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Dartmouth Names Gaudet 19th Head Coach

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On Wednesday, Dartmouth College confirmed a story that first appeared on U.S. College Hockey Online by appointing current Brown head man Bob Gaudet as its nineteenth men’s ice hockey head coach.

“When the search committee first came together, we had a good idea of what we were looking for in an ideal candidate,” said Dartmouth athletic director Dick Jaeger. “[Gaudet] met all of those criteria.

“In addition, the more I talked to hockey people around the country, the more it became apparent [Gaudet] is recognized as one of the finest and highly regarded coaches in the college game. We are ecstatic to have him return to his alma mater to lead the Dartmouth men’s hockey program.”

Gaudet graduated from Dartmouth in 1981 after playing four years in goal for the Big Green, which he led to two Ivy League titles and consecutive third-place NCAA championship finishes in 1979 and 1980.

Gaudet was an assistant at Dartmouth under George Crowe and Brian Mason before moving to Brown as the head coach nine years ago. In that time, Gaudet won two Ivy League titles, and coached the Bears to their first NCAA tournament appearance in almost 20 years.

“I’m really excited to be coming back,” said Gaudet. “Going to school at Dartmouth was one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and a lot of great things have happened for me as a result of my Dartmouth experience.

“To come back as head coach is a wonderful situation. I know the school and the people, and being familiar with the ECAC, I’m looking forward to meeting the players and getting right into it.”

Gaudet replaces Roger Demment, who was fired after six seasons, during which he compiled an overall record of 45-111-10.

Spokespersons for Brown University could not be reached comments on the school’s search for Gaudet’s successor.

New Season-Opening Tourney To Debut In October

USCHO Staff Report
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The Ice Breaker Cup, a new season-opening college hockey tournament, debuts at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago next October.

The tournament will feature four Division I teams, one from each of the four major conferences,in a single-elimination competition on Oct. 11-12, the first weekend of the NCAA college hockey season.

“The Ice Breaker Cup is a great new event for everyone associated with college hockey,” said Bruce McLeod, commissioner of the WCHA, which is hosting the tourney.

“The tournament is a super kick-start for our athletes and our fans. Best of all, the tournament is an opportunity to showcase the college game in Chicago, an important national media market and hotbed of amateur hockey.”

The inaugural event will pit the Wisconsin against Clarkson, and Michigan State against Boston University in the first round. The winners will play a championship the next day, preceded by a third-place game.

It is anticipated that the tournament will receive a once-in-four-years exemption from the NCAA to allow teams to participate without counting the games against their 34-game maximum. Over a four year period, 16 different teams could each take advantage of the exemption once.

This year’s event is being co-promoted by the Horizon, a 17,250-seat venue which houses the IHL’s Chicago Wolves, and KemperLesnik Communications, promoter of college basketball’s Maui Invitational and golf’s Kemper Open.

NCAA Shifts Tourney Dates

USCHO Staff Report
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To avoid conflicts with the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, and to improve the opportunity to sell tickets, the NCAA is moving the Division I men’s ice hockey championships a week later.

As reported last fall on U.S. College Hockey Online, starting next year, the hockey semifinals and finals will be played one week after the roundball Final Fours. In addition, starting in 2000, the schedule will include one week off between the regionals and the semifinals.

Specifically, the hockey finals, called the Frozen Four in some circles, will be played the 14th weekend after Jan. 1 each year.

According to the NCAA, the changes will “allow the host institution the ability to market the four semifinalists in its community.”

The schedule of future schedules and sites:

1998

West Regional   March 27-28     Yost Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.
East Regional   March 28-29     Pepsi Arena, Albany, N.Y.
Finals          April 2 and 4   FleetCenter, Boston, Mass.

1999

East Regional   March 26-27     The Centrum, Worcester, Mass.
West Regional   March 27-28     Dane County Coliseum, Madison, Wisc.
Finals          April 1 and 3   Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif.

2000

Finals          April 7 and 9   Providence Civic Center, Providence, R.I.

2001

Finals          April 6 and 8   Pepsi Arena, Albany, N.Y.

2002

Finals          April 5 and 7   St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, Minn.

2003

Finals          April 4 and 6   Marine Midland Arena, Buffalo, N.Y.

All-America Teams Announced

USCHO Staff Report
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Led by Hobey Baker Award winner Brendan Morrison, Michigan boasts four members on the 1996-97 Titan University Division I All-America teams, the most of any school in the nation.

The University Division teams, selected by members of the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA), consist of 24 players divided into East and West, First and Second teams. In addition to the four Wolverines named, three players each from Boston University and Clarkson University are among the honorees. The University of North Dakota, the newly-crowned NCAA Division I champion, has two.

The College Division teams, also selected by the AHCA, similarly consist of 24 players divided the same way. NCAA Division III runner-up Wisconsin-Superior placed four players on the teams, along with three from the Rochester Institute of Technology and two each from Colby, St. Mary’s, NCAA Division II champion Bemidji State, and NCAA Division III champion Middlebury.

The complete list is as follows:

Matt Henderson: Wasted Years

By Frank Mazzocco
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When you feel you’ve wasted two years of your life, what tack do you take? If you’re ever going to be the Most Outstanding Player of a national championship tournament, you have to change course and make up for lost time.

That’s the exact approach taken by North Dakota junior forward Matt Henderson. In the fifth year of turning his hockey career around, Henderson led his team to a 6-4 win over Boston University in the NCAA title game at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

The night before the championship game, Henderson did some talking to himself. “I’m going to leave no stone unturned; I’m going to leave my heart on the ice.”

It was no small one that he left out there. “Matt has the biggest heart in the league (WCHA),” says freshman teammate Aaron Schweitzer, who like Henderson is a member of the All-Tournament Team.

Henderson assisted on North Dakota’s rally-starting first goal and scored twice in a five-goal second-period explosion that lifted the Fighting Sioux to their sixth national championship.

A six-point weekend (four goals, two assists) put him at the top of the tournament scoring list.

The period of adjustment for Henderson came after his senior year at White Bear Lake High School in Minnesota. “I threw away two years of high school. I was King Crap. I wasted two years of my life,” Henderson recalls. “And now, I’m going to make it up,” he promised himself as he began a two-year stay with the St. Paul Vulcans of the United States Hockey League in 1992.

He righted his hockey career impressively by being named a league all-star in 1993-94. But, there was nothing secure about his hockey future. With only a month remaining before the start of the 1994-95 academic year, Henderson didn’t feel he had a bona fide offer to play college hockey.

“Amherst was just going Division I, and Illinois-Chicago. [UIC’s] program ended, so I guess I made the right decision there. I wanted to stay close to home and play in the WCHA, the best league in the nation.”

Still, no offers. He called St. Cloud State and was told they already had a lot of players. He also considered playing Division II or III.

“With one month left before school,” says Henderson, “(UND coach) Dean Blais called. He said ‘We heard you can play. If you want, you can come up and try out. If you make the team we can give you some (scholarship) money.'”

“I can look back now and smile.”

Henderson’s first year at UND wasn’t all smiles; his relationship with Blais, the coach of his last, best D-I hope, wasn’t rosy. “We didn’t see things eye to eye,” Henderson says.

“He wanted the seniors to make the team go. He thought I (as a freshman) was too big for my britches.”

“I wanted more, he got complacent,” recalls Blais, who was in his rookie season as coach. “I told him, ‘Get on board or get out of town.'”

Henderson agrees, “I think I was (complacent). It was “a slap of reality in the face.”

Henderson’s quest to wipe out two “wasted” years should be considered complete. In Milwaukee, he competed in a national event loaded with five Hobey Baker finalists, including teammate Jason Blake.

The Hobey winner, Brendan Morrison of Michigan, and runner-up Chris Drury of Boston University, came to Milwaukee amid fanfare, acclaim and attention. Henderson leaves Milwaukee as the tourney’s Most Outstanding Player and as a national champion.

To Henderson, that’s all right. “I’ll take the national championship.”

Brendan Morrison: 1997 Hobey Baker Award Winner

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According to the Hobey Baker selection committee, a Hobey Baker Award winner should “exhibit strength of character” and possess “oustanding skills in all aspects of the game.”

According to Michigan head coach Red Berenson, this year’s Hobey Baker winner is “an excellent person” who “shares his success with his teammates.”

And this year’s winner is “the same child today as he was when he was five years old,” according to the ultimate authority on Brendan Morrison: his mother.

“He has basically the same friends at home as the ones he grew up with,” says Deb Morrison. “He’s always kept in contact with them. He’s always treated everybody as an equal.”

Morrison’s linemate, Jason Botterill, echoed Deb Morrison’s sentiments. “He gets all this media attention, but whenever you’re just talking to him, he never feels above you, and you never seem to feel below him. He’s always very warm and very humble. He’s been like that to every player on this team. His respect for other players and other people is what sets him aside.”

“Nothing has changed,” says Morrisons mother. “Even his personality is exactly the same. He’d be the first one to walk up to you, introduce himself, but not talk about himself.”

The native of Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, could tell you a lot about himself and his career at the University of Michigan. Morrison’s statistics at Michigan are impressive: tied for eighth for career goals (101); most assists (182); most points (283); tied for seventh in NCAA Division I points (283).

The Hobey Baker is just one of Morrison’s awards. This year, Morrison was named the CCHA Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. This year marks his third time selected to the All-CCHA First Team. He became the first player in the 32-year history of the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament to be named Most Valuable Player three times.

And then there was that overtime goal that gave the Wolverines the NCAA Championship last year.

Not bad for a kid who “couldn’t even skate when he was five years old.” Says Deb Morrison, “He was all over the ice, but he did go for the puck all the time.”

“As far as Brendan Morrison is concerned,” says Berenson, “he’s been a player where what you see is not always what you get. When I first saw him, he was a scrawny kid. I had no idea that he was going to be the player that he has become. And it’s not just because of his size or the kind of kid he is; he had something special in him that made him want to be better than the average player.

“He just hasn’t had a Hobey Baker season, he’s had a Hobey Baker career. To lead the country in scoring as a sophomore, that’s a statement in itself.”

When the Hobey Baker Award winner was announced, Berenson praised Morrison’s desire to come back to captain the Wolverines his senior year after the team had won the national championship in 1996.

That chance at a second consecutive national championship was denied Michigan when the Boston University Terriers beat the Wolverines 3-2 in a semifinal game the day before Morrison was announced as the Hobey Baker winner.

“Brendan would be the first to tell you that he’d trade in a victory (Thursday) for this award,” said Berenson. “Last year, the shoe was kind of on the other foot. We won the championship; Brendan didn’t win the Hobey. And he was fine with that.”

When he accepted the award, Morrison said, “I know some of the guys are disappointed with the outcome of the game last night, but we have nothing to hang our heads about. We had a successful year, and we did all the little things along the way, and sometimes the best team doesn’t win.”

At the ceremony, Morrison thanked the Michigan coaching staff, the equipment manager and athletic trainer and their assistants, his parents Ron and Debbie Morrison, his sister Jennifer, his uncle, his grandmother, his girlfriend Erin, and the Michigan fans. And, of course, his teammates.

“I’d like to thank the senior class,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion. “Its been a tremendous four years with those guys. Its going to be extremely tough to top those four years.”

As hard as it was for Morrison and the Wolverines to lose in the semifinals, saying goodbye to this year’s senior class may be even harder.

“You could take one of us out,” said senior Blake Sloan, “and it takes a little piece of everyone away. I have never been associated with good players and good people in all my life, like the eight other guys in my class. To have guys like that click like that is incredible.”

While nothing can make up for losing to Boston University, Sloan says that at least the seniors can gain some satisfaction from this award.

“Particularly for the senior class, we each take a little bit away from it,” he said.

The Hobey Baker ceremony provided at least some sense of closure for this Michigan senior class, the final appearance the nine seniors would make as teammates. Berenson, meanwhile, exuded pride in Morrison and his eight classmates.

“I think as much as you’re sad to see them go, I think it’s good that they’re going,” said Berenson. “It’s their time to go. They’ve done everything they can do at the college level. They’ll all leave with their degrees, and they’re ready for the next step, whatever that step is, whether it’s hockey or it’s not hockey. Their time has come. That’s the way it should be.

“For us, there will be an awful hole in our program. Well have to find other Botterills and Morrisons, so-called unknown players that are going to make themselves known at Michigan. And that’s our job.”

After the Wolverines won the national championship last year, there was speculation that their nine juniors would forego a senior year in college for professional hockey. All nine came back.

“I made the decision that I wanted to come back and be with these other eight guys,” said Morrison. “I have absolutely no regrets. It’s been the best year of my life.”

And from among the best — runner-up Chris Drury, Mike Crowley, Jason Blake, Mike Harder, Randy Robitaille, Martin St. Louis, Brian Swanson, Todd White, and his teammate, John Madden — Brendan Morrison has been named the best in 1997.

Bob Gaudet To Be Named Head Coach At Dartmouth

By Adam Wodon
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Bob Gaudet, who was the goalie on Dartmouth’s last NCAA Tournament teams in 1979 and 1980, will leave his current position as head coach at Brown and fill the head coaching vacancy at his alma mater, according to sources close to both teams.

Gaudet, 38, is expected to be formally introduced as the next coach of the Big Green early next week. He replaces Roger Demment, who was fired three weeks ago after another season in which the Big Green failed to make the ECAC playoffs.

Gaudet would not confirm the move, saying only, “We have to take care of this by early next week.”

Dartmouth athletic director Dick Jaeger could not be reached for comment.

In nine years at Brown, Gaudet compiled a 93-142-31 record, including 7-19-3 this past season (4-16-2 ECAC). He was ECAC Coach of the Year in 1995, when the Bears contended for first place until the last week of the regular season. In 1993, Brown earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1976.

Gaudet was an assistant at Dartmouth from 1983-88. He was a finalist for national coach of the year honors in 1993 and 1995. He played in the Winnipeg Jets’ system in 1981-82 before a knee injury ended his playing career.

Considered as early candidates to replace Gaudet at Brown are two of his former assistants: Brian McCloskey, currently assistant coach at New Hampshire, and Boston University assistant Brian Durocher.

They All Remember

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It’s been 50 years since Dartmouth and Michigan met in the first NCAA Championship game. Fifty years since Spif Kerivan, member of the Dartmouth squad, lost his front teeth. “My memories of the game are somewhat personal,” he says.
“I also remember the game as a controversial game in terms of some of the calls,” continues Kerivan. He’s not alone.

Fifty years later, more than 20 hockey players from both teams meet again at this 50th NCAA Championship game, and every one of them remembers the same thing about the first one: The Goal.

Of course, to about half the players in attendance, there was nothing controversial about The Goal. Some of the other players — the Dartmouth players — insist there was no goal at all.

At the end of the second period of that first NCAA Championship game, a goal was scored — The Goal — that led to Michigan’s first NCAA title in a most unusual way.

Michigan alumnus Wally Grant says The Goal is just a difference of opinion. “It was a disputed goal. It went up in the air and came down on the net, and it bounced back behind the goalie. They [Dartmouth] thought the whistle had blown, and our team obviously did not.

“After 50 years,” he continues, “I think they’ve forgiven us.”

Think again.

“It was the first time in the history of college hockey that a goal was scored while a team was sitting in the dressing room,” says Bill Riley, captain of the ’48 Dartmouth team. “This is how it happened.

“The puck was dropped. He [the referee] blew a whistle. The goalie heard the whistle and skated out of the net. A Michigan player went down and tucked it into the net.”

The period ended, and the teams headed into the locker rooms. “When we came out, the score was 5-4 instead of 4-4, and we were very disappointed,” says Riley. “It was just one of those things. It was a tough way to drive home, having a goal scored on us while we were sitting in the dressing room.

“I dream about it.”

Don’t ask the Michigan players about the controversy. “Frankly, I don’t remember the controversy,” says Michigan reserve goaltender Paul Milanowski.

Don’t ask Dartmouth players who scored The Goal. “I don’t know who it was,” says Riley. “I have no idea.”

“There was no goal,” echoes a teammate.

“You have to play over those things, like injuries, disputed goals, referees,” says Grant. Replaying those memories — no matter how they’re remembered — has kept these players close for fifty years.

“Our memories remain because weve formed such strong friendships between the two teams,” says Bob Norton, member of the ’48 Michigan team. “To have 13 here from Dartmouth and 11 here from Michigan means something.”

It means something extraordinary. Fifty years of NCAA Championship hockey. Fifty years of friendship. Fifty years to rankle over one single goal.

Five Guys In Milwaukee, Part III

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“Five Guys In Milwaukee,” which appears daily on USCHO during the NCAA championships, is Scott Brown’s travelog of a weekend at the Final Four.

Friday, March 28

7:59 a.m. Today’s a relatively free day — no games, just the Hobey Baker presentation in the afternoon. We are taking full advantage of this fact to get some rest, so nobody’s up…

8:00 a.m. Except Dave.

9:00 a.m. Dave’s still the only one up.

10:00 a.m. Dave’s still the only one up.

12:17 p.m. I get up. Tim’s running around with the computer stuff, trying to get USCHO’s display together downstairs. The Vote for Hobey stuff is all there, until somebody hauls off with the Todd White and Chris Drury profiles. Popular guys, apparently.

1:34 p.m. Frank, Lee and I go to lunch. Tim’s in a frenzy of activity. I almost feel bad enough to go help him. Almost.

2:33 p.m. I finally feel guilty enough to go downstairs and help Tim out a little bit with the stand. There’s a pretty good crowd building for the Hobey announcement, in no small part because the bar opened three minutes ago.

4:30 p.m. The Hobey presentation begins. Michigan fans have turned out in considerable numbers, in hopes that Brendan Morrison will take the hardware home. Boston U. — rooting for Chris Drury — is represented as well, though not in such quantity.

4:40 p.m. Morrison wins. The roar from the Wolverine contingent is probably audible all the way back to Yost Arena.

4:43 p.m. Morrison’s acceptance speech is going swimmingly. He’s thanked everyone under the sun very graciously, and is impressing the audience with his poise until of the BU-UM game last night he mentions that “sometimes the best team doesn’t win.” This sends the room into a frenzy, with the Maize and Blue fans hooting and hollering and the BU partisans incensed.

8:23 p.m. Tim heads out to our Staff Meeting With The Fans at one of the establishments down on Water Street — or, if you believe the promotional materials — “Milwaukee’s Famous Water Street.”

9:18 p.m. I follow. The place has “Welcome College Hockey Final Four” plastered all around, and the names of the schools alongside: “Michigan,” “Boston University,” “North Dakota,” and especially “Colorado College University.” Ouch.

10:30 p.m. The meeting is rather tame. Tim is holding forth with several hockey aficionados, while Lee is on what must be a third bowl of chili, with about a cup of sour cream on top. I’ve been mooching beers off fellow staffers, since all two of the local ATMs refuse my card.

12:08 a.m. Time to head back — the championship is again at noon, presumably to avoid competition with the basketball Final Four, which starts at 4:30 Central time.

Saturday, March 29

9:00 a.m. must…get…up…

10:00 a.m. not up…

10:30 a.m. Up. Much of the USCHO staff has gathered in our room for some strategic planning. Or something like that. Dave leaves early to head over to the game, which I suspect has something to do with the five-star food they’re supposedly serving over there. Next year I’m going to wangle a press credential, and then they’ll probably have hot dogs.

11:36 a.m. The Bradley Center again beckons. We’re hoping for another good game, though the question is whether BU will try to play the same hard-hitting style that was so successful against Michigan Thursday. North Dakota’s offense is stylistically similar, though their forwards are smaller overall than the Wolverines’. We figure the Terriers will try it again.

12:45 p.m. They do, and soon build a 2-0 lead behind goals from Peter Donatelli and Drury. But as the game progresses, the BU players seem more and more drained from their efforts in the semifinals, and soon the UND skaters are evading the checks that flattened Michigan earlier.

1:30 p.m. The UND explosion is underway. Four goals in the period thus far, sandwiched around one BU tally, have the score 4-3. The crowd, which was firmly behind the Terriers when Michigan was the opposition, is divided for this one.

1:44 p.m. North Dakota scores the backbreaker. David Hoogsteen’s goal in a scrum at the BU end with only five seconds left in the second period makes it 5-3, and takes a lot of the suspense out of the third.

2:37 p.m. BU does get a six-on-five goal with 39 seconds left, but UND answers with an empty-netter to seal the win. The players swarm out onto the ice in a pile, which makes me wonder who’s on the bottom down there. Sticks, gloves, pads — all go flying onto the ice.

2:58 p.m. The awards have been handed out and the names read. Though it doesn’t seem possible, the season is over. Next year’s finals are in Boston, at the FleetCenter, and we’re already making plans, which is good — never too soon for this bunch. We’ll see…

True Blue — Or Orange, Or Brown, Or Crimson, Or…

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When North Dakota, Colorado College, Boston University and Michigan converged on Milwaukee for this years championship tournament, carloads and planeloads of Sioux, Tigers, Terriers and Wolverines came along to cheer.
So did the Falcons, the Black Bears, the Golden Gophers, the Spartans, the Wildcats and the Lakers. The NCAA Championship Tournament attracts hockey fans from all over North America, and when fans travel to the tournament, they bring their colors with them, even when their favorite teams stay home.

“I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t get into the tournament this year,” said Erik Anderson, a St. Cloud State fan. “We got our tickets last year, and we’ve been planning it for a year.” Erik, who is from North Dakota, was rooting for the Sioux during the North Dakota-Colorado College game. Regardless of the outcome, Erik said he would root for the remaining WCHA team in the championship game.

Such conference loyalty was lacking in the many CCHA fans who were watching the first game of the Tournament. Dan O’Brien, a Michigan State alumnus, said he would root for Michigan “under no circumstances.” Dan said the tournament is a chance for fellow hockey fans and friends to get together every year.

“I’ve been coming since ’84. It’s the only time of year when we get to see each other and get together and work off some steam.”

Dan’s group consists of “five or six of us that all went to school together,” along with people he and his friends have met through hockey. “We’ve added on people. We met some fellow named Greenie over the Internet who’s a Boston University fan. He brought a couple of his friends because we had some extra tickets. So we made an unholy alliance with them to try to dispose of Michigan.”

Pete Jaran is a member of Dan’s “unholy alliance” from New Jersey. Pete claims to be an RPI fan, but wouldn’t wear the jersey because “I didn’t go [to school] there.”

Pete’s hankering for the hockey road takes him to northern New York State to watch RPI play St. Lawrence and Clarkson every year. “It’s about a seven-hour drive to get up there. But there’s a crew of somewhere between four and eight guys that get together, twice a year. We’ve been doing it since 1978.”

Pete and Dan met through a mutual friend, and see each other at the championship tournament every year.

Milwaukee’s relative proximity to Michigan and Ohio brought many fans from the CCHA, but some teams were better represented than others. “This is the only Ferris State shirt I’ve seen here, and I’m a Ferris State grad, too,” said Dan Smith. Dan plans to attend the championship tournament even when it’s unlikely that Ferris will make an appearance.

Why? “Because I’m a hockey fan!” he said. “I like going to the final four. Its fun. Everybody should be here.”

“Since I can’t cheer for Ferris, I’m cheering for Boston today. I don’t care too much for Michigan.” Dan said that he would cheer for many of the other CCHA teams if they were to play in the tournament. “I would cheer for Michigan State, I would cheer for Western Michigan, probably most of them. Michigan’s not my favorite team.

“I’m a Ferris State fan, because I started watching them in 1974 when they really didn’t have a hockey team. We used to get in the van and drive 50 miles south to Grand Rapids and practice because we didn’t have a hockey rink.

“There was no money, no players, no anything.” Dan didn’t play himself. “I helped. I rode in the van. I drove the van periodically. I had a lot of fun, even though we didn’t have a good team at that time.”

John Pegg was wearing a Miami hat studded with hockey pins. He, his wife, Karen, and their son, Christopher, are Miami season-ticket holders who got hooked by attending last year’s championship in Cincinnati. This is their second championship tournament, and they plan on attending many more, whether or not their Miami team makes the semifinals. “If there’s any possible way we can do it, we’re going to keep doing it,” said John.

“I like college hockey better than I do professional hockey,” John said. “I think there’s more spirit in it.”

“You get to stand down at the glass,” added Christopher.

John said he was rooting for BU. Karen said she was “kind of neutral.” Christopher said, “Go Blue!”

“I think Michigan’s going to win it all,” said John, “but I can’t root for them. I just can’t.” John says he doesnt harbor any negativity for Michigan especially, but “they beat Miami twice this year.”

Tracy Schultze was wearing a Bowling Green jersey, but the Falcons are only one of her teams. Her other teams include Lake Superior State, Michigan State, New Hampshire and Maine. Tracy and a friend traveled from Los Angeles for the tournament. She likes the Falcons because of Rob Lake.

“We’ve always loved hockey. We’re Kings season-ticket holders, and they used to have a Freeze-Out at the Forum. Since they’ve done away with that, we have to travel.”

Tracy said she comes “every year,” but then admitted this was her second year. “Well, it’s been every year since we started to come!” She plans to keep coming back.

Also making their second consecutive trip to the tournament were Bev and Mary Youngs. The sisters-in-law have been Laker fans “since they’ve been playing hockey.” The women said they plan on doing this even when Lake Superior isn’t making an appearance. As Bev put it, “We get to take a trip with our husbands, and we don’t get to see them that often because they’re always working!

“Its great fun to get the four of us together. We enjoy hockey. There’s a lot of cameraderie here. You see other people wearing their colors.”

Jean White.

Jean White is a Wisconsin fan, which you wouldn’t know immediately from her Harvard jersey. “It’s pretty much like Wisconsin colors,” she explained. She and her family attend the tournament “only when it’s in Wisconsin. We live in Milwaukee.” She said her husband went to the tournament 35 years ago. “He saw Red Berenson play.”

Jean is not a Harvard fan. “We have two sons that are in college. One was going to go to Harvard and be a goalie, but he decided to go to Williams instead. So we got a shirt.”

Like many other fans in attendance, Jean was not enamored of the defending champions.

“It’s hard to root for Michigan,” she said. Part of the reason, she said, is the Big Ten rivalry, but there was another. “They’re arrogant,” she said. “They think that they’re going to win.”

Not every hockey fan in town was here for the game. One anonymous Minnesota Golden Gopher fan scheduled a business trip to Milwaukee to coincide with the tournament, but reshuffled his schedule to meet with clients during the semifinals when Minnesota bowed out. He left after Thursday’s games.

This particular fan didn’t think that the Terriers had much of a chance in the tournament, and said that they would have finished no higher than fifth place if they had to play in the WCHA.

Good thing he changed his travel plans.

Five Guys In Milwaukee, Part II

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“Five Guys In Milwaukee,” which appears daily on USCHO during the NCAA championships, is Scott Brown’s travelog of a weekend at the Final Four.

Thursday, March 27

8:03 a.m. It’s awful early to be up, as far as I’m concerned. Dave doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, though — I suspect he’s the result of some secret breeding experiment to create a race of untiring superhumans. Cheery ones. Very sick.

8:26 a.m. I do get up. We’re supposed to meet Paula and Ed downstairs and go to breakfast someplace. None of us really know where to go, and we forget to tell Frank, who’s still in his jams when meeting time rolls around.

10:07 a.m. Paula and Ed are indeed downstairs, so we walk down to a local pub. The place is starting to fill up with college hockey fans, including one guy in a Michigan State jersey who intermittently gets up with some bizarre percussion instrument and belts out standards like “Roll Out The Barrel.” The crowd approves.

11:33 a.m. With the restaurant now absolutely packed with people — wearing shirts and hats and pins of all stripes, we figure it’s time to go. The first semifinal is at noon, local time.

11:38 a.m. The Bradley Center is a beautiful venue. Bright, airy, big, the works. Someone tells us that it was originally built specifically for hockey, and it shows. Tim, Lee and I are in the nosebleed section, about fifteen rows back in the upper level.

12:07 p.m. They drop the puck for the UND-CC game. Tim is expecting a blowout, but I’m hoping the Tigers can hold the Sioux in check and make a game out of it.

2:15 p.m. Tim is right. UND scores three goals in the first before CC battles back to 3-2 early in the second, raising the hopes of the largely nonaligned crowd. But the Sioux get two back almost immediately, and go on to win 6-2.

5:22 p.m. Tim, Lee and I try to get into the sports bar across the street from the hotel, but it’s a standing-room only crowd. We go around the corner to a little Chinese restaurant instead.

6:38 p.m. We come flying into the Bradley Center. The TV monitors stationed all around the building show that the game is already underway, though only a minute or two has gone by.

6:43 p.m. The energy level of the crowd is totally different from the earlier game. BU has come out playing physically, and the arena roars with each hit. Despite the significant Michigan contingency, the crowd is solidly pro-Terrier. A lot of them seem to have come out in the hopes that BU can take out the defending champs. “Anyone but Michigan!” some guy in the back hollers.

7:30 p.m. The BU band has learned “On Wisconsin,” and is applying it shamelessly in an effort to rally the locals. It’s working, although a lot of their other selections feel like circus music.

9:10 p.m. In the third, BU is up 3-1. Brendan Morrison decides to make it (still more) interesting, swatting it past Larocque on a six-on-five to bring Michigan within one with less than a minute to play.

9:10:01 p.m. The Michigan band plays “Hail to The Victors,” surprisingly for only the fifteenth time.

9:15 p.m. BU hangs on despite a total inability to clear the zone, and the game ends with a roar from the audience. “Bye-bye, Blue!” shrieks the guy in the back. The Michigan fans are not pleased, but anticipate some measure of redemption at the Hobey Baker presentation tomorrow.

Tinkering With The Rules

By Frank Mazzocco
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The first full season of the Referee-Assistant Referee concept of officiating college hockey nationally is one game shy of completion.

As most frequently explained, the Assistant Refs (ARs) are to call penalties the Referee doesn’t see. It’s an explanation that may not be completely accurate, but short of getting a court order for the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee to open its books, it is the definition that has been used as the starting point for discussions with supervisors of officials this tournament weekend.

The reviews of 1-Ref-and-2-ARs have, by and large, been quite positive from coaches and officials. Fans, of course, will never be happy with referees. One of the few outspoken critics of the system is a well-intentioned, albeit picky, play-by-play announcer from a Midwestern sports channel.

His gripe has been, “How can you expect an AR to determine what a Ref doesn’t see?”

The basics of this system have been in use in the CCHA for three seasons, where Supervisor of Officials Dave Fisher says the ARs have been instructed to call infractions that occur behind the Ref. Now, thats a reasonable instruction — easily defined and easily followed. After a two-year trial in that conference, watched by zebras and zebra trainers from East to West, the principle was adopted nationally.

Through three seasons, says Fisher, “There have been no complaints, none, about calls made behind the play.”

The CCHA experiment started on a small scale and grew as it proved successful. In the first year, as the puck progressed out of an end zone, the AR was allowed to call penalties in that zone up to the blueline, if the infraction was behind the referee. By midseason, the AR’s jurisdiction was expanded to the center line. In year two, the system was working so well that jurisdiction expanded to the far blue.

The CCHA’s intent, whether stated publicly or not, was for officials to call stick infractions and actions that might result in injury. Again, a reasonable set of instructions.

But now that the system has been adopted by the NCAA and is in use in all four conferences, the predictable has occurred. College hockey’s regional biases and interpretations have reared their confusing, confounding and oftimes ugly heads.

Whats worthy of two minutes in the ECAC and Hockey East isn’t worth the wax some players put on their sticks in the CCHA.

The regional differences became glaringly evident at the West Regional games in Grand Rapids, Mich. More than once, Eastern ARs fluttered the peas in their whistles and Westerners bellowed, “Now what?”

NCAA Supervisor of Officials Charlie Holden agrees. “It shocked some people.”

ECAC referees, to their credit, know the NCAA rule book to the nth degree. They exercise literal interpretations of the rules. If they spot a penalty according to the letter of the law, they blow play dead. It doesn’t matter if the referee has seen the penalty or not. In effect, there are three full-time referees.

“In certain parts of the country,” Holden says, the refs have told their assistants “if I didn’t see it, (you) call it.” In a sense, that’s refreshing — refs without vanity, not concerned about being shown up by some guy not wearing an arm band. “Everyone involved in the game,” says Holden, “agrees we need more than one set of eyes. But, they have to remember it’s what the (NCAA) Rules Committee wants, not what each conference wants.”

To that end, Holden met with supervisors of officials from each of the conferences in Milwaukee Friday. They discussed implementation of the system, and whether ARs should call penalties.

“Is that what the Rules Committee wants? The answer is ‘Yes’.”

The basic tenets of the system seem to be accepted by most, if not all, coaches. Hockey East supervisor of officials Brendan Sheehy says that after just one season, coaches in that conference liked it. “They want to make sure all penalties are called.”

By midseason, Hockey East ARs called 91 penalties. In stark contrast, there were 47 such calls in the CCHA for the entire season. The WCHA total for the season was two dozen. Holden has asked each of the supervisors for final totals by the middle of April.

Holden’s concern is not the principle of the system but the mechanics. “It took us six years to get them (referees and their supervisors) to call checking from behind.”

This weekend, he’s asking about the holding-the-stick penalty. Do members of the rules committee, league supervisors and coaches want such an infraction behind the referee and behind the play to be called by an assistant refereee?

The system seems here to stay. What pleases the picky Midwestern TV voice is knowing the policymakers are intent on refining it so that it’s mechanically and logically sound, and that they aren’t forcing the ARs to become omniscient beings with some form of high-definition vision.

Five Guys In Milwaukee, Part I

By
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“Five Guys In Milwaukee,” which appears daily on USCHO during the NCAA championships, is Scott Brown’s travelog of a weekend at the Final Four.

Wednesday, March 26

9:27 a.m. We planned on leaving early, so Tim is at my place already. Im unprepared, which Tim takes due note of as he stands around waiting for me to get myself together.

9:38 a.m. Return to Tim’s for a bunch of stuff he forgot.

10:12 a.m. Meet Frank for breakfast, at a pleasant little diner nearby. Hockey is, of course, the main topic of discussion — which teams are in Milwaukee and why, and which aren’t. They serve an omelet which must have taken a whole carton of eggs to manufacture.

11:28 a.m. Return to Tim’s for the tickets, which Frank and I agree are a fairly important ingredient in the weekend’s activities.

12:05 p.m. Pick up Lee, who still needs to pack.

12:46 p.m. Return to Tim’s for still more stuff. To quote Homer Simpson, “Urge to kill … rising …”

1:37 p.m. After several further delays, which are causing us to grow increasingly squirrely, we hit the road. This can no longer be regarded as an early departure; nevertheless, we’re all happy to finally be going. Bon voyage to us!

3:30 p.m. Witty banter all around. Or something like that.

5:17 p.m. Return to Tim’s for — just kidding.

6:31 p.m. The car crowd begins to weary of one another. I snipe at Tim, Frank snipes at me. Lee ignores us. It’s hell on earth. How blasted far is it to Milwaukee, anyway? 7:25 p.m. We’re there. Frank — the only one who’s been here before — has brought us into town on a route past the Miller brewery. I am astonished at the overwhelming aroma of hops and yeast, and briefly consider asking to be dropped off here. I wonder if its like this all the time. Frank assures me that it is.

8:35 p.m. We’ve gotten into our hotel room. Frank and I are awarded the honor of lugging the computer equipment in from the car, which is parked in the adjoining lot. Despite the fact that the lot is in fact the hotel’s, we are told that it’s eight bucks a night to park there, but that “you do have full in-and-out privileges.” How reassuring: I figured it was going to be eight bucks each time we wanted to drive anywhere.

9:01 p.m. Dave, who got into town early to see the morning practices, gets back to our room and begins to wonder aloud what the heck he was thinking. With the gang now all collected, it’s time to eat.

9:05 p.m. Across the street from the hotel is a little place which Frank claims was once a fern bar. This fact, which has the principal effect of dating Frank, is no longer in evidence. We accidentally sit down in a closed section, drawing the ire — but also the immediate attention — of the staff.

10:22 p.m. Time to hit the town. We’ve been told that the main bunch of bars and clubs is just down the road, and we mean to find out about them. The first semifinal is at noon tomorrow, though, so we’d better take it a little easy.

2:24 a.m. We didn’t take it easy. Ack.

Face Off: Week 8

USCHO Staff Report
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Welcome to U.S. College Hockey Online’s roundtable discussion. We’ll be debating a college hockey topic every other week in this space, where various members of our staff meet to argue. Sometimes serious, sometimes silly — but either way, watch the feathers fly: no punches will be pulled, and no quarter given, when these people face off.

In Milwaukee, Who Will Win the Thursday Semifinals; then, on Saturday, Who Emerges From the Wreckage as NCAA Champion?

Mike Machnik, Special Projects: The old adage is, “Defense wins championships.” Both Colorado College and Boston University will try to ride strong goaltending and good team defense to upset wins in the semifinals — but it won’t be enough. North Dakota 5, Colorado College 2; Michigan 6, Boston University 2.

In any other year, North Dakota looks to be the strongest and most balanced team around. But in their first tournament appearance since 1987, the Sioux have the misfortune of running into a Michigan juggernaut that may have the most talented senior class the NCAA has ever seen. The Wolverines have their sights set on becoming the first repeat champion since BU in 1971-72, and repeat they will, 5-3.

Frank Mazzocco, Game of the Week: Michigan, Michigan, Michigan — if they don’t win it all, investigate. The Wolverines will dismantle BU 5-2, and then CC 6-2 after CC beats North Dakota 4-3, mainly because the Fighting Sioux are new to this level of play.

Jayson Moy, ECAC Correspondent: Does anyone have a chance at stopping Michigan? A hot goalie might be able to, and enough firepower, maybe, but BU can’t. Michigan 6, Boston University 3. In the other semifinal, North Dakota and Colorado College meet again. ND has the edge, and the Sioux buzz, but CC is playing well. Tough call, but ND goes to the championship game. North Dakota 4, Colorado College 3.

The final should feature Michigan and North Dakota, where the firepower of Michigan is just too much. Michigan repeats, 5-3.

Deron Treadwell, News Editor: In the first semifinal we have two WCHA rivals in Colorado College and North Dakota. On paper, North Dakota shouldn’t have much trouble with the Tigers since they did win the WCHA.

But you can’t measure what “being there before” gives a team. Don Lucia took his group to the title game last year and almost beat a talented Michigan team, while North Dakota has been on an NCAA drought in recent years. So throw the records out — these teams know too much about each other. CC wins in an upset, 5-4.

Next, we have a rematch of last year’s semifinal, in which Michigan blanked BU 4-0 en route to the title. If anyone will give Michigan a game, it will be BU — maybe.

Unlike Terrier teams of the past, this one is built from the goal outward. Michel Larocque was probably the best goalie in Hockey East, despite being robbed of all-conference honors. BU also boasts one of the most talented defensive corps in the league, anchored by senior Jon Coleman.

If Larocque and the defense come to play, this might be a game. Otherwise, BU doesn’t have the scoring punch to keep up with the high-flying Wolverines. Michigan wins it comfortably, 6-3.

Michigan will then win the national title, in probably one of the least-contested title games in recent times. Colorado College has had a great run, but they aren’t experienced or talented enough to beat a Michigan team that will go down as one of the greatest college hockey teams ever. Michigan storms CC, 7-2, to repeat as NCAA champions.

Tim Brule, USCHO Coordinator: The Final Four Faceoff, huh? Well, I’m afraid this may not be much of a final four. The matchups seem lopsided, and I’m just praying for one good game out of the three.

Tim’s predictions: North Dakota 4, Colorado College 1 Michigan 6, Boston University 2 Michigan 5, North Dakota 2

Dave Hendrickson, Hockey East Correspondent: The moon, planets, and stars will need to be in some bizarre alignment to prevent a second straight Michigan national championship. There’s the Wolverines, the team without an Achilles’ heel, and then there’s the rest of the field.

Boston University will go down first, 5-2. Their strong defense, occasionally stellar goaltending from Michel Larocque, and scoring from Chris Drury and Shawn Bates could give them a chance. Stranger things have happened. Like assistant coach Mike Eruzione beating the Russians in 1980. But all logic points to the wave after wave of Michigan scorers, and its woefully unrecognized defense should rule the day.

Colorado College has done a great job getting back to The Dance, but it’s midnight for Cinderella, even with Judd Lambert standing tall in the nets. That is, unless Jason Blake’s injury keeps him out of the North Dakota lineup. Without Blake, the stagecoach may stay a stagecoach until Saturday afternoon. That said, Blake should return, and North Dakota will take a 4-3 game.

In the finals, North Dakota will make it tough for the Wolverines, but it’ll be deja vu all over again. Michigan 5-3.

Scott Brown, Features Editor: The first semi is a rematch of a WCHA Final Five game which North Dakota won by four goals. Colorado College head man Don Lucia will make this one more competitive, but the Sioux still win, 4-3. Then the Wolverines show outgunned Boston University why they’re the favorites, 6-3.

Now, I’m not as pessimistic as Tim, but I also don’t think anyone is going to stop this Michigan team — not the way they mangled Minnesota last Sunday. Let’s give it to ’em, but in an actual contest: Michigan 5, North Dakota 3. Everyone ready for “Hail to the Victors” 326 times?

On the Scene

By Frank Mazzocco
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I’ve had the pleasure of living in both Milwaukee and Cincinnati during my radio/TV career. I was the play-by-play radio mouth for the Milwaukee Admirals of the IHL, and the Cincinnati Tigers of the then-formidable CHL.

The two locales are the reigning and most recent NCAA Frozen Four sites — two distinctly different cities and two distinctly different treatments of the game formally called Ice Hockey.

Milwaukee is a town where both blue-collar stiffs and high-cultured snobs can feel at home and actually coexist peacefully. Jerry West once called it America’s best-kept secret. Even though I’ve been away for 16 years, I still hear the Brew City’s call.

Here then, are the top ten reasons why Milwaukee is a better NCAA Ice Hockey site than Cincinnati.

10. The smell of fermenting hops in the air near the Miller brewery
9. The Bradley Palace, eh, Bradley Center
8. Friday Fish Fries, even when it’s not Lent
7. Natural grass infield
6. The Milwaukee County Zoo — ok, this one’s a push
5. The IHL Admirals — Admirals? Where’s the Navy?
4. Ninety miles from the NHL
3. A mall with a rink
2. Festa Italiana, Mexican Fiesta, Polish Fest, German Fest, Summer Fest, Asian Moon Festival, African World Festival, Irish Fest, Indian Summer and Pride Fest

And the Number One reason Milwaukee is a better NCAA hockey site than Cincinnati: No holes in the ice.

Preview: NCAA Final Four

By Scott Brown, Paula Weston and Dave Hendrickson
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This is it: the whole season in a nutshell. Of the forty-odd teams which began the season vying for the NCAA Division I championship, only four still have a shot.

Those four — Boston University, North Dakota, Colorado College and defending champ Michigan — meet this Thursday in the semifinals at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee to decide who will duke it out for the title on Saturday.

Michigan displayed its dominance against Minnesota in Grand Rapids, Mich., crushing the Gophers’ hopes with four goals in a span of 2:30 en route to a 7-4 win. The number-one Wolverines have top-rate scoring, an underrated D and an experienced goaltender, and many expect a repeat title. But don’t say that to the other three teams, all of which have paid their dues to get here.

After motoring through the Hockey East regular season, Boston U. beat New Hampshire in the tourney final to claim an automatic bye in the NCAAs. They needed it, squeaking past a determined Denver squad led by goaltender Jim Mullin, the East Regional MVP. BU’s 4-3 overtime victory — capped off by Chris Drury’s game-winning goal — earned the Terriers a berth among the contenders. Their reward? A semifinal against the favored Wolverines.

North Dakota’s story is similar to BU’s. The Fighting Sioux shared the WCHA regular-season title with Minnesota, and then beat the Gophers head-to-head before a hostile crowd at the St. Paul Civic Center to claim the tournament crown as well. At the NCAA West Regional, the Sioux sat out the first round, then used three third-period goals to break away from Cornell and win 6-2, putting them on the road to Milwaukee, where they will meet…

Colorado College. The biggest surprise of the week, CC finished fourth in the WCHA regular season, lost a semifinal game to UND at the WCHA Final Five, and slipped into the big tournament with an at-large bid. Sent out East as cannon fodder, the Tigers shocked New Hampshire, 3-2, and then built a big lead and held on to beat top-seeded Clarkson, 5-4. The Tigers are very familiar with UND’s skating and shooting prowess, which may make for an interesting semifinal matchup.

First semifinal
North Dakota (2 West) vs. Colorado College (5 East)
1:00 p.m. EST, Thursday, March 27 ESPN2

Colorado College Tigers
Head coach: Don Lucia
Overall record: 25-14-4
Conference record: 17-11-4 (4th, WCHA)
Conference playoffs: Third place

Top scorers: F Brian Swanson (19-32–51), F Darren Clark (16-22–38), D Calvin Elfring (9-22–31), F Toby Peterson (16-21–37), D Eric Rud (6-24–30), F Stewart Bodtker (19-17–36)

In net: G Judd Lambert (19-11-1, 2.94, .895)

Last week, very few people would have correctly predicted this matchup. North Dakota, fine — the Sioux were the two seed, after all, and had been ranked second in the nation in the Around the Rinks/USCHO poll late in the year. It didn’t require bold prognostication to put them in Milwaukee.

Colorado College? The Tigers were national runners-up last year after earning an unprecedented third straight WCHA regular-season title. But they lost several key contributors after that season, including high-scoring forwards Peter Geronazzo, Colin Schmidt and Jay McNeill, and goaltender Ryan Bach.

Despite those losses, CC was picked by the coaches to repeat — yet again — as WCHA champs. Seven of the ten WCHA head coaches agreed: the Tigers were still the team to beat.

And, for a while, they looked the part. Despite an exhibition loss to Calgary and a 1-2-0 start, the Tigers were 10-5-1 heading into holiday tournament season. Then, at the Badger Showdown, they whipped reeling Vermont before losing a tight match to eventual Hockey East co-champs New Hampshire. Things were looking pretty good indeed.

But the Tigers took a roundabout way home from Milwaukee, stopping by East Lansing, Mich., to visit Michigan State for a New Year’s Eve game. Unfortunately for CC, the hosts weren’t very gracious, as the Spartans pasted them, 6-2.

That contest presaged trouble for Don Lucia’s bunch, who needed OT to take care of lowly Air Force in their next game. They then tied Michigan Tech, which sounds okay until you notice that that was in the middle of an 0-16-3 run for the Huskies.

The Tigers went 7-6-2 the rest of the way, and limped into the WCHA playoffs as the fourth seed. Although their first-round opponent, Wisconsin, was having problems, CC was not exactly in top form either.

But the Tigers swept the Badgers (though the second game, a 1-0 marathon, was the longest in NCAA history), and beat their archrivals, the fifth-seeded Denver Pioneers, in the WCHA Final Five play-in game in St. Paul. That victory earned CC a shot at North Dakota in the semis, and presented Lucia with a significant decision: whether to again play senior netminder Judd Lambert, who saved 27 of 29 against the Pioneers, or to rest him for the next day.

Lucia chose the latter, and the Sioux blasted five goals past CC’s number-two goaltender, freshman Jason Cugnet, on their way to a 5-1 win and eventually the tournament championship. But the plan worked nonetheless: Lambert, back in net for the consolation match against St. Cloud, saved all 24 SCSU shots in recording a 6-0 shutout win.

That game most likely earned the Tigers a trip to the NCAA tourney, since St. Cloud was also vying for a bid. Lucia knew it, and consistently said that he was much more concerned about winning a potential third-place game than with beating the Sioux, especially given the Tigers’ rough recent schedule: the four-overtime game against Wisconsin, and then three games in three days at the Final Five.

But, having done exactly what he intended, coming in as an at-large didn’t bother him at all.

“In a lot of ways, it’s easier to be the underdog,” he said after the St. Cloud game. “The pressure’s on the higher seed.”

Prophetic words, because as the saying goes, the rest is history. Colorado College was placed in the East Regional as the fifth seed, and matched up with New Hampshire in the first round. This time, the Tigers came out on top, by the same score — 3-2 — as in the two teams’ first meeting of the season.

Not content with an already-respectable showing, the Tigers scored four goals in the first period against number-one seed Clarkson and led 5-1 in the third before a furious rally by the Knights brought them back within one. However, the equalizer was not to be, and CC was in the Final Four for a second straight year.

Last year, it was Geronazzo leading the Tiger charge. This season, that duty falls to the team’s all-everything: Hobey Baker finalist, WCHA co-leading scorer and all-conference First Teamer Brian Swanson. Swanson has 51 points this season, and scored a goal in each of CC’s regional tourney games.

Also around the puck will be WCHA Defensive Player of the Year Eric Rud and freshman forward Toby Peterson. Peterson, with nine points in seven postseason games, leads the Tigers in playoff scoring.

Ironically, the Tigers hit the national stage against a familiar foe: the Sioux, against whom CC is 1-3-1 thus far this season. Fans can expect a much better game than their lopsided contest in the WCHA playoffs, for two reasons: one, the Tigers are much more tournament-experienced, and two, Lucia’s not maneuvering to win any consolation game this time.

“We’re very excited to still be playing,” Lucia said. “North Dakota is a great team, but when you get to this point, you’re going to play nothing but great teams.

“I’m real happy with how our team is playing right now. We’re playing as well as we have all season. And it’s happening at the most important time.”

North Dakota Fighting Sioux
Head coach: Dean Blais
Overall record: 29-10-2
Conference record: 21-10-2 (T-1st, WCHA)
Conference playoffs: Tournament champs

Top scorers: F Jason Blake (18-31–49), F David Hoogsteen (24-27–51), D Curtis Murphy (11-29–40), F Ian Kallay (16-22–38), F Kevin Hoogsteen (17-20–37), F Jay Panzer (16-21–37)

In net: G Aaron Schweitzer (15-3-0, 2.23, .911)

In a way, the Sioux really aren’t supposed to be here, either. If you believe the preseason coaches’ poll, UND should have finished fifth in the WCHA this season. That, in all likelihood, would not have been good enough to make it to the NCAA tournament.

But that’s why they actually play the games. North Dakota started the season with six straight wins, then lost four of its next five (including an ugly 10-6 defeat at Mariucci Arena) before embarking on a 17-4-2 run which carried them into the lead in the standings — a four-point lead over Minnesota going into the final weekend.

Key in that stretch was a 6-4, 6-2 sweep of the Gophers in Grand Forks, N.D., which put the Sioux into first place to stay, and eventually gave them the number-one seed in the WCHA playoffs on a tiebreaker.

UND celebrated its share of the MacNaughton Cup on Feb. 22, after a home win over Alaska-Anchorage. But they dropped a pair of games in Denver on the final weekend of the season, and when the Gophers swept Wisconsin, the Sioux were forced to hand half of the Cup back to Minnesota.

No doubt, that collapse left a sour taste in the mouths of the Sioux, who had come so far to earn a title, only to see it cut in two. Dean Blais’ players carried that feeling into St. Paul for the Final Five, where they knocked off CC before winning an overtime duel with the Gophers, 4-3, for the WCHA tourney championship.

Afterward, several Sioux players spoke of their desire to pay back the Gophers for that half of the MacNaughton Cup. Said Peter Armbrust, who scored the OT game-winner in the tourney final, “We were sort of hoping they would win [their semifinal against St. Cloud].”

The naysayers had persisted throughout the season — claiming that the Sioux weren’t really all they were cracked up to be, that the Gophers, or the Tigers, or somebody would eventually catch up to a supposedly-overachieving UND team.

No more.

That win gave UND, which had already earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney, a bye through the first round. A well-rested Sioux team then opened up on Cornell in the second round, turning a close contest into a rout with three third-period goals.

The Sioux now get a shot at their sixth national championship. North Dakota won three titles in the ’80s alone, the last in 1987. An auspicious sign: 1987 was the last year in which the Sioux won the WCHA regular-season title — and also the last time they won the conference tournament.

But Blais’ crew won’t be relying upon astrological projections to beat Colorado College. That’s the business of UND’s three All-WCHA First Team players: forwards Jason Blake and David Hoogsteen, and defenseman Curtis Murphy.

Blake, the Hobey Baker finalist, and Hoogsteen, the WCHA Final Five MVP, have combined for 100 points this season, heading up an offense which scored a league-best 137 goals during conference play. There is some concern about the physical condition of Blake, who suffered a mildly separated shoulder against Cornell, but it is believed he will be ready Thursday.

Joining those two are Murphy, who scored 40 points as a defenseman, and wingers Ian Kallay and Jay Panzer. Ominously, all four of the forwards mentioned above are just sophomores; the UND soph class has combined for 276 of the Sioux’ 469 total points this season.

In goal for North Dakota will be freshman Aaron Schweitzer, who supplanted senior Toby Kvalevog midway through the season. Blais has used the rookie consistently since, and Schweitzer has been equal to the task, with a winning percentage of .833 (on a 15-3-0 record), a 2.23 goals-against average, and a .911 save percentage. Schweitzer led the WCHA in all three categories.

The Sioux do have a couple of soft spots. One is the penalty kill, which ranked last in WCHA efficiency this season at 74.8 percent. That’s a bit misleading, though. After super-gentlemanly Alaska-Anchorage, the Sioux took the fewest penalties in the WCHA, and though their kill rate was bad, their 30 league power-play goals allowed actually ranked in the middle of the pack.

Second, and more important, is UND’s lack of big-time playoff experience. The last time North Dakota made the NCAAs was 1990, which means that no current Sioux player had ever played in the national tourney before Sunday.

Will that inexperience be a factor? Maybe, but Blais isn’t a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award — given to the nation’s top Division I men’s hockey coach — for nothing. We’ll see whether the Sioux’ enthusiasm and discipline can overcome the potential nerves of being in the spotlight.

Second semifinal
Michigan (1 West) vs. Boston University (2 East)
7:30 p.m. EST, Thursday, March 27 ESPN2

Boston University Terriers
Head coach: Jack Parker
Overall record: 25-8-6
Conference record: 16-4-4 (T-1st, Hockey East)
Conference playoffs: Tournament champs

Top scorers: F Chris Drury (37-23–60), D Chris Kelleher (9-23–32), F Mike Sylvia (18-20–38), F Shawn Bates (17-17–34), D Jon Coleman (4-27–31), F Billy Pierce (8-21–29)

In net: G Michel Larocque (14-3-4, 2.26, .917), G Tom Noble (10-5-2, 3.13, .884)

At the East Regional, Boston University planned to take full advantage of its bye status, running four lines to wear down a Denver squad coming off a 6-3 outmuscling of Vermont.

So much for game plans.

The supposedly fresher Terriers had to hang on for dear life through eight timid minutes of overtime before Jack Parker called a timeout, got his team to stop playing “not to lose” and then took advantage of a rare three-on-three situation. Chris Drury, Jon Coleman and Chris Kelleher combined to pull out a 4-3 thriller.

BU now must confront the skeleton from last season’s closet. One year ago, Michigan outshot the Terriers 18-1 to open the game, grabbed a 4-0 lead and never looked back. The Wolverines then returned their top goaltender, four defensemen, and 93.3 percent of their scoring. In startling contrast, Boston University lost many top players, including three who have since played in the NHL.

Stripped of so many of the weapons that made last year’s squad the top scoring unit in the country, coach Jack Parker transformed his team into one which wins with defense, grit and intangibles.

“I don’t think there’s any question that that’s the biggest difference between last year’s team and this year’s,” says Parker. “Last year’s team was known for its offense; this year’s team is known for its defense. This year’s team has a lot more grit and determination, a lot more desire to do the right things in our own end first and make sure that nothing bad happens before we try to go out and make spectacular plays.”

The BU team defense begins in net with Michel Larocque and Tom Noble. Larocque, the hot hand, will get the nod against the Wolverines. The sophomore recorded this year’s lowest goals-against average in Hockey East.

Their defense is led by All-American Jon Coleman, but also features Chris Kelleher and Shane Johnson, two very underrated blueliners. Both finally earned accolades when named to the Hockey East All-Tournament team over Coleman and other league defenseman.

Tom Poti, perhaps the top freshman defender in the country, brings big-play capability to the table. Jeff Kealty, the former first-round NHL draft pick, and Dan Ronan round out what may be the top defensive corps in the country. Their play will prove pivotal against Morrison, Botterill and company.

“I would say that we don’t match up pretty well against Michigan,” says Parker, who adds, “I don’t see anybody else matching up pretty well against Michigan either.

Michigan’s strong defense distiguishes the Wolverines from other high-powered teams that BU has beaten. Hockey East fans may instinctively draw parallels between Michigan and New Hampshire, another deep, quick-scoring offense, but Parker gives little credibility to the analogy.

“UNH certainly has two great forward lines, and they generated a lot of offense all year,” he says. “But I don’t really think there’s much of a comparison between the two clubs.

“I think that was UNH’s downfall, in that their defense got banged up pretty good halfway through the year and they never recovered from that. We took advantage of that in two or three of the games we played them. I don’t think we’re going to be able to take advantage of the strong Michigan defense like we did with New Hampshire.”

Chris Drury and Shawn Bates will lead the charge against the Wolverine rear guard. Although Mike Sylvia, Dan LaCouture, Albie O’Connell and Tommi Degerman (see “Better Late Than Never”, elsewhere on USCHO) have made major contributions in the postseason, Drury and Bates are the scorers who put BU into the NCAA semifinals, and who will most likely determine how well they succeed there.

Drury, the Hobey Baker finalist, made the type of big play he’s made all season long, scoring the overtime goal to beat Denver after being held in check most of the game. He also does many of the little things, earning his coach’s nomination as New England Defensive Forward of the Year, a rare honor for a 37-goal scorer.

Bates, who struggled much of the year, had an immense game against Denver, and outplayed the rest of the forwards at the East Regional. That included, among others, Hobey Baker finalists Drury, Todd White, Brian Swanson and Martin St. Louis.

“Bates created a lot for us, not only scoring goals but setting up pressure on them,” says Parker. “They were backing up every time he had the puck. I thought he set the pace for us.

“He got frustrated through January and February… it really dragged him down somewhat mentally. He never stopped working defensively, but the puck wasn’t going in the net for him.”

Parker, who had seen Bates score 20 goals and dish off 10 assists in 37 tournament games, had a one-on-one breakfast with the speedburner, who, according to his coach, always plays his best in the clutch.

Bates came through again, drawing numerous penalties — including one that led to the game-winner — delivering crushing hits and scoring a shorthanded goal to go with two assists.

Special teams always loom large in the playoffs. Although BU shut out Denver (0-for-5) on the power play, Michigan ups the ante.

“A big factor is how effective they are on the power play,” says Parker, looking at the Wolverines’ 31.5 percent power play and 88.1 percent penalty kill. “That presents a huge problem for us. You cannot take penalties against this team. You’ll pay drastically for it.”

On the plus side, the Terriers are as healthy as they’ve been all season long, which Parker credits to famed BU strength and conditioning guru Mike Boyle. With a short roster all year, injuries could have broken the Terriers.

“I didn’t really think we were going to make it through the year,” says Parker. “Our motto this year was A Few Good Men. They certainly were few, but they certainly were good. And they stayed healthy enough to get us here.”

Now that they’re headed to Milwaukee, Parker has no intentions of reminding his charges about last year’s debacle against Michigan.

“I don’t think we have to bring it up for two reasons,” says Parker. “One, if it would be a motivating factor, it’s already set in their minds. Two, this is a completely different team.”

Noting that Michigan State knocked off the Wolverines twice, Parker says that he may consider the Spartan strategy of icing the puck for the first five minutes to take the edge off Michigan’s emotion.

Given the 18-shot Wolverine onslaught to open last year’s game, and Michigan’s quick strikes this year against Minnesota — a goal only 33 seconds into the game, and then four goals in a period of 2:30 at the end of the first and beginning of the second period — the icing strategy may make sense. Rope-a-Dope comes to hockey.

“We are looking forward to an immense challenge in playing the defending national champion, the number-one team in the polls all year and certainly a great college hockey team and a well-coached team,” says Parker.

“We’ll show up and give it everything we have. I’m really pleased to have that challenge for our team because we’ve fought off some pretty tough situations this year. It’s not going to get any tougher than playing Michigan.”

Michigan Wolverines
Head coach: Red Berenson
Overall record: 34-3-4
Conference record: 21-3-3 (1st, CCHA)
Conference playoffs: Tournament champs

Top scorers: F Brendan Morrison (28-55–83), F John Madden (26-35–61), F Bill Muckalt (25-37–62), F Jason Botterill (35-22–57), F Mike Legg (21-33–54), F Matt Herr (28-23–51)

In net: G Marty Turco (32-3-4, 2.20, .896)

After the Wolverines beat Minnesota 7-4 in Western Regional action last week, someone asked head coach Berenson, who was looking rather serious at the post-game press conference, if he’d smiled at all that day.

Berenson was not amused.

“As a coach,” said Berenson, “I don’t like getting four goals against, I don’t like the way the puck went in, I didn’t like some of the penalties.

“We’re not trying to trash a team and embarrass them, but we can’t be playing games where we’re giving up goals like that and expect to win. We got the goals we needed tonight, but it’s not good hockey as far as Michigan’s concerned.”

To the rest of the NCAA, this kind of talk probably seems a little like Cindy Crawford complaining about a fat day. Michigan jumped out to a 5-0 lead just after the first minute of play in the second period, but then had to work to hold Minnesota at bay.

The Golden Gophers scored four goals on the Wolverines’ junior goaltender, Marty Turco, whose overall GAA this season was just 2.20. Until the game with Minnesota, Turco’s playoff GAA was 1.04.

Yet, the Wolverines won, advanced to the national semifinals, and appear poised to take a second consecutive NCAA national championship. What’s to complain about?

“We’re not done,” said Berenson. “Obviously this is one step.”

That kind of grim determination is as big a factor as any when calculating how dangerous this Michigan hockey team is in this tournament. Berenson took very little satisfaction in holding on to win a game that could very well have been a finals matchup, had the seedings been twisted a little bit.

That is to say, the Wolverines and coach Berenson want absolutely everything, if you please.

In the presence of such determination, one gets the impression that, should Michigan advance to the title game and lose, the winner wouldn’t be declared until Berenson made a concession speech.

Berenson wasn’t the only determined-looking man on the podium after Michigan’s win over Minnesota. Senior forward Jason Botterill, especially, oozed a fair amount of intensity in a convincing manner.

“It was so satisfying last year [winning the title],” said Botterill. “All summer, you just had that satisfaction. I think this year, our whole team [thinks] that if we don’t get back there, it will be a disappointment.

“We respect Boston University, but we’re not going to fear them.”

Michigan certainly showed no fear of the BU last year, when the Wolverines dispatched the Terriers 4-0 in the first round. Is this year any different?

“I think there’ll be some revenge at stake,” said Berenson after the Michigan-Minnesota game. However, later in the week, Berenson’s take on the rematch was slightly different.

“I would think that a team in this final four would not need an extra incentive to play their best hockey. We upset BU last year, but they’re a different team, and we’re a different team. Both teams have something to prove.”

Apparently, the line of Botterill, Brendan Morrison and Bill Muckalt has had something to prove in post-season play this year. Those three have been on a tear — responsible for a total of 19 goals and 24 assists in five playoff games so far. Both Botterill and Morrison are seniors.

“I think the seniors have challenged themselves,” said Berenson. “They wanted to come back and have their best season. They didn’t come back just to go through the motions, they came back to develop.”

What they’ve developed into is a team that has lost just three games this season, and tied just four times. Once they positioned themselves at the top of the CCHA, they never looked back. Now, they’re looking for just one thing: a second consecutive national championship.

Three of the four teams in the tournament return from last year, but only one took home the title. “It’s done a lot for our confidence,” said Botterill. “By winning it last year, guys are more prepared and they realize the importance of the small things out there. We really enjoyed winning the national championship last year, and we want that feeling again.

“It’s not as if we’re satisfied winning the one national championship,” Botterill repeats. “We’ve got that hunger for two.”

Better Late Than Never

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“It’s just too much fun to play hockey.”

Christmas trees had just been dragged out to the corner for trash pickup; credit card statements had yet to show the fallout of holiday excess; New Year’s Eve memories were still fresh.

Tommi Degerman was having fun.

The Boston University Terriers had entered January with little to celebrate. In their six games since Thanksgiving, they’d won only once and salvaged two ties. In those five non-victories, they’d scored a total of eight goals. While the Terrier ship wasn’t exactly sinking, the waves were splashing over its low-hanging bow and a tsunami in the form of the New Hampshire Wildcats was approaching portside.

UNH had won 14 games in a row. Its offense ranked number one in the nation, often exploding for four and five goals at a time.

Even so, the Wildcats’ undefeated record put them only three points ahead in the Hockey East standings, since BU’s slump had occurred against non-conference foes.

The mantra around BU as the home-and-home series loomed was, “If we can just avoid a sweep, if we can just avoid a sweep” … a chant uttered while eyes stared at the looming tsunami and fingers tightened the life jacket.

Degerman, an unknown from Finland only four days off the plane, would be fourth-line fodder while he learned the forecheck and his teammates, the difference between a Big Mac and an Egg McMuffin, and maybe a few colorful English words for when he missed an open net or got nailed by a gorilla defenseman.

Or so some thought.

BU coach Jack Parker, however, soon had other ideas. He lined Degerman up on left wing next to Hobey Baker candidate Chris Drury and Mike Sylvia, the team’s top two scorers.

“Two days of practice and he knew all our breakouts and forechecks,” said Parker. “And he was as skilled, or more skilled, than the guys that had previously been on that line.”

All Degerman did was score two goals and assist on two others while the Terriers shocked UNH 9-4.

After the game, a happy but low-key Degerman said, “Of course I was excited because it was my first game, but I’m not sure if even now I know how big a game this was.”

He complimented his linemates, Drury and Sylvia, and then commented about the upcoming rematch in front of more than 5,000 rabid, enemy fans.

“It just gives you a boost to make them shut up,” he said to appreciative chuckles. The Finn could talk a good game too.

The following night, BU “stole” the 3-2 overtime win that conventional knowledge had established as its upper limit going into the weekend. UNH outplayed the Terriers, but Larocque stood on his head. Although Degerman recorded no points, his good karma continued anyways. While he was tied up on the opposite wing, Sylvia walked out of the left corner and scored the winning goal with two minutes left in overtime.

The Hockey East season turned on that weekend.

Instead of New Hampshire running away with the title, the two teams swapped the lead back and forth for the next two months until they faced each other again in the regular season’s final game. Two months earlier, BU had hoped to avoid a sweep. That night, with Degerman sidelined with a knee injury, the Terriers completed a regular season, three-game sweep of their own.

Two weeks later, Degerman returned, and in the league tournament finals scored on a give-and-go with Drury to tie the game against — who else? — UNH. BU went on to a 4-2 win.

Four-for-four against its top challenger was a long way from January’s timid hopes. And what did Degerman think?

“I’m having fun,” he said.

He grew up playing hockey with a brother and friends who were all four years his senior. When he shifted back to his own age he dominated play. His teams traveled up to 600 miles each way to play weekend tournaments, always in search of the best competition.

Although he didn’t make Finland’s first national team when he was 15, he became a fixture the following year, playing an integral part on the Under-17, Under-18, and Under-19 Finnish teams before dropping to alternate status for last year’s Under-20 World Junior Championships held in Boston.

“I want to be a hockey player,” he says now, knowing that BU has produced a fair number of professionals. “That’s my goal.”

But he also wanted an education. Despite being a “B” student in high school, he couldn’t get past the tough Finnish admissions departments, which only accept 15-20 percent of applicants.

Unable to get into college in his homeland, he began serving his one-year army commitment, joining a special unit in the Finnish Army designed for athletes.

Although such a unit conjures images of a country club, Degerman shakes his head, laughs and says, “It was hard. It was normal army. Our schedule was just arranged so you could leave for practice and then come back. But we were always doing something.”

Recruited by BU assistant Pertti Hasanen, who in past years had put Finns like Peter Ahola and Kaj Linna into Terrier uniforms, Degerman planned to join Boston University for the 1997-98 season.

At BU, however, forwards were dropping like flies. Mike Grier and Chris O’Sullivan turned pro. With the prime recruits already signed, BU’s scholarships to replace the two stars were left all dressed up with no place to go. Then, in the first game of the season, John Hynes went down with a neck injury and eventually called it a career. Midway through the fall semester, Dan LaCouture withdrew for personal reasons.

BU’s international phone bill went through the roof.

“Pertti Hasanen called me and said there was an opportunity if I could do something with the army and postpone it,” says Degerman.

Luckily, the athletes’ unit of the Finnish Army was designed to be tough, but flexible. With three months remaining on his commitment, Degerman packed his bags, flew to the States, and helped turn around BU’s season.

Despite the big splash in his first game, life at BU wasn’t all smooth sailing. While he added another two assists in his first game after the sweep over New Hampshire, he also opened a big home-and-home series against arch-rival Boston College with a first-period game disqualification, knocking him out of both games.

Parker was not amused. Terriers had been accumulating misconducts and DQ’s like flies to cowflop, averaging over 30 penalty minutes per 60-minute game.

In Parker lingo, a player who does dumb things is a “Mook.” The coach decided that players taking bad penalties would be sentenced to “Mookville” and could crawl out of bed for the next week and run at six in the morning. Although convicts and parolees from Mookville aren’t publicized, the aftermath of Degerman’s disqualification may have had him wondering if he’d left the army after all.

He returned from the one-game suspension and soon showed that he was really more of a playmaker than a sniper. He then missed three weeks with a knee injury, not returning until the Hockey East semifinals, just barely in time to score the game-tying goal in the title game, sub-par knee and all.

Despite his success, he still sees room for improvement.

“The game here is so much faster,” he says. “It’s the same game basically, but there are some little things you have to do better and quicker here than in European hockey. It’s the little things that make the difference in becoming a better player.”

Although the injury and disqualification limited him to 14 games and 15 points heading into the NCAA tournament, Degerman has flourished off the ice.

“From day one, all of the guys have always taken me with them,” he says. “So it’s been really easy to adjust to the team even though I’m the new kid here.”

Although some have acted as though Finland were on another planet, Degerman likens the culture differences to those between the United States and Canada.

“Some of the guys have been asking, ‘Do you have this? Do you do that?'” he says. “But it’s almost the same. The food is a little different. You eat more pasta here.”

Deserving of special mention, according to Degerman, is the pasta made by his linemate’s mother.

“Mike Sylvia’s mother makes great food so I’ve been over there a few times,” he says with a knowing smile that almost evokes the food’s aroma.

“But I’d say the most special thing here,” he says, “is that people are really open. They’ll come and talk to you, and everyone’s been really great. In Finland, people stay to themselves. There’s a great bunch of guys here on the team and we just have fun.”

Degerman prefers to enjoy the moment, rather than look too far ahead. He knows he’ll have to fulfill the other three months in the army back home, but he isn’t sure when he’ll do it. He also isn’t sure yet what he’ll major in, but figures he’ll just study hard and get a good education.

The only part of his plan that he is sure about is the same thing that puts a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye.

“I want to be a hockey player,” he says. “That’s my goal. It’s just too much fun to play hockey.”

Playing hockey. Winning big games. Eating Mrs. Sylvia’s pasta.

Tommi Degerman is having fun.

Miami’s Robitaille Signs with the Boston Bruins

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Randy Robitaille, sophomore center for the Miami Redskins, signed a contract with the Boston Bruins on Monday. Robitaille will play for the Bruins on Thursday night; financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“It’s better than first-round money,” says Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni.

“This is a great situation for me, not only because I’m playing right away,” says Robitaille. “It’s a great situation for me to go to Boston because they’re rebuilding right now. They’re bringing in a lot of young guys. I just thought that it would be the best place for me to start and hopefully build a career in the NHL.”

Robitaille told reporters after Miami’s 4-2 loss to Cornell in Western Regional NCAA playoff action that he was coming back to Miami next season, and he says he really didn’t think he was going anywhere.

“About ten teams contacted my parents after we lost. They talked to my mom, and she contacted my advisor.

“There was talk all year, but for me to leave as a sophomore, the money had to be good.”

Mazzoleni says he has “mixed emotions” about Robitaille leaving. “I’m elated for him. The money he received is a strong indication of Boston’s commitment to rebuilding their team and of Randy’s role in that rebuilding.

“It’s a tremendous statement for our hockey program. We’ve been able to recruit a young man like that and develop him.

“For Randy, it’s a life-time dream.”

Robitaille says leaving his teammates will be hard. “I’m going to miss the guys tremendously. I would have liked to have been a part of the team next year, because I think we have a chance to do very well, but I have to look out for myself.

“They’re going to miss me, too, but they know this chance doesn’t come around too often, and you have to take it when it does.”

“He’s a franchise player,” says Mazzoleni. “It will put a dent in our armor, but certain people will pick up their game. Even without Randy, we’ll be even better balanced next year [than we were this year] because of recruits and developing young players. We’ll have a good hockey team next year.”

Robitaille says he’ll return to campus after Boston’s season is over to finish some course work, and Mazzoleni stresses that college can lead to more than one type of education.

“You’re here to educate the kid and move him on academically for a career path,” says Mazzoleni. “Robitialle’s career path is hockey.”

Robitaille’s signing marks the second time in two weeks that undrafted CCHA players have signed with NHL teams. Bowling Green forward Mike Johnson signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs just after the Falcons bowed out of CCHA Tournament play. Like Robitaille, Johnson’s deal included immediate play in the NHL.

Mazzoleni says Robitaille’s signing should give hope to other players because he wasn’t drafted.

“Randy is going to represent well Miami and the CCHA,” says Mazzoleni.

Finalists Announced For Penrose Award

USCHO Staff Report
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The American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) has announced its list of eight finalists for the 1996-97 Spencer Penrose Memorial Award, given to the Division I Coach of the Year.

None of the eight finalists, who include representatives of all four major conferences, have ever received the award before. The finalists range from veterans to first-year coaches.

The finalists, in alphabetical order, are:

  • Ron Anderson, Merrimack
  • Red Berenson, Michigan
  • Dean Blais, North Dakota
  • Don Cahoon, Princeton
  • Mark Mazzoleni, Miami
  • Stan Moore, Union
  • Dick Umile, New Hampshire
  • Tim Whitehead, UMass-Lowell

    In his 14th year, Ron Anderson guided his Merrimack team to a 15-19-2 record and fifth place in Hockey East, the highest finish in school history. The Warriors also gained home ice in the Hockey East playoffs for the first time.

    Michigan’s Red Berenson is the coach of the defending national champions and is in his 13th season. Michigan won the CCHA regular season and tournament championships and has a record of 34-3-4 heading into the NCAA semifinals.

    Dean Blais led North Dakota into the NCAA semifinals in just his third year at the helm. The Sioux, 29-10-2 after the NCAA Regionals, were co-winners of the MacNaughton Cup, given to the WCHA regular-season champions, and won the WCHA tournament title as well.

    Princeton finished with a record of 18-12-4 under sixth-year head coach Don “Toot” Cahoon. The Tigers landed in sixth place in the ECAC standings, three spots higher than predicted in preseason polls, and upset Vermont on the way to a fourth-place finish in the ECAC tourney.

    In just his third year at Miami, Mark Mazzoleni directed the Redskins to second place in the CCHA with a record of 27-12-1. Miami was picked to finish seventh by the CCHA coaches after finishing the 1995-96 season with a record of 10-22-4.

    Rookie coach Stan Moore led Union to a school-best record of 18-13-3 and fifth place in the ECAC, the highest finish ever for the Dutchmen, who were picked to finish 11th and miss the ECAC playoffs.

    Dick Umile’s New Hampshire Wildcats earned a share of the Hockey East regular-season crown and a second-place finish in the league tournament. The seventh-year coach led UNH to a record of 28-11-0, the school’s most wins ever.

    Another rookie coach, UMass-Lowell’s Tim Whitehead, established himself in his first year by proving the pundits wrong. The River Hawks, picked to finish ninth, wound up sixth and finished third in the Hockey East tournament. The ‘Hawks finished 15-21-2 overall.

    The Spencer Penrose Award is named for the benefactor who built the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, site of the first ten NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Championships.

    The award will be presented, along with the Eddie Jeremiah College Division Coach of the Year Award, at the AHCA Awards Banquet in Naples, Florida, on April 27. The timing of the selection has been changed: for the first time ever, coaches will cast their votes at the conclusion of the NCAA tournament.

    • Preview: NCAA West Regional

    By Paula Weston, Steve Page and Jayson Moy, with Scott Brown
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    Scarcely had the NCAA tournament selection committee announced its seedings before the hue-and-cry began — especially in the West Regional, where the Minnesota Golden Gophers, fourth in the nation in the Pairwise Rankings, ended up the number-four seed. That puts the Gophers up against two Michigan teams: first Michigan State, and then the defending national champion, top-ranked Michigan.

    The Wolverines, a virtual lock for the top seed all along, were less upset, although both of their potential second-round opponents could give them fits. The Spartans beat Michigan twice during the regular season, and the Gophers took them into overtime at the College Hockey Showcase before falling, 4-3.

    In the other half of the bracket, ECAC tourney champ Cornell was hustled out West, and will take on Miami in a first-round game. The winner of that matchup meets WCHA regular-season and tournament champion North Dakota for a trip to the Final Four at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

    The West Regional runs this Saturday and Sunday, with the East Regional starting a day earlier. All West games are at Van Andel Arena, in Grand Rapids, MI.

    The West Regional is being broadcast live in many areas; check your local television listings to find the appropriate outlet in your region. U.S. College Hockey Online will transmit further TV information as it becomes available.

    Numerical designators below indicate a team’s West Regional seeding, and records include all games.

    No. 3 Miami (22-12-4) vs. No. 6 Cornell (20-8-5)
    Saturday, Mar. 22, 3 p.m. EST

    Miami makes its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1993, with a balanced team that has a legitimate shot at advancing. “We’re happy,” says Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni.

    MU faces off against Cornell in the first game of Western Regional action, and Mazzoleni knows what to look for from the Big Red. Cornell is 1-2-1 against CCHA teams this season, including a 5-4 loss to Miami in Ithaca, Nov. 30. “We watched them on tape. Mike Schafer coaches them a lot like a CCHA team. They’re an excellent hockey team — disciplined, defensive, smart, physical.”

    Last week, Miami lost a 4-3 overtime decision to Michigan State in the CCHA Tournament, in a game Miami led at the end of the second period, 3-0. Mazzoleni is practical when he talks about the result.

    “When you look at the game, we beat them 3-0 in the second, they beat us 3-0 in the third. It wasn’t like we went into our shell and lost our composure. People have to remember that. Mike Watt made a great play in the third, and we made defensive mistakes that they capitalized on.

    “I think the thing that it shows is that at this point, if you’re lucky enough to be chosen for the NCAA tournament, you’re vulnerable. Any team is good enough to capitalize on your mistakes.”

    All season long, Mazzoleni has been emphasizing the philosophy of learning from mistakes. “You learn by experience. Just look at the Michigan-Maine playoff game a couple of years ago. Brendan Morrison got walked off on the face-off and Michigan lost 4-3 in overtime.

    “You know he’s learned from that mistake.”

    Mazzoleni says that his Miami players know that they gave too much to Michigan State, that there were mistakes made in that game that could have been avoided. “There are controllable things that we can negate,” says Mazzoleni.

    He adds, happily, “We’re ready to go.”

    One key for Miami in the NCAA Tournament — a crucial element to Miami’s success all season — is junior goaltender Trevor Prior. Prior is one of three CCHA goaltenders (with significant time in net) with goals-against averages lower than three: Prior’s GAA is 2.73, and his save percentage is .895.

    If Cornell is to beat Miami, the Big Red will do so by containing the potentially explosive combination of Randy Robitaille, Adam Copeland and Tim Leahy. Each has both goals and plus/minus ratings in the double digits, with Robitaille leading the team with 22 goals and 45 total points in league play. Robitaille was sixth in overall scoring in the CCHA during the regular season.

    Add to that mix versatile defenseman Dan Boyle, whose solid play helped to keep Miami opponents to just 79 goals this season. Boyle is also instrumental on the excellent Miami power play, which was second in both overall and league play in the CCHA. Boyle tied for second with Ferris State’s Andy Roach among defenseman for power play points (24).

    Across the ice, the Cornell Big Red are ECAC tourney champions for the second year in a row, after defeating Clarkson in the final.

    The last time Cornell won consecutive ECAC championships, it was in the midst of four straight with the help of a goaltender named Ken Dryden. During that run, the Big Red also won two NCAA titles, and were runners-up once.

    The goaltender for Cornell this year is ECAC tourney MVP Jason Elliot. Elliot survived a barrage in the third period to help Cornell take the title.

    “Our goaltender is the best goaltender in this league,” said head coach Mike Schafer on Elliot. “Without goaltending you don’t win. Jason has been our backbone; without him, the games this weekend would have been a different story.”

    Offensively the Big Red don’t really have big numbers from anyone. Kyle Knopp led the team in goals and scoring, with 30 points on 13 goals and 17 assists. But, as an indication of their balance of offense, the Big Red have 117 goals on the season.

    “I wouldn’t call [us] a real offensive team,” said Schafer, “but we’ve put up some offensive numbers.”

    So the Big Red have to turn to balanced scoring, and capitalizing on special teams. The Big Red had three power-play goals on ten attempts this weekend, and stopped 10 of 12 power plays.

    “Our special teams got hot at the right time of the year,” said Schafer. “The percentages don’t mean much right now.”

    “Special teams is an area this year that people thought was a question mark,” said Cornell defenseman Jason Dailey. “We didn’t put up the numbers we wanted to this year, but when it came down to it, our special teams did the job.”

    The Big Red will play a defensive game, one that centers on forecheck and takeaways.

    “You don’t change the philosophy of what you do,” said Schafer. “You have to force turnovers, and you have to stick to the philosophy and be patient.”

    Jayson’s Pick: Cornell must shut down Randy Robitaille, like it did Todd White in the championship game. It can be done, but Elliot must be strong once again. Miami has dropped off as of late, and are ripe to be picked off by the Big Red. Cornell 4, Miami 2.

    Paula’s Pick: With Coach Mazzoleni stressing the importance of learning from mistakes, and with as balanced a team as any in the playoffs, Miami tops the Big Red, 3-2. Then they head to the Final Four, 4-3 over North Dakota.

    No. 4 Minnesota (27-12-1) vs. No. 5 Michigan State (22-12-4)
    Saturday, Mar. 22, 6:30 p.m. EST

    Minnesota coach Doug Woog still can’t believe the NCAA tournament bracketing. His team tied for first in the WCHA’s regular season, finished second in the tournament, and now finds itself paired against CCHA powerhouse Michigan State. The winner gets to play Michigan, which spent pretty much the entire season ranked #1.

    “We drew the toughest of the brackets,” Woog complained. “The issue is, we finish ahead of all these (WCHA) teams, and we wind up in a tougher bracket — with the No. 1 seed. “It’s interesting the way they divided the whole thing up. In order for us to get to the final four, we’re going to have to climb some pretty tough hills. It was some creative positioning by those people. If I were Michigan, I’d be barking a little bit.”

    Woog said the Gophers’ 4-3 overtime loss to North Dakota in the championship game of the WCHA tournament shouldn’t be that much of a setback, other than to pit his people against two teams from Michigan.

    “We played well. I have no complaints about how we played. If you divide up the breaks, they weren’t very good for us. We played hard enough. The other goaltender (freshman Aaron Schweitzer) played really well.

    “I don’t think one goal is going to change the direction of how we’ve been playing.”

    The Golden Gophers have been playing well: 9-2-1 in their last 12 games. Defenseman Mike Crowley was named WCHA Player of the Year last week, and he’s four points shy of becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer among defensemen.

    Joining Crowley on the all-WCHA first team was goaltender Steve DeBus, while left wing Ryan Kraft and defenseman Brian LaFleur were picked for the all-tournament team.

    Woog sees a mirror image in the Spartans.

    “They’re a sound team,” he said. “They’re not spectacular, but they’re highly disciplined. They have good young forwards. Are they like us? I think yeah. That’s probably a good measure It will be a good matchup. There’s no question they’re better than the 12th seed.

    Despite the pairings, Woog likes the chances of his playoff-tested team.

    “I think we’re just playing real well right now,” he said. “Wherever we are, we’re going to play from here.”

    The Gophers’ opponents took a different route to the same result: a runner-up finish in its conference tourney. After spotting Michigan two goals early in the first period of the CCHA championship, Michigan State recovered enough to make Michigan work for a win.

    “Our guys had a tough time getting started,” says Spartan heach coach Ron Mason. “I don’t know if it was because we played until almost midnight the night before or what.”

    Mason isn’t shy about voicing his displeasure with the timing of the late playoff game. “They [the CCHA] need to move that game up. Starting a game at twenty to nine then expecting teams to play the next night doesn’t work.”

    Even with the shaky first few minutes, the Spartans played an excellent game against the Wolverines, who had many chances to put the game away, especially during the second period — when it seemed as though all Michigan State was doing was killing penalties.

    “I give our kids credit,” says Mason. “They dug in and held them off. Really, in the second period, when Michigan had all the power plays, they could have taken it.”

    In order to get to that championship matchup, the Spartans had to beat a Miami team that seemed to have put the game away in just two periods the night before.

    “We played well for one period or a period and a half against Miami,” says Mason. “From our standpoint, we wish we could have played more consistently. Technically, I though Miami was more consistent in the early part of the game.

    “It was a good game for us to win. It was the type of game that earlier in the season, we didn’t win. When we were down a bit before, players didn’t play the system. They become more individualistic, which created more goals against. Now they know that when they play the system, the system works.”

    Michigan State’s reward for winning two CCHA games is to face #4 Minnesota in the first round of West Regional action. Minnesota’s placement in the tournament has been criticized, as has Michigan’s.

    “I call it the Big Ten bracket,” quips Mason. “Michigan was not protected, and should have been protected given that they’re the number-one team in the country.”

    Mason himself is not unhappy with his team’s first-round draw, nor at the prospect of facing Michigan again should the Spartans advance. “We have as good a chance against Minnesota or Michigan as we would against Vermont, Cornell or anyone else.”

    Minnesota and Michigan State have met before this season, in the College Hockey Showcase, a game that Minnesota won 5-3. But Mason says that initial meeting will be of little help against the Golden Gophers this time around.

    “That game is so far back,” he says. “We’re not the same team now, and neither are they. If you think too much about what you did then, you’ll lose sight of what you’re capable of doing now.”

    Mason says the key to this game is to focus on the Spartans, not the Golden Gophers, the Wolverines, or anyone else. “We have to prepare ourselves. We need to play the kind of game we know we’re capable of. If we do that, we’ll play well.”

    Mason knows that goaltender Chad Alban is the heart of the Spartan defense. Alban had 19 saves against the Wolverines in the final, and was a solid last line of defense during the difficult second period.

    “He’s been playing really well,” says Mason. “I think he’s been the best goaltender in the CCHA since January. That’s the one area of our team we know we can count on consistently. He’s the reason we know we can win big games.”

    The junior goaltender has certainly been the hardest-working goaltender in the CCHA, putting in 2,212 minutes in the Spartan goal. Alban’s numbers also prove what Mason claims about consistency. His GAA is just 2.63, and his save percentage is a hair off ninety percent at .896.

    Steve’s Pick: The deck is indeed stacked against the Gophers — two Michigan teams playing in their home state against Minnesota. If Woog continues to belabor the point, his players may start believing themselves that they don’t have a prayer. Michigan State over the Gophers, then Michigan cruising past the weary Spartans.

    Paula’s Pick: Michigan State has great goaltending, good defense, and some firepower, and Mike York is one of the best players in the CCHA. But the Spartans have had an inconsistent season for a reason; they don’t play like a team consistently. Minnesota 4-3.

    No. 2 North Dakota (28-10-2) vs. Miami-Cornell winner
    Sunday, Mar. 23, 2 p.m. EST

    North Dakota shared the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s regular-season championship with Minnesota, then topped the Golden Gophers 4-3 in the conference’s tournament championship. Emotion abounded after the Fighting Sioux won the overtime showdown in St. Paul.

    “We’re pretty pleased, obviously,” said UND coach Dean Blais. “That’s the first time the University of North Dakota has been in the championship game since the tournament started (in 1987-88). So winning was just gravy. It couldn’t have happened at a better time, since we were recovering from a lot of injuries.”

    Blais said his players wanted to beat the Gophers. Bad. And now that they have, the results have been dynamite.

    “I think that was more important to the players than it was to us (coaches). They had a thought in mind to prove to them we were the better team, in their rink (the St. Paul Civic Center) and before their crowd. I don’t know if winning in overtime really does that, but we played at least as well as they did.”

    Still, there was much to gain by beating Minnesota. A first-round bye and the two seed in the West Regional were the biggest prizes. Win one game, and the Sioux are in the Final Four.

    “Don Lucia brought it up to me, saying that’s so important,” Blais said of a conversation with the Colorado College coach. “We have an opportunity to attain that. Our players were aware of how important that was. To go out and do it, in the Civic Center, was another thing.”

    This is North Dakota’s first appearance in the NCAA tournament since the 1989-90 season. That club won 28 games, a mark already reached by the 1996-97 squad. The Sioux have won five NCAA titles, but none since 1987.

    Blais figures that bye or no bye, the competition will be rugged.

    “Miami’s had kind of the same year we have had,” he said. “They have a lot of wins. They really played well against the top teams in their conference.

    “We don’t know lot about Cornell. But we have a first-hand opportunity to watch them Saturday afternoon. It doesn’t matter what we will have watched on tape before then. Things change — your power play changes, your penalty kill changes. So it’s a huge advantage watching them. Now, we can match lines.”

    The Sioux bring some pretty hot players to the tournament of 12. Forward David Hoogsteen was the MVP of the WCHA’s Final Five; his brother, Kevin, goaltender Aaron Schweitzer and defenseman Curtis Murphy were all-tournament picks. Murphy, David Hoogsteen and forward Jason Blake were named to the All-WCHA first team.

    “They’re real excited,” Blais said of his players. “They have an opportunity to be on espn2 live, to see the other teams, to witness the impact of the whole NCAA championship. Enthusiasm in the community is way up, too. It’s probably about a 10-hour drive, so we’ll have a lot of North Dakota fans. We’ll get a lot from Minneapolis, Chicago and the Detroit area, too. We’ll have a good following.”

    Jayson’s Pick: If the Big Red survive their first-round matchup with Randy Robitaille and Miami, and if they can handle the Sioux’ Jason Blake, then Cornell has a chance. Cornell is pretty good at shutting down the big guys, but North Dakota is too balanced, and fatigue might be a factor. North Dakota 4, Cornell 2.

    Steve’s Pick: Miami should dispatch Cornell with haste, and North Dakota will be rested and ready. The Sioux may struggle a bit with the jitters, but will pull away late.

    No. 1 Michigan vs. Minnesota-Michigan State winner
    Sunday, Mar. 23, 5:30 p.m. EST

    Defending champ Michigan enters the NCAA Tournament as the top seed in the West after beating Bowling Green, 7-2 in the CCHA semifinals, and Michigan State in the title game. Wolverine head coach Red Berenson thinks that Michigan State and Minnesota may have reason to complain about their seedings in the tournament.

    “I don’t know if it’s fair for them to play the top seed so soon. I think [the NCAA selection committee] picked the right teams, but I don’t know how they seed them. I don’t know if they’re worried about ticket sales or crowds or what.”

    He hastens to add, “I’m not complaining. If you’re going make it to the NCAA Tournament, you’re going to play the top teams in the country.”

    Berenson says that the game against Michigan State helped prepare his hockey team for the game — or games — ahead. “I think it helped our team more than any game we’ve played recently. It really was like single-elimination playoff hockey.”

    Berenson made a point of saying how much the CCHA championship means to him after Saturday’s victory. There has been speculation all season about whether Michigan can repeat as NCAA champions, and Berenson didn’t want the CCHA title to be lost in other post-season talk.

    This year, says Berenson, his players won’t be distracted by the media attention and the awe of NCAA Tournament play. “It should not be an issue, because most of our team has been there. I think our whole team is pretty playoff-experienced.”

    Berenson says that no matter who his Wolverines play Sunday — Minnesota or Michigan State — the game will be tough. “They really are two different teams, but the games are really going to come down to hard work. We’ve played them both during the regular season, so I don’t think there will be any surprises. Minnesota may have that extra weapon with Crowley on defense.”

    Berenson says he wants both Minnesota and Michigan State to play hard Saturday. “I just hope they really have a tough game with each other to soften up whoever we have to play.”

    The Wolverines have a bye through the first round, which Berenson says is not always a good thing. “Having the bye is not necessarily the big advantage. Sometimes you play and get your nervousness all out in that first game.”

    When Michigan State had to come from behind late last Friday night, the Spartans seemed a little fatigued in the last stages of the Michigan game. In that respect, Berenson says a bye may be an advantage after all. “At the end of the game, if the other team has just played a tough game and the game is close, that rest might be a factor.”

    Berenson says that he doesn’t think teams that the Wolverines may face will be approaching the games thinking about upsetting the defending champions. “When you get to the NCAAs, it’s life-or-death hockey; staying alive is more important than beating Michigan. I don’t think the upset is as big an issue in the NCAA as it would have been in the regular season.”

    Even if the Wolverines face the Spartans Sunday? “Each team is going to play hard to survive, no matter who they play.”

    Paula’s Pick: Any team that plays Michigan is going to have to play very, very hard: this is is the most playoff-experienced team in the NCAA tournament. With nine seniors and a junior goaltender — Marty Turco — who won last year’s national title, the Wolverines will be difficult to beat. Also, Michigan has a come-from-behind ability that is second to none; when the Wolverines want to take the momentum, they do. Michigan by two goals over either opponent.

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