The 2013 Frozen Four is a great opportunity to witness one of UMass-Lowell, Yale, St. Cloud State or Quinnipiac win their first NCAA hockey national championship in Pittsburgh. It’s also the only chance all year to see ESPN and ESPN2 show any hockey

This year brings something new to the table. Longtime Frozen Four play-by-play voice Gary Thorne, who has long been associated with the event, is out. Sportscenter anchor and former NHL2Night host John Buccigross is now alongside color commentator Barry Melrose and interviewer Clay Matvick.

With that in mind, I thought it’d be a good idea to track the ESPN coverage of the Frozen Four as it unfolds. This will be updated with thoughts from the second semifinal and championship game as they are played. (more…)

BOSTON – Massachusetts-Lowell wins its first Hockey East tournament championship with a 1-0 win over Boston University Saturday night at TD Garden. The win gives the River Hawks their first ever Hockey East tournament title, while BU’s season comes to an end with the loss. This also ends BU coach Jack Parker’s 40-year coaching career after announcing his retirement two weeks ago.

Derek Arnold scored the game’s lone goal on a wraparound 11 minutes, 9 seconds into the third period. Scott Wilson and Chad Ruhwedel got the assists on the play.

UML goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was named tournament MVP following his 36-save shutout against the Terriers. BU goalie Sean Maguire had yet another strong night in goal, making 28 saves in the losing effort.

What I Saw

• In a game that saw little quality chances throughout, the River Hawks broke through at 11:09 in the third period when Arnold beat Maguire with the wraparound to make it a 1-0 game. UML had done a solid job of generate rushes in the second and third period, and finally broke through with a 3-on-2 that started in the defensive zone with Chad Ruhwedel and Arnold trading passes through the neutral zone. Arnold fed Ruhwedel in the slot, but the defenseman’s shot deflected off Scott Wilson and onto the stick of Arnold. The junior then completed the wraparound well out of the reach of Maguire’s outstretched glove. The play exemplified what the River Hawks were trying to do to BU all night, but the Terriers executed well defensively. They had another big chance to beat Maguire 3:25 into the period when Colin Wright got out on the breakaway after leaving the penalty box, but his shot rang off the post and back into play.  (more…)

BOSTON – Trailing 2-0 midway through the second period, Boston University scored five unanswered goals to beat Boston College, 6-3, Friday night at TD Garden in the Hockey East semifinals. With the win, BU advances to Saturday’s final against UMass Lowell at 7 p.m.

Danny O’Regan and Evan Rodrigues each scored twice for the Terriers, while Sean Maguire made 44 saves in the winning effort.

BC’s top line of Steven Whitney, Quinn Smith and Pat Mullane accounted for two of its three goals in the game with Whitney and Smith scoring the goals while Mullane had a pair of assists.

Parker Milner struggled in net for the Eagles, making 21 saves and allowing five goals in the loss.

What I Saw

• After Quinn Smith put BC up 2-0 8 minutes, 46 seconds into the second period, a sense of urgency clicked in with the Terriers and they stepped their game up to a whole new level. They played with speed on both ends of the ice and took advantage of Eagles breakdowns on their way three goals in less than six minutes to close the second period with a 3-2 advantage. BC was in complete control up until that point, playing a fast game that BU simply couldn’t keep up with. But the momentum took a complete 180-degree turn at 12:17 when Evan Rodrigues used some nifty stick work to avoid a Quinn Smith pokecheck, then fired a shot past Parker Milner. Matt Lane put it upon himself two minutes later, forcing a turnover at the point in his own defensive zone, then racing to the other end of the ice to beat Milner 1-on-1 to tie the game.  (more…)

MADISON – The Kohl Center errupted when the Wisconsin Badgers finished off the first round of the WCHA playoffs by defeating the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 4-1 in Saturday night’s showdown.

The Badgers sounded the horn for the first goal of the night from Jefferson Dahl just under three minutes into the game, followed by another tally from Michael Mersch.  UMD Bulldog Justin Crandall kept the scoreboard active by cutting Wisconsin’s lead in half, 2-1, all within the first five minutes of the game.  Wisconsin’s Kevin Schulze tallied another goal for the Badgers in the first period to send the home team into the locker room with a 3-1 lead.  The second period failed to produce scoring from either team, but Tyler Barnes recorded his 11th goal of the year in the third period, capping off the weekend with a 4-1 win.

With the sweep of Minnesota-Duluth, Wisconsin will play either Colorado College or Denver in the first round of the WCHA Final Five tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The Badgers join the Gophers, who have already swept Bemidji State in teams that will participate in the 2013 Final Five.

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MINNEAPOLIS- It may be a cliche but few things are more valuable in the playoffs than defense and a hot goaltender.

Unfortunately for Bemidji State (6-22-8), those translated into a pair of heartbreaking losses to end the season.

A night after Kyle Rau scored his NCAA-leading 7th game winning goal in overtime, Ben Marshall became Minnesota’s newest hero Saturday when he put the Gophers ahead for the first time with 52.7 seconds left. Their resiliency overshadowed 37 saves from Beavers goaltender Andrew Walsh and goals by Jordan George, Cory Ward and Jeff Jubinville.

Despite Minnesota (26-7-5) out-shooting Bemidji State 12-8 in the first period, George scored the lone goal following a penalty to Nick Bjugstad. The Beavers made it 2-0 9:27 into the second period when Ward tipped in a shot by Sam Rendle. Bjugstad, meanwhile, made up for his earlier penalty, scoring 7 seconds into the Gophers’ first power play to cut the lead into one with 4:27 remaining but Jubinville scored 14 seconds later to make it 3-1 Bemidji State.

That was the Beavers’ high point, though. Nate Condon tipped in an Erik Haula shot with 1:06 remaining in the second to make it 3-2 following the second intermission. Minnesota came out strong, peppering Walsh with the first 8 shots of the 3rd, and eventually tied it 7:38 into the period when  freshman A.J. Michaelson was left open on a line change. Overtime for the second straight night seemed inevitable before Marshall skated through the neutral zone, around a BSU defender and beat Walsh between the legs to send the Gophers to the Final Five on a 5 game winning streak (the last 4 against the Beavers).

Minnesota next plays Friday against an opponent to be determined. (more…)

BOSTON – In Jack Parker’s final home game, Boston University beat Merrimack 5-3 to advance to the Hockey East semifinals for the 11th time in the last 12 years. Ben Rosen broke a 3-3 tie 5:11 into the third when he took in a nice backhand pass from Matt Lane and beat Sam Marotta on a second effort. The Terriers shut down Merrimack for the remainder of the game and will now face archrival Boston College in the late game on Friday. They will most likely need to win to make NCAAs.

What I saw
-A crazy second period. BU tied the score at one 1:31 into the period when Danny O’Regan fed a charging Matt Nieto, but Merrimack retook the lead three minutes later when Mike Collins shot through a Josh Myers screen for the Warriors’ second power-play goal of the game. The end of the period was even more frantic than the start, though. Cason Hohmann scored on the power play to tie the game with 3:48 to go. Then John Gustafsson capitalized on a BU turnover to make it 3-2 Merrimack with 1:20 left. Not to be outdone, the Terriers took advantage of a late power play when Sam Kurker jammed a loose puck past Marotta.

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Chestnut Hill, Mass - Boston College had the opportunity to send Vermont home on Saturday night, as the Eagles entered with a 1-0 series lead after last night’s 3-2 win over the Catamounts. Vermont began the game very undisciplined, as they gave BC six power-plays in the first period. BC took advantage at 12 minutes, 12 seconds of the period as pretty passing ended up on the stick of Steven Whitney and Whitney roofed it to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. The lead would hold until the 16:45 mark of the second period, when Patrick Brown banked a shot off a Hoffman’s skate to give BC the 2-0 lead.

Johnny Guadreau would add his 20th goal of the season four minutes into the third period, as an insurance marker to give BC a three goal lead. Pat Mullane and Matt White would score for their respective teams, as Boston College defeated Vermont going away 4-1. BC advances to next week’s semi-finals at the TD Garden in Boston to play Comm Ave rival Boston University, while Vermont’s season ends. The win moves BC up to a one seed in the tournament, as they now sit in fourth place in the Pairwise, with games still to be played out west.
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LOWELL, Mass. – Massachusetts-Lowell became the first team to punch its ticket to the TD Garden, winning 2-1 in overtime on Friday to sweep its quarterfinal series against Maine. Derek Arnold scored the winner 1:50 into the extra session on a play that required a long review. Scott Wilson set up Christian Folin on a 2-on-1, but Martin Ouellette made a great save. As the rebound fluttered through the air, Ouellette got taken out by a backchecking teammate. Michael Fallon knocked the puck down with his glove, and Arnold buried it into the empty net. The review was to see if Fallon made a hand pass to Arnold, but the goal was ultimately upheld.

Devin Shore gave Maine a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal 7:51 into the second. Ryan Lomberg won the faceoff back to him, and he walked across the blue line before snapping a shot through traffic and past Connor Hellebuyck. Michael Fallon tied the game four minutes into the third when he followed up a Scott Wilson wraparound attempt and jammed the puck past Ouellette. That goal came less than a minute after Lowell had failed to capitalize on a five-minute power play.

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Chestnut Hill, Mass – Boston College began their quest to win a fourth consecutive Hockey East tournament title against seventh seeded Vermont. The Eagles jumped out to a lead at 14 minutes, 47 seconds as Brooks Dyroff took the puck into the zone, beat a defender and scored on the second shot. The 1-0 lead would hold through the intermission, as the Eagles and Catamounts played a defensive neutral zone game through 20 minutes. BC would score halfway through the second period, as Michael Matheson sent a bomb right into the back of the net to make it 2-0 for the Eagles.  The Eagles would add another from Cam Spiro to take a 3-0 lead into the second intermission.

Vermont made it interesting in the third period, as Ben Albertson received a puck all alone in front at 4:56 of the third period to make it a 3-1 game. The Catamounts would score again, shorthanded, as Matt White converted a BC turnover to bring UVM within a goal, with just 7:23 remaining in the game.But it was not to be, as Johnny Gaudreau would seal the game for the Eagles on an empty net goal. BC defeated Vermont 4-2 and the Eagles take a 1-0 series lead into tomorrow night’s tilt at Conte Forum. The win moves BC into fifth in the Pairwise rankings. (more…)

Yesterday the WCHA unveiled their all-conference teams and individual honors, which are voted on by coaches, players, sports information directors and local media. I don’t have an actual vote when it comes to these things (there’s probably a good reason why), but that isn’t stopping me from naming my own all-WCHA teams and handing out other awards.

It’s always tough to decide on who to pick. This year was no exception; especially with forwards where 7 of the top 10 scorers in the nation are from the WCHA. There were enough deserving players where I could have made a fourth team yet still feel like someone was left off. The other positions are not as deep as forwards, however, there were still plenty of  tough choices.

So without further adieu… (more…)