Hamilton senior forward Michael DiMare has a shot at hitting the career 100-point mark in the final four games this season (photo: Michael P. Doherty).
With just two weekends left in the regular-season schedule, the sense of urgency for points is not lost on teams that are truly already in playoff mode.
Case in point finds Hamilton as the Continentals are currently in ninth place in the NESCAC conference standings. In the NESCAC, being ninth or worse is a problem as the conference is unique in eliminating teams from postseason play below the top eight in the standings.
Tenth-place Tufts has already been eliminated from the playoff hunt with four games remaining, but the Continentals sit just three points out of eighth and four points out of seventh and play number-seven Connecticut College on Saturday night.
It will be a challenge to make up ground with so few games remaining, but Hamilton coach Rob Haberbusch feels his team has a chance and can compete with anyone remaining on the schedule.
“The results may not be there for us in the second half so far, but it’s not over yet,” stated Haberbusch. “We are trying to find those little things to get us over the hump. I tell the kids we need that extra dump in, that extra clear, the extra pass and yeah, goals. We need the little things to help turn some of these recent ties into wins. If you look at our last 10 games, we have five one-goal losses and even our win was over Tufts in overtime. This league is just so tough from top to bottom and we still are in the hunt with four games remaining. We do control our own destiny somewhat and it all starts with Tufts on Friday night. They may be eliminated and have nothing to play for, but they also have nothing to lose. They are a dangerous team and we aren’t going to look past anyone at this point in the season.
“Based on some of the recent scores across the league, anything could happen, so we really need to stay focused if we want a shot at playing hockey beyond next weekend.”
In close games, the element of timely goals is crucial at this point in the season and there is much the coach can be pleased about when looking among the team leaders offensively for the Continentals.
It should be no surprise that senior forward Michael DiMare leads the Continentals in scoring with a total of 27 points this season. Key to the senior’s success has been staying healthy this season following an injury-plagued junior season that kept his typical numbers down. With just a handful of games remaining, DiMare still has a chance to reach the century mark in points for his career at Hamilton and seven points over the next four games would be positive for goal production for the Continentals, who have struggled overall to score more than three goals a contest this season.
Another bright spot up front has been freshman Robbie Murden, who leads the team in goals with 10 on the season, including two on the power play, one shorthanded and two game-winners.
Also heating up at the right time has been junior Pat Curtis, who added two goals last weekend against Colby and is helping add to some balanced scoring to take pressure off the combination of DiMare, Murden and Kenny Matheson.
“I think we are starting to get some of that secondary scoring recently,” noted Haberbusch. “Whether it’s Pat [Curtis] or Truman [Landowski], we have had some better balance recently and we are going to need that these last few games.”
While the Continentals have been challenged scoring in the second half, junior Zach Arnold appears to be the man between the pipes coming down the home stretch.
With senior Joe Quattrocchi having been injured for a number of games, the Continentals have lost that veteran experience in goal and have looked to freshman Charlie Fennell and Arnold to fill the gap created by the senior’s absence. While Arnold’s overall record of 0-2-2 isn’t going to excite anyone, his .920 save percentage and 3.11 goals-against average have been more than respectable.
Pull out a rough game against Trinity, who can make a lot of teams and goaltenders have bad days, and both Fennell and Arnold’s recent play have certainly put Hamilton in position to get points and win hockey games with three of the last five contests going to an overtime session.
“Losing our goaltender the last 10 games or so has been tough, but Charlie and Zach have stepped in and played well for us,” Haberbusch said. “There is some hope we might get Joe back soon, but our other two guys have played well and certainly have given us a chance to win some hockey games.”
Following the final two games at home this weekend, the Continentals finish the season on the road with key matchups with Williams and Middlebury to close out the regular-season schedule. Both teams are in battles of their own for position in the standings, so there is no expectation from Haberbusch about the road to playing in the postseason tournament will be an easy one.
“We have battled all year and not necessarily with the results we had hoped for,” said Haberbusch. “There are only four games remaining and all we can focus on is taking care of business in the game we are playing in. That is the only event we can control and the only game we should be focused on is the game coming up on Friday night against Tufts. It would be nice to get a ‘W’ to help build the confidence for this team. You hear coaches say all the time that you want your best hockey when it matters most.
“Right now is when we need our best hockey.”
It is playoff hockey for Hamilton right now. It’s not quite win or go home, but a good weekend against two opponents they have battled with in one-goal games the first time around should have them believing the drive to the conference tournament is still alive.
Justin Kovacs and Western Michigan are 5-0-1 in buildings other than their own since the winter break (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
After going to St. Cloud State three weeks ago and emerging with a tie/shootout win and an outright win, Western Michigan returned home to Lawson Ice Arena for a two-game set in what coach Andy Murray says is “the noisiest crowd in college hockey.”
Looking to build momentum, the Broncos fell flat, getting swept by a hot Minnesota-Duluth team.
Last weekend, the Broncos went on the road again to face Miami in Oxford, where the Broncos had gone 0-12-1 in their last 13 games. The result? A convincing two-game sweep.
A puzzle in Western’s record this year has been its less-than-satisfying home record, where the Broncos are 5-6-1. On the road, they are 5-4-2, with a 4-0-1 record at neutral sites.
“Last season, we lost one conference regular season game at home, which is difficult to do, but I think first thing I’ll say the quality of the league and the type of competition we face every night, I don’t think it really matters where you play,” said Murray. “I think it’s a 50-50 scenario, and we’ve been fortunate the last few road series.
“We picked up some wins in St. Cloud and Miami, but really we don’t approach it any different. We play the same and try to play hard and smart. The bottom line is wherever you play the games you try to win them, and actually our best record this year is neutral-site games, where we are 4-0-1. If we ever get to the Frozen Four, we might be all right (laughs). … It’s disappointing for us that we have not won our games at home as much as we would like.”
After a thorough 5-2 win on Friday against Miami in which Western goaltender Lukas Hafner made 27 saves, the Broncos started slowly on Saturday, falling behind 2-0 in the first period on a short-handed goal and a power-play goal. Murray responded by yanking Hafner at the 13:52 mark of the first after the second goal and inserting Frank Slubowski, who finished with 24 saves in the 3-2 win.
Although Hafner has the better stats, Slubowski has played more games. The goalie platoon however, is not by design.
“Both goalies have been tremendous for us this year,” said Murray. “Frank has played extremely well in games, and Lukas as well. We don’t ever go into a weekend thinking we are going to play both goalies; our plan is to just play one and to have them play really well. I think the bottom line is the team trusts and respects both goaltenders, so it doesn’t matter who is in net, they’re prepared to play hard for them.”
One key to the recent surge by Western Michigan has been the play of forwards Shane Berschbach (12 goals, 16 assists, 1.00 points per game), and Chase Balisy (six goals, 17 assists, .82 points per game). Though both have over 100 points in their college careers, the 2012-13 season saw a significant drop in production for both.
While Murray has welcomed the pair’s return to form, he is more pleased with the even-strength play of his team.
“The one thing that has been good for us, to be honest with you, is that we have struggled to score on our power play, and it’s nice to see our five-on-five production be better, because last year, we couldn’t score five-on-five,” said Murray. “We could only score on the power play, and that hurt us at the end of the year when our power play went a little bit south on us, so it’s been encouraging to score five-on-five. I think if you look at the plus/minus records of our players, we’ve got some really high plusses because we’ve been good five-on-five.”
This weekend, the Broncos, who are tied for fifth in the NCHC with Denver with 26 points, travel to face Colorado College. Only four points separate Western from league-leading St. Cloud State, and CC is currently in the NCHC cellar with 14 points, but that doesn’t mean Murray is taking the Tigers lightly. Back in November, WMU hosted the Tigers and needed OT to win the first game.
“I think CC might be certainly one of, if not the, most improved teams since the start of the season,” Murray said. “We’ve been studying a lot of their games on video recently, and we know our first game against them in the first half, we won in overtime. …
“We’re trying to hang in there and see if we can get points, but I expect Colorado to be really good, and if we’re to get points out there, we’re going to have to be really on top of our game.”
Nolan Zajac (11), Josiah Didier and Denver have Nebraska-Omaha on the docket this weekend (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
Denver looks to reverse earlier result
Back in November, Denver hosted Nebraska-Omaha for a two-game set that was one of the low points in the Pioneers’ season.
In the first game, the Pioneers twice rallied from one-goal deficits, only to lose 3-2 on an overtime goal by Josh Archibald. On Saturday, Denver jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and held a 2-1 lead going into the third, but Brock Montpetit tied it and Archibald again scored an overtime winner for the visitors.
The two losses left Denver with a 3-5 record at that point and a three-game losing streak.
However, Denver seemed to use that moment to turn around its season, going 7-1-3 to close the first half of the year.
This weekend, Denver travels to Omaha looking to gain ground in the tightly packed NCHC, where six teams are within four points of each other. Asked about possibly getting revenge, Denver coach Jim Montgomery deflected the question.
“I don’t think it’s any revenge motivation; it’s an opportunity for us to play better against UNO,” Montgomery said. “I think we’ve improved immensely as a team since then, especially our play without the puck, but I’ve watched them on video and they’re better since they were back then. They’re a good team, but every team in this conference, there’s no easy weekends. Everything is a split or there’s the odd sweep, and if you can sweep, you move ahead of everybody else.”
Denver’s success is predicated on two things: the play of goalie Sam Brittain, and the team’s power play and penalty kill, which rank fourth and third nationally, respectively. Those loom large on a team without a single player averaging a point a game.
“We have good hockey players, and for whatever reason we’ve had confidence in our penalty kill and our power play has an attitude and it has a pace and a tempo to it,” said Montgomery. “I think our players go over the boards very confident, and I think that we have to maintain that if we hope to have success.”
One thing Denver will need to concentrate on is shutting down UNO’s high-flying offense, which is 10th nationally, averaging 3.27 goals per game.
“I think they’re the fastest team in this league, and they go the hardest to the net,” Montgomery said. “So defending our own net and making sure we keep them to the outside is going to be extremely important for us, because they shoot from everywhere but they get second- and third-wave opportunities because of how hard they go to the net.
“That’s a reflection of their coach. Their coach is a great coach, and he’s extremely hard and extremely intense, and that’s the way their team plays.”
Montgomery has been working with his coaches on the offensive struggles of his team, which is tied for 41st nationally in team offense at 2.57 goals per game. He knows that offense will need to improve if the Pioneers are to have success in the postseason.
“I think we know that if we’re going to be a successful team, we’re going to be a 3-2 hockey team,” said Montgomery. “We have to find ways to manufacture more five-on-five goals because they get tougher and tougher and usually referees don’t call as many penalties. That’s going to neutralize our power play.”
Going into the weekend, Denver is tied with Western Michigan in fifth place with 26 points, but is only one point back of UNO and North Dakota, and trails league-leading St. Cloud State by four points.
“I think every team in our conference has had challenges, and to be quite honest, I don’t think our conference has a dominant team,” Montgomery said. “I think it has eight really good hockey teams, and that’s why every night is a battle. If you come prepared, the team that executes with the best effort is usually the team that ends up on top.”
Players of the week
Offensive player of the week — Nic Dowd, St. Cloud State: Dowd notched four points on three goals and an assist in a crucial two-game conference series with Denver. In Friday’s 2-2 tie, he scored the first goal of the game and posted a plus-1 on the game. In Saturday’s 4-2 win, he assisted on the game-winner in the third period and scored two other goals, helping the Huskies rally from a two-goal deficit. He scored the first goal that sparked the rally and the empty-net goal that sealed the win while posting a plus-4 rating.
Defensive player of the week — Ethan Prow, St. Cloud State: Prow was also a key contributor in the series against Denver, scoring two goals while blocking five shots. On Friday, Prow’s power-play goal in the second period gave the Huskies a 2-1 lead, and he was named second star of the game. On Saturday, Prow scored the game-winning goal in the third period and was named the game’s third star. This is the second time this year Prow has been named defensive player of the week.
Rookie of the week — Jake Guentzel, Nebraska-Omaha: Guentzel helped UNO earn a series split with North Dakota by notching three assists on the weekend and a plus-1 rating. On Friday, he assisted on UNO’s first goal, and on Saturday, Guentzel assisted on the game-winning goal in the second period as UNO rallied from a two-goal deficit. He was plus-2 in the game. Guentzel earned rookie of the week honors for the second time this season.
Goalie of the week — Aaron Crandall, Minnesota-Duluth: Crandall was named goalie of the week for the second consecutive week as UMD earned a five-point weekend against Colorado College and moved into second place in the NCHC. Crandall posted a .944 save percentage and 1.44 GAA on the weekend, in which UMD had a win and a shootout win. On Friday, Crandall stopped 20 in the game and all three CC shootout tries in a 2-2 tie/shootout win. On Saturday, he gave up only one goal on 32 shots and was named the first star of the game. On the weekend, he made 51 saves on 54 shots and helped UMD go 8-for-9 on the penalty kill. This is the third time this year Crandall has been named goalie of the week.
Olympic seasons tend to be a little strange. It’s like removing the aces from the deck after sitting down to play poker. Eventually, everybody adjusts to the fact that the aces are gone, but in the hockey world, it can be tough on a team that was originally dealt a couple of aces.
The 2014 Olympics should have impacted Harvard more than anyone. Coach Katey Stone and Josephine Pucci, Lyndsey Fry, and Michelle Picard, three players with eligibility remaining, have taken the season off to represent the United States. The remaining Crimson players didn’t see that as being an excuse for a down year.
“I think right off the bat, they were determined to make this season really good and keep it as business as usual,” interim head coach Maura Crowell said.
Harvard’s business means contending in ECAC Hockey, and in most seasons, nationally as well.
“They take a lot of pride in that, and obviously, they know what a lot of people had to say about all the losses and what kind of season is that going to be,” Crowell said.
I confess to being one of those people. History is often useful in predicting the future, and Wisconsin faced a similar situation four years ago when coach Mark Johnson and stars Meghan Duggan and Hilary Knight took an Olympic hiatus. The Badgers were defending NCAA champions, but proved to be a model of inconsistency, slumped to fourth in the league standings, and failed to reach the WCHA semifinals for the only time in their history.
The Crimson, on the other hand, have refused to act like an underdog.
“I think it motivated them to prove themselves to each other and to everybody else,” Crowell said. “I do think having so many young kids, such a big freshman class, brought a ton of energy to our team. Sometimes those young kids, they don’t know any better. They don’t have preconceived notions about who is good in the league, who is not; they just play.”
The rookies and their teammates at No. 6 Harvard have played well. The Crimson (19-3-3, 14-2-2 ECAC Hockey) have excelled against the best, recording three wins and three ties in their six games versus currently ranked teams. Crowell says that the talented, young players have meshed with the veterans, who have taken on leadership roles in addition to captain Marissa Gedman.
“I think the opportunities that certain players have been able to get as well have built their confidence and everybody is involved,” Crowell said.
Her team needs everyone to be involved, because nobody ranks in the top 20 in points per game.
“Although we don’t have a prolific goal scorer like the kids we’re going up against [in Tuesday’s Beanpot game versus Boston University, Sarah] Lefort with I think 45 points and [Louise] Warren with close to that, we’ve been able to spread it out pretty well and get contributions from a lot of different people,” Crowell said. “I would assume that would make us tough to play against, because you can’t just zero in on one or two kids.”
That proved to be the case against BU. Both Lefort and Warren scored for the Terriers, but Harvard was able to counter with a goal from leading scorer Miye D’Oench, the first goal of Jessica Harvey’s collegiate career, and an overtime game-winner by Samantha Reber. D’Oench’s tally came 2:27 after Warren had given BU a 2-1 lead midway through the final period.
“We’ve been down in a bunch of games, and aside from Northeastern and a couple others, have been able to come back and come up with wins or at least ties,” Crowell said.
Reber’s winning goal offered a brief glimpse into how the Crimson’s season has unfolded. BU was pressuring in the Harvard zone as the final minute of overtime wound down. Off a defensive zone draw, the Crimson sent the puck down the ice for what looked likely to be icing until D’Oench outraced both defensemen to it. Meanwhile, Harvard was winning all the other races back down the ice. D’Oench got the puck back to Gedman who found Reber alone in front with just 10 seconds left.
“Plays that don’t look very dangerous, whether its Miye in the corner in a one-on-two situation, she somehow can manage to get the puck on net,” Crowell said. “We try to go to the net hard and clean up those dirty-area rebounds. They don’t have to be pretty goals; we’ll take whatever we can get. I think the speed of our team helps us get into those situations.”
D’Oench’s tying goal definitely fit in the gritty category, as it involved multiple whacks at the puck after the goaltender thought she had it.
“Maybe we’re on the outside of the ice, but we’re always looking to get the pucks to the middle of the ice and create some havoc in the slot,” Crowell said.
Opportunistic as it may be, the Crimson offense can muster only an average of 2.88 goals per game, so that increases the importance of the defensive game.
“We have very good defenders; Sarah Edney, I would say, is one of the best in the country,” Crowell said.
Harvard may have good defensemen, but at times, it doesn’t have many of them. With Briana Mastel out of the lineup against BU and the team down to 13 skaters, Crowell had to move senior forward Elizabeth Parker back in order to get four members in the blue-line rotation.
Most times, the Crimson are able to make the sparse numbers work.
“With Emerance [Maschmeyer] backstopping us, it helps give us a chance to win every night,” Crowell said.
Opponents average just 1.32 goals per game, in part because the forwards help out defensively. Harvard’s defensive scoring average has been aided by killing an astounding 95.5 percent of its penalties.
“I don’t think we’re doing anything magical over here on the penalty kill; we’re just preparing,” Crowell said. “We have a good combo of kids that are experienced and confident in what they’re doing, and obviously, a good goaltender makes your penalty kill that much better.”
Whether it is Maschmeyer or freshman Brianna Laing, Harvard’s goaltending ranks among the nation’s best.
“We rely on our goaltenders a lot,” Crowell said. “I think a lot of people have made a lot out of, oh, we get outshot in it’s probably over 90 percent of our games.”
Because its goalies stop over 95 percent of the shots they face, the shot disadvantage usually winds up being a moot point. That’s also true in the other direction; the Crimson had an advantage in shots in two of their three losses, most recently in falling behind Northeastern, 4-1, in the Beanpot’s first round and losing, 4-3, when Maschmeyer was pulled after yielding three goals on 13 shots.
“Clearly, we rely on our goaltending quite a bit, and when that is not 100 percent back there, it certainly will shake our foundation,” Crowell said. “But I think it’s also good for us to have gone through that experience last week against Northeastern to show that, hey, she is human too and what happens when our goalie isn’t 100 percent, other people need to step up. I think they did eventually, but it’s just too deep of a deficit to have to overcome.”
The success leads one to wonder what kind of magical season Harvard would be having if the three players competing in Sochi were instead wearing their Crimson uniforms. They’ve had to inspire from a distance.
“It’s been great for us all season to be cheering those guys on,” Crowell said. “Finally, to have the Olympics here and be watching them on TV and watching coach Stone on the bench, it’s just awesome. We’re so proud of them and really looking forward to the upcoming games. Our players are very tuned in and very supportive. Hopefully, we can take some of what they’re doing on the ice and put it to use ourselves.”
Harvard holds a one-point lead in the ECAC race over Cornell with Clarkson two points back. The Golden Knights visit on Friday in a game that will go a long way toward determining where teams finish atop the league.
“I think they’re really well-balanced,” Crowell said. “They have some dangerous weapons up front, [Erin] Ambrose and others on ‘D,’ and obviously [Erica] Howe in net. They’re well balanced, and I think we just have to play a complete game like we did when we were up there. We kept it very tight, really good defensively. We won, 2-0, and were able to keep the [Jamie Lee] Rattrays and the Ambroses quiet, and that will be important on Friday.”
No matter the result, Harvard will still have work to do, as the schedule finishes with St. Lawrence at home and road trips to Yale and Brown.
“We’re happy where we’re sitting,” Crowell said. “Obviously, it’s a tight race and we have some huge games coming up in the last couple weeks here. We’re just going to take one at a time and hopefully take care of business and remain at the top.”
Under the veneer of a perfect conference record, struggle remains constant. From the outside looking in, No.4 Norwich’s run to the ECAC East regular season title has been nothing short of a pronounced success. For forward Tori Charron however, such achievements have transpired from pure inner strength among her teammates.
“The most positive surprise that our team has encountered this year, is our resilience to overcome an injury-plagued season,” said Charron, who heads into weekend action as the fifth-leading scorer in the nation with 33 points. “Our team from day one has had injury after injury which continued through the second half of the season, when our teammate and my fellow classmate, Liz Gemmiti, was involved in a car accident which has ended her hockey career.”
Gemmiti, a junior defenseman from Toronto, was struck by a car while walking back to the Norwich campus in Northfield, Vt., last December. Gemmiti, currently recovering, played just seven games for the Cadets before the incident.
“Madyson Moore missed a month due to mononucleosis and Rachel Bellio had a season-ending shoulder injury,” Charron added. “We’ve also had to deal with day-to-day injuries that have plagued our team all season.”
Moore, in her first go-round with the Cadets after playing with New England College for two seasons, had nine goals in 13 games. Bellio, also in her initial run at Norwich, suited up in 28 contests for the University of Maine Black Bears last year. The duo has combined for 18 points in 24 games.
“Although it has been difficult coping with fewer and fewer teammates on the ice, we are strong and will continue to focus and support each other, which I believe will only further benefit us down the road,” said Charron.
Captain Brittany Sharman, who is putting the finishing touches on a career-best season, agrees.
“This group has conquered the many challenges we have faced this year,” Sharman said. “It might potentially break some teams, but it has only made us stronger as a unit, and brought us closer together, which has shown on the ice.”
For the Cadets, the unavoidable difficulties might serve as grist for the mill as they focus on a postseason run.
“I’d like to think the team is in a good spot right now,” said coach Mark Bolding. “We sure feel like we did learn from last year’s loss in the NCAAs. The upperclassmen are starting to play with more urgency in their game, which is building confidence as we head in the playoffs.”
Sharman, who leads the team in scoring among defenseman (1-14-15), likes her club’s attitude going forward.
“We’re better prepared this year,” said the Quebec native. “Since the new semester started, we’ve turned the corner in a positive way. Everyone seems more engaged, we all have the same goal that we are working toward, not as individuals but as a unit. As we head into playoffs, we are working together both on and off the ice and everyone is 100 percent committed to the team, which I believe is a big reason why we are having success and feel ready for the playoffs.”
The Cadets have seen three top 10 teams this season; they’ll get a look at No.2 Middlebury in their final contest of the regular season on February 19. Charron believes the familiarity is advantageous.
“We have studied our opponents, we know what to expect from them; it’s now up to us to perform and use the tools we have,” she said.
“We will study, and plan for our opponents, to the best of our ability, but it does come down to the players and their game time execution and effort,” Bolding said. “Teams that get into March hockey want to keep the game simple and play their own style, as that’s likely what has allowed them to get there.”
With emerging freshman goalie Taylor Fairchild (1.37/.927) and the second-ranked defense in the nation, as well as a top-10 offensive unit on board, Charron believes there is no justification for pretexts.
“We’ve had the tools; there are no excuses for our losses this season,” Charron said. “I am convinced that we didn’t lose those games because we are immensely less skilled than any of the teams, rather that the will to win was not at the level it needed to be. With 10 seniors, we need to be the hardest-working and most focused team in the nation. That is how we will get where we want to be.”
Suffolk captain Charlie McGinnis has his eyes on an ECAC Northeast playoff berth (photo: Dan McHugh Photography).
Suffolk needed a win against Becker in the final game of the 2012-13 season to get into the ECAC Northeast conference tournament.
The Rams earned a 2-2 tie against Becker and Johnson and Wales slipped into the final tournament spot.
Fast forward a year later and the Rams are sitting in that sixth and final ticket into the conference tournament. With four games remaining in the 2013-14 regular season, they look to build off last year’s experience.
“We like the opportunity,” Suffolk coach Chris Glionna said. “Last year, we had the same opportunity. Unfortunately, we failed in that. We had to win our last game, we ended up tying it . We had to wait to see if Becker could beat Johnson and Wales and they ended up not doing it.”
Three of the four games remaining for Suffolk are against teams that are also fighting to play a few playoff games. They include games against Western New England on Thursday, Curry on Saturday and Becker next Wednesday. The Rams finish the season against Wentworth on Feb. 22.
Glionna hopes the experience this year’s juniors and and sophomores had last season during the stretch run will help them this season.
“They are young,” Glionna said of his roster as a whole. “They were also young last year, we played a lot of young kids last year. The majority of the team has some pretty good experience, especially the second time around being in a playoff hunt. That’s going to be helpful to us and the core of the team played down the stretch for us last year. They are use to this pressure of every game is a must-win.”
Last Tuesday, Suffolk beat Salve Regina 5-2 for its first win in over a month. Glionna said that was huge not only because two points were up grabs, but they have been knocking on the door in the last few weeks against teams like Johnson and Wales and Wentworth.
The team is also trying to get the lone two seniors on the team, captain Charlie McGinnis and defenseman Jon Stauffer, a chance of a few more games to finish out their college careers.
McGinnis, a forward from Hanover, Mass., is second in the team in scoring with eight goals and seven assists in 20 games this season. For his career, he has 35 goals and 35 assists in 80 games at Suffolk.
Stauffer, a Landsdale, Pa., product, is still looking for that first goal of the season, but has 10 assists in 20 games. In his four years at Suffolk, he has 13 goals and 37 assists over 93 games.
“That’s our goal – we really want to provide them an opportunity at the playoffs,” Glionna said. “They have been tremendous players for us for four years. They deserve to take a shot at an opportunity of winning the league and tournament. You can’t do that if you don’t get in.”
The Rams haven’t made the postseason the last three years.
Glionna said McGinnis and Stauffer are both great leaders, on and off the ice. With his job being a part-time position, Glionna said he relies on both players getting things done when he is not on campus.
Elmira’s Jarryd ten Vaanholt has been a consistent force this season for Elmira (photo: Dan Hickling).
Winning on the road, especially while in a standings dogfight, can be just the sort of test that can define a team like, say, Elmira.
The Soaring Eagles began last weekend with a slim, one-point lead one point lead in the race for first place over both Utica and Hobart.
They had just one tilt on the schedule, Saturday at Hobart, and with Utica playing (and winning twice at home against last place Neumann), Elmira needed to grab those two road points to keep pace.
This, of course, is exactly what happened, thanks in large part to the clutch work of sophomore Jarryd ten Vaanholt.
Teams covet a quick start, particularly on the road, and it was “JTV” who gave the Soaring Eagles what they needed.
With the Soaring Eagles working on an early first period power play, ten Vaanholt connected to open the scoring.
Then with Elmira trailing 3-2 in the third, ten Vaanholt set up the game-tying tally, then jammed in the go-ahead goal (and eventual game-winner), the two goals coming just 15 seconds apart.
Nazareth rolling
It may be the picture of modesty, a 3-8-1 conference record, but for Nazareth, it represents a significant accomplishment.
Namely, escaping the ECAC West basement for the first time in the program’s brief – not quite two full seasons – history.
As this space has noted before, the Golden Flyers, who have risen to fifth-place in the six-team loop, have been on an unprecedented tear of late. They’ve gone an impressive 5-1-1 overall in their last seven starts, a run that includes their first-ever conference wins (over Utica, Hobart, and in their last outing, Manhattanville).
The backbone of it all has been sophomore goalie Eddie Zdolshek, who leads all ECAC West goalies in minutes played (687:15).
The pride of Parma, Ohio, Zdolshek stopped 54 shots last weekend in his team’s split with Manhattanville, earning him league goalie of the week honors.
Nazareth has three tilts remaining, at Utica followed by two at home against Neumann, and could be a very dangerous team for any higher ranked foe to deal with in the upcoming playoffs.
Boby helps Utica get back to first
While on the subject of game-winners, Utica freshman Luc Boby netted two of that ilk against Neumann (his second and third of the season), and three goals altogether, as the Pioneers regained first place in the ECAC West by a point over Elmira.
Boby had plenty of help, too, as senior forward Trever Hertz, Utica’s leading scorer, recorded three points (goal, two assists) and is now just two points shy of the 100-point mark for his career.
Nick Therrien, the Pioneers’ senior netminder, joined the fun with a pair of victories. Therrien now has 43 victories, four off the six-year-old school mark currently held by Adam Dekker.
Utica recruit can be a bit Moody
Player signings for next year are beginning to pick up again as teams look to replace their departing seniors.
Among the latest to commit is forward Adam Moody, who will head to Utica.
Moody, who hails from Aurora, Ont., is currently playing for the Cowichan Valley Capitals in the British Columbia Hockey League.
Minnesota State leads the nation with a .917 home winning percentage (photo: Jim Rosvold).
There’s an old adage in college hockey — especially in conferences such as the WCHA in which teams play two-game series every weekend:
Sweep at home, split on the road.
That’s easier said than done, of course, but for the WCHA’s top two teams, they’re about as close as they can get to doing the former.
“With any league and with any sport you talk about the need to protect your home and the need to do well at home,” said Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings, whose team is 11-1 at the Verizon Wireless Center, including nine wins in a row there.
That .917 winning percentage is tops not only in the conference but also in the country. First-place Ferris State, which leads Minnesota State by two points in the league standings (with two games in hand), ranks third in the nation with a 10-1-1 mark (.875).
“I think that’s why you’ve seen the change to the PairWise criteria [giving additional weight to road victories],” Hastings said. “More often than not, there is home-ice advantage, and you better take advantage of that.”
Here’s a look at the WCHA’s best home records this season and how many of each team’s remaining games will be played on home ice:
Team
Home record
Home games remaining
Minnesota State
11-1-0
4/6
Ferris State
10-1-1
4/8
Alaska-Anchorage
10-3-1
2/6
Michigan Tech
7-3-3
3/6
Bowling Green
8-5-2
2/6
Northern Michigan
6-4-1
5/8
Alaska
7-5-2
4/6
Lake Superior State
7-7-0
2/8
Bemidji State
3-8-4
4/6
Alabama-Huntsville
0-11-1
4/8
Ferris State is 9-0-1 in WCHA play at home, with the lone blemish being a tie against Bowling Green on Nov. 15. The Falcons also have been the only team to score a win in Mankato.
“Our arena is a very difficult rink for opposing teams to play in because obviously we draw really good crowds,” Ferris State coach Bob Daniels said. “We’ve sold out about every game so far. We’ve sold out our student section, which is a very vociferous group. We’ve sold out for upwards of 50 games in a row.
“When you combine the large number of students that are at the rink with the low ceiling we have in the arena, it’s one loud rink to play in. It has a feeling because the fans are right up on the ice, it feels like they’re almost on the ice with you.”
Minnesota State has been drawing well, too, averaging 3,564 — with, over the last four games, jam-packed student sections in the arena’s horseshoe and an average attendance of 3,972 in series sweeps over Ferris State and Bemidji State.
“You’re seeing a commitment from the community, the university and the students, and that’s a huge part of that,” Hastings said. “Without that, it would be a building with no atmosphere, no matter how we’re playing.”
The Verizon Wireless Center underwent an offseason facelift, most notably getting MSU-esque purple seats to replace the old red and blue chairs that occupied the building for 18 years. The Mavericks also are practicing in the building more than ever before, and plans are in the works for the team to move there permanently.
“It makes it even more like home,” Hastings said. “We’ve got some branding here that we didn’t have before.”
Alaska-Anchorage’s transformation under first-year coach Matt Thomas is largely due to its own home dominance. Its 10-3-1 record at Sullivan Arena, which includes the Seawolves’ first-ever sweep of Minnesota State on Jan. 10-11, is the best in the program’s Division I era and ranks 11th in the nation.
“At home we feel confident,” Thomas said. “We had some early success here, and that allowed us to build off it.”
The Seawolves are in a tie for fourth place and that final home-ice playoff spot but have just two home games remaining in the regular season. Those games will take place this weekend against the team they’re tied with, Bowling Green.
“We talked about making this place a place other teams flat out don’t want to play,” Thomas said.
Michigan Tech’s Malcolm Gould (right) shoots in last Saturday’s game (photo: Adelle Whitefoot).
Huskies getting hotter
Michigan Tech continued its climb up the WCHA standings last weekend, moving into third place following a Winter Carnival sweep of Alabama-Huntsville in Houghton.
Two weeks ago at this time, the Huskies were stuck in a three-way tie for seventh place and in danger of missing the postseason after splitting at home against Ferris State. Since that split, the Huskies have won four straight, starting with a sweep at Bowling Green.
With six games left in their regular season, Tech controls its postseason fate in the race for home ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
“I thought the Bowling Green weekend could be a turning point for our season,” Tech coach Mel Pearson said Saturday. “We went down there against a very good team who hadn’t lost very often at home and found a way to win two tough games against a good team. I think our confidence is up, but at the same time, we have to keep our feet on the ground. Just one tough weekend and you can fall a couple places back. We’re in control of our destiny now.”
For Tech, the 24 goals scored the past two weekends may be as important as the four wins it’s strung together. The Huskies scored five each night against the Falcons and 14 against the Chargers, with 10 coming on Saturday.
Tech junior Blake Pietila, the Winter Carnival MVP who said his girlfriend banned him from kissing the Winter Carnival queen, has five goals in the last four games. Junior forward David Johnstone and sophomore forward Malcolm Gould each have four goals, while senior forward Jacob Johnstone and junior forward Tanner Kero each have three goals.
Before the four-game win streak, the Huskies were averaging just 2.11 goals per league game, good for ninth. Now, Tech is fifth, averaging 2.82 goals per league game.
“As much as you work on it and stress it, some nights they’re just not going to go in for you,” Pearson said. “There’s probably games that we had better chances than we did tonight. It’s just one of those nights where everything seemed to go in.”
Around the WCHA
• Bowling Green sophomore defenseman Ralfs Freibergs suited up for Latvia on Wednesday in a 1-0 Group C preliminary round loss to Switzerland at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, but he didn’t see any playing time. Latvia suited up eight defenseman and Freibergs was one of three Latvians to never leave the bench. Latvia plays the Czech Republic next at 3 a.m. EST on Friday.
• After playing each other four times a year — twice in Marquette and twice in Sault Ste. Marie — for 14 straight seasons, Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State play only two games against each other this year in the WCHA, coming Friday and Saturday in Marquette. It’s the first time since the 1995-96 season, when NMU and LSSU played each other only once, that the Wildcats will not play in Sault Ste. Marie. Eighth-place Northern Michigan sits one point ahead of ninth-place Lake Superior State in the WCHA standings. Northern needs at least a tie to stay out of ninth place, while a split would force at least a two-way tie between the Lakers and Alaska for eighth, or a possible a three-way tie that includes Bemidji State for seventh if the Beavers are swept at home by Ferris State.
• During its idle weekend last Friday and Saturday, the Alaska Nanooks participated in Hockey Week in Fairbanks. Events included floor hockey with Special Olympics, reading days at numerous schools and Wear Your Jersey to School Day at North Pole Elementary School, where freshman Jared Linnell once attended.
• Minnesota State’s Matt Leitner and Jean-Paul LaFontaine both have moved into the top 10 of the Mavericks’ Division I-era scoring list. The Mavericks moved up to Division I in 1995. Leitner is seventh with 107 career points. LaFontaine is 10th with 99.
• Alabama-Huntsville matched a season high when it scored four goals on Saturday at Michigan Tech. Unfortunately for the Chargers, they surrendered 10 goals, which also matched a season high. The game’s 14 combined goals were a record in the program’s modern era.
• Rob Gunderson picked up the win in goal for Alaska-Anchorage on Saturday night at Lake Superior State. He started, snapping a 10-game streak for Chris Kamal. It was Gunderson’s first start since Dec. 7. His last win came on Dec. 6. Kamal went 6-3-1 during his streak.
• Bemidji State’s John Parker, a sophomore transfer from Maine, made his debut with the Beavers on Saturday night at Minnesota State. Parker’s last appearance in a college game was in an NCAA Midwest Regional loss to Minnesota-Duluth on March 24, 2012. Parker had three goals and four assists in 33 games for Maine in 2011-12 but was injured and then dismissed from the team for team rules violations the following year. He finished last season playing junior hockey for the Jersey Hitmen of the EJHL.
• This week’s WCHA players of the week were Michigan Tech forward Blake Pietila (offensive), Ferris State goalie CJ Motte (defensive) and Minnesota State defenseman Sean Flanagan (rookie).
Kyle Rau and Minnesota tied Austin Farley and Minnesota-Duluth at the North Star College Cup (photo: Jim Rosvold).
It’s time once again to do what we like to call Bracketology, college hockey style. It’s our weekly look at how I believe the NCAA tournament will wind up come selection time.
It’s a look into what are the possible thought processes behind selecting and seeding the NCAA tournament teams.
Those of you that are veterans of the college hockey scene know that it is all about the PairWise Rankings. This is USCHO’s numerical approach that simulates the way the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee chooses the teams that make the NCAA tournament.
The criteria are tweaked every so often — every so often being every year lately — in order to give what the committee believes will be the best tournament.
There were some major changes this year to the selection criteria. In short:
• PairWise comparisons are now done against all teams. There is no cutoff for the amount of teams, so the most PWR comparison wins that a team can have is 58 since there are 59 teams.
• There is now a home and away wins weighting applied to the Ratings Percentage Index. In calculation of the index, wins on the road and losses at home have a weighting factor of 1.2. Wins at home and losses on the road have a weighting factor of 0.8. All neutral-site games have a weighting factor of 1.0. A tie is one-half of a win and one-half of a loss, so home/road ties are treated accordingly for the teams involved.
• There is a quality wins bonus for wins against teams in the top 20 of the RPI. A win against the No. 1 team in the RPI is worth 0.05 points, and is scaled down by 0.0025 points for each place until you reach No. 20, where a bonus of 0.0025 points will be given.
The changes are a little complicated, so it is best to check out our FAQ.
Since USCHO has begun the PairWise Rankings, we have correctly identified all of the teams that have been selected to the NCAA tournament.
For the past three years, I am the only prognosticator to have correctly predicted the exact brackets for the NCAA tournament, meaning that I have predicted how the committee thought when putting together the brackets.
This is the next installment of our Bracketology, and we’ll be bringing you a new one every week until we make our final picks before the field is announced on March 23.
If you want to skip the inner workings and get to the results of the analysis, then click here.
Here are the facts:
• Sixteen teams are selected to participate in the national tournament.
• There are four regional sites (East — Bridgeport, Conn.; Northeast — Worcester, Mass.; Midwest — Cincinnati; West — St. Paul, Minn.)
• A host institution that is invited to the tournament plays in the regional for which it is the host and cannot be moved. There are four host institutions this year: Yale in Bridgeport, Holy Cross in Worcester, Miami in Cincinnati and Minnesota in St. Paul.
• Seedings will not be switched. To avoid undesirable first-round matchups, including intra-conference games (see below), teams will be moved among regionals, not reseeded.
In setting up the tournament, the committee begins with a list of priorities to ensure a successful tournament on all fronts, including competitive equity, financial success and the likelihood of a playoff-type atmosphere at each regional site. For this model, the following is a basic set of priorities:
1. Once the six automatic qualifiers and 10 at-large teams are selected, the next step is to develop four groups from the committee’s rankings of 1-16. The top four teams are No. 1 seeds and will be placed in the bracket so that if all four teams advance to the Men’s Frozen Four, the No. 1 seed will play the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed will play the No. 3 seed in the semifinals. The next four are targeted as No. 2 seeds. The next four are No. 3 seeds and the last four are No. 4 seeds.
2. Step two is to place the home teams. Host institutions that qualify will be placed at home.
3. Step three is to fill in the bracket so that first-round conference matchups are avoided, unless it corrupts the integrity of the bracket. If five or more teams from one conference are selected to the championship, then the integrity of the bracket will be protected (i.e., maintaining the pairing process according to seed will take priority over avoidance of first-round conference matchups). To complete each regional, the committee assigns one team from each of the remaining seeded groups so there is a No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seed at each regional site.
Given these facts, here is the top 16 of the current PairWise Rankings (PWR), and the conference leaders through all games of Feb. 11:
1 Boston College
2 Minnesota
3t Union
3t Ferris State
5 Quinnipiac
6 Massachusetts-Lowell
7 Wisconsin
8 St. Cloud State
9 Cornell
10t Michigan
10t Northeastern
12 Vermont
13 Minnesota-Duluth
14 Colgate
15 Providence
16t Maine
16t Yale
— Mercyhurst
Current conference leaders based on winning percentage:
Atlantic Hockey: Mercyhurst Big Ten: Minnesota ECAC Hockey: Union Hockey East: Boston College NCHC: St. Cloud State WCHA: Ferris State
Notes
• Bracketology assumes that the season has ended and there are no more games to be played — i.e., the NCAA tournament starts tomorrow.
• Because there are an uneven amount of games played inside each conference, I will be using winning percentage, not points accumulated, to determine the current leader in each conference. This team is my assumed conference tournament champion.
Step one
From the committee’s report, choose the 16 teams in the tournament.
We break ties in the PWR by looking at the individual comparisons among the tied teams, and add in any current league leaders that are not currently in the top 16. The only team that is not is Mercyhurst.
From there, we can start looking at the ties and bubbles in a more detailed fashion.
The ties and bubbles consist of Union and Ferris State at 3, and Michigan and Northeastern at 10.
We break all of our ties based upon the RPI.
Therefore, the 16 teams in the tournament, in rank order, are:
1 Boston College
2 Minnesota
3 Union
4 Ferris State
5 Quinnipiac
6 Massachusetts-Lowell
7 Wisconsin
8 St. Cloud State
9 Cornell
10 Michigan
11 Northeastern
12 Vermont
13 Minnesota-Duluth
14 Colgate
15 Providence
16 Mercyhurst
Step two
Now it’s time to assign the seeds.
No. 1 seeds: Boston College, Minnesota, Union, Ferris State
No. 2 seeds: Quinnipiac, Massachusetts-Lowell, Wisconsin, St. Cloud State
No. 2 Minnesota is placed in the West Regional in St. Paul.
No. 1 Boston College is placed in the Northeast Regional in Worcester.
No. 3 Union is placed in the East Regional in Bridgeport.
No. 4 Ferris State is placed in the Midwest Regional in Cincinnati.
Step four
Now we place the other 12 teams so as to avoid intra-conference matchups if possible.
Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding (unless you are a host school, in which case you must be assigned to your home regional).
If this is the case, as it was last year, then the committee should seed so that the quarterfinals are seeded such that the four regional championships would be played by No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6 and No. 4 vs. No. 5.
So therefore:
No. 2 seeds
No. 8 St. Cloud State is placed in No. 1 Boston College’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 7 Wisconsin is placed in No. 2 Minnesota’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell is placed in No. 3 Union’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 5 Quinnipiac is placed in No. 4 Ferris State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 3 seeds
Our bracketing system has one regional containing seeds 1, 8, 9 and 16; another with 2, 7, 10 and 15; another with 3, 6, 11 and 14; and another with 4, 5, 12 and 13.
No. 9 Cornell is placed in No. 8 St. Cloud State’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 10 Michigan is placed in No. 7 Wisconsin’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 11 Northeastern is placed in No. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 12 Vermont is placed in No. 5 Quinnipiac’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
No. 4 seeds
One more time, taking No. 16 vs. No. 1, No. 15 vs. No. 2, etc.
No. 16 Mercyhurst is sent to No. 1 Boston College’s regional, the Northeast Regional.
No. 15 Providence is sent to No. 2 Minnesota’s regional, the West Regional.
No. 14 Colgate is sent to No. 3 Union’s regional, the East Regional.
No. 13 Minnesota-Duluth is sent to No. 4 Ferris State’s regional, the Midwest Regional.
The brackets as we have set them up:
West Regional (St. Paul):
15 Providence vs. 2 Minnesota
10 Michigan vs. 7 Wisconsin
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Ferris State
12 Vermont vs. 5 Quinnipiac
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Boston College
9 Cornell vs. 8 St. Cloud State
East Regional (Bridgeport):
14 Colgate vs. 3 Union
11 Northeastern vs. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell
Our first concern is avoiding intraconference matchups. We have a few in Michigan vs. Wisconsin, Colgate vs. Union and Northeastern vs. Massachusetts-Lowell.
We have to break those up. Let’s take the Colgate vs. Union matchup first and it seems pretty simple: We just swap Colgate and Providence.
West Regional (St. Paul):
14 Colgate vs. 2 Minnesota
10 Michigan vs. 7 Wisconsin
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Ferris State
12 Vermont vs. 5 Quinnipiac
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Boston College
9 Cornell vs. 8 St. Cloud State
East Regional (Bridgeport):
15 Providence vs. 3 Union
11 Northeastern vs. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell
Now we look at Northeastern and Lowell. We could swap Northeastern with Cornell. But why don’t we swap St. Cloud with Lowell instead?
You give a higher seed a better geographic draw in this case, so I sort of like it a little better.
West Regional (St. Paul):
14 Colgate vs. 2 Minnesota
10 Michigan vs. 7 Wisconsin
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Ferris State
12 Vermont vs. 5 Quinnipiac
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Boston College
9 Cornell vs. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell
East Regional (Bridgeport):
15 Providence vs. 3 Union
11 Northeastern vs. 8 St. Cloud State
Now I have to break up Michigan and Wisconsin.
We swap Michigan and Vermont. Simple.
West Regional (St. Paul):
14 Colgate vs. 2 Minnesota
12 Vermont vs. 7 Wisconsin
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Ferris State
10 Michigan vs. 5 Quinnipiac
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Boston College
9 Cornell vs. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell
East Regional (Bridgeport):
15 Providence vs. 3 Union
11 Northeastern vs. 8 St. Cloud State
So that’s it, right? We have our bracket.
Well, let’s see where we can fine-tune some things.
For example, how about we look at attendance? (Yes, I know this always happens, but follow along.)
If we have the opportunity to bring St. Cloud State to the West and Quinnipiac to the East, why don’t we do it? We swap.
West Regional (St. Paul):
14 Colgate vs. 2 Minnesota
12 Vermont vs. 7 Wisconsin
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Ferris State
10 Michigan vs. 8 St. Cloud State
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Boston College
9 Cornell vs. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell
East Regional (Bridgeport):
15 Providence vs. 3 Union
11 Northeastern vs. 5 Quinnipiac
Anything else?
Well, we have two Minnesota teams in Cincinnati and only one in St. Paul. So should we try to get one of the those teams to St. Paul? Either St. Cloud State or Minnesota-Duluth?
If you want to bring St. Cloud State to St. Paul, that means you also bring Michigan to St. Paul, because Michigan can’t play Wisconsin and you would be swapping St. Cloud State with Wisconsin.
So if you did that, the bracket would look like this:
West Regional (St. Paul):
14 Colgate vs. 2 Minnesota
10 Michigan vs. 8 St. Cloud State
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Ferris State
12 Vermont vs. 7 Wisconsin
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Boston College
9 Cornell vs. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell
East Regional (Bridgeport):
15 Providence vs. 3 Union
11 Northeastern vs. 5 Quinnipiac
But you could also swap Colgate and Minnesota-Duluth as the other option.
West Regional (St. Paul):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 2 Minnesota
12 Vermont vs. 7 Wisconsin
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
14 Colgate vs. 4 Ferris State
10 Michigan vs. 8 St. Cloud State
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Boston College
9 Cornell vs. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell
East Regional (Bridgeport):
15 Providence vs. 3 Union
11 Northeastern vs. 5 Quinnipiac
Which of the two situations is more attractive to the ticket buyer in both St. Paul and Cincinnati?
I would think the second option. In the second option, you have a first-round matchup of two Minnesota teams, plus old rivals Wisconsin in the barn. You also have Michigan in Ohio, which is a bigger plus for attendance.
For option one, it’s not as attractive attendance-wise to me.
Thus, I go with option two as my final bracket.
West Regional (St. Paul):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 2 Minnesota
12 Vermont vs. 7 Wisconsin
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
14 Colgate vs. 4 Ferris State
10 Michigan vs. 8 St. Cloud State
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Boston College
9 Cornell vs. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell
East Regional (Bridgeport):
15 Providence vs. 3 Union
11 Northeastern vs. 5 Quinnipiac
I’ve swapped and played with this as much as possible, but also within all of the rules. And I’m quite happy with the result.
So that is it.
See you here next week for the next Bracketology.
Here’s a summary of everything that we have covered.
This week’s brackets
West Regional (St. Paul):
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 2 Minnesota
12 Vermont vs. 7 Wisconsin
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
14 Colgate vs. 4 Ferris State
10 Michigan vs. 8 St. Cloud State
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Boston College
9 Cornell vs. 6 Massachusetts-Lowell
East Regional (Bridgeport):
15 Providence vs. 3 Union
11 Northeastern vs. 5 Quinnipiac
Conference breakdowns
Hockey East — 5
ECAC Hockey — 4
Big Ten — 3
NCHC — 2
Atlantic Hockey — 1
WCHA — 1
On the move
In: Vermont, Colgate
Out: New Hampshire, North Dakota
Attendance woes?
No issues for me.
Last week’s brackets
West Regional (St. Paul):
16 Mercyhurst vs. 1 Minnesota
9 Northeastern vs. 8 Michigan
Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
13 Wisconsin vs. 4 Union
12 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 5 Ferris State
Northeast Regional (Worcester):
15 North Dakota vs. 2 Boston College
10 St. Cloud State vs. 7 Massachusetts-Lowell
East Regional (Bridgeport):
14 New Hampshire vs. 3 Quinnipiac
11 Providence vs. 6 Cornell
Interesting …
Some great story lines this week. Minnesota and Wisconsin in the same barn out West, and a great rematch of the North Star College Cup. Michigan in Ohio. Nate Leaman still on track to face his former team in the East, plus the top two teams in ECAC Hockey there. And in the Northeast, the top two teams in Hockey East as well. There are so many great stories with this week’s results.
Coach Ted Donato and Harvard have enjoyed some good results after negative Beanpot semifinal experiences (photo: Melissa Wade).
Who needs Punxsutawney Phil when we’ve got the Harvard Crimson? The men’s hockey team is beginning to string together some W’s — and there are no leaves on the trees, so it must be mid-February.
Don’t believe me? Just look at the records. While the Crimson have lost the Beanpot opener six years running, over the last four seasons the program has finished the regular season 14-4-5 following that Beanpot-opening defeat.
While Harvard and coach Ted Donato hoped to snap the string of consolation game appearances two weeks ago, the club and coach will instead have to focus on the remaining stretch of ECAC track, and redouble efforts ahead of next year’s Beanpot tournament.
“It’s disappointing,” Donato said. “I think that going into Game 1 of the Beanpot, we had beaten Princeton at home and played what we felt was a very good game against Union, so we had a lot of confidence going into the game that we were going to show up and play well, and we didn’t.
“We were deficient in a number of areas. Give Northeastern a lot of credit, but we didn’t feel we played very well at all.”
Semifinal losses aside, this is Harvard’s time of year. Donato believes that the Ivies’ late starting dates handicap the six member squads in the fall, and perhaps the late-season runs prove a better indication of his team’s true competitive ability.
“We benefit from having some time in January to get off on the same foot as everybody else does, from a timing standpoint, as opposed to being a couple weeks behind out of the gate” in the fall, Donato said. “Our focus is on improving so that we’re playing our best hockey at the end of the year.”
One aspect of the game that does not seem to be any stronger than it was in the fall is the state of Harvard’s goaltending. Senior Raphael Girard once boasted one of the nation’s top save percentages — as high as .948, as of the holiday break — but that number has tapered off to a rather less astounding .923 following some underwhelming starts.
In Harvard’s 10 games played since Christmas, Girard’s save percentage is .866. Junior Steve Michalek stepped in with a .928 save percentage and 2.00 GAA in seven appearances over that stretch, and even sophomore Peter Traber was handed a start on Jan. 18 against Colgate. (He allowed three goals on 15 first-period shots; Michalek handled the game’s latter 40 minutes.)
“Raph was playing well, his save percentage was up there, but ultimately we’re still searching for consistency in that position just as we are in the rest of our team,” Donato said. “Raph had the net versus Yale in Madison Square Garden, which was a big game for us, and it didn’t go as planned. He had the net in the Beanpot against Northeastern, and that was another game that didn’t go as planned. We’re still searching; at this point we haven’t landed on one guy. Like most teams, we’re looking for a guy to take the net over.”
Goalie concerns aside, the Crimson are benefiting wildly from the rapid growth and adaptation of their underclassmen.
“We have some crazy percentage, of like 85 percent of our goals in the last couple months have come from underclassmen — freshmen and sophomores,” Donato said.
In fact, Harvard’s top seven scorers are underclassmen. Sophomores Jimmy Vesey (12 goals, 19 points) and Kyle Criscuolo (11, 19) lead the team in goals, while rookies Sean Malone (10 assists) and Luke Esposito (9) set the pace for helpers.
“I do think we’re improving; there’s a lot of room to grow,” Donato said. “We’re extremely young, but at this time of year it’s not something that we’re focused on. Our guys have seen enough of college hockey. … We’re just worried about winning hockey games.”
The team showed great growth and ability in its Jan. 24 loss at Union, even though the result itself raised few eyebrows.
“I thought our game against Union, on the road, was one of our best efforts all year,” Donato said. “We ended up losing the game 4-3, didn’t get a lot of puck luck, had some chances that we didn’t finish off, but I think sometimes you hear coaches talk about how the result doesn’t end up the way you’d want to, but the team still feels like it’s a step forward.
“I felt like we played well in that game. We didn’t get rewarded, which was frustrating, but I do see a group that is learning how to win and starting to do the things that give us that opportunity every night.”
Harvard didn’t do itself any favors with a 2-9-3 ECAC record before the Princeton win, but all things considered, a solid run over the last three weeks could result in a perfectly respectable middle-third finish and a first-round home playoff series.
“We’re two points out of eighth with 12 points available,” Donato said. “We have games with St. Lawrence, who’s above us, and Brown, who’s above us, that are vying for the same spots. The nature of this league is that everybody’s always looking up. To us, we really just want to take it game by game and get to a point that we feel that we’re playing our best hockey.”
After a four-game suspension, Union coach Rick Bennett returns to the bench Friday at Cornell (photo: Matt Eisenberg).
Union restored
Union coach Rick Bennett is relieved to be back behind the bench after serving a four-game suspension following the Mayor’s Cup melee.
“To say the least. That would be an understatement,” he said.
The Dutchmen stumbled in their first game without Bennett — as well as Eli Lichtenwald, Mat Bodie and Daniel Ciampini, all suspended for their roles in the brawl — losing 2-1 at St. Lawrence.
The club bounced back with a win at Clarkson the following night, and victories over Brown and Yale at home last weekend.
“I thought the coaching staff — Joe Dumais, Jason Tapp and John Ronan — did a great job with the bench, addressing the referees, keeping everything in line, and the players really responded for them,” Bennett said.
Thrilled to be serving in his full coaching capacity again, Bennett nonetheless learned a thing or two about his team by taking a step back.
While watching Union’s games at home, he said, he “saw a different light, in how you see your players. I guess as a coach, when you’re on them every day, you may get a little more negative: You just want to see them thrive all the time, every time, and this way, you kind of take a step back and see some things you didn’t see being on top of them all the time. It was really good to step back.”
For example, “our defensemen are very offensive, and it’s a different corps than what we’ve had here in the past couple seasons. When you lose what we lost last year with three very good defensemen, they were more defensive defensemen. Now they’ve been replaced with more offensive defensemen, so it’s just a different look and it didn’t really dawn on me until I watched those games that they are different. You have to work with them differently, so I’d say that was an eye-opener.”
Bennett reiterated his limitless faith in his assistant coaches when discussing junior goalie Colin Stevens, who has played as many games this season as he did in his freshman and sophomore years combined.
“Judged by his games this year, given time off, I think he’s handled [the workload] well,” Bennett said of Stevens. “I think we’ve got one of the best — if not the best — goalie coaches/assistant coaches in Jason Tapp, and he has the pulse of it. I trust him an awful lot, and if he tells me that Colin Stevens is ready to go, he’s ready to go, and if he feels we need to give him a break then that’s what we’ve done.
“[Stevens] waited two years — now he’s in year three — to be where he’s at, so even if he is tired, I think he’s going to battle through it.”
When asked to compare Union’s attitude and mentality this year to that of Dutchmen teams past, Bennett noted the intense competition at the top of ECAC Hockey in 2010-11 and 2011-12. Union claimed the Cleary Cup each year.
“A couple years ago, it was an absolute dogfight all the way to the end, and I thought our guys really responded to it,” Bennett said. “This year, I feel the same way as a couple years ago, and that you’re really going to find out a lot about your team in the next six games.”
Heads up!
Keep up with the ECAC Blog for tiebreaker scenarios, playoff postulations, and other timely updates and insights from colleague Nate Owen and myself.
This weekend’s most significant matchups:
Friday
Union at Cornell: Each team has its sights set on an aspirational goal — Union aims to clinch the Cleary Cup and the league’s top seed, while Cornell is battling for a first-round bye. Points cannot afford to be lost right now in the top half of the standings.
Quinnipiac at Yale: November’s meeting in Hamden settled nothing; the 3-3 tie begs for a tiebreaking result between the Frozen Four’s last teams standing.
Saturday
Union at Colgate: See the Union-Cornell note, but with a catch — Colgate has more to lose than it has to gain, and psychological research has demonstrated that loss aversion is a significantly more powerful incentive than potential gain.
Harvard at St. Lawrence: These teams are in the thick of a four-team grapple to acquire or maintain a home-ice playoff spot. At worst, they will be four points apart come Saturday night; alternatively, they could be dead even in the standings.
Ohio State goalie Christian Frey faces a shot against Penn State (photo: Kirk Irwin/Ohio State Athletics).
During the first half of the season, Ohio State was forced to scramble to get a club team goaltender and a baseball catcher eligible as potential backup goaltender options.
Enter Christian Frey and those memories sure seem distant.
“It’s amazing how things kind of work out,” Buckeyes’ coach Steve Rohlik said. “You always say things happen for a reason, and I didn’t quite know what it was going to be when we were going through six goaltenders.”
The Buckeyes were down to one goaltender when Collin Olson left the team and Matt Tomkins got injured; Logan Davis was the only netminder left standing.
Since enrolling at Ohio State and joining the team in December, Frey had stopped Ohio State’s game of goaltender roulette. He has a 5-1-2 record in eight starts and has a 2.11 GAA.
“For him to step aboard at Christmas and do what he’s doing right now, basically a half a year behind everybody as far as knowing everybody and everything else, it’s a credit to how he approaches practice and how he approaches a game,” Rohlik said. “He’s had the hot hand, but I’m really comfortable with all three of my goalies right now.”
Rohlik said that the starting goaltender still will be determined by the week of practice and the first game of a series, and he added that we will definitely see Tomkins in net again down the stretch.
Frey came to Ohio State from the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, where he had a 10-4 record and a 2.29 GAA.
“[Assistant coaches] Joe Exter and Brett Larson did a heck of a job of going out there and researching and doing the best we can and then obviously dealing with Dubuque,” Rohlik said. “We had to bring a kid in, but we also took a kid from away from the USHL and a pretty good hockey team and put them in a situation where they had to find someone else.
“It ended up working out so far for us. I’ve never been involved with bringing a kid in at Christmas, so it was certainly another new thing for me.”
Frey was in net for both of Ohio State’s ties last weekend. The Buckeyes defeated Michigan State in a shootout both nights. In Friday’s game, OSU scored two goals in the game’s final two minutes to force overtime.
“Anytime you can score two goals in the last minute and a half and score with a second left on the clock, it obviously gives you a little confidence,” Rohlik said. “Our guys always believed that they were in there and then you get a couple power plays at the end and you can go six on four, it certainly helped us out.”
With the points they picked up at Michigan State, the Buckeyes sit fourth in the conference. They are nine points behind leader Minnesota and three behind third-place Michigan.
“Our biggest thing is to keep getting better and trying to get points,” Rohlik said. “With six teams in the league, as you can see, one minute people are talking about Minnesota running away with the lead and the next minute Michigan and Wisconsin are on their heels.”
The Buckeyes will have plenty of opportunities to get points against teams that are in front of them in the standings during the next three weeks when they play Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.
“Now we’re playing another team that’s ahead of us and the only way to catch them is to beat them,” Rohlik said. “Wisconsin’s coming off beating the No. 1 team in the country twice — that shows you how good they are. We’re going to have to play our best hockey starting on Friday.”
Out of the six games against teams in front of them, five will be played in Columbus (four at Value City Arena and one at Nationwide Arena). The Buckeyes are 12-3-1 on home ice this year.
“Anytime you can get the crowd behind you at home, it’s always an advantage,” Rohlik said. “So we’re looking forward to being back here.”
Ohio State is a testament to how quickly things can turn around. Ohio State started 2014 by dropping two close games to Minnesota on the road and then another close one to Wisconsin at the Kohl Center.
The Buckeyes responded by defeating Wisconsin on the second night of that series and are undefeated in the last five games.
“That Saturday game was huge for us to battle to get the lead and hold onto the lead and learn how to win,” Rohlik said. “Once you do that, confidence goes a long way.”
Ohio State boasts the nation’s No. 5 offense by averaging 3.5 goals per game, and junior forward Ryan Dzingel has helped power that offense with 17 goals and 20 assists this season.
However, Rohlik said that Dzingel’s improvement this season can’t be measured in just goals and assists.
“He’s improved in a lot of areas. The one area people are seeing are the goals and points and all that, but he’s been more responsible all over the rink,” Rohlik said “He’s one of our top penalty killers and he takes pride in that and he’s working on faceoffs.”
Rohlik said that Dzingel would be the first one to tell you that “it’s been about the guys around him, too,” and he’d be right. Seven players have tallied seven or more goals for Ohio State this season. Nine have 10 or more points.
“We knew coming into the year that we kind of wanted to do it as a group,” Rohlik said, citing that the fourth line was responsible for the two goals in last Saturday’s game against Michigan State. “People do look at Ryan and see his points, but if you take that away it’s always been someone different all the time. That’s a credit to our guys and if we can go four lines like that down the stretch with everybody chipping in, it just makes you that much better.”
Penn State goaltender Matthew Skoff made 32 saves in a shutout of Michigan (photo: Omar Phillips).
Penn State gets win No. 1
It took until February, but every team in the Big Ten conference has picked up a Big Ten conference point.
Penn State also added a conference shutout to its résumé when it blanked Michigan 4-0 in front of more than 6,000 spectators at Pegula Ice Arena last Saturday night.
“It feels fantastic, not just the win itself but because of the work that we’ve had to put in to get here,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said after the game. “It felt good.”
The Nittany Lions scored three goals in the first period and notched another late in the third. Michigan goaltender Zach Nagelvoort was chased after just 13 minutes of action. Penn State netminder Matthew Skoff had 32 saves in the shutout.
“Everybody just pulled together,” Skoff said. “There was a sense of urgency before the game for sure.”
Penn State will have an opportunity to go on its first Big Ten winning streak this weekend when it hosts Michigan State.
Three stars of the week
First star — Wisconsin junior goaltender Joel Rumpel: Rumpel was huge in the Badgers’ sweep of No. 1 Minnesota. He stopped 59 of the 61 shots he faced in the two-game series. The junior from Swift Current, Saskatchewan, leads the Big Ten in winning percentage, GAA and save percentage. This is his second Big Ten weekly award of the season.
Second star — Penn State sophomore goaltender Matthew Skoff: Skoff had 32 saves in Penn State’s shutout of Michigan. It was his first shutout of the season and third of this career. The win was Penn State’s second over a ranked opponent and first over a top-10 team. This is the first weekly award for Skoff.
Third star — Michigan State senior forward Greg Wolfe: Wolfe played a part in every goal Michigan State scored against Ohio State and finished the weekend with three goals and one assist. This is his first Big Ten weekly award of the season.
Hannah Brandt and Minnesota travel to Madison to take on Wisconsin with a chance to clinch the WCHA regular season title.
Arlan: It was an eventful week, with upsets, close calls, shifts in conference races, lower teams making a push, and the Olympics getting under way. The coming week figures to be even more eventful on those fronts.
The ECAC was one league where the relative positioning of the leaders changed. Clarkson had to settle for ties against both Quinnipiac and Princeton. The loss of those two points allowed Harvard to maintain a two-point lead over the Golden Knights despite playing only one league game last week. Cornell moved into second by sweeping Colgate, albeit with some tense moments in the first game. The net effect is that Clarkson no longer has full control over its destiny in that race. Even if it wins the big showdown at Harvard on Friday, Clarkson will need help from either Union, Rensselaer, Quinnipiac or Princeton to make up a point on the Big Red somewhere along the way.
That means that Harvard is the only team that fully controls its destiny as far as the ECAC trophy is concerned. Are you surprised that the Crimson are in this strong of a position this late in the ECAC schedule? The other attribute that stands out in that conference this year is how frequently games against middle-tier teams have tripped up the leaders.
Candace: Yes, I’m surprised the Crimson are still in control in the ECAC, with a chance to win it. I really had Harvard pegged for third, with Cornell and Clarkson fighting for the championship, a race I gave an edge to the Big Red in. What Harvard has is perhaps the top goaltender in the nation in Emerance Maschmeyer. She has a 1.47 GAA and a .949 save percentage, and while she’s ranked seventh nationally, I think you could argue that Maschmeyer’s play is more crucial to her team’s success than any other. Wisconsin may have Alex Rigsby, but when she went down, Ann-Renée Desbiens stepped in and was just as successful. Two fellow ECAC netminders, Erica Howe of Clarkson and Chelsea Laden of Quinnipiac, are ahead of Maschmeyer in the goaltending stats nationally, but both of those teams have something the Crimson lack: a proven offensive force. For Clarkson, it’s Jamie Lee Rattray, while Quinnipiac has Kelly Babstock. So while Howe’s and Laden’s play is important for their teams, if they are slightly off, their teammates have ways to compensate. Harvard doesn’t have players that can produce at that level. Miye D’Oench and Hillary Crowe lead the Crimson in scoring, and each are averaging a point a game, but neither is a player who can come out and dominate a game.
Regarding middle-tier teams tripping up leaders, yes, that’s so in the ECAC, but it’s true in every conference except the WCHA, where Minnesota and Wisconsin just roll over anyone except each other and North Dakota. In the CHA, league leader Mercyhurst was beaten by RIT, and Robert Morris, which two weeks ago looked to be firmly in control in the conference, has since lost to Lindenwood and Syracuse. In Hockey East, Boston College had been rolling, but perhaps had a Beanpot hangover after dominating arch-rival Boston University and lost to Connecticut. BC has also lost to New Hampshire this season, while BU got swept by Vermont and also lost to Providence earlier in the year.
Of all those aforementioned games, the Robert Morris one stands out. The Colonials could only muster a single tie against Syracuse in a two-game set this weekend. Apparently, the Colonials may have felt the squeeze so close to success. What’s your take?
Arlan: RMU lost the first meeting of the year with Mercyhurst, and then got on a roll, going unbeaten over the next 14 games. A team feels great; it’s confident it will always find a way to win. Jessica Dodds didn’t have to worry about bouncing back after a loss, because she never lost. The Colonials hadn’t allowed more than two goals in a game since October, but then they lost to Mercyhurst in very painful fashion. The Lakers had five goals on the scoreboard 10 seconds into the third period. Robert Morris got through the first game at Lindenwood okay, but the defense has struggled over the recent three-game winless streak, allowing 10 goals. That was about a month’s worth of goals allowed when it was going well. RMU has a good offense, not a dominant offense, scoring slightly less than three goals a game. It needs to win games 3-2 or 2-1. If it allows three goals a game, then it will find the going to be more difficult. Robert Morris has recorded eight wins by a single goal; the margin for error isn’t great.
We see that with a lot of teams; the line between winning and losing is very fine. Syracuse has lost by a goal eight times. Maybe there isn’t as much separation between the Colonials and the Orange as records would suggest. For more than a season, Kallie Billadeau was the primary goaltender for Syracuse. She started the final game of 2013, played two periods, left with a shutout, and hasn’t played since. Instead, Jenesica Drinkwater, another senior, has been getting the minutes. I don’t know if Billadeau is hurt or unavailable for some other reason, but Drinkwater appears to be settling into the position now that she’s in net on a regular basis. She also had a 37-save shutout of St. Lawrence last week in addition to earning three of four points from RMU, so Syracuse could yet play a large factor in the CHA tournament. Whether they’ll be able to finally beat Mercyhurst should the Orange get another opportunity is a different matter. But in any case, I need to remember that last weekend’s results are as much about Syracuse as they are about Robert Morris.
Clarkson is harder for me to qualify. It hasn’t lost in 2014, and its unbeaten streak is the second longest in the country. But those back-to-back ties have to be as painful as losing, especially given the Golden Knights had two-goal leads in the third period of each game. Would you have guessed that of a team that prides itself on defense and has the No. 3 scoring defense to prove it?
Candace: Well, against Quinnipiac it’s not perhaps as surprising. The Bobcats’ offense might not be as explosive as Minnesota or Boston College or Cornell, but it has several players that can break games open. Shiann Darkangelo is top 10 nationally in goals scored, and Babstock is seventh in assists. Babstock may have fallen off just a tad from her output in January, but she’s still eighth nationally in scoring. Darkangelo is 30th. Freshman Emma Woods and sophomore Nicole Connery have also proven to be good scorers. So, the Bobcats have the players who can break games open, who can turn things around quickly.
The way in which Quinnipiac turned it around is somewhat surprising though. Trailing by two entering the third to Clarkson, Amanda Colin struck at 1:25, and Darkangelo followed up with the tying goal just two minutes later at 3:42. Both were even-strength goals, as was Meghan Turner’s in the first. If Clarkson doesn’t get two power-play goals, that game could have been somewhat different.
So while the Quinnipiac result doesn’t surprise me that much, the Princeton one does. The Tigers are barely over .500 in both overall and conference record, and have generally been a team that beats those below them and falls to the top squads. They’ve played both Harvard and Cornell tough, losing by one, including the wild 5-4 decision to the Big Red back in November, but they also got trounced by Clarkson in November, 7-0, and they gave up 15 goals in two losses to Minnesota. With the offensive weapons Clarkson has, such as Rattray, Erin Ambrose, and Carly Mercer, you would have thought the Golden Knights could keep scoring, but Kimberly Newell was great in net, making 41 saves, including 12 in the third period and six in overtime. Princeton, in fact, couldn’t muster a single shot on goal in the OT, after getting 15 in the third. It’s almost as though Clarkson went to sleep defensively, thinking the game in the bag. The Golden Knights can’t afford those kinds of lapses going forward, or they will be out of the playoffs sooner rather than later.
Speaking of piling on shots in a futile effort, BC fired 45 on Connecticut netminder Elaine Chuli in the 2-0 loss to the Huskies Saturday. It’s been a trend for several years that BC sometimes has games where the Eagles put a ton of shots on net, but don’t get points. I’m not sure why, especially with some of the natural offensive weapons the Eagles have, such as Haley Skarupa, Emily Field, and Andie Anastos. Do we just chalk that loss up to a Beanpot hangover? BC is still in great shape in the Hockey East race, especially since the Eagles have shown an ability to dominate BU, and they looked impressive last night in blanking Northeastern to claim their fifth Beanpot in the last nine years.
Arlan: A Beanpot hangover could be one explanation, but I’m not sure that was the case. The Eagles outshot UConn 33 to 19 over the first two periods, including 21-11 in the second. They then were outshot and yielded 18 shots in the third period as the Huskies netted an insurance goal. I’d expect a slower start and a better finish in the type of game we normally associate with a team having a hangover or coming out flat. Maybe the explanation was found on the other bench; Chuli played great, and that may have fueled a response in the Huskies. For that particular game, I’ll just say, “Nice job by Chuli and Connecticut,” and move on.
I’m not sure where that leaves me where BC is concerned. I want to be able to include the Eagles in that handful of teams that could win it all. I think they have that caliber of talent. When you watch them on the ice with the elite teams, they clearly belong there. Going into the Beanpot final, BC and North Dakota were nearly identical in RPI. UND had two more losses, but five of them came versus Minnesota or Wisconsin. The Eagles have been defeated by teams that include Syracuse, Princeton, New Hampshire, and now Connecticut. That’s a lot of losses to opponents that you should beat if you are truly an elite team, and I think that BC is. I don’t know why those losses occur every year and not just around Beanpot time. The net result is that the Eagles drift down in the PairWise and get a less-advantageous seed. They need to be careful that they don’t drop an extra game or two and drop to seventh in the PairWise, which right now would likely mean a trip to Madison. Wisconsin is in my estimation the worst possible matchup for BC, even tougher than Minnesota. If the Eagles can be shut down by Connecticut, then it could be a very frustrating day playing the Badgers. Meanwhile, if BC can’t be counted on to win three straight games in the league tournament, then there will be many anxious moments for any team sitting in the eighth spot.
With every week that passes, Mercyhurst is getting closer to moving back into the top eight. When I spoke to Mike Sisti before the Robert Morris series, he did say that his team has improved a lot since the start of the season, and the results bear that out. I thought they needed to sweep Robert Morris to stay alive, but thanks to Lindenwood and Syracuse, apparently not. It now looks like the Lakers will keep their streak of CHA titles intact; might they keep that string of NCAA appearances going as well?
Candace: It’s certainly looking that way, especially with Robert Morris in a swoon. North Dakota, RMU, and Mercyhurst are in a three-way tie for seventh in the PairWise, with Mercyhurst last in that group because of RPI, but it’s barely a half a percentage point. Assuming the Lakers keep winning, I see no reason why they won’t surpass suddenly vulnerable RMU, and they could even pass North Dakota if UND isn’t careful. Mercyhurst ends its season with series against Penn State and Lindenwood, and Nicole Hensley aside, I don’t see any reason Mercyhurst won’t sweep those and take the top seed in the CHA tournament.
I’ll be very interested to see how RIT fares against Syracuse this week, because that could affect who the Lakers see in the CHA semifinals. The Tigers have a one-point lead on the Orange, and obviously want to stay that way, since it means they would face Penn State in the first round. No disrespect to the Nittany Lions, but they just aren’t ready for prime time, so whoever is in third likely will face Penn State, win, and then advance to a semifinal showdown with Robert Morris, which seems to be in choke mode. Regardless, while the Tigers own one win over Mercyhurst this season, I don’t see it happening again, the Orange have never beaten the Lakers, and even when RMU was playing well, a Colonials-Lakers game seemed to be a coin flip. If Mercyhurst wins the CHA, the Lakers likely advance to the NCAA tournament, unless some outlier wins Hockey East or the ECAC and bumps the eighth PairWise team out, which is also still a possibility.
The big series this weekend, of course, pits No. 1 Minnesota at No. 2 Wisconsin in Madison, which should be rocking. Can the Badgers stop the Gophers juggernaut and plant a seed of doubt in Minnesota’s head prior to the WCHA tournament?
Arlan: I think that seeds of doubt occur naturally in all of our heads, and it is part of what makes us human. There will be some waiting to sprout come March whether the Gophers sweep or get swept, although conditions will be more conducive to germination should it be the latter. This looks to me like it will be a win/win series for both teams no matter what happens on the ice. Minnesota clearly needs a game against top competition. The series in North Dakota two weeks ago was its first against a ranked opponent since UND in November, and because of player absences, UND couldn’t fully perform to its potential. What that series did give the Gophers was a game in a hostile environment in front of a big crowd of nearly 6,000, and I think their road winning streak is now up to 42. Saturday’s crowd figures to be more than double that size. Minnesota players talk about the Fill the Bowl experience at the Kohl Center three years ago as being one of the highlights of their careers, and that was a game where they had a shaky start and lost, 3-1. Because of everything that the team has experienced since then, I think they are better positioned to respond positively to such a challenge, but that remains to be seen.
Minnesota did face a different challenge against Bemidji State. After scoring the first 14 goals of the series and having everything go its way, the Beavers struck for three goals in less than two minutes, seemingly out of nowhere. The Saturday game that was about to become a second consecutive blowout was instantly down to a 4-3 lead for the Gophers halfway through, and those doubt seeds were being sown all over. They had a very veteran response, adding an insurance goal before the second period ended and clamping down defensively to remove any drama in the third period.
Wisconsin will have chances to score, because Minnesota will make mistakes, likely more than the hosts will. Back in October, the Badgers hadn’t developed enough finish in their game to exploit those chances. Now the rust is gone from Brittany Ammerman’s game and she is the top goal scorer in the WCHA, and Blayre Turnbull has emerged as a nice complement. Minnesota has nearly 50 percent more offense, so I’m sure that the Badgers will look to take a lead, get the crowd into the game, and suffocate any attempted rallies. They’ve had trouble executing that game plan of late, as Minnesota has won eight straight head-to-head. Wisconsin has only had one lead, and that lasted less than two minutes. Eight games seems to be around the limit of how long a team can go tasting only defeat in this rivalry, so you’d have to expect the Badgers to get something out of this weekend. Do you think they can take enough points to prevent the Gophers from clinching the WCHA title in Madison?
Candace: I don’t think so. Minnesota has a seven-point lead in the standings right now. Each win is worth three points, while shootout wins are worth two. Wisconsin realistically needs to sweep to have a shot. I suppose if Wisconsin got a win and shootout win to get five points out of six on the weekend, the Badgers could have a shot, as they’d then trail Minnesota by three points heading into the final weekend, but then the Badgers would still need help. So, you are basically wondering if a Minnesota team that has one loss in the last two years will suffer two straight defeats, and I’m thinking no. A split seems likely, but that won’t be enough for Wisconsin.
The rest of the WCHA looks pretty locked in as well in the top half. North Dakota can’t catch Wisconsin. Minnesota-Duluth can’t catch North Dakota realistically, since UND has a five-point lead and two games in hand, and I don’t see UND losing twice this weekend and next weekend and Duluth sweeping Minnesota. No one in teams 5-8 can catch Duluth. However, in the bottom half, there is still room for movement. Bemidji is in sixth and trails Ohio State by three points. Those two face off in a two-game set this weekend that will probably determine who is playing North Dakota and who is playing Minnesota-Duluth. I would think that both UND and UMD would rather face Bemidji than OSU, no disrespect to the Beavers, just based on results this year.
At the bottom, Minnesota State leads St. Cloud by two points with two games in hand. The Mavericks face North Dakota in Grand Forks this weekend, a tough ask for points, then close by hosting Wisconsin. St. Cloud meanwhile, is off this weekend and then hosts Bemidji State to close. Do you see jockeying happening among the bottom four before season’s end, or do you think that how it is now is how it will finish?
Arlan: The most likely change would be St. Cloud State passing Minnesota State. A split is a likely occurrence between the Beavers and SCSU, and if that happens, the Mavericks will need to find points to stay ahead. Their best chance to steal a few would be in Grand Forks, because UND without three Olympians is more vulnerable than Wisconsin. I’ll say that St. Cloud State has right around an even chance of getting up to the seventh spot.
The lower rungs are more interesting in some of the other leagues. The upset over BC plus a win at New Hampshire moved Connecticut up to fifth in Hockey East, just a point ahead of Providence. UNH is two points behind the Friars, and Maine is just a point shy of the Wildcats. All the teams have four games remaining, so all kinds of juxtapositioning is still conceivable. Two of the Black Bears’ games are versus BC, so the first reaction is that those would be losses, but we’ve seen over the years how averse to that bus ride to Orono teams can be. It may be that Maine’s final series at Connecticut will go a long way toward slotting teams.
The ECAC is stratified into three-team bands all the way down. Quinnipiac (22 points), St. Lawrence (21), and Princeton (19) are fighting for the final home-ice playoff spot with four contests left. Each has three games remaining on its schedule where it would seem to be the favorite, so if that holds and the status quo is maintained, advantage Bobcats. With how close the teams appear to be in potential, that may ultimately prove to be a hollow victory, because home ice won’t ensure advancing. Yale (15), Rensselaer (14), and Dartmouth (13) are fighting for the final two playoff berths. The Engineers would figure to get points from hosting Colgate, but Dartmouth has games with both Brown and Yale, so if RPI only adds two points, a Yale and Dartmouth tie could conceivably yield a three-way tie at 16 points. Brown, Union and Colgate look to have only a spoiler role to enjoy.
Do any games stand out to you as being particularly key in sorting out playoff pairings?
Candace: Well, we’ve already mentioned a few, including Minnesota vs. Wisconsin. Friday night also sees a huge ECAC game when Clarkson travels to Boston to take on Harvard. Before the Golden Knights’ two ties, we were looking at that game as one that could decide the ECAC champion, and I’d say that’s still possible. Of course, Harvard can’t get too elated should the Crimson win, because a possible trap game happens the next night when they face St. Lawrence.
The following week could be interesting as well. If BC doesn’t sweep Maine this weekend, the Hockey East race could still be in play on the final weekend of the year when BC has a home-and-home with BU. Of course, the Terriers could potentially trip up this weekend when they play a home-and-home with Providence, an always tricky matchup.
In the ECAC, the final week also brings Quinnipiac playing at Cornell and Rensselaer playing at Clarkson, both potential game-changers in the playoff race. Princeton plays Cornell in its final game of the regular season, another matchup that could play a big role in playoff seeding.
Next week will see the announcement of the initial list of Patty Kazmaier finalists. Under the Kaz Watch section of the Patty Kazmaier Award website, there have been mini profiles of players over the last few weeks. Some of the usual suspects are there, such as Rattray, Rigsby, Hannah Brandt of Minnesota, and Sarah Lefort of BU. Also profiled last week was Robert Morris freshman Brittany Howard, whom you thought might take a back seat to Rebecca Vint when the list is announced. Care to revise that?
Arlan: No. In terms of looking at who could make the top 10, I’d say Vint has a better shot than Howard at this point of their careers. From watching the Colonials play, I thought Vint was the one player that made the team go. Neither is in the top 10 in points per game, so both are long shots once Robert Morris started to decline, and that hurts Howard as well. All three have a shot at the list of 30, because outside of Christine Bestland, the CHA doesn’t have any other players who are locks and coaches in the league are bound to vote for somebody.
Over the years, we’ve seen some rather odd inclusions and omissions on the initial Kazmaier list since the process changed. The bar for making the list has been lower in some leagues than others, so we’ve had cases of a player like Brooke Ammerman ranking near the top of the national scoring race and playing for a top-ranked team but not making the list because she was overshadowed by teammates and other players in her league who are now playing in the Olympics. It tends to be more of a compilation of regional lists, rather than a ranking of the best players in the country. Sort of like taking a list of the 60 best players in the country and shooting at it with a shotgun, such that the center of the pattern is aimed at the top of the list. Some people are missed by the pattern. So I’m not going to put too much effort into trying to anticipate who will or won’t make that initial list. For example, Minnesota has four forwards, two defensemen, and a goaltender that are having years such that they could earn a nomination. Obviously, all seven will not, but to what degree that results in vote splitting is tough to predict. I think it works better to wait until the list is announced and then name a few people that in my opinion had worthy seasons but fell through the cracks.
Speaking of the Olympics, through Tuesday there haven’t been any big surprises. Finland gave good efforts versus the top two teams, Florence Schelling stopped a lot of pucks for the Swiss as she did at Northeastern, and Russia came through a couple of times for the home crowd. Has anything really stood out for you?
Candace: Only in that the U.S. team’s offense has so far been clicking on all cylinders, something that they will need when they face Canada today. The U.S. beat Finland in a tight game to start, 3-1, then pounded Switzerland, 9-0. The Canadians have beaten those two opponents by 3-0 and 5-0 scores.
The Canadian game against Finland was interesting in that Noora Räty held Canada off the scoreboard until 50 minutes had passed and Meghan Agosta scored on a power play at 10:33 of the third. Räty made 39 stops in that game. By contrast, the U.S. struck just 53 seconds just into the game against Finland on a goal by Hilary Knight, and Kelli Stack added a second goal at 7:42. Against Switzerland, the U.S. line of Amanda Kessel, Kendall Coyne, and Brianna Decker looked extremely potent, as Coyne and Kessel each had two goals and two assists and Knight had a goal and an assist. Kessel three times thought she had a hat trick before a teammate was credited with a goal.
I think we’ll learn a lot more after the two play tomorrow.
St. John’s captain Justin Hochsprung is back in shape and aspiring to help the Johnnies raise some hardware in the coming weeks (photo: Evan Gruenes).
Justin Hochsprung had an opportunity to step away from hockey over Christmas break and take advantage of an opportunity of a lifetime.
Hochsprung, a senior forward and team captain at St. John’s, was part of a select group of students who went to China as part of the E-Scholars Program. One hundred students applied for the opportunity to visit China, the Silicon Valley and Denver.
Only 13 were selected.
“We were able to meet with business leaders and set up information interviews with them,” said Hochsprung. “I learned a lot about the business world and had a chance to network with potential employers about job opportunities.”
Hochsprung said being in China was memorable.
“It’s very different, but it was very cool to go over there and see a different culture,” Hochsprung said. “I’m glad I had a chance to do it.”
Being overseas, though, prevented him from working out as much as he would have liked over the break in order to prepare for the second half of the season.
Yet, he found a way to battle back and help St. John’s stay in contention for a return trip to the MIAC tournament.
“I felt out of shape when I got back because there weren’t many gyms around to work out in,” Hochsprung said. “But I picked it back up pretty quick and was able get back out there and play that first weekend.”
Hochsprung played in 27 games last season and led the teams in goals (11) and assists (13) en route to earning first-team All-MIAC honors. His highlight was scoring the game-winner in the MIAC tournament title game.
His numbers are down a bit this year as he has tallied just three goals and seven assists in 18 games for the Johnnies, who are 13-8 overall and 7-5 in the conference.
Still, Hochsprung can’t complain as his hard work has certainly paid off.
“I put a lot of work in during the offseason and our trainer has been a big help to me,” Hochsprung said. “He’s done a great job of getting me ready to play. My statistics don’t show it, but I feel like I’m a much better player than I was a year ago.”
Having the opportunity to be a part of a tournament title team last season served as a huge boost to Hochsprung’s confidence, especially considering he delivered the clinching goal in a 3-2 win over Gustavus in the MIAC championship game.
“It gave our team a lot of confidence and it gives us confidence that we can still make a run this year,” Hochsprung said. “We have a lot of skilled players on our team and we know we have a lot of potential.”
St. John’s won’t be able to earn a share of the regular-season title again this season, but it could still win another tourney championship.
The Johnnies are led in goals by Josh Gross, who has tallied seven to go along with 10 assists.
John Haeg has come through with four goals and 13 assists, while Kevin Becker has racked up five goals and seven assists. Phil Johnson has tallied six goals and five assists.
Saxton Soley has started 17 games in goal for the Johnnies and owns a 2.21 goals-against average and has made 402 saves.
No matter how the rest of the season plays out, though, Hochsprung is thankful he chose to play for the Johnnies.
“Being on this team is like being a part of a band of brothers,” Hochsprung said. “We are all best friends and I’ve made friendships that will last the rest of my life. It’s been a great experience playing college hockey here.”
Moving Up: St. Thomas moved into first place in the conference by knocking off Bethel 5-2 on Saturday and completing a weekend sweep of the Royals.
The Tommies have 33 points and are 16-3-2 overall. They are 10-0-2 in the MIAC. St. Thomas is one point ahead of Gustavus in the standings.
Against Bethel, Jordan Lovick scored two goals to pave the way, while Nick Nielsen, Derek Jacobsen and Michael Dockery also scored goals for the Tommies, who are unbeaten in their last 14 games against conference opponents and are assured of a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the upcoming MIAC tournament.
Drew Fielding made 15 saves and won his 15th game of the year. His win total ranks fourth in Division III.
Oles on a Roll: St. Olaf pushed its win streak to eight games on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Concordia (Minn.). The Oles remain in third place with the victory and are now 11-9-3 overall and 9-3-2 in the conference. They have tallied 27 points.
Dan Cecka and Peter Lindblad both scored goals in regulation and Steve Sherman came through with the winning goal in the shootout. The Oles held a decisive 41-25 edge in shots and Steve Papciak racked up 23 saves.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior forward Jon Waggoner has his eyes set on another Division III national championship (photo: UW-Eau Claire Photography).
Jon Waggoner was given a chance to step into a more prominent role for Wisconsin-Eau Claire this season and he has taken advantage of it.
After playing behind talented upperclassmen early in his career, Waggoner has had a much bigger impact for the Blugolds, having tallied 10 goals and eight assists in 20 games.
“I’ve been given a lot more opportunities this year, especially on the power play, and I’ve been able to make the most of them,” Waggoner said. “I’ve been able to make things happen and play a bigger role on the team.”
Waggoner is in his senior season with the defending national champions and has made significant strides since arriving on campus. He scored four goals and dished out two assists as a freshman and tallied three goals and five assists as a sophomore.
Last year, Waggoner came through with seven goals and eight assists.
Of course, he credits his success to playing on a team with plenty of players capable of stepping up on any given night.
The Blugolds have 14 players who have scored two more goals, including Joe Krause, who has tallied nine goals to go along with nine assists.
David Donnellan has come through nine goals and seven assists, while Ross Andersen has racked up eight goals and eight assists. Patrick Moore (7-5) and Ethan Nauman (6-6) have also been key contributors to an offense that has cranked out 81 goals.
“We have a lot of skill guys and all four lines have been productive,” Waggoner said. “We don’t have to rely on just a few players to carry us. It’s been a big part of our success.”
Waggoner hails from Alaska, where he also played junior hockey for Fairbanks in the North American Hockey League, and he’s happy with his decision to go off to college so far from home.
“It was tough at first because I even played junior hockey back home, but I got used to it,” Waggoner said. “It was definitely a change of scenery, but it’s still cold just like it is there. I wouldn’t trade my time here for anything. I’ve enjoyed it.”
His decision was well worth it as he was able to experience the thrill of winning a national championship. Even now, he still gets chills thinking about it.
“Every team goes into the season with one goal and that is to win a national championship,” Waggoner said. “It was crazy being a part of the run and accomplishing that goal. We knew we had a good team going into the year and felt like we could win it. It was amazing to do it.”
Eau Claire seems to be poised for another tournament run this season. The Blugolds have won four consecutive games and are 16-4-1 overall and 5-2-1 in the WIAC. They have lost only one game since the first weekend of December.
“We have good goaltending, our defensive core has been strong and we have four solid lines,” Waggoner said. “As long as we stick with our systems, buy into what are coaches are telling us and come ready to play every night, we’re capable of making another tournament run.”
Upset Win: Wisconsin-Stout came up with one of its biggest wins of the season on Saturday as it knocked off nationally-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point 4-2.
The Pointers came in averaging 5.25 goals per game, but didn’t have a lot of luck scoring against Chase Hollander, who made 37 saves and helped lift the Blue Devils to their second win of the year over the Pointers.
Zach Vierling, Tyler Cavemberg, Derek Sand and Joey Haydock all scored goals for the Blue Devils, who improved to 7-14 overall and to 3-5 in the WIAC.
The victory ended a four-game losing streak for the Blue Devils, who had lost 6-2 to Stevens Point in the series opener on Friday night.
Tough Battle: Wisconsin-River Falls played Gustavus Adolphus tight Friday night in a nonconference game and the two teams ended the game in a 2-2 tie.
The battle of nationally-ranked teams was as competitive as expected.
Christian George and Michael Lant both scored goals for the Falcons, who are now 12-6-3 on the season.
Tanner Milliron came through with 24 saves. Gustavus held a 26-25 edge in shots.
It was the seventh overtime game of the year for the Falcons, who have a 1-4-2 record in those games.
Goalie Terry Shafer and Robert Morris are one point out of a first-round bye (photo: Omar Phillips).
As the final month of the 2013-14 college hockey season approaches, it’s customary for fans to begin wondering where their favorite program will finish in relation to the rest of its conference.
For fans of Atlantic Hockey teams, it usually ends in hours of number crunching that would make some mathematicians and physicists lose their mind.
For the third consecutive year, the AHA season is shaping for a wild run to the finish line (to be discussed at length later). And while that’s enough to drive fans crazy, that’s something that keeps commissioner Bob DeGregorio happy.
“There’s some major parity [across the league],” the commissioner said last weekend. “You look at Mercyhurst leading Air Force 2-0 and Air Force comes back. The middle group is just as tight as the group at the top. There’s a lot of playoff positioning once again that’s going to come down to the wire.”
It’s that type of competitiveness that is exemplifying the AHA in its last year of 12-team competition.
“It’s great for the league,” said DeGregorio, “and all of our teams are playing much better than they did back in October. We didn’t really win in nonconference play, which really had an impact on the league’s RPI ranking, so we won’t get two teams into the tournament [like last season].
“But if you look around the league, coach [Mike] Cavanaugh has UConn playing very well lately. Holy Cross is battling teams hard. And Niagara is a young team that’s right in the thick of it. With Mercyhurst, Bentley, Air Force and the improvements at other teams, this is a very competitive league [this season].”
While Connecticut will depart for Hockey East at the conclusion of the season, the commissioner was quick to point out the growth and improvements within the league’s programs.
Each team, he said, has something distinct to offer, backing up his belief that the league is about to enter one of its more competitive eras.
“I think, top to bottom, all of our teams offer something,” DeGregorio said. “Army is down this year, but they’re going to be improved with a good recruiting class coming in next year. If they can put it together and stay healthy, they have the potential to be contenders soon. Their athletes have dual training as cadets, which is something that’s really amazing. I think they’re a team that will bounce back and show us how tough they can really be.
“Sacred Heart is another team that can really fly,” DeGregorio said. “They’re much better and CJ [Marottolo] has brought a couple of snipers on that team. You look at AIC, too, and this is the best AIC team in maybe 10 years. Gary Wright has done an excellent job in getting his team putting pressure on teams, and they’ve got a team capable of beating pretty much anyone.”
As the league looks toward its future, questions will always remain about its level of talent in the national spectrum. Despite having a team in the Frozen Four in 2010 and two teams in the tournament (with a third in Robert Morris knocking on the door) last year, the departure of UConn and the lack of nonconference wins provide cynics and naysayers with all the ammo they’ll need.
But with only one team making the national tournament, the level of competitiveness is upped as 12 teams vie for the prize.
Don’t you forget about me
One of my favorite movies from the 1980s is “The Breakfast Club.” Over the course of one day, five students in detention on a Saturday somehow manage to overcome stereotypes and realize they’re not all that different. And, of course, I love Bender.
After taking four points from Army, the American International Yellow Jackets are in eighth place. That’s right, eighth place. That means, if the season ended today, AIC would host a first-round series.
The people at Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield just snapped their heads asking us what a playoff series is.
In the AHA era, American International hasn’t so much as sniffed a home series in the first round. The Yellow Jackets’ best finish came last year, when they finished ninth.
Prognosticators looked at their roster last year and saw the program’s best senior class gutting its roster with graduation. Instead, the Yellow Jackets have developed into a more complete roster.
We forgot about the Yellow Jackets after they lost nine in a row. But splits against Air Force and Canisius coupled with a sweep of Army have them right where they need to be — in control of their own destiny.
They have the benefit of playing Sacred Heart and Holy Cross the next two weeks before finishing their season with Bentley. AIC at home in the playoffs would be one thing that would make us overlook their stereotype of a bottom-dwelling program and realize they’re coming forward as an emerging hockey team in an emerging conference.
First-place Mercyhurst is guaranteed of at least a first-round home series (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Update: What was clinched last weekend
We know that Mercyhurst already clinched at least a first-round home series. The Lakers are one win away from sealing up a slot as high as sixth despite getting swept by Air Force last weekend.
Bentley and UConn split their weekend, leaving the Falcons in second with a one-point edge over the Huskies for second — exactly where they started on Friday. The Falcons need just two points to assure a first-round home series, while UConn and Air Force both need four points for the same scenario.
Robert Morris can seal up a first-round home series with some interesting math.
On the flip side, Army already knows it’s going on the road in the first round. The Black Knights are also one loss away from assuring themselves of the 12th seed.
Other than that, there’s still a ton up for grabs.
Playoff newsy notes
DeGregorio confirmed two things for next season: All 11 teams will make the conference tournament in 2014-15, and the league is committed to Blue Cross Arena at least through next season.
After UConn heads to Hockey East, the top five teams will receive byes through to the quarterfinal round while seeds six through 11 will play in the first round. The sixth-seeded team will play the 11th-seeded team, the seventh-seeded team will play the 10th-seed and the eight seed will play the ninth seed. The winners of a best-of-three series advance to the second round, where they will be reseeded.
Under this format, the teams seeded fourth and fifth will receive byes but play each other in the quarterfinals. It’s a takeoff from the former, 10-team format where the bottom four played off and the teams seeded fifth and sixth received byes to the quarterfinals but went on the road.
USCHO players of the month
The league named its players of the month last week, and I’ll nod my head in agreement.
Offensive player of the month — Bentley’s Brett Gensler: Gensler is having one of those seasons reminiscent of two years ago when he had 50 points. He scored 17 points in eight games while extending a point streak to 15 games. He had five points in a single game and eight points over the weekend when Bentley dominated Rochester Institute of Technology, and he finished January with goals in three straight games. He is just the second Bentley player with 150 career points, and he’s the only player to do it exclusively at the Division I level. Already the holder of the points and goals scored record at the program’s Division I level, he’s continuing his assault by nearing the assists record.
Goalie of the month — Mercyhurst’s Jimmy Sarjeant: Sarjeant was downright filthy in January, posting an undefeated 5-0-2 record. He registered a 1.42 GAA for the month, including a 51-save performance in a 1-0 shutout of Holy Cross. He made 30 saves or more in five games over the month and allowed just 11 goals. Mercyhurst ended the month with a stranglehold on first place, and Sarjeant is a big reason why.
Rookie of the month — American International’s David Norris: Norris had the primary assist on three game-winning goals — overtime against Air Force on Jan. 3, at Niagara on Jan. 10 and at Massachusetts on Jan. 14 in the wildest game we’ve seen in a while. He had eight assists to register nine points — the most of any freshman in the month. After last weekend’s sweep of Army, AIC is in the driver’s seat for a first-round home series — something that’s never happened for the Yellow Jackets.
A final note from me
When I was a little kid, I started to develop a love of hockey watching the Boston Bruins, and the greats from the 1980s and 1990s — guys like Ray Bourque, Cam Neely and Andy Moog. As I developed a love of the game, one of my favorite pastimes became listening to my grandfather talk about taking a streetcar to old Boston Garden to watch the heroes of Old Time Hockey: Eddie Shore, Dit Clapper, Woody Dumart and Milt Schmidt. He loved telling me stories about Clapper’s perfectly parted hair, which when tousled by an opponent resulted in fisticuffs and physical pain.
My grandfather, Norman Rubin, passed away on Sunday at the age of 88. He plays a big part in the way I love hockey today, and he’s a big reason why I love reading and learning about the history of this great game. If not for him, I doubt I’d ever be more than just a fair-weather hockey fan. I will miss him terribly, and I know he’s enjoying some good laughs with a smile on his face wherever he’s resting. One of the toughest guys I’ve ever met, he made sure to hang tough through Saturday so I wouldn’t have to miss a Bentley game, a 4-1 win over UConn.
With 47 first-place votes, Boston College has supplanted Minnesota as the No. 1-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll this week.
The Eagles, ranked No. 2 a week ago, took over the top rankings with wins last week over Boston University in the Beanpot semifinals and against Merrimack.
Minnesota, which was swept by Wisconsin, falls to No. 2.
Union moves up one to No. 3 after wins over Brown and Yale, while Ferris State and Quinnipiac are now tied for fourth. Ferris State swept Northern Michigan to move up one and QU beat Clarkson and lost to St. Lawrence to drop one notch.
St. Cloud State tied and beat Denver to stay sixth, Massachusetts-Lowell is again No. 7 after tying BU and beating Massachusetts, Wisconsin makes the move from 12th to eighth with its two wins over Minnesota, idle Providence falls one to No. 9 and Michigan stays 10th despite splitting with Penn State.
Cornell lost to Colgate is slips two notches to No. 11, Northeastern beat Harvard in the Beanpot semis and then lost to UMass and is down one to No. 12, Yale holds steady at No. 13 after beating Rensselaer in overtime and then losing to Union, Clarkson stays 14th with a loss to Quinnipiac and a win against Princeton and Vermont leaps four places to No. 15 with a sweep of New Hampshire.
At No. 16, Minnesota-Duluth is up one after a tie and a win over Colorado College, North Dakota drops one spot to No. 17 with a split against Nebraska-Omaha, Denver falls three to No. 18, Colgate enters the rankings at No. 19 and after splitting with Maine, Notre Dame drops two to No. 20.
In addition, just seven other teams received votes this week.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country.
Once again, Minnesota earned all 15 first-place votes in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll.
And once again, Wisconsin finished second.
After that, teams bounced around from the Feb. 3 poll.
Cornell moved up two to No. 3, while North Dakota remained fourth.
Clarkson fell two places to sit fifth, Harvard dropped one to No. 6 and Boston College held firm at No. 7.
Mercyhurst jumped a pair of spots to No. 8, Robert Morris is again ninth and Quinnipiac stays in the top 10, falling two notches to land at No. 10 this week.
The USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 15 voters, including 14 coaches of Division I programs and one women’s hockey writer.
Our scheduled guests on the Feb. 11 episode of USCHO Live! are Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon, whose Catamounts are No. 15 in this week’s USCHO.com Division I men’s poll after a three-game winning streak, and USCHO.com WCHA columnist Matt Wellens.
Join us for the conversation and information, Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 8 to 9 p.m. ET at blogtalkradio.com/uscholive. If you can’t listen live, check out the podcast of USCHO Live! available on the player at the right (click through if you’re reading this via RSS.)
Be part of the conversation! Call (646) 200-4305, 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, 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 seven seasons. Ed is VP and general manager of CBS Sports Radio affiliates 1310 and 1590 The Team in Rochester, N.Y.
St. Michael’s defenseman Danny Divis has excelled in his freshman season with the Purple Knights (photo: Shane Bufano).
Following a 1-13-1 start to the season, some teams might have considered mailing it in for the remainder of the schedule believing there was nothing left to play for.
Not so for the Purple Knights of St. Michael’s, who have won five of their last eight games and qualified to play in the Division II Northeast-10 conference championship tournament following this week’s conclusion to the regular season in the ECAC East.
The performance level has certainly picked up for second year coach Damian DiGiulian’s team and mostly by design, despite the rough start to the season.
“I knew we would take our lumps early in the season,” noted DiGiulian. “I really didn’t expect that the lumps would be as big as they were, but the coaching staff was highly aware of the fact that we graduated a lot of players and now were faced with 13 freshmen on the roster, freshmen that were not only acclimating themselves to what the college hockey game was all about, but also to the learning related to living on campus, student life and academics. That is a lot to throw at anyone, even for the kids who came here from a prep school environment. We are no different than other young teams. We have typical freshmen who have found their way over the course of the season and now are reaping the benefits of their learning and improving our team game on the ice.”
It would be a challenge for any coach in his first two seasons to migrate from a senior-rich environment and lots of experience on the ice to the very opposite the following season.
DiGiulian understood the different level of coaching his team was going to need and really reached out to some other sport experiences to keep the team positive, despite the difficult start to the season in terms of wins and losses.
“The entire staff was very understanding that we were going to need a different kind of coaching for this team versus the prior season,” stated DiGiulian. “Despite the results and mistakes, we knew we really couldn’t hammer the new kids too much as they came up to speed in the college game. We have tried to keep things very positive in practice all season with some different techniques. We took a page out of [Seattle Seahawks coach] Pete Carroll’s book and had players pick their favorite songs that would blare over the PA system to start practice and drills. We would pick different players’ music each day. We focused on positive things in film review, and not just the negative, and then added some fun events like reverse-stick scrimmages to keep things upbeat. There were even a few added days off in the schedule to accommodate academic needs but also rest the guys a bit and give them a needed mental break so it wasn’t hockey 24/7.”
In the past month, the maturation process and level of play has improved and the head coach likes where his team is going at this critical time of the year.
“Our overall game has improved and certainly, the freshman players have now found their way,” said DiGiulian. “We are getting great goaltending from Dave [Donzanti], our power play has been around the 25 percent success rate and our players are now committed to the penalty kill. Those are important pieces to any team being successful and it is a big part of our recent improvement. We have outshot almost all of our opponents in the past few weeks and are playing the full 60 minutes, which gives us a better chance to win.
“Earlier in the season, I am sure we don’t win a game like the one against Skidmore last weekend [3-2 in overtime]. We were good at playing a solid 55 minutes out of 60 and in those five minutes, a lot of bad things usually happened. That overtime win against a really tough team showed how far we have come as a group and the atmosphere in the locker room was just terrific after the win. I give our upperclassmen a lot of credit in that they never wavered and supplied great leadership to the young guys and the continued belief we would and could be better.”
One freshman in particular has stood out amongst the 13 and really has become a cornerstone of the Purple Knights’ success.
Defenseman Danny Divis is third on the team in scoring with six goals and 14 assists for an impressive 20 points and still counting. He has really adapted quickly to the college game and has quickly earned the trust of his teammates and coaches alike.
“He is a special player for us,” DiGiulian beamed. “He sat a couple of games after the opening loss to Norwich, so his numbers could be even better than what they are right now. He really did adjust quickly to the pace and style of the game and found his way quite nicely whether it is a five-on-five or power-play situation. We have given him the latitude to free-wheel based on his solid decision making and it is great to see his development so quickly to being a key contributor for us on both ends of the ice. He is a wonderful kid and great student, so we couldn’t be more pleased with his fitting in here at St. Mike’s.”
Divis and company close out the ECAC East regular season against two of the country’s best in Massachusetts-Boston and Babson this weekend before going on the road as the fourth seed in the NE-10 conference tournament.
What does the coaching staff expect from the invigorated roster in the final weekend of the regular season?
“We are treating these two games the same as any other,” noted DiGiulian. “We are going to play our best players and give it our best and be true to the conference we play in. Some people question whether we should rest some people before the NE-10, which is the only tournament we can play for, but I think it is important for us to play everyone in our conference with our best game. Who knows, maybe we can be spoilers for someone’s position in the standings this last weekend. I will have to check out the standings, but we will bring our best and look forward to playing two great teams at home.”
“It’s not how you start, but how you finish” – that old adage certainly seems applicable to the Purple Knights, who may find their emergence from a very slow start just might include a chance to hoist some hardware at the end of the season.
Greg Carey has a career-high 32 assists in 28 games this season for St. Lawrence (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
Each week, Tuesday Morning Quarterback looks at the big events and big topics in Division I men’s college hockey.
Todd: Jim, ECAC Hockey is one of the leagues that has just three weeks remaining in the regular season, and we might have another team to watch.
The league is producing a handful (and then some) of NCAA tournament candidates but I think a lot of people have taken notice of what St. Lawrence has done in the last two weeks. After beating Union on Jan. 31, the Saints won at Quinnipiac last Saturday, putting the Bobcats three points behind the first-place Dutchmen.
It may be too late for the Saints to make a run at a first-round bye, but they could be in line for one of those famous ECAC playoff upset runs, don’t you think?
Jim: I do think St. Lawrence is a little late to make a run in the ECAC regular season and likely will be playing for first-round home ice rather than a bye.
But any time you have one of the top players in the country in your lineup in Greg Carey, I believe your team has the ability to win each and every night. It’s the execution that likely falls short on many nights. But if Carey and the nation’s best power play click, watch out.
Todd: Carey’s stat line for his four-year career is an interesting study. He has enjoyed big goal-scoring seasons as a freshman (23) and junior (28), but his assist total has been on the rise each season. He already has a career-high 32 helpers in 28 games this season — that’s nine more than he had in 38 games last season. And it was equal to the assist total of Boston College’s Johnny Gaudreau through the same number of games. If Carey had been putting up the goal total that he did last season, we’d have a lot more competitive Hobey Baker Award race.
I wanted to bring up one of the oddities of last weekend. In Saturday’s game at North Dakota, Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais was ejected after he refused to send a player to the penalty box to serve a bench minor. Wouldn’t you like to know what that conversation with the referee was like?
Jim: That is pretty interesting. I was always under the impression that you didn’t need to put a player in the box by rule but when the penalty expired you would need to wait until the next whistle before returning to full strength. Obviously, I’m wrong about that and Blais found out the hard way. Though it seems like rather than an ejection, it would be better to just assess another bench minor, no?
Todd: You might get into a never-ending cycle there, though, so I can see why an ejection would become necessary. But I thought that when a coach gets ejected at Ralph Engelstad Arena, it had to become a meme a la George Gwozdecky’s walk across the ice in 2009. Blais apparently went a lot quieter.
On another note, we have a new No. 1 team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, and quite a familiar one. After Minnesota lost twice to Wisconsin last weekend, Boston College got 47 of the 50 first-place votes. Later Monday, the Eagles took home their fifth straight Beanpot title. It seems like it’s just the beginning for BC, doesn’t it?
Jim: I’ve been feeling that way for a few weeks now. We are seeing teams put forth incredible efforts against BC, including Boston University’s last Monday night in the Beanpot semis and again Monday night by Northeastern. Still, it’s not enough against these Eagles.
They are clicking on all cylinders, getting plenty of goal scoring and, on the back end, rookie Thatcher Demko is quickly emerging as a goaltender to watch. I like the way that a number of Hockey East teams are playing right now, particularly Massachusetts-Lowell and Vermont, but I’m not sure that even their best games will be enough to beat this potent BC squad right now.
Todd: And it’s not like this is a new sight. Every other year there’s a Boston College team that just seems to be playing with its prey in the second half of the season. I’m not sure why it has been an even-year thing, though. Do the Eagles have a yearlong national championship hangover and then return to form?
Jim: I don’t even think last year was a hangover. BC could have won the Hockey East title to the last night of the regular season. They then ran into hot teams in BU and Union to end the season with two losses. But it does seem this is an even-year national title team. Or we will find out in April.
Lots of good games on tap this weekend. What are you looking at?
Todd: I’ll be looking to see whether Minnesota finds some scoring — it has only five goals in its last four games — when Michigan arrives at Mariucci Arena. It seemed like the Gophers were insulated from scoring droughts by having so many different players contributing, but they’ve all run into a slump.
And St. Cloud State hosts Minnesota-Duluth in a battle of the top two teams in the NCHC. The Huskies swept the Bulldogs in Duluth in December but Duluth has been the hotter team of late. What’s up out east?
Jim: There are a ton of interesting games and series but I am looking at two. There is a rematch of last year’s title game as Yale faces Quinnipiac on Friday. And a two-game series between white-hot Vermont and BC should attract plenty of attention in Hockey East.
BOSTON — Championship droughts can be confounding, regardless of the degree of difficulty. But in such a short tournament as the Beanpot with the same participants year after year, Northeastern’s drought is maddening.
Two wins. It’s very simple — every year, the Huskies need only two wins. And yet the Huskies seem star-crossed at every turn.
[scg_html_beanpot2014]Patrick Brown’s game-winning goal in Boston College’s 4-1 victory on Monday was a perfect example: an extraordinary effort and a perfect redirection. Yet another bounce that didn’t go Northeastern’s way, and another year without a Beanpot title for the Huskies.
“We gave everything we could,” Northeastern coach Jim Madigan said, exasperated after yet another emotionally draining Beanpot final.
It remains a pure statistical oddity that the Huskies can’t get a few lucky bounces in back-to-back Beanpot games. Sure, they’ve always faced Boston University or Boston College at some point in this tournament, and one (if not both) would inevitably be among the top five teams in the country.
But, you might say, upsets happen all the time in college hockey, even on big stages.
Not for Northeastern. Not in this tournament.
Breaking through to end a streak is never easy. Flash back to 2001 and Boston College was faced with ending a (smaller) drought of its own. Look at what has happened since.
“I was just thinking how hard it was to get the first one and how much that’s helped us win some more,” Boston College coach Jerry York said. “Winning begets winning.”
It brings to mind a moment three years ago, when then-Northeastern coach Greg Cronin made a startling admission in a Beanpot semifinal news conference. He was a Yankees fan. The Yankees won a lot, he said, and the Red Sox didn’t.
Northeastern has suffered from a bit of Red Sox syndrome, consistently vexed by its closest rivals on the biggest stages.
But in recent years, even as the Sox and the rest of Boston’s marquee teams have ended their long-established championship droughts, one stubborn streak remains intact, stretching over a quarter century: Northeastern, 1988.
“[Northeastern fans] have got a little bit of the mentality of, ‘When are they going to win this damn thing?'” Cronin said after the 2011 semifinal. “They get sick of it, and I don’t blame them.”
