1st Period Notes

I am no bracket expert, but with CC losing last night, here is my limited knowledge on the subject (thanks to Brad Schlossman from the Grand Forks Herald):  the winner of this game will receive a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Further, they will be the third ranked #1 seed, meaning they will be ahead of the University of New Hampshire, who until last night’s 20 OT loss to Boston College, were a lock for this third #1 seed. With the loss, they get bumped into the fourth #1 seed. Now according to my editor Adam Wodon (the self-professed bracket guru), here are the scenarios if UND wins:  1) They go to Worcestor (somewhere out East) and play as the third #1 seed – this if the committee decides stricly on a rankings basis; or 2) They go to Colorado Springs, still playing as the third #1 seed, where they would have to face CC as a #2 seed – this is if the committee decides strictly on a proximity basis (I am skeptical of this, however, because the committee always preaches its distaste of pitting conference foes against one another when possible). On the flipside, if CC wins, here is the scenario:  1) They go to Colorado Springs as the third #1 seed, who they play is too complicated for me to decipher, sorry.

Basically, what I am saying is that although this is a third place game, it has tremendous implications for seeding in the NCAA tournament. I probably should have just said that to begin with instead of my pseduo bracket analysis, but whatever.

In the words of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar:  “GAME ON!”

First two observations of the game:  1) UND is still sporting mustaches, which is excellent. They flashed UND’s Taylor Chorney’s mug on the jumbotron and it was beautiful; and 2) CC is fast – real fast. CC’s Billy Sweatt just blew past UND’s Joe Finley (surprise) and had a decent scoring chance on UND’s J.P. Lamoureux. Sweatt was doing similar things last night against UM. Let’s see if CC’s team speed turns out to be a difference maker in the contest.

Goal – CC’s Chad Rau at 7:56. Bad pinch by a UND defenseman left Rau open in the neutral zone for a long pass. Rau, being the goalscorer that he is, beat UND’s J.P. Lamoureux with a nifty move. As good as his numbers are, one thing Lamoureux struggles with are breakaways – I think I have seen him stop far less than he has let in this year. In his defense, the puck has had to have gotten beyond five other guys before him, but still, you would like to see a bit higher breakaway save percentage.

Seconds after the goal, CC called for a penalty – let’s see if UND has an answer. No answer.

The boards here at the X are some of the bounciest I have ever seen. Seconds ago, CC almost capitalized on a big bounce just like UM did in their Thursday night game against SCSU.

Goal – UND at 19:21 by T.J. Oshie, on the powerplay. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. After a flurry of a powerplay, in which CC’s Richard Bachman faced a myraid of UND shots, Oshie stuffs in a rebound goal at the very end of the powerplay. UND fans back into the game. It’s funny how scoring is, because the goal was probably the ugliest scenario given the many well created chances UND had while on the powerplay. I’m sure they don’t care, though, as they all count for the same.

End of period, tie game. Has to be a huge victory for UND to go into intermission in a tie instead of behind.

2nd Period Notes

CC player just called for knocking the net off amidst a lengthy surge in pressure by UND. Good call by ref Don Adam (yes, I see the irony). With UND’s momentum, I’m calling a powerplay goal – we’ll see if I’m right or not.

I’m good.

Goal – UND at 5:01 on the powerplay by Chris Vande Velde. Great display of hand-eye coordination by Vande Velde as he tipped a laser one-timer by Taylor Chorney from the point. CC’s Bachman had no chance (sound familiar?). UND has definately taken over this period’s momentum. Assists given to Chorney and Oshie – it seems to me that Oshie is playing with a sense of urgency, as he was somewhat marginalized yesterday by DU. Who knows, though.

Leave it to UND’s J.P. Lamoureux to prove me wrong – he just made an amazing stick-poke save on a CC breakaway. Penalty also called on the play, CC will be on the powerplay after this stupid “Dance-Mania” crap that fan’s for some reason go bananas for.

Goal – UND at 10:27 on the powerplay by Chay Genoway. Looked a lot like the goal that DU scored to beat UND, except Genoway didn’t roof CC’s Bachman, instead he slipped it between his legs. Directly off the faceoff, Genoway picked up the puck and simply went coast-to-coast. He pulled a CC’s Chad Rau and took the CC defenseman wide before beating him and eventually Bachman. With the powerplay goal, UND is now 3-for-4 today on the powerplay. CC, here’s a hint:  Stop breaking the law.

I wish somebody at CC had the heart to tell head coach Scotty Owens that the Cosmo Kramer isn’t a hairstyle anymore.

Goal – CC at 16:36 on the powerplay by Jimmy Kilpatrick. Shot came from the point, UND’s J.P. Lamoureux faced up and saved it, but the rebound popped out directly onto the stick of Kilpatrick. On the doorstep, Kilpatrick directed the puck into an open net. Today, the storyline that is emerging seems to be special teams, as four of the five goals have been scored on the powerplay.

Period ends, shots UND = 30 and CC = 21.

3rd Period Notes

Goal – UND at about 10:00 by Darcy Zajac. Sorry for the delay, my computer is jacked up right now. Zajac goes on a 2-on-1, looks off CC’s Bachman and then beats him short side. Good accuracy by Zajac.

Big save by UND’s J.P. Lamoureux. Very nice glove.

4-2 UND at 5:21 left in the game. Look for CC’s Bachman to leave the net soon circa former UND coach Dean Blais in the 2001 national championship game, in which his team came back from two goals (with a pulled goalie, mind you) in the final four minutes only to lose in overtime to Boston College.

Bachman’s out with 1:38 left. Timeout taken by CC. Let’s see if Owens can pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Game over, 4-2 the final. UND is a #1 seed in the NCAAs.

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4:00 a.m. — Yeah, that’s right, 4 a.m. … Had some trouble connecting back on. Finally able to tell everyone that our poster is indeed right. UNH will slip to No. 4 overall if North Dakota wins the consolation. Sorry for missing that earlier. 

11:30 p.m. — Well, interesting stuff now, as the picture becomes a little clearer. Well, at least the amount of combinations gets down to a manageable level. It’s still confusing. … Here’s the deal for Wisconsin … it needs Princeton to win the ECACs, and for Notre Dame to lose the CCHA consolation. Then it’s in, probably as a No. 3 seed. Wacky. … Otherwise, Notre Dame and Minnesota State are in. Actually, Boston University winning HEA can also upset things for Notre Dame. … Miami/Michigan will be 1-2 depending on who wins CCHA final. UNH is No. 3 for sure. I believe North Dakota-CC are 4-5 depending on who wins the consolation, but either way, both will be in Colorado Springs. … I’m going to have a full article on this later on the main site. Stay tuned, and be back at the Pairwise live blog Saturday night.

10:11 — According to Google Maps, it’s 386 miles from Ann Arbor to Madison … and it’s 598 miles from Ann Arbor to Albany, N.Y. … So, if Michigan wins the CCHA tournament and is the No. 1 overall seed, expect the Wolverines to go to Madison ….. UNLESS Wisconsin makes the tournament, in which case, the committee will look to protect Michigan and send it to Albany. After all, a flight is a flight. Of course, Michigan hasn’t won anything yet. It’s still tied in the semis with Northern for crissakes. If Miami beats Michigan in the final, there’s one scenario where the teams are tied in the Pairwise, but Michigan has a .0003 edge in RPI to take No. 1 overall. A Vermont win in Hockey East helps Miami possibly be No. 1 overall. … As for New Hampshire, looks like it is sealed as a No. 1 seed also.

10:00 p.m. — Well, Boston College‘s win throws a monkey wrench into things. For some reason, the scenarios I kept running had to do with UNH winning. So let’s see what we’ve got here. 

9:33 p.m. — Here’s what I know after playing around with You Are The Committee some more: Miami is absolutely going to be a No. 1 seed at this point. I think North Dakota’s loss sealed that for good. …. Wisconsin is very much alive. Its bid depends on Princeton beating Harvard in the ECAC final. 

8:19 p.m. — Not sure what our commenter below is trying to say. … Anyway, looks like Miami’s win has locked Clarkson for good. There was some bizarre scenario which might have had the Knights out, but that’s no longer. 

7:50 p.m. — Playing with You Are the Committee, it looks like if Notre Dame wins the consolation, and “normal” stuff happens elsewhere — then Notre Dame is in and Wisconsin is out. No time to tell you why 🙂 – but that’s what I’ve got. Notre Dame losing the consolation, puts Wisconsin in and Notre Dame out.  This is with a BU-UNH Hockey East final, by the way, with UNH winning. Right now UNH-BC is 4-4 – so that’s not certain. 

7:40 p.m. — Miami just won in overtime, putting the pressure on Michigan as far as top overall seed. And, of course, it throws Notre Dame for a loop. Notre Dame is hanging by a thread. Vermont just took the comparison with Notre Dame because of Record vs. TUC, putting Notre Dame in a tie with Wisconsin.

6:27 p.m. — Princeton just took the comparison with Minnesota State, which drops the Mavericks out of the tie with Wisconsin, into 14th place. We’ve known that the ECAC champ would take the 14th spot, but we’ve had it as more likely being Wisconsin. But this indicates it could be the Mavericks. The comparison is 2-2, so RPI should be the tiebreaker. But the RPI is showing .5277 for each …. there’s probably a minute difference another significant digit down the line. … Now, Princeton could lose Saturday, and it goes back to the way it was. But if Princeton wins the ECAC, the Mavericks could stay at 14. Let me run some You Are The Committee stuff.

6:23 p.m. — Princeton wins. Something just caused Minnesota State to dip to 14 in the Pairwise, with Wisconsin at 13. Looking into it.

6:12 p.m. — Denver defeats North Dakota. The teams stay where they were in the Pairwise – with Denver 6 and North Dakota 5. We’ll see more about what this means in a minute. Princeton about to win its game against Colgate. 

We’ll be here throughout the weekend as the results come in, letting you know about the ramifications of the Pairwise … All the twists and turns are always fascinating to watch. Check out last year’s live blog of the Pairwise.

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1st Period Notes

Could be me making mountains out of molehills, but the ref tonight isn’t Darren Shepard (who I thought by contract reffed every Gopher game), rather it’s Don Adam. Whether this means that Shepard is actually hurt as it appeared last night or whether he needed “to spend time with his family,” I don’t know, the only thing I do know is that Shepard is a scratch this evening. On a less important note, the game is tied and UM is controlling the pace early on.

Big breakaway save by CC goaltender Richard Bachman on UM’s Justin Bostrom. Early on, he’s showing why he’s the WCHA player of the year.

End of a scoreless (scoreless is code for boring) period. Stat of note:  CC shots = 20 while UM shots = 9.

2nd Period Notes

Goal – CC on the powerplay, just :39 seconds into the period off the stick of Andreas Vlassopoulos (say that five times fast). It was reviewed to see if any CC players were in the crease, as it was a pretty wild scrum in front just before the goal, but ultimately – and correctly – ruled a goal. Not much backstory to the goal other than there was about four shots to come at Kangas and the fifth went in. It was good pressure on CC’s part during the powerplay, but it’s not like UM was out of position or anything, they were just a man down, which is apparently what happens when your team is called for a penalty. Post-goal, the X has become eerily quiet.

Goal – UM at 1:54 by Mike Hoeffel. CC turned the puck over in its own zone, UM’s Jay Barriball stole the puck and centered it to Hoeffel, who fired a laser of a one-timer top right corner of the net. CC’s Bachman had no chance, the shot was nearly perfect. This time post-goal, the X became incredibly loud – coincidence? Say what you want about UM during the year, since playoffs began, they are playing with incredible poise, especially considering the minutes they have logged in the past week and a half. Counting its three overtime marathons against Minnesota State Mankato, I think they have played something like 6 or 7 games in as many days.

End of second period. No action to mention, game has lacked intensity.

3rd Period Notes

8:36 left in the game, still 1-1, pretty evenly matched, chances are about equal. Nothing spectacular nor hogwash.

Listening to the UM fans, it reminds me of a line from George Carlin’s standup. It goes something to the effect that all drivers that driver slower than you are idiots and all that drive faster than you are maniacs. In that vein, to UM fans, every time ref Don Adam calls a penalty in the UM’s favor he’s a genius and every time he calls one against UM he’s a moron. Fans are always going to be bias for their teams, but UM fans are like bias times 10.

Under 3 minutes left, still tied. Momentum in UM favor.

Ends in a tie, we’re going to OT.

OT Notes

Little under 5 minutes into OT, both sqauds exchanging decent chances. Right now, the edge has to go to UM with its fans.

Goal – UM at 4:47. Quickly, Mike Hoeffel’s pass from the side tips off a CC stick, then off CC’s Bachman’s shoulder and into the net. Another goal that wasn’t his fault, but a product of driving the net hard by UM. They are playing some very good hockey right now. Very good. Off to interviews.

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3rd period notes

9:21pm: And that’s it. Harvard advances to face Princeton tomorrow in the battle of the top two schools in the country (if you’re going by US News’ rankings of universities, that is). Richter made 31 saves on 32 shots for the Crimson, while Donato wins another against Cornell. Harvard is 7-1 in its last eight games against its archrivals from Ithaca. Headed down to the press conferences now. We’ll be blogging for tomorrow’s games too.
9:19pm: Just 17.5 seconds remaining, as Harvard leads 3-1. Mike Schafer calls timeout, as the Big Red needs a miracle. Now, more on Harvard junior Jimmy Fraser: he scored two goals in the 2006 ECAC title game (against Cornell), a game in which Harvard went 5-for-10 on the power play. In that game, Fraser — then a freshman — was stepping in for an injured Jon Pelle. Now, against Cornell, Pelle scores two on the power play. Funny how these things work out. Special teams the difference tonight.
9:17pm: Now Cornell goes on the power play. And Scrivens heads for the bench so the Red has a 6 on 4 advantage. Jimmy Fraser for Harvard is in the box (more on him in a moment).
9:15pm: And the Crimson cash in. It’s 3-1 Harvard with 2:36 to play. A very nice power play goal by senior forward Jon Pelle, with a tip in front of the net after a shot from the point. It’s Pelle’s second of the game, and all three Harvard goals have come on the man-advantage.
9:12pm: 2:57 remaining and there’s a slashing call against Cornell’s Michael Kennedy. Harvard goes on the power play as it tries to put this one away and head to tomorrow’s ECAC championship game against Princeton.
9:10pm: Cornell’s Blake Gallagher misses from the doorstep after a nice setup by freshman phenom Riley Nash. 3:43 remaining in the third period, as the Big Red power play opportunity expires.
9:07pm: Harvard’s Steve Rolecek made a nice move while in all alone on Ben Scrivens, but slid the puck through the crease, missing the net. Moments later, Crimson defenseman Jack Christian takes a tripping penalty, and the Big Red will go on the power play with 5:46 remaining. Thanks to a TV timeout, Cornell coach Mike Schafer gets to draw up a play.
9:01pm: The picture below is of Topher Scott’s easy tap-in goal in the second period. The goal cut Harvard’s lead to 2-1, and the Big Red is still trying to even the score of this one. 7:56 remaining in the third period, and the Crimson lead in shots on goal, 28-25. Richter, who won the Ken Dryden Award last night for the ECAC’s best goaltender, is playing well.
8:57pm: Indeed, right after I type the last post, the Greening-Nash-Patrick Kennedy line puts on a cycling show in the Harvard offensive zone. However, they can’t put one in the net, as Kyle Richter makes a nice save at the end of the flurry. 9:58 remaining in the third period.
8:52pm: 11:55 remaining in regulation. It’ll be interesting to see how Cornell coach Mike Schafer uses his top dynamic duo of Colin Greening and Riley Nash this period (first and second on the team in scoring). The Big Red’s hopes may rest on the sophomore and freshman here.
8:50pm: About 7 minutes gone by in the third period. Harvard has the edge in shots, 24-20. Play has been even so far this period, with each team getting a couple of decent chances.
2nd period notes
8:27pm: Period ends, with Harvard on top 2-1. The Crimson had a nice chance on its power play with a couple minutes left in the period, but freshman forward Matt McCollem fanned on an empty net.
8:19pm: Another penalty committed by Cornell, this time by senior defenseman and assistant captain Doug Krantz. 4:08 to go in the period.
8:16pm: To his credit, Ben Scrivens has tightened things up after giving up the weak second goal, stopping some solid Harvard chances. A moment ago, he made a point-blank save on Harvard sophomore center Doug Rogers, who was left alone between the has marks.
8:14pm: Pardon the delay between posts. Having some technical difficulties here at the TUC. Anyhow, at 5:02, Harvard extended its lead to 2-0, on another power play goal. This was a bad goal given up by Ben Scrivens, who dipped his right shoulder too early, and Jon Pelle lifted a short side goal. Soon after, Cornell senior captain Topher Scott tapped in a puck from Richter’s left to cut the lead in half. Classmate Raymond Sawada made a nice pass across the crease. So, Harvard leads 2-1. All three goals have been on the man-advantage. And all three goal-scorers have been seniors. 8 minutes left in the second period now.
7:56pm: Harvard given its third power play opportunity of the game, and this time they cash in, at 3:35 of the period. Brendon Nash was in the box for holding. Dave Watters was screening Ben Scrivens and tipped a shot from the point by junior defenseman Brian McCafferty.
1st period notes
7:44pm: The first period ends, and Cornell and Harvard are tied at 0-0. The Big Red has the advantage in shots, 10-8. You get the feeling that the first goal will be huge in this game. When scoring the first goal, Cornell is 16-2-1. But when giving up the first goal, the Red has struggled, going 2-11-1. Harvard swept the regular season against Cornell, winning in Cambridge, Mass. early in the season and in Ithaca, N.Y. on the final night of the regular season. In each game, the Crimson struck first.
7:30pm: Crimson forward Dave Watters takes an interference penalty with about 5 minutes remaining in the first period, giving the Big Red its first power play opportunity of the game. Richter makes a nice save sliding post to post on Topher Scott, who was set up by Brendon Nash. Richter then stones Red assistant captain and leading scorer Colin Greening at the doorstep.
7:15pm: Harvard goaltender Kyle Richter stones Cornell’s Blake Gallagher on a quick turnaround shot. Moments later, Big Red forward Evan Barlow takes a penalty, and the Crimson is headed to its second power play chance of the game. Only 6 minutes gone by in the first period.
7:10pm: The puck has dropped, as archrivals Cornell and Harvard battle for the right to play Princeton in tomorrow’s ECAC Championship game.

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We are blogging live from the TD Banknorth Garden for the Hockey East Semi-Finals. Play just underway.

First Period Notes: Shots were even at 13, but it was the Wildcats dominating play as Bobby Butler and Jamie Fritsch each netted a goal to make it 2-0. The lone power play went to UNH, which resulted in Butler’s goal. Crowd pretty quiet, but after all it is the early game. Second Period coming up, will the Eagles come alive?

Keys to the Second Period

UNH: Continue to pressure Nathan Gerbe as they have done so all year. If that continues, UNH should come away with a victory.

BC: The Eagles need to continue to get more quality shots. Player of the Year Kevin Regan is on his game. With sustained pressure, maybe one will get by.

First 5:00 Second Period: BC is starting to get going. Ben Smith netted his 20th of the season on a 4-on-3 power play with Hobey Finalist Nathan Gerbe and Anthony Aiello getting the assist. The Wildcats’ had a power play, however, not much happened on that. Crowd about two thirds full, about 10,000 or 11,000 here at the moment.

Halfway through the second: Butler gets his second of the game. BC keeping sustained pressure on Regan, but like a player of the year normally does, he comes up big in the clutch.

5:00 left in the second: UNH scores a shorthanded goal to make it 4-1, however, that same power play, Joe Whitney of the Eagles makes it 4-2. BC playing with desperation, while UNH has gotten the best of John Muse. If the Eagles want to win, sustained pressure is still a must on Kevin Regan.

2nd Period Notes: The Eagles outshot the Wildcats 23-6 and through two, the advantage is 36-19. Nathan Gerbe missed an opportunity to tie the game at 4-4 when he shot the puck wide on an open net. BC carried the play late in the second and once again are giving the Wildcats a run for their money in the Hockey East Tournament. The last time UNH defeated BC in a Hockey East touranment was 1994. 

Keys to the Third Period 

UNH: Lock down defensively on the the top two lines. Nathan Gerbe has three assists in this game and nearly netted the tying goal. The Wildcats need to create opportunities on the other end as well and even things out.

BC: Get more contributions. Brian Gibbons scored a goal, Benn Ferriero had some good moments. The Eagles can not let down defensively or the Wildcats will come out at will.

First 5:00 Third Period: Matt Price puts one on net and Dan Bertram gets the deflection. We are back at square one and it is anybody’s game to win.

We are getting down to the last 7:00 of the game. BC has another power play and the overall advantage with three unanswered goals. A must penalty kill situation for UNH.

The Wildcats killed that important penalty. We are now in the last few minutes of regulation with the score still tied.

7:49 p.m.: Regulation ends, we are headed to overtime. Shot advantage through three periods, BC 45-33. This is the third 5:00 game in the last four years that has headed to overtime. 2005 Boston College defeated Maine 2-1 in double overtime, and of course last year, UNH defeated Massachusetts 3-2 which also went into double overtime. Will history repeat itself?

Overtime Info: UNH 11-14 in Hockey East Tournament OT games; BC 16-12. Last overtime game between the two was 1999 with BC coming out victorious 5-4 in the final.

Halfway through overtime: Kevin Regan has 48 saves, the most in a Hockey East semi-final game. Bob Bell of Providence had 47 saves in 1995. 

5:00 left in overtime: Regan breaks his career best in saves with 53. Regan made 52 saves against Providence on February 15th.

8:34 p.m.: What would’ve been a game winning goal for BC was disallowed. Kevin Regan’s helmet came off before the goal, which in the NCAA as a rule is a dead whistle.

Overtime Notes: With a combined total of 95 shots, another record has been broken. The previous record for combined shots in a semi-final game was 86 in 2003 between Boston College and Boston University.

5:00 into 2OT: Fatigue starting to kick in as the teams start to get desperate to score that game winner.

9:14 p.m.: This game is now the longest game in Hockey East semi-final history.

9:28 p.m.: Attendence announced: 12,522

9:30 p.m.: Tonight’s game is now the 14th longest game in NCAA history.

Another period ends and the result remains the same. BC has a power play for :55 seconds to begin the third overtime. Shots favor BC 66-49. This is now the 12th longest game in NCAA history, surpasing Harvard and Clarkson in the ECAC tournament on March 10, 2001.

Double OT Notes: This game is now the second longest Hockey East game in history. Maine and UMass-Amherst is the longest game. That game ended at 109:27 on March 20, 2004 with Maine winning and capturing the Hockey East title.

9:51 p.m.: BC’s Benn Ferriero wrists one past Kevin Regan :43 seconds into the third overtime. It is Ferriero’s 16th of the year and probably the biggest of his career.

Final Notes: A great game to watch. BC’s history of success with UNH continues in the Hockey East tournament. Right now it looks like BC is most likely a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. With that, the second longest game in Hockey East history has come to a close. 

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6:06 into overtime: Alec Martinez just ripped a slapshot from just inside the blue line and off of Pearce’s glove to clinch the game for Miami. The RedHawks just swarmed the ice in celebration of the comeback win. They’ll face the winner of Michigan vs. Northern Michigan in the CCHA Championship game.

2.3 seconds remaining in the third: WOW. After 55 minutes of no goals, we just had another within a few minutes. Miami pulled Zatkoff with 40 seconds left, but struggled to get any offense going until Mitch Ganzak netted one on a desperate shot with a big crowd in front of the crease. The crowd just went insane and this game is headed to overtime now.

4:30 remaining in the third period: Well the Fighting Irish didn’t score there, but less than a couple minutes later they put it in. Third-liner Evan Rankin found the back of the net after his backhanded shot barely tipped off of Miami goalie Jeff Zatkoff’s glove.

6:11 remaining in the third period: It just looked like Notre Dame captain Mark Van Guilder broke the game’s scoreless streak. Except the senior’s shot — from the center of the left circle on the power play — didn’t completely cross the goal line. The senior wristed a bullet top shelf, but the puck hit the crossbar, bounced nearly straight down and failed to cross the red line. The no-goal call after the review garnered the loudest cheers of the night from the Miami-heavy crowd.

End of the second period: So much for the RedHawks being close to scoring because this one is still scoreless after two. The stands have filled up a little more and the crowd is a little louder, but the atmosphere will probably stay relatively tame until someone finally breaks through with what would likely be the game-deciding goal.

End of the first period: The first frame just came to a close and, well, it’s still scoreless, but Miami looks pretty close to breaking through — Pearce has had to come up with some pretty great saves to keep the game even. Notre Dame’s offense, on the other hand, hasn’t gotten nearly as much going and has tallied just three shots through 20 minutes.

5:00 left in the first period: This game’s been a pretty defensive and physical one so far and no pucks have found the back of the net yet even though both teams have had a pair of power-play opportunities. Notre Dame goalie Jordan Pearce has stood on his head, especially when the Fighting Irish were down a man, keeping the nation’s top offense in check.

The first of two CCHA semifinal games is about to get underway between the Fighting Irish and RedHawks. Joe Louis Arena is relatively empty — the lower bowl is about half filled — but both school bands are already clashing from opposite sides of the arena.

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We were just told that the WCHA will be holding a press conference immediately after the conclusion of the UND and DU game. Nobody really knows what it’s going to be about (well, I guess somebody knows or else there wouldn’t be a press conference being held, but that’s another matter).

Will keep you posted as things unfold.

My George Constanza prediction (against every inclination I have – a la Chris Dilks):  they are announcing that former UND coach and current USHL President Gino Gasparini is replacing current WCHA Commisioner Bruce McLeod. After all, they are both from Fort Frances, Ontario.

The real reason is this:  The WCHA announced that it is hosting a midseason “Minneosta College Hockey Showcase,” ie, a Minnesota-only Beanpot. There’s quite a few interesting story lines here, including teams will have to give up home games in order to compete (this year it is Minnesota State Mankato and Minnesota Duluth), scheduling logistics in general, as well as revenue considerations. Will talk more about this in a few.

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3rd period notes

6:15pm: This one’s all over. Lohry adds his second of the game, an empty-netter, and Princeton wins 3-0 to advance to tomorrow’s ECAC championship game. Check CHN for feature stories within the hour or so. And we’ll be blogging for the Cornell/Harvard semifinal starting at 7pm.
6:10pm: Colgate coach Don Vaughan calls a timeout with just over a minute remaining. Let’s see what he draws up…
6:02pm: Princeton scores again after some great end-to-end action, this time at 14:44. Another freshman, Kevin Lohry, scored on a great individual effort, lifting the puck over a sprawling Dekanich. The goal came moments after an outstanding Kalemba save at the other end.
5:51pm: Goal! Princeton takes the 1-0 lead at 8:04 of the third period. Freshman Matt Arhontas scored unassisted after breaking in on goal and sliding the puck between Dekanich’s pads. Now we’ll see if Colgate’s senior class — which includes Dekanich, as well as Burton and Winchester — can respond. They have been in this situation before.
5:44pm: Wow — great chance for the Raiders. A clean 2-on-1 results in Jason Williams sliding the puck over Ethan Cox, who was denied by Kalemba on a one-timer. 16 minutes remaining in regulation.
2nd period notes

5:22pm: Second period ends, and with Colgate still leading in shots (18-12), the Raiders and Tigers are still tied 0-0. Lee Jubinville’s line had a nice chance with about a minute remaining in the period, but Dekanich made a nice stick save. Speaking of nice saves, the picture on the left is of Kalemba robbing Burton earlier in the game. Should be an exciting third period.

5:16pm: Colgate goaltender Mark Dekanich snatches a rising shot from Princeton’s Kevin Kaiser. Less than 5 minutes remaining in the second period, and we are still deadlocked at 0-0.

5:02pm: Not much action in the early stages of the second, as Princeton just squandered a power play opportunity (another penalty on Poplawski, this time for holding). Looking at this Princeton lineup, the Jubinville (ECAC Player of the Year) line seems dangerous, but a lot of the Tigers’ offense is concentrated on that line, which includes junior Brett Wilson. Colgate has at least one player on each of its top three lines that you just have to pay attention to at all times — Burton on one, David MacIntyre on the second, and captain Jesse Winchester on the third.

And the Princeton lacrosse team has arrived!

1st period notes

The Tigers and Raiders are underway here in Albany. Most of the noise early on is coming from both pep bands. Good thing they’re here, too, as the fan attendance so far is pretty poor.

Princeton leads in SOG 2-1 in the early going. Neither team is having much success getting the puck on net.

Colgate had two great chances within the last minute. In one, forward Brian Day slipped through two Princeton defenders, only to be denied by Tiger goaltender Zane Kalemba. Then, Colgate senior star Tyler Burton came in on a partial breakaway. He, too, was stopped by the sophomore goaltender.

5 minutes remaining in the first period now. Colgate has the edge in shots, 9-5. And they had another glorious chance with 6:50 remaining. After a scramble to Kalemba’s right, the puck was left in the crease, in front of an empty net as Burton skated in. As Burton slid the puck for what looked to be a sure goal, Kalemba reached back with his glove just before the puck slid over the line. Burton stared up at the ceiling in disbelief.

The first penalty of the game is called with 1:24 remaining in the first. The call goes against Colgate, a tripping penalty on Wade Poplawski… But with 22.9 seconds remaining, Princeton’s Brett Wilson gets called for interference. Period ends in a scoreless draw. And one thing is for sure: Colgate does not look like a team that only won 36% of its regular season league games. They lead in the shots department 13-5.

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Princeton doesn’t have the largest travelling contingent. In fact, it’s usually non-existent. Which is a shame, but what can you do. But when the Tigers take the ice this afternoon against Colgate in the ECAC semis, they will have vocal support here for the first time ever, beyond family. …. The Princeton lacrosse team, coincidentally, had a game at the University of Albany today. So the whole team is coming to the Arena to rowdily cheer on the Tigers. They were really vocal in last Sunday’s quarterfinal Game 3 against Yale. Should be fun.

So, we’re here at the TUC – me and Avash Kalra. Shouldn’t be confused with “Team Under Consideration” — no, this is the Times Union Center.  Used to be the Pepsi Center.  In fact, my GPS still thinks it is.  Before that, it had a “normal” name, the Knickerbocker Arena.  Friggin’ corporate names.  Who can keep up?  At least this one is named after a newspaper — I’m a fan of those. Don’t get me wrong, I like Pepsi – I just wish arenas weren’t named after it ….. oh, like the one the Frozen Four will be at this year.

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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.

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