TAMPA, Fla. — With Cornell’s defeat at the hands of Ferris State in Green Bay two weeks ago, it was ensured that only two teams would finish the 2011-12 season with a victory: the tournament champs (Boston College, as it turned out) and … Northeastern.

The Huskies edged Boston University 5-4 in overtime in the regular-season finale, but lost the tiebreaker with Massachusetts and thus finished ninth in Hockey East, which has an eight-team playoff format.

This was the first time since the ’04-05 season (and only the second time in the last decade) that only two teams finished the campaign with victories. There are usually three or more teams that finish with wins, since the ECAC Hockey and CCHA tournaments feature consolation games. Since 2001-02, the most teams to go out with a W was six, in ’08-09.

Old-boys club

No program has won it all in its first title game appearance since Maine in 1993. No program has claimed the crown in its first Frozen Four appearance since Lake Superior State, back in 1988. Ferris and Union each entered the weekend with those accomplishments in mind, but alas, it’s another year of experience trumping novelty.

First time for everything

This Bulldogs hockey team became the first FSU athletic program to compete for a national championship.

Piling on

In its three most recent trips to the Frozen Four (2008, ’10, and ’12), Boston College has out-scored its opponents 32-5.

Lucky No. 7 indeed

Saturday marked the second time that BC took the trophy on April 7. The Eagles’ 2001 triumph over North Dakota in Albany, N.Y. was the program’s first national championship since 1949; this is the school’s fourth in the last 11 years.

Kicking it up a notch

Boston College’s Class of 2012 went 22-2 in the postseason, and York’s 37 career NCAA wins are the most in Division I history.

Golden

The Eagles went 9-0-0 this season when wearing their new gold jerseys.

In good company

Goalie Parker Milner finished the 2011-12 NCAA tournament with a 0.982 save percentage, good for third all-time (one can only imagine what it must take to finish first or second.) That said, it is the best save rate since 1972, as well as the best since the field expanded beyond four teams in advance of the 1978 postseason. Milner’s 0.50 goals-against average in this year’s tourney ties him for the best all-time, with BU’s Tim Regan (1972), Denver’s Gerry Powers (1968), and some guy by the name of Ken Dryden (Cornell, 1967). Note that all three of the latter netminders earned their .50 in the paltry four-team format.

TAMPA, Fla. – Boston College forwards Steven Whitney, Paul Carey, Chris Kreider and team chaplain Fr. Tony Penna talk after the 4-1 victory over Ferris State in the national championship game:

TAMPA, Fla. – Ferris State defenseman Brett Wysopal and winger Garrett Thompson talk after the 4-1 loss to Boston College in the national championship game:

TAMPA, Fla. – As you’re watching the game Saturday, listen as well: There’s a very distinctive voice behind the Tampa Bay Times Forum’s public address microphone.

Gene Honda may be announcing his first Frozen Four, but he’s no stranger to the stage. The Chicago native is the regular PA personality for the Chicago Blackhawks, White Sox and the DePaul Blue Demons men’s basketball team. He’s also served the role at 10 consecutive Final Four men’s basketball tourneys, including last week’s soiree in New Orleans.

The baritone was “discovered,” as they say, by NCAA associate director of media coordination and championships Mark Bedics at a mutual friend’s wedding in Iowa 11 years ago. The friend sheepishly asked Honda if he would announce the arrival of the bridal party, and Honda agreed. Bedics approached Honda at the reception’s bar later that evening, and asked — matter-of-factly — if Honda would be interested in doing the Final Four.

“How many have you had?” Honda replied incredulously.

And the rest is history. Honda encourages anyone and everyone to attend the Final Four and Frozen Four, “even if your team isn’t in it.”

“You can feel the passion, which is often lacking” in pro events, he said.

Tongue-tied

Honda’s favorite name in the tournament?

“[Boston College defenseman Brian] Dumoulin,” he said. “Mostly because BC’s sports info guy [Tim Clark] came up to me, and said, ‘You have no idea how many people get that wrong.’”

Most challenging name he’s ever faced?

“Hipólito Pichardo,” he said, referring to a former Kansas City Royals pitcher. “Everyone wanted to pronounce it ‘hippo-LEE-toe,’ but it’s actually ‘hip-POLE-itto,’” he said.

And, of course, his favorite all-time name?

“Frank Thomas,” he mused. “It’s just so simple.”

For more on Honda – including samples of his prestigious pipes – check him out on the Google machine.

TAMPA, Fla. – This ain’t Seth Appert’s first rodeo … but it is his first time with this particular bull(dog).

Rensselaer’s sixth-year head coach already has two rings, won as an assistant with George Gwozdecky and Denver in the springs of 2004 and ’05. He’s been to the Frozen Four numerous other times, fulfilling his duties as an assistant, then head coach, then president of the American Hockey Coaches Association.

Now, he’s here as a wildly proud and enthusiastic alumnus of Ferris State.

“We’re just incredibly proud. Excited. Very nervous,” Appert said Saturday morning in advance of FSU’s first title bout. “I think [Bulldogs coach] Bob [Daniels] has done some incredible things with our program … but I think the thing he’s done better than anything is that he’s made all of us proud to be Bulldogs. Not because of what they’re doing right now; we’ve always been proud to be Bulldogs.

“None of us wish we would’ve played at Minnesota or Michigan or Boston College. We’re all really proud to say that we played for Bob and that we played at Ferris State.”

As part of Daniels’ first four-year class in Big Rapids nearly 20 years ago, Appert and more than a dozen of his Bulldogs teammates descended on Tampa with hundreds of other crimson-clad crazies, hoping to see 60 more minutes of Michigan magic.

“I don’t know if I ever in my mind thought that the program would get to play for a national championship,” he said, a hint of incredulity still in his voice.

Appert was in a particularly peculiar position leading up to Thursday’s national semifinals, as his alma mater tilted against a program from his new home, ECAC Hockey. Even more complicating was that the ECAC team in question was RPI’s archrival, cross-town Union. As dedicated as Appert is to Rensselaer and ECAC Hockey, he said he never thought twice about his loyalties.

“It was all FSU,” he said. “I’ve been very public in how much respect I have for Union — what [former coach] Nate [Leaman] and [current coach] Rick [Bennett] have done — so nothing against what they’ve done. They had a great year, they deserved to be here, and I have a lot of respect for the program. But that’s my alma mater. That’s family. That’s where I met my wife, these are guys that were in my wedding, guys that I’ll be friends with for the rest of my life. That was easy. Alma mater all the way.”

Lest Union fans cry foul in the wake of Ferris State’s 3-1 victory over the Dutchmen, Appert assures them that he had no influence on the Bulldogs’ game plan.

“I wouldn’t have been able to offer much help, considering [the Dutchmen] were 5-0 against us this year,” he said.

And while RPI fans might consider this weekend a bitter disappointment — what with Union making it to Tampa and whatnot — they can reconcile those emotions with the assurance that it has also been an emotional shot-in-the-arm for Appert.

“No. 1, it makes me want to get RPI here,” he said. “You want to get your program back here.”

He is finally seeing things from a fan’s perspective, a proud alum’s point of view, and he certainly understands the value of a program’s success to a university’s community at large.

“The thing that hit me at Denver when we won it the first time is I saw an alum that graduated a couple years prior,” Appert said. “He was a tough player — Eric Adams, a tough defenseman from Thunder Bay — and he was in tears, he was so emotional. He wasn’t on the team, he’d graduated a couple years prior, but it was his program, and I remember it kind of hit me how it’s about the team, the school, the fans, everything, and I think we’re living that right now, me and my teammates.”

Most of all, though, Appert said he feels that this weekend validates his alma mater’s hockey program in a way that was likely lacking before.

“It probably just confirms publicly what players who have played for him have always known, which is what a great coach and what a great program Bob Daniels runs,” Appert said. “We’ve always known that, and I think that a lot of people inside the hockey world have felt that, but maybe publicly, that wasn’t widely acknowledged.”

TAMPA, Fla. – In a meeting on Thursday before the broadcast of the national semifinal games, NCAA officials and ESPN production staffers met to improve communication about replays and agreed on a method to let the broadcast crew know what was being reviewed.

“We’ve actually taken some steps here at the Frozen Four to make sure that the ESPN timeout coordinator, who’s at ice level, gets kind of a quick, ‘Hey, they’re looking at whether the net was dislodged,’ or what have you,” Ty Halpin, NCAA associate director for playing rules administration, said during Thursday’s USCHO Live! broadcast.

Halpin was joined on the program by members of the ice hockey rules committee: Steve Piotrowski, the secretary and rules editor for the NCAA men’s and women’s ice hockey rules committee; Frank Cole, NCAA national coordinator of men’s ice hockey officiating; and Ed McLaughlin, Niagara athletic director and chairman of the rules committee.

Joe Taylor, producer for ESPN’s Frozen Four broadcasts, explained what was decided.

“The way it will work is that I can talk directly to the replay official, but what will probably happen is that I will talk with the timeout coordinator, who will know what the officials are looking for,” said Taylor. “If there’s any doubt at what the officials are looking for, I can let the announcers know.”

“That way we’re all on the same page and the talent can let the audience know exactly what the officials are looking for,” Taylor added.

“ESPN has been good at telling their announcers not to guess, because that changes things for fans listening at home saying, ‘Why would they be looking at that?’ They need the right information,” said Halpin.

NCAA replay officials are continuously rewinding and reviewing plays during the game. “The NCAA has set up almost a TV truck of our own,” Halpin said. “So we’re completely separate from ESPN. We have nearly the same amount of equipment as they have on our own.”

During the NCAA regionals, announcers at times speculated on what referees were looking at on video replay. Piotrowski said that broadcasters need to understand what is and is not reviewable.

“The criteria that’s established to allow video replay is in our rule book. It’s just a matter of opening up the book and doing your homework,” said Piotrowski, who did note that ESPN producers are committed to educating their announcers. “If you’re going to make a comment, whether it’s in print or on television, make sure you have rule knowledge, particularly on what you’re broadcasting.”

Section 60 of the NCAA ice hockey rule book lists 11 replay review situations:

a. A puck crossing the goal line;
b. A puck in the net before the goal frame is dislodged;
c. A puck in the net before or after expiration of time at the end of a period, a whistle, or referee’s determination that play has stopped;
d. A puck directed into the net by a hand or a distinct kicking motion;
e. A puck deflected into the net by an official;
f. A puck hit into the net by a high stick;
g. To correctly identify individuals who participated in a fight or committed an infraction;
h. To establish the correct time on the clock, or to determine the correct location of a faceoff;
i. To determine if an attacking player was illegally in the goal crease and physically or visually prevented the goalkeeper from defending the goal when the puck entered the goal cage;
j. To determine if a goal was scored as the direct result of a hand pass or high stick by an attacking player to a teammate, initiated or completed within the goalkeeper’s privileged area; or
k. To determine if a goal was scored, as a direct result of the puck deflecting off of the protective netting above the glass, by the first team to gain possession of the deflected puck.

ESPN’s Barry Melrose may find himself commenting on replay in Saturday’s championship game. Melrose would like to see the replay process sped up. “It’s tough when you’ve had a tying goal and it’s an unbelievable play and you’ve got to wait 10 minutes to find out if it’s a goal or not,” he said.

But the NCAA is not likely to support a rule change that would impose a time limit. Cole said, “Our objective is to take as much time as necessary to make the call correct.”

Replay and other rule changes will be looked at during this offseason.

A free copy of the NCAA ice hockey rulebook may be downloaded at http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/IH12.pdf

TAMPA, Fla. – Here are the line charts for Saturday’s national championship game, Boston College vs. Ferris State:

BOSTON COLLEGE (32-10-1)

9 Barry Almeida-24 Bill Arnold-21 Steven Whitney
19 Chris Kreider-12 Kevin Hayes-17 Destry Straight
13 Johnny Gaudreau-11 Pat Mullane-22 Paul Carey
27 Quinn Smith-18 Michael Sit-10 Danny Linell

4 Tommy Cross-8 Edwin Shea
2 Brian Dumoulin-6 Patrick Wey
7 Isaac MacLeod-3 Patch Alber

35 Parker Milner
1 Brian Billett
30 Chris Venti

FERRIS STATE (26-11-5)

28 Kyle Bonis-22 Derek Graham-12 TJ Schlueter
11 Jordie Johnston-20 Matthew Kirzinger-16 Garrett Thompson
17 Eric Alexander-8 Cory Kane-5 Aaron Schmit
32 Tommy Hill-9 Travis Ouellette-18 Andy Huff

4 Chad Billins-2 Scott Czarnowczan
27 Brett Wysopal-7 Jason Binkley
3 Travis White-26 Simon Denis

29 Taylor Nelson
30 CJ Motte
31 Rob Granett

No change in lines for either team from Thursday’s semifinals.

TAMPA, Fla. – When you hear about microscopes and telescopes, you think of biology and astronomy. Well, you can add Boston College hockey to that list.

Over the years, BC coach Jerry York has employed many descriptive devices to vividly make points to his teams. He uses an inverted pyramid in the locker room that depicts the (thin) least important games of the year in October and November, gradually building to the (wider) stretch drive contests, the (wider-still) Hockey East playoffs, and then finally the (widest of all) NCAA tournament, Frozen Four and national championship at the top.

In the 2008 title year, York, by way of Father Tony Penna, used Michelangelo’s paintings to make a point. Penna related how painters of past eras left the corners bare. Michelangelo filled them in. Paint Your Corners became a metaphor for finishing checks and leaving no detail unattended to.

Another visual — a wooden post in the BC locker room, structurally a necessity but otherwise a bother — became a point of pride years ago as the team attached pucks from road wins, the logos depicting the defeated team. The post became appropriately named Road Kill.

At the start of this season, York added the microscope and the telescope to his repertoire.

“The microscope-telescope idea has been important for our team this year,” BC captain Tommy Cross says. “At the beginning of the year, the telescope is on the Frozen Four and having a chance to win the big trophy. But throughout the year, the microscope is on the GLI [tournament], [then] the Beanpot, the Hockey East regular season and the Hockey East playoffs.

“As you move along during the course of the year, the microscope and the telescope start to come together until you get to the point we’re at right now — essentially they’re the same thing.”

The microscope now peers at Saturday night’s title game, showing in clear focus where the telescope has pointed all season long.

[Thanks to Boston Herald writer John "Jocko" Connolly for his assistance.]

TAMPA, Fla. – Past Boston College teams have often relied on one or two bellwether stars to shoulder the heavy lifting at crunch time. Players like Brian Gionta and Nathan Gerbe.

This year’s squad, however, features no such bellwether but exceptional depth that results in a different star every night.

“Our top nine forwards have someone different contributing every night,” said captain Tommy Cross. “It’s not one guy producing every night.

“I think that a complement to the depth that we have. It’s good for our team that it’s not all on one person’s shoulders. Last night Paul Carey had two; tomorrow night it could be anybody else.”

Even the role of top defensive line has become shared.

“In years past, we’ve had one shutdown line that shut down the other team’s best,” said Parker Milner. “This year we’ve had four lines that can do that. Everyone’s reliable defensively.

“And the [offensive] numbers that the top three lines have put up are incredible. The freshman [fourth] line has done a great job possessing the puck and being strong defensively.

“As far as the defense goes, I think we have six of the best defensemen in the country. They’re all veteran guys. They’ve all played a ton of games and I think that shows each night.”

BC coach Jerry York brought in Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers to emphasize the need for just those kinds of contributions from the top of the roster to the bottom. The Celtics, of course, feature a lineup led by the “Big Three” superstars — Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — but can’t succeed without the contributions of the other players.

York recalled Rivers’ words. “With this hockey team, you have your star players, you have your players that play maybe a few minutes a game and players that don’t dress at all.

“Our goal with the Celtics as your goal with BC should be: Be a star in your role.”

York has driven that point home ever since.

“Whether you’re Johnny Gaudreau, probably the best freshman in college hockey, or you’re Michael Sit, playing seven to eight minutes in his first year at BC,” said York, “we want [both] to be a star in his role.”

TAMPA, Fla. – Speed kills. Boston College is fast. Therefore, Ferris State will die.

That’s the prevailing logic, right?

There’s no question that the Eagles play a far faster game than do the Bulldogs, and — seriously — that may be very bad for Ferris State come Saturday night.

“We had an opportunity to watch BC play live last night,” said coach Bob Daniels. “Up to that point, I had seen them on TV here and there and always appreciated their game, [but] watching them last night, it was different. Seeing them live, seeing their speed and tenacity reminded me a bit of some of the Michigan teams we’ve faced in the 1990s when they were really rolling.”

All of Daniels’ players are aware of how fast the Eagles are and what the Bulldogs need to do to in the championship game: slow Boston College down.

“We’ve played fast teams all year,” said senior forward Jordie Johnston. “We’re used to it. I know BC is maybe a step above what we are used to but our game plan is to slow teams down. We make teams make mistakes and make them slow down to our pace. I think that can really throw a wrench into some of their game plans.”

“BC is a very high-flying team,” said senior goaltender Taylor Nelson. “We watched a little bit of the game last night on TV and they were just flying back and forth, chance for chance. I think it’s going to be a great game where we have to focus again on defense. That’s kind of been our motto all season long and what we live by.”

“They’re extremely fast paced,” said senior defenseman Brett Wysopal. “I watched a little bit of the game last night. We’re going to have to slow the pace down a little bit, especially through the neutral zone. They get through the neutral zone and they can really create.”

Boston College’s speed has helped make the Eagles one of the top offensive teams in the country, averaging 3.56 goals per game. The Bulldogs’ ability to cage opponents has made Ferris State one of the top defensive teams in the nation, limiting opponents to 2.14 goals per game.

Daniels knows, though, that the battle will be greater than those two statistics. “I think we’ll have to make it a defensive battle,” said Daniels. “There’s been a lot of talk about BC’s speed and offensive abilities, but having only given up one goal themselves Thursday night, obviously they are doing very well defensively. With that in mind, and their ability to score, we can’t allow to hand them chances. By that I mean that anything they get, we have to make sure they earn.”

Daniels’ players are confident in their ability to force the Eagles to play Bulldogs hockey.

“We’d like to shut them out,” said Wysopal, “but Lord only knows if that could happen. I think our defense will lead us to offense and probably frustrate them a little bit.”

Said Johnston: “We’ll just play our defensive style and slow them down. When they do make mistakes we’ll react quick and try to get our chances. It will be one of those kinds of battles where it will be power offense against a really strong defense. Hopefully we come out on top.”