Still, on a weekend where every game has a season on the line, there are some games that loom just a little larger, some matchups that are just a bit more intriguing. With Saturday's conference championship games a bit obvious as games to watch - not to mention the participants being unknown as of yet - here are three conference semifinal games to keep an eye on.
HOCKEY EAST SEMIFINAL - No. 19 Maine vs. No. 20 Boston University
In February, after his Boston College team won the Beanpot in its 250th game against BU, Eagles head coach Jerry York spoke of BU and BC bringing out the best in each other, and expressed hope that the two schools would play again this season. If the Terriers can beat the Black Bears and BC can beat Vermont, that's exactly what will happen. The more immediate matter, though, is that this game will end the season for one of the two teams, as inconsistency during the year has left both the Terriers and Black Bears needing the Hockey East title to advance to the NCAA tournament.
With neither team among the top half of the nation in scoring defense and Maine the No. 4 offensive team in the country (BU is 14th), look for this to be a high-powered offensive shootout, with national scoring leader Gustav Nyquist (18g, 41a) looking to lead the way for the Black Bears against a BU team that will look for big blueline contributions for Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen, with player like Nick Bonino, Zach Cohen and Chris Connolly up front.
CCHA SEMIFINAL - No. 2 Miami vs. No. 17 Michigan
The RedHawks have played as well as anyone in the country over the course of the season, The Wolverines have been as good as anyone over the last two weeks. As a result, Michigan needs to win the Mason Cup to go on to the NCAA tournament, while Miami is looking to potentially collect the top overall seed.
With Michigan having scored 21 goals in its four playoff wins and Miami boasting two of the nation's top goaltenders in Connor Knapp and Hobey Baker finalist Cody Reichard, it would seem appropriate to deem this game a classic offense vs. defense battle. To do so, however, would not be fair to a Miami team that is ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense, getting major contributions from the likes of Jarod Palmer, Carter Camper, Tommy Wingels and Andy Miele, among others. And, while Michigan has turned heads with its offense, the Wolverines have only allowed six goals in their four playoff games, rallying around backup goaltender Shawn Hunwick following an injury to Bryan Hogan.
WCHA SEMIFINAL - No. 1 Denver vs. No. 5 North Dakota
The Fighting Sioux have performed their annual phoenix-like rise from the ashes of the first half of the season, and may be the team the Pioneers least wanted to see in a WCHA semifinal (to give no disrespect to Wisconsin or St. Cloud). Their balanced scoring makes them difficult to defend, and they boast the No. 3 scoring defense in the nation, limiting the chances against sophomore goaltender Brad Eidsness, who ranks No. 6 nationally in goals-against average.That said, Denver has its own defensive rock in Hobey Baker finalist goaltender Marc Cheverie, who ranks first nationally in save percentage and third in goals-against average.
Goals will likely be hard to come by in this one, and it's a question of whether North Dakota's exceptionally balanced attack or Denver's offesnive unit - led by Hobey Baker finalist Rhett Rakhshani - will get the better of the game.
THE MATCHUPS:
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
RIT vs. Canisius
Sacred Heart vs. Air Force
CCHA
Miami vs. Michigan
Ferris State vs. Northern Michigan
ECAC HOCKEY
Cornell vs. Brown
Union vs. St. Lawrence
HOCKEY EAST
Boston College vs. Vermont
Boston University vs. Maine
WCHA
Denver vs. North Dakota
Wisconsin vs. St. Cloud State
The Brown Bears haven't made an NCAA tournament since 1993, when current first-year head coach Brendan Whittet was on the ice as a defenseman in his junior season.
The history of the two programs may be dramatically different - and the experience of their two head coaches even more so - but for both Berenson's Wolverines and Whittet's Bears, the situation heading into this weekend's CCHA Championship at Detoit's Joe Louis Arena and ECAC Hockey Championship at the Times Union Center in Albany is exactly the same: Win two games, and you keep on playing. Lose once, and have a nice summer.
And after a rough regular season in both Ann Arbor and Providence, that puncher's chance is a welcome development.
"I think sometimes you take for granted that you're going to be there," Berenson said of the Joe, "but this season was where you really appreciate it. Our team feels very fortunate to be in a position where we're going to Joe Louis."
"They definitely believe in what we're trying to do," Whittet said of his players. "We're going up the to win a championship. We're not going up there happy to progrss to the the point that we're at. We want to win."
Glad as they are to be at this point, the roads the teams traveled to get here are quite different. After finishing seventh in the CCHA, Michigan has proceeded to go on an offensive tear and leave their opponents in the dust, scoring 21 goals in four games while allowing just six against Lake Superior and Michigan State.
"We've had Louie Caporusso and David Wohlberg on one of our lines," Berenson said, "along with Luke Glendenning, and that line has been contributing, and that's taken some of the pressure off of Carl Hagelin and Matt Rust, because that line was contributing most of the offense the first half of the season. So, we're getting a little more balanced scoring now, and we've picked up a little more offense from our defense at times. when anyone on your team is playing better, more players participate. This is the time of year when everyone's on the right page and they're all contributing."
The Bears, meanwhile, have had to scratch and claw their way through two three-game series on the road, and did it largely with their defense. After finishing 11th in ECAC Hockey, Brown outlasted sixth-place Rensselaer in the first round before drawing travel partner Yale - the Ivy League and ECAC Hockey regular-season champion - in the quarterfinals. After winning the first game, 3-2, and getting shellacked 6-3 on Saturday by a Bulldogs team with its back against the wall, the Bears dug in in front of sophomore goaltender Mike Clemente, who made 44 saves in a 1-0 win to send Brown to Albany for the first time since 2003, when Hobey Baker "Hat Trick" finalist Yann Danis was in the net.
"We've put an emphasis on [defense] all year," Whittet said, "and it seems to have clicked. When we get away from our style of play, when we're not accountable on the defensive side, we struggle. Mike Clemente's been unbelievable, too."
From this point, the challenges are somewhat similar, in that both Brown and Michigan will meet one of the best defensive teams in the nation in their conference semifinals. Having knocked off the top seed in the conference tournament, Brown now gets a date with No. 7 Cornell, the second seed in the tournament, with Ben Scrivens another in a long line of Cornell goalies who have put up excellent numbers in the net. Michigan, meanwhile, will face the CCHA's top seed in No. 2 Miami. Miami coach Rico Blasi, however, isn't taking anything for granted against the lowest remaining seed in the CCHA playoffs.
"They're a great team," Blasi said. "They're playing fantastic right now, playing with a lot of confidence. [Carl] Hagelin, [Matt] Rust, [Louie] Caporusso, [David] Wohlberg, [Chris] Brown, the list goes on and on. You really have to do a really good job taking care of the puck, and you have to make good decisions in all three zones. It's going to be a war, and we're really looking forward to it."
Unlike the RedHawks, however - who are all but assured a top seed in their regional - Michigan and Brown have no margin for error. But at this point, they're used to that.
"We've had no margin for error in the last two Game 3s," Whittet said. "Our guys respond well to that. I don't think at it as pressure, I look at it as opportunity. We embrace those challenges."
"We've been playing on survival mode for the past two weeks," Berenson said, "knowing that if we didn't advance, our season was over."
And while one team is playing for its 20th straight tournament appearance and the other is playing for its first bid in 17 years, the mindset is the same, as Berenson says his program's streak has had no bearing on the players' mindset.
"It's funny; we haven't even talked about it," Berenson said. "Our freshman have no idea what that's all about. The seniors have a little idea, but we haven't even brought that up with our team."
Of course, while both teams enter the weekend in a must-win situation, the stakes are a little bit different at Brown. While the Bears aren't playing with a "happy-to-be-here" mentality, getting to this point is clearly an accomplishment for a team that was picked last in ECAC Hockey heading into the season.
"When I was hired," Whittet said, "my main focus was on trying to change the culture of the program, trying to instill a sense of pride in playing for Brown University, and displaying tenacity and aggressiveness in how we played. We've been able to do that.
"We like to be the underdog. We like to have people not believe in us, because we'll make 'em believe."
Next up, the Bears will try to make believers out of Cornell, while the Wolverines believe they can bring home the Mason Cup and go on for more.
]]>WINNERS OF THE WEEK
Alabama-Huntsville: The Chargers became the first team to officially qualify for the 2010 NCAA tournament when they defeated Robert Morris and tournament host Niagara to win the last-ever CHA men's hockey tournament. Junior goaltender Cameron Talbot stopped 72 of 74 shots in the two games to earn tournament MVP honors. It will be the second Division I tournament appearance for UAH - after two NCAA titles and two runner-up finishes at the Division II level - and while their 12-17-3 record likely means a meeting with the top overall seed, whichever team gets that honor will have to come to play. In their last tournament appearance, the final game in the storied coaching career of Doug Ross, the Chargers battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to take No. 2 overall seed Notre Dame to double overtime before succumbing.
Michigan: The Wolverines aren't letting their NCAA-best streak of 19 straight tournament appearances go without a fight. Red Berenson's team went on the road and swept Michigan State to advance to the CCHA Championship at Joe Louis Arena, where two wins would put the Wolverines in the tournament and keep their streak intact. Of course, it won't be easy - Michigan's semifinal opponent will be No. 2 Miami, loser of just three games against CCHA opponents all season - but given the way Michigan has scored since the playoffs began - the Wolverines have scored 21 goals in their four playoff wins over the Spartans and Lake Superior while allowing just six - it's hard to write them off.
Vermont: Out of the Hockey East playoff picture with two weeks left in the regular season, the Catamounts are on the cusp of a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament after going on the road to knock off regular-season champion New Hampshire in the conference quarterfinals. After being outgunned in a 7-4 shootout on Friday, Kevin Sneddon's team did it with defense, as goaltender Rob Madore made 17 saves on Saturday and 34 saves in an overtime affair on Sunday to anchor back-to-back shutouts. The comeback series win puts UVM in the conference semifinals against the top remaining seed, Boston College, with the winner advancing to meet the winner of Maine and defending NCAA champion Boston University in the Hockey East title game.
Brown: Brendan Whittet's first season behind the bench at his alma mater just doesn't seem to want to end. The Bears capitalized on a Yale team recovering from a season-ending injury to senior forward Sean Backman, winning a 3-2 stunner on Friday to take control of their ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series against the ECAC regular-season champs. Then, after a 6-3 loss on Saturday where Whittet said, "," the Bears dug in on Sunday, as goaltender Mike Clemente stopped 44 shots in a 1-0 win to send Brown to Albany. Brown, which finished 11th in the regular season, has an opportunity to reach its first NCAA tournament since 1993 - when Whittet was patrolling the blueline - with wins over Cornell and either St. Lawrence or Union. And speaking of Union...
NOTABLE QUOTE
"I'm proud of our guys. Outside of the second period we carried the game." - Union head coach Nate Leaman after his team's 3-2 quintuple-overtime loss to Quinnipiac in game one of their ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series.
The Dutchmen may have had to deal with an emotionally draining loss on Friday, but they dug in on Saturday and Sunday and made their coach even prouder, bouncing back from a loss in the longest game in NCAA history (150:22) to win their ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series, defeating the Bobcats 3-1 on Saturday and 2-1 on Sunday to advance to the ECAC Hockey championship weekend at the Times Union Center, a short trip down the road in Albany. While carrying the play in Friday's game didn't produce a victory, the Dutchmen were not discouraged, and managed to do the same again.
In what has to be considered something of a strange coincidence, four of the five longest games in Division I history have involved teams from ECAC Hockey. Union had also played in the previous record-holder, losing to Yale in five overtimes (141:35) in March 2006. St. Lawrence went to four overtimes (123:53) in a win over Boston University in March 2000 (still the longest game in NCAA tournament history), and Colgate outlasted Dartmouth in four overtimes (121:05) in the first game of an ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series in 2003 (but, like Quinnipiac this weekend, went on to lose the series). The lone game in the top five without an ECAC team is a 1997 WCHA first round game between Colorado College and Wisconsin, the third longest game in D-I history at 129:30.
USCHO.com DIVISION I MEN'S RANKINGS
1. Denver
2. Miami
3. Wisconsin
4. Boston College
5. North Dakota
6. St. Cloud
7. Cornell
8. Ferris State
9. Yale
10. Bemidji State
11. Minnesota Duluth
12. Northern Michigan
13. New Hampshire
14. Vermont
15. Union
16. Michigan State
17. Michigan
18. Alaska
19. Maine
20. Boston University
Others Receiving Votes: Colorado College, RIT, Nebraska-Omaha, UMass-Lowell, St. Lawrence, Minnesota, UMass, Minnesota State
]]>CCHA PLAYOFF SERIES: No. 12 Alaska at No. 16 Northern Michigan
This series could be taking place in Fairbanks were it not for a dramatic Northern Michigan in the last week of the CCHA regular season, which landed the Wildcats in fourth place in the conference, entitling them to a first-round bye and home ice for the quarterfinals. That leaves the Nanooks - who were busy taking back the Governor's Cup from rival Alaska-Anchorage - on their way to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, for a series that could have major NCAA tournament implications.
The Nanooks feature one of the nation's top goaltenders in sophomore Scott Greenham, with Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalist Dion Knelsen and unanimous CCHA All-Rookie selection Andy Taranto (17g, 24a) leading an offense that usually gives Greenham all the offense he needs. For the Wildcats, it all starts with junior forward Mark Olver (19g, 27a), the leading vote-getter in CCHA All-Conference balloting, with fellow All-CCHA First Team pick Erik Gustafsson (3g, 25a) providing a strong puck-moving presence on the blueline.
HOCKEY EAST PLAYOFF SERIES: No. 19 Vermont at No. 11 New Hampshire
The Catamounts did just enough over the final two weeks of the regular season to assure themselves a place in the Hockey East playoffs, and it earned them a trip to border rival UNH, the league's regular-season champion. It's a tall task, but an upset by the Catamounts could mean a trip to the NCAA tournament, with non-conference wins over No. 1 Denver and No. _ Minnesota Duluth helping to make up for an eighth-place Hockey East finish.
The Wildcats took three of four points when these two teams last met on February 19 and 20, but UVM did not make it easy for them, taking them to overtime both nights and scoring a total of seven goals on the weekend. The Catamounts will look to push the Wildcats hard again, as senior forwards Brayden Irwin (15g, 19a) and Colin Vock (11g, 17a) will likely be the primary weapons against a UNH team led by senior forward and Hobey Baker Award candidate Bobby Butler (25g, 22a), who gets plenty of help from the likes of classmate Peter LeBlanc (14g, 17a) and juniors Paul Thompson (16g, 18a), Phil DeSimone (9g, 23a) and Mike Sislo (10g, 15a), with sophomore Blake Kessel (8g, 25a) providing a major scoring presence from the back end for the nation's No. 10 scoring offense. The defense hasn't been there for the Wildcats - they're among the bottom half of the nation's teams in goals allowed per game - but on the Olympic-sized ice at the Whittemore Center, look for UNH to push the pace with their multi-pronged attack.
CHA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: No. 8 Bemidji State or Niagara vs. Robert Morris or Alabama-Huntsville
Last March, when they made their shocking run to the Frozen Four, Bemidji State became the choice of fans across the country. Now, teams across the country are rooting for the Beavers as they look to repeat as CHA champs in the conference's final season. That's because the winner of the tournament will be the first team to officially punch its ticket to the NCAA tournament, and every hopeful at-large team wants that automatic bid to go to Bemidji. Given their strong regular season - which includes wins over the likes of No. 2 Miami and No. _ Minnesota-Duluth, among others - the Beavers are likely to make the tournament no matter what, so a loss in the CHA tournament (hosted by Niagara) could pop someone's tournament bubble.
The Beavers are loaded with talent - junior forward Matt Read leads three Beavers on the All-CHA team, not to mention a second-team honoree and three All-Rookie selections - but can't expect a walk in the park. Between a homestanding Niagara team, a Huntsville squad that tied Bemidji last weekend, and a Robert Morris team that recorded two wins over Miami in early January, then went on to beat the Beavers some weeks later, Tom Serratore's boys won't want to take any chances as they look to leave the CHA as champions.
ELSEWHERE
- If it weren't already the playoffs, you might call this Rivalry Week. In addition to the growing rivalry between New Hampshire and Vermont, several pairs of college hockey's fiercest rivals are due to battle each other in playoff series this weekend: Michigan and Michigan State, Harvard and Cornell, Minnesota and North Dakota and, for the first time in an Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series, Army and Air Force.
- No. 6 Yale gets its first look at life without senior forward Sean Backman this weekend, when the Bulldogs face travel partner Brown in an ECAC Hockey Playoff. Backman, who was a key scoring presence for the Elis with 21 goals and 14 assists in 29 games, is out with a foot injury that is expected to keep him out the rest of the season. The Bears finished 11th in ECAC Hockey, but knocked off sixth-place Brown last weekend in the first round. They may be overmatched, but will hope to catch Yale on their heels while adjusting to Backman's absence.
]]>The first round of the ECAC Hockey tournament this season saw Clarkson make the 12-mile trip to visit North Country travel partner St. Lawrence, but after the first round, that hard-fought three-game series has proven to be the tip of the iceberg.
As the ECAC Hockey, CCHA and Atlantic Hockey playoffs continue - and Hockey East, the WCHA, and the CHA join the postseason party - more of college hockey's fiercest rivalries will be on display. This weekend's conference ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series will send Harvard to long-time rival Cornell, where a shower of fish may await (and one of the nation's best defensive hockey teams certainly does). On the road in the CCHA playoffs for the first time in more than 20 years, Michigan is headed to a familiar destination, as Red Berenson's team will face Michigan State at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. In Hockey East, the growing border rivalry between New Hampshire and Vermont is set to play out at the Whittemore Center in Durham, N.H., and in the WCHA, fans at North Dakota are sure to be riled up as their Fighting Sioux host Minnesota.
Of all the rivalries on display this weekend, though, there's none quite like the one set to be played out in Colorado Springs. For the first time since moving from the CHA to Atlantic Hockey for the 2006-07 season, Air Force is set for an Atlantic Hockey playoff series against service academy rival Army. The third and fourth (and possibly fifth) games of the season between the Falcons and Black Knights are uncharted territory for head coaches Frank Serratore of Air Force and Brian Riley of Army, but it's something Serratore would like to see more of.
"I'm excited about it," Serratore said. "I really think that our service academy rivalry with Army is special. From my end, I think we should be travel partners. I think we should play four times every year. Whenever we go to West Point, we play in front of two full houses. Whenever they come here, they play in front of two full houses, and I think it's a darn shame that the Air Force and Army fans don't get to see the series in their building every year."
While travel costs between West Point and Colorado might put a damper on that idea, the crowd at the Cadet Ice Arena will get a surprise treat in the form of an unscheduled series against the Falcons' biggest rival. This weekend's series will be treated the same way as other Air Force-Army games in Colorado Springs. Following the games, the teams will join together on the ice as the alma maters of both academies are played, and the players will salute the crowd as one. While such trappings could be seen as a distraction from the business of playoff hockey, for Brian Riley (the third man in his family to coach the Black Knights), the conversation about whether to maintain them in the playoffs was a short one.
"That's something that we've always done," Riley said. "To me, that's a no-brainer, and to me, that's part of what makes this rivalry special. Regular season, playoff series, it doesn't matter. We're still going to do that."
Before any of that can happen, though, there are hockey games to be played, and if previous meetings are any indication, they will be good ones.
"Our games are pretty intense during the regular season," Riley said. "There's certainly a respect for each other, but for those 60 minutes, we're trying to beat the heck out of each other. Now that it's a playoff series...our games are pretty intense during the regular season, and it's hard to imagine how they could be any more intense, but I'm sure they will be."
The Black Knights took three of four points from the Falcons when they met at Tate Rink in West Point back in January, but the last minute of the third period in each game saw a net empty, and while it was Army who got an empty-net goal to ice Friday's 4-2 win and an extra-attacker goal to tie Saturday's game at three, it could have just as easily gone the other way.
With competition like that on tap, it's easy to forgive the players for not thinking about the greater significance for the moment.
"I really don't think our guys view West Point much different than anybody else," Serratore said. "They know it's a big deal to the military people, but they're an Atlantic opponent, and I just don't think our guys view them much different than anybody else. Right now, the goal is to get to the NCAA tournament, and whether we're playing West Point or whether we're playing Canisius or Bentley, it doesn't matter. You're playing more to get to the Atlantic Hockey final four, and then to get to the NCAA tournament, than you are for military pride.
"Players live in the moment, and they should."
When the moment has passed, though, and either the Falcons or the Black Knights are on their way to Rochester, whoever advances will have the support of their just-vanquished opponents.
Said Riley, "The good news is, from our standpoint, is that at least we know that next weekend in Rochester, there will be a service academy represented in our league's final four."
It's hard to imagine that kind of thinking taking place among Harvard and Cornell, Michigan and Michigan State or North Dakota and Minnesota, but to Serratore, it all comes down to one fundamental fact.
"We're rivals," Serratore said, "but when the games are over, we're on the same team."
WINNERS OF THE WEEK
Denver - The Pioneers obviously aren't happy about dropping Friday night's game to Colorado College, but with an emphatic 7-3 victory over the Tigers on Saturday night, they claimed sole ownership of the Gold Pan, marking the first time since 2006 that DU has brought home the rivalry trophy. In addition, having claimed the McNaughton Cup as the WCHA's regular-season champion last weekend, George Gwozdecky's team is the top seed in the conference tournament, and will host Michigan Tech this weekend in the first round.
Boston University - The reigning NCAA champions came out on top in the four-way battle for the last remaining home ice spot in the Hockey East playoffs, and, with a sweep of Northeastern that left the Huskies on the outside lookjing in, even managed to leapfrog Maine to finish third in the conference. The Terriers will face Merrimack in the first round of the playoffs, a strong finish for a team that missed a chance to lock up home ice last weekend against Vermont. Eight players scored the Terriers' nine goals this weekend, which will give the Warriors a lot to think about when they come to Harry Agganis Arena.
Brown - The Bears have not had a particularly distinguished season in their first campaign under new head coach Brendan Whittet, but made an impact in the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs. The 11th-seeded Bears took two of three games from sixth-seeded Rensselaer to advance to the conference quarterfinals. Things won't get much easier for Brown from here, as they will now face ECAC regular-season champ Yale in the conference quarterfinals, but the series win at RPI serves as both a reward for Brown's effort over the course of the season and a building block for Whittet and the Bears as they move forward.
NOTABLE QUOTE
"Thank God Brian was in the net. They just out-skated us tonight." - New Hampshire coach Dick Umile, after Wildcats goaltender Brian Foster stopped 39 shots in a 3-2 loss to Boston College.
UNH did just enough this weekend to hang on to the Hockey East regular-season championship - storming back in the third period to earn a 3-3 tie on Friday night - but it's BC that enters the conference tournament with the most momentum. The Eagles have shaken off a rough January to go 7-2-1 over the last 10 games of the regular season. They'll open the playoffs against a UMass team that has struggled in the second half of the season, but swept Maine to earn its spot in the playoffs, and played BC tight in a 2-1 overtime loss at the end of February. The Wildcats, meanwhile, went 4-3-3 down the stretch, and will open the Hockey East playoffs against Vermont, coming off a 3-3-4 finish over the last 10 games. With the Catamounts playing teams tough - they took New Hampshire to overtime twice in that span - and playing for a possible NCAA Tournament berth, UNH will need to regroup quickly to add the Lou Lamoriello Trophy to the Hockey East regular-season hardware.
USCHO.com DIVISION I RANKINGS
1. Denver
2. Miami
3. Wisconsin
4. Boston College
5. North Dakota
6. Yale
7. St. Cloud State
8. Bemidji State
9. Cornell
10. Michigan State
11. New Hampshire
12. Alaska
13. Ferris State
14. Minnesota-Duluth
15. Colorado College
16. Northern Michigan
17. Union
18. Nebraska-Omaha
19. Vermont
20. UMass-Lowell
Receiving votes: Maine, RIT, Boston University, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Colgate
]]>HOCKEY EAST SERIES: No. 5 Boston College vs. No. 10 New Hampshire
The Eagles may have a leg up on the Wildcats in the national rankings, but they come into this weekend's series needing three points in the home-and-home series to claim a share of the Hockey East regular-season title, or a sweep to win it outright. Friday-Saturday sweeps have been hard to come by for Jerry York's team - their last was in December - but on a schedule filled with weeknight games (two Monday nights and two Tuesdays in January and February), BC has won eight of its last 10, getting major contributions from forwards Brian Gibbons and Cam Atkinson.
UNH, meanwhile, is riding a five-game unbeaten streak since being swept by Maine in early February, and isn't going to be an easy matchup. Senior forward Bobby Butler (24g, 21a) emerged in November as one of the top scorers in the nation, earning Hockey East Player of the Month honors, and has maintained elite status through the rest of the regular season, coming up big for the Wildcats when they need him most. He's getting plenty of help from the blueline in the form of sophomore defenseman Blake Kessel (7g, 25a).
In truth, neither team is having much trouble scoring, with both teams ranking in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, but BC is also in the top 10 in scoring defense, one of only four schools in the nation to be in the top 10 in both offense and defense (Miami, RIT and Bemidji State are the others). Look for the Wildcats to be frustrated by the BC goaltender, be it John Must (.911 SV%, .242 GAA) or Hockey East Goaltender of the Month Parker Milner (.915 SV%, 2.04 GAA).
WCHA SERIES: No. 1 Denver vs. No. 15 Colorado College
The Pioneers locked up the McNaughton Cup last weekend, their series sweep against Minnesota State clinching the WCHA regular-season title, but they have another piece of hardware in mind this weekend: the Gold Pan. The Pioneers won and tied against their in-state rivals in early December, and will clinch the Pan with one more win in the home-and-home series. The Tigers, meanwhile, are playing for playoff position as well as the trophy, sitting in sixth place in the conference, just one point ahead of seventh-place Minnesota.
The Pioneers bring the No. 7 scoring defense in the country and the top penalty kill in the land to the series, both anchored by a Hobey Baker candidate in goaltender Marc Cheverie, the national leader in both save percentage (.938). Cheverie is also second in goals-against average (1.93). With that kind of defense, Rhett Rakhshani (19g, 26a) and the rest of the Denver offense usually have plenty of slack to work with. That'll be a challenge for a CC team that may have found a match for its No. 7 power play, but with balanced scoring from the likes of seniors Bill Sweatt and Mike Testwuide and junior Tyler Johnson, the Tigers certainly have weapons to throw at their rivals.
HOCKEY EAST SERIES: No. 16 Vermont at UMass-Lowell
After last weekend's sweep of defending NCAA Champion Boston University, the Catamounts are tied with the Terriers and Northeastern for fifth place in the conference, one point behind Lowell. With BU playing the Huskies this weekend, a strong performance against the RiverHawks could move the Catamounts into fourth place, giving them home ice for the first round of the Hockey East playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Count on a close game between these two teams: the Catamount's average scoring margin is a slim .28 goals per game, while Lowell averages. .62 goals per game more than its opponents. Both teams are among the least penalized in the country, which will certainly come in Handy for the Catamounts, who probably won't have to contend much with Lowell's power play 15th in the nation with 20.3% efficiency. Overall, both teams are very balanced, with only one point-per-game scorer on the ice between the two teams in Vermont senior forward Brayden Irwin (14g, 19a in 32 games).
ELSEWHERE
- Michigan opens its CCHA tournament run at home against Lake Superior State. After a seventh-place finish in the conference, the Wolverines' streak of 19 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances - the longest active streak in the country - is in jeopardy, and a run through the conference tournament is the last chance to keep it going.
- Alabama-Huntsville wraps up its regular season at home with a visit from a special guest: the Stanley Cup. The most storied trophy in sports will be on display during this weekend's games against CHA regular-season champ Bemidji State.
- One of the fiercest rivalries in college hockey will be played out this weekend in the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs, as St. Lawrence will host North Country rival Clarkson. The Golden Knights finished 12th in the conference, and will make the short trip to Appleton Arena to face the fifth-seed Saints. The series may be a chance for the Golden Knights to redeem a disappointing regular season, as a pair of victories over the Saints would definitely take some of the sting out of a very tough year in Potsdam.
]]>USCHO.COM DIVISION I MEN'S RANKINGS
1. Denver
2. Miami
3. Wisconsin
4. St. Cloud State
5. Boston College
6. Yale
7. North Dakota
8. Bemidji State
9. Cornell
10. New Hampshire
11. Michigan State
12. Minnesota-Duluth
13. Ferris State
14. Alaska
15. Colorado College
16. Vermont
17. Maine
18. Union
19. Northern Michigan
20. Nebraska-Omaha
Also Receiving Votes: RIT, UMass-Lowell, Boston University, Colgate, Michigan, Northeastern
WCHA SERIES: No. 8 North Dakota at No. 13 Coloardo College
The Tigers held a four point lead over North Dakota for fifth place in the WCHA - and the final home-ice berth for the playoffs - heading into last weekend's games, but two North Dakota wins over Minnesota Duluth and two CC losses to Minnesota later, and it's Dave Hakstol's team that has all the momentum heading into this weekend's games in Colorado Springs. Overall, the Tigers are 5-7 since the calendar turned to 2010, including four losses in their last seven games, while North Dakota is 7-5-2 this year and currently riding a three-game win streak.
Both teams feature great balance on offense, ranking in the top 20 nationally despite the absence of a point-per-game scorer on either side. Senior Bill Sweatt (14 g, 15 a in 32 games) leads the Tigers, with support from classmate Mike Testwuide (18g, 9a), freshman Rylan Schwzartz (6g, 20a), and three other players with 20 or more points, while NoDak's leading scorer, senior Chris VandeVelde (12g, 18a in 31 games) has three teammates with 20 or more points, most notably sophomore Jason Gregoire (15g, 12a) and freshman Danny Kristo (10g, 15a). The defense could be the difference, as North Dakota is tied for third in the country with just 2.19 goals allowed per game, although Colorado College, ranked 19th in scoring defense, can hold its own without the puck as well. Look for Colorado College to try to draw penalties on the third-most penalized team in the country (19.6 PIM/G), as even though Dave Hakstol's team is in the top ten on the penalty-kill, there's a bit of a difference when the team with the man-advantage has the No. 4 power play in the country.
GOVERNOR'S CUP SERIES: No. 17 Alaska vs. Alaska-Anchorage
The Nanooks enter this weekend's series on a tear, having taken points in their last eight games, pulling into fourth place in the CCHA and climbing to their current position in the USCHO.com rankings. With a first-ever NCAA tournament appearance a distinct possibility, Dallas Ferguson's team is looking to sew up in-state bragging rights against the Seawolves with a win for the Governor's Cup.
The Nanooks have done it with defense, as sophomore Scott Greenham (14-9-9, 2.17 GAA, .921 SV%) is the anchor of a group that allows just 2.31 goals per game, ranking sixth in the nation. That's bad news for a Seawolves team that averages just 2.4 goals per game, so head coach Dave Shyiak will be looking for big things from senior Kevin Clark (17g, 13a), the team's only double-digit goal scorer, along with juniors Tommy Grant (7g, 14a) and Sean Wiles (9g, 8a). That could go a long way, since the Nanooks - despite having one of the top freshman scorers in the nation in forward Andy Taranto (13g, 21a), and a reliable senior presence in Dion Knelsen (16g, 16a), the Nanooks average just 2.66 goals a game, a welcome sight for a defensive group that's used to WCHA opponents, who accound for six of the top 20 scoring offenses in the nation.
ECAC HOCKEY GAME: No. 15 Union at No. 9 Cornell
Both the Big Red and the Dutchmen enter the final weekend of the ECAC Hockey regular season trailing No. 5 Yale for the conference lead by two points, and a win at Lynah Rink is crucial for both teams, not only for a chance of catching up if the Bulldogs should stumble at Princeton and/or Quinnipiac, but also to improve position for a possible NCAA tournament berth.
The game figures to be a classic offense vs. defense battle, with Union pitting the nation's fourth-most potent offense (3.78 G/G) against Cornell's stingy defense, second in the nation with only 2.15 goals per game. That defense, led by senior goaltender Ben Scrivens (16-8-3, 2.07 GAA, .928 SV%) will look to make things difficult for Union's senior leaders, Mario Valery-Trabucco (19g, 21a) and Jason Walters (16g, 21a), while Union will look to stay out of the penalty box, as a penalty-kill unit that sits 48th out of 58 teams (78.6%) will likely have its struggles against Blake Gallagher (17g, 15a), Colin Greening (13g, 17a) and the No. 11 extra-man unit in the country.
ELSEWHERE:
- New No. 1 Denver travels to Minnesota State for a two-game WCHA series. While the ninth-place Mavericks might seem a relatively easy matchup for the Pioneers, DU head coach George Gwozdecky certainly knows better. The Mavericks have been a bugaboo for Denver in recent years, and would like nothing better than to knock the Pioneers from their newly-acquired perch.
- Western Michigan coach Jim Culhane coaches his last home game on Saturday night, as the Broncos host No. 14 Ferris State. It was announced last week that Culhane will be reassigned at WMU following the season.
- Alabama-Huntsville will face Niagara three times this weekend, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Sunday game was rescheduled from February 13, when the game was canceled following a shooting on the UAH campus.
]]>WINNERS OF THE WEEK
North Dakota - Coming into the weekend's series against Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota had minimal margin of error in its pursuit of home ice in the WCHA playoffs. Dave Hakstol's team responded to the challenge, beating Minnesota Duluth by scores of 5-2 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday, with sophomore Brett Hextall scoring three goals in the two games. As if that weren't enough, Colorado College - the team North Dakota was chasing for fifth-place and that coveted home ice spot - dropped a pair of games to Minnesota, resulting in a fifth-place tie that will be broken over the next two weeks.
Yale - After seeing the ECAC Hockey lead they'd earned last Saturday with a win at Cornell evaporate on Tuesday with the Big Red's win over Colgate, the Bulldogs got back ahead this weekend, scoring 12 goals in wins over St. Lawrence and Clarkson at Ingalls Rink in New Haven. Meanwhile, the Big Red dropped a shocker on Saturday night at Dartmouth, allowing Yale to retake the lead heading into the final weekend of the conference's regular season. Junior Broc Little led the Yale offense - the nation's most potent, with an average of 4.19 goals per game - following a pair of assists in a 7-5 win over St. Lawrence with a hat trick and an assist against Clarkson, including the overtime game-winner.
RIT - Playing with a chance to clinch their first Atlantic Hockey regular-season title since 2007, the Tigers were taken to overtime by reigning conference champ Air Force after a game where every goal had been scored on the power play. Junior forward Tyler Mazzei, however, needed no man advantage, scoring 1:10 into overtime to dethrone the Falcons. RIT left no doubt the next night, as senior goaltender Jared Demichiel stopped all 27 shots he faced in a 3-0 RIT win that guaranteed the Tigers the outright title. Next up: trying to go on and win the Atlantic Hockey tournament title and the automatic NCAA tournament berth, an opportunity RIT didn't have the last time they won the regular-season crown (they were still in transition from D-III and ineligible for postseason play).
NOTABLE QUOTE
"We respect how hard they compete. It's a great lesson for everybody. We'd be honored (to meet them in the playoffs). They never say die, and hopefully we can take a lesson from them on that. We're in a good position right now, but there are times where things aren't great and you have to battle through it. I think it's a great lesson to be learned no matter what situation you are in." - Denver head coach George Gwozdecky, after the Pioneers' 5-3 win over Michigan Tech
The Pioneers' sweep of the Huskies this weekend - combined with a loss by Miami to Nebraska-Omaha - moved Gwozdecky's team into the top spot in the USCHO.com Division I Men's Rankings. The competition hasn't always been top-notch - the Pioneers will go the entire month of February without playing a ranked opponent - but Gwozdecky has his team focused and continuing to improve. One of college hockey's most creative coaches, Gwozdecky has been known to compare his most versatile players to former Minnesota Twins baseball player Cesar Tovar and use stories about Bruce Springsteen to inspire his team, so finding a lesson in the WCHA's last-place team is hardly out of the ordinary for Gwozdecky.
USCHO.com DIVIsION I MEN'S RANKINGS
1. Denver
2. Miami
3. Wisconsin
4. St. Cloud State
5. Yale
6. Bemidji State
7. Boston College
8. North Dakota
9. Cornell
10. Minnesota-Duluth
11. New Hampshire
12. Michigan State
13. Colorado College
14. Ferris State
15. Union
16. Maine
17. Alaska
18. Vermont
19. Nebraska-Omaha
20. Boston Unviersity
Receiving Votes: Northern Michigan, UMass-Lowell, RIT, Northeastern, Michigan, UMass, Sacred Heart, Minnesota, Colgate, St. Lawrence
]]>WCHA SERIES: No. 4 St. Cloud at No. 3 Wisconsin
The second- and third-place teams in the WCHA battle this weekend (No. 6 Minnesota Duluth is tied with the Badgers for third), and with both teams within three points of the top spot, No. 2 Denver will need to aovid any letdowns in the Pioneers' weekend series with Michigan Tech.
The Huskies and Badgers have taken different roads to the top ranks of the WCHA this season. Wisconsin has both the No. 2 scoring offense in the nation and the No. 12 scoring defense in the nation, and wins games by an average of 1.55 goals (the second best average scoring margin in the country. St. Cloud, meanwhile, has found ways to win without being overpowering, and while the Huskies are in the national top 20 in both scoring offense and defense, thy've won by an average of just over half a goal. The Huskies' best chance will be in a close game, which is a good reason to stay out of the penalty box, and avoid giving too many opportunities to Blake Geoffrion, Brendan Smith, Michael Davies, and the rest of the Badgers' mighty offense.
WCHA SERIES: No. 6 Minnesota Duluth at No. 11 North Dakota
Dave Hakstol's team will make its last stand for a home ice berth in the WCHA playoffs this weekend at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, as the Bulldogs come in needing just six points to secure home ice, while North Dakota can't afford to lose ground on No. 7 Colorado College, which looks to take another step closer to locking up the fifth-place spot this weekend at Minnesota. To stay in the race, North Dakota's defense (No. 3 in the nation with an average of 2.23 goals allowed per game) will need to hold down the Bulldog offense, which sits 12th in the nation with an average of 3.33 goals per game.
The special teams battle promises to be a key component to the series, as North Dakota takes 20.2 penalty minutes per game - the third most of any team in the nation - but tends to make up for it with the nation's No. 9 penalty kill (86.3 percent). There's a difference, however, when the Bulldogs' power play is No. 5 in the nation (22.2 percent), and features Justin Fontaine, who shares the national lead in power-play goals (12) with Wisconsin's Blake Geoffrion. Just as dangerous, however, could be North Dakota's power play - 12th in the nation at 20.9 percent - against a Bulldog penalty kill that sits in the middle of the pack nationally with an 80.4 percent success rate. As such, Scott Sandelin's team will have ample motivation to keep penalty minutes down, below their average of 17.6 PIM/game (10th in the country).
ATLANTIC HOCKEY SERIES: Air Force at RIT
The Tigers are just one win away from clinching at least a share of the Atlantic Hockey regular-season title. RIT last won that crown in 2007, but because the Tigers were in their second transition year from Division III to Division I, they were ineligible to compete in the postseason. The Falcons won their first Atlantic Hockey title that year, and proceeded to win the next two, bringing home the conference's second NCAA tournament win last season with a 2-0 upset of Michigan in the NCAA East Regional.
The series promises to feature outstanding defense, as RIT has the No. 5 scoring defense in the nation (2.25 G/Game), while Air Force has the best penalty kill in the land. That said, Air Force's Jacques Lamoureux, a Hobey Baker finalist last season, will be a constant threat to put the puck in the net with 18 goals and 17 assists to his credit in 30 games, while RIT's Dan Ringwald (8g, 16a) is one of the top offensive defensemen in the country, and will - along with fellow high-scoring blueliners Al Mazur (76. 13a) and Chris Tanev (6g, 12a) - will look to set things up for Andrew Favot (11g, 22a), Cameron Burt (11g, 19a) and the rest of the Tiger forwards.
ELSEWHERE
- After Yale took sole possession of the ECAC Hockey lead on Saturday with a 2-1 overtime win at Cornell - locking up the Ivy League title in the process - the Big Red caught right up on Tuesday night with a 6-2 win against travel partner Colgate at Starr Rink in Hamilton.
Both teams look to pull into the lead this weekend, as Yale hosts St. Lawrence and Clarkson, while the Big Red travels to Harvard and Dartmouth.
- The top contenders in Hockey East will be looking to keep pace with one another this weekend, with a schedule high on stakes but low on head-to-head battles among the top teams.
No. 19 Boston University and No. 18 UMass, battling for fourth place in the standings (and the last home-ice spot for the playoffs), will face 10th-place Providence and ninth-place Merrimack, respectively, with neither program having the breathing room to make a false move. Conference leader No. 13 New Hampshire, meanwhile, hopes to gain ground on No. 8 Boston College, as the Wildcats face eighth-place Vermont while BC has the toughest draw of the bunch, a sixth-place Northeastern team that's riding a four-game win streak.
- The Jim Culhane era at Western Michigan enters the homestretch this weekend as the Broncos (8-17-5) host Ohio State. The school announced that Culhane would be reassigned within the athletic department after this season. Three of the Broncos' last four games in the regular season will be at home, including Culhane's last regular-season game next Saturday against Ferris State.
]]>Your average Hollywood screenwriter would call for the RedHawks to use the death of student manager Brendan Burke as a rallying point as they aim to capture the championship that eluded them 10 months ago, and look or point to the skies as they close in on their goal.
In reality, though, Miami coach Enrico Blasi has no "Win one for the Gipper" speeches planned. Not only does his team have no need of such an emotional appeal - "We don't need rallying points," Blasi said - but to attempt to turn Burke - who died in a car accident two weeks ago - into a reason to try harder for a hockey championship would hardly do him justice.
"That's not honoring Brendan at all," Blasi said. "This is not something we're trying to motivate our guys with. This is one of our family members. This is real life, and our guys are doing their thing because that's what they do. We're going to continue do that in his honor, but he's not a rallying point or anything like that. To me, that's really disrespecting the family, disrespecting our program, and disrespecting Brendan."
The unscripted truth is that Burke was more than a manager for Miami, just as no one who steps onto the ice for Blasi's team is simply a hockey player. When a Miami player or coach speaks of "The Brotherhood," it's more than a catchphrase: one would be hard-pressed to find a program whose members - from alumni like Ryan Jones of the NHL's Nashville Predators and Andy Greene of the New Jersey Devils through the current team led by the likes of Tommy Wingels, Carter Camper and Andy Miele, to the extended members of the program like coaches and managers - wear their caring for one another on their sleeves to the degree that the RedHawks do.
"There's a lot more to the meaning of the Brotherhood than just the word," Blasi said. "There's things that we believe in, in our program, that we've developed as a team and as a staff over the last seven years: the way we approach every day, the accountability, the relationship, the daily behaviors. Those are things that we work on daily. Those are things that we pay attention to. Obviously, there's stuff we do on the ice, but off the ice is very important to us as well."
And as the Brotherhood looks to deal with the loss of a brother, they know they have each other to rely on.
"It's part of what we stand for as a family," Blasi said. "It's a life skill. It's something we want to make sure our guys leave here with, an understanding that they can count on each other, and that they have a bond that, if things are difficult, you can always pick up the phone, or lean on each other, and that's the experience that we try to create."
That doesn't mean, of course, that the RedHawks aren't determined as ever to capture this year's NCAA title. They took a meaningful step toward that goal last Friday, clinching the CCHA regular-season title with a 3-2 win at Bowling Green, and continue to get stronger as they chase the Mason Cup at next month's CCHA Championship in Detroit, followed by the NCAA title in that same city three weeks later.
"I think we're trying to get better every day," Blasi said, "just like we do every week. We still have a lot of improvement that we can accomplish. As far as everything else is concerned, it is what it is, and we try to make sure we control what we can control, and that's to do what we do on the ice."
And that, according to Blasi, is just how their brother would have it.
"The best way to honor Brendan is to continue to play the way we play, and we know that's what he would want."
Playing the way they play could very well bring the RedHawks that elusive championship in two months' time, and if that does come to pass, Blasi and his players know that Burke will be a part of it, even beyond the black shamrock patches with his initials that now adorn Miami's jerseys.
"We know that Brendan is along for the ride," Blasi said.
"In fact, we know that Brendan has the best seat in the house."
]]>WINNERS OF THE WEEK
Miami - Playing for the first time since attending the funeral of student manager Brendan Burke, the top-ranked RedHawks traveled to Bowling Green and battled to a 3-2 win over the Falcons, clinching the CCHA regular-season title. Senior forward Jarod Palmer had two goals - including the game-winner with 3:23 left to play - for Miami, losers of just one conference game all season. The RedHawks followed that effort with a wild 10-2 shellacking of the Falcons on Saturday, as junior forward Andy Miele handed out four assists. Palmer and Miele are two of four RedHawks with 32 points or more, and Miami has the nation's longest unbeaten streak at 9-0-1 in the last 10 games.
Yale - The nation's most potent offense was held to just one goal in 60 minutes against Cornell on Saturday at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, but another five minutes gave the Bulldogs' top scorer, senior forward Sean Backman, the opportunity he needed, and his goal with 1:43 remaining in the extra session gave the Elis the Ivy League title and a two-point lead in the ECAC Hockey standings. Cornell has played one fewer game than Yale, but will make that up on Tuesday night against Colgate.
New Hampshire - The Wildcats got some help in their bid to hold onto the Hockey East lead when Maine and Boston College - the teams trailing UNH in the standings - combined to win one of four games on the weekend, but Dick Umile's team took care of its own business on Friday against Providence. With the game tied heading to the third period, senior Bobby Butler scored his second, third and fourth goals of the evening to power the Wildcats to a 5-2 win over the Friars and a three-point cushion ahead of BC.
NOTABLE QUOTE
"I think this team is to the point that they don't get down when somebody scores on them. The best part about the night is we had answers every time." - Boston University head coach Jack Parker, after his team's 7-4 win over Maine on Friday.
Parker's comments about his team's attitude may wind up being applied to the season as a whole. The sweep of Maine pushed BU's record to 13-12-3 this season and vaulted the Terriers back into the USCHO.com Dvision I rankings. After entering 2010 with a 4-9-3 record, BU has won nine of its last 12 games, and now sits in a tie for fourth place in Hockey East with UMass. With last-place Providence and eighth-place Vermont on the schedule in the next two weeks, the time could be right for the Terriers to make a move and salvage their season.
USCHO.com DIVISION I RANKINGS
1. Miami
2. Denver
3. Wisconsin
4. St. Cloud
5. Yale
6. Minnesota Duluth
7. Colorado College
8. Boston College
9. Bemidji State
10. Cornell
11. North Dakota
12. Michigan State
13. New Hampshire
14. Ferris State
15. Maine
16. Union
17. Vermont
18. Massachusetts
19. Boston University
20. Alaska
Receiving Votes: UMass-Lowell, Nebraska-Omaha, Northern Michigan, Northeastern, Michigan, RIT, Rensselaer, Sacred Heart, St. Lawrence
]]>ECAC HOCKEY GAME: No. 6 Yale at No. 8 Cornell
In addition to helping break a three-way tie atop ECAC Hockey (No. Union is also the mix, tied with Yale and Cornell with 22 points), Saturday night's game at Lynah Rink could cling the Ivy League title for the Bulldogs with a win or tie. The Ivy League awards a title based on the regular-season results among the six hockey-playing schools - which carries no weight for NCAA tournament selection - and Yale currently leads by a wide margin, with 14 points earned and just one more game remaining besides Saturday's tilt in Ithaca (Feb, 26 at Princeton). Cornell, meanwhile, has earned six poitns and has four games remaining including Saturday, and a sweep of those games would allow Cornell to tie for the title.
The game has the makings of a classic offense vs. defense battle, as Yale will pit its top-ranked scoring offense (4.04 goals per game) against a Cornell defense that surrenders just 2.09 goals per game, second in stinginess only to No. 1 Miami. Senior Ben Scrivens is making a strong bid to put his name alongside those of David LeNeveu and David McKee as Hobey Baker contenders in the Cornell net, currently ranking third in the nation in both goals-against average (2.00) and save percentage (.928). He'll be sternly tested by a balanced Yale offense that boasts six players with 20 or more points, a fact made more impressive by the fact that Yale has played just 23 games this season. That said, Scrivens will likely face his sternest tests from junior forward Broc Little (18g, 8a) and senior Sean Backman (15g, 11a), with senior defenseman Thomas Dignard providing a strong offensive presence on the blueline (5g, 15a in 18 games). Not to be ignored, however, is Cornell's own top scorer, Blake Gallagher, who sits 14th in the nation in scoring average, with 14 goals and 14 assists in 22 games (1.27 PPG).
WCHA SERIES: No. 11 North Dakota at No. 4 St. Cloud
Despite a lofty national ranking, Dave Hakstol's team is in a tough fight for home ice in the WCHA playoffs, sitting six points behind Colorado College (and having played two fewer games). They'll look to close some ground on the Tigers with a weekend trip to WCHA co-leader St. Cloud, loser in just one of its last 12 games. The Huskies have been scoring in bunches during their current run, with three-goal efforts in a pair of wins at Quinnipiac marking the LOW point for Bob Motzko's team. Much of St. Cloud's success is owed to its 10th ranked power-play (20.6 percent), which stands to get plenty of opportunities against the fifth-most penalized team in the nation (18.6 PIM/G). That should be good news for junior Tony Mosey, who has seven of his 10 goals this season with the man advantage, emerging as third scoring threat alongside veteran leaders Ryan Lasch (15g, 18a) and Garrett Roe (11g, 22a).
North Dakota, meanwhile, has been finding ways to win, despite just one double-digit goal scorer on the roster in sophomore Jason Gregoire (13g, 10a). Gregoire is one of seven North Dakota players with five goals or more, and 11 with 10 or more points. Sophomore goaltender Brad Eidsness has been giving Hakstol's team chances to win, posting a goals-against average of 2.26 and a .906 save percentage.
HOCKEY EAST SERIES: No. 10 Boston College vs. No. 20 UMass-Lowell
The Eagles are riding a four-game win streak - the second-longest unbeaten run in the country behind top-ranked Miami - and got a good sign for their season Monday night when they defeated rival Boston University for the Beanpot. The Eagles won three Beanpots in the previous decade - 2001, 2004 and 2008 - and each one preceded a run to the Frozen Four, including the 2001 and 2008 NCAA championships. Could the January blues that frustrated the Eagles be a thing of the past?
The River Hawks would like to say "No," but Blaise MacDonald's team has had its own issues, having lost five of its last seven games, including a three-game losing streak that they'll bring to Friday's game at BC's Conte Forum. That said, the River Hawks' last win was over BC at Tsongas Arena in Lowell, site of Saturday's game between the teams, and top scorer Kory Falite (14g, 12a) is one of four UML players with 20 or more points, including Nick Schaus, one of the nation's top scoring defensemen (4g, 18a)).
BC, meanwhile, will look to capitalize on the hot play of goaltender John Muse - the winner of the Eberly Award as the Beanpot's top goalie AND the tournament MVP trophy - along with the No. 3 scoring offense in the country, led by junior Brian Gibbons (10g, 25a) and sophomore Cam Atkinson (17g, 14a). With a chance to overtake Hockey East leader No. 15 New Hampshire, it's certain that the Eagles have no intention of slowing down.
]]>