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A Whole Lotta $&#?ing Going On

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One thing can be said for certain about hockey in Yost Ice Arena: there’s a whole lot of sucking going on. Don’t take this writer’s word for it; ask the fans. Or don’t — they’ll tell you anyway.

Trevor Prior is in net for Miami. The press box phone rings. On cue, the crowd chants. “Hey, Prior. Phone call. It’s your mother. She says — you SUCK!”

The crowd at Yost is nothing if not fair. Goaltenders from other schools also suck.

After a Wolverine score against the Buckeyes, Ray Aho gets the ever-popular “sieve” cheer. “You’re not a goalie, you’re a sieve. You’re not a sieve, you’re a funnel. You’re not a funnel, you’re a vacuum. You’re not a vacuum, you’re a black hole. You’re not a black hole — YOU JUST SUCK! YOU JUST SUCK! YOU JUST SUCK!”

Visiting goaltenders don’t just suck at Yost; they’re also to blame.

“It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!”

For that matter, the phenomenon is not limited to goaltenders. Sometimes, whole teams suck.

After Michigan State kills a penalty, the P.A. announcer tells the crowd, “Michigan State is at full strength.” Most of the 6,000 assembled fans respond, “And they still SUCK!”

And it isn’t limited to players, either.

CCHA referee Matt Shegos blows the whistle, and a Wolverine heads to the box. The crowd chants, “Ref, you SUCK!” and repeats as needed.

Of course, the crowd can be nice — when someone tells them something they want to hear. When the announcer says that there’s one minute left in a given period, the crowd at Yost always remembers to say, “Thank you.”

Yost Ice Arena, home of the 1996 NCAA Champion University of Michigan Wolverines, is the place to see a hockey game in the CCHA. Don’t like the Wolverines? Who cares? Don’t come to cheer the game — come to watch the crowd in action.

It’s hard to get a ticket to see a game in Ann Arbor, but it wasn’t always this way. There was a time in the 1980s when student fan support was virtually nonexistent.

Longtime season ticket holder Angie Hall says the fans started to come when the Wolverines started winning. “It started in about ’90,” she says.

“When I started coming in ’86-’87, this was only half-filled most of the time,” says Angie. She says there’s always been a core of non-student fans.

“It’s fun to hear the fans get into it,” Diane Hatfield says, “because they weren’t always that way when we started coming to hockey games.”

Diane and her husband, Fred Hatfield, have been season ticket holders for 20 years. Both have been active in the Dekers, a Wolverine hockey booster club. Fred’s been president twice. Diane’s been treasurer “two or three” times. “I’ve been membership vice-president for the last five years,” she says.

“Dekers comes from the hockey term ‘deke,’ which means to fake out your opponent,” says Diane. “When people started the club in 1964, for some strange reason, they picked ‘Dekers.’ Since nobody knew what dekers meant — half the time they’d say ‘deckers’ — we officially changed it to the Dekers-Blue Line club about ten years ago.

“When Red first came,” says Diane, “we were at the very bottom. He brought in a team and was trying to build this program. It takes a while to do that. When we didn’t have a lot of people in the stands, we were the quietest people you’ve ever heard in your life.”

Things have changed at Yost, where chanting in unison is now expected. “The fans are very into it,” says Diane. “It’s intimidating for the opposing team.”

John Hauessler writes D’Scream, a fanzine for “the section formerly known as D,” It’s known now as Section 3, in the aftermath of the recent Yost renovations. Hauessler has been coming to Michigan hockey games since the 1987-88 season, and he says the Yost fan phenomenon built for several years before becoming the standard form of behavior fans and visitors alike have come to expect.

“It took root in the late 1980s, when UM passed the .500 mark (1987-88). Michigan was a rough-and-tumble team trying to get into the CCHA first division. There was a loyal group of obnoxious fans, but not enough to fill Yost by any means. But, each year the regular fan base increased and seemed to get more fanatical.

“All hell broke loose in 1990-91, when UM not only made the NCAA tourney for the first time in recent history, but hosted Cornell at Yost in the first round. That three-game series is often looked to as the turning point in Yost fandom.

“It was building, building, building for about four years, and that series put Yost over the top. It became the most obnoxious arena in the CCHA in March 1991, and has remained so ever since. But it didn’t happen overnight. Many people have forgotten the crescendo of the late 1980s.”

Diane Hatfield credits the Michigan hockey pep band for starting the tradition of chanting in unison. “The band really started the chant for the most part,” says Diane. “The students picked it up.” At first, she says, the band members would show up at the beginning of games because they were getting credit for being there, but they’d “slowly disappear” during the contests.

Now, says Fred Hatfield, the band is one of the best components of the Michigan hockey crowd. “They know when to play and not to play.” (You might ask the non-Michigan fans at last year’s NCAA tournament in Cincinnati about that — but that’s a whole ‘nother article.)

The Michigan hockey pep band is responsible for more than just introducing cheers to the crowd. It’s responsible for the marriage of Jennie and Pete Dalton.

“I got to Michigan in the fall of ’81,” says Pete. “I was in the marching band as a tuba player, and I found that there was a hockey pep band. All I wanted to do was go play my horn. It took me four or five years just to figure out what icing was. The program was not very good, and I didn’t know anything about hockey.

“Jennie, who I met in the hockey band, grew up in the U.P. [Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a land of forests and snow], where hockey is life. She was also in the marching band, [and] her perspective was, ‘You mean, all I have to do is be in the hockey band and I can get into the games for free?'”

Jennie says, “I grew up with the Michigan Tech band, where it was very competitive, freshmen don’t get tickets, you’re lucky to get standing room — it’s a real big deal to get to go to a game. As I was working my way through school, season tickets were so expensive that I didn’t figure I’d get to go to the games here.”

Pete joined the band to play; Jennie joined the band to see hockey. With a story like that, how can anyone complain about the fans at Yost? Well, some do.

“The students get out of hand, a little bit,” says Fred.

“I’d like people to know that we have some of the best non-profane hecklers in the sport,” says Hauessler. “Yost is known for the often too-obnoxious student section, but students come and go every year.

“There are some great ‘regular’ fans around Yost, many of whom started their days as students. These people are too often lumped in with the students when other folks talk (usually unflatteringly) about UM’s fan base. “I don’t mind other CCHA fans not liking us … but I’d rather they disliked us because we’re witty and our team happens to be winning, than dislike us because we’re jerks.

“Some fans are jerks and will always be jerks,” says Hauessler, “and they give the rest of us a bad name.”

News of Hauessler’s “wit” has spread beyond the confines of Yost. As editor and primary writer for D’Scream, he has made a name for himself as a funny man.

The first issue of D’Scream for the 1996-97 season is subtitled “Back by Popular Apathy Issue.” The issue of D’Scream produced for the weekend series against Miami was the “Where’s Kevyn Adams? Issue.” Adams left Miami before his senior season to pursue professional hockey, and not much has been heard from him since. (He’s currently playing with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the IHL.)

On the subject of Miami’s mascot name change, Hauessler suggests “of Ohio.” “Then,” he writes, “when someone says, ‘Miami of Ohio,’ they’d actually be somewhat correct.”

Last season, Hauessler devoted an entire issue of D’Scream to senior Ohio State defenseman Craig Paterson. “Who else can hip-check like that in this league?” quipped Hauessler at the time. The issue rankled the coaching staff at Ohio State, who were heard to refer to Hauessler as “that jerk up in Michigan” as recently as January of this year.

Hauessler’s had tickets in the front row of Section D — er, Section 3 — since 1991-92. He started D’Scream one season ago.

“Section D is great because it’s familiar,” says Hauessler. “It’s largely comprised of veteran season-ticket holders, so you can count on seeing the same people from year to year. It’s geographically blessed in that we get to see the Michigan offense for two periods; that puts us in prime location for heckling the visiting goaltender.

“The Section D regulars would always say ‘hello’ to each other, but I think the inception of D’Scream has increased the chatter in the section. I don’t actually know everyone that sits in the section, but sometimes I feel like I do.”

These longtime fans all agree that the crowd is just as important as the team to their Michigan hockey experience.

“The crowd never gives up,” says Fred. “It could be 18 to nothing, and they’d still want more.”

Of course, the whole reason for the crowd is the Wolverine team, a team that plays good college hockey.

“The best thing,” says Fred, “is college hockey. It’s different than pro hockey. It’s a cleaner game. It’s a faster game to watch.”

Diane says, “The kids are here because they love the game. It’s not because they’re getting paid big bucks.”

While the players don’t see the big bucks, sometimes the fans get to see the evidence of the revenue generated by hockey. During the off-season last year, Yost Ice Arena underwent renovations that cost $5.5 million. Fans can see changes in the pro shop, concessions, rest rooms, locker rooms, and the lobby area. The press box is amazing, spanning the length of the building. With those renovations, all the “obstructed view” seating was swallowed; now every seat at Yost is a good one.

With 75 years of hockey at Michigan, a very recent NCAA Championship, a virtual guarantee of an appearance at this year’s tournament, and an improved Yost Ice Arena, it’s no wonder that Wolverine fans make all the noise they can.

And if you go to Yost, and you don’t like what you hear — well, you might just suck. Just ask them.

Competition And Responsibility

By Adam Wodon
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It’s a long time since St. Lawrence reached the 1988 NCAA final, and seems just as long since its last ECAC tournament title, in 1992.

From 1986-1992, St. Lawrence won 20 games or more every season except 1989-90, including back-to-back 29-win seasons. In that span, St. Lawrence won three ECAC Tournaments and was runner-up in two more.

But the Saints started to decline in 1992-93, finishing sixth, tenth and ninth in succeeding seasons before a third-place finish last year, as shown below. This year, St. Lawrence is struggling to make the playoffs:

                      ECAC                      OVERALL
PL  YEAR        G  W-L-T  PTS    GF-GA   ||  G   W-L-T    GF-GA
 3  1986-87    22 15- 7-0   30  109- 73  || 35  24-11-0   180-114
T1  1987-88    22 18- 4-0   36  124- 70  || 38  29- 9-0   200-112
 2  1988-89    22 18- 4-0   36   99- 56  || 36  29- 7-0   169-96
 5  1989-90    22 12- 8-2   26   87- 74  || 32  13-15-4   113-123
T2  1990-91    22 15- 6-1   31  101- 79  || 35  21-13-1   147-121
T2  1991-92    22 15- 6-1   31  104- 66  || 34  22-10-2   160-111
 6  1992-93    22 12- 8-2   26   89- 77  || 32  17-12-3   133-116
10  1993-94    22  8-14-0   16   75- 95  || 31  10-21-0    99-134
T9  1994-95    22 10-12-0   20   83-110  || 33  15-17-1   116-150
 3  1995-96    22 15- 4-3   33  107- 74  || 35  20-12-3   145-134

Perhaps it can be chalked up to normal cycles, but St. Lawrence, a Division III institution using its one-sport exemption to play Division I men’s ice hockey, has found it more and more difficult to keep up with ECAC counterparts that award scholarships, like RPI, Vermont and North Country neighbor Clarkson.

“The parity now is unbelievable,” said St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh, whose arrival at St. Lawrence in 1985-86 marked the transformation of the Saints into a national power.

“If people go back to 10 years ago and all of a sudden step into the present, they’d be like, ‘What the heck is going on?’ The days of Dartmouth, Brown and Princeton being automatics are long gone, and I don’t see them coming back. I think all these teams are good, solid, quality programs.”

To stay competitive, last year the school administration authorized the allotment of 18 scholarships per year for the program. Now, with the first recruiting season as a scholarship school under his belt, Marsh says things went well.

“I think the kids we have are some really good kids,” said Marsh. “They’re young — we’ll be a fairly young team — but I think it’s going well.”

Marsh said he has seen immediate benefits from the ability to award scholarships.

“It’s certainly made us more competitive,” said Marsh. “And we’ve lost some pretty good kids too. We’ve gone after some really good kids academically. We lost some to the Ivies, lost some to BU, and that type of thing. But that’s going to happen, you’re still going to lose players to other schools.

“But I think in the overall mix, we’ve been dealing with some pretty good solid kids.

“I think it’s pretty important with a school like St. Lawrence, where we are (geographically), being a non-Ivy, and so forth, to be able to be as competitive as we can. You look at Vermont, RPI, Clarkson, it’s hurt us.”

But, as Marsh is quick to point out, there are new challenges upon the program now. For example, the administration will be keeping an even closer eye on the type of player that’s recruited. If the school is dedicating $20,000 a year to a player, it wants a top-notch individual.

“I think the trustees and the higher-ups have to look at this, and I know they’re going to look at this through a microscope,” Marsh said. “How we deal with these grants, and more importantly, how we protect the integrity of the grant. I want to bring in the best kids I can.

“(The administration is) going to want to know how I spend it. We can’t bring in a guy that’s a (problem). So what if he gets 75 goals in juniors, if he’s gonna be a pain in the ass downtown, we’re going to hurt our own cause.”

Along with the responsibility to bring in a quality person, Marsh said it’s also the responsibility of the player to live up to his end of the bargain. Marsh says that fact is too often lost these days.

“I want to protect the integrity of the scholarship in every aspect of the scholarship,” said Marsh. “Kids come in today — and every program will tell you — and everyone is well aware of what their rights and privileges are. What we’re trying to say is, ‘You do have some responsibilities that go along with this.'”

Responsibility isn’t exactly a new concept to Marsh, the 1989 and 1996 ECAC Coach of the Year. Marsh is accustomed to ensuring discipline on his team. He’s a stickler for it, and comes down harshly on players who make “mistakes.”

Last year the school suspended Joel Prpic for getting into a fight in March in downtown Canton, the result of which left forward Derek Ladouceur unable to play for a weekend. This year it was sophomore goalie Clint Owen who was suspended for the first month and a half of the season for undisclosed disciplinary reasons, and the team suffered without its 1996 All-Rookie Team member.

“We’re not in the classroom, but we are still in the business of education,” Marsh said. “Obviously, you have to win or you won’t be in education any more, so it’s a double-edged sword, but at the same time, I’m not about to treat my guys like a piece of meat.”

Owen responded well and came back to help St. Lawrence pick up the pace a bit, though an injury to him and others — like Jason Windle, Prpic and Troy Creurer — set him and the team back again. Regardless, Marsh thinks the point was made.

“It’s obviously more than your average (situation),” Marsh said. “It was a pretty stiff suspension. (But Owen) is a good kid, and maybe it’s something that down the road is going to help him. He’s come back, he’s worked hard, he’s humble.

“You can see how things are when things are going tough for a kid. A lot of kids could have blamed somebody else, a lot of kids could’ve gone sour, got real sullen either toward me because I’m the resident (jerk), or whatever. He didn’t do that. To his credit he took it like a man and dealt with it. He did the things we asked him to do, met the conditions, and that was that.”

In fact, Marsh is more upset these days with the local upstate New York media for not just forgetting the incident already.

“The reporters here won’t let it go,” said Marsh. “Every time they mention his name, they bring it up. It’s become part of his name, like some sort of Indian moniker.”

Without giving away the nature of the transgression, Marsh said he never tried to hide the fact that it was a severe incident worthy of a long punishment. “Owen got suspended and we dealt with it honestly,” he said. “I’m not going to run around and lie to people. He’s got to deal with it like a man, but it’s over.”

What’s not over is the season, and St. Lawrence still believes it can make a run. The talent should be there. But players like Paul DiFrancesco and Derek Ladouceur seemed to take a while to get over the loss of go-to-guy Burke Murphy.

“I don’t think it was a conscious thing without Burke,” Marsh said. “But, sure, losing a player of that ability affects you where over the long period of time you just got to work that much harder for goals. I mean Burke might have been the best shooting-percentage forward I ever saw. He was very selective and really buried his chances.

“We have guys working hard. We’re in the 40-shot range a lot. We’re not a bad team offensively, our special teams is OK.

“What we’ve been guilty of is momentum swings. If a team scores against us … we give up goals in bunches.”

Even if things don’t materialize this year, and the breaks never start going the Saints’ way, and the injuries never stop happening, Marsh can look down his roster and know the tools are there for the makings of another long run at the top of the standings.

And thanks to the ability to offer scholarships, Marsh’s toolbox has gotten that much bigger.

Bois’ Career Over, Declared Ineligible By Princeton

By Adam Wodon
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Princeton senior Mike Bois was declared academically ineligible by the school, thus ending his college hockey career.

Though his grades were well within the generally accepted levels, Bois, 22, fell victim to Princeton’s own higer standards. He has gone back to his home in Longlac, Ontario, but intends to return in the fall to finish his degree.

Bois, the 1994 Baker Trophy winner as team Rookie of the Year, was one of coach Don Cahoon’s favorite players. Other players were more skilled, but Cahoon was always impressed with Bois two-way play, ability to deflect shots, and amazing balance on his skates.

This year, with the Tigers depleted defensively, Bois was moved to the backline for the first time since midgets, and didn’t complain.

In 103 career games, Bois totalled 26 goals and 38 assists for 64 points. His best season statistically came in 1994-95, the year the Tigers made it to the final game of the ECAC Tournament, when he compiled 10 goals and 13 assists.

As a junior, Bois won a Centennial Cup (Junior A national championship) as a member of the Thunder Bay Flyers.

This Week in the ECAC: February 14, 1997

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ECAC Preview: Feb. 14-15, 1997 by Jayson Moy

"Every win this time of year is critical." — Cornell head coach Mike Schafer.

"It’s been a crazy year." — Clarkson head coach Mark Morris.

"It just gets a lot tighter in league play." — Colgate head coach Don Vaughn.

"The team you played the first time is certainly different now." — Union head coach Stan Moore.

"With the situation like this (only ECAC games left), there will be a lot of anticipation."– Yale head coach Tim Taylor.

"It will be the typical ECAC season in that nothing will be decided until the last weekend." — Dartmouth head coach Roger Demment.

"It’s crunch time, there’s just six games left." — St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh.

"They just get bigger and bigger from here on in." — RPI head coach Dan Fridgen.

They all sound like clicheés, but they all are true. Each win is important, it’s crazy, it’s tight, teams are different, the anticipation is high and the games are big.

What makes it so big is that there are four teams tied for first place in the league, something that has never happened this late in the ECAC season.

It all came about because Clarkson swept, Vermont took three points, and Cornell and RPI each won one game and lost one. All four teams are now in the lead.

That’s not the only battle going on. Princeton leads a four-team pack in places five through eight, three points ahead of Colgate, Harvard and Union, all with 16 points.

Following not far behind are Dartmouth, St. Lawrence, Yale and Brown. Dartmouth picked up a win, St. Lawrence was swept, Yale lost its only game, and Brown got back in the thick of things with an upset of Princeton.

Take a closer look at the ECAC as it stands: ECAC Standings

Each team now has six games to go over the final three weekends.

There is only one game pitting top-four teams against each other this weekend — Vermont travels to Troy to take on RPI. Another battle to watch is Clarkson at Princeton on Friday, and don’t forget the annual grudge match between Harvard and Cornell at Lynah Rink.

No. 6 Vermont (18-6-2, 10-4-2 ECAC, T-1st) and Dartmouth (10-12-1, 5-10-1 ECAC, 9th) at Union (14-10-2, 7-7-2 ECAC, T-6th) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Achilles Rink, Schenectady, N.Y.

Dartmouth (10-12-1, 5-10-1 ECAC, 9th) and No. 6 Vermont (18-6-2, 10-4-2 ECAC, T-1st) at RPI (15-8-3, 10-4-2 ECAC, T-1st) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., RPI Fieldhouse, Troy, N.Y.

Vermont tied Colgate, 5-5, and defeated Cornell, 7-5, for its claim to first place after the weekend. Head coach Mike Gilligan was in the middle, because he saw good things and bad things.

"I thought it was a decent weekend," he said. "[But] I wasn’t happy with the amount of goals that were scored on us."

Last week, goalie Tim Thomas was player of the week for his pair of 40-plus save performances in a sweep at St. Lawrence and Clarkson. This week, he looked human.

"Last week we worked on goals for, and this week we have to work on goals against," Gilligan said. "We kind of slipped a little bit in that department.

"We’re also going to the box at the wrong time. We’re not going in there to save goals, and that’s not what we want to do."

Gilligan shuffled his lines a couple of weeks ago, and it has shown some dividends. The reformed second line for the Catamounts has Stephane Piche, Matt Stelljes and J.C. Ruid. Piche made the ECAC Honor Roll this week for his three-goal and two-assist performance last weekend.

"That second line is going well," he said. "The first line will get their share of goals, but if we can get some from the second and third lines, it only helps."

The first time Vermont met RPI and Union, it was number one in the country, and RPI unceremoniously dropped the Cats from the top spot, 4-2. Union played tough, but Tim Thomas shutout the Dutchmen, 1-0.

"Revenge is not a word I use in the locker room," said Gilligan about this week’s RPI game. "They deserved to beat us up here…. [Union] plays good defense, and they have good goaltending."

Dartmouth head coach Roger Demment also notes the defense of the Dutchmen. "Against Union, it will be more of a dig down deep and work-real-hard game," he said. "They just have a great defense and a great goaltender."

But before the Big Green face Union on Saturday, they square off against RPI.

"We have to play great defense against their big offense," said Demment about RPI. "That will be the focus on Friday." Dartmouth lost both games against Union and RPI at home in November, 7-3 and 5-4 respectively.

"That we lost to them is an incentive to get some wins on the road," Demment said. "But you look at those games, and it was a long, long time ago."

David Whitworth broke into the top ten in scoring in the ECAC over the weekend, with two goals and two assists.

"He’s playing well with Ryan Chaytors and Jon Sturgis," said Demment. "We’ve had a number of guys step it up for us this year offensively, him included."

A split in the North Country for the Union Dutchmen lifted them into a sixth place tie with Harvard and Colgate.

"I think we were outplayed most of the game," Union head coach Stan Moore said about the Clarkson game. "In terms of the last few minutes, I’m pleased that we didn’t give up."

Trevor Koenig was spectacular in the nets, making 40 saves on Friday, and 34 saves against St. Lawrence on Saturday. His efforts were rewarded with the ECAC Player of the Week Award.

Union continues to play solid defense, leading the ECAC in goals allowed — a mere 2.42 goals per game.

RPI also split a pair in the North Country this weekend, defeating St. Lawrence 7-2, and falling to Clarkson 5-1. Despite only getting two points, the Engineers have a share of first place.

Head coach Don Fridgen thinks there’s a reason for that. "These guys are really focusing and they’re really preparing themselves mentally well," said Fridgen. "From the drop of the puck to the execution of the game plan."

One area where the Engineers need work on is the penalty-kill, and the taking of penalties. RPI has rocketed to second in the league in taking penalties, averaging 21.9 minutes per game. RPI has also dropped to 9th in the penalty kill statistics, dropping to a 79.5 percent kill ratio. It’s a deadly combination.

"In a situation when you’re trailing by a goal, you want to be expending your energy and your efforts trying to come back 5-on-5, instead of trying to score down 5-on-4," said Fridgen. "You wear down your penalty-killers, and it takes away a little bit of momentum."

Big games are on the agenda for RPI, and Fridgen hopes his team capitalizes on playing in them.

"We have played big games, but they just get bigger and bigger from here on in," he said. "Hopefully we’ll learn something from [the Clarkson] game. At least I hope we’ll learn something from it."

PICKS:

Dartmouth at RPI: RPI’s offense is a major concern for Dartmouth. But it seems that Dartmouth has been able to keep up with the offense in recent games with RPI. It’s not enough though. RPI 7 Dartmouth 4

Vermont at Union: Union will try to stop the French Connection and bottle up the passing lanes. It’s a lot easier at Achilles, and Union only lost 1-0 the last time at the wide-open Cathouse. At home, it will be more of a defensive game. Vermont 1 Union 1

Vermont at RPI: The Cats want some payback — it has to be in their minds. Can RPI keep up with the offense, or will it be a defensive game? It should be Danny Riva’s line against the French Connection, and the offense must come from elsewhere for both teams. Matt Stelljes will probably be out there whenever Eric Healey is. RPI has to stay out of the penalty box. RPI 4 Vermont 3

Dartmouth at Union: Union had a high goal total against Dartmouth the last time out. It won’t be like that again. Union 4 Dartmouth 2

Brown (6-15-2, 3-12-1 ECAC, 12th) and Harvard (8-12-1, 7-7-2 ECAC, T-6th) at Colgate (13-11-2, 7-7-2 ECAC, T-6th) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Starr Rink, Hamilton, N.Y.

Harvard (8-12-1, 7-7-2 ECAC, T-6th) and Brown (6-15-2, 3-12-1 ECAC, 12th) at Cornell (13-6-4, 10-4-2 ECAC, T-1st) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Lynah Rink, Ithaca, N.Y.

"I feel real good about our guys," said Brown head coach Bob Gaudet a few weeks ago. "Our record doesn’t show it — we just have to keep plugging away."

The plugging was evident as Brown pulled a bit of a shocker over Princeton on Saturday with a 3-2 win. Senior Marty Clapton, who always saves his best for games against Princeton, scored the game-winning goal with 44 seconds remaining in the second period, just moments after Princeton had cut the Brown lead to 2-1.

Last year, Clapton scored the game-winner late in regulation in the ECAC preliminary round playoff game between the two teams in Providence.

The inspiration to play Princeton derives from a playoff series two years ago, when No. 7 Princeton defeated No. 2 Brown in three games that often got rough and chippy. One can debate who the instigator was, though Princeton is regarded as one of the league’s best skating teams, and the Bears are a perennial penalty-minute leader. But those facts don’t sway Clapton’s opinion of the Tigers.

"They’re a cheap team, no skill," said Clapton. "They’re more of a football team. They do (have some fast guys), but we do too. We got the best of them. Hopefully we’ll get another chance at them in the playoffs."

The goal by Clapton capped a three-goal period for the Bears. Bill McKay and Mike Flynn also added goals.

Despite the record of the Bears, people fear them. Most ECAC coaches have mentioned that Brown’s record is not indicative of its strength. Gaudet would agree, and sees the Princeton win as a big boost.

"They’re a good team, they’re well-coached and they have good players," Gaudet said of the Tigers. "So it was a good effort. It’s a confidence-builder because we have played hard, and we just haven’t had the results."

Sophomore Adrian Smith, one of the team’s leaders in both scoring and penalty minutes, resumed skating this week and might play. He stretched ligaments in his knee two Friday’s ago against Union.

"We’ve got a tough stretch," said Gaudet. "We have two road weekends, but if we can play with that grit and that determination, then we’ll be all right, because we’re there in the game, and hopefully we’ll just get a bounce here or there to put us over the top.

"But it makes it interesting, because now we have something to shoot for."

The question once again for Harvard is offense. The Crimson scored three in a win over Yale, but were shutout by Northeastern in the Beanpot consolation game.

"It’s tough to win a hockey game if you don’t score," said head coach Ronn Tomassoni after the loss. "It’s no secret we’ve struggled to score goals all season long."

It’s no secret, either, that you don’t win many games if the team’s goals allowed is more than the team’s goals scored. This is exactly the case for Harvard — 3.36 goals allowed per game, 2.59 scored.

Colgate sits in a three-way tie for sixth place. The Red Raiders gained one point over the weekend in a wild 5-5 tie with Vermont.

"It was disappointing, but we played a good game against Vermont," said head coach Don Vaughn. "It was more disappointing that we lost on Saturday (to Dartmouth) because we played well Friday. We just weren’t able to carry anything over to Saturday night from Friday."

Dartmouth raced out to the lead and never looked back to win 5-3.

"Our focus has to be on us," said Vaughn. "We have to find a way to get our play to the way it was on Saturday.

"We have to get the puck down low. We are also not throwing the puck at the net enough. We’re trying to be a little to cute with the puck instead of just throwing at the net and hope for something to happen. We’ re trying to make too much happen with the puck."

Colgate returns home to face Harvard and Brown, teams that it has defeated once already this season.

"It might be in the back of some of our guys’ minds," said Vaughn of the earlier victories. "But both of those teams have come a long way. We’re expecting two totally different teams."

Cornell gained two points with its win over Dartmouth Friday, but lost to Vermont 7-5 after edging to within 6-5 late in the game.

Head coach Mike Schafer believes that his team is prepared for the stretch run, and just needs a few adjustments week-to-week in order to prepare for the upcoming weekend’s games.

"This is that time of year," he said. "You try to utilize as many players as possible, but the best people play in all of those times. At this point in the season, you’re done experimenting."

Cornell swept Harvard and Brown the last time the teams got together in November, 3-2 and 5-4, respectively.

PICKS:

Brown at Colgate: Can Brown claw its way back to the playoffs after it seemed that all was lost? A two-game winning streak would be great for its playoff hopes, but it won’t happen. Colgate 5 Brown 3

Harvard at Cornell: The annual rivalry continues at Lynah. The Lynah Faithful look forward to this game all year long, and will be ready as the seventh man. Harvard doesn’t stand a chance. Cornell 5 Harvard 1

Harvard at Colgate: Colgate has returned to the high offensive line of Mike Harder, Andy McDonald and Dave DeBusschere. It paid off last weekend, and will again. Colgate 5 Harvard 2

Brown at Cornell: Two defensive teams, but Cornell can play the defense better at home. Cornell 4 Brown 2

No. 7 Clarkson (18-8-0, 11-5-0 ECAC, T-1st) and St. Lawrence (9-17-2, 4-10-2 ECAC, 10th) at Princeton (14-7-2, 9-6-1 ECAC, 5th) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Baker Rink, Princeton, N.J.

St. Lawrence (9-17-2, 4-10-2 ECAC, 10th) and No. 7 Clarkson (18-8-0, 11-5-0 ECAC, T-1st) at Yale (7-14-2, 4-11-1 ECAC, 11th) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, Conn.

"We made some strides this week," said Clarkson head coach Mark Morris.

The strides the Golden Knights made were two wins over Union and RPI, and a share of first place. The two wins gives Clarkson nine wins in its last ten games, with the only loss being to Vermont.

Todd White continues his Player of the Year campaign, getting support for his bid with three more goals this weekend, bringing his league leading total to 28, 19 of them in league play.

The story of the weekend for Morris was his freshmen, most notably Phillippe Roy, the ECAC Rookie of the Week.

"He’s playing center for the first time in his life," said Morris about the converted defenseman. "We’ve done a good job with our younger guys, and they seem to be forming solid third and fourth lines. It gives us some real depth."

The package seems to be all there for Morris, from the defense to the offense, as the team rounds into shape for its usual January-February run.

"Dan Murphy has been solid," he said. "We’re also happy with our defensive pairs. They seem to be playing in sync. I’m happy with the offense, because outside of Todd White, we don’t have a superstar."

Earlier in the year, the Golden Knights defeated Princeton, but were upset by Yale.

"Don Cahoon has gotten his guys to play hard and he’s maximized their talent," said Morris. "Tim Taylor has surprised a lot of people with his youngsters. They believe in his system."

Clarkson has roared back to top the ECAC standings, and Morris believes being down early has helped his team.

"It may be a blessing in disguise," he said. "That we lost a lot of those games early and we’ve had to fight to get back to where we are at."

St. Lawrence remains in the bottom third of the ECAC after getting swept at home by RPI and Union.

"We didn’t play very well against RPI," said head coach Joe Marsh. "We broke down defensively and all over the place. We weren’t ready to play.

"Against Union, it was an up-and-down kind of game. It was a good one. They got a power-play goal, and we didn’t. That was the difference."

With six games to go, Marsh is trying to evoke other things from his club as the season winds down.

"We’re concentrating on quality," he said. "It’s not a matter of a lot of adjustments, it’s a mental thing. We don’t want practice to be drudgery, practice will be more of the mental aspect of the game."

Marsh points to Friday’s game against Yale as a large one.

"It’s the biggest game of the weekend," he said. "We’re fighting for a playoff position with them, and we just have to take it one shift at a time."

Yale is fighting for playoff position with St. Lawrence, as mentioned above, and it got tougher after a 3-2 loss to Harvard.

The bright spot for the Bulldogs was freshman Jeff Brow, who tallied the two goals in the loss, but head coach Tim Taylor is still concerned with his team and its consistency.

"We’ve been inconsistent all year long," he said. "We’re a team that can’t afford a few mistakes if we’re to be successful. If any side of our game, offense or defense, suffers."

After a 2-2-1 start in the ECAC, and an upset of Cornell, the Elis have gone 2-9-0 since in the league.

Princeton’s two losses in three ECAC games over two weekends dropped the Tigers from first to fifth in the standings — that’s how quickly things can change this year.

A 3-2 loss to Brown was perhaps the Tigers’ worst performance of the year, though the 4-2 loss to Cornell the week before, just off the 20-day break, was probably worse.

Early in the season, Princeton got standout performances from its young defense, and the top line of Jeff Halpern-Scott Bertoli-Casson Masters led the way on offense. The offense seems to be more spread out now, but the top line is slumping, and the defense is starting to make those rookie kind of mistakes it wasn’t making earlier.

Goalie Erasmo Saltarelli, after a 5-1 start, has lost four straight decisions, and Princeton is 3-4 in the last seven games.

Still, at the start of the season, if you told Don Cahoon he’d be fifth, three points out of first, going into the last six games, he’d probably have taken it.

This week will be the real test for Princeton, with home games against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Three points would prove to everyone else, and especially itself, that the Tigers are indeed a force to be reckoned with, and aren’t just going to go away quietly.

PICKS:

Clarkson at Princeton: Clarkson is the team on the roll, and Princeton has cooled off following its 20-day break. This does not bode well for the Tigers. But Princeton is home for the first time in a month, and Baker Rink should help, but Clarkson is on fire. Clarkson 3 Princeton 2

St. Lawrence at Yale: A battle for 10th place here. These games are overlooked because they’re at the bottom of the league, but they nonetheless are important for both teams. The Saints have a little more experience, and it helps. St. Lawrence 5 Yale 2

St. Lawrence at Princeton: Princeton will get back on its feet after this game, but the Saints will make it close. Princeton 4 St. Lawrence 3

Clarkson at Yale: This is a revenge game for Clarkson. No matter what anyone says, when you lose the first game of the series, you want to destroy the team the next time around. Clarkson 8 Yale 2

It just gets tighter and tighter next week. The matchups to watch are Cornell-RPI and Princeton-Vermont.

Friday, February 21: Colgate at RPI Cornell at Union Princeton at Dartmouth Yale at Vermont Harvard at Clarkson Brown at St. Lawrence

Saturday, February 22: Colgate at Union Cornell at RPI Princeton at Vermont Yale at Dartmouth Harvard at St. Lawrence Brown at Clarkson

Jayson Moy is the ECAC Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jayson Moy . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in the CCHA: February 14, 1997

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CCHA PREVIEW: Feb. 13-16, 1997 CCHA Preview: Feb. 13-16, 1997 by Paula C. Weston

With just a few weeks left in the CCHA regular season, the question of which team will finish eighth is as interesting as which will finish first.

"With only four games to go," says Michigan State head coach Ron Mason, "every game is important. It’s all going to come down to the last weekend of play this year, just as I thought in the beginning of the season."

"Right now we’re at the point of the season where every game is big," says Western Michigan head coach Bill Wilkinson.

"I would say that at this point of the year, everything is big," agrees Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni.

Can there be any doubt?

A rare thing happened to the No. 1 Michigan Wolverines last weekend — they lost a game. The Wolverines beat the Lakers on Friday, but lost the rubber game of the Michigan State series on Saturday. Nevertheless, the Wolverines are still in first place with 36 points. This weekend, they host two games against Notre Dame.

Lake Superior remains in second place in spite of the loss to Michigan. With 31 points, this weekend’s road games against third-place Michigan State and Ferris State will be big for the Lakers.

Miami had last weekend off. They remain in third place with 29 points. Miami travels to Michigan State and Ferris State.

Michigan State is tied with Miami for third place. Last weekend the Spartans lost to Western Michigan, but won that series with the Wolverines. This weekend, it’s a battle for second place as the Spartans host both Miami and Lake Superior.

The "second tier" in the CCHA is just as interesting as the battle of the Titans. Western Michigan is the hottest team in the CCHA. With 22 points, the Broncos are in fifth place, just a point ahead of Bowling Green. The Broncos are 4-1-2 in their last seven games; they’ve won four in a row, and that loss was to Michigan. The Broncos meet the Buckeyes in Columbus on Thursday, then travel to Bowling Green for a mid-field match-up.

Given the way the Falcons slumped in the early part of the season, it’s mildly surprising to see them in sixth place, just behind Western Michigan. The Falcons split a pair of games at home last weekend to the UAF Nanooks. Thus, their single conference game this weekend — against visiting Western Michigan on Saturday — matters. The Falcons also play a non-conference game at Ohio State on Sunday.

Nothing is guaranteed for the remaining four teams, including Ferris State. The Bulldogs are playing good hockey lately, but other teams have managed to gain some ground at the bottom of the standings; for instance, via their loss to Western last weekend. This weekend, the Bulldogs (in seventh place with 15 points) host Lake Superior and Miami.

At the moment, Ohio State hangs on to that all-important eighth spot, just a point behind the Bulldogs. The Buckeyes have won three of their last six games, including back-to-back wins over Notre Dame last weekend, and a rare road win at Munn Arena against the Spartans. Thursday, the Buckeyes host Western Michigan; Sunday, the Falcons come to Columbus for a non-conference game.

Notre Dame sits uncomfortably in ninth place with 12 points. Last weekend the Irish lost a pair to Ohio State — including another one-goal defeat. This weekend, Notre Dame travels to Yost to play Michigan for two.

With 11 points, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks anchor the bottom of the conference, but have shown recent improvement. Before splitting a pair of road games in Bowling Green last weekend, the Nanooks took four consecutive nonconference matches at home. UAF’s only remaining CCHA contests are a three-game series at home with Ferris State

This weekend, however, UAF hosts two games with the St. Norbert College Green Knights, a Division III school from Wisconsin that just clinched its first-ever regular season title in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association.

Don’t blink, CCHA fans. You don’t want to miss a moment of this weekend’s action.

Last week’s record in picks: 5-3 Overall record in picks: 80-58

Western Michigan (13-12-4, 9-8-4 CCHA) at Ohio State (9-22-0, 7-15-0 CCHA) Thursday, 7 p.m., Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH

This game pits the two shortest CCHA goaltenders against each other. At 5′ 4" and 5′ 6", respectively, Western Michigan’s Matt Barnes and Ohio State’s Ray Aho have been showing some of the taller guys on the ice the way a net should be minded.

Both Barnes and Aho have been the goaltenders of record for their teams’ recent winning ways.

"Ray Aho is playing extremely well in goal," says Western Michigan head coach Bill Wilkinson. "We’ve played Ohio State up here twice, and both of them were great games. They took us to overtime."

Wilkinson is not taken in by Ohio State’s position near the bottom of the CCHA. "They beat Michigan state in Munn, and not too many teams can do that. It’s a pretty big accomplishment for John’s [OSU head coach Markell] team."

The Buckeyes are coming off their first back-to-back wins of the season, and Markell says it’s given the team welcome confidence.

"We needed both of those wins," says Markell. "Western is the hottest team in the CCHA. We have to realize that the team we play this weekend is better than the team we just beat. We have to prepare our team. If you prepare, there’s no room to panic."

The key to the Ohio State’s steady progress, says Markell, is a combination of good work from freshmen — such as Aho — and greater leadership from two of the team’s three seniors.

"Seniors have to take a leadership role," Markell asserted, complimenting the way that co-captain Chad Power and Pierre Dufour have stepped up. Power had two goals in the Buckeyes’ Friday win over Notre Dame, while Dufour had the game-winning goal in each game.

The leadership comes at a crucial time for the Buckeyes, who are fighting to hold on to that last playoff spot without the help of three-year senior captain Steve Brent, who is out with a knee injury.

Wilkinson says that as big as this game is for both teams, his Broncos are more concerned with bettering themselves than with outdoing their opponents. "We’re concerned [about] the Buckeyes, but you have to prepare yourself, focus on yourself."

Matt Barnes may be shorter than Ray Aho, but he has the edge in a couple of key hockey-related categories. Barnes’ save percentage is a healthy .886, and he’s allowing just 3.19 goals per game.

By contrast, Aho’s save percentage is .857, although that figure has risen during the last couple of months. His goals-against average is 4.61, down nearly a full goal from the first half of the season. Both Barnes and Aho have been playing consistently well lately, so this goaltending match-up should be something to watch.

PICK: Western 4-3

No. 8 Miami (20-9-1, 14-6-1 CCHA) at No. 9 Michigan State (17-9-3, 13-5-3 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, MI

"This is a crucial weekend," says Michigan State head coach Ron Mason. "We have the best shot at second place this weekend."

Michigan State is hosting both Miami and Lake Superior this weekend. The first game in the battle for the title of "The Team That Finished First Behind Michigan" is this one, on Friday night.

The Spartans are coming off a mixed weekend, but one that definitely ended on a high note. After dropping a game Friday night to Western Michigan, the Spartans defeated the Wolverines in front of more than 19,000 screaming fans in Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Saturday. The win gives the Spartans the season series over their arch-rivals.

Mason was characteristically understated about the game and series over Michigan. "It was another good game with Michigan. During the game down at their place we didn’t play well. They won that one pretty easily.

"This game was a sell-out. Being at the rubber match, winning two out of three, it means something."

The Spartans hope to use that momentum to get the edge on Miami, who had last weekend off. Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni knows that Michigan State’s win over Michigan could motivate the Spartans, especially at home.

"I would say that’s given them a bit of boost in confidence," he remarked.

Like Mason, Mazzoleni is aware of the importance of this weekend’s games. "The biggest thing we have to do is take each game for itself." Mazzoleni says his team just wants to play in Munn before thinking about the rest of the weekend, or even the rest of the season.

This is the second game between these two teams this season — Michigan State won the first, 4-3, in Oxford. "Miami, of course, has been solid all year," says Mason. "They’re playing with real good poise; they’re just a really good team. Of course, we came down and beat them at home earlier this year. That took them a little bit by surprise, I think. But that game was so long ago that I don’t even remember it."

Even though Miami will be looking to return the favor, few teams beat the Spartans in Munn.

PICK: Michigan State 3-2

No. 10 Lake Superior (18-10-4, 14-6-3 CCHA) at Ferris State (11-19-2, 7-14-1 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Ewigleben Ice Arena, Big Rapids, MI

Both the Lakers and the Bulldogs are looking for some points as they approach the final games of the season. The Lakers are playing for position in the top tier of the CCHA; it’s almost a given that they’ll have home ice in the first round of the playoffs.

The Bulldogs, on the other hand, still need to clinch a playoff spot. Points are important to the them for another reason; the team in eighth place in the CCHA plays the team in first place, and no one wants the likely-champion Wolverines in the first round.

The Lakers own this series, having beaten the Bulldogs twice by the score of 3-2 earlier this season at the Soo. Laker head coach Scott Borek says that the Bulldogs always play his team tough.

"When we have success against them, it’s only because historically we have the edge on them." Borek says that Bulldog hockey is similar to Laker hockey in fundamental ways. "I think they’re a model of our program."

Borek is another coach who is not fooled by the difference in points between his team and the one he’s playing Friday night. The game is no given, says Borek. "When Ferris plays as defensively as they do, it’s going to be hard to beat them. When we play there, it’s extremely loud, extremely exciting, and it’s a great hockey barn."

The Lakers couldn’t capitalize on an opportunity to gain on first-place Michigan last weekend. The Wolverines beat them, 5-2, at the Joe Louis Arena last Friday night. The Lakers allowed five goals in the second period of that game.

"Frankly, I think what we did going into the Michigan game was look ahead at what that game could do for us, instead of looking at the game we had to play. As a team, that left us flat, and we were looking at the post-game before we even played the game."

Don’t expect the Lakers to make that mistake again on Friday night. This should be a good defensive battle. Ferris State has the home edge, the Lakers have the experience.

PICK: Lake Superior 3-2

No. 10 Lake Superior (18-10-4, 14-6-3 CCHA) at No. 9 Michigan State (17-9-3, 13-5-3 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, MI

The second game of the weekend for the Spartans pits third-place Michigan State against second-place Lake Superior. "These games this weekend will be very highly contested," says Michigan State head coach Ron Mason. "All three of these teams [including Miami, the Spartans’ Friday opponents] are relatively equal in the standings."

Lake Superior head coach Scott Borek is well aware of this implications of this weekend’s little round-robin between the second- and third-place teams. "Both State and Miami have two games in hand on us . There’s points to be had for them. If one of them stumbles, however, we could end up higher than we were picked to finish in pre-season."

Mason said early in the week leading up to this game that he couldn’t even think about Lake Superior until his team had played Miami. He wasn’t kidding. The only comments Mason made about Lake Superior were general ones; he acknowledged the Lakers’ physical style of play, tough defense, and overall competence.

Borek knows what he’s up against in his second road game of the weekend. "These are two very difficult buildings to play in. Michigan State is playing very well. They were slumping a little bit, but they’re coming out of it; they’ve played us three times, so we’re familiar with them."

This series couldn’t be more even. In conference play, the teams skated to a 4-4 tie, two nights in a row in Sault St. Marie. The Lakers beat the Spartans in the first round of the non-conference Great Lakes Invitational Tournament.

The edge in this game may be Munn Ice Arena.

PICK: Michigan State 3-2

Western Michigan (13-12-4, 9-8-4 CCHA) at Bowling Green (14-13-3, 9-11-3 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH

Bowling Green head coach Buddy Powers no longer has any illusions about gaining ground on the upper tier for home-ice advantage in the CCHA.

"Our situation for big games has gone by the board here until the playoffs," says Powers. "I don’t think we can get fourth place, so we’ll be on the road. If we’re going to win all of our games, are we going to catch western? Our focus is going to be on ourselves."

The Falcons were surprised by last-place Alaska-Fairbanks in Bowling Green last weekend. The Falcons won Friday, but lost Saturday. Powers says that his players need to reexamine what they’re doing on the ice. He says needless mistakes contributed to the loss, and calls the loss a team effort.

"We have execute in our end of the rink, and we have to do it consistently. It was different guys on every goal in that loss," Powers says.

Much of the resurgence of the Falcons can be traced to the improvement in net by goaltender Bob Petrie. "He’s played pretty well since coming back from Christmas," says Powers. The Falcons are 6-2-2 so far in 1997.

Western Michigan’s tour through Ohio is crucial for the Broncos. "Both of them are key games," says Bill Wilkinson.

"If you focus on the far, you lose sight of what you have to do right now. We’re looking at Ohio State first, then we’ll think about Bowling Green."

This should be one of the better games of the season. It’s tough to play at Bowling Green, but Western may have an attitude edge.

PICK: Western 4-3

No. 8 Miami (20-9-1, 14-6-1 CCHA) at Ferris State (11-19-2, 7-14-1 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Ewigleben Ice Arena, Big Rapids, MI

"Ferris is a good team," says Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni. "I watched them play the other night. They only gave up 17 shots. They play with tremendous heart and intensity. They’re capable of beating any team at any time."

That’s something that Mazzoleni knows firsthand. This series is tied. Each team has a win by two goals at home; the most recent game went to Ferris, just a few weeks ago.

"The core of their team is their sophomore class," says Mazzoleni. "They’re going to be someone to reckon with in the future." Or, perhaps, right now.

It’s unlikely that Ferris will repeat against Miami — not because the Bulldogs aren’t good enough, but because Miami is hard to surprise twice. Add to that the outstanding goaltending of Trevor Prior, the offensive power of Randy Robitaille, and the offense and defense of Dan Boyle, and Miami is just a hard team to beat on any given night.

This will both teams’ second game of the weekend, but Miami had a full weekend off. "We’ve got a couple of players who were banged up, so the rest is good," says Mazzoleni.

PICK: Miami 4-2

Notre Dame (8-21-1, 5-16-1 CCHA) at No. 1 Michigan (26-2-3, 17-2-2 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Yost Arena, Ann Arbor, MI

The University of Michigan Wolverines have lost just two games this season. Both of those are to Michigan State, the most recent being last Saturday.

Early in January, the Wolverines tied Cornell in Yost, a game the Wolverines fully expected to win. The Wolverines don’t take such games well. Just ask the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks, who were the next team to play at Yost. To make themselves feel better about the Cornell tie, the Wolverines pummeled the Nanooks 13-1.

Should the Irish be a little concerned? Perhaps.

In many ways, these games — these points — mean more to the Irish than to the Wolverines. It’s true that Michigan’s pride is a little wounded, but with just a handful of games left in this season, few people doubt that Michigan will tumble from the top of the CCHA. Conversely, few people believe Notre Dame can make the playoffs. Notre

Dame had a great opportunity to put the Buckeyes away last weekend in South Bend. Two wins over the Buckeyes would have meant a season sweep of the Bucks — important in the playoff picture — as well as four crucial points, and an eighth-place spot in the CCHA.

Instead, Notre Dame lost two games at home, practically handing the Buckeyes the privilege of losing in the first round of the CCHA playoffs to … the Wolverines.

It’s starting to sound a bit like a soap opera. At any rate, it feels personal enough to all parties involved.

One single point taken from the Wolverines in Yost this weekend would be an upset.

PICKS: Michigan 7-2, 5-2

Bowling Green (14-13-3, 9-11-3 CCHA) at Ohio State (9-22-0, 7-15-0 CCHA) Sunday, 3 p.m., Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH

This non-conference game probably means more to Ohio State than it does to Bowling Green. The teams play again next weekend in a conference game in Columbus, and the Buckeyes need those points more than the Falcons do. The Buckeyes have yet to secure a playoff spot, and they’ll be looking for anything that will give them an edge over the Falcons next week.

They may not have a lot to look at. Each coach has said that he’ll play some guys who haven’t seen much action lately, so it’s unlikely that either goaltender who will appear in the conference match-up will see action in this game.

"We’ll get the kids in there who haven’t been playing very much," says Buckeye head coach John Markell. This means that freshman goaltender Tom Connerty will probably start in net for the Buckeyes. Connerty hasn’t seen action since being pulled from an 8-2 loss to Miami in Columbus several weeks ago. Since then, Ray Aho has earned the starting job for the Buckeyes, and was named CCHA Defense Player of the Week for two consecutive weeks.

Connerty’s league save percentage is .812, and he’s allowed 6.06 goals per league game. A Connerty-Mike Savard match-up may be a high-scoring game for each team. Savard’s league GAA is 4.02, while his league save percentage is .848.

Markell is a little concerned about playing men who haven’t seen much time this season. "We intend to do well on Thursday, and we don’t want to stop any momentum Sunday," says Markell.

Powers acknowledges that the Falcons’ place in the standings affects how little this game actually means for his team. "It’s a different scenario at other times in the season, even in other seasons. At other times, we’d be concerned about the NCAA and power rankings…" Powers doesn’t finish his sentence. If the Falcons were doing better in CCHA play, this game could be a prime opportunity for the Falcons to show the NCAA why they should be invited to the tournament.

Expect a high-scoring game. You may even call this by the number of goals each netminder allows on average.

PICK: Bowling Green 6-4

St. Norbert (20-4-1, 16-4-0 NCHA) at Alaska-Fairbanks (10-20-0, 6-18-0 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Carlson Center, Fairbanks, AK

The Nanooks won four consecutive home non-conference games before traveling to Bowling Green last weekend, where they split with the Falcons. The non-conference wins and the important road win bolster the Nanooks’ spirits, but with just three games left in CCHA play, moral victories have to be wearing a little thin.

Still, a win is a win to the heart of team. Several weeks ago, a discouraged-sounding Nanook head coach Dave Laurion said before the scheduled four home non-conference games that wins in those games could help his team salvage some dignity for the season

The Nanooks don’t need to salvage their dignity — they are a team whose dignity in the face of hardship can be an inspiration to others. But they’ll take a couple more non-conference wins, no matter how you package them.

They’ll have a chance this weekend against the St. Norbert College (WI) Green Knights, but it won’t be easy. This Division III team just finished first in its conference, the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, in regular-season play for the first time ever, and is currently tied for first place with St. John’s University in the NCAA Division III ice hockey poll.

The Green Knights have one of the best goaltenders in the NCHA. Junior Roby Gropp has a save percentage of .919 and a GAA of 2.56.

This should be a very good series. Teams from the NCHA have played D-I teams well this season, so Nanook fans shouldn’t expect easy wins. In fact, good games against the Green Knights will prepare the Nanooks for their final series of the year, three home games against Ferris State next weekend.

PICKS: Alaska-Fairbanks 4-3, 5-3

Paula C. Weston is the CCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Paula C. Weston . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in the WCHA: February 14, 1997

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WCHA Preview: Feb. 14-15, 1997 by Scott Brown

North Dakota refused to yield ground to its pursuers over the weekend. The first-place Fighting Sioux, edging ever closer to the MacNaughton Cup, swept last-place Michigan Tech to maintain a three-point lead in the standings over Minnesota. The Gophers, for their part, took four points against ninth-place Northern Michigan to take over sole possession of second place in the WCHA.

Colorado College and Wisconsin are on the Gophers’ tail, followed by St. Cloud, Denver and Minnesota-Duluth. At this moment, all of these teams still have a shot at a top-five finish in the conference, and hence home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

Alaska-Anchorage, Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan bring up the rear of the WCHA; their games will now decide who gets the honor of taking on the regular-season champions in the first round.

WCHA Standings

Games this weekend include a home-and-home between in-state rivals and an intraschool conflict in Minneapolis. The nominations, please:

Denver (16-10-4, 12-10-4 WCHA) vs. Colorado College (17-11-2, 15-9-2 WCHA) Friday, 7:35 p.m. MT, AFA Cadet Ice Arena, Colorado Springs, CO Saturday, 7:05 p.m. MT, DU Arena, Denver, CO

The Pioneers’ meteoric rise through the ranks of the WCHA came to a halt last weekend. Denver, which had been 10-2-2 in its last 14 games, was swept in Duluth, 7-4 and 3-2.

The losses were doubly surprising in that they came at the hands of the Bulldogs, who had not been performing well of late. But Denver goalie Jim Mullin (6-5-4, 2.89 GAA .891 SV% WCHA), who took the loss on Friday, allowed six goals on 29 shots before emptying the DU net with a minute to go in the game. The defeat was the first in 11 games for Mullin, who still leads the WCHA in goals-against average.

DU’s other goalie, Stephen Wagner (6-5-0, 3.29 GAA, .890 SV% WCHA) fared somewhat better on Saturday, but the Pioneers lost again. On the plus side for Denver, defenseman Joe Ritson had an assist on Friday and a goal on Saturday to extend his point-scoring streak to six games.

The sweep dropped Denver into a tie for sixth with UMD, making this weekend’s series with Colorado College critical to the Pioneers’ home-ice hopes. Friday’s game will be played at the Air Force Academy, CC’s home-away-from-home this season, where the Tigers are 9-4-0.

For their part, the three-time defending champions fared somewhat better last weekend against Wisconsin. Playing at the raucous Dane County Coliseum, the Tigers managed a split, winning the recap 6-2 after being soundly defeated, 5-2, in the opener.

The Saturday win meant that CC has now gone 59 straight series without being swept, going all the way back to 1994. Brian Swanson (14-28–42), who leads the WCHA in scoring, assisted on the game-winner, the fifth consecutive CC win in which he has done that. Jason Cugnet (4-2-1, 3.27 GAA, .867 SV%), installed in net after a shaky performance by number-one goaltender Judd Lambert (13-9-1, 3.29 GAA, .881 SV%) in Friday’s game, faced only 14 shots in earning the win.

The Tiger penalty-kill continued to click, as Wisconsin went 0-for-5 on the power play during the weekend. CC has now gone six games since allowing a power-play goal, and is third in the WCHA (81.7 percent) for the season.

Picks: Colorado College swept this series earlier in the year, but the Pioneers are playing better now, last weekend notwithstanding. Denver has a ten-game unbeaten streak at home (7-0-3). CC 4-2, DU 4-3

Minnesota-Duluth (16-12-2, 13-11-2 WCHA) at No. 5 Minnesota (20-10-0, 17-9-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, MN

The Bulldogs, as mentioned above, came into last weekend hoping to stay alive for home ice. They ended the weekend four points richer, with a vastly improved position for the stretch run.

UMD can thank WCHA Defensive Player of the Week Brant Nicklin (13-11-2, 3.20 GAA, .898 SV% WCHA) for its good fortune. Nicklin, a top candidate for the Rookie of the Year award, made 62 saves on 66 shots over the course of the series.

Playing in front of him, Ken Dzikowski (13-18–31) had two goals and an assist, while Jason Haakstad scored his second and third goals of the year, including the game-winner Saturday. UMD therefore split the season series with Denver, 2-2, a statistic which may become relevant in the WCHA’s tiebreaker system.

This Friday, for head coach Mike Sertich’s 600th game behind the Duluth bench, the Bulldogs will try to accomplish what they have not been able to do since 1994 — win at Mariucci Arena. And despite Minnesota’s sweep of Northern Michigan last weekend, the Bulldogs might be catching the Gophers at the right time to do just that.

Yes, Minnesota beat the ninth-place Wildcats, but they weren’t very happy about it. Both victories came by one goal against a team the Gophers felt they should have beaten handily.

"By no means are we satisfied with our effort tonight," said co-captain Mike Crowley (5-31–36) after Friday’s game, in which the Gophers stormed out to a three-goal lead before letting Northern Michigan back in with penalties and sloppy play.

Crowley had little reason to fault his own play, as he scored a goal and added three assists on the weekend. The Gophers were also bolstered by the return of defenseman Brian LaFleur and the scoring of WCHA Offensive Player of the Week Ryan Kraft. Kraft scored three goals against NMU, including both Gopher goals on Saturday, and added two assists to claim the honor.

Freshman winger Dave Spehar scored the game-winner Friday for Minnesota, but was shut out Saturday, ending his point-scoring streak at 14 games.

Pick: So, are the Gophers vulnerable, or just angry? UMD has to hope for the former, but the latter seems at least as likely. UM 4-2, 6-3

Wisconsin (15-13-2, 15-9-2 WCHA) at St. Cloud (17-10-3, 14-9-3 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 8:35-8:05 p.m. CT, National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN

Much like the Bulldogs vs. Minnesota, Wisconsin has something to prove this weekend. The Badgers, who were picked to finish eighth in the conference in the preseason coaches’ poll, have instead climbed all the way into a tie for third, just five points off the lead.

Now they face a road series at the National Hockey Center, where the Badgers have not won since early 1993. Now seems an apropos time for Wisconsin to break that streak. Center Joe Bianchi (14-15–29), who has been on a tear lately, was slowed by CC’s defense, but the team made up for that with balance: seven goals, seven scorers during the two-game series.

Goalie Kirk Daubenspeck (13-11-2, 3.66 GAA, .869 SV%) became Wisconsin’s all-time leader in career saves in the Friday win, but was pulled after the second period Saturday, having allowed five goals on 30 shots. His replacement, Mike Valley, allowed one goal on seven shots to finish the game.

St. Cloud also split a series last weekend, against the eighth-place Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves. Their loss Saturday left the Huskies in fifth place, two points behind Wiscosin and Colorado College and three ahead of Denver and Minnesota-Duluth.

Obviously, SCSU would prefer to improve its playoff position, but there’s probably more to fear from falling back than there is to gain by moving up. Unless the Huskies can get into third place or better, they face a contending team in the first round no matter what, while dropping below fifth costs them the comforts of home for that series.

Speaking of which, it was definitely an up-and-down weekend for the Huskies. Case in point: goaltender Brian Leitza (11-5-0, 3.38 GAA, .882 SV% WCHA), who has been seeing the lion’s share of playing time lately, made 16 saves both Friday and Saturday. Friday, he allowed two goals en route to a 4-2 victory, but Saturday, five pucks got by him in the loss.

The St. Cloud scorers were equally inconsistent. Matt Cullen (12-18–30) had two goals Friday and no points at all Saturday; likewise, team scoring leader Sacha Molin (15-21–36) had both his weekend points in the first game. The principal exception to this rule was Mark Parrish (14-12–26), who tallied two assists on each day.

Picks: These are two strong teams, both with an awful lot at stake. The games are in St. Cloud, but Wisconsin has yet to lose to a WCHA rival on Friday this season (11-0-1). UW 3-2, SCSU 5-3

No. 2 North Dakota (21-7-2, 18-7-1 WCHA) at Northern Michigan (9-21-2, 5-20-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. ET, Lakeview Arena, Marquette, MI

The conference-leading Fighting Sioux hold their fates in their collective hand. With six games remaining in the regular season, North Dakota is a strong favorite to hold on to its lead and claim the title.

North Dakota has everything going for it right now — a favorable schedule, an offense hitting on all cylinders and sharp coaching from Dean Blais and his staff. The Sioux have six players with 30 points or more already, led by young scorers Jason Blake (18-25–43) and David Hoogsteen (19-22–41).

On D, the Sioux feature Curtis Murphy (9-22–31) and Dane Litke (3-18–21), both capable two-way players. And in goal, Aaron Schweitzer (7-0-0, 2.77 GAA, .896 SV%) has won all of his starts this season, including the Sioux’ last four games: two against Minnesota, and two last weekend against Michigan Tech.

And, as if all that weren’t enough, the Sioux also have the reigning WCHA Rookie of the Week. Brad DeFauw won that award for his two-goal weekend vs. MTU.

However, they play the games for a reason. Its easy to win on paper, but as the Golden Gophers found out, even a ninth-place team like the Wildcats is capable of making things hot for a contender.

Curtis Sheptak (two goals and an assist), team-leading scorer Bud Smith (9-15–24) (one goal, one assist), defenseman Darcy Dallas (one goal, one assist) and freshman John Coyle (two assists) carried most of the offensive load for the Wildcats last weekend. When the games had ended, the Wildcats had lost two close ones.

Head coach Rick Comley, a two-time national coach of the year, found it hard to be too upset. "We were overmanned early on," he said, adding that he was pleased with his team’s ability to hang in after going down three goals on Friday.

Now the Wildcats face a team which swept the Gophers just two weeks ago. Despite a seven-game losing streak against the Sioux, Northern Michigan holds an all-time home record of 13-5-2 against UND.

Picks: Northern Michigan can be dangerous at Lakeview, but the Sioux are still on that mission mentioned last week. It’s going to be tough for the Wildcats to slow them up. UND 4-1, 4-2

Alaska-Anchorage (9-16-3, 7-16-3 WCHA) at Michigan Tech (6-21-4, 3-19-4 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:35-7:05 p.m. ET, MacInnes Student Ice Arena, Houghton, MI

The Seawolves head for Houghton a week after turning in a credible performance against the St. Cloud State Huskies in Anchorage. This series is about pride more than anything else, since both UAA and MTU are among the bottom three teams in the WCHA, neither with a chance of climbing out of that group.

That does not mean that good hockey isn’t being played in Anchorage this year. The Seawolves have established themselves as an opponent to be wary of. Leading scorer David Vallieres (6-17–23 WCHA) and Eric Silverman (10-10–20 WCHA) head up the Seawolf offense, while Doug Teskey (7-10-3, 3.15 GAA, .898 SV% WCHA) provides a stable presence between the pipes.

UAA showed its resilience on Saturday, when the Seawolves came back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to defeat SCSU. Eric Tuott got the game-winner for Anchorage with just five minutes left in the contest, and Teskey made 14 saves after replacing a shaky Chris Davis in net.

Michigan Tech rests at the bottom of the WCHA, having been swept last weekend in Grand Forks by the Fighting Sioux of UND. Andre Savage (12-13–25 WCHA) leads the team in scoring, totaled two goals and an assist in the losing effort against North Dakota and has 18 points in his last 13 games.

In nets, Luciano Caravaggio (3-9-4, 3.41 GAA, .907 SV% WCHA) saved 42 shots on Friday, but lost 4-2. Saturday, Caravaggio replaced David Weninger after one period and made 21 more stops for a total of 63 on the weekend. Caravaggio allowed only six goals to the ferocious UND offense in that span, and showed why he leads the WCHA in save percentage, despite his very modes goals-against average.

On the down side for MTU, senior defenseman Travis VanTighem will be out several weeks — probably the rest of the regular season — with an injury to his right knee.

Picks: Michigan Tech, as the home team, gets the edge here, but don’t be surprised to see the Seawolves take some points. MTU 3-2, UAA 2-1

Next Week in the WCHA:

Friday, Feb. 21 Minnesota at Colorado College St. Cloud at Minnesota-Duluth Alaska-Anchorage at North Dakota Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan Denver at Wisconsin

Saturday, Feb. 22 Minnesota at Colorado College St. Cloud at Minnesota-Duluth Alaska-Anchorage at North Dakota Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan Denver at Wisconsin

Scott Brown is Features Editor for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Scott Brown. All Rights Reserved.

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Face Off: Week 6

USCHO Staff Report
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Welcome to U.S. College Hockey Online’s roundtable discussion. We’ll be debating a college hockey topic each week in this space, where various members of our staff meet to argue. Sometimes serious, sometimes silly — but either way, watch the feathers fly: no punches will be pulled, and no quarter given, when these people face off.

Who Should/Will Win Rookie of the Year in the Four Major Conferences?

Dave Hendrickson, Hockey East Correspondent: Ask Hockey East coaches which one rookie they’d most want for the next three years and it would be near-unanimous. Hands down, they’d take BU’s Tom Poti.

After a game early this season, one coach said that the Terriers had three game-breakers: Chris Drury, Shawn Bates and Poti. Pretty nice company for a freshman defenseman. Poti has earned such accolades with his skillful offensive play as well as his generally dependable work in his own end.

But Poti won’t win it. Defensemen, even flashy ones like Poti, rarely get a fair shake at awards time. It’s easier to check scoring totals and pick the high man, or determine which goaltender stood on his head most often, such as Marc Robitaille and Sean Matile this year.

Hockey East will instead honor the second-best rookie in the league, BC’s Jeff Farkas. At the halfway point, he deserved minimal consideration. Lesser-known recruits like UMass-Lowell’s Greg Koehler and Maine’s Corey Larose — not to mention teammate Blake Bellefeuille — regularly outscored Farkas.

But since the World Junior Tournament, Farkas has been on a rampage; his play down the stretch puts him head and shoulders above other rookie forwards. So, with apologies to Poti, his forward brethren, and Robitaille and Matile, Farkas will carry home the hardware.

Lee Urton, Media Relations: For the WCHA, Dave Spehar, F, Minnesota.

I love this guy! Someone once described him as not necessarily fast, but quick. At the time, I thought that was ridiculous, but after watching him play I see that it’s completely true.

It took Spehar some time to adjust to the college game, but after a half-season, he really took off — he just had a 14-game scoring streak snapped. This guy has a great nose for the net and excellent passing abilities. He also draws a lot of penalties with his talent and size (a modest 5-foot-7, 172 lbs).

He’s already a good player — in future years look for him to become a great one.

Mike Machnik, Special Projects: In Hockey East, the decision will be as tough as it ever has been. One can make a case for about a half-dozen different players, so instead, here’s a look at the leading candidates for the All-Rookie Team.

At forward, Boston College’s Jeff Farkas (9-17–26) has garnered the most accolades, but right behind him are Mass Lowell’s Greg Koehler (11-18–29) and Maine’s Cory Larose (8-20–28). Also deserving of votes are BC’s Blake Bellefeuille (10-15–25) and New Hampshire’s Mike Souza (13-7–20).

Defense is a little clearer, as Boston University’s Tom Poti and BC’s Mike Mottau have distanced themselves from the pack as superb two-way players.

In goal, there is again a logjam, with three freshman netminders playing key roles on their teams. UNH’s Sean Matile and Northeastern’s Marc Robitaille may fight it out for the honor, with Matile having the better numbers, including a Hockey East-record three shutouts. But Robitaille has been an impressive workhorse for a Husky squad that has often depended solely on him to keep them in games. Also, Maine’s Alfie Michaud has rebounded from a slow start to have a strong second semester, and has been a key to his team’s turnaround.

When the voting is tabulated, chances are that Farkas, Koehler and Matile will receive the strongest support for Rookie of the Year, but whatever happens, Hockey East’s bumper crop of freshmen promises to be a class to keep an eye on in the upcoming years.

Jayson Moy, ECAC Correspondent: I think it’s down to just a few players right now in the ECAC, three of which are goaltenders: J.R Prestifilippo of Harvard and Scott Prekaski and Joel Laing of RPI.

Prestifilippo has embarked on a huge streak of consecutive games played. He is the future of Harvard goaltending, but is playing for a team currently in sixth place. Prekaski and Laing play for a team tied for first, which automatically gives them higher consideration.

Prekaski has been Rookie of the Week twice, Laing once. Preakski gets the nod over Laing here because of his record (6-1-1 ECAC vs. 4-3-1 ECAC).

Others in consideration: At forward, Jeff Hamilton of Yale and Pete Gardiner of RPI. Hamilton was a rocket in the first half of the season, but has tailed off (three points since the Denver Cup). Gardiner has quietly become the leading rookie scorer in the ECAC. He has 24 points on the season (8-16) and is tied for 12th in the league in scoring (5-11-16).

On defense, there’s Dominique Auger of Princeton. He has six goals and 12 assists on the season, and is clearly one of the finest offensive defensemen to step into the ECAC in recent years. The other would have to be Brian Pothier of RPI — one goal and 10 assists. His numbers are not those of Auger, so Auger gets the nod here.

If I had to make a choice, I’d go with the offense and Pete Gardiner of RPI.

Scott Brown, Features Editor: The CCHA has not had a bumper crop of rookies this season, but a few guys do come to mind.

The overall leader among CCHA freshmen is Ohio State’s Hugo Boisvert (10-23–33), the only rookie among the top 20 overall scorers in the conference. Boisvert’s club has languished in the basement most of the season, but the Buckeyes have now moved into seventh place, which may improve his prospects.

Also at forward, Adam Edinger (11-14–25) of Bowling Green and Joe Dusbabek (12-12–24) of Notre Dame have made significant contributions. However, the award just might end up in the hands of a defenseman: Daryl Andrews (4-18–22) of Western Michigan, who leads all CCHA blueliners in points. However, the Broncos have not performed up to expectations this year, despite a solid recent run. That may handicap Andrews’ chances.

BGSU also has a defensive candidate in Peter Ratchuk (8-9–17), who scored goals in both games against Fairbanks last weekend. Between the pipes, no goalies are viable candidates this year, though Ray Aho (5-14-0, 4.47 GAA, .866 SV%) has been improving while soaking up most of the minutes for OSU.

All things being equal, Andrews might be the most deserving candidate — a scoring defenseman in a year when rookie point totals are down. However, he probably won’t get it, as the league will honor either Boisvert or Edinger, who has the advantage of playing for a team which has really turned it on lately.

This Week in Hockey East: February 14, 1997

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Hockey East Preview: Feb. 14-18, 1997 by Dave Hendrickson

After a scintillating Beanpot championship game, the return to league play this week will be hard-pressed to maintain either the excitement level or the quality of play shown at the FleetCenter.

The jockeying for third to sixth place continues, with Providence potentially starting yet another late-season run under Paul Pooley. They play a home-and-home with sizzling New Hampshire, though, so their recent push could be stalled. Merrimack had been the hottest second-tier team in the league until the Friars pounded them 9-4 on Saturday. Their home-and-home with Boston College will prove pivotal to both teams’ playoff positions.

After overachieving all season long to hold onto third place, UMass-Lowell has now dropped five straight and faces the daunting BU Terriers in another home-and-home. Maine, waiting to hear the results of their NCAA appeal, plays two at UMass-Amherst before entertaining UNH on Tuesday in what promises to be the best game of the week.

Last week’s record in picks: 6-2 Season record in picks: 107-60

Providence (12-16-1, 9-9-1 HE) vs. No. 3 New Hampshire (23-6-0, 16-3-0 HE)

Friday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH Saturday, 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI

In their only action of the week, New Hampshire beat UMass-Lowell 4-0.

"We played a little better last weekend," said coach Dick Umile. "We didn’t give up as many good scoring chances." The previous weekend, of course, was a pretty tough act to follow. UNH outscored Northeastern and UMass-Amherst a combined 17-1.

When Jason Krog opened the scoring a mere 54 seconds into the UMass-Lowell game, it marked the 23rd time in 29 games the Wildcats have gotten on the board first, many in the first few minutes. Although Umile is happy with those numbers, he also said, "We have a lot of confidence, whether we get the first goal or not."

Sean Matile, who has played and won UNH’s last six games, recorded his second shutout in a row and third of the season. Surprisingly, his three shutouts set a new Hockey East season record, an especially impressive feat since he’s played in only 12 games this year because of earlier ineligibility and medication problems.

Matile likes to roam far from the net to help his defense, especially on the Olympic ice surface at home where the demands placed on defensemen to get back for the puck are maximized.

"It’s an important part of the game," said Umile. "The top goaltenders, both in the NHL and in college, can all handle the puck. It gives a team an extra edge."

Although UMass-Lowell outshot the Wildcats 38-31, Matile faced the problem of all netminders on dominant teams. While their team is controlling play in the offensive zone for long stretches, a goaltender must stay physically loose and mentally sharp. UNH dominated the first 17 minutes of the game, allowing the River Hawks no serious chances. Lowell then swarmed around him in the period’s closing minutes. Matile proved up to the challenge during that flurry and for the rest of the game.

"With this team, I know I’m not going to get a lot of shots on most nights, so I just have to concentrate," said Matile after the game. "I really don’t care if I get eight shots or eighty."

Voters for postseason All-Rookie teams will have a tough choice between Matile and Northeastern’s Marc Robitaille. For most of the season Robitaille has looked like a consensus pick, an ironman playing well on a weak team. Matile’s recent play, however, makes the choice difficult. He now boasts staggering statistics in league play (1.99 goals against average and a .941 save percentage) and still-impressive numbers including all games (3.03 GAA and .911 save percentage).

Working against him will be his limited role (12 games) on a great team, compared to Robitaille’s 27 games while performing for the league’s worst. Robitaille has also shut out three teams this year, but two were in non-league contests. To this eye, they’re neck-and-neck at the turn.

Providence took both games last weekend against teams that had been coming on strong. The Friars beat Boston College 4-2 and Merrimack 9-4. In fits and starts, they are showing signs of once again becoming the playoff behemoth they’ve been ever since coach Paul Pooley took over.

"Our first thought [against BC] was playing good defense," said Pooley. "I think we did that. Our penalty-kill did a good job against their power play. And [Mark] Kane played well in net. When he had to make the big save, he was there.

"[Saturday night against Merrimack] was a funny game. We jumped on them early, but they were coming back in the second period. It was 4-2, but the tide was turning for them and they were on the power play. Then Russ Guzior scored a shorthanded goal. That was the major goal of the game. It deflated them a bit. We played with more confidence and played well for the rest of the game."

Guzior’s play sums up the Providence season in a microcosm. Their leading scorer last season with 20 goals, he’s spent much of this year unable to throw the puck in the ocean. In the closing minutes against BC, however, he tallied an empty-net goal to seal the win. The score, empty net or not, might have acted as a bung-puller for Guzior, allowing the two-goal bubbly to flow the next night against Merrimack.

"He had two or three breakaways against BC and didn’t score on any," said Pooley. "The empty-netter may have relaxed him a bit in the sense that he had so many good chances that game before he scored into the empty net. The next night against Merrimack his first one maybe wasn’t a great goal; he just went over the blue line, took a slap shot and scored. The other one he worked hard in the corner, came out and just jammed it in. Getting him going will help us a lot."

Of perhaps even greater significance is the surprising play of sophomore goaltender Mark Kane. Kane rode the pine for much of this season while Pooley tried to get Dan Dennis on track. Dennis, an All-Hockey East selection last year and a preseason pick this year, struggled.

"Obviously Dan can’t be happy that he’s not playing," said Pooley, "but Mark’s won four in a row and he’s earned the right to be in there. What we want from Danny is for him to say, ‘Hey, I’m a competitor. I know that Mark deserves to play, but I’m gonna work my butt off and get my game back. And if the opportunity arises for me to get called upon, I’m going to be ready to play and show what I can do.’ That’s the type of attitude we need from him right now.

"There’s no question that Mark deserves to play. He’s played well. He gives our team jump. He talks, he moves the puck well, and he’s playing with confidence. That gives our team confidence because we can relax a bit more because we aren’t letting in the goals that we were earlier. That’s given us a little more opportunity to score, feel better about ourselves, and maybe take chances at times. Instead of being back on our heels, we’re going forward."

As well as his team is playing, however, Pooley knows he’s running into a buzzsaw against UNH.

"Obviously we have to try to limit their scoring opportunities because they are very, very talented," he said. "They can beat you just ad-libbing out there one-on-one, playing shinny hockey, because of their skill. We can’t get into that game. We’ve got to try to control the ice and dictate tempo as much as possible, especially on that big sheet of ice up there on Friday night. We also need to stay out of the penalty box and keep it five-on-five."

PICK: New Hampshire sweeps, 5-3 and 5-2.

No. 4 Boston University (17-6-5, 13-2-3 HE) vs. UMass-Lowell (13-16-0, 9-10-0 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Tully Forum, Lowell, MA WNDS-TV50 Saturday, 7 p.m., Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA NESN

BU rallied back against UMass-Amherst, using five power-play goals to beat the Minutemen 6-3. They had to also come back in the Beanpot championship game, via a Dan LaCouture goal only 22 seconds after falling behind 2-0, and a tying score about a minute later. Captain Bill Pierce got the game-winner on a breakaway and a Chris Drury open-netter iced the thrilling 4-2 win.

"The building sounded pretty good," said BU coach Jack Parker after the game. The FleetCenter, a mausoleum for sleepy Bruins and Celtics games since its opening, came alive for one of the top rivalries in college hockey. "I thought this was going to be a real test for the FleetCenter to see how enthusiastic the crowd was and how enthusiastic the players were. "I thought the emotion could be felt on the bench and on the ice. Now all we have to do is make sure we put 17,000 in the building," Parker said. "We know now we can get the roar of the crowd out there. It certainly was pumping us up and BC up. "This was quite a show with BC and BU in the Beanpot final. Playing as well as we had against each other in the first three games of the year [in two 5-5 ties and a 6-4 BU win that included an open-netter], no matter who won the game it was going to be good for our history and our rivalry and something good for college hockey in Boston again. And that’s certainly how I felt tonight. It was a great college hockey game to watch.

"It was nice to have Tom Noble show once again why he does a lot of things well and win. There’s a lot of goalies who do a lot of things well, but Tommy’s got the will to win. He’s won a lot of third periods because he’s just said, ‘That’s enough!’ and he certainly said that tonight."

UMass-Lowell didn’t have quite the same thrill in their Alumni Cup competition with UMass-Amherst. Their budding rivalry has little of the history of BU-BC, but over time could turn into one of the better ones. Lowell lost the Alumni Cup 6-4 on Saturday after losing to third-ranked New Hampshire 4-0 the night before. The losses now give the River Hawks a five-game losing streak dating back to their 3-1 win over BU.

"Actually we played real well on the weekend," said UML coach Tim Whitehead. "Unfortunately it didn’t bounce for us, but we’re not going to panic or anything. You can’t always use wins and losses as a barometer for how well you’re doing. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can’t.

"This past weekend we were really pleased with the effort that the guys showed. Unfortunately, we outshot both UNH and Amherst on the weekend and still lost, but we’ve been on the other end of that earlier in the year so we can’t complain. There are no excuses, they just came out on top. It all evens out in the end. The effort is there, we’re just a little snakebit as far as putting it in the net.

"We’re really excited about getting the enthusiasm behind the Alumni Cup. That was a nice win for Amherst. We’re excited about keeping that tradition going each year and it’s something we want to build. That’s becoming a big rivalry."

Whitehead faces a tough challenge getting his young team out of its losing streak and ready for Boston University.

"There are no easy games," said Whitehead. "We’ve played BU [and won] so we know that we can beat them. On the other hand, we certainly know that they can beat us. They’re a tremendous team. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us this weekend."

PICK: BU sweeps 4-2 and 6-3.

Maine (18-10-1, 10-7-1 HE) at UMass-Amherst (12-17-0, 7-13-0 HE) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

Maine resumes play after a week off; prior to their break, they bested BC in an 8-6 shootout before losing 5-4 in overtime to Merrimack. The Warriors tied that game in the last minute with an extra skater and posted their second win over the Black Bears, Maine’s only two blemishes in an 8-2 record in 1997.

"We actually played [Merrimack] fairly well," said Maine coach Shawn Walsh. "We out-attempted them 71-48. They got very good goaltending and opportunistic goal scoring. It makes you look at yourself a little closer and there’s some areas we want to try to improve on but we don’t want to overreact either."

Recently, blueliner David Cullen was named Hockey East Player of the Week. "He’s really coming into his own," said Walsh. "His confidence and his strength are catching up with his puck skills. He’s always been good with the puck. It’s a Cullen trademark, the good soft hands and sense. "We’ve moved him to our top power-play unit and he’s really helped them. We were seven for nine on the power play over the weekend. He’s a very, very good offensive player who is improving dramatically defensively."

Goaltender Javier Gorriti, who Walsh has rotated in the nets to take the pressure off Alfie Michaud, has been sick and still wasn’t practicing as of Tuesday. He also played poorly in the BC game before getting the hook. As a result, this weekend Michaud could see his first full back-to-back games since November. The top recruit has settled down after a rocky start and, in contrast to the walk-on Gorriti, is likely viewed as the Black Bear future between the pipes. As such, he could command more than a split of playing time down the stretch.

Maine travels to UMass-Amherst for two games on their large ice surface. How well the Black Bears use their speed there could prove decisive.

"The biggest thing you have to do is stay close as units and not get too far ahead of the puck. We did a good job of that at Northeastern which isn’t as big as UMass’s rink but it’s bigger than regulation.

"I also want us to get a little better focus. We drifted a little bit in that last Merrimack game. We’d kept up great intensity and I just didn’t sense that same enthusiasm, if you will, that we’d had in our previous 10 or 11 games. Maybe that was a wakeup call."

UMass-Amherst hung with Boston University for two periods on Friday but lost 6-3.

"For the second time we’ve played [BU], we played even with them five-on-five," said UMass-Amherst coach Joe Mallen. "We actually outscored them five-on-five 3-1. I thought there were some questionable calls by the officials in the second period that allowed them to get back into the game. You have to deal with those things but obviously when you go five-on-three with BU a couple of times, you’re opening the door for them to take advantage of it.

"I thought we played a good game and had a chance to win it. It’s the second time this year that at home we entered the third period tied with BU. That’s a good sign."

They then took the Alumni Cup, awarded annually to the winner of the Amherst-Lowell series, with a 6-4 win. The Minutemen also took home the Cup last year, in its first year of existence.

"When I first came on here three and a half years ago, UMass-Lowell and Bruce Crowder wanted to start this Alumni Cup between the two schools," Mallen said. "My first thought was that I didn’t even have a team yet. [We waited two years and started it last year.] If you’d told me we were going to win it the first year, I’d have told you you were crazy." If you’d told me we were going to win it the first two years I’d have told you that you were even crazier. For us to win the Alumni Cup two years in a row may not be the Stanley Cup, but for us it’s a huge step in the right direction. They’re an established program and have played very well the last 10 years."

The win over Lowell also proved notable since that gave the Minutemen another series win to go along with ones they’d already taken against Providence and Northeastern.

Defenseman Tom O’Connor returned to action on Saturday after missing time due to a knee injury. "He felt that he could give it a go [against Lowell] so we put him in the lineup," said Mallen. "That was a big boost for us. I don’t know how coincidental it is, but for five games we were in a slump and he was out of the lineup every game. All of a sudden, he returns and we win."

Every point in the standings is critical now for UMass-Amherst. They have a remote chance of taking playoff home ice, but also could be one of the bottom two seeds, drawing UNH or BU in the first round.

"No matter what, we can’t fear anybody," said Mallen. "If it’s BU or UNH, that’s fine. But the fact is that we’ve played very well against Providence, BC, Lowell and Merrimack. They’ve all been tight games. To put ourselves in the position to go to one of those places or perhaps have them have to come to us, that would be huge."

The Minutemen now face two games with a Maine squad that has played excellent hockey since Shawn Walsh’s return. Of the four remaining UMass games on the docket, three are against the Black Bears.

"It seems like right now they’re surging forward," said Mallen. "That loss against Merrimack must have hurt a little bit, but it seems that all the pieces are back into place and they’re playing a real good brand of hockey. Any time you face one of Shawn’s teams, you’re going to see a real well-organized and well-executed game plan.

"The one thing they have right now is a lot of speed, and in a big rink that should be an interesting matchup. But they have proven they are a beatable team this year. They aren’t undefeated. We’ve just got to play our best game."

PICK: Maine 5-3 and 5-4.

Merrimack (11-16-1, 7-10-1 HE) vs. Boston College (11-15-3, 7-9-3 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA Saturday, 7 p.m., Volpe Center, North Andover, MA

BC lost 4-2 to Providence before their Beanpot championship game against arch-rival BU. The Friars, a tough team to beat under coach Paul Pooley in the last months of the season, may have also caught the Eagles glancing ahead to their Monday night game.

That title contest against BU turned into an epic battle. The Eagles seized a 2-0 third-period lead only to have the Terriers rebound within seconds and soon knot the game at 2-2. A breakaway goal, BC’s Achilles’ heel all season long, decided the contest.

"Greg [Taylor] gave us every chance in the world to win the hockey game," said coach Jerry York after the game. "But our other players did too. Our forwards and defense did everything necessary to give us a chance to win the Beanpot, but we just had a miscommunication that sent Pierce in for the [breakaway]. We had a chance to win it against an excellent hockey team, certainly one that deserves to be ranked in the top five or six teams in the country.

"I’m disappointed, of course, because we lost the game, but certainly not disappointed in anything else but the play that lost us the game…. Our goal is to win the Beanpot and we didn’t do that so we’re disappointed in that respect, but not in the effort we had.

"Our team is becoming a better team, but we still have a ways to go in a number of areas. There’s improvement in this team but we’re still a little bit away from being a championship-level team. Tonight’s game was a championship-level game, but we haven’t been as consistent on the year as I would have liked. But this particular game was a well-played game."

Merrimack has been on a much-ignored roll since the start of 1997. In that time they’ve gone 7-4, including the only losses Maine has sustained during that same stretch. They continued that with a 7-2 win over Northeastern on Friday night, but then hit a 9-4 brick wall against Providence.

"To be honest, I thought we played better on Saturday night," said coach Ron Anderson. "Friday night I thought we played pretty casual in the first period, but fortunately for us we got some breaks and capitalized on their mistakes.

"Against Providence, we outshot them 42-28. We played well offensively, but our whole team just didn’t play well defensively and they executed when we made mistakes. The forwards didn’t pick people up on the backcheck very well. We didn’t do a very good job in the neutral zone. Our D had trouble controlling players down low. And our goaltenders didn’t give us a real outstanding effort. That’s not meant to be negative. Providence just played well, took it to us, and we’ve just got to be ready to go at it again this Friday."

On a positive note, senior Rob Beck scored his 100th point in the Providence game. "Robbie’s been a stellar performer for us for four years," said Anderson. "If anything, he’s been the model of consistency both from an offensive and a defensive point of view. It’s a tremendous credit to him and the kind of kid he is. The fact that he’s a dean’s list student and a two-year captain just speaks volumes about the value that he brings to our program."

Providing silver lining in the lopsided loss’s cloud was freshman Cris Classen playing in the nets in the third, his first full period of action. With Martin Legault and Eric Thibeault both graduating next year, Classen could go a long way in determining the Warriors fate next year. Although he allowed two goals on six shots, Anderson was happy with Classen’s work.

"I think he’s fine," said Anderson. "[He’s been] in a tough situation because there hasn’t been a lot of ice time because the other guys played so well. Through his work in practice, though, he looks fine. He’ll be able to step right in and help us next year . When we’ve gotten him into games, he hasn’t looked nervous or jittery at all. He’s stepped right in and played well."

Like any Beanpot viewer, Anderson sees some very strong components to the BC squad.

"They’ve got some awfully skilled players, up front in particular," he said. "They have the ability to beat you with their goal scorers and the ability to beat you with their goaltending. We’re going to have to play well in both ends of the rink. Their forwards are very opportunistic and if we make mistakes, they’ll be all over them. "We have to try to get back to a solid defensive game and eliminate our mistakes. And we’re going to have to work very hard in the other end because they’ve got an outstanding goaltender in [Greg] Taylor and we’re probably not going to get any easy goals."

PICK: BC makes it four sweeps around the league this weekend, 6-2, 4-3.

Northeastern (7-20-2, 2-17-1 HE) at Army (15-11-2, 1-10-2 vs. aligned D-I) Saturday, 7 p.m., Tate Rink, West Point, NY

Northeastern had posted a string of one-goal defeats early in January which had at least been encouraging. Recently, however, they’ve showed signs of unraveling with lopsided losses of 7-1 to UNH and 7-2 to Maine and Merrimack. Aside from a win over UMass-Amherst and a well-played loss to BC in the Beanpot opener, the Husky ship appeared to be taking on water. A 2-0 win over Harvard in the Beanpot consolation game, however, was a positive boost.

"It was a nice win coming off the Merrimack game on Friday [which we lost 7-2]," said Crowder. "We played well defensively and stuck with our system, a lot like we did last Monday night, only this week we didn’t break. The kids played hard and we got some good goaltending.

"We’ve had a lot of things go against us this year. It’s nice to be on the other end of a close game.

"We played really good team defense as a unit of six. It’s something we’ve been preaching all year. It was nice for the coaching staff to see that level of defensive commitment."

Freshman Marc Robitaille recorded his third shutout of the season, setting a school record. Considering the team’s meager seven-win total, the mark becomes an impressive achievement. At season’s end Robitaille will battle UNH’s Sean Matile for a spot on Hockey East’s All-Rookie team. Although his statistics can’t hold a candle to Matile’s, they reflect to a great extent their status on last- and first-place teams.

Crowder has been forced to experiment with new faces on the blue line. Forward Jonathan Calla spent several games there before moving back up front. Brad Mahoney, the senior transfer from Maine, not only moved back to D four weeks ago but is now part of their top-four rotation despite never having played the position before.

In the win over Harvard, Justin Kearns rebounded from a Crowder-imposed seat in the stands against Merrimack to score and assist on the two goals. Although Kearns escaped Mahoney’s game disqualification punishment during the penalty spree that buried the Huskies at the end of their Beanpot opener, Crowder took a stand against the lack of discipline and also benched Kearns, his leading scorer for the Friday night game.

Army has split their last four games. They dropped both games against D-I conference teams, 4-3 against Yale and 8-1 to Union. They also beat Canisius 7-4 and Royal Military College, their Canadian counterpart, 7-3.

The two wins achieved Cadet milestones. The win over Royal Military marked Army coach Rob Riley’s 200th in his career. The win over Canisius was his 150th at Army. The Army-Royal Military contest, touted as the oldest continuous international rivalry in sports, was the 66th meeting of the two teams.

Going into the Canisius game, Frank Fede (36 points) led Cadet scoring. Andy Lundbohm (30), Greg Buckmeier (29), Bill Morrison (26), Joe Sharrock (25), and Anthony DiCarlo (23) follow. Although goaltender Daryl Chamberlain’s statistics (3.65 goals against average and .877 save percentage) suffer in comparison to his in previous years, they reflect Army’s tougher schedule this season.

PICK: The Huskies get a much-needed win 3-2.

No. 3 New Hampshire (23-6-0, 16-3-0 HE) at Maine (18-10-1, 10-7-1 HE) Tuesday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

(These two teams are profiled above.)

PICK: UNH wins the shootout, 7-6.

Dave Hendrickson is the Hockey East Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1997 Dave Hendrickson . All Rights Reserved.

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ECAC Grab Bag

By Adam Wodon
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Red Lines

Cornell head coach Mike Schafer continues his reputation as a “stickler” for the rules. Once again, Schafer caught an opponent using an illegal stick, and in fact did it twice in an attempt to comeback against Vermont during last Saturday’s battle for first place.

It almost worked, too, as the Big Red rallied from a 6-1 deficit, only to lose 7-5. But in the process, Schafer irked Vermont head coach Mike Gilligan, who thought Schafer was getting carried away. Ironically, Gilligan is chairman of the NCAA Rules Committee.

Eye on RPI

Scott Prekaski had a remarkable game two weeks ago against Harvard. The freshman goalie, who is a leading candidate for league Rookie of the Year, let the first two shots he faced go by, then stopped the next 64 in a row for a 5-2 win. That, however, was far short of the league record for saves in a game. The record is held by another RPI goalie, Dick Greenlaw, who stopped 78 shots against Boston University in the 1964-65 season.

Knight Moves

Clarkson coach Mark Morris decided to move freshman defenseman Philippe Roy to center for last Saturday’s game against RPI, and it paid off as Roy scored his first two collegiate goals. Roy was teamed on a line with fellow freshmen Matt Reid and Carl Drakensjo.

“I played defense all my life, but things happen,” said Roy. “There’s a reason I guess. The best thing I can do is keep working and do like I did (Saturday). Our frosh line, like we’re called, is clicking pretty good and I’m real happy right now.”

Tigers Tales

Princeton seems to have secured a player with the potential to be a consistent game-breaker, something the team has lacked since the graduation of Andre Faust in 1992. Chris Corrinet is a 6-foot-3 right wing from Greenfield, Mass., currently playing for Deerfield Academy. Corrinet was ranked 23rd in the New England Hockey Report Fall Rankings of College-Eligible Seniors, and would have been higher if not for some caveats.

For example, Corrinet missed most of this season after breaking an ankle playing football in November. Also, at times Corrinet doesn’t apply all of his skills. But, if it weren’t for these things, Princeton might also not have gotten him. According to Chris Warner, editor of NEHR, “If Corrinet can improve his first step and add intensity to his game, he could be one scary player.”

The person in charge of most of the recruiting effort for Corrinet is Princeton assistant Len Quesnelle, a former defenseman for the Tigers who’s been an assistant since graduating in 1988. If you listen to St. Lawrence head coach Joe Marsh, Quesnelle is a good candidate for any head coaching opening.

“Lenny’s done a tremendous job,” says Marsh. “He’s one of the most underrated guys in college hockey. He has a lot of respect among other coaches. He’s very professional; coaches like him. He’s not out there badmouthing people or any of that.”

NCAA Denies Maine’s Appeal

By Deron Treadwell
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The NCAA has denied the University of Maine’s appeal of postseason sanctions on the Black Bears hockey program, the university announced Thursday.

In a written statement, Maine President Frederick Hutchinson said that the decision “brings to an end a very difficult period for the entire university community.” He said the decision “adds nothing new to what had previously been said or known, except closure.”

The NCAA applauded Maine for its cooperation with investigators, including its self-report and how quickly the school corrected and cleaned up its compliance system.

In contrast, the Appeals Committee also said that the conduct of head ice hockey coach Shawn Walsh offset the good work done by the university and directly led to the decision to uphold the penalties the NCAA handed down to Maine on July 31.

Hutchinson expressed disappointment that “there was no indication given in that [July] report that the addition of penalties by the NCAA was related to Shawn.”

“Had that position been part of the committee’s official report in July, it likely would have influenced our decision to appeal the post-season ban [for 1996-97],” said Hutchinson.

In December of 1995, the University of Maine suspended Shawn Walsh for one year without pay for his role in NCAA violations and removed itself from consideration from the 1995-96 NCAA Tournament.

On July 31, the NCAA added to the penalties by imposing a postseason ban on the hockey team for the 1996-97 season, and also stated that the one-year suspension of Walsh was sufficient for his part in the rules violations. The NCAA also added to scholarship reductions Maine imposed on itself in December of 1995.

Walsh was not available for comment, but in a written statement Walsh said that he was relieved it is over. He noted that “at no time did I feel we would win the appeal.”

Walsh said that, as far as he’s concerned, his team’s playoffs begin Friday night with a pair of games at UMass-Amherst.

Maine Director of Athletics and Recreation Suzanne Tyler said she “respectfully disagrees” with the NCAA’s ruling, but doesn’t regret any decisions.

“Looking at the evidence, I still think we made the right decision,” Tyler told WZON radio. “I really thought we were right and that right would win. We are just moving ahead.”

Maine has six games remaining in its season, starting with two at UMass-Amherst this weekend. Maine then returns home to close out its 1996-97 campaign with games against No. 3 New Hampshire on Feb. 18, two games against No. 4 Boston University on Feb. 21 and 22, and one game against UMass-Amherst on March 1.

Tyler said late last year that Hockey East had passed a rule last summer that said if a member school was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, it would also be ineligible for the Hockey East Tournament.

NCAA Eases Restrictions On College Hockey

By Adam Wodon
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Two proposals aimed at easing recruiting restrictions on ice hockey coaches passed at the recent NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tenn.

Propositions 102 and 103 were hockey-only proposals that passed with little difficulty in a vote by school presidents. All presidents were allowed to vote, but, for the most part, only the presidents of hockey-playing schools participated.

Prop. 102 is the more substantial of the two, and passed against the opposition of the NCAA Rules Committee. It allows schools to make one phone call to each prospect from a foreign country during July after their sophomore year of high school.

The proposal doesn’t go into effect until Aug. 1, 1997, which means it will have no impact until July of 1998, for the recruiting year 2000.

The proposal was sponsored by the ECAC and received the overwhelming endorsement and support from the American Hockey Coaches Association.

The NCAA, for the first time, recognized the unique situation in college hockey; that the Canadian Major Junior system provides direct competition to schools. Basketball and football, for example, faces no such competition. Junior age is 16-20, which means many prospective student-athletes are contacted by and committing to major juniors before ever hearing from a U.S. college.

“I endorsed it,” said Yale coach Tim Taylor. “There’s nothing wrong with us letting them know about our system. It’s a step in the right direction.”

The coaches see Prop. 102 as a long-time coming, but convincing school presidents and the NCAA that the idea was not just for self-interest, but also in the best interests of the student-athlete, took some time.

“When you ask coaches, all along they’d like to have 25 phone calls,” said NCAA spokesperson Stephen Mallonee. “But it’s the presidents of the university. And we’re in a mode now of cost reduction and cost-cutting and not unduly bothering the prospects.

“So it’s a little more difficult than you think, and usually the sports that get the breaks are football and basketball.”

Most coaches see this as only the first step. The ability to contact American-born sophomores is also crucial, they say, as the Major Juniors continue to expand their reach further and further south.

“Junior teams can get into their living rooms (early),” Taylor said. “If a 15- or 16-year old is very good, agents go around and say to sign with them. They say it’s a quick ticket to the pros. Nobody tells them they are forfeiting the possibility of a scholarship.”

The NCAA committee was concerned about bothering prospective student-athletes too early, and said that one phone call will not make that much of a difference.

But as one observer noted, “It’s not just one call. If [Miami’s] Mark Mazzoleni calls, and [Boston University’s] Jack Parker calls, and [Michigan State’s] Ron Mason calls, and so on, that will help.”

Prop. 103 allows coaches to have more flexibility with their seven recruiting opportunities. Previously, coaches were restricted to no more than four evaluations (watching a player in a game) and three in-person contacts. The three contacts limit still applies, but coaches may now make up to seven evaluations, as long as the total of contacts and evaluations doesn’t exceed seven in one year.

This Week in the ECAC: February 7, 1997

By
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ECAC Preview: Jan. 31-Feb. 3, 1997 by Jayson Moy

The color red. On this weekend of Chinese New Year, it symbolizes good fortune. One wears red to bring good luck to oneself and one’s family.

Oh yes, one more thing. Red is also the primary color of the two teams situated in first place in the ECAC standings — Cornell and RPI. Those two will need all the fortune they can get when they take to the ice and try to hang on to the lead this coming weekend.

It was a wild weekend in the ECAC, with Cornell and RPI emerging atop the standings. Both teams swept their opponents: Princeton and Yale, and Harvard and Brown, respectively — the first time since November that both swept an ECAC weekend.

Vermont won the rematch with Clarkson, and with another victory on Saturday against St. Lawrence, the Cats reached third place. Princeton’s win on Saturday over Colgate helped it remain tied for third place. Clarkson’s split this weekend left the Golden Knights in fifth.

ECAC Standings

With only six points separating the league’s top eight teams, every contest is an exciting one. The marquee matchups this week occur on Saturday: first, the USCHO Game of the Week, RPI at Clarkson, and then Cornell at Vermont.

We also have our first possible playoff clinches this week. If RPI and Cornell can get a combination of four points involving Yale and Dartmouth, both teams are in.

RPI (14-7-3, 9-3-2 ECAC, T-1st) and Union (13-9-2, 6-6-2 ECAC, T-7th) at St. Lawrence (9-15-2, 4-8-2 ECAC, 9th) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Appleton Arena, Canton, N.Y.

Union (13-9-2, 6-6-2 ECAC, T-7th) and RPI (14-7-3, 9-3-2 ECAC, T-1st) at Clarkson (16-8-0, 9-5-0 ECAC, 5th) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m. – 7 p.m., Cheel Arena, Potsdam, N.Y.

RPI is in a tie for first place, after a weekend sweep of Harvard and Brown, 5-2 and 6-1 respectively. On Friday, the Engineers let Harvard get out to a 2-0 lead 1:25 into the first period.

"We spotted them two goals on the first two shifts of the game," said head coach Dan Fridgen. "I thought we did a good job of chipping away and not losing our composure.

"Even though its tough playing comeback hockey, it happened so early in the game, you just gotta realize there’s a lot of the game left and just chip away."

RPI came back to win it, and freshman goaltender Scott Prekaski made 64 consecutive saves in his ECAC Rookie of the Week performance, his second of the season.

Saturday was nothing like Friday, when RPI jumped on the board with an Eric Healey goal 12 seconds into the game.

"I thought, right from the drop of the puck, the guys were ready to play the game," said Fridgen. "It certainly showed."

Healey moved up to third in the ECAC scoring race with five points on the weekend. Among those were his 50th career goal and 100th career point.

Meanwhile, Union came from a 2-0 deficit of its own, this one in the third period, to defeat Brown on Friday night, 4-2.

"We’re happy we could come from behind to get a victory," said head coach Stan Moore. "We haven’t done that all season long." The next evening, Union trounced Army 8-1.

"We decided to squeeze five periods of hockey into three periods," said Moore. "We only played 15 solid minutes of hockey the night before."

This coming weekend will be Moore’s first North Country trip as a head coach.

"It’s my home area," said the Massena, N.Y. native. "It will be delightful to go back there.

"I remember watching games at Walker and Appleton when I was a kid," he reminisced about the old Clarkson rink and St. Lawrence’s rink. "It’s a toss-up as to which has the best atmosphere."

Union’s opponent Friday is Clarkson, the school where his father, Stan Moore Sr., played hockey.

Against the Golden Knights, the younger Moore is hoping for a goaltending game, and he might just get it, since Trevor Koenig and Dan Murphy are two of the statistical leaders in the ECAC.

St. Lawrence jumped on Dartmouth 6-1 on Friday, and endured its second one-goal loss to Vermont the night after.

"It was a great hockey game," said head coach Joe Marsh about the Vermont matchup. "In the first two periods, we couldn’t have played any better. It would have been nice to get a couple of points from the game [though]."

Marsh knows that this weekend will be a tough one.

"RPI’s had a phenomenal year," he said. "They’re capable offensively. Union is a very tough team. They’re strong, physical and they have great goaltending."

"Hopefully we’ll emphasize the positives from last weekend," said Marsh. "It’ll be whether we’re able to muster some offense. We’re spreading out our scoring pretty well, but we have to emphasize defense first. We’re also not really burying them either.

"I think we’re a better team than our record shows."

The Golden Knights of Clarkson were also victims of Vermont this past weekend.

"It was their turn," said head coach Mark Morris. "(Tim) Thomas was sensational, he was dynamite. We dominated the game. We stole one there (a 2-1 win two weeks ago at Vermont), they stole one here."

Clarkson then rebounded with a 6-4 win over a pesky Dartmouth squad.

"Saturday we came out flat," said Morris. "After we got on the scoresheet, we seemed to come alive."

Clarkson shut out RPI 4-0 in the teams’ first meeting, and were upset by Union 2-1.

"(Union’s) got a strong club with their 12 seniors," said Morris. "We have three seniors that play regularly, and some of our younger guys have to keep their heads.

"RPI’s going great; they’ve turned things around. There’s no doubt that they’ll be a sharper club this time around.

"We’d like to continue to play solid hockey, and there’s no doubt we’d like to get other guys (than Todd White and Chris Clark) into the scoring."

PICKS: RPI at St. Lawrence: This game has traditionally been low-scoring at Appleton. With either Scott Prekaski or Joel Laing in net facing Clint Owen, it could be again. RPI 3 St. Lawrence 1

Union at Clarkson: These two battled to a 2-1 game at Achilles Rink. As Stan Moore points out, what you hope for you don’t always get. This one will be high-scoring, and Clarkson has the edge there. Clarkson 7 Union 5

Union at St. Lawrence: This is where the goaltending game will occur. With Appleton as the arena, and atmosphere playing a role, the teams battle to a tough tie. Union 2 St. Lawrence 2

RPI at Clarkson: One of the marquee matchups on the ECAC agenda this week, as the two highest offenses in the ECAC go after each other at Cheel. RPI has only won once in the 90’s in Potsdam, but are 1-1-1 at Cheel Arena. RPI has also not swept a series in the North Country since 1984-85, the Engineers’ last NCAA championship season.

But Todd White is a force, and it’s up to RPI’s defense to hold him down. RPI has already defeated Vermont and Cornell on the road, so the crowd may not be a factor. Also, Clarkson has a better road record than a home record. Which way to go with this one? Everything points against RPI. Clarkson 4 RPI 3

Cornell (12-5-4, 9-3-2 ECAC, T-1st) and Colgate (13-10-1, 7-6-1 ECAC, 6th) at Dartmouth (9-11-1, 4-9-1 ECAC, T-10th) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Thompson Arena, Hanover, N.H.

Colgate (13-10-1, 7-6-1 ECAC, 6th) and Cornell (12-5-4, 9-3-2 ECAC, T-1st) at Vermont (17-6-1, 9-4-1 ECAC, T-3rd) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, Vt.

Cornell’s weekend sweep of Princeton and Yale vaulted the Big Red into first place for the second time this season, and they did it by getting contributions from many different players.

On offense, Keith Peach had two goals in the 4-2 win over Princeton. On defense, it was Jean-Marc Pelletier earning his first career shutout, making 28 saves in the 5-0 win over Yale.

Earlier in the year Cornell swept Vermont and Dartmouth, 6-4 and 6-3 respectively. This time around, the Big Red head to Vermont and Dartmouth for the weekend.

The Big Red have not lost to Vermont in the Cathouse since the 1990-91 season, and not in Hanover since the 1992-93 season. Cornell is 5-2-3 in its last 10 games and 4-0-2 the last three seasons on this road trip.

Colgate managed two points this past weekend, defeating Yale 5-2, but losing to Princeton by the same score. Mike Harder had a goal and two assists against Yale, but was held pointless against the Tigers.

This weekend the Red Raiders go to Gutterson Fieldhouse, where they have not scored a goal in two years. In the last two games at the Cathouse, Colgate has been shut out, 7-0 and 3-0, victims of Vermont goaltender Tim Thomas.

Dartmouth was swept on the weekend by St. Lawrence and Clarkson, 6-1 and 6-4 respectively.

"Friday we did not play well," said head coach Roger Demment. "We had trouble getting the right skate on the right foot.

"We played a good game on Saturday," he added, "But they scored on the power play when it we had a 2-0 lead. Three of the six goals were on tip-ins or deflections."

Dartmouth heads home this weekend, to play during its annual Winter Carnival.

"Playing in out home rink is good," Demment said. "It’s Winter Carnival weekend, and the crowd should be excited. In our own rink, playing the way we do there, we certainly have to play defensive hockey, and if we can, we’ll get a couple of points.

"Solid defense is what we’re after," he added. "We’re giving up too many goals. We thought we’d have trouble scoring this year, but that hasn’t been a problem."

The Big Green have scored 49 goals in ECAC play, but have given up the second-most in the league: 63.

"This was the first time I can remember sweeping this trip," remarked Vermont head coach Mike Gilligan, on the wins at Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

There’s good reason for that: it was the first time it has ever happened. Never before have the Catamounts swept the Golden Knights and Saints on the road.

Gilligan is feeling better about his team while it climbs the ECAC standings.

"We’re making fewer unforced errors than we were," he said. "Even though we may spend a lot of time in our own end, I’m a lot more comfortable with it than I was at the beginning of the year."

Cornell and Colgate are on the Cats’ docket this weekend.

"Cornell has good balance, and good team defense," said Gilligan. "And with Mike Harder (of Colgate) I won’t try to get my fourth line get caught out there against him."

PICKS: Cornell at Dartmouth: Cornell will find a way to score against Dartmouth — actually, the Big Red always seem to find a way to score. Cornell 5 Dartmouth 3

Colgate at Vermont: Colgate will find a way to score at Vermont, too, but not enough. Vermont 6 Colgate 3

Colgate at Dartmouth: Can Dartmouth play the defense to stop Mike Harder? Colgate 5 Dartmouth 2

Cornell at Vermont: Four balanced lines to throw at the French Connection. If Cornell can slow down the neutral zone, it can shut them down. Vermont 4 Cornell 2

Yale (7-13-2, 4-10-1 ECAC, T-10th) at Harvard (7-11-2, 6-7-2 ECAC, T-7th) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Bright Hockey Center, Cambridge, Mass.

Yale dropped a pair this past weekend to Colgate and Cornell.

The Bulldogs have continued to struggle to get scoring in the ECAC; in their six league games in 1997, they have only managed 10 goals. Included in this total is a five-goal performance in a win over Dartmouth, Yale’s only ECAC win in 1997, and two shutouts.

Speaking of trouble scoring goals, the Crimson of Harvard came back after a three-week layoff with a good performance against UNH:five goals. Harvard also started strong against RPI, scoring two goals in 1:25 to open up the game, but failed to hold on to the lead. In the Beanpot against BU, Harvard scored one goal.

Despite this, head coach Ronn Tomassoni feels good about his club.

"What I liked about my players tonight is that we’re gaining more and more confidence," he said after Friday’s game at RPI. "We’re playing well. We think we can play with anyone, [and] this team’s ready to go on a roll."

PICK: On paper, this looks like a low-scoring affair. The two teams battled to a 2-2 tie earlier this season. Yale 2 Harvard 2

Princeton (14-6-2, 9-5-1 ECAC, T-3rd) at Brown (5-15-2, 2-12-1 ECAC, 12th) Saturday, 2 p.m., Meehan Auditorium, Providence, R.I.

Princeton lost its first-place standing after falling to Cornell on Friday night. The Tigers responded with a 5-2 victory over Colgate the next night.

"We did not play well against Cornell," said head coach Don Cahoon. "We looked like a team that was off for 20 days, but that’s not an excuse.

"I have to applaud the kids on Saturday. They realized they did not play well and made a concerted effort on Saturday."

Princeton is at a slight disadvantage, only playing one game this weekend. That game in hand might put the Tigers further back in the standings if they do not get points.

"All we’ve got to do is the best we can do," said Cahoon about the single game.

Brown is in last place, and continues to fight adversity. The Bears lost Adrian Smith to a knee injury against Union. They also lost Tyler Garrow to injury. The Bears have seven games left to try to make the playoffs.

"Brown is fighting for their lives," said Cahoon. "We’ve been in that situation before, and you can only go out and take care of things."

PICK: Brown tied Princeton earlier this season, but without Smith, the offense loses one of its hottest players. Princeton 4 Brown 1

The Beanpot — Consolation Game Harvard (7-11-2, 6-7-2 ECAC, T-7th) vs. Northeastern (6-19-2, 2-13-1 Hockey East, 9th) Monday, 5 p.m., Fleet Center, Boston, Mass.

No one likes to play in a consolation game, especially the consolation of the Beanpot.

Northeastern broke a string of seven straight consolation games with a victory over Harvard in the semifinals last year. Also, Harvard is in its third straight consolation game, and is looking for its first victory in seven games in the Beanpot.

These two teams have met once this season already, with Harvard winning 4-3.

PICK: Will there be scoring here? Both teams were 1-1 going into the third period in the Beanpot semis before letting it get away. Therefore, the third period will be the key. Harvard 3 Northeastern 1

Hold onto your hats, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages. Three weeks to go, and everybody is even in games played. Troy, Princeton, and Ithaca are the cities of note next week.

Next week in the ECAC:

Friday, Feb. 14: Clarkson at Princeton St. Lawrence at Yale Dartmouth at RPI Vermont at Union Harvard at Cornell Brown at Colgate

Saturday, Feb. 15: Clarkson at Yale St. Lawrence at Princeton Dartmouth at Union Vermont at RPI Harvard at Colgate Brown at Cornell

Jayson Moy is the ECAC Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jayson Moy . All Rights Reserved.

Return to Feature Articles Return to News and Recaps Return to US College Hockey Online

Simply the Best

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He broke in on the goaltender. Mano a mano. He dipped one shoulder. The goalie reacted in kind.

His head and shoulders moved the other way. The goalie fought to recover. The dekes came in layers. The puck danced. The hands moved like a pickpocket’s. Head and shoulders dipped first one way and then the other, a blur of fake and counter-fake.

And then at some point Chris Drury’s competition ceased to be the sprawling figure in the crease and became the legends of past spectacular Beanpot goals. With the goaltender safely deked into the cheap seats, Drury painted the final brush stroke and the puck hit twine.

Da-da-da. Da-da-da.

Nationwide television, frequent celebrant of the Velvet Elvis in sport, hung Drury’s Mona Lisa in ESPN’s SportsCenter gallery. The rarity of the honor paid tribute to his 1996 Beanpot artistry.

That wasn’t the first time Drury caught the attention of those outside of college hockey. As a 12-year old, he electrified the sports world by pitching his Trumbull, Conn., team to a Little League World Series championship against staggering odds.

“The feeling was unbelievable,” says Drury. “We weren’t even supposed to be there. No one from our town had even won a game in the state tournament, so once we won a couple there we’d exceeded everyone’s expectations.”

He and his best friends from Trumbull didn’t stop there, though. They beat a heavily-favored team from California and ultimately squared off against a Taiwan squad considered virtually unbeatable.

“We weren’t even supposed to last a couple innings against Taiwan,” says Drury. “From the second inning on, it seemed like the crowd kept getting louder and louder, thinking that maybe these kids had a chance. It was just a great feeling to get the last out and realize our dreams.

“It gave me a taste of what winning was like at a young age. It made me want to get back there again.”

Drury didn’t taste success again on the national level, however, until he starred on the U.S. Select-17 hockey team that competed in Japan. When he was chosen MVP of a silver medal-winning team that beat Canada, it completed a remarkable turnaround in his hockey fortunes.

Unlike many collegiate stars, Drury didn’t pump in hundreds of goals as a youngster. “I was always the shortest player,” Drury says. “I was pretty clumsy and chubby when I was growing up, so I didn’t really do too much until I was about 14 or 15 years old.”

He began listening to his older brother, Ted, then an All-American at Harvard. When Ted came back from national training camps, he had a captive audience.

“He’d tell me what to eat and how to get stronger and faster,” says the younger Drury. “I listened to a lot of the stuff that he said. I’d ask him a lot of questions and just try to emulate what he was doing.”

At 16 he was invited to Colorado for the Select-16 tryouts, but didn’t come close to making the squad. A year later, the results were different. Countless 20-yard sprints, plyometrics, and competing in a league with collegiate players completed the transformation of the clumsy and chubby 14 year old with no serious hockey future into the Select-17 team MVP.

“That summer was the biggest improvement that everyone saw in me,” says Drury. “When I was 16, I was still slow and wasn’t really sure of myself. I was kind of in awe of the whole situation. When I was 17, I was a lot quicker and more confident. It was really satisfying that I set my goals and I reached them.”

Earlier that year, however, luck hadn’t seemed on Drury’s side. He broke a wrist playing hockey, taped it up and kept playing until the season ended. X-rays showed not only the break, but a need for surgery. The injury washed out his baseball season, one in which his team advanced to the state semifinals.

For a kid who’d always loved the sport, the forced sabbatical stung. Worse, it came during his junior year of high school, baseball’s prime recruiting period. The lost season, and his success on the Select-17 team that followed it, for all practical purposes decided which sport he would pursue in college.

Winning the Little League World Series and watching his older brother play in championship games on TV convinced Drury that he wanted no part of rebuilding programs.

“I wanted to have a chance to win it each year,” he says. “I didn’t want to have to wait until I was a senior. I knew that if I came to BU, I’d have a chance to make the lineup in my freshman year and hopefully have the chance to win a national championship.”

So BU coach Jack Parker added Drury’s name to a group that already included Jacques Joubert, Mike Grier, Jay Pandolfo, Mike Prendergast, Shawn Bates, Chris O’Sullivan and Rich Brennan. Surrounded by that cast, Drury initially got lost in the crowd.

“I was definitely frustrated until about Christmas,” Drury says. “I knew they had a lot of really great players, but I also wanted to contribute. I guess around Christmas or a little bit after I found my role. I was third- or fourth-line center at that point, and I just knew that every night I had to play good defense and maybe chip in a little bit of offense.

“I talked to my brother. He knew we had a good team and knew I had to play my role that year, and that things would work out in the future. He always had confidence in me and kept me upbeat in that situation.”

The team got out of the gate fast, leveled off, and then went on a tear right around the Beanpot.

“It seemed like it was all planned out,” says Drury. “Everyone knew [their roles]. We knew we had a good shot after going to the title game the year before; when we won the national championship, it was the biggest thrill of my life.”

Drury finished the season with 12 goals and 15 assists. Not bad for a third- or fourth-liner, but not up to his expectations. In the off-season he built up his strength and continued to work on explosive speed.

His scoring took off in his sophomore year; he finished with 35 goals and 32 assists. Drury earned a host of distinctions: Hobey Baker finalist, All-Hockey East, Beanpot MVP, NCAA East Regional All-Tournament.

Drury credits his emergence to a series of factors, but two gave him his biggest boost.

“I probably wouldn’t be here in this situation if it wasn’t for [BU strength and conditioning coach] Mike Boyle and all his explosive work and strict training,” Drury says. “It transfers onto the ice so well.”

Parker’s words of encouragement proved the other key.

“When someone of his stature says, ‘You’re doing a good job, keep it up,’ that goes a long way,” says Drury.

Despite his personal success, the season proved disappointing. The Terriers explosive offense led the nation with 236 goals and was a major factor in their midseason number-one ranking. But Providence upset BU in the Hockey East semifinals and Michigan dismantled them in the NCAA semis.

In the offseason Drury drove himself to take his game to the next level. The Terriers’ loss in the postseason was one motivator. Another was his experience at the World Junior Tournament.

“It was pretty humbling,” he says. “We played a lot of great teams like Canada and Sweden and Finland. Most of those guys are bigger and stronger and faster. It just made me realize how much harder I had to work.”

This year the scoring burden, which missed him completely as a freshman, and which he shared with players like Pandolfo, Grier and O’Sullivan last year, falls squarely on his shoulders. On a team bereft of depth up front, Drury often has to carry the load with little help.

“I don’t really see it as pressure,” he says. “It’s fun. It’s a challenge, just knowing that maybe some people out there think [that I’m the only one scoring.] Obviously I want to come every night and contribute, but we have many other players on this team who can score. Obviously it’s not just me.”

Despite his words, BU’s record speaks volumes. When Drury gets points, the Terriers are 15-1-5. When he’s shut out, they’re 0-5-0.

One game typifies his dominance this season. In December he dismantled arch-rival Boston College with four goals. Afterwards, BC coach Jerry York, who has a pretty fair player named Marty Reasoner on his squad, said of Drury, “He’s just above everybody else in Hockey East.”

Significantly, two of Drury’s four goals came during critical short-handed situations for BU. The first was during a BC five-on-three man advantage; the second, in the middle of a five-minute major. After the game, Parker talked about Drury’s greatness.

“As good a player as he is, I can’t remember having a kid who competes as hard as he does every time he’s at practice,” said Parker. “The only guy that comes close to him is a kid who played a long time ago, Jack O’Callahan.

“That’s what makes Drury so great. He’s a real talented player, but he’s a fabulous competitor.”

As the nation’s leading goal-scorer, Drury has had to adjust to extra defensive attention. For the first time since high school, teams are shadowing him.

“It doesn’t make for a fun game,” he says. “It’s tough to get going. Every time you try to move your feet, the other guy is grabbing you, or sticking you or jumping on your back. It’s frustrating. I’m just going to have to keep moving my feet.”

“If you’re standing still, you’re a pretty easy target to cover. But hopefully, what’ll happen soon is that other kids on this team will take off. Obviously, there’s the potential for that to happen. And once that happens no one’s going to care about me anymore.”

Drury dismisses compliments about his consistency, based on his scoring or assisting in 26 of 31 games last year and, shadowed or not, 21 of 26 this year.

“[Consistency] really doesn’t have anything to do with points,” he counters. “I just go out each night and try to work as hard as I can. If that happens, then you’ll get points and play well. But I don’t think the two go hand-in-hand. You can get points and play terrible. I think that’s a big misconception, at least in college hockey. People automatically assume that if you have points you’re playing well, and I don’t think that’s the case at all.”

Drury also isn’t about to rest on his laurels. “I think I need to get a lot better at a lot of things,” he says. “I need to get faster, stronger, quicker, and be able to pass forehand and backhand better. There’s nothing that I couldn’t get better at.”

For now, he’s focusing only on the games at hand. When asked about his expectations for this year’s postseason, he just laughs and says, “I’d just like to win on Friday.”

Drury, a third-round draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, might be expected to feel that he has little left to prove in the college game, and could skip his senior year.

Shrugging his shoulders, he instead says matter-of-factly, “[It’ll be] another year of eligibility and another year of hockey here at BU. I look forward to that.”

The sounds you hear are opposing coaches and players groaning and rubbing their suddenly-throbbing temples. They feel a headache coming on — and it’s gonna be a big one.

This Week in the WCHA: February 7, 1997

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WCHA Preview: Feb. 7-8, 1997 by Scott Brown

The playoff picture in the WCHA is simultaneously a little clearer and a little muddier than it was last week. The North Dakota Fighting Sioux staked their claim to the top spot in the conference, sweeping the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Grand Forks, ND, 6-4 and 6-2. With arguably the easiest schedule remaining among the contenders, the Sioux are now the unquestioned favorites for the WCHA regular-season title and the corresponding NCAA tournament bid.

The Gophers, who had briefly led the conference, now find themselves in a dogfight for playoff position. Although all 10 WCHA teams make the playoffs, only the top five earn home-ice advantage in the first round; and with seven teams still in the hunt for home ice, the five-six and four-seven matchups in the first round could be rough for all involved. Finishing in the top three in the conference is therefore advisable, to gain a (presumably) softer first playoff series.

Its pair of wins last weekend gives UND 33 points, a three-point cushion on the teams tied for second: Minnesota, Colorado College and Wisconsin. Right behind those three are fifth-place St. Cloud (29 points) and number-six Denver (28). If the playoffs were to start today, Denver would have a road series against SCSU, despite a 12-8-4 conference record.

A fading Minnesota-Duluth squad is in seventh place with 24 points, but the Bulldogs are still well ahead of Alaska-Anchorage, Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech, the bottom three teams in the WCHA. But these teams, as well, are showing some life. Although Northern Michigan was swept at Denver over the weekend, Tech earned three points versus UMD and Alaska-Anchorage nearly pulled off two ties in Madison against the Badgers before settling for one point out of four.

Matchups for this week, coming right up. Drum roll, please…

No. 10 Colorado College (16-10-2, 14-8-2 WCHA) at Wisconsin (14-12-2, 14-8-2 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI

Playing a Saturday-Sunday series against St. Cloud last weekend, the Tigers won the opener, 4-2, but lost a chance to move into sole possession of second place when the Huskies claimed the recap, 5-4. In the first contest, the Tigers took advantage of two goals from Scott Swanson, including the game-winner, and fine netminding from Judd Lambert (13-8-1, 3.16 GAA, .884 SV%) to earn the victory. The next night, Swanson added two assists in the loss.

The offense from Swanson was especially welcome; he has been caught in a scoring drought this season, and his numbers (3-10–13) are down from his stellar freshman campaign, when Swanson had 39 points on eight goals and 31 assists.

"I’ve felt relaxed for about the last month," Swanson said. "I’ve been playing with confidence, and when I play with confidence I do a lot better. It was a big monkey off my back to get that first goal, and hopefully they’ll keep coming. [But] as long as the team does well and plays well defensively, I don’t care if I score or not."

Sunday’s defeat meant that the Tigers are now only 5-5-1 in their last 11 games, although two of those defeats were nonconference losses to New Hampshire and Michigan State. Nonetheless, with games against Denver and Minnesota following Wisconsin, the Tigers will need their second-rated offense (4.25 goals per game in league play) to keep it up. That means further contributions from Stewart Bodtker (12-17–29, five game-winning goals) and league scoring leader Brian Swanson (12-26–38, 12-22–34 WCHA).

Meanwhile, Wisconsin was fortunate to escape with three points last weekend against UAA. The Seawolves, with head coach and former Badger Dean Talafous, jumped out to a 2-0 lead before two goals by Joe Bianchi (13-15–28) tied it up.

Wisconsin played the same kind of game the next night, spotting Alaska-Anchorage a 3-1 lead before Yuri Gusak (4-4–8) and freshman Dustin Kuk (5-17–22) scored, making it a 3-3 tie at the end of regulation. Gusak’s goal was his second of the game. Bianchi then played the hero again, scoring the game-winner with a scant two seconds left in overtime.

Last week’s WCHA Defensive Player, Kirk Daubenspeck (12-10-2, 3.62 GAA, .888 SV%), made 48 saves on 53 shots during the two games. However, team scoring leader Brad Englehart (15-15–30) was held without a point, and the Wisconsin power play went 0-for-4 on the weekend.

The Badgers have been a surprise this season, last weekend’s performance notwithstanding. But head coach Jeff Sauer is harboring no illusions about his team’s likelihood of overtaking the Sioux.

"We’re in good shape, better than where people predicted us to be," Sauer said in Tuesday’s St. Paul Pioneer Press. "But I don’t think we or anyone else will catch North Dakota."

Pick: The Tigers looked good against St. Cloud, one of the league’s top teams, while the Badgers struggled against little-regarded UAA. But don’t forget the Dane crowd. UW 5-4, CC 5-2.

Michigan Tech (6-19-4, 3-17-4 WCHA) at No. 2 North Dakota (19-7-2, 16-7-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 8:35 p.m. CT, Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks, ND

Michigan Tech hits the road on a high note. Not only did the Huskies end their school-record 19-game winless streak, they did it in style, with a win and a tie against Minnesota-Duluth at MTU’s Winter Carnival. It was the first time this season that Tech has earned as many as three points in a WCHA series.

Much of the credit for that success has to go to goaltender Luciano Caravaggio, the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week. Caravaggio made 65 saves on 69 shots against UMD, raising his save percentage to a league-leading .906 in WCHA play. Caravaggio was also named Winter Carnival MVP for his efforts.

Michigan Tech also got contributions from team scoring leader Andre Savage (10-12–22 WCHA), who scored the first goal Friday and assisted on John Kisil’s game-winner, and Jeff Mikesch, whose eighth goal of the season was the eventual game-tying score Saturday.

On the other side of the coin, however, defense continues to be a problem for the Huskies, who have allowed the second-most goals (94) in WCHA play this year. That might help explain why Caravaggio’s league-best save percentage translates into a 3.38 goals-against average — placing him tenth in the league in that category.

First-year head coach Tim Watters was reflective afterward. In Tuesday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune, Watters said, "We’re close in many games, but we have to start scoring on our chances," adding that a sharper offense could help generate further success for his team.

Things are looking up for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, also. Way up, in fact — up to the conference championship and the NCAA tourney in March. The Sioux’ home sweep of Minnesota put an indelible stamp on the rest of the regular season: this is now the team to beat.

And that’s going to be no easy feat, the way UND looks right now. Not only do the Sioux feature the top offense in the WCHA (4.63 goals per game in league play), they’ve gotten even better over the last few weeks, with 48 goals in their last 10 games. WCHA Offensive Player of the Week Jason Blake scored five goals against the Gophers, including a hat trick Saturday, to give him 17 for the season. Matching that total are Blake’s 24 assists, for a team-leading 41 points overall.

"I know Coach [Dean Blais] was counting on me to show up this weekend. That’s all I focused on all week. I just came out with all the focus and desire in the world," said Blake in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"He was supercharged the whole weekend," added Blais.

The sophomore scorer has plenty of help. Dave Hoogsteen (16-22–38), Ian Kallay (15-19–34), Kevin Hoogsteen (12-18–30) and Jay Panzer (12-18–30) are all among the WCHA scoring leaders, and Adam Calder (5-14–19) scored two goals, including the game-winner, on Friday.

Making matters worse for their opponents, the Sioux seem to have found a capable backup for number-one goalie Toby Kvalevog. Freshman Aaron Schweitzer played both games against Minnesota, and has now won all five of his starts in net this season. On the weekend, Schweitzer held the Gophers to six goals on 51 shots to earn Rookie of the Week honors.

Picks: Though the Huskies have picked it up a notch, North Dakota is on a mission. UND 5-1, 6-2

Denver (16-8-4, 12-8-4 WCHA) at Minnesota-Duluth (14-12-2, 11-11-2 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, DECC, Duluth, MN

The Pioneers continued to roll last weekend, crushing Northern Michigan, 5-1 and 6-3 at the DU Arena. Since a 1-4-0 start in the WCHA, Denver has gone 11-4-4 to climb into the title chase, not to mention the race to the NCAA tournament.

Goaltender Jim Mullin has been a big part of Denver’s run. Although Mullin is only 6-4-4 in WCHA play this year, his 2.66 GAA is far and away the best in the conference, and an .899 save percentage isn’t too bad, either. Mullin has been splitting time with freshman Stephen Wagner (6-4-0, 3.31 GAA, .887 SV% in WCHA play), but got the call for both games against NMU and responded with 56 saves in 60 shots over the two-game series.

Denver’s snipers lit up the Wildcats for 11 goals on the weekend, as Paul Comrie (12-13–25 WCHA) totaled three goals and an assist. Anders Bjork added three assists and Antti Laaksonen two goals.

Unfortunately for head coach Mike Sertich, the Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth are heading in the opposite direction from the Pioneers. UMD is winless in its last four contests, and 1-4-1 in its last six. Consequently, the Bulldogs have fallen well off the pace in the WCHA, and are now fighting to stay alive in the race for first-round home ice.

Simply put, the Bulldogs’ problem is scoring. Although the defense, led by their Rookie of the Year candidate, goalie Brant Nicklin (14-11-2, 2.96 GAA, .902 SV%), has given up only 22 goals during the six-game skid, the offense has scored only 16 goals in that span. Brad Federenko (7-10–17) scored a pair of goals last weekend, but those were the only even-strength scores the Bulldogs could muster against last-place Michigan Tech.

Similarly, though the Bulldog penalty-kill held Michigan Tech to a 1-for-15 weekend, and managed one shorthanded goal to boot, the power play was itself only 1-for-9. Team scoring leader Mike Peluso (15-15–30) was held to a single assist against Tech, on Ken Dzikowski’s (11-17–28) Saturday game-tying goal.

Picks: Minnesota-Duluth has got to turn it around this weekend, if the Bulldogs are to have any shot at home ice. But Denver’s not exactly going to lay down for them. UMD 3-2, DU 3-1

Northern Michigan (9-19-2, 5-18-1 WCHA) at No. 6 Minnesota (18-10-0, 15-9-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, MN

The Wildcats of Northern Michigan, with five WCHA wins, have already matched last year’s total, and there’s reason for (guarded) optimism in Marquette, MI. NMU is heavily loaded with freshmen talent, including centers Bud Smith (8-14–22) and Roger Trudeau (10-5–15), and wings J.P. Vigier (8-9–17) and Tyson Holly (8-3–11).

However, the real production from that group is one or two years away, and in the meantime the Wildcats have some problems. Northern has been outscored 102-52 in WCHA play — almost a two-to-one margin — and are last in the conference in power-play conversions (12.1 percent).

Number-one goalie Dieter Kochan (5-11-1, 4.25 GAA, .879 SV% WCHA) is the only netminder in the conference who has averaged over one save per two minutes in league play. In layman’s terms, Kochan is getting shelled by opposing shooters: 610 shots on goal in 18 games he has played.

Minnesota is another team looking forward to next year. Although the Gophers are still highly-ranked and theoretically still in the fight for the regular-season title, their hopes were diminished by North Dakota, which swept them last weekend, 6-4 and 6-2.

Like NMU, the Gophers are a comparatively young team, especially on defense. Captain Mike Crowley (4-28–32) leads a Gopher squad top-heavy with freshmen and sophomores, and that inexperience has shown at times this season, particularly against aggressive offenses. Minnesota gets back some veteran leadership this weekend with the return of injured defenseman Brian LaFleur (6-9–15 in 16 games), who was the leading scorer among the Gopher D when he got hurt.

Minnesota’s usually-potent O could use a little help. Although Rookie of the Year candidate Dave Spehar (10-16–26) scored in both games in Grand Forks to extend his streak to 13 games, sophomore winger Erik Rasmussen (12-8–20) has cooled off considerably from his early-season performance. Picking up the slack somewhat have been Reggie Berg (7-16–23), who was injured early in the year; Ryan Kraft (14-11–25), who leads the team with seven power-play goals; and Casey Hankinson (10-16–26).

In net, Steve DeBus (15-9-0, 3.31 GAA, .886 SV%) was peppered last weekend by the Sioux, making 75 saves for the series. Unfortunately, he also gave up 12 goals, including five in the third period Saturday, when the UND offense scored virtually at will on a dispirited Gopher team. DeBus, who was vocal in his unhappiness with his teammates’ performance last weekend, will presumably have less trouble with the low-scoring Wildcats this weekend.

Picks: The Gophers should be hitting on all cylinders back at Mariucci. The Wildcats, though improving, are no match for the home team. UM 5-1, 6-3

St. Cloud (16-9-3, 13-8-3 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (8-15-3, 6-15-3 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. AT, Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, AK

When St. Cloud beat Colorado College last Sunday at the National Hockey Center, it was the first time that had happened during CC head coach Don Lucia’s tenure. The win also kept the Huskies close; they are currently only four point behind the first-place Sioux, and one point out of a second-place tie.

In fact, SCSU may just have the best chance to catch North Dakota. Although there’s a lot of teams to climb over, the Huskies have only one series remaining against a top team (Wisconsin), and that matchup is in St. Cloud.

Although the Huskies are only sixth in the WCHA in goal-scoring (league games only), they did a creditable job against Colorado College. After being thoroughly outplayed Saturday, and losing 4-2, the Huskies came back to gain the split the next afternoon. Dave Paradise (15-18–3), Mike Rucinski (4-8–12) and Mike Maristuen (4-8–12) all had two-goal weekends, while scoring leader Sacha Molin (14-20–34) had four assists and Matt Cullen (10-18–28) scored the game-winner on Sunday.

Junior Brian Leitza (12-4-0, 3.10 GAA), who has been splitting time with sophomore Tim Lideen in net, played both games against CC. Leitza was a bit shaky, giving up several big rebounds in Saturday’s loss, but managed to hold CC below its season scoring average nonetheless.

Meanwhile, the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves have been making their mark on the WCHA this season. Despite a modest record that includes losing streaks of six and four games, the Seawolves have pushed solid teams to the limit on occasion this season: among their record, one finds wins against North Dakota, Colorado College and Denver.

Last weekend, UAA gave a rising Wisconsin team all it could take — and in Madison, no less. The Seawolves used solid goaltending (Doug Teskey made 60 saves on 66 shots), discipline (six penalties for 12 minutes on the weekend), and a quality penalty-kill (4-for-4 in kills over two games) to take the Badgers to overtime both nights.

The Seawolves gained only one point for their troubles — a 2-2 tie on Friday — but have to be optimistic about their chances for next season. Although David Vallieres (6-17–23 WCHA) will be graduating after this year, Teskey (6-9-3, 3.17 GAA, .898 SV% WCHA) is only a sophomore, and head coach Dean Talafous appears to have his guys sold on the prospect of a successful program. The question, of course, is how long that will take.

Picks: Alaska-Anchorage is traditionally tough at home (although they’re only 4-9-1 at Sullivan Arena this year), but St. Cloud looks good, and they’re playing for more than pride. SCSU 4-2, 4-3

Next Week in the WCHA:

Friday, Feb. 14 Denver at Colorado College Alaska-Anchorage at Michigan Tech Minnesota-Duluth at Minnesota North Dakota at Northern Michigan

Saturday, Feb. 15 Colorado College at Denver Alaska-Anchorage at Michigan Tech Minnesota-Duluth at Minnesota North Dakota at Northern Michiga Wisconsin at St. Cloud

Sunday, Feb. 16 Wisconsin at St. Cloud

Scott Brown is Features Editor for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Scott Brown. All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in the CCHA: February 7, 1997

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CCHA PREVIEW: Feb. 7-8, 1997 CCHA Preview: Feb. 7-8, 1997 by Paula C. Weston

It’s crunch time in the CCHA, and each game this weekend will be an exciting game to watch.

Michigan held on to first place, easily defeating Ohio State and Bowling Green last week. With 34 points in 19 games, the Wolverines will be difficult to catch.

Second-place Lake Superior is going to try to gain some ground on the Wolverines in head-to-head combat. The Lakers took two from Notre Dame last weekend, keeping pace with the Wolverines. The Lakers have 31 points in 22 games; if they are going to make a move, their single game with Michigan this weekend is a good place to start.

The Spartans of Michigan State would also like to catch their arch-rivals. The Spartans lost a controversial game to Western Michigan in overtime last Saturday, and beat Notre Dame Tuesday of last week. The Spartans have also played 19 games, but they have seven fewer points than the Wolverines. Michigan State plays Western Michigan and Michigan this weekend.

The Bowling Green Falcons are spreading their wings and making a run for home ice in the CCHA. The Falcons, who lingered near the bottom of the standings most of the season, have climbed to fifth place in the CCHA with 19 points. Bowling Green played two nationally-ranked teams last week, and came away from the weekend with a point, a 2-2 tie with Miami. This weekend the Falcons host the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks.

Western Michigan is right behind Bowling Green in the standings with 18 points. The Broncos had a pair of wins last weekend, beating Michigan State 3-2 in a contest marred by several game disqualifications, and Ferris State 6-4. Western Michigan meets both teams again this weekend.

With 15 points in 21 games, nothing is guaranteed for the seventh-place Ferris State Bulldogs. The top eight teams in the CCHA make the playoffs, and the Bulldogs let the ninth-place Buckeyes get the better of them in the season series this year, so every point counts. Ferris State meets Western Michigan in the Bulldogs’ only game of the weekend. They lost to the Broncos last weekend.

Eighth-place Notre Dame hosts ninth-place Ohio State in what should be a dandy series in South Bend. Each team has played 20 games; the Irish have 11 points, and the Buckeyes ten. Both teams lost two last weekend, but Notre Dame has beaten Ohio State once this season in conference play.

The University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks make their final road trip of the season, traveling to Bowling Green for two games. Tied for ninth with the Buckeyes, the Nanooks need these points for the playoffs. After this series, the only remaining conference games for the Nanooks are three home games with Ferris State.

Miami is idle this week.

What a weekend of college hockey! Not a bad game in the bunch.

Last week’s record in picks: 6-4 Overall record in picks: 75-53

No. 1 Michigan (25-1-3, 16-1-2 CCHA) vs. No. 8 Lake Superior (18-9-4, 14-5-3 CCHA) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

This is the first conference matchup between the Wolverines and the Lakers. Michigan has beaten the Lakers twice this season; the first was a non-conference game in October, and the second was the title game of the Great Lakes Invitational in December.

Each team won two games last weekend. Michigan beat a pair of Ohio teams

by the same score: 6-1 over Ohio State Thursday, and 6-1 over Bowling Green last Saturday. Lake Superior beat Notre Dame at home, 6-3 and 4-0, sweeping the Irish for the year.

"Bowling Green played well," says Michigan coach Red Berenson. "It was a good game. We scored some key goals at the right time in the second period, which has been our weakest period. We had home ice advantage, too.

"Bowling Green is a different team now. They were a young team when we played them earlier this season, but they’re a more experienced team now."

The Lakers are just three points behind Michigan in the CCHA, but Michigan has three games in hand. Fans can expect to see a typically-physical Lake Superior game against a Michigan team that looks unbeatable.

Berenson says he has great respect for the Lakers. "When these two teams play, it’s close hockey. Both teams at times look like they have an edge, and then the other team takes the edge away."

Lake Superior is "hosting" the game, which is being played in Detroit. "I guess I’d rather play them at Joe Louis than at Lake State," says Berenson.

This will be a good, tough game between two teams with legitimate chances of taking the title.

PICK: Michigan 5-3

Michigan State (16-8-3, 12-4-3 CCHA) at Western Michigan (11-12-4, 7-8-4 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Lawson Arena, Kalamazoo, MI

A cynic who saw last week’s Spartans-Broncos game might call this one a grudge match.

The official story is that Western Michigan beat Michigan State with one second left on the clock in overtime, but Michigan State head coach Ron Mason has said that he doesn’t think there was any time left on the clock. Mason is also unhappy with the way the goal was scored — immediately following a face-off that he doesn’t think was set up by the book.

In any case, Western Michigan was engaged in a little post-game celebrating on the ice when activities of another kind began. Conflicting stories abound about who started the fight, but it was definitely a fight — the bench-clearing kind — and five Broncos and six Spartans have the game disqualifications to prove it.

Center Joel Irving, left wing Matt Addesa, goalie Peet Moseley, and defensemen Brendan Kenny and Geoff Collard were the Bronco honorees. All sat out last Saturday’s game against Ferris State, and all will be back for this game except for Collard, who will miss a second game because this was his second DQ of the season. Earlier this season, he and Spartan Tony Tuzzolino exchanged glances, and then some.

Tuzzolino was not one of the Spartans who brawled this time around. Defensemen Tyler Harlton and Jeff Kozakowski, left wingers Bryan Adams and Mike Watt, and goaltenders Chad Alban and Mike Brusseau each received game disqualifications as a result of the fight. Since this game is the first one the Spartans will play since the penalties were assessed, all six will miss this game against the Broncos.

All six — including the starting and backup goaltenders. So, who’s going to mind the net for the Spartans?

It looks like Mike Gresl, a redshirt freshman, will be in goal Friday night. Mason didn’t want to play Gresl, who will, in effect, lose one year of eligibility by playing. Mason insisted that the decision was up to Gresl, that Mason wouldn’t force him to play.

"He actually came up to me and asked to play, and I said fine," said Mason. "He’s a 20-year-old, with sophomore credits in school, so he won’t be losing a lot."

NCAA rules state that each team must suit up two goaltenders for each game, and the Spartans have only three on the roster. Mason has approached sophomore Jim Sexsmith, a goalie for the Michigan State club team, about filling the vacancy this weekend. Sexsmith is eligible to play, but the necessary NCAA paperwork may not go through in time for Friday’s game. If Sexsmith can’t suit up for the game, Mason says he’ll have to put the pads on a forward or defenseman currently on the roster.

So what about the actual game between the Spartans and the Broncos?

"We lost our two top goalies, our two top defensemen, and Mike York," says Mason. "It’s going to be interesting to see how we battle against those defensive losses."

Mason says that he doesn’t think his players will have revenge on their minds. "I think that all of them have been through this, coming up through the juniors, so it won’t affect them."

Western Michigan head coach Bill Wilkinson agrees. "I think everybody’s geared up to play. We’re looking forward to playing hockey. Retribution isn’t really part of college hockey. That sort of intimidation may be part of the pros, but we just want to play hockey."

In their last five games, the Broncos have fared well against top-ten teams, tying Michigan and Lake Superior, and beating Michigan State. "We want to continue to win," says Wilkinson. "Any time you continue to win, it’s a bonus to your team’s confidence."

Both coaches expect a trouble-free game. Quips Mason, "It will probably be one of the cleanest games played this year."

PICK: Western Michigan 5-3

Ohio State (7-22-0, 5-15-0 CCHA) at Notre Dame (8-19-1, 5-14-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Joyce ACC, South Bend, IN

After a bench-clearing brawl, a mere fight for a playoff spot pales in comparison. In spite of the lowly status of the Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish, this is the series to watch this weekend.

The Buckeyes are tied for ninth place in the CCHA with Alaska-Fairbanks; each team has ten points. That puts the Buckeyes just one point behind the Irish, and that makes for some great hockey.

"I think everyone’s fully aware of what these games mean," says Irish head coach Dave Poulin. "It’s the season in a microcosm."

The Irish have dropped four of their last five, and three of those losses were in-conference. Two were shutouts, the most recent being the final game last weekend in Lake Superior’s season sweep of the Irish.

"We played real well on Friday," says Poulin. "We were 3-3 with a couple of minutes to go." Then the Lakers scored three goals in less than three minutes, late in the third period.

Poulin says that Lake Superior’s experience made the difference in the second game. "Saturday night was a veteran game. [Irish captain Terry] Lorenz put it in the net accidentally.-There wasn’t a Laker in sight and we never recovered from that."

The Buckeyes lost 6-1 to Michigan last Thursday, and 6-4 to Miami Saturday. Buckeye head coach John Markell says he was happy with his team’s efforts in Saturday’s game.

Poulin expects very competitive games. "I know the Buckeyes are playing really well. Everybody says so. They’re playing patient, defensive hockey."

Markell doesn’t see the series against Notre Dame as "must-win." "No, not really," he says. "We’ll take it one game at a time. We know what we have to do."

Both coaches agree that home-ice can be the edge in this series. "It’s their advantage," says Markell. "They’re in their own rink."

"I think playing at home will make a difference," says Poulin. "Both games are sell-outs, and it should be a terrific weekend of college hockey."

The Buckeyes are capable of generating offensive chances, having outshot all of their recent opponents except for Michigan. If the Buckeyes can learn to put the puck in the net, and if Buckeye goaltender Ray Aho continues to play well, and if the Buckeye defense gives Aho some help, then the Buckeyes will have a chance to get the points they need. That’s an awful lot of ifs, though.

These may be the neediest two teams in college hockey right now. "It’s going to be two hungry hockey clubs," says Markell.

PICKS: Notre Dame 4-3, Ohio State 6-4

Alaska-Fairbanks (9-19-0, 5-17-0 CCHA) at Bowling Green (13-12-3, 8-10-3 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH

Ohio State and Notre Dame aren’t the only hungry teams in the CCHA. Tied with the Buckeyes for ninth place in the CCHA, the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks have only five conference games left in which to make up the difference and secure a playoff spot.

"They’re a desperate club," is how Bowling Green head coach Buddy Powers defines the Nanooks. "We’ve been making that point pretty clear to our players here."

Alaska-Fairbanks head coach Dave Laurion doesn’t sound that desperate. "We’re reasonably healthy," he says. "We’re looking forward to getting back into conference play. We need to get at least a point. Realistically, we need more."

Each team is experiencing a rebound of sorts. So far in 1997, Bowling Green is 5-2-1, and four of those wins are conference wins. One of the losses is last week’s 6-1 loss to Michigan, and the tie is last week’s, against Miami.

"Well," says Powers, "Michigan played a real good game, and if Michigan plays real well and you don’t, you lose."

Alaska-Fairbanks has won its last four games, all non-conference. Last weekend the Nanooks took two from Air Force. "We’ve played well," says Laurion. "It’s nice to get in some non-conference wins against strong teams. It helps our confidence. We played some aggressive games, which is good. We know Bowling Green is aggressive."

The teams have met once before this season, a 7-4 home win for Bowling Green. Laurion knows that Bowling Green has improved as the season has progressed. "Certainly they’re a better team than when we played them before. They’ve got talent. We’ll have to play our best to win."

Powers isn’t taking this series for granted. "Every game is going to be life or death for UAF, Notre Dame and Ohio State," says Powers. "Those teams are going to play tough. UAF just took a couple of games from Air Force, so they’ll be coming in here in a pretty good frame of mind.

"Whether you’re Michigan and you want points to take the division, or Lake or Miami, or if you’re the teams trying to make the playoffs, every point counts."

With 19 points, Bowling Green is in fifth place behind Michigan State. Even though it would be difficult to catch up with the Spartans and their 27 points, don’t tell the Falcons it’s not worth trying.

PICKS: Bowling Green 6-3, 5-3

Michigan (25-1-3, 16-1-2 CCHA) vs. Michigan State (16-8-3, 12-4-3 CCHA) Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

This is the third and final meeting in regular-season play for the Wolverines and the Spartans, and it’s the rubber game of the match. The Wolverines owe their only conference loss to the Spartans, and both teams will be playing for pride as well as points.

"Typically, in our games with them, goaltending has been a big factor," says Michigan head coach Red Berenson. "If they’re clicking with their power play, their power play can keep them in a game. And they have the best penalty-killing unit in the CCHA."

Berenson says that records mean little when it comes to the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry. "They have some good forwards. I don’t know if they’ve met some good goaltending or if they’ve had an offensive slump lately. It doesn’t matter; – you can put all that aside when Michigan plays Michigan State. It’s a competitive series."

Michigan State head coach Ron Mason says that Michigan is the number-one team in the country for good reason. "They’re living up to everybody’s expectations. It doesn’t surprise anybody that they are where they are. It’s a great challenge, and it’s certainly a game we look forward to."

Six Spartans will be well-rested for this game after serving game disqualifications Friday. The Spartans who do play Friday night will have to pick up some slack, and that concerns Mason. "Some guys will be asked to play very hard Friday night, and that may affect Saturday’s game."

This game is scheduled at Joe Louis Arena every year, and both coaches know it’s a good way to showcase college hockey. "It’s an opportunity for fans who can’t usually get tickets to either team’s home games to see the game," says Berenson. "Each team will be well-represented by its fans."

PICK: Michigan 3-2

Western Michigan (11-12-4, 7-8-4 CCHA) at Ferris State (11-18-2, 7-13-1 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Ewigleben Ice Arena, Big Rapids, MI

These teams met last Saturday, and Western Michigan got the better of it, by a score of 6-4. "We came out flat," says Ferris State assistant coach Drew Famulak. "We were 2-1-1 against nationally ranked teams, then we just came out flat."

Western Michigan head coach Bill Wilkinson sees it a little differently. "They came out and scored right away, and we answered right away. That took something away from them."

The Broncos were without five players serving game disqualifications for brawling with the Spartans the night before. Wilkinson said that the quick goal in response to Ferris State was just what the Broncos had to have.

"We needed that boost. The game the night before drained us a little bit, and getting that goal right after they scored helped us in the game."

Wilkinson knows the Bulldogs will be playing hard. "They’ll play a lot more enthusiastically than they did in our building."

"Every point now counts now because of the playoffs," says Famulak. "We’re just looking to make the playoffs."

PICK: Western Michigan 6-3

Paula C. Weston is the CCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Paula C. Weston . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in Hockey East: February 7, 1997

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Hockey East Preview: Feb. 7-10, 1997 by Dave Hendrickson

It’s another dream matchup for the Beanpot — Boston University and Boston College in the title game. Even the moribund Fleet Center might hear some noise for that one.

Lost in the Beanpot publicity bonanza has been the resurgent play of not only a dominating UNH squad but more notably, a Merrimack team which is now earning respect around the league. The Warriors are 7-4 since Christmas and could still achieve home ice.

But the key for all the teams clustered in the middle of the standings is not home ice, but the playoff pairings: the lowest two qualifiers face New Hampshire and Boston University. Get out the golf clubs in that case. But all other potential matchups could conceivably go either way. Maine, if eligible, and Boston College would be favorites, but far from prohibitive ones. Home ice amounts to gravy on the potatoes of avoiding the two powers until the Fleet.

Last week’s record in picks: 6-3 Season record in picks: 101-58

The Beanpot: Championship Game No. 4 Boston University (15-6-5, 12-2-3 HE) vs. Boston College (11-13-3, 7-8-3 HE) Monday, 8 p.m., Fleet Center, Boston, MA WABU-68

"We’re going to have a tough game against BU," said Boston College netminder Greg Taylor before BU’s semifinal game had even started. Such is the nature of the BU-BC rivalry. Upon hearing a few knowing chuckles, the cool senior added without batting an eyelash, "If they’re the ones that end up being victorious."

The comment symbolizes the bone-deep rivalry between the two schools.

"I don’t know what it is," said BC captain David Wainwright, "but that team … they bother me. I’m really looking forward to playing BU."

BU’s Matt Wright made it clear that the feelings were very mutual.

"It’s always like BC is on your back," said Wright. "Once you settle that, you can move on to the rest of the season. It’s like there’s the Beanpot, the Hockey East playoffs, the Finals, and then there’s BC. It’s like its own tournament. No matter how many times we beat them, if they beat us once it’s all forgotten."

The Terriers will go with Tom Noble in net, following Michel Larocque’s performance in the 7-1 semifinal win over Harvard. Larocque will play against UMass-Amherst on Friday.

"It’s very simple," said Parker, when asked about the secret to BU’s "Beanpot Magic." The Terriers will be appearing in their 13th championship game in the last 14 years, and 30th in 34.

"Ricky Meagher, Mike Eruzione, Peter Brown, Tony Amonte, Shawn McEachern, Chris Drury, Shawn Bates…. We have very, very good players every year. Fortunately for us, when I foul the team up, it’s usually in December and we get straightened out by the time the Beanpot comes around."

"I always say that if the Beanpot were held in late November or December, we wouldn’t be nearly so successful. But sooner or later we figure out what we have to do, and we are blessed with real good players and they get the job done.

"Not only is it the talent, but it’s also the type of kids we get. They want success, but they also know how to handle it. The best part about my job is that our best players, our most-skilled players, our most important players, 99 percent of the time have also been our best players character-wise. That’s a great thing to have. Chris Drury is an example of that."

Parker recently moved longtime defenseman Shane Johnson to forward. This has given the Terriers four full lines for one of the few times all season. The team has responded with well-distributed scoring, with six and seven different goal scorers in their last two games, including Johnson against Harvard.

"[Shane] has played defense for us all four years," said Parker. "Two weeks ago we moved him to forward because we thought we needed more determination up there. But he’s given us a lot more talent than we thought. Not only is he playing hard, but he’s a real clever player."

On the other side of the ledger stands Boston College, which beat Northeastern 4-1 to advance to its third title game in the last four years.

"Our senior class has a chance to win two Beanpots in their four-year tenure," said BC coach Jerry York. The Eagles beat Harvard 2-1 in overtime in 1994.

"That would really be an accomplishment. I’m really excited about being in the finals. Our team, despite our won-loss record, is potentially a very dangerous team.

"Our skating is the key to our game. If we skate well, I think we can play a high level of hockey. But defensively and offensively we still have to shore up a lot of different areas. Our faceoffs need some work, and we’ll work on that. Our ability to make plays three-on-two and two-on-one is something that we’re getting better at, but I don’t feel that this is a finished product by any means."

One focal point of BC strength is the newly-constructed top line of Marty Reasoner, Jeff Farkas and Blake Bellefeuille, all of whom played in the recent World Junior Tournament.

"The ability of Chris Masters to be a center [on our third line] and also the play that [second-line center] Jamie O’Leary has had, has enabled us to put Blake, Marty and Jeff (all centers) all on the same line," said York. "They have a tremendous amount of skill and when they use each other they become a very, very effective line."

Farkas, who is making a late-season Rookie of the Year surge following his return from the junior tournament, earned Hockey East co-Rookie of the Week honors with Providence’s Fernando Pisani. The league bestowed the award on Farkas based on his two goals and two assists against Maine. He then added a goal and an assist against Northeastern.

"Jeff Farkas has been on fire," said Wainright. "He’s gotten at least a point in every game [since returning from the junior tournament]. He’s having a lot of fun out there."

Reasoner, Farkas, and Bellefeuille also comprise an integral part of the Eagle power-play unit which adds freshmen Mike Mottau and Kevin Caulfield.

"For most of the year, we’ve had a fine power-play unit," said York. "But where we’ve had problems is on the penalty kill. For a variety of reasons we just haven’t been able to defend very well when we’re down a man…. I feel very good about our power play. And I feel better about our penalty kill. We’ve had to rely on Greg [Taylor] to be our PK guy for too long."

Boston College’s occasionally-suspect defense played well against Northeastern, but faces a sterner test in BU. Their propensity for giving up the breakaway could be exposed by Drury, Bates and company. Taylor bails them out time after time, but this game could turn on how many times he’s asked to.

Wainright, who picked up a game disqualification against the Huskies, will sit out the Friday night game against Providence, but will return against BU.

PICK: Although this marks Boston College’s best chance for a Beanpot in years — much better than when they won it in 1994 — BU’s defensive superiority wins out 3-2. Greg Taylor will be heroic even in defeat.

The Beanpot: Consolation Game Harvard (7-12-2, 6-7-2 ECAC) vs. Northeastern (6-19-2, 2-16-1 HE) Monday, 5 p.m., Fleet Center, Boston, MA

This contest could come down to a battle of freshmen netminders, Harvard’s J.R. Prestifilippo and Northeastern’s Marc Robitaille. Both have played well all season long and made big saves in the Beanpot semifinal before succumbing to superior opponents in the third period.

"He’s been simply outstanding," said Harvard coach Ron Tomassoni about Prestifilippo. "He’s played way beyond our expectations. We thought he was going to be very good, but he’s given us the opportunity to win almost every game we’ve been in. That’s all you can ask from a goaltender."

"We’ve been a team that has struggled over the season to score goals. We’ve been only scoring about 2.5 goals a game, but [until the loss to BU] been only giving up 2.7. So we’ve played pretty good defense and he’s a pretty big reason why. He’s a talented boy. He’s very competitive and he’s very tough mentally. He’s mature beyond his years."

"He’s a goalie that is always focused," added Harvard captain Ashlin Halfnight. "I’ve never seen anybody work as hard as he does in practice. It’s always a battle, and he always wants to stop every single shot."

Also pivotal for the Crimson will be their much-maligned power play and offense in general. Going into the Beanpot, Tomassoni had waxed optimistic, based on recently scoring six goals against RPI and five against UNH, two very good teams. But BU shut down the Crimson offense and sent Tomassoni back to the drawing board.

Harvard ranks as the youngest squad in Division I hockey. With 17 of their 26 roster spots claimed by freshmen and sophomores, they boast an average age of 19.6 years old.

Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder complimented his own freshman duffel bag, despite Robitaille’s giving up a soft goal that turned into the game-winner for BC. "The kid played tremendous," said Crowder. "It was just a shame to see a goal like that beat him."

What Crowder found even more shameful was the onslaught of penalties that iced his own team.

"I was proud of the way the guys played for the first forty-seven minutes," said Crowder. "They gave it their all. They played hard. It was a 1-1 game and anything could have happened at that point. The thing I’m extremely disappointed in is the way my team handled themselves late in the third period.

"We took the game out of our hands. We maybe had a chance to come back and wound up getting into a penalty situation. It was a lack of discipline. We killed penalties for the last five minutes instead of trying to [get back in it]. Hey, we were only down by two goals. That’s something that’s going to be handled."

Crowder recognizes the limitations of his last-place squad.

"The kids we have here are the kids that we have here," he said. "The only thing we can do is keep a positive spin as much as possible on everything that happens. I can’t call Jack [Parker] or Jerry [York] and make a trade for the playoff run. What I have is what I have. I’ve got a lot of really good hockey players that are playing hard for me, and those are the guys that I want to continue to work with and get this program to where I want it to go."

With a 6-19-2 team and no Beanpot championship to light a spark, could the Huskies roll over and die?

"Not my teams," said Crowder. "There’s a lot of question marks going into ’97 and ’98. Guys have seven or eight games left to make the most of that opportunity, to show this coaching staff what they can do for us and how they can help bring this program along."

Without an abundance of talent, Crowder feels he has fashioned a system to give his squad their best chance of success.

"We’re just trying to keep it simple and eliminate a lot of opportunities for the other team," he said. "We want to just play strong defense, and hopefully get some breaks on neutral-zone turnovers."

PICK: Northeastern 3-2.

UMass-Lowell (13-14-0, 9-8-0 HE) at No. 3 New Hampshire (22-6-0, 15-3-0 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH

New Hampshire is back to grinding up opponents and spitting them out. Last week they demolished Northeastern 7-1 and UMass-Amherst 10-0 after a midweek 7-5 win over Harvard.

"I thought we had a great weekend," said Umile. "We’re moving the puck real well and our specialty situations have gone well. I’m really pleased."

After the 10-0 debacle, UMass-Amherst coach Joe Mallen said, "That tandem of goaltenders with that group of forwards — you get the defensemen and third line just playing their role — and you’ve got a chance at a national championship."

It’s a thought that slid to the back burner during UNH’s recent mini-slump, but is coming full-circle back to the fore. Although coach Dick Umile is still maintaining a game-to-game attitude, he’s measured his team against the competition and likes what he sees.

"We feel we have the personnel that if we get to the Final Four — we still have to get there — but if we can get there we’ll have a very, very good opportunity to win it," said Umile.

"We have a very solid team and we’re improving each week. But those are all the bonuses. You’ve got to go through the league, through the league playoffs, and through the regional. You’ve got to be lucky. You’ve got to be good. I think we have all the pieces. Whether we get there or not, I don’t know. But if we get there, we can compete with anyone."

Eric Boguniecki, part of their great strength at forward, earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors with five goals and four assists in the three games. He now totals 17 goals and 27 assists, good for third in overall league scoring. The Wildcats as a team are now averaging 5.68 goals a game, second best in the country.

"I’ve never seen it this good," said UNH coach Dick Umile. "They move the puck incredibly well. Hockey is a transitional game and once it goes the other way, they know how to pass and execute. They just read off each other extremely well. These guys are very, very talented hockey players. And they’re unselfish. They just know that good things happen if they just stay with it."

Sean Matile has now backstopped the last five Wildcat games. Completely recovered from his problems with medication side-effects, he’ll be The Man down the stretch after beating out Brian Larochelle. His statistics bear out the decision. He leads Hockey East in league games with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.

Lowell could be headed in the other direction. Losers of their last three, the River Hawks dropped below .500 for only the second time this season following losses to Merrimack (4-2), Colgate (5-1) and an 8-2 stinker to Providence.

"As a team we just didn’t have a strong game," said UML coach Tim Whitehead after the loss to the Friars. "All of us had an off night. We stick together as a team [and don’t point fingers]. We’ll get better and we’ll be back.

"We can’t put too much importance on one game. Just like we shouldn’t put too much importance on beating BU, we shouldn’t put too much importance on losing to Colgate or Providence. Obviously we want to get to where we’re playing our best hockey when the playoffs hit. We’ve got seven games before that happens."

Perhaps the young River Hawk team became full of itself after knocking off nationally ranked UNH and BU on consecutive weekends. Although they lost the opener of their home-and-home with UNH 9-4, they came back to beat the Wildcats 7-5 at the Whittemore Center. They then trapped BU for a 3-1 win.

"Nothing’s changed just because we got a couple big wins," said Whitehead. "We’re still the same team we were before. I don’t think so, but perhaps our guys do have false illusions about what team we are. I know that we don’t as coaches. We need all 20 guys playing a great game for us to be successful. That hasn’t changed whether we win or lose. They should understand that by now.

"We have to make sure everyone’s on the same page when we head up to New Hampshire. We’re going to focus on us and improving ourselves. Then we’ll deal with UNH when Friday comes around. Our guys have played them before, we been up there, so it won’t be any shocker."

PICK: New Hampshire 7-3.

No. 4 Boston University (15-6-5, 12-2-3 HE) at UMass-Amherst (11-16-0, 6-12-0 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

UMass-Amherst took it on the chin last week, losing 5-3 to Merrimack before UNH punished them 10-0. They have now lost four in a row and face a gauntlet of tough teams down the stretch.

"We’re a little beat up at this point," said UMass coach Joe Mallen, whose team faced New Hampshire without leading scorer Rob Bonneau and has missed top defenseman Tom O’Connor during their entire losing streak. Both are day-to-day for the upcoming weekend. "This is a bump in the road. It hurts. On the other hand, we just have to get back to work and get healthy.

"We’ve been basically going with five defensemen now for four games. The problem is on the second night when our five defensemen are a little more fatigued. We’re just not that deep on defense right now. I think we’ve got six good ones, but after that the depth just drops off. We don’t really have anyone that can drop back and do a capable job."

Mallen still didn’t totally excuse his team’s poor play in the embarrassment against UNH. His offense failed to score, his defense proved porous, and his two goaltenders allowed 10 goals on 24 shots.

"Our guys did a really poor job on the one-on-ones in tight to the net," said Mallen. "We didn’t get guys’ sticks up and get into the really close coverage that we’ve been working on all year."

Unfortunately, the Minutemen must try to rebound against, of all teams, BU.

"It’s up to me to provide the leadership," said Mallen. "I’m not going to skate them into the ground. I’m going to do the opposite. I’m going to give them a couple days off and then try to regroup. I’ve been at this for 20 years and you can just see when guys are burned out. They need more rest than they need work.

"We’ve been a streaky team all year. We’re in a downward cycle right now but we’re just looking to have one of those upward cycles towards the end of February and the middle of March. And if you do that you can wind up in the Fleet Center and then who knows."

A look at the schedule proves sobering, however. The Minutemen close with three games against Maine, and single ones against BU, BC, and an away game against UMass-Lowell. They could conceivably lose all six, and then face UNH or BU in the playoffs. Not a pretty picture.

Up first is Boston University.

"The one thing is that BU’s in the middle of the Beanpot," said Mallen. "Our closest games with BU have been at this time. We’ve had 4-1 games, which doesn’t sound close, but for us that’s kind of a mental victory."

(BU is profiled above.)

PICK: Boston University struggles not to look ahead to another Beanpot championship, but avoids disaster, 5-3.

Boston College (11-13-3, 7-8-3 HE) at Providence (10-16-1, 7-9-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI

Providence lost 6-2 to BU and then stunned Lowell, 8-2. The Friars are now 4-4 since a seven-game losing streak sidetracked their run at a return to the Fleet Center.

"I thought Friday night against BU we played hard," said coach Paul Pooley after the Lowell win. "We had a lot of chances but we just didn’t cash in. You keep running through that wall and sometimes you don’t get results. Well, tonight we got results."

More results will be needed this weekend since Providence finishes with three games against New Hampshire and two against UMass-Lowell. They, like most other teams in the league, could finish anywhere from third to eighth.

"They’re all playoff games now," said Pooley. "Our league is so tight near the midrange that you have to be ready to play. A game like [the win over Lowell] can move you forward but if you lose it could really set you back."

Their eight goals against Lowell matches an earlier-season high set against Northeastern. For a team that has struggled to score all season, the outburst came at an opportune time.

"It’s a big confidence boost," said Pooley. "Some guys feel that they can’t score no matter what they do."

Freshman Fernando Pisani led the scoring with his first collegiate hat trick against Lowell. Pisani and sophomores Mike Omicioli and Jon Cameron have recently formed the Friars top line and have played well together. Pisani’s outburst gives him 20 points on the season. Hockey East honored the rookie for his accomplishments, naming him co-Rookie of the Week with BC’s Jeff Farkas.

"Coach Pooley has a different system than many coaches around the league," said Pisani about his adjustment to D-I play. "In juniors you don’t see that system around. So it’s mostly getting adjusted to it. Right now I’m a little more comfortable."

After Dan Dennis gave up three goals on eight shots against BU, Pooley yanked his All-Hockey East goalie for sophomore Mark Kane. Unfortunately, Dennis has not always performed at all-league levels this year. Kane played well against Lowell.

"Hey, one of the things for us to get better is that our goaltending has to improve," said Pooley. "Danny’s played some good games for us and Mark has played some good games. Whoever gets hot [will play.] But Mark will definitely play on Friday against BC. He deserves that opportunity."

Kane could have his hands full against the Eagles.

"BC’s just a very, very talented club," said Pooley. "Offensively they’re very scary. The first two times we played them [goaltender Greg] Taylor was really good. The one game up there that we should have won, we had two goals disallowed. I thought that was one of the games that hurt our confidence. We tied it even though we blew the two goal-lead in the last three minutes. But I thought that game should have been out of reach."

(BC is profiled above.)

PICK: The Eagles just can’t get those Terriers and the Beanpot out of their heads, and fall to Providence 4-2.

Merrimack (10-15-1, 6-9-1 HE) at Northeastern (6-19-2, 2-16-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Matthews Arena, Boston, MA

For the first time this season Merrimack took two games on the weekend, going on the road to beat UMass-Amherst 5-3 and Maine 5-4, the latter in overtime. The win over Maine came only after coach Ron Anderson pulled the goaltender to tie it in the last minute of regulation. Casey Kesselring’s game-winner came with just 29 seconds left in overtime.

The win at Alfond Arena was the team’s first in 18 years and gave the Warriors their first series over the Black Bears since moving up to Division I play. Merrimack’s 7-4 streak follows their worst start (3-11-1) in school history.

"We’ve taken our lumps for a while," said Anderson in his understated style. "We’re very happy. I think we’re playing pretty well right now.

"One of the keys against Maine was staying out of the penalty box. We gave them three power plays and they scored three goals. They’re such an explosive offensive team that you can’t give them many opportunities."

The Warriors are making the best of their own opportunities now.

"Our upperclassmen were working hard but the puck wasn’t going in for them," said Anderson. "They’re getting some bounces now. We’re a team that’s been averaging two point something per game over the season, but in our last three games we’ve been averaging over five. Obviously that gives you a better chance to win some hockey games."

The key line in the offensive resurgence is comprised of Tom Johnson, Casey Kesselring and Martin Laroche. Dubbed the "J-K-L" line by USCHO contributor and Merrimack radio color commentator Mike Machnik, they have posted fourteen goals — including the game-winner in Orono — and twenty assists in the last nine games.

"They like playing with each other," said Anderson. "That’s a big part of it. Sometimes people don’t know it themselves until they play together. You move people around and you keep changing things. When something works and the pieces fit, you leave them together. Fortunately for us we hit on that unit about a month ago and they’ve played pretty well.

"They have respect for each other, they’re working for each other and the scoring is coming from each of them, not just one or two. The fact that they know they all could be on the scoring end of the equation on any given night is important. They’re not an overpowering line but they work well together and they communicate well."

Where do the Warriors go from here? Starved for confidence earlier in the season, do they now harness their success or become intoxicated with it, especially with last-place Northeastern up first on the docket?

"That’s a fine line that you have to walk," said Anderson. "We’re not the kind of team that can get overconfident against anybody. We’ve been down that road many times and we’ll be well aware of it.

"Our objective is to play the best hockey we can play every time we go out there against every team that we play. Some nights that will be good enough and some nights it won’t, but we’ve got to make sure we put our best foot forward every night."

PICK: Merrimack stays on a roll 5-3.

UMass-Amherst (11-16-0, 6-12-0 HE) at UMass-Lowell (13-14-0, 9-8-0 HE) Saturday, 7 p.m., Tully Forum, Lowell, MA

UMass-Amherst, profiled above against BU, travels to Tully Forum for the rubber game of the Alumni Cup, awarded to the winner of the season’s competition between the two state schools. The ice surfaces of the two teams provide the biggest contrast in Hockey East. UMass-Amherst’s Mullins Center, where they have posted all but three of their wins this year, features an Olympic sheet while the Tully Forum is notable for its minimal neutral ice space. Since the Minutemen play better on a wide-open surface, the tight confines of Tully Forum could act as a seventh player for the River Hawks.

(UMass-Lowell is profiled above.)

PICK: Even though both teams are struggling, home ice takes it for Lowell, 5-4.

Merrimack (10-15-1, 6-9-1 HE) at Providence (10-16-1, 7-9-1 HE) Saturday, 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI NESN

Providence, profiled above, hosts the hot Merrimack Warriors.

"Merrimack’s playing well," said PC coach Paul Pooley. "They’re feeling good. I talked to Ron last Sunday and he said that when they work hard and compete, they can play with anybody. I know from having watched them. I saw them beat Maine a few weeks ago. They’ve got some guys who are playing hard just like they always do. When you play hard you get results. And they’re getting good goaltending."

PICK: Merrimack keeps it going 3-2.

Dave Hendrickson is the Hockey East Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1997 Dave Hendrickson . All Rights Reserved.

Return to Feature Articles Return to News and Game Recaps Return to US College Hockey Online

This Week in Hockey East: January 31, 1997

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Hockey East Preview: Jan. 31-Feb. 3, 1997 by Dave Hendrickson

The Beanpot dwarfs all remaining Hockey East action this week. Northeastern, Boston College and Boston University will all need to avoid looking past their Friday contests and ahead to the biggest college hockey event in the East.

Aside from the Beanpot, however, there remain many key games in the congested third through seventh place in the standings.

Last week’s record in picks: 6-5 Season record in picks: 95-55

The Beanpot Northeastern (6-17-2, 2-14-1 HE) vs. Boston College (10-12-3, 6-7-3 HE) Monday, 6 p.m., Fleet Center, Boston, MA WABU-68

Last week Boston College edged UMass-Amherst, 3-2, before dropping a 5-2 home game against New Hampshire. The Eagles struggled offensively, generating chances but not finishing.

"Goals were tough to get for us this weekend," says BC coach Jerry York. "Part of it was the fine play of both goaltenders, [UMass’s] Brian Regan and [UNH’s] Sean Matile. But after viewing the tapes, I think we’ve just got to cash in and bury some chances."

Although three goals were enough to beat the Minutemen, the following night the Eagles outshot UNH 35-31, but their lack of a goal-scoring touch resulted in a loss. Trailing 3-2 with 18 seconds left in the second period, they gave up a pivotal fourth goal. The 4-2 score held until a Wildcat open-netter.

"New Hampshire is an outstanding hockey team," says York. "And I thought we were dead-even with them."

Not all the Eagles are struggling to fill the net. Tony Hutchins, a recruited walk-on, tallied his eighth goal of the season against UMass-Amherst, and has now scored in six of BC’s last eight games. Hutchins has progressed from fourth-line player to not only getting a regular shift but also acting as the second power-play unit’s bruiser in front.

"It took him a while to get started here at BC," says York. "But right now he’s got a very, very bright future. He’s certainly been red hot as a goal-scorer the last month."

"Red hot" also describes the Maine Black Bears. BC travels to Orono on Friday before returning to open this year’s Beanpot.

"Without a doubt all our attention is on the Maine game," says York. "These are important games now as we head down the stretch. We won’t look at the Beanpot until Saturday and Sunday."

BC’s foe, Northeastern, stuck with Maine for two periods before the Black Bears broke open the 2-2 game with five unanswered goals. The Huskies then extracted revenge from UMass-Amherst, a team that had swept them the previous weekend, shutting out the Minutemen 4-0.

Against Maine, NU coach Bruce Crowder opted to play seldom-used freshman Judd Brackett instead of his workhorse, Marc Robitaille, also a freshman. "We’ve got to make some decisions that pertain to the future and recruiting," says Crowder. "I just thought it was a good opportunity. Sometimes kids come in in those situations and they’re unbelievable. I thought he played pretty good, considering he was going against one of the better teams in the country. It was 2-2 going into the third period and they exploded in the third, but a lot of it wasn’t Judd Brackett’s fault. It was us blowing defensive coverages. He was just the recipient of all the red lights going on."

Robitaille returned against UMass-Amherst the following night and posted the shutout. "We played a lot better defensively," says Crowder. "We had some opportunities to score and we took advantage of some power-play opportunities at the same time. We didn’t get rattled with the penalties against us, either."

This marks Crowder’s first Beanpot. Referring to himself as a "freshman" in that regard, he says, "Most of the kids, no matter where they’ve come from or what they’ve done, have played games of some kind of caliber like that. Maybe not in front of 17,000 fans, but maybe a crowd of 5,000 or 3,000 when the arena was jammed. We’ve just got to keep things on an even keel.

"BC is playing some pretty good hockey. They tied BU twice, and even though they wound up on the back side of UNH, they’ve got some great young talent there. They’re very explosive. The first time against them we didn’t get a lot of opportunities, so maybe we’re going to have to open things up a little bit and maybe create a little bit more offense. It’s the Beanpot, so anything goes, anything crazy can happen. I’d be more than happy to see that."

PICK: Boston College 4-3.

The Beanpot Harvard (7-10-2, 6-6-2 ECAC) vs. No. 5 Boston University (13-6-5, 11-2-3 HE) Monday, 9 p.m., Fleet Center, Boston, MA WABU-68

"It seems like we’re egomaniacs with an inferiority complex," says BU coach Jack Parker. "’Hey, we’re real good, we’re BU hockey, but aw, geez, we’re not that good.’ We’re not quite sure of ourselves."

The baffling Terriers dropped 3-1 games against UMass-Lowell and Maine last weekend. How can the league’s second-leading offense, one that averages 5.25 goals a game, become suddenly so impotent? This makes their second scoring drought of the season, but the last one occurred immediately after Dan LaCouture left the team and before Tommi Degerman’s arrival. Their offense became Chris-Drury-or-bust. But now with Shawn Bates playing well, LaCouture back in the lineup, and the addition of Degerman, the Terriers shouldn’t be struggling so mightily to score goals.

"We’re in a grand funk as far as our scoring ability and our ability to get to the net," says BU coach Jack Parker. "We gave up 14 and [21 shots over the weekend] so we’re playing hard defensively, but we’re not getting anything accomplished offensively. We looked tired and almost disinterested at times. We didn’t have anywhere near the emotion and zip I thought we’d need…. We had a lot of guys who looked legless. We’ve played a lot of games with only three lines and an extra forward and that’s really worn us down."

Drury in particular seemed to be worn down after being blanketed by Lowell and kept in check by Maine. For the first time all season, he appeared ineffective; Drury has been held scoreless only five times all season, and BU has lost all five, two of them this weekend. BU has lost only one game all year, 6-4 to North Dakota, in which Drury scored.

Parker decided, after the loss to Maine, to rest his players for a couple of days, hoping they will have an extra jump in their stride when they return.

"Sometimes the Beanpot has jacked us up and gotten us going," says Parker. "Hopefully that will happen again this year."

The Crimson have hung around .500 all season, but have now lost five of their last seven. After a 6-1 trouncing of RPI, they went on 17-day break, not returning until this past Tuesday when they lost a 7-5 slugfest against New Hampshire. They played the fourth-ranked Wildcats even for parts of the game but surrendered on an Eric Nickulas third-period goal and an empty-netter.

Rob Millar leads their scoring with seven goals and eight assists in 12 league games, including a goal against UNH. Freshman J.R. Prestifilippo continues to shoulder the load and play well between the Crimson pipes.

Harvard did score once on the power play against UNH, but it still continues to flounder, showing only a 10.3 percent success rate. The penalty-kill, however, ranks a more reasonable fifth in the ECAC at 83.3 percent.

PICK: Boston University 5-2.

No. 5 Boston University (13-6-5, 11-2-3 HE) at Providence (9-15-1, 6-8-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI

Providence split games with the ECAC last week, downing Dartmouth 5-2 before losing 3-2 to cross-town rival Brown. In both games PC jumped out to 2-0 leads, but according to PC coach Paul Pooley lost to the Bears because of an ineffective power play, taking retaliatory penalties and mental errors. Pooley was, however, happy with the penalty killing and goaltending. Mark Kane tended the nets against Dartmouth, Dan Dennis against Brown.

Friar freshman have led the goal scoring recently, contributing 14 of the team’s last 21 markers. "Nick Lent has really responded," says Pooley. Lent has tallied five of the recent freshman strikes. "Fernando Pisani is playing his best hockey the last couple games. They’ve stepped up to the table. I’ve been really impressed. [Jerry] Keefe is playing better. [On the blue line] Leigh Dean and Josh MacNevin are playing real good hockey for us and I think Rich Miller can play for us too.

"It’s great for us to have them step up, but what we need are our older kids to step up too, because those are the kids you win with. This is the time that our seniors need to get going. Instead of hurting us, they need to be plus players, getting the key goals, making the plays. That’s what we need for us to be successful.

"I’m really happy about the freshmen. And I think some of our sophomores are playing hard. But last year we had [our seniors] all step up to the table, and everybody else was supportive of them and said, ‘Hey, lets grab on to them and go forward.’ That’s what we need to have happen this year."

Of the senior forwards, Pooley reserved his praise for Tom Sheehan. "He’s playing his best hockey. He’s doing a great job on the penalty kill. He’s winning key faceoffs. He’s been out on five-on-threes in the last couple games and has done a great job."

Pooley continued to juggle his lineup in search of the right combinations. The top line now consists of sophomores Mike Omicioli and Jon Cameron and freshman Pisani. Keefe, Stefan Brannare and Russ Guzior make up the second. David Green, Travis Dillabough and Lent comprise the "checking" third line.

The decisions are not so clear-cut on the power play. "Our power play has really killed us this year," says Pooley. "With the power play we lose the momentum in games."

Pooley laughed about the timing of BU’s two losses last week. "I guess we’re getting them when they’re a little mad," he says. Realizing that the Beanpot will follow just three days after, he adds, "Let’s hope they look past the Friars.

"Obviously we need to play a tight-checking game, be disciplined and stay out of the penalty box. Our special teams and goaltending have to be strong. It’s always going to be a tough physical game against them."

(BU is profiled above.)

PICK: Boston University 4-2.

Northeastern (6-17-2, 2-14-1 HE) at No. 4 New Hampshire (20-6-0, 13-3-0 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH

UNH’s two road wins, 5-2 over both Merrimack and Boston College, combined with BU’s two losses to vault the Wildcats back into first place in Hockey East.

"Obviously we’re pleased to be back in first place," says UNH coach Dick Umile. "Those were two important games. I thought we played very well."

Goaltender Sean Matile played both games, his first back-to-back action of the year, and stopped 69 of 73 shots. The performances earned him Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors, his first such designation. He also played in this Tuesday’s 7-5 win over Harvard.

"I told both goalies going into the weekend to be ready to play," says Umile. "I just felt that Sean was playing well and we went with him. At this point both goalies need to be ready to play and we’ll just take it game by game."

Matile had gotten off to a great start after missing the first nine games because of ineligibility. But his play took a sharp downturn when he struggled to adjust to medication prescribed after a mid-December seizure. Feeling sluggish, his performances suffered until he bottomed out in a 9-4 loss against BU. Matile lost his regular turn in the goalie rotation with Brian Larochelle. Finally acclimated to the medication, he now appears to be back with a vengeance.

"That was important for him to [play well back-to-back] to prepare for the games down the stretch," says Umile. "I don’t know what the crystal ball says, but this is an important time heading into the last four weeks of the regular season. Whichever goalie is playing well is going to play."

Matile’s snaring of the Rookie-of-the-Week award marks the second straight time a UNH player is so honored. Last week forward Mike Souza was named for his three goals and two assists. Souza had previously earned Rookie of the Week and Rookie of the Month distinctions in December.

"I know that we’ve got some pretty good freshman players in the league this year," says Umile, "but Mike is going to be a definite Rookie of the Year candidate. He’s playing extremely well. We’re starting to use him on the power play too." One look at UNH’s roster of forwards should show that Souza earning power-play time could be the highest compliment of them all.

The Wildcats open the weekend against Northeastern.

"That’s always a good matchup," says Umile. "They’re coming off a solid win over UMass-Amherst. We know they’ve lost a lot of games by one goal. There’s a lot of parity in Hockey East and you’ve got to come out and play every single night. I don’t expect anything other than a solid game."

Northeastern, profiled above for its Beanpot game, enters the contest on the high of a 4-0 win over UMass-Amherst. In the first series, however, UNH took Northeastern to school, to the tune of 7-3 and 9-4.

"They blow games out against everybody," says Crowder. "We’re going to have to play smart. We’re going to have to make sure we don’t beat ourselves, taking penalties the way we did [two weeks ago] against Amherst."

PICK: New Hampshire 5-2.

Boston College (10-12-3, 6-7-3 HE) at Maine (17-9-1, 9-6-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

Maine took on the first-place and last-place teams last weekend. By the time th Black Bears were done, first-place BU wasn’t in first anymore and the rejuvenated Bears, almost given up for dead earlier in the season, had rebounded to third place. Winners of eight of their last nine, they even began attracting Top Ten votes.

In the third period of their weekend opener against Northeastern, they stood deadlocked at 2-2 before a five-goal explosion blew away the Huskies. The performance was in many ways characteristic of the team’s recent play. The same team that couldn’t seem to throw the puck in the ocean earlier this year now can score in bunches.

Surprisingly, the Black Bears are doing this with diminished scoring from their two preseason stars, Dan Shermerhorn (10 goals and five assists) and, to a lesser extent, Shawn Wansborough (11 goals and 16 assists).

"They’re both playing great," says Maine coach Shawn Walsh. "They were excellent on the weekend. Their roles have changed a little bit. I’m asking them to play a more all-around defensive game as opposed to putting them out for all of the power plays. We use three power-play units now whereas we might have been focusing on one before. Any time you win eight out of nine, you need your upperclassmen to lead you and those guys have led us very well.

"The strength of our team is our depth. It’s not any one individual. We’ve really evened out the ice time, playing a lot of freshmen on our specialty teams. So we’re much more balanced now.

"There’s tremendous parity in college hockey right now. The major junior effect of the great, great players going there has leveled out the playing field of college hockey. So if you get good goaltending, you can win if you’ve got some good players. And we’ve got some good players."

They’re also getting the good goaltending. After a tough start between the pipes, the Black Bear netminders are getting the job done. Javier Gorriti’s 2.77 goals-against average trails only BU’s Michel Larocque. And Alfie Michaud is now showing why Maine recruiters expected him to be the answer. Michaud has won all his last three starts while posting a 1.33 GAA and a .955 save percentage.

Steve Kariya leads the team with 14 goals and 25 assists. A member of last year’s All-Rookie team, he scored a key breakaway goal last weekend to down BU.

"He’s turning into one of the elite players in the league," says Walsh. "He was such a factor [against BU]. He scored once, he turned their D twice, and walked right in on Larocque. I thought when we recruited him he could be an All-American by the third year and I think I’m on target. I think he’s got a real chance because he’s got Paul’s work ethic and he’s got Paul’s intensity at getting better."

Maine’s top four defensemen — Jeff Libby, Jason Mansoff, Brian White and David Cullen — are unsung contributors to the team’s success, according to Walsh. Unsung may no longer be an appropriate term, however. Cullen was named the league’s Player of the Week for his strong defensive play, along with a goal and three assists.

According to Walsh, having a lead is pivotal to this team’s success. "I don’t know if we’re a good come-from-behind team. I know we’re becoming a very good team protecting a lead. Like that team that we had in 94-95 that went to the national championship game. We weren’t an explosive team but we played very, very smart. It’s not the individual parts that win hockey games, it’s the sum of the parts. And the sum of the parts for Maine right now is a good sum."

Looking ahead to the BC contest, Walsh says, "I think it’ll be a great game between two of the improving teams in the nation. They certainly have great individuals. Their key players seem to have come back from the World Junior [Tournament] with great confidence. Their freshmen are playing as well as our freshmen. And Greg Taylor is an excellent goalie. So I look for it to be a terrific game."

(BC is profiled above.)

PICK: Maine 5-4.

Merrimack (8-15-1, 4-9-1 HE) at UMass-Amherst (11-14-0, 6-10-0 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

UMass-Amherst dropped two league games last week, 3-2 to Boston College and 4-0 to Northeastern. The Minutemen had swept Northeastern the previous weekend.

"I thought the BC game was a well-played game," says UMass coach Joe Mallen. "Although the number of shots were a little tilted [in their favor], the quality of our chances were huge. We had great, great scoring chances but we just couldn’t score against Greg Taylor. We really put a lot of energy into that game and left a lot on the ice.

"I thought coming back the next night against Northeastern we just didn’t play at the intensity level that we needed. To beat one team three times in Hockey East is an uphill task no matter who they are. Not that it can’t be done, but it’s very difficult, especially when two of the three are in their building. Robitaille played real well for Northeastern and we just couldn’t get our power play going."

With a game against league-leader UNH following this Friday’s Merrimack contest, there could be some temptation to look ahead to their giant-killer opportunity. Not so, says Mallen.

"We’re well-focused on the Merrimack game. We have to take all the games one at a time now. The disappointing thing for me is that with a win against Northeastern we could have moved into sixth place and been just a point out of fifth. We just couldn’t come up with those two points. There are a lot of points left on the line these last five weeks. We still feel that we have a good chance to move above where we are right now.

"The thing about Merrimack is that you have to solve their goaltending. We just really need to play our style in our rink."

Merrimack comes off a split weekend, losing 5-2 to UNH before besting Lowell 4-2.

"On Saturday night we played the kind of game that we have to play," says Merrimack coach Ron Anderson. "Low-scoring games give us a chance to win. When we give up five we’re going to have a tough time. Friday night we worked hard, but it just got away from us."

The Warrior power play, ranked last in the league and dormant for much of the season, is showing signs of life. With a large statistical gap to overcome and few remaining games, they’ll almost certainly finish last in power-play efficiency, but have operated in the twenties in the last five games.

"It’s getting there," says Anderson. "I’m not worried about the overall percentage because there’s nothing we can do about that at this point. I’m looking at where it’s at right now. Part of the power play being effective is that some of the guys we need to score goals are starting to score goals now. We’re working on it. I’d just as soon people look at our overall power-play efficiency because then they might overlook it. But for the last five games it’s been pretty good."

Anderson looked ahead to the matchup against UMass-Amherst.

"They’re real tough in their rink," he says. "They’ve got that big ice surface and they make a lot of things happen. They spread things out pretty well. We’ll have to make sure we don’t run around and get out of position. We’ve got to concentrate on a solid defensive effort. We’ll get our share of goals but we need to make sure we don’t put ourselves in a position where we need more goals than we’re capable of."

PICK: UMass-Amherst 5-3.

UMass-Amherst (11-14-0, 6-10-0 HE) at No. 4 New Hampshire (20-6-0, 13-3-0 HE) Saturday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH NESN

New Hampshire follows a Friday game against Northeastern with a NESN game against UMass-Amherst. The Minutemen scared UNH back in November before the Wildcats escaped with 1-0 and 5-4 (in overtime) wins.

"Every game at this point is scary," says UNH coach Dick Umile. "We always respect our opponents. Whoever plays best will win regardless of what the records are. We just have to be focused ourselves on what we’re doing and do those things well."

UMass-Amherst plays Merrimack before taking on the Wildcats. Minuteman coach Joe Mallen recalls the two prior one-goal losses to UNH.

"Those two games at least set the table for us to go in there with a lot of optimism," he says. "I think that UNH has become a much better team since we played them and hopefully we have too."

PICK: UNH wins the battle of the big ice surface teams, 6-3.

Merrimack (8-15-1, 4-9-1 HE) at Maine (17-9-1, 9-6-1 HE) Sunday, 2 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

The last time these two teams met, they split a series at Merrimack. The Warriors took the opener 3-1, but Maine rebounded 6-2.

"I was impressed when we played them," says Walsh. "I thought it was as good a Merrimack team as I’ve seen. They’ve got senior goalies who are both very good so they’re going to be a team that gives anybody fits, as evidenced by their win over Lowell on Saturday night."

"We always seem to play well in that rink," responds Anderson. "We haven’t had much success but I always come out of there thinking that we didn’t play that bad, it’s just that they’re always that good. The atmosphere and the respect we have for that program just gets us pretty focused when we go up there. We’ll just try to make sure we’re as prepared as we possibly can be. The good thing is that it’s a Friday – Sunday weekend for us so it gives us Saturday to set things up for the Sunday game."

PICK: Maine 6-2.

Providence (9-15-1, 6-8-1 HE) at UMass-Lowell (13-13-0, 9-7-0 HE) Sunday, 2 p.m., Tully Forum, Lowell, MA WNDS-TV50

UMass-Lowell stunned BU 3-1 to open the weekend. The win over the Terriers provided more than just a welcome two points in the standings.

"It builds confidence," says UML coach Tim Whitehead. "It certainly doesn’t put us in the next level yet. Our guys aren’t under any false illusions this year. They understand that for us to win we need all 20 guys on the same page and working hard. That’s what they did… and I’m proud of them.

"Definitely, for our team it comes from our upperclassmen, the juniors and seniors. And we’ve even got some sophomores who are playing like seniors. From there the freshmen just follow suit."

One key freshman who is following suit is Chris Bell. Bell scored the game-winner against BU on the power play. One of up to ten freshmen that sometimes dress for the River Hawks, Bell notched his eighth of the season with the tally.

"He came into camp not quite in the shape that the rest of his teammates came in," said Whitehead delicately. "But from the day he got here, he’s worked as hard as anybody. He really has gotten better as the year has progressed…. He’s a talented kid who is just going to keep getting better."

Goaltender Marty Fillion’s performance was pivotal to the win over BU. He prompted opposing coach Jack Parker to say, "I can recall five unbelievable saves that I thought he just stole."

Unfortunately for Lowell fans, the River Hawks followed the upset with a 4-2 loss to Merrimack and a midweek 5-1 road loss to Colgate.

"Merrimack played an excellent defensive game, and they capitalized on the five-minute power play in the third period," says Whitehead. "That was the difference in the game. They were hungrier over the course of the sixty minutes. We played very good second and third periods, but they built up some momentum in the first period and stuck with it. I thought they did an excellent job of executing their game plan and playing good team defense."

Lowell and Providence open their series on Sunday afternoon.

"We haven’t played them yet so we’re excited about starting that series with them," says Whitehead. "They’ve got an excellent team every year so this will be a good challenge for us.

"Our games with Providence will be [tight-checking, close ones] just like our others. We’re not going to be in many three- or four-goal games either for or against us."

"The game against them is huge," adds Pooley. "Last Saturday everybody lost that we needed to. So we’re still right there."

PICK: Another really tight contest between two hard-hat, lunch-pail teams. Lowell 4-3.

Dave Hendrickson is the Hockey East Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1997 Dave Hendrickson . All Rights Reserved.

Return to Feature Articles Return to News and Game Recaps Return to US College Hockey Online

This Week in the ECAC: January 31, 1997

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ECAC Preview: Jan. 31-Feb. 3, 1997 by Jayson Moy

The number five plays a large role in this week’s ECAC Preview.

There are five weeks to go in the ECAC season, and things are still up for grabs. Teams have almost caught up in terms of games played, and it’s time to settle in for some good ECAC action for the next five weekends.

It’s a logjam on top of the standings with only a scant five points separating the top eight teams, and 12 points separating top from bottom.

Of the six teams in ECAC action last weekend, five picked up at least one point. Clarkson was the only team to earn two points, with a win over St. Lawrence, while the other teams gained one each.

ECAC Standings

We’re in a "New York State of Mind" this week, and we get "Back in the New York Groove" because all of the ECAC action this week takes place in the Empire State.

Vermont (15-6-1, 7-4-1 ECAC, 5th) and Dartmouth (9-9-1, 4-7-1 ECAC, T-9th) at Clarkson (15-7-0, 8-4-0, T-2nd) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Cheel Arena, Potsdam, N.Y.

Dartmouth (9-9-1, 4-7-1 ECAC, T-9th) and Vermont (15-6-1, 7-4-1 ECAC, 5th) at St. Lawrence (8-14-2, 3-7-2 ECAC, 11th) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Appleton Arena, Canton, N.Y.

These four teams got together just two weeks ago. Clarkson was the big winner with four points, while St. Lawrence got swept.

Vermont reeled off six straight wins before running into Clarkson, then tied Dartmouth 4-4 last weekend when Pavel Navrat scored with 52 seconds remaining in regulation.

"We’ve had some defensemen jump into the offense," said Vermont coach Mike Gilligan. "It’s not something we continually want to see, but if they can…"

Something that Gilligan would like to see improved is his power play.

"We’re a little bit snakebit on the power play," he said, referring to the Catamounts’ current 12th-place standing in power-play percentage. "Last week (vs. Dartmouth) we changed the power play, and we liked what we saw. I don’t think we’ll end up 12th."

Meanwhile, Tim Thomas is back on top of the goaltending statistics in the ECAC, to no one’s surprise. "He (Thomas) is great," Gilligan said. "The team is playing better team defense, and it’s helped us overall."

The rematch with Clarkson takes place Friday, and Gilligan is respectful of both Clarkson and its talented forward Todd White.

"Clarkson is the team that’s made the big move," he said. "The last time, we played pretty close attention to him … we’re one of the teams that’s capable of beating them in this league."

Two weeks ago, Vermont escaped in overtime against St. Lawrence.

"It gives them confidence," said Gilligan. "They (SLU) must have had a tough game against Clarkson (last weekend), and they’re tough. They can be one of the spoilers in the league."

Two weeks ago, Dartmouth lost to Clarkson 6-3, and then defeated the Saints 6-4.

"We got off to a great start," said Dartmouth head coach Roger Demment on the St. Lawrence game. The Big Green scored four unanswered goals in the first period. "Those are the things you love to do," added Demment.

Against Clarkson the night before, the Big Green were blitzed in the second period, when Clarkson scored five goals.

"It was a good first period," said Demment. "Then we got into penalty trouble, and we fell asleep a little bit. We didn’t play 60 minutes of solid hockey."

Dartmouth lost a point on Saturday when Vermont scored with 52 seconds remaining to tie the game at four.

"If you look at the one point on paper, it’s great," Demment said. "But we felt like we lost that game. We came back to take the lead in the third period, and when they scored the goal with 52 seconds left, we felt we lost the game."

Freshman Jason Wong earned his second ECAC Rookie of the Week honor with the tie.

"That’s his first game since Yale," said Demment. "He made some crucial saves down the stretch."

With three goaltenders (Wong, fellow freshman Eric Almon, and senior Scott Baker) playing well, Demment has a quandary on his hands.

"It’s tough having a three-goalie rotation," he said. "Jason will be in the nets for one of the games, and I’m not sure about the other game."

Dartmouth has also gotten good play lately out of forward Jon Sturgis, who has nine goals this year, two more than all of last season.

"We’re happy with the play," said Demment. "One of the things he was asked for at the beginning of the season was to put the puck in the net more often."

The pucks are going in pretty often for Clarkson, though White, the leading scorer, had none of the team’s eight goals against St. Lawrence. But the Knights are a hot team and bring a six-game winning streak into the weekend.

"Todd White has led the way," said Clarkson coach Mark Morris. "Chris Clark has come of age, Dan Murphy has been solid in net."

The Golden Knights have moved into a tie for second place with their four-game ECAC winning streak. During the stretch, White has had 14 points, while Clark has had eight.

"Things are just falling into place," Morris said. "Some of the younger guys have learned the way we play defense, and our execution on the penalty kill and power play has been strong."

One of the marquee matchups this weekend is Clarkson hosting Vermont. The first time around, it was Clarkson winning 2-1. Todd White had the two Clarkson goals, Eric Perrin the Vermont tally.

"It was the first time around," said Morris when asked about the "Showcase of Stars" two weeks ago. "We had the upper hand. They’ll be sky-high trying to right (the loss) when they come in here."

Once again, the task at hand is to stop the French Connection.

"If you check one of them tight, it takes away the other guy," said Morris.

While the Golden Knights have been flying in January, the Saints of St. Lawrence are the complete opposite. The Saints are 0-6 in their last six games after an initial bounce from th return of goalie Clint Owen.

"We’ve got to take a good hard look at our club," said head coach Joe Marsh. "When it goes bad, it really goes bad."

St. Lawrence was not good in the second period on Saturday against Clarkson, allowing six goals.

"Saturday was disappointing," said Marsh. "We had a good first period. The second period, we fell apart defensively. We didn’t do what we had to do. We have to get back to square one."

Against Vermont two weeks ago, the Saints lost a heartbreaker to the Cats 3-2 in overtime.

"It should give us some confidence to play them again," said Marsh.

"We can’t have a period where we came out flat like we did at Dartmouth again. We’ll try to wipe the slate clean. We’ll try to learn from it; we may have to shorten our bench. We’ll try to find three solid lines, and spot a fourth one.

"We’ve got some inconsistencies in goal (but) I don’t blame the goalies. It’s the team defense that has not been good. Especially when we get scored upon. We can’t give up a bunch of goals after getting scored on. We have to be more relaxed."

PICKS: Vermont at Clarkson: The "Showcase of Stars" is what it was called, and it should be. Which team can stop the top lines of the opposition? Clarkson will be without Scott Ricci on defense, but Phillipe Roy has filled in nicely. It’s hard to go against Clarkson on a roll, and especially at home. Clarkson 4 Vermont 3 in OT

Dartmouth at St. Lawrence: The rubber match between the two clubs: each has taken one game. Both teams are fighting for playoff position, and this game is important for both because both are close in the standings. Dartmouth is more consistent, and St. Lawrence goes without a win in January. Dartmouth 3 St. Lawrence 2

Dartmouth at Clarkson: Dartmouth will make this closer than people expect, partly because of the letdown that Clarkson will have from defeating Vermont. One might say that shouldn’t make a difference, but let’s face it: when you win a big game, the next one isn’t usually as good. Clarkson 3 Dartmouth 2

Vermont at St. Lawrence: The Saints have shown that they can play Vermont tough. And the Saints are at home. That leads to a close game, but the Saints are not sure of themselves right now. Vermont 4 St. Lawrence 2

Princeton (13-5-2, 8-4-1 ECAC, 1st) and Yale (7-11-2, 4-8-1 ECAC, T-9th) at Cornell (10-5-4, 7-3-2 ECAC, T-2nd) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Lynah Rink, Ithaca, N.Y.

Yale (7-11-2, 4-8-1 ECAC, T-9th) and Princeton (13-5-2, 8-4-1 ECAC, 1st) at Colgate (12-9-1, 6-5-1 ECAC, 7th) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Starr Rink, Hamilton, N.Y.

It’s time to get back to work for the Princeton Tigers. They’ve watched over the last two weekend as teams caught up in games played, yet have managed to maintain a precarious one-point edge over three teams for first place.

"There’s not much preparation we can do," said head coach Don Cahoon about the layoff. "We have no formal practices, and the kids can come down for an optional skate."

While there are no practices, there are some pluses to the layoff.

"What a great thing it is for us, though," said Cahoon. "It allows us to rest and to heal bumps and bruises."

Princeton takes on Cornell on Friday night at Lynah Rink, and it should be interesting, according to Cahoon.

"There’s a little difference in the way our teams play," he said. "They’re willing to grind it out, they play disciplined, things we do. We’re willing to open it up a little more than they do."

Scott Bertoli has led the way offensively with 22 points this season (11 goals and 11 assists).

The Tigers follow up with Colgate on Saturday. The Tigers won the previous meeting this season, 4-3. Cahoon says the Red Raiders dominated the game, but the Tigers just scored more goals.

"We ended up getting points out of that game that we didn’t deserve," said Cahoon.

Yale also comes back to league play after non-league action.

"It’s been a while," said head coach Tim Taylor. "Hopefully we’re better for it from the non-league games."

Taylor’s Bulldogs have been working on consistency.

"We’ve been inconsistent all year long," he said. "We’re a team that can’t afford a few mistakes if we’re to be successful."

The Bulldogs are happy to see Jeff Hamilton break out of a seven-game streak without a goal.

"He went into a scoring slump," said Taylor. "But he got himself a goal on Saturday (vs. Army). It’s understandable he would cool off. It was asking a little too much of him to keep up the pace."

The last time Yale played Cornell and Colgate, it upset Cornell 4-3, and lost to Colgate by the same score.

"We felt very good about ourselves after that weekend," said Taylor. "They were the best games back-to-back of the year."

Taylor plans to utilize his goaltending rotation of Alex Westlund and Dan Choquette once again this weekend, but wouldn’t tip off who would start which game.

"We’re excited about this weekend," Taylor said. "With the situation like this (only ECAC games left), there will be a lot of anticipation."

"It’s starting to get down to the nitty-gritty," said Cornell head coach Mike Schafer. "Teams are trying to get as many wins as they can."

The "nitty-gritty" starts with a key matchup against Princeton on Friday.

"They’re one of the best skating teams in the country," Schafer said. "They’re very similar to ourselves except they have a top line that can score, and we don’t have a go-to guy. It should be quite a battle."

Cornell downed Princeton the first time the two met, 3-1. The Yale Bulldogs upset the Big Red, 4-3, and Schafer remembers it well.

"That game has weighed heavily in our minds," he said. "It’s a pride factor. That type of game is not represented by our program. They outhit us, they outhustled us, things that we pride ourselves on doing. It’s a matter of pride and not revenge."

Schafer also believes that even though he does not have a go-to guy, his two goaltenders, Jason Elliot and Jean-Marc Pelletier, play a large role in his program.

"They’re both playing very well," he said of his goalies. "The team has been playing solid defense.

"I’d rather have a good goalie than a superstar forward."

Colgate is not looking ahead. Instead, said head coach Don Vaughn, the Red Raiders are concerned with their own play.

"We’re more concerned with taking care of our own business. We’ve got to find a way to generate some offense, and get some rebounds."

Princeton has gone 9-4 against Colgate in the Don Cahoon era. This is a fact that does not escape Vaughn.

"[Princeton’s] a team that’s had our number lately," he said. "Their goaltending has been strong, and they’re a great defensive team."

Colgate will rely heavily on All-America candidate Mike Harder to help for the last third of the season.

"Mike Harder is a great player; he’s zeroing in on a (career points) record here at Colgate," said Vaughn. "He won’t talk about it, and its a commentary for what he’s like."

Harder currently has 192 career points, and is tied with RPI head coach Dan Fridgen for third on the all-time list at Colgate. The all-time record is 212 points, held by Steve Smith (1980-84).

"If we’re going to do something down the stretch, he’s got to be there," said Vaughn.

PICKS: Princeton at Cornell: This is the other marquee matchup in the ECAC this weekend. This one will be a tight defensive battle. Who starts in goal is the question for both sides. Expect a lot of forecheck, and a lot of neutral-zone play. Cornell 2 Princeton 1

Yale at Colgate: Yale’s inconsistency has to be a concern. Dan Brenzavich has picked it up for Colgate, and should provide the spark. Colgate 6 Yale 4

Yale at Cornell: Yale will not upset Cornell again. Cornell 4 Yale 2

Princeton at Colgate: Princeton has had Colgate’s number, and the forecheck is swarming. Can Mike Harder escape it, or will he go down? If he goes, the other forwards must pick it up. I smell a tie. Princeton 3 Colgate 3

Harvard (7-10-2, 6-6-2 ECAC, 6th) and Brown (5-13-2, 2-10-1 ECAC, 12th) at RPI (12-7-3, 7-3-2 ECAC, T-2nd) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., RPI Fieldhouse, Troy, N.Y.

Harvard’s last ECAC outing was against the same RPI team that it faces on Friday night. The Crimson won that one, 6-1, with an explosive second period, scoring five goals.

"We’ve been a team that had been playing some good hockey over the last month, except for (Friday) night (a 4-2 loss to Union)," said head coach Ronn Tomassoni after the win. "We’ve been a team that’s been playing pretty well, but not scoring." In its previous three games, Harvard scored a total of six goals.

The power play also awakened against RPI. The Crimson tallied three power play goals on eight attempts that evening, and now get back to action after a three-week layoff because of exams.

Meanwhile, Brown starts the stretch run in last place, looking to make a late move into a playoff spot.

"I feel real good about our guys," said Brown head coach Bob Gaudet. "Our record doesn’t show it, we just have to keep plugging away."

Brown comes off of a victory over Providence in the Mayor’s Cup game, and won it 3-2. Brian Audette won his third straight in goal. With Scott Stirling coming back after an injury, Gaudet has the tough task of a three-man rotation in goal.

"I’ll play it by ear," said Gaudet. "Some of the things go by practice, and who looks like they have the hot hand."

Brown plays RPI for the third time this season, dropping the previous meetings, 6-3 and 5-3.

"We know pretty much what to expect, especially from RPI," said Gaudet. "We know that they’re an outstanding team.

"We played a strong game in the second period (of the first meeting), and just didn’t get the lead, and they came on very well I the third period. There was a similar situation here — we did not play as well, though."

Brown is the opponent for the Big Red Freakout for RPI, an annual event of deafeningly loud RPI fans. Brown is the Freakout opponent for the fourth time since Gaudet has been the coach, but it doesn’t bother him.

"Every night at Vermont, you have Catamount Fever," said Gaudet. "At Cornell the place is overflowing. At Ann Arbor (Michigan) it was the same. It’s the team that’s on the ice; the crowd doesn’t suit up.

"It doesn’t matter that the crowd is not with you. I’d rather do that than play in front of no one."

"It’s definitely a motivating factor," said RPI head coach Dan Fridgen on the Big Red Freakout. "Just the fact that everyone is wearing red, painting their faces red. It certainly is a motivating factor. It’s exciting to play in an exhilarating environment."

The crowd is the thing which has lifted RPI, and Fridgen has an explanation.

"It’s like when we go to Vermont or Cornell," he said. "You take the noise and create it into a positive reinforcement. They’re not cheering against you, they’re cheering for you. It’s a mental thing."

Fridgen has beaten Brown twice this season, and has high praise for the Bears.

"I still believe that they’re overall record is not indicative of the way they’ve played," he said.

PICKS: Harvard at RPI: RPI wants revenge for the shellacking it took at Bright three weeks ago. Harvard wants to use that game to start capitalizing on the rest of the season. RPI is home, and played its game for the third period against Union. A total effort seems to be on its way. RPI 6 Harvard 3

Brown at RPI: RPI has beaten Brown twice this season, and in a variety of ways. With the Big Red Freakout crowd behind RPI, the Engineers win. RPI 5 Brown 2

Brown (5-13-2, 2-10-1 ECAC, 12th) at Union (11-9-2, 5-6-2 ECAC, 8th) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Achilles Rink, Schenectady, N.Y.

"[Union] played very well," said head coach Bob Gaudet on the previous meeting between the two clubs. "They outplayed us, to be honest, and we had to hang on to a 3-0 lead."

Brown won that game, 4-3, behind stellar goaltending from Brian Audette. It will be a little different this time because it will be at Union’s rink.

"Things happen quickly at Union," said Gaudet. "It’s a little different game. The rink seems smaller than here (Meehan Auditorium). We have to be very sharp to be in it. They’re tough physically. It’s a really tough place to play."

"Brown was not fearful of Union," said head coach Stan Moore on the previous meeting.

Union let Brown get off to a large advantage, and it did not please Moore. He hopes that his team changes it this time around.

"Just have a better start," he said. "We had a great start against Harvard (the previous night), and there was a lot of excitement over beating Harvard, and it carried through.

"We have to be more mindful of how we play. It’s another game, another day."

Moore expects to see Trevor Koenig get a start this weekend. Koenig was out with influenza/bronchitis last week. Leeor Shtrom filled in admirably for Koenig, so don’t be surprised to see him in net, either.

"We’re very pleased for him," said Moore of Shtrom. "I think you’ve seen two games now, where all speculation aside, and all wonderment aside, it’s time to give Leeor some credit."

PICK: Whomever is in goal for Union, the defensive game is stifling. The forecheck will corral Brown, and it is also the first game of the weekend — Union will be prepared. Union 3 Brown 2

The Beanpot Harvard (7-9-2, 6-6-2 ECAC, 6th) versus Boston University (13-6-5, 11-2-3 Hockey East, 2nd) Monday, 9 p.m., Fleet Center, Boston, Mass.

Harvard has not won a Beanpot since 1993, when it defeated Boston University 4-2. The next year Harvard made it to the final, but was upset in overtime when Tom Ashe won it for Boston College.

In the last two years, Harvard has gone 0-4 in its four games. The Crimson look to reverse that trend this year.

In the meantime, Boston University has done the opposite of Harvard. The Terriers have won five straight games since losing to Harvard twice in a row, and have captured two Beanpots in a row.

BU has won five of the seven Beanpots in the 90’s. During that stretch, BU has gone 12-2, the only two losses to Harvard, and outscored the opponent 84-35. The Terriers won last year’s Beanpot with victories over Boston College and Northeastern, 4-1 and 11-4.

PICK: Even though Boston University is 5-5-2 in its last 12 games, it still is a major force to be reckoned with. Harvard is 6-5-1 in its last 12, and is playing much better hockey than the beginning of the season. Is there something wrong with BU? Is Harvard going to get consistency? The two teams met once before this season, with BU winning 5-1. BU wins again, but by a smaller margin. Boston University 5 Harvard 3

Army(13-10-2, 2-10-2 Maj. Div. I) at Union (11-9-2, 5-6-2 ECAC, 8th) Saturday, 7 p.m., Achilles Rink, Schenectady, N.Y.

"They’re so physical and so diligent," said Stan Moore of Army. "Imagine being in a cadet uniform all day long and then getting to do what you want to do for two hours. I think the term `Yahoo!’ comes to mind, and they do it with good intelligence and good discipline."

The reputation of a physical and disciplined team continues to follow this Army team. While the Cadets have not had a victory over the ECAC this season, they are a respectable 0-4-2 against the league. Ties against Cornell and Princeton, the ECAC leaders, and one-goal losses to Colgate (in overtime) and Yale, have shown that Army can play with its Division I brethren.

PICK: Against the defensive teams, Army seems to do very well, e.g., Princeton and Cornell. The rink is small at Union, and it should help Army, but Union is stronger. Union 4 Army 2

The intensity continues next week in the ECAC. After that, all ECAC teams will have played the same number of league games, and it’s time to start using magic numbers. Get your seat belts on; it’s going to be one wild ride through February.

Next Week in the ECAC (league games in bold):

Friday, February 7: Union at Clarkson RPI at St. Lawrence Cornell at Dartmouth Colgate at Vermont Yale at Harvard

Saturday, February 8: Union at St. Lawrence RPI at Clarkson Cornell at Vermont Colgate at Dartmouth Princeton at Brown

Monday, February 10: Harvard vs. Northeastern/Boston College (Beanpot Consolation/Championship)

Jayson Moy is the ECAC Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jayson Moy . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in the CCHA: January 31, 1997

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CCHA PREVIEW: Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 1997 CCHA Preview: Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 1997 by Paula C. Weston

The University of Michigan Wolverines showed why they’re ranked first in the nation last weekend. They put some distance between themselves and the rest of the CCHA, taking two games from Miami at Yost Arena. With 30 points in just 17 games, the Wolverines have positioned themselves as the team to beat in the CCHA. Lake Superior was stumped by a reemerging Bowling Green team. In spite of the loss, the Lakers remain in second place in the CCHA with 27 points. This weekend, the Lakers host a Notre Dame team hungry for points and a playoff spot. Miami dropped two to Michigan last week — but which CCHA team hasn’t done that? Miami looked strong in two games at Yost Arena. With 26 points, this is a team making a serious run at the CCHA title. Michigan State is five points behind Michigan, but, with as many — or as few — games played as the Wolverines, the Spartans have a few with which to catch up. Last weekend, the Spartans split a pair of games with Ohio State. This weekend, they have one game, with Western Michigan. Bowling Green is alive! Reports of the Falcons’ demise were premature. With recent wins, the Falcons have claimed sole possession of fifth place in the CCHA, with 18 points. Look for two great matchups this weekend as the Falcons host Miami Friday night, and travel to Ann Arbor Saturday. Ferris State has one game this weekend, one that definitely counts. The sixth-place Bulldogs take on the seventh-place Western Michigan Broncos. One point separates these two teams. Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Alaska-Fairbanks are all battling for the eighth CCHA playoff spot. Notre Dame is newly confident, after playing well against St. Cloud last weekend. The Irish have 11 points. The Buckeyes are also experiencing a surge in confidence, after splitting a series in East Lansing last weekend. The win against Michigan State moved the Buckeyes into a tie for ninth place with Alaska-Fairbanks; each team has 10 points. The Nanooks have played more conference games than anyone else in the CCHA, which could be a big factor in the final stretch of the season. Alaska-Fairbanks plays two non-conference games against Air Force this weekend. Last week’s record in picks: 7-6 Overall record in picks: 69-49 No. 1 Michigan (23-1-3, 14-1-2 CCHA) at Ohio State (7-20-0, 5-13-0 CCHA) Thursday, 7 p.m., Ohio Expo Center Coliseum, Columbus, OH Michigan proved its worth last weekend by beating a very worthy Miami team twice. In Friday’s game, the Wolverines trailed at the end of the first and second periods. Trailing at home is not a situation with which Michigan is familiar. After the first game, Michigan head coach Red Berenson said that the game was a learning experience for his team. Learning from experience is something Michigan does particularly well; each time the Wolverines have tied in recent memory, their next opponents have paid the price with good, old-fashioned trouncings. But have the Wolverines learned what got them into the ties in the first place? Certainly, this Michigan team is capable of beating anyone in the CCHA, at any time. Have the Wolverines learned that other teams can be just as capable, on any given night or two? "Michigan’s not going to want to come in here and lose," says Buckeye head coach John Markell. "They have 12 seniors, and all those guys played on a national championship team. We’re not going to be able to make any mistakes." The Buckeyes split a series with Michigan State in East Lansing, a place where few opponents win — the Buckeyes have only twice. In fact, the Buckeyes have defeated Michigan State only eight times since 1964. Buckeye head coach John Markell says the key to Ohio State’s recent success — 2-2 in its last four games — is the way in which freshman goaltender Ray Aho has stepped up. "I think he’s gained confidence and learned that he can play in this league. That goes a long way. He has the ability. He can play up to CCHA standards." Aho was named CCHA Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row for his play against Michigan State. Aho made 78 saves on 83 shots for the weekend, including 44 saves in the Buckeyes’ win. The Buckeyes tied the Wolverines twice last season, but haven’t beaten them since the 1989-90 season. The Wolverines won the previous contest this season, 7-2. The Buckeyes will be without two key players for this game. Captain Steve Brent may miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury, while junior defenseman Ryan Root will miss the Michigan game because of a disqualification last Saturday at Michigan State. PICK: Michigan 5-3 Notre Dame (8-16-1, 5-11-1 CCHA) at No. 10 Lake Superior (16-9-4, 12-5-3 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Taffy Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, MI The last time these two teams met, the Irish were dealt yet another of their one-goal losses. "We had a real good game against them in November in a 4-3 loss," says Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin. "They have a good program. People probably aren’t paying enough attention to the good job Scott Borek is doing in Lake." The Irish had an encouraging weekend series against St. Cloud State last weekend. "We played well," says Poulin. "It was probably the most sustained we’ve played this year." The Irish won 5-2 Friday, and lost 2-1 Saturday. "Ironically, I was probably more pleased with the way we played Saturday night in a loss," says Poulin. Lake Superior took only one point from two games last weekend. On Friday, the Lakers lost 8-5 to Bowling Green. Laker goaltender John Grahame gave up an uncharacteristic five goals in two periods before being replaced with Shawn Greene (who gave up three goals in the third). Grahame was back in form for Saturday’s game, making 28 saves on 29 shots in a 1-1 tie with Western Michigan. The Lakers are 1-1-3 in their last five games, which proves nothing more than that the level of competition in the CCHA is high. Each of these teams needs and wants these points for different reasons. Among the top four teams in the CCHA, Lake Superior has the fewest conference games left. If the Lakers are going to make a run at the title, they need every point. For Notre Dame, every point lost could make the difference in the struggle for a playoff spot. Poulin says that every remaining game has the intensity of a playoff game. "I don’t think there’s a question about it. There are five weeks left, and no matter how you break it down, that’s only ten games." Expect a gritty, physical series. PICKS: Lake Superior 4-3, Notre Dame 3-2 No. 9 Miami (19-9-0, 13-6-0 CCHA) at Bowling Green (13-11-2, 8-9-2 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH Here’s an in-state match-up that should be a great game to watch. The recently-resurrected Bowling Green Falcons are hot right now. The Falcons have a five-game win streak on the line; their last loss was against Ferris in early January. "For the first time, in the last four or five games we’ve been healthy," says Falcon assistant coach Wayne Wilson. "We’ve gone through a pretty difficult season, where things were on a real downward roll for us. Things got better when Brett Punchard came back; then when we started winning again, for whatever reason, it just sort of hit us." What "hit" Bowling Green was better goaltending from a more confident Bob Petrie, who has been the goalie of record in all five of those wins. For the last five games, Petrie’s GAA is 2.80, and his save percentage is .886. Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni knows his team will be playing a different Bowling Green team — literally. "When Bowling Green came here," says Mazzoleni, "Punchard was out with a broken ankle and Perrault had been suspended for a game for fighting. "They’re on a roll right now, and feel good about themselves." Mazzoleni says that the Falcons have good leadership from their upperclassmen, and that alone will make them a different team than the one that lost 4-0 in Miami earlier this season. "They play three senior defensemen, and four [or] five senior forwards. I’m sure they feel they can catch us yet." Miami looks to snap a four-game losing streak, most recently two to Michigan at Yost. Mazzoleni is not disappointed with Miami’s effort against the top-ranked Wolverines. "Our team worked hard the whole weekend. We kept our composure. They [Michigan] have the intangible, the experience." Now that Bowling Green’s offense has awakened, look for both goaltenders to be challenged. This game will be an opportunity for the Miami team to prove — once again — that it belongs in the top ten. PICK: Miami 5-4 No. 7 Michigan State (15-7-3, 11-3-3 CCHA) at Western Michigan (9-12-4, 5-8-4 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Lawson Arena, Kalamazoo, MI The Spartans were poised to make a run at first place in the CCHA early last week. With a game last Tuesday against middle-of-the-pack Ferris State, and two games — at home — against Ohio State, surely the Spartans would take more than three points in three games, wouldn’t they? The Spartans tied with Ferris, and split with the Buckeyes. Ferris is a team on a roll, but … the Buckeyes? Spartan assistant coach Tom Newton says the games against the Buckeyes are big in East Lansing. "It’s a Big Ten rivalry game, and the fans take that very seriously. Whenever we play them, there’s a lot of attention within our community." "It was a good game. We had two power-play goals, they had two power-play goals. We had a giveaway that they capitalized on. "I give them a lot of credit," says Newton. "They played a very defensive brand of hockey." Newton knows his Spartans are facing a competitive opponent in Western Michigan. "As long as Barnes [Bronco goaltender Matt Barnes] plays as well as he has been, they’re going to be a real tough game for us. "They’re tight in the defensive zone. You really have to fight for your space against Western." Western Michigan has proven it can play with the top teams in the CCHA. Last Saturday, the Broncos skated to a 1-1 tie with Lake Superior at home. The previous weekend, the Broncos tied Michigan at Yost. But don’t tell Broncos head coach Bill Wilkinson that his team is playing better. "I wouldn’t say we’re playing better. We’re maybe playing a little more consistent. "Matt Barnes is feeling more comfortable playing goal. Everybody’s starting to understand the system, and everybody is playing better in the system." Michigan State wants the title. The Broncos want good playoff position. PICK: Michigan State 4-3 Bowling Green (13-11-2, 8-9-2 CCHA) at No. 1 Michigan (23-1-3, 14-1-2 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Yost Arena, Ann Arbor, MI This will be a true test of the Bowling Green "recovery." When these two teams first met this season, the blood-letting on the ice cost each team players through injuries and game disqualifications. If Bowling Green is up to the challenge, this game could be just as fun. "Michigan is a great team," says Bowling Green assistant coach Wayne Wilson. "Yost is a tough place to play. As tough as it is, it’s also a great environment for hockey. Our team likes playing there." Bowling Green has a potentially explosive offense, but can its defense fend off an incredible Michigan team? The Wolverines have seven players with 20 or more points in 16 league games. John Madden leads the league with 33 points, and Brendan Morrison, with 30, is third in CCHA play. Compare that with the three Bowling Green players with 20 or more points in 17 league games, and you have to wonder if the Falcons have come far enough to get the better of this Michigan team. Yost is a tough place to play. Senior Michigan forward Brendan Morrison credited the fans, in part, for Michigan’s come-from-behind win last week against Miami. Expect no less from the crowd this Saturday night. PICK: Michigan 4-2 Ferris State (11-17-2, 7-12-1 CCHA) at Western Michigan (9-12-4, 5-8-4 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Lawson Arena, Kalamazoo, MI For their second home game of the weekend, the Broncos will battle for position with Ferris State. Western head coach Bill Wilkinson sees similarities in the Broncos’ opponents. "Both of them [Michigan State and Ferris State] have similar styles. They will forecheck with pressure if they’re capable. Both use a lot of neutral-zone play. We just need to prepare ourselves to face that style. "They’re both very good on the special teams. Our special teams will be tested." In non-conference play last weekend, Ferris State split with Cornell, a team tied for second in the ECAC. In their last conference games, the Bulldogs came away with three points against ranked teams, beating Miami 6-4 and skating to a 3-3 tie with Michigan State. Ferris State assistant coach Drew Famulak credits a maturing team with the recent Bulldog success. "Our sophomores are stepping up. By the time they’re sophomores, they’re used to this league." Famulak thinks this game will be close. "I expect a one-goal game from Western, either way." Both teams are aware of how important these points are at this stage of the season. "I think everybody’s jockeying for position," says Famulak. "Every game is important," says Wilkinson. "In this league, you can’t play a team six times. We’re done with Michigan, and we’re done with Lake State. Those game you can’t get back." Still, Wilkinson says he doesn’t feel any sense of urgency about the playoffs — yet. "Maybe when you get down to the last few weeks in February, you feel like it’s playoff pressure." Don’t let Bill Wilkinson fool you; these teams are playing for the playoffs. PICK: Ferris State 5-3 Ohio State (7-20-0, 5-13-0 CCHA) at No. 9 Miami (19-9-0, 13-6-0 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Goggin Ice Arena, Oxford, OH When these two teams met in a home-home series three weeks ago, Miami outscored Ohio State 17-5. Both Ohio State head coach John Markell and Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni expect this game to be a bit more competitive. "I would hope we’re going to be a lot different," says Markell. "Obviously when you get down four or five quick goals in the first period…" Markell didn’t need to finish the sentence. In their first meeting of the year, Miami outscored Ohio State 4-1 in the first period. The next night, Miami improved to 5-0 after one. "When we played them," says Mazzoleni, "their goaltending at that time was struggling. We scored on some very, very poor shots. I’m sure they’ve gained a lot of confidence since then." The Buckeyes may have gained confidence in freshman goaltender Ray Aho, who has been spectacular in net for the past two weeks. In his last four games, Aho has a .933 save percentage, and a goals-against average of 2.77. During those last four games, Aho lowered his GAA by 0.55 while raising his save percentage by .030. It’s a nice little streak for a walk-on goaltender who came to the Buckeyes a month before the season began. If Aho plays well and gets some help from the inconsistent Buckeye defense, this will be a competitive game. PICK: Miami 3-1 Air Force (6-15-2, 4-10-1 against D-I) at Alaska-Fairbanks (7-19-0, 5-17-0 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Carlson Center, Fairbanks, AK The University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks swept the University of Lethbridge (Alberta) Pronghorns in two non-conference games last weekend, and what a weekend it was. According to a story by Susan Adeletti in the Jan. 25 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the Nanooks had to scramble for a goaltender for the first game. Starter Chris Marvel was fighting the ‘flu, goaltender Ian Perkins re-injured his ankle, and second backup goalie Wade Schachle was attending his brother’s wedding. So, Nanook head coach Dave Laurion called freshman walk-on Craig Worrell — who wasn’t even eligible to play last semester — just two days before the game. Worrell came in for the ailing Marvel after two periods and a 4-1 Nanook lead. The Nanooks managed to hold on to win 6-5. Oh, but this story gets better. The Nanooks won the second game 7-3, but without five key players who were benched for the Saturday game for team rules violations. According to Adeletti in the Jan. 26 News-Miner, the five Fairbanks players had been caught drinking the night before with friends who played for Lethbridge. Schachle — who flew in from Anchorage after his brother’s wedding— was the goalie of record for the second game. And now the Air Force is in town. Air Force lost two games last weekend to top-ranked and defending national champion Division II Alabama-Huntsville, 5-4 and 4-2. The Nanooks are 12-5-1 against Air Force. The teams last met in the 1994-95 season at the Cadet Ice Arena, where the teams split two games. Depending on who’s in net for the Nanooks — and who is eligible or not eligible to play for various reasons — the games against Air Force should help the Nanooks prepare for league play in the following weeks. PICKS: Alaska-Fairbanks 4-3, 4-2 You can read all about the further adventures of the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (www.newsminer.com) and the UAF hockey home page (www2.polarnet.com/~jcarlson/uafhockey).

Paula C. Weston is the CCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Paula C. Weston . All Rights Reserved.

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Staking Out The Territory

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As the 1995-96 season got started, Denver was expected to be one of the heavies in the WCHA. After all, the team had 14 of its top 17 scorers, along with the arguably-better half of a sterling two-man goalie rotation, returning from a team that finished third in the conference last year. With graduation decimating some of the top squads, notably Colorado College and Minnesota, it seemed the time was ripe for Denver to rule the West.

Didn’t happen. The team was stuck in a funk that started in February of the previous season. That team finished 2-8-2, including a pair of home losses to little-regarded St. Cloud that bounced Denver right out of postseason play, both in the WCHA and the NCAA.

This year’s team started like pretenders to the throne, beginning the season with three straight losses en route to a 3-5-0 start. That made the Pioneers 5-13-2 in their last 20 — and all this from a team that was supposed to contend for the WCHA title.

Head coach George Gwozdecky suggests that the expectations may have distracted his players. “It was difficult for us to play in the favorite role, especially against teams that were coming extra hard at us because we were the favorite.

“We had a lot of guys who were trying to do more than they were capable of doing, earlier in the year. All of a sudden we were trying too much, because we were struggling.”

Still, it always takes a little time for a squad to suffer the growing pains of a new season. Top goaltender Jim Mullin could see the troubles the team was going through.

“At the beginning of the season,” Mullin says, “everyone’s got their ruts. You’ve got new players, everyone is feeling each other out a little bit. That’s what started to happen. Then we started to pass real well, bring the puck out of the zone. We started to know where each other was on the ice, and that’s helped us gain some momentum.”

That momentum now is like a runaway freight train. The Pioneers are 8-2-2 in their last 12 games. The two losses were in Alaska, after a long trip, and a heart-breaking overtime defeat to Minnesota at Mariucci Arena. Denver recovered to gain the split each time.

So what’s the difference? How does this red-hot Denver squad differ from the team that opened the season with three straight losses?

“Team defense has become a priority,” says Mullin. “That’s our main focus. Defense first, and we’ll take the goals as they come.”

That defense was young indeed, at the start of the season. Of the six regulars, three are sophomores and one a freshman.

Gwozdecky praised the blueliners. “They’ve really matured. They’re playing really well together, [though] they’re not the kind of defense that’s going to make you go ‘Wow, boy, can they really jump up and play.’

“We’ve got some people who pride themselves on being strong from the red line on back. They move well together, they play together well as partners. It becomes a real strength for us, where earlier in the year perhaps it was a little bit of an inconsistency.”

The youngsters guarding the fort don’t seem like underclassmen to Mullin, who sees their handiwork up close every time he’s in net.

“I’ll tell you what. It doesn’t matter how old they are, the way they’ve been playing. It’s been great,” Mullin said. “They’re very tenacious out there. They block shots, they make the smart plays, they’re sacrificing their bodies. It doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a senior — if you’re making those efforts, you’re going to play and play well, and that’s exactly what they’ve done.”

But even more crucial than the defensemen have been the guys who stand between the pipes. It seemed Denver had a done deal with Mullin, one of the league’s top returning goalies. But when Mullin lost his first three WCHA contests, displaying a 5.80 goals-against average and an embarrassing .813 save percentage, Gwozdecky was forced to look to a freshman, Stephen Wagner, for support. He got it.

“Wagner’s playing extremely well on Friday nights. I don’t think he expected he would play as much as he has during his freshman year. I think Jim Mullin really plays well when he has competition. He needs to play on edge a little bit. I think Stephen Wagner has done that.

“That’s one of the reasons [Mullin] wasn’t as effective early in the year. He probably felt it was his job, and maybe he didn’t have the intensity or the concentration he needed. One of the things that made Jim so effective in the past is that we had Sinuhe Wallenheimo, our other goaltender, competing against him.

“There’s no question both guys are giving us excellent goaltending, and there is no reason to expect they won’t continue that.”

Wallenheimo, the flashy Finnish goaltender, was a crowd-pleaser on the ice. His numbers weren’t as good as Mullin’s — a 3.48 goals-against compared to Mullin’s 3.13 — but his on-ice antics made him the more obvious of the two goalies. While the competition may have done Mullin some good, he didn’t have to enjoy it. When asked about Wallenheimo’s absence this year, he issued a terse “No comment.”

But Mullin harbors no such grudge against Wagner. “I don’t think any goalie is going to be happy about splitting a series, because every goalie wants to play as much as he can.

“But Steve’s been playing well — he deserves to play. He’s a freshman, and he’s been playing great all year. You can’t be selfish. If I’m not playing on Friday night, I can’t sit there and say, ‘Oh gosh, why am I not playing?’

“You can’t look at it like that. You have to say ‘Wow, this kid’s been playing great; the team’s been supporting him.’ He’s a freshman coming in and playing like this — that’s impressive.”

Even more impressive is what the competition in net has done for Mullin. He now leads the WCHA with a sparkling 2.77 GAA. He has two shut-outs, one over conference opponent Michigan Tech, and another against national power Clarkson, that coming in Clarkson’s own building.

And Wagner’s not far behind. He sports a solid 3.31 GAA and has wins over conference powers St. Cloud and Minnesota-Duluth.

Denver’s schedule has favored the Pioneers of late. They have recently played four games against teams near the bottom of the WCHA, and have another such series — against Northern Michigan — this weekend. “I think this will be a great test for us,” Gwozdecky said. “There’s no question you can get fired up to play with a lot of intensity and a lot of emotion in games against teams ahead of you, but the real test is to see how you do against teams that aren’t having the success that you’re having, and how you respond to that.

“There’s no question that we [didn’t do] the job in the first half the season. We’re a better team now, a more mature team, and a more confident team. With those things in place, I think we’ve set ourselves up.

“It is going to be very important that we take matters in our hands and do a good job against our opponents, no matter who they are. This league has shown this year that there is a lot of balance. There’s no question that the three teams at the bottom of the league are struggling right now … [but] if you take a night off, you’re going to get beat. Especially with the balance in this league this year. You have to be ready to play, and play hard.”

Mullin never let himself believe the games against the bottom teams would be a cakewalk. “I think in the WCHA … everyone knows how good the teams are, and I don’t think you can ever be at ease. It is so competitive in this league.”

But it’s all too easy to fall into that trap of good team, bad team, a vice the Pioneers succumbed to earlier in this year.

“Maybe toward the beginning of the season, we were kind of worried about each game. Looks at the standings and we’ll be playing who’s ranked. It shouldn’t really matter.

“I think that’s been a main focus of ours as well. We approach the game as though we don’t even know who we’re playing. We step on the ice, and whoever is out there is out there. If you start looking at the standings, you know, ‘Oh, we have a team in the lower division,’ it would change our play. We have to stay away from that. We have to maintain our focus and play as well as we can each game.”

Part of the reason Denver is playing so many teams at or near the bottom of the league is the unbalanced schedule the WCHA has adopted. Denver, like the other school in the conference, plays two teams in only one series apiece, while facing all remaining conference foes in two series.

This year Denver drew Minnesota and St. Cloud to short-shift. Most coaches would be happy to face these teams as little as possible, but not Gwozdecky.

“You always wish you could play teams that are ahead of you in the standings. Obviously you can’t control that, and you never can, but I wish we had St. Cloud two more times this year, and I wish we had Minnesota two more times this year. They’re ahead of us, and we don’t control our fate with them. We have to hope that other people help us.”

One of the problems that has faced the team is trouble playing on the larger ice surfaces. The aforementioned two recent losses, to Minnesota and Alaska-Anchorage, both came on Olympic-size ice sheets. The team had not played on the larger surface all season long, and playing on the big ice takes some adjustment.

“It took us a while to get used to it. Part of getting used to it is learning how to play in the neutral zone, defensively. Where your coverages are, and how much ice you can take back. How much space and time you can take away from your opponent.”

Gwozdecky will see how much the team learned when it travels to Wisconsin in late February, where they face the Badgers on their own large surface. Those could potentially be huge matchups.

Overall, the team seems to have found their niche. “You learn from the beginning of the season. We started to gel together as a team, and that just takes time,” said Mullin. “Every team is going to have their individuals for some games, but for the most part we have no individuals on this team.”

Gwozdecky reemphasized his sentiment.

“I think this team has matured an awful lot.

“This team has become a team. This group of guys has really bonded together, and fought through some real adversity. Having to overcome the very slow start to the year, this team has shown that it is very resilient. It is getting stronger and stronger, getting more confident and believing in themselves, and we’re still in the hunt.

“We’re playing the way we know we can play.”

And, really, who can ask more than that?

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