Posted: January 29th, 2012 / by Avash Kalra
The CCHA’s days may be numbered, but the lame duck conference has been far from, well, lame this 2011-12 campaign, the league’s penultimate season.
A look at the current Pairwise rankings (as of 12am on January 29) shows six CCHA teams — Ferris State (4), Ohio State (5), Michigan (7), Miami (T-8), Northern Michigan (12), Notre Dame (13) — within the top 13. Starting in the fall of 2013, those six teams will play in four different conferences. Another three — Western Michigan (T-18), Michigan State (20), Lake Superior (21) — sit on the NCAA tournament bubble.
And if the NCAA tournament started today, the CCHA representation would be twice that of the WCHA.
But let’s look closer at all the numbers: Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in CCHA, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings |
Posted: January 29th, 2012 / by Josh Seguin
Durham, NH.- On a night where New Hampshire was able to keep up with the Eagles, Barry Almeida scored a crucial powerplay goal three and a half minutes into overtime to give Boston College the weekend sweep over a reeling UNH team. The goal was his 16th of the season and it left the sold out Whittemore Center crowd of 6501 stunned after another good effort by their local team and freshman goaltender, Casey Desmith.
The second and third periods were practically a stalemate with the only blemish on either goalie, a UNH tying goal with 1:12 left in the second period, off the stick of Mike Borisenok, to deadlock the game at two that stood throughout the third period. It seemed as though UNH might be able to pull out the win, after a good second period performance by freshman goaltender Casey Desmith, where he stood on his head and made 19 saves in the period but it was not to be on the night and Boston College, as they usually do this time of year, found a way to win it.
The loss was the third straight for the Wildcats and it was the second consecutive Saturday in which they lost in overtime. They fall to 9-14-2 on the season and also fall back into ninth place, one point out of a playoff spot behind both Northeastern and UMass. The win was a the second consecutive for the Eagles and the weekend as a whole was a huge bounce-back weekend after last weekend’s sweep at the hands of the Black Bears up in Orono. Boston College improves to 16-10-1 and 11-7-1 in the conference. With the win they moved into a tie for first place with rival Boston University with 25 points one point clear of third place Maine. Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in Hockey East, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings |
Posted: January 29th, 2012 / by Dan Myers
Good evening from the north woods of Minnesota.
Is the fat lady belting out her Do-Re-Mi’s when it comes to the regular season title? It very well could be the case. Minnesota wins tonight at St. Cloud capping a series sweep. Michigan Tech rolls, shockingly, to a 5-0 win over Minnesota Duluth, taking three points from the defending national champions at the house Jack Connolly built.
Minnesota now holds a five-point edge over the Bulldogs in the race for the league title as we head into the final month. Impossible to overcome? Not by any means. I once saw the Gophers overcome an 8-point deficit in the span of 8 days. And with UMD’s rather pedestrian schedule left, anything is possible.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in Blogs, Commentary, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings, WCHA |
Posted: January 28th, 2012 / by Michael King
LOWELL, Mass. — In a game that appeared not to be in doubt through the first 25 minutes, Massachusetts challenged UMass Lowell in the second period, before succumbing, 5-2, in the final stanza.
Lowell dominated the first period and appeared poised to continue that domination through the second. But UMass defenseman Joel Hanley beat the typically reliable Doug Carr with a shot the goalie usually stops. That goal kicked off an excellent second period for the Minutemen. However, a rash of third-period penalties ended any opportunity to mount a comeback for UMass.
With the victory, the River Hawks swept the season series against their rivals — one season after being swept by the Minutemen themselves. The three wins against UMass are indicative of a remarkable turnaround for Lowell this season after winning only five total games last year.
In addition, the weekend sweep affirms Lowell’s quest to finish in the top half of the conference, while UMass must focus on merely securing conference play-off qualification.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in Commentary |
Posted: January 28th, 2012 / by Dan Myers
A crazy night around the WCHA tonight:
- Michigan Tech fell behind the defending champs, in Duluth, 4-0 after one period. But this isn’t last year’s Huskies anymore. One goal in the second and three more in the third sent the game to overtime, and Michigan Tech earned a point. Huge point for the Huskies, which keep themselves in the home ice race with the point. On the other side, just a brutal tie for UMD. With Minnesota’s win tonight, the Bulldogs are now three points back of the Gophers in the MacNaughton Cup race. This could be a point the Bulldogs look back on at the end of the season…
Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in Blogs, Commentary, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings, WCHA |
Posted: January 28th, 2012 / by Joe Meloni
BOSTON — Maine’s Marc Anthoine scored at 10 minutes, 8 seconds of the third period to give Maine a 3-2 lead over Boston University Friday night. The Black Bears added an empty-net goal to seal a 4-2 win at Agganis Arena. The win was Maine’s third in a row and 10th in its last 14 games.
For BU, the loss was its first in its last six games. Despite a 1-0 lead entering the first period, the Terriers struggled to generate offense throughout the night. A 20-minute delay caused by an issue with the lighting at Agganis resulted in BU dominating the second half of the second period at the restart. However, Maine goaltender Dan Sullivan (28 saves) kept BU from running away with the game.
What I saw
- Maine clogged the neutral zone effectively throughout the game. Both the forwards and defensemen pressured puck carriers and stepped into passing lanes well, forcing BU to defend against the Maine transition attack. All four lines confidently pressured BU when they could, opting against any high-risk plays and trusting their coverages. The Terriers’ offense was especially effective when they managed to cycle the puck. Maine limited those opportunities with their strong play through the neutral zone. Late in the game, Maine sent its forwards into the BU zone, preventing the Terriers from breaking out cleanly. After the Black Bears went up, 3-2, in the third, they managed possession with an effective cycle that kept the Terriers from creating chances. BU coach Jack Parker commented after that the game that the play was atypical of Maine. However, creating turnovers through the neutral zone has helped Maine on its current 10-2-2 run. Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in Hockey East, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings |
Posted: January 28th, 2012 / by Scott McLaughlin
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – A pair of goals in the final 3:05 lifted Boston College to a 4-3 win over New Hampshire on Friday night. Scott Pavelski gave UNH a 3-2 lead with 4:42 remaining, but the Eagles answered 1:37 later when Johnny Gaudreau tipped home a beautiful slap pass from Brian Dumoulin. Then with just 51 seconds to go, Pat Mullane found Steven Whitney streaking through the slot for the game-winner.
The Eagles (15-10-1, 11-7-1 HE) opened the scoring 35 seconds into the game when Kevin Hayes corralled the puck below the goal line and banked in a shot off UNH (9-13-2, 6-10-1 HE) goalie Casey DeSmith’s skate. The Wildcats took a 2-1 lead with two goals early in the second from Austin Block and Stevie Moses, but BC answered later in the period with a shorthanded goal from Chris Kreider. The Eagles peppered DeSmith with 34 shots, while the Wildcats managed to test Parker Milner just 13 times.
What I saw
-The Eagles carried play in the first period. They outshot UNH 13-5 in the frame, but time of possession seemed even more lopsided than that. They pinned the Wildcats in their own end for entire shifts at a time, limiting UNH to an occasional one-and-done opportunity at the other end. Through 10 minutes, the Wildcats had just two shots on goal, and one came from the neutral zone while the other was a soft wrister from the point. The only thing BC didn’t do was score more than one goal, which was largely attributable to DeSmith’s stellar play in net. Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in Hockey East, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings |
Posted: January 27th, 2012 / by Michael King
AMHERST, Mass. — UMass-Lowell defeated in-state rival UMass at the Mullins Center Friday night, 4-2. Josh Holmstrom scored twice for the River Hawks, as the team enjoyed an appreciable power-play advantage, with five more opportunities than their opponent.
The River Hawks sealed the victory with an even-strength goal late in the third period. Lowell’s sustained pressure in the final minutes prevented Mastalerz from leaving the net for an extra-attacker. That effort was a microcosm of the game for the River Hawks, whose spirited play created multiple scoring chances and stifled the UMass offense. The Minutemen had cut the deficit to one goal
With the victory at the Mullins Center, the River Hawks clinched the season series. Both teams meet again Saturday night in Lowell.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in Commentary |
Posted: January 27th, 2012 / by Dan Myers
A late and abbreviated edition of the WCHA Power Rankings, as I’ve been on the road all day and am in Bemidji for this weekend’s Beavers-Mavericks series. I am also looking forward to my first games at the Sanford Center.
1 — Minnesota Duluth (Last week: 1)
A pair of one-goal wins over Alabama-Huntsville is more than enough to keep the ‘Dogs out front.
2 — Minnesota (Last week: 2)
Nothing wrong with a split against CC, but the Gophers need to figure out what ails them on Friday nights. This team is virtually unbeatable on Saturdays though…
3 — North Dakota (Last week: 3)
Wisconsin has just one road win this season, meaning UND needs to make some hay this weekend at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in Blogs, Commentary, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings, WCHA |
Posted: January 27th, 2012 / by Timothy O'Donnell
1. Mercyhurst – The Lakers have taken point in five of their last six conference games and continue to hold onto first place in the standings. A showdown with second place RIT awaits them this weekend.
2. RIT – The Tigers host first place Mercyhurst with a chance to jump into first themselves. A four game winning streak as the Tigers riding high.
3. Air Force – The Falcons won for the first time since Dec. 30 and won their first Atlantic Hockey game since Dec. 3. The Falcons finish their four game road trip with a visit to Canisius.
4. Robert Morris – The Colonials have taken points in 13 of their last 14 Atlantic Hockey games and have risen to third in the standings. The Colonials have a home-and-home series with Niagara this weekend. Read the rest of this entry »
Comment on this Post ...
Posted in Atlantic Hockey |
