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Tuesday Morning Quarterback: March 25

March 25, 2008

Scott: Well, Jim, the games are done and the brackets are out, and the good news for us at USCHO.com is that for the zillionth year in a row we got the field of 16 right on the money. The bad news, of course, is that for the zillionth straight year we got the brackets wrong. I know I never would have seen it coming that the selection committee would put three WCHA teams at the Midwest Regional, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles when there are six teams to place and only four regionals. It seems that the committee went after attendance and travel issues more than usual this year, as witnessed by Clarkson and Niagara ending up in Albany and the WCHA-laden Madison regional. The biggest news, though it was no surprise to PairWise watchers, was probably sub-.500 Wisconsin making the field. I’ve already heard the conspiracy theories there, especially since the Badgers are hosting the Midwest Regional, but it was just the numbers, as always, that put Wisconsin in and Minnesota State out. Other than that, I don’t see many controversies, though Hockey East getting just two teams is going to turn some heads — kind of a reversal of fortune from last year, when HEA got five and the WCHA three. Your take?

Kevin Regan and New Hampshire drew what World Cup soccer fans would call the “Group of Death” in the West Regional at Colorado Springs, Colo. (photo: Melissa Wade)

Jim: I think you’re spot-on with your analysis. Another thing that factored in seemed to be the committee desire to reward the top two seeds — Michigan and Miami — and place them in regions where the thought of playing a lower seed on enemy ice wouldn’t factor into play. It also seemed that the committee didn’t feel there was any substantive difference between the two mid-major participants — Air Force and Niagara — and thus were okay with swapping the two to allow Niagara to stay closer to home. As for Wisconsin getting in, I personally hate it. I think a team should have a .500 or better record to make the tournament field, particularly when you have a couple of 20-win teams sitting out. The one thing I will mention regarding Bucky is that maybe, just maybe, karma played in their favor. We all remember Magness-Gate and the loss that many fans felt would’ve been a tie had the referee not screwed up the video replay. That would’ve made the Badgers a .500 team. I know, that’s a stretch but… Anyway, what regions do you think will be the toughest, Scott? Is Colorado Springs the death region?

Scott: I think it is. In New Hampshire and Colorado College, you’ve got two of the five teams that were in the running for No. 1 seeds right to the end, both of them regular-season champions. And that’s not to mention CC hosting, which makes the Tigers co-favorites with the Wildcats. Having the defending national champion as the third seed is no picnic for CC in the first round, and UNH got a tough draw against Notre Dame, a team which can beat just about anyone if it’s on that day. The Fighting Irish are probably glad just to be in the field given Saturday’s drama, and CC head coach Scott Owens was clear on Saturday that he was glad to be going home to play, but the Wildcats and Spartans are surely gritting their teeth over the assignments they’ve got to handle. Elsewhere, I’m anxious to see how new-and-improved Princeton performs against North Dakota in Madison, and Boston College-Minnesota in Worcester should be a fascinating matchup as well. Who’s got your attention?

Jim: No disrespect to Princeton, but drawing North Dakota is pretty much like saying, “It was nice to have you. Get home safe now and have a good day.” Princeton isn’t getting past the Sioux. I agree that the Minnesota-BC game will be a heck of a battle. These two teams like overtime as we’ve learned through the playoffs as well, so I’m thinking that game should be good for about six OTs. The other game in that region — Miami against Air Force — is also interesting. AFA head coach Frank Serratore told a story today of the two clubs playing about five years ago where Miami won, 12-1. The following year, the two teams met in a consolation game. Serratore said he absolutely dreaded playing the RedHawks that game. His Falcons walked away with a 2-0 win. Air Force proved last year that it can hang with any team, so I think the RedHawks will have their hands full. Heck, a year ago, Miami walked into New Hampshire as a massive underdog against the Wildcats only to walk out with a victory. Enough about the matchups, though, who do you see emerging from each region?

Scott: Well, I think the East Regional should be the easiest to predict, with Michigan playing so well and each of the other teams suffering some shortcoming which should put the Wolverines into the Frozen Four. The Midwest has the WCHA festival, and despite Denver’s Final Five win I like Jean-Philippe Lamoureux to turn in on in net and North Dakota to step up on the biggest stage. The Northeast is interesting since Boston College will have pseudo-home advantage, which I think might give the Eagles the edge on a very good Miami team, so I’ll take BC there. The same goes for the West Regional, where Colorado College is going to be steaming mad after last weekend and the crowds will be overwhelmingly pro-Tiger. So CC gets my nod over New Hampshire. You?

Jim: Wow, thanks for making me sound so boring, as I actually agree with you on all of those. Here are some potential exceptions, though. I do worry that Minnesota is a force to be reckoned with. You see them a heck of a lot more than anyone else in the country, so your choice not to even mention the Gophers and pit BC versus Miami says something. And in all honesty, in the bracket of death in Colorado Springs, I think that just about anyone could emerge at the top. One other caveat — I think Denver is a heck of a team that’s got to raise some eyebrows in Wisconsin. The club just won arguably the toughest Final Five in history. I can’t just discount them either. All that said, I see BC, North Dakota, Colorado College and Michigan playing for the title in Denver.

Scott: Four-for-four agreement? As the late sportscaster Mel Allen might have said, “How about that!” You raise good points, of course, so before I start getting hate mail from Minnesota fans, let me delve a little more deeply into the Northeast Regional. Minnesota has done an incredible job of rallying after a near-disastrous run early in the second half, but the Gophers’ offense continues to be an issue. Minnesota scored six goals in three games last weekend and rode freshman netminder Alex Kangas into the finals, so much so that Kangas was the Final Five Most Valuable Player on a losing team. Expecting that to continue — even with a remarkably steady rookie like Kangas — is too much to ask when the games are in Worcester. I say that knowing that BC’s John Muse is a freshman, too, but the Eagles are fourth in the nation in offense, and that could be the difference in the first round. It was a tough call, and I don’t mean to paper over the Gophers’ accomplishments, but I do see the regional final as BC-Miami. Same goes for Denver: no one would be surprised to see the Pioneers win the Midwest Regional, but I have to lean toward UND when it’s all said and done. Wrapping up, care to handicap the Hobey Baker Hat Trick of three finalists? Notwithstanding the amusing fiasco at Vote for Hobey that you talked about on your blog, I’ll go with the obvious Kevin Porter and Nathan Gerbe picks, and then hem and haw a bit before putting Kevin Regan in there too.

Jim: Yes, the Hobey folks have quite a debacle on their hands. I do know that the fan vote is such a minor piece of the overall vote, but you’d think there would be much better security to at least make it seem legitimate. As for the Hobey Hat Trick: Obviously Kevin Porter from Michigan will be there. He’s likely the most deserving on the ballot. I actually don’t see Gerbe getting into the top three. He’s a heck of a player, but he had some problems earlier in the year where he was suspended for spearing a player once the tape was sent to the league office. At the time, commissioner Joe Bertagna said that wasn’t the first time this had happened. Now let me just say that I’m a big Nathan Gerbe fan and really like the kid, but I do fear his early-season on-ice discipline issue might cost him. I like Regan in the top three, though I don’t see him having a chance at winning, as he’s no Ryan Miller (and that’s the bar against which every goalie is compared in the Hobey process). As for a third, though I’d love to see Jeff Lerg get in (to me, there’s never been a goalie that carried his team to the top as much as Lerg last year), my gut is that Miami’s Ryan Jones will get the third spot. All will be interesting to see shake out. One weekend of regional play left, Brownie, and then the Frozen Four. I can’t wait!

Michigan Unanimous No. 1 In Final USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

USCHO Staff Report

March 25, 2008

Over the weekend, Michigan locked up the Mason Cup to go with its CCHA regular-season championship, and on Monday the Wolverines again nailed down the No. 1 spot in the nation in the final USCHO.com/CSTV Division I men’s poll, this time unanimously.

Michigan beat Northern Michigan and then Miami en route to its tourney crown, but the RedHawks still finished up a spot in second place in this week’s balloting. Miami topped Notre Dame in the CCHA semis before falling Saturday to the Wolverines.

No. 3 this week was North Dakota, up a spot despite a split at the WCHA Final Five. The Fighting Sioux rebounded Saturday with a win over Colorado College in the third-place game one day after losing to No. 4 Denver in the semifinals. The Pioneers went on to beat Minnesota in the championship and moved up tow places in the rankings. New Hampshire, which lost to eventual champion Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals, stayed in place at No. 5 this week.

Down four places after losses to Minnesota and North Dakota was Colorado College at No. 6, while Boston College moved up to seventh with its Hockey East championship, beating Vermont in the title game. The Eagles switched positions with St. Cloud State, which lost to Minnesota in the WCHA play-in game.

Michigan State was idle last weekend and remained in ninth place, followed by Minnesota, which moved up two spots to No. 10.

Clarkson opened the second half of the rankings at No. 11. The Golden Knights, like the Spartans, sat out the championship round last weekend. Notre Dame, which lost to Northern Michigan in the CCHA third-place game, came in at No. 12.

ECAC Hockey champion Princeton rose two places to No. 13 after beating Colgate and Harvard, with Minnesota State, which missed the championship round in the WCHA, in 14th. Boston University, which was taken down by Vermont in the HEA semis, was down to No. 15.

Harvard stayed in 16th after beating Cornell but losing to Princeton, and Wisconsin, which waited out the weekend in the WCHA, was again No. 17 and Vermont came in 18th.

CHA champion Niagara, which completed its pre-NCAA tournament play a week ago, was No. 19, and Atlantic Hockey champion Air Force, which beat RIT and Mercyhurst en route to the title, rounded out the poll at No. 20.

Dropping out was Cornell.

Vote for Hobey… 200,000 times

March 25, 2008

I’m told that the T in RIT stands for technology, which is quite apparent if you look at this year’s fan balloting site for the Hobey Baker award.

Those enterprising RIT fans were able to figure out an automated way to stuff the ballot box at http://www.hobeybaker.com/voting. As of this morning, RIT’s Simon Lambert has 262,000-plus votes compared to say the 3,994 vote that current favorite Kevin Porter from Michigan has received.

And RIT isn’t the only technologically-saavy fan base. Miami’s Ryan Jones has received a solid 203,500 votes and counting as of this morning.

I’m told by those in the know (of computers and technology, that is) that the Hobey Baker voiting site is so basic that writing a computer script to stuff the box likely took about five minutes.

Thankfully this fan ballot aacount for only 1% of the overall vote (or as the site says, “the fans’ vote accounts for a full 1% of the total ballot in each phase in selecting this year’s award recipient.

Let’s just hope that the 99% of the balloting that is comprised of human voting isn’t replaced by cyborgs in the near future.

UPDATE: As of 3:00 PM ET on Tuesday, the Vote for Hobey site now requires the voter to type in one of those words that is hidden behind the squigly lines as a ‘security measure.’ There’s no mention anywhere on the site that it was hi-jacked, though, or the fact that Jones and Lambert got a 200,000+ vote lead over the rest of the field thanks to the tech-saavy fans at each school.

UPDATE #2: As of 10:00 AM ET on Wednesday, vote totals appear to be reset with the new ‘security’ system in place. North Dakota’s Jean-Philippe Lamoureaux and RIT’s Simon Lambert have jumped out to quick leads, which makes me think that possibly only French-Canadians have figured out how to crack this new system. :)

16 teams… one champion

By Jim Connelly

March 24, 2008

The field is now set for the NCAA Tournament and there’s plenty of debate that is taking place about how the committee went about seeding things.

Once again, the USCHO.com PairWise Rankings correctly predicted the tournament field. But this year, even the PairWise itself sparked some controvery. Wisconsin’s selection to the tournament, despite being a below-.500 team had a lot of college hockey fans scratching their heads.

Surely it’s hard to justify why a team that can’t even post a .500 record deserves an at-large bid. I’m certainly hoping that in the off-season the NCAA tournament selection committee reviews bringing back the rule that says in order to be a team under consideration, a club my possess a .500 record or better come season’s end. This was the case for a long time and only eliminated around 2000 when teams in the then-MAAC conference had plus-.500 records and nearly met all of the criteria to become an at-large team. At that point, the rule was changed to say that a club must have an RPI above .500 to be a team under consideration (it’s further been tweaked to say that only the teams with the top 25 RPIs will be teams under consideration).

There’s no reason that RPI needs to be eliminated from developing the list of TUCs. My thought would simply be to add an above-.500 record as one of the requirements to make the field as an at-large team.

While they’re at it, I’d also like to see the committee revisit another criteria it eliminated in recent years: records in the final 16 games. It was a shame to see clubs like Boston University, Vermont and Harvard all make incredible late season runs and not make the NCAA field. Some will argue that every game should hold equal importance, making the opening games of the season matter just as much as the league title game. That’s a valid point, but my one response to that is simply that the overall college schedule, then, should change. It’s very difficult for a coach to step on the ice for practice number one on Monday and then be expected to have his team in game-ready shape by Friday. BU’s Jack Parker admitted that he treated his first two games of the year (against Robert Morris and Alaska) as exhibition games this season, and who could blame him as his team had had a handful of practices before having to travel to Alaska to open the season.

All of this said, based on all the criteria in place, the committee did its job in not just picking the 16-team field but also seeding the clubs. At the end of the day, there were certainly some complaints, but I liked the committees overall rationale.

With the six teams from the WCHA in the field, and most of them seeded either second or third, avoiding a first-round matchup became impossible. It was fortunate that this occured only once (Denver vs. Wisconsin).

As for the locations of where each team ended up, I liked the committee’s rationale. With two host schools in the tournament, the committees hands were locked with Colorado College and Wisconsin. Thus, it seems the committee chose to take the top two seeds – Michigan and Miami – and send both teams east to avoid ever having to play a team on home ice. I don’t think that this necessarily gives Michigan and Miami an advantage (though Michigan may possibly have the easiest path to the Frozen Four) but at least they’re not “rewarded” with having to play a “road” game as the top seed in the regional final.

This year’s region of death appears to the Colorado Springs. Defending national champion Michigan State will have a tough time repeating having to face host Colorado College in the opening round. And New Hampshire doesn’t have a cake walk in its first game against Notre Dame. Whichever team can survive this region, though, may just win the national title.

I thought if any one team kind of got screwed it was Denver. The Pioneers won their conference tournament on Saturday but now must beat Wisconsin at Bucky’s home. If they do survive this game, I like their chances of playing for the national title in their own backyards. What an atmosphere that would make.

All in all, I like the job the committee did in placing these teams. Now the question lies which teams will survive to make it to Denver. I’ll be back with those thoughts later this week.

Past And Present

By Scott Brown

March 23, 2008

The Denver Pioneers aren’t exactly a senior-laden team. Only four dot the roster, with three of those seeing regular playing time. But when it matters — as it did on Saturday in the WCHA championship game — DU can count on its veterans to make the difference.

Peter Mannino starred in net for the Pioneers once again Saturday, allowing just one Minnesota goal on 34 shots, while Tom May scored the winning goal in the second period, and captain Andrew Thomas soaked up plenty of ice time while providing his usual leadership from the blue line.

In one sense, the WCHA title game didn’t change much, since Denver was already locked into a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament even before the weekend began.

In another, however, it was critical indeed. Denver hadn’t been to the WCHA Final Five since its 2005 national-title run, and the Broadmoor Trophy was a welcome addition to the Pioneers’ trophy case.

Said Thomas, “We’ve had a lot of preparation and a couple of tough years, so we’re glad to be back.”

At Denver, a school with seven NCAA hockey championships, history and tradition are never far away. That fact was in evidence this weekend as May, for one, referenced past Denver leaders like Hobey Baker winner Matt Carle and Adrian Veideman in his postgame comments.

“We’ve just tried to continue with what they’ve built,” he said.

Mannino agreed, but also established this Pioneer team’s unique identity.

“We just try to do our own thing in our own way and lead the team like we did today,” he acknowledged.

For each of the seniors on this year’s squad, 2005 looms large in their experience. That year, the Pioneers won their second straight NCAA title, and did so in dominating fashion, taking the MacNaughton Cup and the Broadmoor Trophy before going on to claim the national championship in the year of the all-WCHA Frozen Four.

Though that memory burns bright, the lean years in between have left their mark.

“It’s just different,” said Mannino. “You come in as a freshman and you don’t know what to expect.”

This year’s squad, of course, had a rockier road to the WCHA tournament championship. Unlike 2005, they didn’t win the regular season, and went into the Final Five as the third seed. But recent results indicate that the Pioneers are peaking at the right time.

“Hopefully we’re hitting our stride now,” said Thomas.

If they are, it was on the grandest stage the WCHA has to offer. Once again, packed houses greeted the teams at the Xcel Energy Center, and the atmosphere was electric, as usual.

“Who wouldn’t want to play in an event like this?” asked Denver head coach George Gwozdecky in rhetorical fashion. “It’s one of the events in every student-athlete’s career that he’ll remember for a lifetime.

“The stage doesn’t get much bigger than playing at the Xcel Center in the WCHA tournament.”

Now, though, with the WCHA playoffs behind them, the Pioneers are focused forward, with a nod to the present.

“The regionals are so difficult and so pressure-packed,” said Gwozdecky, “and I’m just glad we’ve got good old Peter Mannino in net to settle us down when we get a little antsy.”

Bracket Analysis

By Jayson Moy

March 23, 2008

Looking at how the actual selections went down, I can’t say that any of it was a surprise.

Once again the PairWise Rankings correctly predicted the group of teams in the NCAA tournament. When it came to geography, though, we tried our best and just wound up putting some teams in the wrong places.

Let’s examine it and see what happened.

Basically, the committee decided where the top seeds went and then it fell into place from there.

The committee looked at the teams and started out by protecting the overall number-one and -two seeds in Michigan and Miami.

So they put Michigan in Albany, the next closest regional to Ann Arbor, and then Miami in Worcester. And then North Dakota went to the next closest regional and then New Hampshire, as the fourth seed, went to the last regional available.

The committee then used bracket integrity to fill out the second band.

Then the committee did what they had to do for bracket integrity and attendance.

Wisconsin had to face Denver, and then Minnesota had to face Boston College. Now it’s a matter of placing Clarkson and Michigan State, two teams tied in the PairWise.

Clarkson would be the better draw in Albany, and so it went there, which left Michigan State in Colorado Springs.

And then the fourth band went via bracket integrity, except that Niagara went to Albany for attendance and travel reasons, a precedent set last year with Air Force.

No real drama or twists there.

Where was my mistake? Basically in the first band. Where would all the number-one seeds go? I started by putting Michigan in Madison, and it went wrong from there.

I don’t think there’s any disputes here. The PairWise correctly predicted the teams in the tournament and my job was to try to predict where they went. I analyzed wrong right at the start, and it went from there.

It’s all said and done.

Let’s sit back and enjoy some games.

Bracket Reax (Re-Updated)

By Jim Connelly, Bob Miller, Matt Mackinder and Scott Brown

March 23, 2008

The field of 16 for the NCAA tournament has been announced, and although the pairings will — as they always do — provoke some consternation, the important thing is to make it.

“The anticipation of the national tournament, the opponent, the site you’re going to play, it’s a special day,” said Boston College head coach Jerry York, whose Eagles start by taking on Minnesota in the Northeast Regional.

“You have to earn it to get here. It’s something we strive for but it’s never assured. I think there was a stretch there in February and into March where we lost four consecutive home games. That really was a difficult time for our team.

“We just kind of persevered. We just came to practice every day with a workmanlike attitude because our seasons are never smooth and easy all the way through. The difficulties we experienced there maybe made us a better club down the stretch.”

New Hampshire, Hockey East’s regular-season champion, was sent to Colorado to potentially face No. 2 seed Colorado College in the regional final. For York, though, there are pluses for UNH.

“What’s going to be good for Dick [Umile]’s team is it’s an Olympic-sized arena [similar to the Whittemore Center]. They’ve been so successful at home, so that should help them. Once you get in the NCAA field, whether you travel 1,000 miles or 50 miles, you still have to bring your ‘A’ game to advance.

“Dick and I talked earlier this morning. It’s our goal to get two Hockey East teams into Denver. We have to work through some tough opponents but we want to carry our league banner.”

Of BC’s first-round opponent, Minnesota, York had nothing but compliments.

We’ve been in two tournaments with them — in the Ice Breaker and we didn’t play them because we lost to Michigan, and the [Dodge Holiday] tournament we didn’t meet either. But we’ve watched them on tape an awful lot. We have a real good feeling of how they play. They kind of mirror us. They really skate well. They make plays.

“We each have freshman goaltenders who have played well down the stretch. It’s a traditional opponent, like I call them, ‘Original Six’ opponents. There’s a lot of tradition in both programs and we’ve both been perennial national contenders for a long stretch of time.”

The selection of Wisconsin to the tournament was predicted by the PairWise Rankings, but the Badgers’ sub-.500 record was a new one.

“It’s never happened in my recollection,” said York. “They must’ve beat some really good teams.”

The Michigan Wolverines, the top seed in the East Regional at Albany, like their situation, but recognize the importance of continuing to perform.

“This is the part of the year you’re going to be judged by, not what you’ve done up until now,” said head coach Red Berenson. “I think they [the players] are enjoying the accomplishment at this point, and now we have to refocus on how we have to play the rest of the way, because our next game could be our last game.”

Said captain and Hobey Baker finalist Kevin Porter, “We’re where we wanted to be. Those were the teams we wanted to play. Everyone’s going to be good in the tournament, but I think we’re in a great bracket.

“To play Niagara in our first game is great, especially having to play North Dakota the last two years. I mean, they’re going to be a good team, but it’s nice not having to play North Dakota in the first game.”

“We just have a good team attitude this year. We’re more excited than I think we’ve been in the past,” added assistant captain Mark Mitera. “We’re getting up for these big games.

“I think the youth on the team is huge — those guys are excited every day. I don’t think they even realize how important the games are. They just go out and play. It’s great. I think we do less thinking and more playing, which is good.”

CHA champion Niagara drew a tough first-round opponent in Michigan, a fact of which head coach Dave Burkholder was well aware.

“Michigan obviously has so much more history with nine national championships,” said Burkholder. “I feel we have a legitimate shot of knocking them off. They are a very special team, being ranked at No. 1 for more weeks than any other team, and with 12 NHL picks. This is the time we look back on our history and our school spirit to prepare.”

Defending national champion Michigan State is also in the field, though with a tough regional assignment. The Spartans will face Colorado College, the West Regional host, on the Tigers’ home ice in the first round.

“CC’s a good team and well-coached, and I’ve never seen the building, but I would be excited no matter where we were going,” said MSU head coach Rick Comley on the ESPN2 selection show.

The Spartans, of course, know what it is to come out on top as an underdog after last season’s title-winning run.

“You can’t look too far ahead. Last year we had to beat four very good teams and we weren’t favored in any of those games,” Comley added.

Perhaps the most eye-catching consequence of last weekend’s games was a bid being awarded to Wisconsin, which made the field as a No. 3 seed based on the criteria as summarized in the PairWise Rankings. Although some disagreed with the selection, the data were the data.

“First of all, the PairWise is a formula,” said Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves. “The objectivity of it is out; there’s a formula, and we were ranked 12th. That’s tough to argue against.”

Of course, the bid is especially rewarding for UW given last year’s less-cheery outcome.

“Last year, we knew that we were one victory away probably, and we didn’t get that done,” said Eaves. “And this year, we get it done based on things that happened outside of our control, which was good fortune for us.”

The Badgers not only made the tournament, but they get to play on home ice at the Kohl Center this weekend.

“This is our home,” said Eaves. “It’s nice to have that seventh man on the ice with us, the crowd. We know the environment. Those are all positives — we have to take advantage of those positives.”

Hat’s Off

By Chris Lerch

March 23, 2008

To St. Norbert, which finally broke through after so many close calls. Just a dominating defensive performance by the Green Knights, who never lost their poise.

What can you say about Kyle Jones? Never before has a goalie not been scored on in a D-III Frozen Four. St. Norbert allowed just 43 goals this season in 32 games. Simply amazing.

They didn’t pick an all-tournament team, but here’s mine, with apologies because I have four forwards. I just couldn’t make up my mind:

G – Kyle Jones, St. Norbert

D – Jason, Nopper, St. Norbert

D – Nick Rolls, Plattsburgh

F – Scott Pulak, St. Norbert

F – Marc Belanger, St. Norbert

F – Steven Sleep – St. Norbert

F – Dylan Clarke – Plattsburgh

SNC – Your New Champions

By Chris Lerch

March 23, 2008

Lots more later. A well-earned victory by Tim Coghlin’s squad. Kyle Jones becomes the first goalie in D-III Frozen Four history to allow zero goals, posting his 24th and 25 career shutouts.

Time Ticking Away

By Chris Lerch

March 23, 2008

…on Plattsburgh. We’re midway through the third period and the Cards are having trouble getting to the net. St. Norbert is 25-0-3 this season when leading after two periods. Of course, when you only lose one game all season, ya gotta figure…

Bracketology: Final

By Jayson Moy

March 23, 2008

Let’s get right to it, folks.

Here are the top 16 in the PairWise at the end of play, along with the autobids that were not in the final top 16.

1 Michigan
2 Miami
3 North Dakota
4 New Hampshire
5 Colorado College
6t Boston College
6t Denver
8 St. Cloud State
9t Michigan State
9t Clarkson
11 Minnesota
12 Wisconsin
13t Notre Dame
13t Minnesota State
15 Harvard
16t Princeton
16t Vermont
22t Niagara
— Air Force

Let’s now break the ties.

Boston College wins the comparison over Denver, Michigan State wins the comparison over Clarkson and Notre Dame wins the comparison over Minnesota State.

So, the 16 teams in the tournament are:

1 Michigan
2 Miami
3 North Dakota
4 New Hampshire
5 Colorado College
6 Boston College
7 Denver
8 St. Cloud State
9 Michigan State
10 Clarkson
11 Minnesota
12 Wisconsin
13 Notre Dame
14 Princeton
15 Niagara
16 Air Force

So let’s start our bracketing.

No. 1 Michigan is sent to the Midwest Regional in Madison.
No. 2 Miami is sent to the East Regional in Albany
No. 3 North Dakota is sent to the Northeast Regional in Worcester
No. 4 New Hampshire is sent to the West Regional in Colorado Springs.

Now for the second seeds.

No. 5 Colorado College is sent to the West Regional in Colorado Springs because it is the host.
No. 6 Boston College is sent to the Northeast Regional in Worcester.
No. 7 Denver is sent to the East Regional in Albany.
No. 8 St. Cloud State is sent to the Midwest Regional in Madison.

Now for the third seeds.

No. 12 Wisconsin is sent to the Midwest Regional in Madison because it is the host.
No. 9 Michigan State is sent to No. 7 Denver’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 10 Clarkson is sent to No. 6 Boston College’s Regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 11 Minnesota is sent to No. 5 Colorado College’s Regional, the West Regional.

Now for the fourth seeds.

No. 13 Notre Dame is sent to No. 4 New Hampshire’s Regional, the West Regional.
No. 14 Princeton is sent to No. 3 North Dakota’s Regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 15 Niagara is sent to No. 2 Miami’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 16 Air Force is sent to No. 1 Michigan’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.

So what do we have for our brackets?

West Regional
Notre Dame vs. New Hampshire
Minnesota vs. Colorado College

Midwest Regional
Air Force vs. Michigan
Wisconsin vs. St. Cloud State

Northeast Regional
Princeton vs. North Dakota
Clarkson vs. Boston College

East Regional
Niagara vs. Miami
Michigan State vs. Denver

We now have to avoid intraconference matchups and we have two. Minnesota vs. Colorado College and Wisconsin vs. St. Cloud State.

Well, with three WCHA teams in the second band and two in the third band, there is absolutely no way we are going to avoid a WCHA-WCHA matchup.

Well, let’s start this way. Let’s look at the third band first, since we have perfect bracket integrity in the first two bands.

Wisconsin cannot move because it is a host school. So we have the ability to move Minnesota. The only non-WCHA team in the second band is Boston College. So we move Minnesota to play Boston College.

Now, where to move Clarkson? We can move the Golden Knights to play Colorado College.

But at the same time, we need to drive some attendance in the East Regional, so we could put Clarkson there and move Michigan State to the West Regional.

This seems to make sense to me.

So our brackets are now:

West Regional
Notre Dame vs. New Hampshire
Michigan State vs. Colorado College

Midwest Regional
Air Force vs. Michigan
Wisconsin vs. St. Cloud State

Northeast Regional
Princeton vs. North Dakota
Minnesota vs. Boston College

East Regional
Niagara vs. Miami
Clarkson vs. Denver

Is there anything else we can do? We could possibly switch the Notre Dame-New Hampshire and Princeton-North Dakota matchups to drive some more attendance. But we do have perfect bracket integrity in the top half of the bracket. So why mess with that?

So that’s it; that’s the bracket.

Right?

Hmm …

Let’s revisit something that I wrote about yesterday. Let’s take a look at bubbles.

Now, when we talk about bubbles, we talk about all teams within a range of comparison wins. In this case, we’re talking about the bubble for the last two at-large berths. This bubble is Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Minnesota State.

Wisconsin has 11 comparison wins, while Notre Dame and Minnesota State have 10 comparison wins each.

Let’s examine this bubble, shall we? Let’s look at the head-to-head comparisons among these three teams.

Notre Dame wins the head-to-head comparisons with both Wisconsin and Minnesota State. Minnesota State wins the head-to-head comparison with Wisconsin. Wisconsin wins no head-to-head comparisons with these two teams.

What does this tell me?

If I have two spots for these three teams, I am going to take Notre Dame and Minnesota State because they win head-to-head comparisons.

So I have now changed the 16 teams in the tournament by examining the details of the bubble.

Let’s go through the bracketing with these 16 teams.

1 Michigan
2 Miami
3 North Dakota
4 New Hampshire
5 Colorado College
6 Boston College
7 Denver
8 St. Cloud State
9 Michigan State
10 Clarkson
11 Minnesota
12 Notre Dame
13 Minnesota State
14 Princeton
15 Niagara
16 Air Force

Midwest Regional
16 Air Force vs. 1 Michigan
9 Michigan State vs. 8 St. Cloud State

East Regional
15 Niagara vs. 2 Miami
10 Clarkson vs. 7 Denver

Northeast Regional
14 Princeton vs. 3 North Dakota
11 Minnesota vs. 6 Boston College

West Regional
13 Minnesota State vs. 4 New Hampshire
12 Notre Dame vs. 5 Colorado College

Let’s see if it breaks our intraconference rule. It does not.

How does attendance look? Pretty good.

Wow — this is a perfect bracket.

Yes, I know exactly what you’re asking. How can you do that? The PairWise says that Wisconsin is in. And here you have them out, even though they have one more comparison win than Minnesota State. That’s impossible! You can’t do that! The committee has never done that before.

But, yes, they have.

They have done it in past years by looking at individual comparisons between teams. And pretty much all of the time they have done it, it’s been pretty clear, especially when you’re on the bubble.

But the point here is that they have done it.

However, there’s no way they would take a team into the tournament which has fewer comparison wins over a team with more comparison wins.

They did it with the women’s Division I championship just this past season, putting in Dartmouth ahead of Clarkson. Using the same criteria.

Let’s also not forget one thing. The committee changes every year. The information and numbers provided to the committee is the same, but what they do with it can change from year to year because the committee changes from year to year. We just have no idea what they will do and it is very possible that they will take this approach.

As for me, I would like to say that there are a few reasons why I like this bracket much better than the first one I laid out.

â€¢ It has perfect bracket integrity

â€¢ It has great attendance possibilities

â€¢ You have used the criteria to have 10 at-large teams which have records over .500.

But you know what? What I think should happen, is not what will happen.

So if I have to make a prediction, I will choose the first bracket.

As much as I don’t want to.

After Two

By Chris Lerch

March 23, 2008

St. Norbert leads 2-0 after two periods, with Marc Belanger getting the second SNC goal off a power-play rush with a nice wrist shot that beat Bryan Hince cleanly. The Green Knights weathered a five-minute hitting from behind major to Pete Fylling and will have 1:15 of 5×3 to start the third period. Plattsburgh came from two down yesterday, can the Cardinals do it again?

And the Streak is Over

By Chris Lerch

March 23, 2008

It took 148 minutes and 51 seconds of championship hockey, but the Green Knights finally broke through with a deflection by Ryan Peterson to make it 1-0 SNC. We’re now midway through the contest.

One Period in the Books

By Chris Lerch

March 23, 2008

And we’re still scoreless. Plattsburgh will start the period with 44 seconds of power play to work with. Both goaltenders came up big at times, including a big glove save from Bryan Hince on Marc Belanger with about 2:45 to go in the period.

I Hate TV Timeouts

By Chris Lerch

March 23, 2008

We have one now. No score with 10:25 to play in the first. Plattsburgh had taken the play to the Green Knights early, but St. Norbert got a little momentum back in the last 2-3 minutes. Let’s see how the TV timeout affects that.

Liveblogging Plattsburgh-St. Norbert

By Chris Lerch

March 23, 2008

So it begins. I’m allowed three posts a period, but the game hasn’t started yet so this one doesn’t count ;)

Not as many people here for this one as yesterday. Looks like the Elmira and Norwich fans decided to go home. 95% of the 2,000 or so that are here are cheering for the red and white.

NCAA Division III Championship Notebook

By Russell Jaslow

March 23, 2008

148:51

That is how long it took St. Norbert to finally score a goal in an NCAA Division III championship game.

St. Norbert made their first championship appearance in 2004, and since then, they have been back every other year. The first two times they had to face Middlebury, and the Panthers shut them out both times, 1-0 at 2:58 of overtime and 3-0, respectively.

They finally scored at 5:53 of the second period today, ending their scoreless streak, and they never looked back.

Now, St. Norbert has a long shutout streak in NCAA playoff action, not letting up a goal in 168:06 since the lone score allowed against St. Thomas early in the second period in the quarterfinals. The Green Knights are the first team to go through the semifinal and final without letting up a goal.

St. Norbert has played Plattsburgh just once before, defeating the Cardinals, 4-1, in the 2004 national semifinals to make their first final appearance

Special Significance

For St. Norbert’s coach, Tim Coghlin, winning in the arena named after Herb Brooks was a special moment.

“When you come to an historic place like this and you’re staying in the Olympic Training Center and you think about the athletes who have been there from all sports, it’s very humbling,” Coghlin said. “And to be in this building and this venue and think about what’s happened here before. Herb Brooks was at my golf tournament for several years before his death.

“I have a photograph in my office of the Miracle On Ice team signed, ‘To Tim, Herb Brooks, Go for it’s a little ironic that we’d go for it for it at the Herb Brooks Arena for the first time.”

Batting .500

This is Plattsburgh’s sixth appearance in the Division III championship final, though the first two in 1986 (an 8-5 loss to Bemidji) and 1987 (an 8-3 win over Oswego) were vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

Afterwards, Plattsburgh stayed clean and won the national title in 1992 (7-3 over UW-Stevens Point at home) and 2001 (6-2 over RIT). The Cardinals lost in 1990 to Stevens Point in a two-game series, dropping the first game, 10-1, tying the series with a 6-3 win, then losing the mini-game, 1-0. With today’s loss, Plattsburgh goes .500 in Division III championship games.

Plattsburgh also made it to the Division II finals twice, losing both times in 1981 and 1982 to UMass-Lowell, 5-4 and 6-1, respectively.

No Double, Double

Plattsburgh missed out on a chance to win both the women’s and men’s national championship in the same year. The women did their part last night playing at home, defeating Manhattanville, 3-2, for their second consecutive title.

The only other Division III school to pull off the double championship was Middlebury which did it three times in a row, from 2004-2006. Wisconsin is the only Division I team to manage the feat in 2006.

Attendance Record

The final count for the championship game was 4,770. This barely beat the mark set in Norwich for the 1999 final game which was 4,733 when Middlebury defeated UW-Superior, 5-0. This was better than the attendance at last year’s Women’s Division I championship game at Lake Placid which drew 3,355 fans.

This put the Lake Placid weekend total at 10,395. Having nearby teams, including Plattsburgh that is just an hour away, certainly helped make the home of the “Miracle on Ice” a grand success for Division III hockey.

Appreciation

The Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and SUNY Potsdam put on perhaps the best organized NCAA Division III hockey championship weekend. Everything went off without a hitch. The committee was extremely helpful towards the press providing everything they needed at any time from information, press notes, excellent press box and working room, non-stop food, and constantly asked if there was anything we needed.

Plus they greeted all of our questions with a smile along with the answer. Between periods, they engaged the crowd with T-shirt tosses, and on Saturday they had live music and food in front of the Olympic Center before the games.

And when it comes to a hockey tournament, you can’t beat the location.

We’re Here….

By Chris Lerch

March 23, 2008

…A little early. We got to the building at about 1:00 pm. Nobody here but the USCHO guys and the CSTV crew setting up for today’s broadcast.

There were 5,625 people here yesterday, a great, great crowd. We beat the ECAC’s (4,851) in Albany (as well as Atlantic Hockey’s 3,900 and the CHA’s 1,100), quite an accomplishment.

This should be a great matchup. Plattsburgh was flying on the big ice yesterday, and St. Norbert brought their lunch pails and, of course, Kyle Jones.

One question…when will St. Norbert Score? The Green Knights have been shutout both times they have made the title game, both by Middlebury (2004 and 2008). One was 2:58 into overtime, so the streak is at 122:28. I’m sure Plattsburgh would like that to extend that a bit longer.

I’ll be liveblogging the game, so check back often.

Martin Adds to an Outstanding Tradition

By David De Remer

March 22, 2008

There is one women’s hockey award that year after year goes to the most outstanding player in the clutch. Its honorees have included Olympians, schools’ all-time leader scorers, and all-star goaltenders who have delighted fans one March after another.

Does this description refer to the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award? Actually, this is the Women’s Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player, and its list of winners is just as distinguished as the Kazmaier’s. Some would argue more so.

The latest honoree is Minnesota Duluth sophomore Kim Martin. Her 41-save performance in Friday’s 3-2 win over New Hampshire allowed the Bulldogs to triumph in what Miller called her team’s worst game of the season, while going up against the best team they played all season. Martin had a less dramatic yet solid role in Saturday’s 28-save shutout of Wisconsin.

Martin, a Final Three candidate for the Kazmaier, showed few signs of disappointment when Harvard junior Sarah Vaillancourt took home that honor. The epitome of grace, she was smiling all evening.

“Of course I’d be very honored to win the [Kazmaier] award, but it felt good [not to win] because I was so nervous for the speech,” Martin said. “Then I started to think about this game instead, and I’d rather have a national championship than the award.”

Martin’s teammates took a mature attitude towards the Kazmaier decision.

“I think that she didn’t win, it doesn’t mean anything,” said senior Karine Demeule. “I think she deserved it. But Sarah Vaillancourt did too. In our heart, she got it. She’s our Patty.”

There is a fair amount of wisdom in Demeule’s words. The reality is any award selection process is arbitrary. The selection decision involved choosing Vaillancourt, a forward who totally dominated the ECAC play, and Martin, a goalie who totally dominated WCHA play. There is no fundamental way to decide between the two, especially since there are so few games between the two regions.

The Frozen Four MOP award, however, is one decided on the ice, in the most important games of the season. While its winners are those who shine in two games, never has the award gone to a player who was a one-weekend wonder.

This was the latest season in which the Frozen Four results left some fans wanting a Kazmaier recount, given Martin’s dominance and Vaillancourt’s scoreless night Thursday. However, there is no March in the Kazmaier selection process. It is somewhat ironic that one of the criterion for the Kazmaier Award is “performance in the clutch,” even though voting is decided in February before any postseason tournaments are played, and a week before either the CHA or Hockey East finish their regular seasons.

The idea that a player snubbed in the Kazmaier selection goes on to win the Frozen Four MOP has a history as long as NCAA sponsorship of women’s hockey. In 2001, many thought WCHA’s top per-game scorer Maria Rooth surely deserved a final three selection, if not the award, and she responded with a four-goal, two assist performance in the inaugural Frozen Four. In 2002, Brown senior Kristy Zamora led a remarkable resurgence by the Bears in the second half of the season. She was one of the nation’s top scorers by season’s end, but she did not even make the Final 10 because that cut was decided in January. The 2003 MOP Caroline Ouellette was one of the nation’s top five scorers in each year of her three-year career, but she only made the Kazmaier final three once and never won the award.

During Minnesota’s run of two titles, the 2004 MOP Krissy Wendell was the nation’s leading scorer but did not make the final three that season, though she did win the Kazmaier in 2005. The 2005 MOP Natalie Darwitz set an NCAA scoring record that season but never did better in the Kazmaier process than the final three in 2005.

During Wisconsin’s pair of titles, 2006 MOP Jessie Vetter record as a postseason goalie was unmatched, but she has yet to make the Kaz final 10. The 2007 MOP Sara Bauer won the Kazmaier in 2006, though many felt was worthy of a second straight Kazmaier in 2007.

Bauer and Wendell are the only players to win both a Frozen Four MOP and a Kazmaier, though Botterill was the most outstanding player of the 1999 national championship tournament prior to the NCAA era.

Awards with an exclusive regular season focus are characteristic of all major college and professional sports. But the lack of elite interconference games in women’s hockey prior to March leads to a particularly tough task for the Kazmaier selection committee. Members must choose between players like Martin, Vaillancourt, and Mercyhurst’s Meghan Agosta with wide geographic separation. The purely objective committee member who has seen every one of the Kazmaier 10 Finalists in more than a handful of games during the regular season simply does not exist.

That all said, no award selection process is perfect, and the Kazmaier has served well as an icon for the sport of women’s hockey. That the list of Frozen Four MOP’s complements the list of Kazmaier winners so well only adds to the richness of the sport.

You Can’t Go Home Again

By Russell Jaslow

March 22, 2008

Thomas Wolfe may have been correct in a literal sense. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t go back to the place of one of your greatest moments in life, and have the sights, sounds, and experiences come flooding back in a tidal wave of emotional euphoria.

It has been 10,254 days since I last watched a hockey game in the 1980 Arena, now known as the 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena. That happened to be on February 24, 1980 when I saw the Soviet Union pound Sweden, 9-2, in the last game of the Olympic hockey tournament. Earlier that day, I witnessed USA score three goals in the third period, the last shorthanded, to beat Finland, 4-2, and clinch the gold medal, officially completing the “Miracle on Ice.”

After those final games were the awards ceremony and the famous scene when Mike Eruzione invited the entire team onto the small podium to share in the moment together for one last time. I captured those experiences a few years ago when the movie, Miracle came out.

Team USA congregates on the top step of the podium at the 1980 Winter Olympics award ceremonies (photo: Russell Jaslow).

I’ve been back to Lake Placid many times since 1980 for vacations or for my wife to compete in cross country ski events at Mt. Van Hoevenberg for the Empire State Winter Games and the Lake Placid Loppet. A lot has changed in Lake Placid while at the same time nothing has changed.

The venues have been updated, modernized, or in some cases completely rebuilt. The 70 meter (where I watched the Nordic Combined ski jumping portion of the event) and 90 meter ski jumps were torn down, replaced by the now standard 90 and 120 meter jumps. Added to this site is the Freestyle Aerial Center for the new freestyle ski events that have become popular in the X-Games era.

The luge and bobsled tracks, sites where I watched many an event during the Olympics and afterwards, had a complete renovation and now includes skeleton. The bobsled and skeleton track contains classic turns such as Cliffside Curve, Shady Corner Curve, and the famed Zig-Zag Curves.

One of my favorite PA calls in sports is Tom Carnegie during the Indianapolis 500 time trials when he exclaims as a driver begins his run, “Heeeee’s on it!” Another favorite is the Lake Placid bobsled PA announcer when the sledders would go through those two turns: “They’re zigging … they’re zagging.”

Whiteface has continuously upgraded their facilities as has the cross country ski trails. The speed skating oval where I got to see Eric Heiden make history has had its systems updated, and the two hockey arenas have been maintained throughout the years. The Olympic Center, which contains the hockey rinks (which also includes the 1932 Rink Jack Shea Arena and the USA Rink), added the 1932 and 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum.

The town itself has seen some development of new stores, motels, and restaurants. Gone is the small “hut” on the hill in front of the arena where a trumpet player stood on top of the roof playing the national anthem with the crowd singing along after the USA-Finland game.

Fans celebrate Team USA winning the gold medal (photo: Russell Jaslow).

Yet, in many ways — in the important ways — Lake Placid hasn’t changed a bit. Thankfully.

It is still the same quaint yet busy mountain resort town that never allowed its fame to get to itself. It is a community that knows no matter how many tourists and sporting events come to this world famous village, it must always resist turning itself into a commercialized characterless tourist trap.

The architecture all fits together without any sort of Walmart abomination. You can still walk down the streets enjoying the little shops, many of which still sell 1980 Winter Olympic merchandise, cut off to a side alley and walk along simmering Mirror Lake, or hop into any one of the many eateries, pubs, or fine dining establishments, all with a gorgeous view of the Adirondack mountains.

The Village of Lake Placid with Mirror Lake on the right (photo: Russell Jaslow.)

Everytime I’ve been to Lake Placid, my time lives up to the name — a placid, calming, enjoyable experience. However, of all the times I’ve been back to Lake Placid and even stepped into the 1980 Rink, I never saw another hockey game. Until today.

It is interesting how life so often goes in circles. When I snuck into the USA-Finland game with a pass that was only good for outdoor events, there were no seats to be had. Wondering in the press overflow area of the upper bleacher level, I was invited to sit amongst the folks covering this historic game.

Little did I know at the time that for my next hockey game in this rink, I would be sitting in the press box doing the job of those people I sat amongst 28 years, 27 days earlier.

Little did I know that when those famous words were uttered by Al Michaels (“Do you believe in Miracles? YES!”), I too would one day be in that very same spot helping to broadcast a hockey game.

As I gaze over the rink, watching the game on the ice, I can still hear the “U!S!A! U!S!A!” chants, see the players in red, white and blue haul their sticks and gloves in the air as the final buzzer sounded, and be part of a crowd jumping and hugging in joy.

Thomas Wolfe was only partially correct. You may not be able to go home again. But, you can go back to your most memorable moments.