The NHL’s Central Scouting Service has released its final ranking of the top players eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. The rankings list North American and European players separately, as well as separating goalies from skaters (forwards and defensemen).

The top-ranked player with college ties is U.S. National Team Development Program defenseman and Michigan recruit Jacob Trouba, who is ranked ninth. Others listed among the top 30 include Vermont recruit Zemgus Girgensons, a forward who currently plays for Dubuque of the United States Hockey League (18th); U.S. NTDP defenseman Brady Skjei, a Minnesota recruit (19th); Michigan forward Phil Di Giuseppi (22nd); Kent (Conn.) School forward Cristoval Nieves, a Michigan recruit (27th); U.S. NTDP forward and Wisconsin recruit Nick Kerdiles (29th); and Dubuque defenseman Mike Matheson (30th), who will head to Boston College in the fall.

The North American lists rank 210 skaters and 30 goalies, all of whom play in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to college players, the list features draft-eligible major junior players as well as a number of college-bound high school, prep, and junior players. The NHL Entry Draft takes place June 22-23 in Pittsburgh.

DEFENSIVE EFFORT LEADS WAY FOR EAGLES
Boston College 2, Air Force 0 | Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – Thinking of Boston College means thinking offense. With eight of their top nine forwards besting 20 points in the regular season and Hockey East playoffs and coach Jerry York’s ability to roll three lines that can score consistently, the Eagles finished the year with the sixth most productive offense in the country.

But as it has in many of Boston College’s fifteen victories in a row before the NCAA Tournament, it was the Eagles’ defense that carried the torch on Saturday, ensuring that Chris Kreider’s two goals were enough to sink Atlantic Hockey champions Air Force 2-0 in the Northeast Regional Semifinal.

“I think if you’re going to be a championship team, you have to be really solid defensively,” York said. “From the goal out we are an excellent defensive team. You can talk about some of our forwards, but they play defense. We’re not giving up a lot of goals, and that’s the key to us moving on tomorrow night – playing tight defensively and scoring some opportunistic goals. If you don’t play defense, two goals isn’t going to win many games for you.”

The Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Kreider’s first goal of the night – an even-strength tally at the 8:39 mark – but their defense took over the rest of the way, as Air Force stuck to its meticulous game plan, keeping the deficit to one until a power play goal in the final two minutes of the game iced Boston College’s trip to the round of eight.

On the night, the Eagles limited the Falcons to just 20 shots on the night and prevented them from generating many grade-A scoring chances.

While the focus was on Boston College’s defense and Parker Milner’s shutout, credit should also be given to Air Force for its own defensive efforts, limiting that dynamic Eagles’ offense – a group that has averaged over four goals per game throughout their record-setting winning streak – to just two tallies.

So often in college hockey a lesser-talented team tries to knock their high-flying opponents off their game with an overly physical style of play that they hope will intimidate and force mistakes. The Falcons, however, played a calm and collected game, protected the puck well and put themselves in a position to capitalize when opportunities presented themselves.

“I thought they were a really tough team to play against,” Boston College goaltender Parker Milner said. “I wouldn’t say that we weren’t expecting that because we’ve seen what they have done the past couple of years in the tournament. They’ve given tough games to every team they’ve played … they’re an incredibly hard-working team and they made it tough for us all night.”

While surely disappointed that the season – and the hockey careers of a special senior class – had come to a close, Air Force coach Frank Serratore was pleased to see his team execute the game plan and find itself with a chance for a comeback.

“Our gameplan was to get to that third period with the score close and we were right where we wanted to be,” Serratore said. “You know, 1-0 going into the third period, we get into the third period, you win the third period and you’ve got a great chance – you’re either going to win it in the third or have the momentum to win it in overtime.”

As they were able to hold off the Falcons from tying the game late, the Eagles defense exorcised any demons remaining from last year’s first-round defensive meltdown in an 8-4 loss to Colorado College at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis and puts the team on the verge of its third Frozen Four in five years.

“That was a tough, hard loss for us in St. Louis,” York said. “To come back this year and kind of shave that away a little bit – you have to have amnesia as a coach and player in these types of big games – I thought our team responded very, very well tonight.”

BULLDOGS SPECIAL TEAMS PAVE WAY TO VICTORY
Minnesota Duluth 5, Maine 2 | Box Score

With two potent power plays and two middling penalty kill units in the building Saturday night, it was no surprise that special teams played a key role in swinging momentum for both Maine and Minnesota Duluth.

Maine senior Spencer Abbott opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 17:16 mark of the opening period and his team built a 2-0 lead in the second. Shortly thereafter, Minnesota-Duluth forward Jack Connolly changed the tide of the game with a power play marker late in the second that changed the tide of the game and sent the Bulldogs to a 5-2 victory and a matchup with Boston College in the Regional Final.

Matt Mangene scored for Maine, but it was all Minnesota Duluth from that point forward.

“Obviously it was not the start we were looking for again,” Minnesota Duluth coach Scott Sandelin said. “But the guys have shown a lot of resilience in the latter part of the year where we’ve dug ourselves a hole. In the second period we got better and the third period was our best, holding them to three shots and having that big penalty kill.”

While Connolly’s goal put the focus temporarily on his team’s prolific power play, it was, as Sandelin referenced, the penalty kill that stole the show late in the game.

After Abbott’s goal, the Bulldogs killed off each of Maine’s final three power plays – holding the Blackbears shotless in the the final two kills – showing that the penalty kill unit has the mettle to compete in crunch time after allowing opponents to score at a 22.4-percent clip this season.

“I thought we got more aggressive (on the penalty kill),” Sandelin said. “I thought we looked a little hesitant early, but that’s kind of how our team looked. Once we got that first kill, kind of like a goal, it gave us some confidence and I thought we did a better job. The last (kill) when we had the two goal lead — that was big.”

Moving forward, Sandelin is confident that the penalty kill units will continue to trend in the right direction.

“We’ve been better (recently),” Sandelin said. “We’ve killed nine of the last ten. I was just disappointed that we kept taking penalties. This is the time of the year where you can’t take those penalties, we have to cut that down. I have confidence, a lot of confidence.”

SEEN AND HEARD AT DCU CENTER

A Bright Future: While deeply disappointed that his team came up with the short end of the stick against Boston College, Air Force senior captain Paul Weisgarber takes pride in the fact that he and his senior classmates are moving on from hockey to bigger things.

“For the most part, our competitive hockey days are over,” Weisgarber said. “We have obligations that are, in our opinion, a little more important than hockey, and that is serving our country. We are proud to do that and are ready to do that. We’ve had four years of top of the line training academically, militarily and athletically, so we’re ready to take that next step and lead our country.”

Weisgarber was a class act at the press conference and garnered praise from his coach as the type of player that makes him, the Air Force Academy and college hockey as a whole proud.

“You saw what Paul Weisgarber is made of and he’s our captain,” Serratore said. “Let me tell you, that young man, he showed you what he’s all about – where his vision is, where his focus is. We produce leaders and we haven’t had one as fine as that young man. He’s got the respct of not just everybody in our locker room, he’s got the respect of everybody on campus, he is a rock star on our campus. You know he’s a top academic guy, one of the top academic kids at the school, and he’s a leader up on the hill militarily. He doesn’t avoid any of that, he’s a leader up there. As a hockey player he’s a heart and soul guy. He’s a leader.”

A Tough Draw: Jerry York and his Eagles always enjoy playing in Worcester – close to home and a place they’ve had great success. The coach would like to see a venue that has consistently taken part in the NCAA Hockey Tournament get a better bounce when it comes to Sunday game times.

“I just wish the game was earlier, a little more user-friendly for our audience here in Worcester,” York said. “It’s great for TV, the 8 o’clock game, but I think it’s going to be very difficult to draw a big house on Sunday at 8 o’ clock. It boggles my mind that Worcester, with all the money they put into it, they can’t get a better game time for Sunday night.”

Kreider Bounces Back: Before his two-goal game on Saturday, Kreider had scored just one goal in his previous 10 games. York gave the junior credit for picking up his game on the big stage.

“I think he’s an outstanding athlete and he rises to the competitive level,” York said. “He’s had a tough stretch here as far as points in these last ten games, but he has played pretty well.”

Kreider was quick to give his linemates credit for helping him get back into the groove.

“Both (Kevin) Hayes and Destry (Straight) had unbelievable games,” Kreider said. “They were probably two of our best, if not our best outside of Parker (Milner). They were both really moving their feet.”

A Last-Minute Addition: There was a great deal in the week leading up to the Maine contest as to whether Abbott would be in the lineup after suffering a concussion in a Hockey East semifinal game against Boston University.

Abbott was indeed in the lineup and made an early impact with a his 21st goal of the year late in the first period.

“I was cleared today before the game, about an hour before the game,” Abbott said. “The doctor met me here at the rink and we did a few tests and then he cleared me.”

That’s How The Cookie Crumbles: Minnesota Duluth forward Caleb Herbert scored an unusual goal in the second period, tying the game 2-2. Herbert’s shot missed the net completely, and it bounced off the wall behind the net, came back out front and deflected off of Maine goaltender Dan Sullivan and into the net.

“We’ve been working on that in practice,” joked Herbert after the game. “You know, where you bank it off of the wall and it comes back out.”

Herbert will count his blessing on that one, as it helped keep momentum on the Bulldogs’ side, and he may never have forgiven himself for missing a chance that he thought he had Sullivan beat on.

PLUS-MINUS

It was great to see Maine back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. While underdog and upset stories are always great, seeing a traditional powerhouse program working its way back into the national tournament after a few near misses in recent seasons was a great reward for the senior class, who had never played a tournament game.

While it’s hard to say anything bad about Minnesota Duluth’s convincing come-from-behind victory, they may never have been down by two if they played through to the whistle. Maine’s second goal, coming off a nice, cross-crease move by Matt Mangene, came to fruition because many of the Bulldogs were caught flat-footed after the net was displaced in the Maine zone. Referees, citing the rule that the team that didn’t knock the net off is allowed to continue through a scoring change, let the teams play on and Mangene capitalized.

INCH’s THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Jack Connolly, Minnesota Duluth: Connolly’s power-play goal seized the momentum from a surging Maine team and got his squad back in a game that might have gotten away from them if Maine had increased the lead to three.

2. Parker Milner, Boston College: Milner didn’t face a ton of shots – only 20 on the night – but he stopped all of them to earn the shutout and get his team to the regional final.

1. Chris Kreider, Boston College: Kreider gave credit to his linemates, but he was in the right place at the right time twice, and it was all his team needed. The goals were his 21st and 22nd of the season.

WHAT’S NEXT

Boston College and Minnesota Duluth prepare to face-off in what promises to be a memorable regional final. While the Eagles have won eight of their nine tournament games at the DCU Center over the past decade-plus, York was quick to remind the media that his team was beaten handily by North Dakota in the building during the 2005 regional final.

All times EDT

Saturday: Boston College vs. Air Force, 4 p.m. ET (TV: ESPNU)
Saturday: Minnesota Duluth vs. Maine, 7:30 p.m. (TV ESPN Syndication; ESPNU tape delay at 11:30 p.m. ET)
Sunday: Regional Final, 8 p.m. (TV: ESPNU)

All games available live via www.watchespn.com.

The answer each team needs to find in order to advance to the Frozen Four

Boston College: The Eagles seem to have everything in order as they head into the NCAAs, but we thought the same last year. Can BC avoid the upset bug this time around?

Minnesota Duluth: The defending national champs were top-ranked for a good portion of the year, but fell just short of earning conference regular-season or playoff championships. Are they saving the best for last?

Maine: Spencer Abbott’s health is a big concern, but even with Abbott, can enough secondary scoring options step up and take some pressure off of the top line?

Air Force: It’s happened enough times that the surprise factor has worn off a little bit when an Atlantic Hockey representative knocks off a highly favored team. Do the Falcons have another (mini) surprise in store?

Not necessarily the best player on each team, but his contributions will go a long way toward determining his team’s fortunes.

Boston College: D Tommy Cross
Minnesota Duluth: F Max Tardy
Maine: F Mark Anthoine
Air Force: D Scott Mathis

INCH writers weigh in with their prediction for the Northeast Regional with comments on their picks.

Mike Eidelbes, managing editor: Boston College over Minnesota Duluth

Lots of parallels between this Boston College team and the one that won it all in 2010—both rolled through February and March and had scoring depth beyond compare. The Eagles are more talented, and better coached than any team in the tournament. UMD has the game changers to top Maine (with or without Spencer Abbott) but BC presents a different challenge. Gotta believe last year’s crushing NCAA Tournament loss to Colorado College lingers in the Eagles’ minds.

Joe Gladziszewski, editor and ECAC Hockey senior writer: Boston College over Minnesota Duluth

It’s not too often that you get this type of Frozen Four-level game in a regional final, but this is a big-time matchup. I think BC’s overall talent and the roll they’re on right now will be enough to sustain them for at least two more wins this weekend. If you’re the type that points to strength of schedule, did you know that UMD played 12 of its 39 games against Alabama-Huntsville, Minnesota State and Alaska Anchorage?

James V. Dowd, CCHA senior writer: Boston College over Minnesota Duluth

The Eagles learned last year that coming out flat in the tournament will get a team steamrolled, and they’ll be ready to avenge that early exit with a trip to Tampa. With Parker Milner playing at a level that can win championships and a dynamic offense that faces one of the nation’s least efficient penalty kills, the Eagles will deliver.

Ken McMillan, Atlantic Hockey senior writer: Boston College over Maine

If you believe in numerology, it’s Boston College’s turn to lift the trophy after winning the title in the even years of 2008 and 2010. But the Eagles’ success is hardly mystical. Air Force has a string of three consecutive overtime losses in NCAA play but the pick here is B.C. wins its semi by a couple and repeats its performance from the Hockey East final, sending the Bears into off-season hibernation.

Kevin Zeise, Hockey East senior writer: Boston College over Minnesota Duluth

The Eagles simply have the complete package: size, speed, skill, special teams, goaltending … Beyond that, though, Boston College has the drive for redemption after last year’s first-round flameout. And as anyone who’s ever won a championship in any sport can attest, as hard as that first one was for Duluth last year, it’s even harder to repeat.

ANOTHER SPECIAL WIN FOR DOMINANT PROGRAM
Air Force 4, RIT 0 | Box Score

Rochester, N.Y. – Every Atlantic Hockey championship Air Force wins is unique and should be treasured, so says coach Frank Serratore. It’s hard to escape two unifying facts, though: The Falcons have proven they are very comfortable playing at Blue Cross Arena and dominating goaltending performances has become a recurring theme.

Jason Torf

Top-seeded Air Force won its fifth tournament title in six seasons with a 4-0 victory over third seed Rochester Institute of Technology before 2,433 fans on Saturday. Air Force now owns the most successful tournament championship run in Division I history, winning five titles in the past six years. The Falcons improved to 10-1 at Blue Cross Arena, losing in the 2010 semifinals to Sacred Heart.

“This is the third one that I’ve been a part of,” said senior defenseman Tim Kirby, a Hobey Baker finalist. “It’s just a great feeling. Coming here is like a second home, almost. I’m just really happy for the team that we are still playing and on to the next week (at NCAAs). Hopefully, we can give them a good match next week and win.”

The Falcons picked up two goals late in the first period to seize control of the game, and MVP Jason Torf ran his career playoff record to 6-0 with a 34-save performance. It was the sophomore’s fifth shutout of the season (all since Feb. 3) and the perfect follow-up to a 40-save effort in a 1-0 win over RIT in the 2011 title game.

It’s hard not to make comparisons to 2010 grad Andrew Volkening, who backstopped Air Force to three consecutive league titles and five playoff shutouts. Serratore is reluctant to compare Torf with Volkening, or any of his other players.

“Every year is a different deal,” Serratore said. “Andrew Volkening is a Falcon legend. Jason Torf is a great, young goaltender but he has a long ways to go, and he’s a work in progress.”

As dominant as Torf was this weekend, he was shaky last weekend and got yanked from games one and two of the quarterfinal series with Connecticut.

“Shutouts … don’t seem as much of a stat to me anymore because coming down the stretch it’s about the win-loss column,” Torf said. “I struggled last week to get wins. This week, that’s all it was about for me, making sure the team did win. I try to play the game like it’s always a 0-0 game. Whether we are winning or losing, I have to keep that state of mind.”

It certainly helps when your team stakes you to a 2-0 lead. Cole Gunner took a feed from Paul Weisgarber on the end boards, walked out to the front of the cage and beat RIT all-star netminder Shane Madolora at the 15:15 mark.
Seventy seconds later it was John Kruse converting a nice break-in play, going from forehand to backhand to beat Madolora. Two perfect passes set up the break with Adam McKenzie at the blue line finding Chad Demers in the neutral zone.

“Yes, I had a shutout and that’s a great thing to have,” Torf said, “but I can promise you, it’s easier to play with the lead and have guys willing to sit back and play some strong defense.”

The Falcon defense did a great job of forcing RIT’s shooters out to the points and the boards. The Tigers took 34 shots but managed only five shots per period from inside the face-off dots.

“We got some perimeter shots,” said RIT winger Taylor McReynolds, “but we have to get to the net hard … and look for second opportunities. That’s where we faltered a lot.”

RIT kept pressing and hoping for a goal that would draw the Tigers within a goal, but it never came.

“We were a little short in energy,” RIT coach Wayne Wilson said. “Maybe last night’s game (a 2-1 overtime win over Niagara) took more out of us than we thought. We tried to use the momentum we got last night and carry it into tonight’s game.”

“This was a quicker, up-and-down game but not physical,” Wilson added. “It looked tired at times. The bottom line is we didn’t get the goal that we needed for momentum and get the crowd into it.”

Jason Fabian gave Air Force a 3-0 lead at 9:23 of the second period. Like the first goal, Air Force forced the issue below the goal line. Casey Kleisinger pushed a pass over to Tony Thomas, who walked out from behind the net and fired a shot into Madolora’s pads. The rebound bounded across the crease to a wide-open Fabian, who buried the puck into an open net.
Fabian added an empty netter with 6.8 seconds remaining.

SEEN AND HEARD AT BLUE CROSS ARENA

It’s over: RIT all-star goalie Shane Madolora still has a year of eligibility remaining but he’s already graduated from school and made a decision a while back not to return for next season. His mind has not changed.

“I’ve been feeling the whole year it’s time to start moving on with my life,” said Madolora, who made 23 saves in his final college contest. “I am one of the oldest players in college hockey. It’s time to explore other avenues.”

Madolora leaves with a 36-14-12 record, a 1.97 goals against average and .932 save percentage. This season he was 18-9-5 with a 1.93 goals against and .931 save percentage.

School spirit: The commandant of the Air Force Academy gave permission for eight cadets to travel to Rochester for the Final Four. Sporting bare chests and painted uniform numbers on their backs, the cadets positioned themselves next to the visitor’s bench, and they were loud supporters for the Falcons. The most impressive show of support was when four cadets propped a fifth on their arms while he did push-ups.

A prominent hand-painted sign on display was a “Kirby 4 Hobey” placard, in support of Hobey Baker finalist Tim Kirby, an Air Force defenseman. The small contingent flew in Thursday and took the plane home with the team on Saturday night.

Torn Tigers: A partisan home crowd of 1,195 gathered across town at Ritter Arena to watch the RIT women take on Norwich in the NCAA Division III championship. The RIT women won 4-1, providing the only good news for the Tiger faithful at Blue Cross Arena.

PLUS-MINUS

Air Force played smart the entire weekend, sticking to the game plan of forcing the issue behind the opposing net and not taking any unnecessary penalties. The Falcons drew two minors on Friday and just one on Saturday almost 50 minutes into the contest.

As Air Force was celebrating its championship with the traditional on-ice photographs, the Falcons waved their eight classmates, who made the long trek for support, to the ice for some pictures. A couple made it to the ice but were shooed away by arena security personnel, despite the pleas of the Falcon team.

INCH’s THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Air Force team discipline: The Falcons played confident, patient hockey this weekend. Air Force took only two penalties in Friday’s win over Mercyhurst and took just one on Saturday.

2. Paul Weisgarber, Air Force: The Falcon captain posted first assists on the opening goal by Cole Gunner and the empty netter by Jason Fabian in the closing seconds.

1. Jason Torf, Air Force: It’s hard to argue with perfection on the best stage. Torf has pitched consecutive shutouts in championship contests, turning aside 34 shots in the second title meeting with RIT.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 – Air Force won the tournament as a number one seed in 2009 and 2012.

3 – This was the third shutout in Atlantic Hockey finals history. In 2004, Tony Quesada made 28 stops as Holy Cross beat Sacred Heart, 4-0, at West Point. In 2009, Air Force’s Andrew Volkening made 25 saves in a 2-0 win over Mercyhurst in Rochester.

4 – The number of Atlantic Hockey playoff champions through the league’s first nine seasons. Holy Cross won in 2004 and 2006. Mercyhurst won in 2005. Air Force won in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2001 and 2012. RIT won in 2010.

6 – Air Force’s Tim Kirby and Jason Torf became the fifth and sixth players to earn multiple all-tournament awards, adding to last year’s honors. The other repeat selections are Air Force goalie Andrew Volkening (2007-09), Holy Cross goalie Tony Quesada (2004 and 2006), Cameron Burt of Rochester Institute of Technology (2009-10) and Air Force defenseman Scott Mathis (2009, 2011-12).
This year’s all-tournament team included RIT’s Taylor McReynolds and Air Force’s Cole Gunner and Paul Weisgarber.

10 – Ten current members of Atlantic Hockey have reached the Final Four at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. The win-loss records are as follows: Air Force 10-1; Army 1-2; Bentley 0-1; Canisius 0-1; Connecticut 0-2; Holy Cross 0-1; Mercyhurst 2-3; Niagara 0-1; RIT 4-4; Sacred Heart 1-2. AIC and recent newcomer Robert Morris have yet to appear.

14 – This is the 14th time two schools have met in consecutive league finals in NCAA Division I history. Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac are the only schools to meet in three consecutive finals (2001-03), in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Hockey League, the predecessor to Atlantic Hockey.

With Air Force beating RIT again, it marks the eighth time the same team prevailed. The others: 1974-75 ECAC, Boston University beats Harvard; 1974-75 CCHA, Saint Louis beats Lake Superior State; 1977-78 CCHA, Bowling Green beats Saint Louis; 1989-90 CCHA, Michigan State beats Lake Superior State; 1991-92 CCHA, Lake Superior State beats Michigan; 2001-02 CHA, Wayne State beats Alabama-Huntsville; 2008-09 AHA, Air Force beats Mercyhurst.

The five instances of avenging a finals loss: 1989-90, Maine and then Boston College; 2001-02 CCHA, Michigan State and then Michigan; 2001-03 MAAC, Mercyhurst, then Quinnipiac, then Mercyhurst again; 2004-05 CCHA, Ohio State and then Michigan; 2005-06 ECAC, Cornell and then Harvard.

20 – With their semifinal wins on Friday, Air Force and RIT both reached the 20-win plateau, joining Mercyhurst and Holy Cross within the Atlantic Hockey ranks. It is the fourth time Air Force has reached 20 wins, all in the past five seasons: the Falcons had 21 in 2007-08, 28 in 2008-09 and 20 in 2010-11. RIT reached 20 wins for the seventh time in Wayne Wilson’s 13 seasons as coach and fourth at the Division I level: the Tigers had 21 in 2006-07, 23 in 2008-09 and 28 in 2009-10.

40 – Air Force had a group of about 40 fans, which included at least five sets of parents, in attendance.

147 – RIT seniors Cameron Burt and Chris Haltigin have played in 147 career games, breaking the mark of 145 set by Dan Ringwald from 2006-10.

154 – Air Force seniors Tim Kirby and Paul Weisgarber have never missed a game during their careers. They will tie the all-time games played mark of 155 set by Matt Fairchild in the NCAA tourney opener. The pair broke the consecutive games streak of 150 set by Jeff Hajner (2007-10).

162 – RIT has been held scoreless for the last 162 minutes, 4 seconds in Atlantic Hockey championship action.

WHAT’S NEXT

Air Force will be making its fifth appearance in the NCAA tournament, all in the past six years. The Falcons lost to Minnesota, 4-3, in 2007; lost to Miami (Ohio), 3-2 in overtime, in 2008; beat Michigan, 2-0, and lost to Vermont, 3-2 in double overtime, in 2009; and, lost to Yale, 2-1 in overtime, in 2011. Some pundits believe Air Force will draw Boston College for a first-round contest.

“It’s beautiful,” Serratore said. “I have a lot of respect for Boston College and their history, their tradition. … BC is going to be tough. They might be the overall number one seed. They are a great team.”

So how will Serratore prepare?

“I am sure I will be in a fetal position (in bed), tossing and turning next Friday and Saturday, too,” he joked. “It’s better than sitting at home.”

AIR FORCE GETS ITS WISH, RIT GETS ITS GOAL
RIT 2, Niagara 1 (OT) | Box Score

Rochester, N.Y. – Air Force coach Frank Serratore, already a 5-2 winner over Mercyhurst in the early Atlantic Hockey semifinal on Friday, said he didn’t care who the Falcons would meet in Saturday’s championship, but he wouldn’t mind seeing Niagara and Rochester Institute of Technology play five overtimes to decide matters. The second contest did go to overtime and only three minutes of extra time was needed as RIT thrilled the “home” crowd at Blue Cross Arena with a 2-1 victory.

Shane Madolora won his sixth-career Atlantic Hockey playoff game.

Taylor McReynolds has never been known as a goal-scoring machine, with just 12 tallies in 137 career games with RIT. But in the last two weekends, McReynolds has come up with three big playoff tallies. He had two third-period goals in RIT’s game-three win over Bentley on Sunday, and on Friday he slipped one past the hottest goaltender in the land. Niagara turned the puck over in its own end and defenseman Trevor Eckenswiller spotted McReynolds on the right wing. He fired a one-timer that hit the right shoulder of Niagara goalie Chris Noonan, popped over and took one bounce in the blue crease before settling in the net at 2:57 of overtime.

“I can’t explain it,” McReynolds said of his recent offensive success. “It’s the playoffs. Guys have to step out of their role a bit at times and make some big plays. Guys that usually score have to make that big blocked shot and some guys who have blocked shots have to score some goals in the playoffs. It just happened to be my turn, I guess.”

The goal capped a very entertaining contest that saw two high-powered offenses neutralized by the outstanding play of Noonan (36 saves) and RIT’s Shane Madolora (24 saves). It took more than 43 minutes before anyone scored. Again, it was McReynolds who turned a turnover into a goal-scoring opportunity, hitting freshman Matt Garbowsky with a perfect pass between the circles, and the rookie beat Noonan with a perfect shot to the upper right corner at 3:25. It was RIT’s 32nd shot of the game.

The goal sparked the Niagara bench, and the Purple Eagles secured the tying goal at 14:40 when freshman Chris Lochner pick-pocketed a defender behind the net, reversed course and came out front to the right of Madolora, slipping a low shot inside the right post.

“It was a big goal,” Lochern said, “but we needed one more and, unfortunately, we didn’t get it.”

That’s because Madolora stopped Scott Arnold on two point-blank shots in the second minute of overtime.

“I slid over and got my pad on it,” said Madolora, who improved his goals against to 1.89 and saves percentage to .933. “Shortly after, we got the goal. It was just momentum swings … that was one of the big ones.”

AIR FORCE GOALIE ANSWERS THE CALL
Air Force 5, Mercyhurst 2 | Box Score

Less than 24 hours before its semifinal playoff, Air Force had no idea who would be getting the start in nets. That decision didn’t come until late Thursday night.

Paul Weisgarber scored two goals in the Air Force win. (File photo)

“We had a Dr. Phil meeting about 10:30 at night,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said. “We discussed it and went through all the scenarios.”

The choice was between sophomore Jason Torf and senior Stephen Caple, both of whom were coming off sub-par practice weeks. Torf got yanked from games one and two of last week’s quarterfinal series with Connecticut in favor of Caple, who got the start and win in the decisive game three on Sunday.

Essentially, Serratore chose Torf for the semifinals because he knew Caple would be a capable reliever if called upon, and the coach wasn’t sure if it would work the other way around. As it turned out, Torf held his own, stopped 23 shots and helped Air Force to the finals for the second year in a row.

“We have a lot of confidence in Jason Torf, especially in these single-elimination games,” Serratore said. “Last year he pitched a shutout against RIT (in the finals). This year against Robert Morris he pitches a shutout (to clinch the regular-season title). He’s our number one gy. When he’s playing well, we have a lot of confidence. Tonight, he made some saves that he shouldn’t have made – when he does that, that brings the confidence up.”

The only two goals by Mercyhurst came off Falcon turnovers in their defensive end, thanks to an aggressive forecheck by the Lakers.

All four of Air Force’s forward units and two of the three defensive pairings netted points in the contest, 12 players in all. Cole Gunner scored on Max Strang just 100 seconds into the contest. Paul Weisgarber tipped a shot past Strang just eight seconds into a power play at 13:28 of the first period, a lead that would stand up the rest of the way.

John Kruse roofed a shot from high in the slot at 3:49 of the second for a 3-1 lead. Derek Elliott drew Mercyhurst within 3-2 at 2:01 of the third period. Jason Fabian converted a two-on-two break with 1:47 to play and Weisgarber posted an empty netter with 50 seconds remaining.

SEEN AND HEARD AT BLUE CROSS ARENA

Ladies first: Tiger fans are splitting time this weekend with the RIT women hosting the NCAA Division III finals across town at Ritter Arena. The NCAA usually mandates the host school play the second semifinal contest, in order to secure a larger gate, but the organization relented this year. The RIT women beat SUNY Plattsburgh in a late-afternoon contest, giving fans plenty of time to get over to Blue Cross Arena for the second men’s semifinal. With both teams winning Friday, Tiger fans will be faced with a tough decision to support the women or the men.

More Strang days ahead: Air Force heaped a lot of praise on Mercyhurst goalie Max Strang, who lost despite making 37 saves. As the two teams exchanged places in the post-game press conference, Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin happened to tell Air Force counterpart Frank Serratore that Strang was granted a medical redshirt for his lost freshman season and would be back next season.

“Now I have a stomach ache,” Serratore said.

Strang injured his knee in his first collegiate start and missed the rest of the 2008-09 season. For his career, Strang is 18-9-3 with a 2.95 goals against average.

Baby Lakers: Mercyhurst rolled out a semifinal lineup that had four seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and eight freshmen. The Lakers, with perhaps the youngest lineup in the league, won 20 games and reached the final four.

“We are looking to get after it next season,” said sophomore center Daniel O’Donoghue, who scored in the first period. “I’ll be honest … over the summer I didn’t know what to expect coming into this year. Once we got into traning camp and seeing the freshmen and how hard they worked, it was exciting to see everyone playing hard and doing things that it takes to win games.”

Coach Rick Gotkin echoed those sentiments and said Mercyhurst hockey is back following a treacherous 2010-11 season.

“The thing that people need to know is this program was down and out last year,” Gotkin laughed. “I told the guys, yeah, we’re disappointed we lost but they restored the pride in Mercyhurst men’s hockey. There wasn’t a lot of pride last year, and a lot of that was self-inflicted with poor decisions.”

That does not mean, however, that Mercyhurst is a lock for returning to the final four.

“It’s tough to get back here,” Gotkin said. “The league gets better every single year. People automatically think we have this young team and will get back to Rochester but it won’t be easy. We have to work even harder now.”

Law of averages: Prior to Friday night, Niagara had never lost to RIT at the Division I level, and owned a 9-2-6 overall mark going back to their days together in Division III ECAC West.

“People said, ‘Don’t talk about it,’” said Niagara coach Dave Burkholder. “I talk about it. I have no explanation. I dare someone to look it up. It’s bizarre that we could have that record. But I would trade the first 11 (wins) to have this one back, that’s for sure.”

Niagara falls: Niagara’s Chris Noonan earned some all-star hardware this week but he would much rather have one more win and a shot at a league title. RIT beat Noonan just twice, including a goal at 2:57 of overtime, one that Noonan desperately wants back.

“They got a high shot on it,” Noonan said of Tyler McReynolds’ one-timer from the right circle. “I didn’t keep it in front of me. When it hit me, it went up behind me instead of staying in front of me. I should have kept it in front of me. It was one of those goals that I let get behind me. I don’t really know what happened.”

Niagara finished second in the league and won 17 games this season. Heading into Saturday, Noonan still leads the nation with a .944 save percentage and ranks second in goals against (1.61), trailing only Miami’s Connor Knapp (1.59).

“With the season we’ve had, it’s not good to lose on that,” Noonan said. “I feel bad for the guys. We’ve done too much this year to lose like that.”

PLUS-MINUS

Credit goes to the on-ice officials who determined a potential game-tying goal by Mercyhurst did not go in. The Lakers players lobbied hard for Matthew Zay’s effort but did not make a scene after linesman Jay Durfee declared the puck did not cross the line. The officials also took time to consult with the goal judge – the light never came on. Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin accepted the decision but he did state in the post-game press conference that he would like Atlantic Hockey to consider using video replay in the future.

It was a terribly disappointing crowd for the late-afternoon opener between Air Force and Mercyhurst. There were probably more fans of RIT on hand, early for the second game, than fans of the other two schools. Mercyhurst had a smattering of fans despite the school being only a few hours away, and the school is not on spring break.
Likewise, Niagara had little support in the nightcap, despite being 90 minutes from Rochester.
One thing is for sure: Atlantic Hockey fans are not a traveling bunch.

The Hockey East semifinals are being televised by NBC Sports Network. The CCHA and WCHA semifinals are being aired on regional sports networks and nationally across Fox College Sports. The Atlantic Hockey semifinals have no TV home, although the finals will be shown across a network of Time Warner cable affiliates in New York state. Commissioner Bob DeGregorio said Time Warner will air all three games from Blue Cross Arena in the 10th anniversary season next year. If this league can’t get any national exposures, it will be hard to grow.

INCH’s THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Paul Weisgarber, Air Force: The senior captain put Air Force up for good with a first-period goal and added an empty netter in the final minute to help send the Falcons to the finals for the fifth time in six years.

2. Shane Madolora, RIT: The senior posted his sixth playoff victory over two seasons, turning aside 24 Niagara shots, including two early in overtime.

1. Taylor McReynolds, RIT: The senior produced the biggest goal of his career, beating Chris Noonan at 2:57 of overtime. The playoffs seem to agree with McReynolds, who has five points in the last three playoff games.

WHAT’S NEXT

Air Force has never lost in the Atlantic Hockey finals, beating Army in 2007, Mercyhurst in 2008 and 2009 and RIT in 2011. RIT is 1-1 in Atlantic Hockey finals, beating Sacred Heart in the Frozen Four year of 2010 and losing 1-0 to Air Force last year.

RIT beat Air Force, 3-1, in Rochester in November. Air Force answered with two wins (3-0, 4-2) last month in Colorado Springs. That gives Air Force a slim 16-14-3 lead in the all-time series and a 12-10-2 edge since both teams joined the league in 2006-07. Eleven of the 33 games, and four of the last 10 have gone into overtime. Air Force has won both playoff meetings with RIT.

RIT coach Wayne Wilson, perhaps employing a little gamesmanship, said his third-seeded Tigers are clearly the underdog to the top-seeded Falcons, who won last year’s title matchup 1-0.

“The pressure is kind of off us now,” Wilson said. “I guess everyone is expecting Air Force to win. We’re just going to try our hardest out there. We will come after them. We will be ready to go.“

The 10 finalists for the 2012 Hobey Baker Memorial Award were announced Thursday, a list that includes four forwards, four defensemen, and two goaltenders. In alphabetical order, they are:

· Spencer Abbott, Maine forward
· Jack Connolly, Minnesota Duluth forward
· Brian Dumoulin, Boston College forward
· Troy Grosenick, Union goaltender
· Shawn Hunwick, Michigan goaltender
· Tim Kirby, Air Force defenseman
· Torey Krug, Michigan State defenseman
· Justin Schultz, Wisconsin defenseman
· Austin Smith, Colgate forward
· Reilly Smith, Miami forward

Finalists are determined by votes from every Division I  head coach and online fan balloting. The list of 10 will be trimmed to three on March 29. This year’s winner will be revealed at a April 6 ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

For more on the Hobey finalists, check out INCH’s statistical analysis of our top five candidates.

Niagara senior Chris Noonan knew his college career was nearing an end but the goaltending job for the Purple Eagles was not going to be handed over to him merely by seniority. He had to prove himself among three other young candidates.

Chris Noonan

Noonan was frustrated as he sat for seven games following an Oct. 28 outing with Colgate. His return on Dec. 2 was a relief outing (and a win) against Bentley and the job has been basically his since then.

Noonan backstopped Niagara to a second-place finish in Atlantic Hockey and has ascended the national rankings for goalie statistics. Heading into this weekend’s Final Four in Rochester, Noonan owns the second-best goals-against average in the nation (1.60), trailing only Sabres draft pick Connor Knapp of Miami, and sports the country’s best save percentage (.944).

Noonan would like to play professionally once his college days are over, and this season has surely raised his stock with the scouts.

Ken McMillan: What kind of a season would you say you’ve had?

Chris Noonan: From a personal standpoint, it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster year. At the start of the year I wasn’t playing as much as I had wanted to. … I had to sit back and cheer for (the other goalies) but at the same time work hard because I knew I would get a chance to step in and play. If I got that chance, I knew I had to do well. I finally got a chance to start a few games, did well with that and then just ran with it.

INCH: So you started the season in the mix, and you needed to establish yourself?

CN: Yeah, the coaches at the beginning of the season told us you are competing for your job. Nobody was completely established as the number one so we knew it was going to be a battle. When the other guys played, they played well enough to keep on playing so I didn’t get my shot as early as I had hoped. It all worked out for the best and I got my shot and took advantage of it.

INCH: When did your breakthrough come?

CN: There were a couple games before Christmas break that I got a little momentum going. I started three in a row before Christmas. After Christmas, we were in Minnesota and then Connecticut. I had a little sit-down with my coach and we knew that after Christmas break and the second semester began, we were going to try and find somebody who could play back-to-back nights and kind of take over. I think after UConn, my coaches sat down and said to me, ‘We feel like you have played well and we are hoping you can run with this.’ They gave me the opportunity to keep playing, in that sense.

INCH: You actually lost both games to UConn, so were you surprised you got the nod?

CN: A little bit. It was a tough weekend. The first game we didn’t play great, I let in a goal or two that I wish I had back. I was a little surprised that they gave me the shot the second game. We played really well that game but ended up losing 1-0, or 2-0 with the empty netter. That second game was really when they said ‘Ok, we can go with you and see how things go.’

INCH: I don’t know if you would have expected to go on such a roll after that point, did you?

CN: You can dream of something like this but to pull it off is pretty hard. We keep going back to the UConn weekend, but after that we had a lot of meetings as a team and sat down and said, ‘You know what? Whatever happened until now … does it really matter? We have the rest of the season to pull our act together and compete for a top playoff spot.’ We’ve always been close as a team this year but from that point on we took it upon ourselves to really come together and really work hard as a team. It’s been amazing playing behind the rest of the team when they are playing this well. Everybody is working well together. Some things come naturally and come easy. A lot of good things happen when you win that many in a row.

INCH: Is there anything you have done to change your game to make you a better goalie this year?

CN: You know what, I don’t think there’s anything specifically as to how I practice and stuff. I think it’s more of a mentality that I had coming into this year. I knew it was my senior year. I wanted to put my best foot forward. It’s your last shot to prove yourself. It sounds like I would be under a lot of pressure but I just felt confident more than anything because I’ve been around the team the longest out of the goalies we had. I took experiences that I had in the past and kind of learned from them. As frustrating as it might have been first semester when I wasn’t playing, I knew that if I kept working hard and staying focused it would eventually come. That has been the biggest change for me, having the proper mindset and a positive attitude throughout the whole thing.

INCH: You had a good career up to this season but the numbers this year are bordering on the great. Do you notice the difference?

CN: Yeah, I mean, I don’t think it’s something that is completely just something I’ve done personally. A lot of it has to do with the team, and when a team is playing well, the goalie is going to have better numbers. In the games I’ve been playing we’ve been playing so well. It’s really hard to describe what’s different. I mean, I know that from previous seasons I am playing a little better but it has a lot to do with the team. We’re working well together. It just feels more comfortable in the net. I think a lot of that is consistency has built up this season and playing the second half. In previous seasons we would always rotate goalies and hopefully somebody would catch fire. It wasn’t as consistent as it has been this year, and that’s played a big role in having success.

INCH: As a senior, you must be thrilled that you finally got your shot, you won the job and you are doing well before your college career ends.

CN: Yeah, absolutely. If you have a good first half of the year and not a good second half, it wouldn’t be as memorable. But I think to go out on a good note, you couldn’t ask for anything better.

INCH: There’s another note about this streak. You have done this against the best teams from the Western pod, so that sets you up well heading into the Final Four with three other Western teams and give you a little boost of confidence.

CN: Yeah, I’d absolutely agree. The first half of the year we played the East pod and I don’t know if we necessarily took those games for granted, but we knew the second half of the year we knew we would be playing the stronger competition. It was kind of a motivational factor, seeing those teams on the schedule and preparing better, if you will, for our own pod. We knew it would be challenging but we stuck with it. We peaked at the right time, playing our pod.

INCH: What’s it like playing playoff hockey?

CN: It’s extremely exciting. This is what you work the whole season for. All the hard work comes down to a few games. To get the win on Friday night (against Robert Morris) was huge and gave us a lot of confidence. We knew we had two games to get that second win; we didn’t want to go to a third game because we saw how much that put on Robert Morris, playing three games the (previous) weekend. It’s exciting, the fans love it, they are loud. There’s a lot of pressure but it’s fun at the same time.

INCH: Friday, you get to play RIT in Rochester. What’s that going to be like?

CN: It’s going to be like playing them at home (Ritter Arena), but in a bigger atmosphere. There’s 11,000 seats (at Blue Cross Arena). We know they will have a lot of fans there. As much as they heckle us, it’s fun to play. It really gets you excited. They have great fans and we are hoping we can have some fans out there, too. To play in that atmosphere is awesome. It pumps you up and keeps you focused. There’s a lot of good that comes from having a sold-out atmosphere.

INCH: This is Niagara’s first appearance in the Atlantic Hockey Final Four. Why do you think Niagara can win this thing?

CN: We have a very balanced team. (When) we came into this league we had high expectations for ourselves. Now that we’re here, we’re establishing ourselves as the team we thought we would be. We have a lot of balanced scoring. We have good defense. We’re just a complete team that works every night. We are a hard-working team, just as many of the teams in this league are as well. We’re here to compete.

INCH: What’s the future hold for you?

CN: You know what, I don’t want to jinx myself with anything. I hope I have the opportunity to play elsewhere. I don’t know what my options are at this point. I am trying to focus on the end of the season and getting to the NCAA Tournament. Once I am done playing, we will see what happens. I don’t know what will happen. .. I would love to play somewhere. With the season I’ve had, I hope I catch a few eyes from teams out there and just hope that one team will give me an opportunity. I would love to look back on my career and say I had an opportunity to play pro hockey.

INCH: Why is college hockey better than other college sports?

CN: Oh, there’s so many reasons. I guess, just the excitement. It’s non-stop action. You are not playing 10-second shifts like football. It’s up and down, hard hitting, lots of shots on net. It’s the complete package.

No. 1 Air Force
Record: 19-10-7 (15-6-6 AHA)
Falcons Notes: Air Force is 9-1 at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena, sweeping semifinals and finals in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.
How Air Force Wins: Depth, playoff experience and the league’s No. 2 offense should help.

No. 2 Niagara
Record: 17-10-9 (14-6-7 AHA)
Purple Eagles Notes: Niagara is the new gate-crasher to the Atlantic Hockey Final Four in only its second season in the league. Niagara forged two draws with RIT at Ritter Arena and beat the Tigers at home.
How Niagara Wins: Chris Noonan is the hottest goalie in the semifinals. The Purple Eagles were the only Final Four entry to sweep in the quarterfinals so perhaps their legs will be a bit livelier.

No. 3 Rochester Institute of Technology
Record: 19-12-6 (14-7-6 AHA)
Tigers Notes: The Tigers are the only Atlantic Hockey team to have reached a Frozen Four (2010).
How RIT Wins: Shane Madolora proved his mettle by stopping 17 overtime shots by Bentley while facing elimination and surviving.

No. 4 Mercyhurst
Record: 20-15-4 (15-8-4)
Lakers Notes: Mercyhurst is making its first Final Four visit since 2009 when the Lakers lost 2-0 to Air Force in the finals. The Lakers are 2-0 in semifinals played in Rochester. Mercyhurst won its only Atlantic Hockey title in 2005.
How Mercyhurst Wins: The Laker blue-liners have some offensive pop and could surely give a boost to an offense that struggled last weekend.

DAN DeSALVO
Bowling Green
Fr. | F | Rolling Meadows, Ill.

His Statistics: 3 GP, GWG, 5 G, 2 A, 7 points, +6 rating

His Impact: Impact? That’s an understatement. Here’s a freshman for Bowling Green that racked up five goals on the weekend, including a hat-trick and overtime game-winning goal in Sunday’s decisive game three as the Falcons upset CCHA top-seed Ferris State in a quarterfinal playoff series. The Falcons have a chance to win the Mason Cup this weekend in Detroit as they’ve advanced to the CCHA Championship weekend despite finishing in last place.

Was it unexpected? That depends on what part of the season you consider. DeSalvo had just four goals during the regular season over 27 games played and was out of the lineup for BG’s last five regular-season games. He returned in a first-round series against Northern Michigan and scored five goals in that series, before replicating that feat against Ferris State. DeSalvo’s 10 goals in the playoffs are a CCHA tournament record and he’s building the kind of unexpected playoff legend not seen since John Druce’s run in the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs.

His Runners-Up: Alex Chiasson, Boston University; Erik Haula, Minnesota; Chris Noonan, Niagara; Chris Wagner, Colgate

We’ve been beating the drum all season about our dislike for shootouts, so playoff hockey brings an end to that possibility and replaces it with one of the most exciting parts of the game — sudden-death overtime. When every shot has a chance to end the game and turnovers, mistakes and bad bounces result in fans and competitors moving to the edge of their seats it results in a special kind of hockey emotion that can’t be matched. Cheers to the teams around the nation for providing those opportunities, as there were 13 overtime games played this past weekend, including seven that stretched to a second overtime period.

Losing to a lower seed in the opening round of the conference tournament is disappointing, but it was a real downer for UMass Lowell and Colorado College, both knocked out by teams it swept the last weekend of the regular season. The sting of losing to Providence in three games shouldn’t last long for the River Hawks, who are virtually assured a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers, on the other hand, will be haunted by Michigan Tech’s sweep. CC’s odds of getting an NCAA at-large bid are remote.

What Happened?: Wonder why teams battle so hard to secure first-round byes in the league tournament? Look no further than last weekend’s results from the Atlantic Hockey, CCHA, and ECAC Hockey playoffs. Of the 11 teams in those tournaments to earn first-round byes—not counting the CCHA’s Michigan State-Miami series since both teams were off the previous weekend—all but CCHA top seed Ferris State advanced to the semifinal round. The Bulldogs may have been the one bye team that would have benefited from getting right back to work; after a disappointing loss and tie to Western Michigan in the regular season finale, Ferris got the bye, then ran into an inspired Bowling Green team playing with tons of confidence after upsetting Northern Michigan the previous weekend.

What We’re Watching: There were a couple of games in Hockey East series this past weekend with an unusually high amount of penalty calls and we’re keeping an eye on how this might impact games over the next few weeks. The referee tandem of Jeff Bunyon and Kevin Keenan whistled 22 penalties for 55 minutes in the first game of the Maine-Merrimack series and then whistled a total of 13 minors for 26 minutes in the second game of the BU-UNH series. Meanwhile, the tandem of Tim Benedetto and Kevin Shea worked the final two games of the Maine-Merrimack series and called 40 total penalties for 184 minutes in game two and 15 penalties for 30 minutes in the third game.

It can certainly be attributed to the participating teams and the tenor of the games, especially in the Maine-Merrimack matchup, but it’s also something to watch in the future. A glance at boxscores from other Hockey East series and other series across the country shows most games totaling in the range of 8-12 penalty calls per game. Four of the top-eight most penalized teams in the nation this season are Hockey East members.

What the …?: While doing some prep work for the avalanche of NCAA Tournament coverage that launches shortly after Sunday’s announcement of this year’s field, we were surprised by the number of schools that have been to the NCAAs since Minnesota made its last trip back in 2008. Twenty-nine of ‘em, to be exact. So, as a fun way to share what we learned, we’ve created a Sporcle quiz on the topic. Enjoy. Warning to WCHA fans: Many of the answers are teams from conferences outside the WCHA, so you may struggle.

@bgsuhammond Andrew Hammond

Few words can describe how bad I felt after letting in the third goal and even fewer words can describe how it feels now. #ontotheJOE

• Bowling Green junior Andrew Hammond experienced a range of emotions on Sunday night, from a low point when he allowed a goal from center ice to the high of his team rallying for a 4-3 overtime victory and series win over the top-seeded Ferris State Bulldogs. After that third Ferris State goal in the third period, Hammond didn’t allow another to pass the rest of the game. He had 19 saves in the last two periods and overtime.

If there was ever an argument about parity in college hockey, Atlantic Hockey made the strongest case within its own ranks this season. Two points separated the top five teams and nine points was the difference between the top eight finishers, making this the tightest top-division finish in all of Division I hockey over the past 10 years.

Defending playoff champion Air Force laid claim to only its second regular-season crown since joining the league. Niagara showed no sophomore jinx as the Purple Eagles ascended to second place in its second season in the circuit. Perennial title contender Rochester Institute of Technology finished only two points out, tied for third with a resurgent Mercyhurst and 2011 semifinalist Holy Cross.

Through the first round of playoffs, all of the seeds have held up. No. 7 Robert Morris needed an overtime goal in the decisive game three with American International and No. 6 Bentley breathed easier with a 5-0 win in the elimination game with Sacred Heart, preventing the biggest upset in league history.

Bentley improved 10 points and four places in the standings this season. Mercyhurst improved eight points and three spots. Niagara (plus 3), Air Force (plus 2), Holy Cross (plus 1) and Connecticut (plus 1) saw modest gains. Robert Morris and American International posted the same points totals, although the Yellow Jackets managed their first non-basement finish in league history.

Army was the most disappointing team, finishing last for the first time, down 13 points from a year ago. True, the Black Knights lost quite a few manpower games to injury but a league-worst 52 goals scored helped contribute to the program’s worst record (4-23-7) since Hall of Famer Jack Riley’s first season as coach in 1951 (2-10-1). Also, Army posted zero wins at home, aside from an exhibition win over Royal Military College.

Atlantic Hockey posted the same number of non-conference wins (17) as it did by this point last year. The league’s 12 members were a combined 17-57-8 in non-league play, and not a single member posted a winning record. RIT (3-4) and Mercyhurst (3-6) led with the most wins. Bentley and Canisius (both 0-6-1) were the only clubs not to post a non-league win.

THE FAVORITE

It’s hard to argue with success. Air Force has won four of the five post-season tournaments since joining the league in 2006-07. The Falcons did just enough to win the regular-season title by a point. Over the past month, Air Force swept RIT, took three of four points from Niagara and secured splits with Mercyhurst and Robert Morris – that’s a .688 winning percentage, all against teams still alive in the playoffs. The Falcons have arguably four of the best players in the league, and the team has lost just one playoff game in Rochester. Air Force is the favorite to repeat, but it won’t be easy.

THE GATE CRASHER

It will come down to goaltending, and two of the best are Niagara’s Chris Noonan and RIT’s Shane Madolora. Noonan is the best back-stopper in the land at the moment, turning aside 94.1 percent of shots. Madolora has proved in the recent past that he was the best goalie in the league, and his numbers are virtually the same when he took RIT to a bitter end of a 1-0 setback to Air Force in the 2011 title game. The edge goes to RIT because of recent playoff experience.

INCH’s ALL-ATLANTIC HOCKEY TEAM

F – Brett Gensler, Bentley: A sensational sophomore season is highlighted by 21 goals and 47 points, two marks that lead the league. He has points in 29 games and is a plus-16.

F – Cole Schneider, Connecticut: The sophomore has enjoyed another solid campaign. His 20 goals and 39 points both rank second in the league. He’s got two hat tricks to his credit and five multi-goal efforts. When Schneider produces points, UConn is 15-7-4; when he doesn’t, the Huskies are 0-10-0.

F – Kyle De Laurell, Air Force: The junior is the league’s second-leading playmaker, posting 22 assists to go with his 14 tallies. He’s gone scoreless since Jan. 13 but he has points in 21 games with his longest drought of just two games. De Laurell is a plus-12 on the league’s top team.

D – Tim Kirby, Air Force: The senior is the league’s top goal scorer among defensemen with 11, and his 24 points ties for tops among the blue liners. He’s been whistled for just 12 penalty minutes and just two in the past seven games during a furious pennant stretch. He is a plus-eight.

D – Scott Mathis, Air Force: The senior ranks third in defensemen scoring with 22 points. Five of his seven goals have come on the power play. He has points in 17 games. Mathis has been a rock for 148 career games.

G – Jason Torf, Air Force: The sophomore is the best candidate for comeback player of the year, bouncing back from a 14-game absence due to a severe groin injury and posting a 1.65 goals against average, a mark that would shatter the league record. He’s 6-4-2 but three of his losses came on the short end of 2-1 counts. He’s only played 14 games but Torf proved more than capable in leading the Falcons to a regular-season title.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Bentley, led by Ryan Soderquist, made tremendous strides this season. The Falcons were picked for 10th in the preseason coaches poll and finished sixth, a single point behind a three-way logjam for third place. The Falcons saw the greatest improvement over last season (10 points). Soderquist’s recruiting paid off big with five rookies producing double digits in points. The Falcons went from 11th-ranked offense (2.53 goals per game) to third (2.86) this season, despite losing 50 points from graduates Erik Peterson and Dustin Cloutier. The defense has shaved nearly three-quarters of a goal off its ledger, down to 2.70 per game.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Bentley’s Brett Gensler enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in 2010-11, posting 13 goals and 11 assists. Gensler showed no signs of slowing down as a sophomore, doubling his production to 47 points and helping the Falcons improve by 10 points in the standings and four places to sixth. Gensler has 21 points and 26 assists, and his 23-point improvement is the best by any player in the league. He scored five goals against Holy Cross this season, and had three goals and three assists in the opening-round series with Sacred Heart. He’s posted two hat tricks, and has five games with at least three points.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Holy Cross goaltender Matt Ginn is at the heart of the Crusaders’ tremendous closing run of 9-0-1 – only a tie-breaker in a three-way tie for third place prevented Holy Cross from securing an opening-round bye. Ginn was named the national rookie of the month for February. His 16 wins matches Air Force’s Jason Torf mark from 2010-11 and is tied for the league record for freshmen. His goals against average of 2.47 is the best by a rookie since teammate Thomas Tysowsky had a 2.43 two years ago.

Kudos also goes out to Bentley rookies Alex Grieve (32 points) and Brett Switzer (30) and Mercyhurst first-year players Nardo Nagtzaam (29) and Daniel Bahntge (29).

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER

Niagara goaltender Chris Noonan keeps getting better with more playing time. Noonan leads the nation with a .941 save percentage, a marked improvement over his junior year when he stopped 90.3 percent of shots fired at him. His goals against of 1.70 would be good enough for the Atlantic Hockey record were it not for Air Force’s Jason Torf and his tiny 1.65 mark. Noonan is hot at the right time, going 10-2-2 over his last 12 games and leading the Purple Eagles to a second-place finish during the regular season. His 12-5-5 record could have been even better had he gotten some additional goal support – he lost two goals despite giving up one goal and had three ties after allowing just two tallies. Noonan had seven wins and a 3.20 GAA as a sophomore, and eight wins with a 2.94 GAA as a junior.

No. 8 CONNECTICUT at No. 1 AIR FORCE
Connecticut: 15-17-4 (12-12-3 AH)
Air Force: 17-9-7 (15-6-6 AH)
Season Series: Air Force, 2-0-0
Huskies Fact: UConn is 0-8-4 in its last 12 meetings with Air Force. The last win in the series came in Nov. 2007.
Falcons Fact: Air Force has won 11 of 15 playoff games in the past three seasons, losing just once in league playoff action.
How Connecticut Wins: The Huskies cannot let Air Force dictate the early pace, and has to use the league’s best power play to their advantage.
How Air Force Wins: Stop Cole Schneider because the Huskies are 0-10-0 when he fails to produce a point.

No. 7 ROBERT MORRIS at No. 2 NIAGARA
Robert Morris: 17-15-5 (13-9-5 AH)
Niagara: 15-10-9 (14-6-7 AH)
Season Series: Niagara, 2-0-1
Colonials Fact: Robert Morris has won two of the last three meetings at Niagara.
Purple Eagles Fact: Niagara has yet to win an Atlantic Hockey playoff game (0-1-0).
How Robert Morris Wins: A senior-laden lineup could work to the Colonials’ favor.
How Niagara Wins: Give Chris Noonan some breathing room and hold on for some low-scoring wins.

No. 6 BENTLEY at No. 3 RIT
Bentley: 15-14-8 (13-7-7 AH)
RIT: 17-11-6 (14-7-6 AH)
Season Series: RIT, 2-0-0
Falcons Fact: Bentley owns a .500 road record, better than nine other teams in the league.
Tigers Fact: RIT has won all four of its quarterfinal series, going 8-1 in games.
How Bentley Wins: Crash the net and make it hard for Shane Madolora to get a clean look at shots.
How RIT Wins: Hold Brett Gensler in check like the regular season when the Tigers surrendered just one assist to Gensler in two games.

No. 5 HOLY CROSS at No. 4 MERCYHURST
Holy Cross: 19-13-4 (15-8-4 AH)
Mercyhurst: 18-14-4 (15-8-4 AH)
Season Series: Mercyhurst, 1-0-1
Crusaders Fact: Holy Cross is unbeaten in its last 10 games (9-0-1).
Lakers Fact: Mercyhurst owns the best home-ice winning percentage (.731, 9-3-1) in the league.
How Holy Cross Wins: Momentum is huge, and Holy Cross clearly has that. As good as rookie Matt Ginn is in net, the Crusaders’ offense has been very formidable with 44 goals in 10 games.
How Mercyhurst Wins: Find a way to rattle Ginn, and the Lakers’ line depth should be beneficial.

ANTOINE LAGANIERE
Yale
Jr. | F | Ile Cadieux, Quebec

His Statistics: 5-0–5, +2 rating, 2 PPG, SHG, GWG, ENG, Hat Trick

His Impact: Last week’s First Shift included lots of chatter about teams who came through in big situations, and this week’s edition starts off by honoring a player who did the same in a first-round playoff series. Laganiere, a hulking junior forward for the Yale Bulldogs, scored in each game of the Bulldogs’ series win over Princeton.

He saved his best for the decisive third game, with a hat trick in Yale’s 7-3 win on Sunday that sent the Bulldogs to a quarterfinal matchup at Harvard. Laganiere ranks second on the team with 17 goals, and has totaled 30 points this season. He had just 23 points combined over his freshman and sophomore seasons.

His Runners-Up: Adam Berkle, Bowling Green; Trevor Lewis, Robert Morris; Joseph Pendenza, UMass Lowell; Jaden Schwartz, Colorado College

One of the hockey traditions that has seemingly become more popular in recent seasons is to ignore what some might consider to be preliminary trophies as a symbolic gesture that teams have sights set on bigger prizes. For example, avoiding touching a league regular-season trophy because it’s not the NCAA championship trophy. Longtime readers of INCH know that we don’t buy in to that thought. Championships are hard to win, and should be celebrated.

Cheers to the league champs this year for honoring and respecting that. Video shows that players from Ferris State and Minnesota had proper ceremonies on home ice. Union clinched the ECAC Hockey crown on the road, but had a trophy presentation and brief ceremony at the coach’s weekly radio show. Boston College wrapped things up at Conte Forum on Saturday night and accepted the trophy on ice, displayed it for the fans, and posed for a team photo. Air Force was in a little bit of a different situation, as several Atlantic Hockey teams had a shot at the title on the final weekend, and the Falcons played a series at Robert Morris to cap the regular season.

We’ve praised the amount of televised college hockey games throughout the year, so we’ve got to mention it when there’s a problem. As it currently stands, none of the ECAC Hockey championship weekend games from Atlantic City are set to be aired by any traditional television broadcast outlets. Sure there’s an online viewing package available, but get these games on TV.

What Happened?: On-ice results notwithstanding, it’s been a brutal season for Boston University what with two players being booted from the team for alleged sexual assaults and Charlie Coyle bolting for Saint John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. When asked about Coyle late last week, Terriers head coach Jack Parker told the Boston Hockey Blog he hadn’t monitored his progress in the Q, adding, “Unless you’re real dumb … and want nothing to do with school, or you’re an 18 year-old phenom that is going to be in the NHL at 19, college hockey is the way to go.” Like Parker, we have strong feelings about the benefits of playing college hockey, but insulting the intelligence of players who choose the major junior route comes off as petty and shortsighted.

What We’re Watching: Playoff hockey is intense, but expect some of this weekend’s series to have an extra layer of testiness with bitter rivals clashing in best-of-three series—in ECAC Hockey, Yale travels to Harvard and Rensselaer makes the short drive to Union, the CCHA gives us Notre Dame at Michigan, and Hockey East has Boston University at New Hampshire. Emotions are at a fever pitch when these teams meet in the regular season; they’ll be off the charts weekend.

What the …?: We should’ve seen Bowling Green’s upset of Northern Michigan in the first round of the CCHA playoffs coming. It’s not just because the Falcons went up to Marquette and bounced the Wildcats from the playoffs last season, but because the Berry Events Center has been a safe haven for BGSU in recent years. Need proof? Bowling Green’s CCHA road record (regular season and playoffs) since the start of the 2009-10 season is 9-34-7; the Falcons’ mark at Northern Michigan during that same span is 5-4-1.

@KGordonSentinel Kevin Gordon

College hockey needs to compact its schedule to avoid playoff games over break. Crowds are embarrassing.

• Kevin Gordon of the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune raised this item from his wishlist over the weekend, but it’s a bit unrealistic without drastically altering the hockey season (not going to happen) or taking spring break off of academic calendars (definitely not going to happen). However, there are alternate considerations that might be made, and UMass Lowell is taking advantage of that. The campus residences have a contingency plan to close at a later date, depending if the team is hosting a decisive Sunday game. That’s some campus-wide commitment to the hockey program.