Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Notes: Sacred Heart Homecoming

Postseason gets underway in three conferences, while three others near the regular season’s finish line.

Notes: Sacred Heart Homecoming
Alex Vazzano has played in 50 games the past two seasons with Sacred Heart (Photo by Sacred Heart Athletics).

By Nate Ewell

Sacred Heart hosts an Atlantic Hockey playoff series for the first time in four years, a fitting cap to senior goaltender Alex Vazzano’s homecoming. The native of nearby Trumbull, Conn. (Gunnery Prep), joined the Pioneers after starting his college career at Vermont. Once he sat out a transfer season, Vazzano jumped in the nets and has excelled, especially lately. He had a .936 save percentage in February, including a .951 mark in his last five games.

Must Read/See/Head Material

Grand Forks Herald: Gaarder brings uniqueness, relentlessness to team
Daily Free Press: For BU’s Hohmann, losing not an option
St. Cloud Times: Quiet Winiecki starting to emerge
Denver Post: LaLeggia resembling Avs stars as college career nears end
Duluth News Tribune: UMD’s Crandall keeps mood light with points, pranks
Cornell Daily Cun: Gillam, Stewart start new chapter in Cornell goalie legacy
Winnipeg Free Press: Can Poolman be another Buff?
Providence Journal: Coaches from Cranston have taken their teams to the top
College Hockey News: The Eichel effect
The Hockey News: One title down, two to go for Eichel

Five More Storylines No One Should be Without

Miami’s flipped script – Miami needs a sweep in its final regular-season weekend against North Dakota to claim a share of the NCHC’s Penrose Cup, with UND. It’s a tall order, even at home, but a far cry from late last season, when the RedHawks entered the conference tournament needing to win every game to continue their season. Their 12-19-3 regular-season record a year ago has almost been flipped exactly (20-11-1), and the No. 5 RedHawks – with a lineup nearly identical to last year’s – have essentially locked up an NCAA Tournament bid. Nevertheless, as you can see from Riley Barber’s Instagram post Tuesday, the RedHawks are hungry for more.
Friday’s game is on CBSSN

Neiley leading Green – A 9-2-1 finish to the season lifted Dartmouth from 10th in the ECAC Hockey standings to fifth, and the Big Green will host Princeton in a first-round series this weekend. Senior Eric Neiley (Warminster, Pa./Exeter) has points in 10 of the last 11 games and last year’s team MVP has done it all for Dartmouth in 2014-15. He leads the team in goals (13), assists (16), points (29), game-winning goals (5) and penalty minutes (34) – the only player nationally to lead in all five of those categories.

Michigan’s young gun – Michigan’s high-flying offense – the Wolverines lead the nation with 3.97 goals per game – is sparked on the blue line from a somewhat unlikely source. Freshman defenseman Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe, Mich./U.S. NTDP) was slated to be a high school senior this season, but after accelerating his studies the youngest player in college hockey leads Michigan defensemen with 23 points in 28 games. Werenski, along with BU’s Jack Eichel (N. Chelmsford, Mass./U.S. NTDP) and BC’s Noah Hanifin (Norwood, Mass./U.S. NTDP) is projected to be a top-10 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. It would mark the first time ever that three current NCAA players are taken in the top 10 of the draft.

Hawkins’s big impact for BGSU – A balanced attack has Bowling Green on the verge of its first 20-win season since 1995-96. Six forwards have between 18 and 24 points, led by freshman left wing Brandon Hawkins (Macomb, Mich./Sioux City-USHL). Hawkins leads the team in shots (105), is second in goals (12) and has points in 20 of 34 games. Hawkins is no stranger to making an impact – two years ago with the NAHL’s Texas Tornado he made highlight reels with a glass-shattering check, followed by a natural hat trick in the same game.

Petersen fuels Irish – Notre Dame enters the Hockey East playoffs on a 5-2-1 run that’s been fueled by freshman goaltender Cal Petersen (Waterloo, Iowa/Waterloo-USHL/BUF). After splitting time in the first half Petersen has seized the starting job and earned a conference weekly honor each of the last four weeks, most recently after a career-best 55-save win vs. Boston College. Petersen, the 2014 USA Hockey Goaltender of the Year who led his hometown Waterloo Black Hawks to the USHL’s Clark Cup Final last season, embarks on another postseason journey this weekend vs. Massachusetts.

NHL Note of the Week

Between trades and signing former North Dakota goaltender Aaron Dell to an NHL contract, the San Jose Sharks now have former players from 17 Division I schools under NHL contract. Two more schools are represented among the Sharks’ seven draft picks playing NCAA hockey.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag

Teams are a combined 28-10-6 when hosting Senior Night festivities this season … Minnesota State, which is at Bemidji State this weekend, needs a point (or a point lost by Michigan Tech) to claim the WCHA’s MacNaughton Cup … Alaska Anchorage hosts Alaska to wrap up the Governor’s Cup series this weekend. The Seawolves won the first two games of the series Jan. 16-17 in Fairbanks … Jack Eichel is the first player to average two points per game in Hockey East conference play since Jason Krog in 1998-99 … Mercyhurst, needing a win to clinch home-ice advantage in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals, pulled its goaltender in overtime Saturday at RIT but lost, 2-1, on an empty netter. The Lakers will travel to Bentley next weekend.