Inside College Hockey | 2004 NCAA East Regional

March 27, 2004
NCAA Tournament | East Regional
Big Contributors
A trio of physical forwards leads Maine to the Frozen Four

By Joe Gladziszewski

Maine 2, Wisconsin 1 OT
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
1-ME	Colin Shields (18)	EV
1:32	Unassisted
Second Period
1-WI	Rene Bourque (16)	EV
17:38	T. Gilbert, R. MacMurchy
Third Period
No Scoring
Overtime
2-ME	Mike Hamilton (7)	EV
3:27	Unassisted
Goaltending
WI: Bernd Brückler, 63:25, 26 saves, 2 GA
ME: Jim Howard, 63:27, 36 saves, 1 GA
Penalties: WI 9/18; ME 7/14
Power Plays: WI 0-7; ME 0-5
Attendance: 5,480
All-East Regional Team
F: Mike Hamilton, Maine F: Michel Léveillé, Maine F: Colin Shields, Maine D: Prestin Ryan, Maine D: Dan Boeser, Wisconsin G: Bernd Brückler, Wisconsin

ALBANY – Maine's hockey legacy is defined by its most famous family. Paul Kariya won the Hobey Baker award as a freshman, and younger brothers Steve and Martin followed their older brother to Orono and had fine college careers. All three were small, shifty, speedy, and skilled.

That's not how you would describe Maine's trio of Mike Hamilton, Jon Jankus, and Dustin Penner, responsible for the game-winning overtime goal in Saturday's East Regional final at Pepsi Arena in Albany.

These guys are big. From left wing Hamilton (6-foot-1, 193 pounds), to the center in Jankus (5-9, 200), and right wing Penner (6-4, 230) it's a group that can dominate down low in the offensive zone and establish a physical presence.

They put that ability to good use to break a 1-1 deadlock after 3:27 of overtime play and eliminate Wisconsin. Hamilton walked around a defenseman and put a low shot on net. The puck sat near the goal line and was eventually pushed across the line as Jankus and another Badger defenseman collided near the edge of the crease.

It was the type of goal that was bound to end the game as Maine's Jimmy Howard and Wisconsin's Bernd Brückler turning aside every shot but one fired in their direction. Space was tough to come by, and Maine's three big forwards crashed the crease, winning those last few inches that made all the difference.

"It was kind of a broken play. I just got it and drove to the net and Jankus and Penner went to the net hard and we kind of ended up chipping it in there. It just barely went over the line," Hamilton, the goal-scorer, said.

Maine coach Tim Whitehead compared Hamilton to Lucas Lawson, a senior on last year's Maine team, and said of Hamilton, "He's a big man that doesn't really recognize how big he is yet, but he's starting to and he's going to the net very impressively."

And although that realization has taken some time to sink in, Maine sure is happy that Hamilton put that lesson to use on Saturday night.

"They've been telling us all year to drive the net and good things will happen," Hamilton said.

Good things, indeed, including Maine heading to the Frozen Four with an atypical line leading the charge.

Yesterday's Coverage

Maine, Wisconsin win in first round

CLOSING IN ON COLUMBUS

It's never too early to look ahead to the Frozen Four, even if it is still 54 weeks away. Preparations are already underway and excitement is starting to build in Columbus, Ohio as the 2005 Frozen Four will be held on Ohio State's campus at the Schottenstein Center.

Andy Geiger, Director of Athletics at Ohio State University, said hockey fans will enjoy their time in Columbus. But then again, they could host the Frozen Four in Antarctica and hockey fans would find a way to make it a good time.

"Columbus is a thriving, interesting city. It's the state capital. It's got all kinds of interesting restaurants and things like that which people will enjoy. It's a first-rate city to visit," he said. "I think one of the things that fans will enjoy is that there's a 17,000 seat absolutely first class NHL-level hockey facility that's on a college campus."

Next year marks the first time that a hockey regional or Frozen Four will be held in Columbus. It's not just a football town anymore as hockey is gaining a greater market share in Ohio's largest city and the 15th largest city in the nation. People are talking hockey on the streets. The Buckeyes have made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and won the CCHA Super Six, and the Columbus Blue Jackets remain popular even after the novelty of pro hockey has worn off.

"Yeah, there's a buzz, a big-time buzz," Geiger said. "It's not hurt by the fact that we have an NHL franchise now that's finishing their third season in Columbus, so there's an awareness and appreciation for hockey that wasn't there before."

Hockey events are new to Columbus, but the university frequently hosts NCAA Championship events. Two weeks ago, the Buckeyes hosted the opening rounds of the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments at Nationwide Arena and at St. John Arena.

INCH's Three Stars of the Tournament

3. Colin Shields, Maine
Maine coaches have been a little disappointed with his goal production this season, but his two tallies this weekend helped Maine get to the Frozen Four.

2. Bernd Brückler, Wisconsin
Wisconsin's goaltender was rock solid. He shutout Ohio State with 28 saves on Friday and was only beaten on a screened shot and a goalmouth scramble in Saturday's loss.

1. Mike Hamilton, Maine
The freshman from Victoria, British Columbia ignited Maine's Friday comeback and scored the game-winner in Saturday's game.

SEEN AND HEARD AT PEPSI ARENA

• Howard was pulled after two periods in the Maine comeback win over Harvard, leaving media and fans to speculate on whether Maine would go with Howard or Frank Doyle against Wisconsin. The Black Bear coaching staff decided Saturday morning to go with Howard.

• Several overnight fire alarms at Maine's hotel interrupted sleep, and led Whitehead to joke that Wisconsin had something to do with it.

• Replay officials reviewed the winning goal for approximately three minutes. Fans and players anxiously waited for referee Tim Kotyra to confirm that the goal would stand and the game was over.

• If you combined attendance from both nights at the East Regional, it still wouldn't have resulted in a sellout. Friday's games drew 5,223 and Saturday's game drew 5,614 for a 10,837 total. Pepsi Arena seats nearly 13,000 for hockey. This followed low attendance totals one week earlier during the ECAC Championship weekend, raising doubts as to whether hockey will fully be embraced by New York's capital region.

• For the first time this season, Wisconsin lost an overtime game. They carried a 5-0-8 record into Saturday's regional final.

• Wisconsin's power play was woeful all weekend. After going 0-for-6 on Friday night against Ohio State, the Badgers failed to score in five man-advantage situations on Saturday.

• A little respect for Colin Shields? On Friday, he came to the post-game press conference and was misidentified as Todd Jackson. Saturday, his first name was misspelled.

• Eight years ago, University of Vermont stars Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin dazzled the college hockey world and led the Catamounts to the Frozen Four. The lifelong friends and former college linemates were reunited on Saturday night in Tampa Bay as both suited up for the Lightning in a game against the Washington Capitals.

• Speaking of Tampa, I fully endorse the idea of a future Frozen Four at the St. Pete Times Forum. It’s a great venue, with plenty to do away from the rink, and an early look at summertime weather for the majority of college hockey fans that are based in the northern half of the United States.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

Jillian's was the preferred gathering place for college hockey fans on Saturday afternoon, as fans spent some time eating, drinking, and checking out other tournament games from around the country. All but one of the 17 big-screen televisions in the main bar were tuned to either the Boston College-Niagara or Minnesota-Notre Dame contests that started at noon in Albany.

Can you even count the number of times you've seen players whack their own goalie's pads during starting lineups? Bernd Brückler is taking a stand for the masked men of the blue paint. After the Wisconsin starters are introduced, he takes his goalstick and slaps the shin pads of the five players starting in front of him.

Remember that scene from "Grumpy Old Men" where the Walter Matthau character has a hockey game turned on in his ice-fishing shanty? One of the televisions in the media work space had a similar reception problem and the Michigan-New Hampshire game was barely visible. Taking care of the little things makes the difference between a good and great weekend.

A few Albany-area television staffers elicited mild complaints when the monitors in the press work area were changed from the NCAA men's basketball tournament to show what was happening with the hockey game inside the arena.

WHAT'S NEXT

By beating Ohio State on Friday, Wisconsin removed any issues that might have been raised from a collapse down the stretch after being upset in the WCHA playoffs by No. 8 seed Alaska Anchorage. The playoff run was a great learning experience for a Wisconsin team that dressed eight freshmen and six sophomores in front of Brückler.

It's Maine's ninth trip to the Frozen Four. The Black Bears have won national titles in 1993 and 1999. The last Frozen Four appearance for the Black Bears ended with an overtime loss to Minnesota in the championship game in 2002. Maine is 2-1-0 against Boston College this season. The Black Bears last faced Michigan in a quarterfinal NCAA Tournament game in Albany in 2000 and Maine won 5-2.