Bears lost 4-2.
With Maine’s spot in the PairWise right now, I’m guessing the Black Bears would rather have had that scoring spread out over two days and be enjoying a sweep right now.
* It has to be getting harder and harder for St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko to keep going back to Mike Lee in goal on Saturday nights. Last weekend, he gave up six in two periods of an 8-1 loss to North Dakota. This week, he let in seven — albeit on 50 shots — in a 7-4 loss at Wisconsin.
Making it worse, both of those efforts came after Dan Dunn was highly successful in the series opener.
The Huskies’ goaltending picture was so cloudy going into the season after returning starter Jase Weslosky became academically ineligible. But with Dunn playing well and time getting short, it seems like time to give him the keys.
* Along those lines, it looked like Wisconsin gave goaltender Scott Gudmandson the keys this weekend, playing him in both games against the Huskies instead of splitting him with Brett Bennett, as has been the trend for most of the season.
Gudmandson could have eased a lot of minds with a strong weekend against St. Cloud State, but he took the 5-1 loss on Friday and allowed four goals on Saturday. It’ll be interesting to see how the Badgers play their goaltenders next weekend at Michigan Tech. It could be a good time to give Bennett another shot, or a good time to identify Gudmandson as the one taking the Badgers through the playoffs.
* I guess Miami’s unbeaten run in CCHA play had to end at some point, and it did Saturday against Nebraska-Omaha.
But think about the run the RedHawks put together: Twenty-three games without a loss, 19-0-4 in that span. Pretty good stuff.
* One last thing about the Olympics: I know a lot of people are upset about how hockey has taken a back seat to, well, pretty much everything else, on the NBC family’s coverage.
We aren’t used to this by now? Any true hockey fan should be used to having to work to watch hockey in this country.
The best part about being at a national cable network is having a good group of dedicated people who are always there to help and also watch your back. The CBS College Sports Network has a great hockey staff. We always have since the days we were CSTV.
I often get asked by one of them, “Don’t you get mad when you get blasted on message boards?”
My answer is the same as it has been since I was getting ripped for being an average player in an average hockey program in college.
No.
You grow up in New York City and thick skin comes with the territory.
The latest series of postings that was copied and pasted to me had the staff rolling. “You are getting accused of saying Miami sucks and that they can’t win!”
OK, folks, time to get a grip.
I watch every game I broadcast mostly because I see the same teams a lot and I get a chance to watch the game, look for the little things in that game and be better prepared the next time I see each team. I also listen to what I said to make sure things were accurate and see if I said anything that I might need to correct. It’s part of that concept of accountability we learned as players way, way back.
Having gone back and listened, I don’t ever recall saying Miami sucks and they can’t win the national title. I did say I was concerned that they have been so good and so dominant in the CCHA that they might not be as battle tested as some teams heading to the field of 16. I do feel that is a possibility. Domination can have a downside — just ask the 1983 Edmonton Oilers.
Look at the regional final game Boston University had to play against New Hampshire last March. That game was probably a game that helped the Terriers win the national title because they needed to reach down through an adverse situation and win a big game.
Miami has recently had some tremendous adversity with the tragic death of Brendan Burke. The team has handled it well and not skipped a beat on ice, and Friday night’s convincing win over UNO was a great test that the RedHawks passed.
The RedHawks don’t need anyone to tell them they are a great team. They know they are. If you had to pick a legit favorite to win it all, you’d think its them because they are having the same dominant season BU had last season. Some CCHA coaches have told me the only team that can beat Miami is Miami. Others have said that they are ripe to get picked off. Then again, they got beat in the CCHA second round last season by Northern Michigan and then found themselves less than a minute from a national title.
The ’83 Oilers always felt their loss to the veteran Islanders in the ’83 Finals was the launching pad to their success the rest of the decade, when they won five Cups in seven seasons. Kevin Lowe said in his book Champions that the Oilers had to learn to lose to see what winning took. They did in the spring of 1983 and never looked back. Miami was so close last season; that might be all the adversity they need for this season to end in success.
So let’s set the record straight, anonymous Miami message board nation. Miami doesn’t suck. Miami can win it all. Miami passed a good test Friday night. Lastly, and for the record, I never said they did suck, never said they couldn’t win it all, and never said they’d get swept by Omaha.
The Hobey
I really like Michigan State’s Corey Tropp and the season he has had. I think him winning the Hobey Baker Award would be a great story in college hockey and a great lesson to a lot of young players about dedication, perseverance and overcoming adversity. I think he can win it and I think his team has a good chance to be in Detroit during the Frozen Four as a participant.
That being said, despite how good I think Ben Scrivens has been and how deserving he might be for this award (or any ECAC award for that matter), I still think James Marcou of Massachusetts would get my first-place vote of if my term on the committee hadn’t expired last season.
I’ll Be Here All Week
If Rick Gotkin isn’t the funniest coach in college hockey, I don’t know who is. Despite being in Western Pa. for 22 seasons, he is still very much the New Yorker with his mannerisms and his ability to tell a great story. He certainly has written one at Mercyhurst, where he has done a tremendous job at the helm of the program.
We sat for a good 90 minutes reminiscing last Friday morning and sharing some recent adventures. We were talking about Lou Vairo, who both of us look up to as someone who opened the door to countless players and coaches from the NYC area who until Lou made it in the business would never have had the chance.
While having heard most of the great Gotkin stories, the mention of Coach Vairo started him on a story that left both of us in tears laughing.
In the late 1990s he was coaching the mid-am team in the Select 17’s in St. Cloud. Vairo, an icon in American hockey coaching, was also there and he and Rick had known each other well from their days together in NYC coaching and playing.
“That mid-am team was always the Bad News Bears-type team in this event, and they stuck us on the 10th floor, the top floor of the dorm where all the teams were,” recalled Gotkin as his team prepared to face Army Friday night.
“Lou was always looking for ways to get players to improve themselves off ice and he gave our goalies tennis balls to do hand-eye exercises with in the dorm. It was simple stuff like tossing them off the wall with one hand and catching them in the other and all of those type of things they could do themselves or with their goalie partner.
“Well, after a few days of this the goalies were getting bored and started to move from short tosses to long tosses in the hallway of the dorm. It’s the last night of the event and pretty late. I’m in my room and Seth Appert and Rob Haberbush are on the floor with me. I’m talking to Appert and we’re doing player ratings when all of a sudden we hear, ‘Oh my freaking goodness.'”
Gotkin started to laugh as he remembered what came next.
“Then the fire alarm goes off and I send Apps out to see what happened. He yells, ‘Oh my freaking goodness,’ and now I come running out of the room thinking there might be an inferno.”
What Gotkin saw was an avalanche of water streaming down the walls into the halls and rooms. One of the goalies had grazed a sprinkler head on the fire system with a ball and when it broke it sent 4,000 PSI of water into the hallway from the top floor.
“The next thing you know is the fire department is there in full masks and axes and all the other stuff and they are trying to evacuate the building for fear of fire and I’m just rolling yelling at them to turn off the water,” Gotkin said as he animatedly recounted the story. “They are like, no, we can’t turn it off, it’s a fire and I’m yelling back, no it isn’t; it’s a flood. Turn off the water!”
Gotkin helped get his players off the floor and out and said the hallways were reminiscent of the scene in “Titanic” when the water came rushing down the hallways of the ship.
“On the seventh floor David Lassonde (assistant at UNH) was in his room and all of a sudden it started coming through his walls and he’s looking around and saying, “What the hell is going on here?” We all get downstairs and there is Lou out in the courtyard in his boxers, undershirt and black dress socks.”
Looking very agitated, Vairo looks over at Gotkin and says calmly, “You know, Gotkin, if USA Hockey wants me to keep doing this they are going to have to start putting me in a hotel.”
“I almost died laughing,” said Gotkin.
“The damage this thing did was unreal, they literally needed a month to dry the place out, get it inspected, check for mold, and replace every carpet in the building. It was a hell of an evening.”
Lastly
There will be a lot of speculation as to who the next coach at Western Michigan will be, but it won’t be here and it won’t be now. Jim Culhane was a pleasure to work with in the role I have and hopefully there is an office in a coaching department rink somewhere that will have his name on it next season.
For those who can’t wait for Thursday’s column, a quick update on the lay of the land. Yale is alone atop the pack with 30 points, thanks to Cornell’s blown lead at Dartmouth … here’s where everybody else stands.
• Yale is locked into a first-round bye and a top-three finish. Two more points clinches the top seed, three points claims the Cleary Cup alone.
• Union and Cornell are also assured top-three finishes and first-round byes, and play each other on Friday at Lynah. The squads tied in their Messa matchup, so their next game looms large.
• Rensselaer and Colgate are tied for fourth – the last bye – with 22 points apiece, and face off in Hamilton on Friday night. Colgate can finish as low as seventh, since Quinnipiac owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, while RPI can technically sink to sixth. Neither, however, can catch up to a third-place spot.
• St. Lawrence is in sixth place with 21 points at the moment, but can climb as high as fourth or fall as far as eighth. The Saints are at home this weekend, where they are 7-2-4 this year.
• Quinnipiac can finish anywhere between fifth and 11th, but bridging the three-point gap separating the Bobcats from the Saints will require a Herculean effort.
• Harvard, too, has a wide swing, able to finish between sixth and 11th. The Crimson possess an edge on the record-versus-top-four tiebreaker against sixth-place SLU, but to finish that high Harvard will have to sweep and the Saints will have to get swept.
• Princeton and Brown each lurk a point behind Harvard, and can finish between seventh and 11th. Both own head-to-head tiebreakers over the Crimson, and they play each other in ‘Jersey on Saturday … Brown won the first meeting.
• Dartmouth is in 11th right now and can fall no lower, but can climb as high as seventh.
• Clarkson is stuck in 12th.
Handicapping the Field
Yale hits the road against Princeton and Quinnipiac. You have to like the Bulldogs’ chances of hanging on to a co-championship at the very least, though Saturday’s edition of the War on Whitney will be a good test for the offensively gifted but defensively challenged Elis.
The winner of Friday’s Union-Cornell game will claim the head-to-head advantage, though both teams must certainly realize that they’re likely playing for second place, or at best a share of the regular-season title. With Cornell hosting the Dutchmen and bye-seeking RPI – and Union playing Colgate on Saturday, who is also seeking that final bye spot – neither team has anything remotely resembling an easy path this weekend.
Aforementioned Colgate and RPI are gunning for fourth place, with each team in control of its own destiny: win, and get a week off. St. Lawrence is hot on these squads’ tails – and holds the tiebreaker over each – but a one-point lead is like a one-goal lead: it’s yours to lose. Just like Cornell and Union, RPI plays at Colgate and Cornell this weekend while Colgate takes on Union on Saturday. No easy games, that’s for sure.
St. Lawrence may have the “easiest” challenge this weekend, hosting Dartmouth and Harvard with a very realistic shot at fourth place. The Saints have been great at home, and these Ivy travel partners haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire this year. As noted, the Saints hold head-to-head tiebreakers over both Colgate and RPI.
Quinnipiac should play for postseason momentum, not necessarily for sixth place: three points is a lot to make up in two games. Friday’s tilt against Brown may well be a first-round preview, with Brown in 10th and the Bobcats seventh. That preview bit holds true should QU slip, too … Brown would look good for ninth, while the ‘Cats would fall to eighth.
Harvard had a good chance to climb to seventh or higher going into last night’s game against Colgate, but a 4-2 loss leads the Crimson to look harder at the teams behind it than at those ahead. Brown and Princeton – both one point behind – hold the head-to-head over Harvard, and neither of them have to make Harvard’s grueling road trip to the North Country this weekend.
Princeton plays Brown at Hobey Baker Rink on Saturday, but first the Tigers tackle Yale while Bruno heads to Quinnipiac. Both teams have their eyes on stealing Harvard’s home-ice position, but doing so will probably require a three-point weekend.
Dartmouth has a shot at climbing the standings, but I don’t think that ranking is as important to the Big Green as momentum. Sure, a trip to Princeton is less desirable than – say – Boston, or the Capital District, but the picture is a bit muddy to try to play for an opponent.
And as for Clarkson? Well, the Golden Knights need to figure it out in a hurry, and are certainly praying that St. Lawrence finishes fifth – that would be the most fortuitous draw in history for a last-place team. A five-mile road trip for the North Country program? Yes please!
Last weekend, Union scored three goals in 6:29 to draw within 4-3 of host Harvard. The only problem was that the Dutchmen’s third goal, scored by defenseman and All-American candidate Mike Schreiber, lit the lamp with merely 3.4 seconds remaining.
Going for broke, Union coach Nate Leaman elected to keep goalie Corey Milan on the pine and set up his six skaters for the desperation draw at center-ice. With a center taking the draw, the five remaining Dutchmen lined up on the red line to the right-wing side.
The strategy was certainly unusual, if not ultimately successful.
“I didn’t have a time-out, and we didn’t have enough time to script it,” said Leaman. “That’s stuff you think about during the summer.”
Leaman preferred to keep us guessing at the design details of his “onside kick” formation, but he made up for his secrecy with a gem of a tactical tale from years past.
Relating a story from his days as a Harvard assistant, Leaman recalled a game against Yale when new Sacred Heart head coach C.J. Marottolo was still an assistant with the Bulldogs.
With a draw at the Yale blue line against the Bulldogs’ bench, Marottolo showed his genius as a tactician: the Blue & White won the draw, and the short-side winger promptly hopped the boards onto his bench. A player at the far end of the pine vaulted the dasher behind the oblivious Crimson defense, received a breakout pass and was off to the races on an uncontested breakaway.
Faceoff plays are often overlooked by the average fan, but sometimes those under-appreciated sets will positively drop your jaw.
ECAC Hockey Playoff Update
A Saturday afternoon amendment to this week’s “What We Know”: Yale beat St. Lawrence to knot the season series, negating head-to-head as a tiebreaker. Rensselaer beat Quinnipiac to take that tiebreaker, Union topped Princeton to claim the same advantage, and Brown beat Clarkson to wrest the head-to-head there. Cornell’s white-wash of Harvard gave the Big Red the season sweep, and Colgate’s tie at Dartmouth gave the Raiders the edge as well.
Final Standings Update
• Clarkson (8 points) can finish no higher than 10th, therefore assuring a first-round road trip.
• Dartmouth (12 points) and Princeton (14) can finish no higher than seventh.
• Brown (15 points) can finish no higher than fifth – out of contention for the bye – but no lower than 11th.
• Harvard (17 points) and Quinnipiac (18 ) can finish no higher than fourth, but no lower than 11th.
• St. Lawrence (20 points each) can finish between fourth and ninth.
• Colgate (20 points) can finish as high as third or as low as ninth.
• Rensselaer (22 points) can finish between first and eighth, insuring the Engineers of a first-round home series, if not a bye.
• Union (26 points), Yale and Cornell (28 each) have also clinched a bye week, but nothing more: either team could wind up as low as a No. 4 seed.
The final weekend of the regular season is upon us and there is quite a lot at stake for virtually every team. Playoff eligibility, seeding and potential home-ice positions are up for grabs in both conferences and, ironically, the scheduling gods have deemed it necessary to obtain all of those conference points by playing only interlocking games between the leagues.
Straight up, it is an ECAC East vs. NESCAC team showdown as all 10 teams in each conference find themselves playing the final weekend against opponents that are not in their respective league. This is the ultimate help yourself weekend where you can only hope and watch, to see if one of the other inter-conference matchups helps your team out by the results in these final two games of the regular season.
So clearly the focus and attention for all teams is take care of your own business on the ice and control the things that your team can control.
Based on the strange quirk of the schedule, the matchups this weekend play out like one of the holiday tournaments — there are four teams, two games for each, and everyone is treating points like they are a championship trophy.
The difference is that two teams could hit the mother lode and gain four points over the weekend, which would be really bad news for the two respective opponents on back-to-back days. Of course, that is a best and worst case scenario so let’s look at what is facing each of the dueling travel partners this weekend.
More importantly, let’s look at the matchups noting who has the most to gain, lose or otherwise play for something important leading into the first round of the conference tournaments next week.
(*Denotes home team)
ECAC East : Norwich and St. Michael’s NESCAC: Tufts and Connecticut College*
Overview: This one is interesting if only for the reason that the ECAC East teams have nothing to play for and the two NESCAC squads are fighting for their playoff lives.
Second ranked nationally, Norwich has already clinched the regular season title and the top seed in the postseason while St. Michael’s will be looking forward to the postseason in the NE-10 conference tournament along with five other D-II teams in New England.
For the NESCAC schools, Conn. College is fighting to move up into the eighth and final playoff position and will need a four point weekend to challenge for it with some needed help elsewhere. The Camels have won three games in a row for the first time this season and hope that they can finish the regular season on a roll.
Tufts is currently in seventh position in the conference and has an opportunity to move into sixth with a good weekend combined with poor results for Hamilton. The Jumbos are entering the weekend having gone 3-1-2 in their last six games with the intent of finishing out the season with a winning season on home ice since they will be a road team in round one of the conference tournament.
Prediction: NESCAC teams take the weekend with Tufts sweeping a pair behind the outstanding goaltending of Scott Barchard and Conn. College taking the final game against St. Michael’s, which leaves them short of making the playoffs
ECAC East Teams : New England College and St. Anselm NESCAC Teams : Bowdoin and Colby*
Overview: This one has all of the makings of a frantic hockey weekend in Maine. Everyone has something at stake and the points from the weekend will possibly determine the top and the bottom of the NESCAC conference tournament.
For NEC, the challenge is to move out of the seven spot with just one point separating them from Southern Maine and the University of Massachusetts-Boston. The Pilgrims have stumbled over the past three weeks going just 2-4-0 and will now play their third weekend on the road in the last month. St. Anselm, like St. Michael’s, already knows that they are entering the D-II tournament on a roll but will strive to finish as high in the league standings as possible.
Currently the Hawks are coming off a great win on the road against a nationally ranked Amherst team that leads the nation in penalty killing and is among the leaders in power-play efficiency. The hawks scored two shorthanded goals on their way to a 4-3 win so they are sure to play their best in Maine and compete with Babson and Castleton for second place in the regular season.
For Bowdoin, they have a chance to clinch the top seed in the NESCAC tournament but have four teams right behind them ready to claim the top spot with a good weekend. Colby, on the other hand, is in a battle at the other end of the standings where just a couple of points can clinch a playoff berth and return the White Mules to the postseason after missing the playoffs last year.
Prediction: For this quartet it is feast or famine and for the NESCAC teams it’s a feast at the expense of the ECAC East teams. Both Bowdoin and Colby play very well on home ice and will sweep the weekend for four points each likely creating a quarterfinal matchup between the two next week. Both teams have faced each other twice with Colby winning both so this weekend could determine a third game for bragging rights in Maine.
ECAC East Teams: Skidmore and Castleton* NESCAC Teams: Middlebury and Williams
Overview: It’s really hard to believe that every matchup has important ramifications but once again with all of these teams, there is a lot at stake. For Skidmore, a home-ice playoff berth is on the line and a chance to move past their travel partner into third with a good weekend and a poor one at Castleton.
Bowdoin’s Graham Sisson looks to add to his power play goal total and keep the Polar Bears atop the NESCAC standings.
For Castleton, their late season run has moved them from the bottom of the league standings to third place with a chance to match last season’s second place finish. For the NESCAC teams both Middlebury and Williams have been playing great hockey and are trailing league leader Bowdoin by just one and two points respectively. Taking the top spot with an opportunity to host is probably not at the front of either coach’s mind but keeping the second half roll is a must for the final two games of the season.
Prediction: No this is not a pro-NESCAC bias or partisan view. There is a reason that the Panthers and Ephs have been nationally ranked virtually all season and this weekend they will show their ECAC East rivals just why. Their overall game has been more consistent and Skidmore and Castleton have both faced struggles with consistency between the pipes. Another pair of four pointers for the NESCAC teams while Skidmore and Castleton will look for help elsewhere to maintain their positions.
ECAC East Teams: University of New England and Southern Maine* NESCAC Teams: Wesleyan and Trinity
Overview: Unfortunately two of the teams here already know their fate. While newcomer UNE is guaranteed the eighth seed and a matchup with Norwich in the first round of the ECAC tournament, Wesleyan has already been eliminated from postseason play and will pack it in after the game on Saturday afternoon.
This won’t change the level of intensity for either of these teams as they would love to play the role of the spoiler if possible. Southern Maine enters the weekend tied for fifth in the standings with UMass-Boston but is 0-7-1 in their last eight games and has struggled in both ends of the ice.
Trinity is currently just one point out of a home-ice berth and could finish anywhere between second and sixth based on outcomes across the league. The Bantams seem to play their best when it counts the most under head coach Dave Cataruzolo so don’t be surprised with a Trinity sweep this weekend to put the pressure on their NESCAC brethren.
Prediction: OK, yes it looks like another NESCAC sweep as Trinity and Wesleyan take advantage of key matchups and win both games this weekend. Southern Maine will need to rediscover its game and get some consistent goaltending for any positive result this weekend or moving into the playoffs next week where a couple of points at home could find them playing there next Saturday.
ECAC East Teams: UMass-Boston and Babson NESCAC Teams: Amherst and Hamilton*
Overview: Babson is fighting to keep hold of its second place position in the conference. After a 6-0-1 run, the Beavers lost two tough home games last weekend against Williams and Middlebury and now go on the road to log some serious miles between Amherst and Hamilton. UMB comes into the weekend with a chance to get home-ice and trying to relive their magical run from last season that saw them struggle down the stretch but get it going in the playoffs all the way to the conference finals against Babson.
Hamilton is currently in sixth place in the NESCAC conference with an outside chance of moving up to fifth but definitely focused on strong results and not moving backwards. The Continentals have gone 7-2-1 in their last ten games and hold the head-to-head tiebreakers with Colby and Tufts. Norm Bazin’s team is getting healthy at the right time of year and is always tough to play in the bullring-like atmosphere in their rink.
Prediction: Amherst has proven to be a tough competitor all season and while they stumbled last week against a tough St. Anselm team, The Lord Jeffs don’t frequently stumble on home ice and won’t this weekend making the pursuit of the top spot very interesting in the NESCAC conference. Hamilton and UMass-Boston will split their games this weekend while Babson catches the wrong teams on the wrong night/afternoon and looks for help in the other interlocking match-ups.
All right, the last games of the regular season are upon us. I want both leagues to come out playing their best hockey, keep it clean and clinching in the corners. Yes, like a pre-fight discussion from the ref before a title bout, this weekend brings heavyweight impact everywhere.
So, go to your corners and come out ready to fight for those all important pucks.
This weekend all across the country, teams are gearing up for their respective conference playoffs. Some teams have already clinched berths, while some are still looking to solidify their positions.
Every conference except the MIAC will be playing its final games of the regular season this weekend. There are some great battles in the standings shaping up in nearly every conference.
In the ECAC East, Manhattanville has all but clinched the number one seed. The Valiants are two points clear of Norwich and hold the head-to-head tie-breaker over the Cadets with two games to play. Manhattanville simply needs to win or tie in one of their two games this weekend against St. Anselm and New England College and they will clinch because the Valiants have a game in hand on Norwich.
The eight playoff teams in the ECAC East are already set as Plymouth State has been mathematically eliminated. Holy Cross and St. Anselm are in-eligible for the postseason because they are not D-III teams. All that’s left to fight for in the ECAC East is who and where you’ll be playing your first round games in the conference quarterfinals next weekend.
Amherst has clinched the NESCAC with a six point lead on second place Middlebury and just two games remaining for every other team. Amherst has finished its conference schedule and has a non-conference game with Norwich to close out its season on Saturday.
Middlebury leads Trinity by one point for second place. The Panthers host Colby and Bowdoin, while Trinity hosts Conn. College and Hamilton.
Colby and Wesleyan are fighting for the eighth and final playoff spot. Colby will face Williams and Middlebury in its final two games, while Wesleyan hosts Hamilton and Conn. College. Colby leads by one point currently.
Another week has passed by and the NCHA playoff picture continues to get cloudier. River Falls and Lake Forest tying both of their games solved nothing and only made the race tighter.
Eight teams will qualify for the postseason tournament meaning either Finlandia or Marian will be left out. Both teams currently sit tied with two points. Finlandia has the inside track to the final spot though by holding the goal-differential tie-breaker.
Up top, Adrian continues to lead the standings, but the Bulldogs have finished their regular season schedule. Lake Forest sits just one point behind and will clinch the number one seed with two points this weekend in the Foresters’ series with Concordia WI.
River Falls needs one point to clinch the third seed. Eau Claire, Stevens Point, and Superior all sit tied for fourth with 16 points.
All three teams are fighting to lock up a home game for the first round of the NCHA tournament. Stevens Point has the inside track to the spot with two games against Finlandia, while Superior and Eau Claire will play each other for a pair of games.
Even if Lake Forest were to lose both games this weekend, the Foresters would still host the NCHA final four as long as they win their first round game due to Adrian being in-eligible to host.
It’s a good thing the MIAC has four games to play in its regular season, because there is still a lot to sort out amongst the Minnesota schools.
Gustavus Adolphus, St. Catherine, and St. Thomas are all tied with 21 points at the top of the standings. St. Catherine and St. Thomas will meet this weekend, which should go a long way in sorting out how the top three will end up finishing.
Gustavus Adolphus finishes up with St. Mary’s and Augsburg to close out the season. St. Catherine faces St. Benedict and St. Thomas closes out with Concordia-Moorhead for a pair of games.
The Gusties appear to have the inside track, but as we’ve seen all year from the MIAC, every game is unpredictable in that conference because of the low scoring, one or two goal games that seemingly are the final result of every game in the conference this season.
With five teams making the MIAC tournament and only eight possible points a team can gain in those games, St. Mary’s and St. Olaf are sitting in good shape being five points clear of Bethel and Concordia-Moorhead for the fourth and fifth playoff spots. Each of their magic numbers is four points and they will clinch berths.
ECAC West Playoff Outlook
The powerhouse trio of Plattsburgh, Elmira, and RIT has all clinched berths in the conference tournament and if all plays out as expected, the three teams have locked into those respective positions for the playoffs. Plattsburgh and Elmira will get a first round bye with the ECAC West final four being hosted in Plattsburgh for the fourth time in five years.
However, the last three playoff spots are very much up for grabs in the final week of the season. Utica currently sits fourth with 14 points, leading Neumann by one point. Buffalo State is tied with Neumann for fifth place, but the Bengals are in-eligible for the postseason tournament. The final playoff spot appears as though it will come down to Oswego and Potsdam. Oswego currently holds a one point lead over the Bears.
Oswego hosts Plattsburgh for two games, while Potsdam and Utica play a pivotal home and home series as the two clubs jockey for postseason positions.
Neumann and Potsdam’s postponed series from two weeks ago is scheduled to be made up on Tuesday and Wednesday and that series will also play a vital role in filling out the remainder of the postseason tournament.
Potsdam needs to gain two points on Oswego to clinch a berth in the postseason. If the two end up tied with 11 points, Potsdam holds a 2-1 head-to-head advantage over Oswego and holds the tie-breaker.
Utica coach Dave Clausen said that although his team has had an up and down season so far, he’s optimistic about the Pioneers chances in the postseason.
“With the postseason format in our league being a single game elimination, anything can happen. I think we’ve proven we can play with any of the teams in our league in one game and I think we’ve got a good shot.â€
Utica currently sits with a 10-11-2 record overall and a 6-8-2 record in ECAC West play.
“Our record isn’t indicative of what our team is capable of,†Clausen said. “We were looking in the first semester for an identity, but we’ve started to pull it together in the second half. We really feel like we can play with anyone, we just haven’t shown it in every game this season.â€
If the Pioneers are going to make a run, they’ll need their goaltender Jill Doherty to continue to put up solid stats between the pipes. Doherty is 10-9-2 on the season with a .925 save percentage and 2.53 GGA.
“I think when Jill [Doherty] is on she’s one of the best goaltenders in Division III,†Clausen said. “We do have some good scorers in our top line with Lynny Gonzales, Darcy Hier, and Jodie Galuzzi. We’ve got some kids that are opportunistic and can score goals at the right time.â€
After this past weekend, the playoff picture is starting to clear up. Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline, and St. Thomas have all clinched playoff spots, although in what position they finish is still to be determined. While the top of the standings are shaking out nicely, the fight for the playoffs has become as tight as ever.
Coming into the final weekend, five teams have a shot at claiming the last two playoff spots. Bethel, St. Olaf, and Augsburg all control their own destiny, while Concordia (MN) and St. John’s need help. How can three teams control their own destiny for two playoff spots, you ask? Because for Augsburg and Bethel, the playoffs start this weekend as they face off against each other. Two points for Augsburg guarantees them a playoff spot, while Bethel needs to take three points to clinch.
With so much clustered around the center of the standings, it’s a good idea to dust off the tiebreakers. From the MIAC homepage:
1. Results of head to head competition;
2. Results against all teams above those tied;
3. Results against all teams, beginning in rank order;
4. Order of losses, beginning with the ninth place team and moving up to those tied;
5. Total goal series, with those tied;
6. Goal differential for total conference season;
7. Number of overtime losses;
8. Random Selection.
(Based only on conference competition)
Confused? It’s not difficult to be, especially since these tiebreakers are quite a bit different from those used by most other conferences. They’re much easier to discern, however, if you break things down step by step. Since they’re currently tied in the standings, let’s first use Bethel vs. St. Olaf as an example by themselves.
If both teams sweep this weekend, here are the tie breaking scenarios. These two split their conference games with each team winning one, leaving them tied after the first tiebreaker. Now here’s where it starts to get a little tricky. The second tiebreaker is record against all teams above those tied. If they each gain three points this weekend (one win and a tie), they’ll be tied for fourth and fifth place in the standings, with St. Thomas at third and Augsburg out of the playoffs at sixth.
That would leave Gustavus Adolphus and Hamline as the two teams above them in the standings. Bethel split vs. Gustavus Adolphus, while St. Olaf lost one game and tied their second against the Gusties. Against Hamline, St. Olaf again lost one and tied one, while Bethel was swept. Against St. Thomas, St. Olaf split yet again, and Bethel was swept. That gives St. Olaf a record of 1-3-2, and Bethel a record of 1-5-0, which means the Oles hold the tiebreaker.
The third tiebreaker is where things get really strange (to me at least.) If they had the same records against those top three teams, it would go to record against teams above in order of rank. That means that if Gustavus wins the regular season title, Bethel would own the tiebreaker since they went 1-1-0 against them while St. Olaf went 0-1-1. On the other hand, if Hamline ends up winning the MIAC, St. Olaf would win the third tiebreaker. St. Olaf didn’t do particularly well against Hamline, coming away with a loss and a tie, but Bethel lost twice to the Pipers, giving the edge to the Oles.
This is hypothetical though, since St. Olaf holds the advantage based on the second tiebreaker if the two teams end up tied. This holds true if both teams split this weekend, and finish tied for the last playoff spot. Augsburg would now be ahead of them in the standings, but to end up tied for the last playoff spot, Bethel would need to split with Augsburg, which is exactly what St. Olaf did, so the advantage would still go to the Oles.
If you’re still somewhat confused, I doubt you’re the only one, but those are the tiebreakers the league uses, for better or worse. Now, let’s break down what each team needs to do to ensure they make the playoffs, tiebreaker or no tiebreaker.
Augsburg
Current seed Fourth Current points: 15 What they need to do: Win. Two points against Bethel ensures Augsburg will make the playoffs. With four points, they’ll pass St. Thomas and clinch third place. Three points would see the Auggies tied with the Tommies, but St. Thomas holds the head to head tiebreaker.
“We try to approach every game during the season as though it were a playoff game†said Augsburg head coach Chris Brown. “With how close this league is, one game might be all it takes to make or miss the playoffs.â€
It’s happened in past years, and it will most likely happen this year. Any team missing the playoffs will be able to look back to games they should have closed out but didn’t, games where effort was lacking, or games where the bounces didn’t go their way. An extra one or two points may be all that separates the final playoff spot from two other teams who missed out.
“For this last weekend, it should be a passionate, desperate game for both of us,†said Brown. “Both teams will be fighting for their playoff lives, and each team should come out playing hard for 60 minutes. If Bethel can win at Augsburg on Friday, it sets up a huge game the next night where both teams will be trying to clinch a playoff berth with a win.
Bethel
Current seed: Fifth (tied) Current points 14 What they need to do: Win and tie. Bethel could make the playoffs by getting only a single point this weekend, but they would be depending on St. John’s to sweep St. Olaf, and for Concordia (MN) to pick up two or fewer points against Hamline.
Like Augsburg, Bethel has their destiny in their own hands. Unlike Augsburg, two points does not clinch a playoff berth for the Royals, they need at least three points to guarantee themselves a spot in the MIAC’s second season.
St. Olaf
Current seed: Fifth (tied) Current points: 14 What they need to do: More than Bethel. If the Oles can gain one more point than Bethel this weekend, they’re in. It’s as simple as that. A sweep of St. John’s would clinch a spot for St. Olaf, as those four points would guarantee that they pass one of Augsburg or Bethel (and possibly both.)
Head coach Sean Goldsworthy isn’t concerned with watching other scores this weekend.
“We’re going to focus on us and how we’re playingâ€, he said. “Our goal is to make the playoffs, and hopefully peak going into them.â€
With only five teams making the playoffs, the fight for the playoffs tends to be tighter in the MIAC than in other leagues, especially with the high level of parity.
“St. John’s is a playoff caliber team, and they’ve played very well lately, yet they might finish near the bottom of the league,†said Goldsworthy. “It goes to show the depth and parity in this league.â€
The Oles know what they have to do to make the playoffs, if they can follow through, they will have definitely earned their spot, and any team making the playoffs has the ability to make a run not only in the MIAC playoffs, but in the NCAA tournament as well.
Concordia (MN)
Current seed: Seventh Current points: 12 What they need to do: Sweep and hope. The best case scenario for the Cobbers is to sweep Hamline while Augsburg and St. John’s also sweep. Concordia can get into the playoffs without a clean sweep, but anything less than three points (or two or more points by Bethel or St. Olaf) means their season is over.
However the season ends, this has been a great rebuilding year for the Cobbers. After finishing last in the MIAC the previous year, Concordia has been fighting for a playoff spot all season. They’ve been competitive in virtually every game they’ve played, and have given up a whopping 24 fewer goals in conference games this season. With the lion’s share of the team returning next season, Concordia could be one of the up and coming teams in the league.
St. John’s
Current seed: Eighth Current points: 10 What they need to do: Honestly? I’m not exactly sure. If Augsburg sweeps Bethel, Hamline sweeps Concordia, and St. John’s sweeps St. Olaf, there will be three teams tied for the final playoff position. If Concordia manages two points against Hamline, there could be four teams tied for that final spot.
The MIAC tiebreakers make no distinction on how things are handled if multiple teams are tied. In the case of St. Olaf, St. John’s, and Bethel all being tied, each team holds a head to head advantage with another. In order for this tie to happen, St. John’s will need to sweep St. Olaf, who split against Bethel, who swept St. John’s. How that situation plays out isn’t specified on the MIAC website. It’s possible that St. John’s is already mathematically eliminated if they can’t win the tiebreaker against Bethel and St. Olaf.
Either way though, the Jonnies should come into this weekend looking to play hard. A team playing loose and without pressure at the end of the season can be a dangerous opponent, as St. John’s well knows. Last season they missed out on a playoff spot when they were beaten by St. Mary’s in the last game of the season. This time St. John’s has a chance to play the spoiler against St. Olaf.
Wrap Up
It’s been great following the regular season here in the MIAC. It’s been filled with some excellent individual and team performances, back-and-forth action, upsets, and big matchups. In some ways, it’s kind of disappointing knowing the regular season will be over after this weekend. Several teams have shown the ability to win big games and compete at a high level, but not all of them will be playing after these next two games.
The parity in this league is hard to understand if you haven’t seen the teams play regularly. Despite disparate records, any team can beat another on any given night. The parity does mean that you won’t usually see any teams with a stellar record, which may give people from other regions the impression that they’re not very good.
All anyone has to do is point to Gustavus Adolphus last year though. The Gusties finished with a 10-6-0 record in the MIAC, and a 15-10-0 record overall in the regular season. But when the playoffs started, they first won the MIAC championship, then their first two NCAA games before falling in the national title game.
Whoever emerges from the MIAC playoffs will certainly be battled tested. Every team making the playoffs will have been playing significant games for the past two to three weeks at least, and the playoffs haven’t even started yet.
It’s been a wild ride so far, and it isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
Personal Note
In my opinion, a tiebreaker should compare what teams did against each other and against the league as a whole. Making or missing the playoffs because one team or another won the regular season title just doesn’t seem fair. Maybe one team was resting up for the playoffs or trying out new lines while another team was gung-ho for finishing in first.
Using a tiebreaking system that uses head to head results, number of conference wins, goal differential in head-to-head games, goal differential in all league games, or number overtime losses seems much more equitable to me. It just seems to be a poor system when two teams can be dead even head-to-head, and to have the balance tipped based on what order other teams finish in.
I understand the reasoning of the MIAC: they would rather have a team in the playoffs that has showed it can compete with the higher ranked teams versus one who did not. But in a potential case like Bethel and St. Olaf, it doesn’t seem fair to boot Bethel out of the picture if, say, Gustavus rests starters while Hamline does not. I’m not saying that St. Olaf is undeserving if that does happen, but I feel that after a 16 game season, that whole body of work should be taken into account.
If you’re going to pick out one or two games to focus on, then St. Olaf’s games against Bethel should be the ones to look at. It just doesn’t seem fair to ignore a whole season and make or break someone’s playoff hopes on how they did against a team they’re not tied with.
This is just my opinion on the MIAC tiebreakers, you can let me know what you think by sending me an email to [email protected].
Hands up, anyone who thinks you can name the top NCAA D-1 goal-getter in the land.
Does it matter that we didn’t specify the gender?
Any hands still up?
You can use it to pat yourself on the back, if you guessed that it’s St. Cloud State senior sniper Felicia Nelson.
The pride of St. Paul, Minn. (and Kazmaier Award nominee) has indeed filled the net this season, 27 times and counting, or four tallies more than the leading men’s goal scorers, Nick Johnson of Sacred Heart and Chase Polacek of RPI. And while Nelson, a broadcast major, had already shown a knack for the net with 15 goals last year, she admits to being a little surprised by her success in the offensive end.
She said she was prepared to take on additional dressing room duties when SCSU coach Jeff Giesen named her team captain. She didn’t think that a bigger scoring load would come along with it.
Still, she soon found she was up to the task.
“The first thing I wanted to do was be a leader off the ice,†Nelson said. “I knew going in, I wanted to be a rock on our team. But on ice was just a bonus. I never expected to lead the Nation in (goals). I just wanted to be a good team leader. To be the goals leader is a special bonus.â€
And to be considered Kazmaier worthy? Call that a double bonus.
Yet her name was among 44 others, including teammate Caitlin Hogan, when the nominations for the most coveted individual award in women’s hockey came down this week.
As with the goal scoring lead, this, too, came out of the blue.
“I was kind of blindsided,†she said. “I never held any expectations for such a prestigious award. But now that my name is in the mix, I feel honored. We’ll see how the weeks go and see if I can get into the Top 10.â€
Since Nelson was a pre-teen when the Kazmaier was first handed out to UNH’s Brandy Fisher back in 1998, she said she had to do a little boning up on the award to appreciate its significance.
The experience was an eye opener.
“I realized what a big deal it is,†she said. “You look at the names of some who have won it before. Some of the girls are in the Olympics. You look at them on the ice, and you think, ‘I’m up for an award that they’re a part of.’ It kind of makes it real. That my name could be among their names is an unbelievable feeling.â€
Even so, Nelson knows that her days of playing competitive hockey are winding down. Yet, she still has plans to stay around the game, as a broadcaster. An Olympic gig like Cammi Granato’s wouldn’t be bad.
“I want to be on the sidelines,†she said. “Sports is my life. I want to be in the action.â€
Seems as though she always is.
Another of the “Final 45†is Harvard’s Liza Ryabkina, one of four Crimson nominees. Despite missing nine games with a dislocated knee cap, the Ukraine native has chalked up 11 goals and eight assists, good for third on the Harvard scoring ladder.
Five of those goals came during the Crimson’s recent two-game Beanpot run, including her four-spot in the semifinal.
Ask Harvard coach Katey Stone and she’ll tell you that Ryabkina is among the most elite scoring talents the school has ever seen. That would put her in the rich company of Jen Botterill, Sarah Vaillancourt, Julie Chu, and A.J. Mleczko, everyone of them a Kazmaier winner.
“She has some pretty special hockey gifts,†said Stone. “She can skate like the wind and has strong hands. She shoots as well as any of the Top 5 people in the world. I’ve seen some of them in this rink (the Bright Center) in a Harvard jersey. Her release is that quick.â€
Ryabkina has likely missed too much time to wind up as Harvard’s seventh “Patty Kaz†winner.
With the NCHA playoffs ramping up this weekend and the MCHA pairings all set despite one week of regular season conference action to go, what is there to talk about this week?
How about the fact the first public edition of the NCAA Regional Rankings was released this Monday? Here they are for the West Region:
1. St. Norbert
2. St. Scholastica
3. Gustavus Adolphus
4. Hamline
5. UW-River Falls
6. Adrian
7. Augsburg
As far as the implications for the NCAA prospects of NCHA and MCHA teams, it’s fairly straightforward for a change.
To word it one way, close is only going to count in horseshoes, hand grenades, or if your name is St. Norbert or St. Scholastica.
Interestingly, Adrian lands at No. 6 despite two in-region losses to Hamline. Last season the Bulldogs failed to crack the poll despite being undefeated against West Region opponents.
Who’s Next?
For many years the opening round of the NCHA playoffs was about the easiest thing in the world to predict as year after year the higher seeded teams advanced without fail.
UW-Stevens Point became the first road team in NCHA history to break through and score an opening round win as the Pointers dropped UW-Stout 8-3, 3-2 in a 2001 quarterfinal series. A road team didn’t win again until 2005 when the then host Pointers fell 4-3, 6-1 to visiting Lake Forest.
Since the Foresters win at Stevens Point at least one road team has won an opening round series every season except last.
Stout took down rival River Falls in 2006, while in 2007 St. Scholastica hit the road and knocked off Superior in the quarterfinals and River Falls in the semifinals.
Two road teams scored opening round upset wins in 2008 as St. Scholastica once again eliminated River Falls while UW-Eau Claire made the trip to Superior and came home with its first playoff series win in school history.
The increase in opening round upsets is clear evidence of the ever-increasing parity within the NCHA, though all four home teams did advance a year ago. Recent history suggests a road team is likely to pull off an upset this year, so who will it be?
Well, it won’t be St. Norbert as the Green Knights landed a spot right into the semifinals as a reward for their regular season NCHA championship.
That leaves St. Scholastica, River Falls and Stout as the home teams under fire this weekend. As a reminder, all series are “first to three pointsâ€. If the teams split the opening two games the series are settled by a 20 minute mini-game following the conclusion of the Saturday game. If the mini-game is tied after 20 minutes, it’s sudden death time.
Perhaps the most intriguing matchup might involve River Falls, as the No. 3 seed Falcons take on No. 6. Eau Claire. The 15-8-2 Falcons have slipped up at home twice in the previous four postseasons, while the Blugolds are 2-1-1 in their last four — including an impressive win over St. Scholastica just a week ago.
“Obviously in the NCHA you have to beat everybody so it should be a great series,†said Eau Claire head coach Matt Loen, who is 32-42-6 in his fourth year behind the Blugolds’ bench. “I think it’s a great opportunity for our team. The only way we are going to get a NCAA bid is to win the NCHA tournament, so to come out and beat River Falls in the first round would be a huge confidence builder for our team.â€
The Blugolds are 0-2-1 against the Falcons this season, with a loss and a tie at home back in November and a 6-3 loss at River Falls two weeks ago. In the most recent loss, Eau Claire held a 2-1 lead after two periods but the Falcons erupted for five third period goals to score the win.
“Depth-wise they have one of the better lineups in our league as far as forwards,†Loen said. “They have three or four strong lines that can come at you offensively. Stopping them is the key and that will be the challenge.â€
The Falcons boast the third highest scoring offense in the NCHA, but the Blugolds allowed the third fewest goals in conference play this year. According to Loen, defense remains a priority this weekend, especially as the Falcons have refused to roll over this season and have scored numerous key goals late in games.
“I think we’ve played pretty well defensively. We only gave up three goals against them in our series at home so we’re going to try to match our defensive play from that series.â€
The Blugolds could go with senior Tyler Brigl or freshman Brandon Stephenson in net. Both have seen significant action this season, but Brigl garnered both starts last weekend.
“We’re comfortable with either one,†said Loen. “Tyler is a senior and was our goalie when we won that series up in Superior, and Brandon has stepped up and played well as a freshman. Whichever one of those guys plays will be a big part of our team defense.â€
In the 2008 upset in Superior, Brigl allowed four goals in a Friday loss but stopped 34 shots in a 5-0 shutout on Saturday before also keeping Superior off the board in the mini-game.
As mentioned, that was the first playoff series win in Eau Claire history. It was also an experience Loen hopes his team can draw from against River Falls.
“We learned that we can win,†he said. “To go into a place like Superior who has a winning tradition and to go in and win was big. Now we have an opportunity to do that again as I think that Superior team and this River Falls team are similar.â€
No. 5 Stevens Point @ No. 4 Stout
There has been plenty of buzz this week about this matchup. Not only because the 4/5 NCHA meeting is often about as much of a tossup as one can find, but also because Stout has not played well down the stretch. The preseason favorite to win the NCHA, the Blue Devils are 0-5-1 over the last three weeks of conference play and fell 4-0 to Stevens Point to wrap up the season. As such, many are rating this one high on the potential upset scale.
That said, the Blue Devils are at home and the hostile confines of the DunnCo have not been friendly to the Pointers for some years.
The Blue Devils hosted the Pointers twice this season and won both times — including a dramatic 5-4 (ot) win in which Stout tallied in the waning seconds of regulation and again in overtime.
Those contests included, Stout has won eight straight at home over the Stevens Point. Included therein are opening round playoff sweeps in 2007 and 2008 in which the Blue Devils outscored the Pointers 23-7 along the way.
The Pointers on the other hand have been up and down as of late. The opened the NCHA season 0-7 but won six of their final 11 to finish 6-12. They split three of their final four NCHA weekends but were only 2-8 against the four teams that finished above them in the standings.
All told, who knows what to expect? Stevens Point has played better down the stretch while Stout has not, but the Blue Devils have owned the Pointers at home for the better part of five years. The proverbial tossup.
No. 7 Superior @ No. 2 St. Scholastica
If five years ago someone said that in 2010 it would be the Yellowjackets and Saints squaring off in the 2/7 series it wouldn’t have surprised anyone. If that same person then specified the Saints would be the higher seed it no doubt would have raised some eyebrows.
That’s exactly the situation this weekend as St. Scholastica hosts Twin Ports rival Superior in the NCHA’s final quarterfinal series.
The Saints won all three regular season meetings between the two, scoring a 6-3, 3-0 sweep at home in December and notching a 4-1 win at Wessman just a week ago.
On paper, the Saints appear to be clear favorites as they boast the second-ranked offense and defense in the NCHA while the Yellowjackets are near the bottom of the league in both categories.
Before moving St. Scholastica straight into the semifinals, however, consider a few things:
First, it’s a rivalry series and an abundance of Superior fans will no doubt make the five mile trip to Mars-Lakeview this weekend. Secondly, Superior lost only twice in the past three weekends. Granted, they only won once, but the Yellowjackets have shown resiliency despite not being where they desired in the standings. Finally, it’s not easy to beat a team three times in a season no less five, but that’s exactly what the Saints might have to do to move on.
Despite a less than stellar season in the standings, the Yellowjackets remain a skilled and dangerous team that is always a threat. Throw in the rivalry angle and an upset here wouldn’t be too much of a stunner despite it being a 2/7 matchup.
One More Musing
It’s no secret the NCHA has become much more competitive over the past five or six years. As such the amount of playoff “upsets†have increased as the gap between top and bottom is much smaller than it used to be.
While the home teams escaped the opening round unscathed last season, has home ice really paid dividends this year in the NCHA?
The results are inconclusive: in NCHA regular season games this season the road teams are 29-24-10.
Skelly Sets Mark
The records keep piling up for Adrian, and this time it comes down on the individual side as a first period goal by Bulldogs’ junior forward Shawn Skelly last Friday made him the all-time leading scorer in MCHA history.
The goal have the Wolverine Lake, Mich. native 131 career points in MCHA play and surpassed the 130 posted by former Finlandia standout and 2008 graduate Josh Paquette.
Overall, Skelly has 18 goals and 18 assists on the season in 22 games, and posted 65 points (30-35) last season and a whopping 74 (30-44) as a freshman.
Congratulations are in order on the achievement and it might not be he last MCHA record Skelly sets as with over a full season to go he is only 11 assists shy of tying the league assist record.
MCHA Playoff Picture
Last week’s edition contained a few errors so please allow me to apologize while at the same time squaring things away properly.
Simply speaking, the MCHA playoffs are all set, despite there being a full weekend of games to go.
Adrian is in at the top seed, Marian as the second and the Milwaukee School of Engineering is No. 3 and will host a playoff series. None of that has changed from a week ago, but now to fix what I made the mistake on.
The battle for fourth in the standings between Lawrence and Lake Forest is irrelevant as far as the playoffs are concerned as the two opening round series must be played between teams from the same divisions. That means Lake Forest is locked into a road series at MSOE while Lawrence will host a series of its own even if the Vikings finish fifth in the league.
As Northland scored a win at Finlandia last weekend, the Lumberjacks indeed qualify for the postseason regardless of what happens this weekend and will travel to Lawrence in the opening round.
There, all set.
Speaking of Lawrence, the Vikings were featured here about a month ago after going through a rough stretch. Not much has changed as while Adrian, Marian and MSOE have all put together strong second halves to their respective seasons, the Vikings have continued to toil. Since a 6-1 start to the season, the Vikings are 2-13-1 and have lost nine of 10.
That run is certainly not what was expected from a team many thought could rise up and challenge Adrian this year, and is also not what was expected from head coach Mike Szkodzinski.
“We haven’t been able to put together 60 minutes at any point this year,†he said. “There have been a number of times where our forwards aren’t playing well but the defense has, or when they are playing well we give up a bunch of soft goals, or our goaltender is making great saves and no one else is playing well.
“You cannot win in the MCHA without playing consistently. I think we have the ability to play that way but we need to start doing it.â€
The lone bright spot for the Vikings in the second half of the season was a home weekend a month ago in which they scored three points from Finlandia. Since then they are 0-7 against the teams (Adrian, Marian, MSOE) they trail in the standings.
“I think if you look all the way back, a turning point was that Lake Forest game (on January 9),†Szkodzinski said. “We played very well in the first period and outshot them 17-3 but didn’t score. Then they came out in the second period and were very opportunistic.â€
The Foresters tallied four times in that second period en route to an eventual 6-2 win.
“From that point on we have not played 60 minutes. It’s been a struggle at times, but at the same we believe in what we are doing at it’s only a matter of time until we turn it around. Hopefully that’s sooner rather than later.â€
The Vikings offense and defense are both off the paces they set a year ago and goaltender Evan Johnson has not performed in the stellar fashion he did a year ago. Last year, as a sophomore, Johnson posted a 2.11 goals against average and .918 save percentage, but those have regressed to 3.90 and .883 in his junior campaign.
“Our goaltending has certainly been a concern for us this year,†said Szkodzinski. “We have two goaltenders who have the ability to be excellent, but like the rest of the team they have not been on a consistent basis. If we are to turn it around they are going to have to lead the way in that category.â€
Already knowing their playoff situation, the Vikings have one more chance to get the ship righted as they travel to Finlandia to close out the season this year. While of course Lawrence wants to come out of the weekend with two wins, simply putting forth a complete effort is essential if the Vikings have any hopes on rebounding and competing for the Harris Cup.
“Any time Lawrence and Finlandia play it’s a battle,†said Szkodzinski. “We need to just play strong for 120 minutes to prove to ourselves we are capable of it. There is no doubt in our minds we are, but we need to go out and show we can do it before heading into the [playoffs].â€
And finally…
While on the topic of Lawrence, check out this quick video about the Vikings’ earlier trip to Eurpops that the University has hosted on YouTube. My how far media has come in the past ten years …
Notice anything familiar at the top of the Hockey East standings?
How about the re-emergence of the old Big Four?
New Hampshire, Boston College, Maine and Boston University have once again claimed Hockey East’s top four spots and are all now in the driver’s seat for playoff home ice.
Until last year, you had to go all the way back to the 1995-96 season to find a playoff without at least three of the four defending home ice during the league quarterfinals. And the 2004, 2005 and 2006 playoffs featured all four at home.
Last year, however, showed how the increasing parity in the game had eaten away at the perennial powerhouses’ stranglehold. And when this season Maine and BU both got off to brutal starts — 1-5-0 for the Black Bears and 4-9-3 for the Terriers — it looked as though “the good old days” were over for those programs as a whole.
But like Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (or Jack Nicholson in The Shining, depending on your perspective), the collective Big Four is baaaack.
But on the Other Hand
A look further down the standings shows something even more interesting.
If Merrimack wins its game in hand, then every team but Providence is within three points of home ice.
So parity is back after all and with a vengeance.
Which means three huge weekends remain.
Definitely Part of the Picture
For a while there, it looked like the two teams left on the outside looking in come playoff time would be Providence and Merrimack, a repeat of last year.
Now, that isn’t so certain. Providence remains in trouble, but Merrimack injected itself back into the playoff race with three of four points at Vermont last weekend. If the Warriors win their game in hand, they’ll be tied with Vermont for the final playoff berth and as noted above, a mere three points away from playoff home ice.
This is no two-game fluke. The weekend before, Merrimack beat Massachusetts-Lowell and the one before that it split with New Hampshire. In their last seven league games, the Warriors are 4-2-1. It’s a stark difference from their record preceding the hot stretch: seven straight losses and a 1-10-0 record over 11 games.
“I think if you look at our schedule and you look at the areas where we struggled, a lot of it had to do with scheduling,” coach Mark Dennehy says. “We went 49 days between home games. So that in and of itself put our team in a difficult situation.
“Some of that was our own doing in the sense that we probably bit off more this year with our nonconference schedule than we had in the past. That was by design. I felt like we were ready for it and also thought we needed to strengthen our nonconference schedule a little bit to prepare us more for league play.”
The Warriors played two games at No. 11 North Dakota early this season and the Badger Showdown against No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 14 Ferris State. All were losses but two were by a single goal. Not to mention in hostile environments.
“I honestly think that had a lot to do with it,” Dennehy says. “That’s not an excuse; it’s an explanation.
“We still hadn’t figured out a way to win on the road. I don’t think it had anything to do with our athletic makeup as much as it did with our mentality. But I saw that continuing to improve all year long. We were close. We were playing well enough [on the road] but not well enough to win.
“Then this weekend [at Vermont] we found a way. It was a long time coming.”
Virtually every team has a better record at home than on the road, but Merrimack’s home-away splits boggle the mind. The Warriors are 10-2-0 at home, losing only to New Hampshire and Northeastern, but 1-12-1 on the road. For the mathematically challenged, that means they were 0-11-0 on the road until this past weekend.
How can a team that had been winless on the road be so dominating at home?
“We’re in a results-oriented business,” Dennehy says. “I understand that. At the end of the day it’s about wins and losses. But when I think of the word dominant … we didn’t blow too many teams out at home. A lot of those games were close. So the results may be dominant but if you look at the games themselves, a Hockey East game is going to be decided by a play or two per game.
“Then if you look at our road record and you look at how many one-goal games we’ve played there, especially if you take out the empty-net goals, we’re right there [with everyone else].
“What we’ve been able to do, whether it’s at home or on the road, is make it a one-goal game. Last year we had an abysmal one-goal record, but we put ourselves in those positions. Now, I think we’re better so we’re winning more of them. We’re good enough and we’re a little bit more battle-tested than last year’s team.”
Still, there does seem to be something special going on at the J. Thom Lawler Arena. You don’t beat teams like UNH, BC, BU, Vermont, Lowell, Northeastern and Providence by accident.
“There’s definitely a positive vibe in our rink,” Dennehy says. “[Athletic director] Glenn Hofmann and his administration, as well as our players, have done a good job of ingratiating this team with the student body.
“We’re averaging over 500 students a game and that is roughly 39 percent of our student body.”
Go ahead. Read that statistic again. Thirty-nine percent!
“When you’re at a small campus, if you have a group of guys that people don’t like then I don’t care how successful they are, people aren’t going to support them,” Dennehy says. “We have a good group of young men.
“You look at our achievements off the ice in the classroom, where we had 16 All-Academic team members. These guys come in here and they are here for more than just hockey, but it’s the hockey that drives them.”
Often what drives a team is a look at the standings. Sometimes it drives in a negative way and sometimes positive. You can bet the Warriors are taking a peek these days.
“It’s part guilty pleasure and it’s part my responsibility to pay attention to some of those things, but I talk to our guys all the time about not being distracted by that,” Dennehy says. “If I let myself get distracted by that, then it trickles down from the top.
“We need to pay attention to things, but what we really need to focus on is our own play. I believe if we take care of our own play, we’re going to put ourselves in a position to compete for a playoff spot.
“You’ve got to live in the day. When we have a practice, it has to be the most important part of their day. We need to put together a good practice every day and that will make us better the next.
“We talk it; we’ve got to live it.”
This weekend, the Warriors will take on a team that’s lately been going in the opposite direction. The Massachusetts Minutemen have lost three straight and five of six. There have been some ugly scores to boot: 6-2, 7-1, and 6-3.
“I said this to my team and I believe it: ‘There may be two teams at the top of this league that can put together a sub-par performance and take points and then there’s everybody else,'” Dennehy says. “I think we’re one of those [everybody else] teams.
“When one of those teams is playing each other it comes down to will, it comes down to who wants the game more that night, shift to shift, drop [of the puck] to whistle. I’ve seen it, I believe it.
“As a coach, you look and say, ‘We’re undefeated in three games.’ There’s that balance between feeling good about yourself and thinking your poop doesn’t stink.
“With UMass coming in without winning in three games, there’s going to be some fire there. I know [UMass coach Don] Cahoon, he’s going to have his guys ready to play. They’re going to be amped up, so if we don’t match that, we won’t succeed. It’s that simple.”
Rookie of the Year Shoo-In?
Can there be any doubt as to this year Hockey East rookie of the year?
Merrimack forward Stephane Da Costa ranks sixth overall among league scorers (fourth in league games) and may well be a unanimous pick. Since scoring an eye-popping five goals in his first game, he’s continued to be a force, getting held off the score sheet in only four games. He dazzled in the game-winner against Vermont.
“He’s electric,” Dennehy says. “He vanished on that goal. There were three guys around him and all of a sudden he was behind them and I don’t think he could tell you how he got there. He’s an exceptional player, probably the best I’ve coached.
“What really impresses me about Stephane is what impressed me about Jeff Halpern at Princeton and Thomas Pock at UMass. The best players I’ve ever been around want to be good at everything they do, not just one thing. If it’s a media relations class, they want to do well in that class. If it’s in the weight room, they want to be at the top of the list in terms of training. Those are the people that go the furthest.
“The recruiting process isn’t an exact science and you don’t get to know these kids as well as when they get there. If I had any concerns, it was how serious a student he was going to be and how serious in the weight room he was going to be.
“He’s been great. He practices hard. He doesn’t go through a drill half-speed. He’s always trying new things.
“It’s great when one of your better players is also one of your hardest workers. I think that’s what allows him to be consistent on a day-to-day basis. He needs to work on his faceoffs, and he knows that. Strength is a big issue for him. He wants to be an elite player and have a chance to play in the NHL, and he’s working on that.
“If he ever finishes four years here, he could probably run for office in the Merrimack Valley. That’s the type of personality he has. People flock to him.
“He’s always got a smile on his face. Sometimes it’s a wry smile because he’s up to no good, but he’s just a real good, respectful young man. Obviously, we’re thrilled that he’s a part of our program, but he brings more to it than just on the ice.”
Missing Their MVP
Few questioned going into the season that Massachusetts-Lowell would have one of the best defensive corps in the league, if not the country. Maury Edwards and his booming slap shot had earned All-America honors the year before. Although less flashy, the senior foursome of Jeremy Dehner, Nick Schaus, Barry Goers and Steve Capraro were forces to be reckoned with.
Injuries and off-years, however, have made a dent in the group. Edwards has seen his production drop from last year’s 11 goals and 29 points to four goals and 15 points.
The unkindest cut of all, however, has been the injury that has sidelined Dehner since Jan. 23 and will continue to keep him out of the lineup for another few weeks. It’s probably not a coincidence that the River Hawks have lost four of the five games played in his absence.
“Jeremy Dehner played 25 to 28 minutes a game,” coach Blaise MacDonald says. “He has really been the MVP of our team so far this season. He’s the type of player that kind of goes under the radar a little bit maybe because of his size and the way that he plays. But we’ve been missing him.”
Arguably, Schaus has been the one defenseman who has most risen to the challenge in Dehner’s absence.
“He has tremendous physicality to his game,” MacDonald says. “When he takes what the game gives him, he can really impact the game for us. He’s put up some points this year, which is good for him and good for our team.”
Goers, who had been an ironman of sorts in his first three years playing in 105 games, missed 10 games from late October through early December but has played inspired hockey of late.
“I thought he played the best game that he’s played in a couple of years [against BC on Friday],” MacDonald says. “That was great for us and was the kind of opportunity [that arises] when you have a good defensemen down.”
Not in the Box Score, Only in the Standings
Give a group of forwards the choice between time on the power play and on the penalty kill and you’ll get a unanimous opinion. All hands go up for the power play.
Yet as pivotal as power-play scoring has become, the grinding, no-glory time on the penalty kill plays every bit as much into a team’s place in the standings.
Last Friday, Lowell’s Chris Auger put on a clinic during one kill, tying up the puck in BC’s zone for what had to be 25 seconds but may have felt to the Eagles like hours. It never showed up in the box score — unlike his two assists — but played a significant role in the River Hawks win.
“It was huge,” MacDonald said after the game. “Chris has got terrific hockey sense, awareness, anticipation and really good stick skills. Some of your better offensive guys are really good penalty killers because they know what the offense is going to do. A kill like that amplifies the confidence and enthusiasm of your bench.”
Auger added, “If you watch our team, when there’s a big shot block, the whole bench is up cheering. Small things like that bring momentum to teams.
“We’ve got a good group of guys here that just build off each other. Those small things add up over a game. You keep doing the small things right, and it’s going to end up doing the right things on the scoreboard.”
Those things matter to every team, but perhaps even more so for the blue-collar River Hawks.
“It’s the difference between good and great,” MacDonald says. “Good year and great year. Coming in second and winning a championship. It’s everything.
“And it’s most important that the guys in the locker room understand that and they know who those contributors are.”
And Finally, Not That It Has Anything To Do With Anything, But …
Valentine’s Day was this past weekend, but I’ve got to send my love here to my wonderful, amazing wife.
USCHO.com’s Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Michigan State head coach Rick Comley for a look at CCHA Hobey Baker candidates: Spartan Corey Tropp, the Miami goaltending duo of Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp, and Northern Michigan’s Mark Olver.
Two weeks ago, it looked like Elmira had run away with the regular season title and that Manhattanville and Hobart would have to be content with battling for second place. Oh how things have changed.
Elmira has taken a nose dive, losing its last three games. The Soaring Eagles special teams collapsed against Hobart on Feb. 6, allowing three power-play goals and a shorthander in a 5-3 defeat. Then Elmira got swept last weekend at Neumann and all of the sudden the regular season is up for grabs heading into the final weekend.
Manhattanville, only one point behind Elmira in the standings, has been rolling along on the road all season long. All five Valiants losses on the season have been at home in the usually friendly confines of Playland Ice Casino. That has proven a frustration point throughout the season, but Manhattanville may have finally worked things out two weekends ago in a home loss to Neumann.
“The first Neumann game was kind of a wakeup call to us,†said Manhattanville head coach Keith Levinthal. “We have figured out a few of the reasons why we have been so good on the road and not good at home, maybe in terms of lineup that we’ve been using.â€
With the exception of the weekend against Neumann, Manhattanville has won every game since Dec. 8 and has been building towards making a run in the playoffs.
“We have been quietly playing well for a while now,†said Levinthal. “The last three games at home we have played very, very well. We are operating on all cylinders right now.â€
The table is now set for this weekend when Manhattanville travels to Elmira to determine the regular season title. The Valiants enter the weekend with momentum on their side, while Elmira has stumbled lately and needs to regain its footing.
“It’s shaping up to be a great weekend,†said Levinthal. “It is a rink that we have played well in the last few times. They are a really good team and a different kind of team than we have played in a while. Never mind playing on the road and a tough place to play, the challenge will be playing a different kind of team.â€
Elmira and Manhattanville play contrasting styles of hockey creating an interesting matchup this weekend.
“Elmira is as good a transition team as you can get,†said Levinthal. “They protect the puck very well and are a very good skating team. If we are going to go back and forth down the ice with these guys at 80 miles an hour, that’s their game. That isn’t the game I want to see us play on Friday.â€
The clash of styles between Elmira and Manhattanville adds another layer to the battle for the title.
Lack of Leadership
On Jan. 20, Lebanon Valley Director of Athletics Rick Beard announced the resignation of head coach Ted Russell. Since then, the team has continued to play out the season as competitively as possible, admirably reflecting the strong character of the players.
The announcement resurrected speculation on the future of the program. Beard has repeatedly asserted that no decisions have been made, and won’t be until the season is over and a thorough review is performed.
Beard’s stance is understandable and keeps open some level of hope for a team that has measurably improved. However, it also leaves teams both inside and outside the ECAC West in limbo.
Do the SUNYAC teams, and teams from other leagues, that have games scheduled with Lebanon Valley need to look for other opponents?
Should the ECAC West teams adjust their league schedule for next season?
Should the Flying Dutchmen players start looking for other teams to play on, before all of the available positions are taken by new recruits?
Those are just three of the areas that are in limbo pending a decision on the fate of the program.
What is truly lacking in this situation is leadership from the league office. The ECAC West, as the name implies, is operated under the auspices of the ECAC.
But through the years, as the league has seen teams leave for various reasons, the ECAC has paid little more than lip service to the problem of the diminishing membership. Have any efforts been expended to recruit new teams into the league? What about realignment to rebalance the teams amongst the ECAC East, West, and Northeast? Are there any teams that can be lured in from non-ECAC leagues?
This is the time when the league office needs to step in, work with the teams both within the league and with the other leagues, and provide the leadership necessary to ensure that all of the leagues have strong and healthy futures.
Is the ECAC nothing more than an organization that assigns referees and compiles weekly awards? Or is the ECAC a governing body, assisting its members to grow while maintaining the integrity of the sport?
Time will tell. It would be a travesty if the ECAC let a league with the history and competitiveness of the ECAC West wither on the vine until it is no more.
It’s hard to believe that we’re in the final three weeks of the last-ever CHA regular season.
Like Metallica said long ago, you know it’s sad, but true.
All that’s pretty much left on the docket are conference games, including this weekend where Niagara heads to Bemidji State and with a single point, the Beavers will clinch the regular season title.
What’s awesome about the CHA this year is that even if Bemidji State somehow does not win the league tournament and earn the auto-bid to the NCAA field of 16, it may get an at-large bid and put two CHA teams in the national tourney.
Also this weekend, Robert Morris ventures to Alabama-Huntsville, where a gutless, senseless campus shooting spree took charge of the university last Friday.
Playing these games and getting back into the swing of things will be good for UAH — a sort of healing, if you will.
Sit back and buckle up. We should be in for an exciting next couple of weeks.
UAH Tops Niagara Friday Night
Before Saturday night’s game was postponed due to the tragic events at UAH, the Chargers beat Niagara, 3-2, last Friday night.
With the game tied at 2 early in the third period, the Chargers scored the winner when Justin Cseter curled into the slot and beat Purple Eagles netminder Adam Avramenko five-hole.
Cameron Talbot made 26 saves in Alabama-Huntsville’s win at Niagara last Friday (photo: Doug Eagan).
“We stuck with it tonight,” Niagara coach Dave Burkholder said. “They are a tough team to play against. The result tonight was disappointing.”
The Chargers bolted out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Chris Fairbanks and Cody Campbell, until Niagara finally got on the board halfway through the second period on a Tyler Gotto goal. Chris Moran tied it for Niagara and that set the stage for Cseter’s heroics.
Cameron Talbot took the win in goal with a 26-save outing, while Avramenko kicked out 20.
Earlier this week, NU announced that for just the second time in program history, the Purps will host three games in three days when they host Huntsville in a three-game series running from Friday, Feb. 26 through Sunday, Feb. 28.
Niagara will play at 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, before playing at 4 p.m. on Sunday, the rescheduled date from the postponed game from Feb. 13. The last time that the NU played three games in three days was Nov. 22-24, 1996, when it defeated two now-defunct schools in Findlay twice and Fairfield once by a combined total of 25-4.
Colonials, Beavers Do Splits In Steel City
Bemidji State traveled east last weekend to Robert Morris with the hopes of coming home with the regular season crown.
Instead, BSU settled for a split with the Colonials as each team won once by a 5-2 score.
Friday night, RMU won as Nathan Longpre scored twice to go along with singles from captain Dave Cowan, Ron Cramer and J.C. Velasquez.
Brooks Ostergard made 43 saves for the win and James Lyle and Denny Urban recorded two assists apiece.
“We’ve let too many teams back into games,” RMU coach Derek Schooley told USCHO after the game. “You don’t want to let teams just hang around and that’s what we talked about going into the third period. We were OK in the first, we needed to take care of the puck better and Brooks Ostergard was very good. We didn’t want to let them back into the game, but we did a good job extending the lead to 4-0 tonight.”
Tyler Lehrke and Jordan George tallied for BSU and Dan Bakala stopped 14 of 18 shots through 46:08, before Mathieu Dugas stopped all four rest of the way after Velasquez’s goal
“That first period was a toughy because we played very well,” BSU coach Tom Serratore said. “You’d like to get a goal in that first period after all of our hard work and quality scoring changes. Then we had a breakdown defensively and they got that 1-0 lead and we never really came back from that.”
Saturday night, the Beavers returned the favor as Lehrke exploded for two goals and two assists.
“Lehrks was a stud and he’s been a stud for us all year,” Serratore said. “I am proud of that line and I am proud of him. I can’t say enough about how he and Chris McKelvie have anchored that line this year. It is amazing how each year we have seniors step up for us.”
Ben Kinne, Ryan Cramer and Jamie MacQueen added goals for BSU, and Dugas finished with 26 saves.
Zach Hervato and Scott Kobialko scored for the Colonials, and Ostergard made 19 saves.
“It was a gutty win,” Serratore said. “We let them back in a little bit, but I thought we showed a lot of resiliency when it was 2-2 and we pushed through to get that third goal. I thought we were pretty good after that.”
“It was a great start for our team,” Schooley told USCHO. “We went after it and had a lot of energy, but they got that first goal from a turnover and went from there. It was a good hockey game, but it just got away from us.”
This weekend’s games at the Glas Fieldhouse are the Beavers’ last at the historic arena.
RMU Adds D-Man for ’10-11
Jimmy Geerin is the latest to commit to Robert Morris for next season.
Geerin, a 20-year-old defenseman from Anchorage playing in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Burnaby Express, has four goals (three on the power play) and 18 assists in 43 games this season.
Beavers Get Commitment from Shattuck Forward
Shattuck-St. Mary’s forward Brad Robbins has committed to Bemidji State for next season.
Robbins, not to be confused with the defenseman of the same name that played for Miami from 2004 to 2008, has 19 goals and 28 assists this season with the Sabres. He is known as a very good skater and for being a playmaker.
I don’t usually like devoting column space to talk about games that are already in the books, but last week’s Yale-Cornell tilt was clearly a matchup worthy of some apres-buzzer analysis.
As Union was busy losing to Harvard in an uninspired performance, the Bulldogs and Big Red battled it out for sole possession of first place at James Lynah Rink on Saturday night. Each squad had won four of its last five, the Elis were on a three-game winning streak, and — just for a little national flavor — each team was ranked in the top 10.
Cornell scored first, with newly returned center Riley Nash feeding Colin Greening for the goal in the game’s seventh minute. After that, however, it was all Blue & White.
Yale proceeded to outshoot the hosts 41-8 after the first period, and the only reason the game wasn’t handily decided in regulation was Cornell’s super-sharp netminder, Ben Scrivens. The league’s most consistent goaltender stopped 52 of the first 53 shots he saw, while his colleagues mustered only 20 shots on goal in the same amount of time (63:17).
In fact, following a 25-shot first period in which the Bulldogs tallied 13 shots on net, the remaining frames’ shot count read 20-4, 13-4, 8-0. This was Yale’s game … but nobody had informed Scrivens.
Mark Arcobello knotted the game at 13:48 of the second period, rocketing a one-timer over Scrivens from the smack-dab middle of the slot. Taking the pass from Denny Kearney, who was behind the Cornell goal line, the score was Arcobello’s ninth of the season — still only good for fourth on the sizzling Yale roster.
The overtime winner developed as Brian O’Neill hit Sean Backman on the fly, streaking in on Scrivens. The senior forward shot it between Scrivens’ pads, and the puck trickled over the goal line as Yale formally claimed a game it had owned all night long.
The decision was Yale’s fifth straight over national power Cornell, and put the Bulldogs on a season-high four-game winning streak. With the season sweep, Yale also claimed the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Big Red — critical, as Cornell went on to defeat Colgate 6-2 on Tuesday to draw even with Yale in the standings. In taking over the starting job late in the season, senior Billy Blase is now 5-0-0 between the Elis’ iron.
“They expose tendencies and weakness you can’t get away with from good teams … they move pucks and we didn’t stick close with our checks and they made plays,” Cornell coach Mike Schafer told the Cornell Daily Sun after the contest.
“I can’t imagine a better college hockey game,” Yale counterpart Keith Allain told the Yale Daily News. “That was as good as we have played this year.”
If there is any justice in the world, we’ll see a rematch in Albany.
A Capital Combination
Regular readers and other such ECAC Hockey folk are, by now, well aware of the talent playing in the greater Albany area. Union and RPI are programs on the rise, led by sharp young coaches and an ever-increasing handful of nationally overlooked talent. Engineers junior Chase Polacek and Union senior Mario Valery-Trabucco shine brightest among a burgeoning constellation of Capital District stars.
‘Cek it out
Out in Troy, Polacek is merely leading the nation in scoring with 46 points, and is tied for the D-I lead in goals with 23. He’s sixth in the country in points per game (1.44). He’s gone only seven games without scoring a point this season, and four of those came in his first six games. His longest pointless drought was two games — once — and has 14 multi-point games, including seven three-point nights.
“Chase has always been very talented,” said head coach Seth Appert. “He’s an explosive skater, not only north but laterally as well. He’s got a great scoring shot — he’s always possessed a powerful shot, where he can threaten and/or beat goaltenders from the tops of the circles or above, which not a lot of people can do.
“I think the one thing that’s developed in his game (at RPI) is his competitiveness, his willingness to go to the high-traffic areas to score goals. The last two years, he’s had dramatically more assists than goals — and granted, he was younger and we didn’t have as deep of a team — but he’s much more willing to go to the front of the net (now). He’s added many more garbage goals, so to speak. Paying-the-price goals, right around the crease. He’s scored many more of those this year than he has in the past two years.”
“We’ve played against Chase four times this year, and he’s a tremendous player,” said Union coach Nate Leaman, who has seen nearly as much of Polacek as Appert. “He has breakaway speed, he has good vision, he’s a good finisher.”
Furthermore, Polacek has scored eight goals with 11 assists in 12 games against teams that are currently ranked in the USCHO.com top 20, and holds a 7-9–16 line in seven combined games against Yale, Cornell and Union.
“He’s much more willing to go after the puck now and win those puck battles, which leads us to spend less time in the defensive zone,” assessed Appert. “I think the real impressive thing about him is his consistency this year: he’s won Player of the Week twice now, in the past three or four weeks, but ’til then, it was just putting points on the board every weekend. He was putting points up almost every game — he had a 14-game point streak earlier in the year.”
Polacek is supported by freshman Brandon Pirri, who leads the country in freshman scoring with 39 points. He is second only to Merrimack’s Stephane Da Costa among rookies in points per game (1.22), and is fifth nationwide in assists per game (30 total, for 0.94 per game). Pirri’s tied for 20th in the nation in points per game, just ahead of seasoned league opponents Sean Backman, Jason Walters and Brian O’Neill, and just behind Blake Gallagher.
Most Valuable Trabucco
Meanwhile, across town, long-time lesser light Union is shining brightly under the glow of superstar Valery-Trabucco. Fans outside the ECAC may not know the name, but they’ve been sure to catch his number as he’s rampaged through this season.
Valery-Trabucco holds the 10th seat in the nation in points per game with 1.31, and while he hasn’t matched Polacek’s score sheet consistency since Day One, he has Polacek beat in one area this season: hat tricks. In fact, MVT has two — one against Clarkson, another against Polacek’s own Engineers in early December. (Polacek scored a natural hattie against Dartmouth last weekend.) Valery-Trabucco has a dozen multi-point games, including three three-point nights and the three-goal, five-point demolition of Clarkson earlier this month. A plus-22 forward, Valery-Trabucco is one of the Dutchmen’s best penalty-killers as well as an offensive dynamo. MVT’s next point — his 39th — will vault him past linemate Adam Presizniuk for Union’s single-season scoring record.
“He’s got an excellent release,” praised Leaman. “He’s a very shifty player, and he’s a guy that, when he shoots the puck, we’re a better team. He’s given our power play a couple different dimensions, because he can play up top or [down low]. His first two years he was a centerman for us, but after his sophomore year I thought a move to the wing would help our team in freeing him up.
“He’s scored a lot of big goals for us throughout his career. He’s a complete player, and he’s a big reason why we’re having a lot of success this year.”
He has a lot of support from linemates Presizniuk and Jason Walters, who sit three-two on the Union scoring list, not to mention four-three on the team in plus/minus to boot. The line has combined for 42 goals and 104 points this season, and each player has surpassed the 30-point mark already. Walters and Presizniuk are a combined plus-38, putting three Union forwards (and one UC blue-liner) atop the league’s charts in that category. MVT and Walters are already enjoying career years in this, their senior, seasons, and “Prez” has a shot at doing the same, if he can muster up eight more points before the year is through.
Mike Schreiber is also a District name worth knowing, as the senior is tied for seventh nationally in scoring by defensemen. Trailing only Yale’s Thomas Dignard in this league, Schreiber picked up where graduated teammate Lane Caffaro left off: providing a big offensive boost from the back, without sacrificing defensive-zone responsibility (he’s plus-22 on the season, tied for the league lead with MVT). He’s an All-American all the way.
What We Know
Round Two:
• Clarkson (8 points) can finish no higher than ninth, therefore assuring a first-round road trip.
• Dartmouth (11 points) can finish no higher than sixth.
• Brown (13 points) and Princeton (14) can finish no higher than fourth.
• Harvard (17 points) can finish no higher than second, but no lower than 11th.
• Quinnipiac (18 points) and Colgate (19) can finish no lower than 11th.
• Rensselaer and St. Lawrence (20 points each) can finish no lower than 10th.
• Union (24 points each) can finish no lower than eighth, locking up home-ice in the first round, if not a bye.
• Yale and Cornell (26 points) can finish no lower than seventh, also insuring home-ice in the first round and putting them in line for a bye.
Tiebreakers
These are all of the head-to-head variety at this point, from the top of the standings on down. I’ll try to tackle the second and third tiebreakers — wins, and record against the top four — next week; the latter is far too premature to work on, and the former doesn’t give us any new advantages yet. (“Moot”, obviously, signifies that the advantage is irrelevant given the two teams’ separation in the standings. Brown, with 13 points, can’t catch up to Cornell’s 26, so it’s a moot comparison.)
• Cornell beats Brown (moot), Clarkson (moot), Colgate and St. Lawrence.
• Yale beats Brown (moot), Dartmouth (moot), Colgate, Cornell and Union.
• Union beats Clarkson (moot), Rensselaer and St. Lawrence.
• St. Lawrence beats Clarkson (moot), Colgate, Princeton and Rensselaer.
• Rensselaer beats Clarkson (moot), Harvard and Yale.
• Colgate beats Clarkson (moot), Brown, and Princeton.
• Quinnipiac beats Colgate and St. Lawrence.
• Harvard beats Dartmouth and Union.
• Princeton beats Dartmouth and Harvard.
• Brown holds no tiebreaker advantages.
• Dartmouth beats Brown.
• Clarkson holds no tiebreaker advantages.
Tiebreakers on the line this weekend:
Union and Rensselaer can each claim tiebreakers over travel partners Princeton and Quinnipiac with as little as two ties apiece, each team having swept the QU/’Jersey weekend earlier this year. (Moot: Union/Princeton.)
Two ties or better out of St. Lawrence will earn it the edge against Brown and Yale, and the Bears and Bulldogs can take their respective matchups against Clarkson with the same result. (Moot: Yale/Clarkson.)
Colgate and Cornell both beat Harvard and Dartmouth at home this season, and thus require a tie per game on the road this weekend to take the tiebreakers. (Moot: Cornell/Harvard; Cornell/Dartmouth.)
What’s Left
Remaining opposition’s league records for each team:
Last week’s poll seemed relatively innocuous at the start, but ended up generating a lot of comments from respondents. Addressing the issue of playoff participation, a record 52 voters chimed in — most in support of the current, all-in 12-team format, but with 20 others splitting votes between 10-team and 8-team preferences.
For the record, only one bottom-four squad — as in, finishing between ninth and 12th — has qualified for the league semifinals in the seven years that the current system has been in place: Clarkson finished ninth in the league in 2004 and defeated No. 8 Union and No. 2 Cornell on the road, then upended top-seeded Colgate in the semis before falling to Harvard in the league championship.
This week, I make a few assumptions for the sake of a clean poll: who will be the fourth of the league’s ultimate top four regular-season teams? Don’t start snarking about Yale/Cornell/Union not having wrapped anything up, either. I realize that, thank you.
From all outward appearances, it looks as though things are becoming clearer in terms of the league picture.
However, one has to keep in mind that four teams were off last week, kind of screwing with the numbers. In any case, things have started to spread out as much as they’ve bunched up.
The gap between first and fifth is now larger (seven points), but the gap between first and fourth is still tight (three points). Fifth and sixth are separated by four points and seventh is only another three points behind.
With everyone playing this weekend, the picture might be back to “normal” next weekend.
Red Baron WCHA Players of the Week
Red Baron WCHA Co-Offensive Players of the Week: Blake Geoffrion, UW; Chris VandeVelde, UND. Why: Geoffrion scored a career-high seven points (three goals, four assists) to help his Badgers sweep Minnesota State. VandeVelde scored six points (two goals, four assists) and had his first four-point game of his career to help his Sioux split St. Cloud State. Also Nominated: Joe Colborne, DU.
Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week: Marc Cheverie, DU Why: Earned this award for the fourth time for stopping 76 of 78 shots on goal to help his Pioneers sweep Minnesota. Also Nominated: Jake Marto, UND.
Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week: Corban Knight, UND. Why: Had the first four-point series of his career, scoring two points each night (goal, assist; two assists) in his Sioux’s split with St. Cloud State. Also Nominated: No one.
Seawolves Surprise
We’ve talked about a few surprise teams so far this season, ranging from Colorado College (who knew it would be so good?) to Minnesota-Duluth (ditto) to Minnesota (who thought it would be so bad?).
However, another team that’s slowly been putting together a good season for its standards has been Alaska-Anchorage, and it has done so mostly in the second half of the season. After going 6-12 before the break, the team has gone 4-4-2 since restarting play in January. The team’s 4-3-1 record in January is the best it’s done in that month since Dave Shyiak has been at the helm.
There are a few things Shyiak attributes his team’s success to and the main one is the team’s senior leadership — the team has seven seniors, the most since the 2002-03 season.
“Right from the get go, I liked our seniors and I liked our leaders and I liked our leadership group,” said Shyiak. “I think if you had to segment it out … they’ve really matured as a group and how to lead this group and extend our message from the coaching staff on to the rest of the team.”
One of those messages took place during the midseason break; another one of the things Shyiak attributes his team’s success to.
“We had a good, obviously extended, break for 30 days. We brought the guys in, the captains in, and said, this is how we have to play in order to win and have success,” he said. “You certainly have got to give them credit; they’ve gotten everyone to buy in and be on the same page and we’re all on the bus together.”
As a result, it has translated into some “W’s.”
“We’re doing what we need to do to win games and if we don’t … we can’t deviate from our game plan,” he said. “We are who we are and we have to play a certain way to have success and those guys, like I’ve said, have done a great job and they’ve really brought it together in the second half here.”
So, what does Anchorage need to do to continue with its success? According to Shyiak, it’s simple — keep its focus the same.
“Our focus [now] is no different than it was starting with the first game of the season: We’ve got to enter into every weekend to try to get points, no matter who we’re playing, at home or on the road and we can’t look ahead,” he said. “We’ve just got to concentrate on who we’re playing on Friday, prepare for it, do the best we can, see what happens with the outcome and prepare for the next night.
“I tell our guys, don’t worry about the standings, that’ll take care of itself. Let’s just focus on winning a hockey game on Friday night.”
SCSU/UND Redux
Last week, a lot of the focus was on the Sioux/Huskies series and the possibility for Sioux revenge on Aaron Marvin for his hit on UND captain Chay Genoway earlier this season.
Well, the Sioux waited until Saturday, but they did, in more ways than one. UND’s Mario Lamoureux attempted to throw down with Marvin early on and, more importantly for UND, it won the game, 8-1, in what could be called a statement game.
Marvin, post-game, spoke with class in understanding what the Sioux wanted to do.
“I respect that they wanted to come this weekend and play for Chay,” he told media after the game. “They definitely did that today.
“Who knows whether this is the end of it or not? They’re reacting the same way we would if one of our players got hurt.”
Which, of course, is true … even though the team wouldn’t say as much before the series (obviously).
“That whole situation has been brewing up since the last time we played them,” said the instigator, Lamoureux. “I don’t think that’s a secret. I knew the situation coming into this weekend. I was ready for it. I went to the draw and he said, yeah, we were gonna go.”
However, there’s talk that this may not be the end of the bad blood between the two teams.
“I don’t think it’s fully done,” Lamoureux added, regarding the feud with Marvin. “I think he knew there would be some type of altercation this weekend. He was willing to drop the gloves and he manned up, which is good to see.”
As a result of the various altercations, both Lamoureux and St. Cloud’s Chris Hepp — who jumped off the bench to join a third-period fray — were each suspended for one game. Lamoureux’s suspension “is a result of violating the WCHA Code of Conduct/Sportsmanship Rules,” according to the league’s release, probably in reference to his four total minors and two misconducts (half in the first and half in the third). Hepp’s suspension, meanwhile, “is based on a violation of NCAA playing rules,” and undoubtedly because he left the bench to scrum.
However, some good did come out of the game, and it’s the good Sioux coach Dave Hakstol was hoping for last week — the Sioux not only went on a scoring spree, they more importantly broke their power-play slump, scoring four power-play goals.
Playoffs: What We Know
As you could probably infer from the column lead-ins lately, the playoff picture is still a muddled mess for the most part. However, we do know a few things:
• Minnesota can finish no higher than third.
• Anchorage can finish no higher than fifth.
• Minnesota State can finish no higher than a tie for fifth.
• Michigan Tech can finish no higher than sixth.
Everyone else in theory can still finish first. Even North Dakota, currently 11 points behind league-leading Denver, could get first if it wins out and everyone else loses out (not possible, but y’know).
Around the WCHA
MSU: The Mavericks will celebrate 40 years of men’s hockey at Saturday’s game.
Matchups By the Numbers
With the Olympics and all 10 teams playing this weekend, you have the possibility of getting into hockey overload.
Alaska-Anchorage @ Minnesota State
Overall Records: UAA — 10-16-2 (8-14-2 WCHA). MSU — 12-16-2 (6-15-1 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: MSU leads the overall series, 31-20-6 or 29-19-7, depending on whom you ask.
Minnesota-Duluth @ North Dakota
Overall Records: UMD — 18-11-1 (14-7-1 WCHA). UND — 14-11-5 (9-10-3 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: UND leads the overall series, 126-70-8.
Colorado College @ Minnesota
Overall Records: CC — 17-10-3 (11-8-3 WCHA). UM — 13-15-2 (8-12-2 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: UM leads the overall series, 156-84-7.
St. Cloud State @ Wisconsin
Overall Records: SCSU — 19-9-4 (14-7-3 WCHA). UW — 18-7-4 (13-6-3 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: UW leads the overall series, 41-25-8.
Michigan Tech @ Denver
Overall Records: MTU — 5-22-1 (4-18-0 WCHA). DU — 20-6-4 (14-4-4 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: DU leads the overall series, 110-81-18 or 111-82-18, depending on whom you ask.
Future WCHA Team Watch
Bemidji State split with conference foe Robert Morris and next hosts Niagara for a weekend. Nebraska-Omaha swept Michigan and now travels to league-winner Miami for a pair of games.
No. 9 BSU: 19-7-2 overall, 3-3-0 vs. WCHA
UNO: 16-12-6 overall, 1-1-1 vs. WCHA
By the Dawn’s Early Light
(Yes, this is my vague reference to the Olympics and Canada’s “With Glowing Hearts” slogan.)
Like many of you probably have been/are, I’ve been watching the Olympics, whether it be skiing, snowboarding, figure skating, curling or yes, hockey. The Games are awesome in getting one excited about sports one would normally not care about (who knew I could get so excited about Nordic combined skiing?), just due to some hidden depth of patriotism.
Others of us get excited in other ways … just take for example Wisconsin. The Wisconsin State Journal had a bit about how Mike Eaves turned what would typically be a fun practice anyway into the Mock Olympics. Apparently, when the team showed up to practice, it was divided in half and then participated in various skill drills. The teams had a tie-breaker drill to determine the winner, and, well, I’ll quote Andy Baggot directly for the rest.
When the red team was declared the winner, a good-natured debate about the rules ensued. In addition to a challenge to the scoring system, one white team player grumbled that one red team player didn’t take part in the relay. There was also a joking claim about the need for drug testing.
At the end of the relay, members of the red team took off their helmets at center ice and some began to warble the National Anthem. Eaves then placed a gold medal — cut from yellow construction paper and adorned with the Motion W and strings — around the neck of each winner.
It was mentioned to junior winger Patrick Johnson that he could put his gold medal alongside the one his father, Mark, won with Team USA in the 1980 Olympics.
“Mine’s way better,” Patrick said. “It has a ‘W’ on it.”
The Atlantic Hockey playoff picture is beginning to come into focus, with RIT taking a huge step toward its third regular season title in four years thanks to a road sweep of Army last weekend, the first time the Tigers have been able to take four points at Tate rink.
On Friday, Jared DeMichiel posted his fourth shutout of the season to lead RIT to a 3-0 victory, and the Tigers got the brooms out in a 5-2 win on Saturday that featured plenty of penalties and cheap shots throughout.
Things reached a boiling point at the final buzzer, when three majors (one for elbowing, two for fighting) were handed out, as well as a pair of game disqualifications.
Army Athletic Director Kevin Anderson issued a statement after the game (the link has since been removed from the Army athletics site), apologizing for the “behavior and language exhibited by the RIT players, coaches and staff.” Anderson was actually a participant in the fracas, according to B2 and ITT Knight Vision broadcaster Cody Crusciel.
“Somebody coming off the Army bench … hoping that’s not who I think it is,” said Crusciel during his broadcast of the post game festivities. “That was Kevin Anderson coming off the Army bench, right in the face of RIT coach Wayne Wilson.”
As expected, Wilson had a different take on things.
“We were trying to make plays with the puck, and they were trying to run us,” Wilson said after the game. “In a physical game emotions get high. Those things happen. It’s unfortunate. It’s not something either myself or [Army coach] Brian [Riley] want.”
Neither team has commented further, although sources say RIT is not happy with Anderson’s statement and will respond.
Both teams need to ignore the distraction and get ready for big weekends. Army’s quest for a home playoff spot was dealt a severe blow last weekend, but the Black Knights are still in the running. They travel to Mercyhurst this weekend. Friday’s game will be televised nationally by CBS College Sports.
RIT returns home for a pair against Air Force. The Tigers need two points to clinch a tie for the regular season title and the top seed in the playoffs. Three points in their final four games will give RIT the outright title. But the Falcons pose a serious challenge — they are the only team with a winning record against RIT this season, and all-time in AHA play.
“Air Force is a team you have to go through if you want to get somewhere,” Wilson said. “Their record [as three time defending AHA champions] speaks for itself.”
The Scoop, Version II
Crunching the numbers going the final two weekends of the regular season:
• RIT can finish no lower than second place and clinch a share of the regular season title with a combination of two points in its last four games. Three points give the Tigers sole possession.
• Sacred Heart can finish no lower than fifth place and needs four points in its last four games to clinch home ice in the quarterfinals.
• Air Force can finish no lower than sixth place and needs six points in its last four games to clinch home ice.
• Mercyhurst can finish no lower than seventh place and needs to win out to assure home ice. The Lakers can finish no higher than second.
• Canisius can finish no lower than seventh place and needs help to finish as high as second.
• Army can finish no lower than eighth place and cannot finish higher than seventh without some help. The Black Knights can finish as high as third.
• Holy Cross can finish as high as fourth and as low as eighth. The Crusaders need help to finish any higher than seventh.
• Bentley cannot finish any higher than fourth place and any lower than ninth. The Falcons need help to finish higher than seventh.
• American International can finish as high as eighth and as low as 10th. The Yellow Jackets need help to finish higher than ninth.
• Connecticut will finish either ninth or 10th and needs help to finish out of the basement.
We’ll run the numbers again next week.
Weekly Awards
Player of the Week for Feb. 15:
Jordan Cyr — Holy Cross
The junior forward had five points last week to lead the Crusaders to a 3-0 record. He had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over UConn, and then added a goal and two more assist in a 6-4, 4-0 sweep of Bentley. Cyr leads the team with 22 points.
Goalie of the Week for Feb. 15:
Jared DeMichiel — RIT
The senior goaltender wins the award for the third time this season. DeMichiel allowed just two goals last weekend to help RIT to a sweep of Army. He leads all AHA goalies with a 1.82 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in league play.
Rookie of the Week for Feb. 15:
Thomas Tysowsky — Holy Cross
Tysowsky went 3-0 and stopped 58 of 64 shots, including a shutout, as the Crusaders took care of business against UConn and Bentley. His 687 saves are ranked fourth on the all-time Holy Cross Division I single-season saves list.
Rivals
Canisius and Mercyhurst resumed their Western New York vs. Eastern Pennsylvania rivalry last weekend, with each team winning on the other’s turf. As a result, the Lakers still lead the Griffs by a single point for the coveted final home-ice spot.
On Friday, the Lakers scored a pair of shorthanded goals en route to a 3-1 win. Saturday was a different story with Canisius coming away with a 4-2 win, scoring a shorthanded goal of its own.
Cory Conacher had a pair of goals and an assist, and continues to lead the nation in scoring in points per game with 1.61. He has 40 points in league play, just the sixth time in AHA history that a player has reached that milestone. He needs six points in his final four games to eclipse Eric Ehn’s record of 45 points set in 2006-07.
“The win tonight was huge,” Conacher said after Saturday’s game. “It was especially big because Mercyhurst is right ahead of us in the standings. We knew that we needed to come in and get a road win. We kept it simple tonight.”
Unexpected End
Air Force’s Jeff Hajner is out for the remainder of the season due to a blood clot in his right leg. It’s a blow for Hajner, who prematurely ends his college hockey career, and for the Falcons, who lose their senior captain and fourth-leading scorer. Hajner was one game away from tying the Academy’s all-time record for games played in a career with 150. He had played in every game he was eligible for in his career and those 150 games in a row is a school record.
The Falcons are looking to respond the way they did two years ago when the team lost Eric Ehn to an injury but didn’t skip a beat, winning the league title.
Apologies
Army Athletic Director Kevin Anderson made a rather strange apology this week (the link has since been removed from the Army athletics site), placing the blame for the rough play, bad language, and post game mini-brawl in Saturday’s game between Army and RIT squarely in the lap of RIT.
“You are among our most prized assets and I wanted to take this opportunity to apologize for what you were forced to sit through during Saturday’s Army vs. RIT hockey game, especially those behind the visitor’s bench,” Anderson said in his statement to fans.
“The behavior and language exhibited by the RIT players, coaches and staff is something we will not tolerate and I want to assure you that it will be addressed with the visiting team’s administration as well as the Atlantic Hockey Association. … I want to personally apologize to those fans at Tate Rink on Saturday who were offended and outraged at the language.”
Strictly opinion:
1. It’s not Anderson’s place to apologize for the actions of another team.
2. Anderson was, according to an Internet broadcast of the game, “in the face” of an opposing team’s coaching staff. He’s likely too emotionally involved.
3. While I appreciate Army’s efforts to have a G-rated environment at Tate Rink, this is, after all, hockey. Bad words and rough play are not unexpected as emotions flare, and it looks like the officials tolerated way too much of it during the game.
4. RIT is, according to sources in the athletic department, fuming about Anderson’s statement, but I think the best course of action would be for Anderson to apologize for his apology, and both sides to drop it and move forward.
More Pink
To close on a more positive note: Another AHA rink was draped in pink last weekend. Holy Cross’ “Pink the Rink” night attracted over 2,000 fans and raised over $8,000 for the Levine Cancer Center in Worcester, Mass.
Congratulations to the Miami RedHawks, the 2009-10 regular-season CCHA champions. As this season progressed, there was never a question about whether the RedHawks would earn this title. It was always a matter of when.
Miami clinched its third title with a 3-2 road win over Bowling Green last Friday night. On Saturday, the RedHawks beat the Falcons 10-2 in BG, extending Miami’s conference unbeaten streak to 22 games (18-0-4).
That this is impressive, that Miami is the cream of the CCHA crop this season, goes without question. This year, the RedHawks have established themselves as a dominant force in college hockey, and their 2009-10 campaign is an exceptionally good follow-up to their run to the 2009 national championship game.
That the RedHawks have been able to maintain focus on their goal so soon after the death of their friend Brendan Burke is a testimony to their determination.
This year’s Miami team is deep, fast, talented, smart — the whole package. The RedHawks are among the top 10 nationally in every important statistical category: wins, win percentage, scoring offense, scoring defense, combined special teams.
They’re also among the top five nationally in another category: penalty minutes. In this they met their match last weekend in Bowling Green. At 19:23 in the second period of Miami’s 10-2 win Saturday, both teams showed college hockey fans — yet again — how they’ve become penalty minute specialists this season.
Moments after Chris Wideman’s shorthanded goal gave Miami a 6-1 lead, the Falcons’ Max Grover crashed the net — skates-first — into Miami goaltender Connor Knapp. This was completely unnecessary, and the RedHawks were upset, understandably. When Grover slid to the boards behind the net, two guys in red jerseys made sure that his collision would be felt.
Then the predictable pile-up began. The inevitable was even more inevitable because of how trigger-happy these two teams have proven to be this year.
I don’t believe I’ve seen an instance in the last decade that didn’t provoke a fight from the Falcons. I mean, these guys are now and in recent years have been ever ready to go. Sometimes, this is what happens to down-and-out teams, the result of pent-up frustration and an inability to distinguish themselves in other ways. Making a mark becomes a literal thing. I am not condoning this. Four different Falcons have registered a total of five game disqualifications this season. That’s unacceptable.
The RedHawks? I don’t understand. I’m sure that fans and those close to the program will argue that Miami is targeted, and there may be some truth to that as top teams often are. That Miami’s aggressive style of play is an asset is another argument, and I can concede that as well.
What I don’t get, however, is the difference between the philosophy preached by coach Enrico Blasi — never get too high, never get too low — and how that simply is not translating on the ice this season. I’m not necessarily taking issue with anything that Blasi and his staff are doing; after all, Miami’s record has few blemishes this season, and it’s hard to argue with success.
A team can find tremendous success, however, without carrying a seemingly endless supply of mountain-sized chips on its collective shoulders. On any given night, I expect a team to come to the defense of its goaltender, without question. One night after winning a league title and with a five-goal lead, however, I also expect a team to disengage from fighting in a timely manner.
I certainly don’t think I’m going to see a goalie for the winning team jump into the fray well after his teammates have begun to brawl — and Knapp did take a big swipe at Grover, double-teaming him against the boards (after he surfaced) with Wideman.
Nor do I expect to see someone from the winning team skate across the ice to go after a guy entering the penalty box, as did happen. When Grover was going into the box — without his helmet for protection — he was knocked to the ice by RedHawk Alden Hirschfeld, who got far too physical with assistant referee Tony Molina as Molina escorted him to the box.
What I expected least of all, though, was to see the coach of the team that had clinched a regular-season conference title the night before wave goodbye to the CCHA officials as he left the ice after being ejected. I don’t know what Blasi did or said to earn that ejection, but at 8:57 in the third, the Falcons’ Ian Ruel was given two minutes for charging and the Miami bench earned a 10-minute misconduct. Blasi was ejected and could have chosen to leave the ice in a much more appropriate fashion than he did, demonstrating that never-get-too-high-or-low philosophy in action, instead of waving goodbye.
In the end, there were 166 penalty minutes assessed in the game. Falcons Grover and James Perkin and the RedHawks’ Hirschfeld were each issued game disqualifications, deservedly so. Twenty-seven of those penalty minutes were assessed in the third period, including the Miami bench misconduct and a five-minute penalty for kneeing issued to Robert Shea — the Falcons player who distinguished himself previously this season with two game DQs.
Clearly, there’s something deeply wrong going on here. Seven of the league’s 12 teams are among the top 20 most-penalized teams in the nation, including two of the CCHA’s top three teams, Miami and Ferris State. As I reported in mid-January, the contact-to-the-head penalties are not only common but frequent — and it’s not just because the league is paying more attention to such penalties this season. In fact, I don’t think that drawing attention to such penalties has deterred these at all, given the play that I’ve seen this season.
Grover is lucky he landed as he did without his helmet; Hirschfeld is as well, as he could have been the architect of a deadly injury.
Kudos to Miami for the conference title. The RedHawks have the potential to go very, very far in postseason play, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in Detroit. I’d like to see them get there without incident.
Kudos, too, to CCHA referees Kevin Hall and Dean Sanborn, and to assistant referees Molina and Patrick Bracco. That fight was brutal and the men in stripes did everything they could to prevent serious injury. It also took a lot of courage to make the bench misconduct call.
I do wish, however, that every guy on the ice who took a swipe had received a game disqualification — and nearly every guy did. DQ them all. Do it every time someone takes a swing. Throw them out.
Going Out with a Blais
You have to admire what the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks are doing as the season winds down.
Last week, UNO owned Michigan in two games in Omaha. Until their pair of wins over the Wolverines Friday and Saturday, the Mavericks had never beaten UM in the Qwest Center. The Wolverines may have outshot the Mavericks on the weekend — 32-31 in Friday’s 4-3 game, 37-28 in Saturday’s 4-1 decision — but UNO gave UM very little room for scoring, and in the rare case when the Mavericks defense allowed a good chance, Omaha freshman goaltender John Faulkner was absolutely there; he stopped 65 on the weekend.
In closing out their last season with the CCHA, the Mavericks are making a run to Joe Louis Arena. In fourth place with 41 points and bookended by teams with games in hand, the Mavericks under coach Dean Blais are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, with seven of their 10 CCHA wins coming in the second half.
Make no mistake: Blais is the difference. In his commentary this week, Dave Starman likens Blais to Herb Brooks. I can’t attest to the truth in that, but I have noticed a spirited, focused difference in the Mavericks since Blais returned from the World Junior Championship after coaching Team USA to a gold medal.
After sweeping the Wolverines, though, Blais credited his players for the weekend’s success.
“The players did this for themselves,” said Blais. “They’re playing hard for the seniors, and we’re getting a little bit out of everyone.”
The Mavericks have two remaining regular-season CCHA games, a pair in Oxford, Ohio, against the RedHawks this weekend.
Is He Going Somewhere?
After Friday’s 4-3 loss to UNO, Michigan coach Red Berenson made an interesting comment about the game’s penalty calls.
“One thing I’ll [not] miss when I’m not coaching [anymore] is the officiating in this league,” said Berenson. “I won’t miss that.”
I keep wondering whether this disappointing Michigan season will be Berenson’s last or whether the coach will stick around to end on a much higher note. He can call his own schedule, stay or go at will. He certainly has nothing to prove.
Speaking of Michigan, whatever the Wolverines did in Omaha to lose two last weekend — and they were just outplayed, from what I saw — had little to do with goaltender Bryan Hogan’s performance. He may have had a rocky start to the season, but Hogan has looked very good lately and he gave the Wolverines every chance in those games.
And He Is Going Somewhere
Western Michigan University announced Thursday that Jim Culhane will not be back to coach the Broncos for the 2010-11 season. The decision was the university’s, not Culhane’s. In a press release, WMU said that Culhane will be reassigned to work in fundraising.
I like Jimmy Culhane and I’m always saddened when a head coach loses a job. So many other people are affected, potentially. I understand that Culhane hasn’t achieved the kind of success that WMU wants out of its hockey program, but he’s a good ambassador for the school, a likeable man who has worked hard to assure that his players are students first.
The school has said that it will launch a national search for a new head coach. Might I suggest Robert Morris coach and Bronco alum Derek Schooley?
Odds and Ends
• Alaska rookie Andy Taranto recorded his first collegiate hat trick in Friday’s 4-1 win over OSU. It was the first three-goal game by any Nanooks player since Curtis Fraser’s hat trick Dec. 8, 2006.
• The Falcons allowed 10 goals in their game against the RedHawks Saturday, the first such bludgeoning BG has suffered since an Oct. 18, 2002, game against Ferris State.
• The Bulldogs have struggled of late when things have been close. In their last nine contests, the Bulldogs have had eight games decided by two or fewer goals, going 2-4-2 in those games.
• In their 4-3 win over Ferris State Friday, the Lakers scored two goals in the final minute — Rick Schofeild’s game-tying goal at 19:12, and Will Acton’s game-winner at 19:25.
• In their last seven games, the RedHawks have outscored opponents 13-0 in the first period.
• Michigan plays three of its last four regular-season games at home. The Wolverines are 8-4-1 in Yost this season.
• His team had a bye last weekend, but Spartans forward Corey Tropp still leads the conference in goals (20) and points (39).
• UNO’s Terry Broadhurst has seven goals and three assists in his last five games.
• NMU’s Ray Kaunisto is has seven goals and seven assists in the second half of the season.
• The Irish are 1-0-7 in overtime this season.
• The Buckeyes went 25 games to start the season without hitting the three-goal mark in a game, but have netted three goals in three of their last five contests.
• The Broncos have one chance left this season to register a road CCHA win. WMU is 0-12-0 in league play on the road this season.
Explain This
How many times in one’s life can one claim to have watched an excellent women’s hockey game between China and Finland? Tuesday’s 2-1 win by Finland was worth staying up late for.
Here’s what gets me, though. Already there is talk of eliminating women’s ice hockey altogether because of the dominance of the Canadian and U.S. teams, just as softball has been eliminated from the summer Games because no one could touch the U.S.
Yet, the Germans have dominated women’s luge for nearly a century — 99 years, to be exact — and no one suggests eliminating this event.
In an article in the Christian Science Monitor this week, American luger Erin Hamlin is profiled because she ended Germany’s streak of 99 consecutive world titles in 2009 by capturing the top spot for the U.S. herself. Germany has also won eight of the last 11 Olympic gold medals for this event — including Tatjana Huefner’s triumph this week.
Hamlin, a native of Remsen, N.Y., is the niece of a roommate of mine from my Fredonia State days, Carol Hamlin. If it weren’t for this connection, I never would have known about the German dominance in the sport, and knowing this makes me even grumpier about the talk of eliminating women’s ice hockey.
Finally, More Sadness
My heart goes out to all those at Alabama-Huntsville whose lives were forever altered by the deadly shooting that took place on that campus Feb. 12.
Jim Culhane’s 11th full season as Western Michigan’s head coach will be his last.
Culhane will be relieved of his duties at the end of the season, the school announced Thursday. The Broncos are 8-17-5 overall this season and 4-16-4 and in 11th place in the 12-team CCHA.
“After a very diligent evaluation of our hockey program, we have
made the decision to move toward a new direction in terms of the
leadership of Bronco hockey,” Western Michigan athletic director Kathy Beauregard said in a news release.
Culhane will be reassigned to the school’s office of development to work in a fundraising role.
A defenseman at Western Michigan from 1983 to 1987, Culhane has a 158-219-45 record with the Broncos.
He posted only two winning seasons of his 11 (he was named interim head coach, then head coach late in the 1998-99 season), those coming in 2001 (20-13-6) and 2002 (19-15-4). The Broncos followed up a .500 season by stumbling to 8-27-3 two seasons ago and 14-20-7 last year.
The school said it would soon launch a national search for Culhane’s replacement.
The final week of regular season play in the ECAC Northeast has arrived. And much has rightfully been written about the tight race in the MASCAC, as the top spot and three other home ice spots are up for grabs as the season winds down.
Below is a look at each of the eight teams and what could unfold in the coming week. The teams are listed in order of the standings as of Wednesday, Feb. 17. Records and points pertain to conference games only.
The first round of the playoffs start Saturday, Feb. 27, with the top four teams hosting the remaining four teams. The semifinals take place Wednesday, March 3, with the highest remaining seed hosting the lowest remaining seed and the other two teams playing at the higher seed’s home. The championship will be decided on Saturday, March 6, with the highest seed hosting.
1. Curry (10-1-1; 21 points)
Last week: 2-0 Remaining games: Thursday versus Johnson & Wales; Sunday at Wentworth. Skinny: After dismantling reigning conference champion Nichols, 5-1, in a makeup game Monday, the Colonels can lock up the top spot with a home win over Johnson & Wales Thursday. That would give them 23 points on the season, putting them three up on Wentworth. But the Wildcats have won three of their last four, and only lost to Curry by one goal when the teams last met Jan. 28.
2. Wentworth (10-3; 20 points)
Last week: 1-2 Remaining games: Sunday versus Curry. Skinny: It was a rough week for the Leopards, who lost to Suffolk Thursday and Becker Friday before rolling over Salve Regina Wednesday night. Not only did the losses drop Wentworth from the latest USCHO.com Division III poll, but it forced them to rely on Johnson & Wales to beat Curry Thursday in order for the Leopards to have a shot at the regular season title. Had Wentworth swept the week, they would have had a minimum one point lead entering Sunday’s season finale with Curry, needing only a win over the Colonels to claim the top seed heading into the playoffs.
3. Suffolk (7-4-2; 16 points)
Last week: 3-0 Remaining game: Sunday versus Western New England. Skinny: It was a good week for the Rams, who vaulted up to third by extending their winning streak to four. Included in that streak are wins over Curry and Wentworth. But they only have one game left, and need to win that and hope for some help, as they would lose a tiebreaker to Johnson & Wales. They do, however, own the tiebreaker over Becker.
T4. Johnson & Wales (6-5; 12 points)
Last week: 1-0 Remaining games: Thursday at Curry, Saturday versus Nichols, Tuesday versus Becker. Skinny: Thanks to a weather cancellation, the Wildcats still have three games left, leaving a lot up in the air. Should Johnson & Wales win out, regardless of what Suffolk does, they would win a tiebreaker over the Rams thanks to a 2-0 mark against them this season.
T4. Becker (6-6; 12 points)
Last week: 1-1 Remaining games: Saturday at Salve Regina, Tuesday at Johnson & Wales. Skinny: A lot is still undecided for the Hawks, and it should remain that way until the regular season finale at Johnson & Wales on Tuesday. Becker beat the Wildcats earlier, so a win Tuesday would give them the tiebreaker.
T4. Nichols (6-6; 12 points)
Last week: 0-2 Remaining games: Thursday at Western New England, Sunday at Johnson & Wales. Skinny: The Bisons will look to snap a three game skid that has sent them tumbling down to sixth place. They have a key game Sunday against Johnson & Wales, whom they beat earlier in the year.
7. Western New England (2-10; 4 points)
Last week: 1-1 Remaining games: Thursday versus Nichols, Sunday at Suffolk. Skinny: The Golden Bears won their second conference game of the season, ensuring they’ll finish end the year in seventh. Head coach Greg Heffernan’s rebuilding program is in full swing, and Western New England has played both potential playoff opponents Curry and Wentworth tough in the second half of the season, taking each down to the wire.
8. Salve Regina (0-12-1; 1 point)
Last week: 0-3 Remaining game: Saturday versus Becker. Skinny: It’s been a rough year for the Seahawks, who have one win overall and are three points behind seventh place Western New England, ensuring a finish in last place. They’ll face either Curry or Wentworth in the first round, and while there have been some upsets in recent weeks, it seems highly unlikely that Salve Regina could pull off the first round miracle.
ECAC Northeast Weekly Honors
Player of the Week : Paul Weisser, Suffolk — Weisser scored twice, including the game-winner, converting on a Rams power play in Thursday’s 4-2 victory over Wentworth. He added a goal in Saturday’s 7-1 win over Nichols
Goalie of the Week : Jeff Rose, Suffolk — Rose stopped 45 of 48 shots he faced in Suffolk’s two wins this week, including a 31 save outing in Saturday’s 7-1 win over Nichols.
Rookie of the Week : Jason Pietrasiak, Johnson & Wales — The forward scored three goals and added an assist in the Wildcats 7-5 win on the road against Western New England on Saturday.
MASCAC
While the ECAC Northeast concludes its regular season this week, there is still a full two weeks worth of games for the MASCAC. There’s still room for a lot of shuffling, as the top four teams are separated by only four points. Fitchburg State remained atop the standings for the third week in a row. The Falcons beat Framingham State, 6-3, Thursday before falling 4-2 to Salem State on Saturday.
Plymouth State leaped up to fourth to second with a four point week, beating Salem State 3-2 Thursday and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, 4-2, on Saturday. Rookie goalie Jack Astedt turned away 35 and 34 shots, respectively, to earn Goalie of the Week honors. After splitting its conference games on the week, Salem State downed non-conference opponent Saint Anselm on Tuesday, 6-3.
Westfield State beat UMass-Dartmouth 5-2 on Thursday, while Worcester State lost to Assumption, 6-2, in non-league action before losing to Framingham State, 6-1, on Saturday. Framingham State forward posted five points in a 1-1 week for the Rams en route to garnering Player of the Week Honors.
Loose Pucks
Caught a bit of the Russia-Latvia men’s ice hockey game the other night. Boy, does Russia look good. Finally saw a chance to see Northeastern in person this season. The Huskies were 2-1 winners over UMass at the Mullins Center last Friday, which had traditionally been a tough stop for them. They then throttled the Minuteman Saturday night and have a huge home-and-home series with Boston College coming up this weekend. And Northeastern basketball is on ESPN2 Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host Louisiana Tech in a bracket-buster contest, a game I hope to be attending in person.
Chirps
As always, any comments, questions, or concerns can be directed to [email protected]
As we head into the last weekend of regular season play, let’s get the easy information out of the way.
Oswego has clinched first place and home ice throughout the SUNYAC playoffs.
“If you told me we would have been in this position at the start of the year with 12 freshmen and three transfers, I probably would have doubted you,” Oswego coach Ed Gosek said. “But, it’s a credit to the senior leadership and the guys’ work ethic this year.”
Plattsburgh has clinched second place and thus a bye for the first round and home ice in the semifinals.
Fredonia has third place locked up and will host one of the play-in games on Tuesday. Their opponent has yet to be determined.
And that leads us into more complicated terrain
Brockport is one point away from a home playoff game on Tuesday. The only team that can catch them is Potsdam which can tie the Golden Eagles, and the Bears win the tie-breaker. To do this, Potsdam will have to beat Plattsburgh and Brockport will have to lose to Oswego and Cortland, both at home.
Brockport is playing their best hockey of the year despite not winning their last two games, tying Fredonia, 3-3, and losing to Geneseo, 2-1, this past Friday.
“I told my guys that was a very good college hockey game,” Brockport coach Brian Dickinson said. “The proverbial unfortunate someone had to lose. Tonight it was us. I thought we did a good job for the most part of carrying play and had some pretty good looks. We didn’t score enough goals. Falling behind 2-0, I thought we showed a lot of character battling back making it 2-1 in the second.”
Sebastian Panetta and David Arduin scored those two first period goals for the Ice Knights, the latter on the power play. Sean O’Malley got one back early in the second, also on the man advantage. Brockport was unable to get the equalizer as Cory Gershon made 29 saves for the win. Todd Sheridan stopped 27 shots.
“We got to continue to play better,” Dickinson said of the upcoming weekend. “We have to really look at the Friday game. It would be easy for us standings wise to just worry about trying to knock off Cortland and get our two points there. We haven’t played the Plattsburghs and Oswegos very well this year. We have to find a way to mentally be able to play those guys tough. We need to continue to work on getting better, so we are hitting our stride on Tuesday the 23rd no matter where we are or who we’re playing.”
If Potsdam can’t catch Brockport, then they have to fend off Cortland and Morrisville. Both are three points behind the Bears with one game in hand. Potsdam only needs to beat out one as two of these teams will make the playoffs.
If the Bears wind up in a tie with Morrisville, the Mustangs win the tie breaker. However, Potsdam takes the tie-breaker against Cortland. A three-way tie favors Morrisville with Potsdam taking the next spot, leaving Cortland out in the cold.
Most likely, the last playoff spot will come down to Cortland and Morrisville. The Mustangs got the job done this past weekend, shutting out Cortland, 5-0, as Caylin Relkoff made 41 saves. Matt Salmon scored twice including a shorthanded goal. Nick Kulas, Andrew Alarie on the power play, and Geoff Matzel got the other scores.
“Confidence is high,” Morrisville coach Brian Grady said. “We’re playing our best hockey of the year. The guys are playing hard, winning pucks, competing, not backing down to anyone.”
If these two teams tie, it depends how they wind up deadlocked. If they end with identical records, Morrisville takes the tie-breaker with the third tie-breaker rule of head-to-head goal differential, 9-6.
The only way Cortland can win a tie-breaker is if the Red Dragons split this weekend and Morrisville ties both their games. In this case, the second criteria takes hold with Cortland having more conference victories.
They both are on the road this weekend with Cortland taking on Geneseo and Brockport while Morrisville faces Buffalo State and Fredonia.
“Obviously, it’s uncharted territory for us being such a young program,” Grady said. “The first two years I was here, we weren’t eligible. That was harder to get the guys motivated to play hard. Now that we have a goal, it’s just a matter of worrying about the little things, not the big picture. We can’t look forward. We can only worry about ourselves, not what Cortland or anyone else does.”
Ever since the NCAA sanctions were handed down against Buffalo State and Geneseo, the teams have headed in opposite directions. The Bengals have lost five straight games, extending a current losing streak to seven. Buffalo State has one game left to reverse that trend at home against Morrisville.
Meanwhile, Geneseo has gone 3-0-1 (and 4-0-1 in their last five), fulfilling their goal to run the table. Interestingly, they could finish third in the standings and very likely in fourth. With no playoffs, the last game of the season against Oswego becomes their big game.
“Saturday is our championship game,” Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said. “We’re going to give them all we can handle.”
And Oswego knows it.
“The tough games like this Saturday night, helps develop that attitude of what it’s going to take in the playoffs,” Gosek said.
SUNYAC Short Shots
In the wildest game of the past weekend, Fredonia erased a 5-2 deficit after one period, coming back for a 10-6 win over Potsdam … Fredonia went 4-for-8 on the power play, scored a shorthanded goal, used all three goalies, and Jordan Oye and Bryan Ross got five points each … Kyle Kudroch scored twice as Plattsburgh beat Buffalo State, 4-2.
Plattsburgh went 2-for-4 on the power play, beating Fredonia, 4-1 … Todd Hosmer and Sy Nutkevitch each got a pair of goals to help Potsdam beat Buffalo State, 6-3 … Oswego scored four third period goals en route to a 5-3 win over Morrisville.
Game of the Week
Oswego at Geneseo might end up being the most exciting game of the weekend because both teams have nothing to play for except pride. Playing for pride without any pressure tends to produce hockey in its purest form.
However, we really should go with a game that means a lot in the standings. Any game with teams involved in trying to capture a playoff spot and/or home ice is a candidate. If you can catch any one of them, you probably won’t go wrong.
In order to pick one game, the “tie-breaker” will go to the game that not only means a lot on ice, but off ice as well. Of course, that would be the third annual Pink the Rink event at Fredonia on Saturday when they host Morrisville.
On The Periphery
Thirty years ago when the Miracle on Ice occurred, most of the players were from either the Minnesota/Wisconsin area or New England. At the time, those were the places that typically produced most of the American hockey talent.
Not anymore, in part thanks to the popularity boost hockey received because of those events in Lake Placid as well as the NHL’s expansion into non-traditional hockey areas. Youth hockey has been booming all over the country, and this year’s U.S. Olympic roster has players from 10 different states. Sure, there are a number from the traditional areas — Minnesota (4), Wisconsin (3), Connecticut (2), and Massachusetts (1).
The state represented the most is Michigan with six players. New York has three and originally had four with one from a place not known to produce NHL players — Long Island (West Islip, which happens to be where the hospital I was born is located) — before Mike Komisarek had to withdraw due to injury.
Non-traditional areas represented on the team include San Francisco (Brooks Orpik), Pittsburgh (Ryan Malone), Cherry Hill, N.J. (Bobby Ryan), and St. Louis (Paul Stastny).
I have covered USA Hockey youth national championships the past few years, and seeing the amazing talent from all over the country, it no longer surprises me to see geographical areas produce NHL and Olympic hockey stars which 30 years ago would have shocked the hockey establishment.
It’s a wonderful sign that hockey continues to grow and get stronger in this country.
