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Western playoff outlook

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While the regular season winds down, the D-III West region playoff picture gets clearer with every weekly coat of Windex in the form of pivotal games down the stretch. At stake in each of the three conferences is an automatic bid to the NCAA D-III tournament.

Here is a brief synopsis of how playoff and nonplayoff bound teams are faring in the respective Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.

MCHA
Dates: Feb. 25-27 quarterfinals; March 4-5 Harris Cup finals

Format: Top three teams in the Northern and Southern Divisions qualify for the postseason, where seeding is based on overall records opposed to conference performances. The overall top team is the No. 1 seed while the other division champion is the No. 2 seed. The No. 1 and 2 seeds receive a first-round bye. In the opening round, second and third-placed teams are paired off with the higher seed serving as host. The respective winners advance to the Harris Cup finals at Adrian College, where they meet the No. 1 and 2 seeds. As an added incentive, the Harris Cup champion hosts the 2012 MCHA finals.

Sure bet: No. 6 Adrian and No. 10 Milwaukee School of Engineering are deadlocked with identical 12-1-1 conference and 15-3-1 overall records in the Southern Division, which means the runner-up will be a No. 3 seed and has to play a quarterfinal game. The two MCHA powerhouses finish the regular season with a pivotal two-game series at MSOE on Feb. 18-19. Marian (14-5, 11-3) leads the Northern Division with a six-point advantage over second-place Lawrence.

On the cusp: Lawrence (9-9-1, 7-7), Northland (6-11-2, 5-7-2) and Lake Forest (4-14-1, 4-9-1) are pretty much locked into  playoff spots and will be jockeying for a chance to host a quarterfinal game.

Outside looking in: At this point, it would pretty much take an act of God or Congress for  Concordia (Wis.) (1-17-1, 1-12-1) and Finlandia (1-17, 1-13) to reach the playoffs.

MIAC
Dates: Feb. 25, first round, semifinals, Feb. 26; and March 2 Ed Saugestad Trophy championship final.

Format: First round features the No. 5 seed at No. 4 seed, with the winner playing the No. 1 seed in the semifinals. The No. 2 seed hosts the No. 3 seed in the other semi. The winners meet in the finals March 2, with the highest remaining seed serving as host.

Sure bet: No. 8 Hamline has taken stewardship of the MIAC by going unbeaten in its last 11 games (7-0-4). The Pipers have a three-point edge over surging Concordia (Minn.), which has landed in second by virtue of a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1). St. Thomas, which has seen its fortunes sway lately, will have to fend off Gustavus Adolphus for the No. 3 seed.

On the cusp: Bethel clings to the final playoff spot despite winning only once in its last four outings (1-2-1) while sixth-place St. Olaf (9-7-3, 3-4-3) has made a serious run by putting together a four-game winning streak, which included snatching a pair of victories over the Royals last weekend.

Outside looking in: Saint Mary’s (4-13-2, 3-5-2), St. John’s (4-14-1, 3-6-1) and Augsburg sit (8-8-3, 2-6-2) mired in the MIAC lower tier, but all three conceivably have a shot at the final playoff spot. St. John’s, which has won once in its last six  games (1-4-1), has a home-and-home series with Hamline this weekend followed by a home tilt with Saint Mary’s (Feb. 12-13) and a home-and-home with St. Olaf (Feb. 18-19). The Cardinals have a home-and-home with Augburg this weekend, followed by a two-game series at St. John’s (Feb. 12-13), and a home-and-home set with Gustavus to close out the regular season. The Auggies, who have only one win in their last eight games (1-5-2), face a hefty climb with encounters with Saint Mary’s (Feb. 4-5), St. Olaf (Feb. 11-12), and Bethel (Feb. 18-19) ahead.

NCHA
Dates: Feb. 18-19, quarterfinals; Feb. 26, semifinals; and March 5, Peters Cup championship.

Format: All seven teams qualify, with teams seeded No. 1 through No. 7. The No. 1 seed gets a first-round bye while the opening round features No. 2 against No. 7, No. 3 versus No. 6 and No. 4 pitted against No. 5. The three winners advance to the semis, where No. 1 seed hosts the  lowest remaining seed. The second highest remaining seed plays the third highest in the other semi. The semi winners meet in the championship game with the highest seed serving as host.

Sure bet: With two weeks left, No. 2 St. Nobert’s five-point lead over second-place Wisconsin-Superior sees the Green Knights (17-3-1, 11-2-1) nab top spot and the coveted No. 1 playoff seed. That leaves UW-Superior (12-8-1, 9-5), UW-Stout (12-9, 7-7) , UW-Eau Claire, (12-8-1, 6-7-1),  UW-Stevens Point (10-11, 6-8) and UW-River Falls (9-11-1, 5-9) to battle for the No. 2 through No. 4 seeds to earn home advantage in the opening playoff round.

On the cusp: St. Scholastica (9-11-1, 4-10) will have to maximize points during the final two weeks to reach fourth place and a chance to host a quarterfinal game. That will be no easy feat, as they are away to UW-Stevens Point and St. Norbert on Friday and Saturday respectively. The Saints host UW-Superior Feb. 10 and travel to UW-Eau Claire Feb. 11 to close out the regular campaign.

Outside looking in: Due to the NCHA’s all-inclusive playoff setup, no one.

Players of the Week
MCHA: Eric Miller, Adrian. The senior left wing netted five goals, including a hat trick Saturday, in the No. 6 Bulldogs’ weekend sweep over visiting Finlandia last weekend. The Erlanger, Ky., native notched the game-winner in his team’s comprehensive 9-2 victory Saturday and moved into second place in team scoring with 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points.

MIAC: Charlie Raskob, St. Olaf. The junior center’s six-point weekend propelled the Oles past Bethel, 4-2 and 7-2, and put the team in contention for a playoff spot. The Hastings, Minn. (Holy Angels) product assisted on three of the Oles’ four goals, including Isak Tranvik’s game-winner in the third period in Friday’s victory. In Saturday’s contest, he scored twice and assisted on Britton Smith’s game-winner. Raskob’s 16 points on six goals and 10 assists leads the team.

NCHA: Scott Lewan, Wisconsin-River Falls. The freshman netminder’s two yeoman performances were critical in the Falcons’ victories over UW-Superior, 1-0, and St. Scholastica, 5-3, during the weekend. The Westland, Mich., native turned away 32 shots in garnering his second career shutout on Friday. He made 28 saves to preserve the team’s victory over St. Scholastica on Saturday. This season, Lewan is 6-8-1 with a 2.30 goals-against and a sterling .932 save-percentage.

Salve Regina player gives back

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For many, sports provide a release in which nothing  matters outside of the field of competition.

For Salve Regina sophomore Isaiah Carlson, athletics have provided an outlet for his talents to be used to reach out and give back to others.

Carlson was one of the record 25 players nominated last Wednesday for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which is presented annually to college hockey’s top citizen spanning both men’s and women’s Division I and Division III.

The desire to help others started with his parents, Reed, and Jan, who pushed Isaiah to use his pleasure in playing sports as a conduit for volunteer work.

“They just really encouraged me to use what I like to do to help people and make other people happy,” Carlson said.

“He understands that he is privileged as a college hockey player,” said  first year Salve Regina coach Andy Boshcetto, who nominated Carlson for the award. “[His mentality is] how can I help others around me while I’m doing the thing I love?”

Carlson grew up in Kenny Lake, Alaska, and started working  as a co-counselor and on-ice instructor at the Hockey Ministries International Camp in Soldotna, Alaska, his senior year in high school after attending the camp while growing up.

“It’s Christian camp for hockey,” Carlson said. “They always get some college and pro players to come.”

As a youth,Carlson accompanied his parents on several mission trips, going with a church group from Anchorage to help build churches in Mexico. He also went to Cuba through a baseball mission trip he found online.

“I basically searched the Internet for an opportunity to use sports for something I enjoyed doing,” Carlson said of his trip to Cuba, which he took with a group of college and high school players who came mostly from the Virginia area. While in Cuba, Carlson said the group engaged in mission work and also played several local baseball teams.

He continued his service work at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, where he spent two years before being accepted in Salve Regina’s nursing program at the start of last semester.

“I was involved in a Bible study at Gustavus Adolphus,” Carlson said. “We were able to go to Nicaragua over spring break and help some local churches that our leader had connections with down there. It was a really cool experience; I’m interested in doing more of it in the future.”

The trip to Nicaragua left some indelible memories in Carlson’s mind.

“It was refreshing to see people and kids who don’t have the same material possessions that we have in the United States, but that didn’t really matter,” he said. “That’s what stuck to me the most about the trip, was people’s ability to be fully satisfied even though they don’t have the material possessions.”

Carlson isn’t the only one in his family putting their athletic talents to good use. Growing up in rural Alaska, he spent countless hours on the ice with his six siblings.

“We were basically a whole hockey team,” Carlson said. One of his older sisters, Sarah, played at Boston College and was the recipient of the 2005 Humanitarian Award while a senior at Boston College. Another, Hannah, played at Bethel College, while two younger twins, Naomi and Mary, could have played collegiately but instead took scholarships to row at Syracuse.

“When I was young, I was frustrated I couldn’t beat my older sisters in a foot race,” Carlson said. “That helped push me a little bit.”

While his older sisters pushed him athletically, they also inspired Carlson off the ice.

“I look up to them a lot,” he said of Sarah and Hannah. “Both of them are in nursing and they are a big influence for me trying to get my nursing degree,” Carlson said. “I’ve enjoyed seeing what they’ve been able to do with their [degree].They’ve both done different types of mission trips using their medical knowledge.”

While he said he hasn’t been able to volunteer as much as he would have liked to since transferring to Salve Regina, Carlson has already played a big part in many of the community outreach programs the Seahawks have been doing.

“We did the Samaritan 5K  Run in Boston,” Boschetto said. “He helped out with that, organizing and setting everything up.”

Carlson and the Seahawks have dedicated time to Newport youth hockey leagues and helped shovel out elderly housing  as well.

“He’s always doing something,” Boschetto said. “He’s got a lot of depth and he’s a diverse kid. He’s always willing to learn and grow. The kid is not shying anyway from anything, which is good to see. With video games now, a lot of kids stay to themselves socially, but he makes it a point to really work at doing things.”

On the ice, the Seahawks only have one win on the year, but have slowly improved, hanging in against Nichols, Wentworth, and Curry over the last week and a half.

After starting the year as the fourth line left wing, Carlson has worked himself up into the mix on the top two lines, and is currently paired with Curry transfers Jacob Hutt and Mike Cenisio. He’s played in 14 of the Seahawks’ 17 games to date, posting three assists.

“He’s a great PK guy,” Boschetto said of Carlson. “The kid motors. The three of them have been meshing well together; they each bring different things to the table.”

While he’s still got a lot of hockey left, not to mention finishing his nursing degree, Carlson said he’s planning on  working in rural Alaska after graduating.

“I’m open to whatever, but I’d like to go back to Alaska and do some medical work, some type of public health service in a village,” he said.

In the meantime, Carlson will keep plugging along, balancing his school work with hockey and volunteer time.

“He’s finds a way to do all this stuff and on top of that, he’s a nursing major,” Boschetto said. “He doesn’t sell himself short, I’ll you that much. He keeps me motivated when I’m not feeling motivated.”

Sweeping into first

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Elmira made a statement last weekend by sweeping Manhattanville on the road. The pair of wins moved the Soaring Eagles into sole possession of first place, but they didn’t come easy. Manhattanville is always tough to play at home.

“It was a little unexpected by a lot of people, but our guys are playing great hockey,” said Elmira coach Aaron Saul. “The two games down there were very physical battles that had a playoff atmosphere.   Down the stretch, there is no better hockey to watch in our league.”

Elmira was looking for a strong first period after getting off the bus for Friday’s game. The Soaring Eagles scored a goal in each of the first two periods to take a 2-0 lead. Manhattanville scored a power-play goal in the third period to make it close, but an empty-netter sealed the win for Elmira.

“The first period was a good road period,” said Saul. “There were some calls that were not going our way or Manhattanville’s way either. It settled down in the third period a little bit and was a good period of hockey.”

Playing with a sense of desperation, Manhattanville came out strong on Saturday. Elmira scored a short-handed goal early in the game, but the Valiants answered with the next two goals to hold a 2-1 lead at the end of the second period.

“Manhattanville played very well on Saturday,” said Saul. “The second period, Manhattanville took the play to us. It was not our best period, and we haven’t played like that in a long time.”

Elmira was able to kill off a full two minutes of a penalty at the start of the third period, and that was the turning point of the game. The Soaring Eagles used that momentum to score three straight goals, eventually winning the game, 4-2, and finish off the weekend sweep.

“We killed off a penalty in the first two minutes of the third period and then just kind of rolled from there,” said Saul. “It was nice to sit back and watch the boys play like they could.”

The Soaring Eagles are riding a nine-game unbeaten streak since early December, 8-0-1 in that span with the only blemish a tie at always-tough Plattsburgh. Elmira struggled through most of November and it finally came to a head at the Skidmore tournament Thanksgiving weekend when the Soaring Eagles tied Southern Maine and lost to Skidmore.

“Thanksgiving was a turning point in our season,” said Saul. “The Skidmore tournament was certainly tough for us to take, but it was something that we needed. The guys finally started playing hard for each other. Even though we had some early wins, it didn’t feel like a team all pushing on the same side of the rock. It kind of got everyone on the same page.”

Since then, Elmira has pulled together and has its fate in its own hands as the team strives for the regular season title. The Soaring Eagles have a four=point lead in the standings.

Elmira finishes up its nonconference schedule this weekend against Cortland. The break from league play might be a bit disruptive, but the Soaring Eagles know the importance that every nonconference game has in the NCAA selection criteria.

“I’d rather just have the league games and keep rolling,” concluded Saul. “But Cortland just swept the North Country, so it will be a game we have to be prepared for. The common opponents means we definitely need to have this game.”

Desperation time
After being swept last weekend, the regular seasons for both Hobart and Manhattanville are on the line this weekend. Both teams find themselves mired in a tie for last place in the league and are playing teams directly in front of them in the standings.

Hobart is hosting Neumann for two games. The Statesmen got outplayed by Utica last weekend and can’t afford to have another off weekend.

Neumann only managed a tie against Brockport last time out and had to score a third period goal to come back for the tie. That hasn’t set well with the Knights, as they have their eyes firmly set forward.

“Every weekend is a doubleheader for Hobart,” said Hobart coach Mark Taylor. “I’m sure they will be gunning after tying Brockport.”

Manhattanville played with desperation against Elmira last weekend, but still came up short. The Valiants can’t afford a repeat this weekend, as they play a home-and-home series against Utica. After winning eight straight nonconference games, Manhattanville has lost three of its last four games within the league.

Neither Manhattanville nor Hobart can afford to let any more games slip through their fingers this weekend.

ECAC West Weekly Awards
Player of the Week: John Clewlow (Jr.) — Elmira. Clewlow registered two goals and one assist in a pair of wins over Manhattanville College. Both of Clewlow’s scores proved to be game-winners.

Goaltender of the Week: Darren MacDonald (So.) — Elmira. MacDonald improved his season record to 11-2-3 with two victories over Manhattanville this weekend. In Friday night’s victory, MacDonald registered 25 saves while he made 23 saves on Saturday.

Rookie of the Week: Steve Charest — Utica. Charest totaled three points on a goal and two assists in a pair of victories over Hobart.

USCHO.com Hobey Watch 2011 Podcast, Episode 3: Derek Schooley

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Hobey WatchUSCHO.com’s Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Robert Morris coach Derek Schooley as they look at four Hobey Baker candidates from Atlantic Hockey: Robert Morris forward Nathan Longpre, Niagara forwards Brian Haczyk and Paul Zanette, and Rochester Institute of Technology goaltender Shane Madolora.

Kessel playing in enemy territory

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It wasn’t exactly an unintended consequence. However there was a tinge of irony attached to the Wisconsin’s wildly successful “Fill the Bowl” promotion for last Saturday’s game with rival Minnesota.

Not only did the Badgers pull in 10,668 spectators to the Kohl Center — thereby smashing to smithereens all women’s college hockey attendance records — they also presented Minnesota with the largest hostile crowd any team in the sport had ever faced.
That put Gophers freshman Amanda Kessel, who happens to hail from Madison, at odds with a building full of her own townies.

Without honor in her own home town, as it were.

“That was unreal,” said Kessel, who is among Minnesota’s scoring leaders. “We knew they were trying to get a large crowd. But we didn’t expect that much.”

Now, fan support at Minnesota’s games has been relatively strong, too. Still, stepping on to the ice for warmup, seeing a building full of people — for or against — produced quite a feeling of sensation.

“It was a different experience,” she said. “I wish we could get that many people at a lot of games. Not many of them were our fans, so that was a little bit difficult. They (the Badgers) played off of that.”

Kessel said that once the puck was dropped, though, she may as well have been back at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, or even back in the Kessel’s yard in Madison, going at it with her brothers Phil (yes, that Phil Kessel) and Blake.

“Once you got out there playing, you didn’t really notice it as much,” she said. “But still, it was a great experience. The most people that pretty much anyone out there had played in front of.”

If all goes well, Kessel may someday find herself playing in front of some Olympic-sized crowds.

She took a step in that direction this week when she was named, along with 26 other skaters, to the preliminary roster for the U.S. National Team, which will contend at the IIHF World Championships in Switzerland.

“Any time you get invited to that kind of stuff, it’s a great opportunity,” said Kessel, who made the  2010 Four Nations Cup team, but had to back out because of an injury. “It’s a big challenge, but it’s fun, too. To be around the best in the country. It’s great competition.”

It’s not like she ever had to go far to find a competitive game. Her brothers were only too happy to oblige her.

“I think it’s something that runs in the family,” Kessel said. “Just wanting to win so bad and doing anything that we can.”

After all of that sibling play, it’s only natural that Kessel’s game would take on some of that familial polish. A goal scorer like Phil, it became only natural that her game would begin to resemble that of the future Boston Bruin and Toronto Maple Leaf.

“I think we have a similar game,” she said. “A lot people say when they watch us that we look exactly the same. That we play a lot alike. He’s got a little bit more of a scoring touch, where I like to pass the puck a little bit more. That’s the only difference. Our skating styles are similar, and so is the way we carry ourselves out there.”

Being able to sharpen her offensive chops against Blake, a defenseman at UNH and a New York Islanders prospect, has had its own benefit.

“He’ll let me go one-on-one with him,” she said. “I never really get by him. But he’ll give me different pointers of things I can use against (other) girls. He’s been a big influence.”

Kessel is undecided about her major for the moment, but is unwavering in her future career hopes.

“I have a few things in mind,” she said. “One is to stay around the game of hockey. Maybe get involved with a team in some aspect. Or maybe have a business career.”

Business, huh? Well, there aren’t many — if any — female hockey agents around. And she just might have an inside track on a couple guys, should she decide to skate that lane.

“I’ve talked about that with my parents a few times,” she said, “about going down that road.”

NOTES: Kessel was on the ice at the Kohl Center Friday night when Phil, to his chagrin, was made the final pick in the NHL All-Star Classic player draft.

She said she commiserated with her big brother for a while

“I felt a little bad,” she said. “But then thinking about being in that game is an accomplishment. Anytime you can make it (to All-Stars) is a good opportunity.”

Candace’s Picks: Feb. 4

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With Wisconsin scoring another shootout win last week, I did pretty good in my picks, going 14-5 (.736). That brings my overall record to 118-44-15 (.709). We’ve only got four weeks left in the season, and while a few teams are a virtual lock for the post-season, there is still some room for positioning. Let’s see how I can do this weekend.

Thursday, February 3

New Hampshire at Boston University: With the Beanpot looming, it’s tempting to call for an upset, with the Terriers looking ahead to their game with arch-rival Boston College. However, I think they will focus and try to buld momentum. Boston University 4-2

Friday-Saturday, February 4-5

Wayne State at Mercyhurst: The Lakers should roll in this series, even though the Warriors have played a few squads tough. Other than teams like Wisconsin though, I just don’t see anybody with the skill to stop Vicki Bendus and Meghan Agosta.

Wisconsin at Bemidji State: I thought the Beavers would have enough to split with Minnesota-Duluth last week, but it didn’t work out. It’s tempting to call a split here, with Wisconsin getting a breather after a brutal two-week stretch against Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth, but I think the Badgers and coach Johnson are on a mission. Wisconsin 5-2, 5-1

Minnesota-Duluth at Minnesota State: The Bulldogs have been a mercurial team this season, and it’s tough to know which version will show up on any given weekend. Though the Mavericks pulled an upset on the Sioux last Saturday,  I like the Bulldogs to sweep two close games. Minnesota-Duluth 4-3, 4-2

North Dakota at Ohio State: A really intriguing matchup. I thought the Sioux had finally gotten over their tendency to split with teams they should beat, and then they got upset by Minnesota State last weekend. I figure home ice is good for one win for the Buckeyes. North Dakota 4-3, Ohio State 3-1

St. Cloud at Minnesota: At this point, it is entirely possible that hapless St. Cloud will go winless on the season. The Gophers, after a bout of inconsistency early in the year, are looking like THE threat to a Wisconsin WCHA championship. Minnesota 5-0, 6-1

Friday, February 4

Cornell at Clarkson: This weekend, it’s possible, just possible, that Cornell could be threatened. I don’t see it happening though. Cornell 4-0

Quinnipiac at Dartmouth: The Bobcats messed up my record last week, winning when I thought they’d lose, and losing when I thought they’d win. The Big Green has been inconsistent this season, looking like a solid threat one week, then losing. The Bobcats will want to gain ground on Harvard this week, and I’m calling for them to pull it off. Quinnipiac 3-2

Princeton at Harvard: While the Crimson’s out-of-conference record has been off, they have done very well in the ECAC. Look for that to continue in advance of the Beanpot. Harvard 4-2

Saturday, February 5

Cornell at St. Lawrence: Do the Saints have enough to threaten the Big Red? Yes. Will they? No. Cornell 4-1

Quinnipiac at Harvard: One of the best games on tap for the weekend. The Bobcats need to establish themselves as a solid threat in the ECAC while the Crimson want to maintain their status as one of the elite teams. I think Harvard wins a close one. Harvard 2-1

Connecticut at Boston College: The Eagles have the Beanpot looming against Boston University, but two games ahead of that this weekend, both of which have the potential to derail the Eagles’ express.  I think coach King will keep her team on its toes though. Boston College 3-1

Boston University at New Hampshire: Honestly, home ice should count for something, but I think the only threat to the Terriers this year is BC. Boston University 4-1

Sunday, February 6

Boston College at Providence: The Friars are a dangerous team in Hockey East, and they beat BC a few weeks ago. Home ice could work against the Eagles, but I think they will just have enough to get the win. Boston College 2-1

Tuesday, February 8

New Hampshire at Quinnipiac: This game was supposed to be played a few weeks ago, but got weathered out. I’m still sticking with my original pick. Quinnipiac 3-2

Harvard at Northeastern: Northeastern is a tricky team, but they are clearly the last team of the four Beanpot squads coming into this tournament. The Huskies will play tough and with emotion, but I think the Crimson advance. Harvard 3-1

Boston University at Boston College: It’s a shame these two are meeting in the first round, given how they have been playing this year. Their games have been excellent, and I’ve often called them wrong. BU leads the series so far, winning the last two games, including a 4-0 shutout a few weeks ago. You might as well flip a coin, but I’m going to call for the Eagles to get some revenge. Boston College 3-2

Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award finalists named

USCHO Staff Report
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Ten student-athletes who excel both on and off the ice were selected as finalists Wednesday for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

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.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 20 candidates announced in October. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote via the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award website or on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through March 20. Fan votes will be combined with media and coaches votes to determine the winner.

The winner will be announced April 7 at the Frozen Four in Saint Paul, Minn.

Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Finalists
Stephane Boileau, Forward, Union
Carter Camper, Forward, Miami
Cory Conacher, Forward, Canisius
Chay Genoway, Defense, North Dakota
Tanner House, Forward, Maine
Jacques Lamoureux, Forward, Air Force
Bryant Molle, Defense, Alaska-Fairbanks
Chase Polacek, Forward, Rensselaer
Matt Read, Forward, Bemidji State
Calle Ridderwall, Left Wing, Notre Dame

Every upcoming pod game huge for Robert Morris

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Robert Morris has had a promising first year in Atlantic Hockey. The Colonials are 15-8-4 overall and 10-6-4 in league play, good for third place. RMU’s 15 wins is already the most in school history. Its 5-2 non-conference record is the best in the league. There’s no doubt in coach Derek Schooley’s mind that the move from the now-defunct CHA was a positive one, albeit with some challenges.

Robert Morris' Nathan Longpre (Robert Morris Athletics)
Nathan Longpre and Robert Morris have some big games ahead of them (photo: Robert Morris Athletics).

“It’s been different playing teams for points almost every game,” he said. “Every game is a big game even if it’s in November, and that’s been interesting for our team to learn. Of course, every point now is critical as we fight for a bye in the playoffs.”

The Colonials are one point out of second place and the first-round playoff bye that comes with it.

“We’re one point out, one big point,” said Schooley. “Now that we’re just playing the teams in our pod, you can make up some ground. Things can change dramatically.”

I asked Schooley how important the bye is, considering his team is in very good shape to host a playoff game in the first round if it doesn’t earn the week off. And there can be advantages to keep playing: just look at what happened to several teams in the NFL playoffs that seemed rusty.

“I absolutely want [a bye],” said Schooley. “It’s very big. You don’t want to get into a one-game knockout situation, even if you’re at home. A bounce can end your season.”

The Colonials have a home-and-home series with Canisius this weekend. Who’ll be in net for RMU? Schooley has two talented netminders to chose from in sophomore Eric Levine and junior Brooks Ostergard, with Levine playing the majority of games over the past few weeks.

“Brooks played a lot of games for us early, and played well,” said Schooley. “Lately, Eric has been getting the majority of time. We have confidence in both. We’re going with what we feel gives us the best chance to win that day.”

Schooley recently recorded a “Hobey Watch” podcast for USCHO.com. Look for it soon here. He discusses the prospects of several AHA players, including his own Nathan Longpre.

“Ask any coach and he’ll tell you how Nathan can dominate a game,” said Schooley.

I asked Schooley about his thoughts on the conventional wisdom that Atlantic Hockey will, at best, get a single player onto the list of finalists and that this year with several to choose from, the AHA might get shut out without a single dominant player.

“We shouldn’t discount how well these players have done on a national level,” he said. “The AHA has done well with some teams with good records. I think we deserve to have more than one player [on the list of Hobey Baker finalists]. I disagree just because you’re from the AHA you can only have one.”

Ties are OK

In my latest entry of the Atlantic Hockey Blog, I covered the large number of ties this season. One coach who’s fine with that is Rochester Institute of Technology’s Wayne Wilson, whose Tigers have six ties so far on the season, including one over the past four weekends. Wilson says a draw beats the alternative.

“I’m dead set against the shootout,” he said after Saturday’s 3-3 tie against Mercyhurst. “I think there are good ties. It’s OK for teams to go at it and each come away with something. I don’t know why we think it’s such a bad thing.

“I think a guy on a showdown [shootout] is a joke. I’d rather play 10 more hours and have a great play decide it. Someone to be the hero and there’s no hero in a showdown.”

Around the league

Some miscellaneous factoids from a look around the AHA:

• Air Force is has been a big mover in the standings since Christmas, going 9-3-5 in its last 17 games after a 2-6 start. Connecticut has been moving the other way, winning just once in its last nine games after a decent 6-8-3 start. The Huskies can point to a lack of production as the cause for their recent decline. UConn scored 4.6 goals per game in December but only 2.1 in January.

• Holy Cross will be holding its second annual “Pink the Rink” game on Saturday. The team raised over $10,000 last season to help fight breast cancer.

• Niagara’s Bryan Haczyk saw his school record 21-game point streak come to an end last Saturday. The senior failed to register a point for the first time since Oct. 23 in a 2-2 tie against Robert Morris.

• Canisius’ Cory Conacher needs two points to become the all-time leader at the school. He’s chasing Josh Heidinger’s record of 132 points, set just last season.

Perfect predictions

In Tuesday’s edition of the Atlantic Hockey Blog, I predicted the league’s player, goaltender and rookie of the month for January. I was right on all counts. Congrats to Niagara’s Haczyk (player), RIT’s Shane Madolora (goalie) and Mercyhurst’s Taylor Holstrom (rookie).

Polacek, York making names for themselves, Rensselaer

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There are two sides to every story: While many were stunned by Yale’s sweep this weekend, there is also the matter of the Capital District’s recent supremacy. Union got a lot of attention early in the year as it slaughtered its way through an early schedule, simply annihilating all comers to Messa Rink, but Rensselaer has been churning through foes in quite the impressive fashion as well.

Somewhat quietly — at least, in the national context — RPI amassed an 8-1-3 non-conference record and is 12-1-0 at home. Skulking around the 15-20 range in the polls all year, the Engineers might be the best team that’s being left out of everyone’s NCAA contender conversations.

RPI's Chase Polacek waits for the face-off (Jennifer Bock)
Rensselaer's Chase Polacek is on a seven-game point streak (photo: Jennifer Bock).

“I think we are a tough road trip, combined with Union,” said coach Seth Appert, who humbly continued: “I don’t know if I’d say we’re the toughest — I think there are a lot of tough ones in our league, including the one we have this weekend: Quinnipiac and Princeton are both very good teams.”

Union and RPI are a combined 24-2-1 at home; the Bobcats and the Tigers, 14-8-1. It was nice of him to exhibit a little modesty, though. As for last weekend, the ‘Tute rolled through Brown and Yale, drawing itself even with Dartmouth in the race for the final first-round bye and positioning the Engineers within four points of front-running Yale.

“It was a good weekend, it was an exciting weekend of hockey in the area,” Appert said. “Both teams are playing well, lots of media attention, both Yale games were televised, both Yale games — at our house and [Union’s] — were sold out, and we had a good crowd versus Brown. It was a fun weekend for college hockey in this area, and certainly Yale added a dramatic amount to that as the No. 1 team in the country.”

It was RPI’s third win against Yale in the last two years (and four meetings), and senior striker Chase Polacek scored three goals with six assists — 1-2–3 each game, in fact — in each of Rensselaer’s wins. The Engineers’ leading scorer is on a seven-game scoring streak (14 points), and is making a strong argument for another Hobey Baker Award campaign with 16 goals and 39 points in 26 games overall.

“He has been quoted numerous times as saying that that’s not what this is about,” Appert said regarding Polacek’s Hobey odds. “I think that would be nice icing on top of the cake. I think he’s deserving of consideration — I think he’s a slam-dunk top 10 finalist — and I think he’s arguably the best player in the country, and we feel that that’s a just reward that he could get at the end of the year. He had some pro opportunities this offseason, and he had no interest.

“His quote, that he’s given in the paper, is that he didn’t come back this year to be an All-American or to win a Hobey Baker; he came back to try to win a championship for RPI. When your best player is as focused on being a team player as he is, that really puts you in a good position to have a chance to win.”

Appert’s other statistical superman has been junior goalie Allen York. The Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick currently boasts a .932 save percentage (seventh in the nation) and 1.86 goals-against average (third).

“We feel he’s the best goalie every night we go on the ice. Yeah, I think he deserves to be in consideration [too],” said Appert, promoting York as another Hobey hopeful. “They’re both very, very talented players, they’re both leaders for us on and off the ice. There are a lot of great goalies in our league, but we feel very good, stepping on the ice, that we have the best goalie … whoever we’re playing.”

On Saturday, especially, York elevated his profile with 38 saves on 40 Yale shots. Yale coach Keith Allain credited him with a stolen game, and Appert acknowledged that as much as the win was a team win, a lesser goalie never would’ve earned that W.

“He was, at times, spectacular, especially in the middle 30 minutes of the game [against Yale]. The first 10 minutes, we were outstanding; the last 20 minutes, we were very, very good. The middle 30, Yale dominated us,” Appert said. “We were on the penalty kill a lot, and that’s where he was at times really spectacular. We did a good job at protecting the middle, we did a good job of keeping shots to the outside, we didn’t give up any breakaways or two-on-ones or things of that nature, where you can start getting exposed. I thought we did a good job of not getting traffic to Yorkie, and I’ll say that he saw almost every shot — if not every shot — of the 40 taken.

“Not all of them were [easy stops], like I said, he made some big-time saves … but if we can defend the interior, and Yorkie can see the puck, he’s pretty tough to beat.”

Appert also ruminated on the external perception of ECAC Hockey as a hyper-defensive, sniper-deficient conference, in which strong numbers don’t necessarily indicate strong goalies.

“I guess the perception of our league in that way is because Cornell dominated our league for much of the last 10-15 years, and they’re a great defensive team, so I think that some people assume that whenever any goalies in our league have great numbers, it’s because of that,” he said. “I don’t think that’s quite the case anymore. Yale is the most talented team in the country: I’d put their offense against anybody’s in the country, and we’ve played some pretty good teams non-conference, and none of them stack up to the firepower that Yale has. Dartmouth has one of the highest-scoring teams in the country, Union’s a high-scoring team, Princeton’s a high-scoring team, so I don’t feel that that’s quite the case anymore. It might be the perception because of Cornell, but I don’t think it’s the case.”

Appert doesn’t need to look further than Polacek to prove that the ECAC can light ’em up with the best of them. York, likewise, is proving that goal-getters and goalies can co-exist on the same roster in this league … and RPI is proving itself, one quiet win at a time.

Notepad

• Clarkson will be without defensemen Mark Borowiecki and Nik Pokulok this weekend, both out with injuries. As reported last week, forward Ben Sexton is likely still a month or more from returning.

• Brown’s game at Harvard, which had been scheduled for Wednesday night, was postponed due to the super-mega-storm that terrorized the Northeast. It has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 22.

Stay tuned for next week’s column, when I roll out 10 years’ worth of research (OK, just research covering the last 10 years) on home-ice advantages around the league. The results might surprise you.

The last meeting between two legendary coaches?

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When Michigan and Michigan State faced off for their last regular-season battle last Saturday, two legendary coaches were facing off for perhaps the last time in their careers. MSU’s Rick Comley and UM’s Red Berenson are two of the best in the business and Comley’s hiring at MSU heightened what was already one of the best rivalries in collegiate sports.

University of Michigan captain Carl Hagelin congratulates Spartan coach Rick Comley on his win. (Erica Treais)
Was it the last time Michigan State coach Rick Comley will face Michigan before retiring at the end of the season? (photo: Erica Treais)

That the game was as good as it was didn’t surprise me. I knew that the struggling Spartans would play hard for a coach they admire and respect, and I knew that the Wolverines would — in many ways — play even harder. I didn’t expect one of the best games I’ve seen all season and certainly the best contest between these two teams in recent memory, nor did I expect a packed house of 17,577 fans, a head count that was by no means inflated.

The significance of the night was lost on no one. Before fielding a question, in his opening remarks to the press, Berenson said: “Rick Comley’s a classy coach. I don’t know if that’s the last time I’ll coach against him, but it’s been an honor.”

Some of Comley’s own players downplayed that aspect of the match, the recent announcement of Comley’s retirement, probably because they didn’t want to make too big a deal out of something that certainly is very big to them and everyone who knows the man who’s spent nine years behind the Spartans bench and devoted his entire professional life to college hockey.

Fortunately, MSU captain and sophomore Torey Krug had no problem telling the press exactly what we all suspected. Pulled out of the locker room before he had a chance to shower, Krug greeted the press with his characteristic, genuinely friendly smile and told us that the 2-1 win was “huge” for the Spartans program because it meant tying the season series at two games apiece — and something more.

“Any time you step on the ice against Michigan, you want to come out on top for the whole Spartan nation,” said Krug. “As a team, we kind of came together and said, ‘Hey, let’s do this for coach.’ He’s had so much success, and he deserves nothing better than to go out on top.”

Comley himself said, “That was good. Big, fun hockey game.”

When asked if he enjoyed this win, specifically, given all the recent news, Comley delivered a line only Rick Comley can deliver: “I’ve enjoyed every win.”

I hate to lapse into cliches, but there was a real change in the air at that game. Comley wore a brave face, but there was a touch of understandable sadness in everything he said. There was a lot of speculation in the press box about his replacement — and I honestly don’t know who’s on any possible list, a list that is probably complicated by the opening in Happy Valley, too — but the talk turned often to Berenson, who is 71 years old this year, after all. He can’t coach forever, even if he looks and sounds as though he will.

Personally, I think Comley was given the bum’s rush — there I go with the cliches again — and even though I heard many people say that it was time for a change, I can’t imagine a coach of this caliber being pushed out of any other program. He won a national championship four years after he was hired, and that wasn’t that long ago. I’m sure that Michigan State will hire a competent replacement, but there’s no way they can hire the best person for the job, because that’s the guy who’s retiring.

They played hockey Saturday, too

It was a great game. The teams exchanging goals within the final minute of the second period, the game-winner igniting the crowd in the third, Michigan’s Shawn Hunwick and Michigan State’s Will Yanakeff putting on a show in net — it was big fun, to paraphrase Comley.

One of the most interesting things about the game was the combination of Spartans Dean and Jake Chelios on the fourth MSU line. They combined for the first goal of the night and it was the second time this season they’ve combined for a marker in Joe Louis Arena. The Chelios brothers connected on the power play, when Jake fed Dean in the second period of MSU’s 5-3 win over Michigan Tech in the third-place game of this season’s Great Lakes Invitational tourney.

I asked Comley if remembering that goal was the reason why he put the brothers together on a line. “No.” He chuckled and raised his eyebrows. “You should’ve told me.”

It’s MSU’s lack of scoring that prompted the combination. “We needed something at Ferris to try to get us going, and I put Dean Chelios to center — which he’s never played — and Jake to left wing, and that line sparked us up at Ferris,” said Comley. The Spartans lost to Ferris State Jan. 27, two nights prior to this win.

“Right now,” said Comley, “you’re kind of searching for every possible thing that might help you win a game.”

Averaging 2.54 goals per game, the Spartans are 40th in the country for scoring offense.

Speaking of offense …

Five CCHA teams have offenses averaging even fewer goals than the Spartans are: Northern Michigan (2.36/45th in the nation); Alaska and Lake Superior (2.35/t46th); Ferris State (2.21/54th); Bowling Green (2.00/55th).

Which leads me to …

… the PairWise Rankings, which Jayson Moy explains clearly in this week’s Bracketology. If the season were to end today, three teams from the CCHA would be in. Michigan is tied for eighth (with New Hampshire) in the PWR, while Notre Dame and Western Michigan are tied for 10th. That leaves one very obvious team out: Miami.

It’s a mystery to me why the RedHawks are struggling as they are this season. From the dots out, they are a phenomenal team. That Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp aren’t putting up the numbers they did in net last season is clear, but why isn’t the team responding in front of the duo that’s fueled them to two previous Frozen Four appearances? I don’t get it.

Comley said after Saturday’s game that he thinks the Wolverines are the best team in the country, top to bottom — and he may be close to the truth there. They are absolutely contenders — for anything. I’m comfortable saying the same thing about Notre Dame, and — frankly — the RedHawks, should they put themselves in a position to get there.

Western Michigan? I’m not so sure, and that’s no disrespect to the Broncos. Senior Jerry Kuhn is having a career season, and he’s been in net for WMU’s 11-game unbeaten streak.

Western will be sorely tested these next four weeks. The Broncos are at home against Bowling Green this weekend, but then they face Miami, Michigan, and Notre Dame to end the season, and five of those final six regular-season games will be on the road; the series against the Fighting Irish is a home-and-home.

And speaking of Western Michigan …

… check out my feature on WMU first-year coach Jeff Blashill.

A little disclosure. Many CCHA fans know this already, but I’ve had a connection to the Blashill family since 1998, when I first met Jeff’s younger brother, Tim, who played hockey at my alma mater, Fredonia State. Tim Blashill was a student in a writing class my closest friend, Elizabeth Delaney Hoffman, taught at Fredonia at the time. She brought Tim to Big Rapids to see Jeff play his last collegiate game, I traveled up from Columbus for that, and I met most of the Blashill clan that night.

I met a few more of the Blashill clan in 2008, at the CCHA championship tournament in Detroit. Jim Blashill, Jeff’s dad, taught for a long time at Lake Superior State. I teach with people at Mott Community College in Flint, Mich., who know Jim. Michigan is the biggest small town I know.

And speaking of Lake Superior State …

… I don’t know any more than anyone else about what happened to get LSSU coach Jim Roque into hot water with the league.

I do know that Roque filed a report with the Sault Ste. Marie police after a Jan. 15 home game between the Lakers and Spartans. I do not know the nature of the exchange between Roque and assistant referee Mike Poliski — and I mean that I know nothing, other than that there were words exchanged.

Roque was given a one-game suspension by the CCHA following that game, for a violation of the league’s Good Conduct Regulations. He served his suspension Friday, Jan. 21, when the Lakers tied the Broncos in Sault Ste. Marie.

That was the same day that the Soo Evening News ran a story quoting Roque as saying, “I had to call the police and file a complaint against him. All I wanted to do is ask how they were giving me seven minutes of penalties in the last 10 minutes of the game.”

Roque then said that the officials refused to talk to him or approach the Lakers bench to get his lineup for the shootout — something I had confirmed by neutral parties who attended the game.

“I think that’s uncalled for,” Roque told the Evening News. “I got fined $1,000 five years ago for saying something bad about the refs in the paper. The guy can threaten my life and nothing happens to him? I just think that’s wrong.”

So, what happened to Roque after that story appeared? Another $1,000 fine from the league.

The Kenneth Godfrey Marrow Drive Registry Event

This is a very good thing. If you’re anywhere near Marquette this weekend and thinking of attending the Wildcats’ series with the Lakers, consider registering your bone marrow to help patients with leukemia.

The Kenneth Godfrey Marrow Drive Registry Event will take place this Friday and Saturday at Vandament Arena from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. both nights.

Northern Michigan athletic director Ken Godfrey has leukemia but has recently been told of a potential bone marrow match. This is Godfrey’s idea, in the hope that other folks going through the same thing can have a better chance at finding matches themselves.

For more information, call 906-227-2519.

The kids are all right

Every once in a while, I’m delightfully reminded that the players we follow in college hockey are simply college kids. Like a lot of longtime college hockey fans, I’m much older than the players are and I sometimes fall prey to cynicism that piggybacks on a certain amount of life experience.

That’s why some players are just plain refreshing.

Just this week, former Miami RedHawks captain and current Edmonton Oilers player Ryan Jones — known for his hard-hitting, instigating ways on the ice back in Oxford — posted through Twitter a link to a video advocating free hugs. This is an innocent project that was videotaped in Hollywood, an effort to improve peoples’ moods.

Jones — big, bad Ryan Jones — wrote that he thought that this should happen “in every other city in the world.”

Then on Groundhog Day, just this week, Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick tweeted, “Just learned studying goes a long way.”

The college teacher in me is so happy to hear this but also wonders why Hunwick, a senior, is “just” learning this now.

My ballot

Here is the top 20 as I see it. Looks like I wasn’t alone this week.

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

Video: Michigan State’s Will Yanakeff:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLZXNGUj55g

Video: Michigan State’s Torey Krug:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BGnreywgmg

Video: Michigan State coach Rick Comley:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K2jIv3aFyo

Video: Michigan State’s Jake Chelios:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODtgHHUnXRo

Video: Michigan coach Red Berenson:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv9_3zwaL1o

Some thoughts as Hockey East enters the home stretch

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As I sit here surrounded by feet upon feet of snow, lack power and heat and am ready for the groundhog’s prediction of an early spring to come true, here are some random musings about Hockey East:

David Vallorani (U Mass Lowell - 10) scored the first goal of the game, giving the River Hawks an early 1-0 lead. (Shelley M. Szwast)
Is it too late for David Vallorani and Massachusetts-Lowell to put together a playoff run? (photo: Shelley M. Szwast)

• The Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks, who have been cannon fodder for this column this year, are seemingly playing their best hockey of the season. That’s the good news. Unfortunately for Lowell, that hasn’t translated into victories of late. Twice in the span of eight days, Lowell played now-No. 1 Boston College about as tough as it could. The River Hawks held the lead part of the game two weekends ago before falling late, and last Saturday night were trailing by only a goal with 10 minutes remaining in what will go down as the ultimate case of the final score not representing of the overall game, which ended up a 5-1 decision for the Eagles. As my colleague Dave Hendrickson wrote in the Hockey East blog this week, though, it may be too late for Lowell.

• And speaking of BC, it took me a bit of soul searching this past Monday, but eventually the Eagles ended up on top of my ballot for the USCHO.com poll. I think that Yale, Denver and Minnesota-Duluth all could’ve earned the top spot, but ultimately BC’s play of late and realizing this might just be a better all-around team than last year’s national champions, had me placing the Eagles No. 1. Curious, though, is the fact that the Eagles rank fifth in the PairWise rankings and wouldn’t even earn a No. 1 seed if the NCAA tournament began today.

• Boston University might go down in my book as the most consistently inconsistent team in the league. The Terriers ran off an impressive unbeaten streak to begin the season, hit the skids and looked like they might be chum for even the smaller of sharks and then walked into Orono last weekend and took three of four points from Maine. I remember a Jack Parker quote years ago that went something to the effect that the Terriers are always playing their best hockey come Beanpot time. Parker’s explanation for that was early February is generally when he stops screwing things up for the team and just lets them play.

• This past Monday, as I recapped the past weekend in the Hockey East blog, I intentionally didn’t say too much about Merrimack. The reason is that I felt almost anything I’ve written this season has been praising the Warriors, and deservedly so, and I worried that if I wasn’t somewhat subtle every now and again that I’d begin to look like a Merrimack bandwagon homer. Well, that was met by the comment from a reader who sarcastically complained that my two passing references to Merrimack “must be a record” for me. Oh well, I guess you can’t satisfy all of the readers all of the time.

• Speaking of Merrimack, it should be noted that Chris Barton reached the 100-point plateau for the Warriors last weekend, making him the first player since Anthony Aquino to accomplished that for Merrimack. Hats off to Chris.

• This weekend’s Providence-Vermont series might be the most important of the season for both of these teams. One point separates the two clubs for the final playoff spot and both have daunting schedules coming down the stretch. If either sweeps this weekend series, you can almost punch that team’s playoff ticket, in my opinion.

• I’ll have more on this later in the week, but Northeastern has once again put itself in position to become the Beanpot dark horse. The Huskies have played extremely well of late. Since Dec. 4, Northeastern is 6-2-2, after beginning the season 2-7-3. It seems like so many times in the past decade, I’ve felt this could be the Huskies’ year to capture the most well-known regular season tournament in college hockey. Maybe this is finally the year?

• While the Beanpot may be on the mind of Boston-area fans, it’s no doubt that those who live north of the New Hampshire border (excluding Vermont fans) are thinking about the two-game set between New Hampshire and Maine in Durham this weekend. A lot is made of Michigan-Michigan State and Boston College-Boston University as the nation’s top two rivalries. But having witnessed the Maine-New Hampshire rivalry, I have to say for those two schools this is THE series of the season. It’s nice to have a year where both of these teams are playing pretty well.

• Speaking of Maine, it may be about time to begin hitting the panic button. After an impressive win over Boston College on Jan. 16, the Black Bears have struggled, tying Northeastern on the road before blowing a two-goal lead against BU last Friday and then settling for a 1-1 tie on Saturday. Saturday’s game highlighted some of Maine’s frustrations, particularly the opening period where Maine held a 20-2 advantage in shots but was tied at 1 heading to the second. Goal scoring hasn’t come as easy as you think it would for a team that has some of the nation’s most talented scorers. Since a seven-goal outburst against North Dakota way back in October, Maine has eclipsed four goals just once, a 5-0 win at Providence. The Black Bears have put up the magical four goals a couple of times, but when you have a healthy Maine team you would expect 4-5 goals per game to be more of a norm than an exception.

• As I look over the league and begin thinking of Hobey Baker Award candidates for Hockey East, the one player that continually stands out to me is New Hampshire’s Paul Thompson. Granted, he’s part of an uber-talented top line with Mike Sislo and Phil DeSimone, but Thompson is putting together a very special year. He’s already matched his career high in points (39) that he set last season in 39 games. He may play another 15 to 17 games this season and thus would be on pace to beat the 53 points scored last season by Bobby Butler, who earned a spot in the Hobey Hat Trick for his efforts.

• Final thought: Seeing as Hendrickson laid out his picks for which teams will and will not make the playoffs, I might as well give you mine. Like Dave, I say all of the top six teams are safe. I, though, believe that Providence will take the final playoff spot, edging out Vermont. Seeing as I’ve had the better of the picks over Hendrickson this season, you can take that one to the bank.

Consistency helping Alaska-Anchorage persevere

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Many times this season, I’ve used this space to talk about a team’s journey, whether it be Colorado College’s roller coaster ride, St. Cloud State’s consistent inconsistency or Denver’s resiliency, to name a few examples.

Tommy Grant of Alaska-Anchorage (Alaska-Anchorage Athletics)
Tommy Grant leads Alaska-Anchorage with 10 goals and 21 points (photo: Alaska-Anchorage Athletics).

This week, I’m using this space to talk about Alaska-Anchorage’s journey (a story I feel has been a bit overdue).

In past years, the Seawolves have been a team that everyone knows can play well (and usually does at the beginning of the season), but will ultimately end up in the league basement before all is said and done.

In other words, your friendly neighborhood league doormat … that occasionally has some thorns in it that get stuck in your feet.

Granted, there are eight WCHA games left for UAA so that might happen again this year, but the 2010-11 edition of the Seawolves has proven that they want to end up in a better position.

True, their record may not be all that impressive — 8-13-3 — but the team has become a force to be reckoned with — just ask Don Lucia.

“Anchorage is better. There only has been two weekends all year that they haven’t gotten points and that’s for a reason. It just shows the depth and balance of our league this year,” the Minnesota coach said on his weekly radio show.

Why are they better? For one thing, they’ve been a more consistent team this season.

“We were a very young team early in the season with 10 freshmen and a transfer, so basically 11 new people that we were working with,” said coach Dave Shyiak. “I think probably the first four to six games, even though they were tight games, there were some inconsistencies as far as our quality of play is concerned. But I think after the Duluth weekend (Oct. 22-23) if I remember correctly, our compete level has been very consistent, the way we’ve played has been consistent, our goaltending’s been consistent and we’ve been able to win some big games because of that.

“I think as the season’s progressed, we’ve been getting better in areas we’ve wanted to,” he continued, before admitting that he knows the team needs improvement in some areas, particularly offense. “But I think the basis of our team is we play just a good, strong, team game, we’re very good defensively and we’ve just got a bunch of guys that care about one another and are willing to sacrifice for one another.”

That doesn’t mean that the team doesn’t have hiccups along the way, and Shyiak points out two in particular — their 5-1 losses to Denver on Jan. 22 and Minnesota last Friday.

“I just think [those games weren’t] very indicative of how our team plays; we don’t give up a lot of chances, we don’t give up a lot of shots and for whatever reason why, we made a lot of mental errors,” he said.

Come Saturday, however, the Seawolves were able to do something that most good teams are able to do — adapt and change the game plan to hopefully lead to victory.

“We simplified the game a little bit to make sure we didn’t give up any rush chances and we were very aggressive when we could be and as a result, it worked,” Shyiak said. “The guys executed it perfectly and we got some strong goaltending so it’s been a team that’s been resilient in a lot of ways.

“And you know, if you look at our, whatever we’ve played, 24 games, I think 20 of them have been one-goal games [note: 13 one-goal games, three ties and another three that were essentially one-goal games with empty-net goals], so we’re getting used to playing these tight situations and I think that’s certainly a positive thing. And I think you take those tight games and you learn how to play with a little bit more composure and poise and you have an understanding about what it’s going to take to win in some of these buildings in tight games.”

Being able to play in tight games is an asset, particularly down the road. Another asset is that the Seawolves have been able to win in several different situations this year. I took a look at UAA’s eight wins, and there has been no particular pattern. Take a lead, lose it, get it back in overtime. Come from behind, hold on. The last three wins, however, the Seawolves have taken the lead and never relinquished it — something that Shyiak would prefer.

“We want to try to play the same way from the start of the puck to the buzzer and no matter if you’re up a goal or down three goals, we just want to remain consistent,” he said. “I think that’s been a real good quality of this team and … that’s why you’ve seen some of the results. We’ve had some leads, we haven’t had some leads but at the end of the day, we’ve come away with some wins.”

Wins like the ones that had everyone buzzing a few weeks ago — their sweep of Colorado College Jan. 14-15.

“That weekend, we had solid goaltending obviously, Tommy Grant had a good weekend and our special teams were the best they’ve been all year, both our penalty kill and our power play,” said Shyiak. “It was just one of those weekends where I thought we played a good 120 minutes.”

He also gives all of the credit that weekend to the team. If you recall from my blog post the Monday after, I wrote that the Anchorage Daily News reported that Shyiak put his players through a boot camp to prepare them for coming off the break.

“We didn’t know how exactly we were going to play after having 35 days off, so I totally give the guys credit — we pushed them hard,” Shyiak said. “It just kind of all came together but the guys worked hard, they put in the time on the bike sessions and everything else and it didn’t look like we were off at all.”

Their success has put them a good place as far as the league is concerned. The Seawolves have 16 points, which puts them in a tie for eighth place. However, they’re only two points behind Minnesota and CC, who are currently tied for sixth place and the final home playoff spot.

Despite that, Shyiak said the team isn’t focusing on the possibility that it still might be playing at home come March.

“We don’t want to look too far ahead. We’ve just got to focus on our one game here on Friday night and plan on doing the best we can on Friday night and see what happens from there,” he said, repeating the simple focus his team has had for years. “You never want to look too far ahead and I think our concentration level and our focus level has to take that approach as one game at a time. I think for the most part this season, that’s what we’ve been doing and whatever there is, eight league games left, you’ve got to take them one game at a time because points are so valued. They’re so tough to get in our league and if you’re able to string a couple wins together, you can certainly make a jump in the standings and put yourself in a good position, but it’s important to focus on one game at a time.”

Which they’ll do, from here on out, starting with Michigan Tech this weekend — a team that, despite its record, Shyiak’s not overlooking.

“I think if you look at our pattern, no matter who we play, whether it’s Denver, North Dakota or Duluth, a lot of them have been tight games and I think it’s going to be the same against Michigan Tech,” he said. “We’re going to have to play our best hockey in order to win.”

Matchups by the numbers

We get five conference series while North Dakota and Wisconsin get the weekend off.

Denver and Colorado College home and home

Records: DU — 16-5-5 (12-3-3 WCHA). CC — 15-12-1 (9-9-0 WCHA).

Head-to-head: DU leads the overall series, 155-108-14.

Last meeting: The teams split on Nov. 5-6: DU 4, CC 1; CC 9, DU 2.

Special teams: DU — 17.8 percent power play (30th in nation), 84.8 percent penalty kill (14th in nation). CC — 22.8 percent power play (7th in nation), 85.7 percent penalty kill (t-10th in nation).

Streaks: DU — eight game unbeaten. CC — one game losing.

Goaltending: DU — Sam Brittain (11-4-5, 2.09 goals-against average, .925 save percentage). CC — Joe Howe (12-10-1, 2.85 goals-against average, .906 save percentage).

Leading scorer: DU — Drew Shore (14-14–28). CC — Tyler Johnson (16-14–30).

Notes: DU needs two points to retain hold of the Gold Pan, the trophy the two teams annually compete for with each other. … Despite leaving Saturday’s UND game with an injury, CC’s Joe Howe hopes to play this weekend.

Bemidji State at Minnesota State

Records: BSU — 9-13-2 (5-11-2 WCHA). MSU — 11-11-6 (5-11-4 WCHA).

Head-to-head: BSU leads the overall series, 44-35-13.

Last meeting: MSU swept on Dec. 11-12, 2009: MSU 5, BSU 1; MSU 3, BSU 2.

Special teams: BSU — 18.8 percent power play (25th in nation), 80.5 percent penalty kill (39th in nation). MSU — 14.4 percent power play (45th in nation), 82.6 percent penalty kill (27th in nation).

Streaks: BSU — two-game losing. MSU — two-game unbeaten.

Goaltending: BSU — Dan Bakala (8-8-1, 2.32 goals-against average, .918 save percentage). MSU — Phil Cook (9-9-4, 2.95 goals-against average, .908 save percentage).

Leading scorer: BSU — Jordan George (9-15–24). MSU — Michael Dorr (10-12–22), Kurt Davis (8-14–22).

Notes: With Bemidji only two points below Minnesota State, this weekend provides a perfect opportunity to pick up some points or have MSU extend its lead. … MSU has won the last six games against the Beavers. … The Mavericks’ Michael Dorr (offensive) and Kurt Davis (defensive) both took home league player of the week honors.

Michigan Tech at Alaska-Anchorage

Records: MTU — 3-20-3 (1-16-1 WCHA). UAA — 8-13-3 (7-11-2 WCHA).

Head-to-head: UAA leads the overall series, 25-14-10.

Last meeting: UAA swept on Jan. 15-16, 2010: UAA 6, MTU 2; UAA 5, MTU 4.

Special teams: MTU — 19.6 percent power play (20th in nation), 76.3 percent penalty kill (53rd in nation). UAA — 14.2 percent power play (46th in nation), 80.7 percent penalty kill (38th in nation).

Streaks: MTU — 22-game winless. UAA — one-game winning.

Goaltending: MTU — Josh Robinson (1-10-2, 4.46 goals-against average, .887 save percentage), Kevin Genoe (2-10-1, 3.96 goals-against average, .889 save percentage). UAA — Rob Gunderson (6-10-2, 2.72 goals-against average, .896 save percentage).

Leading scorer: MTU — Milos Gordic (11-6–17). UAA — Tommy Grant (10-11–21).

Notes: UAA may also play goaltender and league rookie of the week Chris Kamal (2-3-1, 3.44 goals-against average, .864 save percentage) in light of his performance against Minnesota on Saturday.

Minnesota at Minnesota-Duluth

Records: UM — 11-10-3 (8-8-2 WCHA). UMD — 17-5-3 (12-4-2 WCHA).

Head-to-head: UM leads the overall series, 128-71-14.

Last meeting: UM took three points on Dec. 10 and 12: UM 3, UMD 2; UM 2, UMD 2.

Special teams: UM — 20.2 percent power play (15th in nation), 75 percent penalty kill (t-56th in nation). UMD — 21.6 percent power play (11th in nation), 84.3 percent penalty kill (17th in nation).

Streaks: UM — one-game losing. UMD — two-game unbeaten.

Goaltending: UM — Kent Patterson (9-5-3, 2.38 goals-against average, .920 save percentage). UMD — Kenny Reiter (9-3-2, 2.21 goals-against average, .913 save percentage), Aaron Crandall (8-2-1, 2.19 goals-against average, .912 save percentage).

Leading scorer: UM — Jay Barriball (11-11–22). UMD — Jack Connolly (12-23–35).

Notes: UM is 3-1-1 in games against teams ranked in the top-10. … Both teams play extremely well with the lead (UM is 10-2-2 when scoring first and UMD is 12-0-1).

St. Cloud State at Nebraska-Omaha

Records: SCSU — 11-12-3 (7-9-2 WCHA). UNO — 14-10-2 (10-6-2 WCHA).

Head-to-head: SCSU leads the overall series, 4-1-1.

Last meeting: UNO took three points on Nov. 5-6: UNO 3, SCSU 0; UNO 4, SCSU 4.

Special teams: SCSU — 15.4 percent power play (t-40th in nation), 82.6 percent penalty kill (28th in nation). UNO — 20.9 percent power play (13th in nation), 84.1 percent penalty kill (t-20th in nation).

Streaks: SCSU — two-game winless. UNO — one-game losing.

Goaltending: SCSU — Mike Lee (9-8-2, 2.81 goals-against average, .902 save percentage). UNO — John Faulkner (14-9-2, 2.48 goals-against average, .910 save percentage).
Leading scorer: SCSU — Drew LeBlanc (10-22–32). UNO — Joey Martin (8-19–27).

Notes: This will be SCSU’s first trip to Omaha.

Odds and ends

• It’s been cold and snowy this past week pretty much everywhere in WCHA country. So, I implore you, stay warm and bundle up. Otherwise, you might end up like UND’s Danny Kristo — out indefinitely due to frostbite (toes). Not a fun thing.

Skills competition out, open skate in for Frozen Four Friday lineup

USCHO Staff Report
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After a five-year run, the skills competition is out of the Frozen Four lineup.

It will be replaced by an open skate on the Xcel Energy Center ice as part of the Friday night schedule that includes the ceremonies for the Hobey Baker and Hockey Humanitarian awards.

Plans are for the open skate to include some notable hockey figures, although no names have been released yet.

Started in 2006, the skills competition brought in men’s and women’s players from Divisions I and III whose eligibility had expired.

This year’s Friday Night at the Frozen Four event is scheduled to begin with a one-hour autograph session at 4:30 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 8.

The Hockey Humanitarian Award ceremony begins at 5:30, with the Hobey Baker Award ceremony starting at 6 (live on ESPNU). The Science of Hockey Awards will begin at 6:30, and the open skate runs from 7 to 9:30.

Tickets are $13 ($8 for students, seniors age 55 and up and groups of 12 or more) and available through the Xcel Energy Center box office and Ticketmaster.

Saunders, Lamoureux, Polacek named USCHO’s Three Stars for Feb. 2

USCHO Staff Report
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THIRD STAR

Chase Polacek, Rensselaer: The Engineers senior put together a five-point weekend, including a goal and two assists as RPI upended then-No. 1 Yale. He also had the game-winning goal and an assist against Brown. :: Chase Polacek’s player page

 Rensselaer's Chase Polacek (Rensselaer Athletics)

SECOND STAR

Jacques Lamoureux, Air Force: The senior had a pair of two-goal games against Canisius, adding an assist for a five-point weekend. Three of his goals came on the power play, giving him the Falcons career record with 36. :: Jacques Lamoureux’s player page

 Air Force's Jacques Lamoureux (Air Force Athletics)

FIRST STAR

Clarke Saunders, Alabama-Huntsville: It has not been an easy season for the Chargers, but the freshman goaltender provided one big highlight Saturday night at then-No. 15 Nebraska-Omaha. He stopped 58 of the 59 shots he faced to give the Chargers enough time to win 2-1 in overtime. For the weekend, he stopped 98 of the 103 shots he faced. :: Clarke Saunders’ player page

 Alabama-Huntsville's Clarke Saunders (Alabama-Huntsville Athletics)

After each weekend’s games, make your nomination at www.uscho.com/threestars

Jeff Blashill: Son of the CCHA

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Western Michigan’s first-year coach, Jeff Blashill, started playing hockey when he was 6 years old. “For the Soo,” said his father, Jim, “that’s a late start.”

Jim and Rosemary Blashill moved their young family to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., in 1976, when Rosemary was pregnant with 3-year-old Jeff’s younger brother, Tim. They already had two daughters, Debbie and Lisa; all three Blashill children were younger than 10. The move from Detroit to Sault Ste. Marie for Jim to teach criminal justice at Lake Superior State was like “moving to another planet,” said the elder Blashill.

Western Michigan coach Jeff Blashill. (Zolton Cohen, Inc.)
Jeff Blashill coaches Western Michigan, but he also has connections to CCHA schools Lake Superior State, Ferris State and Miami (photo: Zolton Cohen).

“We lived on campus,” said Jim. He and Rosemary have remained in the Soo since their recent retirement. “This was a very different place then. They had these old army buildings, and they rented the old officers’ homes to faculty and staff. It was comfortable — certainly it was a unique experience.”

For a year, the Blashills lived next door to current Notre Dame associate head coach Paul Pooley, who was an assistant under Jeff Jackson in the 1993-94 season. Jim and Rosemary own the house that was once rented by Frank Anzalone and his family when he coached there. To say that the collective childhood of the Blashill children was affected by Lakers hockey would be an understatement. That Jeff Blashill would grow up to coach Division I hockey is no surprise to anyone who knows him.

“We had a unique life, being the last family actually on campus,” said Tim, who has been the head hockey coach of the Big Rapids Cardinals boys high school hockey team since 2005 and is the program coordinator and pro shop manager for Ferris State’s Ewigleben Arena. Tim played Division III hockey for Fredonia State in the 1990s and served as a volunteer assistant under Bob Daniels at FSU (2000-05).

“We were the only faculty in that row,” said Tim. “They would make us a rink up there, right in our front lawn. The maintenance staff would do that for us and that was awesome. We played pond hockey and we’d go at it pretty good.”

Jim Blashill said that Jeff’s interest in hockey began well before he started playing at 6 years old. “Before he could read, he was studying the game.” At Lakers hockey games, said Jim, his oldest son “didn’t like people cheering because it was distracting.”

“He was a very analytical goalie,” said Tim. Because of the three years between them, the two brothers never played organized hockey together. Tim, a big defenseman, said that he and Jeff differ in significant ways — ways that foreshadowed early Jeff’s move from player to coach.

“I was a good soldier,” said Tim, “and a lot of coaches liked that, but Jeff always had a bit of the general in him. He’s as good a preparer as I’ve ever known. He kind of had that mentality pretty early on. He was a serious kid. He took the game seriously from an early age. Being a goaltender, there’s something of that, too, always watching the game.

“I think he’s been on this path for a long time.”

Jeff Blashill’s path to Western Michigan is as straightforward as they come. After growing up on a steady diet of Lake Superior State hockey, Blashill — who’s always been a goaltender — played for the Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) from 1991 to 1994, and then for Ferris State under Daniels for four years (1994-98), with a career save percentage of .848 and a 4.07 goals-against average in 78 career games. For two of those seasons (1994-96), he shared the net with current Rensselaer coach Seth Appert. In his senior year, Blashill played four games.

“He never complained, with one exception,” said Jim Blashill. “It was his senior year, and Bob [Daniels] wasn’t going to take him on a trip somewhere and he said, ‘I deserve to go,’ and Bob took him.

“I think that’s where he learned the position of coach. The last two years not playing very much, I think he was another coach. From the bench, he learned the game.”

After his senior year, Jeff Blashill remained on the Bulldogs’ bench as an assistant coach from 1999 to 2002. Daniels didn’t hesitate to take on Blashill, recognizing early that he had coaching potential.

“I wouldn’t have pushed them both [Blashill and Appert] forward if I didn’t think they’d be good at it,” said Daniels. “I thought they both had the personality. They were outgoing. They had a goalie’s perspective of the game, which is that you see it from the net out, and I always thought they were both very good recruiters.”

Daniels said that Blashill has natural leadership abilities, but he said that there are still a few things his former goaltender can stand to learn.

“I don’t think anything about his wardrobe would fire anyone up, personally,” said Daniels. “My thing with him is I think he tries too hard. With certain people, there’s a sort of understated elegance, and then you’ve got Jeff. I worked with him. I’m sure Rico [Blasi] tried, too. It started with color coordination, and then you go from there.”

After working with Daniels, Blashill was hired as an assistant coach at Miami in Enrico Blasi’s fourth season. Blasi echoed Daniels’ praise of Blashill, saying that he and Blashill and former assistant and now current Bowling Green coach Chris Bergeron all learned the business of coaching together.

“Jeff’s an excellent recruiter and a real student of the game,” said Blasi. There is one thing Blasi said he wishes had come from his long-time acquaintance with Blashill. Although Blasi and Blashill both played CCHA hockey in the 1990s, Blasi played for Miami from 1990s, Blasi graduated from Miami in 1994, the same year that Blashill began at Ferris State.

“I wish I had played against him,” said Blasi. “I would have had a few more goals.”

In 2008, Blashill left Oxford, Ohio, for Indianapolis, just 90 miles away, where he was coach and general manager of the Indiana Ice (USHL) until being hired to replace Jim Culhane in Kalamazoo. In his two seasons with the Ice, Blashill was 72-43-0 and coached his team to a Clark Cup in 2008-09, his first season.

Now in Kalamazoo, Blashill is a little over 100 miles from where he played Division I hockey, and 340 miles from where he fell in love with the game. Tim Blashill is not at all surprised by his older brother’s most recent move.

“About four or five years ago, maybe his second year in Miami, I thought I could envision him coaching in Kalamazoo, if Jim [Culhane] left the program,” said Tim. Coaching in the CCHA and more specifically in Michigan “was one of the biggest attractions for the job,” said Tim.

Jeff Jackson, a coach that all the Blashills grew up watching, has the perfect summary for this son of the CCHA: “He’s a Yooper and a goalie. Pretty good by my standards.”

Explaining a subtle change to the PairWise

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If you follow the PairWise Rankings, you probably know that it’s based on the publicly published NCAA men’s ice hockey committee’s selection criteria.

That criteria, however, isn’t published until the second half of the season even though the committee goes over any potential changes in the offseason. So even though some of the details may emerge before then, it’s never really set in stone until we see that list of criteria.

This week, we at USCHO saw this season’s championship handbook posted on the NCAA’s website (you can find it on this page) and it caused us to tweak the coding that makes the PairWise Rankings.

We’ll get to that in a minute, but let’s start a few weeks ago, when we first learned of the change in the selection criteria that included any team with a Ratings Percentage Index of .500 or greater as a team under consideration, as opposed to the previous limit of the top 25 teams in the RPI.

At the same time, we noticed that last year’s championship handbook (PDF available here, external link) was missing some language that had been there in previous seasons.

Up to that point, the comparison of the teams’ record against teams under comparison counted only if both teams had played at least 10 of those games. That apparently changed last season, when no such restriction was in place, according to the handbook.

So at the same time that we changed the PairWise to include all teams with an RPI of .500 or better, we also removed the 10 games limitation.

Fast-forward to this week, when this season’s handbook appeared. Well, the 10-games language is back:

Results versus teams under consideration (“teams under consideration” defined as those teams with an RPI of .500 or better). This category is used only if the two teams being compared have played a minimum of ten games versus “teams under consideration.”

So we put the 10-game minimum back in our PairWise Rankings, and that should be the end of the tweaking. Let’s hope.

It’s tough to say what the changes will mean because, in reality, the selection system matters only after every regular season and conference postseason game is in the database. By then, many of the teams involved will have played the requisite 10 games.

But with the expansion of the pool of teams under consideration, it wouldn’t be a stretch to have a few comparisons impacted by that change.

Enough to alter which 11 teams earn at-large bids to the tournament? You never know.

15 notes in the face of impending doom

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As I await the Snows of Doom ™ here in Flint, Mich., a few things – some random, some not so – pop out at me from this past weekend’s CCHA action.
Worthy efforts in losing games

  • Spartan Drew Palmisano’s 27-save performance in a 2-1 loss to Ferris State Thursday night.
  • Wolverine Shawn Hunwick’s 28-save performance in a 2-1 loss to Michigan State Saturday night.
  • Buckeye Cal Heeter’s 29-save performance in a 1-0 OT loss to Alaska Friday night.
  • Wildcat Jared Coreau’s 44-save performance in a 6-1 loss to Western Michigan Saturday.
  • Wildcat Tyler Gron’s three assists as NMU was swept by Western and outscored 11-3.

Streaks

  • Western Michigan’s 11-game unbeaten streak (7-0-4) is the longest in the country.
  • Miami’s Andy Miele (15-34-49) extended his point streak to five games with five points in two ties against Notre Dame. Miele, a senior, leads the nation in points per game and is this week’s CCHA Offensive Player of the Week.
  • Michigan State’s Joey Shean had the game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Michigan Saturday night, snapping a scoreless streak of 21 games – spanning nearly two years. The senior sat out the entire 2009-10 season as a healthy scratch and last scored Feb. 14, 2009. “It’s about time,” said Shean after the game. “I’m glad it came at the Joe and against Michigan. It was quite an experience.”
  • Bowling Green’s five-game losing streak came to an end when the Falcons beat the Lakers, 2-1, Saturday night for their third league win of the season.
  • Notre Dame’s 23.5-year streak of an absence of consecutive ties against a single opponent came to an end with 5-5 and 2-2 games against Miami. The last time the Irish accomplished such a feat was in Nov. 1987 against Kent State.

    • Randomness

  • Alaska goaltender Scott Greenham, a junior, set a program record for shutouts (eight) when the Nanooks blanked the Buckeyes, 1-0, in overtime Friday. Greenham is this week’s CCHA Goaltender of the Week, and he has the best GAA (1.98) and save percentage (.927) in overall play among CCHA goaltenders – and he’s the only league netminder to be counted among the top 10 nationally in each category. This is the first week of the season that Greenham has earned GOTW honors.
  • MSU goaltender Will Yanakeff, a freshman, has faced and stopped two penalty shots this season. The first came 22 seconds into the first start of his career, Nov. 20, 2010, when he stopped Ben Ryan in a 4-2 loss to Notre Dame. With five minutes, 10 seconds to go in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Michigan, Yanakeff stopped Kevin Lynch.
  • With 110 goals in 30 games, Notre Dame has more markers than any other team in the country, and freshman T.J. Tynan (18-21-39) is a big reason for that. He leads all freshman in points, nationally.
  • The winners outscored the losers 26-9 in the contests played on the weekend, 28-10 if you count Thursday’s 2-1 FSU win over MSU. In the eight contests played between Thursday and Saturday that did not result in a tie, the losing scores averaged to 1.25 goals per game.
  • An idea advocated by former Miami captain and current Edmonton Oiler, Ryan Jones, via Twitter. Jones tweeted, “Someone needs to do this in Edmonton and every other city in the world. How awesome is this?” httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RGJ-f0zN_c

Fit to be tied

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Another Saturday, another set of ties in Atlantic Hockey. Five of the 12 games in the AHA this weekend went to overtime, with four ending in draws. Some miscellaneous factoids on all the sister-kissing:

  • RIT played to four ties in January, a team record. The Tigers have six ties overall, equaling a team record set in 2007-08. RIT posted 3-3 ties the last three Saturdays of the month.
  • Canisius has already played 11 overtime games, most in the nation. The Golden Griffins are 2-3-6 in those games.
  • One out of every six AHA games this year has ended in a draw (19 of 115 or 16.5%). Hockey East has seen the most ties as a percentage of its games (15 of 89 or 16.9%). In contrast, the ECAC has only 6 ties in 84 league games (7.9%). And, since I went through the trouble of doing the math: the CCHA tie/game ratio came in at 15.7% and the WCHA at 9.8%.

(not so) Bold Predictions

The league will soon release its Players of the Month for January, but it will be old news by the next Tuesday, when I typically report on such things.

So I’m going out on a limb and predicting the winners. If it were up to me:

Player of the Month for January: Bryan Haczyk, Niagara – The senior had a ridiculous 12 goals in January, and added three assists to boot. That’s a very good season for most players.
Runners-up: Tyler Brenner (RIT), Jacques Lamoureux (Air Force), Paul Zanette (Niagara)

Goalie of the Month for January: Shane Madolora, RIT – Madolora was 3-0-4 (there are those ties again), posting a .948 save percentage and a 1.86 GAA.
Runners-up: Ryan Leets (Army), Ryan Zapolski (Mercyhurst)

Rookie of the Month for January: Taylor Holstrom, Mercyhurst – The freshman had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) last month.
Runners up: Billy Latta (Connecticut), Ben Lynch (RIT), Jason Torf (Air Force)

And, as usual, my pick for:

USCHO.com AHA Player of the Week:

Jacques Lamoureux, Air Force – The senior and former Hobey Baker finalist had a pair of goals in each game last weekend to help the Falcons take three points at home against Canisius. Lamoureux is heating up at the right time with 17 points in his last 11 games.

Honorables:

Adam Roy, Holy Cross – Roy stopped 46 of 48 shots last weekend to lead the Crusaders to a win and a tie against Connecticut. He’s currently second all-time on the career saves list at Holy Cross with 1,666.

Branden Komm, Bentley – The rookie made 54 saves and allowed just three goals as the Falcons took three points from Army.

Ben Meisner, AIC – The sophomore made 70 saves last weekend to help the Yellow Jackets to their second conference sweep of the season, this time against Sacred Heart.

Paul Chaisson, Mercyhurst – Chaisson had two goals, including one to tie the game with a minute to play at RIT.

Getting My Vote

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

Fighting for those final playoff berths

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A week ago, Jim surveyed the NCAA tournament chances of Hockey East’s top teams.  This time let’s look at those schools with the more modest immediate goal of just making the league playoffs. 

Who’s going to make it and who isn’t?

The top six spots are pretty much locked up, albeit with the order still very much in doubt.  New Hampshire, Boston College, Boston University, Merrimack, Maine, and Northeastern look to be in.

You might quibble over Northeastern since all of the remaining teams except Massachusetts-Lowell hold two games in hand over the Huskies.  That’s a valid point.  However, a look at the standings  shows Northeastern with 19 points and a .500 league record (7-7-5).  The Huskies would need to fall past at least three teams down to where Vermont now stands at 3-11-3.

Northeastern hasn’t mathematically clinched a playoff berth but it’s inconceivable that they won’t get one.  (Fans of the William Goldman book or movie The Princess Bride can substitute another word for inconceivable.)

Which leaves Massachusetts (14 points),  Providence (10), Vermont (9), and Lowell (6) with the River Hawks in particularly bad shape not only because of their present standing but also because they give up two games in hand to the other three.

UMass is in the best shape and in the worst shape.  The Minutemen have earned 14 points but have the league’s toughest remaining schedule.  Nine of its remaining 10 games are against nationally ranked foes. 

Their cushion should hold up, but it could get tight over the final two weekends unless they have some success against the league’s iron. They’ve already tied BU and UNH and are 3-2-1 over their last six games so that could happen, but it’s a tough row to hoe.  Either way, that Feb. 12 contest against Providence could hold the key to some extra breathing room.

My pick: UMass makes it, which leaves one spot for three teams.

It gets a lot tighter in Providence’s position.  The Friars are only a single point ahead of Vermont in the race for the final playoff berth and they don’t have a league win since Nov. 5.  They do, however, have the most remaining games (five) against unranked opponents among the contenders for that berth. The Friars play twice at Vermont, once at UMass, and have a home-and-home with Lowell.

Neck-and-neck behind them is Vermont, which has a slightly tougher schedule. The Catamounts play six games against nationally ranked teams along with two against the Friars and another two against the River Hawks.

Lowell’s giving away the two games in hand amounts to a serious nail in its coffin.  The River Hawks will need to pull a major league Bela Lugosi in the final two weekends against Providence and Vermont to escape the cellar, much less reach eighth place.

My pick: Lowell finishes last.  That’s the easy part even though I do like the River Hawks and wish them well.

The final playoff berth could be decided this weekend when Providence travels to Vermont for two.  A sweep for either team would be huge; even three points would act more like four because the two teams tied earlier this year.  As a result, the winner this weekend gets the tiebreaker.

I’m picking the Catamounts.  They’ve played more than a few stinkers (a 6-0 loss to UMass two weeks ago and a 7-1 thumping at the hands of Merrimack last weekend), they trail Providence by a point and have the tougher schedule.  Even so, when they’ve played well they’ve looked pretty good.  So they’re my pick.

UMass seventh.  Vermont eight.

I reserve the right to change my opinion next week.

* * *

In a recent column I gave a link to my fiction website, not realizing that the formatting I used prepended uscho.com to my link.  As a result, it didn’t work.  If you’d like to follow the progress of my novel Cracking the Ice to its publication in May or check in on my other fiction, click here and bookmark it.

I also comment herewith often snarky comments about Boston-area sports other than college hockey.

Of course, there’s only one place you’ll read my thoughts on college hockey and that USCHO.com.

UNO: 103 shots and five goals to show for it

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Box scores typically indicate which team controls the game. Other times, it leaves you puzzled. 
 
Those who saw the Nebraska-Omaha/Alabama-Huntsville shots-on-goal total from Saturday night, probably wondered how in the world the Mavericks were held to a single goal on 59 shots in a 2-1 overtime loss to one of the nation’s weakest teams.
The Mavericks are the only team in Division I to finish a game with 59 shots on goal or more this season. UNO finished with 60 shots in the season opener against Clarkson.
  
UNO finished Saturday night’s first period with 12 shots and the second period with 25 more on goal without a goal to show for it. 
 
“It was frustrating but we were focusing on the positives,” said senior captain Joey Martin, “We were getting shots, we were getting chances. We thought if we’d keep getting chances, we’d get a goal and that was our mentality going into the third period.”
 
With 1:10 left in the second period, UAH’s Mac Roy went off for slashing. The penalty carried over to the third period and Justin Csester got the puck for UAH deep in the defensive zone when the penalty was about to expire.
 
Csester found Roy on a long pass that led to a breakaway goal to give the Chargers their third lead in eight games against WCHA opponents this season.
 
Sebastian Geoffrion, Blake’s younger brother, scored the game-winner in overtime on a rebound and a put-back to give UAH its first win of the season and fourth overall. UNO outshot UAH 59-19 Saturday and 44-20 in a 4-0 win the night before.
 
“It was a game where we had a lot of opportunities and their goalie stole the show,” Martin said. “We had a lot of chances in close and he made big saves all night.”
 
“That’s the way hockey goes. We got a boatload of opportunities especially on the power play and we didn’t get any goals. They capitalized on a couple of bounces.”
 
The Mavericks are ranked 16th in the PairWise Rankings after the loss to UAH which means UNO would likely be left out of the NCAA Tournament if the selection process took place today.
 
(The Atlantic Hockey champion’s automatic bid would knock the No. 16 team out of the playoffs since the AHA champ will likely finish outside the PWR’s Top 16.)
 
UNO has a lot of work to do to make sure it’s within the playoff picture one month from now. After a home series with St. Cloud State, the Mavericks host No. 7 Wisconsin, travel to Alaska-Anchorage where the Seawolves are a difficult team to beat.
 
UNO concludes the regular season with a home series against No. 2 Denver and a trip to No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth.
 
“We can still accomplish great things this year,” Martin said. “The good thing is we have a lot of big games this year against some great teams. If we play hockey like we can, we’ll be successful and gain some ground.” 
 
There were probably only a handful of people who thought a UAH win in Omaha was a possibility, but the WCHA as whole has become almost completely unpredictable.
 
UNO, riding the high of scoring eight goals Jan. 21 at North Dakota, loses a game it dominated against UAH. UND’s inability to find a rhythm after the break. SCSU and Minnesota State winning holiday tournaments they finished the first half near the bottom of the standings. Colorado College scoring 10 goals in two games against Michigan State and Michigan and then scored just two in a pair of losses at UAA.
 
It’s all because of parity’s presence in the WCHA. The league is so competitive from top to bottom that any team can beat any other team on any given night.
 
That is, except for Michigan Tech. The Huskies haven’t won since they took three points against Minnesota State, Oct. 15-16 and the overall winless streak has reached 21 (Tech tied St. Lawrence Jan. 14). 
 
With two losses to Wisconsin last weekend, the Huskies’ losing streak in WCHA games sits at 16 which puts them two games away from history for the wrong reason. A sweep at the hands of UAA this weekend would tie the WCHA record for most consecutive losses.
CC set the record at 18 games in 1961-62. 
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