Boston College ends North Dakota season, 2-1
MADISON, WIS.—
Michigan State scored a controversial power-play goal with 1:40 remaining Sunday afternoon, then scored again 32 seconds later to beat Colorado College 4-3 in the first West Regional quarterfinal at Dane County Coliseum, to snatch a berth in the NCAA hockey final four.
Michigan State (29-5-7) will face New Hampshire in Thursday’s semifinals, a reward that seemed only justified for Colorado College to achieve, after a season of catastrophic injuries such as broken legs, broken arms, broken tailbones, and assorted major surgeries.
But after surviving all the adversity, the Tigers (29-12-1) were ultimately brought down by a few simple toots on a whistle. Referee Tim Benedetto didn’t beat the Tigers singlehandedly, although his whistle-tooting could have passed for an audition with Michigan State’s lively pep band. The selective nature of his calls, however, took the best drama of the day out of the hands of the players.
Andrew Hutchinson tied the game 3-3 with a power-play goal from the right point at 18:20. And Adam Hall broke in on the left side and fired a shot that goaltender Jeff Sanger blocked with his glove, only to have the puck pop up high and land behind him, where it trickled in at the right edge at 18:52.
The crucial power-play goal occured when Benedetto, a motorcyle policemen from Everett, Mass., called the fifth interference penalty of the game on the Tigers, sending Paul Johnson to the box at 16:59. For the game, CC was penalized nine times to Michigan State’s seven, which isn’t a big difference. But the fact that the Tigers, a small, swift-skating, finesse team, would get five interference penalties to none for a Michigan State team that is skilled but committed numerous acts of what looked like interference — including on the game-tying goal — was at best curious, even if purely coincidental.
On a corner faceoff during that power play, the Spartans got the puck back to the right point where Hutchinson wound up to shoot, as a BC forward shoved CC defenseman Dan Peters into his own crease in front of Sanger, who never saw the screened shot that went in.
“I got pushed into the crease, and I know Jeff couldn’t see it to save it,” said Peters, a junior from Cottage Grove.
That, of course, would also qualify as interference, but the Spartans seemed to be immune to that call, even though Benedetto, at the urging of his linesmen, called to have the goal verified on video replay. They could only look for any MSU players in the crease, however, not for MSU players pushing CC players in.
“As much as refs don’t like to call penalties late in the game, he did it today, and we were fortunate enough to get a power-play goal on it,” said Michigan State coach Ron Mason. “Then he gave them a chance with a later call.”
True, after Hall’s tie-breaking goal, and with Sanger on the bench for a last-minute attack, Benedetto called a meaningless call on Michigan State with 28 seconds left.
The distasteful finish ended a fiercely fought game. The rested Spartans, who had the No. 2 bye in the West, jumped ahead 1-0 on Joe Goodenow’s goal at 1:56 of the first period. Spartan star Mike York was penalized for a heavy check from behind when K.J. Voorhees tied it on the rebound of Jesse Heerema’s shot off the crossbar at 14:43.
Cam Kryway scored on an alert play in the second period after goalie Joe Blackburn dived to poke-check the puck against Heerema but couldn’t recover to guard the open net, and the Tigers held the 2-1 lead into the third period. Another disputed penalty to the Tigers helped Adam Hall backhand in a rebound for a Spartan power-play goal at 9:14, but the Tigers immediately responded to the lost lead by reclaiming it at 3-2, as Trent Clark, a freshman from Superior, broke up the right side and blasted a 40-footer that slid through after Blackburn partially blocked it.
That set up the final, cruel twists. When it was over, CC coach Don Lucia made sure his players held their frustration inside. “I’m really proud of out players to go through what we’ve had to go through to get here,” said Lucia, taking the high road and refusing to comment about the officiating.
Scott Swanson, a senior all-WCHA defenseman from Cottage Grove, said: “There were some other factors involved. We’ve had injuries, and we haven’t gotten key bounces or calls all year. Today, we feel we deserved a little better than what we got.”
Spartans swipe final four berth from CC, 4-3
MADISON, WIS.—
Michigan State scored a controversial power-play goal with 1:40 remaining Sunday afternoon, then scored again 32 seconds later to beat Colorado College 4-3 in the first West Regional quarterfinal at Dane County Coliseum, to snatch a berth in the NCAA hockey final four.
Michigan State (29-5-7) will face New Hampshire in Thursday’s semifinals, a reward that seemed only justified for Colorado College to achieve, after a season of catastrophic injuries such as broken legs, broken arms, broken tailbones, and assorted major surgeries.
But after surviving all the adversity, the Tigers (29-12-1) were ultimately brought down by a few simple toots on a whistle. Referee Tim Benedetto didn’t beat the Tigers singlehandedly, although his whistle-tooting could have passed for an audition with Michigan State’s lively pep band. The selective nature of his calls, however, took the best drama of the day out of the hands of the players.
Andrew Hutchinson tied the game 3-3 with a power-play goal from the right point at 18:20. And Adam Hall broke in on the left side and fired a shot that goaltender Jeff Sanger blocked with his glove, only to have the puck pop up high and land behind him, where it trickled in at the right edge at 18:52.
The crucial power-play goal occured when Benedetto, a motorcyle policemen from Everett, Mass., called the fifth interference penalty of the game on the Tigers, sending Paul Johnson to the box at 16:59. For the game, CC was penalized nine times to Michigan State’s seven, which isn’t a big difference. But the fact that the Tigers, a small, swift-skating, finesse team, would get five interference penalties to none for a Michigan State team that is skilled but committed numerous acts of what looked like interference — including on the game-tying goal — was at best curious, even if purely coincidental.
On a corner faceoff during that power play, the Spartans got the puck back to the right point where Hutchinson wound up to shoot, as a BC forward shoved CC defenseman Dan Peters into his own crease in front of Sanger, who never saw the screened shot that went in.
“I got pushed into the crease, and I know Jeff couldn’t see it to save it,” said Peters, a junior from Cottage Grove.
That, of course, would also qualify as interference, but the Spartans seemed to be immune to that call, even though Benedetto, at the urging of his linesmen, called to have the goal verified on video replay. They could only look for any MSU players in the crease, however, not for MSU players pushing CC players in.
“As much as refs don’t like to call penalties late in the game, he did it today, and we were fortunate enough to get a power-play goal on it,” said Michigan State coach Ron Mason. “Then he gave them a chance with a later call.”
True, after Hall’s tie-breaking goal, and with Sanger on the bench for a last-minute attack, Benedetto called a meaningless call on Michigan State with 28 seconds left.
The distasteful finish ended a fiercely fought game. The rested Spartans, who had the No. 2 bye in the West, jumped ahead 1-0 on Joe Goodenow’s goal at 1:56 of the first period. Spartan star Mike York was penalized for a heavy check from behind when K.J. Voorhees tied it on the rebound of Jesse Heerema’s shot off the crossbar at 14:43.
Cam Kryway scored on an alert play in the second period after goalie Joe Blackburn dived to poke-check the puck against Heerema but couldn’t recover to guard the open net, and the Tigers held the 2-1 lead into the third period. Another disputed penalty to the Tigers helped Adam Hall backhand in a rebound for a Spartan power-play goal at 9:14, but the Tigers immediately responded to the lost lead by reclaiming it at 3-2, as Trent Clark, a freshman from Superior, broke up the right side and blasted a 40-footer that slid through after Blackburn partially blocked it.
That set up the final, cruel twists. When it was over, CC coach Don Lucia made sure his players held their frustration inside. “I’m really proud of out players to go through what we’ve had to go through to get here,” said Lucia, taking the high road and refusing to comment about the officiating.
Scott Swanson, a senior all-WCHA defenseman from Cottage Grove, said: “There were some other factors involved. We’ve had injuries, and we haven’t gotten key bounces or calls all year. Today, we feel we deserved a little better than what we got.”
Patient Tigers beat St. Lawrence, face MSU
MADISON, WIS.—
Part of the reason Colorado College coach Don Lucia is one of the best in the country was spelled out on Saturday afternoon in the first game of the NCAA West Regional hockey tournament at Dane County Coliseum. After his Tigers came away from a dominant, 19-shot first period trailing St. Lawrence 1-0, Lucia didn’t complain about misfiring shooters, but instead stressed defense.
“Even though we hadn’t scored, we had had a lot of very good chances, and their goaltender had made some great saves,” said Lucia. “But I stressed that we had to keep playing good defensively.”
Lucia trusted the offense to come through on its own, and sure enough, the Tigers erupted for three goals in a 42-second span in the first couple of minutes of the second period, then relied on its stifling defense and the goaltending of freshman Jeff Sanger to whip St. Lawrence 5-2.
The victory moves CC (29-11-1) into today’s quarterfinal game against idle and No. 2 seeded Michigan State (28-5-7) at 2 p.m., with that winner going to Disneyland — for the final four at The Pond in Anaheim. “We know Michigan State is a great team, a well-coached team, and in Mike York they have one of the greatest players; we’re definitely the underdog,” said Lucia, proving that psyche-jobs are another part of coaching he’s mastered.
St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh, whose team finished at 23-13-3, was impressed by CC and by Lucia. “Colorado College is quick, and they play the game the way it should be played, with speed and finesse,” said Marsh. “They handle the puck well, and Donny is a great coach. I had a chance to work with him at last year’s college all-star game. They use their quickness well in close, and they support the puck well and they know how to protect a lead.”
It’s true that many hockey theorists think it’s suicidal to sit on a lead, but Lucia has proven over the last six years that his CC players have the discipline to fall back defensively and win.
St. Lawrence goaltender Eric Heffler looked unbeatable in the first period, with an assortment of spectacular saves, while Brandon Dietrich pounced on the puck shorthanded when CC defenseman Scott Swanson fell when his skate caught a rut in the Dane County Coliseum ice. Dietrich veered out front, held the puck as he crossed the crease to let Sanger drop, then backhanded a shot over him at 10:48.
The Saints also killed off an overlapping power play that lasted until 1:03 of the second period. “I thought when we finished off that kill, it was a big thing when they scored their first goal right away,” said Marsh.
At 1:21 of the second, Cam Kryway scored coming out of the corner. “He made a good individual effort coming out of the corner, and made a good deke to get me to come off the post,” said Heffler, the Saints solid senior goaltender.
Justin Morrison followed up with a goal 11 seconds later, virtually off the ensuing faceoff. “They came in and got us confused a bit,” said Heffler. “I was a little tight in my net, and he picked the corner on me. At that time, after giving up two goals in a row at the start of the period, it was not the time you want to be facing a breakaway.”
But that’s what he faced, and Aaron Karpan roared in and shot into the upper left corner. “I was thinking ‘deke’ all the way, but the goalie was deep in the net,” said Karpan, who said his only previous breakaway came two years ago as a freshman, in the final four, when he came out of the penalty box. “So I’m 1-for-2 now.”
Undaunted, the Saints came back to outshoot the Tigers 13-8 in the middle period, and got within 3-2 when the puck took a weird bounce off the door seam on the end boards and came right out to Charlie Daniels. Startled, Daniels flung the puck across the crease, where a more-startled Sanger went down but missed it, and a still-more-startled Al Fyfe swung and missed before putting his second try at a backhand into the empty net at 9:26.
The Tigers regained control at 16:34, however, when Scott Swanson shot from the right point and Shaun Winkler, a freshman from Bemidji, redirected the puck past Heffler. Swanson said Winkler said he wasn’t sure he touched the puck, for what was his second goal of the season, and he joked about how it was moving so slowly, maybe he didn’t want any credit for it.
St. Lawrence stormed to the attack in the third period, outshooting CC 13-4, but the disciplined CC defense kept the high-quality shots to a minimum, and Sanger took care of those that got through. The only goal of the period came with 20 seconds left, when Morrison got his second of the game into an empty net. It was the 23rd goal of the season for the sophomore from Los Angeles, who had scored only four as a freshman.
NCAA NOTES: The Tigers got back the services of International Falls senior Jon Austin from a sprained ankle, and Cottage Grove junior defenseman Dan Peters from a sprained knee, but Superior senior Darren Clark was declared not ready to play yet with his broken arm, and, of course, Toby Petersen of Bloomington is out for the season with a broken leg.
BC tips Northern, faces Sioux today
MADISON, WIS.
Boston College, the popular choice as the No. 1 college hockey team in the country among some polls and prognosticators, still has a chance to prove it deserves that sort of acclaim if it can beat No. 1 ranked North Dakota in today’s 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal match at the West Regional in Dane County Coliseum.
The Eagles (26-11-4) defeated Northern Michigan 2-1 Saturday, but it took a pair of power-play goals in the second period by Jeff Farkas and Brian Gionta to gain the seventh straight victory for the Eagles, who had faltered to finish third in Hockey East before streaking to the league playoff title. Northern Michigan (22-15-5) thoroughly outplayed the Eagles to take a 1-0 first-period lead when sophomore Fred Mattersdorfer scored on his own rebound, but the Wildcats were undone by penalties in the second period.
Farkas tied the game with his 32nd goal of the season, also on his own rebound and almost from exactly the same place on the rink on a man-advantage at 5:01 of the second period. The Eagles were two skaters up when Gionta stationed himself at the right edge of the crease and deflected Blake Bellefuile’s shot from the left circle at 18:23.
“We were unlucky maybe not to be up by two or three in the first period,” said Northern coach Rick Comley. “We went toe-to-toe with what is maybe the best team in the East on pure talent. I thought we were the better team, 5-on-5, and we had our chances, but their goalie [Scott Clemmensen] played better than I expected him to.”
‘Dogs miss NCAA party, reload for next season
[Rick–Here is the revised form of the UMD season wrapup/forecast, updated for use. And here are the cutlines you can use for the photos…Hopefully you can still use them in a four-square box, or something…]
UMD’s hockey season ended in a spectacular 4-second turnaround, beginning when Ryan Homstol (27) broke through the defense for a point-blank shot that was stopped by Colorado College goaltender Jeff Sanger. Next, Jeff Scissons fired a backhander on the rebound, but Sanger kicked it out to Jesse Heerema, who immediately passed to Brian Swanson (27), who raced to the other end to score a breakaway goal at 6:17 of sudden-death overtime. UMD goalie Brant Nicklin slumped to the ice in despair.
The NCAA hockey tournament gets underway this weekend, with games at two regional sites, Madison, Wis., and Worcester, Mass. Quite a party, with six teams at each site playing down to two, and those two advancing to the final four at the Pond in Anaheim, next weekend, UMD wasn’t invited to the NCAA’s postseason party this year, after struggling through an amazing season of playing hard, playing exciting hockey in all but about a half-dozen games, but finding enough ways to lose enough games to finish last at 4-20-4 in the WCHA.
With the Bulldogs, the cry “Wait till next year!” is more than just hyperbole, however.
Coach Mike Sertich admitted he was baffled a few times this season as his team went down a 4-20-4 path to last place in the WCHA. He never stopped trying tactical methods to prod the team, it was simply stymied by a lack of goal-scoring. In 13 of those losses, the Bulldogs either lost by one goal, or pulled their goaltender, only to yield an empty-net goal.
“We had such high expectations, and we had to readjust our goals once reality set in,” said Sertich. “We went from hoping to contend at the top, to going for home ice, then to avoid the basement. Each segment, we had to readjust, and it seemed like we spent so much energy battling from behind, we never really got going.
“One of the surprises this season is that some of our strengths turned out to be weaknesses, and some of our weaknesses turned out to be strengths. We thought we might have trouble with such a young defense, but the young defensemen played so well, that became our strength.”
After senior and captain Bert Gilling, a steady if unspectacular defenseman, the next most experienced defensemen were sophomores Ryan Coole and Jesse Fibiger. They played well, but a freshman corps of Mark Carlson, Andy Reierson and Kent Sauer all had good-to-exceptional rookie years. Sophomore Craig Pierce played well at the finish, in limited duty. Carlson and Fibiger, particularly, showed signs of being potential leaders. The Bulldogs have freshman Ryan Tessier and new recruit John Conboy from Silver Bay to add to the crew on defense.
“We thought one of our strengths would be that our veteran forwards would score,” added Sertich, “but that turned out to be a big weakness. Other than Jeff Scissons, our forwards were inconsistent at best. We’d show flashes, all through the season, but you have to learn to be an every-nighter, to play with that urgency all the time. A mature team does that, so we’re anxious to see if the year of maturity will help right away.”
UMD will lose only three seniors — Gilling on defense, backup goaltender Tony Gasparini, and winger Curtis Bois, a frustrated scorer who got just six goals this season, and three of those in one weekend. If the pros get insistent, they might come after goaltender Brant Nicklin and Scissons.
“I’m not planning on going anywhere but back to school,” said Nicklin. And his parents are hopeful that he finishes school.
“I’m not looking to get out,” said Scissons, whose brother, Scott, played briefly for the Minnesota Moose, and who watched enough players take a chance on pro hockey with minimal success that he became convinced college was the better choice. “Vancouver drafted me, and I don’t think they’re anxious to have me leave school. I’m still pretty skinny. I usually start the season at about 190, but I’m 182 now, after the long season. I have to work on getting stronger.”
Scissons recalled being a freshman. “When Brant and I came in, we talked about when we’re seniors, how we could have a great team,” Scissons said. “I don’t even see the possibility of me leaving, and assuming everybody stays, we lose less than the other teams. The top teams, like North Dakota, CC and Denver, lose all their best players.”
Scissons was the best UMD forward in almost every game, and he wound up as the top-scoring junior in the entire WCHA. He was tormented, however, by failing to score with a Ryan Homstol rebound in sudden-death overtime in the final playoff game last Saturday night, after which Colorado College countered immediately for a breakaway goal by Brian Swanson at the other end.
Junior goaltender Brant Nicklin will carry the torment of that goal, even though it was a great shot by arguably the league’s best player. Nicklin, however, was brilliant all season, despite the record, and CC coach Don Lucia was only one opposing coach who suggested Nicklin probably was the “best goalie in the league” this season.
The only other Bulldog who might be tempted to turn pro would be Sauer, because he was drafted by the new Nashville franchise. That would seem to be a mistake, because as a big but raw defenseman, Sauer improved as he got more comfortable with the caliber of college hockey, and he undoubtedly would develop more in the fast-paced college game than turning pro, where he might be asked to become the franchise’s fighter.
Without any defections, the Bulldogs could jump all the way from last to WCHA contention next season.
North Dakota and CC finished 1-2, with Denver third. UMD was 0-3-1 against North Dakota, with two games in overtime and a third with an empty-net clincher; the Bulldogs ended their season with four consecutive losses at CC, three by one goal, the other with an empty netter, and two in overtime. UMD split two games with Denver, winning 4-3 and losing 4-2. But while the ‘Dogs proved they could play the best teams evenly, they also sagged to inconsistency against the middle teams, which caused their final record to be a paltry 4-20-4 in the cellar.
Returnees like Homstol, Colin Anderson, Shawn Pogreba, Richie Anderson, Derek Derow, Mark Gunderson, Ryan Nosan and freshmen Tommy Nelson, Judd Medak, Nate Anderson and Eric Ness have scoring potential in their resumes, and if the year’s experience helps them put some pucks away, the future looks bright — possibly extremely bright as soon as next season.
Of the teams in the Final Five: North Dakota, the runaway league champ, loses eight seniors, including scoring stars Jason Blake, Adam Calder, David Hoogsteen, Jay Panzer, Jeff Ulmer, Jesse Bull, and Tom Philion — all forwards — and star defenseman Brad Williamson. Runner-up Colorado College loses six seniors, including top guns Brian Swanson, Darren Clark (from Superior), Jon Austin (from International Falls), plus the nation’s top-scoring defenseman, Scott Swanson (from Cottage Grove), and backup goaltender Todd Gustin (from Hibbing).
Denver loses 10 seniors, including the elusive Paul Comrie, James Patterson and Paul Veres up front, and Shawn Kurulak, Todd Kidd and Ryan Hacker on defense. Minnesota loses only four seniors, but they are pivotal — Wyatt Smith, Reggie Berg, Mike Anderson and defenseman Bill Kohn — and there have been rumblings that a couple underclassmen might leave early. St. Cloud State loses five, including offensive stars George Awada, Jason Goulet, Brad Goulet and Ryan Frisch, and defenseman Kyle McLaughlin.
Elsewhere, Wisconsin loses five players, including defensemen Craig Anderson, Luke Gruden and Tim Rothering; surprising Alaska-Anchorage loses only five seniors, and the Seawolves best players were underclassmen; Michigan Tech, in the process of rebuilding, loses only senior goaltender David Weninger.
UMD will miss its three departing seniors, but other teams will have more trouble filling the gaps left by the magnitude of the players they’re losing.
“Sertie has won four WCHA championships in 17 years. I think that’s pretty outstanding,” said Lucia. “His teams are always very well coached, and they do some unconventional things that other teams are afraid to try. They’ll catch you by surprise doing things like getting their defense involved in the offense, or flying a guy in the neutral zone. Sertie is a tremendous coach who lets his guys play, and play creatively, and when he has top talent, he wins”
Sertich looks at it more modestly.
“We have to look at where we’re headed, and what it is we want, and what kind of players will make us successful again,” Sertich said.
For the first time in 20 years, the Bulldog recruits are all regional. Goaltender Rob Anderson from Superior is set to step in and support Nicklin, and Conboy should help the defense. Forwards Jon Francisco of Hermantown, Andy Sacchetti of Eveleth, and Josh Miskovich of Greenway of Coleraine, all have committed to UMD, although some or all of the three might play a year in the USHL. There are a couple more, still being sought. Because the Bulldogs have only enough scholarships to replace the departing players, most of the recruits will play a year in the USHL, and the challenge will be to decide which players could best benefit from joining the team right now, or coming in as redshirt freshmen to learn Sertich’s systems.
“I don’t fault the effort we gave this year,” said Sertich. “The team was never boring, we never backed off into the trapping defensive style. It’s an an-lib game, and we always want to be creative. Having a successful team is a lot like trying to paint. We don’t want to ever get to the point where we’re just trying to make sure we keep all the paint on the canvas; we say don’t worry about that, just paint the picture.”
And next season, the frustrations of this season may serve to give UMD all the proper colors for a masterpiece.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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