December
27, 2004
Ledyard National Bank Classic
Thompson
Arena • Hanover, N.H.
THE
FIELD
Wednesday,
December 29
Providence vs. Vermont, 4 p.m. ET
Bowling Green at Dartmouth, 7 p.m. ET
Thursday,
December 30
Consolation game, 4 p.m. ET
Championship, 7 p.m. ET
LAST
YEAR
The “tournament”
was played as a showcase last year, with predetermined matchups
instead of a semifinals-consolation-championship format. Both
Dartmouth and Vermont earned ties against No. 9 Massachusetts
and defeated Minnesota State, Mankato on the weekend. Dartmouth’s
8-5 win over Mankato earned the trophy as Vermont’s winning
score against the Mavericks was 3-2.
INTERESTING
HISTORICAL FACT
Seven-year
itch: Wednesday’s semifinal games exactly match the first-round
pairings from the 1997 edition of this tournament. At that time,
it was called the Sheraton/US Airways Classic and was hosted that
year at Vermont’s Gutterson Fieldhouse. Dartmouth won the
title with a 5-1 win over Bowling Green and a 4-1 win over Providence
in the finals.
WHO
TO WATCH
Providence sophomore
Jamie Carroll has scored a point in each of the Friars’
last six games, with three goals and three assists. His contributions
are especially necessary for the Friars, who enter the tournament
with one win in their last nine games.
Vermont is 9-1-3 in
its last 12 games and senior Scott Mifsud has 25 points in 18
games to lead the way. Forward Torrey Mitchell and goaltender
Joe Fallon are two of the most popular freshmen on campus as each
has played a big part in UVM’s success thus far.
Dartmouth senior forward
Lee Stempniak was a pre-season Hobey Baker candidate but his mediocre
stats and the Big Green’s so-so first-half won’t have
him on many mid-season Hobey watch lists. The loss of linemate
Hugh Jessiman to injury certainly didn’t help. Freshman
Nick Johnson has joined Stempniak and center Mike Ouellette on
the Big Green’s top line, which started to heat up in mid-December.
Bowling Green juniors
Jon Sitko and Bryan Dobek started to contribute to the offense
as each had a pair of assists in an 8-3 loss at Michigan on Dec.
10. Jonathan Matsumoto and James Unger share the Falcon scoring
lead with 12 points each.
HOW
WE SEE IT
Bowling Green and Vermont
are two of the most improved teams in the nation. At this time
last year, Bowling Green was 4-8-6 and in 12th place in the CCHA.
This year, the Falcons are 8-6-2 and in fifth place in the CCHA.
In 2003-04 Vermont was 1-11-2 and the last men’s Division
I team to earn a victory. This year the Catamounts are 10-5-3
and nationally ranked.
Look for the Catamounts
to overpower Providence in the first semifinal. On home ice, Dartmouth
should extend Bowling Green’s three-game losing streak in
the last game to set up an all-ECACHL championship game. Vermont
beat Dartmouth 5-1 on Dec. 19 and the teams will play again on
Jan. 15. The middle game, and tournament title, will go to the
Big Green.
