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SUNYAC Newsletter: Feb. 21, 2001

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Potsdam Controls Cortland; Geneseo Wipes Out Stunned Fredonia

One series went as expected; the other did not.

Potsdam easily got by Cortland despite a stumble at the end of the second game, 4-0 and 7-5. Meanwhile, in a series that most expected Fredonia’s defense to control, it was the other way around as Geneseo let in just one goal and allowed no more than 20 shots each game as the Ice Knights dismantled Fredonia, 6-0 and 4-1. This sets up the same semifinal pairings as last year — Geneseo at Plattsburgh and Potsdam at Oswego. It’s deja vu all over again.

The format remains the same — a first to three-point series with a minigame to immediately follow the second game, if necessary. The first two games will not have overtime.

Series-By-Series Report

POTSDAM d. CORTLAND, 2-0 — Except for the final 24 minutes of game two, Potsdam had this series under control as they swept Cortland State, 4-0 and 7-5.

The first period of the series was scoreless as Potsdam got on the board early in the second period on a goal by Mike McCabe at 2:24. It took almost 24 minutes before another goal would be scored when Chris Lee gave the Bears a 2-0 lead. McCabe sealed the victory with a shorthanded tally seven minutes later, and Anthony Greer provided the icing on the cake with 15 seconds left on the clock. The star of the game was Ryan Venturelli, who got a shutout in his first collegiate playoff game with 27 saves.

Game two looked like it was going to be a blowout, but turned out to be a wild affair. Cortland took their one and only lead of the series early on a goal by Matt Donskov. Then it was all Potsdam as they scored the next seven goals. Mike Snow and Erick Curtis (on the power play) gave the Bears a 2-1 lead after two. Brendon Knight made it 3-1 early in the second, and Cortland called timeout to try to settle things down. It worked for about seven minutes. Then, Knight got his second goal, this time on the power play, and a few minutes later Mike Smitko scored a shorthander. Cortland changed goalies, but less than two minutes later, Jim Quilty scored followed a minute later by Dave Weagle.

At 7-1, it appeared the game was all but over. However, Cortland’s most productive period is the third, and that is Potsdam’s weakest. Dave Ambuhl scored for Cortland before the second period was out. Then Mike Schall scored early in the third, Donskov got his second shorthander midway through the period and Schall scored again with just under six minutes remaining. Suddenly, it was a game again, but Cortland was unable to score another despite having their goalie pulled for over a minute.

Cortland ends the season, but making the playoffs for the first time since 1993 is something to build on for next year. Meanwhile, Potsdam moves onto the semifinal round, where they travel to Oswego to renew that great playoff rivalry.

GENESEO d. FREDONIA, 2-0 — Next time, don’t listen to us. For the second year in a row, we picked Fredonia to beat Geneseo in the first round. For the second year in a row, Geneseo made mincemeat out of our prediction, and dominated Fredonia for an upset sweep, 6-0 and 4-1.

All the scoring in the first game came in the second period. That period alone defined the series as the Geneseo team with the prolific offense came out this weekend, while Fredonia’s vaunted defense failed. Before the series, it was announced that Fredonia’s Will Hamele was named the SUNYAC Player of the Year. Yet, Hamele ended up surrendering 10 goals for the series while Kevin Koury allowed just one. That second period saw David Bagley and Matt Lester score twice, with Lester’s goals coming 37 seconds apart. Aaron Coleman got the first goal, and Kyle Langdon got the only power-play tally. Jack Staley had three assists. Koury made 20 saves.

Geneseo’s offense was even hotter for the second game as they outshot Fredonia, 43-19. Only the efforts of Hamele kept the scoring lower than the night before, but Koury’s 18 saves ensured Geneseo of the sweep. Second period goals by Coleman and Andy Ford 1:15 apart was all the Ice Knights needed for the win. Fredonia scored a power-play goal in the third to give them hope, but Bryan Bowser and Jason Gurnett made sure this one didn’t slip away.

Again, just like last year, Geneseo travels to Plattsburgh for the semifinal round. For Fredonia, their season ends on a bitterly disappointing note for the second year in a row.

Semifinals Preview

GENESEO (No. 5) at PLATTSBURGH (No. 1) — Geneseo is flying high after defeating Fredonia last weekend. However, they will have to come back down to Earth when they play Plattsburgh State, or this could get ugly.

Yes, Geneseo has a potent offense, but Plattsburgh’s is better. In league play the Cardinals score over six goals a game, and overall they average a tick better than five per game. Although Geneseo has the top three scorers in the league in Coleman, Staley, and Bagley, Plattsburgh spreads their offense around. And their top scorers, Jason Kilcan, Brendon Hodge, and Joe Dolci are nothing to sneeze at. Geneseo outdoes Plattsburgh on the power play, but the Cardinals do not commit many penalties, and Plattsburgh is number one on the penalty kill while Geneseo ranks near the bottom, thus giving Plattsburgh the number one special teams in the league.

It’s the defense that’s going to be where the difference really matters. Plattsburgh let in 2.32 goals per game this year, Geneseo 4.15. Geneseo may have been able to stop Fredonia’s anemic offense, but Plattsburgh is on another level. Plattsburgh defeated Geneseo both times during the regular season, 6-4 and 4-3.

True, Plattsburgh has not played with the domination and consistency they have shown the past few years, and Geneseo is a better team than last year. However, this is the playoffs, and Plattsburgh always comes out to play this time of year, and at home they are virtually unbeatable in the second season. The Cardinals take this one in a sweep.

POTSDAM (No. 3) at OSWEGO (No. 2) — Here we go again! Get in, buckle up, and hang on. We’re going for another wild Potsdam-Oswego playoff ride. No matter what the circumstances are when these teams meet in a two game series, it has always caused stock in nitroglycerin pills to soar. Making a prediction in this series would be … well … insane.

On the ice, Oswego State has proven to be a better team this year. They defeated Potsdam twice during the season, winning in Potsdam, 7-3, and again at home, 5-1. Both times, Oswego won by being one step quicker than the Bears. Potsdam is going to have to find a way to slow the Lakers down. Offensively, including the power play, Oswego gets the edge with Derek Kern, Joe Pecoraro, and Chris DiCarlo all in the SUNYAC top ten for overall scoring. Defensively, Potsdam gets the edge, but not by much, and it won’t make a difference if they can’t catch Oswego’s skaters. Goaltending could be a toss up. It depends on how Venturelli, who has shown some freshman inconsistency, plays. Assuming Tyson Gajda, also a freshman, gets the nod for Oswego, it will also depend on whether he stays hot.

So who’s going to win? Okay, we’ll suck it up. First the easy prediction — this series, just like all the previous series in this rivalry, will go to a mini-game. How can it not? All those mini-games were always won by the home team. We’ll stick with that history, and say Oswego takes it after a long Saturday night.

Committee Reaffirms, Clarifies Bye Selection Process

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After a week of confusion and lingering questions, the NCAA has confirmed that byes in the national tournament will be awarded to the top four seeded teams irrespective of region, as was first announced last summer.

“Nothing has changed,” said selection committee chair Bill Wilkinson. “We’re going to rank the teams one through 12 and the top four, no matter which region they come from, would be the ones that would get the byes. This is just coming out of the minutes of the summer meetings.”

This change to previous protocol was brought into question by an editing error in the NCAA Ice Hockey Championships Handbook, which left in place a key paragraph that was intended to be removed.

In past years, the byes at the East and West Regionals were reserved for teams from that same region, with preference going first to any team that won both its regular season and conference championship. Last July, however, the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee voted for region-blind byes to increase the chances of the four best teams reaching the Frozen Four.

The committee’s vote to alter that process, however, drew little attention because it was overshadowed by other more significant changes. Most notably, this included dropping the number of each conference’s automatic bids from two to one, and the awarding of an automatic bid to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).

Because of the lack of publicity over the issue, and because last year’s language was inadvertantly kept in the handbook, many hockey people continued to believe the protocol was similar to past years.

Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna was particularly irked in recent days about the failure of the Men’s Ice Hockey committee to properly publicize the switch. He said the NCAA compounded the problem by leaving in the old language, and then doing nothing to alert anyone to the error.

After some speculation that the committee may have to revert back to the old rule, it instead reaffirmed its position.

The following is taken from the Ice Hockey Championships Handbook, page 15. Under the topic “Determination of Competing Institutions (Division I Men)” and under the subtopic of “Seeding and Pairings” are seven articles, the fourth of which was supposed to be removed, but was not.

Seeding and Pairings
[Reference: Championship Structure in this handbook and Bylaw 31.1.3 in the NCAA Manual.]

The Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee will seed the selected participants as follows:

1. The top four seeds will be determined by the selection criteria. These teams will receive first-round byes.

2. Teams will be seeded within their respective geographical regions.

3. Should the number of teams selected from the regions be unequal, the lower seeded team(s) in the region with the higher number of teams will be shifted to represent the other region in order to equalize the regional seedings.

4. A team moved from one region to the other may not be seeded higher than No. 3. Therefore, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each regional shall be teams from that region.

5. Four teams from the East region may be placed in the East regional bracket along with two teams representing the West region.

6. Four teams from the West region may be placed in the West regional bracket along with two teams representing the East region.

7. When possible, first-round conference matchups will be avoided.

Lee Urton, Adam Wodon and Jayson Moy contributed to this story.

ECAC West Newsletter: Feb. 21, 2001

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RIT Completes Undefeated Season

The RIT Tigers defeated Elmira 7-1 to complete an undefeated regular season. In the only other action last week, Manhattanville downed Neumann, for the third time this season, by an 8-1 margin.

League Games Overview

ELMIRA 1 at RIT 7 (2/17): Four power-play goals and one shorthander, were the difference that gave RIT the 7-1 win over Elmira. Take away those special team scores and it would have been a whole different game. The first period was very even. Elmira came out strong and used an early power play to put immense pressure on the RIT net. But the Tiger’s defense held, and RIT scored on its first power play with a goal by Derek Hahn midway through the period. Elmira’s Jason Silverthorn tied it up at the 17:52 mark and the sellout crowd of 2,150 was settling in for a long night of back-and-forth hockey.

However that wasn’t to be. Elmira got tagged for two penalties late in the first period to put RIT on the two-man advantage spanning the first intermission. Seconds after the first penalty expired, RIT’s Mike Bournazakis scored a power-play goal to give RIT the lead. The Tigers used that momentum to take firm control of the game, and they never looked back. Goals by Derek Hahn, Mike Bournazakis and Mike Tarantino in the first 11-plus minutes of the second period built RIT’s lead to a commanding 4-1.

Elmira kept trying to get back in the game, but it was like the proverbial spitting into the wind. RIT was thoroughly in control of the game and the Soaring Eagles just couldn’t dent the Tiger momentum. Tiger netminder Tyler Euverman stopped 32 of the 33 shots that he faced in the game, including all 16 shots that Elmira peppered on net in the third period. Peter Bournazakis added another power-play goal for RIT early in the third, and Jared Conlon wristed in a shorthander midway through the period to finish the scoring with RIT up 7-1.

Team-By-Team Report

RIT (ranked No. 1): With the victory over Elmira, RIT earned its first undefeated season since 1964, when the team was only club status. The Tigers earned a 22-0-1 record for the regular season, with the only blemish coming at the hands of Oswego. RIT has now clinched the NCAA Pool B bid, and is the first team to gain entrance into the NCAA DIII playoffs this season.

Netminder Tyler Euverman has been an unsung hero for the Tigers this season. He has quietly amassed impressive statistics: a .924 save percentage, 2.15 goals against average, two shutouts, and has not let in more than four goals in any game this season (and only gave up four once).

“Sometimes before a game you wonder how your PK is going to play, or which forwards are going to be hot, or how a certain line will work. But with Tyler, you just know that he is going to show up for every big game and be just rock solid,” said coach Wayne Wilson. “I never have to worry whether he will be there in the big games, and I can’t describe the peace of mind that gives a coach.”

MANHANTTANVILLE: The Valiants played Neumann for the third time this season, and walloped them again 8-1. Tommy Prate and Aaron Boston each scored within the first two minutes of the game to get Manhattanville rolling. Neumann answered back with a goal if its own, but that was the only offense they could muster. The “Prate and Boston” show continued as each scored again late in the first period. And each notched another goal midway through the second period to earn dueling hat tricks and a commanding Valiant lead. Bill Cummings scored late in the second and Chris Siefert chipped one in the third period to finish off the 8-1 rout. With the win, Manhattanville guarantees that they will finish the year with a winning record, in only its second season of play.

The Valiants hit the road this weekend to finish up its regular season league schedule. Manhattanville visits Hobart on Saturday, and then heads down rte. 14 to Elmira on Sunday.

ELMIRA (ranked No. 10): In addition to losing to hated foe RIT on Saturday, Elmira got whacked with two more whammies in the game. Junior captain and leading scorer Steve Kaye went down early in the second period with a 2nd level strain of the MCL in his knee. Kaye had to be carried to the locker room, was seen on crutches after the game, and is out for the remainder of the year. Kaye’s offensive prowess will be sorely missed as he notched 11 goals and 22 assists, and played in all 23 Soaring Eagle’s games this year.

The second whammy came later in the third period when sophomore Gregg Marinari skated off the ice with a shoulder injury. This solid defenseman had contributed two assists in 14 games this season. Marinari’s shoulder strain puts him day to day, but coach Glenn Thomaris is hopeful that he will be back on the ice for Thursday’s game against Hobart.

“There’s no curse here, I tell you.”

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Elmira had an eleven game winning streak going when I mentioned the quest for its 500th win for the first time in my January 23rd column. Then Elmira dropped close games against both RIT and Manhattanville. I got to thinking last week, “Has my column inherited a curse like Sports Illustrated?”

To test the theory, I purposefully did not mention the streak in my column last week. Lo and behold, Elmira lost the rematch against RIT this past week. Which means that there is no curse with my column — whew!

Elmira finishes off its regular season this week with a pair of home games. First off is Hobart on Thursday, and then Manhattanville comes to town on Sunday. The Soaring Eagles will be looking to get the burden of the 500th win off their collective backs once again.

HOBART: Hobart took a much deserved break from competition this past week. The Statesmen jump right back into the fray this week, with a Thursday game at Elmira, and then return home for a Saturday tilt against Manhattanville to close the regular season.

Game Of The Week

Two weeks ago, Manhattanville surprised Elmira and took away second place in the league standings. This time around the game is in Elmira, and the Soaring Eagles won’t be surprised. As a matter of fact, I think they will be very focused on this game, and will look to erase the blemish from the record. The Valiants will be looking to prove that the first time around wasn’t a fluke. Should be another good game down at the Thunderdomes.

Hobey Changing Homes

USCHO Staff Report
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College hockey’s most prestigious award has a new home.

The Decathlon Athletic Club, which oversees the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to college hockey’s top player, has decided to move the trophy permanently from the Decathlon Hotel and Athletic Club in Bloomington, Minn., to the new Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The Xcel Energy Center is the current home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and the WCHA Final Five.

“This makes sense,” St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman said to the Associated Press. “There was a lot of discussion about, ‘do you bring the Hobey Baker into a building that houses a professional team?’ This is the right thing to do, because of this organization’s commitment to hockey.”

According to Hobey Baker Award co-chairman Jack Carlson, the decision to move the award and house it in St. Paul was made before the major fire that occured at the Decathlon Athletic Club in November. The award was not damaged in the blaze.

The Xcel Energy Center is also the new home of the Minnesota boys’ state high school hockey tournament, and will host the NCAA Frozen Four in 2002.

This year’s award winner will be announced Friday, April 6 at the NCAA Frozen Four in Albany, N.Y., and presented April 12 at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul.

The Hobey Baker Award has been presented annually since 1981. Finalists are now being chosen with the help of college hockey fans themselves, in on-line balloting.

Hamele Named SUNYAC Player of the Year

USCHO Staff Report
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Fredonia goalie Will Hamele led the way with Player of the Year honors, as the SUNYAC announced its 2000-2001 awards today.

The sophomore Hamele ended the regular season with a 2.40 GAA and a .926 save percentage. Hamele was also named to the All-SUNYAC First Team.

Oswego’s Mike Lukajic took the Rookie of the Year honors. He scored 13 goals and four assists for 17 points in his first year.

Coach of the Year honors went to Cortland’s Tim Vanini, a Cornell alumnus. Vanini led the Red Dragons to their first conference postseason action since 1993. In his fourth year at the helm, Vanini guided Cortland to a 4-8-2 conference record, and 9-14-2 overall.

Plattsburgh led the way with players named to the All-SUNYAC teams. Forwards Brendon Hodge and Jason Kilcan, along with defenseman Bryan Murray, were named to the First Team. Goaltender Niklas Sundberg was named to the Second Team.

Oswego, Potsdam, Fredonia, and Geneseo each placed two players on the elite teams.

FIRST TEAM

Name            School     Pos. Yr. Ht.  Wt. Hometown
Aaron Coleman   Geneseo     F   Sr. 6-0  190 Buffalo, N.Y.
Brendon Hodge   Plattsburgh F   So. 6-2  196 Lynnfield, N.Y.
Jason Kilcan    Plattsburgh F   So. 5-8  182 London, Ont.
Bryan Murray    Plattsburgh D   Sr. 6-1  194 Barry's Bay, Ont.
Dave Weagle     Potsdam     D   So. 5-11 180 Smith Falls, Ont.
Will Hamele     Fredonia    G   So. 5-9  160 Dearborn, Mich.

SECOND TEAM

Name            School     Pos. Yr. Ht.  Wt. Hometown/Last Team
Sean Darke      Potsdam     F   Sr. 5-11 190 Grosse Pt. Park, Mich.
Derek Kern      Oswego      F   Sr. 5-9  165 Kings Park, N.Y.
John Sullivan   Oswego      F   Sr. 5-9  170 Suffern, N.Y.
B.J. Bouschor   Fredonia    D   Sr. 5-10 165 Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
Kyle Langdon    Geneseo     D   Sr. 6-0  175 Rochester, N.Y.
Niklas Sundberg Plattsburgh G   Jr. 6-3  220 Stockholm, Sweden

2000-01 Player of the Year: Will Hamele, Fredonia
2000-01 Rookie of the Year: Mike Lukajic, Oswego 2000-01
Coach of the Year: Tim Vanini, Cortland

This Week In The MAAC: Feb. 15, 2001

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Pioneers Believe Home is Where the Heart Is

“Our leaders have stepped up — and our team, in turn, has stepped up.”

Simply put. Probably something that you hear around college hockey, or college sports in general, quite often.

But if you’re Sacred Heart head coach Shaun Hannah, being able to say that right now is a major accomplishment.

One month ago, almost to the day, Sacred Heart hit rock bottom. Struggling to put together wins, and in the middle of a four-game road trip, the Pioneers turned a close, hard-fought game against Canisius College into a bloodbath melee.

The result was 12 penalties totaling 90 minutes, including game disqualifications to six of the Pioneers’ top forwards and defensemen: Les Hrapchak, Lloyd Marks, Richard Naumann, Chris Mokos, Marty Paquet and Mike Reagan.

“[The Canisius/Mercyhurst] weekend didn’t go as planned,” said Hannah, almost laughing. “It was a tough weekend. We’d had some trouble with penalties for the most part of the year, and things came to a head that weekend.”

Coming to a head may have been the understatement. On the road in Buffalo, miles from their home in Bridgeport, Conn., the Pioneers had to venture on to Mercyhurst and face the league’s top team without those six players.

The result was ugly. Sacred Heart was shut out, 4-0, by the Lakers that day, while mustering just 18 shots on goal. That’s just a little more than one shot per player — as Sacred Heart dressed only 17 players that afternoon, counting three goaltenders.

A long bus ride home from Erie, Penn., gave Hannah and the players some time to think for themselves. That was followed by a lengthy team meeting to discuss the on-ice discipline problem.

“We discussed it, obviously, and we came together as a team with the commitment that we have to stay out of the box if we’re going to be successful,” said Hannah. “But when something like that happens in the Canisius game and you lose big guys for a big game against Mercyhurst the next night, I think things hit home.”

Hit home it did. Since returning from Mercyhurst, the Pioneers have averaged less than 11 minutes in penalties a game, and that includes a 10-minute misconduct to Nick Nutcher a week ago for a tussle against Holy Cross.

Over that five-game span, not only have penalty minutes decreased, but the Pioneers have consistently climbed up the MAAC ladder, thanks to a 3-0-2 record.

“We’ve made big strides since that weekend,” Hannah said. “We were out of playoff contention at that point, and our goal was to [not only be in the playoffs, but to] have home ice. So I think guys realized that if the playoffs started that weekend, we weren’t in them. It came to a head and we realized we had to step up.”

Sacred Heart is not only back in the playoff hunt, but also back in the race for home ice. They’ve quickly moved from tenth place to sixth and stand just two games behind fourth-place UConn for the final home-ice spot.

If the Pioneers wanted a little bit more bright light, of the five remaining games of their schedule, four of them are at home. That’s a benefit for any team, but for the Pioneers, that’s extra incentive. To date, Sacred Heart has complied the best home record in the league — 6-1-2. Compare that to a 4-8-2 mark on the road, and you can see why the Pionners are happy to be home.

“It’s one of those anomalies,” Hannah said. “I don’t know why we play well at home, but we do. We’re happy about it coming into the final stages of our schedule. It’s good we play at home given our situation, so that we can finish where we want to finish in the standings and maybe get home ice.”

But Hannah won’t look that far ahead.

“I think we’re just taking it one game at a time. The next game we play is the biggest game of the season. That’s how we’re looking at it. We’re not looking past our next game at Army.”

Now it would be nice for Hannah to believe that simple discipline or home ice are what has pulled his team together over the last five games. Obviously, they have helped, but Hannah was quick to point out, too, that rookie goaltender Eddy Ferhi, who has been in net for all five of those games, has been a key.

“Eddy Ferhi is playing real well in net for us,” Hannah said. “Things are really clicking for him and that’s good.”

Good for Ferhi, but maybe not so good for Alexi Jutras-Binet, the senior goaltender who, for three seasons, kept Sacred Heart afloat.

Hannah talked candidly about his goaltending situation.

“It’s not easy for [Alexi], but he’s a real team guy. He understands the team concept and that the team is doing well right now with Eddy in the net.

“Ideally, it’s great [to have two hot goaltenders], but we’ve felt that things are really clicking for us right now, and we haven’t felt the need to change to formula.

“But Alexi’s a great goaltender and we have all the confidence in the world in him. If we have two hot goaltenders into the playoffs it would be an ideal situation.”

One thing Hannah is enthused by is the playoff preparation his team will get by playing meaningful games gown the stretch.

“I think that’s where we framed our outlook on the last six games — taking it one game at a time,” said Hannah. Given our playoff format, you have to play that way. It’s one game, do or die. And in this run, it’s one game that could cost us home ice or one game that could cost us being in the playoffs or not.

As perilous as it sounds, the last five games have given Hannah and the Pioneers a little bit of added enthusiasm.

“I think it’s just exciting — the playoff race and the run for the playoffs. Our league, compared to the last two year, there’s more parity from top to bottom and it really creates a more exciting atmosphere. We’ve seen that any given night you can be beaten or you can win. It’s come to who’s going to be the better team on that day.

Weekly Awards

ITECH MAAC Player of the Week ADAM BOUCHARD, IONA Sr., F, Coventry, RI

Bouchard wins the award for his outstanding play in wins over Holy Cross and Bentley, recording 2-3-5. He assisted on the game-winning goal in the 6-4 win over Holy Cross and scored two goals, including the game-winner, and tallied two assists in the 6-3 victory over Bentley. He has already set career highs with 16 assists and 27 points this season.

ITECH MAAC Hockey League Goalie of the Week: STEPHEN FABIILLI, CANISIUS Sr., G, Sudbury, ON

Fabiilli was brilliant in the 5-1 win over American International, stopping 20 of 21 Yellow Jacket shots for a .952 save percentage in earning his seventh win of the season. Fabiilli has an overall record of 7-6-2 with a 3.30 goals against average and an .897 save percentage.

ITECH MAAC Hockey League Rookie of the Week: ANTHONY RUFRANO, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL Fr., F, Niagara Falls, ON

Rufrano’s fine play helped the Yellow Jackets to a 5-4 upset of first-place Mercyhurst. He scored two goals, including the game-winner just 16 seconds into overtime, and added an assist in the victory. He now has 14 points in his rookie campaign.

MAAC Adds NESN to Live TV Lineup

The MAAC office announced this week that the New England Sports Network will bring the MAAC Championships to New England homes live, rather than tape delayed as they did last year. That adds to Empire Sports and MSG, who already telecast the championship game live.

This year’s championship will be held at UConn on March 15 and 17. The title game will begin at noon on March 17.

Around the League

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL

The Yellow Jackets upset first place Mercyhurst, 5-4 in overtime, on Friday night but lost to Canisius, 5-1, on Saturday night. American International hosts Bentley at 7:00 Saturday night. Freshman Anthony Rufrano, the ITECH/MAAC Rookie of the Week, scored two goals, including the game-winner just 16 seconds into overtime, and added an assist in the victory over Mercyhurst. He now has 14 points in his rookie campaign. Freshman Guillaume Caron celebrated his 20th birthday Friday night with a goal and two assists, including one on the game-winner. for the Yellow Jackets. Caron now has 24 points this season. Freshman forward John Levesque recorded his first collegiate goal and point Friday when he scored off his own rebound 8:25 into the second period. Senior goaltender Chance Thede broke his own single-season record of 810 saves with his 35 stops Friday against the Lakers. With his 24 saves Sunday at Canisius, Thede now has 845 saves on the year.

ARMY

The Black Knights defeated Canadian institution Royal Military College, 7-1, Saturday night in an exhibition game and continue to hold onto the eighth and final playoff spot. Army also rallied in the third period for a 4-3 win over Holy Cross on Tuesday night. They entertain Sacred Heart at 7:00 Friday night and Fairfield at 7:00 Saturday night. Junior Tim Fisher scored two goals while junior goalie Scott Hamilton stopped 21 of 22 shots for the victory. The Black Knights are 11-1-2 in the last 14 games against RMC and lead the overall series 36-28-6. The Black Knights also extended their home unbeaten streak to 24 games against Canadian teams. Junior Joe Carpenter had a goal and an assist in his first full game in nearly two months. Army and Holy Cross split the first two meetings, with the home team winning 3-2 each time. Army’s last three home games have all been sellouts. The average attendance over the last three games at Tate Rink is 2,865 .

BENTLEY

The Falcons lost to Iona, 6-3, on Saturday night. Bentley visits Holy Cross at 7:00 Friday night and American International at 7:00 Saturday night. Bentley trails eighth place Army by eight points. Freshmen Mike Mulligan and Joe Lovell are enjoying fine rookie seasons. Lovell is Bentley’s top scoring rookie with 16 points while Mulligan has 15 points . Each player chalked up two points on Saturday against Iona, Lovell with a goal and an assist and Mulligan with two helpers. The loss to the Gaels snapped Bentley’s three-game home unbeaten streak. Junior John DiGennaro scored his team-leading 12th goal of the year on Saturday. He also leads the squad with 21 points . Bentley is 3-1 this season against this weekend’s opponents with a pair of wins over American International and a 1-1 record in games with Holy Cross.

CANISIUS

The Ice Griffs beat American International, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon to take sole possession of fifth place. Canisius hosts Quinnipiac at 7:00 Friday night and Connecticut at 7:00 Saturday night. Senior goalie Stephen Fabiilli, the ITECH/MAAC Goalie of the Week, stopped 20 of 21 Yellow Jacket shots to earn his seventh victory of the year. Junior forward Chris Duggan scored the first two goals of the game, including the game-winner, in the victory. He leads the team with 16 assists which ties him for 8th in the league. The Ice Griffs are only two points behind Connecticut and the final home playoff slot and are two points ahead of Sacred Heart and American International. Senior forward Todd Bisson leads the Ice Griffs with 13 goals and places him fifth in the MAAC. Canisius leads the MAAC in penalty minutes with 22.7 minutes per game.

CONNECTICUT

The Huskies tied Fairfield, 3-3, on Friday night and lost to Mercyhurst, 4-1, on Saturday night. Connecticut has road games at Mercyhurst at 7:30 Friday night and at Canisius at 7:00 Saturday night. Sophomore forward Ron D’Angelo notched the game-tying goal at the 16:59 mark of the second period in the tie against Fairfield. Sophomore defenseman Bret Bostock scored the Huskies lone goal, coming short-handed, in the loss to Mercyhurst. Freshman goalie Artie Imbriano made 31 saves against Fairfield while freshman goaltender Jason Carey stopped 24 shots in the loss to Mercyhurst.

FAIRFIELD

The Stags tied Connecticut, 3-3, on Friday night and lost to Quinnipiac, 5-4, on Saturday night. Fairfield plays at Iona at 7:30 Friday night and at Army at 7:00 Saturday night. Sophomore Rae Metz totaled five points in the two games. Metz is sixth in the MAAC overall scoring race with 28 points . Junior Blaise Silka recorded four points in the two games. Six of the nine goals in the loss to Quinnipiac were scored on special teams. Fairfield was 3-7 on the power play, thus snapping a nine game streak without a power-play goal. The Stags are 2-7-1 since returning from break in January. Four of the seven losses have been by one goal, each of which came in the third period. Overall, the Stags are outshooting their opponents by nearly six shots per game and outshoot MAAC opponents by better than seven per game. The Stags sit in ninth place just two points out of eighth place and five points out of sixth place.

HOLY CROSS

The Crusaders were defeated by Iona, 6-4, on Friday night. Holy Cross also lost a third period lead, falling 4-3 to Army on Tuesday night. Holy Cross hosts Bentley at 7:00 Friday night. Freshman forward Greg Kealey leads the MAAC with nine power-play goals, a total that ranks him tied for eight in the NCAA. He has scored five goals in the last three games, three of which have come on the power play. Kealey leads the Crusaders with 13 goals and 26 points . Junior Pat Rissmiller tallied a goal and an assist against Iona, giving him multiple point games in four of the last five games. The Holy Cross line of Pat Rissmiller, Greg Kealey, and Jeff Dams have been very productive of late. They have recorded 14 points over the last three games, which amounts to 53.8% of the Crusaders total points over that stretch. On the season, the trio have accounted for 35.8% of the Crusader scoring. Six of the top seven Holy Cross scorers are underclassmen . Holy Cross defeated Army, 3-2, the last time they met at the Hart Center and the Crusaders hold a 3-1-1 all-time series record over Bentley at the Hart Center.

IONA

The Gaels remain in second place with wins over Holy Cross, 6-4, on Friday night and Bentley, 6-3, on Saturday night. Iona hosts Fairfield at 7:30 Friday night and visits Sacred Heart at 7:00 Saturday night. Senior Adam Bouchard, the ITECH/MAAC Player of the Week, recorded five points in the two wins. He assisted on the game-winning goal against Holy Cross and scored two goals, including the game-winner, and tallied two assists in the victory over Bentley. He has set career high’s with 16 assists and 27 points . Senior goalie Ben Brady made 66 saves in winning both games. He is 8-1-1 in the MAAC with a .909 save percentage. Iona went 3-0 on the season versus both Bentley and Holy Cross. The 6-4 win over Holy Cross was the Gaels first ever at the Hart Center. Iona boasts a 3.96 goals per game average which is the fourth best scoring rate in the nation. Iona was 6 for 12 in power-play opportunities in the two wins, boosting them to 22.5 percent on the season which is good for first in the MAAC and tenth in the nation.

MERCYHURST

The Lakers were upset by American International, 5-4 in overtime, on Friday night but defeated Connecticut, 4-1, on Saturday night. Mercyhurst entertains Connecticut at 7:30 Friday night and Quinnipiac at 7:30 Saturday night. Senior forward Eric Ellis totaled four points in the two games. He leads the team in scoring with 31 points . Junior goalie Peter Aubry made 16 saves in the win over the Huskies. He has an overall record of 13-7-2 with a .924 save percentage and a 2.07 goals against average. Freshman goalie Matt Cifelli got his first conference road start at AIC Friday and took a 5-4 overtime loss. AIC’s win was its first ever against Mercyhurst who lead the overall series 5-1-1. Senior Jeff Gould has now scored at least one point in eight of his last nine games. The Lakers and Huskies are tied 4-4 in the all-time series but Mercyhurst has won both meetings this season, both at Connecticut. Quinnipiac leads the series against Mercyhurst 3-2. The teams have split a pair of games this season, both at Quinnipiac.

QUINNIPIAC

The Braves tied Sacred Heart, 3-3, on Friday night and beat Fairfield, 5-4, on Saturday night. Quinnipiac has road games at Canisius at 7:00 Friday night and at Mercyhurst at 7:30 Saturday night. Freshman goalie Justin Eddy stopped 42 of 46 shots in the two games. In MAAC play, he is 7-4-1 with a 2.29 goals against average and .928 save percentage. Senior Shawn Mansoff tallied three points in the two games. He scored the game-winning goal against Fairfield. In just 61 games at Quinnipiac, he has totaled 82 points . Senior forward Chris Cerrella, the top scorer in the MAAC Hockey League and 15th-best in all of Division I with 38 points, has recorded a team-best five multiple-goal and 12 multiple-point efforts on the season. He has scored at least one point in 22 of the Braves’ 28 games this season. With an assist against Fairfield, Cerrella became the third Quinnipiac player to record 100 career assists. Cerrella is in second place on the Quinnipiac career scoring list with 195 points . He needs eight points to surpass the current leader Todd Johnson who has 202 points.

SACRED HEART

The Pioneers tied Quinnipiac, 3-3, on Friday night. Sacred Heart visits Army at 7:00 Friday night and hosts Iona at 7:00 Saturday night. Freshman Mike Reagan had two goals and an assist including the game-tying goal against Quinnipiac Friday night. Over the last three games, the freshman forward has notched four goals and two assists. For the year, he has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points which is good for fourth on the team. He is tied for 10th in freshman scoring in the MAAC. Sophomore goalie Eddy Ferhi had 23 saves including five in overtime in the 3-3 tie against Quinnipiac. For the year he has a 6-4-4 record with a .928 save percentage and a 2.39 goals against average with 452.

Off the Cuff

A few thoughts to leave you with this week:

The Battle of Beantown — the annual Beanpot — has a new winner… finally!

Boston College finally lived up to its billing and the six-time defending champion Boston University couldn’t pull off the miraculous upset this year, as BC rolled to a 5-3 win on Monday. The MVP of the tournament was BC’s Krys Kolanos, and anyone who saw the game on TV might realize that Kolonos was like a man among boys out there. His only goal in the game came early as he wheeled around the net with only one hand on his stick, fought off the defender with the other hand, a beat a slow-moving Jason Tapp. Folks, this was a highlight-reel goal.

And speaking of highlight reels … anyone see UNH’s Colin Hemingway’s masterpiece last Saturday night on television?

In case you didn’t, Hemingway scored by skating past the goal and shooting back to his right side, while moving left. No big deal, except Hemingway put his stick between his legs to take the shot. If you’ve missed the video, find the replay. It was ESPY material.

Just to get people talking, too, I must say that after watching North Dakota and Wisconsin play to back-to-back ties last weekend, I’d like to propose that the NCAA follow the NHL lead and play four-on-four overtimes. They need to use some type of system that would still reward teams for overtime ties, but I think everyone would have liked to see a winner in those and plenty of other tie games last week. Four-on-four is a good solution to the problem.

And finally, I want to wish Sacred Heart equipment manager Freddy Ward a happy 30th birthday. He’s become an icon around the MAAC — all the coaches know him — and he brings a true sense of character to the Sacred Heart program. Happy 30th, Freddy!

This Week In The CCHA: Feb. 15, 2001

By
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Civic Duty, Not Civic Center

It’s more bull than Bullpen for me this week, as I begin a stint of jury duty for Franklin County in Ohio. For you, that means a shorter column this week. For me, it means three rather than two jobs, but a chance for extra hockey Friday and Saturday nights. Early, I’ll hop the Internet, going from one CCHA Web broadcast to another while I tune into the Buckeyes-Mavericks game on the AM radio.

Later each evening, I’ll listen to the RedHawks take on the Nanooks in Fairbanks, alternating between the enthusiasm of Bruce Cech (and the dead-on color of Erik Drygas), and the dulcet tones of Bob Rotruck.

And I’ll do it all in my jammies. They’ll be the best dates I’ve had this year.

Games of the Week

Both the Mavs and the Bucks clinched playoff berths last weekend. UNO sits one point ahead of OSU in the standings, but Ohio State has two games in hand.

Ohio State (15-11-2, 12-8-2 CCHA) at Nebraska-Omaha (17-12-3, 12-9-3 CCHA)
Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, Omaha Civic Center, Omaha, Neb.

The Mavericks should really send the Buckeyes a thank-you note. While Nebraska-Omaha took three of four points from Western Michigan last weekend (you know the Broncos, the one-point Broncos?), Ohio State’s down-to-the-wire overtime win in Goggin Arena allowed UNO to step up to a tie for third with Miami.

Maverick goaltender Dan Ellis (2.58 GAA, .910 SV%) held Western Michigan scoreless for the first 45 minutes in UNO’s 2-1 win Friday, and the first 50 minutes of the 3-3 Saturday tie. He stopped 44 of 48 shots in the two-game series.

Fellow Mav David Brisson notched a goal and an assist on Saturday to set a new single-season point record with 33. Brisson broke the record of 31 he set last year and has 10 points in his last 11 games.

Rookie forward Mike Gabinet assisted on two of UNO’s three goals on Saturday, earning him his third multiple-point game of the season.

OSU’s freshman goaltender, Mike Betz (2.75 GAA, .906 SV%), stopped 37 shots on Saturday night in only the second Buckeye win in Goggin Arena since 1991. He also helped kill off all seven Miami power-play attempts.

It should come as no surprise that Dave Steckel (15-16–31) led all Buckeyes in scoring in the split with Miami, registering two goals and an assist. Steckel is tied with captain J.F. Dufour (12-19–31) for the lead in Buckeye points, and leads all Ohio State players in goal production this season. Something that won’t show up in the stats but that should be noted is that the Ohio State team defense held Miami’s top line of Jason Deskins, Gregor Krajnc, and Ernie Hartlieb scoreless for two games, no small feat.

Especially impressive was sophomore defender Pete Broccoli, a stay-at-home guy who’s listed at 5-8, is probably 5-6, and who plays like he’s 6-4. Broccoli (2-4–6, +6) has completed avoided any sophomore jinx, and improves game by game. He’s fearless in the corners, along the boards, and is excellent in front of his own net. Broccoli’s great presence with the puck led to his first career multi-point game in Oxford, where he had two helpers.

Here’s everything you wanted to know about this series but were afraid to ask:

  • The teams have met just twice, and Ohio State is 1-0-1 against Nebraska-Omaha. In fact, the Buckeyes are the only league team the Mavs have yet to beat. Last season, Ohio State beat Nebraska-Omaha 5-2 on Nov. 19, 1999, in Value City Arena before the teams tied 2-2 the second night.
  • The Buckeyes have 10 freshman and just two seniors on their roster. In contrast, the Mavericks have 11 seniors and seven rookies.
  • UNO is 8-0-0 in the opening contest of two-game home sets. OSU is 6-0-0 in the first match of a two-game series on the road.
  • The Mavericks are 12-3-1 at home, while the Buckeyes are 8-3-2 on the road.
  • The Buckeyes score on average 3.23 goals per conference game (3.54 overall) to the Mavericks’ 2.96 (2.84 overall).
  • Ohio State allows 2.82 goals per conference game (2.86 overall) to Nebraska-Omaha’s 3.00 (2.84 overall).
  • The Buckeye power play in conference contests is .189 to the Mavericks’ 16.9. Overall, the gap widens, with OSU converting a rate of 18.2 percent to UNO’s 15.1%.
  • The Buckeye penalty kill also holds a slight edge over the Maverick PK, .846 (.847 overall) to .837 (.839 overall). The UNO power play, however, has performed at 25% in the Mavs’ last four outings.
  • The Buckeyes also spend slightly more time in the box, averaging 21.86 penalty minutes each league contest (20.11 overall), to Nebraska-Omaha’s 19.79 (19.44 overall).
  • Buckeyes Paul Caponigri (11- 15–26, +7) and Eric Skaug (2-5–7, +10) are coming “home” to Omaha this weekend. Both players are former Omaha Lancers.
  • Buckeye netminder Pete Wishloff and Maverick defenseman Greg Zanon were teammates on the South Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League. Zanon has scored a goal in five of his last eight contests. Wishloff has been sidelined on and off this season with a stress fracture in his right foot.
  • The Buckeyes and Mavericks lead the CCHA in home attendance. Ohio State is averaging 8,761 to Nebraska-Omaha’s 8,314. (Note: the figures are paid attendance). I’d wager, however, that the Bullpen is decibel upon decibel louder than the Schott.
  • The Buckeyes lead the CCHA in overtime goals (four), and are skilled in the art of the 11th-hour game-winner. Miguel Lafleche had the winning goal with 12 seconds left in OT against Miami Feb. 10. Broccoli scored with 26 seconds left in OT against Bowling Green on Nov. 19. At Lake Superior Nov. 10, Steckel banged one home with 31 seconds remaining in overtime. And at Maine, Scott May gave the Buckeyes an overtime win on Oct. 27 with 48 seconds to spare.

    What more can you ask for? Bring your pennies and your milk jugs, because this series is the one to watch.

    Picks: Ohio State 4-3, Nebraska-Omaha 4-3

    Grudge of the Week

    The Irish — Notre Dame, fercryinoutloud — swept Bowling Green at home last weekend, 3-2 and 5-3. Their reward? A trip to Yost.

    Notre Dame (8-21-5, 5-14-4 CCHA) at No. 5 Michigan (21-8-4, 15-6-2 CCHA)
    Friday, 7:35 p.m., Yost Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.

    Yes, the Spartans and Wolverines meet Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena, and, yes, that’s usually a grudge and game rolled into one. But Notre Dame has an ax to grind where Michigan’s concerned (who doesn’t?), and the Wolverines remember a not-too-distant past when the Irish took Michigan to three games in the first round of CCHA playoff action, in Yost.

    Michigan leads this all-time series 53-38-3, including the Jan. 23 9-0 spanking in Ann Arbor. Since Notre Dame returned to the CCHA in 1992-93, the Wolverines have dominated the Irish to the tune of 27-3-1.

    Since the 1992-93 season, Michigan is 14-1-0 against Notre Dame in Yost, with the lone Irish win coming in that 1998 playoff series.

    This season, Michigan has as many wins (21) as the Irish have losses.

    Notre Dame hasn’t won a regular-season game in Yost Arena since Oct. 22, 1982. You want to know how long ago that was? I was a freshman in college, and Ronald Reagan was president. Mistakes were made, and I can’t recall.

    It’s the grudge of the week, and it’s going to be ugly — and I’m not talking about the student fans at Yost, either.

    Pick: Michigan 5-1

    A Smallish Rant

    Last weekend, I was privileged to watch two outstanding hockey teams duke it out, each winning in the other’s barn. I’m here to tell you what many CCHA fans either don’t want to hear or refuse to believe: both the Miami RedHawks and the Ohio State Buckeyes are for real.

    How neither of these teams is ranked while Western Michigan continues to receive votes is well beyond the scope of my comprehension. Perhaps someone with a degree in physics can explain this to me.

    The two games between the Buckeyes and RedHawks last weekend were a study in contrasts. Both teams are incredibly well matched. Each team plays disciplined, defense-minded hockey, ready to capitalize on opponent mistakes for offensive opportunities. Each team has depth at every position. Each is well coached. Each team has great chemistry. Each program has a genuine chance to achieve postseason glory.

    The contrast I witnessed was between the two venues in which each team plays. Ohio State’s home, the gorgeous Value City Arena in the Jerome Schottenstein Center, is a modern marvel, a beautiful building.

    It’s also the deadest barn in the league, bar none.

    On Friday, in spite of the 5,000-plus actual bodies in the stands, the place was quiet as a church. The band was there, but was too often silent in favor of canned music, and someone at the Schott thinks that the Eurythmics can pump up a crowd better than can the Ohio State fight song, which I heard no more than twice during the game.

    At a university which boasts well more than 40,000 students, when there are 5,000 actual bodies at every hockey game (a very respectable draw), there is no student section. None. Nada. There is one guy in a scarlet-and-gray afro wig who jumps up and down in unison with an animated character which is commonly known as “the jumping condom,” played at times on one of the four corner screens in the arena.

    You can’t write this off by saying that Columbus is not a hockey town. Attend a Blue Jackets game in Nationwide Arena, and you’ll witness a true hockey spectacle, with loud, loyal, knowledgeable fans.

    In contrast to Value City, Miami’s little Goggin Arena — which holds just over 2,800 — was packed to the rafters with noisy, knowledgeable, passionate fans on Saturday, something which undoubtedly contributed to the best hockey game I’ve seen this season.

    The Miami band was tight and played the right things at the right time. The student section chanted the right things at the right time, in unison (and with no discernable vulgarity, thank you very much). The crowd was on its feet the entire overtime, as it should have been. It was one hell of a hockey game, one hell of a hockey crowd.

    Friday, both teams seemed a step off. Perhaps the notoriously bad ice at the Schott had something to do with that. On Saturday, both squads were dead-on, each creating grade-A chances within the first two minutes of play. The intensity never let up for a moment in the game at Goggin.

    It’s no surprise that Ohio State plays better on the road, eh?

    Happy One Hundred

    The Buckeyes’ 4-3 overtime win in Oxford was head coach John Markell’s 100th career win. Congratulations, coach.

    Ganga Watch

    Last weekend, Nick Ganga, assistant captain of the Ohio State Buckeye, beloved son of Teresa and Barney and nephew of crazy Uncle Nick, brother of Kris, hero to legions of Buckeye hockey fans, the same Nick Ganga who pledged to have 50 or fewer minutes in the box this season, spent two minutes in the sin bin during OSU’s thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against Miami. Nick did, however, make one of the sweetest passes I’ve seen this season — on a team that can pass the puck, let me tell you — to set up Miguel Lafleche’s game-winning goal with 12 seconds left in OT.

    Nick is now up to 46 minutes, but I’ve got to tell you, I believe. Especially this weekend.

    L’Amour, Toujour, L’Amour!

    Ah, Valentine’s Day. On the holiday stolen from Februata Juno, as I sat inside the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas jury room, on an oppressively gray, foggy day, even I — bitter, cynical, hopeless, resigned, unrequited — was not immune to the hype, the sentiment, the chocolate.

    As I sat surrounded by utter strangers and near-acquaintances, drinking machine coffee and anticipating a lunch of canned soup, waiting to be called to decide the fate of an alleged felon or big-league swindler, even I was moved by the spirit of d’amour.

    And where there is d’amour, there is hockey…n’est-ce pas?

    For centuries, the currency of love was poetry. I thought, Why buck the system? So I took actual pen in physical hand, and — on actual paper — attempted to further illuminate the languages of both fire and ice.

    Shall I compare thee to a hockey game? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough hands do shake the player known as May and winter’s lease hath too short a …

    No, no, I thought. Too easy.

    How do I deke thee? Let me count the ways.

    Nope. My best bet, surely, was symbolism.

    His blood is like a red, red rose…

    Um…no.

    Then I had it! The perfect marriage of verse and verve, spin and sport!

    There once was a man from Saskatchewan, Whose stick-work was sweeter than…

    Well, you know the rest, non?

    • This Week In The WCHA: Feb. 15, 2001

    By
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    Too Close to Call

    The WCHA standings may not show it, but North Dakota and Wisconsin may be the most evenly matched teams in the conference.

    How else do you begin to explain five straight regular-season overtime games?

    The Badgers and the Sioux have a special connection, something that makes every game they share an instant classic.

    “You just don’t get jacked up as much to play against some of these other teams,” Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer said.

    Said North Dakota coach Dean Blais: “Whenever we play them, our players are geared up and so are they. We seem to bring out the best in each other’s games.”

    Sound similar? These teams are so similar that their coaches have started sounding alike.

    (I can just see the hate mail coming in from [email protected] and [email protected] now. Before you try them, those aren’t their real e-mail addresses, by the way.)

    The Sioux and the Badgers played their fourth and fifth straight overtime games last weekend at Engelstad Arena. Wisconsin rallied in the third period Friday and North Dakota did the same on Saturday.

    With the exception of Friday’s game-tying goal, North Dakota managed to keep Wisconsin star Dany Heatley off the scoreboard. And although his linemates did a number on the Badgers, Jeff Panzer’s goal-scoring prowess was held in check.

    “Last weekend was a key series for us,” Sauer said. “They’re looking to win the WCHA championship and I know that they were disappointed in not getting a couple wins. But I think they forgot what we were playing for, too, from that standpoint.”

    Last season, the Badgers and the Sioux played for nothing more than control of the league. The Badgers came away with two OT wins and cruised to the MacNaughton Cup.

    This time, the Badgers and the Sioux are distant rivals in the standings. North Dakota looks like it’s going to win its fourth regular-season title in five years and Wisconsin is fighting just to host a first-round series.

    That didn’t matter.

    “It doesn’t matter if Wisconsin had the No. 1 team in the country or North Dakota, we’ve always managed to play close games,” Blais said. “It’s not very often since I’ve been here — nine years as an assistant and seven as a head coach — that one team has dominated the other. During the course of a game once in a while but never a series.”

    It’s unfortunate that the last two seasons have been the ones in which the teams have played only twice in the WCHA schedule. They squared off in the final of the Bank One Badger Hockey Showdown last year and again in the Final Five title game (North Dakota won them both).

    There’s an outside chance they could meet again if they both advance to the Final Five this year. If North Dakota finishes first and Wisconsin wins the Thursday night play-in game, they’ll meet in a semifinal. It’s just a theory, but I, for one, would be willing to see these teams play again this season.

    Splitsville

    Is Blais rooting for a split in this weekend’s Colorado College-Minnesota series?

    “Oh yeah,” he said.

    It’s not often coaches concern themselves with the goings-on of other series, but when you’re this late in the season and you know you’re not going to be able to do anything but watch the standings change in the last weekend, things are different.

    A split in the Tigers-Gophers series at Mariucci Arena, coupled with a North Dakota home sweep of Denver (that’s not a given, either) would give UND a six-point lead. The Sioux have only two WCHA games left after this weekend; CC and Minnesota have four each.

    By winning out, the Sioux would at least claim a share of the WCHA title, and they hold the tiebreaker over the Gophers. But if Minnesota slips up once, four wins would give North Dakota the MacNaughton Cup outright.

    The chasing parties have all but given North Dakota the big, silver cup and the top spot in the WCHA playoffs. They’re more focused on being the next team.

    “I think realistically we can still battle for two and three,” CC coach Scott Owens said. “Other than the league championship, one, two and three are kind of the same this year because there’s no automatic bid.”

    Said Minnesota coach Don Lucia: “I’m still worrying about trying to finish in the top three. If we’re still around when we get to the last week of the year, great. The reality is we’re in a dogfight for two, three and four right now with St. Cloud and CC.”

    Power on Display

    Minnesota has won seven games in a row, and you don’t need to do much searching for a reason why.

    The Gophers are hitting on all cylinders when it comes to special teams. During that winning streak, they’re 19-for-46 with the man advantage — that’s 41.3 percent.

    Meanwhile, they’ve allowed just two power-play goals in the last 12 games.

    It’s no surprise that the Gophers are, by far, the best with the special teams in the WCHA. Lucia may just be lowballing his team’s chances this weekend, but he’s not expecting that to continue.

    “I think it’ll be different because we’re playing against a team that’s very good at killing penalties and has good goaltending,” Lucia said. “I don’t think you’ll see us put up those type of numbers. I think more important is that we try to get one [power-play goal] every night. And penalty killing has to be good.

    “One thing you have to bear in mind is your power play is streaky. We’ve been good on it all year long and then we had that four-game stretch at Thanksgiving and the next weekend at Denver where we were horrible on it. I think that power plays generally are streaky; you go through streaks where you are really hot and you go a few games where you don’t score. We’ve pretty much been able to at least get a goal in almost every game. I think that’s been real important for us.”

    CC’s Owens is trying to be realistic about Minnesota’s power play.

    “I think their power play is scary right now,” he said. “And I think it’s something that’s definitely going to be a factor. I would give them the edge on power play and special teams. We’re second or third or whatever and they’re first across the board. Obviously, keeping power-play opportunities against to a minimum is going to be key.”

    If the Gophers run wild on the power play, don’t expect CC to be running with them.

    Trivia Question

    Wisconsin goaltender Graham Melanson surpassed Duane Derksen for first in career minutes played with the Badgers last weekend. Who is third? Answer later.

    Pick One

    When it comes to the WCHA’s major postseason awards — MVP, rookie of the year and goaltender of the year — some are, in most minds, foregone conclusions by this point in the season.

    Jeff Panzer is the league’s most valuable player. That’s not just a product of his stats; that’s a result of him being able to dominate games in much the same way Steve Reinprecht and Jason Blake did in the last two years.

    Peter Sejna is the league’s rookie of the year. No freshman has come close to having the impact on a team as Sejna has. He might not be the equivalent of Dany Heatley, but he’s by far the best newcomer.

    And the goaltender of the year is … well, that’s where a lot of WCHA coaches are stumped. St. Cloud’s Scott Meyer? Denver’s Wade Dubielewicz? Colorado College’s Colin Zulianello? North Dakota’s Andy Kollar?

    That’s just scratching the surface. There’s no way of getting a consensus right now (I’d really like to be the person who actually has to get votes from these coaches), but here are some lines of thinking from the league’s leaders:

  • CC’s Owens: “I would say two of the best numbers are probably Zulianello and Dubielewicz. Those are the two that I think have meant the most to the teams. Meyer got hurt; he would certainly be a candidate in there. And [Minnesota’s Adam] Hauser has played really well of late. I couldn’t even vote on it today if I had to. I think Dubielewicz has meant the most to his team of anybody. And that’s after [Adam] Berkhoel beat us [last Saturday]. That’s kind of the way it is.”
  • Denver coach George Gwozdecky: “There’s some pretty good goaltenders this year, Wade being one of them. You take a look at any team that’s in contention … Scotty Meyer’s had a good year. Colin Zulianello has had a very good year. Andy Kollar has had a real good year. I know that every time we’ve played Eric Pateman at Minnesota State, he’s been outstanding. There’s probably four or five goaltenders that we’ve played against that have played very well against us.”
  • Wisconsin’s Sauer: “When you look at statistics in relation to the goaltenders, that’s how people are going to vote. But fundamentally, none of the goaltenders in the league have done what Graham [Melanson has] done. The number of wins he’s had, the way he’s played fairly consistency his whole career and just the fact that he’s been the backbone of our team here for really 3 1/2 years.”
  • North Dakota’s Blais: “That’s a tough call. Zulianello, stat wise, is putting up some good numbers. But Andy Kollar’s doing an awful good job for us too.”

    • Boeser’s Breakout

    Dan Boeser’s name didn’t even get fully out of the mouth of the questioner when Sauer started responding.

    “Danny Boeser has probably been our most consistent player all year long,” the Wisconsin coach said. “He goes out, he uses his head well. He really sees the ice extremely well and, for a freshman, he’s showed a great deal of poise since day one.”

    He flashed some scoring prowess last weekend, scoring two goals against North Dakota on Saturday. He broke onto the leaderboard for defenseman points with 10 points. It’s not stellar, but for a freshman blueliner in the WCHA, it’s not bad.

    “The two goals he scored were nice goals. The first one, the power-play goal, he made a difficult play look easy because he was shooting off his forehand,” Sauer said. “The second one he shot and the guys did a good job in front of him. Basically we tell the defensemen, just get the puck to the net and good things will happen. That’s certainly what happened.”

    Boeser has been the recipient of some excellent teaching over the years. He played two years for the Green Bay (Wis.) Gamblers of the United States Hockey League. There, he was coached by Mark Osiecki, a former Badgers defenseman who has a knack for teaching solid defense.

    But, as he showed last weekend, there’s still a little bit of an offensive streak to him.

    “He’s a converted forward,” Sauer said. “He’s like a Danny Bjornlie or a Jeff Dessner. They get that offensive thought to them.”

    Winter Wonderland

    Mike Sertich was practically glowing over the phone when asked about last weekend’s Winter Carnival.

    “It was totally awesome,” the Michigan Tech coach said. “The whole week was really fascinating. All the things that were going on were in many ways mind boggling — the statue building and sculptures and the themework. As the week went on, the excitement built, and that carried over at the game.

    “Any time you have a packed house, the kids are going to rise to another level and I think that really helps them emotionally.”

    But emotion has been an interesting element to Tech’s game recently. As Sertich has found out since taking over for Tim Watters, it can work both ways — it can lift but it can also deflate.

    “When we play with poise and focus, we’re OK,” Sertich said. “But when we get distracted, when we get into revenge and retaliation, we’re not very good. Against Minnesota, we spent more time going back and forth cross-ice to the penalty box than we did up ice against Hauser.

    “In the end, despite getting 40 shots, we were our own worst enemy. Not to take anything away from Minnesota, because particularly on the power play they were awesome. But we didn’t help our own cause.”

    Kudos

    You don’t hear this from people very often, let alone coaches saying it in public, but a referee did a darn good job last Saturday, and Gwozdecky had to make sure it was known.

    He was pleased with the way Tom Goddard controlled the Denver-Colorado College game last weekend.

    “I thought both teams played smart, but there weren’t any ticky-tack little fouls called,” Gwozdecky said. “I think both teams had one power play each, so there was some pretty good flow and pretty good rhythm to the game.”

    Here’s to giving credit where credit is due. Even to referees.

    Trivia Answer

    Kirk Daubenspeck is third with 6,966 minutes played from 1993 to 1997.

    He Said It

    “A very good team is going to end up in fourth, which is a little unusual this year because in any other year, you’d see that [it] would be a top-three team.”

    — Lucia, on the race between Minnesota, Colorado College and St. Cloud State for second, third and fourth place.

    News and Views

  • Speculation keeps growing that Alaska-Anchorage coach Dean Talafous, despite receiving a contract extension earlier this year, will be let go when the season ends. A column in the Anchorage Daily News this week by sports editor Lew Freedman called Talafous a “dead man walking.” My two cents: It’s too bad Talafous’ style didn’t work well enough for some. He has some pretty good ideas about respecting the game and opponents.
  • Minnesota-Duluth goaltender Adam Coole was a big reason the Bulldogs got one point out of last weekend’s series with Michigan Tech. The freshman set a career high with 40 stops in a 1-1 tie.
  • Dean Weasler has sure made the most of his time, brief as it may be, as the No. 1 goaltender again for St. Cloud State. He was named the league’s defensive player of the week after allowing one goal in two games against Anchorage. Does Meyer get the job back by just being healthy again after a concussion? It’s a dilemma.

    • On the Docket

    North Dakota may be able to claim the MacNaughton Cup next weekend at Michigan Tech, but that remains to be seen after this weekend’s action.

    It’s also the last regular-season WCHA series for Alaska-Anchorage, as it travels to Denver.

    This Week In Women’s Hockey: Feb. 15, 2001

    By Zevi Gutfreund
    -

    Ivy League Showdown

    No. 1 Dartmouth will take on its two toughest Ivy League opponents this weekend as the Big Green (19-1-1) travels to No. 6 Harvard (16-7-0) and No. 4 Brown (14-3-3). Dartmouth edged out the Crimson, 5-4, and the Bears, 3-2, with one-goal victories in Hanover back in November.

    “The Dartmouth-Harvard-Brown rivalry has been intense over the past several years and I expect the same this weekend,” said Dartmouth coach Judy Parish Oberting. “I am sure that all three teams will be ready to compete and you can expect to see some extremely competitive, exciting games.”

    Dartmouth is coming off a victory at No. 7 Wisconsin (15-6-5) in its only Midwestern road trip of the regular season — though the Big Green certainly has aspirations to be in Minnesota for the inaugural NCAA Tournament in March.

    Goaltenders Amy Ferguson and Meaghan Cahill split time between the pipes for Dartmouth, contributing nine saves each to the winning cause. The Big Green broke from tradition on the other end of the ice, where center Kristin King actually netted a hat trick instead of contributing her usually consistent one goal, one assist performance. Two of King’s goals were unassisted.

    “Kinger had a great game against Wisconsin,” Oberting said. “She took advantage of the scoring opportunities that she had and really stepped up in a game where we needed her. Kristin has been very good for us all year. In some games it shows up on the stat sheet, but for other games, you have to be there to understand how important she is to making this team go.”

    Brown is just as hot as Dartmouth. The Bears are currently riding an 11-game unbeaten streak which includes victories over three ranked opponents as well as a tie against No. 5 St. Lawrence (17-5-3). Brown has not lost at home since Nov. 29.

    Brown has continued its tradition of strong defense and goaltending. The Bears are the only ECAC team that allows fewer goals per game (1.60) than Dartmouth (1.81). Sophomore netminder Pam Dreyer leads the conference in save percentage (.950) and is second only to Cahill with a 1.33 GAA. Offensively, Brown is led by a pair of senior forwards in Kathleen Kauth (11g, 15a) and Christina Sorbara (7g, 15a).

    Harvard certainly scores more goals than does Brown (the Crimson is second to Dartmouth in goals per game at 4.39), but it has struggled of late. On Tuesday the Crimson rallied to erase a two-goal deficit in the third period and beat No. 9 Northeastern (13-10-1) in the Beanpot championship game. It was the third straight season in which Harvard center Jennifer Botterill has scored the Beanpot-winner in overtime.

    Botterill (31g, 23a) leads the ECAC in scoring, followed by linemate Tammy Shewchuk (16g, 32a). But Harvard could only muster one goal (from Shewchuk) on Sunday at Princeton, where the Crimson fell to the Tigers, 3-1. Sophomore goaltender Sarah Ahlquist stopped 29 shots for Princeton as her teammates held Harvard to just six shots in the final period.

    “Sarah had a strong game, nothing flashy, just solid,” said Princeton coach Jeff Kampersal. “The win was especially important to her personally because Harvard took it to her twice last season. The win was a confidence-builder for her and our team. We have gotten very good goaltending all year. I am happy with both Sarah and Megan Van Beusekom, who has been standing on her head lately, as well.”

    The Tigers travel to Niagara for a two-game series with the Eagles this weekend. With two wins, Princeton could jump past Niagara into the eighth and final playoff spot as the postseason closes in. To do that, Princeton will need to play like it did against Harvard, a game in which three different players (Melissa Deland, Jessica Fedderly and Andrea Kilbourne) scored for the Tigers.

    “We get tired of hearing ‘Kilbourne this, Kilbourne that,’ Kampersal said. “Killer is our captain and our heart and soul and our Patty Kazmaier. She deserves the recognition she gets, but it fuels the other kids to pick up their game up to her level. The win against Harvard was nice, be we realize we are in ninth place with a long way to go to earn a playoff spot. If players like Jess Fedderly, Melissa Deland, and Lucy Firestone continue to scrap the way they do, then that takes pressure off of Killer.”

    Around the WCHA

    Ohio State suffered a pair of tough losses at No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth (21-4-3) last weekend, falling to the Bulldogs in overtime on Friday, 7-6, before dropping Saturday’s game, 7-5. Joanne Eustace scored four goals for UMD on Friday, including the equalizer with 2:20 left in regulation (for the hat trick) and the game-winner just 38 seconds into the extra period.

    It doesn’t get any easier for the Buckeyes as they host No. 3 Minnesota (20-5-1) for two games. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs face another young and scrappy team, St. Cloud State, in an intrastate matchup.

    This Week In Hockey East: Feb. 15, 2001

    By
    -

    The Goal

    Is there anyone out there who hasn’t seen Colin Hemingway’s stunner yet? With FOX Sports Net at the Whittemore Center to telecast the New Hampshire – Providence College tilt, the cameras were rolling when the sophomore scored The Goal of the Year. It made just about every highlight show and may well result in an award for Associated Press photographer Jim Cole, who captured it perfectly on five successive shots.

    “Without a great play, there’s no great picture,” said Cole with a smile.

    It certainly was a great play. (See hockeyeastonline.com if you missed it.) Hemingway, a right-handed shot, skated right-to-left across the goal mouth with a backhander the only apparent possibility. Instead, he toe-tucked the puck back between his legs, reached through his legs behind his body and roofed a forehand over goaltender Boyd Ballard.

    In this observer’s eyes, the move ranks second only to Mike Legg’s famous “lacrosse” goal in the 1996 NCAA tournament. Paul Kariya certainly scored many flashy goals and one could argue that they were more within the context of typical play, but Hemingway’s still ranks higher on the outrageousness scale. And a potential rival, Greg Bullock’s 360-degree spin-a-rama and backhander into the top of the net against Boston University, occurred in a shootout, thereby attaching an asterisk to its brilliance.

    “I’ve watched guys do it in practice, but I don’t really do it that much,” said Hemingway. “It’s just something that came to my mind. I’ve tried it, but it’s never worked before, so that’s why I’ve never done it in a game before.”

    Never worked before? Only tried it in practice a little?

    “It looked like he practices it a lot,” said Josh Prudden to a chorus of laughter among the press before going on to corroborate Hemingway’s contention. “He doesn’t really screw around too much like that, but he has very good moves and really good hands.”

    Ty Conklin also added confirmation when asked if Hemingway had ever scored with that move on him in practice.

    “Thank God, no,” said Conklin with a grin. “He’d shoot my confidence.”

    What was most compelling about the move was Hemingway’s sheer audacity.

    “I thought it was unbelievable,” said Prudden. “I couldn’t believe that he actually tried it. It’s more like something that you mess around with in practice. …

    “It’s kind of a hot dog play, but it was pretty cool. When I saw it, I really didn’t believe it.”

    Hemingway noted that he hadn’t planned the move in advance, although he had promised his mother that he’d do something special in the game to commemorate her birthday. Presumably seeing her son on SportsCenter was special enough for Mrs. Hemingway.

    “A lot of the players can do it,” he said, “but it’s just something you don’t do in a game because it’s kind of dipsy-doodle and coaches don’t really like that kind of stuff. But I just thought, ‘Go for it and hope for the best.'”

    No, coaches don’t really like that kind of stuff at all. Most would be thinking as the play developed, “What are you doing? Great shot!”

    One can only imagine coach Dick Umile’s reaction if Hemingway had shot wide.

    “It’s one of those goals where if he screws up, Coach is going to be mad,” said David Busch. “But it worked, so who’s complaining?”

    Would Busch try such a move?

    He smiled and shook his head. “Hell, no!”

    Of course, Umile was delighted with Hemingway’s result.

    “[If I’d missed,] he probably would have told me to cut the fancy ahhh… you know… and just drive it to the net and put it in the normal way,” said Hemingway. “But he congratulated me on the goal. He was happy with the win and happy with the goal.”

    Conklin Snares Another Record

    Although overshadowed by Hemingway’s flamboyance, Conklin went into the UNH record books with his 54th career win, passing previous all-time leader Sean Matile.

    “To set the record here at UNH says an awful lot,” said Umile. “There have been some great goaltenders here, so for him to set the record is fabulous.

    “It couldn’t happen to a nicer kid. It hasn’t happened by accident. He’s worked at it.”

    Not surprisingly, Conklin downplayed the feat.

    “It’s a matter of me being on a lot of good teams and having a lot of talent around me,” he said. “That’s how [records] like that are set.”

    U Is For UNH And U-Turn

    Perhaps New Hampshire Public TV will be overdubbing Sesame Street references to the letter U with the above phrase after UNH rebounded from an 0-4-1 stretch with wins at home over Northeastern and Providence. In particular, the Wildcat’s absolute dominance of the first two periods against Providence gave evidence that whatever had ailed them was history. They outshot the Friars, 21-6, a statistic that accurately measured New Hampshire’s control.

    “It was a great weekend,” said UNH coach Dick Umile. “It think the team capped it off with one of the best games we’ve played all season against a really good Providence College team.

    “They had six shots [in the first two periods.] They just weren’t doing much against us five-on-five. I like the way the team skated and tight-gapped them. We gave them nothing and they’re a tough team. We matched them physically and played good hockey.”

    Conklin added an observation about the team’s defense that is bound to make the hearts of UNH fans beat a little faster.

    “It was outstanding,” he said. “It reminded me of the year we went to the [NCAA] finals. [It was] outstanding work in the neutral zone and when they did get in the zone, we just shut them down.”

    To fully appreciate the importance of the two wins and the way the Wildcats beat Providence, one has to look at the five games that preceded last weekend. In that stretch they lost critical ground in the standings, losing to Northeastern, twice to Boston University and to Maine while tying Merrimack, 5-5, after holding a 5-2 third-period lead. Streaks like that eat at a team’s confidence and often at its cohesion.

    It also frays the nerves. Umile, who had apparently heard the phrase “0-4-1” a few too many times over the preceding week, wasn’t altogether happy with a question intended to contrast the earlier dry spell with the success against Northeastern and Providence.

    “Right now I’m just focusing on this weekend,” he said. “I don’t even remember that [streak] now. I don’t even want to talk about that. These guys played hard this weekend. Let’s focus on this weekend. We had a great weekend so we’re going to enjoy that.

    “You guys are the ones that keep adding those babies up. We just look forward. You guys look in the past.”

    Hemingway, however, offered a glimpse into the impact of the two wins.

    “We went on that losing skid, going 0-4-1,” he said. “Then to get two wins this weekend is just great. The team is a lot more positive now. Everybody is just working together. It’s a great feeling in the locker room.”

    The Wildcats still have their work cut out for them, however. They hold only a one- and three- point advantage over Providence and Maine, respectively, their closest pursuers for second place. They must concede two games in hand to both of them. What’s more, two of their remaining four contests come against first-place Boston College this weekend. With that in mind, home ice in the playoffs is still in jeopardy with UMass-Lowell and Boston University still in the hunt.

    “There’s a long way to go for home ice,” said Umile. “This race is as tight as it’s ever going to get.”

    A Sleeping Giant Awakens?

    This weekend will be an important test, but it looks as though the Black Bears are coming out of hibernation at just the right time. Other than losses to Boston College — it seems as if this year everyone is losing most of their games against BC — Maine has now won four straight and holds a 7-1-2 record in its last 10. Included in those games are a 3-for-6 split of the points against UNH and a 3-for-4 weekend against BU that would have been 4-for-4 if not for a fluke deflection.

    The latest wins came on the road against UMass-Amherst. Maine rallied for a 3-2 overtime win on Friday night and coasted to a 5-1 victory on Saturday.

    “We played very, very well even on Friday night, holding them to two shots in the second period and then 12 over the last two periods plus overtime,” said coach Shawn Walsh. “It was a barometer of what we could do on Saturday. Saturday we did a similar job. We played very thorough.

    “The overtime win over New Hampshire [the week before] gave us a lot of confidence. We played like a confident team [last weekend], which hasn’t always been the case this year.”

    For the most part, Maine has played exceptional defense all year long. The crises of confidence have been on the offensive side. Prior to last weekend, the Black Bears had fallen to seventh in the league in goals per game.

    “When you’re not scoring, it’s just so hard to keep tapping the well, tapping the reserve of backchecking and playing both ways because you don’t get rewarded for it,” said Walsh. “It’s frustrating. Once we broke out and got some goals, it made it much easier for the players.

    “But all along, we’ve played pretty well this year. Other than a couple of periods — like the first [Brian Gionta five-goal] period at BC and the first period at Providence [in November] — we’ve been right there. Now we’re starting to get rewarded.”

    One of the most encouraging signs on the weekend was the reemergence of Dan Kerluke. As a sophomore, he posted a 23-19–42 scoring line. With incremental improvements as a junior and senior, he might have been expected eventually to become an All-American or at least an All-Hockey East forward.

    Instead, he fell to 12-14–26 last year and had only five goals and six assists going into last weekend. On a team bereft of proven finishers, Kerluke is one player who has done it in the past in a big way.

    Perhaps getting back on track at just the right time, Kerluke scored twice on Friday night, including the game-winner in overtime, and added another two on Saturday.

    “We thought he was going to be [our goalscorer] the last two years,” said Walsh. “What’s striking is that in that 23-goal year only [two] were power-play goals. He’s a guy that can break open five-on-five situations.

    “He’s had a lot of chances, but they haven’t found the net. I think he’s confident now. A couple of those goals were pure scorer’s goals, which we’ve lacked this year.

    “I think he relaxed everybody. It’s great to see him on track and we certainly want to do everything we can to keep him on track.”

    Another solution to Maine’s dearth of offense may be in the form of defenseman-turned-forward Michael Schutte. The sophomore broke open Saturday night’s game with a hat trick, playing on a line with Martin Kariya and Brendan Donovan. Matthias Trattnig, the usual linemate of Kariya and Donovan, had left for his native Austria’s pre-Olympic tournament.

    “Schutte is a real offensive guy, [but] I have not liked his defensive intensity,” said Walsh. “So we put him up front about three weeks ago and he’s gotten better and better. He broke out playing with Kariya and we plan to keep them together.”

    Donovan will move to another line while Walsh hopes that a trio of Kariya, Trattnig and Schutte becomes a consistent offensive force.

    In many ways, it’s surprising that the goals have come so hard for the Black Bears this year even though they lost their top four scorers from last year (Cory Larose, Barrett Heisten, Ben Guite and Brendan Walsh). With added ice time and a more prominent role on the power play, the second-tier scorers would have been expected to elevate their contributions to fill the void. Instead, almost every player has remained at last year’s level of production.

    “I don’t know [why that is,]” said Walsh. “I really don’t know. There isn’t one thing I would pinpoint except you are what you are. In our case, nobody has stepped up and said, ‘I’m going to be one of Hockey East’s top six or seven forwards.’

    “Until somebody steps up and does that week in and week out, we’re just going to be a balanced team that has to play as a team. We’re clearly a group that has to be greater than the sum of our individual parts.

    “In a way, it’s been that way lately [for our program.] Even our [1999] national championship team was like that. But we did have a Cory Larose or a Steve Kariya who we could lean on. None of our younger guys have stepped up to assume that mantle yet.”

    If they can get a modest amount of scoring, the Black Bears could be a scary club to face in the playoffs.

    “This is the youngest Maine team we’ve had in 10 years,” said Walsh. “Now we’re a little more mature. We were decimated early with injuries, but now we’re back in good health. We’re dangerous now.”

    The Dark Horse

    They haven’t made the USCHO Top 15 yet, but watch out for the Lowell River Hawks. They’re now 7-2-3 in their last 12 league contests with the only losses coming at the hands of Boston College.

    “They might be the best kept secret in Hockey East,” said BU coach Jack Parker after Lowell completed its first-ever season’s sweep of the Terriers. “They’re playing so well. They’re as good of a team as there is in this league. … We know who the better team between [the two of] us are.

    “We gave them a pretty good game and they still beat us. Any other year, if we were playing Lowell and getting ready for the Beanpot final, we might have looked by them. But we didn’t look by them tonight because they’re playing so well, they’re such a good team, they’re chasing us down for home ice and we’d already lost to them twice.

    “We made a couple mistakes that were just brutal. But other than those [errors,] I thought it was a pretty good effort by us.

    “I have no qualms that we weren’t ready to play [on Friday.] There was no focus on anything but UMass-Lowell and they still beat us.”

    One secret weapon for the River Hawks is their huge fourth line of converted defenseman Kevin Kotyluk (6-2, 220 pounds) and freshmen Anders Strome (6-3, 195) and Peter Hay (6-5, 200). With that size, the trio can bang with any line in Hockey East. That group drew penalties on two straight shifts at critical junctures against BU. On Sunday, Hay and Kotyluk both scored goals in a 5-2 win over Merrimack.

    “[The fourth line] was huge in [the win over BU] because they drew a couple of penalties,” said UML coach Tim Whitehead. “[Against Merrimack] they actually got rewarded with a couple of goals and [were] just a huge boost.

    “After Christmas, when we were missing [key players with injuries], we needed everyone to step up. That was important for our team to understand that everyone is important and everyone can contribute on this team. From that point, everyone started contributing.”

    In addition to the Beef Brothers, Lowell also has one hulking force on its other top three lines: Tom Rouleau (6-2, 225) on the first line; Kyle Kidney (6-0, 240) along with Yorick Treille (6-3, 202) on the second; and Jeff Boulanger (6-1, 212) on the third.

    “They match up well against us size-wise up front, but they match up well against a lot of people size-wise,” said Parker. “When you’re not drilling a lot of shots and not getting a lot of play in their end, their size helps them out down the other end.

    “They’re a solid team. It isn’t just that they match up well with BU and can only beat BU. They’re a real good team … and they play hard.”

    All of which leads to a classic clash against Maine this weekend. Both teams are hot right now and hungry to gain home ice for the playoffs.

    “Anyone who has followed college hockey knows how good Lowell is now,” said Walsh. “They’ve swept BU. They took UNH to back-to-back tie games. They had two one-goal games with BC. So we clearly know how good they are.

    “They’re just a thorough team. Tim has done a fabulous job of bringing them back from the depths. Now they’re enjoying the penthouse.”

    Walsh offers a surprising candidate for the league’s MVP.

    “I think the best player in the league this year has been Ron Hainsey,” said Walsh. “He’s the one individual who has meant more to his team [than any other]. Obviously, [Brian] Gionta has had great games against us and Ty Conklin has had great individual games, but in terms of what Ron has done for his team, he’s the best. He’s given them confidence. He’s clearly been the best blueliner.”

    Walsh sees a couple keys to the weekend’s crucial series.

    “The matchup of interest is their power play vs. our penalty kill,” he said. “We’re fourth in the nation in penalty killing; they’re seventh on the power play, so that’ll be a matchup.

    “It’ll also be a matchup of their style [against our defense.] They forecheck everything and the strength of our team is our defense. So it’s going to be a real matchup of our defensemen being able to handle their forecheck.

    “They’re a team that comes right after you. We’re certainly going to have to be prepared for that. It should be a great test because we’re both now confident teams. We’re the only [Hockey East] teams coming into this weekend with three-game winning streaks.

    “You’ve got two confident teams in what should be a terrific series. Everybody is looking forward to an NCAA-type playoff atmosphere.”

    He’s Got Their Number

    UMass-Lowell’s Dan Fontas continued to be a major thorn in BU’s side on Friday night. The junior, whose father Paul played at BU with Parker, scored the game-winner in all three contests against the Terriers. Those were his only game-winners of the year. Of his six goals this season, four have come at BU’s expense.

    “I wish I could play BU every night,” said Fontas with a big smile. “I bring a lot of emotion when I play BU. … I guess I have their number this year.”

    Dewey Wins!

    If UMass-Lowell needed any extra incentive for its game on Friday night against BU, it got it from a Boston Globe article written as a Beanpot preview, but run earlier than expected on Friday morning. The writer, Bob Duffy, had filled in details based on an anticipated win by BU with the presumed intention of changing those details in the event of a loss.

    Instead, the article appeared unedited with references to BU defeating Lowell. It provided some ideal fodder for the Lowell locker room bulletin board.

    Parker dismissed it as “bizarre” that the editing error would be a motivator for the River Hawks, but those in the other locker room weren’t so sure.

    “We wanted the respect we deserve,” said Fontas.

    “I think our guys were ready to play before that,” said Whitehead. “Maybe it just added a little fuel to the fire.”

    A Missed Opportunity

    Providence could have taken a giant stride toward locking up second place with a win at New Hampshire on Saturday, but instead took it on the chin without hardly a counterpunch for two periods before finally awakening in the third. By then it was too late.

    “[UNH] came to play in the first two periods and either we didn’t or they just took it to us,” said coach Paul Pooley. “It was disappointing. … We got outplayed bad.”

    In particular, Josh Prudden’s backbreaking goal with 4.9 seconds remaining in the second to give UNH a 3-1 lead galled the Providence coach.

    “[To get scored on with] 4.9 seconds left in the second period is unacceptable,” he said. “On the road, [if] you’re getting outplayed but you go into the third period down by one goal, it isn’t a big deal. But two goals is a big deal.”

    Ironically, the Friars came into the UNH contest on what might have been the high note of the season, a 5-3 win over first-place Boston College.

    “I told our team before the game that weeks ago when we played Merrimack, we responded to adversity,” said Pooley, referring to a game deadlocked at 0-0 going into the third period which the Friars won, 1-0. “Now we have to respond to having a little success.

    “After [the win over BC,] we’re fighting for the second spot. It’s a different type of response. That’s [a result of] the growth of our program and the growth of our players.

    “We haven’t been here, but we have to learn from it and understand what it takes to be a top 10 team in the country. It was a great win for us [against BC]. A great win. But this [loss to UNH] overshadows that in my mind.”

    Kolanos Returns With A Vengeance

    Boston College forward Krys Kolanos sat out the Beanpot semifinal game (and its predecessor as well) with a shoulder injury that had been bothering him for weeks. At the time coach, Jerry York said, “It was very sore during practice … and the doctors didn’t like what they saw on the X-rays.”

    Despite those ominous words, Kolanos returned to action last Friday.

    Although he’s still playing through pain since the injury has a few more weeks to heal, he was dominant at times in the Beanpot championship game. He recorded a men-amongst-boys goal to give BC a 2-0 lead, fighting off a defender with one arm while shooting with the other. He added a beautiful assist on the Eagles’ third goal. He also had many instances when his size and wingspan frustrated BU defenders and guaranteed BC continued puck possession and offensive opportunities.

    While this observer would have preferred giving the Tournament MVP to a player who suited up for both games, Kolanos was the obvious candidate considering the title game only.

    “I only played in the one game, but I guess this was the big game,” he said. “I think the fire in me after losing in the final game last year [to BU] made me just want to be out there. I wanted to be out there last week but I had to be patient and wait for the X-ray.”

    Selected Notes

  • Boston University‘s Jack Parker will be coaching his 1000th game next Friday against Northeastern at Matthews Arena. While a Hollywood plot would require a home game for such an event, the combination of the travelling Terrier faithful and — one hopes — the suitably respectful Husky partisans should still give Parker his due.
  • Merrimack College defenseman Stephen Moon suffered a concussion in the second period of Sunday’s game against Lowell and did not play the third. He is expected to return on Friday against Northeastern.
  • Although no one doubts that New Hampshire has been hurt by the injury to Matt Swain, the damage has been minimized by the play of Josh Prudden, who has moved up to the second line. During Swain’s five-game absence, Prudden has scored two goals and added three assists. His goal at the close of the second period against Providence is almost certainly the biggest one of his collegiate career.

    It’s always great to see a kid move up from the fourth line and then make a significant contribution on one of the top ones.

  • When UMass-Lowell completed its season’s sweep of BU, one River Hawk fan tossed a broom onto the ice. Landing in the Terrier end, however, it didn’t last long. John Sabo snapped it in half.

    From The Mailbag

    I recently received one of the wittiest emails I’ve gotten in a while, so here it is for your reading pleasure. For those who don’t remember, I picked Northeastern to defeat Boston University in the Beanpot semifinal game. This note arrived prior to the title tilt.

    Mr. Hendrickson,

    You are cordially invited to attend the finals of the 49th annual BU Invitational Tourney (formerly known as the Beanpot Tournament).

    Monday, February 15, 2001 at 8 o’clock.

    Dinner will be served. A generous helping of crow will available for all sportswriter guests.”

    Once again BU defies the pundits in the Beanpot!! There’s an old saying, “Never bet against a streak, you’ll go broke.”

    In all seriousness, I really enjoy the column and the coverage. (Even if you underestimate Parker Power.)

    Sincerely,

    Rob Doherty

    That one brought an appreciative smile to my face. Kudos to Rob for his sharp wit.

    At the other end of the spectrum, I give you two emails which I will allow to remain anonymous to protect the guilty. They are unedited, save for the removal of one word and the insertion of an asterisk for a vowel.

    Mr. Hendrickson,

    Did you really think that UNH was going to lose at HOME to Providence this weekend? I used to be a sports writer myself, so I know that that your job is comprised of nothing but BS, and trying to say whatever sounds good to your editor. UNH is a National Championsip contender, Mr. Hendrickson. Let’s make that clear. You can keep writing about Northeastern and Merrimack, and how they are doing better than most people figured, but don’t get confusd. UNH is the real deal. If we didn’t get hosed in Maine (Hockey East has a fine crew of officials!) maybe we would be in first place. Not that I would expect you to undestand that. You’re a writer, you don’t really undestand sports do you..I mean how to play them? Be smart when you predict our scores against BC this weekend. Remember, we already beat the almighty No. 2 by a score of 4-1 at their place this year…nevermind, you wouldn’t care though, you’re a sports writer, thus, you’re a sellout. Tell me that BC will win 4-2 at BC and that the game will be a 2-2 tie at UNH. Listen Jerkey, get a clue! I don’t know how old you are, and I don’t really care. The fact that you are a sports writer already looses credibility for you. Get your [bleep] together. You’re probably one of those guys that really thinks Mankato belongs in the top-15. Follow the leagues, and folow the sport. Dave, don’t write what people want you to write, write what you feel is true. I know you can’t REALLY feel that Cornell is better than UNH…Come on! Reality game…UNH 6, Cornell, 1…maybe 2, if Ty has a bad night! One last time, Mr. Hendrickson, please get a clue!

    Here’s the P.S. from the same, ahem, gentleman, whose messages, I should note, are the antithesis of what I usually receive from UNH fans.

    I just read the rest of your insae column. S*cks 2 BU! Overrated (meaning the No. 2 team that has lost 7 ganes). Get with the program Hendrickson! Get out of the dity for 2 minutes of your life, and check out reality! It’s here in Durham!

    Geez, and I thought everyone loved me….

    The Inside Scoop

    One of my USCHO colleagues, the name of whom will be withheld to protect the guilty, had a tough evening at the Beanpot on Monday for two reasons.

    He’d proclaimed a week ago that Harvard’s Oliver Jonas was the best goaltender in the tournament. While Jonas could have sued for non-support in the 4-1 semifinal loss to Boston College, he looked a light-year or two short of being the best dufflebag in the 8-7 consolation loss to Northeastern.

    To make matters worse, that same colleague then pulled a two-year-old copy of the Boston Phoenix out of his laptop case. With a bemused look on his face he muttered, “So that’s why the bag has been so heavy!” Something tells me that the nubile cutie he might have hoped to find in the Personals section got tired of waiting.

    Trivia Contest

    Last week’s question asked what unique achievement do Merrimack’s Anthony Aquino and Dartmouth’s Mike Maturo share?

    There were some amusing responses that weren’t what the question was looking for. The best one was Edward N. Moller noting that “along with Carl Corazzini and Krys Kolanos, they lead their teams in alliteration.”

    Good stuff, but not the winner.

    The correct answer, as noted by Justin Pelletier, is that Aquino and Maturo are the only two people this season to have scored more than one goal against Ty Conklin in a single game. Justin’s cheer is:

    “Does this mean no Beanpot let-down game this weekend? Boo-YA! Go BU!!”

    This week’s question will require your thinking caps on. It comes from the Boston Herald‘s Jocko Connolly and asks: what do former collegians Scott Harlow (BC), Paul “The Shot” Hurley (BC), Nick Vachon (BU), Christian Soucy (Vermont) and Jim Stewart (Holy Cross) have in common?

    Send your answers or wild guesses to Dave Hendrickson.

    Thanks to Jim Connelly and Scott Weighart for their assistance.

    • This Week In Division III: Feb. 15, 2001

    By
    -

    I said this at this juncture last season, and I’ll say it again — the NCAAs really start this weekend. With just one at-large bid available, all but a select few teams know they must win their conference championship to advance to the national tournament.

    Lose, and your season is over.

    The postseason gets underway this weekend with the SUNYAC and NCHA playoffs, and six teams will end their seasons as a result. In the SUNYAC, non-qualifiers Buffalo State and Brockport are already done.

    So, in our countdown to the final four, 63 teams are still alive, with another 15 to finish up this weekend. Playing their final games of the season will be:

    1. The SUNYAC and NCHA playoff losers
    2. Either MSOE or Lawrence in the MCHA (one won’t make the playoffs)
    3. Conn. College and Wesleyan in the NESCAC (didn’t make the playoffs)
    4. St. Olaf, St. Mary’s, Hamline, Gustavus Adolphus (already eliminated) and either St. John’s, Augburg or Bethel in the MIAC.
    5. Neumann, an independent, which will play its last games of the season this weekend. Neumann will join the ECAC West next season.

    Hats off to the seniors on those squads.

    Around the nation

    NCHA

    Wisconsin-Stout will host an NCHA playoff series for the first time in school history this weekend. The Blue Devils, who set a school record for regular-season victories this season (15-9-1) captured fourth place by virtue of a sweep last weekend of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (4-3) and Wisconsin-Stevens Point (6-4).

    Stout was picked to finish last in the NCHA this season, while Stevens Point was picked first, and second in the nation in the USCHO.com preseason poll.

    However, Point finds itself in the unfamiliar position of being on the road for a quarterfinal series (just the fourth time in 15 seasons). The Pointers have dropped three games in a row and are just 5-6 in conference in the second semester.

    Stout and UWSP split their season series, with the Pointers winning at Stout 9-1 on February 2, and the Blue Devils winning 6-4 at Stevens Point last Saturday.

    In other quarterfinal matchups:

  • Top-seeded Wisconsin-Superior will host Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The YellowJackets are arguably the hottest team in the nation, ranked number-two and riding a 15 game winning streak. Superior swept the season series, 5-1 and 7-2.
  • Wisconsin-River Falls hosts seventh-seeded Lake Forest. The Falcons seem to gave righted the ship, dropping three in a row to fall from first to fourth in the standings before crawling back into second place with five straight wins. The Foresters have lost eight in a row, their last win coming on January 19 against River Falls. The Falcons won the other meeting between the two teams, 7-4.
  • St. Norbert hosts St. Scholastica, which moved out of the basement and into sixth place by going 2-1-1 in its final four games. The teams tied 2-2 on February 3, and the Green Knights won the rematch, 9-3, the following weekend.

    No road team has ever won a quarterfinal series since the current playoff format was initiated in 1993. Road teams are 1-43-4 over that span.

    The format will consist of a two-game, “first to three points” with a possible minigame. No overtimes will be played in either game, and the team that comes out 2-0 or 1-0-1 advances. In the event the teams split or tie twice, a 15 minute minigame will follow the second game. If that game ends in a tie, then sudden-death overtime will be used to determine a winner.

    SUNYAC

    Plattsburgh won yet another regular title with a 5-2 win at Oswego last Saturday, and earned a first-round playoff bye. The Cards, who finished the regular season 21-4 and ranked fourth in the latest USCHO.com poll, will host the lowest surviving seed in a two-game series beginning February 23.

    Oswego clinched second place and the other first-round bye on Tuesday thanks to a 5-1 win at Cortland, and Potsdam’s 5-0 loss to Plattsburgh. The Lakers, who finished the regular season 17-7-1 and ranked ninth in the nation, are also off until February 23.

    Potsdam will host Cortland State this weekend in a two game series, using the same format as the NCHA (this format will also be used by the MIAC and in the NCAA quarterfinals). The Bears and Red Dragons have already tangled three times this season, and Potsdam has come out on top every time. The Bears won 5-3 way back in October in their own tournament, and then swept the season series, 6-2 and 5-2.

    The other first-round series has fourth-seeded Fredonia hosting Geneseo. The Ice Knights needed a last-game victory over Brockport to clinch a playoff spot, as they were pushed to the brink down the stretch by Buffalo State. The Bengals made it very interesting by taking four points last weekend for the first time ever, including a 9-4 victory over Geneseo. Buffalo State’s season came to an end on Tuesday with a 5-2 loss to Fredonia.

    Geneseo upset Fredonia last season in the first round of the SUNYAC playoffs. The Blue Devils swept the season series this year, 5-2 and 4-1.

    ECAC West

    There’s only one game in the ECAC West this week, but it’s a big one. Round two between top-ranked RIT and number-seven Elmira takes place on Saturday at RIT. The Tigers locked up the ECAC West regular-season title thanks to Manhattanville’s win over Elmira last Friday.

    Elmira’s slim NCAA hopes hinge on beating the Tigers on Saturday, and then again in the ECAC West playoffs two weeks after. A win or tie by RIT on Saturday locks up what would be a sixth-straight NCAA bid for the Tigers.

    The game will be the last of the season for RIT, which at 21-0-1 in NCAA play is looking to record its first season without a loss since 1964.

    ECAC East

    Norwich, which got back into the USCHO.com Top Ten this week, has already clinched the regular-season title, and, since everybody makes the postseason, this final weekend will find teams jockeying for playoff positions.

    As you might expect, the teams with the momentum are at the top of the standings right now. Norwich and Salem State are each riding three-game winning streaks, and third-place New England College has won four in a row.

    Those three plus Babson have all clinched home-ice quarterfinal games, and Skidmore has fifth place locked up. The real battle is between MCLA and Southern Maine to see who has to play Norwich in the first round.

    NESCAC

    Middlebury has already clinched the reason title, and Conn. College and Wesleyan have already been eliminated, so the seven playoff teams are known. Only the order for positions two through seven remains to be decided.

    The Panthers (19-2-1), ranked third in the nation, travel to Wesleyan and Conn. College this weekend, looking not to be tripped up by two teams with nothing to lose. Win or lose, Middlebury will be idle next weekend and then host the NESCAC final four the first weekend in March.

    Colby and Amherst have clinched the right to host first-round playoff games, while Trinity, Bowdoin and Hamilton will battle for the other home-ice advantage. The Bantams lead the Polar Bears and Continentals by three points in the standings with a pair of games left, but don’t hold either tiebreaker. That means Trinity needs at least two points this weekend against Williams and MCLA to clinch home ice.

    MIAC

    This is another conference where first place has already been decided going into the final weekend of the regular season. St. Thomas swept upstart Bethel, 3-1 and 6-5 to win its 26th regular-season title and clinch its 16th consecutive playoff appearance.

    The Tommies have finished the regular season at 14-8-3, and will host the fourth seed in a MIAC semifinal two-game series beginning February 23.

    Concordia has also earned a playoff spot. The Cobbers play two games with last-place Hamline this weekend, and need to take three points to guarantee a home-ice semifinal series.

    St. John’s, Augsburg and Bethel are still battling for the final two playoff positions, and each could finish as high as second or as low as fifth and out of the running. St. John’s plays a weekend series with St. Olaf, while the Auggies and Royals go head-to-head. A sweep by either squad clinches a playoff spot and eliminates the other.

    ECAC Northeast

    First-place in the regular season has definitely not been decided yet in the Northeast, where three teams are neck-and-neck. Johnson & Wales and Tufts are tied for first, and defending champ Wentworth is two points back. All three have two conference games left. Wentworth controls it own destiny, as its remaining games are against Tufts (2/15) and J&W (2/18).

    All three have locked up home ice for quarterfinal games, and Lebanon Valley, Mass.-Dartmouth and Fitchburg State have all cinched postseason berths.

    That leaves Worcester State, Suffolk and Salve Regina still alive, all fighting for the final two spots.

    In the Division II league, New Hampshire College (15-6-1) has opened up a big lead in the standings and will be one of the favorites for home ice in the playoffs. St. Anselm (7-13-2) from the ECAC East will also be in the mix, and the Hawks, while not having as good a record as New Hampshire College, play in a stronger conference and has already beaten the Penmen twice this season. They can make a strong case to be seeded number one.

    The other battle is between St. Michael’s and Stonehill, separated by just a point in the standings with one conference game to play. The lower seeded team will have to face Assumption in a play-in game to make the ECAC D-II semifinals.

    MCHA

    The playoffs officially get underway in the MCHA on February 23, but the Lawrence-MSOE series this weekend is essentially a play-in round. The teams are tied for the fourth and final playoff position. Lawrence holds the advantage, as the Vikings beat and tied the Raiders earlier in the season. A win in either game clinches a first-ever playoff berth for the Vikings.

    Marian plays Northland in the other final series of the season, and this one will be a semifinal preview, since the Sabres have second place locked up, and the Lumberjacks have clinched third. The two teams will play again in the MCHA semifinals on February 23.

    Regular season champion Minnesota-Crookston will face either Lawrence or MSOE in the other semifinal, with the championship game scheduled for February 24. Marian is hosting the playoffs this season.

    Picks

    Last week: 7-3
    On the season: 56-24-2 (.695)

    This week:

    Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Wisconsin-Stout (2/16 and 2/17) — A road team has never won a quarterfinal NCHA series, but there’s a first time for everything. UWSP 4, Stout 3; UWSP 4, Stout 2

    Lake Forest at No. 5 Wisconsin-River Falls (2/16 and 2/17) — For this series, I think history holds true to form. UWRF 6, Lake Forest 3; UWRF 4, Lake Forest 1

    St. Scholastica at No. 8 St. Norbert (2/16 and 2/17) — Ditto. St. Norbert 5, St. Scholastica 1; St. Norbert 4, St. Scholastica 2

    Wisconsin-Eau Claire at No. 2 Wisconsin-Superior (2/16 and 2/17) — Double ditto. UWS 5, UWEC 3; UWS 7, UWEC 2

    Geneseo at Fredonia (2/16 and 2/17) — The Ice Knights upset the Blue Devils in this series last season, but Fredonia’s defensive style means a minigame win. Geneseo 3, Fredonia 2; Fredonia 3, Geneseo 2; Fredonia 1, Geneseo 0 in the minigame

    Cortland at Potsdam (2/16 and 2/17) — A sweep for the Bears, who need to not look past this series to another showdown with Oswego. Potsdam 5, Cortland 2; Potsdam 6, Cortland 4

    Bethel vs. Augsburg (2/16 and 2/17) — The Royals are oh-so-close to wrapping up their first postseason appearance ever, but I think they’ll come up just short. Augsburg 4, Bethel 3; Augsburg 3, Bethel 1

    No. 7 Elmira at No. 1 RIT (2/17) — Round two goes to the Tigers at home. RIT 3, Elmira 2

    • MIAC Newsletter: Feb. 14, 2001

    By Jim Cella
    -

    Haven’t I Seen You Here Before?

    The MIAC has crowned a champion, and the king has a familiar look.

    St. Thomas swept Bethel, and kept their hold on the throne for the fourth straight year and 11th time in 13 seasons. The Tommies have won nine games in a row, and enter the MIAC playoffs as the runaway favorite to secure the automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA playoffs. To make matters worse for the rest of the league, St. Thomas will have a bye this weekend, and will be able to get much needed rest for their aches and pains.

    The final drama in the league will be for the other three spots. Concordia has clinched the second spot in the postseason, but could finish anywhere from second to fourth. They play host to resurgent Hamline this weekend. St. John’s, Bethel and Augsburg are playing a season-ending game of musical chairs, three teams for only two spots. The Johnnies are in third place with 18 points and an 8-4-2 record. They play St. Olaf this weekend. The Royals and Auggies have identical 8-5-1 marks and have the ability to knock each other out, as they go head-to-head in the season finale. This series could be a “winner take all” scenario. If Concordia and St. John’s sweep their series, the team that wins the series will keep playing, while the loser will stay home and watch the MIAC postseason party.

    If the two teams split and end up tied for the fourth and fifth spots, then it becomes a total goals series. The second tiebreaker in the MIAC is total goals for and against in competition with tied teams. This could prove to make Saturday’s game at Augsburg one of the games of the season.

    Here is a recap of the last weekend’s action in the MIAC. There was a champion crowned, a step into playoff contention, a revenge-filled split and a complete surprise.

    The Coronation

    St. Thomas, like the veteran fighter who waits until the late rounds to start fighting, delivered a knockout blow and regained the heavyweight crown of the MIAC. It has become a yearly ritual, and this time the only thing that changed was the upstart contender. Bethel was this year’s fodder and, like the teams that came before, they were swept out of the way and forced to fight for second best.

    On Friday night the Tommies were knocked down early when Bethel’s Josh Hauge scored two minutes into the game. St. Thomas quickly recovered to tie the game two minutes later when Eric Wenkus took a pass from Tony Lawrence and beat Royal goalie Steve Witkowski. The two teams traded blows until eight minutes into the second period when Brad Bonine scored his first of two goals. St. Thomas, playing ahead for the first time all game, protected the lead and let goaltender Brad Moore shut Bethel down. Neither team could get on the board in the third period and Bethel was forced to pull Witkowski in favor of an extra attacker. Bonine took advantage of the open net and put away his second of the game and sealed the win. St. Thomas held a 42-28 shot advantage in the game.

    Saturday’s game was a more wide-open affair with the teams combining for 11 goals, 7 on the power play, and 24 penalties. The power play units were the stars of the game, as they scored on seven of the ten attempts in the game. Bethel came out and struck first again, but this time kept they kept up the attack all the way through the period. After the first period the Royals had a 3-2 lead, and all five goals were scored on man advantage situations. St. Thomas outscored Bethel 2-1 in the second period to even the game at four and set up a dramatic finish. The Tommies tried to run and hide early in the third when Mike McMahon scored a rare even strength goal at 3:17. One penalty would alter the course off the game the rest of the way. Bethel drew even when Chad Anderson scored an unassisted shorthanded goal at 8:50 during a five-minute major penalty. During the same power play, with only eight seconds left in the man advantage, Tony Lawrence stepped up and scored the game-winner to deliver the TKO. Lawrence scored his team-leading 21st goal of the year, and St. Thomas held the lead they would take until the end of the game. Moore finished with 19 saves in the game while Witkowski for Bethel had 37.

    The Step-Up

    St. John’s entered the weekend hovering in fourth place, and needed a strong showing to set themselves up for a run at the playoffs. Mission accomplished. The Johnnies had a rare home series with St. Mary’s. Usually the teams play a home and home series but the Cardinals were forced to play both games at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. The first game turned out to be a rout but started as a close checking affair. After one period the score was tied, and even the shots on goal margin close at 10-9. That’s when the road to victory turned into the highway of despair for St. Mary’s. St. John’s rattled off three goals in the second and three straight in the third before the Cardinals could finally stop the bleeding and score a feel-good goal to make the final score 7-2. Six different players scored for St. John’s during the barrage, and all but one were even strength goals. St. Mary’s even tried two different goalies in the game, as Dan Byron went the first 40 minutes and Eric Richardson came in to douse the flames, but neither provided relief for the inferno. Rick Gregory made 31 routine saves to collect his fifth straight victory.

    The second game figured to be more of the same. St. John’s was scrapping for position in the playoffs and St. Mary’s hadn’t won since they started recounting ballots in Florida. The table was set for another blowout, and St. John’s to take a step closer to clinching a berth in the MIAC tournament. The outlook didn’t look any different after the first period as the Johnnies hammered the Cardinal net, and only gave up two shots on goal for the entire 20 minutes. The only problem for St. John’s was that the game was scoreless, and St. Mary’s goalie Dan Byron was starting to get his groove on. The flow of the game continued through the second period with plenty of shots but no goals. The third period came and went and, except for a 41 second window, the game would have been over at 0-0 rather than 1-1. Brian Fisher scored at 12:26 for St. John’s, and the rout was about to start. However, the Johnnies promptly let up, and let Matt Hangge score the tying goal at 13:07. The game ended in the 1-1 draw, and St. John’s had secured three points and a one-point lead for third place in the standings.

    The Revenge Factor

    The saying goes that revenge is a dish best served cold. If that is the case, then Augsburg needed an extra layer of blankets to serve their helping to St. Olaf on Saturday night. Augsburg, like St. John’s, was tied for fourth place and on a four-game win streak. They had the hottest goalie in the league in Ryan McIntosh, and were primed to take a run at the top three spots in the league. They forgot about one thing, St. Olaf. The Oles welcomed Augsburg to “The Structure,” hung five goals on the Auggies playoff hopes, and walked away with a 5-4 win. The five goals given up by Augsburg are the most any MIAC team has scored on McIntosh all year. The game was close throughout as St. Olaf held a 1-0 edge after one, 3-1 after two and 5-4 at the final horn. Augsburg held a decided edge in shots at 42-28 but couldn’t come up with the timely goal. Jeff Simison had two goals in the second period to give St. Olaf a two-goal margin, but it took the solid goaltending of Jake Bullard to hold off the Auggies in the end.

    The bus ride from St. Olaf to Augsburg takes 40 minutes, but the ride on Friday night must have seemed like the red-eye from LA. Using the pent-up aggression from the ride home, Augsburg scored two goals before the game was two minutes old. The rest of the game would be played in the Ole end of the rink, as Augsburg out shot St. Olaf 50-21 and outscored them 10-0. Augsburg scored five first-period goals, and was 4-for-7 on the power play for the game. Four players for the Auggies scored two goals with Nick Murray finishing as high-point man with two goals and three assists. Ryan McIntosh stopped all 21 shots and recorded his first shutout of the season.

    The dish had been served and the favor returned, as St. Olaf faced the same ride home on Saturday night that Augsburg encountered on Friday.

    The Surprise

    Gustavus entered the series against Hamline coming off a huge win over then league-leading Concordia. They had a steady goaltender and a renewed spirit to attack on offense. Hamline was fulfilling their role as bottom-of-the-league tenants and were riding an eight-game losing streak. The Pipers had not won a game in the year 2001. Gustavus still had a long shot at making the playoffs. Hamline was playing out the year and looking towards the baseball season. This was one of the easiest series to handicap all year. Unfortunately, no one told Hamline they weren’t supposed to win. The Pipers finally received a steady hand in goal from two different players and scored key goals down the stretch to shock Gustavus not once, but twice.

    On Friday, Hamline led for all but 53 seconds in the game and won their second overtime game of the season 4-2. They are now a perfect 2-0 in games that go to sudden death. Hamline hung around in the first period and didn’t let Gustavus bolt from the gate and win the game right away. This proved to be a huge momentum builder for the Pipers, and at 12:50 Donovan Meade scored on the power play to give Hamline even more confidence. Sam Johnson scored for the Gusties just before the break to tie the game at 1-1, but Hamline responded in the second period by scoring first at 5:17 when Jason Fleming scored to make it 2-1. Gustavus countered and the score was tied at two after two. Gustavus came out in the third and tried to shed the pesky Pipers by scoring a goal at the four-minute mark to take their only lead of the game. Hamline regrouped, and tied the game 53 seconds later on a goal by Perry Smiley. The teams skated for 16 more tapioca-like minutes in the third period and overtime, and the game took on all the trappings of a tie. Hamline finally received the break they had been looking for since before Christmas when B.J. Anderson beat Gustie goalie Dan Melde for the win. Andy Gross picked up the win in net for Hamline as he turned away 36 shots.

    In the series ending game on Saturday, Hamline used their newfound luck to cash in on three unanswered goals in the second and third periods, and win 4-2. The game winner turned out to be an unassisted shorthanded beauty by Brice Parks. Once again the Pipers stayed close at the beginning of the game and gained momentum as the game wore on. Blade Metzer score two goals in the game and Hamline received a second straight solid outing in goal from sophomore goalie Robert Fuchs. Fuchs made several key saves in the second and third periods and ended the game with 31 saves.

    MIAC Player of the Week

    University of St. Thomas sophomore goalkeeper Brad Moore helped the Tommies win the MIAC championship with a hard-fought weekend sweep of Bethel. Moore stopped 27 of 28 shots in Friday’s 3-1 road victory that wasn’t settled until the Toms scored an empty-net goal with 30 seconds to go. In Saturday’s 6-5 win, he stopped 19 of 24 shots, although Bethel scored three power-play goals and a breakaway short-handed goal. In the Toms’ current nine-game winning streak, all MIAC victories, Moore is 9-0 with a 2.31 GAA and a.900 save percentage. The sweep of Bethel also let the Toms reach the MIAC playoffs for the 16th time in the 16-year history of the format and clinched their 19th consecutive winning season. They are 14-8-3 overall and finished the conference regular season 11-3-2.

    Series of the Week

    Bethel vs. Augsburg

    For the second straight week Bethel will play in the marquee match up. Last week it was for the conference title with St. Thomas, this week it is for a spot in the MIAC playoffs. Both teams are tied for fourth place with identical 8-5-1 league records. The Royals could go from second place to playoff outsiders in a matter of two weeks. Augsburg is coming off a split with St. Olaf, and is trying to find consistency in their defense. They could finish as high as second or could also be on the bench in the postseason. If both Concordia and St. John’s sweep their series this weekend then whoever wins this series claims the final playoff berth. If they split, then total goals will determine the teams’ fate.

    This Week In The ECAC: Feb. 15, 2001

    By Jayson Moy/Becky Blaeser
    -

    We have a headache. If it wasn’t tight before last weekend, it sure is tight now in the ECAC. Just take a look at the standings (you can use points now, since all the games in hand are evened out).

     1  SLU  23
     2T CKN  20
     2T COR  20
     4  HAR  19
     5  DAR  18
     6T RPI  16
     6T UVM  16
     8T PRI  14
     8T YAL  14
    10T COL  13
    10T UNI  13
    12  BRN   6

    Pass the medication, please.

    The Baton Passes

    The St. Lawrence Saints took the mantle this week as the top team in the ECAC. A weekend sweep of Rensselaer and Union coupled with two losses by Cornell gave the Saints a three-point lead with six games to play. Can the Saints hold it?

    “It’s where you want to be, obviously,” said coach Joe Marsh. “Anytime you don’t need help from anybody, it’s great.

    “It’s better than not being there, I guess.”

    While the spotlight may be on Erik Anderson, Al Fyfe, Mike Gellard and Russ Bartlett, this Saint team has an intangible that may be tough to beat over the last three weeks.

    “There is experience on this team,” said Marsh. “There’s a lot of players that have had a lot of experience, even guys that don’t have a lot of numbers. You take the Muirs, Marchettis, O’Briens, all those kids played in a lot of playoff games last year and I think that helps us on the bench. You can put other people out there.

    “We go heavily to Anderson’s line but there are other people contributing a lot. As a team we need to have a lot of guys stepping up and to give us a sense of composure on the bench. Having played in the playoffs and done well, there’s no sense of panic.”

    This weekend was a perfect example as Blair Clarance scored the overtime winner against Rensselaer and Charlie Daniels put in two against Union.

    The Saints have a team that has been there and that’s something you can’t put in a stat book.

    Crimson Spiral

    Two weeks ago, the rest of the league was looking up at Harvard. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, 11 teams are now looking the Crimson straight in the eye. Following two straight losses in which Harvard surrendered a combined 15 goals and showed defensive susceptibility, the team has dropped to fourth place and is fighting for its playoff life.

    The severity of the team’s current four-game losing has not been lost on the Crimson coaching staff. Injuries have rattled the team and exposed a fragile skeleton of a program that is in the midst of a rebuilding process. And with Clarkson and St. Lawrence entering the Bright Center doors this weekend, the prognosis does not look good.

    “By the third period, we were down to four D and three lines. That was all we had healthy on the bench — that was it,” said Harvard head coach Mark Mazzoleni, referring to his team’s 8-7 loss to Northeastern in Monday night’s Beanpot consolation game. “We’ll have to evaluate that moving forward. Now I don’t like to trap, but maybe I’ll have to trap this weekend and not waste a lot of energy in the offensive zone and neutral zone based on the fact that we don’t have a lot of bodies. We have Clarkson and St. Lawrence coming in. We’re in fourth, one point behind Cornell and Clarkson. Four points out of first, but three points from seventh.”

    Injuries are always a determining variable in college sports — no team is immune. The Crimson is simply feeling the pangs a bit more acutely than others. Playing with a limited roster to begin with, Harvard has seen its ranks become thinner and thinner. During the Monday debacle in which Northeastern stormed back from a 6-3 deficit to win, Harvard was without the services of Brett Nowak, David McCulloch and Rob Fried. Kyle Clark had left the team earlier that week, only to be replaced by a young junior varsity player, while Tim Pettit was hit and did not play after midway through the contest.

    The result has been a sudden influx of defensive breakdowns. Senior Oliver Jonas, who was playing some the best hockey of his career earlier this season, has been bombarded in recent games, which will no doubt begin to wear away at his confidence. The aggressive forecheck that propelled Harvard to first place in the league has been neutralized by opponents, because they have been able to control play deep in the defensive zone and force the Crimson defenders back on their heels. The offensive creativity of the young forwards has been stifled by the lack of momentum generated in the neutral zone. The once invincible penalty kill is slowly breaking down because players aren’t being marked as tightly in the low slot.

    So when people glance at the Crimson’s record and wonder how a team that had been so solid for so long can all of a sudden look sorely outmatched against Boston College, and give up seven goals to Dartmouth and eight more to Northeastern … well, there’s your answer. “We have young kids who for the majority are playing well, but they have a tendency right now to when they get down, they try to do too much,” said Mazzoleni. “They put it on their shoulders and they forget about playing and moving the puck, beating your man off the puck and just trying to carry it. You got to learn from that. That is part of the maturation process. They’re bright kids, as we all know to get into that school. They’re good hockey players. We’ve made progress and we’ll be better for it.”

    Although the team still has a long way to go this season, Mazzoleni realizes that this program will not reach its potential this year. Sitting before a handful of media members following the Beanpot consolation loss, the second-year coach was candid about his program — where they are now and where they will be in the future.

    “We have to continue to recruit well. Those of you who know this team will say that our freshman class is excellent and I think that the freshman class we have coming is very, very good right now,” explained Mazzoleni. “You’ll see next year, we’ll play 17 freshmen and sophomores. That’s part of the transition in a program.

    “I say that in a city where I know there is a real respect for guys like Jerry York. Remember when he came to BC, it didn’t turn overnight. I was in the CCHA when Red Berenson came, and it took until his fourth year until he had a winning season. It doesn’t happen right away. Harvard has not had a winning program in five years. It doesn’t turn overnight. You have to change not only at times personnel but attitude. Right now we need more of a competitive attitude — to find those players.

    “Luckily for me, I got a five-year deal when I came here. They know where I’m at. [Harvard Athletic Director] Billy Cleary knows full well where we’re at right now.”

    Bouncing Back

    Clarkson came back from a Friday loss to Union to defeat Rensselaer. Combining with Cornell’s results, the Golden Knights are now in a second-place tie.

    “They’re all big now,” said Clarkson coach Mark Morris after the win over Rensselaer. “We squandered two points last night [against Union] and we made this a must-win. We can’t afford to slide from here on in. We didn’t make the most of our opportunities on home ice last night and that still sticks in my mind.

    “We’re heading down to Harvard and Brown, so we’ve pretty much eliminated any slack for error and everybody’s fighting for position now and it’s important that we capitalize on our opportunities.”

    Things have turned around for the Knights, who were sitting out of a playoff spot when 2001 rolled around.

    “The staff feels like we’re capable of playing much better,” said Morris. “We’ve come to appreciate real solid defense and we think we have one of the better defensive units. With Mike Walsh’s goaltending now, we feel we have a chance.”

    Looking Up

    After the weekend sweep at the hands of St. Lawrence and Clarkson, Rensselaer is sitting in a sixth place tie with Vermont. For the third straight game, the Engineers had a lead, but lost it in the third period and wound up losing the game.

    “Going into the third period, we’re just not winning that period,” said coach Dan Fridgen. “Unfortunately in our case, losing one period has cost us two hockey games. It’s that time of year where those things happen, we just have to find a way to make it better. Right now you got some young guys playing in some key situations and at critical times and unfortunately the experience isn’t lending to good things happening. But then on the other hand we have some upperclassmen that are playing like freshmen.

    “We’ve got to play more as a team and more as a unit at critical times.”

    The Engineers will have four straight games at home to try to right the ship and knows that despite being in sixth place, there’s still time.

    “Anything can happen and no matter what happens we’ll be prepared,” said Fridgen. “Unfortunately we didn’t take care of our own destiny at this time so it’s going to matter what happens around the league, but hey, there’s six games left.”

    What A Difference A Week Makes

    Colgate was trailing the last playoff position by two points heading into last weekend, but after a sweep of Yale and Princeton, the Red Raiders are right back in it, tied for the last spot and only five points out of home ice.

    “I think the two wins on the weekend were must-wins for us,” said coach Don Vaughan. “I am very proud of the way we played, especially in two buildings that we haven’t had much success in.

    “last weekend the team got some reward for all the hard work they put in. I’m proud of this team with the way they have stuck with it. They have had several chances to throw in the towel, but this team hasn’t.”

    The Red Raiders are looking to cash in at home against Vermont and Dartmouth this weekend and plant themselves firmly in a playoff position.

    Home. For Now

    A weekend sweep by Dartmouth has them in the fifth and final home ice position. For now. The Big Green know the importance of playing at Thompson Arena. The Big Green are 9-4-0 at home, and only 2-6-2 on the road. They have six in a row at home and eight of the last nine home games they have played.

    “It’s important for us to make this place a very difficult place to play for the opposition,” said Dartmouth coach Bob Gaudet. “I felt all along that when we start drawing people — even though I’d like to have a more boisterous crowd at times — that that would make it a much better home-ice advantage. [Saturday], I thought the energy helped us to stay focused and played a good game.”

    The Big Green could be at a disadvantage, though, as they play four of the last six on the road. But wouldn’t the Big Green love to be at Thompson for the playoffs with the success they have had lately?

    Congrats To Mike and Tim

    Congratulations to Vermont head man Mike Gilligan and Yale head man Tim Taylor.

    Gilligan became the 18th coach in NCAA history to record 400 wins as his Catamounts defeated Brown 2-0 in the only action last weekend for the Cats.

    “This means a lot,” he said after the game. “I think of all the great players who have played here, and all the great games, in Boston, in Albany, in Cincinnati, and all the great assistant coaches I have had. Certainly (current Brown head coach) Roger Grillo was one of the guys who helped put this program on the map.”

    The Cats stand tied with Rensselaer in sixth place and are looking to move up in the standings and try to get a series in the great confines of the Gut.

    “I’m just hoping we can springboard off this win, do some things on the road and get home ice for the playoffs,” said Gilligan. “If we can win three of four on the road and then come home and do some things we’ll have some jump in our step for the playoffs.”

    Taylor became the all-time winningest head coach at Yale last weekend after the Bulldogs downed Cornell, 1-0, in overtime. That was his 279th win, surpassing Murray Murdoch.

    “Quite frankly, I’m just glad it’s over,” Taylor said. “It was nothing that I was thinking about or focused on.”

    The focus for Taylor will be on Union and Rensselaer this weekend.

    Next up in the coaching milestone marks is St. Lawrence head man Joe Marsh. He is two wins away from 300.

    If It’s So Easy, You Try It

    Ow. Your Iron Columnists fell, and fell hard last week. Normand Chouinard brought us down, meaning that he is back again to try to make it two in a row. Chairman Brule is not happy with us.

    The contest thus far:

    Becky and Jayson d. Vic Brzozowski – (10-2-2) – (8-5-1)
    Becky and Jayson d. Tayt Brooks – (7-7-1) – (5-9-1)
    Becky and Jayson d. Michele Kelley – (5-4-3) – (2-7-3)
    Becky and Jayson d. C.J. Poux – (9-4-2) – (6-7-2)
    Becky and Jayson d. Shawn Natole – (5-8-0) – (3-10-0)
    Becky and Jayson t. Julian Saltman – (7-4-2) – (7-4-2)
    Becky and Jayson d. Julian Saltman – (9-2-0) – (6-5-0)
    Becky and Jayson d. Steve Lombardo – (8-4-1) – (6-6-1)
    Normand Chouinard d. Becky and Jayson – (8-4-0) – (4-8-0)

    Normand Chouinard took the Iron Columnists down. This week, he has to repeat that feat, a feat which none has tried. None has gotten that far. So, Norman Chouinard, bring your skills into USCHO Stadium and try to defeat the Iron Columnists once again. Whose picks will reign supreme?

    The Picks

    Friday, February 16

    Clarkson at Harvard
    Normand’s Pick – Clarkson 4, Harvard 2
    Becky and Jayson – Clarkson 5, Harvard 3

    St. Lawrence at Brown
    Normand’s Pick – St. Lawrence 4, Brown 2
    Becky and Jayson – St. Lawrence 5, Brown 1

    Yale at Union
    Normand’s Pick – Yale 3, Union 2
    Becky and Jayson – Union 3, Yale 1

    Princeton at Rensselaer
    Normand’s Pick – Rensselaer 5, Princeton 3
    Becky and Jayson – Princeton 5, Rensselaer 4

    Dartmouth at Cornell
    Normand’s Pick – Dartmouth 3, Cornell 2
    Becky and Jayson – Cornell 2, Dartmouth 0

    Vermont at Colgate
    Normand’s Pick – Colgate 4, Vermont 2
    Becky and Jayson – Colgate 5, Vermont 3

    Saturday, February 17

    Clarkson at Brown
    Normand’s Pick – Clarkson 4, Brown 1
    Becky and Jayson – Clarkson 6, Brown 4

    St. Lawrence at Harvard
    Normand’s Pick – St. Lawrence 6, Harvard 5
    Becky and Jayson – St. Lawrence 4, Harvard 1

    Yale at Rensselaer
    Normand’s Pick – Yale 3, Rensselaer 2
    Becky and Jayson – Rensselaer 5, Yale 1

    Princeton at Union
    Normand’s Pick – Union 5, Princeton 4
    Becky and Jayson – Union 6, Princeton 5

    Dartmouth at Colgate
    Normand’s Pick – Colgate 5, Dartmouth 4
    Becky and Jayson – Dartmouth 4, Colgate 2

    Vermont at Cornell
    Normand’s Pick – Cornell 2, Vermont 1
    Becky and Jayson – Vermont 3, Cornell 1

    And remember that if you are interested in putting your money where your mouth is, drop us an email to be eligible to be chosen when Normand bites the dust.

    Thanks to David Sherzer and Dan Fleschner for their contributions this week

    SUNYAC Newsletter: Feb. 14, 2001

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    Plattsburgh Grabs Yet Another Regular-Season Title; Oswego Wins Battle For Second

    The Plattsburgh Cardinals took matters into their own hands by defeating Cortland, Oswego, and Potsdam to win the regular-season title. Oswego and Potsdam fought a marvelous battle for second as they swapped positions three times down the stretch, with Oswego finally taking the spot.

    The remaining playoff positioning shook out with Fredonia taking fourth thanks to three wins; Geneseo almost stumbled, but wound up fifth; and Cortland dropped to sixth due to three losses in their last three games. The second season begins this weekend.

    Team By Team Report

    PLATTSBURGH (Ranked No. 4) — The Cardinals ran the table the final week of the season, and in the process won their third consecutive league title. Against Cortland State, Plattsburgh State jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and though Cortland tried to make a game of it, the result was never really in doubt as Plattsburgh won, 6-3. Peter Ollari and Derrick Shaw scored twice. Mark Cole and Mark Coletta also scored. Niklas Sundberg made 32 saves. The Cardinals then played a tough defensive contest against Oswego State that Plattsburgh broke open with a shorthanded goal by Rob Retter midway through the third en route to a 5-2 win. Guy Come, Jason Kilcan, Joe Dolci, and Brent Armstrong got the other goals. Sundberg made 36 saves. Sundberg helped to wrap up the season by shutting out Potsdam State, 5-0, with 31 saves. Shaw got a pair, and Dolci, Kilcan, and Brendon Hodge scored. Plattsburgh’s reward for finishing in first place is a week and a half rest before hosting the semifinal round.

    OSWEGO (Ranked No. 9) — Third. Second. Third. Second. Oswego State finally won the see-saw battle for second place and the last bye position. Entering the week in third place, the Great Lakers jumped into second by beating Potsdam State, 5-1, with a four goal third period outburst. Nate Elliott scored twice, and Joe Pecoraro, Matt Vashaw, and Craig Bland got single tallies. Tyson Gajda made 39 saves. Then, Oswego lost to Plattsburgh State, 5-2, dropping them back into third place. Down 2-0, Brian St. John and Mike Lukajic tied the game, only for the Lakers to let up a shorthanded goal and eventually lose the game. However, Oswego won their final game of the season over Cortland State, 5-1, and found themselves back in second place. Vashaw and Pecoraro got a pair. John Hirliman also scored. Joe Lofberg got the call and made 23 saves. Oswego has this week off to prepare to host the semifinal round.

    POTSDAM — The Bears let too many opportunities slip by during the season, and losing twice to Oswego State sealed their fate for a third place finish. In the Oswego game, Kevin Shaver gave Potsdam State a 1-0 lead, but that was all she wrote as Potsdam lost, 5-1. The Bears briefly moved back into second with a 5-3 win over Cortland State. Anthony Greer, Joe Munn, Erick Curtis, Sean Darke, and Chris Lee all scored. Venturelli, who the night before lost his first SUNYAC game, came back to win with 25 saves. The Bears couldn’t hold onto second spot as they were shutout by Plattsburgh State, 5-0. The killer was giving up two shorthanded goals on the same power play. Potsdam will now have to play this weekend, at home, against Cortland State in the play-in round.

    FREDONIA — The Blue Devils sealed fourth place and home ice in the first round by beating the team they will face again this weekend, Geneseo State, 4-1. After letting up the first goal, Dan Showalter, Christian Fletcher, B.J. Bouschor, and Geoff Strack scored. Will Hamele made 37 saves for the win. Fredonia State was surprised early against Brockport State, falling behind 2-0, but came back for a commanding 8-3 win. Eight different Fredonia players scored. Hamele made 30 saves. Fredonia ended the season on a winning note, beating Buffalo State, 5-2. Erik Hlavaty led the way with a pair of goals. Fredonia hosts Geneseo State this weekend in a pair of playoff games.

    GENESEO — Sometimes, you never know which Geneseo State team will show up. Geneseo dropped two games that put them on the edge for a playoff spot, but came back to win their last game and make it into the postseason. Geneseo lost to Fredonia State, 4-1, with Aaron Coleman scoring the lone goal. Geneseo got embarrassed by Buffalo State, 9-4. All three goalies saw action in an effort to stop the onslaught. Peter Boudette, Coleman, Jack Staley, and Bryan Bowser scored. Finally, Geneseo got their act together and wiped out Brockport State, 10-3. Coleman scored four goals with six other players getting single tallies. Geneseo ended up in fifth place and will travel to Fredonia for the play-in round.

    CORTLAND — Not too unexpectedly, Cortland State lost their three final games of the season as they faced the top three teams in the league. Yet, they had a large enough lead built up to still be able to make the playoffs. First, they lost to Plattsburgh State, 6-3, in a game they made close in the third period. Trevor Bauer, Brendon Hyde, and Greg Menchen scored. Then, Cortland lost to Potsdam State, 5-3. Menchen scored twice and Scott Louis got one. Finally, the Red Dragons lost to Oswego, 5-1. Menchen scored the lone goal after it was 5-0. Cortland will travel up to Potsdam for their first playoff appearance in a long, long time.

    BUFFALO STATE — So close, yet so far. The Bengals had their finest season in school history, finishing for the first time without an overall losing record at 12-12-1. However, they missed the playoffs by two points. Buffalo State kept their hopes alive with two big wins over the weekend, 8-5 against Brockport State and 9-4 against Geneseo State. The Brockport game saw Todd Nowicki get a hat trick with five other players scoring goals, and both Harley Pottratz and Nick Berti see action in net. The Geneseo game saw Nowicki score another two goals with six other players scoring. Berti made 44 saves. Buffalo State still needed help to make the playoffs, but it didn’t matter as they lost to Fredonia 5-2, despite having a 2-1 lead. Rockey Reeves and Joe Urbanik scored, and the goaltender tandem shared duties again. The Bengals season comes to an end with high hopes looking ahead to next year.

    BROCKPORT — The Golden Eagles mercifully had their season come to an end, but not before suffering some big losses. They dropped the Buffalo State game in an 8-5 shootout. Brendon Marineau scored a pair. Michael Cameron, Scott Winkler, and Nick Smyth scored. Brockport State then lost to Fredonia, 8-3, despite leading 2-0. Smyth got two, and Winkler got one. Then Brockport got pounded by Geneseo, 10-3. Cameron, Jeffrey Everhart, and Winkler scored. Brockport would like to forget about this year, and regroup for next season.

    First Round Playoff Previews

    These are first to three points series with a mini-game to immediately follow the second game, if necessary. The first two games will not have overtime.

    CORTLAND (No. 6) at POTSDAM (No. 3) — Potsdam was hoping to have a bye this week, and Cortland is in the playoffs for the first time since 1993, making this a potentially interesting matchup.

    Potsdam can shoot. Their shot totals in some games are through the roof. The problem is what you are supposed to do with those shots — put the puck in the net. In that category, they have often fallen short, taking a step backwards from last year’s productivity despite returning nearly all of their offensive stars. They rank 5th in the league in this category, and their top scorer in conference games is a defenseman, Dave Weagle (6-10–16), though overall it’s Joe Wlodarczyk (14-15–29). Defensively, Potsdam improved over last season thanks to standout freshman Ryan Venturelli. Venturelli doesn’t look spectacular, but he stops the puck, which is really all that matters. Overall, Potsdam ranks 3rd in the league in goals allowed and penalty killing and 15th nationally in both categories.

    Cortland won the games they should have won and lost the games they should have lost, with a few surprises thrown in there. Special teams is not their forte, ranking last in penalty killing and next to last on the power play. Their offense and defense ranks pretty much where they ended up in the standings. In other words, nothing stands out for Cortland, but they can be a dangerous team not to be overlooked. Greg Menchen sits 10th in the league in overall scoring (17-14–31), and if any one of the goaltending tandem of John Larnerd and Mark Paine are on top of their game, they can beat you singlehandedly.

    Potsdam defeated Cortland all three times this year, 5-3, 6-2, and 5-3. Can they do it five times? They should as long as they do not look past this weekend. But, here’s one interesting stat to consider. The third period is when Cortland scores more goals than any other period. It’s also when Potsdam lets up the most goals of any period.

    GENESEO (No. 5) at FREDONIA (No. 4) — This is a classic Jekyl and Hyde series. Which Geneseo team will show up? The one that beat Oswego and tied Potsdam, or the one that got blown out by Buffalo State and Hobart? And which Fredonia team will show up? The one that tied Potsdam and beat Oswego, or the one that lost to Buffalo State and tied Cortland? Also, it might appear that Geneseo actually has an advantage playing at Fredonia as the Ice Knights do much better on the road (9-4-2) than at home (3-7-0).

    Fredonia depends on defense. They have allowed just 62 goals this year, second in the league, and 32 goals within conference play, tied for first with Plattsburgh. Their defense ranks tenth nationally. It all starts with Will Hamele who led the league in conference GAA (1.92) and save percentage (.941). They are going to have to rely on defense, because offensively, Fredonia rates near the bottom of the league, overall only outscoring Brockport. Their top scorer, Dave Mugavero, is 13-10–23 overall, which is good for 22nd spot.

    Geneseo’s offense is very easy to analyze. It consists of one line — Aaron Coleman, Jack Staley, and David Bagley, who are the top three scorers in the SUNYAC. Nationally, they rank 4th, 7th, and 12th, respectively. Coleman is also tops in the league in power-play goals and scoring as well as 5th nationally. The good news is that Geneseo is capable of winning just on this one line. The bad news is that if the opposition stops this line, Geneseo is in big trouble. Then, they will have to rely on Kevin Koury, who has never really gotten his due in goal. Following on the heels of All-American Mark Breeden was a tough task, and with a poor defense last year inflating his GAA, Koury was often overlooked. However, he stacks up with the best of them, and can win a game for the Ice Knights if necessary.

    Last year, Geneseo stunned Fredonia in the first round when this was a 6th place vs. 3rd place matchup. This season, Fredonia beat Geneseo twice, 5-2 and 4-1. Last year could repeat itself if Fredonia slips against the top Geneseo line and Koury holds off the anemic Fredonia offense. However, don’t expect that to happen. Fredonia will remember last year, pay attention to Coleman et al. and sweep the series.

    ECAC West Newsletter: Feb. 14, 2001

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    Manhattanville Downs Elmira

    The Manhattanville Valiants defeated Elmira 4-2 on Friday to take over sole possession of second place in the ECAC West. Hobart dropped a contest against Potsdam, while RIT defeated Hamilton in a non-league contest.

    League Games Overview

    ELMIRA 2 at MANHATTANVILLE 4 (2/9): Manhattanville was looking to do something they haven’t been able to do as a young team, get game over game consistency. The Valiants played RIT tough on February 3, losing a tight 3-2 contest. Could they play well against an equally tough Elmira team?

    The answer, it turned out, was yes.

    “RIT gave them an awful lot of confidence,” said Elmira coach Glenn Thomaris.

    The Valiants opened the scoring just 1:24 in to the contest on a goal by Aaron Gauthier. But it was Elmira that controlled most of the first period. Jay Zanleoni tied the game for Elmira at the 7:03 mark. And Steve Kaye notched a shorthanded goal 15:39 in to the first period to give Elmira the 2-1 lead.

    “We got caught with our pants down a little bit,” said Thomaris. “We didn’t expect it to be as tough as it was. They were a little bit hungrier than we were.”

    It was a very physical game, with 29 penalties assessed between the two teams, but Elmira went 0-for-10 on the power play, including two 5-on-3 advantages, and that was the deciding factor.

    “We did a great job 5-on-5, but we did an even better job on the penalty kill,” said Manhattanville coach Keith Levinthal.

    The unlikely star of the night for the Valiants emerged in the second period. Sophomore Vincent Reilly, who didn’t even dress for the first half of the season, scored at the 6:50 mark to tie the game 2-2. This was Reilly’s first goal of the season, in only his sixth game.

    “He plays hard and has a lot of heart,” said Levinthal. “We had sat Reilly out early in the season to go with some of our more skilled freshman. But we found that we were lacking those hard-working, big heart players that every team needs. Reilly is one of those kids who doesn’t get on the scoreboard every night, but is great to have out there for the other things that he brings to the game.”

    And Reilly wasn’t done with his heroics. He notched his second tally of the game, and the season, unassisted, at the 18:04 mark of the third period to give Manhattanville the late 3-2 lead. Dave Schmalenberg chipped in a late Valiant goal with only 24 seconds remaining to seal the 4-2 upset win.

    Both goaltenders had strong nights. Jon Peczka for Manhattanville stopped 43 of 45 shots, while Rob Ligas of Elmira stopped 35 of 39 shots.

    “All of the starting goaltenders around the league are just so strong this season. Ligas played great for Elmira. Peczka made some great saves for us in this game, particularly on the penalty kill,” said Levinthal.

    Team-By-Team Report

    RIT (ranked No. 1): The Tigers toyed with Hamilton for parts of their contest, but by early in the third period, RIT had taken control of the game on way to an 8-3 victory. Derek Hahn lit up the scoreboard with two goals and four assists for a six point night. Mike Bournazakis wasn’t far behind, chipping in two goals and three assists for a not-so-shabby five point night of his own. The Tiger power play also seemed to get back on track, somewhat, going 3-for-6 on the night. The power play unit seemed to have gotten derailed from its blistering .500 pace over the last several games. But with the game against Hamilton included, the Tiger man-advantage unit is still clicking along at an astronomical .422 pace.

    RIT’s closes out its regular season schedule this week, hosting longtime rival Elmira on Saturday.

    ELMIRA (ranked No. 7): The much talked about “Rematch at the Ritter” is on Elmira’s mind this week. The Soaring Eagles will be looking to avenge the OT loss that RIT handed them three weeks ago at the Thunderdomes. And Elmira will also be looking to keep its slender NCAA hopes alive when it travels to RIT for Saturday’s contest.

    MANHANTTANVILLE: The Valiants hit the ‘Wow’ factor in only their second season in the ECAC West. While Manhattanville had played tough in some games, the win over Elmira has served notice that the Valiants’ players and coaches fully intend to challenge for league supremacy in the very near future.

    The Valiants have added a game to their schedule this week, in order to make up for Western New England College canceling a game on them early last fall. Manhattanville will take on Neumann, their third meeting this season, on Wednesday. The Valiants have won the other two contests by wide margins, 7-0 on Nov. 12 and 8-0 on Dec 3.

    “After WNEC cancelled, we wanted to get our guys a 25th game, and Neumann was good enough to help us out,” said Levinthal.

    HOBART: Hobart dropped its only contest of the week to Potsdam by a 5-2 score. Potsdam scored two quick goals early in the first period and used the momentum to take ownership of the territorial advantage. Statesmen Sean Elliott got Hobart on the board with only one second left in the first period to pull the team back to only a 2-1 deficit. The second stanza was much like the first. Potsdam rattled off two goals, while Hobart’s Zach Mundy notched a 5-on-3 power-play tally.

    The difference this time was that Potsdam added a late period goal to make the score 5-2. Tony Rodgriguez came in relief as Hobart’s netminder for the third period, and the Statesmen were able to finally turn off the Potsdam scoring spigot. Rodriguez stopped all 17 shots that he faced.

    Hobart is idle this week. Next up for the Statesmen the week of the 19th are two ECAC West contests to finish off their schedule.

    Game Of The Week

    Well, with only one league game on tap this week, I guess the choice this week doesn’t require more than about six brain cells (luckily for me).

    Elmira heads up to Ritter Arena to take on RIT on Saturday. This is do-or-die for the Soaring Eagles. They absolutely must defeat RIT if they want to keep even a remote chance of an NCAA bid alive. A tie or a win by RIT pretty much assures the Tigers of the Pool B NCAA slot.

    Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead

    By
    -

    Boston University fans had taken to calling it the BU Invitational. At the start of the game, they unfurled a banner proclaiming:

    Welcome to the Terrier Classic

    Another sign even invoked the deity:

    God’s On Our Side. Go B.U.

    For Terrier opponents, it may well have seemed as if God has been wearing the scarlet-and-white on the first two Mondays in February. BU entered the evening with an unprecedented six consecutive titles and nine in the last 11 years.

    Any game against Boston College, Northeastern or Harvard would include BU fans chanting a taunt that had no answer: “Where’s your Beanpot?”

    No opponent has felt the sting of BU’s Beanpot dominance more than its archrival at the other end of Commonwealth Avenue. The last time that Boston College defeated the Terriers in the ‘Pot was a semifinal game in 1981. The last time it happened in the championship game was 1976. As USCHO colleague Scott Weighart pointed out, not one BU or BC player was alive for that event.

    That’s what makes it so special, that … that hate between the two schools.

    — BU captain Carl Corazzini, acknowledging the core of the BU-BC rivalry

    Yet despite the dominance, BU was the team the BC players hoped to face in the finals this year once the we-don’t-care politically correct answers were dispensed with.

    “If the hockey gods are willing, we’ll meet them in the finals,” said BC senior Bobby Allen a week and a half earlier at the Beanpot Luncheon. “The three [regular season] games you really want to play are the BU games. It’s a battle every time you play against those guys.

    “There’s a lot of dislike between the two teams, but we really respect each other.”

    Two minutes earlier Allen had been “fraternizing with the enemy” as he chatted with Terrier forward Nick Gillis, with whom he’d played at Cushing Academy. The two had even gone to a Beanpot game together.

    “I grew up playing with him my whole life and now he’s on the other side of Comm. Ave and I’m on the nicer side,” said Allen with a laugh. “A lot of us have grown up together playing. So it’s a tremendous battle when we play those guys.

    “We could play BU out on a backyard pond somewhere and it would still be a battle and it would still be nice to beat them.”

    BU captain Carl Corazzini agreed from the other side of the fence.

    “We’ve grown up playing with those kids,” he said, “and fought for scholarships at either one of the schools and decided on one or the other. That’s what makes it so special, that…”

    Corazzini paused, unable to come up with a diplomatic word instead of the one that instinctively came to his lips. Finally, he gave up.

    “…that hate between the two schools.”

    He laughed.

    “I didn’t want to say it, but I guess I have to.”

    Although the Eagles would have taken anyone in the title game, another edition of the Battle for Comm. Ave under the Beanpot spotlight would be even better. If an end to the BU title stranglehold could be achieved, it would make the championship all the sweeter.

    “Oh yeah, it would,” said Allen. “I’m not going to lie. It’d be nice to get them in the title game and have some success against them.”

    Why, then, had success been so hard to come by against BU? Had God flipped a coin and it come up Terriers?

    More likely, it had to do with dominant talent and dominant goaltending.

    During BU’s 9-of-11 Beanpot streak, it qualified for the NCAA tournament 10-of-11 years, including a stretch of seven Frozen Fours in eight years and one national championship. And when the team itself wasn’t dominant, its goaltending invariably was.

    Of the all-time leaders in Beanpot save percentage (minimum two tournaments), the top three are all Terriers, as are five of the top six: Michel Larocque (.950, 1997-99), Dan Brady (.942, 1971-72), Jim McCann (.940, 1967-68), Northeastern’s Marc Robitaille (.929, 1997-98), Tom Noble (.923, 1995-98) and Ed Walsh (.916, 1973-74).

    The Eberly Award, given annually to the netminder with the highest save percentage who played in both games, went to BU goaltenders in 7-of-11 of the past Beanpots. And in two of the non-Eberly years, 1997 and 1998, Larocque and Noble each played one game, thereby removing them from consideration.

    In particular, BU goaltenders the last two years made the difference against teams more talented than the Terriers. Larocque in 1999 and Ricky DiPietro in 2000 became the only BU netminders to simultaneously win the Eberly and also be named tournament Most Valuable Player.

    “The most frustrating one was [two years] ago when I thought we were way better,” said BC coach Jerry York. “Larocque just stole it from us.”

    Indeed he did. With BC headed to the Frozen Four and BU spiraling down to a 14-20-3 mark and the only NCAA non-appearance in the last 11 years, Larocque sparkled in a 3-2 overtime win over BC in the semifinal as well as a 4-2 victory over Northeastern in the final.

    Last year, with BU very talented, but BC just a little bit more, DiPietro was again the difference, posting statistics bordering on the absurd: a 0.50 GAA and a .981 save percentage.

    This time, with second-ranked Boston College head and shoulders above the rest of all the other Eastern teams, Jason Tapp would be on the spot to fill the shoes of DiPietro, Larocque and the many others who preceded them. Tapp had struggled as the season opened, but had rebounded to play very well of late.

    Unfortunately for the Terriers, he turned in perhaps his worst game of the year. He was too deep in his crease on BC’s first goal at 9:33 of the first, susceptible for what might have been a deflection off a BU defender.

    On the second four minutes later, he flat-out missed a low shot along the ice that luckily went wide. Krys Kolanos skated to the loose puck and was able to fight off a defender and one-hand a shot in because of Tapp’s ineffective dive across the goalmouth.

    While the two goals may have given the Eagles an extra sense of confidence after opening the game in shaky fashion, Tapp began to redeem himself in the second period. He had no chance on the goal he allowed and made a potentially tide-turning save at the 15-minute mark on a Tony Voce deflection. When the Terriers promptly scored to make it 3-2 — with Tapp making a beautiful up-ice pass for an assist, no less — it was anybody’s game.

    Sadly for Tapp, he allowed his worst goal at 2:19 in the third. Rob Scuderi’s slapshot hit Tapp in the glove, bounced up and over the netminder, hit once in the crease and slid into the net.

    Adding an exclamation point to the disappointing performance was Tapp’s staggeringly stupid penalty with 3:55 remaining and BU down, 5-3, effectively killing off the last good chance at a comeback.

    When you’re a sub-.500 club going against the number-two team in the country, you typically can’t survive three soft goals. There were plenty of other mistakes that had been made, but the string of performances by DiPietro, Larocque and company had finally caught up with the Terriers.

    “In order to win a tournament like this, you’ve got to get great goaltending,” said BU coach Jack Parker after the loss. “In order to upset anybody anytime you’ve got to get great goaltending.

    “I felt kind of bad for Jason. He certainly didn’t have his best game tonight for us and for himself. He was jumpy and it bounced off him a couple times and caused us some problems.

    “But he also came and made some big saves and got us back into the game in the second period. He still made some great saves, but I’m sure he’s not very happy with his performance. I’m sure he’d like to have a couple of them back.

    “But he’s a competitor. He’ll come back next weekend and play well. He’s had a great run for us. One of the reasons why we’ve done well in the middle of the season is he’s played so well for us.”

    Ding, dong, the witch is dead. Someone had finally toppled BU. BC had finally gotten the Beanpot monkey off its back.

    “Our neighbors in Watertown think this is bigger than the national tournament,” said York with a smile.

    “It feels really good. I won it as a player back in ’65. It’s been a while. …

    “The champion goes down hard. It was a difficult task for us. … They don’t give you that trophy. You have to earn it.”

    For Allen, the kid from Hull, Mass., who’d had to hear about the Beanpot during the offseason from his boyhood friends turned rivals, it was a great moment.

    “It feels real good,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of words I can use to describe it. It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid.”

    Parker was gracious to a fault. For all that opponents might have viewed the Terriers as the wicked witch of the Beanpot, he didn’t go down screaming, “I’m melting! I’m melting!”

    “I think it was good for the Beanpot to have another champion,” he said. “I didn’t want it to happen, believe me, but I think people were getting tired of us doing this. It’s more exciting to have a few different clubs to win this thing.

    “I think it makes it a little easier to lose to a team that’s as good as BC is this year. It wasn’t as if we let something slip away. We played pretty hard tonight.

    “We played arguably the best team in the nation, certainly in the top two or three teams in the nation right now and far and away the best team in our league and a team that will be vying for the national championship at the end of the year.

    “So it’s not as if we fell down to a team that’s not a real good club. If you lose and you’re going to have your championship taken away, you want to have it taken away by a good champion and certainly Boston College is that.

    “We haven’t lost a Beanpot final to BC in a quarter of a century, so I guess you could say they were due. And they came with a good team to be due with. It wasn’t fate. It was the great players on the BC roster.”

    And so, perhaps a new streak of Beanpot dominance is about to begin, this time with Boston College the team to beat. Or maybe not.

    “I don’t think [winning six straight] will happen again, that’s for sure, by us or by anybody else,” said Parker.

    Just in case, the BC fans hadn’t wasted any time after the final buzzer in dusting off their newest cheer. With a sign that now proclaimed that God was on BC‘s side, their chant echoed from the Eagle end of the FleetCenter.

    “Where’s your Beanpot?”

    Beanpot Championship Notebook

    By
    -

    BC goaltender Scott Clemmensen has never been thought of at the Heights as anything but spectacular. The senior netminder already holds the all-time BC record for shutouts and has guided the Eagles to three consecutive NCAA Frozen Four appearances.

    CLEMMENSEN

    CLEMMENSEN

    But this is the Beanpot, and without bringing the Pot back to Chestnut Hill, it’s been hard for Clemmensen to get his due.

    With the title coming back to Boston College for the first time since 1994, Eagles fans are rejoicing and Clemmensen is receiving high praise.

    “It’s definitely one of the fond memories for my career,” said Clemmensen after the battle was done. “As a senior, this was [my] last shot at [the Beanpot] so it was definitely important to get this one under my belt.”

    The partisan BC fans that lined the glass and remained in the balcony after the game began chants of “Scotty, Scotty” as Clemmensen was presented with the Eberly Award for the best save percentage in the tournament.

    “We’ve had a lot of fond memories in this building and also a lot of heartaches,” Clemmensen said. “I’m just glad tonight’s memory is fond.”

    Who’s Cheering Now?

    No Beanpot game, especially one between the most hated of rivals like BC and BU, would be without plenty of chants traded between respective student sections. Monday’s final was no exception.

    Most of the comments, of course, have to be held for vulgarity, but BC did have a decent comeback to one cheer from the BU faithful.

    “Where’s your Beanpot?” came from the scarlet and white fans, referring to BU’s six straight titles.

    That cheer was great while the game was still deadlocked at zero. Once BC got the lead, BU ended its retort.

    And as the players lined up for the trophy presentation, as if on cue, the BC faithful sang, “Where’s your Beanpot?”

    Just revenge.

    Kolanos is One-Hit Wonder

    When Tournament Director Steve Nazro called out Krys Kolanos as the winner of the Beanpot MVP award, more than a few in the building might have been shocked.

    Kolanos himself was one of them.

    KOLANOS

    KOLANOS

    “It didn’t really hit home,” said Kolanos, who only played in Monday’s championship game after being sidelined a week ago with a shoulder injury. “I only played in the one game, but I guess this was the big game.”

    Kolanos may not have seemed spectacular, looking at the scoresheet; he registered two points on the night — a goal and a assist that pushed BC to a 3-0 lead. But for those who watched closely, Kolanos’ drive and determination for the puck earned the sophomore plenty of offensive chances, with only BU netminder Jason Tapp holding Kolanos off the board further.

    “I think the fire in me after losing in the final game last year [to BU] made me just want to be out there,” Kolanos added. “I wanted to be out there last week but I had to be patient and wait for the x-ray.”

    Certainly Kolanos can kiss the doctor who gave him clearance to play.

    Dissecting The Streak

    BC’s victory ended one of the most heralded runs by any team in the 49-year history of the Beanpot. That the Boston University Terriers had won six straight Beanpots is nothing the average Beanpot aficionado doesn’t know.

    But how about the numbers that go along with that?

  • BC snapped a 14-game BU winning streak in the tournament dating back to a 4-2 loss to Harvard on February 7, 1994, in the semifinals. That game, as well as the next two years contests, were played at the old Boston Garden, making Monday’s BU loss its first Beanpot defeat at the FleetCenter.
  • Three consecutive senior classes at Boston University never lost a Beanpot game.
  • You have to dig back to February 2, 1981, to find the last time that BC defeated BU in the Beanpot. That’s a streak of 12 consecutive BU wins. That win came in the semifinals, forcing one to go back to 1976 — a quarter-century ago — for the last time that BC beat BU for the championship.
  • Those two BU losses were the only two Beanpot losses for Terrier head coach Jack Parker to the Eagles. Parker had compiled a 15-2 record against BC entering Monday’s game.

    • You Couldn’t Keep The Fans Away

    It certainly didn’t hurt having a BC-BU final, but a new Beanpot attendance record was set for this year’s event. Both nights’ crowds surpassed the old single-game mark (17,565), with 17,728 witnessing last Mondays semifinals and 17,953 on hand for the conclusion. The combined total of 35,781 bettered the old mark of 35,130.

    Even Sasquatch Couldn’t Save Them

    He’s become a staple at the Beanpot through the Terriers’ recent success. And we’re not talking about Parker.

    No, we’re referring to “Sasquatch” — the overly hairy, wild, round animal who bares his chest, back and probably more than the fans need to see late in the third period of BU games. But on Monday, not even Sasquatch could save the Terriers.

    Just 72 seconds after Sasquatch got the BU faithful on their feet to cheer the Terriers’ rally, BC rookie Ben Eaves buried the insurance goal past Jason Tapp to give the Eagles a 5-3 lead.

    They Said It…

    “I guarantee that some day I’ll be up here in the winner’s chair. Luckily I got a five-year deal when I came here.” — Second-year Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni, on his team’s struggle in the Beanpot tournament. Harvard lost, 8-7, to Northeastern in Monday’s consolation game.

    “I actually went down on a knee, to make sure I didn’t get buried.” — Clemmensen, on the post-game celebration. The Eagles’ bench swarmed the senior netminder against the boards when the buzzer sounded.

    “Our neighbors in Watertown think [the Beanpot] is more important than the national title.” — BC coach Jerry York, describing the importance of the Beanpot to the local fans and more importantly, BC alumni.

    “It makes it a little bit easier to lose [the championship streak] to Boston College. They’re arguably the best team in the nation, so it’s not like we gave it away.” — Parker, on the end of the six-year winning Beanpot winning streak.

    “You never realize how hard it is to win the Beanpot until you actually do it.” — Clemmensen, on beating BU.

    Taylor Tops All-Time Yale Win List

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Slumping Yale finally gave coach Tim Taylor a new school record for wins, but not before waiting just a bit longer.

    Taylor

    Taylor

    Poor ice conditions at Yale’s home rink forced the game Saturday night against Cornell to be moved at the last minute to nearby New Haven Coliseum. Once the game started, the teams waited through a shattered pane of Plexiglas that needed to be replaced.

    As fate would have it, the game would stretch into overtime before Yale’s power-play goal gave it a 1-0 win over the Big Red. The win was the 279th for Taylor in his 22-plus seasons behind the bench, all at Yale. With it, he surpassed the legendary Murray Murdoch on the school’s all-time wins list.

    Taylor’s record is now 279-332-47 (.460), including 11-12-0 this season (7-9-0 ECAC). The Bulldogs had lost their last four games since defeating Notre Dame on Jan. 27.

    Nick Deschenes scored the game winner, 2:14 into overtime. There had only been one minor penalty to each team the entire game, until Cornell’s fateful penalty in the OT. The power-play game winner came against the league’s top-ranked penalty kill.

    Taylor was an assistant for the U.S. World Junior team, supporting head coach and former Yale goalie Keith Allain. Taylor has been very active in USA Hockey programs, and was head coach for the 1994 U.S. Olympic team in Lillehammer, Norway.

    In 1998, Yale finished with its lone regular-season ECAC Championship, and first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament.

    MSU Cuts Jackson from Team

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Michigan State freshman center Jeremy Jackson has been dismissed from the team by head coach Ron Mason due to “accountability issues in the classroom and with the team,” according to a school news release.

    Jackson

    Jackson

    The Los Angeles native currently ranks tied for fourth on the team with 19 points in 23 games, but had scored just four points in his last 10 contests. He missed four of the Spartans’ last five games for disciplinary reasons.

    For the time being, Jackson is still attending classes at MSU.

    The 5-foot-9-inch Jackson played on the U.S. National Under-18 team, and played his Tier II junior hockey for Chilliwack of the BCJHL before coming to Michigan State. Jackson also played basketball for the high school he attended in Canada.

    Concussions End Career of UNO’s Carr

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Nebraska-Omaha senior Allan Carr, with the team from its infancy in Division I, has been forced to retire after suffering his third concussion this season. Carr made the announcement to his teammates at practice on Wednesday.

    Carr

    Carr

    Carr, 23, has anchored the top line this season with wingers David Brisson and Jeff Hoggan. He had five goals and 10 points in 12 games this year, and 25 goals and 64 points in 79 career games.

    Carr’s first concussion came in an Oct. 14 game against Boston College. The next week, he was knocked unconscious by a hit in a game with Michigan State, and didn’t return for close to a month. Then, on Jan. 13, Carr took a hit along the end boards from Bowling Green’s Louis Mass, and hasn’t played since.

    The decision, which has become more prominent in hockey in recent years, was made after Carr’s latest consultation with doctors, earlier this week. According to a report in the Omaha World-Herald Carr’s speech is still slurred, and doctors say the motor skills on his right side are reduced. Doctors expect a full recovery, but any more playing could lead to permanent damage.

    “When you have someone who loves the game and giving it all with a good group like this, it’s tough to walk away from,” Carr said to the World-Herald. “With the expectations we have this year, it’s even tougher.”

    Said UNO coach Mike Kemp, “You lose a player of his magnitude, it’s a blow to the program. It’s a sad day to see one of your real leaders end a career. He deserves a far better fate.”

    Kemp has asked Carr to remain with the program as a “player motivator.”

    “I love to come to the rink, and I want to see if I can make it more enjoyable for the guys, whether it’s talking to them, helping them out or giving them some tips,” Carr said to the World-Herald. “I want to help this team in every facet possible, except playing.”

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