Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Storylines & Telling Stats
The six conference tournaments feature compelling stories heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Six conference champions will be crowned Saturday night, each earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that begins next weekend. More than half of the teams in action this weekend need to win their conference tournaments to extend their seasons. Meanwhile, each of the top nine teams in the national polls – all virtually assured of NCAA bids – are seeking titles this weekend, creating compelling storylines between the best teams in the nation and the underdogs hoping to stay alive.
Must Read/See/Hear Material
St. Cloud Times: Prow works his way into elite production company
South Bend Tribune: DiPauli put pros on hold to hone game at Notre Dame
Grand Forks Herald: A summer of upheaval?
Lansing State Journal: Hockey ‘a family thing’ for MSU’s Walsh
MGoBlue.com: Nieves artistic with hockey sticks, drumsticks
Daily Gazette: Vecchione will return to Union for senior year
Storylines from Each Conference No One Should be Without
Atlantic Hockey – The two service academies have advanced to the semifinals in the same year for the third time (2007, 2008) … Rochester native Mike Rotolo (Rochester, N.Y./Cedar Rapids-USHL) had a .963 save percentage last weekend in his first action since Jan. 3 to lead defending champion RIT back to the semifinals … Robert Morris is led by the nation’s highest scoring senior class, which has accounted for 66% of the team’s goals … Army West Point is two wins away from its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance … Junior goaltender Parker Gahagen (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo-OJHL) ranks fourth nationally in save percentage (.937) and first since Jan. 1 (.955) … After six straight Atlantic Hockey semifinal appearances from 2007-12, Air Force returns to championship weekend for the first time in four years.
Nation’s Highest Scoring Classes by Points
Senior – Robert Morris (263)
Junior – Boston College (186)
Sophomore – Air Force (142)
Freshman – Mercyhurst (133)
Big Ten – This is the first of two straight weekends of NCAA hockey at Xcel Energy Center, which will also host the West Regional … Three Big Ten teams (Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State) rank in the top nine nationally in goals per game and power play percentage, with the Wolverines leading both categories … Kyle Connor (Shelby Twp., Mich./Youngstown-USHL/WPG) could be the second freshman in as many years to lead the nation in scoring; prior to Jack Eichel last year no rookie had done so since 1992-93 (Paul Kariya) … The longest unbeaten streak in the conference belongs to No. 4 seed Ohio State (5-0-2), which has scored 5.29 goals per game in that time … Minnesota, the regular-season champion, needs to win the tournament to make its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
Most Goals, Freshmen
30 – Kyle Connor, Michigan (WPG)
25 – Brock Boeser, North Dakota (VAN)
18 – Colin White, Boston College (OTT)
18 – Luke Kunin, Wisconsin
18 – Andrew Sturtz, Penn State
ECAC Hockey – Dartmouth (15-8-0 in 2016) swept Yale to join the No. 1, 3 and 4 seeds in Lake Placid … Dartmouth senior Charles Grant (Berwick, N.S./Yarmouth-MHL) followed a .906 save percentage in the regular season with a .950 mark in the playoffs … St. Lawrence’s Gavin Bayreuther (Canaan, N.H./Fargo-USHL) is the only defenseman leading his team in scoring nationwide … Top seeded Quinnipiac has won three of the last four regular-season ECAC Hockey titles but never won the tournament … Harvard senior Jimmy Vesey (N. Reading, Mass./South Shore-EJHL/NSH) has scored 55 goals the past two seasons, 10 more than the next-closest player (Quinnipiac’s Sam Anas).
Most Overtime Wins, Season
5 – St. Lawrence (5-1-4)
4 – Dartmouth (4-0-1)
4 – Quinnipiac (4-1-7)
4 – Cornell (4-2-7)
4 – Michigan Tech (4-0-5)
4 – Minnesota (4-3-0)
Hockey East – Providence will play its first game at TD Garden since winning the NCAA title there last April … The Friars’ top four scorers are all seniors … UMass Lowell is seeking a fourth straight Hockey East championship game appearance (two wins) … Northeastern, the only lower seed to reach the semifinals, is 18-1-2 in its last 21 games after a 2-12-3 start … The Huskies are 16-2-0 when scoring first, 4-11-5 when allowing the first goal … Both goaltenders in the second semifinal hail from California, including BC’s Thatcher Demko (San Diego, Calif./U.S. NTDP/VAN), who leads the NCAA with 10 shutouts.
Best First-Period Goal Margin
+33 – Providence
+26 – Boston College
+24 – Quinnipiac
+22 – Michigan Tech
+22 – North Dakota
NCHC – Three of the top six teams nationally are in the NCHC’s Frozen Faceoff … The top four seeds all advanced to the Target Center, and all in sweeps … North Dakota (30) and St. Cloud State (29) rank first and second nationally in wins … North Dakota goaltender Cam Johnson (Troy, Mich./Waterloo-USHL) is second in the nation in save percentage (.938) after playing just 43:19 last season … SCSU’s Kalle Kossila (Kauniainen, Finland/Blues U20) leads all active players with 99 career assists … Denver was 7-7-2 in 2015 and is 16-1-3 in 2016; its 11-game winning streak is tied with Northeastern for the longest in the nation … Pioneers freshman Dylan Gambrell (Bonny Lake, Wash./Dubuque-USHL) centers the top line and is the highest scoring NHL Draft-eligible player in the nation … Minnesota Duluth advanced to the Frozen Faceoff for the first time in the event’s three-year history.
Best Third-Period Save Percentage
.969 – Cam Johnson, North Dakota
.959 – Jason Pawloski, Minnesota State
.949 – Charlie Lindgren, St. Cloud State
.948 – Kasimir Kaskisuo, Minnesota Duluth
.947 – Kyle Hayton, St. Lawrence
WCHA – The top four seeds all advanced to the semifinals, the same four teams that reached the Final Five last season … The top three teams – Michigan Tech, Minnesota State and Bowling Green – were separated by just two points in the regular-season standings … Two-time defending champion Minnesota State is enjoying its fourth straight 20-win season; Maverick seniors have 99 career wins (only North Dakota, Quinnipiac have more) … BGSU freshman Stephen Baylis (Ottawa, Ont./Carleton Place-CCHL) had 8 points in his first 26 GP; he has 14 points in his last 8 GP … Michigan Tech has won seven straight games, outscoring opponents 39-14 in that time, and is 12-1-3 in 2016 (63-29 goal margin) … Four of Ferris State’s defensemen are seniors, led by third-team All-WCHA selection Brandon Anselmini (Guelph, Ont./Brockville-CCHL).
Most Shots on Goal per Game, Last 10 Games
39.6 – Minnesota State
38.2 – Michigan Tech
37.5 – Robert Morris
37.5 – Yale
37.1 – Providence
36.7 – Penn State
36.2 – Denver
36.0 – Ferris State
NHL Note of the Week
Seven of the top nine NHL rookies in total ice time played NCAA hockey.
Fries at the Bottom of the Bag
Sunday’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air live at Noon ET on ESPNU … Boston University, Notre Dame and Yale all lost last weekend but are likely assured of NCAA Tournament bids … The Hobey Baker Award named 10 finalists on Wednesday; Wally Shaver of the Hobey Baker Committee will join Bernie Corbett for the Hockey on Campus radio show this weekend.