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This Week in the ECAC West: Feb. 28, 2002

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The playoffs arrive this weekend. Elmira, Hobart, and Manhattanville will all travel to RIT to compete in the ECAC West’s Final Four-style tournament, and decide who will be crowned champion for 2001-02.

And what could be more fitting for this column than to take a team-by-team look to preview the playoffs?

No. 4 Hobart Statesmen (10-15, 5-5)

Hobart enters the playoffs as the fourth seed, a familiar place for the Statesmen over the past few years. This is the fourth year in a row that Hobart has been in that position, and has faced No. 1 seed RIT in the semifinal round.

The Statesmen have been on a rollercoaster ride the last two weeks.

They defeated Manhattanville by a stunning 7-0 score in a nearly perfectly played game two weeks ago, but then Hobart tanked its last game of the regular season on Saturday, losing to Elmira 12-1.

Which Hobart team will show up in the ECAC West playoffs? Who knows, but it should be entertaining to see. Hobart has never defeated RIT in postseason play.

No. 3 Manhattanville Valiants (16-6-3, 5-4-1)

The Valiants earned the three seed in the tournament with a gutsy victory over Elmira last weekend, 2-1. Manhattanville started the game shorthanded, as two players were held out of the lineup for violating team rules at the hotel earlier in the day. Then, coach Keith Levinthal watched two more players get hurt early in the contest.

“We played most of the game with only 14 guys,” said Levinthal. “It is probably the best win we have had as a program.”

The victory set up a repeat of the semifinal round from the last two ECAC West playoffs between Elmira and Manhattanville.

“We’ve played these guys [Elmira] in the playoffs all three years of our existence,” said Levinthal. “Both games this year have been decided by one goal, and all five games, going back to include last season, have gone right down to the wire. We don’t expect anything different to happen this time.”

Last year, the Valiants defeated Elmira in the semifinals. Manhattanville is mostly healthy entering the playoffs, and is looking to continue its climb towards the championship banner.

On the NCAAs: “It will be a shame the way the tournament is set up,” said Levinthal. “Both teams {RIT and Elmira] deserve to be playing in March.”

No. 2 Elmira Soaring Eagles (17-8, 8-2)

Elmira stumbled against Manhattanville last Friday, and hurt its chances at the NCAAs. However, it wasn’t from lack of effort. The Soaring Eagles poured pressure relentlessly on the Valiant zone, and even had 10 power plays, but just couldn’t put the puck in the net.

“We outplayed [Manhattanville] for 60 minutes,” said Elmira coach Tim Ceglarski. “But we just couldn’t score. If our power play was working at all, it would have been a different story.”

But Elmira bounced right back on Saturday and put a good old-fashioned thrashing of Hobart, winning 12-1.

“[That] was one of our better-played games of the year,” said Ceglarski. “Our guys were flying right from the start.”

Elmira enters the ECAC West playoffs firmly in the No. 2 position, and will face off once again against Manhattanville in the semifinals.

“Our main focus is to get through Manhattanville, and then worry about the finals,” said Ceglarski.

Elmira must win the championship to have a reasonable expectation of an NCAA Pool B bid. But the Soaring Eagles are taking it one game at a time.

On the NCAA’s: “I think it would be a shame if both teams [Elmira and RIT] don’t get a chance to go,” said Ceglarski. “The way the system is right now, it is not conducive to having the best nine teams in the nation in the tournament.”

No. 1 RIT Tigers (21-2, 9-1)

RIT is the most rested of the four teams entering the tournament. Due to its quarter-based academic calendar, the RIT players traditionally take the last week of February off for final exams.

“With the exams, the break is good for us,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson.

The break has given RIT a chance to get healthy as well. The flu that was rampaging through the team three weeks ago is now gone. And several players will be returning from injury, including All-West Rookie Teamer Roberto Orofiamma (6-15-21).

“We have no excuses,” said Wilson. “We are healthy again, and ready to go.”

The Tigers are the three-time defending champions of the ECAC West. The last time RIT failed to hoist a banner into the rafters of Ritter Arena was the ’97-’98 season, when Niagara won the title the year before it transitioned to Division I.

On the NCAAs: “I think it will be a topic for discussion at our conference down in Florida,” said Wilson. “The committee should be able to come up with how much weight is put on each criterion. Also, all the other leagues have safety nets to get into the tournament, so it seems like the ECAC West should be included in those.”

NCAA Pool B Bid Possibilities

Elmira’s hopes for a Pool B bid waned with its loss to Manhattanville last weekend. But the demise of the Soaring Eagles has been greatly exaggerated. Elmira is still in the hunt, but now needs help from teams in other leagues to make its case stronger.

Let’s update the breakdown from last week, using the same criteria as the NCAA Selection Committee.

For all but the last of the criteria below, only in-region games count in the statistics. Games against NCHA and MIAC opponents are ignored.

The NCAA Championship Handbook states that the committee must review all of the criteria in the order that they are listed. However, it allows the committee latitude on how much weight to apply to each criterion.

Scenario 1 — RIT wins the ECAC West championship. NCAA Pool B bid for RIT guaranteed.
Scenario 2 — Elmira loses to Manhattanville in the semifinals. RIT is awarded the NCAA Pool B bid.
Scenario 3 — Elmira defeats RIT to win ECAC West championship. NCAA Pool B bid up for grabs.
Scenario 4 — RIT loses semifinal game to Hobart, and Elmira loses final to Hobart. NCAA Pool B bid up for grabs.

So, only scenarios three and four need to be evaluated for the selection criteria.

Criterion No. 1 — advantage RIT

The first criteria is composed of Winning Percentage, Head to Head Results, and Results Against Common Opponents.

  • Winning Percentage — advantage RIT. As of the end of the regular season, RIT has a winning percentage of .905, and Elmira trails at .789.

    For scenario No. 3 (EC championship), Elmira moves up to a .810 winning percentage and RIT drops to .870. The advantage still is on the RIT side, but the gap narrows.

    For scenario No. 4 (RIT semifinal loss), RIT’s winning percentage only drops down to .864, so the Tigers would still maintain the advantage in this category.

  • Head to Head — push. There was no change in this criterion from last week. Elmira and RIT have split their regular-season contests, each winning one. If they meet again in the ECAC West championship game, the winner would get a huge advantage in this category. The NCAA Selection Committee has stated that the Head to Head category carries a great deal of weight.
  • Common Opponents — advantage RIT. This is another category where the RIT advantage widened due to Elmira’s loss last weekend. The tally stands at RIT 13-0, Elmira 9-3.

    If both pass through to the finals of the tournament unscathed, the numbers would be 10-3 for Elmira and 14-0 for RIT. The Tigers would scoot past Elmira here.

    The relative positions of RIT and Elmira remained the same this week, using a mathematical formula that equally weights the three components of Criterion No. 1 among all the eastern teams. RIT ends up ranked No. 2, Elmira No. 6.

    Criterion No. 2 — Strength of Schedule — advantage Elmira

    This is the category where Elmira continues to hold a distinct advantage. Both Strength of Schedules (SOS) only dropped by .001 due to play over the weekend. Elmira has a .561 SOS, second in the nation in Division III hockey, while RIT’s SOS is much weaker at .512, placing it in the 25th spot.

    Assuming both teams pass through to the championship round of the conference playoffs, these numbers will most likely not change at all.

    Criterion No. 3 — Teams in the Tournament — push

    This category is hard to figure, since we don’t know who is in the NCAA tournament yet. However, if we consider Elmira’s and RIT’s records against teams that are still participating in their respective conference tournaments, then we can get a decent idea of the relative records.

    Some of those teams that RIT and Elmira have played were knocked out last week. Elmira’s record against teams still alive is 4-2, while RIT stands 2-1.

    Elmira needs to cheer for Plattsburgh (as revolting as that might seem to Elmira fans) to defeat Oswego. If that happens, one loss comes off of Elmira’s record, and a win is removed from RIT’s. That would give Elmira a commanding 4-1 vs. 1-1 lead in this category.

    Also, how events unfold in the ECAC Northeast playoffs could have an impact here as well. If Lebanon Valley loses, another loss comes off Elmira’s side of the balance sheet. If Wentworth loses, a loss leaves RIT’s books.

    So, if Plattsburgh wins the SUNYAC and Lebanon Valley the ECAC Northeast, then RIT would be left with no games against Teams in the Tournament (0-0 record). Elmira would be smiling with a 4-1 record.

    However, if Oswego defeats Plattsburgh, the tables turn. Just that change would leave RIT’s record at 2-1, while Elmira’s record would drop to 2-2.

    So, this category remains highly volatile, depending on how the playoffs go in the other leagues.

    Conclusion

    Elmira needs the cards to fall right for it to get the NCAA Pool B bid. First, the Soaring Eagles need to take care of the business that they can influence, mainly winning the ECAC West championship. That would give them a leg up in Head to Head, and move the Winning Percentages closer. Elmira also needs help from Plattsburgh and Lebanon Valley to give it control of the Teams in the Tournament category.

    If those things happen, the Soaring Eagles may just get the NCAA Pool B bid.

    If RIT wins the championship, or if Elmira loses in the semifinals, the Tigers are a shoo-in for the Pool B bid. The other scenarios open the door for Elmira, and in those cases RIT would need to wait for the Selection Committee to hand down its decision.

    • Putting The Weight On His Shoulders

    By Marty Hill
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    One year ago, Minnesota-Duluth forward Judd Medak was not in a very enviable position.

    A shoulder injury forced him to sit out most of the last quarter of the 2000-01 season, a season which saw his team finish with a 7-28-4 overall record and in the basement of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

    Yet Medak returned for the end of the season, skating in a 3-2 upset victory over North Dakota in the first game of a WCHA playoff series the Fighting Sioux would eventually win, two games to one. He also shared UMD’s Most Inspirational Player Award.

    More honors can be expected to be presented to the senior this season. Through 36 games, Medak leads his team in scoring with 48 points (15 goals, 33 assists). That total is also good enough to be put him in a tie as the fifth-leading point producer in the nation. On top of that, his assist numbers rank third in the country.

    He’s been our best player from the beginning of the year. … [He’s] our most consistent guy, he gets a ton of ice time; he plays against everybody’s top line, he relishes in that.

    — UMD head coach Scott Sandelin, on Judd Medak

    It’s by far the best offensive season the Bulldog captain has enjoyed in his collegiate career. In fact, its more points than Medak compiled in his three previous seasons combined.

    To expect Medak to flirt with notching 50 points in his final season would have been equal to expecting seagulls to nest in Duluth in February.

    Well, the seagulls haven’t flown north yet, but the winter has been much warmer than usual. And Medak does have two regular-season games left to hit the 50-point mark.

    And most importantly, it’s led to improved results for his team. Minnesota-Duluth already has six more wins than last season (13-20-3), and three more in the WCHA (6-17-3) — good enough to ensure that it won’t finish in the conference basement.

    Bulldog head coach Scott Sandelin says Medak can be given a lot of credit for the team’s turnaround.

    “He’s been our best player from the beginning of the year,” said Sandelin. “[He’s] our most consistent guy, he gets a ton of ice time; he plays against everybody’s top line, he relishes in that.”

    What does it take to double one’s offensive production in one season? Medak says part of it can be attributed to his determination to set an example as the team’s captain.

    Sandelin says he told Medak to just go out and play, and the Vancouver, B.C., native has done that and much more.

    colorscans/20012002/umd_j_medak.jpg

    “As a captain, you have to go out and perform and lead by example,” said Medak.

    “It was kind of a goal of mine to be in that position. It drives me and it motivates me because that’s the type of person I am. I know from when I was a young guy, you always look up to the older guys and the guy with the letter on his jersey. That definitely does motivate me, and it makes me want to be a better player and just lead by example for the younger guys.”

    Combine that motivation with a good offseason workout program (which helped him to win a share of the team’s preseason Ironman competition), and added maturity, and you begin to get the picture.

    You could even add that shoulder injury to the list of reasons for the improvement.

    “That was kind of the first major injury I’ve had in my career, [and] it kind of opened my eyes,” said Medak.

    “I guess I just had a lot of work to do over the summer getting back being close to 100 percent. It drives you and it motivates you. It wasn’t fun ’cause it was the first time I sat in the stands and watched.”

    His coach also sees the injury adding to Medak’s drive.

    “He was just starting to play, I think he was kind of just starting to come into his own. I think for him, he came back with a strong motivation to have a successful year, individually and more importantly team-wise, and certainly he’s gone out there and done that.”

    Sandelin says there’s also been a sharpening of key offensive skills.

    “He’s not a guy that’s going to go out there and maybe wow you with his speed,” said Sandelin, a former North Dakota captain. “But he’s improved in so many little areas: Puck skills, I think he’s gotten quicker, very good puck protection along the wall and making plays.

    “Part of that comes from experience and confidence, and certainly his offseason strength, and part of it is just that will, that motivation to be that guy that has to set an example.”

    At the same time, Medak has not altered a defensive style that he established during his first three years. The education major has continued to take opposing players to school with his on-ice physicality.

    Take for example January 26, when Medak placed his body in front of Alaska-Anchorage speedster Steve Cygan in the last minute of a game UMD was leading 3-2. Cygan scooted the puck up the left-wing boards until he ran into Medak and was leveled like a freight train hitting a brick wall. That check helped ensure a Bulldog victory and the team’s first home WCHA sweep in four years.

    “I try to take care of my own zone first. I try to play physical and I try to do all those little things first,” said Medak. “Then the points and the goals and all the other stuff just take care of themselves.”

    On offense, Medak has been a model of consistency. He scored UMD’s first goal of the season in an upset win over Nebraska-Omaha and finished October with 12 points. He followed that with nine points in November, seven in December, eight in January and eight in February going into the March 2-3 series with North Dakota.

    And its not like he limits himself to one part of the ice to score goals. Medak has stretched the twine by jumping on rebounds in front of the net, deflecting point shots, shooting from the point and on breakaways. Add to that his game-winning goal February 1 against Minnesota, when he pounced on a rebound and his momentum sent him crashing into the net behind the puck.

    Sandelin says Medak’s play is symbolic of how he wants everyone on his team to perform, and he sees much of it duplicated in his primary linemates, senior Tom Nelson and sophomore Junior Lessard.

    Lessard has also seen a dramatic jump in his point totals. After registering just 12 points during his freshman campaign, Lessard is the Bulldogs’ leading goal-scorer with 16, and will be counted on, among others, to lead UMD once Medak and the rest of the senior class move on.

    Lessard says he’s constantly trying to apply some of Medak’s strengths into his own style.

    “His strongest side is probably to work out in the corner and get out of the corner with the puck, and that’s what I have to work on,” said Lessard, who’s also Medak’s roommate this season.

    While this is Medak’s final season wearing the Bulldog maroon and gold, he hopes to see his senior year, the year he wore the “C,” as instrumental in leading UMD back to respectability.

    “I kind of wanted to have a part in turning this program back in the right direction,” said Medak. “It’s nice, obviously, to win games and have a smile on your face, but I feel fortunate that I’m in that position for the younger guys that they can start a tradition of their own here.”

    This Week in Hockey East: Feb. 28, 2002

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    What A Race!

    Here we are going into the final week and three teams — New Hampshire, Boston University and Maine — could still take the Hockey East regular season crown. None of their possibilities require oddities like cellar-dwellers sweeping nationally ranked opponents.

    Prior to Wednesday night’s UMass-Lowell win over Northeastern, those two teams as well as Boston College had a shot at the remaining home ice berth. Lowell sewed that up with the victory on the road, but that came in both teams’ next-to-last game.

    The tightly packed standings are no reflection of league mediocrity where a large number of ordinary teams have failed to distinguish themselves. In fact, one could argue the exact opposite. UNH, BU and Maine are all ranked among the top seven schools in the country; Lowell and Northeastern are also among the Top 15 with BC not far behind and rising fast.

    All this promises for a compelling two weeks of Hockey East playoffs following the down-to-the-wire races this weekend. As a result, let’s look at all the teams’ chances before specific matchups cloud the issue.

    The Favorites

    New Hampshire comes in, arguably, as the favorite. In Hockey East play, the Wildcats have the best offense (4.29 goals per game), the best defense (2.19 goals against per game), the best power play (27.8 percent efficiency) and the second best penalty kill (87.0 percent). And those figures are before Tuesday night’s 6-0 shutout of UMass-Amherst.

    Other than that, of course, they stink. (Ba-doom. Ladies and germs, I’ll be doing two shows a night all week. You’ve been a great audience. Tell your friends…)

    Levity aside, UNH’s statistical domination goes beyond just the three gold medals and a silver noted above. The Wildcat offense is scoring more than a goal per game more than every team except Maine (3.91 gpg). The power play has run away from the rest of the league (27.8 percent vs. second-place Northeastern’s 21.2).

    The only real concern, then, might be the goaltenders, both of whom have had health problems of late. However, concerns about them not being sharp seem almost silly in light of them both recording shutouts in their last start. Michael Ayers returned from wrist tendon surgery on Tuesday to throw a shutout at UMass-Amherst. Matt Carney, who has been back in action for four games now after missing a month with a concussion, shut out UMass-Lowell last Friday.

    If the Wildcat goaltending holds up, then, they are the one league team without a discernable weakness. Small wonder that they are the top team in the country in the Pairwise Rankings.

    Boston University is in the middle of a stretch run roll, having won nine in a row. Whether that will continue and result in a sweep of Maine this weekend, however, is an open question.

    BU certainly has a championship-level team defense, ranking second to New Hampshire (2.36 gapg vs. 2.19 gapg) in that statistic. The Terriers also have clearly the league’s top penalty killers (89.2 percent).

    The credit begins with a talented blue line corps that is continuing to play well in the absence of Pat Aufiero, who won’t return from his sliced foot tendon injury until the Hockey East semis. Goaltender Sean Fields has also made a huge leap forward in this his sophomore season.

    “We’ve gotten a lot more confident and because of that, we’ve played with a lot more poise,” said coach Jack Parker. “We’ve become a solid forechecking team, but most importantly we’ve become a real solid team regrouping and moving the puck out of our zone and through center ice. Our defense has really matured and played with a lot more poise and I think our forwards are making some great plays through center ice.”

    The big question is an offense (3.18 gpg) that has sputtered at times. In part, that’s been because of a power play that earlier in the season seemed to call for declining the penalty. However, that has come around during the recent winning streak.

    “We changed the power play early in the streak and we’ve been scoring at about 30 percent since,” said Parker. “Special teams are a huge reason why we’ve been able to win those games and it will continue to be a big part of our success.”

    Maine has come on strong down the stretch, posting an 8-2-2 record. The latest victim was UMass-Amherst, which fell last weekend, 7-1 and 7-0. This prompted strong words from UMass coach Don “Toot” Cahoon.

    “It was like men playing with boys out there,” he said. “They have a lot of experience and talent…”

    The Black Bears have been second only to UNH in offense all year with up-front depth to burn, but it’s been the recent team defense that is most encouraging. Despite a thin blue line, they have now tied BU for the second-best team defense (2.36 gapg) in Hockey East contests.

    A lot of credit goes to goaltender Mike Morrison, who was recently named ITECH Goaltender of the Month for the third time. While doubters may wonder about his lack of playoff experience, he’s played in a lot of big games before and his numbers (1.97 GAA, .930 Sv%) speak for themselves.

    Not Far Behind

    It should be no surprise at all if any of the three teams that are just a step behind the top trio win it. While none of them have been as consistent as the favorites, they’ve still had significant stretches during which they were as dangerous as any team in the league.

    Which UMass-Lowell team will show up for the playoffs? The one that was 16-3-1 and ranked third in the country? Or the one that went 1-5-2 soon after, in part because of the absences of its three French Olympians?

    “We’re focussed more on the present,” said coach Blaise MacDonald. “We’re a team of today. How are we playing today? We’re playing pretty darned good…. This is a present team; it’s not a past team.”

    Goaltender Cam McCormick, who posted mind-boggling statistics for much of the season, has faltered of late and been supplanted by Jimi St. John. (More on that below.) St. John is no stranger to playoff pressure, though. He helped engineer Lowell’s upset at UNH last year that got the River Hawks to the FleetCenter once again.

    The defense, which displayed an appalling propensity for key turnovers during the losing streak now seems to be back playing at a high level, based on recent wins over Merrimack and Northeastern.

    “They are the spine and backbone of our team,” said MacDonald. “This is the time of the year that defense wins championships. We feed off our defense in a great way.”

    The key will be the offense, which has struggled to score. But if the River Hawks can play like they did on Wednesday against Northeastern, they could make some serious noise.

    Boston College cost itself a shot at an at-large NCAA berth when it lost six straight games during an injury-plagued January. The Eagles plummeted out of the Top 15 then and haven’t quite made it back, but would, of course, make the NCAAs by winning the Hockey East tournament.

    Words that coach Jerry York uttered after a loss in the Beanpot opener late in that losing streak have proven prophetic.

    “I told the players, I think we have a championship team in this locker room,” he said. “When we get healthy and back to a full hockey squad, these players will be a lot better because of what we’ve gone through. We’re going to be a dangerous team down the stretch.

    After Ben Eaves, in particular, returned to the lineup and the Eagles took off, York commented on his playoff outlook.

    “We want to get back to the national tournament and the only avenue we’re going to have is to win the [Hockey East] playoffs,” he said. “But you can’t just wait until March and say, ‘Let’s play well now.’

    “There has to be a crescendo. You’ve got to build to it. This is still a pretty young hockey team that’s getting better.”

    Youth is the Achilles heel of this team. It could get rattled if things go poorly in the early going.

    That said, Eaves leads an offense that is better than its 3.18 goals per game. The bigger question is an inexperienced blue line.

    Backing it up are goaltenders Matti Kaltiainen and Tim Kelleher, who have had some inconsistencies, but are now playing as well as they have all season.

    It wouldn’t be a shock at all to see BC in the Hockey East title game, playing for not only the crown, but the chance to play in the NCAAs.

    Northeastern looked to be close to the UNH-BU-Maine grouping when it went off on an 8-1-1 streak. Since then, however, the Huskies have lost four straight and five of their last six to lose the home ice advantage that had appeared to be within their grasp.

    On the plus side, those losses have come against formidable opponents: BU, UNH, BC (twice) and Lowell.

    When asked if he was concerned about the loss of momentum heading into the playoffs, Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder expressed annoyance with the question.

    “Not really,” he said. “That’s what you guys [in the media] talk about to bring negative factors into it. We’re going ahead. We know what we have to do as a team.

    “Wherever you’re at, it’s not going to be easy. This is Hockey East. It’s not like there’s a huge gap between the fourth and fifth place teams. We’ll be ready when it comes time.”

    As was the case with BC, youth could be Northeastern’s downfall. Although their boatload of key freshmen have played very well, they’ll have to prove themselves anew in the playoffs.

    Jim Fahey anchors a very young defense in front of emerging rookie goaltender Keni Gibson. Mike Ryan leads an underrated offense.

    Despite the recent results, don’t count out the Huskies.

    A Big Surprise

    What to think of the enigmatic Providence Friars? Personally, it’s hard to see them winning it all. As soon as it appears that they are going to start living up to the promise that made them the preseason top pick in Hockey East, they stumble.

    The temptation earlier in the season was for Professor Hendrickson to give them an F in Chemistry and consider that the sole answer. But that’s too easy. The whole does seem to be less than the sum of its parts, but if that is indeed a problem it isn’t the only one.

    The defense just isn’t what it needs to be. Clearly, Jay Leach and Matt Libby were not only the glue that held the Friars together last year. They were also the core of the blueline talent. This group has been allowing way too many shots for the Friars to be a serious playoff contender.

    Goaltender Nolan Schaefer has also let in soft goals at critical junctures. On multiple occasions, the words outside the PC locker room have been, “That goal was a killer. We had to get the air pump on the bench after that.”

    Schaefer has gone on to make some big saves, but sometimes with a fragile team it’s tough to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again. The returning All-American will have to live up to that reputation and the team defense will have to dramatically cut down on the shots if Providence is to have any serious postseason chance.

    Do You Believe In Miracles?

    Merrimack could conceivably pull an upset in the quarterfinals if it avoids a matchup with UNH. A Hockey East title, however, would evoke comparisons to the 1980 USA Olympic team.

    Don’t tell that to interim coach Mike Doneghey, however.

    “I don’t think there are any upsets in this league,” he said recently. “The team that was picked to win it [Providence] is in sixth. The defending national champion [Boston College] is in seventh.”

    (BC has since moved up to sixth.)

    Doneghey has a point, especially when considering how well the Warriors played in recent wins over Maine and Boston College, two teams no one dismisses come playoff time.

    Goaltender Joe Exter seems to have risen to the occasion and the Anthony Aquino, Marco Rosa and Ryan Cordeiro line should be a force. The question will be the other forwards and a young defense that has had its ups and downs.

    Over And Out

    UMass-Amherst was eliminated from playoff consideration on Tuesday when the Minutemen lost to UNH, 6-0. Combined with two previous losses at Maine, UMass was outscored by the two league titans by a collective score of 20-1 in three games.

    “It was like men playing with boys out there,” said coach Don “Toot” Cahoon after one of the losses at Alfond Arena. “They have a lot of experience and talent and we lack that combination….

    “We were thoroughly beaten on the scoreboard. There’s a difference in our teams, for sure. It wasn’t a result of our guys not coming to play; we competed from the drop of the puck right through to the end. But we made some critical mistakes and didn’t sustain offense.”

    Regardless of how the Minutemen play in their season finale on Sunday against Merrimack, it’s wait-till-next-year time.

    Don’t count on UMass staying in the cellar perennially, however. The key will be how Cahoon’s recruiting and development of the many freshmen continues.

    Tiebreakers

    If two teams finish with the same number of points in the standings, the following tiebreakers will be used, in this order, to determine seeding:

    1. Head-to-head results between the tied teams.
    2. Number of wins in conference play.
    3. Best record against the first-place team(s), then the second-place team(s), then the third-place team(s) and so on.
    4. Coin flip.

    If more than two teams finish in a tie, the same criteria will be applied to reduce the number of teams tied. Then the process will commence again.

    Relevant head-to-head results:

  • UNH over BU, 2-0-1.
  • BU leads Maine, 1-0. The remaining two games are this weekend.
  • UNH split with Maine, 1-1-1, but holds the tiebreaker advantage in the other categories.
  • BC over NU, 2-1
  • PC over BC, 2-1

    All One Team

    When push comes to shove, we’re all really just one big team. The latest example of this will come on Saturday night when the Friends of UNH Hockey will donate a portion of the 50/50 raffle to the Chris Serino Fight for Cancer Fund.

    This is a classy move by a classy organization.

    Get Well, Coach!

    Olympic Favoritism?

    Kieron P. Faherty wrote a recent USCHO Letter to the Editor regarding this column’s focus on UMass-Lowell’s three Olympians. Replies to such letters are invariably short, but readers of this column will acknowledge that brevity is not one of my strong suits. As a result, here is Kieron’s letter and my detailed (aka verbose) response.

    In Dave Hendrickson’s February 21st column, he expounded at length on the Olympic experience of the Lowell Trio. But what about other Hockey East players in the tourney, and in particular Tomas Pock of UMass Amherst and Austria? Even CNBC (Cable for heavens’ sakes!) explained not only that he played at UMass Amherst but also how he wound up as a Minuteman. Also, how about a mention for Mattias Trattnig (formerly of Maine and also of Austria) or even the BU or BC big names in the tourney?

    The fact that Hockey East had so many players and former players in the Olympic tourney speaks volumes about the quality of players the league is continuing to attract. Perhaps all that River Hawk involvement has clouded his judgement? I expected far better from a normally excellent HE column.

    Sincerely,

    Kieron Faherty

    Of course, I agree with Kieron’s “normally excellent HE column” assessment.

    As for any favoritism, here is my explanation.

    Kieron,

    Thanks for the kind words about the column in general. Let me address your concerns about this specific issue.

    The fact that I’ve emphasized UMass-Lowell’s three Olympians as opposed to all others has nothing to do with any favoritism.

    To begin with, I’ve rarely, if ever, covered the exploits of former Hockey East players after they’ve turned pro. My focus, as well as almost all of USCHO with few exceptions, is on current collegians. As a result, there were really only four relevant Olympians: UMass-Amherst’s Thomas Pock and Lowell’s Yorick Treille, Laurent Meunier and Baptiste Amar.

    The reason why the three River Hawks were emphasized over Pock is simply that their loss had an incomparably bigger impact. Look at the numbers. Three players all on one team versus one. Two of the top three returning scorers from last season who had totaled 58 points plus the top recruit versus a 12-point scorer. Treille, Meunier and Amar would have missed eight games each if not for their one-hour-of-sleep flight back compared to four games for Pock. Therefore, a total of 20 player-games missed versus four.

    Before the River Hawks lost their Olympians, their record stood at 16-5-1 and they were a weekend removed from being the number three ranked team in the nation. Without them, Lowell was 1-3-2 or 1-5-2 if you also include the weekend that they rushed back for, but were running on fumes. Of course, the Minutemen would have liked to have Pock, but his absence did not have the significant impact of Lowell’s Olympians.

    Finally, the story of the River Hawks flying back on one hour of sleep and getting to the rink little more than an hour before game time had a drama that was missing since Pock would have been rushing back only for a UMass exhibition game that weekend.

    The decision was entirely based on impact, not bias.

    Sincerely,

    Dave Hendrickson

    The Front Of The Jersey

    Coaches often talk about the need to play for the name on the front of the jersey instead of the one on the back. This year, three goaltenders have done exactly that, sacrificing team shutout records by giving way late in a game to a teammate who needs the work.

    The latest example came last weekend when interim Maine coach Tim Whitehead pulled Mike Morrison for Matt Yeats with a 4-0 lead, despite Morrison being one shutout away from tying Alfie Michaud’s career mark of six.

    “Hockey is a team sport,” said Whitehead. “Mike would be the first to congratulate Matt on a good job in there. Matt has been playing well and we need to get him time. We need to get them both going for the stretch run.”

    A similar case occurred during the holiday tournaments when UMass-Amherst senior goaltender Mike Johnson was replaced by freshman Tim Warner just 8:01 short of setting a school shutout mark. The Minutemen were comfortably ahead of Niagara and coach Don “Toot” Cahoon felt Warner needed the work.

    “To be honest with you,” said Cahoon, “I would certainly take that as a secondary consideration, and Mike knows he’s going to get the lion’s share of ice. [But] it’s important that I give a good young goalie an opportunity to play some minutes. There was no intent there.”

    Unfortunately for Johnson, he hasn’t been able to add a shutout since then and now has only one game left to do it.

    A third netminder, UMass-Lowell’s Cam McCormick, has set team records for shutouts in a season (six) and a career (eight). However, he would have added another one to those totals had he not been pulled for Jimi St. John against Army earlier this year after seeing only four shots through two periods.

    While the payoff for Morrison and Johnson’s sacrifices have yet to be seen, the River Hawks are now benefiting from McCormick’s lost shutout. St. John had a little less rust on him when McCormick began to falter recently after an unbelievable first half. St. John has won Lowell’s last two games, posting a shutout over Merrimack and allowing only one goal against Northeastern.

    Tag Team Goalies, Part II

    Some teams have ridden just one goalie for the most part this year. Some have used a tandem. This column recently wrote about UNH’s tag team approach of late, necessitated by injuries.

    UMass-Lowell has now joined in on the tag team approach with Jimi St. John supplanting Cam McCormick, who had been discussed as a potential Hobey Baker candidate prior to a recent slump. St. John has allowed a total of just one goal in Lowell’s last two games, both wins.

    “I had my time at the beginning of the year,” said St. John, “then Cam stepped up and he went on, but then went into a little slump there or whatever. Now it’s my turn again. Hopefully, I can keep going with it now.”

    The approach seems to be working.

    “It’s like when you’ve got to bring [Drew] Bledsoe in to beat Pittsburgh, you bring him in,” said coach Blaise MacDonald. “Jimi’s been able to provide that for us.

    “But in athletics, you get what you deserve. If you come and work hard and work smart every single day, when your time comes, you’re ready. He’s a good example of people who make their own breaks. When they get the opportunities, they make the most of it. He’s certainly done that.”

    His recent success has been all the more rewarding for St. John because of the perseverance he had to display.

    “It feels great after sitting a month and then playing a game or two and then sitting another month,” he said. “It just feels great. I had a lot of time to work on things. It feels really good to come back and get these big wins at a special time for this team.”

    With the playoffs on the immediate horizon, he provides Lowell with a playoff-tested veteran who had considerable success last year.

    “This is the time of the year that we need guys to step up,” he said. “Drawing on that experience from last year, there’s nothing that can get as big as going to the FleetCenter.

    “Playing three playoff games at the Whitt last year, that was against one of the best goalies in the country — [Ty Conklin] — at that time. This is drawing back on memories and coming back and hopefully doing it again this year.”

    Quotes Of The Week

    A prominent Hockey East defenseman to a linesman: “If you got your fat [butt] off the boards, I could clear the puck.”

    BC coach Jerry York on Ben Eaves: “There are only a few like him in the country.”

    UMass-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald on Mark Concannon scoring twice in Wednesday’s pivotal win over Northeastern after scoring only three all season: “To use a golf term, he’s been three-putting a lot. He hasn’t been able to find the back of the net…. [The two-goal night] was well-earned.”

    Lowell’s Yorick Treille on how far France is from an appearance in the Olympic gold medal game: “Probably 3012.”

    Upon Further Review

    Several weeks back, one player got a bit carried away describing his team’s togetherness. (The following quotes are paraphrased.)

    “We have the best chemistry I’ve ever seen on a team,” he said. “You never see a guy alone. We walk around together. We eat together. We sleep together.”

    Ummmm…. sleep together?

    “Well, I mean, a lot of us are roommates,” he said. “You know, I just meant…. Actually, let me rephrase that….”

    Just wondering…

    Where was the extra two-minute penalty for instigating back when I was growing up and one of my three brothers was always causing trouble? I, of course, was an angel….

    New Point of Emphasis

    If this writer were made Dictator of the Universe, a new rules point of emphasis would be made to combat the frequent knocking of a net off its moorings. If you’ve seen even a single game, you’ve seen that as soon as an offensive opportunity beckons, either the goaltender knocks the net ajar or a defenseman suddenly looks like a beginner on double-runners, windmilling his arms as he plows into the cage to create a stoppage.

    Yet I can’t recall the last time I saw a delay of game penalty assessed for even the most blatantly deliberate of such measures.

    My solution? If the two-minute penalty isn’t going to be called, let’s electrify the post with a moderately high voltage to provide some disincentive for this abuse.

    A more constructive solution is expected to be examined by the NCAA Rules Committee. It will be looking at a proposal to allow goals even after the net has been knocked off its moorings.

    Two thumbs up for that.

    Trivia Contest

    First off, some old business from last week’s column. It said that loyal reader Gary Fay proudly confessed to being the player to take down Wayne Turner resulting in the unsuccessful penalty shot in question and that current BU assistant coach Brian Durocher was the goalie.

    One eagle-eyed reader who chose to stay anonymous, however, pointed out that since the penalty shot in question was in 1979 and Fay graduated in 1977 and Durocher in 1978, those two “facts” were impossible.

    I wrote Fay, asking if perhaps he’d hauled down so many guys in his time that he’d gotten a guilty conscience that had him pleading guilty even when innocent. Instead, the explanation is that Fay was remembering a takedown of BC’s Richie Smith in ’75 that resulted in a successful penalty shot.

    As for last week’s question, it asked what school records or unique achievements Northeastern freshman goaltender Keni Gibson had set this year. There are a couple marks that Gibson is on pace to set, namely save percentage (.908 compared to Marc Robitaille’s .904 in 1997-98) and goals against average (2.59 compared to Mike Gilhooly’s 3.14 two years ago). However, those aren’t records yet. By season’s end, those old marks could still be intact if Gibson falters.

    The two confirmed unique achievements are the most wins for a rookie goaltender, 14, surpassing Bruce Racine’s 11 in 1985-86, and recording the school’s first ever shutout of Boston University in 175 games dating back to 1930.

    (Mike Salvo also offers up Gibson making the most consecutive starts by a freshman, but that category isn’t listed in the Northeastern record book. NU Hockey Sports Information Director Ben Miller assumes that Gibson now holds the mark, but there isn’t a definitive answer.)

    First to respond with the two known records was Todd Cioffi, whose cheer is:

    “Go BU, a bye’s in our sights…. Go UML! Beat PC! Go NU! Beat the ‘Mack! Let’s send BC to the Alfond!”

    This week’s question asks which team entered the postseason with the longest losing streak, but still advanced to the Hockey East semifinals? Give the team, the year and the losing streak. Email me with as many of the answers as you can muster.

    Thanks to John Gould, Jeff Mannix, Sean Caruthers and Jayson Moy.

    • This Week in the CCHA: Feb. 28, 2002

    By
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    Finally, Something To Talk About

    The regular-season championship is on the line. In terms of an NCAA tournament invitation, it means nothing — but a championship is a championship.

    Finally, here’s the obligatory playoff chatter for which you’ve been longing.

    Michigan and Michigan State (17-5-4)

    How much more even can this thing get? Well, if the teams finish tied in points and wins, remember that they tied each other twice during the regular season.

    There is the possibility that the teams will tie in points but not wins, if one team ties its opponent twice this weekend and the other splits. Then the team with the greater number of wins would take the top seed in the first round of the playoffs.

    After that, it’s win percentage versus other teams in the league, from the top down. If Michigan State and Michigan end the season tied in points and league wins and Alaska-Fairbanks remains in third place, Michigan will be the regular-season champion because the Wolverines went 3-1-0 against UAF this season, while the Spartans were 1-1-0.

    If MSU and UM are tied in wins and points after this weekend and Northern Michigan vaults ahead of UAF in the standings — a possibility, as the Wildcats have two games against Lake State, while the Nanooks are finished with league play — MSU will be top seed because the Spartans were 2-0-0 against NMU, while the Wolverines were 0-2-0.

    If UAF and NMU finish tied for points, the Wildcats have that tiebreaker, so the seeding goes to the Spartans.

    The Spartans play a home-and-home series against Ferris State this weekend. The Wolverines are home-and-home against Western Michigan. Given WMU’s home record this season — and Lake State’s season-long performance, and the alignment of the planets — I’m guessing the Spartans will be the regular-season champs outright.

    Alaska-Fairbanks (15-10-3)

    The Nanooks are through with league play. They can finish no higher than third, no lower than fifth.

    Should the Nanooks and the fourth-place Wildcats tie in points, they’d also be tied in league wins. Who wins the tiebreaker, then? Northern Michigan, which beat Alaska-Fairbanks twice in Fairbanks, Jan. 25-26.

    Should UAF, NMU, and WMU tie for points, NMU has the tiebreaker over UAF (head-to-head), and WMU has the tiebreaker over NMU, giving WMU third place, NMU fourth, and UAF fifth.

    Northern Michigan (14-10-2)

    The Wildcats are in good position to move ahead of UAF, since NMU is playing LSSU twice this weekend. Should Northern win two against the Lakers this weekend, third place is guaranteed, as NMU would finish with one point more than UAF.

    Only Western Michigan can pass Northern this weekend. Should NMU drop two games to LSSU, WMU would need just one win against Michigan to outright pass the Wildcats. Should NMU drop one game to LSSU and WMU sweep Michigan, the Broncos would surpass the Wildcats.

    Should WMU take one point from Michigan this weekend and NMU drop both games against LSSU, the Broncos and Wildcats would be tied in both points and league wins. If that happens, Western wins the tiebreaker because of the Broncos’ sweep of Northern Feb. 8-9.

    The Wildcats could finish as high as third, but no lower than fifth. Should NMU end the season tied with UNO in points, NMU has the tiebreaker with one more league win than UNO.

    Nebraska-Omaha (13-11-4)

    The Mavericks are done with league play, and have only to sit back and watch the world around them.

    UNO can finish no higher than fifth and no lower than sixth. Should NMU and UNO remain tied in points, UAF would automatically still be in third, and the Wildcats hold the tiebreaker (league wins) over the Mavs.

    If Western Michigan takes one point from Michigan this weekend, UNO and WMU end the season tied in points, but the Mavs have the tiebreaker (league wins).

    Should WMU surpass UNO and Ohio State win against Miami, OSU and UNO would end tied in league wins and points, and head-to-head — but the Mavericks would win the tiebreaker (goal differential in head-to-head).

    Western Michigan (13-10-3)

    The Broncos can finish as high as third and as low as seventh.

    If WMU, UAF, and NMU all finish the season tied with 33 points each (WMU takes four points from Michigan, NMU takes three from LSSU), each team would also have 15 league wins. Northern has the tiebreaker over UAF (head-to-head), and UAF has the tiebreaker over WMU (head-to-head). Since WMU has the tiebreaker over NMU (head-to-head), WMU would finish third.

    To finish fourth, Northern Michigan must not take four points from the Lakers this weekend, and the Broncos must sweep Michigan, which would tie WMU with UAF. UAF has the tiebreaker (head-to-head).

    Should Western split with Michigan, the two points would automatically put the Broncos ahead of UNO. If nothing else in the standings from three to five changes, then WMU would finish fourth, NMU fifth, and UNO sixth.

    However, WMU splits with Michigan and NMU takes even one point from LSSU, WMU finishes fifth and UNO sixth.

    Does your head hurt yet?

    If WMU takes no points from Michigan and OSU beats Miami Friday night, the Broncos would finish seventh and OSU sixth. If the Broncs and Bucks finish tied in points — OSU takes a point from Miami, WMU takes none from Michigan — WMU wins the tiebreaker (league wins).

    Ohio State (12-11-4)

    Ohio State needs to win its lone remaining game against Miami Friday night for a shot at staying home in the first round of the playoffs. The Buckeyes would also need Michigan to beat WMU twice to secure home ice, as the Broncos are one point ahead of the Buckeyes and WMU has the tiebreaker (league wins).

    OSU can finish no higher than sixth, no lower than eighth. If the Buckeyes win and the Broncos lose, OSU would tie UNO in points, league wins, and head-to-head, but the Mavericks win on goal differential, giving UNO fifth place and OSU sixth.

    Notre Dame is four points behind OSU. To catch the Buckeyes, the Irish need to beat Bowling Green twice this weekend — and if Notre Dame does that, it would tie OSU in points and win on the tiebreaker (league wins). Should this happen, Notre Dame would finish seventh, and probably travel to the friendly confines of Lawson Arena.

    Notre Dame (10-12-4) and Ferris State (11-14-1)

    The Irish cannot host a first-round series. Notre Dame can finish as high as seventh place, and as low as ninth.

    If Notre Dame wins both its games this weekend and OSU loses to Miami Friday night, the Irish would catch OSU in points and win the tiebreaker (league wins) for seventh.

    Notre Dame is one point ahead of Ferris State, but the Bulldogs already have an advantage in league wins (11 to the Irish 10). These teams cannot end the season tied in both points and league wins, so FSU has the tiebreaker.

    Ferris State can finish no higher than eighth, no lower than ninth. In the unlikely event that FSU sweeps MSU and Notre Dame takes no points from Bowling Green, the Bulldogs will move ahead of the Irish, but they can’t catch the Buckeyes.

    Behind them, Miami can catch neither the Irish nor the Bulldogs.

    Miami (8-17-2) and Bowling Green (7-16-3)

    With one league game remaining, the RedHawks can finish only 10th or 11th. Either way for Miami, it’s either a long trip (UAF, NMU) or a series against Michigan or Michigan State in the first round.

    Ouch.

    If Miami beats Ohio State Friday night, they’ll have 20 league points, three ahead of Bowling Green. So, should Miami beat OSU, Bowling Green would need three points from Notre Dame this weekend to pass the RedHawks outright.

    Miami and Bowling Green can potentially end the season tied in points (19) and league wins (eight), if Miami ties Ohio State and BG splits with Notre Dame. In that case, the Falcons edge the RedHawks in goal differential head-to-head (11-9), as the teams split a pair of games this season.

    Lake Superior State (4-20-2)

    With just 10 league points, the Lakers are anchored in last place, with no potential to move up. All LSSU can do about the playoffs is wait to see who finishes in the top spot, then make travel plans for either East Lansing or Ann Arbor.

    Courtesy Call

    So, the Winter Olympics are over, and given the drugs and the French figure-skating judge, you’re still looking for that feel-good sense of sportsmanship.

    Well, then you should have been in Ann Arbor last weekend for the OSU-Michigan series.

    I’m not kidding. The play was intense, and on the ice things were rough with the potential to get nasty. But they never did — not after Michigan jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first ten minutes of the first game, when Ohio State could do nothing but skate around, not in the second period of the Wolverines’ 6-3 win the second night, when the game was anyone’s, really, until Michigan found that sixth goal.

    There were penalties. There were words exchanged. At one point, Mike Komisarek and R.J. Umberger were bumping bellies, mask-to-mask, and all one could think of was the potential damage to that valuable real estate.

    But at the ends of every period, when the two teams skated off the ice, there was no jostling, no words were exchanged — even though both teams leave the ice by the same door at Yost. In fact, many Buckeye players tried to leave the ice as the Michigan players were leaving, and there was no conflict.

    Then, during the post-series handshake, the lack of animosity was palpable. The teams genuinely congratulated each other on two tough games. Players who fought or thought about it when the game clock was ticking were smiling and joking in line.

    To the untrained eye, this behavior is baffling.

    Both coaches said afterward that the teams just have a healthy respect for each other.

    “We never got the sense that we could just take this team for granted,” said Michigan head coach Red Berenson, “and we knew we had to work hard. I think our players have great respect for them.”

    “Well,” said Berenson’s counterpart, OSU head coach John Markell, “you have to respect Michigan, but I think it goes both ways. I think both teams know that the other is always going to bring their game when they meet.”

    Somebody call Hallmark. I feel a moment coming on.

    The truth is actually threefold:

    1) Players from each team played together elsewhere, so many of these guys really do know and like each other.

    2) Each program attempted to land several of the other team’s players for its very own, so there is some familiarity on that level, too.

    3) These teams are young, and they just don’t have the collective memory of Michigan owning Ohio State outright for a decade of hockey. No sense of ownership on Michigan’s part; no sense of having been owned by the Buckeyes.

    Thank the hockey gods, however, that someone remembered something at Yost. Whenever Buckeye defender Scott Titus was on the ice, a small but enthusiastic group of Michigan fans chanted, “Titus sucks! Titus sucks!” When he was off the ice, the group chanted, “We want Titus! We want Titus!”

    It’s shocking that this group would even deign to use the junior’s real name. After all, in the Michigan Daily, the student newspaper, Titus was known as “The Villain” — never a name, though sometimes his number (five) was mentioned — after a Michigan-OSU series two years ago in Columbus.

    During the third period of the second game of that series, Mike Comrie — remember him? — cross-checked Titus near the right boards in the OSU end, and a brawl ensued. The only player who did not participate was Josh Blackburn, content to watch it all from his net at the other end.

    Jeff Jillson — remember him? — and J.F. Dufour went at it the best, dropping gloves and exchanging slugs. Buckeye goaltender Ray Aho mixed it up with someone a foot taller than he, but memory fails as to whom. However, both Aho and the Wolverine quit their small brawl by mutual consent, both smiling when it was over.

    Titus — whom the Michigan student reporters blamed for the fight — was triple-teamed during the melee, hardly causing any damage.

    After the game, Mark Kosick said that the Buckeyes were always cheap and dirty, and Eric Meloche responded by calling the Wolverines “weasels.” The Michigan Daily called Titus “The Villain” in every subsequent issue.

    Ah, those were the days.

    Now, the Buckeyes find themselves not only respecting the Wolverines, but rooting for them this weekend. When asked after OSU’s win over Miami Monday night whether he’d have any trouble pulling for Michigan this weekend, John Markell responded, “Go, Wolverines, go.”

    You Just Wouldn’t Understand

    In the latest issue of ESPN the Magazine, former MSU player Jeremy Jackson whines about his status in the world of hockey, alleging that he is where he is — with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the WHL, as opposed to being a drafted prospect on the fast track to NHL success — at least partly because he’s black.

    After disregarding team rules at Michigan State, Jackson was let go by Ron Mason.

    In the article, author Shaun Assael says that Georges Laraque of the Edmonton Oilers — himself a black player — tells Jackson that not everything is about race. He quotes Laraque on alleged discrimination as saying, “You know, Jeremy, part of that is your size.”

    That’s not all it is. Jackson should also realize that most of it is his lack of discipline, not his race, his need to connect with his roots, his need to find and assert himself for the person he is.

    The article implies that Laraque suffers for listening to country/western music — the preference, apparently, of many of the Oilers — in the locker room. Jackson claims that he pretends to like Dave Matthews just to fit in with white players.

    Frankly, if that’s the case, I feel sorry for these men. I could never get used to a diet of country music, and if I were forced to listen repeatedly to the Dave Matthews Band — an overrated act if ever there was one — I’d feel culturally violated as well.

    Of course, I’m white. A white chick. A white chick who covers hockey. Men’s hockey. In press boxes where the talk can revolve around anything from stick size to breast size. Where breast size — or body size, hair color, age — can determine whether or not you’re taken “seriously” as a reporter.

    As a chick, that is. Black or white.

    It Took A Full Season, But Look What We Have Here

    In this season of true parity — a lesson in “be careful what you wish for” — it took the full schedule for personality of some teams to emerge. There’s nothing wrong with that. After all, Grandma Moses didn’t start painting until she was in her 80s, and everyone makes the playoffs anyway.

    Here’s a brief Girl Reporter synopsis of each team, in the order of this week’s current standings.

    Michigan State

    The exciting thing about Michigan State this season is that the Spartans are, well, exciting.

    Last season, Ron Mason repeatedly said that his Spartans were a different team from those in recent years, one less defensive and more apt to score goals. This season, that is absolutely the case. Taking nothing away from MSU’s excellent defense, this is a squad that can open up a game, explode offensively, and — I didn’t believe it when I saw it myself — give up more than a few odd-man rushes.

    Why is this last part so exciting? Because CCHA fans have become bored with mere perfection. The tight, defensive Spartan strategies of years past had lulled non-MSU fans into believing that Spartan hockey was dull. (Disclaimer: not the opinion of the Girl Reporter.) Now that the Spartans have shown that their style of play allows for mistakes here and there, they also have a chance to show fans how amazing they can be at overcoming those mistakes.

    And now that the Spartans play a more rounded game — defense and offense, with outstanding goaltending — this team looks as though it has a good chance in the NCAA tourney.

    Michigan

    Come CCHA fans. Free your minds and the rest will follow. Michigan is the team people love to hate in this conference, but what’s not to love about the 2001-02 Wolverines?

    If you were lucky enough to witness Michigan’s win over Mercyhurst in the NCAA 2001 West Regional, you saw something missing from Wolverine hockey in recent years, something that seems to have carried over to this season: enthusiasm. This team plays with an infectious mixture of finesse and grinding, heart without the pretense of past years.

    From the very first game of the year, the “Cold War,” this young Michigan squad has shown that in addition to talent, it has a love of the game not clearly evident among Wolverines in recent years. They’re having fun, and they’re fun to watch.

    CCHA fans, drop your biases. These Wolverines are players you can root for in the Big Show.

    Let’s just hope they remain unsullied by their fawning local press.

    Alaska-Fairbanks

    If the Nanooks lived any closer to the rest of the conference, this just might seem like a Cinderella story.

    With certain criteria stacked against them — being in Alaska, for example — the Nanooks will finish third in CCHA play and host a first-round playoff series for the first time in team history.

    I haven’t seen the Nanooks play this season, but I’ve listened to them via the Internet nearly every home series. It’s clear that while goaltending is adequate, netminding and defense are not UAF’s strong points. The Nanooks are averaging 3.25 goals per game in conference play, 3.56 (to lead the league) overall. This is a potentially explosive club but one that can certainly get caught with its defensive guard down.

    Anyone who has followed my column through the years knows that I’ve always had a soft spot for the Nanooks, so what I’ve heard from around the league this season — if true — pains me to report. From reliable sources throughout the league, I’ve heard that the Nanooks are deliberately unsportsmanlike, in many aspects of the game. If true, this saddens me.

    But, as I’ve been told recently in many email messages from loyal readers, hockey is a man’s sport, so what do I know?

    I do know this: no player is an angel who approaches the century mark in penalty minutes, so Voros fans can stop writing to me about his inherent virtue.

    With the heart this team has shown this season, UAF has a legitimate shot at capturing the league’s playoff title.

    Northern Michigan

    I’m going to say this and I don’t care who complains: I love this team.

    I saw the Wildcats play two tough, clean games in Columbus early in the season, then saw them take it to the opposition during the Everblades tournament in December. The Cockburn-Theuer combo may very well be the best in the league.

    This is a smart, fast, talented team that — like the Nanooks — perennially must overcome certain recruiting obstacles. They are a blue-collar, tenacious bunch, but they will only go as far as Craig Kowalski can take them. Yes, that’s a lot of pressure to put on one sophomore, but that’s the way it is.

    Which team will show up for the first round of the playoffs, the Wildcats that beat Bowling Green 4-1 last Friday, or the team that got blanked by BG 6-0 the following night?

    Nebraska-Omaha

    This is a team that typifies the “parity” of the league this season — as does WMU, OSU, Notre Dame, and Ferris State. A team that can look like the best in the conference, and a team that looks like it utterly lacks direction.

    Dan Ellis is a goaltender that isn’t praised enough, and I’m guilty of that as well. Ellis is both tough and elegant in net, a pleasure to watch, and one look at UNO’s stats tell the story of the team with Ellis this season.

    The Mavericks ended the CCHA season going 3-4-1 in February. (Don’t talk to me about January’s record, Mavs fans; look at the strength of schedule.) During that stretch, the Mavericks outscored opponents 19-16, thanks to back-to-back shutouts against Miami, but two losses to Michigan and one point from Fairbanks — the two teams on February’s schedule ahead of UNO — are a good indication of why the Mavericks are middle-packers this season.

    Inconsistency seems to be the hobgoblin that’s troubling UNO. The Bullpen is a tough place to play, but middle-packers may be upset in the first round of the playoffs.

    Western Michigan

    It’s a good thing this team can score goals, because the Broncos don’t have a viable defense.

    From the net out, this team will have to play better team defense to advance after the first round of the playoffs, let alone through the CCHA tourney in Detroit.

    The Broncos have cleaned up their collective act — a relief, given how chippy this team has been in years past — and score more than three goals per game, but WMU gives up three per game as well, outscoring league opponents just 88-82 this season. The team, as a whole, is in the minus, both overall and in league play.

    Still, Western is a fun team to watch, capable of breaking a game wide open. They play an intense game.

    Ohio State

    The heart and soul of this hockey team is the defense, and when the defensive corps is on its game, OSU is nearly unbeatable.

    That, however, has happened so inconsistently in this second half of the season that it’s hard to get a read on this team.

    Without question, this is a team in need of better leadership — or, at least a team in need of having everyone on the same page. I’m not question captain Jason Crain’s leadership abilities (except when he takes stupid penalties), but I am questioning whether or not this team is focused as a single unit on one, solid, tangible goal.

    Mike Betz is as good as the team in front of him; when they’re off, he’s off. When the D-corps is on, the Buckeyes can compensate for any inconsistencies among the frontmen.

    Two first-round draft picks and the Buckeyes aren’t scoring goals? Something’s rotten in the state of Ohio.

    Notre Dame

    The Irish have been a pleasant surprise this season, more focused than they have been in seasons past, vying for the title of “hardest-working team in college hockey.”

    Unlike other middle-packers, the Irish have actually improved this season from last, and seem to play with all the heart in the world. The team is collectively on the plus side of things in both overall and conference play (unlike other middle-packers); the goaltending of rookie Morgan Cey has been more than adequate; veterans seem to be playing inspired hockey (David Inman is having a career season).

    So many of the games that Notre Dame has lost this season have been by one or two goals that it’s clear that the Irish are just this close to climbing out of the middle of the pack next season — maybe.

    Ferris State

    The Bulldogs are a tough team, a little on the small side, but fast and skilled. Rob Collins is another player having a career season, and Chris Kunitz is either benefitting from that, or is establishing himself as one talented little instigator.

    In net for FSU, Mike Brown and John de Caro have stepped up admirably.

    All in all, FSU is a middle-pack team with some talent, some intensity, some speed — and seemingly no desire to climb out of the middle of the pack. There’s nothing wrong with this team, but there’s nothing there to spark the Bulldogs on to bigger and better things.

    Miami

    Talk about something rotten in the state of Ohio.

    Monday night’s match in Columbus between the RedHawks and the Buckeyes was a battle of who wanted to lose less. Neither team had any zip, and Miami looked awful — that’s the only way to put it.

    This was surprising, given how hard the Bucks and ‘Hawks usually play each other, no matter where either team is in the standings. To say these squads dislike each other is putting it mildly. Yes, there are some players on each team friendly with players on the other, but the intrastate rivalry has always been intense, so when Monday’s game packed the punch of three-hour-old dishwater, any observer had to know that something was wrong.

    And what is wrong with Miami? Lack of heart? Lack of leadership? There are rumors about every team, of course, but there’s nothing substantiated here. It’s a team that just doesn’t seem to have a pulse.

    And that’s a shame.

    Bowling Green

    The Falcons have two players: Tyler Masters and Greg Day.

    Masters has a save percentage of .905 overall — respectable — but a goals against average of 3.36. No defense in front of him. Need further proof? The team is a collective -117 overall.

    Day has 17 goals and 16 assists, and no other Falcon has goal totals in the double digits.

    Buddy Powers’ contract is up at the end of this season. It has yet to be renewed. I like Powers, and would hate to see him go.

    If the Falcons have it in them to step up, now would be a good time.

    Lake Superior State

    The Laker team I saw in Columbus played its heart out. Their coach disagreed, and said that his team has little to no talent.

    This is all I know.

    NCHA Playoff Preview

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    The playoff format in the NCHA has changed, but the top four teams has remained constant. Once again, St. Norbert, Wisconsin-Superior, Wisconsin-River Falls and Wisconsin-Stevens Point make up the final four

    But everyone’s excited about the new format: single elimination semifinals and finals. Previously, all three rounds consisted of a best-of-two format with a possible minigame. Now, only the quarterfinals use that system.

    “What we’ve tried to do is emulate the NCAA tournament,” said St. Norbert head coach Tim Coghlin. “There’s not a lot of opportunity for us [during the season] to get into tournaments that are single-elimination, four teams at one site.

    “Two [games] and the mini in the first round should eliminate upsets … it’s not a one-shot deal. Plus, this year, we took a bye week, and tried to get some bodies back and healthy, and I think that made sense.”

    That week off between the quarterfinals and the championship may make a difference in the NCAA tournament, according to Coghlin.

    “Back in the late 80’s when you had two teams coming out and it was two games and a mini-game for the championship, that format was advantageous to the NCHA at that time,” he said. “But there was a stretch of time there where Middlebury, as an example, had to choose tournaments, and would sometimes sit for two or three weeks, and they looked awfully fresh when they came out.

    “That’s part of our thinking too, with the single elimination and the bye week. We grind ourselves enough in this league. Hopefully, it’s something that will help a western team in the future.”

    Steve Freeman, head coach at Wisconsin-River Falls, also likes the format change, especially the week off.

    “With that weekend, it gives you a chance to heal up and rest up,” he said. ” Last year we played Lake Forest, then we played St. Norbert, then we played Superior. Then we jumped right into the NCAA tournament. Certainly the Norbert-Superior, back-to-back weekends, it certainly takes its toll.”

    And as far as the coaches are concerned, the hockey will be the best in Division III.

    “This is as good a final four as we’re going to see anywhere, no question in my mind,” said Coghlin. I think this particular weekend of play will be exceptional.”

    “There’s not another tournament anywhere in the world going on that’s going to be better than this one, now that the Olympics is over,” said Wisconsin-Stevens Point coach Joe Baldarotta.

    “You’ve got four teams that have history with each other, four teams that have been playing really well the last half of the season, four teams that know each other fairly well. … There’s not a tournament out East over Thanksgiving or Christmas or anything that even matches up with it. This could be more prestigious at some point than even the final field for the NCAA.”

    What are keys to winning the NCHA title? Dan Stauber, head coach at Wisconsin-Superior, thinks it’s going to come down to special teams this weekend.

    “Five-on-five hockey, I’ve seen it this year, everybody’s pretty tight,” he said. “In a power-play situation, you’d better capitalize. That might be your only opportunity.”

    With one and perhaps two NCAA berths on the line as well, the intensity level will be high.

    “Every faceoff, every pass, this is the highest level it gets to,” said Baldarotta. “It may determine if you get a chance to survive and do what you love to do on Monday. I don’t envision anybody having a bad game. … That’s the most exciting part about it. Everyone’s going to be at their best.”

    Team Capsules

    St. Norbert (22-3-2) — First team to go undefeated in league play in 18 years … Has leading scorer in the league (freshman Jason Deitsch) … Goaltender Ryan Gill is first in the league in GAA (2.07) and fifth in save percentage (.914) … Leads the NCHA in total offense, power play and penalty kill … Ranked third in the USCHO.com poll … The Green Knights are undefeated in their last 11 games.

    Wisconsin-Superior (18-5-4) — Has lost only twice since the holiday break … Is 18-0 when leading after two periods this season … Goaltender Nate Ziemski is fourth in the league in GAA (2.64) and seventh in save percentage (.892) … Ranked sixth in the USCHO.com poll … The YellowJackets were 1-0-1 against semifinal opponent Wisconsin-Stevens Point this season.

    Wisconsin-Stevens Point (17-8-2) — Undefeated in its last nine games after being just 10-8 in mid-January … Third in the league in both power play (18.0%) and penalty kill (84.5%) … Led by a freshman in scoring, as Mike Brolsma has 37 total points.

    Wisconsin-River Falls (18-7-2) — Has won three in a row after a 2-4 stretch … Also led in scoring by a freshman, Josh Schlipp (30 points) … Is a combined last in the league in special teams (10.4% power play; 82.3% penalty kill) … The Falcons were 0-2 against semifinal opponent St. Norbert during the regular season, losing 5-2 and 2-1.

    Ed Trefzger and Todd D. Milewski contributed to this piece.

    This Week in the SUNYAC: Feb. 28, 2002

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    Another Nailbiting Weekend

    The first round of the SUNYAC playoffs saw both series end up in the mini-game. The second round nearly had the same result.

    Plattsburgh needed the mini to knock off Geneseo. Meanwhile, Oswego came as close as you can get, winning the series in overtime in the second game. We’ll call that a virtual mini-game — humor us — thus making it, unofficially at least, four for four in mini-game series.

    When all is said and done, it turns out that the top two teams in the regular season end up facing off against each other. Oswego and Plattsburgh, no strangers to rivalry, duke it out for the SUNYAC championship and the right to continue in the NCAA playoffs.

    The Mini-Game That Wasn’t Expected

    After game one of the Geneseo at Plattsburgh series, who would have figured this series would wind up in the mini-game?

    Plattsburgh cruised to a 7-1 victory Friday night thanks to a four=goal outburst in the second period. Highlighting the scoring was Darren Partch, who got two goals and two assists. Niklas Sundberg made 25 saves, losing the shutout with just under five minutes to play.

    Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery was prophetic when he told the Plattsburgh Press Republican, “It doesn’t matter if we won this game 7-1 or 2-1. All we did tonight was guarantee a mini-game.”

    Wouldn’t you know it, they did just that. Geneseo, after losing three straight and being outscored 17-2 to the Cardinals this season, bounced back to surprise Plattsburgh, 2-1.

    The key goal in that game just may have been the first one. Geneseo got a shorthanded goal with 51 seconds left in the first, by Andy Ford on a shot that deflected off the post.

    That gave the Ice Knights a boost, and when they held Plattsburgh scoreless through two periods, an idea arose that they could pull off the upset. Even when the Cardinals tied it up early in the third on a goal by James Coleman, Geneseo was not deterred.

    Brian Avery scored the game winner on a wrister from the slot area with just under eight minutes to play. Brett Walker held off Plattsburgh, totaling 31 saves.

    Plattsburgh’s offense woke up in the mini-game, storming out of the gate en route to a 3-0 victory. Jason Kilcan and Adam Richards scored 21 seconds apart a quarter of the way in to end any hopes for Geneseo. Richards added an empty netter and Sundberg stopped all 10 shots.

    Different Format Prevented Mini-Game

    Before this year, the Cortland at Oswego series would have gone to the mini-game. That is because they didn’t play the five-minute overtimes for the regular games in the past.

    With the teams tying 1-1 the first night despite the extra five minutes, and then ending regulation in the second game tied at four, there would have been a mini.

    Instead, Oswego, which historically has not had much luck in mini-games, ended it all with a goal 28 seconds into overtime of game two.

    Game one was saved by Oswego’s Jared Marinich, who scored with 1:42 left to play. John Larnerd’s 36 saves for Cortland was almost for naught.

    On the other end, Tyson Gajda made 28 saves. The lone goal for Cortland was scored by Matt Donskov on the power play 25 seconds into the middle period.

    The next night, the teams again ended regulation tied, this time 4-4. Once again, Larnerd came up big making 33 saves in the three periods. Oswego finally put Cortland away 28 seconds into overtime on a goal by Matt Vashaw, who shot through a crowd.

    So Cortland, which nearly got upset by Buffalo State, ends up nearly upsetting Oswego. However, it was a great run this year for the Red Dragons and their first year coach, Tom Canfield. Look for them to be strong contenders next season.

    Meanwhile, Oswego travels up to Plattsburgh for yet another meeting of traditional foes. Note: Vashaw scored one other overtime goal this year. It was the one that beat Plattsburgh back in January.

    Final Format

    Unlike the first two rounds, there will be no mini-game in the finals. No, we’re not making that a prediction. It’s a guarantee. That’s because this is (almost) a true-blue best-of-three series — with the exception being that ties are allowed.

    However, if the series is tied after the first two games (1-1 or 0-0-2), then they will play a complete game three Sunday afternoon. If that game ends in a tie, then unlike the first two games, which will have a single five-minute overtime, game three will play 20-minute sudden death overtime periods until somebody scores a goal.

    The winner gets the SUNYAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA playoffs. The loser will have no hope of an at-large bid, and thus will end the season.

    Finals Preview

    Oswego (10-3-1, 17-8-2) at Plattsburgh (13-1, 19-8)

    This series is an enigma. Every time you think you have an angle figured out, another fact sends you back scratching your head.

    Plattsburgh finished the season with a 13-1 conference record. They are playing in Stafford Arena. This should be a blowout, right? Oswego has no chance, right?

    Wait a second. That one loss was to Oswego. In Stafford. And Plattsburgh barely got by Potsdam in the last game of the season, and lost to Geneseo in game two of the semifinals.

    So, it appears that Oswego does have a chance, right?

    Again, wait a second. Ever since Oswego took that 3-2 overtime win, they haven’t exactly been stellar. They lost to Geneseo and Fredonia, and tied Buffalo State. Then, they couldn’t win a game against Cortland in regulation during the semifinals.

    What’s a prognosticator to do? Look at the three things that win playoff games — goaltending, defense, and special teams.

    Plattsburgh has the edge in goaltending. Let’s face it, no matter how good the Oswego tandem of Joe Lofberg and Tyson Gajda has been (each has played 14 games overall, each has a .918 conference save percentage), the fact is Niklas Sundberg outranks them.

    There is a reason why Sundberg was named first team All-SUNYAC. It’s not just his .931 conference save percentage or 1.76 GAA. It’s also his ability to keep his team in the game when they are being outplayed. And, he has the experience to win the big one, built from many championship games, including the biggest one of all last year.

    In conference play, Plattsburgh has the edge in defense, but not by much. The Cardinals have let up 25 league goals while Oswego has seen the red light go on 33 times. Plattsburgh has been known to be outskated in their own zone at times, but overall they know how to play behind the blue line.

    Special teams are too close to call. Plattsburgh has converted 21.9% of their league power plays, Oswego 21.7%. Plattsburgh has a 90.1% effectiveness killing off penalties while Oswego is a tick behind at 90.0%.

    If all the above still makes it too close to call, sometimes, you just need to throw out all the logical data and look at this way — can Oswego beat Plattsburgh in Stafford two out of three games?

    No. But, don’t put any money in Las Vegas on it. Just in case.

    Please, No Tennis Balls

    It is traditional, some think an absurd tradition, for Plattsburgh fans to toss tennis balls after their team scores the first goal against Oswego.

    This weekend, that would be a really, really stupid thing to do. That’s because, with so much at stake in the playoffs, the last thing the home crowd wants to risk is a penalty against the Cardinals. And don’t think the refs won’t hesitate to do so at this time of the year.

    Save the tennis balls for when the snow melts, and you can go out on the court.

    SUNYAC Trivia

    Last Week’s Question

    Who is the only player to win the SUNYAC Rookie of the Year and then later win the SUNYAC Player of the Year?

    Looking at the list of Rookies of the Year, a virtual Who’s Who of SUNYAC hockey, one would assume that a bunch of them went on to win Player of the Year. Yet, despite many of them having stellar careers, only one did just that.

    That was Tracey Belanger, who won the rookie award in 1996, and the Player of the Year award in 1998 and 1999. Belanger also won the SUNYAC tournament MVP in 1999, becoming the only player to complete the hat trick of league awards.

    This Week’s Question

    Besides the aforementioned Belanger, how many other players won the SUNYAC Player of the Year and the SUNYAC tournament MVP?

    This Week In The WCHA: Feb. 28, 2002

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    A Learning Experience — Somewhat

    What we learned from last weekend’s Denver-St. Cloud State series:

  • Jake Moreland can do a pretty admirable job on short notice. Filling in for starter Dean Weasler, a casualty of the flu, St. Cloud’s Moreland stopped 25 shots Saturday in a pressure-packed situation.
  • Don’t give Denver’s Chris Paradise three chances to score. He’ll get hat tricks, like he did in Friday’s 5-2 Pioneers win.
  • Don’t always believe statistics. Denver was 27-0-1 in games in which it led, before Saturday’s 4-2 Huskies victory.
  • Don’t underestimate the Huskies’ Mark Hartigan’s ability to swing a game in his team’s favor. A night after being minus-4, he scored the game-winning goal Saturday.
  • Don’t call something the Clash for the Cup when you’re not sure the Cup is going to be awarded.

    What we didn’t learn is the big thing: We still don’t know the identity of this year’s MacNaughton Cup champion.

    Denver had it in its hands, up 2-1 after 40 minutes on Saturday, needing only a draw in the third period to get its hands on the Cup. Instead, it’s a one-weekend race. Denver, still with a one-point lead, is at North Dakota; St. Cloud State has a home-and-home series with bitter rival Minnesota.

    Last Statement

    The MacNaughton Cup isn’t the only thing that’s going to come down to the last weekend of the regular season. Any number of individual awards will be decided in the WCHA’s final games before the playoffs.

    This is the last week players can make an impression on voters for the league’s major awards — player of the year, defensive player of the year, rookie of the year and coach of the year — as well as the first, second, third and rookie teams.

    St. Cloud State’s Hartigan made a case for player of the year last Saturday night, scoring the game-winning goal at Denver, keeping the Huskies in the hunt for the championship. Don’t rule out Denver goalie Wade Dubielewicz, Johnny Pohl, a dominating force on Minnesota’s offense, or Pohl’s teammate, defenseman Jordan Leopold.

    An issue with selecting Leopold as the player of the year might be that there’s already an award for the top defenseman. A defenseman hasn’t been named player of the year since 1998, when North Dakota’s Curtis Murphy won that award but not the defensive honor.

    North Dakota’s Brandon Bochenski is a top candidate to be rookie of the year. He’s averaging over a point per game in WCHA play on a Sioux team that has struggled all season.

    A pair of St. Cloud State players, Mike Doyle and Peter Szabo, could figure into the mix, as could Gophers defenseman Keith Ballard, the coaches’ preseason choice as top rookie.

    Coach of the year should come down to either Denver’s George Gwozdecky or St. Cloud State’s Craig Dahl. Neither’s team was picked for the top three, but there they are.

    In statistical titles, Hartigan has a two-point lead over Pohl for the WCHA scoring championship. With the Gophers and Huskies playing each other this weekend, each will know where the other stands.

    Barring a Herculean weekend from any of a number of players that trail him, Hartigan will be the goalscoring champion. He has 22 goals in 26 games, putting him six goals ahead of a pack of players with two games left.

    Likewise, Leopold is a shoo-in for the defenseman scoring title. He has 31 points, seven ahead of Alaska-Anchorage’s Matt Shasby, not a bad selection for the league’s first team.

    Bochenski is three points clear at the top of the freshman scoring race. His 27 points lead Doyle and Szabo by three.

    And Dubielewicz, who’s lost only two games all season, is all but assured of his second straight goaltending title. His 1.62 goals against average is more than a half-goal better than No. 2 Dean Weasler of St. Cloud State. His save percentage is .949, meaning in WCHA games, he stops just about 19 of every 20 pucks he sees.

    The Turnaround

    How does a team humbled by one opponent one weekend do the same thing to another opponent the next?

    The key word there is humbled. Yes, Alaska-Anchorage was a bit red in the face after its pair of losses at St. Cloud State two weekends ago.

    By the time last weekend rolled around, they were red-hot.

    The Seawolves cooled off Colorado College with a pair of one-goal victories in Anchorage, fueled by junior forward Petr Chytka.

    Chytka, the USCHO forward of the week, scored three of UAA’s five goals, including both game-winners.

    “I think it had something to do with St. Cloud the week before — we were embarrassed by our performance, so that was a factor,” Chytka told the Anchorage Daily News. “Now, we know that maybe we’re peaking.

    “And this is the most important time to have confidence and be playing well. Maybe everyone woke up after the St. Cloud series and realized, ‘Hey, there’s not much time left in the season.'”

    Now, there’s no time left in the Seawolves’ WCHA regular season. UAA, which hosts Alaska-Fairbanks this weekend, will finish at 24 points, double the output of last year.

    The sweep of CC gives the Seawolves a lift right when they need it — before a series with in-state rival Fairbanks and before the WCHA playoffs.

    “We haven’t played a better series all season,” Seawolves coach John Hill told the Daily News. “I can say we played six straight periods of solid hockey. I hope these guys realize what they can do when they all play, when they do all the little things.”

    Taking A Tumble

    Courtesy of two losses at Alaska-Anchorage last weekend, Colorado College now knows where it’ll finish in the WCHA, and has to be feeling a little less secure about what it’ll be doing the week after the Final Five.

    The Tigers dropped from sixth to ninth in the Pairwise Rankings. They can’t afford to fall any further in the rankings. Only the top 10 teams in the Pairwise at selection time last year made the big dance because of automatic bids going to teams that were lower in the rankings.

    Since there’s always a chance for surprises in the conference playoffs, that No. 9 spot is very close to the cutoff line.

    Looking Ahead

    As awful as it sounds for North Dakota fans, maybe eighth place won’t be so bad for the Sioux.

    First of all, that would mean a Minnesota-North Dakota first-round series. If there’s one team the Sioux can fire up to play against, it’s the Gophers. And in Minneapolis, no less. The Sioux haven’t been able to beat Minnesota in Grand Forks in four tries, but they were a period away from a sweep at Mariucci.

    Secondly, you have to think Sioux coach Dean Blais would use an eighth-place finish as a mental reminder to his team for the offseason.

    Meanwhile, with two games left, no first-round matchup is set. Michigan Tech will finish 10th and play the MacNaughton Cup champion, either Denver or St. Cloud State. Minnesota-Duluth will finish ninth and play the team that comes up short of the silver trophy.

    Minnesota will finish third and play the eighth-place team. Colorado College is locked into fourth, where they’ll host the seventh-place finisher.

    First, second, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth positions are up in the air this weekend.

    Hurting Pioneers

    Denver defenseman Aaron MacKenzie and forward Lukas Dora are out for this weekend’s regular-season finale at North Dakota.

    MacKenzie had surgery on a broken left wrist and will be out until at least two weekends, the Denver Post reported. The earliest he could return would be the March 14-16 WCHA Final Five.

    Dora sprained his left knee and might be able to play in the Pioneers’ first-round playoff series.

    In Case You’re Wondering

    You asked: How do the final standings shake out if Minnesota State-Mankato, Alaska-Anchorage, Wisconsin and North Dakota all finish with 24 points?

    The math goes something like this:

    Using the first of the WCHA’s tiebreaking procedures, the teams are compared on head-to-head competition. Or, in this case, head-to-head-to-head-to-head competition.

    Using a Pairwise-esque comparison, Alaska-Anchorage would finish fifth, with Mankato sixth, Wisconsin seventh and North Dakota eighth. Here’s how it shakes out:

  • UAA won the season series against Wisconsin and North Dakota, and tied with Mankato. That’s two points — only series victories count as a point; series losses do not count as a point in the negative.
  • Mankato has one point from a series win over North Dakota, but so does Wisconsin. Mankato earns the sixth seed on the second tiebreaker, most conference victories. This hypothetical assumes Wisconsin gets one point this weekend, and therefore can not have more than its current 10 wins. Mankato has 11 wins.
  • North Dakota lost the season series to all three teams, leaving it with zero points.

    Did you really want to talk about tiebreakers, or were you just making chit-chat?

    In Case You’re Wondering, Part II

    Things are a little simpler if a tiebreaker is needed between Denver and St. Cloud State.

    It’s Denver. No ifs, ands or buts. Well, one but. If the teams finish the season with the same number of points, they’ll be co-champions, but Denver gets the top seed.

    It could come down to the third tiebreaker, fewer goals against in the season series between the teams, but Denver wins that 7-6 after last weekend’s games.

    The old language of the WCHA tiebreaker rules said that particular tiebreaker was only for comparing teams that played a four-game regular-season series, but that was amended to include those teams that played a two-game series.

    Slipping In

    Jeff Sauer and Wisconsin can consider themselves fortunate that they have gone winless in their last seven games, yet still can win their way into fifth place in the last weekend.

    After a devastating overtime loss to Minnesota last Saturday night, the Badgers dropped a point behind the pace for fifth. With the teams ahead of them having exhausted WCHA games, though, the Badgers still have their fate in their hands with Minnesota-Duluth at the Kohl Center this weekend.

    “Three weeks ago, somebody asked what would it take to get to this point,” Sauer told reporters this week. “At that point in time, I felt we were going to have to win certainly more games than we have ahead of us, but other people behind us have kind of helped us out along the way. Now, we’re at a point where we have to help ourselves. If we win a game, we’ll play Mankato in the first round of the playoffs.”

    Add To The Ammo

    The ranks of those in favor of using video replay on disputed goals may have gained a few new members in Colorado Springs last weekend.

    In a 2-1 loss at Alaska-Anchorage last Friday night, Colorado College should have been credited with a tying goal with three minutes left, video replays show.

    Seawolves goaltender Kevin Reiter swept a trickling puck out of the net after it had crossed the goal line. Neither the referee nor the goal judge saw it that way.

    “That could have changed the complexion of the weekend,” CC coach Scott Owens told The Gazette of Colorado Springs. “But I’m not one to make a lot of excuses, and the bottom line is, we didn’t play well early, and they got a breath of confidence and an extra jump in their step, and they just fed off it.”

    Too Early?

    With two assists last weekend, Michigan Tech defenseman Clay “Woody” Wilson cracked the 10-point mark for his freshman season.

    Wilson, who the Michigan Tech hockey notes will tell you is “featured weekly on USCHO.com,” has 11 points as a rookie.

    Is it too early to start the Woody for Hobey 2005 campaign?

    • This Week in the MAAC: Feb. 28, 2002

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    …And Down The Stretch They Come

    With only one week left in the regular season, for once, a lot of the MAAC playoff picture is clear. We know the eight qualifiers and the fact that Fairfield, AIC and Bentley could have early March tee times, weather permitting.

    Still left up for grabs is home ice. Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac have clinched. Sacred Heart and Canisius hold destiny in their hands — they each need two victories this weekend to remain home. Holy Cross still has hope. Its sweep, combined with a loss or tie by Canisius, earns it home ice. It’s even possible for them to pass Sacred Heart for third as the two clubs face off in a key match on Friday night.

    The remaining three teams can battle for position. Army feels like a lock for the eighth spot and the trip to Erie, Penn., which will be a rematch as Army faces Mercyhurst this Friday night.

    Iona stands one point behind sixth-place Connecticut with a tougher schedule (Canisius and Mercyhurst) than UConn (Quinnipiac and Bentley). And for the record, if Iona does finish seventh, it seems almost a penalty for the team that finishes second. There’s certainly no reward to working your tail off all season only to face the run-and-gun offense of Iona.

    Looking back, there have been some big surprises. Mercyhurst winning the league doesn’t surprise anyone, but not suffering its first league loss until February 23 — that’s a surprise.

    Sacred Heart’s position at this point shouldn’t be a surprise, but as quiet as the Pioneers are, they don’t carry a pack of believers. Quinnipiac, however, is a big surprise. A win Friday night would give them one less than a year ago in a season which saw the Maize and Blue dress 13 freshmen every night. That’s amazing. Holy Cross, too, has been a surprise. From ninth to possibly as high as third is a major jump in any league.

    There have also been surprises of the disappointing sort. Iona’s injury-induced nosedive after beginning the season 4-0-1 has been difficult to stomach. Thought by many to be a legitimate challenge to Mercyhurst for the top spot, the Gaels didn’t get it going midseason and suffered a bad slide in the month of February. And though Fairfield has never been a league contender, the amount of promise the Stags showed a year ago gave reason to believe they would finish significantly higher than the last-place finish they are heading for.

    Alas, as we come to the end of this seemingly short, but sometimes too-long season, it’s time to reflect on the best efforts. The league coaches have submitted their ballots for all-league nominations, though the announcements are still two weeks away.

    Here, though, is my estimation of how the league awards should stack up.

    First Team MAAC All-Stars

    Forwards

    Patrick Rissmiller, Holy Cross: The Crusaders have done one of the best 180s in the country. The program, winner of the inaugural MAAC tournament four years ago, found itself at the low point of low points a year ago — missing the playoffs on the final weekend of the year. This year, though most prognosticators — including this one — picked the Crusaders to again get an early start to the offseason, Holy Cross has leapt not only into the playoffs, but into contention for home ice. Forward Pat Rissmiller has been the center of the Holy Cross success. It is likely that Rissmiller won’t lead the league in scoring that will likely go to Iona’s Ryan Carter. But Rissmiller will be an impact player come playoff time. Rissmiller and defenseman Tony Deluzio are the only two players on the Holy Cross roster who played on the 1999 championship team. With championship experience being the one factor missing from Holy Cross, look to Rissmiller for the leadership that could end in the NCAA tournament.

    Ryan Carter, Iona: It’s hard to play hockey with a bullseye on your back. Many good players can experience this for a year or two in college after having a breakthrough year somewhere in the middle of their career. Iona’s Ryan Carter has lived this life since the end of his freshman year. Now a senior, Carter cleaned up in awards during the MAAC inaugural season of 1998-99. Registering 33 goals and 30 assists, Carter ran away with the league scoring title. Since that day, Carter has been one of the most marked men in the league. That, along with the overall parity of the league, has contributed to a dip in Carter’s scoring. Still, though, with two games left in the regular season, Carter has 93 career goals and 176 career points. After feeling like he struggled through his junior season (scoring only 33 points), Carter came alive in the second half of this season. With 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists), Carter holds the overall scoring lead. The Gaels have struggled through the second half of the season, having been bitten hard by the injury bug, with Carter firing on all cylinders, Iona becomes the league’s most-unwanted first-round opponent.

    Martin Paquet, Sacred Heart: Since his first day at Sacred Heart, Martin Paquet has made a major impact on this upstart program. As a freshman in 1999-2000, Paquet scored 40 points to lead the Pioneers in scoring. This weekend, Paquet along with Fairfield’s Rae Metz and Mercyhurst’s Louis Goulet, could become the first MAAC players to lead their respective teams in scoring for three consecutive years. His scoring output may have diminished from his spectacular rookie campaign (31 points this season), but Paquet’s impact on the ice has not. Always a threat to score, Paquet is a born leader, according to his coach Shaun Hannah. Paquet’s vocal style has carried his team near the top of the MAAC standings, and could clinch the Pioneers their first home ice in the four years of the MAAC. Impressively, in comparing Paquet to players like Rissmiller and Mercyhurst’s Goulet, note that most of Paquet’s points do not come on the power play. Only 10 of his 31 points are man-advantage numbers. But three of his 13 total goals have been game-winners, making Paquet a big-time player.

    Defensemen

    R. J. Irving, Holy Cross: The defensive position was a tough call on the ballot. As hard as it is to overlook a gritty player like UConn’s Mike Boylan, the play of Holy Cross’ R. J. Irving both offensively (leading defensemen in scoring entering this weekend) and his ability to play in his own zone make him the choice. Irving has been the backbone to the Holy Cross power play, joining teammate Rissmiller and Quinnipiac’s Brian Herbert for the league lead in power-play points (20). The Holy Cross power play has been integral to the team’s success this season, clicking at an incredible 30.5 percent, second in the country only to No. 2 St. Cloud State. Irving is only a sophomore, so look to the Crusaders to continue to have a super power play for at least two more years.

    Les Hrapchak, Sacred Heart: Sacred Heart is the one team in the league that seems like the quiet church mouse, but ironically in my mind joins Holy Cross with two players one my all-league ballot. Few talk about Sacred Heart as the team that will win it all. In the upcoming first round of the playoffs, many might not even give the Pioneers a chance at victory. But thanks to player like Paquet and defenseman Les Hrapchak, the Pioneers, in my opinion, should be the most-feared playoff opponent. In the words of the opposition, this coming from Iona coach Frank Bretti, Hrapchak is the “most poised defenseman in the conference.” Poised he is, and to that we should add the word “leader.” Hrapchak’s ability to move the puck and to fire a bomb from the point makes his my pick as the league’s top defenseman. Don’t be too surprised, though, to see Hrapchak not even make the MAAC All-League teams. Though this writer would vote for a solid defensive player, some may opt for the offensive defensemen like Irving and Bentley’s Steve Tobio. But Hrapchak is the complete player.

    Goaltender

    Peter Aubry, Mercyhurst: If there was a single most valuable player in the MAAC, Peter Aubry would be a top contender. I can grant the fact that he has a stellar team in front of him, one that could carry itself to another NCAA tournament bid. But no matter what team you’re on, if you lead every goaltending category (2.26 goals against average, .927 save percentage, .720 winning percentage) you are stellar. After last year’s performance in the NCAA tournament, Aubry returned this year with all eyes on him. His league record of 17-1-2 is mind-blowing. Aubry will be key to Mercyhurst’s tournament hopes.

    Second Team MAAC All-Stars

    F: Louis Goulet, Mercyhurst
    F: Brian Herbert, Quinnipiac
    F: Ryan Olsen, Quinnipiac
    D: Mike Boylan, UConn
    D: Steve Tobio, Bentley
    G: Eddy Ferhi, Sacred Heart

    Offensive Player of the Year: Rissmiller, Holy Cross

    Defensive Player of the Year: Hrapchak, Sacred Heart

    Goaltender of the Year: Aubry, Mercyhurst

    Honorable Mentions

    Forward: Adam Tackaberry, Mercyhurst; David Deeves; Canisius; Ron D’Angelo, Connecticut; Greg Kealey, Holy Cross; Brandon Doria, Holy Cross. Defense: Matt Erhart, Quinnipiac; Nathan Lutz, Iona; Mike Muldoon, Mercyhurst. Goaltender: Jamie Holden, Quinnipiac

    MAAC All-Rookie Team

    F: Chris Garceau, Army
    F: Chris Casey, Army
    F: Rich Hansen, Mercyhurst
    D: Mark Persick, Canisius
    D: T. J. Kemp, Mercyhurst
    G: Jamie Holden, Quinnipiac

    Rookie of the Year: Holden, Quinnipiac

    Honorable Mentions

    Forward: Garrett Larson, Sacred Heart; Matt Craig, Quinnipiac. Defense: Adam Rhein, Connecticut. Goaltender: John Yaros, Army; Frank Novello, AIC.

    Coach of the Year

    Paul Pearl, Holy Cross

    In a year in which there are several good Coach of the Year candidates, Holy Cross’ Paul Pearl, in my mind, stands out. Sure, it’s easy to look at Rick Gotkin at Mercyhurst, who until last weekend hadn’t lost a league game. There’s also Rand Pecknold, whose number of freshmen in the lineup game-in and game-out made his Quinnipiac team an underdog, and Sacred Heart’s Shaun Hannah, whose team plenty lived up to preseason expectations.

    But Paul Pearl surpassed expectations — big-time. Most of all, he did it battling adversity from the start. Less than a month into the season, the team lost the services of Glen Crane when the redshirt freshman was diagnosed with a recurrence of Hodgkin’s disease. Through all of the related difficulty, Pearl kept his team focused, beginning league play with a 6-2-2 record.

    Pearl has done what many knew he was capable of: taken the hand he has been dealt and maximizing the effort and the heart that his players give every night. There have been ups and downs to the Crusaders’ season, but they have lived through all of that and now stand in a position to get home ice in the playoffs.

    Sure makes my selection a lot easier.

    NESCAC Playoff Preview

    By
    -

    It’s a tough call between the NESCAC and NCHA for the best tournament field. Both leagues have all four semifinalists getting votes in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll.

    According to Middlebury head coach Bill Beaney, you can’t ask for a better group of teams than Bowdoin, Colby, Trinity and his host Panthers.

    “It’s going to be a great tournament,” he said. “You have four of the best teams in the country, and I think the best four teams in the NESCAC. I don’t think Colby’s win over Hamilton should be considered an upset. Colby is a very good team.”

    So are the Middlebury Panthers (22-1-1). They enter the semifinals ranked number-one and well rested, thanks to a first round bye.

    According to Beaney, the key to the Panthers’ success is simple.

    “Between the pipes.”

    Panther netminder Christian Carlsson leads the nation in GAA — a miniscule 1.30. That’s just 29 goals allowed in 1338 minutes of play.

    “He’s very athletic,” said Beaney. “He’s got great size (6-3) and good technique.”

    The junior from Linkoping, Sweden, had an average freshman year as backup to Jon Marsh, but came back for his sophomore season ready to win the starting job.

    “He fell in love with Middlebury and decided he really wanted to be the goalie, so he worked very hard in the off season.

    “He’s become a leader both on and off the ice.”

    To make things even harder for the opposition, the Panthers don’t allow many scoring chances. They have outshot their opposition almost two to one (876 to 447) and are first in the NESCAC in both goals scored and goals allowed.

    Ready to challenge the Panthers in the semifinals is Colby, which has put together two wins in a row for the first time since mid-January. The White Mules lost 4-0 to Middlebury in the team’s only meeting this season.

    Freshman Nick Bayley leads the team in scoring with 39 points in 24 games. The White Mules (15-6-3) were third in the league in goals scored this season, and fifth in team defense.

    Getting the first goal will be key in what will probably be a low scoring game — Colby has only lost once when scoring first.

    The other semifinal will feature the best offensive player in the league against one of the top goaltenders in the conference.

    Bowdoin’s Mike Carosi leads the NESCAC in scoring with 38 points, 46 overall. The senior from Warwick, RI was named NESCAC Player of the Year earlier this week.

    Another player named to the All-NESCAC team was Trinity goaltender Geoffrey Faulkner. The senior from Westerville, OH played in all but three games for the Bantams, finishing with a 12-5-1 record.

    Faulkner is second to Middlebury’s Carlsson in both goals against and save percentage, but faced a lot more shots (438 to 293). Like Carlsson, Faulkner’s play will go a long way in determining the success or failure of his team this weekend.

    Trinity lost to Bowdoin 2-1 earlier this season.

    The Polar Bears (18-3-3) can strengthen their hold on an at-large bid with a win over the Bantams on Friday. Middlebury is in no matter what. The Panthers will either claim the NESCAC title and the automatic qualifier that comes with it, or one of the two at large Pool C berths.

    Does knowing that Middlebury is in no matter what affect coach Beaney’s team?

    “Time will tell,” he said. “We’re not focused on (the NCAA tournament). We’re concentrating on keeping our NESCAC champion streak alive.

    “But along with that comes home ice in the first round of the NCAAs.”

    This Week in the ECAC: Feb. 28, 2002

    By Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy
    -

    Can things be any crazier? If you thought two years ago it was nuts, and last year it was nuttier, this time may take the cake.

    With a week to go in the regular season, there are only two spots decided in the ECAC — first and last. Other than that, there is nothing decided. Four home-ice spots are up in the air. There are still three playoff spots to be determined.

    Just your typical ECAC year.

    The Winners

    Cornell – The Big Red skate away with the Cleary Cup. ‘Nuff said.

    Brown – The Bears are now the hottest team in the ECAC with another weekend sweep. They still lose the tiebreaker for home ice, but have a shot at second place.

    Princeton – Three big points keep the Tigers ahead of the others nipping at their heels.

    Yale – A weekend sweep and the Bulldogs are back in the playoff hunt.

    Losers

    Vermont – Two more games and the misery ends.

    Dartmouth – The Big Green had a chance to sit alone in second and came out of the weekend with one point.

    Union – What once was a chance at home ice could be no playoffs at all.

    St. Lawrence – The Saints got one point, but then got shellacked at Colgate. They need help.

    We Did Okay

    Clarkson – The Knights got two points and are still in the hunt for second and home ice.

    Colgate – Two points are better than none. The Raiders still hold the last home-ice spot.

    Harvard – It could have been a bad weekend for the Crimson, but after a loss to Rensselaer, they bounced back to remain in second place.

    Rensselaer – The Engineers got a big win over Harvard, but the streak was broken, and with the loss to Brown, home ice might not be there.

    Clearing It Up — Sort Of

    Here’s a handy-dandy guide to your team, its possible finishes, the best- and worst-case scenarios, and who you should be rooting for this weekend if you’re a fan of that team.

    Maybe we’ll just confuse you.

    As we go through this, the scenarios we paint for best and worst finish are examples. There are others out there.

    Cornell

    No doubt here.

    Best – First
    Worst – First
    Rooting For – The teams you don’t want to play next week, or for a team you don’t want to play to finish in 11th.

    Clarkson

    Best – 2nd
    How? – Two wins as Clarkson wins any tiebreakers head-to-head with Dartmouth or Harvard, or in a three-way tie.
    Worst – 7th
    How? – Two losses and Brown gets one point, Colgate gets one point and Rensselaer gets three points.
    Rooting For – Whoever is playing Harvard, Dartmouth, Colgate, Brown and Rensselaer.

    Dartmouth

    Best – 2nd
    How? – Two wins and Harvard does not sweep.
    Worst – 7th
    How? – Two losses and Colgate splits, Brown splits and Rensselaer wins and ties.
    Rooting For – Yale, Princeton and Cornell.

    Harvard

    Best – 2nd
    How? – Two wins and a Clarkson or Dartmouth not to get two wins.
    Worst – 7th
    How? – Two losses, Clarkson and Dartmouth tie each other, Rensselaer gets three points and Colgate and Brown get two points.
    Rooting For – Vermont, St. Lawrence, Cornell, Yale and Princeton to beat Brown and a toss-up on Colgate-Rensselaer.

    Brown

    Best – 2nd
    How? – Two wins, Clarkson, Dartmouth and Harvard split the weekend and Colgate gets three points at a maximum.
    Worst – 8th
    How? – Two losses, two Colgate losses and two Princeton wins, Brown loses the tiebreaker in that three-way scenario.
    Rooting For – St. Lawrence, Vermont, Yale and Princeton to beat Harvard, and a toss-up on Colgate-Rensselaer.

    Colgate

    Best – 2nd
    How? – Two wins, Clarkson, Dartmouth and Harvard split the weekend.
    Worst – 8th
    How? – Two losses, a Princeton sweep and Brown ties Yale.
    Rooting For – St. Lawrence, Vermont, Yale, Princeton.

    Rensselaer

    Best – 2nd
    How? – Two wins, a Dartmouth-Clarkson tie and each loses its other game, and Brown and Harvard get no more than two points.
    Worst – 9th
    How? – Two losses and Union sweeps and Princeton gets three points.
    Rooting For – Yale, Princeton, Vermont, St. Lawrence and the tie.

    Princeton

    Best – 6th
    How? – Two wins, Colgate gets swept and Brown gets swept. This sets up a three-way tie for sixth, which Princeton wins over Colgate.
    Worst – 11th
    How? – Two losses, a Union win, and St. Lawrence and Yale get at least three points.
    Rooting For – Vermont, Dartmouth, Rensselaer and Yale.

    Union

    Best – 7th
    How? – Union sweeps, Rensselaer gets swept and Princeton splits.
    Worst – 11th
    How? – Union loses twice and St. Lawrence and Yale each get two points.
    Rooting For – Cornell and Colgate to beat Rensselaer, Vermont, Dartmouth, Harvard and Brown.

    St. Lawrence

    Best – 8th
    How? – Two wins, Princeton gets swept, Yale does not sweep and Union at most splits.
    Worst – 11th
    How? – Two losses and one Yale point.
    Rooting For – Harvard, Brown, Cornell and Colgate.

    Yale

    Best – 8th
    How? – Two wins, Princeton gets swept, St. Lawrence does not sweep and Union at most splits.
    Worst – 11th
    How? – Two losses and one St. Lawrence point.
    Rooting For – Vermont, Dartmouth, Cornell and Colgate

    Vermont

    No doubt here.

    Best – 12th
    Worst – 12th
    Rooting For – closing out the season on a good note.

    Scenarios

    Six Ways For Second?

    Can there be a six-way tie for second place? Yes. But it’s tough to get there, as a lot of ties are involved. What has to happen?

  • Rensselaer beats Cornell and ties Colgate
  • Colgate ties Union
  • Brown splits
  • Harvard gets a tie and a loss
  • Dartmouth and Clarkson lose and then tie each other

    You now have a six-way tie for second place. How does that shake out?

  • Clarkson gets second place based on head-to-head record
  • After that, Colgate and Harvard are tied for third
  • Then you break the remaining three-way tie, which leaves Dartmouth and Brown tied for fifth
  • Rensselaer becomes the seventh seed
  • Dartmouth gets fifth based on record versus top five over Brown
  • Harvard gets third based on record versus top five over Colgate

    The order:

    2. Clarkson
    3. Harvard
    4. Colgate
    5. Dartmouth
    6. Brown
    7. Rensselaer

    Four Ways For Eighth?

    Hey, this can happen too! How?

  • Princeton gets one point
  • Union splits
  • St. Lawrence and Yale get three points

    Who is the odd team out if this happens?

  • Record versus top five is the tiebreaker used to give St. Lawrence eighth
  • Record versus top five gives Yale ninth over Princeton and Union
  • Record versus top five gives Princeton tenth over Union

    So the order of this four-way tie is:

    8. St. Lawrence
    9. Yale
    10. Princeton
    11. Union

    Travel Partner Heaven

    How can you get the most travel partners playing each other in the playoffs? Well, we know that Dartmouth can’t play Vermont, Cornell can’t play Colgate and Yale can’t play Princeton. But, Harvard can play Brown, Rensselaer can play Union, and Clarkson can play St. Lawrence.

  • Brown splits with Princeton and Yale
  • Harvard gets swept
  • Colgate and Cornell gets swept
  • Union and Rensselaer sweep
  • St. Lawrence sweeps
  • Dartmouth and Clarkson tie and Clarkson beats Vermont

    We then get:

    1. Cornell
    2. Clarkson
    3. Rensselaer
    4. Brown
    4. Dartmouth
    6. Harvard
    7. Colgate
    8. Union
    9. Princeton
    9. St. Lawrence
    9. Yale
    12. Vermont

    Break the ties.

  • Dartmouth beats Brown on Record versus Top 5
  • St. Lawrence wins the three way tiebreaker on Record versus Top 5
  • Yale then beats Princeton on Record versus Top 5

    The matchups:

  • Cornell vs. Yale
  • Clarkson vs. St. Lawrence
  • Rensselaer vs. Union
  • Dartmouth vs. Colgate
  • Brown vs. Harvard

    Three travel partner series.

    Rematches?

    Can we get series that happened last year? We can’t get Clarkson-Vermont, nor St. Lawrence-Union. But Rensselaer-Dartmouth, Princeton-Cornell and Yale-Harvard can still happen.

  • Yale sweeps and Princeton gets swept
  • Rensselaer gets swept, Union beats Colgate, but loses to Cornell
  • Clarkson beats Vermont and ties Dartmouth
  • St. Lawrence loses to Vermont and ties Dartmouth

    We get:

    1. Cornell
    2. Clarkson
    3. Dartmouth
    3. Harvard
    5. Brown
    5. Colgate
    7. Rensselaer
    8. Yale
    9. Union
    10. Princeton
    11. St. Lawrence
    12. Vermont

    Let’s break the ties.

  • Harvard beats Dartmouth on head to head
  • Colgate beats Brown on head to head

    The matchups:

  • Cornell vs. Princeton
  • Clarkson vs. Union
  • Harvard vs. Yale
  • Dartmouth vs. Rensselaer
  • Colgate vs. Brown

    Three rematches, plus a series between the two teams not in the playoffs last year, plus Union goes to the North Country for the third straight year.

    Have your own fun at Joe Schlobotnik’s ECAC Page

    Double Standard?

    Last weekend, the Dartmouth Big Green lost a game to Yale, 4-2. In that game the Bulldogs got two power-play goals and after the game, Big Green forward Chris Taliercio was quoted by David Sherzer of The Dartmouth in regards to the refereeing of Peter Torgerson.

    “I felt like it was a bunch of 25-year-old goons playing 15-year-olds, and every time we touched somebody, he called a penalty,” he said. “I think he is the worst ref in the league, and you can put that in any paper you want. He ruined a good game tonight.”

    Now, if one of the 12 head coaches said something like this, the ECAC league office might suspend that head coach for one game. In fact, earlier this season a head coach was suspended for one game after remarks about officiating according to the school’s weekly release.

    If a head coach was suspended for remarks about officiating, shouldn’t Taliercio receive the same suspension?

    Picks Challenge

    Well, at the beginning of the year, we challenged you to pick the ECAC. Here were the picks: 

    Challenge        Range    Becky and Jayson
    1. Clarkson  (8) 1- 4     1. Cornell
    2. Harvard  (14) 1- 7     2. Dartmouth
    3. Cornell   (6) 1- 6     3. Harvard
    4. Dartmouth (4) 1- 6     4. Clarkson
    5. St. Lawrence  2- 7     5. St. Lawrence
    6. Rensselaer    2-10     6. Vermont
    7. Vermont       5-10     7. Rensselaer
    8. Union         8-11     8. Union
    9. Colgate       7-12     9. Colgate
    10. Yale         6-12     10. Yale
    11. Princeton    7-12     11. Princeton
    12. Brown        9-12     12. Brown

    Scoring the picks as we have for the past couple of weeks, let’s take the standings.

    Here are the standings as of today:

    1. Cornell
    2. Clarkson
    2. Dartmouth
    2. Harvard
    5. Brown
    5. Colgate
    7. Rensselaer
    8. Princeton
    9. Union
    10. St. Lawrence
    10. Yale
    12. Vermont

    We’ll apply the appropriate tiebreakers, as the ECAC does for the playoffs.

  • Clarkson wins the tiebreaker over Harvard and Dartmouth, going 2-1-0 against the other two teams.
  • Harvard wins the tiebreaker over Dartmouth, going 1-0-1 against the Big Green this season.
  • Colgate wins the tiebreaker over Brown, going 2-0-0 against the Bears this season.
  • St. Lawrence wins the tiebreaker over Yale, based on record versus the top five teams. The Saints have six points versus five for Yale.

    So the standings for our purposes:

    1. Cornell
    2. Clarkson
    3. Harvard
    4. Dartmouth
    5. Colgate
    6. Brown
    7. Rensselaer
    8. Princeton
    9. Union
    10. St. Lawrence
    11. Yale
    12. Vermont

    Now let’s do our comparisons with the points in parentheses.

    1. Cornell – Fans (2) / Becky and Jayson (0)
    2. Clarkson – Fans (1) / Becky and Jayson (2)
    3. Harvard – Fans (1) / Becky and Jayson (0)
    4. Dartmouth – Fans (0) / Becky and Jayson (2)
    5. Colgate – Fans (4) / Becky and Jayson (4)
    6. Brown – Fans (6) / Becky and Jayson (6)
    7. Rensselaer – Fans (1) / Becky and Jayson (0)
    8. Princeton – Fans (3) / Becky and Jayson (3)
    9. Union – Fans (1) / Becky and Jayson (1)
    10. St. Lawrence – Fans (5) / Becky and Jayson (5)
    11. Yale – Fans (1) / Becky and Jayson (1)
    12. Vermont – Fans (5) / Becky and Jayson (6)

    Guess what? Well, back to a tie at 30-30.

    If It’s So Easy, You Try It

    The Iron Columnists finally destroyed Mike Johnson. Good riddance.

    The competition thus far:

    Vic Brzozowksi t. The Iron Columnists – 7-2-1
    The Iron Columnists d. Vic Brzozowksi – 8-3-1 to 7-4-1
    Ben Flickinger d. The Iron Columnists – 11-4-2 to 10-5-2
    The Iron Columnists d. Ben Flickinger – 5-1-4 to 4-2-4
    John Beaber and Lisa McGill t. The Iron Columnists – 6-7-0
    The Iron Columnists d. John Beaber and Lisa McGill – 7-5-3 to 6-6-3
    Mike Johnson d. The Iron Columnists – 10-3-1 to 6-7-1
    Mike Johnson t. The Iron Columnists – 5-5-2
    Mike Johnson d. The Iron Columnists – 6-5-1 to 5-6-1
    The Iron Columnists d. Mike Johnson – 7-3-2 to 3-7-2

    It is time to bring out our final challenger of the season. Will the Iron Columnists go into the offseason with a losing streak? We doubt it.

    So, Dave Bryan, take your best shot at the Iron Columnists.

    The Picks

    Friday, Mar. 1

    Brown at Princeton
    Dave’s Pick – The Bears are on a roll. Brown 4, Princeton 2
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Princeton 3, Brown 1

    Harvard at Yale
    Dave’s Pick – The home team seems to like this series. Yale 4, Harvard 2
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Harvard 4, Yale 2

    Vermont at Clarkson
    Dave’s Pick – Poor, poor Vermont. Clarkson 8, Vermont 1
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Clarkson 5, Vermont 1

    Dartmouth at St. Lawrence
    Dave’s Pick – The Big Green roll to home ice. Dartmouth 5, St. Lawrence 2
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – St. Lawrence 3, Dartmouth 2

    Colgate at Union
    Dave’s Pick – The Dutchmen can’t stop the slide. Colgate 4, Union 1
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Colgate 4, Union 2

    Cornell at Rensselaer
    Dave’s Pick – The Big Red defense wins out. Cornell 1, Rensselaer 0
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Cornell 3, Rensselaer 1

    Saturday, Mar. 2

    Brown at Yale
    Dave’s Pick – Home sweet home for the Bulldogs. Yale 4, Brown 2
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Brown 3, Yale 1

    Harvard at Princeton
    Dave’s Pick – The Crimson pick up home ice. Harvard 3, Princeton 2
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Harvard 4, Princeton 2

    Vermont at St. Lawrence
    Dave’s Pick – Poor, poor Vermont. St. Lawrence 8, Vermont 2
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – St. Lawrence 4, Vermont 3

    Dartmouth at Clarkson
    Dave’s Pick – The Knights take this one. Clarkson 4, Dartmouth 2
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Clarkson 4, Dartmouth 1

    Colgate at Rensselaer
    Dave’s Pick – The Raiders pick up the last home-ice slot. Colgate 5, Rensselaer 2
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Colgate 3, Rensselaer 2

    Cornell at Union
    Dave’s Pick – The Big Red close out the regular season in style. Cornell 4, Union 0
    Becky and Jayson’s Pick – Cornell 2, Union 1

    And remember that if you are interested in putting your money where your mouth is, drop us an email to be eligible next season.

    By the way, here are Dave’s projected ECAC standings, based on his predictions for this weekend:

    1. Cornell
    2. Clarkson
    3. Colgate
    4. Dartmouth
    4. Harvard
    6. Brown
    7. Rensselaer
    8. Yale
    9. Princeton
    9. St. Lawrence
    11. Union
    12. Vermont

    His playoff matchups:

  • Cornell vs. Princeton
  • Clarkson vs. St. Lawrence
  • Colgate vs. Yale
  • Harvard vs. Rensselaer
  • Dartmouth vs. Brown

    And ours?

    1. Cornell
    2. Clarkson
    3. Harvard
    4. Colgate
    5. Brown
    6. Dartmouth
    7. Rensselaer
    8. Princeton
    8. St. Lawrence
    10. Union
    11. Yale
    12. Vermont

    So we get:

  • Cornell vs. Union
  • Clarkson vs. St. Lawrence
  • Harvard vs. Princeton
  • Colgate vs. Rensselaer
  • Brown vs. Dartmouth

    • This Week in the ECAC Northeast: Feb. 28, 2002

    By Ed Seero
    -

    The playoffs got underway last week. All I have to say is — how great are they? Most everything you could ask for has happened already, and it’s not over yet.

    There has been a blowout. Lebanon Valley’s 6-1 dismantling of Plymouth State speaks for itself.

    There has been an upset in the form of Salve Regina’s 4-3 defeat of UMass-Dartmouth. There is something about Salve in the playoffs, isn’t there? For the second straight year they came out and beat one of the top-rated teams in the conference as a bottom seed. Unbelievable. Salve moved to 2-0-1 on the year against the second-seeded Corsairs. It’s too bad that the Seahawks ran out of magic against LVC, because they are a team that has, as an old coach of mine used to say, pumpkins in their jockstraps. It is becoming cliched to say this, but watch out for Salve next year.

    There have been tight checking, hard fought games. Wentworth and Fitchburg battled all the way to the end, with Wentworth pulling it out behind two third period Dave Zelasko goals. Gotta love it.

    There have been dramatic, high scoring affairs. The best example of this may be the opening round match between Johnson & Wales and Curry. It was an up and down game featuring momentum swings, tough play, great goals, four JWU power-play goals, a pulled goalie, a late comeback attempt by Curry: the list goes on and on. The 6-5 final was a thriller indeed.

    There have been marvelous comebacks. What I like to see in a hockey game, team, or season, is a refusal to quit. You have to admire a team any time they simply will not be beaten. The aforementioned Dave Zelasko show was only a prelude to what happened on Wednesday night, when Wentworth exploded for four goals to get themselves back into it with JWU before Shawn Metheral scored an overtime goal to steal the victory. Great stuff.

    Nothing but kudos should be given to Johnson & Wales. The team put all the useless controversy behind them and made a fantastic playoff run and, most importantly, they did not quit when the chips were down.

    It would have been easy for the team to coast into the playoffs and mail it in. In fact, there were some observers who expected this to happen. But the Wildcats didn’t make excuses and they wore their hearts on their sleeves. The 6-5 victory over Curry showed guts and determination and, by all accounts, their effort against Wentworth was one for the ages. Congratulations to everyone involved in the effort.

    There were controversial calls. Oh, were there controversial calls. The biggest came in the JWU-Wentworth game. Wentworth’s game winner was ruled good by the goal judge, then temporarily waved off by the official before being called a goal. Since there is no instant replay it is counterproductive to argue the call. All that matters is what went into the books. Nonetheless, it is too bad there is a little bit of controversy surrounding this fantastic game.

    Last but not least, LVC and Wentworth battled a year ago for the league title; they will go at it again this year. LVC (23-3-1) and Wentworth (22-5-0) owned the best overall records throughout the year and each was either ranked or on the bubble of the top ten for the majority of the season.

    These teams are eerily similar. They both have snipers. Brian Yingling (26-27–53), who one coach referred to as the best overall player in the league this year, is a great example of what LVC brings to the table. Tim Yakimowsky (27-14–41) is about as pure a goal scorer as there is.

    Each team features a rock solid defensive corps. Zach Wotherspoon , Chris Hartly and Mike Nicoletta patrol the blue for the Leopards.

    Ben Kwon (9-25–34), Mike Sarro, Chris White, Adam Bonenberger, Matt Fishbone (who delivered some of the most solid checks I saw all year against SNHU), et al are some of the defensemen manning the point for the Valley. Ben Kwon, the number-one scorer on the number-one scoring defense in the league, is invaluable on the point for LVC. The defenseman finished second in the league amongst defensemen in scoring this season and he is unusually gifted and smart with the puck. He is a vital cog in the LVC power play as well.

    Both teams have a solid supporting cast of forwards. Perhaps this is an unfair characterization of this group on both teams, afterall, nine forwards on Wentworth and eight forwards on LVC finished with double digit points.

    Solid goaltending is the backbone of both of these teams. Raj Bhangoo and Lincoln Matlock are at the top of virtually every goaltending statistic in the league. And all Kevin Block did to help the Dutchmen is receive ECAC Northeast Goaltender of the Year honors.

    Both teams have lethal power plays. LVC had the best in the league, clicking at 31.4 percent on the year. Wentworth was right behind, functioning at 27.6 percent.

    The bottom line is, if there is any way you can get to this game on Sunday, you should do it. Enough said.

    Postseason Honors

    It may have gotten lost in the shuffle with the playoffs and all, but in case you missed it, the ECAC handed out awards for the Northeast last week. There are two teams, a Player of The Year, Rookie of The Year, Goalie of The Year and Coach of The Year. It’s hard to argue with these selections. Here they are:

    First Team

    F-Jeff Brodeur, SR, Fitchburg State
    F-Tim Yakimowsky, SR, Wentworth
    F-Brian Yingling, JR, Lebanon Valley
    D-Ben Kwon, JR, Lebanon Valley
    D-Joseph Savioli, SR, Curry
    G-Kevin Block, SR, Lebanon Valley

    Second Team

    F-Tom Brown, SR, UMass-Dartmouth
    F-Sean Pero, FR, Curry
    F-Jamie Taylor, SR, Lebanon Valley
    D-Gino Binda, JR, Salve Regina
    D-Jamie Carroll, SR, UMass Dartmouth
    G-Raj Bhangoo, SO, Wentworth

    Omissions deserving mention in this space are Fitchburg’s Greg Horan (13-24–37) and Assumption’s Josh Tierney (13-15–28),

    All Rookie Team

    F-Adam Asselin, Salve Regina
    F-Manu Mau’u, Johnson & Wales
    F-Sean Pero, Curry
    D-Gino Binda, Salve Regina
    D-Chet Ferreira, Curry
    G-Kevin McGowan, UMass-Dartmouth

    I would have liked to have seen JWU’s Brock Palazetti, Curry’s Brian Doherty and Matt Wargo, Fitchburg’s Sebastien Corbeil and Robert Zapf on this list, but how can you argue with that team? Maybe a second team is in order next year.

    If UMD’s Eric Frank had played an entire season he would have made it. And what about Plymouth’s Michal Bodnar? Maybe a second semester all rookie team would have been good.

    ECAC Northeast Player of The Year

    Joe Savioli, Curry

    Savioli, a converted forward, held his own on the blue line this year. The senior has been through his ups and downs with the Curry program, being one of the lone seniors on the roster. In years past, is play has been overshadowed by players on more successful teams. It’s nice to see him get his due.

    ECAC Northeast Rookie of The Year

    Sean Pero, Curry

    It’s scary to think that Pero is only a freshman. He exploded onto the scene and finished third in the league in scoring with a 20-26–46 line. There is no doubt that he will play a major role in the continuing resurgence of the Colonel program in the coming years.

    ECAC Northeast Goalie of The Year

    Kevin Block, Lebanon Valley

    ECAC Northeast Coach of The Year

    Al MacCormack, Lebanon Valley

    I remember the first year LVC had a team. They were practically all freshmen and nobody knew what to make of them. Their travel schedule was, and still is, brutal. They had sparkling new uniforms (the best in the league), they had their own portable skate sharpening machine complete with tape dispenser, and most importantly, they had some very good hockey players on the roster. We are seeing the fruits of the labor of the first year. What MacCormack has done at LVC is nothing short of sensational. He is 75-26-5 in his fourth year as coach. Let’s not forget that he started this team from scratch. And LVC was good pretty much right away. There was hardly anything in place when he took the job and now they are ranked in the USCHO top ten and possibly going to the ECAC playoffs for the second year in a row.

    Division II Honors

    ECAC Northeast participants were honored by D-II this year as well. For the second straight year, Stonehill head coach Scott Harlow was named ECAC D-II Coach of the Year.

    Forwards Rob Pascale (Stonehill), Pat Doherty (SNHU) and Chris Russo (SNHU) were honored by Division II, as was defenseman Steve Acropolis, a senior on SNHU.

    Congratulations to all who earned their awards.

    Vox Populi

    I’d like to hear the voice of the people for next week’s column. I want nominations for year-end rewards in all categories, anything you can think of.

    I want best uniforms (you already know my vote), unsung hero, most touching story, best game you saw, most underrated defenseman, best travel story, best leader, best save, etc.

    I want the humorous, serious, ridiculous, all types of nominations. You, the readers, can click on my name in the bottom left-hand corner of this page and send me nominations; the best of the coherent and thoughtful (not that that’s ever stopped me before) I’ll put in this space next week. Bring ’em on.

    Have a good weekend, everyone.

    Until next week…

    ECAC East Playoff Preview

    By
    -

    The ECAC East final four are an interesting mix: the team you expected to be at the top (Norwich), the team no one expected to be there (MCLA), the defending champions (New England College) and the unpredictable dark horse (Salem State).

    The semifinals pair Norwich with Salem State, and NEC with MCLA. The top-seeded and host Cadets shut down Salem 4-0 in the teams’ regular season meeting back in early January

    “The last game (with Salem State) was pretty good,” said Norwich head coach Mike McShane. “Their goalie played very well.”

    Viking goaltender Caleb Christenson made 30 saves in the game. The junior from International Falls, MN is third in the league in goals against (3.14) and fifth in save percentage (.903).

    Norwich sports the numbers one and two netminders in the league: freshman Kevin Shieve (1.82 GAA; .919 save percentage) and junior Randy Hevey (2.05 GAA; .908 save percentage).

    Norwich’s goalies will have to play up to their potential, as the Cadets defensive corps, which has been plagued by injuries all season, lost another key player when sophomore Chris Fuss was injured in last Saturday’s quarterfinal against Skidmore.

    “We’ve lost four real good defensemen this season,” said McShane. “We’ve moved some forwards back (to defense).

    “We’re lucky we’ve had the numbers this year. We would have been in trouble other years.”

    Norwich is ranked first in the league in goals scored and goals allowed; Salem State is second in both categories.

    The Cadets have the top four scorers in the league, including freshman forward Kurtis McLean, who captured both Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors. The Kirkland, Ont. native had 34 points to lead the league and is first in the nation in goals scored with 27.

    The Vikings have a balanced attack lead by senior forward Chris Stark, who had 17 points in conference play. Three Vikings are tied for the team league in overall points with 22, while Norwich has nine players with at least 22 points.

    Which brings us back to Salem State’s Caleb Christenson, who will be called upon to shut down an offense that averaged more than two goals more than any team in the league.

    The other semifinal pits defending champions New England and upstart MCLA. The Mohawks finished a surprising third.

    “It goes to show what happens when you gave a handful of good players and a very good goalie,” said McShane. “You can win a lot of hockey games.”

    MCLA rookie coach Kevin McGonagle was named ECAC Coach of the Year.

    “He’s done a great job,” McShane said. “He got my vote.”

    MCLA goalie Kevin Kiernan saw a lot of action this season, and a lot of pucks. The senior from Brick, NJ played in all 26 games, making a whopping 778 saves. He was named to the ECAC All East First Team.

    New England College comes into the game short three key players who are serving one game suspensions after being disqualified for participating in a brawl that occurred as the second period ended in last Saturday’s quarterfinal with UMass-Boston.

    Leading scorer Nick Warriner (33 points), second leading scorer Adam Wallace (29), and John Adderin (17 points) account for over 30% of the Pilgrim’s offense. All will be sitting out Friday’s game.

    But, according to McShane, if NEC can win the semifinal, it will have the advantage of having a more rested team in Saturday’s championship game.

    “RIT did that to us a few years ago in our tournament,” remembered McShane. “They had a lot of players suspended for the first game, and then came out fresh the next night and pounded us.”

    Norwich will be the heavy favorite this weekend, but it was last season, only to be upset by New England. You have to like the Cadet’s chances again this time around, but the ECAC East has been full of surprises this season, so one more isn’t out of the question.

    GLWHA Postseason Award Winners Named

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Mercyhurst defeated Findlay for the GLWHA championship last weekend. The following are the postseason award winners for the conference:

    All-League Team

    Forward
    Sara McDonald-Mercyhurst
    Sherrie White-Findlay
    Kelly Zamora-Wayne State

    Defense
    Jen Jeffrey-Mercyhurst
    Leanne Tunks-Findlay

    Co-Goaltender
    Desi Clark-Mercyhurst
    Tiff Ribble-Mercyhurst

    Tournament MVP

    Brit Millar-Mercyhurst with 2 goals and an assist.

    League Coach of the Year

    Mike Sisti-Mercyhurst

    QU-UConn Establish Award to Honor 9-11 Victims

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Quinnipiac and Connecticut have created a new award called the “Heroes Hat” that will be presented to the winner of the season series between the in-state rivals. The award will honor the memory of those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

    The 2001-02 season series between the teams is currently tied at 1-1. The final game of the regular-season series is this Friday at 7 p.m. at Quinnipiac’s Northford Ice Pavilion. A brief ceremony will follow the game.

    The “Heroes Hat” will be presented to the winning team by Mrs. Lori Mascali and her daughter Katie, who lost their husband and father, Joseph, while he was attempting to save lives on Sept. 11. Joseph was also the father of Quinnipiac freshman golfer, Chris Mascali and senior Jennifer Mascali.

    “The two Universities hope that the establishment of the ‘Heroes Hat’ will … strengthen the rivalry on the ice between the two schools,” said a university news release. “More importantly, though, they hope that it will evoke a sense of pride and honor for all of those who sacrificed their lives on Sept. 11, with every stride, shot and save.”

    Also attending the “Heroes Hat” ceremonies will be firefighters from FDNY’s Rescue Company 5 in Staten Island, NY.

    The “Heroes Hat” has been donated by Rescue Company 5, and will have Joseph Mascali’s badge and company number displayed on it.

    “It is our hope that the ‘Heroes Hat’ be a Connecticut sports tribute to the many heroes and their families involved in the September 11th tragedy,” said Quinnipiac hockey coach Rand Pecknold.

    Carosi, Meagher, Kretzman Earn NESCAC Honors

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Senior forward Mike Carosi of Bowdoin has been named the 2001-02 NESCAC Men’s Hockey Player of the Year. Carosi, who led the Polar Bears to the second seed in the conference tournament, leads the NESCAC with 46 points on 13 goals and 33 assists.

    Terry Meagher of Bowdoin was named the NESCAC Men’s Hockey Coach of the Year after leading the Polar Bears to a 14-2-3 league mark and a spot in the NESCAC championship semifinals.

    Amherst forward Beau Kretzman was named the 2001-02 NESCAC Men’s Hockey Rookie of the Year and was also named to the all-conference second team. He finished the season with 25 goals and 19 assists for 44 points.

    Three players from Middlebury earned first-team all-conference honors. Senior defenseman Matt Dunn and sophomore forward Kevin Cooper joined goaltender Christian Carlsson as first-team honorees. Dunn leads the conference in scoring among defensemen and leads the NESCAC with five game-winning goals. Cooper is the top scorer for the Panthers with 22 goals, second most in the conference, and 34 points. Carlsson, who was named to the second team last year, leads the conference with a 1.30 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.

    Senior defenseman Brian Shuman of Bowdoin was named to the first team after anchoring the Polar Bear defense that allowed 1.78 goals against this season. Senior forward Mathew Greason of Trinity, a second-team all-conference selection last year, earned first-team accolades this year. He is the Bantams’ leading scorer for the second consecutive year with 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points.

    Complete awards roster:

    First Team

    F: Mike Carosi (Sr., Bowdoin)
    F: Kevin Cooper (So., Middlebury)
    F: Mathew Greason (Sr., Trinity)
    D: Matt Dunn (Sr., Middlebury)
    D: Brian Shuman (Sr., Bowdoin)
    G: Christian Carlsson (Sr., Middlebury)

    Second Team

    F: Rob Gordon (Jr., Hamilton)
    F: Beau Kretzman (Fr., Amherst)
    F: Sean Starke (Jr., Bowdoin)
    D: Ryan Constantine (Sr., Middlebury)
    D: Craig Leger (Sr., Hamilton)
    G: Geoffrey Faulkner (Sr., Trinity)

    NESCAC Player of the Year
    Mike Carosi, Bowdoin

    NESCAC Rookie of the Year
    Beau Kretzman, Amherst

    NESCAC Coach of the Year
    Terry Meagher, Bowdoin

    USCHO Unveils New D-III PWRs

    By
    -

    For several years, USCHO has published Pairwise Rankings (PWR), a statistical method to approximate the criteria used to select teams for the Division I NCAA men’s tournament. USCHO has also featured a PWR for men’s D-III hockey, based on the D-I methodology.

    Though it is interesting as a comparision tool, applying the D-I criteria to Division III does not correctly reflect the selection process used by the D-III committee.

    With the selection of teams for the tournament approaching, USCHO debuts a new PWR for men’s D-III which more accurately reflects the criteria used by the NCAA Division III committee to select teams for at-large bids.

    The NCAA Division III men’s ice hockey championship manual specifies that at-large teams shall be selected by (1) winning percentage, head-to-head record, and record against common opponents, (2) strength of schedule, and (3) record against other teams already in the tournament.

    These comparisons are made only within region. In the East, only games between Division III teams in the ECAC East, ECAC Northeast, ECAC West, NESCAC, and SUNYAC, as well as against independent Scranton are considered. In the West, only games between D-III teams in the MCHA, MIAC, and NCHA are considered.

    Games against the six Division II teams participating in the eight predominately D-III conferences are not included, nor are any games against Division I teams. Exhibition games against non-NCAA teams, including Canadian colleges and universities, the U.S. National Development Team, and club programs are also not included.

    Because the NCAA looks at teams regionally, the new D-III PWR is split into East Region and West Region PWRs.

    The PWR compares only those teams at or above .500, judging them first by three criteria: winning percentage, head-to-head record, and record against common opponents. Strength of schedule — the winning percentage of opponents not counting games against that opponent — is used by the PWR as a tie-breaker if two teams are equal after the first three comparisons.

    While the PWR includes the same criteria as the selection committee, the NCAA does not specify how each shall be weighted, leaving the committee a fair amount leeway in its application of those criteria.

    However, the East Region and West Region comparisons used in calculating the PWR are virtually identical to those used by for choosing at-large bids, providing fans an insight into the NCAA committee’s decision-making process.

    For more on the new men’s D-III PWR, see this detailed explanation in the USCHO FAQ section.

    Everybody’s All-American

    By
    -

    A season-ending injury just minutes into the 1999-2000 campaign had doctors fearing that it might be career-ending for RIT defenseman Jerry Galway.

    Galway

    Galway

    Just a few weeks earlier, the junior had been named co-captain of the Tigers by first-year head coach Wayne Wilson. In a rebuilding year, Wilson was counting on the two-time All-American’s skill and leadership.

    But early in the first period of the opening exhibition game against Seneca, Galway delivered a check along the boards in the RIT zone and crumpled to the ice.

    Surgeons at Strong Memorial Hospital were aghast at what X-rays showed: the ball end of Galway’s humerus bone had shattered his right shoulder socket into four pieces. At first, the doctors were unsure whether he’d be able to risk sustaining a hit if he played hockey again.

    “The doctors had never seen anything like that before, especially as a sports injury, so they really weren’t sure what they were going to do,” recalled Galway. “As a player, you just hate to think of that one injury that can end your career.”

    Hours in the operating room, followed by ten days in the hospital, were just the beginning of nearly a year of rehabilitation. The fear that Galway might never play college hockey again was soon replaced by the determination and confidence that he would.

    Before he made the decision to attend RIT, Galway had been leaning toward a Division I college career at St. Cloud State.

    “I never planned on coming here in the beginning. I was always wanted to go farther away [from Missisauga, Ont.] than Rochester,” said Galway.

    Former RIT coach Eric Hoffberg had been scouting Galway while he played juniors for the Aurora Tigers. A recruiting trip to campus for the biggest game of the year sealed the deal.

    “I came to see the Elmira game. When I came here the first time, I thought, ‘This is unreal. This is the kind of atmosphere I want to play in.'” Galway added, “Ultimately, I thought that RIT would be the better fit for me as a person, as a player, and for my family.”

    At RIT, Galway joined a veteran defensive squad, but quickly showed his offensive prowess, leading the Tigers in scoring by defensemen in his rookie season, tallying nine goals and 16 assists. He also led the team’s blueliners in both scoring, with 11 goals and 21 assists, and plus/minus — a whopping plus-45 — during his sophomore season, and was named a first-team All-American.

    After a pair of embarrassingly lopsided losses in the 1999 Division III Frozen Four, the departure of Hoffberg after ten seasons, and with eight rookies and three new goalies on a young squad, Galway’s experience was to have been crucial for Wilson in his rookie season as a head coach.

    But the Tigers would have to face the year without their co-captain and top defenseman, and Galway prepared to face a year off the ice.

    After a few weeks with his shoulder immobilized, Galway was able to begin physical therapy.

    “For six months, I went to a sports medicine clinic once or twice a week for checkups. I did my rehab on my own and with the training staff at RIT,” said Galway.

    Galway mugs with a young fan at the annual 'Skate With the Tigers' Night.

    Galway mugs with a young fan at the annual ‘Skate With the Tigers’ Night.

    For the first four months, he wasn’t allowed on the ice. “After that [the doctor] cleared me to skate, to pretty much just skate around to get in shape. No shooting pucks, obviously.”

    After the six months were up, doctors were amazed at how well Galway had healed, and assured him that he wouldn’t have any problems taking hits.

    “I came back with high hopes and aspirations, so I was pretty excited about the year ahead after that.”

    While acknowledging it must have been difficult for him to be around the team and the arena, Wilson appreciated the support Galway showed his teammates during that redshirt season.

    “He would say things to guys, and they would listen. When you’re not in the lineup, not a lot of people really want to pay attention to you,” said Wilson. “But he just kinda had that aura about him that commanded respect and exemplified leadership.”

    With Galway out of the lineup, the Tigers kept their NCAA string alive, but were blown out by Norwich in the quarterfinals.

    The year of rehabilitation paid off, and Galway was ready again to wear the “C” for the Tigers. Wayne Wilson joked that “I’ll look like the smartest coach in Division III — I’ve recruited an All-American.”

    Galway was stronger than ever and put together another All-American year, scoring 13 goals and adding 48 assists while leading the Tigers to an undefeated regular season. He was the top-scoring defenseman in Division III, with an average of 1.93 points per game.

    The Tigers earned the top seed in the east and hosted the 2001 D-III frozen four. After losing in the quarterfinals in his first season, and dropping the semifinal game the following year, RIT lost in the finals to Plattsburgh on home ice. The Tigers’ story-book season had an unhappy ending, but it left Galway hungrier than ever for a national championship.

    “I was thinking about that the other day as I was going through my career, kind of reflecting personally,” said Galway. “So right now, I’ve been through every stage, now the final step is to win the whole thing. It’s something I’ve dreamed of for four or five years being here. It’s something I really can’t explain right now; I can probably only tell you about it if it happens.”

    RIT will count on Galway both on and off the ice in that quest. Soft-spoken and unfailingly polite, Galway is a quiet leader, said his coach.

    “It just seems like he’ll say two or three sentences that people listen to. There’s other guys that talk, talk, talk, all day and no one listens to,” said Wilson, with a bit of a grin.

    “Jerry’s respectful of his opponents; he’s respectful of his teammates. He demands a lot from his teammates in a very positive manner. It’s not a personal attack when someone’s not pulling their weight. He just seems to know how to tell them the right thing.”

    Last Saturday, the Tigers demonstrated that Galway is a man they listen to. With their hopes for a seventh-consecutive NCAA berth hanging in the balance, RIT trailed Elmira 3-1 after two. Galway rallied the troops with a locker room speech that lit a fire under the Tigers in front of a standing-room crowd. Teammate Sam Hill scored with just two seconds left for a stunning come-from-behind, 4-3 win.

    For Galway, that gut-check win was the biggest victory so far in another All-American caliber campaign. In 22 games this season, he has 13 goals and 31 assists. That two-point-per-game clip tied Galway for second in the NCAA, behind teammate Mike Bournazakis, who has averaged 2.5 points per game. Quarterbacking the potent RIT power-play unit, which is clicking at 42 percent, Galway has seven goals on the man advantage.

    Galway has also shattered the career scoring record by a defenseman at RIT, eclipsing the mark set by John Hawkins, a teammate of Niagara coach Dave Burkholder and UMass Lowell coach Blaise McDonald. Galway’s 164 career points places him 15th all-time at RIT.

    That mark passed with little fanfare. “It came as kind of surprise to me,” said Galway. “It’s great to leave those footprints on a program, but it would never have happened without the great teams that I played on.”

    Despite his scoring touch, Galway has played most of his hockey career as a defenseman. Over the years, coaches would try to move him to forward because of his size and ability to score. At a generous 5-9, 185, Galway is a bit small, but deceptively strong, as a defenseman.

    (photo by Thomas Safran)

    (photo by Thomas Safran)

    “Things just always worked out that I would move back on defense,” said Galway. “I wanted to do something that would help me stand out from a normal defenseman because I was so small, so that people would notice me doing something different, so that’s where the offense came into play. Once you get a couple of goals, you get that itch.”

    Even so, Galway is also solid back on defense.

    “How you want to play the game is how he plays it,” said Wilson. “If you’re an offensive defenseman, you want to watch him defensively. If you’re a defensive defenseman, you want to see what Jerry does offensively.”

    Wilson, himself a defenseman and captain of Bowling Green’s 1984 championship team, says Galway is by far “the best player I’ve seen” in three years as a Division III coach.

    While you’d expect Galway’s coach to sing his praises, he hasn’t gone unnoticed by others.

    Tim Ceglarski, first-year head coach at Elmira, saw Galway’s previous seasons while an assistant coach. Before Saturday’s game, he told the Elmira Star-Gazette, “Galway is the best player at Division III.”

    Manhattanville coach Keith Levinthal has seen Galway play against the Valiants five times in the last two seasons. After a 4-2 loss at RIT in January in which Galway blasted a power-play goal — the eventual game-winner — from up high, Levinthal told USCHO.com, “Anyone who doesn’t vote Jerry Galway player of the year is [an] idiot.”

    Galway takes comments supporting him for that recognition in stride.

    “I would be honored to have that happen to me, but ultimately it’s the team goals I have in mind right now.”

    Wilson noted that for coaches to recognize a player as an All-American, or to consider a player as the leading candidate for player of the year after seeing a player perhaps once, is a testament to Galway’s consistency.

    “I see him every game, so I know what he can do,” said Wilson. “To get votes for All-American, you’ve got to make an impact right off the get-go because there are players in coaches’ leagues that they may like more because they see them more.

    “If you’re voted All-American, that’s pretty special. You’ve got to perform on a very consistent basis on a very high level. And Jerry has.”

    Looking back, Galway is emphatic that his choice to play for RIT was the right one.

    “It’s been everything I thought it would be. You couldn’t ask for better fans. They’re real people. They care a lot about the program. They care a lot about the players. They’re always behind you — the adults and the kids. They’re always there to talk to you. Their enthusiasm alone — you can’t take away from this place.”

    Galway also takes with him an education; he’ll graduate from RIT this year with a degree in hotel management.

    “In ten years, I can look back with pride at what I did here, and that I’m an RIT alum,” said Galway.

    But Galway isn’t looking too far ahead yet.

    With no more than six games left in his college career — and as few as one — he has just a single objective: winning RIT’s first NCAA hockey championship since 1985.

    “I’ve had a great ride here,” said Galway, “but I’m not ready to end it now.”

    This Week in Hockey East: Feb. 21, 2002

    By
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    The Importance Of Finishing First

    It goes without saying that every team near the top of the Hockey East standings wants to finish first just for the sake of taking the regular season crown. If you’re a competitor, you naturally want to be number one. That said, this year the stakes are even higher because the playoff implications of finishing first rather than second are enormous.

    Take a look at the current standings. (All teams have played 20 league games except Providence and Merrimack with 21.)

    1 New Hampshire (13-4-3)     29 points
    2 Boston University (13-5-2) 28
    3 Maine (11-5-4)             26
    4 Northeastern (10-8-2)      22
    5 UMass-Lowell (9-8-3)       21
    6 Providence (8-10-3)        19
    7 Boston College (8-11-1)    17
    8 Merrimack (5-14-2)         12
    9 UMass-Amherst (3-15-2)     8

    This observer would argue that six teams have an excellent chance of winning the Hockey East tournament. (More on that next week.) One of those is Boston College. Until buried under an avalanche of injuries, the Eagles were a Top 15 team themselves and, if healthy, are clearly the most dangerous team in the 6-to-9 positions in the standings.

    No one feels this more acutely than BU coach Jack Parker, who right now stands to draw BC in the quarterfinals. Of course, the Terriers have an even greater motivation to avoid their archrivals.

    “I’d rather play UNH or Maine or anybody than BC in the first round,” says Parker. “To wind up finishing second place in our league and get a fully healthy BC team would be [tough]. We’ve had it happen a couple times before in the past where we’ve played them in the first round of the playoffs, but that’s our big rival. To do this all year long to wind up with BC?

    “But really, who do you want? Everybody says you’d like to get first, you’d like to get second, you’d like to get third. Who would you like to play, Lowell again? You want to play Northeastern again? You want to play Providence, a team that has really had our number the last couple of years?

    “We want to play the Belmont Bantams. But they’re not available.”

    Hockey East fans who go back a handful of years will recall that BU had an even more unfortunate draw in 1993-94. That season the Terriers finished first only to face a very strong Maine squad in the quarterfinals. The nationally-ranked Black Bears had been forced to forfeit 14 games, 12 of them league ones, because of using an ineligible player.

    As a result, their 12-8-4 Hockey East record became 3-20-1 and they became the bottom seed in the then-eight team league. Although the Terriers prevailed in two games, the matchup was hardly the expected reward for winning the regular season title.

    To a lesser extent, the same holds true this year with a scary BC team. Unlike 1993-94, though, the solution is to finish first.

    As for teams near the bottom looking up, the quarterfinal opponent of least preference has got to be New Hampshire. While any of the top teams will be tough to upset by the bottom seed, the Wildcats pose the most insoluble matchups and boast a major home ice advantage to boot.

    “I think everybody wants to avoid New Hampshire in the first round,” says interim Merrimack coach Mike Doneghey. He adds with a laugh, “Playing on Lake Winnipesaukee up there is difficult…

    “But who do you want to play? BU is number six in the country and Maine is number nine.”

    Giant Killers

    On Jan. 18, Merrimack entered a 10-game stretch in which all but one game were against teams that were in the Top 15 at the time. That lone exception was Northeastern, which has since entered the national rankings. Admittedly, two games were against BC, which fell out of the Top 15, but even those two contests were against a healthy Eagle lineup as opposed to the injured-riddled one which prompted the fall.

    With 10 straight against the nation’s best, Merrimack’s prospects appeared grim. Losing the first six of them did nothing to change that view.

    The last couple weekends, however, have seen the Warriors not only knock off a couple of the nation’s best teams, but do so in very impressive fashion. Two weeks ago, they rebounded from a 5-2 loss to Northeastern to stun Maine by the same score. Last week, BC squeaked out a win, 2-1, before Merrimack clobbered the Eagles, 5-2.

    “Maybe the light has gone on,” says Doneghey. “We beat Maine pretty good. The thing about that is that the night before we played Northeastern and we played just as well, but we just gave up a couple [lousy] goals and Keni Gibson, as he’s been doing, stole [one]. He made 19 saves in the first period. We played the same way against Maine and beat them.

    “Then Friday night, we lost to BC, 2-1, and if you listen to their radio guys, it was the best game [goaltender] Tim Kelleher has played in three years. Then in our building, we played really well.”

    Overall now, the Warriors may be 10-19-2, but are 5-4-2 at home, where the two impressive 5-2 wins came.

    “We’re pretty good in our building,” he says. “It’s small and [with] our quickness, we’re able to get into guys.”

    The first weekend, the top line of Anthony Aquino, Ryan Cordeiro and Marco Rosa were the big offensive contributors. Last weekend, it was the Matt Foy, Alex Sikatchev and Nick Parillo second line that lit up the scoreboard.

    “That [second line] is a pretty good line,” says Doneghey. “The weekend before against Maine, they probably had as many chances as Aquino’s line. They just couldn’t finish.

    “Vice versa against BC. Aquino’s line had just as many chances, but it was Parillo and Foy’s line that was getting the points. They’re kind of having a friendly battle within themselves trying to outdo each other.”

    More ice time has helped both trios.

    “We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning, [so] I’ve shortened the bench a little bit,” says Doneghey. “I’ve gotten Aquino’s line out there and Foy’s line out there every third shift. I’ve been going 1-2-3-1-2-4, so I’ve been getting our skill guys and our high-end guys out there as much as we can.”

    Another big difference has been the goaltending of Joe Exter. Midway through the season, he seemed to wilt under the pressure of playing every game and seeing more shots than any other league netminder.

    On Jan. 8, Jason Wolfe was called on to make his first career start as a senior and give Exter a breather. Since then, he has taken the crease another five games, giving Exter an important respite.

    Apparently rejuvenated, Exter has now won two of the last three games for the Warriors, allowing just two goals each night.

    “Joey is playing now like what got him on the All-Rookie team last year,” says Doneghey. “He played 19 straight in the middle of the year and we were losing a lot then. The shots were lopsided.

    “If you know Joey, he takes everything personal. He takes the whole burden on his shoulders whether they score on four breakaways or he gives up three bad goals. He takes everything personal as if it’s his fault.

    “So we got him out of there. It was a good time to give Wolfie some games and give Joey a rest. Right now, it’s worked for us.”

    It has also helped that the defense has seemingly matured.

    “For the most part we’ve played four sophomores on defense,” says Doneghey. “The last 10 games of last year, they really started to come on.

    “Like most [players], they went into a sophomore slump this year. There was a lot of indecision, but they’ve worked their way through it and right now all the guys seem to be on the same page, clicking together.”

    Based on these recent performances, the Warriors are gelling at just the right time.

    “We’re playing some pretty good hockey right now,” says Doneghey. “We’re getting some timely scoring, the lines are clicking — everybody’s clicking. There is a certain attitude developing around here. It’s taken us five months to develop it, but we’re developing it at the right time. This is the right time of the year to start getting it together….

    “As the late Shawn Walsh used to say, it doesn’t matter where you are in November; it’s where you finish in February and March.”

    Where the Warriors finish is almost certain to be eighth place. For them to finish any higher, they’d have to win out while BC loses out. For UMass-Amherst to catch them, the Minutemen would have to stun either Maine or UNH before also defeating Merrimack.

    But there are eighth-place finishers that are cannon fodder for the playoffs and then there are eighth-place finishers that make opponents nervous.

    A few weeks ago, the Warriors were looking like the former. Now, they could just be the latter.

    Return Of The French Olympians

    UMass-Lowell’s three Olympians all returned last weekend after the French national team failed to advance to the round of eight.

    Nonetheless, Yorick Treille, Laurent Meunier and Baptiste Amar all echo a common theme of an extraordinary experience.

    “The Olympics were great,” says Treille. “It was the greatest experience of my life so far. It was something unbelievable.

    “It was kind of tough coming back in one way because everything went by pretty quick. It’s tough to accept that it’s over, but that’s life. You’ve just got to move on and put it behind you and just look ahead to the rest of the season.”

    Amar’s comments, coming independently and in a separate room, come close to duplication.

    “It was a great time, maybe the best time in my life so far,” he says. “It was a great experience. Great events like the opening ceremony and stepping on the ice for the first time. Those are moments that you can’t forget. It was really awesome.”

    The common theme continues with Meunier.

    “It was awesome,” he says. “It was the best. Everything is made for the athletes. The [Olympic] village is great. You get concerts every night. The food is great. All the athletes are pretty open.

    “You can talk with everybody because we were all athletes. Nobody is there as a fan, so it’s just between [athletes]. That’s pretty great. We saw a lot of players. It was a great moment.

    “The opening ceremonies — it was amazing how big it was. The Americans did a great job with it.”

    The French team opened with promise, tying Group B favorite Switzerland.

    “We knew we were able to do something against Switzerland,” says Amar, “because each time we play against them, they struggle a little bit. They hate us and we hate them so it’s a special game between us. So we knew we’d be able to do something good.

    “We were kind of disappointed because even if they played better than us, we had the lead with five minutes left to go in the game, but they tied. So we were disappointed because we would have liked to have started with a win.”

    A 3-1 loss to Belarus, however, sealed France’s fate. Belarus would advance to the round of eight, where it would ultimately stun the world and reach the semifinals. France would be left to play one last meaningless contest plus a placement game.

    Meanwhile, the Olympians kept track of the River Hawks’ struggles in their absence.

    “We could email and we watched USCHO.com all the time,” says Meunier. “We followed the team. After every game we talked with a guy by MSN Messenger and stuff like that. We tried to keep in touch with them and support them.”

    The three Olympians then pulled out all the stops to return to the River Hawks as quickly as possible. Meunier, who was the freshest of the three because of missing several games with a shoulder injury prior to leaving for Salt Lake City, dressed for Friday night’s game against BU despite getting to Walter Brown Arena direct from the airport little more than an hour before the game.

    “[Our last Olympic game started] 11 o’clock Eastern time,” says Meunier. “It was a long time because we had to wait for Yorick because he had to go for an anti-doping test.

    “We had to bring back all the bags to another ice rink and all the time you have to go through the security [checks]. You lost about half an hour every time. We had to come back to the village.

    “The [arena] where we played in Provo was an hour away from the village and half an hour away to the other ice rink. So we came back around three in the morning, Mountain time.

    “We said good-bye to everyone because we were leaving. We probably were going to bed at 4:30 and we woke up at six to take the flight at 10 because we were an hour away. We took the flight at 10 and got to Boston at 4:30. I just arrived to the ice rink at 5:40, just an hour and 20 minutes before the game we were playing. That was pretty tough.”

    Meunier logged much less time than usual, playing on the fourth line, while UML coach Blaise MacDonald held Treille and Amar out entirely. The exhausted trio all played the following night, making seven games in eight nights for Meunier.

    “I just wanted to help the team,” he says. “I just played the fourth line that first game, so I didn’t get that much ice time, but I just did my best and tried to help the team.

    “But I was pretty far away from my best. Even [on Saturday], I was very tired. I play all the time [on the French team]: power play and [penalty-killing] so that’s a full game.”

    The French trio didn’t just sacrifice sleep in rushing back to help the River Hawks last weekend. They also missed the tail end of the Olympic experience that their French teammates enjoyed.

    “Yeah, we didn’t see any of the other competition like downhill [skiing] or bobsled or other stuff,” says Meunier. “That was pretty disappointing, but we wanted to be with the team. We’re part of the team and we [hadn’t] been there. We missed them, too.

    “It’s okay. Life is like that. I don’t complain about that. That was great to spend one week at the village and then come back to reality.”

    Rose Between Two Thorns

    UNH sophomore Steve Saviano has shown great versatility of late moving between linemates at both ends of the stylistic spectrum. When David Busch went down to injury, Saviano skated on one wing alongside Darren Haydar and fellow Reading High School Rocket Sean Collins. The combination worked so well that he remained with the top line after Busch returned.

    After Haydar suffered an ankle injury, however, Busch moved back between his old linemates so that the Hobey hopeful could move to wing.

    As a result, Saviano (5-7, 165) went from a line of like-minded roadrunners to centering UNH’s two talented lumberjacks: Ed Caron (6-3, 220) and Patrick Foley (6-1, 210). That trio might be termed the Rose Between Two Thorns Line, where “thorns” is no pejorative but rather a power forward badge of honor.

    “Playing with Sean and Darren, I just stayed back and let them do their thing,” says Saviano. “I just tried to fill in the holes and do pretty much whatever they wanted me to do.

    “Playing with Eddie and Foley, I’m a little more free playing center so I’m more all over the ice so I get to create a little more.

    “I’m still playing with two great players. Now that I’m playing center, I’m worrying a lot more about defense. That’s really the goal of our third line.

    “Team defense for our third line is the most important thing. That’s what we’re focussing on. I’m just playing defense and hopefully the offense will come.”

    UNH coach Dick Umile is pleased with Saviano’s development following a freshman season in which he scored only two points in 16 games.

    “Most freshmen have ups and downs and I think [for Steve] it was confidence handling the puck,” says Umile. “That’s the biggest thing that he does now. He has total confidence and feels comfortable out there.

    “Freshmen typically come in and are worried about making a mistake and they don’t handle the puck as well. But once they get comfortable, [they get more productive] and obviously he’s very comfortable now.

    “That line with Darren, Collins and him put up some big numbers and he was an important part of that.”

    Not The Way To Go Into The Off Week

    UMass-Amherst had last weekend off except for an exhibition game against the U.S. National Development Team, but the Minutemen no doubt wished they were back in action. They were certainly left with a bad taste in their mouths after blowing a 3-0 third period lead to UMass-Lowell and being fortunate to escape with a tie.

    Not only was a valuable point lost, but the River Hawks dominated them to a distressing degree. It was about as bad a way to head into an off week as possible.

    “We played very well in the first period and did exactly what we hoped to do,” said UMass-Amherst coach Don “Toot” Cahoon after the game. “We executed fairly well in all three zones and got the lead, as we need to do given our inability to score in bunches.

    “We fell about as flat as you could fall and caved into a lot of pressure and a real good effort by Lowell. But we had several opportunities to make plays and couldn’t make plays.

    “Physical conditioning and mental conditioning go together and we lacked both. Mental toughness is a derivative of good physical conditioning and we lacked both. It was a putrid display of hockey for the last two periods.”

    Quote Of Note

    UMass-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald after the aforementioned game against UMass-Amherst:

    “Whose idea was it to create a 60-minute hockey game? I want to lobby for a 40-minute game.”

    Priorities

    When word started circulating after the first round of the Beanpot that BU Sports Information Director Ed Carpenter was headed for the Olympics, I had my doubts.

    Ed Carpenter, miss a Beanpot championship game?

    It was unthinkable, even with the lure of Salt Lake.

    Ed, after all, would consider the Olympics enticing to the max, but still lower on the pecking order than the Beanpot.

    The denouement made sense in the end, however. The Terrier loyalist stayed through to another BU Beanpot title and then flew out to Salt Lake City early the next day, bleary-eyed but with a smile on his face.

    Trivia Contest

    Last week’s question noted that in the history of the Beanpot, only one penalty shot has been taken that has not been successful. Who took the shot and, for a tiebreaker, what year was it?

    The answer, ironically, is Wayne Turner in 1979. One year later, Turner would score the most famous goal in Beanpot history to give Northeastern its first title.

    Loyal reader Gary Fay proudly notes that he was the player to take down Turner and that current BU assistant coach Brian Durocher was the goalie.

    Mike Chevrette was the first to answer correctly. His cheer is:

    “Let’s go Huskies! Home ice and the Fleet are within our grasp!”

    This week’s question notes that Northeastern freshman goaltender Keni Gibson has set multiple school records or unique achievements. What are they? Email Dave Hendrickson with your answers.

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

  • I tend to get nasty emails whenever I veer off the topic of sports, but I can’t help myself this time. The Vomit-O-Meter has been sadly scaling new heights of late. I thought it had hit its peak with the recent revelations of all the pedophile priests.

    Even more outrageous, however, if that can even be conceived, were the actions of New Bedford Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy, who not only gave probation to the monster who admittedly twice raped a 14-year-old, but Murphy also said that the terrified girl should “get over it.”

    Probation? Get over it? Your Dishonor, you are a piece of genetic garbage!

  • Back to the world of sports before I blow a gasket….
  • So former Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden was worth two first-round draft choices and two seconds to Tampa Bay? Imagine what he would have been worth if Bill Belichick hadn’t handed Gruden his coaching butt on a platter in the fourth quarter.
  • I’ll admit that the guys I was watching the Super Bowl with switched to the Playmates version of Fear Factor during halftime. However, in my defense I should note that my vote was to watch PBS. I hardly noticed the cleavage and bare midriffs.
  • On a much, much more serious note, when we switched back to hear U2, none of us was prepared for what the greatest band in rock ‘n roll had in store. Seeing the list of Sept. 11 victims scroll by while U2 played “Where The Streets Have No Name” was a truly unforgettable moment.
  • St. Louis Rams defensive back Aeneas Williams had the most profound quote I can recall in a long time. Talking to Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, he said: “Some of the wealthiest places on earth are the cemeteries. I think there are unwritten books there. There are songs that were never written. I think there are so many people that have gone to that grave with unreleased potential.”

    Thanks to Jim Lothrop and Ed Seero for their assistance.

    • This Week in the CCHA: Feb. 21, 2002

    By
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    With a Whimper, Not a Bang

    As February rolls to a close, here’s what you should have experienced this month:

    The anniversary of the first issuance of car insurance (Feb. 1, 1898). International Boost Self Esteem Month. International Embroidery Month. Return Shopping Carts to Supermarkets Month. The anniversary of the birth of income tax (Feb. 3, 1913, 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution).

    And let’s not forget Groundhog Day.

    Can there be anything more exciting than the month of February? Well, if you’re a CCHA fan, the answer is obviously yes.

    In fact, the regular season seems to be ending with a fizzle, not a sizzle.

    Don’t believe me? Who’s duking it out for first place? Michigan and Michigan State? Wow. Color me shocked.

    Who’s hovering near the cellar? Lake Superior State and Bowling Green? Slow down. I need to catch my breath.

    Sure, there have been some surprises and some interesting moments this season. Alaska-Fairbanks is a pleasant surprise, but I picked them sixth so I don’t think I’m shocked.

    Michigan and Michigan State tie twice during games that count, and MSU wins a game that doesn’t mean anything in league standings. Very exciting.

    Six teams host. Six teams travel. All teams make the playoffs. As FSU head coach Bob Daniels pointed out last week, positioning isn’t really going to matter much in terms of playoffs, because home ice – for some – isn’t going to be much of an advantage. Why? Because the league has finally had a wish come true: parity exists. The only problem with parity is that by itself it does nothing to define excellence or mediocrity. This year, the oft-uttered phrase “Any team can beat any other on any given night” doesn’t seem like much of a compliment.

    Sure, it will be nice for two extra teams to host the first round of the playoffs, from both a fan and a revenue perspective. And it will be nice for players from six teams to participate in the Detroit hullabaloo.

    But, frankly, I’m bored.

    The regular-season champ is no longer guaranteed an NCAA berth, and everyone’s in the playoffs, so the annual jockeying of positions just doesn’t do anything for me. The only potential excitement at this point surrounds the CCHA’s three “bubble” teams – Michigan, Alaska-Fairbanks, and Western Michigan. Throw in Nebraska-Omaha and Ohio State, too, just for good measure.

    Michigan? A bubble team? Well, yes. A No. 10 spot in the PairWise isn’t enough to guarantee the Wolverines an invitation to the NCAA tournament if the Wolverines find themselves unlucky in the CCHA playoffs. Why is that? Because a first-round upset to a significantly lower-ranked team could damage any of the hosting teams’ PWRs, given the nature of the new playoffs.

    Ah, but who am I kidding? That’s a worst-case scenario. Michigan’s a go. Michigan State’s a go. I think it might be time for me to rotate my mattress, contemplate a shower curtain change, and alphabetize my spices.

    March is just around the corner. The playoffs themselves could be exciting, as could the CCHA Tournament.

    If not, at least we can look forward to National Umbrella Month, National Frozen Food Month, and the anniversary of the patent of earmuffs (March 13, 1887).

    Obligatory Playoff Scenario Banter

    The one thing that strikes me this week is that the third-place team, Alaska-Fairbanks, could end up traveling in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Only Michigan and Michigan State have secured home ice.

    Other than that, I just don’t have the heart for this. Let’s see how this weekend shakes out.

    The Envelope, Please

    I’ve been remiss in my duties. It’s time to throw out – um, I mean give out, as in award, um, yes, that’s what I mean – a few Girl Reporter League Awards and All-CCHA Team.

    Please, contain your excitement, and save the applause until all recipients have been named.

    GR All-CCHA Team

    Forwards Rob Collins (FSU), Bryce Cockburn (NMU), and Chad Theuer (NMU); defensemen John-Michael Liles (MSU) and Matt York (FSU); goaltender Ryan Miller (MSU).

    Honorable mentions: Jeff Hoggan (UNO), Dave Cousineau (WMU), and Josh Blackburn (UM).

    Player of the Year

    Ryan Miller. Period.

    Coach of the Year

    Guy Gadowsky. Everyone considers his turnaround of the Nanooks a miracle, and “miracle” seems to be a criteria for this award. That having been said, however, I’d really like to see perennial miracle-workers like Ron Mason and Red Berenson considered. It takes a lot to keep a team on top.

    Rookie of the Year

    Matt York. A smart defender, and good things happen when he’s on the ice (+22). Honorable mention: Aaron Voros (UAF), Mike Brown (FSU).

    Team of the Year

    Michigan State. Why? Because they are quite the different team from years past, generating offense while keeping tight defensively, making Miller earn his keep, playing exciting hockey.

    Honorable mention: Michigan (exciting rookie class), UAF (the surprise factor).

    Surprise of the Year

    Ohio State. Given the Buckeye depth and talent, why this team isn’t contending for a regular- season title is beyond me. Honorable mention: Wayne State.

    The Ferris State Memorial Defenders of the Realm Award

    Northern Michigan. 7-1-0 out of conference. So what if that loss was to Michigan Tech?

    Team Most Likely to Surprise Folks in the Post-season

    Ferris State.. The Bulldogs don’t have much depth up front, but they are fast with very good goaltending. Honorable mention: Notre Dame.

    Perseverance Award

    The Lake Superior State Lakers. I’m not talking about the program, the organization, or the coaching staff. I’m talking about the players, making it through a season so difficult that it is unimaginable to the rest of us. And they did it all in a fish bowl.

    Two players tie for this year’s Attaboy Award: WMU’s Mike Bishai and UM’s Mike Cammalleri. Bishai toughed out the first half of the season with an infection, not wanting to disappoint his teammates and his coaching staff. Cammalleri will be returning this weekend after what all accounts say was a bad bout of mono. Stay well, guys.

    Courage Under Fire Award

    The Lakers. Wearing sandwich boards around campus to advertise your games. Listening to your coach denigrate you after you worked hard for 60 minutes. Watching teammates leave or be shown the door. What a nightmare.

    The Chris Richards Man-Most-Likely-To-Be-Overlooked Memorial Award

    John Shouneyia (UM). This junior stepped it up when Cammo was taken out by mono. Honorable mention: Greg Day (BGSU).

    The Mike Comrie Most Likely to Leave Early Memorial Award

    Matt Violin. This freshman goaltender from LSSU is the real thing. And who’d blame him?

    The Aniket Dhadphale Garbage Man Memorial Award

    Chris Kunitz. This kid really knows how to pick up the trash. Eight power-play goals, six game-winners, 26 goals this season, +20.

    The Mike York Poetry-in-Motion Memorial Award (formerly the Wow Award)

    R.J. Umberger (OSU). Shades of Mike York, except that he hasn’t yet learned how to score a garbage goal. Unbelievable moves, and every tally one for the highlight reel. Innate ability to leave spectators breathless.

    Best Offensive Goalie Award

    With two assists, Ryan Miller is the league’s highest-scoring goaltender.

    Girl Reporter All-Goon Squad

    Most of you know I like a good hip-check as much as the next fan, and these guys know how to dish it out – although taking it is another matter for a few of them. In a season when PIMs are down, it’s not just numbers that count here. Intent matters.

    Adam Hall. This isn’t going to win me any friends in East Lansing, but I don’t care. It’s this lone Girl Reporter’s opinion that Hall gets away with an awful lot.

    Chris Kunitz. This forward from Ferris State is in a class by himself, an instigator the likes of which the league has not seen since Bobby Hayes (except that he’s clearly smarter than Hayes ever was). Don’t get me wrong – he’s a great player, but he pushes buttons and wears the face of an angel. Pure evil, and I admire that.

    Derrick McIver. After FSU’s series with OSU at the Pleasure Palace last weekend, they considered naming the visiting penalty box in his honor.

    Dave Steckel. This Ohio State sophomore honestly doesn’t know why the refs have it in for him. Honest. Have you seen his soon-to-be-patented shoulder slump? (Occurs after being assessed a penalty.) Off the ice, he’s a great kid. On the ice, I fear he’s become the victim of number choice; OSU fans, just recall who last wore No. 39, and you’ll know exactly what I mean.

    Aaron Voros. He’s got 91 penalty minutes, and a legitimate shot at being named Rookie of the Year. Of course, he’s no Chad Hamilton.

    This Week in the MAAC: Feb. 21, 2002

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    Heart Loves Its Position

    A question: Was I the only one who thought it interesting that two days after St. Valentine’s, Sacred Heart took control of the now-becoming-famous two-through-seven race in the MAAC?

    By virtue of a weekend sweep over Iona, something most should have seen coming based on Iona’s recent play, yet very few would have ever called, the Pioneers have leapfrogged over much of the pack and landed relatively comfortably in second place in the MAAC.

    Now, destiny is the Pioneers’. Sacred Heart, with two weeks remaining in the season, can control its own fate. Four wins, second place is theirs. Though, looking at the way things stack up, it might not even take four ‘W’s.

    Sacred Heart stands one point ahead of third-place Quinnipiac and four points ahead of a three-way tie for fourth between Canisius, Connecticut, and Holy Cross. With Connecticut playing Holy Cross twice this weekend and Sacred Heart playing its final of three games against Canisius, chances are that two or three wins down the stretch for the Pioneers will result in a second- or third-place finish (see more below when we look at the actual math behind the playoffs).

    To get to this point, though, has not been easy for Sacred Heart. Four weeks ago, with 12 games left in the season, Sacred Heart had the toughest (statistically speaking) schedule remaining of the 11 MAAC teams. At that point, the average winning percentage of Sacred Heart’s opponents was .647.

    As you’ll see in the table below, that, by far, took the cake.

    Team          Gms  Avg %
    Sacred Heart  12   0.647
    Holy Cross    10   0.618
    Iona          12   0.557
    Mercyhurst    12   0.550
    UConn         10   0.540
    Army          10   0.496
    AIC           10   0.494
    Canisius      10   0.469
    Quinnipiac    12   0.465
    Fairfield     12   0.449
    Bentley       10   0.416

    At that point, Sacred Heart had three games remaining with Holy Cross, two games with Mercyhurst, Canisius, Quinnipiac, and Iona and one with AIC. To even think that the Pioneers could go .500 over that stretch was bordering on far-fetched. To date, they’re 4-2-2, or .675, over that period. What remains, though, still doesn’t look easy.

    This weekend, Sacred Heart makes the dreaded Western trip, traveling to Mercyhurst and Canisius. The Lakers, of course, are still without a loss in MAAC play this season, though Sacred Heart did place one of three blemishes on Mercyhurst’s record — a 3-3 tie 13 days ago. As for Canisius, the Griffs should be hungry as twice this year the Pioneers have knocked them off. The most recent battle, one day after the Mercyhurst tie, saw Sacred Heart rally for two goals in the final eight and a half minutes of regulation to tie Canisius before Garrett Larson scored 37 seconds into overtime.

    If the Pioneers can take two points on the road, a bit of an easier weekend awaits in the season’s final series, against AIC and Holy Cross, which hasn’t won since January 25. Ironically, though, that Crusader win was 8-2 over Sacred Heart.

    To say that home ice looks legitimate for the Pioneers might be a bit early. Even still, a home game may be the only advantage that Sacred Heart would receive. Their first-round opponent would probably be chosen from among Iona, Canisius, UConn and Holy Cross — which doesn’t seem like a great payoff for a big stretch run.

    Home ice, though, is something Sacred Heart has never had. Though the Pioneers have never won a game in the MAAC playoffs, for three straight years they’ve come way too close. In 1999, they suffered their largest margin of defeat — only two goals — in a 3-1 loss at Holy Cross. A year later, UConn rallied on home ice from a 4-1 deficit to win 5-4. And last season, Iona scored a late goal to force overtime before winning four minutes into the extra session, 3-2.

    With all three of those games on the road, think the Pioneers are licking their chops for home ice? Add to it a 9-1-2 record this year at the Milford Ice Pavilion. Count on Sacred Heart leading the league in desire in these final weeks.

    Number-One Again — And Now What?

    What has seemed like a foregone conclusion for the last month and a half is now official — Mercyhurst has captured its second straight regular-season MAAC championship. By virtue of a 4-1 victory last Friday night over UConn, the Lakers cruised through what will be the most lopsided MAAC title “race” in the four-year history. With four games remaining in the regular season, the Lakers hold a 12-point lead over second-place Sacred Heart.

    As was mentioned last week, the Lakers could become the first team in league history to escape the MAAC season without a loss. That, according to head coach Rick Gotkin, won’t be the focus for the Lakers in the closing weeks of the season.

    “I think now, more than anything, we need to find a way to keep getting better,” said Gotkin. “We need to be feeling good mentally, physically and emotionally [when we get to the playoffs].”

    “I anticipate our lineup to be pretty much the same, but we’ve got some guys who are coming back from injuries and we want to get them involved. We’ve also got guys who have [small injuries] and it’s a good chance to rest some guys.”

    The fact, of course, the Mercyhurst has soared to the league title in record timing is comforting to Gotkin. At the same time, though, it may not be too rewarding. His first-round opponent will likely be either Army (the most likely), Iona or AIC — not exactly child’s play.

    “Regardless of who we play, it’s going to be a battle,” said Gotkin. “Every game we’ve been in has been a dogfight. From the second-place team to the 11th-place team, they’ve been great games. I wish we had a bye to the championship game, but it doesn’t work that way.”

    One thing, according to Gotkin, that favors the Lakers is their remaining schedule. With games against AIC and Sacred Heart this weekend, followed by road games versus Army and Iona, the Lakers will face teams with plenty on the line, keeping them sharp entering the playoffs.

    “All of these teams are coming in with a lot on the line,” said Gotkin. “If we’re not ready to play on Friday night against AIC who has their whole season on the line, or against Sacred Heart who wants home ice, we’re going to get shellacked. I’d rather play them than a club whose been eliminated from the playoffs already.

    “I look at it real simply — we’ve got four regular-season games to play and I want to win all four of them.”

    Playoff Math

    Just over a week from now, it will all be settled. We’ll know the eight teams that will play for a MAAC championship and, moreover, we’ll know which will be traveling for round one and which will have the comfort of home ice.

    As it stands now, seven of the eight playoff spots are clinched. The final spot is a two-team race between Army and AIC, with Army needing only a win, a tie, or an AIC tie or loss to take the final spot. So assuming that, we have the eight teams to qualify.

    On the other hand, who plays whom and, more importantly, where these games are played, is very much up for grabs. At this point, only one team has sewed up its playoff spot — Mercyhurst. The Lakers will be the number-one seed.

    Not a single other team his cliched home ice, and all of the remaining seven clubs, with the exception of Army, even still have a chance at it. In assessing those odds, though, we’ll start from the bottom.

    Army stands in eighth place with 19 points, three points or a game and a half behind seventh-place Iona. That deficit, though, could be made up this week as the two teams meet in a home-and-home series. From there, though, Army hosts Mercyhurst and Canisius the following weekend. Now, though, moving into seventh place is a possibly, moving any higher would require Army to win all four of their remaining games and hope that one of the three fourth-place teams (Holy Cross, Canisius, UConn) lose what remains of their schedules. The fact that UConn and Holy Cross play this weekend guarantees one of those teams will get points in the standings, making passing them impossible for Army.

    Did I lose anyone there? Hopefully not, because it gets tougher.

    Seventh-place Iona is reeling from the having lost four in a row and six of its last eight. At one point this season the Gaels had hopes for a championship; now they’re playing for the right not to face first-place Mercyhurst. But all is not lost. Playing the what-if scenario, if the Gaels sweep Army this weekend, they could catapult over two teams if Canisius and Holy Cross/Connecticut (remember, they play one another this weekend) were to be swept. Iona is three points behind that fourth-place threesome. One head-to-head matchup with Canisius still looms as the Gaels take on the Griffs as part of a Mercyhurst-Canisius two-game next weekend.

    Now things get messy.

    Fourth place, right now, is kind of like three people living in a studio apartment — there’s not enough room for everyone, and you quickly get sick of your roommates. Something here could give, as, if you haven’t heard by now, Holy Cross and Connecticut play a home-and-home this weekend. A sweep in this series gives a ton of momentum heading into the final weekend. A split may settle nothing. Canisius hosts AIC and Sacred Heart this weekend before traveling to Army and Iona next. Not the most appetizing schedule, but at the same time, not too difficult. Sacred Heart is a hurdle that Canisius would like to get past — they haven’t beaten the Pioneers this year and could potentially face them in the first round of the MAAC tournament. For confidence alone, the Sacred Heart game is a must-win for the Griffs.

    Moving up to second and third place is similar to entering the high-rent district in New York City. These people are happy, they’re playing well, and most importantly, they control their own destiny. Quinnipiac, though a 4-2 loser in its last game out at Mercyhurst, has only lost one other time since January 5. Of all the schools, QU may have the easiest road remaining — two games against Fairfield this weekend and single tilts with Bentley and UConn next. Its hopes have to be on second place, only one point behind Sacred Heart and holding the first tiebreaker — head-to-head.

    Which brings us full-circle to those Pioneers. Sacred Heart has done the most with a tough schedule. With the probability that the two-through-six pool won’t include Army (though this shouldn’t suggest that Army is a total pushover), the Pioneers’ first-round opponent will be tough no matter which team they draw. With that in mind, Sacred Heart’s number-one goal has to be to clinch home ice. To do so, Sacred Heart would need five more points (out of a possible eight). Four points would leave the possibility of being tied with either Holy Cross, Connecticut, or Canisius.

    And while we’re talking about ties, we might as well look at how ties are broken. If two teams have the same number of conference points at the end of the season, the following is used to break the tie.

    1) Head-to-head competition
    2) Number of conference wins
    3) Record against highest remaining seed (which in all cases will be Mercyhurst)
    4) Coin flip

    Taking the Sacred Heart equation, the Pioneers hold the tiebreaker against Canisius, having already beaten the Griffs twice. Against Connecticut, the Pioneers only played twice and split that series, so that’s a wash. And against Holy Cross, the Pioneers split the first two games with one game remaining.

    In terms of conference wins, Sacred Heart is in good shape against UConn and Holy Cross, as each of those teams has five ties, compared to Sacred Heart’s three (which means if they are tied at the end of the regular season, it’s all but guaranteed that Sacred Heart will have the most wins). And if you math majors have followed along this whole way, two wins for Sacred Heart — with one of them coming against Holy Cross — would sew up home ice.

    Hope you followed. There will be a test later.

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