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Hockey East picks: Nov. 25-27

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Jimmy (aka Benedict Arnold) picked up a game last week by traitorously choosing Notre Dame over Boston College. He’s now only one down. What will be his Treachery Pick this time?

Dave last week: 6-4-1
Jim last week: 7-3-1
Dave’s record-to-date: 43-23-8
Jim’s record-to-date: 42-24-8

Here are this week’s picks:

Friday, November 25

Alabama-Huntsville at Massachusetts-Lowell
Dave’s pick: Easy pickings for the River Hawks. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but this is a sad way for a once-proud program to close out varsity hockey.
UML 5 UAH 1
Jim’s pick: Hoping that Huntsville puts forth a competitive showing, but this one is going to the River Hawks.
UML 4, UAH 2

Providence vs. Miami (Denver Cup)
Dave’s pick: The Friars have improved but not enough to knock off Miami.
Miami 4 PC 2
Jim’s pick: Miami has struggled this season, but still think they have enough to beat Providence on neutral ice.
Miami 4, PC 3

Colgate at Vermont
Dave’s pick: The Raiders have gotten off to a great start (8-4-1) and the Catamounts have gotten off to the opposite (2-7-1). That doesn’t change here.
Colgate 4 UVM 2
Jim’s pick: Vermont is playing better and at home they have been decent. This is my upset pick of the week.
UVM 3, Colgate 2

Northeastern at Michigan
Dave’s pick: The Wolverines have gotten off to a surprisingly slow start in the CCHA (3-5-2) but have won all four nonconference games. Make it five.
UM 4 NU 2
Jim’s pick: Michigan all the way here.
UM 5, NU 2

Saturday, November 26

Massachusetts at Quinnipiac
Dave’s pick: The Minutemen and Bobcats are similarly near the bottom of their league standings, but I’m going with Hockey East snobbery over home ice.
UMass 3 Quinnipiac 2
Jim’s pick: Quinnipiac can’t score goals. UMass is at home. Not exactly a lock, but should be a win.
UMass 2, Quinnipiac 0

Boston College at Yale
Dave’s pick: If you’ve been reading this blog, you know what I think of the Eagles.
BC 5 Yale 3
Jim’s pick: There is a part of me that really wants to pick Yale here. Coming off an awful loss to Sacred Heart, at home and plenty of bad memories of the 2010 NCAA Regionals. Still, can’t imagine BC losing three in a row.
BC 4, Yale 3

Providence vs. Princeton (Denver Cup)
Dave’s pick: The Friars end up splitting their Denver Cup games.
PC 3 Princeton 2
Jim’s pick: Agreed. Providence gets a win. But will it be enough to bring home the Denver Cup?
PC 5, Princeton 2

Alabama-Huntsville at New Hampshire
Dave’s pick: Men vs. boys.
UNH 6 UAH 1
Jim’s pick: Agreed.
UNH 4, UAH 1

Clarkson at Maine
Dave’s pick: The Black Bears could really use a win here and they get it.
Maine 4 Clarkson 3
Jim’s pick: Black Bears roll at home.
Maine 5, Clarkson 2

Cornell vs. Boston University
Dave’s pick: Cornell may be atop the ECAC, but I don’t care. I really like the way BU has been playing of late.
BU 4 Cornell 2
Jim’s pick: Red Hot Hockey once again lives up to its name.
BU 5, Cornell 4 (OT)

Sunday, November 27

Dartmouth at Vermont
Dave’s pick: The two old ECAC rivals meet again with home ice not being enough to beat the Big Green.
Dartmouth 3 UVM 2
Jim’s pick: So UVM is where Dave and I differ this week. I’m going with the Catamounts for the ECAC sweep at home.
UVM 4, Dartmouth 3

ECAC Picks: Nov. 25-Dec. 1 (Tryptophan Edition)

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Josh last week: 6-3-1

Josh overall: 35-22-11

Brian last week: 10-3-1

Brian overall: 36-18-8

 

Josh: Zzzzzz. Oh, wait, it’s Thursday night. Time to wake up from my turkey coma and pass on my great wisdom about the next four days worth of games for ECAC teams. Great wisdom? I must be dreaming.

 

Michigan Tech at St. Lawrence

Josh: The Saints, 4-1 in their last five, go back into the haunted wilderness of non-conference play. St. Lawrence tripped out of four tough October games and into the light of ECAC play, where they enjoyed a 4-2 mark through most of November. In the Huskies, the Saints face a talented senior goalie in Josh Robinson (10th in the country in save percentage at .931) and a sniper in Brett Olson, whose 13 points have been scored in all but two of the 12 games he’s played.

Because of what the Saints have shown in league play, you have to guess they put their 0-4 start well behind them and, with the rhythm of playing games each weekend, I see them pulling out at least one win in this weekend series. I’ll say it comes Saturday.

Michigan Tech 3-1, St. Lawrence 4-2

 

Harvard at Dartmouth

Josh: Both teams have been all over the map, showing up with three losses apiece after their first six conference games. Dartmouth showed its power with a two-win weekend Nov. 4-5, a weekend in which 10 different ECAC Hockey teams won games. The Big Green went 3-1 in their first eight overall and are 1-3 since then. Their star goalie James Mello has run into trouble and was replaced by Jody O’Neill for two straight games last weekend, when they went 1-1.

Harvard went 0-2-1 before defeating Colgate on Nov. 12. Including that win, the Crimson are 3-1 lately, so they are on a hot streak. They’re getting offense from all over, including blueliners Patrick McNally (six points in last four games) and Danny Biega (four points in last three games).

Harvard 5-3

 

Rensselaer at RIT

Josh: Engineers vs. … more engineers. Yes, it’s the Tech Bowl out in Rochester on Friday night. As for the visitor, it’s one game after another of “well, that didn’t work, what next?” The Engineers are 2-10 overall and are going against an RIT team that’s won its last four games, scoring 16 goals along the way. Rensselaer has scored 11 goals in 12 games to stand as one of the only two teams in the nation averaging under a goal per game. In short, at Frank Ritter Arena on Friday, I see Tiger stripes all the way, but it would certainly be nice to see more life from the Engineers after their shutout win over Brown.

RIT 3-1

 

Colgate at Vermont

Josh: The last time these two teams were at Gutterson Field House together, it was 2004-05 and they were both members of the ECAC Hockey League.

Now, they’re getting together for old time’s sake (and Ratings Percentage Index … and Pairwise Rankings). Austin Smith is going to be in the spotlight after his hat trick last weekend, 15 goals overall and eight points in his last four games. The 2-7-1 Catamounts, with the second worst defense in the nation (giving up an average 4.10 goals per game), are not in the best position to welcome him into Burlington. The Raiders will get a classic, uproarious Gut welcome, but the crowd will disperse quietly in the end.

Colgate 4-0

 

Princeton vs. Denver

Josh: The Tigers looked like they were hanging in there with some nice wins, close losses and an early-November tie against current No. 8/8 Yale. Then they skated away with back-to-back 4-0 and 4-1 losses to Cornell and Colgate this past weekend.

Showcasing the nation’s fifth-best offense, No. 9/10 Denver has averaged 3.91 goals per game this year. Princeton, meanwhile, is 45th in defense (3.21 goals allowed per game). The Tigers will have to closely man-mark junior Drew Shore (16 points in 11 games) and Jason Zucker (15 points in 11 games).

Denver 3-2

 

Brown at Holy Cross

Josh: Another frustratingly erratic team, the Bears have defeated both No. 17 Cornell and No. 12/13 Union this year, and lost to 2-10 Rensselaer and an AIC program that has a .235 winning percentage since 2003. Those types of teams are near-impossible to pick for any games. Holy Cross is just above Vermont in team defense, meaning they are third-worst in the nation in that category (allowing an average of four goals per game).

Luckily for the Crusaders, Brown brings the nation’s fifth-worst offense to Worcester on Saturday night (1.88 per game). Nevertheless, I still like the Bears to bounce back from their loss to AIC.

Brown 2-0

 

Massachusetts at Quinnipiac

Josh: If you read my Tuesday “This Week in ECAC Hockey” column, you know the Bobcats’ situation – a red-hot October followed by an ice-cold November, goals-wise. Head coach Rand Pecknold’s crew has outshot its opponent in each of its 15 games, but have lost or tied its last six.

This match-up actually continues this weekend’s trend of ECAC teams facing some of the nation’s worst teams, defensively-speaking (UMass is 12th from worst at 3.38 per game). If the Bobcats are to shake off the snake that’s biting them, now would be a good time.

Quinnipiac 2-1

 

Boston College at Yale

Josh: Yikes. A pair of top 10 teams (No. 8/8 Yale and No. 4/4 BC) – it doesn’t get much better than this. Yale, of course, received its ranking a day before being heavily upset in a7-6 shootout by previously 0-11 Sacred Heart. The Bulldogs feature one of the country’s hottest goalies in Jeff Malcolm, who has three shutouts and a .932 save percentage thus far.

As for offense, both teams bring the “by committee” philosophy to Ingalls Rink. The Eagles only feature three players averaging at least a point per game (Chris Kreider, Bill Arnold, Kevin Hayes) and Yale features two in the same category (Kenny Agostino, Brian O’Neill).

The big difference will likely be difference – which team can figure out the other’s multi-pronged attack soonest. Close one.

Boston College 4-3 (OT)

 

Princeton vs. Providence

Josh: The Tigers, after having to face an offensively potent Denver Pioneers team on Friday, turn around and get a resurgent Friars team on Saturday in the Wells Fargo Denver Cup Classic. Providence is gingerly holding on to a winning record (6-4-1) after five straight seasons under the .500 mark.

Princeton’s challenge? Keep Tim Schaller away from the net, and try to avoid special teams situations if at all possible. The junior has eight goals this season, five on the power play and two shorthanded.

Watch out for freshman Ross Mauerman, starting his collegiate career off really well with 12 points in 11 games.

Providence 3-0

 

Clarkson vs. Maine

Josh: The Black Bears give their home sweet home Alfond Arena a night off and make an appearance in Portland at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

The Golden Knights visit with one of the few goalies in the country to have three shutouts this season, Paul Karpowich. The Golden Knights broke an 0-3-1 stretch with an impressive 4-0 win over Dartmouth last Saturday.

Setting aside a 2-3-1 league record, the Golden Knights looked great in their non-league games in October, going 5-1-2.

The Black Bears aren’t much of a formidable opponent, standing at 3-6-2 overall. They haven’t won a game that matters in the standings in November (0-4-1). Senior Brian Flynn is always a scoring threat with 15 points in 11 games, so the Golden Knights need to watch him.

Clarkson 2-1

 

Cornell vs. Boston University

Josh: Here we go with another game between two ranked opponents, the No. 17 Big Red against the No. 15 Terriers. Every two years (in odd years), these two teams meet at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and so far Cornell is 0-1-1.

This match-up is one of those of ram vs. ram proportions, with the nation’s eighth-best offense (3.55 goals per game) testing the nation’s sixth-best defense (two allowed per game). What gives?

It’s Matt Nieto (15 points) and Corey Trivino (12 points) representing the BU offense best, and Cornell’s Andy Iles on a three-game shutout streak representing the Big Red defense. Start spreading the news.

Cornell 3-2

 

Dartmouth at Vermont

Josh: Dartmouth has struggled of late, so perhaps this is the night when frustrated Catamounts fans get to cheer the loudest. The Big Green need to get their offense clicking, or a season that started out so positive will be deemed “in crisis mode” before long.

Vermont 4-2

 

Clarkson at Holy Cross

Josh: Clarkson can ring up just enough goals to make it past the Crusaders. If not, Karpowich will make the win happen for them.

Clarkson 3-1

 

Union at Michigan

Josh: These two teams stand right next to each other in the weekly rankings (No. 12/13 Union vs. No. 11/11 Michigan).

Both teams have way too many weapons for this not to be just an awesome spectacle. On the Union side, you’re looking at Wayne Simpson, Kelly Zajac, Mat Bodie, and Troy Grosenick in net.

Michigan brings in a per-game average of four goals, and features nine players with at least 10 points in the Wolverines’ first 14 games.

At Yost Ice Arena, I have to pick Michigan even when they’re facing almost a mirror image. Either team could win.

Michigan 4-3

 

Brown at Yale

Josh: The two Ivy League teams play on Thursday at Ingalls.

Yale 5-2

WCHA Picks: Nov. 25-27

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Princeton (2-6-1, 2-5-0 ECAC) at No. 10 Denver (5-3-3, 4-2-3 WCHA)

Tyler: The Pioneers are unbeaten in five of their past six games but they need to start finishing games. The Pioneers lost third-period leads in two of those ties. Denver has scored only one goal in third periods in the six-game stretch dating back to Oct. 28. Denver will kill the habit this weekend but continue its unbeaten ways with wins over Princeton and Miami.

Brian: Denver seems to have found its scoring touch recently in averaging five goals per game in its last three outings in which the Pioneers are unbeaten. The Tigers are at the bottom of the ECAC in team defense and won’t be able to keep up with DU offensively. Denver wins.

Miami (6-6-2, 4-4-2-1 CCHA) at No. 10 Denver (5-3-3, 4-2-3 WCHA)

Tyler: See above.

Brian: After a rough start, the RedHawks have begun to turn things around of late and are in the midst of a six game unbeaten streak. Despite the recent offensive surge, the Pioneers have allowed three or more goals in five consecutive games for the first time since 2006-07. Denver holds a 4-3 edge in the all-time series but is 3-1 in Denver including a 1-1 record with Miami in Denver Cup games. It will be tight, but DU prevails.

No. 18 Michigan Tech (7-4-1, 4-4-1 WCHA) at St. Lawrence (4-6-0, 4-2-0 ECAC)

Tyler: It seems as though the Huskies have been everywhere in North America except for Houghton, lately; a series in Anchorage, Thanksgiving in Chicago, before they finally make it to Upstate New York. A good weekend at St. Lawrence would help validate Michigan Tech’s play on the road after it started the season with eight out of 10 games at home. The Huskies need to keep an eye on Kyle Flanagan, who has 13 points in nine games for St. Lawrence. He’s a quick and valuable player and might be the best player on the ice this weekend, but he doesn’t have much of a team around him.  The Huskies are the superior team in this one but the jet lag might catch up to them. Split.

Brian: Each team ranks third in their respective conferences in team defense but the Huskies are averaging nearly 1.2 goals per game more than the Saints. Michigan Tech and St. Lawrence skated to a 4-4 tie last season before the Huskies lost decisively the following night 6-0. Although the Huskies are much improved over last year, I think the grind of nearly two weeks on the road will catch up to them. Split.

Alaska Anchorage (4-7-1, 1-7-0 WCHA) at Minnesota State (3-9-0, 2-6-0 WCHA)

Tyler: The two worst teams teams in the WCHA both have a good chance to get in the win column this weekend. I’ll take a split. Neither team has good goaltending or ability to score. I like the Mavericks at home but the injury bug refuses to go away. It got so bad that Joe Schiller and Mike Louwerse had to convert to defense for last weekend’s series at Minnesota-Duluth.

Brian: The Seawolves were 2-1-1 against the Mavericks last season but Minnesota State has won 23 of the last 34 meetings between the two schools. This is the battle of the conference’s worst team offense (UAA-0.88 goals scored per game) and the worst team defense (MSU-4.38 goals allowed per game). Desperation has set in for Alaska-Anchorage and they will leave Mankato with a split.

No. 3 Minnesota (11-3-0, 8-2-0 WCHA) at No. 20 Michigan State (7-5-0, 4-4-0-0 CCHA)

Tyler: The Spartans are 3-1 in November and haven’t had more than 24 shots in that stretch and scored 12 goals. Gophers goaltender Kent Patterson is better than the goalies Michigan State faced the past two weekends, but the Minnesota defense showed how leaky it can be in a 4-3 loss at St. Cloud State last Friday. If the Gophers claim a lead early on, they’ll win. Minnesota dominates later parts of the game, outscoring the opposition 24-4 in the third period. Gophers sweep

Brian: It has been over 30 years since the Gophers and the Spartans have met in a two-game series in the regular season. The Spartans have opened things up slightly under new coach Tom Anastos and are averaging around a half goal per game more (2.88) than last season in the CCHA. But that would only be good for ninth in the WCHA where Minnesota ranks fifth with ‘only’ 3.60 per game. But Munn Arena’s cozy confines will be an adjustment for the Gophers who are allowing 1.43 more goals per game on the road than at home. The teams split the last series at East Lansing in 1980 and history repeats itself this weekend.

Mercyhurst (6-5-1, 5-1-1 AH) at Wisconsin (5-8-1, 4-7-1 WCHA)

Tyler: Mercyhurst goaltender Max Strang has a .930 save percentage but the Lakers have offensive struggles, but so does Wisconsin. In the Badgers’ last three games (all losses), they’ve scored four goals. I think the Badgers are going to win a close, low-scoring game and break out of its scoring slump and put up five goals in the other game this weekend. Wisconsin sweep

Brian: Although the Lakers sit atop the Atlantic Hockey standings, their most recent forays into battle with WCHA foes have produced 5-1 and 6-2 losses to Nebraska-Omaha and Alaska-Anchorage respectively. The Badgers, who are looking to snap a three-game winless streak, return home where they are 5-3-0 this season. Wisconsin sweeps.

No. 4 Colorado College (7-2-0, 5-2-0 WCHA) at North Dakota (4-7-1, 2-6-0 WCHA)

Tyler: With the exception of Minnesota, I believe CC is the best team in the WCHA, and though the Sioux is sitting in 10th place, this is going to be an entertaining series. UND has to play disciplined because it doesn’t want to put the nation’s sixth-best power play (25.5 percent) on the ice. The Tigers are 8-for-27 on the man advantage in their last five games. This one’s a split. Ralph Engelstad Arena is a difficult place for opposing teams to play, no matter what UND’s record is. But the Tigers are going to show why they’re the better team and leave Grand Forks with one win.

Brian: North Dakota holds and impressive 135-76-10 (.633) advantage over Colorado College in the all-time series but are a staggering 80-19-6 (.790) against CC in Grand Forks. Despite the Sioux’s scoring troubles and the emergence of Josh Thorimbert in goal for the Tigers, I’m having a hard time betting against history and feel like North Dakota steals one this weekend. Split.

St. Cloud State (6-6-2, 4-3-1 WCHA) at No. 19 Nebraska-Omaha (6-6-2, 5-3-2 WCHA)

Tyler: The Mavericks have been up-and-down all season but that changes this weekend. The Huskies played a high-emotion series against Minnesota last weekend but SCSU’s injuries to two of their captains could ware on the team. The best way the Huskies give themselves a chance is to get on the board early, like it did in Friday’s win against Minnesota. SCSU has lost every game, but one, when trailing after the first period. Meanwhile, UNO has allowed the other team to take a lead after the first period, three times this season.

Brian: The Huskies continue to be the league’s most penalized team which should play into the hands of Nebraska-Omaha’s third-ranked power play much like it did for Minnesota in last Saturday’s 5-0 win over SCSU. The Mavericks are 33-11-3 at home since the start of the 2009-10 season while St. Cloud State is just 2-6-0 on the road this season. UNO sweeps.

Paula's picks, the abbreviated Thanksgiving edition: Nov. 25, 2011

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Happy holiday weekend, one and all! I hope that you’re able to enjoy some quality time with people and things you love — like the CCHA.
Because of the holiday, the picks are abbreviated.

Paula’s picks

Last week, including Tuesday: 5-4-3 (.541)
Season to date: 53-34-13 (.695)
I hate the wrong-way splits.

This week

This week we have two conference series, one nonconference series, one team entertaining two different non-league foes in single games, and Miami in the Denver Cup. Ferris State, Northern Michigan, Ohio State and Western Michigan are off this weekend. Days and times are noted, and all times are local.
ND at LSSU The Irish played two teams to OT this past week, beating Boston College 3-2 at home Friday and tying with Western Michigan on the road 2-2 Tuesday. The Lakers traveled to Western New York and tied Canisius 2-2 Saturday before beating the Golden Griffins 4-2 Sunday. ND was 4-1-0 against LSSU last season; that includes two regular-season wins and a playoff series. This series pits Notre Dame’s 15th-best power play nationally (.215) against the Lakers’ sixth-best (.902) penalty kill. The Lakers are allowing just 2.14 goals per game on average, period. This series gives the Irish a chance to overtake the first-place Buckeyes and the Lakers a chance to catch them. Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. Picks: ND 3-2, 4-2
UAF at BGSU With a split at home against Ferris State last weekend, the Nanooks finally registered their first CCHA win of the season — but not for lack of trying. The win came Friday (ruining the way I picked a split, thank you very much) in the form of a 2-0 shutout. The Falcons took two points from Miami on the road with a Friday loss and Saturday tie plus shootout point. Alaska is 11-4-1 against BG since Mar. 11, 2005. These teams are tied for last place in the CCHA standings with five points each. Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. Picks: UAF 3-2, BGSU 4-2
UMN at MSU With the College Hockey Showcase a thing of the past, it’s nice to see the Golden Gophers and the Spartans filling in the gap with an out-and-out series. Each team split last weekend, Minnesota with St. Cloud State and Michigan State with Northern Michigan. UMN’s nation-leading offense is averaging 4.36 goals per game and the Gophers are third-best in the nation defensively (1.71). Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m. Picks: UMN 4-2, 4-2
Miami vs. Providence and Denver Providence, tied for fifth in Hockey East, lost to Northeastern in its only game last weekend, Friday night. Denver is tied for fourth in the WCHA, and the Pioneers beat Nebraska-Omaha 7-3 before tying the Mavericks 3-3 last weekend. The RedHawks are 2-3-0 all-time against the Friars, 3-4-0 all time against the Pioneers. Miami brings an unbeaten streak of 4-0-2 into this weekend after defeating and tying Bowling Green at home. Friday 4:37 p.m.; Saturday 7:07 p.m. Picks: Miami 3-2, Denver 4-3
Northeastern and Union at UM Northeastern is tied for fifth in Hockey East after beating both Providence and Vermont last weekend. Union is tied for fourth in the ECAC and last played Tuesday, Nov. 15, a 5-1 road win over Rensselaer. The Wolverines are stinging from a two-week dominance by the state of Ohio; their current winless streak (0-3-1) includes a loss and tie in Oxford two weekends ago and a home sweep last week at the unlikely hands of Ohio State. In the old days, I would have automatically said that this was bad news for the next Michigan opponents, but after the last weekend, I’m not so sure. The Wolverines are 3-2-0 all-time against Northeastern, and the Dutchmen and Wolverines have never met. Friday 7:35 p.m.; Sunday 3:05 p.m. Yes, homer picks. Picks: UM 4-2, 3-2

Atlantic Hockey Picks Nov. 25-27

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Last Week: 5-5-3
On the Season: 53-27-9 (.646)

This Week’s Picks:

Friday, Nov. 25
Rensselaer at Rochester Institute of Technology – The Tigers have never defeated the Engineers since moving to Division I and despite RPI’s record, I have a feeling they may break out of their slump. RPI 3, RIT 2.

Saturday, Nov. 26
Brown at Holy Cross – The Bears are playing their third straight game against AHA competition, and they’re 0-1-1 so far. I don’t think they get a win here, either. Holy Cross 3, Brown 2.  

Sunday, Nov. 26
Clarkson at Holy Cross – I think the Crusaders will have to settle for a weekend split with the ECAC. Clarkson 3, Holy Cross 2.

Friday Nov. 25 and Sunday, Nov. 26
Army at Robert Morris – The Colonials are coming off a bye weekend and I think they’ll be ready for a home sweep. RMU 4, Army 2; RMU 4, Army 3.

Niagara at Sacred Heart – The Pioneers pulled off a big win last week, upsetting No. 8 Yale. But I think the Purple Eagles get the road sweep. Niagara 4, Sacred Heart 3; Niagara 5, Sacred Heart 3.

Connecticut at Air Force – The Falcons are 12-1-1 all-time at home against the Huskies, and I like that trend to continue. Air Force 5, UConn 4; Air Force 3, UConn 2.

Mercyhurst at Wisconsin – The Lakers are getting great goaltending, and that means they have a chance to win against any team. But I think the Badgers find a way to win these games. Wisconsin 3, Mercyhurst 2; Wisconsin 4, Mercyhurst 3.

Saturday, Nov. 26 and Sunday, Nov. 27
Canisius at American International – Canisius is 9-0-1 against AIC in their last ten meetings, but I think an improved Yellow Jacket squad gets a split. Canisius 3, AIC 2; AIC 3, Canisius 1

Join in the fun
While I’m not hosting a quest analyst this year, feel free to post your predictions in the comments, and if you beat me, you’ll get a mention.

New Hampshire experiences the darkness before the dawn

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Unlike the turbulence that an observer sees in men’s college hockey, where due to a larger pool of teams and the lure of NHL contracts, today’s power quickly becomes tomorrow’s also ran, the top of the women’s college hockey world is quite static. Year after year, the same names appear in the top 10. Look through the rankings from any point in the last few seasons, then compare them to the current list, and you’ll see Minnesota-Duluth from the WCHA, Harvard representing the ECAC, Mercyhurst of the CHA, and New Hampshire out of Hockey East.

Wait a second — we seem to have lost New Hampshire.

The Wildcats’ demise can be quite shocking to a fan a half continent away. I last saw them in person at the 2008 Frozen Four, where some witnesses felt that the best team in that field wasn’t host and eventual champion UMD, a team of Badgers making their lone Frozen Four appearance that didn’t produce a championship, or a Harvard squad that came to Duluth with a single blemish on their record. No, more than a few that saw the action pointed to the team that had handed the Crimson their only regular-season defeat — the UNH Wildcats.

“Obviously, the game keeps moving forward, but that was the zenith of our program,” says Brian McCloskey, coach of the Wildcats then and now. “In my opinion, that was still the best team in the country that year. That was a dominant team.”

The semifinal meeting with the Bulldogs may have been New Hampshire’s apex in the NCAA era. The Wildcats featured a potent roster, with impact players in every class. Consider the point totals that some team members amassed in their careers:  seniors Jennifer Hitchcock (172), Sadie Wright-Ward (151), Leah Craig (127), and defenseman Martine Garland (105); juniors Sam Faber (189) and defenseman Kacey Bellamy (107); sophomores Kelly Paton (162) and Micaela Long (126); and freshmen Courtney Birchard (81) and the still active Jenn Wakefield (168).

Yet all of that firepower proved insufficient against UMD, as Kim Martin recorded 41 saves, Laura Fridfinnson deflected in a pair of power-play tallies, and a 3-2 defeat ended the Wildcats’ season a game short of the pinnacle.

“The goalie that year for Duluth was outstanding,” McCloskey says. “But that’s hockey, right, in one game.”

One challenge facing that New Hampshire team was that they were so superior to their league competition, going 20-0-1 in conference games and often cruising to victories.

“That was a huge disadvantage,” McCloskey says. “It was funny, in those days, we’d schedule Wisconsin or Minnesota, and we’d maybe get the one-game series in the middle of the year, a single or two. That wasn’t enough. We need more of those games, because as you know from watching those games and being a fan yourself, covering the sport, you get into those moments, and if you’re battle-tested, the moment doesn’t overwhelm you. And I’m not saying we were ever overwhelmed, but there was some stagefright, there was some, ‘Oh my God, look where we are!’ Had we had the familiarity of maybe if Duluth had taken us out a couple of times, that would have helped us a lot. It would have helped us realize what we had to do.”

Despite that setback, UNH appeared positioned for a long run atop Hockey East. Instead, five players with eligibility remaining left the program, reducing depth. A year later, Wakefield centralized with the Canadian team preparing for the 2010 Olympics and didn’t return to Durham.

“When you lose a player of that caliber in the middle of her career when she’s going to come back and be a junior and senior, you’re not going to replace that,” McCloskey says.

As each graduating class exited, they were replaced by recruits that ultimately were not as productive. The Wildcats still qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2009 and 2010, but adding insult to injury, were dispatched in the quarters by UMD both times.

The numbers support McCloskey’s position that, in total, the talent arriving “wasn’t of the same caliber.” Unlike the accomplished crew that they once were, their present roster features only one player, junior Kristina Lavoie with 31 goals and 26 assists for 57 career points, that has compiled at least 20 goals and 50 points to date at UNH.

“We had a couple of years where we graduated some big skill classes, and for a variety of reasons, either got kids that we just erred on or we missed on some kids,” the coach says.

“I think if you stumble for a year or two for whatever reason, your coaching staff or whoever, if you’re not doing the job on the road, you’re going to pay a price. There’s very few programs anymore that aren’t doing a really good job recruiting. Obviously, we brought Jamie [Wood] in a year ago from [Minnesota], and Jamie’s resume speaks for itself, but that was tied into a lot of what was going on at the time for us. We were just a staff in transition and we needed to change direction. We had a lot of success up through 2008, but then something changed in our dynamic and we had to address it, and so we did.”

Less imposing than in the past, New Hampshire returned to Minnesota for a series versus the Gophers on November 18 and 19. The two teams last squared off on October 7, 2006, producing a 6-5 overtime win for the Wildcats. Eleven goals were scored again on Friday as the rivalry was resumed, but it served as a harsh testament of how far UNH has regressed that the Gophers scored all of them.

“We didn’t come out here to get pasted, but that’s what we got,” McCloskey said after the game. “Probably the worst loss in all of our coaching careers.”

“It’s not as dark as it might seem. There are some good pieces out there, you just can’t see it. No different if you take [Amanda] Kessel and [Jen] Schoullis and a couple of their key players out, and the game might settle a little bit more. And we just need some of those kind of players, and we don’t have them right now. But we have some of the good middle players.”

Katie Brock of UNH (Tim Brule)
Katie Brock of UNH (Tim Brule)

In spite of their current roster deficiencies, the Wildcats dug a little deeper in the second game of the Minnesota series, still winding up on the short end of a 6-1 score, but as their coach said, competing harder throughout.

“You have to challenge your kids,” he said. “That was embarrassing for our program; it was embarrassing for our league. I felt like we didn’t uphold our end. We knew that we were better than we showed last night.”

After seeing how the Wildcats responded on Saturday, I’m convinced that Friday’s loss will serve as the low point in their season, and they will improve upon their current 0-4-1 standing in Hockey East. Their offense is not high octane, but once their defense and goaltending stabilize, they’ll prove not to be the league’s worst team.

“Going forward, UNH is a school that really values the sport, is really passionate in their fan base, and it’s a unique place,” McCloskey says. “As much as I love Wisconsin and Minnesota, there’s compelling reasons for kids from some communities to prefer to be in [Durham] than [Minneapolis]. That doesn’t mean we’re going to get all of the kids. But we should win, and we had up until 2008 when we went head-to-head with those schools. We didn’t win them all, but we won a couple, and we won enough that we were comparable in talent.”

McCloskey is encouraged by the growth of Hockey East as a whole, as the league shows signs of mirroring the competitive WCHA model, rather than having a single dominant team, as in some past HEA seasons.

“If we do our part and get back into that say top 10 pool nationally, we’re obviously going to be surrounded by some Boston schools and some others, Northeastern, Boston U, BC, Maine — I see other schools making big strides,” he said.

Dark as things may appear after getting outscored 17-1 on a road trip, one has the sense that those first rays of light are starting to shine on the eastern horizon.

“Down the middle, between the goalie, ‘D,’ and the centers, eight of the 10 are freshmen or sophomores,” McCloskey said. “But what I like is the kids that are in there are really developing and growing. When they’re juniors and seniors, if we do the job and layer some nice players underneath them, some impact, which we have coming next year, and I’m sure we’ll have it coming in 2013, I feel very confident we’ll be back in the national hunt. I don’t know where we will fall, there are too many variables, but we’ll be back in the hunt.”

Shooting gallery: Eddie Davey making the saves for Westfield State

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To hear Eddie Davey discuss the start to his season, it seems as if it’s a contradiction of sorts.

Westfield State’s sophomore goalie isn’t necessarily getting peppered with shots, though several score sheets indicate otherwise.

In his first three games in goal, Davey has averaged 38.3 saves in each appearance for the Owls, including 49 saves in a 3-3 tie November 8 in a nonconference game at Nichols.

However, Davey makes a distinction when it comes to the quality of shots he has faced, versus the quantity.

The day before Tuesday’s 8-1 loss to Amherst, Davey explained that he’d seen and stopped as many shots from the perimeter of the offensive zone as high-percentage shots from deep in the offensive zone and around the net.

Davey is 2-3-1 with a 4.03 goals-against average, an .897 saves percentage, and has stopped 208 of 232 shots – the most of any MASCAC goalie in the first month of the season.

In MASCAC play, Davey is 1-1 with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .922 saves percentage and 59 saves on 64 shots. (Worcester State goalie Bryan Kalczynski has made the most saves in conference play – 80 saves on 87 shots).

Tuesday against Amherst, Davey made 41 saves before he was relieved in favor of Justin Roethlingshoefer (five saves) midway through the third period. After Tuesday’s loss, the Owls (2-3-2, 1-1-1 MASCAC) took a nine-day break before they resume the season December 1 at Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

Still, consider some of the numbers from Davey’s first three games of the season.

In Westfield’s season opener, a 4-2 win over Western New England, Davey made 28 saves. However, in his next two starts – a 3-3 tie at Nichols on November 8 and a 7-3 loss November 11 at No. 9 Utica, Davey made 49 and 38 saves, respectively.

“That first game, it’s tough to go against 28 shots a game,” Davey said. “That’s a shot every three to four minutes, which doesn’t help you get much of a rhythm as a goalie. But it helps the team and its play. If you’re seeing a lot of rubber, that also keeps you in the game at the same time.

“You make a save, and you know you’ll make another save in a few seconds. It keeps you motivated.”

Davey also sees a ripple effect of his efforts – one that doesn’t just pertain to goalies.

“If a team sees a player doing something, if a goalie’s making saves or if a forward is taking a lot of shots, that motivates the team to go down to the other end and make their own chances. I have no problem with seeing a lot of shots. And the boys have been doing their job on the other end.”

Something else to consider: Ian Wilson stopped 46 shots in Westfield State’s 2-2 tie November 17 against Worcester State. Two nights later, Davey stopped 28 shots in a 3-1 win at Framingham State.

The Westfield coaching staff has set a goal for the Owls: allow 25 shots or less on goal.

Or, as Davey added, “be as close as possible to that.”

“Our coaches have done a good job emphasizing that it’s not good to have 40 to 50 shots against a game,” Davey said. “It’s not good, not so much for me but for the defense. It wears everything down, from the net out. It means the defense has to constantly work in our own end. It takes chances away from the forwards because they’re not getting those chances in the other end of the ice.”

Time to rewind in the ECAC Northeast and the MASCAC
Last weekend included both conference and nonconference games, but here’s a sampling of some of the contests, each with a number of note:

ECAC Northeast
Becker 4, Nichols 0: Korby Anderson scored four points — a goal and three assists — for the Hawks.
Number of note: Though they were overshadowed by Anderson’s performance, brothers Don and Dan Kane combined for a a goal and two assists for Becker.

Curry 4, Western New England 2: Payden Benning scored the go-ahead goal with less than three minutes left, and Joshua Pineiro and Josh Kamrass each had two assists for Curry.
Number of note: WNE goalie Eric Sorenson made 39 saves in the loss, and was named the ECAC’s men’s Hockey Goalie of the Week on Monday, after making 65 saves in two games.

Wentworth 5, Stonehill 3: Mike Domsodi scored two goals and Skylur Jameson had two assists for Wentworth, which led 4-1 less than nine minutes into the third period.
Number of note: Wentworth allowed 10 shots on goal in the first and second periods.

MASCAC
Plymouth State 4, Framingham State 2: Seth Phelan had a goal and two assists for Plymouth State, which scored all four of its goals in the second period.
Number of note: Plymouth State finished 1-for-11 on the power play; Framingham State took 18 penalties for 74 minutes.

Salem State 3, Massachusetts-Dartmouth 3: The Corsairs rallied from a 3-0 deficit to forge a tie with Salem State, as Dan Dempsey tied the game at 15:41 of the third.
Number of note: Salem State and Mass.-Dartmouth combined for seven penalties in the tie — Salem State took three and Mass.-Dartmouth four.

Castleton 5, Plymouth State 2: Kyle Greco, the MASCAC’s leading scorer, had two assists for Plymouth State.
Number of note: Castleton, the No. 3 team in USCHO.com’s Division III top 15 poll, outshot Plymouth State 15-3 in the third period.

Wis.-Stevens Point a good fit for new coach

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Sometimes those warm summer days just appear to fly by. That can be especially true in the life of a newly-hired hockey coach, professional and collegiate alike. Hired this past July 15, Chris Brooks had to have a quick introduction to Division III hockey at Wis.-Stevens Point after coaching professionally for the past three years.

“Stevens Point is a great situation for my family,” Brooks said. “When I was coaching in the pros, there was some family sacrifice.”

Prior to taking the coaching position at Wis.-Stevens Point, Brooks spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League (CHL). Rio Grande Valley is located near the Mexican border in Texas. The team would have to travel, by bus, as far north as Wichita, Kan., or as far west as Prescott Valley, Ariz.

In three seasons as coach at the professional level, he led the team to an 87-86 overall record, and had playoff appearances in two of his three seasons. In his first season, he led the team to a franchise-record 35 wins and its first playoff series victory. The team was also named the CHL’s Franchise of the Year under Brooks’ direction. Brooks was the runner-up for the league’s Coach of the Year award that season.

“In the pros, it was a business,” Brooks said of his CHL experience. “I loved the hockey part, but the business side wasn’t always fun.”

Brooks had coached in the collegiate ranks before coaching in the professional ranks. He spent nine years at Western Michigan University, his alma mater, six as an assistant coach and his last three as the associate head coach. His roles included coordinating the Broncos’ recruiting efforts, preparing scouting reports, evaluating game video, and organizing the Bronco Summer Hockey Schools. He also managed the practice plan and team travel. In addition, Brooks served as an evaluator for USA Hockey at Michigan Select Festivals in 1999.

The preseason Coach’s poll in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) had Wis.-Steven Point picked to finish fifth.
Wis.-Stevens Point opened some eyes in the conference opener in late October with a 5-1 victory over St. Norbert, the defending national champions.

“If we play hard for 60-minutes, we’ll have great success,” Brooks said of his team’s overall performance so far this season.
“We have to play to our strength as a team; we want to be consistent with the system.”

“There is no wiggle room with our roster. We have 21-players,” Brooks added.

Brooks has one goal above all for coaching in Stevens Point: “Develop people through sport and have success outside hockey.”

During his career as an assistant coach at Western Michigan, the school produced eight NHL draft picks. In addition to those players, many others went on to sign free agent deals with NHL and minor league clubs.

Brooks also played at Western Michigan. He lettered four seasons and finished as the eighth-leading scorer in school history, compiling 57 goals and 127 assists for 184 points. Brooks led Western Michigan in assists four straight seasons, and twice captured the team scoring title. He was a member of two NCAA tournament teams, and was the recipient of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s (CCHA) Rookie of the Year award in 1993. He also received Honorable Mention CCHA All-Academic status.

Brooks went on to play professionally with stops in Amarillo (WPHL), Mobile (ECHL), Springfield (AHL), and Kalamazoo (UHL). He led the WPHL in scoring and assists during the 1996-97 season, posting 110 points (45-65-110) in 64 games. He earned the league’s Most Valuable Player. After an 82-point campaign with Mobile, he returned to Amarillo and again led the team in scoring (48-57-105), and was the league leader in goals.

He also started his coaching career that season, serving as a player/coach while being named team MVP and appearing in his second WPHL All-Star Game.

Wis.-Stevens Point is currently 2-5-2 overall and 1-3-2 in conference play.

Weekly Awards
The MCHA, MIAC and NCHA have announced player of the week awards for the week ending November 20.

MCHA
Player of the Week — Shelby Gray, (Fr.), Adrian. Gray started the weekend with a pair of assists in Friday’s victory over Lake Forest and added two goals, including the game-winner, and an assist Saturday for a five-point weekend.

Defensive Player of the Week — Ian Perrier, (Fr.), Northland. Perrier earned his first two collegiate victories with 62 saves in two games against Concordia (Minn.), recording a save percentage of .939 and a 2.00 goals against average.

Freshman of the Week — Peter Emery, Lawrence. Helped his team go unbeaten against Marian this past weekend. He made 32 saves Friday and 40 more Saturday, including several key stops in both overtimes, for a .947 saves percentage on the week.

MIAC Player of the Week.  
Chris Neamonitis, Concordia (Minn.). Neamonitis has had a breakthrough season so far. Concordia swept Bethel with back-to-back shutouts, highlighted by a 1-0 win Saturday in which Neamonitis stopped nearly 40 shots to blank the Royals. Though Saturday’s performance was likely Neamonitis’ best of the season, he’s been consistently good through the first month of play.  He hasn’t lost yet, posting a 3-0-1 record, and he currently leads the MIAC in goals against average (1.27), saves percentage (.961), and winning percentage (.875). He’s allowed just six goals while making 146 saves in 284:08 minutes this season.

NCHA Player of the Week
Cody Keefer, St. Norbert. Scored three goals and added an assist in two road wins for St. Norbert last weekend.

Puck luck, goalie’s return making the difference for RIT

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Rochester Institute of Technology, the preseason favorite in Atlantic Hockey, opened the season 0-2-1, its worst start ever in conference play. The Tigers were also humbled by Union 5-0 on home ice, their worst defeat at Ritter Arena in 17 years.

Through its slump, RIT went over eight periods of play without scoring a goal. But nobody pushed the panic button, according to coach Wayne Wilson, and things have turned around in recent weeks.

“We really haven’t changed anything,” he said. “Maybe getting some guys back in the lineup and getting some puck luck.”

The change of fortune has been dramatic. RIT is 4-0-1 in its last five games, all conference matchups, and has moved into second place in the AHA standings.

“Really it comes down to two games that we could have won, but didn’t,” said Wilson. “We had 50 shots on a good Mercyhurst team but lost. We had a game with Canisius that could have gone either way but in both cases we just couldn’t score.”

The return of goaltender Shane Madolora from a five-game, NCAA-imposed suspension seems to have bolstered the Tigers’ confidence. RIT is 3-0-1 with him in net, including a sweep of Holy Cross last weekend.

“It’s good to have Shane back, but it really wasn’t the goaltending [that contributed to the slump]”, said Wilson. “We didn’t allow more than two goals in those [conference] games [RIT lost without Madolora].”

Wilson may be right about that. Madolora has allowed more than five goals twice this season, and the Tigers have won both games. He also has posted a pair of shutouts.

The Tigers, like many teams so far, have struggled with injuries as well, making it hard to get into a rhythm, according to Wilson.

“Our captains [including defenseman Chris Saracino, who recently returned from an extended absence due to a concussion] are playing well,” he said. “We’ve had other bright spots and people are contributing but it’s been tough with injuries and guys out of the lineup. For a while we were skating 13 forwards because we had only five healthy ‘D’ and that upset our rhythm. Now we’ve had to skate 11 forwards because of guys out and that’s also upset the rhythm. We still need to settle our lines.”

RIT hosts Rensselaer on Friday. The Engineers are just 2-10, and are suffering through the same scoring slump that plagued the Tigers last month.

“They’re a good team that’s played good teams,” said Wilson. “They’re going to come out and try to run over us and we need to be ready for that. They’re hoping for a feel-good game where they get their thing going against a team they thumped last year. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Players of the week

From the home office in Haverhill, Mass.:

Atlantic Hockey player of the week:
Alex Gerke, Connecticut

The junior defenseman had a five-point night against Sacred Heart last Wednesday with a hat-trick and a pair of assists. All three goals came on the power play.

Atlantic Hockey goalie of the week:
Max Strang, Mercyhurst

The senior wins the award for the second time this season. Strang posted a 48-save shutout in a scoreless tie with Bentley on Friday and followed that up by stopping 32 of 33 shots in a 2-1 win on Saturday. Strang’s .930 save percentage is 12th in the nation.

Atlantic Hockey rookie of the week:
Cody Sharib, Connecticut

The Needham, Mass., native posted a goal and two assists to help the Huskies to a 1-1 week.

Make it stop

In my blog this week I talked about the dearth of scoring in the league this season, but let’s give credit where credit is due. The goaltending has been outstanding in recent weeks. Here are some examples:

Rob Tadazak (Army): The rookie made 53 saves in a 1-1 tie with Brown last week. That’s the most saves by an Army goalie in almost three years.

Branden Komm (Bentley): Komm, last week’s AHA goalie of the week, was at it again this week, stopping 63 of 65 shots against Mercyhurst. The sophomore leads the league in save percentage (.936).

Cody Campbell (Niagara): The sophomore made 21 saves on 22 shots in a 1-1 tie against Canisius.

Colby Drost (Niagara): Drost stopped 22 of 23 shots in a 1-0 loss at Cornell on Tuesday.

Madolora (RIT): Madolora set a RIT Division I record by recording his eighth career shutout in Friday’s 2-0 win over Holy Cross, making 23 saves. His career record is 22-5-8.

Tony Capobianco (Canisius): Capobianco made 36 saves in a 2-2 tie with No. 12 Lake Superior on Saturday. He ranks second in the league with a .936 save percentage.

Andrew Loewen (Canisius): Loewen made 18 saves in a 4-2 loss to Lake Superior on Sunday, giving him 2,475 for his career and moving him into second place all-time. He needs 296 more to break the school record, set by Bryan Worosz (2001-05).

Ben Meisner (American International): The junior stopped all 30 shots he faced in a 3-0 shutout of Brown on Tuesday.

Breaking the ice in style

You knew Sacred Heart would eventually get its first win of the season, but few saw it coming against No. 8 Yale. But Tuesday night the Pioneers, who came into the game as the only winless and untied team in Division I, pulled off a wild 7-6 upset of the Bulldogs at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.

Yale outshot Sacred Heart 53-19 but Steven Legatto made 47 saves and Chad Filteau got the winner with 4:14 to play.

“We played tremendous and I couldn’t be prouder of our bunch of guys in our locker room tonight,” coach C.J. Marottolo said after the game. “We battled. We struggled all year, but tonight we showed great mental toughness, great resiliency against a very good, high-octane Yale team.”

You can watch more of Marottolo’s postgame comments here:

[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ21SsbgQJ0 width=500]

Doing it himself

Army junior forward Andy Starczewski had a pair of goals last weekend, bringing his season total to six. That’s over half of the Black Knights’ goals this season. The entire team has 11 to date.

Double double goose eggs

We’ve already had two scoreless ties in Atlantic Hockey the season, a record, and it’s only November. RIT and Niagara played to a 0-0 tie on Oct. 8, and Mercyhurst and Bentley played 65 minutes of scoreless hockey on Friday.

Tweet of the week

I have to give it again to RIT’s Madolora, who parodied his return, comparing it to that of Sidney Crosby:

Crosby chant in Pittsburg was very similar to the Madolora chant at the #Ritter a couple of weeks ago… #greatfeelings #Ritterwaslouder

You can follow Madolora at @smadolora.

If you’re a player, coach or pundit who want to be considered for TOTW, follow me at @chrislerch and I’ll follow you back.

Thanks …

I hope that you, like me, have plenty to be thankful for this year. Have a safe and happy holiday.

The top 10 reasons to give thanks in Hockey East

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In light of the holiday we’re celebrating, let’s take a change of direction from the usual column and enumerate the top 10 reasons for Hockey East fans to give thanks.

10. Your health and your loved ones

OK, so this one isn’t really about Hockey East or even college hockey in general. And in truth, if we’re going to include it, it should go at No. 1.

But I’m including it anyway just as a Big Picture reminder, maybe because a few personal developments have hit hard recently. A good friend at work died after an all-too-brief illness. I found out two days ago that a high school friend’s battle with the Big C has taken a decided turn for the worse.

So if you’ve got your health and your loved ones, be thankful even if your team always seems to lose the big game, its goalie can’t stop a beach ball, and its power play is so pathetic it looks like the game is at even strength.

Look at the Big Picture. Give thanks.

9. There’s a lot of hockey left to be played

That’s great for fans, but even better for teams that have gotten off to poor starts.

Until Tuesday, Vermont appeared to be in danger of burying itself as the Catamounts stood at 0-6-1 in Hockey East with a mere one point compared to seven for their closest playoff rival. Fortunately for them, the Cats won a proverbial four-point game with Massachusetts 2-1 to stay in striking distance.

For the other teams with losing records in the league — Northeastern (3-7-2), Massachusetts (2-6-3) and Maine (3-5-1) — their current position in the standings isn’t where they want to finish. With only a modest number of league games left before the holiday break, there’s time to get the freshmen up to speed and the struggling veterans back on track.

Give thanks for four more months of hockey. And for some teams, four and a half.

8. A couple bad weeks don’t make a season

Ask New Hampshire.

The Wildcats got off to a horrific start, losing their first three games — all within Hockey East — by a combined score of 14-1. They then traveled to St. Cloud State, where they lost a fourth straight game, then salvaged a tie.

But those three weeks didn’t end UNH’s season. The Cats came back and went on a six-game unbeaten streak to return to early contention for home ice.

They came close to burying themselves but not quite.

7. Teams that excel on special teams — all of them

We’ve got a few of them in Hockey East. Right now, Merrimack can boast of both the top power play conversion rate (23.5 percent) and top penalty kill percentage (90.9). Not far behind is Boston College’s third-best man advantage (21.7) and second-best PK (89.2). Then there’s Providence (21.3 and 88.3).

You also can’t overlook Massachusetts-Lowell. The River Hawks’ strong power play (23.3) isn’t dragged down much by a middle-of-the-road penalty kill (80.5) because they’re the best team in the league at staying out of the box. If you’re taking only 11.9 penalty minutes per game, shortcomings on the PK are hidden pretty well.

Putting it all together by adding short-handed goals, Providence comes in at the top with a plus-10 special teams net, followed closely by Merrimack at plus-9. BC and Lowell are also sharing in that success at plus-6.

Since we’re giving thanks here and not throwing darts, we won’t bring up the other end of that coin, teams that are killing themselves on special teams. (Like giving up five short-handed goals before it’s even Turkey Day. Or having such a weak power play that they’ve only scored three more goals while up a man than they’ve given up. Or struggling so much on the PK that very close to a third of all penalties result in a goal.)

Not surprisingly, the teams that are dominating on special teams are doing very well in the standings. The teams that are struggling all have losing records.

The old cliché about hockey boiling down to special teams and goaltending rings true.

Which brings us to …

6. A half dozen top goaltenders

Merrimack’s Joe Cannata has so far dominated the Hockey East overall statistical race among goaltenders. His save percentage (.940) and goals against average (1.48) have rendered all contenders as a speck in his rear-view mirror. Those numbers rank third and second, respectively, in the country.

Using save percentage from here on out since it’s far less dependent on the team’s strength, Chris Rawlings (Northeastern, .927) and Doug Carr (Lowell, .923) come in second and third.

BU senior Kieran Millan (.912) is likely to improve on his numbers, though he certainly won’t match those of his freshman year (1.94, .921, .897 winning percentage). That season, he backstopped BU to a national championship.

BC junior Parker Milner (.909) and Providence senior Alex Beaudry (.902) round out the half-dozen qualifying Hockey East goalies who top the .900 mark in save percentage.

Notice anything? Only Rawlings is playing for a team with a losing record. Looking at the flip side of that coin, no team with a winning overall record has a top goalie whose save percentage is below .900.

You can’t win in this league with weak goaltending.

If your team has a good goalie, be thankful.

5. Two-way defensemen

While no one will confuse anyone from the current crop of Hockey East defensemen with Brian Leetch, there are some strong two-way defensemen.

That list starts with BC All-American Brian Dumoulin, followed by Merrimack’s Karl Stollery. Both have teammates — BC’s Tommy Cross and Merrimack’s Jordan Heywood — that also belong on the list.

Lowell’s Chad Ruhwedel (2-7–9) and Providence’s Myles Harvey (4-4–8) have both emerged as significant offensive threats under their new coaches.

Seniors Michael Marcou (UMass) and Will O’Neill (Maine) are leaders on young teams. Sophomore Adam Clendening is another in a long line of gifted two-way BU defensemen.

Hey, you’ll take your stay-at-home guys as well as the power-play specialists.

But the two-way defensemen are special.

4. New coaches having some great successes

Of the three coaches new to Hockey East this year, two are having surprising levels of success. Northeastern coach Jim Madigan is the exception, but considering that the three were projected to finish eighth, ninth, and 10th in the league, any success is noteworthy.

Lowell coach Norm Bazin has his River Hawks a game over .500 in Hockey East and two up overall. They’ve swept Maine at Alfond (when’s the last time that happened?), demolished BU 7-1 and last weekend blanked sister school Massachusetts 4-0. This from a team that finished a distant last place last year.

Providence coach Nate Leaman looked to have a long rebuilding effort ahead of him as he attempts to duplicate his success at Union, where he took a frequent ECAC doormat and turned it into a powerhouse. The Friars, however, jumped out with wins over BU and UMass in their first weekend and, although there have been ups and downs since then, they’ve also swept Vermont.

The challenge, of course, will be to keep the success going even after the initial honeymoon period. But so far, you’ve got to love what these coaches have done.

3. Old coaches who again have their teams in the national spotlight

No offense is intended by use of the word “old.” It’s merely there as contrast to the “new” coaches in the previous item.

That said, both BC coach Jerry York and BU coach Jack Parker will freely admit to having been around a while. You don’t get to be the two winningest active coaches in college hockey any other way. York (889 wins over 40 seasons) and Parker (859 wins over 39 seasons) aren’t far behind No. 1overall, Ron Mason (926 wins).

Especially the way their teams are going. BC (9-4-0) ranks fifth in the country and BU (6-4-1) 15th. These coaches have enjoyed sustained success over not just years but decades. Enjoy watching that ride continue.

2. The Irish are coming! The Irish are coming!

OK, so it doesn’t have quite the same ring as Paul Revere’s cry. It also isn’t a warning, at least not for fans of great hockey.

But it is significant.

That’s because in 2013, Notre Dame will be joining Hockey East and if the league isn’t tough enough already, the Irish will be bringing what is currently the second-ranked team in the country. They were in the national championship game as recently as 2008 (losing to BC) and the Frozen Four just last year.

Oh yeah, bring it on!

1. No. 1 in the country and No. 1 in the hearts of underdog-fans everywhere … the Merrimack Warriors

Does it get any better than this? A perennial doormat becomes the No. 1 team in the country for the first time in the program’s history.

Not that long ago, Hockey East fans would shake their heads and wish that Merrimack would just go away. Go back to Division II where you belong … where you can compete … because you can’t compete with the big boys.

The Warriors had years like 2004-05 when they went 1-21-1 in the league, followed by years of 3-19-5, 3-22-2, and 6-18-3.

You could count on death, taxes, and a preseason prediction of Merrimack finishing last.

Now the ugly duckling is one hot-and-smokin’ swan.

No. 1 in the country.

If that doesn’t put a smile on your face, check to see if you’ve got a pulse.

Hey, thanks for reading, have a Happy Thanksgiving and save me a drumstick.

Despite talent losses in offseason, WCHA producing plenty of nation’s top scorers

By Tyler Buckentine and Brian Halverson
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With a wealth of veteran returning goaltenders and the loss of some high-end scoring talent (three of the country’s top seven point scorers, among others) to professional hockey in the offseason, it wasn’t hard to wonder whether scoring might be harder to come by for WCHA teams this year.

A look at the numbers approximately a quarter of the way through the 2011-12 season, however, indicates just the opposite is true.

Individually speaking, eight of the nation’s top 11 point producers (Minnesota-Duluth’s Jack Connolly, J.T. Brown, and Travis Oleksuk; Minnesota’s Nick Bjugstad and Erik Haula; Nebraska-Omaha’s Terry Broadhurst and Matt White; and Wisconsin’s Justin Schultz) play for WCHA schools. Stretching the numbers even further, 13 of the top 20 are from the WCHA as compared to only seven at the conclusion of last season.

“A lot of guys are stepping up this year,” said Minnesota forward Taylor Matson. “I feel like guys are just coming out of the blue and just having big years and it’s a great thing for the WCHA.”

Among Division I’s top 30 goal scorers, the WCHA’s representation has seen a 50 percent increase (12 players, up from eight last year) so far this season with Bjugstad, Oleksuk, Broadhurst and Minnesota’s Kyle Rau constituting half of the top eight lamp lighters nationwide.

“There’s a lot of good scorers in the WCHA,” said Bjugstad. “You can look at any team in the WCHA and each one has at least a couple.”

On the playmaking end of things, nine of the top 15 setup men, including six of the top eight, are WCHA players. Of those, Minnesota’s Nate Schmidt (second with 15 assists), Schultz (T-third, 14) and UMD’s Scott Kishel (T-ninth, 11) are the only defensemen.

From a team perspective, just four teams (Wisconsin, Alaska-Anchorage, Minnesota State and North Dakota) have experienced a drop in overall scoring totals while only UAA (minus-1.33 goals per game) and UND (minus-1.88) have seen a scoring decrease in conference games.

Five teams have augmented their overall scoring by more than half a goal per game, including Minnesota (plus-1.22), Colorado College (plus-1.15) and Michigan Tech (plus-1.11) who boosted their numbers by over one full goal. CC (1.47) and MTU (1.25) are also the only WCHA schools able to boast one-plus goal per game increases in conference games alone.

Branches of Gwozdecky coaching tree briefly extend back to Denver

Denver coach George Gwozdecky and his Pioneers host a pair of Gwozdecky’s coaching protégés — Princeton’s Bob Prier and Miami’s Enrico Blasi — this weekend as DU hosts Princeton and Miami in the Denver Cup Classic at Magness Arena.

The tournament’s showcase format, in which Saturday’s matchups are pre-determined rather than based on Friday’s results, ensures Blasi and Prier will face one of their coaching mentors. Only Providence is assured of not playing Denver this weekend.

The weekend’s marquee matchup between the Pioneers and the RedHawks on Saturday night features Gwozdecky matching wits with Blasi, a former player and assistant coach under Gwozdecky. Blasi played for Gwozdecky at Miami from 1990 to 1994 and assisted him at DU from 1995 to 1999.

“We know they’re a very good program, ‘Rico’ and his staff have done a great job, and I think the same is true as far as the way they look at us,” said Gwozdecky. “I think they’re getting better as far as trying to be able to find how they need to play to be effective, so are we, so it should be a pretty good matchup Saturday night.”

Gwozdecky downplayed any possibility of a friendly war of words between the two friends.

“We talk on such a regular basis, at least once a week if not more,” Gwozdecky said of his relationship with Blasi. “So I think the smack talk is almost kind of irrelevant.”

But that’s not to say that Gwozdecky and the Pioneers don’t have an axe to grind with the RedHawks. Miami won the last meeting between the schools with a 4-2 win in the 2009 NCAA regional semifinal in Minneapolis.

“We’ve got a debt to pay, we owe them one,” said Gwozdecky. “The teams are different, the personnel is different, but both programs know where they want to be in April and this is going to be a good indicator as to where each is at right now.”

Prier, who leads Princeton against Denver on Friday night, in his first season as head coach of the Tigers. He was an assistant under Gwozdecky at DU in the 2000-01 season.

“I don’t necessarily have the same week-to-week conversations with Bob as I do with ‘Rico,'” said Gwozdecky. “But certainly we’re excited to have him come into town in his first year as a head coach.”

Gwozdecky said making the adjustment to from assistant to head coach is still a work in progress for Prier.

“Bobby’s a heck of a hockey guy, but I think everybody would agree with me that, when he was on our staff for the year, some of the organizational things off the ice were something he was challenged by,” said Gwozdecky. “There’s no question that Bobby knows how to coach — he knows how to teach, he knows how to coach — I know their team will be well prepared; now whether they miss their bus from the hotel to get to the rink, that’s a whole different issue.

“But I know that when they get here, they’ll be a heck of a team.”

The Pioneers will be without starting goaltender Adam Murray and defenseman John Ryder, who have each been ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Gwozdecky said the absence of each will hurt, particularly Ryder’s physicality, but added that dressing seven defensemen often this season may soften the blow a bit.

“He’s unique in our lineup just because of the physical nature of his game,” Gwozdecky said of Ryder. “When you look at the end of the game … the guy who’s going to have the most devastating hits, the biggest hits — the de-cleaters, as they’re called — is going to be John Ryder.

“We don’t have anybody right now in our lineup that can replace John, but certainly we do have six guys that we can fall back on who all have game experience, so that’s a good thing.”

Bjugstad critical to Gophers PP success

Bjugstad is a humble guy, like a lot of hockey players are. The fact is, Minnesota’s power play might be a lot less effective without him.

“There’s four very skilled guys and without them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’ve done,” Bjugstad said Tuesday. “Guys like Nate Schmidt and Erik Haula have been giving me the puck a lot and I’m just trying to get as many shots as possible.”

Bjugstad has scored five of the last seven power-play goals for the Gophers, whose PP is ranked third nationally at 27.1 percent.

Many would expect Bjugstad — because of his 6-foot-5, 210-pound frame — to be the Gophers’ big man down low on the power play, clearing space for teammates around the net. Quite the opposite.

Despite his size, Bjugstad can handle the puck and his second-to-none shooting accuracy improves Minnesota’s chances to score every time Bjugstad gets in the clear in the offensive zone.

Bjugstad has been very effective from the left side, camping out near the end boards, and he showed it last weekend against St. Cloud State.

Bjugstad and Jake Hansen came up with a nice give-and-go play in the first period to work the area to SCSU goalie Ryan Faragher’s right. Hansen’s “give” back to Bjugstad went off a skate, but Hansen got the puck back. This time, the Huskies became spectators, watching as Bjugstad netted his third power-play goal of the season.

“[Hansen and I] talked about it the night before, getting a give-and-go right away,” Bjugstad said. “We draw that up and we know where each other are, so it definitely benefits the power play.”

Both of Bjugstad’s power-play goals the following night were similar. Schmidt faked a slap shot from the high slot and passed over to Bjugstad for the one-timer. The Gophers worked the same sequence to score another power-play goal minutes later.

Bjugstad has been on the ice for all nine of Minnesota’s power-play goals dating to Oct. 23 against Vermont, assisting on one.

Gorham, Seawolves desperate to get season turned around

Alaska-Anchorage fans finally had something to cheer about last March when their team advanced to the WCHA Final Five.

“Coming off last year, we had a lot of good young guys coming in so we definitely had a lot of expectations coming into this year,” said senior defenseman Brad Gorham.

That gave the Seawolves and their fans high hopes coming into this season. So did the 3-0-1 start that saw a tie and then wins against St. Cloud State, Nebraska-Omaha and Mercyhurst.

Those games were nonconference games and parts of tournaments in Anchorage and Fairbanks, but the Seawolves (4-7-1 overall, 1-7-0 WCHA) have failed to win outside the state of Alaska.

“We got laid back in some periods of the game and made mistakes that cost us,” Gorham said. “We haven’t put together a full 60 minutes all the time and in this league you have to play a full game.”

Mickey Spencer was a surprise out of the gate with six points (four goals, two assists) in the first weekend. He has played in all 12 games for UAA, but he’s added only one more point to that total and leads the Seawolves with seven points.

“You can’t win games if you don’t score goals,” Gorham said. “We’ve hit a lot of posts and some bounces haven’t gone our way, so I think the goals are going to start coming.”

Despite a 5-0 loss at home to Michigan Tech, UAA’s 3-1 victory Friday gave the Seawolves something to build on.

Gophers have been dominant in the final period …

… which might be an understatement. Minnesota has outscored its opponents 24-4 in the third period, including a 17-3 differential in conference games alone.

“This team’s the best [conditioned] team I’ve been a part of since I’ve been here,” Matson said. “We come to work every single day, and that’s a huge part of our success so far in the third period.”

Minnesota coach Don Lucia attributes the success to goaltender Kent Patterson’s strong play, the team’s conditioning, and that he has been able to play a lot of players.

“We’ve played four lines, we’ve played six [defensemen], we really haven’t shortened the bench very much,” said Lucia. “Most nights our [third and fourth lines] have outplayed the opposition’s [third and fourth lines] and have scored some big as a result.”

WCHA players of the week

Offensive: Minnesota sophomore forward Bjugstad

Bjugstad’s five-point weekend (4-1–5) against St. Cloud State included a Saturday night hat trick that was accomplished on just three shots. The Florida Panthers prospect is tied for first in the nation with 21 points (13-8–21) and ranks second in the country in goals.

Defensive: Colorado College sophomore goaltender Josh Thorimbert

After stopping 55 of 58 shots in CC’s sweep (4-2, 4-1) of Wisconsin over the weekend, Thorimbert is 3-0 in his last three starts with a 1.67 goals against average and a .950 save percentage.

Rookie: Minnesota-Duluth freshman forward Caleb Herbert

Herbert scored three goals and added an assist in helping lead the Bulldogs to 5-2 and 7-3 wins over Minnesota State at Amsoil Arena. Herbert’s 14 points (6-8–14) this season ranks second among WCHA rookies.

Gallery: Dartmouth at Harvard (WIH)

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Wednesday Women: Mercurial programs

By Candace Horgan and Arlan Marttila
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Candace: Well Arlan, I thought Dartmouth might have turned a corner. A win against even a depleted Cornell is big, yet the Big Green laid an egg last weekend. Thoughts?

Arlan: Chris Wells of St. Lawrence said earlier in the year that he felt that meetings of the large middle layer of teams were likely to produce games decided by a goal more often than not. That’s what Dartmouth essentially had this weekend, with the Saints adding an empty-net goal. When the Big Green played Clarkson and SLU on the road, the games were also one or less goal differentials, with DC coming out with three of four points. So, my conclusion would be that there likely isn’t much separation between Dartmouth and St. Lawrence or Clarkson, win over Cornell aside.

The question mark for the Big Green looks to be their offense. They put 38 and 26 shots on net against the Saints and Golden Knights respectively. Maybe you just tip your hat to goalies Carmen MacDonald and Erica Howe and say they were just too good, but zero goals in 120 minutes on your own ice is an attention grabber. Dartmouth only scored twice against a middle-of-the-pack defense from Colgate as well, so that’s a trend that’s worth watching.

If the other contenders knock each other off and nobody emerges from the pack, then it will set up well for the Big Red winning the ECAC. Harvard is the one contender that is perfect against everyone not named Cornell. Do you see the Crimson as the leading threat to the champ, or are you reserving judgement until you see how they do hosting Minnesota?

Candace: Well, I’d say that even though Harvard lost to Cornell, they played them tough. They have crushed St Lawrence twice now and taken two from Clarkson. I do think we will learn how much of a threat the Crimson are when they take on the Gophers. Speaking of, was Schoullis and her line that good last weekend, or was UNH just that bad?

Arlan: Both. Friday’s game definitely got away from the Wildcats at some point of the second period, and everyone from Minnesota became dangerous. However, the Schoullis line caused problems for them all weekend, and that’s a theme in most of the Gophers’ games. When that line doesn’t score, Minnesota is 0-2. Schoullis looks like she is getting back to full strength after being injured against MSU and missing the first Wisconsin game. She’s not a speedy player, but she is able to create space for herself in open ice with her cuts, and by putting the puck where opponents can’t get to it. Battling along the wall, she’s very strong, Erickson is good in that regard as well, and both possess a quick release on their shots. Kessel — what can one say? She’s lightning fast, extremely creative with the puck, and is finishing better than last season. If she stays healthy, she will challenge some pretty lofty point records at Minnesota.

The only team that has managed to stop that trio for an entire game this season was Bemidji State, and they were frustratingly effective once more in Duluth on Sunday. The Beavers don’t seem that dangerous until they are taking away all of your time and space and forcing you into mishandling the puck. They are good at making opponents look bad. Offensively, they were buoyed by the return of Emily Erickson, and she had two goals and two assists on the weekend, and Bemidji only scored five goals.

Of course, I could just be thinking too highly of UMD. If the season ended today, the PairWise Rankings have BSU at No. 8 and UMD not even under consideration. In theory, their schedule is getting easier now, but they could easily slip in Columbus. Do you think the Bulldogs will be able to get on a roll and play consistently before it is too late?

Candace: The Bulldogs sort of remind me of Dartmouth. Every time I think they are ready to get rolling, they fall down. I had a feeling Bemidji would get a win this past weekend, and I was right. I honestly feel that this is a rebuilding season for the Bulldogs, and I think both Bemidji and North Dakota are stronger this year. Speaking of learning about teams, headed into last weekend, Northeastern had a great record but hadn’t faced any strong teams. We both felt we might learn something about the Huskies. Given that BC swept them, do you think Northeastern is still a step below the two Boston teams?

Arlan: I haven’t seen BU this year, so it is hard for me to say just where they fall, but from what I saw, Northeastern is definitely a step below BC. I’ll excuse their first period Thursday, because adjusting to a team as fast as the Eagles will take time, but BC was just better. People keep telling me how fast Northeastern is, I’ve watched the Huskies on a webcast three separate times this season, and I saw them play in person once last year. Maybe they have speed, but they don’t play like a fast team. Coyne is obviously a burner, and they have some other kids that can get up and down the ice, but when I’ve watched them, there are too many periods where the feet aren’t moving. I’m likely being too critical, but if we are talking about being an NCAA team, I just don’t think that the Huskies are there yet. Schelling will have to beg, borrow, and steal to get them into the dance.

I was impressed with the Eagles, however. Everyone looked fast. Boyles was shaky early, but she seemed to improve as Thursday’s game went along. Restuccia wasn’t playing; I assume she’s injured? Given that their two top scorers are rookies, as well as three of the top four, I expect that the upside is pretty high for the Eagles. Consistency is always a question for a young squad, and I think we’ve seen some struggles in that regard. What are your thoughts on BC and the rest of the HEA?

Candace: We’ve discussed Hockey East a few times this year Arlan, and it always seems to come back to Boston University and Boston College. I think the fact that the Eagles’ leading scorers are rookies is a great upside. Alex Carpenter looks like she is picking up right where Kelli Stack left off. I haven’t been able to find anything on Restuccia, but if she starts producing like she is capable of, the Eagles are one of the few Eastern squads that I think can challenge the WCHA hegemony. Even if Restuccia isn’t producing points at a high clip, her leadership will be invaluable. Looking at the rest of the conference, when BU gets Poulin back, they will be a threat to just about anyone. Below the Boston squads, I see teams that can threaten, but I don’t think they are strong enough to challenge consistently. Maine is about mercurial as they come, UNH just doesn’t have it this year, and Providence, while improving, is still a step below. Now, looking ahead, the Eagles have a two-game series with Mercyhurst. The Lakers will also play two with Cornell. The Lakers have kind of flown under our radar, especially for me after losing to Minnesota State. What do we see from coach Mike Sisti’s squad?

Arlan: A lot of inactivity. Until Tuesday night’s win over SLU that see-sawed through two periods, they’d only played four games since sweeping Providence on October 16, a pair with each of Lindenwood and Yale, two teams near the bottom. When I spoke with Mike Sisti early in the year, he said that this season would be challenging for his staff in that they had a very young team and had much they needed to teach them. I expect that this stretch that’s been light on games has helped in that regard, but we’ll need to see them in game action against better teams to be able to judge. The two series with Cornell and BC should give us a barometer reading from Erie.

And props to two “R” teams. With a win over Colgate on Tuesday, Robert Morris is 9-1-1. Yes, they don’t have any marquee wins, but I’m willing to bet that’s a new high-water mark for the Colonials program. And couldn’t you almost hear a gasp from around the country when Rensselaer led Wisconsin in the third period on Friday?

Candace: Yes, we could hear a huge gasp when the Engineers led Wisconsin! However, I’m inclined to view that as Four Nations hangover. Regarding the Colonials, yes, kudos for beating Colgate. We’ll have to see what happens when they start facing some better teams. I had someone e-mail me asking why they weren’t ranked yet, and I think we can safely say it comes down to strength of schedule, which it always seems to. The best teams play each other and maintain their position. Considering that the Colonials struggled against, for instance, St. Cloud, which still hovers at the bottom of the WCHA, I don’t think we can read too much into their record. It’s the same with Northeastern. Speaking of gasps, it just came in that Quinnipiac beat Boston College in overtime. The Bobcats have been disappointing so far this year; might we see a second half resurgence from Kelly Babstock and company?

Arlan: Babstock herself definitely surfaced just in time, getting the tying 6-on-4 goal with a scant 10 seconds to go. Amanda Colin’s game-winner 35 seconds into OT shows just how much hockey can be a game of momentum. The Bobcats accomplish zilch all game against the Eagles, and then get two goals past Boyles in 45 seconds of action. Interesting that frosh Chelsea Laden earned the win for Quinnipiac, stopping all but one of 34 shots. Whether that’s a sign that Victoria Vigilanti is not healthy or that Rick Seeley is trying to stabilize the position I don’t know, but given that their offense isn’t blazing at the moment, they’ll need to be strong in net. And speaking of health, I see that Restuccia played for BC, so I guess that question is answered.

I know RMU is likely to fade as they face tougher teams, but they are a TUC right now, so they deserve at least a little love.

In talking to Brian McCloskey last weekend, he made the point that he thinks Hockey East is stronger top to bottom than the ECAC this season. Although BC failed to close the deal tonight against an ECAC foe, do you agree with him?

Candace: I am actually inclined to agree with Brian on that, but I think it’s a subtle difference. To me, the ECAC is basically a two-tier league. You’ve got Cornell, Harvard, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Dartmouth, and Quinnipiac up top, and maybe Princeton. But teams like Brown, Yale, Union, even RPI, despite its showing in one game against Wisconsin, those teams are very unlikely to beat anybody in the top half. The last place team in Hockey East is New Hampshire, which beat Dartmouth and lost pretty convincingly to Vermont, the team just above them in Hockey East. I know that games are as much about match-ups as anything, but it does seem that Hockey East has a stiffer level of competition overall than ECAC. Speaking of, this weekend, and to wrap things up, we have a really intriguing nonconference series between Boston University and Cornell, as well as one between Minnesota and Harvard. Both have significant PairWise implications, wouldn’t you agree?

Arlan: There are so few nonconference games involving Ivy League teams or WCHA teams, so the importance of each one played is amplified. Unfortunately, the BU games, as it seems has been the case with so many key games this season, will be less insightful because of missing players, if Poulin and Kohanchuk are still out. Of course, the PWR are blind to these absences and don’t care beyond the win, loss, or draw. Right now, all of these teams are okay in the PairWise, but BU is sitting in eighth after tonight’s BC loss and Mercyhurst win and could use points. Being swept would be painful for any of the these teams, but they all could survive that worst-case scenario. We may eventually find that these games have a ripple effect for other teams in the ECAC, HEA, and WCHA, so it is hard to guess at the true impact. In November, maybe we’re best off just enjoying the hockey — and a little turkey and stuffing.

Candace and Arlan want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving!

Confidence waning as Quinnipiac searches for lost goals

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Voodoo. Ouija boards. Rabbit’s feet.

Quinnipiac has tried it all this puzzling month of November. The Bobcats are snakebit something bad, as they saw a 35-goal October (eight games) morph into a 13-goal November (seven games).

Coach Rand Pecknold said that the team is just simply frustrated — there’s no other word. You can understand, especially when you consider the Bobcats have outshot their opponent in all 15 games this year. It’s not for lack of trying.

“We generate the chances, but a lot of it is confidence,” said Pecknold. “The big one that got us rolling was when we outshot Clarkson 44-11 and tied 1-1. That shot the locker room confidence.”

As the team’s offense has gone, so has that of October’s ECAC Hockey player of the month Jeremy Langlois. He had eight goals in eight games in October, including a three-game stretch where he scored five (including a hat trick against Canisius on Oct. 15).

Fast forward to November and he’s scored two goals in seven games, those in opposing games at Harvard (Nov. 5) and in the aforementioned Clarkson game on Nov. 11.

He’s currently on an uncharacteristic three-game point- and goal-less streak.

“Frustration would be the key word,” said Pecknold. “These last four games we’ve played well, but we have nothing to show for it. Over those four games, we have two goals on 141 shots.”

Only the Crimson were able to keep the Bobcats under the 30-shot mark in this regular season (Arcadia also did in exhibition play on Oct. 2), giving up just 26 to Quinnipiac. The Bobcats have hit the 40-shot mark four times and poured 51 onto Bentley’s Brandon Komm on Oct. 18. Those were the good old days, considering the Bobcats came away with a 6-1 win.

Somewhere, somebody’s saying, “Well, all those wins came against Atlantic Hockey teams, not ECAC.”

Yeah, many of the wins came against teams from the same league as Sacred Heart, which beat ECAC league leader Yale 7-6; and from the same league as American International, which shut out Brown 3-0, both on Tuesday night. Cornell also barely squeaked out a 1-0 victory against the AHA’s Niagara that same evening.

After the team’s recent 0-2 weekend (including a shutout by Cornell’s Andy Iles — he’s up next), the Bobcats are welcoming a 13-day break from ECAC Hockey play. In the middle of that, they welcome Massachusetts on Friday. The team is also home, where it at least earned a point back on Nov. 11.

“We need to get our confidence back,” Pecknold said. “It is nice to play a non-conference game right now. A couple weeks ago, UMass beat then-No. 1 Boston College, so they’ll be tough, but it will be nice to get home. Eventually, we’ll start getting some breaks.”

That means you, Langlois, and all your buddies — Scott Zurevinski, Matthew Peca and the Jones boys (Kellen and Connor). All you can do is keep shooting — this has got to end eventually with a spinning red light.

“It’s not just ‘Langer,’ all of our forwards are gripping the stick a little bit tight,” Pecknold said. “We need to get our confidence and poise back offensively. We’re rushing the shot a little too much.”

Defensively, the team hasn’t really had problems. The Bobcats have let in 18 goals to 13 scored in ECAC play over seven games, but that’s just 2.57 against per game. Nothing alarming.

“We’ve been better, defensively. We were not very good defensively against Dartmouth,” said Pecknold, referring to a 5-4 loss to the Big Green on Nov. 4. “We’ve made some mistakes. Again, it is frustrating when you’re playing well [and you don’t score].

“We’ve just got to keep plugging away. We’ve got a great group of guys, a great culture here, it’s a fun group to be around,” said Pecknold. “They’re still excited to come to the rink every day. At some point, we’ll turn this around.”

On the spot: Cornell’s Andy Iles

Phew! By talking to Andy Iles on Monday, I’m just pleased as punch that I didn’t jinx his mini-shutout streak. Oops, he did it again on Tuesday, keeping Niagara away from a single goal celebration. Three in a row, and on the day he was named ECAC Hockey goalie of the week to boot.

It was Nov. 12 that the Cornell sophomore last let in a goal. Since then, he’s registered his first three career shutouts in succession, starting last Friday (4-0 win vs. Princeton), Saturday (4-0 win vs. Quinnipiac) and Tuesday (1-0 win vs. Niagara).

He’ll bring this streak into the storied Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday in the Red Hot Hockey game against Boston University.

USCHO.com caught up with Iles between his blankings of the Bobcats and the Purple Eagles.

USCHO: What is the mentality like when you’re in that second shutout, trying to keep up the streak for the good of the team?

Iles: As a goalie, Saturday nights are a little bit easier. Every goalie kind of gets in a rhythm when you’re seeing pucks, so the Saturdays come a little more natural.

USCHO: What kind of demands do you put on yourself in that situation?

Iles: Making sure that as a goalie, you make the saves that you’re supposed to make and come up with some big saves you’re asked to make. That usually translates into team success. The defensemen did a great job of keeping the puck to the outside. [Princeton] had two quality chances here and there that I was able to push aside without any harm.

USCHO: Winning [now five] in a row, what do you think that says about Cornell as a team?

Iles: We’re happy where we are, but at the same time, we know we have a lot of potential on this team. We’re trying to get better every shift, so it’s a process right now. It’s still early in the year. You can’t get complacent or satisfied.

USCHO: What is your perspective on the team’s 1-2 start, with the benefit of hindsight?

Iles: One of the great things about this league is that any night anyone can win. We ran into some tough losses and made some mistakes that were uncharacteristic of our team. We knew, at the same time, we had the potential to be a strong team. We couldn’t get overwhelmed by the losses we had early on, we had to keep our confidence.”

USCHO: Who among your teammates do you see really performing well right now?

Iles: Lots of guys. Guys like Greg Miller and Nick D’Agostino are off to really hot starts, but they’d all agree that what is making us such a good team right now is the supporting cast. Everyone is playing their role. Every team in college hockey has top players, but what separates the good teams from teams that don’t have as much success is the ability of its supporting cast.

Elsewhere around the league

Brown: The Bears suffered their first-ever loss to American International in nine meetings, ending an 8-0-0 winning streak over the Yellow Jackets. AIC’s two goals scored against Brown goalie Mike Clemente (in the 3-0 win) ended Clemente’s personal streak of three games worth of letting up just one goal (resulting in a win, a loss and a tie).

Clarkson: Paul Karpowich tied fellow league goalie Jeff Malcolm (Yale) in placing second in shutouts nationwide with three this season. Also strong defensively for the Golden Knights has been Kevin Tansey, who is plus or even in all 14 games he’s played in this year. The Knights’ upcoming nine-game road string is its longest in 71 years.

Colgate: Player of the week Austin Smith is still on fire, scoring eight points in his last four games. He’s Mr. Momentum as well, scoring two of his three hat trick goals on Friday against Quinnipiac in the final two minutes of each of the first and second periods. He also scored the Raiders’ last hat trick, on March 9, 2009, in the playoffs — also against the Bobcats.

Dartmouth: Coach Bob Gaudet created a bit of a goalie controversy by not starting beleaguered media/coaches preseason goalie of the year James Mello (2.85 goals against average) in either game last weekend. Instead, Jody O’Neill went 1-1-0, with his Friday night start being the first time a goalie other than Mello started for the Big Green. He last started in last year’s Ivy Shootout on Oct. 29-30, 2010, also earning a win and a loss.

Harvard: The Crimson behaved themselves in their Tuesday non-league tilt against New Hampshire, keeping their penalty minutes count under 20 for the first time in five games (six PIM vs. UNH). In their four games between Nov. 11-19, Alex Killorn, Danny Biega, Colin Blackwell and Patrick McNally made it a four-game string of a Harvard player having either a 10-minute misconduct or game misconduct.

Princeton: Not a great weekend for the Tigers, who were outscored 8-1 over Friday and Saturday, with Iles earning a 15-save shutout against Princeton on Friday. Dan Bonar was busy, though, making a career-high 42 saves on 46 shots against Colgate on Saturday in a 4-1 loss. His previous high was 31 saves.

Rensselaer: It’s lonely at the bottom. The Engineers join the soon-to-be-defunct program Alabama-Huntsville in being the only two Division I teams in the country to average less than a goal per game. The Chargers have a 0.83 average, while Rensselaer is at 0.92. The Engineers have been shut out in five of their 12 games.

St. Lawrence: Rookie of the week Chris Martin is one of three Saints freshmen to enjoy a multi-point game this season, with Justin Bruckel joining him in that honor on the same night, Saturday in their 4-3 win over Harvard. Freshman Patrick Doherty had two goals in the 6-5 loss to Rochester Institute of Technology at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.

Union: Daniel Carr’s four-point game (three goals, assist) was the fourth by an ECAC player this year and the second by a Union player after Wayne Simpson did the same against Army on Oct. 8. Quinnipiac’s Jeremy Langlois (Oct. 15) and Yale’s Kenny Agostino (Nov. 19) have the two other four-point games.

Yale: Bulldogs goalie Jeff Malcolm preceded Cornell’s Iles in putting together a three-game shutout streak, his lasting from Nov. 5 to 12 and extending 226:39, ending in the third period of their 5-3 win over Connecticut on Nov. 19. Iles’ shutout streak is currently at 202:28.

Meeting new recruits

It’s November, so the early signing period is on, and ECAC schools have snatched up some good’uns. Here are three recent “acquisitions” to keep an eye on.

• Matt Buckles (Cornell, 2013-14), Toronto Lakeshore Patriots (OJHL) — Still only 16 with two full seasons to grow, he was praised by his general manager/head coach for his “preparation, consistent compete level, and how he gets along with the boys in the room, being the youngest player on our team.”

• Devon Toews (Quinnipiac, 2013-14), Surrey Eagles (BCHL) — The ’94-born is listed as a defenseman and forward, and had 11 points in 19 games for Surrey this season. He will play in the Western Prospects Junior A challenge this year.

• Kyle Baun (Colgate, 2012-13), Cornwall (CJHL) — Hopefully, he is able to recover quickly from a back injury and keep up the better than point-per-game pace he was on (seven points in six games).

Top three alumni performances

First prize: Joe Nieuwendyk (Cornell), Hockey Hall of Fame — he gave a big shout out to Cornell in his induction speech.

Second prize: Rich Peverley (St. Lawrence), Boston Bruins — He started November with six points in four games and has seven points in his seven games this month.

Third prize: Erik Cole (Clarkson), Montreal Canadiens — After a slow start, he has seven points (out of 12 total) in his last seven games.

Near misses, injuries put Alaska in unfamiliar position in CCHA

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Alaska coach Dallas Ferguson wasn’t looking for an early birthday present, but he got one Friday night when the Nanooks beat visiting Ferris State 2-0. It was Alaska’s first conference win in nine games this season, and Ferguson was glad that his players had finally been rewarded for working so hard.

“I think it’s kind of an interesting season so far for us,” said Ferguson, who celebrates his birthday on Thanksgiving Day this year. “If you look at just the last six games for us — Miami, two 2-1 losses at home, losing to Notre Dame in overtime when their player scores late in the third and overtime’s almost over, our home series against Ferris State.

“I don’t think our play has been bad. Our effort’s been good. We’re not getting that extra goal we need at the right time or that save we need at the right time.”

In fact, the story of Alaska’s season — at least in league play — is the story of the luck of the bounce. During the Nanooks’ eight-game winless conference streak, five losses were decided by a goal and there were two ties, back-to-back but on different weekends. The second tie was against Ohio State Oct. 27 with all the scoring coming in the third period, and the Buckeyes getting the last regulation goal on a power play. The two 2-1 losses to Miami were tied until the RedHawks’ second goal became the final one of the game. That overtime loss to Notre Dame came thanks to T.J. Tynan’s tying goal at 15:41 in the third and Billy Maday’s winner with 42 seconds left in OT.

“We’ve been in good college hockey games,” said Ferguson. “Unfortunately for us, we’ve been on the short end of it. Even us winning 2-0 Saturday, Ferris had opportunities, too.”

After that first league win of the season, the Nanooks lost to the Bulldogs Saturday. It was another one-goal affair — one that was tied 2-2 after the second, one that was decided by FSU sophomore Andy Huff’s second goal of the season, the third of his career, at 15:30 in the third.

“This is something new for us,” said Ferguson, whose team’s league-opening winless streak was the longest in school history. “Especially in the first half of the season, we’ve been on the winning side of those one-goal games. I can’t say our effort hasn’t been there. We have been playing pretty well. I think anybody’s that’s watched our team play over the last three weeks sees that we’re playing hard.”

Through the first 10 league games last season, the Nanooks were 4-4-2 and tied for fourth place in the CCHA; this year, they’re 1-7-2 and tied for last. Alaska finished the 2010-11 season averaging 2.34 goals per game but allowing just 2.39, the ninth best defense in the country. This year so far, the Nanooks’ offense is off just a little (2.14) but the defense is allowing 2.64 goals per game for 22nd, enough of a margin to make a big difference.

There are many reasons for Alaska’s slow start, but Ferguson isn’t making any excuses.

“Specialty teams is probably the area we need the most work in executing,” said Ferguson. The Nanooks’ power play is successful just 8.3 percent of the time, their penalty kill effectiveness at 79.1 percent.

They’re also young on the blue line, with three freshmen playing regularly. “We’ve been hit with the injury bug, too,” said Ferguson, “so we’re looking forward to getting some guys back after Christmas break.”

The injury list is long for a season so young: defensemen Cody Butcher (upper body), Nolan Kaiser (knee), Kaare Odegard (ankle), Michael Quinn (ankle) and forward Garrick Perry (knee). Two freshman forwards, Maxime Dumond and Michael Hill, have yet to play this season; Dumond had surgery in the offseason and Hill has yet to be cleared from a concussion he suffered at the end of the 2010-11 season with the Topeka RoadRunners (NAHL).

“Three or four of those guys are players we depend on, every game,” said Ferguson. There have been times this season, said the coach, when the injuries have affected more than just games. “You think mostly about games, but then you start to focus on what you are going to do in practice. You have to rethink practice when you don’t have enough guys.”

The plus side, said Ferguson, is the experience that the uninjured players are gaining. “It’s been accelerating guys’ development,” said Ferguson, “especially on the back end. It’s good for them. We see growth in their game. We’ve got two weekends here to get points before Christmas, and after Christmas we’ll get bodies back. By then, too, we’ll be experienced.”

One area that puzzles every Alaska fan is the start to senior goaltender Scott Greenham’s season. In 77 games in his sophomore and junior seasons, Greenham had a combined save percentage of .918 and a combined goals against average of 2.22. This season, Greenham’s save percentage is .893, his GAA 2.57.

“I don’t know what to chalk it up to,” said Ferguson. “Scott knows that there’s room for growth in his game and we expect that out of him as a senior, especially knowing the level we can play at. I wouldn’t fault him, but if you ask him I’m sure that he’d say that in order for our team to have success he’s got to be making those saves.

“I think that’s Scott’s been good, but knowing him and having conversations with him, he knows he can play better as well. It’s not that we’re asking just him; we’re asking our whole team to develop and work harder and play better.”

In spite of the rocky start, Ferguson said that he, his coaching staff and — perhaps most importantly, his players — remain upbeat. Ferguson is also philosophical, in a practical sort of way.

“All our guys in our locker room know what we’re capable of,” said Ferguson. “We’ve seen some pretty good teams right now. There’s not like a game in our schedule that’s easier than others. Everybody seems to be playing well.

“It’s a fine line right now between getting three points and not getting any points in this league.”

He’s class, all the way

If you’re around college hockey long enough, you understand why we fans of the game love our sport. It’s not just the game; it’s the kind of player that college hockey — for both women and men — attracts.

One of the classiest in the CCHA, by far, is Greenham. I’ve always been impressed with him, and every season several fans write to tell me how much they enjoyed meeting him, that he impressed them as well with his sincerity, humility and generosity. This weekend, another Greenham story comes to light — a small thing, really — that illustrates the character of the goaltender from Addison, Ontario.

This time, it was something that Greenham did following a loss that was particularly impressive. Before Saturday’s game against Ferris State, word got to Greenham that there was a young kid in attendance who was a really big fan and that this kid didn’t get to games very often, and he was wondering if Greenham could give him a souvenir following the game.

By all accounts, the 3-2 loss was very tough for Alaska. Greenham stopped 17 of 20 shots as the Nanooks outshot the Bulldogs by 13.

According to the fan who wrote in, after the handshake line the Nanooks saluted the crowd and left the ice — well, all the Nanooks except for Greenham, who immediately sought out the kid who’d asked for a souvenir.

Without hesitation, after yet another gut-wrenching one-goal loss, Greenham handed the young fan his stick and did so cheerfully.

That is class. It’s also another reminder of why we love this sport.

It’s the staches, man

Many college hockey teams have embraced Movember, a global effort to grow mustaches to highlight men’s health issues. As far as I can tell, the entire Ohio State hockey team has embraced the cause, even coach Mark Osiecki.

Well, we’ve all seen some players, um, struggle with growing playoff beards over the years. Some are struggling with the mustache growing as well.

Fortunately for those who care about such things, OSU captain Sean Duddy has provided “Movember Power Rankings” for the Buckeyes in a recent blog.

He spares no one, including himself. He writes, “I’ve set up hidden cameras to make sure no one’s shaving my face while I’m asleep, and I have the thickest hair on the team so it’s only a matter of time until the stache thickens up.”

Regardless of their ability to grow facial hair, the Buckeyes are in first place in the CCHA after beginning their CCHA season 9-2-1. With an overall record of 10-3-1, it’s the first time that OSU has 10 wins in its first 14 games of a season since 1983-84. They went on to win 20 more that season.

Players of the week

It’s one of those strange weeks in which the state of Michigan is not represented.

Rookie of the week: Ohio State’s Ryan Dzingel — the Wheaton, Ill., native with the locks that drive young girls crazy — had two goals and two assists in OSU’s 6-5 victory over Michigan Saturday, a win that secured the Buckeyes’ sweep.

Offensive player of the week: OSU’s Alex Lippincott, a native of Akron, Ohio, who had the game-winning goal in that win. He had two assists in the game. I don’t know that I’ve heard any stories about his hair making young girls swoon, and Duddy didn’t call him out in that Movember blog, either.

Defenseman of the week: Miami’s Chris Wideman had three assists against Bowling Green, one in Friday’s 4-0 win and two in Saturday’s 4-4 tie.

Goaltender of the week: Notre Dame’s Mike Johnson, who had a combined 51 saves in the 3-2 win over Western Michigan Nov. 15 and 3-2 overtime win against Boston College Friday.

My ballot

Yes, I’m the one who voted Colorado College No. 1 this week. Now, if we could just solve the mystery of who was voting Yale first all those weeks … .

1. Colorado College
2. Boston College
3. Minnesota
4. Merrimack
5. Notre Dame
6. Minnesota-Duluth
7. Ohio State
8. Ferris State
9. Denver
10. Lake Superior State
11. Boston University
12. Michigan
13. Yale
14. Michigan Tech
15. Cornell
16. Nebraska-Omaha
17. Union
18. Colgate
19. Miami
20. Massachusetts-Lowell

If it’s Tuesday …

… I must be finishing this column while watching the Fighting Irish and Broncos play a great game of hockey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all my American friends a very happy Thanksgiving and safe travels during the holiday. I’m embarrassed to say that I missed wishing my Canadian friends a good holiday earlier in the month, so please accept belated good wishes now if you’re north of the border.

We have a lot to be thankful for here in the land of college hockey. I’m reminded weekly that I’ve met wonderful people from all over the globe because of college hockey, that my life has been enriched by it in ways that I will never be able to measure — and I can barely skate.

MCHA/MIAC/NCHA wrap: Nov. 21

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Four teams broke out the brooms; earn weekend sweeps
While the Upper Midwest was shoveling out from a pre-Thanksgiving snow, Adrian, Concordia (Minn.), St. Norbert, and St. Thomas won hard-fought sweeps of their weekend games.
The NCHA
St. Norbert earned two hard-fought road victories this past weekend. The defending D-III national champions defeated Wis.-Eau Claire 3-2 Friday and 5-2 on Saturday.  Cody Keefer scored two goals, one on a power play, and Seth Soley scored for St. Norbert on Friday, while Tyler Jundt and John Waggoner scored for Wis.-Eau Claire. The teams combined for 73-minutes in penalties and, with 1:39 left in the second period, a scuffle broke out between the two teams. All 10 players ended up in the penalty box with double minors for roughing. Wis.-Eau Claire skated out to a 2-0 lead in the first period of Saturday’s game behind goals by Andrew Wilcox and Jared Williams. St. Norbert charged back behind Keefer and Soley. Once again. Soley scored the first two goals and Keefer scored the game-winning goal as St. Norbert took the lead for good at 17:37 of the second period.
Also in the NCHA
For the second week in a row, Wis.-River Falls earned three out of four points and remained undefeated. Friday, Wis.-River Falls and Wis.-Stevens Point battled to a 2-2 tie. Alec Hagaman scored on a power play and Jeff Burke tied the game for Wis.-River Falls. Johnny Meo and Kyle Politz scored for Wis.-Stevens Point, and goalie Brandon Jeager stopped Wis.-River Falls’ Jason Yeul on a penalty shot. Wis.-River Falls continued the barrage against Jeager on Saturday, as the Falcons registered 43 shots on goal.  Justin Brossman’s unassisted short-handed goal at 8:29 of the third period proved to be the game-winner, as Wis.-River Falls won 2-1.
Wis.-Superior and Wis.-Stout split the weekend series at Wessman Arena in Superior. Wis.-Superior began the weekend with a 4-1 victory. Pat Dalbec notched the game-winning goal for Wis.-Superior. Mike Hartviksen scored the clincher just 22 seconds into overtime for Wis.-Stout, as they defeated host Wis.-Superior 2-1.
MCHA
Adrian dominated the series by shutting out Lake Forest over the weekend. Six players scored seven times on Friday, as Adrian cruised to a 7-0 win. On Saturday, Adrian won 4-0. Shelby Gray led the way offensively with four goals and two assists. Adrian had its power play in overdrive over the weekend, scoring 50 percent of the time.
Also in the MCHA
Northland had a home sweep of visiting Finlandia. Colin McIntosh had two goals in Friday’s 5-2 win for Northland. Northland also won 3-2 on Saturday.
Marian and Lawrence skated to a pair of 2-2 overtime draws in their series.
MIAC
Two preseason favorites for the MIAC title squared off over the weekend. Michael Krieg scored the game-winner 31 seconds into overtime as St. Thomas beat Gustavus Adolphus 4-3 Friday night. Ryan Johnson scored twice for Gustavus. The next night, Rob Phillip scored the game-winning power-play goal for St. Thomas, as the Tommies won 3-1 to sweep the Gusties.
Also in the MIAC
Concordia (Minn.) posted its own sweep to keep a one-point lead in the MIAC standings. Kelly Andrew made 24 saves on Friday and Chris Neamonitis had 37 saves on Saturday as Concordia (Minn.) defeated Bethel,2-0 and 1-0.
St. Olaf and Hamline split their weekend series. Ben Leis stopped 26 shots as St. Olaf beat Hamline 4-0 on Friday. The next night, Hamline got two goals from Cory Belisle that helped defeat St. Olaf, 4-3.
Augsburg scored two third period goals to defeat St. John’s 3-2. On the following night, St. John’s rolled out to a 5-0 lead to cruise to a 5-3 victory and earn a series split.

TMQ: How far can new No. 1 Merrimack take this run?

By Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski
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Todd: Well, Jim, we’re on to the eighth week of the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, and we have our fifth different team atop the rankings. And what a story it is for Merrimack, which heads the poll for the first time in school history. It’s a program that’s three years removed from a nine-win season and coming off its only winning season of its Hockey East era, which dates to 1989. What does a meteoric rise like this do for the Warriors program?

Jim: We will see what the impact can be. The most important thing for Merrimack to do at this point is not get caught up in the ranking. The Warriors have never been the team with the bull’s-eye on the jersey. Now they are. We have seen this year that No. 1 teams struggle. Merrimack has a pretty easy schedule for the next two weekends, but, in the words of Shooter from the movie “Hoosiers,” you can’t get caught watching the paint dry.

Todd: It’s no stretch to think the Warriors will go into the season’s third month undefeated — they have only a game Wednesday against winless Alabama-Huntsville left before the calendar flips. And the rest of their schedule before the holiday break consists of a home-and-home series with Providence (receiving votes in the poll) and single games against Vermont, at No. 16 Colgate and against No. 13 Union.

So I think you’re right that the biggest focus for Merrimack has to be in doing what it has done to get here and to forget about the ranking. That, as we’ve seen time and time again over the years, is easier said than done.

Jim: We can list off teams that struggle with winning after earning No. 1 rankings. Notre Dame, Boston College and Minnesota all have faced that pain.

If anything strikes me about Merrimack’s schedule it is the lack of games it plays pre-December. Despite being undefeated, Merrimack does not hold the longest unbeaten streak, due entirely to the lack of early season games. Thus, while I am happy for Merrimack achieving the top spot, I caution that this team remains untested.

Todd: Let’s switch gears to a team that has certainly been tested, and recently. Ohio State is up to ninth in the rankings after a sweep at Michigan last weekend. The last time the Buckeyes swept at Yost Arena, coach Mark Osiecki was a few weeks shy of winning a Minnesota state high school title as a defenseman for Burnsville, and Red Berenson was in just his second season with the Wolverines. That was February 1986.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Osiecki is getting the most out of his players, but I have to admit that I didn’t think it was going to happen this soon. He’s in his second season at Ohio State, after a 15-18-4 season a year ago. But he’s a proven recruiter who’s an expert at molding talent, and it looks like OSU could be in the NCAA tournament mix this season.

Jim: I’m very impressed with how well Ohio State has played thus far. The Buckeyes have beaten tough competition and have won seven in a row. The few losses that dot the Ohio State schedule aren’t overly impressive (Notre Dame split is fine; Michigan State not bad; Quinnipiac is pretty inexplicable), but they happened so early in the season that I’m happy to call Ohio State one of the hottest teams in the nation right now. If the Buckeyes can keep things going against Lake Superior and Miami, the two series before the holiday break, it’s not too far fetched to think of OSU reaching the top 3, if not No. 1.

Todd: There are three teams with 10 wins or more in Division I men’s college hockey right now, and Ohio State is one of them at 10-3-1. (Minnesota has 11 and Ferris State has 10.) On the flip side, there are three programs that have already reached the 10-loss mark: Sacred Heart (11), Alabama-Huntsville (11) and Rensselaer (10).

RPI is the standout there to me, considering that it won 20 games last season and played in the NCAA tournament. But being shut out by North Dakota in the first round seems to have carried over — in 12 games this season, the Engineers have scored more than one goal only twice, with five shutouts. This has the makings of a long season for RPI.

Jim: Every time a team that makes the NCAA tournament after a long absence, it becomes a make-or-break moment. Merrimack, obviously, used its NCAA appearance as a catapult. But then there are teams like RPI that the appearance is a pinnacle for the program. I know that RPI lost some significant players to the program and that could explain things.

Things aren’t as bad for Nebraska-Omaha, also from last year’s NCAA field, but the Mavericks will have to improve significantly if they want to reach the dance again this year.

Todd: I mentioned Alabama-Huntsville before as one of the teams that has reached double digits in losses. The Chargers are 0-11-1 and have already just about exhausted their home schedule for the season. It has been a few weeks since the school’s administration dropped the bomb on the program following the season, and it doesn’t seem like there’s any relief in sight. They play Hockey East and WCHA teams before the break, and you have to seriously wonder whether this team is going to get a win for Christmas.

Jim: I hand it to UAH for taking difficult trips before the break. Unfortunately, I think the Hockey East and WCHA schedules are disasters waiting to be had for this club. I guess there is the hope to be a spoiler, but this team dropped so far from the team that made an NCAA tournament a few years ago. It’s sad to see them go but also reality at this point.

Todd: Time to look at what’s ahead this week. New No. 2 Notre Dame continues a tough stretch with a game at No. 12 Western Michigan on Tuesday and a series at No. 13 Lake Superior State on Friday and Saturday. No. 4 Colorado College plays a series at North Dakota, which this week did not receive a vote in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll for the first time since the end of the 2001-02 season. And a resurgent Miami team plays at No. 10 Denver in the Denver Cup on Saturday. What’s up out East?

Jim: Very light schedule out East, though Saturday night will see the renewal of the great rivalry between Boston University and Cornell at Madison Square Garden in New York. The past two installments of Red Hot Hockey, played Thanksgiving weekend every other year, have produced exciting battles and should do that once again. Until next week, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and don’t eat too much turkey.

Paula's picks, Nov. 22, 2011: If it's Tuesday, it must be Notre Dame and Western Michigan

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“Picks” is probably a misnomer. It’s one Tuesday night game.
Notre Dame at Western Michigan The Fighting Irish have a nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) on the line when they play in Lawson Arena tonight, a number that includes five wins decided by a single goal. The most recent of those was a 3-2 overtime win against visiting Boston College last Friday night, Nov. 18, in what Notre Dame is calling the Compton Family Ice Arena “Dedication Game.” Trailing 1-0 after the first on a Boston College penalty shot, ND scored two second-period goals to take the lead, but BC evened it in the closing minutes of regulation. With two seconds left in overtime, Bryan Rust scored the game winner from Sean Lorenz and Sam Calabrese. The Broncos, on the other hand, are trying to stop a four-game losing streak, their last loss coming in South Bend last Tuesday night, Nov. 15, a 3-2 decision in which the Irish scored all three goals in a seven-minute span in the second period. In all four of WMU’s recent losses, the Broncos have mustered two goals per contest. I said last week that if that game were being played in Lawson, I’d call it for WMU. As much as I hate to call against a team with a streak like Notre Dame’s, that’s how I’m calling it. Pick: WMU 3-2
Full picks for the weekend will come Friday morning. Tomorrow’s column will feature Alaska.
As always, there’s Twitter (@paulacweston), email ([email protected]), or the forum below. I’m grateful for the conversation — and not just because it’s Thanksgiving Week here in the States.

Leaving Minnesota

By Al Daniel
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For Providence College (PC) freshman Allison Micheletti, this is literally not her father’s college hockey world. Nor is it her uncle’s, or her other uncle’s.

Nonetheless, the similarities and differences between the PC women’s program and the University of Minnesota men’s team — alma mater of Micheletti’s father, Don, and two uncles, Joe and Pat — mesh favorably enough for her.

Allison Micheletti of Providence skating (David Silverman Photography)
Allison Micheletti of Providence skating (David Silverman Photography)

 

When Don and Joe Micheletti enrolled in Herb Brooks’ capstone class in the latter half of the ’70s, PC was burgeoning as one of the pioneer programs for women.

A decade later, when Pat Micheletti was on his way to setting Golden Gophers scoring records that still stand, the Northeast remained the sole region for females seeking a higher education with hockey on the side.

Granted, since its 1997 inception, Minnesota’s women’s hockey team has hung up two NCAA championship banners, which is two more than any school east of the Great Lakes can proclaim, but when Micheletti visited Schneider Arena on the PC campus, she saw one decisively alluring testament to the Friars’ heritage that couldn’t be found back home.

“When you walk toward the locker room, (the walls in the hallway) have the jerseys of every (PC) player that played in the Olympics,” she said.

In other words, every Friars home game, practice, or team function begins with a reminder of the tracks made by Chris Bailey, Laurie Baker, Alana Blahoski, Lisa Brown-Miller, Vicki Movsessian, Sara DeCosta, and someone by the name of Cammi Granato. All seven took gold in Nagano in 1998, amidst or after their Providence days.

Then there are those that have stoked the torch since, namely Finland’s Mari Pehkonen and Team USA’s Karen Thatcher, who continues to double as a Star-Spangled skater and PC assistant coach.

Micheletti, who consistently dreamed of propping up the family tradition for the better part of her childhood in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, has always had parental consent to follow her pursuits elsewhere. By the time she was a junior at Rosemount High School, she “realized that Minnesota was way too large,” and that left all Eastern schools on her table.

Providence ultimately beat Vermont and Mercyhurst for its longer, denser hockey tradition, as well as location, campus size, program philosophy, and a diverse roster that is represented by Minnesota more broadly than any other state or province.

Although Micheletti is applying her genetic assets more to carry on the legacy of the Cammis, Saras and Karens than that of the Dons, Joes and Pats, they are valid all the same.

“There’s no question that has added to her hockey IQ and her instincts,” said Friars coach Bob Deraney. “Obviously, coming from a hockey family, your saturation of the game and what you think about the game is affected in a very positive way, whether that’s conscious or unconscious.

“The other thing too, is that she handles the fact that she comes from such an historic hockey family extremely well. That’s a credit to her perspective, and I admire that about her.”

Deraney, who served as an assistant on the Massachusetts-Amherst staff before moving to Providence, recalled working with 1996 Minutemen recruit Jeff Blanchard, who is the nephew of Hall of Fame NHL defenseman Bobby Orr.

“I could see how the pressure of being Bobby Orr’s nephew could get to Jeff sometimes early in his career,” he said. “So I’ve had some experience in this type of situation.

“The way Allison handles this is refreshing, and reassuring that she will continue to develop every time she comes to the rink because of the healthy perspective that she has.”

Considering one of her secondhand childhood mentors, it can even be termed fitting that Micheletti’s college career serves a storied name on the front of her jersey as much as an ornate name on her back, if not more so. Her father and elder uncle took part in the height of the Brooks era in Minneapolis, and her father barely missed out on a spot on Brooks’ 1980 Olympic roster.

Micheletti had only a few brushes with the iconic skipper before his untimely passing in 2003, when she was 10 years of age, but she has inherited enduring on-ice and off-ice principles from her two relatives who played for Brooks.

“My dad said Herb Brooks was all about ‘If you’re not working hard, then you’re not going to play,'” she said. “You can’t take anything for granted. You have to take what you get and work for it. There’s no wishing or pretending or anything of that nature.”

Indeed, nothing of the sort. Through her Brooks-inspired work ethic, Micheletti has attained authentic fulfillment in her college arrangement, and her current, firsthand instructor expects a cycle of abundant gratification to continue for the next three-plus years.

“She’s a hockey player’s hockey player,” said Deraney. “When she gets out there, her instincts are terrific. They’re impeccable, actually.

“And this is just the beginning of her college career as she transitions from Minnesota high school hockey to Division I college hockey on one of the best teams in the country. Her transition has really sped up here of late, and you can really see the possibilities and the type of career she can have here at Providence College.”

On Twitter, players are in even more of a public eye

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During the spring, Will O’Neill watched the NBA playoffs and noticed a new platform of communication springing up on his television and on his computer, complementing each broadcast. It was Twitter — an online medium that was succinct, to-the-point and didn’t require a middle man in order to deliver the message.

“I would see LeBron James tweeting every day,” said O’Neill, a Maine senior defenseman. “I would see Skip Bayless from ESPN chirping on it every day. I wanted to give it a shot and see what it was all about. Before I knew it, I found out that I liked it a lot.”

O’Neill set up his personal Twitter account (@willoneill27) in June and sent his first tweet June 19, wishing his father, Bill, the longtime Salem State coach, a happy Father’s Day.

And O’Neill was one of the first Maine hockey players to be active on Twitter, an online microblogging community that allows its users to post statements in 140 characters or less. Founded in 2006, the social media service has more than 100 million active users and is utilized for advertising, reporting and communicating.

Twitter has not only swept the nation, the trend has ingrained itself in college hockey. College Hockey Inc. (@_collegehockey)has lists of 231 current and 189 former college hockey players on Twitter. Almost every Division I college hockey program has its own Twitter account on which it posts score updates, alumni updates and news about the team — administered by athletic departments and sports information directors.

The trend of Twitter in college hockey has even spawned a few fake accounts. In Hockey East, there’s a collection of pseudo coaching personas, notably @FakeJerryYork, @FakeJackParker and @FakeMarkDennehy, otherwise anonymous accounts that, combined, have more than 900 followers.

But the use of Twitter has also brought a little more attention to its users, particularly student-athletes who are considered to be representatives of their institutions. While O’Neill posts commentary about his teammates, about his team’s season and about topics in professional sports, he’s one of the many Maine athletes who must adhere to a certain standard when it comes to social media.

“You’re in a very public eye,” said Laura Reed, Maine’s assistant athletic director for media relations. “We don’t ever prohibit athletes from having Facebook or Twitter pages, but we ask the athletes to conduct themselves properly. Anything posted needs to be kept in mind with the Student-Athlete Code of Conduct.”

While it’s evolved into a means of communication for users — O’Neill recently posted a note congratulating his older brother, Andrew, an assistant coach at Salem State, for a win over Wentworth — it’s also regarded as a means of communication that has both benefits and drawbacks.

Several Division I coaches have banned use of social media by their athletes, including Kansas football coach Turner Gill — who has a team rule that prohibits players from tweeting during the season — South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier and New Mexico men’s basketball coach Steve Alford.

“That can affect a program in the long term,” said Erik Qualman, the author of “Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business,” and a former Michigan State basketball player. “It can even hurt a program. If a person’s on Twitter and you train them on those tools, instead of banning them, it’s going to benefit a program if a star quarterback is Tweeting day to day, talking about things relevant to the program.”

When Qualman addresses college students, he tells them that they have three components to their online history: a digital legacy, a history of online posting; a digital footprint; and a digital shadow, their online following ahead of or behind them. And nothing is ever truly erased. The Library of Congress has Twitter archives dating to Twitter’s 2006 launch.

“You see somebody say something stupid on Twitter, and you think, ‘What were you thinking?'” O’Neill said. “You can’t put everything that comes to your mind, because it can get crazy. Think it out. Think out your opinion so you can say what you want, or just say what you’re doing, like if you’re going to the weight room. It’s a quick read. Everybody might get a laugh out of it.”

But Reed, Maine’s assistant athletic director for media relations, also sees the use of Twitter as a positive force.

“It’s more of a direct connection to the athletes,” Reed said. “Most of the time they’re interviewed by the media, and it’s a second-hand message. This is what they’re really feeling. You have more of a direct route to them.”

On Oct. 21, after he was ejected from Michigan’s 5-3 loss to Northern Michigan after punching Andrew Cherniwchan in a second-period brawl, Michigan goalie Shawn Hunwick posted an apology in two tweets on his Twitter account (@shawn_hunwick):

“I want to apologize to the michigan fans in attendance tonight. I play on a edge and my emotions got the best of me. It is unacceptable as a

“Student athlete who represents the university of michigan and college hockey as a whole.”

Conversely, North Dakota’s Dillon Simpson (@simmer18) recently tweeted about a new purchase he made:

“Ladies and Gentlemen… I am now a proud owner of an iphone #about time”

Still, when it comes to using social media, Qualman emphasizes the point that the messenger carries as much weight as the medium, and that the message each person delivers may not be interpreted the same way by each receiver.

“You have to understand the ramifications of who you are, what you do and what you are saying. Athletes are in a position where people are looking up to them. What they say can be interpreted.”

And he likens the digital society to a glass house. Not so much in the fact that it can easily be shattered, but in that everything can be easily viewed.

“We live in a fully transparent world,” Qualman said. “We need to understand that.”

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