A Day at NCAA Regionals

A few reflections on a day spent in Toledo, OH for the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional first round on Saturday...

For someone more used to the determination of an ACHA national champion than to the similar process of the NCAA, and in the interest of informing other Penn Staters, it may help to start with a few differences between the two, because ACHA National Tournaments are in fact significantly different than what we'll eventually see in NCAA Division I. First off, there's the number of teams - in the opening two days of the ACHA Division 1 championships, attendees cross paths with 20 different teams in the same ice facility, while in the NCAA, there are never more than four teams at any one site, which doesn't really offer nearly as much in terms of the sheer spectacle (I mean really, it's two games one day, one game the next day... as someone used to eight hockey games in one day on two adjacent sheets at ACHAs, big deal).

The second major difference is closeness. With the ACHA, it's not at all uncommon to mingle with teams watching other games from the stands or leaning up against the glass, while at NCAAs, teams maintain that degree of separation that comes in big-time professional or college arenas. Additionally, in the ACHA, people are sort of taken aback by the presence of "pure" fans or media - really, people in attendance who don't have a relative on the team and aren't part of a team's staff aren't all that common, even at nationals (at the recent ACHA women's tournament, I had issues getting a complimentary tournament pass, largely because the idea of someone like me independently covering the tournament was completely off the map for the event's staff).

I'm not trying to pass qualitative judgment on those differences here. They just are.

That last difference - the presence of fans - is something quite unique in NCAA hockey, particularly at the Frozen Four.

I attended the 2010 Frozen Four, and made a fairly egregious rookie mistake: I wore an RIT shirt, as they were my favorite team in Detroit that year. Long story short, despite an ignored up-front explanation of my status as a Penn State alumnus, I ended up spending most of the Tigers' blowout loss to Wisconsin talking about RIT to four bottled New Hampshire fans in front of me. How many people go there? What are its most competitive majors? I broke down and faked knowledge of my "alma mater" well enough to satisfy them, then wore an Icers jersey when I returned for the championship game two days later. Lesson learned. You don't pick a "tournament team" in NCAA hockey - it should probably be noted that UNH wasn't in the Frozen Four that year, yet four guys in head-to-toe Wildcat gear made sure the school was represented there.

Regionals are the same way, on a much smaller scale. In Toledo, Miami and Notre Dame had the best numbers, as one would expect due to proximity, while Minnesota State and St. Cloud State were much less represented, but certainly present. Host Bowling Green had a few fans there, as did Ohio State (with hockey-specific gear, so I'm reasonably confident that they weren't merely a few of the Walmart Buckeyes that dominate the state, not to mention the fact that they would have had to skip OSU's basketball team in that NCAA Tournament to be there). Relatively close Michigan had a few, and numerous other schools had singles, including every remaining Big Ten school - my hoodie and some serial killer-looking guy in a 2010 Capital One Bowl t-shirt took up for PSU.

No, there weren't 20 teams there, but in a way, there were even more than that. And that makes it a blast. Even when they're drunk and think you went to some other school, it's fun interacting with fans from around the country who you wouldn't ever meet but for the NCAA Tournament. This time around, I sat next to a Miami fan who, it has to be said, knew next to nothing about hockey, but was as passionate about it as anyone I've ever seen, in talking during the game, belting out the school fight song (which I believe uses the phrase "love and honor" about 72 times) and participating in all of the usual chants (including "it's all your fault" at the opposing goalie after an empty-netter, which doesn't make a ton of sense to me). I didn't want to root for the RedHawks against Minnesota State, but enthusiasm is contagious, as is often said. That same Miami fan was going hard for St. Cloud State over Notre Dame, and got exactly what she wished for, at least until the Huskies throttled the RedHawks the next day to represent the region in the Frozen Four.

St. Cloud State (red) crushed top seed Notre Dame, then Miami, to reach the Frozen Four

The present NCAA Tournament format, which divides 16 teams into four regions, with the four regional winners meeting at the Frozen Four, is frequently criticized, largely because of punchline-worthy attendance numbers. In other words, there are fans there, they represent many different schools proudly, there just aren't enough of them. Toledo's first-round attendance was 2,988 in a building seating 7,389, the second-lowest number of the four regionals. The West Region in Grand Rapids, MI brought up the rear with 2,289 in 10,834-seat Van Andel Arena. The East and Northeast Regions were much better with 6,253 (of 11,940) in Providence, RI and 8,049 (of 9,852) in Manchester, NH.

The hockey is great, it's entertaining to attend, the atmosphere can be fun... so what's the problem? Why doesn't the draw of the NCAA hockey regionals measure up to, say, the NCAA basketball tournament, or even the Frozen Four (that 2010 event had 37,592 at Ford Field's championship game, a record draw for an indoor hockey game)?

Interestingly enough, I recently attended a segment of the basketball tournament as well, the second and third-round sub-regional in Auburn Hills, MI, which I believe can offer some insight, as there's no perceived attendance issue there. Notably...

• Despite the immense popularity of the NCAA basketball tournament in our society - it's probably the U.S.' second-biggest sporting event behind the Super Bowl - the second-round games were not sold out. Thursday afternoon's Session 1 (Michigan State-Valparaiso and Memphis-St. Mary's) drew 18,863 to the 22,076-seat Palace, while the evening Session 2 (Michigan-South Dakota State and Akron-VCU) pulled 19,829.
• Each session had the benefit of one of the two most popular schools in a major metropolitan area. Without that, the numbers take a significant hit. None of the six other teams there had significantly greater support in their corner than Miami and Notre Dame in hockey. In fact, each school was only allotted 550 tickets for their "official" contingent, and it was extremely uncommon to see fans from the "other six" outside of their designated sections.
• Don't overlook the "major metropolitan area" part of that last bullet. Stunningly, the Detroit area is able to pull more casually-interested locals than the Toledo area (while the two cities are very close to each other, it's still not a drive generally made on a whim).
• There were eight teams represented there - while the two sessions are separate tickets, tons of fans paid for both. That crossover is something that hockey doesn't get, with each regional just half the size of a basketball sub-regional.

One frequently proposed solution to hockey's attendance woes is to move the tournament back to campus sites, a position recently advocated by my buddy Eric Burton.

It’s that time a year again, Division I college hockey soon will be taking center stage in the NCAA regionals playing in half empty arenas, in venues in cities across the USA.

It’s a yearly occurrence for college hockey, because we can’t have any more regionals on campus. God forbid, we can’t have playoff games in rowdy arenas stuffed with rabid fans.

The NCAA wants regional games played in arenas posing as quite emotionless mausoleums, all under the guise of the regional being held at “neutral” sites.

[In]essence, yearly, the NCAA is giving the eastern teams in the NCAA Division I hockey tournament home games. It’s no wonder they don’t want to move the regionals back on campus. Why should they? They might have to play a Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Denver at their home arena. We can’t have that, they might not have an easier path to the Frozen Four.

That strikes me as shortsighted and driven by self-interest with a healthy dose of paranoia (why does the NCAA favor eastern teams... oh right, because his team isn't an eastern team.), particularly as long as the volatile PairWise Rankings are used to determine things. Under PWR, flipping a game result or two can turn the entire seeding on its ear, and that's not a decisive enough "win" in my opinion to take the step of forcing a deserving team to play a road game in the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament isn't a conference, where two teams played a full, generally identical round robin schedule and one had a better record than the other, it's "hey, if that game between two teams not in the tournament back in November had gone the other way and your opponent was a Team Under Consideration, we'd be playing at your barn instead of ours... I'm sure you'll find it hilarious later."

I believe instead that hockey should take a few lessons from basketball, which seems a fairly obvious exercise. Limit things to an East and a West Regional. Invite eight teams from each to a major-city neutral site for four games on day one, and two more on day two. Both day two winners advance to the Frozen Four. Continue the practice of placing teams to maximize attendance, because again, the idea of "bracket integrity" seems like a silly concept, given the fragility of PWR.

As long as the two host cities aren't Boston and St. Paul every year (I'm thinking something like Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit in the west, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh in the east, with sites furthest from the Frozen Four preferred on a year-to-year basis to keep this thing accessible), I think it's a great concept. Neutral sites keep the integrity of the competition and hockey's status as a big-time sport worthy of the distinction intact. Major cities provide a destination experience that Toledo and even campus sites just can't. The system also maintains that co-mingling of people from all over college hockey, what makes this whole thing unique and worth preserving - I have no doubt that campus sites would deter visiting fans and neutrals from attending, even if seats are allocated evenly.

But whatever solutions may or may not be down the road, I actually don't think the present system is all that broken. The NCAA clearly doesn't have too much issue with the attendance, or they'd change things. And I had a good experience as a neutral fan. Did I see the Miami fanbase in its full glory, as I would down at Goggin? No, but the NCAA Tournament experience isn't about that, nor should it be. I can't wait to attend one where I have a strong rooting interest.

The Penn Stater's Guide to the NCAA Tournament III

Welcome to TYT's third annual "I'm a Penn State fan. Who should I root for in the NCAA Tournament?" post. To reiterate the rules: this post is not about prediction, serious analysis, or even personal preference (although that does creep into play on occasion). It's simply an attempt to rank the four schools in each of the four NCAA Tournament regions in terms of their relationship to PSU. Sometimes it involves past events, sometimes it involves future implications. Sometimes there's not a ton to go on, and I'll usually drop those schools somewhere in the middle. But if Penn State is your only concern, this is how I think your rooting interests should play out.

Until Penn State has a direct reason (ie. participation) to care about the NCAA Tournament, I'll defer to others for the hardcore stuff. Western College Hockey Blog, for example, has fantastic previews of each region (East, Northeast, Midwest, West), and I encourage you to go over there for further reading.

The winners of each region, of course, will congregate at the Frozen Four, hosted this year by Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center and Robert Morris University on April 11th (semifinals) and 13th (championship game). It's actually the first of consecutive Frozen Fours to be held in the Keystone State, as 2014's edition will head across the commonwealth to Philadelphia.

Finally, before we get started, here are the tournament brackets (interactive and PDF) from NCAA.com.

East Region (Providence, RI)

1. Quinnipiac vs. 4. Canisius, Saturday 5:30 p.m., ESPN3
2. Boston College vs. 3. Union, Saturday 9:00 p.m., ESPNU
Regional Final, Sunday 6:30 p.m., ESPNU


1. Union. It seems almost crazy now, given what happened subsequently, but I was absolutely pumped by PSU's competitive losses in Schenectady back in November (2-0 and 4-1, with empty-netters in both games). That was at a time when I didn't honestly see a major-conference win coming in NCAA Year One, and suffice it to say, I think Penn State would have a shot at being more than "competitive" today. In last year's version of this post, while discussing the Dutchmen, I said: "It would be pretty cool if the Dutchmen carried something like a Frozen Four appearance from this season into next season's games with the Nittany Lions." And yes, it was. With Union rumored to be making a trip to Pegula Ice Arena next season, I'm saying it again.

2. Canisius. The two Atlantic Hockey teams in the tournament this year both get a bump due to the fact that Penn State was an honorary member of the conference in 2012-2013, going 5-8-0 against AIC, RIT, Air Force, Sacred Heart, Army, Holy Cross, Robert Morris and Connecticut - there's nothing at all wrong with wanting to see the champion of the AHA tournament do well under those circumstances, even if they are up against it with an opening game against top overall seed Quinnipiac. The Golden Griffins also get points for a previous series with the Icers, back when the school played in NCAA Division III. PSU went 2-6-0 in those games, spanning from 1981 until 1995.

3. Quinnipiac. In a weaker region for Penn State interests (see: Midwest), the Bobcats may very well have been number one, due to my new blood bias (hey, we're new blood too, after all). For the little it may be worth now, QU's home TD Bank Sports Center was part of the legendary "get ideas for the PIA" arena tour taken by Penn State leadership, and is generally credited with influencing the "steep as code allows" (finish your drink!) nature of our nearly-complete student section.

4. Boston College. Eef. If you really want to see Boston College win anything (again), go away. If you're still here, it does need to be said that BC's one saving grace is the Eagles' three Pittsburgh natives: starting goalie Parker Milner, stud defenseman Patrick Wey, and freshman blueliner Travis Jeke. Diminutive superstar Johnny Gaudreau, the leading scorer both for BC and for Team USA's gold medal winning entry at this year's World Junior Championships, gets an honorable mention as a Philadelphia-area New Jersey native who played for Team Comcast. The three PA natives are tied with UMass-Lowell's batch as a tournament high.

Northeast Region (Manchester, NH)

1. UMass-Lowell vs. 4. Wisconsin, Friday 4:30 p.m., ESPN3
2. New Hampshire vs. 3. Denver, Friday 8:00 p.m., ESPNU
Regional Final, Saturday 6:30 p.m., ESPNU


1. Wisconsin. Do I really need to explain this one?

In its first NCAA season, Penn State beat a team that is participating in the NCAA Tournament. The fact that the Badgers are also a Big Ten school, and yeah, "rah-rah, go conference," almost seems like an afterthought next to that. Feel free to extrapolate and call UW the overall top seed - I'll be rooting for them against anyone in the field. Could you imagine if Penn State ended up beating the eventual national champions?

2. UMass-Lowell. Things significantly drop off from a Penn State standpoint after the obvious Wisconsin call, but the aforementioned three Pennsylvanians (defenseman Joe Houk of Richboro, goaltender Brian Robbins of Scotrun, forward Terrance Wallin of Yardley) and the new blood factor give the River Hawks the edge over UNH. Lowell, a former Division II superpower that elevated to DI in 1984, has been thoroughly average since then, but has now made consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and won its first Hockey East tournament title on Saturday by ending Jack Parker's legendary career at Boston University. New blood is fun until it gets annoying (see Union, with Quinnipiac setting a land speed record on the way there), and Lowell isn't annoying yet.

3. New Hampshire. If the Wildcats were to take the whole thing, I wouldn't complain. The school, quite accurately dubbed the University of No Hardware by detractors, is always there - UNH has been to 18 of the last 22 NCAA Tournaments and a streak of ten consecutive was snapped last year - but never wins, and is quite possibly the most storied program in college hockey without a national championship. There's not much on either side of the ledger from a Penn State/Pennsylvania perspective though, other than gigantic (6'6", 225 pounds) defenseman Eric Knodel, a West Chester native and a Toronto draft pick. He was selected when Brian Burke was still the Leafs' GM, although that probably goes without saying.

4. Denver. The Pios have always been sort of a nothing team to me. There's no disrespect intended in that statement, DU's obviously one of the most successful programs in college hockey, I just have literally no feelings positively or negatively about them. What drops them to the bottom of the region, then? They're joining the NCHC next year. I get the feeling that Big Ten-NCHC in hockey is going to be like Big Ten-SEC in football for years to come, or at least until the entire conference structure gets reshuffled again. Except hopefully, the Big Ten will be the better conference at hockey.

Midwest Region (Toledo, OH)

1. Notre Dame vs. 4. St. Cloud, Saturday 1:30 p.m., ESPN3
2. Miami vs. 3. Minnesota State, Saturday 5:00 p.m., ESPN3
Regional Final, Sunday 4:00 p.m., ESPNU


1. Notre Dame. It's not an easy call in a region that's absolutely brutal for Penn State interests, but I've always been fond of the fact that once upon a time, the Icers played Notre Dame. The Irish temporarily removed varsity status from its hockey program for a single season, 1983-1984, and scheduled a series in Johnstown against eventual club national champion PSU, with ND taking three points from the weekend. The next season, with Lefty Smith's gang back in the NCAA, the Icers went to South Bend and were swept. Notably, Notre Dame was Joe Battista's second choice of college - try that alternate history on for size, you won't like it - and PSU brass has a good relationship with the school, so you can probably count on the teams meeting at some point. ND's Compton Family Ice Arena was a key influence on the Pegula Ice Arena design as well.

No shame in having the second-nicest arena in college hockey

2. Minnesota State. The Screaming Eagles Mavericks could be considered one of the victims of Penn State's entry into NCAA hockey, as next season they'll be going from the WCHA, the toughest conference in college hockey, to... the WCHA, the fifth-toughest conference in college hockey. Normally, I'd point out that under the new setup, teams like Minnesota State, Lake Superior State and Bowling Green might actually have a better shot at an NCAA bid since one of the WCHA "leftover" teams are guaranteed to go via the autobid, but MSU obviously didn't need that to get in this year, so... uhhh... sorry?

3. Miami. I've generally been fond of the RedHawks, as a relative newcomer to NCAA Division I hockey that is now firmly established in the "club" of national powers (in other words, saying Miami is going to be good or is going to win something no longer receives a sneer in response, as it has for PSU, although the Nittany Lions' 2012-2013 results certainly shut a few people up). Eight straight tournament appearances with two Frozen Fours and one almost-championship will tend to do that. From a 1978 start date, the then-Redskins first made NCAAs in 1993, before things really took off once head coach Enrico Blasi's tenure began in 1999. MU does receive some credit for participation in the Three Rivers Classic this season, although they managed to duck PSU, but... there's that NCHC thing rearing its ugly head again. Without it, Miami is first or second in the region. With it, they're third.

4. St. Cloud State. In the recent past, and in consideration of the fact that former Icers coach Morris Kurtz was a 27-year athletic director at SCSU, the Huskies would almost certainly be somewhere other than last. However, Kurtz retired last June, and... NCHC. Ew.

West Region (St. Paul, MN)

1. Minnesota vs. 4. Yale, Friday 2:00 p.m., ESPNU
2. North Dakota vs. 3. Niagara, Friday 5:30 p.m., ESPNU
Regional Final, Saturday 4:00 p.m., ESPNU


1. Minnesota. With the end of Michigan's 22-year tournament streak this year and the low seed given to Wisconsin (although many are pegging the Badgers as a dark horse, given the 10 wins in 12 tear that got them into this thing), stacked Minnesota has to be considered the favorite to represent the Big Ten deep into NCAAs, and Penn Staters should act accordingly. Since the announcement of the conference's formation, haters have had loads of ammo, thanks to frequently-underperforming programs, as judged by their traditional standards. In 2011, Michigan was the only Big Ten school to qualify for the tournament, although their run to overtime of the national championship game helped alleviate the issue. Last year, Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota all made it, but only the Gophers managed to win an NCAA Tournament game, two actually, before falling to eventual national champion Boston College in the Frozen Four semifinals. Until the Badgers' late run this season, things once again looked pretty bad for the Big Ten, particularly with usual powers Michigan and Michigan State slumping - but a Gophers national championship leading into Big Ten play next year would help the league's credibility immeasurably.

Bonus reason: Gophers forward Tom Serratore and PSU captain Tommy Olczyk are close friends

2. Niagara. Niagara is a team from mid-major league Atlantic Hockey and received an at-large bid. Not supporting that is un-American, or something. As mentioned under the Canisius entry, AHA teams get extra credit this season due to PSU's 13 games against the conference - it would be nice if the Nittany Lions' competition, or at least the teams that beat that competition to win the AHA regular season (Niagara) and playoff (Canisius) titles, ends up looking good.

3. Yale. The Bulldogs, along with New Hampshire and arguably UMass-Lowell and Minnesota State, stand out as a more or less completely neutral team from a Penn State standpoint. Don't root for them against Minnesota of course, but should Yale stun the Gophs, feel free to pull for them against North Dakota. You could even support them against Niagara, given the lack of truly compelling reasons to support the Purps, if you're a huge fan of junior forward Jesse Root, a Pittsburgh native who is fifth on the team in scoring with 20 points this year.

4. North Dakota. ...and in what's become an annual tradition, the Sioux bring up the rear due to what I'm calling the Eric Burton rule. I'm not sure that I have to elaborate at this point, but if I'm wrong, get at me in the comments. Because it will never stop being funny, here's what happens when the Sioux get eliminated (for those unfamiliar with the context, Michigan's Scooter Vaughan just scored an empty-netter to clinch victory for the Wolverines in the 2011 Frozen Four semifinals):

D2 Nationals: Day 3 Roundup

Shortly before the Ice Lions closed out their Pool C schedule with a 6-1 win over Marist, Illinois State eliminated PSU and clinched advancement to the semifinals for themselves through a 3-3 tie with Weber State. WSU - just as in the Wildcats' other two nationals games - was careless with the lead, squandering an 2-0 first-period advantage, as well one of 3-2 in the third period. Allen Urbaniak tied the score on both occasions, first at 2-2 with a spectacular takeaway-snipe in the second period, then at 3-3 from Jeremy Gaddo's feed with 8:51 left in regulation. Josh Ambrosat opened the Redbirds' scoring.

The game did come fairly close to delivering the necessary help for Penn State, against long odds. Had Weber State scored in overtime, and had the Ice Lions not given up an otherwise-meaningless late power play goal in their game, PSU and ISU would have had identical records and goals for-goals against numbers - pushing the Pool C tiebreaker to fewest penalty minutes (the outcome of such a hypothetical is unknown, thanks to the ACHA's absolutely horrendous job communicating information regarding the tournament).

As it stands however, the Redbirds win the group and advance to Monday's semifinals, where they'll take on Pool A winner Grand Valley State at 5:30 p.m.

Other Sunday Scores

Pool A: Grand Valley State 6, Arizona State 0
Pool A: Northeastern 8, Maryland 0
Pool B: Michigan State 5, Miami 4 (OT)
Pool B: Connecticut 5, Colorado State 2
Pool D: Utah State 5, New Hampshire 3
Pool D: Saint Louis 7, Bowling Green 4

Final Standings
(x - team has been eliminated)

Pool A	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Grand Valley State	2	1	0	9	2	+7	4
x - Northeastern	2	1	0	13	5	+8	4
x - Arizona State	2	1	0	7	11	-4	4
x - Maryland	0	3	0	2	13	-11	0
Pool B	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Michigan State	3	0	0	13	10	+3	6
x - Connecticut	2	1	0	13	7	+6	4
x - Miami	1	2	0	8	12	-4	2
x - Colorado State	0	3	0	7	12	-5	0
Pool C	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Illinois State	2	0	1	13	6	+7	5
x - Penn State	2	1	0	13	8	+5	4
x - Weber State	1	1	1	13	16	-3	3
x - Marist	0	3	0	10	19	-9	0
Pool D	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Utah State	2	1	0	15	13	+2	4
x - New Hampshire	2	1	0	15	11	+4	4
x - Saint Louis	1	2	0	13	13	0	2
x - Bowling Green	1	2	0	14	20	-6	2

Monday Tournament Schedule

Semifinals

Grand Valley State vs. Illinois State, 5:30 p.m.
Michigan State vs. Utah State, 8:15 p.m.

D2 Nationals: Day 2 Roundup

While the Ice Lions staved off elimination with a big 7-3 come-from-behind win over Weber State Saturday afternoon, they were hurt by Pool C's other result, which saw Illinois State complete a sweep of the group's top two seeds with a 6-3 win over now-eliminated Marist.

Had Marist won, each Pool C team would have been 1-1-0 entering the final day of the round robin Sunday, obviously setting up a wide-open situation that may have proven advantageous to a PSU team trying to claw back from an opening loss to the Redbirds. As things stand though, ISU is 2-0-0 and also owns a sizable advantage in the goals against tiebreaker. Essentially, Penn State's best hope is a win over Marist tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m., coupled with a Weber State win over Illinois State in a game beginning at 11:00 a.m. Additionally, PSU will need to allow at least four fewer goals than ISU over the course of those two games.

It's a longshot, but an explosive WSU team can score in bunches, while Marist has only pride left as motivation. It may not be enough at this point, but it's something. And hey, it beats the only alternative that was on the table after day one.

Other Saturday Scores

Pool A: Northeastern 2, Grand Valley State 1
Pool A: Arizona State 3, Maryland 2
Pool B: Michigan State 5, Connecticut 4
Pool B: Miami 4, Colorado State 3 (OT)
Pool D: Bowling Green 6, Utah State 5
Pool D: New Hampshire 4, Saint Louis 2

Current Standings
(x - team has been eliminated)

Pool A	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Arizona State	2	0	0	7	5	+2	4
Grand Valley State	1	1	0	3	2	+1	2
Northeastern	1	1	0	5	5	0	2
x - Maryland	0	2	0	2	5	-3	0
Pool B	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Michigan State	2	0	0	8	6	+2	4
Connecticut	1	1	0	8	5	+3	2
Miami	1	1	0	4	7	-3	2
x - Colorado State	0	2	0	5	7	-2	0
Pool C	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Illinois State	2	0	0	10	3	+7	4
Penn State	1	1	0	7	7	0	2
Weber State	1	1	0	10	13	-3	2
x - Marist	0	2	0	9	13	-4	0
Pool D	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
New Hampshire	2	0	0	12	6	+6	4
Utah State	1	1	0	10	10	0	2
Bowling Green	1	1	0	10	13	-3	2
x - Saint Louis	0	2	0	6	9	-3	0

Sunday Tournament Schedule

Pool A

Grand Valley State vs. Arizona State, 2:15 p.m.
Northeastern vs. Maryland, 4:45 p.m.

Pool B

Colorado State vs. Connecticut, 11:15 a.m.
Miami vs. Michigan State, 1:45 p.m.

Pool C

Illinois State vs. Weber State, 11:00 a.m.
Marist vs. Penn State, 11:30 a.m.

Pool D

Bowling Green vs. Saint Louis, 2:00 p.m.
Utah State vs. New Hampshire, 4:30 p.m.

D2 Nationals: Day 1 Roundup

In the Pool C game outside of the Ice Lions' shutout loss to Illinois State, potent Weber State shocked Marist, the group's top seed, 7-6 in overtime. Senior defenseman Reid Mayer ended a wild extra period (and game, for that matter) by intercepting in the Foxes' zone and lasering home the winner. Marist had stormed back from a three-goal deficit late in the second period - including the OT-forcing tally with 30 seconds remaining in regulation.

The result gives PSU a mild boost because, at minimum, the Ice Lions winning their last two pool games (which they'll need to do anyway) would ensure a second loss for Marist. Sure, the team will still need help against Illinois State and possibly against WSU as well, but all things considered, needing help on the third or fourth seed is still better than needing help on the first seed.

Other Friday Scores

Pool A: Grand Valley State 2, Maryland 0
Pool A: Arizona State 4, Northeastern 3
Pool B: Michigan State 3, Colorado State 2 (OT)
Pool B: Connecticut 4, Miami 0
Pool D: New Hampshire 8, Bowling Green 4
Pool D: Utah State 5, Saint Louis 4 (OT)

Current Standings

Pool A	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Grand Valley State	1	0	0	2	0	+2	2
Arizona State	1	0	0	4	3	+1	2
Maryland	0	1	0	0	2	-2	0
Northeastern	0	1	0	3	4	-1	0
Pool B	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Connecticut	1	0	0	4	0	+4	2
Michigan State	1	0	0	3	2	+1	2
Colorado State	0	1	0	2	3	-1	0
Miami	0	1	0	0	4	-4	0
Pool C	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
Illinois State	1	0	0	4	0	+4	2
Weber State	1	0	0	7	6	+1	2
Penn State	0	1	0	0	4	-4	0
Marist	0	1	0	6	7	-1	0
Pool D	W	L	T	GF	GA	+/-	Pts.
New Hampshire	1	0	0	8	4	+4	2
Utah State	1	0	0	5	4	+1	2
Saint Louis	0	1	0	4	5	-1	0
Bowling Green	0	1	0	4	8	-4	0

Saturday Tournament Schedule

Pool A

Grand Valley State vs. Northeastern, 4:00 p.m.
Arizona State vs. Maryland, 4:15 p.m.

Pool B

Michigan State vs. Connecticut, 1:30 p.m.
Miami vs. Colorado State, 3:45 p.m.

Pool C

Marist vs. Illinois State, 1:00 p.m.
Penn State vs. Weber State, 1:15 p.m.

Pool D

Saint Louis vs. New Hampshire, 6:45 p.m.
Utah State vs. Bowling Green, 7:00 p.m.

Ice Lions Seek Golden Arches in Gateway City

The Ice Lions went sightseeing in St. Louis on Thursday, but get down to business Friday afternoon

A redemption-driven Ice Lions squad that fell just short during an otherwise spectacular 2011-2012 will now try to close this season on a five-game winning streak and a title at the 2013 ACHA Division 2 National Championships, running Friday through Tuesday at the Hardee's IcePlex in Chesterfield, MO.

Penn State, despite going to the 1997 title game and having several other tournament appearances to its credit, has never won an ACHA D2 championship. Last year's 29-3-0 outfit, coached by Josh Hand, looked primed to deliver one until seeing its season end with a loss (snapping a 24-game winning streak) to Grand Valley State in the final game of pool play in Fort Myers, FL. While that group did see a few senior departures - captain Jim Recupero and star goalie Tom Badali to name a couple - much of the team's core returned this year to try again. Under new coach Matt Morrow, the Ice Lions went 25-5-1 and won the MACHA regular season crown, but saw a 16-game winning streak snapped with a 3-2 loss to Virginia Tech in the league tournament's championship game.

As with last year, PSU's strength rests in a deep and talented group up front, led by power forward Chris Lewis, PSU's leading goal scorer, as well as Franky Reluzco, Taylor Vincent, Joe Zitarelli and Mike Broccolo. Brandon Russo, Mac Winchester, Max O'Malley and Chris Dinsmore anchor the defense, while the goal crease has been more of a group effort this campaign - Kevin Lowthert and Ryan Demuth have split things fairly evenly, with Teddy Steinhart also working in a few games.

For those who don't know, the 16-team tournament is divided into four pools of four teams. Each pool contains one team from each of D2's four regions. Here's how they'll be grouped, including their regional designation (W = West, C = Central, NE = Northeast, SE = Southeast) and rank within that region. The top two teams in each region (based on polls) earned autobids to the tournament, while the other two had to navigate tournaments involving the teams ranked third through tenth in each region on February 23rd and 24th to qualify.

Pool A
Grand Valley State (C1), Arizona State (W2), Northeastern (NE3), Maryland (SE4)

Pool B
Miami (SE1), Michigan State (C2), Colorado State (W3), Connecticut (NE4)

Pool C
Marist (NE1), Penn State (SE2), Illinois State (C3), Weber State (W4)

Pool D
Utah State (W1), New Hampshire (NE2), Bowling Green (SE3), Saint Louis (C4)

Following a set of round-robin games that begin Friday and conclude Sunday, each pool winner will advance to the semifinals on Monday and (if they win there) the championship game on Tuesday. Here's a quick look at the teams PSU will need to beat to make it through the weekend.

Marist College

2012-13 Record: 18-4-4
Coach: Bob Simmons
National Championships: None
Last Season: Eliminated at Northeast Regionals
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY

vs. Penn State: Sunday, March 17th, 11:30 a.m.

Pool C's top seed, Marist, is surprisingly not considered by most to be one of the leading national championship favorites. Grand Valley State, Miami and Michigan State, among a couple others, are all receiving more advance hype, thanks in part to the Red Foxes' reputation as tournament chokers and the fact that it's their first-ever appearance at the biggest tournament in ACHA D2. So I suppose it can be said that PSU received a solid draw into a more wide-open pool than last year, when the Ice Lions were stuck with GVSU, then the defending national champs.

Still, the Red Foxes have earned the right to be called a top team, thanks to their winning the regular-season title of the always-brutal Super East Collegiate Hockey League, which includes fellow nationals team New Hampshire as well as annual contenders like Siena, William Paterson (which went on to win the SECHL tournament for a fourth straight year) and New York University.

The team is fueled by four 20-goal scorers, including Chris Cerbino, Mike Chiacchia, Patrick Erstling and Steve Milanesi, and their reliance on those guys to win games has often resulted in Marist's involvement in high scoring games - the Red Foxes score more than 5.5 times per game on average, yet don't have a goalie that has a goals against average under 3.5, with Zach Gomiela leading a three-headed monster in net.

Illinois State

2012-13 Record: 28-6-2
Coach: Brian Corley
National Championships: None
Last Season: Eliminated at Central Regionals
Location: Normal, IL

vs. Penn State: Friday, March 15th, 3:15 p.m.

The Redbirds, interestingly enough, join Marist as the only teams making their first nationals appearance in the entire field, a reality that might play well for a more seasoned PSU squad. ISU earned their way in following a stirring 3-2 win over powerful Lindenwood at the Central Region tournament thanks to Carter Kernbauer's third-period takeaway-and-bury winner.

Climbing past that threshold for the first time ever was just the most recent in a string of accomplishments that has seen Illinois State take the regular season title in the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association's (not to be confused with Penn State's Mid-Atlantic MACHA) Gold Division, although they fell short in the league playoffs before recovering for regionals. With a robust schedule that includes a season-opening sweep of nationals participant Saint Louis and wins over strong teams like SIU-Edwardsville, DePaul, Missouri, and of course, Lindenwood, it's easy to see how the Redbirds may be a dark horse candidate to emerge from the pool.

Solid goalies Ryan Siuzdak and Scott Czarnik sit at the back of a very balanced team that, in addition to Kernbauer, can roll six other 15-goal scorers. Eric Brown, Brian Reimel and Josh Ambrosat are among this group. Former NAHLer Ryan Dunne is not, which tells you something about their depth.

Weber State

2012-13 Record: 27-10-3
Coach: Joe Pfleegor
National Championships: None
Last Season: Did not qualify for regionals
Location: Ogden, UT

vs. Penn State: Saturday, March 16th, 1:15 p.m.

The Wildcats come in as decided underdogs in Pool C given the balanced strength in the other three teams, although they're more than capable of playing spoiler - witness a road win and tie against tournament team Colorado State back in November that stands out as WSU's regular season highlight.

WSU, which once famously boasted Aaron Dufford - PSU legend John's great grandson - on their roster, struggled mightily with West top seed Utah State, to the tune of an 0-5-0 record in the season series, including 10-1 and 8-2 decisions. Sure, USU is one of a handful of the top national championship contenders, but then again, this is the national championship tournament and the Wildcats are going to have to play and beat teams of that caliber to be successful. In Weber's defense, they did have to take out a tough Utah team at regionals to earn their bid after splitting a regular season series with the Utes.

Count on Dax Hobbs (47 goals - the most in D2 - and 74 points) to do a disproportionate amount of the team's scoring, although things drop off rather quickly after Hobbs, Braxton Green (36 goals, 72 points), Jeremiah Holmes (25 goals, 63 points) and Josh Giudice (21 goals, 33 points). Ian Franke and Craig Peterson both play significantly and capably in goal, while Jacob Holmes and his team-high plus-57 rating will regulate things from the blue line.

The Other Pools

Pool A: Pool A is of special interest to the Ice Lions because, should Penn State advance out of the group stage, the Ice Lions will play its winner in the semifinals. The obvious headliner is Grand Valley State, the 2011 national champs who, as mentioned, eliminated PSU last season before losing to Florida Gulf Coast in the title game. While the Lakers are heavy favorites to emerge from the group, second seed Arizona State has proven their worth through an extremely dense schedule, particularly for a western team. The Sun Devils bombed Weber State twice back in December, went 4-0-4 against a very good Northern Arizona team, and played two tight losses against national title contender Utah State.

Crazy but true: UConn has three players formerly of their school's NCAA team, including Rui Encarnacao

Pool B: Miami, which thumped the Ice Lions 7-3 at the ACHA Showcase on October 6th in PSU's only game against another tournament team, leads what most consider the tournament's strongest pool - Sunday's possible semifinalist-determining game between MU and Michigan State is expected to be one of the best games of nationals, pitting two of the four national championship winning programs (Miami in 2000, MSU in 2005 and 2007) in St. Louis against each other. Still, don't count out Connecticut, in spite of their low seed. The Huskies have three upperclass forwards, Paul Cinquegrana, Rui Encarnacao and Miles Winter, who have played a combined 110 games with the school's NCAA team, and with more success than the typical NCAA-to-ACHA player. Winter had 36 points in 66 career NCAA games, while Encarnacao had 22 in 44.

Pool D: This will be still another top-heavy pool, paced by Utah State and New Hampshire. Both of those teams know where the net is located - the always-potent Aggies, featuring Brian Gibbons, D2's leading scorer last year, pot 5.5 goals per game, while UNH is even better at 5.64 per contest. Their matchup, scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 4:30 p.m., will join that Miami-Michigan State game to be arguably the two marquee contests of the group stage. As in Pool B, lower seeds Bowling Green and Saint Louis have an extremely difficult road to the semifinals, but the Billikens, coached by former NHLer Todd Ewen, should be a tough out.

Complete Tournament Schedule

All games available on FastHockey.com ($)

Pool A

Friday, March 15th:
Grand Valley State vs. Maryland, 5:30 p.m.
Arizona State vs. Northeastern, 5:45 p.m.

Saturday, March 16th:
Grand Valley State vs. Northeastern, 4:00 p.m.
Arizona State vs. Maryland, 4:15 p.m.

Sunday, March 17th:
Grand Valley State vs. Arizona State, 2:15 p.m.
Northeastern vs. Maryland, 4:45 p.m.

Pool B

Friday, March 15th:
Michigan State vs. Colorado State, 8:15 p.m.
Miami vs. Connecticut, 8:45 p.m.

Saturday, March 16th:
Michigan State vs. Connecticut, 1:30 p.m.
Miami vs. Colorado State, 3:45 p.m.

Sunday, March 17th:
Colorado State vs. Connecticut, 11:15 a.m.
Miami vs. Michigan State, 1:45 p.m.

Pool C

Friday, March 15th:
Penn State vs. Illinois State, 3:15 p.m.
Marist vs. Weber State, 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 16th:
Marist vs. Illinois State, 1:00 p.m.
Penn State vs. Weber State, 1:15 p.m.

Sunday, March 17th:
Illinois State vs. Weber State, 11:00 a.m.
Marist vs. Penn State, 11:30 a.m.

Pool D

Friday, March 15th:
New Hampshire vs. Bowling Green, 3:00 p.m.
Saint Louis vs. Utah State, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 16th:
Saint Louis vs. New Hampshire, 6:45 p.m.
Utah State vs. Bowling Green, 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 17th:
Bowling Green vs. Saint Louis, 2:00 p.m.
Utah State vs. New Hampshire, 4:30 p.m.

Semifinals

Monday, March 18th:
Pool A Winner vs. Pool C Winner, 5:30 p.m.
Pool B Winner vs. Pool D Winner, 8:15 p.m.

Final

Tuesday, March 19th:
Semifinal 1 Winner vs. Semifinal 2 Winner, 7:00 p.m.

Inaugural Three Rivers Classic Awaits

What: NCAA Men at the Three Rivers Classic College Hockey Tournament

Where: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA

When: Friday, December 28 at 4:30 p.m. (Penn State vs. Robert Morris) and 7:30 p.m. (Miami vs. Ohio State); Saturday, December 29 at 4:30 p.m. (consolation game) and 7:30 p.m. (championship game).

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Penn State has had it easy in starting NCAA Division I hockey.

Name recognition, huge university, established history of athletic success and people who follow that success, built-in major-conference affiliation... oh, and that nine-figure donation and the brand-new arena that came with it.

Then there's Robert Morris, which started up for the 2004-2005 season.

Back in the Icers days, we had to go with parentheticals when discussing Robert Morris (PA), as unrelated Robert Morris (IL) also has ACHA D1 hockey. Few were likely to notice if you got it backwards. RMU is the sort of school that inspires lines like "how good that Robert Morris fella is if he beat the Nits all by himself" from PSU outlets following the Colonials' 3-2 win at the Ice Pavilion two weeks ago, largely because nobody knows what else to say about them. Maybe some of you know them as a conference rival of the women's program. Or maybe you're only aware of them because their basketball games against Fairleigh Dickinson get a couple seconds of fame during every eighth cycle of the ESPN ticker (although the Colonials did take Villanova to overtime as a 15 seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament).

They did not get a nine-figure donation to start an NCAA program. Instead, they purchased an existing off-campus rink in preparation for the move, now called 84 Lumber Arena. It's a 1,200-seat rink that looks like a lot of 1,200 seat rinks all over the country.

In other words, they've had to build a program the hard way: slowly, and by winning repeatedly until people have the program's identity down. There have been high-profile, respect-earning upsets, like a January 7, 2007 stunning of second-ranked Notre Dame, an October 12, 2007 victory over No. 8 Boston University, a sweep of top-ranked Miami on January 8 and 10, 2010 and wins over Ohio State on October 15, 2010 as well as this year in a win-tie home-and-home with the Buckeyes on December 7th and 8th (file those latter two opponents away for Saturday). There has also been a concerted effort to get on the big stage of Pittsburgh's NHL arena and in front of large numbers of locals whenever possible, most notably through the Pittsburgh College Hockey Showcase - sort of a forerunner to this weekend's event, which included a mess of an Icers-ACHA RMU (PA) exhibition in 2010 - and a game with RIT that drew 6,957 in the build-up to the 2011 Winter Classic.

Beyond the highly-specialized origins of the two universities (Pittsburgh School of Accountancy, meet Farmers' High School), that's sort of where the two newest NCAA DI programs intersect. Both have an interest in developing western Pennsylvania's college hockey presence because in the long run, it benefits both programs.

RMU coach Derek Schooley has done an outstanding job removing his schools anonymity.

Say hello to the Three Rivers Classic. And, hopefully, get to know it pretty well, because the idea is for it to become an annual staple, featuring Penn State and Robert Morris each time around (Boston College and Bowling Green have already been booked as the other half of the next year's iteration).

I've sort of poor-mouthed RMU (7-4-2, 4-3-1 AHA) a little, but make no mistake, they're a quality team with a quality coach (in fact, I openly endorsed Derek Schooley for the PSU job). The Nittany Lions, as mentioned, saw that firsthand two weeks ago, when goaltender Eric Levine made 38 saves in the Colonials' victory. Defenseman Tyler Hinds scored the third-period winner, but would have been one of the game's stars even without that distinction.

"He's been a warrior the last three games against Ohio State and Penn State," Schooley said. "He's won every one of his battles, he's competed, he's jumped up into the offense and he's been tremendous blocking shots."

"Tyler Hinds has taken his game to another level. I can't say enough about how well he's been playing."

Levine, Hinds, and the rest of RMU's defensive corps are third in Atlantic Hockey (21st nationally) in allowing 2.46 goals per game. Levine carries DI's fourth best save percentage, 0.942. Offensively, seniors Zach Hervato (six goals, 12 points) and Adam Brace (five goals, 12 points) pace a balanced effort.

Miami and Ohio State, of course, are the other two teams in the tournament and will face off in Friday's nightcap. Penn State will then take on whichever of the two teams matches the Nittany Lions' result during the tournament's second day.

Even though Miami (11-3-4, 8-3-3 CCHA) is the fifth-ranked team in the country, tied for first in the CCHA and has been to the last seven NCAA tournaments, it's probably safe to say that most Penn Staters want to see Ohio State (7-6-5, 6-3-3 CCHA) on Saturday in what would be PSU's first matchup with a future Big Ten opponent. And actually, there is some good news on that front, provided the Nittany Lions are able to get revenge on RMU.

Austin Czarnik is Miami's top scorer among players presently in the Western Hemisphere.

The RedHawks will be without a pair of standout freshmen - forwards Riley Barber and Sean Kuraly - for the tournament, as both are with Team USA for the IIHF World U20 Championships in Ufa, Russia. Barber, Miami's leading scorer this year with eight goals and 14 assists (he's the only freshman in the country with more points per game than David Glen), is a product of the U.S. National Team Development Program, and was a sixth-round pick of the Washington Capitals in June. Kuraly, selected in the fifth round by the San Jose Sharks in 2011, has scored three times this year.

That's not to say that MU is completely devoid of talent. The RedHawks, former doormats that have become one of the nation's elite programs in the last decade under Enrico Blasi, remain a young - 11 freshmen, six seniors - and very talented team including three NHL draftees (forwards Curtis McKenzie, Blake Coleman and Jimmy Mullin) and Austin Czarnik, who missed out on the draft but is the RedHawks' top remaining scorer and has represented the U.S. internationally on several occasions, including with last year's WJC team. Another forward, Marc Hagel, transferred to Oxford from Princeton, where he played for Guy Gadowsky from 2008-2011 (Hagel's brother Kyle also played at Princeton). If you haven't figured it out, Miami forwards tend to come in waves, not lines, so while the losses of Barber and Kuraly will sting, they are unlikely to cripple.

Blasi is also noted for his goalie rotations, and this season has been no different, with freshmen Ryan McKay and Jay Williams splitting the starts (other than during a stretch where McKay was injured earlier this year). McKay has the better numbers of the two, with a ridiculous 0.58 goals against average and a 0.979 save percentage but Williams, a former goalie partner of 2013 signee Eamon McAdam on the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks, isn't exactly terrible either. In fact, Miami has gone 11 consecutive games without allowing more than two goals.

The Buckeyes, actually, are also down personnel thanks to the World Junior Championships - specifically, head coach Mark Osiecki, an assistant on Phil Housley's Team USA staff. Associate head coach Steve Rohlik will assume bench boss duties.

Need to know how to spell "Brady Hjelle?" Look at the top of the NCAA's goaltending stats.

Head coach or not, OSU is one of the nation's best defensive teams, holding opponents to 1.94 goals per game, the NCAA's sixth-best mark. Senior Brady Hjelle, who transferred from Minnesota-Duluth just before their 2010-2011 national championship season (whoops) backs that effort with a 1.46 goals against average and a 0.951 save percentage, good for third and second in the nation, respectively. If something happens to Hjelle, the backup is star recruit Collin Olson, an NTDP product.

Protecting the goaltenders are a pair of gigantic defensemen, including freshman Craig Dalrymple - 6'5", 212 pounds - who leads the team's blueliners with five points and the team as a whole with a +9 rating. Sophomore Justin DaSilva - 6'6", 225 pounds - is even bigger and leads the Buckeyes with 33 blocked shots. Those who figure out how to deal with their reach and physicality still have to deal with Devils draft pick Curtis Gedig, who is more compact at 6'3", 200 pounds.

A pair of Ottawa Senators draftees, Ryan Dzingel and Max McCormick, lead OSU's offense with six goals each. Dzingel, who recently had an eight-game scoring streak snapped against Miami, is a native of Wheaton, IL. McCormick had no such issue against the RedHawks, scoring in a 3-1 loss to MU two weeks ago. The teams tied 1-1 in the first game of the series played in Columbus.

Beyond the fact that Miami-Ohio State, Penn State-Robert Morris and Robert Morris-Ohio State games have already taken place this season, stout defense and goaltending is the obvious recurring theme. Penn State's success and/or failure in Pittsburgh will likely be determined by the ability of a thin defense group and goalies Matt Skoff (who, remember, once signed a National Letter of Intent with Ohio State) and P.J. Musico to play at that level - as well as the ability of the offense to take what it's given in a way not seen in that game against the Colonials on the 15th.