Brackets for the Division I tournament were announced today, and there’s no question they’ve sparked a lot of discussion. Adam has analysis here, with some comments from committee chair Joel Maturi (Minnesota AD) confirming the decision this year to protect the top two seeds overall, Michigan and Miami, by keeping them away from the two venues where the host team will play — Colorado College (No. 2 seed) and Wisconsin (No. 3 seed).

The decision to protect top seed Michigan wasn’t a big surprise.

The real surprise was the protection of Miami as the second seed overall. In fact, as others have noted, this goes against decisions made by other committees when the second seed could have been protected but wasn’t.

You can really only look at the brackets since the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 2003 for a reasonable comparison, but just in the five years of that setup prior to this year, you can find three examples where #2 was not protected.

In 2003, Colorado College was sent to Ann Arbor, where No. 3 seed Michigan was hosting. CC was beaten in the regional final by the Wolverines that year.

In 2004, Boston College was the second seed overall and went to Manchester, N.H., where New Hampshire was a No. 3 seed. Although Manchester isn’t UNH’s home arena, it’s sort of their second home, as they have played one or two games a year there since the arena opened. And the rink was filled with a majority of Wildcat fans. As it turned out, UNH was eliminated by Michigan in the first round, and BC topped the Wolverines in the final to advance to he Frozen Four.

And in 2006, Minnesota as the second seed went to Grand Forks, N.D., with North Dakota as host and a No. 2 seed. That was the year, of course, that Holy Cross upset the Gophers and was then beaten by the Sioux the next night.

Those precedents made it surprising to me that the committee would choose to protect Miami as well this season. The committee isn’t bound by precedent, of course, but it seemed that the precedent was so strong in recent years, that a decision like this only opens a new can of worms for the future.

If you’re the second ranked team next year or the year after, you’d certainly seem to have a reason to complain if you aren’t afforded the same protection.

And if you’re Colorado College, well, it’s all water under the bridge now, but don’t you wish you had this committee in place five years ago?

For the record, I agree with Adam that protecting the top seeds (note plural) is not necessarily a bad thing. But I think what we have all come to expect from the process and appreciate about it, is the consistency that we’ve almost always had. You’d like to be able to look at decisions that were made and say, I understand that, because in similar situations before, they’ve done the same thing.

I just don’t think you can do that this year. And it leads me to wonder what will happen in the future. Will a different committee follow the precedent this one set? Or will they go back to what was done a few years prior?

Perhaps the answer is to put it in writing. Currently it’s just an unwritten rule, that the top seeds will be protected if possible. Let’s make it official as one of the steps the committee will follow.

Then everyone will know, and there won’t be any surprises. At least until the next unwritten rule comes to the forefront…

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I’ve already got the bracket analysis article up for everyone to churn over, but I have more thoughts coming … I want to expand upon the discussion of “protection” of top seeds, which seems to be generating a lot of debate, even within our own staff here. … I support what the committee, and I don’t think it’s that inconsistent with past practices, especially if only consider past practices to be back to 2003, when the new paradigm started. But I want to get more into that in the next couple of days.

More of a problem, to me, is the selection of Wisconsin over Minnesota State. That’s something I really want to get into critically. Not a committee bashing thing, because they did what they thought was right. But the committee had other options available to them — even if they “followed the numbers.” I don’t think the current committee members even realize this anymore.

Lastly, for now … how interesting that Denver has to play at Wisconsin. Someone had to do it, why not Denver? I’m sure the committee wasn’t thinking this way, but if you recall, Wisconsin had at least a tie taken from it when a goal was disallowed in a game at Denver. The WCHA apologized for the referee’s error in that game. Were that game a tie, this concern over whether Wisconsin deserves a bid would be moot. So lo and behold, it’s Denver that has to play Wisconsin. Perhaps that’s poetic justice after all.

Play our Bracket Contest.

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Weird weekend for Miami. Not only did the RedHawks not score a goal in the first 59 minutes of each game it played, but they got zero goals from forwards. Alec Martinez scored twice, and Mitch Ganzak once.

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F – Tom May, Denver

F – T.J. Oshie, UND

F – Mike Hoeffel, Minnesota

D – Taylor Chorney, UND

D – Chris Butler, Denver

G – Peter Mannino, Denver

MVP – Alex Kangas, Minnesota

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11:41 p.m. — OK, our final analysis with predicted bracket is up. Good night. 

9:45 p.m. — Assuming Michigan wins (up 2-0, sorry Miami) just for argument’s sake, then the only difference to Pairwise on the Minnesota-Denver game is whether Minnesota is 10, Clarkson 11 – or vice versa.  But I’ve got some work to do to sort out the brackets, because Wisconsin messes everything up and there’s a number of ways the committee can go. It’s not going to be cut and dried this year folks. There will be 50/50 decisions that won’t necessarily be wrong, per se, either way — but will create a lot of stir. Fun year! I’ll have one more update – then off to write the final Bracket Analysis/Prediction piece for the night.

9:30 p.m. — We know the field. With Princeton and BC winning, Wisconsin is in, Minnesota State is out. I never thought it would actually happen. Wow. Wisconsin is No. 12, despite being under .500 … unless Minnesota and Miami win the remaining games, in which case Wisconsin is No. 13 and Notre Dame is 12. Wisconsin causes problems no matter how you slice it, but probably more at 12 than at 13. … More coming … 

8:52 p.m. — Playing off our commenter below, who said it would be unfair that Wisconsin gets in over Minnesota State given all the things he’s mentioned …. It’s worth looking into more deeply right now, as it gets closer to reality. Princeton and BC are both leading. If it holds, with Denver and Michigan winning, for instance, it means Wisconsin is No. 12, Notre Dame 13, and Minnesota State is out. … So, why? Well, in a nutshell, Minnesota State wins the comparison with Wisconsin straight up … but Wisconsin wins comparisons with Northern Michigan and Princeton that Minnesota State doesn’t win. Princeton wins that comparison basically because it defeated Nebraska-Omaha (the day after losing to Minnesota State ironically), while Minnesota State lost two games to UNO. Likewise with Northern Michigan — NMU was 2-0 against UNO this year. So the Mavericks will be out of the tournament because of two losses to the other Mavericks.

8:28 p.m. — NESN broadcaster Tom Caron just said that BC could be a No. 1 seed with a win. Earlier, the Northern Michigan radio broadcasters said Notre Dame was out because the Irish lost. … We hate to be high and mighty about (oh, no we don’t), but with the treasure trove of information out there on the Internet, it really is inexcusable not to know this stuff. Even if you had no idea CHN and USCHO existed, if were doing some homework on the game, you’d figure you’d go to Google and do a search for some info – and you’re just bound to stumble on these two sites with more info than you can possibly hope to ask for. No other NCAA sport besides basketball and football has those resources. Do these guys just not know that the Pairwise system exists? Or are they understandably dizzied by it so choose to gloss over it? … OK, off the soap box. 

8:00 p.m. — There are still people in “other” chat areas/boards who are making the same mistake because they haven’t been reading here the last couple of years. I still see people putting Boston College No. 6 overall and Denver No. 7. This is currently impossible. BC and Denver can be tied in overall comparisons won, and the tiebreaker is RPI, which Denver has a significant advantage. True that BC wins the head-to-head comparison between the two teams, but that doesn’t matter anymore. We’ve written extensively about that the last few years, and it bore itself out last year when a tie was broken via RPI. It confused people then. If you’ve got any friends “over there,” you may want to let them know to take a peek over here. 

7:55 p.m. — Someone didn’t give Jeff Jackson the memo. I didn’t realize this, but he pulled the goalie in the loss to NMU. Give him credit for playing it straight … or for not reading CHN. 

7:00 p.m. — Our commenter below is correct. That combination does yield Wisconsin as No. 13. That creates problems. That means we go back to the nightmare scenario we mentioned in a Bracket ABCs article a couple of weeks ago, where Michigan is the No. 1 overall seed and slated to be in Madison, but then has to play No. 13 Wisconsin in the Badgers’ building. If that happens, Michigan (or Miami, sorry) will be moved, and it will cause massive reshuffling. 

6:18 p.m. — Good thing for this breather between games. I’m hungry. An appetite of slide rules and NCAA handbooks is not sustenance.

5:50 p.m. — So here’s the deal with the rest …. i.e. Wisconsin. The Badgers can get in as the No. 12 overall, or not at all. This rests on Princeton and Vermont. … Right now, Wisconsin is in a tie in “Pairwise Comparison Wins,” but has the worst RPI of those teams it’s tied with, so it’s out of the tournament.  But if Princeton wins (actually, more like, if Harvard loses) Harvard’s RPI drops below Wisconsin’s, and Wisconsin takes the comparison with Harvard. That breaks the deadlock in Wisconsin’s favor and jumps it over all those other teams it’s tied with, all the way up to 12th. … However, Vermont can mess it up too. If Vermont wins HEA, it gets the autobid, as we know. But it doesn’t just get the 13th spot as an autobid — it actually flips the comparison with Wisconsin by going past the Badgers in RPI. Thus, Wisconsin would lose what it just gained with Harvard, dropping the Badgers back into that tie, and out of the tournament. … Minnesota State is like an afterthought in this. But the Mavericks need Harvard to win (thus knocking Wisconsin out), and Boston College to win, thus knocking Vermont out. No direct comparisons with MSU are affected.

5:40 p.m. — Notre Dame officially lost. I wasn’t there. I don’t know how they played. Doesn’t matter. The whole point is moot now. Notre Dame is in. 

5:32 p.m. — North Dakota wins. The Sioux are No. 3. We’re No. 3, We’re No. 3.

5:24 p.m. — One of our minions, Ron Ayers, just IM’d me and said that, if Notre Dame tanks its game, the committee should leave them out of the tournament. I call bullsh*t on that. They knew the rules, they played by the rules. They shouldn’t be penalized for that. If anything, it should point out the folly of the rule. The committee should change the criteria, not penalize Notre Dame. (update: Ron wants to make it clear that he said “don’t be surprised” – not that it should happen. OK Ron, poetic license my man.)

5:10 p.m. — Notre Dame trailing 2-1 to NMU. Maybe they’re just going to tank the rest of this one so they can make the NCAAs. ?!?!? 

3:33 p.m. — Consolation game has already begun in St. Paul. CC up 1-0. CC winning solves the dilemma currently being discussed in the comments section of the bracket analysis article linked below – with UNH and North Dakota. 

11:44 a.m. — OK, we’re here in Albany, and the ECACs will be played out later. Lots of ramifications here and elsewhere. This will be the spot to keep an eye on as things unfold. We’ll tell you what it all means. In the mean time, we tried to lay out the likely scenarios in the final Bracket Analysis article. There’s also the tale of the TUC Cliff, and how it affects Notre Dame and Minnesota State this year.

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1st Period Notes

Puck just dropped. This place is dead – you’d think there’d be more people considering it’s being played in St. Paul, Minn., and UM’s in it.

Here’s how I know UM is rolling – goaltender Alex Kangas trips on his own stick, is sprawled back on the ice, and he still makes the save. I think the puck looks like a beachball to the kid right now, it’s unreal. Still scoreless at 13:30.

UM kills off a 5-on-3, but not without DU clanging one off the inside of the post. The stars have aligned for this team. Still scoreless at 8:42.

UM thinks its UND – all its players are scrumming. Still scoreless at 2:21.

Period ends scoreless. Most interestingly, the game is becoming increasingly physical and the agressor is by in large UM. Let’s see if this is just a 1st period trend or if it will be game long.

2nd Period Notes

You may as well put UM’s Alex Kangas’ legs on his head, because that’s what he’s been standing on all weekend. Still scoreless at 15:14.

Goal – UM at 5:39 scored by Ryan Flynn. An amazing display of hand-eye-coordination by Flynn as he tipped a shot from the point that was nearly at his chest. The play was briefly under review to see if Flynn’s stick was above the crossbar – it wasn’t and UM now takes a 1-0 lead.

I don’t care what the coaches and players say, UM having a home crowd is a factor. No doubt about it.

Goal – DU at 9:50 by Tyler Bozek. Pretty bad bounce for UM as the goal derived from a corner centering feed by Bozek which hit the skate of UM defenseman Cade Fairchild and then veered into the net past UM’s Alex Kangas. The way Kangas has played, this sort of flukiness is about the only way he’s going to get scored on. 1-1 now at 10:15.

Game still tied 1-1 at 2:30. Teams are exchanging chances, it’s fun hockey to watch.

Goal – DU at 19:35 by Tom May. May gets lost behind the defense, gets a good pass and makes the most of it. He beats UM’s Kangas through the legs to put DU up 2-1 right before the second intermission. Let’s see how UM responds, either immediately or in the 3rd period.

Period over, UM’s comeback will have to wait until at least then.

3rd Period Notes

Refs beware – Mankato coach Troy Jutting just found out his team is all but out of the NCAA tournament and he’s fuming. I just overheard him venting to UND’s T.J. Oshie’s father, who, for no apparent reason, has press credentials.

Oh yeah, the game just started, 2-1 DU at 19:32.

Refs just missed an accidental – but blatant – high stick by DU. UM’s coach Don Lucia isn’t happy. That makes for two pissed WCHA coaches; where’s Dave Hakstol to round out the trio?

Some lady just won free tickets to next year’s Final Five and $250 bucks for her dance moves. Crazy.

Game still 2-1 DU at 11:47.

UM to go on the powerplay at 10:12; the call gets the crowd back into the game and offers UM a chance at finding a way back into this game. Let’s see if they capitalize.

They don’t.

2-1 DU at 2:30. A couple of calls that could have been made (subjective) by ref Todd Anderson. Needless to say (so why am I saying it?), UM fans aren’t pleased. This 3rd period has been marred with anger.

UM pulls its goalie at 18:37, 6-on-5 the rest of the way out.

DU wins 2-1. Great game all around.

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Final: A crazy couple of minutes. Miami, who was on the power play, pulled Zatkoff and scored a 6-on-4 goal with 38 seconds left. Michigan killed the ensuing half minute to clinch a CCHA championship.
2:38 left in the third: Michigan has done a good job holding off the inevitable Miami rush. There really hasn’t been too much offensive action on either net since the Wolverines netted their last goal. If the RedHawks can’t pick up some offensive rhythm soon, it’ll be Michigan walking away with the hardware tonight.
10:00 left in the third: The roles have been reversed this period, with the Wolverines controlling the puck for almost the whole ten minutes so far. Michigan has tied up the once-lopsided shots on goal and has racked up several nice possessions in the RedHawk zone.

End of the second period: Michigan is getting outplayed in every way, except on the scoreboard. The RedHawks have posted 21 shots on Sauer, who has been the Wolverines’ saving grace thus far. Without a stellar performance from him, Miami would most likely has a huge lead by now.
5:38 left in the second: There’s been a lot of play in the Michigan zone since its goal a few minutes ago. If the RedHawks continue to attack Sauer like this, it’s only a matter of time before the score is tied.

12:22 left in the second: Up until this point, the RedHawks had really controlled the flow of the second period. They put together a couple really nice, sustained possessions in the Michigan zone and got some nice pucks to the net. But the Wolverines just turned the tide with a huge goal, awakening the mostly Michigan crowd.

In a defensive battle like this, momentum is huge, and Michigan definitely picked some up with that tally.

End of the first period: Miami really picked it up the the last couple of minutes, notching some really good scoring chances. And after a Ryan Jones wraparound almost found the back of the net, the RedHawks are definitely heading into the locker room with all the momentum.

14:00 left in the first: Miami is a little slow out of the gates. The RedHawks have tallied just two shots on goal compared to Michigan’s four. The potent Miami offense has been held at bay all weekend — the RedHawks had to rely on their blueline to pot both of their goals last night.
17:50 left in the first: After last night’s win, Michigan forward Tim Miller said the Wolverines would have to cut down on the opposition’s transition opportunities, because the RedHawks are a great team in transition. Well, in a shorthanded situation, Miami just broke free with the puck on its first transition chance of the night. Sauer made the save, but I’ll track how the Michigan D tries to slow down the RedHawk attack through the rest of the game.
Pregame: Joe Louis Arena is absolutely rocking for tonight’s matchup between the Wolverines and RedHawks. There a ton of people here to watch this game, and it seems the majority of them are wearing maize and blue. But Miami has a nice contingent of fans here, too.
Both teams are coming into the final after squeeking out closer-than-expected games in the semis. Both Miami and Michigan had weaknesses exposed in their wins: Michigan goaltender Billy Sauer let in three of Northern Michigan’s first six shots on goal, and the RedHawks, which have posted gaudy offensive numbers this year, were severally slowed down against Notre Dame defensive scheme.

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3rd period notes

9:20pm: Princeton’s Mark Magnowski scores on a nice turnaround shot at the empty net, and that’s pretty much going to do it here in Albany. The Princeton Tigers are your 2008 ECAC tournament champions, and they will play in the NCAA tournament beginning next weekend. Check out CHN’s continous coverage of the Pairwise implications and the tournament seeding tomorrow. Congratulations to Princeton.
9:18pm: With 2:38 remaining, RIchter heads to the bench. Empty net for Harvard.
9:17pm: Goal! Princeton takes a 3-1 lead with a power play goal, with 3:06 remaining in the period. Expect Kyle Richter to head to the bench fairly soon. Brett Wilson scored the goal through a screen for the Tigers.
9:14pm: Harvard having some real trouble skating the puck into the Princeton zone, as all five Tigers seem to converge on the puck-carrier. Now, with 3:47 remaining, Princeton is going on the power play, with Harvard sophomore blueliner Alex Biega going into the box for interference. The Tigers could put this one away right now.
9:06pm: Princeton starting to tighten things up, but you get the feeling Harvard will have at least two or three solid offensive flurries in the final moments here. 8:46 remaining in the third period.
8:57pm: By the way, Zane Kalemba’s shutout streak ended at 190:06. And his counterpart Kyle Richter just made a nice right pad stop on Princeton’s Kevin Lohry, who scored two goals yesterday.
8:56pm: Harvard kills it off. Back to even strength. 15 minutes left in the period.
8:53pm: At 3:02 of the period, Harvard captain David MacDonald takes an interference penalty, and now it’s Princeton that will go on the power play. This may break up Harvard’s momentum, as the Crimson came out skating hard and firing pucks towards Kalemba.
8:48pm: Well that didn’t take long. 24 seconds in, Harvard strikes on the power play. They had a 4-on-3 advantage, and Harvard forward Jon Pelle ripped a shot over Kalemba’s left shoulder. 2-1 game, and Harvard is still going to be on the power play in a few moments.
8:47pm: The Tigers and Crimson take the ice for the final period of regulation here in Albany. The ECAC championship and an NCAA bid are on the line, with Princeton leading 2-0. Should be an entertaining period. And here we go…
2nd period notes

8:32pm: Period ends, and Princeton leads 2-0. Harvard leads in shots on goal, 25-23.
8:31pm: End-to-end action here. Kyle Richter fought off a Cam MacIntyre laser shot, and on the other end, Jimmy Fraser gets hooked on a short-handed rush and draws a penalty to even things up. Richter then makes another nice save on Brett Wilson.
8:29pm: 1:14 remaining in the period, and Harvard’s Doug Rogers goes to the penalty box for cross-checking.
8:28pm: It will be interesting to see how Harvard responds now, particularly the Crimson seniors. As I type this, Harvard senior Dave Watters twice muscles through a pair of Princeton players to put the puck on goal. They’ll need an enormous amount of effort to score three goals against Zane Kalemba, who has a shutout streak approaching 200 minutes now.
8:19pm: Princeton scores again on a play that may haunt Kyle Richter for a while. Princeton senior Landis Stankievech floated the puck in from the blue line, and it somehow eluded Richter, trickling slowly into the net. Stankievech, by the way, was named a Rhodes scholar earlier this season — one of the highest academic honors one can achieve. He was recently named the ECAC Student-Athlete of the Year. And he’s given his Tigers a 2-0 advantage in the championship game. 6 minutes to play in the period.
8:15pm: Hm. Just noticed that the Tigers must have had a last-minute lineup change too. Senior Keith Shattenkirk is listed on he line chart on the fourth line for Princeton, but it appears that classmate Erik Pridham is playing in his place. Pridham, a senior, has played in just 10 games this season. Moments ago, he plowed into Harvard goaltender Kyle Richter, much to the dislike of Crimson defenseman Brian McCafferty.
8:12pm: The all-upperclassmen Crimson line of Tyler Magura-Jimmy Fraser-Steve Rolecek just had a great shift in the Princeton defensive end, with some sustained pressure. Let’s see if Harvard can keep up the intensity here.
8:09pm: Brett Wilson for Princeton just had a nice chance but was turned aside by Richter. Wilson, a junior with 34 points in 32 games this year, lines up next to Lee Jubinville on Princeton’s top line. They have had two or three very solid shifts this game.
8:05pm: The play this period is very slow and deliberate. The Princeton defense is doing a good job collapsing around Kalemba, not letting many shots through. Harvard is also struggling to move through the neutral zone.
8:01pm: Almost 5 minutes gone by in the second period now, and Princeton still leads 1-0. Kalemba just made a nice glove save on a fluttering shot from Crimson freshman defenseman Chris Huxley, who by the way was inserted into the lineup less than an hour before game time, replacing senior J.D. McCabe, who was originally listed in the lineup.

1st period notes
7:41pm: And, thankfully, this should be the final time this weekend that we have to hear the Times Union Center’s public addresser announcer exclaim, “And now, it’s time for some crazy, wacky, Sumo fun!… Get ready… And… Sumo!” More thoughts to come in the second period (about hockey, not sumo wrestling).
7:40pm: The first period comes to an end, and Princeton leads 1-0. Lots of shots in this one, with the Tigers leading in that department 15-13.
7:38pm: Princeton going on its first power play of the game, with 1:56 remaining in the period. Tigers captain Mike Moore had another nice chance on the delayed penalty, left wide open between the hash marks. Richter made a nice save.
7:29pm: With 6:31 remaining in the period, ECAC and Ivy Player of the Year Lee Jubinville appears to knock another one in for Princeton, poking at a loose puck between Kyle Richter’s pads. But the play was blown dead a split second before, after the official, Peter Feola, lost sight of the puck. On the other end, Kalemba makes a nice save on Harvard’s Matt McCollem, who had a nice end-to-end rush.
7:23pm: Harvard moves the puck very well on the power play; they seem to always do so. Princeton netminder Zane Kalemba had a couple of nice saves, including kicking out his right pad at the last second to stop a shot from the point. The Harvard power play comes to an end, with Kalemba stopping another shot. He already has 11 saves, just 9:33 into the game. The Hagel-Kaiser-Kushniruk line for Princeton , by the way, has been buzzing so far in this game.
7:22pm: Moore, the goal-scorer for Princeton, takes his third minor penalty of the weekend — a hooking call. Let’s see what the Harvard power play can do. The Crimson went 3-for-6 on the man-advantage last night. 11:37 remaining in the first period, 1:05 left on the Crimson power play.
7:16pm: Goal! Princeton is flying, and they get on the board first. Senior captain Mike Moore tipped in a Kyle Hagel shot to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
7:10pm: Some other stats to note: For Princeton, the Tigers are looking for their first ECAC championship and NCAA tournament berth since 1998. They are also looking for their 21st victory of the season, which would be a school record. This is Princeton’s third appearance in the ECAC championship game. The Tigers are 1-1 in the other two (losing to Rensselaer 5-1 in the 1995 title game and then beating Clarkson 5-4 in double OT in the aforementioned 1998 game). For Harvard, this is the Crimson’s 17th championship game and sixth in the last seven years. Harvard is 8-8 all time in the ECAC title game and 3-2 since 2002. Harvard, which is 10-2-1 in its last 13 games, is seeking its 22nd NCAA tournament appearance.
7:06pm: Starting lineups have been announced. National anthems have been played. And the teams are huddling around their respective goaltenders — Zane Kalemba for Princeton, who has 3 shutouts so far in the ECAC tournament (a record) and an active shutout streak of 149:42… and Kyle Richter for Harvard, the ECAC goaltender of the year. The puck drops.

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9:33 p.m.– All-Tournament Team: forwards Gerbe & Ferriero from BC along with Butler from UNH; defenseman Sneep and Brennan from BC; and goaltender Muse from BC. MVP is Gerbe. Thanks for reading everyone, and tune in again next week from the regionals. Good night from Boston.

9:28 p.m.– And that’s a final, with Gerbe tacking on the empty netter. Vermont had a great run, but BC was sure impressive in the tournament. It’s BC’s eighth title and second straight. BC will go on to the NCAA tournament as one of only two representatives from Hockey East (UNH). This writer’s vote for MVP was Muse, we’ll see if he gets it.

9:12 p.m. — Still 3-0 Eagles, now 6:15 left. If John Muse finishes with the goose egg, it’ll be an incredible 131:20 of shutout time back to UNH’s fourth goal last night. Quite a run here in the league tournament for the rookie goalie, whom many people think was overlooked as the goaltender on the All-Rookie Team. He’s certainly proving himself this weekend.

9:02 p.m. — The Catamounts weren’t able to take advantage on that power play, but they get another crack at it as Gerbe is sent off for checking from behind on an open ice hit with 13:01 left. It’s getting to be close to midnight for Cinderella, however.

8:53 p.m. — Third period underway, and just over two minutes in, BC’s Tim Filangieri is sent off for holding. If Vermont is going to come back in this one, they pretty much need one here.

8:35 p.m. — Another late goal by BC, and this one may have broken the backs of the Catamounts. Orpik does a nice job of drawing a sliding defender to him down low at Fallon’s right, and he slides the puck across the top of the crease to rookie Brian Gibbons (13th) for the easy tap-in at 19:40.8. It’s BC’s fifth PPG in 17 tries in the tournament. 3-0 Eagles after two. Shots in the second: unofficially, 11-4 BC, 22-17 for the game.

8:25 p.m. — Well, both teams have had a chance with the man advantage now, but no additional scoring. The Eagles are still firmly in control of this one, although as we saw last night, Vermont can strike quickly and in bunches at any time. 3:52 left in period number 2. Unofficial shots now favor BC, 20-16.

8:07 p.m. — What a time to score your first of the year. Junior defenseman Tim Kunes picked off a clearing pass high in the slot and quickly wristed it low past Fallon to the stick side to give BC a 2-0 lead 5:01 into the second period. It’s just Kunes’ third goal in 94 career games. BC has carried play this period.

7:54 p.m. — Two minutes till the start of the second. They’ve been running a trivia contest between periods here at the Garden this weekend, and tonight’s contestants were several young ladies decked out in Vermont gear, face paint, the whole shebang. The girls went 1-for-2, guessing correctly that “Friday Night Ice” is on NESN, but incorrectly that BU has had the most All-Academic Team members (Merrimack). They won t-shirts. Did I mention that I hate calling this place the Garden? To me and many people, the real Garden was torn down 13 years ago, God rest its soul (and it sure had soul).

7:41 p.m. — End of the first with BC on top, 1-0. The Eagles scored at 18:32 when Fallon couldn’t control Carl Sneep’s shot from the top of the right circle. The puck rolled behind him after going five-hole, and Ben Smith poked it over the red line for his 21st of the year. Shots were 13-11 Vermont in an evenly played stanza.

7:33 p.m. — 3:34 left, still no score. Last night after losing to Vermont, BU coach Jack Parker talked about how his team could not establish possession of the puck in the offensive zone, that Vermont did a good job of taking it away. Well, the Catamounts seem to be doing that again so far tonight. BC hasn’t had any sustained pressure yet. We’ll see if that continues. Vermont leads in shots, 12-9.

7:27 p.m. — 7:30 left in the first, still scoreless but Vermont just had the best chances of the period with Downing and Vock on a 2-on-1. Muse made two very good saves on the rush. Also of note, Kyle Medvec has really been throwing his weight around for Vermont. He just hit 6-3, 215-pound Andrew Orpik into the boards pretty hard.

7:13 p.m. — 15:36 left in the first and our first TV timeout. Both teams still feeling each other out.

7:04 p.m. — Starting lineups being announced. Loud crowds on both sides, although the rink only seems a little more than half full. Fallon in net for Vermont and Muse for BC.

6:52 p.m. — Tonight’s officials: Tim Benedetto (R), Chris Aughe (AR), Bob Bernard (AR). Game will get underway at 7:05 p.m.

6:40 p.m. — Warmups are just about done, and the 24th Hockey East Championship Game will get underway in about 24 minutes between Boston College and Vermont. Vermont is playing for a bid to the NCAA Tournament — win and they’re in with Hockey East’s automatic bid (and their first ever HEA title), lose and they are done. BC is in, but comes off the triple-OT thriller over UNH last night. The Catamounts, in their first HEA title game, will wear white as the higher seed and have the last change. More to come, so stay tuned.

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3rd period notes

6:01pm: This one’s over, and it’s a nice scene at the end as Cornell and Colgate seniors congratulate one another on the ice. These guys have had basically the same travel schedule for the last four years together and know each other very well. Tyler Burton and Topher Scott are the last to shake hands. Another nice gesture — Red defenseman Mike Devin picks up the puck to give to Dan DiLeo. Had to be a thrill for him. Now, down to the press conferences. Will be back for the championship game in about an hour.
5:58pm: DiLeo makes his first career save but gives a rebound that the Raiders’ senior captain Tyler Burton puts home. Kind of one of those situations where everybody wins. Nice to see Burton get a goal in his final game. And DiLeo makes another save, covering up the puck, eliciting roars from the Cornell faithful in attendance.
5:55pm: How about this — Cornell junior goaltender Dan DiLeo has come in to spell Ben Scrivens. DiLeo has never appeared in a game in his career. Nice gesture by Cornell coach Mike Schafer, who also seems to be trying to get rookie Tyler Roeszler a goal by giving him some extra ice-time this period, including some time on the power play. Roeszler is the only non-goalie on the Red roster to not score a goal this season (thanks to Cornell SID Kevin Ziese for that information). Just over a minute remaining in the period.
5:51pm: Both Scali and Day picked up 10-minute misconducts and will watch the remainder of the third period from the penalty box.
5:48pm: Some completely unnecessary extracurricular activity going on now, as Cornell’s Joe Scali and Colgate’s Brian Day get into a scuffle, sending both players to he box. An additional penalty was assessed to Raiders defenseman Kevin McNamara, and the Big Red goes on the power play again… Just 7:42 left in the third.
5:40pm: Colgate just squandered a power play chance of its own, as the penalty parade continues here in this game. Colgate now 0-for-5 on the power play. Red goaltender Ben Scrivens, who let in a weak game-winning goal last night against Harvard, made a nice save on Colgate senior Tyler Burton.
5:36pm: Colgate rookie Brian Day takes a penalty, and the Big Red takes advantage. Cornell now 3-for-4 on the man-advantage. And it was another tip-in goal, this time by Colin Greening, who was camped out in front of Kowalkowski. Brendon Nash took the shot from the point after being set up by the aforementioned Riley Nash, his brother. The Big Red power play was setting up and generating chances with ease.
2nd period notes
5:29pm: Have I mentioned how good Riley Nash is? It’s a little scary sometimes, as he just weaves effortlessly through the Colgate defense. At around 2:30pm this afternoon, he sat quietly on the bench looking out onto the ice as the zamboni put a fresh sheet down. Probably only five other people were in the arena at the time. One was me. And another was senior captain Topher Scott, who sat in the top row of the lower bowl by himself, looking pretty meditative. Third period about to get underway now.
5:25pm: Some other notes while we await the third period: Cornell’s Michael Kennedy and Colgate’s Joe DeBello, both juniors, took matching minor penalties late in the period. And each player spent a good amount of his time in the box jawing at the other. Kind of entertaining to watch, but sadly, I was out of earshot. Cornell players have been fairly animated all day actually, starting with a boisterous stretching session in the bowels of the Times Union Center earlier. Attendance is pretty sparse this afternoon, as one might imagine, with less than half of the amount of Cornell fans than there were yesterday. I wonder what the attendance will be like for tonight’s Harvard-Princeton championship game. Will Princeton advance to its first NCAA tournament since 1998? Or will Harvard win it’s fourth ECAC title since 2002 (all in even-numbered years)? 5 minutes to go until the third period.
5:15pm: 2nd period ends. Shots were only 6-5 in favor of Colgate in the period, but Cornell scored on two of its five shots. One period left in the careers of Topher Scott, Raymond Sawada, Doug Krantz, Chris Fontas, Tyler Burton, Ben Camper, Dustin Gillanders, Mike Werner, Matt Torti, Mark Dekanich, and Justin Kowalkowski.
5:01pm: Oh boy — Colgate coach Don Vaughan switches goaltenders, putting Justin Kowalkoski (a senior backup) in. You hate to see Colgate senior netminder Mark Dekanich go out this way, giving up 3 goals on 15 shots before an unceremonious exit. I’d imagine Kowalkowski, a senior, was going to get playing time today anyway though.
4:58pm: Immediately after Cornell’s second goal, Colgate committed another penalty. And the Big Red took advantage immediately, with sophomore defenseman Justin Krueger scoring on a nice one-time shot. The pass came from senior captain Topher Scott.
4:56pm: Another senior scores for Cornell. This time, it’s Raymond Sawada on the power play, tipping in a shot by Mike Devin on the power play. It was one of those goals that you could see developing a good 3-4 seconds before it happened. Sawada was left all alone in front of Dekanich, who threw the puck out of the net in anger afterwads. Three of Cornell’s four seniors have scored this weekend. Ironically, both goals today against Colgate have been tip-in goals — just the type that Harvard was scoring in last night’s semifinal with the Big Red.
4:51pm: Big Red forward Joe Scali takes the first Cornell penalty of the game, 3:52 into the second period. Last night, an undisciplined Cornell team gave up numerous power play chances to Harvard, and the Crimson scored on three (out of six) of them.
1st period notes
4:29pm: First period comes to an end, and Cornell and Colgate are tied at 1-1. Shots were even, 12-12 in the period. More to come in the second.
4:23pm: Colgate ties it up with 3:56 remaining in the period, with sophomore Sean Carty finishing a 2-on-1 chance set up nicely by senior Mike Werner. Big Red freshman Riley Nash, by the way, is getting a lot of ice time this period. You wonder if Nash (the ECAC Rookie of the Year) will be sticking around next season, as he was drafted in the first round of last year’s NHL draft by the Edmonton Oilers. Nash is second on the team in scoring.
4:19pm: Cornell strikes first at 13:45 of the period, with Big Red assistant captain, senior Doug Krantz, tipping a Michael Kennedy shot between the pads of Dekanich. Cornell is carrying the play so far in what has been a surprisngly energetic first period for both teams.
4:14pm: Colgate senior goaltender Mark Dekanich just made a spectacular save (arguably the save of the tournament weekend) against Cornell’s Michael Kennedy, diving to his left to stop a one-timer during a Red power play chance. With 10 minutes gone by in the first period, he’s already made nine stops. Opposing forwards in the league won’t be sorry to see him graduate this year.
4:08pm: Welcome to another day of live-blogging at the ECAC tournament. About 7 minutes gone by in the first period of this third-place game in Albany, N.Y. between Cornell and Colgate. Unfortunately for the Big Red and Raiders, this is a fairly meaningless game from a national standpoint (unlike last year’s consolation game, which had NCAA tournament implications, with St. Lawrence winning and going to the tournament). Anyhow, it’ll be interesting to see the level of energy in this one, especially from the seniors on each team. At the very least, there’s some pride on the line.

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