December
26, 2002
Holiday Tournament Previews: Part II
By
Mike Eidelbes, Nate Ewell and Jess Myers
Dec.
28-29– Everblades College Classic – TECO Arena
– Estero, Fla.
The
Field: No. 12 Ohio State vs. No. 15 Massachusetts;
No. 2 Cornell vs. No. 1 Maine
Last
Year's Winner: Northern Michigan
Interesting
Historical Fact: This is the third year of the
Everblades College Classic, and Cornell, Maine and Ohio
State have participated in all three. Maine captured first
place in the inaugural tournament, while Northern Michigan
won last year. You can bet Cornell will be invited back
as long as Craig Brush is president and general manager
of the East Coast Hockey League's Florida Everblades. Brush
was a three-year letterwinner for the Big Red and a member
of the school's undefeated 1970 NCAA championship team.
What
to Watch For: Another tournament where the impact
of the World Junior Championship is being felt in a big
way. The biggest losses are between the pipes, where Maine
will have to make do without freshman phenom Jim Howard
and Cornell replaces standout sophomore Dave LeNeveu, one
of two backstops on the Team Canada roster. The Black Bears
have a capable substitute in Frank Doyle (4-0-2, 1.54 GAA,
.938 save percentage). The Big Red, however, will rely on
the untested duo of freshman Louis Chabot and junior Todd
Marr, a transfer from Northeastern. Neither has seen game
action this season. Ohio State has battle-tested junior
Mike Betz between the pipes, while Massachusetts will turn
to Gabe Winer, who has an 8-5-0 record for the surprising
Minutemen but owns a less-than-desirable .877 save percentage.
Offensively, all four teams rely on balanced attacks. Need
proof? Maine has eight players with 10 or more points, Ohio
State seven, and Cornell and Massachusetts six each.
How
We See It: Cornell is clearly at a disadvantage
without LeNeveu, while Doyle is a solid second option for
Maine. That should make the difference in that game. Ohio
State and Massachusetts have been two of the better teams
in the nation in recent weeks – the Buckeyes are 9-2-0
in their last seven games, while the Minutemen have won
eight of the last 10. While they can be inconsistent, OSU
should have an advantage over UMass, especially on special
teams, where the Bucks have converted on 20.7% of their
power play chances and the Minutemen have a paltry 72.5%
success rate on the penalty kill. It wouldn't be a surprise
to see John Markell's team win this tournament, but the
Black Bears always find a way. Maine hangs on to its top
ranking behind the play of tournament MVP Doyle.
Dec.
28-29– Great Lakes Invitational – Joe Louis
Arena – Detroit, Mich.
The
Field: No. 14 Boston University vs. Michigan State;
No. 8 Michigan vs. Michigan Tech
Last
Year's Winner: North Dakota
Interesting
Historical Fact: Facts, actually. Michigan Tech
has played in all 38 Great Lakes Invitationals, but the
Huskies haven't won it all since 1980. In fact, Tech has
made one title game appearance since 1991. It's rare that
someone other than Michigan, Michigan State or Michigan
Tech wins the GLI – only eight teams outside of that
triumvirate have taken the tournament's top honors and only
once has it happened in consecutive years (1986-87, when
Western Michigan and Wisconsin turned the trick). Boston
University hopes to do the Hockey East proud in Detroit,
but there's never been a champion from the conference. In
fact, no Hockey East member has ever advanced to the GLI
final.
What
to Watch For: Given the lineups at some of the
other holiday tournaments, the GLI seems to have lost some
of its luster this year, and for good reason. Michigan Tech
beat Northern Michigan prior to the Christmas break to snap
a 10-game winless streak. Michigan State has posted its
worst first-half record since the 1980-81 season, Ron Mason's
second year in East Lansing. Boston U. is 4-5-0 in its last
nine games. Michigan started the season with nine wins and
a tie in its first 11 games, but is 2-3 in its last five
contests. The Terriers and Wolverines each lost two players
to the U.S. entry in the World Junior Championship –
BU is without defenseman Ryan Whitney and forward Brian
McConnell, while Michigan will make due sans forwards Dwight
Helminen and Erik Nystrom.
How
We See It: Michigan once owned this tournament
– nine straight wins from 1988-96. Michigan State
won four in a row starting in 1997, before North Dakota
snapped the Spartans' run last year. For the first time
in recent memory, the Wolverines' roster isn't completely
decimated because of the WJC, and with the injury problems
Red Berenson's team has dealt with this season, they won't
have any trouble filling Helminen and Nystrom's skates for
two games. McConnell's absence doesn't help the Terriers,
but their balance should allow them to get past Michigan
State. Michigan shuts down Boston U. to win its 12th GLI
title.
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Great Weekend Getaways
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Our
take on the tourneys worth the trip this holiday season
...
1.
Everblades College Classic
We
just checked the roster of the ECHL’s Florida
Everblades (it’s college-laden, by the way).
Call us crazy, but all four of the teams in this tournament
could give the ’Blades a run for their money.
2.
Wells Fargo Denver Cup
A rarity: four good teams not hurt at all by the World
Junior Championship.
3.
Dodge Holiday Classic
Bowling Green coach
Scott Paluch, a former Boston College assistant, probably
wishes he wasn’t such a good recruiter right
about now.
4.
Great Lakes Invitational
For a couple of days, the biggest attractions
are on our side of the Detroit River. But you can
still visit Windsor post-game.
5.
Bank One Badger Hockey Showdown
This field would have made a great Frozen Four, circa
1988.
6.
Ledyard Bank Tournament
Corporate sponsorship changed the name of
this tourney from the Auld Lang Syne Classic (although
if it keeps you from singing, we don’t mind).
7.
Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Tournament
Now that the Rose Bowl has sold out to the
BCS, we'll call this 52-year-old tournament the granddaddy
of them all.
8.
Subway Ice Classic
Famous dieter Jared faced a much bigger challenge
than the Sioux will in the Subway Holiday Classic.
9.
UConn Classic
And you thought the U.S. News rankings were
the last time you’d see Alabama-Huntsville,
Connecticut, Ferris State and Findlay mentioned in
the same place.
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Dec.
28-29– Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Tournament –
Houston Field House – Troy,
N.Y.
The
Field: Princeton
vs. Wayne State; Rensselaer vs. Merrimack
Who
Won Last Year: Rensselaer
Interesting
Historical Fact: In its 52nd year, Rensselaer’s
tournament is far and away the longest-running holiday affair
in college hockey. Ned Harkness was the Engineers’
coach when the tournament began, in 1951-52, and he went
on to lead Rensselaer and Cornell to NCAA titles. Princeton
won the second Rensselaer Holiday Tournament, in 1952-53.
What
to Watch For: On paper, the Engineers seem to take
Bobby Knight’s Indiana Classic approach to scheduling
their own tournament – don’t bring in anybody
who might pose a threat to the home team. It almost backfired
last year, when Rensselaer needed a combined three overtimes
to beat Quinnipiac and Massachusetts for the title. Given
the Engineers’ struggles this year, they’re
probably in for another fight. Dan Fridgen’s young
offense managed two or fewer goals six times in a nine-game
stretch leading up to the break (3-5-1 in that span). They
face a big challenge in the first round, as Merrimack’s
Joe Exter has played as well as any goalie in the country
lately. On the other side of the bracket, Wayne State looks
to snap a four-game losing streak in which it has allowed
six goals per game. The preseason favorites in the CHA,
the Warriors would love to start fresh after a 5-10-0 first
half (including a 2-9-0 record away from home). Princeton’s
only win of the year came against Rensselaer, and the Sons
of Hobey return from England – where they went to
enjoy British food and weather, and just maybe find their
game.
How
We See It: Unless Fridgen sent Exter a half-dozen
fruitcakes for the holidays – and the goalie ate them
all – expect Merrimack to stifle the offenses in Troy
this weekend and continue its surprising season with a tournament
title. But regardless of anyone’s holiday diet, these
figure to be hard-fought games – nobody’s head-and-shoulders
above the competition.
Dec.
28-29 – Bank One Badger Hockey Showdown – Bradley
Center – Milwaukee, Wis.
The
Field: No. 16 Northern Michigan vs. No. 7 Harvard,
Colgate vs. Wisconsin
Who
Won Last Year: New Hampshire
Interesting
Historical Fact: This tournament's second game,
Colgate vs. Wisconsin, is a rematch of the 1990 NCAA championship
game, won 7-3 by the Badgers. Wisconsin won the inaugural
Badger Hockey Showdown earlier that season, beating Boston
College 6-3 in the championship game.
What
To Watch For: If this tournament were being played
11 years ago, it would feature the three most recent NCAA
champs (Harvard in '89, Wisconsin in '90 and Northern Michigan
in '91) and a recent NCAA runner-up (Colgate in '90). As
it stands, well, let's say that there have been bigger collections
of talent on the Bradley Center ice (the 1993 Maine vs.
Lake Superior State NCAA title game comes to mind). Wisconsin
is cold and getting colder. Colgate is currently ninth in
the ECAC. Harvard is tops in that league, but is coming
off a loss and a tie. And Northern Michigan is challenging
for the lead in the CCHA, but is coming off an inexplicable
home loss to Michigan Tech.
How
We See It: Northern's defense tops Harvard's offense
in the opener, sending the Wildcats to the title game. Wisconsin,
inspired by the 9,000 people wearing red in the 17,000-seat
arena, wins the nightcap. Harvard smokes Colgate for third
place. Wisconsin's best hope in the title game is if Northern
takes the Miller Brewing tour (three free beers at the end),
then goes to Mader's (one of the finer German restaurants
on this side of the Rhine) for a pregame meal featuring
seven or eight types of sausage and some really heavy potato
dumplings. Even then, remember that these boys are from
the
sausage-intensive Upper Peninsula, and they can handle their
wurst and brews. In other words, go with the Wildcats for
the title.
Dec.
29-30 – UConn Classic – Connecticut Ice Arena
– Storrs, Conn.
The
Field:
No. 9 Ferris State vs. Alabama-Huntsville; Connecticut vs.
Findlay
Who
Won Last Year: Air Force
Interesting
Historical Fact: Five years ago, Connecticut played
in an outdoor rink. Talk about Classic.
What
to Watch For: Chris Kunitz. And Mike Brown. The
Ferris State stars should be salivating at the chance to
play these two games and get back to their early-season
dominating form after the Bulldogs’ recent 4-3-0 run.
Unlike Ferris, Alabama-Huntsville (3-0-2 in its last five)
and Findlay (4-0-0 in four) enter on a roll. The Oilers
boast an impressive offense (4.00 goals per game, 11th in
the nation), led by their power play (26.2 percent, fifth
in the nation). Alabama-Huntsville and Connecticut both
have talented seniors leading their offensive attacks –
Mike Funk (6-8—14) and Jason Hawes (3-10—13)
for UAH and Kurt Kamienski (4-11—15) and D.J. Miller
(8-2—10) for UConn.
How
We See It: Alabama-Huntsville, Connecticut and
Findlay have all shown that they can hang with the big boys
at one point or another this season. None has proven that
they can beat a team of Ferris State’s caliber, however,
and chances are they won’t this weekend, either. (Side
note: we just referred to Ferris State as one of the “big
boys” of college hockey. If that’s not proof
that anything can happen, we don’t know what is.)
