With all 15 first-place votes again, Minnesota keeps its spot at the top of the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll.
Wisconsin and North Dakota remain second and third, respectively.
Clarkson moves up two to No. 4, while Harvard keeps a firm grip on No. 5.
Cornell falls two places to sit sixth, Boston College remains seventh, as does Robert Morris at No. 8 and Quinnipiac at No. 9.
Previously-unranked Mercyhurst gets back into the rankings at No. 10 this week.
Boston University also received votes in this week’s poll.
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.
Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena is a special place in college hockey, writer Joe Connor says (photo: Jim Rosvold).
After road tripping last season to 13 venues in the Northeast in my quest to catch a game at every NCAA Division I men’s hockey school by the time I’m 50, I recently returned from another fun, multi-state journey through the heartland of America.
Earlier this season I visited nine different schools, including eight for the first time. And like a year ago, I wasn’t great karma for the home teams. Last season, only seven of the 13 hosts won their games I witnessed. This time the hosts went 5-3-1. And like a year ago, the U.S. Junior National Team was unwelcome guests during my visit. A year ago, Merrimack was the victim. This year it was Minnesota State that lost.
In addition to the college pucks, I also soaked in a few high school games in Minnesota and caught a game up in Winnipeg, the only NHL arena I’d yet to see. Furthermore, I had a great time checking out the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minn., plus historic, old throwback rinks in the Iron Range and awesome “Little Ralph” Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls. And my excuse meter remained in perfect form on the highways and byways — three warning tickets for speeding in three different states! Thank you officers in Ohio, Indiana and Minnesota for your kindness!
Like my trip a year ago to the Northeast, here’s a recap, with a handful of “awards,” followed by my top three from this most recent delirious journey:
Best Student Section Award
And it’s by a landslide: To the deranged students at Ferris State’s Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids, Mich., who made life miserable for Bemidji State netminder Andrew Walsh during my visit. We can blame a tradition in the 600-strong, sold-out-for-the second-year-in-a-row “Dawg Pound” for some of the antics that include in-game signs that are constantly changed along with ridiculous chanting. Students pay some $85 for season tickets.
Thomas Szidik leads Ferris State’s student section (photo: Joe Connor).
Thomas Szidik will hand down this tradition after this season to junior Joel Root but not before testing the boundaries of decency and annoying the Dean Wormers in the Ferris administration. Szidik out-freak-showed 20 other students to earn this leadership role.
“Helen Keller has better vision than you” is a PG version example, for this is a wholesome family column.
“I used to be a resident assistant,” Szidik explains to me. I didn’t follow up to ask if this was a career move up or if he’d been fired as an RA, seeing that “How many Beavers does it take to screw in a light bulb? None. Bemidji looks better in the dark” probably wasn’t in the RA handbook.
“I’m always pushing it. I’ve had this list [of signs and chants] in my phone since high school,” Szidik explains. “Actually, I have two cell phones. See here, this is a different list.”
The other lunatic in the Pound isn’t a dog, it’s a monkey. “The Monkey Man,” Matt Leindecker, comes to each game in a horrifyingly ugly and disgustingly smelly monkey outfit and mask wearing hockey gloves and a double zero on his back (and on this night, “I Love Beavers,” on his big bleeping fanny). He also bounced around like a monkey and nearly clobbered me twice. When the Bulldogs scored, he literally slid down the steps of the student section.
Not only was the Bulldogs student section a top-notch freak show, it also was the background for what happened to be the best game on my trip. Ferris State beat Bemidji State 5-4 on a blast by Jason Binkley 1:28 into overtime.
The Colorful, Cracker Box Award: Midwest Edition
To the BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio. It isn’t Cornell Cracker Box, but for these parts, it’s pretty darn close.
I saw the Falcons lose a 3-2 overtime thriller to Minnesota State, which was the second-best game on the journey.
The feel of this place really hasn’t changed much since Ken Morrow played here before helping lead the 1980 U.S. Olympic team to the gold medal. It wasn’t a sellout during my BGSU visit, with noticeable pockets of empty seats in one corner of the arena, but the rest of the place was crammed with 2,300 of your closest friends in orange and brown. The student section, perched along the glass and upward, wasn’t nearly as loud as at Ferris State, but rather a few old timers kept the place lively, particularly near center ice as they barked at the zebras on more than one occasion!
Best Band Award (but Neil Young, where are the fans?)
To Alabama-Huntsville. I saw the Chargers twice on my trip, once at home and once on the road, and of course, they lost both times. I’m not certain this is going to work long-term for UAH, but they do have one hell of a band — at least for home games!
The phrase, “Hockey Capital of the South” — consistently illuminated on the scoreboard at each end of the Von Braun Center — is a bit of a stretch, wouldn’t you say, when you play on a Saturday night at a less-than-half-full arena? Well, wouldn’t you know it, the Alabama football team was also playing a televised regular season game at the very same time on the road — 187 miles away! You know, priorities! Roll Tide.
Alabama-Huntsville may not have many wins this season, but its band puts on quite a show (photo: Joe Connor).
The Chargers somehow managed to stay with then-No. 3 St. Cloud State before falling 4-3. But the band remained chipper as ever, especially when playing “Sweet Home Alabama” with its alternate lyrics like my favorite:
“Well, I heard ole Neil put her down … because she was heavy!”
The Comatose Award
To Ohio State, which plays its games in the antiseptic and charmless Value City Arena. It’s a concrete jungle. I’ve caught a Buckeyes men’s basketball game here when this place is nearly full and it still doesn’t impress, so imagine what it’s like for hockey. Not good, especially when the place is less than 50 percent full — in the lower bowl. The Buckeyes draw so poorly for hockey they just close the upper bowl right off.
Granted, I caught a Tuesday night nonconference game in late October against Bowling Green, but the Buckeyes certainly reap no home-ice advantage playing here.
The I’m Freezing My Fanny Off Award (And Perhaps That’s Why I Forgot My Hat)
To Bemidji State. When I arrived in Bemidji, Minn., on Dec. 13 before the Beavers’ game against Alaska, it was overcast — and the temperature was a balmy minus 9. That’s not including the wind chill, folks.
The cold apparently got to my brain and not in a good way, because, after parking at the shiny Sanford Center on the shores of the frozen lakefront, I forgot my hat in the car — big, big mistake. By the time I got inside, I couldn’t feel my extremities, let alone my ears.
“Do you know it’s colder here today than it is Fairbanks?” quipped a smiling fan, apparently relishing enjoyment in my misery in a failed attempt to offer comfort.
Before my brain had to time to respond, he had chuckled and wandered away. Strangely, when I came to, all I could think about (except whether my ears would ever move again), was the pack of gum I received earlier in the day from the local chamber with the chewy marketing slogan of “experience the refreshment of Bemidji.”
There really isn’t a bad seat in the house at Sanford Center, yet I don’t know if it was the cold, the holidays or because the Beavers trailed three separate times in the game, but the fan atmosphere was quite, well, lame. Maybe it was because they skated to a tie, the dumbest invention in the sports world — “Hey fans, it’s a tie! Well, thanks for coming! See you next time!” You say tie. I say boo.
The Pilgrimage to The Iron Range Was Well Worth It Award
If you’re a puck head fan like me, it’s worth your while to make a visit one of these days to Minnesota’s Iron Range region if you haven’t already.
The area in Northeast Minnesota gets its name as a result of the iron ore in the area. From Grand Rapids and Coleraine in the south to Hibbing, Eveleth and Virginia in the north, this place has old-school arenas used by high schools today that haven’t changed much in decades, with my favorite being Hibbing Memorial Arena. It opened in the 1930s and once hosted the Chicago Blackhawks for training camp. It still has a classic, old-school feel.
The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth is a shrine to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” U.S. Olympic hockey team, with unique memorabilia from elsewhere, too, like when the University of Illinois had a Division I men’s hockey program. Thanks to former NHLer and ex-Colorado College star Doug Palazzari for the tour and the insider scoop on the Iron Range happenings. Palazzari, an Eveleth native, is the hall’s Executive Director, and his dad, Aldo, also a NHL alum, played hockey for Illinois. But I got a kick out of learning that former New England Whalers forward Mike Antonovich is the mayor of Coleraine. What in the Brass Bonanza is this world coming to?
At “Sue’s Penalty Box” in downtown Eveleth, the Minnesota-Duluth jersey from native Mark Pavelich hangs above the bar and a mural to the ’80 team adorns one of its walls. Pavelich played on the “Iron Range Line” on the ’80 club that also included two others from this region, Babbitt’s Buzz Schneider and Virginia’s John Harrington. Bill Baker, assistant captain on the ’80 team, hails from Grand Rapids. Over at the Eveleth Hippodrome, there are more artifacts and memorabilia, including from late native son John Mariucci.
Kerry Bidle, athletic director at Virginia High School, played a key role in creating large video screens down both sides at the Miners Memorial Building that include photos and biography information of players when they score or assist on a goal. How many high schools do you know that do this? And remember the Hanson brothers from the movie, “Slap Shot”? They’re based on the Carlson brothers from Virginia, as Jeff, Steve and Jack played minor league hockey together in the 1970s. A tribute to the trio hangs in the arena lobby.
At last, my top three favorites from the trip:
Minnesota-Duluth’s Amsoil Arena is in its third season (photo: Jim Rosvold).
This is a real gem in downtown Duluth along the waterfront. Designed much like Notre Dame’s current digs, it has a second deck that hovers over the ice. The Bulldogs came out flying on a Saturday night as they netted three goals in less than four minutes of the first period to topple the then-No. 2 ranked Irish 4-1. And I got a personal tour of the digs most fans don’t see. Outside of North Dakota, no players may have it as good as far as amenities in the locker room and whirlpool as the Bulldogs.
There’s more hockey history in town at the Duluth Heritage Sports Center, including a wall highlighting all the great players that were nurtured in the area’s youth programs and went on to collegiate careers. But the biggest highlight of the facility is the large, historic murals and displays along the concourse of the main arena, which tell the story of Duluth’s rich hockey history. The center, which opened in 2008, has an old-time feel and today is home to high school games. It’s open year-round for a visit.
Notre Dame’s Compton Family Ice Arena has its own character despite being less than three years old (photo: Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame).
In the interests of full disclosure, I was raised Irish Catholic and am a Notre Dame fan. So there you go — the bias meter has been revealed! Unfortunately, I wasn’t even remotely smart enough to even dream of actually attending Notre Dame, but, hey, look at me now, mom!
All journalistic objectivity returning now, the Irish did a heck of a job building this new arena. Facts to support the claim? Well, there are no lousy seats, with the second deck hovering over the ice below. What’s more, all home rinks should have their own unique character and color. At Notre Dame, it’s “God, Country, Notre Dame” painted high above the west end of the arena, and “Onward to Victory” emblazoned on its south side.
Onward to Victory, indeed, as I saw the Irish pummel Alabama-Huntsville 5-2 before about 4,700 fans. It was Thanksgiving weekend and most of the students were visiting their families, but I was still impressed with the fans and especially the arena, and you’d be hard pressed to find a more beautiful campus than Notre Dame.
Mariucci Arena has hosted Minnesota hockey since 1993 (photo: Jim Rosvold).
This was my second visit to the home of the Golden Gophers, and it won’t be my last because this is a special place. College hockey history reeks here, even before you get in the building. The arena’s brick facade, with “M” flags flying atop, heightens your excitement as you enter the lobby and climb up the steps to the rink. Above, gigantic banners of great players past create an imposing presence.
I caught an early season Sunday afternoon tilt here between two college hockey powers, as Boston College was in town. No. 1 Minnesota wasted little time in showing no mercy to the then-No. 5 Eagles. The Golden Gophers scored four times in about an eight minute time frame of the first period en route to a 6-1 thrashing of BC.
Please, no boring conclusion
Having now caught a game at more than 40 of the 59 NCAA Division I men’s hockey venues over a seven-year period, I think I have a pretty good base of comparison and knowledge level to say the state of the game has never looked better.
Next season, Rochester Institute of Technology opens a new arena. By 2016, Nebraska-Omaha is scheduled to christen an on-campus venue. And schools such as Colgate, Connecticut and Western Michigan may have new facilities in the future too, a testament to the game’s popularity and importance.
What this trip also revealed, however, was the widening gap across Division I men’s hockey and the multiple, genuine challenges that programs like Alabama-Huntsville and others face in the future just trying to keep up and recruit the best players to their schools.
The NCHC has suspended Colorado College sophomore forward Jared Hanson for one game due to an illegal hit during the Tigers’ game against Miami last Saturday (Jan. 25).
At 16:34 of the second period, Hanson hit a Miami player from behind after the whistle and was assessed a five-minute checking from behind major and a game misconduct penalty on the play.
Hanson will sit Colorado College’s next game at Minnesota-Duluth on Friday, Feb. 7, and is eligible to return against UMD the following night.
Over 14,000 fans attended each day of the inaugural North Star College Cup at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. (photo: Jim Rosvold)
Here’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback, our weekly look at big events and big issues around Division I men’s college hockey.
Todd: The Beanpot wouldn’t have ended in a shootout.
We talked last week about how the North Star College Cup could be the Minnesota equivalent of Boston’s long-established, revered Beanpot tournament, and most reports on the inaugural event over the weekend at the Xcel Energy Center were positive. And then Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth went to a shootout to decide the tournament champion, and that goodwill started to crumble.
I’m a shootout supporter, but I can’t come up with a good reason to determine a tournament winner with it. You?
Jim: You and I are in complete agreement here. I do like the shootout in certain circumstances and believe the NHL’s implementation works well. (I am not a fan of a shootout changing a league to award three points for wins instead of two; I much prefer the NHL’s point system.)
All that said, a trophy should never come down to a skills competition. That is certainly a reason I think the Beanpot has so much appeal. Teams know going in they could be playing for period upon period (ironically, few Beanpot games have gone to multiple overtimes and never in a men’s championship game) to win this coveted title. I understand coaches don’t want to play multi-overtime games in a regular season because of the wear and tear. But this is also college hockey, where teams play 34 regular-season games. Is one or two long games really that damaging to a team?
Todd: I suppose it can take a toll on a team that loses a championship in multiple overtimes. But if you can’t rebound from that, there might be other issues at play with a team in that hypothetical scenario.
In the end, I think people will forget about the somewhat-unsatisfying way of ending the tournament and see it as a success, giving college hockey another quality in-season event.
Since we mentioned the Beanpot, and since we’re now in Beanpot week, what should we be looking for on Monday?
Jim: Well this is certainly a different era about to begin for the Beanpot. For the first time in 40 years, Jack Parker, a man synonymous with the Beanpot, won’t be behind the Boston University bench. Add in the struggle that BU has had this season and there is a lack of luster in next Monday’s second semifinal between BU and Boston College, a game that BC should dominate.
Northeastern is proving that it is a team to watch as well, so for the good of the event, most will be rooting for a Huskies-Eagles final. And regardless, anyone not a BC fan would be cheering for a Northeastern championship. Nothing against the Eagles, but people have said for years this tournament NEEDS Harvard or Northeastern to win this event. The Crimson’s last title was 1993 and Northeastern’s was 1988.
Todd: I often hear people ask why the Beanpot is such a big deal in college hockey, considering that it involves only teams from one city. To me, part of it is that our sport is a regional one. We embrace it.
We love to see Minnesota-Wisconsin, Michigan-Michigan State, Boston College-Boston University, Yale-Quinnipiac, Union-Rensselaer (more on that one later). Geography is such a key element in college hockey that when you get everyone from a close area together in a tournament, it connects to a lot of people.
Jim: Geography and regionalism does play a major role in college hockey and is a big part of what makes the Beanpot a tremendous success. The alumni base is another key component. Trust me that if BU beats BC next Monday night, there is not a single BU alum that will let any friends who are BC grads forget it. It’s all about bragging rights in this tournament.
Speaking of regional rivalries, Saturday night’s Union-Rensselaer Mayor’s Cup game in Albany, N.Y., produced some unreal fireworks at the ending. The game, a 2-1 win for RPI, ended in a full-on bench-clearing brawl at the buzzer.
And it wasn’t just the players. Union coach Rick Bennett could be seen on video shoving RPI coach Seth Appert, which has already led to Union issuing a two-game suspension to its head coach. There were four game DQs called as well, which all carry with them a single-game suspension. But watching that video, it’s no surprise that the ECAC tacked on additional suspensions, isn’t it?
Todd: I think the league had to step in and add punishments because of the exposure the event has received, if for no other reason.
The truly sad part about it all is that Rensselaer’s first win over its Capital District rival in 11 games — an upset of the country’s third-ranked team, no less — in front of more than 7,000 fans is being forgotten in the talk about the postgame actions. That fact could have upset some people in the league office.
Jim: I do look forward to talking with long-time Capital District writer Ken Schott, who will join Ed Trefzger and me Tuesday night on USCHO Live! to give us as much insight as he might have into this whole altercation. You said it right, though: This is a black eye for both teams and the ECAC.
Todd: I’m sure a lot of people from those schools are eager to move on from that incident, and with only five weeks left to play in the regular season for the eastern conferences (the NCHC and WCHA have six weeks left and the Big Ten seven because of its one-weekend playoff), it’s a must.
Union’s lead in ECAC Hockey is down to one point over Colgate and Quinnipiac, although the Dutchmen have a game in hand on both. Mercyhurst is trying to hold on in Atlantic Hockey, and Boston College is running away with Hockey East. What kind of February surprises do you think might be in store in the standings?
Jim: I think the league that could provide the biggest surprise is the NCHC. The standings are so tightly packed that I could see any of the current top five teams (Denver, North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Nebraska-Omaha, Western Michigan) winning the regular season.
I guess that is what we should have expected from a league that has so many perennial powers. But the downside is that the parity in the league still leaves the NCHC with just one team inside the NCAA bubble in the PairWise Rankings if the season ended today.
Todd: Denver and North Dakota are off this weekend, but the next four teams in the NCHC get matched up to see whether anyone will step closer to the leaders. Third-place St. Cloud State is at fourth-place Nebraska-Omaha, while fifth-place Western Michigan hosts sixth-place Minnesota-Duluth.
The Big Ten has another weekend where all six teams are in conference play, with Michigan attempting to leapfrog Wisconsin when it hosts the Badgers. And in the WCHA, Minnesota State can tie for first place with a pair of wins at Northern Michigan, but Ferris State will have two games in hand by the end of the weekend. What’s up out east?
Jim: Well, we already mentioned the Beanpot which, though nonleague, will play to a packed house next Monday at the TD Garden. In Atlantic Hockey, the most anticipated series of the season will take place in Erie, Pa., when Mercyhurst hosts Bentley, both teams red hot, with first place on the line.
In the ECAC, Union, without some key players and its coach, will make the difficult trip to St. Lawrence and Clarkson. Yale will also square off against Cornell and Colgate, two key games in the standings. And in Hockey East, one of the nation’s hottest teams, BC, will head to Providence for a single game on Friday night.
Our scheduled guests on the Jan. 28 episode of USCHO Live! are Boston College coach Jerry York and Schenectady Gazette sports writer Ken Schott, who was at the Union-Rensselaer Mayor’s Cup game that resulted in a brawlandsuspensions.
Join us for the conversation and information, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 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.
ECAC Hockey on Monday announced suspensions stemming from an on-ice postgame incident that took place after the Rensselaer-Union game last Saturday (Jan. 25) at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.
Union senior defenseman Mat Bodie, who was assessed roughing and facemaking penalties, along with a game disqualification at the 20:00 mark, which merits an automatic one-game suspension, received an additional one-game suspension by the league. Bodie is not eligible to compete in the Dutchmen’s next two contests on Friday, Jan. 31 at St. Lawrence and Saturday, Feb. 1 at Clarkson.
Union junior forward Daniel Ciampini has also received a one-game suspension by the league for his actions during the post-game incident and is not eligible to play Friday at St. Lawrence.
The league office also handed out one-game suspensions to Rensselaer senior defenseman Bo Dolan and junior forward Ryan Haggerty for their postgame actions. Both are out for RPI’s game this Friday at Clarkson.
The actions during the postgame incident of both Rensselaer head coach Seth Appert and Union head coach Rick Bennett were reviewed by the league office.
According to a press release, after conferring with administrators from both Rensselaer and Union, the league supports the two-game suspension of Bennett for his involvement in the postgame incident, which was initially rendered Sunday (Jan. 26) by the college. Bennett cannot coach this weekend at St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
In addition, three other players were assessed a major penalty for fighting and a game disqualification penalty at the 20:00 mark of the third period, which by NCAA rules automatically merits a one-game suspension. Rensselaer defenseman junior Luke Curadi and sophomore forward Mike Zalewski and Union freshman forward Eli Lichtenwald will all sit Friday night.
Goaltender Ed Zdolshek helped Nazareth gain its first conference win over the weekend by beating Utica in overtime (photo: Dan Hickling).
The weeks are dwindling towards the end of the regular season and the battles for playoff position are intensifying everywhere.
Some teams are getting hot at the right time of the year, but can they knock off the teams that have been playing well all year long?
Here are some of the highlights from some great matchups in conference play this past week:
ECAC East
League-leading Norwich swept a pair of games at home over the University of New England and Southern Maine by scores of 5-1 and 3-0, respectively. Goalie Chris Czarnota recorded both wins, stopping 20 of 21 shots for the Cadets, who need all four points to maintain their slim one-point margin in the standings over Babson.
The Beavers played a home-and-home series with nationally-ranked Massachusetts-Boston and created some room at the top of the standings by beating the Beacons both nights by scores of 2-0 and 3-2 where sophomore goaltender Jamie Murray stopped 66 of 68 shots to pick up both wins.
With the Beacons dropping both games, New England College leveraged a split in its games with Castleton and Skidmore to move into third place in the conference.
ECAC Northeast
In a battle for the top spot, Nichols upended Salve Regina by a score of 8-4 to take a one-point lead in the standings over the Seahawks and Johnson and Wales. The Bison used seven different goal-scorers and saw Frank Butler score twice, including the game-winner, in the convincing home win.
Johnson and Wales kept pace with a 6-1 win over Western New England with Joey Ballmer earning his 14th win of the season in goal for the Wildcats.
ECAC West
Look out for the Hobart Statesmen, who certainly liked seeing the calendar turn to 2014.
After a slow start, Hobart is unbeaten in 2014, posting eight straight wins, including two over nationally-ranked opponents at the Buck Supply Winter Classic at Plattsburgh.
This past weekend, Hobart swept a pair of games over conference rival Manhattanville by scores of 4-3 and 5-1. The wins on the road were led by Mac Olson, who scored a goal in each game, including the shorthanded game-winner in Saturday’s game. The two wins moved Hobart into a second-place tie in the standings with Utica and both teams trail Elmira by just a point with just three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Nazareth played spoiler and earned its first win in the conference with a 2-1 overtime upset of Utica. Goalie Ed Zdolshek stopped 34 of 35 shots and Scott Dawson scored the game-winner in the extra session for the Golden Flyers.
MASCAC
Five teams are now separated by just three points in the standings after last week’s action.
Salem State leads the conference by just a point over Westfield State and Framingham State with Fitchburg State and Plymouth State just a couple of points in arrears.
Salem State posted a 5-2 win over Massachusetts-Dartmouth on Thursday night, while Framingham suffered an 8-2 loss To Fitchburg on Saturday. Jake Martin posted a hat trick and Timmy Genova scored two goals for the Falcons in a game that saw four goaltenders facing a total of 90 shots on goal.
MIAC
Gustavus Adolphus still leads the standings by four points over St. Thomas, but the Tommies have two games in hand. The Gusties posted a 4-1 win Friday night over St. Mary’s and added one more in a 5-1 road win over the Cardinals. Gavin Tufte and Gustav Bengtson scored two goals apiece in the road win, while four different players shared the offensive load in the 4-1 home win on Friday.
St. Thomas outscored Hamline by a combined 10-0 in two games to post back-to-back shutout wins. Drew Fielding stopped all 35 shots he faced in both games and the Tommies needed an empty-net goal for some breathing room in Saturday’s 2-0 win.
NCHA
Adrian, the nation’s No. 1 team, swept a pair of games from Finlandia by scores of 6-3 and 5-3. Jeremy Olinyk scored twice in Saturday’s win to lead the Bulldogs.
Tied with Adrian at the top of the conference standings is St. Norbert. Goaltender David Jacobson maintained his unbeaten record at 13-0-1 while posting back-to-back shutouts for St Norbert in the 3-0 and 2-0 wins over Milwaukee School of Engineering.
This weekend finds the conference leaders playing a pair of games at St. Norbert that may go a long way in determining who stays at the top of the standings.
NESCAC
With a late goal in the third period by Ben Chwick, Colby removed Williams from the list of unbeatens in NESCAC play in a game that had all of the intensity of a playoff game.
Goaltender Sam Parker outdueled Sean Dougherty for Williams to pick up the win. Williams bounced back with an equally hard-fought win over Bowdoin by a 2-1 score on Saturday, while Colby fell to Middlebury by a 5-2 score.
Trinity has very quietly moved into a tie in the league standings with their weekend sweep of two conference road games over Connecticut College and Tufts. Sophomore John Hawkrigg continued his torrid scoring over the weekend and Trinity now has four players with 10 or more goals and 25 points overall or higher with three weeks remaining in conference play to add on.
SUNYAC
Plattsburgh took a 4-0 lead through two periods and cruised to a 4-2 win over Potsdam to maintain their lead in conference play.
On Saturday night, Buffalo State surprised Oswego with a 4-0 win at home, scoring all four goals in the second period. Buffalo State goaltender Kevin Carr earned first-star honors, posting 33 saves, including 26 in the final two periods to earn the shutout and win.
WIAC
Wisconsin-Eau Claire finally surrendered a goal to the opposition this past weekend.
Having gone unbeaten since Dec. 7, the Blugolds posted five straight shutouts entering their weekend series with Wisconsin River Falls. Friday’s 8-3 win saw five goals in the third period to break out the game, while the visitors fought back on Saturday for a 3-1 win that gave the Blugolds their first loss in calendar 2014. Goalie Scott Lewan stopped 30 of 31 shots to earn the hard-fought victory.
Former St. Cloud State forward Andreas Nodl (2006-08) and ex-Rensselaer goaltender Mathias Lange (2005-09) will play for Austria at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
ECAC Hockey on Monday announced that Cornell senior forward Jessica Campbell has been assessed a one-game suspension as the result of her actions in the Big Red’s game at Clarkson last Saturday (Jan. 25) at Cheel Arena.
At the 19:55 mark of the third period, Campbell was given a major penalty for hitting from behind and a game misconduct penalty.
Campbell is not eligible to compete in Cornell’s next game this Friday (Jan. 31) when the Big Red hosts Yale.
Olympic absences, overtimes, and other significant results
We’ve reached that point of an Olympic year where players start to disappear off of their college rosters as they join their national teams for camps leading up to the Sochi Games. That can impact conference races or national positioning.
Six of Friday’s games went beyond 60 minutes. In general, it appears that the field has become more tightly bunched as the season has progressed. Most of the squads that struggled initially are proving to be more competitive as they gain experience.
Showdowns in the CHA and ECAC provided more insight as to how those races will unfold, and Boston College continues to pull away in Hockey East.
Yale and Brown play historic series
The Bulldogs and the Bears played a noteworthy home-and-home series. Friday’s match in New Haven drew a program-record crowd of 1,124 fans to watch a 2-2 tie in the White Out for Mandi. That bettered the attendance mark set at the White Out for Mandi of 1,066 on Nov. 12, 2010 versus Rensselaer. Early estimates of the donations to the Mandi Schwartz Foundation from the contest were at least $29,000.
In the game, Phoebe Staenz gave Yale a first-period lead when she picked off a pass at neutral ice, flew up the rink and split the defense, and finished by zipping a shot to the top corner. Catherine LeBoeuf tied the score on a second-period power play, but Jamie Haddad put the Bulldogs back on top midway through the third period. With under three minutes to play, Jessica Hoyle pulled Brown even, and that’s how the game ended. Two of the circuit’s top goalies battled to a stalemate, with Aubree Moore making 31 saves for the Bears and Yale’s Jaimie Leonoff responding with 29 saves of her own.
On home ice in Providence on Saturday, Brown celebrated 50 years of the program. Brittany Moorehead staked the Bears to a lead halfway through the first period, and that held up until Krista Yip-Chuck struck short-handed for the visitors to ignite a third-period rally. The Bulldogs added two additional goals at six-minute intervals by Haddad and Tara Tomimoto to earn a 3-1 victory. Yale is now unbeaten in its last five games, a feat it last accomplished in early 2007.
Robert Morris finally falls
No. 8 Robert Morris saw a lengthy unbeaten streak of its own come to an end on Saturday. The Colonials hadn’t been bested in their previous 14 skates before losing at Mercyhurst, 5-3, as each team was whistled for a dozen penalties. The Lakers charged out of the gate, taking a 2-0 lead as they outshot the visitors, 17-0, in the opening 20 minutes. In defeat, Rebecca Vint had the type of hat trick Gordie Howe would approve, scoring all three RMU goals on power plays and adding a trio of minors. Thea Imbrogno assisted on all three. Mercyhurst got three power-play goals of its own, but added a couple more while the teams were at full strength. Shelby Bram, Christine Bestland, and Molly Byrne all had three-point games for the Lakers and Kaleigh Chippy tallied twice. Rookie Jessica Dodds took her first loss of the year, having stayed undefeated through her first 19 decisions.
In spite of losing the battle, the Colonials may have done enough to win the CHA war. They dominated the second period on Friday, owning a 13-1 advantage in shots and scoring three times. Mackenzie Johnston found the net twice and Vint struck while on a penalty kill. All that the Lakers could muster was a late goal by Byrne on a power play with an extra attacker on the ice as they lost, 3-1.
The results keep RMU atop the CHA standings by a game, so Mercyhurst will need help to extend its streak of league titles.
Clarkson jumps back into ECAC picture
No. 6 Clarkson thrust itself back into the race in ECAC Hockey by winning twice, most notably upending No. 4 Cornell, 3-1. Jamie Lee Rattray, the country’s leading scorer, assisted on Vanessa Gagnon’s goal in the first period and scored an insurance goal in the second stanza. Carly Mercer had the game’s first tally for the Golden Knights, while Brittany Styner and Erin Ambrose each had a pair of helpers. Clarkson opened the weekend by dumping Colgate, 5-2; Rattray netted a hat trick plus an assist, Ambrose assisted four times, and Mercer had three points.
The Big Red managed only a single point from their North Country trip, as they had to settle for a frustrating 1-1 tie at St. Lawrence on Friday. Carmen MacDonald stymied Cornell, turning aside 51 shots. Jenna Marks gave the Saints a lead 12 minutes in, and it took more than two periods before Hanna Bunton was able to score the equalizer. Paula Voorheis played both games in the Big Red net.
North Dakota wobbles but survives
No. 3 North Dakota was playing without three of its top four scorers, but managed at 3-3 tie and a 2-1 win as it hosted Bemidji State. Meghan Dufault was injured and Michelle Karvinen and Susanna Tapani had left to join the Finnish Olympic team, but team points leader Josefine Jakobsen stepped up with two goals and an assist on the weekend. After Jakobsen put UND ahead with less than two minutes to play in the opener, Kaitlyn Tougas scored in the final minute with her team short-handed and its goalie off for an extra attacker to forge the tie. Tanja Eisenschmid scored the decisive goal on Saturday, but an Olympic sabbatical looms for her as well.
Boston University malaise worsens
January continues to be unkind to No. 10 Boston University. The Terriers slumped to 2-5 in the month as they were swept out of Vermont, 4-2 and 5-1. Roxanne Douville made 56 saves on the weekend, and the Catamounts featured a balanced attack with goals by eight different players, including one in each game from Delia McNally. Gina Repaci supplied a pair of helpers from the blue line in each contest. BU has lost its last four games.
Northeastern short on bodies, not resolve
Northeastern extended its winning streak to four games, despite having only 13 skaters available for all of those contests. The Huskies swept Maine in Boston. Brittany Esposito scored with 5:29 left in regulation to force overtime, and then assisted on Kelly Wallace’s game-winner at 2:54 in the extra session. Esposito and Heather Mottau had three-point games. Saturday’s 8-2 triumph was more convincing. Esposito and Wallace tallied twice with an assist, and Hayley Masters had three helpers.
Buckeyes battling
Ohio State went to overtime for the fourth straight game on Friday, and this time, emerged a 3-2 winner without the need of a shootout. Julia McKinnon scored 38 seconds into OT after Minnesota State had staged a third-period rally on goals by Nicole Germaine and Shelby Moteyunas. The Buckeyes won, 4-2, on Saturday to extend their unbeaten streak to five. Claudia Kepler scored twice, part of a five-point weekend for the freshman.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
No. 2 Wisconsin swept rival Minnesota-Duluth, 3-1 and 2-0. Alex Rigsby needed just 37 saves to earn both wins. Brittany Ammerman and Blayre Turnbull had a goal and an assist in the first game; Sarah Nurse matched that in the second contest.
No. 1 Minnesota had similar success versus St. Cloud State, winning 3-0 and 3-1. Meghan Lorence scored three goals, giving her tallies in four straight games. Kate Schipper and Rachel Ramsey had three assists in the series.
No. 5 Harvard has the country’s second-best winning percentage after claiming wins over Union, 2-1, and Rensselaer, 3-1. Brianna Laing shut out the Dutchwomen with 15 stops. Hillary Crowe had three goals on the weekend, including two in the victory over the Engineers where Emerance Maschmeyer recorded 30 saves.
No Haley Skarupa, no problem, for No. 7 Boston College. It swept both ends of a home-and-home series with New Hampshire and ran the nation’s second-longest unbeaten streak to nine games. Taylor Wasylk provided three goals and two assists in 5-3 and 3-2 triumphs. Dana Trivigno had five points as well, including four in the first game in Boston.
These are the three things I think I learned this week.
1. Four points can’t get any harder than this.
Coaches have long bemoaned the difficulty of getting four points against any Hockey East opponent, regardless of position in the standings.
Well, this weekend became their quintessential example. All five league series ended in splits. (With an 11-team league, someone has got to be the odd man out and this time it was Boston College, which defeated Penn State in its lone contest.)
Arguably, the scheduling helped produce splits. Three of the five series were of the home-and-home variety and matched teams closely positioned in the standings: Providence vs. Massachusetts-Lowell, Maine vs. New Hampshire and Merrimack vs. Massachusetts.
The other two series involved teams with a sizeable gap in their records but both of those two-game sets were held at the barn of the school lower in the standings: Northeastern at Notre Dame and Vermont at Boston University.
All that said, it’s been a long time (as far as I can recall) since every single series resulted in a split.
2. Maybe Lowell simply isn’t as good as I’ve thought.
The River Hawks looked so dominant last year once the first 10 or so games were out of the way. And with almost everyone coming back this season, they were an obvious pick to again be one of the league’s top teams.
I’ve been waiting and waiting for them to hit their stride this year and perform like last season’s edition, but I’m wondering if perhaps that just isn’t going to happen.
To be clear, splitting in a home-and-home with Providence is no embarrassment. In fact, it’s a pretty predictable outcome. And Lowell is still ninth in the PairWise.
But the way the River Hawks lost at Providence on Friday is a concern. Leading 4-2 with eight minutes left in regulation, they gave up three goals in less than four minutes. And not one of them was a power-play goal.
Three even-strength goals in the latter half of the third period to blow a two-goal lead? The River Hawks? And Connor Hellebuyck (who didn’t give up more than three goals in any contest last year following his inaugural game) surrendering five to a team not named BC?
I’d have bet the ranch against that happening.
3. Maybe Notre Dame isn’t as good as I’ve thought and Northeastern definitely is better.
I’ve said it before (and then picked them to lose), but the Huskies have earned a ton of respect. They’re in second place and tied for seventh in the PairWise. They win at home (6-3-1) and on the road (8-4-1).
For the second time in as many weeks, they’ve won while getting outshot by a considerable margin. On Friday, 15th-ranked Notre Dame outshot them 30-14, but the Huskies did more than prevail, shutting out the Irish, 4-0, in their own barn.
For Notre Dame, I’m feeling the same concerns I have about Lowell. Last season, the Irish finished second in the CCHA and then won the league tournament.
This year, though, they’re still under .500 within Hockey East. I was expecting a contender. Yes, they’ve suffered injuries during key stretches, but that’s true of just about everyone. (See New Hampshire beating Maine on Friday without Trevor van Riemsdyk and Grayson Downing.) And yes, they’re still 12th in the PairWise due to strong nonconference results.
But we’re getting to the point where expectations based on last year’s results no longer make sense.
Both the Buckeyes and the Wolverines took games in their opponents’ barns, and OSU’s win helps Michigan’s cause as much as it helps Ohio State’s. After losing to Wisconsin 5-3 Friday night — with three unanswered goals by the Badgers within an eight-minute span at the end of the second and beginning of the third — the Buckeyes rebounded with a 3-1 win Saturday. In a way, Ohio State returned Wisconsin’s favor; trailing 1-0 midway through the second, OSU scored two goals roughly five minutes apart late in the stanza. Newcomer Christian Frey made 36 saves for Ohio State in his fourth game of the season.
Michigan swept Michigan State in a Joe-and-Munn series, earning a big six points in conference play. The Wolverines looked as though they returned to form in the second game of the series Friday night, turning up the heat in the third period when the game was tied 2-2, scoring three goals and putting the game out of reach for the Spartans. With two games in hand on the Badgers — and thanks in part to OSU’s win — the Wolverines are now just three points behind Wisconsin.
2. Prevailing in the shootout can bring hardware.
And it doesn’t hurt when your power play is clicking. Just last week, Minnesota coach Don Lucia told me that the Golden Gophers had relied heavily on their power play in the past to help them win games but leaned more on five-on-five hockey this year, scoring by committee to get the proverbial job done.
Five of the eight goals that the Gophers scored in the North Star College Cup came with the man advantage, and three Gophers — Travis Boyd, Nate Condon, Hudson Fasching — each netted two goals in two games. Kyle Rau and Seth Ambroz, who each scored in regulation in the tournament, were the gents who scored in Saturday’s shootout following Minnesota’s 4-4 tie with Minnesota-Duluth, giving the Gophers title in the tourney’s inaugural run.
Minnesota is a dangerous team.
3.Persevering in the game can bring you nearer to an upset — and praise from Jerry York.
Penn State lost at home to Boston College, 3-2, the second defeat of the Nittany Lions at the hands of the Eagles. In December, BC beat PSU for the title of the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh, 8-2. This time, the Nittany Lions kept it close, tying the Eagles 1-1 in the second and scoring the final goal of the game to make it 3-2 in the third. That was Taylor Holstrom’s shorthanded marker, scored two minutes and thirty seconds after the Eagles made it a 3-1 game.
After the game, BC coach Jerry York had some nice things to say about the Nittany Lions. “Penn State has made marked improvements since we saw them in December. They are so close. They are big and physical and play tough hockey.”
With just six teams in the Big Ten and every team making the trip to the conference championship tournament, a tough Penn State team may make the league’s postseason very interesting.
Minnesota-Duluth’s Caleb Herbert (left) heads toward Minnesota captain Nate Condon during the championship game of the inaugural North Star College Cup at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. (Jim Rosvold)
Geography dictates that it’s tough for western college hockey teams to put on something similar to the Beanpot, the tournament that brings together Boston’s four big men’s – and women’s for their own annual version – college hockey programs to determine local bragging rights.
That said, Minnesota’s five Division I programs seem to be onto a winner with what they’ve created for themselves.
Last weekend gave us the first edition of the North Star College Cup, a four-team tournament that will be held once a year at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. It’s unfortunate Minnesota’s D-I fivesome isn’t all in the same league as it was even a year ago, but the NSCC allows the state’s Big Ten, NCHC and WCHA teams to keep battling for a claim to supremacy in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Until next season’s edition of the tournament, that claim belongs to the top-ranked Golden Gophers of Minnesota. The evergreen host of the NSCC – the other four teams will rotate in and out of the tournament – came out on top after brushing aside No. 5 St. Cloud State 4-1 Friday before beating Minnesota-Duluth in an overtime shootout in the final Saturday night after drawing 4-4 with the Bulldogs through 65 minutes.
The Big Ten laid claim to the title, then, but the two NCHC teams in this year’s edition of the NSCC held up well with UMD and SCSU both finishing with 1-1 records in tournament play.
None of the four teams had a very easy ride in a tournament in which 32 goals were scored over the four games, and UMD had a particularly bumpy ride. In order to get to the final, the Bulldogs were made to outlast Minnesota State 5-4 in overtime Friday, with UMD forward Alex Iafallo scoring the game-winning goal on a power play 4:33 into the extra session.
SCSU recovered well enough from its semifinal loss to the Gophers to outlast former WCHA rival Minnesota State 6-4 in Saturday’s third-place game. Three power play goals on four such opportunities helped the Huskies’ cause, as did 37 saves from SCSU goaltender Ryan Faragher.
DU, UND renew acquaintances at Magness
SCSU and UMD both had to make do with a win and a loss from last weekend, and two other teams in the hunt for the NCHC’s regular season championship had to do the same.
No. 16 Denver and No. 18 North Dakota met at Magness Arena for the 266th and 267th all-time meetings in a rivalry that dates back to the 1949-50 season. Both teams had to settle for three of the six points on offer last weekend, however, as they split their only two-game regular-season set together in the current campaign.
UND pleased the large contingent of fans in green and white Friday at DU’s Magness Arena as the visitors came away 4-2 winners in the series opener. Two first-period goals got the proverbial ball rolling for UND, and senior goaltender Clarke Saunders made 29 saves in his first start since a 5-2 home loss to St. Lawrence Nov. 29.
So it was, then, that DU faced being swept at home by UND for the first time in a decade. That didn’t end up happening, though, as the Pioneers won 3-0 Saturday to end UND’s 10-game unbeaten streak at 9-0-1.
CC-Miami series also ends in a split
Colorado College and Miami went along with a national trend of teams splitting their series last weekend, as the Tigers and RedHawks were made to share the spoils of a two-game set featuring the NCHC’s bottom two teams.
CC has had D-I’s second-worst team offense this season (1.83 goals per game), but you wouldn’t have known it early on Friday night. Three first-period goals proved more than enough for the Tigers in the series-opener, with CC eventually running out 4-1 winners in the Tigers’ first regulation victory since downing Nebraska-Omaha 4-2 at home Dec. 6.
The following night’s game, however, was a much different story with Miami putting on a goal-scoring clinic that RedHawks fans would undoubtedly love to see more of as their team enters this season’s home stretch.
CC inflicted itself with some wounds in the series finale by allowing Miami to go 4-for-5 on the power play, but the RedHawks were ruthless in winning 6-1. That victory was enough to keep Miami (14 points) above the Tigers (13) at the bottom of the NCHC table by one point.
As the impending postseason nears, the top teams are intent on tightening up any remaining loose ends before jumping into the playoffs. For the most part, this past weekend was all about keeping said momentum.
Junior defenseman Brooke Wilgosh’s goal at 3:53 of overtime capped a successful weekend for Elmira, which remained undefeated in the tight ECAC West race. The Soaring Eagles (13-3-1, 8-0-0 ECAC-West) kept pace with No. 1 Plattsburgh following a two-game sweep of Oswego at the Campus Center Hockey Arena. The two victories away from home upped Elmira’s road record to 9-3-0. Wilgosh got helpers from the nation’s fourth leading scorer in Ashley Ryan and classmate Ashton Hogan in wrapping up the win for the visitors.
In its first week as a resident of the top 10, Utica took the brunt force of a momentum-fueled Plattsburgh team over the weekend, falling twice by way of shutouts. The records continue to topple whenever the Cardinals step on the sheet. Goalie Sydney Aveson earned her 27th career shutout in the latter game, a 2-0 win over the Pioneers. The shutdown of the Pioneers put the senior goaltender at the top of the D-III all-time list for career shutouts.
Norwich remained clean in the ECAC East standings following a pair of wins over conference opponents, Massachusetts-Boston and St. Anselm’s. The Cadets improved to 10-0-0 (14-3-0 overall) and 7-0-0 on the road as a result of a 5-1 win in Boston and a 4-0 victory in Manchester, N.H. Norwich senior Meghan Papagano, who came into the weekend looking for her first goal of the season, found that and a bit more. Papagano scored 4:20 into the first in the win over the Beacons and backed that performance with a two-goal afternoon in the victory over the Hawks. Papagano’s initial tally at 2:22 of the opening period proved to be the game-winner. The Wakefield, Mass., native closed out the scoring in the second. Papagano’s goals provided book ends for top scorer, Tori Charron, who hit on a power play midway through the first before notching her 17th score of the season late in the second.
No. 5 Wisconsin-River Falls stayed on point, if you will, taking a 4-2 win and forging back from a late 1-0 deficit to earn a 1-1 tie over visiting No. 6 Wisconsin-Stevens Point over the weekend. Dani Sibley scored for the Falcons with 2:59 remaining in regulation. Pointers goalie Janna Beilke-Skoug preserved the deadlock in overtime, making seven saves. The Falcons improved their unbeaten run to 14 games.
Goalie Annabelle Jones backstopped No. 2 Middlebury to a 4-0 win over Bowdoin at the Kenyon Arena in the series opener between the two NESCAC entities at Kenyon Arena. Saturday brought an entirely different scenario however, as the Panthers required an early third-period power-play score by Jennifer Krakower to even things up. Krakower’s goal was the lone score for the highly ranked power play unit on the afternoon in five opportunities. Jones and Bowdoin goalie Lan Crofton turned aside three and two shots respectively in the extra stanza. The 1-1 result was the third tie in the Panthers’ last six games.
Saturday’s game between Colgate and St. Lawrence featured two teams heading in the opposite direction. Both the red-hot Raiders and struggling Saints kept going their respective ways, as sophomore Kyle Baun’s first collegiate hat trick extended Colgate’s unbeaten streak to seven games, and dropped St. Lawrence’s skid to nine games without a win.
The win moved Colgate into a tie for second place with idle Quinnipiac. The Raiders’ seven-game unbeaten streak is tied with travel-partner Cornell for the third-best in the nation, trailing only Minnesota and Boston College. Colgate hosts Union and travels to Quinnipiac next month, two games that should have significant implications for the top of the standings.
Rivals take it to another level
Union’s 4-3 win over Harvard Friday moved the Dutchmen ahead of Quinnipiac for sole possession of first place in ECAC Hockey. But that was a mere footnote by the end of the weekend, as the end of the annual Mayor’s Cup with Rensselaer dissolved into a massive brawl once the final whistle sounded.
Videos of the incident showed that shoving started as soon as the Engineers won a last-second faceoff in their zone to seal a 2-1 victory over the Dutchmen and escalated as Rensselaer players came off their bench to celebrate.
Referees handed out 125 minutes worth of penalties after the game, including game disqualifications to Union’s Matt Bodie and Eli Lichtenwald and Rensselaer’s Mike Zalewski and Luke Curadi. Those penalties come with an automatic one-game suspension.
Dutchmen coach Rick Bennett and RPI coach Seth Appert had to be restrained by officials and members of the teams and coaching staffs later. That scuffle appeared to have been touched off by a shove from Bennett. Check out videos and more here.
Bennett was suspended two games by Union, while a spokesperson for ECAC Hockey said the league was reviewing video of the incident as well as talking to game officials and would hand out any additional discipline early this week.
With Bennett suspended, assistant coach Joe Dumais will coach the Dutchmen on their North Country road trip next weekend. Bennett will not travel with the team.
It’s a shame this incident marred a much-needed win by struggling RPI team that ended the Engineer’s ten-game losing streak against Union. I don’t pretend to know the ins and outs of both programs, but both Bennett and Appert seem to run things the right way, and both are professional and accessible when dealing with the media. Each apologized after the game. Still, it was an embarrassing incident for both teams.
It’s also never a good sign when you make Deadspin.
League race shaping up?
There’s still nearly a month let in the regular season, but several different tiers of teams are starting toform. Eight ECAC teams have an overall record of .500 or better, with the exception of St. Lawrence, Princeton, Dartmouth and Harvard.
Quinnipiac and Union are the front-runners for the top two spots. After that, the final two first-round bye positions are up for grabs. Colgate appears to have forced itself into the picture for a top-four spot, while someone from the group of Clarkson, Yale or Cornell will likely take the last one. Brown might be a sleeper team for a top-four spot, but it looks more likely the Bears will finish somewhere fifth through ninth, which would still be good enough to give them home ice in the first round for the second time in as many years.
They’ll probably be joined by Rensselaer, who was picked first in the media preseason poll. The Engineers rebounded with a pair of wins this weekend, but likely have too much ground to make up for a first-round bye. Barring a late-season surge, Dartmouth, Princeton, Harvard and St. Lawrence should be on the road for the playoffs.
Three things I thought I learned about the WCHA this weekend …
Welcome to Splitsville
Series splits all around conference play this weekend, so the league’s three races (for first place, home ice and final playoff spot) remain bunched up. First-place Ferris State gave itself some cushion over Minnesota State by getting two points at Michigan Tech. The Bulldogs lead the Mavericks by four points, and both teams have played 18 games and have two games in hand on the next three teams—Bowling Green, Alaska Anchorage and Bemdiji State. Those three teams are in the hunt for a top-four spot, but Northern Michigan, currently sixth with 17 points, has four games in hand on them. With eight of the 10 teams making the playoffs, Lake Superior, Michigan Tech and Alaska are all tied for seventh, although the Nanooks have played two more games than the Lakers and Huskies.
Goaltending questions
Looking at the box scores from the weekend and seeing that Ferris State shut out Michigan Tech on Saturday, I figured C.J. Motte got back on track after losing three games in a row. But it wasn’t Motte in goal; it was Charles Williams getting the 25-save shutout for his first win of the season. As I mentioned above, that was a huge game for the Bulldogs in the race for the MacNaughton Cup. In Fairbanks, Alaska’s Sean Cahill and Bemidji State’s Andrew Walsh recorded back-to-back shutouts in that series split, while in Anchorage, the Seawolves’ Chris Kamal and Northern Michigan’s Mathias Dahlstrom split solid solid performances.
North Star goes south
Minnesota State went 0-2 at the inaugural North Star College Cup tournament featuring four of Minnesota’s five Division I teams at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Mavericks scored four goals each game, normally a recipe for their success. But they allowed 11 goals to Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State, hurting their chance to move up in the Pairwise Rankings. Two weeks ago at Anchorage, the Mavericks couldn’t buy a goal. This week, they couldn’t stop a puck. In between was that great weekend against Ferris State. Is it a home-away thing for MSU or just a lack of consistency?
St. Cloud State goaltender Ryan Faragher looks behind him as Minnesota’s Nate Condon’s shot crosses the goal line in Friday’s game (photo: Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com).
Here’s how the 20 teams in the Jan. 20, 2014, USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll fared in games from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26:
Here is a gallery of images from the inaugural North Star College Cup which featured Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and Minnesota on Friday and Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Union coach Rick Bennett will miss games at St. Lawrence and Clarkson (photo: Matt Eisenberg).
Union has suspended coach Rick Bennett for two games after he was involved in an on-ice altercation with members of the Rensselaer coaching staff and team after Saturday’s game.
The school announced the suspension, issued by athletic director Jim McLaughlin, on Sunday. Bennett will miss ECAC Hockey games at St. Lawrence and Clarkson next weekend.
ECAC Hockey is also reviewing the video of the melee, which took place as Rensselaer finished off a 2-1 victory over No. 3 Union in the annual Mayor’s Cup game in Albany, N.Y.
In videos postedto YouTube, Union captain Mat Bodie is seen delivering a high cross-check to Rensselaer’s Brock Higgs after a last-second faceoff, and other players assemble to create a mass of bodies.
Later, Bennett is seen confronting Engineers coach Seth Appert and appears to shove him.
Both coaches were apologetic in postgame news conferences, and Bennett repeated that in a statement issued by Union on Sunday.
“On behalf of Union College and the men’s hockey team, I apologize for my actions and behavior after last night’s game against RPI,” Bennett said in the statement. “The administration, supporters, and loyal fans of both programs deserve and demand better from me. I’m truly sorry for the events that took place after the game.”
Dutchmen assistant coach Joe Dumais will serve as the acting head coach next weekend.
The weekend in Atlantic Hockey was remarkably tame compared to what happened in ECAC. Two points for you to contrast:
There were three 5-on-3 advantages granted the whole weekend in AHA play. There were three 5-on-3 advantages granted to Yale in the first 15 minutes of their game against Brown, including, at one point, a 41-4 penalty minute difference between the Bears and Bulldogs, respectively, with two ejections.
ECAC officials assessed 125 minutes worth of penalties to Union and RPI as a result of the fracas at the end of the game. There will no doubt be exchanges of phone calls between the league and those two institutions this week with further discipline on the way. For the AHA’s entire weekend, there 190 penalty minutes across nine games, excluding the exhibition between Army and the Royal Military College of Canada.
That’s not included in my three things, but I just wanted to point those two out. Whenever something like those extremities happen, there is almost assuredly some type of review from the league office. I’m not saying the teams, the leagues, or the style of play are better in the AHA. I’m just saying that this week is one where I’m sure league officials are sitting back and quietly breathing easy that they don’t have to sort through the mess that happened elsewhere.
Let’s jump into the three (okay, I lied… four… actually, let’s make it five. This was a phenomenal weekend.) things coming out of the AHA weekend that was:
Collision Course Set For Erie
First place Mercyhurst and second place Bentley will meet next weekend in Erie, Pennsylvania at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. They will enter the weekend separated by just two points thanks to Canisius’ rally on Saturday (more on that in a couple paragraphs). It is arguably the biggest weekend of games in the league to this point in the season.
The Falcons got to this point by dispatch archnemesis Holy Cross for the third time this year. Once again, it was a back-and-forth game where the ‘Saders never really went away. Even after Bentley took a 4-2 lead late, Holy Cross kept hanging around, cutting the lead to 4-3 before the road team tacked on an empty net strike. It sealed the first season sweep for Bentley of Holy Cross since 2009, coincidentally the last time they won a season series with their rival and the last time they went to the conference final four. They also broke more records in the process (again, more on that later).
Mercyhurst rallied to win on Thursday in their rivalry weekend game with Canisius, but the Golden Griffins scored five unanswered to pummel the Lakers on Saturday. It was a shocking display against a normally fundamentally sound Laker team, and it exposed a flaw in their game. Coach Rick Gotkin’s team has very quietly been running through the league all season, but in the last two weeks, they’re now 1-1-2 with some alarming collapses. They led 3-2 in the third period against UConn in both games last week and tied both (they also led the second game, 3-0, in the second period). They led Canisius 3-1 before losing 7-4. And their win came as a result of a mad dash comeback down 1-0 late with three goals in the final three minutes.
Record Setting Season Continues for Bentley
The Bentley Falcons broke more records this weekend with their 5-3 win over Holy Cross. Andrew Gladiuk scored his 11th and 12th power play goals on the year. That breaks the record of 11 at the Division I level and ties the all-time program record. And Steve Weinstein got his 29th and 30th assists, breaking the Division I record held by his coach, Ryan Soderquist, and coming within striking distance of the all-time record of 31. He is the first D1 Bentley player with 30 assists in a single season, and he did it in 24 games.
They become the fourth and fifth program records to fall for Bentley this season after Brett Gensler broke the Division I scoring and Division I goals records and Branden Komm broke the all-time program wins record by a goalie while becoming just the second goalie to appear in 100 career games. The power play for Bentley is ranked second in the nation at 28.1%. Mercyhurst has been the tape-to-tape leader in the league to this point, but the argument is that Bentley has the potential to be the most dominant. They’re also on pace to shatter the team’s record for regular season wins (17 in 2008-2009).
What’s all of this mean? It means that Bentley is finally becoming the team we all thought they were last season. They’re borderline a complete team, and this weekend, they’ll have the chance to prove that the stats aren’t just stats and that they are backing it up when they take on one of the league’s best. They’ll get to go from a good team with a limitless ceiling to a league powerhouse. So far, Bentley’s beaten pretty much everyone; they’ll have their hands full when they head west for a titan battle with the league’s preseason favorite.
Hottest Team in the League
I love it when a team proves me right. This week, I talked to Derek Schooley about his streaky hot Robert Morris Colonial team. One of the things he talked about was his team’s need to compartmentalize and have short memories about a slow start in 2013. They needed to go shift-by-shift and play game-by-game against tough opponents to try and make some noise within the second half of the season. He didn’t write off his teams chances but acknowledged they’d have a tougher time than others at making up ground.
Facing their biggest test of the second half of the season, RMU hosted Air Force and punched the Falcons right in the mouth. Outshooting the academy on Friday by a 41-24 margin, the Colonials essentially won a 3-0 game, giving up a goal with less than 10 seconds left after they already scored the obligatory empty-netter. On Saturday, they struck three times in the second period alone, putting an end to Air Force’s chances and sending the cadets back west with zero points.
All of a sudden, Robert Morris is in fifth place, two points out of fourth. They’re the hottest team in the west. They’re playing complete hockey and getting hot. And all of a sudden, nobody should want to play them. Before the year, I said I thought RMU was going to be a force this year. After failing the first part of the season, they’re going to be a factor as the playoffs draw closer.
RMU hosts Army this weekend.
Fast Times in the AHA
Updating the playoff race for you, Bentley and Mercyhurst both have a chance to clinch home ice for at least the first round this weekend with more than two points. Likewise, Army is on the verge of being eliminated from first round bye consideration if they don’t come away with two points against Robert Morris.
We’re starting to see some separation; Bentley and Mercyhurst are forming a breakaway at the top with UConn successfully fighting to keep pace. Air Force and RMU could catch UConn, but they’re forming a third pack with Canisius in the fight for the final first round bye. Niagara and RIT are jostling for the same positioning RIT and Canisius fought for last year (with some work ahead of them to get into the race for a bye), while Holy Cross is in position to get home ice once we get into the bulk of the conference schedule due to weaker remaining opponents. AIC and Sacred Heart are factors but need a team to really falter in order to get first round home ice, and Army is increasingly appearing as the 12th seeded team.
But this is Atlantic Hockey. Next week? Something different.
A Final Word
One of my all-time favorite things took place this week when Army played the Royal Military College of Canada. The RMC Paladins is located in Kingston, Ontario, and the two teams played at the Rogers K-Rock Centre. Army won, 5-2, to win the Challenge Cup in its first visit to Canada since 2006, while wearing their black jerseys with “DM” stickers on the backs of their helmets in memory of Major Danny MacLeod. Maj. MacLeod was a former RMC head coach who helped maintain this rivalry over several decades.
Regardless of politics, the game serves as a reminder that these hockey players are united in their goals to protect and serve the great nations they represent Despite a normally intense hockey game, there’s little after-the-whistle funny business. With this being the final game of a three-year deal, I can only hope that it continues a great tradition into the future.
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