March
21, 2004
NCAA Tournament
East Regional Capsules | Albany, N.Y.
Pepsi
Arena
Friday, March 26
5 p.m. EST:
No. 1 Maine vs. No. 4 Harvard
8:30 p.m.
EST: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Wisconsin
Saturday,
March 27
6 p.m. EST:
Regional Final
NO.
1 SEED MAINE BLACK BEARS
Location:
Orono, Maine
Record: 29-7-3 (17-5-2 Hockey East, second)
Qualified: Hockey East Tournament champion
NCAA Championships: Two (1993, 1999)
NCAA Appearance: 14th (most recent, 2003)
Head Coach: Tim Whitehead
Key Players: Jim Howard, G, So. (11-3-3, 1.10,
.954); Colin Shields,
F, Sr. (17-25—42); Prestin Ryan, D, Sr. (3-17—20)
What You Need to Know: Maine and its first-round
opponent, Harvard, both have seven-game winning streaks, tied
for the longest in the nation. They've ridden a stifling defense
and terrific goaltending to the Hockey East Tournament title.
How They'll Advance: Jim Howard is the nation's
best goaltender, and gets help from a strong, physical defense.
Up front the Black Bears are loaded with speedy forwards, led
by Todd Jackson and Greg Moore. If they can use that speed to
dictate the tempo and create some offense, they know Howard will
take care of his end.
What Might Trip Them Up: For all their skating
ability – and it's impressive – Maine seems to lack
a killer instinct around the net. Three of their seven losses
have been 1-0 games, and they had a scoreless tie. They can't
count on their power play for scoring, either. If you don't score,
you can't win.
| Most
Recent Maine Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| T.
Jackson |
D.
Damon |
K.
Johnson |
Shields
and Jackson are the leaders, but the big goals last weekend
came from Hamilton and Murphy. |
| M.
Hamilton |
J.
Jankus |
D.
Penner |
| G.
Moore |
M.
Léveillé |
C.
Shields |
| C.
Lyall |
B.
Murphy |
J.
Ronan |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| P.
Ryan |
M.
Deschamps |
J.
Howard |
Ryan
does it all on defense: he can play physically and join the
rush. |
| M.
Lundin |
J.
Mushaluk |
F.
Doyle |
| S.
Mullin |
T.
Barnes |
R.
Jean |
NO.
2 SEED OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
Location:
Columbus,
Ohio
Record: 26-15-0 (16-12-0 CCHA, fourth)
Qualified: CCHA playoff champion
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: Fourth (most recent, 2003)
Head Coach: John Markell
Key Players: Paul Caponigri, F, Sr. (16-21—37);
Dave Steckel, F, Sr. (17-13—30); Doug Andress, D, Sr. (3-26—29)
What You Need to Know: Remember the last time
the Frozen Four visited Boston in 1998? The Buckeyes sure do –
OSU toppled top seed Michigan State in the West Regional on an
overtime goal by Andre Signoretti to advance to the school’s
first Frozen Four. The Buckeyes lost to Boston College in the
semifinals.
How They'll Advance: By playing their roles.
The New England Patriots of college hockey, Ohio State was successful
at the CCHA Super Six because the scorers scored, the checkers
checked and the special teams clicked. Coach John Markell can
throw three formidable lines at opponents, and facing the checking
line centered by Chris Olsgard is like washing your face with
sandpaper.
What Might Trip Them Up: The Buckeyes rely heavily
on senior defenseman Doug Andress, especially with the status
of sophomore blueliner Nate Guenin – who missed the Super
Six with an injury – up in the air. Goaltending is an issue,
as Markell has vacillated between the hot-and-cold duo of Mike
Betz and Dave Caruso, who was the man in Detroit.
| Most
Recent Ohio State Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| D.
Knapp |
S.
May |
A.
Schembri |
Oft-maligned forward
Dave Steckel has been terrific for OSU this season, with a
team-high 17 goals. |
| B.
Anderson |
D.
Steckel |
M.
Beaudoin |
| P.
Caponigri |
R.
Pelley |
J.B.
Bittner |
| K.
bernard |
C.
Olsgard |
L.
Spector |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| R.
Whiting |
S.
Collins |
D.
Caruso |
Andress would like to celebrate his 25th birthday in Boston
– he was born April 7, 1979. |
| M.
Waddell |
D.
Andress |
M.
Betz |
| T.
Strachan |
T.
Welsh |
K.
Holowaty |
NO.
3 SEED WISCONSIN BADGERS
Location:
Madison,
Wis.
Record: 21-12-8 (14-7-7 WCHA, third)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: Five (1973, 1977, 1981, 1983,
1990)
NCAA Appearance: 19th (most recent, 2001)
Head Coach: Mike Eaves
Key Players: Rene Bourque, F, Sr. (15-20—35);
Dan Boeser, D, Sr. (7-14—21); Bernd Bruckler, G, Jr. (18-9-8,
2.16 GAA, .922 sv%)
What You Need to Know: When they’re hot,
they’re hot. The Badgers not only reeled of a school-best
14-game unbeaten streak (11-0-4) that lasted two months, but the
team also recorded a six-game (4-0-2) unbeaten stretch that ended
with a loss to Minnesota Duluth in the regular season finale.
How They'll Advance: By utilizing their incredible
balance. The Badgers boast 12 skaters with more than 15 points,
and 13 players have registered a game-winning goal for Wisconsin.
Bucky has the kind of depth that allows them to wear opponents
down by rolling four lines and three defensive units.
What Might Trip Them Up: Wisconsin seriously
lacks postseason experience – the Badgers’ first-round
WCHA playoff series loss to Alaska Anchorage deprived them of
the opportunity to play two Final Five games in St. Paul, contests
that could have served as a tutorial for the NCAA Tournament.
| Most
Recent Wisconsin Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| N.
Licari |
A.
Burish |
A.J.
Degenhardt |
Freshman
walk-on Ross Carlson, pressed into service midway through
the year, scored 16 points in 21 games. |
| R.
Bourque |
A.
Joudrey |
R.
MacMurchy |
| R.
Earl |
J.
Dowell |
R.
Carlson |
| M.
Heatley |
J.
Eichelberger |
J.
Funk |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| J.
Likens |
A.
Wozniewski |
B.
Bruckler |
Watch
the point on the Badger power play: UW D-men have scored 14
PPGs. |
| R.
Suter |
T.
Gilbert |
B.
Elliott |
| D.
Boeser |
T.
Sawatske |
L.
Kohtala |
NO.
4 SEED HARVARD CRIMSON
Location:
Cambridge, Mass.
Record: 18-14-3 (10-10-2 ECAC, sixth)
Qualified: ECAC Champion
NCAA Championships: One (1989)
NCAA Appearance: 16th (most recent, 2003)
Head Coach: Mark Mazzoleni
Key Players: Brendan Bernakevitch, F, Jr. (10-18—28);
Noah Welch, D, Jr. (6-13—19); Tom Cavanagh, F, Sr. (16-20—36)
What You Need to Know: Harvard is the most dangerous
of the fourth-seeded teams. Picked in the preseason among the
top-eight teams in the nation, this team is starting to realize
its vast potential and is 9-1-1 in its last 11 games.
How They'll Advance: Don't underestimate Harvard's
ECAC quarterfinal series win at Brown. They went on the road and
solved Hobey Baker candidate Yann Danis, who had given the Crimson
fits for three years. That experience is a big key in facing Maine's
Jim Howard.
What Might Trip Them Up: Harvard's reached this
stage of the tournament for the third year in a row, but they
haven't been able to get out of the first round. Some of the regular-season
difficulty resulted from self-induced pressure. Will the Crimson
fall into that mode again, and become nervous and tentative in
a high-pressure situation?
| Most
Recent Harvard Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| D.
Packard |
B.
Bernakevitch |
R.
Maki |
Welch,
Pettit, Cavanagh, Bernakevitch and Kolarik make up a strong
first PP unit. |
| C.
Johnson |
T.
Cavanagh |
T.
Pettit |
| T.
Kolarik |
K.
Du |
S.
Mendes |
| D.
Murphy |
R.
Flynn |
R.
Fried |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| R.
Lannon |
P.
Hafner |
D.
Grumet-Morris |
Hafner
is unheralded, but one of the ECAC's best defensive defensemen |
| N.
Welch |
K.
Smith |
J.
Daigneau |
| D.
McCulloch |
D.
Reese |
|
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