With all of the skilled offensive players that Boston College has, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of them all. Opposing coaches may try to focus on Chris Kreider or Johnny Gaudreau, only to get burned by Pat Mullane or Steven Whitney.

Or Paul Carey… with as many weapons as the Eagles have, it’s easy to lose sight of Carey, a native of Weymouth, Mass., who is one of just six seniors for Boston College. Carey has been ever-present for BC this season, collecting 27 points on 15 goals and 12 assists, including four power play tallies and a pair of game-winners. A draft pick of the Colorado Avalanche, Carey has 83 points in his four-year career, having appeared in 145 games entering the Frozen Four.

Carey and his fellow seniors will be trying to add to the national title that they claimed as sophomores in 2010, while at the same time attempting to erase the memories of last season’s surprising loss in the NCAA West Regional. INCH caught up with Carey as the Eagles prepare for next weekend’s semifinal matchup with Minnesota.

Kevin Zeise: You guys have won everything you’ve set out to win this season—the Beanpot, the Hockey East regular season and tournament championships, the Northeast Region—so do you feel any pressure to finish the job with two more wins next weekend in Tampa?

Paul Carey: I don’t think there’s any pressure, I just think that’s what we set out to do. We don’t feel there’s pressure to win; we want to win, that’s what we strive for, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

INCH: What’s it going to mean for this year’s group of seniors to close out your career with another national title?

Carey: That’d be incredible. There’s no better way to end your college career than on top, and that’s what we hope to do. It just makes a special bond between you and your team that will last forever.

INCH: Facing Minnesota in the semifinals next weekend, what does it mean to face a program that has as strong of a reputation as the what Boston College has in order to get to the championship game?

Carey: We’re very excited. Just talking to the seniors, and we talked about how it’s kind of special to play different teams and as many teams as you can in school. Duluth was a team we’d never played, and we’re excited to play Minnesota because we’ve never skated with them. They’re such a great program with a great history, so I think it’s going to be a good matchup. It should be a high-skilled, high-speed, energetic, entertaining game.

INCH: What was the feeling like in the closing moments against Duluth, knowing you were going back to the Frozen Four?

Carey: It was a real special feeling. It’s such a great group of guys we have here, and being a senior, I didn’t want my career to end like that. We’re all very excited that we get to play more games with this group of guys and head down to Tampa and soak up all the fun and great things that come along with going to the Frozen Four.

INCH: How big of a role has the memory of last season’s loss to Colorado College been in your team’s setting out to accomplish your goals this year?

Carey: That game, we put it in the past, but at the same time, you can’t help but think you could have been here the year before. I think we learned from last year, we had such a great team and for whatever reason, we couldn’t get past Colorado. We had a bitter taste in our mouths after last year’s tournament, so we really came out a lot hungerier this year.

INCH: What do you expect to see out of yourself on the ice next weekend?

Carey: Being a senior leader, I expect to bring a lot of energy to the game. Skating, forechecking, backchecking, get pucks to the net, do all the little things that in turn will add up, and some of the younger guys will try to mimic what some of the older guys do. Don’t cheat the game at all, and play right, and I think we’ll come out on top.

INCH: How important is it for the older guys on the team to make sure the younger players know what is expected of a player at Boston College?

Carey: It’s pretty easy to be a leader at BC because Coach York does such a great job of recruiting great young guys. The younger guys don’t need too much advice, they just go about their day and they try to mimic the upperclassmen because we have been there and we have been very successful. I think that being great kids and having good character, it’s really easy to lead these guys.

INCH: So it’s more leading by example than anything that you might say or do in the locker room?

Carey: Absolutely. Whether it’s in the weight room, on the ice, how we conduct ourselves on campus, we try to set the bar high for the younger guys to imitate.

The INCH Podcast checks in with a nearly two-hour discussion about the recently completed NCAA Tournament regionals and Frozen Four teams Boston College, Ferris State, Minnesota and Union. Thoughts on the games and teams carry the first half, and the second half of the podcast talks about some of the surrounding issues such as television coverage, attendance and Twitter etiquette.

INCH Podcast – March 26, 2012 (.mp3)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (26.8MB)

ANOTHER SHUTOUT FOR BC
Boston College 4, Minnesota Duluth 0 | Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – It was as apparent as ever on Sunday night that there’s no such thing as an embarrassment of riches when it comes to depth in college hockey.

With Boston College boasting three lines and Minnesota Duluth two sets of forwards that have outscored many top lines in the country, it was the Eagles who came out on top, with goals while each of their top three lines were on the ice to defeat the defending national champion Bulldogs 4-0 at the DCU Center and move on to the Frozen Four in Tampa.

Parker Milner

“That’s why we’re moving on here,” York said. “I’m not sure if I’m an opposing coach which line I’d try to check with. Is it Billy Arnold’s line, is it Pat Mullane’s line, Kevin Hayes? We’re pretty deep up front, so that’s a challenge that coaches have with one checking line. Who do we put them against?”

It was the Eagles’ third line – on the line chart, at least – that opened the scoring at the 4:01 mark of the second period. Forward Pat Mullane tipped in a rebound from a Paul Carey shot to give the Eagles a one-goal lead that quickly grew when the first line joined the fun with a tally from Bill Arnold just 1:26 later.

The Eagles added third period goals by defenseman Patrick Wey – while Boston College’s second forward line was on the ice, of course – and third-liner Johnny Gaudreau to give Boston College its tenth trip to the Frozen Four since Jerry York became coach in 1994.

In its opening round victory against Maine, Minnesota Duluth showed the value in its checking line forwards, as Keegan Flaherty, Jake Hendrickson and David Grun did an exemplary job shutting down the Black Bears’ top line – one that is among the most prolific scoring lines in the country – but asking them to shut down multiple equally-productive lines was a tall task.

“If you look up and down their roster, you can see all of their lines producing points for them,” Minnesota Duluth defenseman Brady Lamb said. “They’re very deep that way. It helped to have the home ice last night to make matching up a little easier, in terms of tonight, they’re pretty deep and we tried to roll six (defensemen) all night, but unfortunately they got some key goals and their depth definitely helped them tonight.”

The success of the Eagles’ depth gave Boston College its eighth straight NCAA Tournament win at the DCU Center, and improves their all-time tournament record at the venue to 10-1.

If Boston College can emulate their success of rolling lines and racking up goals from each group, the prospects of York’s fourth national championship at Boston College are a real possibility, and, for what it’s worth, each of those three previous titles started the same way that this tournament has – with a regional victory in Worcester.

SEEN AND HEARD AT DCU CENTER

Milner the MVP: Depth up front was a key for Boston College, but the building block for their success was the shutout play of goaltender and the regional’s most outstanding player, Parker Milner.

Milner saved all 33 shots thrown his way by the Bulldogs and all 20 from Air Force on Saturday night to help give the talented top lines confidence to build from.

“There’s an old axiom, if you’re a good club and you’re going to be a successful coach you have a gag rule, they call it,” York said. “Get a good goaltender. I think that ability to save pucks helps with confidence for all of our players. We just become a better defensive team, and we become a better offensive team because we’re not going to center ice to face off because they scored a goal.”

Milner’s two victories made him the first netminder to post back-to-back shutouts in an NCAA Regional since Boston College’s Cory Schneider did so against Miami and Boston University in 2006 – at the DCU Center, of course.

A Bright Future For The Bulldogs: Having won the national championship last year, and having played most of this year at or near the top of the national rankings, it’s fair to say that expectations for future Minnesota Duluth teams are higher than ever.

Coach Scott Sandelin gave his departing seniors credit for helping to raise the bar for the future of Bullldog hockey.

“I want to make sure that I acknowledge our seniors,” Sandelin said. “They’ve been a tremendous group. They have accomplished a lot, and they’ve helped our program get to some spots that we haven’t been to. Certainly they leave here with a national championship and they set a standard for our program that we hope to carry forward.”

Sandelin also pointed out that the longevity of this senior class and their decisions to stay in school played a big factor in advancing the program at Minnesota Duluth.

“It’s getting tougher and tougher in today’s game with the early departures,” Sandelin said. “I think that team we played tonight is going to lose a few guys at the end of this year. It’s tough to see those guys go. We were fortunate to keep a guy like Jack Connolly for four years.”

A Two-Way Star: With 30 points on the year after scoring a goal tonight, it’s no secret that Arnold is an excellent offensive player with great prospects for a future in pro hockey. The best part of his game this weekend was the aspect that gives him such a bright future: his defensive play, particularly on the penalty kill.

“He’s just a good, solid player,” York said. “He’s on our power play, he’s on our (penalty kill), when we have 5-on-3 against, he’s a key player. He’s a big body, he blocks shots and he’s a smart player. You look at your bench and think about who’s going to play in those situations and if he’s not in the box, he’s going to be there.”

On the night, Arnold earned a plus-1 rating and took four shots on goal.

PLUS-MINUS

Milner was solid all weekend, and has had a second half of the season for the ages, averaging just 1.17 goals against and a .957 save percentage in Boston College’s 16 wins prior to extending the streak to 17 on Sunday. The junior overcame early-season doubts that he could successfully replace John Muse, who won two national championships in four years, and some mid-season struggles to make himself the cornerstone of this Frozen Four team.

Boston College was nearly flawless for 60 minutes, but if York will chastise them for anything, it should be the string of third period penalties that might have put their lead in jeopardy. Lucky for York, his team’s penalty kill is amongst the best in the country and Milner was superb in those few harrowing minutes.

NCAA NORTHEAST REGIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

G – Parker Milner, Boston College
D – Tommy Cross, Boston College
D – Patrick Wey, Boston College
F – Jack Connolly, Minnesota-Duluth
F – Jake Hendrickson, Minnesota-Duluth
F – Chris Kreider, Boston College

WHAT’S NEXT

The Eagles move on to Tampa, where they’ll face off against a Minnesota team that has many of the same characteristics: depth, solid defensemen, experienced coaches and strong goaltending. York said that his team will take a few days to relish the regional title before moving on to study Minnesota.

NEW THIRD LINE CLICKS AS GOPHERS ADVANCE TO TAMPA
Minnesota 5, North Dakota 2 | Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Things went pretty smoothly for Minnesota all season as the Gophers’ run to the WCHA’s regular-season title did not include a losing streak of longer than three games. But Don Lucia has been through enough playoff runs to know that scoring depth can often mean the difference between a great season and a championship season.

So heading into the NCAA West Regional, Lucia’s focus was not on the Gophers’ collapse against North Dakota in the WCHA Final Five a week earlier; it was on coaxing some more offense out of the third line, looking for a complement to the consistent top two units. He moved Taylor Matson from center to a wing, dropped Seth Ambroz to the fourth line, and promoted rookie Travis Boyd to the middle of the third line—this despite the fact Boyd had yet to find the back of a college hockey net.

As he smiled broadly at the post-game press conference after the Gophers’ 5-2 win over North Dakota Sunday, Lucia reflected on the moves and how well they’d paid off in getting his team back to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2005. Third-liners Boyd, Matson, and Nate Condon each had a goal and an assist. Boyd’s first collegiate goal was the clincher, giving the Gophers a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes.

“We thought we needed something to jump start it,” Lucia said. “Both (Matson) and (Condon) had not scored for a while. It was Matson’s first goal in 17 games. We knew we needed to get more scoring. We toyed with it the week before. After last week, we thought, ‘Let’s try it.’ We had a full week of practice. It was a concern moving a freshman up the middle with how well he would defend. I thought (Boyd) did a great job. I thought he had a great game last weekend. We needed that tonight.”

For a unit that had played together for all of one game (Minnesota’s 7-3 win over Boston University in the regional opener), the trio clicked immediately.

“We’ve had great chemistry throughout this whole week of practice,” Matson said after a game in which he scored the eventual game-winner. “Last week we had a lot of chances as well and we just missed some of those chances. Our game plan tonight was to keep playing hard and when we got those chances we just capitalized on them”

Not so for North Dakota, which saw its best opportunity to get back in the game go for naught in a second period that started poorly and ended poorly. Erik Haula scored on a power play just 20 seconds into the period to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead, but Danny Kristo answered right away, cutting the Gophers lead in half less than two minutes into the period. And that was the last shot Kent Patterson would face for a long, long time.

The Gophers outshot North Dakota, 12-2, in the period and had a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes. North Dakota was never seriously in contention again.

“I think the difference was the second period where they took advantage of some momentum after we went 2-1,” said North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol. “Had we been able to push that to a 2-2 game or take a one-goal game into the third period, it would’ve been much different. … I thought we had a good push to start the third period. It just wasn’t enough tonight.”

SEEN AND HEARD AT THE X

• Less than 24 hours after a disappointing end to his team’s season at the regional in Worcester, Mass., Air Force coach Frank Serratore was in St. Paul playing the role of happy hockey dad. Wearing a blue Air Force jacket, Serratore cheered for the Gophers as his son, fourth-line sophomore forward Tom, became the most recent member of the family to advance to a Frozen Four. Three years ago, his brother, also named Tom, guided Bemidji State to its first Frozen Four appearance.

• Mario Lamoureux scored North Dakota’s second goal in his final collegiate game, ending a long run of members of the Lamoureux family contributing to North Dakota hockey. “I think I’m going to have to be around for a hell of a long time before I get another one on the team,” Hakstol joked. “They’re just a great family. History and tradition is such a big part of our program. To have that family involved over so much time and to have that deep of an investment is pretty special.”

• The Frozen Four in Tampa is three-fourths of a reunion of the 2010 Mariucci Classic, in which Minnesota, Union, and Ferris State all gathered in Minneapolis.

• There’s something to be said for winning a conference regular-season championship, at least that’s what the Frozen Four field would indicate. “Union won their league, Ferris State won their league, and we won our league,” Lucia said, before he knew that Hockey East champion Boston College would advance as well.

PLUS-MINUS

Gophers strength coach Cal Dietz, the husband of an Olympic women’s hockey gold medal winner (the former Karyn Bye), apparently does more than keep the team in shape. According to the players, before the start of the third period it was Dietz who gave the rousing speech that inspired the team to a near-perfect final 20 minutes.

A few times recently in the Minnesota-North Dakota rivalry, the proceedings between the two teams have been downright nasty. Save for a few post-whistle dust-ups Sunday, the teams played it clean, which was refreshing, especially on a big stage of an NCAA regional final.

The Xcel Energy Center’s lower bowl was close to full. The upper level was closed as the somewhat disappointing crowd of less than 11,000 had some talking that it’s time to move the regionals back to campus sites.

INCH’S THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Danny Kristo, North Dakota: His goal in the second period gave North Dakota life, briefly, in a game in which they seemed to lack energy throughout.

2. Kent Patterson, Minnesota: Solid throughout in earning regional MVP honors, especially in the third period when he stopped 14 of North Dakota’s 15 shots.

1. Taylor Matson, Minnesota: He sparked the Gophers third line, which made much of the difference between a Frozen Four trip and the end of the season.

NCAA WEST REGIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

G – Kent Patterson, Minnesota
D – Ben Blood, North Dakota
D – Nate Schmidt, Minnesota
F – Danny Kristo, North Dakota
F – Brock Nelson, North Dakota
F – Kyle Rau, Minnesota

WHAT’S NEXT

Haula said that over the holidays he stayed at his father’s condo near Tampa and he’s been to a few Lightning games, but he’s never played a game in the Sunshine State. That will change in about 10 days when the Gophers face Boston College in the second Frozen Four semifinal game.

For North Dakota, the season ended abruptly after a 6-0 start to the playoffs which had them fully expecting to return to the Frozen Four.

“It’s impossible to try to, at this point in time, put the season into perspective,” Hakstol said after the game. “If we could sit down and do this in 48 hours, I probably would do a much better job of it.”

FERRIS STATE ON TO FIRST FROZEN FOUR
Ferris State 2, Cornell 1 | Box Score

If you like low-scoring defensive hockey games with a little offense sprinkled in, the Resch Center was the place to be on Saturday night.

Ferris State rode two third-period goals and rock-solid defense on its way to a 2-1 victory over Cornell in the NCAA Division I Midwest Regional hockey final. Ferris State will play in the Frozen Four semifinals against Union on April 5.

The Bulldogs are making their second appearance in the NCAA tournament and had never advanced to the Frozen Four before Saturday’s win.

Ferris State goaltender Taylor Nelson was named Most Outstanding Player at the Midwest Regional.

“This game was to be expected for how it played out,” Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels said. “We thought it would come down to a one-goal game or maybe go into overtime. There weren’t a whole lot of scoring chances for both teams. Both teams pride themselves on playing well defensively, so it was mission accomplished for us. It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but we got the job done.”

The loss by Cornell was the second season-ending defeat for the Big Red in the Midwest Regional final in the last seven years.

“It’s disappointing when you have so much invested,” said Cornell coach Mike Schafer. “Congratulations to Ferris for moving onto the Frozen Four. I’ve been in this situation a lot as a head coach. I really feel bad for the players and our whole staff. It’s tough to get so close and not get there.”

It took Cornell 16 minutes into the game to show any signs of life and record its first scoring chance. The Big Red barely possessed the puck in the Ferris State zone for most of the opening period. Three Cornell penalties didn’t help matters, either. The Big Red didn’t record their first shot on goal until over 13 minutes into the game.

Ferris State allowed only two goals in its two games of the Regional to make its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2003 a memorable one.

Garrett Thompson poked in a loose puck just 11 seconds into the third period on the power play to give Ferris a 1-0 lead.

Cornell came right back just over a minute later to tie the score at one on a goal by Dustin Mowrey on a back-handed shot after he split two Bulldogs defenders.

The Big Red had the momentum after the goal and a five-minute major to Ferris State’s T.J. Schlueter for checking from behind, but not only did the Bulldogs kill off the penalty, they scored 12 seconds after it expired.

Jordie Johnston took a pass from Andy Huff – who was serving Schlueter’s penalty and had just come out of the penalty box – on a two-on-one breakaway and buried a shot over the right shoulder of Cornell’s goalie, Andy Iles, to secure the victory for the Bulldogs.

After the Big Red pulled their goalie with under two minutes remaining, Ferris State goalie Taylor Nelson — who was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Midwest Regional — made the save of the night with just over a minute left to send the Bulldogs to Tampa. He snared a close-range chance from Cornell’s John Esposito with his catching glove before the puck hit the upper corner of the net.

“It’s pretty special,” Nelson said of his team’s trip to the Frozen Four. “Coming in as a freshman to Ferris State, I saw lots of memorabilia from the 2002-03 team, and to say that we surpassed what they had done that season is pretty special. We’re not satisfied yet, though. We are looking for two more wins.”

— Rich Palzewic

SEEN AND HEARD AT RESCH CENTER

• The crowd at the Resch Center was heavily in favor of Ferris State, and one of the largest cheers during the first two periods came when the scores from the other regions were announced by the in-house announcer. The biggest cheer, though, was reserved for Western Michigan’s 3-1 loss to North Dakota.

• Overheard on the concourse during the second intermission, with the game being tied 0-0: “What is it with Cornell and these scoreless games in the regional final?”

In 2006, Cornell and Wisconsin played a scoreless game at this very arena into the third overtime before the Badgers claimed a 1-0 victory.

• One of the themes throughout the weekend among the Ferris State players was to add to the 2003 season, the last and only time that the Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament. In advancing to the Frozen Four, this year’s Bulldogs have done the 2003 squad one better, and sophomore defenseman Scott Czarnowczan snapped up the puck just before the oncoming celebration from the Ferris State bench, sure to be a valued addition to the Ferris State trophy case.

PLUS-MINUS

Following Friday night’s game, Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick showed tremendous class in defeat, handing the puck from the game-winning goal to the Cornell coaching staff during the handshake line for semifinal hero Rodger Craig. On Saturday, it was Cornell netminder Andy Iles’ turn to be gracious in defeat, as the sophomore was the last player to leave the ice following the game after shaking hands with the Ferris State contingent and the on-ice officials.

Both Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels and Cornell head coach Mike Schafer took time out of their post-game remarks to mention the on- and off-ice balance and support of the administration for their particular programs. Schafer acknowledged his senior captain, Keir Ross, who is a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, for his work in biomedical research on Cornell’s campus. Daniels, meanwhile, credited the Ferris State administration for their outlook on the program as a whole. “They really understand the balance between athletics and student-athletes as a whole. They’re equally proud of our accomplishments on the ice as they are with our accomplishments off the ice, in our academics and the way it’s conducted itself,” Daniels said.

Later, Daniels expressed similar gratitude toward his players. “I’ve always thought about experiencing a Frozen Four, about what that would be like in my career, and I’m grateful to these players that because of their work, I get to do that… It’s got to be the players, because if it was the coaching, we’d have been there before,” he added with a chuckle and a grin.

Cornell’s first shot of the game wasn’t recorded until 7:13 remained in the first period, and drew a hearty cheer from the crowd. By the time the Big Red got their first shot on goal, the Bulldogs had already put 11 shots on Cornell netminder Andy Iles.

NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

F – Jordie Johnston, Ferris State
F – Dustin Mowrey, Cornell
F – Garrett Thompson, Ferris State
D – Chad Billins, Ferris State
D – Joakim Ryan, Cornell
G – Taylor Nelson, Ferris State (Most Outstanding Player)

INCH’s THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Andy Iles, Cornell: Iles made a number of strong saves and kept his club in the game while withstanding the early pressure put on by Ferris State in the first period.

2. Taylor Nelson, Ferris State: While Iles was strong early on in the contest, Nelson was at his best late, including making a snap save with the glove with just under a minute left in the contest to preserve the victory.

1. Jordie Johnston, Ferris State: Johnston made a strong move to score the game-winner, showing tremendous patience to settle the puck and wait for his opening before lifting his shot into the open net on a 2-on-1 break.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Ferris State Bulldogs had a week off before their CCHA playoff series against Bowling Green and the following week off after being upset by the Falcons. We’re sure they’ll be able to find a way to pass the time before a trip to Florida on the first week of April.

Cornell is a young team that is built for future NCAA Tournament runs. Disappointment will linger from the loss, but the experience gained may prove very valuable over the next two seasons.

— Kevin Zeise

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.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – In the amateur world of college hockey, Union coach Rick Bennett believes he is blessed to be working with a group of professional players.

The Dutchmen captured the NCAA East Regional with a 3-2 win over Massachusetts-Lowell on Saturday at the Arena at Harbor Yard. Sure, there was celebrating on the ice afterward but then the Union players immediately snapped back into the next shift, next game, next task mode that has served them well this season.

“I guess you have to be in the locker room to see it,” Bennett said. “They are pretty calm but in the same token they have a lot to celebrate about. It’s almost like they are professionals. It’s not scripted, it’s not something we go over. It’s just their demeanor. That’s the stuff when they were recruited that we really liked about them.”

Over the course of his three seasons, regional MVP Jeremy Welsh has seen the Union program rise steadily, from 15 wins the year before he showed up to 19 his freshman year, 21 last season and now a record 28 in a season that has at least one more date. The Dutchmen, making their first Frozen Four appearance, will take on Ferris State in one of the two semifinal matchups in Tampa on April 5.

Josh Jooris scored a big power-play goal in Union's victory.

Union made its first NCAA tourney appearance in 2011 when the Dutchmen lost to eventual national champ Minnesota-Duluth in the opening round, and the experience proved vital.

“I guess we can say it now … it was huge,” Welsh said. “Last year when we came here we had a big selection show and everyone on campus was patting our backs. The morale of the team was we felt we had already accomplished something, being the first Union team to be in the NCAA Tournament.

“This year was a completely different mindset. It is just kind of an organic growth you have. … It’s a natural thing, an identity and personality that the team has. The guys are still calm, cool and collected. Going forward, we are looking forward to winning some games. We’re not too high on ourselves right now. We’re just on the cusp of something even more special.”

Union carried the play to Lowell for much of the first 30 minutes, beating the River Hawks to pucks, issuing most of the hits and moving out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Daniel Ciampini and Welsh.

The River Hawks pulled within a goal on two occasions only to have the Dutchmen answer back.

“They’ve definitely got some good jump to their step,” said UML goalie Doug Carr, who made 35 saves. “They were getting a lot of pucks to the net. We knew that was going to come. They’re a good team, but so are we. We brought it back to them, especially later in the game. We played better and better but tonight just wasn’t good enough.”

The River Hawks committed a costly turnover barely three minutes into the game. A defenseman threw the puck away behind the net right to Kyle Bodie. He threw a quick pass out front to the freshman Ciampini, who scored his third goal of the season at the 3:03 mark.

Union moved out to a 2-0 lead at 7:12 of the second period. Daniel Carr fired a slap shot from the left point and Carr gave up a rebound out front. Union’s Daniel Carr followed up his shot and slid a short pass to Welsh, who beat Doug Carr from the slot.

Freshman Terrence Wallin gave the River Hawks a much-needed boost with a strong solo effort. Wallin broke down the left side, going wide to beat defenseman Shawn Stuart and put a backhand shot on net. The puck hit the dragging foot of Union defenseman Mat Bodie and went between Troy Grosenick’s legs at the 14:06 mark.

Josh Jooris staked the Dutchmen to a 3-1 lead with a power-play goal at 17:23 of the second. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere skated in from the blue line and got a shot off from close-in. Carr gave up another rebound and Jooris pounced on it with a backhand shot from the slot for his eighth goal of the season.

The River Hawks benefited from a bizarre turnover to pull within 3-2. Welsh gained the puck in the defensive zone and started to head behind the Union net. Before he reached the right post, Welsh attempted a questionable pass across the crease, which was picked off by Matt Ferreira right in front of the net and he beat Grosenick at the 5:43 mark.

Union’s Kyle Bodie scored into an empty net with 40.6 seconds left, although replays showed the play should have been called offside by 10 feet.

GROSENICK WOULD RATHER FOCUS ON WINS RATHER THAN HOBEY TALK

Union netminder Troy Grosenick doesn’t want to talk about the Hobey Baker Award, even if his weekend performance could make him one of the three finalists.

Grosenick made 20 saves in Friday’s 3-1 semifinal win over Michigan State. On Saturday, the sophomore was sharp from start to finish, making critical saves early in the first period and late in the third to support a 4-2 victory over UMass Lowell in the regional final.

Grosenick improved to 22-5-3, winning his seventh game in a row. He opened play Saturday as the No. 2 ranked goalie in the nation in goals against (1.63) and save percentage (.937).

“I am not worried about it whatsoever,” Grosenick said of the Hobey possibility. “If it happens, it happens. We’re focused on our team goals. It’s really all I have to say about that.”

Grosenick said he’s just doing his job and shifts the credit to his teammates, who made his life easier.

“(The defense is) a huge part of our success,” Grosenick said. “Guys in front of me have been awesome this year. The defense clears rebounds. I have a tendency to leave a few out there once in a while. They do a great job of letting me see the puck, and our forwards to a great job on the backcheck and blocking shots.”

Grosenick may have won the game for the Dutchmen in the third minute of action. A turnover led to a quick point-blank shot by UML’s Joseph Pendenza. Grosenick got a piece of the puck with his glove but it still got behind him. In an instant, Grosenick made a sweeping motion with his goal stick and knocked the tumbling puck off the goal line, a play confirmed by video review.

“I just kind of lunged back and Ghost (defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere) and I got a stick on it,” Grosenick said. “Luckily it didn’t go in. Ghost did a great job getting back and supporting me. That’s what it takes to win, strong defensive plays like that.”

Thirty seconds later, Union broke the scoreless draw and never trailed.

With under four minutes to play and the River Hawks pressing for the tying goal, a blast from the point forced Grosenick to sprawl on the ice and he used his blocker pad to make a critical stop.

“I can’t even remember to say other than I tossed my blocker up there and thankfully got a piece of it,” Grosenick described. “All it comes down to is battling to keep the puck out of the net. That’s really what the last 10 minutes of the game was for me. Everything kind of went out the window except focusing on keeping the puck out of the net.”

SEEN AND HEARD AT ARENA AT HARBOR YARD

Extra effort: Union received solid play from its third and fourth lines this weekend. Freshman Max Novak scored the opening goal against Michigan State on Friday, and classmate Daniel Ciampini broke the ice on Saturday.

“That’s what it takes to win,” Welsh said. “Any team that goes far at any level of hockey, you need everyone. Playoffs is about different guys stepping up at different times. Our third and fourth lines were some of the best lines on the forecheck, creating energy. That’s what it takes to win against good teams.”

Coming up short on goals: UML coach Norm Bazin was honest in his appraisal of his team following the loss.

“Tonight, I don’t think we were sharp,” he said. “We didn’t hit any of our objectives. Special teams were not there and possession time was not there. When you don’t hit your objectives, you don’t win.”

Still, Bazin said there was no quit in his team.

“We felt we were never going to stop playing,” he said. “All year long we’ve been in those situations and have been able to overcome them but it wasn’t meant to be.”

Bazin certainly wasn’t going to use Friday’s overtime game with Miami University in the second game of the day – as a factor for why his team got off to a slow start.

“We won’t make excuses for our team and we don’t want anyone making them for us,” he said. “The games were only three hours apart.”

Hope to be back soon: UML last played in the NCAA tournament in 1996 when most of the current River Hawks were in elementary school.

“It’s been way too long,” Bazin said. “Hopefully we can come back here in the near future, build on this one and move forward. These are valuable experiences.”

The River Hawks had just three seniors – wingers David Vallorani and Tim Corcoran and center Matt Ferreira – in the lineup on Saturday.

“I think we took great strides this year,” Ferreira said, “coming from five wins last year to making it to this game today. I think we’re in great hands with coach Bazin and Riley (Wetmore) leading us next year. I’m just proud of all the guys right now, and I think we’ve got a bright future.”

More video review: Four plays during Friday’s semifinal round drew video review by the on-ice officials. On Saturday, the first review came just 2:32 into the contest and it showed Union goalie Troy Grosenick made the best save of the tournament when he got a piece of Joseph Pedenza’s point-blank blast with his glove and had the wherewithal to sweep the loose puck off the goal line.

Repeat showing: Referees Derek Shepard and Marco Hunt and linesmen Anthony Czech and Jeff Schultz worked the regional championship contest. The same four officials worked Friday’s first semifinal between Union and Michigan State.

INCH’s THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Union special teams: The Dutchmen kept a potent UML power play scoreless on four attempts, including a crucial 4-on-3 for 69 seconds midway through the second period. Plus, Union notched a critical power play goal just three minutes after the River Hawks drew within 2-1.

2. Troy Grosenick, Union: The sophomore made big stops in the early minutes and in the late minutes.

1. Jeremy Welsh, Union: The NHL free agent put on a great show for the multitude of pro scouts on hand, scoring his second goal of the weekend, producing numerous hits and sacrificing his body with blocked shots. With the win, he can forget about his costly turnover in the third period.

NCAA EAST REGIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
F – Riley Wetmore, UMass-Lowell
F – Jeremy Welsh, Union (Most Outstanding Player)
F – Josh Jooris, Union
D – Mat Bodie, Union
D – Nolan Julseth-White, Union
G – Troy Grosenick, Union

PLUS-MINUS

The Union-UML regional final was a dream matchup for Bridgeport organizers. Not only were they the two closest schools but they also brought the largest fan bases. The NCAA hates to see empty seats on television.

It was nice to see some live entertainment outside of the arena for the visiting fans. It adds to the festive atmosphere.

One of the scoreboard animations features three figures – named State, Tech and College – racing around a track, and the fans are supposed to root for a winner. The animators have obviously never attended a track meet because you don’t start a 200-meter race with a flat start and finish on a curve. By the way, College won on Friday and Tech won on Saturday.

BY THE NUMBERS

7 – A Hockey East team has ended Miami University’s season every season since 2006. The Red Hawks lost to UMass Lowell (2012), New Hampshire (2011), Boston College (2010), Boston University (2009) and Boston College (2008, 2007, 2006).

34— The number of schools that have reached the national semifinals, with Union the latest entry. The Dutchmen join Bemidji State, Yale, Rochester Institute of Technology, Ohio State and Colgate as one-time visitors to the Frozen Four.

52 – The number of schools who have played in the NCAA tournament since it made its debut in 1948.

2003 – The last time an ECAC Hockey League school reached the Frozen Four (Cornell).

WHAT’S NEXT

Union becomes the 34th school to reach the national semifinals since the first tournament in 1948. The Dutchmen own the nation’s third-longest win streak at seven games, trailing only Boston College (16) and North Dakota (8).

“It’s been a progression,” Welsh said. “I’ve been here for three years and each year we have taken a step in the ECAC, against top teams and winning back-to-back Cleary Cups . Maybe my freshman year this would have been a big ‘wow’ moment. Right now, we’re taking it in stride. This program has come so far. We expected to be here and we expected to win. We are just taking it in stride and looking forward.”

SPECIAL TEAMS A SPECIALTY
North Dakota 3, Western Michigan 1 | Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn. – While the normal army of green-clad North Dakota fans making its way to Xcel Energy Center may not have expected much from Western Michigan as a foe, the NoDak coaches were much smarter than that, and had spent the week scouting and prepping for trouble, especially from the Broncos’ highly-regarded power play.

That prepping paid off on Saturday afternoon, as North Dakota held the Broncos harmless with the man-advantage, advancing to the regional final with a 3-1 win. Michael Parks and Corban Knight scored to give the region’s top seed a 2-0 lead, and Brock Nelson added a late empty-net goal in a 3-1 win.

North Dakota goalie Aaron Dell keeps an eye on Western Michigan forward Shane Berschbach.

Senior wing Kyle O’Kane got the only goal for the Broncos, beating Aaron Dell high on a second period breakaway. Although “only goal” is a point Broncos fans will likely dispute for some time. Late in the second period, the Broncos appeared to have tied the game on a 3-on-1 rush to the net when a shot deflected off traffic in front of the crease. The puck crossed the goal line a split second after Nelson had collided with the right goalpost, knocking the net off the moorings. Officials ruled “no goal” then upheld the ruling after a lengthy review.

Broncos coach Andy Murray didn’t get an explanation of the call, nor did he want one, joking that in contrast to his experience in the NHL, college hockey officials spend far too much time talking to the coaches.

“The referee wanted to come over and give me an explanation, but I just waved him away, because what are we going to do?” Murray said. “We just wanted to keep the game going at that point.”

For North Dakota, the key to the game was shutting down Western Michigan’s power play, and they did so with flair. Not only did Western Michigan fail to score on the man-advantage, the Broncos also struggled to even get pucks to the net in most cases.

“I thought we had good clears when we had the opportunity to get pucks down the ice,” North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said. “In the zone, we had four guys on the same page. Penalty-killing really comes down to having a plan, and most importantly, everybody buying into that plan and working together.”

When North Dakota had the puck and a full complement of players on the ice, they controlled the game for long stretches, and were just opportunistic enough with the puck to never trail in the game. Michael Parks started it, circling around the net at high speed and tucking a wrap-around puck past Broncos goalie Frank Slubowski. Again, it was a matter of preparation, and sticking to a plan.

“It’s something we work on a lot in practice,” said Parks, who has scored in three consecutive games and has 19 of his 22 points since New Year’s Eve. “We usually stay after practice and work on little things like that. The wrap-around is one of them.”

For North Dakota, it was just one more step on what could be a long, long road back to the Frozen Four if they can win on Sunday.

TERRIERS SUFFER SELF-INFLICTED DAMAGE, AGAIN
Minnesota 7, Boston University 3 | Box Score

The Xcel Energy Center has nice penalty boxes. For Boston University on Saturday, they were a bit too nice.

Both Minnesota and the Terriers took nine penalties, and each team scored twice on the power play. But the Terriers spent more time on the penalty kill thanks to a five-minute major for contact to the head assessed to Justin Courtnall in the second period.

Keep away: Minnesota forwards Nick Bjugstad and Kyle Rau try to elude a Boston University defender.

The game was still in doubt then, as not long before the Terriers rallied to tie the score 2-2 and had everything going for them. But two Gopher goals 29 seconds apart spelled doom for BU, as Minnesota finished strong, winning 7-3.

“Rule number one is don’t beat yourself,” said Terriers coach Jack Parker, reflecting on a season beset by so many distractions and self-inflicted damages. “We didn’t heed that again tonight. We had too many penalties that caused us problems and tired a lot of our guys out.”

Still, it was far from a lost cause for the Terriers, who got a pair of goals from Adam Clendening, and forced Minnesota to rely heavily on Kent Patterson for long stretches.

“Any time it seemed like we were getting some momentum, they would get a goal and it went away,” BU’s Ross Gaudet said. “We came out in the third and worked pretty hard, but unfortunately we didn’t get all the bounces.”

Kieran Millan had 35 saves for the Terriers, who finished the season 23-15-1. Parker praised his captains for their leadership through all of this season’s off-ice messes.

“It was a pretty good run for an under-manned club,” Parker said. “The guys on my left (Chris Connolly and Gaudet) are pretty good examples of what you want college hockey players to be, and had good years for us. Chris Connolly had a fabulous year. The last (captain) who had to do what he had to handle for this team was probably Jay Pandolfo after the Travis Roy incident.”

SEEN AND HEARD AT THE X

• Even before Western Michigan’s controversial no-goal in the second period, NCAA hockey rules guru Steve Piotrowski told INCH that giving on-ice officials some more authority to allow a goal in some cases where a net is dislodged will be a major point of discussion in June when they meet to consider rules changes. Currently, if the net is out of place, play is stopped. The thinking is that in the future, if a puck is headed over the goal line and a defending player intentionally dislodges the net, officials could award a goal on the play.

• It was noisy on the streets surrounding the rink prior to the opening game, even though the crowd paled in comparison to the St. Patrick’s Day throng that filled the streets of St. Paul a week earlier. The noise of hockey revelry was replaced by loud pipes, as a motorcycle show next door made leather Hell’s Angels jackets almost as prevalent as North Dakota and Minnesota sweaters.

• Broncos coach Andy Murray had seen plenty of NHL seasons come to an end before, but in his first year coaching in college, he had the unique and difficult experience on Saturday of saying goodbye to five seniors who will not be back in Kalamazoo next season. “It’s like losing a son or daughter that’s graduating and moving on, away from home,” Murray said. “Our five seniors won’t be in uniform for the Broncos again, but what they’ve done for this program in the last four years is very commendable. They’ll always be Broncos.”

• It’s been 13 years since the last warm-weather Frozen Four was played, in Anaheim in 1999. Those who pushed for the tournament’s occasional visit to non-traditional cities in the southern half of the U.S. may have taken some credit for the makeup of the line charts on Saturday. There were eight California natives playing for Western Michigan (5), Boston University (2) and North Dakota (1). And perhaps the most prominent California kid in college hockey, North Dakota freshman Rocco Grimaldi, missed the game due to injury.

• Chris Connolly, in his final game as a Terrier, was playing his first game in his home state in more than seven years. He last played in Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center for Duluth Marshall in the third-place game of the 2005 Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. “It’s good to be back,” he said. “Going out east I knew there wasn’t much of a chance that I would get back here to play. We see the WCHA teams maybe once or twice every year, usually in a holiday tournament. So I feel fortunate to come back here. I wanted the best for this team and to go as far as possible, but it’s nice to be able to end it in Minnesota.”

PLUS-MINUS

North Dakota won three games in this building last week, but this time, as the tournament’s top seed, they moved back into the NHL visitors’ locker room, which had been their home last April for the heartbreaking loss to Michigan in the Frozen Four. Hakstol said they didn’t talk about being in those familiar surroundings, and focused only on the game at hand. “In one way shape or form, everything stays with you,” he said. “But on this team there hasn’t been much looking back, and there certainly hasn’t been any looking forward.”

Yes, it sounds a little strange when the Eagles are playing 1,300 miles away in Worcester, but you’ve got to love that part in the BU school song when the band members put down their instruments and yell, “BC sucks” no matter who the Terriers are playing.

Great first season for Murray and the Broncos for their competitiveness on the ice, and for the growing sense of family he is establishing in Kalamazoo as the hockey program there gets stronger. Murray had sons play at Wisconsin and North Dakota, and a daughter who played at Minnesota Duluth, and said that his kids’ experiences at those programs helped him determine how to run his own college show. “We’ve learned from all of those programs what it means to be a hockey family.”

Kudos to all of those fans from all four teams who bought the pricey tickets for Saturday’s games. Ticketmaster had them going for more than $60 each, which surely contributed to the sparse crowd. The entire upper deck was closed off, and as opposed to the huge crowd to see North Dakota and Minnesota a week ago, this had more of the feel of an early-round small school state hockey tournament game.

A Twin Cities TV station called the tournament organizers on Saturday morning, requesting credentials in order to do yet another story about the North Dakota nickname controversy. Kudos to the media relations folks, who kindly denied the credential request, saying their story would best be covered from outside the building, rather than asking players and coaches to weigh in on the debate yet again.

Yes, we get it North Dakota fans. You don’t like the NCAA. We understand. But booing the video on the big screen in which NCAA president Mark Emmert and first lady Michelle Obama salute military families? Really?

INCH’s THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Aaron Dell, North Dakota: In a game where the Broncos repeatedly threatened to grab the momentum, he shut the door again and again.

2. Michael Parks, North Dakota: The rookie has picked the right time to get hot, scoring in three consecutive games.

1. Jake Hansen, Minnesota: A pair of goals for the Gophers in the senior’s first NCAA tourney game.

WHAT’S NEXT

WCHA fans, and St. Paul bar owners, got the rematch they were looking for. Minnesota and North Dakota meet for the sixth and final time this season, with the winner going to Florida and the loser calling it a year. Minnesota swept North Dakota in Minneapolis in November, and the teams split a series in Grand Forks later in the season, with North Dakota winning last week in the WCHA Final Five semifinals.

By Rich Palzewic

UNLIKELY GOAL-SCORER BOOSTS FERRIS STATE
Ferris State 2, Denver 1 | Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis.—Simon Denis picked a good time to score his first goal of the season for Ferris State.

Denis’ goal 2:54 into the second period proved to be the game-winner for the Bulldogs, who hung on for a 2-1 victory over Denver in the first NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal game at the Resch Center Friday.

“We feel very blessed and privileged to be moving forward,” said Ferris State coach Bob Daniels. “I felt like we played a fairly strong game and it was a fairly typical game with how we play in our defensive zone. When we made mistakes, I thought (goalie) Taylor Nelson was more than up to the task.

“There were times where we weren’t playing very well, but I think that was because we haven’t played enough games lately. We’ve only played three in the last three weeks. I think it worked against Denver playing so many games in so few days, but it worked against us the other way. We were a bit sloppy at times. I thought as the game went on we improved and we’ll be better on (Saturday).”

Ferris State (24-11-5), making its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2003, will now try to secure its first Frozen Four berth.

“It’s very special,” Nelson said. “It’s great that we’re in this spot, but we want to win the next one, too. It’s special for the program that we won the first one here, but we want to keep going.”

For Denver (25-14-4), it was another disappointing end to an otherwise successful season, one in which injuries took a toll.

“[Ferris State] played a very good game and took advantage of a few of our miscues and their goaltender was very good,” Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. “I thought it was an exciting game. … That’s about the best spin I can put on the outcome.”

The Bulldogs’ Aaron Schmit had the first real legitimate scoring opportunity of the game two minutes into the second period. Schmit went in alone on Denver goalie Sam Brittain but was denied by the sophomore netminder to keep the game scoreless. Minutes later, Jordie Johnston, Ferris State’s leading scorer, notched his 19th goals of the season, taking a nifty backhand pass from Garrett Thompson in front of the DU net and burying the shot to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead 4:30 into the period.

Denis’ goal made it 2-0 early in the second.

“It’s hard to believe that we get to this stage of the year and he just scored his first goal of the season,” Daniels said of Denis. “He had 12 assists coming in so he’s definitely an offensive defenseman. He came off shoulder surgery in the summer and was way behind in terms of strength and conditioning.”

Denver’s Drew Shore scored at the 5:22 mark of the third period to pull the Pioneers within one. A frantic final five minutes of the game peaked when the Pioneers pulled Brittain with a little more than two minutes remaining and had plenty of quality chances, but couldn’t pull off its second first-round comeback in as many years at the Midwest Regional—DU rallied to beat Western Michigan in the opening round in Green Bay last season.

The Pioneers did have an apparent goal waved off about five minutes into the second period after a quick whistle from the referee nullified the tally.

CORNELL KNOCKS OFF TOP-SEEDED MICHIGAN
Cornell 3, Michigan 2 (OT) | Box Score

It’s a good thing for Cornell University that hockey goals are reviewable.

The Big Red used the momentum from a disallowed goal on their way to a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over Michigan in the second NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal game on Friday night.

Kevin Lynch's goal late in the third period tied the score against Cornell.

Rodger Craig scored the overtime winner 3:35 into the extra period after the Big Red failed to hold a 2-1 lead with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.

Cornell (19-8-7) will take on Ferris State in the Midwest Regional championship Saturday. The Big Red and Bulldogs haven’t played since 1998.

“It’s obviously a great win for us,” said Cornell coach Mike Schafer. “Right off the bat we get scored on twice in the first minute and 20 seconds of the game, and then the five-on-threes (Michigan power plays) we killed off later were huge. It was disappointing to give up the lead, but to come back in overtime to win it is great. I was really proud of the guys and shows the character of our team.”

“It gives us a chance to move on to (Saturday) and hopefully onto to Florida,” said Craig of his game-winning goal. “Everyone put in a great effort and it’s nice to come out on top.”

Michigan (24-13-4) was making its record 22nd consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and 35th overall.

“I like the way our team started off obviously,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “The goal that was disallowed was obviously a factor in the game, but give Cornell credit and they got back into the game. Their special teams were a factor. Their first two goals were on the power play and short-handed and then they kept us off the board (on the power play).”

The way the game started off for Cornell, it was a minor miracle things turned out as they did. The Wolverines scored just 1:11 into the game on a Luke Glendening goal and had another one taken off the board seconds later on goalie interference after it was reviewed by the referee. The Big Red immediately called their timeout after the apparent second goal only two minutes into the game. After weathering the early storm, Cornell’s special teams took over from there. The Big Red scored on the power play halfway through the first period (John McCarron) and short-handed just 40 seconds into the second period on a Joakim Ryan goal to go up 2-1 after two.

Several key moments in the game took place in the last five minutes of the middle period. Cornell’s Armand De Swardt was given a five-minute major penalty – and a game misconduct – for contact to the head with 5:08 left in the period. Moments after Michigan’s power play began, Lee Moffie took a penalty for the Wolverines to nullify the power play temporarily.

Once Michigan’s power play resumed, Cornell’s Locke Jillson was awarded a penalty shot after he was hooked from behind on a scoring chance, but was denied by Wolverines’ goalie Shawn Hunwick to keep the score at 2-1. Moments later, the Big Red took another penalty, but Michigan failed to score on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play.

Michigan carried play for most of the evening, out-shooting the Big Red 33-24 on the night, but couldn’t crack Cornell goalie Andy Iles, who had 31 saves.

The Big Red were 1-for-3 on the power play and killed off all seven Michigan penalties.

Cornell is looking to make the Midwest Regional championship game more memorable than the last time they were at the Resch Center in 2006. On that occasion, they lost a 1-0 triple overtime thriller to the Wisconsin Badgers in front of a sold-out arena. Wisconsin went on to win the national championship that year.

SEEN AND HEARD AT THE RESCH CENTER

• For the second year in a row, the Midwest Regional was hosted by Michigan Tech University at the Resch Center. And for the second year in a row, the Wisconsin Badgers didn’t make the NCAA tournament. Who would have guessed that the Badgers would miss out on the Regional two years in a row? In 2006 Wisconsin beat Cornell 1-0 in triple overtime in the Midwest Regional championship before a sold-out crowd at the Resch on its way to the national championship.

• There were three former Green Bay Gamblers represented at the regional. Three of the four teams had ties to the highly successful United States Hockey League team that plays its home games at the Resch. Michigan’s Travis Lynch (2009-11) played for Green Bay, as did Ferris’ Scott Czarnowczan (2009-10) and Denver defenseman David Makowski (2008-10). All three were an integral part in the Gamblers’ Clark Cup championship in 2010. Makowski has been out since December 31 (22 games) with an undisclosed upper-body injury and didn’t even make to the trip to Green Bay.

• Michigan coach Red Berenson on the Wolverines playing in Green Bay. “We thought that we’d be in one of the western regionals; either in Minnesota or in Green Bay and to us it didn’t matter. You can’t pick your opponents this time of year and you can’t pick your location. I’ve always said that the regionals should afford your fans a chance to go to the game and Green Bay was probably the closest we could get.”

• The Ferris State, Michigan and Cornell pep bands made the trip to Green Bay.

PLUS-MINUS

To the Ferris State defense, which smothered the Pioneers for most of the night and out shot them 34-25. The great defense by the Bulldogs made their CCHA quarterfinal loss to Bowling Green seem even more improbable after they lost a three-goal lead in the deciding game.

To the Cornell Big Red for weathering an early storm against the Wolverines. Cornell could have been down 2-0, 90 seconds into the game, but a disallowed goal kept it at 1-0. The last time Cornell was at the Resch Center in 2006, they lost a 1-0 triple overtime thriller to Wisconsin in front of a sold-out arena.

Wisconsin’s absence definitely hurt attendance. Unlike last year when you could definitely feel North Dakota’s presence with its fans, there was none of that this year.

INCH’s THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Simon Denis, Ferris State: Denis picked a good time for his first goal of the season. He came into the contest with 12 assists but his goal was the difference in the Bulldogs 2-1 victory over the Pioneers.

2. Taylor Nelson, Ferris State: The Bulldogs’ net minder was stellar in goal, stopping 24 of the 25 shots he saw. In a frantic last two minutes of the game where the Pioneers pulled their goalie and got an extra skater, Nelson swatted away a few golden opportunities from Denver.

1. Rodger Craig, Cornell: Craig scored his second goal of the year 3:35 into the overtime period to lead the Big Red past the Wolverines.

WHAT’S NEXT

Ferris State and Cornell will play for the Midwest Regional championship on Saturday night. The two haven’t played since 1998.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn.—Tried-and-true NCAA Tournament pedigree meant nothing on the opening day of the East Regional as the newer kids on the block prevailed.

Top-seeded Union, making its second appearance, jumped out to a 2-0 lead inside 24 minutes and held on for a 3-1 victory over No. 4 Michigan State. Third-seeded UMass Lowell, making its first NCAA appearance since 1996, blew a 3-0 third-period lead but got an overtime winner to beat No. 2 Miami, 4-3, before an announced crowd of 5,090 at Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard.

UNION TOPS MICHIGAN STATE FOR FIRST NCAA WIN
Union 3, Michigan State 1 | Box Score

BRIDGEPORT, Conn.—A lot can be said for experience. Union played in its first NCAA Tournament a year ago and went out meekly in a 2-0 loss to eventual national champion Minnesota-Duluth.

A year later, the Dutchmen are better on offense and defense and play with a swagger. The ECAC Hockey champs didn’t get flustered with Michigan State’s early pressure, especially on the power play. They didn’t blink when the Spartans struck for a goal at the end of the second period, pulling within a goal.

“There was never any panic on the bench,” said Jeremy Welsh, who set up the first goal and scored the second. “I never felt at any point that we were going to lose. We’re pretty casual now … no one is getting too high. We didn’t come here to win one game. We’re looking forward to (Saturday).”

Michigan State was busy with 55 shot attempts but the Dutchmen blocked 15 shots, 18 attempts sailed wide and Union sophomore Troy Grosenick handled the rest, making 20 saves for his 21st win of the season.

“Our team defense has been awesome in front of me all year,” Grosenick said. “Our defense did a great job clearing out rebounds for me. We had some good shot blocks out on their point. … All the credit in the world goes to the guys in front of me—seeing only 20 or so shots makes my job a lot easier.”

Grosenick made eight stops in the final period, including a stop on a one-time rip from Lee Reimer with 2:50 to play.

“I just saw the puck kind of get passed out the corner,” Grosenick said. “I thought it was going to a defenseman up top. I just got out on the top of the crease as fast as I could.”

“That’s what you need,” Union first-year coach Rick Bennett said. “He wasn’t the goaltender of our league for nothing. You know what, sometimes you’re going to have to call on your goaltender to make a huge save and that’s what he did.”

Union's Jeremy Welsh had a goal and an assist in his team's win against Michigan State in Friday's first round of the NCAA East Regional.

Wayne Simpson’s 18th goal came about 90 seconds later to restore a two-goal cushion. Fresh off a face-off win in the defensive zone, Kelly Zajac spotted Simpson along the boards in front of the benches. Simpson cut inside and wristed a shot over Will Yanakeff’s glove with 1:18 to play.

Welsh turned the play up ice which led to Max Novak’s opening goal. Novak, a freshman, moved from the middle of the ice to the left wing as he broke in on Yanakeff. With two quick dekes, Novak fired a shot high to the right side of the cage at the 15:09 mark for his ninth tally of the season.

“He doesn’t have the greatest shot in the world,” Welsh said, “but he seems to put it in the net when it’s big for us. He’s real poised for his age. He’s been big for us down the stretch.”

Michigan State appeared to have scored off a wild scramble with 1:18 to play in the opening period, but after a lengthy video review the goal—apparently scored by Brock Shelgren—was disallowed because the net had come dislodged.

Welsh gave Union a 2-0 lead at 3:20 of the second period. Mat Bodie’s initial shot was stopped by Yanakeff. A long rebound came out front and Welsh swooped in from the right boards to dump the puck into an open net.

“We noticed that in the first period, he (Yanakeff) seemed to be a little shaky,” Welsh said. “Our game plan is to always get pucks to the net and get guys to the net. I had a fortunate bounce and I cashed my goal.”

Michigan State got some life late in the second period, converting late in a power play. Matt Berry faked a shot from the slot, held the puck a little longer and scored from the right side at the 19:21 mark.

“We knew what we had to do,” said Michigan State captain Torey Krug, “but unfortunately we weren’t able to come back. They (Union) gave us what we expected. It was hard to generate chances. They are a great defensive team.”

“I was happy with the way we competed and the work of our team,” said Michigan State first-year coach Tom Anastos.

RIVER HAWKS AVOID COLLAPSE, BEAT MIAMI IN OT
UMass Lowell 4, Miami 3 OT | Box score

UMass Lowell was on the precipice of one of the worst collapses in NCAA hockey history. The River Hawks squandered a 3-0 lead to Miami over the final 17 minutes of regulation time and had to withstand a furious final minute of action in their own end of ice while playing a man down. Goalie Doug Carr made four incredible saves to keep the game alive and the River Hawks still had another 85 seconds to kill on a major penalty once overtime started.

“I told the guys, ‘If we kill this off, we are going to win this hockey game,’” UML coach Norm Bazin said.

Miami’s Cameron Schilling nearly ended matters in the opening minute of overtime when he rang a shot off the goal post. As far as the River Hawks were concerned, that was just one more crisis averted.

The UML offense, which had practically disappeared over the final 30 minutes of regulation, had one more thrust. Derek Arnold managed to squeeze off a shot that was saved by Miami goalie Connor Knapp. Riley Wetmore arrived on the doorstep at the same time and got two quick slaps at the puck, which climbed over Knapp’s extended right pad and slipped inside the left goal post at 2:13 of overtime.

“I am still not sure how the puck went in,” Wetmore said of his 13th goal of the season. “I saw Dave (Vallorani) celebrating in front of me.”

The emotion was clearly different for a Miami team which nearly pulled rallied from a three-goal deficit for the first time since Oct. 2002 against Northern Michigan.

Riley Wetmore's overtime goal against Miami propelled UMass Lowell to Saturday's East Regional final against Union.

“We never were out of it,” said Miami’s Alden Hirschfeld, who scored the tying goal midway through the third period. “I am extremely proud to be part of this team and to play the way we did in the third, it’s unfortunate we didn’t come out with the win we wanted but we never gave up.”

It was a game of two halves. UMass Lowell dominated the first part, seizing the lead on a Josh Holmstrom power-play goal at 1:34 of the first period. A turnover by Miami’s Austin Czarnik led to Colin Wright’s shorthanded breakaway tally at 14:58 of the first period. Wetmore converted a pretty passing play at 2:21 of the second, rapping a shot off Knapp’s glove and inside the right post.

The River Hawks players say they didn’t sit on the lead but they certainly got away from what was working for them.

“We definitely weren’t as aggressive,” Wetmore said. “We didn’t get the puck in as deep and didn’t possess the puck on offense. They have really good forwards. Against any team at this level, if you let up at all, they are going to keep coming at you.”

Miami’s Trent Vogelhuber picked up a deflection just inside the blue line and found the upper left corner of the cage for his fourth goal of the season at 3:04 of the third. Sixteen seconds later, a blocked shot at the UML blue line led to a breakaway for Czarnik, who backhanded a shot into the upper left corner to trim the deficit to 3-2.

Hirschfeld’s tying goal was ridiculous; he wasn’t challenged as he skated through the right circle and beat Carr at the 9:56 mark.

“You could feel it on the bench,” Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. “We can see. They were leaning on their sticks. But give them credit—they stayed in it and their goaltender made great saves.”

Carr made a number of reactionary stops in the third period, saving his best, a kick save, for Reilly Smith’s backhand shot with 1:05 left in regulation. Miami was on a five-minute power play after UML’s Jake Suter was ejected for a check from behind.

“At that point they are obviously piling it on a little bit,” Carr said of the final frantic minutes. “We were actually doing a pretty good job of keeping shots to the outside and I was seeing most of the pucks. That shot came from the right point. I went down and the puck hit someone in front of me and kicked out to my left where Smith was all alone. It was one of those desperation saves where you try to get as far over to the pipe as you can and I got my skate out there on time.”

During the third intermission, Bazin reminded his players they had already been through this scenario earlier this season. In the finals of the UConn Hockey Classic on Dec. 30, the River Hawks squandered a 3-0 lead to Connecticut over the final 22 minutes, but  prevailed on a David Vallorani goal 13:01 into overtime.

SEEN AND HEARD AT HARBOR YARD

• Video junkies: It was a busy day for the video review folks, with a goal disallowed for Michigan State and a goal verified and taken away for UMass-Lowell.

Trailing 1-0 late in the first period, Michigan State’s hustle created a wild scramble in front of the Union net. Dutchman goalie Troy Grosenick thought had covered a puck long enough for a whistle but the Spartans jarred the puck loose and another whack lofted it in the air. It appeared Brock Shelgren got a stick on it mid-air and the puck bounced once beyond the goal line and back out.

Referee Derek Sheperd was behind the net and waved off the goal. The officials adjourned to the video review booth between the penalty boxes. Following a review of at least six minutes, the call was upheld for a curious reason.

A statement from the NCAA read: “During the video review, it was determined that the net was dislodged prior to the puck entering the net. (Rule #16, Section 18-12, Page 70). Therefore, there was not conclusive video evidence to overturn the on-ice referee’s initial call.”

Michigan State coach Tom Anastos said he accepted the decision by the officials.

“I trust the process, but I will look at it (the video),” he smiled.

Instead of a 1-1 tie, the Spartans headed into the locker room down a goal, and soon fell behind 2-0.

“I thought (my team) responded really well,” Anastos said. “It didn’t suck the life out of us. … It certainly would have been a real boost had it been a goal, a good emotion.”

In the second minute of the nightcap, UMass Lowell’s Terrance Wallin fired a shot that hit Miami goalie Connor Knapp just above his number, rolled up and over his left shoulder, and hit the crossbar. The puck careened to the right, struck Josh Holmstrom in the arm, and dropped into the net. The officials ruled Holmstrom didn’t make a motion of knocking the puck in and the goal was allowed.

Three minutes later, UMass Lowell’s Joseph Pendenza raced down the right boards and around defenseman Garrett Kennedy. He squeezed off a shot that was saved by Knapp, but his momentum carried him into the crease and he delivered an elbow to Knapp’s head, knocking him to the ice. Meanwhile, Matt Ferreira deposited the loose puck into the open net. The video review, this one much shorter, clearly showed the goaltender interference and the goal was waved off.

• Hunger games: Apparently, “The Hunger Games” isn’t confined to local movie theaters.

“Losing in the playoffs kind of woke us up a little bit,” UMass Lowell goalie Doug Carr said. “We got a second chance here. We’re not just happy to be here. We worked hard all year to get here. We’re not looking to play one game, happy to be here. We’re hungry and trying to win a championship, game by game.”

Two ejections: Michigan State lost defenseman Dean Chelios to a checking-from-behind penalty and game misconduct midway through the first period.

“The biggest impact is that we had to kill off a five-minute power play against a team that has a great power play,” Spartans head coach Tom Anastos said. “It definitely impacted our lines. We had been playing four lines and had to move guys around to keep rhythm as best we could. I like the way we competed.”

UMass Lowell lost Jake Suter to the same call with 3:35 left in regulation time. Both Chelios and Suter are the sons of U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame honorees. Dean is the son of longtime NHLer Chris Chelios, and Jake’s dad, Gary, won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1986.

No one passes: Despite being the first name on the media list, a credential was not left downstairs for yours truly. I didn’t feel so bad once CCHA commissioner Fred Pletsch was also kept waiting a bit. At least the credential folks were pleasant and managed to deliver passes promptly for me and the commish.

Crossing boundaries: Sparty, the Michigan State mascot, spent much of his time posing for photos with Union hockey fans. It’s doubtful he got any of the fans to pull out any movie quotes from the movie “300” like, “We are SPARTANS!”

PLUS-MINUS

There’s nothing like having live college pep bands on hand for the games. Kudos to the four schools for sending the bands. I’ll take some band tunes over blared pop music any day.

It’s nice the public address announcer took time to recognize all active and past military service members in the audience, which gave the handful of vets a standing ovation. Even the Michigan State players cracked their sticks against the boards in applause.

The folks at Harbor Yard made sure to provide plenty of televisions in all of the private suites and a couple large video scoreboards but when the fans really want to see something, the video gets cut off. Instead of flashing “GOAL” on the scoreboard— which seems fairly obvious to anyone in the arena—why not let the fans see the multiple video replays in entirety? The same holds true for the official video reviews, but the NCAA (and most professional leagues) are reluctant to show disputed plays to curb arena dissent.

INCH’s THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

3. Troy Grosenick, Union. The Union goalie wasn’t challenged much, but any time you can hold Michigan State to a single goal you are doing something right.

2. Jeremy Welsh, Union. The junior gave the Dutchmen a huge lift, setting up the first goal of the game and scoring the second, which proved to be the game-winner.

1. Doug Carr, UMass Lowell. Sure, he gave up three goals in the final period but he also made 15 saves in the final frame, including four heart-stoppers in the closing minute of play while playing a man down. Carr can kiss the goal post for Cameron Schilling’s ringer early in overtime but he can take credit for the other 30 stops.

WHAT’S NEXT

This year’s Frozen Four will have a first-time visitor now that Union and UMass Lowell have advanced to the regional finals. You have to think the Dutchmen will have a slight edge in terms of rest, wrapping up nearly four hours ahead of the River Hawks, who had to go overtime against Miami.

“You have to be excited for these moments, and (Saturday) will be the same,” said UMass Lowell junior Colin Wright.

“We just have to finish games,” said UML’s Riley Wetmore, who scored the game-winner in overtime. “What we saw tonight we will see tomorrow. All of (Union’s) lines can score at any time in the game. We have to play a full 60 minutes. We have to come ready and play our game, the whole game.”