Inside College Hockey | 2005 Regional Capsules

March 20, 2005
NCAA Tournament
Midwest Regional Capsules | Grand Rapids, Mich.

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Regional Capsules
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Van Andel Arena
Friday, March 25

5 p.m. ET: No. 1 Colorado College vs. No. 4 Colgate

8:30 p.m. ET: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Wisconsin

Saturday, March 26

5 p.m. ET: Regional Final

NO. 1 SEED COLORADO COLLEGE TIGERS

Location: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Record: 29-8-3 (19-7-2 WCHA, tied for first)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: Two (1950, 1957)
NCAA Appearance: 17th (most recent, 2003)
Head Coach: Scott Owens
Key Players: Brett Sterling, F, Jr. (40 GP, 32-29—61); Marty Sertich, F, Jr. (40 GP, 25-36—61); Curtis McElhinney, G, Sr. (19-3-1, 1.93, .934)
What You Need to Know: Colorado College and Ohio State are the only teams to rank in the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Tigers are fourth offensively at 3.70 goals per game and tied for sixth defensively at 2.17 goals per game.
How They'll Advance: Sertich and Sterling are the straws that stir the Tigers’ drink, but Colorado College has more than just the dynamic duo. One has to figure that CC’s opponents will focus their efforts on shutting down the Hobey Baker Award candidates, so it’s imperative that others step forward and take the other team out of their game plan.
What Might Trip Them Up: Colorado College can be beaten if the Sertich and Sterling score, but it’s easier to stop ‘em if they don’t – it’s only happened five times this season, and the Tigers are 3-2-0 in those games. Specifically, bottling up Sertich, the playmaker, keeps him from getting others involved in the offense. A team like Michigan could prove to be particularly troublesome – they’ve got strong, two-way forwards like Jason Ryznar and Eric Nystrom who can make life miserable for players of Sertich’s ilk.

Most Recent Colorado College Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
21-B. Sterling	22-M. Sertich	25-S. Polaski	No Tiger has even half as many points as Sertich or Sterling.
12-J. Brunkhorst	6-T. Frischmon	15-J. Crabb
9-B. Cox	19-A. Slattengren	23-J. Kilpatrick
16-D. Patrosso	20-B. Polich	17-J. Brannigan
Defense	Defense	Goalies
2-M. Stuart	7-W. Tardy	30-C. McElhinney	Zaba and McElhinney split time for most of the year, with the latter making the last two starts.
24-B. Salcido	3-L. Sweatt	31-M. Zaba
5-R. Petiot	8-J. Hillen

NO. 2 SEED MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

Location: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Record: 30-7-3 (23-3-2 CCHA, first)
Qualified: CCHA Tournament champion
NCAA Championships: Nine (1948, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1964, 1996, 1998)
NCAA Appearance: 27th (most recent, 2004)
Head Coach: Gordon “Red” Berenson
Key Players: T.J. Hensick, F, So. (22-30—52); Jeff Tambellini, F, Jr. (21-31—52); Milan Gajic, F, Sr. (20-19—39)
What You Need to Know: Since 1996, six NCAA Regionals have been played in Great Lakes State cities – Ann Arbor (1998, 2002, 2003), Grand Rapids (1997, 2001) and East Lansing (1996). The Wolverines were seeded within state boundaries on all six occasions and advanced to the Frozen Four every time. The last time Michigan failed to qualify for the Frozen Four when playing at an in-state Regional site was in 1994, when eventual national champion Lake Superior State bounced the Wolverines in East Lansing.
How They'll Advance: During their current 13-game unbeaten streak (11-0-2), the Wolverines have outscored opponents by a 52-25 margin and have scored first in all but one of those contests. Michigan’s relentless offensive attack keeps opponents on their heels when the game is scoreless, let alone when they have the lead. Even top-seed Colorado College will be hard pressed to keep up with Michigan when the Wolverines put the pedal to the metal.
What Might Trip Them Up: Wolverine fans are encouraged by recent play of netminder Al Montoya. The junior’s save percentage has hovered below the goaltending Mendoza Line (.900) for most of the season, but Montoya has given up four goals in his last four starts (for a .947 save percentage) and turned in arguably his best performance of the season in Saturday’s CCHA playoff championship game against Ohio State. That said, Montoya has followed up sharp efforts with clunkers on a few occasions this season. That can’t happen in Grand Rapids.

Most Recent Michigan Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
21 E. Nystrom	19 A. Ebbett	9 M. Gajic	Tambellini has 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists) during his team's 13-game unbeaten streak.
11 K. Porter	7 T.J. Hensick	15 J. Tambellini
22 J. Ryznar	17 M. Woodford	16 D. Rohlfs
14. B. Kaleniecki	24 C. Kolarik	13 M. Brown
Defense	Defense	Goalies
6 M. Hunwick	5 B. Rodgers	35 A. Montoya	Dest, Rogers and Werner all have plus-minus ratings of +20 or better.
8 J. Dest	3 E. Werner	34 N. Ruden
2 N. Martens	25 T. Cook	30 M. Mayhew

NO. 3 SEED WISCONSIN BADGERS

Location: Madison, Wis.
Record: 23-13-4 (16-9-3 WCHA, fourth)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: Five (1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1990)
NCAA Appearance: 20th (most recent, 2004)
Head Coach: Mike Eaves
Key Players: Joe Pavelski, F, Fr. (40 GP, 16-29—45); Robbie Earl, F, So. (40 GP, 20-23—43); Bernd Brückler, G, Sr. (17-11-3, 2.35, .916)
What You Need to Know: The Badgers under Mike Eaves have never won a WCHA Final Five game (they made their first appearance this year and went one-and-done) but they're making their second consecutive trip to the NCAA field of 16. Wisconsin hasn't been to the Frozen since 1992, although Eaves' team was just an overtime goal versus Maine away last year.
How They'll Advance: Eaves might want to serve his team leftover turkey before facing Michigan. Special teams were the key when Bucky beat the Wolverines 3-1 on Thanksgiving weekend, as Wisconsin scored power play and shorthanded goals. Playing in the other team's home state will be less challenging if goalie Bernd Bruckler can keep the Wolverines, and their fans, quiet.
What Might Trip Them Up: The Miller Lite on tap at the B.O.B. (across the street from Van Andel Arena) may be the only thing colder than the Badgers right now. Bucky enters the NCAAs on a 3-7-3 streak, having last won two in a row in early February. The mojo is clearly missing from a team that looked more formidable two months ago. They'd better find it fast.

Most Recent Wisconsin Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
10-R. Earl	8-J. Pavelski	27-R. Carlson	Burish, one of Bucky's most experienced regulars, has been one of the few bright spots lately.
24-A. Joudrey	11-J. Dowell	19-R. MacMurchy
31-N. Licari	16-A. Burish	25-A.J. Degenhardt
22-J. Funk	21-A. Brandt	18-M. Ford
Defense	Defense	Goalies
7-J. Piskula	14-T. Gilbert	32-B. Bruckler	Klubertanz and Likens are the Badgers' best offensive defensemen.
2-K. Klubertanz	5-J. Likens	1-B. Elliott
6-J. Engel	4-D. Drewiske

NO. 4 SEED COLGATE RAIDERS

Location: Hamilton, N.Y.
Record: 25-10-3 (14-5-3 ECACHL, third)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: 4th (most recent, 2000)
Head Coach: Don Vaughan
Key Players: Steve Silverthorn, G, Sr. (24-9-3, 1.77, .925); Joey Mormina, D, Sr. (38 GP, 8-8—16); Tyler Burton, F, Fr. (36 GP, 19-15—34)
What You Need to Know: Colgate won the regular season ECACHL title last year and narrowly missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth. Nine seniors have seen regular duty for Colgate this year. That leadership helped on Saturday when Colgate had to turn around on short rest and defeat Vermont in the ECACHL third-place game.
How They'll Advance: It might be a tad disrespectful to the rest of the Raider lineup, but this is a team that's carried by its top players. The first line of Jon Smyth, Darryl McKinnon, and Adam Mitchell is one of the best in the ECACHL and freshman Tyler Burton scores a lot of clutch goals. Defenseman Joey Mormina eats up a ton of minutes and Steve Silverthorn provides steady goaltending every night.
What Might Trip Them Up: If that core group of players has an off night, Colgate could be in trouble. The Raiders have 25 wins on the year and 18 of them have been by one or two goals. If they trail by a couple of goals early, it will be difficult for Colgate to come back.

Most Recent Colgate Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
23-J. Smyth	15-D. McKinnon	7-A. Mitchell	Wilson's recent return from injury makes that line very dangerous.
16-D. Gillanders	14-J. Winchester	22-L. Huculak
28-A. Masotto	11-D. Thomas	26-R. Smyth
21-K. Wilson	9-T. Burton	3-Z. Tataryn
Defense	Defense	Goalies
27-J. Mormina	13-J. Spencer	40-S. Silverthorn	Overshadowed in a league of elite goalies, Silverthorn is one of the nation's best.
6-M. Campaner	8-Alex Greig	1-M. Dekanich
5-E. Main	2-E. DelGiacco	32-J. Kowalski