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Lovell Will Not Play this Season

USCHO Staff Report
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UMass-Amherst senior forward Tim Lovell has decided to sit out the remainder of this season as a redshirt year, and play a full season with the team in 1997-98 the school announced Thursday.

“It was a tough decision for me, but I think I’ve made the right one,” said Lovell. “Playing next season will give me a chance to complete my degree, which has always been one of my primary goals.”

Lovell transferred to UMass this summer after three seasons at Maine. Lovell had the option of playing the second half of this season, or sitting out the entire season under NCAA requirements regarding transfers and academic credits. He did not have to sit out the usual mandatory one-year because Maine was banned from the NCAA Tournament this summer by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

“I think Tim has made a great decision for both himself and our program,” said UMass head coach Joe Mallen. “The time will give him an opportunity to complete his degree program, plus he will make an immediate impact on our team that will have lost two of its top scorers next season.”

At Maine, Lovell had 108 career points, including 51 goals in 115 games played. In 1995-96 he was an All-Hockey East selection for the Black Bears.

Face Off: Week 3

USCHO Staff Report
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Welcome to U.S. College Hockey Online’s roundtable discussion. Each week, various members of our staff take on a hockey topic. 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.

Who will — or Should — Win the Hobey Baker Award This Year?

Tim Brule, USCHO Coordinator: Who should win the Hobey Baker this year? The French connection. Yes, both Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin, two guys who have been lacing ’em up since middle school together. I have only had one chance to see them play live, at last year’s NCAA Frozen Four, on the slurpee the folks in Cincinnati called ice. But they made a huge impression on me.

Take a look at last year’s numbers…

     GP G A PTS
Eric Perrin   38 29 56 85
Martin St. Louis 35 29 56 85

…and you can see why it’s hard to distinguish between the two. They feed off each other, like no other college hockey tandem in recent memory.

Who will win the Hobey Baker? Brendan Morrison of Michigan. Why, he played like a man possessed in the NCAA Tournament with a broken forearm, which has immortalized the man amongst media types. My big knock against him is his health. If he stays healthy, he puts up astonishing numbers. But last year he missed eight games, and when your team only plays 36 regular-season games, this is something to worry about.

Deron Treadwell, News Editor: It’s hard to say who should win, especially early in the season when any selection is bound to be influenced by exposure and grounded in simple guesswork.

So much can happen after Christmas that could decide the Hobey. A top contender could get injured, or a dark horse could only push himself into the limelight. It makes the game of picking a top-contender much like journalistic Russian Roulette.

Let’s spin …

If you look at the Hobey Baker as an individual award, then I think your leader has to be Chris Drury from Boston University. Last season Drury was a Hobey finalist, but overshadowed by teammate Jay Pandolfo, despite being neck-and-neck scoring-wise all season long.

The Terriers aren’t loaded with the same kind of talent they have had in the past and Drury is the cream of the crop. He’s carrying this team right now, and leading Hockey East in scoring. His numbers may not be as impressive nationally as others, but at the same time he isn’t blessed with a deep supporting class either to help pad those stats.

It’s hard to argue against guys like John Madden and Brendan Morrison of Michigan for the Hobey. Morrison has been especially impressive the last two seasons, despite being injured for a stretch both years. Madden is really turning it up this year, and had a six-assist night Dec. 7.

But these guys play on a very deep team, with three or four lines that can score goals and create offense. Boston University doesn’t have that this season, and that is what makes what Drury is doing so much more impressive.

Lee Urton, Media Relations: Even if the Selection Committee passed a special amendment allowing for St. Louis and Perrin to be nominated jointly, there is still another guy in Burlington who may split the vote.

Brendan Morrison is an exceptional player, but his team doesn’t need him to be. This year, he is about third or fourth on an incredible team. Despite an outstanding career, the Hobey doesn’t belong here.

A defenseman hasn’t won the Hobey since 1984, and only two have ever won it. They are not flashy enough. But in my mind, Mike Crowley may very well be the best player in the nation.

Should win: Mike Crowley, Jr., D, Minnesota Will win: Brendan Morrison, Sr., C, Michigan

Dave Hendrickson, Hockey East Correspondent: I’m going to be a total sleazeball and pick two players on my ballot, Tim Thomas and Chris Drury. This may be a case of indecisiveness — but maybe not.

Thomas dominates games like no other netminder in the East. Not only does he make the spectacular saves, he also intimidates shooters, who become convinced that they must be perfect to beat him, and miss entirely. Thomas may lead the universe in turning opponents’ scoring opportunities into shots wide of goal. Although you have to go back to 1988 to find the last time a goaltender won the award (Robb Stauber), this may be the year to repeat that honor.

The Chris Drury Scoring Machine can’t be stopped. Still only a junior, he leads the country with 16 goals; no padded stats with cheap assists here. And even when he piles up the helpers, like he did in one five-point game against Providence, he really is doing most of the work. If he does win the Hobey, there will be no legends about him being awarded assists while sitting on the bench.

My apologies to all the West candidates, especially Brendan Morrison, who I expect will win it. I just haven’t seen these players enough, if at all, to include them on my ballot. Then again, maybe I could split my vote 10 ways …

The WCHA At The Half

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It’s December already, hockey fans. The WCHA season is nearing its halfway point, and that can mean only one thing: media frenzy.

That’s right. If there’s one thing media types love to do, it’s stop in the middle of a season and start pontificating — handing out laurels, wondering who’s going to do this and that and trying to guess which teams are headed for Bigger and Better Things. In other words, it’s time to inject a lot of hyperbole and wild speculation into a perfectly good season.

Well, far be it from me to argue with tradition. Let’s see what we can dig up here …

Forward of the Half-Year: Dave Hoogsteen, North Dakota. When the WCHA coaches’ preseason poll came out, UND was listed fifth. But after a three-point weekend against conference power Colorado College, they’re 11-4-1, first in the WCHA standings.

Hoogsteen, a 5-7 sophomore from Thunder Bay, ON, has been a big part of that. He’s tied for the league lead in scoring (11-12–23) with linemate Jason Blake, who has one fewer goal. One might argue that this award is rightly a two- or even three-man effort — Hoogsteen, Blake and teammate Ian Kallay, but Hoogsteen gets the nod here.

Hoogsteen comes off a freshman season during which he scored 20 points for a middle-of-the-pack Sioux team, and has only improved from there. He has been the focal point of the Sioux offense this season (with a big assist to Blake, in particular), and has helped lift his teammates to their lofty standard of performance.

Runners-up: Blake; Kallay; Mike Peluso, Minnesota-Duluth; Erik Rasmussen, Minnesota.

Defenseman of the Half-Year: Mike Crowley, Minnesota. Gopher fans watched Crowley put up huge scoring numbers (17-46–63) last year — even bigger for a defenseman. Hobey Baker winner Brian Bonin probably deserved some of the credit for that, and with him gone, Crowley’s offensive production is down so far this year (2-10–12 through Dec. 9)

Don’t be fooled. Crowley is now anchoring the defense on a team loaded with very young talent, and he’s contributing with his speed and passing, in ways that don’t show up on the scoreboard. But they do show up in the Carlson College Hockey Potentials, which rank college hockey teams based on overall offense and defense.

The CCHP has Minnesota second in defense, despite the fact that the Gopher blue line sports three freshmen, and two players with ten games’ combined experience at the start of the year. That, in large part, is Crowley’s doing. Crowley is probably the leader for the Gophers. He might be overlooked for the Hobey Baker this season, but no one in college hockey means more to his team. Gopher fans are praying that he stays in school for one more year.

Runners-up: Eric Rud, Colorado College; Curtis Murphy, North Dakota.

Rookie of the Half-Year: Brant Nicklin, Minnesota-Duluth. It’s one thing to ask a freshman to step in and contribute as part of a three-man line, or to help at the blue line. It’s entirely another to put him between the pipes and tell him that he and he alone is the last line of defense.

Well, that’s what Mike Sertich did at UMD this season, and guess what: Brant Nicklin has done everything anyone could have asked. With the departure of netminding stalwart Taras Lendzyk after last season, Nicklin has debuted as the Bulldogs’ number-one goaltender. Starting every game but one this year, he currently sports a 9-5-1 record, with a GAA of 2.71 and a save percentage of .907.

Runners-up: Dave Spehar, Minnesota; Toby Petersen, Colorado College; Stephen Wagner, Denver.

Goalie of the Half-Year: Brian Leitza, St. Cloud State. In a slightly thin year for goaltending, this guy has really taken off. A 6-2 junior from Lake Villa, Ill., Leitza leads the WCHA in save percentage (.922) and goals-against average (2.68), and sports a 6-1-0 record overall for the 9-3-2 Huskies.

This is Leitza’s third year as a regular in net for the Huskies — he was the team’s co-MVP last year. But his performance has improved dramatically this season, and without him, there’s no way SCSU is making a run at the Final Five.

Runners-up: Brant Nicklin, Minnesota-Duluth; Toby Kvalevog, North Dakota; Stephen Wagner, Denver.

Coach of the Half-Year: Dean Blais, North Dakota. This one’s a no-brainer. In just three years, Blais has taken a team which had fallen from prominence and remade it into a contender. The Sioux’ steady improvement has culminated this season in an 11-4-1 record, earning the respect of hockey fans nationwide and a number-three ranking in the Dec. 9 Around the Rinks/USCHO Poll.

Runner-up: Mike Sertich, Minnesota-Duluth.

Now, a bit of speculation. Gaze into the crystal ball, and don’t say you weren’t warned.

Comeback of the Second Half: Denver University. Remember, you read it here first. The Pioneers were highly regarded during the preseason, but lost three straight to open the year. Since then, they have coasted to a 6-6-2 record, 4-6-2 in the WCHA.

Consequently, the Pioneers have fallen off the radar of most WCHA observers. But a break last weekend will be followed by a run of six home games, after which the Pioneers visit Minnesota in a series that could make or break their season. Don’t be surprised to see DU make a move toward the top, and claim a spot in the Final Five come spring.

Now it’s time to really reach. If these turn out to be right, tell all your friends about the genius working down at U.S. College Hockey Online. Otherwise, this has obviously all been a Communist plot to undermine the quality of college hockey reporting. That’s the story, and this writer is sticking to it.

WCHA Player of the Year: Jason Blake, North Dakota. This one’s really a mess, partly because the award is somewhat dependent upon team performance — if the Gophers really heat it up, this could be Crowley, or if Denver comes on, Antti Laaksonen could be the man.

But this is a reach, after all. Yes, it says up above that David Hoogsteen has outperformed Blake thus far — just barely. Blake is showing signs of coming to the front for the Fighting Sioux. Last weekend, in UND’s most important series to date, all he did was score four goals, including a Saturday hat trick to lift his team to a 7-3 victory and a three-point weekend. Performances like those are what separate a player from his peers, and a team from the pack.

Working against Blake is the fact that he’s just a sophomore, and was not especially highly touted before the season. So this pick is really about half prognostication, half wild guess. Nonetheless, Blake just might end up with the best year of any forward in the WCHA, and that could be enough.

Runners-up: Crowley; Laaksonen; Mike Peluso, Minnesota-Duluth; Brian Swanson, Colorado College; Dave Paradise, St. Cloud State.

MacNaughton Cup (regular-season champions): Minnesota. The Golden Gophers, currently fifth in the polls, have shown that a perennially-strong program is once again a force in the WCHA. Thanks to a non-conference stop at the College Hockey Showcase and a weekend off, the Gophers are only tied for fourth in the conference. But that is a deceptive statistic, one which belies the fact that the Gophers have been the strongest team in the WCHA so far.

Don’t believe it? Look at their record against other top teams, both in and out of the WCHA. They swept highly-regarded North Dakota last month, including a convincing 10-6 victory in the second game of that series; also, Minnesota split a series with Colorado College, winning easily 5-2 before losing a heartbreaking 2-1 contest in which CC spent the entire third period playing dump-and-run.

Yes, all of those games were at Mariucci Arena, but they were also early on, when a young defense was still unsure of itself and an almost-as-young offense had trouble scoring consistently.

Then, at the Showcase, the Gophers handily defeated No. 7 Michigan State and took No. 1 Michigan to overtime before losing in the Wolverines’ back yard. Those games, the Gophers’ most recent, showed a youthful group of blue-chip recruits melding with established talent to create a buzzsaw of a hockey team. Look out.

Broadmoor Trophy (tournament champions): Minnesota. If the synthesis of fresh faces and experienced talent continues, this team could be well-nigh unbeatable by playoff time.

This Week in the CCHA: December 6, 1996

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CCHA PREVIEW: Dec. 4-7, 1996

CCHA Preview: Dec. 4-7, 1996 by Paula C. Weston

The CCHA became a more interesting place this week. The Lake Superior State Lakers vaulted into first place by winning four games in six days, and taking advantage of non-conference games for second-place Michigan State, third-place Miami, and fourth-place Michigan.

The middle ground got muddier as Ferris State stopped Notre Dame’s momentum and gained sole possession of fifth place in the conference with two wins to complete a season sweep of the Irish for the season. Bowling Green and Ohio State split a home-and-home series, with each team perhaps showing what it’s truly capable of this season. Western Michigan also split, in a non-conference series with Providence, and is tied with Bowling Green and Notre Dame for sixth place.

Ohio State is alone in ninth, since Lake Superior’s fortune came at the expense of Alaska-Fairbanks. The Nanooks remain in last place thanks to their three losses at home to LSSU.

Any way you look at it, the CCHA is a more slippery division than it was a week ago. Just four points separate last-place Alaska-Fairbanks from fifth-place Ferris State. And with the scant schedule that rounds out 1996, things could even out even more. Lake Superior, in particular, is idle this week.

Last week’s record in picks: 11-5 Overall record in picks: 25-10

Western Michigan (6-5-1, 3-4-1 CCHA) at Michigan (13-1-1, 6-1-1 CCHA) Wednesday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m., Yost Arena, Ann Arbor, MI

The Broncos of Western Michigan are getting help from emerging goaltenders: sophomore Matt Barnes and freshman Peet Moseley. In a split last week with Providence, Barnes made 29 stops in a losing effort, while Moseley saved the second game for the Broncos by recording 38 saves in a game in which Western Michigan was outshot 42-24.

Of course, when a game comes down to goaltending in the CCHA, you want to have the ever-consistent junior goaltender from Michigan, Marty Turco, whose save percentage of .894 ranks him among the best.

These teams might be more even offensively than one would think. While Michigan’s John Madden has 16 points on the year, and several other Wolverines are at 10 or more, there are several Broncos’ in double digits as well.

The team with the more experienced goaltending — and the potential for spectacular offense — will prevail.

PICK: Michigan 6-2

Miami (11-3-0, 7-1-0 CCHA) at Western Michigan (6-5-1, 3-4-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Lawson Arena, Kalamazoo, MI

The well-oiled Miami machine pulls into Kalamazoo for the only full-weekend series in the CCHA. What used to be a tentatively confident Miami team is now playing like it’s used to winning.

Miami coach Mark Mazzoleni says that an overall team effort is responsible for Miami’s success. "The biggest thing that’s helped us is our depth. Our so-called fourth line has helped us a lot. They’re playing as good as our top lines. We rotate in seven, not the standard six, defenders. We’re playing everyone on the team, so everyone feels as though he’s contributing."

Western Michigan will need all of its firepower to face the CCHA’s stingiest defense. Miami has allowed only 34 goals against this season; a big part of that is the league-topping goaltending duo of juniors Trevor Prior and Adam Lord. Western can expect to see both of them this weekend, as Mazzoleni is perfectly happy with a rotation. "Our team has confidence in them," he said.

Who wouldn’t? Prior’s save percentage is .920, Lord’s is .922. Prior’s goals against average is just 1.51; Lord — the slacker — has a GAA of 2.00.

Still, Mazzoleni is ready for the Broncos to play hard, fighting for that middle ground in the CCHA. "I expect a really tough series. There have always been very competitive games between us, no matter where we are in the standings. Western has one of the best defensive cores in our league."

Even though Western is fighting for position, Miami is on a tear right now. Only one Miami player is under in the plus/minus ratio, and he’s at -1 in league play only. Ever hear the phrase "Cinderella story"? Well, you’re reading it.

PICKS:Miami 4-1, 3-2

Ohio State (3-10-0, 3-5-0 CCHA) at Ferris State (7-10-1, 4-8-0 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Ewigleben Arena, Big Rapids, MI

Ferris State junior goaltender Jeff Blashill came up with 51 saves in two games to help the Bulldogs sweep Notre Dame last week. Freshman Mike Szkodzinski started in goal for Ferris Friday, but was replaced by Blashill after allowing two goals before the 10:00 mark. In Friday’s game, Blashill saved all 29 shots he faced, and for his efforts was selected as the Bauer/CCHA Defensive Player of the Week.

Outstanding goaltending alone doesn’t guarantee wins. Ferris has four players with double-digit points, including senior forward Gordy Hunt, who had two goals in Friday’s game. But no real offensive leader has emerged for the Bulldogs.

"We don’t really have a go-to guy up front," said assistant coach Drew Famulak. "We seem to be getting things done by committee."

That could be good news for the Ohio State Buckeyes, whose defense is suffering this season. The Buckeyes are starting to feel the loss of their stellar goaltending duo of Askey and Brown, who both left after last season. In the net for the Buckeyes are freshmen Tom Connerty and Ray Aho. Connerty got shelled Saturday in losing to Bowling Green, and his goals against climbed to 5.54. Sunday, the Buckeyes played up to their potential, dominating a game against BGSU. Aho got his first collegiate win, but his goals against average is 4.09. Yikes.

Still, the Buckeyes looked impressive Sunday, with a newly-formed line of sophomore Chris Richards, junior Todd Compeau, and senior Steve Brent that has the potential to do what the Buckeyes have the most trouble doing — scoring points. Brent and Compeau each had two goals in Sunday’s game.

Buckeye coach John Markell has respect for Ferris State. "They’re playing very well. It’s a key game. We’ve already won the series with them, but we need the points."

Said Famulak, "We’re just trying to build on the success we had last weekend."

PICK: Ohio State 6-4

Notre Dame (4-9-1, 3-7-1 CCHA) at Michigan State (10-5-0, 8-2-0 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, MI

The Irish need some of their namesakes’ fabled luck. Last week, Notre Dame was hoping to pick up at least a few points, with three games in six days. Some analysts (hmm-hmm) thought the Irish would use the series against Ferris State to continue their climb in the CCHA. Instead, Ferris swept Notre Dame for the season, and the Irish gained no ground.

They’re not likely to gain any against the Spartans, either. The Spartans split last weekend in the College Hockey Showcase, beating Wisconsin before losing a tough game to Minnesota 5-3.

Notre Dame has a sleepy offense, and goaltending that needs to improve. A trio of sophomores — Aniket Dhadphale, Benoit Cotnoir, and Brian Urick — have double-digit points, but the team has scored only 39 league points to their opponents’ 52. Goaltender Matt Eisler’s save percentage is .884.

Michigan State coach Ron Mason, however, is taking nothing for granted. "All I know is that they’re a much improved team this year over last year, in depth and talent," said Mason.

"It will be a tough game. In any of the games we had with them last year, they were very competitive. It seems like Ferris may have their number, so you can’t judge them by that series."

But you can judge Michigan State by the numbers: 68 goals for and 49 against. Two Spartans — Sean Berens and Mike York — among the top-ten scorers in the CCHA.

Notre Dame will have to wait until Saturday to pick up CCHA points.

PICK: Michigan State 6-2

Alaska-Fairbanks (2-12-0, 2-10-0 CCHA) at Bowling Green (7-8-1, 3-8-1 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH

The Falcons broke their eight-game losing streak last Saturday against OSU, only to meet and lose to a different OSU team Sunday afternoon. Falcons coach Buddy Powers was happy with the win, but unhappy about the way his team played all weekend.

"Our boys just have to play harder. They’re not playing hard enough," said Powers after the loss to OSU. "If you don’t play hard, you don’t get to score goals.

"Overall, we have to be grittier. Different guys keep making big mistakes defensively. It seems when we make a big mistake, it ends up in our net. You’ve got to score more than three goals to win a hockey game."

Scoring goals is not the only problem BGSU has. Goaltending seems to be the main one. Senior Bob Petrie has an .843 save percentage, with a 4.42 goals-against average. Sophomore Mike Savard is playing little better. With Savard’s .863 save percentage, and a 4.38 GAA, the two are virtually identical in the net.

The Nanook offensive slump may be what saves Bowling Green in this game, or it may not. The Nanooks have scored only 40 goals this season, but Ohio State had scored only 34 before its meeting with the Falcons last Sunday.

The Alaska-Fairbanks goaltending is little better than that of Bowling Green. Chris Marvel has a save percentage of .868, and Ian Perkins is about the same at .862. Both are allowing more than four goals per game.

But there’s something wrong with Bowling Green. The team, fans and coaches seem dispirited. Two weeks ago, Powers said that no one is afraid of Bowling Green. The Nanooks may be fearless Friday night.

PICK: Alaska-Fairbanks 5-4

Alaska-Fairbanks (2-12-0, 2-10-0 CCHA) at Notre Dame (4-9-1, 3-7-1 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., JACC, South Bend, IN

This could be the game to watch. Each team is recovering from a sweep — the Nanooks at the hands of the Lakers, the Irish from the sting of the Bulldogs. Each team is hungry. Each team needs this win. Only one can have it.

When you look at scoring, the teams seem evenly matched. Notre Dame has scored 39 goals and allowed 52; UAF has scored 40 and allowed 61. But Notre Dame has a significant advantage in every other category: league goaltending, power play, and penalty-kill.

This game is going to come down to who wants it more. Notre Dame would gain significantly more ground with two points than would Alaska-Fairbanks. Throw in the home crowd, and the Irish have the edge.

PICK: Notre Dame 4-2

Michigan (13-1-1, 6-1-1 CCHA) at Ferris State (7-10-1, 4-8-0 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Ewigleben Arena, Big Rapids, MI

Normally, you don’t talk about Michigan last in any given preview. Without being disrespectful to either team, however, this is not exactly the game of the week.

Michigan continues its offensive dominance in nearly every game it plays. Coach Red Berenson admitted that Michigan was outplayed last week in its game against Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase, but the Wolverines still won the game. And they won the game the same way they won the NCAA Championship — an overtime goal scored by Brendan Morrison. Magic.

The mark of a good team is that it can pull a victory from defeat. If the Wolverines can come back to win in overtime after blowing a lead to the No. 5 team in the country, they should be able to handle a team that has yet to make a mark on the CCHA.

The key to this game is not how many goals Michigan is capable of scoring — they’ve scored 16 more goals than Ferris State has in CCHA play this season — but how few they’ve allowed. They are the second-tightest team in the CCHA, second only to Miami, which has a phenomenal goaltending duo. Michigan has allowed only 37 goals this season, and done it with one goaltender, Marty Turco. Ferris, in contrast, has allowed 69 goals this season. There’ll be a few more in this one.

At this point, Michigan is too, too solid for Ferris to beat.

PICK: Michigan 7-2

Apologies to the Providence hockey organization for mistakes in last week’s preview column. I wrote, "Providence swept Northeastern last week, squeaking by 4-3 in OT on Friday, and rolling 8-0 on Saturday. Overall, however, Providence is not exactly an offensive powerhouse. Providence has no player with more than three points in league play, and no one with more than five points in overall play." Providence did not need overtime to win the Friday game. Also, before that game, Providence had 11 players with more than three points in league play (three players had 10 points) and 13 players had more than five points overall. At that point, David Green led the team with 12 points in 11 game.

Paula C. Weston is the CCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Paula C. Weston . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in Hockey East: December 6, 1996

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Hockey East Preview: Dec. 5-8, 1996 by Dave Hendrickson

BC coach Jerry York’s 500th win (see Jerry York: The Road To 500 Wins, elsewhere on USCHO), New Hampshire’s taking of the Governors’ Cup, and BU’s two losses led the Hockey East news last week. The league returns to its usual slate of home-and-home series after a week of non-league games.

Last week’s record in picks: 10-7 (Tuesday game pending) Season record in picks: 50-26

No. 2 New Hampshire (11-2-0, 8-0-0 HE) vs. Merrimack (3-8-1, 2-5-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA Saturday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH

New Hampshire won the second Governors’ Cup, beating host Vermont 8-6 and then Maine 7-2. Since the semifinal game against the Catamounts paired two top-ten teams, many considered that game to be the de facto championship. Vermont jumped out in front 2-1, dominating the first period with a shot advantage of 19-9 before UNH struck for five goals in the second.

"Matile kept us in there in that first period," said UNH coach Dick Umile. "They were getting some pretty good shots out in front, but he’d stop the first one and then we’d clear it after that. But they were getting scoring opportunities. St. Louis’ line was pretty exciting. But in the second period we took the game right away from them and exploded. We gave them a couple [of] soft goals in the third period to make it close. But once we got going in the second period I thought the guys played great."

Umile didn’t consider the passionate Catamount home crowd the reason for his team’s slow start. "We look forward to going up to UVM. It’s one of the premier places to play in college hockey. I don’t think the reason we weren’t playing well in the first period was because of the crowd. If anything, I think the crowd helps you in games like that and the guys just rally together and play hard."

In the championship game, the Wildcats again used a second-period explosion, scoring four unanswered goals to put away the Maine Black Bears. The UNH offense’s penchant for scoring goals in bunches has finished off many teams that have hung on for a period or two.

"Hopefully we won’t get so used to these second period [outbursts] that we keep waiting one period," said Umile. "The good thing is that we’ve got a very balanced team. We really have six forwards that can put the puck in the net at any time. And we’re getting it from the freshman line too. Once we get going we’re capable of scoring in bunches because we have some pretty good goal-scorers here."

Mark Mowers earned tournament MVP and Hockey East Player of the Week honors for his five goals and two assists. He now ranks third in overall league scoring with 10 goals and 11 assists in 13 games. Defenseman Jayme Filipowicz was a Hockey East Rookie of the Week Honorable Mention for his +8 performance in the tournament.

UNH faces a Merrimack team that swept them early last year, precipitating a downward spiral the Wildcats never pulled out of.

"There’s no secret that they’ve given us a tough time," said Umile. "With us at the top of Hockey East, they’ll really be going after us. We expect it to be a tough weekend and definitely respect them. They never get any credit for how well they play. Merrimack may not win a lot of games, but they always work hard and they take you right to the end. Hopefully we can come out on top."

The only good thing for Merrimack last weekend was that their two losses were against non-conference teams. Facing two very winnable games, the Warriors dropped a 6-4 contest with Dartmouth and then lost 5-2 to Rensselaer.

"Both of our opponents played very focused and worked hard," said Merrimack coach Ron Anderson. "And unfortunately we were kind of casual. Even in the RPI game when we were listed with 40 shots, we didn’t have 40 scoring opportunities. We talk about being prepared, but maybe it’s human nature to get lazy around the holidays."

A similar effort against UNH could result in double-digit goals for the buzzsaw Wildcats.

"Maybe it’s the best thing for us," said Anderson. "There’s nothing wrong with playing the best." In fact, Merrimack’s only point in their recent 0-4-1 stretch was against third-ranked BU. "Hopefully, we can iron out some of the kinks and have a good performance going into the exam break.

"We have a lot of players coming back from injuries," continued Anderson. "All but Ryan Guzior have been cleared to play. But conditioning is a key. None of the returning players have their game legs yet. We’re trying to work them back in there."

John Jakopin will remain on defense. Although the coaching staff had hoped to move him back up front to fill a power forward role, a rattled blueline corps needs him more.

PICK: UNH sweeps, 5-3 at Merrimack and 7-2 at home.

UMass-Amherst (5-7-0, 2-6-0 HE) vs. Providence (6-6-1, 4-3-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI NESN Sunday, 2 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

Providence split a home series with Western Michigan, winning the opener 4-3 in overtime before dropping the return match, 5-4.

"Friday night was a good hockey game," said PC coach Paul Pooley. "They were up 2-0 and then we came back. Both teams had chances to win. We were fortunate to win it in OT." Travis Dillabough got the game-winner, his fifth of the season.

"Saturday night we played really well," continued Pooley. "We just made some major mental mistakes. They had five shots in the second period and scored four goals. If you look at the scoresheet, they scored four goals within 19 seconds." Those backbreaking sequences occurred in the second period, when a Western Michigan goal at 3:37 preceded another one 10 seconds later, and then a goal at 9:51 was repeated in just nine seconds.

"We just broke down mentally and made some young mistakes. It’s not physical, it’s mental. We’re just not making the right decisions at the right time," Pooley said.

The Friar power play connected all weekend long, going 2 for 4 on Friday and 3 for 4 on Saturday. "Our power play moved the puck well," said Pooley. "Obviously it had some success. But you know, when your power play is going like that you should win the hockey game. We didn’t. It’s unfortunate."

Providence faces ninth-ranked Vermont in a Tuesday night match before this weekend’s home-and-home with UMass-Amherst.

"The weekend games are huge games for us. With UNH and BU out in front, everyone else is bunched in together. It would be great to get a couple wins against UMass going into Christmas break. It’s our goal to make sure we win so many series each year. We’ve already won two. We want to get number three out of the way. So they’re huge games."

UMass-Amherst dominated Air Force last weekend, 4-1 and 10-2.

"We had to play five of our first ten games against the top six teams in the country," said Minuteman coach Joe Mallen. Although they dropped all five, UMass-Amherst has posted a 5-2-0 record against unranked foes. "We’ve won four of the last five games — two against Air Force, one against Army, and one against Merrimack. That’s a pretty good stretch for us at this point in the program."

"Our special teams need to improve," said Mallen. "There’s no doubt about that. But I’m happy with our progress. We’re really playing a good up-tempo brand of hockey with good speed and quickness. We’re putting ourselves in a position where we can win any game on any night."

Mallen, like all other Hockey East coaches, looks at Providence and expects a tough, defensive struggle.

"Their system works really well in their rink," he said. "We’ve got to be prepared to play a grind-it-out kind of game."

PICK: Providence wins the grind-it-out game at home 4-3, but the underrated Minutemen get the split on their larger ice surface 5-4.

UMass-Lowell (6-6-0, 4-4-0 HE) vs. Northeastern (2-9-2, 1-7-1 HE) Thursday, 7 p.m., Matthews Arena, Boston, MA Saturday, 7 p.m., Tully Forum, Lowell, MA

UMass-Lowell dropped both games in the Governors’ Cup, losing first to Maine 4-3 and then 6-4 to Vermont in the consolation game.

"Our game against Maine was just a great hockey game," said Lowell coach Tim Whitehead. "We had a 3-1 lead going into the third but we probably didn’t deserve it. Sometimes that happens. And I don’t think we were comfortable with that.

"It was very similar to the first time we played Maine, when we had a 4-1 lead in the first period and we may have deserved only a 2-1 lead. I think that allowed Maine to be a little more focused for the next period and it allowed our guys to almost loosen up a bit. We’re a pretty inexperienced team. We’re just not comfortable yet playing with that type of lead.

"But we’ve obviously played very well when we’re behind this year. We’ve had some great comeback wins, which is something we didn’t really do last year. That’s an encouraging thing. We almost did that the next night against Vermont. We were behind 2-0 and then 4-2 going into the third and we ended up tying it with a couple minutes left. Unfortunately, they got the game-winner and then an open-net goal."

This week his squad faces their old mentor, Bruce Crowder, for the first time.

"It’s going to be fun for all the guys on the team and definitely for myself," said Whitehead, who was Crowder’s assistant for five years. "It’ll be a great series. You’ve got two teams that weren’t supposed to have much success this year but both of them have surprised some teams. Anything could happen this weekend. Nothing would surprise me."

Northeastern tied Rensselaer 2-2 before dropping a 4-3 contest with Harvard.

"We’re playing better and that’s the big positive," said NU coach Bruce Crowder. "We lost to Harvard by a goal but we also killed off 12 out of 12 Harvard power plays. We just needed to play more five-on-five hockey. We have to keep focused and keep working. It isn’t going to happen overnight."

Crowder singled out captain Rick Schuhwerk and freshman goaltender Marc Robitaille for their play. "Rick has played consistent defense for us. He brings a lot of ‘positiveness’ to our team.

"And then you have Marc Robitaille," continued Crowder. "We had to have a conversation with him a week ago and tell him that he didn’t have to carry the whole team on his shoulders or be a hero. We just want him to learn from each night, get better, and improve his consistency. He’s seeing a lot of rubber this year, which is really a great situation for him. He’s getting a lot of experience with no pressure on him."

Crowder recalled his UMass-Lowell years fondly. "I have a lot of great memories. There were a lot of very, very positive moments for me there.

"I’m sure it will be a lot of fun for the Lowell kids playing against me for the first time. I’m sure they won’t have any trouble getting up for the game. But our kids won’t have any trouble getting up for this one either. Lowell knocked them out of the playoffs the last two years. So it should be a really good contest."

PICK: Northeastern ekes out a 5-4 win at home before the River Hawks get the split 6-3 back in their barn.

Maine (6-6-1, 1-4-1 HE) at Boston College (6-6-1, 3-3-1 HE) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

After a midweek 4-2 win over Northeastern, Boston College lost 6-3 to Clarkson before getting Jerry York his 500th career win with a come from behind 6-4 win at St. Lawrence.

"I told the team not to think about 500," said York. "We kid about it sometimes, but we’re focused on other things. We try to downplay individual achievements and emphasize our team goals."

Beyond the milestone win, the biggest news out of Chestnut Hill is that goalie Greg Taylor will return to play this weekend. The decision to play him in one game or two has not yet been made, but he will play in at least one.

In the interim, Mike Correia has filled in well, though not quite at Taylor’s level. "He started slowly," said York, "but he’s come on real strong. He’s had a tough stretch [with Taylor out], playing a lot of games in a short amount of time. But now he say say, ‘Hey, I can play at this level.’ "

York has emphasized keeping the shot totals down, a point even more important in Taylor’s absence. Prior to the Eagles’ road trip to Clarkson and St. Lawrence, they had held powerful UNH to 20 and 24 shots in losing efforts and then Northeastern to 23. On the road, however, they surrendered 33 to Clarkson and 39 to St. Lawrence. With totals like that, Taylor’s return gains added significance.

"Our power play is slowly getting better," said York. "We started out this season 0 for 18, but we’re looking a little more dangerous out there now." BC features sophomore Marty Reasoner and four freshmen — Mike Mottau, Jeff Farkas, Blake Bellefeuille and Kevin Caulfield — on its top man-advantage unit.

Bellefeuille earned Hockey East’s Rookie of the Week honors with a goal and an assist in all three BC games this past week. He is tied for the league lead in rookie scoring with eight goals and six assists in 12 games.

Maine came back for a 4-3 win in the semifinal round of the Governors’ Cup against Lowell before losing decisively to the second-ranked UNH Wildcats.

"I thought we played well against Lowell," said interim coach Greg Cronin. "We outshot them 31-15. As usual, we had to come from behind to win it. In the second period we outshot them 11-3 but were outscored 2-1, which has been a reflection of our entire season. But I thought we played a solid game defensively and the puck started to go in for us in the third period.

"Against New Hampshire I thought it was a good first period by both teams. Then they opened it up in the second period. They capitalized on some turnovers on our part. They’re a talented team. You turn the puck over in dangerous areas of the ice against them and they’re going to score. They took advantage of that and won the game decidedly, 7-2."

Walk-on goalie Javier Gorriti replaced Alfie Michaud in both games, earning his first Division I win, over UMass-Lowell. Although Cronin has delivered biting criticisms of Michaud this year, he supported his goalie this time. "Alfie’s playing real well," he said. Cronin said that he did not yet know whether Gorriti would play this weekend.

The many Black Bear injuries seem to be abating. Ben Guite missed the UNH game with an elbow injury and Bobby Stewart has been out with a knee problem. Cronin hopes to have them both back for the BC series.

PICK: Boston College sweeps, 5-4 and 4-2.

No. 3 Boston University (9-3-1, 7-0-1 HE) vs. Yale (3-4-1, 3-4-1 ECAC) Saturday, 7 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, CT

Boston University stunned its backers with back-to-back ECAC road losses last week, dropping games to St. Lawrence 2-0 and Clarkson 4-1.

Coach Jack Parker, who was not available for comment, was very upset with his team after the losses. The Daily Free Press quoted a livid Parker:

"I’m concerned with two or three individuals, and I’m concerned with the whole team’s demeanor," Parker said. "They’re banging sticks when they don’t score goals and mouthing off to the officials when they don’t like a call. It’s inappropriate behavior, and it detracts from the focus we’ll need to win."

Shane Johnson tops the list of likely receipients of Parker’s wrath. Johnson must serve a two-game suspension for a fight in the Clarkson game, his second fighting-related suspension this year. Other doghouse candidates are Chris Drury and Mike Sylvia, who both picked up 10-minute misconducts for arguing with the officials.

Johnson’s suspension depletes an already short-handed squad. The Terriers began the season with less depth than usual due to late defections to the pros, then lost freshman standout Dan Lacouture last week when he left school for personal reasons. Defenseman Chris Kelleher is listed as day-to-day due to a knee injury and may miss the Yale game, further thinning the blueline gang.

In past years, missing a few players for a game against Yale would be no big deal. Last year the Bulldogs finished in last place in the ECAC, going 7-23-1 overall and 4-17-1 in league play. They weren’t a particularly competitive last place either, giving up more goals than any other ECAC team and coming within two goals of finishing last in goals scored as well. They then graduated their only player who merited any league honors, leading scorer and defensive standout John Emmons.

So how are the Bulldogs hovering near .500?

They’ve done it by beating not only last place Brown, but also by knocking off two of the ECAC’s strongest teams, Cornell and Clarkson. In their last four games they’ve topped Cornell (4-3), lost to Colgate (4-3 in OT) and Princeton (4-2), and then defeated Brown (4-3 in OT).

Despite being expected to lack any firepower at all, they have three scorers among the ECAC top ten. Rookie of the Week Jeff Hamilton, a 5-10, 165 pound freshman out of Avon Old Farms, sits in third place with four goals and six assists for ten points. Sophomore John Chyz (3-6–9) has already exceeded his five-point total of last year. And junior defenseman Daryl Jones, formerly a defensive specialist, has also cracked the top ten with 1-7–8 totals.

PICK: BU 6-3.

Dave Hendrickson is the Hockey East Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Dave Hendrickson . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in the ECAC: December 6, 1996

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ECAC PREVIEW: Dec. 6-11, 1996

ECAC Preview: Dec. 6-11, 1996 by Jayson Moy

The ECAC lead switched hands for three days last week, as the upstart Princeton Tigers laid claim to first place after Saturday’s victory. The Big Red of Cornell reclaimed the lead with a win Tuesday evening.

Both teams are in ECAC action this weekend and are looking to put some distance between themselves and third place. The difference between second and third is currently four points.

There are a lot of teams in hot pursuit, many of which have games in hand on the two leaders — and most of them are involved in ECAC action this weekend.

Clarkson (7-4-0, 3-2-0 ECAC) & St. Lawrence (3-8-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) at Brown (1-7-1, 1-5-1 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Meehan Auditorium, Providence, RI

St. Lawrence (3-8-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) & Clarkson (7-4-0, 3-2-0 ECAC) at Harvard (3-5-1, 2-4-1 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Bright Hockey Center, Cambridge, MA

Clarkson turned out to be the big winner this past weekend when Boston College and Boston University came to the North Country.

Two victories, 6-3 and 4-1 over BC and BU, respectively, have the Golden Knights back on the winning edge. They had not won a weekend series since sweeping the Buckeyes of Ohio State in the opening weekend.

One of Clarkson’s strengths is its balanced scoring. That showed this weekend as eight different Knights tallied goals. And the Knights have only lost three times in their last 20 games against Harvard and Brown. They swept both season series last year.

The Saints turned in one of the shockers of the season with a 2-0 win over then-No. 2 Boston University on Friday. Jon Bracco made 46 saves, a personal high, in the victory. His effort earned him ECAC Player of the Week honors.

The next evening against Boston College, Bracco gave up two goals in the first period to Brian Callahan. After stopping all 12 shots in the second, he gave up four more goals to the Eagles and dropped the 6-4 decision.

The Brown Bears had their hearts broken in overtime by the Bulldogs of Yale, 5-4. They had a 3-1 lead, but lost it late in the game. However, another bright spot at forward appeared as Jade Kersey put two goals on the board.

The Bears are 3-2-1 against St. Lawrence in the last three years, but their record against Clarkson is decidedly in the Golden Knights’ favor. The Bears have not recorded a win over Clarkson since 1992, going 0-10-3 in that span.

Harvard dropped an ECAC contest to Princeton, and rebounded with a non-league win against Northeastern, 4-3. That win saw three freshmen score — Mark Moore (2 goals), Trevor Allman and Matt Macleod.

This could be a good sign for the Crimson as they try to break out of their scoring woes. Their league-low 2.14 goals per game is one area of concern for Ronn Tomassoni. Another area of concern is the power play. The Crimson continue to flounder with the man advantage, going 0-for-54 since their opener.

PICKS:

Clarkson at Brown: Clarkson’s depth showed this past weekend with the sweep. The Bears continue to get one forward into the mix each weekend. They need to get more of the forwards going each game. Clarkson 6, Brown 4

St. Lawrence at Harvard: Harvard may be breaking out of their scoring slump. If the Crimson can get off the skids with the power play, they will have a chance. The Crimson get an unpredictable Saint goalie (Bracco or Eric Heffler) in this game. The power-play slide ends, and Harvard wins. Harvard 4, St. Lawrence 3

St. Lawrence at Brown: One gets the sense that Brown is ready to break out. They do it here. Brown 6, St. Lawrence 2

Clarkson at Harvard: Clarkson gets their second sweep in a row as Harvard can not slow down the forwards of Clarkson with their hitting. Clarkson 7, Harvard 2

Union (4-4-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) & Rensselaer (6-4-1, 3-1-0 ECAC) at Colgate (6-5-0, 3-4-0 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Starr Rink, Hamilton, NY

Rensselaer (6-4-1, 3-1-0 ECAC) & Union (4-4-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) at Cornell (6-2-0, 6-1-0 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Lynah Rink, Ithaca, NY

Union claimed a victory over OUAA member Ottawa this past weekend, 3-1. "It was as forecasted," Union coach Stan Moore said. "It’s a little harder to get up for a non-league game like this one as opposed to an important league game."

The league games coming up are important because Union, along with Rensselaer, has played the fewest ECAC games. If the Dutchmen do not wish to fall behind in the standings, they have to get some league wins in the games they have in hand.

This weekend the games come against a team with which Union has had little league success — Colgate — and one which it has had good success against: Cornell. The Dutchmen are 1-9-0 against Colgate, with the lone win coming in 1994 when they defeated the Red Raiders 7-6 in Schenectady.

The Dutchmen stand at 4-6-0 against the Big Red, even though Cornell won both games last year. The Dutchmen were 4-2 in the previous six games between the two teams, and Union won its first-ever league road game at Lynah Rink.

RPI comes off a 1-0-1 weekend with a tie at Northeastern, 2-2, and a win at Merrimack, 5-2.

Matt Garver returned to the lineup from his shoulder injury and set up three of the Engineer goals in RPI’s win over the Warriors.

Unfortunately, the Engineers might have lost another player; the team’s second leading scorer, Mark Murphy, injured his right arm/hand in the second period against Merrimack. At press time, Murphy was questionable for this weekend.

RPI has lost four straight ECAC regular-season games versus Colgate, and handed Mike Schafer his first ECAC loss last season.

Colgate comes off a shellacking by Miami (OH), 14-2, and a loss to Cornell on Tuesday evening, 3-1.

Colgate got out of the gates in a hurry, but has not done well recently. After starting the season 5-1, including a win against No. 2 New Hampshire, the Red Raiders have gone 1-4.

One of Colgate’s big guns, Mike Harder, has not scored a goal in four games after a great start. Harder has often gotten off to slow starts before breaking out after the new year. But the trend seems to have reversed a bit; also, linemate Dave DeBusschere has not scored in two games. The two of them have been neutralized by the opposition after starting the season on fire.

Cornell reclaimed the top spot in the ECAC standings with its win Tuesday, and once again there was another hero in Ithaca. Darren Tymchyshyn’s shorthanded goal 1:08 into the third period was the game-winner. Ryan Smart was the hero in Saturday’s loss to Miami, scoring two goals.

Cornell knows the woes of facing RPI with a fast start on the line. Last year, the Big Red were undefeated in the ECAC going into their December matchup. They suffered their first defeat of the ECAC season, 5-3, in Troy.

PICKS:

Union at Colgate: Colgate has to get back the offense that propelled their fast start, but Union continues to play the tough defensive game. The Dutchmen will frustrate the Red Raiders just like they have frustrated a lot of other opponents. Union 3, Colgate 2

RPI at Cornell: RPI has blended well, but still has some trouble defensively. It has to play well in its own end to win, and get good goaltending. The Big Red remember the first loss of last year. Cornell rebounded with a 4-0 shutout in Lynah last year, and that will carry over. Cornell 5, RPI 4

Union at Cornell: Cornell seems to be able to adapt its style and win against any defense. That will do it here, in a low scoring affair. Cornell 3, Union 1

RPI at Colgate: RPI has not beaten Colgate since the ECAC Semifinals on its way to the ECAC Championship two years ago. The Red Raiders will continue to struggle against RPI. RPI 5, Colgate 2

Princeton (6-2-1, 5-2-1 ECAC) at Yale (3-4-1, 3-4-1 ECAC) Saturday, 7:00 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, CT

Princeton was in first place in the ECAC for three days before Cornell regained the top spot on Tuesday.

The last time Princeton was 5-2-1 to start the ECAC season, it finished with its only .500 or better record. That was in 1990 when the final was 11-10-1. The Tigers were also briefly in first place that season.

Princeton continues to play sound defense and it continues to get more scoring than last year. Scott Bertoli is the second-leading scorer in the ECAC with 11 points (6-5).

Yale is a surprise in third place of the ECAC at this juncture. Not many expected the Elis to surpass last year’s total of four ECAC wins.

"We’re getting some shots," said head coach Tim Taylor, "We’re capable of keeping a lot of teams off balance."

For the second week in a row, the Bulldogs have an ECAC Rookie of the Week. Saskatchewan native Cory Shea scored the overtime goal in the come from behind win over Brown.

PICK: Princeton hopes to sweep the series from the Bulldogs in New Haven. The Tigers win a squeaker here. Princeton 4, Yale 3

Harvard (3-5-1, 2-4-1 ECAC) at Union (4-4-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Achilles Rink, Schenectady, NY

Both teams are previewed above.

PICK: One thing is certain with these two teams — they don’t score much. The difference will be capitalizing on turnovers. Union is the more physical team, and will force more of those. Union 3, Harvard 1

Boston University (8-3-1) at Yale (3-4-1) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, CT

Boston U. managed only one goal this past weekend in its venture to the North Country. The big guns for the Terriers were held scoreless; Chris Drury and Shawn Bates did not garner a single point.

The Terriers will look to get the offense rolling with this non-league contest.

PICK: The big scorers do make a comeback in this game. While the Bulldogs have been impressive, they are not of the same offensive caliber as the Terriers. BU 6, Yale 3

Princeton (6-2-1) at Army (7-7-0) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Tate Rink, West Point, NY

Princeton is previewed above.

The Black Knights have had a respectable season, playing over-.500 hockey thus far. Keep in mind one fact, though: they are only 2-7-0 against major Division I schools, with those wins early in the season against Minnesota-Duluth and Mankato State.

The Cadets recently won the Williams tournament with a 5-4 victory over the Ephs in the Championship Game.

Army is led on offense by seniors Frank Fede (7-8–15) and Bill Morrison (4-8–12). In goal, the Cadets have seen Daryl Chamberlin put up some uncharacteristic numbers. Currently he has a .873 save percentage and a 4.17 GAA. His save percentage is 20 points lower than his career average, and he is 1.5 goals over his career GAA mark.

PICK: Princeton is too much for the Cadets. Princeton 4, Army 2

There’s light action next week, as schools break for finals and for the holiday season.

Friday, December 13 Saturday, December 14 Princeton at UMass-Amherst UMass-Amherst at Dartmouth

Jayson Moy is the ECAC Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jayson Moy . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in the WCHA: December 6, 1996

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WCHA PREVIEW: Dec. 6-7, 1996

WCHA Preview: Dec. 6-7, 1996 by Jim Thies

North Dakota has jumped out to a four-point lead in the WCHA standings with 20 points, but Colorado College and Minnesota are close behind with 16 points each with another important weekend of play at hand.

The big series has CC at UND in a pair of games which could put either team in a good spot as the season reaches its midway point. With the Gophers (presumably recovering from their trip to the College Hockey Showcase) idle this weekend, a sweep by either team puts them in the driver’s seat — at least for now.

Here’s a look at each of this weekend’s series.

Colorado College (8-4-0, 8-4-0 WCHA) at North Dakota (10-4-0, 10-4-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:35 CT, Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks, ND

North Dakota has the honor of hosting this important series as both teams will try to make their moves for the top.

Colorado College split with Alaska-Anchorage last weekend; the Tigers need to do better in this important series. CC is four points behind UND, but since the Tigers have played two fewer games, the UND lead in the standings is not that great.

CC is 3-2-0 on the road in WCHA play; they hope to improve on that mark that this weekend. Brian Swanson (6-9–15) will need another good weekend, as will goalies Judd Lambert (6-4-0, 3.26 GAA, .876 SV%) and Jason Cugnet (2-0-0, 2.88 GAA, .889 SV%).

North Dakota, which has earned four sweeps this year, aims for a fifth at home, where the Fighting Sioux have lost just once in six WCHA games. UND boasts the top three scorers in the league in Dave Hoogsteen (10-9–19), Jason Blake (6-11–17) and Ian Kallay (7-9–16). Specifically, Hoogsteen leads all WCHA goal-scorers and Blake’s 11 assists are second in that department. Toby Kvalevog (8-3-0, 2.94 GAA, .878 SV%) mans the nets for UND.

ELMO Picks: North Dakota sweeps again: 5-2, 4-1.

Wisconsin (6-8-0, 6-6-0 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (5-6-1, 3-6-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 AT, Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, AL

Alaska-Anchorage is coming off a great weekend, splitting at Colorado College. The Seawolves look for more good things against Wisconsin this weekend.

Wisconsin lost twice, to two very good teams, in last weekend’s College Hockey Showcase. Now they must regroup for this WCHA series, which could be key for them. In league play, the Badgers have scored 39 goals and given up 40; this weekend goals will be at a premium against a defensive Seawolves team. Brad Englehart (7-5–12) needs to get some support from his teammates in the offensive zone. Goalie Kirk Daubenspeck (5-6-0, 3.41 GAA, .886 SV%) won’t see a lot of shots this weekend, but needs to stay mentally in the game when the puck does get to his end.

Alaska-Anchorage is on a high right now after beating CC at home and handing the Tigers only their second loss in the past 35 games in that series. This is a pair of games the Seawolves think they can sweep, and thatt could happen if they stay sharp in the defensive zone and take advantage of their scoring chances. David Vallieres (4-7–11) had two goals and two assists in the win over CC. Stacy Prevost (5-4–9) is a disciplined player who hasn’t taken a penalty in a WCHA game this year. Doug Tesky (3-3-1, 2.83 GAA, .907 SV%) has been the mainstay in goal — his mediocre won-loss record belies his fine performance thus far this year.

ELMO Picks: UAA sweeps: 3-1, 3-2.

Michigan Tech (5-9-1, 2-9-1 WCHA) at Minnesota-Duluth (7-6-1, 6-5-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 CT, Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center, Duluth, MN

Both of these teams had it rought last weekend, earning only one point (out of eight) between them.

Michigan Tech got that one point with a 3-3 tie with St. Cloud State that ended a five-game losing streak. The Huskies will be idle for three weeks after this series, so there’s no reason to hold back. MTU is tied with Alaska-Anchorage for the fewest goals scored (24) in league play this year, and UAA has played two fewer games. As one might expect based on that figure, offense has been a problem for Tech; Andre Savage (4-4–8) is the only MTU player listed among the WCHA scoring leaders.

Minnesota-Duluth is just 4-4 at home this year in league play, a major factor in their middle-of-the-pack standing. Nonetheless, the Bulldogs have done a nice job in special-teams play. They are third in power-play conversions (21.3 percent) and second in penalty-killing at 87.5 percent. Mike Peluso (9-6–15) has jumped to fourth in the scoring race while Ken Dzikowski (5-10–15) is sixth. Brant Nicklin’s stats (6-5-1, 3.07 GAA, .901 SV%) may have fallen, but he is the only goalie the Bulldogs have used in a league game this year.

ELMO Picks: A UMD sweep. 5-2, 5-1.

Northern Michigan (4-10-2, 4-9-1 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (7-3-2, 5-3-2 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 CT, National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN

Northern Michigan and St. Cloud State are within three points of each other in league play, and this weekend the two teams meet for the only times this year. Obviously, a lot is on the line.

NMU picked up three big points against Denver last weekend and hopes to use that as a springboard to further success. They have allowed the most goals (55) in league play, but were much improved last weekend when they gave up only six. Bud Smith (4-7–11) has been the team’s steadiest player this year, with points in every series.

St. Cloud State also picked up three points last weekend, against Michigan Tech. The Huskies have played only four of their 12 games at home, and they are 3-0-1 in that span, which bodes well for this weekend. Dave Paradise (6-7–13) and Mark Parrish (4-8–12) are the team’s top point-getters, but make no mistake: the Huskies will love having Matt Cullen (3-5–8), out the last two series, back in the lineup.

ELMO Picks: A SCSU sweep. 5-2, 4-2.

Next Week in the WCHA Friday, Dec. 13 Minnesota-Duluth at Denver Saturday, Dec. 14 Northern Michigan at Colorado College Minnesota-Duluth at Denver Minnesota at St. Cloud State Sunday, Dec. 15 Northern Michigan at Colorado College Minnesota at St. Cloud State

Jim Thies is the WCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 JIm Thies. All Rights Reserved. Return to Feature Articles Return to News and Recaps Return to US College Hockey Online

Mallen Receives Contract Extension

USCHO Staff Report
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Joe Mallen, head coach at the UMass-Amherst, has reached agreement on a three-year contract extension with the school. The new deal keeps Mallen under contract through the 1999-2000 season.

A former Boston College assistant, Mallen, 40, has been coaching the team since the program was restarted in 1993-94. One year later, the Minutemen entered Hockey East, going 6-28-2. Last season, the Minutemen showed improvement, going 10-19-6.

Currently, UMass-Amherst is 7-7-0 (as of Dec. 8).

Mallen was a goalie at Michigan State, graduating in 1977. He was head coach at UMass-Boston from 1979-1985.

Including his years at UMass-Boston and the year as a Division I independent at Amherst, Mallen’s career record stands at 122-109-10.

The deal gives Mallen a base salary of $87,500 with incentives. Incentives included in the contract are a bonus equal to one month’s salary for reaching the NCAA Tournament, and $10 per season ticket purchased, up to a maximum of $30,000.

Jerry York: The Road to 500 Wins

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“I told my wife we’d try it for five years, and if nothing came of it I’d get a real job.”

JERRY YORK

JERRY YORK

Twenty-five years later, Boston College coach Jerry York has yet to hold a “real job,” but has earned numerous coaching awards, led a team to a national championship, and won 500 games. He joined the elite 500 Club on Saturday, Nov. 30, when his Eagles came from behind to post a 6-4 win over St. Lawrence. He now ranks fourth among active Division I coaches, behind only Michigan State’s Ron Mason, Wisconsin’s Jeff Sauer, and Boston University’s Jack Parker.

“I have a lot of respect for him,” said Providence coach Paul Pooley. Pooley rubbed shoulders with York in the CCHA before both migrated to Hockey East some two years ago. “He’s a gentleman and deserves everything he’s getting. Hey, look at his record. He’s been successful wherever he’s gone.”

York’s first success came as a player at BC, where he arrived as a walk-on and left as the team captain and a first-team All-American. After a year on the USA national team that almost placed him on the 1968 Olympic squad, York returned to BC as a graduate assistant. There he ran the intramural program and helped with the freshman team while working on his master’s degree. When Len Ceglarski, then head coach at Clarkson, called and offered an assistant coaching position, York put on hold his plans to become a guidance counselor and accepted.

“When I said to my fiancee that we had a chance to go to Potsdam, New York, she had to get a map out,” York recalled with a chuckle. “I said to her, ‘I don’t want to go to Potsdam by myself. Let’s get married.'”

As an assistant, York’s primary responsibility was recruiting, which required a big adjustment from his BC days.

“I’d always been BC born-and-bred and at that time BC recruiting was very local. At Clarkson they were recruiting Canadian players, of all things,” York said, laughing. “I was going into small towns in Ontario recruiting for a completely different kind of school.”

“I wasn’t used to an assistant,” said Ceglarski, who had run the Golden Knights by himself for 12 years. “In hindsight I should have let him do more. Jerry was always a really good worker and showed great imagination.”

Two years later, John “Snooks” Kelly retired at Boston College. At 26, full of youthful innocence and confidence, York applied for the job. After his interview, BC athletic director Bill Flynn told York that although he had many strong qualifications, he lacked the experience necessary for a program of that stature. It was a moment York would joke about 22 years later at the press conference where he was named the new BC coach, saying, “I guess I finally have enough experience to come back to Boston College.”

Instead of becoming the new Eagles coach, he ascended to the head job at Clarkson. Ironically, Ceglarski took the BC head coaching job that York had sought. Expecting to move on to BC as Ceglarski’s assistant, York instead was offered the top Clarkson position, prompting his “five years or a real job” discussion with his wife, Bobbie.

York promptly displayed the ability to attract top recruits to his program, a cornerstone of his coaching success.

“Coaching is 80 percent recruiting,” said York. “The X’s and O’s get a lot better on the board when you have players who score a lot of goals or are [great defenders]. All coaches understand how important our coaching is, but we’ll never undersell the importance of recruiting.”

York’s first recruit as a head coach was Dave Taylor. Taylor would eventually score 108 points as a senior before going on to a 17-year NHL career in which he scored 1069 points, 35th among all-time NHL scorers and sixth among right wings. Even after Taylor’s arrival, however, York still encountered tough times.

“Actually,” said Taylor, “my freshman year was the first year in about 25 that Clarkson didn’t qualify for the playoffs. So it was a low, low point for the program.”

Some upperclassmen also left the team after that year, miffed that Taylor and the rest of the strong freshmen class received the extra shifts and power-play opportunities that they considered their due.

“Frankly, when [those players] played,” said Taylor, “they weren’t as good as some of the freshmen. With Jerry, whether you’re a freshman or a senior, if you play well for him you’re going to be rewarded with extra ice time. The guys that he feels are his top players, he plays a lot. He’s not the type of coach that necessarily just rolls four lines.”

York still holds that philosophy. “We certainly encourage competition among all our players,” he said. “The bar is raised each year as far as who’s playing and how much. It’s an easy black-and-white issue for me. Your input to the team is based not on what you did last year or last month but on what I see every day in practice. I think players like that. They don’t want to be slotted into [roles or amounts of ice time] because of reputation.

“If [someone] is playing less, that’s because someone else is playing better than he is. Now do we hold that other player back and say, ‘Hey, you can’t play even though you’re practicing better and playing better?’ I think all the good coaches reward good play by that player playing more, whether that player is on the first line or the fourth line.”

Despite the hard feelings sometimes produced, York’s approach proved successful at Clarkson, as it would at his other stops.

“We built up [the program] until, when I was a senior,” said Taylor, “we were ranked number one in the nation for a large part of that year. I think Jerry should be credited for all the work he did to bring that program along from a team that missed the playoffs to three years later being nationally ranked and one of the top teams in the nation.”

York hasn’t simply recruited players like Dave Taylor to his program and then just called out line changes. He’s also earned a track record of helping many players develop their games in preparation for the next level.

“When I left Levack, Ontario, to go play at Clarkson,” said Taylor, ” I had not been drafted by a [major] junior club and I don’t think anyone had given me much of [a chance] to go on and play in the NHL, let alone play for 17 years with the LA Kings. But those four years under Jerry York made it possible for me to go to the NHL. Certainly my skill development, my confidence, and the overall growing-up process that you go through in college, a lot of that I attribute to Jerry York. He’s certainly had a huge impact on my career.”

In 1976-77 York earned the Spencer Penrose Award as the nation’s Division I Coach of the Year. “I’ve called it the Dave Taylor Coach’s Award,” York said, “because he was such an outstanding student-athlete. Coaching became a lot easier with that type of player. But I was thrilled and excited about it. When you’re honored by your fellow coaches, that makes it special.”

Two years later Amo Bessone retired at Michigan State and York interviewed for the job. However, so did Bowling Green’s Ron Mason, already a college hockey legend. When the Spartans picked Mason, a disappointed York prepared for another season at Clarkson.

The next day, however, the Bowling Green athletic director called. He’d had an interesting conversation with his counterpart at Michigan State.

“Ron Mason finished first in your search. Who finished second?” asked the Bowling Green AD.

“What do you want me to do, save you all the work?”

“Well… yes.”

“Okay. It came down to Ron and Jerry York.”

Bowling Green made York an offer which, after consideration, he accepted.

“I thought Bowling Green was a step up for me,” said York. “I was very excited about all the plusses that the BG program had, [especially playing in] the CCHA and the importance of hockey to the university.”

At Bowling Green, however, he not only had to replace a legend in Ron Mason — something he’d already done when he took over for Ceglarski at Clarkson — he also had to replace a senior class that included all-time leading goal-scorer Johnny Markell and two members of the 1980 Olympic team, Kenny Morrow and Mark Wells.

“People understood that there would be a bit of a rebuilding process, but at some point you have to start winning,” said York. “In time we were able to attract that Nelson Emerson and Rob Blake sort of player to Bowling Green that did for us what Dave Taylor did at Clarkson.

“There’s a real similarity between what happened at the two schools,” said York. “Dave Taylor would have won the Hobey Baker Award but there wasn’t one in the mid-seventies. George McPhee won the Hobey Baker while I was coaching at BG in 1982. Then Nelson Emerson was a three-time finalist and Rob Blake was a finalist. All the successful coaches have had some top All-American, Hobey Baker type of player. Certainly we got that at Bowling Green.”

After two losing seasons to begin his BG tenure, the recruiting successes began to pay off. Bowling Green won the CCHA three straight years, culminating in the 1983-84 National Championship, which the Falcons won in an all-time classic game — four overtimes against Minnesota-Duluth.

“I actually thought the previous year we had the best team in the country,” said York. “We finished first in the CCHA and then lost in overtime to Michigan State in the CCHA championship finals. For some inexplicable reason, and I still can’t figure it, we were bypassed in the selection process for the NCAA tournament.” Of the eight teams selected for the tourney, the NCAA took only Michigan State from the CCHA. “None of us could believe it. It certainly fueled our resolve for the next year when we did win it, but I think we could have won it back-to-back years. In retrospect, I think the 82-83 team was stronger than the 83-84 one.”

Bowling Green continued as a powerhouse, winning 25 or more games for eight out of nine years beginning in 1981. But the nineties proved to be tough times for the Falcons: three straight losing seasons and one barely above .500.

“Recruiting sometimes goes in cycles,” said York. “We lost some tough recruiting battles to Michigan, Michigan State, and Lake State. But I thought we really started to turn it around with the freshman class of Curtis Fry, Mike Johnson, and Kelly Perrault when I left. In my estimation those three could be All-Americans this year, so I felt good about [leaving BG] like that.”

Meanwhile, turmoil embroiled Boston College. Len Ceglarski’s successor, Steve Cedorchuk, had posted a 24-40-10 record in his two years. The recruiting powerhouse that had produced six first-place Eagle finishes in Hockey East’s first seven years had broken down. Even more seriously, Cedorchuk had humiliated BC with a scholarship scandal plastered across the front pages of the Boston newspapers. According to the reports, Cedorchuk had promised more than the 18 scholarships allowed by the NCAA. When a higher-than-expected proportion of recruits accepted the offers, there weren’t enough to meet the commitments. Sparks flew and Cedorchuk became known as the Coach Who Couldn’t Count To 18.

Mike Milbury replaced Cedorchuk, but then stomped off in a fury a few months after accepting the post. A humbled Boston College needed not just a coach who could return BC to its glory days, but a man of stability and unquestioned character. The school looked to York.

“Jerry York has very strict morals,” said Dave Taylor. “He’s very much a straight shooter. You can certainly trust Jerry York. Whatever he says, he stays true to his word.”

York seemed a perfect match for BC’s needs. A principled man, he had achieved success wherever he was and, unlike Milbury, York would “without question” make Boston College his final move.

“Going back to BC was something I’d always thought of,” said York. “I’d grown up in the area and it was a chance to go back to my alma mater. Despite the roots we’d developed at Bowling Green, the tug was way too much not to come back.”

BC’s problems did not concern York. “That was never a factor. I’d been associated with BC for so long that I knew the history of the program. I knew that we could attract the very top student-athletes to BC. So I thought we’d have more Emersons, more Blakes, and more Dave Taylors.

“There wasn’t any question that we’d be successful in recruiting. I knew it would be a few years before we got it started. The majority of the scholarships were given out to the players we already had in school. Until we could actively go out and recruit again, I knew it would be a couple of years. [But after that] I knew we’d be a national player.”

York has lived up to those expectations. After a totally handcuffed first year, he recruited Marty Reasoner and then followed that with one of the top freshman classes in the country: Jeff Farkas, Blake Bellefeuille, Mike Mottau and Kevin Caulfield. Next year promises more of the same — four more ultra-blue chippers have already signed letters of intent.

“I thought the reception our current players at that time gave the recruits on campus was outstanding. They really helped recruit the Jeff Farkases, Blake Bellefeuilles and Marty Reasoners,” said York. York had told those upperclassmen early on that even though he hadn’t recruited them, he was a Boston College guy and they were still Boston College players. Their cooperation with recruiting made an attractive school look even better.

“At Clarkson and Bowling Green we were often recruiting Canadian players who weren’t familiar with the school,” said York. “But at BC we’re dealing with kids who at nine or ten were playing with the Jr. Eagles, or they’ve been coming to our games or the football or basketball games.”

In short, kids who, like York himself, grew up wanting to play for the Eagles. As much as recruiting is different for him at BC, though, some things remain the same.

“One of the things that hasn’t changed at all over the 25 years that I’ve coached is that players want discipline,” said York, who suspended a key player last year for breaking team rules. “They want to be involved with a team that’s very well structured as far as what’s right and what’s wrong. The players want to have as much success as they possibly can and they’re smart enought to understand that without discipline they’re not going to reach that level.

“I want all the players to clearly understand that they’re going to be pushed very hard to become the best player they can be here at BC. They’re going to be in a program that’s very well-defined and very well-structured as far as the importance of the classroom and the importance of representing BC to a very high standard. That hasn’t changed at all.”

While other Eagle coaches have clashed with BC athletic director Chet Gladchuk, York has not. “I make it a point to have a good relationship with all of the people I work with,” said York. “Chet has been very supportive and I consider him a close friend.”

One of the significant questions facing York at the end of this year will be whether Marty Reasoner stays at BC or turns pro with the St. Louis Blues.

“We hope to have a lot of players with those options,” said York. “Marty will have some informative talks with us and with St. Louis, but he values his education highly and feels he can progress as a hockey player because of the strength of Hockey East. One of his goals is to bring BC to national prominence.”

National prominence may not be in the cards this year, but seems almost a foregone conclusion for the future.

“I’m certainly going to coach the next decade here,” said York. “We want to win national championships. No question, that’s our goal. You do that by making your team a player in the national scene. If you’re one of the top five programs each year, then you’re going to win national titles. I don’t think you go from being an obscure program to all of a sudden winning a national title. You’ve got to be knocking on the door. So I want our team to be always be in the thick of the race.

“Then I think we can win a championship.”

US World Junior Roster Announced

USCHO Staff Report
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The roster for the U.S. Junior Team was announced Tuesday. This year’s games take place in Geneva, Switzerland, with practice games in Germany.

Boston College and Minnesota led the way with players on the roster, with three each. For BC, forwards Marty Reasoner, Jeff Farkas, and Blake Bellefeuille will play; for Minnesota, forwards Erik Rasmussen and Wyatt Smith, along with defenseman Ben Clymer will be traveling to Switzerland. The two teams, without these players, will meet each other in the opening round of the Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis on Dec. 27.

St. Cloud State and Colorado College had two players each make the roster. Boston University had two players announced, but one of the players, freshman Dan LaCouture, has left BU.

Colorado College is perhaps the hardest hit by the roster announcement, as they face Vermont in the opening round of the Badger Showdown, followed by the either of Wisconsin/New Hampshire. None of the other three teams in the tournament lose players to the U.S. Junior Team. The team follows up with a game at Michigan State, which loses Mike York to the Junior Team.

Minnesota and Boston College, while each plays each other with the shortened roster, must face Miami or Clarkson, both schools unaffected. Minnesota has an exhibition match with Team Finland, and the players get back from Switzerland just in time for a road trip to Alaska-Anchorage.

Typically the loss of the key young talent is difficult for the teams, but it is generally agreed that the players come back better for the experience.

1996-97 United States National Junior Team Roster

 No. Name, Pos.        Current Team
 Blake Bellefeuille, F Boston College (HEA)
 Brian Boucher, G      Tri-City Americans (WHL)
 Jesse Boulerice, F    Detroit Whalers (OHL)
 Ben Clymer, D         Minnesota (WCHA)
 Josh DeWolf, D        St. Cloud (WCHA)
 Robert Esche, G       Detroit Whalers (OHL)
 Jeff Farkas, F        Boston College (HEA)
 Chris Hajt, D         Guelph Storm (OHL)
 Dan LaCouture, F      Boston Univ. (HEA)
 Paul Mara, D          Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
 Michael McBain, D     Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
 Mark Parrish, F       St. Cloud (WCHA)
 Dan Peters, D         Colorado College (WCHA)
 Toby Petersen, F      Colorado College (WCHA)
 Tom Poti, D           Boston Univ. (HEA)
 Erik Rassmussen, F    Minnesota (WCHA)
 Marty Reasoner, F     Boston College (HEA)
 Jason Sessa, F        Lake Superior (CCHA)
 Ben Simon, F          Notre Dame (CCHA)
 Wyatt Smith, F        Minnesota (WCHA)
 Mike York, F          Michigan State (CCHA)
 B.J. Young, F         Red Deer Rebels (WHL)

Coaching and support staff

U.S. National coach – Jeff Jackson, Ann Arbor Mich.
Director of player personnel – Bob Mancini, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Assistant coach – Greg Cronin, Bangor Maine
Assistant coach – Mel Pearson, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Team leader – Scott Monaghan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Team physician – Dr. Keith Meister, Gainsville, Fla.
Athletic trainer – Greg Ipson, Houghton, Mich.
Equiptment manager – Jim Dunn, Long Lake, Minn.
Video technichian – Joe Curnane, Boston, Mass.
USA Hockey President – Walter L. Bush, Jr., Edina, Minn.
USA Hockey international council chairman – Ron DeGregorio, Salem, N.H.
USA Hockey Executive Director – Dave Ogrean, Colorado Springs, Colo.
USA Hockey senior director, international administration – Art Berglund, Colorado Springs Colo.
USA Hockey techincal director – Dave Peterson, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Schedule

Exhibition Games
Dec. 21 United States vs. Sweden
Dec. 22 United States vs. Germany or Slovakia

1997 IIHF World Junior Championship
Dec. 26 United States vs. Switzerland
Dec. 28 United States vs. Canada
Dec. 29 United States vs. Czech Republic
Dec. 31 United States vs. Germany
Jan. 1 Qualifying round: A2 vs. B3/ B2 vs. A3
Jan. 3 Semifinal round: B1 vs. Winner A2-B3 / A1 vs. Winner B2-A3
Jan. 4 Gold medal game/bronze medal game

Pools

 Group A               Group B
 Canada                Sweden
 Czech Republic        Russia
 United States         Finland
 Germany               Slovakia
 Switzerland           Poland

This Week in the ECAC: November 29, 1996

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ECAC PREVIEW: Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 1996

ECAC Preview: Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 1996 by Jayson Moy

[Editor’s note: several ECAC teams play games Tuesday, Nov. 26. These matchups were featured in last week’s ECAC Preview, and are not reflected in the records shown below.]

Last season showed off the ECAC’s strength at the top. This year, parity has returned with a vengeance.

This past weekend, every team split its two games, while in New Hampshire, there was another big upset.

Cornell, ranked 9th in the new Around the Rinks/USCHO Poll, was knocked from the unbeaten ranks by upstart Yale on Friday, then rebounded with a win over Princeton. The Tigers were victorious over Colgate on Friday, but the Red Raiders followed up with an overtime victory over Yale on Saturday evening.

In New York’s Hudson Valley, RPI’s scoreless string reached three full games with Clarkson’s 4-0 win Friday, but the Engineers shot the lights out in a victory over St. Lawrence the next night. St. Lawrence had defeated Union on Friday, but the Dutchmen in turn came back and upset the Golden Knights on Saturday.

All this, combined with Dartmouth’s upset over No. 7 Vermont on Friday, left a huge logjam in the ECAC standings, with three points separating second-place Princeton from the four teams tied for eighth.

A handful of ECAC league games are sprinkled within the schedule this Thanksgiving weekend, and time will tell if the craziness continues:

Princeton (4-2-1, 3-2-1 ECAC) at Harvard (2-3-1, 2-3-1 ECAC) Saturday, 7:00 p.m., Bright Hockey Center, Cambridge, MA

Princeton has been an early surprise with seven points, good for second place. The success seems to be a result of good play from each part of the Tigers.

"We’ve been competitive," said head coach Don Cahoon. "Start with our goaltending. It was a question."

Nick Rankin has performed nicely in goal. He currently ranks third among the ECAC overall goaltending leaders with a .922 save percentage and a 2.41 GAA.

Cahoon has played five defensemen most games this season, and there is a reason.

"We’re not deep on defense, but we’ve got two sophomores (Steve Shirreffs and Mike Acosta) and two freshmen (Dominique Auger and Darren Yopyk)," said Cahoon.

"Our strength is up front. It gives me a chance to play an extra forward because that’s where our depth is."

Princeton has surprised so far, but Cahoon is wary of the early success of the Tigers.

"We’re a long ways away from being great," he said.

Harvard is having a tough start to the year. Sitting at 2-3-1, its only wins on the young season have come against Brown.

The Crimson are having trouble scoring, averaging 2.80 goals per game. Forward Rob Millar is the leading Crimson scorer with seven points; but in the nets, Harvard has only allowed 3.40 goals per game.

Combine the numbers and it is evident that Harvard has kept their games close so far in the season. This includes losses to Cornell and Colgate, 3-2 and 2-1 respectively, a 2-1 win over Brown, and a 2-2 tie with Yale.

Other offensive woes include the power play. The Crimson are 2-for-32 on the season, with both goals coming in the first game of the season.

PICK: Princeton is working on a lot of cylinders at the moment. They have already defeated Harvard 6-2 earlier this season. There is no reason why this result should not be the same. Princeton 6, Harvard 2

Yale (2-3-1, 2-3-1 ECAC) at Brown (1-6-1, 1-4-1 ECAC) Saturday, 7:00 p.m., Meehan Auditorium, Providence, RI

Yale provided one of the many upsets in this young ECAC season with a 4-3 victory over previously-unbeaten Cornell. The next evening Yale lost a close one to Colgate, 4-3 in OT.

Yale has given notice: it is not the doormat a lot of people thought it would be this season.

"We’ve managed to have at least one stellar team performace per week," said Tim Taylor, Yale’s head coach. "We’re proving to be a team that’s capable of doing that."

With a young group, Taylor thinks his team is coming along on both ends of the rink.

"We’ve managed to play effectively defensively and offensively to the point where we’re spending a lot of time in the other team’s zone," he said. "Territorialy, we’re a much improved team.

"We’re getting it out with authority, getting it in with authority, and keeping it in with authority."

With ECAC Rookie of the Week Jeff Hamilton (2-2–4 last weekend) among his crop of young players, Taylor looks forward to the long road ahead.

"If we continue to play like this, people might not take us lightly anymore," he said, "which will make it tougher."

Brown continues to have trouble scoring enough goals to combat the inability to stop them. The Bears were swept by No. 1 Michigan this past weekend, 5-2 and 7-2, and have allowed 38 goals this season.

"We were scoring, and I thought that would be a problem with this team," said head coach Bob Gaudet, "We’re allowing too many goals."

On the offensive front, their top scorer is defenseman Jimmy Andersson (1-9–10) — it usually is not a good sign when a blueliner is your leading scorer. But the Bears’ forwards saw some life as junior Damian Prescott tallied three of the four goals scored against Michigan.

PICK: We have a team that is getting a lot of respect to begin the season with their impressive performance at Yale. There is also a team which needs a win very badly in Brown. In their first meeting, Brown won 5-4. The Bears get to go for the sweep at home this time, but don’t count on it. Yale 4, Brown 2

Colgate (6-3-0, 3-3-0 ECAC) at No. 9 Cornell (5-1-0, 5-1-0 ECAC) Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Lynah Rink, Ithaca, NY

The Red Raiders have five of the top 12 scorers in the ECAC going into this weekend’s action. Dave DeBusschere (10-12–22) and Mike Harder (8-12–20) top the ECAC charts, and Rob Mara (6-8–14), Tim Loftsgard (3-9–12) and Jack McIntosh (2-8–10) rank as well.

But even with this offensive power and impressive non-league record, the Red Raiders are only a .500 team in the ECAC so far.

The special teams had been playing well early in the year, but have sputtered lately. Against Princeton, Colgate was 0-for-5 on the power play while letting the Tigers go 2-for-7. Head coach Don Vaughn has been concerned about that fact.

"We continue to take bad penalties at times, and it continues to hurt us," he said.

Colgate lost to Princeton 4-3, and defeated Yale 4-3 in overtime. The win over Yale was freshman goalie Shep Harder’s first career start. The Minnesota native (no relation to teammate Mike Harder) made 39 saves for the win.

Defenseman Jack McIntosh scored the game winner with 38 seconds left in the overtime session.

The Big Red continue to lead the ECAC on the power play. They added two more power-play goals against Princeton on Saturday, and are now sitting at 29.7 percent efficiency.

"If you’re going to be successful in college hockey, you have to have good special teams," head coach Mike Schafer said.

Unfortunately for Schafer, he’ll be without senior forward Vinnie Auger for at least four games. According to assistant coach Scott Garrow, Auger has a broken thumb and will definitely miss the next two games against Miami (OH) and Colgate. He will probably miss the series against Union and RPI the following weekend as well.

The broken thumb came as a result of a slash by Princeton defenseman Dominique Auger in the second period last Saturday. No penalty was called on the play.

Cornell remains in first place by three points, and is off to a good start. But Schafer knows his team can’t get complacent.

"We’re pretty fortunate to be 5-1," he said, "I looked (Friday) night with the Colgate loss and Vermont losing to Dartmouth. … We have to be counting our blessings."

Colgate gets its first chance at revenge after being embarassed in two quarterfinal round playoff games last year. Cornell swept the series, 8-1 and 8-3, on its way to the ECAC Tournament championship.

PICK: Special teams were the key in last year’s playoff series and definitely will be again here. Both teams are deadly on the power play. This means that the defense and the goaltending will have to be at the top of their games. Cornell’s is presently stronger. Cornell 5, Colgate 3

In addition to the league games, there’s a bevy of non-conference action on this holiday weekend:

No. 2 Boston University (8-1-1) & Boston College (4-5-1) at St. Lawrence (2-7-0) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Appleton Arena, Canton, NY

Boston College (4-5-1) & No. 2 Boston University (8-1-1) at Clarkson (5-4-0) Friday & Saturday 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Cheel Arena, Potsdam, NY

Boston University has moved back up to number two in the ATR/USCHO Poll by virtue of a 7-0-1 record since its loss to Vermont early in the season.

Terrier forward Chris Drury is a leading Hobey Baker candidate with his 21 points (on 12 goals and nine assists) on the season. Shawn Bates follows closely in the scoring department with 15 points.

The goaltending tandem of Tom Noble and Michel Larocque are one-two in Hockey East. Noble is 4-0-0 with a 1.79 GAA and a .929 save percentage. His partner Larocque is 3-0-1 with a 2.94 GAA and an .888 save percentage.

Boston College is still struggling to find itself. The Eagles were swept by UNH this past weekend, 8-3 and 4-2.

"We played 40 minutes of excellent hockey," said head coach Jerry York of Saturday’s game, "But that’s not going to give us much success at this level. We have to play a full 60 minutes."

It gets tougher for York, with goaltender Greg Taylor still out of action with a broken hand.

St. Lawrence earned a much-needed win over Union on Friday, 4-3, but then let a ton of rubber fly at goalie Jon Bracco in a 6-3 loss to RPI.

Trailing 2-0 going into the second period Friday, the Saints scored three goals to Union’s one to end the period tied, 3-3. Bob Prier then tallied his seventh of the season 6:52 into the third to give St. Lawrence the win.

The Saints gave up 59 shots to RPI on Saturday, 27 in the third period. RPI scored four goals in the third and defeated the Saints, 6-3.

Clarkson’s Dan Murphy shutout RPI, 4-0, to gain his second career shutout on Friday. The Golden Knights then lost a close one to Union 2-1.

"They outworked us for the first two periods," said head coach Mark Morris. "Union played exceptionally well early on."

Clarkson had the upper hand in the third period, with Guillaume Beese scoring 11 seconds into the period to pull the Golden Knights to within one. Clarkson could not get the tying goal, though.

PICKS:

BU at SLU: Lack of goaltending has hurt SLU so far with the loss of Clint Owen. Too much offense for SLU. BU 8, SLU 2

BC at Clarkson: Two teams looking for some consistency. BC is looking for people to break out, and Clarkson is trying to solve some of its offensive problems. Clarkson in a close one. Clarkson 5, BC 3

BC at SLU: Here’s a tough one. Rochester, N.Y. native Marty Reasoner should have a ton of folks watching him play here. He shines in this one. BC 6, SLU 2

BU at Clarkson: A rematch of last year’s second round NCAA tournament game. BU seems stronger now than they were then. Clarkson does not. BU 6, Clarkson 3

No. 8 Miami (OH) (9-3-0) at Colgate (6-3-0) & No. 9 Cornell (5-1-0) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Starr Rink & Lynah Rink, Hamilton, NY & Ithaca, NY

Miami lost a big game against Michigan State on Friday, but bounced right back with a 4-3 win over Notre Dame the following evening.

That win came with 40 seconds left in the game as freshman Dustin Whitecotton tallied his first career goal.

The story for the Redskins is in net, where juniors Trevor Prior and Adam Lord are one-two in the CCHA in goaltending.

Prior has an amazing 1.42 GAA and a .934 save percentage. In league play, his GAA is 1.51 and his save percentage is .920. In the CCHA, Lord’s GAA is 2.00 and his save percentage is .922 to go along with a 4-0-0 record.

Junior Randy Robitaille (9-11–20) leads the offensive attack for the Redskins.

Cornell and Colgate are previewed above.

PICKS:

Miami at Colgate: This is the Redskins’ second venture to New York State this season. In one earlier NYS appearance they defeated St. Lawrence, 4-2. This should be a battle as the outstanding forwards of Colgate battle the outstanding goaltending of Miami. Miami 5, Colgate 4

Miami(OH) at Cornell: Miami’s penalty kill is 86 percent. Cornell’s power play is 29.7 percent. Something has to give. The tight checking of the Big Red will give Miami fits, as it did to another team that likes to skate, Princeton. Cornell 4, Miami 2

RPI (5-4-0) at Northeastern (2-7-1) & Merrimack (3-6-1) Friday & Saturday 7:00 p.m., Matthews Arena & Volpe Center, Boston, MA & North Andover, MA

RPI finally saw its scoreless streak of 203:04 end with a first-period goal by Alain St-Hilaire in the 6-3 win over St. Lawrence on Saturday

"When that first goal went in, there was a big sigh of relief from everybody," said head coach Dan Fridgen. "Our guys deserve a lot of credit, because they didn’t quit."

Even though they were shut out by UMass-Lowell, Union and Clarkson in their three previous games, Fridgen sees things turning back around for his team.

"We’re back," he said. "We haven’t changed anything in three games. We’ve just worked hard. Sooner or later, the bounces would come. Our work ethic was there."

It started to show Friday against Clarkson. RPI had numerous chances, but Dan Murphy made 36 saves in his shutout. Saturday, Eric Healey alone had 16 shots alone and scored a goal. Freshman Pete Gardiner added two goals in the effort.

Northeastern and head coach Bruce Crowder continue to limp through the season following a sweep at the hands of Providence over the weekend, 4-3 and 8-0.

The last time the the Huskies faced RPI was earlier this season, and they fell, 4-3. Freshman Marc Robitaille had a good game in goal with 39 saves in the losing effort.

Eric Kaminski, Justin Kearns, Roger Holeczy, and Todd Barclay figured in some of the scoring in the first game.

Crowder is looking for more consistency from his club. After gaining three Hockey East points in Maine, they were swept by two of the tougher Hockey East clubs in Boston University and Providence.

Merrimack is also a team looking for consistency. After getting shackled by Boston University on Friday 9-1, the Warriors earned a hard-fought Hockey East point with a 3-3 tie at home.

Merrimack will be at home for the game againt RPI — a plus for the Warriors. They are 3-1-1 at the Volpe Center thus far in the season.

At home on Saturday, Eric Thibeault made 49 saves in the tie against the Terrers. He was chased after one period on Friday after giving up five goals.

Led by forward Rejean Stringer, the Warriors look to add more offense this weekend.

PICKS:

RPI at Northeastern: RPI got out of the gate fast in their first meeting, but the Huskies came back to tie it after one period. Good goaltending by Joel Laing and Robitaille allowed only one more goal, as RPI won it 4-3. RPI is back on the scoring front, and starting to put it together. Matt Garver is also scheduled to return for RPI, adding more offense. RPI 6, Northeastern 2

RPI at Merrimack: These two teams have played close ones at the Volpe in recent years, 3-3 in 1992, and a 2-1 RPI win in 1994. Merrimack is tough at home, and this is no different. RPI’s offense is the key here, and, as always, special teams. RPI 4, Merrimack 3

Merrimack (3-6-1) at Dartmouth (3-3-0) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Thompson Arena, Hanover, NH

Merrimack is previewed above.

Dartmouth pulled off one of last weekend’s shockers in the ECAC with a 4-1 victory over Vermont.

"Our team played very well," said Big Green head coach Roger Demment. "Close to perfection sometimes. Overall it was a total team effort."

A surprise for the Big Green has been goaltender Jason Wong. The freshman from Richmond, BC is second in the ECAC goaltender rankings with a .913 save percentage, and 2.25 GAA. Wong held the Catamounts scoreless in the last 56:52 of the upset.

"He (Wong) was especially strong in the third period," said Demment. "With the goalie pulled, he made some strong saves."

The season is starting to come together for Demment’s team.

"We got off to a disappointing start that first weekend," he said, "We played below our potential. ..We’re beginning to start to do the things we wanted."

PICK: It looks like the Big Green might have found their goaltender in Wong. He will continue his strong play. Dartmouth 5, Merrimack 3

Ottawa at Union (4-4-0) Saturday, 7:00 p.m., Achilles Rink, Schenectady, NY

Ottawa is, at last look, in last place of the Far East Division in the Ontario Universities Athletic Association with a 2-5-0 record.

In its previous jaunts to the United States, Ottawa has not won a game. The team lost to Boston College, 9-2 and to Dartmouth, 5-3. Ottawa did tie UNH 3-3 in another game.

If there is any trend that can be gotten from these three games, it’s that that Ottawa will take a lot of penalties and give up a lot of shots on goal. Both tendencies were evident in these three games.

Once again it was Trevor Koenig in goal for Union, making the difference for the Dutchmen on Saturday. He made 37 saves, including 21 in the third period, and continues to lead the ECAC with a 1.89 GAA.

Scoring is a concern for the Dutchmen, who have just 20 goals in eight games for an average of 2.50 goals per game. These are not good numbers, but when you have Koenig in goal, it is enough.

PICK: Union should get some offense going, and should get plenty of power play work. Union 7, Ottawa 2

Northeastern (2-7-1) at Harvard (2-3-1) Sunday, 7:00 p.m., Bright Hockey Center, Cambridge, MA

Northeastern and Harvard have been previewed above.

PICK: Two struggling teams looking for a way to win. These two will meet again in February … in the consolation game of the Beanpot. This time it will be Harvard and J.R. Prestifillippo. Harvard 3, Northeastern 2

No. 7 Vermont (7-3-0) at Providence (5-5-1) Tuesday, 7:00 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI

Since reaching number one in the ATR/USCHO Poll, the Catamounts have gone 3-3-0 (2-3-0 ECAC). Teams have begun to realize how to play the Catamounts. Tight checking on the French Connection, and launching shots at Tim Thomas, has been the formula in their three losses.

You can also throw a hot goaltender at them as well. Joel Laing, Jason Elliot, and Jason Wong have all defeated the Cats.

In five league games, none of the Connection (Martin St. Louis, Eric Perrin, and J.C. Ruid) are even in the top 15 in league scoring. Tim Thomas is not in the top five in goaltending in league play, which is virtually unheard of after leading the league the past two years.

On the other hand, the Cats have eaten up non-league competition. Overall, St. Louis is 5-13-18, Perrin is 6-9-15, and Ruid is 5-8-13. Thomas has a GAA of 2.51, and a save percentage of .926.

Providence blasted Northeastern 8-0 on Saturday after defeating the Huskies 4-3 the night before.

For a team that was little unsure of itself, the 8-0 win did them some good. Before the games this past weekend, head coach Paul Pooley was worried about his personnel.

"It’s time to evaluate some players and maybe get some new ones into the lineup," he said.

A good offensive showing by the Friars, and it should help going into this weekend.

PICK: Vermont has been a terror against non-league opponents, and it should not change this weekend. Vermont 6, Providence 2

And finally, the only tournament featuring an ECAC team this weekend — The Governor’s Cup:

No. 7 Vermont (7-3-0) vs. No. 4 New Hampshire (9-2-0) Friday, 8:00 p.m., Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, VT

Vermont has been previewed above.

UNH is on a roll. Since starting the season 1-2-0, it has reeled off eight straight wins, including a sweep of Boston College, 8-3 and 4-2, last weekend.

UNH also has its anticipated goaltending tandem in place, Brian Larochelle and Sean Matile. Matile had been ineligible for the first part of the season because he played in some major junior games before coming to UNH. He made 31 saves in his debut with the 4-2 win.

A combination of good offense and decent defense has made head coach Dick Umile a very happy man as his team moves up to number four in the ATR/USCHO poll, though the teams only two losses are to ECAC foes Vermont and Colgate.

PICK: UNH is on a tear, and UVM is not so sure of themselves. In the first meeting between the two teams, UVM was the victor 5-1 at UNH. This time they are in Vermont. The two teams are different right now though, and the hotter team gets the nod. UNH 4, UVM 3

The ECAC action gets hot once again next weekend with 10 league games on the docket.

Friday, December 6 Saturday, December 7 Clarkson at Brown Clarkson at Harvard St. Lawrence at Harvard St. Lawrence at Brown Union at Colgate Union at Cornell RPI at Cornell RPI at Colgate Boston University at Yale Princeton at Yale Princeton at Army

Wednesday, December 11 Harvard at Union

Where will the upsets come next week?

(Many thanks to Adam Wodon and Dave Hendrickson for their contributions to this preview)

Jayson Moy is the ECAC Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jayson Moy . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in the CCHA: November 29, 1996

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CCHA PREVIEW: Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 1996

CCHA Preview: Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 1996 by Paula C. Weston

On the surface, it seems that little changes from week to week in the CCHA. The top three teams have shuffled around a bit — Michigan State now tops the conference, Miami holds on to second place and Michigan hovers at third. While the status quo held for another week of CCHA play, a closer look reveals a conference where the fourth-place team can leapfrog to first in just one weekend, and the teams languishing at the bottom of the conference could be in the running with just a couple of wins.

The top three teams in the CCHA play non-conference games this week. Michigan and Michigan State join the WCHA’s Wisconsin and Minnesota for the College Hockey Showcase. Miami has a New York State road tour, with stops at Colgate and Cornell. Western Michigan (tied for fifth place with Notre Dame) travels to Providence. The six remaining teams will try to break their mid-conference gridlock by fighting amongst themselves.

Last week’s record in picks: 7-1 Overall record in picks: 14-5

Lake Superior State (8-5-1, 5-2-0 CCHA) at Notre Dame (4-6-1, 3-4-1 CCHA) Tuesday, Nov. 26, 7 p.m., Joyce Center Field House, South Bend, IN

The Lakers will attempt to distance themselves from the CCHA pack with this game against the Fighting Irish.

Lake Superior brings a six-game win streak to South Bend. After a four-point weekend against Ferris State, the Lakers became the fourth CCHA team with points in double digits (10). The Lakers will be looking to junior left wing Joe Blaznek to continue his four-game point streak. Blaznek leads the Lakers in points with 20 on seven goals and 13 assists.

The Lakers will also be counting on junior goaltender John Grahame, whose 47 saves against Ferris State made him the Bauer/CCHA Defensive Player of the Week.

With just seven points, Notre Dame is tied with Western Michigan for fifth place in the CCHA. A win against Lake Superior State would put the Irish just one point behind the Lakers. Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin says he’s happy with the way his team is playing. The Irish split last weekend, upsetting Bowling Green on Friday, and losing at Miami Saturday.

"We’re playing more disciplined hockey, and our recruiting class brought us a higher level of talent. To a man, each player is playing well.

"We know what Lake State is. They’ve experienced enormous change, but we know to expect good hockey from them," Poulin said.

Both of these teams are on the move upward in the conference. This is an even matchup that’s difficult to call. The Lakers have a slight edge offensively and defensively, with 30 goals for and 24 against, versus ND’s 26-28. And the Lakers are more accustomed to winning than are the Irish.

PICK: Lake Superior 5-2

Lake Superior State (8-5-1, 5-2-0 CCHA) at Alaska-Fairbanks (2-9-0, 2-7-0 CCHA) Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 7 p.m., Carlson Center, Fairbanks, AK

This series serves as a proving ground for both the Lakers and the Nanooks. After flying out of Chicago the morning after the Notre Dame game, the Lakers can potentially take six points in three games to jump into a first-place CCHA tie with Michigan State. The Nanooks, on the other hand, want to show the world that wins against Michigan State and Western Michigan were by design, not chance.

The Nanooks will look for offensive leadership from senior center, and team captain, Cody Bowtell, whose 13 points ties him with Western Michigan’s Justin Cardwell for third in the CCHA. The Nanooks had last week off, so they may have a real advantage over the Lakers.

Besides playing without a break, the Lakers are playing hard. Going into Tuesday’s game with Notre Dame, the Lakers were on a six-game win streak. While accumulating points during what was arguably a soft spot in their schedule (they beat Ferris State and Ohio State twice apiece), the Lakers have just one player among the top scorers in the CCHA: sophomore right wing Jason Sessa. Sessa was held scoreless against Ferris State last Friday.

Lake State has the better offense, but don’t expect Alaska-Fairbanks to let them walk away with it all.

PICKS: Alaska-Fairbanks 3-2 Friday, Lake Superior 4-1 Saturday, Lake Superior 5-3 Sunday

Notre Dame (4-6-1, 3-4-1 CCHA) at Ferris State (5-10-1, 2-8-0 CCHA) Friday & Saturday, 7 p.m., Ewigleben Ice Arena, Big Rapids, MI

Notre Dame looks to climb the CCHA ladder on the backs of the Bulldogs. But nothing is certain in this strange start to the CCHA season.

One of Ferris State’s two league victories was a 5-1 win in South Bend on Nov. 15. And the Bulldogs played the Lakers tough on the road last weekend. But FSU has lost its last three games each by a score of 3-2, and that’s something Bulldog assistant coach Drew Famulak says has to change.

"We held Lake Superior to 15 shots in that first night we played them. We’ve played well, and our power play is good. We need to get a break."

Ferris State needs more than a break to begin to see daylight from the bottom of the CCHA standings. Says Famulak, "We only have four games before Christmas. We have to get some points."

Notre Dame has a chance to distinguish itself from the muddy middle of the pack with points this weekend, but coach Dave Poulin says he can’t look that far ahead when there’s a game at hand.

"I can’t look toward the weekend when we’re playing Lake [Tuesday night]. It’s funny to be schedule-watching this early in the season, anyway. If you look at what’s happening in-house, and take care of that, the rest takes care of itself."

Notre Dame is playing more like a team on the way up than Ferris is right now. With four points this weekend, the Irish may start putting some essential distance between themselves and the lower tier of the CCHA.

PICKS: Notre Dame 3-2 (sorry, Ferris) Friday, 5-1 Saturday

Ohio State (2-9-0, 2-7-0 CCHA) at Bowling Green (6-7-1, 2-7-1 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., BGSU Ice Rink, Bowling Green, OH

Bowling Green (6-7-1, 2-7-1 CCHA) at Ohio State (2-9-0, 2-7-0 CCHA) Sunday, 3 p.m., Fairgrounds Coliseum, Columbus, OH

Surprisingly, the only thing separating these two teams in CCHA play is one point — the tie that Bowling Green had with Michigan.

Bowling Green head coach Buddy Powers is not amused. "No one’s going to fear Bowling Green right now. We’re making other teams feel confident right now."

The Falcons dropped a pair of games at home last weekend, Friday to Michigan State and Saturday to Notre Dame. Powers says his team is finding new ways to lose. "The winning goal in the Michigan State game was deflected off of our defender."

Powers says his team isn’t playing hard enough. "We allowed Notre Dame to score soft goals, instead of storming back after Friday’s loss.

"These guys can’t feel sorry for themselves. They’re treating themselves as victims. They’re not victims — they’re making their own mistakes."

One team that hopes Bowling Green finds a solution to its problems closer to Christmas than Thanksgiving is Ohio State. After a weekend off, the Buckeyes would like to pick up a few points themselves.

"Other teams we think we’re equal with are beating this [Bowling Green] hockey club," says Buckeye head coach John Markell. "They’re still a dangerous hockey club. We’re going to have to have a lot of shots on net to exploit their defense. We’re going to have to play an effective hockey game, no matter what their record is."

Going into this weekend, the Buckeyes have scored only 17 goals in league play, the lowest total in the conference, and Markell doesn’t understand why.

"Some players will have to start stepping up, and I’m waiting for that. I can’t see why they’re not doing that. Other guys we expect to create chances and play well aren’t doing it."

The Buckeyes took two out of three from the Falcons last year; the Falcons beat the Buckeyes in non-conference play at the start of the season. Both teams are struggling. This may be a split weekend, but don’t be surprised if the Falcons get the four points they need.

PICKS: Bowling Green 4-1 Saturday; Ohio State 3-2 Sunday

The fourth annual College Hockey Showcase:

Michigan (11-1-1, 6-1-1 CCHA) vs. Minnesota (8-4-0, 8-4-0 WCHA) Friday, 4:30 p.m., Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

Michigan State (9-4-0, 8-2-0 CCHA) vs. Wisconsin (6-6-0, 6-6-0 WCHA) Friday, 8 p.m, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

Michigan vs. Wisconsin, Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Michigan State vs. Minnesota, Saturday, 8 p.m.

Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin square off this weekend for the College Hockey Showcase at the Joe.

When the Wolverines play, there will be more than just a couple of games at stake; there’s CCHA (and Big Ten) pride on the line. "It’s a unique tournament in that you have four of 10 schools that are traditional hockey powers who have had strong teams for a long time," says Michigan head coach Red Berenson. "When we play each other, there’s something more at stake than what [shows] up in the standings."

Regardless of Michigan’s top ranking in every major college hockey poll (including the USCHO/Around the Rinks poll), Berenson isn’t overconfident about the Wolverines’ abilities. "We haven’t proven that we’re much better than any team we’ve played. Every night has been a battle. I can’t tell you who the best team is in our league right now."

In spite of Berenson’s modesty, Michigan is a real contender to repeat its national title this year. The Wolverines have four of the top 11 scorers in the CCHA — John Madden, Warren Luhning, Matt Herr and Brendan Morrison — and solid goaltending in Marty Turco. The Wolverines swept Brown last weekend.

Michigan State is no offensive slouch either. The Spartans have three of the top 11 scorers in the CCHA in Sean Berens, Mike York and Mike Watt. Even though Michigan State has outscored opponents 47-31, coach Ron Mason said last week that his team is still working to come together. Michigan State completed a successful sweep through Ohio last week, beating both Bowling Green and Miami.

With combined goals-for at 87 and goals-against at 53, you have to wonder who Berenson and Mason think they’re fooling.

From Jim Thies, USCHO’s WCHA Correspondent, we get this insight on Minnesota and Wisconsin:

"Minnesota loves to play against tough competition, and that’s what they’ll get with this weekend’s games with Michigan and Michigan State. Of course, no one will want to talk much about last year’s loss to Michigan in the NCAA tourney, but don’t kid yourself. The Gophers want to erase that memory. A big question is who will be in goal this weekend. Steve DeBus (5-3-0, 3.14, .895) and Erik Day (3-1-0, 1.00, .956) both have injured shoulders. Casey Hankinson (7-7–14) is tied for second in the league in scoring, while Erik Rasmussen (8-5–13) is tied for the league lead in goals.

"Wisconsin wants to get over that .500 mark, but it will be tough against Michigan State and Michigan in Detroit. The Badgers would like to redo the calendar and play all their remaining games on Friday since they are 5-0-0 then, and just 1-5-0 on Saturday. Brad Englehart (7-5–12) leads the Badgers’ scoring attack, and has six goals in his last six games. Rick Enrico (3-5–8) is another known quality player. Goalie Mike Valley (1-0-0, 3.11, .902) won his first collegiate start last Friday, but look for Kirk Daubenspeck (5-6-0, 3.41, 886) to return to action."

Both Michigan and Michigan State should be right at home with these high-scoring WCHA teams. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that the CCHA will prevail (note: journalism is an objective science).

PICKS: Friday: Michigan 5-4, Michigan State 6-2. Saturday: Michigan 7-2, Michigan State 3-2

Miami (9-3-0, 7-1-0 CCHA) at Colgate (6-4-0, 3-3-0 ECAC) Friday, 7 p.m., Starr Rink, Hamilton, NY

Miami(9-3-0, 7-1-0 CCHA) at Cornell (5-1-0, 5-1-0 ECAC) Saturday, 7 p.m., James M. Lynah Rink, Ithaca, NY

Miami faces real challenges on the road as it travels through central New York for two games against ECAC teams.

Miami suffered its first CCHA loss against Michigan State last week, but remains in second place in the CCHA. One key to Miami’s success is its Scrooge-like defense. While Miami has scored only 30 goals in CCHA play, it has allowed only 14. That’s fewer than any other CCHA team.

Each of Miami’s opponents split its games last weekend. Both Colgate and Cornell lost on Friday — Cornell to Yale, 4-3, and Colgate to Princeton, 4-3. Each team won Saturday. Colgate beat Yale 4-3 (OT), and Cornell beat Princeton 3-1. Cornell scored two power-play goals in its game against Princeton, while holding the Tigers scoreless on the power play for six tries. Neither Colgate nor top-ten Cornell may be capable of generating big offense, which is exactly what would be needed to beat this Miami team.

PICKS: Miami 4-2 Friday, 3-1 Saturday

Western Michigan (5-4-1, 3-4-1 CCHA) at Providence (5-5-1, 4-3-1 HEA) Friday & Saturday, Schneider Arena, Providence, RI

A well-rested Western Michigan travels to take on the Providence Friars of Hockey East. Western Michigan is one of the CCHA teams that has yet to find its offensive feet. So far this season, the Broncos have allowed more goals (29) than they’ve scored (27). This series against Providence is notable primarily for Western’s absence from CCHA play this weekend, which may affect how the rest of the CCHA shakes down.

Providence swept Northeastern last week, squeaking by 4-3 in OT on Friday, and rolling 8-0 on Saturday. Overall, however, Providence is not exactly an offensive powerhouse. Providence has no player with more than three points in league play, and no one with more than five points in overall play.

By contrast, Western Michigan has two players in double digits in CCHA play, and three in double digits for points in overall play. Western Michigan’s Justin Cardwell is the third-leading scorer in CCHA play with 15 points.

The Broncos should overpower the Friars.

PICKS: Western Michigan 5-2 Friday, 6-2 Saturday

Paula C. Weston is the CCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Paula C. Weston . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in Hockey East: November 29, 1996

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Hockey East Preview: Nov. 29 – Dec 3, 1996 by Dave Hendrickson

New Hampshire now owns first place. Their sweep of Boston College, combined with BU’s tie against Merrimack, puts the Wildcats a point in front of the Terriers and seven points ahead of third place Providence in league standings. With the season at only the quarter pole, it has turned into a two-horse race for first, and a seven-horse race for third. Since this week features the Governors’ Cup and a busy slate of non-conference games, UNH is guaranteed another week at the top.

Last week’s two seemingly brain-dead picks — more charitably referred to as "gutsy" — almost became reality.

UMass-Lowell sweep in Orono? The improbable almost happened. The River Hawks won the back end of the series in overtime and had held a 4-1 lead after one period in the opener before losing 5-4, also in OT.

As expected, BU belted Merrimack at home in the opener of their series. But the slash-and-burn nature of their win made this column’s prediction of a Warrior 3-2 surprise back at Volpe a potential cause for ridicule. But Merrimack bounced back for a 3-3 tie and almost grabbed both points when Kris Porter broke in on a breakaway with 16 seconds left. Michel Larocque (of Gibraltar) foiled Porter, however, and the Warriors settled for the tie.

Last week’s record in picks: 7-3 (Tuesday games pending) Season record in picks: 40-19

Governors’ Cup Maine (5-5-1, 1-4-1 HE) vs. UMass-Lowell (6-4-0, 4-4-0 HE) Friday, 5 p.m. No. 4 New Hampshire (9-2-0, 8-0-0 HE) vs. No. 7 Vermont (7-3-0, 2-3-0 HE) Friday, 8 p.m. Consolation Game: Saturday, 4 p.m. Championship Game: Saturday, 7 p.m. All Games at Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, VT

Vermont is playing like a team that can do differential equations but can’t add, can write Pulitzer-prize winning novels but can’t spell, and can cook pate de fois gras but can’t boil water.

After beating a murderer’s row of New Hampshire, Boston University, Miami, and Lake Superior to start the season, the wheels have fallen off the Vermont bandwagon. In the six games that followed their number one ranking, they posted a clear-cut victory margin only in Sunday’s 4-1 contest against UMass-Amherst. In the other five, they barely escaped Colgate and Union with one-goal wins, and lost to Cornell (no shame there), Rensselaer (who would later be shutout three straight games), and perennial doormat Dartmouth. Did someone slip something into the bubbly the Catamounts were toasting themselves with?

The cliche "if you can stop St. Louis and Perrin, you can stop Vermont" has been spoken countless times. In the past, however, no one has been able to stop the French Connection. This year, however, teams have contained the two with surprising regularity. Going into Sunday’s game, the pair’s names were missing from the lists of ECAC scoring leaders.

New Hampshire comes off a weekend sweep of Boston College, 8-3 and 4-2, extending their winning streak to eight games. The Wildcats have now swept four straight Hockey East opponents.

And they’re getting stronger. The much-heralded Sean Matile made his debut in goal on Saturday and impressed. "That gives us some depth," said coach Dick Umile. "Now we have two good ones in Sean and Brian Larochelle." Larochelle, who played poorly in some games early in the season, has settled down. Although rarely spectacular, he now gives the Wildcats solid netminding.

"They might have the best collection of forwards in the conference," said BC coach Jerry York after the sweep. "Everybody’s got one or two top ones, but they’ve got a group of four or five. And they didn’t even play [Tom] Nolan so they’ll be even stronger when he comes back."

Maine coach Greg Cronin upped the ante in the praise of the UNH forwards. "They might have the best group of forwards one to nine in the country," he said.

Nolan’s chances of playing in the Governors’ Cup are considered slim. Greg Dumont, injured in the Friday game, will have his hip pointer evaluated and could play.

Eric Nickulas, one of the best of UNH’s many snipers, netted his 50th collegiate goal, a significant achievement so early in his junior year. "He’s a prolific goal scorer," said Umile. "He can skate and he has a pro shot."

Freshman Mike Souza netted two goals on the weekend, his fourth and fifth goals in eleven games. Not bad for a team’s fourth-liner.

New Hampshire has already recorded more road wins this season than all of last year. "We’re older," said Umile. "We’re still a pretty young team, but last year we were a very young team. We’ve also been able to get established in our routine now that the Whittemore Center is finished."

UNH opens the Governors’ Cup against the struggling Vermont Catamounts.

"I guarantee you that they’ll un-struggle against us," said Umile. "They may have lost to Dartmouth but Dartmouth always gives them a hard time."

Maine played the biggest game of their year on Friday night. Holding an 0-3-1 league record going in, they could not afford another weekend disaster against visiting UMass-Lowell. The opening period could not have gone worse. After giving up a power-play goal, the Black Bears then picked up a five-minute major, during which Lowell scored two more times. After a Maine goal, Lowell added what could have been the coup de grace, scoring with just five seconds left in the period to make it 4-1. But placed in the biggest gut-check moment of the season, the Black Bears responded with a thrilling 5-4 win in overtime.

"I told them after the first period," said coach Greg Cronin, "that they were playing well and that if they took care of defense and didn’t force the offense we’d be fine. And we shut them down.

"The next night I was more disappointed in a Maine hockey team than I’ve ever been in my seven years here. We were playing against a team ahead of us and had an opportunity to get back into the upper echelon of the league standings. But they just took it to us. They outhustled us, they beat us to loose pucks, they just flat outworked us.

"The teams are pretty evenly talented," continued Cronin. "It just came down to gritty play and they got their fingers dirtier than ours."

On the plus side, goaltender Alfie Michaud rebounded with some strong performances. "Michaud was terrific," said Cronin. "Fillion was too for Lowell. But Alfie didn’t have any chance on the goals [on Saturday]. It was just a complete breakdown on D by an upperclassman."

The Black Bears, who started the season short-handed, now read like a list of the walking wounded. Dan Shermerhorn sustained a deep thigh bruise and has been battling an MCL problem all year. Bobby Stewart has a wrist problem and a deep thigh bruise. Shawn Mansoff separated a shoulder and Jeffy Libby has a nasty hip pointer. Cronin doesn’t expect any of the four to play this weekend.

"I was impressed with Lowell’s tenacity," said Cronin. "They work hard and Tim Whitehead has them focussed on the specific objectives he wants them to achieve."

"It was just a great week for college hockey," said UMass-Lowell coach Tim Whitehead. "Two overtime games and great crowds.

"The best part of the weekend for us was the way we bounced back from the tough loss on Friday," said Whitehead. "I don’t think our kids expected to be up 4-1. They let down a bit, and Maine had a great comeback. After that loss we had to decide if we were going to come back and win the next night or fold. It was a tough challenge for our kids, but they hustled their way to a big win.

"This may sound strange," continued Whitehead, "but I think our game the previous weekend against Army helped prepare us for the Maine fans. Army had a great crowd and they were very loud. They had a good third period against us and by the end of the game the noise level was pretty high. That helped us, I think.

"We’ll probably have another close game in the Governor’s Cup," he said. "Another tough game between two young, hustling teams. Then, no matter what happens, we’ll play a great team the next night. Vermont and UNH are very similar teams. They have very explosive offenses with great goaltending."

PICKS:

UMass-Lowell vs. Maine: Give UMass-Lowell the advantage between the pipes and in team health. Maine looks to be missing too many important players. Lowell 5-3.

New Hampshire vs. Vermont: This has "title game" written all over it. If the two teams were playing at the same level, the Gutterson faithful would make the difference. But UNH is at the top of their game now and Vermont isn’t even close. Still, this looks like a barn-burner, 5-4 New Hampshire.

Consolation Game: Vermont stomps the limping Black Bears 5-1.

Championship: It’s midnight for Lowell and the stagecoach just turned into a pumpkin. New Hampshire 7-2 over UMass-Lowell.

(If any first round picks prove incorrect, the consolation/championship picks remain the team out of the Vermont-UNH bracket.)

Boston College (4-5-1, 2-3-1 HE) & No. 2 Boston University (8-1-1, 7-0-1 HE) at Clarkson (5-4-0, 3-2-0 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Cheel Arena, Potsdam, NY

No. 2 Boston University (8-1-1, 7-0-1 HE) & Boston College (4-5-1, 2-3-1 HE) at St. Lawrence (2-7-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Appleton Arena, Canton, NY

Merrimack’s Eric Thibeault stole a point from Boston University last weekend. BU bombarded the Warriors with 50 or more shots in both games. But after the Terriers dismantled the Warriors 9-1 in the series opener, Thibeault stoned them in a 3-3 tie, recording 49 saves.

Coach Jack Parker experimented with his power-play unit which has struggled this season. Parker opted for three defensemen — Tom Poti, Jon Coleman, and Chris Kelleher — on the outside of the umbrella formation with Chris Drury and Shawn Bates down low. The experiment worked flawlessly in the opener, when BU scored four times in eight chances. But in the rematch, they went 0 for 9. Their most egregious failing came in overtime, when they could not capitalize on a 47 second five-on-three.

Hobey Baker candidate Chris Drury blamed himself for not picking up the scorer on Merrimack’s tying goal, but his offensive heroics are threatening to use up all available superlatives before the season is even a third over. Drury piled up another three goals and two assists on the weekend.

Boston College dropped both games of their series with UNH, 8-3 and 4-2. They outshot the Wildcats in both games and controlled play for long stretches. Goalie Greg Taylor broke his glove hand during an off-ice workout last Tuesday and is expected out for at least two to three weeks.

"Despite both losses we have to be encouraged by how we played," said BC coach Jerry York. "[On Saturday] we played 40 minutes of excellent hockey. But that’s not going to give us much success at this level. We have to play a full 60 minutes. We have to cash in on more of our goal scoring opportunities. Shoot more like snipers and bury our chances. "We’re just going through a tough time scoring goals," said York. "We may look into some line changes. We’re getting a lot of chances to score goals. We just have to turn the red light on. It’s one thing to talk about chances, but you’ve got to bury it in the net. You go through stretches where it hits something and goes in, but now were going through the opposite. We’re not getting much ‘puck luck.’

"I was happy with the play of [goaltender] Mike Correia," continued York. Correia substituted for the injured Taylor. "That was a big question going in, but I thought he played very well."

So York remains stuck at career win number 498.

Clarkson could be the place where York gets his 500th career victory. If so, it would be a fitting irony. York began his coaching career there, first as an assistant and then moving up to the head role 24 years ago when Len Ceglarski moved to Boston College.

Dan Murphy backbones the Golden Knights in goal. He ranks as one of the ECAC’s best. Murphy leads the league statistically, posting a 2.01 goals against average in league competition (2.60 overall) and a .949 save percentage (.915 overall). Last week he shut out Rensselaer while facing 36 shots and then gave up only two in a 2-1 loss at Union.

Todd White scored 72 points to dominate Golden Knight scoring last year and earn second-team All-ECAC honors. He’s back at it again with eight goals and nine assists in just nine games, putting him at the top of ECAC scoring leaders. Fellow senior co-captain J.F. Houle has tallied six goals and eight assists and ranks third in league scoring.

Defenseman Mikko Ollila finished second in ECAC Rookie of the Year voting. He and fellow blueliners Nicholas Windsor, Matt Pagnutti, and Scott Ricci, form a solid group.

ECAC Correspondent Jayson Moy notes that Clarkson has had trouble with defensive trapping teams. BC and BU don’t fit that mold, however. Both teams instead preach aggressive forechecking.

League coaches selected Clarkson to finish second in their preseason poll. They haven’t yet lived up to that billing, but remain a dangerous team.

St. Lawrence, picked for fourth in the preseason, has been a major disappointment at 2-7-0. After finishing third last year they graduated Player of the Year runner-up Burke Murphy, as well as Jeff Kungle, a second team all-league defenseman and winner of the Defensive Defenseman award.

However, they did return three award-winners: ECAC Coach of the Year Joe Marsh, second-place Defensive Forward of the Year Joel Prpic, and defenseman John Poapst, a member of the ECAC All-Rookie team. In fact, they returned all of their top ten scorers from last year except Murphy and Kungle. Not to mention both goaltenders, Clint Owen and Jon Bracco.

So why 2-7-0?

To begin with, Marsh suspended goaltender Clint Owen, the stronger member of the rotation, for the first half of the season for breaking unspecified team rules. Then they dropped all four non-conference games to start the season. First they lost twice on the road to a strong St. Cloud team. Then Lake Superior State and Miami, two CCHA heavyweights, beat them at home. They have since posted a 2-3-0 record against ECAC teams.

SLU’s last game, however, must rankle Coach Marsh and all the Saint faithful. Playing against a Rensselaer team so impotent that it had been shut out three straight games by teams barely over .500, St. Lawrence allowed six goals and 59 shots, including 27 in the third period. Were all those shots racked up during power plays? No, Rensselaer had three power plays the entire game. Appalling.

Jayson Moy credits the high shot total to the Engineer’s success on faceoffs and their resulting strategy to fire all opportunities on net. Maybe so, but 59 shots?

PICKS:

Boston College at Clarkson: It would be the Hollywood version of York’s 500th: he gets it in Potsdam, New York where it all began for him. But Greg Taylor’s broken hand is forcing a script rewrite. Clarkson 5-3 over BC.

Boston University at Saint Lawrence: If Rensselaer can get 59 shots against the Saints, how many will the Terriers get? 559? BU rolls, 9-0.

Boston College at Saint Lawrence: What looks like a gimme for York’s 500th becomes the game that the Saints wake up. SLU stuns BC, 4-3.

Boston University at Clarkson: BU could be ripe for an upset here, but Chris Drury will do something spectacular in the final three minutes to win it for the Terriers, 4-3.

Western Michigan (5-4-1, 3-4-1 CCHA) & No. 7 Vermont (7-3-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) at Providence (5-5-1, 4-3-1 HE) Friday & Saturday (W. Michigan), 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI Tuesday (Vermont), 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI NESN

Providence swept Northeastern 4-3 and 8-0. The Friars had dropped to 0-5-1 in their last six games, so the sweep came at a most opportune time.

"We played well enough to win on Friday," said coach Paul Pooley, "and obviously very well on Saturday. Our offense down low in the zone was particularly effective.

"I was especially pleased with the play of the Lake, Coe, and Sheppard line. Because of them we had two lines that were really playing well this weekend. The other lines only played okay. We’re still missing everyone some of the time, and that needs to change."

Dan Dennis stopped 69 of the 72 Northeastern shots on the weekend, lowering his league statistics to a a 2.95 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Hockey East named him Player of the Week for his performance.

"Dan has really picked up his play in traffic," said Pooley. "Earlier this season he was fighting the puck when there was traffic. Now he’s seeing the puck really well and is controlling his rebounds better."

The Friars host Western Michigan for two games before a mid-week contest against Vermont. "It’s nice to have these very, very competitive games and then get back to Hockey East for two games. We had a lot of fun last year going out to Western Michigan [where we split] and are really looking forward to these games."

Western Michigan, picked to finish fifth by CCHA coaches, has feasted on weaker opponents while going 0-3 against Lake Superior and Michigan State.

Prior to the season, first-team All-CCHA goalie Marc Magliarditi left the team for pro opportunities, leaving a gaping hole in the Broncos lineup. The team had already graduated four of its top five scorers.

Justin Caldwell ranks third in CCHA scoring with 10 goals and five assists in league play. Mike Melas also lists in the top ten with 3-8–11 league numbers. Joe Corvo, a league All-Rookie pick on defense last year, is third in team scoring totals.

Providence then plays the enigmatic Vermont Catamounts, profiled above.

"We’ll have certain people on the ice against St. Louis and Perrin," said Pooley. "The primary responsibility of those players, both forwards and defensemen, will be to contain those two."

PICKS: Providence sweeps the visiting Broncos 4-3 and 3-2 but can’t handle Vermont, dropping that one 4-2.

Merrimack (3-6-1, 2-5-1 HE) at Dartmouth (3-3-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) Friday, 7 p.m., Thompson Arena, Hanover, New Hampshire Rensselaer (5-4-0, 3-1-0 ECAC) at Merrimack (3-6-1, 2-5-1 HE) Saturday, 7 p.m., Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA

Merrimack took it on the chin against BU on Friday night, losing 9-1, but came back with a 3-3 tie at home on Saturday.

"It was a bittersweet weekend," said Merrimack coach Ron Anderson. "The good sign is that we responded with a strong effort on Saturday night. But Friday we just got steamrollered."

Goalie Eric Thibeault was immense in the tie, stopping 49 of 52 shots. "We’re really pleased with the way he’s developed," said Anderson. "He didn’t come in as a significant player. But by his junior year he had developed consistency and the ability to play at this level. It’s a credit to his work ethic and determination. Now he gives us two strong goaltenders."

Anderson moved John Jakopin back to defense, pairing him with Drew Hale for a Twin Towers 96. Jakopin had played on the blue line until midway through last year when he was shifted up front to fill a power forward role on the top line. He responded to become the Warriors third-leading scorer in just the half season. This year, however, he has battled a baffling illness that he is only now emerging from. His bulk down low, along with Hale’s, helped contain the Terriers in the second game.

"We’re not sure if we’re going to leave him there," said Anderson. "He seems to feel more comfortable at defense, but the coaching staff thinks he’s a bigger impact player at forward. We’re also quite young [on the blue line] so we’ll have to consider that as well."

Anderson looked ahead to the games with Dartmouth and Rensselaer. "We have a lot of respect for Dartmouth. They just beat Vermont, so you have to respect that. And RPI has always given us troubles. We’ve had problems matching up with them in the past. Both teams have better records than ours, so we’ll just have to build on what we did on Saturday."

Dartmouth may have a better record, but they sure aren’t used to it. In the past ten years the Big Green haven’t come within spitting distance of a .500 record. Last year they finished 7-21-3.

But look who’s posted a 3-3 record to date. And look who knocked off Vermont, not by a fluke one-goal margin, but by a 4-1 score. They’ve also knocked off Colgate, a squad that gave Hockey East teams fits early this year. This is not your father’s Big Green team.

David Whitworth and Ryan Chaytors lead Dartmouth scoring with six points. Bill Kelleher and defenseman Owen Hughes haven’t caught fire yet, but have historically been big contributors, posting 84 and 58 career point totals, respectively.

But the goaltending of freshman Jason Wong has opened the most eyes. Splitting duties with Scott Baker, Wong has posted a 2.25 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.

Rensselaer has displayed a schizoid personality this year. After opening the season with a respectable 5-3 loss against BU, the Engineers ripped off four straight W’s, including the shocker of the season, a 4-2 win over Vermont at Gutterson. Flying high, they then crash-landed. Three straight shutout losses to teams in the middle of the standings.

But just when it became tempting to dismiss the earlier wins, the Engineers looted and pillaged St. Lawrence 6-3, attempting 59 shots, including 27 in the final period.

Their offense is led by Eric Healey (40 points last year) and Alain St. Hilaire (19), but three straight shutouts against unranked foes speaks volumes. Probably. Rensselaer remains a tough team to get a handle on.

Pat Brownlee, Chris Aldous, and Bryan Tapper figure prominently on the blue line. Freshmen netminders Scott Prekaski and Joel Laing have played well to date, but remain wild cards.

b>PICKS:Merrimack 5-3 over Dartmouth and 4-1 over Rensselaer.

Rensselaer (5-4-0, 3-1-0 ECAC) at Northeastern (2-7-1, 1-6-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Matthews Arena, Boston, MA Northeastern (2-7-1, 1-6-1 HE) at Harvard (2-3-1, 2-3-1 ECAC) Sunday, 7 p.m., Bright Hockey Center, Cambridge, MA NESN

"We played one of our better games on Friday night," said Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder, "We just didn’t have any lady luck. Then we played one of our worst games on Saturday. As coaches we just have to make sure we get the right team to show up. Because when we do, we can be competitive with anyone."

The Huskies had been playing a trap against opponents earlier in the season, but did not against Providence. "We didn’t play it much on Friday night, said Crowder. "And on Saturday night we fell behind by so much that it didn’t make sense. We’ll just continue to use whatever we think will work best against the team we’re playing."

Northeastern’s play this year has gone from the peaks of upsetting top ten Michigan State and taking three points out of an Orono weekend to the valleys of several lopsided losses. The 8-0 score was not the first shellacking the Huskies have absorbed this year, nor will it be their last.

Crowder preaches not getting too high after wins and not getting too low after losses. If his young team has taken that to heart, they stand a good chance of winning two games this weekend.

Harvard’s strength this year lies in their defensive zone play. In goal freshman J.R. Prestifilippo relies on quickness and athleticism to get the job done. A strong group of blueliners includes senior captain Ashlin Halfnight, veteran Jeremiah McCarthy, and Ben Storey. Their strength from between the pipes to the blue line has resulted in more than three goals against only once this year.

The Crimson, however, are struggling mightily in the offensive zone. Rob Millar lists in the top ten in league scoring, and Henry Higdon should build on the 27 points he scored last year. But since the opening game of the season Harvard has failed to score more than two goals in any game. Not a recipe for success.

(Rensselaer is profiled above.)

PICKS: Northeastern beats Rensselaer 3-1 and then drops a 2-1 contest with Harvard.

Air Force (4-5-1, 0-2-0 vs. D-I) at UMass-Amherst (3-7-0, 2-6-0 HE) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

UMass-Amherst got a "feel good" game in against Army, pounding them 8-0. Gerry Cahill got the natural hat trick in the first period and then Warren Norris added a conventional one later on. The Minutemen picked up three power-play goals in six chances.

They then dropped a 4-1 game against Vermont. Coach Joe Mallen knows from his Boston College playing days how tough the Catamounts are to play at Gutterson Fieldhouse. So dropping this contest was no cause for embarrassment.

In fact, the Minutemen have played quite consistently this year. They’ve dominated the weak teams, split with those teams comparable to them, and lost to the likes of Boston University, New Hampshire, and Vermont. With the exception of the top ten teams that they’ve faced, the Minutemen are 3-2-0.

Air Force played one of their toughest schedules last year and went 4-24-5. They have already matched that win total this year, beating Division 3 schools and sweeping fellow Division I independent Niagara. They lost both of their games against traditional D-I competition, getting the broom from Princeton, 5-2 and 3-1.

Leading the Falcon scoring this year is senior co-captain Todd Lafortune with nine goals and fellow senior Peter Sandness with six. Freshman right winger Nels Grafstrom has made an immediate contribution with a goal and six assists going into last weekend, placing him among the team leaders.

Senior goaltender Pat Kielb is on a pace that will set a school record for most games played in the nets. Last year he recorded a 4.70 goals against average and a .851 save percentage in 31 games.

PICKS: UMass-Amherst 6-1 and 7-2.

Dave Hendrickson is the Hockey East Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Dave Hendrickson . All Rights Reserved.

Return to Feature Articles Return to News and Game Recaps Return to US College Hockey Online

This Week in the WCHA: November 29, 1996

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WCHA PREVIEW: Nov. 29-30, 1996

WCHA Preview: Nov. 29-30, 1996 by Jim Thies

Even though there were some surprises last weekend in WCHA play, one thing remained constant: the standings are still close.

Only four points separate the top five teams, which doesn’t even remotely resemble what’s happened in the WCHA the past few years — when one or two teams have run away from the pack.

Every game, even every shift, is important for teams to win. A slip at this time of the season could mean disaster at season’s end. That makes for some great hockey at every rink in the league.

Besides league games, Minnesota and Wisconsin represent the WCHA in the College Hockey Showcase in Detroit against two strong CCHA teams, Michigan and Michigan State. Bragging rights will be on the line this weekend at the Joe Louis Arena.

Here’s a look at this week’s games.

Alaska-Anchorage (4-5-1, 2-5-1 WCHA) at Colorado College (7-3-0, 7-3-0 WCHA) Friday, 7:35 MT, Saturday, 2:05 MT, Cadet Ice Arena, Air Force Academy, CO

Colorado College had last weekend off and should be rested for Alaska-Anchorage. UAA topped North Dakota last weekend and will try to keep it up this time.

UAA hits the road for just the second time this year. A big win against North Dakota helps their confidence this weekend, but now they’re going to CC, where teams have traditionally had a tough time winning. They must stay with their patient, defensive style of play to have success. UAA will have their hands full with the Tigers, who have won five straight.

CC didn’t play last weekend, yet still finds itself just two points out of first place. A big weekend against UAA could send the Tigers into first and into the driver’s seat for now; the Tigers have never lost at home to UAA. Stewart Bodtker (2-10–12) has caught fire and leads the Tigers in scoring. Look for Darren Clark (5-6–11) and Brian Swanson (4-7–11) to play well. The Tigers realize that UAA will play a defensive game and not take foolish penalties. If the Tigers get impatient, they won’t have the success they should this weekend.

ELMO Picks: A CC sweep. 3-1, 4-1.

Denver (6-5-1, 5-5-1 WCHA) at Northern Michigan (3-10-1, 3-9-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 ET, Lakeview Arena, Marquette, MI

Both Denver and Northern Michigan had solid games last weekend and hope to stay hot for this series.

Denver took two games at Michigan Tech to get back in the hunt. They trail the leaders by five points, but in this season that’s not too much to overcome. The Pioneers are 3-0-1 in their last four. Winger Antti Laaksonen (6-3–9) scored his second career hat trick last Saturday. Paul Comrie (3-5–8) has also played well lately. Goalie Jim Mullin (1-4-1, 3.70 GAA, .843 SV%) earned the shutout with a well-played effort.

Northern Michigan split with Minnesota last weekend, which should give the Wildcats some confidence going into the series with the Pioneers. The Wildcats must forget their recent history against DU (eight straight losses) and get the type of game they had in the win against UM. Bud Smith (5-8–13) leads in points and goals and is tied for the team lead in assists. Curtis Sheptak (2-8–10) set up both goals in Saturday’s win and will need another strong series against the Pioneers.

ELMO Picks: DU stays hot, 4-1, 5-2.

St. Cloud State (6-3-1, 4-3-1 WCHA) at Michigan Tech (5-8-0, 2-8-0 WCHA) Friday, 7:35 ET, Saturday, 7:05 ET, John MacInnes Student Ice Arena, Houghton, MI

St. Cloud State wants to keep improving while Michigan Tech desperately wants to get out of the basement of the WCHA in this series.

St. Cloud State should be well-rested after having last weekend off. SCSU is off to its best start since joining the Division I ranks. Matt Cullen 3-5–8) missed the Huskies last series, but should be ready to go this weekend. Dave Paradise (4-6–10) and Mark Parrish (3-7–10) will have to continue to play well for the Huskies to succeed. Sacha Molin (6-3–9) is the team’s top goalscorer.

Michigan Tech has lost five straight games and needs a good weekend to break out of the slump. It isn’t defense that has hurt the Huskies — they have allowed three or fewer goals in 10 of their last 13 games. The penalty-killing units have also played well, with .886 efficiency. Andre Savage (4-3–7) is the top offensive player, but he needs help from all his teammates if MTU wants to win.

ELMO Picks: SCSU wins twice. 4-2, 3-1.

North Dakota (8-4-0, 8-4-0 WCHA) at Minnesota-Duluth (7-4-1, 6-3-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, DECC, Duluth, MN

This should be a great series between two teams who are playing well. Just three points separate the two teams, which will add flavor to this rivalry.

North Dakota is led by the league’s top scorer, Dave Hoogsteen (7-9–16). Jason Blake (6-8–14) isn’t far behind in the scoring race and Ian Kallay (5-8–13) gives the Fighting Sioux a solid one-two-three punch. Goalie Toby Kvalevog (7-3-0, 3.03 GAA, .871 SV%) has given UND the big games when needed. The Sioux are second in the league — to UMD — on the power play with a .238 conversion rate. But UND needs to improve its penalty-killing, where it ranks last (.690). That’s an area where the Bulldogs could hurt the Fighting Sioux this weekend.

Duluth will be home for eight of its next 10 games, and it would like to start that stand with a sweep. Mike Peluso (8-4–12) has points in nine straight games and has been a leader all season. Defenseman Rick Mrozik (3-8–11) is tied for second in scoring in all games and has three goals and four assists in his last three games. Goalie Brant Nicklin (6-3-1, 2.48 GAA, .916 SV%) has been outstanding, and tied a team record for shutouts in a season (2) when he blanked UW 4-0 last weekend. He has allowed opponents just one goal in four other games.

ELMO Picks: Two even teams split. UMD 4-3, UND 5-3.

Minnesota (8-4-0, 8-4-0 WCHA) vs. Michigan (11-1-1, 6-1-1 CCHA) Friday, 4:30 ET, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

Minnesota loves to play against tough competition and that’s what they’ll get with this weekend’s games with Michigan and Michigan State. Of course no one will want to talk much about last year’s loss to Michigan in the NCAA tourney, but don’t kid yourself. The Gophers want to erase that memory. A big question is who will be in goal this weekend. Steve DeBus (5-3-0, 3.14 GAA, .895 SV%) and Erik Day (3-1-0, 1.00 GAA, .956 SV%) both have injured shoulders. Casey Hankinson (7-7–14) is tied for second in the league in scoring, while Erik Rasmussen (8-5–13) is tied for the league lead in goals.

When the Wolverines play, there will be more than just a couple of games at stake; there’s CCHA (and Big Ten) pride on the line. "It’s a unique tournament in that you have four of 10 schools that are traditional hockey powers who have had strong teams for a long time," says Michigan head coach Red Berenson.

"When we play each other, there’s something more at stake than what [shows] up in the standings." The Wolverines have four of the top 11 scorers in the CCHA — John Madden, Warren Luhning, Matt Herr and Brendan Morrison — and solid goaltending in Marty Turco.

ELMO Picks: Michigan wins a thriller, 4-3.

Wisconsin (6-6-0, 6-6-0 WCHA) vs. Michigan State (9-4-0, 8-2-0 CCHA) Friday, 8 ET, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

Wisconsin wants to get over that .500 mark, but it will be tough against Michigan State and Michigan in Detroit. The Badgers would like to redo the calendar and play all their remaining games on Friday, since they are 5-0-0 on that day, and just 1-5-0 on Saturday. Brad Englehart (7-5–12) leads the Badgers’ scoring attack, and has six goals in his last six games. Rick Enrico (3-5–8) is another known quality player. Goalie Mike Valley (1-0-0, 3.11 GAA, .902 SV%) won his first collegiate start last Friday, but look for Kirk Daubenspeck (5-6-0, 3.41 GAA, .886 SV%) to return to action.

Michigan State is no offensive slouch, either. The Spartans have three of the top 11 scorers in the CCHA in Sean Berens, Mike York and Mike Watt. Even though MSU has outscored opponents 47-31, coach Ron Mason said last week that the Spartans are still working to come together. Michigan State completed a sweep through Ohio last week, beating both Bowling Green and Miami.

ELMO Picks: Badgers play well and win, 5-3.

Wisconsin (6-6-0, 6-6-0 WCHA) vs. Michigan (11-1-1, 6-1-1 CCHA) Saturday, 4:30 ET, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

See Wisconsin and Michigan previews above.

ELMO Picks: Michigan wins again, 4-1.

Minnesota (8-4-0, 8-4-0 WCHA) vs. Michigan State (9-4-0, 8-2-0 CCHA) Saturday, 7:30 ET, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

See Minnesota and Michigan State previews above.

ELMO Picks: Minnesota rebounds and wins, 5-3.

A special thank-you to Paula Weston, USCHO’s CCHA Correspondent, for previews on Michigan and Michigan State.

Next Week in the WCHA: Friday-Saturday, Dec. 6-7 Wisconsin at Alaska-Anchorage Colorado College at North Dakota Michigan Tech at Minnesota-Duluth Northern Michigan at St. Cloud State

Jim Thies is the WCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 JIm Thies. All Rights Reserved. Return to Feature Articles Return to US College Hockey Online

WCHA Officials Suspended

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The WCHA announced Wednesday that the officiating crew of Buzzy Christensen, Jon Campion and Mark Nebel was suspended for one weekend, following a series they refereed in Marquette, Mich.

The crew officiated both games of the Nov. 22-23 weekend between the Northern Michigan Wildcats and the Minnesota Golden Gophers, which the two teams split; Minnesota won Friday, 5-2, and the Wildcats won Saturday, 2-1.

The most discussed play came at the end of Saturday’s game, when Northern Michigan’s Roman Kompis checked Gopher Mike Crowley from behind and into the boards. The new rule this year says that any such play is punishable by a five-minute major and a game misconduct, with an option for a game disqualification.

The three officials failed to make the call, claiming they didn’t see the hit. Video replays clearly showed it was a violation.

The officials then whistled play dead with Crowley laying injured on the ice, and proceeded to move the faceoff out of the offensive zone to center ice.

WCHA officials reviewed the video tape of the game, and suspended the three referees for one weekend.

LaCouture Leaves Boston University

By Mike Machnik
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WABU-TV68 reported during its broadcast of Tuesday’s Harvard at Boston University game that Terrier rookie forward Dan LaCouture has left school due to “personal and family reasons.” Nothing additional is known at this time.

The BU Daily Free Press reported earlier Tuesday that LaCouture suffered an elbow injury in the Merrimack series and was “doubtful” for the BU-Harvard game. There was no mention made by the Free Press of LaCouture leaving school.

LaCouture leads all BU freshmen with six goals and seven points in 10 games and has played left wing on the top line with Shawn Bates and Matt Wright. Fellow freshman Greg Quebec took LaCouture’s place on the Bates-Wright line in the Harvard game.

Face Off: Week 2

USCHO Staff Report
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Welcome to U.S. College Hockey Online’s roundtable discussion. Each week, various members of our staff take on a hockey topic. 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.

What Are Your Favorite Arena Concessions?

Scott Brown, Features Editor: I’ve gotta vote for the mini-donuts sold at the home of the Golden Gophers, Mariucci Arena. As a native Michigander, I had never seen these things until I came to the Even-More Frozen North, but let me tell you, they’re something. Tiny little donuts, churned out by the bucketful while you watch, and absolutely dripping with greasy goodness. And all topped off with sugar, sugar, sugar!

Paula Weston, CCHA Correspondent: The hot dogs at Yost are vile — even the U-M media told me not to eat them. Of course, I had to try. The aftermath was rivaled only by a White Castle binge. Truly disgusting.

I attend most OSU home games, played in the “luxurious” Ohio State Ice Rink. To get to the press box, you have walk through the home team’s bench area — no lie. The press box is tiny and unheated, so between periods I often go to the lobby to get warmed up. Unless I’ve sent someone I know well ahead of time for coffee or hot chocolate, I don’t get any; after waiting in line myself at the sole concession stand, I’d never make it back before the players take the bench, so I’d never make it back in time to get to the box!

Part of this OSU oddity is that there are no concessions (or open restrooms) in the Ice Rink. You have to walk outside, across what resembles a small alley, to St. John Arena to get to the concessions. I’ve scooted over a couple of OSU players — who don’t seem to mind, the little dears — but there’s no way the usher would let me (or anyone) through once the whole team is back on the bench.

Somewhere, I think the ghost of Woody Hayes is laughing his $@(#! off.

Lee Urton, Media Relations: I’m nearly fed up with concessions and the exorbitant prices charged for them. Every time my memory fails and I get some ice cream, afterward I think about how I could have bought a gallon of Ben & Jerry’s for the same price as a couple of pathetic scoops of bland ice cream.

My suggestion: sneak your favorite food into the arena, and enjoy it fully while you watch the game. I’ve found it even better if you make sure to savor your delicious treat while the poor schmuck next to you is trying to stomach a pre-processed bratwurst made from animal by-products.

Scott Killian, Sales and Marketing: Hot dogs may be America’s concession pastime, but nachos are the real top dog. You only need to look as far as Beavis and Butthead to understand why — it’s in the cheese (that’s right, Badger fans).

Dave Hendrickson, Hockey East Correspondent: The chocolate-chip cookies at UNH’s Whittemore Center top my list. My first time there my son ordered one, and it looked so good that I snitched a piece. At the end of the first period, we bought two more. After the second, we went looking for more. We grabbed the very last one in the building at the last concession stand we tried. Which is the secret to my svelte physique.

Although I’m also tempted to list the M&M brownies at UMass-Lowell, I’ll switch directions and instead extol the virtues of a Fleet Center hot dog. Priced about the same as your latest car payment, this is one of the true wonders of culinary science. They combine horrific health effects with not even a smidgen of taste.

Mike Machnik, Special Projects: I’ve got to admit that I’ve become pretty disappointed with most rink food lately. Almost wherever you go, it’s all the same. What happened to those huge brownies at Maine’s Alfond Arena back before the expansion? We used to pick up a bag for the long ride home. Even Colgate no longer had their baked goodies when we visited Nov. 1.

I hate to sound like the grumpy old man, but when I was a boy, rink food was GREAT. At least, it seemed that way to me. If there’s one thing that has remained unchanged over the years, it’s the fries at UMass-Lowell’s Tully Forum. Now, these are terrific. Best arena food in Hockey East.

I’ve got to put in a vote for my favorite pre- and postgame food. When you get down to it, there’s nothing better than stopping in at Harrison’s in North Andover, Mass., before a Merrimack home game. Best roast beef on earth — sliced as you watch. And because the staff has a lingo all their own, you can order pregame with three words: “Beef, med, dew.” That means a regular roast beef sandwich, medium french fries, and a Mountain Dew. Tell ’em I sent you.

For postgame, try T Anthony’s Pizzeria on Commonwealth Ave., a short walk up Babcock Street from BU’s Walter Brown Arena. The BU players can usually be found there after a home game. I haven’t found anything on the menu that isn’t good, and every meal comes complete with a free side order of biting, sarcastic humor. These guys would cut down David Letterman in a heartbeat. DON’T tell them I sent you — who knows what they might slip into my burger Friday night…

Tim Brule, USCHO Coordinator: Who has time to eat?

This Week in the ECAC: November 22, 1996

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The Battle of the Titans in the ECAC took place this weekend, and Cornell came away with the victory over Vermont. The Cats then took it to Colgate the next evening, as the Red Raiders wound up on the losing end both nights this past weekend.

In the ECAC’s race-within-a-race, the Ivy battle continues, as Brown and Princeton got the upper hand with a win and a tie for three points each.

It’s still early in the ECAC, but the Big Red of Cornell has taken charge early on.

Standings:

School Record Pts

1 Cornell 4-0-0 8 2 Princeton 2-1-1 5 3 RPI 2-0-0 4 Clarkson 2-1-0 4 Colgate 2-2-0 4 Vermont 2-2-0 4 7 Yale 1-2-1 3 Harvard 1-3-1 3 Brown 1-3-1 3 10 Union 1-1-0 2 St. Lawrence 1-2-0 2 Dartmouth 1-3-0 2 (not including Tuesday’s Harvard-Brown game)

Clarkson (4-3-0, 2-1-0 ECAC) & St. Lawrence (1-6-0, 1-2-0 ECAC) at RPI (4-3-0, 2-0-0 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Houston Fieldhouse, Troy, NY

St. Lawrence (1-6-0, 1-2-0 ECAC) & Clarkson (4-3-0, 2-1-0 ECAC) at Union (3-3-0, 1-1-0 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Achilles Rink, Schenectady, NY

Clarkson comes off of a week in which they defeated the neighboring Saints of St. Lawrence. Clarkson came out hot in the first with five goals, including three in the first 2:29 of the game. Chris Clark scored just ten seconds in, and Yan Turgeon and J.F. Houle added goals as well. Todd White gathered the hat trick in upping his total to seven goals on the season.

Dan Murphy stopped 31 shots in his fourth win of the year, though he was not really needed as the Golden Knights had it well in hand after one period of play.

"We didn’t start off the way we wanted," Saints head coach Joe Marsh said of the first period. Eric Heffler was chased from the SLU net early on, and Jon Bracco went the rest of the way.

Despite the loss, Marsh was optimistic. "We played considerably better in this game," he said. "I thought we were playing okay, and [then] we took a real bad penalty in the second period. We saw some bright spots, and a lack of discipline was what cost us.

"To generate some positive things against a good team is always what you are looking for," Marsh added.

Unfortunately, Marsh will now be without five of his starters: Clint Owen is still suspended, Joel Prpic is out one game with a disqualification, and forwards Matt Oikawa and Derek Ladouceur are gone for this weekend too. Bob Prier, who tallied two goals against Clarkson, is questionable as well.

RPI had a scoreless week. They were shut out by Mass-Lowell 3-0, and by Union 2-0. Matt Garver continues to be out of the lineup with a separated shoulder, and he is sorely missed.

Asked if Garver makes a difference on offense, head coach Dan Fridgen stated, "I’d say that’s a fair assessment." Fridgen also said this of his offense: "Someone’s got to step forward. One guy isn’t going to win the hockey game. He certainly makes a difference in our lineup, but the other guys have to pick it up, contribute, take charge. It’s a team contribution."

Joel Laing and Scott Prekaski continue their impressive freshman seasons in the nets. Though both lost this past week, they were nevertheless strong between the pipes.

Union comes off a great defensive game against RPI. Head coach Stan Moore has brought something special to this team, starting Trevor Koenig in each of the team’s six games so far. Koenig has made quite an impact. He currently has a GAA of 1.68 and a save percentage of .942, among the best in the nation in each category. There is no doubt that Koenig is among the premier goaltenders in the ECAC at this point.

Defense is a point of great pride for Moore. "The kids showed a lot of courage in their own end," he said. Union is holding opponents to 1.67 goals per game.

The forwards of Union showed a lot of talent in Saturday’s win over RPI, but still need to find the back of the net. Two different forwards scored on Saturday night, in Craig Reckin and Russ Monteith.

PICKS:

Clarkson at RPI: RPI has to find depth to get on the board against Clarkson. Clarkson has had an up-and-down year so far, but might have gotten on track against St. Lawrence. Their offense has proven itself, and RPI’s has not. Clarkson 5, RPI 3

St. Lawrence at Union: St. Lawrence is hurting. Prpic will be gone for this game, and he is arguably their best defensive forward. Oikawa and Ladouceur are out, and if Prier does not play, the Saints are in danger of going 1-7. Union can count on Koenig and the defense. Some scoring, perhaps? The defense lifts the Skating Dutchmen. Union 3, St. Lawrence 1

St. Lawrence at RPI: For this one, Prpic will be back, and maybe Prier, which will be a big boost. But the goaltending is still suspect. RPI should get their scoring back and start to click with another week of practice under their belts. RPI 6, St. Lawrence 3

Clarkson at Union: Can Clarkson play against defensive trapping teams? It had trouble with Yale and Princeton; clog up the forwards and they can’t score. Union’s defense is that good, and with Koenig, this could be an upset. Maybe I’m jumping on the Dutchmen’s bandwagon. Union 3, Clarkson 2

Colgate (5-2-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) & No. 10 Cornell (4-0-0, 4-0-0 ECAC) at Princeton (3-1-1, 2-1-1 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Baker Rink, Princeton, NJ

No. 10 Cornell (4-0-0, 4-0-0 ECAC) & Colgate (5-2-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) at Yale (1-2-1, 1-2-1 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, CT

Colgate comes off a weekend sweep at home — but they were on the losing end. The Red Raiders were surprised by Dartmouth 3-2, and beaten by Vermont 5-4.

Understandable, head coach Don Vaughn was not happy about his team’s play this weekend. "I was a little disappointed at how we came out of the locker room. I thought we weren’t ready to go."

While Mike Harder (8-9–17) and Dave DeBusschere (9-8–17) have been there so far, Vaughn is looking for more, "We have to be more consistent with our game. [We take] bad penalties at times, and it continues to hurt us."

As for this weekend, Vaughn insists Colgate is focused. "We’re only looking at Princeton and not Yale right now; we have to take it one game at a time," he said.

Cornell has proved that last year was not a fluke with a 4-0-0 start, including a huge victory over Vermont, 6-4, Friday night. They followed that up with a 6-3 victory over Dartmouth the next evening.

New heroes are made every night in Ithaca, and this weekend the Big Red continued their balanced scoring. Vinnie Auger had two goals, as did Tony Bergin and Jamie Papp. Matt Cooney had three on the weekend as the Big Red remain undefeated and atop the ECAC standings.

Jean-Marc Pelletier made 19 saves against Dartmouth in the win, and Jason Elliot won the big one against Vermont with 28 stops.

Mike Schafer continues to have this Big Red team riding high, and it doesn’t look like they will come down for a while.

The Tigers of Princeton are off to a surprising 3-1-1 start, mainly because of the outstanding play of their defense. The Tigers have been playing with five defensemen for most games, and the unit has been surprisingly solid.

On the offensive front, two Tigers got their first scores of the season this weekend. Jeff Halpern and Scott Bertoli tallied two goals each in the 6-2 win against Harvard. Nick Rankin won his second straight ECAC game, with 30 saves against the Crimson, and Erasmo Saltarelli saved 21 in the tie with Brown.

A young Bulldog team at Yale is starting to earn some respect around the league. They tied Harvard 2-2 and played Brown to the end before losing 5-4. Alex Westlund was in goal for the Eli in the 2-2 tie, and replaced his partner Dan Choquette after one period against Brown.

Ray Giroux got two goals on the young season. This was to be expected, as he was the leading returning scorer from last year. The only problem with that statistic? He’s a defenseman.

Strong games by Keith McCullough, Jeff Glew, Dan Peraza, Jeff Hamilton and John Chyz have the Bulldogs very optimistic for a season just underway.

PICKS:

Colgate at Princeton: Don Vaughn wants to work on consistency and stay out of the penalty box. That should be accomplished. Don Cahoon has Princeton on a high right now — can the Tiger defense hold off the attack of the Red Raiders with only five blueliners? Probably not. Colgate 6, Princeton 2

Cornell at Yale: Yale is getting respect, and they will earn some more by playing the Big Red hard. But the balanced scoring and inspired play of Cornell is just too much for the Bulldogs. Cornell 7, Yale 3

Cornell at Princeton: After a frustrating game defensively against Colgate, the Tigers return against Cornell. It’s just too much for the Tigers to contain this kind of offensive threat. Cornell remains unbeaten in the ECAC. Cornell 5, Princeton 3

Colgate at Yale: Yale again plays the tough game, but the offensive firepower of Colgate is just too much. Colgate 6, Yale 3

No. 4 Vermont (6-2-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) at Dartmouth (2-3-0, 1-3-0 ECAC) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Thompson Arena, Hanover, NH

The big showdown at Lynah Rink on Friday went against the Cats; they allowed two goals in the third to lose, 6-4. They rebounded the next night with a 5-4 win over Colgate, but it was a tough weekend nonetheless.

After getting shut out in two games against RPI and Union, the French Connection came back. Martin St. Louis had one goal and three assists, J.C. Ruid two goals and two assists, and Eric Perrin three assists. They are back and showing that the scoring touch is not lost.

Tim Thomas was strong as usual, making 26 saves against Cornell and 39 saves against Colgate. In the win against Colgate, Thomas was so impressive, he earned this praise from Colgate head coach Don Vaughn: "We had our chances in the third, but Thomas stopped us, as is normal."

The Big Green posted their first ECAC victory of the season with a 3-2 upset over Colgate. Charlie Retter was the hero offensively as he put two into the net.

The story, though, was freshman Jason Wong in the nets. He made 20 saves in the win over Colgate, and came on in relief of Scott Baker at Cornell. Though he was tagged with the loss, he was strong with 12 saves.

Darren Wercinski and Ryan Chaytors also had two goals each as Dartmouth came away from the tough weekend with two ECAC points.

PICK: Vermont is 32-10-1 overall versus the Big Green and have won all but two of the last 14 games. Who gets the start in goal for Dartmouth? All fingers point at Jason Wong. Thomas again for the Cats. Offense is the key, and the power play, where there will a few goals. Vermont 8, Dartmouth 4

Brown (1-3-1) at No. 1 Michigan (9-1-1) Friday & Saturday, 7:00 p.m., Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, MI

Brown had a good weekend, gaining three points with a win over Yale and a tie against Princeton. The Brown offense came alive just a little with eight goals, three by Adrian Smith.

Jeff Holwaty was strong in net with 37 saves against Princeton, and head coach Bob Gaudet credited him with the draw.

Michigan maintains their number-one ranking in the Around the RInks/USCHO Poll this week with a 5-1 victory over Michigan State and a 3-3 tie at Bowling Green over the weekend.

John Madden continues to be the man for the Wolverines. He tallied his eighth goal of the season against Bowling Green. The scoring punch of Big Blue is embodied in Brendan Morrison (4-14–18), Warren Luhning (6-10–16) and Matt Herr (8-6–14).

Marty Turco has gotten all 11 decisions on the season, and should see action in one, if not both games this weekend. Greg Malicke may get some time as well.

PICKS: Offense, offense, offense. It’s too much for Brown. Their trip to Yost ends in a Michigan sweep. UM 6-2, 5-1

UMass-Amherst (2-6-0) at No. 4 Vermont (6-2-0) Sunday 1:00 p.m., Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, VT

Mass-Amherst is coming off a split last weekend with Merrimack, in which they got back on the winning side of things. Rob Bonneau leads the Minutemen with six goals on the season, including two in the 6-5 win over Merrimack on Saturday.

Brian Regan is going to have to be strong in the nets for head coach Joe Mallen. 31 saves against Merrimack on Friday, and Regan should see the start on Sunday.

PICK: The Cats are too strong for the Minutemen. Vermont 6, Mass-Amherst 2

Yale (1-2-1, 1-2-1 ECAC) at Princeton (3-1-1, 2-1-1 ECAC) Tuesday, 7:00 p.m., Baker Rink, Princeton, NJ

Both teams are previewed above.

PICK: Both teams will come off a tough weekend facing Cornell and Colgate, and you have to wonder just how tired they’ll be. Both teams are young, and are eager for a win. Go with the home-ice advantage. Princeton 4, Yale 3

Harvard (1-3-1) at No. 2 Boston University (7-1-0) Tuesday, 7:00 p.m., Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA

After opening the season with a victory over Brown, the Crimson have now gone winless in their last four (0-3-1, up to Tuesday’s Brown game).

One of the bright spots for the Crimson has been the play of freshman goalie J.R. Prestifilippo. 30 and 22 saves against Yale and Princeton, respectively, give the Crimson hope.

The Terriers blew out Northeastern 5-2 and 8-1 this past weekend and have continued to earn their number-two ranking; they are shading ever closer to the top spot held by Michigan. Chris Drury now has eight goals on the season, and Tom Noble shone in goal with 33 saves against the Huskies.

PICK: BU is too strong for the struggling Crimson in this preview of the first round of the Beanpot. BU 7, Harvard 2

Thanksgiving weekend looms, and there are a bevy of games outside of the ECAC for the league’s teams. Next week in the ECAC:

Friday, Nov. 29 Saturday, Nov. 30 Boston University at St. Lawrence Princeton at Harvard Boston College at Clarkson Yale at Brown Merrimack at Dartmouth Boston College at St. Lawrence Rensselaer at Northeastern Boston Univ at Clarkson Miami (OH) at Colgate Ottawa at Union Miami (OH) at Cornell Rensselaer at Merrimack

Friday, Nov. 29 & Saturday, Nov. 30: Governor’s Cup (at Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, VT) Maine/Mass-Lowell & Vermont/New Hampshire

Sunday, Dec. 1 Tuesday, Dec. 3 Northeastern at Harvard Colgate at Cornell Vermont at Providence

Jayson Moy is the ECAC Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jayson Moy . All Rights Reserved.

Return to News and Articles Return to US College Hockey Online

This Week in Hockey East: November 22, 1996

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Sweeps by BU and UNH put them atop Hockey East with 6-0-0 records. They threaten to run away from the pack and make it a two-horse race. Of the remaining teams, only Boston College is above .500 in league play. All other teams have at least three league losses.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Maine. At 0-3-1 they run the risk of soon becoming irrelevant, something they haven’t been since 1985-86.

Last week’s record in picks: 6-4 Season record in picks: 33-16

Boston College (4-3-1, 2-1-1 HE) vs. No. 6 New Hampshire (7-2-0, 6-0-0 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH Saturday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA NESN

Boston College hopes to accomplish two things this weekend: turn Hockey East into a three-team race and get coach Jerry York his 500th career win. A split or better would accomplish the former, but they’ll need a sweep for York’s number 500. Last week they took three of four points from Providence, a team that has given the Eagles troubles in recent years.

"It was significant that we were able to get two goals in the last two minutes to get a tie on Friday night," said York. "But what I really liked was what we did in the third period on Saturday with a 4-3 lead. We really put a lid on the game, allowing only six shots in the period despite Providence having three power plays. We were just in a great defensive, checking mode.

"Greg Taylor was really big for us on both nights," said York. "He stopped a breakaway in the closing seconds on Friday to preserve the tie. And he was very good on Saturday.

"I’m also really happy with the play of our centers," he continued. "I like to have strength up the middle. Marty Reasoner, Jamie O’Leary, and Jeff Farkas are developing into a real focus of strength there."

"UNH should be a good matchup for us," said York. "They just swept Maine and they have six straight league wins. It will be a very good test."

Blake Bellefeuille should return to the lineup. He injured a knee on Friday and did not play on Saturday. An MRI, however, showed no damage but instead a bad bruise. He expected to return to the practice ice this Tuesday.

New Hampshire has jumped out to their best start ever, sweeping Northeastern, UMass-Amherst, and Maine. Their explosive offense scores goals in bunches, as they did last Friday night.

"We fell behind by two," said coach Dick Umile, "but we stayed confident and came back." UNH scored five unanswered goals in the second period to turn a 2-0 deficit into a commanding 5-2 lead. "Then on Saturday we jumped out in front in the first period. But the second period was a center zone kind of game and they tied us up. Then they went ahead of us early in the third. But again we stayed confident and came back." A Derek Bekar power-play goal with 2:36 left won it for the Wildcats 6-5.

Sean Matile finally joins Brian LaRochelle in goal. Matile, who has been ineligible until this weekend, arrives with an almost absurd amount of hype. Coach Dick Umile has attempted to keep expectations under control, but many UNH fans see Matile’s size and like to think "Ken Dryden." Comparisons to probably the greatest goaltender in collegiate history, if not history in general, may be premature.

"Sean gives us good depth at the goaltender position," said Umile. "Brian LaRochelle has played well for us. I’m going to play both of them for the next 10 or 15 games. Then we’ll evaluate if one is playing significantly better than the other."

After three consecutive sweeps, can the Wildcats do it again?

"I’m not even thinking about a sweep," said Umile. "Sweeps are really difficult in this league. If we win on Friday, then we can start thinking sweep. But Boston College will be the best team we’ve faced. They were picked right behind us in the preseason poll. They’ll be a tough opponent."

UNH’s Tom Nolan, one of Hockey East’s leading scorers, injured a knee on Friday night and is out for three weeks. Injuries have sadly been the story of Nolan’s career, often sidelining him when he’s playing his best hockey.

"I wish Jerry York the best," said Umile with a laugh, "but I hope he doesn’t get his 500th until after this weekend."

PICK: UNH 5-4 on Friday. BC 4-3 on Saturday.

Merrimack (3-5-0, 2-4-0 HE) vs. No. 2 Boston University (7-1-0, 6-0-0 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA Saturday, 7 p.m., Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA

Merrimack split with UMass-Amherst last week, winning 6-2 before dropping the back end of the home-and-home 6-5.

"I’m pleased that we’re starting to get our offense on track," said coach Ron Anderson. "We can’t rely on defense and goaltending all the time. Unfortunately, as our offense started to find the range, we played some shabby defense at times. On Saturday, we didn’t get away with it."

Rejean Stringer earned Hockey East’s Player of the Week honors for his two goals and five assists. He now ranks third in league scoring. Fellow sophomore Kris Porter was the recipient of much of Stringer’s playmaking largesse, notching his first career hat trick in the Friday night win.

"These are guys we expected to score when we recruited them," said Anderson. "You figure that they might go through an adjustment period as freshmen, but now that they are sophomores it isn’t surprising that they’re starting to realize their potential. Of course, we welcome their increased contributions."

Goaltenders Eric Thibeault and Martin Legault have split netminding duties so far this year and are likely to do so again this weekend. Thibeault’s best collegiate moments have been against BU. He set a league record with 54 saves in 1994-95 to key a 3-2 upset and then nearly duplicated the feat last year with 50 saves in another upset, this time 7-4.

"We can’t get caught in skill and individual situations," said Anderson. "They have too much firepower. We’ll have to get good team play in all three zones, as opposed to trying to beat them one-on-one."

The Warriors are banged up. They played last weekend without John Jakopin, Sandy Cohen, Chris Halecki, Joe Savioli, and Ryan Guzior. As of early this week, the status of these players was unknown.

Boston University dominated Northeastern last weekend to the tune of 5-2 and 8-1. Since their loss to Vermont, they have averaged over six goals a game while holding their opponents to three or fewer goals all but once.

Chris Drury threatens to make a farce of the league scoring race with nine goals and five assists in six league contests. Drury earned Hockey East’s Player of the Week the first two weeks in November but was edged out by Stringer’s performance. In his "off" week, Drury scored three goals and added an assist.

Tom Noble also leads the league, posting a 2.00 goals against average and a .927 save percentage in three league games. He continues to rotate with Michel Larocque.

This looks like a mismatch on paper, just like in past years. However, in past years the paper has lied. Merrimack has upset BU each of the last two years. Look for deja vu all over again.

PICK: BU 6-3 on Friday. Merrimack 3-2 on Saturday.

Providence (3-5-1, 2-3-1 HE) vs. Northeastern (2-5-1, 1-4-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Matthews Arena, Boston, MA Saturday, 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI

Providence picked up only one point in a home-and-home series with Boston College last week.

"We played well on Friday night," said coach Paul Pooley. "We had two goals disallowed that were clearly in, and then gave up two goals in the last two minutes. So we had to settle for a tie in a game we should have won.

"Our specialty teams hurt us on Saturday night," he continued. "We went 0-for-7 on the power play, and gave up a short-handed and a power-play goal."

Going into the season, the blue line represented the major question mark for the Friars. They had graduated five of their top six defensemen. Those questions remain.

"We’re giving up too many easy goals," said Pooley. "We’ll play solid hockey for a stretch and then make the wrong play at the wrong time. Some guys are on the ice for a lot of goals. We need to figure out who really should be playing on the PK [Penalty Kill] and power play. It’s time to evaluate some players and maybe get some new ones into the lineup.

"On the plus side," he continued, "Dan Dennis played really well. He’d had a tough time against BU the week before, but he’s back.

"Hey, I’m still positive. We’ve been playing teams picked ahead of us in the preseason, and some of our guys are pressing, but we’ll get better."

Pooley looked ahead to the Northeastern matchup. "These are two very similar teams. There isn’t a lot of goal production on either side. Both try to play solid defense and win that way."

Bruce Crowder’s Huskies came off a three point weekend in Maine before dropping two to BU, 5-2 and 8-1.

"It was a shot of reality, I guess," said Crowder. "At times we played well and could skate with them, but at times we couldn’t. And BU is a team that will make you pay for your mistakes."

"I told my team after the Maine series, ‘Don’t get too high. There are no trophies awarded in November.’ This week I told them, ‘Don’t get too low. There are no trophies awarded in November.’

"We just finished a really tough stretch," Crowder continued. "Our last six games have been against UNH, Maine, and BU. We learned a lot in those six games.

"This week should be an interesting series," he said. "Both teams are trying to find themselves after just finishing a tough stretch in their schedules. Providence is obviously a very well-coached team. We’ll have to see what kind of a team we’re going to have here."

Northeastern could pick up a split, but Providence College’s edge in experience should fashion two defensive wins.

PICK: Providence sweeps 4-3 and 3-2.

Army (5-6-0, 2-6-0 vs. Division I) at UMass-Amherst (2-6-0, 2-6-0 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

UMass-Amherst split their home-and-home with Merrimack.

"The first night Merrimack came out with a vengeance," said UMass coach Joe Mallen. "Last year we swept them, so they came out strong. They capitalized on our mistakes and Eric Thibeault played very well in goal for them.

"The next night it was a completely different story. We fell behind but we battled back for the win."

"People need to look at more than just our record," said Mallen. "We’ve played series with two of the top teams in the country in BU and UNH. In our other games, we’ve split. We’re moving in the right direction. With those two tough teams past the board, we hope to improve our record."

Goaltender Rich Moriarty, who had sparkled in a 1-0 loss to UNH the previous week, lasted only a period before Brian Regan replaced him and got the win. "Those things happen," said Mallen. "He did struggle, but that was after a great performance last week."

Mallen looked ahead to the weekend.

"I take Army as seriously as I take Vermont. There’s nothing automatic about a win against Army. They are much improved and always work hard. They beat Minnesota-Duluth earlier this year and almost beat UMass-Lowell after trailing them 3-0. We’ll have to play well."

Army began last weekend dominating St. Michael’s 8-0 before putting the scare into Lowell. As Coach Mallen noted, UMass-Lowell appeared on the way to a comfortable win over Army, leading 3-0 after two. But Army almost pulled the game out before losing 4-3. Army struggled on the penalty kill, giving up three of Lowell’s four goals in only four River Hawk power-play opportunities.

Army’s top players include goaltender Daryl Chamberlain, blueliners Leif Hansen and Mike Opdenaker, and forwards Andy Lundbohm, Bill Morrison, Frank Fede, and Joe Sharrock.

Army won’t catch the Minutemen napping.

PICK: UMass-Amherst 5-2.

UMass-Lowell (5-3-0, 3-3-0 HE) at Maine (4-4-1, 0-3-1 HE) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

New Hampshire swept Maine 6-3 and 6-5.

"I thought the key on Friday night," said coach Greg Cronin, "was when Reg Cardinal had Brian LaRochelle down-and-out and couldn’t put it away to make it a 3-0 lead. And even though they scored the five goals, I thought the scoring chances were fairly even. UNH really scored some poor goals. Give them credit, they worked hard, but those goals shouldn’t have gone in."

Goalie Alfie Michaud struggled. All Maine’s goaltending eggs are in Michaud’s basket and right now that’s looking like trouble.

"It’s unusual to watch a Maine goalie flopping around like a fish in the crease," said Cronin. "It’s not our style of goaltending…. I just want him to go out and play standup goaltending. Because if we’re going to do anything this year, we’re going to have to ride his shoulders to some degree."

"Saturday was a good college hockey game," he said. "They went up 4-2 in the first period, but we came back and went ahead in the third. We killed a five-on-three, but in the end they won on a power-play goal with a little over two minutes left in the game. Personally, I thought the penalty was a bad call. It looked fairly innocent to me."

If Maine can’t stop the bleeding now against UMass-Lowell, they are heading for disaster. Maine plays Lowell their next three games, two this weekend in Orono, and one to open the Governor’s Cup. After that, it’s either Vermont or UNH followed by two against Boston College.

"Unfortunately, we’re only skating 12 scholarships right now," said Cronin. "The NCAA cut us back to 16 and then we had the four guys leave so late we couldn’t fill their spots."

Injuries have depleted that scant figure even more. Jason Mansoff (infected elbow) and Scott Parmentier (bad back) lead the list of Black Bears on the shelf. Their return date is not yet known.

"My expectations are certainly lower than they were three weeks ago. It feels like we’re down to our last player.

"Tim Whitehead has obviously done a great job at Lowell," Cronin continued. "They were picked last but they are showing a lot of character. And they’ve got great depth at goaltender."

Lowell and Marty Fillion shut out Rensselaer 3-0 in a mid-week matchup before traveling to Army. Against the Cadets, they built a 3-0 lead after two and then hung on for a 4-3 win. Scott Fankhouser saw his first action in the nets since Fillion’s return.

"It’s always a great challenge to face Maine up there," said coach Tim Whitehead. "They have a great atmosphere for a college game. After their last couple of weekends, they’ll be playing really hungry. We’ll have to match their intensity and work as hard as they do."

Look for the Fillion-Michaud matchup to trigger a UMass-Lowell sweep.

PICK: UMass-Lowell 4-3 and 3-2.

UMass-Amherst (2-6-0, 2-6-0 HE) at No. 4 Vermont (6-2-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) Sunday, 1 p.m., Gutterson Field House, Burlington, VT

What’s up with Vermont?

Four wins against tough nonconference opponents to open the season earned the Catamounts their first ever number one ranking. They appeared a clear choice as the top team in the east. The Elves worked their magic, Tim Thomas brick-walled the Catamount crease, and players like Matt Sanders diversified the offense. Coach Mike Gilligan even fought off complacency, muttering after games about how much better his team needed to play.

A bewildering two weeks, however, began when Rensselaer shocked the Gutterson faithful, pulling out a 4-2 win. Then, after struggling to a 1-0 win over Union, the Catamounts got dumped by Cornell 6-4 before barely pulling out a 5-4 win over Colgate. Perhaps even stranger, the Elves — Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin — were held pointless in the Rensselaer and Union games, the first weekend shutout of their collegiate careers. And when Vermont came back from a 4-1 deficit against Colgate, Eric Hallman, not the Elves, scored four times to avoid the weekend double-dip. In 103 previous games with the Catamounts, Hallman had scored six goals.

Has Vermont fallen down a rabbit hole into a very different world?

"Despite the losses," said UMass-Amherst coach Joe Mallen, "Vermont is absolutely a top contender for the national championship. And I know from my playing days at Boston College how tough it is to play at Gutterson."

The good news for UMass-Amherst is that they are a much better team than their record. They’ve simply played a lot of early games against top teams. The bad news is that this is another one of those games.

PICK: Vermont 4-2.

Boston College (4-3-1, 2-1-1 HE) vs. Northeastern (2-5-1, 1-4-1 HE) Tuesday, 7 p.m., Matthews Arena, Boston, MA

(Both teams are previewed in earlier home-and-home contests.)

Look for Jerry York to grab his 500th career win in this game.

PICK: BC 4-2.

Harvard (1-3-1, 1-3-1 ECAC) at No. 2 Boston University (7-1-0, 6-0-0 HE) Tuesday, 7 p.m., Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA WABU-68

A young Harvard squad has gotten out of the gate slowly. After opening the season with a win, the Crimson have failed to score more than two goals in each of the last four games.

The Crimson scoring comes primarily from junior Henry Higdon (27 points last year) and sophomores Craig MacDonald (17) and Craig Adams (17). MacDonald, a fourth round NHL pick, took some time getting adjusted to the collegiate game, but last year scored 13 of his points in the last 20 games. Adams contributes more than points; his physical play has prompted comparisons to Rick Tocchet.

Harvard returned most of last year’s blueliners. Senior captain Ashlin Halfnight, World Junior Tournament veteran Jeremiah McCarthy, and fourth-round NHL pick Ben Storey lead this group.

Freshman J.R. Prestifilippo has won the starting netminding job. away from Peter Zakowich. Prestifilippo arrived at Harvard one of the most highly-acclaimed local goaltending recruits. Despite a weak game against Princeton, he should eventually become one of the ECAC’s top goalies.

(BU is profiled above in their home-and-home series with Merrimack.)

PICK: BU 6-2.

Dave Hendrickson is the Hockey East Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Dave Hendrickson . All Rights Reserved.

Return to News and Articles Return to US College Hockey Online

BC’s Taylor out with Broken Hand

USCHO Staff Report
-

Boston College starting goaltender Greg Taylor broke his glove hand while performing off-ice plyometric drills and will likely miss the next two to three weeks.

“The break should heal in five weeks,” said BC coach Jerry York. “Hopefully in two to three weeks he can get some movement so he can play with a cast on.”

The two-to-three week estimate appears to be a best-case scenario.

“It’s a break right in the middle of his glove hand, so it’s hard to squeeze,” York said.

Most Hockey East observers consider Taylor among the top league goaltenders. He is backed up by Mike Correia, a sophomore who spent last year in the USHL. Prior to the injury, Correia recorded a 1-1-0 record as Taylor’s backup with a 4.00 goals against average and an .854 save percentage.

The injury occurred Tuesday, Nov. 19, while Taylor performed “box jumping,” a conditioning and agility drill. Taylor hit his catching hand on the box, causing a fracture of the third metacarpal bone.

Taylor’s earliest return projects to a Dec. 6-7 weekend series with Maine. Prior to that series, Boston College plays five games in nine nights from Nov. 22 through 30.

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