The dates have been circled on many calendars
for a long time, and the time has finally arrived –—
the most important match-up of the year (well, the regular
season, anway.) When Michigan takes the ice at Miami's Steve
Cady Arena for the first time since the facility opened
last season, the intensity level both on the ice and in
the stands will match the anticipation.
CCHA
Notebook
Keeping up with the Joneses: Nobody has slowed forward
Ryan Jones and his Miami teammates this season. Can
Michigan accomplish the feat?
“People are paying quite a bit for tickets
on eBay,” Michigan junior netminder Billy Sauer said.
“It gets you excited, there will probably be a packed
house when we step on the ice for warm-ups. It will be a
lot of fun, the crowd will definitely be on us, and me in
particular as the goalie, but that's why you play college
hockey.”
While some of the luster might have been lost
with Michigan's struggles of the past two weeks (the Wolverines
were 0-1-3 against Michigan State and Northern Michigan),
the teams still occupy the No. 1 and 2 spots in the league
standings and the national polls.
The Wolverines, disappointed with their recent
performances, have concentrated on building the intensity
in practice, making sure they will be up to speed with a
Miami squad that boasts the nation's most prolific offense
and staunchest defense (Michigan is second in both categories.)
“[Team captain Kevin Porter] and I were
talking, and think we just need to get back to our old habits
in practice,” said Chad Kolarik, the Wolverines' alternate
captain. “We have to skate hard, and hit everything
on the ice during practice, even if it's our own team.”
According to Sauer, Kolarik has done just
that in trying to inspire his teammates.
“He's been one of the biggest parts
in that,” Sauer said when asked if he has seen the
difference this week, “Playing the body in practice
— not laying people out, but hitting hard. It might
piss them off at first, but then it kind of lights a fire
under them.”
If the increased intensity pays off and the
Wolverines manage to take four points from the RedHawks,
a feat no team has achieved in Oxford since Lake Superior
State swept Miami out of the playoffs last season, Michigan
would open up a valuable three-point lead in the standings
with three weeks left in the regular season. If the RedHawks
sweep, it'd take a miracle for Michigan to overcome a five-point
deficit in three weeks, especially with two games against
Michigan State.
Speaking of the Spartans, they will certainly
be keeping tabs on the games this weekend. A Miami-Michigan
split would give them a chance to jump into the championship
fray. The possibility has a Michigan State senior class
that has won everything — the Great Lakes Invitational,
the CCHA tournament, and the national championship —
except for the CCHA regular-season title licking their chops.
“It's definitely an exciting time,”
Michigan State defenseman Daniel Vuckovic said. “If
Michigan and Miami beat up on each other and we can take
four points from Northern Michigan, we'll be right there.”
SEEN AND HEARD IN THE CCHA
Hidden Hobey: Before high-scoring
forwards Bill Thomas and Scott Parse put Nebraska-Omaha
on the college hockey map, the hometown of Warren Buffett
and the College World Series was one of the last places
voters might look for a Hobey Baker Award candidate. But
the pair ascended to the top of the CCHA scoring chart,
Parse had Mavericks' fans chanting for his consideration
for the award, and the Mavericks' program grew in stature
on a national level.
With Thomas now skating for the Phoneix Coyotes
and Parse playing for the AHL's Manchester Monarchs, many
Hobey watchers took their eyes off of Omaha, forgetting
the third member of what was one of college hockey's most
prolific triumvirates. But despite the absence of his former
linemates and most of the national attention, Mavericks'
captain Bryan Marshall has put together his best season
yet, begging the question, just how good would Parse and
Thomas have been without Marshall?
Through last weekend, Marshall (12-29—41)
sat just one point behind Michigan's Kevin Porter (23-19—42),
often named as one of the favorites for the Hobey Baker
Award, in both the CCHA and NCAA points races. Yet Marshall's
name rarely comes up in conversations when the topic turns
to who might be the nation's most valuable player. Although
he admits he follows the race for Hobey, he isn't particularly
surprised or overly disappointed when his name is often
left out of discussion.
“A lot of [the players named as contenders
for the Hobey Baker] play at top-10 schools,” Marshall
said. “If I was at a top-10 school I might be surprised,
but I'm not surprised at all.”
When asked just how he is maintaining such
gaudy numbers without the help of his former teammates,
Marshall points out that while his numbers were definitely
inflated playing with players of that caliber, he also spent
plenty of time spreading the wealth with other teammates.
“My freshman year, I didn't play with
[Thomas and Parse at all] and my sophomore year I played
half of the season without them,” Marshall said. “Last
year, I played with [Parse] 60 percent of the time, but
another 40 percent without him.”
Although his new linemates aren't as celebrated
as his former ones, Marshall praises Mick Lawrence and Brandon
Scero.
“If you look at my numbers, [Lawrence
and Scero] are responsible for the success that I'm having,”
Marshall said. “Everything Mick Lawrence shoots is
going in. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't, but
they're going in these days.”
Praying for a Whiteout: Alaska
has one thing on its mind as it heads into this weekend's
series against Bowling Green: bringing home playoff hockey
to Fairbanks for the first time since 2004, one season before
this year's seniors put on blue and gold sweaters for the
first time.
“It would be amazing,” said Nanooks'
defenseman T.J. Campbell, this week's CCHA defenseman of
the week. “The senior class hasn't gotten to experience
it yet, but we've heard so much about 'The Whiteout' at
the Carlson Center. We've had some (playoff) success these
past few years on the road, but right now home ice is our
biggest goal.”
So what exactly does he mean by “The
Whiteout”?
When the Nanooks earn the right to host a
playoff series at the Carlson Center, local fans come out
and pack the building, all wearing white shirts and creating
the illusion of a blizzard in the stands. The effect would
certainly intimidate opponents — the Nanooks are 1-1
in home playoff series since joining the league —
and has a lasting effect on locals, even those who aren't
closely tied to the game.
“I even hear non-hockey people talk
about it,” goaltender Wylie Rogers, a Fairbanks native,
said. “I've never seen it, but I've heard big things.
It's been too long.”
In order to bring this dream to fruition,
the seniors are working to maintain the team's cohesiveness
— the key to their resurgence in the second half of
the year. After facing Bowling Green this weekend, the Nanooks
complete the regular season with a home series against Notre
Dame and a trip to Lake Superior State, giving them a chance
to directly take some points from teams they are competing
against for a home playoff berth
“It's a fortunate situation for us that
we can control our own destiny,” Rogers said. “The
big thing will be having every guy concentrate on the little
things. We've only had success when all the guys were together.”
Great Weekend Getaway
Michigan
at Miami (Fri.-Sat.)
No. 1 and No. 2 in the land. Need I say more? Fans
have been waiting for this matchup which, despite
Michigan's recent struggles, should be one of the
most important series in CCHA history.
Week after week, we point to Miami's
unstoppable offense, impenetrable defense and stalwart
goalteding. Now, the RedHawks finally meet a team
that has put up comparable numbers. Only 120 (well,
maybe 130) minutes of hockey will tell us which of
these teams deserves top billing.
If you weren't able to score tickets
to this titanic matchup (note: it feels great to say
that about a regular-season college hockey game),
make sure to tune in to Friday's game on CSTV and
Saturday's on Fox Sports Detroit.
While you're there: Wake up Saturday
and recover from the bliss of seeing college hockey
at its best with breakfast at the Bagel and Deli Cafe,
just a half block from Miami's campus. Famous for
steamed bagel sandwiches and subs, the restaurant
has more than 80 creatively named sandwiches including
the "Tonya Harding Club" and "The Hangover
Helper."
Stick
Salute
Congratulations to Bowling Green's Jacob Cepis, who won his second
CCHA rookie of the week award after helping the Falcons
to a 4-2 win over in-state rival Ohio State Friday.
In the victory, Cepis scored two goals and added an
assist, giving him 23 points on the year – good
enough for second best on an improving BGSU squad.
Bench
Minor
At one of
the most important stages of a season, Michigan freshman
Kevin Quick was dismissed from the Wolverines team
last week. Details of his offense were not released,
but coach Red Berenson described his indiscretion
as “a total violation of our team trust and
rules.”
FRIES AT THE BOTTOM
OF THE BAG
• Presently, there are five players
in the nation who have scored 20 or more goals this season.
Four of them come from CCHA, and a fifth right on the cusp
of that milestone.
Michigan's Kevin Porter leads the way with
23 goals, while Miami's Ryan Jones has 22, Bowling Green's
Derek Whitmore has found the back of the net 21 times and
RedHawk Justin Mercier has lit the lamp on 20 occasions.
Wolverines' forward Chad Kolarik hopes to break into the
club this weekend, as he heads into the Miami series with
19 goals.
• One of the key reasons Michigan State
has been able to stay in the race for the CCHA title has
been their play on the road. Heading into the final two-game
road trip of the season, only one of the Spartans' six losses
has come on the road — a 6-0 thrashing at North Dakota
which marked the start (and low point) of the season.
While Marquette, home of Northern Michigan,
is a tough place to play, Michigan State has reasons to
be optimistic. Despite last weekend's overtime loss to Nebraska-Omaha,
the Spartans are playing their best hockey of the year,
and swept the Wildcats in East Lansing in late October.
• This week's CCHA goaltender of the
week, Alaska's Wylie Rogers, was certainly worthy of the
honor. He has carried the team on his back in each of the
Nanooks' seven victories this season, including last weekend's
sweep of Western Michigan. Rogers has compiled an astronomical
.957 save percentage and allowed a paltry 1.55 goals per
game in those wins. In the series against the Broncos, Rogers
stopped 75 of the 79 shots he saw.
• Ohio State freshman Peter Boyd made
the most of his first career multi-goal game, scoring twice
in just over two minutes to give the Buckeyes a lead and
an insurance goal late in the third period of Saturday's
win against Bowling Green in Columbus. On the season, Boyd
has scored seven goals, tied for second best on the team,
and certainly knows how to pick his spots — he leads
the team with four game-winners.
• After watching Brian Mahoney-Wilson
hold down the fort for Lake Superior State, Pat Inglis got
his first start in four games in Saturday's 1-1 tie against
Ferris State. Inglis made 36 saves and hometown hero Jason
Blain notched his first goal of the season to earn the point
for the Lakers. The tie combined with Friday's 3-2 victory
over the Bulldogs, marked LSSU's first three-point weekend
of the season.
• Western Michigan is definitely becoming
familiar with the saying, “close, but no cigar.”
After losing a pair of 3-2 contests in Alaska last weekend,
the Broncos ran their total of one-goal losses this season
to eight. Friday game was particularly disappointing as
Western Michigan lost a one-goal lead and dropped the game
in overtime — the Broncos' fifth-extra frame defeat
of the season.
• Northern Michigan's Nick Sirota is
hoping that his game-tying goal in Saturday's 3-3 draw against
Michigan at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor will jump start
his offense. The goal, which was Sirota's team-leading 13th
this season, was his first since Dec. 1. At that point he
had notched 12 goals in the Wildcats' first 16 games before
enduring an 11-game goalless streak.
A variety of sources were utilized in
the compilation of this report. James V. Dowd can be reached
at james@insidecollegehockey.com.
