Fort Wayne, Ind. – As Bemidji State forward Ian Lowe pounded the puck past Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick from the left circle to make Saturday’s NCAA tournament opening round game a 2-1 contest, one had to wonder whether the Wolverines’ bubble had finally burst. Having played nearly a month of flawless hockey, Michigan’s energy and puck luck was bound to run out eventually, and a mere one-goal lead looked tenuous with almost 10 minutes to play.

Hagelin's backdoor tap-in goal turned things in Michigan's favor after Bemidji State crept back into the game.

As questions began to creep into minds throughout the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Carl Hagelin and his linemates Kevin Lynch and Matt Rust again stole the show, scoring two of Michigan’s three goals in the final eight minutes of the game to give Michigan a 5-1 victory and the right to play Miami for the chance to reach the Frozen Four.

Hagelin extended Michigan’s lead to 3-1 after pouncing on a puck left free by a poorly-timed line change by Bemidji State’s defensemen. The junior picked the puck up in the neutral zone and created a two-on-one rush with Lynch that Hagelin finished with a backdoor tap-in.

“I actually thought their (defenseman) was going to get the puck because he was so close to the puck,” Hagelin said. “But he made a bad change and I kept skating. Lynch was up there with me on the 2-on-1 and I felt like he was open right away and he passed me back. I was kind of surprised but I had the tap-in goal.”

After notching that tally, Hagelin extended Michigan’s lead further with a short-handed marker a few minutes later, breaking away from the Beavers’ defense and beating goaltender Dan Bakala with a backhand shot while crossing the front of the goal crease.

While Hagelin’s line continued its hot streak and Louie Caporusso extended his own with the game-winning goal in the final minute of the second period, Michigan also benefitted from strong play by its third and fourth lines.

The Wolverines third forward trio – senior Brian Lebler and freshmen Chris Brown and A.J. Treais – found itself matched up with the Beavers’ top line and did a good job maintaining control of the game and limited offensive chances for Bemidji State.

“That’s all you want,” Berenson said. “Your third line guys, you never know who they’re going to be out there against. They got out there against their top line at some points, and let’s face it, their top line is as good a line as we’ve seen all year. I thought we did a good job as a team minimizing the damage, and it wasn’t just our top two lines.”

Preparing to face a deep Miami team on Sunday night, Michigan’s four-line success promises a hard-fought matchup with a RedHawks’ team whose depth gives opponents fits.

BOX SCORE

EVERYDAY BATTLES PRODUCE EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS

If are two things you can always count on from Miami coach Enrico Blasi, it’s that he doesn’t worry about statistics and he prides himself on creating an environment where his players are forced to compete for their jobs and playing team day in and day out throughout the season.

With that in mind it was no surprise to see Miami goaltender Cody Reichard leading his team to a 2-1 victory over Alabama-Huntsville in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Reichard, who made 16 saves against the Chargers, had struggled in each of his past two starts. The sophomore lost twice and gave up five goals apiece to Michigan and Ohio State, raising questions about who would be the RedHawks’ starting goaltender for the NCAA tournament after Connor Knapp followed each of those losses with stellar victories.

But after a solid week of practice, Reichard regained his starting position, rewarding Blasi’s faith with a victory.

“We have two number-one goalies and we’re comfortable with both of them,” Blasi said. “The team is confident in front of both of them. We knew Cody would come back and play well and he did. That’s a credit to Cody and the type of person and player he is and the work ethic that he has.”

While his story was the most prominent, Reichard wasn’t the only RedHawk forced to fight for his playing time this week. Freshman Curtis McKenzie, who had a solid freshman year with 23 points in 39 games, sat out of last Sunday’s third place game in the CCHA tournament after struggling in the semifinal matchup with Michigan.

Cameron Talbot couldn't handle a deflected shot and it turned into Miami's game-winning goal.

“Curtis is a very gifted player,” Blasi said. “He’s a hard-nosed player and when he’s playing physical and going into the traffic areas in front of the net he’s very successful and he’s a big part of our team. Sometimes when you’re a freshman, sometimes you get away from that a little bit. We had done this with Curtis earlier where we sat him, not because we were upset with him, but because we wanted him to understand the type of player we want him to be.”

McKenzie also bounced back with a strong week in practice and rewarded his team with the game’s first goal in the opening frame and an assist on Cameron Schilling’s game-winner in the second period.

As the RedHawks prepare to face Michigan Sunday night in a game that will certainly feature a much higher tempo than Miami’s two most recent victories, the efforts of Reichard, McKenzie and their teammates during practice this week will likely prove the medicine needed to get the RedHawks up to speed as the bid for their second Frozen Four appearance in as many years.

BOX SCORE

SEEN AND HEARD AT ALLEN COUNTY WAR MEMORIAL COLISEUM

• It’s perhaps somewhat surprising in a building that regularly hosts hockey – the IHL’s Fort Wayne Komets are permanent tenants – but bad ice was a factor in both games with players losing footing and pucks hopping up on sticks unexpectedly.

“I think towards the end of the game you could see that the ice wasn’t very good,” Blasi said. “We’re going to have to adjust to that. We’re going to have to make sure that we’re making good decisions and maybe changing a little bit of how we’re going to approach the game tomorrow night. A lot of bad bounces, there were a lot of plays that were there that we couldn’t make because of the worry of the ice.”

• Michigan captain Chris Summers returned to the lineup after missing the past two weekends with an injury from the opening round of the CCHA playoffs. Berenson praised his captain’s ability to jump back into a lineup that had picked up its playing pace since Summers’ last outing.

• Third-place games in conference tournaments can sometimes seem inconsequential, but can perhaps give a team a boost after a disappointing semifinal loss. Miami didn’t have its finest outing in the third-place tilt against Ferris State, but perhaps the victory helped bring back a winning mindset that was a good springboard for a strong week of practice.

“If you saw the game it was one of the ugliest games I’ve ever seen in my life,” Blasi said. “But we did win, we found a way to win, so in that regard it was probably a good thing.”

• Down two goals with the clock running down when Miami’s Chris Wideman took a penalty at the 17:36 mark of the final period, Alabama-Huntsville took its time bringing Cameron Talbot to the bench for an extra attacker. Once they made the transition to 6-on-4 play in the offensive zone, it quickly resulted in a goal by Brennan Barker.

Why that moment to pull Talbot, rather than earlier? Coach Danton Cole was trying to walk the fine line of putting together some offensive pressure without giving up a deadly third goal to Miami.

“It’s always tricky,” Cole said. “If you go too early and you give up a third, then you are done. My philosophy or theory on that was to give the power play a chance. You’ve already got a man advantage, so don’t give them an open net. Our power play had been getting chances.”

Cole called the execution with the sixth attacker “textbook”, as the Charges quickly gave themselves a chance to get back into the game.

• Who knew hip-hop had such a strong influence over hockey? At several instances throughout the night one could hear strains of hip-hip influenced chants could be heard in the crowd. When an official collided with an Alabama-Huntsville player in the early game, Chargers’ fans were chanting something to the effect of “Move Ref, get out the way, get out the way ref, get out the way” to the tune of a song by rapper Ludacris, and then later Michigan fans urged their team to put the puck on net with the refrain from LMFAO’s “Shots”.

• Detroit Red Wings legendary former captain and Vice President Steve Yzerman was in attendance, perhaps taking a look at undrafted free agents across the various lineups.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

Despite notable disparities in the number of penalties called in both games – Michigan took 10 minors to Bemidji State’s six, and Alabama-Huntsville taking 10 to Miami’s six – coaches didn’t complain about officiating in post-game press conferences and focused more on the performances of their special teams units.

It may be a plus to some (particularly Bemidji State), but tonight marked the final game played by teams representing College Hockey America, as both Bemidji State and Alabama-Huntsville were sent packing for the summer.

At $75 and up for the all-session pass, it felt as though the NCAA might have priced out the casual fan at what was ultimately a substandard venue in Fort Wayne. It’s hard to draw in new fans when they shudder at the first sight of ticket prices.

INCH’S THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Shawn Hunwick, Michigan – Hunwick again played a solid game, stopping a few point blank chances, including back-to-back stops in the first period that might have changed the game. There wasn’t much the junior could do on the one goal Michigan gave up on an excellent shot by Bemidji State’s Ian Lowe.

2. Cody Reichard, Miami – The college hockey world wondered all week whether Blasi would turn back to Reichard after a rough performance against Michigan in the CCHA semi-final, but Reichard did everything he needed to do, giving up a single power play goal late, but showing he has the mental toughness to let the past be the past.

1. Carl Hagelin, Michigan – Hagelin stole the show in the latter stages of tonight’s late game, taking advantage of mistakes by the Beavers to notch a pair of memorable goals, and then adding an assist on Brian Lebler’s empty-netter to give Hagelin 3 points in the final 8:36 of the third period.

WHAT’S NEXT

Michigan and Miami meet for the second time in nine days to determine who will be the CCHA’s lone representative in the 2010 Frozen Four. The Wolverines won convincingly Mar. 19 in Detroit, notching a 5-2 victory on the strength of three points each from top liners Carl Hagelin, Matt Rust and Kevin Lynch, but expect Miami to come out with a few tricks up its sleeve after a win over Alabama-Huntsville and what has been described as a strong week of practice.

Bemidji State and Alabama-Huntsville both head back home for the summer and it will be an interesting offseason that presents crossroads for both programs.

The Chargers will likely be testing the waters as an independent with the dissolution of College Hockey America and will try to build on this tournament appearance for what will likely be a road-heavy schedule next year. The Beavers have a much more comfortable situation, heading to the WCHA and preparing to open a new rink on campus. But even heading into a new, more challenging conference, Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore doesn’t plan on doing things differently this offseason.

“There’s no question that it’s going to be interesting every weekend when you’re playing for points in the WCHA,” Serratore said. “It’s a little different animal than we faced while we were in the CHA. But we’re not going to approach (the offseason) any different. We’re just going to do the same thing we’ve always done.”

Welcome to the NCAA Midwest Regional, also known as the College Hockey America-CCHA Invitational or the Regional of 1,000 Questions. Take a glance at the four teams sent to Fort Wayne and you’ll find that each has hovering over it some sort of issue.

For Miami, it’s goaltending; specifically, can Hobey Baker Award candidate Cody Reichard get off the schneid following two straight subpar outings. For Michigan, it’s goaltending; specifically, how much longer can walk-on Shawn Hunwick continue to play like Frank Brimsek? For Bemidji State, it’s whether it can bounce back from a mild swoon late in the regular season and extending into the CHA playoffs, while for Alabama-Huntsville, it’s wondering if they’ll ever find a home in a conference after the CHA dissolves at the end of the season.

The beauty of the NCAA Tournament is that we’re guaranteed to answer at least one of the questions above by Sunday.

BACK STORY

The burden Miami carries into this year’s NCAA Tournament is immense. Not only have the RedHawks been at or near the top of the national rankings all season, but they’ve also got memories of the epic collapse against Boston University in last year’s NCAA title game fresh in their minds.

To a man, the RedHawks have claimed that the events of that April night in Washington D.C. are ancient history, and while they haven’t been a distraction to date, those memories are as fresh as 6 a.m. donuts. Getting a read on the psyche of this team isn’t easy. Does this group believe that anything short of a return trip to the national championship game is a disappointment?

ON A ROLL

Twenty-one minutes, four seconds: That’s the total amount of playing time Michigan junior goaltender Shawn Hunwick had under his belt when the Wolverines’ starter, Bryan Hogan, was injured in the first period of a win against Notre Dame Feb. 24 in Ann Arbor. In his first career start two days later, the Fighting Irish scored five goals in a 5-3 win in South Bend.

Hunwick hasn’t lost since, allowing a total of nine goals in six playoff starts. The guy coach Red Berenson called “Rudy” in reference to the plucky Notre Dame football walk-on who finally earned a shot at glory has a 7-2-0 record, a 1.86 goals against average, a .912 save percentage, and one shutout. One would think he’s due for an average outing; then again, maybe it’s a case of karma favoring Wolverine goaltenders for a change.

SOMETHING TO PROVE

With Miami and Michigan in the Midwest Regional, there’s no doubt that at least one representative from the CCHA in Fort Wayne this weekend. And while you probably won’t hear it from anyone associated with the team, one can be certain that Alabama-Huntsville, which was rebuffed last summer by the CCHA in its attempt to join the conference, would like to put on a show for league brass. The Chargers are the longest of long shots, but we thought the same thing about Holy Cross and Bemidji State in recent seasons.

ONE TO WATCH

Goaltender Matt Dalton grabbed most of the limelight during Bemidji State’s unlikely run to the 2009 Frozen Four. This time around, the key Beaver is junior forward Matt Read, the College Hockey America Player of the Year and the first BSU player to record 40 or more points in back-to-back seasons since the school elevated its program to Division I status

Read followed up his 15-goal, 25-assist effort in 2008-09 with 19 goals and 21 assists this season. And keep an eye on him when he’s killing penalties – Read actually has more shorthanded goals (three) than power-play scores (two). Fans with sharp memories will recall that he scored a shorthanded goal against Notre Dame in last season’s Midwest Regional first-round game in Grand Rapids.

MR. CLUTCH

When Michigan forward Aaron Palushaj decided to turn pro at the end of last season, the first question that arose in the minds of many observers was, how will this affect Louie Caporusso? The Woodbridge, Ontario product doubled his goal production from his freshman to his sophomore year, scoring 24 goals in 2008-09.

Caporusso struggled mightily, scoring just seven goals in the Wolverines’ first 30 games. But just when everyone was about to write off Caporusso as a product of Palushaj’s playmaking abilities, Louie blew up, scoring 13 goals in the Wolverines’ last 13 games and seven goals in six postseason games.

SUNDAY STORYLINE

Theoretically, Miami should waltz through the Midwest Regional en route to a second straight Frozen Four appearance. As is the case with Wisconsin in the West Regional, the RedHawks have been among the three best teams in the country since day one and boast better talent and depth than Bemidji State, Michigan, and Alabama-Huntsville.

There’s been a role reversal, however. Whereas Miami and Bemidji State had been of berths in the NCAA Tournament for a few weeks regardless of the outcomes of their respective league playoffs, Michigan and Alabama-Huntsville have been in survival mode. Now that the Wolverines and Chargers are in the NCAAs, they’re both playing with house money. Flipping the switch from somewhat-interested participant to take-no-prisoners predator isn’t a given. Still, Miami is the prohibitive favorite to advance.

Sixty-eight seconds into OT, Niagara defenseman Jim Burichin helped stop a breakaway by the Chargers’ Andrew Coburn, but was called for slashing. The ensuing offensive zone draw went back to Chris deBruyn at the right point. He slid the puck to Neil Ruffini whose one-timer left a fat rebound for Desmet, who buried it for his ninth goal of the season.

“deBruyn slid the puck to Ruffini on the half wall and he one-timed a shot that came out to the slot and I just beared down on the puck—a good goal I guess,” said Desmet.

Niagara outshot the Chargers 16-7 and had four power play opportunities in the first period, but the first ended scoreless after a video review nullified an apparent Alabama-Huntsville shorthanded effort. Cale Tanaka took the initial shot and the rebound went to the skate of Andrew Coburn. He kicked the puck into the net, and it was ruled that he did not get his stick on the puck before it crossed the goal line.

Alabama-Huntsville goaltender Cameron Talbot earned CHA playoff MVP honors by stopping 72 of 74 shots he faced in wins against Robert Morris and Niagara.

The Chargers broke up the scoreless duel in the second. Brennan Barker’s shot from the point hit Niagara Brian Haczyk in the high slot and deflected into the net at 7:33 for a 1-0 lead. But just 20 seconds later, Niagara tied it up 1-1 when senior forward Chris Moran sniped the upper left corner of the net from the right wing wall. UAH then regained the lead with a power play goal at 16:31. Coburn found Cody Campbell alone at the back door for the easy tap-in.

Four minutes into the third period, Niagara got the equalizer. Brian Haczyk scooted in from center ice past the defense and fed a perfect pass to Marc Zanette for his seventh goal of the season. The Chargers appeared gassed late in the third, resorting to a half dozen or so icings, but the period ended tied 2-2 in spite of the Purple Eagles leading 15-5 in shots for the period and 44-20 total to send it into overtime.

“I was just trying to keep the team in the game until they could find a way to do it, so I was just doing my job out there,” said UAH goaltender and tournament MVP Cameron Talbot, who stopped 72 of 74 shots he faced during the weekend. “I was just thinking keep the puck out and give us a chance to win. We just kept icing the puck and icing the puck, so I was just hoping we’d find a way.”

“There were some moments there, especially late in the game where we relied a little too much on Talbie, but I thought the guys worked real hard. We gathered our composure and had a little more jump in the overtime,” said UAH head coach Danton Cole.

It marks the Chargers second CHA title and the senior class of Tom Train, Cal Tanaka, Kevin Morrison, Brennan Barker, and Brandon Roshko’s second championship after winning the 2007 crown, also in overtime. They took number one seed Notre Dame to double overtime before falling at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich.

“I don’t want to say we backed in; we won a championship so we deserve to be there,” Cole said. “If you get in, you earned it. Obviously, we’re going to play a number-one seed and a heck of a team, but we’ll battle. We’re not just going there to enjoy the experience.

“It’s officially now College Hockey Alabama; we’re changing the name.”

SEEN AND HEARD AT DWYER ARENA

· CHA All-Tourney Team selections as announced (for some reason four forwards and one defenseman were named to the squad)

D-Tyler Gotto (Niagara)
F-Ron Cramer (Robert Morris)
F-Ryan Cramer (Bemidji State)
F-Chris Moran (Niagara)
F-Cody Campbell (UAH)
G-Cameron Talbot (UAH)
MVP-Cameron Talbot (UAH)

· “They did so much for us,” said Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder about his senior class of Chris Moran, Ryan Olidis, Egor Mironov, Tyler Gotto, and Jim Burichin. “They carried us down the stretch—this was a season that could have gone bad and didn’t because of their leadership. They are all great kids; they’re all going to graduate on time; they’re all going to play pro hockey and they are great ambassadors for the campus.”

· Alabama-Huntsville forward Vince Bruni caught Niagara defenseman Dan Weiss with his head down midway through the first period. Weiss tried to make it to the bench, but fell back down three times before being helped to the locker room. He was able to return in the second period.

· Though the higher seed, Alabama-Huntsville wore their road blue uniforms and Niagara the home white. The Chargers called Niagara earlier in the week and asked if it was okay to reduce the equipment manager’s load.

· The Chargers departed immediately after the game for home—a 13-hour bus ride.

· Attendance for the CHA final was announced at 1,818. The consolation game drew 425.

· Classless move on the part of rink officials who turned off the scoreboards before the post-game handshake was finished and the final score never put up.

· Two seems to be the magic number this year in the CHA with two teams likely going to the NCAA Tournament and two current coaches among those listed as possibilities for the vacant Western Michigan head coaching job. Robert Morris head coach Derek Schooley is a WMU alum and UAH head coach Danton Cole played at Michigan State, was a head coach with Motor City, Muskegon, and Grand Rapids in the pro ranks, and is a Pontiac, Mich., native.

· R.I.P.-College Hockey America

The game marked the first time all season (20 games) where the Beavers lost or tied when leading after two periods.

Tyler Lehrke fed Ryan Cramer to give the Beavers a 1-0 lead with a power play goal-his third tally of the weekend-at 12:49 of the first period and it stood up into the third.

Robert Morris senior J.C. Velasquez ended over 100 minutes of scoreless hockey for the Colonials at 4:31 of the third. Then, on the next shift, Brandon Blandina scored while being pulled down 48 seconds later to give RMU the lead.

Just 1:18 later, Nathan Longpre rifled a bullet from the left faceoff circle to put the Colonials up by two.

“I thought so,” said Longpre when asked if he thought his goal put the game out of reach. “But they started pouring it on and we took a lot of bad penalties that cost us. We had a lot of shots, but we couldn’t capitalize.”

With six minutes remaining in regulation-and maybe with Bemidji State’s season on the line-they rallied for a pair of goals on consecutive shifts.

Ben Kinne pounced on the rebound from a Jamie MacQueen shot at 14:03 and then Ian Lowe scored 53 seconds later to tie the game.

“The attitude we have is to keep fighting and clawing away,” said Bemidji State senior captain Chris McKelvie. “We don’t quit and we’ve never quit in the history of this program, so it was nice to see this team battle back in the third period.”

Both teams had power play chances over the final five minutes and RMU had another in the overtime, but neither scored.

“It was a tough game to play with a lot at stake for Bemidji State,” said head coach Tom Serratore. “There was a short turnaround time from last night and we emptied the tank. We didn’t have any legs, but the guys showed a lot of resiliency.”

“It was a tough weekend with a lot on the line and we didn’t get the result we wanted, but I was really happy with the way we battled,” said McKelvie.

Mathieu Dugas came off the bench for Bemidji State after the third Colonials goal and made 12 saves in 19 minutes of action to preserve the tie and keep the Beavers hopes for a NCAA at-large bid alive.

“He was the closer today and he’s been thrown into this situation a few times this year,” said Serratore. “We can probably credit the tie to him because there were some hairy plays there not only at the end of regulation, but in the overtime.”

So will the tie be enough to earn the Beavers a spot in the NCAA tourney-the second CHA entry?

“I don’t know because the PairWise is very volatile. Right now we’re taking the approach that we’re in because I think that’s what we have to do. I just told the guys we’re going to come back Thursday and get ready for a regional. I think we’re safe, but there are so many other games that need to be played.

“We have to watch, we have to wait, but we feel good about it.”

SEEN AND HEARD AT DWYER ARENA

· Robert Morris forward Zach Hervato missed the game due to a left ankle sprain. He had x-rays Friday night. Chris Kushneriuk also was a coaches decision scratch Saturday-largely due to his meltdown in the penalty box and Zamboni entrance after his hooking penalty with 2:09 remaining in the third period that negated a Colonial power play.

· The two head coaches were in the Media Room about 70 minutes before faceoff when they decided which team would be on which bench. Bemidji State took the home, or Niagara, bench as the higher seed.

· When asked about Bemidji State’s NCAA chances with the tie, Robert Morris head coach Derek Schooley said, “That’s too complicated. I went to a good school, but I’m not a math major. I hope they get in. They’re a good hockey team and they had a good season and it would be great to end the CHA with two teams in the field.”

· About midway through the first period of the third place game, a public address announcement came over the speaker system throughout the entire complex about a child at the concession stand without a parent. Since there were no further announcements, we assume the stray was reunited with the parental unit.

Niagara opened the scoring when David Ross won an offensive zone faceoff back to the right point. Tyler Gotto’s wrist shot through a screen found the net.

“Ross won the draw back and their coach was yelling at (Jordan) George to come through,” said Gotto. “I was waiting for him to come through and he set up to block it. I knew I just had to get the puck past him and I saw the corner of the net. I kept it on the ice because he was crunched down a little bit.”

Just 43 seconds later, the Beavers tied it, 1-1. Tyler Lehrke fed defenseman Chris Peluso, who found the top left corner. It was his first goal of the season and only the second of his career.

Senior Ryan Olidis gave the Purple Eagles the lead back with just 33 seconds remaining in the first with assists from Chris Moran and C.J. Chartrain.

The Beavers Ryan Cramer scored at 11:31 of the second from Shea Walters to again tie the game, but Gotto netted a power-play goal just 4:15 later to give Niagara the lead for good.

Brian Haczyk took a feather pass from Paul Zanette to score a short-handed goal late in the second to put the Purps up by two.

“Paul (Zanette) and I have been killing (penalties) together for two or three years now, so we know where we’re going to be at all times,” said Haczyk. “Getting the puck on the wall, he knew I was going to streak for the middle. He laid a nice soft pass out there for me and luckily I beat the defenseman and the goalie.”

The third period got a bit squirrely with three goals over a 2:20 span.

Bemidji State’s Shea Walters scored unassisted at 10:25 to again bring his team back to within a goal of the lead, but Niagara senior Egor Mironov pushed home a loose rebound at 11:40 to make it 5-3. Then Cramer netted his second of the game at 12:45 to make it a one-goal game for the fifth time.

But Niagara persevered through heavy offensive pressure over the final ten minutes to advance to the finals.

“It was pretty emotional, so I just reminded everyone on the bench to stay calm and keep it simple,” Gotto said of the third period. “We needed to get our momentum back so we could establish the forecheck like we did in the first two periods.”

As for Bemidji State and their hopes for an NCAA playoff at-large bid after being ranked among the top-10 for most of the season, head coach Tom Serratore said, “I have no clue. The pairwise is very volatile, but all I want to think about now is the game tomorrow. It’s a very important game for Bemidji State. I think you have to go in thinking a win is essential.”

“We played Michigan, Cornell, North Dakota, all probable NCAA tournament teams, and they (Bemidji State) are as good or better than some of those teams that we’ve played-no question,” Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder said.

“It would be an amazing story if they take care of business tomorrow that we could send two CHA teams to the tournament. What a fitting way to go off into the sunset.”

After Bemidji State and Robert Morris meet in the third-place game at 4 p.m., Niagara will play third-seeded Alabama-Huntsville in the championship at 8 p.m.

The only other time the two met in the title game was in the first CHA playoff in 2000. Niagara won that game 3-2 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville.

“We lost season series (to UAH) 4-2 with the last in overtime, so it’s a team we owe,” Burkholder said. “We’re going to be the visitors on home ice, but if you told me at the beginning of the year with our schedule that we were going to play for a championship on the last day of the season, I’m in.”

The Chargers are 1-4 in title games and the Purple Eagles are 3-1.

SEEN AND HEARD AT DWYER ARENA

• Bemidji State traveled from Alabama-Huntsville, site of the last regular season games one week ago-to Niagara arriving Tuesday. In between were stops to see a Nashville Predators game against Vancouver Sunday and the Buffalo Sabres versus Dallas game Wednesday.

• Beavers senior defenseman Chris Peluso had his NHL rights traded from Pittsburgh to Toronto at the March 3rd trade deadline.

• Paper hats were passed out to fans to market next season’s IIHF World Junior Championships being held in Buffalo and at Dwyer Arena Dec. 26 – Jan. 5. The highest ticket package (all 31 games at HSBC Arena and Dwyer) goes for $1,240 with the lowest (a 21-game HSBC pack) at $493.

• Niagara senior Chris Moran kept his scoring streak intact. With his first period assist, he now has registered at least one point in all six CHA tournament games he has played in.

• The Purps are now 11-1-1 all time in the month of March at Dwyer Arena.

• A few fans were seen wearing the Bemidji State jerseys that were auctioned off after the final game in their arena. All had John S. Glas on the back above the number – the man the arena was named after. The Beavers move into a new facility and the WCHA in the fall.

BOX SCORE

Ruffini tipped a shot from the point by defenseman Brennan Barker off the crossbar and in at 11:57 of the second period. The goal marked his eighth of the season, second consecutive game-winning goal, and third in two games at Dwyer Arena. He scored twice in the Chargers 3-2 win over Niagara Feb. 28.

The one-goal margin was the 16th such game of the season for the Chargers to go with three additional overtime ties.

“Most of our conference games are grind-it-out, tight one or two goal games,” said UAH coach Danton Cole. “I thought our guys did a pretty good job with that working hard between the whistles and not allowing a lot of open space.

“The power play and penalty kill lately have been good to us and helped us win a lot of games.”

The Chargers finished 1-for-6 with the man advantage and killed off six Robert Morris power play chances. Even more impressive were 16 shot-blocks including 11 in the third period.

“We did a good job blocking shots on the (Robert Morris) power play and 5-on-5 and we came up with some big blocks at the end,” said Chargers goaltender Cameron Talbot, who finished with 24 saves in registering the fifth shutout over the 11-year CHA playoffs and UAH’s first since Nov. 21, 2008 game against Yale, also a 1-0 affair.

“When we’re playing well, that’s how we play,” Cole said about the blocks. “Talbot made some saves, but that’s commitment level. (Cole’s former head coach) Terry Crisp used to talk about losing a limb to get the puck out or breaking a leg to block a shot and we’ll put somebody else out there.

“It’s an attitude. A tough game played by tough men and it’s probably one of my favorite stats to look at.”

“I kind of like them too,” chimed in Talbot at the press conference.

Robert Morris had its chance late with two consecutive Chargers minor penalties in the final five minutes of the third period, but after not converting on the first minor, the second was negated by a Colonials minor penalty and forced them to play 5-on-5 with the goalie out for all but eight seconds of the last two minutes.

“I think the off-week on the second to last week of the year may have hurt us,” said Robert Morris head coach Derek Schooley. “At the time we weren’t healthy so it helped in that way, but I think it may have put a little rust into us.”

Alabama-Huntsville advances to the conference finals to face fourth-seeded Niagara. The Chargers were 4-2-0 against Niagara this season. It will mark the Chargers sixth appearance in the championship game. They are 1-4-0 in the previous five.

SEEN AND HEARD AT DWYER ARENA

• Bemidji State senior forward Chris McKelvie (New Brighton, Minn.) has been selected as one of 32 male and female student-athletes to participate in the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four Skills Challenge held in Detroit, Mich. April 9.

• Alabama-Huntsville freshman forward Matti Jarvinen recently had a seven-game scoring streak, the Chargers longest since Jared Ross had points in 11 straight in 2004-05.

• In the postgame press conference, Robert Morris coach Schooley talked about his team’s move to Atlantic Hockey with Niagara next season. “When you play a team seven times in a season, that’s when you get a 1-0 game. They know what we do and we know what they do. And tomorrow, whoever we play for the seventh time will know again. We’re going into a very good league that will be even stronger with the addition of our two teams. And to be able to play different teams and not the same three teams over and over again is going to help everybody. We’re excited about the move and those who doubted our move to Atlantic Hockey are dead wrong for a lot of reasons. Everybody is sick of playing the same teams and you guys are sick of me in this building. I still need to come back, but it’s only once or twice a year. Bemidji has a great home; we have a very good home with Niagara and now it’s time to help Huntsville.”

• The conference tournament host hotel is the first I’ve stayed at in probably 20 years with a television remote control attached to a 10-foot wire. I guess that means it’s not a remote control, but a local control. Takes me back to 1980-something.

BOX SCORE

No. 2 Robert Morris vs No.3 Alabama-Huntsville
Robert Morris: 10-18-5 (6-9-3 CHA)
Alabama-Huntsville: 10-17-3 (6-10-2 CHA)
Season Series: Robert Morris leads, 3-2-1
Colonials Fact: RMU has had a different make-up to its top line in each of the last four games.
Chargers Fact: Junior goaltender Cameron Talbot played in all 30 games for UAH this season and was the starter in all but one.
How Robert Morris Wins: Get into an offensive, up-and-down tempo to force the Chargers to play from behind with a weak offense. UAH scored the second-fewest goals in Division I with 68 in 30 games.
How Alabama-Huntsville Wins: Score with the man advantage. The Chargers scored five goals on 18 power-play chances in games in which they beat or tied the Colonials this season, and one goal in 16 power-play chances in the three losses.

Playoff Preview Capsules: Atlantic | CCHA | CHA | ECACH | Hockey East | WCHA

Conference Recaps: Atlantic | CCHA | CHA | ECACH | Hockey East | WCHA

Who could pull the upset over the Beavers, rated tenth in the most recent INCH Power Rankings? Last-place Niagara won one of two games against BSU at Dwyer Arena this season—site of this year’s conference tourney. Robert Morris has beaten the Beavers in consecutive games, one in Minnesota and one in Pennsylvania. And Alabama-Huntsville finished the regular season last weekend with a 2-2 tie versus the green and white.

In a four-team conference, it takes just two wins to earn a ring. And as Chargers head coach Danton Cole said in this space last week, “We saw it with Bemidji last year—you go in and play hard and anybody can beat anybody. I know we say that a lot, but it can happen. A guy makes two or three good saves over a weekend and all of a sudden you’re moving on. … If you win one game you’re playing the next game for the championship.”

Let the final postseason in College Hockey America history begin …

THE FAVORITE

Bemidji State freshman Jordan George, the league's top scorer among rookies, scored 33 points in 33 games for the Beavers.

Have you been paying any attention at all? Bemidji State won more games this season than any other two CHA teams combined, and the Beavers were ranked as high as seventh in the nation at various points this season after their run to the Frozen Four a year ago.

The question heading into the season was goaltending, and Dan Bakala has more than replaced Matt Dalton in net. He came into the season without a minute of NCAA playing time, but has a 2.13 goals against average, which places him tenth in the nation.

Three of BSU’s of eight losses and one of their three ties have come in the last nine games. But they’ve allowed more than two goals in a game just once in their last seven. If they are going to be upset, it will take a stellar defensive effort in a low-scoring contest.

THE GATE CRASHER

This is about as even as you can get.

The three teams not named Bemidji State (Robert Morris, Alabama-Huntsville, Niagara) finished with the same number of conference wins and within one win of each other in all games. The Colonials were hot in January and early February, but have dropped four of their last five. The Chargers are 1-4-1 over their last six, though two of the losses were by one goal. The Purple Eagles have won four of their last five and three of their last four at home.

With four of their top five scorers knowing this is their final go-round as seniors and the home ice crowd behind them, the Purps might be worth taking as an underdog. But the RMU-UAH season series was only 3-2-1 advantage for the Colonials … well, you get the picture.

INCH’s ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

G – Dan Bakala, Bemidji State. For those who think the CHA is a weak conference for building stats, probably his most impressive number is his .925 save percentage in all games (sixth in the nation)  versus his .929 save percentage against conference opponents.

D - Brad Hunt, Bemidji State. Despite increased attention from opposing defenses, the sophomore came within one point of matching his freshman total. He netted seven goals—five on the power play—with 24 assists while being paired with a freshman defensive partner most nights.

D – Denny Urban, Robert Morris. Ten goals and 24 points put him third on the Colonials’ scoring list this season, and his three game-winning goals led the team. He saw an awful lot of ice time when the Colonials blueline was hit with injuries in December.

F – Matt Read, Bemidji State. See below for more on Read.

F – Chris Moran, Niagara. The Buffalo native once again started the season slow, but came on like gang-busters in the second half. He finishes his college career as Niagara’s all-time assists leader and fourth on the school’s points list with 138. His 31 assists this season were sixth best in the nation.

F – Nathan Longpre, Robert Morris. The junior obviously missed former linemate Chris Margott as his assist numbers were off from a year ago, but he still finished with 13 goals, his highest single-season goal total.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Bemidji State’s Tom Serratore isn’t one for self-promotion or giving away much information to the press. Most of his interview answers contain the phrase, “You know what”, and are stream-of-consciousness responses. But he has made believers of so-called small-town college hockey doubters by taking his Beavers to a third consecutive CHA regular season title.

There was doubt that BSU could return to their lofty level of a year ago after losing starting goaltender Matt Dalton to the pros and senior defenseman Cody Bostock to graduation, but that question was more than answered in the form of an eight-game unbeaten streak to open the season and a 14-2-1 record through the first weekend of December.

And don’t for a moment think their schedule was soft. They were 9-5-2 out of conference including 4-4 against current and future WCHA opponents.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Junior Matt Read of Bemidji State matched his point total of last season with 40 while setting a personal best with 19 goals. The Ilderton, Ontario, native was a focal point of the opponent’s attention among the forwards, but would still emerge just about every game to contribute.

In three seasons, Read has a plus-minus rating of +59 and the Beavers are 31-7-2 when he scores a goal, which included a 14-2-1 mark this season. In 107 career games, he has piled up 107 points and sits alone in fourth place on the BSU scoring list; he is also fourth in assists (64) and seventh in goals scored (43). A return visit to an NHL rookie camp this summer is a given.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Bemidji State newcomer Jordan George is listed at 5-8 and 155 pounds, but he tore through the conference, just as teammate Read did in his first year when he scored nine goals and 18 assists. The Madison, Wis., native netted 13 goals and added 20 assists. Only three of his goals were on the power play and one was shorthanded. He finished fifth in the nation in rookie scoring. George’s point total is almost double that of the next highest scoring conference freshman, Matti Jarvinen of Alabama-Huntsville, who was also named to the CHA All-Rookie team.

BREAKTHROUGH PLAYER

When Bemidji State lost more 40 percent of its scoring to graduation last season, questions were aplenty as to whom, if anyone, would fill the void. With four career goals in 57 games, Ian Lowe did not appear to be a candidate. Lowe helped give the Beavers the scoring depth they needed. Playing on a line with Read and George, Lowe scored 19 goals, a conference-best eight power-play markers, a team-high four game-winning goals, and a career-high 10 assists.

Other Conference Recaps: Atlantic | CCHA | CHA | ECACH | Hockey East | WCHA

Playoff Preview Capsules: Atlantic | CCHA | CHA | ECACH | Hockey East | WCHA

This weekend marks the third-from-final last with the final weekend of the regular season. Still to come are the last conference playoff and the last champion.

But even with the finality of these lasts and the fact that Bemidji State clinched the last regular season title it seems eons (but really only two weeks) ago, there are still numerous unknowns as we head to the final at least 240 minutes of the regular season.

The only other given is that second place Robert Morris can fall no lower than third and last place Niagara can rise no higher than third. The Colonials, coming off a game-less weekend, are home-and-home with Niagara for their final two tilts of the regular season and Bemidji State will travel to Alabama-Huntsville for the second time this season coming off a non-conference split at Nebraska-Omaha. The Beavers won both games in Rocket Town back in late October, but both were overtime affairs.

It would be a bit of an understatement to say Robert Morris and Niagara have developed a bit of a dislike for each other. That usually happens when you play each other six times a year plus a semi-final playoff game in each of the last two years.

This season, the four games so far have resulted on one win and one loss for each and two ties. Each team’s loss happened on their home ice.

Two points earned by the Colonials would clinch second place and last line change for their CHA semi-final.

Niagara needs to sweep and get help with two losses by UAH to Bemidji State to change their current playoff status and a first round game with Bemidji State. A leap into third with the above scenario would mean a semifinal matchup with Robert Morris for the third consecutive season.

“I just feel the positive momentum with the spirit and attitude going in the right direction,” Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder said after junior forward Brian Haczyk netted his second game-winning goal in as many games Saturday. “It’s been a frustrating season when you look at our record. But when we take short, 35 second shifts going all out, we’re a tough team to play.”

“We need to go into the playoffs with some momentum. (Taking) two out of three games on a normal weekend we would be content, but with our situation coming in, we’re not happy. We need two really good games with Bobby Mo and go in with momentum.”

For Alabama-Huntsville they are one point from finishing the regular season out of the CHA basement for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign. They salvaged the final game of their unique three-game series at Niagara last weekend with Neil Ruffini scoring his second goal of the game in overtime.

“It was hard to get our feet back under us, but a game is a game,” said Ruffini about the three games in three nights. “This was the tiebreaker for us (with Niagara), so we wanted go ahead in the series and we gave it our all.”

“With four teams it’s different than other leagues that want to earn a first round bye and all that,” said Chargers head coach Danton Cole. “In our league, if you win one game you’re playing the next game for the championship. And there are no easy games. This league is pretty good. I think it’s underestimated with Robert Morris probably the hottest team in our league. Obviously Niagara is playing some good hockey, we all know what Bemidji (State) is all about and we’re no slouches either.”

“We can all jockey around all we want but come two Fridays from now, whoever you line up against, beat them and move on. And our seniors were there three years ago when we won three games and it’s still in a lot of our guy’s minds”

“We saw it with Bemidji last year — you go in and play hard and anybody can beat anybody. I know we say that a lot, but it can happen. A guy makes two or three good saves over a weekend and all of a sudden you’re moving on.”

FRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG

• Alabama-Huntsville is one of just five teams in the nation who have yet to score short-handed. The others: Bowling Green, Cornell, Merrimack and Providence.

• Chargers senior forward Cale Tanaka played in game one at Niagara, but then sat out the Saturday game. He was a game-time decision Sunday and, after the warm-up, played. Teammate Vince Bruni was injured Saturday and was scratched Sunday. Defenseman Curtis DeBruyn was slow to get up after a hit on Sunday plus backup goaltender Blake MacNicol did not dress in the entire month of February and was questionable for the final regular season weekend. “I’ve been here almost three years now and we really haven’t had any injuries until the last half of this year,” Cole said. “And it’s been weird stuff, but sometimes the injured animal is a little bit dangerous.”

• At Sunday’s UAH-Niagara game, the referee crew of Chris Foote, Jim Visconte, Chris Woodworth and Donald Jablonski Jr. were gathered on the ice watching the end of the USA-Canada gold medal game on the TVs in the private club area just prior to the start of the third period.

• This weekend at Alabama-Huntsville, the Stanley Cup will be available for pictures prior to and during Friday night’s game against the Beavers. The Chargers will also be wearing camouflage jerseys which will be sold as a fundraiser for the team.

• Niagara senior defenseman Ryan Annesley had surgery on his left shoulder last Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season. He could apply for a medical redshirt to play next year since he only appeared in seven games this season.

The Purple Eagles won 14 games when just a fledging second year team in the process of turning into a Division I program in 1997-98 and duplicated that win total in 2000-2001 during current UMass-Lowell head coach Blaise McDonald’s final season in western New York.

Only once before in the history of the College Hockey America conference have the Purps finished below .500 in conference play (2001-02 when they were 8-10-1).

With just two conference wins to this point and five games remaining in the regular season, the Purps will not only finish below .500 for the second time, but also will finish with the fewest conference victories in their history even should they find their rhythm and sweep the schedule.

But even with all of those negatives, they still enter their rare three-game weekend against Alabama-Huntsville (the Sunday game a reschedule of the Feb. 13 game due to the campus shooting in Huntsville) with their fate in their own hands and not officially eliminated from the race for second place.

Should the Purps win out, they would leapfrog both third place Alabama-Huntsville and Robert Morris into second place and be the home team for the semi-finals of the CHA playoffs.

“It is disappointing,” Burkholder said to the Niagara Gazette two weeks ago of his club’s struggles against CHA teams. “It’s a good league. It is certainly not where we hoped or we anticipated where we would be.”

While senior forward Egor Mironov returned for two games from a shoulder injury before missing the second game in last weekend’s Bemidji State series, the club has been without senior defenseman Ryan Annesley all but seven games this season—also with a shoulder problem.

Both games last weekend featured seven freshmen skaters in the lineup including three on defense. Saturday they added freshman goaltender Andrew Hare to make eight.

But it’s not like the Purple Eagles are getting blown out either. Six of their last seven conference games have been one goal losses or a tie. And their two conference wins have come against nationally-ranked Bemidji State at home and at second place Robert Morris (plus two ties against the Colonials).

The CHA watched last place Alabama-Huntsville get hot at the right time and advance to the NCAA tournament three seasons ago with a semi-final win against Niagara part of the process. And they did it in Des Moines instead of their home ice. The Purple Eagles are hoping to replicate the same in three weeks.

FRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG

• Bemidji State bid farewell to the John S. Glas Fieldhouse last weekend after posting a 502-145-41 overall record. On hand was Elfrida Glas, widow of the building’s namesake with a ceremonial puck drop by legendary head coach R.H. “Bob” Peters.

• Beavers forward Matt Read became the seventh player in Bemidji State history to reach the 100-point mark with a goal Friday against Niagara.

• Every fan in attendance on Friday at Dwyer Arena for the Niagara-Alabama-Huntsville series opener will receive a blue and white pin to wear to show support for UAH students, faculty and staff following the campus shooting two weeks ago.

• Alabama-Huntsville freshman defenseman Curtis deBruyn scored his first collegiate goal in the Chargers win over Robert Morris Friday.

• Robert Morris enjoys their first week off since Christmas this coming Friday and Saturday.