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Balance quietly making Vermont a tough opponent to face

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Vermont’s Tom Forgione scored his first goal since the season opener in last Saturday’s win over Clarkson (photo: Bradley K. Olson).

When talking about the hottest teams in Hockey East, it is easy to come up with names like Boston College, Massachusetts-Lowell and Maine.

But quietly, the league’s entry from the Green Mountain State, Vermont, has quietly put together an impressive resume that has it ranked in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll for the first time since the final poll of the 2009-10 season.

Last weekend, Vermont knocked off then-No. 9 Clarkson and Canisius to win the Catamount Cup, good for seven wins in eight games for the Cats.

You’re not going to find any of the Catamounts’ players among the national scoring leaders and neither of UVM’s goaltending tandem of Brody Hoffman or Mike Santiguida is exactly lighting things up. But a balanced scoring attack where 20 different players have found the back of the net and a solid 1/1A combo in net has made Vermont a tough opponent night in and night out.

Last weekend, the Cats squeaked past Clarkson 3-2, holding off a late rally by the Golden Knights, before finding themselves in a bit of a strange situation in Sunday’s finale versus Canisius.

Because the tournament used a predetermined field, Vermont and Lowell couldn’t meet in the final despite both teams winning their opening games. That led to both teams posting 2-0 records and two tiebreakers were necessary to determine the winner.

Goal differential was the first. After Lowell’s 3-1 win over Clarkson on Saturday, their differential was plus-5. That meant Vermont would need to beat Canisius by at least four to match Lowell’s mark.

Leading 5-1 late, it appeared that the Cats would also have a plus-5 margin, which activated the second tiebreaker — total goals. Should the score have remained 5-1, both teams would have been tied with eight goals and the two would have been co-champions.

But when Canisius scored late to make the score 5-2, all of those scenarios were out the window. Thus Vermont needed another goal — which it got from the stick of Jake Fallon with two seconds remaining — to capture the tournament title outright.

“It’s kind of an unusual circumstance where at the end of the game, we give up a goal to make it 5-2,” said Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon. “It’s sometimes a challenging thing because the other team thinks you’re trying to run up the score.

“We called a timeout to tell the guys to take some chances and it paid off.”

The two wins were not just a solid start to the season’s second half. More importantly, they were a bounceback after Vermont lost its final game before the break 3-0 at home to Northeastern, ending a five-game winning streak.

“That 3-0 loss definitely left a bitter taste going into break,” said Vermont’s Michael Paliotta, who was named the MVP of the Catamount Cup. “Everyone came back and worked hard after break to get into shape. When we got back, things just seemed to be clicking for us. It seems like we didn’t miss a step.

“It’s great to see because I thought we played to really good games against two pretty good teams this weekend.”

The Look-Up Line is hockey’s version of the baseball warning track.

Fenway ice will have its own warning track

It seems appropriate that when Hockey East teams begin play on a baseball field that the ice surface at historic Fenway Park will have a bit of a ballpark field.

The Look-Up Line, or hockey’s version of the warning track in baseball, will be part of the ice at Fenway Park for this year’s Frozen Fenway. A one-foot thick red line painted 28 inches from the boards around the entire ice surface will make players aware of how close they are to the boards.

The idea is the brainchild of Thomas Smith. Smith was twice a victim of spinal cord injuries suffered while playing hockey, the latter leaving him in a wheelchair for 27 months. While watching a game at Fenway Park in 2012, he took notice of how fielders began searching for the wall once their feet reached the warning track.

Wondering if the same idea could be implemented in hockey, he worked with Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna and the NCAA rules committee to test the concept at Frozen Fenway.

“I want to give Tom a lot of credit, not only in coming up with this idea but also in being persistent in getting people to listen and implement it at Fenway,” said Bertagna. “His passion was a key in convincing both the NCAA and Fenway people to give this a shot.”

The original concept for the Look-Up Line was to paint the ice red 40 inches from the boards. But with the unpredictability of both ice conditions and weather in an outdoor setting, only the 12-inch version will be used.

Still, there is a lot of hope that adding awareness to where players are on the ice might also make them aware of the dangers associated with head-on collisions into the boards. And if nothing else, implementing hockey’s “warning track” for the first time at Fenway Park is one great PR stunt for Smith’s worthy idea.

Hockey East having major impact at World Juniors

Tuesday’s preliminary-round loss to Canada may have put a bit of a damper on Team USA’s journey at the World Junior Championship, but that can’t take anything away from how solid players from Hockey East were through the tournament’s opening round.

Boston University’s Matt Grzelyck has led the way offensively for the Americans with two goals and six points. But a name that may not yet be familiar to many in Hockey East, Notre Dame’s Vince Hinostroza, has also opened plenty of eyes.

Hinostroza potted five points in the four preliminary games, four of those coming in an 8-0 rout of Germany. Early in the season, Hinostroza was equally as explosive for the Irish before suffering an injury that set him back. He’s certainly proven over in Sweden that he is a powerful forward with great eyes for the ice.

Finally, Jon Gillies from Providence has been the go-to guy in net for the Americans. Gillies’ 2.35 GAA and .910 save percentage are impressive, and count on Team USA to lean on their netminder in the medal round if they are going to have any chance at repeating as champions.

Quick hits

While the overall record for Hockey East in holiday tournament play was solid (10-3-3), teams records in shootouts was not stellar. Both Massachusetts and Maine played to ties in their respective tournaments but neither could pull out the shootout win to either advance to the finals (UMass) or win the tournament (Maine).

Northeastern may have come away from the Ledyard National Bank Tournament at Dartmouth without a victory, posting a loss and a tie. But Monday’s 8-8 tie against Dartmouth in the final may be one of the most impressive rallies of the season. Trailing 8-4 with 11:30 remaining in the third, the Huskies scored four goals, including two with the goaltender pulled, to tie things. Northeastern also had a power play for the final minute of overtime with a chance to win but couldn’t convert, sharing third place with the hosts.

Boston College’s Johnny Gaudreau remains the hottest player in Hockey East. The junior posted two goals and three assists as the Eagles captured the Three Rivers Classic title. Scoring in both games extended his scoring streak to 13 games. He has scored in 17 of BC’s 18 contests this season and is second in the nation in points and points per game behind St. Lawrence’s Greg Carey.

If you’re headed to Fenway Park this weekend for Frozen Fenway, dress warm. Temperatures are predicted to be around the 19-degree range and there should be a solid coating of snow on the ground. The Boston region is forecasted to get 9-12 inches of snow on Friday night, which will make the Fenway Park crew work overtime to clear the ice and the stands to make things playable. According to the league, should conditions not be sufficient to play, it has the option of moving the games between Providence and Merrimack as well as Boston College and Notre Dame to Sunday.

Merrimack-Russian Red Stars exhibition game canceled

USCHO Staff Report
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Due to Thursday’s snowstorm, Merrimack’s Thursday afternoon exhibition against the Russian Red Stars has been canceled with no makeup date scheduled. Fans who purchased a ticket for the game may redeem them for admission to any “non-premium” game through the remainder of the 2013-14 season.

Here’s what NCHC teams need to do to be successful in the second half

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Freshaman Alex Iafallo has been key in Minnesota-Duluth’s offense (photo: Bradley K. Olson).

The first NCHC season is at the midway point, and while both St. Cloud State and Nebraska-Omaha have put themselves in a good position to take the first league title, with each league win worth three points, other teams can catch up in a hurry.

St. Cloud, Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota-Duluth, Denver, Miami and Western Michigan have all played eight league games, while Colorado College and North Dakota have played 10. Let’s look at what each team needs to do in the second half.

Colorado College

The Tigers’ Achilles’ heel has been offense. CC ranks 58th of 59 teams in team offense, averaging only 1.65 points per game. Freshman defenseman Jaccob Slavin is the only player on the team averaging more than half a point a game.

CC also needs to improve its power play, which capitalized only six times in 65 attempts during the first half, a meager 9.23 percent success rate, putting them at 57th nationally.

Senior Alex Krushelnyski needs to step up his efforts, as he has only nine points in the first 17 games, well off his junior year total of 43 points. Junior Charlie Taft, coming off an 18-point sophomore season, has only one point in 16 games played.

Sophomore Hunter Fejes, who had 14 points in his first year, hasn’t recorded a single point through the first half, despite spending much of his playing time on the first and second line. His classmate Cody Bradley, from whom coach Scott Owens expected big things this season, has only four points in 14 games while playing a lot of time on the first line.

For CC, too many players are not producing, and the efforts of goaltender Josh Thorimbert, who has kept his team in games, have gone to waste too many times.

Despite such dismal numbers, CC actually has done OK in the league, and sits in fifth place. There is still room for the Tigers to get hot and perhaps contend for home ice in the playoffs if they can start scoring.

Denver

After a rough stretch near the end of October, Denver has righted the ship, going on a 7-1-2 tear to close out the first half and moving up to 16th in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. Denver starts its second half by hosting Brown on Friday before a huge series the following weekend on home ice against St. Cloud.

Denver has a lot of positives, including the nation’s top goaltender in Sam Brittain, who has a 1.68 GAA and a .942 save percentage. Brittain’s play is a big reason Denver is third nationally in team defense. Brittain played in every game but one in the first half, so rookie coach Jim Montgomery will want to be careful of not wearing out his top goaltender before the playoffs.

Like their in-state rivals, Denver could use more offensive production. Despite an overall mark of 10-6-3, Denver’s offensive production has been inconsistent, and ranks 42nd nationally at 2.47 points per game.

Even-strength scoring has particularly been an area of concern; Denver has scored 21 of its 47 goals on the power play, converting on 23.6 percent of its chances, good for eighth nationally. Freshman Trevor Moore leads the team in scoring with 16 points, with a points per game average of .842.

Some of the forwards, many of whom are freshmen and sophomores, need to start pitching in more for Denver to sustain its run.

Miami

Despite sitting at 12th in the poll and boasting arguably the best forward tandem in the country with Riley Barber and Austin Czarnik (who are tied for third nationally in scoring with 28 points), Miami was inconsistent in the first half, posting a 9-7-2 overall record and going 3-5 in the conference.

The RedHawks have another week off before kicking off their second half at Western Michigan. Miami recorded only two weekend splits in its first half, so getting points in both games will need to be a big push for this team.

The defense has been respectable, and sophomore netminder Ryan McKay has a .924 save percentage, but for Miami to go deep in the playoffs, the team needs to clamp down defensively a little. It is giving up 2.56 goals a game, good for 25th nationally.

To its credit, Miami has played a difficult schedule, the 11th-most-difficult nationally, so the RedHawks should be well tested and ready for a second-half run.

Minnesota-Duluth

The Bulldogs have been a glass-half-full team in the first half, sporting a 7-8-1 overall record and 3-5 conference record. Like Miami, the Bulldogs have struggled to get points out of both games in a weekend, splitting every series but two. They got a win and tie against Michigan Tech in the first weekend of the year, and were swept by St. Cloud at the start of December.

The Bulldogs start their second half with an exhibition series with the U.S. Under-18 squad before traveling to Nebraska-Omaha.

On the plus side, the Bulldogs did rack up some good wins, defeating North Dakota, No. 14 Notre Dame and No. 1 Minnesota. The latter was especially big, a 6-2 win on the road.

For the Bulldogs to have a good second half, they need to improve their team defense, which is 38th nationally while giving up 2.94 goals a game, and get better goaltending from Aaron Crandall and/or Matt McNeely, neither of whom has a save percentage over .900.

The Bulldogs also have to hope that their young players continue to produce. Two freshmen, Kyle Osterberg and Alex Iafallo, are second and third on the team in scoring.

Josh Archibald has 17 points for Nebraska-Omaha (photo: Michelle Bishop).

Nebraska-Omaha

The Mavericks were one of the big surprises of the first half. That says something given that their overall record is only 8-7-1; in-conference, they are 5-2-1, good for second with 17 points.

A great November in which they went 6-2 while sweeping Denver and Miami and splitting with North Dakota and Michigan was sandwiched around a poor October, in which they lost to Bentley and Northern Michigan and were swept by Cornell, and also a disappointing December trip to Colorado Springs, where they could get only a tie/shootout win in two games against CC.

One thing the Mavericks have going for them is scoring. They are 18th nationally in team offense, averaging 3.19 goals a game. Junior Josh Archibald has racked up 17 points, and Ryan Walters 16. Two freshmen, defenseman Ian Brady and forward Jake Guentzel, have also done well, racking up 11 points each.

While scoring has been a strength, the run-and-gun approach has led to some defensive breakdowns, and the Mavericks are 41st nationally in team defense, giving up 3.12 goals a game. Junior Ryan Massa has played well at times, as has freshman Kirk Thompson, but neither has a save percentage over .900 and both are hovering around a 3.00 GAA. If the saying holds true that defense wins championships, the Mavericks will definitely need to tighten up defensively to challenge St. Cloud for the league title and have success in the playoffs.

North Dakota

In many ways, this is shaping up to be a usual season for North Dakota. After struggling for consistency in October and November, including losing to St. Lawrence and losing to and tying Boston University, North Dakota finished the first half on a five-game win streak, sweeping Western Michigan and Northern Michigan in the process.

North Dakota has exhibition games against British Columbia and Simon Fraser at the Great Northwest Showcase in Burnaby, British Columbia, this weekend before resuming official play against Colorado College at home the following weekend.

Freshman Luke Johnson, who was named the NCHC rookie of the month for December while averaging 1.50 points per game, caught fire during the win streak, and will need to continue his production to keep North Dakota in the hunt in the second half. Sophomore Rocco Grimaldi leads the team in scoring, averaging .944 points per game, and sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg showed improvement, sporting a .917 save percentage.

North Dakota sits 31st in team scoring and 35th in team defense. The power play, which ranks 25th nationally, has struggled at times, going 17-of-83 for a 20.48 percent conversion rate. Some more scoring, especially on the power play, will go a long way toward a second-half surge from North Dakota.

St. Cloud State

Despite losing Hobey Baker Award winner Drew LeBlanc, St. Cloud had a great first half of the year, going 11-2-3 overall and 6-1-1 in-conference, tops in the league. The Huskies are ranked third in the poll, and even spent one week in the top spot.

The Huskies have won largely with timely scoring and great defense. The team ranks fourth nationally in defense, giving up 2.00 goals per game, and 11th nationally in team offense, scoring 3.50 goals per game. The scoring has largely been by committee; despite its overall team offense rank, the Huskies don’t have a single player in the top 50 offensive leaders.

Sophomore Johnny Brodzinski leads the team in scoring, averaging a point a game, and senior Nic Dowd is right behind with 15 points.

If either one of those two can up his offensive production a little, it could make St. Cloud one of the top contenders in the NCAA tournament.

One area in which St. Cloud could look for better offense is the power play, which is 19th, converting on 14-of-66 chances for a 21.21 percent success rate.

Despite its overall defensive ranking, St. Cloud also could stand some improvement on the penalty kill, which ranks 31st nationally, successfully killing penalties only 81.1 percent of the time.

Western Michigan

The Broncos have been a bit of a puzzle so far. They kicked off the second half with an impressive overtime win over Michigan, then followed it with an overtime win over Michigan Tech to claim the Great Lakes Invitational.

Western Michigan is 9-8-3 overall and 3-5 in conference. In looking at its record, one thing that stands out is location; the Broncos have losing records at home (3-4-1) and on the road (2-4-1), but have done well in tournaments, sporting a 4-0-1 neutral location record.

The Broncos are off this weekend before resuming play against Miami at home next weekend.

Western Michigan has been streaky, to both its benefit and detriment. Wins and losses have seemed to come in bunches for this team. Establishing consistency and momentum off its GLI wins will be important for getting Western Michigan off to a good second-half start.

Western has gotten good scoring from senior Shane Berschbach (23 points and 1.15 points per game) and junior Justin Kovacs (20 points and 1.00 points per game), but the offense falls off a little after that. Some better production from Chase Balisy and Josh Pitt would help the Broncos, who are only 39th nationally in team offense, with 2.50 goals per game.

The power play in particular needs work; the Broncos converted on only 12.87 percent of their man-advantage opportunities (51st nationally).

Goaltender Frank Slubowski has been solid, sporting a .913 save percentage and 2.52 GAA, helping the Broncos achieve 12th nationally in team defense.

NCHC players of the month

December player of the month — Justin Kovacs, Western Michigan: Kovacs is the second consecutive Western Michigan player to capture player of the month, after Shane Berschbach claimed it for November. Kovacs tied for the NCHC points lead for December with six points, and tied teammate Josh Pitt for most goals by an NCHC player in December with four, good for third nationally. He averaged a point a game for December, and collected GLI all-tournament team honors for an assist against Michigan and the game-winner against Michigan Tech.

December rookie of the month — Luke Johnson, North Dakota: Johnson tied for the NCHC December scoring lead with six points, averaging 1.50 points per contest in the month. He notched two more points than any other NCHC rookie for the month and tied for second nationally in rookie scoring for the month. He had three goals and three assists, and was involved in three of North Dakota’s four game-winning goals for the month, assisting on two and scoring the game-winner against Northern Michigan on Dec. 13. Johnson is a candidate for the Hockey Commissioners’ Association national rookie of the month, which will be announced on Jan. 3.

Hensley helps lay a foundation at Lindenwood

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Given the position’s importance, championship teams will almost always have one of the best goalies, or at least a goaltender that is playing very well.

At the other end of the spectrum, top goalies will also be found on the weakest teams. A prime example is Lindenwood’s Nicole Hensley. Only Brown has fewer wins than the two that the Lady Lions have claimed to date, and Lindenwood entered 2014 with the lowest winning percentage at .143. But unlike its inaugural season two years back, with Hensley, Lindenwood is now able to remain in most games.

“That’s something that we can count on her game in and game out, to make those big saves to keep us in games that we shouldn’t even be in,” Lions coach Vince O’Mara said.

Such was the case in her final start of her freshman season, as Hensley made 90 saves to extend a CHA playoff game versus Robert Morris to a second overtime before her team fell by a 2-1 score.

Hensley concedes that such a workload in a game can get tiring, but it is a familiar situation for her.

“I’ve always been on teams where I’ve got quite a bit of shots,” Hensley said. “I grew up playing that way, so it’s just natural to see that many. I think it’s actually harder for me when I get too few shots. It’s harder to keep your head in it that way.”

If she prefers facing a lot of shots, then Hensley is getting her wish, leading the country with 749 saves.

In her team’s most recent series at Minnesota State, one of the assistant coaches on the opposing bench was Shari Dickerman. Dickerman can certainly relate to the task in front of Hensley, having made 3,590 saves in a four-year career for the Mavericks back when she was Shari Vogt.

“I think a lot of time a team like that you kind of know what’s coming,” Dickerman said. “I think she’s kind of accepted that she’s going to see a lot of shots. She’s done a really good job of using her size and trying to put pucks where people aren’t. She’ll battle for rebounds and she’s got a pretty good glove on her to get whistles when she needs them and get a little breather, refocus, and be ready for more shots.”

She agrees that quantity of shots isn’t the biggest hurdle for a goaltender.

“I think it’s nice to be involved,” Dickerman said. “Sometimes, it’s a little overkill when there’s 40, 50, 60 shots a night. It’s definitely easier, or it was easier for me anyway, than having an eight, 10, 12-minute lull where you’re just standing and waiting and trying to stay focused and engaged in what’s going on and just being ready.”

The most recent game for Lindenwood on New Year’s Day may have started to venture into the realm of a case where Hensley wasn’t seeing quite enough action. After saving all 13 shots in the first period, she only had to make seven stops in the second, and her defense started the final stanza limiting chances as well.

“It’s definitely hard when there’s that broad spectrum where there’s games that you’re making 35, 40 saves that you’re constantly involved, but there’s also some downtime and action in the other end where your teammates are putting pressure on the other end,” Dickerman said. “Sometimes, I think those games are easier to play than those games where you are standing. Because usually when there’s 15, 20 shots, some of those chances are pretty good looks at it where there’s maybe a turnover and a two on one or a breakaway here and there.”

That happened in the final 10 minutes of the game when the Mavericks’ Tracy McCann was able to beat Hensley on both a two-on-one rush and a breakaway, and Minnesota State scored three goals to break a scoreless tie.

“Physically, once the game is going on you usually feel fine and fresh,” Dickerman said. “The toughest part is mentally knowing if you give up a soft one or one you’d want back, it’s going to take a lot for your teammates to dig you out of that hole. You need to make the saves that you’re expected to make and a couple that you probably shouldn’t to give your team a chance to get back into the game and score some goals and win a few games.”

For Lindenwood, digging out of any hole is even more difficult. The Lions’ scoring offense comes in last, converting just over once per game, and it took nearly 119 minutes of play in Mankato before junior Katie Erickson scored Lindenwood’s only goal with a rocket from the blue line. The goal, her fifth on the year, tied her with senior Jocelyn Slattery for the team lead.

Noticeably absent from the team statistics is junior Alison Wickenheiser after leading the way with 60 points in the program’s first two varsity seasons.

“The whole team misses Wick,” O’Mara said. “She comes up with the big goals for us, and she’s a big absentee from the season. She had a concussion in the summer and is just having post-concussion syndrome, and so we’ve erred on the side of caution with her, but we definitely have missed her scoring touch.”

With Wickenheiser unavailable, it appears that Lindenwood will go as far as Hensley can carry the team.

“Last year, a lot of people were talking about the way we ended the season, and almost criticizing us for having [her],” O’Mara said. “Well, we’re not going to apologize for having Nicole Hensley in goal. We’re going to pat ourselves on the back for getting her. That’s the type of goalie a new program needs to have. Where we’re at, we wouldn’t be even close to where we are headed if it wasn’t for [Hensley] and someone to build this program around. We’re very fortunate and happy to have her.”

A role as a cornerstone of a new program is one that Hensley has embraced.

“It’s something that maybe in five or 10 years when you look back on it and you look where this program is going to be in that time, to be able to say that you helped build this program from the start will be something very cool to see when they’re up there and competing with the top teams,” she said. “If I wasn’t going to go to a WCHA school, we still play Wisconsin and North Dakota and Mankato, obviously. We still play a heavy, heavy schedule of WCHA teams, which I think is awesome.”

Many of the opposing teams possess more offensive firepower, so it is a step up from a Lindenwood practice.

“You can see her making that timing adjustment, and she does that very well,” O’Mara said. “We can go a week or so with just seeing our team’s shots against, and then you face a team that’s got a lot of snipers, a lot of really hard-shooting players, and she does a great job of adjusting to that.”

Hensley welcomes that challenge as well.

“I think that’s why it is so good for us to play all the WCHA teams in the beginning of the year, because you do see those hard shots and everything and players that can place the puck wherever you want,” Hensley said. “I think I play better when the game is faster. The faster the shots, you have less time to think that way, and I think that actually makes it easier.”

As a sophomore, there are still aspects to Hensley’s game that she is trying to hone.

“I definitely think I’ve worked a lot on my glove this year to get it to be better and try to take away those shots upstairs,” she said. “If my rebound control is not there, I’ve got to be able to get to that second shot, so I try really hard to make sure that my pushes across are strong. I struggled a little bit at the beginning of the year finding the puck from the point on penalty kills and that sort of thing, but I’ve really worked to make sure I’m finding the puck from the point, and if I’m not, just trusting my positioning and just being sure of myself with where I am in the net.”

Second-chance saves are troublesome for all goaltenders, so it is an area where prevention can be more valuable than a cure.

“Her rebound control is nice,” O’Mara said. “If she’s not keeping that right there, she’s really good at getting the rebounds off to the corners and out of the dirty area for us. Going back a year ago, we would have so much trouble in that slot area because we weren’t as big and strong as a lot of the teams, and she really worked on that.”

Her coach says that she is very mature for her age, and one notices that immediately on the ice. She faces the shooters with confidence and is very vocal about communicating with her skaters, something that she’d like to increase even more.

“Not just the typical things you hear in a game, but anything I can do to help them out,” Hensley said.

Now that its nonconference schedule is complete, Lindenwood (2-18-2) would like to repeat a run similar to a year ago when it went 6-6-2 to close out the CHA slate.

“Myself, Cory [Whitaker], and [Samantha Ullrich] are really going to work hard on the system play and the team element of the play,” O’Mara said. “[Minnesota State] is a nice series to get going, and then we have two and a half, almost three weeks off to get ready for the next set of games. So it’s going to be a lot of time to focus on the little things and things that we identified that we need to work on. We’re hoping for a good finish like last year.”

Committee in place to pick the next WCHA commissioner

By Shane Frederick and Matt Wellens
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Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore is one of five members of a search committee that’ll select the next WCHA commissioner (photo: Jim Rosvold).

The WCHA has put together a five-member search committee and hired Parker Executive Search out of Atlanta to find a replacement for commissioner Bruce McLeod, who is retiring at the end of his contract on June 30.

The committee — which according to McLeod was initially established over the summer during meetings in Bemidji — includes Minnesota State president Richard Davenport, Ferris State president David Eisler, Michigan Tech athletic director Suzanne Sanregret, Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore and Alaska faculty athletic representative Dani Sheppard.

Davenport, who has been president at Minnesota State since 2002, is the chair of the WCHA board of directors. Eisler has been at FSU since 2003 and was appointed in June 2012 to the league’s steering committee, which was set up at the time to handle major issues.

Sanregret has been AD at Tech since 2005 and is the current chair of the WCHA management council. She was also the chair of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Management Council.

Serratore, who has been with the Beavers since 2001, represents the coaches.

Sheppard, an associate professor of psychology at Alaska-Fairbanks, has been at UAF for 15 years and was involved in the Nanooks’ move from the CCHA to the WCHA.

The position description for the next WCHA commissioner is posted online at ParkerSearch.com.

One person who will not be a member of the search for the next WCHA commissioner is McLeod, though the outgoing commish was not shy last month in an interview with USCHO about what the league should be looking for, even criticizing the NCHC’s initial hire of former U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Jim Scherr, who left before the league’s inaugural season.

“I would hope the person has some hockey background,” McLeod said.

“You have to wear a lot of hats. Nowadays it’s business, it’s marketing, it’s contracts. There’s a lot to it, but during the year, it’s about hockey stuff. You have to have a feel for hockey. I guess you could do it another way, but I handle all the discipline. How do you handle the discipline if you don’t have any background in it? There’s just a lot of hats to wear.”

Northern Michigan athletic director Forrest Karr echoed McLeod’s sentiments about the league needing to hire someone with a hockey background, but also touched on what made other college hockey commissioners so successful.

As the athletic director at Alaska from 2005 to 2012 and now as AD at NMU, Karr has worked with three different commissioners — Tom Anastos and Fred Pletsch in the CCHA and McLeod in the WCHA. In an interview with The Mining Journal, Karr highlighted an attribute of each that he’d like to see in the next commissioner.

“Tom had the unique ability to command a room and he created a great business plan for the CCHA,” Karr said. “Fred was great at getting the word out about the league and the accomplishments of our student-athletes.

“Bruce was great with relationships and he’s been fiscally sound,” Karr continued. “He was able to build relationships with other leagues that helped with scheduling and officiating.”

Michigan Tech’s Alex Petan (23) makes a move to get around Northern Michigan’s Brock Maschmeyer in an October game (photo: Adelle Whitefoot).

Michigan’s U.P. has rough December

Marquette, Houghton and Sault Ste. Marie got plenty of snow in December, but what hockey fans at Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech and Lake Superior State didn’t get were wins.

The Wildcats, Huskies and Lakers finished a combined 1-9-4 in the month of December, with LSSU’s 3-1 victory at Alaska-Anchorage being the lone triumph. The Lakers went 1-3 in December.

Northern finished 0-4 and is winless in its last six games at 0-5-1 heading into January. The Wildcats last win came Nov. 23 at home against Alabama-Huntsville. The skid coincides with the loss of senior defenseman and captain C.J. Ludwig, who was lost for the year in a Nov. 29 loss to No. 2 Ferris State.

Tech is also winless in its last six, having gone 0-2-4 in December, though it did score an unofficial shootout win over Michigan State in the Great Lakes Invitational semifinals before falling to Western Michigan in overtime of the GLI championship. Tech’s last win came Nov. 30 at Alaska.

Around the WCHA

• No. 2 Ferris State plays in the Mariucci Classic on Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis, hosted by No. 1 Minnesota. The Bulldogs open against Rensselaer on Friday while the Gophers play Colgate, leaving the door open for a matchup between the top two teams in the country on Saturday. The Bulldogs bring a nation-leading 15-game unbeaten streak to the Twin Cities. It also ties a school record.

• Bowling Green coach Chris Bergeron said Tuesday during his weekly news conference the chance of junior forward Ryan Carpenter playing this weekend at Alabama-Huntsville was “not great.” Carpenter broke his foot on Nov. 15 and while he was able to skate Monday, he missed Tuesday’s practice with soreness. After picking up a win and tie in Houghton against Michigan Tech before Christmas, Bergeron said he hoped to have Carpenter back after the break, but now the Falcons will have to wait and see if he’s ready to play at home against Alaska Jan. 10-11.

• Bergeron said on Tuesday that third-year sophomore forward Dajon Mingo is expected to return to the Falcons hockey program next season. Mingo, who redshirted his freshman year because he didn’t meet NCAA academic standards, is academically ineligible again this semester. He can practice but not play in games. Mingo had three goals and eight assists this season in 18 games.

• Northern Michigan senior forward Erik Higby is on track to return from a wrist injury this weekend when the Wildcats travel to Bemidji State. NMU also will add a pair of true freshman forwards in John Siemer and Gerard Hanson, who were both ineligible the first semester. Siemer played limited minutes for NMU on Dec. 14 at North Dakota. Hanson is the younger brother of former Wildcats forward Greger Hanson, both of Sweden.

• Minnesota State left Mankato on Wednesday for a 12-day trip to Alaska where they will play Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage on back-to-back weekends. The Mavericks, winners of seven games in a row after the holiday break, are much healthier for the second half. Senior defenseman Josh Nelson and freshman forward Michael Huntebrinker have been cleared to play, and sophomore defenseman Blake Thompson is eligible after sitting out a year after transferring from Minnesota. Freshman forward Zach Stepan will miss the Alaska series while playing for Team USA at the World Junior Championship and is scheduled to join the team in Anchorage on Monday.

• Bemidji State’s 3-3 tie with Alaska on Dec. 13 was its third consecutive draw, the first time that has happened in the program’s 58-year history (1,660 games). Six of the Beavers’ last nine games have gone into overtime, and they are 1-0-5 in those games (they’ve lost the three other games in that nine-game stretch). The program’s record for overtime games in a season is 15, set in 2002-03. The Beavers played in 12 overtime games a year ago, tying eight times.

• Alaska-Anchorage’s 8-8-2 record marks the program’s best 18-game start since it started 10-8 in 1999-2000. The Seawolves are 7-2-1 at home and 1-6-1 away from Anchorage. Coach Matt Thomas has the best 18-game start to a coaching stint at UAA in its Division I era. John Hill was 6-9-3, Dean Talafous was 5-11-2 and Dave Shyiak was 5-12-1.

• Stuck at just one win, Alabama-Huntsville is finding small victories. In a pair of nonconference losses at Wisconsin last weekend, the Chargers were a perfect 10-for-10 on the penalty kill. Goaltender Carmine Guerriero stopped 42 of 45 shots in Saturday’s 3-2 loss, marking the third time this season he has stopped more than 40 shots in a game.

• After dropping five games in a row and seven of eight between Nov. 2 and Dec. 6, Alaska is unbeaten in its last three (2-0-1) and will open the second half of the season with a home series against Minnesota State. The Nanooks will play 10 of their final 16 games at home.

• WCHA players of the week: Michigan Tech sophomore forward Alex Petan (offensive), Michigan Tech sophomore goaltender Pheonix Copley (defensive) and Bowling Green freshman goaltender Tomas Sholl (rookie).

Men’s Olympic squad for Sochi has strong NCAA foundation

USCHO Staff Report
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USA Hockey announced Wednesday the 25 players that will comprise the 2014 U.S. Winter Olympic men’s hockey team that will compete next month in Sochi, Russia.

The roster includes 13 former Olympians, a stark contrast to four years ago when the silver medal-winning team featured just three players with Olympic experience.

Twenty of the 25 players picked also played college hockey.

Among those selected with an Olympic pedigree are goaltender Ryan Miller (Michigan State), who was the MVP of the 2010 Olympics, and Patrick Kane, the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner who is currently second in the NHL scoring race with 53 points.

“We went through a very thorough process to get to today and could not be happier with the team we’ve selected,” said David Poile, Team USA general manager and also the GM and president of hockey operations for the NHL’s Nashville Predators, in a statement. “We’re fortunate to have probably the deepest talent pool we’ve ever had in our country and that made for some very difficult decisions. In the end, however, we’re confident we’ve selected a group of players that puts us in the best position to have success in Sochi.”

“We appreciate the work done by David [Poile] and all those involved in putting this roster together,” added USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean. “We look forward to what will be a great Olympics in Sochi, where hockey will be at the center of attention.”

Along with Miller and Kane, eight other forwards, two defensemen and one additional goaltender with Olympic experience punctuate the roster, highlighted by defenseman Ryan Suter (Wisconsin), who is logging an NHL-best 29:40 of ice time per game and was a Norris Trophy finalist last season, and Jonathan Quick (Massachusetts), who earned the 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy after helping the Los Angeles Kings to the Stanley Cup.

Player's NamePositionNHL TeamCollege Team
Jimmy HowardGDetroitMaine
Ryan MillerGBuffaloMichigan State
Jonathan QuickGLos AngelesMassachusetts
John CarlsonDWashington
Justin FaulkDCarolinaMinnesota-Duluth
Cam FowlerDAnaheim
Paul MartinDPittsburghMinnesota
Ryan McDonaghDNY RangersWisconsin
Brooks OrpikDPittsburghBoston College
Kevin ShattenkirkDSt. LouisBoston University
Ryan SuterDMinnesotaWisconsin
David BackesFSt. LouisMinnesota State
Dustin BrownFLos Angeles
Ryan CallahanFNY Rangers
Patrick KaneFChicago
Ryan KeslerFVancouverOhio State
Phil KesselFTorontoMinnesota
T.J. OshieFSt. LouisNorth Dakota
Max PaciorettyFMontrealMichigan
Zach PariseFMinnesotaNorth Dakota
Joe PavelskiFSan JoseWisconsin
Paul StastnyFColoradoDenver
Derek StepanFNY RangersWisconsin
James van RiemsdykFTorontoNew Hampshire
Blake WheelerFWinnipegMinnesota

Eleven returnees highlight U.S. women’s Olympic team

USCHO Staff Report
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Julie Chu will be making her fourth Olympic appearance for the United States national women’s team as USA Hockey announced Wednesday its 21-player roster for the 2014 Winter Olympics that start next month in Sochi, Russia.

All 21 members of the squad have college ties and every player has competed in an IIHF Women’s World Championship, including 18 who captured a gold medal last April to propel the United States to the No. 1 ranking in the world.

In addition to Chu (Harvard), the 10 additional players with Olympic experience on the U.S. roster include Kacey Bellamy (New Hampshire), captain Meghan Duggan (Wisconsin), Hilary Knight (Wisconsin), Jocelyne Lamoureux (North Dakota), Monique Lamoureux (North Dakota), Gigi Marvin (Minnesota), Brianne McLaughlin-Bittle (Robert Morris), Molly Schaus (Boston College) Kelli Stack (Boston College) and Jessie Vetter (Wisconsin), who all played in 2010.

“We’re excited to officially announce our roster,” said U.S. general manager and USA Hockey’s director of women’s hockey Reagan Carey in a news release. “We had some very tough decisions, but we’re confident that we have assembled 21 players that will help us achieve our goal of winning the gold medal. These players have fully dedicated themselves and have earned this opportunity. We’d also like to acknowledge and thank those players who did not make the team. They have contributed greatly to the advancement of the team.”

“Today is an important day for our team and we’re thrilled to continue our journey toward Sochi,” added Katey Stone, head coach for Team USA, and also head coach at Harvard. “We have a good blend of veterans and first-time Olympians and we’re excited about what lies ahead. We’re enthusiastic about our team and focused on getting better every day.”

The U.S. team will continue training and competing in the Boston area until departing for the Olympics on Feb. 1. The opening ceremonies are slated for Feb. 7, with Team USA’s first game taking place on Feb. 8 against Finland.

Player's NamePositionMost Recent TeamCollege Team
Brianne McLaughlin-BittleGBurlington (CWHL)Robert Morris
Molly SchausGBoston (CWHL)Boston College
Jessie VetterGOregon (GLHL)Wisconsin
Kacey BellamyDBoston (CWHL)New Hampshire
Megan BozekDMinnesotaMinnesota
Gigi MarvinDBoston (CWHL)Minnesota
Michelle PicardDHarvardHarvard
Josephine PucciDHarvardHarvard
Anne SchleperDBoston (CWHL)Minnesota
Lee SteckleinDMinnesotaMinnesota
Alex CarpenterFBoston CollegeBoston College
Kendall CoyneFNortheasternNortheastern
Julie ChuFMontreal (CWHL)Harvard
Brianna DeckerFWisconsinWisconsin
Meghan DugganFBoston (CWHL)Wisconsin
Lyndsey FryFHarvardHarvard
Amanda KesselFMinnesotaMinnesota
Hilary KnightFBoston (CWHL)Wisconsin
Jocelyne LamoureuxFNorth DakotaNorth Dakota
Monique LamoureuxFNorth DakotaNorth Dakota
Kelli StackFBoston (CWHL)Boston College

ECAC Hockey team trends and how they’ll impact the rest of the season

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Princeton and Dartmouth are playing from behind in the second half of the ECAC Hockey season (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).

My New Year’s resolution: No cheesy tropes in the column. On to the totally novel content format.

The past is present

Let’s take a look at how last year’s trends may influence ECAC Hockey’s future.

Brown is 1-5 on the road this year — all on one long road trip — but is 2-1-1 at home and 2-0 at neutral sites (the Prudential Center for both). Five of the Bears’ next seven games are on the road, and the home dates aren’t exactly cute ‘n fluffy, either. A deuce at Denver and Colorado College loom, followed by a visit from powerhouse Boston College in two weeks. Brown then takes another road trip, this time to the North Country, then plays a home-and-home with Yale. By the end of the month, we should have a much better perspective of exactly what kind of animal Brown really is.

Clarkson is 12-5-1, which is quite good. Looking closer, however, 11 of the Golden Knights’ wins — along with two losses and their sole tie — have come against teams that currently have .500 records or worse. That leaves Clarkson with … umm … oh, right, math … a 1-3 record against winning teams, with the lone win being a 3-2 home result against Cornell. This makes me worry that Clarkson may be more paper tiger than a surprise success; we’ll find out shortly, as the Knights face five winning teams and four losing ones before the month is out.

Colgate is 6-3 in one-goal games (including two-goal games borne of empty-net goals), but 7-9-2 overall. As investigated and dissected previously by yours truly, the Raiders are unlikely to keep up the winning string of tight games considering their 1-6 record otherwise. That said, Colgate is 4-2-2 away from home with four road games in five coming up, so who knows. Statistics!

Cornell is cleaning up at home (4-1-1) and against nonconference foes (also 4-1-1), but struggled on its only road swing of the league schedule (1-2-1). Five of the Big Red’s next seven league games are away from Lynah.

Dartmouth has played five home games and five on the road, with a win and four losses per category. Surprisingly, the Big Green have been outscored only 15-13 away from Thompson Arena in league play, but are being shellacked 26-12 by ECAC opponents on ostensibly familiar ice. Sure, there were three blowouts in close succession in early November, but the Green’s defensive corps and goalie carousel really seem to shrink under the gaze of friendly eyes (5.2 GAA, .812 save percentage at home versus ECAC Hockey competition).

Harvard has played an awful lot of tight games: The Crimson have scored three or more in a game only four times (3-0-1), and only twice since Halloween. The Crimson have allowed either two or three goals nine times (2-5-2), and have therefore played to seven one-goal games (2-5) and two ties. It’s a real testament to goalies Raphael Girard and Steve Michalek that the games have been so close, considering the Crimson give up a league-high 35 shots a game. With nine of Harvard’s 13 games going down to the wire, it’s tough to get a bead on how fortunate — or unfortunate — the team really is … but at least they’re battle-tested.

As noted in the post-holiday predictions post, Princeton is an unknown quantity … unless you’re trying to quantify man-games lost, which would nonetheless require an advanced degree in … addition, I suppose. One big issue regardless of manpower is Princeton’s inability to get a lead: The Tigers have scored first only three times in 17 games, and managed to take a lead into an intermission only once.

Quinnipiac is holding opponents to under 20 shots a game overall, by far the best mark in the league. Harvard (33 shots in a 3-2 QU win) and Union (30 shots in a 6-4 Dutchmen victory) are the only two teams — league or otherwise — to hit the 30-SOG mark against the Bobcats.

Rensselaer has outscored opponents 28-5 in first periods thus far and has been outscored 40-34 the rest of the way (including overtime). The Engineers have scored first a dozen times and held the lead at the first intermission 12 times as well; they have been in the hole only once after 20 minutes. Clearly, fast starts are no problem for the Engineers … the focus now must divert to the finish.

St. Lawrence has given up three goals or more in 14 of its last 16 games. The Saints were able to gloss over their defensive woes with big offensive numbers in the fall, but the liability has been brought into the light in four straight losses. SLU surrendered 44 goals in its nine losses (nearly five goals a game, for the mathematically deficient), while the big guns up front have failed to top three goals themselves a dozen times this season. The team’s collective GAA is 3.44 and save percentage is .865, and that’s without the four empty-netters against.

Union is blowing away the competition, scoring a full two goals per game more than their league opponents so far (4.11-2.11). The competition has been a reasonable balance of good and bad, but the Dutchmen have demonstrated an ability to play the run-and-gun game and the tight-checking defensive battle with equal aplomb. It’s a great time to be a Union fan, and the next month should give everyone a much better idea about the team’s national contender status as the Dutchmen play seven of eight games away from Messa Rink. Two of those games are at New Hampshire, one at Quinnipiac, a neutral-site tilt with rival RPI and a trip to the North Country. A Frozen Four-caliber club should secure five or six wins in that stretch.

Yale would be sitting pretty right now, if not for the unsightly blemish that is a home loss and draw against Dartmouth and Harvard, respectively, to close out the first half of the year. Cohesiveness — or maybe a delayed-action dose of Tryptophan — was the problem against the Big Green; Raphael Girard was the problem against Harvard. The Bulldogs are averaging a league-high 36 shots per game in league play, and the biggest difference between a good Yale team and a great one is the chutzpah of the Bulldogs forwards to get to the net and convert on some of the inevitable rebounds borne of those three-dozen shots. Only two of Yale’s next six games are against teams with a winning record, so January looks like prime real estate for the Bulldogs to lay some tracks.

Cornell’s Rodger Craig won the Florida College Hockey Classic with a shootout goal (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).

Big Red literally go the distance

Cornell pulled off another Florida College Hockey Classic championship last week, going more than 2,700 miles, six periods, one overtime and nine shootout rounds to do the deed.

“It was what you’d expect off of Christmas: We did some good things and we did some poor things,” said coach Mike Schafer. “In both nights we gave up the first goal, then we came back in both situations to get a win.”

Following the break, Schafer emphasized getting back to basics, and working the team back into shape after what tends to be a habit-shedding hiatus.

“It’s almost like another training camp,” he said, as the coaches add further nuances and wrinkles to the team’s systems as the players work back into playing form.

Cornell’s only true win of the weekend came in Game 1, when the Red fought out from under heavy New Hampshire pressure in the first period to ultimately shut down the Wildcats 4-2. Andy Iles stopped 44 shots, including 16 of 17 in the first frame to bolster his stunned support while it found its collective legs.

The tournament finale against Maine officially ended as a 1-1 draw, but with hardware on the line, the Black Bears and Big Red settled their claims with a shootout. Schafer was honest; he said he and his staff had no plan in advance for the shootout option.

“Uhh, none,” he grinned. “We did it on the bench [on the fly]. It was a collective effort on the bench, by goaltenders, other guys on the bench, and we had fun with it.”

The mano-a-mano exhibition went nine rounds deep, with the first players from each team scoring, then seven more rounds of saves and misses. Iles stopped Maine’s Josh Henke in the top of the ninth, as it were, before Rodger Craig salted the trophy away for the Red. Per Schafer, Craig demonstrates an affinity for the shootout after every practice, so it was only fitting that he shot the title-winner.

“It was good to see him get that opportunity to do it, and have success with it,” the coach said.

New Year’s resolutions vary around the Big Ten

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Minnesota could use better special teams play in the new year, while Wisconsin could use to win on the road (photo: Jim Rosvold).

In the spirit of the season I thought it would be interesting to take a look at each Big Ten team and make a New Year’s resolution for how they can get better.

Minnesota (12-2-2)

Resolution: Improve its special teams

It’s hard to get nitpicky about a team with a 12-2-2 record, but anyone who has attended a Gophers game this season or last knows that their power play has been pretty hard to watch at times.

This year, Minnesota is 12-for-77 with the extra man. That 15.58 percent clip is 40th out of the 59 teams in the country. St. Lawrence leads the country in power-play percentage with 29.03 percent.

Minnesota is second in the nation in team scoring, averaging almost four goals per game, so having a struggling power play hasn’t doomed it this season. However, come tournament time the Gophers will need goals with the extra man if they want to get back to the Frozen Four.

Minnesota could also shore up its penalty kill in the season’s second half. Though the Gophers don’t go to the box a whole lot, they average 11 penalty minutes per game (No. 43 in the nation) and their penalty kill ranks near the middle of the pack. Minnesota has killed 53 of its opponent’s 66 power plays this season. That 80.3 percent mark is good for No. 33 in the NCAA.

The Gophers special teams may work themselves out in the second half when their freshmen scorers, who have already had a great start to their college careers, gain more confidence working on special teams. Last year, Minnesota’s power play revolved around getting Nick Bjugstad a one-time shot from the left side of the net. This year, that is obviously not an option.

Wisconsin (10-5-1)

Resolution: Win on the road

The Badgers are winning at home, and that’s great, but there will be no postseason trophies awarded at the Kohl Center this year so winning away from Madison is a must.

Wisconsin is 9-0-1 at home this season, its best start at home since starting 12-0-1 in 1981-82. The school record for longest home unbeaten streak to start a season came in 1972-73, when the Badgers started 16-0 en route to a national championship. Wisconsin is 1-5 this season on the road.

Though their road mark looks bad, to fully understand it you have to look at the circumstances. Wisconsin got trounced by Boston College and Boston University on the road the first weekend that goaltender Joel Rumpel was hurt. They split on the road with Miami and were close to picking up a win in both games against Minnesota at Mariucci Arena but fell short.

Since getting swept at Mariucci, the team has rattled off six home wins against Penn State, Colorado College and Alabama-Huntsville. The Badgers’ next three series against Alaska-Anchorage, Michigan and Ohio State will be played at the Kohl Center.

The good thing about the Badgers’ second-half schedule is that they should be able to ride the momentum of their recent home wins to some road success. It also helps that they will face some of the conference’s lower teams on the road.

Michigan (10-4-2)

Resolution: Get out of its December funk

For the first couple months of the season, Michigan looked like the clear-cut team to rival Minnesota in the Big Ten, but December wasn’t kind to the Wolverines.

Michigan started off December by beating the Buckeyes and losing an exhibition game to the U.S. Under-18 Team. The Wolverines then tied a great Ferris State team 2-2. At the Great Lakes Invitational they lost 3-2 in overtime to Western Michigan and were shut out 3-0 by Michigan State.

The 1-2-1 mark isn’t bad, as long as Michigan doesn’t let it snowball into something more in January. Outdoor games are kind of a toss-up and we all know that coaches play exhibition games to not get injuries and not to win.

Michigan State (6-9-2)

Resolution: Give up fewer shots

Michigan State’s offense and defense are pretty even — the Spartans average 2.35 goals per game and give up 2.41. Jake Hildebrand and Will Yanakeff have faced a combined 525 shots this season and have given up 41 goals.

Though Hildebrand has been solid this season, if the Spartans want to start winning more games, they need to score more goals and give up fewer. The easiest way to accomplish the latter is to give up fewer shots.

Max McCormick and Ohio State are 1-3 in one-goal games this season (photo: Rachel Lewis).

Ohio State (10-6)

Resolution: Win more close games

Half of the Buckeyes’ six losses have been by one goal. All but one of Ohio State’s 10 wins has been by more than one goal. I translate that into a team that isn’t super confident in close games.

Ohio State’s overall record may look pretty good, but it is still relatively unproven in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes dropped their only two conference games of the season’s first half to Michigan, 4-3 and 5-4.

They open up the second half against Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin. That three-series stretch in January is bound to have a couple close games, and if the Buckeyes want to be a top-three seed in the Big Ten tournament they will have to win those close ones.

Penn State (4-10-1)

Resolution: Play better defense

I could have copied Michigan State’s resolution, but Penn State’s problem goes beyond giving up too many shots.

The Nittany Lions have the nation’s 53rd-ranked defense, giving up 3.93 goals per game. They also have the 40th-ranked penalty kill and are the 11th most-penalized team.

Even when Penn State wins, you can sometimes scrutinize its defense. The Nittany Lions gave up 41 shots to Robert Morris in the first game the two teams played. But in the other three wins Penn State gave up 26 shots to Army, 21 to Sacred Heart and 28 to Robert Morris at the Three Rivers Classic. This Penn State team can score, but it’s tough to need to put up so many goals every night.

Three stars of the week

First star — Michigan State sophomore goaltender Jake Hildebrand: The sophomore backstop saved 70 of the 72 shots he saw at the Great Lakes Invitational. Michigan State tied Michigan Tech in its first game but lost the shootout. The Spartans shut out Michigan 3-0 in the tournament’s third-place game. This is the second Big Ten weekly honor of the season for Hildebrand.

Second star — Ohio State junior forward Ryan Dzingel: Dzingel had one goal and four assists in Ohio State’s sweep of Mercyhurst. He leads the Big Ten with 23 points this season and is on a nine-game scoring streak. This is Dzingel’s first Big Ten weekly award of the season.

Third star — Ohio State junior forward Nick Oddo: Oddo also had one goal and four assists in the Buckeyes’ sweep of Mercyhurst. He has already set a career high with 14 points and 10 assists this season. This is his second Big Ten weekly award of the season.

Big Ten in the poll

Here’s how the Big Ten teams stand in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll.

No. 1 Minnesota (Last week — No. 1)

No. 7 Michigan (LW — No. 3)

No. 13 Wisconsin (LW — No. 14)

Ohio State received 12 votes, which was fifth highest out of the unranked teams.

This week’s matchups

Minnesota vs. Colgate and Ferris State/Rensselaer (Mariucci Classic, Friday and Saturday, Mariucci Arena)

Alaska-Anchorage at Wisconsin (Friday and Saturday, Kohl Center)

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. If you’re one that makes New Year’s resolutions, I hope that it works out. As a college senior halfway through his last semester, my 2013 resolution was to take more naps. In 2014 it will be to finally land a full-time job. Those two may, or may not, be directly correlated.

Bentley takes away plenty from Fenway experience, including an unbeaten streak

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Brett Gensler scored three times in Bentley’s win over Holy Cross at Fenway Park (photo: Melissa Wade).

Holiday time meant tournament time for several Atlantic Hockey teams. In case you missed it, the stretch between Christmas and New Year’s had it all: An outdoor game with conference points on the line, four tournaments, including two hosted by AHA schools (one of which included a league game) and three plain-old nonconference matchups.

Frozen Falcons

Playing at Fenway Park is a dream for most New Englanders but was reality for Bentley and Holy Cross as the schools opened the 2013-14 Frozen Fenway festivities last Saturday.

Falcons forward Brett Gensler was the star, scoring all three Bentley goals, including the game-winner with 11:53 to play as the Falcons topped the Crusaders 3-2.

“It’s something I’ll never forget,” said Gensler, a native of St. Charles, Mo., which is smack dab in the middle of (baseball) Cardinals Country. But even a Cards fan can look past last season’s World Series when in the heart of Red Sox nation.

“When we walked in [to the Red Sox clubhouse], we kind of all were taken aback by it a little bit,” said Gensler. “It’s something that not all of us get to experience. We’re from all different parts of the world. We have Canadians and those guys never get to see this kind of stuff either. It was really cool, a special experience and something we’ll be able to tell our kids about hopefully one day. The whole atmosphere tonight was awesome.”

Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist, a native of nearby Stoneham, Mass., made some lasting memories as well.

“It’s obviously something that’s pretty special, having grown up in Boston and having been here for Red Sox games in the stands,” he said. “It’s pretty fun to look out and see a hockey rink in the middle of the stadium and be able to take part in it. Dressing in the Red Sox clubhouse, using their facilities — it was a great experience for our guys and for anyone associated with the game, myself included.”

The win extended Bentley’s unbeaten streak to eight games heading into a weekend home series with Niagara. Gensler, who has 133 career points including 61 goals, is heating up after a slow start to his senior season. He has registered points in the Falcons’ last six games, scoring 12 points over that stretch after accumulating seven in his first 11 contests of the season.

“He’s been a solid player for us even if the statistics weren’t there at the beginning of the year,” said Soderquist. “He just kept getting hungrier and hungrier and kept hunting for goals all year. … In a game like this, you always look to your leaders and ask them to do what you know they can do. And he went out and elevated his game in the moment.”

Attendance at Fenway was 3,898, the largest number of fans ever to see the Falcons in a “home” contest. That bodes well for Bentley as it continues to consider possible alternatives to its current home, the John A. Ryan Skating Arena, which holds only 1,200.

“Obviously the growth of our league has been pretty amazing in the last few years here and in our program as well,” said Soderquist. “We’ve been trying to have a game here for the last few years, and it’s been kind of an uphill battle. The Red Sox giving us the opportunity to come in here shows the growth in the league and certainly we appreciate the opportunity. Hopefully it shows them we should be a staple in the lineup every year.”

It’s a cliche because it’s true

I hear it a lot from Atlantic Hockey league coaches: the fantastic parity in the conference, and how there’s not a lot of separation between the top and bottom of the standings.

This was again proven on Sunday, when Sacred Heart defeated host Connecticut 3-0 in the first round of the UConn Hockey Classic, played this year at XL Center in Hartford, a place the Huskies will call home next season.

This was poised to be a big tournament for the Huskies, who were looking to get by the Pioneers and face either No. 5 Quinnipiac or future Hockey East rival Massachusetts in the title game.

But behind three first-period goals and a perfect 29-save performance by goaltender Alex Vazzano, Sacred Heart picked up its fourth league win of the season and fifth overall.

On Monday, the Pioneers faced Quinnipiac in the championship but never got going offensively, mustering only 12 shots on net in a 5-0 loss to the Bobcats. Vazzano made 49 saves in defeat and was named the tournament’s MVP.

Also on Monday, UConn rebounded from its loss to the Pioneers, defeating UMass 2-1 in the consolation game. Freshman goaltender Robby Nichols, the heir apparent to senior Matt Grogan, picked up his second win of the season, stopping 37 of 38 shots.

Connecticut dreaming, on such a winter’s day

The Minutemen were the only non-Connecticut team in the tournament, as the fourth Nutmeg State team, Yale, was busy hosting the Russian Red Stars and Holy Cross last weekend.

The interest is strong for an annual tournament with a strictly Connecticut makeup if Yale enters the fold, according to the Hartford Courant. With the potential for a true state champion to be crowned among teams from three conferences, it’s something that hopefully Yale can get behind.

Air Force’s Mitch Torrel was named the MVP of the Ledyard National Bank Classic (photo: Den Mar Services).

‘This is our team’

According to Air Force coach Frank Serratore, he saw something in his Falcons that had been missing for a few games. They got their groove back last weekend, defeating No. 16 Northeastern and No. 5 Providence to capture the Ledyard National Bank Classic, hosted by Dartmouth.

“This is our team,” Serratore said after the Falcons handled Northeastern 5-2 in the first round, outshooting the Huskies 29-16. “We haven’t seen them for a while.”

Air Force came into the tournament 0-2-4 in its last six games before putting together a pair of great efforts, culminating in a 3-2 win over Providence on Monday. Goaltender Jason Torf made 29 saves in the title game, including 17 in the third period.

Senior forward Mitch Torrel was named tournament MVP for his three-goal performance. Torrel had not scored a goal in three previous seasons at Air Force, but now has five this season, tied for fourth-best on the team.

Tweet of the week

Bentley’s Gensler shows his loyalties before his Frozen Fenway hat trick.

 

USCHO weekly awards

Player of the week: Gensler is an easy choice, with all three Falcons goals in their 3-2 win over Holy Cross on the big stage.

Goalie of the week: Sacred Heart’s Vazzano, named MVP of the UConn Hockey Classic. He made 78 saves in two games, including a shutout against the host Huskies.

Rookie of the week: Goaltender Robby Nichols from Connecticut paced the Huskies to a 2-1 win over UMass in the consolation game.

The league picked the same three, but also offered Air Force’s Torrel and Torf as co-player and co-goalie, respectively.

My thanks to Bentley radio broadcaster and co-columnist Dan Rubin for documenting the reaction of Bentley players and coaches at Frozen Fenway. Based on his tweets, he made a lot of memories as well. On behalf of Dan, best wishes for 2014 and beyond.

Minnesota ends 2013 as top team in D-I men’s rankings

USCHO Staff Report
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The final USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll of the 2013 calendar year has Minnesota once again the top-ranked team in the country.

The Gophers, who were idle last weekend, received 37 first-place votes this week to retain the top spot.

Ferris State was also off last weekend and stayed at No. 2 with nine first-place nods, followed by No. 3 St. Cloud State, also idle, which also garnered a first-place vote. St. Cloud moved up one notch from the Dec. 16 poll.

Providence topped Dartmouth and rises one spot to No. 4. The Friars took the other three first-place votes.

Idle Union rounds out the top five, moving up one notch to No. 5.

Boston College jumps one spot to No. 6 with a Three Rivers Classic tournament win and victories over Bowling Green and Penn State.

At No. 7, Michigan is down four after losing to Western Michigan and Michigan State at the Great Lakes Invitational. Quinnipiac tied Massachusetts and remains eighth, Massachusetts-Lowell downed Canisius and Clarkson at the Catamount Cup and moves up one to No. 9, while Yale topped Holy Cross and goes from No. 11 to No. 10.

Clarkson fell to both Vermont and UML and drops two spots to No. 11, Miami was off and stays 12th, Wisconsin swept Alabama-Huntsville and is up one to No. 13, idle Notre Dame falls one to No. 14 and Cornell retains No. 15 with a win over New Hampshire and a tie against Maine.

Denver sat idle, but moves up one to No. 16, Northeastern lost to Air Force and falls one to No. 17, Lake Superior State was off and remains 18th and Nebraska-Omaha was idle and stayed at No. 19.

Vermont won the Catamount Cup with victories over Clarkson and Canisius and enters the rankings this week at No. 20.

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.

Codfish Bowl preview

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Massachusetts -Boston serves up a hearty portion of classic New England fare in hosting the seventh edition of the Codfish Bowl, beginning Thursday at the Clark Athletic Center Ice Arena.

Lake Forest, the defending champion, opted to stay at home this time around, thus guaranteeing a new victor for 2014.

The Beacons welcome first-time participant Connecticut College to the festivities, joining both Neumann and Stevenson. Coach Kristin Steele’s Camels are the lone squad with a winning record in the tournament, which has regularly been the domain of NESCAC participants.

The hosts, seeking their initial championship victory in the Codfish, have a 5-7 slate in the history of the tournament. The Beacons will kick off play in a matchup against Stevenson and one of the nation’s leading goal scorers in sophomore Mackenzie Taggart. In Thursday’s second tilt, the Camels tackle Neumann University.

Friday’s title contest begins at 4:00 p.m.

Our look.

Thursday, January 2

The Beacons defense will be up to task against Taggart and her teammates in the opener. Goaltenders Casey Schaejbe and Moe Bradley have both provided the Beacons with quality goaltending in the latter portion of 2013. Massachusetts-Boston over Stevenson

Connecticut College heads into the game with considerable advantages over the Knights. Neumann’s offensive exploits will be hard pressed to upend the strong Camels defensive scheme. Connecticut College over Neumann

Friday January 3

Consolation game: Stevenson’s offense trumps whatever the Knights can muster in response. Stevenson over Neumann

Championship: Significant victories over Colby and Southern Maine characterized a solid month of December for the Beacons. The Camels also headed into the break with the momentum in their favor, closing with a three-game winning streak. A tight, close-to-the vest, championship game is in store. Connecticut College over Massachusetts-Boston

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Thursday, January 2

Massachusetts- Boston (3-6-2 overall, 1-4-1 ECAC-East) vs. Stevenson University (3-7-1 Independent), 1:00 p.m.
Neumann University (2-8-0 overall, 1-5-0 ECAC-West) vs. Connecticut College (4-2-2 overall, 1-1-2 NESCAC), 4:00 p.m.

Friday, January 3

Consolation Game, 1:00 p.m., Championship Game, 4:00 p.m.

Team comparisons: (national rank)          Team offense                    Team defense
Massachusetts Boston                                  1.55 (41st)                            2.00 (15th)
Connecticut College                                       2.75 (18th)                           1.50 (6th)
Neumann                                                        1.50 (42nd)                          3.40 (42nd)
Stevenson                                                       2.45 (26th)                           3.55 (45th)

Leading scorers

Massachusetts-Boston: Katie Loiselle  (3-3-6), Neumann:  Meghan Power (2-4-6), Connecticut College: Olivia Farrell  (4-2-6), Stevenson: McKenzie Taggart (11-1-12)

Canada edges United States at World Juniors; U.S. gets Russia in quarterfinals

USCHO Staff Report
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The United States National Junior Team suffered a 3-2 setback Tuesday to Canada in the final preliminary round game of the World Junior Championship in Malmo, Sweden.

With the win, Canada finishes first in Group A.

[scg_html_wjc2014] Team USA finishes second and will face Russia at noon local time (6 a.m. EST) on Thursday, Jan. 2, in the quarterfinals.

“Both teams really competed from start to finish,” said U.S. coach Don Lucia (Minnesota) in a news release. “It was a well-played game. There was a lot of hard ice out there all night long. We certainly had our chances, but couldn’t get that tying goal. It was the first game we were minus in special teams and that ended up being the difference in the game.”

United States captain Riley Barber (Miami) and Stefan Matteau scored and goaltender Jon Gillies (Providence) made 21 saves in the loss.

The two teams battled to a scoreless opening period despite the United States controlling the play and holding a 13-6 edge in shots on goal.

Team USA broke through for the first goal of the contest when Barber scored a shorthanded marker at 3:29 of the second period.

Nic Petan tied the game for Canada at 12:19 of the second period and then the Canadians opened a 3-1 lead in the third period after two power-play goals in the first 6:13 of the frame.

Matteau pulled the U.S. within a goal at 17:15 of the final stanza when he took a pass from Hudson Fasching (Minnesota) just inside the offensive blue line and scored on a wrist shot from between the circles.

Barber was named the U.S. player of the game.

TMQ: When winning isn’t enough at a regular season tournament

By Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski
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Massachusetts-Lowell’s victories over Clarkson and Canisius weren’t enough to win a title last weekend (photo: Melissa Wade).

Here’s our weekly look at big events and big issues around Division I men’s college hockey.

Todd: In the last few days we’ve seen some teams crowned as champions of holiday tournaments, and most of those events did it the old-fashioned way by matching the first day’s winners in a championship game. In Vermont, however, Massachusetts-Lowell left the Catamount Cup with a pair of victories but without the trophy.

The host Catamounts didn’t have to play their Hockey East counterparts but took the title because they scored more goals in wins over Clarkson and Canisius than the River Hawks did. Is it too much to ask of a tournament to be decided in a tournament format?

Jim: I will say that I don’t really like predetermined matchups in tournaments. I totally understand why Vermont did as such — it didn’t want to face a Hockey East team that it’ll have to face again in the regular season. But it certainly made for a strange situation where Kevin Sneddon called timeout while leading 5-2, trying to figure out how to score goal No. 6.

Same, for me, goes for shootout in tournaments. I understand coaches don’t want to play extremely long overtime games in the regular season but there is just so much more excitement to me for overtime, double overtime, triple overtime, etc., games than shootouts provide. I’ve never been a fan of deciding a championship in an individual skills competition. Do you like or dislike shootouts used for regular-season tournaments?

Todd: I’m all for shootouts to decide the third-place game, but I think when you’re playing for a championship, even if it’s just a holiday tournament championship, you should play like they’re playoff games.

And that’s coming from someone who’s not against shootouts at all. I just think the championship of the Great Lakes Invitational, where Western Michigan beat Michigan Tech in overtime, was a better way to decide things than the Florida College Hockey Classic, in which Cornell beat Maine in a shootout.

Since I mentioned Western Michigan, it was a pretty impressive weekend for the Broncos, who beat then-No. 3 Michigan 3-2 in overtime in the semifinals (before the game could get to a shootout) and then outlasted Michigan Tech 1-0 in overtime in the championship game. Three of the four games in that tournament went beyond regulation time, giving all of those outside at Detroit’s Comerica Park a little extra to watch. The Broncos still have a lot of work to do to get back in the NCHC race, but it was a good start to the second half.

Jim: I admit I had pretty high expectations for Western Michigan this season that, to date, the team hasn’t lived up to at all. After being idle this weekend, the Broncos will get a strong NCHC test right away against Miami, so we’ll possibly have an indication whether this team is ready for a second-half run.

You mentioned the GLI and it being outdoors this year at Comerica Park. So continues the annual outdoor game season. I remember the day when these games were special. Last week, less than 4,000 people came out to watch Bentley and Holy Cross at 38,000-plus-seat Fenway Park. This weekend, Hockey East’s premier Frozen Fenway matchups may face up to 20 inches of snow. At the same time, rumors have it that ticket sales at Fenway for the Hockey East games (sellouts in the past) have been less than brisk. Are we at the point that maybe even the fans are ready to admit that these outdoor games have become passé? I got a lot of flak for saying that two years ago during the last Frozen Fenway. But at this point I just wish hockey would be played indoors. Maybe I am the college hockey Scrooge.

Todd: Hey, I’m right there with you. I can see the charm in a first-time location but the Fenway thing is a been-there, done-that kind of thing. And by playing outdoors on a temporary rink that’s probably going to need some repair work that’ll delay the game, what you’re telling me is that the spectacle is more important than the game. To me, that’s not the right approach.

Before we wrap up, I wanted to mention the World Junior Championship. The Americans are 3-0 heading into Tuesday’s game against Canada, a game that’ll decide which team wins the group. Are you surprised at the results so far for the U.S., which returned just three players from last year’s gold medal-winning team?

Jim: I don’t think any results ever surprise me in the World Juniors simply because you never know what type of chemistry that a team — even a team of talented, young superstars — will develop in such a short period of time.

I give Jim Johannson and the USA Hockey staff a lot of credit in identifying the talent and developing the chemistry that they have in recent years. This tournament was completely irrelevant in the U.S. less than a decade ago. Today, most college hockey fans follow the results closely (if not watch the games on NHL Network if their schedule allows). That is a significant stride not just for this tournament but for hockey in the United States.

Todd: As for hockey that’s being played back in the U.S. this week, there’s a chance we’ll see a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 matchup in the Mariucci Classic if No. 1 Minnesota and No. 2 Ferris State both get the same result in their semifinal games Friday. The Bulldogs held their own against Michigan a few weeks ago; I’ll be interested to see if they do the same against the Gophers. What stands out to you on this week’s schedule?

Jim: The other two teams in the Mariucci — Colgate and Rensselaer — makes this a good tournament field. One interesting series this week will take place in Lowell, where the River Hawks will play two against Clarkson. The two teams just played one another in the Vermont tournament, making this three straight these two top teams will play. And even though I have criticized the venue for Frozen Fenway, there is little doubt that the Boston College-Notre Dame rivalry with league points on the line will be a great game to watch.

Former Hobey Baker winner Fusco to head up charity game against USA Warriors

USCHO Staff Report
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Scott Fusco, a member of the 1984 and 1988 U.S. Olympic hockey teams and the 1986 Hobey Baker winner while playing at Harvard, will join other hockey Olympians to play the USA Warriors in an exhibition game on April 9 at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass. The USA Warriors is a team of combat-wounded and service-disabled military members and veterans with two teams, one standing and one on sleds. The standing team will be the one that plays the local Olympians, while the sled team will play an intrasquad scrimmage prior to the standing team’s game with the Olympians. Net proceeds of the event will go to One Fund Boston and the Travis Roy Foundation, as well as to the USA Warriors Ice Hockey Program.

Holiday NCAA Tournament Trivia

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I know that it is traditional to spy on coaches’ requests to Santa Claus at this point of the year, but recent events suggest that a few programs would not be too receptive to me pilfering correspondence that originated within the athletic department, so during the extra time between wrapping and opening packages I stuck to information that is already in the public domain.

Twitter has become a popular venue for some coaches — along with millions of other people. To find coaches’ tweets to Santa, I’d have to wade through thousands begging for an elusive Zoomer the Robotic Dog in order to find one request for a sniper that can make goal lights glow like Rudolph’s nose. Even Jimmy Fallon needs facial expression and involvement from The Roots to make such messages entertaining. #Notinthemood.

So I’m just going to turn to more trivial matters, like hockey trivia. Perhaps in the future, we’ll attempt to cover more ground, but for today, we’ll confine our domain to questions relating to the NCAA National Collegiate Tournament.

1. How many different programs have competed in at least one NCAA Tournament?

 

2. What conference has had the most members reach at least one NCAA Tournament, and how many of its members have done so?

 

3. If everything goes according to schedule, how many different cities will have played host to an NCAA Frozen Four by the time the 2018 tournament is complete?

 

4. The winning goaltenders in the 13 NCAA Championship games played to date originated from how many unique countries?

 

5. Name at least five players that have reached the NCAA Tournament with multiple programs.

 

6. Who scored the winning goal in the longest game in NCAA Tournament history?

 

7. What is the largest deficit overcome by the winning team in an NCAA Tournament game?

 

8. Which player scored game-winning goals in the NCAA Championship game in back-to-back seasons?

 

9. What team has appeared in the most consecutive NCAA tournaments?

 

10. What program has competed in the greatest number of Frozen Fours?

 

11. Which program has triumphed in overtime more than any other in NCAA Tournament play?

 

12. On the other side of the coin, which squad has had its season end in OT in the NCAA Tournament the most times?

 

13. Most likely everyone knows that Minnesota-Duluth has won the most NCAA Tournament titles, but do the Bulldogs also hold the mark for most games won in NCAA Tournament history?

 

14. What is the record for the most goals scored by a player in a single NCAA Tournament game?

 

15. How many programs have reached the tourney under multiple head coaches?

 

16. Who holds the record for the quickest goal to start an NCAA Tournament game?

 

17. Name at least five sister acts to reach the NCAA Tournament on the same roster. Also, identify a pair of sisters that opposed each other in NCAA Tournament play.

 

18. Identify the person who has experienced the women’s NCAA Tournament as both a player and a head coach.

 

19. What goalie holds the record for most saves in a championship game?

 

20. Who is the only person named Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player for a team that did not win the championship?

 

 

No peeking

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I’m serious now!

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.

…

 

OK, here are the answers.

1. The answer is 17. They are, according to the year of their first participation, Dartmouth (2001), Harvard (2001), Minnesota-Duluth (2001), St. Lawrence (2001), Brown (2002), Minnesota (2002), Niagara (2002), Wisconsin (2005), Mercyhurst (2005), Providence (2005), New Hampshire (2006), Princeton (2006), Boston College (2007), Boston University (2010), Clarkson (2010), Cornell (2010), and North Dakota (2012).

 

2. ECAC Hockey has had seven of its 12 members advance to the NCAA tourney.

 

3. Nine different cities will have hosted the Frozen Four by the time play has wrapped up in 2018. They are: Minneapolis, Minn.; Durham, N.H.; Duluth, Minn.; Providence, R.I.; Lake Placid, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.; Erie, Pa.; Hamden, Conn.; and St. Charles, Mo.

 

4. Winning goalies have hailed from five different countries: Finland, Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, and Germany. U.S. born goaltenders have backstopped six titles, and Finnish netminders have earned three.

 

5. Some examples of whom I am aware are: Rachael Drazan (Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota); Johanna Ellison (Boston College and Minnesota-Duluth); Brittony Chartier (Minnesota and St. Lawrence); Anna McDonald (Boston College and Harvard); Jen Wakefield (New Hampshire and Boston University); Geena Prough (Mercyhurst and Wisconsin); Jocelyne Lamoureux (Minnesota and North Dakota); and Monique Lamoureux (Minnesota and North Dakota).

 

6. Jinelle Zaugg broke a scoreless tie at 7:09 of the fourth overtime to lift Wisconsin over Harvard on March 10, 2007.

 

7. In a quarterfinal on March 10, 2012, Cornell yielded the first three goals to Boston University before rallying to win a crazy game, 8-7, on Laurianne Rougeau’s game winner at 19:50 of the third OT.

 

8. Natalie Darwitz of Minnesota scored the deciding goals in victories over Harvard in both 2004 and 2005.

 

9. Mercyhurst first reached the tournament in 2005, and the Lakers have been back every season since for a still-active streak of nine straight NCAA tourneys.

 

10. Minnesota has reached the national semifinal round on nine occasions.

 

11. UMD has won in OT four times.

 

12. Overtime has been cruel to Mercyhurst in four different years; the Lakers finally enjoyed their first win beyond regulation in March.

 

13. No. Having won 16 games, Wisconsin edges out both UMD and Minnesota at 15 for that distinction.

 

14. Four. Nicole Corriero of Harvard accomplished the feat versus Mercyhurst on March 19, 2005. Minnesota’s Bobbi Ross matched it against New Hampshire the next season.

 

15. The answer is four or five, depending on how one views it. Dartmouth, Minnesota, St. Lawrence, and Boston College have advanced under different regimes, while Clarkson had co-head coaches Shannon and Matt Desrosiers.

 

16. Jenelle Kohanchuk of BU scored 13 seconds into the Terriers’ win over Mercyhurst on March 22.

 

17. Those that I remember are: Winny and Chelsey Brodt of Minnesota (2003); Stefanie and Julia Marty of New Hampshire (2008); Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux of Minnesota (2009) and North Dakota (2012, 2013); Katherine and Margaret Chute of Harvard (2010); Karlee and Amber Overguard of Cornell (2010, 2011); Brooke and Brittany Ammerman of Wisconsin (2011, 2012); Alev and Derya Kelter of Wisconsin (2011); Bailey and Shelby Bram of Mercyhurst (2012); Elizabeth and Mary Parker of Harvard (2013). Tracy Catlin of Harvard and Dartmouth’s Amy Catlin opposed each other in the third-place game in 2001.

 

18. Clarkson coach Shannon Desrosiers played for St. Lawrence in the inaugural tournament in 2001. Others like Julie Chu, Caroline Ouellette, Laura Slominski, and Natalie Darwitz have been behind the bench as assistants in addition to playing in the event.

 

19. Amanda Mazzotta of Cornell made 61 stops in a losing effort in a triple-overtime game versus UMD in 2010. Jennifer Harss saved 49 shots in earning the win in that championship.

 

20. Senior forward Kristy Zamora of Brown in 2002.

 

 

Two wins can’t take Catamount Cup for Lowell; Vermont’s last second goal breaks tie

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When is two wins not enough to win a holiday tournament? Just ask the Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks. That leads off the three things I learned this weekend:

1) Two wins but not enough goals denies Catamount Cup for Lowell

UMass Lowell seemingly took care of business this past weekend at the Catamount, beating Canisius, 5-2, and Clarkson, 3-1. But that wasn’t enough to take home the tournament championship. The only tournament this year that used a predetermined field, Lowell did not face Vermont, which beat Clarkson, 3-2, in Saturday’s opener, in what would be a true championship game scenario. Thus, both the River Hawks and Catamounts wound up with two wins apiece. The tournament’s tie breaker if teams were tied was the overall number of goals scored, not goal differential as is often used in international tournaments where there is a round robin to open. So when Vermont’s Jake Fallon scored with just two seconds left in Sunday’s final game, the Catamounts had a 6-2 victory and nine total goals, one more than the runner-up River Hawks. Still, come season’s end, both Lowell and Vermont will be more than happy to come out of this weekend with two victories.

2) Maine doesn’t lose but still can’t take home Florida title

Lowell wasn’t the only team without a loss this weekend that didn’t win their tournament. After a 4-0 win over Princeton in the semifinals of the Florida College Classic, the Black Bears tied Cornell, 1-1, in the final. That led to a shootout that went nine rounds before Cornell finally scored the game-winner. Which leads me to another pet peeve about holiday tournaments: Why, when a trophy is on the line, can’t teams play unlimited overtimes? It’s certainly exciting for the fans who can wait for the dramatic championship-winning goal. I understand coaches might like the idea of knowing a game will be over after 65 minutes, but a shootout will never be my preferred way of determining a champion.

3) Thus far, a good weekend for Hockey East

The holiday tournaments will continue through tonight, but thus far Hockey East teams have impressed. With UMass, Northeastern and Providence still to play tonight, Hockey East is a combined 8-2-2 in non-conference holiday tournament play. Boston College and Vermont both captured holiday tournament titles, while Providence and will take on Air Force tonight for the title at the Ledyard Bank tournament at Dartmouth. The one place Hockey East hasn’t had success is in the aforementioned shootouts. In addition to Maine dropping a shootout against Cornell, UMass lost to Quinnipiac in a shootout and thus will face Connecticut in the consolation game of the UConn Holiday Classic.

Cornell brings home some holiday hardware

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 It will go down as a tie on the schedule, but Cornell won its first Florida College Hockey Classic since 2008 thanks to Rodger Craig’s goal in the ninth round of the shootout.

The Big Red played to a 1-1 tie against Maine before heading to the shootout. Cornell appeared to have the title locked up last year, but blew a three-goal lead over the Black Bears in an eventual 6-4 defeat.

That loss started a skid that essentially doomed Cornell’s season; the Big Red won only one of their next ten games before rallying over the final weeks.

Cornell got to this year’s championship by beating New Hampshire 4-2 in the opening night of the tournament.  Senior goalie Andy Iles was named to the all-tournament team after stopping 76-of-79 shots on the weekend.

Iles was joined on the team by Florida native Brian Ferlin, forward Dustin Mowrey, and defenseman Kirill Gotovets.

Elsewhere, Quinnipiac will face Sacred Heart in the championship game of the UConn Hockey Classic after beating Massachusetts in a shootout, while Dartmouth plays Northeastern in the consolation game of the Ledyard Bank Classic in Hanover.

Yale bounces back

The Bulldogs were the only ECAC team to play a non-tournament game this weekend, beating Holy Cross 4-1 in New Haven Saturday night. It was a good start to the second half for Yale, who lost to Dartmouth and tied Harvard on the final weekend before the holiday break.

Yale got several key players back from injuries, with forwards Jesse Root and Anthony Day playing for the first time since November. Both players recorded a point in their returns, with Root picking up an assist on Kenny Agostino’s first-period goal, while Day scored the eventual game winner early in the second.  The Bulldogs are at Vermont this Saturday, and then face Harvard Jan. 11 at Madison Square Garden in the inaugural Rivalry on Ice matchup.

Golden Knights get swept

Clarkson lost only three times over the season’s first two-and-half months. The Golden Knights almost matched that total this weekend, losing to Vermont and Massachusetts-Lowell at the Catamount Cup. Clarkson outshot the Catamounts on Saturday, but only managed 19 shots on goal in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to UMass-Lowell.  There’s certainly no reason to panic – the Golden Knights have two weekends of non-conference games to work out any issues before heading back into league play.

 

What do we know about the Big Ten today? Well, we are thankful for the Badgers and the Buckeyes.

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In the 18 years that I covered the CCHA for USCHO.com, I extolled the virtues of those teams who defended the realm, especially at midseason. The team that did this often in delightful and unexpected ways was Ferris State, the underrated heroes of the CCHA and the team that may currently be the most under-the-radar nationally.

But I digress, something else with which fans of the former CCHA are familiar.

This week, let’s sing the praises of the two teams that defended the New Realm, look at the one team that came a shootout away from the opportunity to do so and check in with — gently — the two teams that need to reexamine a few things before launching into full-on Big Ten play.

1. The Defenders of the New Realm, the Badgers and the Buckeyes.

Let’s face it. Both Wisconsin and Ohio State should have swept Alabama-Huntsville and Mercyhurst, respectively. Nothing is a sure bet, though, so that both the Badgers and Buckeyes each took two nonconference games this weekend is significant and will boost their confidence heading into the second half of the season.

And let’s face it: Ohio State’s two-game sweep of a hot Mercyhurst says a bit more than Wisconsin’s two wins over Alabama-Huntsville. The Badgers beat the Chargers 5-0 in their first contest but led 2-1 going into the third period of the 3-2 win and scored the game-winner late in the game before allowing an empty-net goal.

In their 6-3 win, the Buckeyes were tied with the Lakers going into the third and netted three goals within a two-minute span in the third to take over the game. They scored three within four minutes of the third period in their 7-2 win.

Thank you, Wisconsin and Ohio State.

2. The team that almost did, Michigan State.

Were it not for the shootout that propelled Michigan Tech over Michigan State in the first game of the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament, the Spartans would have played Western Michigan for midseason hardware. It was MTU’s Ryan Furne in the fifth round of the shootout that gave the Huskies the chance to defend their GLI title, an ending that seemed a bit unfair for Michigan State goaltender Jake Hildebrand, who made 41 saves in the contest.

Hildebrand found some sweetness the following night in the consolation game, a 3-0 victory over arch-rival Michigan. It was the first shutout of the season for the sophomore and the third of his career.

While the Spartans have a way to go, they’ve proven repeatedly that they are a tenacious, disciplined, determined and scrappy team. Although they didn’t win the GLI, they will undoubtedly feel confident heading into the second half of the season — and they should.

3. The teams that did not, the Nittany Lions and the Wolverines.

I nearly put the Nittany Lions in with the team that almost did, as Penn State defeated Robert Morris in the first round of the Three Rivers Classic and played in that tournament’s title game. The Nittany Lions also scored the first and last goals of that championship game, early in the first and late in the second … and allowed eight in between those two markers. True, they played Boston College and the Eagles can do that to pretty much anybody on any given night. True, the Nittany Lions came from behind to defeat Robert Morris in the first round.

It is also true, though, that Penn State was absolutely exposed by a far better team. The Nittany Lions put up 62 shots on goal against Robert Morris — 62! — but the Nittany Lions and Eagles each had 33 shots in Saturday’s 8-2 game.

To say that the Nittany Lions are still figuring things out would be an understatement. I’m not being unkind. It’s their first season affiliated with a league and playing a completely Division I schedule. They just have a few things to learn.

The Wolverines, though, are a team that should know better. No Michigan fans should be making excuses for this team. It doesn’t matter who they lose to the World Juniors. It doesn’t matter who’s in net, as both Zach Nagelvoort and Steve Racine are very good.

While anyone can beat anyone on any given night, the Badgers, the Buckeyes and the Eagles proved the old adage that good teams find ways to win. At the GLI, the Wolverines did not — and now they have something to contemplate, too.

P.S.

I dislike outdoor games for all kinds of reasons. That should not surprise you if you have been reading me on a regular basis.

This year, I skipped the GLI not because it was outdoors, but because I needed a break. I received a bit of email from folks wondering where I was. It wasn’t a slight to the tournament or the field; I was simply exhausted, having arrived back in Michigan from seeing family the day before and needing the rest so that I can be ready for the second half of the season as well as my teaching duties for winter semester at Mott Community College. I am hoping to cover the GLI next season.

And for a venue where the official attendance was listed in the twenty thousands, Comerica Park looked awfully empty to me.

Rankings roundup: How ranked teams fared, Dec. 16-29

USCHO Staff Report
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Mike Hastings and No. 20 Minnesota State are off to Alaska this weekend after losing in overtime to the U.S. National Junior Team on Dec. 17 (photo: Jim Rosvold).

Here’s how the 20 teams in the Dec. 16, 2013, USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll fared in games from Dec. 16 to Dec. 29:

No. 1 Minnesota did not play. Record: 12-2-2. Next: vs. Colgate, Jan. 3; vs. Rensselaer or Ferris State, Jan. 4.

No. 2 Ferris State did not play. Record: 14-2-3. Next: vs. Rensselaer, Jan. 3; vs. Colgate or Minnesota, Jan. 4.

No. 3 Michigan lost to Western Michigan 3-2 on Friday, lost to Michigan State 3-0 on Saturday. Record: 10-4-2. Next: at Wisconsin, Jan. 10-11.

No. 4 St. Cloud State did not play. Record: 11-2-3. Next: vs. U.S. Under-18 Team, Jan. 4.

No. 5 Providence won at Army 4-1 on Dec. 20, won at Dartmouth 3-2 on Sunday. Record: 13-2-3. Next: vs. Air Force, Dec. 30; vs. Merrimack, Jan. 4.

No. 6 Union did not play. Record: 12-3-3. Next: at Quinnipiac, Jan. 10; at Princeton, Jan. 11.

No. 7 Boston College beat Bowling Green 5-0 on Friday, beat Penn State 8-2 on Saturday. Record: 12-4-2. Next: vs. Notre Dame, Jan. 4.

No. 8 Quinnipiac tied Massachusetts 2-2 on Sunday. Record: 13-3-4. Next: vs. Sacred Heart, Dec. 30; vs. Maine, Jan. 3.

No. 9 Clarkson lost at Vermont 3-2 on Saturday, lost to No. 10 Massachusetts-Lowell 3-1 on Sunday. Record: 12-5-1. Next: at Massachusetts-Lowell, Jan. 3-4.

No. 10 Massachusetts-Lowell beat Canisius 5-2 on Saturday, beat No. 9 Clarkson 3-1 on Sunday. Record: 13-5. Next: vs. Clarkson, Jan. 3-4.

No. 11 Yale beat Russian Red Stars 6-3 on Friday (exhibition), beat Holy Cross 4-1 on Sunday. Record: 7-3-3. Next: at Vermont, Jan. 4.

No. 12 Miami did not play. Record: 9-7-2. Next: vs. U.S. Under-18 Team, Dec. 31.

No. 13 Notre Dame did not play. Record: 10-7-1. Next: vs. Boston College, Jan. 4.

No. 14 Wisconsin beat Alabama-Huntsville 5-0 on Friday, beat Alabama-Huntsville 3-2 on Saturday. Record: 10-5-1. Next: vs. Alaska-Anchorage, Jan. 3-4.

No. 15 Cornell beat New Hampshire 4-2 on Saturday, tied Maine 1-1 on Sunday. Record: 8-4-3. Next: vs. Russian Red Stars, Jan. 3 (exhibition).

No. 16 Northeastern won at Vermont 3-0 on Dec. 17, lost to Air Force on Sunday. Record: 10-6-2. Next: at Dartmouth, Dec. 30; vs. Massachusetts, Jan. 4.

No. 17 Denver won at Massachusetts 5-3 on Dec. 17. Record: 10-6-3. Next: vs. Brown, Jan. 3.

No. 18 Lake Superior State did not play. Record: 10-7-1. Next: vs. Michigan Tech, Jan. 3-4.

No. 19 Nebraska-Omaha did not play. Record: 8-7-1. Next: at New Hampshire, Jan. 3-4.

No. 20 Minnesota State lost to the U.S. National Junior Team 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 17. Record: 11-7. Next: at Alaska, Jan. 3-4.

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