Inside College Hockey | 2005 NCAA Northeast Regional Preview

March 24, 2005
NCAA Tournament
Northeast Regional Preview | Amherst, Mass.

NCAA
NORTHEAST REGIONAL PREVIEW

This year's Denver team is beginning to resemble the one that won the national title in Boston last spring.

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West: Capsules | Preview

NCAA NORTHEAST REGIONAL
Mullins Center
Saturday, March 26

Noon ET: No. 1 Denver vs. No. 4 Bemidji State

3:30 p.m. ET: No. 2 New Hampshire vs. No. 3 Harvard

Sunday, March 27

Noon ET: Regional Final

By Joe Gladziszewski

HOT TOPIC

Ryan Caldwell, Connor James, Adam Berkhoel – those names you remember from last year’s national championship team from Denver – aren’t with the Pioneers anymore. As departed seniors, they left the task of defending the championship to a very good team that has developed into a legitimate contender for national honors once again.

Last year's leading scorer, Gabe Gauthier is back. As are standout defensemen Matt Carle and Brett Skinner, who were named to the All-WCHA first team. Jeff Drummond, Luke Fulghum and Kevin Ulanski have all taken on added responsibility as seniors this year. Plus, there are new names playing key roles, especially freshman forward Paul Stastny and goaltender Peter Mannino.

Throughout the season Denver has shown more offensive punch than the 2003-04 Pioneers, but the defensive reputation that last year’s club earned has started to fit this year’s team. DU has allowed a total of two goals in its last five games.

BACK STORY

The winner of Saturday’s second semifinal will probably get a chance to unseat the defending national champions. For the loser of the New Hampshire-Harvard game, it’s just another disappointment in the NCAA Tournament.

The New Hampshire Wildcats are by far the most successful hockey program never to have won an NCAA Division I title. They’ve been to the NCAA Tournament 25 times. If they advance through the Harvard game and knock off the No. 1 seed on Sunday, they’ll have quite a bit of momentum heading down to Columbus.

Harvard does have an NCAA title (1989) but its most recent tournament history isn’t good. The Crimson has been bounced in the first round of the event for the last three years. So far this season Harvard has beaten Boston College, Boston University and Maine. A win against UNH will give them a victory against all four Hockey East schools that qualified for the NCAAs.

While You're There

If you’re not hustling over to Worcester for Saturday night’s game, there are some good options for post-game refreshments near the Mullins Center. For the “campus” scene, check out Rafters and The Hangar, which are located next to each other and near the rink on University Drive. There are other spots in the main part of town, including the Amherst Brewing Company.

ON A ROLL

The hottest player entering weekend play will get the afternoon off on Saturday. Denver freshman goalie Peter Mannino has shutout wins in his last three starts. Two of those came against Colorado College in big spots. The first gave DU a share of the regular season title, the second helped DU win the playoff championship. And he won’t play against Bemidji State. It’s not due to suspension or injury, and it’s no sign of disrespect to the Beavers. DU coach George Gwozdecky is just comfortable with his goalie rotation right now, and he doesn’t see any good reason to break that up now. Glenn Fisher, a junior, will get the nod.

MR. CLUTCH

Brett Hemingway, sophomore forward for New Hampshire, doesn’t get as much acclaim as teammates Sean Collins, Preston Callander, or Jacob Micflikier. But his seven game-winning goals are by far the most on the team, and his 11 power-play goals also leads the Wildcats. You might remember his older brother, Colin, he of the 148 career points at New Hampshire. Dick Umile says Brett could be better than his older brother, and Brett made great progrees in his game from his freshman campaign to this season.

SOMETHING TO PROVE

The best players in the Harvard lineup are seniors – Dov Grumet-Morris, Tom Cavanagh, Noah Welch and Ryan Lannon. They don’t want to finish their collegiate careers as O-fers on the game’s biggest stage. With three NCAA Tournament losses thus far, including last year’s third-period collapse against Maine, this group of seniors can add to its otherwise impressive post-season resume. They played in the ECACHL Championship game all four years, winning twice, and compiled a 16-2 career record in the conference tournament.

ONE TO WATCH

Part of the fun of the NCAA Tournament is being exposed to teams and players you don’t get to see on a regular basis. Fans at the Mullins Center will get a look at Bemidji State senior forward Brendan Cook. He’s the team’s leading scorer with 19 goals and 39 points on the year. The recent injury to linemate Andrew Murray certainly diminishes the offensive punch of that top line with Cook and Luke Erickson. Jean-Guy Gervais has stepped into Murray’s role as first line center.

SUNDAY STORYLINE

If the favorites win on Saturday it sets the stage for an intriguing Sunday matchup between the reigning champions and a team trying to achieve its first-ever championship. The teams were second and third in scoring offense this season. UNH scored 4.03 goals per game while Denver tallied 4.00 goals per game. Their defensive statistics are also remarkably similar, as UNH allowed 2.70 per outing and Denver was slightly better with 2.62 goals against per game.