Inside College Hockey | 2005 Regional Capsules

March 20, 2005
NCAA Tournament
East Regional Capsules | Worcester, Mass.

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Regional Capsules
Northeast Regional
Midwest Regional
West Regional

DCU Center
Friday, March 25

4:30 p.m. ET: No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 4 Mercyhurst

8 p.m. EST: No. 2 North Dakota vs. No. 3 Boston University

Saturday, March 26

8 p.m. ET: Regional Final

NO. 1 SEED BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES

Location: Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Record: 25-6-7 (14-3-7 Hockey East, first)
Qualified: Hockey East Tournament champion
NCAA Championships: Two (1949, 2001)
NCAA Appearance: 25th (most recent, 2004)
Head Coach: Jerry York
Key Players: Patrick Eaves, F, Jr. (34 GP, 19-29—48); Andrew Alberts, D, Sr. (27 GP, 4-10—14); Ryan Shannon, F, Sr. (35 GP, 14-28—42)
What You Need to Know: Boston College captured Hockey East's regular-season and playoff titles, but it's been a war of attrition lately. Patrick Eaves, Stephen Gionta and Peter Harrold, all key contributors, missed the Hockey East title game; there's a chance each could return this weekend.
How They'll Advance: The Eagles, at their best, frustrate opponents like a stubborn kindergartener – they don't share the puck. Their fantastic possession game on offense helps limit opponents' shots, and a deep and skilled defense corps protects their net when other teams do get possession. Freshman Cory Schneider, a first-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks, has emerged as the starter in goal.
What Might Trip Them Up: You'd think that at some point the injuries have to catch up with the Eagles. They are among the NCAA's most talented teams at full strength, but their lineup below is a shell of its former self. BC has also been prone to a frustrating lack of scoring touch at times, tying or losing five games in which it had 40-plus shots.

Most Recent Boston College Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
12-C. Collins	18-R. Shannon	21-D. Spina	Possible returns from Patrick Eaves and Stephen Gionta would make these lines much more formidable.
27-N. Havern	14-M. Greene	19-R. Murphy
17-J. Rooney	10-B. Boyle	22-D. Bertram
26-J. Greene	11-Joe Adams	13-P. Gannon
Defense	Defense	Goalies
2-A. Alberts	23-B. O'Hanley	1-C. Schneider	Alberts is great, but the defense as a whole is underrated.
6-John Adams	4-M. Brennan	30-M. Kaltiainen
28-T. Leahy	8-G. Lauze	29-R. Miller

NO. 2 SEED NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING SIOUX

Location: Grand Forks, N.D.
Record: 22-14-5 (13-12-3 WCHA, fifth)
Qualified: At-large
NCAA Championships: Seven (1959, 1963, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1997, 2000).
NCAA Appearance: 20th (most recent, 2004)
Head Coach: Dave Hakstol
Key Players: Colby Genoway, F, Sr. (40 GP, 11-28—39); Rastislav Spirko, F, Fr. (41 GP, 16-20—36); Jordan Parise, G, So. (14-6-3, .914, 2.15)
What You Need to Know: The Sioux return to Worcester, where they advanced to the Frozen Four in 2001, but this is a new-look North Dakota team. Dean Blais has given way to Dave Hakstol behind the bench, and the early departure of Hobey finalists Zach Parise and Brandon Bochenski has helped make the strength of this team defense instead of offense. A bubble team just a month ago, a late-season surge moved North Dakota all the way to a 2 seed.
How They'll Advance: North Dakota's big, tough defensive corps will pose problems for any opponent, and matches up particularly well against BC's diminutive forwards if those teams reach the second round. Jordan Parise, unbeaten in nine straight games, has been outstanding in goal during the Sioux's recent run.
What Might Trip Them Up: Between Boston College and North Dakota, Worcester is hosting the All-Injury Regional. The Sioux lost Robbie Bina, Brady Murray and Mike Prpich last weekend; getting the latter two back in the lineup is key, and they can't let Bina's fractured vertebra become a distraction.

Most Recent North Dakota Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
11-R. Spirko	15-T. Zajac	18-D. Stafford	Brady Murray, the team's most dangerous forward, has been in and out of the lineup all year with injuries.
24-C. Porter	10-R. McMahon	29-C. Genoway
21-E. Fabian	22-B. Canady	20-J. Massen
13-L. Marvin	9-Q. Fylling	4-S. Foyt
Defense	Defense	Goalies
8-N. Fuher	6-A. Schneider	1-J. Parise	The six starting D are experienced, and average 6-foot-1.5, 209 pounds.
3-M. Jones	2-M. Greene	34-P. Lamoreux
26-K. Radke	27-M. Smaby

NO. 3 SEED BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS

Location: Boston, Mass.
Record: 23-13-4 (15-5-4 Hockey East, second)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: Four (1995, 1978, 1972, 1971)
NCAA Appearance: 28th (most recent, 2003)
Head Coach: Jack Parker
Key Players: John Curry, G, So. (18-10-3, 1.94, .924); David Van der Gulik, F, Jr. (40 GP, 18-13—31); Bryan Miller, D, Sr. (38 GP, 6-20—26)
What You Need to Know: The Terriers were reenergized in 2004-05, a season that welcomed a talented freshman class and the shiny new Agganis Arena to campus.
How They'll Advance: BU's freshmen bring not only talent but energy, buzzing around the rink and adding a physical dimension to go with their goals. When BU has been at its best, Chris Bourque has been its best player.
What Might Trip Them Up: BU was flat in the Hockey East semifinal, and it remains to be seen whether their young players can perform on the national stage. Most of the Terriers' offense derives from hard work in the offensive zone, so they need to play with a high level of intensity.

Most Recent Boston University Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
7-D. Van der Gulik	12-B. Zancanaro	5-J. Laliberte	Zancanaro is a fun-to-watch, waterbug type, and centers a very productive all-junior line.
6-K. Roche	9-B. McConnell	10-B. Ewing
19-C. Bourque	16-P. MacArthur	8-R. Weston
22-B. McGuirk	18-M. Radoslovich	23-R. Monaghan
Defense	Defense	Goalies
14-J. Redlihs	27-B. Miller	36-J. Curry	Curry, the one of the three goalies not on scholarship, emerged as a star in 2004-05.
11-D. Spang	3-K. Schaeffer	1-S. Siwiec
21-T. Morrow	4-S. Sullivan	33-K. Gillespie

NO. 4 SEED MERCYHURST LAKERS

Location: Erie, Pa.
Record: 18-15-4 (14-7-3 Atlantic Hockey, third)
Qualified: Atlantic Hockey playoff champion
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: Third (most recent, 2003)
Head Coach: Rick Gotkin
Key Players: David Wrigley, F, Sr. (35 GP, 18-20—38); T.J. Kemp, D, Sr. (30 GP, 9-17—26); Scott Champagne, F, So. (36 GP, 12-25—37)
What You Need to Know: The Lakers, 8-14-4 on Feb. 5, tore through the last six weeks (10-1-0) and captured Atlantic Hockey with back-to-back overtime wins this weekend, beating defending champion Holy Cross and regular season champion Quinnipiac. They're no stranger to big games, either, having faced Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Colgate, all on the road, earlier this year.
How They'll Advance: Mercyhurst has great balance up front and Rick Gotkin prepares his team beautifully, as evidenced by their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001, when they nearly upset Michigan. A big game from goaltender Mike Ella, who has emerged as the starter only in the last four weeks, would be crucial – perhaps he can draw inspiration from Desirae Clark, who made 78 saves as the Lakers women's team nearly stunned Harvard in triple overtime in Saturday's NCAA quarterfinals.
What Might Trip Them Up: The Lakers simply don't have the talent to match up with Boston College without a herculean effort from Ella. An early deficit, especially against Cory Schneider in the Eagles goal, will likely be too much to overcome.

Most Recent Mercyhurst Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
19-S. Reynolds	18-R. Toomey	9-K. Gourgon	Few teams spread their offensive weapons among three lines as well as Mercyhurst.
28-R. Hansen	26-M. Warren	11-D. Wrigley
7-S. Champagne	22-B. Cottreau	10-D. Borrelli
15-E. Johnson	16-K. Bowman	20-M. Kirby
Defense	Defense	Goalies
21-T.J. Kemp	24-C. Martin	35-M. Ella	Lots of "big four" teams would like to have a pairing as strong and balanced as Kemp-Martin.
27-J. Hunt	5-J. Coghlan	29-A. Franck
2-P. Briggs	12-D. Kirstein