Top-seeded Boston College beats Alaska-Fairbanks
March 27, 2010
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP)—Pat Mullane scored the tiebreaking goal 3:46 into thethird period and Matt Price was awarded a goal when he was hauled down breakingtoward an empty net with 12 seconds left, lifting Boston College to a 3-1 winover Alaska-Fairbanks in the NCAA tournament Saturday.
The Eagles (26-10-3), the top seed in the Northeast Regional, will face theNorth Dakota-Yale winner on Sunday for a spot in the Frozen Four.
Alaska-Fairbanks (18-12-9) made its first NCAA tournament appearance.
Boston College, the Hockey East tournament champion, improved to 9-0 infirst-round NCAA tournament games in Worcester. The Eagles are seeking theirthird NCAA title since 2001.
With Nanooks goalie Scott Greenham pulled for an extra skater in the final30 seconds, Price was racing toward a loose puck deep in the Alaska zone when hewas hooked down by defenseman Joe Sova.
Wisconsin beats Vermont 3-2 in West Regional
March 27, 2010
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Blake Geoffrion and Justin Schultz each had a power-playgoal and an assist, and Scott Gudmandson made 28 saves to help Wisconsin beatVermont 3-2 on Friday night in the NCAA West Regional semifinals.
Brian Davies also had a power-play goal for the top-seeded Badgers(26-10-4), who will face St. Cloud State on Saturday for a spot in the FrozenFour. St. Cloud State beat Northern Michigan 4-3 in double overtime.
Dan Lawson scored and assisted on Brian Roloff’s goal to give Vermont(17-15-7) a 2-1 first-period lead. But the Badgers took control in the second,outshooting the Catamounts 16-3 and scoring twice to take the lead.
Geoffrion, who leads the Badgers with 26 goals, set up Schultz’sfirst-period goal, then scored in the final minute of the second to putWisconsin ahead.
Wisconsin is trying to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time sincewinning the 2006 national title in Milwaukee.
NCAA Hockey Capsules
March 27, 2010
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Tony Mosey scored on a power play 23 seconds into thesecond overtime to give St. Cloud State a 4-3 victory over Northern Michigan onFriday in the West Regional semifinals, the Huskies’ first NCAA tournamentvictory.
Mosey tipped a pass from Garrett Roe between goalie Brian Stewart’s pads.
St. Cloud State won after losing its first eight NCAA tournament games. TheHuskies (24-13-5) will face Wisconsin or Vermont on Saturday for a spot in theFrozen Four.
Mike Lee made 42 saves for St. Cloud State.
Stewart made 50 saves for the Wildcats (20-13-8), who overcame a two-goaldeficit in the third period. Justin Florek had a goal and an assist for NorthernMichigan, and defenseman Erik Spady tied it with less than 4 minutes left inregulation.
East Regional
RIT 2, Denver 1
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)—Cameron Burt scored a power-play goal with 7:24 left andRochester Institute of Technology won its first NCAA Division I tournament game.
The Atlantic Hockey Association champion Tigers (27-11-1) will play NewHampshire on Saturday for a berth in the Frozen Four.
Freshman defenseman Chris Tanev also scored, and Jared DeMichiel made 39saves to help RIT extend its winning streak to 11 games, the longest in thecountry this season.
Joe Colborne scored for Denver (27-10-4).
New Hampshire 6, Cornell 2
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)—Bobby Butler and Paul Thompson each had two goals and anassist, and Mike Sislo also scored twice for New Hampshire (18-13-7).
Butlter and Sislo scored on consecutive shots 26 seconds apart late in thesecond period to take a 2-1 lead. They were the first goals allowed by Cornell’sBen Scrivens in more than three games, ending his shutout streak at 267 minutes,11 seconds.
Brian Foster made 24 saves for New Hampshire.
Tyler Roeszler and Dan Nicholls scored for Cornell (21-9-4).
St. Cloud State beats Northern Michigan in 2OT
March 26, 2010
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Tony Mosey scored on a power play 23 seconds into thesecond overtime to give St. Cloud State a 4-3 victory over Northern Michigan onFriday in the West Regional semifinals, the Huskies’ first NCAA tournamentvictory.
Mosey tipped a pass from Garrett Roe between goalie Brian Stewart’s pads.
“It’s huge to finally get that monkey of our back,” Mosey said. “Thatsame play had happened earlier and I missed a wide-open net so I knew that Roewas going to get it to me again and I had to put it in.”
St. Cloud State won after losing its first eight NCAA tournament games. TheHuskies (24-13-5) will face Wisconsin, a 3-2 winner over Vermont, on Saturdaynight for a spot in the Frozen Four.
“It was a great college hockey game,” Northern Michigan coach Walt Kylesaid. “There was great goaltending at both ends. We were nervous early andcould not get into a rhythm at all. The difference tonight was definitely theirpower play.”
Roe, Travis Novak and Ryan Lasch also scored, and Mike Lee made 42 saves forSt. Cloud State, which had 22 shots on goal in the first overtime.
“When we get back on our toes and start making some plays, we’re a prettygood hockey team,” Huskies coach Bob Motzko said. “We were able to get threepower-play goals tonight, which is our top guys getting out there. That’scritical.”
Stewart made 50 saves for the Wildcats (20-13-8), who overcame a two-goaldeficit in the third period to force overtime. Justin Florek had a goal and anassist for Northern Michigan, which was playing in the NCAA tournament for thefirst time since 1999. The Wildcats only NCAA title was won in St. Paul in 1991.
“This season it seems like we’ve had penalty trouble a lot,” Florek saidafter the Wildcats were whistled for eight penalties in the game. “That hurtus, tonight especially with their power play.”
Wildcats defenseman Erik Spady tied it with less than 4 minutes left inregulation, firing a shot that beat Lee through a crowd.
Ray Kaunisto also scored for Northern Michigan.
New Hampshire beats Cornell in NCAA tourney
March 26, 2010
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)—Bobby Butler and Paul Thompson each had two goals and anassist, and Mike Sislo also scored twice in New Hampshire’s 6-2 victory overCornell on Friday night in the NCAA East Regional semifinals.
The Wildcats (18-13-7) will face Rochester Institute of Technology, a 2-1winner over Denver, on Saturday for a spot in the Frozen Four.
Butlter and Sislo scored on consecutive shots 26 seconds apart late in thesecond period to take a 2-1 lead. They were the first goals allowed by Cornell’sBen Scrivens in more than three games, ending his shutout streak at 267 minutes,11 seconds.
Brian Foster made 24 saves for New Hampshire.
Tyler Roeszler and Dan Nicholls scored for Cornell (21-9-4), and Scrivensfinished with 31 saves.
Roeszler opened the scoring with 48.5 seconds left in the first period.
Butler tied it with 3:13 left in the second. He was alone in the slot tocrank a wrist shot that sailed past Scrivens’ stick and through the netting,caroming back into play. Action continued for another 44 seconds before awhistle, when the goal was awarded following a video review.
Sislo scored with 2:47 left in the period, getting in behind the defense tolift a shot over Scrivens’ glove at the right post.
Thompson stepped into a loose puck in stride, skated in and put a shotinside the right post 2:58 in the third period for a 3-1 edge. Butler made it4-1 at 6:36, skating in on a breakaway and faking a shot before flipping thepuck past Scrivens.
Sislo’s unassisted goal pushed the advantage to 5-1 with 4:46 to play beforeCornell’s Nicholls swept in a rebound at 17:49.
Thompson had an empty-net goal with 32.8 seconds left.
St. Cloud State beat Northern Michigan in 2OT
March 26, 2010
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Tony Mosey scored on a power play 23 seconds into thesecond overtime to give St. Cloud State a 4-3 victory over Northern Michigan onFriday in the West Regional semifinals, the Huskies’ first NCAA tournamentvictory.
Mosey tipped a pass from Garrett Roe between goalie Brian Stewart’s pads.
St. Cloud State won after losing its first eight NCAA tournament games. TheHuskies (24-13-5) will face Wisconsin or Vermont on Saturday for a spot in theFrozen Four.
Mike Lee made 42 saves for St. Cloud State.
Stewart made 50 saves for the Wildcats (20-13-8), who overcame a two-goaldeficit in the third period to force overtime. Justin Florek had a goal and anassist for Northern Michigan, which was playing in the NCAA tournament for thefirst time since 1999.
Wildcats defenseman Erik Spady tied it with less than 4 minutes left inregulation, firing a that beat Lee through a crowd.
RIT upsets Denver 2-1 in NCAA hockey
March 26, 2010
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)—Cameron Burt scored a power-play goal with 7:24 left in thethird period and Rochester Institute won its first NCAA Division I tournamentgame, upsetting top-seeded Denver 2-1 in the East Regional semifinals Friday.
The Tigers (27-11-1) will play either Cornell or New Hampshire on Saturdayfor a berth in the Frozen Four.
Freshman defenseman Chris Tanev also scored for RIT, and senior goaltenderJared DeMichiel stopped 39 shots as the Tigers extended their win streak to 11games, longest in the country this season.
Joe Colborne had the goal for Denver (27-10-4), the top seed in the Eastwhich ended the season with three consecutive losses.
RIT, the Atlantic Hockey Association champion, is in its fifth season as aD-I program.
Tanev scored 5:04 in, jumping on a loose puck in the right circle andsnapping a wrist shot to the upper left corner of the net past screened Pioneersgoalie Marc Cheverie.
The score stayed that way into the third period, largely thanks to severalacrobatic saves from DeMichiel, the best coming midway through the third fromthe seat of his pants on Denver’s Kyle Ostrow.
Skating on its second power play of the game, RIT took a two-goal lead.Andrew Favot held the puck in the left circle, then slid a perfect cross-icepass to Burt at the right post, where he slipped the puck under Cheverie’soutstretched left pad.
Cheverie, a seventh-round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2006, finishedwith 23 saves for Denver.
Denver used its power play to cut the lead in half 1:58 later. DeMichielmade an initial stop on Tyler Ruegsegger’s wrist shot, but Colborne, a 6-foot-5first-round draft pick of the Boston Bruins in 2008, outreached RIT defenders tochop in the rebound with 5:26 to play.
RIT made 13 trips to the NCAA tournament at the Division II and III levelsbetween 1983 and 2002, winning national titles in 1983 as a Division II team and1985 in Division III. Its last NCAA tournament appearance came in 2001-02.
Ala.-Huntsville seeks more than Frozen 4 berth
March 26, 2010
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP)—Alabama-Huntsville is looking for more than just thebiggest win in school history when it plays top-seeded Miami (Ohio) in the firstround of the NCAA men’s hockey tournament on Saturday.
The Chargers, the lone Division I hockey team in the South, are looking toprove they belong on the ice with the northern powers. They enter the MidwestRegional in Fort Wayne with a 12-17-3 record, but earned an automatic NCAAtournament berth by winning the College Hockey America tournament.
They are hoping a strong performance in the NCAA tournament might help themland a new conference affiliation after the CHA disbands following the season.The conference’s other three members have found leagues to play in, leavingAlabama-Huntsville as the only school without a conference.
“Hopefully it keeps us in the national conversation and if nothing elsereminds people that we are an independent team and we’re looking for a home,”coach Danton Cole said.
The Chargers tried to join the Central Collegiate Hockey Association lastsummer, but were rejected. Team captain Ryan Burkholder said playing the CCHAchampion RedHawks (27-7-7) on Saturday doesn’t provide any extra motivation forthe Chargers.
“We’re playing Miami, not the entire CCHA, so we’re focusing on Miami andhow we can do our best and beat them,” he said. “They could be in any otherconference and we’d treat them the same way.”
But players say they do feel as if they are trying to show that they are ateam worth pursuing for conference affiliation.
“Obviously getting rejected by the CCHA and not having a certain future andbeing independent for next year it’s definitely huge for us to get in thetournament and maybe prove that we belong with these teams and we’re notoutmatched by them,” goalie Cameron Talbot said.
The Chargers are the only team left playing with a losing record, but it’sthe second NCAA tournament trip in three years for the school with about 7,400students in northern Alabama. Three years ago, they earned a tournament berth,again with a losing record, and lost in double overtime to Notre Dame in thefirst round.
The school drew national attention last month when three professors werekilled and two professors and a staff member were wounded in a shooting during abiology faculty meeting. Former professor Amy Bishop was charged with capitalmurder.
Spencer Harrison, a freshman aerospace major from Red Bud, Ill., and a fanof the hockey team, said it’s exciting to see the team do so well. He said theshootings have helped bring the community together.
“Students are putting a little bit more effort into everything to make ourschool better,” he said.
The Chargers also hope to emulate what fellow CHA member Bemidji State didlast year when it became the first 16 seed to advance to the semifinals bybeating top-seeded Notre Dame and Cornell. Bemidji State is headed to thepowerful Western Collegiate Hockey Association next season.
Cole said he’s telling his team to just keep working and things will workout.
“Situations can always change,” the coach said. “At some point we’ll be agood fit for somebody. We want to make sure when that opportunity comes we’reready to jump in and be a valuable member.”
CSU player arrested after incident with referee
March 25, 2010
SIMSBURY, Conn. (AP)—A player on the Colorado State University club hockeyteam is facing a disorderly conduct charge after he allegedly checked a refereeduring a national tournament in Connecticut.
Simsbury police Capt. Matt Catania says A.J. Hau was apparently upset aftera loss to William Paterson in the ACHA national tournament on March 19. Cataniasays the referee, whose name has not been released, claims Hau lowered hisshoulder and slammed him into the boards shortly after the game ended.
Hau told the Rocky Mountain Collegian newspaper that he “barely bumped”the referee, who had ejected him earlier in the game.
Colorado State coach Kelly Newton says Hau regrets the incident, but theteam believes it is being blown out of proportion. Hau is due in Superior Courton April 1.
WCHA suspends UND’s Frattin 1 game
March 16, 2010
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP)—The Western Collegiate Hockey Association has suspendedNorth Dakota forward Matt Frattin for one game.
The junior will not play Thursday when North Dakota faces Minnesota-Duluthin a play-in game to make the WCHA’s Final Five tournament.
Frattin received a five-minute penalty Sunday night after he knockedMinnesota’s Kevin Wehrs to the ice and prompted a minor skirmish. Wehrs left thegame and did not return.
