HOT TOPIC
Four teams head to Albany’s Times Union Center with different concerns but all share one common confidence – goaltending. Denver, Cornell, New Hampshire and RIT are rock-solid between the pipes and bring the First Team All-League goalie from each of its respective conferences into the regional.
Denver’s Marc Cheverie and Cornell’s Ben Scrivens are also Hobey Baker finalists. UNH’s Brian Foster and RIT’s Jared DeMichiel were first-team Hockey East and Atlantic Hockey honorees. That’s not to say that these teams can’t score, all four teams rank in the top-20 nationally in scoring average. Cornell is the “worst” of the bunch, 19th at 3.18 goals per game. RIT paces the field, fifth, averaging 3.58 goals per game.
BACK STORY
The top-seeded Denver Pioneers have been among the top two or three teams in the country since the puck dropped back in October. A mix of talent, experience and depth has made the 2009-10 season a memorable one for the Pioneers. After winning the regular-season title in the WCHA they lost twice at the Final Five, their first back-to-back losses of the year. We’ll see how they react this weekend.
Similarly, UNH was a regular-season league champion that stumbled in the conference playoffs. The first-place team in Hockey East lost in three games to eighth-place Vermont. Of greater concern, New Hampshire was shut out by the Catamounts in the last two games that weekend.
Cornell and RIT come into the game on extended winning streaks and are playing their best hockey of the season. RIT has the nation’s longest win streak at 10 games and rolled through the Atlantic Hockey championship weekend by an aggregate score of 10-1. Cornell was a perfect 4-0-0 in the ECAC Hockey playoffs, posting three straight 3-0 wins to close their run to the title, and are back on familiar ice in downtown Albany.
ON A ROLL
Cornell goalie Ben Scrivens is wrapping up his historic Cornell career in style. He’s got three straight shutouts in the playoffs and carries the school’s longest shutout streak into this weekend’s games. He also holds the second-longest shutout streak and his three goose eggs over the last two weeks moved him into first in Cornell history in that category. The names below him in those categories at Cornell include the likes of Dryden, Leneveu, McKee and Elliott. Not too shabby for the kid from Spruce Grove, Alberta – an undrafted player who will likely sign a lucrative pro contract once his college career is over.
SOMETHING TO PROVE
It’s NCAA Tournament time and fans from rival schools will certainly bring up New Hampshire’s distinction as being the most historically prominent college hockey program never to have won a national championship. That’s the historical perspective. This UNH team has to prove its value. The pros include a Hockey East regular-season title with a 15-6-6 league record and a Hobey Baker finalist in Bobby Butler, in addition to all-league performers Brian Foster and Blake Kessel. The cons? Just two non-league wins – one of those was to Vermont in the league playoffs and the other was against a struggling Dartmouth team. A first-round playoff exit and its current goal drought don’t make things any better.
ONE TO WATCH
It’s the first time ever on national television for RIT since moving to Division I and college hockey. Fans across the country will get a look at the Tigers and sophomore pivot Cameron Burt as RIT and Denver play the tourney’s happy-hour game Friday afternoon. Burt is RIT’s leading scorer and does a lot of things well. He’s got decent size and good mobility, and he excels in puck possession. When he’s got the puck in the offensive zone he can beat a defenseman and create a scoring chance, or use his vision and playmaking ability to set up his linemates.
MR. CLUTCH
Rhett Rakhshani and Marc Cheverie get the most publicity for Denver but sophomore forward Joe Colborne has arguably been Denver’s best player in the second half of the season. He’s filling into a pro frame and has great hands around the net. His 21 goals shares the team lead with Rakhshani, 10 of his goals have come on the power play and eight are game-winning goals, the highest total in the nation.
SATURDAY STORYLINE
Don’t expect a blowout in the early game Friday, despite the talent mismatch on paper between Denver and RIT. The Tigers have some experience and are playing well. They shouldn’t be tight on the national stage, but Denver will have too much in the long run and advance. Cornell is doing everything right it seems and New Hampshire has faced some struggles in recent outings. Current form is not an indicator of future success, but Cornell is the pick here after having already beaten UNH earlier this season in Durham.
A meeting between Cornell and Denver on Saturday would come down to three important factors. The first is goaltending. If Scrivens or Cheverie are able to out-duel the other, advantage goes to their side. The second is special teams, both in terms of staying out of the penalty box and taking advantage of power plays should they happen. Thirdly, the matchup of Cornell’s checking line of Joe Scali, Sean Collins and Dan Nicholls against Denver’s top unit of Rakhshani, Colborne and Tyler Ruegsegger. This game’s a toss-up, win two of those three key points and move on to Detroit.
