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This Week in D-III Women’s Hockey: Jan. 24, 2008

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Victory at Last

The Chatham Cougars have been playing Division III women’s hockey for six seasons now. Their record before Sunday’s game against Oswego State was 0-96-1. Then, even if only for a brief moment, Chatham was at the center of the women’s hockey world. Head coach Phoebe Manchester and her team were sitting in their locker room at the Oswego Campus Center Ice Arena, leading the Lakers 4-1, after two periods of play.

“I told the girls to take it shift by shift for 20 minutes,” Manchester said. “I told them to focus on what we needed to do and play smart.”

Chatham headed back out for the third period and withstood a ferocious Oswego comeback attempt where the Lakers pulled to within one goal after Gillian Toneguzzo scored with just over three minutes to play in the game. However, that’s as close as Oswego would get and Chatham survived and secured their first Division III victory despite being out shot 19-4 in the final period.

“It was obviously nice to get the win,” Manchester said. “It’s something we’ve been close to a couple of times lately and I’m happy for the kids to finally be able to walk around campus with their heads high instead of dealing with the everyday questions from people wondering when we’d get our first win.”

Sophomore defensemen April Govednik (Aurora, Colo) paced the Cougar offense with a goal and two assists including the primary assist on the game-winning goal. Govednik achieved another Chatham first this week as she was named the ECAC West Player of the Week for her efforts on the weekend.

Fellow sophomore Brenn Scott was solid in goal for the Cougars making 35 saves picking up the win to improve to 1-9 on the season.

“She was awesome,” Manchester said. “She’s a workhorse and has been working hard over the past two years to get better. There is no one more deserving and I can’t think of a better person to get our first win.”

After the game, Manchester said she just stepped back and let the girls enjoy the win and call their parents and friends.

“It was their moment,” Manchester said. “They worked hard for it and deserved it. It’s a been a long time for the seniors and this is definitely something they’ll be able to look back on now once they graduate.”

Something to look back on is almost an understatement as Chatham has been the butt end of D-III women’s hockey jokes for the past six years and have seen frequent discussions on the message boards wondering why the Cougars even field a team.

Not anymore.

“I’m not sure about the issues that have happened here in the past,” Manchester said. “I think we have the right coaching staff and the right kids here now and we’re moving away from the past and looking towards the future. Unfortunately for us, we have to make huge improvement strides in our game in order to make small strides in the conference with how strong the teams we play are.”

We have a lot to offer here at Chatham with numerous programs in conjuction with Carnegie Mellon and a great location near Pittsburgh. Who doesn’t want to be in the same city as Sidney Crosby?”

With their first win under their belt, Chatham is now looking towards the future and a possible playoff berth.

I know what you’re thinking, cue former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Mora and his infamous “Playoffs? You’re talking about playoffs?” speech. However, Chatham is right there in the race for the sixth and final ECAC West playoff spot.

Buffalo State is currently in sixth with four points and ten games played. Cortland sits in seventh with three points but just six games played so far. Chatham is in eighth with two points. Chatham has six conference games left and four of them are against Buffalo State and Cortland so there is still plenty of hockey left to be played.

“We go to rink,” said Manchester when asked about where her team goes from here. “We play one shift at a time and try and take the momentum we have and move forward. We’re right there in the playoff hunt.”

MIAC Bragging Rights on the Line

This week’s game of the week was an easy choice as the MIAC moves to the forefront with a home and home showdown between their two powerhouses this season in the Gustavus Adolphus Gusties and the St. Thomas Tommies.

Gustavus Adolphus comes in with a 13-1-0 record on the year and a perfect 8-0 mark in MIAC play. The Gusties have also quietly won 13 straight games after dropping their season opener to Stevens Point. The Pointers have never looked back since that game and have garnered most of the western spotlight with their unbeaten 13-0-1 record on the year.

However, Gustavus will certainly be looking to gain a little bit of attention back this weekend in their showdown with St. Thomas.

St. Thomas has had an outstanding year this year now that many of their young faces now have another year of college hockey under their belt. The Tommies struggled last year with a very young team to a 15-12 record.

They come into this weekend’s home and home with Gustavus Adolphus with a 13-2-0 record and a 7-1 mark in MIAC play. St. Thomas’ two losses have come to Bethel early in the season and then Bowdoin over winter break.

Gustavus Adolphus has been a model of consistency ever since their season opening loss to Stevens Point. The Gusties haven’t given up more than two goals in a game since and they have been scoring an average of five goals a game in the process.

Senior defensemen Stefanie Ubl has led the way for the Gusties this season, stepping up for the departed Andrea Peterson. Ubl has seven goals and 12 assists on the year for 19 points. However, the scoring doesn’t stop there as the Gusties have seven other players in double digits. Mari Gunderson (10-3-13), Molly Doyle (6-7-13), Allie Harwood (5-6-11), Kirstin Peterson (2-9-11), Melissa Mackley (1-10-11), Jenny Pusch (5-5-10), and Lynn Hillen (4-6-10) round out the Gusties balanced attacked.

In goal, Breanna Scavo has been the go-to goalie for head coach Mike Carroll. Scavo is 12-1-0 on the year with a 1.05 goals against average and a .894 save percentage while posting three shutouts.

The Gusties lead the nation in scoring offense with 4.79 goals a game and are third in the nation in scoring defense giving up just 1.07 goals a game.

This Week in the ECAC East and NESCAC

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With the weeks counting down to the all important conference playoffs at the end of February, some teams are starting to get on the roll that many predicted would carry them to the top of the league standings at the beginning of the year. Middlebury and Norwich are prime examples.

Still others are finding their groove and looking to establish the consistency that will keep them near the top and in the hunt for end-of-year positioning. And still others are trying to put it together and make their move up the ladder with enough time to get points on the board and make the best of tie-breaker opportunities found in the conference match-ups still remaining on the schedule.

Everything continues to be tight in both leagues; while protracted winning streaks can gain separation in the standings an extended losing streak could spell disaster.

“You really want to come away with points on every weekend,” noted Wesleyan head coach Chris Potter. “Sweeps are nice but you just want points from every weekend and see what that will bring in the standings.”

With that let’s take a look at three teams in the playoff hunt who are looking for that chemistry and consistency to keep them moving towards the top in their respective conferences.

Beacons Burning Bright

You have to go back a few years to find a UMass-Boston team with a winning record at this point in the season — in fact this year’s eight win total to date is just one short of the team’s total number of wins for the past three seasons combined. Things are certainly looking up for the new look Beacons under second year coach Peter Belisle.

“It’s just a different attitude around here,” commented SID Alan Wickstrom. “There is definitely a buzz around campus with the hockey team and it is great to see some excitement around the program. Two years ago was about as tough as it gets and to see Andrew Ward and Kyle Simpson, a couple of seniors who went through the multiple coaches and not winning a game for an entire season, be excited about being part of this team with all of the new players that have come in says a lot about coach Belisle’s character and the character of his team.”

In fact, you may want to call this season 1A for coach Belisle who was named head man in the early summer in 2006 and had very little time to recruit in prospects to play for the team last season. This year the difference is notable as Belisle has added 17 new names to the roster and fully implemented an up-tempo style that is producing more offensive opportunities for the Beacons. All essentials when called on to compete in the most challenging conference in D-III hockey.

“It’s really been a lot of fun,” said Belisle whose team knocked off yet another highly reputable program in UMass-Dartmouth by a 3-2 score on Tuesday night. “We are really starting to see some guys emerging like Eric Tufman (11-11-22) and Kris Kransky (5-9-14) to give us some consistent scoring and now other lines are getting in the act.

Our goaltending with Ryan (Donovan) has been great and he keeps us in every game which with a young team is so important. Even when he hasn’t been his usual unbelievable self, like in the Codfish Bowl, it was good to see we could win a game for him and help him out by scoring some goals at the right time.”

Eighteen freshman have seen action this year for the Beacons and there aren’t many upper classmen dressing on a regular basis for this team that going into this weekend at Salem State and Southern Maine is in the hunt for not only a playoff spot but a home-ice seeding if they can continue to take points from every weekend match-up.

“You can just see the confidence growing with the guys,” observed Belisle. “We don’t feel like we are out of the game and know we can compete at this level and have some success so the effort is there every night and we just want to get better each and every game we play.”

So far the Beacons have made believers out of just about everyone they have played including Norwich (a 3-2 OT loss), Amherst (a 3-2 loss) and Babson (1-1 tie) in the game that really got them going just before the semester break.

“We put six goals on the board at Wesleyan in the first period,” noted Wickstrom. “I had to go back a lot of years to find any game where we had scored that many goals in a game never mind the first period. Coach says we need more chances and to cut down on our shots against our net but we have improved so much and now the results are showing.”

Clearly, Peter Belisle now has the building blocks for a revitalized Beacons hockey program in place and is reaping the benefits of a solid goaltender and some young guys who believe as a team they can be successful against the best the league has to offer. Six of the last 10 games are on the road so how far they can go will depend on their development into a team that can play there game in anyone’s building.

Cardinals Coming Back

You really can’t make some stuff up regarding the oddities that happen at hockey games. Case in point, the Wesleyan Cardinals who, after a slow start to the season where they were 3-5-0 coming out of the break, saw them rally to a .500 record in league play (as well as overall) and get two-thirds of the way to another two points at home last week before a weird Zamboni breakdown suspended the game after two periods with the Cardinals holding a 4-2 lead over New England College.

The third period could potentially be made up this coming Tuesday night if arrangements can be made to get NEC back down to Middletown, CT for the final 20 minutes of play, a period where Wesleyan usually plays their best.

“We seem to really get going in the third period,” noted head coach Chris Potter. “We beat Salem State in the third, beat St. Anselm with a couple of goals in the third period and tied a strong Southern Maine team with our best play in the final period. We just seem to get stronger as the game goes on and now that our goaltending is getting more consistent like last year, we are starting to see some good results and the points we need to move up.

“Hopefully we can get in the final 20 minutes against NEC and hold on for those two points that aren’t in the book yet and take something away from our trip to Vermont against St. Mike’s and Norwich this weekend before we come home to play Middlebury, Williams and Trinity — it’s five plus games in just over a week and that’s a lot of points to grab and help us move up in the conference.”

Leading the way for Wesleyan is junior goaltender Mike Palladino (5-3-1, 3.14 goals against average, and .901 save percentage) who seems to rounding into the form that made him one of the league’s best last season. Offensively, sophomores Woody Redpath (3-4-7) and Sam Robinson (1-7-8) are leading an improved group that is trying to get the power play going along with some production at even strength.

“We could use some better special team play,” said Potter. “But overall I am impressed with the way we are competing especially late in games when things are tight and in some cases where we have been down and come back to get wins — it’s a good sign when we are outshooting and out scoring teams in the third period of close hockey games.”

No doubt holding teams to just 15% power play efficiency is good but posting a 12% success rate a man-up is an area that the Cardinals will need to see some improvement in the back half of the schedule if they want a shot at grabbing a home-ice playoff berth for the second year in a row.

Youth Serving Amherst Well

Things were so bad at Amherst in terms of bodies to play goal that one season, they were dressing a back-up with only practice experience as truly the emergency goalie. How times have changed for Jack Arena’s squad. This season two freshmen have emerged as a solid tandem for coach Arena to the degree that a semester abroad by last year’s playoff star, AJ Scola, doesn’t even faze him about his team’s capabilities to stop opponents.

“AJ came in late due to his commitment to the football team and both Cole (Anderson) and Jonathan (Larose) have stepped right in with great attitudes and effort to play very well for us,” said Arena. “We are in a nice rotation right now alternating the two guys and each has played very well — they push each other being competitive and the team has confidence in either guy at this point when they play so it helps having a fresh guy with a fresh mind going in each game on the weekend.”

Both goaltenders have enjoyed the benefits of playing behind a very experienced defensive corps which Arena points to as the strength of his team.

“They have a lot of experience back there right now and can really control the pace of the game for us when they are on as a group,” he noted.

Anderson (3-3-1, 2.59, .922%) and Larose (4-1-1, 1.82, .941%) both have spectacular numbers through the first half of the season and will benefit from a talented group of offensive players that are now starting to find their stride.

Junior Joel Covelli (8-9-17) has posted five goals in his last three games including a hat trick against travel partner Hamilton last week to jump start his season while senior Kyle Schoppel (10-2-12) has been deadly on the power play where half of his goal scoring total has been produced.

“The confidence with this group is really starting to show,” observed Arena. “At the Oswego tournament, when I walked into the locker room and looked in their eyes, I just knew they were going to win — you could feel it.

“Even the next night against St. Norbert it wasn’t as strong but you knew they weren’t just there to play and go home , they want to win every time out there and think they can against anyone — this is a really fun bunch of kids and maybe the closest group we have had here at Amherst.”

The last two seasons has the seen the Lord Jeffs tail off late in the season with opportunities to compete for the top seed or home-ice. This year’s team seems to have the talent and mental toughness it will need to stay where they are and compete in some bigger games in March.

This Week in the NCHA and MCHA

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Finally, the month we have all been waiting for. It’s nothing but conference action from here on out for both the NCHA and MCHA, and both are figuring not to have much of anything figured out until the final weekend of the season.

The NCHA finished up with the MIAC Interlock portion of its schedule on Monday as Stout dropped a 4-2 contest at St. Mary’s. Despite the loss, the NCHA once again claims bragging rights over its Minnesota foes, having finished the season with a 29-20-8 record against its cross-border brethren.

On the national scene, for the fourth week in a row St. Norbert finds itself atop the USCHO.com Division III poll. The Green Knights are currently in the midst of a 15 game unbeaten streak and obtained 18 of 20 possible first place votes.

A big win by River Falls over Stout last week moves the Falcons up a spot to fourth while the loss drops the Blue Devils a spot to No. 10. Adrian’s 9-1, 14-2 sweep of Crookston was enough to slide the Bulldogs up two spots to no. 13, while Marian’s road split at Finlandia cost it the lone vote it garnered last week.

It should only be a few weeks until the NCAA Regional Rankings emerge and we can begin to follow the NCAA tournament hopes of some of the region’s elites. For the time being however, conference play it shall be.

MCHA

With eight games remaining in the MCHA regular season, there will be plenty to follow in the weeks to come. For now, though, let’s take a look back at the MCHA and where it stands in its first season with eight teams.

As discussed in the MCHA season preview, this is a banner year for the league. Between its expansion to eight teams, the hopes for an NCAA autobid, the buzz created by Adrian, and the continually improving on-ice product of the league as a whole, the MCHA has garnered more attention this season than in perhaps all other years combined.

One needs to go no farther than the USCHO Fan Forum to see this as the “MCHA Regular Season” thread has been one of, if not the most, active discussion of the season.

With all the positive signs around a league that I’m quite frankly beginning to love, its play in non-conference action cannot be ignored, as on-ice performance is of course the most important factor of all.

Last year it was discussed here among some MCHA coaches that for the league to earn respect they would have to perform in non-conference play.

Let’s see how they did.

Adrian

Overall: 3-2-0 (29 GF, 20 GA)
Wins: Potsdam, Neumann, Geneseo
Losses: Potsdam, Neumann

Marian

Overall: 1-4-0 (15 GF, 20 GA)
Wins: Gustavus Adolphus
Losses: Stout, Bethel, Bethel, River Falls

Finlandia

Overall: 1-2-2 (10GF, 16 GA)
Wins: Augsburg
Losses: Superior, Superior
Ties: Stevens Point, Augsburg

MSOE

Overall: 2-3-0 (9 GF, 19 GA)
Wins: Lake Forest, Lake Forest
Losses: Superior, St. Norbert, St. Norbert

Lawrence

Overall: 0-3-2 (11 GF, 23 GA)
Wins: None
Losses: St. Norbert, Eau Claire, St. Mary’s
Ties: Lake Forest, Bethel

Northland

Overall: 0-5-0 (3 GF, 37 GA)
Wins: None
Losses: Stout, River Falls, Superior, Stevens Point, St. Scholastica

Crookston

Overall: 1-4-0 (11 GF, 24 GA)
Wins: Concordia-MN
Losses: Franklin Pierce, Bethel, Bethel, Hamline

Concordia-WI

Overall: 0-5-0 (6 GF, 44 GA)
Wins: None
Losses: Stout, St. Olaf, Stevens Point, Hamline, Hamline

Looking inside these numbers, the MCHA was 8-28-4 in its non-conference games. In those 40 contests, the league was outscored by a wide margin, 199-94. Dismissing Adrian and Concordia, the two first-year programs, the league was 5-21-4 in out of conference competition while being outscored 135-59.

Surprisingly, this is actually a regression from last season when the MCHA as a whole was 9-19-1 in non-conference games while being outscored 136-85.

So far this season, the MCHA’s records against other leagues are as follows:

SUNYAC: 2-1
ECACW: 1-1
ECACNE: 0-1
MIAC: 3-9-2
NCHA: 2-16-2

Breaking things down even further and looking at only Adrian, Marian, Finlandia and MSOE, the current top four teams in the league, they posted a collective record of 7-11-2 in non-conference play, with Adrian and MSOE accounting for five of the seven wins.

Marian appears to be the league’s biggest hard luck story, as after playing all five of its non-conference games against teams who have received votes in the national poll this season, they are only 1-4-0 despite only being outscored by five goals.

Among the leagues notable performances this season are Adrian’s wins over Neumann and Geneseo, Marian’s 4-0 shutout of Gustavus Adolphus, Finlandia’s 1-1 tie with Stevens Point, and MSOE’s two game sweep of Lake Forest. Additionally, just this week Lawrence scored a 6-6 tie with Bethel — last season’s MIAC NCAA tournament representative.

The fact remains, however, that the MCHA’s 8-28-4 out of conference record speaks for itself and with quality non-conference wins few and far between, it’s bound to draw criticism from those who are willing to write the league off as a joke. This despite the fact that these same critics are more often than not the same people who have never seen a MCHA game.

But with perception greatly influencing reality, it would certainly do the league good to kick it up a notch against teams from other leagues.

Along with MSOE, Finlandia has fared respectable well in non-conference play, and has defeated St. Olaf, Superior and Augsburg over the past two seasons. Still, in that span the Lions are only 3-5-2 against out of conference opponents.

“Obviously we didn’t do as well as we’d like to,” said Lions head coach Joe Burcar. “I think our league is continuing to improve though, and we are slowly closing the gap on the MIAC and NCHA.”

He continued: “We are still a pretty new league, comparatively speaking. We really haven’t been around that long. A lot of those other teams everyone knows and I just think they may be getting the better players right now.”

Anyone who has seen any MCHA action would certainly agree with Burcar regarding the league’s progress, but this season’s non-conference record is certainly not going to win the league any sympathy from outsiders.

“We have to, overall as a league, be over .500,” said Burcar. “All of us. We have to come out of it with a winning record to start gaining that respect.

“We beat Superior last year and everyone said it’s a fluke. Marian ties River Falls and everyone says it’s a fluke. Until we can start playing like that on a consistent basis, especially at least the top echelon of the league, and keep all these games tight we aren’t going to get rid of that tag right now.

“It’s not just one game. I think you’re seeing five teams in our league start to beat people and keep games close. I also think you’re seeing teams from our conference play better teams and I really think we are starting to close that gap.”

Considering the MCHA hit list has grown to include teams like St. Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, Lake Forest, Babson, Neumann, Geneseo, Potsdam, Superior and Augsburg, it would remain wise not to look over MCHA teams no matter what the numbers say.

Although many ill-informed fans consider this league to be nothing more than a glorified beer league, it would probably be best served to trust me when I say that numbers don’t lie, but they sure can mislead.

NCHA

The Crystal Ball is Back

With St. Norbert atop the league, I had originally intended on spending this week on River Falls, Stout, and Superior — the other three teams in the top half of the NCHA standings. But as River Falls and Stout square off with Superior and St. Scholastica this weekend, it’s possible that by this time next week, the standings are drastically different than they are now. Instead, let’s recap the league at its season midpoint and take a stab at how things might look come Peters Cup playoff time.

It’s hard to tell at times whether they are actually a hockey team or merely a pink bunny with a drum, but St. Norbert is once again at the top of the conference. Despite a relatively inexperienced lineup, the Green Knights finished the first half of the NCHA season at 6-0-1 and hold a two point lead over 5-1-1 River Falls.

Only 1.5 games separate third through seventh, but Stout leads the pack with eight points, three behind River Falls and five behind St. Norbert. 3-3-1 Superior trails the Blue Devils by only a point and is currently holding onto fourth place by a point over 3-4 Eau Claire and Stevens Point.

St. Scholastica is in seventh but only a point behind the Blugolds and Pointers, while winless Lake Forest rounds out the league.

The four big match-ups in the western half of the league this week could likely spread these teams out a bit, at which point we will take an in-depth look at a little more defined NCHA.

For now, however, let’s once again gaze into the crystal ball and try to remove the necessity of playing any more games this season.

Who will win the NCHA regular season title?

St. Norbert might be a little bit of a surprise at 6-0-1 considering it has 20 underclassmen on the roster, but the Green Knights have picked up right where they left off. They have held at least a share of the NCHA regular season title in each of the past six seasons, but if they wish to claim it a seventh straight season they are going to have to take care of business on the road. Five of the Green Knights seven remaining games are away from the friendly confines of the Cornerstone, and include trips to River Falls, Stout, Scholastica and Superior.

That leaves River Falls as a possible candidate. The Falcons lost 5-2 to St. Norbert earlier in the season, but can make those two points up if they can defeat the Green Knights at home in February. The addition of D-I transfer goaltender Stephen Ritter could be the final piece in the Falcons’ puzzle, as they have now won five in a row and Ritter is 4-0-0 since taking over in net.

The Falcons lead the NCHA in offense with 4.89 goals per game and offer scoring depth that was not present last season. In fact, the Falcons second line has already scored more than their second line did all of last season. At a robust 34% they also boast the top power play in the NCHA and look to be entering the second half with no apparent weaknesses.

With third place Stout already five points behind St. Norbert, it’s safe to say St. Norbert or River Falls will end up atop the league. However, I have said it before and I’ll say it again: I refuse to bet against St. Norbert — ever — until someone shows they can step up and beat the Green Knights consistently. For that reason, once again, your regular season champion will be:

St. Norbert

Can anyone make a run at the top?

For the sake of context, I’m going to assume that St. Norbert and River Falls are the league’s elite teams. Having tied for the conference title last season, Stout is a likely suspect but after an 11-2-1 start the Blue Devils have lost three of four, including a key home loss to River Falls last weekend. They still have to hit the road to play Superior, Stevens Point and River Falls — none automatic wins.

The Blue Devils are second n the NCHA offensively scoring 4.5 goals per game, but have only scored nine goals in their last four games. They certainly have the potential to do it but following a loss at St. Mary’s on Tuesday, the Blue Devils must get it rolling again this Friday.

Superior on the other hand has taken the opposite approach of Stout. The Yellowjackets had a disappointing start to the season, going 5-4-4 in their first 13 games. Since a disastrous home weekend that included losses to Stevens Point and Eau Claire, they have been on fire, going 4-0-1 in their last five.

Included in those are a key NCHA win over St. Scholastica and an 8-1 trouncing of Finlandia on the road — the same Finlandia team Superior only beat 2-1 at home earlier in the season. They may be peaking at the right time, especially considering defenseman Dustin Cosgrove and forwards Braden Desmet and Chris Berry are all back for the stretch run.

I picked Superior to finish second in the league prior to the season, and I’m not willing to give up on them yet. They’ve got some points to make up on those ahead of them, but they very well may be one of the most dangerous teams in the league down the stretch. Keep an eye on:

Superior

Can anyone from the bottom half of the league make a run at the top half?

Things are so close right now that Stevens Point, Eau Claire and St. Scholastica are all within striking distance of playoff home ice. While all three have the potential to get into the top four, I give Stevens Point the edge.

The Pointers have already won as many NCHA games as they did all of last season, and should only get better down the stretch under first year head coach Wil Nichol.

There are two reasons I think the Pointers have an advantage. The first is a highly favorable schedule in which they get River Falls, Stout, St. Scholastica and Superior at home. The second is a team with a hot goaltender is always dangerous. With freshman Thomas Speer routinely standing on his head, the Pointers figure to be in every game they play.

Speer, however, will get his first major test this Saturday as the Pointers travel to St. Norbert. The Cornerstone has been a house of horrors for the Pointers lately as since scoring a 4-4 tie there in 2002, the Pointers are 0-5 and have been outscored 26-10, including an 8-3 rout last season.

Never count out the hot goaltender. If Speer can continue his high level of play against the highest level of competition, the team to threaten for home ice might be:

Stevens Point

Who will win NCHA Player of the Year?

Far too close to call, but here are some likely candidates:

G Kyle Jones, St. Norbert (10-1-1, 1.48, .927)
F Tyler Dahl, River Falls (5-27-32)
F Pat Borgestad, River Falls (21-11-32)
F Derek Hansberry, River Falls (17-15-32)
F Marc Belanger, St. Norbert (14-16-30)

Who will win NCHA Coach of the Year?

The coach of the team atop the league doesn’t always necessarily deserve coach of the year recognition; I think it does in this case. While their level of success over the past decade is unparalleled, the Green Knights are doing it this season with 20 underclassmen. So much for rebuilding. The NCHA COTY is:

Tim Coghlin, St. Norbert

What will the standings look like at the end of the year?

1. St. Norbert
2. River Falls
3. Superior
t4. Stout
t4. Stevens Point
6. St. Scholastica
7. Eau Claire
8. Lake Forest

How many NCHA teams will make the NCAA tournament?

Two. At most.

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Jan. 24, 2008

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Good News, Bad News

Air Force had a rollercoaster weekend, earning one of the biggest wins in the history of its program on Friday, and then losing its top player on Saturday.

Let’s talk about the positives first. On Friday, the Falcons ended an 0-19 drought against state rival Denver, defeating the fourth-ranked Pioneers 5-2 in front of 2,657 fans at Cadet Ice Arena. Air Force opened a 4-0 lead and never looked back. Matt Fairchild had a hat trick, including a shorthanded goal and an empty-net tally, and Andrew Volkening made 29 saves for the win.

The victory catapulted Air Force into the USCHO.com/CSTV Poll, the first time in school history that the Falcons have been ranked. Was it the biggest win in school history?

“I wouldn’t trade (last year’s) NCAA experience for anything, but there are different degrees of good, and this was certainly up there with the best,” said Air Force coach Frank Serratore.

“I’m proud of what this team has accomplished. Every non-league game we’ve played has been against a ranked team. We had Quinnipiac (twice), Boston College, Minnesota, Denver and CC. And we have a winning record (3-2-1).”

The Falcons lost senior defenseman Matt Charbonneau in the Denver game, and things got worse on Saturday. In a tough 2-1 loss to third-ranked and cross-town rival Colorado College, Air Force lost Josh Print, Josh Frider, and Eric Ehn, the team’s leading scorer. Ehn suffered the most serious injury, breaking his leg and suffering possible ligament damage.

“He was driving to the net and a backchecking forward took him out into the boards,” said Serratore. “It’s a violent sport.”

The injury could put a premature end to Ehn’s college career. The senior was one of the top three finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award last season.

“I’ve been getting a lot of questions on it,” said Serratore. “We just don’t know. The surgery went well. The doctors aren’t saying he’s done. Possibly he’ll be back. He could be back as early as our last regular season series. We’ll have to wait and see.”

The insult to injury was the loss to Colorado College in a game Serratore thinks his team could have won.

“CC threw everything they had at us in the first period. We were outshot 16-4. They could have been up three-nothing or four-nothing but Andrew Volkening wouldn’t allow that to happen. We said at the end of the period that they can’t possibly come back with that same energy for the rest of the game, and they didn’t.”

Shots were 22-15 in favor of the Falcons the rest of the way, but they still wound up on the losing end of a 2-1 score.

“We gave up the winning goal on a bad call,” said Serratore. “We were already killing off a penalty when we got a (high sticking) contact to the head call off a faceoff. We looked at the replay after and the only reason (Josh) Schaffer’s stick is in the air is because it got lifted by (Colorado College’s Eric) Walksy. Then we give up the five-on-three goal.”

It turned out to be the game winner for the Pioneers.

The Falcons, who lost their spot atop the Atlantic Hockey standings to RIT, must regroup for a huge series at Army.

“These are the biggest games on our schedule,” said Serratore. “And if Army doesn’t say the same thing, they’re lying.”

Both games will be nationally televised, with Friday’s game on CSTV and Sunday’s 4 p.m. contest on ESPNU.

Serratore says that while his team is shorthanded, they’re not worried.

“I don’t want to compare hockey to the military, but our players have a soldier’s mentality,” he said. “Everybody has to deal and the show must go on.”

Weekly Awards

Co-Player of the Week for January 21, 2008:
Matt Fairchild – Air Force
The sophomore came into last Friday’s game against fourth-ranked Denver with just six career goals, but he notched his first career hat trick to lead the Falcons to a 5-2 upset, their first win over the Pioneers in their last 20 attempts.

Co-Player of the Week for January 21, 2008:
Simon Lambert – RIT
Lambert had four points to help RIT to a sweep of Sacred Heart, vaulting the Tigers into first place. The senior now leads Atlantic Hockey in scoring with 29 points.

Goaltender of the Week for January 21, 2008:
Andrew Loewen – Canisius
The sophomore goalie allowed just two goals as Canisius split with Army. He had a 3-0 shutout on Friday and held Army scoreless for the first 51:28 of the game on Saturday. His school-record scoreless streak finally ended at 201 minutes.

Rookie of the Week for January 21, 2008:
Andrew Favot – RIT
Favot has three goals in his last three games, including one in each of the Tigers’ 4-2 wins over Sacred Heart.

Deja Vu

It was in January last season that RIT made its move up the standings in Atlantic Hockey, with the turning point coming in a two-game series at Sacred Heart. It was there last season that the Tigers came into the weekend three points out of first place, and left alone at the top of the standings, a position they would hold for the remainder of the season.

The rematch came last weekend, this time in Rochester. RIT and Sacred Heart came in to the series tied for second, two points behind Air Force with the Pioneers holding two games in hand. By Saturday night, after a pair of 4-2 wins, the Tigers found themselves alone in first place.

After a slow start that saw the Tigers go 5-7-2, RIT is 7-2 in its last nine games, including a win at Minnesota and victories in five of its last six in conference. The Tigers’ only losses have been to ranked teams: Boston College and Air Force.

“I think it’s taken some time to get our identity back,” said coach Wayne Wilson. “I think we were too comfortable after winning last year and weren’t playing with enough passion We’ve always been a team that’s played to our depth, where anyone can score. That wasn’t happening early in the season. (Al) Mazur had a groin injury that needed the (holiday) break to heal up. He won’t admit that it was bothering him, but look at his numbers since then. Other guys got off to slow starts — (Brennan) Sarazin, (Steven) Matic, (Andrew) Favot. They’ve played well but hadn’t been scoring.”

They’re scoring now. Sarazin had has six points so far this month after getting just three before that. Matic got his first goal of the season last weekend and Favot has three goals in his last three games.

Favot began the season out of the lineup, but worked his way from not dressing to centering the fourth line to centering the first, and onto the first power-play unit.

“He needed to get confidence in himself,” said Wilson of the freshman. “He’s a very respectful kid, almost too respectful. There’s always competition, even within your team fighting for playing time. He’s started to believe in himself, that he can play at this level. He’s not big, but he’s a feisty player and there’s been good chemistry between him and Simon (Lambert) and (Matt) Crowell.”

Lambert leads the league in scoring with 23 points, while Matt Smith has 15 goals so far, tops on the team. Goaltender Louis Menard is second in the league in GAA (2.39) and is 20-4-3 all-time in league play.

A key to the Tigers’ resurgence has been their power play, which went through a 2-for-46 stretch before going 7-for-19 in their last five games.

“It means a goal a game,” said Wilson. “We were missing that.”

Now it’s crunch time as the Tigers, like last year, control their own destiny coming out of January. Wilson said he’s breaking down each of the Tigers’ remaining series and taking them one at a time.

“We’re going to treat each one like playoff and try to get three points,” he said. “And if we beat Niagara, we’ll finish .500 out of conference, so that’s our motivation for that game.

“It’s going to be an exciting finish. We really like the league we’re in. I couldn’t be happier with Air Force beating Denver. No team in this league is afraid to play anybody.”

Around the League

Hockey Humanitarian: Holy Cross senior Cal St. Denis is one of 22 players nationally to be nominated for the Hockey Humanitarian award, given annually to “College Hockey’s Finest Citizen.” He’s the only AHA player to be nominated.

RPI: USCHO.com has begun calculating the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) for Division I and here’s where Atlantic Hockey teams stand:

Air Force: 30th
RIT: 35th
Holy Cross: 46th
Sacred Heart: 49th
Canisius: 50th
Mercyhurst :51st
Army: 53rd
Connecticut: 54th
Bentley: 55th
AIC: 59th

Teams in the top 25 in the RPI become Teams Under Consideration (TUCs) for NCAA selection, meaning their games with other TUCs take on an extra importance. Denver, Minnesota and Cornell are hoping Air Force and RIT won’t hit that number.

Army: Senior Luke Flicek had the winning goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Canisius on Saturday. The goal was his 100th career point as Flicek became the 52nd player in school history to hit the century mark. Also, USA Today reports that coach Brian Riley will be wearing a live mic for CSTV’s televised game vs. Air Force on Friday.

Connecticut: The Huskies took three points in a series for the first time this season last weekend with a win and tie against Mercyhurst. The Lakers outshot UConn 75-38 in the two games, but Beau Erickson came up big for the Huskies. He now has 621 saves on the season, second in the nation to Michigan State’s Jeff Lerg (650).

This Week in the WCHA: Jan. 24, 2008

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We’re starting the stretch run of the season here and it is going to be a wild and crazy race to the finish line. As I type this, six teams are separated by seven points, making it a virtual guarantee that nothing will be decided until the final weekend of play.

Though it looked like Colorado College and Denver may have had the top spots in the league sewn up, I wouldn’t call that a lock just yet — both teams looked very beatable in this past weekend’s non-conference tilts. That, coupled with the possibility that the Fighting Sioux look like they’re about to start on a second-half run for the fourth straight year, says that nothing in this league is guaranteed until the finish.

Red Baron Pizza WCHA Players of the Week

Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week: Michael Davies, UW.
Why: Scored three points (2 g, 1 a) in helping his Badgers take three points from the Seawolves last weekend, including the game-tying goal on Saturday.
Also Nominated: Andreas Vlassopoulos, CC.

Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week: Alex Stalock, tUMD.
Why: Stopped 62 of 65 shots on goal in tBulldogs’ weekend series with Minnesota for a .954 save percentage on the weekend.
Also Nominated: Brian Connelly, CC; Chay Genoway, UND.

Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week: Alex Kangas, UM.
Why: Stopped 43 of 45 shots on goal and had a .956 save percentage to help his Gophers take three points from Minnesota-Duluth.
Also Nominated: Stephen Schultz, CC; Matt Frattin, UND.

Random Notes (and Commentary!) From Around the League

MTU — Missed this when it was announced on the 14th, but the Huskies are part of a new blog on CSTV.com called “Breakout, Break In” that follows four teams — Michigan Tech, Bowling Green (CCHA), Northeastern (HEA) and Rensselaer (ECAC) as they try to make the NCAA tourney this year. The angle here is that while all have appeared in the national rankings at some point this season, none of the four has made the tourney in the last decade.

I checked it out on CSTV because hey, it’s hockey. While it’s kind of a pain to navigate to, it’s worth taking a look at for a bit of inside information about the teams, as it’s updated by assistant coaches of each of the teams.

SCSU — Marty Mjellei is nominated for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which goes each year to “college hockey’s finest citizen.” If he becomes a finalist, we’ll know on Monday, Jan. 28. There are quite a few more WCHA players nominated, but they’re all over on the women’s side. Still, congrats to Marty for his work in the community to get recognized and nominated.

Reader Mailbag

I had something all ready to go here, saying something witty like, “Either the detractors quit reading this column or they thought the best punishment would be making me work through my vacation (I kid, I kid),” grumbling that it might (maybe) be the last time I decide to run a contest.

But no, Dave Krawczyk, Badger fan extraordinaire, had to go e-mail me a submission for the contest late Wednesday. Since he was the only entrant, he wins. So, congrats, Dave. If you’re coming to the WCHA Red Baron Final Five (tickets on sale now), let me know and I’ll buy you a drink or something.

But before we get to Dave’s winning submission, the rest of the mailbag.

A Sioux fan, “Anderson,” went to the DU/Wisconsin series as an impartial observer shortly after reading about my random adventure to the U.P. and enjoyed his time at Magness, with his one apparent gripe one I believe most of us have — schools that don’t show replays on the video screens (or at least ones of disputed calls/goals).

I also received an e-mail from Dwayne, a Badger fan, sharing his thoughts on the Incident. His are those of many, hoping that the disputed point (because who really knows what would have happened in overtime) doesn’t become a point of contention later on in the (post)season. He also did bring up one good point that I liked …

“What surprised me was the rush to make a decision. It was obvious Schmidt skimmed the video replay rather than look closely at the details of the play. Since there were clock problems earlier in the period, he should have taken his time to make sure the correct call was made. After all, the two teams weren’t finished with their series because another game was set to be played on Saturday. No one was going anywhere.”

We all know by this point that nothing will change, but I have a feeling this situation will remain on the minds of many for a long time …

Dave’s Winner: Turning the Corner

Fresh off a controversial split on a road trip in Denver against DU, Wisconsin continued its improved play on the road trip in Anchorage, Alaska. The Badgers play so far this season could most accurately be described as inconsistent, but appear to have turned the corner after the mid-point of the second period of the Friday game in Denver. They turned out a solid weekend of play that saw them scoring six goals and earning three points in league play. The Badgers dominated play at times on Friday and did a good job keeping a Seawolf team that was playing very inspired hockey trying to get points in a close game from getting the equalizer after taking the lead on a Matt Ford goal.

The game on Saturday had a much different story, with both teams capitalizing well on power play opportunities. Both teams converted three times on the power play in the game. UAA carried a two-goal lead into the third period and played on their heels trying to hold onto the lead the entire period. The Badgers seized this opportunity and got goals from assistant captain Ben Street and the game-tying goal from WCHA Offensive Player of the Week, Michael Davies, on the power play late in the third.

The story of the weekend was improved special teams and defensive play. The Badgers committed significantly fewer turnovers in the defensive and neutral zones and they protected the puck much closer to the standard that past seasons had caused a spectator to expect from them the past few seasons. They also tallied three or more power play goals in a game for the first time since the opening home series against Robert Morris with four power play goals each night.

The Badgers will look to continue their upward movement and more consistent play against archrival Minnesota this weekend in action at the Kohl Center that could help to resolve the current three-way tie for fifth place in the league.

Match-Ups By the Numbers

Four conference series this week, Minnesota-Duluth travels east and Denver gets a week off to try and regroup for the stretch run. And for you Gopher fans, I put in Kangas as well as Frazee for your goaltender stats.

No. 17 Minnesota @ No. 16 Wisconsin
Overall Records: UM — 12-10-4 (6-8-2 WCHA). UW — 10-10-4 (6-8-2 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: UM leads the overall series, 148-78-15.
Top Scorers: UM — Blake Wheeler (12-11-23). UW — Kyle Turris (9-15-24).
Goaltenders: UM — Jeff Frazee (14 gp, 6-7, 2.93 GAA, .890 sv %), Alex Kangas (12 gp, 5-3-4, 2.25 GAA, .920 sv %). UW — Shane Connelly (21 gp, 9-10-2, 2.61 GAA, .908 sv %).

Alaska-Anchorage @ No. 4 North Dakota
Overall Records: UAA — 6-10-6 (2-10-4 WCHA). UND — 14-8-1 (11-7 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: UND leads the overall series, 34-15-3.
Top Scorers: UAA — Kevin Clark (7-13-20). UND — Ryan Duncan (10-13-23).
Goaltenders: UAA — Jon Olthuis (21 gp, 5-10-6, 3.11 GAA, .880 sv %). UND — Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (23 gp, 14-8-1, 1.87 GAA, .929 sv %).

No. 13 St. Cloud State and Minnesota State (home and home)
Overall Records: SCSU — 11-10-3- (6-8-2 WCHA). MSU-M — 9-10-4 (3-9-4 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: MSU-M leads the overall series, 54-40-8.
Top Scorers: SCSU — Ryan Lasch (17-17-34). MSU-M — Trevor Bruess (5-11-16).
Goaltenders: SCSU — Jase Weslosky (18 gp, 8-8, 2.36 GAA, .922 sv %). MSU-M — Mike Zacharias (20 gp, 8-7-4, 2.13 GAA, .923 sv %).

No. 3 Colorado College @ Michigan Tech
Overall Records: CC — 18-6 (15-3 WCHA). MTU — 9-11-2 (5-8-1 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: CC leads the overall series, 84-70-10.
Top Scorers: CC — Chad Rau (19-11-30). MTU — Tyler Shelast (11-5-16), Peter Rouleau (8-8-16).
Goaltenders: CC — Richard Bachman (19 gp, 16-3, 1.58 GAA, .941 sv %). MTU — Rob Nolan (12 gp, 5-7, 2.75 GAA, .892 sv %), Michael-Lee Teslak (11 gp, 4-4-2, 1.72 GAA, .934 sv %).

No. 19 Minnesota-Duluth @ No. 15 Mass.-Lowell

Overall Records: tUMD — 8-8-6 (6-7-5 WCHA). UML — 11-6-4 (6-6-4 HE)
Head-to-Head: tUMD leads 7-2-1 in the overall series.
Top Scorers: tUMD — Jason Garrison (5-9-14). UML — Mark Roebothan (11-8-19).
Goaltenders: tUMD — Alex Stalock (22 gp, 8-8-6, 2.34 GAA, .914 sv %). UML — Nevin Hamilton (12 gp, 7-3-2, 2.38 GAA, .922 sv %).

Final Note from the Beach

Even though I’m in a land where college hockey (except for that inline stuff) is basically non-existent, I still manage to see reminders of the WCHA. While walking along the beach after breakfast Wednesday morning, I ran into some guy wearing a hat that had a very distinct logo — the University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolf. Thursday, I saw Michigan Tech, Wisconsin and Minnesota Golden Gophers t-shirts as well as a Fighting Sioux hockey hat.

I didn’t get to speak to any of them — so with the exception of the UND hat, I’m not sure whether or not any of them were college hockey fans, but it’s nice knowing that my “people,” so to speak, are everywhere.

This Week in ECAC Hockey: Jan. 24, 2008

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Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

There are a lot of great scorers in this league, true snipers who could tear a gnat right off a goalie’s earhole. There are playmakers: athletes with the vision, skill, and sense of anticipation to put the puck right where it needs to be, right when it’s got to be there.

This section isn’t about them.

Let’s face it, the ECAC Hockey League is a defensive animal. The flashy forwards are pile-driven out of the play as often as not, open ice is always at a premium, and dependable goaltenders are more prolific than flasks on Slope Day.

Bud Fisher (1.89) and Billy Blase (1.92) are six-seven on the nation’s goals-against leaderboard, Justin Mrazek (1.98) is hundredths of a point beneath them at 11th. David Leggio, Peter Vetri, Ben Scrivens, Mark Dekanich and Kyle Richter all fall within the top-20 and under the 2.25 mark. Note that these are their overall figures, including those disheartening non-conference losses that the ECAC piled up over the holidays.

Scrivens, Blase, Dekanich, Leggio, Richter and Mrazek fall inside the country’s top-20 in save percentage, as well. They’re all stopping between 92.2 percent and 92.9 percent of incoming shots.

While only Quinnipiac, Dartmouth and Princeton are averaging as many as three goals a game, it is coincidentally the same Tigers and Big Green — along with Brown — who are surrendering three-plus each outing. The ECAC is momentarily home to the eighth, ninth, 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th-toughest defenses in the country.

Heck, it’s even a cleaner game out here. Dartmouth, Yale, St. Lawrence and Princeton are all taking fewer than 12 penalty minutes a game. Only Hockey East can match that, with four honorable teams of its own. (Harvard, Clarkson, Colgate and Quinnipiac all beat the 50th percentile for PIM/game, as well.) By the by, Yale’s 90.7 percent penalty-kill rate is the best in the nation.

Now for some individual accolades.

Clarkson’s Steve Zalewski has scored in seven straight games, totaling seven goals and three assists since December 1. He already has two hat-trick-pluses this season: a four-goal game at Princeton on November 11, and a three-goal, one-assist outing at Harvard two weeks ago. Zalewski leads the league with 11 ECAC goals, and 14 overall.

Josh Coyle’s got a lucky-seven streak going as well, with five goals and four assists in his last seven games for Union. Princeton sophomore defenseman Jody Pederson notched five assists in his last four games, after accumulating only two in his first 13 games.

No stranger to the spotlight, Quinnipiac’s Brandon Wong has taken off on his own seven-game hot streak. Following a 44-point freshman campaign, Wong has busted out of his slow start with five goals and eight assists since December 29.

Next week, I’ll sift through the goalies. As though they don’t have big enough egos as it is.

Getting Back on the Horse

Playing in this league is a lot like riding horseback: you get thrown, you’ve gotta get right back on and try again.

So it goes once more for Rensselaer. The Engineers are Puckman-deep in a nine-game losing plummet (sometimes “skid” just doesn’t cut it), and opposition aside, the goals just aren’t coming for the ‘Tute.

RPI has scored three goals in four games, hasn’t lit the lamp twice in a game in three weeks, and summed nine goals scored in the last eight games of the slide. There are adjustments to be made, no doubt about it, but head coach Seth Appert isn’t losing his cool.

“Our complete focus is on the next day,” he said. “The guys came in with a great attitude, ready to work on Monday, and we tried to build on that for Tuesday.

“We’ve learned that the most important thing is the next shift.”

One of the most frustrating aspects of the descent has been the Engineers’ power play, ranked dead-last in the nation, functioning at barely over five percent efficiency. Again, Appert spoke positively of the unit, but did not mollify himself with delusions of bad puck-luck or random chance sinking his PP percentages.

“This week our power play was better,” he remarked of the team’s practice. “It was good, it made plays.” He hopes it will be effective and make plays this weekend, he continued.

Overall, Appert is entirely absorbed with keeping his team focused on what’s to come, rather than what’s happened so far.

“We need to focus on what we can control. We can focus on how smart we play, how hard we play. We’re very excited to play Clarkson … they’re a traditional rival, and they’re the next team on our schedule,” he said, neatly tying themes together.

Seeking the Red Light District

Just like last year, Colgate has been baffled in its quest for the net. As a consequence, the Raiders are looking up at the bulk of the league, with nine points in ten games.

However, there are plenty of reasons to keep hope alive for this bunch. For starters, the ‘Gate has played as few league games as anyone else on the chart. The team has scored four goals three times in four games, and Mark Dekanich has only given up two goals in his last 185 minutes ‘tending the twine.

“We were challenged once again to put up some offense, and it was costing us in the wins column,” summed head coach Don Vaughan. “We’ve gotta bring it every shift; there’s a fine line between winning and losing [in this league].”

Since the holiday break, Vaughan has been heartened by a new attitude in the offensive zone.

“We like a lot of the things that we’re seeing. We’re generating a lot more shots,” he said, adding that shots attempted and quality scoring chances are far more informative and important than the basic shot-on-net totals. “We need to throw more pucks to the net. We were waiting for the perfect play … trying to be too fancy with the puck,” the coach said of the offense’s first-half struggles.

The Raiders also have seven remaining home games to only five on the road, and Starr has been kind to the home team so far: 1-1-2 in league play, but 6-2-2 overall.

“Would we rather play at home than on the road? Of course. But those are not guaranteed wins,” Vaughan cautioned.

The Raiders host Yale and Brown this weekend, against whom the hosts are 7-0-1 at Starr in the past three seasons (including a two-game playoff sweep of Brown in ’04-05).

PP Pick-Me-Up

While Clarkson’s offense is on-again, off-again in strobe-light fashion, the defense is finally resettling with the return of third-year rearguard Philippe Paquet. Following a one-and-a-half-month absence, Paquet returned to the lineup healthy and hungry on December 28.

“A big part of [the success of the defense] is getting Paquet back,” said coach George Roll. “He brings a physical presence; he plays the body well, and he creates space for other guys.”

Paquet played 37 games in each of his first two seasons, accumulating seven points apiece. At 6’3 , 200 pounds, a long-range threat he is not … but an unholy terror in close quarters? Without a doubt.

“Old School”‘s Frank the Tank knows all about streaking.

Don’t Look Now, But …

… we’re going streaking. (It was unreasonably hard not to make a pun out of “but” in the subhead.)

In case you hadn’t noticed, Quinnipiac has strung together the nation’s longest current unbeaten streak, at 9-0-1 since the first of December. The Bobcats aren’t merely riding Wong, Ben Nelson or Bryan Leitch to victory after victory, either.

“The interesting thing about it is how many guys we’ve had injured during that stretch,” observed head coach Rand Pecknold. “One of our strengths is that we have three lines that can score.”

Of late, Pecknold praised the line of sophomores Wong and Jean-Marc Beaudoin with senior Dan Travis as being especially potent. The trio has combined for 16 goals in the last eight games — more than half of the ‘Cats’ 28 total goals in that period.

Even the captains are interchangeable. With the loss of senior assistant captain Matt Sorteberg for the season, QU is down to one captain, Jamie Bates, and one regular assistant, Dan Henningson. However, Pecknold also instituted another rotating “A,” shared between Beaudoin, Nelson, and junior defenseman Andrew Meyer.

Fortunately for equipment manager Sal Lombardi, no mid-season tailoring is necessary. Beaudoin has the A on his road sweater, Meyer’s is on his home white (which the team wears each Friday home game) and Nelson’s assistant’s patch is on his third jersey (gold, worn for Saturdays at the Bank).

It’s their First Time Around

Sorry, Paul Simon is stuck in my head.

Union is on a six-game winning streak, but don’t look to the seniors when you’re handing out credit for this one, though; it’s the youngsters who are pulling the load.

Of the six goals that the Dutchmen scored last weekend, for example, four were by freshmen (Stephane Boileau had a pair, while John Simpson and Adam Presizniuk each lit the lamp as well.) There are six freshmen and sophomores among the team’s top nine scorers, including sophomore Jason Walters (3-13-16), Presizniuk (4-11-15) and soph Mario Valery-Trabucco (7-6-13) at the top.

Coach Nate Leaman admitted that his probably won’t be a team that can score at will, but one that will definitely call upon its younger players to make big contributions down the stretch.

The past four games of Union’s recent sizzle have been against ECAC foes, and in two weeks the eight points shot the Dutch from the cellar to a three-way tie for fourth. It was a rise that epitomizes the volatile nature of the league.

“The first thing you have to look at is that we played only six [league] games before Christmas. A rough start can create the misperception that you’re out of it,” said Leaman, whose team still has games in hand on four of the five programs jostling with it for position.

“Any time you can win two games in a weekend, you’ve accomplished something,” he said.

Union just accomplished a pair of somethings, with even bigger somethings in sight.

Snapshots

• Colgate senior Dustin Gillanders is listed as questionable for this weekend. The forward has scored a goal with two assists in 16 games so far.

• Union’s Torren Delforte is still questionable for this weekend as well. The senior forward has missed the past three games, and has four goals and two helpers in 18 games played.

• Freshman forward Scott Freeman missed last weekend for Clarkson, and is out again this time around. In 19 games, Freeman has potted two and added eight assists. Junior forward Mike Willemson has only played in eight games this year, including the past five, but is questionable for the Golden Knights this weekend as well.

• Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold indicated that Sorteberg may just barely qualify for an extra redshirt season next year, if the senior elects to pursue such recourse.

• Dan Peace will serve his one-game suspension for a fighting major and game disqualification on Friday. The Engineers’ senior forward should be available for Saturday at St. Lawrence.

This Week in SUNYAC

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Ending Early

Every year, my colleague Chris Lerch has a running count of the teams that complete their season as we wind down to the final game. This count always starts in mid-February as teams begin to be eliminated from their league playoffs.

This year, Lerch can begin his count right now. The first team to finish their season did so nine days before January was even completed. Morrisville’s first full season in Division III and their first in the SUNYAC has ended.

The wins were difficult to come by in their second season making the transition from a two-year school. However, they did save the best for their last conference game, winning their first SUNYAC contest, beating Brockport, 3-1, finishing with a 1-15 league record.

“It’s great,” Morrisville coach Brian Grady said. “I’m thrilled for the guys. They’ve been working all year and we’ve been close, coming up on the short end. It’s good to finally get over the hump.”

Overall, they finished at 5-20, with their other wins coming against Western New England College, Lebanon Valley, and Johnson and Wales twice. Last year, they finished with a 7-10 record against Division III opponents, but three of those wins came against fellow newcomer, Becker.

“I look at wins and losses and I get frustrated and disappointed, certainly,” Grady said. “But, the development we’ve had as a group from the first weekend at Plattsburgh to this weekend here has just been outstanding. We battled everybody hard all year long in the SUNYAC.”

Six of their SUNYAC losses were by one goal, including Oswego and the heartbreaker this past Friday against Brockport when they were leading 3-0 only to lose 4-3, and two of their two-goal losses were caused by an empty netter. Also encouraging, Morrisville was never shutout in a game and were held to one goal just five times.

Morrisville will miss some key players who will be graduating. Matt Damskov is their second leading scorer with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points.

“We lose a lot in Matt,” Grady said. “Senior leadership has just been outstanding. He’s been a good points guy for us certainly, but mostly an awesome guy.”

Brett Freese has been a mainstay in goal.

“Brett Freese has been outstanding in net for us. It’s been a hard luck year for him,” Grady said referring to Freese being in most of those one-goal losses. “He’s given us a chance to win. He quietly goes about his game.”

Joe Herman leaves as the all-time Morrisville scoring leader though half his time there won’t count in his NCAA career stats since they were with the NJCAA. This season, Herman finished with five goals and nine assists for 14 points.

“Joe shows up on the scoreboard all the time, has great vision, sees the ice very well,” Grady said. “Not a speedy player, but very good at possessing the puck. A great kid who is going to be missed here.”

Chris Cacace is a senior defenseman.

“Chris has been a steady plugger for us. A great guy to be around. Picks everybody up with his spirits,” Grady said.

“The leadership,” Grady said of what will be missed the most. “These guys lead by example. They have really helped bridge this transition from Junior College to NCAA level. We’re going to miss them; they’ve been an integral part of what we’re trying to do here.”

It’s always a struggle when you move your program up. However, Morrisville has the commitment of their administration which is working hard to build and expand all aspects of the school and a new, young coach who is enthusiastic about the future.

“We have a real young group and a good core combined with some new recruits next year and I think it’s an exciting future,” Grady said.

Check Your Local Listings

The Saturday Oswego at Potsdam game will be televised, and anybody with cable in New York should be able to pick it up, as well as a good number of hockey fans in the Northeast.

Time Warner Sports Syracuse will be producing the game, and for those with Time Warner Central New York cable which also includes Northern New York, it will be shown live at 7:00 on Channel 26. Time Warner SportsNet Western New York (Buffalo area) will be showing it live on Channel 13 as well as the Southern Tier New York (Binghamton area) Time Warner cable. Time Warner SportsNet Rochester will also be showing the game, but delayed till Sunday at 4:30 p.m., also on Channel 26. Time Warner Albany will be airing it the following Friday at 7:00.

However, the big surprise is that SportsNet New York (SNY) will be picking up the game and showing it live. This station is carried by most cable outlets in New York and some in the Northeast, and if you have the extended sports package on any of the satellite providers, you can watch it no matter where in the country you reside.

As usual, check your local listings.

SUNYAC Short Shots

Brockport scored four unanswered goals in the last 7:37 to beat Morrisville, 4-3 … Morrisville won their first SUNYAC game, 3-1 against Brockport, thanks to 46 saves by Caylin Relkoff … Geneseo only let up 15 shots, but still lost to Utica, 3-1 … Nine different Lakers scored with Oswego getting three goals a period in their 9-1 thrashing of Morrisville … Plattsburgh has the second best scoring average in the nation at 5.28 goals per game, the fourth best defense letting up 1.89 goals per game, and the third best power play at 32.8%.

Game of the Week

From here on out, every game but one is a SUNYAC contest. There will be no rest. No break. No out of conference opponents to worry less about points. It all counts: the stretch run where the men will be separated from the boys.

What a battle we return to especially in the middle of the pack. Five teams are separated by three points, and two of them won’t be making the playoffs. And had Brockport swept Morrisville, there would have been just two points separating those five teams.

Since every other team got four points from the Mustangs, Brockport essentially spotted the entire league two points. Their coach, Brian Dickinson, is fully aware of how that could hurt them down the stretch.

“The roar you heard was from the three teams above us — Geneseo, Cortland, Buffalo State — because they can control their own destiny,” he said. “We’re going to have to do it the hard way. We were hoping to be sitting there at nine points and control our destiny only a point out of fourth.”

So with every game being played with such high stakes, how do you choose a game of the week? You don’t. You pick the games that are key swing games.

Of course, one obvious game is Oswego at Plattsburgh. This fierce rivalry moves to the North Country with the Cardinals holding a three point edge. If Plattsburgh wins, they virtually clinch first place. An Oswego victory means we have a battle going down to the wire for the top seed.

Another crucial swing game is Cortland at Potsdam. The Red Dragons are two points behind the fourth place Bears. A win and suddenly Cortland is a serious playoff contender. A loss and Cortland could fall into a hole they can’t get out of, and Potsdam suddenly starts thinking about the real possibility of hosting the first round.

This game also has Dickinson worried, because he loses out no matter what the result.

“If we don’t get points this weekend, Potsdam plays Cortland, so one of those teams is going to get points, if not both will get a point,” he said.

How about another Friday contest, Geneseo at Buffalo State. These teams are in a three-way tie for fifth place. No explanation is needed on the consequences of this result. I’ll be at that game.

Finally, I’ll pick one Saturday contest regardless of Friday’s results: Brockport at Buffalo State. For Brockport, who is now playing catch up, the whole weekend is ultra important.

“Now we are going to have to go on the road next week,” Dickinson said after the Morrisville loss. “We’re going to have to beat Buffalo State and going to have to hopefully get a point, maybe two out of Fredonia. Tough places to play. Two places where we tied last year. We’ve got to come out of it with points and hopefully leapfrog Buff State.

“Those are going to be crucial points.”

Every game starting right now is going to be crucial. Drop the puck!

On The Periphery

I always rail on fans who are so blinded by their worshipping that they completely lose sight of right and wrong with their “heroes,” willing to forgive them, even defend them, despite heinous crimes such as murder (OJ), dog fighting (Vick), and child neglect (Britney), especially when the recipient of this runaway worshipping is, let’s face, in an
inconsequential field in the grand scheme of things such as sports, actors, or music stars.

Yet, I must confess. There is one case that I, too, fall into this trap.

I started playing competitive chess as a kid before the famous Fischer-Spassky match, the ultimate Cold War battle played out in sports long before the Miracle on Ice. The popularity that match brought to chess was astounding. It was front page news in every newspaper nearly every day. It was the lead story on the TV news. PBS showed and analyzed every game live. Kids on my soccer team who didn’t know a rook from a bishop would talk about it.

Bobby Fischer was a god to us chess players. A genius of unparalleled proportions. He was the youngest ever junior national champion. The youngest National Master. The youngest U.S. Champion. The youngest International Master. He breezed through Candidates matches undefeated, an unheard of feat. He won 20 consecutive matches (no draws) against the world’s top players. And finally he was an American World Champion.

He was arguably the greatest chess player who ever lived. Perhaps, Garry Kasparov could have beaten him in their respective primes. But, nobody … nobody … played as innovatively as Fischer did.

However, as we all know, there was a darker side to Fischer and his genius. His actions started to become despicable, inexcusable, and for me, very personal. Despite having a Jewish mother and probably a Jewish father, he was anti-Semitic to the core constantly uttering vile statements. He spoke out against the country that was once so proud of
him. He cheered 9/11. He called America the Evil Empire. There was not a single shred of him that was likable.

Yet, for this fan who remembered his ingenious innovative play, the popularity and acceptance he brought to chess, who got caught up in the mystical folklore of his long disappearances wondering if that bearded man at Washington Square Park could possibly be him, it was difficult to cease the inane hero worship for someone who was anything but a hero.

I know. Double standard. Repulsive. Hypocrite. You can call me all that, and you would be right.

But, I just can’t hate Bobby Fischer.

This Week in D-I Women’s Hockey: Jan. 24, 2008

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Assumptions? You know the old chestnut concerning assumptions.

“When you assume, you make an…”

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And yet coming into the current season, and perhaps even halfway through it there were reasonable assumptions to be made concerning the eight teams that will make up this year’s NCAA tournament.

That seven spots will come from a mix involving the powerful WCHA (from whence all seven Frozen Four champions have come), the ECAC, and the CHA’s Mercyhurst.

The remaining one, and only one, would be dished out to the Hockey East champion, which it was assumed (there’s that word again) would be New Hampshire.

And you know, it may play out just that way.

But then again, perhaps not. Not if Providence College has anything to say about the matter.

PC was consigned to “also-ran” status at the beginning of the year, and quite frankly, the Friars did little in the first weeks to suggest otherwise.

A tie in the season opener by weak sisters Maine, followed by blowout losses at St. Lawrence and UConn … who would have figured that this once-mighty program could give itself the Lazarus treatment in less than a season.

But it has, and now after going 8-3-1 since Thanksgiving, PC has folks in Hockey East a little wary, if not down right nervous.

“I think Providence is really going to challenge us,” said New Hampshire coach Brian McCloskey. “Not only will they make our league tournament … I think they’d be a favorite to make it to the championship game. They’re an ultra-aggressive team. One of the more aggressive teams that we’ve played. They gap right up and they challenge our players. That creates times when we weren’t being patient and turned the puck over. I think they’re good.”

McCloskey and his Wildcats saw just how good last Saturday, on their Olympic-sized home rink, when they escaped from a matinee date with the Friars with a 1-1 tie.

It put the first blemish on UNH’s spotless HEA record (10-0-1). It also injected a little hubris into the Friar psyche.

“Actually it was a little disappointing,” said PC goalie Danielle Ciarletta, “because last week we beat Mercyhurst. We were hoping to get a ‘W’. But a point against a number-one seed is really something to hold on to.”

For Ciarletta — a junior who transferred from Minnesota-Duluth — two seasons helped protect that point, having stopped all but one of the 28 shots the Wildcats fired her way.

“All season long, in our locker room, we’ve felt that we’re just as good as anyone in the country. When we go out there on the ice, we’re looking to beat them, get the two points, and move on. We know big games when we win them. We don’t take them for granted, at all. But we don’t feel as though we’re behind anyone, really.”

Time will tell, of course. Time, as well as a grueling stretch run that features two more tussles with UNH, plus two each with Boston College and UConn, their chief rivals for Hockey East elbow room.

Chances are that the Friars will have to get past all three to make it back to the NCAA tourney.

But Ciarletta thinks that they’re playing their best hockey of the season at a time when every game, every shift, can make a difference.

“I think earlier in the season, we just had a few pieces that were missing,” Ciarletta said. “I wasn’t playing my best hockey, in the beginning. And we weren’t playing our best, defensively. When you combine those two things, things are going to look a little ugly. But we’ve been working as a team to get everyone on the same page. I think we’ve done it. And I think it’s showed.”

Ciarletta got no argument from her coach, the effervescent Bob Deraney, who took the Friars to their lone NCAA berth back in 2005.

“What she says is true,” he said. “At the beginning of the year she wasn’t really playing her best. But neither were we. That’s the difference. We’re playing a lot more consistent hockey at a higher level, than we did at the beginning.”

To do this, said Deraney, the Friars have to, as they say, “stay within themselves.”

“We’re focusing on what we need to do to be a great team,” he said. “If you’re focusing on Mercyhurst one week and UNH the next week, they’re two completely different teams. All we can really control are the pieces that we have. How can we put them in a position to be successful. And put a system in place that will allow them to flourish. That’s really what we’re doing. We didn’t try to slow UNH down. Our players were just at their best, using their strengths.”

Strength isn’t a word usually associated with Hockey East, which with a few wrinkles, has been New Hampshire and everybody else since the league was birthed in 2002.

But McCloskey said he doesn’t mind being prodded by a worthy rival or two.

“I’m excited,” he said. “(About) the fact that (they’re) another team that can give us some tough, tenacious competition. Because we need it. We need to have competition within our league. If you look at the WCHA or ECAC, there are always in each league there are a couple teams struggling. But if the middle of the pack (must be able) challenge (number) one. It’s clearly that way out (West). And I think it’s going to be in our league. I think our tournament is going to be tough, too.

“I think BC has had their ups and downs, but Katie (King)’s team is mercurial. They can throw a great game at you. And I like Heather (Linstad’s) team at UConn. And I think the sleeper in the mix is BU. They’re a much better team than people realize. I’m not so much concerned as enthusiastic about our league. At the start of the year, it looked like our league might be down.”

Now for that thorny matter of a second HEA team being able to sweep the Selection Committee off its feet.

Without conceding that his own Wildcats, who have borne the nation’s No. 1 ranking since December, were a slam-dunk for a spot, he did allow that the Friars could well join the post-season party.

“It’s conceivable,” he said. “If they come out an knock us off. That’s probably how our league would get two. That’s probably the other leagues’ worst nightmare. And you know something? Watching Providence today, I’d be concerned. They’re good enough.”

This Week in the CCHA: Jan. 24, 2008

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How to Announce Your Presence with Authority in One Easy Step

So, you’re playing in a league that some people call fluffy because the conference name doesn’t begin with a “W” and you rarely play regular-season games in New England.

Even though your fourth-place team from a year ago took the national championship. Even though your two first-place teams are Nos. 1 and 2 in the nation. Even though four of your top teams grace the top 10 nationally.

What’s a top team in such a conference to do?

Beat who you’re supposed to beat. Crush ’em if you can.

The CCHA’s top three teams swept their competition last week in most convincing ways. Collectively, Michigan, Miami and Michigan State outscored Notre Dame, Lake Superior State and Ohio State 27-5.

The No. 1 Wolverines may have played one close game against then-No. 8 Notre Dame, but Michigan allowed just one first-period goal against the Irish in Saturday’s game at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

For No. 2 Miami and then-No. 7 Michigan State, the pickings were far easier. The RedHawks outscored the Lakers 11-1 at home and the Spartans beat up the Buckeyes 8-1 in Columbus.

There’s no better way to say, “We’re not fooling,” than that.

Not one of the coaches from those winning teams would admit to having spanked an opponent. But — in this case — the numbers don’t lie.

Still, from Red Berenson, whose Wolverines defeated another top-10 team in capital fashion for a weekend sweep:

“We’re finding ways to win games. I can’t tell you it was a thing of beauty. I can’t tell you we outplayed them. We made our chances count. I can’t tell you how many point-blank chances they had from the slot that Billy made look easy.”

From Enrico Blasi (told to the Hamilton Journal-News), whose team positively owned Lake Superior State:

“Everybody’s contributing. That’s how our team works.”

And from Rick Comley, whose team never let Ohio State get close:

“We have a long way to go. We’re taking steps and I think we have a chance of being a good team, but we have a long way to go.”

If you’re not Michigan, Miami or Michigan State, every other team in the league would like your ugly games where everyone’s contributing, and I’m sure they’d like to have as far to go as you do.

Last weekend left Michigan and Miami still tied for first, each with 30 points, and MSU in third with 26. The sweeps by the top three teams make a Notre Dame repeat as regular-season champs nearly impossible, heightening the suspense as the second half of the season rolls.

The Wolverines went into their series with the Irish with something to prove, if you can read the subliminal message in goaltender Billy Sauer’s post-game comments following Saturday’s win.

“We’re getting criticism lately for not having played the hardest teams,” said Sauer, “so when we play a good opponent like this and come out with two wins, it’s a good feeling.”

The suspense this dominance creates extends beyond the race for the regular-season title. While it’s unlikely that Notre Dame will finish below fourth and not secure a first-round bye in the CCHA playoffs, both Nebraska-Omaha and Bowling Green (can you believe it?) are within striking distance of the Irish, thanks to the weekend sweeps that UNO and BGSU enjoyed themselves.

And to make it even more interesting, FSU and NMU split. Fun times.

Speaking of Bowling Green and Fun Times

Senior Derek Whitmore earned CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors by notching his third hat trick of the season in the Falcons’ sweep of the Broncos.

“He’s a big part of our success,” said BGSU head coach Scott Paluch. “We went through a stretch where Derek wasn’t scoring, and we didn’t have the same results we had when he was scoring.”

No pressure there.

Whitmore has 19 goals in 21 games, and trails only Michigan’s Kevin Porter in goals per game this season among all players, nationally.

More Fun with Bowling Green

What a doozy of a fight with 12 seconds left in the WMU-BGSU contest Friday night. Thanks to Elliot Olshansky of CSTV.com, I got to see partial footage of the fight, most notably the end of the brawl, when Bronco junior defenseman Chris Frank was dragging CCHA official Neil Stafford into the pile-up on the ice near the boards. Frank wasn’t trying to involve Stafford in the fight, obviously, but Stafford was pulled along as Frank clearly and willfully — and probably gleefully — jumped back into the fray.

All 10 skaters for both teams were given fighting penalties and game disqualifications. In total, the teams combined for 207 minutes in the contest.

BGSU head coach Scott Paluch went on record as saying he didn’t think that it would be fair for all 10 skaters to get DQed. “I’m watching our guys and I know that we had at least one player who did not throw a punch,” said Paluch.

Maybe so, but there was very little hesitation among any of the players from either side to get down to it.

“It’s not indicative of the game that was played by both teams,” said WMU head coach Jim Culhane. “It’s unfortunate and disappointing in the collegiate game what took place with 12 seconds to go.”

Yes, the college game should be above this, and I am very relieved to know that no one was seriously hurt. I’m sure the league was throwing down a message by punishing all 10 skaters, and I don’t blame the CCHA for that — at all.

But the fan in me kind of liked to watch the footage. I’m a bad, bad person.

There was a chance for something similar to happen at the end of MSU’s 4-0 win over OSU Saturday night, when the Buckeyes perceived that the Spartans had taken liberties with goaltender Dustin Carlson after the whistle was blown.

There was some pushing and shoving, but assistant referees Blake Matatall and Tony Molina skated to the rescue. Really. Matatall and Molina were on the opposite side of the rink from the skirmish — at the officials’ table checking out something or other — when someone alerted them to the potential dangers in the corner.

Matatall and Molina (now there’s a great pair of crime-fighting names, a la NYPD Blue, if ever I’ve heard them) turned in unison, skated across the ice stride-for-stride in unison, and halted on the same thin dime — in unison, each with right foot forward and lifting spray — to put themselves in harm’s way.

Afterwards, Rick Comley remarked that while he understands that a team feels the need to protect its goaltender, “we didn’t need another” incident like the one of the night before.

And we got to see some pretty great synchronized skating.

We’re No. 21!

The Falcons are calling themselves “No. 21” in their press release because of the votes they’ve received in national polls. That’s impressive spin.

Those No. 9s

It’s all my fault that Notre Dame lost. No offense intended to the Wolverines, the team on the ice that actually beat the Irish.

Last week, I praised a couple of players in the league who wear No. 9. I talked about MSU’s Justin Abdelkader, who had the game-winning goal at 18:03 in the third period when MSU beat ND, 3-1, Jan. 11 and the first assist on the Spartans’ power-play goal two days later when MSU tied ND 1-1 in South Bend.

I talked about Ferris State’s Brendan Connolly, who had an unassisted shorthanded goal in the Bulldogs’ 2-2 with Alaska Jan. 12 after scoring in FSU’s 4-2 loss to UA the night before.

Last weekend, Abdelkader had three goals against OSU, the empty-netter in Friday’s 4-1 win and two goals in the 4-0 Saturday game. Connolly had the game-winning, power-play goal in Friday’s 3-2 FSU win over NMU.

What I failed to mention in last week’s column was the play of another No. 9, Notre Dame’s Ryan Thang. In that series against MSU two weeks ago, Thang had the second assist on ND’s only goal in the 3-1 loss and he tied the game for Notre Dame with 38 seconds left in regulation when the Irish tied the Spartans, 1-1, in South Bend.

My apologies to Mr. Thang for what clearly amounted to a curse. Thang had no points in Notre Dame’s series against Michigan last weekend.

Those Slacking Jeffs

What is wrong with young people today? I mean, you win 18 games so far this season and your team is tied for first place in your conference, or you win 15 and you won a national championship in April of last year … and it takes you until Jan. 19 to get a shutout? Is allowing no goals too much to ask?

I’m kidding of course. But given the seasons that Miami’s Jeff Zatkoff and Michigan State’s Jeff Lerg are having, it was surprising that it took until three weeks into the second half to earn a blanking, and fun that happened on the same night for each player.

“Thank God I didn’t screw up my shutout this time,” said Zatkoff, who had 10 one-goal wins this season and who has the best goals-against average (1.55) in the country.

Said Lerg, who’s had six one-goal wins and a 1-1 tie this season, “I kind of got the goals in the first periods, so I had no chance for shutouts.”

After learning that Zatkoff, too, had registered his first shutout of the season, Lerg paid his counterpart a few compliments. “He’s definitely a great goaltender. When he played against us he played real well the whole weekend. Talk about one-goal games. I think he had almost every game in the first half was a one-goal game for him.

“He’s a great goaltender. It just shows that shutouts aren’t easy to come by. You’ve got to work hard, you’ve got to get some lucky bounces, and you’ve got to have a good defensive core in front of you. Hopefully we’ll have a chance to play them down the road as well.”

The Meaning of Life

It may not be all there is to live for, but Michigan and Michigan State are playing a home-and-home series this weekend. And that’s a powerful endorsement of life on Earth.

No. 6 Michigan State (16-5-4, 12-2-2 CCHA) vs. No. 1 Michigan (22-2-0, 15-1-0 CCHA)
Friday, 7:35 p.m., Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Saturday, 7:35 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, Mich.

As someone not native to these parts but who has seen a lot of CCHA hockey in the past 13 years, I thought I understood the magnitude of this rivalry … until November of last year. I was chatting on the phone with Spartan head coach Rick Comley, who said, “Everyone here is happy this week.”

For a moment, I was puzzled. Then I realized that Comley was talking about Ohio State’s win over Michigan — on the gridiron, where such events really matter to people in East Lansing.

When Comley first took the job at MSU, he seemed a bit overwhelmed — or in awe, maybe — of Michigan State’s resources and athletic tradition. Comley’s no fool and he knew to an extent what he was getting into, but until he spent a week on the Michigan State campus, as a Spartan head coach, before the football team was to do battle with Michigan, he really didn’t grasp the enormity of the rivalry between the schools.

Believe me when I tell you that he does now, and he and his staff make sure that his players do, too. After the Spartans beat the Buckeyes for a weekend sweep last Saturday night, MSU forward Chris Mueller put the four points into immediate perspective.

“We’re still chasing people in this league,” said Mueller. “Michigan, they’re running away with the league and we’re just chasing them. What we’re doing is that we’re trying to set up a league match-up with them next weekend.”

While the Miami RedHawks may disagree with Mueller’s assessment that the Wolverines are “running away with the league,” you can hardly blame the Spartan senior for making the statement; when the series with the Buckeyes was over, all MSU could see was Maize and Blue.

A whole slew of Wolverines will be initiated into the rivalry that Sports Illustrated said was the best in the whole state of Michigan. UM skates as many as 10 freshmen in a given game, which adds an interesting twist to the first of this year’s regular-season games.

“I’ve grown up watching Michigan and Michigan State battle, so it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Aaron Palushaj in an interview with the Ann Arbor News this week. Palushaj, third on the UM squad in scoring with six goals and 18 assists, said that the Wolverines have had “a good week of practice,” and that the team “will be ready for” the Spartans.

His classmate, defenseman Kevin Quick, told the News the Spartans are “jacked up” to play the Wolverines, and added, “We have to get jacked up to play them.”

Indeed.

After all of these years, there is little that I can add to the legacy of this rivalry, but I can give you some numbers to ponder:

• Goals per game: MSU 3.48 (3rd CCHA/5th nationally); UM 4.12 (2nd CCHA/2nd nationally)
• Goals allowed per game: MSU 2.44 (5th/16th); UM 1.75 (2nd/2ndth)
• Power play: MSU 22.9 percent (2nd/4th); UM 21.6 (3rd/5th)
• Penalty kill: MSU 84.3 percent (7th/34th); UM 90.2 (2nd/4th)
• Top scorers: MSU Ted Kennedy (13-14–27), Matt Schepke (10-14–24); UM Kevin Porter (22-17–39), Chad Kolarik (18-14–32)
• Top ‘tender: MSU Jeff Lerg (.922 SV%, 2.28 GAA); UM Billy Sauer (.935 SV%, 1.70 GAA)

I just went two deep on each of the scorers, but MSU has two other scorers with goals in the double digits, Justin Abdelkader (11-11–22) and Bryan Lerg (11-9–20).

Twelve of Porter’s 22 goals are power-play tallies. On paper, the Spartan power play looks anemic, but MSU hasn’t allowed a PP goal in seven games.

Michigan does not, but the Wolverines have many, many, many guys who can find the net. How crazy is it that averaging 4.12 goals per game isn’t good enough for first place in the country? Those darned RedHawks.

This year, the Wolverines don’t have to skate by on scoring. What a season for Billy Sauer, whose goals-against average is third-best in the nation and whose save percentage is second. With Sauer in net, veteran leadership in the locker room, and that enthusiastic and talented freshman class, the Wolverines are enjoying their best record in program history (22-2-0) through 24 games.

Famously, these are teams whose own athletic departments cannot agree on all-time records between the clubs. According to the Spartans, Michigan leads this all-time series 131-117-17; according to the Wolverines, Michigan has a 127-116-17 edge. In all of college hockey, only North Dakota and Minnesota have met more times than these two.

In six games last season, Michigan was 3-2-1 against Michigan State, but obviously the Spartans had the last laugh. UM was 2-1-1 against MSU in regular-season play, lost 4-1 to the Spartans for the title of the Great Lakes Invitational at midseason, and beat MSU 5-2 en route to the CCHA title game loss to Notre Dame.

In a 3-3 tie Feb. 10 in Joe Louis Arena, Lerg had a career-high 54 saves.

Let the games begin!

Best Quote of the Week

My esteemed colleague, Neil Koepke, wrote a nice feature in this week’s Lansing State Journal on the friendship between MSU captain Bryan Lerg and UM captain Kevin Porter.

In that piece, this is what Lerg had to say about Porter, whom he’s known since both players were 12 years old: “He’s clearly the best player in college hockey. Just look at his stats and what he’s done as captain. I’m happy for him, and I hope he wins the Hobey.”

And Another Good Quote, Apropos of Nothing at This Point

The score of Saturday’s MSU-OSU game may be a bit deceptive. While the Buckeyes were clearly chasing the Spartans throughout the contest, Ohio State kept it interesting through two periods and the score was 1-0 going into the third.

After the win, Comley was asked what he did between the second and third periods to lead to the MSU three-goal outburst. “I stayed out of the locker room,” he said. “Obviously I had no good impact for two periods so I thought I’d keep my mouth shut.”

Later in the post-game interview, Comley revisited what obviously had been a tough break between periods.

“I stayed in the coaches’ room,” he said. “I was out of my mind.”

And This from Comley, Too Good Not to Mention

Perhaps in response to something he may have read last week, perhaps because he was in Columbus and some of the beat writers present cover OSU hockey on a regular basis, Comley complimented the Buckeyes both nights in post-game interviews, often unsolicited.

“I think they played hard. I think they work like crazy. You can tell they haven’t given up. I think they believe they’re close.”

It’s probably an accurate description of a team that now looks like it can play but can’t score goals, compared to a team that looked like it couldn’t play in the first half of the season. It was just interesting to hear it from Comley.

He also pointed to Tom Fritsche’s illness as part of why OSU is struggling, echoing a lot of what Buckeye head coach John Markell has said.

“If Tommy Fritsche can ever get his game back to where it was, this team would just take off,” said Comley. “He was one of the best players in college hockey. You can tell that he’s much healthier and starting to get some of his game back but not even close to where he was before he was sick.

“When that happens to a player — and good for Ohio State for sticking with him — but that’s been a crippling loss for this program.”

Fritsche missed half of his junior season last year with a colon ailment that nearly sidelined him permanently.

Okay — One More Thing

Once upon a time, when I had a car that tolerated travel outside of my own area code, I spent as much time as I could in exotic destinations like East Lansing and Ann Arbor. These heady hockey hotbeds never disappointed, and at one time I saw as much of Michigan State as I did any other team outside of my home base.

Ah, those were the days. And thanks to Michigan State’s Frozen Four appearance and MSU’s weekend in Columbus, I now remember what I’m missing.

This Spartan team is just the loosest, funniest group of players to observe that I’ve seen in years. The combination of their fierce competitiveness with their relaxed, have-fun attitude helped them enormously in St. Louis, where most of the press had already anointed Boston College.

They were just as interesting this weekend, and a lot of that clearly trickles from their excellent coaching staff. I realize that Rick Comley — or “Rich” Comley, if you’re the OSU public address announcer Saturday night — has won three national championships at three different places and is the hand-picked successor to the Godfather of College Hockey himself … but he’s still Rick Comley, fan and student of a game that has become his life’s work and a guy who’s easy to be around.

And the only thing missing is Chris Lawrence.

This Week in Hockey East: Jan. 24, 2008

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Five Teams

When the season opened with a mayday-mayday weekend, Hockey East’s chances of a second straight year with five teams in the NCAA tournament didn’t look promising. Only Merrimack escaped with a win back on that Friday the 12th that felt like a 13th.

Not to worry.

If the season ended today, New Hampshire, Boston College, Northeastern, Massachusetts-Lowell and Massachusetts would be in. The fluctuations at this point are admittedly enormous, but it’s a fun time, especially for fans of the Huskies and River Hawks who haven’t been to the dance for a while.

It’s worth noting, though, that since the expansion to a 16-team tournament in 2003, Hockey East has failed to get at least four teams in only once, in 2004 when Maine, BC, and UNH made the cut.

Interesting times ahead…

Pulling Away From The Pack?

There’s still a ton of hockey to be played, but New Hampshire has put itself in a great position heading into the stretch run. The Wildcats have won their last four league games including a pivotal sweep of Massachusetts two weeks ago. They now sit atop Hockey East, tied with Boston College but with a game in hand.

“It’s an opportunity,” UNH coach Dick Umile says. “We’re in a good position at this point anyway. It’s been an incredible league with the way that Northeastern, UMass, Lowell, and Providence have played.

“We’re in a position where we can kind of control our own destiny, but it’s all Hockey East [games] from here on in. We’re pleased with the way that the team has played since we’ve come back from break, with the goaltending and the line combinations. I’m comfortable with the team right now.”

The Wildcats have lost a couple recent nonleague games, one against St. Lawrence in which they held a 5-3 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining, and another last weekend in which they outshot Dartmouth, 57-26, but at least those stumbles didn’t impact the standings.

“We don’t like the losses, whether it’s St. Lawrence or Dartmouth, but we played pretty well in both of those games,” Umile says. “We kind of gave it up against St. Lawrence. Even though we lost the other night against Dartmouth, I was pleased with the team, pleased with the way the team played, not pleased with the outcome.”

The Dartmouth game notwithstanding — five goals allowed on 26 shots — goaltender Kevin Regan has been a key part of UNH’s success. In Hockey East games, Regan leads the league in all goaltending categories: goals-against average (2.01), save percentage (.935), and winning percentage (7.27).

“He’s playing extremely well,” Umile says. “He’s playing with an awful lot of confidence. I think the other night [against Dartmouth] the puck just found its way with a couple of tip shots and some crazy ways the puck bounced. He’s playing solid for us.

“It definitely starts from the net out with us this season. There’s a lot of confidence from everybody in front of him with him in the net.”

Another key weekend series awaits the Wildcats. Boston University, a big rival in any year, isn’t in a position to wrest first place away from UNH but is undefeated in its last five league games and is a big weekend away from being back in the mix.

“BU is playing extremely well,” Umile says. “They were snakebitten there for a while scoring goals and I think their goaltending was a little up and down, but they’ve got that together and they’re scoring. They’re right up there offensively.

“They’re always a team that plays extremely well the second half. This is a rivalry that goes way back as far as UNH is concerned. There’s a lot of respect there.

“This is an important time for us. The opportunity ahead is a great one if we want to compete for the top in Hockey East.”

Still A Big Story

A couple weeks ago, Massachusetts-Lowell was arguably the story in the league with five straight wins and seven of eight. A program that had gone through so much adversity and had looked to be at least a year away, vaulted into home ice contention and a national ranking.

Observers still have to be impressed despite splits the last two weekends: a home-and-home series with Providence followed by a loss to Boston College and a win over UMass. The River Hawks had a shot at taking all four games.

“We’re not at all focused on results as much as we are the process,” UML coach Blaise MacDonald says. “That has to be our M. O. — playing well.

“Fortunately we’ve done enough little things well at key moments to turn one-goal losses or ties we had last year into victories.”

The win over UMass was particularly important, not only in the standings but because the two sister schools also compete for the Alumni Cup, awarded to the winner of their three-game, regular-season series.

“We kind of framed that game as a championship game,” MacDonald says. “For a young team, we wanted to see how we’d respond, similar to when we played Maine in the Florida tournament. I thought we played really well and winning that was very big for us.”

You have to wonder if the youth of this team is working to Lowell’s advantage in that the kids may not have fully realized that they weren’t supposed to be this good.

“We don’t focus on it,” MacDonald says. “As coaches, we’re pretty well-suited to bringing people back down to earth.

“We still have that approach that we’re in the batter’s box, it’s an 0-2 count, Jonathan Papelbon is on the hill, and we’ve just got to fight like heck to get our bat on the ball.

“That being said, I must compliment the leadership we’ve had from Ben Holmstrom and Mark Roebothan as well as Barry Goers and Jeremy Dehner. They have done a tremendous job with the guys and turning a lot of those tight games into victories.”

Roebothan has gotten the job done not only in the locker room but also on the ice. This year, he’s taken his game to a new level, already almost matching his scoring totals from his first two years combined. Not with the flash of Top 10 Plays of the Day, but with trademark grit.

“If you look at his goals, those are signature goals, dirty goals, tough goals,” MacDonald says. “One hundred percent effort. That’s the type of guy he is.

“He’s doing it statistically, but it’s [also important] the way he’s doing it and where he’s doing it — right in the battle areas.”

In another season, this weekend’s two-game set against Minnesota-Duluth might have been a chance to experiment in non-league games. But if the season ended today, the River Hawks would be in the NCAA tournament. It might not be prudent to start talking in those terms — focus on the process, focus on the process — but that possibility puts a whole new spin on the series.

“Originally I was looking at this as a nice change for us, a chance for us to play a great opponent without it affecting our standings in Hockey East.” MacDonald says. “In the back of your mind you can look at it that way, but in the forefront you’re looking at it like it’s Hockey East against the WCHA. We have a responsibility to Hockey East to do everything in our power to see if we can get the results we desire.”

Not to mention — shhhhhhhh! — take two more steps to what would have been unthinkable at the beginning of the season: an NCAA berth.

Turning It Around?

Going into last weekend, Vermont hadn’t won a league game since Thanksgiving, had just been swept by Boston College, and was in distinct danger of not making the playoffs. Coming in to town were one of Hockey East’s top teams, the Northeastern Huskies. Not exactly a recipe for a turnaround.

The Vermont Catamounts, however, took a vital three of four points from Northeastern.

“It certainly was a very positive step in the right direction for our team,” UVM coach Kevin Sneddon says. “We’d come off a relatively poor performance in Boston the previous week just in terms of our overall intensity.

“We challenged the team. We told them as a staff we were going to take the reins and hold players far more accountable than we had in recent weeks. Then we pushed the team very hard.

“They responded like any coach would hope a team would respond. They were very motivated to prove to themselves that they were far better than what they’d shown recently.

“We were pleased to take a big step forward. But it is just a step. We’ve got a long way to go. Not sound too much like a coach, but that’s just a very small step forward and we’ve got to continue to take those steps if we want to be a competitor in this league this year.”

Perhaps most encouraging is that the Catamounts, one of the top defensive teams since joining the league but last in goals allowed this year, gave up only two goals each night.`

“The best part of it was the number of grade A opportunities that we actually gave up,” Sneddon says. “I think particularly on Saturday night we did a nice job of limiting those chances for Northeastern.

“They scored a power play goal and then a shorthanded goal which was disappointing. But five-on-five we limited their scoring opportunities. We didn’t give up any odd-man rushes. We were really solid in our own zone.

“Unfortunately up to this point we’ve given up several odd-man rushes in games and we just haven’t played well as a five-man unit defensively. That was probably the best thing about our game. We were physical, we won races to loose pucks, we limited Northeastern’s opportunities to some degree, and we got good goaltending when we needed it. So it was a very positive weekend all-in-all on both sides of the puck.”

This weekend another huge series beckons, two games at UMass. The Minutemen had been flying high until dropping four straight. Is this the best time or the worst time to be facing the Minutemen?

“I have such great respect for [UMass coach Don] Toot Cahoon,” Sneddon says. “I’ve seen him throughout his coaching career, when he was at Princeton and I was at Union and then again since his [arrival] at UMass. His teams don’t often go into lengthy slides. And there is a reason for it. He is a very good coach at changing the direction quickly and getting his team back on the right track.

“I think we’re going to see a very highly focused and motivated team on Friday night. As I said to my team yesterday, [UMass] was the fifth-ranked team in the country two weeks ago. So let’s not forget that, how good they are.

“If anything, they are going to be on heightened alert by their coaching staff in terms of all the details of the game. We expect to see them at their best on the weekend. We’ve got to be even better than we were this past weekend.”

Complicating matters is that the series is on the road. Vermont is 4-4-1 at home this year but only 1-5-2 on the road.

“I think some of that is youth,” Sneddon says. “But we just haven’t played well up until recently. We’ve had good moments, but we haven’t had consistency and that’s the challenge. At some point it would be nice to say, ‘Hey, we’re a consistent hockey team home or away.’

“But we haven’t been a consistent hockey team at home or away. So we’re not really looking at the records or what’s going on when we head out on the road or what do we do at home.

“If we bring our game like we played this past weekend for 120 minutes every weekend, we at least give ourselves a chance to win hockey games in this league. The top four teams that are eventually going to make it to the TD BankNorth Garden are the teams that can do that consistently. The teams that play inconsistent are going to find themselves on the losing end.”

In Case You Missed It

Last weekend, my niece, Cherie Hendrickson, was interviewed during the second intermission of the USCHO Game of the Week. Check out the video or audioarchives.

(Correction: Cherie was mistakenly referred to as my daughter, not my niece.)

Trivia Contest

Last week Scott reported that his daughter had recently competed in her geography bee at school, putting the whole family into map fever for a little while. As a result, his question required some heavy use of Mapquest to solve it. He called this one “Far-Flung Teammates.” In the history of men’s hockey in Hockey East, name the pair of teammates who lived the farthest driving distance apart in North America according to Mapquest. To determine the distance, go to Mapquest and ask for directions between the two players’ hometowns as they are listed on www.hockeydb.com.

This question really captured the imagination of our loyal readers, as we had several dozen respondents. Predictably, Scott’s own best guess of 4,728 miles was blown away by the best answer. Scott Kaplan came up with teammates Mike Fournier (Anchorage, Alaska) and goalie Jim Healey (Holyrood, Newfoundland) from the 2004-05 and 2005-06 Merrimack Warriors. The pair was indeed far-flung, as Mapquest reports a distance of a whopping 6,073.46 miles across the continent.

Better still, reader Joseph Burke was a little stunned to hear that the distance from Anchorage to Newfoundland could be more than the distance between Alaska and New Port Richey, Florida, hometown of UNH freshman Danny Vranek. Although Vranek has no current Alaskan teammate, Joseph still didn’t quite believe me when I told him that I thought it was farther from Alaska to Newfoundland in any event. Admirably, he put his engineer’s hat and calculated that Florida and reported the following:

“Assuming the earth is a perfect sphere, which it isn’t, but close enough, then using the general latitude and longitude of the cities I found…

Anchorage Alaska – 61° 13′ N by 149° 54′ W
New Port Richey Florida – 28°14’N by 82°43’W
St John’s Newfoundland – 47° 37’N by 52° 45’W

Well when you calculate the geodesic you find:

Anchorage to St John’s “as the crow flies” is 5852 km
and
Anchorage to New Port Richey “as the crow flies” is 6071 km

So Newfoundland is farther by car but shorter as the crow flies.”

He also added:

“P.S. This entire exercise had nothing to do with the real trivia question.

P.P.S. This one was fun.”

Phew! Hope all of you aspiring geographers kept up with that explanation! Obviously Scott will be devising more geographical trivia questions in the future, given how big a hit this one was.

Lest we forget, Scott Kaplan’s winning answer calls for the cheer of his choice:

“Let’s Go Lowell! 2007-08 Alumni Cup Champs!”

This week’s question involves one of the five league teams that would qualify for the national tournament if the season ended today. In its most recent NCAA appearance, that team lost to the eventual national champion in the first round, but would have taken a third-period lead if instant replay had been used. The goaltender involved in the play would go on to be a Boston Bruin.

E-mail me with the year, the two teams involved, the Hockey East player who took the shot, and the goalie. The winner will be notified by Tuesday night; if you haven’t heard by then you either had the wrong answer or someone else beat you to it.

And Finally, Not That It Has Anything To Do With Anything, But…

If you like cooking, or if you just want to see photos that’ll make you hungry, check out my daughter’s blog. You can also click on the “About” tab and find out a fun tidbit of family history.

Go ahead. Click on it. Give Nicole a sharp spike in her page views so she’ll think that everybody reads this column.

I was going to blab on about other topics, but what better place to finish than talking about the best daughter in the history of the universe.

Thanks to my wife Brenda for her life-saving transcriptions.

This Week in the ECAC Northeast

By Paul C. Altmeyer Jr.
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“We’re right in the thick of things,” coach Rob Davies said of his conference-leading Curry College Colonels. “We had a tough game against Becker the other night. They played very well and gave us all we can handle. We were fortunate to get the win. Now we’ve got Wentworth and Nichols coming up. Right now, it’s there for anyone.”

Currently in first place in the ECAC NE with a record of 7-1-1, and an overall mark of 9-8-1, Davies’ isn’t kidding when he infers that things are up for grabs. The contest on February 2 against Nichols pits the Colonels against a team with the best overall record in the conference, as the Bisons are currently 11-3-1. Keep in mind that with the recent Western New England College win over UMass-Dartmouth, that any team in the league may now be capable of banking a win on any given night.

One thing Davies knows he has going for him is a potent offense. The Colonels lead the league with 55 goals scored in nine games and overall they have scored 74 times in 18 games, which is one less than Nichols total of 75 goals in 15 games.

Davies knows where some of these goals are coming from.

“We’re fortunate to have a power play that’s scoring at about a 33% clip, so we’re getting some production out of our power play. It seems, though, that we’re just scoring enough goals to win.”

Perhaps in overall play that might be the case, as Curry has surrendered just fewer than three goals per game, while scoring just over four goals. In league play, though, they are more dominant, scoring 6.1 goals per game while giving up just 2.3 per game.

When asked who is leading the way for the Colonels offensively, Davies didn’t have to wait long to respond.

“[Jeffrey] Hazelwood and [Jason]Yuel are carrying a lot of the load. [James] Pentecost has scored some timely goals. We’re getting production from guys, and getting everyone to play even hockey, then letting the ‘go to’ guys be the difference makers.”

Yuel and Hazelwood can certainly qualify as ‘go to’ guys so far. A freshman out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Yuel has 15 goal and 12 assists for 27 points in 18 games so far. His eight power-play goals lead the conference. Hazelwood, a junior out of California, also has 27 points, tallying nine goals and 18 assists. He is second on the team with five power-play goals.

Pentecost is second on the team with 11 goals, and he has also added two assists. Two of his goals have been short-handed. Also adding to the dynamic offense is Ross Enmark, who is averaging a point per game with 6-12-18.

Back on the blue-line, Davies said that “Jarrett Rush has played very well for us, and Jarrett Souza has been steady as of late. Trevor Speridi has been a good asset to us, we’ve used him a couple of times up front, and on the point. He has a lot of versatility, and with seven guys out hurt, that helps.”

In goal, Davies has been rotating sophomores Stephen Jakiel and Zachary Caredella.

”Goaltending is going to be the backbone of our hockey club,” he said. “We have two of the top three goalies, and they’re still competing with one another and trying to bring the best out.”

Even though Jakiel played a strong game in the win over Becker, Davies plans on keeping the rotation going, and will start Cardella on Saturday against Wentworth.

Whether or not the rotation ends, and Davies goes with one goalie, will be determined by the young men who don the pads. Jakiel is currently 6-2-1 with a 2.64 goals against average and a .894 save percentage. Cardella has a record of 3-6-0, and his GAA is 2.91, but his save percentage of .917 is second in the conference.

“It’s amazing when you have everyone playing for a cause,” Davies said when asked about his overall thoughts on the league. “It’s inspired hockey, and amazing what you can do. We’re all trying to get fire under our guys and inspire them to play to their potential, or above their potential.”

This Week in the CHA: Jan. 24, 2008

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Wayne State has never had a true home rink and last weekend added to the list of places it has called home with a game at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Located 45 minutes north of Detroit, the Palace houses the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and WNBA’s Detroit Shock and is more of a concert venue than a hockey rink.

Last Saturday, the Warriors played Niagara in the first game of the College Hockey Faceoff and got out to a 4-1 lead in the second period — and wound up losing, 6-5.

“Being down 4-1 was not the ideal spot to be in on the road,” NU head coach Dave Burkholder said. “But our two captains led us like they have all year.”

Those two captains — senior Matt Caruana and junior Vince Rocco — combined to figure in five of the Purple Eagles’ goals and singlehandedly took over the game from early in the middle period on.

Wayne State and Niagara line up prior to Saturday's contest at the Palace of Auburn Hills (photo: Matt Mackinder).

Wayne State and Niagara line up prior to Saturday’s contest at the Palace of Auburn Hills (photo: Matt Mackinder).

“Me and ‘Rocc’ need to lead this team and they followed us tonight,” Caruana said Saturday. “The past couple weeks we’ve split with teams and we knew we had to step it up this second night. We came together.”

“Winning the third period was the turning point when we went in only down 4-3,” said Rocco. “I stood up in the room after the second and basically said it’s time. (Goalie Juliano Pagliero) played well and has been great for us. We’ve had slow starts all year and tonight, Wayne State capitalized, but we never had the feeling of being out of this game. Not once.”

Freshman Adam Avramenko started in net for Niagara, but was pulled after Stavros Paskaris’ second goal made the game 4-1 five minutes into the second period.

“I’ve played long enough to know what’s expected of me when the coach gives you that look and says, ‘You’re in,'” Pagliero said. “You just turn a switch and get out there. I don’t know that me coming in had anything to do (with rallying), but we responded and it triggered something.”

Tyler Ruel and Derek Punches scored in the first period for WSU with a Kyle Rogers goal sandwiched in the middle. Paskaris then scored his pair, followed by two from Rocco.

“That line (Caruana-Rocco-Kyle Rogers) won the game for us,” Burkholder said. “And it was good to see (Les) Reaney get off the schneid. We’ve been on Caruana and Rocco to be more consistent and looking at their stats, you might not think that they have been. But to respond they way they did tonight, that just shows you what kind of leaders those guys are.”

Ryan Annesley and Caruana scored in a 1:26 span early in the second and Reaney added an insurance goal before Derek Bachynski brought the Warriors to within a goal at 18:16. It was Pagliero’s only goal he allowed and he finished with 14 saves.

“In the second, we just let them back in it,” WSU head coach Bill Wilkinson said. “Then there was a gap in the third where we just couldn’t shut them down, couldn’t defend, couldn’t do anything. This loss will hurt because we had the game under control and just gave them opportunities. We won’t dwell on this and we’ll continue to build in practice. We can’t rest. We’ll get ready to play again.”

Freshman Mike Devoney, who beat Northern Michigan in his first two NCAA starts two weeks ago, took the loss in goal making 17 stops and was out of position for a couple goals and bailed out by his defensemen (including a Matt Krug sliding stop) on several others.

“You can’t blame Mike,” added Wilkinson. “No one was used to this rink and the bounces, so no, I’m not disappointed in the way Mike played.”

The rink, constructed for the WSU-NU game and the Michigan-Notre Dame nightcap, was nearly empty for the CHA game, but filled up nicely for the CCHA contest. Still, the on-ice conditions were average at best.

“The ice was choppy after the first 10 minutes or so,” noted Caruana. “You just try and get the puck deep and not get too fancy.”

“There’s no NHL team here (the IHL’s Detroit Vipers played there from 1994-2001), but it’s an NHL-style building and I think all the kids enjoyed the experience,” Wilkinson said.

Friday night, Armando Scarlato scored with 2:49 to play to give Niagara its first comeback win of the weekend.

“We gutted out two games this weekend,” added Burkholder. “We stuck to our game plan both nights.”

Wayne State hosts Alabama-Huntsville this weekend at the Taylor SportsPlex and NU travels to face No. 12 Quinnipiac.

“It’ll be good to get back to ECAC play,” said Burkholder. “They have one of the nicer buildings in the NCAA and hopefully, this sweep of Wayne State can start us on a roll.”

UAH Gets First Home Win Of ’07-08

It took a reunion of the 1998 Alabama-Huntsville Division II national championship team to inspire the 2007-2008 team to get their first home win of the season last Saturday night.

The Chargers played with the fire and grit the ’98 team did and rallied for a 3-2 comeback win over visiting Yale. It was UAH’s first win at home since beating Niagara March 2, 2007.

Captain Scott Kalinchuk scored in the first period, but then UAH went down 2-1 going into the third period.

Matt Sweazey and Joe Federoff scored on separate power plays in the third period to give UAH the win. Blake MacNicol picked up the win in net with a solid 30-save performance.

“We got into a goofy setup that kind of worked,” Alabama-Huntsville head coach Danton Cole told USCHO. “We put our forward in a different place and we just kept working the puck around until we found a guy in the right place.

“They feel pretty good. I’m more excited for them than I am for the win. Last weekend (against Bemidji State) was tough, but they rebounded well.”

Friday night, Yale started the series with a 3-2 win of its own.

Wearing black and blue third jerseys as part of a team fundraiser, UAH got goals from Kalinchuk and Chris Fairbanks (first collegiate goal) and 27 saves from MacNicol.

“We did most things quite a bit better,” Cole said to USCHO. “In the end, though, there’s another word for coming close: losing. It’s tough on our guys, because they haven’t won a lot, but they went down 2-0 and didn’t bat an eye.”

Beavers Beaten In Colorado

Bemidji State traveled to Colorado last weekend to face two top-five national powers in Colorado College and Denver.

The Beavers didn’t win, but played well enough to win both and even had a third-period lead against Colorado College.

Bemidji State sophomore forward Chris McKelvie recorded the first natural hat trick at BSU in more than 50 years, but it was not enough as No. 3 Colorado College erased a 4-2 deficit with a trio of third-period goals to escape with a 5-4 victory Friday night.

The last time the Beavers faced the Tigers was just a year ago when BSU split with the then-No. 8 Tigers.

“Sure, it’s disappointing,” Beavers head coach Tom Serratore said. “Any time you lose a 4-2 lead going into the third period, it is unacceptable. I don’t care who you are playing.”

Heading into the second period, the Beavers trailed 2-1, but 5:31 into the stanza, McKelvie netted his fourth goal of the season to kick-start the three-goal outing. He added two more before the 19:19 mark of the second to record the fastest natural hat trick in BSU history since Rich Budge scored three goals in a span of 11:25 on Jan. 30, 1966.

“Chris played well,” said Serratore. “His goals were all gutty goals, well-earned and well-deserved. He had a heck of a game.”

Emil Billberg scored BSU’s other goal and Matt Dalton posted 24 saves.

Tyler Scofield and Blaine Jarvis each scored Saturday night in a 4-2 loss against the No. 4-ranked Pioneers.

“Give credit where credit is due,” Serratore said. “(Denver) is a good hockey team. They are big and strong and tough down low. We had some good play tonight, but they were the better hockey team.”

Orlando Alamano turned away 28 DU shots in the loss.

Two More Warriors To Transfer

Just a week after word that WSU defenseman Matt Krug will transfer to Robert Morris leaked, it appears he’ll be joined by current Warrior freshman defenseman Brock Meadows in Pittsburgh.

With the Colonials losing six senior defensemen after this season, Krug, Meadows and current Robert Morris freshman Denny Urban will suddenly find themselves in go-to roles for RMU.

Wayne State freshman defenseman Eric Roman, who earned his first NCAA point with an assist last Saturday against Niagara, has reportedly committed to D-III Adrian College in the MCHA. Adrian, a first-year hockey program, has a brand-spanking-new arena on campus, the Arrington Ice Arena, and was No. 13 in the USCHO D-III poll this week.

Roman will join former junior teammate Justin Stadler on the Bulldogs. Both played in the North American Hockey League last season for the Alpena IceDiggers.

Due to NCAA regulations, no one can formally comment on the transfers until the said players enroll at their respective new schools.

BSU, WCHA Schedule Agreement

Bemidji State University and the WCHA announced last Friday a future scheduling agreement involving the Bemidji State men’s hockey program that, if nothing else, gives the Beavers hope for a future in the WCHA.

Beginning with the 2010-2011 season, and in conjunction with the opening of the Bemidji Regional Events Center, the WCHA will include in its annual composite schedule guaranteed home contests at Bemidji State.

“We’re pleased that we have been able to successfully pursue this agreement with the WCHA,” Bemidji State president Dr. Jon Quistgaard said. “We view this agreement as the first step in developing an even closer relationship between Bemidji State University and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.”

“This is a positive step for Bemidji State University and its hockey program,” said BSU director of athletics Dr. Rick Goeb. “It helps us in reaching our goal of attaining more home games and additional games against the one of the premier hockey conferences in the country — the WCHA.”

It is Bemidji State’s goal to play an annual 12-game nonconference schedule against members of the WCHA with an even split of home and road contests, but no specific details regarding the scheduling agreement have been finalized.

CHA Rumors Abound

The future of the CHA may be resting in Atlantic Hockey’s hands as rumors are out there that two unnamed schools (reportedly Mercyhurst and Canisius) may flee the AHA and join Alabama-Huntsville, Bemidji State, Niagara and Robert Morris next season.

CHA commissioner Bob Peters was on KKBJ’s “Sports In The Round” show Wednesday night and made mention of this scenario, but did not mention which two AHA schools would potentially join the CHA.

As always, stay tuned to this slow-developing situation.

USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

(Jan. 21, 2008)

Niagara and Bemidji State received votes.

Players of the Week

(Jan. 21, 2008)

Offensive
Vince Rocco, NU
Rocco recorded six points in Niagara’s sweep at Wayne State. He had the game-winning assist as the Purple Eagles rallied from a 2-1 deficit for the win on Friday and then was part of five consecutive Niagara goals in Saturday’s come-from-behind victory. He assisted on NU’s first goal, scored the next two and then assisted on the fourth and fifth markers. He finished the weekend with a plus-minus rating of +4.

Defensive
Armando Scarlato, NU
In Friday’s victory, he scored the game-winning goal that snapped a 2-2 deadlock late in the third period. After NU fell behind on Saturday, he assisted on the Purple Eagles’ first goal. Scarlato finished the weekend with a +3 plus-minus rating.

Rookie
Andrew Coburn, UAH
Coburn tallied three assists and five shots on goal in the Chargers’ split with Yale. He assisted on UAH’s first goal on Friday then recorded two assists on Saturday including one on the game-winning goal.

This Week in the ECAC West

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Getting Your Money’s Worth

Hobart and Neumann played a pair of wild games last weekend in Aston, PA that provide a glimpse of the kind of hockey that fans can expect in the ECAC West down the stretch.

Friday’s contest saw Neumann start out on a tear, scoring four goals in the first 6:11 of the game. Four different players scored for Neumann, and seven other players got assists. The only multi-point player in the spurt was Jesse Cole with a pair of assists.

Neumann out shot the Statesmen 21-8 in that wild first period. But after that, Hobart slowly clawed back into the contest, thanks at least in small part to the Knights letting off the gas a little.

“We had been off for a couple of days and the guys were excited to be there [on Friday],” said Neumann coach Phil Roy. “It was a very good period for us. We have to continue our progression and play for the whole length of the game. Even though I was trying to keep them focused on different areas of the game, that’s the Jekyll and Hyde of it. There was a little bit of letting up, unfortunately.”

You can’t really blame the Neumann players from thinking that everything would go in for them on Friday, but they may have underestimated the resiliency of the Hobart team.

The Statesmen scored an even strength goal midway through the second and added a shorthanded goal late in the third to make it a game, but Neumann held on to a 4-2 win in the end.

Saturday’s contest was one of those classic games that was a battle all night long. A game where the players and coaches enjoy competing in and the 700-plus Neumann fans were on the edge of their seats from the opening drop of the puck until after the final buzzer.

“Both games were very good games, especially the Saturday one,” said Roy. “I know the fans got their money’s worth. It was a great game to coach. From all aspects, from the fans to the bench to the visiting team to the refs, it was an intense affair. Until the end, it was a crazy game.”

Both teams had two goal leads at various times in the game, only to see the other team charge back. The longest time between goals was only 13 minutes, and the game had everything in it including a penalty shot.

Neumann led 3-1 midway through the contest, but Hobart used special teams to storm back to take a 4-3 lead just under eight minutes into the third period. The Statesmen scored a power-play goal and shorthanded goal during the rally.

To top it all off, the last two minutes got even crazier. At 18:15, Hobart’s Kyle Whitaker was called for a tripping penalty. Coach Roy immediately pulled goaltender Mike Collichio, but Hobart’s Nick DeCroo scored a shorthanded, empty-net goal at 19:10 despite Neumann skating with a 6-4 player advantage.

The Knights weren’t done, though. Just 13 seconds later, Erik Stoyanvich scored his second of the night to pull Neumann back within a goal. But the clock wound down to zero and Hobart escaped with a wild 5-4 victory.

Emotions were understandably running at a fever pitch at the final buzzer, and a bit of a scrum broke out. Both coaching staffs quickly stepped in to quell the uprising, but Hobart goaltender Keith Longo (elbowing) and Neumann defenseman Mike Gooch (roughing) were each assessed penalties.

“There was a little scrum at the end there,” said Roy. “Things were said, a couple of shoves. The intensity was so high, some of my players were frustrated and some of the Hobart players were so happy, it was hard to contain the emotion. We were able to stop it before it escalated. The emotion kind of overlapped the 60 minutes.”

Two themes continued to permeate these teams during the weekend.
First, Hobart’s penalty killing unit is Dangerous, with a capital D. The Statesmen scored three shorthanded goals against Neumann on 16 opportunities across the two games. Hobart has now scored 10 shorthanded goals this season, and is second in the nation behind only Marian (16).

“I thought about declining the penalties,” Roy joked.

Second, while Neumann’s offense is rocking and rolling, averaging 5.17 goals per game (third in the nation), its defense is in the dumps, allowing 3.11 goals per game (31st in the country). In both games this past weekend, Neumann got out to a great start and had Hobart on the ropes, but let the Statesmen back in to the contest.

“It is a concentration factor,” said Roy. “We have the pieces and the players to do the job defensively, it is just a question of concentration.”

Coming Into His Own

As a freshman last season at Elmira, Rusty Masters started out as many freshmen do. He worked hard in the preseason, adjusting to both academic life and a new hockey team. As the season began, he started on the fourth line and saw some time on the third line. By the end of the season, he had worked his way up the line chart and ended the season as Elmira’s second leading scorer and tied for the most game winning goals.

“[Rusty] comes to play every single night,” said Elmira coach Tim Ceglarski. “He is one of the guys that we don’t have to worry about taking things lightly. He is our hardest worker in practice and in every single game.”

Masters comes from good stock. His father is Jamie Masters, who played a total of 33 games for the St. Louis Blues over the course of three stints in the NHL.
“Rusty plays that hard,” said Ceglarski. “The work ethic that he brings to the table is second to none. He is a guy last year as a freshman who started out on the third or fourth line and worked his way up to first line center, and that is where he hopefully will stay for the next two years.”

He has continued his hard work this season as a sophomore and has come to be relied on in all situations by the coaching staff.

“He is a guy who plays 5-on-5, 4-on-4, kills penalties, and is on the power play,” said Ceglarski. “His hard work puts him in to positions to get key goals for us. He always seems to be in the right position. A lot of the stuff he does on the ice, you can’t teach.”

Masters leads the Soaring Eagles in goals scored and is tied for the top non-Neumann player in the league in goals. Masters also is tied for first in the nation in game-winning goals, having already chipped in three so far. He is averaging just over a point a game over the course of his 42 game career.

Game of the Week

Utica and Elmira have developed a strong rivalry over the last few years. Both teams have core sets of fans that travel well to the other’s venue, adding to the atmosphere of the games.

Last season, the Soaring Eagles and Pioneers split their league games right down the middle with a victory for each on the road, and a tie in the third game. This season, the road team has continued to rule as Elmira put a 5-2 thumping on Utica at the Aud.

The Pioneers will be looking to return the favor this weekend at Elmira’s Thunderdomes. On the other bench, if the Soaring Eagles can hold serve throughout this weekend’s two game set, they will take a commanding lead in the league.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: January 22

By Jim Connelly and Scott Brown
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Jim: Well, with each week of games we’re inching closer to the Frozen Four. In some places the playoff picture is getting clear, and elsewhere the water is getting muddier. Because I know you care so much, Brownie, I’ll start out in Hockey East land. If last weekend is any indication, it seems the league is starting to regulate. After a season of inverse standings, the league’s typical best did pretty well last weekend. More notably, though, teams like Massachusetts, Northeastern, Mass.-Lowell and Providence — all of which had been playing well — hit some bumps in the road. UMass posted back-to-back losses to drive its losing streak to four. Northeastern headed to Vermont and took just one point from the Catamounts. Lowell and Providence both played well at times, but each came away with just a single win. Meanwhile, Boston College didn’t put forth its best effort for back-to-back nights but still took three points. Maine’s Ben Bishop shut out a red-hot Providence team. And even Boston University, in a 2-2 tie against BC, put forward its best effort of the season and got decent goaltending for two games on the weekend. It almost seems that nature is coming back to balance in Hockey East.

Back when Brandon Wong was still playing junior hockey, Quinnipiac rightly saw the opportunity to add a top talent who could aid its move to ECAC Hockey (photo: Gordon Lee photography).

Back when Brandon Wong was still playing junior hockey, Quinnipiac rightly saw the opportunity to add a top talent who could aid its move to ECAC Hockey (photo: Gordon Lee photography).

Scott: I have to confess that I was sorry to see some of the results you mention. It’s always interesting when the typical order of things gets upset, even if only for a while, and Massachusetts and Northeastern have been especially good stories. But with the Minutemen racking up four consecutive losses, as you point out, you have to wonder if their early success is turning out to be a blip. The same thing seems to be happening in the WCHA, though the trends are less obvious. Minnesota is still performing below its historical norm, but the top three teams in the conference standings are now perennials Colorado College, Denver and North Dakota, with Minnesota-Duluth adding a little spice in fourth place (but still below .500 in conference play). And the CCHA is definitely playing out according to form, with the top four teams being the expected ones in Michigan, Miami, Michigan State and Notre Dame. At least we’ll probably still have the ECAC keeping us on our toes right down to the last week of the season.

Jim: Since you mentioned the ECAC, Quinnipiac is a team that warrants mentioning. The Bobcats are hot of late. Even though they made the championship game in the conference tournament a year ago, the regular season hasn’t been the easiest trek for QU in its first two years in the league. That doesn’t seem to be a problem these days, what with the team solidly in third place in the standings and sporting a 10-game unbeaten streak that includes the Catamount Cup holiday tournament title. Granted, QU’s opponents over that span haven’t exactly been a Murderer’s Row, but 10 games without a loss is worth noting no matter what. So — does this team seem legit to you, Brownie?

Scott: Legit and then some. I’ve always liked Quinnipiac, back to the days when you could count on death, taxes and either QU or Mercyhurst leading the MAAC/Atlantic Hockey standings. Bud Fisher has been solid in net for the Bobcats his entire college career, and now he has transfer Peter Vetri to take some of the load off to boot. The result is that Quinnipiac is eighth in the nation in scoring defense and sixth in penalty killing, stats which mesh nicely with its 10th-ranked scoring offense led by Brandon Wong. This team has won 20 games each of the past three seasons, so don’t be surprised if this year the Bobcats step it up one more notch and make the NCAAs.

Jim: I agree. The Q seems like a pretty legit contender in the ECAC this season. Huge credit goes to Rand Pecknold for building that program. It all leads me down another road, though. The Bobcats stepped out of Atlantic Hockey and BOOM become an impact team in a ‘big four’ conference. I know a lot has been said about how Atlantic Hockey has improved. But never does it seem have people actually turned their heads all the way to pay attention. Last weekend, Air Force walked in and destroyed Denver, the number 4 team in the nation. A night later, they almost knocked off number 3 Colorado College on the road. Serious question, then. Can we now call Atlantic Hockey a legitimate night-in, night-out contender?

Scott: The top teams in Atlantic Hockey have shown during the past few seasons that they must be taken seriously. That means Air Force last weekend, and also AFA last season or Holy Cross in 2005-06 against Minnesota (“The Greatest Upset In College Hockey History”) in the NCAA tournament. Quinnipiac’s short and successful transition to the ECAC is evidence of the same phenomenon. But I don’t think the same logic applies to the league as a whole just yet; the top-to-bottom competitive strength isn’t quite there, as witnessed by the AHA’s 8-45-7 nonconference record this season. Speaking of the newer conferences, though, what do you make of Bemidji State’s scheduling deal with the WCHA?

Jim: Now before I get to the WCHA and Bemidji, which seems like a great story, I can’t just let you walk past Atlantic Hockey. Personally, I’ve had a chance to watch this league grow and am proud of how far every team has come. The league is committed to expanding its scholarship limits and will add one scholarship per team next season. And I really think that this league is competitive. Remember one thing about the non-league contests: most take place on the road for Atlantic Hockey teams. If this league played all of its non-league games at home, I believe it would be above .500. I know that’s a bold statement, but it’s true. Instead, the league plays 95 percent of the games on the road and has a .175 or so winning percentage. Yes, home ice matters. As for Bemidji State and the WCHA, personally, I think this is a nice PR move by the WCHA. The statement the league is trying to make is similar to the “We’re the first league to step in and help this situation” or whatever it was the league said last week regarding the future of the CHA. My translation of what the WCHA is saying sounds more like, “We want to look like we’re helping college hockey, but we don’t want to have to take on one of these homeless teams. But we’ll do everything we can to look like a good citizen.” Seriously, what good do 12 non-league games in the 2010-11 season do for a team that is desperate for a place to play next season? This is a move that looks better on the outside than it really is, don’t you agree?

Scott: I largely concur with your take on the WCHA/Bemidji situation. It won’t matter much that 2010 sees the debut of the new scheduling arrangement if Bemidji is forced to drop the program before then due to the lack of a conference home. And if the Beavers have found a new conference before then, why do they need a deal of this kind with the WCHA? The problem is conference games, not nonconference games. To be fair, we shouldn’t disregard the WCHA’s gesture completely — it is a big commitment, and it’s probably the most the league can do short of admitting BSU to the conference, but it might still be too little, too late for one of college hockey’s most storied programs going back to its Division II days. Until next week …

Bracketology: Jan. 22, 2008

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It’s time once again to do what we like to call Bracketology — College Hockey Style. It’s our weekly look at how the NCAA tournament would look if the season ended today.

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

This is the next installment of Bracketology, and we’ll be bringing you a new one every week until we make our final picks before the field is announced.

Here are the facts:

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

• There are four regional sites (East — Albany, N.Y.. Northeast — Worcester, Mass., Midwest — Madison, Wis., West — Colorado Springs, Colo.)

• A host institution which is invited to the tournament plays in the regional for which it is the host, and cannot be moved. There are four host institutions this year, Rensselaer in Albany, Holy Cross in Worcester, Wisconsin in Madison and Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

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

Here are the NCAA’s guidelines on the matter, per a meeting of the Championship Committee:

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

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

• Host institutions that qualify will be placed at home.

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

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

• Once the six automatic qualifiers and 10 at-large teams are selected, the next step is to develop four groups from the committee’s ranking of 1-16. The top four teams are the No. 1 seeds. The next four are targeted as No. 2 seeds. The next four are No. 3 seeds and the last four are No. 4 seeds. These groupings will be referred to as “bands.”

The biggest change this year is the fact that in past years the NCAA included a bonus factor for “good” nonconference wins. This year, it is no more. There are no more bonus points for anything.

So it becomes pretty easy this year, doesn’t it? Take the straight PairWise Rankings (PWR) and then follow the rules and you have the tournament. It’s that easy, right?

You know better than that.

Given these facts, here are the top 16 of the current PWR, and the current conference leaders (through all games of January 21, 2007):

1 Michigan
2 Miami
3t Colorado College
3t Denver
5t North Dakota
5t New Hampshire
7 Michigan State
8t Clarkson
8t Boston College
10t Notre Dame
10t Northeastern
12 Mass.-Lowell
13 Quinnipiac
14 Massachusetts
15 St. Cloud
16t Wisconsin
16t Minnesota
16t Minn.-Duluth
— Bemidji State
— RIT

Current conference leaders:

Atlantic Hockey: RIT
CHA: Bemidji State
CCHA: Michigan
ECAC: Clarkson
Hockey East: New Hampshire
WCHA: Colorado College

Notes

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

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

Step One

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

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

Let’s look at the ties, which consist of CC and Denver at 3, North Dakota and UNH at 5, Clarkson and BC at 8 and Notre Dame and Northeastern at 10.

Head-to-head we get CC, North Dakota, Clarkson and Notre Dame besting their bubbles.

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

1 Michigan
2 Miami
3 Colorado College
4 Denver
5 North Dakota
6 New Hampshire
7 Michigan State
8 Clarkson
9 Boston College
10 Notre Dame
11 Northeastern
12 Mass.-Lowell
13 Quinnipiac
14 Massachusetts
15 Bemidji State
16 RIT

Step Two

Now it’s time to assign the seeds.

No. 1 Seeds — Michigan, Denver, Colorado College, Denver
No. 2 Seeds — North Dakota, New Hampshire, Michigan State, Clarkson
No. 3 Seeds — Boston College, Notre Dame, Northeastern, Mass.-Lowell
No. 4 Seeds — Quinnipiac, Massachusetts, Bemidji State, RIT

Step Three

Place the No. 1 seeds in regionals. Because of the fact that Colorado College is hosting a regional, the Tigers are placed first. We then place the other No. 1 seeds based on proximity to the regional sites.

No. 3 Colorado College is placed in the West Regional in Colorado Springs.
No. 1 Michigan is placed in the Midwest Regional in Madison.
No. 2 Miami is placed in the East Regional in Albany.
No. 4 Denver is placed in the Northeast Regional in Worcester.

Step Four

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

Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding (unless you are a host school, in which case you must be assigned to your home regional).

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

So therefore:

No. 2 Seeds

No. 8 Clarkson is placed in No. 1 Michigan’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 7 Michigan State is placed in No. 2 Miami’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 6 New Hampshire is placed in No. 3 Colorado College’s Regional, the West Regional.
No. 5 North Dakota is placed in No. 4 Denver’s Regional, the Northeast Regional.

No. 3 Seeds

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

Therefore:

No. 9 Boston College is placed in No. 8 Clarkson’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 10 Notre Dame is placed in No. 7 Michigan State’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 11 Northeastern is placed in No. 6 New Hampshire’s Regional, the West Regional.
No. 12 Mass.-Lowell is placed in No. 5 North Dakota’s Regional, the Northeast Regional.

No. 4 Seeds

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

No. 16 RIT is sent to Michigan’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 15 Bemidji State is sent to Miami’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 14 Massachusetts is sent to Colorado College’s Regional, the West Regional.
No. 13 Quinnipiac is sent to Denver’s Regional, the Northeast Regional.

The brackets as we have set them up:

West Regional:

Massachusetts vs. Colorado College
Northeastern vs. New Hampshire

Midwest Regional:

RIT vs. Michigan
Boston College vs. Clarkson

East Regional:

Bemidji State vs. Miami
Notre Dame vs. Michigan State

Northeast Regional:

Quinnipiac vs. Denver
Mass.-Lowell vs. North Dakota

Our first concern is avoiding intra-conference matchups. We have two of these in Notre Dame vs. Michigan State and Northeastern vs. New Hampshire. So we just switch Notre Dame and Northeastern.

So the tournament is now fixed.

West Regional:

Massachusetts vs. Colorado College
Notre Dame vs. New Hampshire

Midwest Regional:

RIT vs. Michigan
Boston College vs. Clarkson

East Regional:

Bemidji State vs. Miami
Northeastern vs. Michigan State

Northeast Regional:

Quinnipiac vs. Denver
Mass.-Lowell vs. North Dakota

Looks easy enough, doesn’t it? It all falls into place. But one thing is not much to my liking — the attendance issue.

It looks ugly from where I sit.

The West is okay with Colorado College there. But the other three have me real worried.

In the Midwest there’s not a single WCHA team, thus diluting the flavor for the local community. The East Regional doesn’t draw much locally either. And the Northeast doesn’t have the punch that you would expect.

Can we do anything about it?

Let’s look at the individual comparisons a little more in-depth to make one manipulation. And yes, I am going to call it a manipulation because I’m looking for things within the rules that will protect the integrity of the bracket, but still do a number of things, such as provide a good tournament and get attendance up.

Let’s look at the CC-Denver comparison. This one is real close; in fact it’s tied, 2-2, and is only broken by the RPI.

Remember last week when I quoted the Championships Handbook:

“If the point process provides a tie, the Ratings Percentage Index may serve as the determining factor, regardless the difference.”

It may serve. That again is a key.

OK, so since we’re within the same band, does it make a difference if we give Denver the 3 seed and CC the 4 seed?

Let’s take a look.

West Regional:

Quinnipiac vs. Colorado College
Mass.-Lowell vs. North Dakota

Midwest Regional:

RIT vs. Michigan
Boston College vs. Clarkson

East Regional:

Bemidji State vs. Miami
Northeastern vs. Michigan State

Northeast Regional:

Massachusetts vs. Denver
Notre Dame vs. New Hampshire

So let’s see what we’ve done.

We’ve basically swapped a Hockey East team from Colorado Springs with a WCHA team from Worcester, giving us two WCHA teams in Colorado Springs and two Hockey East teams in Worcester. I only see a plus there for attendance factors.

Anything else changed? Not really: just the top seeds in two brackets. So I am okay with this.

Is there anything else that we can do? We can think about switching the locations of number-one seeds Michigan and Miami.

There are benefits to this. You move the entire brackets, so you get Miami and Michigan State in Madison and Clarkson, BC and RIT in New York. Attendance-wise, it’s a move you could make, but you sacrifice your number one seed’s advantage of going to the closest location.

It’s a debate which has merit, but at what price? I’ll have to think that one over. Maybe by next week I’ll have convinced myself one way or the other.

OK, so our bracket above is what I’m calling for this week.

That’s it for this week, and we’ll be back with another analysis next week.

Perfectly Unnoticed

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The St. Anselm women’s hockey team has come a long way in its short four-year history as a varsity program. The Hawks have won 20 or more games every season, an ECAC East regular-season championship, and amassed a 76-13-1 record in that time with half of this season left to play. Oh yeah, they’re a perfect 11-0-0 this season too.

Have you noticed?

Probably not, because the St. Anselm Hawks are a Division II school and therefore unable to compete in the ECAC East playoffs or the Division III NCAA tournament.

“It’s discouraging for the girls and I to not be able to compete in the postseason,” said St. Anselm head coach Dave Flint. “We’re a Division II school because of our basketball team. I’ve petitioned the NCAA but they blow us off every year and choose not to deal with it.”

St. Anselm, located in Manchester, N.H., is a member of the Division III ECAC East conference and plays an entirely Division III schedule. If anything, the Hawks are at a disadvantage compared to Division III schools because of the rules and regulations D-II schools must abide by.

“We offer no athletic scholarships on our team, nor does any other team at the school other than basketball,” Flint said. “Our players must pass NCAA clearinghouse as well as abide by the NCAA minimum grade point average guidelines, unlike all Division III schools.”

The NCAA Clearinghouse is a system that all Division I and II athletes must pass in order to play at those schools. Clearinghouse takes into account a set NCAA core criteria of credits that students must complete and pass while in high school in order to compete for the school.

Even with having to deal with all these extra rules and regulations on top of the fact St. Anselm can’t compete for an NCAA championship, Flint has been able to defy the odds and bring some tremendous players to the program.

“Not being able to compete for an NCAA title has affected the men’s team more than us,” Flint said. We’ve certainly lost kids we were recruiting because of it, but overall I think we’re a pretty desirable school. We have a new $8.5 million arena that was opened in 2003 as well as a great location. Also, a lot of girls have picked St. Anselm for the education first rather than hockey.”

St. Anselm heads into Wednesday’s showdown with Middlebury with a perfect 14-0-0 record and in sole possession of first place in the ECAC East with an 10-0-0 record. The Hawks’ biggest wins have come against rival Manhattanville and a 2-0 win against a resurgent Bowdoin team that beat both St. Thomas and Manhattanville during the same week.

Flint points to the current eight-player senior class as one of the biggest reasons for the team’s success so far.

“Senior leadership,” Flint said. “The eight seniors we have this year were my first recruiting class. They have won since they got here and instilled a winning tradition at St. Anselm. They have helped build this program from the ground up.”

Along with a strong senior class, St. Anselm has also benefited from having extraordinary depth. Every player on the team except for one has scored at least one point in a game this year.

“We haven’t been scoring as much as we have in years past this year but it’s always good to see the scoring spread out,” Flint said. “We’ve rolled four lines in every game this season and it really pays dividends in the third period when other teams are exhausted because of double shifts while we’re still fresh.”

Leading the scoring for the Hawks so far this season have been juniors Kelsey Johnson (10-7–17) and Kathleen Twomey (9-8–17) and sophomore Arianna Rigano (8-9–17). Senior Cindy Lebel (4-7-11), junior Bianca DeSantis (6-3–9) and sophomore Daniella Lyons (2-7–9) round out the top scorers for St. Anselm.

In goal, the Hawks have ridden senior Andrea Berlin and she hasn’t disappointed, putting up impressive numbers in her final campaign in the St. Anselm blue and white. Berlin is 9-0-0 on the year, giving up just five goals on the season while posting four shutouts. That would tie her for the Division III lead if the Hawks’ statistics were included. Berlin also has an 0.56 goals against average and a .960 save percentage, both of which would be among the tops in the country.

Those players have been important factors in helping St. Anselm to one of the best scoring margins in the country. Its stingy defense has allowed just nine goals in 14 games and posted seven total shutouts while never giving up more than two goals in a game so far this season.

For St. Anselm to continue its success, Flint singled out two players who will have to lead the Hawks.

“Cindy Lebel has been playing hurt the last two years and is still one of our best players,” Flint said. “Berlin has been phenomenal keeping us in games and making big saves for us all season.”

As far as the rest of the season goes, Flint and St. Anselm are highlighting two games on the schedule that they’re looking forward to playing.

“Manhattanville and Middlebury,” Flint said. “Playing teams of their caliber gives us a chance to see where we measure up against Division III’s best.”

The Middlebury showdown looms as the Hawks host the third-ranked Panthers for a huge Wednesday night non-conference tilt, when St. Anselm will face its toughest challenge to date to keep the perfect season going.

The second Manhattanville game will have to wait a little bit longer for Flint and his team as the Hawks won’t face the Valiants again until the last weekend of the season when they travel to the Playland Ice Casino in Purchase, N.Y., on February 23. In all likelihood, St. Anselm will have the chance to clinch a second consecutive ECAC East regular-season title that night.

That brings up another problem that St. Anselm faces every year because of its Division II status; scheduling. Division III powers such as Plattsburgh, Elmira and RIT, won’t schedule the Hawks.

“I’ve tried,” Flint said. “They won’t schedule us because the game won’t count for them NCAA-wise and it could end up hurting their at-large bid possibilities.”

Flint said that the team set a goal at the beginning of the year, and they are still standing by it.

“They set the goal to go undefeated,” Flint said. “27-0 is a pretty tough thing to do. We’re going to focus on one game at a time and hopefully win the ECAC East regular-season championship.”

It’s a shame that a team that’s having such a great year and is a tremendous hidden story can only play for pride and love of the game rather than postseason championships and NCAA titles.

Do the right thing, NCAA: let them play Division III hockey and be eligible for the postseason.

Hockey Humanitarian Nominees Announced

USCHO Staff Report
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The Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented by BNY Mellon Wealth Management, has announced 22 nominees for the 2008 award, presented annually to college hockey’s finest citizen.

The nominees, listed in alphabetical order, are Ryan Adler Jr. Hobart College; William Bruce Sr. Williams College; Ethan Cox So. Colgate University; Jeff DeFrancesca Sr. University of Wisconsin-Stout; Adam Dekker Sr. Utica College; Missy Elumba Jr. Northeastern University; Mike Forgie Sr. Wayne State University; Jody Heywood Jr. Ohio State University; Trevor Hyatt Jr. University of Alaska Fairbanks; Ashley King Sr. Wayne State University; Marty Mjellei Sr. St. Cloud State University; Caralyn Quan Sr. Williams College; Trudy Reyns Jr. Quinnipiac University; Bobbi Ross Sr. University of Minnesota; Billy Ryan Sr. University of Maine; Cal St. Denis Sr. College of the Holy Cross; Topher Scott Sr. Cornell University; Courtney Sekevitch Sr. University of St. Thomas; Jason Usher Sr. University of Wisconsin — River Falls; Laura Vannelli Sr. Gustavus Adophus College; Dan VeNard Sr. University of Notre Dame; and Dagney Willey Jr. University of Minnesota.

Finalists for the award will be announced on the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation website at www.hockeyhumanitarian.org on January 28. The 13th recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award will be selected from the group of finalists and named in a ceremony held in conjunction with the NCAA Skills Competition and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award on Friday, April 11th at the Pepsi Center in Denver during the 2008 NCAA Frozen Four.

About BNY Mellon: BNY Mellon Wealth Management is among the nation’s leading wealth managers, with more than two centuries of experience in providing investment management, wealth and estate planning, and private banking and finance services to financially successful individuals and families, their family offices and business enterprises, charitable gift programs, and endowments and foundations. It ranks as one of the top 10 U.S. wealth managers with approximately $170 billion in private client assets and an expansive network of more than 80 offices globally.

More information on the history of the award, the 2008 schedule of events and a list of past nominees, finalists and recipients can be found at http://www.hockeyhumanitarian.org.

Four in a Row for St. Norbert Atop D-III Poll

By Nicholas Jon Wood
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The only thing that seems to change among the upper echelon elite of Division III hockey teams these days is the apportionment of first place votes.

Two polls ago, St. Norbert had 19, Elmira 1. Last week, the ratio was 17-3. Now it is 18 for the Green Knights and two for the Soaring Eagles. And like last week’s poll, all three top teams — Plattsburgh again is third — remained the same. The unbeaten streaks of St. Norbert and Elmira have each reached 15 games.

By virtue of a 4-3 victory over in-state rival and then ninth ranked UW-Stout, the UW-River Falls Falcons ascended a spot to fourth. Manhattanville, one of the hottest teams in college hockey, jumped two spots to fifth after two big wins while St. Thomas — who split with St. John — dropped a couple rungs to seventh.

Perennial powerhouse Middlebury, winners of eight in a row, made the biggest jump this week, moving up three spots to No. 7. Newly eighth ranked Hobart’s split with Neumann caused their two position fall while Norwich’s weekend — 1-0 shutout of Babson and 3-2 overtime win over UMass-Boston — propelled them up two spots in the poll. They now sit at No. 9.

UW-Stout’s aforementioned loss to newly fourth ranked UW-River Falls pushed them
down a spot to No. 10 while the week’s most precipitous fall belongs to Southern Maine who dropped three spots to No. 11.

While Bowdoin remained at No. 12, Adrian’s two convincing wins — 9-1 and 14-2 over University of Minnesota-Crookston — was enough evidence voters needed to vault them up the polls. Babson (shutout loss new-No. 9 Norwich and 5-2 win over St. Michael’s) and defending champion Oswego (idle) each fell a rung to Nos. 14 and 15.

Remarkably jumbled, all 15 teams remain unchanged from last week’s poll.

Wolverines No. 1 In USCHO.com/CSTV Poll For Third Straight Week

USCHO Staff Report
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With near-unanimity, Michigan claimed the top spot in Monday’s USCHO.com/CSTV Division I men’s poll for the third straight week. The Wolverines, who beat Notre Dame twice over the weekend to solidify their hold on No. 1, claimed all but one of the 50 first-place votes in the balloting.

Michigan was followed once again by second-ranked Miami, which swept Lake Superior State in convincing fashion to stake out a clear points lead over No. 3 Colorado College. The Tigers pulled out a pair of wins against Bemidji State and Air Force to stay in third place, while North Dakota moved up to No. 4 after taking two from Minnesota State. Leaguemate Denver, meanwhile, dropped one spot to fifth after losing to Air Force and rebounding to beat Bemidji.

Michigan State edged up to No. 6 with a pair of wins over Ohio State, leapfrogging New Hampshire, which fell to seventh with a loss to Dartmouth Saturday. No. 8 this week belonged to Boston College, which rejoined the top 10 after beating Massachusetts-Lowell and tying archrival Boston University.

Notre Dame slipped one place to ninth this week, and Clarkson completed the top half of the poll, climbing two notches after tying Colgate and beating Cornell.

Northeastern dropped to No. 11 in the wake of a one-point weekend against Vermont, followed by Quinnipiac in 12th place. The Bobcats rose two places after beating Holy Cross in their lone game of the weekend. Idle St. Cloud State was again No. 13, and Massachusetts fell four spots to 14th after losing to Providence and then rival Massachusetts-Lowell, which held at No. 15 after splitting its weekend.

Wisconsin was No. 16; the Badgers, who took three points from Alaska-Anchorage, were followed by Minnesota, which also managed three points against No. 19 Minnesota-Duluth. Sandwiched between those three WCHA teams was Princeton, which had the week off. Finally, Air Force reached the top 20, impressing the voters with a win over Denver and a close loss to Colorado College.

This Week in D-III Women’s Hockey: Jan. 17, 2008

By
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[EDITOR’S NOTE: We apologize for the significant tardiness with which the column was posted. The delay was due to a combination of technical and human error.]

Separation Weekend

In college basketball they have Separation Saturday. This weekend, Division-III women’s hockey will have their version of the popular ESPN-promoted day of games with three important series of games between six of the top 15 teams in the country.

Before I get to that though, I’d like to take a look back at the past week of D-III women’s hockey and highlight some performances.

First-year program Norwich picked up their most impressive win to date shutting out New England College 2-0 and stopping the Pilgrims seven-game unbeaten streak.

Amherst stayed atop the NESCAC standings picking up two wins last weekend and outscoring their opponents 11-1 heading into a big non-conference game on Friday against fourth-ranked Elmira.

Stevens Point is no longer perfect but they are still unbeaten as they tied Lake Forest 1-1 last Sunday.

Gustavus Adolphus continued to roll extending their win streak to 11 straight games defeating St. Olaf (6-0) and St. Mary’s (3-1).

Lastly, how about the game Elizabeth Murray — a freshman at Plymouth State — had this weekend? Plymouth State has scored just three goals in their first 10 games they played this season. Murray scored all 4 goals the Panthers scored in their 11-4 loss to Holy Cross. Certainly something to build on for Coach Hoffay and her team in their second season of play and still searching for the program’s first win.

Alright … lets get to those three crucial matchups I talked about earlier.

#1 Plattsburgh vs. #6 RIT

The Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena in Plattsburgh, N.Y. will play host this Friday and Saturday to the toughest weekend the top-ranked Cardinals have faced to date this season.

In a clash of ECAC West titans with home-ice advantage for the conference playoffs and crucial NCAA tournament at-large implications on the line, Cards and Tigers fans will be treated to a dandy this weekend.

“It’s certainly going to be a showdown,” said Plattsburgh head coach Kevin Houle. “We’re looking to position ourselves in a good spot for the ECAC West playoffs and home-ice advantage.”

Plattsburgh comes into this weekend’s showdown with a 13-1-0 record and in sole possession of first place in the ECAC West with a perfect 8-0-0 mark. The Cardinals, led by Shay Bywater, picked up two big conference wins last weekend in Utica. Bywater, a junior from Port Colquitlam, B.C., scored two goals in Utica’s 3-0 win on Friday night and then assisted on Steph Moberg’s game winning goal the next night in the Cardinals 4-2 win over the Pioneers.

“Shay started stepping up for us midway through last year,” Houle said. “She’s always been a hardworking player giving 100 percent at games and practice. She’s a great compliment to Danielle Blanchard and Steph Moberg on their line.”

Houle stressed that Plattsburgh needs to concentrate on how they play rather than worry about what RIT will do.

“RIT is a very good hockey team,” Houle said. “They are a disciplined team and we’ll need to play our game. Success on the special teams is going to be important as well.”

So how do you approach a team that has lost just once in their last 43 games? That’s the task that RIT head coach Scott McDonald and his Tigers have ahead of them this weekend.

“The whole team needs to step up,” McDonald said. “To play and try and beat a team like Plattsburgh you really need everyone playing well.”

RIT was idle last weekend and haven’t played a game since they beat Amherst 3-1 on Jan. 6. McDonald is intrigued to see if the layoff will turn out to be a good or a bad thing for the Tigers.

“We tried to get some games for last weekend but couldn’t find any,” McDonald said. “It did give us extra rest and we took a couple days completely away from the rink. I’m really excited to see how having the extra rest plays out.”

RIT is 9-4-0 (5-1-0) on the season and 2-4 in their last six games. While their record is unimpressive at first glance, the Tigers have been on an extremely tough stretch of games since Nov. 30th when they lost 4-1 to Elmira. They played Elmira again the next day and won 4-1. After that they lost two close games at Division I Robert Morris and then fell to Middlebury 3-0 before beating Amherst.

For the Tigers to be successful this weekend it will have to start with their senior leading scorer and captain Isabelle Richard. Richard’s seven goals and eight assists pace a much more balanced Tiger offense than last season when they relied on their top line to do a lot of the scoring. If they’re going to beat the juggernaut Plattsburgh Cardinals, it’ll take a team effort just like McDonald said.

“They are very skilled and very well coached,” McDonald said of Plattsburgh. “They don’t take a lot of penalties and on paper they’re the best team we’ve played this year.”

#2 Middlebury vs. #9 Trinity

For people that don’t believe Trinity belongs in the top-10 because they haven’t played as strong of a schedule compared to the other top teams, this is the weekend that will prove you right or wrong.

Trinity Head coach Andrew McPhee will face his alma mater and mentor in the Middlebury Panthers and Bill Mandigo.

“I coach women’s hockey because of my experience at Middlebury with Bill Mandigo,” McPhee said. “Middlebury has been in the championship game the last four years and this is a great opportunity for us to see where we match-up against the best.”

“They are a very good team with a high-powered offense that skates very well. Bill is a good coach and will have them ready to go.”

The Bantams have continued their impressive start in the second half of the season, winning their first four games and improving their record to 9-1-1.

“We’re playing pretty well and finding ways to earn wins,” McPhee said. “We haven’t played a NESCAC game in awhile and we still have 10 remaining.”

Except for their games against Amherst, where the Bantams went 0-1-1, Trinity hasn’t played anyone else in the top 10 giving reason for skeptics. They do fortunately have one of the best goaltenders in the country, if not the best in sophomore Isabel Iwachiw. Iwachiw is 7-1-1 on the season with a 0.90 goals against average and .962 save percentage while posting three shutouts. She is in the top five in the country in all three of those goaltending categories.

“We have to pick up our defensive zone coverage unit in our remaining games,” McPhee said. “Every team we play from here on out has a lot of scoring potential.”

Not only will Trinity have to try and contain AnnMarie Cellino (7-17-24) and Anna McNally (11-8-19), Middlebury has been getting offense from everyone in their last four games.

“Middlebury has a lot of people that can score outside of Cellino and McNally,” McPhee said. “In recent games, the rest of the team has been clicking. We can’t let them dictate the way we play.”

Middlebury comes in one of the hottest teams in the country, as they are unbeaten in their last ten games with a 9-0-1 record. The last time Middlebury lost was Nov. 18 against Plattsburgh (3-2), in their second game of the season. However, this weekend’s games in Trinity kick off a very tough two and a half week stretch of games all on the road for the second-ranked Panthers.

After playing the Bantams twice this weekend, Middlebury will face Division II St. Anselm on Wednesday Jan. 23, who is a perfect 12-0-0 on the season. They then travel to Maine to face Colby and Bowdoin and end the road-trip on Feb. 6 against archrival Williams.

#10 River Falls vs. Adrian

Continuing our college sport reference theme, Chandy Kaip’s Adrian Bulldogs caught a little bit of Ohio State football syndrome last weekend in Buffalo State, getting only a point from a set of games where many thought the Bulldogs would sweep.

A number of factors played into the surprising turnout including a 41-day lay off between games, a bronchitis spell that is currently taking a heavy toll on some of Adrian’s top players, and questionable officiating that put Adrian players in the box for more than half of the game.

“We didn’t have the opportunity to be on the ice together much because of our winter break schedule,” said Kaip about the Buffalo State weekend. “We also weren’t able to get in a pre-game skate before the game on Friday and we spent 30-40 minutes in the penalty box.”

Coming back with only a point was a big shock to much of the Division III nation from a team that had beaten Utica, Neumann, and Superior and finished the first half with a 9-3 record in just their first season of play. But, Kaip noticed a few differences in the Bulldogs play from the first half to the games last weekend outside of what has already been mentioned.

“We weren’t prepared like we had been all season,” Kaip said. “We were excited to finally play again after the long lay off and forgot about some of the basics. Our special teams were overused and Buffalo State’s goaltender had an excellent weekend.”

So obviously coming into this weekend’s series against 10th ranked River Falls will hold a little more meaning now with Adrian’s second half start.

“These games are probably the most important games of the season to date,” Kaip said. “River Falls is going to bring tough competition and this will be a great test for us facing so much adversity.”

With many of their top players sick, Adrian will be looking for some new faces to step up and make a name for their selves this weekend.

“Our goalies are going to have to play extremely well,” Kaip said. “We’re also going to need a lot of our third and fourth line players to step and change their role and start putting the puck in the net.”

River Falls also comes into this weekend’s games on a sour note. The Falcons had won seven straight games including big conference wins over Superior and Eau-Claire before falling to St. Thomas 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday.

“We had a bad third period,” said River Falls head coach Joe Cranston. “We didn’t get the puck deep and we turned it over in the neutral zone, which are things we hadn’t been doing in the previous seven games.”

River Falls comes into the weekend with a 9-5 overall record and sitting in second place in the NCHA behind Stevens Point. The Falcons could use a strong weekend against a quality opponent to get back on the right track before heading into a big showdown against Superior next weekend.

“These games are huge, especially with the loss to St. Thomas,” Cranston said. “We’ll need to be mentally tough on the road with a long 12 hour bus trip to Adrian. We’re a young team and part of being good is learning to win on the road.”

Cranston believes that defense first will be the key for River Falls this weekend against Adrian.

“Defensively, we need to shut teams down,” Cranston said. “Offense comes after that. I think if we hold Adrian to two goals or less we’ll be in good shape.”

One thing Cranston and the Falcons have going for them defensive wise has been the outstanding play of freshman Cassi Campbell in goal, replacing former standout Amber Lindner.

“When I first saw Cassi as a junior in Alaska, I wrote down Lindner’s replacement in the program,” Cranston said. “She gives us a chance to win every game.”

Campbell certainly hasn’t disappointed.

She is 8-4-0 on the season with a 1.75 goals against average, .929 save percentage, while posting three shutouts as well.

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