March
19, 2006
NCAA Tournament
Northeast Regional Capsules | Worcester, Mass.
DCU Center
Friday, March 24
4 p.m. ET: No. 1 Boston University vs. No.
4 Nebraska-Omaha
7 p.m. ET: No. 2 Miami vs. No. 3 Boston College
Saturday, March 25
6 p.m. ET: Regional Final
NO.
1 SEED BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS
Location:
Boston, Mass.
Record: 25-9-4 (17-7-3 Hockey East, first)
Qualified: Hockey East Tournament Champions
NCAA Championships: Four (1995, 1978, 1972, 1971)
NCAA Appearance: 29th (most recent, 2005)
Head Coach: Jack Parker
Key Players: David Van der Gulik, F, Sr.
(23 GP, 11-10—21); Pete MacArthur, F, So. (38 GP,
14-23—37); John Curry, G, Jr. (23-7-4, 2.16, .921);
Dan Spang, D, Sr. (38 GP, 8-22—30)
What You Need to Know: Under .500 as recently
as Jan. 6, the Terriers have surged in the second half to
two Hockey East titles and a No. 1 seed. They could easily
be the hottest team in the tournament – they've won
an NCAA-best six in a row and are unbeaten in nine straight
(7-0-2).
How They'll Advance: Boston University's
rise in the standings coincided with David Van der Gulik's
midseason return to the lineup. He seems to be getting stronger
and stronger, with two hat tricks in the last two weeks.
The Terriers have the benefit of a balanced attack up front
and a reliable goaltender in John Curry. They also thrive
in tournament settings, as witnessed by the Beanpot, where
BU wins seem to be as annual as another early February event,
Groundhog Day.
What Might Trip Them Up: Despite Van der
Gulik's recent heroics and Pete MacArthur's finishing touch,
the Terriers still lack a real game-breaking forward. They've
gotten by, averaging 3.45 goals per game, but who will they
turn to when they need a goal? Plus, their special teams
are uninspired, ranking in the 30s nationally, although
they've been better since Jan. 1.
| Most
Recent Boston University Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| 7-D.
Van der Gulik |
12-B.
Zancanaro |
5-J.
Laliberte |
The Terriers have six players
crowded between 11 and 16 goals on the year. |
| 6-K.
Roche |
16-P.
MacArthur |
27-B.
Ewing |
| 22-J.
Lawrence |
10-C.
Higgins |
18-B.
Yip |
| 28-B.
McGuirk |
15-J.
McCarthy |
9-R.
Weston |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| 11-D.
Spang |
97-M.
Gilroy |
36-J.
Curry |
Spang
provides some offense, but the D is very defensive-minded. |
| 4-S.
Sullivan |
3-K.
Schaeffer |
1-S.
Siwiec |
| 14-J.
Redlihs |
21-T.
Morrow |
29-K.
Gillespie |
NO.
2 SEED MIAMI REDHAWKS
Location:
Oxford, Ohio
Record: 26-8-4 (20-6-2 CCHA, first)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: Fourth (most recent, 2004)
Head Coach: Enrico Blasi
Key Players: Andy Greene, D, Sr. (38 GP,
9-22—31); Nathan Davis, F, So. (36 GP, 20-20—40);
Jeff Zatkoff, G, Fr. (14-5-1, 2.02, .928); Ryan Jones, F,
So. (38 GP, 22-13—35)
What You Need to Know: Miami ran away with
the CCHA regular-season title, clinching first place with
two weeks remaining. The feat is even more impressive when
one considers that junior forwards Matt Christie and Marty
Guerin, who combined for 68 points as freshmen and 70 points
last season, have amassed just 40 points between them this
year.
How They'll Advance: The RedHawks have
been successful all year long with solid goaltending and
stingy defense. Those are good things to have at this time
of the year. Marquee players Andy Greene and Nathan Davis
give Miami some star power to rely on in a big setting.
Davis also has a knack for scoring momentum-changing goals
– a dangerous penalty killer, the sophomore goes from
zero to full speed in about two strides and can instantly
turn a lazy D-to-D or cross-ice pass into a shorthanded
goal.
What Might Trip Them Up: It won't be easy
for the RedHawks to play two "road" games in Massachusetts
against Boston College, and potentially Boston University.
The RedHawks were 12-6-2 in games played away from Goggin
Ice Arena this year, compared to a dominant 14-2-2 record
at home. Should they advance to face BU in the second round,
they’ll face a team that plays a style similar to
Michigan State. The Spartans gave Miami fits this season,
winning all three meetings with the RedHawks and completely
bottling up their offensive attack.
| Most
Recent Miami Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| 26-R.
Jones |
17-N.
Davis |
22-N.
Musitelli |
Miami's forwards are almost
all reliable defensively, not surprising for a team
that leads the nation in scoring defense (1.95 GA/game). |
| 16-J.
Mercier |
14-G.
Smith |
8-M.
Guerin |
| 11-M.
Christie |
19-M.
Davis |
15-S.
Dennis |
| 7-B.
Kaufman |
20-C.
Michael |
9-J.
Cooper |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| 23-A.
Greene |
25-M.
Ganzak |
37-J.
Zatkoff |
Zatkoff
and Effinger have alternated the last eight games. Effinger
would be next. |
| 21-A.
Martinez |
18-R.
Eichenlaub |
1-C.
Effinger |
| 24-K.
Roeder |
4-B.
Robbins |
34-J.
Richmond |
NO.
3 SEED BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Location:
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Record: 23-12-3 (17-8-2 Hockey East, third)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: Two (1949, 2001)
NCAA Appearance: 26th (most recent, 2005)
Head Coach: Jerry York
Key Players: Chris Collins, F, Sr. (38
GP, 30-28—58); Brian Boyle, F, Jr. (38 GP, 21-28—49);
Cory Schneider, G, So. (21-12-2, 2.15, .926); Peter Harrold,
D, Sr. (38 GP, 7-22—29)
What You Need to Know: The Eagles had the
inside track on the Hockey East title and perhaps a No.
1 seed before a February swoon dropped them to third place
in the league.
How They'll Advance: The Eagles could be
as strong a third seed as we've seen since Michigan reached
the Frozen Four in 2003. Boston College has offensive weapons
in Chris Collins and Brian Boyle, prototypical depth forwards
like Joe Rooney and Pat Gannon, solid defense and excellent
goaltending.
What Might Trip Them Up: First and foremost,
Chris Collins (hip pointer) has to be healthy. Secondly,
BC has to hope that it got its slump out of the way in February.
A year ago BC seemed unprepared for the pace of the NCAA
Tournament against both Mercyhurst and North Dakota. Cory
Schneider wasn't sharp in goal and the Eagles were bumped
in the second round.
| Most
Recent Boston College Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| 12-C.
Collins |
10-B.
Boyle |
19-B.
Bradford |
That second line – let's
call them "G Forces" – averages 5-foot-7,
172 pounds and a whole lot of energy. |
| 14-M.
Greene |
9-N.
Gerbe |
15-S.
Gionta |
| 17-J.
Rooney |
21-B.
Ferriero |
22-D.
Bertram |
| 11-J.
Adams |
13-P.
Gannon |
27-A.
Orpik |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| 5-T.
Filangeri |
7-P.
Harrold |
1-C.
Schneider |
Motherwell's
solid rookie season may have made him BC's No. 2 defenseman. |
| 2-A.
Aiello |
4-M.
Brennan |
29-J.
Pearce |
| 23-B.
O'Hanley |
8-B.
Motherwell |
30-A.
Reasoner |
NO.
4 SEED NEBRASKA-OMAHA MAVERICKS
Location:
Omaha, Neb.
Record: 20-14-6 (12-10-6 CCHA, tied for
fourth)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: First
Head Coach: Mike Kemp
Key Players: Scott Parse, F, Jr. (40 GP,
20-41—61); Bill Thomas, F, So. (40 GP, 26-23—49);
Bryan Marshall, F, So. (40 GP, 12-26—38); Tomas Klempa,
F, Fr. (32 GP, 10-14—24)
What You Need to Know: Though he was born
and raised in Minnesota and has spent his entire coaching
career in the Midwest, Nebraska-Omaha coach Mike Kemp is
intimately familiar with one high-profile Massachusetts
sporting event – an avid runner, Kemp has competed
in the Boston Marathon.
How They'll Advance: When three players
account for a shade over 40% of your goals and nearly 39%
of your points, it’s imperative they contribute in
order to have a chance to win. Therefore, UNO needs the
forward line of junior Scott Parse and sophomores Bryan
Marshall and Bill Thomas to be productive, but they can’t
just rely on that trio in order to be successful. Freshman
Tomas Klempa, a 5-foot-8 waterbug who missed more than a
month with an injury but still managed 24 points in 32 games,
and the high-energy line of Kaleb Betts, Alex Nikiforuk
and Brandon Scero are the most viable secondary options.
What Might Trip Them Up: Special teams
have been a sore spot for the Mavericks. They’re 10th
in the CCHA in penalty killing at 81.2% and rank sixth in
the conference with a power-play success rate of 17.2%.
One would think UNO would be better in that category, what
with Parse, Thomas and the like, but the Mavs seem content
to blast away from the points and get traffic in front of
the net to get goals off screens, deflections or rebounds.
UNO is fairly average on defense and in goal, where freshman
walk-on Jerad Kaufmann seized the no. 1 job about one-third
of the way through the season. Sure, they’ve got the
ability to score six goals on a given night, but they’re
just as prone to giving up that many, too.
| Most
Recent Nebraska-Omaha Line Chart |
| Left
Wing |
Center |
Right
Wing |
Notes |
| 23-S.
Parse |
25-B.
Marshall |
21-B.
Thomas |
The first line has accounted
for more than 40 percent of the Mavericks' goals. |
| 20-B.
Scero |
9-A.
Nikiforuk |
28-K.
Betts |
| 33-D.
Charleston |
3-J.P.
Platisha |
8-T.
Klempa |
| 11-M.
Lefley |
24-B.
Bagron |
27-M.
Lawrence |
| Defense |
Defense |
Goalies |
| 2-J.
Uotila |
4-P.
Angell |
34-J.
Kaufmann |
Kaufmann,
a freshman walk-on, is 17-10-6 on the year. |
| 22-D.
Knapp |
6-M.
Eickman |
30-E.
Aarnio |
| 29-A.
Bartholomay |
10-J.
Krischuk |
|
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