The Gamer

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April 8, 2001

For Scott Clemmensen, the goaltender of record in every one of Boston College’s NCAA tourney games in his four years there, that monkey was probably a little more like a gorilla — a ten-thousand pound gorilla.

(Photo by Ed Trefzger)

But in the aftermath of BC’s victory in the national championship, which his teammates commemorated by piling up along the far boards, Clemmensen talked about his own postgame celebration: trying to skate to the other end after sophomore Krys Kolanos scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

“I was so tired, I barely made it down to the other end of the ice, my legs were so sore,” said Clemmensen, maybe showing signs of fatigue from carrying the large monkey. “I don’t even know who I grabbed first. They were all flying faces.”

All joking aside, Saturday’s win gave Clemmensen the opportunity to show the press, the fans, and all who may have doubted his ability that Scott Clemmensen is a big-game player.

Ask North Dakota’s Bryan Lundbohm. Clemmensen robbed the All-American not once, but twice. The first time was early in the game, a remarkable glove save to keep the game scoreless through one period. The second time was with a little more pressure added — early in overtime, realizing a goal then would end the game, and Clemmensen’s career with the ultimate title.

“I just wanted to get a glove on that shot,” said Clemmensen. “I wasn’t sure if it was heading to the top corner, but I knew I couldn’t take a chance in overtime.”

Old Memories Die Hard

It was three years ago when Clemmensen played a similar overtime game, deadlocked at an identical 2-2 score against Michigan for the NCAA title. That night, an unexpected shot from the stick of Josh Langfeld slid slowly along the ice between Clemmensen’s right skate and the post, ruining a stellar performance by the then-inexperienced freshman.

And Saturday night, as North Dakota spoiled Clemmensen’s shutout late and then buried the tying goal to send the game into overtime, one can only imagine what went through Clemmensen’s head. This was worse than deja vu. This was a downright nightmare.

“You think about [1998] going into overtime, but ultimately, we have another shot at it. We took advantage of it this time around.”

Clemmensen, who alone among the seven BC seniors did not wear a captain’s letter, would be the first to admit that he’s not a vocal leader. But once the game was destined for OT, “Clemm,” as his teammates affectionately call him, decided maybe it was time to speak up.

“I told them it’s very important that we go out there and attack and stay on our toes and not play just defense,” Clemmensen said of his overtime speech. “[North Dakota] was taking it to us and we had to come out and attack. I think we did that.”

Certainly the Eagles did attack, and when Krys Kolanos scored at 4:43 of overtime, the championship became BC’s and Clemmensen’s.

“God, when I got that trophy, I held it up so high,” Clemmensen said wearing a smile the size of the Massachusetts Turnpike that he and his team will ride back to Chestnut Hill. “I couldn’t hold it up high enough. It’s great for my teammates, for our program, for our fans.”

One for the Record Books

Over his career, Clemmensen has not been immune to setting records. As a junior, he already had broken the Boston College record for shutouts. Earning his last one in this year’s Hockey East quarterfinals, Clemmensen finished his career with 13 blankings.

Entering the Frozen Four this weekend, Clemmensen needed just 31 saves to pass Harvard’s Grant Blair for the all-time record for saves in NCAA tournament play. Clemmensen didn’t even need to reach Saturday’s final for that. He made exactly 31 in a 4-2 win over Michigan on Thursday, meaning his 34 on Saturday night was nothing more than gravy. The new mark is Clemmensen’s 356 stops.

And after tying Michigan’s Marty Turco, ironically the winning goaltender opposite Clemmensen in the 1998 final, Thursday for most career wins, Saturday’s win gives Clemmensen the all-time mark with 10.

But that still won’t change the humble senior’s perspective.

“I’m not too much for personal accolades. It’s a team sport and we needed every single one on the team to win it,” said Clemmensen. “I just tried to make save [after] save and keep it close.”

Eagles head coach Jerry York, though, isn’t as modest when talking about his goaltender.

“Scott is a four-year goaltender for us who has never made an all-league team,” said York. “But that’s what I like about him — he doesn’t let that bother him. He’ll tell you, ‘Personal accolades aren’t part of my makeup.’

“But he’s meant an awful lot to our program. He’s won a lot of games for us.”

To be exact, Clemmensen’s won 99 games, which led York to joke, “Can’t we bring him back next year to win number 100?”

Regarding Clemmensen’s success in tournaments, particularly the NCAAs, York said, “His play in March and April is particularly very good. He’s a special young guy who we’re very proud of at Boston College.”

What Lies Ahead

The city of Albany, N.Y., and particularly the Pepsi Arena, will now hold a special place in the heart of Clemmensen, a native of Urbandale, Iowa. But as quickly as the senior may leave the building, he could be returning.

Clemmensen was an eighth-round draft pick in 1997 of the New Jersey Devils, whose primary development team is the Albany River Rats, the AHL club that calls the Pepsi Arena home.

“Maybe I’ll be back in the building someday; we’ll see what happens,” Clemmensen said. “I was drafted by New Jersey and all I want is a shot. So we’ll sit down and see what they have in store for me.”

Whatever the next step may be for Clemmensen, rest assured that he’ll be successful. And if he happens to see any gorillas on his way through life, he’ll know what to do to ward them off.

Because in case Clemmensen wins more big overtime games, he can’t be tired when he’s trying to celebrate.

Almost A Miracle

By Todd D. Milewski

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April 7, 2001

It happened again. And it happened again.

North Dakota pulled off what could have been termed the Miracle of Albany … if only the Sioux would have won Saturday’s national championship game against Boston College.

Just three weeks ago, the Sioux came back from a three-goal deficit in the last six minutes to force overtime at the WCHA Final Five title game. But they lost the game.

They lost again, this time 3-2 in overtime to the Eagles, and again, they were that close to being left for dead.

UND coach Dean Blais led his North Dakota squad back to the NCAA title game. (Photos by Ed Trefzger)

A penalty with 6 minutes, 29 seconds left put them a man down and in a big hole. They were down two goals, down in numbers and maybe even down in spirit.

Their best chances all game long had gone achingly wide of BC goaltender Scott Clemmensen and the net. The desperation factor was high. They had not yet cracked the scoreboard and couldn’t get anything done.

“We weren’t going to roll over and just give up,” North Dakota coach Dean Blais said.

And then it happened. Again.

Boston College took a too-many-men penalty with just under five minutes left, putting the teams back at full strength.

When the Sioux went on the power play, Blais went for broke.

He put all his chips in the center of the table, pulling Karl Goehring out of the net for an extra attacker. With 4:13 on the clock, it was a desperate move for a desperate man and a desperate team.

“That’s why he’s the best coach in the nation,” North Dakota senior forward Jeff Panzer said. “He makes plays like that to give you a chance, and he’s done that all year long.”

Said Blais: “It doesn’t matter if you lose 3-0 or 2-0, you might as well try to go out and try to get the first goal of the game.”

Then, a breakthrough. Tim Skarperud got the first one, redirecting Travis Roche’s point shot through traffic and past Clemmensen so hard the puck shot out of the back of the net just as fast as it went in.

The Sioux celebrate their first goal Saturday.

When it went in, the Sioux were back in. The game, all Boston College to that point, was suddenly in limbo.

It continued that way for seconds. Then a minute. Then another frustrating minute for the Sioux, who tried in vain to get the puck to the crease for a good shot. When those chances came, again, no dice.

The time came for Goehring to again leave his crease for an extra forward. BC had a chance to put the game away, but missed out.

Wes Dorey, though, didn’t miss.

The North Dakota senior, watching the seconds rolling off the scoreboard also chipping away at his collegiate career, did the improbable. Or, for the Sioux, the expected.

Dorey got the puck past Clemmensen and into the back of the net with 36.4 seconds on the clock.

For the Sioux, it was like Pepsi Arena had turned into the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. There, just 21 days earlier, the Sioux scored with seven seconds left to force overtime in the WCHA title game.

And the celebration was similar. The Sioux players on the ice mobbed Dorey as he skated out of the zone.

“Definitely, it was the biggest goal of my career,” Dorey said. “I was real excited, but for some reason I knew my job wasn’t done. We had to get one more.”

The bench turned into a mob scene, with players jumping on each other while the crowd’s frenzied, pro-BC cheers were replaced with the screams from the North Dakota end of the ice.

Then there was Goehring, seemingly re-energized, hitting the ice almost immediately after the goal was scored to leave the celebration and make his way back to the net.

“I thought we had ’em,” Blais said. “I thought we were going to win that game, based on momentum.”

A half-minute and a BC odd-man chance later, it was overtime, and the North Dakota players were sure this one wasn’t going to end up like St. Paul.

It couldn’t. They had too much momentum, too much on their side at the end of the game to lose it.

But then came the intermission. Somewhere in that 15 minutes, Boston College got its wind back. Early in overtime, the Eagles grabbed that momentum, for which the Sioux had worked so hard in the last minutes, away again.

It wouldn’t come back.

“We definitely had the momentum,” Skarperud said, “and I’m sure [BC] just wanted to regroup in the locker room. I think the fact they had the intermission in the locker room helped them out because they calmed down and came after us in overtime.”

Said Blais: “If the game would have went on without that intermission, I think we could have won it. Maybe it was meant to be.”

When Krys Kolanos scored to give BC the title, the North Dakota players looked as though they weren’t really sure what to do. As the Eagles celebrated in the corner, Blais went around and hugged his players.

“We’re real disappointed,” junior forward Bryan Lundbohm said. “We worked so hard tying it up and we worked so hard all year. You get to sudden death to win the national championship — that’s where we want to be.”

Panzer went around and tapped many of his teammates on the head.

“I just said, ‘Hey, heck of a year, guys. Keep your head up,'” Panzer said. “There’s no reason to hang your head. We’ve done more than most people thought we could do. You have to be proud of that. You have to be proud of the character we’ve showed all year long.”

As BC emerged from its celebratory pileup, the Sioux players slapped their sticks on the ice in appreciation.

Then they went to the same corner in which BC feted its championship, the same one in which their fans were seated, and raised their sticks to the crowd. The fans — all of them, even those clad in BC maroon and gold — roared their appreciation.

Panzer stayed on the ice to accept the runner-up trophy, did a radio interview and left, ending his collegiate career to a number of pats on the back.

The Sioux couldn’t get the overtime goal that would have made them national champions for the second year in a row — the first since 1972.

But the display of character in the face of adversity was enough to reassure Blais that everything was all right.

“We’ve had some losses at North Dakota and, personally, I have cried after a tough, tough loss,” Blais said. “This loss, I thought, what a character-type team and year we’ve had. Not a lot of balance, not a lot of depth. The one line, and it got us into the national championship game.

“We forged on, worked hard, and it almost got us another national title. I’m not happy ever to lose, but I’m happy in the manner with which we lost.”

Euphoria And A Cigar

By David H. Hendrickson

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April 7, 2001

Outside the Pepsi Arena an elderly man wearing a maroon and gold Boston College tam-o’shanter spoke to a friend before the game.

“I gave up cigars for Lent this year,” he said. “But if they win …”

He patted his breast pocket, grinned and looked to the sky.

“I think He’ll understand.”

Jerry York and the Boston College Eagles ended the Curse of ’49 Saturday night against UND. (Photo by Jayson Moy)

Perhaps so. There had been enough Close But No Cigar frustrations for BC fans in the NCAAs over the years that a stogie during Lent to celebrate a title might well be excused.

It had been a long time since legendary coach Snooks Kelley led the Eagles to their last national championship in 1949. That was only the second year of the NCAA tournament, and being 1-for-2 must have felt pretty good at the time. Unfortunately, the Eagles had gone 0-for-51 since with enough heartbreak for a lifetime of soap operas.

There were unsuccessful trips to the title game in 1965 and 1978. Then the most agonizing stretch of them all ran from the mid-eighties through 1991. Some of the collegiate sport’s most dominating talent — All-Americans or future NHLers like Brian Leetch, Craig Janney, Tim Sweeney, Greg Brown, David Emma, Kevin Stevens, Doug Brown, Bill Guerin, Steve Heinze, Marty McInnis, Scott Harlow, David Littman and Ted Crowley — failed even to reach the championship game.

The latest era of frustration began when this year’s seniors were freshmen. They lost to Michigan in the 1998 title game, to eventual champion Maine in a 1999 semifinal and to North Dakota in last year’s championship game.

Close but no cigar.

The monkey on the Eagles’ backs had grown into a gorilla and with each banana peel that Boston College slipped on, the weight grew heavier. Opposing fans, especially those of archrival Boston University, would torment BC with chants of “1949! 1949!” in the same fashion of the Boston Red Sox and 1918 or the New York Rangers and 1940 — that is, until they finally exorcised that demon with the 1994 Stanley Cup.

“We know the last time that BC’s won a national championship,” said Brian Gionta one day earlier. “But that’s not our concern. For these guys, we know that’s our last goal this season to accomplish.”

Indeed, it was the only challenge left standing for this year’s Eagles. They’d won the Beanpot, ending a Boston University stranglehold in the Battle for Boston, and then gone on to take both the Hockey East regular season crown and the conference tournament. They then advanced to a rematch with North Dakota in this NCAA title game. All that was left was just one more win.

Bobby Allen (left) and Krys Kolanos address the media after the title game. (Photo by Adam Wodon)

However, the Curse of the ’49ers showed early signs of reappearing when the vastly undersung Mike Lephart limped around in street clothes during practice the day before the title game. With depth up front being one of the clear Eagle advantages, his doubtful status was an ominous portent of another potential Close But No Cigar finish.

Lephart not only suited up, however, he scored a potentially decisive second goal to give BC a 2-0 lead in the second period.

“I had trouble walking on it, but I had the feeling that it was one of those things where it would hurt to walk but would feel fine once the adrenaline started going and I started skating,” said Lephart. “That’s exactly what happened. I wasn’t going to miss this game for anything.”

Lephart’s goal seemed to turn the omen into a mirage. The Curse became just a figment in imaginative sportswriters’ minds.

A mirage and a figment, that is, until with five minutes left in the game and a 2-0 lead, BC was assessed a too many men on the ice penalty. Brian Gionta had lost his stick and as he raced to the bench motioned for another. Mistaking his gesture for one that he was leaving the ice, Tony Voce hopped over the boards and took off for the offensive zone along with Gionta.

North Dakota coach Dean Blais gambled 40 seconds into the power play by pulling goaltender Karl Goehring for a six-on-four advantage with the puck in the BC zone. Mindful that the Fighting Sioux had gone 55 minutes without scoring a goal, Blais rolled the dice.

It would give the shorthanded Eagles a free shot at the open net when they went to fire the puck out of the zone. All they would need would be one possession and a fortunate rink-long shot and the game would be history.

So close and yet so far. Close but no cigar, at least not yet.

North Dakota’s Travis Roche fired from the point and Tim Skarperud deflected it into the net to make it a 2-1 game and trigger heart palpitations in BC loyalists everywhere.

Too many men on the ice? Of all the daggers to the heart since 1949, this would surely be the unkindest cut of all.

Long-time Bostonians suffered flashbacks to the Bruins in 1979 when they were poised to finally end the jinx the Montreal Canadiens held on them, until a similar penalty allowed Guy Lafleur to tie the game on the resulting power play and win the series and eventually the Stanley Cup in overtime.

Having pulled within one, North Dakota pressured until Blais again rolled the dice and again came up a winner. He pulled Goehring again with 1:23 left — early by many coaches’ standards — and survived one wide shot on the open net.

Another faceoff developed in the Boston College zone. Initially, 38.2 seconds showed on the clock, but the officials ruled that the Sioux were owed a few more seconds. Intending to bump the time up to 41 seconds, the timekeeper mistakenly posted 41 minutes.

Which is exactly how it felt from an Eagle perspective.

So close and yet so far. Close but no cigar, at least not yet.

Just 4.6 seconds later, Wes Dorey deflected an Aaron Schneekloth shot in to tie the score and bring BC’s boogeyman all the way out of the closet.

Without a doubt, this would be the unkindest cut of all. Too many men on the ice … Shutting out a team except for two extra-skater goals … Four straight times to the Frozen Four and four times coming up empty.

This had gone past Close But No Cigar status. There was a cigar, all right, but it was an exploding one.

“Our first reaction was, ‘I can’t believe this happened again!'” said Lephart.

Added BC coach Jerry York, “We were rightfully down walking into the locker room after the goal that tied it.”

However, York harkened back to a talk Boston Bruins coach Mike Keenan gave the Eagles in January. Keenan had coached the New York Rangers in their quest to end their own Curse of 1940 and had faced a similar fate when the New Jersey Devils tied the Rangers with five seconds left in a seventh game that would send the winner to the Stanley Cup finals.

Keenan talked to the Eagles about mental toughness and that seventh game, saying, “All I said in the locker room at that time was, ‘No matter how bad you felt about what just happened, think about how good you’re going to feel if you score the OT goal.'”

The striking similarities helped the Eagles regroup and at 4:43 of overtime Krys Kolanos banished chants of “1949!” and discussions of any Curse to the trash bucket. He broke in off the left wing and scored off his “bread and butter” move that utilizes his wide wingspan to maximum advantage.

When a writer asked Kolanos if he’d known he was going to use that move, goaltender Scott Clemmensen broke into laughter.

“He knew he was going to use it,” he said. “He does that move on me all the time in practice and I can’t stand it.”

Presumably, Clemmensen can stand the Kolanos move just fine now. As can the Boston College fans whose hearts had been in their throats since the too many men agony.

Near Kolanos, a BC fan held up a sign that read, “Now We Can Die In Peace,” a carbon copy of the sign a Rangers fan held in 1994.

(Photo by Jayson Moy)

At 10:26 Eastern Daylight Time, the public address announcer uttered words that were music to so many ears: “And now the NCAA Division I champions … Boston College.”

Symbolic of the tight-knit nature of the Eagle squad was injured Ales Dolinar also on the ice celebrating, propped up by Tony Voce on one side and Marty Hughes on the other.

“[Our] team chemistry is the greatest amount of team chemistry I’ve ever seen in all my years of sports,” said assistant captain Bobby Allen. “I’ve played all kinds of sports and played a lot of hockey. There’s a tremendous bond between a lot of the guys on our club. Whether we won or lost, we were still going to have a bond.

“But this solidifies it forever. We can come back in 10 years and have reunions and say, ‘Hey, we were national champions in 2001. Nobody can ever take that away from us.’ I just feel privileged that I had a chance to play with [these] guys because they’re a real special group.

“Perseverance pays off. We’ve had a tough four years getting there and not finishing it off. It finally feels good to finally be the top team in college hockey.”

Clemmensen extended that to Eagle players of the past three years that had to settle for Close But No Cigar.

“We’d be remiss if we didn’t comment on some of the players who have been with us in the past,” he said. “The only regret I have here at BC is that some of those past players that I played with starting in my freshman year like Jamie O’Leary and Brendan Buckley and last year’s class with [Mike] Mottau, [Jeff] Farkas and [Blake] Bellefeuille built this BC program up and put so much mystique around it.

“My only regret is that they didn’t get to hold that trophy above their heads because they played a big part in where the BC program has come. They own a piece of it as well.”

Chemistry, talent and mental toughness all played a part. After three Close But No Cigar finishes, Boston College is finally the national champion.

And somewhere outside the Pepsi Arena, an elderly gentleman in a BC tam-o’shanter puffed with great satisfaction on a cigar, hoping that up above the offense — when taken in context — would be forgiven.

One Last Chance

By Jim Connelly

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April 6, 2001

Four years. Four trips to the Frozen Four. Three trips to the championship game, but still nothing to show — yet.

The story of the Boston College Eagles is old and replayed. Replayed so much that, literally, there was a buzz Friday around the Pepsi Arena, the site of Saturday night’s NCAA championship game that will pit Boston College against North Dakota to give BC’s seniors one last chance at the prize that has eluded them for so long.

The buzz was created by excitement. The buzz was created by anticipation.

"[The media] takes care of all the ironies and that stuff. We’re just worried about playing."

— BC captain Brian Gionta

Whether it was fans having nothing better to do on the off Friday of the Frozen Four, so that they took in a BC practice — and, by the way, were treated to plenty of laughs by the lighthearted BC club itself. Or maybe it was the buzz created by the hordes of media who realize that the BC seniors are like hockey’s Rodney Dangerfields — no matter how much they accomplish, it seems like they get no respect.

Regardless, the matchup, a rematch of last year’s title tilt won by the Sioux, 4-2, has created possibly the most anticipated title game since 1993 — when the world watched future NHL superstar Paul Kariya dazzle crowds in bringing Maine its first-ever national title.

BC has plenty of reasons to feel the anticipation. Besides the fact that this is their third shot in four years at the title, each player has the chance to remove the ugly moniker of “1949,” representing the last time a Boston College team captured the title. Add to that the fact that the Eagles could capture Boston’s grand slam, comprised of the Beanpot championship, Hockey East regular season and tournament titles, and the national championship, and now you may feel the buzz yourself.

But BC is in no way alone. The team in the locker room 75 feet away will look to become the first team since Boston University in 1972 to capture back-to-back NCAA championships.

“North Dakota definitely deserves to be here,” said senior defenseman Bobby Allen. “It’s a quality program, one of the best in the country. We may be a sentimental favorite, but they’re not going to hand the trophy to us. They want to win it back-to-back as much as we want to get the first one for our careers.”

BC captain Brian Gionta won’t even worry about the buzz. The hype is not for him.

“[The media] takes care of all the ironies and that stuff,” Gionta laughed. “We’re just worried about playing.

“We know the last time that BC won a national championship. But that’s not our concern. For these guys, we know that’s our last goal this season to accomplish. We have a chance to do that Saturday night. This team is great coming down the stretch in big games. Obviously it’s nice to be back with a chance to avenge some things from last year.”

To do that, though, the Eagles will have to control one of the country’s top offensive lines in Bryan Lundbohm, Jeff Panzer and Ryan Bayda. That line has combined for 83 goals and 207 points this season alone, including a power-play tally in Thursday’s 2-0 semifinal win over No. 1 Michigan State.

BC head coach Jerry York, though, doesn’t want to focus on that single line. He believes that the Sioux are deeper than most give them credit for. He joked in the press conference about a comment North Dakota coach Dean Blais had made about the Sioux being a one-line team with a bunch of muckers.

“C’mon, Dean, we’d take [second-line forward Kevin] Spiewak any day as a mucker,” said York. “We know we can’t key on one line.

“We’re going to try to match our top line [of Gionta, Ben Eaves and Jeff Giuliano] against the Panzer line. We’re not going to try to key on just Panzer because the rest of the line is too dangerous. We’re going to try to come right at them. That’s the type of hockey we play.”

Said Gionta: “North Dakota will be a great team. They’re pretty quick and obviously they have a real explosive first line. We’ll have to be able to shut those guys down.

“They have great goaltending. It doesn’t take much to get up for a national championship game, so they’re going to be ready to go. They’re real quick, so we’ll need to jump all over them and bring the game to them. That’s going to be our key to the whole game.”

Another key may be the play of goaltender Scott Clemmensen. One of the overlooked goaltenders in college hockey, Clemmensen will have his fourth chance to prove that he is a big-game goaltender.

“Clemmensen is the glue to our team,” said Allen. “Most of the success we’ve had this year is directly attributed to Clemm. He doesn’t get a lot of the credit he deserves, but he gets credit from his teammates. He’s been in all the battles and we call him Mr. March on our team. It would be nice for him to go out on top.”

Speaking of seniors, though, one senior who will be questionable for Saturday’s game is third-line right wing Mike Lephart. He tweaked his quadricep muscle in Thursday win over Michigan, and did not practice on Friday with the team.

“Mike would be a big loss for us,” said York, who made it sound like the decision to play Lephart might not come until game time. “[If he’s missing,] we’ll probably have to juggle the lines a bit.”

Kobasew

Though Saturday’s game is a re-match of last year’s final, you can’t expect to see much of the same game. A year ago, North Dakota featured a team comprised more of physical players that had a strong commitment to defense, making scoring chances hard to find. Though the Sioux still have a strong defensive presence — noticed in shutting down Michigan State in the semifinals — their high-scoring offense rivals Boston College’s, making one think there’s a good chance to see mirror images.

“North Dakota’s got an excellent hockey team,” York said. “They’re not quite as physical as they were last year. [Defenseman Mike] Commodore turned pro. [2000 tourney MOP Lee] Goren was a big kid. But they’re just a quick and just as fast. They move pucks as well as any team we’ve played this year.”

If Thursday night’s win for BC is any example, look too for the freshman class to shine. All four goals against Michigan came off the sticks of freshmen, two by Eaves and two by Hockey East Rookie of the Year Chuck Kobasew.

Even though these freshmen have played in the championship game yet, thus not giving them the experience that so many coaches thrive on come crunch time, York isn’t worried.

“One of the benefits of running a solid program like we have at BC is that the older players have had success and have been places,” York said. “So as the younger player comes in, he can learn a lot through the course of the year. The freshmen get better at practice because they’re playing against the top players we have here.

“Ben Eaves is a good example. At the beginning of the year, he was kind of treading water and now [he and the rest of the freshmen] have become pretty good players. I think they emulate and watch. There’s so much great teaching that goes on in our locker room.”

And so the season has wound down for BC. Sixty minutes separate the Eagles from destiny or monotonous repetition. York, though, feels his team is ready.

“In sports, you’re going to get knocked down and you have to get back up again,” York said. “Your alternative is that you don’t try hard and you go off into the abyss.

“Providence last year was a tough loss for us, but we all understand what happens in sports. You don’t deserve anything. You have to go out there and earn it. As we’ve accumulated some postseason success, and come to the Frozen Fours, our poise and discipline under pressure is better.”

And if that better is best, the Eagles will skate around the Pepsi Center with a long-awaited championship on Saturday night, making the surrounding buzz into a very loud maroon and gold roar.

USCHO.com Town Meeting Debuts at Frozen Four

By Mike Volonnino

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April 6, 2001

USCHO.com and the NCAA teamed up Friday afternoon for the inaugural Town Meeting, a forum between the fans and representatives of the NCAA Championship Committee held at Albany’s Empire State Convention Center.

Hundreds attended the event, hosted by USCHO.com general manager Jayson Moy and held after the Hobey Baker Memorial Award presentation. The panel consisted of NCAA Director of Championships Tom Jacobs; Bill Wilkinson of Wayne State; Ian McCaw of Northeastern; Jack McDonald of Quinnipiac; and Ron Grahame of Denver.

Members of the Championship Committee (l. to r., Jacobs, Wilkinson, McCaw, McDonald, Grahame) took part in USCHO.com’s Town Meeting Friday in Albany, N.Y.

Jacobs and Wilkinson handled most of the inquiries, limited by design to the Frozen Four.

Among the discussion responses, the committee announced that it is in favor of expansion of the NCAA men’s tournament to 16 teams, and that, should the tournament expand, to go to four regional sites.

Moreover, in light of the continuing expansion of Division I hockey, the championship committee will be expanded from four to six members to give representations to all conferences with automatic bids — hinting that the CHA will receive its automatic berth in a couple of years.

“We’d like to thank the NCAA men’s hockey committee for participating in our town meeting this year,” Moy said. “It shows you how dedicated the committee is to promoting college hockey.”

“I was very pleased with the turnout, and the quality and knowledge that the fans showed in asking their questions,” Moy said. USCHO.com plans to make the Town Meeting an annual event.

The fans were pleased as well.

“This was a great forum and long overdue,” said Greg Mack of Colonie, N.Y., who asked the final question of the panel. “It was nice for the committee to talk one-on-one with the public where they could not give the typical pad-and-stad answer.”

Highlights from the exchange included:

McDonald on the expansion of the NCAA tournament:

“We’d like to have a 16-team tournament and the championship cabinet has approved our request to expand the tournament. At this point, there are five sports in line for it and it needs to be approved by the whole board of governors. We are working hard to meet the criteria of the NCAA, first that we can meet the expenses of expansion, and second that we are giving opportunity equally for women’s sports.

“We need to make the PAC-10 and the ACC aware of the great success of college hockey. I’m confident that this can happen sometime soon, but in all things there are politics. It’s completely unanimous in college hockey that we need to do this.”

Wilkinson on regionals if the tournament expands:

“As a coach, I’d like to go to four regionals to have regional champions … [so that] if you win your region, you have something to hang your hat on. Now, if you lose you go away with a negative feeling and not until later do you realize what a great season you had.”

Jacobs on the selection of Frozen Four sites:

“There are a lot of factors that go into it and seating is one important factor. We implemented a new capacity requirement of 15,000 because of the ever-improving popularity of this event and we want to accommodate as many fans as possible.

There are other factors that play into the decision including a strong local organizing committee and certainly the building itself … We want to provide the best possible experience for student-athletes.”

Jacobs on television coverage:

“CBS will have the rights to all our championship events, they may subcontract out events if they don’t want to do it. The regionals don’t fall within that package so hopefully we can work something out to get all of our games on television … As we move past 2002, it’s all a guess right now.”

Jacobs on committee expansion:

“We made a recommendation and it was accepted to expand the championship committee from four to six teams. If any conference has an automatic bid, they need to have representation. Right now there will be five, with one at-large slot with, in the future, the CHA getting one when they are eligible in a couple of years.”

Jacobs on Frozen Four ticket allocation:

“The ticket allocation to participating schools has been increased, actually. It used to be 400 and it has been increased to 500. We’re trying to get as much opportunity for the general public as possible, but there are many people that get tickets. The NCAA takes 1,500-2,000. We accommodate all Division I athletic directors, conference commissioners, affiliate groups, USA Hockey, and NCAA corporate sponsors.

“In addition to the 2000 tickets given to the teams, the local organizing committee gets tickets as well as a reward for all the hard work they’ve done. But we want to accommodate as many fans as possible … and that is why the larger facilities help.”

Lowell Program Appears Safe After Governor’s Intervention

By Adam Wodon

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April 6, 2001

The future of the Umass-Lowell hockey program appears safe, thanks to the intervention of Massachusetts governor Paul Cellucci.

In recent weeks, there were numerous reports that the state legislature was considering abandoning the Lowell hockey program because of funding and gender equity concerns, and forcing a so-called “merger” with the UMass-Amherst program.

As recently as Thursday, the future was still in doubt. “There is reason for concern,” said Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna on the USCHO Frozen Four Pre-Game Show.

But a report in Friday’s Lowell Sun says that Cellucci stepped in and urged UMass president William Bulger and Board of Higher Education Chairman Stephen Tocco to back away from “merger” talk. Cellucci, the new U.S. Ambassador to Canada, is said to be an ardent college hockey fan.

"If we’re more successful on a more consistent basis, and that generated more support, the chance of that [merger] conversation taking place are non-existent."

— UMass-Lowell athletic director Dana Skinner

“The team will remain in Lowell,” said UMass spokesman John Hoey to the Lowell Sun. “The president is very supportive of keeping the team in Lowell and he understands the impact the Tsongas Arena and the River Hawks have on Lowell.”

Men’s ice hockey is the only Division I program at UMass-Lowell. It is funded through $1.5 million in tuition waivers, used for scholarships, but the funding runs out in June. Some board members wanted to see the money used for women’s programs, and to support just one men’s program in the UMass system.

“The governor’s a pretty big fan of UMass-Lowell and a particular fan of Lowell and when he saw the report, he got a little concerned about it,” said Cellucci spokesman John Birtwell to the Lowell Sun. “He’s looking for the president’s support to keep the River Hawks in Lowell.”

Recently, Tocco seemed to shift the onus to each school’s board of trustees on how to handle a reduction in finances. He indicated that having two men’s programs and no women’s programs was unacceptable, but that UMass-Amherst and UMass-Lowell themselves should decide what to do about it. This began the concern of many Lowell supporters.

UMass-Lowell athletic director Dana Skinner was finding out about the rumors the same way as everyone else.

“At the FleetCenter [during the Hockey East tournament], I had reporters ask me if I had any comment, and I said it was the first I heard of it,” Skinner said. “People at Lowell are perceiving it as fighting for their lives.”

Skinner said he wasn’t sure whether there would be a specific demand made to create a women’s hockey program. He said that Lowell has been moving closer to gender equity for years, but that there are ways of achieving it without necessarily adding women’s hockey.

“Whether that’s a critical component of these [merger] discussions, I don’t know,” Skinner said. “I have no doubt Tocco thinks women’s hockey is an important thing to do. It’s a rising sport.

“There’s lots of ways to get into compliance, and we’re exploring them all right now. We’ve got a situation, because we don’t own the building … there’s not a lot of time left over. We’re still exploring the possibility of adding women’s hockey. Whether that is the path we choose to achieve [compliance], we’re not sure.”

Despite the governor’s reassurances, Skinner will continue to take any threats to Lowell’s program seriously, especially the implication that Lowell needs to do more to self-support its men’s hockey program. If that is a concern, Skinner believes he’s addressing it by, among other things, hiring Blaise MacDonald as his new coach.

“I’m not saying we have to [self-support financially], because I don’t know how serious the [merger] discussions are,” said Skinner. “But I don’t think anyone could argue … if we’re more successful on a more consistent basis, and that generated more support, the chance of that [merger] conversation taking place are non-existent.”

Skinner named MacDonald, a former Lowell assistant and most recently head coach at Niagara, as the team’s new head coach on Thursday. He replaces Tim Whitehead, who resigned following a contract dispute.

Notebook: Friday in Albany

By Todd D. Milewski and Jim Connelly

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April 6, 2001

Keep It Loose

North Dakota’s final practice before the championship game on Friday was exactly the opposite of what Michigan coach Red Berenson earlier this week described as the norm for his team’s day-before runthrough.

Berenson said he had never seen his team have a good practice the day before a game that carries the magnitude of the Frozen Four.

"As a coach, you try not to put pressure on the players and tell the players, ‘This is the biggest game of your life.’ They all know that."

— UND coach Dean Blais

North Dakota’s practice was light, quick and didn’t include too many drills. Exactly the way the players want it.

“We’ve always stressed hockey is a game where you want to have fun,” Sioux forward Bryan Lundbohm said. “If you’re not having fun, it doesn’t go too well. If we get all uptight and worry about things too much, we’re not going to be able to play our game and not be able to make the right plays at the right time.

“We’re going to stay loose. We’re going to be relaxed [Friday] and start thinking about the game [Friday night], and be mentally ready to go [Saturday].”

Lundbohm beat linemate Jeff Panzer in the final round of the team’s showdown, a round of penalty shots at the end of practice.

The competition is one way the Sioux keep the practices light.

“We try not to put a lot of pressure on the players,” Blais said. “We play the same way every game, practice the same way. We don’t try to break routines, we don’t break systems. I think the other coaches agree that you’re going to do what you do well, and that’s play the game and have fun.

“As a coach, you try not to put pressure on the players and tell the players, ‘This is the biggest game of your life.’ They all know that.”

How’s the Weather?

Spiewak

From causing the storm to weathering it?

North Dakota is expecting a big push by Boston College in the first 10 minutes of Saturday’s championship game, one not unlike the Sioux’s charge early against Michigan State on Thursday.

The Sioux scored two first-period goals, one by Kevin Spiewak 75 seconds in, to take control.

“They’re going to come out and battle us, and we’re going to have to weather the storm for the first 10 minutes of the game,” said North Dakota defenseman Travis Roche, who said he considers Boston College the favorite in the title game.

“After that, we just have to keep plugging away and work as hard as we can.”

Oh, the Pressure

Who has more pressure: the team that hasn’t won a title since 1949 and has now been to the Frozen Four in four straight years or the one looking to become the first champion to repeat since 1972?

Panzer said it’s not the latter.

“I don’t think there’s too much pressure on us,” said Panzer, the nation’s leading scorer. “We’re the type of team that’s just going to go out there and have fun. It’s another game — it’s a one-shot game, but it’s another game. Whatever happens after 60 minutes, or whatever it takes, happens.”

Last Chance to Dance

Saturday will be the last chance for the BC seniors to capture their elusive national championship. But Friday was the last practice for the BC seniors, making things a little bit emotional.

Gionta

“It’s obviously going to be sentimental,” said BC goaltender Scott Clemmensen. “It will be the same tomorrow night pulling that jersey off for the last time.”

“That’s the last time that we’ll suit up in a practice uniform for BC,” said captain Brian Gionta. “It’s similar to two days ago at Conte Forum when it was the last time I’ll skate there. I’ll miss all of these guys and I’ll miss the coaching staff. They’ve all done a lot for me, and the school’s been great to me as well.”

Not lost in the emotion was plenty of fun in the team’s breakaway competition, a staple of practice the day before every game.

“It’s something that’s a lot of fun to do,” said Gionta. “I think Clemmensen was trying to let a senior win today, but the guys were shooting the puck right at his pads.”

Clemmensen admitted that he did try to help his classmates capture “the belt,” which is an actual award given to the winner resembling something from the WWF.

Junior Ales Dolinar won Friday’s competition and thus took home the belt.

“Dolinar will have the belt all summer and he’ll get to defend it next year,” said Gionta.

Hobey Wasn’t Gionta Goal in Albany

Eagles head coach Jerry York spoke with great pride about the fact that Gionta wasn’t the winner of this year’s Hobey Baker Award which was presented to Michigan State’s Ryan Miller on Friday afternoon. He said that the Hobey wasn’t the trophy Brian wanted this year.

“It was amazing to watch him handle that news,” said York, who told Gionta after Thursday’s game when he found out the news. “Brian said to me, ‘We’re interested in winning championships. We came for one trophy and it wasn’t the Hobey.’

“As a coach you can listen to that and I can say all you want about being a good teammate. But when you’ve got a guy of Brian’s stature say we came to win one trophy and it wasn’t the Hobey Baker trophy, that says a lot about our club.

So Who Will BU Root For?

Even if you don’t live in Boston, it wouldn’t surprise you to know that Boston University, BC’s number-one rival, won’t be rooting for an Eagles victory on Saturday night. Or will they?

A Boston College loss would take away BU’s fame of being the last team to win back-to-back national championships, a feat accomplished by the Terriers in 1971 and 1972.

“Hopefully they’ll be making some noise for us,” said rookie Ben Eaves, maybe not yet aware of just how big the BC-BU rivalry is. “But I wouldn’t expect too much out of them. Anything they can give us would be great.”

Senior Bobby Allen, though, responded to Eaves’ thoughts: “I don’t think we’re going to get any noise out of them. I don’t think it’s in either team’s blood to root for the other guys.”

“I heard Sasquatch is going to be in the stands and will take his shirt off for us,” joked Gionta, referring to the hairy BU fan who riles the crowd by running topless around the BU student section. “They’re our archrival and you don’t expect any fans of theirs to be rooting for us. But we’ll take any fans we can get. ”

Eagles Hoping for Divine Intervention

BC, known to many for its Jesuit tradition, is hoping some intervention can come from up above. The Eagles, as is tradition on game day, will have the team chaplain celebrate Mass for the players Saturday morning.

Friday night, the team will have dinner at a local restaurant. Saturday, the Eagles will have breakfast and a pregame meal, sandwiching Mass and a possible game-day skate.

MacDonald Named Coach at UMass-Lowell

USCHO Staff Report

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April 6, 2001

Blaise McDonald, a native of nearby Billerica, Mass., was named head coach at UMass-Lowell late Thursday.

With the move, MacDonald leaves Niagara, a program he helped start from scratch in 1995. In his five years there, MacDonald led Niagara to an NCAA tournament appearance in 2000, which included a win over New Hampshire.

MacDonald, who was an assistant to ex-Lowell coach Billy Riley, Jr., from 1988-1990, replaces Tim Whitehead, who announced his resignation last week after five years as head coach.

“When I look at UMass Lowell, I look at the great coaches who were there before me: Billy Riley, who was the founding father, Bruce Crowder and Tim Whitehead, who put in an outstanding ten years,” MacDonald said. “They put in place the building blocks for today.”

MacDonald comes despite questions that have recently arisen regarding the future of Lowell’s program. There has been talk in the Massachussets legislature of abandoning support for a Division I men’s program at Lowell. But that concern was not enough to keep MacDonald away from a job he originally pursued in 1996.

“I think there is a terrific commitment from the University,” MacDonald said from his office in Buffalo, N.Y. “The culture of the workplace from the chancellor to the athletic department is outstanding and strives for high performance.

“The obvious connection with me and UMass-Lowell is the fact that I grew up in Billerica. I grew up a fan of the Lowell Chiefs and players like Craig MacTavish and Dean Jenkins. This is a dream situation for me in that perspective, especially considering the exciting growth of the campus.”

MacDonald inherits a River Hawk program which posted a 19-16-3 overall record and placed fifth in Hockey East last season. UML returns 21 of 26 veterans from the 2000-01 team.

“What drives UMass-Lowell’s potential on the ice is the character of the players and belief that they can take themselves to places nobody else thought they could,” MacDonald said. “As I looked at UMass-Lowell as a potential career move, I equated Hockey East with the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) to basketball.

“I have a great deal of respect for every head coach and assistant coach in the league. That alone provides our staff with exciting challenges every night.”

MacDonald pursued the opening created by the departure of Crowder in 1996, but had to pull himself out of the running late in the process because Niagara would not allow him out his contract.

MacDonald leaves a Niagara program which returns 24 veterans from last year’s 14-19-3 team.

“I will be forever indebted to my coaching staff and our wonderful players at Niagara,” MacDonald said. “Because of them, I have this opportunity. I want to thank Niagara for the best five years of my life and the continued commitment to Niagara hockey. It is a place that is close to my heart and always will be.”

MacDonald and his wife, Carol, are expecting their third child on Friday. He will address the UML team and media next week.

“This is a great day for UMass-Lowell,” said school athletic director Dana Skinner. “One can’t help but be impressed by Blaise’s work ethic, commitment and passion. I have little doubt that the level of commitment that Blaise brings to the table will serve to inspire the entire University community.”

Prior to Niagara, MacDonald served as an assistant coach and later recruiting coordinator and associate head coach at Boston University (1990-96), as well as an assistant at Princeton (1987-88) and Dartmouth (1985-87).

A 1985 graduate of RIT, MacDonald compiled an all-time record of 91-58-17 in five seasons at Niagara, highlighted by a 30-8-4 overall mark and 15-0-2 finish in College Hockey America (CHA) in 1999-00. During the run, the Purple Eagles posted victories over Boston University, Colorado College and Rensselaer.

In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Niagara stunned 1998-99 NCAA runner-up New Hampshire (4-1) before falling to eventual national champion North Dakota (4-1). MacDonald was voted runner-up for the Spencer-Penrose Award as National Coach of the Year.

MacDonald started the Niagara program in 1996 with all freshmen and guided the Purple Eagles to a 16-9-2 record as a member of the Division III ECAC West. He was voted the ECAC West co-Coach of the Year by his peers.

Before joining CHA, NU spent the 1998-99 season as a Division I independent and posted a 17-12-3 record. The Purple Eagles opened the year with a stunning two-game effort at defending national champion Michigan, losing in overtime in the first meeting, and winning 2-1 a day later.

As a player, MacDonald was an All-America defenseman in his senior season at RIT and led the Tigers to the NCAA Division III championship in 1983 and 1985. He helped RIT defeat UMass-Lowell, 5-1, in the 1983 Tournament semifinal at Tully Forum. During his career, MacDonald set former RIT records for career assists (106) and points (119) as a defenseman. He was inducted into the RIT Hall of Fame in 1991.

MSU’s Miller Named Hobey Baker Winner

USCHO Staff Report

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April 6, 2001

Michigan State goaltender Ryan Miller, who backstopped the Spartans into the Frozen Four as the number-one team in the nation, was named the winner of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Friday.

Ryan Miller won the Hobey Baker Friday, only the second goaltender to do so.

Miller shattered the NCAA record for career shutouts in just his second year of college hockey, with 18 overall. The sophomore’s selection makes him just the second goaltender ever to win the Hobey Baker, given annually to college hockey’s most outstanding player. Minnesota netminder Robb Stauber was the first, in 1988.

To win the award, Miller edged forwards Brian Gionta of Boston College and Jeff Panzer of North Dakota, who tied for second place in the balloting.

The native of East Lansing, Mich., posted 31 wins with a .950 save percentage and a 1.32 goals against average, leading the nation in all three categories. His 31-5-4 record in 2000-2001 included 10 shutouts to also lead the nation in that statistic.

Miller, the CCHA Defensive Player of the Week five times during the season, was previously named a First-Team All-American and CCHA Player of the Year, as well as being a member of the all-conference first team. He holds four league and seven school netminding records.

MSU head coach Ron Mason said, “Anyone who has watched a lot of our games will know that we give up far more quality scoring chances against us than we generate at the other end. Ryan Miller is a major reason why we [have had] such a great season. He has been simply outstanding.”

A homegrown 20-year-old, Miller’s grandfather, father, uncle and five cousins all played hockey for the Spartans. His cousin, Kip Miller, won the Hobey Baker in 1990.

colorscans/20002001/hobey_2001_audience.jpg

A fifth-round draft pick of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, Ryan is a general business management major with a 3.07 grade point average. Off-ice activities for the All-Academic goalie includes volunteering with the D.A.R.E. drug-resistance program, reading to elementary-school children and giving tours of the dressing room — sometimes during games.

Finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award are determined by an initial round of balloting by all 60 Division I college coaches; those 10 names are then advanced to the award’s selection committee, a geographically balanced group of 24 members composed of media, NHL scouts, college hockey coaches and supervisors of officials. Additionally, a fan vote hosted by USCHO.com and conducted online at www.hobeybaker.com allows college hockey fans a one-percent vote in each round of balloting.

Miller will be honored at a banquet on Friday, April 20 at the Radisson Riverfront Ballroom in St. Paul, Minn.