Home Blog Page 1302

The Rest Of The Story

By
-

If this were a story about the 2005 Hobey Baker winner, Marty Sertich of the Colorado College Tigers, you’d have all the ingredients of great cinema, all the potential of a legend in the making.

Sure, Sertich’s numbers are impressive — 64 points with 27 goals and 37 assists in 43 games — but hardly dramatic. At 5-9, 163 pounds, Sertich — who as a freshman played on the same line as Peter Sejna, CC’s 2003 Hobey Baker winner — is hardly imposing.

So Sertich’s story is about much more than the standard stats.

First, there was the winner himself on the podium and after the ceremony, looking and sounding much younger than his 22 years with his head newly shorn of slightly longer playoff locks and face shaved clean for the first time in over a month.

“Thanks. Thanks again for everything. This is awesome.”

Marty Sertich accepts the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Friday (photos: Melissa Wade).

Marty Sertich accepts the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Friday (photos: Melissa Wade).

In extending his gratitude, Sertich mentioned several people by name, including CC trainer Richard Quincy — whom he called “Mr. Quincy” — former governor of Ohio and current CC president Dick Celeste, and Rob Masters, “the best equipment manager in the country,”

In thanking his family, he said, “I love you guys more than anything. It’s been great having you follow me around the country this last month here.”

Then there’s the buddy aspect to this year, with linemates Sertich and Brett Sterling vying for the award.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Sertich. “I think we were pulling for each other. It’s great to be nominated, to be part of this three, and it’s even more special to have your linemate, your good buddy right there next to you.”

Sterling was an affable presence in the post-ceremony press conference with the three Hobey finalists, which also included Cornell goaltender David McKee, giving the event an even greater charm.

“I guess we had a two-out-of-three chance of winning,” said Sterling. “I feel I’ve won it too, with him, just watching him out there [during the ceremony] — either one of us just makes us happy. I’m real proud of him.”

Brett Sterling (l.), Marty Sertich (c.) and David McKee were this year's Hobey Hat Trick.

Brett Sterling (l.), Marty Sertich (c.) and David McKee were this year’s Hobey Hat Trick.

And of course, there’s Sertich’s hockey pedigree. His grandfather, Tony Frasca, was an All-American for the Tigers in the early 1950s and a Spencer Penrose Award winner as the CC coach in 1963. Sertich’s father, Steve, was a Tiger in the 1970s and played for the 1976 U.S. Olympic team.

Sertich’s uncle, Mike, coached at Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan Tech. His younger brother, Mike, is his teammate at CC, and his cousin — also the grandson of Tony Frasca — is Minnesota’s Chris Harrington.

By now everyone knows of his mother’s battle with cancer. Diagnosed nearly a year ago with a brain tumor, Patty Sertich — daughter of Tony Frasca, aunt of Chris Harrington — hasn’t seen much improvement in her condition, in spite of a stay at the Mayo Clinic.

“It’s been a tough 11 months for us,” said Sertich. “My mom and my dad have handled it great, and sure this is real exciting for them as well.”

And finally there’s the Curse of the Hobey, which has five of the last nine Hobey winners playing for teams that made it to the Frozen Four without winning the tournament. Sertich is the second consecutive Hobey winner whose team bowed out in Frozen Four semifinal action. Junior Lessard of Minnesota-Duluth started the current streak last year.

But even in alluding to that — making it to Columbus but watching two other teams play for the national title — Sertich was pleasant and upbeat, again saying all the right things.

“You know, it’s been quite a ride. I think we all wish were still playing, but it’s fun just to make it this year.”

Steve and Patty Sertich, parents of Hobey winner Marty.

Steve and Patty Sertich, parents of Hobey winner Marty.

Yes, if this were a story about Marty Sertich, the 2005 Hobey Baker winner, here is where the story would end. But this story doesn’t belong to Sertich alone.

This story also belongs to Boston College’s Sarah Carlson, who shot her first moose at 13 while perched on her father’s shoulders, and who won this year’s Hockey Humanitarian Award.

This story is about Denver head coach George Gwozdecky, whose Pioneers will defend their national championship tomorrow, and who said that this year’s Frozen Four venue seems nice, but conceded that it’s always pretty nice when you win that first game.

This story is about the Hobey Baker award ceremony itself, where the annual showing of a video about Hobey Baker has been mothballed because the sport of college hockey has grown to the point where fans themselves can tell you all about the man for whom the award has been named.

This story is about Columbus, Ohio, and the two state-of-the-art arenas that host the events of this year’s Frozen Four, Nationwide Arena — home of the NHL’s Blue Jackets and site of today’s ceremonies — and Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center, home to the Ohio State University Buckeye men’s ice hockey team.

This story is about the two guys wearing Sioux gear — all the way from Grand Forks — at the check-in desk at the Hyatt on Capitol Square, who quipped, “They don’t call it ‘Cowlumbus’ for nothing.”

This story is about the photographer from Colorado Springs who said, “I’m pleasantly surprised. Columbus is a whole lot cooler than I thought it would be.”

This story is about the local media giving more attention to college hockey in one week than it has all year — than it has, ever.

And this story is about the perfection of the weather — cloudy during the games, dazzlingly sunny on Wednesday and Friday — the boisterous crowds at the Schott even with the all-WCHA cast, the little girls clutching stuffed tigers and sporting tiger ears, the diminutive professional figure skaters staying loose “backstage” at the Hobey in anticipation of tonight’s “Champions on Ice” at Nationwide, the faces of the fans as they blink — a reaction to that cooperative sun, or to the unexpected pleasure of Columbus’ Arena District — and the buzz about the great game that North Dakota and Denver will undoubtedly provide Saturday night.

This story is about college hockey. And today, college hockey is just perfect.

A Life Less Ordinary

By
-

Boston College’s Sarah Carlson says that she’s made volunteering a lifestyle. It’s that lifestyle and her commitment to helping others that has earned her this year’s Hockey Humanitarian Award presented annually to “college hockey’s finest citizen.”

Carlson was presented the award at a ceremony held Friday as part of Frozen Four weekend in Columbus — though only after she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Nationwide Arena to kick off Friday’s festivities.

Sarah Carlson accepts the Hockey Humanitarian Award at Nationwide Arena (photo: Melissa Wade).

Sarah Carlson accepts the Hockey Humanitarian Award at Nationwide Arena (photo: Melissa Wade).

A senior for the Eagles, Carlson is a leader on the ice and a human being who goes above and beyond the call off the ice, volunteering as everything from a Bible school teacher in Mexico to the organizer of a dance marathon in Boston with proceeds benefiting the Children’s Hospital. She annually organizes a fundraiser at BC that pits the women’s hockey team against a group of disabled athletes in a game of sled hockey.

Carlson is a native of Kenny Lake, Alaska, where she says here mother taught her at a young age the value of helping people.

“We lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere and the nearest McDonald’s is like five hours away,” said Carlson, a four-year member of the dean’s list at BC. “We were one of the only homes that had running water, so we would have [neighbors] do laundry and take showers at our home. That was when I first started to realize what it’s like to help other people.”

Even while in high school, Carlson began extending herself to others. The only female member of a boys’ hockey team, she motivated her teammates to join her in visiting patients at nursing homes both in her hometown and on the road when the team would travel.

She fought 30-degree below-zero weather with a face-full of Vaseline to help build a local hockey rink for the town.

Carlson played as part of Hockey Night in Boston, an annual festival that brings players from all over the country to Boston during the summer to compete in an all-star tournament. There she was spotted by the BC coaches and decided it would be a great transition for this small-town girl to move her life.

“I knew I wanted to go to school in a place that was different from where I grew up and I ended up choosing [someplace that is] the complete opposite [of Alaska],” Carlson said.

Still, her altruistic attitude towards life made the transition to the major metropolis much easier.

“Even though I live in such a small town in Alaska, the shift to Boston didn’t feel that different,” said Carlson. “I’ve found that wherever you are, people are still the same. A smile still means a lot to somebody. If your life focus is helping people, you’re going to be happy no matter where you are.”

Carlson currently majors in nursing and will receive her degree from BC this May. She plans to remain in Boston, a Mecca of hospitals, to become a nurse practitioner. For such a first-class citizen, it comes as no surprise that her professional career will focus on what she does best: helping others.

Diane Hagan, a member of the Boston College faculty, related a story that displays Carlson’s ability to carry her dedication and love for helping others into her professional career.

“At a Boston medical center, Sarah was caring for a young man paralyzed from the neck down after a sports injury,” said Hagan. “He was angry, depressed and had stopped communicating with the nursing staff. His physical and emotional needs were enormous.

“Sarah never left his room for the entire day. He refused to speak so she sang to him as she provided care. As the hours went by, he gradually began to talk to her and she listened. He responded to her when none of the medical and nursing staff was able to reach him.

“Sarah reached out and formed a bond with this young man that helped heal his grieving soul. She’s is just remarkable.”

Carlson is the second consecutive women’s hockey player to receive the Humanitarian Award, following in the footsteps of Chanda Gunn, who played for crosstown rival Northeastern. She is just the third woman ever to receive the award, first given in 1996.

Ever humble, Carlson doesn’t see what she does as remarkable — rather, just part of what should be done in life.

“Doors open in life and I just try to take advantage of that,” said Carlson. “My greatest joy and pleasure is serving others. It’s what I’m passionate about. And when you’re passionate towards others, it’s a neat way to just meet people and live life.”

Next Stop: Heaven

By
-

It takes six and a half hours to fly from Anchorage, Alaska, to Grand Forks, N.D. If you add in connections, plus the time it takes to get to the airport and home again, you’re looking at a 12-hour trip.

On February 20, those 12 hours must have felt like an eternity for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. That was hell. That was the low of lows.

A night earlier, the Sioux blew a 2-1 third-period lead against Alaska-Anchorage, surrendering four goals in the game’s final 10 minutes to lose, 5-2.

UND captain Matt Greene and the Sioux stepped it up after a fateful trip in February (photo: Melissa Wade).

UND captain Matt Greene and the Sioux stepped it up after a fateful trip in February (photo: Melissa Wade).

The loss dropped the club to 15-13-3. The talented Sioux had plenty to worry about. There was no guarantee that they would even host a first-round series in the WCHA tournament.

And there was definitely no guarantee that there would be life after the WCHA playoffs, regardless of the outcome, as the PairWise Rankings listed the Sioux outside the NCAA tournament, something the players on this club just were not used to. North Dakota had made the tournament eight of the last nine seasons and this year’s senior class had never missed one.

As senior captain Matt Greene put it, that trip back to Grand Forks represented the lowest of lows.

“[The loss to Alaska itself] wasn’t the lowest point — rather, it was the flight home afterwards,” said Greene. “You had a long time to think about the game, and after that, we were out of the tournament.”

One thing was clear to the Sioux: things couldn’t get worse. Also clear was the fact that no one on the club had any quit in him. Everyone still believed that there was time to turn the season around.

As rookie head coach Dave Hakstol said, “It was put up or shut up time.

“It was coming to a critical point in the year and we’d been up and down and up and down,” said Hakstol. “The Friday night in Alaska we had probably what was our best performance of the year. It was actually the first night that we’d been healthy since mid-October and we played extremely well.

“It was just so disappointing to come back Saturday night and not have 100 percent effort.”

Once the club arrived back in Grand Forks, it was time to talk, time for the leaders to stand up. It was time for everyone to tell the truth, no matter how ugly it might have been.

“There were a couple of meetings,” said Greene. “One was with a few guys and the coaches, and that meeting wasn’t too uplifting, but it was a very honest meeting, just letting us know what was on the table, what was going on at that point, and just told people we’re not doing our jobs out there — we’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing to win hockey games.

“Through that meeting things began to filter back to the team.”

One thing that filtered back was the need for points. Series splits wouldn’t work. North Dakota needed to win regular-season series from that point on for there to be hope for an NCAA bid.

It began the following weekend against Wisconsin. On home ice, the Sioux took three out of four points. The following weekend against St. Cloud State saw a repeat — three of four again, and the Sioux had locked up home ice in the WCHA playoffs.

In the opening round, a quick sweep of Minnesota-Duluth included an 8-2 win coupled with a 6-1 victory to move on into the WCHA Final Five.

The Sioux didn’t win the Final Five title, losing to eventual champion Denver in the semifinals, 2-1 in overtime. It was the only hiccup in the schedule since that fateful day in February.

Forty-eight days later, you’d almost believe that we’re not talking about the same Sioux. After Thursday’s 4-2 victory over Minnesota, the Sioux are one win away from completing a remarkable comeback by winning the school’s eighth national championship.

Their opponent in Saturday’s title game is the hiccup along the road, the one blip on the radar screen, league rival Denver. The Pioneers will look to defend their national title — one that head coach George Gwozdecky says came in a similar fashion to what this year’s North Dakota team has experienced that it’s frightening.

Last year Denver had its own rock bottom, struggling to play consistent hockey but turning things on at the right time to pull off a shocking national championship.

If anyone can, Gwozdecky can relate to what Hakstol and his team have experienced. And he can remember back 365 days to what drove his team: passion and character.

“It speaks to the character of your team,” said Gwozdecky of the North Dakota turnaround. “I’ll tell you, it’s tough from a coach’s standpoint. I have no idea what the North Dakota staff has gone through this year, but I can just speak for what we went through last year.

“Last year was a very, very challenging, difficult, exhausting year. Emotionally exhausting. It seemed like there were issues to deal with almost on a daily basis, and, you know, you’re almost glad to have the season over not only because you won a national championship, but because you won’t have to face those issues hopefully for another six months.

“There’s no question about the pride and the confidence that you can develop from being able to battle through a season like that, I think you can really tap into and develop momentum from it. I think it can really solidify a team — that no matter what happens, we can battle through it.”

With the shoe on the other foot this season, Denver would seem to have its hands full with this year’s Cinderella. That term, though, may not apply to North Dakota. “Cinderella” indicates a surprise, but anyone who has watched the Sioux for the last six weeks understands full well that its success is no surprise.

This is a club that wins, and wins with conviction. All three of its victories in the national tournament have come after the Sioux opened up a three-goal lead. The Sioux are hot — red-hot. When you think of February 20, you’d figure this club to be the antithesis.

Sunday morning, the Sioux will might think back to February 20. They’ll board a flight once again to Grand Forks. It won’t take 12 hours, but maybe they’ll wish it did, as a victory Saturday night would make for one pleasant trip home.

If this trip feels like eternity, it will be because the Sioux find themselves feeling like they’re not in hell, but in heaven.

Notebook: Friday

By
-

Denver has crafted a 3-0 record against North Dakota this season, with a key reason being that the Pioneers have been able to stay a step or two ahead of the Sioux.

Translating that to Saturday’s national championship game, the start will be critical to both.

The Pioneers have scored first in all three games — two in Grand Forks and one at the WCHA Final Five — and have responded to the Sioux’s challenges quickly.

They earned a pair of 4-2 victories in early February by protecting their lead.

On Feb. 4, Nick Larson scored just 38 seconds after a UND goal to give Denver a 3-1 lead. Later in that game, Geoff Paukovich restored the two-goal lead 3:01 after the Sioux cut it to one.

A night later, Luke Fulghum broke a 1-1 tie just 97 seconds after North Dakota forged it, then Jeff Drummond made it 4-2 only 53 seconds after the Sioux climbed within one.

“The biggest factor in those games was that we were able to take leads in both games and every time North Dakota was able to respond with a goal, we were uncanny in being able to respond almost immediately by scoring again to give us that cushion, and really were able to keep the momentum and the crowd out of the game,” Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. “But both games were very close, very tight, hard-fought, similar to the game we played them in the Final Five.”

As North Dakota languished at the end of a five-game WCHA losing streak at the end of that series against Denver, Gwozdecky still saw potential.

Jordan Parise says the Sioux hold no animosity over the Robbie Bina-Geoff Paukovich incident (photos: Melissa Wade).

Jordan Parise says the Sioux hold no animosity over the Robbie Bina-Geoff Paukovich incident (photos: Melissa Wade).

“I don’t think at that time I thought that they were as poor as perhaps the PairWise [Rankings] had them,” he said. “I remember going in there and perhaps in my own mind having a perception of the kind of team we were going to play against and absolutely changing my mind rapidly after the first five minutes of that first game — where all of a sudden I’m thinking, ‘Wow, these guys are a lot better than I watched on tape,’ or that I had some kind of image or impression in my mind. I had a feeling that they were going to make some noise before the end of the season.”

The teams met once again in the semifinals of the WCHA Final Five on March 18. Gabe Gauthier scored 42 seconds into overtime to send the Pioneers into the WCHA championship game with a 2-1 victory over the Sioux.

That game also was the setting for the hit that gave North Dakota’s Robbie Bina a fractured vertebra. Denver’s Paukovich was suspended for two games — one by the WCHA, one by the team — for that check from behind.

North Dakota goaltender Jordan Parise said his team holds no animosity toward the Pioneers for the hit.

“Some of the events that happened in that game were I think a little bit unfortunate,” he said. “It was just one of those things that happened and I don’t think there’s any bad blood. It was just two guys playing hard, and what happened, it’s very unfortunate. The only bad blood there is just that they beat us three times, and we know that we have to come out with a solid performance and a flawless performance in order to take this game from them.”

Missing Murray?

It has been easy to overlook, with North Dakota’s offense scoring at least four goals in each of its last four games, but the Sioux have made it to the national championship game despite playing without playing without productive forward Brady Murray.

Murray’s season has been an exercise in frustration thanks to a series of injuries. He played eight games before missing eight with a knee injury. He suffered a shoulder injury in January that cost him another five games.

And another shoulder injury in the WCHA semifinals against Denver put him out for the rest of the season.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” the soft-spoken Murray said. “I’ve never had to deal with this before.”

That has cost the Sioux one of the most dynamic players in college hockey, UND coach Dave Hakstol said.

“He’s one of those guys that can change a game in one play,” he said. “He has dynamic speed and dynamic playmaking ability. Obviously, it’s something that any team would miss and we’re certainly no different.”

Hakstol said it’s probably killing Murray to be out of the lineup, maybe more so during the NCAA tournament. He watched Thursday’s victory over Minnesota with fellow injured players Bina and Rylan Kaip.

“When we got up 4-0 there it was pretty easy to watch,” Murray said. “If it was a close game, I don’t know what I’d do.”

Murray, who was third on the Sioux only to Brandon Bochenski and Zach Parise last season with 19 goals and 46 points, faces four months of rehabilitation on his shoulder to get ready for next season.

Back To Mannino

North Dakota goaltender Parise is deservedly getting plenty of attention at the Frozen Four for his late-season success. But Denver’s Peter Mannino has put together a solid stretch run himself, one that earned him a start in Saturday’s title game.

Peter Mannino will start in net again Saturday for the Pioneers.

Peter Mannino will start in net again Saturday for the Pioneers.

Gwozdecky said Friday that his coaching staff decided to give Mannino, a freshman, a second straight start for the first time this season. He has normally traded games with sophomore Glenn Fisher, but the Pioneers broke from the usual order on Thursday and will break with the rotation altogether for the title game.

Fisher played in two of the three games between UND and Denver this season and was the Pioneers’ best player in the WCHA semifinals, Gwozdecky said. He stopped 29 shots in the 2-1 overtime victory.

“I think the decision was made more because no matter the outcome, this is the final game,” Gwozdecky said. “This is the last game of the season and I think with a day off, to be able to give Peter the rest and with knowing Peter’s approach and how he feels about his game, we felt that probably it was better to go with Peter.”

In the six games since he allowed five goals after replacing Fisher early in an 8-5 loss at Minnesota State on Feb. 25, Mannino has given up a total of six goals, with three shutouts.

It’s a high-pressure situation he’s going into, but he’s not looking at it that way.

“My approach is [it’s] just another game,” Mannino said. “It’s a new level; it’s definitely going to be the best game I’ve ever played in. I want to approach it as another game because I don’t want to heighten it and put too much stress on it, because we played North Dakota before and just want to approach it as another game. But obviously this is going to be a big stage and they’re going to come out very hard and they’re going to play a big game, and I’m just going to try and backstop them and help my team out in any possible way.”

One-Timers

• Denver and North Dakota have met for the national championship three times, with the Pioneers winning twice. Denver beat UND 6-2 in 1958 and 4-0 in 1968, while the Sioux won 6-5 in 1963.

• If the Sioux win Saturday, Hakstol will become the first person to win the national championship in his rookie season as head coach.

• North Dakota’s goaltenders were awarded the victory in the team’s penalty-shot showdown in Friday’s practice. Only three of the UND skaters scored in the first round.

• Denver finally got the one thing that was missing from last season’s Frozen Four. “We got our police escort,” Gwozdecky said. “So I’m happy.”

• Bina’s No. 28 jersey is hanging from the ceiling in North Dakota’s locker room.

• Gwozdecky, on Parise: “Jordan, I think, is starting to make some people forget about Zach.”

Women’s Worlds Roundup

USCHO Staff Report
-

In each of the eight previous World Women’s Championships, Canada has beaten the U.S. in the final. Saturday afternoon in Linkoping, Sweden, Canada will look to make it nine a row. In the semifinal round, Canada beat Finland 3-0 and the U.S. beat Sweden 4-1 to set up the gold medal game rematch. Minnesota junior Krissy Wendell, the 2005 Patty Kazmaier winner, became the first player of the tournament to earn two such honors and moved into the tournament scoring lead with four goals and five assists.

The Scandinavian teams played better in the semifinals than in the round-robin, but they will once again face off for the Bronze.

United States 4, Sweden 1

logos/teamusa2000.gif

The U.S. struggled with four whistles in the first period, the last of which led to a Swede goal and 1-0 U.S. first intermission deficit, but the Americans scored three goals in the second period and stayed out of the box entirely.

Minnesota senior Kelly Stephens scored the first U.S. goal from Wendell at 3:38 of the second period on the power play. She then set up Katie King (Brown ’97) for the second U.S. goal 13 minutes later. Wisconsin senior defenseman Molly Engstrom scored a power play goal in the final minutes of the period for the 3-1 lead. Harvard junior Julie Chu assisted on both power play goals. Wendell set up another teammate, Minnesota junior Natalie Darwitz, for the 4-1 lead at 3:40 of the third period.

Chanda Gunn (Northeastern ’04) stopped 13 of 14 shots in the U.S. victory. Swedish goalie Kim Martin, who most believe to be headed to a U.S. college in the near future, stopped 27 of 31 shots in defeat.

Canada 3, Finland 0

logos/teamcanada2000.gif

Veterans Jayna Hefford and Hayley Wickenheiser scored just 37 seconds apart to give Canada a 2-0 lead just over four minutes into the second period, and Hefford scored from two-time World MVP Jennifer Botterill (Harvard ’03) to give Canada the 3-0 lead at 11:26 of the third period. UMD senior Caroline Ouellette and Dartmouth alum Correne Bredin ’03 assisted on Hefford’s first goal.

UMD sophomore Anna-Kaisa Piiroinen, the Bulldogs’ third-string goalie, stopped 38 of 41 shots. None of Finland’s 16 shots found the back of the net as Canada posted its fourth straight shutout.

Banged Around

By Adam Wodon
-

In the first half of the season, Minnesota was flying, piling up goals, getting great goaltending, and ripping through the schedule. North Dakota, a big, strong team, was seeing its senior leaders play undisciplined, and its goaltending situation up in the air. A team built for the NCAAs was unlikely to get there.

But by the season’s final weekend, it became apparent that the true nature of how the team was composed had shined through. North Dakota stopped taking bad penalties, resolved the goaltending situation, and has steamrolled through the postseason. Minnesota, on the other hand, saw its limited size and experience show in a lack of goal-scoring and in being beaten physically.

“We knew what they were going to throw at us,” said senior forward Barry Tallackson. “They’ve got big, strong defensemen and they were going to bang us all night.”

Minnesota coach Don Lucia said that, ultimately, being prepared for it wasn’t enough.

“We knew we weren’t going to win the physical battle, but we kept talking for two weeks, you’ve got to get back up and keep coming,” said Lucia. “And that’s the strength of their team, and I think what’s changed in the last six, seven weeks is that — they’ve always played snarly, but they’ve got a lot of seniors in their lineup, and … now they’re getting production throughout their lineup, and early on they weren’t scoring, and I think that’s made a big difference for their team.”

The Gophers fell behind 2-0 in the first period, on two goals by 6-foot-3 fourth-liner Erik Fabian. The Sioux were exposing the defense by punishing them. Eventually the Gophers adjusted, and even took advantage of a tiring North Dakota, but it was too late.

“I thought maybe it caught a couple of our guys — a bunch of younger guys, that we had to get in there and go nose to nose a little bit more, and I thought we did that when the second period started,” Lucia said. “When it was 1-0 after the first, we kind of hung in there, but we couldn’t get that [tying] goal.”

In a sense, though, this is what was expected, and Minnesota can remain proud of just getting to the Frozen Four.

“I think a lot of people wrote us off at the beginning of the season,” said junior Gino Guyer, “but I think we really grew a lot together as a team a proved some people wrong this year. As a team, I think we have a lot to be proud of this season.”

Said Lucia, “You’re always sad to lose this time of year, but I’m not disappointed. And I think there’s a difference.

“They’re crushed, the seniors. It’s hard to go in the locker room the last game of the season, I don’t care if it’s at the Frozen Four, the national championship game, or the first round of the WCHA playoffs, it’s all the same. It’s very difficult for the seniors. But I think that we got as much out of this group as we could because at this point of the year.

“The best teams usually win this time of the year and I think North Dakota was the best team today. They deserve to march on and that’s what this time of the year’s all about.

“It makes it difficult to play against them right now because of those older guys that are really doing their job and playing within their roles and are very effective at it. And that’s what a team’s all about; you’ve got to have some of those skill guys but you’ve got to have those soldiers. Right now, I think that’s North Dakota. Their soldiers are playing extremely well for them.”

Those soldiers are what won Minnesota two national championships, and it’s what will get them back to the title game in the future. The Gophers have an amazing freshman class on the way, led by Phil Kessel, to join an extremely talented young group. But finding the soldiers will be essential.

“Sure. Guys switching to different roles [can do it],” Lucia said. “We lose four forwards, we have four forwards coming in. We have a defenseman coming. And everyone is a year older [by next season]. We had three freshmen playing, and two of them were right out of high school, and that’s not an easy environment to play in. North Dakota was a big, strong team, and it was not a good matchup for us.”

And now those young guys have learned a lesson.

“If they didn’t, they better,” Tallackson said. “So, we told them after the game, ‘Remember this feeling.’ And they’re going to have a great team next year, they have a great freshman class coming in. They’re going to be fine.”

Sioux One Period From Berth In Title Tilt

By
-

Erik Fabian’s second two-goal effort of the playoffs may not have been expected, but it has put North Dakota just one period away from a date with Denver in the national championship game.

Fabian, a fourth-line winger, has both goals as North Dakota leads Minnesota 2-0 after two periods of a Frozen Four semifinal at Value City Arena Thursday.

The sophomore had just three goals this season entering the game, but has made a big impact in the national semifinals.

If North Dakota, the only team that made the Frozen Four as other than a No. 1 seed, can close out the victory in the third period, it will return to the title game for the first time since 2001, when it lost to Boston College in overtime.

Minnesota started to get some possession in the second period, outshooting the Sioux 13-7 in the frame, but Fabian’s second goal of the game, midway through the period, stifled that.

After linemate Brian Canady dumped the puck to him behind the net, Fabian worked his way out front and stuffed the puck past Minnesota goaltender Kellen Briggs at the right post.

Four of Fabian’s five goals this season have come in the playoffs. He had a two-goal game in a victory over Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the WCHA tournament.

North Dakota had the better of the first 20 minutes in the 259th meeting between the rivals, outshooting the Gophers 15-8 and taking a 1-0 lead thanks to Fabian’s hard-work effort.

After having a shot steered wide by Briggs, Fabian tracked down Gophers defenseman Judd Stevens on the opposite side and stole the puck. He immediately turned and fired a wrist shot low past the goalie.

Each team has had a shot hit the post. North Dakota’s Drew Stafford drew iron on a drive to the net and Minnesota defenseman Chris Harrington had a shot hit the post as well, both in the first period.

North Dakota goaltender Jordan Parise, who is on an 11-game unbeaten streak, has made 21 saves. Briggs, who allowed only one goal in two games at the West Regional, has 20 stops.

Minnesota forward Tyler Hirsch returned to the lineup after a three-game absence for personal reasons following a bizarre incident where he charged an open net after a WCHA semifinal loss to Colorado College.

The Gophers also played with freshman defenseman Alex Goligoski for the first time since he was injured in the third-place game of the WCHA Final Five on March 19. He missed the West Regional with an injured hand.

Expecting The Unexpected

By
-

As a hockey coach, you hope to rely on what is expected: that your top scorers will create offense, and that your goaltender can play steady, if not pace your club’s defense.

Thursday night, North Dakota got those things in beating Minnesota, 4-2, to advance to the national championship game. The Sioux got solid goaltending from Jordan Parise and two goals from highly-touted rookie Travis Zajac, who buried two goals on the night.

But most coaches will tell you that the expected can only take you so far. There’s almost a need to expect the unexpected.

Erik Fabian (l., with Judd Stevens) scored two goals to give UND an unexpected lift in the national semifinals (photo: Pedro Cancel).

Erik Fabian (l., with Judd Stevens) scored two goals to give UND an unexpected lift in the national semifinals (photo: Pedro Cancel).

North Dakota’s rookie head coach Dave Hakstol did exactly that. Before the game, he spoke to a trio of players, letting them know that their contributions would be the difference in the game.

Who knew that he was such a prophet?

The Sioux fourth line of Erik Fabian, Brian Canady and James Massen played a game that went beyond the typical role of checking forwards. The trio accounted for the first two goals of the game, Fabian collecting both. They were Fabian’s third and fourth goals since the postseason began after scoring just one throughout the regular season.

“I just thought that I did what I needed to do tonight,” said Fabian, who joked that he feels like he’s just hitting his midseason stride after missing much of the first half of the year with two different shoulder separations and a hip pointer. “Coach Hakstol took [our line] aside tonight and said, ‘We need you guys to come up big tonight for us.’

“I took that to heart and played the style of game that they want me to play — big, physical, work the corners and, you know, when I get a chance, walk out and take a few shots.”

Shoot Fabian did. He took only four shots. Two of them went in.

He surprised Minnesota netminder Kellen Briggs in the first period, picking the pocket of Gophers captain Judd Stevens and firing an instant shot that slid past Briggs before the sophomore had a chance to react.

In the second, his hard work and grit showed, pressing hard to the net and firing a shot amongst traffic that beat Briggs, who was distracted by the plethora of Sioux jerseys crashing the net.

It was exactly the way that Fabian wanted to play. It was exactly the result that Hakstol hoped for.

“Not only Erik, but the fourth line has been a catalyst for us over the last two months,” said Hakstol. “We had them together on and off for a few games about six or seven weeks ago, but due to injuries, we had to split them up a couple of times. Now in the last five weeks we’ve had them together consistently.

“As a unit, they’re either drawing penalties, scoring key goals or building momentum for us.

“In games like tonight, you need people to step forward. That’s what we’ve had over the last month. Erik and his linemates stepped forward tonight. They were key to get the first two goals and at this time of year it’s always important.”

It’s no surprise that the roleplaying that Hakstol references in the last couple of months happens to coincide with his club’s turnaround. Not two months ago, the Sioux not only weren’t in position to play for a national championship, they weren’t even necessarily going to make the tournament.

What came next has been nothing short of a remarkable turnaround for the Sioux, and at this point their championship opponent, Denver, has to be fearful playing the nation’s hottest team. That, despite the fact the Pioneers have won all three previous meetings with North Dakota this season.

At this point, though, that doesn’t seem to matter for the Sioux. The players know it: opponents don’t matter. What matters is what happened Thursday. This team is at its peak because everyone on the club is playing, no matter what their roles.

“It doesn’t matter who we play,” said Parise. “We have a job to do and like I’ve said, even if we were playing the [Detroit] Red Wings or the [Colorado] Avalanche, we have one thing in mind and that’s to win. Everyone in the locker room is going to do whatever it takes to accomplish that.”

Those aren’t clichés at this point. That’s fact.

It may seem like the Sioux are a team of destiny. It may just seem that they’re on a roll.

Two months ago, a chance at the national championship wasn’t in the thoughts of the Sioux. It was unexpected.

Now, though, the players and coaches can begin to think of the national championship dream. It’s time that they begin to expect the unexpected.

CC Places Four Among First-Team All-Americans

USCHO Staff Report
-

Though this year’s Frozen Four is a rare oddity, with all participating teams from one conference, the WCHA, that didn’t stop the participating players from leaving their mark on the annual All-American teams, announced by the American Hockey Coaches Association on Thursday.

Seven of the 12 members of the first and second team West All-Americans will play in Columbus this weekend, with Colorado College producing four All-Americans, all first team.

CC’s forward duo of Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling, both finalists for the annual Hobey Baker award as well, were joined teammates Mark Stuart on defense and Curtis McElhinney in goal on the West first team. Denver’s Matt Carle was also selected to a first-team defenseman, while teammates Brett Skinner and Gabe Gauthier were second team selections.

In the East, Boston College’s Andrew Alberts was the only player nationally to repeat as a first-time All-American. Teammate Patrick Eaves, a second-team selection in 2004 was also named to the first team.

The state of Minnesota, which Alberts, Eaves, Stuart and Sertich all call home, was the leading producer of All-Americans. Europe, which last year produced five All-Americans, this year had only one, Northern Michigan goaltender Tuomas Tarkki from Finland.

Of the 12 First Team members, only McElhinney is Canadian.

Notably, of the 24 All-American selected, only 11 of them are seniors. In the West, that number is even more dramatic as only three of the 12 selected will graduate this year.

Below is a complete list of 2004-05 All-Americans:

First team

East
G David McKee, So., Cornell (Irving, Texas)
D Andrew Alberts, Sr., Boston College* (Eden Prairie, Minn.)
D Noah Welch, Sr., Harvard @ (Brighton, Mass.)
F Sean Collins, Sr., New Hampshire (Reading, Mass.)
F Patrick Eaves, Jr., Boston College# (Faribault, Minn.)
F Jason Guerriero, Sr., Northeastern (Manorville, N.Y.)

West
G Curtis McElhinney, Sr., Colorado College% (Calgary, Alb.)
D Matt Carle, So., Denver (Anchorage, Alaska)
D Mark Stuart, Jr., Colorado College (Rochester, Minn.)
F T.J. Hensick, So., Michigan (Howell, Mich.)
F Marty Sertich, Jr., Colorado College (Roseville, Minn.)
F Brett Sterling, Jr., Colorado College (Pasadena, Calif.)

Second Team

East
G Dov Grumet-Morris, Sr., Harvard (Evanston, Ill.)
D Charlie Cook, Sr., Cornell (Port Huron, Mich.)
D Brian Yandle, Jr., New Hampshire (Sudbury, Mass.)
F Matt Moulson, Jr., Cornell (Mississauga, Ont.)
F Ryan Shannon, Sr., Boston College# (Darien, Conn.)
F Lee Stempniak, Sr., Dartmouth* (West Seneca, N.Y.)

West
G Tuomas Tarkki, Sr., Northern Michigan (Rauma, Finland)
D Andy Greene, Jr., Miami (Trenton, Mich.)
D Brett Skinner, Jr., Denver (Brandon, Manitoba)
F Gabe Gauthier, Jr., Denver (Buena Park, Calif.)
F Colin Murphy, Sr., Michigan Tech (Fort MacMurray, Alberta)
F Jeff Tambellini, Jr., Michigan (Port Moody, B.C.)

* First Team in 2003-04
# Second Team in 2003-04
@ First Team in 2002-03
% Second Team in 2002-03

The Right Choice

By
-

If the decision backfired, the negative headline was already written: It Wasn’t Broke.

All season long, Denver coach George Gwozdecky had employed as pure of a goaltending rotation as possible. Sophomore Glenn Fisher would take the opening game of a weekend and freshman Peter Mannino would follow the next night. Heading into the Frozen Four, their times between the pipes were as identical as possible considering that the Pioneers had played an odd number of games. Fisher had started 21, Mannino the other 20. Fisher had accumulated 1247 minutes to Mannino’s 1225.

“[We’ve] become real good friends,” Mannino said. “We clicked right away. We’ve known that we’re splitting games and that’s the way it’s going to be and we’ve just enjoyed it. It’s been a great season together. Technique-wise, we’ve helped each other out.

“It’s competitive, but definitely in a good way. We’re pushing each other, helping each other out, and we’re winning for each other every other game.”

With Denver entering the Frozen Four as the top remaining seed, Gwozdecky had more than the usual reasons to say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Peter Mannino was the right choice for DU in the national semifinals (photo: Pedro Cancel)

Peter Mannino was the right choice for DU in the national semifinals (photo: Pedro Cancel)

In 2002, a year in which the Pioneers also won the WCHA regular season and tournament titles, he had employed a similar rotation with Wade Dubielewicz and Adam Berkhoel throughout the regular season only to abandon it in the playoffs. In hindsight, the decision not to “dance with the one you brought” was one that Gwozdecky came to question after the Pioneers lost their NCAA tournament opener to Michigan, 5-3, despite being the top Western seed.

Dubielewicz had statistically outperformed Berkhoel in terms of save percentage, .943 to .917, and goals against average, 1.72 to 2.34. So the decision had made apparent sense. But it hadn’t been broken, so why had Gwozdecky tried to fix it?

Similarly, this year Mannino held comparable advantages, .922 to .889 and 2.25 to 2.84. Those numbers, however, were subject to the chicken-or-the-egg question. Are a goalie’s statistics better because of his play or because of his teammates in front of him?

“Our skaters seem to have performed better on the second night of a series and that’s been fairly consistent throughout the season,” Gwozdecky said. “Wade Dubielewicz and Adam Berkhoel were in a similar situation where the team would play mediocre on the first night of the series and play much better and much more motivated the second night of the series. Wade Dubielewicz was given the chore of handling the duties that first night where Adam could watch the game and kind of get a feeling for his opponent and be ready the second night.

“That’s similar to our rotation this year. I think Glenn has had more of a challenging situation to go into. With all due respect to Peter and how well he has played, there’s no question that the majority of the games when we have played very effectively have been played the second night of a series.”

As a result, Gwozdecky stuck with the rotation through the Northeast Regional and both goaltenders recorded wins to put the Pioneers back in the Frozen Four with the chance to repeat as national champions. The semifinal game, which pitted them against archrival Colorado College, would be Fisher’s start based on the usual rotation.

Dance with the one that brought you?

For any other opponent, the answer would likely have been “yes.” For the Tigers, the answer became “no.” Fisher had lost both of his games against Colorado College, allowing a total of six goals. Mannino, in eye-catching contrast, had won all three starts, including two shutouts in March, the latter coming in the WCHA championship game. As a result, Gwozdecky took the chance of being second-guessed about repeating the 2002 Dubielewicz “mistake” and selected Mannino.

The freshman disappointed only those looking to draw parallels to 2002. Most headlines would point out the Denver power play’s abuse of the CC penalty kill, scoring six times and in every way possible. The remaining headlines, however, would go to Mannino and his 41 saves.

Not until the Pioneers held a 3-0 lead did Colorado College get one past him. A deflection off a skate on which Mannino had no chance, it came at 9:49 of the second period, stopping his scoreless streak against the Tigers at 153 minutes and 52 seconds. The only other blemish came with less than seven minutes remaining and Denver holding a 5-1 lead.

“I thought Peter Mannino was terrific,” Gwozdecky said. “[Colorado College] put a lot of pressure on us. They generated a lot of scoring chances [but] Mr. Mannino was there to save us countless times. There was a save I still can’t believe he made in the second period where we were up by two and I thought for sure the puck was in the net. I was thinking, ‘How in the heck did he save that?’ but obviously he did.”

When Gabe Gauthier was asked at what point in the contest the Pioneers knew that Mannino “had their back,” the star forward turned the question around.

“Going into the game, I knew Peter had our back,” he said. “Just the preparation he has and the mentality he has before the game, it’s tremendous. Playing in front of him, it’s a special thing because he has so much poise and confidence that it gives us a chance to do what we know how to do best.

“You know, he doesn’t play like a freshman; he plays like a junior or senior. To have him behind us gives us tremendous confidence in the defensive zone and in the offensive zone. I knew that he was ready to play before this game.”

With Mannino’s performance, there would be no second-guessing. Gwozdecky’s comments earlier in the playoffs espousing “dancing with the one that brought you” couldn’t be thrown in his face after he reversed course two games removed from a national championship.

“I don’t want to say [it was] a gamble,” he said, “but when you’ve got two inexperienced goaltenders like we have, and all of a sudden you’re changing — even though the odds say and the experts say you should do this — you’re taking a risk. You’re taking a chance because you’re putting them out of their comfort zone, their rhythm that they’re used to being in, that rotation that they’re very supportive of and have come to believe in and rely on.”

All of which begs the question of which goalie will play in the title game on Saturday. Gwozdecky isn’t showing any of the cards in his hand. The rotation could be back, albeit in flip-flopped fashion, with Fisher getting the nod or Mannino could see his first back-to-back action of the year. Either way, it’ll be a step forward for the freshman from a year ago.

“I was watching Denver last year win it,” Mannino said. “It was exciting just watching them, knowing that I was going to be part of that team that won a National Championship last year.

“To be part of it this year, it’s been a real exciting ride and I’m just happy to be where I am now.”

Power Play Gives Denver A Lift

By Adam Wodon
-

During the regionals, ESPN analyst Barry Melrose likened Denver’s power play to taking a pretty girl on a date. It looks good, he said, but in the end, you still didn’t score.

After Thursday’s NCAA semifinal, you can call Denver’s power play Don Juan. The six power-play goals it scored was an all-time single-game NCAA tournament record, and propelled the Pioneers to their second straight championship game.

After going 1-for-13 in the regional, Denver’s power-play was 3 for its last 48 coming into the Frozen Four. But the Pioneers never panicked.

Gabe Gauthier scores his first of two goals for Denver. (photo: Pedro Cancel)

Gabe Gauthier scores his first of two goals for Denver. (photo: Pedro Cancel)

“The last month or so, our power play has been getting good looks,” said Denver defenseman Brett Skinner. “Maybe not scoring but creating momentum for our team. So I never really think it was that big a concern for our team. I know you guys made kind of a big deal out of it — Barry Melrose, he gave us a little motivation, I think, tonight. … Our power play came to play tonight, maybe we took Barry’s advice and took the puck to the net a couple times.”

It was especially important for Denver to control the special teams, because 5-on-5, the Tigers had the better of the play.

“Coming into this weekend, we know that especially playing a team like Colorado College, it’s going to be tough getting chances 5-on-5,” said Denver junior Gabe Gauthier, who scored twice. “So taking advantage on the power-play opportunities is huge, and every guy on both units knew they had to do something to get a chance.”

Of course, all squads work on special teams during practice, and this week has been no exception for Denver. But there’s no doubt the Pioneers put some extra attention on it.

“Just different set plays and looking for different options,” said defenseman Matt Carle of the tweaks. “And it just clicked and good things happened.”

Some of it, of course, was just getting bounces.

“The goal Fulghum scored, I shot it, it went off four guys, and hit Fulgham’s butt and went it,” said Skinner. “So maybe that’s what we needed.”

Said Carle, “It was just a matter of us being due. We just weren’t burying our chances. Finally, things started going in for us. I think we really moved the puck well today, and had them running around a bit and things opened up.”

Colorado College’s perspective, of course, was a bit different.

“Those older defensemen or some of those skilled defensemen handled the puck so well and they moved it so crisply,” said CC coach Scott Owens. “I don’t think they’ve been phenomenal in their power play the last few games, but they were certainly good today and some of it was our fault.

“We didn’t rotate very quickly or very cleanly, but they were very sure — it’s a great shooting team and they picked the corners and they got pucks through and they changed the shooting angles, and they were outstanding at it. And we’ve practiced it, and our penalty killing’s gotten pretty good up until this game and it just fell in tonight and that’s a credit to Denver.”

Though not making excuses, Owens also pointed out the difference in the way the game is called outside the WCHA this season, which was something the Tigers had trouble adjusting to a few times this season.

“I think some things were called differently than we’re used to, a little bit tighter,” Owens said. “[But] I felt we were dumb on a lot of penalties. We made poor decisions when we had people in a position, and I thought we got a little frustrated and we haven’t been in this position a lot. I thought we got frustrated with everything and lost our composure a little bit, and I very rarely say that about our team.”

One of those frustrated players was Brett Sterling. The Hobey finalist was contained the whole night.

“We just didn’t play smart. We played well 5-on-5,” Sterling said. “I think we had their number 5-on-5. We just took some stupid penalties at times but that’s what happens in these kinds of games.”

And, of course, the best penalty killer is usually your goaltender. On that score, Curtis McElhinney, who was named All-American earlier in the day, did not play particularly well, concluding a subpar NCAA tournament.

“He fought through it against Colgate, he fought through it against Michigan, and he didn’t fight through it as well today,” Owens said. “So he’s had a phenomenal career here, and I’m sure he’ll have good days ahead of him, but I was going to stay with him no matter what. He’s my senior and he got us here and I’m very proud of his career and his year and he got hung out to dry a little bit.”

Despite the resurgence, Denver doesn’t expect six power-play goals in the championship game.

“We definitely have some changes to make after today, and I think we’ll be a different team Saturday,” Skinner said.

The Power Of Three

By
-

Sometimes, someone just has your number. For the 2004-2005 Colorado College Tigers, the team that held all the right numbers at the right times was the Denver Pioneers.

Thursday’s 6-2 Pioneers win was the third straight decision in Denver’s favor against CC, and that streak represented three of the biggest games of the season for the intrastate rivals. On March 4, one night after capturing a share of the MacNaughton Cup with a 3-0 win and skating it around their own World Arena, the Tigers watched the Pioneers return the favor in Denver’s Magness Arena when a 5-0 DU victory made the teams regular-season co-champions.

Two weeks later, the Pioneers beat the Tigers 1-0 for the WCHA Final Five championship, and Thursday’s win completed Denver’s triple crown.

DU defenseman Matt Carle sends CC's Brett Sterling sprawling in Thursday's national semifinal (photo: Pedro Cancel).

DU defenseman Matt Carle sends CC’s Brett Sterling sprawling in Thursday’s national semifinal (photo: Pedro Cancel).

The common thread among these games is threefold: Denver’s advantage as the “home” team, the play of Pioneer freshman goaltender Peter Mannino, and Colorado College’s trouble adjusting from Olympic to regulation ice.

Until Brian Salcido scored for the Tigers in the second period Thursday to make it 3-1, CC had not registered a goal against the Pioneers for 153:52, dating back to that March 3 win in Colorado Springs, when Hobey Baker finalist Marty Sertich scored at 15:57 in the third.

That’s over 150 minutes of shutting down the line of Sertich, Brett Sterling — the country’s two leading scorers — and Scott Polaski, a feat the Pioneers accomplished in each of their last three games by matching that line at will.

“They match up very, very well when they have last change,” said CC head coach Scott Owens. “They have three outstanding defensive defensemen that they can put out there, they get the matchups with Gabe [Gauthier], who is an outstanding hockey player, and they have old senior wingers that know how to play the game, so there’s less room.”

One of the “old” wingers matched with the top Tiger line is Pioneer Jon Foster, who played left wing to sophomore Adrian Veideman’s right, with Geoff Paukovich centering. That’s the line that checked the Sertich-Sterling-Polaski combo today.

“Every single time we had a line out, they had the exact line out that they wanted,” said Owens. “In this six-game series, the team with the last change has won each time.”

The second seemingly-insurmountable obstacle for the Tigers against the Pioneers was freshman goaltender Peter Mannino. Mannino and sophomore Glenn Fisher have split time in the Denver net all season, but Mannino has beaten the Tigers three games running. Fisher was between the pipes when CC hoisted the MacNaughton Cup.

“You know … there are a lot of issues we discussed, both pro and con regarding Peter and Glenn and who should play in today’s game,” said Denver head coach George Gwozdecky. “I think it probably came down to the decisive factor of Peter having more success against this opponent than Glenn has had.”

In two of these three contests, the Tigers outshot the Pioneers — in the national semifinal, significantly so, 43-29 — but Mannino remained a difficult puzzle to solve, stopping 97 of 99 total CC shots he faced.

“In the first two games, we didn’t a good job of getting to Mannino and this time we did at times but the shots we were taking weren’t as quality,” said Tiger captain Mark Stuart.

“We did a much better job of getting to their net [today],” said Polaski. “We didn’t have a very good shooting game. We did get there but we didn’t shoot the puck well when we got there.”

The third common factor is the regulation-size ice surface. While all three games were played in different arenas — March 4 on Denver’s home ice, the Final Five game in St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, Thursday’s at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus — all three venues required of the Tigers an adjustment they just couldn’t seem to make, to a surface area narrower than their Olympic-size home sheet.

Owens hinted that the narrower rink worked to DU’s advantage on the prolific power play, which accounted for all six Pioneer goals Thursday. “That’s a great shooting team. They picked the corners and they got pucks through and they changed the shooting angles and they were outstanding at it.”

Owens remarked about CC’s difficulty with the smaller ice surface the last time the Tigers were in Columbus, to christen the inaugural Ohio Hockey Classic in Nationwide Arena, Dec. 29-30. It took the Tigers a while to adjust, and they settled for a shootout win after tying Ohio State 2-2 in the title game, a game Owens clearly would have preferred to win.

“It’s different from what we play on, 30 games on Olympic sheets through the course of the year,” said Owens after that tie. “Plus, it was just a tough battle. There was some adversity and things we had to fight through.”

The adversity to which Owens alluded was the officiating by the all-CCHA crew headed by referee Mark Wilkins. After the game, Owens noted that Colorado College, one of the nation’s least-penalized teams, had to contend with eight calls.

Thursday, history seemed to repeat itself for CC, as the Tigers repeatedly found themselves in the penalty box again, with a CCHA crew officiating, this time headed by referee Matt Shegos.

“Obviously when you have to kill off [that many] power-play opportunities and you’re one the least-penalized teams in the country, it throws you off a bit,” said Owens.

Take away the Denver line change advantage, Mannino’s play, and the ice surface, and this game still came down to one thing: Denver scored six goals, CC two.

“They capitalized on opportunities and we didn’t, and the score tonight, they scored a lot of goals on us, but I think in the previous games, especially the one in the Final Five, there weren’t many chances for either team,” said Stuart. “They capitalized on the few they had, and tonight they capitalized on a lot of them that they had, and that was the difference.”

Pioneers Nearing Second Straight Title Game

By
-

Special teams are ruling the day in the first Frozen Four semifinal, and Denver is taking a three-goal lead into the third period.

Luke Fulghum scored a pair of power-play goals in the first period and Matt Carle added one on the man advantage in the second to give Denver a 3-0 lead over Colorado College, but the Tigers responded with a power-play goal of their own, a Brian Salcido shot off Carle’s skate to break a long scoreless drought against Denver and cut their deficit to 3-1.

Gabe Gauthier has Denver's fourth goal of the semifinal against CC (photo: Melissa Wade).

Gabe Gauthier has Denver’s fourth goal of the semifinal against CC (photo: Melissa Wade).

Gabe Gauthier, however, scored Denver’s fourth power-play goal of the game with 9.5 seconds left in the second period to give the Pioneers a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes at Value City Arena.

The Pioneers are 20 minutes away from a spot in a second straight national championship game. The defending champions are being outshot 27-17, but freshman Peter Mannino has turned away some great CC chances to keep his team ahead.

In what is probably the biggest of the 255 meetings between the Front Range rivals, Denver has looked more composed and has made the most of its power-play chances.

Carle, a sophomore defenseman, made the Pioneers 3-for-5 on the power play with his 13th goal of the season just over six minutes into the second period. His slapshot from the top of the zone went straight through traffic and past CC goaltender Curtis McElhinney.

But the Tigers responded, scoring just after the end of a 5-on-3 advantage when Salcido’s shot deflected off Carle’s left skate in front of the net and through Mannino’s pads.

It was CC’s first goal against Denver in 153 minutes, 52 seconds and its first against Mannino in 172:22.

Gauthier, the MVP of the Northeast Regional, restored Denver’s three-goal lead with his fourth goal in his last two NCAA games. He had a hat trick against New Hampshire in the regional final and added what appeared to be a backbreaker late in the second, firing a wrist shot from the right faceoff dot high past McElhinney.

Gauthier became the first player since Minnesota’s Thomas Vanek in 2003 to score eight points in the national tournament.

CC’s Braydon Cox had a breakaway in the final five minutes of the second period with a chance to cut the Tigers’ deficit to one goal, but he fired his shot directly into Mannino’s chest and got a penalty on the play when he slashed the goaltender.

Mannino has 26 saves through two periods, while McElhinney, the West Region’s first-team All-American, has stopped 13 shots.

Fulghum scored a power-play goal 13:54 into the opening period. He drove in from the neutral zone, got around Tigers defenseman Lee Sweatt and flipped the puck past McElhinney.

Less than two minutes later, a Brett Skinner power-play shot from the right point glanced off Fulghum’s breezers and floated past McElhinney to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.

The Pioneers will take a power play, their eighth of the game, into the third period.

Canisius To Finish Interviewing Next Week

By Adam Wodon
-

Canisius will finish interviewing candidates for its head coaching vacancy next week.

With Colorado College’s season finally over, Tigers assistant Joe Bonnett will join a group of five finalists, according to sources.

The other names include current RPI assistant and former Iona head coach Frank Bretti; two-time ECAC Coach of the Year Stan Moore, now an assistant at Colgate; Maine assistant Campbell Blair; and Niagara assistant Jerry Forton.

The Canisius position has been vacant since Brian Cavanaugh was fired midseason. The assistants took over on an interim basis.

Canisius is also currently without an athletic director, after Tim Dillon resigned under pressure earlier this year.

Notebook: Semifinals

By
-

It was surprising to most that Denver and Colorado College combined for eight goals in Thursday’s first semifinal, as Denver came out on top, 6-2. More surprising, stunning even, was the fact that all eight goals came on the power play.

Denver finished the game 6-for-12 with the man advantage, while CC was 2-for-8. For the Pioneers, the six-goal breakout was almost miraculous considering the fact that entering the game, Denver had scored just three times in its last 48 attempts with the man advantage over an eight-game span.

“It’s rare when you play a game where you have that many goals scored and none of them are even-strength,” said Denver coach George Gwozdecky. “Our power play has not been capitalizing of late. We’ve had some good chances but we’ve not been able to put the puck in the back of the net.

“We’ve worked on it a little bit more over the last couple of weeks. I don’t know if tonight was a result of that but we seemed to get the puck to the net a lot better than we had.”

For the record, not only did Denver score on half its power-play chances, more than half of the club’s shots on goal (16 of 29) came with the man advantage.

Missing: Dynamic Duo

Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling were held scoreless by DU (photo: Melissa Wade).

Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling were held scoreless by DU (photo: Melissa Wade).

Alert Gotham City: Batman and Robin are missing. Well, not exactly.

Hockey’s dynamic duo, Colorado College’s Sterling and Sertich, were almost nonexistent offensively for the Tigers in Thursday’s national semifinal loss to Denver.

Neither scored a point, but historically, maybe that shouldn’t surprised. Combined, the pair had just two points against Denver in five meetings this season, as Sertich scored two goals.

The Day The Music Died

There’s probably nothing more specific to college hockey than the pep bands that provide entertainment and rally their faithful. So it was strange in Thursday early semifinal not to hear the sounds of blaring trumpets and beating drums at Value City Arena.

Neither Denver nor Colorado College has a hockey pep band that travels with the team, meaning that the time between whistles was filled with modern pop music pumped into Value City Arena’s sound system rather than the welcome sounds of “Buttercup,” “Sweet Caroline” or “Iron Man.”

Thankfully, the sounds returned for the nightcap as both Minnesota and North Dakota brought with them their bands.

Skinner-ing them Alive

Denver defenseman Brett Skinner proved his playmaking abilities in Thursday’s opening semifinal, scoring four assists, good enough to tie the record for a national semifinal. Seven times a player has had four helpers in a semifinal, though not since Rensselaer’s Adam Oates accomplished it 20 years ago against Minnesota-Duluth.

Mustard With That Hot Dog?

With less than four minutes left in the game and the victory well in hand, Denver’s Ryan Dingle skated in alone on a breakaway. Instead of shooting or making a move on the goaltender, Dingle decided to attempt to showboat. He lifted the puck onto the blade of his stick and attempted to fire it over the goaltender’s shoulder, lacrosse-style.

Instead, though, Dingle looked like a goat, firing a shot well over the net that barely hit the top of the glass to stay in the rink.

“It’s a play that we don’t recommend,” said Denver junior Gabe Gauthier. “It was a mistake and [Dingle] apologized for it.

“Even though he’s a freshman, he has to recognize that, but people do make mistakes. As a team, we’ll forgive him and I don’t think he’ll make that type of mistake again.”

All joking aside, Gwozdecky appeared none too happy with Dingle’s move, screaming at the freshman on the bench immediately after the play and showing a look of disgust as the move was discussed in the postgame press conference.

Attendance Woes

The fact that all four participants came from the WCHA, along with the fact that Columbus is not necessarily a universal hockey destination like, say, Minneapolis, Boston or Milwaukee, may have been the reasons that a Frozen Four game failed to sell out for the first time since 1999.

The announced paid attendance for Thursday’s first semifinal was 17,116, while the second semifinal had a slightly smaller number of 17,094 — though more actual fans were in the seats. Capacity of Value City Arena is 17,500.

Still, this year’s tournament should rank in or near the top five all time. Boston’s two most recent tournaments (1998 and 2004), Minnesota (2002) and Buffalo (2003) all will sit ahead of Columbus. Milwaukee’s average of 17,375 will be close.

Reunited and it Feels So Good

There are probably plenty of NHL players who miss hanging out with their teammates due to the current NHL lockout. So it’s no surprise that ESPN’s top hockey broadcast team of Gary Throne, Bill Clement and Darren Pang all looked more than happy to be reunited to call this year’s Frozen Four.

The trio worked the regional tournaments as well, though Thorne and Clement covered games in Worcester and Pang called Grand Rapids.

Besides being able to throw in the game’s top announcers, ESPN also used some of its top camera technology. That included cameras inside each net, remote-controlled cameras behind each net and a “dasher cam” that slid along the sideboards on one side of the ice to give television viewers a never-before-seen perspective of the game.

Eagle Sighting

UND's skating cheerleaders were in evidence Thursday (photo: Pedro Cancel).

UND’s skating cheerleaders were in evidence Thursday (photo: Pedro Cancel).

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ed Belfour, who has plenty of time on his hands these days with the NHL lockout, was spotted in the stands Thursday night taking in the North Dakota-Minnesota game. Belfour is a former All-American for North Dakota and led his club to the 1987 NCAA championship.

Belfour holds the all-time mark at North Dakota for wins in a season. His 29 wins in the 1986-87 national title season is four better than the second-best total of 25. That season was Belfour’s only one with the Sioux, as he left after his rookie year to join the Chicago Blackhawks.

Beauty on Ice

It’s rare enough for fans outside WCHA arenas to see skating cheerleaders, but Thursday’s second game gave the opportunity to see two squads on the ice together as both Minnesota and North Dakota brought their on-ice cheering sections to Columbus.

Personal pick for the money went to the Minnesota squad, which not only was larger in numbers and did more impressive tricks, but also executed costume changes, switching from skirts to dancers’ pants and short belly shirts.

It’s a good thing, though, that the second semifinal was not a blowout as the male population at Value City Arena may already have had a hard time concentrating.

Looking In The Rearview Mirror

By Dave Starman
-

The Frozen Four officially became the Frozen Four in 1999, and the finals (or Frozens) were played in that hockey hotbed of Anaheim, CA. Of course, if you wanted to, you couldn’t get two teams whose home base is further away from Anaheim to battle for the title. Hockey East rivals Maine and UNH went to OT before Maine won, 3-2. There’s a lot more than five years of history, though, and here’s some highlights:

Star Turns

With the way last year’s FF went (12 goals total in three games), here is one record that should not fall: Carl Lawrence’s record for the most goals in a FF game. The CC alum scored five against BC on March 16, 1950. Most recently, former Winnipeg Jet Doug Smail, then with North Dakota, netted four against Northern Michigan in the 1980 Championship game.

The record for points in a FF game is seven, set by the Gophers’ John Mayasich in 1954 (3g-4a). However, those in the Colorado, Massachusetts, and northern NJ area will fondly remember this name, who is the most recent player to put up a big crooked number by himself in the FF. It is none other than University of Denver forward Peter McNab, who racked up three goals and three assists against BC in the National Semi-Final game in 1973.

OK, let’s tie one together. McNab used to be the color analyst for the New Jersey Devils, who are run by one of the NCAA’s greatest participants in Providence College’s Lou Lamoriello. The Lamoriello Cup is what Hockey East playoff participants fight for. Another PC grad (and former Devil), Chris Terreri, holds the FF record for saves in game with 62 in a 3OT match against BC in 1985. It seems like a lot happened against BC. Terreri also made 52 saves two years earlier against Minnesota in the National Consolation game.

The FF’s Most Outstanding Player award was won last year by Denver goalie Adam Berkhoel. Goalies Marty Turco and Alfie Michaud won in 1998 and `99 respectively. There are a ton of forwards who have won it, but not many defensemen. You’d have to go way back to 1978 to find the last defenseman voted the FF Most Outstanding Player, and it was BU’s Jack O’Callahan.

Bench Bosses

In 1979, Minnesota won their third National Title in six seasons, beating the Fighting Sioux in the title game. It was the final game that Herb Brooks coached for the Gophers, and he compiled an 8-1 record in that six-year span. Current Gopher coach Don Lucia has the chance to give the Gophers three titles in four years.

Those in the know are looking for a Michigan State appearance here, so here goes. The all time leader among coaches in NCAA Tournament appearances is Ron Mason, who has been to the dance 22 times as coach at Bowling Green and Michigan State. BU’s Jack Parker is second.

Three different coaches have led Denver to the postseason (Murray Armstrong, Ralph Backstrom and George Gwozdecky). Minnesota has had many illustrious coaches behind their bench in the tournament (John Mariucci, Glen Sonmor, Herb Brooks, Brad Buetow, Doug Woog and Don Lucia). Lucia also has taken Colorado College to the playoffs, as have Cheddy Thompson, Tom Bedecki, Jeff Sauer and Scott Owens. North Dakota also has an illustrious list that includes Dean Blais, Gino Gasparini, Bob May, Bob Peters (a member of the 700 win club), Bill Selman and Barry Thorndycraft.

Coaches move around a bit, going from assistants to head coaches. Head coaches change schools (either by their own choice or the decision of others). There have been some very good and unique staffs throughout the years that have put their heads together and come up with the plan for a national title. A lot of these teams had players that later went on to coach in the NCAA. We submit the following as examples:

In 2001, Boston College’s title team was led by Jerry York, who was assisted by current Bowling Green head coach (and alum) Scott Paluch. York also won a National Title in 1984 at Bowling Green and a player on that team was current Clarkson Head Coach George Roll. York played for a coaching legend, John “Snooks” Kelley, at BC. He also assisted Len Ceglarski at one time.

In 2000, Dean Blais led North Dakota past BC for the title. His assistants make up half of the current University of Minnesota-Duluth staff in Head Coach Scott Sandelin and assistant Lee Davidson (himself a future head coach in the NCAA). When NoDak won in 1997, Davidson was still playing pro hockey as a member of the IHL’s Atlanta Knights. The other assistant that year was current Badgers assistant Mark Osiecki, who has been a Head Coach in the USHL.

When Maine won in 1999 under the late Shawn Walsh, he had plenty of brainpower behind him in current Union Head Coach Nate Leaman. His other assistant was the legendary Grant Standbrook, who was also an assistant on the 1977, 1981 and 1983 Wisconsin Championship teams to Badger Bob Johnson, as well as Maine’s #2 guy when they won it all in 1993. Long time NCAA assistant Gene Reilly was also on that staff.

The BU squad in 1995 that beat Maine in the title game was led by Jack Parker (of course). His assistants were current UMass-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald and a name that many fans will always remember, Mike Eruzione.

Lake Superior won the 1994 title under Jeff Jackson, who was ably assisted by Ron Rolston (currently a head coach with the USA National Development Team) and current Providence Head Coach Paul Pooley. Prior to team USA, Rolston was an assistant to Jerry York at BC.

Current Michigan State head coach Rick Comley piloted the Northern Michigan Wildcats to the title in 1991. His assistant was current NMU coach Walt Kyle. Comley apprenticed under a pretty good coach himself, playing for and later assisting the legendary Ron Mason.

Jeff Sauer’s 1990 championship staff at Wisconsin included current Nebraska-Omaha head coach Mike Kemp. We’re going to stretch here a bit, as current ECHL coach and longtime USHL coach Don Granato was a player on that team. So was Badgers TV analyst Tom Sagissor.

Here’s a good one. Harvard’s title team in 1989, their only one, was coached by the legendary Bill Cleary. On that team was current Harvard coach Ted Donato, and current Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon. Future Harvard coach Ronn Tomassoni was an assistant on that squad. John Weisbrod is the General Manager of the NBA’s Orlando Magic and was also on that team.

Jeff Jackson brought two titles to Lake Superior State. He was an assistant on the first title team there, to one of college hockey’s best paisan; Brooklyn, New York native Frank Anzalone. Anzalone is now in his second tour of duty there.

The 1987 NoDak staff featured two future head coaches. One was Dean Blais, who later won the big ring at NoDak as a Head Coach. The other interesting name on that staff is John Marks, who has had a great coaching career in hockey’s minor leagues. The aforementioned Lee Davison was a player on that team, which also featured goalie Ed Belfour. The head coach was Gino Gasparini, who currently runs the top junior hockey league in the country, the USHL. Another assistant was Cary Eades, a player on the 1980 and 1982 teams.

Ron Mason coached the Spartans of Michigan State to the 1986 Championship. His assistant was George Gwozdecky, who won the title last year as the head coach of Denver. Gwozdecky also has a National Championship as a player, as a member of the 1977 Badgers, coached by Badger Bob. He’s the only person to have won an NCAA Hockey Championship as a player, assistant coach, and head coach.

The 1977 Wisconsin Badger squad produced two other coaches of note, both back at their alma maters. Mike Eaves runs the men’s team, while Mark Johnson runs the women’s program.

For those keeping score, that’s four 1980 Olympians in the story. Here come a few more from NCAA Championship teams. 1979 winners include Neal Broten, Bill Baker, Steve Janaszak, Rob McClanahan, Phil Verchota, Steve Christoff, Eric Strobel and Mike Ramsey, who all played for Brooks at Minnesota. Jack O’Callahan, Dave Silk and Jim Craig were on Jack Parker’s Terriers in 1978 and beat BC for the title. Johnson and Bob Suter are part of the 1977 Wisconsin team. Verchota, Baker, and Janazak were also on the 1976 Championship team at the “U”. Looking back, that team’s players and coach had done a lot of winning before it won in Lake Placid.

Pro Performance

Great teams tend to have great players. Sometimes college teams are judged by how many pro players come off that team. If that is the case, here are some teams that were a launching pad to NHL stardom.

Most recently, it’s fair to say that Minnesota’s Jordan Leopold is off to a great start. Leopold (Minnesota ’02) was a key member of the Flames defense corps that came with a game of winning the 2004 Stanley Cup.

Brian Gionta (BC ’01) has a Stanley Cup ring already on hand. He won the big trophy with the NJ Devils and was a key member of that team.

Marty Turco has emerged as one of the top goalies in the NHL. The Stars netminder (Michigan ’98) replaced Ed Belfour (NoDak’87) in the Dallas crease.

An emerging star is the Islanders pesky forward Jason Blake (NoDak ’97). By the way, great job by the NoDak PR staff. There is a photo just outside the Sioux dressing room of action during a game in the late 1980’s. Pictured as a young fan in the first row watching the game is Blake. That’s good research.

Two other Devils (one now an ex-Devil), Brendan Morrison and John Madden (both Michigan ’96), both have become very good NHL players, and Madden had developed into a star with the Devils. Bill Muckalt also has found a solid career in the league.

Mike Grier and Jay Pandolfo have become very good NHLers since winning it all with BU in ’95. However, forgive me if I overshadow their accomplishments with one of the NHL’s top players, who was also a member of that team. That would be Stanley Cup winner and Calder Trophy winner Chris Drury.

Jim Montgomery, Garth Snow, Mike Dunham, and Paul Kariya all came from the Maine squad that won the title in 1993. All still play in the NHL. Who can forget Kariya getting KO’ed by Scott Stevens of the Devils in game six of the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, then returning later to score a huge goal that helped Anaheim send the series back to NJ for a decisive seventh game. Snow and Dunham apparently want to stay close to each other, as they tend goal for bitter rivals in NY, the Islanders and Rangers respectively.

Dallas Drake (NMU ’91) has had a long and solid career in the NHL, which started with the Winnipeg Jets.

Duane Derksen was a potential NHL goalie, Gary Shuchuk played for the Kings in the 1993 Finals, and Chris Tancill and Rob Mendel were good minor leaguers who had a cup of coffee in the NHL. John Byce went from the Badgers right to the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals with the Boston Bruins. But the player from the 1990 Wisconsin team that really had the best NHL career was defenseman Sean Hill, who was a member of the 1993 Canadiens who beat the Kings in the Finals.

Tod Hartje (Harvard ’89) wrote a landmark book on his experiences as an American playing pro hockey in the Russia. The book “Behind the Red Line” was well received back here at home. However his teammate Ted Donato was a long time NHLer, and a very good one at that. He played from 1989-90 through the end of last season when he took over the Crimson.

Ed Belfour and Murray Baron (NoDak ’87) made their mark in the NHL. Belfour has been an elite goaltender since breaking in with Chicago, and Baron played many years for the Flyers, Canucks, and Blues. Baron was a member of the 1994 Canucks who nearly upset the Rangers in the Finals, losing in Game 7. Belfour won a Cup with Dallas.

The 1986 Spartans had a Stanley Cup winner in their midst in Joe Murphy, who was a #1 overall pick of the Detroit Red Wings. Murphy won a Cup in Edmonton as a member of the “Kid Line” alongside Adam Graves and Martin Gelinas. Goalie Bob Essensa had a very good NHL career, as did Kevin Miller.

A pair of defensemen from Jerry York’s 1984 Bowling Green Falcons went on to great NHL careers. Dave Ellet and Gary Galley both were All-Stars in the NHL and Gino Cavallini was the heart and soul of the St. Louis Blues for many years.

Two Stanley Cup winning defenseman, one a sure fire Hall of Famer, were part of the 1983 Badgers. Bruce Driver, who found stardom and two Stanley Cup rings with the Devils, and Chris Chelios were on that team. Long time NHLer and former Islanders’ Captain Patrick Flatley won a ring with that group as well.

Jon Casey almost wrote one of the biggest upsets in Stanley Cup history when he back stopped the Minnesota North Stars to the 1991 Finals against Badger Bob’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Casey won Game One before Badger Bob’s team took over and won the Cup. Casey backstopped NoDak to the 1982 title, alongside future NHLers Dave Tippett (now the coach of the Dallas Stars), Rick Zombo, Craig Ludwig (Stanley Cup winner in Dallas), Troy Murray and James Patrick, who is still a member of the Buffalo Sabres.

Doug Smail (NoDak ’80) is another NCAAer who found success in the NHL.

The seventies were not a time that saw many college players go on to find success in the NHL, but there were a few who did. From the ’79 Gophers, Rob McClanahan, Bill Baker. The `78 Terriers developed Jack O’Callahan and Dave Silk. Mike Eaves came from the ’77 Badgers, as did Mark Johnson. The ’76 Gophers are represented by Joe Micheletti and Reed Larson (who spent many good years on the blue lines of the Bruins and Red Wings). Future Stanley Cup winning defenseman Bob Lorimer captained the ’75 Michigan Tech Huskies. Dean Talafous earned a steady paycheck in the NHL after being a member of the ’73 Badgers.

I’d be remiss not to highlight one of great stories of advancement from the NCAA to the NHL. That would be Red Berenson.

Berenson was the first collegian to go directly from college hockey to the NHL. After playing in the 1962 Consolation Game (with a 70 point senior season in the bank), Berenson was driven from Utica, NY to Boston, where he suited up and played for the Canadiens against the Bruins. He spent the rest of the season with Montreal, embarking on a 17-year career as a player with Montreal, Detroit, the Rangers, and the Blues.

His Michigan career was exemplary as both a player, and later as a coach. His 43 goals and nine hat tricks in his senior season of 1961-1962 are still Michigan records to this day. Now in his 21st season behind the Michigan bench, he has made the Wolverines as much of a force on the ice as they are on the hardwood or gridiron.

A major proponent of student-athletes finishing their degrees before jumping to the professional ranks, Berenson has been able to help many of his recruits become both great players and great students.

Team Talk

Michigan and Colorado College have engaged in some classic battles in the playoffs, the latest being this year’s epic CC comeback to beat the Wolverines in the Midwest regional. CC overcame a 3-0 deficit to win the game. Michigan beat CC 3-2 in OT to win the Frozen Four in 1996 in Cincinnati. These two schools also locked horns in the title match of 1952, won by Michigan 4-1, and again in 1955 with the Maize and Blue winning 5-3. CC won its last national championship with a 13-6 win over the Wolverines in 1957.

These two teams also have a classic regional experience to remember. It was the Midwest regional in 2003, and the No. 1 Tigers were upset by the No. 3 Wolverines. Red Berenson’s boys were helped by a home ice advantage as the regional was held at Yost Arena, Michigan’s home barn, and probably the toughest place to win a game if you’re not the Wolverines.

The FF participants all share national championships in their past heading to Columbus. CC’s last win was in 1957. Minnesota won back-to-back titles on ’02 and ’03. Denver is the defending champ, and the Sioux won a classic from Jerry York’s Boston College Eagles in 2000. North Dakota’s seven titles are the most of the participants.

Michigan has made the most appearances in the FF, with 22. BU is second with 20. Current participant Minnesota is third with 18, tied with BC.

You’d never think it, but the best winning percentage in the FF is held by Lake Superior State, which is 7-1.

Four teams have won back-to-back titles: Minnesota in ’02 and ’03, BU in ’71 and ’72, Denver in ’60 and ’61 and again in ’68 and ’69. Michigan won in ’55 and ’56 and three-peated from 51-53.

Biggest Battles/Staying Late

CC’s wipeout of a three-goal deficit to beat Michigan was impressive. Did Scott Owens call upon the ghosts of three-goal comebacks past? CC has done it before in the playoffs, the last time in 1952 when it beat Yale in the national semifinal by the same score of 4-3.

Ever hear the cliché that a 3-0 lead is the worst lead in hockey? As a matter of fact, in the 13 biggest comebacks in postseason history, eight of them have been from down 3-0. Two were in championship games. Northern Michigan wiped out that lead in 1990 en route to an 8-7 triple-OT win over BU, and Minnesota beat Michigan Tech 6-4 in the 1976 title game. The best to date was the 4-0 lead Wisconsin toppled against Cornell in the 1973 semifinal, winning 6-5 in OT.

The longest game ever played in the post season was the battle between St. Lawrence and BU in the East Regional, March 26, 2000. In that game (in a story related to me by BU coach Jack Parker), BU forward Dave Kavanaugh cramped up badly in the first OT and was helped to the dressing room. He was fed liquids intravenously, and re-hydrated.

He was in street clothes and on the bench in the second OT, and began to feel better. With fatigue becoming a factor at the end of the second OT (BU had played the night before), Kavanaugh put his equipment back on and played the third and fourth OT. The game went 123:53 and was won by St. Lawrence 4-3 on a goal by Robin Carruthers. The game started at noon, and ended just before 6 p.m.

While in OT, do you remember the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, who won 10 OT games on their march to the Stanley Cup championship? Well, the NCAA’s answer to that feat is probably Lake Superior State, who played 3 OT games in 1994. In that postseason, LSSU scored :15 into OT to beat Northeastern to win the shortest OT game ever played. There was no OT in the title game, though; it was over early. LSSU beat BU 9-1.

Speaking of overtime, Minnesota has won a pair of OT games in the postseason so far, upping their record in extra time to 6-3. North Dakota has not needed OT in this year’s playoffs, so they hold at 3-2. CC has also gotten it done in regulation this playoff year and are 2-1 overall in playoff OT. The Pioneers of Denver have been in OT twice so far this year, beating UND in the WCHA Final Five, and surviving a scare from Bemidji State in the Northeast Regional. Those were Denver’s first ever OT wins in the postseason.

Five of seven title games went to OT between 1996 (Michigan beat CC) and 2002 (Minnesota beat Maine). The past two have ended in regulation, yet last season’s 1-0 game was very much like an OT type game. In 2000, North Dakota and BC were tied 2-2 late into the third period when Jason Ulmer snapped the tie, and an ENG added the insurance. The only big margin of victory in the title game recently was Minnesota’s 5-1 win over UNH in 2003. However, that game was tied 1-1 after 1, and still tied until Thomas Vanek scored the eventual game winner 8:14 into the third period. Current Gopher Barry Tallackson, the hero of Minnesota’s 2-1 OT win over Cornell two weeks ago in the West Regional final, had two goals in the game.

Last Year

Last April, Denver goalie Adam Berkhoel was outstanding in a 1-0 shutout of Maine in the NCAA Championship game. The last time a goaltender pitched a shutout in the title game was way back in 1972, when Boston University’s Tim Regan made 39 saves in a 4-0 whitewash of Cornell. Some notable names on that BU squad include Assistant Coach Jack Parker and player Don “Toot” Cahoon (Head Coach at Massachusetts). That team was the first to call Walter Brown Arena home, and the second consecutive title winner for the Terriers, who beat Minnesota for the crown in 1971.

Denver’s lone goal in last year’s title game is the lowest goal total for a winner in a championship game. Previously, Mike Addessa’s RPI squad held that distinction with a 2-1 win over Providence College in the 1985 game. Addessa’s team included some prominent future NHLers including future Hall-of-Famer Adam Oates and goalie Daren Puppa.

Denver’s one goal and RPI’s two goals are the only winning outputs that low since the NCAA hockey championship started in 1948 (that year Michigan beat Dartmouth 8-4). The most goals are 13 when CC beat Michigan 13-6 in ’57. The Tigers also scored 13 in a 13-4 rout of BU in ’50. 13 must be lucky for CC, as it has won two national championships and scored 13 goals in each win.

Your contributions are welcome for a second part to this story. Former college players, coaches, officials, fans are welcome to email me your contributions and stories of great playoff games, players, and memories. I’ll have to fact check details, but I’m eager to hear from you.

Dave Starman serves as an analyst on CSTV Friday Night Hockey and contributes weekly to CSTV.com. Starman has coached professionally and in the amateur ranks.

Bourque Heads for Portland Instead

USCHO Staff Report
-

Chris Bourque, who last week announced his intention to leave Boston University to play for Moncton of the Quebec Major Junior League, has instead signed a contract to play with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League.

Portland is the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, the team that drafted Bourque in the second round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Bourque had 10 goals and 23 points in 35 games for the Terriers this season. According to USHR.com, Bourque has always struggled academically, and that may have been the impetus for his decision to leave.

“I just told (BU coach Jack Parker) that school wasn’t the thing for me and I wanted to be focused on hockey 100 per cent of the time and that’s what it’s going to be like for me going to (major junior),” Bourque told the Moncton Times & Transcript.

Bourque also told the Boston Globe, “College was a good time, but it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t a big fan of going to school and going to class. It’s not the place for me. I knew what I was coming into. I didn’t think it was going to be as hard or as serious as it was.

“It’s more offensive minded (in the QMJHL) and that’s more my style. I’m happy with my decision (to join Moncton). I don’t think I’m going to regret it.”

Bourque has been pursued aggressively by Moncton over the past couple of years, but judging by comments from Moncton director of hockey operations Allan Power in a Moncton newspaper, Bourque may have jumped the gun in announcing his intentions to play there.

“Advised — whatever that means,” said Power to the Times & Transcript about Bourque’s statement that agent Steve Kasper advised Moncton of his intentions. “If it means that we’re advised as far as what’s going on in the newspaper, then we’re advised. Reporters like you come to us — that’s the only advice we have.

“There’s really nothing to comment on at this point. Everything is coming from his camp so far. If that’s the way he feels, that’s great. But I don’t think we want to get wound up in this. We’re trying to focus on the playoffs.

“This process (with Bourque) will have a beginning, a middle and an end. He’s voiced these thoughts and sentiments that he is coming to Moncton. When all of the dots are joined then we can make a statement and be more concrete.”

Power said that Bourque could still join Moncton next season.

“Anything Chris Bourque can do for us will commence on August 15 (when training camp opens),” Power told the paper. “That’s next season. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Analysis: CC Implodes

By Dave Starman
-

What happened?

Colorado College imploded. The Tigers took too many penalties, their team defense was shoddy at times, and their goaltender, who should be the best player on the penalty-kill unit, wasn’t. Because of that, Colorado College went home empty-handed from Columbus after a great season in 2004-2005.

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” said CC coach Scott Owens.

After a solid first 10 minutes, CC went flat. Denver got its game into high gear thanks to an early CC penalty to Marty Sertich. A couple of great chances that were turned aside by Curtis McElhinney got Denver thinking offense, which it had been working on all season.

However, Denver, which looked similar at the start to the way it did against Bemidji State (which was not good), started to get its legs. It was their hands that dominated this game, with five power-play goals, including two in the first period.

“They took what was given, and they created their own chances,” said defenseman Mark Stuart.

It was obvious that the number of penalties were the undoing of CC. Not so much because it had to waste so much time killing penalties, but rather that it looked like it was killing penalties at home on the Olympic sheet as opposed to the NHL-sized sheet at the Schott.

“They have older defensemen who move the puck so well, they were just so confident,” said Owens, countering the notion that CC was timid on its PK.

The Tigers were timid on the PK, and that combined with a team that was playing with confidence and moving the puck so well spelled disaster. There seemed to be no jump in the kill, no eye of the Tiger mentality to eliminate chances before they happened. No forcing mistakes, no active sticks.

Colorado College was not much-penalized during the season. Yet, it was playing in the home rink of the Ohio State Buckeyes, the most-penalized team in the country. Did some of that rub off the finesse-laden Tigers? Apparently it did, but the Tigers took penalties that were needed to prevent scoring chances on some occasions, and others that were just outright undisciplined … i.e. dumb. Those penalties that were needed to eliminate chances were the result of a poor play clearing the defensive zone, which is usually the case.

That being said, the penalty kill wasn’t good. There was very little pressure, poor rotation in response to puck movement, and the goaltending was shaky. McElhinney was deep in his net, screened on almost every shot, yet didn’t appear to have the killer instinct to find pucks through traffic. He was not up on screens, and was not explosive on shots from the points through traffic. His counterpart, Peter Mannino, was brilliant when called upon in special-teams situations, and especially when the teams skated 5-on-5.

Anyone at the game and watched it probably realized that Colorado College was the better team on the ice 5-on-5. It generated chances, got to the net, created off the rush and did well making things happen out of the quiet zones. Mannino was great, especially early. The Pioneers took the puck to the net early, and despite not shooting a bit earlier when scoring chances presented themselves, they hit the net and had rebounds to attack.

Then the penalties started.

Despite being down 3-0, the Tigers scored and looked to have life. They got the short end when coincidental penalties were called after their goal, especially when Matt Carle hauled off and belted Joey Crabb. If one punch constitutes a fight, Carle should have been gone for the game.

The bottom line here is this: Colorado College’s PK, which had been good against Denver (and everyone else) this season, let down. Denver’s power play moved the puck with confidence, changed the angle of attack often and cleanly, and got traffic and shots to the net. Shot lanes were created with active movement, something Denver hadn’t been doing lately. It had become a perimeter team that needed to get inside the box instead of around it, and did it. CC helped with a passive PK.

The Tigers dug a hole that Denver made it impossible to crawl out of, and to add salt to the wound, the Pioneers scored their fourth power-play goal of the game with under 10 seconds left in the second period for a 4-1 lead.

The Pioneers had Colorado College on the 200-by-85 sheet, and the last change. CC won the games between the teams on the 200-by-100, and when it had last change. Denver has owned the 200-by-85/last-change battle.

Owens said that he felt his team played well and did a lot of good things. Agreed. He also told me that his team will learn from this debacle and be better for it. Agreed. Remember, the ’83 Oilers took it on the chin from the Islanders before ripping off five titles in seven years.

The mark of a good program is rebounding from these types of losses. CC should get high marks when that challenge arises. Today, however, they get an “F.”

Dave Starman serves as an analyst on CSTV Friday Night Hockey and contributes weekly to CSTV.com. Starman has coached professionally and in the amateur ranks.

Engineering A Dream

By
-

The following article is a special reprint from the current issue of USCHO Magazine.

Twenty years ago a group of young men engineered one of the finest seasons in all of college hockey.

A 35-2-1 record, a 30-game winning streak and a 33-game unbeaten streak — all culminating in an NCAA championship.

Fittingly, that team was the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers.

The year before, RPI won the ECAC championship and was upset by North Dakota in the NCAA tournament as the number-one seed. But that planted the seeds for the coming year.

Engineer head coach Mike Addesa barks orders (photos: RPI sports information).

Engineer head coach Mike Addesa barks orders (photos: RPI sports information).

“In ’84, in the old ECAC, we won the league. We were seeded one going into the tournament and we lost to North Dakota,” recalled team captain Mike Sadeghpour. “We were pretty good and I thought we had a chance to compete then. Going into the next season we knew we had a chance of doing something special.”

“We outplayed them and it was all [North Dakota goalie] Jon Casey,” said Jeff Prendergast, a junior defenseman in 1984-85. “We hit posts and pads, sticks and everything else but the twine, but it showed us what we could do. We came back with the confidence that we knew what we could do.”

“We had a great team and we ran into Jon Casey,” concurred George Servinis, then a junior forward. “That team was as good as the championship team, but we had all the pieces coming back and we knew we were going to have a good year.”

“We learned a lot from that weekend because we learned that sometimes you have to lose before you can win,” said Adam Oates, a junior forward in the championship season and perhaps the best-known member of the squad. “We were ranked number one and we were upset.”

The 1984-85 season didn’t start out as the Engineers had hoped. After two wins over Canadian schools, they dropped the opening game of the season against St. Lawrence, 5-3, as Scott Yearwood made 46 saves, but bounced back to defeat Clarkson, 5-3, with three third-period goals in a two-minute span. The Engineers then went to North Dakota, where they came back to tie the game at 6-6 with four third-period goals, but lost in overtime.

“The alarms were out,” said Sadeghpour. “At that point we were playing on our reputation and people were gunning for us and it was ugly for a couple of weeks. We got our act together, though.”

“I remember being in that locker room after that North Dakota loss and we were not happy,” said then-junior defenseman Mike Dark. “We were upset, we were prepared and we thought that we would come back and move on from last year. Nothing less than a championship was going to satisfy us after that.”

“It was a wakeup call,” said Neil Hernberg, an ’84-’85 sophomore. “But from there it was a mission and a focus. We wanted to win the ECAC’s and the NCAA’s.”

“We knew we were good, but someone had to put us in our place,” said Servinis. “We had to get back to the basics and start working towards our goals. We lost focus at the beginning because it came so easy for us and we really needed those losses to get us back on track.”

The Engineers regrouped from that loss and came back to down North Dakota the next night, 8-2, on the strength of junior John Carter’s hat trick.

And that was just the beginning.

Carter scored three more hat tricks in the next three games, wins over Yale, Brown and Army. Then Servinis got a hat trick against Princeton in the next game, followed by an Engineers title in their own Christmas Tournament over Miami and Toronto.

January rolled around and the winning continued. Oates scored late to break a tie against Harvard in a 4-3 win and Bob DiPronio scored twice to beat Dartmouth. Division II Union put a scare into the Engineers, but they prevailed 3-2, when sophomore goaltender Daren Puppa kept the Engineers in the game and Carter scored late in the third to tie it and then won it in overtime.

Cornell and Colgate fell victim next, and then Michigan was swept at the Houston Field House with the help of hat tricks from Carter and Servinis. The streak was at 14 games, a school record.

“Somewhere in late January we got to the point where practice was 45 minutes and it was such a well-oiled machine,” said Sadeghpour. “We knew what we had to do and when we hit the ice, we did what we were supposed to do. The door opened and we played. We played with a high level and we executed.

George Servinis scores the winning goal against Chris Terreri in the NCAA title game.

George Servinis scores the winning goal against Chris Terreri in the NCAA title game.

“We had a lot of talent and we had made up our minds that this was what we were going to do. We had different guys step up at different times whenever we needed something done.”

“We lost our first games and then we went on a tear, and we really did take it one game at a time,” said Carter. “We took every game and as a team we were a machine. Every night we went out and played the same.”

“To a degree we were all on a mission,” said Hernberg. “We knew we had a great team and you just knew it. It was just an uncanny feeling in the locker room. We just knew we weren’t going to lose. From North Dakota on, we just rolled from there.”

“When we started that season a bunch of us had come up through the ranks and everything started to work,” said Prendergast. “We were winning the close ones, the blowouts — we knew we had something there.”

“Losing a game early woke us up and told us that we weren’t invincible,” said Oates. “We then turned it up a gear and went on a different level. It was almost like the guys could do anything they wanted at any time. Every night we felt like we could win 10-0.”

It did seem that way, as the Engineers continued to pound the opposition. They swept travel partner Vermont, 7-3 and 8-2. Then Clarkson went down, 7-4, and they avenged the earlier loss to St. Lawrence, 7-4, sweeping the North Country trip for the second time ever.

A series of impressive wins paced the Engineers through the rest of the season. Brown, 7-2. Yale, 8-2. Princeton, 6-3. Dartmouth, 11-1. Harvard, 4-1. Colgate, 8-2. Cornell, 5-4. Those wins all followed, bringing the Engineers to a regular-season finish of 28-2 and 20-1 in the ECAC.

The Engineers had won 25 games in a row and were headed into the ECAC tournament, looking for their second consecutive playoff title, with momentum, strength and a number-one ranking behind them. But through it all, their focus remained.

“You’re never thinking about how many games we won in a row, we were only thinking about our goals — winning the league, winning the ECACs and winning the NCAAs,” said Sadeghpour.

“At the time you want to go through the season and you want to win,” said then-junior forward Mark Jooris. “As the season went on, we just steamrolled and it never stopped.”

“We lost our first game of the year and then it was just a clinic,” said Oates. “That team was a fantastic hockey team.”

“We had a coach who never let us lose focus,” said Dark. “We worked harder during that championship year than when I was a freshman and we were just starting this process. He was harder on us when we were winning than when we were losing. Everybody was out to get us because we were the big boys on the block.”

The man behind the bench, Mike Addesa, worked magic with the team. He had taken his bunch to the brink of the postseason and was ready to bring them to the next level.

“You’re only as good as your leader,” said Servinis. “You can get a lot of guys that are individuals and you needed someone to put them together.”

“We were focused as a group and coach would never let us get distracted,” said Oates. “He was fanatical about not letting us get ahead of ourselves.”

“He really kept a tight watch on us,” said Carter. “We needed that and he had a lot to do with our success. We had some characters on our team and he knew what was good with our team.”

“He kept a tight rein and made sure we were focused at the task at hand and made sure that we weren’t too big for our britches,” added Prendergast. “He knew what he wanted to do and what he wanted for us, and he was true.”

“For the group of guys that we had, I couldn’t think of anybody that could coach and have the success that we had,” said Dark. “We had such a diverse group of guys and we had some guys that had an attitude and turned that around. He turned a bunch of boys into men.”

Addesa’s Engineers turned their attention to the ECAC tournament, where Princeton was no match. Oates had a hat trick in a 7-2 win in Game 1. Then John Tiano notched a hat trick and Carter and DiPronio added two goals apiece to cruise to an 11-4 win in Game 2 and advance to the Boston Garden.

In the semifinals the Engineers drew Cornell. The Big Red had RPI tied, 1-1, at one point, but the Engineers scored the last four goals to win 5-1 to move on to play Harvard in the championship.

RPI and Harvard played a close one as the game remained tied, 1-1, with 4:12 remaining in the third period. But then Oates scored and 28 seconds later Dark made it 3-1 as the Engineers claimed their second straight ECAC title.

Adam Oates and John Tiano celebrate the Engineers' national championship.

Adam Oates and John Tiano celebrate the Engineers’ national championship.

The winning streak was 29, matching Cornell’s record from 1970.

But the Engineers weren’t happy.

“We didn’t play tight hockey in the ECAC tournament, and we knew we had to step it up a notch,” said Sadeghpour.

The Engineers remembered what had happened a year ago against North Dakota — how the Sioux came into the Field House and left with the series, leaving the Engineers shaking their heads. They remembered and they didn’t let down in Game 1 against Lake Superior State to open the NCAA tournament.

Servinis scored twice in the third period to put the game out of reach as the Engineers downed the Lakers, 7-3, to set the NCAA record for consecutive wins at 30 games.

The next night the streak would end as the Lakers tied the Engineers, 3-3, but RPI won the total-goals series, 10-6, to move on to the Frozen Four in Detroit.

“We got off to a slow start and then we started to click,” said then-sophomore defenseman Mike Robinson. “We didn’t expect to go 30 games without a loss. But we did, and we weren’t done.”

“We had a couple of quick losses and then we didn’t lose again,” said Dark. “We were ready to get to our goal.”

It started in Detroit, in the NCAA semifinal against Minnesota-Duluth. Providence was awaiting the winner of this game and the excitement was in the Joe Louis Arena air.

“That was the game,” said Jooris. “We all knew that Duluth was the team to beat.”

“When you look at the rosters of those two teams, it was an All-Star game,” said Sadeghpour. “Oates, Carter, [Kraig] Nienhuis, Puppa, Bill Watson, Tom Kurvers, Brett Hull.”

The two teams engaged in a battle of wills, and at the end of 60 minutes it was 5-5. Into overtime they went. And then into another overtime.

And then a third.

“The overtimes and the emotion and adrenaline are just something you never forget,” said Jooris.

And then it happened.

“I remember Johnny shooting the puck and then there was a roar,” said Jooris. “I was standing in front of the net and then it went nuts.”

John Carter had fired a slapper from inside the blueline, on the power play, into the net at 5:45 of the third overtime to give the Engineers the 6-5 victory and a berth in the NCAA title game.

“When it happened, I knew at that moment that it was the biggest goal of my life,” said Carter. “It’s one of the biggest highlights of my life.”

“That game against Duluth was the best college game I have ever played in,” said Sadeghpour.

“We knew were in a battle and both teams were special,” said Servinis. “We pulled it out. Every time that we were down, we knew that this team would find a way to win.”

With the championship against Providence the next day, there was no time to rest. There were certainly worries.

“We were the late game that day and we didn’t get back until late and we had to play the next night, so there was a concern,” said Prendergast.

“The overtime took so much out of everybody and it took so much to get right back out onto the ice to play when Providence had the night off,” said Hernberg. “It was a real test of everybody’s will.”

Hernberg scored the first goal of the championship game, on the power play, from DiPronio and senior defenseman Ken Hammond. The championship-winning goal would come from Servinis, shorthanded, 3:49 into the second.

“Georgie had jumped off the faceoff and went right through the guy,” said Jooris.

“I got a good jump and I made some moves and put it past him,” added Servinis.

Servinis’ deke beat the Tournament MOP that year, Chris Terreri. The Engineers had taken a 2-0 lead.

Halfway through the third, Providence scored to make it 2-1, but the Engineers hung on and the feat was complete. After 33 straight unbeaten games, the Engineers were the NCAA champions for the second time in school history.

“I grabbed John Tiano, hugged him and sticks were everywhere, and it was so special,” said Servinis.

“It took a while to sink in because it was amazing to be in Detroit,” said Hernberg. “It was such an incredible experience.”

“We had so much talent in all positions and we won it,” said Oates. “That team was the best one in the country, by far.”

“There was a lot to prove and we did it,” said Prendergast. “We showed everyone that we were the number-one team in the country.”

“I cried like a baby,” said Sadeghpour. “I came off the ice with 10 seconds to go. I was standing next to Mike Dark and we were counting down the clock and I was crying like a four-year old who didn’t get his toys.

“It was a sense of total relief and a great memory. It’s still so vivid in my mind.”

Twenty years later that great season echoes through the minds of those same men. Twenty years later they are a little wiser, a little grayer, and the better for the experience.

“It’s something we will cherish for the rest of our lives,” said Carter. “There’s no other way to describe it.”

“My first day at RPI, I knew that the guys that they brought in, everyone was a certain type of hockey player and we were such a team,” said Servinis. “We knew it was special right off the bat.”

“We knew we had a special team with the mix of guys on and off the ice,” agreed Jooris. “It was just a fantastic team. It was one of the best college teams that ever played.”

“We were at a different level. Winning put a swagger into our team,” said Oates. “As a group we did everything so well. The special teams, the depth, everything. We were a real team.”

“We never realized how special this whole group of guys were,” said Hammond. “These guys knew where each other was going to be — it was something special on the ice and even better off the ice.”

“A lot of guys go through their college careers without a lot of excitement, I won’t be able to say that,” said Dark. “What a life-changing experience it was. I came here as a young adult and left a man. I learned discipline, the game of hockey and things for all aspects of my life.”

Perhaps Sadeghpour put it best.

“I grew up at RPI,” said Sadeghpour. “The guys that we played with, I was at the right place at the right time — and I am so appreciative of it.”

USCHO Town Hall Meeting Returns In 2005

USCHO Staff Report
-

For the fifth consecutive year, USCHO.com is sponsoring a Town Hall Meeting to entertain and inform college hockey fans during the festivities at the NCAA Frozen Four on Frozen Friday. This year’s USCHO.com Town Hall Meeting topic is “The Ice Hockey Rules Committee — A Review and Preview.”

The panel this year will include members of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey Rules Committee. Scheduled to be on the panel are Enrico Blasi, the head coach of Miami University and current chair of the committee; Tom Anastos, the CCHA Commissioner; Frank Cole; the NCAA Supervisor of Officials; and Ty Halpin, the NCAA Liaison to the Ice Hockey Rules Committee.

The Town Meeting takes place this year at 1:00 p.m. (EDT) on Friday, April 8, 2002 at Nationwide Arena, just prior to the presentation of the Hockey Humanitarian Award and the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

The format will be the same as in previous years, as USCHO.com’s Jayson Moy will preside over a question and answer session where fans will be able to interact directly with the panel.

“Our goal is to bring the fans closer to the world of college hockey,” said Moy. “The previous Town Hall Meetings have been huge successes, and I expect this year will be even better. This is going to be a first where fans can actually ask questions of the Rules Committee, a committee which is not as well-known as the Championships Committee, but one that plays a huge role in our game of college hockey.”

With the officiating initiative and other changes to the game being discussed at length over the past years, it is fans’ opportunity to ask their questions, ones which they could never ask of college hockey officials before.

The first annual USCHO.com Town Hall Meeting was held in 2001, at the Frozen Four in Albany, New York. Last year the event was attended by hundreds of fans in historic Fanueil Hall in Boston, and featured head coaches as they discussed “The State of College Hockey from a Coaching Perspective.”

Highlights and pictures from previous Town Hall Meetings can be found at USCHO.com by following these links:

Albany (Ice Hockey Championships Committee)

Minneapolis (Div. I Conference Commissioners)

Buffalo (Ice Hockey Championships Committee)

Boston (Ice Hockey Head Coaches)

1...1,3011,3021,303...1,532Page 1,302 of 1,532

Latest Stories from around USCHO

Longtime Notre Dame assistant coach Pooley, Michigan Tech assistant Murray named to Colorado College staff

USCHO Staff -

Former Notre Dame standout, Colorado College assistant Oglevie returns to Irish as new assistant coach

USCHO Staff -

NCAA Division I independent men’s hockey teams to compete for inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup in March 2026

USCHO Staff -

With Denver ‘home for me and my family,’ Carle inks multi-year contract extension to remain behind Pioneers’ bench

USCHO Staff -

Bowling Green assistant coach Paskaris leaves bench, named assistant athletics director for development with Falcons

USCHO Staff -

Women’s Division I College Hockey: The PodKaz Offseason interview – A visit with 2-time defending NCAA championship coach Joe Cranston of UW-River Falls

Nicole Haase -

After 42 years coaching Amherst men’s hockey team, Arena retires as ‘heart and soul’ of Mammoths program

USCHO Staff -

Western New England men’s hockey coach Young announces resignation after four seasons with Golden Bears

USCHO Staff -

SUNYAC tabs Fredonia’s Sudbrink as conference men’s hockey scholar-athlete of the year for ’24-25 season

USCHO Staff -

‘A proud day’ as former Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey captain Brodt tabbed new head coach for St. Scholastica

USCHO Staff -

Denver sophomore blueliner, recent Wild signee Buium tabbed USCHO Player of the Year for ’24-25 season

USCHO Staff -

Western Michigan’s Ferschweiler leads Broncos to national championship, named unanimous USCHO Coach of the Year for 2024-25 campaign

USCHO Staff -
©1996-2025 USCHO.com – U.S. College Hockey Online