1. Denver (18-6-4) (12-4-4) No Change

2. Miami (20-4-6) (17-1-4) No Change

3. Wisconsin (16-7-4) (11-6-3) No Change

4. Yale (14-6-3) (10-4-2) Up 2

5. St. Cloud State (18-8-4) (13-6-3) No Change

6. Cornell (13-6-3) (10-3-2) Down 2

7. Colorado College (17-10-3) (11-8-3) Up 2

8. Michigan State (17-10-5) (12-7-5) No Change

9. Bemidji State (18-6-2) (10-2-0) Up 1

10. Boston College (15-8-2) (11-6-2) Up 1

11. Minnesota-Duluth (18-11-1) (14-7-1) Down 4

12. North Dakota (13-10-5) (8-9-3) No Change

13. Maine (14-9-3) (11-6-2) Up 3

14. Union (15-7-6) (9-3-4) Up 1

15. Ferris State (17-9-4) (11-7-4) Down 1

16. New Hampshire (13-10-4) (12-5-3) Down 3

Dropped Out: None

Maybe next week: St. Lawrence, UMass, Michigan

Teams By Conference: WCHA 6, ECAC 3, Hockey East 3, CCHA 3, CHA 1

Union 11, Clarkson 2: Holy crap. 11 goals. Mario Valery had 3 of them, and Kelly Zajac, related to North Dakota’s Darcy Zajac, had a goal and 2 assists. Interesting fact: Union and Clarkson each used 3 goalies.

RIT 5, Sacred Heart 2: Andrew Favot had 2 goals and an assist and Tyler Brenner had 2 goals as RIT widened their Atlantic Hockey lead and ended the nation’s longest unbeaten streak.

Miami 2, Lake Superior State 0: Cody Reichard had 33 saves and Brian Mahoney-Wilson had 30 to steal the show in this game. Carter Camper had the only goal with the goalie in net.

Maine 3, UNH 2: New Hampshire scored the first two goals, but Tanner House, Jeff Dimmen and Robby Dee stormed back to take the win for the Black Bears.

Just a quick one tonight, sorry folks. In other news, I am having laptop problems so posting could be a bit spotty over the next couple weeks. Apologies.

And we’re back for week 2 of Bracketology. Definitely some movement this week, although I am hesitant to make whole scale changes.

A reminder: This bracket is made not on the assumption that the season ends today, but as a prediction of what the bracket will look like when it is announced.

Also, the teams who host regionals have to play in said regional if they make the field.

Finally, attendance is taken into account, and efforts are made to avoid intraconference matchups, assuming there are not 5 or more teams from one conference.

Bracket after the jump. Continue Reading »

Team of the Week – Denver

The Denver Pioneers came into the weekend ranked 3rd in the USCHO poll, and had a tough weekend series in Grand Forks to face a fellow top 10 team. The Sioux never got into Friday’s game however as Denver scored twice in the first 5 minutes and shutout the Sioux to win 2-0.

Saturday night’s game saw some adversity for the Pioneers. The Sioux jumped out to a 2-0 lead but Denver scored 3 goals in 7 minutes in the 2nd period to earn the sweep.

Player of the week – Marc Cheverie, G, Denver

It’s only logical that the most influential player for our best team of the week gets the award. Cheverie allowed just two goals, both on Saturday, while making 55 saves for our new #1 team in the country. It was his 6th shutout of the season.

Cheverie now ranks 5th nationally in GAA (2.02) and 2nd in save percentage (.932).

Runner up: Wahsontiio Stacey, Vermont

I used to love the Beanpot. Love it. The notion of four schools in the same city meeting in an NHL rink to decide the champion of the city in a February tournament that could propel a team to the NCAA Tournament and beyond seemed just awesome to me. Even though I am in the midwest, I still respected the Beanpot and what it stood for.

I’ve had enough.

First of all, it’s the same thing every year. BC and BU meet in the finals? No way! Unless BC and BU meet in the first round – which would be unfair to have them do every year – the final is virtually a foregone conclusion. So the final will take place in a week in (trademark Bill Simmons) whatever they call it now Garden. Here are your semifinal recaps:

Boston College 6, Harvard 0: John Muse had 33 saves, which was the first shutout in the Beanpot in 8 years, and the Eagles got goals from 6 different players. Carl Sneep, Ben Smith and Brian Gibbons all had a goal and an assist.

BU 2, Northeastern 1: It was tied late, and for a bit we looked like we might have an upset, but BU Freshman Alex Chiasson scored with 5:47 left to give BU a 2-1 lead which they would not relinquish. BU will play BC in the final for the 20th time in Beanpot history. BU has a 12-7 edge in their first 19 meetings. Chris Rawlings had 33 saves for Northeastern, while Kieran Millan had 26 for the Terriers.

1. Denver (16-6-4) (12-4-4) Up 2

With two strong games in Grand Forks last weekend, Marc Cheverie has launched himself into the Hobey discussion

2. Miami (18-4-6) (15-1-4) No Change

Is it any wonder that the goalies with the two highest save percentages anchor the #1 and #2 teams in the country.

3. Wisconsin (15-7-4) (11-6-3) Down 2

Not your typical Wisconsin team: The Badgers are 2nd nationally in goals per game.

4. Cornell (12-5-3) (9-2-2) No Change

Cornell had been on an  0-30 slide on the power play, but with 3 ppg in the 2nd period, vs. Clarkson, they are still 6th nationally in power play percentage.

5. St. Cloud State (17-8-3) (12-6-2) No Change

With balanced scoring, solid defense, and a team that stays out of the box, this could be the year the Huskies break through in the NCAA tournament.

6. Yale (12-6-3) (8-4-2) No Change

Yale was shutout for just the second time all year on Saturday vs. RPI

7. Minnesota-Duluth (17-10-1) (13-6-1) Up 2

Kenny Reiter had his first career shutout Saturday vs. Wisconsin to keep the Bulldogs 1 point back of Denver.

8. Michigan State (17-9-4) (12-6-4) Up 2

Corey Tropp had 2 goals on Friday against Michigan, making the Yost faithful happy I’m sure

9. Colorado College (15-10-3) (11-8-3) Up 3

10. Bemidji State (18-6-2) (10-2-0) Down 2

11. Boston College (13-8-2) (10-6-2) Up 2

12. North Dakota (13-10-5) (8-9-3) Down 6

13. New Hampshire (13-8-4) (12-3-3) Up 1

14. Ferris State (17-8-3) (11-6-3) Down 3

15. Union (13-7-6) (7-3-4) No Change

16. Maine (12-9-3) (9-6-2) No Change

Dropped Out: None

Maybe Next Week: St. Lawrence, UMass

Teams By Conference: WCHA 6, ECAC 3, CCHA 3, Hockey East 3, CHA 1

Denver 2, North Dakota 0: Might as well start with the game I attended. Denver outplayed the Sioux, but it wasn’t as if the Sioux were terrible in the game. Outside of the first five minutes that is. Freshman Aaron Dell gave up 2 goals on the first 4 shots he saw. Brad Eidsness stopped all 9 shots he saw the rest of the way. Denver’s two goals were scored by Joe Coleborne and Tyler Ruegsegger. Marc Cheverie stopped all 33 Sioux shots. The Sioux also had a goal disallowed due to a penalty by Corban Knight. I didn’t really see one committed, but I will admit that I wasn’t in exactly the proper state to make judgment on such things. In any event, the Sioux stay in 6th, just 1 point ahead of Minnesota, and Denver remains in a 1st place tie.

Cornell 2, St Lawrence 1: No Riley Nash, not much of a problem. Patrick Kennedy scored at 18:23 of the third period to give Cornell a huge win that propelled them into a tie for first in ECAC Hockey. Cornell outshot St. Lawrence 34-16.

Yale 4, Union 3: Could the wheels be falling off the Union bandwagon? Brendan Mason had two goals, and Yale’s leading point getter (Brian O’Neill) and 2nd leading goal scorer (Sean Backman) both scored. Yale is now in a 1st place tie with Cornell, although they have played 2 more games.

Sacred Heart 4, UConn 3: Patrick Knowlton had a goal and an assist, Nick Johnson and Matt Gingera scored as well, and Sacred Heart has the nation’s longest winning streak at 11 games.

Michigan State 3, Michigan 2: The Spartans jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind 2 goals by Corey Tropp and one by Andrew Rowe. Carl Hagelin and Louie Caporusso both scored for Michigan, which will probably give Wolverine fans some confidence, but seeing Corey Tropp score twice must have left a bad taste in their mouths.

Wisconsin 5, Minnesota-Duluth 2: The Badgers outshot Duluth 53-19. Really it doesn’t matter who is in goal if you’re putting up 53 shots. Brendan Smith had a goal, Jake Gardiner had a goal and an assist, and Blake Geoffrion had a goal and an assist. My friend who watched the game on TV said he looked “Hobey-tastic,” so take that for what it’s worth.

Princeton 2, Harvard 1: Look out ECAC Hockey. Finally getting healthy, Princeton is coming on strong. Dan Bartlett scored their first goal, assisted by one of my favorite players in the whole country (Cam McIntyre), and Marc Hagel got the game winner at 17:34 of the 3rd. Zane Kalemba had 34 saves. Princeton may be in 10th place right now, but I think they have the ability to rocket up the conference standings and honestly could make it to Albany.

After an award winning year doing last year’s bracketology (ok, not a winning year but I did get linked by Puck Daddy a couple times so I’ll call it a win) it’s time for year #2. Before we get started, a couple things to keep in mind:

1. This is a projection of how I think the field will look at the date of its announcement, not how it would look if the season ended today

2. Tournament site hosts must be in the regional they host. This year’s hosts are: Holy Cross, RPI, Notre Dame and Minnesota

3. #1 seeds are ranked 1-4, much like the NCAA basketball tournament

4. Intraconference matchups in the first round are avoided, unless 5 teams from one conference make it.

Alright, let’s hit it. From west to east. Continue Reading »

It’s been kind of a hectic day in this little corner of Blogfrica, (or, since this is a hockey blog, Scandinblogvia?) so instead of a huge post, why don’t you take a gander at former Michigan State Spartan goalie Ryan Miller’s mask that he will don at the Olympics.

1. Wisconsin (14-6-4) (10-4-4) Up 3

With 3 points against Denver, Wisconsin takes over the top spot. I debated them and Miami for a long time, but finally settled on Wisconsin because (among other things) the Badgers lead the nation in scoring margin.

2. Miami (16-4-6) (13-1-4) No Change

The RedHawks haven’t lost a conference game in 3 months, 1 day.

3. Denver (14-6-4) (10-4-4) Down 2

By allowing 7 goals this weekend, Marc Cheverie fell to 6th in the country in save percentage (.928)

4. Cornell (10-5-3) (7-2-2) Up 1

Ben Scrivens had probably his best game of the year on Friday, stopping all 28 Sioux shots.

5 .St. Cloud State (16-7-3) (11-5-2) Up 7

If the tournament started today, the Huskies would just miss out on a 1 seed.

6. North Dakota (13-8-5) (8-7-3) Up 3

The Sioux are now a top 5 scoring defense, allowing just 2.15 gpg

7. Yale (11-5-3) (7-3-2) Down 1

The top 4 teams in ECAC Hockey all meet this weekend.

8. Bemidji State (17-5-2) (9-1-0) Up 5

With their two wins this weekend, Bemidji State pretty much locks up an NCAA berth, even if they don’t win the CHA tournament.

9. Minnesota-Duluth (16-9-1) (12-5-1) Down 6

Kinda weird to have the WCHA leaders ranked below 4 other WCHA teams.

10. Michigan State (16-8-4) (11-5-4) Down 3

Corey Tropp has gone into a slump and is now 19th in goals per game. Looks like we won’t have to worry about his off the ice transgressions last year.

11. Ferris State (17-7-2) (11-5-2) No Change

Ferris is 4th in scoring defense.

12. Colorado College (14-9-3) (10-7-3) No Change

CC may have lost its home ice playoff spot with Saturday’s loss to Anchorage. The Sioux fan in me cheers.

13. Boston College (12-8-2) (9-6-2) Down 5

After a 5 game winning streak through December, BC is 2-5 in the New Year and now in 3rd in Hockey East

14. New Hampshire (12-7-4) (11-2-3) Up 1

The Wildcats have 9 double digit point getters, but just 2 double digit goal scorers.

15. Union (13-6-5) (7-2-3) Down 5

They entered the weekend undefeated in conference; they left just a point in first place.

16. Maine (11-9-2) (8-6-1) Newbies

Gustav Nyquist is still 3rd nationally in ppg (1.45 ppg)

Dropped out: UMass

Maybe Next Week: UMass-Lowell

Teams By Conference: WCHA 6, ECAC 3, CCHA 3, Hockey East 3, CHA 1