NCAA Tournament Brackets Out; UMD to Worcester Saturday

Here are the pairings for the 2012 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship, which begins with regional play at two sites Friday. UMD has been placed in the Northeast Regional, a Saturday/Sunday regional that includes No. 1 overall seed Boston College.

All times are Central.

EAST REGIONAL (Bridgeport, CT)
Friday
No. 1 Union vs. No. 4 Michigan State, 2pm
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 3 UMass-Lowell, 5:30pm
Saturday
Semifinal winners, 5:30pm

MIDWEST REGIONAL (Green Bay, WI)
Friday
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Cornell, 8pm
No. 2 Ferris State vs. No. 3 Denver, 4:30pm
Saturday
Semifinal winners, 8pm

NORTHEAST REGIONAL (Worcester, MA)
Saturday
No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 4 Air Force, 3pm
No. 2 UMD vs. No. 3 Maine, 6:30pm
Sunday
Semifinal winners, 7pm

WEST REGIONAL (St. Paul, MN)
Saturday
No. 1 North Dakota vs. No. 4 Western Michigan, 12:30pm
No. 2 Minnesota vs. No. 3 Boston University, 4pm
Sunday
Semifinal winners, 4:30pm

Game 39: UMD vs. Denver (WCHA Final Five)

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Here we go from the Mecca of Minnesota hockey. The last time UMD played in this building ...

Well, you know.

Time for an afternoon affair with Denver. UMD seeks a bit of redemption after going one-and-done in this tournament last year.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Flaherty - Connolly - Seidel
Herbert - Oleksuk - Brown
Basaraba - Hendrickson - Grun
Crandall (Justin) - Tardy - Krause

Bergman - Lamb
Casto - Smith
Olson - Kishel

Reiter - Crandall (Aaron)

DU
Loney - Shore (Drew) - Salazar
Zucker - Shore (Nick) - Doremus
Dewhurst - Ostrow - Jackson
Jacobson - Tabrum - Mermis
Larraza

LaLeggia - Lee
Ryder - Didier
Mayfield

Brittain - Murray - Olkinuora

WCHA Final Five Should Have Crazy Friday

Before I make my way down I-35 for the semifinals of the WCHA Final Five, here are a few quick thoughts on what's happened and what is to come.

• Michigan Tech gave Denver all it could handle, largely thanks to goalie Josh Robinson. You might not see a better goaltending performance all weekend. He was in good position, saw the puck well, and was aggressively challenging all afternoon. That Denver found a way to beat him was not a problem of Robinson's, but instead an issue with the players in front of him, who seemed to run out of gas in a way. I thought Denver owned a good chunk of the third period, and then they scored too early in overtime for either team to really establish dominance.
• Luke Salazar will be a player to watch Friday afternoon. The Pioneers might not be in the Final Five without him, and his goal late in the third period Thursday extended that game so Jason Zucker could win it in overtime. Coaches like to talk about needing their best players to be their best players, and I'm not disputing that at all. But more often than not, teams get major contributions from guys who are not superstar players (Kyle Schmidt, anyone?).
• I'm not a huge fan of rooting for the Gophers, but you can bet I'll be doing it if UMD wins the Friday afternoon semifinal. As much as I respect North Dakota, this isn't about North Dakota. UMD fans have wanted another shot at the Gophers since October, and this is the best chance to get one with little consequence. Hell, there are realistic scenarios where UMD could still get a No. 1 regional seed if it loses to Minnesota in the championship game. Better than playing them with everything on the line next week.
• Friday night is going to be a bonkers atmosphere in St. Paul. There was a fight in the stands Thursday involving fans of Minnesota and North Dakota. Imagine what it will be like when those teams are actually playing each other. Fans of Friday afternoon's winner are advised to be in the lobby when the game ends, as there should be some cheap tickets available for Saturday's championship game.
• Too much up for grabs the next two days to lay down any kind of prediction which regional UMD will end up in. I'd say with about 85 percent (or maybe a bit higher) confidence that UMD will not be playing in a regional that involves a flight.
• If you're heading down Saturday, remember that the St. Patrick's Day parade in St. Paul will bring in huge crowds of people, hampering your ability to find a ramp to park in, and your ability to drive to where you want to go in downtown. Plan to arrive early so you have time to find a way to get where you want to go and find a spot to park.

Wherever you will be Friday, enjoy. This should be a great environment for the players and fans in attendance.

WCHA Final Five Previews

Instead of writing completely separate previews on all the Final Five teams here, I partnered with my pals at Hockey Wilderness (SB Nation), and I wrote team previews for them.

Here are links to all the pieces, along with one more look at the tournament schedule.

PREVIEWS
1. Minnesota
2. UMD
3. Denver
4. North Dakota
5. St. Cloud State
6. Michigan Tech

SCHEDULE
Thursday
Denver vs. Michigan Tech, 2pm
North Dakota vs. St. Cloud State, 7pm

Friday
UMD vs. Denver/Mich Tech winner, 2pm
Minnesota vs. UND/SCSU winner, 7pm

Saturday
Semifinal winners, 7pm

UMD Readies for Final Five Test

Some of what you're seeing here is similar to last year, when UMD made the trek to St. Paul knowing it had an NCAA Tournament bid locked down.

Armed with that knowledge last year, UMD laid a bit of an egg at the Final Five, losing to Bemidji State 3-2 in overtime in the quarterfinals. We all know what happened from there.



And, yes, that was an excuse to embed this video again. Enjoy.

This time around, UMD is heading down I-35 with not only an NCAA bid in its back pocket, but also the chance to earn the tournament's No. 1 overall seed with a pair of wins at the WCHA Final Five.

"That one stung for a while," senior captain Jack Connolly said. "Obviously you don't want to go down and lose in the play-in game like that."

The Broadmoor Trophy was last won by UMD in 2009.

"We've put ourselves in a great position to try to do that, and it would mean an awful lot for the program to get another one of those," Connolly noted.

Just because it worked out for UMD to lose in the Final Five last year doesn't mean it's a good idea to go that route again.

This Bulldog team is hungry for a shot at Minnesota. Connolly admits it would be great to play the Gophers again. This Bulldog team is also hungry to, in a way, atone for last year's performance in the Final Five.

"I think we're in decent shape," head coach Scott Sandelin said this week. "I know our players are excited to get back there. It's the fourth time for our seniors to play in this tournament."

UMD's fourth straight trip to the Final Five starts with a Friday semifinal game against either Denver or Michigan Tech. Even though Denver is the higher seed, there are arguments for UMD fans to root for that matchup to happen.

For starters, UMD and Denver always seem to play good hockey together. I don't know if it's just a perfect match of playing styles, or if it's because the teams don't hate each other enough to play any other way, but it seems like -- for lack of a better way to describe it -- there is good chemistry between the two. Not only that, but UMD goalie Kenny Reiter has a .943 save percentage in four games (three starts) against the Pioneers.

The Bulldogs, though, might have some unfinished business with Michigan Tech. Hopefully, you haven't forgotten the teams' last meeting, a 5-0 Tech win at Amsoil Arena. I know I still haven't forgotten it, despite my best efforts.

No matter who UMD plays, the goal is clear. Win two games. By doing so, UMD will help its NCAA Tournament seeding, and also head into the tournament on a strong note.

******

As for what will happen on Sunday, when the brackets are announced, it's too early to say for sure. I'm of the belief that UMD will be placed in the West Regional in St. Paul unless UMD and Minnesota are on the same or opposite seed lines (meaning they'd play in the first round of the tournament, which can't happen per the NCAA handbook unless a league has at least five teams in). If UMD is not placed in St. Paul for that reason or some other, it will head to Green Bay.

But I think St. Paul is most likely right now.

For those wondering, Michigan Tech would be automatically placed in the Midwest Regional (Green Bay) if it wins the Final Five, because it is the host of that regional. But if that happens, UMD can't be a No. 1 regional seed, and neither can Minnesota. UMD would still end up in Green Bay, as Minnesota can't be moved from the regional in St. Paul.

******

Six UMD players have consecutive game streaks higher than 60 games heading into Friday. Jack Connolly is at a school-record 163, Travis Oleksuk 112, and David Grun hit 100 on Saturday. Keegan Flaherty has played in 78 straight games, and Wade Bergman and Jake Hendrickson are both at 62.

ESPN Announces College Hockey Tournament Coverage Plans

I'll present the ESPN information to you, largely because I know many of you are interested in watching the NCAA Tournament, and because a lot of you won't be traveling to regionals or the Frozen Four, even if UMD is involved.

This came from the Worldwide Leader in Sports Other Than Hockey on Wednesday.

For the eighth consecutive year, ESPN will present every glass-crushing moment of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship starting with the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Selection Show on Sunday, March 18, and culminating with the Men's Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., April 5 and 7.  All 15 games will air live on ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3. Four regional games will be shown on ESPN3 with additional coverage on ESPNU in tape delay. For 2012, ESPN will debut its Advanced Replay Tool (ART) which allows graphics to be used in a replay, a first in the network’s coverage of NCAA hockey.

As in past years, the tournament brackets will be announced on the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Selection Show by SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross, analyst Barry Melrose and new to the selection show this year, three-time Stanley Cup champion Aaron Ward. Airing Sunday, March 18, at noon ET on ESPNU, Ward’s three-consecutive NCAA Championship appearances while playing at Michigan brings a second layer of expertise to the passion and enthusiasm Melrose infuses into the 30-minute special. The show will also include features from current NHL standouts reflecting on their own NCAA memories, including Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis, Buffalo’s Ryan Miller, New Jersey’s Zach Praise and Ottawa’s Matt Gilroy.

The ART, developed by ESPN Emerging Technology, allows graphics to be instantaneously embedded within a replay, providing commentators greater visual resources to communicate analysis to viewers.  It has seen previous success in ESPN’s coverage of basketball, football and golf telecasts (see video).

Melrose, Gary Thorne and Clay Matvick will utilize the tool during ESPN’s Frozen Four telecasts. Former NCAA players Sean Ritchlin (Michigan), Dave Starman (Hartford) and Billy Jaffe (Michigan) will also contribute analysis throughout the two week coverage span. ESPN has aired games from the men's championship since 1980 and recently extended its commitment to the NCAA, which includes airing the entire Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship through 2024.

Here is the link.

East Regional (Bridgeport, Conn.) games will be worked by John Buccigross and Barry Melrose. Northeast Regional (Worcester, Mass.) games will have Dan Parkhurst and Billy Jaffe on commentary. Ben Holden and Sean Ritchlin will head to Green Bay for the Midwest Regional. Minnesota's own Clay Matvick and Dave Starman will work the West Regional in St. Paul. Gary Thorne, Melrose, and Matvick will have Frozen Four duty in Tampa.

Jason Garrison Makes History

It's been a hell of a year for Florida defenseman and former UMD Bulldog Jason Garrison. He spent much of the season leading NHL defensemen in goals, and he made some history Tuesday night in Sunrise. During Florida's 5-2 win over Toronto, Garrison tallied his 15th goal of the season, tying a Panthers franchise record held by Jay Bouwmeester and Brian McCabe.



The goal comes at around the 1:40 mark on the above video.

It was Garrison's ninth power play goal of the season, which sets a franchise single-season record for defensemen.

Garrison has career highs with 15 goals and 28 points, and to make it better, he's doing it all in a contract year. He'll be a free agent July 1, barring something unforeseen.

WCHA Final Five Set

Thanks to Denver's 3-2 overtime win over Wisconsin Sunday night, the field of six is finally set for the WCHA Final Five, which starts Thursday in St. Paul.

Luke Salazar's wrap-around at 1:40 of overtime pushed the Pioneers into the field, and likely locked DU into the NCAA Tournament, meaning the WCHA will get four teams -- and maybe five -- into the tournament.

Here is the Final Five schedule:

Thursday
No. 6 Michigan Tech  vs. No. 3 Denver, 2pm
No. 5 St. Cloud State vs. No. 4 North Dakota, 7pm

Friday
Michigan Tech/Denver winner vs. No. 2 UMD, 2pm
SCSU/North Dakota winner vs. No. 1 Minnesota, 7pm

Saturday
Semifinal winners, 7pm

Barring a catastrophic turn of events that might be mathematically impossible, Denver and North Dakota will join Minnesota and UMD in the NCAAs. If Michigan Tech or St. Cloud State win the tournament, the WCHA would likely get five teams in the field.

Game 38: Minnesota State at UMD (WCHA Playoffs Game Two)

Here we go with the second game.

There better not be a third.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Flaherty - Connolly - Seidel
Herbert - Oleksuk - Brown
Basaraba - Hendrickson - Grun
Crandall (Justin) - Tardy - Krause

Bergman - Lamb
Casto - Smith
Olson - Kishel

Reiter - Crandall (Aaron) - Gaffy

MSU
Dorr - Louwerse - Gaede
Lafontaine - Leitner - Hayes
Mueller - Schiller - McInnis
Burkemper - Zuck - Jokinen

Elbrecht - Nelson
Palmquist - Stern
Cooper - Mosey

Lee - Karambelas

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Work to Do, But UMD Starts Playoffs Strong

Friday night was a pretty good example of playoff hockey, not only in Duluth but many other WCHA venues.

Games were tight on the scoreboard. Many of the games were "loosely" officiated, meaning the standard for a penalty was blatantly obvious (too many men) or flagrant (foul from behind on a breakaway).

In Duluth, only three minor penalties were served, and a fourth was called that led to a penalty shot. Two of the three served minors were for too many men on the ice, and both were so obvious that there was no reason for anyone to question them.

In the end, it wasn't anything related to the power plays that decided the game's outcome. Instead, UMD did what it has done for much of the season's second half, riding even-strength goals to a 4-2 win over Minnesota State.

The Bulldogs got quality shifts out of all four lines, outstanding play out of Travis Oleksuk's line yet again, a strong game from captain Jack Connolly, and two goals by senior defenseman Brady Lamb.

Oleksuk's line was good from the start Friday. JT Brown and Caleb Herbert combined for a great scoring chance in the first 30 seconds. Brown connected just past the halfway mark of the first for the game's opening goal. Herbert -- who played like he was chafed about not being on the WCHA All-Rookie team -- was all over the ice, back-checking, hustling, and playing with an impressive edge.

He also provided some comic relief. On the game's first penalty, a UMD bench minor for too many men, Herbert went to serve the penalty, but decided to take a seat in Minnesota State's penalty box. He was directed to the correct penalty bench, and UMD killed the penalty. It would be MSU's only power play of the game.

Connolly launched some obscene passes to spring linemates Keegan Flaherty and Mike Seidel, but the three were pretty tightly-checked throughout the game. As the game wore on, MSU did a better job on Oleksuk's line, but they couldn't contain the speedy Bulldogs all night.

Lamb's second goal of the game -- which I'm convinced hit the stick of Maverick forward Matt Leitner -- gave UMD the lead for good in the third period, and the Bulldogs withstood a furious MSU rally in the final minute-plus. Wade Bergman's 160-foot shot iced it with five seconds left.

It was a good playoff hockey game, and a good win for UMD, one that temporarily moved the Bulldogs to first in the Pairwise (when all the games of the night were done, UMD had settled into second, behind Boston College). A win on Saturday would move UMD into the WCHA Final Five for a fourth straight season. It would also put UMD in a good position for nothing worse than a top-two NCAA regional seed, no matter how next weekend plays out around the country.

UMD ground out this win in a way. It wasn't at its best in the second period, from the goalie out. MSU's first goal came on a bad rebound allowed by Kenny Reiter, and the second came from a bad-angle shot that trickled through. Those are the kinds of goals everyone allows once in a while, but one of Reiter's strong points is that he rarely lets it happen twice in a month, much less in a game.

Obviously, he'll be working to avoid those errors, but if you remember, Reiter gave up a softie in the Frozen Four last year, but was still one of UMD's best players throughout the NCAA Tournament. It's not exactly cause for alarm.

******

Elsewhere in the WCHA, the road teams in the Mountain time zone were the only ones to succeed on Friday.

Wisconsin got a third-period goal from Sean Little to beat Denver 1-0. In Colorado Springs, it was Michigan Tech outshooting Colorado College 29-17 in a 3-1 win.

Home teams won the other games. Minnesota held off Alaska-Anchorage 2-1, North Dakota beat Bemidji State 4-1, and St. Cloud State got the other shutout and most lopsided win, beating Nebraska Omaha 4-0.

The series all continue Saturday.

Game 37: Minnesota State at UMD (WCHA Playoffs Game One)

Blah.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Flaherty - Connolly - Seidel
Herbert - Oleksuk - Brown
Basaraba - Hendrickson - Grun
Crandall (Justin) - Tardy - Krause

Bergman - Lamb
Casto - Smith
Olson - Kishel

Reiter - Crandall (Aaron) - Gaffy

MSU
Dorr - Louwerse - Gaede
Lafontaine - Leitner - Hayes
Mueller - Schiller - McInnis
Burkemper - Zuck - Jokinen

Elbrecht - Nelson
Palmquist - Stern
Cooper - Mosey

Lee - Karambelas

UMD Ready to Crank It Up Again

The ultimate prize has yet to be decided, by any stretch. That doesn't happen until April 7, when two teams will collide in Tampa for the right to spend the year known as the national champions.

However, the drive to Tampa is underway in college hockey, as the five Division I leagues hold their postseason tournaments. On the line? Automatic bids to the NCAAs for tournament champions, but there are also 11 at large bids up for grabs, with very few of those 11 being spoken for at this point.

UMD seems to be a virtual lock to make the tournament (various Pairwise information I've searched out shows UMD could fall to 12th in the Pairwise by getting swept this weekend, but even that seems unlikely), but the Bulldogs can remove all doubt this weekend by beating Minnesota State in a two-game WCHA playoff series.

Things went UMD's way in the postseason last year, but not before Bemidji State generally outplayed UMD in a 3-2 win at the WCHA Final Five. That touched off a run of four straight wins that saw UMD claim a national championship.

While the MacNaughton Cup eluded these Bulldogs, UMD is optimistic about its playoff chances, as well it should be.

"We bring a lot of experience into these playoffs," senior defenseman Brady Lamb. "Mostly, just taking care of your body and making sure you stay hydrated. It's a long five week battle, but we think we're up for it."

Minnesota State is an opponent UMD has seen success against this year. UMD has three wins and a tie in four games against the Mavericks, but it's the last of that four-game season series that eats at UMD a bit.

"We gave up a big point Saturday out there, and that hasn't left our memory," Lamb said. "It still burns a little bit."

Playoffs are all about bearing down. You have to be stronger on the puck, make consistently smarter decisions, and avoid the little mistakes that can add up to pucks in the back of your net. UMD knows this from last year, but the Bulldogs have struggled at times to avoid those little mistakes this season. You can't sleep-walk for ten minutes in a playoff game, as UMD did on Saturday in St. Cloud, and expect to have the chance to win or force overtime. You don't give up the kind of puck possession UMD did in a loss to North Dakota Feb. 10 and live another day, and you certainly can't blow leads, something UMD has done multiple times to cost itself points.

Minnesota State has some guys who can play, including freshmen like Zach Palmquist (defense), Matt Leitner, and Jean-Paul Lafontaine (forwards). The future is bright in Mankato thanks to these three, but the present isn't so bad, because the Mavericks know they can play with UMD. They need to look no further than the last time they played the Bulldogs to know that. MSU completely erased the memory of that two-game sweep UMD handed it in Duluth by playing both games tight in Mankato, staying in Saturday's game long enough to rally late to tie, and then control a good bit of overtime.

UMD has to be better this weekend. On paper, the Bulldogs have the better hockey team. But they don't have to look outside of Duluth to see what having the best team on paper gets you. After all, look what happened to Duluth East when its opponent -- an inferior team on paper -- came out and outskated, outhustled, and outexecuted the Greyhounds for the better part of the last two periods. That's how upsets happen.

The old adage is "Will beats skill." We're not talking about people named Will. The power of will beats the power of skill in hockey, especially when the skill doesn't have enough will. Mix a skilled team with the will of a champion, and you have a team that is likely unbeatable.

That's the recipe. Can UMD concoct the potion again?

Jack Connolly Named WCHA Player of the Year; Other League Honors

As usual, I present the WCHA press release announcing the league honors without commentary or snark. Just the facts, ma'am/sir.

A pair of seniors have earned two of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s most prestigious individual awards as announced today (March 8), with forward Jack Connolly of the University of Minnesota Duluth being named WCHA Player of the Year for 2011-12 and Brad Eidsness, a goaltender at the University of North Dakota, selected as WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year.

The league’s five other major individual awards went to University of Wisconsin defenseman Justin Schultz as WCHA Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, University of Denver defenseman Joey LaLeggia as WCHA Rookie of the Year, Connolly as WCHA Scoring Champion, University of Minnesota netminder Kent Patterson as WCHA Goaltending Champion, and to first-year head coach Mel Pearson of Michigan Technological University as WCHA Coach of the Year.

Connolly, who received 48 of the 96 votes in player of the year balloting, also captured the league’s scoring title (conference games only) with 43 points (16g, 27a) while playing in all 28 games for the defending national champion Bulldogs – after finishing second a year ago. Named to the All-WCHA First Team for the second straight season and a two-time WCHA Offensive Player of the Week (Nov. 15, Feb. 14), he averaged a league-best 1.54 points per game, was first in assists, first in power-play points (8-16=24) and had three game-winning goals. A native of Duluth, Minn., Connolly was a finalist for the 2010-11 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, was a first team All-American last season, and is a finalist for this season’s Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. He is currently second nationally in points with 55 and for his career (through March 8) he has 64 goals, 128 assists and 192 points, which ties him for ninth place on UMD’s all-time career scoring list with 1984 Hobey Baker winner Tom Kurvers. Connolly has also been held pointless for more than two games in a row only twice since the start of his sophomore season – six weeks ago when he was blanked in the Michigan Tech series – which ended his school single-season record 22-game point-scoring streak. He has also played in a school-record 161 consecutive games.

North Dakota’s Eidsness, a three-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete, was named the men’s WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year in a vote of league member team Faculty Athletic Representatives. Over the course of his four years he has not only stayed on track with progress towards a degree but he has completed both a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and by May will have completed the requirements and be awarded a Master of Business Administration degree. In recognition of his academic efforts, he was awarded an NCAA Elite 88 Award for men’s ice hockey at the 2011 NCAA Frozen Four. Eidsness graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.779 cumulative GPA in undergraduate work and has a 3.625 cumulative GPA in graduate school. During this past fall semester, he completed 15 credits of graduate coursework with a term GPA of 3.80 while continuing to perform well for the UND hockey team as a regular goaltender. He has seen action in 14 games this season and sports a 7-3-1 record, a noteable 2.09 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. Over his career at UND, he has a 57-27-10 won-loss record with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage along with five shutouts. In addition to his stellar work in the classroom and on the ice, Eidsness has been active on campus as a team representative to SAAC and with community service. His contributions include annual food drives, fan fests, Sioux Kids Club events and speaking engagements at a number of different community events.

The WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Award is determined from nominations made by the member institutions and each institution then has one final vote. The criteria is as follows: 1) must be a senior student-athlete, i.e. one who is finishing his competition as an eligible player in the WCHA; 2) consistently displays outstanding sportsmanship on and off the ice; 3) is a good student making satisfactory progress toward a degree; and 4) is a good hockey player who has performed consistently as a regular member of the team.

For the second straight season, the league’s 12 head coaches voted University of Wisconsin blueliner Justin Schultz as the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year. This is only the third time in the history of the award that started in 1991 that a player has won it twice. Colorado College defenseman Eric Rud won the award in both 1995-96 and 1996-97 while Minnesota defenseman Jordan Leopold earned the honor in both 2000-01 and 2001-02. From West Kelowna, B.C., and a first team All-American honoree and Hobey Baker Memorial Award Top 10 Finalist as a sophomore, Schultz also earned All-WCHA First Team honors for the second straight season and he is the third straight Wisconsin player to earn the league’s defensive player of the year award (Brendan Smith in 2009-10). The nation’s, and the WCHA’s, top point-producing defenseman, Schultz is averaging 1.24 points per game through 34 games this season (15-27=42) and if he stays on top of the UW’s current goal-scoring list for 2011-12, he’ll become the first defenseman in school history to lead the team in goal scoring. A draftee of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, he logs 30-35 minutes of ice time per game, leads the Badgers with a +11 plus/minus rating, and has produced almost a point per game over his 118-game collegiate career, with 39 goals, 72 assists and 111 points. Schultz was the league’s defensive player of the week on both Nov. 29 and Jan. 24.

Honored as the WCHA Rookie of the Year for 2011-12 was University of Denver freshman defenseman Joey LaLeggia, who was named on 55 ballots, and also earned All-WCHA First Team and All-WCHA Rookie Team accolades. From Burnaby, B.C., LaLeggia has stepped in as a rookie and averaged better than a point per game for the Pioneers, ranking just behind Schultz in scoring overall among league defensemen with 37 points (11g, 26a) in 36 games. He was also the top scoring rookie in WCHA play this season with 8-20=28 in 28 conference games, leads all NCAA rookie defensemen in points, goals and assists, and owns an impressive +16 plus/minus rating. He is tied with teammate Jason Zucker for the team lead with 13 multiple-point games, he was named the HCA (Hockey Commissioners’ Association) National Rookie of the Month for January, and was the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week on Jan. 17.

Earning the WCHA goaltending crown for 2011-12 was Minnesota veteran Kent Patterson, who was also voted to the All-WCHA First Team. A senior from Plymouth, Minn., Patterson owned a league-best 2.06 goals-against average while playing in all 28 games and a league-leading 1659:41 of action for the WCHA regular season and MacNaughton Cup-champion Golden Gophers. He also owned a WCHA-best 20 victories (20-8-0, .714) and his .918 conference save percentage ranked third. Patterson,w ho earned three WCHA Defensive Player of the Week awards on Oct. 11, Nov. 1 and Feb. 21, has played in 82 games at UM (through March 8) with a 40-27-9 record, a 2.38 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage over 4,559:54 of action.

The WCHA Coach of the Year for 2011-12 is Mel Pearson of Michigan Technological University, who led a resurgent Huskies team to an 11-13-4 league record and 26 points, just two points out of a top six finish and a first round home playoff berth. The most improved team in the WCHA this winter, Pearson left a long and successful tenure as the top assistant coach at CCHA-powerhouse Michigan to take over the MTU program and had the Huskies in contention for a top division finish through the final weekend of the regular season. A former Michigan Tech player, Pearson elevated the Huskies from a 4-30-4 overall record a year ago to a 14-18-4 mark so far this season and lifted them from a 2-24-2 league slate in 2010-11 to a 11-13-4 record in his first year behind the bench. Along the way, MTU posted a 7-5-2 home record in WCHA play, earned sweeps over Wisconsin and Alaska Anchorage, took three of four points from visiting Denver in late October and at defending national champion Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 27-28, and had an impressive WCHA road victory at Minnesota on Dec. 9.

Four conference-member teams – Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Denver – are represented on the All-WCHA First Team for 2011-12, with the Bulldogs and Gophers each landing two players.

Named to the All-WCHA First Team, with statistics for league games only, were: F – Jack Connolly, Sr., Minnesota Duluth (28 gp, 16-27=43); F - Nick Bjugstad, So., Minnesota (27 gp, 16-13=29); F - J.T. Brown, So., Minnesota Duluth (26 gp, 18-19=37); D - Justin Schultz, Jr., Wisconsin (28 gp, 10-18=28); D - Joey LaLeggia, Fr., Denver (28 gp, 8-20=28); G - Kent Patterson, Sr., Minnesota (20-8-0, 2.06, .918). Connolly was the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on both Nov. 15 and Feb. 14, Bjugstad was the HCA National Player of the Month for November and the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 22. Brown was WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on both Feb. 7 and Feb. 28. Schultz earned the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week award on Nov. 29 and Jan. 24 and LaLeggia was so-honored on Jan. 17. Patterson, who was the HCA National Player of the Month for October, also received the league’s weekly defensive honor on Oct. 11, Nov. 1 and Feb. 21.

Members of the 2011-12 All-WCHA Second Team are: F - Jaden Schwartz, So., Colorado College (25 gp, 12-23=35); F - Drew Shore, Jr., Denver (27 gp, 14-23=37); F - Jason Zucker, So., Denver (27 gp, 19-18=37); D - Gabe Guentzel, Sr., Colorado College (28 gp, 4-16=20); D - Nate Schmidt, So., Minnesota (28 gp, 2-21=23); G - Kenny Reiter, Sr., Minnesota Duluth (15-7-5, 2.58, .904). Shore was the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on both Oct. 25 and Jan. 4. Schmidt was the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 28 and Reiter earned the award on three occasions – Nov. 8, Nov. 15 and Jan. 11.

Voted to the All-WCHA Third Team for 2011-12 were: F - Mark Zengerle, So., Wisconsin (28 gp, 11-25=36); F - Brock Nelson, So., North Dakota (28 gp, 20-13=33); F - Travis Oleksuk, Sr., Minnesota Duluth (18 gp, 14-22=36); D - Nick Jensen, So., St. Cloud State (28 gp, 5-18=23); D - Ben Blood, Sr., North Dakota (28 gp, 1-13=14); G - Josh Thorimbert, So., Colorado College (12-4-1, 2.33, .928). Zengerle was the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on March 6, Nelson was the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on both Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 and Oleksuk was the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 11. Jensen earned the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week award on Dec. 20 while Thorimbert was so honored on Nov. 22 and March 6.

Members of the All-WCHA Rookie Team as selected by the voters for 2011-12 were: F - Kyle Rau, Fr., Minnesota (27 gp, 12-15=27); F - Jean-Paul Lafontaine, Fr., Minnesota State (28 gp, 10-13=23); F - Jayson Megna, Fr., Nebraska Omaha (28 gp, 12-12=24); D - Joey LaLeggia, Fr., Denver (28 gp, 8-20=28); D - Andrew Prochno, Fr., St. Cloud State (28 gp, 4-18=22); G - Juho Olkinuora, Fr., Denver (5-4-3, 2.32, .915). Rau, who was the HCA National Rookie of the Week for October,  was a three-time WCHA Rookie of the Week – on Oct. 18, Feb. 21 and Feb. 28. Lafontaine earned the WCHA Rookie of the Week award on Nov. 8 and Prochno earned the honor on Jan. 24. Olkinuora earned both the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honor on Jan. 4 and the WCHA Rookie of the Week award on Nov. 29.

Repeat members of all-league teams from 2010-11 were: Jack Connolly, F, UMD (All-WCHA First Team in 2010-11); Justin Schultz, D, UW (All-WCHA First Team); Jason Zucker, F, DU (All-WCHA Second Team); Drew Shore, F, DU (All-WCHA Second Team); Kent Patterson, G, UM (All-WCHA Second Team); and Jaden Schwartz, F, CC (All-WCHA Third Team). Zucker, Schwartz and UMD forward J. T. Brown were members of the All-WCHA Rookie Team last season.

Two players named to the all-league teams were also honored on Feb. 15 as WCHA Scholar-Athletes for 2011-12. They were: Kenny Reiter, Sr., G, Minnesota Duluth (All-WCHA Second Team) and Nick Jensen, So., D, St. Cloud State (All-WCHA Third Team).

To earn recognition as a WCHA Scholar-Athlete, student-athletes must have completed at least one year of residency at their present institution prior to the current academic year and must also have a grade-point average of at least 3.50 on a 4.0 scale for the previous two semesters or three quarters, or may qualify if his or her overall GPA is at least 3.50 for all terms at his or her present institution.

Major award winners and members of the various all-league teams who were also recognized today as member of the 2011-12 men’s All-WCHA Academic Team were: Gabe Guentzel, Sr., D, Colorado College (All-WCHA Second Team); Drew Shore, Jr., F, Denver (All-WCHA Second Team); Jason Zucker, So., F, Denver (All-WCHA Second Team); Kent Patterson, Sr., G, Minnesota (All-WCHA First Team, WCHA Goaltending Champion); Nate Schmidt, So., D, Minnesota (All-WCHA Second Team); Jack Connolly, Sr., F, Minnesota Duluth (WCHA Player of the Year, WCHA Scoring Champion, All-WCHA First Team); Kenny Reiter, Sr., G, Minnesota Duluth (All-WCHA Second Team); Ben Blood, Sr., D, North Dakota (All-WCHA Third Team); Brad Eidsness, Sr., G, North Dakota (WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year); Brock Nelson, So., F, North Dakota (All-WCHA Third Team); Nick Jensen, So., D, St. Cloud State (All-WCHA Third Team); and Mark Zengerle, So., F, Wisconsin (All-WCHA Third Team).

Voting for the WCHA awards is done by conference member coaches, players, sports information directors and local media. Each team receives eight ballots for a total of 96 voters. Points for awards and all-league teams are awarded on a 5 (1st team vote), t3 (2nd team), and 1 (3rd team vote) basis. The WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year award is selected by member team Faculty Athletic Representatives while the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year is selected by the league’s 12 head coaches.

WCHA Road Warriors Seek Upsets

For six WCHA teams, the chance to be at home for the first round of the WCHA playoffs this weekend certainly presents a tremendous opportunity. Of course, that's not to discount road teams.

Road teams have been traditionally competitive, if not successful, in these opening-round series. In fact, in the last six years, only once (2010) have the home teams swept through the first round unscathed. In every other year during that period, at least one visiting team has advanced to the WCHA Final Five.

This weekend, there are six more opportunities for upsets. These upsets could be crippling to some home teams' NCAA chances, and other teams -- even if they are safe to make the NCAAs -- feel they could ill afford a slip-up and a missed opportunity to play in St. Paul.

Before I preview the UMD-Minnesota State series (likely Friday morning), I wanted to take a few minutes to run through the other five road teams' prospects this coming weekend.

Alaska Anchorage (seeded 12th, at No. 1 Minnesota): Let's be realistic. UAA would need Chris Kamal or Rob Gunderson to stand on their heads to have any success. The Seawolves can't score, haven't had much success in any building this season, and the Gophers are driven this year. It would be a really big deal if UAA won even once in this series, much less twice.

Wisconsin (seeded 10th, at No. 3 Denver): For the Badgers, this has to be weird. On one hand, Wisconsin is tenth in a 12-team league. That never happens to the Badgers. On the other, this Wisconsin team is equipped with two of the WCHA's best players in defenseman Justin Schultz and forward Mark Zengerle. It's a dangerous opponent for a Denver team that was somewhat uneven this season, but did play better down the stretch.

Wisconsin, however, is probably the one team in the bottom five of the WCHA that's capable of winning a road series without its goalie "stealing" a game. Yeah, Joel Rumpel has been really good as of late, but the Badgers have enough talent in Schultz (who will play biiiiig minutes) and Zengerle (one of the best passers in college hockey) to win a game without the goalie being out of his mind.

Bemidji State (seeded 9th, at No. 4 North Dakota): The Beavers have a pretty simple formula heading into this series. They want to chip pucks and play a simple game as much as humanly possible, and BSU needs senior goalie Dan Bakala to play very well. It worked last year in a series win at Nebraska Omaha and a Final Five win over UMD, but then Denver broke the Beavers down and beat them up in the semifinals. Stick to the game plan, stay out of the box, and Bemidji State gives itself a chance. But North Dakota is all-in on a very tight-checking style, one that is difficult for anyone to beat because it also includes massive amounts of puck possession. With how careless the Beavers can be with the puck, it's hard to see an upset.

Michigan Tech (seeded 8th, at No. 5 Colorado College): As Jess Myers has pointed out, Michigan Tech is 0-22 all-time in regular season games at Colorado Springs World Arena. The Huskies, however, are 6-2 at the venue in playoff games. After being swept by the Tigers last weekend, Tech stayed put for the week, spending spring break in Colorado Springs.

Can Tech pull the upset? They're going to have to generate more offense than they did last weekend, when they struggled both nights to get pucks past CC goalie Josh Thorimbert. The Tigers have been up and down all season, so nothing would surprise me here, but I just don't know that I see Michigan Tech turning the tables.

Nebraska Omaha (seeded 7th, at No. 6 St. Cloud State): I was quite impressed with the way St. Cloud State finished the season, finding a way to earn home ice advantage. Nebraska Omaha, meanwhile, wasn't as good. The Mavericks needed just one win over their last four games -- all of which were at home -- to get home ice. They got zero wins, with three of the four losses by one goal, and two of those three one-goal defeats in overtime. That's soul-crushing stuff, and perhaps a road trip is the best way to turn things back in the right direction. UNO is the only WCHA school to never advance to a Final Five, and the Mavs have just one more chance to make it there before they leave the league they just joined.

Justin Faulk Wins One For Carolina

There was some chatter on Twitter a few weeks ago about former UMD defenseman Justin Faulk being a candidate for the Calder Trophy, given to the NHL's top rookie.

I chuckled a bit, and didn't take it all that seriously.

Now, I am.

Faulk continues to play big minutes, and his contributions are increasing virtually every time I look. Tuesday night, he scored the overtime winner for the Hurricanes in a 4-3 victory over Washington.

The winner comes at the end of the video. Fast forward to around 3:45 and enjoy.



Faulk has eight goals and 18 points in 50 games, but there are some other interesting numbers. He's averaging over 22 minutes of ice per game, tops among all NHL rookies. Since the calendar flipped to 2012, the 19-year-old has played in 26 games, scoring six goals and totaling 11 points while compiling a plus-six and averaging nearly 23:30 of ice time per game.

I'm not saying he SHOULD win the Calder, but he sure has vaulted himself onto the list of candidates.

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By the way, fellow former UMD player Mike Connolly was scratched for Colorado against Minnesota Tuesday. The guy whose spot he took in the lineup Sunday, Steve Downie, returned from a shoulder injury and played.

It might not be back to Lake Erie for Connolly, however, Colorado center Matt Duchene suffered an ankle injury against the Wild, and that might keep Connolly on the big club for the time being.