March
18, 2007
NCAA Tournament
Northeast Regional Capsules | Manchester, N.H.
Verizon Wireless Arena
Saturday, March 24
1 p.m. ET: No. 1 New Hampshire vs. No. 4 Miami
4:30 p.m. ET: No. 2 Boston College vs. No.
3 St. Lawrence
Sunday, March 25
3:30 p.m. ET: Regional Final
NO.
1 SEED NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDCATS
Location:
Durham, N.H.
Record: 26-10-2 (18-7-2 Hockey East,
first)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: 27th (most recent, 2006)
Head Coach: Dick Umile
Key Players: Trevor Smith, F, So. (38
GP, 21-22—43); Matt Fornataro, F, Jr. (38 GP, 13-27—40);
Jacob Micflikier, F, Sr. (35 GP, 11-27—38); Kevin
Regan, Jr., G (24-8-2, 2.06, .936)
What You Need To Know: UNH cruised to
an easy Hockey East regular-season championship, but only
won the crown by a point by finishing up with a 1-4-1
mark. After sneaking past UMass to the league title tilt
with Boston College, the Wildcats were completely outplayed
for most of the game. UNH plays better defense than in
years past, and the offense is led by two tremendous lines.
How They’ll Advance: They’ll
need the Kevin Regan who made 44 saves in the semifinal
win over UMass, and not the one who allowed four goals
and coughed up the puck in the corner against BC. More
importantly, the Wildcats need their two premier lines
to dent the scoreboard. Jacob Micflikier, Mike Radja and
Josh Ciocco (who played in place of an injured Brett Hemingway)
didn’t notch a single point at the Garden. Jerry
Pollastrone, Trevor Smith and Matt Fornataro went scoreless
in the semifinals and combined for one goal and two assists
in the championship.
What Might Trip Them Up: Boston College.
UNH is the top seed in Manchester, but the Eagles have
owned the Wildcats in March. BC has won all three meetings
(4-1, 4-2, 5-2) since the final weekend of the regular
season. If UNH can get past Miami Saturday afternoon,
the Wildcats may quietly be rooting for St. Lawrence in
the evening contest.
| Most
Recent New Hampshire Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| 9-J.
Micflikier |
22-M.
Radja |
14-J.
Ciocco |
Top line winger Brett Hemingway
(13-19—32) missed the Hockey East semifinal
and final due to illness. |
| 11-J.
Pollastrone |
23-T.
Smith |
39-M.
Fornataro |
| 8-G.
Collins |
17-T.
Fortney |
12-B.
Butler |
| 27-D.
Rossman |
16-P.
LeBlanc |
24-S.
Vinz |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| 2-J.
Fritsch |
20-C.
Murray |
32-K.
Regan |
Murray
has 22 points this year, nine more than he scored
in his first three seasons. |
| 4-C.
Switzer |
19-B.
Flaishans |
29-B.
Foster |
| 5-K.
Kapstad |
7-J.
Charlebois |
1-K.
Manke |
NO.
2 SEED BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Location:
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Record: 23-12-3 (17-8-2 Hockey East, third)
Qualified: Hockey East tournament champions
NCAA Championships: Two (1949, 2001)
NCAA Appearance: 27th (most recent, 2006)
Head Coach: Jerry York
Key Players: Brian Boyle, F/D, Sr. (38
GP, 17-33—50); Benn Ferriero, F, So. (38 GP, 22-22—44);
Nathan Gerbe, F, Sr. (37 GP, 23-18—41); Cory Schneider,
G, Jr. (26-11-1, 2.19, .923)
What You Need to Know: Brian Boyle led
Hockey East with 42 points in the regular season but switched
to defense at the start of the league tournament to help
out in place of the injured Anthony Aiello and Carl Sneep.
Boyle had two goals and six assists in the four games and
was selected to the Hockey East All-Tournament team as a
defenseman. Coach Jerry York said Boyle will play on the
blue line for the rest of the season.
How They’ll Advance: Nathan Gerbe,
Brock Bradford, and Benn Ferriero have led the Eagles on
offense. Each game, it seems to be someone different who
comes up big. While Gerbe (23-18—41) gets the attention
and Bradford (18-22—40) was the MVP of the Hockey
East tournament, Ferriero (22-22—44) has been the
more proficient scorer. Then, there’s Boyle, who has
17 goals and 33 assists. If that’s not enough, Cory
Schneider has allowed 1.80 goals per game in BC's last 10
outings.
What Might Trip Them Up: During their 10-game
winning streak, they have won seven games by three or more
goals and outscored their opponents 47-18. Two of those
wins came by one goal. We’re getting nitpicky here
— which needs to be the case with the hottest team
in the nation heading into the NCAA Tournament — but
maybe the Eagles have forgotten how to win a close contest.
| Most
Recent Boston College Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| 9-N.
Gerbe |
12-B.
Smith |
19-B.
Bradford |
Gerbe has 10-10—20 during
his current 11-game point streak that started Feb. 12. |
| 17-J.
Rooney |
22-D.
Bertram |
21-B.
Ferriero |
| 25-M.
Price |
14-M.
Greene |
13-P.
Gannon |
| 18-K.
Kucharski |
24-M.
Lombardi |
27-A.
Orpik |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| 5-T.
Filangeri |
8-B.
Motherwell |
1-C.
Schneider |
Motherwell,
an all-Frozen Four pick last year, has 13 points in
the last 12 games. |
| 10-B.
Boyle |
4-M.
Brennan |
29-J.
Pearce |
| 6-T.
Kunes |
23-B.
O'Hanley |
30-A.
Reasoner |
NO.
3 SEED ST. LAWRENCE SAINTS
Location:
Canton, N.Y.
Record: 23-13-2 (16-5-1 ECAC Hockey League,
first)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: 16th (most recent, 2001)
Head Coach: Joe Marsh
Key Players: Kyle Rank, F, Sr. (38 GP,
15-18—33); Drew Bagnall, D, Sr. (38 GP, 6-19—25);
Mike McKenzie, F, Fr. (30 GP, 12-13—25); Alex Petizian,
G, Fr. (19-8-1, 2.27, .916)
What You Need to Know: Fifth-place finishers
a year ago, the Saints captured the ECAC Hockey League regular-season
championship and posted a 15-5-1 record in the second half
of the season. Seniors Drew Bagnall on defense and Kyle
Rank at forward were both first-team all-league selections.
How They'll Advance: The Saints are at
their best when limiting opponents’ shots, as you’d
expect from a team that produced the ECACHL’s Best
Defensive Defenseman (Bagnall) and Best Defensive Forward
(Rank). Freshman goaltender Alex Petizian only had to make
more than 30 saves three times all year, and not once in
his last 16 games. With three high-flying offenses joining
the Saints in the Northeast Regional, they will need to
play responsibly defensively.
What Might Trip Them Up: If those opposing
offenses get rolling, can St. Lawrence keep pace? They don’t
boast dynamic weapons up front – no one on the team
averages a point per game – and Boston University
is the only tournament team with a worse power play than
St. Lawrence (16.1 percent).
| Most
Recent St. Lawrence Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| 9-K.
DeVergilio |
16-M.
Taylor |
10-B.
McBride |
Five players on the top two
lines have 25-plus points. |
| 22-A.
Sandrzyk |
33-K.
Rank |
27-M.
McKenzie |
| 20-C.
Parenteau |
26-T.
Vermeulen |
17-A.
Curran |
| 11-C.
Giffin |
19-J.
Cunningham |
44-M.
Wallmann |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| 4-D.
Bagnall |
77-S.
Fensel |
30-A.
Petizian |
Petizian
has played every game since Christmas in goal. |
| 3-Z.
Miskovic |
8-J.
Ross |
29-K.
Tisi |
| 7-M.
Generous |
21-D.
Keller |
35-J.
Pesony |
NO.
4 SEED MIAMI REDHAWKS
Location:
Oxford, Ohio
Record: 23-13-1 (16-8-4 CCHA, third)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: Fifth (most recent, 2006)
Head Coach: Enrico Blasi
Key Players: Nathan Davis, F, Jr. (40 GP,
20-29—49); Ryan Jones, F, Jr. (40 GP, 28-18—36);
Jeff Zatkoff, G, So. (14-5-1, 2.24, .918); Alec Martinez,
D, So. (40 GP, 9-15—24)
What You Need to Know: In each of Miami’s
previous NCAA Tournament appearances under coach Enrico
Blasi, the RedHawks have had the unenviable task of playing
in their opponent’s backyard. In 2004, Miami lost
to Denver in the first round of the West Regional in Colorado
Springs. Last season, the RedHawks fell to Boston College
in the first round of the Northeast Regional in Worcester,
Mass.
How They'll Advance: Much of Miami’s
success depends on which Nathan Davis shows up – the
one that rocketed to the forefront of the race for the 2007
Hobey Baker Award with 14 goals and 21 assists in the RedHawks’
first 19 games, or the one that scored just six goals and
eight assists in the team’s last 21 outings. He can
change a game single-handedly with his playmaking abilities,
defensive prowess, and special teams play. Speaking of special
teams, the RedHawks excel on both the power play and penalty
kill, so they’ll gladly play opponents to a draw 5-on-5
and when the special teams battle.
What Might Trip Them Up: If Davis struggles,
it allows opponents to broaden their defensive focus, which
means less room for guys like Ryan Jones to operate. Goaltender
Jeff Zatkoff has played rather well lately, but he’s
been victimized by a lack of offensive production –
the RedHawks have scored a total of three goals in the last
three games. Even in instances he’s given his team
a chance to win, Miami hasn’t generated enough scoring
to take advantage of it.
| Most
Recent Miami Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| 26-R.
Jones |
17-N.
Davis |
8-M.
Guerin |
Davis and Jones have accounted
for 36 percent (48 of 133) of the RedHawks' goals. |
| 12-G.
Steffes |
14-G.
Smith |
22-N.
Musitelli |
| 16-J.
Mercier |
11-M.
Christie |
19-J.
Palmer |
| 28-B.
Loupee |
3-D.
Hetland |
9-J.
Cooper |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| 25-M.
Ganzak |
21-A.
Martinez |
37-J.
Zatkoff |
Zatkoff,
who usually rotates with Effinger, has made five straight
starts for Miami. |
| 5-C.
Fetzer |
18-R.
Eichenlaub |
1-C.
Effinger |
| 24-K.
Roeder |
4-B.
Robbins |
32-J.
Whitacre |
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