Tyson McLellan’s goal gave Denver a 5-0 lead over Michigan Tech (photo: Shawn Conkle).
CINCINNATI — As the top-seeded team in the NCAA tournament as well as in the Midwest Regional, Denver let its experience speak for itself in a 5-2 victory over Michigan Tech. Three takeaways:
1. Denver’s powered play
The Pioneers were awarded three power plays in the first period and they made good on two of them. Colin Staub and the second unit did what was necessary, take away the eyes of Huskies goaltender Angus Redmond, in order to be successful.
Staub and Evan Janssen caused all kinds of problems for Redmond by getting in his line of sight throughout the three power plays whenever possible to make things difficult on the excellent freshman.
Staub came up with a well-timed tip in the slot for his first tally of the night. His second goal came when he pounced on a rebound later in the period, setting off a run of three goals in a little under three minutes, which put the game out of reach before the first period ended.
2. Huskies youth is promising
After surrendering four goals in the first 15 minutes, Redmond essentially shut the door save for one more rebound tally by Tyson McLellan. He made two or three really key stops on Team USA hero Troy Terry in close as well as on Henrik Borgstrom and others.
The Huskies’ two goals came from a freshman, Gavin Gould, and a sophomore, Jake Lucchini. The two represent the future of the Huskies and they proved that they were ready for the big stage of the NCAA tournament.
Both players will be big parts of the Huskies’ offense next season.
3. Denver’s depth is worth noting
While much has been made of the efforts of Borgstrom, Terry and Dylan Gambrell this season, it was Staub and others who led the way Saturday.
Coach Jim Montgomery praised the efforts of Staub, Janssen, Evan Ritt and Emil Romig after the game as the quartet were involved in the Pioneers’ first three goals of the night.
Against Penn State at 6 p.m. EDT Sunday, the group will need to be just as good, considering that the Nittany Lions struck 10 times in a 10-3 victory over Union in the second semifinal.
Adam Johnson’s shot hits the net in overtime to give Minnesota Duluth an overtime victory over Boston University (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
FARGO, N.D. — Here are three takeaways from Minnesota Duluth’s 3-2 overtime victory over Boston University in the NCAA West Regional final on Saturday:
1. Overtime finale
For the first time since the NCAA went to four regionals and 16 teams in 2003, all three games of a region tournament went into overtime.
Both Duluth and Boston University advanced to Saturday’s do-or-die matchup via overtime in Friday’s seminal games, and continued that trend once again in the West Regional’s final matchup of the weekend.
The Bulldogs, who will be advancing to the Frozen Four in Chicago, have played in 12 overtime games this season and are unbeaten in those games.
This situation strikingly mimicked Duluth’s 2011 national title run, when it played in 15 overtime games. The Bulldogs took down Michigan in a 3-2 overtime victory to clinch the championship.
“When you’re in a lot of these situations, you learn from them, good and bad,” UMD coach Scott Sandelin said. “This group has been in so many close games. They believe they can win.”
Boston University also was unbeaten in six overtime games this season — including a 4-3 double-overtime victory Friday over North Dakota — until Saturday’s defeat at Scheels Arena.
2. Fatigue was no factor
Despite 91:48 of hockey for Boston University and 71:58 for Duluth on Friday, fatigue didn’t seem to be much of a factor for either team going into Saturday’s matchup. In fact, the Bulldogs couldn’t keep away from the ice for long.
“Most of our players came over and skated this morning,” Sandelin said. “They’re goofy that way.”
Boston University put itself on the board first, but finding momentum in the second period seemed to be an issue. The Terriers didn’t back down, however, as they continued to find scoring opportunities and tied the game to force overtime. They just couldn’t find a way to get the puck past UMD goaltender Hunter Miska again.
“Our strength coaches did an unbelievable job keeping our guys energetic and they helped them recover,” BU coach David Quinn said. “We had legs tonight. I thought we had a lot of jump to our game. … I didn’t think we looked like a team that had played a game and a half last night. There’s nothing we would do different.”
3. Finding a rhythm
The Bulldogs are unbeaten in seven games and aren’t looking to end that streak any time soon. Despite three straight regional appearances entering the weekend, Duluth failed to advance to the Frozen Four in any of those chances.
This year’s group of seniors wasn’t going to let its last chance slip away, although there was a question mark at the end of last season as to whether or not its key players would be back. Had Dominic Toninato, Karson Kuhlman and others not returned, Duluth could have seen a very different outcome.
Goaltending was a big question mark for Duluth at the beginning of the season, but Miska wasted no time proving he’s a crucial piece for this team’s success. He’s unbeaten in his last 18 appearances.
“He’s a big reason we are where we are,” Sandelin said. “He’s got a great demeanor, he’s a competitive kid that’s very athletic, as you see. He just doesn’t get bothered.”
Norwich goalie Ty Reichenbach makes a save in the NCAA Division III Final Utica, NY; Copyright 2017 Angelo Lisuzzo (Angelo Lisuzzo)
With this year’s Frozen Four hosted in Utica, New York, one can’t help but notice the many tandem container trucks making their way across the New York State Thruway delivering their goods in an ever dependable and reliable fashion. So it may be appropriate that the Norwich Cadets, who earned their first national championship since 2010 with their 4-1 win over Trinity, got their own special delivery from the goaltending tandem of Braeden Ostepchuk and Ty Reichenbach.
Where most teams have a true no. 1 goaltender, Norwich has gone with a 1 and 1-A model for the past six weeks, and has a conference title and NCAA championship to show for it. Ostepchuk, a junior, finished the season with a 16-0-0 record, including Friday’s semifinal win over Adrian, while Reichenbach, a senior, finished at 11-1-3, capped off with the win and 35 saves in the national title game tonight.
The other significant stats are all but identical for the two netminders, with Reichenbach having the slightest of edges in save percentage (.937/.924), goals-against average (1.63/1.83) and shutouts (3/2).
“It’s not a big choice; they both look good,” said Norwich coach Mike McShane after the semifinal win over Adrian. “We have an excellent goalie coach in Cap Raeder and our guys have gotten better and better. They have played together for a few years. I haven’t done it too many times in my career — I don’t remember ever doing it, but every year is different and this works.”
The two-man system wasn’t just new to the experienced guy behind the Norwich bench, as it took some adjustment for the two goaltenders as well.
“I do it because they make me do it — they are both that good,” said McShane. “Look at the guy tonight who played great and last night same thing. They both were concerned early in the year about how it was going to work out, but both adapted and got used to it and it has worked really well for us.”
The tandem did deliver the goods when it counted most, stopping 68 of 73 shots in the Frozen Four for a 2-0-0 record, .932 save percentage, and, most importantly, the national championship trophy for Norwich.
Ice Chips The All-Tournament Team
F Tyler Whitney, Trinity
F Ryan Cole, Trinity
F William Pelletier, Norwich
D Jake Erickson, Norwich
D Joey Colatarci, Adrian
G Ty Reichenbach, Norwich
Most Outstanding Player: William Pelletier
Entering the title game on Saturday night, Trinity had laid claim to one national championship. The Bantams won their sole title in 2015 by downing Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 5-2. Norwich entered the game having won the championship three times, in 2000, 2003 and 2010. The last title before tonight came in 2010 in a 2-1 double overtime win over St. Norbert.
The Norwich win extended a team-record unbeaten streak to 25 games. They finish the season at 27-1-3, with their last loss taking place on Nov. 18, 2016, at Skidmore by a 3-2 score.
Norwich at 27-1-3 had something in common with a Finlandia team that finished the season at 0-25-0: neither team scored a short-handed goal during the season, the only two teams in the country with that distinction.
The NCAA title for Norwich completed a season where they won four titles overall, including the Primelink Tournament, Northfield Bank Tournament, NEHC championship and the NCAA tournament.
The two teams last met in the 2015-16 season in the championship game of the Northfield Bank Holiday Tournament hosted by Norwich. Trinity won the title by a 5-4 score in overtime on a goal by Anthony Sabitsky.
The last time two teams from the East faced each other in the national championship game was in 2007. In the Frozen Four hosted by Wisconsin-Superior, Oswego beat Middlebury, 4-3, in overtime to end the Panthers’ three-year championship streak.
McShane picked up the Edward Jeremiah Award as the top coach in D-III for the fifth time in the week and acknowledged that in his time coaching at Dartmouth, he coached Brent Cole, father of Trinity brothers Brandon and Ryan Cole, who played their final collegiate game on Saturday night against McShane’s Cadets. “He was tough as nails and so are they.”
Utica more than a gracious host city
Despite the absence of the local Utica Pioneers, who certainly would have brought out the local hockey fans in all of their numbers and passion, Utica and “The Aud” put on a great Frozen Four — one that was acknowledged by fans and the participants alike.
Attendance for each of the two semifinal contests on Friday night was recorded at 1,525 and the final drew a bigger crowd at 1,595. Total attendance for the weekend was 4,645.
“We really want to thank Utica for putting on a first-class tournament,” stated St. Norbert coach Tom Coghlin following their semifinal loss to Trinity. “From the time we arrived, everything has been great and managed very well. It takes a lot of people to do this kind of event and I want to make sure to thank the city of Utica for being a great host.”
“First, I would like to thank the city and people of Utica who have made this such a great event,” noted Trinity coach Matt Greason in his semifinal press conference. “It takes a lot to put an event like this on and we have been treated wonderfully this entire week. Utica has been a terrific host to the Frozen Four.”
Next year’s Frozen Four stays in New York when it returns to Lake Placid, but no future sites have been announced beyond the 2018 venue.
Penn State scored 10 goals on 33 shots on goal Saturday (photo: Shawn Conkle).
CINCINNATI — Three takeaways from Penn State’s 10-3 victory over Union in the Midwest Regional semifinals on Saturday.
1. Penn State’s offense is as advertised
Penn State came into the game with the second-highest goals-per-game total and the most shots taken this year in Division I hockey, but no one was prepared for the Nittany Lions to drop double-digits on the 2014 national champions.
The goals were big and came in a steady stream throughout the game, sure. But it was the play off the puck that really impressed. While the Dutchmen kept it close in the first two frames it was the Penn State offense that stayed active, backchecking in several key situations to mitigate opposition chances and turn the puck up the other way.
The forecheck was heavy and liberally applied, which frustrated Union to no end and kept the Dutchmen from settling into a rhythm. It seemed regardless of where they were on the ice, the Nittany Lions offense managed to execute.
2. Youth isn’t as much of a limitation as it would seem
The Nittany Lions have faced so many doubts on the road to Cincinnati: a weak out-of-conference schedule, inconsistent in-conference success, the list seems to go on. Penn State’s inexperience was perhaps the biggest point of contention, but David Goodwin’s postgame answer seemed to sum up what he and his team have maintained these past few weeks: They have gained experience.
What else would one call two double-overtime victories over traditional college hockey powerhouses en route to a conference championship? Saturday’s 10-3 win was achieved with five underclassmen playing a top-six forward role, and three of those young men posted three-point games. Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 112 of their team’s 157 goals this season (not to mention nine of Saturday’s 10 tallies). Experience is valuable, but lack of said experience is not in and of itself disqualifying.
3. The Nittany Lions defense wasn’t that bad
Penn State’s blue line has taken some flak this year for underperforming, but that defensive corps held strong when called upon Saturday. They limited the Dutchmen to just 14 shots through the first two periods and maintained a strong net-front presence throughout the evening.
Although they’ve allowed just 2.68 goals against per game this season on average, the Nittany Lions have depended on a red-hot offense to carry them through most of the season. Add in goaltender Peyton Jones’ .907 save percentage entering the weekend and there was reason for concern, but this defensive squad was respectable enough to contain a prominent offense that boasts not one, but two Hobey Baker Award finalists.
Denver represents a similar challenge, but one that this young Penn State blue line looks ready to face.
Notre Dame goaltender Cal Petersen holds the post to deny a Minnesota chance (photo: Richard T. Gagnon).
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Here are three takeaways from Notre Dame’s dramatic 3-2 comeback upset of Minnesota in the Northeast Regional semifinals on Saturday.
1. When the chips are down, you need your big guns to deliver
Trailing top regional seed Minnesota 2-0 more than halfway through the game, Notre Dame looked to Andrew Oglevie and Anders Bjork for a way back into the game. The two had led the Irish in scoring this season and with the chips down, they delivered.
Oglevie scored his 20th goal at 14:39 of the second, catching Minnesota in a line change, and Bjork followed less than a minute later with his own 20th to tie it.
Bjork didn’t stop there. He got the game-winner at 8:42, and made a key defensive play in the closing minute to kill 15 huge seconds on the clock.
“That’s their gift,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said. “They have the great instincts and puck skills. You don’t win without your best players playing at their best at the most important moments of the year.”
Minnesota coach Don Lucia added, “Bjork was the best player on the ice tonight.”
2. At this time of year, little things become huge
Minnesota had chances to put Notre Dame away when it still had the 2-0 lead, but couldn’t do it.
“We left some opportunities on the ice to extend the lead,” Lucia said.
At 10:28 of the second period, Jackson called a timeout, his team down 2-0 to the favored Golden Gophers. Five minutes later, the game was tied.
Coincidence? Perhaps.
But Minnesota’s bad line change that led to Notre Dame’s first goal was no coincidence at all. It was the opening the Irish needed.
And then on the tying goal, there was a “what might have been” moment.
“One of our best players was right with a guy but doesn’t pick up a stick,” Lucia said.
Finally, in the closing minute with Minnesota goaltender Eric Schierhorn pulled, Justin Kloos hit the post.
Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda.
3. Notre Dame’s win sets up an all-Hockey East matchup that heavily favors Lowell
In Minnesota, Notre Dame may have been playing a future Big Ten opponent, one the Irish has faced the last six years in nonconference play. But until the season ends, they’re still a Hockey East team. As a result, it’ll be an all-Hockey East regional championship game, albeit a less-than-desirable matchup for them.
Just a week ago, the River Hawks manhandled Notre Dame 5-1 in the Hockey East semifinals, prompting Jackson to admit the obvious.
“This is familiar territory,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said after the loss. “UMass Lowell is a great team and they certainly have our number. They have ever since we started playing them three or four years ago. Same thing tonight.”
Are the Irish destined to fall again to the River Hawks?
“First of all, we need to show up,” Jackson said on Saturday. “Last week was an anomaly to me because that wasn’t the team I’ve seen over the last eight weeks.
“I think they were mesmerized by the moment, never having played in a big venue like [Boston’s TD Garden] before. That was a deer-in-the-headlights moment for us. Hopefully, going through that will help us.
“But I’m at least glad we got our game back in the latter stages of this game.”
Photos from UMass Lowell’s victory over Cornell and Notre Dame’s upset of Minnesota in the opening round of the Northeast Regional on Saturday in Manchester, N.H.
UMass Lowell goalie Tyler Wall and defensemen Mattias Göransson and Tyler Mueller watch a puck go over the net as Cornell’s Jake Weidner gets pushed out of the way (photo: Richard T Gagnon).
MANCHESTER, N.H. — A 5-0 score did not appropriately represent how tight UMass Lowell’s victory was over Cornell in Saturday’s NCAA Northeast Regional semifinals. In fact, the shutout for goaltender Tyler Wall was nearly out in the opening minute when it appeared Cornell scored.
But not so fast. That leads the three takeaways from Saturday’s game:
1. Reversal of Cornell goal swaps early momentum
It appeared that Mitch Vanderlaan gave the Big Red the lead just 53 seconds into Saturday’s game. But upon video review, something that was used extensively in the contest (totaling 17 minutes in additional time it took to play the game), it was ruled the puck was knocked down by a high stick prior to the original shot by Jake Weidner.
“I kind of expected it to get waved off,” said Weidner. “I had a pretty good view of it.”
From that moment, Lowell’s defense tightened up and allowed very little. The River Hawks struck less than six minutes later and added two additional goals in the second and third periods.
2. Lowell took a lickin’ and kept on tickin’
With 12 of its 16 skaters 6-foot-1 or larger, Cornell came at Lowell with a physical element effectively throughout the game. The River Hawks effectively absorbed the hits and used speed to combat things.
When Cornell was successful in lining up River Hawks skaters, the ability to move the puck a split second in advance helped alleviate the Big Red pressure.
“They’re big and we wanted to keep moving — move the puck, move our feet,” said Lowell freshman Ryan Lohin. “We were able to do that throughout the game.”
Coach Norm Bazin summed it up more succinctly.
“If you’re not moving, you’re a sitting duck,” said Bazin.
3. Noon start didn’t faze the combatants
It’s not often in college hockey that you wake up, eat breakfast and then head to the rink. That was the case for both teams with a noon EDT start for the opening game of the regional.
You would think that might annoy players, but neither team seemed to mind.
“We’re excited to get it going early in the day,” said Lowell captain Michael Kapla, whose River Hawks previously played a 3 p.m. game against New Hampshire in the Hockey East quarterfinals. “We didn’t want to sit around all day. We wanted to get right at it.”
Kapla’s River Hawks can rest a little longer before Sunday’s regional final. The game is slated for a 3:30 p.m. EDT puck drop.
Brock Boeser scored 16 goals this season for North Dakota (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
North Dakota forward Brock Boeser has given up his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility after signing with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
Boeser, whose season ended in a double-overtime loss to Boston University in the West Regional semifinals Friday in Fargo, N.D., scored his first NHL goal for the Canucks on Saturday at Minnesota.
Trinity vs. Norwich
The fans are in for one extra special final between teams that have a history dating back to the interlocking schedule between NESCAC and the former ECAC East. Both teams are rich with senior experience, and while the Bantams have been in this position more recently, the Cadets have been number one for the majority of the season for a reason. An empty-net goal is the final tally in a hard-fought, one-goal game that has them celebrating back in Northfield, Vermont. Norwich 4-2
They are playing for everything this weekend so expect all of the drama, excitement, and unpredictability that comes with a winner-takes-all tournament. So for the last time this season, “Drop the puck!”
Trinity vs. Norwich
Norwich is coming off a thrilling overtime win over Adrian, holding off the Bulldogs 5-4 in overtime. Ian Williams scored the game-winner at the 11:40 mark to put the Cadets in the championship game. Norwich, unbeaten in 24 consecutive games, is seeking its first national title since 2010. Trinity is back in the national final for the second time in three years thanks to Sam Johnson scoring his first goal of the season in a 3-2 win over St. Norbert. Johnson’s goal broke a 2-2 tie and propelled the Bantams into the national final. The big question today is do the Cadets have enough left in the tank to beat the Bantams after surviving a wild game. Trinity might have the edge in this one. I know Norwich is the favorite being the No. 1 team in the country, but I’m going with Trinity. Trinity 4-3
Minnesota Duluth’s Hunter Miska stops Ohio State’s David Gust with his stick in overtime on Friday (photo: Jim Rosvold).
FARGO, N.D. — Here are three takeaways from Minnesota Duluth’s 3-2 overtime victory over Ohio State on Friday in the West Regional semifinals:
1. Miska steals the show
Pardon the cliché, but it was clear that Ohio State ran into a hot goaltender Friday night.
The Buckeyes came in with the second-highest scoring offense in Division I (3.97 goals per game) and had ample opportunities to capture the lead after coming back from a 2-0 deficit to Minnesota Duluth in the third period. But Bulldogs goaltender Hunter Miska could not be denied.
One key stop that was turning heads came in the second period, when the freshman netminder had to shift over and reach out to stop a wide open Kevin Miller shot right on the doorstep. That save kept the Buckeyes off the scoreboard, and a moment later Nick Wolff scored for the Bulldogs to make it 2-0.
Ohio State rallied back in the third to tie, but Miska got back on the horse and stymied the Buckeyes the rest of the way. He made nine saves in the overtime period, including a diving stop with his paddle on David Gust.
2. Power play shut down
Ohio State’s calling card all year was its power play, which was the country’s best at 32.5 percent coming into the game. The Buckeyes had only 10 games all season in which they did not tally a power-play goal.
The Bulldogs took four penalties, including two in the third period. And UMD was able to kill all four penalties, despite allowing eight shots on goal.
Brenden Kotyk took the most untimely of those penalties at 18:54 of the third, which put the Bulldogs on high alert. But Ohio State, which scored 49 of its 151 total goals this season on the power play, couldn’t solve Miska and UMD killed it. Before OSU got another chance, Willie Raskob won it for the Bulldogs.
3. Late start disrupts pre-game routine
The game was scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. But with the early game (North Dakota and Boston University) lasting more than 1½ overtime periods, any precise pregame routines were thrown completely off.
The puck didn’t actually drop until 7:23 p.m.
“You get a little restless there,” said Raskob. “Everyone was a little on edge. I know my adrenaline was pumping there for about an hour and a half before the game, for sure. After that first overtime, though, we gathered as a team, went for a walk, regrouped a bit and everyone reset. I think our team has been through adversity all year and this was another step for us.”
Photos from the Division III men’s NCAA tournament semifinals Friday in Utica, N.Y., where Trinity beat St. Norbert 3-2 and Norwich defeated Adrian 5-4 in overtime.
Norwich celebrates its win over Adrian in OT. (Angelo Lisuzzo)
Norwich seems to play a lot of overtime games in the NCAA playoffs.
“It’s exciting,” Norwich coach Mike McShane understated.
Since 2000, Norwich has now played in eight NCAA overtime games, going 5-3. They include three quarterfinals (2-1), three semifinals (2-1), and two finals (1-1).
“We’ve done pretty well in overtime,” McShane said.
The two championship games were also the longest and shortest NCAA overtime games for Norwich. Both are memorable in their own way.
The 2010 contest was perhaps the most epic championship battle in Division III history. Norwich scored in the first and St. Norbert tied it halfway through the second.
And that was it for a very long time. Through the second half of the second, through the third and through the first overtime, it remained tied. It appeared that would also be true of the second overtime.
However, with just 31 seconds left in the fifth period, Pier-Olivier Cotnoir scored to give Norwich the national championship. Many wondered whether players on both sides could have even made it for a third overtime.
The shortest overtime contest and the most heartbreaking for Norwich was in 2002. Norwich led Wisconsin-Superior 2-1 late in the game. Wis.-Superior forced overtime with just 1:26 to play on a fortunate deflection. Just 23 seconds into overtime, Wis.-Superior won the national title. Both clutch goals were scored by Colin Kendall.
Two years before that, Norwich got the better of Wis.-Superior, 5-4, at 8:44 in the semifinals.
Norwich lost their next semifinal overtime game to archrival Middlebury in 2004, in Norwich no less. That game went two extra periods, decided at 7:17.
Before Norwich beat St. Norbert, they also needed overtime to beat Elmira that year in the quarterfinals, 2-1, at 2:12.
The other quarterfinal overtime games were a win against Plattsburgh (3-2 at 17:43 in 2011) and a loss to Amherst (4-3 at 8:12 in 2015).
Then came tonight.
The back-and-forth contest seemed like Norwich’s win until two late third-period goals by Adrian led to yet another overtime game for the Cadets.
“Going into overtime I felt like we had enough kids that we could get a couple of good chances,” McShane said. “We’re an older team and usually the older teams somehow find a way to win in overtime.”
It almost wasn’t the case, as Adrian not only had some good chances, but missed a golden opportunity, shooting the puck inches wide of a large gap on a semi-breakaway.
As it turned out, it was a freshman, Ian Williams, who got the winning goal, though a junior and senior got the assists for the 5-4 final.
The goal came at 11:40, which means Norwich has played 105:40 of additional NCAA playoff hockey since 2000.
“We’ll take it,” McShane stated the obvious. “I was proud of all my guys for how we stuck in there and we played tough. I would rather have won in regulation. I didn’t have to go through all the stress.”
Perhaps in the championship game against Trinity, he’ll get his wish.
Air Force’s Kyle Haak celebrates one of his two goals against Western Michigan (photo: Melissa Wade).
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The first upset of the NCAA tournament happened early this year when third-seeded Air Force took down Western Michigan 5-4 on Friday. Three takeaways:
1. Quick goals
The game had so many flurries it could be confused for a blizzard. Air Force opened the scoring 56 seconds into the game from Jordan Himley. Scoring in the third period also came in one go, with four goals coming in eight minutes. Air Force started with a power-play goal when Phil Boje sent a rocket of a shot from the far side faceoff circle.
Western Michigan scored another two goals within seconds of each other 50 seconds after the Air Force tally. Molino kick-started the team’s third-period outburst with his goal at 4:48 after a cold second period by the Broncos.
The sophomore didn’t stop there — he assisted on Sheldon Dries’s goal, pulling Air Force players down low into the slot to leave him an open net. The Broncos took emphasis with the limited time and made it a one-goal game with 5:11 left in the game.
2. Special teams still hold key
Air Force wasn’t a complete unknown entering the tournament. The Falcons hold the best penalty-killing percentage in the country and are the only team above 90 percent, killing 154 of 171 penalties (90.1 percent).
The Falcons are also one of the best in the country in scoring with a player in the box, with eight short-handed goals for the season. Boje’s short-handed goal capitalized on a turnaround with space on the blue line, showing how consistent and strong Air Force’s pressure has been this year. The pressure and hard forecheck have the potential to jam Harvard up Saturday.
3. Atlantic Hockey
Not known for being tournament favorites, Atlantic Hockey teams have advanced to the regional championship only five times.
The victory gives Air Force its second NCAA tournament win in program history, with the other coming in 2009. The Falcons are also the first third-seeded team to win since 2015.
Prior to the Air Force victory, RIT defeated Minnesota State in the first round 2015 and Denver in 2010. The conference had held a dry spell in tournament victories dating back to 2010. The Falcons are one of three Atlantic Hockey teams to win an NCAA tournament game since the conference was formed in 2004, with Holy Cross (2006) also part of the group.
Bobo Carpenter celebrates his goal in Boston University’s victory over North Dakota (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
FARGO, N.D. — Here are three takeaways from Boston University’s 4-3 double-overtime thriller over North Dakota:
1. Young Terriers growing up
With a sold-out, UND-dominated crowd at Scheels Arena, there may have been some people wondering if Boston University’s young squad would fall short of its potential, as the Terriers had done in the Beanpot final as well as in the Hockey East semifinals.
But on this big stage, in one of the most memorable first-round games in recent memory, the Terriers bent but didn’t break, even when everything was going against them. It didn’t matter that UND came back from a 3-1 deficit. It didn’t matter that the Fighting Hawks kept piling on the shots (145 shot attempts and 59 on goal). When Dixon Bowen’s apparent game-winning goal was called off due to an offside judgment on replay, the Terriers knew they weren’t going to let the game slip away.
“Throughout the season, one thing we’ve battled with is trying to play well beyond our years. We’re a young team,” Charlie McAvoy said. “Maturity might be something that people question is in our locker room at times, but tonight we proved that we can play our game and stick with it regardless of what happens.”
If the Terriers get their legs going in the Saturday night regional final, they obviously could wield a dangerous combination of talent and resiliency.
2. Unheralded Hawks key both Friday night and going forward
The offseason begins earlier than UND has been accustomed to in the past handful of years, and the questions abound about next year’s team.
Once again, many of UND’s top players are candidates to leave school early. Everybody in Grand Forks dreads this time of year, wondering what will be left in Brad Berry’s cupboard for next year’s team.
Friday night was at some level an indication that the core of the team cannot be overlooked, with standout performances from undrafted players such as Christian Wolanin and Ludvig Hoff, who had missed the NCHC Frozen Faceoff with an injury.
Berry will have to rely on Wolanin to put up more nights like the sophomore had Friday (game-tying goal and four shots on goal) to shore up a blue line that relies on senior Gage Ausmus and Tucker Poolman, who many expect to sign early.
Friday night was too early for the Hawks to think about next year, but the game showed that UND has some pieces on which it can build. First-round draft picks Brock Boeser and Tyson Jost combined for just one assist Friday, but the Hawks managed to find scoring from other places in its lineup. That might have to be the recipe in 2017-18.
3. Now they get one more
Terriers coach David Quinn was asked after the game if he thought fatigue was going to be a factor in Saturday night’s West Regional final. Quinn responded with the obvious: “Yes.”
A game with nearly 32 minutes of overtime sounds exhausting enough, but make no mistake — it was emotionally and physically debilitating for everybody involved, maybe even more than the total time would indicate.
It certainly will be a tough hill to climb for the Terriers. Since the NCAA tournament went to the 16-team format, no team has won a night after winning in more than one overtime (0-4).
The Terriers can’t do much about that now, of course, and Quinn said he doesn’t plan on changing their planned routine. Friday night’s curfew is probably safe.
Trinity’s Tyler Whitney (15) drives the net against St. Norbert. (Angelo Lisuzzo)
For a big game like the national semifinal against St. Norbert, it should come as no surprise that the guy leading Trinity in assists coming in would “help” his team to the national championship game with assists on all three Bantams goals in a hard-fought 3-2 win. Tyler Whitney was the common element on all three Trinity goals, showcasing great vision and passing on one power-play goal and two even strength-goals.
“I am happy to score them and happy to pass to someone for the goal too,” said Whitney. “The most important thing is that the team is scoring and that is a good thing, whether it’s me or someone else.”
Anthony Sabitsky, Ethan Holdaway and Samuel Johnson were all beneficiaries of Whitney’s passing artistry, with Johnson’s being the ultimate game-winner with just over 90 seconds left in the second period. Whitney’s seeing-eye pass through the slot on a power play to Sabitsky got Trinity on the board and his setup of Holdaway on a two-on-one gave the Bantams their first lead of the game.
“We knew that their defensemen were going to be skating forward in the neutral zone and in the offensive zone supporting the forecheck,” said Trinity coach Matt Greason. “We wanted to get pucks behind them and when you got Tyler behind them with possession on an odd-man rush, you saw good things are going to happen. He is slippery and fast and creates good things for us when he has the puck on his stick.”
Whitney increased his team-leading assist total to 25 on the season and would be more than happy to help his teammates to one final win on Saturday night in Utica.
Ice Chips
— Whitney looks to add to the national championship pedigree of the family by adding to the haul of hardware collected by himself and his brothers, Joe and Ryan, who play for Boston College at the D-I level.
— You expect big-minute guys to play big games, and Trinity’s Samuel Johnson did just that on the blue line, just like he has done all season, but he added a bonus today, scoring the game-winning goal, his first goal of the season for Trinity.
— Trinity and St. Norbert had not faced each other this season and hail from very different parts of the country in Wisconsin and Connecticut, but have something in common in the hometown for St. Norbert’s Tyler Andrews and Trinity’s brother duo of Brandon and Ryan Cole; all hail from Anchorage, Alaska.
— Both goaltenders, T.J. Black for St. Norbert and Alex Morin for Trinity, were “big” in their nets, but stand an identical 5-feet-9 in height. Black stopped 34 of 37 shots while Morin made 31 of 33 saves to pick up his 19th win of the season.
— Saturday’s title game appearance for Trinity will be its second in three seasons. The Bantams’ last appearance saw a 5-2 win for the national championship over Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2015.
