MADISON – The Wisconsin Badgers take the first game with a physical 3-1 victory over Minnesota Duluth.

UMD’s Dan DeLisle was able to add the first tally to the scoreboard, even though the Badgers controlled the first five minutes of play.  Wisconsin answered with two goals in the second period by Nic Kerdiles and John Ramage, followed by a full-ice, empty-net goal by Mark Zengerle to seal the deal for the Badgers in the 3-1 win. (more…)

DULUTH – Minnesota-Duluth continues to surprise not only it’s fans, but the rest of college hockey with a large-margined, 6-0 victory and weekend sweep over #16 Nebraska-Omaha.  Ryan Massa started in net for the Mavericks, but John Faulkner finished the game off after the Bulldogs had scored four straight powerplay goals from Austin Farley, Cal Decowski, Joe Basaraba and Andy Welinski.

Faulkner took the net to begin the third period, but a powerplay goal from Joe Basaraba and an even-strength goal from Mike Seidel allowed the Bulldogs to finish with two goals in each period.  When the final horn sounded, the Bulldogs earned the weekend sweep while outscoring the Mavericks 11-4.

What I Saw

Nebraska Omaha was paralyzed with penalties all night long, giving the Bulldogs a man-advantage for a large amount of time.  When things were even, the Mavericks were able to display the talent they’ve normally been able to produce, but couldn’t find a hole in UMD Goalie Aaron Crandall.  The physical game one could expect from UNO was there, but the line between being penalized was crossed much too many times.

Minnesota-Duluth is on a tear.  The powerplay was performing very well tonight, going 5/8 while the penalty kill didn’t give up a goal during the three attempts UNO had.  The Bulldogs were able to breakout, connect passes, avoid neutral-zone turnovers, and sloppy play that plagued them for most of the season, allowing for the performance that we’ve seen.

What I Thought

Just when things seemed as though they were looking up for UNO, they would either take a penalty or turn the puck over.  The amount of times UNO would “shoot themselves in the foot” kept adding up, usually resulting in goals.  Blais would have liked his goaltenders to play a little differently, too, as they gave up six goals.  Had they not taken so many penalties and had some momentum growing from the goaltenders making great saves, the game would have been much closer and could have resulted in the Mavericks winning.

UMD is right where they want to be going into the playoffs.  Although they are heading on the road, either to Minnesota State, Wisconsin, or Denver (most-likely, anyway), the Bulldogs will take a large amount of momentum and confidence with them after two sweeps.  The powerplay and goaltending are performing at the best of its ability, which could end up giving UMD a bid into the WCHA Final Five.

What They Said

Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais said,”It didn’t seem to matter what we did, they found a way to take advantage of our mistakes so you’ve got to give Duluth credit.”

Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin said,”Like last night, we took advantage on the powerplay.  Our guys played with a lot passion tonight; we played smart and aggressive.”

Minnesota-Duluth senior Mike Seidel said,”We really stressed coming out in the first period because we knew they were going to come out with fire.  We told ourselves that we were going to match their intensity and push forward and to gain momentum.”

What Else You Should Know

Aaron Crandall earned his second shutout in a row for UMD.  He stopped 32 shots and did a fine job at redirecting pucks away from potentially dangerous situations, as well as seeing shots through a good amount of traffic.

The Bulldog powerplay is now 11 for 23 in the last four games (48%) and penalty kill sits at 13 for 14 (93%).

Nebraska-Omaha has now lost four games in row resulting in the longest losing streak of the season.  They’re also 2-7-0 in their last nine games.

DULUTH – Minnesota-Duluth defeats Nebraska-Omaha 5-4 after scoring four straight goals in the second period.  UNO sits in sixth place in the WCHA, but will fall to seventh tonight as Denver is going to defeat Alaska Anchorage.  The drop in standings results in Omaha taking the road for an away game to kick-off the WCHA playoffs, making tomorrow’s game even more important.

The Mavericks hit the board first with a Josh Archibald tally, finishing off the period ahead of the Bulldogs 3-1.  The second period belonged to the Bulldogs, though.  After killing a five-minute major penalty, the Bulldogs scored four straight goals giving them the 5-3 lead to end the second.  Johnnie Searfoss cut UMD’s lead 5-4 in the third period, but were unable to find anymore offensive production to tie the game.

What I Saw

UNO was able to capitalize on missed passes and sloppy play from UMD which allowed them to dominate most of the first period.  Ryan Massa started the game for the Mavericks, but was pulled and replaced by John Faulkner after giving up four goals.  With the exception of the second period, which I’m sure they’d like to have back, UNO played pretty well.

UMD didn’t exactly fly out of the gates to begin the game, but eventually found traction and success after awhile.  The Bulldog power play helped in adding two goals in four attempts, which looked to be firing on all cylinders in each attempt.

What I Thought

Omaha came to play, and quieted Amsoil Arena very early in the game.  The dominant offense UMD had hoped to stop from UNO produced early in the game, but failed when it counted most.  But when momentum was sided with the Mavericks, which was mainly the first period, they displayed a dangerous amount of talent in connecting with one another and moving the puck.

Duluth’s sloppy play allowed UNO to convert early on, but after killing the major penalty, the Dogs caught fire and didn’t look back.  UMD’s special teams continued to perform well from the week before, killing penalties and finding the back of the net when on a man-advantage.  A team that is finally showing some confidence late in the season.

What They Said

UMD coach Scott Sandelin, “We won the battles around the net, the penalty kill was huge and to kill that (Justin Crandall’s major penalty) off and to respond with four goals was huge.”

UMD freshman Austin Farley,”All lines are working well and we’re all clicking.  Our power play is pretty good too and we wanted to win the special teams battle because that’s what it comes down to later.”

UNO junior Ryan Walters, “They gained a lot of momentum for killing it (Justin Crandall’s major penalty) off and as a result they scored four straight goals and we had to come back just like they did.  The third period came along and we got that goal right away and gave ourselves a chance but fell short tonight.”

What Else You Should Know

UMD is locked up to travel for the first round of the WCHA playoffs, but UNO is one point out of playing at home.  Tomorrow’s game could potentially lock the Mavericks up in an away series as well, depending on how Denver does against UAA tomorrow night.

Austin Farley quietly had a four point night with a goal and three assists, and was also one of five Bulldogs with multiple points.

Tomorrow (Saturday) will be the last regular season game for both teams.

The ascent of Providence, Massachusetts-Lowell and Merrimack to the top of the Hockey East standings this season led many to point to goaltending as the deciding factor in success or failure in college hockey. Certainly, having a high-quality, reliable netminder is important, and the impact of a great goalie is unquantifiable, especially in the postseason. More than just the man between the pipes, though, Providence, Merrimack and Lowell have another thing in common: they win games because the skaters in front of their goaltender play strong defense.

The way these teams defend are different. They are equally effective, though. Connor Hellebuyck, Sam Marotta and Jon Gillies are very good players. The skaters on these teams, however, are vital to the goalies’ ability to win games. Last weekend, Lowell swept Boston University in a series that brilliantly illustrated the value of a strong defensive philosophy. BU didn’t play poorly in either game. Still, they managed very little offense — just one goal in 120 minutes — and seemed entirely inept offensively. This is uncharacteristic of the Terriers, even during this run of bad play that has been their second half. Lowell simply prevented BU accomplishing anything, especially once they established a lead. The River Hawks executed their system perfectly both nights, and BU had almost no answer for it.

Similarly, Merrimack and Providence play strong defense as well. They allow more shots than Lowell, but they don’t give up many quality scoring chances. At the moment, Lowell allows the fewest shots on goal per game in the league (27).

Compare that to Massachusetts, which allows a shade more at 27.2 per game. The Minutemen, though, have one of the league’s worst defenses in Hockey East. They give up far more grade-A scoring chances than Lowell. Moreover, whatever combination of Kevin Boyle, Jeff Teglia and Steve Mastalerz just isn’t as good as Hellebuyck and Doug Carr. UMass allows far more quality scoring chances than other clubs and has looked defensively uninterested for most of the season.  (more…)

Dear Hockey East,

Please reconsider the new playoff plan you’re implementing next season. Vermont just swept Northeastern in a huge series. Northeastern now heads to UMass on Tuesday for what is essentially a must-win game. Then this coming weekend, UMass hosts Maine in a series that could wind up deciding both teams’ seasons. Why are all these games so important? Because of that race for the eighth and final playoff spot. Because not all of those teams are going to make the postseason.

This is what makes the Hockey East regular season better than the regular season in any other conference. In other leagues, none of those games I just mentioned would be nearly as important. Sure, they might decide seeding, but they wouldn’t decide seasons. I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say that in a league where everyone makes the playoffs, I don’t really care if someone finishes ninth instead of 10th. Home ice in that new first round is something to shoot for, but there’s no way that race will ever be as exciting or as meaningful as a race for the final playoff spot.

I’m not saying you have to stick to the same eight-team format. In fact, I’d be worried that an eight-team playoff in a 12-team league would lead to too many meaningless games at the end of the regular season for the bottom couple teams. A 10-team playoff would be ideal in my opinion. There are several ways to make this work. One would be the old WCHA format, with first-round series pitting 1 vs. 10, 2 vs. 9, etc., followed by a play-in game between the two lowest remaining seeds prior to the semifinals. Another would be having two play-in games pit 7 vs. 10 and 8 vs. 9 prior to the quarterfinals.

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WORCESTER — Holy Cross defeated Atlantic Hockey leading Niagara Friday night at the Hart Center, 5-3. The loss ended a run of form for the visitors, which yielded 11 wins in 13 games and sent the Purple Eagles to the top of the league standings.

The Crusaders dominated puck possession at times and exposed a poor goaltending performance from the Purple Eagles. Senior Brandon Nubb scored two goals for Holy Cross and sophomore Matt Ginn made 38 saves for the victors.

What I Saw

The second period was marked by unusual goals — and certainly ones that the goalies from each team would like the chance to stop again. Early in the frame, Albers attempted to insert the puck into the offensive zone from the near blue line seconds before a line change. It bounced awkwardly into the crease and through Ginn’s legs. Then immediately before the end of the period, the Crusaders experienced luck of their own. Nunn took the puck into the zone and sent it towards Chubak. Just as before on the opposite end, the junior let the puck slowly slide through his legs. (more…)

Jordan Samuels-Thomas notched his third game-winning goal of the season Friday evening, as Quinnipiac defeated Dartmouth at the TD Bank Sports Center, 3-2. With the victory, the Bobcats extend their unbeaten streak to 13 games, and are currently 9-0-0 in conference play and 7-0-0 against ranked opponents. Samuels-Thomas got his previous game-winners against Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 29 and on Oct. 6 at Maine.

What I Saw

Quinnipiac controlled the first and second period’s, yet Dartmouth played a strong third and and overtime period. The Bobcats took an early lead at 11:09 in the first, when Travis St. Denis collected a rebound and wristed the puck past Charles Grant for the 1-0 advantage.

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BOSTON — Boston University defeated Rensselaer, 3-2, in overtime at Agganis Arena Friday night. The Terriers put 40 shots on RPI senior goaltender Bryce Merriam. With two minutes left in the extra frame, sophomore Cason Hohmann skated through the right slot and launched a quick wrist shot above the left blocker of Merriam. The deciding goal came after the Terriers dominated the third period and continued to generate scoring chances in overtime.

What I Saw

During the first period, the Engineers maintained a strong defensive shape and frustrated BU’s efforts to engage the offensive zone. RPI started the scoring in the middle of the frame, as sophomore Ryan Haggerty scored quickly off a face-off. The Terriers responded several minutes later after freshman Mike Moran danced into the crease from behind the net and put a shot on Merriam. Then, senior Ryan Santana quickly converted the rebound to tie the score.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Josh Myers’ third-period goal proved to be the difference as Merrimack College snapped a five-game winless skid with a 2-1 win on the road at Providence College.

The Warriors picked up their first victory since beating Vermont on Oct. 26. It was the Warriors’ longest winless skid in three years.

Brian Christie also scored for the Warriors, who got 34 saves from first-year goaltender Rasmus Tirronen. Tim Schaller scored for the Friars and Jon Gillies stopped 22 shots.

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BOSTON – An early lead for Northeastern turned out to be just that after St. Lawrence capitalized on a a sluggish second period from the Huskies and took the game, 5-2. With the win, the Saints moved to 6-3-2 on the season while Northeastern fell to 2-6-1.

The Huskies opened up the scoring when Ludwig Karlsson took a feed from Dan Cornell out by the blue line and shot high with a wrister that went above goaltender Matt Weninger to make it 1-0 at 12:25 in the first period. As the final seconds of that first period ticked off, St. Lawrence’s offense broke up the Northeastern defense which made it possible for Greg Carey to get right in front of Bryan Mountain, deke, and beat him with a backhand shot to tie it up going into the second.

The Saints carried that momentum with them, capitalizing on a power play chance caused by a hooking call on Dustin Darou. The power play combination of leading scorers Kyle Flanagan and Greg Carey set up the opportunity for Gunnar Hughes 16 seconds into the power play to make it a 2-1 Saints lead, one they wouldn’t give up throughout the latter half of the game.

Flanagan notched one of his own at 13:05 in the second, taking a feed from Patrick Doherty while positioned perfectly between the circles to beat Mountain. That closed out the second period scoring, but Chris Martin and Pat Raley would each score one in the third to give St. Lawrence a 5-1 lead.

Northeastern added a late goal to cut the deficit when Dax Lauwers scored his first goal as a Husky for a 5-2 final.

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