Your definitive PHT NCAA hockey tournament preview

By Joe YerdonMar 29, 2013, 8:00 AM EDT

College hockey’s version of March Madness gets underway this afternoon and the 16 teams that are in the tournament, they know that one loss ends their season. How do things shake out in the four regionals? Safe to say we’ve got 12 curious games to get us through the weekend.

Here’s the quick and the dirty on the first round games as well as my idea on how things shake out as the road to Pittsburgh and the Frozen Four sets up.

Northeast Regional – Manchester, NH

1. UMass-Lowell vs. 4. Wisconsin

Lowell took down their first ever Hockey East tournament title while Wisconsin roared through the WCHA to win that conference’s tourney. For a 1-4 game, this one’s a doozy. The Badgers have the tourney history, while the Riverhawks have been rolling since December. Lowell will go as far as freshman goalie Connor Hellebuyck takes them.

Players to watch: Connor Hellebuyck (G – FR) for Lowell. Nic Kerdiles (F – FR) for Wisconsin.

2. New Hampshire vs. 3. Denver University

Both teams bowed out of their conference tournaments early. Both teams landed extended vacations before the NCAAs. Who does the break help? Who does it hinder? New Hampshire has home ice and Denver didn’t do well in 2010 when they headed east for the tournament. Hmm…

Players to watch: Kevin Goumas (F – JR) for New Hampshire. Nick Shore (F—JR) for Denver.

East Regional – Providence, RI

1. Quinnipiac vs. 4. Canisius

It’s the top seeded team in the tournament against the last seeded team. In the NCAA basketball tourney that usually means the top team wins in a walk. Not so for the hockey tourney. That said, Canisius is on a roll after winning the Atlantic Hockey tournament. Then again, they were not overly good this season. Quinnipiac lost in the semifinals of the ECAC tournament to Brown. This could wind up being the closes of the 1 vs. 4 games in this year.

Players to watch: Hobey Baker finalist Eric Hartzell (G – SR) for Quinnipiac. Kyle Gibbons (F – JR) for Canisius.

2. Boston College vs. 3. Union College

An intriguing match-up of what could’ve been last year’s national championship game had Union beaten Ferris State in the national semis. BC is the perennial vampire of the playoffs. They’re not done until you put the stake through their heart. Union is on fire having won their way through the ECAC tournament on their way to the title. The Dutchmen are a chic pick to make the Frozen Four out of this region and that’s just what Boston College (with Jerry York back behind the bench) likes to hear.

Players to watch: Hobey Baker finalist Johnny Gaudreau (F –SO) for BC. Wayne Simpson (F – SR) for Union.

Midwest Regional – Toledo, OH

1. Notre Dame vs. 4. St. Cloud State

The Fighting Irish battled their way through to win the final CCHA tournament and earn a No. 1 seed. Lucky for them they get to face the WCHA’s co-regular season champs from St. Cloud State. Some reward. Jeff Jackson’s Fighting Irish played strong throughout the playoffs while St. Cloud disappointed in the Final Five. This one’s an honest to goodness toss-up, but keep in mind that the Huskies did not fare too well out of conference this season (swept by Northern Michigan and New Hampshire, lost to Rensselaer).

Players to watch: Anders Lee (F – JR) for Notre Dame, Drew LeBlanc (F –SR) for St. Cloud.

2. Miami University vs. 3. Minnesota St. – Mankato

The Redhawks have become a fixture in the NCAAs. Unfortunately for them, they have yet to win a national title. They came up short in the CCHA tournament so they’ve got motivation to prove they’re better than that. Minnesota St. is making their first appearance in the NCAAs since 2003 and don’t look for them to take the “glad to be selected” approach. They’re a darkhorse team to come out of this region.

Players to watch: Austin Czarnik (F – SO) for Miami, Matt Leitner (F – SO) for Minnesota St.

West Regional – Grand Rapids, MI

1. Minnesota vs. 4. Yale

The Golden Gophers were a co-dominant force this season along with Quinnipiac and are the definitive No. 2 team in the tournament. Getting rewarded with a mercurial Yale squad doesn’t make life easy for them. If they run into the Bulldogs team that has goalie Jeff Malcolm stopping everything and them pushing the pace offensively, Minnesota will have their hands full. If they get the Yale team that “showed up” in the ECAC semis and consolation game, it’ll be a walk in the park as they haven’t scored a goal since the ECAC quarterfinals against St. Lawrence.

Players to watch: Erik Haula (F—JR) for Minnesota and recently traded for Jarome Iginla prospect Kenny Agostino (F –JR) for Yale.

2. North Dakota vs. Niagara

The formerly Fighting Sioux boast perhaps the best offensive one-two punch in the tournament with Hobey Baker finalist forwards Danny Kristo and Corban Knight. They’ve combined for 99 points this season alone but Niagara boasts a Hobey finalist of their own in junior goalie Carsen Chubak. You can debate the competition he’s faced but his numbers do all the talking (1.91 GAA, .938 SV%). North Dakota is capable of winning it all, but Niagara will look to give them fits.

Other players to watch: Rocco Grimaldi (F—FR) for North Dakota, Giancarlo Iuorio (F—SR; 21 goals) for Niagara.

Prediction: Keep in mind I’m terrible at predictions (but you knew that by now) but I like UMass-Lowell, Boston College, Minnesota St., and North Dakota to make it to Pittsburgh. If I go 0-for-4 on those picks, I won’t be the least bit surprised. There’s no overly dominant team with a gift-like road to the Frozen Four this year.

Tonight on NBCSN: Doubleheader action featuring No. 1 Quinnipiac and No. 6 North Dakota

By Joe YerdonFeb 22, 2013, 6:45 AM EDT

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Tonight’s doubleheader features a great, yet not well known, ECAC rivalry and thriller of a match-up in the WCHA.

No. 1 Quinnipiac Bobcats (22-4-4) vs. No. 13 Yale Bulldogs (13-9-3) – 7:30 p.m. ET

Quinnipiac may have taken the college hockey world by storm this season but they head into tonight’s game looking to keep their steamship of a season rolling right along. They’re the top team in the country and they’ve already locked up the ECAC’s regular season title. Coach Rand Pecknold’s team is a beast that can score plenty and stymie you defensively. To add to their Connecticut rivalry, they’ve already whooped on Yale in their barn this season.

Yale, meanwhile, wants to make sure they don’t drift too far out of second place. After getting swept by Union and suddenly scorching hot Rensselaer last weekend, the Bulldogs are tied for fifth with Dartmouth in the league. Paying back the Bobcats for their defeat earlier this season would help get them back on track.

NHL prospects to watch

Quinnipiac: Matthew Peca (SO – F- Tampa Bay – pictured), Jordan Samuels-Thomas (SR – F – Winnipeg), Kellen Jones (JR – F – EDM). Undrafted stars: Jeremy Langlois (SR – F; team points leader with 26), Eric Hartzell (SR – G; 1.46 GAA .935 SV%)

Yale: Kenny Agostino (F – JR – Pittsburgh), Gus Young (D – JR – Colorado), Rob O’Gara (D – FR – Boston), Matthew Beattie (F – FR – Vancouver). Undrafted stars: Andrew Miller (SR – F; tied for team lead in goals with 12, 2^nd in points), Antoine Laganiere (SR – F; also tied with Miller and Agostino in goals, third on team in points), Jeff Malcolm (SR – G; 2.48 GAA .918 SV%)

No. 10 Denver Pioneers (15-9-5) vs. No. 6 University of North Dakota (16-8-6) – 10:05 p.m. ET

The race in the WCHA for the top spot is a tight one and both North Dakota and Denver are in striking distance. UND sits just three points back of St. Cloud State but they’re in fifth place. Meanwhile, DU is six points back in seventh place. It’s fitting that the final season of this iteration of the WCHA has turned into a wild one.

North Dakota heads into this game unbeaten in their last five games (3-0-2) and winners of three in a row. Denver, on the other hand, comes in grumpy after tying and losing to rival Colorado College last weekend and falling a bit further back in the conference race. With the season winding down and the boatload of talent on the ice between these teams, expect both to come out all guns blazing.

NHL prospects to watch

Denver: The Pioneers roll with seven NHL prospects highlighted by the team’s leading scorer, junior forward Nick Shore (Los Angeles). Sophomore defenseman Joey LaLeggia (Edmonton) is their top point-getter along the blue line. Others to watch: Zac Larraza (SO – F – Phoenix), Scott Mayfield (SO – D – NY Islanders), Paul Phillips (SR – D – Chicago), Josiah Didier (SO – D – Montreal), Sam Brittain (JR – G – Florida)

North Dakota: They have 14 NHL-drafted players here. The best of the bunch are their top-four scorers in seniors Corban Knight (Florida) Danny Kristo (Montreal -pictured), freshman Rocco Grimaldi (Florida) and sophomore Mark MacMillan (Montreal). Freshman goalie Zane Gothberg (Boston) has impressed of late.

(Photos: ECAC Hockey, North Dakota sports)

Tonight on NBCSN: No. 14 Nebraska-Omaha hosts No. 7 North Dakota

By Joe YerdonFeb 8, 2013, 6:45 AM EDT

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Two top coaches have their programs neck-and-neck in the WCHA race.

No. 14 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (16-10-2) vs. No. 7 University of North Dakota (14-8-6) — 8:30 p.m. ET

The battle to earn the top spot in the WCHA is raging on and tonight’s game features two teams trying to keep pace with St. Cloud State to earn the crown. For homestanding Nebraska-Omaha, it’s been a good run of late. They’ve won five of their last eight and only have losses to Michigan Tech and Denver in that span.

We’ve seen UNO a couple times this season and we’ve seen all shades of what they can do. From steamrolling the likes of Army and Colorado College, losing a nailbiter to Notre Dame and getting blown away by Denver. They’ve been tough in conference but handling North Dakota presents one huge line of issues for coach Dean Blais’ team to contend with.

For the former Fighting Sioux, they have a dynamic duo of scorers in Danny Kristo and Corban Knight (pictured) for the UNO defense to contend with. They’ve been getting points aplenty over the last couple months, but lately wins have escaped them. In their past eight games, North Dakota is just 2-3-3. On the upside, they’re 1-0-2 in their last three. Hey, a tie is better than a loss… Right? By the way, North Dakota has 14 NHL-drafted players on their roster. Not a bad job of recruiting there by Dave Hakstol.

NHL prospects to watch

UND has a veritable army of players to keep an eye on. The big two are both seniors in Knight (Florida) and Kristo (Montreal). They’re supported by a few others that you may have heard of. Freshman forward and Team USA WJC gold medalist Rocco Grimaldi (Florida) and sophomore forward Mark MacMillan (Montreal) have provided them with a solid secondary attack. There’s a lot to work with here for North Dakota including undrafted guys like senior forward Carter Rowney and junior goalie Clarke Saunders.

Others: Dillon Simpson (JR – D – Edmonton), Joe Gleason (SR – D – Chicago), Derek Forbort (JR – D – Los Angeles), Nick Mattson (SO – D – Chicago), Jordan Schmaltz (FR – D – St. Louis), Michael Parks (SO – F – Philadelphia), Brendan O’Donnell (SO – F – Tampa Bay), Andrew MacWilliam (SR – D – Toronto), Derek Rodwell (JR – F – New Jersey), Zane Gothberg (G – FR – Boston)

UNO’s top players are more or less undrafted players. Senior forward Ryan Walters leads the team in points and is a likely free agent signing after his season is over. Sophomore forward Josh Archibald (Pittsburgh) is Walters’ go-to guy on the attack. Sophomore Dominic Zombo and junior Matt White follow up as other undrafted players leading the charge.

Others: Bryce Aneloski (SR – D – Ottawa), Brent Gwidt (SR – F – Washington), Nick Seeler (FR – D – Minnesota), Tanner Lane (FR – F – Winnipeg), Brian Cooper (FR – D – Anaheim)

(Picture: UND Sports)

Back To Class: The WCHA did the right thing for Alabama-Huntsville

By Joe YerdonJan 21, 2013, 8:00 AM EDT

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We’re taking you “Back To Class” for our roundup of the weekend’s action in college hockey. Look for more college hockey on NBCSN this Friday night as No. 12 Yale takes on No. 16 Cornell.

Back in the fall of 2011, the University of Alabama-Huntsville interim president was set to cut the hockey program entirely only to see it saved by alumni and fans of the program alike. Their only problem was they didn’t have a conference to play in. They were the only school to play as an independent the past few seasons. They wanted into the CCHA after the CHA closed up shop only to see that conference vote to keep them out.

Fast-forward to today and we see the CCHA will no longer exist thanks to the creation of the Big Ten Hockey Conference as well as the NCHC and those left behind there are joining the new WCHA. Funny thing about the WCHA is they had an odd number of teams and it made too much sense not to approve bringing UAH aboard. That’s precisely what they voted to do last week, saving the program.

It was the right move by the WCHA to extend the invite and while it comes with some big risks, making the effort to save a program in desperate need of partnership was needed. College hockey is as niche as it gets amongst big time NCAA sports. With 58 programs participating, losing teams does the sport no favors and allowing one to wither and die would’ve been egregious.

Yes, the travel will be rough in the new WCHA with not just UAH but also both Alaska schools there. The costs will be high and that’s where the risk comes into play. But they had to try and make it work. The travel costs can and will be covered and college hockey saves a supported program in need. It’s the feel-good story folks in Huntsville have been praying for, now we can just hope it all turns out for the best.

***

Minnesota-North Dakota rivalry ends in a thrill: The Golden Gophers and formerly Fighting Sioux duked it out in classic fashion in the Twin Cities as the Gophers came away with a big win Friday and a classic 4-4 draw on Saturday. With each team heading to different conferences next season, they won’t see each other for at least the next three seasons putting a sad end to a classic rivalry. Here’s to hoping they’ll meet in the NCAA tournament the next three seasons instead and save Don Lucia a bit of grief.

River Hawks are flying: Look out for UMass-Lowell in Hockey East. They’re winners of nine in a row including a big win over BU on Saturday night. They were an NCAA tournament team last year losing to Union in the East Region final. Sophomore forward Scott Wilson has been lighting it up and goalies Connor Hellebuyck and Doug Carr have buckled down. With UNH cooling off and BU riding a roller coaster of sorts, Lowell is poised to shake things up.

Speaking of roller coasters, the ECAC: What a wild weekend in the ECAC. Yale continues to play strong sweeping Harvard and Dartmouth. Cornell dealt Union a harsh blow to their hopes of making a run at first place beating them on Friday, but then stumbled themselves losing 3-2 to RPI on Saturday. RPI’s weekend sweep over Colgate and Cornell got them up to 7th in the standings. Meanwhile, Quinnipiac is in first by eight points with Yale lurking behind them.

Remember how I said this conference would cannibalize itself? It’s dinner time now.

(Photo: Jim Rosvold – USCHO.com)

Back to Class: A pair of North Dakota prospects are on fire

By Joe YerdonJan 14, 2013, 8:00 AM EDT

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We’re taking you “Back To Class” for our roundup of the weekend’s action in college hockey. Look for more college hockey on NBCSN this Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET as Harvard takes on Yale.

North Dakota is climbing their way up the rankings and they’ve got a pair of senior forwards to thank for that.

Corban Knight, a Florida Panthers prospect, and Danny Kristo, a Canadiens prospect, are as on fire as hockey players can get. Knight has scored a point in 17-straight games while Kristo has been white-hot with 16 points in his last six games. Knight’s 31 points on the season are good enough to put him second in the country while Kristo’s 30 tie him with two other players for third.

Meanwhile, the two have combined to pile up 31 points together over their last seven games. Who do they think they are, Gretzky and Kurri?

With the kind of offensive heat they’re bringing, North Dakota has surged because of it. While they split their weekend series with Colorado College over the weekend, their record over their last nine games is fantastic at 7-1-1. As of this writing, they’re No. 7 in the country in the USA Hockey/USA Today poll and they’re one point out of the top spot in the WCHA.

If North Dakota is to continue their climb to the top, the road ahead won’t help them. Their next three weekends see them visit the top-ranked Gophers and then host St. Cloud State and resurgent Wisconsin. The WCHA is a meat grinder as it is, but UND is about to find out if their young guns have what it takes to lead them to first place.

***

Crucial week for Alabama-Huntsville: The future of the Chargers’ hockey program may be decided at this week’s NCAA convention. It would be really, really, really, really, really nice if the WCHA would lend a hand and invite them to the conference. Being the only independent team in college hockey is killing this program.

Quinnipiac keeps on rolling: We might as well keep tabs on the Bobcats’ ridiculous roll. While they tied Rensselaer on Friday, they came back from down 2-0 to beat Union 3-2 on Saturday. They’re still unbeaten in the ECAC (11-0-1) and they’re 14-0-2 in their last 16 games. They’re 10 points ahead in their conference. Good hockey is definitely being played in Connecticut.

Wolverines struggling: One team that’s a mainstay atop the CCHA standings is usually Michigan. Not so much this year. This year they’re tied for eighth with Michigan State and the losses are piling up all over. They’ve lost three in a row at home (two to Alaska, one to Bowling Green) and over their last 14 games, they’ve gone 3-10-1. Poor goaltending is killing them and Red Berenson cannot be pleased.

Games of the weekend: North Dakota vs. Minnesota duke it out twice and that’s as good as it gets. Miami and Wisconsin doing an out-of-conference double-dip is worth a watch as well.

(Photo: UND Athletics)