Home Blog Page 1475

This Week In Women’s Hockey: Dec. 7, 2000

By Zevi Gutfreund
-

Here Comes Harvard

With three wins on the road last week, two over Top Five teams, Harvard is starting to turn heads around the country. The Crimson (8-3-0) has vaulted to No. 3 in this week’s USCHO.com poll, its highest ranking of the season.

Unlike two years ago, when Harvard destroyed its competition (often by five or more goals) en route to a 33-1-0 record and a national championship, all three wins were close. In Sunday’s victory at No. 4 St. Lawrence, the Crimson was outshot 27-22 by the Saints but held on for a 2-1 victory. Harvard had the advantage on offense in the other two contests, outshooting No. 5 Brown 31-25 and Cornell 30-18.

Another difference from two years ago is that the entire roster is contributing this season, not just one line, if only because Harvard has no other choice. With only 14 skaters and three goaltenders on the active roster, Harvard coach Katey Stone uses her entire bench–and all 14 players have scored thus far.

Sophomore forward Tracy Catlin, for example, scored two goals last week–including the game-winner at Brown. Catlin, who saw little action as a rookie last year, now finds herself on the second line with sophomore Kalen Ingram and senior Angie Francisco (5g, 14a), who is third in the conference in assists.

But the heart of Harvard’s offense is still the combination of senior Tammy Shewchuk (6g, 15a) and junior Jennifer Botterill (13g, 7a). Shewchuk is the ECAC’s second-leading scorer while Botterill leads the conference in goal-scoring although she has only played in seven games. Botterill was read hot last week, recording five goals and an assist in the three wins.

“Every year she’s a better player,” said Stone of Botterill. “She’s stronger and faster than she was even last year, and she’s our utility player in terms of doing whatever we ask of her. In my opinion, she’s head and shoulders above everyone else in college hockey.”

Stone also started to salvage some holes in the Crimson defense by moving senior Tara Dunn (3g, 4a) to the blueline. Dunn’s first game as a defenseman was at Brown, and since then the Crimson has not given up more than one goal in a game. Stone is hoping that Dunn will be able to bring to the defensive zone some of the qualities Harvard lost when Angela Ruggiero, the top blueliner in the country the last two seasons, left Cambridge to train with the US National Team.

“Tara is a Rugger-esque player,” Stone said in reference to Ruggiero.” She’s like a quarterback in the defensive zone because she can break the puck out cleanly. We need someone who sees the seams and puts the puck where she wants it quickly.”

The other addition to the Harvard defense is freshman goaltender Jessica Ruddock, who saw limited action earlier in the season due to injury but got the wins at Brown and St. Lawrence. Although she has played in just four games, Ruddock, who made 26 stops against the Saints, is second in the conference in both GAA (0.82) and save percentage (.967).

“We knew Jessica was a great goaltender, it was just a matter of getting her healthy,” Stone said. “Alison Kuusisto has also done a tremendous job for us this year, and now there is a healthy rivalry between the two of them. They’re pushing each other everyday in practice and that’s what we want.”

Harvard has this week off before traveling to No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth next weekend.

No. 1 vs. No. 2

The biggest games of the early season will take place this weekend in Hanover, where No. 1 Dartmouth (8-0-1) will host No. 2 Minnesota (11-2-1) in a two-game series.

Last year the Gophers swept the Big Green in a pair of one-goal victories at Mariucci Arena en route to winning the national championship. This year, however, Dartmouth comes into these games as the top team in the country, with an undefeated record and everyone back from last year’s squad, which reached the AWCHA semifinals.

“Both teams are a year older and have started out well,” Dartmouth coach Judy Parish Oberting said, comparing the upcoming series to last year’s contests. “Last year, we were without seniors and hadn’t quite figured out how good we were in the early months. In fact, it really wasn’t until the end of the year that hit our stride–this year, we have won some close games early and the players are anxious to get back out there against the Gophers.”

The Big Green has won the games its supposed to win so far but, as Oberting said, the score has been close against Dartmouth’s toughest competition. The Big Green has played three Top Five teams, and it narrowly escaped those contests. Dartmouth won by one goal against both Harvard and Brown and, in its most recent game on Nov. 26, the Big Green tied St. Lawrence, 2-2.

The Big Green has gotten the job done so far by spreading the wealth on offense rather than looking to one or two big scorers. Dartmouth has five players with at least 10 points in senior Carrie Sekela, juniors Kim McCullough, Kristin King and Correne Bredin and sophomore Carly Haggard.

Minnesota, on the other hand, has five players among the top 15 scorers in the WCHA: rookie La Toya Clarke, seniors Ambria Thomas and Nadine Muzerall, junior Laura Slominski and sophomore Rona Curtin. The high-flying Gophers will look to attack a rugged Dartmouth defense which, under Bredin’s leadership and the acrobatic goaltending of Amy Ferguson, allows just 1.89 goals a game.

“We need to play with intensity and intelligence,” said Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson. “If we turn over the puck too much and make mental mistakes, we’ll be in trouble. Dartmouth is the type of team that will take advantage of opponents’ mistakes.”

The Gophers are on a 6-0-1 streak after losing two games early in the season to Brown and No. 9 Ohio State, but Halldorson said there is still room for improvement for the defending champs.

“Our team could be a little more consistent than we’ve been so far this season, and we had the same issue last year,” Halldorson said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best hockey yet. Although this is a tough stretch of time for our players academically, they understand how important these games are for us. Hopefully, they will be motivated and ready to take on a tough opponent like Dartmouth.”

This Week In The WCHA: Dec. 7, 2000

By
-

Dubie-Dubie-Can-Do

Denver coach George Gwozdecky jokes that whenever Wade Dubielewicz heads into a down stretch, he’s going to throw the goaltender against the wall.

Hold on — there is more to the story.

You see, Dubielewicz has come back strong after a dislocated shoulder, an injury that has hampered him in the past and will probably require surgery in the summer.

“So from here on in, anytime he goes into a slump in his career, I’m just going to throw him up against the wall and see if I can hurt his shoulder so he’ll snap back into playing like he’s playing right now,” Gwozdecky said.

Interesting logic, these coaches.

Dubielewicz was named the WCHA’s defensive player of the week after holding Minnesota to one goal in a two-game series. And he’s a big key to why the Pioneers are in the midst of a five-game unbeaten streak.

In that period of time, the sophomore has a 1.38 goals against average and has saved 95.2 percent of the shots that have come his way.

“There’s no question that by his play, he’s ready to handle anything that comes his way, no matter where we break down in front of him,” Gwozdecky said. “The thing that amazes me is that he hasn’t been making things look difficult. He’s played very efficiently. There’s very few times it looks like he’s making magnificent saves. And I know for a fact he’s been tested a number of times in big ways.

“He’s not overplaying pucks, he’s very comfortable when facing shots, he’s controlling the rebounds extremely well. He’s playing a very intelligent and efficient game. There’s no question that he’s given the team tremendous amounts of opportunities to stay in games and develop confidence.”

All this is important for the Pioneers, who came into the season not knowing what to expect in the goaltending position. Stephen Wagner played in 33 of the team’s 41 games last season.

While Dubielewicz got some playing time last season, it couldn’t prepare him for what faced him this season.

“All of a sudden, Wade was put into the role as a No. 1 guy and I don’t know if he was really that experienced to inherit that position and understand the physical and mental responsibilities that go with it,” Gwozdecky said. “The first few games he played, I think he was still trying to find himself. Everyone gets to the point where they say enough is enough, I’m going to make my presence known.

“I think Wade has done that. He’s a very confident young man and has really developed over the course of a year and some. Pretty mature young guy. He’s become a leader in his own right and obviously with his play on the ice, he’s really had a very positive impact on the team.”

The confidence Dubielewicz has given the Pioneers in the last few weeks is helping them win mental battles against other teams.

When he has shut down opposing offenses, it gives DU the upper hand.

“I think the greatest example is Saturday night against Minnesota, when they threw everything including the kitchen sink at him in the first period, and after one period we were badly outplayed and they had a 1-0 lead, but we’re still in the game,” Gwozdecky said. “We come out in the second period and we score to tie it up and go ahead shortly thereafter.

“It’s very frustrating, having been on the other side, you know you’re working your [butt] off, creating great scoring chances, doing everything well and you can’t score, and the other team seems to come down and score. It re-emphasizes how important that position is in this sport.”

Power Failure

Minnesota knows all about that frustration. The Gophers outshot Denver 33-20 on Friday and 29-20 on Saturday and got one goal past Dubielewicz.

Even more frustrating to Gophers coach Don Lucia, though, was that the power play was nonexistent.

Minnesota was 0-for-9 on Friday and 0-for-3 on Saturday. The team still leads the league by two percentage points in that category, but more weekends like the last will end that.

“It’s always been such a strength and it hasn’t been going real good,” Lucia said. “Part of it is that I think our key guys offensively aren’t doing much right now. And those are the guys that are on our specialties. We need our key guys to pick up their game.”

Maybe it’s been because of a lack of drive on the power play. Lucia said his team has been playing too much on the perimeter.

“We’re not going to the net, we’re not getting rebound opportunities,” he said. “You have to get some of those types of goals as well.”

But when you only allow 20 shots a night and still end up with four goals on the scoreboard for the other team, the finger often points at the goaltender.

Lucia said Adam Hauser didn’t have his best game last weekend, and when that happens, the Gophers usually lose.

“Friday night, Adam didn’t have a very good game, and that’s going to happen,” Lucia said. “Saturday night he was fine, he only gave up three, and they were good goals. Friday night he would admit he could play a whole lot better, and that’s a big part of it. In the league, when Adam hasn’t been 90 (percent) or better, we’re 0-3-2. When he’s struggled, we haven’t won.”

You hate to pin all the pressure on one person, especially the goaltender, who can’t control what happens out in front of him, but facts are facts. It may turn out that, much like last year, the Gophers will go the way Hauser goes unless the players in front of him find a way to win even on off nights.

Hauser will play Saturday’s game against Quinnipiac, a game that suddenly gains a ton of importance for the Gophers. With a four-game losing streak, they can’t afford to make it five with a two-plus-week layoff until the Mariucci Classic.

“I think it’s real important, especially because we’re going to lose three guys [Jeff Taffe, Troy Riddle and Paul Martin] to the world junior team,” Lucia said. “We not only have to get our key guys going, but some of our second-tier players have to start producing a little bit more. Right now we’re kind of falling in that trap of not scoring a lot five-on-five. And that, I think, was the big downfall of our team last year.”

An Out-of-Conference Experience

Without a conference series for nearly a two-month period, Minnesota State-Mankato coach Troy Jutting has some plans.

“It’s good in that it does give us a chance to work on some things and maybe get a few kids in the lineup that haven’t been in the lineup for the past few weeks,” Jutting said, indicating freshman forward Dana Sorenson may see more playing time and players like freshman Shane Joseph could see different roles.

“It also gives you a little chance to heal up some injuries that kids would play with if it was league games. You can afford to let them heal up a little bit.”

But then again …

“The one thing that is kind of a downfall from it is you lose the pressures of league play and playing with that type of intensity every night,” Jutting said. “Obviously, you’d like to play with that type of intensity every game you play, but it’s not the same when you’re not playing for points and the competitiveness that builds up after playing a league opponent year in and year out.”

After losing the first four games of the season — a pair each to Colorado College and Wisconsin — the Mavericks have won six of their last 10, including one over North Dakota. That’s not stellar, but it’s something from which they can work.

“Obviously, we’d like to be 12-0 in the league right now, but I do think we’re making strides in the right direction,” Jutting said. “We knew it would be tough those first three weekends without some of our kids. We have not had a game yet where we’ve had our full roster available to us. We’re healthy right now, knock on wood, for the first time this year, completely healthy and that should help us.

“We’re starting to come together as a team a little bit better. Like I said at the beginning of the year, it’s going to be important for us to make sure we stay competitive and kept getting better through Thanksgiving and Christmastime because I think we will be a better hockey team in January and February.”

The next two weekends might not be for points, but they’ll be important to the Mavericks nonetheless.

They host Alabama-Huntsville, a team they played on a yearly basis before entering the WCHA, this weekend. The next weekend, Bemidji State, a longtime rival, comes to the Midwest Wireless Civic Center.

“It is nice to have those nonconference games against teams that are rivals because, while it doesn’t simulate a league series, it does add a little something to what a normal nonconference team would be,” Jutting said.

One More Showdown

The last big WCHA series of 2000 could tell us a lot about who will be controlling the league into 2001.

North Dakota, a tired team after a trip to Anchorage, Alaska, last weekend, goes back on the road to face Colorado College.

Put it this way: If North Dakota sweeps, look who’s running away with the league. In that case, they would be seven points up on Minnesota and nine ahead of CC, having played two more games than both.

“At this time you can just say our goal is to go up there and split,” UND coach Dean Blais said. “Obviously, if you win Friday night we’re really going to dig our heels in and try to win Saturday, but you sure would like to come out of there with some points. We have really played quite well on the road.”

Last weekend was a good example of that. The Sioux took a pair of games from Alaska-Anchorage, one via shutout.

“It takes a lot of character. Any level, any sport you play in, playing at home is a lot easier than playing on the road,” Blais said. “It takes tremendous character, leadership and determination to win on the road. We’ve found a way to do it.”

But it came at a price. Blais, goaltender Karl Goehring and forward Jeff Panzer went to Washington to meet with President Clinton last Thursday, then went to Anchorage. After going back to Grand Forks, N.D., the team now gets on a plane to go to Colorado Springs, Colo.

“We’re tired,” Blais said. “We didn’t even practice [Monday], and [Tuesday] we’ll go for about an hour. I would think by [Wednesday] we’ll have a pretty good practice, but then Thursday we’ll be tired again. Hopefully we can get through this weekend. I would have much preferred a home game this weekend, but you can’t control the schedule, you just have to play through it.”

This weekend’s series, if it goes the way of the Tigers, could put them in a tremendous position to start the new year. Neither CC nor North Dakota plays another conference game after this weekend before the holiday break, so if CC sweeps, it will be one point behind the Sioux with two games in hand.

From the Oval Office

Blais is already picking pictures for next year’s North Dakota media guide. He has one of himself, some of his current and former players and Bill Clinton picked out. Not a bad choice.

When the Sioux met with the president last Thursday, Blais was impressed with how personable the country’s chief executive was.

“It was exciting to see all of last year’s seniors out there and Mike Commodore [who left school after his junior season],” Blais said. “We got a chance to tour the White House and then meet with him for a half hour in the Oval Office. He was very cordial and personable, and everyone was kind of in awe of him and the way he handled himself.”

He Said It

“Anytime you get a sweep, it’s a great feeling. Against the Gophers, we just love beating them.”

— Denver captain Judd Stauss.

News And Views

  • Wisconsin swept Minnesota-Duluth last weekend, 5-4 and 4-3 in overtime, but does that say more about the Badgers or the Bulldogs? Does this mean the Badgers are back on track, or that Duluth is a much better team that started the season?
  • Alaska-Anchorage forward Gregg Zaporzan sprained a knee in last Friday’s loss to North Dakota and will miss two to three weeks. He and Steve Cygan have been mired in scoring slumps. Each has a team-leading nine points, but Cygan hasn’t scored in five games and Zaporzan was has been held off the scoresheet in his last four games. Yes, this is 2000, when Seawolves’ scoring slumps are news.
  • Mike Sertich gets his first taste of the Michigan Tech-Northern Michigan rivalry this weekend, when the home-and-home series continues. It’s probably nothing new to the coach. Remember the Minnesota-Duluth rivalry with Minnesota?
  • Historical significance time: Over the last four games, Minnesota has scored four goals. The last time that happened was January 1952, one year before the legendary John Mariucci came aboard as coach. John Mayasich did score 32 goals and 30 assists in 26 games that season.
  • North Dakota goaltender Andy Kollar recorded his second career shutout last Saturday against Alaska-Anchorage. Really? Just his second shutout? That seems odd.
  • A tale of the Lundbohms: North Dakota’s Bryan leads the nation with 19 goals. St. Cloud State’s Andy scored his second of the season last weekend. Andy has a ways to go.

    On The Docket

    In the last true weekend of WCHA games for 2000, the series that stands out is the aforementioned Sioux-Tigers battle.

    But the Wisconsin-St. Cloud State series is intriguing because the Huskies could put the Badgers in quite a hole in the conference race while putting themselves right among the leaders despite having played only 10 games.

    And watch out for those Russians. Their tour of WCHA arenas begins on Sunday at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.

    • This Week In The MAAC: Dec. 7, 2000

    By
    -

    Controversy in Buffalo

    Snow isn’t the only thing that has found its way to Buffalo this December. Just ask the Canisius College athletic department.

    Right in the middle of a season that hasn’t lived up to most expectations, the Canisius College Ice Griffs are now faced with extreme controversy — the accusation that head coach Brian Cavanaugh assaulted rookie defenseman Matt Coulter.

    Cavanaugh claimed that he was only trying to get the freshman’s attention and tapped him on the head with a stick. Coulter’s father though has gone to the media stating that his son suffered a mild concussion from the blow.

    Greg Coulter, father of the injured player, told the Associated Press that his son suffered a Grade 2 concussion, according to two members of the Canisius medical staff as well as a separate doctor that Coulter visited in Toronto. None of these statements could be confirmed, however.

    Cavanaugh was originally suspended indefinitely by the University, but was reinstated on Tuesday by athletic director Tim Dillon after an investigation of the incident.

    In a statement issued to the media, Dillon said, “Coach Cavanaugh has apologized to the student, as well as to the team, and I believe that he understands that he has made a mistake. However, from the college’s standpoint, an action such as this is unacceptable. In addition to the five-day suspension, he has received a severe reprimand and a warning that any further actions of this type will subject him to immediate dismissal.”

    Neither Cavanaugh nor Dillon were available for further comment.

    To those in the hockey world that know Cavanaugh, the entire situation comes as a big shock.

    Mercyhurst head coach Rick Gotkin, who is probably the closest coach to Cavanaugh in the MAAC, having coached against him in while both teams were in the ECAC West, said the he’s “happy to see [Cavanaugh] back where he belongs.”

    Gotkin said, “I can’t believe, knowing [Cavanaugh] the way I do, that he is capable of doing what was reported.”

    Gotkin admitted to not having spoken with Cavanaugh since the incident occurred.

    “The school clearly investigated [the incident],” said Gotkin. “By reinstating him they have vindicated him of wrongdoing.

    “You’ve got 20-something players out there with the coach who watched this happen. Obviously, they’re going to tell [the athletic director] what they saw.”

    Coulter did not dress for last weekend’s games against Army and Iona. The school would not say if that was a coach’s decision or if he was scratched due to injury. They did state, though, that Coulter was scratched on a coach’s decision for the two-game series against AIC on November 17 and 18.

    So the question lies here: who is telling the truth? Is it the coach who claims to have tapped a player on the head, or the father who claims a more severe injury? The truth may even lie somewhere in the middle.

    Rest assured that, though Canisius would like to see all of this simply go away, it more than likely will not.

    Weekly Awards

    ITECH MAAC Hockey League Player of the Week:
    BRIAN HERBERT, QUINNIPIAC
    So., F, Langley, BC

    Herbert wins the award for his great play against nonconference opponents Rensselaer and No. 11 Union. He scored the game-winning goal in the 3-2 upset victory over Union and added an assist. He also scored a goal and tallied an assist in the 6-3 loss to RPI. He is currently fourth on the Braves with 13 points.

    Also Nominated: Corey Lucas, Mike Boylan, Rae Metz, John Gilbert, Jeff Gould, Martin Paquet.

    ITECH MAAC Hockey League Goalie of the Week:
    JASON CAREY, CONNECTICUT
    Fr., G, Oakdale, MN

    Carey earned his second collegiate win in goal in the 4-1 victory over American International on Saturday night while making a career high 25 saves. After only his third appearance, he holds a 1.38 goals against average allowing three goals in 130:20 played.

    Also Nominated: Ben Brady, Peter Aubry, Justin Eddy, Eddy Ferhi.

    ITECH MAAC Hockey League Rookie of the Week:
    CRAIG SCHNAPPINGER, FAIRFIELD
    Fr., G, Springfield, VA

    Schnappinger went 2-0-1 this week for the Stags. He stopped 27 of 31 shots in the 5-4 victory over Iona, recorded 12 saves on 14 shots in the 5-2 win over Bentley, and made 10 saves on 12 shots in the 2-2 tie with Sacred Heart. He is now tied for third place in the conference statistics with a 1.97 GAA and a .700 winning percentage. He is 3-3-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the MAAC.

    Also Nominated: Guillaume Caron, Kelly Bararuk, Adam Tackaberry, Marc-Andre Fournier.

    Braves Stun Dutchmen

    Just one week after nationally-ranked Union skated to a 2-2 tie with Mercyhurst, the unthinkable happened. Union, enjoying its best season in the program’s Division I history fell — and fell hard.

    Thanks to an outstanding performance from Quinnipiac goaltender Justin Eddy, one that included 21 saves while preserving a one-goal lead in the third period, the Braves became the first MAAC team to beat a nationally-ranked member of the ECAC, defeating Union, 3-2.

    Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold was more than happy with his team’s win: he was out-and-out excited by their overall performance.

    “We’re happy,” Pecknold said. “We came out [last] weekend and we played two competitive games. [Friday], I thought we didn’t get the bounces and [on Saturday] we got fortunate to have the puck bounce our way a couple of times; we played hard the whole game. We played hard the whole weekend. Everyone says we have something to prove, and we came out and we proved something.”

    That the Braves did. And the effort didn’t go unnoticed. The Braves garnered 19 votes in this week’s U.S. College Hockey Online poll, the most ever by a MAAC club. With a 10-3-2 record, the Braves rank among the nation’s leaders in wins and winning percentage.

    After the win, though, Pecknold said that his club never really felt pressure to prove itself against a “Big Four” club.

    “I never felt like we had a monkey on our back to be honest with you,” Pecknold said about getting that first win over the Big Four conferences. “I felt that we were just as good as a lot of these teams in the ECAC, and if we were given the opportunity, we weren’t going to win all of them, but we’re going to win some of them. We proved that when we tied St. Lawrence and played good against Clarkson, and this weekend.”

    Now the Braves’ test will be to carry the success back into MAAC play. But before that, Quinnipiac will continue its nonleague test, facing No. 10 Minnesota on the road this week for its final game before break. Upon return, the Braves will face preseason ECAC favorite Cornell, which dropped a decision already this season to Sacred Heart, for their final nonleague tilt of the regular season.

    Stags Continue to Roll

    It may seem shocking, but the team that stands in fifth place right now in the MAAC is not accustomed to such high altitude in the standings.

    That’s because this club, Fairfield University, equaled in seven days what it took an entire season to accomplish last year — three wins. The Stags, who posted a 3-22-2 record last season, won three MAAC league games in a seven-day span, knocking off Iona and Bentley on the road before tying Sacred Heart and beating defending champion UConn at home.

    Fairfield, who started the season a dismal 1-7, is 4-1-1 in its last six and stands in a three-way tie with AIC and Sacred Heart for fifth place in the MAAC, with a 4-4-1 league record.

    A change this drastic almost cries for a catalyst. You need look no further than goaltending to answer that question.

    After last season, where the best save percentage among Fairfield netminders was .843 and the best goals against average was 4.87, everyone knew that the Stags had a gaping hole at their last line of defense.

    Enter Craig Schnappinger, a freshman from Springfield, Va., who has been the one common factor in the Stags’ recent success. Though his overall performance doesn’t look like an improvement , Schnappinger’s save percentage in MAAC games is significantly better.

    The biggest sign of success is realized in goals against average. Over the six-game streak, Schnappinger posted a 2.30 GAA.

    It also doesn’t hurt that the Fairfield team defense has shown significant improvement. Last year, the Stags allowed a whopping 33.2 shots per game. This year, that is down nearly ten shots to 23.5 — a major improvement, to say the least.

    Around the League

    AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL

    The Yellow Jackets split a home-and-home series with Connecticut. They defeated the Huskies 3-1 Friday night in Storrs and lost at home 4-1 on Saturday night … American International travels to Michigan to faceoff against CHA member Wayne State at 7:05 Friday and Saturday night … Freshman Guillaume Caron scored the game-winning goal Friday night on a Yellow Jackets power play 9:22 into the second period. Caron would also add an assist in the third period. Caron provided the only offense for the Yellow Jackets with a goal in the first period in the 4-1 loss. The goal was the third point of the weekend for Caron who now has five goals and seven assists … Senior Chance Thede again played solid in net for AIC, stopping 28 of 29 shots and assisting on the first goal of the evening. Thede kept the Huskies scoreless until the final period of play … AIC has not tallied a shorthanded goal in 44 consecutive games.

    ARMY

    The Black Knights lost to Canisius 5-2 on Saturday night in their only game of the week. It was the first game between the two schools in four years … Army will host Mercyhurst on Friday and Saturday night. Both games will begin at 7:00 … The games against Mercyhurst will be the first ever meetings between the two schools … The game on Saturday is the MAAC Game of the Week … Junior forwards Tim Fisher and Tim Murphy scored both goals for Army in the 5-2 loss to Canisius … Freshman Casey McKenna assisted on the Murphy goal for his first career point … Junior goalie Scott Hamilton made 35 saves, his second highest total of the season and fifth 30+ save effort of the season … Army has alternated wins and losses over its last nine games.

    BENTLEY

    The Falcons lost home games to Fairfield, 5-2, on Friday and to Sacred Heart, 5-3, on Sunday … Bentley has this week off before returning to the ice on December 16 to play Holy Cross at Boston College’s Conte Forum … In a wild game on Friday, Bentley and Fairfield combined for more than 100 minutes in penalties. The Stags scored three power-play goals on the way to victory and had 12 power play opportunities in all … Junior John DiGennaro has stepped up as one of the Falcon leaders on offense. DiGennaro scored a goal in each game last weekend including a tally with just 1:16 left against Sacred Heart that cut the Pioneer lead to 4-3. He shares the team lead in points with eight … Freshman goalie Bill Bridge had a busy weekend. He made 11 saves in a scoreless third period against Fairfield, then had 29 stops in his first collegiate start against Sacred Heart … Freshman Michael Ciarletta scored his first collegiate goal in the loss to Fairfield.

    CANISIUS

    The Ice Griffs went 1-1 at home over the weekend. They defeated Army 5-2 on Saturday and lost to Iona 7-2 on Sunday … Canisius is off until December 29-30 when they play in the Alabama-Huntsville Tournament. They faceoff against the host Chargers on December 29 at 7:00 … Junior forward Corey Lucas scored three goals on the weekend for the Ice Griffs. He scored one goal in the victory over Army on Saturday and both of Canisius’ goals on Sunday in the loss to Iona … Junior Scott Teeter scored two goals in the win over Army and sophomore Mike Ferry added two assists … Junior goaltender Sean Weaver stopped 16 shots in the win over Army. Weaver made 25 saves in the loss to Iona.

    CONNECTICUT

    The Huskies split a home-and-home series with American International. They lost at home 3-1 on Friday night but won 4-1 on the road Saturday night. Connecticut also dropped a 5-4 overtime decision to Fairfield on Tuesday night … The huskies have a home-and-home series against Iona on Friday and Saturday night. Both games begin at 7:30 … The Huskies defeated the Gaels 6-1 in the championship game of the 2000 Easton/MAAC Hockey League Championship. These are the only games pitting the 2000 finalists against each other this year … Freshman goalie Jason Carey, the ITECH MAAC Goalie of the Week, earned his second collegiate win in goal against AIC on Saturday night while making a career high 25 saves. After only his third appearance in net, Carey holds a 1.38 goals against average allowing three goals in 130:20 played … Junior defenseman Mike Boylan recorded two goals over the weekend. He scored the game-winner Saturday night and the Huskies only tally in Friday night’s loss. Boylan has eight points this season for the Huskies.

    FAIRFIELD

    The Stags enjoyed their best week since joining the MAAC by going 3-0-1. They defeated Iona, 5-4, on Wednesday, Bentley, 5-2, on Friday, tied Sacred Heart 2-2 on Saturday, and defeated UConn, 5-4 in overtime, on Tuesday … The Stags will look to continue winning ways when the play a nonconference game against Sacred Heart at 8:00 Friday night … With the three wins, the Stags matched last season’s total win output of three … Sophomore Rae Metz had five points on the weekend. In the win over Iona, Metz tallied an assist, while on Friday he notched two goals and an assist including the game-winner over Bentley, and Saturday he scored a goal in the tie with Sacred Heart. Metz now sits in a tie for fourth place in overall MAAC scoring with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. He is also tied for the lead in overall power play points with eight … Freshman goaltender Craig Schnappinger , the ITECH MAAC Rookie of the Week, made 27 saves against Iona, 12 against Bentley, and 10 against Sacred Heart. He now ranks third in conference statistics for both goals against average, and winning percentage. Schnappinger is now 3-3-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the MAAC.

    HOLY CROSS

    The Crusaders lost last week to ECAC member Vermont, 10-2, before defeating Sacred Heart, 4-3, on Tuesday … Holy Cross managed a season low 14 shots on goal versus Vermont … Both of the Crusaders goals against Vermont were scored by the same combination: goal by Pat Rissmiller , assists Greg Kealey and Jeff Dams … Holy Cross continues to lead the MAAC in power-play percentage in both conference games 26.9% and overall games 22.4% … Sophomore Brandon Doria is tied for fifth overall in assist points with nine … Four of the Crusaders top seven point scorers this year are freshman; Jeff Dams, Greg Kealey, R.J. Irving, and Tim Coskren … The Crusaders game against Vermont was the two teams first meeting since January 12, 1978. That game was the only previous meeting between the two teams. It was the second of three meetings between Holy Cross and ECAC schools. The Crusaders have already played St. Lawrence and Vermont, and play Yale on January 20th in New Haven.

    IONA

    The Gaels split their two games over the weekend. They lost to Mercyhurst, 6-1, on Friday and defeated Canisius, 7-2, on Saturday … Iona has a home-and-home series with defending MAAC Champion Connecticut on Friday and Saturday. Both games begin at 7:30 … Iona went 1-2 against UConn last season including a 6-1 loss in the championship game of the 2000 Easton/MAAC Hockey League Championship … The Huskies lead the all time series 5-2-2 … Sophomore forward Ryan Manitowich had a goal and an assist in the Gaels 7-2 victory over Canisius, increasing his league totals to ten goals and five assists for 15 points in only nine MAAC contests … Junior defenseman Nathan Lutz added three assists in the Gaels victory, extending his MAAC league-leading total to 14. Overall, Lutz has 16 assists on the season … Sophomore forward John Gilbert scored two goals and added an assist in the victory over Canisius … Senior goalie Ben Brady made 28 saves in the victory to improve his MAAC record to 3-1 with a 3.27 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

    MERCYHURST

    The Lakers lost to CHA member Wayne State 4-1 on Friday and defeated MAAC foe Iona 6-1 on Saturday. Mercyhurst travels to West Point for two games with Army on Friday and Saturday. Both games begin at 7:00. The game on Saturday is the MAAC Game of the Week … The games against the Black Knights will be the first ever meetings between the two schools … Mercyhurst is now 5-0 lifetime against Iona … Freshman Adam Tackaberry had a seven-game scoring streak snapped at RPI, then was blanked against Wayne State. He scored two goals and added an assist in the win over Iona … Senior Jeff Gould tallied three assists in the victory over Iona. He leads the team with nine assists and is tied for second in points … Mercyhurst has outscored the conference opposition 37-6 … Junior Louis Goulet leads Mercyhurst in power-play goals, shorthanded goals, and game-winning goals … The 6-1 win over Iona marked the ninth time this season Mercyhurst has allowed its opponent two goals or less.

    QUINNIPIAC

    The Braves stunned then-No. 11 Union, a member of the ECAC, 3-2 on Sunday but lost to ECAC opponent Rensselaer 6-3 on Saturday … Quinnipiac goes on the road to battle No. 10 Minnesota, a member of the WCHA, at 8:05 Saturday night … The victory over Union was the Braves first win over a nationally ranked opponent since entering Division I in 1998 and it was Quinnipiac’s first ever win over an ECAC opponent … Sophomore forward Brian Herbert, the ITECH MAAC Player of the Week, notched four points on the weekend, including the game-winning goal in the upset victory over Union. He had one goal and one assist in each game. For the season, Herbert is fourth on the team in scoring with 13 points … Quinnipiac is 8-1-1 on the season when they score first in a game and 7-0-1 when they score at least four goals … Freshman goalie Justin Eddy improved his record to 6-2-1 on the season with a 3-2 victory over Union. Eddy made 45 saves including 21 in the third period in the victory over the Dutchmen. It was the fourth time this season he has stopped at least 30 shots.

    SACRED HEART

    The Pioneers tied Fairfield 2-2 on Saturday and beat Bentley 5-3 on Sunday. The Pioneers dropped a 4-3 decision to Holy Cross on Tuesday night … The will host Fairfield at 7:00 Friday night in a nonconference game … Sophomore Martin Paquet scored a hat trick in the 5-3 win over Bentley. Paquet is third on the team in scoring with four goals and six assists for 10 points. He has six points in MAAC games this season … Freshman Marc-Andre Fournier had a goal and an assist in two games for the Pioneers this week. He has four goals and two assists in 12 games this season … Sophomore goalie Eddy Ferhi had 38 saves in a 5-3 win over Bentley including 15 in the second period. For the year he is 2-2-2, with a 3.08 GAA, and 227 saves … After dropping three straight games in early November, the Pioneers are unbeaten in their last four games, with a 2-0-2 mark … Juniors Lloyd Marks and Chris Mokos lead the Pioneers with 11 points. Marks has five goals and six assists and Mokos has three goals and eight assists.

    Special thanks to Jayson Moy and Adam Wodon for assistance with this week’s column.

    ECAC West Newsletter: Dec. 6, 2000

    By
    -

    ECAC West Bounces Back

    The ECAC West bounced back in non-league play this week, going 5-1 on the weekend and outscoring opponents 35-12. The only blemish on the weekend was RIT earning a split against the U.S. Development team.

    Team-by-Team Report

    RIT: The Tigers hosted a pair of games against their toughest opponent yet this year, the U.S. National Under-18 Development team, and pulled out a split. Friday, the NDTP team scored two goals 11 seconds apart midway through the second period to take a quick 2-0 lead. Tiger Peter Bournazakis, battling the flu, answered with a tally at 13:20, but that was as close as RIT could get. The NDTP scored two more in the third period and skated away with a 4-1 win.

    Same two teams on Saturday, and a similar game. Tiger Mike Bournazakis gave RIT its first lead of the weekend with a goal at 15:32 of the first period. Sam Hill added to the RIT lead midway through the second, but the NDTP chipped in a tally at 12:29 of the second to narrow the margin. Early in the third, Errol McDonald regained the two-goal lead for RIT. But once again the NDTP narrowed the margin to a single goal at 8:06. The NDTP pulled its goaltender late in the period, but RIT managed to score into the empty net to finish off the 4-2 victory.

    This week is a busy one for the Tigers. First up is a league game against Hobart on Tuesday. RIT then jumps on a plane and travels to the Radisson Inn Hockey Classic at Air Force, opening up against Connecticut College and then facing either Air Force or St. Michaels on Saturday.

    ELMIRA: The Soaring Eagles enjoyed a relatively quiet week. Their only game was on Tuesday at Hamilton and Elmira came out on top of a 7-4 score. Elmira scored early and often against the Continentals as Pierre Rivard, Eddie Cassie, and Adam Godfrey all notched first-period goals. Hamilton chipped away at the Elmira lead with an early second-period goal, but the Soaring Eagles tallied two more of their own during the period, including a shorthander by Steve Kaye. The third period was the Adam Godfrey show as he notched two more goals to complete the hat trick.

    The Soaring Eagles have revenge on their minds this week, looking to avenge the drubbing that Oswego gave them to open the season on Friday. Then Elmira hits the road on Saturday to take on the Williams Ephs.

    MANHANTTANVILLE: The Valiants got some players back from injury last week, and they made a difference immediately on the ice.

    “We’re just happy to be health again,” said coach Keith Levinthal. “We’ve been pretty banged up, but we got Kenny Hood back, among others, and that made a real difference.”

    Manhattanville jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one period Saturday against Plymouth State.

    “We got off to a quick lead pretty early in the game,” said Levinthal. “After that, things just kind of settled in.” The offense was led by Tommy Prate and Bill Cummings, who tipped in two goals and one assist apiece. The Valiants rolled to an 8-1 win, backstopped by a 27-save performance by Jon Peczka.

    It was the same story in the Sunday matinee against Neumann as the Valiants won 8-0. Once again Manhattanville got up early with four goals in the first period. Dave Schmalenberg led the onslaught this time with two goals in the game, and the Valiant defense showed up for a full 60 minutes, limiting Neumann to just eight shots on goal, all stopped by Chad Killam.

    “We played pretty good defense for the whole game, which is something we haven’t done consistently a lot this season,” said Levinthal.

    Manhattanville heads upstate to participate in Brockport’s Jimmy Mac Invitational Tournament this weekend. The Valiants will face Skidmore and MCLA in a prearranged format.

    “These two coming up are crucial for us going into the semester break,” said Levinthal. “We’ve had high expectations and we haven’t met them yet. We need to end the first semester on a high note.”

    HOBART: Hobart hosted Geneseo in its only contest of the week, and skated away with a dominating 8-1 win. The Statesmen outshot Geneseo 41-29 in the contest.

    Hobart got on the board first with an unassisted goal by Sean Elliot; Geneseo answered, but Statesman Greg Reynholds scored less than a minute later to regain the lead for good. Two goals in the second period and four in the third were enough for Hobart to easily win the contest. Leading in scoring for the Statesmen were Sean Elliott and Jerry Toomey, each with two goals and one assist. Chris Connolly made 28 saves on the night.

    The pace picks up this week for Hobart, which starts off with a midweek league contest at RIT and then heads to the Hamilton Invitational Tournament. The Statesmen will take on Geneseo again in the opening round, and then face either Hamilton or New England College.

    Game of the Week

    Lots of choices this week for potential Game(s) of the Week: Hobart has split against Geneseo so far this year, but coming off an 8-1 win, Hobart can send a big message by winning the rubber match in the Hamilton Tournament. Or how about a potential RIT/Air Force matchup in Colorado? But the winner this week has to be Oswego at Elmira. Oswego manhandled Elmira 7-3 in the opening game of the season at Oswego, and that set the tone for the first half of Elmira’s season. The Soaring Eagles can take a big step forward by showing the Lakers the same hospitality in the Domes on Friday.

    NCHA Newsletter: Dec. 6, 2000

    By Tim Somers
    -

    River Falls Holds Conference Lead; Stout Moves Into Second

    Wisconsin-Stout, by virtue of a weekend sweep, moves up two spots this week in the NCHA standings, but still trails Wisconsin-River Falls by two points following its split last weekend.

    In other NCHA action on the weekend, Wisconsin-Stevens Point and St. Norbert played host to Norwich and Middlebury, coming away with a record of 1-3. Middlebury swept its Western trip with a 7-1 victory over Stevens Point on Friday and a 1-0 win at St. Norbert on Saturday.

    Team Capsules:

    Wisconsin-River Falls: The NCHA leading Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons split on the weekend, dropping their first NCHA game of the season to last place Wisconsin-Superior on Friday 5-3, but rebounding convincingly on Saturday, topping St. Scholastica 12-3.

    Friday, the Falcons fell behind 3-0 in the first period and were never able to rebound. Down 3-0 in the second, defenseman Adam Kragthorpe picked up his fifth goal of the season on the power play to cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to two, and then to one on a goal by Carl Boben.

    Jeff Bernard tied the game seven-plus minutes into the third, but the Falcons couldn’t hold off the ‘Jackets, giving up two goals in the final seven minutes.

    On Saturday, the Falcons scored three goals in the first two periods and added six more in the third to trounce the Saints, 12-3.

    In the first, David Almquist and Bernard (two goals) picked up the three Falcon goals in the first half of the first and lead 3-1 after one. The second was much like the first as Evan Stensrud, Shane Fukushima and Jamie Steinert scored for the Falcons, who led 6-2 after two.

    The third period was a blowout with the Falcons scoring six goals to the Saints’ one. Picking up goals in the third were Jess Johnson, Matt Elsen, Ryan Saverine, Steinert, Bernard and Tyler Sawchyn.

    The Falcons make the trip to Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday and then head to St. John’s on Sunday.

    Wisconsin-Stout: The surprise team in the NCHA this season is undoubtedly the Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils. The Devils have amassed a total of eight points in conference this year, already surpassing their total of three from last season. Last weekend, the Devils finished off season sweeps of both St. Scholastica and Wisconsin-Superior, with 6-1 and 5-2 wins.

    On Friday, Stout made short work of the Saints. The Devils led 5-0 after two periods on goals from Lewie Kellin and Drew Nichols in the first and Erik Chilson, Dan Winkler and Mitch Kellin in the second. The Devils kept up the pressure in the third, adding one more (Andy Anderson) to finish off the Saints 6-1.

    On Saturday, the Blue Devils topped the Yellow Jackets of Superior 5-2, finishing off the season sweep of the northern NCHA teams. The Blue Devils’ Caleb Shanahan got on the board first just 6:49 in, but the Yellow Jackets scored in the final minute of the period tying it at one.

    Stout pushed out in front by three goals in the second, scoring three goals. Brad Weappa, Joshua Marklevits and Cale Finseth scored for the Devils in the second. Leading 4-2 heading into the third, Kevin Aube scored the only goal in the frame, finishing off the scoring at 5-2.

    Wisconsin-Stout heads to Concordia-Moorhead on Friday and then to St. John’s on Saturday.

    St. Norbert: The Green Knights had a tough weekend, entertaining two of the top teams from the East, Norwich and Middlebury last Friday and Saturday, dropping a 5-2 decision to Norwich and a 1-0 score to Middlebury.

    Friday, the Knights fell behind 1-0 in the opening minute of the contest, and it was all downhill from there. Already trailing 5-0, the Knights finally got on the scoreboard six minutes into the third period on a power-play goal by Chris Bodnar. St. Norbert added one more four minutes later (Kyle Peterson), rounding out the scoring.

    In the second game, the Knights and Panthers fought through two periods in a scoreless tie. The lone tally eventually belonged to Middlebury, however, leaving the Knights with an 0-2 record on the weekend.

    St. Norbert hopes for more success this weekend, traveling to St. Mary’s on Friday and to St. Thomas on Saturday.

    Wisconsin-Stevens Point: The Pointers are the first team to score on the Middlebury Panthers, but that tally was the only one the Pointers got against the number-one Panthers, dropping the weekend opener 7-1. Stevens Point rebounded well Saturday, beating Norwich 4-1.

    Friday, UWSP trailed 2-0 after one and 4-0 after a 30 minutes before Pierre Nicolet broke Middlebury’s scoreless streak to start the season (268:28). The Panthers added three more goals, putting the Pointers away.

    Following a team meeting on Saturday, the Pointers showed up Saturday with new found enthusiasm. The Cadets got on the board first, just 4:28 in, but David Boehm, in his second game since coming back from a knee injury, picked up his first goals of the season, tying the game at one with just three seconds remaining in the first period.

    The Pointers and Cadets fought through a scoreless second period, with both teams having countless scoring opportunities.

    The third period was much the same as the second: end-to-end action with both teams getting opportunities, but penalties played a major role.

    Mikhail Salienko picked up his first goal of the night 4:41 into the third for the eventual game-winner. The Cadets took an ill-advised penalty at 13:13 and Salienko capitalized just :27 into the power play, putting the Pointers up by two. Again on the power play, Boehm picked up his second of the night just 1:15 later, finishing off the Cadets.

    Stevens Point heads to Augsburg on Friday and Bethel on Saturday.

    Lake Forest: The Foresters played just one game last weekend, dropping a 3-2 conference decision to Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Picking up goals for the Foresters were Adrian Wong and Matt Bruni.

    The Foresters head to St. Thomas on Friday and then St. Mary’s on Saturday.

    Wisconsin-Eau Claire: The Blugolds met up with the Foresters of Lake Forest last weekend, picking up a 3-2 win, and gaining two more points in the NCHA standings, putting them in a three-way tie with Stevens Point and Lake Forest for fourth place.

    The Blugolds trailed 2-1 after two periods, with the lone tally coming from Adam Sklader in the first, but tacked on two in the third to pull out the 3-2 win. Scoring for Eau Claire in the third were Ian Sgambelluri and Sklader.

    The Blugolds alternate with Stevens Point this weekend, taking on Bethel on Friday night and Augsburg on Saturday. Both games are on the road.

    Wisconsin-Superior: In an uncharacteristic slow start, the Yellow Jackets finally got their first NCHA points on the season with a split with River Falls and Stout. Superior beat NCHA leading River Falls 5-3 on Friday, but dropped the Saturday game 5-2 to Stout.

    Friday, the ‘Jackets got out of the gate early as Jeff Glowa scored just 43 seconds into the first 20 minutes and added two more on goals from Cameron Van Sandt and Jay Stewart in the first period.

    The second period looked much like the rest of the season as River Falls climbed back into the game by scoring the only two goals of the stanza.

    The Falcons tied the game in the third, but the ‘Jackets finished off the Falcons with a goal of their own off the stick of Rob Ziemmer.

    Saturday wasn’t as kind to Superior. Reed Larson scored in the first and Jay Stewart in the second for the ‘Jackets, but it wasn’t enough as Superior dropped the 5-2 decision to Wisconsin-Stout.

    Superior, like the rest of the NCHA, is on the road this weekend taking on MIAC foes. On Friday, Superior makes the trip to the Twin Cities to take on Gustavus Adolphus and then Saturday, they head to St. Olaf.

    St. Scholastica: The weekend was a rough one for St. Scholastica head coach Mark Workman and his Saints, who were outscored 18-4, with 6-1 and 12-3 losses at the hands of Stout and River Falls respectively.

    Friday, Josh Oyler scored the lone Saint goal with just 3:16 remaining in the game.

    In Saturday’s game, the Saints took one on the chin from the Falcons of River Falls. The Saints were able to score in each of the three periods, but it wasn’t enough as they saw River Falls score at least three in each period. Neil Runbeck scored for CSS in the first, Brandon Johnson in the second and Nick Dolentz in the third.

    St. Scholastica goes on the road this weekend, playing St. Olaf on Friday and Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday.

    Game(s) to watch this weekend:

    With the early success of both River Falls and Stout, the Friday and Saturday matchups between Falls and Stout with MIAC leader Concordia will answer a lot of early questions about which conference will have two representatives in the NCAA tournament. If Stout can continue its recent hot play and River Falls continues to play well, it will be a long weekend for the MIAC.

    Overall, the MIAC has not matched up well against the NCHA this season. So far, the NCHA holds a 15-3-1 record against its neighbors to the West; last season, the NCHA pulled out a 32-22-5 record versus the MIAC, including Superior’s sweep of Concordia in the playoffs.

    SUNYAC Newsletter: Dec. 6, 2000

    By
    -

    Buffalo State Wins SUNYAC Game; Oswego Beats Potsdam; Fredonia Moves Into Second After Weekend

    It was a week of emotional victories, perhaps the most being Buffalo State winning a conference game and moving out of last place; Brockport State was the victim as they dropped both games. Oswego State had an emotional win over Potsdam State, but lost its contest against Plattsburgh State. Potsdam did win its next game, but all of that opened the door for Fredonia State to briefly move into second place with a weekend sweep. Geneseo State salvaged a poor week with a victory over Buffalo State while Cortland State couldn’t muster an upset as it got swept.

    Team-by-Team Report

    PLATTSBURGH — The Cardinals continued to roll in the SUNYAC, sweeping another weekend of conference play. First, they disposed of Cortland, but not without a first-period scare that saw Cortland take a 1-0 lead. Plattsburgh quickly made it 1-1 at the start of the second period, and never looked back. Two players scored shorthanded goals, Eric Weidenbach and Jason Kilcan, while three others notched even-strength goals: Derrick Shaw, Brian Toussaint, and Brendon Hodge. The second night was billed as a battle for first place with Oswego coming into town, and for most of the game, a battle it was. Kilcan gave Plattsburgh the early lead, but then they fell behind 2-1. Mark Coletta scored back to back goals to give the Cardinals a 3-2 first period lead. They went up by two on a Joe Dolci goal. After Oswego cut it to one, Kilcan scored his second, and Bryan Murray put the game away in the third period for a 6-3 final. Plattsburgh has an opportunity to really open its lead up at Potsdam, then Plattsburgh hosts Amherst.

    FREDONIA — Thanks to other teams beating up on one another, Fredonia found itself in second place after the weekend, helped by wins over Geneseo, 5-2, and Brockport, 4-1. Dave Mugavero scored twice against Geneseo. Christian Fletcher, Lionel Crump, and B.J. Bouschor also scored. Will Hamele only needed to make 17 saves for the win as Fredonia held Geneseo to 19 shots. Against Brockport, all the scoring was completed in the first 21:32 of the game. Fletcher, Matt Aboudara, and Erik Dolesh scored in the first period. Marcel Hurtubise scored early in the second, and that was that, despite Fredonia getting 44 shots on goal. Hamele again got the win, this time with 19 saves. The Blue Devils host Buffalo State and Plymouth State.

    OSWEGO — The Great Lakers avenged last year’s playoff loss with a solid 7-3 win in Potsdam. Oswego jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two periods, but faltered slightly in the third period, only getting off two shots and letting in three goals; but this time Oswego was not to be denied. Seven different players scored. Joe Lofberg was outstanding in net, making 48 saves, including 21 in the third period. Oswego continued that momentum partly into the next night taking a 2-1 lead in Plattsburgh on goals by John Sullivan and Jonathon Hoose. However, the Great Lakers ran out of steam eventually, losing 6-3 and dropping back into a third-place tie with Potsdam. Oswego hosts Cortland and then travels to always-tough Elmira.

    POTSDAM — The Bears’ luck against Oswego ran out as they were steamrolled for the first two periods in an eventual 7-3 loss. Already down 6-0, Potsdam tried a third-period comeback with a shorthanded goal by Joe Wlodarczyk, only to be scored upon again. A power-play goal by Brendon Knight and a 4-on-4 goal by Kevin Shaver merely slowed the bleeding down, as Potsdam’s loss came despite unleashing 51 shots on goal, 24 in the third period alone. Potsdam bounced back with a 6-2 win over Cortland. Wlodarczyk got the hat trick as well as an assist for a six-point weekend. Mike Snow, Sean Darke, and Mike McCabe got the other goals. Ryan Venturelli bounced back from the night before to get the win with 25 saves. Once again, Potsdam was a shooting machine, putting 57 on Cortland’s net. The Bears host rival Plattsburgh before traveling to Norwich for their second game against the Cadets.

    CORTLAND — The Red Dragons were hoping to steal a point or two against the North Country teams, but it was not to be. They lost to Plattsburgh, 5-2, despite holding a 1-0 lead after one on a goal by Dave Ambuhl. After letting in the next four goals, Greg Menchen scored on a two-man advantage. John Larnerd made 33 saves in the lose. Against Potsdam, Cortland again took a 1-0 lead this time on a goal by Menchen. Again Cortland scored a power play goal after letting in a bunch of goals (this time five). The goal was scored by Chris Cullen. Larnerd was in net again facing a barrage of shots, making 51 saves. Cortland travels to Oswego for its lone game this week.

    GENESEO — Despite winning one game, Geneseo had a miserable week. First they got embarrassed by Hobart, 8-1. The lone goal was scored by David Bagley. Then they lost to Fredonia, 5-2. Tony Scorsone tied it in the second, but Bagley wouldn’t score the final goal until it was already 5-1. Kevin Koury made 20 saves. The Ice Knights were able to salvage their week with a 5-3 victory over Buffalo State. Bagley scored two more goals. Kyle Langdon, Aaron Coleman, and Bryan Bowser got the other goals. Koury got the win with 24 saves. Geneseo plays at Brockport and then participates in the Hamilton Invitational facing the host team first.

    BUFFALO STATE — Stop the presses, folks. Buffalo State is not in last place. They defeated Brockport, 7-4, to move out of the cellar. The solid performance was led by former Brockport player, Henry Jurek, who scored a hat trick and got one assist. Cyle McCorkle, Jeff Lacapruccia, Todd Nowicki, and Joe Urbanik netted the other goals. Harley Pottratz got a well deserved win with 21 saves. The Bengals outshot Brockport, 42-25. The Bengals were looking for a repeat the next night when they scored first against Geneseo thanks to Nowicki. However, Buffalo State was brought back down to Earth, losing 5-3. Sean Mask scored the other two goals. The Bengals travel to Fredonia, then come home to face Plymouth State.

    BROCKPORT — The Golden Eagles were swept and fell to last place. First, they lost to Buffalo State, 7-4, despite holding 1-0 and 2-1 leads. After falling behind 5-2, they traded goals the rest of the way. Casey Firko, Nick Smyth, Drew Morley, and Brandon Marineau scored for Brockport. Tom Payment made 35 saves. Marineau scored the next night, but that was all Brockport could muster in a 4-1 loss at Fredonia. Steve Tippett was in nets and made 40 saves. Brockport hosts Geneseo, and then puts on the Jimmy Mac Invitational with predetermined matchups. The Golden Knights will face the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts followed by Skidmore.

    Game of the Week

    Well, it would be easy to pick some of the travel partner matchups. But we won’t. We’ll save those for when they meet again in the last games of the season, and instead go for a pair of nonconference matchups. Oswego at Elmira will be a rematch of an early-season contest that saw Oswego win handily. However, that was Elmira’s first game of the year, and now the contest is at Elmira. On the other hand, Oswego may be playing even better now. Then there is the Potsdam at Norwich rematch. Was Potsdam’s upset a fluke, or are they capable of playing with the defending national champions?

    Augsburg Women Forfeit Win

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Augsburg will forfeit its Nov. 21 victory over Sacred Heart, due to the use of an ineligible player.

    The Auggies won the game 3-2, played at Augsburg Ice Arena. Statistics from the game will remain intact, according to NCAA rules, with the exception of the statistics from the ineligible player.

    According to the NCAA, despite the acknowledgment by Augsburg, the teams’ records will not change in its eyes unless the matter is brought before the NCAA’s committee on Infractions.

    According to Augsburg women’s athletic director Marilyn Florian, the Aggies did not know about the player’s ineligibility questions. The player was used during the team’s first four games, including the win over Sacred Heart. Augsburg says it self-reported the violation immediately to the NCAA and the MIAC.

    The player in question is now eligible to play, but is serving an NCAA-mandated four-game suspension, matching the number of games played while ineligible.

    Augsburg officials said federal laws regarding student-athlete information prevented them from naming the player in question.

    Canisius Coach Awaits Word Following Suspension

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Suspended Canisius coach Brian Cavanaugh is still waiting for word on his fate. Sources say a press conference will be held this week to announce whether Cavanaugh, the program’s coach of 20 years, will be cleared of wrongdoing or fired, but no official announcement has yet come from the school.

    Cavanaugh was suspended indefinitely by the school after allegedly hitting freshman defenseman Matt Coulter on the head with a hockey stick during practice last Wednesday.

    Cavanaugh

    Cavanaugh

    According to the Buffalo News, Cavanaugh was removed from Thursday’s practice and the college is conducting an investigation into the matter.

    “Brian Cavanaugh has done a awful lot for this program and this community,” said athletic director Timothy Dillon to the News. “We’re trying to work through a personnel situation fairly. We all make mistakes, and it’s just something to deal with and work through.”

    Cavanaugh told ESPN.com that he only tapped Coulter on the head with a stick to get him to pay attention. According to Cavanaugh, Coulter proceeded to participate in a full scrimmage for 45 minutes following the incident.

    But Coulter did not practice Thursday, nor did he play in either of Canisius’ two games this past weekend. Coulter has been advised not to discuss the incident.

    Dillon, however, hinted that Coulter being scratched had to do with medical reasons.

    “Medical records are between the student-athlete, myself, the coach and the trainer,” said Dillon to the Buffalo News when asked why Coulter didn’t play. “Medically, I can’t talk about it because there’s a federal law that keeps that confidential.”

    Assistant coach Troy MacCormick was named the acting head coach in Cavanaugh’s absence.

    The team has some time now to sort things out; they don’t play again until Dec. 29.

    Cavanaugh is in his 20th season as head coach of the Ice Griffs. He has a 283-238-38 career record, all at Canisius, including 3-5-2 this year (2-4-2 MAAC).

    National Junior Team Roster Announced

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    USA Hockey today announced the 22-player roster for the 2001 U.S. National Junior Team, which will compete in this year’s International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship, Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Moscow. The list includes 19 former of current U.S. collegians.

    “I’m very excited with the speed and skill level of this team,” said National Junior Team head coach Keith Allain. “We will be able to play an up-tempo game. I’m also thrilled about the character and mental toughness of our players. Those are essential traits in a tournament of this nature.”

    The roster features 14 NHL draftees and seven returning players from the 2000 team. Michigan’s Andy Hilbert is the only U.S. player on this year’s team making his third World Junior appearance. Hilbert had two points at last year’s IIHF World Junior Championship.

    Of the 14 NHL draftees, four were selected in the first round, including the No. 1 overall selection, goaltender Rick DiPietro, formerly of Boston University and now in the New York Islanders organization; UMass-Lowell defenseman Ron Hainsey was the 13th overall pick by Montreal; defenseman David Hale of North Dakota was the 22nd selection to New Jersey; and Minnesota forward Jeff Taffe was taken 30th by St. Louis.

    Taffe led the U.S. squad in scoring at the 2000 IIHF World Junior Championship with one goal and four assists.

    Last year the U.S. finished in fourth place out of ten teams, posting a 2-3-2 record at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Umea and Skelleftea, Sweden.

    Jeff Jackson, the former two-time national champion as coach at Lake Superior, had led the entire National Development Program since its inception and coached the World Junior team for those four years. He was fired, however, last winter, and replaced as head of the program by Mike Eaves. Allain was then picked to coach the World Junior team.

    Other returnees include Notre Dame forward Connor Dunlop, BU forward John Sabo and Harvard forward Brett Nowak.

    “We have a good blend of experienced veterans and newcomers,” Allain said. “I believe that we will become a cohesive team very quickly.”

    The team will assemble in West Point, N.Y., on Dec. 15 in preparation for the 2001 World Junior Championship. The squad then travels to Finland for two exhibition games on Dec. 19 versus Finland and Dec. 22 against Switzerland before beginning competition at the IIHF World Junior Championship on Dec. 26 against Kazakhstan.

    Cavanaugh’s Suspension Lifted

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Canisius officials have lifted the suspension of coach Brian Cavanaugh, and he has returned to the team following a five-day absence.

    CAVANAUGH

    CAVANAUGH

    Cavanaugh was put on indefinite suspension last week, pending an investigation, after allegedly hitting freshman defenseman Matt Coulter on the head with a hockey stick during practice last Wednesday. Cavanaugh said that he only tapped Coulter with a stick to get him to pay attention.

    “Coach Cavanaugh has apologized to the student, as well as to the team, and I believe that he understands that he has made a mistake,” said school athletic director Timothy Dillon. “However, from the college’s standpoint, an action such as this is unacceptable. In addition to the five-day suspension, he has received a severe reprimand and a warning that any further actions of this type will subject him to immediate dismissal.”

    Following the Wednesday incident, Coulter proceeded to finish that day’s practice with the team. But he did not practice with the team on Thursday or Friday, and did not play in either of Canisius’ games this past weekend.

    Whether he was injured, advised not to play, or just scratched, remains unclear. Dillon was asked after Saturday’s game why Coulter was sitting.

    “Medical records are between the student-athlete, myself, the coach and the trainer,” said Dillon to the Buffalo News. “Medically, I can’t talk about it because there’s a federal law that keeps that confidential.”

    Assistant coach Troy MacCormick had been the acting head coach in Cavanaugh’s absence.

    Cavanaugh is in his 20th season as head coach of the Ice Griffs. He has a 283-238-38 career record, all at Canisius, including 3-5-2 this year (2-4-2 MAAC).

    BroadcastSports.com Game of the Week: UAH at Niagara

    By
    -

    One team is a perennial Division II power finding its way in D-I. The other was an NCAA qualifier, and perhaps the feel-good story of the year, in 1999-2000.

    One was the College Hockey America tournament runner-up. The other was its champion, thanks to a third-period rally that neither team has forgotten.

    One returns four of its top five scorers from last season. The other graduated its first-ever senior class, 15 of ’em.

    One began the 2000-01 campaign with eight victories in nine games. The other earned a single victory in its first 11 contests.

    All of this — and none of it — matters this Friday and Saturday, when Alabama-Huntsville visits Dwyer Arena to take on Niagara in the schools’ second series in three weeks.

    Two weeks ago, Niagara visited the Hockey Capital of the South for a pair, and after dropping the first game the Purple Eagles rallied to defeat the host Chargers 3-0 on Saturday, handing UAH its first loss since a 4-3 decision against now-No. 6 Western Michigan back on Oct. 21.

    That win may have been the springboard Niagara head coach Blaise MacDonald has been looking for. Armed, perhaps, with new confidence, MacDonald’s young Purps went out and beat Colgate and Cornell at the Syracuse Invitational last weekend, claiming their second SIT title in three years. This from a team which lost its top six scorers, plus ironman goaltender Greg Gardner, to graduation after last season’s magical run to the NCAA quarterfinals.

    Replacing that group is a huge rookie crop getting its training on the job, or its baptism by fire, depending on your rhetorical slant. Netminder Rob Bonk has put up Gardner-like numbers, posting a 2.28 goals against average and a .919 save percentage to go with a respectable 4-4-2 record. Meanwhile, freshman forwards Hannu Kurru and Bernie Sigrist lead Niagara in scoring, at 7-6–13 and 3-8–11 respectively. Obviously, then, the newcomers are holding their own in the nets and up front.

    The defense, though, is still the purview of the veterans at Niagara. It’s no coincidence that the Purple Eagles’ co-captains are a pair of blueliners in senior Timo Makela and Michigan transfer Scott Crawford; those two, along with sophomore Chris Sebastian, hold down the key defensive positions. It should also come as no surprise, then, that the Purple Eagle defense is giving up just 2.4 goals per game, belying the team’s 4-7-3 overall record.

    Alabama-Huntsville, meanwhile, looks as if it’s bidding to be this season’s Niagara. The Chargers’ 8-2-0 mark in 2000-01, including their road split with the aforementioned Broncos, has had UAH on the fringes of the USCHO.com poll much of the young season.

    The Chargers’ 5-3 Friday-night win against Niagara two weeks ago was head coach Doug Ross’ 400th, not to mention Huntsville’s first in nine matchups with the Purple Eagles, and marked the high point of the season for the maturing hosts. That made Saturday’s reversal all the more disappointing for a team which expected to have turned a corner the night before.

    All is hardly lost, of course. As mentioned above, the Chargers return most of their scoring punch, including center Dwayne Blais (3-5–8), the preseason pick for CHA Player of the Year, and wingers Ryan McCormick (4-6–10) and Jessi Otis (4-6–10). Sophomore Karlas Zirnis (7-5–12) leads the team in goals, but perhaps the biggest offensive sparkplug has been senior defenseman Darren Curry (4-8–12), who scored 23 points last year and is well on his way to eclipsing that mark this time around. That group forms the core of the CHA’s second-best scoring offense (3.6 goals per game in overall play).

    Back in nets, UAH has sophomore Mark Byrne, who saw considerable action last season as the Chargers’ number-two netminder. Byrne has compiled a 7-2-0 record with a 2.33 GAA and .918 SV% while appearing in every Huntsville contest but one.

    So what’s the key to this series? Hackneyed as it sounds, it should be emotion. These teams have already played twice this season, so it’s not like they’re not familiar with each other; and both have well-respected coaches who bring their squads to play. UAH may have started faster than Niagara — okay, a lot faster — and certainly has the edge in experience, but the Purple Eagles look like they’re coming around quickly. And Niagara, of course, has home ice this time around.

    Still, two weeks ago both teams went home with a win. To expect anything else this time might be asking too little of a short, but already interesting, rivalry.

    This Week In The CCHA: Nov. 30, 2000

    By
    -

    Defender of the League

    Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels gets straight to the point. “I’ll go on record as saying that I think our league is one of the premier leagues in college hockey.”

    Daniels’ assertion comes after a the CCHA’s respectable early-season nonconference record, one that includes a sweep in last week’s College Hockey Showcase.

    Always a soft-spoken man and an optimist, Daniels says that critics of the league don’t understand the league’s parity. It’s an old line, but one the league’s coaches keep repeating. “Anyone can beat anybody in our league on any given night.”

    Daniels should know. His Bulldogs have just one conference win to their credit so far this weekend, and it’s against the No. 5 Wolverines.

    A quick look at the league’s record both in-house and around the D-I rinks may lend credibility to the parity argument for the first time in two years.

    No. 1 Michigan State has one loss, to Nebraska-Omaha, a team tied for seventh place in the CCHA.

    No. 5 Michigan has three losses: one to Michigan State, one to the last-place Bulldogs, and one to middle-of-the-packer Alaska Fairbanks.

    No. 14 Northern Michigan — currently in second place in the CCHA standings — has two losses to Michigan State, a loss to the tough Buckeyes, and a loss to last-place Notre Dame.

    OK, so No. 6 Western Michigan — tied with Michigan for third place in the league — throws a monkey-wrench into the equation, as the Broncos are undefeated in league play and have just one loss on the season, to Alabama-Huntsville.

    Still, the “anyone can beat anybody on any night” theory seems plausible, at least this season, and the CCHA’s nonconference record (29-18-7) is looking as though it may shape up to be better than last year’s record of 33-38-3.

    So far this season, the only conference that can truly claim dominance over the CCHA is — surprise, surprise — Hockey East, a league that has owned our homeboys for some time now. CCHA teams are 5-11-1 against HE teams.

    But when you look at a breakdown of those wins and losses, the record of the CCHA’s “top-tier” teams who have faced Hockey East opponents — Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State — is 2-1-1.

    Lake Superior State and Miami each lost two games apiece to Providence and New Hampshire, ranked Hockey East teams. Nebraska-Omaha dropped two one-goal games to Merrimack, and lost to Boston College. The Mavericks did, however, handle UMass-Amherst twice.

    In fairness, UNO’s losses to Merrimack can be used to argue the point that Hockey East’s middle-tier teams may be better than those in the CCHA, but I don’t think anyone right now — perhaps not even Daniels himself — would dispute that Hockey East is also one of the “premier” leagues in college hockey.

    But the CCHA is 8-4-3 against the WCHA, 5-0-2 against the ECAC, and 11-3-1 against the CHA.

    And three of the top six teams in the country call the CCHA home. Previous bristling about the league’s inferiority aside, perhaps this season the Central Collegiate Hockey Association will be able to back the claim that top to bottom, this is one tough league.

    You Can’t Get There From Here, Part 87

    Call them acts of Nature. Acts of God. Cosmic snafus. Fate. Whatever you call it, “it” has prevented and delayed the publication of this column in the past two weeks.

    Last week, as I was lounging in my pajamas, watching the Colorado-Nebraska football game, seated in a comfy chair in front of both the television and the wood stove in the living room of my best friend’s house in Western New York, it occurred to me that I should probably check up on USCHO.com. I logged on. No CCHA column.

    After an email exchange with my editor, we figured out that he had never received the column, which I sent on Nov. 20. Unfortunately, the column was in Columbus, I was in Brocton, and the week was lost.

    A glitch of the virtual world.

    This week, the column has been delayed by a glitch of the gastrointestinal world (mine, not that of my editor).

    What did you miss last week? Let me tell you, folks, it was brilliant! A masterpiece of sports writing! A subtle marriage of wit and wisdom, comparable to an aria by Verdi or the sketches of Da Vinci!

    You’ll never know, will you?

    All right, I confess. It was a little column giving thanks for what gives me pleasure about my job. I won’t give you the whole thing, but I would like to share with you a few things for which I am genuinely grateful:

    The way David Gove finds the back of the net.

    The way Ryan Miller fills the net when opponents approach.

    The way R.J. Umberger drops a pass.

    Scott Matzka’s effort on the PK.

    The way every Nanook hockey player introduced himself to me in Columbus.

    Chad Hamilton.

    Buddy Powers’ sense of humor.

    The fact that Rick Comley is coaching full-time again.

    The Bulldog mascot costume.

    Ay Ziggy Zoomba.

    The Ohio Cup banner that hangs in Goggin Arena.

    The number of quality Division-I coaches who played for Ron Mason.

    The fact that Josh Lampman played for Illinois-Chicago.

    The bell outside of Taffey Abel arena.

    Any hockey played on a Great Lake.

    The way the OSU Ice Rink smells.

    The blue and yellow knit tooks (with earflaps) the Lakers wear. Names like Vigilante, Bonk, Nails, Chipchase, Rumble, Lightfoot, and

    Of course, there are many people no longer with the CCHA whom I miss, including Bill Beagan, Nate Ewell, John Patterson, and especially Brian Fishman.

    I also took the opportunity to thank my colleagues at USCHO.com, the best group of people I’ve ever met, and to the fans who keep reading. That’s it. Hardly a keeper. But I meant every word.

    Game of the Week

    Miami (7-5-2, 4-3-1 CCHA) at No. 6 Western Michigan (10-1-2, 5-0-2 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m., Lawson Arena, Kalamazoo, MI

    “Everyone seems to playing hard, and we’re working together, and good things happen.”

    That sums up the season so far for Enrico Blasi, coach of the second-hottest team in the CCHA, the Miami RedHawks.

    The ‘Hawks began the season in a promising way with three points from Clarkson at home. Then came three consecutive road losses to ranked teams — Providence, New Hampshire, Michigan — and a home loss to Notre Dame to cap a four-game losing streak.

    “After those games, we were 1-5-1, and out of those seven games, we probably played poorly in maybe two of those games,” says Blasi. “Then we went to Bemidji — and won two in what felt like a difficult road trip.”

    Blasi says that during the trip to Bemidji State, which resulted in a pair of 4-2 wins, the RedHawks felt as though “we were loading and unloading the bus the whole time.” The trip was a flight with a two-hour bus trip attached at the end.

    Since then, Miami is undefeated, with those two wins against Bemidji, a pair of wins against Nebraska-Omaha, and a pair against Lake State.

    “We’re playing the same way we did early, but we’re concentrating,” says Blasi. “We seem to all be on the same page. Our seniors have stepped up and are leading the team.”

    That veteran leadership includes senior Gregor Krajnc (8-6-14) and junior Jason Deskins (7-7-14), two of Miami’s top forwards who missed all of last season because of injury. Seniors Ernie Hartlieb (3-4-7) and Pat Leahy (2-8-10), and junior Evan Cheverie (6-2-8) have combined with Krajnc and Deskins for 17 of Miami’s 26 goals during the RedHawks’ current six-game win streak.

    The same group of upperclassmen notched just nine goals through the first eight games of the season. Krajnc and Deskins each enter this weekend with four-game scoring streaks on the line.

    Miami’s most productive line over the last two weekends is a group that spent some time apart recently. Deskins, Hartlieb, and Leahy have contributed six goals and 14 assists since forming their line two weeks ago. Deskins and Hartlieb had played together since their Pee Wee days, but Hartlieb was forced to spend some time on the blue line recently as the Miami defense was thin because of injury. Another reason for the recent Miami success is sophomore goaltender David Burleigh. The streaky netminder has been more than simply solid during the win streak. His goals-against average during his last nine outings is 2.32.

    While a core of veterans playing up to their potential and a hottish goaltender are helpful, Blasi knows what he and his RedHawks are up against this weekend in Kalamazoo.

    “They’re pretty skilled up front. Pretty good balance, pretty good goaltending. It’s going to be a big-time challenge. We’re the underdogs, we know.”

    Understatement aside, the level-headed Blasi has the right formula for a couple of competitive games in Lawson.

    “You’ve just got to be smart about how you play. You’ve got to be sound defensively and disciplined. The bottom line is you’ve just got to play.”

    The coach of the No. 6 Broncos is taking nothing for granted as the ‘Hawks come to town. Jim Culhane has an uncanny way of putting his team’s success into perspective.

    “We’ve only played a quarter — 25% of our league games — there’s a ton of hockey to be played. We know that. We need to get better.”

    How can a team that averages 5.08 goals per game (5.57 in league play) improve on its game?

    “We’ve fallen behind here in recent games,” says Culhane. “The concern to the guys on the team and us as a staff is as the games become more and more important, we realize we can come back from a two-goal deficit, but eventually that may be our undoing.

    “It’s a double-edged sword. We realize that when we’re down by two we can come back — .but it can cost you the game. We were fortunate to get a point against Michigan State. It’s hard to score on Ryan Miller.

    “There will come a game or two when we won’t be able to come back.”

    The Broncos are scoring nearly six goals per game conference play, and it’s no secret that David Gove (11-8-19), Mike Bishai (7-10-17), Steve Rymsha (7-9-16), and rookie Jeff Campbell (4-6-10) are the bulk of that equation. In conference play, that foursome is responsible for 29 of the Broncos’ 39 goals.

    Much of the Western Michigan offense comes on the power play, which one anonymous coach recently described as “a thing of beauty.” Converting at 30 percent, the Bronco power play is Gove’s five power-play goals and the four each of Bishai and Rymsha.

    The success of the Bronco power play is a “tribute to the guys that are out there,” says Culhane.

    “There are some pretty skilled kids on that power play. The big thing in those situations is to get the puck to the net. That’s the big message-you’ve got to shoot. It doesn’t have to be the big one-timer.”

    He adds, “As a defensive defenseman, who am I to tell these guys how to put the puck in the net?”

    (Note to the RedHawks: stay out of the box.)

    As good as is the Bronco offense, there is still room for improvement at the other end of the ice. The Broncos are +55, hardly an over-the-top figure for a team with such a high-powered offense. But Jeff Reynaert seems to have found his feet in net this season, improving to a .904 league save percentage and a 2.95 GAA.

    Culhane says that as the Bronco tendency to win has a positive, snowballing effect on Reynaert and his teammates.

    “The more and more you can win, the more confidence you can start to gain. Jeff is undefeated and he plays really well for us, and he’s maturing as a player. He’s settled in and he’s maturing as a player. You can say that about more and more of our players.”

    The success of the Broncos has more than one reporter — including yours truly — reaching for the cloth to remove the egg on face. I picked the Broncos dead-last in the CCHA this season. Culhane says that such predictions are meaningless (God bless ‘im).

    “I don’t put any weight into those preseason polls, and I don’t put any weight into where we are nationally. That’s a nod and a pat on the back for how we’ve started. But it doesn’t mean a hill of beans.

    “It’s obviously great for our institution, our alums, and our fans. It’s exciting for us. Look at the end of the year if you’re still ranked as high as that, then great. It’s early.”

    Culhane knows that this weekend’s games against the RedHawks provide fans with the unique opportunity to see two hot teams fighting to stay that way.

    “It’s going to be a very exciting weekend. With their streak and our streak — something’s got to give this weekend. They got three out of four points in our building last year. They’re a pretty dynamic group. One thing we’re pleased about is that we have an opportunity to stay in our comfort zone at home.”

    Western Michigan leads this all-time series 43-23-6, but Miami’s current players have been consistently successful versus these current Broncos. During the past four seasons (11 meetings), Miami is 6-2-3 over Western, including a three-game unbeaten streak (1-0-2). The RedHawks are, however, 1-1-3 in their last five games in Lawson, and Western leads the series in Lawson 23-15-5.

    Picks: As hot as Miami has been, Western is hotter. Miami has beaten other middle- and lower-tier CCHA teams, but Western came back to score two third-period goals to tie the top team in the country in Munn Arena. Western may indeed be poised for its first league loss, but perhaps not this weekend. Western Michigan 5-2, 5-2.

    This Week In The WCHA: Nov. 30, 2000

    By
    -

    Mr. Blais Goes to Washington

    When you have a chance to have the President of the United States tell you, “Good job,” you drop everything and run — not walk — to Washington.

    A trip to Alaska-Anchorage? That can be put off for a day.

    That’s the way it goes for North Dakota coach Dean Blais and team captains Jeff Panzer and Karl Goehring, who met with President Clinton on Thursday for a ceremony honoring the 2000 national champions.

    From there, it was on to Anchorage, Alaska, for the weekend series.

    The trip was too long to take the entire team, but Blais, Panzer and Goehring will be joined by six other members of the 2000 team who are now playing professionally.

    “We’re all excited,” Blais told Virg Foss of the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald. “I know it would have been more special if the whole team could have been there last year right after it happened, but there’s a tremendous amount of organizational work to put everything together. We’ll make you proud when we’re out there representing the University of North Dakota.”

    The North Dakota congressional delegation arranged the visit with the president, and Northwest Airlines contributed 15 round-trip tickets.

    Seventh Heaven

    Yes, that was a seven on the scoreboard last Sunday. And on the Minnesota-Duluth side, no less.

    As a result of a 7-3 victory over Vermont, the Bulldogs’ scoring offense rose from 2.36 goals per game to 2.78. They passed Michigan Tech to move out of 10th place in the league in that category.

    It’s a small victory. But when you’re struggling, you take victories when you can get them.

    “We scored some nice goals,” Duluth coach Scott Sandelin said. “We worked hard to get those goals. It was nice to see for a change instead of us not being able to bury it. It’s only one game, but I’d like to see us create those same type of chances and get the same results.

    “Certainly, you don’t expect to score seven goals every game, but you just never know if you get those opportunities, when they’re going to go in.”

    It’s been an uphill battle for the Bulldogs, who scored just their second victory of the season on Sunday. The schedule hasn’t exactly been kind, either.

    At Minnesota, at Colorado College, at North Dakota. Those are the top three teams in the WCHA, all on the road. Going 0-6 in those games isn’t a total shock.

    But the improvement has been noticable to Sandelin.

    “I think over the course of the last four or five games, we’ve played pretty well,” Sandelin said. “We played pretty well at North Dakota; we just didn’t get rewarded. We played pretty well against New Hampshire. Our biggest problem is we’ve been getting down to good teams and it’s been tough for us to get back, to make up that two- or three-goal difference. We scored a couple in Grand Forks in the third, in New Hampshire the same type of deal, but when you start to spot teams a goal or two, especially the top-end teams, it’s usually pretty tough.

    “We’ve had some good third periods. Our kids have competed pretty hard. There’s been some times when they could have folded the tent. I think the third period in our last three games has probably been our best period.”

    Another sign that things are coming together in Duluth is a marked improvement in the power-play statistics.

    The Bulldogs are 10-for-30 in the last six games when on the man advantage. That follows a 2-for-31 stretch over the first six games of the season.

    “Part of that takes time, trying some different things and learning who might work well with everyone,” Sandelin said. “The nice thing is we’ve been getting some shots and some rebounds and some tips, and they’ve been going in.

    “Let’s face it, if you’re struggling, I think every coach says, ‘Shoot the puck.’ At least we’ve been able to get the puck to the net and luckily they’ve been going in.”

    Sandelin will be the first to tell you, though, that the other side of the specialty teams is woefully deficient. A 69.1 percent success ratio is really stretching the meaning of the word “success.”

    “We’ve done a better job killing penalties but it’s got to get better,” Sandelin said. “When you’re not even at 70 percent, that’s a sore spot.”

    This season could provide a lot of sore spots for Sandelin and the Bulldogs. Small victories, though, could be enough to keep some momentum going.

    He Said It

    “This hockey team was special. You could feel it and sense it when you were around them.”

    — North Dakota athletic director Roger Thomas, on last year’s national champions.

    News And Views

  • The dominance of North Dakota’s top line is starting to border on the ridiculous. Jeff Panzer, Bryan Lundbohm and Ryan Bayda are running away with the scoring race. The trio makes up the top three in points in the WCHA; three of the top five spots in goal scoring; and three of the top five spots in power-play points. For the record, Panzer has nine goals and 25 assists (yes, 25 assists in 16 games); Lundbohm has 19 goals and 12 assists; and Bayda has 10 goals and 18 assists. Hard to beat.
  • St. Cloud State’s Jon Cullen set a career high with four assists in a 4-1 win over Northeastern on Friday. He then scored the game-winning goal in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over UMass-Amherst. Not bad for a guy who doesn’t even show up on any of the conference’s leaderboards.
  • Denver has quietly built a three-game unbeaten streak, helped by a big win over struggling Boston University and a tie with Providence last weekend. But the challenge gets tougher this weekend with Minnesota in town.
  • Speaking of the Gophers, here’s their first real chance to show they can bounce back from adversity. They lost tough games to Michigan State and Michigan last weekend at home, and need to bounce back.
  • Speaking of bouncing back, Wisconsin just hasn’t been able to. The Badgers slipped to 8-8 overall with a one-goal loss to Michigan and a lackadaisical performance against Michigan State. After starting 7-0 and ascending to the No. 1 spot in the USCHO.com poll, they have lost eight of nine and have fallen out of sight in the poll.
  • Sandelin said he expects Rob Anderson to start in goal on Friday against the Badgers, even though Adam Coole should return from a dislocated thumb. Anderson made a good impression last weekend, stopping 64 of 71 shots en route to being named to the all-tournament team at the Sheraton/Howard Bank Classic. “He’s been pretty good for us the last four games,” Sandelin said.
  • Minnesota’s Aaron Miskovich scored his ninth career shorthanded goal against Michigan State, putting him one behind Paul Broten for the Gophers’ career record. It’s not bad for a Gophers player to be mentioned in the same sentence as a Broten.
  • Minnesota-Duluth was classified as the runner-up in the Sheraton/Howard Bank Classic last weekend, even though both the Bulldogs and Minnesota State-Mankato had 1-1 records. Duluth’s goal differential was plus-3; Mankato’s was minus-2.
  • The Mavericks’ Ryan Severson was named to the all-tournament team after scoring two goals and adding an assist in a 7-5 win over Vermont.
  • With wins over Northeastern and UMass-Amherst last weekend, St. Cloud State ran its non-conference record to 5-0-1 this season. That’s an important statistic when it comes down to choosing teams for the NCAA tournament. With only a series against Brown left outside the conference, the Huskies have a good chance to go undefeated in non-conference play.

    On The Docket

    This weekend’s conference action is crucial for many of the league’s teams. Can Wisconsin break out of its funk at Minnesota-Duluth? If not, the Badgers will be fighting just to stay out of the bottom five.

    Will Denver prove to be a serious contender for a top spot in the league, or will losses to Minnesota at home send them back to the bottom third?

    Can Alaska-Anchorage break an 11-game losing streak to North Dakota? Don’t count them out, especially they continue the trend of staying out of the penalty box.

    Will St. Cloud State be able to get out of its seventh-place tie with Michigan Tech? The Huskies and the Huskies (oh boy, not another one of those series) both have six points, but St. Cloud has played only six league games compared to 12 for Tech.

    Colorado College hosts Air Force and Bemidji State, while Minnesota State-Mankato takes the weekend off.

    • This Week In The ECAC: Nov. 30, 2000

    By Jayson Moy and Becky Blaeser
    -

    Back In The Mix

    For the first time since 1995, Harvard finds itself among the NCAA elite, currently No. 13 in the national poll. Most Harvard fans will admit that it’s been a long time since the Crimson have been able to live up to its preseason hype, but after definitive wins against Boston University and an almost-victory against No. 4 Boston College, it appears that this year’s Crimson team is finally stacked with the talent it needs to be competitive with the top teams in the nation.

    Early wins against Dartmouth, Colgate and Brown have allowed the Crimson to take a strong stance in the ECAC standings, but those contests against BU and BC were true character tests.

    After dispatching of the struggling Terriers in Walter Brown Arena on Tuesday night, Harvard took on the Eagles in their own barn in front of their own fans. With 1:11 left in the game, the Crimson held a 2-1 advantage and appeared poised to storm the ice in triumph.

    However, showing why the Eagles have appeared in the last three Frozen Fours and Harvard has not, Boston College emerged from a timeout and deposited the equalizer 29 seconds later. The tide had turned, and it didn’t take long for the Eagles to end any hopes of a Harvard upset as they walked away with the victory just 1:37 into the overtime period.

    “You don’t start running until you walk fast, and you start to trot before you run,” said Harvard head coach Mark Mazzoleni. “We haven’t been in any races yet. Until we’re in a few races, we’ll take this, learn from it and be a better team the next time out.”

    The road from mediocre ECAC team to NCAA challenger is a long, arduous one. In his two years at the Crimson helm, Mazzoleni has fastidiously tried to mold this group of players. From implementing a new system to taming egos, he has been constructing a team that understands the principles of discipline, but feels the freedom to explore its potential on the offensive end of the ice.

    After showing hesitancy in the first period against Boston College — the Eagles outshot the Crimson by a 23-8 margin — Harvard showed growing confidence as the game progressed, and then a true sign of change. With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game and Harvard up by a goal, the Crimson extended the forecheck, instead of backing into its own zone. The tactic worked — at least for about eight minutes before Lephart scored.

    “We are a night-and-day different team from where we were last year,” Mazzoleni said. “We’re not BC yet, but we have our sights on them.”

    The Crimson faces another gut-check this weekend when it heads to the North Country to take on St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Although both ECAC foes are struggling this year, Harvard has always had problems stealing four points on this road trip. In fact, Clarkson is one of the only ECAC teams that hold a winning record against Harvard, leading the overall series 38-36-6; the Crimson have not won in Cheel since 1993-94.

    But for the first time in quite a while, all eyes will be on Harvard, not Clarkson and not St. Lawrence. Everyone wants to know if the Crimson can continue to claw the way up the national rankings, or if this is some early-season fluke.

    “We had the lead for a little while, and then inexperience took over [against Boston College],” said senior Chris Bala. “We need to battle through that kind of adversity.”

    Brown/St. Lawrence/Clarkson

    Is there any relief in sight for the Brown Bears? After starting the season by losing to Harvard, the Bears peeled off a 5-1 win over Providence and lost an overtime game to Dartmouth. Starting with that Dartmouth game, the Bears have dropped five straight to see their record fall to 1-6-0 on the season.

    Maine defeated Brown 6-2 last Friday, and there wasn’t much that head coach Roger Grillo saw that went well, but what he did see could mean a brighter future, either the immediate or far.

    “The only positive I can take from this game is the play of our freshmen,” Grillo said. “I thought that (freshman defenseman Scott) Ford looked really good out there, on the penalty kill and on offense, and some of our freshman forwards were doing some good things for us.”

    The Saints went to Grand Forks on their “Murderer’s Row” schedule last weekend and came out of North Dakota with a pair of losses. Despite the results, head coach Joe Marsh liked what he saw of his goaltending and what the experience meant for his team.

    “We played basically four freshmen on defense Saturday night, and they did a pretty good job,” said Marsh. “We wanted to give our younger players a taste of what it is like to play at the top level of the college game, and I think we learned some things from it. “This is a big weekend coming up, and an important one in terms of the league picture even though it is very early in the season.”

    Clarkson finished third in the Syracuse Invitational after dropping the opening round to Cornell and then defeating Colgate. The Golden Knights are one game over .500; head coach Mark Morris is continuing to teach, and his team is continuing to learn.

    “We had steady play from our young players and pretty decent goaltending — we continue to improve every time out,” Morris said. “We know we will have to be at our best in the upcoming weekend against Brown and Harvard. It’s our opportunity to finish the first half of our season on a positive note. It is important that we continue to bank as many points in ECAC play as possible.”

    Yale/Princeton at Colgate/Cornell

    Yale and Princeton played a home-and-home series last week and both teams won a game — on the other’s home ice. On Tuesday it was a last-minute goal by Jeff Dwyer that won the game for the Bulldogs, 4-3, and on Saturday the Tigers held on to a two-goal lead to win 3-1.

    Dan Lombard has stood tall in net for the Elis, facing 200 shots in the last six games — an average of 33.3 per game — while allowing 23 goals.

    “We continue to give up too many quality shots,” head coach Tim Taylor said. “We’re asking too much of Dan every night.”

    Princeton has gotten off to a better start than most expected at 3-2-3, 2-2-0 in the ECAC. Head coach Len Quesnelle looked at last week in a cliched manner.

    “We got a bounce that went our way tonight,” he said. “On Tuesday, it went Yale’s way.”

    Colgate and Cornell went to Syracuse, but only Cornell could come out of the OnCenter with a win. The Big Red beat Clarkson 2-1 in the first game and in the championship game fell 4-3 to Niagara.

    One noticeable misery which has befallen the Big Red is offensive production. Through eight games and a 3-3-2 record, the Big Red have scored 15 goals, less than two per game. But that doesn’t seem to concern head coach Mike Schafer as much as it does the fans.

    “One of the things we’ve done is play real tight defense and have solid goaltending, and we’ve won those low-scoring games,” he said. “It’s coming slowly, but as I said our biggest thing is we need to get rested and get ready to play the high level.”

    A lot of people are wondering what has happened to the Red Raiders. After a pair of losses in the Syracuse Invitational, the Raiders are 2-8-2, with their only two wins coming against Sacred Heart and Brown. They are now 1-7-0 in their last eight.

    How to turn it around?

    “I thought we worked harder tonight, I thought we really did,” said head coach Don Vaughan after the consolation loss to Clarkson. “We had better individual efforts out of guys like (Kyle) Doyle, (Sean) Nolan; they played well, Cory Murphy had a better game, but we’re a team that needs to have every guy going and we’re not there right now.”

    Union/Rensselaer

    Heading into this weekend’s action, who would have thought it would be Union as the favorite as the Dutchmen headed into Troy to take on the Engineers? The Skating Dutchmen moved up to 11th in the USCHO.com poll after a 2-2 tie against Mercyhurst and a 5-3 win over UMass-Lowell.

    “I’m not getting caught up in it,” head coach Kevin Sneddon said. “It’s the same thing as the week before. It’s a compliment, and that’s all we’ll take it as. It doesn’t do us anything to prepare for RPI, and that’s our main focus right now.”

    The Engineers come off of a 5-0 win over Mercyhurst after a 9-2 victory against UMass-Amherst the weekend before. Those were their first back-to-back wins of the season as they head into the final weekend of their six-game homestand.

    Suffice to say, home cooking has helped the Engineers.

    “We’ve put a little streak together with our win tonight” said head coach Dan Fridgen Saturday. “We’re coming together and playing a little more consistent.”

    If It’s So Easy, You Try It

    We took down Vic in week one, and Tayt in week two. Now it’s week three, and we welcome another challenger.

    Tayt gave us a good fight last week, but in the end we did prevail. Tayt wound up under .500 with a 5-9-1 record, two games under our mark of 7-7-1.

    Thanks for the game, Tayt, but unfortunately, you are now banished from the island.

    We now welcome Michele Kelley, a Colgate fan. What’s that old cliché? “Third time’s the charm”? Perhaps someone will beat us, so let’s take a look and see what Michele thinks about this weekend’s action.

    The Picks

    Friday, December 1
    Brown at Clarkson
    Michele — Clarkson’s hot right now, and Brown is … well, Brown. Clarkson 6, Brown 1
    Becky and Jayson — Clarkson 5, Brown 1

    Harvard at St. Lawrence
    Michele — Harvard may have a lot of talent this year, but SLU is at home, so advantage Saints. St. Lawrence 6, Harvard 4
    Becky and Jayson — Harvard 3, St. Lawrence 2

    Princeton at Colgate
    Michele — I try not to pick against my team, and we need to pull out at least a couple of points this weekend. Colgate 3, Princeton 2
    Becky and Jayson — Princeton 4, Colgate 3

    Yale at Cornell
    Michele — Yale’s doing well so far, and I have no great love for Cornell. Yale 3, Cornell 2
    Becky and Jayson — Cornell 4, Yale 1

    Union at Rensselaer
    Michele — In this battle of the travel partners, Union continues its winning streak. Union 5, RPI 3
    Becky and Jayson — Rensselaer 3, Union 2

    Saturday, December 2
    Brown at St. Lawrence
    Michele — History repeats itself as Brown pulls out another victory at Appleton for its first two points of the season. Brown 4, St. Lawrence 3
    Becky and Jayson — St. Lawrence 5, Brown 1

    Harvard at Clarkson
    Michele — Clarkson pulls out two victories at home for a four-point weekend. Clarkson 3, Harvard 2
    Becky and Jayson — Clarkson 4, Harvard 1

    Princeton at Cornell
    Michele — Princeton, ashamed of losing to Colgate the night before, gives Cornell a run for its money and comes out on top. Princeton 6, Cornell 4
    Becky and Jayson — Cornell 4, Princeton 1

    Yale at Colgate
    Michele — Like I said, I try not to pick against my team, but they haven’t won two in a row all season, and it’s not going to happen this weekend. Yale 5, Colgate 3 Becky and Jayson — Yale 3, Colgate 2

    Quinnipiac at Rensselaer
    Michele — Quinnipiac is leading the MAAC right now. And RPI is only a mediocre ECAC team so far. Quinnipiac 2, Rensselaer 1
    Becky and Jayson — Rensselaer 6, Quinnipiac 5

    Holy Cross at Vermont
    Michele — I won’t say anything bad about Holy Cross, but Vermont’s at home and those Vermonters love their hockey. Vermont 7, Holy Cross 1
    Becky and Jayson — Vermont 7, Holy Cross 3

    Sunday, November 26
    Quinnipiac at Union
    Michele — If it was any other year than this year, I would definitely take QC. But this is 2000, and Union is doing pretty well. Union 3, Quinnipiac 2
    Becky and Jayson — Union 4, Quinnipiac 2

    Remember, if you’re interested in putting your money where your mouth is, drop us an email to be eligible to be chosen when Michele bites the dust.

    Thanks this week to Dan Fisher, Sean Peden and Ken Schott for their contributions

    This Week In The MAAC: Nov. 30, 2000

    By
    -

    Upset at New Roc

    MAAC fans, hold onto your seats, because we may be in for a wild ride. If Wednesday night’s matchup between Fairfield and Iona is any indication, parity may be rearing its head much sooner than the pundits ever expected.

    Thanks to a four-goal explosion in the third period, Fairfield, the winner of only two MAAC games last year, knocked off Iona in New Rochelle, N.Y., a place the Gaels had been all but unbeatable this season.

    “[The win] shows a lot of character on the part of our kids,” said Fairfield coach Jim Hunt. “There were a few things that happened: we came back from behind, we came back from behind on the road, and we came back from behind on the road against a very good team. All those things are important as we start to mature and develop this program.

    Trailing 3-1 entering the third period, Fairfield reeled off three goals in less than eight and a half minutes to open the frame. But Iona fought back to tie the game, scoring with 5:39 remaining.

    That was when Fairfield’s John Whelan became the hero, beating Iona goaltender Ben Brady with less than five minutes to play with the game-winner.

    The win was improbable, yes, but more than likely not too unthinkable. Fairfield has looked impressive at times this year, and Hunt’s squad has been able to get up for the big game. Two weeks ago, Fairfield pulled off another big upset, posting a 1-0 shutout against Quinnipiac, handing the Braves their first loss in more than a year.

    The unexpected success, though, is not something Hunt will take a lot of credit for.

    “I don’t think I can take a whole lot of credit for what’s going on,” said Hunt, who arrived at Fairfield this summer after Mark Dennehy left for UMass-Amherst. “The thing I wanted to change here was mentality. I wanted to change [the way the players] were training off the ice, how [they] prepared for game and simply, he they approached each game.

    “There a lot that comes with that mentality. Accountability, responsibility are two big parts. We had the right kids and now they’re buying into what I need them to do.”

    Fairfield’s accomplishments, too, are welcome by Hunt, but he still remains focused to realize a couple of big wins doesn’t mean the program is on the right track just yet.

    “If you look at the quality of the four points we got, they don’t matter,” said Hunt. “If you beat Bentley or Quinnipiac, it doesn’t matter. [After] we beat Quinnipiac, we went into West Point but couldn’t put two good efforts back-to-back. That needs to be the challenge this week.”

    A challenge that will be tested right away when Fairfield travels to Bentley, a team the Stags have enjoyed a great success against lately.

    Wins aside, Hunt says the team’s goal will not change.

    “I think if you asked me where I wanted to be at this point in the season, [I’d tell you] we’re right around the point,” said Hunt. “But now having seen most of the team in the league, my expectations are a little bit higher.

    “The bottom line, though, is that we won’t change our goal for the season which is to make the playoffs. We’ve been focused on that since day one and that hasn’t changed.”

    Weekly Awards

    ITECH MAAC Hockey League Player of the Week:
    LLOYD MARKS, SACRED HEART Jr., C, Inverary, ON

    Marks wins the award for his great play in the 5-5 tie against Iona. He scored a hat trick with his third goal starting a Pioneers comeback late in the third period. He is tied for the team lead with nine points and his five goals lead the Pioneers.

    Also Nominated: Joe Dudek, Kurt Kamienski, Ryan Carter, Chad Poliquin.

    ITECH MAAC Hockey League Goalie of the Week:
    SCOTT HAMILTON, ARMY Jr., G, Clinton Township, MI

    Hamilton was solid in winning two of three low scoring, one-goal games last week. He stopped 25 of 26 shots in the 2-1 win over Fairfield and 18 of 20 shots in the 3-2 win over Holy Cross. For the week he had a.909 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average.

    Also Nominated: J.C. Wells, Alexis Jutras-Binet.

    ITECH MAAC Hockey League Rookie of the Week:
    MARC-ANDRE FOURNIER, SACRED HEART Fr., F, St. Nicholas, PQ

    Fournier helped lead the Pioneers to a 1-0-1 record last week. He scored the game winning goal in the 3-2 win over American International and scored the game tying goal with just over three minutes left in the third period in the 5-5 tie against Iona. For the year he has four points on three goals and an assist.

    Also Nominated: Artie Imbriano.

    Pioneers Back on Winning Ways

    Barring a victory at the NCAA Championships, there probably won’t be a feeling of excitement that matches the one Sacred Heart coach Shaun Hannah felt a few weeks back when his Pioneers upset Cornell University.

    But when reality slaps you like it belted the Pioneers, that feeling just doesn’t seem as fresh in the mind anymore.

    That reality was not kind — coming in the form of three consecutive losses to the top of the MAAC: two against Quinnipiac and one to Iona.

    Stomaching the two Quinnipiac losses was the toughest. The first game saw Quinnipiac score early in the third to break a 1-1 tie. Two late goals, one an empty-netter, made the 4-1 score look worse than the game.

    The second game was even tougher, as the Pioneers carried a 2-1 lead into the third period. But three tallies for the Braves in the third, including the game-winner and insurance goals late in the game, left Sacred Heart wondering what had hit them.

    Last weekend, though, the Pioneers took baby steps towards righting the ship, with a hard-fought win against AIC and a come-from-behind tie on the road at Iona.

    Things, though, do look brighter for the Pioneers. Between now and Christmas break, Sacred Heart takes on Fairfield twice, Bentley and Holy Cross. Whereas the combined record of Sacred Heart’s first seven opponents was 35-12-9, the next four games will see a combined record of 6-21-2.

    Weather Forces Teams to Juggle Games

    It was the first snow of the year in upstate New York last week, and already Mother Nature has caused havoc with MAAC play. Mercyhurst was able to make the bus trip from Erie, Pa., to Storrs, Conn., last Tuesday night, forcing the league to juggle a few games to make up the game later in the season.

    As a result, the Lakers will travel to UConn on Saturday, February 10, for a 7:30 ET game with the Huskies. The Lakers were originally scheduled for a single game that weekend, playing at AIC on Friday, February 9.

    That will, though, pre-empt the game between Connecticut and Sacred Heart that was scheduled for February 10. The Huskies and Pioneers will instead face-off on Thursday, January 11, at 7:30 ET.

    The decision to move the game probably wasn’t too difficult for Shaun Hannah. Sacred Heart is scheduled to play Quinnipiac on February 9. So instead of facing UConn the next night, they can play on a Thursday night during Christmas break.

    Yellow Jackets Surprising Many

    Don’t look now, but AIC, a team picked to finish ninth pre-season by this writer, has staked an early claim that has playoff hopes written all over it.

    Thanks to solid victories over Canisius, Holy Cross and Fairfield, as well as a tie on the road at Mercyhurst, the only blemish on the Lakers MAAC schedule, AIC has moved into sixth place in the MAAC.

    This past weekend, the Yellow Jackets came close to moving further, but two heart-breaking losses to Sacred Heart and Canisius by identical 3-2 scores, kept AIC at bay.

    Worst of all, both losses came in the closing minutes of the game. Sacred Heart scored with 1:12 showing on the clock to complete a three-goal outburst, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit. Canisius spoiled Patrick Tabb’s tying goal with 7:00 left to play when Chris Duggan buried the game-winner with 2:09 remaining.

    Pacing AIC has been two solid forwards: the more experienced junior Ollie Gagnon along with rookie Trent Ulmer. Goaltender Chance Thede’s.914 save percentage certainly hasn’t hurt the Yellow Jacket attack.

    This weekend, AIC will face a solid test in a home-and-home series with defending MAAC Champion UConn. Traveling to UConn on Friday, the Yellow Jackets will more than likely be very happy with a series split, allowing them to keep pace with the rest of the league.

    Votes Continue to Roll In

    I’m pretty sure there are no dimples or butterfly ballots to worry about, and not a chad in sight, but as far as the MAAC is concerned, their not-so-well-known party is getting some attention from voters.

    Okay, so no one from the three-year old league has broken the top 15 of any national poll, but for the time being, two MAAC teams are beneficiaries of the ol’ Pat Buchanan votes — this is, enough to show people your name.

    Quinnipiac, with a 9-2-2 record, has garnered five votes in both the USCHO.com poll as well as the USA Today Coaches Poll. Mercyhurst, likely aided by its 2-2 tie with No. 13 Union last Friday, got its first vote — receiving one vote in the USA Today poll.

    “It’s nice to get votes in a national poll,” said Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold. “Ultimately, though, it’s just nice attention.”

    Pecknold admitted though that you can brush off polls as an opinionated measuring stick, but there are some major benefits of being nationally recognized.

    “It doesn’t hurt us when it comes to recruiting,” Pecknold added. “Kids read the polls, that’s for sure. How much it helps us, I’m not quite sure. Any way you get your name out, though, in a positive light, helps the recruiting process.”

    Top of the MAAC Tours Capital District

    The Capital District of New York is feeling an invasion of more than just Hilary Clinton right now. Now the area has to deal with the top of the MAAC.

    The Albany, N.Y., region is no stranger to the MAAC, playing host to its basketball championship, the conference’s highest profile event, every other year. But MAAC hockey top dogs Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac are in the middle of a two-week, four-game series with RPI and Union.

    Mercyhurst began the series last week by shocking No. 13 Union with a hard-fought 2-2 tie. The Lakers, a bit weary, fell to RPI the next night, 5-0. RPI did not play on Friday night.

    “I’m [was] as happy as you could be with a tie,” Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin said, referring to Friday night’s battle with Union. “This particular team, I can’t speak for other MAAC teams, but this team, the learning curve is getting smaller for us. Back a year ago when we went to Ohio State and we lost 5-3, we were awful. We’ve gotten better each time we played one of the major conference teams and we got better [on Friday].”

    Gotkin, though, was not happy with his team’s performance the next night, and wouldn’t rest on the laurels of Friday night’s upset tie.

    “Our guys are disappointed,” Gotkin admitted. “Our guys felt that they could come out and play another great game and we didn’t play all that well, but RPI had a lot to do with the fact that we didn’t play that well.

    “We just didn’t have a lot of jump in the first period. We were a little bit fatigued by [from Friday night, we were tired and [Friday night] we gave it everything we had for 65 minutes. It was a lot different atmosphere [at Union]. It was a real intense and physical atmosphere. [RPI] wasn’t that type of atmosphere, it wasn’t a physical game and we kind of got lulled to sleep a little bit and RPI’s got some guys that can wheel and deal.”

    Nonetheless, the Lakers have raised some eyebrows, starting with Quinnipiac’s Pecknold.

    “[Mercyhurst tie with Union was] a big tie for them and a big tie for the league,” said Pecknold. “People keep wanting to overlook [the MAAC], but [the league] keeps giving them reason [not to].”

    And no one, I’m sure, will be able to overlook Quinnipiac this weekend when they complete the MAAC trip through New York’s Capital District, facing RPI this Saturday and Union on Sunday.

    The Braves, who tied last year’s national semi-finalist St. Lawrence, 1-1, earlier this year, feel that they are anything but underdogs this weekend.

    “[Against] St. Lawrence, we didn’t play well in our systems,” Pecknold said. “We competed hard, but [goaltender] Justin Eddy saved that game for us.

    “This weekend, our focus will be to stay competitive, but stay within our system and play good team hockey. We need to stay composed and not run around too much.”

    Eddy, who was the hero of the St. Lawrence game, will get the start on Saturday against RPI.

    “Justin’s made seven solid starts for us this season,” said Pecknold. “J.C. Wells has come around and is playing well, so we’ve got two good goalies.”

    On top of goaltending, for the most part, Pecknold’s club has health. Even though the club has lost key defenseman Dan Ennis for the season, this weekend will mark the return of another top blueliner, Anthony DiPalma, who has missed five games this year with injuries.

    Pecknold has focused on resting and recuperating his clubs over the past week.

    “After [last Tuesday’s] Holy Cross game, I gave our guys five days off,” Pecknold said. “We weren’t burnt out, but we were beaten up. In our case, the rest help us. We’ve been so banged up all year.”

    When asked what the formula for winning this weekend was, Pecknold kept it simple.

    “There are a couple of basics. We need great goaltending, we have to play good team defense, and we have to play some of our systems better.”

    Around the League

    AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL

    The Yellow Jackets lost a tough game, 3-2, to Sacred Heart on Tuesday night in their only game of the week…American International has a home and home series against Connecticut over the weekend. They play at Connecticut at 7:30 Friday night and host the Huskies at 7:00 Saturday night… Sophomore C.J. Stagnaro netted his second goal of the season in the loss… Freshman Todd O’Neil recorded his first collegiate point in the loss, assisting on Stagnaro’s goal… Last week’s ITECH MAAC Rookie of the Week, Guillaume Caron added an assist to his point total on classmate’s Trent Ulmer’s fifth goal of the season. Ulmer has now posted ten points in his rookie season and is chasing teammate Olivier Gagnon for the team lead in points… Gagnon assisted on Ulmer’s goal, which now gives him 13 points on the year.

    ARMY

    The Black Knights defeated Fairfield 2-1 on Tuesday and Holy Cross 3-2 on Sunday but lost to Connecticut 3-2 on Saturday…Army goes to Canisius on Saturday for a 3:30 tilt with the Ice Griffs… On Sunday the Black Knights posted their first win when trailing after two periods since Feb. 13, 1998 — a 6-5 win at Northeastern. They trailed Holy Cross 2-1 after two periods but Tim Fisher and Mike Fairman scored in the third period to pull out the victory… Fairman played in his 100th career game on Saturday against UConn. His two points Sunday against Holy Cross give him 78 for his career, leaving him 22 shy of becoming Army’s 51st 100-point scorer… Junior Scott Hamilton, the ITECH MAAC Goalie of the Week, stopped 25 of 26 shots in the win over Fairfield and 18 of 20 shots in the win over Holy Cross… Sophomore forward Joe Dudek scored two goals in the two Black Knight victories giving him five goals in his last four MAAC games.

    BENTLEY

    The Falcons were idle this past week… Bentley is still seeking its first win of the year and returns to action on Friday night when the Falcons host Fairfield at 7:30. Sacred Heart visits the Ryan Rink on Sunday night for a 5:30 faceoff… Bentley and Fairfield met in the consolation game of the Q-Cup earlier this year with Fairfield winning 4-0… The Falcons play only three times in the month of December. After this weekend’s action, Bentley hosts Holy Cross on Saturday, Dec. 16… Freshman Mike Mulligan will be looking to resume his goal-scoring streak this weekend. Before a 5-0 loss to Iona on Nov. 18, Mulligan had scored one goal in five straight games. He currently leads Bentley with six goals and is second on the team in scoring with six points.

    CANISIUS

    The Ice Griffs were idle this week… The Ice Griffs host Army and Iona this weekend at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. Canisius faces MAAC newcomer Army Saturday afternoon at 3:30 and square off against Iona at 2:00… Canisius will travel to Huntsville, AL to compete in the Alabama-Huntsville Faceoff Tournament on December 29-30. The Ice Griffs take on host Alabama-Huntsville Friday at 7:00 and faces either Nebraska-Omaha or UMass-Lowell in the second game on Saturday… Canisius is 2-5-0 lifetime against Army. This will be their first meeting since 1996-97 which the Ice Griffs lost 7-4… The Ice Griffs went 1-3 against Iona last season including a 4-3 defeat in the quarterfinals of the 2000 Easton MAAC Hockey League Championship.

    CONNECTICUT

    The Huskies defeated Army 3-2 on Saturday… Connecticut has a home and home series against MAAC foe AIC over the weekend. They host the Yellow Jackets at 7:30 Friday night and play at AIC 7:00 Saturday night… The Huskies game against Mercyhurst that was postponed on Wednesday, November 22 has been rescheduled for Saturday, February 10 at 7:30 at the UConn Ice Arena. UConn’s game against Sacred Heart has been moved from February 10 to Thursday, January 11 at a yet to be determined time… Freshman goalie Artie Imbriano earned his third win of the season, making 20 saves in the 3-2 victory over Army. On the season, he sports a 2.60 GAA, playing the majority of minutes in net. He has recorded 185 saves in earning a 3-2-2 record… Sophomore forward Kurt Kamienski scored the game-winning goal with less than seven minutes remaining in the second period to lift UConn past Army, 3-2. Kurt has recorded five points this season. He also leads the Huskies with three game winning goals.

    FAIRFIELD

    The Stags lost 2-1 to Army on Tuesday night… Fairfield goes on the road to play Bentley Friday night at 7:30. They host Sacred Heart at 8:00 Saturday night… The game against Sacred Heart is the MAAC Game of the Week… Sophomore captain Rae Metz scored the lone goal for the Stags at 2:53 of the second period on a power play. The tally moves Metz into a tie for 4th in overall power play points and 10th in overall power play goals… Freshman goaltender Craig Schnappinger, who was named Itech Goaltender of the Week for last week’s shut out performance over Quinnipiac, made 18 saves in the contest. He is 1-1-0 in MAAC play and is leading the team with a 1.00 GAA and a.946 save percentage in conference play… The Stags continued their tendency of coming out strong from the opening faceoff. The Stags outshot the Black Knights 11-8 in the first and are outshooting their conference opponents 51-35 in the first period this season.

    HOLY CROSS

    The Crusaders lost to Quinnipiac 5-1 on Tuesday, to Hockey East member UMass-Lowell 7-2 on Friday, and to Army 3-2 on Saturday… Holy Cross steps out of confernence to battle ECAC member Vermont at 7:00 Saturday night… Junior Pat Rissmiller and sophomore Brandon Doria are tied for first in the MAAC in power play points. In MAAC games, Rissmiller is first, Doria is second and freshman R.J. Irving is third… Holy Cross leads the MAAC in power-play percentage in both conference games 26.9% and overall games 23.8 %… Holy Cross has scored at least one power-play goal in nine of their last 10 games… Freshman goalie Rick Massey made a career high 28 saves in the loss to Army… The Crusaders game vs. UMass-Lowell was the two teams first meeting since February 1, 1983, in what had been an annual meeting… In the Crusaders’ two games vs. Army and Iona freshman Greg Kealey scored a power play goal. Both goals came at the exact same time of the same period. Both goals were assisted by the same player.

    IONA

    The Gaels extended their unbeaten streak to five games with their 5-5 tie against Sacred Heart on Saturday… Iona hosts Fairfield at 7:30 Wednesday night and travels to Mercyhurst for a 7:30 faceoff Saturday night and to Canisius for a tilt on Sunday at 2:00… Junior forward Ryan Carter scored two power play goals and added an assist in the Gaels 5-5 tie with the Pioneers. For the season, Carter has 11points on seven goals and four assists… Two time ITECH MAAC Player of the Week Ryan Manitowich scored two goals versus Sacred Heart. The sophomore forward has eight tallies in six MAAC contests… The Gaels got off a season high 52 shots versus Sacred Heart… Junior defenseman Nathan Lutz dished out two more assists in the game, giving him 11 on the season.

    MERCYHURST

    The Lakers battled two out of conference teams over the weekend. They tied No. 13 Union, a member of the ECAC, 2-2 on Friday night and lost 5-0 to ECAC opponent Rensselaer on Saturday night… They host CHA member Wayne State at 7:30 Friday and Iona at 7:30 Saturday night… The Lakers game against Connecticut that was postponed on Wednesday, November 22 has been rescheduled for Saturday, February 10 at 7:30 at the UConn Ice Arena… Mercyhurst is now 1-0-1 against Union lifetime. The Lakers defeated Union 5-4 in their first ever ECAC Playoff game in 1990 when both schools were in Divison III… Junior goalie Peter Aubry was voted the game’s top star in Friday’s 2-2 overtime tie at Union by making 32 saves. Senior center Jeff Gould was voted the game’s third star with two assists… Mercyhurst and RPI played their first ever game Saturday night. The five goals allowed by the Lakers in the loss to RPI represented the first time all season that the team allowed more than two goals in any one game.

    QUINNIPIAC

    The Braves defeated Holy Cross 5-1 on Tuesday for their fourth consecutive win over the Crusaders… Quinnipiac clashes with ECAC opponent RPI at 7:00 Saturday night and at ECAC member, #13 Union, at 7:00 Sunday… Senior forwards Chad Poliquin and Shawn Mansoff each had one goal and one assist in the win over Holy Cross… Senior goalie J.C. Wells made 24 saves in the 5-1 victory to improve to 4-1-1 on the season. The win was the 55th of his career. For the season, Wells is 4-1-1 with a 1.81 GAA and.924 save percentage… Quinnipiac is 8-0-1 on the season when they score first in a game and 7-0-1 when they score at least 4 goals… Senior Chris Cerrella holds the team scoring lead with 19 points. He has a team best three multiple-goal and eight multiple-point efforts… For the season, Quinnipiac is averaging 4.38 goals per game and 5.0 goals per game in MAAC play. They are allowing just 1.77 goals per game and 1.67 goals per game in MAAC play.

    SACRED HEART

    The Pioneers went 1-0-1 over the weekend by defeating AIC 3-2 on Tuesday night and tying Iona 5-5 on Saturday night… Sacred Heart goes on the road to battle Fairfield at 8:00 Saturday night and Bentley 5:30 Sunday night… Senior goalie Alexis Jutras-Binet had 29 saves in a 3-2 win over American International for his thrid win of the season. Sophomore goalie Eddy Ferhi had 47 saves in a 5-5 tie against Iona on Saturday night… Freshman forward Marc-Andre Fournier, the ITECH MAAC Rookie of the Week, had the game-winning goal against American International and the game-tying goal against Iona. For the year he has three goals and one assist for four points… Junior Lloyd Marks, the ITECH MAAC Player of the Week, recorded a hat trick against Iona. His last goal keyed a Sacred Heart comeback late in the third period.

    Special thanks to Jayson Moy for his contributions to this week’s column.

    This Week In Hockey East: Nov. 30, 2000

    By
    -

    About The Tobin Bridge…

    Two weeks ago, this column discussed Boston University, which was then 2-4-1. It counseled fans that plans to jump off the Tobin Bridge were premature.

    “If the Terriers lose the next four,” the column said, “then the Tobin may be worth talking about.”

    Well, it’s four games later and four losses later, leaving BU at 2-8-1. The Terriers have now lost six straight, which prompts coach Jack Parker to invoke gallows humor and note wryly that the streak is “my personal best!”

    So is it time for a one-way trip to the Tobin?

    Stick a fork in the Terriers, they’re done?

    Or have rumors of their demise been greatly exaggerated?

    Without question, wins breed confidence and therefore more wins; losses prompt players to press and therefore result in more losses. The snowballing effect that worked to BU’s advantage for virtually the last decade is now working against the Terriers.

    “We’re really pressing,” says Parker. “We’ve had great opportunities to make plays and put pucks by the goaltender and we have not done it. Although we’ve gotten a lot of shots, we haven’t scored goals.

    “We’ve really pressed because when we make a mistake, it seems to jump in our net. We haven’t gotten real solid goaltending and we haven’t been as thorough as we have to be defensively. It’s a combination of making [the other] goalie look great and not stopping the puck at the other end as good as we’d like.

    “I still think we’re playing hard enough. I have no qualms with how hard we’re playing, but we’re going to get real frustrated soon — if we’re not already frustrated.

    “We’re obviously immensely disappointed with our won-loss record. It seems to me that [the players] must be asking themselves, ‘When are we going to get some rewards? We’re working pretty hard, but we’re only coming up with air here.'”

    For starters, the offense is scoring at the rate of only 2.73 goals per game, next-to-last in Hockey East. It’s hard to imagine that six years ago the BU forwards were so deep that a freshman named Chris Drury remained stuck on the fourth line while the Terriers averaged 5.46 goals per league game en route to a national championship.

    While those powder-keg days are over, just last season the Terriers were third in the league while scoring at a 3.57 clip. The assumption was that they would miss the contributions of Tommi Degerman (19-24–43) and Chris Heron (18-25–43), but that younger players would step up and fill the void.

    What may have been overlooked is how much of a clutch performer Degerman was. He tallied eight of the team’s 25 game-winning goals. Nine of his 19 goals came in the third period or overtime.

    Even so, has BU’s talent plummeted all the way into the basement? Or are all those missed opportunities a sign of better things to come?

    It should be noted that goals aren’t always the end result of great scoring chances. Give two players the exact same opportunities and an effective finisher will score a high percentage of the time while a grinder with hands of stone will often shoot into the goalie’s chest, clang the iron like the band’s percussionist and complete the close-but-no-cigar hat trick by shooting wide. He will then bemoan the great chances that he isn’t converting.

    So are the BU forwards talented but snakebitten? Or are they just not very good finishers?

    “Most of [our drought] has to do with guys who finished pretty well last year,” says Parker. “Brian Collins got 13 goals last year. Mike Pandolfo did the same. Mike has one five-on-five goal so far this year; [Collins has two.]

    “Carl Corazzini is scoring, but not at the rate he scored at last year. [Dan] Cavanaugh is doing the same, but not at the rate he was scoring. Nobody is scoring at anywhere near what we need five-on-five.

    “Our power play has been pretty good, but our five-on-five has been anemic. Of late, our penalty killing has been terrible, too. We were running at 14 percent [opponents’ power-play percentage] and now we’re running at about 20 percent. That’s a huge jump. We’re still running at about 27 percent on our power play.

    “Ordinarily when you have a pretty good differential between your power play and your penalty kill, you’ve got a pretty good record. That’s not going with us because we’re so inept as far as five-on-five play is concerned.”

    The trends aren’t particularly promising. During the six-game losing streak, the Terriers haven’t scored more than three goals even once while giving up four or more in all but one contest.

    “Out in Denver and Colorado College, in the first four periods, especially the first period of the Colorado game on Saturday, we had opportunity after opportunity to generate offense,” says Parker. “Two-on-ones. Three-on-twos. But no goals, sometimes not even a shot. We’re getting to the point where we’re trying to be too fine.”

    The most surprising problem, however, lies with the defense. BU didn’t lose a single player on the blue line and returned All-Hockey East selections Chris Dyment and Pat Aufiero along with All-Rookie Team member Freddie Meyer. Meyer missed the first four games recovering from back surgery, but he’s been in the lineup the last seven contests. Colin Sheen, who missed most of last season with injury, has also supplemented the blue line.

    Presumably the defense should be the team’s strength. Instead, it has been anything but. While some might point to Dyment’s drop from 11 goals last year to the goose egg so far this season, the big concern isn’t with the blueliners’ offensive contributions but rather with their defensive shortcomings.

    Aufiero, in particular, has been playing light-years short of last season’s all-league form. In many games, he has made poor decisions that have cost the Terriers. Having seen six of BU’s games either in person or on tape, this observer has been stunned at how Aufiero’s play has fallen off so sharply. Of course, he’s hardly been the only offender on the Terrier blue line, but certainly the most visible.

    Could Rick DiPietro’s puck-handling and puck-stopping skills last year have given everyone an overrated view of the BU defensemen?

    “In all probability, our team got a lot more confidence with Ricky behind them last year and he bailed them out a few more times,” says Parker, “but I don’t think it was a matter of, hey, he was hiding all their mistakes last year. We’re making glaring mistakes and [Aufiero] is one of our biggest problems. Our upperclassman defensemen have struggled, especially Pat.

    “A lot of that has to do with making just glaring mistakes that [a defenseman might say,] ‘Hey, the goaltender could have bailed me out, but he didn’t.’ It’s hard to bail a guy out when someone is walking in on a breakaway or on a two-on-one.

    “There was a lot of that this weekend. Individuals are making real bad decisions or not quite covering a guy they should have had. Mistakes usually wind up in the net if they’re glaring enough.”

    The goaltending, which entered the season as the team’s big question mark, remains exactly that. Jason Tapp has struggled; only UMass-Lowell’s Cam McCormick and Jimi St. John have lower save percentages than Tapp’s .865 figure. Sean Fields had clearly outplayed Tapp until giving up five goals on just 24 shots in Denver.

    BU has now leaped to an average of 3.55 goals against per game, next-to-last in the league.

    “We’d like the goalie to bail us out a few more times than he has,” says Parker. “We could easily blame it on the goaltending not being terrific, but at the same time we’ve hung them out to dry a few times. We’ve given opportunities [that have] put a lot of pressure on the goaltender.

    “We can help the goaltending out by playing more thorough defensively and not leaving them hanging out to dry like we have. Confidence is a big part of that position, obviously, and a big part of the defensive position.

    “So it’s which comes first, the chicken or the egg? [A defenseman can say,] ‘I make a mistake; the goalie doesn’t make the save and I look bad.’ Or the goalie says, ‘Geez, he’s letting this guy go in on a two-on-one. It’s hard to make a save on a two-on-one.’ So it’s a combination of both of those things.”

    Presumably, the talent is there on the blue line to fix the defensive problems. But is the talent there between the pipes to be successful?

    “Sean Fields has given us three pretty good games up until his last game,” says Parker. “He didn’t play very well in Denver, but he played well the first three games. Tapper has played very inconsistent, although his last time out he played a decent game against Colorado.

    “So I don’t think it’s a matter of, Geez, we’ve got to pack it in because we’re not going to get good goaltending this year. I still believe we’re going to get good enough goaltending to win a lot of games in this league. But we’re not going to get good goaltending unless we can help them out to get their confidence. They’re not going to get their confidence unless we can stop the major mistakes.”

    Although too many trips to the penalty box prompted Parker to take action earlier in the season, that hasn’t been a concern during the losing streak other than an anomalous game against Colorado College. The Terriers have stayed in the single digits for penalties in all but one game.

    “We took a couple of real stupid penalties against Harvard that really hurt us,” says Parker, “but for the most part we’ve been getting more power plays than the other team. I’m not saying that we couldn’t lessen our number of penalties, but I don’t think the number of penalties are killing us, with the exception of a couple situations earlier in the year and against Harvard.

    “We haven’t been killing ourselves with penalties; we’ve been killing ourselves lately with penalty kills. Of late, we’ve been pathetic there. Harvard went 4-for-8, Denver got two [officially only one] and Colorado got 2-for-7. That’s eight [officially seven] power-play goals [against] in your last three games. That’s not doing very well.”

    All of which points to numerous problems. However, at least some of those should be fixable, which would translate into more Ws.

    “We could be winning games, 6-5, with the opportunities we’re getting, but we’re not because we can’t put it by the goaltender,” says Parker. “And we could be winning games, 2-0 or 3-2, had we gotten less glaring mistakes by the defense or a little bit more support from the goaltender.

    “We haven’t playing like a team that is 2-8-1. But you are what your record is. What our record is [says] that we aren’t very good and we’re not generating what we have to generate at either end of the ice.

    “But we’re still working very hard. And for the most part, we’re playing very well in our defensive zone. We’re not giving up a lot of shots. We’re not getting overrun by people. We’re getting the puck out of the zone. But every once in a while we make a mistake that you’d have a difficult time not putting the puck in the net on.”

    Which leads to this weekend and an opportunity to begin a turnaround. BU faces UMass-Amherst in a home-and-home series. The Minutemen have also struggled in their last six games — all nonconference matchups — losing five and tying UConn.

    “You’re going to see two teams that are desperate for a win, that’s for sure,” says Parker. “The biggest difference between them and us is that they’re 3-1 in the league and we’re 1-4-1 in the league.

    “So they’re in pretty good shape in the league and we’re in horrible shape. But in general, we both have been going poorly. I’m sure that they’re not mentally feeling too good about themselves, but I’d find it hard to believe that anybody is feeling as badly about themselves as we are right now.”

    Another Sub-Par Powerhouse?

    While BU’s 2-8-1 mark is the biggest disappointment in the league, Maine’s 5-4-3 record is also a surprise. The Black Bears lost a lot of scoring off last year’s Frozen Four squad, but finding scorers has rarely been a problem in Orono and a strong defense returned as did talent between the pipes.

    As a result, few people expected Maine to be only one game over .500 at this point. All of which begs the question, are the Black Bears really just a .500-or-so team or are they of NCAA tournament caliber?

    “I don’t know,” says coach Shawn Walsh. “Defensively, we seem to be an NCAA tournament team. Offensively, we seem to be a non-NCAA tournament team. We’re just too inconsistent offensively, but not because we aren’t creating chances.

    “Saturday night — [a 2-1 overtime loss to Dartmouth] — was a classic. We had three different open nets, including two where the goal light went on, and guys missed the open net. You go through that. We’re not alone in that this year in college hockey. It’s tough to score.

    “We’ll be a team that no one wants to play. But at the same time, I’m not sure if we have enough offensive firepower to get where we want to get.”

    Maine did lose its four 30-plus point scorers from last year (Cory Larose, Barrett Heisten, Ben Guite and Brendan Walsh), but still returned talent up front in the form of Niko Dimitrakos, Dan Kerluke, Martin Kariya and Chris Heisten. Add to that Tommy Reimann, coming off an injury-plagued freshman season, and a strong recruiting class and the usual Black Bear offense was expected.

    Territorially, Maine has met those expectations, but what counts is that it ranks only sixth in Hockey East scoring with an average of only 2.92, a drop of almost a full goal per game from last year. Maine has never finished with a scoring average under 3.00 since the league began play in 1984.

    Arguably teams as a whole play better defense now than in past years, but the same question facing BU also confronts Maine. Are the Black Bears forwards snakebit or are there simply not enough finishers?

    “One of our finishers was declared ineligible,” says Walsh. [More on that below.] “We recruited Colin Shields to be a finisher.

    “And Niko has only played three games. He’s lived up to his end of the bargain because he’s got three goals in three games.

    “We’ve got to get healthy. We’re still missing [offensive defenseman Peter] Metcalf and [Brendan] Donovan. They’re key guys for us. We’re not as deep as we might have been.”

    Metcalf has a sprained knee that has caused him to miss the last three games. He’ll probably miss the next four or five, the latter of which would put him out until Christmas.

    Donovan has a bruised kidney and has also missed the last three games. He is expected to miss this weekend’s two matches against Northeastern and then return for the Boston University and Boston College contests the following weekend.

    While the offense has struggled, the team defense has sparkled and keeps hope alive that this will be an NCAA year for the Black Bears. They now lead the league, allowing an average of only 1.92 goals per game.

    Goaltender Matt Yeats had a couple rough outings to open the season, allowing last year’s backup, Mike Morrison, to move into a 50-50 split. Yeats has recently returned to form, but Morrison hasn’t shown any signs of relinquishing his share of the position. Named the runner-up to Providence’s Nolan Schaefer as Hockey East’s ITECH Goaltender of the Month, Morrison posted a 1.21 GAA and .953 save percentage in November. For the season, he now has a 1.02 GAA and a .958 save percentage, both marks the second best in the country.

    “He’s solid,” says Walsh. “He’s been terrific and so has Matt.

    “Yeats is back. He’s played really well. He had a couple bad periods earlier in the year, but now he’s fine.

    “As a team, look at our numbers. In the last six games, we’ve given up eight goals in six games.”

    NCAA 2 Maine 0

    Maine has lost two players to NCAA rules this season. One, Colin Shields, was expected to be a major contributor this year. The other, Rob McVicar, is a goaltender who would not have been available until next season because of a stint in major junior hockey.

    Shields was declared ineligible a few weeks back. A native of Scotland, he was playing junior hockey last year and taking a few classes at a local junior college. However, since he was in the country on a student visa, the registrar told him that to keep the visa he had to be taking a full-time load.

    “So he put himself in a couple [more] courses, but didn’t really go,” says Maine coach Shawn Walsh. “But when he triggered full-time [status] in the NCAA rules, that meant he had to pass everything. He needed to pass a full year’s coursework, but he didn’t do that because he didn’t even attend some of the classes. It was really a technicality because of his nationality.

    “He didn’t tell anybody, so we didn’t know it until he filled out a form and our compliance people caught it. He didn’t let us know and our mistake was that we didn’t ask him if he was going full time. I’ve never encountered anything like it. So we’ve got ourselves to blame, too.”

    Shields continues to practice and work out with the team. He will become eligible next year.

    “Every time he shoots the puck in the net, I shake my head because he’s a pure goal scorer,” says Walsh. “But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. I don’t want an ineligibility question at the end of the year.”

    McVicar’s case is an even more unfortunate one. It all ties into the need for 18-year-olds to “opt in” for the NHL draft if they don’t want to wait an additional year. This action, however, ends their collegiate eligibility because they are then deemed professionals. A 19-year-old becomes automatically available to the NHL draft, so the only NCAA impact short of signing a contract is to opt in.

    “He had declared himself eligible for the NHL draft last year,” says Walsh. “He was told by his major junior team that it was okay to opt into the draft. Then he found out after talking to various colleges that he couldn’t do that so he opted out a few days before the draft.

    “It sounds like it’s no problem, but the NCAA said it’s black and white. Because you opted in, even though you opted out prior to the draft, you’re done. You’ll never play college hockey.

    “It’s stupid! What’s a shame is that he was an engineering student who was doing very well in school and enjoyed it tremendously. Now he has to go back and play junior hockey without education because there are people in a bureaucratic office who don’t feel for the student-athlete.

    “The rule is there, but the rule isn’t working.”

    Worth The Wait

    Merrimack’s Joe Exter is quickly becoming one of the feel-good stories of the year. Exter has paid more than his share of the dues, but is now reaping the rewards. He is the current Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week after stopping 55 of 56 shots in a Warrior sweep of Nebraska-Omaha.

    A few years back, Exter played in a couple major junior hockey exhibition games and then sat out the rest of that season. Knowing that he would then have to sit out yet another year before he became NCAA eligible, coach Chris Serino debated on whether Exter would be a good gamble.

    “I was thinking about taking him, but he hadn’t played for so long,” says Serino. “I liked him when he was at Cushing [Academy, but he wasn’t going to] have played a hockey game for almost two years.

    “I’ll never forget the day he came in with his mother and his father. He said, ‘Coach, just give me a chance.’ We committed to him and made him go play a year of juniors and then he came here.

    “The look in his eye [convinced me]. I said, ‘There’s no way this kid can’t succeed.'”

    After a rocky game earlier in the season, he has now become the number one guy in the Merrimack nets.

    “I thought there’d be some rust on him in the beginning, but I knew that if we played him we’d have a good one,” says Serino. “The kid is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached. You can’t get him enough work.

    “He reminds me a lot of [Ty] Conklin when we first got him at New Hampshire [when I was still there]. He’s a good-sized kid, but he makes everything look easy because he’s always in position.

    “He’s steady. He’ll take a goal or two away from you and he won’t let any soft ones in. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

    Exter is low-key about his success, quickly crediting his teammates. But there’s no question that he’s a lot happier now than during last year’s Season Without Games.

    “Every Friday and Saturday night was a low moment,” he says. “During the week, I just had to work hard. I honestly feel that the year off made me twice the goalie that I was before just by working with Mike [Doneghey], the goalie coach. I feel that was the biggest help in my whole career, just sitting back and relaxing and working on the little things I needed to work on.”

    Quip Of The Week

    Although this one-liner occurred on Hockey East Media Day before the season’s first game, it’s apropos for this weekend since Boston University faces UMass-Amherst in a home-and-home series. This marks coach Don “Toot” Cahoon’s first visit to Walter Brown Arena as head of the UMass program.

    Cahoon served as an assistant to BU coach Jack Parker for many years and also was a member of the Terrier squads that won back-to-back national championships in 1971 and 1972. Players on those teams will be honored as part of Saturday night’s pre-game festivities.

    As a result, it was natural to ask Parker what he remembered most about Cahoon. Before going on to extoll Cahoon’s many virtues, Parker quipped, “His appetite!”

    Recruits

    With the early-signing period over, here is a list of those recruits who have signed official letters of intent. (No verbal agreements are listed.)

    Boston College

    John Adams (Wayzata, Minn.) D, 6-2, (6-30–36, Breck – Minn. HS) All-State

    Ryan Murphy (Ann Arbor, Mich.) F, 5-11, (11-18–29, US National)

    Ryan Shannon (Watertown, Conn.) F, 5-9, (23-22–45, 24 games, Taft – NE prep) US Select-18 Team

    Boston University

    Brian McConnell (Norfolk, Mass.) F, 6-1, 195, (US National)

    Just Maiser (Edina, Minn.) F, 6-1, 195, (US National)

    Ryan Whitney (Scituate, Mass.), D, 6-4, 200, (US National)

    Bryan Miller (Wayne, NJ), D, 5-10, 175, (US National)

    Maine

    Ben Murphy (North Andover, Mass.) F, 5-9, 180, (19-39–57, 23 games, Cushing – NE prep) 2000 HNIB Tournament MVP and top scorer

    Paul Lynch (Peabody, Mass.) D, 6-4, 200, (21-25–46, Valley Jr. Warriors – EJHL) 2000 HNIB Tournament top defenseman

    Jonathan Junkas (Stoney Creek, Ontario) F, 5-10, 178, (11-30–41 as F/D, Hamilton Kilty B’s – OHA)

    UMass-Amherst

    Tim Warner (Waltham, Mass.) G, 5-11, 180, (Avon Old Farms – NE prep)

    Greg Mauldin (Holliston, Mass.) F, 5-10, 175, (Junior Bruins – EJHL)

    Craig MacDonald (Canton, Mass.) F, 5-11, 190, (Nobles & Greenough – NE prep)

    Peter Trovato (North Attleboro, Mass.) F, 6-0, 200, (Deerfield Academy – NE prep)

    Matt Walsh (Arlington, Mass.) F, 6-1, 185, (Northfield Mt. Hermon – NE prep)

    Jeff Lang (Westwood, Mass.) D, 5-11, 175, (Tabor Academy – NE prep)

    UMass-Lowell

    Gerry Hickey (Hanover, Mass.) F, 6-1, 190, (19-13–32, 56 games, Cedar Rapids Rough Riders – USHL) team captain

    Merrimack

    Taras Foremsky (Calgary, Alberta) F, 6-1, 200, (10-22–32, 19* games, Fort Saskatchewan Traders – AJHL) 1999-2000 AJHL Top 10 scorer

    Matthew Foy (Mississauga, Ontario) F, 6-1, 175, (20-13–33, 17* games, Wexford Raiders – OPJHL) current OPJHL no. two scorer

    Casey Guenther (Boissevain, Manitoba) G, 6-0, 165, (3.75 GAA, .924 Sv%, 17* games, LaRonge Ice Wolves – SJHL)

    New Hampshire

    (information not yet available)

    Northeastern

    Don Graver (Rockland, Mass.) D, (Catholic Memorial – Mass. HS) team captain, three-time US Select Mass. Team

    Jaron Herriman (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) F, (24-34–58, Cambridge Winterhawks – OHA) League’s top scorer

    Tim Judy (Bowie, MD) D, (Sioux City Musketeers – USHL) current USHL no. three scoring defenseman, two-time USHL All-Star

    Providence

    Derek Allan (Davidson, Saskatchewan) F, 6-1, 190, (20-23–46, 11 ppg, 27* games, Nipawin Hawks – SJHL) No. six scorer in league, 1999-2000 SJHL All-Rookie Team

    Chris Chaput (Pawtucket, R.I.) F, 5-10, 180, (18-15–33, 16* games, New England Coyotes – EJHL) current EJHL no. four scorer, USA Select-17 Team, two-time All-State

    Eric Lundberg (Vernon, Conn.) D, 6-2, 195, (3-13–16, 14* games, New England Coyotes – EJHL) 1999-00 EJHL All-Star, team captain, 13th in NHL CSB rankings

    Legend: HNIB – Hockey Night In Boston CSB – Central Scouting Bureau OHA = Ontario Hockey Association NE prep = New England prep school EJHL – Eastern Junior Hockey League AJHL = Alberta Junior Hockey League OPJHL – Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League Saskatchewan Junior League USHL – United States Hockey League US National – US National team in Ann Arbor, Mich.

    Trivia Contest

    Last week’s contest had two parts. The first asked which Hockey East coach (past or present) once said to his fiancee, “I don’t want to go to [some city or town] by myself. Let’s get married.”

    The name of the city or town was removed to keep the question itself from being trivial.

    The second part of the question was, what was the first name of his fiancee (and eventual wife)?

    The answer was BC coach Jerry York, who said to his eventual wife, Bobbie, “I don’t want to go to Potsdam by myself. Let’s get married.”

    Potsdam, New York, is the home of Clarkson University, where York began his coaching career. It is also known as being rather far out into the boondocks.

    You would have known this piece of trivia if you’d clicked on the link for York’s first 500 wins in the recent feature article about him reaching the 600 win milestone.

    Additionally, one would hope that many of you are using USCHO’s Archive section to read some of these older articles. Click on “Archives” on the left sidebar and on the resulting page scroll down to the “Articles” section where you can select a list based on a topic or organized by date or author.

    That said, the first to answer the trivia question correctly was Sean McGuinness, who offers this cheer:

    “Let’s go Eagles!!!!”

    This week’s question refers to a defenseman from another conference who played a Hockey East team last weekend. The player’s last name adds a vowel to that of a former defenseman on the opposing Hockey East team.

    Send the names of both players to Dave Hendrickson and take your shot at next week’s cheer.

    Thanks to Wayne T. Smith for his assistance.

    Catching Up With … Kip Miller

    By Adam Wodon
    -

    Kip Miller wasn’t the first Hobey Baker Award winner to find it difficult to crack the NHL, and he won’t be the last.

    But after years of perseverance, Miller has spent the last two seasons completely in the NHL for the first time in his career.

    Miller

    Miller

    “My game has changed over the years,” he says. “The NHL is tough. You have to get in the right place at the right time, and you have to be a good fit. And when I came to Pittsburgh, I found it.”

    Miller, 31, came to Pittsburgh via the waiver draft before the 1998-99 season. To that point, he had played 90 NHL games over eight years as a pro. In the following two seasons, he played 151 NHL games and hasn’t been in the minors since.

    Still, he had a to sweat it out this summer. After a year and half and 23 goals with the Penguins, they traded him to Anaheim in the middle of last season, for a ninth-round draft pick. Pittsburgh eventually decided it wanted Miller back.

    “I had a little worry this summer because I didn’t get too many calls,” Miller says. “Now that I’m here, I’m feeling comfortable with my role.”

    "A lot of guys nowadays have pro teams that were their favorite teams. For us it was Michigan State. That’s what we watched every weekend."

    — Kip Miller

    The Penguins are a very 21st-Century type of team, loaded with players from the Czech Republic, including their leader, Jaromir Jagr, and their coach, Ivan Hlinka. It also includes interesting characters Matthew Barnaby and Darius Kasparaitis.

    “We have a fun team and we get along really well. It’s a relaxed atmosphere.”

    Miller, with nine points, is actually the top-scoring North American on the team.

    “They all speak English, but guys get into their circles and you say, ‘Hey, what are you talking about?’ But we don’t care. Everyone gets along.”

    The Michigan State days were a different kind of family affair. Miller, a native of Lansing, Mich., came to the East Lansing campus following in the footsteps of older brothers, Kelly and Kevin.

    By the time Kip started at Michigan State in 1986-87, Kelly was already an established NHL player who went on to play over 1,000 games in “the show.” Kevin had just finished his sophomore season, during which the Spartans won the NCAA Championship for the first time in 20 years.

    But Kip insists there was no pressure to follow his brothers’ success.

    “There wasn’t pressure,” he says. “There was [a feeling that] I grew up watching them and wanted to play there, and it was excitement. You wanted to be the best, you wanted to achieve more. It was a pride factor.

    “A lot of guys nowadays have pro teams that were their favorite teams. For us it was Michigan State. That’s what we watched every weekend, and when we got there, we thought, ‘Gee, maybe we can play at the next level.'”

    As a freshman, Kip established himself with a 22-goal season. It was a high-flying team with two 40-goal scorers (Bill Shibicky and Mitch Messier), as well as players like Tom Tilley, Chris Luongo, Don McSween, Danton Cole, Bob Essensa and Norm Foster.

    The Spartans reached the finals again that season, only to run into the “Hrkac Circus” — North Dakota’s top line, led by Hobey Baker winner and tournament MVP Tony Hrkac — and a brick wall named Ed Belfour.

    “That was the biggest game I played in,” says Miller. “I was a kid. I didn’t even know about it. So it was a treat.”

    Miller spent the next three years expecting to get another chance in the finals. But it never worked out that way.

    In 1988, Michigan State knocked off Harvard in the first round, then lost to Minnesota in the quarterfinals. The following season, Kip was the only Miller left on the team, and it was his turn to step it up. He scored 32 goals and tied for the team lead with 77 points. But, after getting past Boston College in the quarterfinals, this time the Spartans ran into another team of destiny, as Harvard exacted revenge and defeated them in the semifinal en route to the school’s only national championship.

    In 1989-90, Miller made one last assault on a national title. With Jason Muzzatti in net, the Spartans went 35-7-3, and Miller went crazy, scoring 48 goals, as the Spartans entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 1. But, after winning Game 1 of a best-of-3 against Boston University at home, the Spartans dropped the next two, and the dream died.

    “Those are regrets and you wish things could’ve worked out differently, but not everyone can win,” Miller says.

    To provide some consolation, Miller did earn one thing his brothers never did: A Hobey Baker Award. Ironically, though, it was Kip who had the hardest time cracking the NHL.

    Kip wound up in places like Halifax, Kalamazoo and Kansas City, waiting for the call. He thought being taken in the expansion draft by San Jose would be a positive, but he wound up in just 11 NHL games with the Sharks. In 1996-97, he spent the entire year in the IHL. He finally found a home in Pittsburgh, at least for now.

    Lansing is still his “real” home, though. His father and his kids still go to see the Spartans play, though Kip rarely can these days. But he keeps in touch with the program, even the new guys.

    “I go back there every summer. I live there, I skate with those guys, I keep track of them,” Miller says. “Guys like [Mike] York and [Anson] Carter, we skate and scrimmage together. I didn’t even play with those guys, but we know them.”

    Miller sees advanced opportunities these days for college players trying to crack the NHL.

    “The game’s changing. They’re playing a lot more tight checking and hitting styles than they used to,” Miller says. “The old stigma was, the college guys weren’t tough enough or big enough. That’s changed over the years. If you’re good enough, you’re going to make it.

    “The [NCAA single-season] record of 59 [goals] will never be broken in the game today. Back then, we scored a lot of goals. Our game was geared around an offensive system.”

    Miller has respect for long-time Spartans mentor Ron Mason, the NCAA’s all-time winningest coach, who has recognized that change and adapted.

    “He’s a really good coach,” Miller says. “He’s thinking ahead of the game. He keeps the players tight and working hard.

    “I’ve seen his systems change over the years, where he coached a very offensive team, now he’s turned to a very defensive, big defenseman type of team. They get it out, get it in and outwork teams.”

    And what happens when that day comes and Miller returns to Lansing?

    “I see myself playing as long as I can,” he says. “If I can’t play at this level, then I’ll give it another thought. After hockey, I’m not quite sure yet. It’s tough to even get it into focus.”

    ECAC West Newsletter: Nov. 29, 2000

    By
    -

    League Struggles Against Nonconference Opponents

    Manhattanville and Elmira both struggled in nonleague play this week, each losing two close, hard-fought games, all of them by two-goal margins. RIT was the only bright spot in nonconference action, as the Tigers swept through the Faceoff Classic.

    Team-by-Team Report

    RIT: RIT traveled up to Maine last weekend for the Faceoff Classic. Opening night was at Bowdoin, and RIT got tested early. The Polar Bears ripped off two power-play goals in the first ten minutes of the game to put RIT into a hole, but the Tigers dug in and answered, with power-play tallies of their own by Peter Bournazakis and Jerry Galway before the first period ended to knot the score.

    “Bowdoin was a real good test for us,” said coach Wayne Wilson. “The big difference was coming back strong at the end of the first.”

    All but one goal in this game was scored on special teams, and with RIT’s power play still running at the .500 mark (27 for 54), that played right into the Tiger strength. Josh Faulkner notched the only even strength goal of the game 1:43 into the second period to give RIT the lead. Derek Hahn and Mike Bournazakis added two more power-play goals by early in the third period to extend RIT’s lead to 5-2. Bowdoin notched a shorthanded goal midway through the third period to narrow the margin, but Galway answered on the same power play to make the final score 6-3.

    RIT traveled to nearby Colby for the second game in the tourney, and found itself in a tough first period struggle.

    “Our first period is always our toughest against every opponent,” said Wilson. “And then we need to wear teams down over the remainder of the game, either with speed or physically or some other way.”

    Colby got on the board first, but Mike Bournazakis answered before the end of the first period to tie the game. RIT then ripped off a string of goals to take control of the game and win 8-2 going away. Derek Hahn led RIT with two goals and one assist. The Tiger power play went 3 for 6, again keeping up the blistering pace they have all season.

    “[The power play] is something that we do practice an awful lot. The key is balance, but to be honest I just stay out of the way,” said Wilson. “The players are just making great decisions on their own.”

    RIT takes on the U.S. National Under-18 development team in a pair of games at home this weekend. This development team is composed of the top young players in the country, most of whom are headed to D-I teams next season and many to the pro ranks soon after that.

    ELMIRA: Picture this scenario: A third of the way into the season, and your team has a 3-6 record, you have a losing record at home for the first time in years, and you have gone 0-fer in four games against top western opponents. Most coaches would be lowering their post-season expectations for the season, or be making drastic changes, or at least having regrets about making such a tough schedule. But not coach Glenn Thomaris.

    “We have played six games against top 10 teams in the country. It is all a learning experience for our young team,” said Thomaris. “I’m not looking at six losses as a problem.”

    The Soaring Eagles hung tough against Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the opener of the Elmira Invitational Tournament on Friday. Jason Silverthorn scored 1:21 after a Stevens Point goal midway through the first period to tie the score 1-1. Lawne Snyder answered another Point tally with just 19 seconds left in the first to keep it knotted 2-2. And Adam Godfrey tallied at 12:19 of the second to keep the score 3-3.

    Elmira then jumped into the 4-3 lead when Ryan Baker scored at 13:39. This time Point answered late in the second period to pull even at 4-4. Point retook the lead 2:26 into the third period.

    “Their [Point’s] experience showed up in the long run,” said Thomaris, “particularly when they got the lead.”

    Elmira put strong pressure on the Pointer net late in the game in a bid to tie it up, but Point got a goal in the final minute of the game to seal the 6-4 win.

    St. Thomas came out flying against Elmira in the game on Sunday and scored three goals in the opening 4:01 of the contest.

    “You can’t take a team who was the runnerup nationally last year, spot them three goals in the first four minutes, and expect anything but an uphill battle,” said Thomaris.

    Ryan Baker put a stop to the Tommie onslaught with an Elmira goal at the 5:46 mark of the first period. Play evened out a little after that, and Mike Hulbig chipped away another goal at 2:05 to open the second period. A late period tally by Lawne Snyder and Elmira was back even with St. Thomas at the end of two periods.

    A bench minor on Elmira 59 seconds into the third put St. Thomas on the 4-on-3 power play. But 15 seconds into the penalty kill, Steve Kaye notched a shorthanded goal to give Elmira the lead. Unfortunately for the Soaring Eagles, St. Thomas answered on the same power play to re-establish the tie at 4-4. A mistake in the offensive zone late in the game cost Elmira dearly.

    “We made a mistake with a minute and a half to go. Our defenseman decided to jump into the fray and St. Thomas broke out 2-on-1,” said Thomaris.

    The goal at 18:20 put St. Thomas up 5-4 and proved to be the game-winner, as the Tommies chipped in a goal with just one second remaining to get to the 6-4 final score.

    Elmira travels to Hamilton on Tuesday, and then takes a well deserved weekend off from competition, its first weekend off since mid October when the season began.

    MANHANTTANVILLE: Manhattanville opened the week against Wesleyan, continuing its six-game homestand. Wesleyan got on the board early in the first period, but Sean Keane answered for the Valiants midway through the period to tie it up.

    The real turning point against Manhattanville came in a 1:05 stretch midway through the second period. Wesleyan scored two goals in that span to take a 3-1 lead, and Manhattanville never was able to close the gap. Aaron Gauthier scored late in the second period to get the Valiants back to a one-goal deficit, but Wesleyan answered just over a minute later. Again, Manhattanville narrowed the margin on an early third period goal by Tommy Prate, but Wesleyan closed the door. The final score was 5-3 in Wesleyan’s favor.

    The Valiants continued their string of narrow losses against Geneseo on Saturday. Dave Schmalenberg got Manhattanville on the board in the first period, but Geneseo tied it up under two minutes later. An early goal by Tommy Prate in the second period once again put the Valiants in the lead. But they just couldn’t get any distance between themselves and the Knights, and Geneseo answered late in the second period.

    The third period went back and forth, back and forth, until Geneseo notched the game-winner at the 18:21 mark. The Knights got an empty-net tally for the final goal as Manhattanville came up just short in another close contest.

    Manhattanville netminder Jon Peckza stood on his head, stopping 44 of 46 shots through the first two periods, and 56 of 60 shots in the game.

    Manhattanville continues its home stint this weekend, hosting both Plymouth State and Neumann.

    HOBART: The Statesmen took the holiday weekend off. Next up for Hobart is hosting Geneseo on Tuesday.

    Game of the Week

    Manhattanville has reached a critical juncture in its season. The Valiants were disappointed in only getting a split against Buffalo State two weeks ago, and coach Keith Levinthal isn’t happy about losing both games over the holiday weekend. Manhattanville needs a sweep out of this weekend’s games in order to build momentum for crunch time early next year.

    NCHA Newsletter: Nov. 29, 2000

    By Tim Somers
    -

    NCHA remains dominant in nonconference play

    The NCHA once again proved dominant over nonconference opponents last weekend, going 7-1-1 against MCHA, MIAC, ECAC East and NESCAC opponents.

    Wisconsin-Stevens Point won the Elmira Invitational with wins over Elmira (6-4) and Williams (5-1) last Saturday and Sunday. St. Scholastica also swept its nonconference weekend, beating Lawrence 6-1 on Friday and 10-1 on Saturday. Wisconsin-Eau Claire picked up a victory on the weekend, beating up Lawrence 7-2 Friday night. Lake Forest was able to pick up three points on the weekend with a win and a tie against Marian. St. Norbert picked up the only loss of the weekend, dropping its Friday night contest 4-3, but turned the tables Saturday with a 6-1 victory.

    Team Capsules

    Wisconsin-River Falls: The Falcons took the holiday weekend off and this week take to the ice against Wisconsin-Superior on Friday night and St. Scholastica on Saturday at the Hunt Arena in River Falls. The Falcons still sit atop the NCHA standings with eight points, two points ahead of St. Norbert and four points ahead of Lake Forest, Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-Stout.

    St. Norbert: The Green Knights stumbled a bit on the weekend, dropping their Friday night game with MIAC rival St. John’s 4-3.

    St. John’s jumped out to 1-0 lead 7:18 into the first, but the Knights’ Trent Dickson was able to tie it up two minutes later. In the second period, St. John’s added two more to extend their lead to 3-1 after two periods.

    In the third, Faron Duthie took matters into his own hands for the Knights, scoring the first two goals of the period to tie it up at three. The Knights couldn’t punch another one through, though, and eventually gave up the game-winner with just :36 left in regulation.

    Saturday was a different story. The Knights came out firing on all cylinders as Kyle Peterson picked up two first period goals, Brant Kersey and Maris Ziedens scored in the second and Peterson and Ryan Howdle finished off the Johnnies in the third for a 6-1 Green Knights victory.

    This weekend, the Green Knights play host to the Beasts From the East. On Friday night, the Cadets of Norwich University invade the friendly confines of the Cornerstone Arena and then on Saturday the Middlebury College Panthers stop in.

    Lake Forest: The Foresters took three of four points from Marian College last week, winning Friday 6-5 and tying the Sabres 3-3 on Saturday.

    The Foresters dominated the first two periods leading 4-0 on goals from Adrian Wong, Frankie DeMasi and David Evans (2).

    The third period, however, was a different story. The Sabres scored the first four goals of the period to tie the game at four. DeMasi picked up his second goal of the game to take back the lead and Matt Bruni added the eventual game-winner before the Sabres picked up their fifth goal.

    Saturday, the Foresters again got out to an early lead, leading 2-1 after one on goals from Erik Hawkins and Dan Holmes. Andrew Jay scored the only goal of the second period and pushed the Lake Forest lead to two goals. The Foresters couldn’t hold off the third period comeback of the Sabres giving up two third period goals, tying the game at three. There was no scoring in overtime.

    The Foresters play only one game this weekend, making the road trip to Eau Claire to take on the Blugolds in an NCHA matchup.

    Wisconsin-Stevens Point: The Pointers headed East last Thursday at 4-2, with hopes of returning to Wisconsin 6-2, and they would do just that with wins at the Elmira Invitational over host Elmira College (6-4) and Williams College 5-1.

    Saturday, the Pointers’ Ryan Maxson picked up his first goal of the weekend at the 8:13 mark, only to see the Soaring Eagles come back with a goal of their own 1:20 later. Zenon Kochan got into the act later in the period putting the Pointers back up by one. Elmira finished off the period with the tying goal with just :19 second remaining.

    The second period was much like the first. Back and forth action and both teams picking up two more goals each. The Pointers’ scoring came from Matt Interbartolo and Bryan Fricke.

    In the final stanza, the Pointers took charge and finally finished off the Eagles. Mikhail Salienko picked up his second goal of the season and Mike Slobodnik tucked away an empty-netter with just :43 remaining in regulation.

    Sunday’s contest didn’t take as much work. The Pointers scored once in the first, three times in the second and once again in the third to beat the Williams College Ephs 5-1.

    In the first period, the Ephs got on the board first, but Maxson tied it at one, with a power-play goal at the 14:00 mark.

    The second period was all Stevens Point. Defenseman Ernie Thorp picked up the eventual game winning goal 1:51 into the period and Nick Glander and Maxson also picked up second period goals to extend the Point lead to 4-1.

    In the third, the Pointers played more defensively, holding the Ephs scoreless. Kochan picked up the lone third period goal with help from Maxson and Joel Marshall.

    The weekend results helped the Pointers hold on to Top-5 status in the latest USCHO.com poll, slipping two spots from the preseason poll to #4.

    The Pointers are also hosting Norwich and Middlebury this weekend. Friday, the #1 ranked Middlebury Panthers make their first visit ever to the K.B. Willett Arena in Stevens Point. Then on Saturday, the Pointers play host to Norwich University.

    UW-Stout: The Blue Devils took the holiday weekend off and return to action this weekend at home with games against St. Scholastica on Friday and Wisconsin-Superior on Saturday.

    The last time the Blue Devils played this set of travel partners, they were able to sweep the weekend series, beating Superior 2-1 and St. Scholastica 5-4.

    Wisconsin-Eau Claire: The Blugolds played only one game during the holiday week and picked up a nonconference 7-2 win over Lawrence University of the MCHA.

    The two teams went scoreless in the first period but combined for eight goals in the second.

    Eau Claire’s Jamie Minor picked up his ninth and tenth goals of the season Kuzma Kurakin, Jeff Pradal, Tim Murphy all scored before Lawrence was able to dent the scoreboard, cutting the lead to four. Mark Jalcovik and Brian Buskowiak also scored in the second for the Blugolds. Lawrence had the only goal in the third, but it would be far from enough.

    The Blugolds host Lake Forest this Saturday in an NCHA matchup.

    St. Scholastica: The Saints had an easy go of it over the holiday weekend, beating up on Lawrence 6-1 on Friday and 10-1 on Saturday.

    Friday night, Jeff Hall and Mark Kozuki scored in the first putting the Saints out in front 2-1. In the second period, Neil Runbeck and Rob Kehr both scored for the Saints and in the third Runbeck and Oyler finished out the scoring for St. Scholastica.

    On Saturday, scoring came like votes in a 1930s Chicago mayoral election: early and often. Scott Forrest, Kozuki, Kehr, Oyler, Brian Charneski, and Alec Nelson all scored first period for the Saints. Scoring slowed down to the pace of the current Florida presidential election with only two goals scored between the two teams. Forrest picked up his second of the game for the Saints, who lead 7-1 after two periods. St. Scholastica added three more goals in third from Oyler, Phil McDonald and Kyle Anntilla.

    The Saints take to the road this weekend, traveling to Stout on Friday night and River Falls on Saturday.

    Wisconsin-Superior: Despite their 0-2 start in the NCHA, the Yellow Jackets sit in the seventh spot in the latest USCHO.com poll.

    The ‘Jackets had last week off, but are back on the ice this weekend, on the road at River Falls on Friday and Stout on Saturday in a pair of NCHA games.

    Game(s) of the week:

    The NCHA is currently 31-3-3 against non-NCHA opponents and 4-0-0 against Eastern opponents this season; league members are hoping that trend continues with Middlebury and Norwich coming West.

    Friday, top-ranked Middlebury heads to fourth-ranked Stevens Point. The Pointers are undefeated at home this season in four games. The Panthers have yet to be scored upon in the same number of games. Special teams will play a big part in Friday’s matchup. Middlebury is six for 20 on the power play, clicking along at a 30% clip. On the other bench, the Pointers have killed off 95.3% of their 54 shorthanded situations.

    Two hours away, St. Norbert is hosting the 2000 NCAA Champion Norwich Cadets, who are struggling a bit following the Primelink at Middlebury last weekend. The Cadets dropped their first game to Potsdam of the SUNYAC, and then lost Plattsburgh on Saturday, dropping them to 2-2 on the season. The Green Knights are also coming off a disappointing weekend after splitting with St. John’s.

    Saturday, the visitors switch locations and teams, with Norwich visiting Stevens Point and Middlebury visiting St. Norbert.

    Predictions? Two teams will win on Friday and then two teams will win on Saturday. That’s all you’re going to get out of me.

    This Week In Women’s Hockey: Nov. 29, 2000

    By Zevi Gutfreund
    -

    Keeping Pace

    Don’t look now, but No. 8 New Hampshire is all alone in second place in the ECAC. Of course, the Wildcats have played more conference games that a lot of other teams, but at 9-2-0 UNH, which lost its top four scorers last year to graduation, could be in for more than just a rebuilding year.

    “I think our team has surprised a lot of people thus far, but not themselves and not our coaching staff,” said Wildcats coach Karen Kay. “We keep telling them that we must be blue collar and maintain our work ethic in order to be successful on a consistent basis. I also think we’ve done a good job of attacking things week to week and setting short term goals. We need to improve a couple things every time we play so that we’ll be in the hunt in the end.A young team is often an unpredictable team so our work ethic is the most important thing.”

    With the likes of Tina Carrabba, Carisa Zaban and Samantha Holmes no longer in Durham, Kay is hoping that youngsters like rookie Janine Goulet (8g, 4a) and junior Kira Misikowetz (5g, 7a) can provide depth on offense. For the most part, however, the Wildcats have relied on the leadership of senior forward Michelle Thornton (5g, 12a). So far this strategy has worked, as Thornton is second in the ECAC in scoring.

    “Michelle Thornton is a tremendous athlete that leads by example,” Kay said. “She brings the game up to a different level when she’s out there. Michelle is not a natural goal scorer and has to work hard for her points, but goal-scoring is not how she should be judged as a player. Michelle does so many good things–faceoffs, penalty killing, blocking shots, power play leader, speed that scares the opposition. She competes as no other athlete I’ve ever coached.”

    The anchor of the UNH defense has been sophomore Jen Huggon, who has recorded a solid 1.64 GAA and a .939 save percentage. Kay will need Huggon to continue to shut down opposing offenses for the Wildcats to remain in the upper division of the ECAC this season.

    “Jen Huggon had a great rookie campaign last season and we knew that she would have to build on that for us to be in the hunt for a championship this season,” Kay said. “I think the more shots she has in a game, the more effective she is so we’re working with her on her mental toughness as well as developing her on-ice skillsShe is also a very good skater and good stick skills, which allows her to be very active with our young defensemen in our zone.”

    Huggon, Thornton and the rest of the Wildcats will be tested in their next four games, three of which are against ranked teams. UNH is 2-2 against ranked opponents so far this season.

    Travel Partners Clash in Providence

    Nothing is certain when No. 2 Brown and No. 5 Harvard get together. Two years ago, Brown was the only team to beat the Crimson as Harvard went on to win the national title with a 33-1 record. Last year, the Crimson tied the Bears in December before beating them in February even though Brown would win the ECAC crown and advance to the national championship in March.

    The Bears (5-1-0) and Crimson (5-3-0) seem to have so much in common: they have established themselves as women’s hockey powerhouses in the last few years and they are both continuing their winning ways despite losing some of the best defensemen and goaltenders in the country last year. But when Harvard takes on Brown in Providence this Wednesday, it will be a clash of Ivy League opposites.

    Harvard enters the game with four of the conference’s top 10 scorers in forwards Tammy Shewchuk (6g, 10a), Angie Francisco (3g, 13a), Jennifer Botterill (8g, 6a)and Kiirsten Suurkask (6g, 6a). The Crimson leads the conference in scoring at 5.12 goals per game. Although Harvard only carries 14 skaters on its roster, nearly all of them are scoring threats who can play at the blue line or the wing.

    “We have got Division I players all the way through our roster,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone. “That is a first for us, and we are working hard to do more with less players this year. We are getting better every day and we have good competition at every position, even at goaltender.”

    On the other hand, goaltending is still the strength at Brown. Sophomore netminder Pam Dreyer has proved herself as a capable successor to Ali Brewer, last year’s Kazmaier Award winner. Breyer is second in the conference in both GAA (0.99) and save percentage (.966). With Dreyer between the pipes, Brown leads the ECAC in defense, allowing just 1.50 goals a game

    Naturally, this suggests that the key to Wednesday’s game will be how Brown’s offense fares against Harvard’s defense. Junior Alison Kuusisto has been reliable for the Crimson in net thus far, though Stone may give the nod to rookie Jessica Ruddock. Either way, Brown will look to senior forwards Kathleen Kauth (2g, 6a) and Christina Sorbara (3g, 4a) to provide some offense in the Harvard zone.

    Even Steven at Matthews Arena

    In one of the more closely contested interconference matchups last weekend, No. 10 Ohio State (5-6-2) split a two-game series with No. 9 Northeastern (6-2-0) in Boston. This was a rematch of the series that began the Buckeyes’ inaugural season in 1999-2000, and the outcomes were much more competitive than last year’s 6-0, 7-2 final scores.

    This time, Ohio State took Saturday’s game in overtime, 4-3, before Northeastern netminder Erika Silva blanked the Buckeyes on Sunday, 3-0. Silva clearly was the difference, as Ohio State clearly dominated in shots on goal, 45-20. On the weekend, Ohio State outshot the Huskies, 89-42.

    We have been very successful with our forecheck this year,” said Ohio State coach Jackie Barto. “We are able to get the puck deep in the zone and apply a lot of pressure with our forecheck. We also are generating quality shots off our forecheck. Erika Silva was the difference in the game on Sunday, she came up big on the penalty kill. You definitely need to put a lot of quality shots at her and I feel she plays even better with a lead.”

    Barto has received a strong showing from her freshmen class this year. In addition to rookie defensemen Kelli Halscisak (3g, 7a) and Emma Laaksonen (5g, 2a), forward Jeanne Chapple (5g, 5a) has established herself as a force around the net. In Saturday’s win, Chapple scored an unassisted goal and also recorded the equalizer in the third period that sent the game into overtime, when a score from Shana Frost won it for the Buckeyes.

    “Jeanne is a quick explosive forward who can generate offense,” said Barto. “She is improving every weekend in the defensive end and she is quickly learning our systems. Because of her speed and quickness and work ethic she is a threat with the puck and she can generate off the cycle. We need her to get stronger physically and continue to work on developing her shot.”

    The Buckeyes will be tested again this weekend when No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth (8-3-1) comes to Columbus for two games.

    1...1,4741,4751,476...1,536Page 1,475 of 1,536

    Latest Stories from around USCHO

    Maine adds former Union head coach Bennett to Black Bears men’s hockey staff as new assistant coach

    USCHO Staff -

    Former Wilkes hockey star, USHL coach Gurska tabbed new assistant coach for Babson men’s hockey team

    USCHO Staff -

    Former Providence, St. Lawrence women’s hockey standout Tyo hired as new assistant coach with Canton

    USCHO Staff -

    Lindenwood names former Bemidji State assistant coach Magera to same job with Lions men’s hockey team

    USCHO Staff -

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