1st Period Notes 

Introductions this afternoon dominated by UND fans – very impressive contigency made the trip, which is all the more impressive with the kind of weather that currently plagues the upper Midwest. Wow, it’s loud in here. No matter who you are cheering for, a lively crowd is good for all parties involved. Let’s hope the hockey is up to snuff.

Oshie v. Mannino: first battle goes to Mannino, as he gloved Oshie’s first wrister (also UND’s first shot of game).

Phil Rizzuto “Holy Cow!” Moment of the Period:  Ref Todd Anderson called a penalty. Honorable mention:  UND finds itself amidst a scrum. Why does everybody pick on these guys?

Period ends in a scoreless tie. Here comes my favorite:  THE SMALL FRIES GAME! The music they play is the best part, it’s like half dentist office half your daughter’s xylophone recital. Beautiful.

2nd Period Notes

UND has now failed to capitalize on two 5-on-3 opportunities thus far in the game. Credit DU’s penalty kill, but also credit UND’s lack of T.J. Oshie on the powerplay (he was in the box for an unsportsman). Without Oshie, who is the unit’s primary catalyst, the line lacked firepower. It really felt like everybody kept passing back and forth to eachother, as if it say, “You take the shot, no you take the shot, etc.” One thing’s for sure, capitalizing on 5-on-4 powerplays is important enough come playoff time, doing so on 5-on-3’s should be a given. Let’s see if these successful penalty kills results in any change in momentum.

Yep, sure does. Goal – DU at 5:58 on the powerplay off the stick of Rhett Rakhshani. Take what I said about what UND didn’t do and that’s what Denver did. Good puck movement forced UND’s Jean-Phillippe Lamoureux out of position and Rakhshani lifted one over Lamoureux’s shoulder. The player in the box at the time of the goal was UND’s Joe Finley; bet he regrets taking a stupid stick chop penalty.

Second period comes to an end with a questionable decision by ref Todd Anderson to whistle UND’s Joe Finley for a two minute minor instead of a penalty shot. In all fairness, I’m not sure if the Denver player had separation, but it was close. DU coach George Gwozdecky disagreed, but he has to, that’s his job. Also at period’s end, the good people from FSN put up an interesting stat – this is Denver’s first appearance in the Final Five since 2005. I take that to mean either Denver had bad play-in weekends or it’s a product of the parity of the WCHA, because it wasn’t like Denver had hohum teams in 2006 or 2007. Any team with Peter Mannino in net is never hohum, it’s in the Geneva Convention.

Always a Final Five staple, Michigan Tech’s band deserves to be recognized. Hands down, they are the best band in the WCHA. They just did a rendition of Kansas’ “Carry on Wayward Son” that nearly brought me to tears. I pulled out my lighter. Not to mention they are pretty funny – my favorite was when they counted down the last 10 seconds of 10 minutes remaining in the period and then yelled “HALFTIME!”; classy group, these yuks.

3rd Period Notes

Goal – UND at 6:30 on a rebound by Taylor Chorney. This goal was willed into the net, as DU’s Peter Mannino made about five saves before Chorney beat the puck from his pads and stuffed it into the net. Talk about a crowd revived. With the game now tied with soon to be half a period left, the WCHA has to be pleased with the competitiveness and parity in the two games thus far. It’s always fun watching nail-biter hockey, and both games have been just that.

It’s official:  the momentum has shifted from DU to UND, dramatically.

3 minutes left, the game is coming down to the wire. Expect to see the benches be considerably shortened and look for star players to step up – that means UND’s T.J. Oshie and Denver’s Rhett Rakhshani. Puck just dropped, will keep you posted.

Goal – DU, at 19:40 unassisted by Anthony Maiani. Crazy, crazy play. Moments after withstanding a flurry of shots, DU’s Maiani picks up the puck and takes it end to end. He goes wide on Finley (smart move) and then floats a wickedly placed backhand in the top corner of the net, over a sprawled Jean-Phillippe Lamoureux. It was an amazing solo effort that paid in spades for Maiani and DU. Let’s see if UND can respond.

Game over, DU on to the championship. DU adds an empty netter for good measure. Off to interviews.

The Hobey finalists were named and this year’s group is strange. It almost seems like everyone realizes that Kevin Porter is the runaway winner, so the committee just threw a bone to a few other players that it likes. No offense to Michigan State’s Jeff Lerg, who is a very good goalie and tremendous competitor, and a national champion; by where is Miami’s Jeff Zatkoff and CC freshman Richard Bachman? Bachman just won WCHA Player of the Year. When is the last time a WCHA POTY was not a Hobey finalist?

Then there’s T.J. Oshie on the list. No doubt this North Dakota star is an exceptional talent, and he will have a good pro career. But his season, this year, just isn’t there start to finish. Where is CC forward Chad Rau, one of the best two-way players in the country? How about Boston University forward Peter MacArthur, a spiritual leader who has carried that team on his back at times? Porter’s linemate Chad Kolarik? It’s always a weird dynamic when two high-scoring players are on the same line – because their numbers look more gaudy because they compound on each other. But it never stopped the committee before from putting, for example, Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling both on the list.
Putting Princeton’s Lee Jubinville on there is a stretch, but he was just named ECAC Player of the Year, and I like him … so that’s a nice bone I have no problem with.

What a phenomenal article by Kate Crandall of the Colorado Springs Gazette, finding out the names of details of all the particulars involving the situation that led to the suspensions of CC players Cody Lampl and Derek Patrosso. Patrosso is now back. The article says Lampl will indeed return to CC when his suspension is up next year.

I’d heard rumblings of this being a sexual escapade of some sort. The article describes the circumstances leading to a three-way with Lampl, a 19-year old girl, and an 18-year old recruit. Lampl contends everything was consensual, and the punishment excessive. The girl never pressed charges, and his claim is believable.

But this brings up much bigger issues, such as the on-campus culture when it relates to athletes, and in particular recruiting. … Backing up, the whole idea is just not right, for any of the students involved. I’m far from prude, and I cannot say that I’d never have wanted to in college participate in these things if I were a popular athlete. But, really, it’s not right – for anyone involved, including the girl.

But putting aside that moralizing, it’s more of a concern because of the campus culture and how it relates to athletes feeling privileged, and the whole recruiting environment. How many football programs have gotten in trouble because the coaching staff either turned a blind eye or actively encouraged showing recruits a “good time” as a way of wooing them to the program. In no way, shape or form am I accusing CC coach Scott Owens of this. I don’t doubt for a minute that he had no idea. But CC is right to protect itself against the appearance of such a thing being possible.

So Lampl may have cause to complain and be concerned that he was harshly treated. But, even if there was no crime, the school did the right thing to send a message about this kind of wide open behavior.

1st Period Notes

Large Gopher contingency at the X making their presence felt during introductions; weird.

Arena appears to be at about 90% capacity. Pretty good for a play-in game.

Goal – UM :35 into game; deflection by Lucia from a soft one-timer from the point. Catches SCSU sleeping. First shot of the game.

SCSU’s first shot hits the crossbar square and out.

Goal – SCSU on the powerplay @7:33, 4 on 3 situation, great give and go from Raboina to Lasch back to Raboina, slides it between Kangas’ five-hole.

Ref Darren Shepard appears to be injured, laymen’s opinion: groin injury. Will be interesting to see what happens if Shepard cannot continue.  

2nd Period Notes 

Goal – UM powerplay 5 on 3 at 4:35, garbage goal. Not much to say about how the goal came about – really just a scramble in front, SCSU’s Jase Weslosky failed to freeze the puck, and UM’s Evan Kaufman was rewarded. Ref Shepard gets the assist. Speaking of Shepard, it’s still pretty obvious that something is wrong. He isn’t usually known for his strong skating, but tonight’s worse than normal. Telltale sign #1: I’ve seen him clutching the boards on more than one occasion. Will keep you posted as story progresses.

UM’s Evan Kaufmann received a 2 minute penalty for “embellishment.” I love it.

Many a signs throughout the X wishing UM’s Tom Pohl the best. Who says college hockey fans don’t have hearts?

Thus far, play of the night goes to some kid playing in the mid-period youth scrimmage. He pull-dragged around a pair of defensemen and then beat the goalie stick side. The defensemen had to pick up their jockstraps from the ice … do 9 year olds wear jockstraps?  

3rd Period Notes 

19,232; a sellout. A record for play-in game. The real number is probably more around 17K and change, but still pretty impressive for a weeknight. 

Goal – SCSU at 15:34; 2 on 1 for St. Cloud on a close offside call (could have gone either way), ref calls the play good and SCSU makes good on its good fortune. Tommy Mosey scores off a great centered feed from Ryan Lasch (all this kid does is score points). Talk about taking the wind out of the sails of the UM fans here at the X. Wowzers, literally seconds after the goal, SCSU called for goaltender interference – this has the makings for a nail biter

12.7 seconds left and the UM strikes gold. Mike Howe scores off a shot from the point that deflects off the back boards and onto his stick. With Weslosky out of position (he had to face up the initial shot), Howe slides the puck into an open net. I can barley hear myself think in here it’s so loud. Timeout SCSU. Goalie pulled, no use, UM wins.

Once again this year, CHN presents John Whelan’s terrific tournament prognostication tool, “You Are the Committee”. Have some fun playing around with it and post anything interesting you find out. We’ll be keeping an eye on it throughout the week and as the weekend results come in here at YATC Central. Load it up on your iPhone when you’re at the rink Saturday and amaze your friends as you tell them who’s going to make it before the games are even over.

Of note, if all the favorites win this weekend — of course, that never happens — then you can take the current top 13 and they’re all in, along with Princeton, Niagara and Air Force.

Can you find a scenario where Wisconsin gets in? The Badgers presumably want all the favorites to win, but Notre Dame looks like their biggest rival for what could be the last at large bid. If all the favorites win, except Notre Dame loses the CCHA consolation, then the Badgers sneak in ahead of the Irish. I’m sure that’s not the only way they can get in, but it does look like it may come down to those two teams.

How about a scenario where Minnesota State does not get in? I’m thinking the Mavericks are sitting pretty right about now, but I’m not ready to write that in stone yet.

Aside: Get well Tom Pohl.