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Notebook: West Regional Final

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Settling It On The Ice, Part II

When Minnesota was awarded the fourth No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament last Sunday, it didn’t sit well with some, including Cornell supporters who questioned why the 14-loss Gophers should have that spot ahead of the Big Red, who lost just four games all season entering the regionals and won the ECACHL regular-season and tournament championships.

That controversy was a motivator for both teams in Sunday’s regional final.

“I think some of our guys took it a little personally that some people were questioning, should we have been a No. 1 seed, or not a No. 1 seed?” said Minnesota head coach Don Lucia.

For Cornell, the No. 2 seed also meant playing the Gophers at their home rink of Mariucci Arena for the West Regional. Had the Big Red been a No. 1 seed instead, the regional assignments would likely have been reshuffled to keep Cornell out east.

“We’d love to have Minnesota in our building,” said Cornell head coach Mike Schafer . “But you deal with the cards you’re dealt.”

Unfamiliar Foes

The matchups for the regional semifinals Saturday featured teams with substantial recent histories on the ice. Maine and Minnesota had played twice in the NCAA tournament in the past five season, plus a meeting in the Maverick Stampede to open the 2003-04 season. Meanwhile, Cornell and Ohio State had faced off at least once per season for the past several campaigns, including two meetings during 2003-04, one in the Everblades holiday tournament.

The final was a different matter. Prior to Sunday, Cornell and Minnesota had met just once all-time on the ice, a 5-2 Minnesota win in the semifinals of the Mariucci Classic holiday tournament back on Dec. 31, 1993. Current Gopher coach Lucia also faced Cornell in an 11-0 win on Dec. 27, 1995, as the head coach of Colorado College.

Pro Prospects

Combined, Minnesota and Cornell have no fewer than 20 NHL draftees on their rosters, with 10 for each team. Four of those have gone in the first two rounds, including Minnesota’s Kris Chucko, Barry Tallackson and Alex Goligoski, and Cornell’s Raymond Sawada.

Still The 1

After its 3-2 victory over Ohio State Saturday and 2-1 loss to Minnesota Sunday, Cornell finished its season leading the nation in a variety of team statistical categories, including scoring defense, scoring margin and penalty-killing efficiency.

Cornell’s team scoring defense of 1.26 goals per game set a post-Depression era record in college hockey, bettering the previous mark of 1.36 goals against per game held by the 2000-01 Michigan State team and Cornell’s own 2002-03 edition.

Dial ‘M’ For, Uh, Zero

David McKee, who led the nation in goals against average, set multiple Cornell and ECACHL records this season for shutouts. McKee now owns the Cornell and ECACHL single-season records for shutouts with 10, as well as the Cornell and ECACHL career records with 15. He is also tied for ECACHL tournament marks for a single season and his career, both with two.

In the West Regional, McKee limited Ohio State and Minnesota each to two goals on a total of 75 shots for a weekend save percentage of .947 — right on the sophomore netminder’s season average, which tied for tops in the nation.

“I think he’s worthy of a Hobey Baker award winner,” said Schafer of McKee, a Hobey Baker finalist. “He’s posted games like that all year long.”

Quotable

“[WCHA commissioner] Bruce [McLeod] came down and let us know that we can’t let the league down.” — Lucia, with a quip on facing Cornell with the possibility of an all-WCHA Frozen Four in the offing.

“A loss is a loss, and especially this deep in the season … it doesn’t feel very good.” — Cornell’s Mitch Carefoot, on the end of Cornell’s 19-game unbeaten streak, the Big Red’s first loss this season when it scored the first goal.

“Nobody’s wishing anybody good luck.” — Lucia, on the evaporation of the mutual goodwill among WCHA coaches that existed when the NCAA tournament began.

All-Regional Team

F Garrett Smaagaard, Minnesota
F Evan Kaufmann, Minnesota
F Matt Moulson, Cornell
D Mike Vannelli, Minnesota
D Doug Krantz, Cornell
G Kellen Briggs, Minnesota

Most Outstanding Player: Briggs

Notebook: Northeast Regional Final

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Moving Up The Ladder

With Gabe Gauthier’s hat trick Sunday, he moved up to 111 points in his career, good for No. 59 in the Denver scoring list, leaving behind Anders Bjork, Paul Josephson, Marc Rousseau, Njorn Engstrom, Kelly Popadynetz, Cliff Koroll, Rich Preston, Mike Busniuk, Ken Williamson and Brian Konowalchuk at 109.

Gauthier now has 52 points on the season, the first time Denver has had a 50-point scorer since Kevin Doell did it in 2002-2003 with 51 points.

Staying Put

Sean Collins, with a point Sunday, could have moved past Eric Boguniecki for 12th place in UNH scoring and into a tie for ninth with Jon Fontas, Frank Roy and Joe Flanagan. Collins was held scoreless, and will forever remain tied with Boguniecki in the record books.

Power Outage

The Denver power play, once clicking at a 22.9% rate on 46-of-201 conversions, was 2-for-40 coming into Sunday’s game. After a 1-for-8 performance in the final, the Pioneers are 49-for-259, or 18.9%, for the season.

At the same time, the Pioneers are doing the job outing the power of other teams. After holding UNH scoreless in five attempts Sunday, the Pioneers are 43-of-45 in their last eight games, and 191-of-224 on the season, or 85.3%.

An Advantage?

Coming into the weekend the Wildcats had gone 11-3-3 at the Mullins Center all-time. The Wildcats were 18-3-0 on Olympic ice coming into the weekend. Denver, on the other hand, had never played in the Mullins Center before this weekend and was 5-4 on Olympic ice.

In the end, it wasn’t much of a disadvantage for the Pioneers.

The Seniors

Denver’s seniors will head to their second consecutive Frozen Four, but the UNH seniors saw their collegiate careers come to an end. Justin Aikins, Robbie Barker, Preston Callander, Sean Collins and Tyson Teplitsky finished their UNH hockey careers this afternoon, and with some high praise.

“Those guys knew so much and helped us through everything,” said freshman netminder Kevin Regan. “The showed us what to do and how to act, they were as strong leaders as they could be.”

“Each one of them gave their heart to this program,” said head coach Dick Umile. “Not only are they a special group, but they were a fun group. They worked hard all year long, and I am so proud of them.”

Penalty Shots

Daniel Winnik’s penalty shot was the first successful one in the NCAA tournament since 1999. In Worcester on March 27 of that year, David Evans of Clarkson was awarded a penalty shot and beat Maine goaltender Alfie Michaud to score. The goal didn’t matter much, as Clarkson lost, 7-2, but it stood as the last penalty-shot goal until Winnik’s tally.

Coincidentally, the last penalty shot awarded was also on March 27 — but just last year in Manchester, N.H., when Joe Tallari of Niagara was stopped by Matti Kaltiainen of Boston College.

Today’s date? You got it, March 27. So don’t expect any penalty shots next year, as the regionals will be played from March 24-26.

All-Regional Team

The All-Northeast Regional Team was no real surprise. The scorers of the overtime games Saturday and Sunday’s two goal-scorer were named, as well as two strong defensemen and one joking goaltender.

“I think I got All-Regional because I was the only goalie to play both games,” quipped Regan.

All-Northeast Regional Team
G Kevin Regan, New Hampshire
D Matt Carle, Denver
D Tyson Teplitsky, New Hampshire
F Gabe Gauthier, Denver
F Daniel Winnik, New Hampshire
F Kevin Ulanski, Denver

Most Outstanding Player: Gauthier

Something From Nothing

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It’s a coach’s worst nightmare.

You execute your game plan perfectly. You dominate your opponent at the game’s opening. And what do you have to show for it? Nada. Zilch. Zip.

After a sluggish start Saturday for defending national champion Denver that resulted in the Pioneers needing overtime to get past underdog Bemidji State, the last thing that Denver wanted was another slow start in Sunday’s regional final against New Hampshire.

Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky celebrates the DU win with goaltender Peter Mannino (photo: Melissa Wade).

Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky celebrates the DU win with goaltender Peter Mannino (photo: Melissa Wade).

Thus, the Pioneers’ game plan was to push, battle, shoot from the hot-dog stand if you have to — anything to create opportunities. Execution: perfect. Results: none. Better said, a 1-1 tie despite at one point in the first period holding an 18-3 advantage in shots.

If you want to make matters a little worse, the ability to stay close actually gave New Hampshire life. In the second, the Wildcats took play to the Pioneers and, when Daniel Winnik scored on, of all things, a penalty shot at 13:27, Denver found itself trailing, 2-1, in the final of the Northeast Regional.

That’s a scenario that would make any coach want to toss his cookies.

But not Denver coach George Gwozdecky. Calm, cool and collected, he and his Pioneers went into survival mode. A power-play goal, a workingman’s goal in front late in the third and an empty-netter spelled a 4-2 victory for the Pioneers Sunday, and with it back-to-back trips to the Frozen Four for the Pioneers for the first time since the early ’70s.

“It’s very difficult to get to the Frozen Four,” said Gwozdecky. “To be able to even get through the regular season in the WCHA, it’s hard to survive. It’s really a marathon.

“Thinking about being defending national champions, with the season we have played, it’s just absurd.”

Denver, though, can begin processing those thoughts. Columbus is the next destination, and a third rematch for the Pioneers will come in the national semifinal when they face Colorado College a week from Thursday.

The Pioneers faced the Tigers in the final weekend of the regular season for the MacNaughton Cup. Two weeks later they locked horns for the WCHA playoff title with Denver coming out on top. Two weeks from now the stakes will be raised once again.

“[CC head coach] Scotty [Owens] and I were chatting after the WCHA playoffs that it would be great to play again for the national championship,” said Gwozdecky. “This is close. This will be just terrific for both programs and how they are perceived in the state of Colorado.”

The bid and matchup intact, Gwozdecky didn’t mind admitting that his stomach was churning a little bit throughout the game. Between Denver’s inability to capitalize early on its scoring chances and the Pioneers’ power play looking inept through the game’s first 30 minutes, agita was quickly setting in.

“The first period, I guess I wasn’t that concerned at that point,” said Gwozdecky. “We wanted to and did establish the way we wanted to play the game.

“But in the second period, our power play was just so ineffective. That seemed to really turn the tide in UNH’s favor. We were getting it in their zone but we weren’t allowed to gain possession. There was a portion of the game at which our power play’s attack coming up the ice was just ineffective. At that point I was just a little bit concerned with the game.”

Enter Gabe Gauthier, the Northeast Regional Most Outstanding Player. He already had one goal in the game, the only product of Denver’s early offensive onslaught. With things looking like they might slip away, his power-play tally with 1:58 remaining in the second tied the game through two.

After Ryan Dingle scored the eventual game winner with 3:43 left in regulation, Gauthier added the icing on the cake, completing a hat trick but burying an empty-netter in the final minute.

Game. Set. Match. Relief.

The Pioneers faithful could cheer and Gwozdecky could breathe a sigh of relief. The long flight back to Denver would be filled with smiles, not players thinking, “What if?”

“Words can’t express how happy I am for these kids,” said Gwozdecky, who grabbed a laugh when he joked that he feels getting to the Frozen Four is tougher on the coach than the players. “This team has done a terrific job of trying to establish its identity. They’ve done that, established a whole different identity than last year’s team. That’s a very difficult challenge to go through for six and a half, heck, eight months when you think of all the conditioning.”

Indeed, this version of Denver has established its own identity. Now, the 2004-05 club is prepared to share a moniker with its predecessor: national champion.

Women’s NCAA Final Notebook

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Just Like Last Year

This year’s NCAA field and match-ups — Minnesota vs. Dartmouth and Harvard vs. St. Lawrence in the semifinals — were the exact same as the 2004 tournament. Moreover, the outcomes of all four games followed the same script as the year before — Minnesota defeated Dartmouth and Harvard downed St. Lawrence to advance, and Minnesota won the national championship while St. Lawrence took third place.

At least the scores were different this year.

Double-Double?

In Division III hockey this season, Middlebury won both the men’s and women’s ice hockey championships, and now the University of Minnesota has a chance to equal that feat. While the women Gophers were winning 4-3 in Durham in the title game, the Minnesota men’s hockey team won a 2-1 overtime game against Cornell in Minneapolis to advance to the Frozen Four, to be held in two weeks at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.

The score of the Middlebury women, who topped Elmira for the crown, was 4-3 — the same as Minnesota’s score over Harvard. The Middlebury men defeated St. Thomas 5-0 in the title game, so be on the lookout for a 5-0 blowout in the Division I men’s title game.

Study For The Finals

In the five year history of the NCAA women’s hockey tournament, games on the second day — the finals and the third place game — historically tend to be much more evenly contested games than the semifinals. On average, the semis have had a 2.8 score differential, while the title game has been 1.8 and the third-place game has been 1.6.

This year was a perfect example of this trend, as Minnesota rode a five goal differential into the championship game, while Harvard outscored St. Lawrence by three goals. Yet the championship was a one goal affair, with the winning goal scored with just over a minute remaining in the game.

“Hopefully, you have the top two teams in the country competing in title game, and the players will be going hard. ” said Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson. “So I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

The most closely contested championship came in 2003 in Duluth, when host school Minnesota-Duluth needed four minutes and nineteen seconds of double overtime to win over Harvard.

In fact, Harvard has lost in the championship game in three straight years. “I’m getting tired of this,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone to lead off the postgame press conference.

Familiar Faces…

Plenty of people from the hockey world were seen around Durham this weekend. Former Dartmouth coach Judy Parish-Oberting was in today’s crowd, as was last year’s all-everything defenseman Kelli Halcisak from Providence College. Former coach for the Wisconsin men’s team Jeff Sauer was in attendance as well, and next year’s Boston University women’s hockey coach Brian Durocher was spotted. Harvard stand-out A.J. Mleczko was calling the games with Brian Schulz for USCHO.com’s Game of the Week, and was on hand when Natalie Darwitz tied her single-season women’s point scoring record at 114.

Current coaches Shannon Miller of Minnesota-Duluth, UMD forward Caroline Oullette, and Brown coach Digit Murphy were in attendance. Jackie Barto, coach of Ohio State and member of the women’s ice hockey selection committee was omnipresent.

USA Hockey’s media relations director and former Sports Information Director Dave Fischer opened the Patty Kazmaier banquet, and as usual, he will be on hand and run the post-game press conferences at the men’s Frozen Four in two weeks.

Former Patty Kazmaier winner Ali Brewer from Brown was in attendance at the Kazmaier banquet when Krissy Wendell won the award. Today Wendell became the first Kazmaier winner to also capture the NCAA title.

…And Plenty Of Them, Too

Both Friday and Sunday games were well attended, as the announced attendance was 2204 for the semifinal contests and 2056 for the title game. While the announced crowds were actually smaller than the listed paid attendance the last time the Frozen Four was held here in New Hampshire in 2002 (4885 combined as the tournament conflicted with Good Friday and Easter), the number of people actually attending seemed to be larger. The crowds were quite loud and spirited, and Minnesota’s pep band made the trip from Minneapolis to play for the crowd. The roar of the crowd was deafening when either team scored.

“Crowds for both teams were tremendous,” said Harvard senior forward Nicole Corriero. “It’s great to see women’s hockey getting so much support.”

The actual financial figures for this year’s tournament haven’t been compiled or released by the NCAA yet, but the added expense of flying four teams for the first round of NCAA tournament games will surely impact the bottom line. Attendance at the regional campus sites was solid: 1194 in Minneapolis, 906 in Duluth, 1013 in Cambridge, and 1619 in Hanover.

All-Tournament Team

F Krissy Wendell, Minnesota
F Natalie Darwitz, Minnesota
F Sarah Vaillancourt, Harvard
D Lyndsay Wall, Minnesota
D Caitlin Cahow, Harvard
G Ali Boe, Harvard

MVP: Darwitz

Bad First Impressions

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If it’s your first day at a new job, you don’t want the boss walking into your office while you’re playing video games.

If it’s your first night out with a dream date, you don’t want a sudden attack of gastric distress.

And if you’re Boston College in the NCAA tournament, you don’t want to dig yourself a hole by giving up a goal in the first minute of play.

Cory Schneider couldn't prevent BC from falling behind early against UND Saturday (photos: Melissa Wade).

Cory Schneider couldn’t prevent BC from falling behind early against UND Saturday (photos: Melissa Wade).

In the East Regional opening round, the Eagles did exactly that against Mercyhurst. A goal just 31 seconds into the game gave the Lakers hope that as the tournament’s bottom seed they could topple the number one. Boston College dodged that bullet, but only barely, 5-4.

Facing North Dakota one night later, the Eagles compounded the error. Not only did they surrender a Travis Zajac goal at the 42-second mark, they allowed Fighting Sioux tallies at 4:59 and 10:10.

Digging a one-goal hole for yourself is bad enough against a number-16 seed; spotting the Sioux — 7-1-2 in their last 10 games — three goals borders on playoff suicide.

The fatal flaw, however, in what would become a 6-3 loss wasn’t that the Eagles fell behind early. Despite a 26-6-7 record, they had allowed their opponents to get on the scoreboard first 15 times this season, but had rebounded in those games to post an 8-2-5 record.

The fatal flaw was in the failure to stop the bleeding in the defensive end. While an 0-for-9 power play certainly didn’t help, the stunner was how poorly the defense played for the second straight night. In two games — the two most important ones of the season — BC gave up more two-on-ones and breakaways than in the last two months total.

“It was uncharacteristic for us,” BC captain Ryan Shannon said. “Both teams really hit seams well. They went through the neutral zone and cut across the ice and it confused our D a little bit. They did a good job of getting behind our D and creating odd-man rushes.”

Shannon paused, mindful of the end of his collegiate career, before adding, “I wish we could have stopped it.”

But they couldn’t. One win away from the Frozen Four, North Dakota kept the goals coming and coming off breakdown after BC breakdown. The Sioux’ second tally came off poor coverage in front on a faceoff goal. The third was on a breakaway.

The game appeared up to be back for grabs after a Shannon home-run pass off the boards to David Spina set up a breakaway shorthanded goal to make it 4-2 in the third period. But just when it seemed safe to assume that BC’s defense was back on track, yet another breakaway resulted in a 5-2 North Dakota lead and the final nail had been pounded into the coffin.

Chris Collins and his BC teammates saw their season end in the East Regional final.

Chris Collins and his BC teammates saw their season end in the East Regional final.

What happened to the nation’s second-best team defense? Only once all year, a 4-1 loss, had BC allowed more than three goals. How does a team go from a 38-for-39 mark of holding teams to three or fewer goals — including four games against New Hampshire, the nation’s second-best offense — to 0-for-2 in the NCAAs?

“When you play teams in your conference — I’ve played them for four years — you know all their tendencies,” All-American defenseman Andrew Alberts said. “You get to know the players and what they’re doing, and you can read the situations.

“Then you come into the regionals and it’s like you’re playing blind. Other teams catch you off guard and that makes it real tough. But that’s the challenge of playing teams from out West.

“Mercyhurst had a great game plan, too. They hit the seams, too. We didn’t really recognize it with Mercyhurst and they had a number of odd-man breaks. North Dakota did the same thing. Give them credit.”

Of course, had Boston College played poorly and advanced to the Frozen Four anyway, there would have been jubilation on Chestnut Hill with the expectation that what was broken could be fixed.

Instead, the season ended for the Eagles with the collegiate careers over for 10 seniors. It was a baffling, madding way to go out. But then again, there is no satisfying way for a top seed to end its season short of a national championship.

Wendell Claims Minnesota’s First Patty Kazmaier Award

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The 2005 winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the year’s most outstanding women’s college ice hockey player by the USA Hockey Foundation, is junior forward Krissy Wendell from the University of Minnesota.

Wendell, who beat out linemate Natalie Darwitz and rival forward Caroline Ouellette from Minnesota-Duluth in the award’s final tally, finished second nationally in points and goals scored and led the nation in shorthanded goals. A 2002 U.S. Olympian renowned for her skating ability, Wendell netted the game-winners in both Gopher wins over top rival Minnesota-Duluth and the WCHA championship game against Wisconsin, as well as a hat trick against ECACHL champion Harvard. She has scored 105 goals and 130 assists in 100 games played over her three-year college career.

A two-time All-American selection, Wendell was also named the WCHA’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. She is the first Minnesota player and WCHA player to win the honor.

In her acceptance speech, Wendell singled out the two other finalists for the award.

“Caroline Ouellette, I’ve played against you many times, and our teams have developed quite a rivalry,” Wendell said. “But I have so much respect for you and your ability.

“Natalie has been my teammate, my linemate, and my friend for more than five years now,” she continued. “She makes me a better player on the ice, and I enjoy coming to the rink to play with you. If I could share this award with you, I would.”

Wendell also thanked her teammates, coaches, friends and family.

Krissy Wendell is all smiles after winning the Patty Kazmaier Award.

Krissy Wendell is all smiles after winning the Patty Kazmaier Award.

Last season, Wendell and her teammates captured the NCAA Championship in women’s ice hockey, and her team rematches Harvard in the NCAA final on Sunday. This season, Minnesota has earned the No. 1 position in every single USCHO.com Division I Women’s Hockey Poll released.

The award was presented in front of a sellout crowd of 300 people. Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Donna de Verona was the guest speaker for the event, emcee’d by broadcaster Mike Emrick.

The Kazmaier nomination process begins as each coach of a Division I hockey team nominates up to two players from their squad, and a nationwide vote of coaches narrows the list to 10. Then a selection committee of 13, including coaches, media members, and a representative from USA Hockey, chooses three finalists and the eventual winner in early March. The nominating and voting process was overseen by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

The Kazmaier Award is named after Patty Kazmaier, a defenseman that played at Princeton in the early 1980s. Besides being a four-year letter winner in hockey, she played field hockey and lacrosse. She passed away in 1990 following an extended battle with a rare blood disease, and she and her family have been pioneers in women’s athletics for years. The award in her honor has been presented annually since 1998.

Winners for the award are chosen for on-ice ability, as well as personal character, sportsmanship, competitiveness, individual and team skills, performance in the clutch and a love of hockey.

Familiar Faces

By Tim Brule
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Legend has it that longtime Maine head coach Shawn Walsh pointed to a 16-2 drubbing at the hands of Minnesota as the turning point in the Black Bears program. It was January 4, 1986, and Minnesota had already thumped Maine 8-3 the night before.

It was Walsh’s second year at the helm of the Black Bears. His previous season, the team had totaled a disappointing 12 wins, and 1985-86 was even worse with only 11. But something happened in the summer of ’86 that changed Maine hockey forever.

In just his third year as head coach, Walsh lead the Black Bears onto the national stage, posting an impressive 24-16-2 record to take Maine to its first-ever NCAA tournament bid. That year, Walsh lost to his mentor, Ron Mason of Michigan State, in the national tourney. But that was the first of 15 NCAA tournament appearances in 19 seasons for Maine — including two national championships and three runner-up finishes.

Black Bear netminder Jimmy Howard makes a stop in Saturday's West Regional semifinal (photo: Jason Waldowski).

Black Bear netminder Jimmy Howard makes a stop in Saturday’s West Regional semifinal (photo: Jason Waldowski).

Among those NCAA tournaments, Maine and Minnesota have collided for some classic matchups. In 2001, Walsh won his last game as a coach, 5-4 in overtime, against the Golden Gophers. It was Minnesota’s first tournament appearance under second-year coach Don Lucia.

That victory was Walsh’s last behind the Maine bench, as the legendary bench boss succumbed to cancer before the following season. That set the stage for an emotion-filled 2001-02 season for the Black Bears, under then-interim coach Tim Whitehead.

The Black Bears’ season culminated in the national championship game in St. Paul, Minn., again versus Minnesota. Maine held a lead with a minute left in regulation before giving up the tying goal to Matt Koalska at 19:07 to send it to overtime. The Gophers then won the overtime thriller before their hometown fans on Grant Potulny’s goal, in a contest which enjoyed the largest television audience of any game in NCAA hockey history.

The “interim” tag was removed from Whitehead’s job title in the following offseason, after which Maine and Minnesota took two years off from meeting head-to-head in the NCAAs. In the interim, the two programs both enjoyed great success.

In 2003, Minnesota became the first team since Boston University in 1971-72 to repeat as national champion. A year later, Maine came within an eyelash of its third NCAA title, losing 1-0 in the national championship to Denver.

Fast-forward to 2005, and it was fitting that the Gophers and Black Bears found themselves in overtime for the third time in five years in the NCAA tournament — once again, on Minnesota’s home ice.

“It was my third time with Maine since I have been at the University of Minnesota, and all three have gone to overtime,” said Lucia.

The result, a 1-0 Minnesota win, was just Lucia’s second as a coach over the Black Bears.

“It was a great hockey game — obviously a tough one for us,” acknowledged Whitehead on the end of Maine’s season.

It was the Black Bears’ second 1-0 exit from the NCAA tournament in as many years. In both nailbiters, Jimmy Howard was the goaltender of record, losing despite outstanding performances.

“We owe it all to this guy [Howard]. What he did was phenomenal,” added Black Bear senior captain John Ronan.

Ronan a freshman when Minnesota beat Maine in overtime in 2002, acknowledged the similarities. “This is comparable [as a feeling],” he said. “I am a senior now. You always want to win your last game.”

“I thought it was a terrific college hockey game,” said Lucia, “two heavyweight programs going at it.”

And odds are, if these two U-of-Ms meet in next year’s NCAA tournament it will be another classic.

NCAA D-I Women’s Final Preview

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Minnesota has been No. 1 all year in just about every conceivable ranking possible, while its Sunday NCAA final opponent Harvard has not. The Crimson started the year 7-6-1, but it has been a different story during the team’s 19-0-2 mark in 2005. This calender year, no two teams have played better. The best balance of high-powered top lines, special teams proficiency, and overall team defense can be found with these two teams.

While many people across the country expect the Gophers to roll over Harvard much like they did against Dartmouth, Harvard doesn’t see it that way.

“We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think we could win the national championship,” Stone said. “We could have packed it in when we were 7-6-1 on Dec. 11. We feel really good about the things we’re doing and we’ll play tomorrow’s game with a tremendous amount of confidence.”

Introducing the Top Lines

After three seasons as teammates, Sunday will mark the last collegiate game together for the high-powered trio of Krissy Wendell, Kelly Stephens and Natalie Darwitz. All three are expected to make the 2006 Olympic team. Wendell is the 2005 Patty Kazmaier winner and Darwitz, with 110 points, is five away from being the all-time single-season point leader.

Harvard tri-captain Julie Chu knows Wendell and Darwitz well as they were all 2002 Olympic teammates: “Natalie’s a real dynamic player in a lot of senses. She’s the quiet one even in her demeanor. When she goes out there she creates a lot of opportunities. She’s really fluid on the ice. She’s the one who sneaks around the corner and finds a way to put the puck away and can find people when you didn’t even know they were there. Krissy, she’s got this explosive speed and great scoring touch. She has great hands and is able to create a lot of opportunities, and at the same time defensively, she can dig the puck out of the corners and start a great rush.”

Chu has a pretty good top line of her own alongside all-time single-season goal scoring leader Nicole Corriero and freshman Sarah Vaillancourt.

“I definitely think we’re a really dynamic line,” Chu said. “We have a combination of skills and strengths. Nicole as can be seen with her 60 goals or so is the goal scorer on the line but at the same time we all have that ability. Sarah has great speed and a lot of intensity out there and causes a lot of opportunities for her teammates and can give the puck up to various players to create scoring chances. As for me, I’m more of a defensive forward but at the same time I have the ability to hop in there, and I think the dynamic element of our team is a really key part of why we can be successful. We can play off each other really well and support each other, our strengths and weaknesses.”

Defending the Top Lines

Few teams have found an answer for Corriero’s goal-scoring prowess. She had a three-point in the team’s last meeting in November.

“I just think she finds the puck,” said Gopher First Team All-American defenseman Lyndsay Wall. “She’s got Chu and Vaillancourt on the point and they just get the puck to the net. She just cleans up those rebounds. That’s where most of her goals come from, just right there in the slot. She just picks up the rebounds and puts them in. Whenever you’ve got a forward in there you want to get their stick and move them out of there. I think she’s just kind of a magnet — wherever she is the puck just kind of finds her. She just has that presence in front of the net and she can just put in home.”

To beat Minnesota, Harvard cannot overcommit on the big ice. Dartmouth learned that just 13 seconds into its semifinal when nearly the entire Big Green team chased the Gophers along the boards while leaving the middle wide open.

“On a big sheet of ice you have to be a little bit more cautious than you are on a smaller sheet. It’s more difficult to recover,” Stone said. “You don’t want to get too overanxious when you go after the puck carrier. You want to contain rather than pressure sometimes. We walked through a couple of things in practice, but that’s all we’re going to do talking about Minnesota. It’s going to be about us at 4-o-clock tomorrow afternoon.”

Good news for Harvard is that First Team All-ECACHL defenseman Ashley Banfield will be ready to go Sunday. She had missed most of the first semifinal against St. Lawrence. A year ago against Minnesota, she was still recovering from the lingering effects of a concussion suffered in the ECAC tournament the week before.

On Net

Harvard coach Katey Stone’s biggest regret from last year’s championship loss to Minnesota is that her team didn’t put more pucks on net given the opportunity. Take any team in the country that Harvard played during its 19-0-2 unbeaten streak and you’ll find that the Crimson had more shots on goal than nearly any other opponent. Harvard hopes to do the same against the Gophers on Sunday.

“We tried to make one more play, one more stickhandle, one more pass, then the opening wasn’t there any more,” Stone said of Harvard’s 2004 NCAA final performance. “It’s incumbent upon us when we have those opportunities not to leave those shots on the stick. The only way you make all six players on the ice play is by getting to the goalie too. If the puck never gets there we don’t know if she’s any good or not. We will try to put as many pucks on the net as we can and see how they defend around her.”

“We’d like to get to the goaltender and see if she’s really good. I don’t think really many people have gotten to the goaltender. Duluth did twice and Dartmouth did once, and so she kind of sits back there and has some really impressive numbers, but we’d like to test her tomorrow if we can. We’ve got three lines rolling now that get some pretty good looks at the net. That’s one thing I hope we’ll do tomorrow afternoon.”

The Gophers limited Dartmouth to just 10 shots on goal in Friday’s semifinal, but Harvard thinks it can do a better job possessing the puck.

“They play a lot of offense. They don’t play a lot of defense,” Stone said. “Because they’re great skaters and handle the puck so well, they have possession of the puck more than anyone else does. Through pressure and good defense, picking pockets and great backchecking efforts, you can take the puck possession and time away from them. They’re a very good team top to bottom, no question. But it’s an opportunity for us to capitalize on their weaknesses and hopefully expose them a little bit because we do have a very powerful lineup to go head-to-head with them.

“I’ve done film study, more than I’ve probably done in 11 years of coaching…. Every team has weaknesses. It’s just a matter of on a given day finding out which ones they are. My hope is that they’re going to have to play a lot of defense, and they’re not accustomed to having to play a lot of defense. If we keep things simple, bring the puck to the net, they’re going to have to expend a tremendous amount of energy playing some defense as well. We know what they’re capable of doing offensively. I’m anxious to see how well they play defense.”

Minnesota counters that its team defense and goaltending have been underrated all season.

“The team we’ve had this year has the most depth we’ve ever had in every position and I have a lot of confidence in our goaltender,” said Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson. “We have a lot of unsung heroes. Our goalie does a great job for us, but I don’t know everyone outside of our team realizes that.”

“I think a lot of people see our team as our top line and our defense don’t get appreciated as much as it should,” said defenseman Lyndsay Wall. ” I think our team appreciates everyone on our team, I think it’s the outside, the team’s we face–they just really focus on Wendell, Darwitz, and Stephens. They just underestimate the rest of our team in general, not just our D but our second and third lines. I think our D as a unit has a done a good job all year keeping the teams to minimal shots and Jody Horak and our other two lines have also done their fair share of work.”

Top Line Catches Up?

Back when Minnesota beat Harvard 5-3, the learning curve for the Crimson’s top line was steeper. Nicole Corriero, Sarah Vaillancourt and Julie Chu had only played together for a few weeks. Minnesota’s Kelly Stephens, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell had played together for some part of two seasons. The Crimson top unit has come a long way since then at both ends of the ice as players have adjusted to life without Kazmaier winning defenseman Angela Ruggiero.

“In November it was almost a transition time,” Chu said. “Losing Angela back there, you take that for granted sometimes when the puck goes in the zone, next thing you know, it’s coming back out and going the other way. It was just a transition time going to take care of our end and making sure we do the little things right — keep the body in front of us, contain that puck and when we get a chance to break it out, we really jump up as a line of three as opposed to just one person or two people, which is what I thought we did more in the beginning of the season. With that you’re not going to get much of an attack going one-on-two versus a three-on-two or three-on-three.”

Harvard coach Katey Stone broke up the Crimson top line in November when the team was struggling. The message sent has resonated to this day.

“We put them together and it wasn’t working for them because they were trying to do different things on their own,” Stone said. “They needed time off to appreciate being together. Now they just love it. They’ve appreciated the opportunity they’ve had to play together this year and they’ve made the most of it.”

“We were more like three individuals playing with each other,” Chu said. “Coach broke us up, and that was a wakeup call. If we want to play together, we’ve got to get together and play together as a group and come together as a line. Since Christmas, we’ve really stepped it up in practices and in games. We’ve been moving the puck well, but we’ve also taken the time to goof around with each other, doing fake celebrations or what not. I think that’s part of it, we’re all out there for each other and trying to build each other up. It’s not about individual efforts any more. It wasn’t necessarily in the beginning, but that’s how it came off because we weren’t really meshing.”

Stone expects that for much of the game the two top lines will battle-head-to-head, and she likes the matchup: “I’m sure they’ll see quite a bit of time against the Wendell, Darwitz, Stephens line. I can’t guarantee we’re going to match the entire game. We didn’t in November. To be honest with you, they were more concerned about who we were throwing on the ice back then in that game. They matched with us. It’s going to depend on how everybody plays. We make decisions on where the puck is. They have the last change, so it will be a little tricky for us. But it’ll be nice to have some breaks with TV timeouts to make some adjustments.

“Again, I think these guys match up really well with them – speed, hands, they play great defense. You’re probably going to see them out there a lot with that line.”

Holding On

In each of Harvard’s two NCAA championship losses, Nicole Corriero scored second period goals to put the Crimson ahead. Harvard could not hold on to the lead and entered the second intermission tied each time. Could better conditioning help the Crimson this season?

“The beginning of the season was a tough part for us, losing those six games,” Chu said. “We had a week of practice right before Christmas break and I don’t think any of us were satisfied with where we were in our conditioning, play and team dynamic in general. Coach kind of set a precedent in that UNH loss when she came back next practice. It wasn’t much fun to be part of that practice. It’s almost like the Coach Stone skating boot camp there. It consisted of sprinting, skating and a little more sprinting. As much as we don’t like to admit it, I think that’s the reason we’re here is because of that effort.”

Special Teams

Harvard will have to do better job of staying out of the box than in the semifinals. The Crimson took 11 penalties that game, a lot of them while forechecking.

“The best way to prevent a power play No. 1 is to stay out of the penalty box, and we talked about that,” Stone said. “We could have done a better job of that yesterday so we’re going to clean up our act a bit. Then we’re just going to figure out how to beat them and how to stop them as hopefully we’ll have a couple opportunities on the power play and they’ll have to do the same for us.”

“Since Christmas we have the best power play in the country and probably one of the best penalty kills in the country and that’s gotten us to this point. We’ve had to kill a lot of penalties because we’ve played really aggressively.”

Harvard’s power play units scored two goals to none for the Gophers in the 2004 NCAA final last year (one Harvard goal came just after the power play expired). The teams each had a power play goal in their meeting last November.

“Specials teams will be, as they have been in all the big games this year, very crucial,” Halldorson said. “I think we did a good job against Dartmouth, knowing what they were trying to do and then counteracting that. We don’t want back-door passes where Corriero just taps the puck in. She has had a great season this year doing that. We can’t give up those kinds of goals –we’re going to make them work for every goal they get.”

Notebook: Northeast Regional Semifinals

By Juan Martinez and Jayson Moy
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Streak Buster

When Denver rookie defenseman Andrew Thomas scored the Pioneers’ first goal of the game at 5:35 of the first period it snapped Bemidji netminder Matt Climie’s shutout streak. The rookie goaltender had not allowed a tally in 177 minutes, 41 seconds, dating back to March 5 when Air Force’s Brian Gineo scored in the first period of the Beavers’ 4-1 victory.

The streak wasn’t an aberration for Climie. The Leduc, Alb., native entered the NCAA Northeast Regional with a 1.69 goals against average — fourth-best in the country — and a .916 save percentage in 20 games this season. Not only was his GAA coming in the lowest in school history, but he has a Bemidji State rookie record four shutouts and a few weeks ago became the first CHA goalie to post back-to-back zeroes in conference tournament action.

Setting the Bar

With his assist on the Beavers’ first goal, senior blueliner John Haider set the school mark for career points by a defenseman. It was his 56th point of his career and 20th this season.

In addition, Bemidji senior Brendan Cook’s game-tying goal in the third period gave him 40 points on the season. The accomplishment made him the first-ever Division I 40-point scorer in BSU history.

Rotation Game

Denver coach George Gwozdecky has no desire to mess with a good thing. As he has done all year, the bench boss will continue his goaltender rotation Sunday when rookie Peter Mannino returns between the pipes against New Hampshire.

The freshman, who has a better GAA (2.27) and save percentage (.921) than teammate Glenn Fisher, made school history in the WCHA championship game against Colorado College. Mannino posted his school-record third consecutive shutout in the 1-0 victory. His previous blankings came against Michigan Tech (March 12) and CC (March 4).

Back in Action?

After serving WCHA and team-imposed suspensions for his hit on North Dakota’s Robbie Bina, Denver rookie Geoff Paukovich may play in the regional final against UNH. Head coach George Gwozdecky, while saying he has yet to make up his mind on whether Paukovich will be back in the lineup Sunday, admitted that that is the likely scenario.

Fan Friendly

As the Denver-Bemidji State game remained close and the minutes disappeared from the game clock, the growing crowd began to cheer for the underdog Beavers. Eventually, chants of “Let’s Go Beavers” echoed throughout the Mullins Center late in the third period and into overtime.

“When the game was 3-3,” said BSU head coach Tom Serratore, “I thought we were going to win and 4,500 people thought so too. It was neat seeing the people cheer for us. I told the guys, ‘We just turned 4,500 into green and white [fans].'”

First Period Is The Best Period

Harvard continues to succeed in the first period, in terms of goals against. All season long, the Crimson have allowed goals in the first period just 11 times, and only once in the last 12 games.

The Third Too

New Hampshire, meanwhile, loves the third period. The Wildcats scored 55 of their 161 goals in the third this season, outscoring their opponents 55-30 in the frame. That pattern held Saturday, as the Wildcats notched the third period’s lone goal to send the game to overtime.

New Regional Record

When Harvard’s Alex Meintel scored eight seconds after UNH’s Sean Collins, he set a regional record for consecutive goals by teams in regional play. The previous record was nine seconds, set in 1992 when Northern Michigan’s Scott Beattie scored after Clarkson’s Scott Thomas.

The mark is not a tournament record, though, as that honor belongs to Michigan Tech and Minnesota from 1981. Aaron Broten scored seven seconds after Bill Terry tallied for the Huskies in a national semifinal. It does, though, tie a mark set in the 1950 championship game between Boston University and Colorado College. Jack Garrity scored eight seconds before Tony Frasca did for the Tigers.

The eight-second lapse blew away the Northeast Regional record. Only in its third year of existence, the Northeast Regional had a previous record 28 seconds set in 2003 when Brendan Bernakevitch scored for Harvard after Brian Collins did for BU.

We Meet — 11 Years Later

11 years ago, these same two teams met in the NCAA tournament in Albany, N.Y. The Crimson came away with a 7-1 win that day. That also was the last time the Crimson beat the Wildcats, as the Wildcats have now won six straight against the Crimson.

Other Marks

• At 75:06, the UNH-Harvard game was the longest in the Northeast Regional’s short history.

• Sean Collins’ goal and assist tied him with Eric Boguniecki for 12th all-time in UNH scoring, with 173 points. He is one point behind Jon Fontas, Frank Roy and Joe Flanagan for ninth place.

Notebook: East Regional Final

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The first loss for a goaltender is one of those rites of passage anyone who gets between the pipes has to endure. For a position that demands as much mentally as it does physically, how a goalie responds to defeat is as a big a test as his puck-stopping acumen.

For Boston College would-be freshman phenom Cory Schneider, that moment won’t come until next year. His first loss came Saturday night, in the NCAA East Regional against North Dakota.

It didn’t take long to discover that it wasn’t Schneider’s night. Travis Zajac pounced on a rebound 42 seconds into the game that found the back of the net. A defensive breakdown led to another tally in the first period and Drew Stafford made it 3-0 before 11 minutes had elapsed in the game, making a great move on a breakaway.

“Every time we made a mistake early it was in the back of the net before we even knew it,” said BC coach Jerry York. “It was a hard game for [Schneider]. On the first goal, there were three or four whacks at a rebound.”

Schneider did not play poorly, and made some remarkable saves to give the Eagles a chance to come back. But BC could draw no closer than 4-2. He finally relented in the third period under a barrage of odd-man rushes, forcing York to pull him in favor of senior Matti Kaltiainen.

It happens to everyone.

“I thought there were seven to eight minutes left and I went to Kaltiainen and asked him if he wanted to finish his career on the ice,” York said. “It wasn’t in deference to [Schneider’s] confidence.”

13-1-4 is a heckuva first-year record. That “one” seems a bit bigger right now.

Through the Beanpot, Schneider platooned with Kaltiainen, missing some time at Christmas to play for Team USA at the World Junior Championships. He was injured at the FleetCenter, but came back at the end of the year and finally dislodged Kaltiainen in the Hockey East quarterfinal.

He didn’t have the game of his career Friday night against Mercyhurst either, but he stopped several breakaways in the third period to preserve the 5-4 victory.

As a sophomore next year, Schneider will come into camp as the clear number-one goalie. He’ll have one more freshman test to pass in October.

“He’s going to be a terrific goaltender,” York said. “It may not seem so right now, but these things can be used as a positive as the weeks go on.”

Parise

With the win, UND goaltender Jordan Parise eliminated some personal demons for him and his team at the NCAA regionals.

At the West Regional in Colorado Springs last year, Parise surrendered just one goal in two games, but wound up losing to eventual champion Denver 1-0 in the final. Though he may have given up two more goals than a year ago, Parise made sure that the Fighting Sioux advanced to the Frozen Four, making 33 saves on Saturday to be named tournament MOP.

“The big question going into this year was Parise,” York said. “His performance as a goalie making big save after big save put [North Dakota] on another level.”

Parise’s weekend continued his dominant second half of the season for the Fighting Sioux. The goal he surrendered to Chris Collins in the second period snapped a 126:25 shutout streak. He had last given up a goal in the second period of the WCHA third-place game.

“I’m very relaxed when I play, just taking it one shot at a time,” Parise said. “I’m not trying to look too far in the future.”

Penalty Kill to Perfection

After killing off 10 penalties against Boston University Friday night, Rory McMahon remarked that though they practice the penalty kill quite a bit, the Sioux had better not do it against Boston College, which has a much better power play than the Terriers.

Maybe instead of directing his comments to the media, McMahon should have told teammate Matt Greene. The defenseman took five penalties as part of a team effort to give the Eagles nine power plays.

UND did, however, give a command performance while shorthanded. The Fighting Sioux killed off all of the Eagle power plays, including two five-on-threes.

“Our players fought through a lot of adversity tonight,” Hakstol said. “Penalty killing obviously starts in net … Come playoff time special teams often make the difference.”

Do You Practice The Five-On-Three?

Aside from Zajac’s goal in the second period, it wasn’t a very good night for either power play. The Sioux went 1-for-6 with the man advantage as BC killed two five-on-three power plays themselves, making both teams a combined 0-for-4 while up a pair of skaters

Advanced Coaching

With 3:21 left in the second period, Hakstol smelled blood and called a timeout. Boston College had just taken a penalty to give the Sioux 1:04 of a two-man advantage and he wanted to rest his top power-play unit and set up the finishing blow for the Eagles’ tournament.

The Sioux had their chance with a de facto three-on-one in front of the net, but somehow Schneider managed to cover up the puck.

Under Review

Off a two-on-one rush, Zajac led Colby Genoway too far with the pass. Genoway picked up the puck along the goal line and just threw a puck on net that surprised Schneider, finding a way through his legs for an improbable goal.

Or did it?

After the second replay on the DCU Center screen, the BC bench erupted in protest and a lengthy replay ensued. Apparently, the net lifted up and the puck slid underneath it. Once the goal had been waived off, the assistant referees scoured the net for a hole the puck could fit through, but didn’t find any.

UND: We Don’t Know Drama

North Dakota’s 6-3 rout of Boston College was the only non one-goal game of the day. All of the other games were decided by just one goal, with three going to overtime. The Fighting Sioux spared the fans who made the trek from Grand Forks the suspense. By the third period, they were already planning their celebrations on Shrewsbury Street.

Beanpot

A one-liner overheard in the press room from one media relations person: After North Dakota defeated Boston University and Boston College in one weekend, “It’s North Dakota’s first Beanpot.”

Sioux Return Home

With the victory, the Fighting Sioux head back to the Frozen Four for the fifteenth time and the first since 2000-01, when it lost 3-2 in overtime, ironically to the Eagles. North Dakota has seven NCAA championships, second on the all-time list to Michigan.

All-Regional Team

G Jordan Parise, North Dakota
D Nick Fuher, North Dakota
D T.J. Kemp, Mercyhurst
F Colby Genoway, North Dakota
F Travis Zajac, North Dakota
F Brian Boyle, Boston College

Most Outstanding Player: Parise

Notebook: Midwest Regional Final

By Jeremy Potter
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A Bit of History

Saturday’s meeting was the 95th matchup between Colorado College and Michigan, with the Wolverines owning a 57-35-3 edge against the Tigers. The two teams have now met seven times in the NCAA tournament. For the Tigers, Saturday’s victory was its first win in the NCAA tournament against Michigan since 1957.

A Bit of History — Part II

The Wolverines and Tigers have played against each other four times for the national championship. Michigan beat CC in the 1952, 1955, and 1996 title games, while the Tigers beat the Wolverines for the national title in 1957.

Go Get ‘Em Tigers

With Friday’s win, the Tigers have now secured a berth in the national quarterfinals in all nine of their trips to the NCAA tournament since the 1994-1995 season. CC has advanced beyond the quarterfinals in three of those years — 1996, 1997, and 2005.

Super Stretch

With its loss, Michigan’s 14-game (12-0-2) unbeaten streak, the Wolverines’ longest since the 1996-97 season, came to an end. Prior to Saturday evening’s defeat, the Wolverines had not dropped a decision since a home loss to Northern Michigan in late January, the only home loss for Michigan this season.

The Wolverine State

Saturday’s game also ended Michigan’s 12-game win streak in NCAA regional games played in the state of Michigan. The team is 13-2 all time at regionals held within its home state, including a 4-1 mark at Van Andel Arena.

Terrific Tambellini

Jeff Tambellini set a Midwest regional record Friday for most points in single game with two goals and two assists.

Lost in the Shuffle

Fans attending the regional semifinals in Grand Rapids on Friday were unable to buy one important piece of memorabilia: a game program. The programs were inadvertently sent to Amherst, Mass., where East Regional workers immediately overnighted the books back to Grand Rapids in time for Saturday’s contest.

All-Regional Team

F Trevor Frischmon (CC)
F Marty Sertich (CC)
F Jeff Tambellini (UM)
D Brandon Rogers (UM)
D Brian Salcido (CC)
G Al Montoya (UM)

Most Outstanding Player: Frischmon

In The Grand Scheme Of Things

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For some fans, the Bemidji State broadcast would be viewed later on tape. For others, the thought would never arise to record a hockey game, even one as important as the school’s first Division I NCAA tournament appearance.

There were funerals to attend. There was grief to express, comfort to provide, horrors to exorcise.

Five days earlier, a shooting in Red Lake Nation in northern Minnesota had left nine dead and five wounded. A student at Red Lake High School, after killing members of his own family, opened fire on random targets at the school before taking his own life. The toll included five students, a teacher and a security guard.

The Bemidji region includes the Red Lake, White Earth and Leech Lake Indian Reservations, and the university counts 150 Native Americans among its student body. School publications which refer to its multicultural heritage list American Indian influences before those of European and Canadian origin.

As a result, the shootings hit close to home as the Beavers prepared for their first NCAA appearance since moving to Division I in 1999. To pay tribute to those whose lives were taken, “RL” stickers were affixed to Bemidji’s helmets.

“Hockey seems so small when you factor in that horrific incident,” BSU coach Tom Serratore said. “Games come and go and after [time passes] they don’t mean a lot. Something like this tragedy is going to affect our area for a long time. In the grand scheme of things, this game isn’t a big deal.”

On the ice, the Beavers faced stiff odds, going against the number-two overall seed and defending national champion Denver Pioneers. None of which compared to the overwhelming odds faced by some members of Red Lake Nation as they struggled to hold their lives together following the shootings.

Shane Holman vied to be a hero in this game, scoring just 1:20 into the first period to give Bemidji hopes of an upset.

But doesn’t the heroism of a goalscorer border on absurdity when compared to that of Derrick Brun, the security guard who allowed 20 Red Lake students to escape to safety by distracting the gunman, an act which cost Brun his life?

“This is nothing,” Holman said. “This doesn’t compare at all. This is just a game compared to what [those families] are going through in real life. This means absolutely nothing compared to that.”

Viewed through the Big Picture lens of life-and-death, athletic events don’t hold up well. Bemidji State would eventually lose a heartbreaker at 3:26 of overtime, but such a loss pales in comparison to the losses of the families affected by the Red Lake shooting.

“Sports are sports,” Luke Erickson said. “Any time there’s a [tragedy] it puts it into perspective. You play hockey for the love and passion of the game. There will be more games for us next year and, for the seniors, hopefully they’ll move on and have a great career whatever they do.

“But for the families who lost their loved ones, you can’t replace that. Overall, this is just a game.”

After all, how can you compare a team’s penalty killers looking to make it through the next two minutes of an opponent’s power play with parents who have just lost their sons and daughters? Those haunted mothers and fathers are just looking to make it through the next two minutes, and then the two minutes after that and then the two minutes after that. All the while not sure that they really want to.

The answer is that you can’t compare the two. But the answer is also that precious few pursuits hold up under the Big Picture lens of life-and-death.

Wins and losses can be important even at the same time that they aren’t, in the cosmic sense, Important.

Games give us happiness and excitement. They involve sacrificing for a common goal and pursuing excellence. And as Erickson put it, “You play hockey for the love and passion of the game.” The same holds true for fans, coaches and even some of those in the media.

Cosmic questions aside, love and passion are more than enough.

Thanks to Jayson Moy for his assistance.

The Rochester Connection

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The distance between Rochester, Minn., and Colorado Springs, Colo., is 729 miles as the crow flies, but to get from the one city to the other, ice is a more convenient medium than air.

Colorado College’s captain, junior Mark Stuart, and sophomores John Brunkhorst and Scott Thauwald are all Rochester natives, and are among seven players from Rochester to have worn the Tiger jersey, including defensemen Andrew Canzanello (2000-2004) and Mike Colgan (1997-2001), and Mark Stuart’s older brothers, Mike (1998-2002) and Colin (2003-2004).

Former CC captain Colin Stuart is part of a lengthy Tiger connection with Rochester, Minn (photo: Jason Waldowski).

Former CC captain Colin Stuart is part of a lengthy Tiger connection with Rochester, Minn (photo: Jason Waldowski).

Mike was a blueliner, and Colin was the first Stuart to captain the Tigers.

“We just have had, historically, good luck with Rochester kids,” said CC head coach, Scott Owens. “They’re a good fit. They’re sound academically, quite a few of the kids we have are spinoff kids from the Mayo Clinic … and we like the mentality of the kids, and they’re good hockey players.”

The Mayo Clinic connection is a strong one. Dr. Michael J. Stuart — patriarch of the Stuart hockey clan, which includes Cristin Stuart, a freshman defenseman for the Boston College women’s team — is Professor of Orthopedics and Co-Director of Sports Medicine at the Mayo Clinic and the Chief Medical Officer of USA Hockey.

Dr. Stuart, who also served as team physician for the 2003 and 2004 U.S. National Junior squads, gives much of the credit for Rochester’s youth hockey success to coaches Kirk Gill and Todd Lampman.

“I think Rochester youth hockey in general is the reason that our boys have had a lot of success,” said Stuart. “I think it has to do with the commitment that the coaching community in Rochester has.”

Gill is the father of former Notre Dame captain Aaron Gill and current Fighting Irish forward Tony. Lampman is the father of former Nebraska-Omaha players Josh and Bryce Lampman.

Rochester’s contributions to Division I hockey don’t end with the Stuarts, Gills, and Lampmans. No fewer than 21 D-I players have come out of Rochester youth hockey, including current Lake Superior State goaltender Jeff Jakaitis, former Findlay assistant captain Nate Markus, former Ohio State defenseman Reed Whiting, former Minnesota Golden Gopher Jake Taylor — Bryce Lampman’s teammate with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League — and former Minnesota State Maverick B.J. Abel, now with the Trenton Titans of the AHL.

“If you look at the AHL and Division I hockey, Rochester is well-represented,” said Dr. Stuart.

Nine years separate the oldest from the youngest of this batch of players, but many of them grew up playing on the same teams together, including the elder Gill and Whiting, friends since kindergarten. Gill also credits the Rochester coaches with the city’s remarkable youth hockey success.

“We never had captains growing up,” said Gill. “They expected everyone to be leaders. There was a good core group of good players, so they never thought of one single guy as a leader. It really taught us how to be good team players. That’s what’s helped us become the players we are today.”

“We never had team issues,” said Whiting. “There was just no question about selfishness. No problems with coaches, guys being a team, parents never had problems — I’m talking none. We were always a team.”

All of that togetherness is another reason for the area’s ability to produce outstanding hockey players. “They always had their peers,” said Dr. Stuart. “They always play together.”

“And they’re all good friends, no matter where they end up going to school,” added Owens.

Owens also thinks that the nature of the community helps to make Rochester such a factory for high-level players.

“I think Rochester has always been one of the top-10 most livable cities. I think they pay attention to their extracurricular activities. Hockey’s been something that’s been played there in a little bit of a white-collar town. I think that they have quality coaches and the youth program is good. I just think they’re dialed in to play hockey and get a good education.”

The success of Rochester at preparing players for competitive hockey may no longer be a secret, but Owens says that Colorado College may have the current advantage in drawing natives from the upper-Midwest city to the Rocky Mountains.

“In the old days, it seemed like Rochester kids used to end up in Wisconsin a lot, and now I think because of some of the success we’ve had and the way we pay attention to it, kids that have that mindset to get a good education and play quality hockey [come to CC]. We watch [Rochester youth hockey] very closely for top-end guys and for depth guys.

“Once a few guys start having a good experience, that takes care of itself.”

Unsung Hero

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At the end of last season, Hobey Baker finalist Zach Parise decided that his goal-scorer’s touch better matched a New Jersey Devils uniform than North Dakota green. Immediately, Parise left his brother, goaltender Jordan, with a huge question — who would provide the offensive support that he needed?

The Fighting Sioux had plenty of answers. Of course, Brady Murray was expected to build off his 46-point sophomore season. Drew Stafford had just finished a 31-point rookie year and seemed poised to break out. Coach Dave Hakstol had recruited a pair of studs in Rastislav Spirko and Travis Zajac.

The young guys were ready: it was not a matter of if, it just was a matter of whom. And though nobody, of course, could fill Parise’s skates, North Dakota has its answer. It wouldn’t be playing for a spot in the Frozen Four Saturday night without him.

Colby Genoway.

Colby who?

Colby Genoway has stepped up to spark the Sioux this season (photo: Melissa Wade).

Colby Genoway has stepped up to spark the Sioux this season (photo: Melissa Wade).

Amidst the high-profile youth in Grand Forks, N.D., Genoway, a senior, has emerged as the team’s leading scorer. With two goals and an assist Friday night in No. 10 North Dakota’s 4-0 win over No. 11 Boston University at the East Regional, Genoway now has 42 points for the year.

Murray, the projected team leader, has been bothered by injuries all season. In his absence, Stafford, Spirko, and Zajac all have had fine years. Still, Genoway, a veteran who is not even an assistant captain on the team, outranks them all.

Genoway has more than doubled his career point total this season. Enrolling at North Dakota after playing in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Genoway had to sit out his freshman season. In his two previous years, Genoway had amassed just 12 goals and 25 assists. Though 35 of those points came last year, his name got lost in the shuffle when examining the rest of the talented Fighting Sioux.

Genoway was seen largely as a support player, more known for assists than goals — though he certainly had his moments, notching back-to-back five-point weekends against Denver and Minnesota as a junior.

He now has seven goals in his last seven games.

“Colby had to sit out his first year and since then he’s taken a big step forward,” Hakstol said. “He had a very good season last year, but he didn’t have the finish that he would have liked. He continues to do a great job on the power play at the point and five-on-five he’s starting to bury the puck.”

Genoway’s metamorphosis into a full-fledged threat was on full display Friday night.

Standing at the top of the crease to BU goaltender John Curry’s right, he one-timed a cross-ice pass from Rory McMahon at 4:01 of the second period that just slipped by Curry.

Later in the period, he returned the favor. Off the cycle, he picked up the puck in the corner and instantaneously slid a pass across the crease where McMahon could easily slam it home. 3-0 North Dakota. Game over.

In case you weren’t impressed, he also finished a sweet breakaway on a classic forehand-backhand deke.

“If I knew why I was scoring, I would have been scoring a lot more.” Genoway said. “Part of it came in switching me from center to wing. It has been getting me more chances and the bounces are going my way.”

How does a player amass 42 points at a high-profile program like North Dakota and have nobody take notice? Consistency.

Genoway has had at least one point in 28 of North Dakota’s 41 games, but before Friday night had only had more than two points twice, with one of them being way back on Oct. 22 against Minnesota.

While most of college hockey paid attention to the combination of Spirko-Zajac-Stafford, Genoway kept quietly contributing to North Dakota’s 22-14-5 record.

“Genoway came here and he’s continued to work very hard,” Hakstol said. “He’s built his performance up … Obviously, he’s a real big part of this team.”

Few have been heralding Genoway, ranked just 19th overall in WCHA scoring, for individual honors like Parise. However, he has a chance to have something on his resume that Parise didn’t accomplish in his two years of school.

If North Dakota defeats Boston College Saturday night, he will have helped earned his team a spot in the Frozen Four, a place that the Sioux haven’t been since they lost to BC in the championship in 2001.

Maybe in Columbus, somebody will notice him.

Paradise Lost

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It’s tough to write about sometimes, because you feel for the kids. After all, it is just a game, but sometimes, it can be a little more. It’s life, especially for seniors. Especially for the Harvard seniors.

Because for four straight years Harvard has gone to the NCAA tournament, and four times the last period has beaten the Crimson, and in turn the Crimson seniors.

Four years ago, it was Maine which defeated Harvard in overtime to send the Crimson home. The next year, the Crimson thought things could get better, and went into the third period tied with Boston University, 3-3. But the Crimson allowed three goals in the third and lost 6-4.

Tom Cavanagh (in net) and Dov Grumet-Morris saw their Crimson careers come to an end (photo: Melissa Wade).

Tom Cavanagh (in net) and Dov Grumet-Morris saw their Crimson careers come to an end (photo: Melissa Wade).

Last year the Crimson had a 4-1 lead in the third period over Maine. But once again, the opponent rallied, and four Black Bear goals later, the Crimson were sent home after the first round once again.

This season, there was optimism that perhaps with a change in systems, with a new head coach, that something different could happen for this senior class.

“That was the question of the week,” said senior captain Noah Welch.

“I’ve been asked that all week,” said head coach Ted Donato. “Going into the season, we knew that all of us were comfortable with not just the 20 guys on the ice, but with any 20 guys on the ice.”

Midway through 2004-05, thoughts of a different ending were there. The Crimson had defeated Boston College, Boston University and Maine in nonconference action. The Crimson were off to a great start, with a few hurdles cleared, or perhaps demons that Harvard was exorcising.

Then the Beanpot came. Two losses later the Crimson players were shaking their heads, wondering if they had indeed exorcised the demons.

As the rest of the regular season went by, Harvard was in the thick of it in the ECACHL again. The Crimson finished second in the ECACHL in the regular season and the tournament, both times to Cornell. And last Sunday, Harvard was seeded to play in the East once again in the NCAAs.

It was another chance, especially for the seniors, to erase the disappointments of the past three years.

Saturday, the Crimson had the lead 1-0 through one period. The Crimson had the lead 2-1 through two periods. But once again, the Crimson allowed an opponent to tie it in the third, as Preston Callander scored for New Hampshire.

The demons were on their way back. Would they finish the job or would they be gone?

Daniel Winnik of New Hampshire answered that question when he tipped a pass through the legs of Harvard senior netminder Dov Grumet-Morris, giving the Wildcats the 3-2 overtime win.

Harvard, and its seniors, once again felt the pain.

“To be honest with you, I’m still in shock right now,” said Donato. “There’s going to be a delayed sadness coming about in a few days.”

“We left it out there,” said Welch. “I’m upset right now. Upset that my college career is over. … The game of hockey is a lot of swings. We had momentum for most of the game. We had no doubts going to overtime.”

“This senior group meant the world to me,” said Donato. “This was my first year coaching — this group, they will always be special to me.”

This senior class for Harvard went to four straight ECACHL championship games, winning two. They went to four straight NCAA tournaments, but felt the pain of the final period all four times. They won’t get another chance, but they can be comforted knowing that they gave it their all.

And come autumn, everyone else will get a chance to exorcise their demons.

“Every year you get a chance to write a new script,” said Donato. “We’d like to write a happy ending for ourselves.”

Notebook: West Regional Semifinals

By Scott Brown and Tim Brule
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Looking For The Power

Gophers head coach Don Lucia looked all game Saturday for the right combination to spark the power play, which went 0-for-9.

After a couple of fruitless efforts, Lucia began changing up the power-play groups, then mix-and-matched players in an attempt to locate a combination that clicked. As a result, a number of Gopher youngsters saw time on the power play.

“You saw a lot of freshmen on our power play, and they were a little jittery,” said Lucia of the new groupings.

Doing It With Defense

Maine had been a notably defensive team all season, which didn’t change a bit in the regional semifinal. The Black Bears’ leading scorer coming into the weekend was Derek Damon, with a modest 27 points.

That left the Maine blueliners, led by Mike Lundin, and goaltender Jimmy Howard as the cornerstones of Maine’s success. With Howard’s 1.93 goals against average and .922 save percentage this season, Maine was fifth in the nation in goals against per game coming into Saturday.

Conversely, Minnesota’s offense ranked third in the WCHA and fifth in the nation, at 3.66 goals per game. The Gophers have three players with 40 or more points this season: Tyler Hirsch, Danny Irmen and Ryan Potulny — none of whom had a point in the Gophers’ 1-0 win Saturday.

Tourney Trips

Saturday, the Black Bears made their seventh consecutive NCAA appearance, the second-longest active streak among all teams. Minnesota’s current streak is five, good for third-best. Ohio State appeared for the third straight time, and Cornell was back after missing the tournament in 2004.

The longest current streak? Michigan, with 15 consecutive NCAA bids.

Settling It On The Ice

With its win versus Ohio State, Cornell earned a chance to prove that it deserved the No. 1 seed that Minnesota claimed, by beating Minnesota at Mariucci on its home ice.

The Lynah faithful were vocal in their displeasure over Cornell being passed up as a one seed. Now the fifth-overall seed Big Red will have a chance to settle it on the ice against the Gophers.

“The media all year long have questioned who we played and where we played,” said Cornell coach Mike Schafer.

The Big Red is first in the nation in goals against per game, scoring margin, power-play conversion rate and penalty-killing success. Coincidentally, Cornell also sported the nation’s best winning percentage (.833) entering the weekend. Barring defensive meltdowns in its remaining games, Cornell’s scoring defense would be the best in college hockey in the post-Depression era.

The current record-holders are the 2000-01 Michigan State team, and Cornell’s own 2002-03 squad. Both allowed only 1.36 goals against per game, while the 2004-05 Big Red had permitted just 1.24 per game entering the weekend.

All Gone And One Remaining

With Cornell’s win over Ohio State, the CCHA has been eliminated from this year’s NCAA tournament. Cornell is the ECACHL’s lone remaining team.

“We came a long way,” said Ohio State senior captain JB Bittner, who played his last game in an OSU uniform Saturday. “With these guys they [the Buckeyes] have coming back, I see no reason they can’t make it to the Frozen Four [next year].”

First Things First

Cornell’s comeback win upped the Big Red’s record when its opponent scores first this season to 7-4-1. Conversely, the Big Red is 20-0-2 when scoring first.

Out Of The Box

The Buckeyes were among most-penalized teams in the nation this season, although their opponents often went into the sin bin with them. Saturday, though, OSU took just three penalties for six minutes.

Minnesota Missing

Two key contributors missed the game for Minnesota. Defenseman Alex Goligoski is out with a wrist injury, while Tyler Hirsch was absent after his well-documented postgame display at the WCHA Final Five last weekend, in which Hirsch took a penalty-shot run at the net before crashing into the boards, dropping his stick at center ice and leaving for the locker room.

“I know Alex won’t play [Sunday]. We don’t know yet if Tyler will or will not,” said Lucia.

Quotable

“It’s good for the game [of college hockey] when the one-four games are tight.” — Maine coach Tim Whitehead, on the near-upsets in the No. 1 seeds’ regional games this weekend.

“I’d rather be winning 9-0.” — Gopher netminder Kellen Briggs, after it was suggested that a defensive duel might play into a goaltender’s game plan.

“I think Detroit needs to sign him now.” — Lucia, with a quip on Jimmy Howard’s prospects after the junior’s sterling performance in net.

“I don’t think we did everything we could have done, because if we did everything we could have, we would have won.” — Bittner, on OSU’s loss.

Not A Snowball’s Chance

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They were the longest shot in the tournament. The 16th seed in a 16-team draw. As a candidate for an at-large berth, the Mercyhurst Lakers wouldn’t have made the Top 25.

They got into the nationals in completely legitimate fashion, by winning the Atlantic Hockey tournament, but their season was supposed to end in the East Regional at the hands of Boston College. And not with a bang, but a whimper. Mercyhurst was supposed to be synonymous for mincemeat going against the top-seeded Eagles.

David Wrigley is congratulated after scoring the game's first goal Friday (photos: Melissa Wade).

David Wrigley is congratulated after scoring the game’s first goal Friday (photos: Melissa Wade).

It was David vs. Goliath. Team USA, circa 1980, against the Russians. The Joe Namath Jets facing the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Fortunately for Mercyhurst, somebody forgot to tell the Lakers that they didn’t have a snowball’s chance in you-know-where. They scored just 27 seconds into the game, the third-fastest goal in East Regional history. Seven minutes later, they answered a BC tally to regain the lead, 2-1. Every time their highly-respected opponent rallied, the underdogs fought back.

Ultimately, despite a heart-and-soul effort, they fell to the more talented Eagles, 5-4. In scoring four goals against BC, Mercyhurst accomplished what only one team, Massachusetts-Lowell, had done all year. Over the last 14 minutes of regulation, the Lakers generated seven golden opportunities to tie it, including three breakaways and a Jamie Hunt shot from the doorstep with 22 seconds remaining.

“We clearly had a tiger by the tail for a good part of that game,” Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin said. “It was a great game. We’re obviously disappointed that our season has come to an end. We knew we were out with the big boys here in this tournament, but I’m really so proud of our team. It was my honor and privilege to be here tonight.”

It reminded many of Mercyhurst’s near-upset of overall number-one seed Michigan in 2001 as the first NCAA representative of Atlantic Hockey’s predecessor, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Again cast in the “snowball’s chance” role, the Lakers led 3-2 with 11 minutes left in regulation only to fall to the powerhouse Wolverines, 4-3.

“It was the same kind of game,” Gotkin said. “We scored early, had some momentum and started feeling good. We knew that the longer it went on and it didn’t get blown open, we knew we had a chance.”

Whether Mercyhurst had a chance or not had been a question in the early going even in the mind of a Laker or two.

Goaltender Mike Ella is helped off the ice here, but returned to keep the Lakers in the hunt.

Goaltender Mike Ella is helped off the ice here, but returned to keep the Lakers in the hunt.

Gotkin said, “One of our players said, ‘Coach, that number 10 — [6-foot-7 first-round NHL draft pick Brian Boyle] — is really big and really fast. I’m really nervous.’ I told him, ‘Now is no time. Get his autograph after the game.'”

With the confidence of a couple early leads, the Lakers forgot about high draft picks, number-one seedings and BC’s on-paper advantage. They gave the Eagles a run for their money down to the final second.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t pull off the miracle, but it’s going to happen,” Gotkin said. “Atlantic Hockey teams are getting better and better every year. The cat is out of the bag. I think it’s only a matter of time before one of our teams knocks off one of these big teams in a major tournament like this.”

So much for a snowball’s chance in you-know-where. So much for the top seed turning Mercyhurst into mincemeat. So much for “not with a bang, but a whimper.”

The Mercyhurst Lakers did not go gentle into that good night.

The NCAA tournament hasn’t seen the last of them.

Notebook: East Regional Semifinals

By Mike Volonnino and Jim Connelly
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Too Much Power

Boston College finished the game 3-for-11 with the man advantage, while Mercyhurst went 2-for-8. The teams at one point in the second period had scored five straight goals on the power play. Each team exhibited at least one highlight-reel goal, perhaps none better than Brian Boyle’s goal at 12:18 of the first period to even the contest at 2. Four Eagles touched the puck in a tic-tac-toe sequence culminating with Boyle roofing one under the crossbar.

“The penalties definitely affected our game,” said Mercyhurst forward David Wrigley. “We didn’t even make so many mistakes, but they have a really good power play.”

The expiration of the power plays proved almost as dangerous as their duration. The Lakers had three breakaways during the third period on skaters departing the box. T.J. Kemp and Scott Reynolds each had a one-on-one with BC goaltender Cory Schneider and the Eagle freshman was able to preserve the one-goal lead down the stretch.

Ella

When Mercyhurst goaltender Mike Ella limped off the ice with 5:59 left in the third period after going down awkwardly, the entire crowd gave him a rousing standing ovation in appreciation of a job well done. He had almost single-handedly given the Lakers a chance to win, having stopped 50 shots up to that point.

His replacement, Andy Franck, had not appeared since Feb. 18, a 4-3 loss to Connecticut. Patrick Eaves immediately tested him, booming a shot from the point that Franck calmly blocked into the corner.

Mercyhurst was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Ella returned 51 seconds later.

“My calf started to cramp up and when the Eagles pushed the puck up, my hamstring cramped and it really hurt to stand up,” Ella said. “Coach kind of massaged it and I was able to return.”

Ella’s 52 saves tied Chris Terreri of Providence for the seventh-most in NCAA play and the fourth-most in a regulation game.

More Injuries

Mercyhurst appeared to catch a break entering the NCAA regional with the high profile injuries to Boston College. However, Patrick Eaves (bruised lungs) and Stephen Gionta (separated shoulder) returned to the lineup to help the Eagles eke out the victory.

Eaves had missed the entire Hockey East tournament, while Gionta injured himself in the double-overtime win against Maine. Junior defenseman Peter Harrold remained on the disabled list with acute mononucleosis. His prognosis remains uncertain as to a possible return to the lineup this season.

Rent-a-Band

If you looked at the Mercyhurst band and thought the school had a bunch of Doogie Howsers, think again. The Lakers’ pep band could not endure the eight-hour bus ride, so rather than allow BC have the show to itself, the school paid local Shrewsbury High School to wear their colors and fill the DCU Center with the usual college cacophony.

The kiddies filled in admirably with renditions of standards like “The Hey Song” and “The Imperial March” from Star Wars as well as tunes less familiar to teenagers like Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana.”

Aces and Eights

Both schools took eight-game unbeaten streaks into the contest. Boston College extended that to 7-0-2, while Mercyhurst had been a perfect 8-0-0 in its last octet.

Final Numbers

Wrigley’s goal 27 seconds into the contest was the third-fastest in NCAA regional history. Meanwhile, a win would not only have been the Lakers’ first-ever NCAA tournament victory, but its first-ever against a Hockey East opponent

Friday Night Frights

For the second straight week, Friday night ended up a nightmare for Boston University, falling, 4-0, to North Dakota in the second semifinal. Last weekend the Terriers allowed New Hampshire to jump out to a 4-0 lead through two periods en route to a 5-2 win in the Hockey East semifinals. Friday, the Terriers spotted North Dakota a 3-0 advantage through two. It’s the fourth straight NCAA appearance for Boston University that has ended short of the Frozen Four. BU last reached the Frozen Four in 1997, losing to none other than North Dakota in the national championship game.

Upon Further Review

Instant replay, rarely used in college hockey except for televised tournament games, was a factor for the first time this year’s East Regional in the Boston University-North Dakota game.

After it looked like Boston University had pulled within a goal when Brian McConnell roofed a shot over Sioux goaltender Jordan Parise, replay disallowed the goal when it showed John Laliberte was in the crease as the shot was taken. All goals in NCAA tournament play are automatically reviewed. Video official Brendan Sheehy, director of officials for Hockey East, took little time to review the play before informing referee Matt Shegos of the decision.

Packing It In

The DCU Center packed a hefty crowd for Friday’s opening night of the regional tournament. A grand total of 8,360 packed the building, making the often-steamy building extra hot. The fact that the second game was a bit of a blowout helped empty the building long before the night’s festivities were finished.

Colorful Roy

Former BU Terrier Travis Roy, who was tragically injured 11 seconds into his first shift for the Terriers in 1996, was present not as a fan Friday night but as a sideline reporter for ESPN, which broadcast and distributed the game on newly-launched ESPNU as well as other regional sports networks.

Roy was paralyzed in his accident, which came against North Dakota, and remains confined to a wheelchair, but has always been thought of around the college game and sporting world as well-spoken and articulate.

Stingy

North Dakota goaltender Jordan Parise likes the NCAA tournament. The sophomore netminder has now played three NCAA tournament games and allowed a grand total of just one — count ’em, one — goal. Parise shut out Holy Cross, 3-0, in last year’s regional first round, but lost the following night, 1-0. His shutout of BU was the 29th in NCAA tournament history. Parise joins former Sioux standout Karl Goehring, Michigan’s Marty Turco and Denver’s Adam Berkhoel as the only goalies to post two career NCAA shutouts.

Quotable

“During the first period, one of my players came over to me and said ‘Coach, that No. 10 [Boyle] is really big and really fast and I’m really nervous.’ I told him, ‘Now is no time to be nervous. Get his autograph after the game.” — Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin on playing the number-one overall seed in the tournament.

“We went 0-for-100 on the power play, it seemed,” — BU coach Jack Parker on his team’s performance Friday. In reality the Terriers were 0-for-10 with the man advantage.

Bemidji Brings Tradition To Tournament

By Dave Starman
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Tom Serratore was on the bus from the airport in Hartford to his team’s hotel in Amherst, Mass. The flight was a charter from Bemidji, Minn., right into Connecticut’s capital city, and it carried the College Hockey America (CHA) champion Bemidji State Beavers towards a date with the NCAA’s defending champs, the Denver Pioneers.

However, that game was still 41 hours away, and the coach was enjoying the post flight chatter on the bus with his team.

“Usually when we fly to a game, it’s about four flights just to get there,” said Serratore. “Ever fly from Bemidji to Huntsville, Alabama?”

Being a Northwest Airlines veteran, I could imagine: Bemidji to Minneapolis, then to Memphis. Or maybe Minneapolis through Detroit, and then to Memphis and on in to Huntsville, taking a tour of NWA hubs in the Midwest.

“Winning has its perks, we should do this more often,” said Serratore lightheartedly. “Great flight, and only one plane!”

All kidding aside, Bemidji State hockey has done its share of winning. It is actually the winningest NCAA hockey program in history when you count its tenure in Division II and Division III.

Those were the days of legendary coach Bob Peters, who won 702 games at BSU and led a team to the Final Four in all three divisions of college hockey (I, II, and III). That’s 19 Conference titles and 13 National Championships through many different divisions and levels. Serratore played for Peters, playing in 69 games and racking up 82 points between 1983 and 1987.

The Beavers arrived at the Mullins center with what many would consider the daunting task of upsetting the Pioneers. The Beavers knew they would face a No. 1 seed, and a date with Denver sounded good to Bemidji’s coach.

“It’s pick your poison. However, we think it’s pretty cool to get a chance to play the defending national champions in a one game playoff. Anything can happen,” said Serratore.

The Beavers have played a very tough non-conference schedule the past few years, and that has made them “battle tested” in the words of their coach. They routinely travel to play against all other conferences, and it is one of the reasons that the Beavers will be a tough out sometime prior to the Frozen Four.

Over the past two seasons, Bemidji has squared off, and been successful in many cases, against Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota, Ferris State, Bentley, Connecticut, Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, Merrimack, and Clarkson. They are also a team that has been in three straight CHA title games, losing a heartbreaker in OT to Niagara last season before breaking through with a 3-0 win over Alabama-Huntsville this year.

The fans in Bemidji are used to winning, and they expect it because of the past history of the program in the Division II and Division III era. Around campus, folks treat the Beavers like they are the Gophers, Badgers or Fighting Sioux. They are a big deal in town, and the success they are having has not been received as a Johnny-come-lately type of phenomenon.

For Bemidji, the experience has been business as usual. They are preparing for a tough contest, but have not been star-struck in the video they have seen of the Pioneers. Rather, they have been impressed with their own accomplishments this season, and for the senior class, this is the culmination of four very good seasons. For the underclassmen, this should whet their appetite for more success in the future.

What fans of the NCAA don’t realize is how good the Beavers are as a team. They can score, and despite an injury to their all-time leading scorer (Division I era) Andrew Murray, are very dangerous. Senior forward Brendan Cook had 39 points in 35 games this season to lead the club, and his nine power play goals are something to be aware of when the Beavers have the man advantage. Sophomore forward Luke Erickson had 38 points.

The defense has also been strong, especially in the crease. Led by freshman goalie Matt Climie (who is drawing comparisons to another great Beaver goalie — Adam Pavlatos), who won 12 of 17 games and posted a 1.69 goals against average, the Beavers can shut it down. In a weekend series at North Dakota this season, they had the Sioux down 3-0 midway through a game they were dominating, until North Dakota scratched and clawed out three goals to tie it. The next night was a dead-even draw in terms of play, with the Sioux emerging with a close win. However, they really never got their offense untracked all weekend against a stingy defense.

The Beavers have the confidence of 43 wins in the last two seasons, and are not showing up to give Denver a warmup for a game against the winner of UNH and Harvard. However, as Serratore noted, Denver brings a little something that at times his team, or many other teams outside of the WCHA don’t see.

“Carle and Skinner are scary,” he said. “Most teams have one great offensive or mobile defenseman, they have two, and that constantly creates a second wave on the rush, and that is something we have talked about all week, knowing when those guys are on the ice.”

Additionally, up front Denver has depth. While Huntsville has a great scorer in Jared Ross, Denver can throw three great scorers on one line, and then do it again on another line, and another.

However long the Bemidji run lasts, it has allowed the players to see the enjoyment the campus gets from their hockey team. The community is excited, the professors at the school are into it, and mostly, the athletic department is fired up.

Serratore says that the goal of the program is to create this every year like they have done in the past.

“We expect to win as a program, and we want that embedded in the mindsets of our players. That is what Bemidji State hockey is all about. We don’t just compete; we have a tradition of success that is very special here.”

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.

North Dakota Knows Adversity

By Patrick C. Miller
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The North Dakota Fighting Sioux have endured a season that began with defections to the NHL and was followed by a plague of injuries, bad breaks and bad bounces.

As difficult as the season has been, nobody was prepared for what happened last Friday during the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul.

UND’s players and coaches watched helplessly as sophomore defenseman Robbie Bina was carried off the ice, immobilized and on a stretcher at the Xcel Energy Center during a playoff game against Denver.

Later, they learned that Bina had a broken neck as a result of a check from behind by Pioneers freshman Geoff Paukovich. On Monday, Bina underwent surgery to repair a shattered vertebra and is expected to fully recover.

The game became a moment of truth in what had already been a long, difficult season for first-year head coach Dave Hakstol and his players.

“When you see something like that happen, the only person on the bench who can say something is Coach Hakstol,” said senior forward James Massen. “He kept us from going out there and either packing it in or making it an ugly game.

“His maturity as a coach is why we have him back there and why we want him back there. He made us play through that game and come back for the Minnesota game and play just as hard.

“We’re used to it now,” Massen said. “We’re used to having a couple of guys banged up and going back to it. It’s been our trademark this year.”

Under the circumstances, many teams might be tempted to cut their losses and limp into the offseason for some rest and recuperation. Instead, the Fighting Sioux are thinking about a potential eighth national championship, focusing on their NCAA tournament game Friday against Boston University in Worcester, Mass.

Brian Canady is among the players who have stepped up in a difficult season (photos: John Dahl / SiouxSports.com).

Brian Canady is among the players who have stepped up in a difficult season (photos: John Dahl / SiouxSports.com).

“I feel more comfortable about this team’s chances in the playoffs than I have since I’ve been here,” said senior forward Brian Canady, whose play on the team’s fourth line has given the Sioux postseason momentum.

It’s a bold statement, considering that last year’s Sioux team went 30-8-3, won the WCHA regular-season championship and featured two high-scoring Hobey Baker candidates, forwards Zach Parise and Brandon Bochenski. This season, UND finished fifth in the WCHA with a 13-12-3 record (22-14-5 overall).

“We were pretty loaded last year with Brandon and Zach,” Canady says. “But we really weren’t clicking as a team as we are now, offensively and defensively. We have a lot of confidence going into this weekend.”

Andy Schneider, senior defenseman and assistant captain, believes the team is better because of its season-long hardship.

“It’s made us closer, and maybe all that stuff has happened for a reason. Maybe there’s a bigger picture,” he said. “I think we have plenty of guys who are capable of stepping up. We’ve stared adversity in the face all year. It’s made us closer as a team and stronger as individuals. Going into the playoffs, we’re on the roll that we want to be on.”

This season’s saga extends back to March 27, 2004, the day Denver upset the top-ranked Sioux 1-0 in the NCAA playoffs. A few days later, Parise, a sophomore and number-one NHL draft choice, was on his way east to join the New Jersey Devils.

In June, head coach Dean Blais announced that he was resigning to take an associate head coach position with the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. During his 10 years at UND, Blais won two national championships and five WCHA titles. Hakstol, a 36-year-old Sioux associate head coach, was named Blais’ successor in July.

A month before the 2004-2005 season began, Bochenski announced that he would turn pro and signed a contract with the Ottawa Senators. Despite those losses, UND was picked to finish second in the WCHA in a poll of the league’s coaches.

After beginning the season 4-0-1, it appeared that the transition from the Blais era to the Hakstol era would be seamless. But as the season wore on, the Sioux found that it wasn’t that easy. Massen noted that it took time for players to learn that this team was different from the Blais-coached teams of the past.

“Our team had to find its own identity this year,” he said. “It’s knowing that we have to win tight games because we’re not going to score six goals a game. That was the main thing about our adjustment period, the realization of what kind of team we are, who we are and how we’re going to have to play to win games.”

And then there were the injuries. Different players were in and out of the lineup nearly every week.

“I’ve played on teams where we’ve had guy go down with an injury for maybe two weeks,” Schneider said. “But with the rash of injuries and all the changes this year, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Besides Bina, the Sioux have lost two other players for the season. One is Brady Murray, last year’s WCHA rookie of the year. The other is freshman wing Rylan Kaip, who played regularly on the third line before being diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome at mid-season.

“We have three injuries right now where guys can’t play, but we also have many guys who are wrapping things up, icing up or doing therapy on a daily basis just so they can stay in the lineup,” said team captain Matt Greene, whose elbow is swollen and looks like a roadmap from the number stitches it’s received.

Not all the team’s troubles have occurred on the ice. Greene was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Warroad, Minn., which led to a two-game suspension. Backup goalie Jake Brandt broke his collarbone in a snowmobile accident. In early February, Hakstol’s father died following a long battle with cancer.

“We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs throughout the year, and I think it’s made us mentally tough,” said associate head coach Brad Berry. “There’s nothing that really upsets us or gets us down right now.”

“I think when you start feeling sorry for yourself, you’re not dealing with that adversity in the proper fashion,” said assistant coach Cary Eades. “We have met that challenge and have grown because of it.”

From Jan. 8 to Feb. 19, UND went through a nine-game stretch in which it was 2-6-1, averaging 2.44 goals per game and giving up an average of three goals per game. The Sioux were dropping in the PairWise ranking and in danger of losing home ice for the WCHA playoffs.

But since their Feb. 26-27 series against Wisconsin, the Sioux have gone 6-1-2. The only loss was in overtime to number-one ranked Denver at the Final Five. During this stretch, UND’s goals-for average improved to 3.44 while its goals-against average fell to 1.55.

Among the reasons for the turnaround is the play of sophomore goalie Jordan Parise who’s riding a nine-game unbeaten streak. Another reason is offensive production from the third and fourth lines and the defensemen.

Hakstol believes leadership from the team’s nine seniors is another contributing factor.

“Some our seniors are at the top of our scoring and some are role players,” he said. “Everyone has accepted whatever role they have and are playing that role. We’ll go as far as our upperclassmen will take us. They’ve done their roles and they’re the reason for our success.”

That the team has dealt so well with the adversity it’s faced doesn’t surprise Hakstol.

“Every season is different. There are things that happen that you can’t predict. But as a team, you have to deal with whatever comes,” he said. “We felt right from the beginning of the season that we had real good character in the locker room. When you start with that as a base, you have some chance for success.”

The real test of UND’s character came at the Final Five. As the fifth-seeded team, the Sioux played and beat the fourth-seeded Badgers in a Thursday night play-in game.

Emergency personnel take UND's Robbie Bina off the ice at the WCHA Final Five.

Emergency personnel take UND’s Robbie Bina off the ice at the WCHA Final Five.

Friday afternoon, the Sioux took on the top-seeded Pioneers. The game was tied 1-1 when Paukovich’s hit knocked Bina out of the game and sent him to the hospital.

“In your mind, when it happens, you’re thinking that, hopefully, he’s all right,” said senior forward Rory McMahon. “You get a lot of anger inside, obviously. Everybody on the bench was thinking ‘Let’s get this guy,’ but you can’t. ”

“We had too many injuries,” Canady said. “We were already short-benched.”

“You just can’t stoop to that level,” McMahon added.

It fell to Hakstol to keep the situation under control and his team focused.

“It comes back to the players,” he said. “They have a job to do. Their job is to play and win a hockey game. There’s nothing at that particular time they could do to help Robbie, other than go out and win the game for him.

“On a scale on what Robbie was dealing with injury-wise, a game is of small consequence. But it was the one thing our guys could try to control.”

The Sioux gave the Pioneers all they could handle through regulation, but Gabe Gauthier’s goal 42 seconds into overtime gave Denver the 2-1 victory. The next day, UND played the Gophers for third place in what some considered a meaningless game.

“It was a tough weekend with Prpich going down, Brady getting hurt and then the incident with Robbie,” Massen said. “It was our third game in two and a half days, and everybody thinks they’re tired. In your mind, you’re tired.”

Behind 2-1 halfway through the second period, the Sioux played uninspired. Then freshman Rastislav “Sparky” Spirko scored a highlight-reel shorthanded goal. Suddenly it was a different game.

“Once Sparky made that play and tied it up 2-2, it was like, ‘Guys, we’re here, so why don’t we go out and win this thing?'” Massen said.

UND scored two more goals to defeat Minnesota 4-2 and capture third place in the Final Five. The win moved the Sioux up in the PairWise rankings and into a number-two seed in the NCAA East Regional.

“There’s never a game that doesn’t count,” McMahon said. “We’re coached that way. Every game counts. Every shift counts. People can say that Saturday game didn’t mean anything, but it did. We were playing for a number-two seed.”

Like most on the team, freshman Travis Zajac is philosophical about the trials and tribulations the Sioux have faced.

“You go through adversity throughout the season. It happens with every team,” he said. “Ours just seems to happen more often. That’s just going to bring us closer together and help us in the end.”

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