Inside College Hockey | 2004 NCAA East Regional

March 26, 2004
NCAA Tournament | East Regional
Moore Comebacks
Maine erases 4-1 Harvard lead in first round to win

By Joe Gladziszewski

Maine 5, Harvard 4
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
1-H	Dylan Reese (1)	PP
17:01	C. Johnson, K. Du
1-H	Brendan Bernakevitch (11)	EV
19:43	Unassisted
Second Period
1-H	Dennis Packard (11)	PP
1:09	T. Pettit
1-ME	Todd Jackson (21)	EV
2:56	D. Damon
1-H	Ryan Maki (4)	PP
16:47	Unassisted
Third Period
1-ME	Mike Hamilton (6)	EV
3:55	J. Jankus, J. Mushaluk
1-ME	Prestin Ryan (4)	PP
6:14	C. Shields
1-ME	Michel Léveillé	EV
12:47	Unassisted
1-ME	Greg Moore (15)	EV
15:50	M. Léveillé
Goaltending
H: Dov Grumet-Morris, 59:46, 41 saves, 5 GA
ME: Jim Howard, 40:00, 29 saves, 4 GA; Frank Doyle, 20:00, 7 saves, 0 GA
Penalties: H 7/14; ME 6/12
Power Plays: H 3-5; ME 1-6
Attendance: 5,223

ALBANY – Big game, big deficit? Not a problem for Maine sophomore forward Greg Moore. He's been through it before, while playing for the United States in the World Junior Championships earlier this season. As you'll recall, the US rallied from a 3-1 deficit with three goals in the third period and defeated Canada in the championship of that prestigious international tournament.

Moore was wearing blue and white, minus the red, in Albany on Friday night and was a part of a thrilling comeback once again. Big game — the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Bigger deficit — Maine entered the third period trailing Harvard 4-1.

And once again, Moore's team seized momentum early in the third. Bounces went their way. Maine trailed by two, and was on the power play when a clearing attempt by Harvard sailed straight into the skates of Maine's Prestin Ryan. Seconds later, a power-play goal made it 4-3.

Then, with 6:13 left to play, Michel Léveillé pulled up inside the blue line at the left point. He patiently waited as teammates drove to the net and fired a low shot that hit the stick of a Harvard player at the top of the circle and then a skate of a defenseman in front past goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris.

There was momentum and there were fortunate bounces, and eventually a game-winner, though Maine's was much cleaner than the goal that the United States used to beat Canada. Moore couldn't help but notice the similarities in the two games.

"I think it was a reflection of the exact same thing that happened in Finland. Basically the same thing happened in between the second and third period in both situations," Moore said. "There was pride in the locker room and everyone knew what we had to do. With both instances, the hard work, the effort, and getting some lucky bounces from the hard work paid off in the third period."

Another person in the Pepsi Arena had a first-hand perspective on the similarities. Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves was the coach of that gold medal-winning American team and shed some light on what needs to happen to overcome tough odds.

"As we said between the second and third with Canada, you know what fellas, they haven't seen our best yet. We know that, so let's go out and get one, and what happens is you create momentum," Eaves said.

"Our winning goal in Finland was a byproduct of our momentum. It was a fortuitous bounce that was a byproduct of what was going on. When you get momentum going on your side it's like a tidal wave, it's very difficult to get out of the way."

Harvard's inability to get out of the way of Maine's tidal wave proved to be its downfall, and the end of its season.

Wisconsin 1, Ohio State 0 OT
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
No Scoring
Second Period
No Scoring
Third Period
No Scoring
Overtime
1-WI	Dan Boeser (8)	EV
11:47	R. Earl, R. Carlson
Goaltending
WI: Bernd Brückler, 72:03, 28 saves, 0 GA
OS: Dave Caruso, 72:03, 28 saves, 1 GA
Penalties: WI 4/8; OS 6/12
Power Plays: WI 0-6; OS 0-4
Attendance: 5,223

WISCONSIN'S OT COMFORT ZONE

Overtime suits Wisconsin just fine. Friday's 1-0 win over Ohio State was the 13th overtime game of the year for the Badgers, and they're undefeated with five wins and eight ties.

So when Saturday's game went to an extra session, the Badger locker room was calm and the players were poised.

"The comment that guys were saying to each other in the locker room going into overtime was that we're so comfortable here. This is where we've been before. We work as hard as any team in the country as far as conditioning goes, so we felt right at home. Guys weren't panicking and guys weren't sucking wind," Wisconsin's Adam Burish said.

That experience came into play as the Badgers killed off a minor penalty early in the overtime, and then converted on a line rush to get the game's only goal. Wisconsin freshman Robbie Earl, a dangerous threat all game long, fired a low shot from the right wing circle that Ohio State goaltender David Caruso kicked out to the left wing. Defenseman Dan Boeser capitalized on the rebound to end the game after 72:03 of scoreless hockey.

INCH's Three Stars of the Night

3. David Caruso, Ohio State
The Buckeyes' sophomore netminder assumed the starting job during the CCHA Super Six and played very well in turning aside 28 shots before the 29th ended the game.

2. Dustin Penner, Maine
Rugged winger brought a physical presence up front for Maine, creating space and time for the smaller Black Bear wingers and centers to move in the offensive zone.

1. Dan Boeser, Wisconsin
It's hockey tradition, right? The overtime goal-scorer has to get the first star, and it's deserved. Boeser is a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award and overcame cancer that was detected in the summer of 2002.

SEEN AND HEARD AT PEPSI ARENA

• Maine's Jimmy Howard was pulled in favor of Frank Doyle to start the third period. Doyle made only seven saves in the period as Maine controlled momentum. Whitehead wouldn't name a starter for Saturday's game during his post-game press conference. He relied on the old coaching adage, "We'll look at the videotape and make a decision later on."

• Wisconsin strength and conditioning coach Mike Potenza deservedly received some of the credit for Wisconsin's ability to endure through the game.

"I think a big factor was our strength and conditioning, we really pride ourselves on that and we have a great strength and conditioning coach in Mike Potenza that has done a great job with the team in the summer and throughout the season as well," goaltender Bernd Bruckler said.

• The ice conditions at Pepsi Arena deteriorated throughout the night and the building was warm. After the teams skated in the early afternoon, and the 5 p.m. contest, standing water remained on the playing surface during the pre-game warm-up, such that Bruckler used towels to remove some of the water away from his crease.

• Ohio State players were up front in admitting that they were fatigued from last weekend's rigorous run through the CCHA Super Six at Joe Louis Arena. The Buckeyes played three games in three nights while Wisconsin had the weekend off after being eliminated from the WCHA playoffs.

• The Buckeyes hit two posts in the first two periods, and Wisconsin hit the post once.

• The 86 shots on goal fired by Harvard and Maine set an East Regional record for most combined shots in a non-overtime contest.

• Among the paltry crowd of 5,223 in Albany were two of the great mascots in college sports. Brutus and Bucky took in the late game.

• Plenty of college hockey jerseys from non-participating schools were seen in the arena. Local schools Union and Rensselaer weren't surprising to see. Vermont, Yale, North Dakota, Boston College, Providence, and Michigan sweaters were also spotted.

• The late game was the first in NCAA Tournament history that was scoreless after three periods. It was just the fourth 1-0 final in the tournament, and Ohio State has lost the last two such games. Boston College knocked them out of last year’s tournament.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

In this day and age of brightly colored composite sticks, Harvard defenseman Noah Welch still uses the tried and true all-wood stick. He likes the playability of the stick, and also the fact that he can hand them out to kids in the crowd after the game.

Kudos to the fans. Even though the total attendance was extremely low, the passion for the game was tangible. Following the first period of the early game, there was a noticeable spring in the step of Harvard fans and a slump in the shoulders of Maine fans. Those postures were reversed after Maine's dramatic victory.

NCAA mandates prohibited replays from being shown on the arena scoreboard or press box monitors. Nine goals in the early contest were only seen as they were scored, much to the dismay of fans and media. Wisconsin's overtime winner was replayed on the scoreboard.

Of course the first game was a tough act to follow, but the Wisconsin-Ohio State contest was devoid of excitement throughout. How bad was it? As the game was headed to overtime, one fan asked another, "Do you want to stay for the overtime?"

WHAT'S NEXT

Ohio State made its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth overall, while winning its league title for the first time since 1972. The next step for the Buckeyes is to get over the first-round hump in the NCAAs. The Frozen Four takes place in Ohio State's home rink next year.

Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni said, "You just don't get to center stage unless you go through experiences. This is a very, very difficult experience to handle. In the years down the road when they see us advance to a regional championship and win one they'll be very proud of it because they were the guys that got us there."

The Black Bears and Badgers are meeting again, after facing each other in the championship game of the Maverick Stampede in Omaha in early October. Maine won that game 6-2 and coach Tim Whitehead said afterward that Wisconsin is a team that he wouldn't want to face down the road. He's faced with a rematch for the right to advance to the Frozen Four in Boston.