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So who do you root for?

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I’ve really enjoyed all of the dialogue that’s been going around this blog all week. Nothing like stirring the pot to get the masses of college hockey fans talking.

Because there’s been such active participation, particularly from the WCHA and Hockey East fans, I have a question to pose:

In regions where your league has more than one team, if you’re a fan of one of those clubs, do you cheer for the other in their opening round game?

For example, if you’re a Boston College fan, are you rooting for New Hampshire over Miami? If you’re a Minnesota fan, are you rooting for North Dakota over Michigan? Obviously, the more wins for your conference teams, the higher likelihood of a team from your conference winning the national championship (and hockey is the one sport where conference bragging right seems as important as individual team bragging rights).

Last year was the first time I really took notice of this, when Minnesota and Holy Cross faced one another. As I watched the game, it was extremely obvious that the Sioux fans in attendance jumped on the Holy Cross bandwagon. Is this simply a unique scenario where NoDak fans were pulling for the extreme underdog? Or will Gopher fans return the favor when North Dakota and Michigan battle on Saturday?

It’s something I’m curious about and would love to hear opinions. So please, drop a response with your thoughts!

2007 NCAA Northeast Regional Preview

By Jim Connelly, Dave Hendrickson, Brian Sullivan, Paula C. Weston and Scott Brown
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If the favorites hold serve at the Northeast Regional, top-seeded New Hampshire would face Boston College in a rematch of the Hockey East championship game, but this time in the Wildcats’ backyard in Manchester, N.H.

Before that can happen, though, the Wildcats must get past an intriguing first-round opponent in Miami, which sat out last weekend’s CCHA championship round after being swept by Lake Superior State in the league’s quarterfinals.

The RedHawks were ranked as high as third in the nation early in the year, but faded down the stretch and squeaked into the NCAA tournament as the last at-large bid.

UNH, with its high-octane offense and a solid D to match, is the obvious favorite in that game, but after looking unstoppable for much of the year, the Wildcats had a stumble of their own late in the regular season.

The team that beat UNH in the HEA title game, Boston College, is indisputably the hottest team in the country. The Eagles have won 10 straight games, and seven of those wins came by at least three goals, including both of its victories last weekend.

In the regional semifinals, BC takes on a team with something to prove in St. Lawrence, which needed a win in the ECACHL third-place game to seal its NCAA bid despite winning the league’s regular-season championship.

Head coach Joe Marsh declared the Saints to be underdogs in the NCAA tournament before the bracket was even announced; expect SLU to play with that attitude as motivation against BC.

New Hampshire vs. Miami
Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, N.H.

New Hampshire Wildcats
Record: 26-10-2, 18-7-2 Hockey East (first)
Seed: No. 4 overall, No. 1 Northeast
How in: At-large
2006 NCAA tournament: Lost in regional semifinal

After running away with the Hockey East regular-season title, New Hampshire had to settle for runner-up to Boston College in the league tournament. Even so, the Wildcats pose many problems for opponents in the NCAA tournament. And those problems aren’t restricted to an offense that topped Hockey East in production.

Trevor Smith is one of a number of Wildcats who can do damage on offense (photos: Melissa Wade).

Trevor Smith is one of a number of Wildcats who can do damage on offense (photos: Melissa Wade).

Goaltender Kevin Regan leads the country in save percentage (.936) and ranks fifth in goals-against average (2.06).

“He’s been the backbone of the team,” UNH coach Dick Umile says. “He’s been very, very consistent. He’s kept us in games even when we’ve make mistakes.

“He’s had a fabulous season. He got himself mentally ready at the beginning of the season and really hasn’t missed a beat.”

Chris Murray, a second-team All-Hockey East selection, leads a defense that is not only talented but has also benefited from remaining intact for all but one game this year.

“We’ve got as good a defensive group as we’ve ever had from one to six,” Umile says. “Chris Murray, who was our assistant captain, has had an absolutely fabulous season. But there’s an awful lot of balance from our top six defensemen. It doesn’t make any difference who’s out there on the ice, we feel very confident about them and they’ve played very well in front of Kevin.”

The most eye-catching part of the team, however, admittedly is the firepower up front. Six players topped 30 points even though down the stretch the group was beset by injuries.

“The first half of the season, we were doing very well offensively,” Umile says. “That’s when all our lines were healthy. The second half we haven’t been healthy. Hopefully, this weekend will be when we have that first line all healthy with [Mike] Radja, [Brett] Hemingway and [Jacob] Micflikier.

“The [Matt] Fornataro, [Trevor] Smith and [Jerry] Pollastrone line is very talented and in the second half they had to do a lot for us because the first line had somebody injured and we had different people filling in.

“Our third line has done a really good job for us, too. It’s given us some pretty good balance.”

Although Umile clearly likes his team, he has a lot of respect for Miami, the Wildcats’ opening-round opponent.

“They’re a good team,” Umile says. “I’ve told people up here that we’re getting prepared to play Boston University. That’s the way that Miami plays; they wear the red and white and they’re very aggressive.

“Their top line is real good and they put up some big points. They’ve got a Hobey Baker finalist in [Nathan] Davis. They’re a good program and Enrico Blasi is a talented young coach that has them playing really well.”

Umile is hoping to get a seventh-man advantage in the form of the home crowd at the Verizon Center.

“We played two games there this season against Maine and Dartmouth with the idea that if we qualified [for the NCAA tournament] it might be like home ice advantage,” Umile says. “There should be a lot of UNH fans there and hopefully that will help us. It’s a wide-open field and Miami is a very good team, so we’ll need our fan support to help us through that game.”

Miami RedHawks
Record: 23-13-4, 16-8-4 CCHA (third)
Seed: No. 14 overall, No. 4 Northeast
How in: At-large
2006 NCAA tournament: Lost in regional semifinal

The Miami RedHawks are making their first back-to-back appearance in the NCAA tournament in school history, but this year’s bid differs from last year’s in significant ways.

Last year, the RedHawks earned the CCHA regular-season championship on Feb. 14, went on to a first-round playoff sweep of Western Michigan, a win over Northern Michigan in semifinal action at the CCHA championship tournament, and a tough 2-1 loss to Michigan State in the league’s title game.

This year, Miami stayed home last weekend as four other teams from the CCHA battled in Detroit for postseason supremacy; the RedHawks lost their first-round playoff series to visiting Lake Superior State in a pair of 2-1 games, having run into a hot goaltender in LSSU’s Jeff Jakaitis, who made 81 saves in the series.

“Typically when you get scoring chances — 15 to 20 per game, quality chances — you’re doing a pretty good job,” said Miami head coach Enrico Blasi. “I felt our team played extremely well. We just weren’t able to solve Jakaitis.

“All in all, I thought our team played very, very well. Really, that was the frustration. I don’t know that we could have played any better. We just have to bear down, and we have to execute around the net.”

It was more than a simple lack of execution around the net that knocked the RedHawks out in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament. In Miami’s 5-0 loss to Boston College, the RedHawks were in the penalty box for the first few minutes of the game, resulting in two Benn Ferriero power-play goals and a deficit from which Miami could not recover.

This year, Blasi is counting on his team’s experience when Miami faces New Hampshire in the first round.

“This will be the third time for our seniors,” said Blasi. “Each time we’ve gone to the NCAA tournament, we’ve played in somebody’s backyard, so this shouldn’t be anything new.”

The RedHawks are a balanced team, with five goal-scorers in double digits, a veteran defensive corps, and two goaltenders who split time for much of the season. Offensively, Miami is led by Hobey Baker finalist and junior forward Nathan Davis (20-29–49), and his often-overlooked classmate Ryan Jones (28-18–46), a two-way player as dangerous in front of the net as any in the game.

Sophomore Jeff Zatkoff (2.24 GAA,.918 SV%) and junior Charlie Effinger (2.67 GAA,.896 SV%) have each manned the net solo for stretches. Zatkoff played when Effinger had mononucleosis in the first half of the year, and Effinger was alone when Zatkoff played for Team USA in the 2007 IIHF World Junior tournament.

Blasi said he hasn’t decided yet who will start in Saturday’s game. “We probably won’t do that until Friday. I don’t want to change our routine. Usually Friday afternoon, we name the starting goalie, and I don’t see that changing this week.

“We’re confident in either one of them. That’s why it’s a difficult decision.”

Given their playoff history — recently, in the CCHA, and the 0-2 streak in the NCAA tournament for this senior class — the RedHawks are keenly aware of what they face in Manchester.

“The fact of the matter is that they [UNH] are the No. 1 seed and they’re our first opponent,” said Blasi. “They are very skilled and have a couple of lines that can hurt you offensively.

“We have our hands full. We know they’re well coached. We have a lot of respect for them.

“Really, the key on Saturday is to bring our ‘A’ game, make sure everybody is playing within our game plan. That’s the bottom line from this time of year. You have to execute.”

Boston College vs. St. Lawrence
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, N.H.

Boston College Eagles
Record: 26-11-1, 18-8-1 Hockey East (second)
Seed: No. 5 overall, No. 2 Northeast
How in: Hockey East tournament champion
2006 NCAA tournament: NCAA runner-up

A season ago, a struggling Boston College team waited until the 11th hour to find its stride. Fortunately for the Eagles, that stride took them all the way to the national championship game and within a goalpost of pushing the title tilt to overtime.

This year, the Eagles decided not to wait as long.

Cory Schneider has been a constant for Boston College in net.

Cory Schneider has been a constant for Boston College in net.

Though faced with the same difficulties as a season ago, lacking consistency night in and night out and, more importantly unable to produce much offensively, Boston College somehow did a complete 180 in early February.

A strong performance in a 3-1 victory over Harvard in the opening round of the Beanpot — the same Harvard team that had smacked the Eagles, 4-0, in early November — is the closest thing one can find to a turning point for BC’s season. A week later, BC would lose to BU, 2-1 in overtime (“We played really well in that game,” said BC head coach Jerry York) in the Beanpot championship game. Since that time, though, it’s been smooth sailing.

The Eagles enter the NCAA tournament riding a 10-game winning streak, which includes two wins against Maine, one over BU, and three against the No. 1 seed in BC’s region this weekend, New Hampshire.

“There was a period in January when we lost three straight games,” said York. “At that time we were a real bubble team for the NCAAs. We just kind of tried to get better and better. From that low period, we’ve really come on strong.”

Over the span of its last 10 games, BC has outscored opponents, 44-18, including a 21-5 margin in the four games of the Hockey East tournament — the widest scoring margin since the Maine outscored opponents, 29-8, in 1990 (though ironically lost the championship that year to BC). To say that the BC offense has turned into a juggernaut is certainly an understatement.

What’s most noteworthy, though, for Boston College is the major lineup change that York made heading into the quarterfinal series on March 8. By now, leading scorer Brian Boyle’s move to defense is well-document as is the performance of rookie Ben Smith, who assumed Boyle’s role of top-line center between Nathan Gerbe and Brock Bradford.

Boyle adds another dimension to the BC blueline. His offensive creativity and ability to move the puck are complemented well by partner Mike Brennan’s solid defensive skill.

Up front, the Smith-Gerbe-Bradford line has received strong support during the Eagles’ win streak from BC’s second line of Dan Bertram centering Joe Rooney and Benn Ferriero. The Smith line accounted for 10 goals and 22 points in the Hockey East playoffs, while the Bertram line added another seven tallies and 16 points.

As much as thing have changed recently for the Eagles, the one constant has been goaltender Cory Schneider. For the third straight season, Schneider’s numbers have been solid, and this year include a 2.19 goals against average, a.923 save percentage and a 26-11-1 record. That led analyst Bob Norton to sing Schneider’s praises during the ESPN Selection Show on Sunday, and Norton’s comments are certainly seconded by York.

“I think Bob Norton is absolutely correct that Cory Schneider is the backbone of our team,” said York. “He’s one of the real reasons we’ve won 10 straight.”

The Eagles will face St. Lawrence in the opening game of the tournament with a potential rematch of the Hockey East championship game against New Hampshire looming in the regional finals.

York and his team, though, won’t even talk about that rematch until St. Lawrence is in the rear-view mirror.

“We’ll have to do a lot of research on them,” said York about St. Lawrence, which hasn’t faced off against the Eagles since the national semifinal game in the 2000 NCAA Tournament, a 4-2 BC win. “We haven’t played them this year, but I’ve watched them on tape.

“Joe Marsh is a long-time veteran coach at St. Lawrence and I’m sure that he’ll have a well-prepared opponent for us.”

St. Lawrence Saints
Record: 23-13-2, 16-5-1 ECACHL (first)
Seed: No. 12 overall, No. 3 Northeast
How in: At-large
2006 NCAA tournament: none

St. Lawrence escaped last weekend’s ECACHL tournament disappointed and a bit bruised in the ego department, but none the worse for wear in claiming an NCAA berth in the Northeast. The Saints were soundly thumped by Quinnipiac in a 4-0 semifinal loss, but rebounded to edge the gritty Dartmouth Big Green in the consolation round in what was essentially an elimination situation for each team.

“I thought we pressed a little bit, but we turned it around, we showed some resiliency,” said head coach Joe Marsh.

“We’re thankful for this opportunity.”

The inconspicuous team from Canton, N.Y., is used to playing the underdog role — heck, they played it all year, even from atop the standings. Marsh instilled in his team a two-pronged philosophy of always playing like you have something to prove, and never playing to the scoreboard… which is to say, playing just as hard if you’re up 3-1 as if you’re down 3-1.

The underappreciated attitude was bred of the preseason polls, which picked the Saints to finish sixth according to the coaches, and seventh in the media. The perceptions of St. Lawrence as a pack of overachievers persisted even into ESPN2’s NCAA tournament selection show, where viewers were hard-pressed to catch a positive reference to the program’s season, or history.

“I understand that we’re an ‘afterthought,'” said Marsh. “There was always a certain amount of [underdog] motivation all year long,” stemming from that first preseason survey.

Marsh is unconcerned with what little attention his team is getting, but admits that “you can use [the snubs]” in the locker room.

“You can use it; you can tap into the psyche of the team. There’s a kind of circle-the-wagons mentality” among the players, he said. But really, “we’re not concerned with anything but bringing our intensity, and playing our best.”

The entire roster is expected to be in playing shape come Saturday’s matchup with Boston College, including versatile forward Kyle Rank, Hobey Baker finalist Drew Bagnall, and frosh sensation Mike McKenzie. Freshman Alex Petizian played in 28 of the team’s 38 games this season, stopping pucks at a rate of.916 and carrying a 2.27 goals-against average in the process. The Saints have run — and won — all year long on a potent mix of talent, chemistry and attitude, and are a very tough side to compete with when its transition game is clicking.

This is only the second winning season for St. Lawrence’s senior class, and the school hasn’t qualified for the NCAAs since the spring of 2001. Thus, it is a team light on experience. Granted, the Saints have won 11 playoff games in the last four seasons, but their appearances on the national level have been nil.

There are a few outstanding and compelling issues at work with the 2006-07 Saints. Have they accumulated enough lessons in the grueling ECACHL regular- and postseasons to make up for their NCAA greenhorn status? Can they succeed at ignoring the score and playing with a wild but controlled tenacity, like they did in Saturday’s consolation… or will they get beaten at their own up-tempo game as they did on Friday? Can they harness the intangible benefits now that come with being a true underdog?

The key will lie as much in the Saints’ ability to maintain their poise as it will in any other facet of their game. Friday night against Quinnipiac, the team took 10 penalties for 23 minutes, and ran itself ragged and breathless on the frequent penalty kills. Saturday afternoon, the Saints served four minutes’ worth of minor penalties, with decidedly different results.

“We’re playing with a lot of emotion, but controlled emotion,” said Marsh.

That’s Saints success, in a sentence.

Curry Wins 55th Walter Brown Award

USCHO Staff Report
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Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Dave O’Brien announced Wednesday that Boston University goaltender John Curry is the winner of the 55th Walter Brown Award, the nation’s oldest college hockey honor.

Presented annually to the best American-born college hockey player in New England, the Walter Brown Award was established in 1953 by the members of the 1933 Massachusetts Rangers, a team coached by Brown to America’s first world championship in ice hockey. Criteria for the selection committee include leadership, character, sportsmanship, and ability as well as on-ice achievement. The Gridiron Club of Greater Boston has been steward of the Walter Brown Award since 1977.

Curry, a Terrier senior from Shorewood, Minn., ranks third in the nation with a 1.92 goals-against average and leads the country in shutouts with seven. His save percentage of .931 places him second in the country in that category. He posted a 17-9-8 record in backstopping Boston University to a third-place regular season finish in Hockey East.

Curry, Boston University’s all-time leader in goals-against average with 2.05 and in save percentage with .924, was a semifinalist for the Walter Brown Award in both his sophomore and junior years.

Curry edged out Quinnipiac senior defenseman Reid Cashman and New Hampshire junior goaltender Kevin Regan in the final balloting. Cashman finished the season as the nation’s highest-scoring rearguard, collecting three goals and 38 assists. The Red Wing, Minn., resident led the Bobcats to a fifth seed in the ECACHL and playoff upsets of fourth-seeded Cornell and first-place St. Lawrence. Also a Walter Brown Award semifinalist in 2006, Cashman ended his collegiate career with 148 points.

Regan’s stout netminding was a primary reason that the Wildcats, picked to finish fourth in Hockey East, emerged as the circuit’s pennant winner. The South Boston, Mass., native is currently the national leader in save percentage with .936, and fifth in the country in goals-against average with a 2.06 mark. He posted a 24-8-2 record for the year.

“Once again, we had a superb field of semifinalist candidates for the Walter Brown Award. This was no surprise, because it was a tremendously competitive and defense-oriented year in both Hockey East and the ECACHL,” said selection committee chairman Tim Costello.

Curry will receive the 2007 Walter Brown Award at the New England Hockey Writers’ Dinner on Wednesday, April 11 in Saugus, Mass.

Walter Brown Award Winners

1953 Ray Picard, Northeastern
1954 Bob Babine, Boston College
1955 Bill Cleary, Harvard
1956 R.J. Cavanaugh, Northeastern
1957 Bob Cleary, Harvard
1958 Bob Cleary, Harvard
1959 Mike Karin, Middlebury
1960 Art Chisholm, Northeastern
1961 Tom Martin, Boston College
1962 Dave Grannis, Harvard
1963 Bill Hogan, Boston College
1964 Richie Green, Boston University
1965 Bob Gaudreau, Brown
1966 John Cunniff, Boston College
1967 Jerry York, Boston College
1968 Tim Sheehy, Boston College
1969 Paul Hurley, Boston College
1970 Tim Sheehy , Boston College
1971 Joe Cavanagh, Harvard
1972 Bob McManama, Harvard
1973 Tom Mellor, Boston College
1974 Ed Walsh, Boston University
1975 Ron Wilson, Providence
1976 Richie Smith, Boston College
1977 Bob Miller, New Hampshire
1978 Joe Mullen, Boston College
1979 Ralph Cox, New Hampshire
1980 Bill Army, Boston College
1981 Mark Switaj, Boston College
1982 Chuck Marshall, Northeastern
1983 Mark Fusco, Harvard
1984 Cleon Daskalakis, Boston University
1985 Tim Army, Providence
1986 Scott Fusco, Harvard; Scott Harlow, Boston College
1987 Brian Leetch, Boston College
1988 Mike McHugh, Maine
1989 Lane MacDonald Harvard
1990 Greg Brown, Boston College
1991 Dave Emma, Boston College
1992 Rob Gaudreau, Providence
1993 Dave Sacco, Boston University
1994 Jacques Joubert, Boston University
1995 Mike Grier, Boston University
1996 Jay Pandolfo, Boston University
1997 Chris Drury, Boston University
1998 Chris Drury, Boston University
1999 Mike Mottau, Boston College; Mike Omicioli, Providence
2000 Mike Mottau, Boston College
2001 Ty Conklin, New Hampshire; Brian Gionta, Boston College
2002 Jim Fahey, Northeastern
2003 Mike Ayers, New Hampshire
2004 Steve Saviano, New Hampshire
2005 Dov Grumet-Morris Harvard
2006 Chris Collins, Boston College
2007 John Curry, Boston University,

Michigan? What’s a Michigan?

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In my days in college hockey I’ve seen plenty of people give teams the ammunition to win. But in all my time have I seen such little respect given to a team that, in the history of the NCAA tournament, has more championships than any other club.

Michigan will play North Dakota this weekend in the NCAA West Regional, but I’m pretty sure that if you’re surfing around the Internet over the past few days you might be led to believe that North Dakota, along with fellow WCHA participant Minnesota, have been given automatic byes to the regional title game.

Here’s what Michigan head coach Red Berenson had to say the other day when asked about his team’s participation in the tournament:

“Everyone is talking about Minnesota and North Dakota being the teams — I don’t think they even know we’re in the tournament. You know there is going to be an underlying current that needs to come out of our locker room and show up in that game Saturday. Hopefully we can do something.”

In a way, I think that Berenson actually controlled his remarks pretty well. If you think the message will be that simple or calm to his team, you’re very wrong. In this writer’s mind, there is not a single doubt that Michigan will give North Dakota 150% of what they’re capable of (and save the references to the fact that giving 150% is impossible – it’s hyperbole).

Come NCAA tournament time, there’s certainly nothing like adding fuel to a team’s fire.

Less than 48 hours until the first puck drops. Let’s get ‘er going.

Hendu’s Story: From Dream To Reality, Part III

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Part III: Summer Hockey

Some denigrate summer hockey as a bad thing. Kids should get away from the rinks and play other sports and do other things, they argue. Burnout might ensue if a kid plays hockey 12 months out of the year.

I would agree if summer hockey entailed the grind of weekly practices and skill sessions. Burnout would become a significant concern.

Ryan’s form of summer hockey was quite different, however. He played for the New England Generals, Dave Brien’s summer team, which equated to one or two get-acquainted practices and six tournaments. This typically included the huge Ottawa tournament that coincided with Canada Day, two or three others in Ontario or Quebec, Uncle Sam’s in Troy, New York, and a couple local to the Boston area.

Kids had plenty of opportunity to play other sports and pursue other activities all summer long. Then, every three weeks or so, they’d travel to a tournament where they’d face top competition and stay at nice hotels, splashing away in the swimming pool and playing hockey in the hallways with foot-long souvenir sticks.

This wasn’t fodder for burnout. It was a blast for these kids, something that fed their love for hockey rather than drained it.

Summer hockey did require a substantial commitment from the rest of the family, however, one which many would not have undertaken.

Ryan with a classic powerskating

Ryan with a classic powerskating “explosive takeoff.”

It was expensive. My wife Brenda and I both had good jobs, but we were far from wealthy. At times, it seemed as if The Cynic’s Law of Finances — everyone spends 110 percent of whatever they earn — wasn’t just a wisecrack but instead reality. The tournament fees were more than reasonable, but the hotel bills could be killers.

Brenda and I, however, had long since agreed without even having to speak the words that we’d do whatever we could for our kids and if it meant eating Alpo in retirement or doing a lot of financial catching up once Ryan and Nicole were on their own, then so be it. It was an attitude that could have easily led to ruin, but we were fortunate in many respects and although the catching up is a reality that lies ahead of us, we’ll probably avoid eating Alpo.

The commitment to summer hockey, however, also meant that some percentage of family vacations would be spent at tournaments. Most ran from Friday through Sunday, requiring only a single day off from work. The massive Ottawa tournament, however, spanned seven days and six rinks. One year, we left Ottawa only to head directly to Nicole’s swim meet in St. John, New Brunswick, a drive of over 20 hours, where we spent several more days.

We always managed to add a vacation week on Cape Cod at a recreational facility owned by the company I worked for, but it was still a good thing that Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City were fun places to visit.

For Brenda and me, however, it still would have been fun even had the destinations been drab and lifeless. We valued our kids above all else and would do anything for them. She would drive Nicole to two-a-day swim practices, the first coming in the wee hours of the morning before school and the second coming after school. Brenda put up with Ryan practicing his stickhandling with a golf ball in the kitchen.

And I reacted with glee, rather than dismay, when Ryan took out the first of four garage door windows with a shot from the driveway that flew over the net. He’d never had the strength to lift a shot that high before. This was progress. You could always replace a broken window.

When parents couldn’t make it to a tournament, kids sometimes stayed with us. Not often, since we tried to maintain a family atmosphere to these trips, but it happened. After all, it wasn’t that much different from the frequent practice of staying over a teammate’s house between Saturday and Sunday games.

In one case, however, the vastly different values of two families hit me square between the eyes. A kid who I’ll call Joe came from a neighborhood whose mean streets were far different than our suburban environment.

At the beginning of our trip, we stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts. Ryan loved doughnuts. As a seven-year-old, he’d even considered them to be one of the more memorable highlights of the old Montreal Forum when we attended a game there. So I stood in line with a mile-long list of what to order while Joe walked to the refrigerator to get three bottles of orange juice.

When he returned, he stood next to me and covertly opened the flap of his coat enough for me to see the three bottles. He asked, “Are we paying for these?”

I blinked in astonishment, seconds passing before I replied. “Of course, we’re paying.”

He nodded and put the bottles on the counter.

A decade or so later, I bumped into someone who knew Joe and asked what had become of him.

“He doesn’t have a job, but he’s driving a new Lexus,” came the grim-faced reply. “Do the math.”

It makes you wonder. How different might Joe have been growing up in Ryan’s environment? And how different might Ryan have been growing up in Joe’s?

Dave Brien coached both the 1980 and the 1984 Generals, teams comprised of players born in those respective years. The ’80 Generals, often referred to by ’84 players and parents as The Big Generals, won tournament after tournament. Loaded with skill and toughness, they were a swashbuckling group that the ’84 Generals naturally looked up to. The Big Generals backed down from no one and had more than enough talent to make up for considerable time spent in the penalty box.

If you're small, you'd better keep your head up if you want to keep it at all.

If you’re small, you’d better keep your head up if you want to keep it at all.

The Little Generals, however, were another story, at least when they were first formed. Summer AAA teams had become a popular commodity with several being formed from the Metro league. Those put together by the coaches of the more successful teams not only had a head start on in-house talent, they also had a much easier time attracting the other top players in the league.

As a result, our first trip to the marquee event of the summer, the Ottawa Capitals tournament, wasn’t exactly a resounding success. While the ’80 Generals rocked and rolled their way into the championship round with most of the Little Generals watching in admiration, the ’84 team kept getting guillotined.

The guillotine rule dictated that the game was over as soon as the goal differential reached a certain level, particularly if it was the third period. Also called the mercy rule, it was ostensibly meant to spare kids further embarrassment, although some wondered if its primary advantage was that it kept tournaments reasonably on time.

We, however, wanted to play no matter what the scoreboard said. We hadn’t driven eight hours and paid hundreds of dollars for tournament fees and hotel rooms only to stop play after two periods. But those were the rules and although we did win a single game, we got the guillotine in all but one of the others.

At the youngest age, superstars dominate. While others might still be years away from catching up in terms of skill or physical development, a prodigy can carry a team all by himself, scoring three or four goals a game. Those early superstars, some of whom would become invisible in a few years time, were on the other teams.

The ’84 Generals would have to pay their dues.

“We didn’t play like the New England Generals,” one frustrated parent muttered after a lopsided loss. “We played like the New England Genitals.”

Over time, though, the team became increasingly competitive. With so many AAA teams being formed from the Metro ranks, Dave Brien drew from all sources, even those beyond the New England area that the team name bespoke. Players from Carolina, New York, and, yes, even Ottawa were added to the roster. The Little Generals got stronger year after year until they became one of the top summer teams.

In the first few summers, however, the key to staying in games was often to hold the opponent’s superstar in check. On several occasions Ryan, extraordinarily disciplined for a nine- or ten-year-old, was given the task of shadowing the other team’s dominant player.

“Everywhere he goes, you follow him,” Dave Brien would say. “Don’t let him out of your sight. If he gets a kiss from his girlfriend, you better get a smooch, too.”

Ryan roofs it over Vermont's Travis Russell.

Ryan roofs it over Vermont’s Travis Russell.

Ryan did so with a tenacity that often infuriated the superstar. One Generals parent likened him to Bobby Clarke, a comparison that had Ryan beaming. A member of the ’80 Generals said, “That kid is little, but he’s a big (bleep).” For the Big Generals, there was no higher praise.

Such defensive responsibilities weren’t as much fun as scoring goals, but they were precursors to Ryan’s success at the next levels. In high school, he would be considered the consummate three-zone player. In college, he would be a top penalty-killer even as a freshman and would finish as one of the top defensive forwards in his league.

In those early years, however, Ryan wasn’t just extraordinarily disciplined; he was also the most cerebral player on the team. That would be manifest in many possible ways: showing a teammate where to go on a given faceoff play or covering for a defenseman’s extended rush that had turned into a forecheck.

“Thank God we’ve got someone out there with a brain,” Dave Brien said many a time to me on the bench.

Years later, he would say, “No other player came close to Ryan in understanding what I was trying to do.”

As the Generals got better, however, the roles became reversed. Ryan wasn’t shadowing many superstars anymore. Other teams had to worry about stopping us. Soon, we were not only highly skilled, but also huge. Almost every player had size and strength as well.

The three exceptions were clustered on Ryan’s line, dubbed the Smurfs. Despite their lack of size, the Smurfs led the Generals in scoring their first summer together, using their speed and skill to torture opposing defensemen who seconds before the line change had been getting knocked about by the bigger Generals forwards. Ryan hadn’t stopped being a big (bleep), however. After one particularly effective check of his, a teammate on the bench who topped six feet and 200 pounds called out, “Nice hit, Ryan. Way to throw those 90 pounds around.”

What made Ryan most effective, however, was his ability to see the ice and distribute the puck. His unselfishness made him a popular linemate. He loved to set up others. If he was carrying the puck on a two-on-one, his first option would be to try to sucker the defenseman into committing to him and then sliding the puck to his teammate who now had the goalie all by himself.

At every level with the exception of college, Ryan totaled three times the number of assists as goals. Quite simply, he was a natural playmaker.

When the ’84 Generals became old enough to elect captains, Ryan was one of those chosen. There were others with more points and others louder and more boisterous in locker room conversations, but Ryan’s overall play and demeanor had earned the respect of his teammates.

As a result, I felt especially proud when the Generals won their first tournament and he was one of the two captains who circled the ice holding the “Cup” aloft for all to see. He’d paid his dues through the tough years and now he was enjoying the rewards of going against society’s grain of instant gratification.

It also was another precursor of things to come. He would again be a captain in high school and in college, a consummate leader.

Part IV of this series covers high school.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: East Vs. West

By Jim Connelly and Scott Brown
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With the NCAA field announced, Scott Brown and Jim Connelly sat down to exchange views on the brackets, the favorites, the underdogs and the matchups.

Scott: So, Jim, after several years of the WCHA showing its strength when the NCAA field was announced, this year it’s Hockey East getting the nod with five teams. I told people all weekend that this is the byproduct of chance, since the first four teams out of the NCAAs were WCHA teams — Denver, Wisconsin, Michigan Tech and Colorado College. A 20-team tournament would have included seven WCHA teams, rather than three. So is this the sign of a shift toward the East, or just the happenstance of drawing a line in a certain spot?

Jim: It’s difficult to tell exactly what we’re seeing at this point. My feeling is that the WCHA was almost punished for beating itself up. Teams like Wisconsin and Michigan Tech were both strong but suffered too many midseason losses to make the 16-team field without winning the WCHA tournament. The fact that they also eliminated Colorado College and Denver in the first round of the playoffs put a serious kink in the league’s NCAA playoff plans.

Will Ben Bishop be in net for Maine as the NCAA tournament starts? (photos: Melissa Wade)

Will Ben Bishop be in net for Maine as the NCAA tournament starts? (photos: Melissa Wade)

That said, I think that the East is pretty strong. Clarkson has proven all year it’s a decent team (other than a poor showing at St. Cloud early in the year. And no one is doubting the fact that Boston College is the hottest team in college hockey. Maine is about the only school whose merits can be debated, but the fact that the Black Bears went 7-0-1 against a tough non-league schedule justifies their NCAA existence. If goaltender Ben Bishop returns to the lineup after suffering a groin injury (Maine is 4-7-0 without him), St. Cloud State could be in for a world of problems on Friday.

Scott: I agree on Clarkson. The ECACHL’s recent record in the NCAA tournament is not encouraging, though, and it makes a lot of people take a wait-and-see approach on teams coming out of that league. Clarkson’s performance this season in the ECACHL was as eye-catching as, say, Boston College’s recent run in Hockey East, but while BC is being touted as a favorite for the national championship, people seem to be withholding opinion on Clarkson.

That said, how about the continued pattern of potential conference championship rematches in the second round, like UND-Minnesota and BC-UNH? This has happened repeatedly in past years, and we both know that it’s just a byproduct of the numbers working out a certain way, but should the NCAA be trying harder to avoid that? My sense is that they could, and should. Preserving bracket integrity is counterproductive if it results in games like these. I certainly don’t want to see conference title games rematched at the regional level if it can be avoided.

Jim: For once, Brownie, I think we agree. The committee’s desire to maintain bracket integrity gave us some less-than-desirable potential matchups in the second round. Why should the two current best teams in the WCHA and Hockey East be set up to play in the regional finals, particularly given the fact that both teams played one another last weekend?

To me, there’s very little difference between the team that is ninth in the PairWise Rankings and the team that is 12th. Same goes for fifth versus eighth. I know that it seems “fair” to keep teams like Boston College and North Dakota closer to home (though for North Dakota, this point is rather irrelevant as nothing is close to Grand Forks), but if you just switch Boston College with Michigan and North Dakota with Michigan State, the brackets gain more of a “national” field. This is the national championships, right?

As for the ECACHL, I agree their recent tournament record isn’t stellar. But the league also hasn’t had many stellar teams recently (save Cornell a few years back). I truly believe that Clarkson could come out of the East Region. They’re a tough team that will have to have a chip on its shoulder having been written off by most every pundit in the country despite the fact they’re the number-one seed.

Scott: Right — and the two of us agreeing is probably a bad karmic sign. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again, unless we want to see the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding down on the Frozen Four in a couple of weeks.

Switching gears, how about some of the first-round matchups? I was at last year’s West Regional in Grand Forks, and when I look at Minnesota being paired with the Atlantic Hockey champion in Air Force, two words obviously come to mind: “Holy Cross.”

Jim: Well, as the old adage goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” If the Gophers once again don’t bring the “A” game against Air Force, they deserve another first-round exit. When you look at last weekend’s Atlantic Hockey championships, the Falcons scored 11 goals in two games and only got two assists from Hobey Baker finalist Eric Ehn.

One year after an historic upset against Holy Cross, Don Lucia and Minnesota again face the Atlantic Hockey champion -- this time Air Force -- in the first round.

One year after an historic upset against Holy Cross, Don Lucia and Minnesota again face the Atlantic Hockey champion — this time Air Force — in the first round.

That alone is proof that this Air Force team is balanced and could be dangerous. It is curious, though, that the committee chose to send No. 1 overall Minnesota to Denver to face the 15th seed (so much for bracket integrity) in what could be a hostile environment if the Falcons are able to bring some fans. The Air Force campus is only 70 miles from the Pepsi Center, and I’d love to see the stands filled with cadets in their military uniforms.

If we’re talking first-round matchups, what are your thoughts on some on the other WCHA teams? Michigan must feel like they’re from Atlantic Hockey the way most in the sport are giving North Dakota an automatic walk to the regional final. And how do you think St. Cloud, coming off of two losses last weekend, will do against Maine?

Scott: Well, for starters, it’s pretty clear that Michigan head coach Red Berenson wasn’t happy with his bracket assignment, though what goes around comes around. For years, we’ve fielded complaints about Michigan getting favorable regional draws close to home, and now the pendulum seems to have swung.

I haven’t seen BC play lately, but it’s hard to imagine a team looking much better than North Dakota has in the second half. The Fighting Sioux ran riot over St. Cloud Friday at the WCHA Final Five, and could just as easily have won the league championship instead of Minnesota if a bounce or two had gone a different way.

I think it’ll be interesting to see how SCSU rebounds from a bad loss to Wisconsin in the third-place game. The Huskies had that one in hand until the Badgers abruptly took it away from them, and losing with nine seconds left in OT can’t be good for the psyche. Maine might be the most interesting team in the tournament. I saw them against Minnesota in October, and the Black Bears looked fantastic, but it all came apart down the stretch. I’ll still take St. Cloud in that game, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it.

While we’re at it, how about Boston University against my alma mater, Michigan State? Both teams are coming off bad losses against their archrivals last weekend, but it seems Jack Parker is a lot angrier about it than Rick Comley is.

Jim: I think that Jack Parker’s anger is a tactic he’s using to try to motivate his team. But these motivational gimmicks have gone on all year. They seem to work for a game, maybe two, but then Parker’s Terriers return to their old form of giving half-efforts in big games.

Seeing as you mentioned BC, I do have to say that it’s almost unfathomable how powerful this team is right now. In all four Hockey East playoffs games, they owned their opponents. You would assume that’s a good sign heading towards the tournament, though sometimes that concerns me in the NCAAs when the same team is forced to play in a close game. That said, BC played a lot of nailbiters throughout the season, so I’m thinking they can survive.

The team we’re forgetting to mention here, though, is New Hampshire. Sure, they laid an egg against BC on Saturday night but what a lot of people didn’t know is the Wildcats had a major stomach virus going through the team. Brett Hemingway was missing entirely over the weekend and word around the rink was that there were plenty others on the Wildcat bench who looked a little green and it had nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day.

So all this talk about the big name teams is nice, but who is your darkhorse? Is there a team capable of really opening eyes this weekend and taking that trip to St. Louis?

Scott: Well, it’s hard to even say what a darkhorse is this year. Just by seed, North Dakota would be a surprise to come out of the West Regional, but I don’t think a team as hot as the Fighting Sioux can be called a darkhorse no matter where they’re seeded. That really makes it difficult to pick an underdog per se. But I think Massachusetts could be a surprise Frozen Four team, grouped with Maine (got their number), St. Cloud (tough weekend at the Final Five) and Clarkson (let’s see how good the Golden Knights are on the big stage).

Jim: I like your pick of Massachusetts as a darkhorse, but I really think that Miami as a number-four seed could surprise folks. Don’t forget at one point this season the RedHawks were No. 3 in the nation. Sure, times got difficult, but it’s obvious that this team could win a few games to surprise. With everyone talking about a UNH-BC rematch in the final, that could prove just enough motivation for Miami to find victory.

I guess with that, we’ve said enough, Brownie. Now, it’s time for the teams to make us look either smart, or not so smart, on the ice.

Catamount Captain Mitchell Signs With Sharks

USCHO Staff Report
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Junior co-captain Torrey Mitchell of the Vermont men’s hockey team has signed a professional contract with the San Jose Sharks and will not return for his senior season. Mitchell and San Jose made the announcement today.

Mitchell will complete his junior year academically this spring. He plans to continue his education at UVM by taking summer and online courses to earn the remaining credits needed to finish his degree in the near future.

“This is an opportunity I could not pass up,” Mitchell said. “After consulting with my family, coaches and advisor this is the best decision for me. I want to thank my teammates, coaches and the University of Vermont for a great experience. It was a dream of mine to play college hockey and I was able to develop, as a student-athlete here at Vermont and it’s something I’ll cherish forever. Part of this decision also includes my intention of earning the remaining credits needed to complete my degree.”

“Torrey is the best two-way player I have coached to date,” Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. “His work ethic, competitiveness, and overall skill package makes him ready for the next level. We will certainly miss him next season, but we wish him the best of luck as he progresses toward playing in the National Hockey League. We are all very proud of him.”

“When Torrey and I discussed this opportunity, I asked him to promise me one thing – he has to finish his education from UVM,” Sneddon added. “Torrey made the decision to go the college route versus Major Junior in order to obtain a valuable college degree. It’s important to his family, it’s important to me, and it is very important to Torrey that he finish what he started.”

Mitchell was named an Honorable Mention Hockey East All-Star this past season. He finished the year with 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points to lead Vermont in scoring. His 35 points ranked 14th best in Hockey East and his 23 assists were seventh best.

Mitchell finished his career with 35 goals and 70 assists for 105 points in 110 games to rank tied for 35th on UVM’s all-time scoring list.

As a sophomore during the 2005-06 season he was named an Honorable Mention Hockey East All-Star and as a freshman he was named to the ECAC All- Rookie Team.

Mitchell was a fourth-round pick (126 overall) by the San Jose Sharks in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He will report to San Jose’s AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks this week.

Alaska Junior Greentree Departs For Pros

USCHO Staff Report
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The Alaska Nanooks’ leading scorer for the last three seasons has played his final game in Blue and Gold. Junior left wing Kyle Greentree signed a two-way contract with the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers this week.

“This is everything that I wanted and more,” said Greentree, a native of Victoria, B.C. “They followed me all season, but it came down to opportunity and where my best chances would be and it was with them because of the youth in their program.”

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound forward is scheduled to report to the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, Tuesday.

One of the biggest factors in Greentree’s decision was the unique opportunity the Flyers’ organization presents. The Phantoms play in the Wachovia Spectrum, which is across the street from the Wachovia Center, the Flyers’ home ice rink.

Alaska head coach Tavis MacMillan said that one of Greentree’s goals from day one had been to play professional hockey.

“Kyle has worked very hard in his time with our program to achieve his goal. He’s been a great representative of our community, city, and institution and he will continue to carry the Alaska Nanooks flag and be an ambassador for our program as he moves forward with his hockey career.”

Greentree led Alaska with 21 goals and 21 assists for 42 points in 39 games. He was an honorable mention to the CCHA All-Conference team.

“His size package mixed with his offensive ability was what attracted us to him,” said Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren. “We are extremely happy to have him as a part of our organization.”

He finished his career with 101 points (41 goals and 60 assists) in 115 games, making him the 28th player in Nanooks history to compile 100 or more career points. Greentree and Steve Moira (1982-85) are the only players to lead the Alaska in scoring for three straight seasons.

“Obviously, my goal was to play pro hockey,” Greentree said. “College hockey was a huge steppingstone for me. I’ve enjoyed my three years in Fairbanks. The decision to leave early was not because I was unhappy, but because I could make the next step in the right direction for my career. I’m so thankful to everyone who has helped me along the way.”

Although Greentree will miss seeing friends in Fairbanks, if he plays against Norfolk this week, he will get the chance to see a familiar face on the opposing team.

Former Nanook defenseman Jordan Hendry (2002-2006) plays for the first-place Admirals (44-17-5-1), who are the Chicago Blackhawks’ top affiliate. The Phantoms, who at 25-31-2-6 are in sixth place among seven teams in the East Division of the AHL’s Eastern Conference, are 36 points behind the Admirals.

Greentree was excited at the opportunity to play against his former teammate in his professional debut.

“I already talked to him (Hendry) and he knows if the puck goes in the corner I’m not going to let up. It will be nice to see a familiar face right off the bat.”

Despite losing his top scorer a year early, MacMillan was also excited for Greentree and the fact that two of his former players will potentially face off against one another this week, something that could happen more in the future.

“This year we’ve had six alumni skate with an AHL club,” he said. “It is a tough challenge to lose players as underclassmen but one of our goals is to help move them to their goals for pro hockey.”

“The reality is that the better players we bring in the more this will happen. Greener may not be the last underclassman to sign early this year.”

View From Afar

By
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I regret not being able to make it to Superior – what an amazing three games. All one goal games, with two needing overtime to settle things. Here’s the winning moment, courtesy of Oswego’s Sports Information Department:

GWG 2007

A big congratulations to Ed Gosek and his team. He’s one of the classiest guys in college hockey and I’m happy for him.Middlebury’s reign comes to an end…barely. Both the men and women fell in their respective championship games defending their titles, and have nothing to be ashamed of. Both will be back.Some thoughts on the weekend:

  • I caught some of the internet broadcasts and the quality was good. When I had to switch to my Mac iBook and head to the rink to cover the AHA finals, I tried to switch to both CSTV GameTracker and PrestoSports LiveStats but neither worked despite promoting the event ahead of time.
  • Year two of the neutral site experiment has mixed results. More than enough room for fans, unfortunately, as the stands looked 2/3 full for the championship game. Not enough room for press, which according to people that were there, had limited internet access and didn’t have the best vantage point. The fans that were there and players sounded very positive about the experience, however.
  • I was disappointed at the comments made by Steve Nelson, the Athletic Director at UWS during the internet broadcast of the first semifinal. Nelson is also a member of the West Region and the National Tournament Committees. When asked a softball question about the selection process, Nelson cautioned against looking at the USCHO.com Pairwise, saying that the numbers “delivered to my computer on Monday”, the “official numbers”, were different than USCHO’s, which is why the teams selected were different that what many were projecting. Nelson is mistaken. How do I know this? Because, thanks to sources out there, I have seen the “official” numbers and they are virtually identical to the PWR. What is not identical is the weighting the numbers have. And that weighting explains why Norwich was selected over Neumann and why UW-Superior was suddenly ranked above UW-Stout right before the weekend of the conference finals. Here’s a suggestion – use the same process as the D-I committee uses. Not necessarily the same criteria, but the same process, which is out in the open. Every coach and player in D-I knew exactly what they needed to do to get into the tournament, and as last Saturday’s results came in, the field was set and everybody knew it. St. Lawrence knew, for example, that if it won its consolation game, it was in. Plain and simple. The 16 teams in the D-I tournament were known as soon as the final buzzer sounded on Saturday. There’s no reason that this can’t work in D-III.

OK, enough ranting. Hat’s off to all the D-III teams in this tournament, especially the final four. Based on what I saw, any of those teams could have won the title and would have been deserving champions. Thanks to Matt Webb for covering things for us solo. Atlantic Hockey was nice enough to change their playoff format next season, so odds are I’ll be in Lake Placid to see the 2008 champion crowned. I really, really missed being there this season.

Oswego

Other NCAA Final Coverage

By
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Wisconsin State Journal

Capital Times

Duluth News Tribune

Boston Globe

Adirondack Daily Enterprise

New England Hockey Journal

Harvard Crimson

Daily Cardinal

 Badger Herald

And of course, check the USCHO.com women’s page for all of our tournament coverage.

USCHO.com/CSTV Poll: Notre Dame, Minnesota One-Two Heading Into NCAA Tournament

USCHO Staff Report
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The top two teams in the nation were unchanged in the final USCHO.com/CSTV Division I men’s poll of the season, released Monday.

Notre Dame remained No. 1 for a seventh straight week and Minnesota stayed at No. 2, as the Fighting Irish and the Gophers won the CCHA and WCHA tournament titles, respectively, over the weekend.

The other “Big Four” conference champions occupied the next two positions in the poll. Clarkson, the ECACHL tournament champion, climbed two spots to No. 3 with its wins, and Boston College, the Hockey East tournament titlist, was up three spots to fourth in the rankings.

New Hampshire, which lost the HEA title game to the Eagles, fell two slots to fifth, followed by North Dakota, which stayed in sixth place after losing the WCHA championship game to Minnesota.

St. Cloud State, which finished fourth in the WCHA tourney after losing Saturday’s third-place game to Wisconsin, dropped three positions to No. 7 this week, while Michigan was up a place to No. 8 after taking second in the CCHA tournament.

Boston University, which lost in the HEA semifinals to BC, was down one to No. 9, and Michigan State, the third-place finisher in the CCHA after a Saturday win over Lake Superior State, rounded out the top half of the poll at No. 10.

St. Lawrence remained at No. 11 with a third-place finish in the ECACHL tournament, beating Dartmouth Saturday, Massachusetts, which lost its HEA semi to New Hampshire, was again 12th, followed again by idle Miami.

Maine, which sat out championship weekend in Hockey East, rose three places to No. 14 as the announcement of the NCAA tournament field appeared to influence some votes. The Black Bears supplanted idle Denver, which missed the field of 16 and held as No. 15 in the poll.

Quinnipiac rose two places to No. 16 after finishing as the runner-up to Clarkson in the ECACHL, and Wisconsin, the third-place team in the WCHA tournament, was 17th.

Dartmouth dropped four spots to No. 18 after losing two games at the ECACHLs, followed by Michigan Tech, which was beaten by Wisconsin in the WCHA play-in game and dropped three places, and then idle Colorado College, which moved down one place to complete the top 20.

Bracket Reax

USCHO Staff Report
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Editor’s note: this article includes a quote from Michigan State head coach Rick Comley which was interpreted to imply that the CHA and Atlantic Hockey champions should appear in a play-in game for the NCAA field. Comley’s intent was rather to suggest that due to the league’s five-team membership, the CHA champion should appear in a play-in, but not necessarily against the Atlantic Hockey champion. USCHO.com apologizes for the error.

With the 2007 NCAA tournament field set, reactions to the brackets were varied, with many coaches already knowing they were in well in advance, and some having an inkling as to who and where they might play.

Michigan State head coach Rick Comley, whose Spartans were in limbo until the last day of play, was pleased to be selected, and understandably less concerned about exactly where Michigan State ended up in the brackets.

“The excitement is just being a part of the field,” said Comley. “Everyone gets upset or uptight about where they are going, but my approach has always been that you want to be one of the 16 and then wherever you go, be ready to play.”

Handicapping the field, Comley threw his support behind the two teams that dominated the polls and the PairWise Rankings for most of the season.

Jeff Lerg and Michigan State take on Boston University in the first round (photo: Ray Bartnikowski).

Jeff Lerg and Michigan State take on Boston University in the first round (photo: Ray Bartnikowski).

“This is a wide-open tournament, but anyone who doesn’t think that Notre Dame and Minnesota are the favorites hasn’t watched college hockey this year,” he said.

“I do think that there are a lot of teams capable of getting hot and playing at the right level at the right time. There are clear favorites, but the field is wide-open because there are so many good goaltenders and goals will come at a premium.”

The Spartans, who have been up and down this season, take on Boston University in the first round.

“BU showed me, like we showed people too, that they might struggle to score goals, but they definitely can score goals, especially if they score early,” said Comley. “I think scoring early will be a key to the game.”

And of course, Comley knows his counterpart on the BU bench well. Comley coached Northern Michigan in the classic 1991 NCAA championship game, an 8-7 triple-overtime marathon that ended with NMU hoisting the national title.

“I’ve also faced [BU coach] Jack Parker in the GLI and the NCAAs. Jack is a really good friend and he has done a tremendous job over the years. We spent four or five years on the committee together and there are a lot of ties between us.”

On the process itself and the resulting selections, Comley had a few opinions.

“As late as 11 p.m. [Saturday] night, we were headed to Denver, but apparently the committee changed its mind and went strictly with the numbers. Sometimes I think that subjectivity should come into play, but when we see things play out we aren’t always going to be happy. If subjectivity was allowed, Denver and Wisconsin would probably be in the field. But do I think they deserve to be? No.

“What I would like to see is a play-in game. The CHA should not have an automatic bid under any circumstance whatsoever. They should have a play-in opportunity.”

St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh, whose Saints were likewise on the bubble despite winning the ECACHL regular-season title, didn’t need to wait until the brackets came out to position his squad among its competition.

“All year long we’ve been taking the underdog mentality,” said Marsh Saturday. “You better believe we’re taking that attitude now, because we certainly are. There’s no doubt that we’re going to be the underdog going into the NCAA tournament.”

Hockey East dominated the field with five bids, which Boston College coach Jerry York thought well of.

“To have five entries in this horserace when there’s only 16 available spots is great,” said York. “It speaks volumes for our league, I think. Now it’s time for us to get some banners in our league. The WCHA has had them for the last [five] years.”

BC head coach Jerry York on the bench with his charges (photo: Melissa Wade).

BC head coach Jerry York on the bench with his charges (photo: Melissa Wade).

The Eagles will play this weekend in Manchester, N.H., another boon for BC, which takes on SLU in the first round.

“Manchester is good for our team in terms of parents and fans. It’s easy and accessible, so that’s a real plus for us.

“We’ll have to do a lot of research on them [the Saints]” York said. “We haven’t played them this year. I’ve watched them on tape. They won their regular-season championship and we’ll do some background research on that.

“Joe Marsh is a longtime veteran coach at St. Lawrence and I’m sure that he’ll have a well-prepared opponent for us.”

The Eagles seem to be peaking at the right time, as well.

“It’s been an interesting year for us,” said York. “There was a period in January when we lost three straight games. At that time we were a real bubble team for the NCAAs. We just kind of tried to get better and better. From that low period, we’ve really come on strong. We never really got a streak going until recently. ”

As usual, the selection committee worked to avoid intraconference matchups in the first round, but also as usual, the regional finals were another matter. BC could face New Hampshire in the regional final, the fourth meeting between the teams in less than a month.

“It’s almost unavoidable,” said York. “When you look at North Dakota and Minnesota, it’s the same thing. They just played the championship game and they’re going to be in the same region. If it was just two or three teams, it would be easy to spot you. But the success of our league is bringing so many entries in. Being a high number-two seed probably sent us to Manchester and BU to Grand Rapids . We were both two seeds but they probably sent the higher seed closer.”

Air Force earned its first-ever NCAA bid with its victory in the Atlantic Hockey championship game, putting Frank Serratore’s squad near to home in the West Regional in Denver. With Denver and Colorado College also on the wrong side of the bubble, the Falcons will be the state of Colorado’s lone representative in the field of 16.

“We’re elated to be at home. We think it’s great for us and our fans,” said Serratore. “CC and Denver have been to a pile of these, but this is our first. There’s a thousand or so people that have been here through four-win seasons. They’ve seen the good times and the bad times and now they can drive up to the Pepsi Arena and see us play.

“I think there will be a huge walk-up. It’s a monster field with powerhouse teams and a home town Cinderella.

“There are no negatives for us,” he added. “It’s at altitude … and I like that it’s Saturday-Sunday, which gives us an extra day to prepare.

“It’s amazing for the whole thing to come together the way it has. The one year that Denver and CC slip together — the one year the regional is here, for us to have the opportunity to play this game with Minnesota in Denver, it’s like it’s been scripted.”

Another contender didn’t get such a convenient location. Though the Midwest Regional is nearby in Grand Rapids, Mich., Michigan is headed out to Denver to take on North Dakota in the first round.

“I think it’s ironic we’re playing North Dakota again,” Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. “That will be an interesting matchup. Obviously we’re going into their territory … whether it’s in North Dakota or not, we’re going into WCHA territory.

“Everyone is talking about Minnesota and North Dakota being the teams — I don’t think they even know we’re in the tournament,” Berenson said. “You know there is going to be an underlying current that needs to come out of our locker room and show up in that game Saturday. Hopefully we can do something.”

And while many teams watched ESPN2’s selection show Sunday afternoon, reporters turning up at Boston University’s Agganis Arena were surprised to learn that the Terriers had decided to spurn it altogether. Minutes before the telecast was scheduled to begin, the players were immersed in a no-pucks practice on the heels of Friday’s embarrassing loss to Boston College.

Terrier coach Jack Parker spoke only briefly before heading out to the ice to join his team.

“We don’t care who we’re playing, and we don’t care where we’re going,” Parker said. “We’ll find out afterwards, and I’ll tell our team. We’re not going to make any comments about who we’re playing because that’s not our problem. Our toughest opponent is ourselves. The only thing I’m concerned about is trying to get us ready to play another hockey game — unlike the one we played the other night.

“We don’t need to make any comments about, ‘Gee, what do you think of Michigan State? What do you think about Michigan?’ Because there won’t be any comments about that. My only problem is my team. Nobody can beat us like we can beat us. That’s our major problem.”

One team on the wrong side of the picks Sunday was Wisconsin, which will not have the chance to defend its national championship. Head coach Mike Eaves expected as much, but was unhappy with a result that saw just three WCHA teams get in.

“It was disappointing. We knew it was a slim chance, but still to see the teams on the wall was disappointing,” said Eaves.

“It sure would be interesting to talk to someone on the committee. Because how does the WCHA only get three teams in there? To me, that’s the biggest question that I have. You get past our own disappointment, and I look at our league and how strong our league is.”

Jim Connelly, Todd D. Milewski, Scott Weighart, Jayson Moy, Sean Caruthers, Chris Lerch, Bob Miller and Scott Brown contributed to this report. Thanks also to TheWolverine.com.

Thoughts on the NCAA Tournament field…

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Well, a wild weekend of conference tournament hockey is finally behind us and the resultant is this year’s 16-team NCAA tournament field.

Once again, the PairWise Rankings correctly predicted the tournament field. Over the years, I’ve noticed that the general public’s knowledge and understanding of the PairWise has certainly cut down on the griping after selection Sunday.

The only whines you’ll hear nowadays are from teams that believe that their team got firmly screwed with their seeding or region. But even this year, the NCAA selection committee threw us very few curveballs.

From Jayson Moy’s final installment of bracketology, the only switcharoo was the seedings of Massachusetts and Maine, with the Black Bears getting a #3 seed in the East region and the Minutemen taking the #4 seed. As I was watching the selection show, my immediate instinct was that the .003 bonus for quality wins was too low and that the NCAA used a number like .0035 or .004, thus elevating the Black Bears to the #3 seed. A closer look, though, indictated that it was the tie-breaking procedure that the NCAA used in the three-way tie between Maine, Massachusetts and St. Lawrence was done strictly by the RPI (St. Lawrence at .5384 took the 11th overall seed, Maine at .5366 took 12th and UMass at .5328 took 13th, pushing them to a #4 seed).

My only gripe about the brackets is the fact that, for the second straight year, they’re set up to have conference tournament re-matches in round two. With Hockey East getting five teams into the tournament, you knew that at least one region would have to have two Hockey East clubs but the selection committee decided to double up presence of Hockey East teams in the two eastern regionals. The same happened on the WCHA front where, despite only getting three teams in the tournament, two of those clubs – Minnesota and North Dakota – were sent to the Denver regional.

The result is that we could see Boston College-UNH play for the fourth time in a month, UMass and Maine play for the fifth time in a month and North Dakota and Minnesota faceoff for the second time in eight days.

Really, I guess that isn’t a big deal and the selection committee would prefer to protect the attendace (something I fully support) and maintain the integrity of the brackets rather than avoid these second-round conference matchups.

Taking a quick look at the brackets, it appears the West Region could be the death bracket. With Minnesota, Michigan and North Dakota all battling for survival, there’s a chance that a team that deserves to reach the Frozen Four will be left home. Add to the fact that Air Force, the region’s #4 seed, will be playing in its backyard (Denver is a just an hour drive from Colorado Springs), really makes this a tough bracket.

The Northeast Regional in Manchester will also be a bear to survive. Host New Hampshire will have to survive a battle with tough #4 seed Miami, which is looking to prove something after a loss in the CCHA quarterfinals. St. Lawrence moving from a #4 seed to a #3 seed didn’t get any reward in having to face red-hot BC. I think whichever team comes out of this region could win the national title (same goes for the West).

Though I don’t want to call Michigan State a walkover, I think that Notre Dame shouldn’t have any problem surviving. One issue in Grand Rapids could arise if Boston University can return to form after a couple of somewhat disappointing weekends.

The final region – Rochester – is a tough one to call. Clarkson didn’t get any bonus in earning a #1 seed having to now face a red-hot Massachusetts team which I think would’ve given BC a better go of it in the Hockey East title game had they gotten past UNH. If Maine goaltender Ben Bishop returns to the lineup, look for them to be a force against St. Cloud. There are a lot of question marks in this region which makes it the toughest to call in my mind.

One thing we know is that there will be a new champion in this year’s tournament with Wisconsin barely falling on the wrong side of the bubble. Ironically, as it was pointed out on the USCHO.com message board, had the NCAA not changed the calculation weight of the RPI last summer, Wisconsin would’ve been the final team in the tournament.

The End of a Joyous Era

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The final weekend of the season is always bittersweet, but it is especially so when it marks the end of the hockey careers of two of the most distinguished ever to play the college game-2007 Patty Kazmaier Winner Julie Chu of Harvard and 2006 Patty Kazmaier Winner and 2007 Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player Sara Bauer of Wisconsin.

Right now, it’s hard to imagine the college game without these two.

Chu played in three straight NCAA finals, and while her team came up short of the Frozen Four this season, she played more minutes of postseason hockey than many past Frozen Four participants. Her stamp was on three of the greatest postseason games ever – the 2003 double overtime NCAA final against UMD, the 2005 triple overtime NCAA quarterfinal against Mercyhurst, and this year’s quadruple overtime NCAA quarterfinal against Wisconsin.

Sara Bauer receives her scholar-athlete award from the WCHA. Her 3.96 GPA among elite players is unprecedented.<br />John E. Van Barriger / <a href='http://words-photos.com'>words-photos.com</a>” /></p> <div class=Sara Bauer receives her scholar-athlete award from the WCHA. Her 3.96 GPA among elite players is unprecedented.
John E. Van Barriger / words-photos.com

Bauer has won consecutive national titles, and perhaps just played the best all-around national championship of anyone in college history. Bauer certainly continued the tradition that the best player in the country not winning the Kazmaier takes home the postseason’s top honor — think Maria Rooth in 2001, Kristy Zamora in 2002, Caroline Ouellette in 2003, Krissy Wendell in 2004, and Natalie Darwitz in 2005.

What strikes me most about both players is how much they love every minute of their college hockey experience. You see it on the ice every minute they compete in every aspect of their play.

“I’m biased, but I think Julie Chu is the best [defensive player] in the country, and her offensive statistics speak for themselves,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone. “She logged a lot of minutes at Harvard. She does everything. I’ve never coached a player of that caliber and that personality. She’s incredibly humble and selfless.”

Bauer’s talents all over the ice were never more obvious than in the Frozen Four semifinal against St. Lawrence when she had three assists, and on a key five-on-three disadvantage, she blocked one shot and cleared the zone, and later intercepted a pass and ran out the clock.

“Those of you who watch a lot of hockey know how important those plays are,” said Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson. “They don’t show up on the stat sheet.”

Chu is renowned for her ability to express her love of hockey verbally. While Bauer has a deserved reputation for being quiet, she can say a lot with a few words. She showed that on Sunday when she talked about how her broken ribs suffered the last weekend of the regular season never slowed her down.

“There is something special about playing hockey,” Bauer said. “You might have an injury, but once you’re out there, you don’t feel it. You just get out there and push through it.”

Some of my favorite memories from Chu are from Harvard’s 2005 run to the championship – how high she jumped in the air after scoring the game-winner in triple overtime against Mercyhurst, how the adrenaline was still flowing during the press conference afterwards.

Julie Chu speaks in her final press conference after her quadruple overtime loss against the Wisconsin. The size of her smile after such a defeat is unprecedented.<br />John E. Van Barriger / <a href='http://words-photos.com'>words-photos.com</a>” /></p> <div class=Julie Chu speaks in her final press conference after her quadruple overtime loss against the Wisconsin. The size of her smile after such a defeat is unprecedented.
John E. Van Barriger / words-photos.com

She said after that game, “You realize how important that team dynamic and support is when you come off and you’re dripping with sweat and you don’t think you’re going to be able to push any harder, and they’re like, ‘Hey you can do it.’ And they look you in the eyes, and you’re like, ‘We can do it.'”

I also remember well the Harvard press conference the day before the Harvard vs. Minnesota final in 2005. Most of the time, that pre-final press conference is brief. The media does not have as much to ask, and players do not have much to say. But that press conference was twice as long as any pre-final press conference I had ever witnessed, and it was all because of Chu’s joy at talking about the adversity Harvard faced reaching the final that season, and then the challenge of facing longtime U.S. teammates Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell. I did not get to see her final press conference, but my sources tell me they have never seen a player so dignified in defeat.

Few players have earned greater respect from their teammates than Bauer and Chu.

“[Bauer’s] modesty, no matter what anybody says about her, you just can’t say enough,” said classmate Meagan Mikkelson after Sunday’s final. “I didn’t know until a week or two after that she had broken her ribs. Normally if players are hurt you can tell, but she just comes to practice the next and throws her gear on, and practices like she would any other day. To have someone like that be a leader on this team has been huge for us.”

“[Chu] is incredible in how much she contributes on the ice in all the little things and how much she contributes off the ice in the dynamics of the team,” said former linemate Nicole Corriero.

Harvard teammates tried to make the trip to Lake Placid on Saturday morning to be there with Chu during the Kazmaier ceremony, but the snow had other ideas.

“That was the toughest thing for Julie, that they’re not here, because she recognizes it takes every player to get the job done, and they wanted to be here because of the impression she’s made on their lives,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone.

Now that both players’ college careers are over, it’s no surprise both have expressed interest in coaching — both Stone and Johnson have used the phrase “like having another coach on the ice” when describing their impact. There is no doubt that their success in college has prepared them well for what lies ahead.

Bracket Analysis

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Well, the NCAA tournament brackets are out and there was only one surprise, that being the placement of Maine in the third-seeded band and Massachusetts in the fourth-seeded band.

Otherwise, I was right on the money.

Here are the brackets I projected after last night’s games:

West Regional:

Air Force vs. Minnesota
North Dakota vs. Michigan

Midwest Regional:

Alabama-Huntsville vs. Notre Dame
Michigan State vs. Boston University

East Regional:

Maine vs. Clarkson
Massachusetts vs. St. Cloud

Northeast Regional:

Miami vs. New Hampshire
St. Lawrence vs. Boston College

As you can see, just switch Maine and Massachusetts and you have this year’s bracket.

Sometimes I think the NCAA does this to get my goat, but maybe there was a reason.

Let’s take a look, it seems like it came down to the bubble at number 11 in the PairWise, a three-way tie between Maine, St. Lawrence and Massachusetts.

If you use the .003 bonus, you see that Massachusetts wins both comparisons with Maine and St. Lawrence. And St. Lawrence wins the comparison with Maine, meaning that Massachusetts should be 11, St. Lawrence 12 and Maine 13.

So what happened?

The only plausible reason that I can give you is that the committee ranked the three teams by RPI. Meaning that Maine was 11, St. Lawrence 12 and Massachusetts 13.

If you look at individual comparisons, Massachusetts killed Maine because of the head-to-head.

To me, there is no reason why Maine and Massachusetts were switched.

In the end the only difference is who each team is playing, but at the same time, it could make a difference in the future.

I can’t wait to hear the committee’s reason for switching Maine and Massachusetts.

Bracketology: Final

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The games are all done, it’s time to see what we think the NCAA tournament brackets will be when they are announced at 2:30pm ET on Sunday.

Here are the top 16 in the final PairWise Rankings (PWR), with the bonus and autobid teams not in the Top 16:

1 Minnesota
2 Notre Dame
3 Clarkson
4 New Hampshire
5 Boston College
6 St. Cloud
7 Boston University
8t Michigan
8t Michigan State
10 North Dakota
11t Massachusetts
11t St. Lawrence
11t Maine
14 Miami
15t Wisconsin
15t Denver
— Air Force
— Alabama-Huntsville

Autobids awarded to:

Atlantic Hockey: Air Force
CHA: Alabama-Huntsville
CCHA: Notre Dame
ECACHL: Clarkson
Hockey East: Boston College
WCHA:Minnesota

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 autobids that are not currently in the Top 16. Those teams are Air Force and Alabama-Huntsville.

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

The ties consist of Michigan and Michigan State at 8 and Massachusetts, St. Lawrence and Maine at 11. The bubble at 15 is moot because Air Force and Alabama-Huntsville have claimed the 15th and 16th seeds in the tournament.

Looking at the individual comparisons, Michigan defeats Michigan State and Massachusetts wins the comparison with both SLU and Maine, while SLU wins the comparison with Maine.

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

1 Minnesota
2 Notre Dame
3 Clarkson
4 New Hampshire
5 Boston College
6 St. Cloud
7 Boston University
8 Michigan
9 Michigan State
10 North Dakota
11 Massachusetts
12 St. Lawrence
13 Maine
14 Miami
15 Air Force
16 Alabama-Huntsville

Step Two

Now it’s time to assign the seeds.

No. 1 Seeds – Minnesota, Notre Dame, Clarkson, New Hampshire
No. 2 Seeds – Boston College, St. Cloud, Boston University, Michigan
No. 3 Seeds – Michigan State, North Dakota, Massachusetts, St. Lawrence
No. 4 Seeds – Maine, Miami, Air Force, Alabama-Huntsville

Step Three

Place the No. 1 seeds in regionals. Because New Hampshire is hosting a regional, the Wildcats are placed first. Following the guidelines, we then place the other No. 1 seeds based on proximity to the regional sites.

No. 4 New Hampshire is placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester.
No. 1 Minnesota is placed in the West Regional in Denver.
No. 2 Notre Dame is placed in the Midwest Regional in Grand Rapids.
No. 3 Clarkson is placed in the East Regional in Rochester.

Step Four

Now we place the other 12 teams so as to avoid intraconference 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. 5 Boston College is placed in No. 4 New Hampshire’s Regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 6 St. Cloud is placed in No. 3 Clarkson’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 7 Boston University is placed in No. 2 Notre Dame’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 8 Michigan is placed in No. 1 Minnesota’s Regional, the West Regional.

No. 3 Seeds

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

Therefore:

No. 9 Michigan State is placed in No. 8 Michigan’s Regional, the West Regional.
No. 10 North Dakota is placed in No. 7 Boston University’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 11 Massachusetts is placed in No. 6 St. Cloud’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 12 St. Lawrence is placed in No. 5 Boston College’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 Alabama-Huntsville is sent to Minnesota’s Regional, the West Regional.
No. 15 Air Force is sent to Notre Dame’s Regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 14 Miami is sent to Clarkson’s Regional, the East Regional.
No. 13 Maine is sent to New Hampshire’s Regional, the Northeast Regional.

The brackets as we have set them up:

West Regional:

Alabama-Huntsville vs. Minnesota
Michigan State vs. Michigan

Midwest Regional:

Air Force vs. Notre Dame
North Dakota vs. Boston University

East Regional:

Miami vs. Clarkson
Massachusetts vs. St. Cloud

Northeast Regional:

Maine vs. New Hampshire
St. Lawrence vs. Boston College

Our first concern is avoiding intraconference matchups. We have two of them.

We have to move Michigan State, which we will do by switching North Dakota with the Spartans.

Then we have to move Maine, which we will do by switching it with Miami.

So the tournament is now fixed.

West Regional:

Alabama-Huntsville vs. Minnesota
North Dakota vs. Michigan

Midwest Regional:

Air Force vs. Notre Dame
Michigan State vs. Boston University

East Regional:

Maine vs. Clarkson
Massachusetts vs. St. Cloud

Northeast Regional:

Miami vs. New Hampshire
St. Lawrence vs. Boston College

Bracketing the Frozen Four, if all four number-one seeds advance, then the top overall seed plays the No. 4 overall, and No. 2 plays No. 3. Therefore, the winners of the Midwest and East Regionals face each other in one semifinal (Notre Dame and Clarkson’s brackets), while the winners of the West and Northeast Regionals (Minnesota and New Hampshire’s brackets) play the other semifinal.

Concerns?

So are there any concerns? One major one is why fly Minnesota to Denver as the number-one overall seed, instead of putting the Gophers in Grand Rapids, which is nearer geographically.

Let’s take a look at the two regionals.

In Denver we have placed Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota and Alabama-Huntsville, while in Grand Rapids we currently have Notre Dame, Boston University, Michigan State and Air Force.

If we switched the two regionals, which would be the case if you put Minnesota in Grand Rapids and Notre Dame in Denver to start with, you would have attendance problems.

With no WCHA teams in Denver, the attendance concern becomes very real, although of course Michigan in Grand Rapids makes everything okay.

But with the Minnesota pairings in Denver and the Notre Dame pairings in Grand Rapids, we avoid attendance concerns.

Now just one more tweak for me, I think.

Air Force and Alabama-Huntsville, in my opinion, can be considered interchangeable because neither is in the Top 25 as a Team Under Consideration. Therefore, I’m going to keep Air Force in Denver and only fly one team, rather than two.

So I will make the change and switch Alabama-Huntsville and Air Force.

West Regional:

Air Force vs. Minnesota
North Dakota vs. Michigan

Midwest Regional:

Alabama-Huntsville vs. Notre Dame
Michigan State vs. Boston University

East Regional:

Maine vs. Clarkson
Massachusetts vs. St. Cloud

Northeast Regional:

Miami vs. New Hampshire
St. Lawrence vs. Boston College

And that’s my bracket prognostication for this year.

Let’s see what happens on Selection Sunday.

Sunday Morning Outside Sources

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For more women’s hockey coverage from around the nation.

Chu wins the Kazmaier:

Boston Globe

Capital Times

New England Hockey Journal

Adirondack Daily Enterprise

NCAA final game previews:

Capital Times

Wisconsin State Journal

Duluth News Tribune

Rivalry and Memorials

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Dedicated to all the men and women of Rochester
Who died for their country on land, sea or in the air

Americans by birth or adoption most of all by devotion
Rich in the joys and hopes and talents they sacrificed
Richer still with the honor and freedom so nobly maintained
Whose courage and faith laid the foundations of peace

These sons and daughters, neighbors, friends, whose noblest
Motive was the public good. They are not lost who are
Remembered nor dead whose work transcends their
Time whose fulfillment we in God’s grace may share

Those moving words are engraved on a plaque permanently mounted in a prominent corner of the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial, adjacent to an eternal flame and alongside extensive displays capturing the military service of residents from Rochester, N.Y. The building was named the War Memorial upon its original dedication in 1953 as a tribute to those soldiers, sailors, and airmen who had made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II.

So perhaps it is fitting that this building was the host tonight to two of the service academies battling on the ice for either team’s first ever Atlantic Hockey Association championship and also for their first automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

“I think it is kind of neat for college hockey to have two service academies playing in a championship game, knowing that one of the them will be in the NCAA tournament,” said Army coach Brian Riley prior to the game.

The on-ice rivalry between the Army Black Knights and Air Force Falcons go all the way back to March 22, 1969, the first year of varsity hockey for the Falcons. That pair of games, officially designated as exhibitions, were won convincingly by the Black Knights by scores of 12-4 and 8-0.

But Air Force has greatly improved from those days, leading the all-time series 24-18-2.

Eternal Flame Monument at the War Memorial at Blue Cross Arena, site of the Atlantic Hockey Championships. (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo)

Eternal Flame Monument at the War Memorial at Blue Cross Arena, site of the Atlantic Hockey Championships. (photo: Angelo Lisuzzo)

“Inter-service academy rivalries have been there a long time and are part of our tradition,” said Lt. General John Regni, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy. “Our teams always play hard but whenever we are going against another service academy, both teams seem to step it up a little bit. There are a lot of bragging rights involved, not only at the academies but across the services themselves.”

The rivalry runs deep throughout the long tradition of athletics at both academies and is followed closely by service men and women stationed around the globe.

“When you see these two teams play, it is quite a rivalry where guys leave it all on the ice,” said Riley. “In my wildest dreams, I would have never imagined the two of us playing for a chance to go to the NCAA’s. We could play for nothing and we would try to beat the heck out of each other.”

“It is bragging rights,” continued Gene Marshall, Deputy Athletic Director at Army. “It is always a chance of who gets to brag the most. We say we are the toughest. They say they are the toughest. And we try to settle it on the field of friendly strife, or the ice of friendly strife in this case.”

But even with the rivalry, and the bragging rights on the line, a deep rooted respect and support for all service academies permeates both the Army and the Air Force personnel.

“All of that aside, it is important to understand that we are proud of any service academy teams playing at this level of competition,” summed up Regni.

Both schools were also very aware of the history of the building that they were competing in, and the irony of playing such an important game inside a building dedicated to the memory of so many who gave their lives serving their country.

“When I walked in to this building, what an amazing situation to be at a war memorial and have two service academies battling for the right to go to the NCAA’s,” said Marshall. “It is a fitting tribute to what this country stands for.”

Too Much Information

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The best-laid plans of mice and men…

A dilemma has been faced by head coaches nationwide ever since the workings of the NCAA tournament selection process — summarized as USCHO.com’s PairWise Rankings — became publicly available years ago.

With an objective, numerical process in place, the impact of every game could be measured, and that has turned out to have some curious consequences.

The situation got even more unambiguous, and therefore even more complicated, with the introduction of what-if tools to examine the impact of various scenarios, like the PairWise Predictor.

Bobby Goepfert was in net Saturday for St. Cloud State against Wisconsin in the WCHA third-place game (photo: Jason Waldowski).

Bobby Goepfert was in net Saturday for St. Cloud State against Wisconsin in the WCHA third-place game (photo: Jason Waldowski).

Now coaches, players and fans could tell not only where things stood, but where they might go in the future.

That meant that real-time decisions could be made with intimate knowledge of how they affected a team’s NCAA hopes. The most obvious place and time? A conference tournament’s third-place game — a contest that might mean nothing or everything depending on who was in it.

Hypothetical case in point: a PWR-savvy head coach knows he has to win a third-place game to make the NCAA tournament, based on the numbers. The game goes to overtime — and he pulls his goaltender, knowing that a tie means nothing for him. This came close to happening a few seasons ago.

This year in particular, the third-place games meant a great deal. Michigan State locked up an NCAA bid with a wild overtime win against Lake Superior State, and St. Lawrence beat Dartmouth 5-3 to put itself in the field as well, and end the Big Green’s hopes at the same time.

All of this is a long introduction to the fact that Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center, St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko had a decision to make.

St. Cloud State entered the WCHA Final Five looking like a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but a 6-2 loss to North Dakota in Friday’s semifinal imperiled the Huskies’ chances. By all appearances, it looked as if SCSU needed a win — or maybe a tie — in Saturday’s third-place game against Wisconsin to preserve its position.

With several players on the Huskies’ roster hurting, Motzko had to choose: rest some of his guys to bolster his chances in the regionals next weekend, or run the usual cast out there and go after the one seed full-bore?

After hashing out his options, Motzko chose the latter. Among the players who skated for SCSU in the UND game, only third- and fourth-line wingers Aaron Brocklehurst and Gary Houseman, along with third-line blueliner David Carlisle, were scratched from Saturday’s lineup. On the ice were the Huskies’ big guns, including goaltender Bobby Goepfert.

And after all the smoke had cleared, Wisconsin, playing for nothing but pride after its own semifinal loss to Minnesota — and with backup netminder Shane Connelly in net for almost the entire game — had defeated SCSU 4-3 in overtime.

The Badgers scored three straight goals to overcome a 3-1 deficit, the last one coming off the stick of Ben Street with just 9.1 seconds left in the five-minute OT.

Along the way, there was a scary moment for Husky supporters a few minutes into the third period, when Goepfert took a slapshot from UW’s Ross Carlson in the neck and crumpled face-first to the ice seconds later. Goepfert eventually stayed in the game. However, St. Cloud didn’t escape the game unscathed, losing senior center Nate Raduns to an injury that Motzko thought would keep him out for next weekend’s games.

“That’s just what we didn’t want,” said Motzko.

Losing Raduns, likely losing a No. 1 seed anyway — sounds like a bad day for Motzko and his charges. But as the coach pointed out, the breathless hype over seeding might be a tad overdone.

“You guys [the media] keep saying North Dakota is the best team in the country. Well, we’re in their [seeding] band now, so we can’t go with them [to the same regional],” Motzko said, only half-jokingly.

Mr. Versatility

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When injuries deplete your defensive corps, the instinctive reaction rarely is to take your best scorer and move him to the blue line. When that player is not only your own top scorer but the league’s as well, it’s an even bigger surprise.

And yet that’s what Boston College coach Jerry York decided when defensemen Anthony Aiello and Carl Sneep went down. Brian Boyle, about to earn the second of back-to-back All-Hockey East First Team selections as a forward, became the Eagles’ lead defenseman.

Adding to the magnitude of the switch was its timing. BC had just completed the regular season with a six-game winning streak. If the position change became a disaster, second-guessers might say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Brian Boyle excelled in a different role for Boston College this weekend (photo: Melissa Wade).

Brian Boyle excelled in a different role for Boston College this weekend (photo: Melissa Wade).

York, however, considered the blue line to be broken and Boyle was the man to fix it.

Boyle recalls, “Coach brought me into his office and said, ‘I really want to use you at D. I think it’ll be good for the team.’

“That’s all he really had to say.”

Boyle, who had played defense on the penalty kill and occasionally at the end of games, hadn’t played the position full-time since trying it for a couple of games in high school.

In the ensuing four playoff games, however, the experiment was a roaring success. BC rolled to a Hockey East championship, winning by lopsided scores — 3-0, 7-1, 6-2 and 5-2 — and Boyle totaled eight points with a plus-minus of +5. As a result, he earned selection as a defenseman to the All-Tournament Team.

“He could be an All-American at both positions,” York says. “He might become an All-American this year as a forward. He probably could have played all year as a defenseman and become an All-American.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a player that has had that versatility to him. I’ve had a lot of All-Americans, but none that could play forward and then go back and play defense.”

Instead of sacrificing some offense to shore up the blue line, the Eagle scoring has exploded, averaging over five goals a game since Boyle’s move.

“His impact on the game as a defenseman is more dominating than as a forward,” York says. “He just has a real good feel for moving pucks to open people. He’s like a quarterback. You couldn’t really see that [special ability] as a forward, but as a defenseman coming up ice he really shows it.”

Boyle has used veteran defenseman Mike Brennan “as another set of eyes for me” and tried not to out-think himself.

“I’ve just tried to play with what I have,” Boyle says. “If forwards are getting open and yelling, I try to hit them. If I run out of space and time, it’s just a chip off the glass.”

Defensively, he’s tried to make the best use of the wingspan a 6-7 player has at his disposal.

“If I use my reach as well as I can, that’s going to be beneficial for me,” he says. “I’m still trying to get more comfortable gapping up [playing close to an attacker], playing odd-man rushes or one-on-ones. Keeping guys to the outside is what I try to do.

“Just being able to read when they’re going to shoot, I try to get a stick on it. That’s what we’re taught for team defense in D-zone play. Stick on stick and keeping guys away from the net, keeping your body in between the net and the player. Playing center in the D-zone is pretty similar.”

Despite Boyle’s success on the blue line in the first three contests, the championship game against New Hampshire posed special concerns. The Wildcats were far and away the league’s most dangerous offensive team all season and their top two lines were as gifted as they come.

“It certainly was [a concern] last night for me going to bed, thinking about the forwards they have and the amazing quickness and the ability they have to jump on you and turn an odd-man rush for us into an odd-man rush for them,” Boyle says. “They’ve had an unbelievable ability to do that all year. They’re quick, crafty and very creative. We had to give them a lot of respect.”

However, Boyle and the rest of the BC defense, along with a huge helping hand from goaltender Cory Schneider, held UNH scoreless until the third period, by which time the Eagles had built a 4-0 lead. Boyle set up Nathan Gerbe for the fourth goal and then got the empty-netter himself.

As a first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings — one who turned down lucrative offers to return for his senior year — Boyle may be looking at an NHL future on the blue line.

“I think at the next level he’s going to be a defenseman,” York says. “He’s much more dominating as a player.”

As for Boyle, he’s fine either way.

“I couldn’t tell you,” he says. “My college future is on the blue line right now. In the [NCAA] tournament that’s what I’m looking at.

“We flirted with [defense] this summer when I was at development camp with the Kings. It’s an option, I guess, but I’m fine with [either]. It’s going to be a lot of work if they want me back on D, skating-wise, just getting reads down, but it’s going to be a lot of work playing forward because it’s a different game up there. “[But] that’s a lot of thinking that I don’t have time to do, especially in tournament mode.”

The thinking can wait. The NCAA tournament beckons.

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