Hockey East Tournament Preview

The OTHER March Madness kicks off tonight and continues all weekend. Hockey East could send anywhere from 2 to perhaps 4 or 5 teams to the NCAA tournament. Regular season champs BC and runners up UNH are all but assured a spot in the 16 team NCAA field, while upstart Merrimack will likely join them. BU has an outside chance, and Maine are the long shots. Those bubble teams can make a difference in this tournament, and of course winning the tournament earns an automatic bid.

Here are the first round pairings. They'll play a best of 3 series at the superior seed's home rink. The winners will be re-seeded for the semifinals next weekend at The Garden in Boston.

#1 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES vs. #8 UMASS MINUTEMEN

BC wins trophies. Since 2007, they've won 2 National Championships, 3 Hockey East Tournament Championships, and 3 Beanpots. But this was the first time since 2005 that they've won the Hockey East regular season title. BC beat UMass three times this year, and are on a completely different level. They score 3.9 goals per game, and kill 87.6% of their penalties. BC should sweep this in 2.

#2 UNH WILDCATS vs. #8 VERMONT CATAMOUNTS
UNH lost the regular season title to BC in the final weekend, and have a reputation for choking in March. Fortunately for them, Vermont is not a very good team. The Catamounts won 8 games all season. UNH beat them twice and tied them once. UNH sohuld handle them in 2 games.

#3 BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS vs. #6 NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES
BU needs to go deep in this tournament to make the NCAA field. To do that, they have to get past old rival Northeastern. These teams split a home-and-home last weekend, and all three of their games were determined by 1 goal margins. NU started the season poorly (1-7-3), but gradually turned things around. Northeastern struggled down the stretch, though they held their own against BC and UNH. Northeastern wins in 3 very close games.

#4 MERRIMACK WARRIORS vs. #5 MAINE BLACK BEARS
At the moment, Merrimack would be in the NCAA tournament. But they can cement a spot by winning this series. They beat BC twice early in the season, they beat UNH twice in February. They also lost two blowout games to Maine. They're excellent at home (12-2-1), and mediocre on the road (10-6-3). Thankfully for them, this series will be in Andover. Merrimack will sweep this in 2.

That would set-up a semi-final of #1 BC vs. #6 Northeastern, and #2 UNH vs. #4 Merrimack. I'd take BC and Merrimack to win and meet in the finals, with BC taking the title.

-The Commodore

Beanpot Preview

It's that time of year again. And the four college hockey teams of Boston will meet for the 59th time to determine which is best. And once again, the Eagles of BC and the Terriers of BU are the favorites.

BU and BC have won every Beanpot since 1993, and even though they'll be meeting in the opening round, that trend will likely continue. BC stands as the #1 team in the country, and BU is no slouch at 14th.

BC is averaging 4.8 games per game, which is simply ridiculous. And with goaltender John Muse, who has a few NCAA Championships under his belt, it's hard to pick against them. BC has defeated BU twice already. They won 9-5 at Agganis Arena, then 5-2 at Conte Forum. That being said, this is BU's tournament. So don't expect a blowout.

I do think BC will win, though. They're ridiculously deep. They roll so many quality lines, and everyone skates with speed. That speed draws penalties, which lets their Power Play dominate the game. It's just a perfect formula for college hockey. BC is gunning for National Championship #5, and that road starts in the Beanpot. For the last 3 years, the Beanpot winner has gone on to win the NCAA title.

In the early game today, Northeastern plays Harvard. NU has taken a step back this season, but Harvard's taken more than a few. The Crimson are 4-17, with those 4 wins coming against RPI, St. Lawrence, Army, and Colgate. Northeastern's 8-11-6 record is hardly impressive, but they're much better than Harvard.

So I predict BC beats BU 4-2. Northeastern beats Harvard 3-0. Then BC beats Northeastern 5-1, winning their 16th Beanpot.

-The Commodore

The Other March Madness

The top teams in Hockey East struggled this weekend as 3 of the 4 quarterfinal series went the full three games, and the regular season champs were eliminated.

BC beat UMass in the only sweep of the weekend. The Eagles tallied 11 goals in two games, but they also allowed 7. The Eagles are vying for a potential #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and they'll likely need to get at least to the finals for that to happen.



UNH won the regular season title, but their struggles against Vermont ended their efforts to win the tournament title. UNH won a 7-4 battle Friday night, but those were the last goals they'd score as UVM goalie Rob Madore put together 6+ periods of shutout hockey.



UVM will meet BC in the semis Friday night at TD Garden.

BU needed three games to thwart Merrimack, but their series clinching win was quite convincing. The Terriers are a dangerous team. Right now, they're on the outside of the NCAA tournament, so they're going to be highly motivated to win two more this weekend.

Maine barely scraped by UMass-Lowell. It's nice to see the Black Bears relevant again. They only won 13 games last year, and 13 the year before that. Those two awful seasons came after back-to-back Frozen Four appearances.



Maine vs. BU Friday at the Garden. Both teams likely need to win the tournament to make the NCAAs.

-The Commodore

Hockey East Tournament Preview

The 26th Hockey East Championship will be decided in the next two weeks. UNH won the regular season title (their 8th), and BC came a very close 2nd, only 1 point behind. Both UNH and BC will likely be in the NCAA Tournament. But there are several bubble teams that need strong showings in order to make that 16 team field.

The bracket:



The opening round is played at the campus of the better seed. It's also a best of 3 series. The semifinals and finals will be held at the TD Garden next weekend, and those rounds are 1 and done.

Vermont Catamounts @ New Hampshire Wildcats
UNH won the regular season title, but ended the season with a tight loss at BC. In fact, they never beat BC, tying them twice in their remaining meetings. They also didn't dominate Vermont, going 1-0-2 against the Catamounts. UVM is 17th in the PairWise Ranings, which is an unassailable indicator of a team's chances of making the NCAA tournament. In other words, they need to beat UNH in this round. And I think they will put up a good fight, but lose in 3 games.

Massachusetts Minutemen @ Boston College Eagles
BC needed overtime to beat UMass a few weeks ago. The Minutemen's size posed some problems to BC's small but speedy forwards. But in a 2 to 3 game series, BC's depth will wear down a team like UMass. BC wins this series in 2 games.

Merrimack College Warriors @ Boston University Terriers
BU has surged in the 2nd half of the season. After starting off 2-9-3, the Terriers have gone 12-5-0, earned 3rd place in Hockey East, and now have an outside shot at an NCAA bid. Albeit a VERY outside shot. They need to make the HE Tourney finals, at least. Merrimack's been a nice surprise, but when BU is motivated, they're always a hard team to beat. BU sweeps in 2 games.

Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks @ Maine Black Bears
These teams were tied in points, Maine won the tie-breaker, and so gets home ice advantage. Maine's been a bipolar team, sometimes beating UNH twice in a weekend, sometimes losing to Vermont twice in a weekend. They took 2 of 3 from UMass-Lowell. Big things were expected from the River Hawks this year, so while normally 5th place is a good year for them, they've got to be a little disappointed. UMass-Lowell has struggled on the road, as has Maine. Since the games will be in Orono, I'm giving the edge to the Black Bears in 3.

Semifinals prediction:
Maine upsets New Hampshire
BC beats BU

Finals:
BC beats Maine

-The Commodore

Beanpot: BC 4, BU 3

Well I was right about the score (4-3), just wrong about the victor. The BC Eagles rode a 3 goal 2nd period, and sustained a valiant 3rd period comeback bid on their way to the 15th Beanpot title in program history.

BC was simply too fast and too accurate with the puck for BU. It's really that simple. The Eagles' depth, and the fact that they put 5 forwards out on power plays really gives them unbelievable quick-strike capability. That's probably why they're 3rd in goals per game in the country at 3.8. That's why they've scored 22 goals in their last 4 games.

As Jack Parker quips, the Beanpot ushers in "Trophy Season." It kicks off the stretch run of the season with a bang. And in the last two years, it's catapulted two eventual National Champions.

For BU, their season is now a salvage operation. Tied for 5th in Hockey East, and below .500 they have little hope of making the NCAAs (they'd need to win the HE Conference Tournament).

For BC, they're riding a 4 game win streak. They're scoring goals, and getting solid goaltending from John Muse (who won Beanpot MVP, and is now 5-1 in the competition). If they matchup with the right teams, they could be Frozen Four candidates.

This goal was sick:



-The Commodore

Beanpot Preview

For the 20th time in 58 years, it's BC vs. BU in the Beanpot Final. BU is looking for their 30th title, and BC their 15th.

This is the 4th meeting of the season between BC and BU. Funnily enough, it's also the 4th different venue. They met at Agganis Arena in December, Fenway Park in January, then Conte Forum just a few weeks ago.

On paper, BC is the better team. They're faster, and are more skilled at putting the puck in the back of the net. But BU matches up against them extremely well, and they've won 2 of 3 matches this season.

The Terriers' 11-11-3 record disguises how well they've played good teams this year. They beat #19 Michigan, #18 UMass-Lowell twice, #15 UMass twice, #14 Boston College twice, and tied #5 Cornell in Madison Square.

And although the game's at the Garden, which is technically "neutral ice," this is BU's tournament. It's hard to argue with history (46th time for BU in the finals, that's 46 out of 58 or 79.3% and 29 wins).

I'm picking the Terriers in an exciting 4-3 tussle.



-The Commodore

Beanpot Semifinals

There's simply nothing like The Beanpot. An intracity college hockey tournament that the term "bragging rights," doesn't do justice. The winner is crowned the King of Boston Hockey.

#14 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES 6, HARVARD CRIMSON 0
BC utilized their speed to take advantage of some early Harvard penalties. The Eagles scored their first with a man advantage. Then 18 seconds into the 2nd period, BC scored a crushing 4-on-4 goal.

After that, it was just a matter of time. Harvard collected themselves, but BC was simply too fast up front. Harvard never really got a chance to probe the vulnerable BC defensemen, thanks to turnovers and solid neutral zone play.

Harvard amassed 48 penalty minutes. Their average had been 8 coming into Monday night.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS 2, NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES 1
Coming into Monday night, BU was 0-9-0 when scoring less than 3 goals in a game. It's been a disappointing season for the defending Beanpot/HockeyEast/National Champions. 10-11-3 overall, 7-9-2 in conference play, and 6th in the standings. But this is always BU's tournament to lose. And for the 46th time, BU is in the Beanpot Championship game.

BU was more disciplined than their Back Bay rivals. Northeastern got a bit too creative on offense in the 3rd, after tying the game 1-1. BU's Alex Chiasson took advantage during a 2-on-1 breakaway, and BU held on in a frantic final 2 minutes.

So it's BU vs. BC in the finals, for the 20th time. The last two Beanpot winners, the last two Hockey East Champs, the last two Beanpot Champs. Can you say, "There can be only one?"



-The Commodore

The Best Jersey You Can't Buy

BU beat BC 3-2 last Friday night on the ice at Fenway. And not only did BU win the game, they won the fashion show as well. Both teams debuted commemorative jerseys for the event. BC's were gold with maroon and green stripes (for the Green Monster), and a diamond logo on the back instead of a name.



Meanwhile, BU went with their traditional scarlet and white. But the "Boston" on the front of the jersey was in the Red Sox' font. And two red socks on skates adorned each shoulder.





One of the slickest jerseys I've ever seen. And BU isn't going to sell any of them. I don't really know why. Perhaps with the Red Sox' font and logos, there are some licensing issues. But it's a shame. As a hockey fan, a Red Sox fan, and a jersey connoisseur, I definitely feel like we're missing out.

-The Commodore

Apparently it Doesn't Suck to BU

5th Championship for BU, 3rd under Jack Parker, 9th title for a Boston school.

I was pretty drunk near the end of this game so I'll just let ESPN's highlights do the heavy lifting:



BU's season was, in a word: magical. Down by 2 late in the finals, and they come from behind to beat Miami. Down 4-3 in the 3rd period against Vermont in the semifinals, and they comeback to win it 5-4. With 15 seconds left in regulation, they score the game winner against UNH in the quarterfinals. In the Hockey East Championship game, they beat UMass-Lowell 1-0 thanks to a UML goal that was wrongly disallowed. Down 1-0 to BC in the 3rd period of the Hockey East semis, BU scores 3 times in 45 seconds and wins 3-2. On the last day of the regular season, BU needs Northeastern to lose to 6th place BC in order to claim the regular season title. Northeastern goes down 4-1.

A fortunate season? Yes. But that late-game magic wasn't luck. It was talent, heart, and skill. It was a team that won 35 times, and only lost 5 times. They went 9-2-2 against NCAA tournament teams during the regular season. In January, they won the Denver Cup. In February, they won the Beanpot. In March, they won Hockey East. And in April, they've won the National Championship.

-The Commodore

BU in NCAA Hockey Finals

For the 9th time in school history, the BU Terriers are in the NCAA Championship Game. The Beanpot and Hockey East Champs beat Vermont 5-4 in a dramatic back-and-forth struggle last night in Washington. This is the 4th straight year that a team from Boston has made the Finals, but it's BU's first appearance since 1997.

They face 4 seed Miami (Ohio), and are the heavy favorites. If BU wins, it will be their 5th national title. The game is Saturday night at 7.

Even though BU is the top-seeded team in the tournament, and has only lost twice since November, don't count Miami out. The RedHawks beat Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, and Bemidji State to get to the finals. In the regular season, they beat Michigan twice, Notre Dame twice, and did something BU failed to do in two attempts: beat Vermont in Vermont.

It should be a good, physical hockey game. But I think BU prevails 5-2.

-The Commodore

BU and Vermont in Frozen Four

It's as if the players in the hockey tournament wanted to make up for the lack of upsets in the basketball tournament. 1 seeds Michigan and Notre Dame beaten in the opening rounds. Bemdiji State (that's in northern Minnesota) crushes Notre Dame 5-1, then vanquishes perennial powerhouse Cornell. Miami (Ohio), another 4 seed, beats Denver and winds up in the last 4. Overtimes, comebacks, late goals, upsets, and a Frozen Four with only one 1 seed in the mix.

Some highlights:

Cornell's late game winning goal against Northeastern:



UNH's late game dramatics to beat North Dakota:



BU survived New Hampshire and seem to be Fortune's favorite in this tournament. They're the only 1 seed left, and they play Vermont a week from Thursday night (the hockey tournament always takes a week off, they know the basketball tourney is the main event this upcoming weekend). In a battle of 4 seeds, Bemidji State takes on Miami (Ohio). BU's path to their 5th national title, but Vermont beat them 2 of 3 this season.

The Frozen Four is not this weekend, but the next, and is being played in Washington, DC. Why is it in DC, where the closest college hockey team is Princeton? Who knows.

Prediction: BU rolls over Vermont, then Miami (Ohio) for title #5.



-The Commodore

NCAA Hockey Tournament: The OTHER March Madness

Technically, there are 5 New England teams. But Albany, NY is more New England than New Haven, CT; so screw Yale.

Boston University is the #1 overall seed.

Here are the regions and the pairings:

Northeast - Manchester, NH
#1 Boston University vs. Ohio State
North Dakota vs. New Hampshire

Prediction:
BU should roll over Ohio State. New Hampshire is essentially playing on home ice against a North Dakota team that's a long way from home. UNH actually beat BU back in October, but the Terriers have improved exponentially since then. BU goes to the Frozen Four from the Northeast.

Midwest - Grand Rapids, MI
#1 Notre Dame vs. Bemidji State
Northeastern vs. Cornell

Prediction:
Jordan Pearce - Notre Dame's goalie - is sick. I saw him back when they visited/dominated Boston College in November. He'll carry them very deep into this tournament.

Northeastern vs. Cornell is a tough matchup for both teams. Northeastern is cold, losing to UMass-Lowell, BC, and UMass-Amherst in the past few weeks. Cornell's Big Red are far from red hot, but Northeastern's struggled in big games this year. Then again, Cornell has been horrible away from Ithaca, so I give the edge to Northeastern.





Whoever wins Northeastern/Cornell, Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2" will get played to death, and Notre Dame will beat the winner.

East - Bridgeport, CT
#1 Michigan vs. Air Force
Yale vs. Vermont



Michigan gets the #1 seed, but they have to play in Yale's backyard. Big Blue will crush the boys in Air Force blue, and Yale will roll over a sputtering Vermont side. Yale's only lost three times at home and they won the very tough ECAC (regular season and tournament). Yale comes out of the East Region.

West - Minneapolis, MN
#1 Denver vs. Miami (OH)
Minnesota-Duluth vs. Princeton

Teams I know next to nothing about. Except this: Denver is good. Denver is really good. The Pioneers (that's Denver) move on to the Frozen Four.



Who wins it all?

Notre Dame, unfortunately.

Games start Friday afternoon.

-The Commodore

UMass-Lowell 3, Northeastern 2 (OT); BU 3, BC 2

College hockey, the OTHER March Madness.

The UMass-Lowell River Hawks seemed dead in the water midway through the 2nd period last night. They were down 2-0, with the newly named Hockey East Player of the Year in Northeastern's net, and the #5 team in the nation bearing down on them. You could understand how a team might lose confidence in that situation.

But Ryan Blair picked up his teammates with 1:16 left in the period. The importance of late period goals cannot be overstated. UMass-Lowell spent their 15 minutes in the locker room with positive thoughts, and only a 1 goal deficit facing them. Northeastern, on the other hand, must have had a doubt or two.

In the 3rd, a bench minor for too many men gave the River Hawks a power play. They pulled their goalie, and Scott Campbell found the back of the net with 1:05 ticks on the 3rd period clock. 2-2, and UMass-Lowell had the momentum.

Three minutes into OT and Chris Auger tipped a shot past NU goalie Brad Thiessen, who summed up the stunningness of the moment by standing frozen in his half-butterfly for a good 3 minutes.



UM-Lowell now vies for their first ever Hockey East title against a team with 6 Hockey East Championships, and 4 national titles.

The BU Terriers and BC Eagles met for the 4th time this season and 246th time in history. It did not disappoint. Unlike BC's basketball team, their hockey team went down with a fight.

A duel between goaltenders for 2 periods saw BC up 1-0. It took BU 50 minutes to get onto the scoreboard. But once they did, it only took them 44 seconds to score all 3 of their goals. It was an offensive explosion that will send chills up the spines of college coaches nationwide as they prepare for the NCAA tournament.



The Eagles made it a game when Joe Whitney scored with little less than 6 minutes left. BC peppered the BU net with shots, but Hockey East Rookie of the Year Kieran Millan stood strong and the Terriers advanced to the title game.

I'm rooting for UMass-Lowell, but I don't see them having much of a chance. The River Hawks upset Northeastern, but they've been cold lately, losing to UMass and BC. BU is red hot. They've lost 2 games since January, and they've already beaten UM-L 3 times this year.

BU 5, UML 1

The 25th Hockey East Championship is tonight at 7 on NESN.

-The Commodore

Very Boston Final Four in Hockey East

The basketball tournaments weren't the only ones with upsets this weekend. 5th seeded UMass-Lowell went up to Burlington and swept Vermont, possibly knocking the Catamounts out of NCAA tournament contention. 6th seeded Boston College, who got swept by UNH a few weeks ago, took 2 games from them in Durham, advancing to the semis. The two top seeds struggled big time. Regular season champs BU needed 3 games to knock out Maine. Northeastern also needed 3 games, and then overtime in game 3 to knock out 7th seeded UMass.

So now it's UMass-Lowell vs. Northeastern, then Boston College vs. Boston University. Northeastern swept UMass-Lowell in 3 games this season. BU also won their season series against BC, winning 2 games and tying the 3rd. But BC seems to have found themselves, albeit a bit late. BC's 5-0-1 in their last 6 games, with 3 of those wins against nationally ranked teams.



The semis are at the Garden Friday night, with the Hockey East Final Saturday. Remember, Northeastern and BU are probably already in the NCAA tournament. And the winner of the HE tourney gets an automatic bid. So BC or UMass-Lowell can find themselves in the national tournament with only 2 more wins.

-The Commodore

Hockey East Tournament Preview

The OTHER March Madness. #1 Boston University won the Hockey East regular season crown, #4 Northeastern fell 1 point shy, losing to Boston College the last day of the season. Those two teams are essentially guaranteed an NCAA berth, but #7 Vermont and #9 New Hampshire need strong showings, and perhaps to win the Tournament, in order to continue their season.

Heres the bracket:



The first round is best of 3, so BU and Northeastern shouldn't have much trouble advancing. UNH swept BC a few weeks ago, but you never know with the Eagles when it comes to hockey. Last year, they were 4th in Hockey East, won the Hockey East Tournament, then rolled through the NCAAs. UMass-Lowell is also a surprisingly solid team, but Vermont is a hard place for visiting teams to spend a weekend.

Prediction: BU beats Northeastern in the finals in a repeat of the Beanpot.

-The Commodore

Beanpot Preview

First Monday of February = Beanpot. It's that simple.

Game 1:

5:00 PM - #2 Boston University vs. Harvard

For anyone who thinks 4-11-3 Harvard is a pushover, ask last year's Northeastern team, who fell to the Crimson in the opening round. BU won't make the same mistake. The Terriers dominate this one, even though the scoreboard won't really reflect it. 3-1 BU win.

Game 2:

8:00 PM - #3 Northeastern vs. #11 Boston College

NU barely beat BC in a close 4-3 contest back in October. The Huskies have an impressive record at 17-5-2, and an exciting team, but they have yet to convince me. They lost 3-0 to #2 BU, lost 5-3 to #9 Princeton, lost 3-2 to #5 Minnesota, split two home games with #6 Vermont, and went 1-1-1 against #13 UNH. They're the Ohio State football team of college hockey. They beat everybody but the top teams. I think BC takes this one late, possible in OT. 4-3 Eagles.

Championship Prediction:

#2 Boston University vs. #11 Boston College

The classic battle. The Duke-UNC of hockey. The Battle of Comm Ave. The Green Line Rivalry. Of the 56 Beanpots awarded, BU has half (28), and BC has a quarter (14). BU and BC tied 1-1 in their first meeting, but the Terriers have had the edge in their other two, winning 3-1 on Chestnut Hill and 5-2 in Agganis Arena. BU has also beaten #3 Northeastern, #12 North Dakota, #8 Michigan, and #13 UNH (twice). BU 4, BC 2.

-The Commodore