College Hockey Slap Schotts 2011-12: Week 12 ? Winners and losers over Christmas break
Most of the ECAC Hockey teams were probably happy to see the calendar change from 2011 to 2012 after less-than-stellar performances the past few days.
A couple of ECACH teams that had aspirations of making the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid didn't do themselves any favors. And some of the league teams emerged as ones to be reckoned with when league play resumes this weekend.
Here are my winners and losers among the ECACH teams during the Christmas week.
Winners
Brown ? The Bears won twice in impressive fashion. First, they went to New Hampshire for the second straight year. Last season, Brown had leads of 3-1, 4-2 and 5-3, but UNH rallied for a 5-5 tie.
On Friday, Brown took a 3-0 lead against UNH. The Wildcats cut it to 3-2, but late goals by Ryan Jacobson and Matt Lorito helped the Bears seal a 5-2 victory. Marco DeFilippo got the start over No. 1 goalie Mike Clemente. All DeFilippo did in his first start of the season was make 39 saves.
Then on Sunday, they met cross-town rival Providence for the annual Mayor's Cup game. After spotting the Friars a 2-0 lead, the Bears scored five unanswered goals to win, 5-2. Jacobson had two goals and an assist, while Lorito had a goal and two assists.
Brown will be a dangerous team, and could challenge for a first-round bye.
St. Lawrence ? The Saints won a tournament without winning a game.
St. Lawrence captured the Ledyard National Bank Classic by tying twice. They had a wild 6-6 tie against Merrimack in the first round. In that game, the Saints overcame a 3-0 deficit by scoring five second-period goals. The Warriors stormed back to tie it at 5-5 in the third. George Hughes gave the Saints a 6-5 lead, but Merrimack's Shawn Bates tied it 42 seconds left.
After a five-minute overtime didn't decide things, the game went to a shootout. Since the shootout isn't recognized by the NCAA, it was used to determine who advanced to the championship game. After nine rounds, the Saints won, 2-1.
St. Lawrence faced host Dartmouth in the final. Again, it was a tie, this time by a more pedestrian 2-2 score. Another shootout was needed. This time, the Saints needed just three rounds and won the shootout, 3-2, to capture the title.
Colgate ? The Raiders earned a 5-2 win over Canisius on Friday. One year after finishing last, they are emerging as the best team in the conference.
Luke-warm winners
Yale ? Yale crushed Bentley, 9-3, Sunday. Brian O'Neill led the way with four goals.
It was a game Yale should have won. However, the Bulldogs blew a 3-1 lead. That had to evoke memories of their stunning 7-6 loss to a winless Sacred Heart team earlier in the season. This time, Yale took charge, thanks to O'Neill, who scored four straight goals to give his team a 7-3 lead.
Losers
Union ? The Dutchmen were riding high on a 4-0-2 streak as they headed to Colorado for games at Denver and Colorado College.
But the Dutchmen did serious damage to their chances of getting at NCAA tournament at-large bid. They fell behind Denver, 3-0, in the first period Friday. They got a Jeremy Welsh power-play goal later in the first, and peppered Pioneers goalie Juho Olkinuora with 43 shots. However, the Dutchmen couldn't get another one by Olkinuora after Welsh's tally, and they dropped a 3-1 decision.
The next night at CC, Union couldn't get its offense going until Wayne Simpson scored with 40 seconds left in the third period. But it wasn't enough. Two second-period goals by the Tigers were enough to win, 2-1.
Union finds itself tied for 24th with Maine in the Pairwise Rankings. I think the only way the Dutchmen get back to the 16-team NCAA tournament is by winning the ECACH tournament.
RPI ? It's getting worse and worse for the Engineers.
RPI didn't have a strong showing in the UConn Holiday Classic. The Engineers gave up three first-period goals to UMass-Lowell in the first round Thursday and were blasted, 7-2.
The next day, Coach Seth Appert shook up the lineup for the third-place game against Army, dressing just five defensemen while going with 13 forwards. Usually, teams dress 12 forwards and six defensemen. The changes didn't have the desired effect. Brian Schultz's goal with 1:33 left in the third period snapped a 2-2 tie and gave the Black Knights a 3-2 victory.
In what has become the theme of the season, Appert said that his team continues to find ways to lose. It doesn't seem like it's going to get better for RPI any time soon. The Engineers will be on national TV Friday, when Dartmouth visits Houston Field House. NBC Sports Network will have the game. RPI may be wishing the game wasn't on TV, not with the way it's playing a year making the NCAAs.
Cornell
After posting five shutouts in the last six games, Cornell was on a roll. But a three-week break took some of the steam out of the Big Red. They allowed four third-period goals against Massachusetts on Thursday and lost, 5-2, in the first round of the Florida College Classic.
The Big Red, who beat Clarkson, 5-3, in the third-place game Friday, is tied for 17th in the Pairwise Rankings. They have a two-game series at Colorado College this weekend. Lose those games, and they will be in the same boat as Union as far as the NCAAs are concerned.
Clarkson ? The Golden Knights lost both games in the Florida College Classic, including a 6-1 drubbing by Maine in the first round. The Knights didn't have goalie Paul Karpowich. He missed the trip because he was sick.
No TV at Fenway
A number of people have been asking me about the possibility of next Friday's Union-Harvard game at Fenway Park being televised.
Unfortunately, it won't on TV. There will be a webcast available, however.
Dutchmen drop
Union tumbled in the polls.
The Dutchmen Beating RPI in Saturday's Festivus Faceoff in Lake Placid didn't help Union in the national polls Monday.
The Dutchmen dropped from 10th to 11th in the USCHO.com/NCAA top-20 college hockey poll, and from ninth to 12th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine top-15 poll. Union defeated RPI, 5-2.
Union remains the highest-ranked ECAC Hockey team in the USCHO poll. Colgate (12th), Cornell (13th) and Yale (19th) are the other ECACH teams ranked. Colgate is the highest-ranked team in the USA Today poll, coming at No. 10. Cornell is 15th.
USCHO.com/NCAA Poll
Team (First Place) Record Pts Last Week
1 Minnesota-Duluth (47) 12-3-3 997 1
2 Ohio State (2) 14-4-1 930 4
3 Minnesota ( 1) 15-6-1 862 2
4 Boston College 13-7-0 839 3
5 Notre Dame 12-6-3 833 5
6 Colorado College 12-6-0 675 6
7 Merrimack 11-3-3 648 7
8 Western Michigan 10-5-5 618 8
9 Colgate 12-4-2 573 12
10 Boston University 10-6-1 523 9
11 Denver 10-7-3 435 15
12 Massachusetts-Lowell 12-5-0 375 17
13 Cornell 8-4-1 350 13
14 Union 9-5-5 349 10
15 Michigan State 11-7-2 337 14
16 Michigan 11-8-3 264 20
17 Ferris State 11-8-1 223 11
18 Lake Superior 12-8-2 198 16
19 North Dakota 10-8-2 157 18
20 Yale 7-5-1 111 19
Others receiving votes: Northeastern 75, Northern Michigan 61, Air Force 34, Rochester Institute of Technology 12, Miami 9, Nebraska-Omaha 8, Harvard 4.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Rank School Last Week's Ranking 2011-12 Record Weeks in Top 15
1 Minnesota Duluth, 509 (33) 1 12-3-3 13
2 Ohio State, 459 (1) 4 14-4-1 7
3 Notre Dame, 415 6 12-6-3 13
4 Boston College, 405 3 13-7-0 13
5 Minnesota, 395 2 15-6-1 12
6 Merrimack, 325 7 11-3-3 12
7 Colgate, 279 11 12-4-2 7
8 Colorado College, 248 5 12-6-0 13
9 Western Michigan, 238 8 10-5-5 13
10 Denver, 198 15 10-7-3 13
11 Boston University, 158 9 10-6-1 10
12 UMass Lowell, 136 NR 12-5-0 1
13 Michigan, 90 NR 11-8-3 9
14 Cornell, 80 13 8-4-1 3
15 Michigan State, 46 14 11-7-2 4
Others receiving votes: Union, 42; Ferris State, 24; Yale, 15; Lake Superior State, 8; Northeastern, 5; RIT, 2; Northern Michigan, 1; Nebraska Omaha, 1; North Dakota, 1.
My vote
I have a vote in the USCHO.com poll. Here is how I voted this week.
1) Minn. Duluth
2) Ohio State
3) Notre Dame
4) Minnesota
5) Boston College
6) Merrimack
7) Colorado College
8) Colgate
9) Western Michigan
10) Denver
11) UMass-Lowell
12) Boston U.
13) Union
14) North Dakota
15) Lake Superior State
16) Cornell
17) Michigan State
18) Ferris State
19) Michigan
Daily Gazette ECACH Awards
Time for my weekly awards.
Player of the Week/Rookie of the Week ? Brian O'Neill, Yale
The senior forward, who is from Yardley, Pa., not far from my hometown of Philadelphia, scored four consecutive goals to help the Bulldogs beat Bentley.
Goalie of the Week ? Marco DeFilippo, Brown
In his first start of the season, the sophomore netminder stopped 39 shots to lead the Bears past UNH.
Rookie of the Week ? Ryan Jacobson, Brown
Team of the Week ? Brown
A pair of 5-2 wins over UNH and Providence helps the Bears earn the award. Also, the win over Providence gave Brown its first Mayor's Cup title since the 2006-07 season.
If you have any comments, post them below, or e-mail them to me at schott@dailygazette.com. You can follow me on Twitter (@slapschotts) Also, please become a fan of two Facebook pages ? The Daily Gazette On Ice, and my "Slap Schotts" college hockey segment page.
Good Monday! Good Hockey! And Happy New Year!
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