The scattering of various college conferences has made it more difficult to keep track of all the action, but this is the week when it blossoms. And it happens among both the men’s and women’s leagues.

The disparity in how leagues run their playoffs is a drawback, because they don’t all do the same thing to get to the same objective — which is the NCAA tournament itself.
‘
For example, the NCHC has had a long, rugged season. But in the closing weeks, North Dakota captured the championship, finishing 15-8-1, to narrowly edge preseason favorite Denver (15-7-2), season upstart Colorado College (14-8-2) and sputtering but potent St. Cloud State (11-9-4).

To end the regular season, fifth-place Omaha swept North Dakota, while seventh-place UMD swept St. Cloud State and Western Michigan secured sixth place ahead of UMD. But NCHC plays its quarterfinals as a best-of-three series, which pretty much assures upsets will be at a premium, if evident at all.

Winter wonderland in Denver, not Duluth
One of the most ironic parts about the system is that UMD — from the usual winter wonderland of Northern Minnesota — has not had a single snowstorm this year and the brown grass and fields look more like mid-October than March. So, as the Bulldogs gathered for their flight to Denver to play the team that looked like the NCHC’s best when they swept UMD in Duluth a few weeks ago, they were unprepared for an 11-hour delay and an overnight stay in a Minneapolis hotel before finishing their trip.

The reason was a near-foot-deep snowstorm that hit Denver recently, closing businesses, closing freeways and shutting down the airport. In a normal season, the Denver players and staff may look apprehensively to an upcoming trip to Duluth because of possible blizzards, but this time, it is the Duluth traveling party that had to fly to Denver in order to experience winter!

UMD’s sweep of rival St. Cloud State may have been more timely than the snows of Denver, because UMD snapped a losing streak in the process and seem poised to prove that if they are on their game they can beat anybody.

North Dakota shouldn’t expect any problems with last-place Miami, and could easily prove their last-series losses were just resting up their top guns for this weekend’s series at Grand Forks. Omaha, which has been tough to beat for all NCHC foes all season, is also fighting this week’s wintry weather to make it to Colorado Springs for the three-game series against CC. And the most competitive and intriguing series of the whole first round could well be Western Michigan’s trip to St. Cloud to play the Huskies.

The winners of those four NCHC series will advance to St. Paul and take over Xcel Energy Center — home of the Minnesota Wild — for the last convening of the Final Faceoff for NCHC semifinals and finals before the teams scatter to play at higher home sites. There are some who already miss the chance to show their stuff to the major Twin Cities media and population centers, which have proven so popular over the years.

Big Ten, CCHA playoff status
The Big Ten has only Minnesota among state teams, and the Gophers face a major challenge in a one-game showdown against Michigan. After winning the last two titles, Minnesota finished third (13-7-4) behind Michigan State (16-6-2) and Wisconsin (16-7-1), and ahead of fourth-place Michigan (11-11-2), which has a disappointing record for such a talent-laden team. It is Michigan that returns to 3M Arena at Mariucci to face Minnesota this weekend, and the Wolverines blew a big lead before subduing Minnesota in overtime two weeks ago in the second game of their season.

The strange thing is that Minnesota-Michigan is a one-game showdown, just as the other semifinal series when Ohio State plays at Michigan State, having already upset second-place Wisconsin, although the Badgers will surely get voted back into the NCAA field. Instead, the Badgers get a week’s rest.

The biggest turmoil is happening in the CCHA, where the whole season has been a wonderful, storybook twist. Bemidji State won the league (15-7-2) ahead of St. Thomas (12-11-1) and the deadkick for third between Michigan Tech (12-10-2) and Minnesota State Mankato (12-10-2). Lake Superior State finished seventh at (11-12-1), tied with Bowling Green, before the Lakers went to St. Thomas and ruined the Tommies season by splitting 4-1 victories in their best-of-three and then Lake Superior State stunned St. Thomas 3-2 in overtime in game 3.

That reversal sends Lake Superior State to Bemidji State, while MSU-Mankato plays at Michigan Tech.

When all the league playoff shooting subsides, we can dust ourselves off, put the snowshovels aside, and get ready for what is certain to be controversial NCAA selections.

But for now, the league playoff theory remains intact as the most exciting, we just have to stay alert to find out if our favorite league playoff ends this week, or ends net week, or overlaps to encompass both this weekend and next. All we know is they will be exciting.,

The post College Hockey Playoffs Are The Best appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

In the CCHA, which used to be the WCHA for both men and women, it couldn’t be more competitive. Bemidji State leads with 37 points on an 11-7-2 record; St. Thomas and Bowling Green are tied with 35 points and identical 11-8-1 records. Minnesota State Mankato also has 35 points and an 11-7-2 record. 

This weekend, things could get straightened out a bit — or even more tangled — in the CCHA when Bemidji State faces two games at St. Thomas, while Lake Superior State invades Mankato, Michigan Tech is at Bowling Green and Northern Michigan at Ferris State.

In the Big Ten, Minnesota stumbled at Notre Dame, but came back from a 6-1 embarrassment to gain a 3-2 overtime victory in the rematch when Jaxon Nelson scored late to tie it, and Jimmy Snuggerud scored at 1:18 of overtime to win it.

Nevertheless, Minnesota’s stretch of 9-1-1 was broken, as was the Gophers hope to vault up into the top spot in the conference. At 12-6-4, the third-place Gophers have 37 points to stay ahead of Notre Dame, but they still trail first-place Michigan State (46 points, 14-4-2 record) and second-place Wisconsin (13-6-1, 39 points). The Gophers are idle this weekend, while last-place Ohio State heads for Michigan State after ruining Wisconsin’s title hopes with 3-2 overtime and 3-1 victories for the Buckeyes last weekend.

The NCHC, meanwhile, which had some struggles early, has now settled into its usual position as the nation’s best conference. The top five teams could legitimately feel as though they could win any other conference in the country. Those top five are North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Colorado College, Denver and Western Michigan, and they are all bunched within eight points.

Rough weekend for UMD vs. Denver
Minnesota Duluth isn’t among the NCHC title-chasers this season, but if they can pull all their loose ends together for the final six regular-season games, the Bulldogs may well decide who wins it. The Bulldogs languish in seventh place after being swept 5-4 in overtime and 5-2 by Denver last weekend at AMSOIL Arena. While Denver looked like the best team any hockey fans in Duluth have seen this year, they trail the leaders: North Dakota (11-6-1, 37 points), St. Cloud State (10-4-4, 36 points) and surprising Colorado College (12-6, 33 points). Denver is 11-6-1 with 31 points.

UMD, having lost twice to powerful Denver, now finishes the regular season at North Dakota this weekend, at Colorado College and back home against St. Cloud State. How’s that for a playoff tuneup?

Last Friday night’s game might have been the most entertaining and exciting games of the season for the Bulldogs who, if they didn’t have their torturous loose ends together, they pulled them together in that wild finish with two goals after pulling goaltender Zach Stejskal to tie the game 4-4 — only to fall on a goal by Aidan Thompson at 1:46 of the 3-on-3 overtime.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, all within about four minutes of elapsed time.

The loose ends came back to haunt UMD Saturday night, after another similar rally seemed to lift the Bulldogs from a horrible three-goal opening deficit fashioned in a shaky first seven minutes, to self-destructing when two of their promising scorers — Ben Steeves and Anthony Menghini — wound up sharing penalty box time for misconduct penalties through the final minutes to eliminate any chance of continuing the rally.

It was, in a word, embarrassing. That, after an embarrassing start of three goals on five shots that caused coach Scott Sandelin to pull Stejskal and send in Matthew Thiessen.

“And you know what the most embarrassing thing was?” Sandelin said, challenging three media types who showed up after the game. “That stuff at the end. Having two guys sitting there for mouthing off. It’s frustrating, and I get it, but I’m sorry, if they don’t learn it’s not going to bode well for us. You don’t disrespect the team.”

And with that, Sandelin stalked away from the podium. Press conference over.

That Saturday night, UMD’s fire was extinguished early when Zeev Buium scored on the first shot of the first shift, at 0:31, and Connor Caponi shoveled in a backhander at 5:25. Jared Wright got loose on the right boards and flew in to score short-side on his breakaway for a 3-0 lead at 6:39. Shots were 5-5, but the score was 3-0 Denver, and the crowd was silent. Thiessen was sent in to tend goal, and he was sharp immediately, and made saves on all eight shots the rest of the first period.

Denver took a 5-2 lead in the third period, and the air went out of the balloon. At 9:57 of the third period, it got worse. That’s when Menghini, who has scored seven goals as a freshman, was called for checking from behind. Menghini said something to the ref, and was given a 10-minute misconduct, too. Sandelin sent Steeves over to serve the minor, and it ended just as a whistle blew. Steeves skated out and, as he passed the ref, he made a comment. Bang! He also was awarded a 10-minute misconduct, with eight minutes to go.

Losing the chance to make one last bid to win was too much for Sandelin, and while he has defended his players all season, he blew up this time, although UMD’s dressing room full of players might have been a better audience than the three-person media contingent that showed up after the game.

UMD women’s hockey close to home-ice advantage
Meanwhile, on the women’s front, UMD had a more beneficial answer to the women’s WCHA run to the playoffs. Needing three points to clinch home ice for the first round, the Bulldogs edged St. Cloud State 1-0 on Clara Van Wieren’s goal at 4:33 of the third period, and goalie Hailey MacLeod held on for the victory by that score. Playing as afternoon preliminaries to the UMD men, the Bulldogs played another amazing battle with St. Cloud on Saturday, this time going 0-0 through all three periods and overtime, and sending the game to a shootout to be decided.

Goalies Jojo Chobak of the Huskies and freshman Eve Gascon of UMD were brilliant throughout, but when the shootout started, everybody scored! Hanna Baskin scored for UMD; Emma Gentry scored for the Huskies. Van Wieren scored for UMD; Laura Zimmermann matched it for St. Cloud. Then Olivia Wallin skated in but was stopped by Chobak, putting all the pressure on Finnish freshman Sofianna Sundelin, who scored on Gascon and gave the extra point to the Huskies.

In what might be a brilliant political PR performance, UMD’s MacLeod was named goaltender of the week by the WCHA for her first-game performance, overlooking Chobak’s two-game performance, stopping 28 of 29 shots in the first game and all 39 shots the Bulldogs pelted her with in the second, for a weekend tally of 57 saves on 58 shots.

UMD coach Maura Crowell admitted she was pleasantly surprised that her sophomore goalie got the award, but added Chobak’s cumulative two-game performance deserved something.

UMD senior center Mannon McMahon was cited for playing in her 164th and 165th consecutive games over an illustrious five-season career, and she admitted stopping the game to acknowledge her achievement was “a special moment.”

More importantly, the Bulldogs will play at Minnesota this weekend, after which UMD and St. Cloud will reconvene at AMSOIL Arena next weekend for the first round of the best-of-three WCHA playoffs. And the Huskies, after very impressive performances in both games of last weekend’s series, will not be bothered by not having home ice.

The post ‘Minnesota 6’ Compete for Conference Titles appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Hockey fans are the same as normal people. We don’t ever get enough hockey, so we don’t need a Christmas break from, for example, the tension and pressures of college hockey races. But the teams definitely could use a pause, and all the major Division I conferences take a Christmas break, just to recharge the systems and take a deep, collective breath to get ready for what is sure to be a wild and crazy second half.

It also gives us the perfect opportunity to evaluate the way the late, great country songwriter Guy Clark would put it: ‘Wondering what it’s coming to, and how we got this far.’

The best guess is that the final standings will bear little resemblance to what the various conference standings show now at the midpoint. But looking at the six mens Division I college hockey teams in Minnesota, we can see into three of the country’s top college hockey conferences. We all think “our” conference is the best, and they all have their moments, but which one has been the biggest surprise so far? Which teams? Which players? You decide.

St. Thomas leads CCHA standings
My nomination is the CCHA, the league that had retained the best name in the game as the WCHA but wasn’t satisfied and switched it to another regenerated name for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. That conference has been dominated from its current incarnation by Minnesota State Mankato. There was no reason the Mavericks couldn’t do the same again, even though living legend coach Mike Hastings took the money and ran to take over the Wisconsin program in the Big Ten. Unfortunately for the Mavs, some of their top players followed along and went with him.

So after 10 or 12 games, who is leading the CCHA? As top candidates we have the usual suspects — Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, Bemidji State, MSU-Mankato, Lake Superior State, Northern Michigan and Bowling Green. Oh, and don’t forget the new guys on the block, St. Thomas.

You’d better not forget the Tommies, because they are in first place, leaders at Christmas break with a 7-5 record and 21 points. Second is Michigan Tech, 6-4 with 19 points, then comes MSU-Mankato at 5-4-1 with 17 points in third place, with Bemidji State, 5-5 with 16 points, a surprise in fourth place. Bemidji State is feeling the heat from a three-way tie for fifth at 15 points with Lake Superior State at 5-6-1, Bowling Green 5-5 and Northern Michigan 5-5. Ferris State is eighth at 3-7 with 8 points.

NCHC is full of surprises, Bulldogs struggle
For just last weekend, though, nobody pulled off bigger surprises than the NCHC, where Denver and North Dakota had switched off being ranked No. 1 in the nation, and both seemed primed to fight off the surprising challenge of St. Cloud State.

But Colorado College made what must be an historic trip to Grand Forks, stunning the North Dakota Fighting Hawks 3-2 in overtime. The Tigers finished the weekend with an improbable sweep of the Fighting Hawks, who had just been voted No. 1 in the country a week earlier. 

The shocker of the weekend, though, was in Kalamazoo, Mich., where Western Michigan broke from a 3-3 tie eight minutes into the third period in the first game, and whipped the University of Denver 7-3. The next night, Western Michigan almost struck for a sweep but lost 6-5 in overtime. 

St. Cloud State seized its opportunity, winning 4-1 at Omaha to strengthen their hold on first place. Omaha won the second game in a shootout to prevent a St. Cloud State sweep.

One of the bigger surprises in a less-positive scope is that Minnesota Duluth struggled to score goals despite being projected as a contender in the NCHC. In recent weeks, the Bulldogs had been playing better and better, but still without the rewards their determination seemed to have earned. In their final weekend before the break, the Bulldogs hit the road to Oxford, Ohio, where they faced the Miami Redhawks in a series that determined who would escape last place.

The Bulldogs took a shootout victory it so desperately needed in the first game before taking a 3-1 victory the next day after adjusting lines. Blake Biondi spent some time at center and scored in the second period. 

The NCHC standings show St. Cloud State leading at 7-0-1 with 22 points, which certainly qualifies as a surprise. North Dakota is second at 5-3 with 18 points, followed by Western Michigan (4-4) with 14 points, Denver 5-3 with 13 points, Colorado College (4-4) with 10 points, Omaha (3-4-1) with 9 points and tied with UMD (2-5-1) with 9, and Miami 0-7-1 with 1 point.

Big Ten had surprising results; WCHA women’s hockey adventures
The Big Ten also had some surprises last weekend, as Minnesota went to Columbus and claimed a 5-4 victory over last-place Ohio State, but it was a battle. The Gophers rallied for a 1-1 tie in the second game, but the Buckeyes stole the extra point in the shootout. The result dropped the Gophers to 0-3 in games decided by shootouts this season. 

But the Gophers still have work to do to get to the top, where Michigan State swept Notre Dame 5-2 and 2-1 in East Lansing to claim first place with a 7-1-2 record and 25 points. That’s ahead of Wisconsin (8-2) with 24 points, after the Badgers swept Penn State 6-3 and 4-1 in Madison. Minnesota follows at 5-4-3 with 17 points, then comes Notre Dame (4-4-2) with 15 points, Michigan (3-5-1) for 11 points, Penn State (2-5-3) with 11 points, and Ohio State (0-8-1) for 1 point.

The women, not to be left out, had their own adventures in the WCHA last weekend, as Minnesota knocked off Wisconsin 5-3 in Minneapolis before the Badgers responded with a 5-1 win in the second game. First-place Ohio State extended its lead by sweeping MSU-Mankato 6-1 and 4-1 in Columbus. And St. Cloud State proved the seriousness of its intentions by splitting a series with Minnesota Duluth at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

So, the Buckeyes are first at 13-1 for a whopping 37 points, followed by Minnesota (10-3-1) with 33 points, Wisconsin (10-4) with 31 points, St. Cloud State (8-5-1) with 25 points, UMD (8-6) with 24 points, MSU-Mankato (3-11) with 9 points, Bemidji State (2-12) with 6 points, and St. Thomas (1-13) with 3 points.

The correct answer, therefore, to the question of which conference had the most and biggest surprises through the first half of this season is — all of them! Ho-Ho-Ho! But all that does is make us certain that after a welcome pass for Christmas, the surprises will just keep on coming in the second half.

The post College Standings At Christmas appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Foreword by Lou Nanne

In 2008, high school freshman Duke Pieper was poised to start as a varsity player on Hill-Murray High School varsity hockey team. With this recognition as a standout hockey player at such a young age, Pieper dreamed of going on to play in the National Hockey League. However, he never got the chance to take the ice as a defenseman. Before the first game began, he experienced headaches and vision problems. He soon learned that his symptoms were a result of a lesion that was causing bleeding in his brain.

Doctors informed him that his condition would require surgery—a surgery that 95% of patients do not survive. If he did survive, he would face possible paralysis. His dreams and spirit were certainly dashed as he came to realize that he would never play hockey again. Pieper survived his first surgery as well as multiple additional risky surgeries on his brain and spine. Even after the surgeries, his love for hockey remained strong, and he truly could not fathom living without it. I’m Alive: Courage, Hope, and a Miracle, by Duke Pieper with Jim Bruton (Triumph Books, 2015), tells an inspirational story of how a young man, whose life was forever changed, not only survived but learned to thrive. Inspirational details in this book include:

• How Pieper relearned basic motor skills, from walking, running, balancing, breathing, eating, drinking and swallowing to writing and coloring
• Exclusive interviews with coaches, teachers and others who know Duke Pieper well
• Pieper’s experience dropping the puck in front of 18,000 fans at Xcel Energy Center
• Fifteen strategies for survival that could be helpful to just about anyone going through a difficult time

Inspirational, encouraging and miraculous, I’m Alive takes you on a journey that young athlete Duke Pieper faces with incredible courage. This title is perfect for somebody looking for inspiration on overcoming adversity.

Duke Pieper is a student at Bowling Green State University, working toward a degree in sports management with a minor in entrepreneurship. He is also a volunteer student coach with the Falcon hockey team, attending practices and games, watching videos, sitting in on team meetings and compiling stats for the coaching staff.

Books can be purchased in all major book stores, on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com or by contacting the authors directly.

Duke Pieper –  mpieper@bgsu.edu  952-412-1140

Jim Bruton –    jamesjhbjr@comcast.net   651-398-4937

Website – imalivemiracle.com

— Mark Rosen, WCCO-TV Sports Anchor

The post I’m Alive appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Gervais, Huggins lead Minnesota State to WCHA Title Game

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It took 15 years and five games, but Minnesota State finally has a win in the WCHA Final Five.

The Mavericks scored twice in the second period and two more times in the third in a 4-0 win against Bowling Green Friday at Van Andel Arena.

Minnesota State entered the Final Five 0-4 all-time in the tournament, including an ugly 7-2 loss to Wisconsin last season. It was an experience coach Mike Hastings said played a big part in their win Friday.

“The guys that are here, we’ve talked about trying to make strides as an overall program,” Hastings said in a phone interview. “I think last year’s experience helped us [Friday]. I think we got taught a lesson by Wisconsin. We got off to a better start.”

The victory was the Mavericks’ 25th this season, establishing a new Division I record originally set last season in Hastings’ first year in Mankato. The win also pushed MSU’s unbeaten streak to 12 games (11-0-1), the longest such streak in over a decade.

“From our end of it, it’s important. We kind of want to keep pushing the envelope and make sure we keep moving ahead as a program,” Hastings said.

After a scoreless first period, the Mavericks got on the board early in the second, taking advantage of a 3-on-2 into the Falcons zone when Matt Leitner saucered a backhand pass to Chase Grant in front, who stuffed in his ninth of the season at 3:52.

Bryce Gervais got the second assist on the first goal but was just getting started. Nine minutes later it was his short-handed forecheck that put MSU ahead by two.

After a Max Gaede elbowing penalty put the Falcons on their third power play of the game, BGSU goaltender Tommy Burke left the puck behind his net for Falcons defenseman Ralfs Freibergs. But Gervais won a race to the puck, raced to the front of the net and slipped the puck into the net before Burke could cover the post.

The goal was Gervais’ 16th of the season and 11th in his last 14 games. He has seven goals and four assists in his last six games and the goal Friday was his third short-handed goal of the season, tied for fourth-most in the country.

“He’s doing things Monday through Thursday that’s allowing him to have the success he’s having right now,” Hastings said. “Doing all the hard work, scoring a short-hander, he’s blocking shots, he’s playing with speed and pace. He’s become somebody who is hard to play against because of his want-to.”

MSU scored on another odd-man rush midway through the third period to open up a 3-0 lead. Sophomore center Teddy Blueger intercepted a pass at the Mavericks’ offensive blue line then floated a pass to Johnny McInnis at the right post, who one-timed a shot over Burke’s glove for his 21st of the season with 9:13 left in regulation.

In between, the Mavericks stifling penalty kill kept the Falcons off the board. Ranked sixth in the country entering the game, MSU went 6-for-6 killing penalties and was able to capture momentum from each kill. They finished the day a plus-1 with Gervais’ shortie.

“I thought it was a difference-maker in the game,” Hastings said. “Anytime you can win that special teams battle and be a plus-1 in the game, that can be the difference.”

Gervais sprung Leitner free for an empty-netter with 1:32 left in the game, Leitner’s 12th goal and 43rd point of the season.

Overshadowed by Gervais’ offensive effort was Cole Huggins in goal. He stopped 13 shots in each the first and third periods and 36 in all for his sixth shutout of the season, also a new school record. The win improved him to 20-7-1 on the year.

“He said he wanted to play better than he did last Saturday [a 5-4 OT win for MSU against Northern Michigan],” Hastings said. “I thought he went out and gave us an opportunity to get a lead, one, and two, to not only sustain it but increase it. You need to have your goalie do that this time of year if you want to move on.”

The win boosted MSU’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. A loss to BGSU would have almost certainly ended their season, but the win moved the Mavericks to 11th in the Pairwise Rankings. With 11 other games to be played Friday and handful more on Saturday, Hastings said he would rather not leave their tournament hopes to chance. A win in the Broadmoor Trophy game Saturday against either Ferris State or Alaska-Anchorage would deliver an automatic bid into the NCAAs, which begin next weekend.

“We’re not in. So we’ll see what happens tonight,” Hastings said. “Our margin for error over the last month-and-a-half hasn’t been much and it’s no different right now.

“We have a group of seniors excited about what was put in front of them today. I think the guys have done a good job on focusing on what they have control of. They did that tonight and they were rewarded for it. We’ll have to go right back to ground zero and go to work in the morning.”

Dan Myers’ Three Stars

1 – Bryce Gervais

Gervais’ goal to put the Mavericks up by two was a crushing blow for Bowling Green. Down one and on the power play, BGSU had a chance to tie the score midway through the game but Gervais’ effort was a game-changer. He also had two assists.

2 – Cole Huggins

Huggins made 36 saves, several of them of the underrated variety. He was especially important in the first period, stopping 13 shots and keeping the game scoreless through one period.

3 – Teddy Blueger

This could have gone to any number of Mavericks but Blueger’s heads-up defensive play and sweet pass to set up MSU’s third goal sets him apart. A second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013, Blueger has quietly put up 20 assists this season.

The post Mavericks Down Falcons, Make History appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.