Jake Walman (left) leaves Providence as the ninth player from the 2015 national championship team to sign an NHL contract (photo: Melissa Wade).
The St. Louis Blues announced Tuesday that Providence junior defenseman Jake Walman has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the club.
Walman, a third-round draft choice (82nd overall) of the Blues in 2014, earned First Team Hockey East All-Star accolades for the second consecutive season after posting seven goals and 18 assists for the Friars in 2016-17.
A reigning First Team All-American, Walman amassed 21 goals and 48 assists for 69 points in 107 career games at Providence.
As a sophomore in 2015-16, Walman led all NCAA defensemen in goals (13), points per game (1.04), power-play goals (8), and game-winning goals (4) in just 27 games played.
Walman is now the ninth member of the Friars’ 2015 national championship squad to ink an NHL entry-level contract.
Wisconsin’s Hilary Knight fires a shot during the Frozen Four championship game in 2012 between the Badgers and Minnesota (photo: Dave Harwig).
USA Hockey and the U.S. Women’s National Team announced Tuesday that they’ve reached an agreement that will result in groundbreaking support for the U.S. Women’s National Team program over the course of the next four years.
The agreement ensures fans will see the U.S. Women’s National Team defend its gold medal in the 2017 IIHF Women’s World Championship on home ice. The event begins Friday (March 31) at USA Hockey Arena in the Detroit suburb of Plymouth, with Team USA facing Canada at 7:30 p.m. EDT (live on NHL Network). The U.S. is expected to hold its first official practice on Thursday (March 30) at 3:15 p.m. ET at USA Hockey Arena.
“Today reflects everyone coming together and compromising in order to reach a resolution for the betterment of the sport,” said USA Hockey president Jim Smith in a statement. “We’ll now move forward together knowing we’ll look back on this day as one of the most positive in the history of USA Hockey.”
“Our sport is the big winner today,” added Meghan Duggan, captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team. “We stood up for what we thought was right and USA Hockey’s leadership listened. In the end, both sides came together. I’m proud of my teammates and can’t thank everyone who supported us enough. It’s time now to turn the page. We can’t wait to play in the World Championship later this week in front of our fans as we try and defend our gold medal.”
“We look forward to the future with great anticipation,” noted USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean. “This process has, in the end, made us better.”
“I’m glad we could come together and reach an arrangement that will have a positive and lasting impact,” said Hilary Knight, veteran forward of the U.S. Women’s National Team. “This is an inspirational time and we’re excited to get back on the ice and represent our country.”
Last week, news broke that the women’s national team was considering a boycott of the World Championship if wage and marketing demands, among others, were not met.
Griffen Molino (left) compiled 15 goals and 33 points during the 2016-17 season with Western Michigan (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday the signing of Western Michigan sophomore forward Griffen Molino to a two-year contract.
Molino is coming off the best season of his collegiate career, scoring 33 points on 15 goals and 18 assists in 40 games.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for my past two years at Western Michigan,” said Molino in a statement. “My teammates, coaches and staff have made my years in Kalamazoo unforgettable. It’s unbelievable to become a part of an organization like Vancouver. I would not be in this position I am today without my family, coaches and friends that provided continued support and belief in me.”
In his two seasons at WMU, Molino racked up 58 points on 26 goals and 32 assists in 76 games with the Broncos.
Matheson Iacopelli rang up 20 goals in his second season with Western Michigan during the 2016-17 campaign (photo: Rachel Lewis).
The Chicago Blackhawks announced Tuesday that they have agreed to terms with Western Michigan sophomore forward Matheson Iacopelli on a two-year contract that begins next season and runs through the 2018-19 season.
He will report to the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs.
Iacopelli posted 20 goals and 16 assists in 40 games this season with WMU.
Originally Chicago’s third-round draft choice (83rd overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft, Iacopelli recorded 21 goals and 22 assists in 67 games with the Broncos.
Vince Pedrie led all Penn State defensemen in scoring in 2016-17 with 30 points in 39 games for the Nittany Lions (photo: Omar Phillips).
Penn State’s student newspaper, the Daily Collegian, has reported that sophomore defenseman Vince Pedrie will forgo his last two seasons after signing a free agent contract with the New York Rangers.
Vince Pedrie announces via Facebook that he has signed with the New York Rangers. Pedrie, a sophomore, had two years of elibility left. pic.twitter.com/u2XFZObT1M
“Without Penn State, none of this would have been possible,” said Pedrie in a news release. “I really utilized everything the university offered me from the great facilities to the coaching staff and the Morgan Academic Center, I couldn’t be more thankful for my time here and everyone who helped me along the way.”
“Vince has been a great player and representative of this program for the past two years [and] we wish him the best of luck in his professional career and he will always remain a Nittany Lion to us,” PSU coach Guy Gadowsky added in a statement.
Pedrie was the Nittany Lions’ top-scoring blueliner with eight goals and 30 points in 39 games this season.
Stephen Collins of Geneseo (photo: Benjamin Gajewski, North Street Studios)
Geneseo’s Stephen Collins is this year’s winner of the USCHO player of the year award. Following a season where he scored 19 goals and added 29 assists for 48 points in 27 games played, Collins also was named first-team and POTY in the SUNYAC for two years running and more recently voted by the American Hockey Coaches Association as a first-team All-American for the second consecutive year.
“Stephen is by far the best player I have had the opportunity to coach from a skill perspective,” noted Geneseo coach Chris Schultz. “His hands and edges are just crazy good. I have seen him skate through three guys in a tight area with great control and speed that a lot of players don’t have. He by far has been our most exciting player to watch and he has been a draw for fans to come watch us play during his four seasons here at Geneseo.”
Collins’ career numbers are equally impressive as compared to his recently completed senior year. In Collins’ 114 games played, he managed a scoring line of 59-78-137, which includes the program’s two trips to the Frozen Four. As a freshman, the Knights reached the Frozen Four and lost in the semifinals to St. Norbert, while last season they returned and lost to eventual champion Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
“Stephen is a player that garners a lot of respect from opposing coaches,” said Schultz. “We know he has been one of a handful of guys that other teams plan and game plan against when he is on the ice. That actually makes his production that much better knowing that teams are highlighting ways to stop him. He has been great at closing games out for us over the course of his career. In games we should or need to win, you could always count on Stephen to score the goal that gave us a comfortable margin or got us to a three-goal advantage.”
The numbers, skill and leadership have been a mainstay at Geneseo since Collins arrived as a freshman in the 2013-14 campaign and produced 24 points. Looking ahead into next season, both the player and the coach have things to look forward to.
“No doubt Stephen made players around him better on the ice and in the locker room,” said Schultz. “He has worked especially hard to be the best player in the country the past two seasons, so this honor from an organization that sees all of the teams play across the country is a nice one for Stephen to capture in recognition of his consistently high performance on the ice this season and for his career.
“About 95 percent of your guys are replaceable when they graduate, but this one is going to be hard to fill for sure. He is one of the special ones for sure and I know he has more hockey in his future and he is exploring a number of options right now.”
Collins has been invited to the Washington Capitals development camp in July and is exploring other avenues to keep playing after graduation in May.
On the March 28 edition of USCHO Live! — our final Tuesday night show of the season – our scheduled guests are Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune, and Nate Owen, USCHO.com ECAC Hockey columnist, as we preview next week’s Frozen Four. Join us for the conversation and information, Tuesday, March 28, at 8 p.m. EDT using the player below or listen using the Spreaker Radio app for iOS, Android or Windows phone.
Be part of the conversation! Send your tweets to @USCHO or your emails to [email protected]. Each episode of USCHO Live! features a look at news around NCAA hockey, a look ahead at upcoming games and events, and conversation with people who coach, administer and play college hockey, and journalists who cover the sport.
About the hosts
Jim Connelly is a senior writer at USCHO.com and has been with the site since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he co-writes “Tuesday Morning Quarterback.” Jim is the winner of the 2012 Joe Concannon award. He is the color analyst for UMass-Lowell hockey’s radio network, and is a studio analyst for NESN.
Ed Trefzger has been part of USCHO since 1999 and now serves as a senior writer and director of technology. He has been a part of the radio broadcasts of Rochester Institute of Technology hockey since their inception — serving as a producer, studio host, color commentator and as RIT’s play-by-play voice for 10 seasons. Ed is vice president and general manager of CBS Sports Radio affiliate 105.5 The Team in Rochester, N.Y., and COO of its parent company, Genesee Media Corporation.
Boston University and North Dakota went to double overtime Friday night with BU coming out on top in the opening game of the West Regional (photo: Melissa Wade).
Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Paula: Well, Jim, here we are at last, with the Frozen Four field set following an incredible weekend of NCAA playoff hockey.
I can’t remember when I’ve found so many of the individual games as entertaining as what we saw last weekend. Seven of the 12 games were decided by a single goal, three in overtime and one in double overtime. In the other five games, the winner was completely dominant and two teams earned shutout victories. Even in a couple of the lopsided games there was some interest late in the game.
The only team that emerged from the field that looked absolutely commanding was Denver. The Pioneers scored 11 goals total, six of those in the first period of their games. They scored first in each of their contests and went 3-for-8 on power plays for the weekend. They also limited Penn State to fewer than 30 shots in Sunday’s deciding game, something that hasn’t been easy for opponents to do this season.
And three of the top four seeds are heading to Chicago!
All of this sets up a Frozen Four that should produce some excellent, high-level hockey.
Jim: I certainly felt like we had it all, from great comebacks to extensive video reviews, even a delay caused by an exploding wall of glass after a crushing check in the tournament’s first game between Boston University and North Dakota.
I agree with what you said about Denver. They looked like they were in complete control of both of their games. A 4-0 lead against Michigan Tech was never really threatened. And versus Penn State, which was coming off a 10-goal explosion (a regional record) against Union, the Pioneers jumped out early, 2-0, and had plenty of responses every time the Nittany Lions struck. I feel like as we head to Chicago, despite having three number one seeds, that this tournament might be Denver’s to lose.
On the other hand, in the national semifinal, Denver will face a Notre Dame team that is beginning to seem like a team of destiny. The Irish, hosting next week’s Frozen Four in Chicago, overcame a 2-0 deficit to Minnesota late in the second with three goals. Then in the regional final fell behind UMass Lowell with eight minutes left, but found an answer to force overtime and eventually win it.
We’ve seen these types of teams in recent years. Think of Minnesota in 2002, Wisconsin in 2006 and Minnesota-Duluth more recently in 2011. All three played close to home, brought vocal crowds and found ways to win the national titles. Do you think it could happen for the Irish this year in the Windy City?
Paula: If Notre Dame were playing any team other than Denver, I would say that the Irish had a great chance in Chicago. Frankly, I was surprised by the way Notre Dame played in the regional, as I thought the Irish had some serious consistency problems throughout the season. In both games, Notre Dame looked really unified, focused, and complete. They certainly could pull off the upset, because we both know that anything can happen in single elimination.
But Denver. Holy moly.
It wasn’t just that they were dominant over Michigan Tech, a team they outmatched on paper. As you said, they also answered every time Penn State threatened, and Penn State was very good in postseason. If you’re invoking destiny, maybe that belongs to the Pioneers – regardless of Notre Dame’s advantage.
Besides, we’ve seen other teams of destiny lose before. I remember well the 1998 Frozen Four in Boston and the 2010 Frozen Four in Detroit. Sometimes, destiny is in the eye of the beholder – and what looks like a sure thing can change within the span of mere seconds.
Jim: I agree that in these single elimination games, just about anything can happen.
Going back to the Irish, I thought one of the biggest pieces to their success was the fact that their top players played like top players in crunch time. Cal Petersen not only made big saves throughout but he had a huge assist on a goal that got the offense going against the Gophers. And possibly most impressive was Anders Bjork, who scored twice on Saturday and then set up all three goals on Sunday. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the regional.
One thing that certainly did was help his stock heading into today’s final Hobey Baker voting. I’ve always contended that the NCAA regionals often have the biggest factor in determining a winner, particularly in a season where there isn’t a standout player.
Who else do you think may have helped make a case to the Hobey voters this weekend?
Paula: Without question Denver’s Will Butcher. He had Denver’s fourth goal in the first period of the Michigan Tech game, scoring 35 seconds after Emil Romig’s goal that held up to be the game-winning tally. But it was really what Butcher did with his overall game that made him stand out. He was plus-2 in each of the contests and played notably solid defense all weekend. He was the kind of guy who elevated play when he was on the ice. He got my attention, for sure.
Then there was Harvard’s Alexander Kerfoot with his three assists and great two-way play all weekend.
I agree that the NCAA regionals contribute quite a bit to Hobey voting, and I would be very surprised if they didn’t this past weekend when the tournament provided a great showcase for three finalists, especially.
Jim: I already had Butcher on my short list for the Hobey Hat Trick. I’ll be interested to see if he or others make it when the top three are announced this Thursday.
With this being our last edition of TMQ this season, I (and I’m sure that I speak for Paula) want to thank all of the readers. This is one of the most read stories on our site each week, as evidenced by the plethora of comments and responses and comments on responses at the bottom every week. I have enjoyed having the chance to communicate back and forth with some of the more regular readers who comment. And even when you’re tearing us apart, it’s always a lot of fun.
Michigan Tech defenseman Matt Roy compiled 26 points from the back end during the 2016-17 season, good for third on the team overall (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Michigan Tech junior defenseman Matt Roy signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, giving up his senior season with the Huskies.
Roy appeared in 42 games in 2016-17, leading the team with 21 assists and 29 penalties. He was also third in points with 26 after also scoring five goals.
Roy was named to the All-WCHA First Team after putting up 16 points in league games and helping lead the defensive corps that allowed only 2.11 goals per game. He was tied for 11th in the WCHA with eight points (three goals, five assists) on the power play. Roy was on both the coaches’ and the media’s Preseason All-WCHA Teams after being an All-WCHA Second Team selection in 2015-16.
Originally a seventh-round pick (194th overall) of the Kings at the 2015 NHL Draft, Roy appeared in 115 games over his three season with the Huskies, recording 55 points on 12 goals and 43 assists. He set a career-highs this season in points (26) and assists (21) and had the assist on a game-winning goal six times, including Shane Hanna’s double-overtime goal in the WCHA championship game that secured Tech’s bid to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons.
Colin White tallied 33 points in 35 games this season at Boston College (photo: Candace Horgan).
The Ottawa Senators announced Sunday that Boston College forward Colin White has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the American Hockey League’s Binghamton Senators.
He will report to Binghamton immediately and will also forgo his last two years of NCAA eligibility.
“We are excited to see Colin make the next step in his development in turning professional after a great college career,” said Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion in a statement. “We have spoken to Colin and his advisors at length and we are all in agreement that getting him on the ice to play games in the AHL is what is best for his growth at this moment. While our ongoing contract discussions are moving in a positive direction, we all know there is a small window left this season for Colin to gain professional experience.”
White was the Senators’ second first-round pick (21st overall) at in the 2015 NHL Draft and recently completed his second season with the Eagles, posting 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 35 games, completing his two-year college career with 35 goals and 76 points in 72 games.
White also helped the United States win a gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship where he led the American team with seven goals (and recording eight total points) in seven games.
Dani Sibley of Wisconsin-River Falls was one player approached by USA Hockey. Photo by Kathy M Helgeson
At this writing, at least 37 current, former or future college hockey players have used Twitter to announce that they had been contacted by USA Hockey (USAH) to compete as part of a replacement team in the Women’s World Championships (WWC), which begin March 31, and they had turned them down. In addition, four more players who were a part of the last U-18 squad used Twitter to voice support, but had not explicitly said they had turned down USAH.
On March 15, the women on the U.S. roster who were to compete at the upcoming WWC simultaneously tweeted a statement saying that they would be boycotting the tournament. The women cited discrepancies in compensation, support, marketing and more as reasons why they were at odds with USAH and seeking better treatment. Once the senior team announced their intentions, it became clear that the entire USA player pool was on board with the boycott, as many members of the U-18 and U-22 squads shared similar sentiments and used the words ‘Stand Tall Together’ to voice their support.
Since the original statements from the players, there have been several back-and-forth and meetings, but the two sides continue to be at an impasse. With the tournament just five days away, USAH has been scrambling to try to find alternate players to take the ice under the USA flag, but it does not appear that has been successful. Players on Sunday Tweeted about a possible resolution coming at a meeting on today.
Meghan Duggan, captain of Team USA and a former Wisconsin Badger, reportedly called all 100 members of the USAH player pool to explain the situation, answer questions and assure that all the players were unified in their stand against USAH. It does not appear that any player in that pool has any plans to dress for USAH in the tournament next week.
From the U-18 team that won gold at their World Championships, Cayla Barnes, Alex Gulstene, Mak Langei, Maureen Murphy and Natalie Snodgrass have all posted a tweet with the words ‘Today I will do what others won’t so tomorrow I can do what others can’t. I said no to USAH & will not play in the 2017WC #BeBoldForChange.’ In addition, Natalie Buchbinder, Natalie Heising, Catie Skaja and Taylor Wente have all used Twitter to express support without explicitly using the above words. Several members of the U-18 team have locked Twitter accounts or do not use the social network. But based on the statements from Duggan and the rest of the player pool, it is assumed that none of those player will be playing for Team USA next week.
In addition, at least 32 current and former NCAA players have posted tweets with the same phrase ‘Today I will do what others won’t so tomorrow I can do what others can’t. I said no to USAH & will not play in the 2017WC #BeBoldForChange .’ Eleven players that competed in last week’s Frozen Four have expressed that they will not take part: Boston College’s Caitrin Lonergan, Minnesota’s Dani Cameranesi, Cara Piazza, Sydney Baldwin, Taylor Williamson and Patti Marshall and Wisconsin’s Annie Pankowski, Jenny Ryan, Sophia Shaver, Presley Norby and Mikaela Gardner.
USAH also reached out to D-III players, including USCHO player of the year and D-III scoring champ Dani Sibley of Wisconsin-River Falls; Sibley also tweeted the same phrase in response.
Piazza told The Ice Garden that she’d received phone calls from Duggan as well as senior team player Monique Lamoureux as well as an email from USAH. She replied to USAH that she wasn’t interested and publicly tweeted that she’d turned them down, and in a story on ESPN-W she and her teammate Carly Moran both expressed their support of the national team.
“At this point, if I said I was interested it would be something so selfish of me. I know at the end of the day I’m part of USA Hockey and this boycott is going to make it better for every girl playing hockey in the future,” she told The Ice Garden.
Piazza’s teammate, Lee Stecklein, is part of the senior team roster that was named to compete at the WWC. She has been receiving a lot of information from her Gopher teammates most heavily involved in the boycott, but said she knows the purpose is much bigger than just the players whose faces are front and center.
“I know the boycott is their faces, but it’s more than just their team. For the most part, the communication comes from what I hear from Lee or other point players that are on the national team. I’ve only gotten one very brief email from USA Hockey.”
Pankowski, who was part of Team USA’s pre-Sochi camp as a teenager and has been a member of the past two world championship squads, but was left of this year’s roster, told the AP that she received an email from USAH. It was not an invitation, but rather an inquiry into her availability.
“I responded to that email and I said I’m not willing,” Pankowski said.
Denver’s Troy Terry scores one of his three goals Sunday against Penn State (photo: Shawn Conkle).
CINCINNATI — The Denver Pioneers protected their No. 1 overall seed and earned a second straight trip to the Frozen Four by downing the Penn State Nittany Lions 6-3 on Sunday. Here are three takeaways from the Pioneers’ impressive performance:
1. The Pioneers got off to another fast start
Like Saturday’s four-goal first period against Michigan Tech, Denver jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 3:17 into the contest as the result of a well-orchestrated cycle in the right corner involving all three forwards on the ice for the Pioneers.
Their fast start extended to the 7:19 mark when Adam Plant beat Penn State goalie Peyton Jones with a shot from the right point after more good cycle work by Henrik Borgstrom.
“It’s really important to get the first goal, because then the belief for the players, their confidence, rises,” Denver coach Jim Montgomery said.
2. The Nittany Lions’ forecheck is relentless
Throughout the first period Sunday, much like they had against Union on Saturday, the Nittany Lions’ forecheck wreaked havoc on the Pioneers’ defense by keeping all three forwards in the offensive zone and below the tops of the circles. That decision allowed Penn State to pressure Denver’s defense at every opportunity.
After killing off a penalty to start the second period, the Nittany Lions quickly turned a potentially dangerous situation into a goal when Denis Smirnov beat Jaillet by bouncing a puck off of Pioneers defenseman Michael Davies and in.
After that tying goal, Penn State continued to keep the pressure on the Pioneers, forcing them to have to move the puck quickly. They often struggled to do that when Borgstrom or Gambrell’s lines were not on the ice.
“We knew that Penn State is relentless and that they would get opportunities,” said Montgomery. “I thought, in the second half of the first period, they were the better hockey team.”
After the Pioneers broke through to get their third and fourth goals, the Nittany Lions struggled to keep that pressure on as Denver worked hard to make sure it had all three forwards back to support its defenders better.
3. While they don’t typically play together, Terry and Borgstrom have chemistry
While coach Jim Montgomery prefers to keep his two of his top scorers on separate lines, when they are on the ice at the same time, Troy Terry and Borgstrom have a special chemistry together that comes from being comfortable with each other on the ice.
After picking up an assist on Jarid Lukosevicius’ first goal of the night, Terry and Borgstrom hooked up in the second period for a pair of goals. Both tallies saw Terry as the recipient of well-timed and well-placed passes from Borgstrom that allowed Terry to be able to shoot without taking an extra stride and having to adjust. What made those plays more impressive was the fact that Borgstrom was feeding the puck to Terry, a right-handed shot, on the right wing.
Terry mentioned after the game that he has learned not to watch Borgstrom, but rather make sure he joins the freshman on the rush, because chances are good that he will get a scoring opportunity by jumping up in the play.
Notre Dame celebrates an overtime victory over UMass Lowell in the Northeast Regional final Sunday (photo: Richard T. Gagnon).
The host is crashing the party for regional No. 1 seeds at the 2017 NCAA men’s Frozen Four.
Notre Dame, the No. 4 seed in the Northeast Regional and the host school at the United Center, is the only team bound for Chicago that wasn’t a top seed in a regional.
Still, with Denver, Minnesota Duluth and Harvard qualifying for the NCAA semifinals, three top seeds at the regional level are in the Frozen Four for the fifth time in 15 seasons of a 16-team tournament.
Minnesota Duluth and Harvard will play in the 5 p.m. CDT semifinal on Thursday, April 6. Denver and Notre Dame are scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
The semifinal winners meet at 7 p.m. CDT on Saturday, April 8.
Minnesota Duluth (27-6-7) and Harvard (28-5-2) have some similarities going into their national semifinal game.
Both are on lengthy winning streaks — 16 games for the Crimson, seven games for the Bulldogs.
Both have won one national championship, and both came in overtime in St. Paul, Minn. The Crimson beat Minnesota in 1989; the Bulldogs beat Michigan in 2011.
Both won their state or city championship this season — the Beanpot for Harvard and the North Star College Cup for Minnesota Duluth.
And both won their conference playoff championship.
The Bulldogs are making their fifth Frozen Four appearance and first since the 2011 championship.
They advanced with overtime victories over Ohio State and Boston University in the West Regional in Fargo, N.D.
The Crimson are going to the Frozen Four for the 10th time but the first in 23 years. They toppled Providence and Air Force in the East Regional in Providence, R.I.
Minnesota Duluth has a 9-4 record against Harvard, but the teams haven’t played since December 1996.
The Bulldogs swept an NCAA first-round, total-goals series against the Crimson in 1985, winning a pair of 4-2 games in Duluth.
Denver leads its series against Notre Dame 35-10-5, with the teams playing to 1-1 and 2-2 ties in Denver in January 2016.
The Pioneers and Irish were conference foes in the WCHA from 1971 to 1981, when Notre Dame left for the CCHA.
The Fighting Irish (23-11-5) lost to UMass Lowell 5-1 in the Hockey East semifinals on March 17, but they got revenge on Sunday. A 3-2 overtime victory over the River Hawks in the Northeast Regional final followed a 3-2 victory over regional top seed Minnesota in the opening round.
Notre Dame is the eighth regional No. 4 seed to make the Frozen Four in 15 seasons since the tournament expanded to 16 teams. Providence (2015) and Yale (2013) won the national championship as a fourth seed.
It’s the third Frozen Four appearance for the Irish, who fell to Boston College in the 2008 championship game and lost to Minnesota Duluth in the 2011 semifinals.
Denver, meanwhile, has the most Frozen Four experience of the four programs. The Pioneers (31-7-4) are in the national semifinals for the 15th time (16, if you count a 1973 runner-up finish that the NCAA later vacated for infractions).
And it’s a second straight national semifinals appearance for Denver, which lost to North Dakota in Tampa, Fla., last season.
The Pioneers have lost just once in their last 17 games, that being a semifinal defeat to the Fighting Hawks in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. They defeated Michigan Tech and Penn State in the Midwest Regional in Cincinnati.
Notre Dame’s Andrew Oglevie (15) celebrates his overtime goal against UMass Lowell on Sunday (photo: Richard T. Gagnon).
MANCHESTER, N.H. — With the Frozen Four in Chicago, arguably the backyard of Notre Dame, the obvious goal from day one was to be playing and not just hosting the event. The only problem was that all along the way, there were significant bumps in the road.
That, however, didn’t stop this team of destiny, which leads the three takeaways from the Fighting Irish’s 3-2 overtime victory over UMass Lowell in the Northeast Regional final on Sunday.
1. Call them the Cardiac Kids, but also call them regional champs
Notre Dame didn’t enter this tournament guns a blazin’. In fact, after a loss in the Hockey East semifinals, there was a statistical chance the Irish could have been left out of the field.
After earning one of the final at-large bids, the Irish had a disastrous start in Saturday’s opening game, falling behind 2-0 before rallying for a 3-2 win over Minnesota.
And Sunday, despite going blow for blow with Lowell, the Irish found themselves in a 2-1 hole with just over five minutes left.
Given that Notre Dame could come back and win the game in overtime, it has survived many of its nine lives. One has to wonder if this is a team of destiny. That’s something we’ll find out in Chicago.
2. Anders Bjork may be the bionic man
Maybe it was designed or maybe it was not, but junior Anders Bjork, who set up all three Notre Dame goals en route to tourney most outstanding player honors, seemingly never left the ice.
He skated many of his shifts with linemates Cam Morrison and Jake Evans but almost always was left on the ice to play the wing with Dylan Malmquist and Andrew Oglevie. That gave him nearly 30 minutes of ice time, almost every one of which had a major impact on the game.
“I laughed [when asked about double shifting],” said Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson. “I turned to [Bjork] and said, ‘You weren’t being double shifted. You were just taking two shifts for one.'”
All kidding aside, Jackson used Bjork in many mixed line situations, believing that he could handle what he called NHL-like minutes.
“Our bench is a little shorter now [due to injuries]. So if you’ve got horses you have to play them.”
3. Morrison the hidden storyline
It’s easy when you think of how strong the play of Bjork was and the fact that Oglevie played the role of hero scoring the overtime goal, you can accidentally overlook that massive contributions of Morrison.
The top-line winger opened the scoring by burying a rebound on a breakaway in the first. Then, when the chips were down, he collected a rebound and roofed a perfect backhander to tie the game with 5:17 remaining in regulation.
He was left off the all-tournament team entirely, but his contributions are a major reason the Fighting Irish are headed to Chicago.
That all-tournament team:
F: Anders Bjork, Notre Dame (also the most outstanding player)
F: Andrew Oglevie, Notre Dame
F: Ryan Lohin, UMass Lowell
D: Jordan Gross, Notre Dame
D: Michael Kapla, UMass Lowell
G: Cal Petersen, Notre Dame
Ryan Donato scores to give Harvard a 2-0 lead over Air Force in the second period (photo: Melissa Wade).
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Half of the NCAA Frozen Four field was finalized on Saturday night after Harvard defeated Air Force 3-2 in a roller coaster East Regional final. Here are three of the biggest things to note after the game:
1. Harvard finds the lanes
Harvard found a number of scoring chances, but the Crimson excelled at defining open lanes even in an Air Force system that pressed hard in the neutral zone and on a forecheck. Tyler Moy’s goal came from a crisp passing play from Adam Fox to Alexander Kerfoot to Moy, who caught Falcons goaltender Shane Starrett as he tracked the puck across the crease. The tally was the 18th power-play goal Air Force gave up in 42 games this season. The ability at even strength to pull away defensemen, especially those with as much bite as Air Force, helped Harvard mark its elite status in the tournament.
The depth of scoring that has fortified Harvard appeared once again as it has through much of the tournament. On one end, defenseman Viktor Dombrovskiy scored his fifth career goal to start off the game’s scoring. On the other side, Moy’s power-play tally gave him his 100th career point and set Sean Malone to 99 in his Harvard tenure.
Harvard also capitalized on striking first, improving its record to 21-2 when scoring first in a game. While the 3-0 lead held for only a few minutes, the cushion gave Harvard some room as Air Force punched to try to rally.
2. Air Force doesn’t fold
Air Force kept many second guessing until the waning minutes of the game. The Falcons were one of the few teams to hold Harvard close and collapse in to stifle as much of the team’s speed as possible.
Much like against Western Michigan, Air Force scored in quick succession, 15 seconds apart in the second period, to swing the game from a 3-0 Harvard cruise to an edge-to-edge clash between these two programs. The Atlantic Hockey champion held the ECAC Hockey champion on its toes, pushing shots wide and forcing off-angle shots to take pressure off Starrett.
Air Force pulled pressure late in the game, coming inches wide on tying it after a series of half a dozen icings in the final four minutes let Air Force set up in its offensive zone. Madsen was forced to perform some acrobatics to keep the game from becoming a tied affair.
3. Crimson seniors seek 80
Harvard’s Class of 2017 will be well represented on the ice in Chicago. The Crimson are a senior-heavy group, featuring seven players graduating in the spring. Many, including Kerfoot, said the decision to stay and continue to compete in the team’s third consecutive NCAA tournament stemmed from the actions of former teammates including Jimmy Vesey. His choice to stay after his Hobey Baker Award nomination led to, as Kerfoot described, a “trickle down” in the locker room that influenced many of the high talent players to stay. The class has 78 wins as a group and hopes to see 80 be the mark of ultimate team success.
