There’s a sense of a beginning and closure across the ECAC Northeast and MASCAC.
Playoffs are set to begin in the ECAC, while the MASCAC will wrap up its regular season tomorrow. Here’s a look at what to expect for the weekend, starting with the postseason action in the ECAC Northeast.
ECAC Northeast
Originally set for Saturday, the first round of the playoffs have been pushed to Sunday, which mean this reporter unfortunately won’t be able to make the opening round.
With a 7-2 win over league champion Curry Thursday, Wentworth jumped over Johnson and Wales for the second seed and final bye in the conference. The Leopards and Colonels will each host a playoff game Wednesday, while Becker will host Nichols Sunday at 4 and Johnson and Wales hosts Western New England at 6:30.
For the breakdown on the Nichols-Becker game, click here.
As for the JWU-WNEC game, it was a matter of pick your poison for the Golden Bears, as both Wentworth and JWU swept them this year, with the Wildcats posting 8-2 and 10-3 victories in the season sweep.
Johnson and Wales is loaded offensively, led by Jermiah Ketts, who was named ECAC Northeast Player of the Year yesterday. The forward posted a gaudy 15-12 line in 14 conference games. Jason Pietrasiak and Jason Simeone tied for second in scoring behind Ketts, each posting 21 points in conference play.
In net Matt Cooper, the conference’s goalie of the year, has anchored an improved Wildcats defense.
In spite of all the accolades, the Wildcats lost their last two games of the regular season to slip into third and out of a first round bye.
After opening the season with a three game winning streak, Western New England hit the skids before rallying to win their last two games, including an overtime win against Suffolk on the last day of the regular season that sent Suffolk home and punched WNEC’s playoff ticket.
The win pushed Western New England’s conference record to 5-9, a year after they recorded just one win in conference play.
While they’re not at the level of JWU, WNEC has some firepower for when the game likely turns into a shootout. ECAC Northeast Rookie of the Year Chris Connors was one of five players to average a point per game or better in conference play.
In net, T.J. Fatse and Eric Sorenson have split time, with Sorenson picking up the starts in each of the Golden Bear’s last two games. Whoever starts Sunday will no doubt have their hands full against one of the league’s most talented offenses.
Playoff Picks
Becker 5, Nichols 4
JWU 6, Western New England 3
ECAC Northeast Season Honors
I took a shot at guessing these earlier in the week and pretty much came up empty, with the exception of Ketts being named Player of the Year. (Although with that being the biggest no-brainer of the group, I can’t take too much solace in getting that right.)
Player of the Year: Jeremiah Ketts, Johnson and Wales
Goalie of the Year: Matt Cooper, Johnson and Wales
Rookie of the Year: Chris Connors, Western New England
Coach of the Year: Rob Davies, Curry
First Team All Conference
Forward – Payden Benning, Curry, Junior
Forward – Jeremiah Ketts, Johnson & Wales, Junior
Forward – Skylur Jameson, Wentworth, Junior
Defense – Ryan Warofsky, Curry, Junior
Defense – Domenic Recchia, Johnson & Wales, Junior
Goalie – Matt Cooper, Johnson & Wales, Sophomore
Click here for the full release and rest of the All-Conference teams.
MASCAC
A host of Thursday night games has cleared up a lot of the mystery heading into Saturday’s regular season finale.
Here’s what we know:
-Framingham State concluded their season with a 3-2 loss to UMass Dartmouth and is out of the playoffs.
-Westfield State and Worcester State have clinched the sixth and fifth seeds, respectively.
-UMD and Salem State have clinched a first round bye. The Corsairs hold a one point lead for first place, so if they win or Salem loses, they’ll clinch first. The Vikings need to win and have UMD lose in order to move into first.
-Both Plymouth State and Fitchburg State will have a home game in the opening round on Tuesday, but tomorrow’s action will determine what seedings these teams receive. The Panthers need one point to clinch third place.
Here’s a look at the games set for tomorrow:
Westfield State at Plymouth State: Potential playoff matchup Tuesday should go to PSU, although the Owls did shutout Plymouth the last time they met. Plymouth State 4, Westfield State 2
UMass Dartmouth at Fitchburg State: With a bye already secured, will UMD go for the regular season crown? I think so. UMass Dartmouth 3, Fitchburg State 2
Salem State at Worcester State: An upset against Salem would be a great way to head into the playoffs, but the Vikings should take this one. Salem State 4, Worcester State 1
And finally, thanks to Steven Miller at Worcester State for passing along this article about the Lancers’ Ryan Quirk and his brother Cory, a former UMass Minuteman who is currently playing for the Worcester Sharks. (Registration is required.)
ECAC Northeast and MASCAC Weekend Preview: Feb. 25
Paula's picks: Feb. 25, 2011
The last weekend of regular-season play – how strange it seems to be writing that, because it feels as though October was just a week ago.
There is so much at stake this weekend and so much can change with just a point that the drama quotient for every game is exceptionally high. When it’s all over, I’m sure many coaches will liken this weekend to playoff hockey.
Standings and possibilities
After last night’s 2-2 tie between Ferris State and Ohio State, the Bulldogs earned the extra shootout point. That means that the CCHA standing look like this today, with points totals.
1. Notre Dame (56)
2. Michigan (55)
3. Miami (49)
4. Western Michigan (41)
5. Ferris State (40)
6. Northern Michigan (39)
7. Alaska (38)
8. Lake Superior (37)
9. Ohio State (36)
10. Michigan State (29)
11. Bowling Green (15)
Notre Dame, Michigan and Miami have secured first-round byes. Miami may move up to second place in points with Michigan, but the Wolverines own that tiebreaker. Michigan State and Bowling Green are each locked into their positions.
Here’s how each team can finish. I’m not good with the math and all the permutations (I teach English), but I think this is correct:
- With two wins, Notre Dame takes the league outright. The Fighting Irish cannot finish lower than second place.
- Michigan can finish as high as first, but no lower than third.
- Miami can finish as high as second (in points), but no lower than third.
- Western Michigan can finish in fourth, but can finish as low as seventh.
- Ferris State: fourth to seventh.
- Northern Michigan: fourth to seventh.
- Alaska: seventh to ninth.
- Lake Superior: fourth to ninth.
- Ohio State: seventh to ninth.
- Michigan State: 10th.
- Bowling Green: 11th.
I’m sure that someone will let me know if I got this wrong.
Tiebreakers
In order:
1. Conference wins.
2. Best regular-season win percentage against other teams tied for position.
3. Total goals in regular-season league play, for and against, in contests between or among the teams tied for position.
4. Best win percentage of tied teams against the remaining highest-ranking CCHA teams.
5. Coin toss.
Picks
Last week, including last night’s game: 5-3-3 (.591)
Season to date: 100-65-26 (.592)
The Bulldogs and Buckeyes have one game remaining tonight, and I talked about that series yesterday, along with some additional stuff about the Broncos and Wolverines. Here are the picks for the Friday-Saturday series. Start times are noted.
BGSU at MSU. Two wins this weekend would give the Falcons a better wins total than they had a year ago, but it’s hard to see that happening, given that Saturday’s contest will be the last home game these Spartans get to play for a coach they really love and respect, Rick Comley. The Spartans haven’t lost to the Falcons in four games and are 7-2-1 in the last 10 contests between the teams. Last weekend, BG tied and lost to Northern Michigan at home, while MSU split with Alaska on the road. After this weekend, the Falcons will still be in 11th place and the Spartans in 10th, no matter who wins. 7:35 Friday, 7:05 Saturday. MSU 3-2, 4-2.
Miami at LSSU. The RedHawks are unbeaten by the Lakers in the last eight meetings (7-0-1) and Miami is riding a seven-game unbeaten streak (4-0-3) into Sault Ste. Marie. Miami was off last weekend while the Lakers took two points from Ohio State in Columbus with a tie and the extra shootout point. Both games are 7:05 p.m. Miami 4-2, 4-2.
ND vs. WMU. Last week, the Irish swept Ferris State, while the Broncos were swept by the Wolverines. Michigan’s Carl Hagelin, who scored the game-winning goal with three seconds left in overtime to deliver that sweep, said that WMU head coach Jeff Blashill told him in the handshake line that the Broncos would be gifting the Wolverines a win in this home-and-home series against the Irish – and one Notre Dame loss with four points from Michigan would give UM the regular-season title. I realize that Blashill was talking in the heat of the moment and congratulating a very worthy opponent, but I have a feeling that Notre Dame may have something to say about this, too. The Irish took four points from the Broncos in a home-and-home series Oct. 29-30, with the win coming at home. 7:35 Friday in Kalamazoo, 7:05 Saturday in South Bend. ND 3-2, 4-2.
UM at NMU. The Wolverines are 6-2-2 in their last 10 against the Wildcats. Last weekend, UM swept WMU at home and NMU took four points from BGSU with a tie and win on the road. The Wildcats trail the Wolverines 6-10-3 at home all-time, and the last time these teams met in Marquette was Oct. 17-18, 2008 – a split with NMU winning 2-0, UM winning 5-3. While both teams have a lot on the line, the Wolverines are playing for a regular-season championship. A tie for first place with Notre Dame would give Michigan the title outright, as the Wolverines own the tiebreaker over the Irish. More points would, too. 7:35 p.m. both nights. UM 3-2, 4-2.
UAA vs. UAF. The Seawolves are 7-2-1 against the Nanooks in the last 10 games, but those two losses came last season, when Fairbanks swept Anchorage to take the Governor’s Cup – which they defend this weekend. Last weekend, the Seawolves (11-16-3) split with WCHA foe Nebraska-Omaha. The Nanooks split a pair at home against the Spartans. 7:05 p.m. AT Friday in Anchorage. 7:07 p.m. AT Saturday in Fairbanks. I don’t understand the 7:07 p.m. start, either.UAF 4-3, 4-2.
Picks 2/25/11
Last week: 7-3-1
On the season: 96-62-23 (.593)
Two first-round byes are still up in the air going into the final weekend of the regular season. All of the series are home-and-home with the obvious exception of Air Force and Robert Morris.
Friday, February 25 and Saturday, February 26
Robert Morris at Air Force – This is the most interesting series of the weekend, with teams going head-to-head for a playoff bye. Air Force needs three points to clinch it; so therefore RMU needs two. A split gives it to the Colonials and I think that’s what’s going to happen. RMU 3, Air Force 2; Air Force 4, RMU 2.
Sacred Heart vs. Army – The Black Knights need some help but are still in the running for a bye. I’m thinking split, though, which would all but knock them out of contention. Army 3, Sacred Heart 1; Sacred Heart 3, Army 2.
Mercyhurst vs. Canisius – Both of the teams are locked into road first-round playoff games. I’m thinking split again, with the road team(s) coming out on top. Mercyhurst 3, Canisius 2; Canisius 4, Mercyhurst 3.
Bentley vs. Holy Cross – The Crusaders have clinched a first-round bye and can wreck the Falcons’ chances of getting the same. I like the home team(s) in this series. Holy Cross 4, Bentley 2; Bentley 4, Holy Cross 3
Niagara vs. RIT – A few weeks ago, it looked like this series might decide the regular season title, or at least a playoff bye. Instead, both teams are locked into their postseason spots – the Tigers have a bye and the Purple Eagles will host either Mercyhurst or Canisius in the first round. RIT has never beaten Niagara since moving up to Division I, but I think they split. RIT 4, Niagara 3; Niagara 4, RIT 2.
American International vs. Connecticut – UConn needs three points to clinch a playoff bye. If it winds up tied with Army the Huskies get the bye; a tie with Bentley means the Falcons get it. A three way tie goes to the Huskies. I think they take care of business and won’t need the tiebreakers. UConn 4, AIC 1; UConn 3, AIC 1.
Guest Analyst
The guest analyst for the final week of the regular season is Seth Dussault, radio color commentator for AIC. Here are his unedited picks:
Bentley vs. Holy Cross (2/25 at HC, 2/26 at BEN)
The Crusaders are on fire. Clearly, they are the best team in the East,
and I think they’ll continue their winning ways.
Holy Cross 5, Bentley 1; Holy Cross 4, Bentley 2.
American Int’l vs. UConn (2/25 at CON, 2/26 at AIC)
The Jackets are desperate to not finish in last place for the first time
in a long time. I think that desperation will help them split with the
Huskies and finish out of the basement.
UConn 3, AIC 1; AIC 4, UConn 1.
Army vs. Sacred Heart (2/25 at Army, 2/26 at SHU)
The Pioneers have done well at Harbor Yard, but it won’t translate into
points here, particularly as Army looks to pass UConn.
Army 5, Sacred Heart 1; Army 3, Sacred Heart 0.
Mercyhurst vs. Canisius (2/25 at CAN, 2/26 at MH)
This is a pretty evenly matched series and it will be reflected in the
scores, but I think Mercyhurst has the edge in net.
Mercyhurst 3, Canisius 3 (yes, a tie); Mercyhurst 3, Canisius 2.
Niagara vs. RIT (2/25 at RIT, 2/26 at NIA)
The Purple Eagles have two of the best scorers in the country, but the
Tigers are the best team in the league, so I expect a split.
Niagara 5, RIT 4; RIT 3, Niagara 2.
Robert Morris vs. Air Force (2/25 at AFA, 2/26 at AFA)
It’s hard to win in Colorado, and with a first-round bye on the line,
it’ll be impossible.
Air Force 3, Robert Morris 1; Air Force 4, Robert Morris 2.
Check back Monday for playoff pairings and to see how Seth and I did
ECAC Hockey picks: Week 21
This is the toughest time of the year to make predictions, because so many teams are playing on emotion rather than simple talent. It’s the time of year where a bottom-dweller could easily upset a top-four team, if they simply want it more… so here come some pretty brutal predictions, because frankly, I have no freakin’ clue what’s going to go down this weekend.
This year
Record: 128-62-21 (.656)
It looks like my dream of a .667 season is over, but really, I pretty much got there anyhow: I have been right more than twice as often as I’ve been wrong, since I never pick ties… and you know what? That’s pretty awesome.
This week
All times Eastern
Friday, February 25
Colgate at Yale – 7:00
Some of you loyal Raiders fans (I’m looking at you, Shablak) may think that I’m not giving the ‘Gate the respect it deserves, especially in light of its recent hot streak (4-1-0). But really, of those four wins, all of them came against teams that were more than a couple places ahead of Colgate in the standings: Clarkson, RPI, and Dartmouth. Could I have picked Colgate over Harvard? Yeah, and obviously that would’ve been the right call. But just like the other three games, I would be crazy not to pick Yale. If the Raiders want to prove me wrong again, have at it – I have no problem with a little wackiness entering the playoffs. As such, 4-2 Bulldogs.
Quinnipiac at Union – 7:00
One of these teams is 0-3-2 in its last five outings. One of these teams is gunning for first place, and controls its own fate in that regard. (Hint: It’s not the same team.) 5-2 Dutchmen.
Princeton at Rensselaer – 7:00
Princeton rolled through a 14-3-1 run midway through the season, but has only won once since (1-4-1). RPI had a 14-3-2 stretch around the same time (in which a win against Princeton was the final W of the streak), but is 1-3-0 since. Odd… very odd. What’s even more gutting for the Engineers is that of those three recent losses, two were at home, after only sustaining a single home defeat in the previous 13 contests at the Houston Field House. The Tigers are 7-2-0 on the road this year, and while ‘Tute fans may disparage me for it, I’m picking this game as my big upset of the week: 3-2 Princeton.
Cornell at Brown – 7:00
As hot as Cornell has been lately (9-3-2), Brown has been equally cold (1-7-1). Funny how fortunes change as the year slips by. (Brown’s case isn’t helped whatsoever by the loss of top goal- and point-scorer Jack Maclellan, who may well be done for the year with sliced tendons in his foot.) 4-1 Big Red.
Clarkson at Harvard – 7:00
Just like that, Harvard – like Colgate – has gone on a little run to keep things interesting: At 3-1-1 in its last five, the Crimson has scored more goals (15) in five games than it has in any seven-game stretch all year. Clarkson, meanwhile, hasn’t manufactured consecutive points – much less wins – since 2010. The Golden Knights are 4-11-0 since the holiday break, and the adequate offense simply hasn’t been able to compensate for increasingly miserable defense. I never would’ve imagined saying it two weeks ago, but… I’m picking Harvard. 4-3 Crimson at home.
St. Lawrence at Dartmouth – 7:30
The Saints and Big Green are a bit funny, in that they’re so similar yet so opposite: St. Lawrence has only won consecutive league games once all year (a weekend home sweep of Cornell and Colgate), whereas the Big Green have only lost back-to-back ECAC games once this season (last weekend, at – ironically – Colgate and Cornell). The Saints have never really demonstrated positive consistency, whereas the Big Green have been nothing but. 4-2 Dartmouth.
Saturday, February 26
Princeton at Union – 7:00
This is one of those reeeeaaally difficult ones, because I don’t know how hard either team will be fighting for this one. If Union has first place locked up, I’d take bye-eyeing Princeton… but if the Tigers lose at RPI on Friday… well, you get the idea. I’ll play the season as a whole, and take Union, 3-2.
St. Lawrence at Harvard – 7:00
The way the Crimson has been playing (in case you hadn’t noticed, “Crimson” is a singularity, which is unusual among team names), I’d be a fool to take St. Lawrence. That said, Harvard hasn’t been playing this well for very long, so let’s see if they can stick with it. 3-2 Cantabs.
Quinnipiac at Rensselaer – 7:00
Even if the Engineers should lose Friday, they’ll likely still be in the mix for the final bye come Saturday. QU is merely playing to maintain its position, not improve it. I’ll take the slightly more driven home team, 4-2.
Colgate at Brown – 7:00
If Bruno loses these games, I may have to re-institute The Brown Rule… and what a shame that would be. Where-did-that-come-from-Colgate over Brown in Providence, 3-1.
Clarkson at Dartmouth – 7:00
‘Tech: Set for a first-round home series before the game even starts, is my bet. Dartmouth: Odds are good that a bye is all but clinched. So what are they playing for? Certainty. Big Green in an odd we-want-it-but-don’t-need-it kind of purgatory game, 3-2.
Cornell at Yale – 7:00
After Princeton at RPI, this might be the game of the weekend: Yale will still hope to have a shot at a third straight regular-season crown; Cornell will be looking to cement a first-round bye. It’s an Ivy League contest, senior night, with a potential title on the line, so Ingalls should be rolling like a humpback on the high seas. Bulldogs in a true playoff atmosphere, 5-3.
We’re not done yet!
Look for an update on potential playoff seedings on Friday night after the games, and be sure to follow me on Twitter for news that isn’t quite elaborate enough to warrant a blog post.
Games Feb. 25-27
Last week Theresa: 7-2-3
Season Theresa: 120-72-23
Last week Tyler: 6-3-3
Season Tyler: 124-51-19
Bemidji and Tech threw us both for a tiny loop last weekend, but hey, I’ll gladly take the prediction loss for that MTU win.
This weekend: MSU gets one last weekend off, UAA plays a late non-conference series and UND/BSU play a Saturday/Sunday series to give us all a nice extra day of hockey.
No. 6 Denver (19-8-5, 15-6-3 WCHA) at No. 12 Nebraska-Omaha (19-11-2, 15-7-2 WCHA)
Theresa: This series is big one in terms of the MacNaughton Cup (if, in fact, you believe that it’s possible for another team to win it) as well as playoff positioning. Both teams are coming off of splits last weekend and are looking to get on the right track as the regular season winds down. This series is undoubtedly going to be an exciting one and one I don’t think it matters what I predict as it’s probably going to be the opposite or off the wall. That being said, let’s go with what I think is the most logical result – a split. UNO Friday, DU Saturday.
Tyler: Denver leads the WCHA in penalty minutes but UNO’s power play has been awful (3-for-43 since Jan. 22). The Pioneers have the best penalty kill in the league and have scored a league-leading five shorthanded goals. This will allow Denver to play extra physical, considering its confidence in the kill. The Mavericks let a team leave Omaha with more than two points just once. That was Bemidji State in January when UNO was injury battered. Split.
No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth (19-7-5, 14-6-4 WCHA) at No. 19 Colorado College (17-15-2, 11-12-1 WCHA)
Theresa: It has been a long time – almost a year! – since these two teams last played (first round WCHA playoffs, for those who don’t know). In terms of what’s at stake, both teams have quite a bit, but I would argue that CC (home ice) has more than UMD (possible MacNaughton; playoff positioning). As the series above (and okay, mostly everyone), the teams are also looking to find their grooves before the playoffs hit. I could see the Bulldogs sweeping (but can’t see the Tigers doing the same despite the fact it sounds like the team’s 98% healthy), but I think ultimately I have to go with a split right now. CC Friday, UMD Saturday.
(Mostly unrelated, but I bet the CC team is glad this series is at home this weekend so they didn’t have to worry about this happening again. Yikes.)
Tyler: CC, or UNO, is perhaps the toughest team to figure out week-to-week. Jaden Schwartz returned last weekend and scored a goal with two assists last weekend at Bemidji State but the Tigers only took one point but he still makes CC a better team. Split.
Bemidji State (12-14-4, 8-12-4 WCHA) at No. 1 North Dakota (22-8-3, 17-6-1 WCHA)
Theresa: The Beavers are coming off a good weekend at home against CC and are currently in a three way tie for ninth (or eleventh, if you want to be that way) in the league. The Sioux, on the other hand, are coming off a moral victory in that they may be able to keep their nickname as well as a good weekend against SCSU. Bemidji doesn’t have a whole lot to play for, but UND I believe could clinch the MacNaughton this weekend. As it seems they’ve found their groove, I think I have to go with the Sioux once again. UND sweep.
Tyler: Now is not the time for the Sioux to be complacent. It’s UND’s MacNaughton Cup to lose and the Sioux are already down two very good players in Chay Genoway and Danny Kristo. UND proved two weekends ago it can roll without those two for now when the Sioux swept Anchorage, a better team than BSU. UND sweep.
No. 13 Wisconsin (19-11-4, 11-10-3 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (12-15-5, 8-12-4 WCHA)
Theresa: In which you have a series where both teams are trying to stop skids (UW four games, SCSU three). After putting together a nice run, it could be possible that the young Badgers are finally running out of gas. As for the Huskies, it’s just been a tough year overall for them. For this series, one could look to the Badgers as they’re not out of the home ice race yet as well as the fact that SCSU is pretty awful at home this season. As much as a tie is probably guaranteed with the way the Huskies have been playing lately, I’ll gamble and say both teams will end their winless streaks and call a split – SCSU Friday, UW Saturday.
Tyler: Both teams are struggling right now. Defense has been Wisconsin’s mainstay all season but the Badgers have given up 16 goals in the past four games, causing Scott Gudmandson to sit Saturday’s game. The Huskies, who have been offensively challenged all season, will earn a split if they can bust out of the slump or if Wisconsin has more trouble in the defensive zone. Split.
Michigan Tech (4-24-4, 2-20-2 WCHA) at No. 20 Minnesota (13-12-5, 10-10-4 WCHA)
Theresa: Tech rule. UM sweep.
And yes, I still call this despite the fact that the streak is over. I’m glad the streak is over, yet the Huskies have been losing too convincingly all season to really justify otherwise. That, and this is an easy weekend for the Gophers to stay in the home ice hunt.
Tyler: In the past two weeks, MTU has shown signs of life and Minnesota has played well against two good teams. Seems like this would be a good weekend for the Gophers to possibly lay an egg but Minnesota won’t be complacent with a home playoff spot at stake. Cade Fairchild and Jacob Cepis are two big reasons the Gophers are playing as well as they are lately. Anything less than a sweep this weekend would be a letdown. Minny sweep.
Alaska-Anchorage (11-16-3, 10-14-2 WCHA) and Alaska home and home in the Governor’s Cup
Theresa: Wee, non-conference series. Even though the Nanooks have had the recent edge in this series, the Seawolves have traditionally fared better against their in-state rivals. I’d ordinarily call a split in this series, but since the Nanooks haven’t been doing all that well the second half of the season (four wins in the second half (not including shootouts)), I’ll go with the WCHA on this one. UAA “sweep.”
Tyler: The Seawolves have stood tall against the WCHA’s best and they will take care of business against Alaska, a CCHA team that has fallen far from the success it had last season. UAA sweep.
D-III Bracketology, 2011 Edition
You know it’s getting to be that time of year when the NCAA begins to produce its regional rankings and the conference playoffs kick off. The rankings are a dry run for the final selection of the Division III NCAA tournament participants.
As was the case for the past few year, we know the criteria used by the NCAA Division III Men’s Committee to select and seed the teams, but not the weighting used in their evaluation. This means that unlike Division I, the process cannot be replicated. USCHO produces a PairWise Ranking (PWR) for Division III, but assumes an equal weighting for the criteria, which we know from past experience has not been the case. This opens the door for some gerrymandering (more on this later).
To recap: eleven teams will get their tickets punched: seven Pool A teams, one Pool B Team, and three Pool C teams. Pool A consists of the seven teams that will win playoff championships in leagues with an automatic qualifier: ECAC East, ECAC Northeast, NCHA, NESCAC, MCHA, MIAC, and SUNYAC. One Pool B slot is reserved for an independent team or team from a conference that does not have an AQ: ECAC West and MASCAC. Pool C bids will be handed out to the highest remaining teams according to the NCAA rankings.
The rub here is that there are East and West rankings, but not a combined one. So when the rubber hits the road, the committee will be combining the separate rankings on Selection Sunday.
Also, based on the current regional rankings produced by the NCAA, it looks like the East and West regional committees have applied the criteria differently. That will make resolving inter-region matchups even more difficult.
For this bracketology, we’re going with the assumption that the NCAA will stay consistent in its process from the regional rankings to the actual selection.
Here’s my guess as to where the teams still in the running stand:
A lock : Oswego,, St. Norbert, Elmira . These teams can at most lose one more game and that won’t be enough to hurt their chances.
Bet On It: Plattsburgh, Norwich. These teams fare well in most head-to-head matchups with other contenders. The only way they don’t get in is massive upsets in the conference championships.
Good Chance: Neumann, Castleton, Utica: Plattsburgh/Oswego will be one of the Pool C choices, and Elmira will get Pool B. That leaves spots for two of these three teams. Neumann and Utica play on Saturday in the ECAC West semifinals.
On the Bubble: I can’t see the West getting an at-large team in unless St. Norbert loses. In the East, Geneseo is a dark horse but I can’t see it happening unless the Knights win this weekend and then the committee changes up the criteria weighting.
Must Win Their AQ: Mass-Boston, Skidmore, Babson, S. Maine, New England, U of New England, Curry, Johnson & Wales, Wentworth, Becker, Nichols, Western New England, MSOE, Lake Forest, Northland, Lawrence, Hamline, St. Thomas, Concordia (MN), Gustavus Adolphus, Augsburg, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Superior, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Trinity, Williams, Colby, Midddlebury, Bowdoin, Amherst, Fredonia.
Playing Out the String: These teams are from conferences that don’t have an AQ, so even if they win their league championship, it wont raise them high enough in the criteria to get an at-large bid: Hobart, Salem State, Mass-Dartmouth, Plymouth State, Fitchburg State, Worcester State, Framingham State, Westfield State.
Thank you Seniors: These teams have concluded their seasons: Suffolk, Salve Regina, Manhattanville, Finlandia, Concordia (WI), St. Olaf, St. John’s, St. Mary’s Bethel, UW-Stout, Uw-Eau Claire, St. Scholastica, Conn College, Tufts, Buffalo State, Morrisville, Cortland, Potsdam, Brockport.
OK, so lets take a shot at a possible bracket, assuming the higher seeded team wins its respective league:
ECAC East: Norwich
ECAC Northeast: Curry
MCHA: Adrian
MIAC: Hamline
NCHA: St. Norbert
NESCAC: Hamilton
SUNYAC: Oswego
Based on the NCAA rankings, I’m picking Elmira to get Pool B, Plattsburgh, Castleton and the Neumann/Utica winner to get the Pool C spots. That would mean an 8-3 split.
E1: Oswego
E2: Elmira
E3: Plattsburgh
E4: Norwich
E5: Castleton
E6: Neumann/Utica
E7: Hamilton
E8: Curry
W1: St. Norbert
W2: Adrian
W3: Hamline
First Round:
Hamline at St. Norbert (should be Hamline at Adrian, it’s an 11 hour bus ride. Unless the NCAA flies Hamline, they’re going the 278 miles to Green Bay vs. the 628 miles to Adrian).
Curry at Castleton
Hamilton at Utica/Neumann
Quarterfinals:
Hamline will go to Adrian if it wins; Adrian goes to SNC if the Green Knights win.
Utica/Neumann/Hamilton at Oswego
Curry/Castleton at Elmira
Norwich at Plattsburgh
And finally, in the event St. Norbert does not win the NCHA, it will be a 7-4 split.
E1: Oswego
E2: Elmira
E3: Plattsburgh
E4: Norwich
E5: Castleton
E6: Hamilton
E7: Curry
W1: St. Norbert
W2: Adrian
W3: Hamline
W4: NCHA winner
First Round:
Curry at Elmira
Hamilton at Plattsburgh
Castleton at Norwich
And…the West will be TBD based on which team wins the NCHA, travel distances, etc. Someone’s going to have a long drive or a flight.
Check back next week!
Oswego on the rise
Back in October, the Oswego State women’s hockey team began its preseason practices with one goal: a breakout season.
Fast forward to present day and the Lakers are now preparing for the ECAC West Tournament coming off their best regular season record in program history at 13-9-3 and an 8-7-3 conference mark.
This year also marks the first time Oswego will finish with a winning record in the program’s five-year history, and establishes a new record for wins in a season after the previous best was eight wins, which was accomplished in back-to-back seasons in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
“This year has been a great year for us and obviously the best so far in the program’s young history,” Oswego coach Diane Dillon said. “I think it’s a testament to how hard the team is working in addition to being really diligent on the recruiting side. It’s starting to really come together for us and I’m excited for the kids. Oswego is a hockey school, and with one of the best rinks, if not the best, in Division III, it’s an easy sell.”
Oswego turned heads in the offseason with an impressive recruiting class on paper, and they’ve backed it up on the ice with three newcomers in the top six scorers for the team.
“We brought in a large recruiting class with nine freshmen and two transfers,” Dillon said. “With 11 new people in the locker room, it certainly changes things. However, one of the best things about this class is how well they have integrated into the locker room with the returners. The entire freshman class has been playing and getting experience, so I think the best is yet to come.”
Leading the way has been junior forward Mackenzie Lee, a transfer from Plattsburgh with 14 goals, nine assists and 23 points. Lee is the second player in the last few years that has transferred from Plattsburgh to Oswego after Tiarra Garrow made the switch in 2008-09.
“It’s ironic, because I tried to get both of those young ladies to come their freshmen year, but they opted to go to Plattsburgh instead,” Dillon said. “They never got the chance to excel at Plattsburgh, but they were both great additions to our team.”
Freshman forward Megan Howe has also helped spark the Lakers’ offense this season with seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points to lead all freshmen on the team.
“Megan has done extremely well,” Dillon said. “She’s a natural out there and is a tremendous athlete. I don’t think she ever runs out of gas. Melissa Seamont has speed for days and has helped us spread the ice. Olivia Boersen has added a lot of grit in the corners. On defense, Jocelyn St. Clair has stepped in and she’s arguably one of our best defenseman. She’s paired with our captain and they are the dynamic duo.”
Oswego started the season off with a couple of strong statements by splitting with Adrian and then tying Elmira for the first time.
“I knew early on that we were going to be a force if we could put it all together,” Dillon said “It started right in our opening weekend when we went out to Adrian and were able to come back the second day and earn a split. In our previous years, if we didn’t do well the first day we rolled over the second day. This team is very resilient and can make changes on the fly like no team I’ve ever coached here or in my days back at Cornell.”
However, the Lakers’ crowning achievement to date for not only this season, but also in program history, was their 2-1 win upset win over previously undefeated and No. 1-ranked RIT on Feb. 12.
“The RIT win was kind of the icing on the cake to an already great regular season,” Dillon said. “We played very well the first day, but just didn’t convert on a number of scoring chances we had. However, we came back the second day and held in there when we were under siege and converted on our chances when we did get them.”
One of the big factors in the RIT win was senior goalie Emi Williams’ standout 46-save performance to help lead the Lakers to win the despite being outshot 47-15.
“Emi has been the backbone of our team the last four years and has been used to facing 70 shots or more a weekend,” Dillon said. “She’s only gotten stronger and better over her last four years, and has really come into her own this season. I think she really is arguably one of the top goaltenders in Division III women’s hockey.”
Williams is 11-8-1 with a 1.75 goals against average and a .940 save percentage, which ranks ninth in the country.
Standing in Oswego’s way from its first trip to the ECAC West final four is the fourth-seeded Neumann Knights, who are 15-6-4, withd five of their six losses to nationally-ranked Elmira, RIT and Plattsburgh.
The only other loss came to Oswego, as the two teams split their season series, with each squad winning a game 3-1.
“Neumann has been there before and they are a good club,” Dillon said. “They are on a roll right now, going unbeaten in their last eight games. We know we can skate with them though and I think we match up well with them. They have a couple of real threats that you have to watch out for, and like any other playoff game, it’s going to come down to goaltending and who gets a few bounces to go their way.”
Oswego has nine players back that were members of the 2009 squad that made the only other postseason appearance in program history. The Lakers lost 6-1 to Plattsburgh.
“The difference between this year and the last time we made the playoffs two years ago is that now we have a little bit more experience and leadership,” Dillon said. “I can’t say enough about our junior captain Kathryn Sbrocchi; she’s a great defenseman and has done an excellent job leading this team the whole season.”
Oswego will begin its quest this weekend along with every other conference’s teams (except for the MIAC) to win the postseason tournament and the coveted automatic qualifier spot in the seven-team NCAA Tournament field.
By Sunday night, 14 more teams will be eliminated, and it will set the stage for final four weekend next weekend where we’ll find out the first five teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Candace’s Picks: Feb. 25
Last week was a tough one for me, particularly in the ECAC, where I incorrectly picked three results. I finished 12-5-4 (.666) last week, which isn’t too terrible. That brings my season record to 162-54-24 (.725). The WCHA and ECAC kick off their first round playoff series this week, and Mercyhurst closes its season. Let’s get to it.
Friday, February 25
Robert Morris at Mercyhurst: Look for the Lakers to go big in this one and generate momentum for the playoffs next week, which they should sweep through. Mercyhurst 5-1
ECAC
Rensselaer at Cornell: One loss to Dartmouth and one tie with Clarkson was all that stood between Cornell and a perfect conference record. The loss occurred last weekend. Despite that, the Big Red are the team to beat, and should sweep this series. Cornell 4-1, 5-0
Clarkson at Dartmouth: The Big Green upset Cornell last weekend to get some momentum going into this series. but didn’t play too well against Colgate. Clarkson has been mercurial all season, and has enough to trouble Dartmouth, but I’m going with home ice, probably in three games. Dartmouth 3-2, Clarkson 3-1, Dartmouth 2-1
St. Lawrence at Harvard: It wasn’t too long ago that this would have been the likely ECAC championship tilt. This is a really hard series to call. On paper, the Crimson should win. St. Lawrence has been wildly inconsistent this season, looking great at times and poor at others. Like the Dartmouth series, I’m going with home ice in three games. Harvard 4-1, St. Lawrence 2-1, Harvard 3-2
Princeton at Quinnipiac: The Bobcats stumbled in the last weekend, losing to Yale and tying Brown. Princeton’s best result was an upset of Boston College. Still, I think Quinnipiac has enough to get by the Tigers. It might go three games. Quinnipiac 3-2, 3-1
WCHA
St. Cloud at Wisconsin: A mismatch if ever there was one. At least the Huskies pitiful campaign wasn’t without a win. Look for the Badgers to romp. Wisconsin 5-0, 6-1
Minnesota State at Minnesota-Duluth: After some rough spots, the Bulldogs righted ship in the last month and again look like a threat. Look for a sweep. Minnesota-Duluth 4-1, 5-1
Ohio State at Minnesota: Despite a loss last weekend to North Dakota, the Gophers have been one of the hottest teams in the country since January. Ohio State has been inconsistent, and that will hurt them. Gophers sweep. Minnesota 4-1, 4-0
Bemidji State at North Dakota: The only really competitive series in the WCHA’s first round pits two teams looking to establish themselves in the upper echelon. Hard to pick this one, but I’m going to go with home ice and the big game experience of the Lamoureux sisters. It might go three, but I’ll call a sweep. North Dakota 4-2, 3-1
What if she’d played somewhere else?
What if the Rocket had used a curved stick? How many goals would he have scored? How many goalies’ heads would he have taken off?
What if Bobby had even one good knee, much less two? Would there be any point in arguing about who was the best of them all really was?
If you were picking your team for a game of shinney, who would you take first? Super Mario or the Great One? Sid or Ovi? Angela (you have a couple of those to choose from) or Cammi?
Of course, these are arguments that can always be debated, but never settled. That’s part of the fun of being a hockey fan. It comes with the DNA and the Hockey Bill of Rights.
Which brings us to the query offered by Bob of Ohio, who is one of the most rabid supporters of women’s hockey you’ll ever find. Bob became an uber fan of the sport about a decade ago, when he lived within a slap shot of UNH and started watching the Wildcats at the Whit for five bucks a pop.
“From then on, I was hooked,” he says.
So his perspective is very well informed when it comes to the accomplishments of Mercyhurst’s Meghan Agosta, who recently became the NCAA’s career scoring leader.
And he ponders “…not to dispute her abilities as a hockey superstar in the least,” Bob writes, “I have to wonder that had she had played for another school in a competitive conference such as WCHA, for example, where the majority of the schedule is against serious competition, do you think she would have been able to chalk up her NCAA record-breaking achievements? I think her being MVP for Women’s Hockey in the 2010 Olympics is a valid and unbiased testament of her abilities…so my comments are not intended to cast aspersions otherwise.”
A valid, aspersion-free question indeed, and of course, one that can never be truly answered, but certainly debated.
On the one hand, you have Mercyhurst’s unchallenged status as the behemoth of the five-team College Hockey America, the 800-pound gorilla in the middle of a tiny rink. At least in the scheme of women’s hockey.
Is Agosta’s knack for scoring and setting up goals at record levels merely an offshoot of that?
Or maybe, just maybe, Agosta, who won Gold with Canada in the Vancouver Olympics, would be just as prolific if she was toiling in any of the three other leagues.
What if she was a Badger? A Terrier? A Big Red or a Crimson? Lord knows that she’d still be playing in leagues that have upper tier and lower tier teams. Plenty of chances to fatten up the point totals, there.
And while we’re at it, let’s see how Agosta did this year against upper-level teams. In two games at St. Lawrence, she racked up seven points (3 grapes, 4 apples). And against top-ranked Wisconsin, Agosta registered a goal and an assist in a 7-4 Lakers loss. Now if she was trying to pick the corners against Minnesota’s Noora Raty four or five nights a year? Well, who knows.
However, three things in this debate are darned certainties.
For one, Agosta could skate on the top line of any women’s team, any day, in any era. For two, she didn’t choose to become a Laker five years ago so that she could someday set the scoring record.
For three, Agosta would no doubt trade that record and all those points (294 and counting) for a Women’s Frozen Four championship ring, especially with Mercyhurst serving as host for the event.
We can agree on all of those points.
Now, Bob, what do you think.
Checking or no checking?
ECAC West playoff preview
No. 4 Hobart at No. 1 Elmira
Until last weekend, Elmira was the hottest team in Division III men’s hockey. The Soaring Eagles were undefeated in their last 12 contests, and hadn’t lost a game since Thanksgiving.
Elmira lost to Neumann and tied Utica last weekend, but the late season stumble doesn’t worry the Soaring Eagles.
“We knew that we had it going on for a while,” said Elmira coach Aaron Saul. “You’re not going to go undefeated in our league, no matter what time of the year it is. There are so many strong teams. Our guys know that the playoffs are here, it is a new season, and the games are just going to get harder from here on out.”
With the long roll of wins earning the top seed, Elmira will host Hobart in the semifinal round. The Statesmen defeated Manhattanville 1-0 in the first round Wednesday in a tightly-played game to move on to face Elmira.
Blueliners and goaltending are a strength for both teams. In net, Darren McDonald (Elmira) and Nick Broadwater (Hobart) are the top two tenders in the league for save percentage.
“The strength of a hockey team is goaltending,” said Hobart coach Mark Taylor. “Anyone in hockey will tell you have to have that. I also want our strength to be winning battles and winning races.”
In addition to a stalwart defense, Elmira has added balanced scoring to its bag of tricks this season. Kevin Willer and Darcy Vaillancourt lead the team in goals, but five other Soaring Eagles have scored five or more goals this season as well.
“Our corps group of defensemen is our biggest strength,” said Saul. “The depth in scoring, with four lines all contributing, is great.”
Elmira leads the series this year 2-1, including a pair of shutout victories two weekends ago. Despite not knowing who they would face until last night, the Soaring Eagles have been preparing all week for the playoffs.
“Earlier this week, we worked on stuff in our own game, making sure we are prepared and doing things that brought us success this year,” said Saul. “We’ll make a few adjustments now for Hobart and be ready for Saturday.”
Hobart beat the Soaring Eagles back in November in a wild 6-5 shootout and gained a dose of momentum with the tight 1-0 victory over Manhattanville on Wednesday. The short turnaround doesn’t provide Hobart much time to prepare for Elmira, but these teams are so familiar with each other, perhaps that isn’t much of a problem.
“I think the quick turnaround is good for us,” said Taylor. “We’ve just won a big hockey game and two days is enough. We’ll take that as a positive.”
No. 3 Utica at No. 2 Neumann
For the third year in a row, Utica travels to Neumann for the ECAC West playoffs. The Ice Works have not been friendly to the Pioneers, who have lost both of the previous two playoff games and also were swept by the Knights just two short weekends ago.
“We are not happy about it,” said Utica coach Gary Heenan. “It is our third year in a row going down there and we haven’t been successful. We are a team that plays extremely good at home, so we aren’t happy about going on the road. We need to mentally figure out what to do to win that hockey game.”
As would be expected, Neumann is pretty happy about being home for the semifinals of the playoffs. The Knights jumped into second place over the Pioneers with the sweep and then solidified their position by beating Elmira on the road last weekend.
“It helps a little bit,” said Neumann coach Dominick Dawes. “Being in their shoes, that is something they are going to look forward to getting a shot in the playoffs as well. We had a good weekend here a couple of weeks ago and we need to try to do things we did that whole weekend to be successful again.”
Neumann has been wracked by injuries this season. Only two players, Michael Rey and William Lacasse, have played in all 25 contests so far. Rey and Lacasse lead Neumann in points, but the Knights are starting to get healthy, and that has helped them enter the playoffs on a three-game winning streak, the longest currently in the league.
“We are starting to get a little consistency and get in a groove,” said Dawes. “We’ve got a couple of guys back from injury and they are starting to put the pieces together. If you look at our special teams, our penalty kill has been awesome the last couple of weeks. Our power play has started to click and get some goals.”
Utica made it through the majority of the season relatively healthy, knock on wood, and has 11 players who missed one or no games. The Pioneers have a lineup loaded with freshmen, and the grind of the regular season has taken a toll on the young players
“We cancelled Monday’s practice,” said Heenan. “We are trying to be rested going in. We are experiencing the bumps and the bruises of the ECAC West schedule. We are going to take some time away from the rink this week so we can be fresh going down to Neumann.”
Youth can also be a blessing as inexperience allows for a freedom of play that has helped Utica all season long.
“We’ve done some very good things at opportune times,” said Heenan. “There has been an uncanny ability to show up when a lot wouldn’t expect it. It has been finding a way in a lot of big games.”
Utica will need every bit of its youthful exuberance to figure out a way to win at Neumann and not allow results of the past to dictate the future.
“You hope it gives us more motivation, but it can also weigh on your mind,” said Heenan. “We haven’t been close to Neumann all year. They’ve handled us, so it is going to take a special effort to win down there.”
Neumann knows its task is equally as difficult, playing a top team in the nation in a one and done game.
“In this league, it doesn’t matter who you face, you are going to see one of the four best teams in the country,” said Dawes. “At one point, you are going to play them all.”
ECAC West Weekly Awards
Co-Players of the Week: Matthew Wallace (Sr.) — Hobart. Wallace shared a team-high with three points in a weekend split for the Statesmen against Manhattanville. He scored Hobart’s first goal on Friday on the power play. Wallace also assisted on the game-winning goal to lead the Statesmen to a 3-1 win over the Valiants. On Saturday, he assisted Hobart’s fourth goal that cut the Statesmen’s deficit to one with 1:25 remaining.
Goaltender of the Week: Ross MacKinnon (Jr.) — Neumann. MacKinnon made 36 saves on 38 shots as Neumann defeated Elmira on Friday evening to wrap up the Knights regular season with a 4-2 win.
Rookie of the Week: Luke VanNatter — Manhattanville. VanNatter recorded his second multi-goal weekend of the season against Hobart, scoring the team’s lone goal on Friday night and then netting the go-ahead goal in the second period of Saturday’s 5-4 Valiant victory.
Extra! Extra!
There’s hockey played tonight – so it’s a good time for a supplemental blog to write up what I didn’t have time to write for this week’s column in addition to giving you my picks for the Ferris State-Ohio State series.
I was lucky enough last week to see the Friday Western Michigan-Michigan game in person, and I did watch the televised Saturday game. The hockey was fantastic, with real urgency through the whole weekend. It felt like good Division I hockey should feel like in late February. I’m happy to report, too, that the Broncos are for real.
The end of a streak
The Broncos were swept by Michigan, 6-3 and 5-4, marking the first time Western had failed to earn points in a single CCHA weekend this season and bringing their losing streak to three games – after their 14-game (8-0-6) unbeaten streak.
The 6-3 contest felt closer than the score because the Broncos just never quit. Ever.
“We’ve done a good job with that,” said WMU head coach Jeff Blashill. “We’ve done a good job of staying with it. We’ve got a group of guys that just keep working. We’ve been in that situation where we’ve been able to come back, so I think our guys have a belief. It’s obviously hard to do against a team as good as Michigan is, but guys do have the belief and that’s good.”
Blashill may be new to the WMU program this season, but there are plenty of players on the team who remember last year’s last-place finish. Blashill said that the team’s drive didn’t end when the streak did in a 3-1 loss to Miami Feb. 12.
“I didn’t think there was a letdown (afterward),” said Blashill. “We really didn’t talk about it. I didn’t hear our guys talk about it at all – we really didn’t. I’m happy for that, because that means that we continue to focus every single week on a new challenge and trying to see where we stack up. We’re still trying to find out where we stack up and how good a team we are.”
One of the most crucial players in that streak was senior goaltender Jerry Kuhn, and in the 6-3 loss to Michigan Feb. 18, Kuhn was pulled after Chris Brown gave the Wolverines a 4-0 lead at 3:42 in the second period. Sophomore Nick Pisellini came in and the Broncos scored twice within the next seven minutes, cutting UM’s lead in half. Blashill said that Kuhn wasn’t getting any help so he went for the change.
“Jerry played for so long. We hadn’t got Pise in there for so long. I just thought it was a time to get Jerry out and give him a rest and get Pise in there. Pise came in and did very, very well. I’m proud of the fact that he prepared himself for that opportunity.”
The Swede at the end – and the end of the Swede
The following night saw the Broncos score 43 seconds into the game and lead 3-2 after one. WMU carried a 4-3 lead until the 19:40 mark of the third period. That’s when Michigan senior Carl Hagelin scored to send the game to overtime.
With three seconds left in OT, Hagelin scored the game-winner.
“It’s as good as it gets – and at home,” said UM head coach Red Berenson. “Our crowd is so good and our players will never get to play in front of crowds like this, and the enthusiasm and all the little things that are going on in the crowd – it doesn’t get any better than this.”
One of the little things that’s been going on since shortly after Hagelin arrived is the display of a large Swedish flag in one of the corners of the student section. Saturday, the night Hagelin scored the tying and winning goals (talk about cementing your own legend, right?), the students in that section passed the flag around for as many people as possible to sign it, then gave it to Hagelin after the game. I’ve criticized the Michigan student section frequently for its endless obscenities, but the students deserve credit for this genuinely sweet gesture.
“I’m going to read all the notes that are on there and all the signatures,” said Hagelin. “They’ve been great support for me. It’s always great to step on the ice and see that flag and obviously the fact that I get to keep it is pretty emotional.”
Ferris State at Ohio State
Three points separate these teams; with 38 points, FSU is tied for sixth with Alaska – who is done with league play – while OSU sits in ninth place with 35 points. Lake Superior State is perched between the Bulldogs (and Nanooks) and Buckeyes, in eighth place with 37 points. Talk about down to the proverbial wire. With help around the league, each of these teams could finish as high as fourth place. If FSU sweeps, OSU finishes in 10th place; if the Buckeyes sweep, the Bulldogs finish in eighth. Last weekend, the FSU was swept in two games at home by Notre Dame, 3-2 and 5-2, while the Buckeyes took four points at home from Lake Superior State with a 1-1 tie and 5-2 win. The teams split a pair of games Oct. 22-23 in Big Rapids, a 2-1 FSU win and 5-3 OSU win. The Bulldogs hold a 5-3-2 edge in series dating back to 2007-08, including an 8-1 shellacking of the last season. I hate calling splits, but I think that’s what’s going to happen. Games are 7:05 p.m. tonight (Thursday) and Friday. FSU 3-2, OSU 4-2.
I’ll have the rest of the weekend’s picks tomorrow. I’m also still looking for inputregarding the best garbage picker in the league and the guy most likely to leave early.
As always, you can email me at [email protected]. You can tweet me: @paulacweston. You can just leave your comments at the bottom of the page. I’m all about the choices.
USCHO.com Hobey Watch 2011 Podcast, Episode 6: Dave Starman, Part 1
USCHO.com’s Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by CBS College Sports hockey analyst and USCHO.com national columnist Dave Starman. In part 1 of a two-part podcast, they look at top prospects for the Hobey Baker award among forwards.
USCHO.com Hobey Watch 2011 Podcast, Episode 7: Dave Starman, Part 2
USCHO.com’s Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by CBS College Sports hockey analyst and USCHO.com national columnist Dave Starman. In part 2 of a two-part podcast, they look at top prospects for the Hobey Baker award among goalies and defensemen, and Dave’s dark-horse picks.
Hockey East Picks – Feb. 25-26
Dave finally gained some ground on me, but at this point I hear a fat woman singing a sweet tune.
Dave last week: 8-0-2
Jim last week: 6-2-2
Dave’s record-to-date: 90-33-25 (.692)
Jim’s record-to-date: 100-29-23 (.734)
Here are this week’s picks
Friday, February 25
Vermont at Boston University
Jim’s pick: I think the Cats are playing well and will grab two points on the road. Friday is the better day to do that.
UVM 4, BU 3
Dave’s pick: Both teams have been wildly inconsistent, but I’m going to pick the Terriers. If they’re on, I don’t see the game as being close.
BU 4, UVM 2
Boston College at Massachusetts
Jim’s pick: After last week, this series has BC sweep written all over it.
BC 5, UMass 2
Dave’s pick: Strategically speaking, I should just pick opposite Jim in an effort to catch up but I can’t see BC losing here.
BC 4, UMass 1
Merrimack at Maine
Jim’s pick: Probably the most-watched series of the weekend. Maine wins at home to begin.
Maine 5, MC 3
Dave’s pick: I know this is at Alfond but I don’t see any reason to pick against the juggernaut Warriors.
MC 5, Maine 3
Northeastern at New Hampshire
Jim’s pick: Another highly anticipated series. I like the home teams here.
UNH 3, NU 1
Dave’s pick: The Wildcats get two points closer to another regular season title.
UNH 4, NU 3
Massachusetts-Lowell at Providence
Jim’s pick: The battle of the uglies feels like a much-needed Friars sweep.
PC 3, UML 2
Dave’s pick: I can’t disagree. Lowell’s blanking last weekend doesn’t inspire confidence.
PC 2, UML 0
Saturday, February 26
Vermont at Boston University
Jim’s pick: BU earns a split at home. A much-needed split for confidence.
BU 5, UVM 2
Dave’s pick: I’m also picking BU, but it’s for a sweep not a split.
BU 4, UVM 2
Massachusetts at Boston College
Jim’s pick: Sweep is in the cards at BC.
BC 4, UMass 2
Dave’s pick: The Eagles keep themselves in the chase for first place.
BC 4, UMass 3
Merrimack at Maine
Jim’s pick: Merrimack takes the back end of the series.
MC 6, Maine 3
Dave’s pick: The Warriors win to complete the sweep and position themselves for a possible regular season title via a three-way tie.
MC 5, Maine 4
New Hampshire at Northeastern
Jim’s pick: Huskies continue to surprise down the stretch.
NU 4, UNH 3
Dave’s pick: I’d be strongly tempted to pick Northeastern here, but I do like UNH and I need to disagree with Jim.
UNH 4, NU 3
Providence at Massachusetts-Lowell
Jim’s pick: Friars keep playoff hopes alive.
PC 4, UML 2
Dave’s pick: What a tough year for the River Hawks.
PC 3, UML 1
Some drama, some hardware as CCHA regular season wraps
There’s so much at stake this weekend that there promises to be drama that affects the standings in every rink this weekend. Even the battle for last place — between Bowling Green and Michigan State in East Lansing — sees the end of an era with MSU’s Rick Comley’s imminent retirement.
One point separates first-place Notre Dame from second-place Michigan, so the regular season title is on the line and the Irish go into the weekend knowing they can finish no lower than second place. Michigan and Miami can finish no lower than third, so the coveted fourth and fifth places — with their first-round byes — are up for grabs, and there are five teams vying for those spots.
But enough of this standings nonsense. That’s what Friday’s blog is for. It’s time for hardware.
Hardware
It’s time for the annual Girl Reporter awards (can we nickname them? “Girlies” perhaps?), the completely unofficial and literally nonexistent hardware that I toss out at the end of every season. I’m the committee of one that decides these, but as always, I welcome your feedback and derision.
Player of the Year
This year was a strange one in the CCHA and, I’d argue, for all of college hockey. The parity seemed real across all of D-I, and coaches — at least the coaches in these parts — often pointed to a rather shallow talent pool, one depleted by the lure of professional hockey.
In the CCHA, there were a few standout players, but very few outright game-changers emerged until the second half of the season, with the notable exception of Carter Camper, whose fast start was breathtaking.
The player that impressed me most this season, though, was Camper’s teammate, forward Andy Miele. Miele (17-39–56), a native of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., enters the last weekend of the season averaging more points per game than any other player in Division I (1.75).
It seems that every time Miele’s on the ice, he’s the best player on the ice — and that’s saying something, given the company he keeps with his RedHawks teammates.
Michigan senior forward Carl Hagelin (15-27–42) was a close second. He’s just an extraordinary player who has become the driving force behind a likewise talented team.
Coach of the Year
With all due respect to the three coaches whose teams will finish in the top three, this is a no-brainer: Western Michigan’s Jeff Blashill.
Blashill moved essentially the same Broncos team that finished in last place last season (4-17-7-2) significantly up the standings, and with a record of 9-8-9-5 in league play, WMU has 41 points to last season’s 21. The Broncos are the hardest-working team in college hockey right now.
It doesn’t matter where Western will finish — anywhere from fourth to seventh, depending on the outcome of their games against Notre Dame this weekend. Blashill has earned this virtual hardware, and I’d be surprised if the real thing weren’t coming his way in Detroit next month.
Rookie of the Year
I’m so glad I went with Alaska’s Andy Taranto last season, even though he was old enough to buy booze when he hit the campus in Fairbanks. Look where Notre Dame’s Kyle Palmieri is now.
Palmieri’s departure doesn’t sour me on the notable newcomers from Notre Dame, though. (Say that three times fast.)
This year’s Girl Reporter Rookie of the Year is Irish freshman forward T.J. Tynan of Orland Park, Ill. Tynan (19-25–44) leads all rookies nationally in points per game (1.29). He also leads the nation’s fifth-best offense in scoring, narrowly edging out classmate and forward Anders Lee, who has the same number of goals (19-19–38) heading into the last weekend of regular-season play.
Yes, it’s a tough call. Tynan came into the league just 18 years old; Lee is two years older. Lee started the season with better numbers, too — and he could finish the season with better numbers than Tynan.
But it’s Tynan’s birthday this weekend. He’ll be 19 on Friday. My awards. My rules.
Other rookies that caught my eye: WMU forward Chase Balisy (12-17–29); LSSU goaltender Kevin Kapalka (.925 save percentage, 2.25 GAA); Michigan defenseman Jon Merrill (7-12–19). All three will develop into significant impact players in this league — if they stay. (Any bets on Merrill?)
Team of the Year
As tempting as it is to give this to Western Michigan, my Team of the Year has to be Notre Dame. Any team that can overcome the obvious issues they had last season — a bit of entitlement early on, a slate of injuries later — to rise from ninth place to the top of the standings with a shot at the regular-season title gets my vote.
Ferris State Memorial Defenders-of-the-Realm Award
Even though Alaska still has two games against Alaska-Anchorage this weekend, the Broncos have this one all sewn up. With a nonconference record of 6-1-1 that included no games against Alabama-Huntsville, Western Michigan earns this year’s Defenders of the Realm award.
The Broncos get bonus points for sweeping current No. 5 Union back in December.
Honorable mention goes to Lake Superior State. The Lakers took on the entire province of Ontario and — after dropping a season-opening exhibition game to Western Ontario, 5-4 — went 5-1-0 against our Canadian foes, spurred by a decisive five-game run in early January.
The fact that no other CCHA team played that many games is irrelevant.
Chris Richards Most-Likely-to-Be-Overlooked Memorial Award
This goes to Ferris State senior goaltender Pat Nagle, a workhorse in net whose overall numbers are great (2.00 GAA, .923 save percentage), but who will likely be eclipsed by goalies who haven’t played as much but whose league numbers are better.
I fear the same will happen for Alaska junior Scott Greenham.
Mike York Poetry-in-Motion Memorial Award
Michigan’s Hagelin. Again. His overtime goal against Western last weekend cemented it for me.
Best Offensive Goalie Award
It was a down year for goalie scoring in the CCHA, with a disappointing five assists spread out among five league goaltenders. In the end, I had to go with points per game.
Michigan State junior Drew Palmisano narrowly edged Michigan junior Shawn Hunwick for this most insignificant of goaltending awards.
Palmisano had one assist in 24 games; Hunwick had one in 25 games. Palmisano averaged .042 points per game to Hunwick’s .040.
Other goalies with single assists include Alaska’s Greenham, Ferris State’s Nagle and Notre Dame’s Mike Johnson.
Should the numbers change this weekend, I’m not opposed to rescinding this award and giving it to any goalie who can add a second point or score two from scratch in the final weekend of regular-season play.
Two categories for which I need your help
I don’t know who’s going to leave early, and I don’t know who can pick up the trash. Can you help me?
Last year, the Mike Comrie Most-Likely-to-Leave-Early Memorial Award went to Zac Dalpe, who did leave early. I’m leaning toward BG’s Jordan Samuels-Thomas for reasons different than those that decided the Dalpe pick, but I am not at all certain about who’s looking like he might bolt.
I also need help with the Aniket Dhadphale Garbage Man Memorial Award, named for the former Notre Dame player who knew how to capitalize in chaos close in. I am absolutely flummoxed as to who to pick this season, quite possibly a side effect of having spent a lot of time in two specific rinks this year.
Once again, I’ll take nominations. Give me a reason to award these next week. You can e-mail ([email protected]) or tweet (@paulacweston) or just slap an opinion into the comments.
My ballot
1. Boston College
2. North Dakota
3. Yale
4. Denver
5. Michigan
6. Minnesota-Duluth
7. Notre Dame
8. Merrimack
9. Union
10. New Hampshire
11. Miami
12. Wisconsin
13. Nebraska-Omaha
14. Western Michigan
15. Boston University
16. Rensselaer
17. Maine
18. Colorado College
19. Dartmouth
20. Ferris State
Words of comfort for Northeastern fans amid a struggle
Prior to the announcement of Northeastern coach Greg Cronin’s suspension (along with assistant Albie O’Connell), I was going to offer the following words to Huskies fans still in shock over how close they came to ending their Beanpot drought. The words still apply, albeit with an asterisk.
Red Sox fans prior to 2004 heard a lot about how exciting their most agonizing moments were. Arguably, the 1967 World Series was the most compelling of its decade. Ditto 1975 and 1986. And was there a more heart-pounding League Championship Series than 2003?
If you were a Sox fan, you didn’t want to hear it. A part of you would have preferred to have gotten swept in each of those series so you wouldn’t have gotten your heart ripped out and then fed into a shredder.
The suspense — the omigod-we’re-gonna-do-it euphoria followed by the omigod-not-again! agony — made the losses all the tougher to bear.
Which is how Huskies fans had to feel after this year’s Beanpot when their boys took the No. 1 team in the country into overtime and … well, cue up the Red Sox in 1967, 1975, 1986 and 2003.
It hurt from the most casual of fans to the most die hard.
My daughter Nicole is a very casual fan even as an alum because while growing up she spent more time than she wanted to in hockey rinks my son was playing in. But she called me after the third period, her voice filled with excitement.
“Can you believe it?” she said, this most casual of fans very much thrilled.
After the gut-wrenching overtime in which the nation’s top team asserted a territorial dominance befitting its stature and then secured the win, I watched a die-hard Northeastern supporter — normally the most gregarious of fellows — walking, head down, unable to speak, unable to even meet anyone’s eyes.
Yeah. Just like 1967, 1975, 1986 and 2003.
If you’re a Huskies fan, the pain lingers. The cuts still haven’t healed.
But remember this. For Sox fans, there was 2004 and then again 2007. The agony made the wins all the sweeter.
And the wins did eventually come.
Or to bring this closer to the college hockey world, look at the team that inflicted this latest of cuts, the Boston College Eagles.
Yeah, I know you don’t want to look at them. They’ve won two of the last three national championships and seem a perennial fixture in the Frozen Four.
But before their 2001 title, they were the pre-2004 Red Sox all over again. People talked about the Curse of ’49 — their last championship — and Eagles fans agonized over the tear-your-heart-out losses.
“You just have to keep knocking on the door,” BC coach Jerry York said at the time.
Which is what I’d say to Northeastern fans still waiting for their first Beanpot title since 1988. If your team keeps knocking on the door like it has two of the last three years, it’ll open. And if it doesn’t open all by itself, the right leadership will make sure the bleeping thing gets knocked down.
Which brings us to …
What comes next for Northeastern hockey?
We don’t know anything for certain yet, but Cronin’s suspension feels like very bad news for the program.
Yes, behind assistant coach Sebastien Laplante the Huskies took three of four points from BC last weekend. They’ll presumably be fine for the rest of the year. Heck, they may even use this as an everyone-is-against-us rallying cry and be even tougher than they would have been otherwise.
But long-term this looks bad. It’s just a question of how bad.
First, let’s state the obvious. Ignoring the pending problems, Cronin has been very good for Northeastern hockey. In his charmingly smashmouth manner, he’s elevated the program. Two years ago, Northeastern qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years. The Huskies came oh-so-close to the Hockey East finals and the NCAA quarterfinals.
The program is far better off if Cronin stays and suffers no ill effects from the alleged infractions.
If he leaves for the pros, however, Northeastern hockey takes a significant step backward. If “the right man” replaces him, it will recover but usually a program skips a beat in the transition as a new coach assembles his type of team. And if “the right man” doesn’t replace him — and not just any replacement will do — then the program takes a major hit.
I don’t see any other way around that.
Now, if Cronin stays (assuming the suspension is lifted), questions still remain. When will the suspension be lifted? Will O’Connell also remain? What changes in Northeastern recruiting will be mandated?
It could prove disastrous if, as punishment, Cronin and his recruiters are placed in shackles beyond that which the NCAA normally mandates. Or if O’Connell leaves and a replacement must be found who understands the type of player Cronin needs. Or if Cronin’s suspension lasts long enough to affect this year’s recruiting.
It’s all so fragile.
The Huskies are already facing the stiffest of recruiting competition, not just from down the street at Boston University and Boston College, but farther north at New Hampshire and Maine. Not to mention all the other programs hungry to join the perennial powers.
(And it goes without saying that Northeastern has to play by the rules. That’s not the point here.)
Northeastern can’t lose any of the recruits it would have otherwise gotten this year. It can’t withstand recruiting shackles. Otherwise, it means a step backward at a key point in the program.
As a guy who roots for all Hockey East teams to have success, I’m hoping we have Cronin and O’Connell operating at full capacity (within, of course, NCAA limitations) for the rest of this season, the next, and many seasons to come.
Those enigmatic Terriers
BU’s game on Friday night against Providence captured its season in a microcosm.
The Terriers opened the year with a 10-game undefeated streak and shot to the top of the polls. Coach Jack Parker cautioned that the team wasn’t yet quite as good as its record, and he was right.
The Terriers won only a single game in both November and December but headed into the Beanpot looking to once again use the “BU Invitational” as a springboard for a strong stretch run.
Instead, the Terriers finished fourth in the Beanpot for the first time since 1980 with a consolation performance against Harvard that left Parker furious.
“I thought that was an embarrassing display by my team,” he said. “In reality, we didn’t come to play; we thought that the game was over at any time.
“We get what should be the game-winning goal, and then we go to sleep again. We didn’t compete nearly as hard as we should’ve competed.”
Not only did it leave his team in the cellar of a tournament it had owned in past years, but it also dealt a potentially huge blow to BU’s NCAA tournament chances, dropping it in the PairWise.
Playing a game like that as if it were a “meaningless” consolation game instead of one with major postseason implications is the kind of thing that should happen to other teams, ones less in tune with year-in and year-out NCAA tournament expectations.
In light of that faux pas, you would have thought that the Terriers would respond with a dominating performance against Providence on Friday night. And you’d have been right in a major way for 20 minutes and right overall for about 30. But over the last half of that game, you saw precisely how a talented team lost that consolation game to Harvard, giving up five goals to the worst offensive team in the country.
No offense to Providence, but the Friars haven’t won a league game since Nov. 5. They’ve played teams tough, picked up some ties, suffered a lot of close losses and won some nonconference games, but the BU team that dominated for the first half of the game should not have been up by only a goal with under two minutes to play.
It’s almost like the team has a collective Attention Deficit Disorder. Put them up against Boston College in the Beanpot semifinal and you get a great overtime game. Put them up against the 4-18-1 Crimson in a consolation game or a team over three months separated from its last league win and you get hideously inconsistent play.
“I thought we played great the first half of the game and really looked sharp,” Parker said after the Friday win. “Then we just drifted away from what we were supposed to do. We took some stupid penalties in the end and gave them a
chance to get back in the game, just like the last time [we played them.] If it wasn’t for Kieran Millan once again, we would have lost that game.
“[In the first half] we not only had a territorial advantage shot-wise, it was a huge territorial advantage possession-wise. We had the puck almost the whole time.”
In the third period, however, the Terriers were outshot, 15-8.
“It’s either selfish or stupid,” a disgusted Parker said. “Guys want to get their goal. ‘It’s 2-0, now I’ve got to get my goal.’
“Then we take the stupid penalties. [Wade] Megan and [Alex] Chiasson’s penalties were absolutely as dumb as it gets.
“You look at what happened in the third period, that’s a … disgrace. That’s just guys not knowing what it takes or being too selfish to care what it takes.”
It’s hard to know what’s in store in the playoffs for this team. There’s talent on that roster but as much as the talent at BC, UNH, or Merrimack? Close, but certainly not enough to overcome inconsistent and potentially selfish play.
“I told the team even after the Harvard situation that we have a couple things going for us that will help us in the playoffs and help us down the stretch to get into the playoffs,” Parker said.
“One, that we continue to kill penalties very, very well. And two, we’ve done a good job on the power play lately. Before this, you could see it coming around because we were getting some opportunities. That’s something we have to have.
“If you’re going to win, you’ve got to have a power play. You’ve got to be real good on special teams.”
You’ve also got to be focused, smart and unselfish for 60 minutes.
Book update
The preorder information for my novel Cracking the Ice still shows no real information on Amazon and what information is there is wrong. (The age group is wrong. It’s for teenagers and adults.)
However, an award-winning author has offered this assessment:
“Cracking the Ice scores the literary equivalent of a hat-trick: funny, harrowing and finally, heartfelt. This book is a winner.”
This column will end for the season before the book comes out in May but you can follow its progress on my writing website.
I also have my first two available short stories for Kindle and Nook owners. “Beloved” and “Back to the Garden” previously appeared in DAW anthologies. The stories will also be available shortly through Smashwords for iPad owners as well as other devices. More e-stories will follow.
If you’ve enjoyed my humor in the past, you should check out “Beloved.”
WCHA newcomers Nebraska-Omaha, Bemidji State take different roads
Dean Blais’ exact quote was “It’s like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. … With 11 freshman in the lineup, we could be in for a real tough start.”
That was before the season. Before Nebraska-Omaha went 9-1-1 to begin the year and catapulted the Mavericks into the center of regional and national attention.
Players like Eric Olimb also knew it wouldn’t be easy to go from the prestigious CCHA to the arguably the best league in the nation, the WCHA.
“The CCHA has solid players who all go on after college,” said Eric Olimb, a Warroad, Minn. native whose uncle, Larry, played for Minnesota. “But the biggest difference is the depth where every team in the WCHA has three or four solid lines compared to one or two in other leagues. Any team can win on any given night [in the WCHA] and there’s more history and knowledge of the game.”
UNO entered the WCHA this season with Bemidji State, a former member of the now-defunct CHA.
Beavers assistant captain Ian Lowe was aware of the challenge his team faced going into the new league.
“It was a big step going from the CHA to playing against some of the teams we’re facing this year [in the WCHA],” Lowe said. “We’ve learned from some early mistakes and we’ve improved from there.”
The Beavers were coming off two straight NCAA tournament bids and built a flashy new arena. They started the season off with a five-game winless streak and were never able to recover. BSU couldn’t put together four straight games without a loss until its current five-game unbeaten streak.
BSU is two seasons removed from its only Division I Frozen Four appearance but has a rich tradition in other divisions, winning five national titles at the D-II level and one in D-III. The Beavers are still trying to find themselves in their 12th season at the D-I level, and the move to the WCHA can help BSU get noticed.
The key is to break out and establish itself as an accomplished program in the WCHA, something teams like Minnesota State and Alaska-Anchorage are still struggling with. MSU has been in the league since 1999 and UAA came into the league in 1993.
“You want to go out and make sure people know you’re not a bottom dweller,” Lowe said. “It was important to come in here and play these teams and make sure we weren’t a team that would just get rolled over.”
BSU recruit Tyler Tosunian could have a big impact on the Beavers’ future. The California native is second in the Central Hockey League in scoring with 111 points this season for the first-place Pembroke Lumber Kings. His 77 assists lead the league, and he scored 114 points in 2009-10.
UNO has a group of commits that have already made names for themselves at amateur levels like right wing Jayson Megna, who is third in the USHL in scoring with 48 points. Goaltender Ryan Massa is having a good season for the Fargo Force with a 2.09 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
Brian Cooper and Alex Broadhurst (his brother, Terry, plays for UNO) both played on the U.S. Under-18 team in 2009-10, and Cooper played with the U-17 team the season before. The Mavericks beat Colorado College, Denver and Minnesota to 17-year-old Cooper’s commitment. He is Massa’s teammate in Fargo and will join the Mavericks in 2012.
As for the present, the Mavericks have wrapped up a home-ice spot for the WCHA playoffs and their remaining schedule suggests UNO will get a third or fourth seed. The Mavericks, ninth in the PairWise Rankings, are also projected to get a NCAA tournament berth.
The offense has to get to where it was at the beginning of the season, a strong consistent scoring machine, for UNO to make a run. The Mavericks have been awful on the power play in the last nine games, going back to the Jan. 22 loss to North Dakota. UNO went 5-for-7 on the power play on Jan. 21 but has scored only three times in 43 power play chances since.
BSU is likely headed for a bottom-four finish, so don’t be surprised if the Beavers and the Mavericks see each other in the first round.
Matchups at a glance
Here’s a look at this weekend’s series:
Nebraska-Omaha at Denver
Records: DU — 19-8-5 (15-6-3 WCHA). UNO — 19-11-2 (15-7-2 WCHA).
Last meeting: DU beat UNO 1-0 on Jan. 1, 2010, at the Denver Cup.
Special teams: DU — 19.3 percent PP (19th in nation), 86.2 percent PK (7th in nation). UNO — 18.7 percent PP (23nd in nation). 84.1 percent PK (14th in nation).
Streaks: DU 1-game winning. UNO 1-game winning.
Goaltending: DU — Sam Brittain (24 GP, 13-6-5, 2.67 GAA, .921 save percentage). UNO — John Faulkner (32 GP, 18-10-2, 2.41 GAA, .913 save percentage).
Leading scorer: DU — Drew Shore (19-19–38). UNO — Joey Martin (11-22–33).
Minnesota-Duluth at Colorado College
Records: UMD — 19-8-5 (14-6-4 WCHA). CC — 17-15-2 (11-12-1 WCHA).
Last meeting: UMD eliminated CC in three games in the 2010 WCHA first round in Duluth.
Special teams: UMD — 20.8 percent PP (12th in nation), 86.2 percent PK (7th in nation). CC — 21.2 percent PP (11th in nation). 84.1 percent PK (14th in nation).
Streaks: UMD 1-game winning. CC 2-game winless.
Goaltending: UMD — Kenny Reiter (20 GP, 9-5-4, 2.40 GAA, .908 save percentage) and Aaron Crandall (15 GP, 10-2-1, 2.57 GAA, .900 save percentage). CC — Joe Howe (27 GP, 13-12-1, 3.09 GAA, .898 save percentage).
Leading scorer: UMD — Jack Connolly (12-33–35). CC — Tyler Johnson (18-16–34).
Bemidji State at North Dakota
Records: BSU — 12-14-4 (8-12-4 WCHA). UND — 22-8-3 (17-6-1 WCHA).
Last meeting: UND swept BSU in October in Bemidji.
Special teams: BSU — 20.6 percent PP (15th in nation), 82.6 percent PK (27th in nation). UND — 19.7 percent PP (17th in nation). 84 percent PK (15th in nation).
Streaks: BSU 5-game unbeaten. UND 5-game unbeaten.
Goaltending: BSU — Dan Bakala (23 GP, 11-9-3, 2.17 GAA, .923 save percentage). UND — Aaron Dell (30 GP, 21-6-2, 2.07 GAA, .919 save percentage).
Leading scorer: BSU — Jordan George (14-17–31). UND — Matt Frattin (24-14–38).
Wisconsin at St. Cloud State
Records: UW — 19-11-4 (11-10-3 WCHA). SCSU — 12-15-5 (8-12-4 WCHA).
Last meeting: UW eliminated SCSU, 5-3, in the 2010 West Regional final in St. Paul.
Special teams: UW — 23 percent PP (8th in nation), 80.6 percent PK (39th in nation). SCSU — 17.7 percent PP (29th in nation). 83.2 percent PK (20th in nation).
Streaks: UW 4-game winless. SCSU 3-game winless.
Goaltending: UW — Scott Gudmandson (25 GP, 14-9-1, 2.06 GAA, .926 save percentage). SCSU — Mike Lee (27 GP, 10-11-4, 2.84 GAA, .906 save percentage).
Leading scorer: UW — Justin Schultz (16-28–44). SCSU — Drew LeBlanc (13-24–37).
Michigan Tech at Minnesota
Records: MTU — 4-24-4 (2-20-2 WCHA). UM — 13-12-5 (10-10-4 WCHA).
Last meeting: UM swept MTU in November in Houghton.
Special teams: MTU — 16.9 percent PP (33rd in nation), 77.3 percent PK (53rd in nation). UM — 20.5 percent PP (16th in nation). 76.4 percent PK (55th in nation).
Streaks: MTU 1-game losing. UM 3-game unbeaten.
Goaltending: MTU — Kevin Genoe (20 GP, 3-14-2, 3.59 GAA, .893 save percentage). UM — Kent Patterson (24 GP, 11-7-5, 2.53 GAA, .920 save percentage).
Leading scorer: MTU — Milos Gordic (13-6–19). UM — Jacob Cepis (10-16–26).
Alaska-Anchorage vs. Alaska
Records: UAA — 11-16-3 (10-14-2 WCHA). UA — 13-14-5 (10-13-5-3 CCHA).
Last meeting: Alaska swept UAA in the first half of this season’s Governor’s Cup.
Special teams: UAA — 14.7 percent PP (48th in nation), 82.7 percent PK (26th in nation). UAF — 15.1 percent PP (46th in nation). 84.8 percent PK (11th in nation).
Streaks: UAA 1-game losing. UAF 1-game losing.
Goaltending: UAA — Rob Gunderson (21 GP, 7-11-2, 2.67 GAA, .921 save percentage). UAF — Scott Greenham (32 GP, 13-14-5, 2.14 GAA, .921 save percentage).
Leading scorer: UAA — Tommy Grant (11-14–25). UAF — Cody Kunyk (10-11–22).
Plenty of senior moments around Atlantic Hockey
There’s a bounty crop of Atlantic Hockey players finishing up their college careers this season, especially when it comes to forwards. Several teams are going to have to replace a lot of points after this season.
As the final weekend of the regular season approaches (a look at the playoff picture for each team can be found in the latest edition of the Atlantic Hockey blog) let’s look at the players who will be moving on.
Air Force: The seven Falcons seniors have 79 wins to date, tied for second all-time at the school. This class won the AHA title as freshmen and sophomores. It includes two 100-point scorers, Derrick Burnett (112) and Jacques Lamoureux (109 in three seasons). Lamoureux is a former AHA player of the year and Hobey Baker Award finalist.
American International: A class of six includes Steve McLeod (68 career points) and Tom Mele (51, including 30 goals). Defenseman Mike Little has played in a team-high 128 games.
Army: Up front, the Black Knights lose leading scorer Cody Omilusik (107 career points). Joey Amon and Pat Copeland have combined for 235 games on the blue line. Goaltender Jay Clark has appeared in 79 games with a 2.97 goals-against average.
Bentley: Five seniors include the team’s top two scorers, Erik Peterson (92 career points) and Dustin Cloutier (90), as well as goaltender Joe Calvi (75 starts).
Canisius: Like Bentley, the Golden Griffins are losing a dynamic duo in Cory Conacher (137 career points) and Vincent Scarsella (124). Conacher is the Griffs’ all-time points leader. Canisius loses 10 players in all, the largest class in the AHA.
Connecticut: One of the bigger senior classes in recent years (eight players) includes Andrew Olson (84 career points). Olson has played in 141 games, tops in school history. Six of the eight played in at least 100 games, for a total of 765 contests for the class of 2011.
Holy Cross: This senior class is going out with a bang, as the Crusaders are enjoying their best season since 2005-06. Everett Sheen is closing in on the century mark (98 career points to date). Goaltender Adam Roy has been the go-to guy since the holidays, helping Holy Cross to a nine-game unbeaten streak, the second-longest in school history.
Mercyhurst: Eight seniors include a lot of firepower up front — five of the Lakers’ top seven scorers this season are seniors, including Scott Pitt (124 career points), Steve Cameron (107) and Mike Gurtler (93). Goaltender Ryan Zapolski has made a whopping 98 starts in net.
Niagara: The senior tandem of Paul Zanette and Bryan Haczyk have combined for 52 goals out of 113 so far for the Purple Eagles. Both came into their own this season, scoring almost half of their career points in their senior campaigns. Blueliner Ryan Annesley has racked up 69 points to date.
Rochester Institute of Technology: The Tigers lose their top two scorers, Andrew Favot (124 career points), and Tyler Brenner (23 goals this season). Brenner is foregoing his final year of eligibility. This class of five won three AHA regular season titles and was national semifinalists last season.
Robert Morris: This class has led the Colonials to their best season ever. Nathan Longpre needs a point to become RMU’s all-time leading scorer (136 points) and Denny Urban has tallied an amazing 111 points from the blue line. Longpre, Urban and Chris Kusheriuk are three of RMU’s top four scorers this season.
Sacred Heart: This class has made it to Rochester twice so far, including the championship game last season. The Pioneers lose three of their top six scorers, including Patrick Knowlton (23 points this season; 79 in his career).
Around the league
It’s time again for miscellaneous factoids from around the AHA:
• Air Force’s Lamoureux became the all-time goal scorer in AHA history when he scored his 57th league goal on Saturday, surpassing Army’s Owen Meyer (2010). Lamoureux broke the record in just three seasons — he played a year at Northern Michigan before transferring to Air Force.
• Canisius freshman Ben Danford is having an unprecedented season for the Golden Griffins. He’s got 20 assists so far this season, which is the most ever for a rookie blueliner at Canisius and tied for the best season ever by a defenseman at the school.
• Another freshman having a record season is Connecticut’s Cole Schneider. He has 29 points so far, tied for the best season ever by a UConn rookie.
• Robert Morris’ Longpre has been sidelined by injury his past two games, leaving him tied for the school’s all-time points lead (136 points). The Colonials haven’t skipped a beat, winning both games without him.
Check the blog on Friday for picks. Next week we’ll break down the four first-round playoff matchups.
What you’ll hear from ECAC Hockey coaches, depending on where they stand
For those of you who may be new to the Playoff Quotes game, let me save you some trouble: Here’s a time-tested breakdown of what your coach will say depending on his team’s position in the standings.
Bottom four: “There’s no question, we’ve had a difficult season. We really struggled to play a full 60 minutes; our health/consistency left a lot to be desired. That said, I think we’re finally starting to turn it around — we’re getting healthy and our top line/power play/goaltending is clicking nicely. It would be nice to get a home series, of course, but it’s really not that important — whether you’re in first or 12th, you have to win away from home eventually if you want to be successful. We have to focus on what we can control, and that is our effort and consistency on a shift-to-shift basis. We can’t control what other teams do; we just have to go out and give it our best shot and hopefully we can come away with a win.”
Middle four: “It’s great to be in the driver’s seat for home ice, because we all know how much that means in this league: Being able to sleep in our own beds and play on our own ice can make a world of difference in such a tight conference. I’m sure a few of the guys could’ve used a bye week to rest up a bit, but I like the way we’re working lately, and in my opinion a week off can hurt you as much as help you, momentum-wise … especially the way we’ve been playing for the last few weeks.”
Top four: “I’m real proud of our guys for getting us to this point, but there’s a lot of work to be done to get to the next level. They’ve earned every point this season, and so long as we take care of business this weekend, they’ll have earned a week’s rest, too. Our leadership/goaltending/defense/consistency has been exceptional, and I’m very confident in this group going forward. The bye puts us one week closer to Atlantic City, and from there, who knows what can happen. I’m very, very happy with what we’ve been able to accomplish so far, but we know that it’s only going to get tougher in the weeks ahead.”
Any of that sound familiar? Oh, I should also add the obligatory conclusion to each quote:
“This is, in my opinion, the toughest league in the nation, and it’s no surprise that Yale/Union/Rensselaer/Dartmouth is ranked where it is. Every game is hard-fought and it is the most competitive conference top to bottom in the country. We know that it’s only going to get harder in the playoffs, and we have to be prepared for that.”
There are only two or three ECAC coaches I can’t easily imagine saying any of those lines verbatim, and that’s only because they never answer their phones.
What is funny to me about this season is that for all the hot streaks that I’ve documented this year — Union, Yale, Brown, Clarkson, Princeton, Quinnipiac, RPI and Cornell, in approximate chronological order — the final standings are shaping up to be about as “loose” (if that is the appropriate counter to “tight”) as I’ve seen in a few years now.
Two teams (Union and Yale) are racing for first place. Two out of four contending squads (Cornell, Dartmouth, RPI and Princeton) will earn a first-round bye. Eight out of 10 (the last six, plus Clarkson, Quinnipiac, Brown and St. Lawrence) will play at home in their first playoff games of 2010-11, leaving Harvard and Colgate to scoreboard-watch in the hopes of avoiding the basement.
With what they know going into the weekend, all in all most teams will end up happy come Sunday morning: Only as many as five of 12 will have fallen short of Thursday aspirations, and that’s not including the possibility of a co-championship split between the Bulldogs and Dutchmen.
So with that, our final installment of …
What we know
Fight for first
Union and Yale will finish 1-2, with actual placement yet to be determined. If the teams tie, the title is technically shared and there’d be some figuring to be done in seeding for the playoffs: If Yale wins and loses while Union ties and loses, Yale takes the top seed with more league wins. The same thing happens if Yale wins and ties while Union ties twice.
However, things get tricky beyond that. Should the Dutchmen and Bulldogs finish with identical records, the next tiebreaker is record against the league’s top four. If Dartmouth finishes in the top four, Yale would take the top seed. Each team is 1-1 against RPI this season, and with Yale yet to play Cornell and Union facing Princeton, things are quite hairy beyond the Dartmouth stipulation.
If Cornell and RPI finish 3-4 in one way or another and Yale loses or ties the Big Red this weekend, Union would get No. 1. If RPI and Princeton round out the top four, anything short of a Union win over the Tigers would give the edge to Yale. However, should Yale beat Cornell in the former situation, or Union beat Princeton in the latter, or if Cornell and Princeton finish 3-4 and Yale and Union each beat, draw, or lose to those respective teams … we move on to tiebreaker No. 4: Record versus top eight.
If the top eight stayed the same as they are now — everyone except Brown, St. Lawrence, Harvard and Colgate — Yale would win the top seed. But, if Brown or SLU made the jump into a home-ice series, Union would have the edge.
Read the scenarios from top to bottom, because they are written in order of tiebreaker priority … but please read them all, because that really taxed my brain.
Bye, bye love
That is, we love byes. Cornell has the inside track (I can barely believe I’m saying that, after the way the Big Red started the year) with the tiebreakers on Dartmouth and Rensselaer and a two-point lead on Princeton. RPI holds the head-to-head advantage over Dartmouth as well, while Dartmouth swept Princeton. Therefore, a three-way tie between Cornell, Dartmouth and RPI would go to Cornell first, then RPI, with Dartmouth left out in the cold. If Cornell, Dartmouth and Princeton tie, the order would be Cornell, Dartmouth, and Princeton, 3-4-5.
The ‘Tute and Tigers tangle in Troy on Friday, with RPI having won the first meeting. The funny thing is that regardless of the result, if Princeton and RPI tie in the standings, RPI will have the edge: Rensselaer already won the first meeting between these teams, and the Engineers would also own either the next tiebreaker — league wins — or, if that’s a draw, the record against the top four.
In the case of a four-way tie at 11-9-2 records, the order would be Cornell in third, followed by RPI, Dartmouth and Princeton, as the four teams’ records against each other are broken down by points: Two for a win, one for a tie.
Hunt for home
Quinnipiac, Clarkson, Brown and St. Lawrence are all fighting to take — or hold — a coveted home-ice position for the first round. QU and ‘Tech are tied with 17 points and hold the final home seeds at this moment, with Brown (14 points) and SLU (13) praying for some outside help if they hope to avoid a road trip next weekend.
For the record, Clarkson has the tiebreakers over Quinnipiac, Brown and St. Lawrence. The Saints hold the head-to-head advantage over QU, and Brown over QU and SLU. None of these four teams play each other this weekend, which makes things a little easier.
All the Golden Knights need is a tie, or for Brown or St. Lawrence to miss out on one solitary point (which is to say, taking no more than three points this week) to assure themselves of another weekend at home.
The Bobcats need to win to insure a home series, or hope that Brown loses once and that St. Lawrence ties or loses. If QU can take one point this weekend, it will eliminate the Saints from home-ice consideration, but will need Brown to tie or lose.
Bruno and St. Lawrence clearly need to pass Clarkson and tie QU, at the very least.
See you on the road, Raiders and Crimson.
Acting locally, noticed nationally
Two conference stars are up for the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award: Union’s Stephane Boileau and RPI’s Chase Polacek.
Per ECAC Hockey:
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence — community, classroom, character and competition. The list of finalists follows this release.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Boileau was also one of 25 nominees for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, and while he didn’t make the cut, league-mate Aleca Hughes — a junior on Yale’s women’s team — made the cut as one of eight finalists for the honor.
The league has nine preliminary nominees for the Hobey Baker Award: Jack Maclellan (Brown); Alex Killorn (Harvard); Allen York and Polacek (RPI); Adam Presizniuk, Jeremy Welsh and Keith Kinkaid (Union); and Broc Little and Denny Kearney (Yale) are on the list so far. Vote early, vote often: We want more smart kids on the podium!
Notable numbers
Everyone knew that Yale’s offense was dynamite, Union’s power play was lethal, and you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting a top-flight goalie in this league. We all knew that, in November and December. But what about now?
Well, right now Union has the nation’s longest unbeaten (and winning) streak, at 9-0-0. The Dutchmen also have the most wins (24) in the land, while Yale has the best winning percentage (.815).
St. Lawrence, Clarkson and RPI rank sixth, ninth and 10th, respectively, in the nation in penalty killing, with Cornell (13th) and Dartmouth (16th) lurking. Union’s power play is still the best around at 29.5 percent, a whole 4.2 points ahead of second-place Air Force. Yale is third and Princeton is sixth, on opposite sides of the 24 percent mark.
The Big Green and Dutchmen rank sixth and seventh in the country in fewest penalty minutes per game, as Dartmouth is whistled for 10.9 and Union 11.
On to the offense. No shock here: Yale (4.41 goals per game) and Union (3.76) are Nos. 1 and 3 in the country in scoring, with only Boston College in between. The ECAC duo also holds the top two seats in average scoring margin as well, which is no surprise since Union (2.09), Rensselaer (2.16) and Yale (2.22) are first, third and fifth — respectively — in Division I defense.
Speaking of stingy, the Engineers’ Allen York (1.99), Union’s Keith Kinkaid (2.00) and Big Blue’s Ryan Rondeau (2.06) are each in the top seven in the country in goals-against average, with Dartmouth’s James Mello and Princeton rookie Sean Bonar just beyond. Mello, York and Rondeau each boast elite save percentages between .925 and .930, so the low GAA numbers aren’t all thanks to lousy offenses (that’s for all you nay-saying big-school blowhards).
RPI’s Nick Bailen, Harvard’s Danny Biega (USCHO’s third star of the week) and Princeton’s Taylor Fedun are lighting it up from the blue line with the best of ’em, each averaging nearly a point a game. Rookie Daniel Carr out of Union is tied for the national lead in power-play goals (11), and his 18 goals overall are tied for second among all D-I frosh. Not to be lost behind Carr’s snipe stats are Yale and Princeton rookies Kenny Agostino and Andrew Calof, who are each averaging about a point a game and are ranked ahead of Carr in offensive production.
And when you get to the most obvious statistics — goals and points — what does it mean when ECAC Hockey has only three players (Polacek and Yale’s Brian O’Neill and Andrew Miller) in D-I’s top 20 scorers? Or that only O’Neill, Polacek and Brown’s Jack Maclellan are among the country’s 20 most-prolific goal scorers?
It means that these players have embraced the words of every coach they’ve had since mites: It’s a team game, and we’re watching some pretty extraordinary teams.
SUNYAC First Round
Ben Waldman – 3, Shane Avery – 2
Who needs your leading scorer when you got Ben Waldman? Fredonia rode Waldman’s second period hat trick to defeat Buffalo State, 3-2, with all the scoring in the middle stanza. Shane Avery got both of Buffalo State’s goals.
After a scoreless first period which saw neither team get into double-digit shots, Avery broke the ice at 1:12 of the second. The goal was a result of a Fredonia turnover in their own zone. Avery picked up the puck in front and shot it in.
That lead barely lasted three minutes when Waldman tied it up on the power play after numerous attempts in the crease.
It took another 12 minutes before someone would score again, and once again Avery gave the Bengals the lead from a perfect pass by Mac Balson. Avery’s shot appeared to handcuff Mark Friesen.
Yet again, Fredonia tied it up quickly, this time 1:08 later. Waldman’s powerful blast from outside the left circle appeared to be stopped by Kevin Carr, but it still found it’s way in.
Waldman completed the hat trick and the scoring for the game with nine seconds left in the period. He deflected the puck in while on the power play to give Fredonia their first and only lead of the game.
The third period was scoreless, and once again neither team got into double-digit shots. Buffalo State had a golden opportunity when they went on the power play with 1:34 left. The Bengals pulled their goalie for the two-man advantage, but to no avail.
Friesen outdueled Carr in the battle of freshmen goaltenders. Each goalie made 26 saves.
Fredonia only had two power plays, but they scored on both of them. Buffalo State went scoreless on their five power-play attempts.
Buffalo State’s best conference finish in school history goes for naught, finishing at 12-11-3 overall, matching the school mark for most wins in a season. Meanwhile, Fredonia (13-12-1) has a date at Oswego on Saturday in the semifinal round.
Jared Docking Wins It For Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh knew it wouldn’t be easy, but they were able to defeat Morrisville, 4-3, at 11:58 of overtime. Jared Docking scored the game-winner, assisted by Vick Schlueter and Paul Puglisi. Docking is used to big overtime goals, having scored the overtime winner last year against Middlebury in the NCAA quarterfinals.
The first period went scoreless as Plattsburgh outshot the Mustangs, 10-3.
The Cardinals finally got on the board first at 6:16 of the second on a goal by Ryan Craig, only his fourth of the season. Eric Satim made it 2-0 at 12:54. Just when you thought Plattsburgh was taking control of the game, Morrisville came stampeding back.
The Mustangs scored three unanswered goals to take a 3-2 lead. Their first was 1:03 after Plattsburgh made it 2-0 thanks to Tyler Swan.
Morrisville scored the first two goals of the third period at 5:54 and 12:04. First it was Curtis Renaud and then Derek Matheson fired one in from the left side.
The lead didn’t last long, as Craig scored again 1:04 later.
Onto overtime it went, where Morrisville came out strong, but then Plattsburgh took control. The Cardinals outshot Morrisville in the extra period, 15-3, before Docking finally put it away on a wraparound.
In regulation, Plattsburgh only outshot Morrisville, 29-26, but in total, it was a 44-29 margin. Caylin Relkoff, in his last game of a stellar career, made 40 saves. Josh Leis stopped 26 shots for the win.
Neither team scored on the power play as Morrisville had four chances to Plattsburgh’s six. Swan got a point on each of Morrisville’s goals while Nick Jensen assisted on all three regulation time goals for Plattsburgh.
Morrisville ends its season at 11-13-1 overall. Plattsburgh (18-7-1) moves onto Geneseo for the semifinal round on Saturday.
