Men’s D-I in general
Perhaps it was Chris Sarandon who said it best, as Prince Humperdink in “The Princess Bride.” “There was a mighty duel. They ranged all over. They were both masters.” With top seed Michigan and homestanding Yale both eliminated on the first day of the 2009 NCAA East Regional, it would have been understandable had Saturday’s … Read more
The shot totals don’t seem that high, and the goal totals weren’t really all that low. Nonetheless, Brad Thiessen of Northeastern and Ben Scrivens of Cornell both were instrumental in dictating the outcome of their first round matchup in Grand Rapids, Mich. “I thought the billing the two goaltenders lived up to it. I thought … Read more
They came into their Northeast Regional semifinal game with similar streaks for consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Trailing only Michigan, New Hampshire had earned its eighth straight berth to North Dakota’s seven. The two teams shared other similarities. On the plus side: some of the most highly skilled players in the country and a penchant for … Read more
Friday’s Facts Air Force finished with only 13 official shots on goal in its first-round upset, the fourth-lowest total in NCAA tournament history. The only service academy to ever play in the tourney, the Falcons got their first national tournament win on Friday. Upending Michigan may have felt catastrophic for the Maize & Blue, but … Read more
Minnesota Duluth’s incredible 5-4 overtime win Friday against Princeton defies easy categorization. For each team, the game’s script had elements both of the familiar and the fantastic. Winning games they weren’t supposed to was nothing new for the Bulldogs, who did that three times last weekend in the WCHA Final Five. UMD, the seventh-seeded team … Read more
Narrowest of Margins In Friday night’s West Regional action, Minnesota-Duluth scored an extra-attacker tying goal versus Princeton with just 0.8 seconds left in the game, before going on to win after more than 15 minutes of overtime. But New Hampshire eclipsed even that narrow margin, scoring with just 0.1 seconds left in the game. Of … Read more
Miami’s coaching staff apparently made the right choice in goaltenders. It was no foregone conclusion that Cody Reichard was going to be in net to earn all-regional honors and help the RedHawks claim their first trip to the Frozen Four this weekend at Mariucci Arena. In fact, after a week of competition in practice between … Read more
The four teams at the East Regional this year share plenty of history — some well-known, some less so. Elliot Olshansky is on site at Harbor Yard.
Following No. 4 Air Force’s 2-0 win over No. 1 Michigan, Falcons’ coach Frank Serratorre recalled seasons past when there was something lacking from his team. It was a large void, and, until Friday’s matchup with No. 1 Michigan in the opening game of the East Regional, it was impossible to know whether it was … Read more
The Maine Black Bears have released three players from their program, according to a story in Thursday’s edition of the Bangor Daily News. Sophomore forwards Lem Randall, Keif Orsini and Glenn Belmore have been released from the team, according to the article. “It’s always disappointing when you have to let a player go from a … Read more
If there’s one thing that defines the 2009 NCAA Tournament field, it’s new faces. With tournament regulars Boston College, Michigan State, Colorado College, Minnesota and Wisconsin all staying home this year, it opens the door for several teams whose players had never been to the NCAAs; Ohio State is back for the first time since … Read more
Jacques Lamoureux had been waiting for this game for two years. He’d seen Michigan before, of course. As a freshman at Northern Michigan, Lamoureux was on the ice for two games at Yost Arena in January 2007, helping the Wildcats earn a split against the Wolverines. However, it was after his season in Marquette was … Read more
If it wasn’t already abundantly clear from their shared histories how close Denver coach George Gwozdecky and Miami coach Enrico Blasi are, that story got another chapter in the makeshift media room at Mariucci Arena. First, Gwozdecky took his turn in emotionally describing his relationship with his former player and assistant coach. Then Blasi did … Read more
It’s easy to look at the box score and flush out that Minnesota-Duluth’s power play made the difference in its 5-4 overtime victory Friday over Princeton in the West Regional. The Bulldogs scored one of their two final-minute goals with the man advantage (actually a two-man advantage because goaltender Alex Stalock was on the bench) … Read more
With the pucks about to drop on the NCAA regionals, Dave Starman stops by with analysis, predictions and thoughts on the games to come.
Vermont’s opponent wasn’t at all a common one. The third-seeded Catamounts don’t play the East Regional’s No. 2 seed, Yale, regularly — not since UVM joined Hockey East prior to the 2005-06 season, anyway. Still, UVM coach Kevin Sneddon’s game plan strangled the Yale forecheckers, forcing them to play a game he knew his Catamounts … Read more
Upset (up’-set), n.: a game or contest in which the favorite is defeated. No. 4 seeds went two-for-two Friday in the NCAA regionals. After Air Force a rode a 43-save performance by Andrew Volkening to a 2-0 win over Michigan in the East Regional, Miami — not to be outdone — dominated top-seeded Denver in … Read more
Boston University senior defenseman Matt Gilroy has been named the winner of the 57th annual Walter Brown Award, presented to the best American-born Division I player in New England, Gridiron Club of Greater Boston president Steve Grogan announced Friday. Gilroy, a native of North Bellmore, N.Y., is the Terriers’ co-captain and one of a talented … Read more
Defending national champion Boston College may have missed this year’s NCAA tournament, but 2008 runner-up Notre Dame is very much alive this time around. Unlike last season — when Notre Dame battled its way to the title game as a number-four seed — the Fighting Irish won’t be taking anyone by surprise this time around. … Read more
The puck drops on the first game of the NCAA tournament Friday afternoon in Connecticut when Michigan and Air Force hit the ice in the East Regional semifinals. Neither team is a stranger to this stage: the Wolverines are making their umpteenth consecutive national-tourney appearance while the Falcons have won the Atlantic Hockey autobid three … Read more