Home Blog Page 1468

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

    By
    -

    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

    By
    -

    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.”

    Coaching Milestones for Gilligan, Peters

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    It took, perhaps, a month longer than expected, but Vermont’s Mike Gilligan finally became the 17th coach to reach 400 career wins on Friday, when the Catamounts defeated Brown, 2-0, at Gutterson Fieldhouse.

    The same could be said for Bemidji State coach Bob Peters, whose team won for just the second time this season. The 6-2 win over Niagara gives Peters, the team’s coach of 34 years, 700 wins at the school.

    Gilligan

    Gilligan

    Gilligan earned win No. 398 on Dec. 30, against Dartmouth, only to see his team go 1-7-2 over the next 10 games. The win moved Vermont back to .500 on the season, both overall (11-11-2) and in the ECAC (7-7-2). For his career, Gilligan is 260-234-41 (.524) at Vermont, and 400-295-44 (.571) overall.

    Gilligan, in his 17th year at Vermont, currently stands as the winningest active ECAC coach. Only three coaches in league history have recorded more wins — Len Ceglarski, Jerry York and Jack Riley.

    Gilligan began his coaching career at his alma mater, Salem State, in 1975 where he compiled a .727 winning percentage (128-48-2, 6 years), the second-best Division II winning percentage in ECAC history. Gilligan left Salem State to serve as assistant coach to Tim Taylor at Yale for two seasons, plus one season (1983-84) as interim head coach, when he compiled a 12-13-1 record. Gilligan became Vermont’s third coach in the spring of 1984.

    Vermont has reached the NCAA tournament three times under Gilligan, in 1988, 1996 and 1997. The 1996 appearance included a trip to the Frozen Four.

    Peters’ BSU teams have been powers at the Division II and III levels, and now play in the Division I conference, College Hockey America. The Beavers have suffered through a tumultuous season, and are only 2-23-2.

    Peters

    Peters

    Peters, 63, coached two seasons at North Dakota, his alma mater, before moving to Bemidji State in 1966, where he went on to win 13 National Championships at various levels. In NCAA history, only Michigan State’s Ron Mason has more than Peters’ 742 overall wins.

    Peters also holds college hockey records for most wins in an undefeated season (31-0, 1984), and the longest unbeaten streak — 43 straight games (Nov. 8, 1983 to Jan. 1, 1985).

    This Week In The ECAC: Feb. 8, 2001

    By Jayson Moy/Becky Blaeser
    -

    We have a new leader in the ECAC. The Big Red of Cornell have assumed the top of the charts and they don’t plan on looking back. Can they hold the lead? With four weeks to go, no one knows what’s going to happen in the ECAC. It’s unpredictable, it’s crazy, it’s unbelievable.

    Yes, it’s just the end of the ECAC season, as usual.

    Seeing Red

    The Big Red of Cornell have ascended to the throne after a weekend sweep of Brown and Harvard, both by 2-1 scores. It took the Big Red overtime to defeat Brown on Friday; on Saturday, they did it in regulation over the Crimson.

    “It was a good win for us,” Cornell coach Mike Shafer said after Saturday’s win. “I thought the first period was kind of even, and we were fortunate to have the two-goal lead. After they scored in the third, Harvard had the momentum for about three or four minutes, but we weathered the storm and didn’t give them much after that.”

    The Cornell style of play keeps the game interesting, but it seems to be working for the Big Red and Schafer. With four weeks left to go, the coach knows it’s far from over.

    “First place is tough to get into,” he said. “It’s tougher to keep it.”

    Colgate is trying to move into the playoffs and a split on the weekend helped, but still saw the Red Raiders fall behind as Union, the team above them, swept on the weekend. A loss to Harvard and a win over Brown helped the Red Raiders.

    At the same time, the Red Raiders seem to be going to freshman David Cann between the pipes. He has started the last three games for the Red Raiders and despite going 1-2-0, he has posted a 2.35 GAA and a .923 save percentage. That, along with what seems to be more offense for the Red Raiders has them poised for the stretch run.

    “We have to go in this weekend and play our game,” said head coach Don Vaughan. “Every game is a big game for us now and we have to just continue to work hard as we challenge for a playoff spot.”

    Heading into this weekend, the Princeton Tigers were looking for something anything positive to happen. Over the course of a two-month period in which the team was allowing its opponents an average of 5.6 goals per game, the frustration was certainly beginning to show. The preseason pundits who brushed off the Tigers as a team with no real weapons were poised to sound the “I told you so” bell.

    But then came the North Country trip, where it took a Jekyll and Hyde performance for Princeton to break its eight-game losing streak. In the midst of a season which has been anything but typical, the Tigers put a halting stop to their eight-game losing streak with a dominating 6-4 victory over the second-place St. Lawrence Saints. On the strength of two goals by Shane Campbell, three assists by Josh Roberts and a 35-save performance by Dave Stathos, the Tigers took a game on the road and restored some of the confidence that had been drained away since the slide began back on Dec. 8.

    The team took one on the chin the next night, however, with a 6-1 loss to Clarkson. As has been the case for the Tigers all season long, the beginning stretch of the game dictated the outcome.

    Against the Saints, the Tigers took a 1-0 lead just 1:23 into the contest and essentially never looked back. The Clarkson game was another story as Princeton spotted the Golden Knights a four-goal lead after just one period. Memories of the eight-game losing streak started drifting back, but the Princeton coaching staff was quick to pounce on the positives.

    “We’re not concerned about our playoff chances,” said Princeton head coach Lenny Quesnelle. “The focus is on playing better, and to play like we did Friday night [against St. Lawrence].”

    The weekend split, coupled with the early-season 10 points racked up by the team, has allowed Princeton to maintain a two-way tie for eighth place with Yale and currently stand only two points out of a tie for sixth place. Thus far, the team has been able to straddle the middle section of the league standings. This weekend may force the Tigers’ hand. A weekend split or sweep will lift the team amongst the league leaders, while two losses will force the Tigers to enter the final four weekends of play in a fight for the final few cherished playoff spots.

    Princeton will open its doors to Cornell and Colgate this weekend, which is good for the Tigers, if series history has anything to do with the outcome. The Tigers have had a recent string of luck against the New York teams: Princeton is unbeaten in the last four meetings with Colgate (3-0-1) and owns a 3-1-1 record over the Big Red in the last five meetings at Baker Rink.

    “We’re pretty positive right now,” said Quesnelle. “We played well [against St. Lawrence] and executed within our system. We took some steps forward. The biggest thing is to learn something from [the losing streak]. If we don’t, shame on us.”

    It wasn’t as bad as the Michigan State series, but it wasn’t much better. After a period of time in which Yale saw its fortunes turning, the team returned home from the North Country with two losses and zero goals to show for its effort. Not exactly the momentum Tim Taylor & Co. were hoping for after a recent string where the team won four of five games.

    The Bulldogs began their weekend at Clarkson, where nothing good seemed to happen for the visiting team. The Golden Knights jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the first 10 minutes and cruised along to a convincing 6-0 victory. Yale couldn’t seem to stop any of the Clarkson players as 13 different Golden Knights figured into the scoring column that night.

    “Mark [Morris] said it was their best game of the year, and I hope so, because it was our worst,” said Yale head coach Tim Taylor after Friday’s night contest. “I’m very disappointed with all aspects of our game. We were very vulnerable defensively, [they] beat us in all the one-on-one battles, and on faceoffs they dominated us.”

    The following night, Yale responded with a more solid performance but was left with nothing to show for the effort. The team battled evenly through three periods, but fell after only eight seconds had elapsed in overtime. It was one of those plays that happened so quickly and left the Yale players standing there in disbelief. Not only were the two North Country shutouts disappointing, but they also marked the third and fourth shutouts of the season for Yale, tying a school record.

    The two losses also kept Taylor one victory shy of becoming Yale’s all-time wins leader. The 23-year head coach is currently tied with legendary coach Murray Murdoch (1938-65) atop the school charts with 278 wins.

    Much like Princeton, Yale has been successful against Colgate and Cornell in recent years. Although they dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker in Ithaca earlier this year, the Bulldogs are 4-1-0 in the last five games against Cornell and 4-3 against nationally-ranked teams.

    Something Has To Give

    In the North Country this weekend, there are four teams which took a total of 13 of 16 points last weekend. Weekend sweeps by Clarkson and Union, coupled with three points from Rensselaer and two from St. Lawrence, made this a set of games in which teams seem to have gotten things going.

    Clarkson is on a roll as of late. Despite a loss to St. Lawrence earlier in the week, the Golden Knights rebounded to destroy Yale and Princeton by 6-0 and 6-1 scores. The Knights are now 7-2-0 in ECAC play in 2001 and are looking to wrap up a five-game homestand with four more points.

    They will try to do it against Union and Rensselaer, who the Knights swept in their first set of ECAC games back in January.

    “Union no doubt will give an improved effort over the last time we faced them a few weeks back,” said head coach Mark Morris. “I am certain they will have time to think about the way the game went down there and to bounce back. Brandon Snee is one of the better goalies in our league. With a strong effort from him they could compete with anybody in the ECAC.

    “RPI obviously is always a team to reckon with. They are an explosive team and it is very important to play them in a tight checking, grinding affair to try and diffuse their offense.”

    Last season the Knights lost both games at home against Union and Rensselaer.

    Union picked up four points at a great time of the year. The Dutchmen have been stumbling for the last two months, but turned it up a notch and picked up their first ECAC wins since November in defeating Vermont and Dartmouth last weekend. The wins helped the Dutchmen maintain the last playoff spot, but also helped them gain ground on the teams ahead of them to try and solidify a playoff spot.

    “We found a way to win,” said head coach Kevin Sneddon. “And that’s something that this hockey club hasn’t been doing lately. So it’s nice to get back on track.”

    Rensselaer picked up three points last weekend. In coming from behind to defeat Dartmouth and tying Vermont in the annual Big Red Freakout game, the Engineers hang precariously in the fifth position of the standings.

    But then again, the ECAC standings are tight no matter where you are.

    “It would have been nice to win one in front of the fans from a Freakout perspective. I thought it was a real good crowd in here and I certainly would like to have Freakout every night,” said head coach Dan Fridgen. “It would have been nice for them to go home with a win, but I’ll take three out of four points on the weekend.”

    St. Lawrence took two points last weekend and needed overtime in order to do so. After getting outplayed and outgunned in a loss to Princeton, the Saints needed overtime to defeat Yale, 1-0.

    The Saints are the end of a four game homestand and are looking to make the best of it after going 1-1 last weekend in the front end of the homestand.

    “We’ve done pretty well lately in league play on the road, but we haven’t played as well as we’d like at home,” said head coach Joe Marsh. “We want to be a much better team than .500 on our own ice.

    “This league is so tight that every game is going to be and end-to-end battle and you have to be on top of your game to be successful.”

    Getting Back On Track

    Despite a disappointing 4-1 loss to Boston College in the semifinal round of the Beanpot on Monday night, the Harvard Crimson is still tied for second place in the ECAC standings with 19 points. That lone fact is something that makes this weekend’s upcoming matchup against Dartmouth one of the most critical games of the season. The standings are as congested as ever and every possible point has the potential to change the playoff field dramatically — especially for a team like Harvard, which has a game up on 10 of the 11 other teams.

    Although the Crimson players may have wished they had last Saturday night off, the team will have an extra night of rest this weekend in preparation for their consolation game against Northeastern at the FleetCenter on Monday night. The loss to the Eagles came on the heels of a weekend split with Colgate and Cornell. In front of an anxious FleetCenter crowd, the Crimson displayed some of its worst hockey of the year as they were outplayed and outplayed all night long by a very strong and fast Boston College.

    “We didn’t have our edge,” said Harvard head coach Mark Mazzoleni. “We needed to play much better defensively than we did. We knew what we had to do to win. We just didn’t have it [against Boston College], and I can’t really sit here and blame that on playing three games in four days.”

    To top off the lost, the team will be without the services of sophomore Brett Nowak indefinitely as he was injured midway through Monday’s game. The team had already lost junior Graham Morrell for the year and is now barely able to fill out four full lines.

    The one player who has established himself as the Crimson’s most dynamic player has been Dominic Moore. Through 19 games, Moore has amassed 29 points — five more than his total during his freshman year — and is on pace for a 40-point season. The last Crimson player to achieve such a feat was Steve Martins, who collected 60 points during the 1993-94 season.

    The most astounding statistic for Moore, however, is the fact that 68 percent of his points have come on special teams. Moore’s stat line is very similar to that of the whole team. Of Harvard’s 60 total goals this season, exactly half have come either on the power play (21) or when the team was shorthanded (nine). In fact, Harvard has scored more shorthanded goals (eight) than it has allowed power-play tallies (seven) in ECAC games.

    The Crimson will need to play behind the strength of its special teams come Friday night when they take on the Big Green. Dartmouth‘s power play has experienced a surge of its own, connecting on six of its last 14 attempts. The Big Green will also be foaming at the mouth for a win following its recent road trip to the Capital Region.

    Despite a strong performance against both Rensselaer and Union, the Big Green saw its two-game winning streak take a 180-degree turn. Incidentally, the team’s winning streak was spurred on by two victories against the Engineers and Skating Dutchmen the weekend before in Hanover, N.H. The Saturday night loss to Union was especially disappointing considering that the Big Green fought back from two deficits that night to eventually fall, 4-3.

    “I thought we worked hard tonight, but we couldn’t find a way to put the next one in,” said Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet. “It’s unfortunate. I’ve said it over and over again — Union is a very good team. But we have the ability to dominate every facet of the game. The game’s funny — it can come down to a bounce of the puck here and there.”

    Despite the recent scoring drought by leading scorer Mike Maturo, who has managed only three assists in his last six games, Trevor Byrne continues to establish himself as one of the premier defensemen in the league as he snagged his fifth goal of the year. Byrne enters this weekend’s contest against Harvard with 14 points in his last 13 games and he currently leads all Dartmouth defensemen with 20 total points.

    With Byrne’s help, the Big Green will look to maintain the home advantage that it has enjoyed over the past few months. The team has won its last five games at Thompson Arena.

    “It’s a hard one,” said Gaudet of his team’s zero-point weekend — the first since mid-November. “I’m trying to find a lesson out of it. You have to work your butts off in order to accomplish anything. But because you work, it doesn’t mean you’re going to win.”

    The Catamounts emerged last weekend with a loss and a tie. But considering that single point — courtesy of a 2-2 deadlock with Rensselaer on Saturday night — is one of only four points collected by Vermont in its last 10 games, they’ll take it.

    “Once we were in overtime, a lot of us were thinking the worst,” said Vermont head coach Mike Gilligan. “I wanted them to go for the win, and not just try to nail down the tie, but we’ll take it. On the road, with the boys we have out, it’s pretty impressive to get one point.”

    Vermont has been without the services of Andreas Moborg for the past three games and that certainly has hurt.

    The Brown Bears will take center stage this Saturday night when the face off against Dartmouth in the ECAC game of the week. Brown is coming off a 0-for weekend against Cornell and Colgate. The team gave the Big Red all they could handle on Friday night and forced the contest into overtime. Unfortunately for the Bears, a turnover on the Brown blueline opened the door Cornell’s Krzystof Wieckowski’s goal at the 1:17 mark of the extra session.

    The loss snowballed into an uninspired 4-1 defeat the next night in a very winnable game against Colgate.

    “I thought we were flat tonight,” said Grillo following the loss — his team’s fifth straight. “We had chances to go up a goal or more, but didn’t get it done. We just lost that jump in our skates we had for a while.”

    The enduring problem for the Bears — as was evidenced by last weekend’s play — has been their inability to finish off the well-played games when they have a chance. The team has had numerous chances to steal close games this year. Here’s a quick snapshot of the games Brown could have easily won: the 4-3 overtime loss versus Dartmouth, the 2-0 loss at Cornell in which the teams skated into the third period scoreless and the two consecutive ties against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. If those four games had gone the other way, the Bears would be battling for improved playoff position and not just hoping to still be playing hockey in four weeks.

    Unfortunately for the Bears, there is no turning back at this point. The two most recent losses sink Brown to sole possession of last place in the ECAC standings, three points behind 11th-place Colgate.

    If It’s So Easy, You Try It

    Can you believe it? Another week of the challenge, and yes, your Iron Columnists are still undefeated. Steve Lombardo fell last week; this week, who will try to unseat 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)

    If memory serves us right, a school in New Haven has great fans that pack the “Whale” for every game. Our challenger this week is one of those fans at Yale. What will Normand Chouinard bring into USCHO Stadium to try and defeat the Iron Columnists? Can he go where no one has gone before? Whose picks will reign supreme?

    The Picks

    Friday, February 9

    Cornell at Princeton
    Normand’s Pick – Princeton 4, Cornell 3
    Becky and Jayson – Cornell 3, Princeton 1

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

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

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

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

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

    Saturday, February 10

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

    Colgate at Princeton
    Normand’s Pick – Princeton 4, Colgate 1
    Becky and Jayson – Princeton 3, Colgate 1

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

    Union at St. Lawrence
    Normand’s Pick – St. Lawrence 4, Union 2
    Becky and Jayson – Union 3, St. Lawrence 2

    Brown at Dartmouth
    Normand’s Pick – Dartmouth 4, Brown 1
    Becky and Jayson – Dartmouth 7, Brown 2

    Monday, February 5

    Harvard vs. Northeastern
    Normand’s Pick – Northeastern 3, Harvard 1
    Becky and Jayson – Harvard 4, Northeastern 2

    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 Mike Volonnino, Shiva Nagaraj, Sean Peden and David Sherzer for their contributions this week

    Catching Up With … Ricky DiPietro

    By Adam Wodon
    -

    Normally, you don’t need to catch up with someone until they’ve been away for a while. But with Ricky DiPietro, out of college hockey less than a year, you better keep up, or you’ll fall too far behind.

    DiPietro, whose college career consisted of one stellar season at Boston University last year, made history last summer when the New York Islanders made him the first goalie taken No. 1 overall in the NHL draft. At the same time, he became just the second college player to be so chosen, and one of just a handful of Americans.

    Some called Islanders general manager Mike Milbury crazy, among other things, for taking DiPietro so high. And, for all we know, the naysayers may turn out to be right — Milbury’s history with goalies is not exactly rosy. But, just three games into his NHL career, DiPietro is making Milbury look good.

    Ricky DiPietro reaches to make a save in a game against Philadelphia last week. (photo by Pedro Cancel)

    Ricky DiPietro reaches to make a save in a game against Philadelphia last week. (photo by Pedro Cancel)

    After starting the season in the minors, with the Chicago Wolves of the IHL, the 19-year old phenom was called up to the struggling Islanders just before the NHL All-Star break. In two games, DiPietro allowed a fluke goal and a 5-on-3 goal during a 2-1 loss to Buffalo, then a 75-footer at the hands of Flyers All-Star Eric Desjardins in a 2-0 loss (including an empty netter) last Thursday. He added another 2-1 loss, in overtime, meaning his team has scored two goals for him in three games. So far, he has more career assists (1) than wins.

    The Philadelphia game was his first on the road, and came in a nearly-full 20,000-seat hostile arena. He had played in front of a few crowds with 18,000-plus in Chicago, but none on the opponent’s turf.

    “It’s a madhouse at Boston University, but this is a great crowd, a great hockey atmosphere [in Philadelphia],” DiPietro says. “We played well, well enough to win, and it made the crowd not much of a factor at times. If you’re on your game, it’s something that doesn’t play a factor. Fortunately for me, I was pretty focused on the game.”

    One of the major reasons Milbury said he decided to go for broke and select DiPietro was that focus, and the teenager’s unprecedented ability to play the puck. Unfortunately, that mindset got DiPietro into trouble against the Flyers, when he failed to glove down that long shot.

    “It was a pretty hard shot. It kept rising,” says DiPietro. “It’s a save you gotta make, a rookie mistake I guess. Hopefully one that is never gonna happen again. I was a little upset with that because guys worked so hard the whole game.

    “You just have to be aware of everything. You have to play it like a scoring chance. I was thinking about handling it and moving it up the ice.”

    Nonetheless, DiPietro was pretty happy with his first week in the “show.” He also saw what could be a sign of things to come, as the Islanders, with the worst record in the NHL, didn’t give him much support.

    “I was pretty happy with the way I played,” DiPietro says about his road debut. “The team did a great job of shutting down the [Mark] Recchi line. We played with them stride for stride.”

    Part of the learning curve for DiPietro involves interaction with his teammates. His ability to play the puck is so advanced, that most defensemen aren’t used to it, especially a young defense like the Islanders have.

    DiPietro is 0-3 in three career NHL starts, but has allowed only five goals in those games. (photo by Pedro Cancel)

    DiPietro is 0-3 in three career NHL starts, but has allowed only five goals in those games. (photo by Pedro Cancel)

    “We communicated a lot more [against the Flyers],” DiPietro says. “With time, it will get better and better, with learning the defensemen and them getting to know me, to know each other’s game.

    “This is the NHL. It’s the greatest league on Earth. You’ve got the best players in the world here. I’m still getting to know all the players.”

    DiPietro is the type of kid you figure to be undaunted by whatever challenges the NHL might bring. It’s part of what makes him special. Team struggling? He believes he should stop every shot. Tough loss? He shakes it off with an boundless confidence many call cockiness.

    Former Maine assistant coach Greg Cronin, now an assistant with the Islanders, remembers DiPietro from the time they were both part of the U.S. Developmental Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.

    “I knew him as a kid,” Cronin says. “He was always lively, colorful, animated and confident. Not in an abrasive way, but in a humorous way. He was only 5-foot-8 at the time. His confidence in the net and ability to come out were special.”

    DiPietro was with the younger group, while Cronin helped coach the 17- and 18-year olds. That group had Adam Hauser, now at Minnesota, as it entered the playoffs of the NAHL, the junior league in which the developmental team participates.

    “Ricky came up and played with us in the playoffs,” Cronin says. “We were playing Sault Ste. Marie, who I think was second in the league. He said, ‘Just play me, I’ll get the win.’ We lost the first one, and won the next two.

    “Then we went to Springfield, which had the best record, and the same thing: ‘Hey, coach, play me, we’ll win.’ And he stood on his head and we won the games.

    “What you really start to appreciate about the guy is his focus. Some people are very serious and quiet, other guys are loud and animated. And I always worry about the loud, animated guys because they get themselves too jacked up, and when the puck’s dropped, he’s got no energy. [But DiPietro is] fairly loud and animated, and when the puck’s dropped, he’s ready to go.

    “It’s a shame he didn’t catch that puck [against Philadelphia], but he played a brilliant game.”

    DiPietro had one last taste of college hockey, sorta, when he played with a collection of college and soon-to-be college stars at this year’s World Junior Championships, where he turned in a stellar performance for the second straight year.

    "Those guys are like my brothers. It’s one of the closest knit teams I played for. It’s unfortunate I didn’t have the ability to stay. Four days … it was unfortunate."

    — Ricky DiPietro, on opting into the NHL draft and losing his college eligibility by being four days too young.

    For as far as DiPietro has advanced already, he says he probably would have remained at Boston University were it not for an archaic NCAA regulation. The NHL draft age is 19, unless players “opt-in” at age 18. Most junior players opt-in, without penalty. However, the NCAA says, if you opt-in, you renounce your remaining collegiate eligibility.

    DiPietro was a true freshman, and a young one at that, with a September birthday that fell four days after the age cutoff. Had he been considered 19, he could’ve been drafted and stayed in school, like Wisconsin’s Dany Heatley, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft, did.

    DiPietro’s decision to opt-in came right down to the final minutes before the deadline. He certainly cannot be blamed for testing the waters considering he was taken No. 1 in the draft. An opportunity like that may not come again.

    But it says a lot about college hockey, DiPietro, or both that the top pick in the NHL draft probably would have stayed in school, if given the option.

    “Most likely, I would’ve stayed. I don’t think I would’ve [left] if I would’ve had that option,” DiPietro says. “I miss BU a lot. Those guys … I got to see them play BC [recently], and those guys are like my brothers. It’s one of the closest knit teams I played for. It’s unfortunate I didn’t have the ability to stay …

    “Four days … it was unfortunate.”

    On the other hand, Cronin says there was no use in staying.

    “He’s ready to play [in the NHL],” he says. “You’ve seen the last two games.”

    With the Islanders, DiPietro plays for Islander legend Butch Goring, considered a player’s coach and a member of four Stanley Cup champions. He should also benefit from having another mentor with the Islanders, 37-year old veteran goalie John Vanbiesbrouck, who has decided to stay and tutor DiPietro rather than request a trade. But, he still misses BU coach Jack Parker, and speaks about him with the tone of an old pal.

    “We were real good friends,” DiPietro says. “Always jabbing each other and having a good time. He was a great influence on my career and one of the best coaches I’ve gotten to play for.”

    The highlight of DiPietro’s college career may have been a loss, a 77-save effort in a four-overtime defeat at the hands of St. Lawrence in last year’s NCAA Regionals. He went mano-a-mano in that game with another freshman goaltender that left school early, Derek Gustafson, who has put up solid numbers in the IHL this year.

    He may have a while to wait, but DiPietro hopes for a somewhat more positive highlight to his NHL career.

    “The highlight would be winning the Stanley Cup, obviously,” he said. “We have a good young team here, and we can grow.”

    With so much still to look forward to, DiPietro wastes little time looking back and taking pride in his accomplishments: being the first goalie drafted No. 1, and representing college hockey so prominently.

    “I think I was more worried about spilling food at my breakfast [on draft day] than that stuff,” DiPietro says. “After the draft and after I had time to think about it, you go down the list of Americans drafted first, there aren’t too many of them.”

    Now there’s one more.

    This Week In The WCHA: Feb. 8, 2001

    By
    -

    Achieving Balance

    It’s probably terribly too early to brand this season’s Minnesota State-Mankato team a success, with series against Minnesota, St. Cloud State and Colorado College still on tap.

    And for the foreseeable future, all Mankato teams will be judged against last year’s, which set a WCHA record for victories by a first-year team and made a trip to the Final Five in Minneapolis.

    But if, in the end, this season’s Mavericks are called a success, chalk that up to balance — on one line in particular.

    Jesse Rooney, Tim Jackman and Jerry Cunningham have provided 36 goals this season, nearly two per game. Don’t forget about the strong supporting cast, which helps the Mavericks average 3.86 goals per game, but the Rooney-Jackman-Cunningham trio is what’s making this team run.

    And, in large part, it’s because of the variety. Rooney is the sniper. He has 20 goals, third in the WCHA behind Bryan Lundbohm and Jeff Panzer, both of North Dakota.

    Jackman is the grinder, the guy who’s going to free the puck up for Cunningham, the puck-mover.

    “Those kids are good hockey players and they come to play,” Mankato coach Troy Jutting said. “I think it’s a good line because they complement each other well. I think they fit together very well.”

    It’s tough to compare Rooney to the Mavericks’ most recent scoring sensation, Aaron Fox, who graduated last year after putting up 50 points. Jutting knows Rooney’s probably not going to get 50 points this year — he has 20 goals and 11 assists for 31 points thus far — but then again, he’s not the same kind of player.

    “He doesn’t have maybe the huge point numbers, but he scores the goals. He always has,” Jutting said. “He has stepped up to take the leadership role within our team. He was always kind of a quiet kid and he’s really stepped forward this year and become a team leader and I’m extremely happy for him.”

    Rooney scored two goals in a 3-1 victory at Denver last Friday, and the Mavericks completed the sweep on Saturday with a 6-3 win. It was a tremendously important sweep because the Mavericks moved into fifth place, one point ahead of Wisconsin and three ahead of the Pioneers, who have played one more game.

    “Obviously we were in a position where we were behind Denver and really needed to win if we were going to make some kind of a move,” Jutting said. “We’re very pleased in that respect.”

    But how much more of a move can they make? They have a way to go to catch the teams ahead, but with the exception of first-place North Dakota, they play each of those teams.

    Put it this way: If the Mavericks finish fifth or better, you know they’ll have earned it.

    “We have a very tough schedule left — four weekends where we’re going to have to come out and play our best hockey,” Jutting said. “Am I pleased that we’re back with home ice as of right now with a 1-5 start? Yes. But do I feel comfortable sitting there? No. We have to keep getting better and we have to keep playing our best hockey if we’re going to stay there or hope to move up.”

    The first step is an important one, not just for this season but for the Mankato program, the school and the community.

    This weekend, for the first time, Minnesota comes to town. The Mavericks have one win and two ties in seven games against the Gophers, but all of those came in Minneapolis — either at Mariucci Arena or the Target Center, site of last year’s Final Five.

    “It’s very big for our community,” Jutting said. “We’ve been playing for a while in Division I, and it hasn’t worked out where we’ve had Minnesota [here], and our community is very excited.

    “For our team, we’re excited because it’s another opponent who’s ahead of us in the league and it’s an opportunity for us to make up some difference.”

    As usual, they’ll have to earn it.

    The Sacrifice

    Dean Weasler decided before the season he was going to try to help his St. Cloud State team in future years by redshirting this one.

    And Weasler decided recently that he would forgo that if needed, give up a whole year for one game if it was what was best for the team.

    So was it a good thing or a bad thing when the goaltender got called into service last weekend, ending his chance for a redshirt?

    Either way, it was a sacrifice that ended up paying off, at least for the time being. Weasler wasn’t stellar, but he helped the Huskies down Colorado College last Saturday.

    And with Scott Meyer out again this weekend because of a concussion, he’ll see more time in net against Alaska-Anchorage.

    “It’s a huge sacrifice by him doing that,” St. Cloud State assistant coach Brad Willner said. “But he had approached us a couple weeks ago and said, ‘If something happens to Scotty, I’ll be willing to do anything to help this team. If that means coming off my redshirt, I’ll do it.’ And that’s just the type of kid Dean is. He wants to do whatever it takes to win.”

    You probably remember Weasler as the Huskies’ goaltender two seasons ago. He played in 30 of 39 games in 1998-99, going 13-11-4.

    But he hurt his knee last year and played in only seven games. Meyer emerged from a cloudy goaltender position and ran away with the starting job.

    “He was going to use this year just to recover from the knee injury he had and come in next year, and Scotty would have graduated, and he would have been here for another two years,” Willner said. “He came to us at the beginning of the year with that. He was looking at the big picture. He was looking at not only how can he help the team this year, but how can he help next year and the year after.”

    Meyer was injured last Friday when he had his mask knocked off and hit his head on the ice. He won’t make the trip to Alaska this weekend.

    He’s expected to start facing shots late this week.

    Thanks for the Memories

    Jeff Sauer won his first national championship in 1983 at what is now called Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. He’s seen the inside of that building countless times over the years as coach at Colorado College and Wisconsin.

    This weekend, he’ll take his Badgers into Engelstad for what is scheduled to be the last time. The Sioux are set to debut in their new arena next season.

    “My most memorable game in Grand Forks was the first one I coached at the University of Wisconsin,” Sauer said at his weekly news conference. “I coached at Colorado College for 13 years, went to Grand Forks, played them, split with them, beat them, never had any real major problems. Just went in and played the games.

    “My coaching staff [at Wisconsin], Bill Howard especially, said you won’t believe what will happen in Grand Forks. It was right after we had the fight. Probably the best fight in college hockey ever happened at the Dane County Coliseum and it involved North Dakota.

    “The first time I took a team to North Dakota, I couldn’t believe it. There was a dead badger on the ice on one side, there were guys swinging sticks over the glass, fans swinging sticks over the glass at us. They stole our pucks during the warmups. All of a sudden we’ve got one puck and there’s 150 pucks at the other end.

    “It’s kind of old-time hockey, but that’s fun. It’s a memorable place, it’s a fun place to play.”

    Character Boost

    Down three goals on three separate occasions, no one would have looked twice if St. Cloud State packed it in against Colorado College on Saturday.

    Except maybe for the Huskies themselves.

    Last season at the Final Five, Huskies coach Craig Dahl lit into his team after playing uninspired late in a semifinal loss to North Dakota. There wasn’t room on his team, he said, for players who didn’t give their all.

    Maybe that played into SCSU’s 7-5, come-from-behind-and-behind-and-behind victory.

    “It was a huge win for us by doing that and coming back,” Willner said. “We went in after the first period trailing 4-1. Basically we just told our guys just keep on working hard and keep on playing your game and good things will happen. The game could have been 4-3 after the first period. We told the guys, don’t play the score. [CC goaltender Jeff] Sanger came up with some big saves in that first period and the goals we were giving them were mistakes that we were making.

    “Richie Larson was great in the locker room between periods of just staying positive. ‘Go out and play the second period like it’s 0-0 and just play our game.’ And he says, ‘If we keep on working and work a full 60-minute game, good things are going to happen and we’ll win this game.'”

    If it was only that easy every time.

    Almost Certain

    You hate to say it with so much hockey left to be played, but the WCHA race is North Dakota’s for the losing. And when the Fighting Sioux are in that kind of scenario, they don’t do a whole lot of losing.

    With four weeks left in the regular season, North Dakota holds a four-point lead on second-place Colorado College. The Sioux have six games remaining; CC has seven.

    With two games in hand on the Sioux, Minnesota is six points back and St. Cloud State is eight back.

    The Sioux’s last three series are against sixth-place Wisconsin, seventh-place Denver and eighth-place Michigan Tech. It’s nowhere near a sure deal, but odds are the Sioux will be holding the MacNaughton Cup for the fourth time in five years.

    Who Let the Dogs Out?

    You know anyone in a student section at a WCHA arena is looking for this kind of feedback.

    After Saturday’s win, St. Cloud State’s Brandon Sampair saw a few members of the “Dog Pound,” the SCSU student section at the National Hockey Center.

    Said Willner: “I talked to one of the guys today, and he said, ‘Sampair came up to me on Saturday and said on behalf of the team, we want to thank you for getting us going.’ Sometimes, I don’t know if they know how much the players appreciate that. But when your captain goes up to some of the leaders in the group there and thanks them on behalf of the team, it gets those guys even more fired up for the next game.”

    Byte for Byte

    The dream of any college hockey/Internet enthusiast is one where every game on a given day is available for viewing on the Web.

    Michigan Tech takes the first step this weekend.

    The school will broadcast its Winter Carnival games against Minnesota-Duluth online. But don’t expect crystal-clear reception. After all, this is still the Web.

    “We know certainly that depending upon the type of connection each user has, there will be different results in terms of quality,” said Michigan Tech Director of Athletic Communications and Marketing Dave Fischer, who is also the school’s sports information director.

    “While the technology isn’t perfect, we figured Winter Carnival was a good time to give this new venture a try.”

    The feed, which will be available by following a link from www.athletics.mtu.edu, will begin about 10 minutes before each game.

    Trivia Question

    What was Ralph Engelstad Arena known as before it was renamed for the former Sioux goaltender? Answer below.

    He Said It

    “We are at a point in our season where I don’t want to say we are desperate, but we are one notch below that. With seven games left in the regular season, we still have a great opportunity to get points in the standings and it has to start this weekend against Colorado College. It couldn’t come at a better time against a better opponent.”

    Denver coach George Gwozdecky, on last weekend’s sweep at the hands of Mankato and Saturday’s single game against CC.

    Trivia Answer

    North Dakota’s home rink was known as the Winter Sports Center before being renamed Ralph Engelstad Arena by the North Dakota Board of Education on Feb. 18, 1988.

    News and Views

  • Yes, this is Mike Sertich’s first Winter Carnival as Michigan Tech’s coach, but it’s not his first experience at the festival. He took Minnesota-Duluth teams to Houghton, Mich., for Winter Carnivals in 1988 and 1997. He was 0-3-1 in those four games.
  • It was a case of 20/20/20/20 last weekend as four WCHA teams reached the 20-win mark. North Dakota, Colorado College, Minnesota and St. Cloud State all have 20 wins entering this weekend. Three more teams have legitimate chances at hitting 20 later this season. Mankato has 17 wins, Wisconsin 15 and Denver 14.
  • Wisconsin goaltender Graham Melanson is expected to become the Badgers’ all-time leader in career minutes played. He has played 7,396 minutes over four years, 48 less than leader Duane Derksen’s 7,444. Holding a record in the Wisconsin goaltending books is always an accomplishment.
  • As if the stats weren’t bad enough for Minnesota-Duluth, last Saturday’s 4-3 loss to North Dakota was the fifth time in the last 11 games that the Bulldogs have lost a third-period lead. Consequently, they’re 0-4-1 in those games.
  • Alaska-Anchorage junior forward Steve Cygan broke an 18-game goal-less streak with two first-period goals against Wisconsin last Friday.

    On the Docket

    As the WCHA regular season winds to a close, the stakes rise. The biggest series of next weekend’s slate looks like the Colorado College-Minnesota pairing at Mariucci Arena. Minnesota could tie or pass CC for second place this weekend.

    St. Cloud and Wisconsin meet in Madison, Wis., in a battle of teams either on big road trips or just off them. Wisconsin goes to North Dakota this weekend after returning from Anchorage. The Huskies are in Anchorage this week, and will turn around quickly and go to Madison next week.

    And while it’s not for a top spot, the battle between Minnesota-Duluth and Alaska-Anchorage next weekend in Alaska could go a long way in determining playoff positioning. Oh yeah, and in determining who finishes 10th.

    • This Week In Hockey East: Feb. 8, 2001

    By
    -

    Beanpot: The Dream Matchup

    It’s not the Beanpot title game that Harvard and Northeastern were looking for, but Boston College vs. Boston University hits the spot as far as most fans are concerned.

    “That’s that matchup that most people would like to see,” said BC coach Jerry York after his Eagles dispatched Harvard, 4-1, but before BU topped Northeastern, 5-4. “It’s got the most history to it and it’s got archrivals involved.

    “I have no rooting interest, but I think most people would like to see a jam-packed BU-BC game.”

    Boston University players, however, showed no reticence in stating their preference after they advanced.

    “We always want to play BC,” said Terrier forward Brian Collins. “Coach [Jack Parker] always says, ‘Let’s root for the Eagles. We don’t want to play anyone else.'”

    Parker was quick to clarify before Crimson or Husky supporters took offense.

    “A BC-BU final is a little more exciting for everybody involved,” he said. “That’s nothing against Northeastern or Harvard. We have a bigger rivalry with BC than we do with the other two schools and they have a bigger rivalry with us.”

    Based on recent Beanpot history, the clear favorite is Boston University. As the six-time defending champion, the Terriers can boast a 14-game ‘Pot winning streak that began on Feb. 14, 1994. They have not lost since the tournament moved from Boston Garden to the FleetCenter in 1996. Their current senior class will be looking to become the fourth straight group to graduate without ever having lost a game in the tournament.

    “I don’t know what it is,” said Dan Cavanaugh. “You come in as a freshman and you hear so much about this tradition about BU and how we’re supposed to win these games. When we prepare for these games, we come in thinking that there’s no way we’re going to lose.

    “I think that helps us out a lot. Coach believes in us and he tells us we’re supposed to win this tournament. With that, we just go out and do what it takes to win. Luckily, we’ve been pretty fortunate.”

    In terms of sheer talent, however, Boston College is a near-prohibitive favorite. The Eagles sport a 21-6-1 record and are ranked second in the nation. They are also likely to get back super soph Krys Kolanos, who missed last week’s action with a worrisome shoulder injury. Kolanos will be a game-time coaches’ decision on Friday night at Providence. Most likely, he’ll be held out of the lineup that evening with the hope that he’ll play on Monday.

    By comparison, the unranked Terriers have posted an uncharacteristically mediocre 12-12-2 mark after a dreadful 2-8-1 start.

    All of which has both sides trying to portray themselves as the underdog. According to BU, BC is the favorite as the consensus best team in the East. According to BC, the Terriers are the champs so they’re the favorite.

    “The public wants to see a new winner,” said Cavanaugh. “We take that and feed off that. BC is playing well and they’re hot, but the same thing happened last year. Maybe it’s a mental thing. … We believe we’re going to win every [Beanpot] game.”

    In all likelihood, however, the Terriers will have to perform better against BC than they did against Northeastern on Monday if they are going to emerge as the victors.

    “I don’t think we got Northeastern’s best game tonight and I don’t think they got our best game tonight,” said Parker after the semifinal win. “I would hope that we’ll give BC our best game next week and I’m pretty sure BC is going to give us their best game.

    “If you look at the stats, BC has 20 or 30 more goals than anyone else in our league. We’re going to have to play great defensively. …

    “If it’s a high-scoring game, we’re going to be on the wrong end of it. We’re going to have to work like hell to make sure it’s not a 7-4 game because they’re going to win it. They’re capable of doing that to anybody, not just us.

    “We’re the six-time defending champs, but that doesn’t mean anything. You don’t win ballgames on last year’s sweat.”

    Beanpot Humor

    (Although the Beanpot Luncheon was scheduled too late for these quips to make last week’s column, it’s never too late for a laugh.)

    When Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni reminded the audience that Athletic Director and all-around legend Billy Cleary would be retiring on June 31, he set himself up for a considerable amount of ribbing. Of course, June has only 30 days.

    Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder pounced first, asking Cleary, “Does that mean you’re retiring or is the day never going to come?”

    Parker defended Mazzoleni. Sort of.

    “Mazz is not a Harvard guy,” said Parker, “so it’s okay for him to say June 31st.”

    Parker’s then took aim at Beanpot Director Steve Nazro’s praise of the luncheon’s upgrade from beans in the old days to steak.

    “Was that steak?” asked Parker. “I thought it was liver.”

    His best barbs, though, referred to Harvard’s never-ending, albeit legitimate, complaints that it is at a disadvantage for two reasons. First, the team is just coming out of exams. Second, the ECAC’s travel-partners approach to scheduling makes it so that the Crimson still must play two league games on the weekend before the Beanpot semifinal.

    “Fortunately for us, we only have to play on Friday,” said Parker. “Hockey East really takes care of the Hockey East teams. They don’t schedule [two games on the weekend]. Obviously, Harvard doesn’t have any pull in the ECAC.

    “And all our schools have changed our exam schedule so we don’t have to take exams. Ever. It’s nice not to have to worry about any of that. Most of our guys are here for the season and not the reason anyway.

    “Harvard has to vie with Boston College, but they also have to beat the Harvard system as well. They can’t even get support from their own league.”

    Parker also fired away at a member of his own BU contingent, who was wearing a sweater of a very un-Terrier-like color.

    “We’ve got our number-one fan here, Elliot Driben,” said Parker, “but he’s got his Dartmouth green on now that Dartmouth is going pretty well.”

    He even noted that while assistant coach Brian Durocher was away recruiting, “our goaltender coach Mike Geragosian could be anywhere.”

    BU captain Carl Corazzini didn’t let the laughter stop when Parker sat down. The senior thanked Sports Information Director Ed Carpenter “for telling me that I didn’t have to talk today” and then sent a zinger Parker’s way.

    “I’m not surprised that he was the longest speaker for the coaches,” said Corazzini to a burst of laughter. “I’ll just let him keep talking because the longer he talks, the closer I am to missing practice.”

    Two Personal Beanpot Reflections

  • It did this father proud that my son, Ryan, and his hockey buddies made the right choice last Monday. Leave the game early and make the 10:40 train or be stuck waiting for the midnight run? They stayed to the last buzzer.

    All of which led to an amusing moment back in the train station. Waiting for the train, the four boys found themselves among the BU players who were similarly waiting for the team bus. Unable to avoid the temptation, they casually strolled next to BU forward Jack Baker to compare heights. The conclusion: Baker (5-7, 161 pounds) was no taller, but a good deal wider.

  • As for yours truly, Monday night’s Beanpot made for a shrill alarm clock on Tuesday morning. It wasn’t just that I didn’t finish writing my Flashback to ’78 story until 1:20 in the morning. Or that about 15 miles north of Boston the roads became very slow going.

    No, the killer was that at 2:50 in the ayem, I had to shovel my way into the driveway. And before I was finished, a plow came along and gave me a little more snow to work with.

    That, my friends, was adding insult to injury.

    The Second Best Team?

    Who has been the second-best team in Hockey East since Dec. 1? The answer will probably surprise you. It’s the UMass-Lowell River Hawks.

    In that time span, they have compiled a 5-2-3 league record. Both losses came at the hands of Boston College and were only by a single goal. And lest you suspect a weak schedule during that stretch, five of the 10 games were against opponents in the nation’s Top 10.

    As a result, Lowell has gone a long way to make up for its brutal 1-6 start in Hockey East play. The River Hawks now have a legitimate shot at playoff home ice.

    “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” said UML coach Tim Whitehead after temporarily moving into fifth place on Saturday night. One day later, Maine leapfrogged the Hawks into fifth. “Next weekend anything could happen.

    “We just have to worry about ourselves, just keep playing hard and playing smart. Just take one game at a time. If we do that and stay healthy, we’re going to be in a good situation.”

    One of the key ingredients in Lowell’s success has been the play of goaltender Jimi St. John.

    “We’re going into every game knowing we’re going to win it and if we don’t win it, it’s our fault,” said St. John. “Every one of the games coming up are games that we should win.”

    St. John was named Hockey East’s ITECH Goaltender of the Month for January.

    “I’m just in a good rhythm,” he said. “The guys are playing good in front of me. It helps when not a lot is getting through to me and I’m seeing everything.”

    St. John, who had not seen a lot of action prior to the holiday break, had plenty of competition throughout the league for the monthly honor, but proved his worth with a 1.82 GAA, a .918 save percentage and a 4-1-1 record.

    “He really deserved it,” said Whitehead. “He’s stabilized our team defense and the guys are doing a good job in front of him. That goes both ways. It’s been a great combo, the way the team is playing defensively and the way Jimi is playing.”

    Two of the key members of that defense have been freshmen Jerramie Domish and Darryl Green. While Ron Hainsey gets most of Lowell’s blueline accolades — and deservedly so — and Laurent Meunier has been the impact freshman with 26 points, Domish and Green have also been major contributors.

    “They’re doing a great job,” said Whitehead. “It’s very important for those guys to step in and contribute right away and they’ve done that.

    “They’re different players and they both contribute in their own way. That’s what you need, everybody filling their role and doing what they do best. Both of those guys are doing that.”

    At 5-8 and 196 pounds, Domish is yet another River Hawk defenseman who is the antithesis of a redwood, both in stature and mobility. Chris Gustafson and Josh Allison are both 5-10.

    “We’re getting a pretty good stable of short, stocky defensemen,” said Whitehead. “As long as they’re tough and they can move, why not?”

    Amazin’ Aquino

    Last Friday night might have been a coming of age for Merrimack forward Anthony Aquino. In a 5-5 tie with New Hampshire, the unsung star netted a hat trick, assisted on the other two Warrior goals and finished plus five for the evening. The comeback from a 5-2 third-period deficit could eventually spell the difference between a playoff berth and getting out the golf clubs on Mar. 3.

    The 18-year-old sophomore — 18-year-old sophomore! — is now tied for first place with BC’s Brian Gionta and Krys Kolanos in Hockey East overall scoring with 37 points. He’s tops in the league with 22 assists, a remarkable feat considering that the power play is where many of a player’s easiest helpers occur and that is a Merrimack weakness (11.9 percent).

    Is there any reason to believe he isn’t one of Hockey East’s top forwards?

    “I think he’s as good as any forward in Hockey East right now with maybe the exception of Gionta,” says Merrimack coach Chris Serino. “He’s one of the premier players in this league. He’s been a consistent performer. He’s gotten points almost every game for us.

    “You’re going to see nights like [the UNH game] when all of a sudden everything clicks in for him because he’s still so young. He hasn’t even scratched where he’s going. That game at UNH shows you a little bit of what you can expect to see over the next couple of years from him.”

    There are both obvious strengths to Aquino’s game and subtleties as well.

    “In order to be a pro, you have to be good at everything and you have to be exceptional at one thing,” says Serino. “Anthony is very good at everything and he has exceptional speed. He can separate himself from someone in a heartbeat.

    “He’s not only fast straightaway, but he gets up to top speed in something like three steps. It’s quickness and speed, not just speed.

    “If you just have speed with nothing else, you may not be good. But he’s also got great hands. He passes the puck very well, which I don’t think a lot of people really know. He finds open guys and he creates space.”

    Serino has to think a bit when asked what other players he’s coached Aquino reminds him of.

    “He’s a lot like Tommy Nolan [UNH, 93-94, 95-98] in that quickness that he has,” says Serino. “But where Nolan was at when he left UNH, Aquino’s probably already there. And he’s got two more years left.”

    The One That Got Away, Returns

    One can only wonder where Merrimack would be in the standings, not to mention where Aquino would be in the league’s scoring race, if Greg Classen had stayed for his junior year. Instead of 12-15-3 overall and 5-11-2 in Hockey East, the Warriors might have 17 or 18 wins and be close to .500 in the league.

    “It’s only crossed my mind about 85 times,” says Serino. “He makes your power play better. You put [Marco] Rosa with Aquino and Classen and you have one of the best lines in Hockey East. Maybe the best line in Hockey East.

    “You’d have [Nick] Parillo to play with [Ryan] Kiley and [Vince] Clevenger and the senior line — [John Pyliotis, Joe Gray and Ron Mongeau] — that does a pretty good job defensively. It just changes your whole complexion.”

    Classen turned pro last summer when the contract offered proved to be too good to pass up. He made the Nashville Predators out of training camp and he’s stayed with the parent club other than a 14-day stint in the IHL and an stretch on the injured reserve. Last Thursday, he scored a goal and assisted on another in Nashville’s comeback win.

    “I’m happy for Greg,” says Serino. “He made the right choice. The money was there. He’s playing in the NHL. He meant a lot to our team, but you recruit good players and that’s going to happen.”

    Classen showed surprising dedication to Merrimack last weekend by stepping off the Predators’ red-eye Los Angeles-to-Nashville flight that got in at 5 a.m. and then boarding the 7 a.m. flight to Boston so he could spend the NHL All-Star break watching the Warriors.

    “He made a mark here,” says Serino. “In two years, that’s saying a lot for a kid, the mark that he left on people and the way the players responded to him coming back. It was like he never left.”

    Seeing Classen in the stands inspired Aquino to his three-goal, two-assist performance.

    “I saw him in the stands in the second period and said, ‘I have to do some more stuff here,'” said Aquino in a story by the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune‘s Kevin Conway. “I had one goal and one assist at that point and said, ‘That’s not good enough.'”

    Classen’s presence even prompted some fanciful temptation for Serino.

    “To be honest, I had him in a uniform,” says Serino. “But my little guy said, ‘Dad, you can’t do that.’ It was a game-time decision, though.”

    The Odds-On Favorite To Be The Odd Man Out

    UMass-Amherst’s season took a turn for the worse last weekend when the Minutemen lost to BU, 5-1, and UMass-Lowell, 4-1. The two losses dropped them just one point out of last place.

    “It’s tough to take positives after getting swept and losing by four goals one night and three goals the next night,” says coach Don “Toot” Cahoon. “In terms of assessing certain players and making progress in certain areas, yeah. I know a little bit more about everybody and there are some things to take.

    “But it doesn’t sell very well. I might take it back to the office and we’ll put it to use and it might help us down the road. We’ve got some young kids that we’re looking at and I’m pretty happy with their development. And I know a little bit more about who I want to go to war with.”

    Nonetheless, the losses put UMass in serious jeopardy of being Hockey East’s odd man out of the eight-team playoffs. The Minutemen finish the season with two games each against Maine, Boston College and New Hampshire. Although they snared three points in those same games last year to squeak into the playoffs, it remains a tough row to hoe.

    “Unless they allow some trade opportunities in college hockey, we’re going to take our guys and we’re going to go to work every day and stay positive with them, create a good teaching atmosphere and then put our best foot forward,” says Cahoon. “There’s nothing more I can do at this point.

    “I don’t think we’re going to panic. I don’t think we’re going to quit. And I don’t think we’re going to be any place other than in the playoffs when it’s over.”

    Cahoon is in the position of heading a program which has a much better long-term future than short-term.

    “You deal with everything on a day-to-day basis,” he says. “The guys know that we’re trying to build something, but the most important thing is that we’re getting better in each and every area. We’re just focusing on the little things, day in and day out.”

    In such a long-term vs. short-term situation, however, sometimes a coach is faced with the possibility of sacrificing the senior class and going exclusively with the younger players.

    “That’s a case-by-case situation,” says Cahoon. “I wouldn’t make the general statement that I’d sacrifice the whole class, but there certainly are some individual players who have to measure up and make that same effort and commitment day in and day out. So it’s not a class thing; it’s a case-by-case situation.”

    One positive case in point is Martin Miljko. The junior was left home from the season-opening trip to Wisconsin because he wasn’t in the shape Cahoon required.

    “In fairness to him, he’d just gotten off a knee injury and it was his first competition back,” says Cahoon. “I think he was just starting to understand what I was expecting in terms of energy and effort.

    “Since he got back into the lineup, he’s worked pretty hard with few exceptions. He’s been pretty dependable game in and game out.”

    Miljko is now the second-leading scorer on the Minutemen with 11 goals and nine assists.

    “If you were to look at what he brings to the table, he brings an offensive threat,” says Cahoon. “He has a real good shot release so he gets his goals. He’s probably not as hard-working defensively as he is offensively, but we’re working on that.

    “You can’t live without his offense. It’s hard to find guys who can put the puck away. If he works at being diligent on the defensive end, he’ll be a real good two-way player.”

    Others, however, have shown themselves to be, in Cahoon’s estimation, lacking and not likely to be building blocks for the program.

    “There are guys who just don’t deserve to play ahead of the guys who I am playing,” says Cahoon. “We’re going to go with these guys and we’re going to add to the equation and it will have a way of playing itself out. If I thought that they were in a position to help us more than the guys that we’re putting on the ice, then I would be rotating them through there. But I think that right now the kids who are in the lineup, for the most part, are the kids who belong in the lineup.”

    While there may be ups and downs in the season, Cahoon is happy with the team’s work ethic.

    “I think everybody is working really hard,” he says. “Work ethic is the most critical aspect to what we’re doing. That and to be resilient and not get down because you’re losing a game or because it isn’t bouncing the way you want it to.

    “We knew it was going to be a tough challenge to begin with, but hopefully we can maybe get into a little bit of a flow, if you want to call it that, so that we can take a run at a real critical time during the year.

    “If you have the right psyche and you’re getting the right effort out of everyone and they learn to play together and minimize their mistakes and play within themselves then maybe we can do that.

    “Then you add to it by getting players who have a lot of dimensions who can add to the equation.”

    A senior like Jeff Turner now finds himself in the position where, barring some miracle in the next month, he won’t be getting to college hockey’s Promised Land. His sophomore brother Tim might, but it isn’t looking good for Jeff.

    “The number one thing, especially for the seniors right now, is to stay positive and keep teaching,” says the elder Turner. “Every game is a new game. We know that this program is heading in the right direction.

    “It’s important for us to leave our mark with the underclassmen and set an example of hard work and, not only dedication, but not getting too low with the lows and too high with the highs because right now we’re in a low and if it continues it could spiral down.

    “But [each game] is a new night and if we can get it going in the right direction it would put us back in the playoff hunt.”

    Miljko, for one, isn’t about ready to start thinking about next year, especially in light of the leadership shown by seniors like Turner.

    “Coach Cahoon talks about turning the program around and building it into one of the premier teams, so it is in the back of our minds,” says Miljko. “But we’re taking this season one game at a time.

    “It’s not fair to the seniors on this team to just throw it away. We’ve got to work on this season. It’s what we’re playing for right now.”

    TV Update

    It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but the Fox Sports Net “wild card” games have been decided: Feb. 16, UNH at BC; Feb. 24, Northeastern at BU; and Mar. 4 BC at BU.

    Random Notes

  • UNH now has gone five games without a win, a note unhappily offered up by Wildcat fan Rick Stevenson. How long ago did that last happen? Surprisingly, it was just last year at an almost identical point in the season, from Jan. 21 through Feb. 4. What makes this cold spell feel worse is that last year’s record was 0-2-3 while this year it’s 0-4-1.
  • Maine has the opportunity, on paper at least, to make up some ground as the Black Bears next face the sixth-, eighth- and ninth-place teams in the standings: UMass-Amherst, UMass-Lowell and Merrimack. They then finish their regular season with two against Providence.

    That same schedule last year netted Maine a 7-0-1 record. However, these opportunities on paper may not be so easily converted into wins.

    “It’s more difficult this year because the teams we’re playing are better than they were a year ago,” says coach Shawn Walsh. “Lowell is a better Lowell; Merrimack is a better Merrimack; UMass is a better UMass and Providence is a better Providence. So it’s going to be easier said than done.”

  • BC’s top line in the Beanpot could be affectionately called The Smurfs. It consists of Gionta, Ben Eaves and Tony Voce. Gionta is 5-7 while the two freshmen are both listed at 5-8. Take the latter number, however, with a grain of salt.

    “[Brian] is the tallest,” says York with a grin.

    Yours Truly on WJAB

    For those in the radio listening vicinity of Portland, Maine, you may want to tune in to WJAB (1440/95.5) on Friday mornings. I discuss college hockey with “Billy B. and the Shoeman” for about 10 minutes or so.

    The emphasis is on the Black Bears, but general topics get covered as well. Some weeks I’m moderately interesting; other times I’m barely coherent. Unfortunately, I’ve been told that I have a face for radio and a voice for newspapers.

    It’s at different times each week, typically from 7 a.m. on. This week’s time: 8:30.

    Trivia Contest

    Last week’s question looked beyond the boundaries of Hockey East and asked what was unique about Lake Superior State forward Kyle Anderson from New Year’s Day to Jan. 26?

    There were a few humorous replies. One speculated that during that time Anderson actually kept his New Year’s resolutions, only to break them in rather interesting ways on the 26th.

    Another came from a Lake State fan who wondered if Anderson had been on the ice for all 14 goals scored against the Lakers in that stretch. (LSSU lost to Michigan, 5-0 and 2-0. It then lost to Michigan State, 2-0, 2-1 and 3-0.)

    The correct answer was that Anderson was the only player to score on Michigan State’s All-Everything goaltender,Ryan Miller from Jan. 1 through Jan. 26. In six games, Miller tossed an unconscious five shutouts plus the Anderson goal, which actually deflected in off a Spartan skate.

    The ultimate irony is that the lone goal to get past Miller was also Lake Superior State’s only one of the month.

    The first to answer correctly was Jim Love, whose cheer is:

    “Keep the faith, ‘Cat fans – Go Blue !!”

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

    Send your answers or wild guesses to Dave Hendrickson.

    • This Week In Women’s Hockey: Feb. 8, 2001

    By Zevi Gutfreund
    -

    Badgers, Bulldogs Break Even

    As Minnesota-Duluth discovered last weekend, Madison is not a friendly town for visiting hockey teams. No. 7 Wisconsin (15-5-5) has lost only one game at home this season, and the Badgers used their home-ice advantage against the No. 3 Bulldogs (19-4-3). Wisconsin got a goal late in the third period in both games against UMD, forcing a 3-3 tie on Saturday and a 2-2 tie on Sunday.

    Goaltender Jackie MacMillan did the dirty work for the Badgers, stopping 59 shots and holding the Bulldogs, who average more than five goals per game, to just five goals on the weekend. MacMillan is third in the WCHA in both save percentage (.896) and GAA (2.61).

    Michelle Sikich netted the equalizer for Wisconsin with 2:07 left in regulation, while Meghan Hunter evened the score on Sunday with 1:42 left in the third. Hunter (33g, 26a), who is first in the nation in scoring and is the only rookie on the list of Kazmaier Award nominees, led the Badgers with a goal in each game. Steph Millar and Kelly Kegley also scored for Wisconsin.

    The Bulldogs got two goals from their own Kazmaier nominee, Maria Rooth, with additional scoring coming from Erika Holst, Hanne Sikio and defenseman Pamela Pachal.

    Saints Fall at Home

    No. 6 St. Lawrence suffered a slight setback Saturday when the Saints lost to Niagara at home, 3-1. While the loss knocked St. Lawrence (15-5-3) out of its second-place tie with No. 4 Harvard in the conference standings, the Saints rebounded to beat the Eagles (14-11-3) on Sunday, 4-2, and settle for a series split.

    Brooke Bradburn and Valerie Hall gave Niagara its three goals on Saturday, including one empty-netter from Bradburn, to hold on against St. Lawrence. Freshman netminder Rachel Barrie made 27 stops for the Saints, but she could not maintain her 1.82 GAA in the series opener.

    Senior Caryn Ungewitter got the job done between the pipes the next day, making 21 saves. Hall was the only Eagle able to solve the Saints’ imposing defense (she scored twice on Sunday), but St. Lawrence poured 39 shots on goal at the other end to seal the victory.

    St. Lawrence now trails Harvard (14-6-0) by two points for the second seed in the ECAC Tournament. But the Saints only have three games left against ranked opponents (including two this weekend against No. 8 Northeastern and No. 10 Providence) while six of the Crimson’s nine remaining contests will be against top-10 teams.

    This Week In The MAAC: Feb. 8, 2001

    By
    -

    Tightest Race in MAAC is for Survival

    It’s appropriate that CBS has brought back the popular TV show Survivor recently — especially if you take a look at the bottom of the MAAC standings. As the season has progressed, the playoff picture continues to clear and then become foggy again, as no less that seven teams fight for their playoff lives, in other words, to not get voted off the island.

    Teams like Bentley, currently sitting in last place, and Canisius, a little more comfortable in fifth, looked like their fate was decided. Bentley entered last weekend with just four points, but a weekend sweep of AIC and Army, two clubs themselves in the mix, pushed Bentley within eight points of the final playoff spot, currently held by Army.

    Canisius, playing what coach Brian Cavanaugh called the toughest part of its schedule, has registered just one point in their last four games, after seeing a five-game winning streak come to an end. To defend the Ice Griffs, four games were on the road, and the next six contests are in the friendlier confines of Buffalo.

    Teams that are included in between Canisius and Bentley are Sacred Heart (18 points), AIC (17 points) and Army (16 points) — all of whom control their playoff destinies, sitting above the eighth-place cut line; and two others, Holy Cross (14 points) and Fairfield (13 points) — who join Bentley looking in from outside. Bentley currently has eight points and Canisius 19.

    The translation to all of this? Any one weekend can have major impact on the MAAC playoff picture.

    Now, if you want to look at who has the easiest road ahead and whose course is toughest, here you go. For the fifth- through 11th-place teams in the league, the table below outlines the average winning percentage (MAAC only) of their remaining opponents, along with each club’s league points, total games left in the regular season, and home and road games remaining.

     Rk  Team         Pts   Gm   OppW%  Hm  Rd
     5  Canisius      19    7   .521    5   2
     6  Sacred Heart  18    7   .517    6   1
     7  AIC           17    7   .594    5   2
     8  Army          16    6   .486    2   4
     9  Holy Cross    14    7   .487    4   3
     10  Fairfield     13    9   .504    6   3
     11  Bentley        8    7   .516    2   5

    So what does this tell us? Statistically, that Holy Cross and Army have the easiest schedules, though only two of Army’s six remaining games will be played among the comforts of home.

    AIC certainly has the toughest remaining schedule, with the top five teams (Mercyhurst, Iona, Quinnipiac, Connecticut and Cansius) making up six of AIC’s seven remaining games. The only benefit will be that five of those seven are at home, a place AIC has a 6-3-0 record this season in MAAC play.

    Can these numbers tell us much? Probably not. Any coach will tell you that the game is played on the ice, not on paper. But at least you have something to make you think.

    Weekly Awards

    ITECH MAAC Hockey League Player of the Week
    SHAWN MANSOFF, QUINNIPIAC
    Sr., F, Edmonton, AB

    Mansoff wins the award for his outstanding play in victories over Canisius and Mercyhurst. He recorded six points (3-3-6) in the two wins. He scored one goal and added two assists in the 7-2 win over Canisius and scored two goals, including the game-winner, and tallied an assist in the 4-1 win over first-place Mercyhurst. He is now second on the team with 24 points (12-12-24).

    ITECH MAAC Hockey League Goalie of the Week:
    EDDY FERHI, SACRED HEART
    So., G, Charenton, FR

    Ferhi was stellar in goal in the win over Fairfield and in the tie versus Holy Cross. He made 41 saves, including 17 in the first period, in the 4-1 win over Fairfield. In the 2-2 tie with Holy Cross, he made 29 saves, including five in overtime. He now has a .931 save percentage and a 2.36 goals against average.

    ITECH MAAC Hockey League Rookie of the Week:
    JUSTIN EDDY, QUINNIPIAC
    Fr., G, Apple Valley, MN

    Eddy was brilliant in victories over Canisius and first-place Mercyhurst. He stopped 56 shots in the 7-2 win over Canisius, a season high in a MAAC game this year. In the 4-1 win over Mercyhurst, he was solid in making 31 saves. He stopped 87 of 90 shots in the two wins for a .967 save percentage.

    Playoff Tickets on Sale

    Tickets for the 2001 Easton/MAAC Hockey League Championship, taking place March 15-17 at the UConn Ice Arena in Storrs, Conn., are now on sale through the University of Connecticut ticket office. The semifinals take place Thursday, March 15 at 4:00 and 7:30 p.m., and the championship game is set for Saturday, March 17 at 12:00 p.m.. The winner, for the first time, will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA championship.

    All-session passes are $12 for all three games, while single-day passes are $8.00 for adults and $3.00 for students, seniors (62 and over), and children (12 and under). Fans can call the UConn ticket office at 1-877-AT-UCONN (288-2666) for more information.

    Tickets for the quarterfinals, to be played on Saturday March 10, will be available through the host institutions. The top four finishers in the MAAC will host a quarterfinal game. The tickets will be $8.00 for adults and $3.00 for students, seniors (62 and over), and children (12 and under).

    Team Notes

    AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL

    The Yellow Jackets defeated Holy Cross, 4-3 in overtime, on Friday night but lost to Bentley, 7-4, on Saturday night… American International hosts Mercyhurst at 7:00 Friday night and play at Canisius Sunday afternoon at 2:00. Freshman Trent Ulmer netted the game-winner against Holy Cross with 1.6 seconds left in overtime. This marked the second time this season that Ulmer has defeated the Crusaders in overtime… Senior goaltender Chance Thede kept the Yellow Jackets in the game all night stopping 48 Crusader shots. Thede would record 38 saves the following night in the loss to Bentley, giving him a weekend total of 86 saves. He now leads the MAAC with 747 saves on the year and only needs 64 stops to break his own AIC single-season record of 810… Sophomore forward Andy Luhovy netted his seventh goal of the season Friday night and has tallied nine points in the last five games. The forward now has 16 points on the year.

    ARMY

    The Black Knights were defeated by Bentley, 7-4, on Friday night but beat second place Iona, 6-5, on Saturday night… Army competes against Canadian institution Royal Military College at home at 7:00 Saturday night… Army’s game against Fairfield on Tuesday night was postponed and is rescheduled for Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30 P.M…. Junior forward Tim Fisher had a five-point weekend , extending his point-scoring streak to a career-high eight games… Senior forward Mike Fairman notched his team-leading third game-winning goal of the season, beating Iona with 1:47 to play… Army remained unbeaten at home against Iona and improved to 22-2-1 all-time against the Gaels… For the second straight week, Army broke the MAAC on-campus attendance record with a sellout crowd of 2,911 for Saturday’s game against Iona… Fairman, Fisher and senior Garrett Brougham had goals in both games this weekend.

    BENTLEY

    The Falcons won their first two home games of the season with wins over Army, 7-4, on Friday night and American International, 4-2, on Saturday night… Bentley entertains Iona at 7:30 Saturday night in their only game next week… Sophomore goalie Kevin Williams made his second career start on Friday and made 21 saves, including 13 in the first period, in the victory over Army… Bentley had a shorthanded goal in each game during the weekend, both with the opponent’s goal empty. Junior Steve Tobio tallied against Army while sophomore Marcus Willy scored the final goal against American International… Freshman Mike Mulligan scored his 10th and 11th goals of the year this weekend, tying him with John DiGennaro for the team lead in goals. DiGennaro leads Bentley in scoring with 20 points … Senior goalie Ray DeVincent stopped 29 shots and earned his third win of the year in the victory over American International.

    CANISIUS

    The Ice Griffs lost road games at Quinnipiac, 7-2, on Friday night and at Connecticut, 4-1, on Saturday night… Canisius battles American International at home on Sunday afternoon at 2:00… Senior forward Matt Shewchuk scored two goals from the Ice Griffs this weekend, including the lone Canisius goal against Connecticut… Seniors Todd Bisson and Jason Spence joined Matt Shewchuk as Ice Griffs with more than 100 games played in their career. Spence is only five games away from tying Kelly Leroux for most games played by a defenseman … The Ice Griffs return home for a six-game homestand after dropping three of their last four on the road… Junior goalie Sean Weaver saw his first action in net since December 3 in Friday night’s game against Quinnipiac. Weaver made 17 saves in the final two periods allowing four goals against the Braves… The Ice Griffs will look to defend their Dunn Tire Hockey Classic crown against CHA-member and local rival Niagara University on February 20. Last year, Canisius defeated the Purple Eagles 2-1.

    CONNECTICUT

    The Huskies lost to first place Mercyhurst, 6-3, on Friday night but defeated Canisius, 4-1, on Saturday night… Connecticut has a road game at Fairfield at 8:00 Friday night and a home game against Mercyhurst at 7:30 Saturday night… Freshman goalie Artie Imbriano saw time between the pipes for the first time since Jan. 14 against Army and his second game in over a month due to a series of injuries. He earned the 4-1 win over Canisius on Saturday night, stopping 19 shots on goal in playing the entire game. He currently holds a 3.12 goals against average, in almost 732 minutes played in 14 appearances in net… Junior defenseman Mike Boylan recorded two goals in the two games. His first goal brought the Huskies with in one early in the third period in the loss to Mercyhurst. On Saturday, Boylan’s goal was the game-tying tally with less than two minutes remaining in the first period. Currently, Boylan ranks fifth in defenseman scoring in the MAAC overall stats. He leads Huskie defenseman with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points… Senior Eric Goclowski tallied four assists in the two games.

    FAIRFIELD

    The Stags lost to Sacred Heart, 4-1, on Friday night… Fairfield hosts Connecticut at 8:00 Friday night and plays at Quinnipiac Saturday night at 7:00… Fairfield’s game against Army on Tuesday night was postponed and is rescheduled for Tuesday, February 20 at 7:30 P.M…. Sophomore Jim Lubinski scored Fairfield’s lone goal, with assists to freshmen Hunter Greeley and John Wyson . It marked Lubinski’s fourth and Greeley’s fifth consecutive games with at least one point… The Stags out shot the Pioneers 42-26, but were 0-1 on the power play… Freshman goalie Craig Schnappinger recorded 22 saves in the loss. His record now stands at 6-8-1 overall and 6-7-1 in the MAAC… The Stags have nine games remaining, including two with Army and one with Holy Cross, Canisius, and Bentley each of whom are battling for a playoff spot.

    HOLY CROSS The Crusaders lost a road game at American International, 4-3 in overtime, on Friday night and tied Sacred Heart, 2-2, Saturday night… Holy Cross is home against Iona at 7:00 Friday night… Freshman forward Greg Kealey recorded three goals, two on the power play, in the two games. Kealey is tied for first on the team in points , leads the team in goals , and is fourth in assists . In the MAAC, Kealey ranks first in power-play goals , which also places him in the top-10 in the NCAA, and second among freshman in scoring with 23 points… Junior goaltender Derek Cunha made 37 saves against Sacred Heart, one below his season-high, to help the Crusaders pick up a valuable road point… Holy Cross is back on top of the MAAC in power play percentage at 23.1%… Junior Pat Rissmiller did not tally a point against Sacred Heart, breaking a stretch of three games where Rissmiller registered multiple point games… The Crusaders last five MAAC games have been decided by a total of four goals. Holy Cross plays their next three games at home.

    IONA

    The Gaels lost to Army, 6-5, on Saturday night in their only game last week. Iona plays road games at Holy Cross at 7:00 Friday night and at Bentley at 7:30 Saturday night… The Gaels were denied their first ever victory at Tate Rink and the Black Knights and Gaels split the season series… Iona is 4-5 against the Crusaders since the two teams elevated to D-I, including two 4-3 victories on 11/17 and 1/18 in overtime… Iona is 4-1 against Bentley in three years of MAAC action. The Gaels won 7-5 at John A. Ryan Arena on 11/12 and 5-0 at Sports Plus on 11/18… Iona’s seven game conference unbeaten streak was snapped in the loss to Army… Against the Black Knights, sophomore Ryan Manitowich scored his league leading 19th goal while conference assist leader junior Nathan Lutz added two more and also tallied his first goal of the year… Iona is 4-3 in games decided by one goal.

    MERCYHURST

    The Lakers earned a 6-3 win over Connecticut on Friday night and lost 4-1 to Quinnipiac on Saturday night but still remain atop the MAAC standings… Mercyhurst plays at American International at 7:00 Friday night and at Connecticut at 7:30 Saturday night… Junior Tom McMonagle recorded four points in the two games. He scored two goals and added an assist in the win over Connecticut and tallied the only Laker goal in the loss to Quinnipiac. Since returning from injury, he has scored at least one point in seven of eight games and has scored five goals in his last three games… Five different players scored in the victory over Connecticut. Senior Jeff Gould had a six game scoring streak snapped at Quinnipiac… The Lakers defeated and tied American International on November 3 and 4. Mercyhurst leads the all-time series 5-0-1… Mercyhurst snapped a three-game losing streak to the Huskies with Friday’s 6-3 win. All three losses came in succession at Connecticut last year. Connecticut still leads the all-time series 4-3.

    QUINNIPIAC

    The Braves ended a three game losing streak with wins over Canisius, 7-2, on Friday night and Mercyhurst, 4-1, on Saturday night… Quinnipiac goes on the road to play Sacred Heart at 7:00 Friday night and entertains Fairfield at 7:00 Saturday night… Senior forward Shawn Mansoff , the ITECH/MAAC Player of the Week, recorded six points in the two wins. He tallied one goal and two assists in the win over Canisius and scored two goals, including the game-winner, and an assist in the defeat of Mercyhurst… Freshman goalie Justin Eddy , the ITECH/MAAC Rookie of the Week, stopped 87 of 90 shots in the two games. He made 56 saves in the win over Canisius which is a season high in a MAAC game this year and 31 saves against Mercyhurst… In the win over Canisius, the Braves racked up a MAAC and school record six power-play goals… The Braves have killed off 23 consecutive penalty-killing situations, including a school-record 16 against Canisius on Friday night… With two goals against Canisius, senior forward Chris Cerrella moved past Bill Veneris into first place on the Quinnipiac career goals list. In addition, Cerrella needs one assist to become the third Quinnipiac player to record 100 career assists. Cerrella is in third place on the Braves career scoring list with 193 points.

    SACRED HEART

    The Pioneers won a home game against Fairfield, 4-1, on Friday night and tied Holy Cross, 2-2, on Saturday night… Sacred Heart hosts Quinnipiac at 7:00 Friday night in their only game next week… Sophomore goalie Eddy Ferhi , the ITECH/MAAC Goalie of the Week, allowed only three goals in 125 minutes. In the win against Fairfield, he turned away 41 shots, including 17 in the first period. In the tie with Holy Cross, the sophomore netminder made 29 saves, with five in the extra session… Freshman Mike Reagan had two goals and an assist in the 4-1 win over Fairfield. Reagan has 13 points so far in his rookie campaign. He has four power-play goals and one game-winner this season… The Pioneers are 6-1-1 at home this season and have six more games at home this season… Out of the 77 goals the Pioneers have tallied this year, 35 of them have come in the second period… Freshman Marc-Andre Fournier notched his second game tying goal of the season on Saturday, against Holy Cross. He had the game-tying goal at Iona on Nov. 25 in a 5-5 contest.

    This Week In Division III: Feb. 8, 2001

    By
    -

    Down to the Wire in the NCHA and SUNYAC

    The regular season comes to an end this weekend in the NCHA, and the following Tuesday in the SUNYAC. Playoffs for both leagues start on February 16.

    We’ll preview those conferences, and the final stretch for the other leagues, as well as look at a few teams given up for dead that made a resurgence last weekend.

    Around the Leagues

    NCHA

    Wis.-Superior is in the driver’s seat, passing St. Norbert, which could manage just a single point last weekend as opposed to Superior’s four. The main event was Friday night’s contest between the YellowJackets and the Green Knights, and that one went to Superior, which despite giving St. Norbert nine power-play opportunities and being outshot 41-22, defeated the Green Knights 7-3. Nate Ziemski made 38 saves for the ‘Jackets, who also defeated Lake Forest 3-1 on Saturday for their 13th win in a row.

    St. Norbert stumbled the next night as well, needing a third period goal from Shane Dickson to earn a 2-2 tie with last place St. Scholastica. The Saints also won the night before, 6-4 at Lake Forest. That had to be a confidence boost for St. Scholastica heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

    “I’ve been associated with the program since ’89 as a player, then an assistant coach and coach,” said Saints head coach Mark Workman. “And since that time we’ve never taken more than two points on the road in a weekend.”

    First place and home ice throughout the playoffs may come down to Saturday might in Superior, when the YellowJackets take on St. Norbert again. Both teams have crucial games on Friday when Superior hosts Lake Forest and St. Norbert travels to St. Scholastica.

    If both teams win on Friday, it sets up a winner-take all game on Saturday. Superior would get the first seed with a win or tie.

    Tiebreakers, if needed, are applied by the NCHA accordingly: 1. Head-to-head results (use goal differential if the teams split) 2. Goal Differential in all conference games.

    Superior beat St. Norbert by four goals in their first meeting.

    Wis.River-Falls is back from the brink, picking up four points last weekend to remain in the hunt for first place. The Falcons had dropped five of their last six conference games going into last weekend, but are now just two points out of first. River Falls holds the tiebreaker over Superior, but not over St. Norbert.

    Wis.-Stevens Point and Wis.-Stout are tied for the fourth and final home ice position, with the Pointers holding a big advantage in the tiebreaker due to their 9-1 won over the Blue Devils last Friday. The two teams meet again on Saturday, and could also meet in the first round of the playoffs.

    Bringing up the rear are Wis.-Eau Claire, Lake Forest and St. Scholastica, which will all be on the road for the playoffs. But since the three are only separated by a point in the standings, it won’t be until the final game of the regular season until the playoff pairings are decided.

    SUNYAC

    Only six of the eight teams in the SUNYAC will make the playoffs, so there’s usually drama at both the top and bottom of the standings.

    This season, however. Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Oswego, and Cortland are already in, and, barring a miracle, so are Geneseo and Fredonia. Brockport is already mathematically eliminated from the postseason, while Buffalo State needs to win its final three conference games and have either Fredonia lose its final three games, or beat Geneseo by more than two goals and also have the Ice Knights lose their remaining games. As little as a tie by both Geneseo and Fredonia in their final three games eliminates the Bengals.

    The schedule makers did a fine job this season, as most teams are playing their final three games (Friday, Saturday and the following Tuesday) against teams near them in the standings. First-place Plattsburgh will play second-place Potsdam and third-place Oswego, while the Lakers and Bears will also square off against each other. Those three teams are fighting for the two first-round byes and the right to host semifinal playoff series.

    In the middle of the pack are Cortland, Fredonia, and Geneseo. All are tied for fourth, and Fredonia plays Geneseo this weekend.

    MIAC

    There’s still two weekend left in the regular season, and just three points separate the top three teams. St. Thomas took over sole possession of first place last week with its seventh and eighth victories in a row, a pair of 5-2 wins over St. Olaf.

    The real story, however, is the rise of the Bethel Royals, who are just three points out of first with a pair of games in hand. Since joining the MIAC in the late ’70’s, the Royals have never won a regular season title. They’ve never even qualified for the MIAC playoffs, which began in 1986.

    The Royals play the Tommies this weekend in what might be the biggest series in the history of their program. That will finish up the regular season for St. Thomas, while Bethel still has to play Augsburg the following weekend. As close as they are to making the postseason, Bethel could still wind up in fifth place and out of the playoff picture.

    That’s because St. John’s and Augsburg are both lurking in fourth place, just two points behind Bethel. Concordia is currently in second, two points ahead of the Royals, but have just one conference series left, against last-place Hamline.

    Gustavus, St. Olaf and St. Mary’s are mathematically alive, but a single point by either St. John’s or Augsburg in their last four conference games will eliminate them. Hamline knows its season will end in two weeks.

    ECAC East

    With two weeks left in the regular season, Norwich is starting to open some distance. The Cadets are ahead by four points over Salem State and Babson. Salem has gone into free-fall, going 0-4-1 in its last five games. Babson has done the opposite, coming off the critical list to go 4-0-1 in its last five contests.

    Norwich has already clinched home ice for at least the first round of the playoffs, and its remaining four opponents have a combined record of 27-48-4. Expect the road to the ECAC Championship to go through Northfield, Vermont, again this season. The Cadets can clinch the regular-season title with a sweep this weekend of Williams and MCLA.

    NESCAC

    Middlebury leads Colby and Trinity by three points with four league games left, but watch out for Amherst. The Lord Jeffs, currently in fourth place, had been unbeaten in their last eight games before dropping a 6-3 non-league contest to Middlebury on Tuesday. That one was tied 3-3 going into the third period before the Panthers put the game away with two goals in the first seven minutes of the final stanza.

    The NESCAC uses a unique playoff format where only the top seven teams make the playoffs. The regular season champ gets a bye in the first round, and then hosts a “final four” the first weekend in March. Teams two through four host teams five through seven in the first round.

    Currently, Conn. College and Wesleyan find themselves out of the running, tied for last place and six points out of a playoff spot with four games left to play. The fat lady is warming up for the Camels and Cardinals, especially considering that both have to play Norwich and Middlebury the final weekend of the regular season.

    ECAC West

    RIT clinched a tie for the regular-season title with a road sweep of Hobart and Manhattanville last weekend. RIT has won five of the last six regular season titles; the only blemish was Niagara’s last season in the ECAC West (1997-98) when the Purple Eagles were regular season champs.

    Elmira can capture a share of the regular season crown if it wins its final four games, including one at RIT. But the Tigers hold the tiebreakers for home ice in the playoffs, so even if Elmira goes 4-0, expect the ECAC West finals to be at RIT for the third consecutive season.

    Manhattanville has three conference games left, including two against Elmira. As it stands now, Hobart will probably finish fourth, so the Soaring Eagles and Valiants are most likely playing to see who gets to wear the home jerseys in the early game at Ritter Arena on March 2. Round one between the two teams is Friday.

    ECAC Northeast

    Wentworth defeated Mass.-Dartmouth, 12-1, on Wednesday to move into a first-place tie with Johnson & Wales. Junior Tim Yakimowsky netted a amazing seven goals in that game to set new school records for goals and points (also seven). Sevens were indeed wild as Wentworth notched its seventh straight win, also a school record.

    J&W and Wentworth square off the final weekend of the regular season in a game that could determine the regular season champion.

    Just the top eight teams make the playoff in the D-III Division (all the D-II teams plus St. Anselm from the ECAC East will participate in a special ECAC Division II playoff), and time has run out for several squads. Curry, Nichols and WNEC are already eliminated from playoff contention.

    As it stands now, J&W, Wentworth, Tufts, Lebanon Valley and Mass.-Dartmouth have all clinched playoff berths, leaving Worcester State, Fitchburg State, Suffolk, Framingham State, Plymouth State and Salve Regina to battle for the final three slots.

    MCHA

    Minn.-Crookston completed a near-perfect conference season, going 11-0-1 to take 30 of a possible 32 points. Marian has also clinched a playoff berth. The three remaining squads: Northland, MSOE and Lawrence each have four conference games left, and are battling for the final two playoff spots.

    Marian plays MSOE this week in a home-and-away series, while Lawrence hosts Northland for a pair. A point for Northland clinches a playoff spot for the Lumberjacks.

    Picks

    Last week: 7-0
    On the season: 49-21-2 (.694)

    This week:

    Bowdoin (2/9) and Colby (2/10) at No. 7 Amherst – This will be a good test for the Lord Jeffs, as these may be a preview of NESCAC playoff games. Look for Amherst to split. Amherst 4, Bowdoin 2; Colby 5, Amherst 4.

    Salem State at Babson (2/9) – Two teams going in opposite directions. Babson 4, Salem State 2.

    No. 5 Elmira at Manhattanville (2/9) – Manhattanville put a scare into RIT last Saturday (4-3 loss). Can they do it again? Unfortunately, the Valiants are 0-4 against ranked teams this season, and I don’t see that changing. Elmira 6, Manhattanville 2

    St. Thomas vs. Bethel (2/9 and 2/10) – This is a classic series pitting the new kid on the block against the perennial power. Experience wins out. St. Thomas 4, Bethel 1; St. Thomas 3, Bethel 2.

    No. 6 Wis.-River Falls at No. 9 Wis.-Stevens Point (2/9) – The Falcons are hot and the Pointers are not, but look for the Dogs to come out on top on home ice. UWSP 5, UWRF 3.

    No. 8 St. Norbert at No. 2 Wis.-Superior (2/10) – If anyone can stop the ‘Jackets right now, it might be the Green Knights. But I don’t think it will happen. UWS 5, St. Norbert 4.

    Potsdam (2/9) and No. 4 Plattsburgh (2/10) at No. 10 Oswego – SUNYAC hockey at its best with first place on the line. Can Oswego derail a final showdown between Plattsburgh and Potsdam? Or will they end up making it easier for Plattsburgh to claim the crown? Oswego 4, Potsdam 3; Plattsburgh 5, Oswego 3.

    1...1,4671,4681,469...1,535Page 1,468 of 1,535

    Latest Stories from around USCHO

    Reigning Hobey Baker winner, Michigan State star Howard gives up senior season, signs NHL deal with Oilers

    USCHO Staff -

    McKenna, odds on favorite as No. 1 pick in 2026 NHL Draft, announces commitment to Penn State for ’25-26 season

    USCHO Staff -

    Report: Tennessee State not fielding men’s hockey team for 2025-26, aiming to move start to 2026-27

    USCHO Staff -

    Former Western Michigan, Michigan goalie, NHL video coach Scarpace named new assistant at Michigan Tech

    USCHO Staff -

    Michigan State standout, 2025 Hobey Baker winner Howard earns USA Hockey’s Jim Johannson College Player of the Year award

    USCHO Staff -

    Seasoned junior, college hockey coach Bruneteau returning to Stevenson as head coach of Mustangs men’s hockey team

    USCHO Staff -

    Hobart men’s hockey assistant coach Kovachis heading back to Niagara as Purple Eagles’ new assistant

    USCHO Staff -

    UMass Boston women’s head coach Bradley hired as new assistant coach for Penn State women’s team

    USCHO Staff -

    Penn State names former Nittany Lions defenseman Pedrie new assistant coach for men’s hockey team

    USCHO Staff -

    Former Minnesota women’s hockey standout, St. Cloud State assistant Jalosuo back with Huskies as new head coach

    USCHO Staff -

    Former Princeton assistant coach Kessel leaves PWHL Boston job, returns to Tigers as new women’s hockey head coach

    USCHO Staff -

    Theros chosen new assistant coach for Alaska, stays in town with Nanooks after coaching NAHL’s Ice Dogs

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