Saturday, February 19, 2011
Minnesota 3, Wisconsin 3
Michigan 5, Western Michigan 4
CHN: Western Michigan is fighting tooth and nail to make the NCAAs, and this one is a crusher, losing with three seconds left in OT. Knowing it was up against a final six games of Miami, Michigan and Notre Dame, the upstart Broncos realized it was facing the toughest part of the schedule. But despite going 0-2-1 prior to Saturday's game in the six-game stretch, it had showed a lot of moxie. And here, it looked like it would finally be rewarded, and keep WMU on the positive side of the Pairwise bubble. But alas -- agony. ... Carl Hagelin scored with 40 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, then scored again in overtime, after WMU was called for a penalty in the closing minute, to win it for the Wolverines. Obviously, it was an enormous win for Michigan, which stayed within a point of first-place Notre Dame, and soared back to No. 6 in the Pairwise. ... "First shift they score, second shift they score ... we wound up getting back into the game, but if you look at the shot chart, it was a one-sided game," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "We didn't do a lot to answer them offensively, but we got the goals we needed at the end. ... Good for our team -- they hung in there. Hunwick made a huge save. ... He didn't get off to a great start, but he settled in." ... Berenson said the senior night crowd helped lift the Wolverines: "Our crowd is so good. Our players will never get to play in front of crowds like this (again). ... It seemed like (Hagelin) was trying to do something special. Maybe we should play the Swedish national anthem before every game. ... He's set a terrific standard here. He's a great teammate and student and leader. He's the first Swedish player we've had, and we'll always remember him."
Maine 3, Mass.-Lowell 0
CHN: With Maine's NCAA hopes on life support, it went out and shutout last-place Lowell twice this weekend. But the wins are barely of any good from an NCAA Tournament perspective, since Lowell is not a "Team Under Consideration." Still, maybe it will do some good for the Black Bears' psyche.
Northeastern 2, Boston College 1
CHN: Playing without its head coach this weekend, Northeastern earned a wild 7-7 tie on Friday, then comes back with a thorough 2-1 win over the Eagles on Friday. Chris Rawlings made 36 saves, as Northeastern earned its biggest win of the year. The loss dropped BC into a second-place tie with Merrimack.
North Dakota 3, St. Cloud State 2
CHN: The Sioux maintained a share of first place, getting three points on the weekend, and moved up to No. 2 in the Pairwise by itself. Brett Hextall scored twice, including the game winner early in the third period. Mike Connolly scored his 21st, and Justin Fontaine had his 19th, along the way.
Minnesota-Duluth 6, Minnesota State 2
CHN: Important win for the Bulldogs, which had gone 1-2-2 in the last five, and just 8-6-3 since Dec. 1 to drop into a third-place tie with UNO.
Denver 5, Michigan Tech 1
CHN: Sophomore Drew Shore scored a goal and had two assists to lead Denver to a split of the weekend. “Going into this game our goals were to get more shots on net and to be more physical," DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. "Michigan Tech was tough, but those two things really simplified the game for us and they paid off in the end."
Ohio State 5, Lake Superior 2
CHN: Ohio State lost in a shootout Friday, but came back for a big three points Saturday. “Maybe we deserved better last night but you’re going to go through some droughts through the season in any sport whether it is auto racing, tennis, golf, basketball or baseball," OSU coach Mark Osiecki said. "What was posted on our wall was redemption, and tonight we responded well.” ... OSU went 2-for-3 on the power play. “Those were garbage goals – I mean that in a good way. We ask the guys to get relentless around the net and we did that,” Osiecki said. ... Meanwhile, the Lakers let a chance for a big weekend get away. “I thought Ohio State deserved to win tonight. They won more battles and I thought we looked tired. We didn’t have a lot of mojo or juice throughout the game. They beat us to a lot of loose pucks and were really whacking away at the puck and creating shots. They were determined out there – got to give them credit.”
Notre Dame 5, Ferris State 2
CHN: Notre Dame freshman goaltender Steven Summerhays had a career-high 29 saves and the Irish got goals from five different players, as the Irish maintained first place.
Michigan State 6, Alaska 2
CHN: Alaska could've jumped to fourth place with a win, but instead Derek Grant scored twice to lead the Spartans.
Merrimack 2, Massachusetts 1
CHN: Before another sellout crowd, Merrimack stormed out to a 35-12 shot advantage after two and led 2-0 on goals by Mike Collins and Jesse Todd, before UMass's T.J. Syner scored on the power play in the third to cut the lead in half. It was MC's eighth straight win and 14th of 15, and combined with other results, pulled the Warriors into a tie for second and two points out of first with four games to go. Collins' goal gives MC five double digit goal scorers on the season. "I thought it was a much better effort tonight. I thought we were more prepared from the get go, and the play of the first two periods showed that," said Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy. "(UMass) ended up getting one, getting a little bit of life, but we weathered the storm, like a veteran team, and got a business-like 2-1 win." ... Merrimack is two points out of first place, and tied with Boston College for second, and owns the tiebreaker. There are four league games remaining.
Union 5, St. Lawrence 2
CHN: Kelly Zajac, who was hurt later in the game, scored two goals, and Wayne Simpson -- Friday's OT hero -- scored another, as Union won its ninth straight game. The Dutchmen are the hottest team in the nation, and extended their first-place lead to three points over Yale, pending Yale's game Sunday. And the Dutchmen are also a solid No. 6 in the Pairwise right now. It's all heady stuff for this program, and quite remarkable. It really can't be said enough. ... "I thought we did a much better job," Union coach Nate Leaman told the Schenectady Gazette, referring to his team blowing a three-goal lead Friday. "We did played smart hockey. We didn't attack as much as I wanted to. But we were very smart with the puck. And that's exactly what we talked about with the guys, where we were with our focus night, compared to night with our focus."
Rensselaer 5, Clarkson 1
CHN: Huge win for RPI, snapping a three-game losing streak, and regaining its footing again as far as the NCAAs are concerned. The Engineers are currently No. 13 in the Pairwise.
Colgate 2, Harvard 1
CHN: After getting its first league win only two weeks ago, Colgate has now won four of five and leaped over Harvard and out of the cellar.
Cornell 3, Dartmouth 2
CHN: Dartmouth's NCAA hopes took a major blow this weekend with a pair of losses. After scrapping back to tie this one, twice, the Big Green couldn't hold off the Big Red in front of an enthusiastic senior night crowd. Tyler Roeszler scored in overtime to lift Cornell, drawing even with Dartmouth for third place in the process. Both teams are one point ahead of fifth-place RPI, and hold the final two bye spots for the ECAC playoffs with one weekend remaining. No shame in losing to Cornell this way, but the real killer for Dartmouth on the weekend was Friday's loss to Colgate -- although Colgate has played much better lately.
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Michigan 6, Western Michigan 3
CHN: Six different players scored for the Wolverines.
New Hampshire 6, Vermont 1
CHN: Vermont scored first on a fluky goal, and New Hampshire had to be shaking its heads. Lately, the team has had trouble scoring on its own, and last week, was swept by Merrimack. But once UNH got one in, things kept rolling, and the wheels came off for Vermont at home. Because of Boston College's tie, UNH is back in first place.
Minnesota 5, Wisconsin 2
CHN: An impressive performance from the Gophers, going into Madison and dominating the first game of the weekend series. Taylor Mattson led the way with a couple of goals, and Kent Patterson was strong in net. "Taylor has a lot of speed and tenacity," Minnesota coach Don Lucia said, "but he was having trouble scoring like a lot of our guys did. But now he's getting going, and that's big for us. ... A critical moment in the game, they tied it 1-1 on a power play and we responded the very next shift with a goal."
Lake Superior 1, Ohio State 1
CHN: LSSU won it in the shootout to get the extra point, and climb to sixth in the league, one point behind Ferris State. "I thought they did a good job of defending the goal and limiting our chances," OSU coach Mark Osiecki said of LSSU. "We need to find a way to get some scoring going. We have to find that spark, but overall I'm pleased with our effort. ... I thought we came out with good intensity in the third and I hoped we'd generate some enthusiasm off our bench to get the win." ... LSSU coach Jim Roque was also happy with his team: "I'm really proud of our defense. We have one kid home sick and three freshmen playing, but they battled hard, kept us in the game, and gave us a chance to win."
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Notre Dame 3, Ferris State 2
CHN: Notre Dame remains in first place, with a strong start to its weekend. Mike Johnson stopped 37 of 39 shots, to really earn the victory. “Mike’s (Johnson) play in the first period allowed us to get our feet under us,” said Irish head coach Jeff Jackson. “Ferris came out with a lot of energy and I expected that. We made some bad plays with the puck and that turned into scoring chances but Mike stood tall for us. You’re not going anywhere in the postseason without good goaltending.” ... “I thought we just settled down in the second period,” said Jackson. “We were a little hyper in the first period, trying to do things that we shouldn’t do. We just calmed down and played our game better in the second period."
Merrimack 4, Massachusetts 3
CHN: The Merrimack magic continues. Carter Madsen scored 25 seconds into overtime as Merrimack scored four times in the final 12:22 to rally for its ninth straight road win. UMass got two goals from Adam Phillips in that span as well -- in a crazy third period. Merrimack moves within two points of second-place Boston College.
Maine 4, Mass.-Lowell 0
CHN: With the season on life support for Maine, the Black Bears came up with a dominating shutout win, outshooting last-place Lowell 44-21. Brian Flynn had two goals.
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Boston University 2, Providence 1
CHN: Kieran Millan stopped 36 shots, to help give BU a good shot in the arm, coming off the Beanpot consolation game loss.
Northeastern 7, Boston College 7
CHN: BC has now allowed 13 goals to Northeastern in two games, including the 7-6 Beanpot win. This is not supposed to happen to this defense. Granted, Northeastern is playing better lately -- but still. Northeastern did it this time without two of their coaches, including head coach Greg Cronin. Both he and assistant Albie O'Connell have been suspended indefinitely by the school while it investigates potential NCAA recruiting violations. Relatively inexperienced assistant Sebastien Laplante filled in, and his team rallied around him after it fell behind 3-1 after the first period.
Union 4, Clarkson 3
CHN: Union went up 3-0, saw the lead evaporate in a flash in the third period, only to get a goal from Wayne Simpson in overtime to pull it out. It's the team's eighth straight win, and moves it into a tie for No. 6 in the Pairwise, as of this writing. It also maintains first place in the ECAC, keeping pace with Yale. ... "In the second period, we had a lot of chances and (Clarkson goalie Paul) Karpowich came up with a lot of good saves, including the 5-on-3 -- and that changed the game, and they turned it up," Union coach Nate Leaman said. "We were fortunate to get the win because I thought we were hanging on at the end. ... They played hard, they played physical the whole game. I didn't think we matched their physical intensity. The intensity around both nets, I thought they won." ... On the winning goal, Union's Kevin Sullivan forced a turnover and found Simpson going the other way. "It was good (Simpson) shot the puck. A couple times in the second period, I thought he got caught flatfooted when he should've been shooting. But it was a great play. ... We're a better team when he shoots the puck, and he's got a good shot."
St. Lawrence 5, Rensselaer 3
CHN: RPI's third straight loss has fans pushing the panic button, as the power play, in particular, continues to struggle. But the loss had no effect on the team's NCAA chances.
Harvard 4, Cornell 3
CHN: Cornell fans threw the fish, the Big Red scored early to re-ignite the crowd, but then everyone watched in horror as Harvard took control of the game. The Big Red had plenty of chances to get back in it, but kept giving up too many chances as well.
Colgate 5, Dartmouth 3
CHN: Dartmouth's NCAA hopes took a blow with this loss. Colgate, having just a dreadful season, has suddenly turned in a string over good wins over the last few weeks. Colgate was supposed to be a good team this year, so it's certainly capable -- but it's picking the wrong time to show its good side, as far as the ECAC teams battling for NCAA spots are concerned. It sets up a must-win with Dartmouth at Cornell on Saturday.
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