Game Gab - Nightly Post-Game Analysis
Come here after the games for analysis and insights from CHN Staff members, including columnist Adam Wodon. And then talk about it in our blog.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
North Dakota 4, Minnesota 1
CHN: Well, Minnesota deserves some credit for not folding up in this series after Friday's 6-0 no-show. But, clearly, the Gopher program still has a ways to go to return to its lofty heights. Still, they battled to a 1-1 tie for a large part of the night, before Jason Gregoire popped in his 19th late in the second period. "It's fun to beat them at home, it's fun to beat them in our rink," Gregoire said. "Our crowd was into it and we didn't let them down. ... I thought we played solid, we just had to clean a couple things up, play with a more physical presence." ... North Dakota added some insurance in the third, and outshot Minnesota 29-19 to advance to the Final Five, where it will have to play the Thursday game against Minnesota-Duluth. ... "It was an awful lot on the line for us tonight," North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said. "It wasn't a poor performance last night, we put an average performance behind us, and it was an experience we were able to grow up from. ... They realized the things we need to do to be successful and execute for 60 minutes." ... Gregoire had another great game for North Dakota. "There's so many where he made critical plays, either offensively or defensively," Hakstol said. "He's a big time player, and he's at his best when the game is on the line." ... A key in the game was killing off a five-minute major by Matt Frattin. "It could've turned entirely the complexion of the game, but the penalty killers did a great job, the goaltender was very good, and it allowed us to continue forward the momentum," Hakstol said.
Minnesota-Duluth 4, Colorado College 0
CHN: With the season on the line for both teams, Minnesota-Duluth responded and also saved its at-large NCAA spot. The killer was Rob Bordson's power-play goal with 17 seconds left in the second period, to make it 3-0 UMD, followed quickly by Mike Connolly's goal just 46 seconds into the third. No way CC could recover from that, and the Tigers' season ends in disappointment. UMD came from the Thursday game to win the Final Five last year, and will have to do it again, starting with North Dakota. The Bulldogs may need to win that game to lock up an NCAA spot -- but you can play with all the possibilities with CHN's You Are the Committee tool.
Miami 2, Ohio State 1
CHN: After riding Cody Reichard through the playoffs last year, it looked like Miami would do the same this year. But after Saturday's Game 2 loss, coach Enrico Blasi went with Connor Knapp, and it paid off. But moreso, the Miami defense really clamped down. It allowed a late goal after being up 2-0, but shut down Ohio State from there, as Miami -- as the No. 1 seed -- claimed the final spot at The Joe for next week's CCHA semifinals. Miami's No. 1 seed in the NCAAs is already secure, but it has never won the CCHA tournament championship, so that is some motivation.
Vermont 1, New Hampshire 0
CHN: It was a strange year in Hockey East throughout. Call it parity or call it mediocrity, but this was indicative of the whole thing. Vermont wins in overtime -- a second consecutive 1-0 win -- as the No. 8 seed bumps out the No. 1 seed. And both will probably go to the NCAAs. Just pure wackiness. Jay Antcil scored the winner in overtime. "I got the puck on my stick, I got a screen from their defenseman and it went in, luckily," Anctil said. "I was just happy to see all my teammates coming to celebrate with me." ... New Hampshire didn't score a goal for the last seven periods of the series. ... Vermont will play Boston College in the semis next week. ... "I really felt like we played a solid series," Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "There wasn't a lot of room out there the last couple of nights. I was pretty hard on our goaltender to try and spark him. He certainly rose to the occasion. I thought he was the difference; especially in overtime." Madore played 135 minutes and 52 seconds of shutout hockey in the final two games of the series - each 1-0 wins for Vermont. That was after allowing six goals on 21 shots in a 7-4 loss in Game 1. The Catamounts became the first team in the 86-year history of the UNH program to shut out the Wildcats in their own building in back-to-back games. Prior to Game 2 of the series Vermont had never shut out New Hampshire in 90 all-time meetings. "It's very nice to be able come back and have two more solid performances after kind of costing the team the first night," said Madore, who has four shutouts on the season and five in his career. "That was as much of an offensive shutout as I've seen. Forwards were blocking shots and we just outmuscled them in their defensive zone and they couldn't handle us down low."
Union 2, Quinnipiac 1
CHN: A tough as nails series, but Union held off a late rally to get the win, and advance to the final four of the ECAC tournament for the first time since joining the league in 1991. “I didn’t say this to our guys, but I said it last year at Princeton is that the coaches have to go to the banquet, and I didn’t want to go there without my team,” Union coach Nate Leaman said to the Schenectady Gazette. “For six years, I’ve been going there without my team. I told them last year at Princeton, ‘I don’t want to go there without you.’” ... Interesting that Union coach Nate Leaman, who said he gave freshman Keith Kinkaid the night off Saturday after the 5 OTs on Friday, went back with Corey Milan again on Sunday after the Game 2 win. ... “I thought my guys played hard,” Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. “I thought Dan Clarke was good tonight. I give Union a lot of credit, and Corey Milan was great.”
Boston University 3, Merrimack 0
CHN: The big guys came to play for Boston University, and it was enough to fend off upstart Merrimack. Kieran Millan, so good last year as a freshman in helping BU to a national title, has had his ups and downs this year. But he's been good down the stretch, and here gets the shutout as BU advances to the Garden and a game with Maine. ... A disappointing ending for Merrimack, for sure, a team that thought, despite its first playoff appearance since 2004, that it could really win this series. But the bounces didn't go its way in this one.
Maine 3, Mass.-Lowell 2
CHN: Will O'Neill scored his second of the game with 4:48 remaining in regulation to tie it, then Tanner House scored 5:10 into overtime, to give Maine the series win. ... "(Brian Flynn) drove wide -- it looked like he was going to go behind the net, and I've played with Flynnie long enough to just be ready in front of the net," House said. "And Flynnie just made a great pass and threw it out, and I was fortunate to bang it in off the post. ... Maine played without injured defenseman Jeff Dimmen, who tried to skate in warmup but couldn't go. So usual forward Matt Mangene stepped in, and had an assist. ... It was an incredibly tight three games, and Maine had to eke out the last two wins after losing Game 1, 2-1. "We didn't get frustrated," Maine coach Tim Whitehead said. "I thought we carried the play in the first and didn't have a lot ot show for it. I'm just happy for these guys and proud for how they fought through." ... Maine is the youngest team in Hockey East. After years of expecting to compete for a title, the last two-plus years have been rough -- people questioning whether Maine would ever get back to lofty heights. Especially after goalie Scott Darling was suspended and the team lots its last two regular-season games, threatening to derail a season's worth of good progress. It's not there yet, but this is a big step. A lot of credit to senior backup goalie Dave Wilson. "Every time they scored, we had a strong shift after that," Wilson said. "Especially with key players out. I just thought we fought through adversity all through this weekend." ... Maine doesn't look like it can get an at-large NCAA bid, so it has to win out to return to the tournament for the first time since its Frozen Four appearance in 2007. ... Meanwhile, Lowell had another once-promising season go up in flames, short of the NCAAs and the Garden.
Brown 1, Yale 0
CHN: Yale blitzed Brown on Saturday. So much so that, the hopes Brown's coaching staff of at least wearing down Yale for a Sunday Game 3, went by the wayside. Who could be tired out when you coast that easily? So, what happens? Brown wins anyway. Despite Yale pouring on the shots, as it usually does, Brown goalie Mike Clemente rebounded off Saturday's pounding and came up with a shutout -- and completed one of the more improbably upsets of the weekend. “This was a night when the goalie stole the game,” Yale coach Keith Allain said. "It’s as frustrating as it can get ... when a guy in a team sport is a difference maker.” ... You knew Yale would be hurting by losing 21-goal scorer Sean Backman from the lineup, but this was definitely unexpected, especially after rebounding from Game 1s loss to pound the Bears on Saturday. Yale will sit back and hope things break right for an NCAA bid anyway. ... To add to the remarkable nature of this series, the only goal of the game came shorthanded, of all things, for Brown. Mark Arcobello was flying over the blueline with the puck and collided with Yale teammate Andrew Miller. Jack Maclellan was there to grab the puck and buzz to the other end before snapping off a rising shot from the right circle at 9:21 of the first period. "I definitely should have had it,” said Yale goalie Billy Blase. “I don’t want to be too hard on myself. It was tough that it had to be the game-winner.” ... “I am extremely proud of the way we competed. We played smart, we were persistent,” said Allain, whose squad entered the series with eight straight wins over the team from Providence. “I felt it all game long,” said Allain about his team getting on the board. “And not just the tying goal, I thought we would get more. The chances were there, rebounds and posts.”
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Northern Michigan 5, Alaska 1
CHN: Alaska is so close to its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance as an at-large, but it ran into a red-hot Northern Michigan team this weekend. As a result, both teams sit right on the NCAA precipice. If NMU goes 1-1 next weekend, it might get in, or might not. Meanwhile, Alaska could even benefit from simply not playing. It remains to be seen in the wacky world of the Pairwise.
St. Cloud State 3, Minnesota State 2
CHN: A big recovery for the Huskies over Friday night's toughie, forcing a Game 3. St. Cloud State is safe for the NCAAs, but given its winless history there, wants to go into it feeling good.
Minnesota 4, North Dakota 2
CHN: If any team looked more dead than Minnesota after Friday's games, it would be hard to find it. By their own admission, the Gophers looked like a team that have never picked up hockey sticks after a 6-0 embarrassment at the hands of North Dakota. But here, Minnesota capitalized on some breaks, and despite being heavily outshot early, and despite falling behind 2-1, managed to hang tough when it easily could've watched its season fade gently into that good night. ... Seth Helgeson couldn’t have picked a better time for his first career goal. The freshman scored with 7:02 left in regulation to lift Minnesota. The Gophers trailed 2-1 with less than eight minutes left before Jacob Cepis and Helgeson tallied goals just 48 seconds apart to put Minnesota ahead. Jordan Schroeder added an empty net goal to seal the win. It is the third time in four years Minnesota will play a third game in its opening round series. The Gophers have lost in the opening round just once in the last 32 years, coming in 1998 at Minnesota-Duluth. ... Interestingly though, because of the way the Pairwise works, with UMass dropping off the "Team Under Consideration" list, North Dakota inched up into a Pairwise tie with Boston College and St. Cloud State for the final No. 1 seed spot, despite losing.
Denver 4, Michigan Tech 2
CHN: Denver punched its ticket to the WCHA Final Five with a hard-fought 4-2 win. Kyle Ostrow and Jesse Martin each had a goal and an assist, Joe Colborne scored the game-winner, and John Lee scored his first career goal. Michigan Tech, playing without leading scorer Brett Olson, Bennett Royer and Jordan Baker tonight, gave the Pioneers quite a challenge in the playoff series. “We are certainly fortunate to advance to the Final Five after a difficult series against Michigan Tech,” DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. “I have all the admiration for the way Tech competed, but we better tonight and we’re looking forward to playing in the premier tournament in college hockey next weekend.”
Wisconsin 7, Alaska-Anchorage 2
CHN: Like Boston College and Denver, it was a case of another soon-to-be No. 1 NCAA seed just taking care of business and rolling through this weekend.
Colorado College 5, Minnesota-Duluth 3
CHN: After a back-and-forth first two periods, CC got a huge goal from an unlikely source, and went on to force Game 3, and seriously damage UMD's NCAA hopes. Scott Winkler, who played the first 18 games of his college career without a point until getting an assist on Friday, got his first career goal at 5:17. It sparked a mini-fracas, but after things calmed down, UMD got its offense back going, and had 19 shots in the final period. But Joe Howe stopped them all.
Air Force 4, Army 2
CHN: Jacques Lamoureux scored a power-play goal with 1:25 left in the third period to lift Air Force into the semifinals. “I am so emotionally spent,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “This was a huge series. When two service academies play it is everything and we felt that. This was very special for us. This isn’t the mighty Falcons of last year that beat Michigan (in the NCAA tournament). This is the scrappin’, fightin’ Falcons and these kids have so much heart and character. I was in awe of last year’s team but this year’s team, I respect every guy in that locker room. Army is a physical team and there is nothing easy about playing that team. I’m really happy this team gets the chance to go to Rochester. We are not a deep or old team, but we have guys who are making contributions who haven’t played. The fighting and scraping Falcons is what we are.” ... On the other side, Army was disappointed, but proud. “I am very proud of our guys,” said Army hockey head coach Brian Riley. “We challenged the guys and every player who wore a sweater tonight gave all that they had. Tonight, we played Army hockey and the guys played as hard as they could. I can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Ohio State 5, Miami 4
CHN: Miami once again dug itself a hole, this time falling behind 3-0; and once again climbed out of it -- but not all the way. Two goals in the final 3:02 of regulation got the RedHawks to overtime, as Miami poured it on after falling behind 3-0, with a 46-21 shot edge for the game. The one that kick-started it was shorthanded, too. But, despite everything seeming to be going against it, Ohio State was able to get off the mat, and Sergio Somma's OT goal at 6:35 forces a Game 3 on Sunday.
Ferris State 3, Nebraska-Omaha 2
CHN: Ferris State advances with an overtime win, ending UNO's season. The first year under Dean Blais has to be considered pretty good, taking everything into account. Transitioning to a coach with a different system, still trying to build things his own way, and with a transition to the WCHA looming next year -- the Mavericks can build off of this. Meanwhile, for the Bulldogs, they continue to prove they are not going away this season. They got the job done, and sit at No. 10 in the Pairwise. That's a pretty good position to be in right now, though two losses next weekend in Detroit could pose a problem.
Michigan 5, Michigan State 3
CHN: A season of struggles, but Michigan turned it on when it mattered -- perhaps energized by getting to face its arch-rival. After dominating Friday, Michigan came out to a 2-0 lead early. However, this time, Michigan State showed its pride, beared down, and scored three straight goals. The first two came from Andrew Rowe, who's made a living off Michigan. Then the Spartans tied it in the last second of the first period. But Michigan re-tied it early in the second, and it stayed that way for a while until Chris Brown scored in the third, and Michigan held on for the sweep. Barring some strangeness, Michigan State has dropped out of the NCAA picture. It might not feel this way right now, but MSU had a heckuva turnaround season, going from last year's horrible, tumultuous 10th-place finish to second place, and the program is in good shape. ... Michigan, meanwhile, jumped up in the Pairwise, but still looks like it needs to win it all at The Joe to go to the NCAAs for the 20th straight season.
Sacred Heart 4, Holy Cross 3
CHN: Sacred Heart and coach C.J. Marottolo continue to write the second-half success story, winning in OT to advance to the Atlantic Hockey final four next week in Rochester.
RIT 4, Connecticut 1
CHN: RIT flirted with disaster Friday, going up 3-0 then being forced to OT. But the Tigers were having none of that in this one, and kept UConn down and out.
Canisius 5, Mercyhurst 4
CHN: For the second straight night, Canisius stuns Mercyhurst in Erie, this time in overtime. Freshman Ben Parker scored seven minutes into the second overtime and the Griffs advance for the first time since 2004. On the game-winning score, junior Cory Conacher chipped the puck to Parker on the blue line. Two Mercyhurst defenders then hit the ice attempting to block the shot but Parker went high and beat the Laker goalie glove-side for the game-winning score. “Cory did a good job of chipping the puck out to me,” Parker said. “Two guys went down and I knew I had to go high. I went high and found the corner and the rest is history.” The goal for Parker was his third of the season and his first career game-winning goal. His score ended the longest game in the program’s Division I history. “It’s an unreal feeling right now,” Parker said. “I’m just in my first year but Canisius has been waiting a long time for this. All the credit goes to the guys in the locker room and it was a great team effort. We worked really hard for this all year and we deserve it.”
Vermont 1, New Hampshire 0
CHN: Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon called out his goaltender, Rob Madore, after losing 7-4 on Friday, and he got the response he wanted/needed. Although let's look to the UVM defense stepping up for its sophomore goaltender, allowing only 17 shots -- on the road -- in a playoff game to the first-place team. Even though this is an 8 seed vs. a 1 seed, UNH only has one more overall win this season than Vermont. That's why UNH is currently 11 in the Pairwise, and UVM is 14. Amazing. ... The only goal was by David Pacan, 5:16 into the third. ... "From the net out I just thought that our guys showed a lot of courage," Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "We played great defensively and got very good goaltending. I thought Rob (Madore) was excellent." The loss was the first at home this season against a Hockey East opponent for the Wildcats (10-1-4). It also marked the first time they have been shut out. "Our guys came out and gave the kind of effort that wins hockey games; especially in the playoffs," Madore said. "They sacrificed the body, were smart with the puck and won the battles."
St. Lawrence 4, Colgate 3
CHN: Jeremy Price scored two goals for Colgate for a 2-0 lead, before it was Mr. Clutch, Mike McKenzie, kick-starting the rally again for the Saints. And after Colgate took a 3-2 lead again in the third, the Saints stayed determined despite being on the road, getting Matt Raley's second goal of the season with 1:07 remaining in regulation to win it.
Union 3, Quinnipiac 1
CHN: Adam Presizniuk scored twice, as Union shook off Friday's 5 OT loss to force a Game 3, and keep alive its hopes of getting to the ECAC final four for the first time. “We were exhausted,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said. “Both teams were. An event like a five-overtime game will do that, but you have to be ready to battle. I think that Union did a better job of that tonight.”
Merrimack 3, Boston University 2
CHN: Merrimack picked a great time for its first road win against BU since March 2, 2001, and first win ever at Agganis Arena. Not to mention its first playoff win since 1998, also against BU. Of course, none of this will make the Warriors too happy if they lose Game 3 Sunday. ... Like Friday, Merrimack took a lead, only to have BU tie. But this time, the Warriors held on for OT, and played a much better game overall. On the game winner, Ryan Flanigan went down the right side; as he got to the goal line, he slid it back to the low slot and Joe Cucci hit it past Kieran Millan. ... In the game, BU defenseman Max NiCastro cut open an artery on his wrist when he hit a skate blade. He had 26 stitches, but no apparent muscle damage. He will not play Sunday, but will be available if BU advances. ... "My first comment is: what happened to my team from last night. That's all I can think about," BU coach Jack Parker said. ", we played hard, we played smart, we played with a lot of zip, we moved the puck and we didn't do any of those things tonight. We got outshot in our own building. We had 11 power plays to their five, and we got outshot. We only had 13 5-on-5 shots, and on the power play we were brutal. Other than the (David) Warsofsky group out there on the five-on-five. ... Merrimack turned it up a lot last night. They played well last night, but I thought they were better tonight. We played really well last night, and we played poorly tonight. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the the third and final game night."
Boston College 5, Massachusetts 2
CHN: Casey Wellman tried to keep UMass in there, twice responding to BC goals, his 21st and 22nd of the season. But in the third, it was all BC. In the end, it was a run-of-the-mill sweep for the Eagles, ending UMass' once-promising season and keeping BC's chances for a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs alive. “Both teams played really hard tonight. That was as physical a game as we have been in all year, as far as good, solid hits,” BC head coach Jerry York said. “It is always hard to take sticks away from another team. Everyone wants to continue to play hockey and that makes the quarterfinal series one of the most difficult that we have. It seems that way every year, whether you have home ice or you’re the visiting team. The games are so close.” Senior assistant captain Matt Lombardi intercepted a Massachusetts pass in the offensive zone and netted the decisive goal at 2:11 of the third. “Matt Lombardi has been a really hard-nosed player for us and you never know when the goals are going to come from him,” York said. “This was probably the most important goal so far this year. It was his first game-wining goal. It was a great effort and he was well rewarded.”
Maine 2, Mass.-Lowell 0
CHN: For the second straight night, Maine took a 1-0 edge. But this time, the Black Bears kept the pedal down, and stifled Lowell. Dave Wilson stopped all 23 shots he faced for the win, forcing Game 3. ... Maine, which has the top power play in the nation, was 0-for-8 in the series until Tanner House scored his 15th in the second period to give Maine the two-goal cushion.
Cornell 3, Harvard 0
CHN: Cornell took care of business. The Big Red was all over Harvard, though it took a while to crack the net -- with Blake Gallagher getting his 18th at 12:05 of the second period. From there, Cornell did what it does best to steer the ship to Albany next weekend, and greatly enhance its NCAA chances.
Yale 6, Brown 3
CHN: Yale dominated from the get go. The final score was much closer than the game would indicate. Brown's defense was left flat-footed most of the night, as Yale darted around the ice and electrified the home crowd. At one point, it was 4-0 Yale and 40-11 in shots, before Brown got a shorthanded goal. But Yale answered right back on Brian O'Neill's second of the night, and the Bulldogs were able to force Game 3.
St. Cloud State 3, Minnesota State 2
CHN: The Huskies' spot in the NCAAs had already been secured. But what it did here, with a thrilling OT power-play goal in Game 3 of this hard-fought series, was not only keep its chances for a Broadmoor Trophy alive, but also for a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs if BC and North Dakota falter. ... To win this, St. Cloud State twice had to rally from behind, first on Garret Roe's 19th of the season in the second period; and then Garrett Raboin scoring in the third just 2:09 after Mankato had taken the lead. ... In the overtime, Joe Schiller was called for a boarding penalty at 2:32, and the Huskies took advantage. Ryan Lasch set up Drew LeBlanc 49 seconds into the power play for the winner. ... The whole chain of events did not sit well with Minnesota State coach Troy Jutting, though he didn't blame either team. "I thought it was devastating for the kids," Jutting said, referring to the official's penalty call. "I thought maybe it was unfair for both teams for the game to be decided maybe by a guy who doesn't understand hockey." ... Schiller was victim of a player who turned at the last moment, causing the boarding. Nevertheless, "We did a lot of great things. A couple unfortunate things that led to goals. But I thought the battle on the ice by both teams was fantastic tonight," Jutting said.
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