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Bracketology: Hands are tied

February 16, 2011

It’s time once again to do what we like to call Bracketology, college hockey style. It’s our weekly look at how I believe the NCAA tournament will wind up come selection time.

It’s a look into what are the possible thought processes behind selecting and seeding the NCAA tournament teams.

This is the next installment of our Bracketology, and we’ll be bringing you a new one every week until we make our final picks before the field is announced on March 20. Make sure to check out our other entries on the Bracketology Blog, where we’ll keep you entertained, guessing and educated throughout the rest of the season.

Here are the facts:

• Sixteen teams are selected to participate in the national tournament.

• There are four regional sites (East — Bridgeport, Conn.; Northeast — Manchester, N.H.; Midwest — Green Bay, Wis.; West — St. Louis)

• A host institution which is invited to the tournament plays in the regional for which it is the host, and cannot be moved. There are three host institutions this year, Yale in Bridgeport, New Hampshire in Manchester and Michigan Tech in Green Bay. St. Louis’ host is the CCHA, not a specific team.

• Seedings will not be switched, as opposed to years past. To avoid undesirable first-round matchups, including intra-conference games (see below), teams will be moved among regionals, not reseeded.

Here are the NCAA’s guidelines on the matter, per a meeting of the championship committee:

In setting up the tournament, the committee begins with a list of priorities to ensure a successful tournament on all fronts, including competitive equity, financial success and likelihood of playoff-type atmosphere at each regional site. For the model, the following is a basic set of priorities:

• The top four teams as ranked by the committee are the four No. 1 seeds and will be placed in the bracket so that if all four teams advance to the Men’s Frozen Four, the No. 1 seed will play the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed will play the No. 3 seed in the semifinals.

• Host institutions that qualify will be placed at home.

• No. 1 seeds are placed as close to home as possible in order of their ranking 1-4.

• Conference matchups in first round are avoided, unless five or more teams from one conference are selected, then the integrity of the bracket will be preserved.

• Once the five automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams are selected, the next step is to develop four groups from the committee’s ranking of 1-16. The top four teams are the No. 1 seeds. The next four are targeted as No. 2 seeds. The next four are No. 3 seeds and the last four are No. 4 seeds. These groupings will be referred to as “bands.”

Given these facts, here is the top 16 of the current PairWise Rankings (PWR), and the conference leaders (through all games of Feb. 15, 2011):

1 Yale
2t North Dakota
2t Boston College
4t Denver
4t Merrimack
6 Minnesota-Duluth
7t Union
7t Nebraska-Omaha
9t Notre Dame
9t Michigan
11t New Hampshire
11t Dartmouth
11t Miami
14 Rensselaer
15t Wisconsin
15t Western Michigan
— Rochester Institute of Technology

Current conference leaders based on winning percentage:
Atlantic Hockey: RIT
CCHA: Michigan (Michigan wins tiebreaker over Notre Dame via conference wins)
ECAC: Union
Hockey East: New Hampshire (wins tiebreaker over Boston College via head-to-head)
WCHA: North Dakota

Notes

• The Bracketology assumes that the season has ended and there are no more games to be played. i.e., the NCAA tournament starts tomorrow.

• Because there are an uneven amount of games played inside each conference, I will be using winning percentage, not points accumulated, to determine who the current leader in each conference is. This team is my assumed conference tournament champion.

Step one

From the committee’s report, choose the 16 teams in the tournament.

We break ties in the PWR by looking at the individual comparisons among the tied teams, and add in any current league leaders that are not currently in the top 16. The only team that is not is RIT.

From there, we can start looking at the ties and bubbles in a more detailed fashion.

We break all of our ties based upon the RPI. The biggest tiebreaker occurs for the last at-large spot, and that is won by Wisconsin, which has the best RPI.

Therefore the 16 teams in the tournament, in rank order, are:

1 Yale
2 North Dakota
3 Boston College
4 Denver
5 Merrimack
6 Minnesota-Duluth
7 Union
8 Nebraska-Omaha
9 Notre Dame
10 Michigan
11 New Hampshire
12 Dartmouth
13 Miami
14 Rensselaer
15 Wisconsin
16 RIT

Step two

Now it’s time to assign the seeds.

No. 1 seeds — Yale, North Dakota, Boston College, Denver
No. 2 seeds — Merrimack, Minnesota-Duluth, Union, Nebraska-Omaha
No. 3 seeds — Notre Dame, Michigan, New Hampshire, Dartmouth
No. 4 seeds — Miami, Rensselaer, Wisconsin, RIT

Step three

Place the No. 1 seeds in regionals. Following the guidelines, there is one host team in this grouping, Yale, so Yale must be placed in its home regional, the East Regional, Bridgeport.

We now place the other No. 1 seeds based on proximity to the regional sites.

No. 1 Yale is placed in the East Regional in Bridgeport.
No. 2 North Dakota is placed in the Midwest Regional in Green Bay.
No. 3 Boston College is placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester.
No. 4 Denver is placed in the West Regional in St. Louis.

Step four

Now we place the other 12 teams so as to avoid intra-conference matchups if possible.

Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding.

If this is the case, as it was last year, then the committee should seed so that the quarterfinals are seeded such that the four regional championships are played by No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5.

So therefore:

No. 2 seeds

No. 8 Nebraska-Omaha is placed in No. 1 Yale’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 7 Union is placed in No. 2 North Dakota’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth is placed in No. 3 Boston College’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 5 Merrimack is placed in No. 4 Denver’s regional, the West Regional.

No. 3 seeds

Our bracketing system has one regional containing seeds 1, 8, 9, and 16, another with 2, 7, 10, 15, another with 3, 6, 11, 14 and another with 4, 5, 12 and 13.

We have to place New Hampshire first.

Therefore:

No. 11 New Hampshire is placed in No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 9 Notre Dame is placed in No. 8 Nebraska-Omaha’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 10 Michigan is placed in No. 7 Union’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 12 Dartmouth is placed in No. 5 Merrimack’s regional, the West Regional.

No. 4 seeds

One more time, taking No. 16 vs. No. 1, No. 15 vs. No. 2, etc.

No. 16 RIT is sent to No. 1 Yale’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 15 Wisconsin is sent to No. 2 North Dakota’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 14 Rensselaer is sent to No. 3 Boston College’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 13 Miami is sent to No. 4 Denver’s regional, the West Regional.

The brackets as we have set them up:

West Regional (St. Louis):
13 Miami vs. 4 Denver
12 Dartmouth vs. 5 Merrimack

Midwest Regional (Green Bay):
15 Wisconsin vs. 2 North Dakota
10 Michigan vs. 7 Union

East Regional (Bridgeport):
16 RIT vs. 1 Yale
9 Notre Dame vs. 8 Nebraska-Omaha

Northeast Regional (Manchester):
14 Rensselaer vs. 3 Boston College
11 New Hampshire vs. 6 Minnesota-Duluth

Our first concern is avoiding intra-conference matchups. We have one.

Wisconsin vs. North Dakota. We have no choice but to move Wisconsin out of Wisconsin and into a matchup with Boston College, as Wisconsin also cannot play Denver.

So we have:

West Regional (St. Louis):
13 Miami vs. 4 Denver
12 Dartmouth vs. 5 Merrimack

Midwest Regional (Green Bay):
14 Rensselaer vs. 2 North Dakota
10 Michigan vs. 7 Union

East Regional (Bridgeport):
16 RIT vs. 1 Yale
9 Notre Dame vs. 8 Nebraska-Omaha

Northeast Regional (Manchester):
15 Wisconsin vs. 3 Boston College
11 New Hampshire vs. 6 Minnesota-Duluth

What else can we do for bracket integrity or attendance? Is there anything we can do?

With this bracket, there’s only one change I can make. That is to switch Union and Nebraska-Omaha.

West Regional (St. Louis):
13 Miami vs. 4 Denver
12 Dartmouth vs. 5 Merrimack

Midwest Regional (Green Bay):
14 Rensselaer vs. 2 North Dakota
10 Michigan vs. 8 Nebraska-Omaha

East Regional (Bridgeport):
16 RIT vs. 1 Yale
9 Notre Dame vs. 7 Union

Northeast Regional (Manchester):
15 Wisconsin vs. 3 Boston College
11 New Hampshire vs. 6 Minnesota-Duluth

That is about all I can do here. I can’t switch Merrimack and Minnesota-Duluth. I can’t move Rensselaer into the East, unless we also move Wisconsin to play Yale, but that is not fair to the overall No. 1 seed.

So that has to be this week’s bracket.

More thoughts and education and plain wit on the blog. We’ll see you here next week for the next Bracketology.

Just the facts: no filler

February 15, 2011

This’ll be a quick-hitter, without the usual feature material in the middle due to a crunched-up week… the Beanpot and Clarkson-St. Lawrence kinda accordioned my standard pace and schedule.

Players of the Week

Player of the week: Alex Killorn, Harvard

The Crimson’s most consistent (or perhaps only consistent) player this year scored three goals and five points against two ranked opponents in Princeton and Boston University this weekend, and finished a +1 for the deuce to boot. All three of Killorn’s Friday points came on the power play, with a first- and second-assist, and the game-tying goal with 5:55 to play. In the Beanpot consolation contest, the junior center scored shorthanded and even-strength goals to boost his season total to 10… the most on the team. The five-point outburst this week broke a string of three scoreless games for Killorn, tied for his longest such drought of the season.

Honorable mention: Danny Biega, Harvard (1-3-4, +3 vs. Princeton and BU); Brian O’Neill, Yale (3-1-4, +1 at SLU and Clarkson; hat trick at Clarkson)

Rookie of the week: Matt Hatch, Union

The Empire State native (out of Massena, N.Y.) potted two goals, added an assist and finished the week a +3 against Cornell and Colgate. Hatch scored the decisive second and coffin-nailing fourth goals against the Big Red in Friday’s monster tilt, then contributed the first assist on Adam Presizniuk’s goal against the Raiders, which began Union’s comeback. With five goals and 12 points in 25 games this season, Hatch has been reliably productive for Nate Leaman’s Dutchmen, but is still only the fourth-highest scorer among his classmates in Schenectady.

Honorable mention: Josh Jooris, Union (1-2-3 vs. Cornell and Colgate)

Goalie of the week: James Mello, Dartmouth

The junior out of Rehobeth, Mass. was as sharp as ever this weekend, giving up only two goals on 52 shots against spunky Quinnipiac and Princeton. Friday night saw the netminder save 21 of 22 shots against the Bobcats in an evenly paced affair, and he followed that up with 29 saves on 30 shots against the Tigers on Saturday – including 12 stops on 12 shots as Princeton pressed in the third period. Mello boasts a .936 save rate for the year and a 2.00-even goals against average: those marks qualify as second and sixth in the nation, respectively.

Honorable mention: Mike Clemente, Brown (4 goals against, 62 shots at Clarkson and SLU); Andy Iles, Cornell (2 goals against, 32 shots at RPI); Keith Kinkaid, Union (3 goals against, 36 shots vs. Cornell and Colgate; 9-save shutout of Cornell); Ryan Carroll, Harvard (4 goals against, 49 shots vs. BU); Eric Hartzell, Quinnipiac (2 goals against, 27 shots at Dartmouth); Paul Karpowich, Clarkson (7 goals against, 88 shots vs. Brown, Yale, and at SLU)

My top 20

This ballot was submitted prior to the Beanpot finales, of course.

1. Boston College
2. Yale
3. North Dakota
4. Union
5. Minnesota-Duluth
6. Denver
7. Merrimack
8. Dartmouth
9. New Hampshire
10. Rensselaer
11. Wisconsin
12. Miami
13. Western Michigan
14. Michigan
15. Notre Dame
16. Princeton
17. Nebraska-Omaha
18. Boston University
19. Cornell
20. Colorado College

Those amazing Merrimack Warriors

By David H. Hendrickson

February 15, 2011

Can we agree on this much? It’s time for drug testing the Hockey East coaches if they don’t unanimously select Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy as their Coach of the Year.

If you’ve been paying any attention at all, you know the score. The year before Dennehy arrived on campus, the Warriors finished 1-21-1 in Hockey East. Fans would train their eyes toward North Andover, shake their heads, and wonder aloud when Merrimack would face the uncomfortable truth that it couldn’t make it in Division I and certainly not in Hockey East. Go back to Division II where you belong, they would say, and let us get a good team in to replace you.

You think anyone is saying that now? Saying that to the third-place, three-points-out-of-first Warriors? Saying that to the tied-for-fourth-in-the-Pairwise Warriors?

Of course not.

There wasn’t a blast of instant gratification when Dennehy arrived. The progress was slow but steady: 3-19-5, 3-22-2, 6-18-3, 5-19-3, and then last year’s breakthrough to 12-13-2.

This season the Warriors stand 13-5-3 inside the league and 19-5-4 overall. Where last year people rightly pointed to the team’s dominance at home, this year it has excelled at home (10-2-1) and on the road 9-3-3.

The Warriors have won their season series with Boston College and New Hampshire and Boston University. They’ve have won 12-of-13 contests since the break and their last six.

Last Saturday’s overtime thriller against New Hampshire spoke volumes of this team’s play. After defeating New Hampshire in its own barn on Friday night, the Warriors grabbed a 2-0 lead back at home only to be hit with an avalanche of penalties following a tussle near the end of the second period.

The end result: a five minute major and two extra minor penalties. It all translated into four minutes of five-on-three shorthanded play with the final minute of the major tacked onto that. Predictably, the Wildcats tied the game, 2-2, using those manpower advantages.

But the Warriors didn’t crumble, didn’t feel sorry for themselves and settle for either a tie or a mere split on the weekend. They came back and won it in overtime.

Oh and by the way, Stephane Da Costa, their top scorer, was sidelined the entire game due to injury.

This isn’t a team that takes the easy way out.

“Our mantra is don’t make excuses and don’t let other people make excuses for you,” Dennehy said after the game. “If you want to ask anyone how good those players are, ask Stephane Da Costa. He knows how good his teammates are.”

UNH players and coach Dick Umile gave appropriate credit to the Warriors’ defensive tenacity, a big reason for the team’s success.

“Give credit to Merrimack,’ Umile said. ‘We had a miserable weekend getting pucks to the net. Half of our shots didn’t get to the net.”

Of New Hampshire’s attempted 80 shots, Merrimack blocked 23 of them, and had a part in forcing another 17 wide.

“That’s what good teams do, they block shots,” defenseman Jordan Heywood said after the game. Heywood made the headlines for scoring the game-winner but even as a freshman knows the winning plays are often made outside of the limelight. “You see [defensive partner Adam] Ross probably blocks 10 shots a game.

“As my partner, that just inspires me to go out and block shots as well. It just kind of trickles down to everyone. If you see one guy doing it it just has the ripple effect.

“The teams that go far do the little things, and blocking shots is one of those little things.”

If Da Costa’s injury proves serious that will be a major blow but those who have assumed (without seeing the team play) that this is a one-man team or even a one-man-plus-goalie team could not be more mistaken.

The Warriors are solid up and down their lineup. They will be heard from.

With New Hampshire and Boston College only three points ahead and set to clash in the final weekend of the season, it’s conceivable that Merrimack could win the regular season title. Or the Hockey East tournament. With strong play down the stretch the Warriors could become a number one seed in some NCAA regional.

But they’ve got their heads screwed on right about all that too.

“If I said it wasn’t in the back of our minds I’d be lying,” Heywood said. “[But] we just want to focus on taking it game by game. If you start looking too far ahead, start looking to the NCAA tournament, that’s when it catches up to you and you slip up and lose a big game and you’re just going to plummet.

“Our goal all year has been the Hockey East championship. Right now we’re just focusing on winning the games that put us in the place to go there and to compete for that.

“If we win games and we do well competing for [the title] then that’s going to give us a good opportunity for the NCAA tournament.”

From a one-win season in Hockey East to a potential number-one seed in an NCAA regional.

Simply amazing. And absolutely no fluke.

Road is rough on Alabama-Huntsville, but Chargers see positives

By Daver Karnosky

February 15, 2011

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The men’s college hockey world was forever changed when the WCHA opened its doors to allow new members Nebraska-Omaha and Bemidji State to join. The change affected more than just the WCHA schools as it affected the landscape of college hockey in general. One team left out of the transition was Alabama-Huntsville, which found itself on the outside looking in on all NCAA Division I hockey conferences.

“It has been an interesting ride for all of us,” Chargers coach Chris Luongo said of the experience the team has gone through this season.

One of the first challenges facing the Chargers was coming up with a schedule. With no CHA slate to contend with, the Chargers built an ambitious schedule around opposing teams’ free weekends, hoping that might help entice young players, and provide possible suitors the chance to see what they could offer. What they ended up with was a schedule that included four consecutive road weekends against Wisconsin, Bowling Green, Michigan State and Ohio State.

“This season has been a unique and interesting experience,” said Luongo. “All of these teams were top teams in their respective leagues.”

The Chargers also traveled to face Merrimack, Colorado College, Nebraska-Omaha and Ferris State on consecutive weekends to close out the NCAA portion of their season. (They close things out with a home series against the U.S. Under-18 Team this weekend.)

While not the ideal way to face a number of these teams, Luongo felt it helped strengthen the resolve of his players.

“I was really happy with the progress of our younger players,” said Luongo. “Many of these guys, especially our young guys, had to break into the lineup and prove they wanted to be here.”

As to be somewhat expected, the Chargers’ progress was not seen in the win column, as the Chargers went 4-26-2 this season. This was evidenced in real time last Saturday during a 5-1 loss to Ferris State.

“We’ve had some lapses on the mental side of things,” said Luongo. “Saturday started well, but a failed power play early in the second period really took the life out of us.”

Despite the lack of wins, Luongo and his staff saw some good things happen along the way. The Chargers leaned on three freshman goaltenders, and all three did good things. Clarke Saunders set a school record on Jan. 29 with 58 saves in a win over Nebraska-Omaha.

“They all showed signs that they are going to be good goalies,” Chargers captain Ryan Burkholder said.

The Chargers also looked for leadership from their upperclassmen, and two of them stepped forward. Senior defenseman Matt Baxter, an assistant captain who had not scored more than four points in a season prior to this year, led the team with nine goals, six of which came on the power play, and 22 points.

“Matt really stepped up his game for us this season,” said Luongo. “We had been waiting for him to do that.”

Baxter had a career night on Nov. 27 against Connecticut, when he posted two goals and three points. For his teammates, he was impressive from the first time they stepped on the ice this season.

“Playing with Matt was a real treat for me,” said Burkholder. “He really did have a breakout year. You could see it in practice and he was able to carry that over into games.”

Junior forward Jamie Easton was another skater who took a giant leap forward, notching six goals and 18 points after scoring only nine points in his first two seasons combined.

“Easton kind of turned into a bit of a power play specialist for us,” said Burkholder. “That’s a good sign for next year as well.”

Adding to the challenge of the tough schedule was seeing Ferris State both during the first weekend of the season at home and again this past weekend on the road. Ferris State took the first game in October, but the Chargers rallied for a 4-2 win in the second game. Last weekend, the Bulldogs won both games.

“I think they probably weren’t ready for us the first time, but they knew what to expect the second time around,” said Luongo. “If they were going to change, they had the maximum amount of time to do it.”

Next season’s schedule will look fairly similar to this season’s, according to Luongo, given that no conference affiliation is in the works as of yet. However, Luongo’s staff sees that as a potential selling point for incoming freshmen.

“It’s certainly not ideal,” said Luongo. “We are getting to play a good range of opponents from every part of the country … rather than playing three teams 18 times. We will use that to our advantage in recruiting.”

The veteran players embraced the opportunity given to them in facing teams from across the country that they didn’t get the chance to see during their previous seasons.

“Obviously, it been different,” said Burkholder. “As an athlete, you always want that championship to prepare for. I think that we were a little hesitant at times because we didn’t know what to expect.”

As far as a potential return to conference play down the road, Luongo is optimistic that the right situation will present itself as long as the program continues to improve. For now, they are content to wait on the landscape changes that will come with the addition of a program at Penn State.

“We are waiting on Penn State and what they do,” said Luongo. “We want to be in the best position health-wise that we can be so that we can be ready.”

One thing is for sure right now: The Chargers don’t mind doing whatever it takes to play games against the nation’s top programs.

“It’s actually kind of a neat thing,” said Luongo. “I think more teams should really try doing something like this.”

Penn State receives $1 million gift from local family

USCHO Staff Report

February 15, 2011

Penn State received another major gift recently as the school announced Tuesday that State College natives Paul and Nancy Silvis have pledged $1 million to the start-up of the men’s and women’s Division I programs that will begin play with the 2012-2013 season.

The main lobby of the Pegula Ice Arena will be named after the Silvis family and the couple will also co-chair the Penn State Ice Campaign Committee, which will help to raise an additional $10 million to complement the $88 million gift from Terry and Kim Pegula for the arena and program endowments.

“Nancy and I felt compelled to give to the project because of the important role hockey has played in our lives as well as the opportunities this new facility will bring to the youth of our community,” said Paul Silvis in a statement. “Joe Battista (associate athletic director for the Pegula Ice Arena/hockey operations) and I have been discussing strategies to build a new ice facility for many, many years. While the Pegulas’ initial gift gets us much closer to the goal, it doesn’t quite get the puck in the net. Terry and Kim are looking for assists from others in the community to show their passion for a new ice arena.”

“After having three sons involved in the sport, we are excited that varsity hockey is coming to Happy Valley,” said Nancy Silvis in the same statement. “Paul and I met because of hockey and we have been able to enjoy many hours and experiences with our families because of their participation in ice hockey. We are proud to be part of Penn State’s hockey future and look forward to helping with the campaign.”

Paul Silvis founded Restek Corporation, located in Bellefonte, Pa., in 1985. Restek has grown into an international business manufacturing chromatography columns and supplies that are represented in more than 110 countries. In 2009, he formed SilcoTek, an offshoot of the Restek Corporation. SilcoTek uses CVD technologies to impart many of the properties of Teflon® into steel. He is also a member of Penn State’s Board of Trustees.

Nancy Silvis is co-owner of the historic Mount Nittany Inn in Centre Hall and a resident of Centre County since 1982. In addition to being a pharmacist, she currently volunteers her time on the State Theatre Board, WPSU Board and co-chairs the WPSU Wine Celebration and the all-new Race Day Soiree 2011 for the American Cancer Society.

Paul and Nancy hold the distinction as being the first (and only) husband and wife to graduate from Penn State’s Smeal Executive MBA program in 2006.

ECAC director of officials Stewart fined for comments, conduct

USCHO Staff Report

February 15, 2011

ECAC Hockey today announced that director of officials Paul Stewart has been reprimanded and fined as a result of his conduct during the Colgate at Union contest last Saturday at Messa Rink.

Stewart’s comments and actions while interacting with members of the media in the press area prompted the league’s action.

Four out of five ain’t bad

By Chris Lerch

February 15, 2011

Things had to break just right last weekend for Rochester Institute of Technology to clinch the regular season Atlantic Hockey title, and that’s exactly what happened. Niagara and Air Force split a pair of wild games, and Robert Morris had a win but also had to settle for a tie (in a wild comeback), opening the door for the Tigers, who posted a pair of shutouts in a sweep over Canisius.

It’s the fourth regular season title for RIT in just five years in the league. The Tigers shared the crown with Air Force in 2009 and finished second in 2008. RIT won it outright last season, as well as 2007, its first year in the league.

“We’re proud of our consistency,” said associate head coach Brian Hills after RIT completed the sweep of Canisius with a 6-0 win on Sunday. “I think it says a lot about our program. That said, it’s just one of our goals.”

While RIT has reached one of its goals, there are several still in the running for the other three first-round byes. Here’s where we are with two weekends left in the regular season:

RIT – The Tigers have clinched first place and a first-round bye.

Robert Morris – The Colonials control their own destiny for the other West Pod bye. Win out and it’s theirs.

Niagara – The Purple Eagles can claim a bye if they can wind up with one more point than Robert Morris and Air Force (they lose the tiebreaker to both). They trail RMU by two points but have a game in hand and lead AFA by a point with both team having four games left. Win three games and they wrap up a home ice playoff spot.

Holy Cross – The Crusaders can clinch a bye with any combination of a win or tie and a Bentley loss. Holy Cross ends the regular season with a pair of games against Bentley next weekend.

Air Force – The Falcons are still in the running for a bye but need some help. They can clinch at least home ice on the first round by taking three points against Mercyhurst this weekend.

Mercyhurst – The Lakers are not mathematically eliminated from a bye but need to win out and get some help. This weekend’s games against Air Force will go a long way to determine home ice in the playoffs.

Connecticut – A big sweep last weekend has put the Huskies in the driver’s seat for a first round bye. They lead Bentley by two points with four games to play. The teams square off this weekend.

Canisius – The Griffs are five points out of a home ice playoff game with four games to play.

Bentley – The Falcons need to keep winning and need a lot of help for a bye (a sweep of UConn this weekend would be huge), but are in very good shape for home ice. Bentley controls its own destiny in that department, needing four points to lock up a home game.

Army – The Black Knights need three points this weekend against AIC to lock up a home playoff game.

American International and Sacred Heart – Both need help to secure home ice, and could be eliminated from that race with losses this weekend.

Even after the dust settles on this coming weekend, there could still be a lot to be determined. Check this space next week as we break down the last games of the regular season.

USCHO.com AHA Player of the Week:

Brian Haczyk, Niagara – The senior continued his amazing season with four goals, including a hat-trick, in a split with Air Force. His 26 goals lead all of Division I.

Honorables:

Shane Madolora, RIT – Madolora posed back-to-back shutouts, his fourth and fifth of the season, to lead the Tigers to a sweep of Canisius and the AHA regular season crown. Statistically, he is now the top goaltender in Division I, leading in save percentage (.938) and GAA (1.82).

Adam Roy, Holy Cross – The senior allowed one goal on 33 shots to help the Crusaders to their third straight weekend sweep. Roy is 6-0-1 in his last seven starts.

Erik Vos, Holy Cross – Vos had a five point weekend (two goals, three assists) against Army.

Jeffrey Reppucci, Holy Cross – Another Crusader who had a big weekend, the defenseman had a goal and three assists.

Greg Noyes, RIT – The rookie defenseman had a goal and three assists last weekend. He leads all D-Men at RIT with 16 points so far.

Tyler Brenner, RIT – Brenner had three goals and an assist last weekend to help the Tigers to a sweep of Canisius. His 23 goals are fourth in Division I.

Trevor Lewis, Robert Morris – Lewis had three goals last weekend, including two in the final two minutes to play on Saturday to help the Colonials to a comeback tie against Mercyhurst.

Getting My Vote

My USCHO.com Men’s D-I Poll ballot this week:
1. Boston College
2. North Dakota
3. Yale
4. Denver
5. Minn-Duluth
6. Union
7. Merrimack
8. New Hampshire
9. Wisconsin
10. Notre Dame
11. Miami
12. Michigan
13. UNO
14. RPI
15. Michigan
16. Boston University
17. Western Michigan
18. Dartmouth
19. RIT
20. Cornel

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: Recapping the Beanpot

By Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski

February 15, 2011

Todd: Well, Jim, it sounds like you witnessed one of the more memorable Beanpot championship games in recent memory Monday night when Boston College outlasted a tremendous effort from Northeastern, 7-6 in overtime. Neither team ever had more than a one-goal lead, which is notable in a 13-goal game. What’s going to stand out to you from this year’s Beanpot?

Jim: A few things stand out. One is that Northeastern is a much better team than their record. In ways, it deserved a better fate as it worked ridiculously hard the entire night. At the same time, I think Boston College proved just how important postseason experience is. Both weeks they went to overtime. Both weeks they came out on top. BC’s senior class has played some very big overtime games over the years. The calm they showed, particularly last night, showed that experience pays off.

Todd: On the other end of the Beanpot standings is Boston University, which finished fourth for the first time since 1980. I seem to recall the Terriers were missing a few good players in 1980, but that’s another discussion. It sure seems like they’re playing themselves out of a NCAA tournament spot — remember, this team was No. 1 in the country not too long ago — and, from reading the postgame quotes Monday, coach Jack Parker knows it.

BU has a little bit of time to pull things back together and a favorable remaining schedule, but it’s pretty obvious that something needs to be stirred within the Terriers to get them back into the tournament.

Jim: You could tell that BU knew they dug themselves the hole with last night’s loss. BU remains tied for 17th in the PairWise, so it’s not all gloom and doom, but wins against weak opponents down the stretch in the regular season won’t do much to boost BU’s RPI or record against teams under consideration. Losses in those games and you can write the eulogy for the Terriers.

At the other end of the PairWise is a pretty interesting Yale team. The Bulldogs lost again last weekend, this time to St. Lawrence, but their hold on the top spot in the PWR is strong. BC, the No. 2 team, loses all three criteria to Yale and it would take a lot to flip that. There’s a lot of time left but I feel like we can already pencil in the No. 1 seed in Bridgeport.

Todd: I think you’re right there, although Yale’s lead in the RPI has dwindled with these recent losses. But, with three losses in the last few weeks not moving the Bulldogs out of the top spot in the PairWise, I think it will take a lot more losing to move them out of the top four.

Before we get too far into this, I wanted to recognize our first conference champion. With two weeks of the Atlantic Hockey regular season left, Rochester Institute of Technology has wrapped up its fourth title in the last five years. The Tigers are going to have to win the playoff title to get into the NCAA tournament, but if they do, I don’t think anyone’s going to want to be the No. 1 seed that draws them in the first round.

Jim: I do believe after Bemidji State’s run two years ago and RIT’s last season, no team will want to walk in as the No. 1 seed in the big dance only to face the unknown that is the Atlantic Hockey champion. I have to admit, I didn’t even realize RIT had locked things up as two weeks out from the regular season finale is pretty impressive. That said, I’m pretty sure that Atlantic Hockey is the only conference in the nation that will crown a champ prior to the final weekend. The other four leagues all have either a tie atop the standings or a one-point race. Looking at the four, which do you think is the most competitive race coming down the stretch?

Todd: I think the WCHA is going to be a heck of a race in the final three weeks, with three teams having a legitimate chance to be the champ. But as far as final-weekend fireworks, I don’t know if you’re going to be able to beat Hockey East — again. Wasn’t it just last season that Boston College and New Hampshire played for the crown on the final weekend? Well, it might happen again with those teams set for a home-and-home series on March 4 and 5. The Hockey East schedule-makers sure know how to end it with some drama, don’t they?

Jim: No doubt the schedule makers in Hockey East have that crystal ball well tuned when it comes to the final weekend. Though you know that Merrimack, which last week proved it belongs in the same class as BC and UNH with a sweep of the Wildcats, might throw that off this year.

Todd: Time to look at what’s coming up this weekend. It’s an interesting weekend in the WCHA: The top six teams play the bottom six teams in the league standings, which could lead to some interesting shake-ups by Sunday. Wisconsin got pushed to the PairWise bubble after being swept at Nebraska-Omaha last weekend, and we’ll see how the Badgers respond at home against rival Minnesota.

In the CCHA, keep an eye at the Western Michigan-Michigan series at Yost. The Broncos need a PairWise boost, and they could get it with a couple of wins over the Wolverines.

What are you looking at this weekend?

Jim: Interestingly, there are a bunch of top-of-league vs. bottom-of-league matches in both Hockey East and the ECAC. That makes probably the most compelling paper matchup Dartmouth and Cornell on Saturday. Well, that and a two-game rematch of BC and Northeastern, who play a home-and-home series. Maybe we’ll see an 11-10 game this weekend.

Until next week …

Weekend Rewind Feb. 15

By Derek Dunning

February 15, 2011

The Oswego State hockey team’s goal heading into the 2010-2011 season was a breakout season.

On Saturday, the Lakers got their crowning acheivement victory in the five-year history of the program when they stunned top-ranked and undefeated RIT 2-1 to not only hand the Tigers their first loss of the season, but also stop them from clinching their first ECAC West regular season title.

Oswego’s stud senior goalie Emi Williams was nothing short of brilliant for the Lakers, turning aside 46 shots, including 20 in the third period alone to stymie the powerful RIT offense and backstop Oswego to its biggest win in program history.

Plattsburgh transfer Mackenzie Lee continued to make an impact for Oswego, tallying the first Laker goal for her team-leading 12th goal of the season. Olivia Boersen also chipped in with a goal for Oswego to account for the only two goals the Lakers would need to pull of the upset of the year to date.

The victory also clinched Oswego the fifth seed in the ECAC West tournament, its highest place to date and guaranteed the program’s first winning season ever. The Lakers now sit at 12-9-3 overall and 8-7-3 in league play with only a non-conference tilt with Castleton remaining on the docket.

I think its safe to say Oswego has acheived the breakout season it was looking for.

On the flip side of things, Wis. River Falls stayed unbeaten and also has taken over the top spot for the first time ever in the USCHO.com Division III women’s poll. The Falcons garnered 10 of 15 first-place votes and 144 points to dethrone the Tigers’ run from the top spot.

In other action between top 10 teams, Middlebury picked up a big non-conference win, downing Plattsburgh 1-0 at the Chip Kenyon ’85 Arena for their first win over the Cardinals since 2006.

Norwich, who is unbeaten in 12 straight will try their hands at beating the Panthers at the Kenyon Arena tonight at 7 p.m. in a crucial non-conference tilt between the two programs who are ranked third and fourth in the NCAA East Region poll that was just released today at 3 p.m. by the NCAA.

This will be the Cadets first trip to the Kenyon Ice Arena on the women’s side. The two programs met for the first time late last season at Norwich’s Kreitzberg Arena and battled to a 2-2 draw.

Getting lost in the shuffle of Oswego upsetting RIT was Buffalo State downing Elmira 4-3 in overtime on Sunday. The Bengals’ win knocked all hope the Soaring Eagles had in Pool C consideration and now EC will have to win its eighth ECAC West title in order to keep their NCAA Tournament appearance streak alive. Elmira has only missed one NCAA Tournament out of the nine that have been contested. They haven’t missed a Frozen Four since 2007 either.

Player of the Week: Alexi Bloom, Middlebury

Bloom turned aside all 20 shots she faced to help lead Middlebury to its first win over Plattsburgh since 2006. The shutout was Bloom’s ninth of the season and 14th of her career for the blue and white. She tops the country in goals against average at 0.84 and .958 save percentage.

Goalie of the Week: Emi Williams, Oswego

Williams made 46 saves to backstop unranked Oswego to an upset 2-1 win over #1 RIT on Saturday. Williams is 11-8-2 on the season with a 1.71 goals against average and a save percentage of .941.

Rookie of the Week: Amanda Cartony, Gustavus Adolphus

Cartony scored two game-winning goals to lead the Gusties to two important league wins over Hamline and help the Gusties assert their lead at the top of the MIAC standings once again. Cartony has four goals and three assists on the season for seven total points.

15 on 14 (or so)

By Paula C. Weston

February 15, 2011

As Valentine’s Day hit us yesterday, I got to thinking about the guys in the CCHA who wear No. 14 and how they may have fared on the ice this past weekend.

Alaska sophomore forward Adam Henderson did not play Feb. 11-12. His only goal this season was the third in a 4-1 win over Bowling Green Oct. 30. Henderson played 27 games with the Spartans in 2008-09 before spending the 2009-10 season with the Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL).
Bowling Green freshman forward Camden Wojtala (3-10-13) had an assist on the Falcons’ only goal in their 5-1 loss to Notre Dame Saturday, marking his first point in 10 games.
Ferris State senior forward Todd Pococke forward (2-2-4) scored his second goal of the season Friday, the game-winning goal in FSU’s 5-2 win over Alabama-Huntsville.
Lake Superior freshman forward Dan Radke (2-3-5) was scoreless in two games as the Lakers tied and defeated Alaska this past weekend. Scored his only CCHA goal Dec. 10, 2010, the fourth goal in the Lakers’ 5-2 win over Western.
Miami senior defenseman Vincent LoVerde (1-6-7) had two assists in Miami’s 3-1 win Saturday – but neither was on the game-winner. He’s now four points shy of his career-best points total (3-8-11) of last season. As was pointed out to me in the Michigan State press box recently, the first letters of LoVerde’s last name spell “love.”
Michigan State sophomore defenseman Zach Josepher (0-5-5) had an assist on the goal that gave the Spartans a 4-1 lead over Northern Michigan Saturday, a game NMU won 6-5. Hasn’t scored a goal since Feb. 26, 2010.
Northern Michigan sophomore forward Brian Nugent (3-2-5) played both games in NMU’s sweep of MSU Friday and Saturday. His last point was an assist Jan. 22, 2011, in Northern’s 3-1 win over Ferris State. Has four more points than he did his freshman season. Likes to score against Michigan Tech; his only point in 2009-10 came in his first collegiate game, against MTU, and two of this three goals this season were scored against the Huskies. Also, his first two collegiate goals were scored against Tech: Oct. 9, 2009, and Oct. 12, 2010, with a 20-game stretch in between with no points at all.
Notre Dame junior defenseman Nick Condon did not play when the Irish swept the Falcons this past weekend. Has played two games this season; his last action was Jan. 8, 2011. Played 20 last year, three the year before. Has no career points – yet.
Ohio State sophomore forward Alex Carlson (0-1-1) last played Feb. 4-5 against Michigan State. Has played in 11 games this season. His assist came vs. Army Jan. 2, 2011, when the Buckeyes captured the Catamount Cup.
Western Michigan junior forward and captain Ian Slater (7-8-15) had a goal and an assist against Miami last weekend. His goal was the second in Friday’s 3-3 tie, the first the Broncos scored within less than two minutes in the middle of the third when they were down 3-1. A native of Satellite Beach, Fla., Slater is the only Floridian in the league.

Fourteen is also half the number of conference games the CCHA currently plays. It took until the first full week in January for all league teams to reach the 14-game or midseason mark. Here are a couple of things I learned looking back at that point.

In conference scoring, three players – Miami’s Reilly Smith, Michigan’s Carl Hagelin and Notre Dame’s T.J. Tynan – had reached the 10-goal plateau by midseason. There are now 10 players with double-digit goals in league play. Smith (18-15-33) leads the league in goals scored in CCHA games.
Tynan (14-17-31) led all CCHA freshmen in conference scoring at the midway point of the season. He still does.
Through 15 games, Michigan was allowing an average of 2.00 goals per game and was second to Ferris State (1.94) in team defense in conference play. Through 24 games, the Wolverines are still allowing 2.00 goals per game but are now first in team D.
Through their first 16 games, Miami led the CCHA in power play (22.7%); 10 games later, and Miami still leads the league (24.2). In that first week in January, Western Michigan was second (19.7) but now Northern Michigan is second – and a more distant second (18.7) – while the Broncos’ power play has dropped by five percentage points (14.8) for eighth place.
Now as it was at midseason, two CCHA teams have penalty kills operating a hair above 90 percent, with everyone else less 88 percent. The only difference at the top is that Ferris State was first and Miami second, but now it’s the other way around.

If this space isn’t enough to disabuse me, there’s always Twitter: @paulacweston.

Walter Brown Award down to 15 semifinalists

USCHO Staff Report

February 15, 2011

The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston announced Monday the 15 Division I players who are semifinalists for the 59th Walter Brown Award, presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England.

The semifinalists include nine players from Hockey East, five from ECAC Hockey, and one from Atlantic Hockey. The slate comprises nine forwards, four goalies, and two defensemen. Boston College and Yale each have three nominees while New Hampshire and Boston University have two.

“Once again, the Walter Brown Award Committee took on a formidable task in evaluating all the worthy nominees and selecting a field of semifinalists,” said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello. “Unfortunately, not every player who received serious consideration is on this list.”

WALTER BROWN AWARD SEMIFINALISTS
Cam Atkinson, forward, Boston College
Chris Cahill, forward, Yale
Joe Cannata, goaltender, Merrimack
Chris Connolly, forward, Boston University
Brian Gibbons, forward, Boston College
Eric Hartzell, goaltender, Quinnipiac
Denny Kearney, forward, Yale
Blake Kessel, defenseman, New Hampshire
Rob Linsmayer, forward, Holy Cross
Broc Little, forward, Yale
Kyle MacKinnon, forward, Providence
James Mello, goaltender, Dartmouth
John Muse, goaltender, Boston College
Paul Thompson, forward, New Hampshire
David Warsofsky, defenseman, Boston University

The Gridiron Club will announce the finalists and winner of the award next month, following league playoffs and before the start of the NCAA Tournament. The award will be presented to the winner at the New England College Hockey Writers Dinner in April.

The weekend that was: Week 19

By Brian Sullivan

February 15, 2011

On the fly

Friday, February 11

Brown 1 at Clarkson 4

The Golden Knights didn’t score on either of two power plays, but they did keep Bruno off the board on eight Bears advantages to grit out the victory. Frosh Allan McPherson and Will Frederick scored for ‘Tech, as did seniors Scott Freeman and Tom Pizzo as junior Paul Karpowich stopped 28 shots. Junior Bobby Farnham scored for Brown in support of junior Mike Clemente (25 saves on 28 shots) as Brown dropped its fifth straight; the win snapped Clarkson’s own four-game L-slide.

Colgate 2 at Rensselaer 1 (ot)

Thanks to a third-period equalizer by junior Austin Smith and the OT game-winner by classmate Kevin McNamara, the Raiders attained consecutive wins for the first time all season. Freshman Eric Mihalik stopped 18 of 19 in the victory, including a mere two saves on two shots in the second period: The Raiders put 13 shots in the direction of sophomore Bryce Merriam in what was ultimately a scoreless middle frame. The loss snapped a seven-game unbeaten run (6-0-1) for the Engineers.

Cornell 0 at Union 4

Freshman Daniel Carr’s power-play goal only 170 seconds into the action stood up as the game-winner, as Union held the Big Red to only nine shots on goal in the entire game. Sophomore Keith Kinkaid’s third shutout of the year was an undemanding one from that point of view, especially after rookie Matt Hatch’s first of two goals on the night put the Dutch ahead 2-0 only 3:02 after Carr’s tie-breaker. Kevin Sullivan became the third freshman to beat junior Mike Garman (32 saves) with a goal in the third period, as Cornell’s six-game unbeaten run (4-0-2) came to an end in Schenectady.

Princeton 4 at Harvard 4 (ot)

The Crimson trailed three times, but came back quickly each time in a wild back-and-forth contest. Juniors Daniel Moriarty and Alex Killorn and senior Chris Huxley scored power-play goals for Harvard, while sophomore Conor Morrison also tallied for the home side; sophomore Rob Kleebaum and senior Mike Kramer each scored twice for Princeton as the Tigers failed to secure the two points. Princeton freshman Sean Bonar and Harvard senior Kyle Richter each finished with 29 saves on 33 shots.

Quinnipiac 1 at Dartmouth 3

Second-period goals by sophomore Alex Goodship and junior Nick Walsh put the Big Green on top for good Friday night, and junior Paul Lee’s empty-netter wrapped up win No. 12 for junior James Mello (21 saves). Rookie Connor Jones scored the Bobcats’ lone goal, which wasn’t enough for sophomore Eric Hartzell (25 saves) or Quinnipiac as what had been a six-game unbeaten streak (3-0-3) transitioned into a four-game winless slide (0-2-2).

Yale 2 at St. Lawrence 3

Sophomore Sean Flanagan lit the lamp just 68 seconds into the contest, setting the pace for the upset. Seniors Nick Pitsikoulis and Aaron Bogosian helped the Saints salt it away for junior goalie Robby Moss (31 saves), as goals by Bulldogs sophomores Andrew Miller and Antoine Laganiere weren’t enough to keep Yale from its third loss in five games (2-3-0). Senior Ryan Rondeau made seven saves each period for 21 overall.

Saturday, February 12

Cornell 3 at Rensselaer 2 (ot)

The Engineers fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to force overtime, but ultimately suffered their first sweep of the season when senior Joe Devin beat Merriam (20 saves) 3:32 into the extra session. Soph Vince Mihalek scored his first career goal, junior Sean Collins notched one as well, and rookie Andy Iles made 30 saves for the Big Red, which has now won four of five and is 5-1-2 in its last eight. Senior Chase Polacek and junior Alex Angers-Goulet scored for the ‘Tute in the penalty-marred contest in which the officials required a security escort off the ice after the final horn.

Princeton 1 at Dartmouth 4

Senior Adam Estoclet and sophomore Dustin Walsh scored 15 seconds apart in the first period, and rookie Matt Lindblad scored twice to lead the Big Green over the Tigers in Hanover. Mello (29 saves) out-dueled Bonar (30 saves), and helped Dartmouth hold on by backstopping five successful penalty kills. Kramer scored again for Princeton – his 12th of the year – but it wasn’t nearly enough, as the Tigers lost their third game in their last four (0-3-1).

Brown 5 at St. Lawrence 1

Senior David Brownschidle lit the lamp 46 seconds into the game, and it was all Brown from there as Bruno added three more goals in the next 24 minutes and cruised on Clemente’s 33 saves. St. Lawrence went 0/6 on the power play and got its only goal from Bogosian when the score was already 4-0; Moss (21 saves) was pulled in favor of freshman Matt Weninger (10 saves) after four goals and 28 minutes of action. Rookies Garnet Hathaway and Mark Hourihan, sophomore Chris Zaires, and junior Jeff Buvinow also contributed goals for Brown, which ended a five-game losing slide.

Colgate 3 at Union 6

Colgate had its brief two-game winning streak snapped in frustrating fashion, surrendering a 2-0 second-period lead by allowing five straight Union strikes. Senior Adam Presizniuk scored twice for the Dutchmen, and was boosted by goals by rookies Josh Jooris and Daniel Carr, and both Simpsons: sophomore Wayne and senior John. Kinkaid made 24 saves in Union’s seventh straight win and 11th of 12 (11-1-0), while Mihalik’s 30 stops and goals by McNamara, senior Brian Day and sophomore Thomas Larkin couldn’t stem UC’s surge.

Yale 6 at Clarkson 3

Five straight Blue strikes in 20 minutes of action doomed the Golden Knights, and Yale junior Brian O’Neill’s hat trick put him back into the team lead in overall goals (15). Senior Brendan Mason scored twice for the Elis, and junior Chad Ziegler potted one as well in support of Rondeau (22 stops). Freshman Jarrett Burton, junior Julien Cayer and the senior Freeman scored for the Knights, who also had to play two ‘keepers against the feisty Bulldogs: Karpowich got the hook after five goals, 16 saves and 30:39; junior Richie LaVeau wrapped up with 15 stops and one goal against.

Monday, February 14

Harvard vs. Boston University

The Crimson surrendered three power-play goals on six BU advantages, but it ultimately put an end to a four-game winless slide (0-3-1) thanks to senior Ryan Carroll’s 45 saves and a late goal by senior Michael Del Mauro. Classmate Alex Killorn scored twice for the Ivy, which also needed strikes by sophomore Danny Biega and junior Ryan Grimshaw to eke out the consolation-game win.

Tuesday, February 15

Clarkson plays at St. Lawrence tonight: That rumble you hear is Route 11 getting all shook up.

In retrospect…

Last week: 5-6-1. Ugh.

Season record: 121-57-20 (.662)

Gallery: 2011 Beanpot Championship – BC vs. Northeastern

By Melissa Wade

February 15, 2011

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SUNYAC Wrap: Feb. 14

By Russell Jaslow

February 15, 2011

What Does It All Mean?
First, let’s talk about what we do know after the penultimate weekend of the regular season.
Oswego will finish first, but we knew that last week. Fredonia will finish sixth — yes, Cortland can tie them, but Fredonia won both match ups this year, and thus would win the tiebreaker. Buffalo State (they lose the tiebreaker to Geneseo), Plattsburgh and Fredonia will not get a bye and will have to compete in the play-in round. Cortland, Potsdam, and Brockport will not make the playoffs.
The exact order of second through fifth, one first round bye (between Geneseo and Morrisville), and home playoff berths are all up in the air. This past weekend should have settled some of it, but huge upsets kept the middle as muddled as ever.
Geneseo could have wrapped up second place and that last bye, but they were stunned by Brockport, 3-2, despite outshooting the Golden Eagles, 43-28. Even odder, Geneseo had the shot advantage in the second period, 21-10, but Brockport scored the only two goals of that period.
Rich Manley did give Geneseo the initial lead in the first on a power play. Justin Noble and James Cody scored the two second period goals. The Ice Knights tied it up on a Zachary Vit goal 1:26 into the third. However, Chris Berardini won it for Brockport at 9:40. Oliver Wren made 41 saves for the win.
Imagine what Buffalo State was thinking after Friday night. They upset Plattsburgh — though according to the standings, it’s not really an upset — 4-3, and are all giddy, figuring no way Morrisville can keep pace. Then, the Mustangs go out the next day and shock Oswego, 5-2. Though Morrisville and Buffalo State remain tied for third (one point ahead of Plattsburgh), Morrisville has two games left to the Bengals’ one.
Morrisville always seems to play well at Oswego. They opened a 2-0 lead on goals by Taylor Vince and Bobby Cass, but Paul Rodrigues got one back with 28 seconds left in the first period. Not at all deterred, Morrisville regained the two-goal lead when Tyler Swan scored midway through the second.
The Mustangs came out in the third period to make a statement and Jamie Nelson scored at 1:11. Justin Fox got it back on the power play three minutes later and Relkoff shut the door the rest of the way, winding up with 37 saves on the night. James Jarvis got the clincher with eight minutes left.
Back in Buffalo, the Bengals only got 16 shots on net, but then Plattsburgh only got off 28. After the first period, the score was 3-2; after the second it was 4-3. The third period went scoreless, with only seven total shots on net.
The teams alternated scoring in the first, with Buffalo State leading it off. Shane Avery, Trevor McKinney, and Mac Balson scored those three goals. Plattsburgh’s goals came on the power play by Dylan Clarke and Kyle Kudroch.
Anthony Orange gave Buffalo State the 4-2 lead on the power play while Clarke got it back also on the power play.
Other Highlights
– Fredonia lost their Pink the Rink game, 3-1, to Plattsburgh. The Cardinals scored first with 56 seconds left in the opening period on a goal by Dan Sliasis on the power play. After a scoreless second period, Mat Hehr tied it up for the home team on a power play. Kudroch scored the winning goal with 2:06 left, and Clarke got an empty-netter to clinch it.
– Buffalo State had a tougher time than most people thought they would in beating Potsdam, 3-1. The Bengals scored a goal in each period (Nick Petriello, Drew Klin, and Balson). Zack Juliano temporarily tied the game for the Bears in the second.
– The night before, Potsdam’s last shot at making the playoffs went down in a flaming heap, as Fredonia blasted them, 8-0. Steve Rizer led the way with two goals and an assist. Mark Friesen got the shutout with 27 saves.
– Morrisville also got a shutout Friday night, 4-0, over Cortland. Relkoff made 25 saves. Morrisville scored two goals in the second (Daniel Morello and Geoff Matzel on a short-hander) and two in the third (Tom Longland and Rob Sgarbossa).
SUNYAC Players of the Week (selected by the conference)
Player of the Week: Nicholas Petriello, Buffalo State (F, Sr., St. Catharines, Ontario) helped the Bengals’ complete the season sweep against Plattsburgh and Potsdam and in the process became Buffalo State’s all-time leading scorer with 133 career points (52 goals, 81 assists), surpassing the previous record of 131 points. Petriello assisted on the Bengals third goal in a 4-3 victory over Plattsburgh and set the school scoring record when he netted the lone goal of the first period in the 3-1 win against Potsdam.
Rookie of the Week: Jamie Nelson, Morrisville (F, Stratford, Ontario) tallied a goal and assist in the 5-2 upset victory over No. 1 Oswego on Saturday. He scored his fourth of the season 1:11 into the third period to give Morrisville State the 4-1 lead over the Lakers and assisted on the Mustangs fifth score midway through the period to secure the conference victory.
Goaltender of the Week: Caylin Relkoff, Morrisville (Sr., Grand Forks, British Columbia) posted his second career shutout Friday, as he made 25 saves to secure the 4-0 conference win over Cortland. On Saturday, he posted 37 saves in the 5-2 upset victory over Oswego. On the week, he made 62 stops in 64 shots faced for a .969 save percentage, improving his record to 9-10-1 in net.

A new Beanpot sheriff in town? Boston College hopes so

By David H. Hendrickson

February 14, 2011

Boston University’s Beanpot stranglehold just may be slipping.

Going into this year, the Terriers had won exactly half of the 58 Beanpots and 15-of-20 through 2009. Three straight senior classes — those in 1998, 1999, and 2000 — could lay claim to not losing a single Beanpot game. Numerous recent BU classes, included the class of 2009, won three Beanpots in their four years.

Terriers fans could call the tournament the BU Invitational and though that rankled their opponents, what could be said in reply? The results were there.

But the days of the BU Invitational may be over.

The Boston College Eagles won a game for the ages, 7-6 in overtime over Northeastern on Monday, to take their third Beanpot in the last four years. They came out in the extra session and with the calm confidence of a team that expects to win these games, seized a major territorial advantage in overtime and converted that into a title.

“The team that possessed the puck the most won,” Northeastern coach Greg Cronin said. “BC got control of the puck and established a forecheck and a cycle game early in overtime to get us on our heels. They finished us off with what they do better than anybody in the country and that’s play a tremendous transition game.”

Meanwhile, BU lost to Harvard in the consolation game to finish fourth for the first time since 1980.

Fourth place? BU?

It was like the old sheriff had been caught in a compromising position in a sleazy saloon, whiskey bottles in both hands, the bad guys stuffing wads of dollar bills in his pockets, and his arms around two women who weren’t his wife.

Fourth place?

By comparison, in winning three out of four Beanpots, BC’s tiny senior class — John Muse, Joe Whitney and Brian Gibbons — accomplished something that hadn’t been done at the Heights since 1966.

“You can’t ask for much more than that,” Gibbons said. “I’m speechless, really. I’ve been coming to Beanpots since I was a little guy so the Beanpot is special. To be able to share three of them with Joey and John is really special.”

Is success breeding more success for BC now the way that it once seemed to for BU, quiet confidence being passed from seniors to underclassmen? Put another way, is the weight of history switching sides to BC?

“I don’t know if our class is smart enough to figure out the history,” Gibbons said with a grin. “We’re just hockey players who want to play hockey. We get up for big games. That’s when we play our best so that’s why we’ve had success in the big games.”

If anything, Whitney provided an even more simple, straightforward answer.

“We’ve had a lot of good players over the last four years,” he said. “Good players win games.”

None of which is to suggest that the Eagles have in recent Beanpots steamrollered over their competition. They needed overtime in both games this year just like they did in 2008 when they kicked off this streak. But one-goal games and overtimes have almost been the norm in modern Beanpot history — for BU as well as BC.

“There’s been really good competitive balance through the years,” BC coach Jerry York said. “BU certainly won a lot of Beanpots but they’ve always been tight games. If you’re looking for competitiveness and tight games, Monday nights in February seem to bring that to us.”

So might there be a new sheriff in town?

“I hope so,” Gibbons said. “I know that I’m leaving here with three Beanpots in four years and no one can take that away. I’m sure that next year the boys will be ready.”

16 semifinalists named for Joe Concannon Award

USCHO Staff Report

February 14, 2011

Twelve forwards, two defensemen and two goaltenders make up the group of 16 semifinalists for the Joe Concannon Award.

The Award, presented by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston, is given to the best American-born college hockey player in New England playing at the Division II/III level.

“Without a doubt, this season has showcased an incredible level of competition as evidenced by the tight races and surprising game outcomes that have been seen each and every week of the season,” said Gridiron Club Hockey Awards Committee chairman Tim Costello.

“This season, more than any other, has forced the committee to consider many outstanding players in each of the leagues, but some unfortunately do not appear as semifinalists. Our committee believes this is as strong group of nominees ever selected for the award. It will take the few games of the regular season and conference tournaments to determine the most worthy player as this year’s recipient of the award.”

JOE CONCANNON AWARD SEMIFINALISTS
Sean Curran, forward, Connecticut College
Tom Derosa, forward, Tufts
P.T. Donato, forward, Babson
Jeff Fanning, forward, Bowdoin
Josh Harris, forward, Castleton
Skylur Jameson, forward, Wentworth
Jeremiah Ketts, forward, Johnson & Wales
Taylor Larsen, forward, Assumption (D-II)
Connor Olvany, forward, Williams
Billy Pescosolido, defenseman, Framingham State
Ryan Purdy, goaltender, Williams
Charlie Strauss, forward, Middlebury
Eric Tufman, forward, Massachusetts-Boston
Wes Vesprini, goaltender, Trinity
Ryan Warsofsky, defenseman, Curry
Daniel Weiniger, forward, Bowdoin

The Gridiron Club plans to announce the finalists and winner of the Concannon Award in March, prior to the start of the Frozen Four, and will present the award during the New England Hockey Writers dinner in mid-April.

It’s unanimous: Men’s poll has Boston College No. 1

USCHO Staff Report

February 14, 2011

Boston College received all 50 first-place votes in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll and sit atop the rankings for the third week in a row.

That said, change is the theme throughout the rest of the poll, starting at No. 2 where North Dakota rises three spots.

Former top team Yale is now at No. 3, Denver is still No. 4 and Minnesota-Duluth, down from No. 3, rounds out the nation’s top five.

Merrimack jumps five to No. 6, Union is up two to No. 7, New Hampshire falls two to No. 8, Notre Dame jumps one spot to No. 9 and Miami tumbles two places to No. 10.

Michigan is up a pair to No. 11, Wisconsin falls five spots to No. 12, Nebraska-Omaha is up three to No. 13, Rensselaer drops six to No. 14 and Boston University is down one to No. 15.

At No. 16, Dartmouth is up one, Western Michigan falls two to No. 17, Colorado College (No. 18) and Maine (No. 19) trade places this week and Ferris State jumps into the rankings this week at No. 20.

Wisconsin again on top of women’s poll

USCHO Staff Report

February 14, 2011

The USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll remains largely unchanged, with Wisconsin still No. 1 in this week’s rankings.

Cornell is again No. 2, while Minnesota jumps to No. 3, leap-frogging Boston University, who is now sitting fourth.

Mercyhurst retains the fifth spot, and the next four teams – Minnesota-Duluth (No. 6), Boston College (No. 7), North Dakota (No. 8), Providence (No. 9) – are all in the same position as last week.

Harvard falls out of the top 10 this week, putting Dartmouth in the tenth spot.

ECAC East/NESCAC wrap: Feb. 14

By Tim Costello

February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you hopeless romantics out there! If your social calendar is a little light and your Facebook page isn’t popping with friend requests, status updates or notifications on the trendiest party, then maybe your fondness and affinity for your favorite hockey team will help their cause this week entering the final two games of the regular season. After all, all is fair in love and war, and this week will see both after another interesting weekend of games.
While in some cases all seems right and normal with the world, there is reason to wonder what exactly the playoff universe is going to look like come Saturday afternoon. With Norwich taking care of business against Castleton on Friday night and another Middlebury weekend sweep carrying them to a tie for the lead in NESCAC, it would appear that the seasonal norm has returned yet again. Don’t think that’s the case? Well I agree, and here are just a few highlights and things to look for that could have a long lasting impact in determining the conference championships.
In the ECAC East the big battle for No. 1 took place at Castleton, where Norwich used a solid first period of play in posting a 3-0 lead to push the Spartans down into second place with a 5-2 win that avenged an earlier nonconference loss at home. Ironically, Castleton, which lost for only the third time this season, has lost all three on home ice. While Norwich is very comfortable at home and has hosted every final four in the conference in recent memory, there have been upsets, and the Spartans definitely like the atmosphere of playing on the road, where they have just one tie blemishing their record.
The battle for the final two home-ice berths has been a situation where no team has stepped up to grab the brass ring. Both Babson and Massachusetts-Boston lost both games this weekend on the road while Skidmore split the weekend’s games at home, leaving three teams separated by just a single point with two games remaining. One team is going on the road in the quarterfinal round, so this week’s match-ups with NESCAC schools for all involved are going to be important to grab points to gather some momentum for the playoffs.
NEC and Southern Maine are just a point apart in sixth and seventh, and while the Huskies split last week, the Pilgrims lost twice, so the only sure thing at the bottom of the standings is the University of New England.
UNE also split this weekend, and seems to like match-ups with NESCAC teams, as they lost a tough 6-5 game at Tufts before surprising Connecticut College on Saturday by 6-3 score. Brad Holt’s squad has really kicked the offense into high gear, and whoever is playing the Nor’easters in the first round best not take them lightly ot else face the prospect of losing like Amherst and Conn College in recent weekend action.
Essentially, the ECAC East is still a battle for first and second, third through fifth and sixth and seventh. I would say that qualifies as opportunity for lots of different match-ups and even a difference at the top, based on the results of the final two games.
In NESCAC, to be blunt, anything can happen and probably will. Going into Friday night, Bowdoin held a tenuous one-point lead for first, only to drop back-to-back games to Trinity and Wesleyan. The no-point weekend at home dropped the Polar Bears from first to fifth, but there is solace in that they are still very much in the hunt for home-ice or more.
Trinity was the big mover on the weekend, taking both games on the road trip behind the exceptional goaltending of senior Wes Vesprini, who stopped 72 of 75 shots between the win over Bowdoin and Colby on Saturday. His getting hot couldn’t come at a better time for the Bantams, as all three members of NESCAC hailing from Connecticut are fighting for just two playoff berths.
With Tufts officially eliminated after its loss to Southern Maine on Saturday, Trinity made a move by winning both games while Wesleyan split and Conn College could only take two points, suffering an upset to UNE on Saturday at home. Add a Colby team that has had a very good second half that is just ahead of Trinity, and the battle for sixth through eighth is going to be wild.
As if the lower half of the standings are not crazy enough, how about the top five teams being separated by just three points and three teams tied at the top entering the final week of play. Hamilton, Middlebury and Williams lead the pack, with the latter two teams finishing their seasons on home ice against Castleton and Skidmore. Hamilton and travel partner Amherst travel to face Babson and Massachusetts-Boston which has a potential impact on both races. Both schools swept the four points this weekend to keep pace with the top troika, but five teams don’t fit into four home-ice berths.
So what do we know in the NESCAC? We know that literally every position in the standings is up for grabs and could see significant change. Bowdoin’s drop from first to fifth in one weekend certainly could be duplicated again this weekend by someone, and depending on the final travel partner game on Tuesday night between Trinity and Wesleyan, things may even be tighter, if that is possible.
Scoreboard watching this weekend isn’t going to matter much. Teams are really going to have to stay focused and take care of the only thing they can control – the game they are playing in. This past weekend was just the start of the craziness, so in the spirit of the Cupid holiday – just love the action.
And remember, no player-hating – drop the puck!

Weekend wrap-up 2/14/11

By Chris Lerch

February 14, 2011

A shutout sweep by Rochester Institute of Technology over Canisius allowed the Tigers to claim their fourth regular season title in five years. Two other sweeps in the East pod have moved Holy Cross and Connecticut into the driver’s seat for a first-round bye.

To recap:

Canisius scored the first goal of this three-game series back on December 17. RIT got the next four that night and then nine more this weekend to sweep the Golden Griffins 3-0 and 6-0. The shutouts were the 5th and 6th of the season for Shane Madolora.

Holy Cross dominated Army in a pair of games at the Hart Center. The Crusaders held the Black Knights to just 12 shots on goal in a 5-1 win on Friday, and then Adam Roy stopped all 21 shots he faced on Saturday in a 6-0 win.

Connecticut picked up the final sweep of the weekend, defeating Sacred Heart 4-2 in Milford and then winning 3-1 at Rentschler Field, the first AHA game played outdoors.

Mercyhurst had to settle for a single point last weekend after Robert Morris scored twice in the final two minutes to earn a 4-4 tie on Saturday. The Colonials defeated the Lakers 3-2 on Friday.

Air Force and Niagara split, each knocking out the other’s chance to catch RIT. Both games were decided in the closing minutes, with Air Force’s Scott Koziak getting the game-winner with 1:16 to play on Friday, and Ryan Rashid scoring in overtime to lift Niagara to a 5-4 win on Saturday. Niagara’s Bryan Haczyk had four goals in the series, including a hat-trick on Saturday.

And finally, Bentley and AIC split to keep each team treading water. The Falcons won 3-2 in Springfield on Friday, and AIC turned the favor at Benley, rolling to a 5-1 victory.

How’d I do?

I got smoked by guest analyst Gary Bowles. Gary was 8-3-1 while I came in at 4-7-1. I move to 89-59-22 on on the season; 8-6-1 against my guests head to head.

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