Inside College Hockey | National Notebook

January 7, 2009

WCHA Stick Salute, Bench Minor, Great Weekend Getaway

By Jess Myers

STICK SALUTE

Love his team or hate it, Don Lucia (pictured, right) is one of the more successful and influential coaches to ever make his living in the WCHA. He rescued one program (Colorado College) from a 40-year funk and rebuilt another (Minnesota) to perennial contender status. Now there’s a mysterious illness keeping him away from the rink. As he watches his team from afar this weekend we wish Coach Lucia good luck in the medical tests and a speedy return to the Gopher bench.

BENCH MINOR

WCHA fans look to the holidays as a chance to be with family, and a chance to watch their teams travel to tournaments and flex their league muscle. So why was there so little WCHA flexing going on in late December and early January? Yes, Minnesota and Wisconsin won their tournaments, but the Gophers needed overtime and the Badgers needed a shootout. Michigan Tech and North Dakota returned from the GLI sans hardware, Minnesota Duluth and Denver were both runners-up in their holiday affairs, St. Cloud State went winless in Florida, and Minnesota State dropped a road pair to ECAC Hockey foes. So much for that “superior conference” stuff.

GREAT WEEKEND GETAWAY

Minnesota at North Dakota, Fri.-Sat.

A great slate of games on tap this weekend, with Minnesota Duluth visiting St. Cloud State and Wisconsin’s trip to Alaska Anchorage among the more interesting matchups. But if we had to pick one road trip to make, we’d choose the Red River Valley, where North Dakota hosts Minnesota in the WCHA’s version of an “Original Six” battle. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that interim skipper John Hill will be running the show behind the Gopher bench, and if the Sioux are ever going to make a move in the league standings, time is a-wasting.

While You’re There: Some of the folks in greater Grand Forks still like their community thought of as an “edge of the frontier” western town. That theme used to be prevalent when visiting hockey teams stayed at the Fabulous Westward Ho motel, which was adjoined by a great western-theme sports bar and casino, and the Frontier Spirits Package Store. Alas, the Ho is no more, but if you want a good meal with a wild west feel, mosey on over to the Bronze Boot, just north of Gateway Drive on Highway 81 for great steaks, chops and other fine open pit broiled meats. My last visit there was in midst of a driving blizzard, where the cold of the outside was forgotten amid a massive lunch buffet that featured such non-health food as side pork with gravy. Of course, we like health food about as much as we like shootouts.

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January 7, 2009

CCHA Stick Salute, Bench Minor, Great Weekend Getaway

By James V. Dowd

STICK SALUTE

Erik Gustafsson and his Northern Michigan teammates swept Wisconsin at the Kohl Center last weekend.

Yes, Wisconsin was missing a couple of its top players in Ottawa for the World Junior Championships, but Northern Michigan definitely took a step in the right direction by capitalizing on the Badgers’ short-handedness and earning a sweep last weekend in Madison. The Wildcats were picked as a top-four contender in the CCHA standings heading into the season, but sunk to 11th place with continually underwhelming performances. If coach Walt Kyle can harness some momentum from the two wins, look for even more surprises in what promises to be a tumultuous second half of the CCHA season.

BENCH MINOR

It’s been a recurring theme for Michigan State throughout this season, but seriously, Spartans, can’t you spring Jeff Lerg a break on a more consistent basis? Relative to their first-half performance, the Spartans had a good holiday run, going 2-2 in the Great Lakes Invitational and a series against Alaska over the past two weekends. But in those four games, the senior stalwart stopped a very impressive 147 of 157 shots for a .936 save percentage, while the offense scored six goals on 109 shots. For those keeping track at home, that means Michigan State has been generating 12 less shots per game than their opponents over the last four games.

GREAT WEEKEND GETAWAY

Miami at Michigan, Fri.-Sat.

Miami did what it usually does so well at this past weekend’s Ohio Hockey Classic, as the men from Oxford outshot Clarkson and Army by a combined 100-38 margin at Value City Arena in Columbus. But despite the impressive volume of shots, only four of those 100 went in, while the Knights Golden and Black slipped 7 past Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp. Michigan, on the other hand and in a reversal of the two teams’ first halves, was very impressive during the Great Lakes Invitational in scoring five goals each on Michigan Tech and Michigan State while surrendering just one.

This weekend has the potential to play a critical role in the rise or demise of either team, as Miami tries to keep pace with Notre Dame, and Michigan tries to stay in the top-four mix. Remember that Miami romped past the Wolverines at home in convincing 2-0 and 2-1 victories in November, so it should come in with quiet confidence against a Michigan team raring for some revenge.

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January 7, 2009

CHA Notes: Niagara’s New Year Toast

By Warren Kozireski

Chris Moran (in white) had two goals and an assist in Niagara's sweep of Sacred Heart last weekend.

Niagara goaltender Juliano Pagliero gave a new meaning to a New Year’s toast as he registered his third shutout of the season last weekend as the Purple Eagles started their second half with a sweep at Sacred Heart. Chris Moran and Vince Rocco each had two goals and an assist in the series. The Purps’ winning streak has now reached four games.

“It was tough in a rink like this,” coach Dave Burkholder told the Niagara Gazette. “We played well defensively and we got a big road win.”

Niagara travels to Cornell (fourth in this week’s INCH Power Rankings) for two games this weekend, and you may not want to take your eyes off the ice for fear of missing the goal of the game. Cornell’s Ben Scrivens is second in the nation in both goals against average (1.38) and save percentage (.947); Pagliero ranks 16th (2.08) and 12th (.930), respectively.

The Purple Eagles haven’t beaten the Big Red since the title game of the Syracuse Invitational in 2000, but three of the losses since that game were one-goal affairs, including a match last season in which Cornell scored to take the lead with three minutes remaining in regulation.

17 and Counting

Robert Morris has played 17 games this season and in each and every one of them, their opponent has scored first. That didn’t deter the Colonials last weekend as, for the third time this season, they took three points from an opponent, earning a win and a tie against American International on the Island.

Following RMU’s two prior three-point weekends, the Colonials spun out with losing streaks of two and four games, respectively. They’re banking on history not repeating itself as they jump right back into conference play with a trip to Alabama-Huntsville this weekend. The two-game set marks the second of three series between the two teams this season.

The Colonials, coincidentally, tied and won at home Oct. 31-Nov. 1. RMU pounded Charger goaltender Cameron Talbot with 72 shots in the two games. There was also scrum at the final horn of the second game, which could lead to emotions running high in this weekend’s series as well.

Alabama-Huntsville is fresh off its consolation game victory over Harvard at the Badger Showdown in Madison two weeks ago with Blake MacNicol seeing his first action in goal since November.

Darts and Hand Grenades

Heading into last weekend’s home-and-home series with North Dakota, Bemidji State had a 0-12-1 record against the Fighting Sioux as a Division I member.

In the first game in Bemidji, the Beavers held a 3-2 first-period lead but couldn’t make it stand up in a 4-3 loss. In Grand Forks the following night, Tyler Scofield scored a power-play marker midway through the third period to tie the game, but freshman Brett Hextall scored a power-play goal just 31 seconds into the overtime to secure the Sioux sweep.

The power play that carried over into the extra session was the result of a checking-from-behind call on BSU’s Brad Hunt with 59 seconds left in regulation. Senior goalie Orlando Alamano, in his first start since Oct. 25, and made 36 saves in net. He was also the goaltender of record in a 1-0 loss to North Dakota last season.

“I don’t now what to say right now … it’s a devastating loss,” coach Tom Serratore told the Bemidji Pioneer after Saturday’s defeat. “We played a wonderful third period and fought our way back into the game. It was a very hard way to lose.”

Bemidji State is off this week before traveling to Minnesota Duluth for two games Jan. 17-18.

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January 7, 2009

CHA Fries at the Bottom of the Bag

By Warren Kozireski

· Alabama-Huntsville defenseman Davide Nicoletti and forward Vince Bruni are expected to be available for this weekend’s series against Robert Morris. Nicoletti hasn’t played a game all season after missing just three all of last year and Bruni’s last appearance was Nov. 22.

· Niagara newcomer Ryan Craig, who joined the team during the holiday break, played left wing on the fourth line in game two of the Sacred Heart series last weekend.

· Bemidji State is the only team in the conference yet to score a shorthanded goal this season. Connecticut is the only other D-I team without a shortie.

· Robert Morris and Niagara are among the ten least-penalized teams in Division I this season.

· Speaking of Robert Morris, the Colonials display a nice Christmas card on their Facebook page with the team gathered around the net — wish they sent one to me …

· One week until the NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C., where the Western Collegiate Hockey Association is scheduled to vote on lifting its expansion moratorium. The WCHA meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 15from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.