Bleacher Report - Articles by TJ Ferguson

Drury-Less Rangers Take Game 1 From Ovechkin And Capitals

TJ Ferguson — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:50:55 -0400

The New York Rangers did something not many people thought they would do. Firstly, not many people out there thought the Rangers would win playoff opener against the Washington Capitals, they did just that.

Secondly, if the Rangers were going to win, it had to be in front of a stellar performance by Henrik Lundqvist keeping the score low.

While Lundqvist was spectacular, he stopped 32 of 35 en route to earning the win, New York didn't necessarily win because of him. The Blueshirts went out and scored some goals.

They also didn't keep Alexander Ovechkin out of the game. While Ovie was held to zero goals, he did chip in two assists.

They also didn't do it on the penalty kill, allowing Washington to go 2-for-7 on the power play.

The game winning goal was a beauty though. The Rangers had just killed of Markus Naslund's first penalty of the third period by clearing the puck to him as he was coming out of the box.

Then Naslund found Brandon Dubinsky skating up the left wing and skated into what should've been a two-on-two. However, Dubinsky turned the Capital defenseman inside out getting a two-on-one and putting a nice wrister by Jose Theodore.

One prediction was right I guess in order for the Rangers to get the win. Theodore was anything but good. Hopefully for the Ranger faithful he will look like that the rest of the way.

Tomas Fleischmann scored the games first goal tipping in an Ovechkin shot on the Power Play. Mike Green was also credited with an assist.

About 69 seconds later Scott Gomez evened up the game with a wrist shot.

Then the second period saw a crazy end as the Rangers scored two Power Play goals, just 1:39 apart. Scott Gomez assisted on both giving him a game high three points.

Nik Antropov scored the first at 16:49 with an additional assist from Paul Mara. The second scored by Markus Naslund saw Wade Redden credited with a secondary assist.

If that wasn't enough, Washington got one of those goals back before the buzzer with a Viktor Kozlov goal at 19:11 assisted by Niklas Backstrom and John Erskine.

An early third period penalty called against Dan Girardi gave the Capitals the opportunity to get even again. Just 82 seconds into the period Alexander Semin scored the game tying goal assisted by Ovechkin and Green.

Then at 11:43 Dubinsky scored the game winner from Naslund and Antropov.

The game winner earned Dubinsky third star of the game honors with Gomez being named the second star and Ovechkin taking home first star.

Game 2 will be played in Washington again at the Verizon Center on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Hobey Baker Hat Trick Announced, Comprised Entirely of Hockey East Players

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:17:41 -0400

The NCAA announced the Hat Trick Finalists for the 2008-2009 Hobey Baker Award. For the first time in nine seasons all three finalists are from the same conference, Hockey East.

None of them play the same position and two of them are teammates. At least two of them will not be playing college hockey next year as one is graduating and another is leaving early. The future of the third has not yet been decided.

From the Terriers of Boston University, sophomore forward Colin Wilson and defenseman and senior captain Matt Gilroy were both nominated after helping BU to their first Frozen Four in 12 years.

Representing the Northeastern University Huskies, junior goalie Brad Thiessen has also made the final list. He recently signed a pro contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins and will be skipping his senior year at NU.

Matt Gilroy

Gilroy is probably the best defenseman in the nation and started his career as a walk-on. Now he is a three-time First Team All-Conference player and Hobey Baker finalist.

He was also named the CHN Player of the Year by College Hockey News and made the All-CHN First Team. He also won this year's Walter Brown as New England's best American born college hockey player.

This season Gilroy scored eight goals while chipping in 28 assists for 36 total points. He was named to the New England All-Stars and as New England's best defenseman, won the Bob Monahan Award.

Colin Wilson

Wilson also made First Team All-Hockey East while taking home the co-scoring champion award after netting 15 goals and assisting on 37 for 52 total points.

He was picked for the Second Team All-CHN and is a seventh overall pick by the Nashville Predators. He finished tied for third in the nation in scoring and played a key role in BU's rise to the top and into the Frozen Four.

Wilson joins Gilroy on the New England All-Stars team and snatched up the Herb Gallagher Award as New England's best forward.

Brad Thiessen

Thiessen has won many awards this season. He was named First Team All-Hockey East as the only unanimous choice despite the stellar season of freshman goaltender Kieran Millan from BU.

Thiessen also joins Gilroy on the All-CHN First Team and the All-Northeastern Hockey East team. He was the only current Husky to be named to the 25th Anniversary Team.

The list doesn't end there. Thiessen has won the last two Eberly Awards given to the Beanpot's best goaltender. He has also set many season and career records for Northeastern.

Other awards from Hockey East were the Three Stars Award, Itech Goaltending Champion, and Reebok Player of the Year.

Lastly, Thiessen was also named a New England All Star and took home the Leonard Fowle Award as New England's Most Valuable Player.

Who Should Win

If I was to write this section from my perspective as a Northeastern fan, all I would type is Brad Thiessen's name and that would be the end of the article.

However, I am going to try and be unbiased about it and try to legitimize each player and why they should win the award.

I'll start with Colin Wilson. He has been at the forefront of Hobey Baker chatter all season, and with reason, he is a great player. He could leave for the NHL now and probably be ready to go.

The Nashville Predators are definitely hoping he decides not to return to BU for his junior year and start helping them get better.

The thing Wilson has going against him is that he doesn't stand out, scoring wise, from the rest of the nation's scoring leaders. As a forward on the team that scores more goals than anyone, or probably everyone, you would probably expect a few more goals from him.

The kid is really good, and if he plays next year, he will be one of the early favorites for the award as he will probably only get better in the offseason.

If he wins, it will be because the voting committee looks beyond his numbers and size of the pile of awards that Thiessen and Gilroy have in front of them and look solely at the skill of the players. Wilson is out in front of that.

Matt Gilroy decided not to sign with an NHL club last year and will be highly sought after this offseason as a free agent.

He is the best defenseman in the nation right now, and the lack of a statistical standout in scoring has put extra emphasis on defensive ability, which Gilroy has a load of.

He is the Terriers' MVP and all the awards Thiessen has beaten him for could easily have gone to him.

If a Terrier wins, it should be Gilroy, because without him, their blue line loses a lot of smarts and skill. The team would probably drop to an entire level.

If Gilroy wins, the selection committee will be looking not only at skill but at intelligence and instincts and how much the player has contributed to the awards the team has won.

Thiessen is arguably the most valuable player to his team in the nation. Without him, Northeastern is nowhere near as good as they were this season. They still would be good, but not great.

However, the last three games for the Huskies have ended in goals being scored in the last 40 seconds of regulation. In the Hockey East quarterfinals, it wasn't a big deal because they went on to win in overtime.

However, in the Hockey East Semifinals, Northeastern gave up a game-tying goal after having a 2-0 lead then went on to lose in overtime.

It kept getting worse. For the first time since 1994, NU earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Again, they jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but three third period goals sank the Huskies. The game-tying goal was scored inside two minutes, with the winner getting by Thiessen with less than 20 seconds on the clock.

That trend to me does not sound like a Hobey Baker winning goalie. One time is a fluke, two times, maybe over the course of three or four games is acceptable, but three times in a row? That doesn't make sense.

The only thing Thiessen has going for him in this award is that there are two players from the same team going against him. If he wins it will be because Wilson and Gilroy split votes and enough people picked a goalie who played a larger role in his team's success than any other player in the nation.

In the end, I think Gilroy deserves the award the most. I'm kind of hoping Wilson gets it, because maybe it means he will leave for the NHL after the Frozen Four. But in the end, I am pulling for Thiessen and hoping he can bring Northeastern its first ever Hobey Baker Award.

NCAA Hockey Tournament Sees Bemidji State Make History

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:36:54 -0400

The Regionals

After the first day of NCAA tournament action, half of the field's No. 1 seeds were upset by their respective four seeds.

First, No. 13. Miami (Ohio) Redhawks doubled up No. 4 Denver 4-2 in the semifinal of the West Regional.

Then, No. 3 Michigan Wolverines was blanked by No. 18 Air Force Falcons 2-0 in what I thought was going to end up being the upset of the tournament in the East Regional.

The upsets didn't stop there. In fact, the entire first round was filled with them. The tournament started out 3-0 in favor of the lower seeds with No. 11 Vermont Catamounts taking down No. 5 Yale Bulldogs 4-1.

The only higher seed to win on Friday was No. 8 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs barely getting by No. 10 Princeton Tigers with a 5-4 overtime win. The game only got to overtime after UMD scored two goals in the last 30 some odd seconds of play.

On Saturday, the upsets continued. Most notably, I changed my mind on the upset of the tournament as unranked Bemidji State Beavers trounced No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5-1.

The only one seed to advance out of the first round was No. 2 Boston University Terriers. They beat up on No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes 8-3.

No. 12 New Hampshire Wildcats added another upset to the list beating No. 7 North Dakota Fighting Souix 6-5 in overtime.

No. 6 Northeastern Huskies took a 2-0 lead into the second period against No. 9 Cornell Big Red only to squander the lead, then the game giving up three goals in the final frame, with the game tying goal and the winner coming in the final two minutes of play.

The Regional Championships on Saturday saw UVM go to overtime with Air Force before claiming a 3-2 double OT victory securing the first spot in the Frozen Four.

Miami punched their ticket with a 2-1 victory over Minnesota-Duluth.

Sunday saw the last two regional finals between BU and UNH and Bemidji and Cornell.

The first, BU vs UNH saw yet another late goal scored as BU won 2-1 scoring with just 15 seconds left to win and get back to the Frozen Four for the first time in 12 years.

Bemidji State beat Cornell 4-1 to send themselves to the Frozen Four. Their appearance in two weeks will be the first time ever that a team outside of the CCHA, WCHA, ECAC or Hockey East have made it to the Frozen Four.

Granted that leaves the CHA and Atlantic Hockey Conference, it still means a lot considering the CHA is being disbanded after this season.

Bemidji State is the team that qualified by winning their conference tournament as they stood no chance of qualifying any other way.

The Frozen Four

The four remaining teams will now get a weekend off to prepare for their trip to the nations capital.

With Boston University playing Vermont, this year will mark the fourth consecutive final in which a Hockey East School will have a chance at the National Championship, and the 12th time in the last 13 years.

BU is the only team of these four that has played in a National Championship game, the last time being 12 years ago, the last time they made the Frozen Four. They lost that game, but 14 years ago, they won it all.

Looking at the way the teams have played all season, it certainly seems that Hockey East will win it's second consecutive National Title, but, as both Bemidji and Miami have shown this postseason, anything is possible.

Looking at the first matchup, Miami and Bemidji State have not met this year and this will probably be an interesting match-up, as both schools were four seeds.

The difference is the Beavers are playing better, they have given up only two goals while scoring nine and if they can light up Notre Dame and Cornell, I don't see Miami slowing them down.

I am not saying this game will end in a blowout, but I think Bemidji is on a hot streak right now that no one can really rival. Bemidji State 3-2

The Second Semifinal features Boston University against the Vermont Catamounts. The Catamounts were the only school in the nation to win the head-to-head battle against the Terriers going 2-1.

This is the last team I bet BU wanted to play at all the rest of the way. Vermont features the type of team that is more than capable of beating BU. Fast forwards, a strong goaltender and smart defensemen.

I might also add that both starting goalies in this game will be freshman Rob Madore of UVM and Kieran Millan of BU.

Also, like last years championship team, the Boston College Eagles, BU has won this years Beanpot Tournament and the Hockey East Tournament. Not to mention John Muse was a freshman goalie last year for the Eagles when they won it all.

Still how much I think BU is not going to lose anymore, I thought that going into the Hockey East Tournament and they got beat by Maine. Vermont 4-3

In the Championship Game, I do not know what to expect, my unbiased opinion wants to root for the underdog, the unranked Beavers. But the Hockey East fan in me wants to see the HEA take home two straight titles.

So, I'm going to predict two scores, if Bemidji wins, it will be a lot of scoring, because I don't think they have what it takes to slow down Vermont. Bemidji 5-4

If Vermont wins, they will probably still score a lot, but they will also keep the Beavers from scoring. Vermont 4-2

Other Scenarios

Boston University 3-1 Bemidji

Boston University 4-1 Miami

Vermont 3-1 Miami

NCAA Hockey Tournament: Field of 16 Announced, Kicks Off This Weekend

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:24:09 -0400

This weekend the 2009 Division I NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament Field was announced. Six schools earned automatic bids after winning their respective conference tournaments with 10-at-large bids being given out to fill the last of the 16 spots.

No. 1 Boston University Terriers were given the number one overall seed in the tournament after they won the Hockey East Association Tournament earning one of the auto-bids and regaining the number one spot in the national rankings.

The other five schools were No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish from the CCHA, No. 5 Yale Bulldogs from the ECAC, No. 8 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs from the WCHA, No. 14 Air Force Falcons from Atlantic Hockey and the Bemidji State Beavers from the CHA.

Bemidji State is the only school not ranked in the USCHO.com poll in the tournament. They are the 16th seed in the tournament.

Air Force is the only team not in the Top 15 to make the tournament.

Notre Dame and BU are the only Auto-bid schools to receive a No. 1 seed. The other two one seeds are No. 4 University of Denver Pioneers and the No. 3 University of Michigan Wolverines.

All games will be played starting Friday, March 27th - Sunday, March 29th. If a regional starts Friday it finishes Saturday, if it starts Saturday, it finishes Sunday.

Number of Teams by conference: HEA, CCHA (4), WCHA, ECAC (3), AHA, CHA (1).

East

The East Regional will be played in Bridgeport, Connecticut with the host institution being Yale.

This regional starts off on Friday with Michigan playing Air Force. After which Yale will play No. 11 University of Vermont Catamounts.

The only regular season meeting between any of these teams was won by Yale against Air Force, so the first round out here should consist of either a lot of goals or a lot of feeling out.

In the Michigan vs. Air Force game, I imagine it will be quite one sided. Michigan is playing well lately and are one of the best teams in the nation, not to mention, all of the one seeds have a decisive advantage over all of their four seeds.

I expect Michigan to either show up ready to go and get by Air Force with little to no trouble, or to show up a little lazy and either get down early or come out flat and have to rally back to get the win.

In the Yale vs. UVM matchup, this will be two teams that again haven't seen each other all year so their will be some feeling out. Afterwards I think we can expect to see a fast paced game with lots of scoring chances and some great goaltending.

In the end, I think I am going to pick UVM to end Yale's season. Forwards Viktor Stalberg and Peter Lenes of Vermont are two of the most exciting players in the nation to watch.

They are two of the few guys I actually hold my breathe every time they get the puck, and sometimes I close my eyes because they are so dangerous.

In the Regional Final on Saturday, I think Michigan will be too much for UVM or Yale. Again there will be that feeling out period, but I don't think the Wolverines will need more than the first few minutes to figure it out.

Northeast

The Northeast Regional kicks off action with No. 7 North Dakota Fighting Sioux taking on host institution, No. 12 University of New Hampshire Wildcats on Saturday.

BU is the one seed in this regional, they will take on No. 14 Ohio State University Buckeyes in the evening game.

BU hasn't play Ohio State this regular season but they are a combined 3-1 against UNH and UND, with the loss coming on the road against New Hampshire. These were the only regular season meetings between all of these teams.

Ohio State has been pegged as a potential bracket buster as they have had some impressive wins this season, but have trouble with the weaker teams.

Still, the Terriers are just about everyone's unbiased favorite to win it all. This may be one of those games in which one team overlooks it (BU) and the other (OSU) swipes their feet right out from under them and comes away with the upset.

I don't think so though, BU will win this game, and it should be pretty comfortably.

I think North Dakota will be skating into a really hostile environment. The Wildcats are 12-5-2 at home with two of them at the hands of No. 20 Boston College Eagles in the Hockey East Quarterfinals.

North Dakota is not very good away from home with an 0-5 record at neutral sites and a 10-6-2 road record for a combined 10-11-2.

This looks like a perfect scenario for New Hampshire to come away with the win and redeem themselves for a poor start to the post season. And I think they will be able to pull it off.

As far as the regional championship goes, if anyone is going to beat BU, I think it will be New Hampshire. I do not see anyone beating the Terriers if they make it out of their regional.

So I am going against the grain and taking the Wildcats.

West

The West Regional kicks off play on Friday with the first seeded Denver playing No. 13 Miami-Ohio Redhawks.

Then the No. 10 Princeton Tigers take on Minnesota-Duluth in the late game.

All of these match-ups will be firsts for all four of the teams. But in the final, we could see Denver and Duluth, who just got done playing their conference championship.

Denver holds a 3-2 edge in the regular season series, unfortunately one of those losses came in the WCHA championship game.

Other than that, none of these teams have faced each other. Just for the sake of interesting games I am going to pick Denver and Minnesota-Duluth to advance to the West Regional Final.

The only things I honestly know about these teams is Princeton plays a pretty good trap when they have the lead, from the one game I saw them play, and UMD's goalie Alex Stalock is pretty nasty.

I think for the Bulldog's to advance, they will need Stalock to keep going and keep them in games. A repeat of the WCHA title game shutout would be nice too.

I also am pegging this as the easiest road to the Frozen Four, I think Minnesota-Duluth will advance on the shoulders of their netminder.

Midwest

The Midwest Regional kicks off on Saturday when the No. 6 Northeastern Huskies and the No. 9 Cornell University Big Red face-off in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The number one seed, Notre Dame, then takes on Bemidji State.

None of these teams have met in the regular season, yet they all have similar styles, albeit at different levels.

I think this is the easiest game of the first round. Notre Dame is coming off a decisive 5-2 CCHA title win against Michigan, and the Beavers haven't played a game since March 14th, that was against Robert Morris.

I don't see Notre Dame having any problem with Bemidji State to the point where I am going to call this game the blowout of the first round.

Northeastern vs. Cornell will prove to be a very interesting game. Both squads play a defense first type of game and rely heavily on their goaltending.

Both sides have fast skaters and both sides will probably generate their fair share of scoring chances, but this game will probably be very low scoring. I would not be surprised to see 1- or 2-0 (the two if a team scores on the empty net).

However, the Huskies have played two straight overtime games. In both, they gave up the tying goal with less than 40 seconds to go in the game.

On the other hand, NU has looked real good in their last two games with the exception of closing out their last two games, they have controlled the puck and game very well and have even started putting bodies in front of the net.

I think NU will shock the college hockey world this weekend and down Cornell, then move on and catch Notre Dame, a team coming off what will probably be an easy win, off guard for the upset.

Frozen Four

I am not going to go into my predictions for the Frozen Four yet, I will wait til the pairings are actually set.

However, if I am right, this is what the Semifinals will look like:

New Hampshire vs. Michigan

Minnesota-Duluth vs. Northeastern

We will find out in a few short days how right I am. At which point I will reveal the rest of my bracket and tell you what my championship predictions are, or tell you what my new ones are.

Hockey East Championship Weekend Preview

TJ Ferguson — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:07:15 -0400

The Quarterfinal Recap

Well, I can say I predicted all the quarterfinal match-ups correctly, but I was wrong about the second-round pairings that would ensue. I didn't take into consideration that the teams are reseeded, which changes things.

This past weekend, the two upsets ended in road sweeps, while the two unsurprising advances ended in three games.

The No. 5 Northeastern University Huskies are now just one of five teams in Hockey East history to lose game one of the quarterfinals and then win the last two to advance.

They defeated the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Minutemen in an overtime thriller to record the comeback series victory.

Husky goaltender Brad Thiessen is my player of the series, as he gave the Huskies three great games and could be the biggest reason for the comeback.

No. 2 Boston University Terriers won a close 2-1 contest to take game one from the University of Maine Black Bears.

The second and third games were blowouts with Maine pulling the upset in game two, then getting stomped in game three to allow the Terriers to move on to the Garden.

No. 11 University of New Hampshire Wildcats played host to the No. 15 Eagles from Boston College and got swept.

The Eagles came in and played like a team that is not ready to be done with their season. They earned a 5-3 win Friday night, then got a stellar performance from John Muse in goal on night two to win 1-0 and advance to the Garden.

The last series saw another upset sweep, this time it was the No. 10 University of Vermont Catamounts getting edged out by the No. 19 University of Massachusetts at Lowell Riverhawks.

The Riverhawks managed an overtime win on night one before taking a two goal win in the second and final game of the series to advance to the garden.

The Huskies and Riverhawks will play each other in the semifinals for the first time since 1988, a year which also happens to mark the last time Northeastern won the Hockey East Tournament.

The Eagles will then play the Terriers for the final spot in the championship game, these teams last met in 2007 when the Eagles ousted the Terriers 6-2 in the Semifinal.

Predictions

I'll start with the Huskies vs. the Riverhawks.

The regular season series was one sided in this one, with Northeastern earning the 3-0-0 sweep. Two of the games were played at Lowell and Thiessen got a shut out at Matthews Arena.

This will definitely be an interesting match-up as both teams finished off their series each with a decisive win and an overtime win.

Northeastern added a loss at the beginning of the series, but they just were not getting any puck luck in that first game, even after they scored, the game had upset written all over it, considering Amherst also won the regular season series.

The Lowell series against Vermont had upset written all over it too, as Lowell was able to go to the Gutterson Fieldhouse in the regular season and take three points.

So, we have two teams that are rolling right now with two straight playoff wins. Both teams are in the type of form most are dreaming of and both now have a chance to win the Lamoriello Trophy.

Lowell will have to find a way to beat Thiessen and keep Northeastern off the board. The one game they scored more than two goals against the NU netminder, the Huskies piled up one more for a final score of 4-3.

The Huskies will have to do what they did all season against Lowell. Winning a season series 3-0 is no fluke, it means you have the other teams number. There is however the thought that any team on any day can win any game.

That being said, the Huskies have to remember that no one in the Hockey East can show up to a game and win on skill alone. Especially against a team like the Riverhawks who have the ability to come out of nowhere and pull off a surprise win/tie.

Lowell will have to play like they did against UVM this weekend to pull off this upset, but I think this Cinderella story, along with their season, is done. NU 4-2.

Now on to the Terriers and Eagles semifinal contest.

After NU and UML settle their semi, the two perennial Hockey East powerhouses will duke it out for the last spot in the championship game on Saturday.

The Terriers won the season series 2-0-1 with the tie coming at Agganis Arena. However, the other two games were not really close at all.

The Eagles are also now playing a team that had its nations best 17 game winning streak snapped by a team that no one thought had a chance. This will mean the Terriers will probably be a lot more careful and a lot harder to play the rest of the way.

The Eagles are coming off a sweep of the Wildcats, John Muse has perhaps found something, or maybe it is just the playoff atmosphere, that makes him really good in net.

Shutting out the UNH Wildcats is not easy. They were shut out twice this season, once to BU and the other to Maine, go figure.

Before that, I think it was like 90 something games, I don't remember the exact statistic but they showed it on NESN during the UNH @ BU game when the Terriers earned a 5-0 shut out victory.

Anyway, Boston College is the defending National Champion and they need to win the Hockey East Tournament to earn a bid and they know it.

In order to win, BC will have to find that playoff form they had last year and someone, *cough* Brock Bradford *cough* will have to step up and put up a Nathan Gerbe type performance to do that.

John Muse finding and keeping his freshman form will work wonders in helping, but I don't think you can beat BU without scoring three or four goals (they have lost one game in which they gave up two or fewer goals, 2-1 @ UNH).

For the Terriers to advance to the final, they will need to just keep being BU. The defenders can't afford mistakes, but it's not like they make many to begin with. When they do, Kieran Millan is one of the best goalies in the nation.

But after this past weekend, the biggest hurdle will be beating John Muse and the BC defense. Scoring hasn't been a problem at all for the Terriers, so if they are willing to face any challenge, that is it.

I expect this one to be a shootout, but again, the other Cinderella story is over and a new champion will be crowned this year in both Hockey East and the Nation. BU 6-4.

The Final

I'll look first at my prediction, Northeastern vs. Boston University. The Terriers won the season series 2-0-2, the fourth game was the Beanpot Championship.

I doubt the Huskies want to pass up what may be their last chance at winning against this team this year, especially considering they already handed the Terriers the regular season crown and the Beanpot.

For the Huskies to win, Thiessen will have to stand on his head. If Northeastern is going to beat the Terriers they need a solid performance out of their netminder.

They also need to figure out the scoring thing, they scored a combined five goals against BU in their last four meetings.

Ryan Ginand will have to find his early and mid season scoring touch, Joe Vitale will have to play more like he did last year and become a scoring and set-up threat.

The Huskies would also probably like to see Tyler McNeely back in the lineup as he has been out for awhile now with a broken arm. Although after the performance Kyle Kraemer had in the two games he played in the quarterfinals, both wins, whose spot will McNeely take?

For BU to win, they will have to repeat the Beanpot, they probably don't need to score three shorthanded goals again, but stopping the already weak Husky power play will be something that will help keep the DogHouse quiet from the Garden Balcony and essentially out of the game.

I don't know about other schools, but Coach Greg Cronin, along with several Husky players, has said that the crowd at Matthews gives them so much motivation to win and gets them more pumped up than anything.

That is another thing the Huskies will need to do, keep the crowd in the game, score early, and make the arena loud. I'm not saying it will hinder BU's play, but it may raise Northeastern's to the next level.

Either way, I have to go with the favorite on this one, but I think it will be close. BU 3-2.

Now I want to assume my semifinal predictions aren't right and predict what will happen in the finals if it isn't Northeastern vs. Boston University.

Boston University 4-1 UMass Lowell

Northeastern University 2-1 Boston College

UMass Lowell 2-4 Boston College

Hockey East Tournament Quarterfinal Predictions

TJ Ferguson — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:15:19 -0400

This weekend Hockey East playoff action kicks off at the four home arena's of the top schools in the standings. TJ Ferguson sums up what each team needs to do to win, who the players are to keep an eye on and offers his predictions for each series. At the end I will discuss the matchups that will ensue assuming I am right.

Begin Slideshow

Hockey East: A Weekend and a Season in Review

TJ Ferguson — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:46:47 -0400

This Weekend

The big story is that the No. 1 Boston University Terriers took the regular season crown. On the last day of competition, they beat the Providence College Friars 3-0 to pass the fourth-ranked Northeastern University Huskies in the standings.

Friday night, BU demolished the Friars 8-2 to stay on pace with the Huskies, allowing them to stay in the hunt.

Even if the Friars had swept the series, they would be watching the playoffs on TV, as they have finished in last place.

For the entire season, the Huskies owned or were co-owners of first place in Hockey East. Saturday night, they had a chance to clinch the regular season title but were severely outplayed at Conte Forum by the No. 18 Boston College Eagles.

The final score of that game was 4-1, coming just one day after the Huskies won a 2-1 overtime thriller at home against BC. They scored the game-tying goal with just 25 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Ninth-Ranked University of New Hampshire Wildcats and the No. 7 University of Vermont Catamounts split their weekend series, giving the third seed to UNH.

The UMass Lowell Riverhawks split their weekend series in Orono visiting the University of Maine Blackbears.

Both teams will be on the road in the first round, as UML finished fifth and Maine eighth.

Lastly, the Merrimack College Warriors and the UMass Amherst Minutemen split their home-and-home series with the home team winning both games.

Amherst will be heading to the playoffs, while Merrimack will be hitting the books. The Minutemen couldn't have moved this weekend, but two wins probably would've been nice heading into the playoffs.

Merrimack will have to settle for its conference-leading sixth postseason absence.

The Season in Review

When the unranked Huskies upset the No. 1 Eagles in the first Hockey East action of the season, you just had to know that this was going to be a crazy year.

Providence's only wins in 2008 came against non-conference opponents. Then, the new ear came, and they got a new goalie named Alex Beaudry.

They started 2009 conference play 3-0-1 and made it look like another team was entering the mix. Then, they stalled out and only earned six points in their last 15 games.

Boston College was the preseason favorite, and coming off Beanpot, Hockey East Tournament, and National titles, they deserved to be.

The Eagles are now on the verge of not making the NCAA tournament. They probably have to win the Hockey East tournament but are on the road for the first round, against a tough team in UNH. Plus, they had to settle for the Beanpot Consolation game.

UNH and UVM probably didn't disappoint or exceed any expectations, and you can't really complain about finishing in a tie for third place, when there were two top-five teams ahead of you.

The Northeastern Huskies proved their success was no fluke last year, rather the fluke was their second-half slide. They finished the regular season ranked fourth in the nation and earned the second seed in the Hockey East Tournament.

Lowell showed that they had an edge to them. They rallied late and separated themselves from the bottom half of the league; however, they will need to be more consistent in the future to prove that they are on the same level as the top half.

Maine performed better than they did last year, but for Blackbear fans, it probably wasn't good enough. While this program is rebuilding, it probably won't be too long of a road back to prominence and they will expect much better performances down the line.

Amherst had a rough year. Every time it looked like they were going to turn on a good run, they'd hit a road block. They even had the top-ranked BU Terriers on the ropes 3-0 down the stretch, only to lose the game 6-3.

Merrimack again will not make the playoffs. However, they technically weren't last this season, which may provide a little glimmer of hope for next year. They tied with Providence for last but won the tie breaker, so were technically ninth.

The Terriers of Boston University had a very good year. Many would say they were not expected to do this well, but everyone I know who knows anything about Hockey East was more scared of BU than any other team.

They quickly climbed the ranks to No. 1 and when they got there, they were on top more often than not. They finished first, are the favorites to win the Hockey East Tournament, and are no doubt one of the favorites to take home the National Championship.

The Upcoming Hockey East Tournament

The season is over, every conference is done, and will at least be starting their playoff procedure this coming weekend.

Hockey East will undoubtedly make up its fair share of the 16-team field to enter the National Tournament. But first, I want to give a quick preview to the Hockey East Playoffs starting this weekend.

All quarterfinal games will take place March 13-14. If any of the series require a third game to decide it, then a third game will be played March 15.

No. 1 Boston University will host No. 8 UMaine at Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.

No. 2 Northeastern will host No. 7 UMass at Matthews Arena also in Boston, Massachusetts.

No. 3 UNH will host No. 6 Boston College at the Whittemore Center in Durham, New Hampshire.

No. 4 UVM will host No. 5 Lowell at the Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vermont.

The winners of these series will then play the semifinals on Mar. 20 and the championship on Mar. 21. All three games will be played at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

The winner of the Boston University series will play the winner of the UVM series, and the winner of the Northeastern series will play the winner of the UNH series. The winners of each of these games will then play in the championship.

The National Tournament and Hockey East

Last year, Hockey East sent just two teams to the tournament—New Hampshire and eventual national champs Boston College. This year, Hockey East could send four!

Who is in:

Right now I'm going to breakdown the resumes and chances of the Hockey East Teams Under Consideration (TUC)

Boston University

Ranked first in the nation, holding the No. 1 RPI rating, and No. 1 in the Pairwise Rankings. Add to that, they are the favorites to win the Hockey East Tournament and even if they don't earn the auto-bid, no one will exclude them from this year's field. IN

Northeastern University

Ranked fourth in the nation, fourth-highest RPI rating, and tied for fifth in the Pairwise Rankings. I don't think anything that happens to them in the HEA playoffs can move them out of the tournament. IN

University of Vermont

Ranked seventh in the nation, fifth-highest RPI rating, and tied for fifth in the Pairwise Rankings. It will be hard for this team to fall out. I don't think that they will, even if they are swept by Lowell in the first round, but it would move them down. IN

University of New Hampshire

Ranked ninth in the nation, seventh-highest RPI rating, and tied for seventh in the Pairwise Rankings. They are a lock for the tournament, especially if they get out of the first round. IN

University of Massachusetts at Lowell

Unranked, 22nd-highest RPI rating, and tied for 22nd in the Pairwise Rankings. I don't think that this team can make the National Tournament without winning Hockey East. They only have three comparisons and there is just not enough left for them to improve their resume. OUT

Boston College

Ranked 18th in the nation, 17th-highest RPI rating, and tied for 19th in the Pairwise Rankings. They are in a crowded spot in the Pairwise Rankings. The three teams tied for 14th are just four comparisons ahead of the 21st team.

A deep run may boost their TUC record enough to win a couple extra comparisons and with some help, they may also see other teams drop off. However, I don't think they will be able to do enough, unless they win Hockey East again. OUT

The rest of Hockey East is not considered a team under consideration. Therefore, unless they win Hockey East, they will not get in.

Hockey East: A Weekend in Review and a Weekend Preview

TJ Ferguson — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:58:47 -0500

Photo from Jim Pierce: Joe Vitale (26) and Mike McGlaughlin (background) of the Huskies and Kieran Millan (center) of the Terriers scramble in front of the net at the Beanpot Championship a few weeks ago.

Northeastern and Boston University are currently seperated by one point with one weekend left.

Hockey East Awarded Mike McGlaughlin the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week Award after scoring two game-winning goals and adding an assist this weekend.

What Happened This Weekend:

For probably the first time all season, all five Hockey East matchups resulted in sweeps. None of the top four played against each other, so all have clinched home-ice for the Hockey East Quarterfinals.

The No. 1 Boston University Terriers took the home-and-home series from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Minutemen. Friday night at UMass, BU had to come back from being down 3-0, but eventually win 6-3.

UMass will now battle for positioning in the standings on the final weekend, while the Terriers will look to move to the top as the four points have guaranteed them at least a second-place finish.

The No. 4 Northeastern University Huskies got a shutout from Brad Thiessen at Matthews Arena Friday night, then continued dominant play, ending home-ice hopes for the University of Massachusetts at Lowell Riverhawks.

Lowell lost its comfortable hold on fifth place and now cannot move up, as they can only tie the teams ahead of them. They would not win the tie breaker.

Northeastern kept up the pace and remains one point ahead of BU in the standings.

The Merrimack College Warriors were downed by the No. 9 University of New Hampshire Wildcats quickly ending the Warriors' playoff hopes and catapulting UNH back into the National Top Ten.

The Wildcats currently own the third-place tie breaker, but they play the third-place team this weekend.

The Warriors are now two points from not finishing in last place, something they had hoped wouldn't happen this season.

The Friars of Providence College had their playoff hopes taken away by the No. 20 Boston College Eagles, who were out of the rankings for the first time all season, but made their way back in.

With the wins, BC will not finish below sixth in Hockey East but can only move up to five. The Eagles were the only team to join the Top 20 this week, as they replaced Lowell.

The University of Maine Blackbears lost two in Vermont (the second in overtime) to the No. 7 University of Vermont Catamounts.

While Maine didn't get any points, they did clinch a playoff spot. Unfortunately for them, it will only grant them a matchup in Boston against the Terriers or the Huskies. They cannot move up as they could only tie Amherst, who owns the tie-breaking procedure against them.

This Coming Weekend's Games and What They Mean:

The races can be boiled down to this: Merrimack and Providence playing for pride, NU and BU for first place, New Hampshire and Vermont for third place, BC and Lowell for fifth place, and UMass and Maine just making sure they are in shape for the first round.

Hands-down, the most important matchup of the weekend is UNH at Vermont. Both games are in Vermont, and the team that takes the most points finishes third overall.

The consolation isn't bad; win or lose, both teams get a first-round home-ice series. Of course, they both want to win heading into the playoffs.

If they split, UNH takes third, as they are currently winning the season series 1-0.

Massachusetts and Merrimack have a home-and-home starting in Merrimack. After an embarrassing showing against BU, the Minutemen will hope to turn the tables lay on the league's worst team a similar smack-down to the one they suffered.

UMass also has to get ready to play against the No. 2 finisher in the league, which could potentially be Boston University.

Merrimack is playing really for nothing; they are two points behind the Friars and are currently losing the tie breaker, so they need a minimum of three points. I don't see them getting that many.

Maine plays two in Lowell and is four points behind UMass, but lost the season series 2-1, so they lose the tie breaker and therefore can't move up.

Lowell is essentially playing to determine which raucous stadium they get to play in. While it isn't entirely up to them, I am sure they would rather win out and take momentum to Vermont or New Hampshire.

The following two battles will determine first place.

Northeastern has beaten BC twice this year, once in the beginning of the season, when BC was ranked No. 1 overall, and again in the first round of the Beanpot.

Northeastern needs at least the same amount of points as BU in order to win. But the way the Terriers have been playing, that looks like it will be all four.

Boston College needs two more points than Lowell to move up, but again, this is just to determine which tough road series they get to play. Either way, they have to go play a good team in a hostile building.

There is much more at stake for Northeastern: They could lose the regular-season title and have to play a team that beat them twice (though both losses were on the road).

But more importantly, losing another title to Boston University (and this time on the last weekend of the season) could be morally devastating.

Predictions:

No. 1 BU Terriers vs. PC Friars: BU is rolling on the nation's longest unbeaten streak. Don't look for them to blow it this weekend against a non-playoff team. Then again, the Friars are playing for pride now, and they have beaten BU. In fact, the last time BU lost was against Providence at Agganis Arena.

Friday @PC: 4-1 Terriers. Sunday @BU: 4-0 Terriers.

UMass Minutemen vs. MC Warriors: Neither team has anything on the line, really, except for the fact that they both got swept last weekend. Look for the pair of contentious games to be won by the home team.

Friday @MC: 2-1 Warriors. Saturday @UMass: 3-1 Minutemen.

No. 9 UNH Wildcats @ No. 7 UVM Catamounts: By far the most anticipated series of the weekend, and with both games in Vermont, the Catamounts have the advantage. I think UNH will be able to make this interesting, though, as I don't think regulation will settle either game.

Friday: 3-2 UVM. Saturday: 3-3 Tie.

ME Blackbears @ UML Riverhawks: With both of these games in Lowell, I don't expect the Riverhawks to have much trouble. They hit a bump in the road last weekend, but I think they will use this weekend to rebound and take some momentum into the playoffs.

Friday: 4-2 UML. Saturday: 3-1 UML

No 4. NU Huskies vs. No. 20 BC Eagles: The Huskies have owned the Eagles all season. They went from an unranked team taking down the No. 1 to a favorite pounding a lower-ranked squad. NU is just on a whole 'nother level than BC, both between the pipes and skating around the ice.

Friday @NU: 2-0 NU. Saturday @BC: 4-3 NU.

Hockey East: A Weekend in Review and a Weekend Preview

TJ Ferguson — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:28:24 -0500

Photo From gonu.com (Steve Quailer)

Last Weekend's Results and What They Mean

Last weekend's marquee matchup saw No. 4 Northeastern University Huskies tie the No. 1 Boston University Terriers 2-2 at Agganis Arena and 1-1 at Matthews Arena.

Evenly splitting the four points up for grabs this weekend means the Huskies still lead the Hockey East by just one point, with each team having four games left on their schedule.

The No. 9 University of Vermont Catamounts are now tied in third place after taking just one out of four points from No. 20 University of Massachusetts at Lowell Riverhawks.

Vermont’s failure to not keep pace with NU and BU means that a dog will win the Hockey East regular season crown this year. It would take a lot from their opponents and those chasing them to change that.

The interesting part of that series was that both games were in Vermont, the first game was tied up at three to force overtime by Lowell with just 26 seconds left and Vermont was beat 1-0 in the second game.

With the three point weekend, the Riverhawks moved into sole possession of fifth place; they clinched a playoff spot and are now just two points shy of a quarterfinal home ice series.

No. 12 University of New Hampshire Wildcats moved into the tie with UVM for third and actually currently own the season series lead, having won the only time that the two teams faced-off this season, so they are currently winning the tie breaker.

The Wildcats took all four points, sweeping the Boston College Eagles in a home-and-home series. The pair of losses sends the Eagles out of the Top 20 for the first time all season and more importantly, into the bottom half of Hockey East.

The Eagles are tied with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Minutemen who swept their two home game series against the University of Maine Blackbears with a pair of 4-3 wins—the first of which went to overtime.

Rounding out this weekend's action was the Providence College Friars shooting their playoff hopes in the foot, as they tied and lost to the Merrimack College Warriors.

The three-point weekend opens up an opportunity for Merrimack to slip into the last playoff spot, which, right now, will probably end up going to Maine, but it could get snatched up by the Warriors or Friars.

Merrimack’s remaining schedule is the easiest of the three, but Maine needs just one point or for MC to miss just one point, as the Blackbears won the season series, thus the tiebreaker.

Maine also leads the tie breaker on Providence, and while it needs more than just one point, I highly doubt the Friars will be able to take five or more points out of their final two weekends.This Weekend's Schedule

We’ll start with the team holding the final playoff spot.

Maine will host Vermont both Friday and Saturday hoping to take all four points and clinch a playoff spot.

They will at least try to keep themselves out in front of Providence who is just four points back and look to the final weekend to clinch.

Vermont, after a poor showing last weekend, will need to get some points. They had a fairly comfortable hold on third place and have had it for awhile. Now, they are looking down at fifth place and wondering how it got so close to them.

Going on the road in the first round is something no team wants to do, and having the last three weeks of the season to blame for losing home ice is not a good feeling.

Ask the Huskies about it; they were there last year. They lost in the first round in three games to a team that made the Hockey East Championship. That team happened to be the Vermont Catamounts.

Looking to Merrimack, they will play a home-and-home series with UNH, who is currently tied for third. This is a big series for both teams.

This series will pretty much decide Merrimack’s fate. They need to sweep it and need Maine to get swept. Assuming both of those will not happen, Merrimack will have an extra week to start planning its offseason and any changes that it will make for next year.

UNH can actually scrape its way into the race for the regular season title. While it will be hard to do, the Wildcats, along with Vermont are still within striking distance.

The Providence Friars play a home-and-home with the BC Eagles, who are just one loss away from not being able to win home ice in the first round. With a sweep, the Friars could move into a tie for eighth place, assuming Maine doesn’t earn any points.

Sweeping would also give the tie breaker to Providence, providing they win out and Boston College loses out. The latter is the more likely of the two, but both have to happen. So as a whole, I don’t think it is too likely at all.

Boston University plays a home-and-home with UMass starting in Amherst on Friday night. While UMass may not have the best of records this year, they have some impressive wins, including one against BU and two against Northeastern.

UMass has already clinched a playoff spot, as the best Providence can do is tie their point total. However, the Minutemen won the regular-season series, having the tie breaker and will make a playoff appearance.

The No. 1 ranked Terriers are looking to this weekend to pass Northeastern who plays a hot Riverhawks' team. Not a single member of the BU roster or student body expects to miss any of these four points. They just hope Lowell will take some from the Huskies.

However, the Minutemen like taking points away from ranked teams. Against Hockey East teams that at one point or another this season were ranked, they are 5-8-3.

Moving to the No. 1 teams' matchup, Northeastern starts up a home-and-home series, hosting Lowell on Friday. Looking at recent results, Northeastern has the hardest weekend of the league's top two, but with a point in hand, are in the better position.

Lowell is currently in fifth place with a five point cushion and just a two point overhead. This weekend could see them move into the top four or at least close the gap to just one point.Predictions

Riverhawks vs. Huskies: I think the Huskies will be too much. Thiessen looked weak in the Beanpot Championship, and then the following weekend against Amherst. He rebounded and played two great games against the Terriers.

I think he will be too much for the Riverhawks, 3-0 Huskies on Friday (@NU), 2-1 Huskies on Saturday (@UML).

Catamounts @ Blackbears: Vermont is good, and after a rough weekend, I think they will pick it up and get off to a strong start and look to fix their form heading into the playoffs; 3-2 UVM, probably going to overtime on Friday, 3-1 UVM on Saturday (both games at Maine).

Wildcats vs. Warriors: I’m not going to lie to you, Merrimack just isn’t any good, and UNH is coming off a solid weekend dominating BC; look for that to continue this weekend against a weaker opponent, as UNH realizes that they need to solidify their place in the Conference Standings. 5-2 Wildcats Friday (@MC), 4-0 Wildcats Saturday (@UNH).

Friars vs. Eagles: Both teams are coming off of disappointing weekends. However, I think BC falling out of the Top 20 is more disappointing to them, and they will be out with a chip on their shoulder—not only to prove their doubters wrong but to prove their weak play this season wrong.

I am willing to bet goalie Johnny Muse finds his freshman form. 2-0 Eagles Friday (@BC). However, Saturday will be a little different. Providence will get beat Friday, then realize that they can’t afford to lose anymore and will probably elevate their game, hoping Beaudry can stop everything; 2-1 Friars Saturday (@PC).

Terriers vs. Minutemen: The Terriers are good, but I have noticed that they can play down to some teams, as they have had some disappointing results this season. I think the Minutemen will stun them on Friday, (2-1 UMass @UMass), before skating into a beehive on Saturday, 6-0 BU @BU.

Hockey East Playoffs Around The Corner But a Lot is Still to Be Decided

TJ Ferguson — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:38:45 -0500

For those of you who do not know, the trophy shown above is awarded to the champion of the Hockey East Conference Tournament. Last season it went to the Boston College Eagles, who are currently ranked 17th in the nation and sit in the sixth spot in the conference.

Going into this weekend, the No. 4 Northeastern University Huskies, No. 1 Boston University Terriers, No. 6 University of Vermont Catamounts, and the No. 12 University of New Hampshire Wildcats have already clinched a playoff spot.

Realistically, Northeastern, BU and UVM are the only three teams who still have a chance to take home the regular-season title.

Technically, UNH could still get it, but I think they are just a little too far out of the mix. Plus, they have to worry about the Riverhawks from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell stealing their home ice advantage in the first round.

The Eagles get to write their own story—they play the ninth place Providence College Friars twice. If BC wins one of those games, it would be enough to clinch a playoff spot.

If Providence wins both of them, BC might still be in trouble.

If Providence is going to take anyone's spot in the post season, I think it will be University of Massachusetts at Amherst Minutemen or the University of Maine Blackbears.

Both teams are tied in sixth with 17 points, just a five point cushion on making the postseason.

The Merrimack College Warriors haven't yet been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but they are nine points back from eighth, and will need to win out.

Weekend Matchups

From here on out, I believe there are only home-and-home series left. If I am wrong, then one team will get lucky and have two home games against the same team in a weekend.

Starting with the home ice battle, Boston College plays UNH. The Wildcats currently have three points in the standings on the Eagles. BC can make this race interesting, UNH can bury them, or they can split the weekend and leave it up to the remaining games to decide it.

If things work out, this series could end up being a first round matchup. Lowell, the team in fifth place, just one point back of UNH, is playing Vermont this weekend.

Now this series is an exception, Vermont is home for both games.

If Lowell can pull off a double upset and sweep this series, they really don't have to worry about the UNH-BC result as they will leap-frog Vermont in the standings.

Vermont will be looking to sweep the series for a chance to move into second place, or at least a tie for second place.

Moving to the bottom, Providence has a chance to crush all hope for Merrimack and make the next two weekends really scary for someone else in the conference.

This home-and-home series features to two worst teams in Hockey East. If Merrimack takes four points, they tie the Friars and have to hope one of the last playoff teams don't get any points to stay alive.

As a fan of hockey and playoff races, I'm rooting for Providence, even though I don't think they will be able to win anymore games after this weekend because their schedule pits them against BC and BU for the final two weekends.

Both the Friars and the Warriors will probably be score-checking the second installment of Maine at UMass series. Again, both games are at one site.

Both Maine and Mass will be looking to clear themselves of Providence and earn the tiebreaker against each other—currently Maine is 1-0-0 in the season series. Providence wants one team to win both games—they don't care who.

Now onto the most important meeting of the weekend, and really, the season to this point. Northeastern plays Boston University Friday at Agganis Arena and Saturday at Matthews Arena.

Northeastern currently has a one point lead on the Terriers. BU also leads the season series 2-0 (1-0 HE, the one that counts for playoff seeding), including a 3-0 win at Agganis earlier in the season and a 5-2 win in the Beanpot Championship.

Back to Vermont, UVM is four points behind Northeastern and three behind BU. UVM winning twice this weekend gives them 31 points on the season.

I think it is safe to say they are hoping for a split and gaining two points on both teams. While it would keep them in third place, it would move them two points closer to both squads and that No. 1 seed.

Predictions

Away Team (Away Team Score-Home Team Score) Home Team

Friday Night:

No. 4 Northeastern (1-3) No. 1 Boston U.

Maine (1-3) Massachusetts

Lowell (2-3) No. 6 Vermont

No. 17 Boston C (3-5) No. 12 New Hampshire

Saturday Night:

Maine (3-2) Massachusetts

No. 12 New Hampshire (2-1) No. 17 Boston C

Providence (2-1) Merrimack

Lowell (1-4) No. 6 Vermont

No. 1 Boston U (2-4) No. 4 Northeastern

Sunday Afternoon:

Merrimack (0-3) Providence

Hockey East: A Weekend in Review and a Weekend Preview

TJ Ferguson — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:49:16 -0500

Last Week's Results

Not much happened with the top three Hockey East teams last weekend as they all took at least three points from their foes.

No. 3 Northeastern University had no problem with, and swept the Providence College Friars 3-1 on Friday, and 6-3 Saturday. The Huskies used last weekend to pad their individual totals against a weaker team.

Ryan Ginand padded his stats, as he recorded a hat trick on Saturday, along with two assists on the weekend. Ginand earned Hockey East Player of the Week honors.

Providence College now see themselves slipping further away from the pack, as they failed to make any ground on the eighth spot in the standings.

Luckily for the Friars, they didn't lose ground due to Boston College's sweep over the University of Maine.

Friars freshman goalie Alex Beaudry had a rough weekend against the Huskies, suffering the first two losses of his college career.

No. 2 Boston University swept No. 13 University of New Hampshire in their home-and-home series. This was the first time in 75 games the Huskies were shut out.

BU's four points keeps them in pace with Northeastern. The Terriers also managed to steal some of Notre Dame's first place votes in the national rankings.

The four points also sets UNH way back as far as making it to the top.

This, coupled with BC's four points, puts the Wildcats in a tie with the Eagles for fourth with a game in hand.

Rounding out Hockey East's top three, No. 7 University of Vermont took three points from UMass Amherst with a win on Friday and a tie the following day.

UMass Lowell took two from Merrimack College, keeping their playoff hopes alive, moving into sole possession of sixth place.

This Weekend's Games

On Friday night, every Hockey East team is in action. With the exception of UNH, all of the top five teams are on the road. UMass Lowell is the only team in the bottom half of the standings playing on the road.

Northeastern, BU, and BC are all gearing up for the upcoming Beanpot Tournament. The three will only be playing on Friday.

The Minutemen will play host to the Huskies. This will be the first meeting of the season between these two teams.

The Terriers will be travelling to Merrimack for the second game of the season between the two teams. BU won the first game 4-1.

Boston College heads down to Providence in the first meeting of these two teams this season.

UMass Lowell will head up to Orono to take on the Black Bears while Vermont heads to New Hampshire. Both of these series are also the first games of the season between each squad.

The Beanpot kicks off next Monday, Feb. 2.

The Terriers will start the tourney with a game against Harvard University at 5 PM.

At 8 PM, Northeastern will face off against Boston College.

What Winning Means to Each Team

Northeastern, BU, and BC would all like to go into the Beanpot with two more points under their belt, and considering they are all playing opponents from the bottom of the standings, their outlook is favorable.

The Eagles won the tournament last year, on their way to the national title.

Northeastern just wants to win something. The Huskies have not won the Beanpot since 1988 and have not been in the championship game in five years.

Providence is hoping to get back to winning, and if they want a playoff birth, they will need to win, and soon

Vermont and New Hampshire both lost ground on NU and BU last weekend, and they will be looking to redeem themselves.

With the poor performance by UNH last weekend and a win, UMass Lowell has managed to climb into a good position in the standings. They trail BC and UNH by just one point.

Click Here for Hockey East scores, schedules, and stories.

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Hockey East: A Weekend in Review and a Weekend Preview

TJ Ferguson — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:37:40 -0500

Last Week's Results

I'd like to start by saying that I have kind of slacked off this season writing about Hockey East and more importantly my Northeastern Huskies. I've decided to start a weekly column where I will talk about last week's results, preview the upcoming week, and discuss the importance of the weekend for each team.

Now lets get to the good stuff!

Last weekend saw some interesting results in Hockey East. The Providence College Friars debuted a new goalie from the junior leagues in Canada, Alex Beaudry.

Since joining the Friars, he is 3-0-1 including an upset of the No. 2 Boston University Terriers. After beating the Terriers on Thursday, they went on to down the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Minutemen Saturday to pick up another win and then a tie with the University of Maine Blackbears on Sunday.

After the unexpected loss, BU went on to beat the Merrimack College Warriors and the #14 Boston College Eagles.

Boston College also lost to the University of Massachusetts at Lowell Riverhawks to see themselves fall in the rankings from No. 12.

The No. 5 Northeastern University Huskies and the No. 7 University of Vermont Catamounts split a weekend series at Matthews Arena in Boston. NU fell from No. 2 to No. 5 and UVM climbed one spot from No. 8.

The other ranked team from Hockey East, the No. 11 University of New Hampshire Wildcats beat Dartmouth University in a non-conference matchup and climbed up from No. 13 in the rankings.Big Games This Weekend

Hockey East action kicks off tonight when last place Merrimack goes to Lowell to take on the Riverhawks. All in all, this isn't a very important matchup, but Providence will be watching closely I imagine.

At the hands of their new goalie, the Friars have a renewed team and will start off the second half of the season hoping to finish with a playoff spot. They are off to a great start and with a game in hand are just four points out of the playoffs behind Lowell.

There isn't much going on Friday night in terms of number of games, but they are all extremely important.

Providence gets another chance to prove their worth as they play host to the first-place Huskies kicking off the home-and-home weekend series between these squads.

Second-place BU is hosting UNH, who is in fourth place, and with a game in hand just two points behind the Terriers.

Then, third-place Vermont, who, also with a game in hand, is just one point behind the Terriers, will host the Minutemen who are in a three-way tie for sixth with Maine and Lowell.

Saturday is a little busier, featuring five games. The three from Friday at the opposite locations, then adding Lowell at Merrimack and Maine at BC.

The Eagles are currently in fifth place and represent the border between the top and the bottom as they are closer to the teams below them then they are to the teams above them.

Merrimack is again proving to be the weak team in the conference as they are sitting in last place and with Providence looking to start a run, the Warriors might get awfully lonely in the cellar.

The weekend wraps up on Sunday at Boston College as the Eagles and Blackbears play the second installment of their weekend series in Chestnut Hill.What This Weekend Means to Everyone

Providence College has some catching up to do after getting off to an awful start. While it is unlikely, and I haven't done the math so I may be wrong, but they may still have a shot at getting home-ice advantage in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs.

The Friars really have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, at least a playoff spot, and if you can make the playoffs, anything is possible.

Northeastern University pulled off a similar first half run last year, then they got beat in a weekend series by Maine and finished the year off terribly.

In the second half of the season, they lost their national ranking and first place in the conference, then their home-ice advantage, then in the first round of the playoffs and somewhere along the line, their potential NCAA tournament berth.

This team needs to prove it is legitimate contender and continue to win and keep playing great hockey to stay atop the leader board and go into the Beanpot and postseason strong.

Boston College is coming off of a Beanpot Championship, Hockey East Championship, and a National Championship. Now they are running the risk of falling pretty far down into the Hockey East standings and currently are looking at a road playoff matchup in the first round, which will be really tough to win.

The Eagles are also slipping in the National Rankings and the Pairwise Rankings, which could mean no NCAA tournament bid for the reigning National Champions.

BU, UVM, and UNH are all stepping on each other in the standings. A big weekend by either could mean setting themselves apart and with a little help from Providence, catching up to Northeastern.

The BU-UNH series is the biggest one of the weekend. Both teams are looking for at least three points and both will be disappointed if they do not get them.

Maine, UMass, and UML are also stepping on each other, just in a different place in the standings. They also have more to lose if they falter.

Rather than losing home-ice advantage or having to play a higher-ranked opponent, they may not even be playing. With the push Providence is poised to make in the second half, you can't help but speculate that one of those teams will be replaced in the top eight.

Merrimack has been the Hockey East punching bag for a long time. If Merrimack hopes to change that, they will need a strong second half.

If that doesn't start soon, it probably won't start at all, and if it does, it would probably be too late.

In conclusion, thank you for reading and LETS GO HUSKIES!!!!!!

Northeastern-UNH: Wildcats Take Three Of Four Points, Huskies Show Grit

TJ Ferguson — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:14:21 -0500

The home and home series didn't exactly go the way the No. 9 Northeastern University Huskies hoped it would. After winning twice at No. 6 University of New Hampshire Wildcats last season, it didn't seem too foreign an idea that NU might be able to win there again.

After a scoreless first period on Friday night, James van Riemesdyk scored a power play goal six minutes into the second period. A centering pass was deflected at goalie Brad Thiessen who, while sliding across the crease, kicked the puck right to van Riemsdyk. Peter LeBlanc and Bobby Butler were credited with assists on the play.

UNH added to its lead just 2:26 later. Butler scored the goal while Jerry Pollastrone and LeBlanc were credited with assists.

Northeastern managed to get on the board before the end of the period while on the power play. Alex Tuckerman scored at 16:18 off a Steve Quailer feed, cutting the Wildcat lead in half.

Greg Costa evened up the score for the Huskies with a wrap-around goal at 14:56 in the third period, Chris Donovan was credited with the assist.

Shortly thereafter, at 17:05, UNH notched the game winner off the stick of Phil DeSimone. The assist was credited to van Riemsdyk.

UNH finished up the scoring with an empty net goal by Mike Sislo at 19:30.

After the 4-2 loss, it seemed as though the weekend series might end with each side earning a win on their own ice.

Saturday's scoreline started the same way it did the previous night as UNH scored the first two, then NU tied the game. That's where it ended, however, as the Huskies earned a come-from-behind 2-2 tie.

Paul Thompson netted the opening goal in the first period, at 9:33. Alan Thompson and Steve Moses were credited with the assists.

After the start of the second period, LeBlanc didn't wait to long to score the game's second goal just 4:51 into the period. Butler and Moses were credited with the assists.

At 17:20, Tyler McNeeley put the Huskies on the board with a power-play goal off assists from Tuckerman and David Strathman.

Just 38 seconds later, UNH took another penalty and on the ensuing power play, Ryan Ginand scored the game-tying goal with assists going to Strathman and Wade MacLeod.

The third period and overtime saw no goals, but plenty of scrappy aggressive play, not to mention a bunch of penalties.

The highlight of the third period saw a fight breakout between the two squads at 9:02.

As the third period was winding down, Northeastern was called for a hand full of borderline penalties, while UNH didn't get called for anything. The penalties on Northeastern were dumb penalties and most of them probably were warranted, but the difference in penalty minutes between both sides was not attributed to sportsmanship and clean play by the Wildcats.

After the scuffle, Northeastern was given four penalties, while UNH was just given one, however, this penalty came after time had expired in the overtime period, van Riemsdyk cross-checked a Husky in the face mask.

This weekend marked the end of the Northeastern's season-opening six-game unbeaten streak and also the first two times the Huskies have trailed by two or more goals at any point.

Yet again, the Huskies were outshot; the total for the weekend was 82-53.

After the weekend, Northeastern (4-1-1) remains in first place in Hockey East, three points ahead of Boston College (3-1-0) and UNH (2-0-2).

BC and Boston University remain the No. 2 and No. 3-ranked teams in the nation, respectively. They are also the only teams to receive first place votes other than No. 1 Colorado College in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll.

UNH moved up one spot to No. 5 while NU dropped one spot to 10th.

The University of Vermont fell two spots to 16 after being trounced by BU this weekend.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst joined the top 20 coming in at No. 19.

The Northeastern Huskies have just one game next weekend as they host the Bentley University Falcons Saturday, Nov. 8th at 7 p.m. in Matthews Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.

Huskies-Eagles: Northeastern Upsets No. 1 Boston College

TJ Ferguson — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 10:18:37 -0400

The Northeastern University Huskies (3-0-1, 2-0-0 HE) defeated the Boston College Eagles (2-1-0, 0-1-0 HE) 4-3 on Saturday at Matthews Arena in front of over 5,000 rowdy Northeastern fans. That was Northeastern fans, not NU and BC fans.

Boston College opened up the scoring with an unassisted goal by Joe Whitney at 7:41. The goal came on the power play and actually bounced in the net off a Northeastern defender after Thiessen saved a wrister by Whitney.

Northeastern however evened up the score just nine seconds later with a goal by Denis McCauley. McCauley did what he does best, using his size and strength to park in front of the BC net and win the positioning battle over the BC defender.

Ryan Ginand fed the puck to him from behind the net and McCauley got his stick on it and finished on the open half of the net. Kyle Kraemer was also credited with an assist on the play.

NU took its first lead of the game while on the power play. At 10:13 Joe Vitale tried to feed a centering pass in front of the BC goal. After a lucky bounce off a BC defender, the Huskies were celebrating their second goal of the game. David Strathman and Wade MacCleod were credited with assists on the play.

Inside the final minute, the Eagles tied it up with a goal by Kyle Kucharski assisted by Ben Smith and Tim Filangieri.

Again, it was a lucky bounce that put the puck in the net. It looked like Kucharski tried a centering pass from behind the net that hit Thiessen's skate and slid across the goal line.

After the start of the second period, it didn't take long for things to start going BC's way. They managed to draw a penalty at 2:16 from NU defender Mike Hewkin who threw a cross check in the corner.

The Huskies were up to the challenge, though. Not only did they kill the penalty, they also scored a shorthanded goal at 3:12.

Chris Donovan got an outlet pass from Greg Costa and was in alone on goal and sniped a wrist shot over BC goaltender Johnny Muse's left shoulder. Dan Nycholat was also credited with an assist.

BC managed to score another game tying goal, this time at 11:07. Barry Almeida stole the puck at the Northeastern blueline and got in behind the defense. His shot managed to sneak through Thiessen's legs.

Neither team was able to score the rest of the period. However, with just under two minutes remaining in the period, BC got another power play opportunity following Costa's tripping penalty.

However, yet another BC power play ended with a Husky shorty. This time Vitale was fore-checking and the wet ice slowed a cross-ice pass down enough for him to catch up to the puck.

Vitale took a few strides before putting the puck past Muse to give the Huskies the 4-3 lead. That would prove to be the last goal of the game.

Boston College got many chances though as the rest of the third period progressed, but Thiessen made plenty of highlight reel saves and really got the crowd going with his acrobatics.

With about 1.9 seconds remaining on the clock, there was a face off in the Husky zone after Thiessen had to make another big set of saves. At this point, one couldn't help but remember back to the time when NU was down a goal and Mike Morris scored with less than a second to send the game OT.

That would not be the case. Under all the cheers of "OVER-RATED" raining down on the ice, the Huskies managed to push the face off to the side boards and the clock took care of the rest as it expired.

In conclusion, I hope we were wrong in calling the Eagles overrated, because that would mean that the NU Men's Hockey team is underrated.

The newest rankings were released by USCHO.com earlier today. Boston College dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 while Northeastern joined the ranks and climbed all the way to No. 14.

Northeastern represents the only school to crack the top-20 rankings after not being ranked last week. Boston College is one of five teams to earn a first place vote with three.

The other big mover this week was the University of Vermont Catamounts, another Hockey East squad, who climbed six spots from No. 17 to No. 11.

The expectations are high in Huskytown and students, players, and coaches alike are expecting some big results of this team.

If they can continue to play like they did against BC, that just might happen.

Open Mic: New York Rangers' All-Time Lineup

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:41:44 -0400

I want to start by saying that I am making this team without considering current players. I was initially going to write this making assumptions about how current Rangers careers might end up going, but decided to make it an all-retired team.

So, here it is:

Goalies

Mike Richter was probably the first Ranger whose name I ever learned. I fell in love with the guy almost instantaneously, and I credit him for being the reason why I became a Rangers fan.

It helps that he was a damn good goalie. It's just too bad his career was cut short. He certainly would have been Hall of Fame material had he not been hampered by injury.

While I was never able to see Eddie Giacomin play, it is undeniable that he was a key to the Rangers' success. In my mind, Giacomin is undoubtedly one of the best goalies ever to put on a Rangers jersey.

Defense

I can't make an All-Rangers team without putting together my two favorite Rangers defensemen—Jeff Beukeboom and Brian Leetch.

I used to love watching these two guys play. Beukeboom brought so much energy to the ice, and made a couple funny commercials while he was at it.

I don't really think I need to explain why Leetch is here. He is arguably the best Ranger of all time. If not, he is definitely the best defenseman.

The second pairing is two Hall of Famers I wasn't around to see—Brad Park and Harry Howell.

I feel these guys would be able to balance each other out nicely. Howell was a defense-minded player, and pretty good defenseman at that. Park had great offensive talent.

Park would be allowed to mix up in the play, knowing that Howell was back there to slow down maybe even stop any counter attack. Park would be able to score and set up goals, while Harry would be the iron man in the back. It would make for one solid pairing.

Ron Greshner and James Patrick would probably be my other pair. Both guys are in the the Rangers' top ten in career assists, so you know they were able to move the puck around.

Forwards

I'll start with the fourth line—Vic Hadfield, Jean Ratelle, and Steve Vickers. Hadfield and Ratelle played together, so they would probably produce like they did playing for the GAG line. I think Vickers would factor in nicely and also see similar production to what he did in his career.

The third line would be Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito and Mike Gartner. I like putting these guys together—they are all great players and would be able to put up solid numbers.

The second line would be Jari Kurri, Andy Bathgate, and Guy Lafleur. All three of these guys are Rangers I wish I could've seen. What better way to watch them than playing together.

For the first line, you may disagree with my left winger, but he is my favorite Ranger of all time—Adam Graves. Mark Messier is pretty much a guarantee for a spot on this roster, so is Rod Gilbert. I think putting these three players together, in their prime as Rangers, would produce a deadly line.

Borrowing from the GAG line, you would probably call these guys the two-or-three GAG line.

Captains

Captain: Mark Messier

Alternate 1: Brian Leetch

Alternate 2: Harry Howell

Alternate 3: Vic Hadfield

Guys that almost made it

Jacques Plante: Great goalie, but I just like Richter and Giacomin more.

Bill and Bun Cook: I feel they are a package deal, and by the time I got around to them, I couldn't justify breaking up any of my other lines or picking two guys to take off the list. If I had gone through with it, they would've gone on the third line, probably taking Dionne and Gartner out of the lineup.

Walt Tkaczuk: He was the only top-ten point getter for the Rangers that I didn't know off the top of my head. So he was the only one who didn't make it on the team.

Art Coulter: I had to make room for Beukeboom—so unfortunately, this was the guy who got scratched.

Theo, You've Got Some Splaining to do

TJ Ferguson — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:50:04 -0400

Two names: Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss. Two promising prospects who have a bright future are now gone.

The other part of the deal, seven million dollars. Are those alone worth Jason Bay, maybe, but probably not, Jason Bay doesn't seem like he is going to be getting any better and may actually be over his prime.

Basically, it seems like a stretch to think Jason Bay is better now than both Moss and Hansen will be.

Let's take a look at what the other teams have to give up and what they get.

The Pirates make out pretty good. First off, they get Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen. Then, from the Dodgers, the Pirates also get Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris.

The Dodgers also will make out pretty good when all is said and done. First off, they replace Manny Ramirez with Andy Laroche and Bryan Morris. The loss for the addition makes it worth it.

Plus, the Dodgers get the Red Sox to pay the remaining $7M on Manny's contract. So they get free home runs and then have an option on his contract.

The question now is, who made out the best in this deal?

I think I am going to go ahead and say, I do not know. It will come down to how Manny ends up comparing to the four players Pittsburgh got.

At first glance, I want to say Pittsburgh made out the best, by far. Brandon Moss was in line to be Manny's replacement, so they get a player who will probably turn out to be a pretty good ball player and be able to put up solid numbers season in and season out.

Craig Hansen will probably be an instant success for the Pirates. He had some trouble figuring his stuff out in Boston, but that can probably be attributed to all the other pitchers that are on the Red Sox pitching staff.

Hansen could come right into the Pittsburgh line up and, with more innings, eventually work himself in as their permanent closer.

LaRoche is a decent young infielder who is going to be capable of developing into a middle to upper tier third basemen as his career goes on. He already has some decent numbers considering he hasn't been a starter and I think it will only be a matter of time before he emerges as a starting third basemen.

I'm not too sure about Bryan Morris, but considering the Pirates aren't really in the running this year, the player they lost, Jason Bay, will soon be forgotten because of a player they gained, Brandon Moss.

Anything else that happens, is just added bonus.

Now, analyzing the end of the deal for the Dodgers. They get a Manny Ramirez who is in a new place, with new management. He is also trying to play for a new contract.

If Manny doesn't play well, the Dodgers won't pick up his option, and he won't sign a big contract. If he does play well, the Dodgers could pick up his option, if they can afford it, and he gets paid.

But, at the very least, the Dodgers can't afford the option and Manny will get paid somewhere else. If I had to guess right now, I would say he will be signing a big contract with either the New York Yankees or the Cleveland Indians during the free agency period.

Anyway, the Dodgers are going to get the Manny who is going to play well. Why do I say this, because he wants to get paid, so he is not going to slack off, he is going to return to his good home run hitting self.

Now, let's look at it from the Red Sox point of view.

Manny Ramirez is gone, he is undoubtedly one of the favorites of Red Sox Nation. I already miss him and I have yet to see the Sox on the field without him, it has literally been like four hours since I found out he was traded and I already miss him.

Now, I could deal with Manny being gone. But we are also paying the $7M left on his contract. All right, I get it, the Dodgers don't wanna risk paying for something that might turn around and blow up in their face, I can live with that, Jason Bay is a decent player.

Actually, statistically, Bay and Ramirez have been having pretty similar seasons, except Bay didn't piss the Pirates organization off into a semi-fire sale.

What I really dislike about this deal is the fact the Red Sox also gave up Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen. I might be able to understand one of them going away because maybe the Pirates need an outfielder to replace Bay. But both of them?

Did the Red Sox even try negotiating? Maybe get someone to throw them a prospect pitcher or a draft pick or something. Maybe get the Pirates to pick up the rest of Jason Bay's contract.

I don't know who this trade will work for in the long run, but I tell you who it hurts, the Boston Red Sox. They lose a star in Manny and essentially two other major league ready players in Moss and Hansen.

And the reaction from Sox Nation, at least the few people I have talked to: not very good. I have already heard a few people say this is a terrible trade, I saw one kid crying because he thought it was such a bad trade.

Another girl was dumbfounded by the fact that both Moss and Hansen were gone as well. In fact, the only positive review I have heard from this trade came from the mouth of a Yankees fan.

And if the fan base is half as upset as I am, they are angry as heck at the Boston front office who have some explaining to do.

Not to mention finger crossing that Manny blows up in the Dodgers face and Jason Bay plays a key role in the Sox making the playoffs.

In summary:

Worst. Trade. Ever.

Superliga Final Featuring Two Of The Top MLS Squads

TJ Ferguson — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:18:15 -0400

The past two days have seen two American teams face two Mexican teams. The result: An all American Superliga Final.

In the end, the United States will tie Mexico in the Superliga Championship standings, each with one. The question that has yet to be answered however is: What American side will be crowned the Champions?

Will it be the Beast of the East, New England Revolution? Maybe it will be a team that got off to a slow start in the West but has been playing extremely well of late, The Houston Dynamo. Either way, this will prove to be a very exciting match.

In the MLS Final last fall, these two teams battled, and in the end, while one of them was going to have to fall short, you thought they both deserved the glory of victory. This game also pits two teams trying to achieve different things.

Houston is a team that has high expectations, but due to a slow start, is just hoping to make the playoffs, let alone win the regular season, or even the Western Conference. Then they will go from there. New England has consistently been one of the MLS' top teams, but doesn't have a championship to show for it.

They have actually only won one trophy, the 2007 US Open Cup. New England has a chance to go for not only the Triple Crown this season (Superliga, MLS Regular Season, MLS Cup) but are now in the semifinals of the US Open Cup.

Will New England finally be able to put some trophies in its case, or will they continue to plagued with adding to the list of runner-up honors?

Back to Houston, they were in this game last year, but fell on penalties to finish as the runner-up. But they don't have a shortage of trophies winning the MLS Cup. They have proven they can win the Cup, going 2-0 in their championship history. Ironically, the last two finals have been between Houston and New England.

This will be the third, and probably not the last, final between these two squads. They always play a good, entertaining game, and I am sure this one will not disappoint.

The Semifinal Results:

Houston 2 - 0 Pachuca CF

New England 1 - 0 Atalante

My prediction:

Halftime: 0-0

Full Time: 1-1

120 Minutes: 1-1

Penalties: New England 4 - 3 Houston

The final will take place Tuesday August 5 at 8 PM in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

The United States and the Olympics

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 09:43:23 -0400

I can say the Olympics truly are a great time. I can never decide whether I enjoy watching the Summer or Winter Games more. Both have their great stories and exciting matchups.

Every time a new Olympics starts I try to watch as much as I can, at least until the United States don't have a chance to win said event. But, here I will just talk about the events that I will be making a point to watch.

I'll start with the Olympic Soccer Tournament.

The United States is fielding probably their best Olympic team of all time. Brimming with fast, young talent and good mix of able leaders, the US is definitely expected to make some noise this year.

They have drawn into Group B with Japan, Netherlands and Nigeria. The schedule looks something like this:

August 7th vs. Japan

August 10th vs. Netherlands

August 13th vs. Nigeria

One can't help but think that the US soccer team will be able to win this group. I am almost expecting them to get through the group without a loss.

This tournament also serves as a nice springboard into the more intense stages of World Cup Qualifying and preparing for the World Cup. This gives the younger players a chance to show the world what they are capable of, and maybe give the National Team Coaching Staff an idea of who they are going to use come time to announce the 2010 roster.

And after the group play, I don't really think a medal is that far of a thought. It takes two wins to medal after the group stages. Three gets you gold.

Could this be the year the United States earns it's first international football medal? Maybe even championship?

Next, I would like to talk about basketball.

The US "Dream" Team has been pretty shaky in recent years. Having not fared so well in World Tournaments and finishing with just a bronze medal in the last Olympics.

However, this year the team has high expectations and a seemingly revitalized sense of national pride in the star players in the NBA.

The US will be sending the Redeem Team to Beijing in search of returning to being the Global Basketball Superpower.

Like in soccer, the US is in Group B, however this group is a little bigger, six teams instead of four, and the number of groups are fewer, two instead of four.

The US schedule looks like this:

August 10th vs China

August 12th vs Angola

August 14th vs Greece

August 16th vs Spain

August 18th vs Germany

A gold medal is what is expected of this team, it has been said in the news, by players, and now I am not only saying that I hope for it, but I am predicting it.

It is time for the United States to start a new string of Gold Medal victories. I can deal with a few second place finishes or bronze medals here and there, but in reality, we need to string a few Gold Medals together before those will just be attributed to, "oh it was someone else's turn", or, "you can't win them all."

I'd like to wrap up with swimming.

Primarily, Michael Phelps.

He has a rare chance to break all kinds of records in the pool and to bring glory unto himself and the rest of the country.

There is a lot of hype surrounding him, the question will be; can he live up to it?

Will he be able to perform with all the expectations tacked to his name?

Will this added hype make other athletes compete above their capabilities and cause whatever he does to become second or third place at best?

These questions will be answered shortly, and hopefully the answer will be, Michael Phelps wins gold!

I'm not sure what his schedule is, but I am pretty sure that if there is a race that day, he will be in one of them. So you can pretty much just tune into the swimming competitions and eventually you will see Michael Phelps swim.

Superliga Semifinals Matchups Determined

TJ Ferguson — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:49:47 -0400

As the group round of Superliga drew to a close this weekend, soccer fans saw some important matches.

First off, the Houston Dynamo earned their spot in the semis, and overall victory in Group A, with a 3-1 win over DC United.

The other Saturday match saw Atalante simultaneously punch their semifinal ticket and end CD Guadalajara's Superliga run with a two-nil victory.

Sunday saw a pair of 1-1 draws to determine the semifinalists of Group B. New England's draw with Chivas USA pits them with the top overall record and the only team with no losses to this point in the competition.

The draw also ended Chivas USA's hope to reach the semis when Pachuca CF earned the one point they needed against Santos Laguna. That result proved to be all the defending champions needed to make it back to the semis.

The Houston Dynamo and FC Pachuca have advanced to the semis now for the second consecutive year.

Last year, the United States represented three of the four semifinalists, yet still failed to take home the title.

This time around, each side is represented equally, and each matchup pits a Mexican side against an American side. I think this is what the founders of Superliga were hoping for from the beginning.

Both matches will occur midweek later this month, the Dynamo will host Pachuca on Tuesday, July 29th at 10 PM Eastern. The following day, at eight PM Eastern, The New England Revolution will host Atlante.

The final will be played Tuesday, August fifth.

Predictions:

Houston Dynamo 1-2 FC Pachuca

New England Revolution 1-0 Atlante

The Larry O'Brien Trophy—Who's Going to Get It?

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:46:13 -0400

Kobe Bryant vs. Paul Pierce:

This is the key match-up in this series between the Lakers and the Celtics. In the end, the little guys for each team will have their impact. So will Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Pau Gasol.

But this series is going to be won because Paul outplays Kobe, or vice versa.

Paul Pierce has always said he thinks he is one of the leagues best defenders. Now he gets to back that up and guard one of the league's best scorers. It won't hurt that he can rely on the league's defensive player of the year behind him if he is too aggressive and gets beat.

Kobe, when asked about being compared to Michael Jordan in an interview with Stephen A. Smith, said this: "Let me be the best I can be."

Here is his chance. No one is going to talk about Mike this week or next. Maybe when all is said and done, Mike will enter the conversations again, and depending on the outcome, Kobe may become more like Mike, or have to try again to silence his doubters.

Garnett, Allen, and Pierce:

The big three, the instant success, the drive to 17.

I think the best part about these three is that this year will not have been successful unless they win it all and add another banner to the roof of the Garden.

KG has always been one of my favorite players, along with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Together, they seemed unstoppable. Then the playoffs started and Ray Allen cooled off and Atlanta forced game seven.

All the doubters came out, and then Boston destroyed them.

Against Cleveland, Allen still hadn't found his touch, but Cleveland was no match; they just are not a good playoff team. They have too many pieces missing, and that is how the Celtics got by.

Then Detroit. This was the first time I was actually scared that they might lose.

And when the Pistons took game two, it didn't look good. But Ray Allen started to get his game back, not shooting, but he was attacking the rim more and getting to the line giving enough help to PP and KG to get to game six, up 3-2.

Then Ray-Ray finally started knocking down some shots, and the Celtics closed out the series on the road.

Now the Big Three is rolling and hopefully they can continue to roll in the Finals.

The Non-Foul:

You can't blame the refs. They have been making bad calls all playoffs, but for a game to end like that is pretty bad, and I am sure there was a call somewhere down the road where the Spurs caught the same break.

This leads to me to wonder, what are the refs in the finals going to do? If the same play occurs, they can't call a foul against the Celtics. That would be two identical plays that went different ways, both of which favoring the Lakers.

If it is another foul by the Lakers, and it is called, then Spurs everywhere will raise up in arms against the NBA and the refs from that game.

But, if the foul is not called against LA and they get away with another foul, then the whole league will shout a collective rabble-rabble South Park style tainting the championship and the rest of the series (if it isn't the last game).

Basically, the refs need to be consistent, the players need to play hard and not complain, and they need to just play the game.

The Winner:

I know this has been pretty randomly organized, but these I feel are the important issues I wish to speak on. I think the biggest affect on this series will come from the Big Three, Kobe, and the refs.

As much I hate to say it, the refs will have that much power in the outcome of the series. I don't think it can be denied that they will do something to swing a game, or maybe even all of them.

What I hope happens is the refs let the game get played, and that the games be played fairly and the outcome be determined by the 10 players on the court at the end of each game.

Then there will be no what-ifs, or could've beens, just, "We messed up, we had the chance to win and lost it."

Or there will be the team rejoicing on the last possession after they break a tie or change the lead due to a Kobe drive, or a Pierce or Allen three, or a Garnett dunk. Or maybe it will be Rondo, or Gasol, or someone else.

Anyway, I'm going to wrap this up. I predict the Celtics in six. The fact that the final has a 2-3-2 Home-Away-Home format for the top seed plays into the advantage for the Lakers. If LA wins either game one or game two, they will have the Celtics on the ropes.

However, I believe the Celtics will go up 3-0, be on the verge of the sweep and then Kobe will carry the Lakers back into it, winning games four and five, sending the series back to Boston where the Celtics will win game six and the Championship.

Marijuana and Sports

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:11:00 -0400

Why do people think that professional athletes are automatically role models?

I don't want to be like them. A lot of them are stupid. Sure they are genetic freaks and can do incredible things with the tools of their trade, but I don't want to be like them.

Sure I would give anything to be as talented as Kobe Bryant, or Peyton Manning or Mike Vick, or Barry Sanders, or Jonathon Papelbon, or Tom Brady, but that doesn't mean they are my role models. And I really don't think they should be any kids role model. Peyton Manning is a tool, Mike Vick commits animal cruelty, Kobe handles his drama with shaq and the lakers pretty badly, up until the lakers get him what he wants, a decent team and he gets caught up in a rape trial. Barry Sanders quits b/c the team he plays for sucks. Jonathon Papelbon is actually kinda bad at talking. I love the guy, but he can't speak, he mumbles a lot, and also sometimes comes off as kind of an asshole. Tom Brady, haha, what a jerk, I can't believe he doesn't try to see his kid and then goes and impregnates another woman with another illegitimate child, yeah, i want to grow up to be just like him.

On to my point. A player for the mavs recently admited to using marijuana during the offseason, the NBA, the Mavs and critics flip out and he has to apologize for being honest? Are you serious? How many NBA players went, "shut the fuck up man, you'll ruin it for the rest of us"? I know this is a touchy subject b/c marijuana is illegal, but fuck, leave him the fuck alone, as long as he shows up to games and practice let him do what he wants, if he gets caught fine, let the law deal with it. The nba shouldn't regulate players who violate the laws of the land, no league should. Some leagues have a hard enough time regulating their own rules. let the players play the game, then let them do what they want when they are done.

The NHL's Elite 8

TJ Ferguson — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:40:06 -0400

After an exciting first round of playoff hockey, eight more teams are getting ready to begin their offseason traditions, while the only eight left, are getting ready to get back to work.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Two teams that needed seven games to win. Many have picked the Canadiens to win the Prince of Wales trophy this year, despite that it would be on the shoulders of rookie goaltender Carey Price.

The Flyers went from down in the NHL cellar last season to legitimate Stanley Cup contender this season as they used Daniel Briere among others as a fast lane through the rebuilding stage.

In this series, the moments when either team does not have a goal scorer on the ice will be far and few between. Each roster has several players who are more than capable of taking over at least a shift and creating a goal out of it.

The goalies, Price for Montreal and Martin Biron for the Flyers, each had their share of stunning performances in the first round, while also had their fare share of time getting stunned by the opposing offense.

They will not play a very large role in this series as I do not see either being able to out perform the other to the point where they will steal a game when their team is being outplayed.

This series is not going to be won between the pipes; rather it will be won in the battles for the puck along the half-boards and end-boards. In the offensive end, bad turnovers will result in odd-man breaks the other way, and it won’t take many of those for either team to score.

Neutral ice will be especially important; transition defense will have to watch the middle of the ice and players making cuts through it. Also, when working the puck through center ice, it will be important not to turn the puck over.

On Special Teams, the key is to stay out of the penalty box. These are two of the most dangerous Power Plays in the league, and too many penalties will equal too many goals against.

In the end, I am picking the Canadiens in five. They swept the Flyers in four regular season games. Although they won’t be able to sweep them in this series, they will come close.

Also, getting to play twice at home right off the bat will let Carey Price settle in and establish himself. Also, there won’t be the 3-1 choke this time by Montreal for Philly to force Game Seven.

The Flyers will win Game Three, but the Canadiens will then be playing for a chance to win another series at home, and will not let that slip through their fingers.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers

This will be an interesting series. In the first round, both teams had their way with their opponents. The Penguins swept the Senators ending it in Ottawa and the Rangers knocked off the Devils in game five at the Prudential Center.

Both teams are starting the playoffs undefeated on the road, so it won’t matter where the game is being played, either team will be able to win. However, during the regular season, the road team only won once (Rangers at Penguins in November).

The Penguins are an offensive team, they can control the puck, play the game at their pace and score goals.

The Rangers will rely on King Henrik Lundqvist to protect his kingdom and, with the help of the defensive corps, keep Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa off the board.

The Rangers also have something the Penguins didn’t see in the first round, Sean Avery. I don’t think Marc-Andre Fleury will be able to sustain himself the way Brodeur did if Avery is allowed to do in this series what he did in the previous series.

Granted it is now illegal for him to turn around, Avery will still do whatever he can to get into Fleury’s head. Fleury is also a young goalie with very little playoff experience, so it should be easier to do.

The Rangers won the season series 5-3, not quite the 7-1 lead they had on the Devils, but it still shows that the Rangers know how to beat this incredibly skilled offensive team, and not only can beat them, but shut them out a couple times as well.

Sidney Crosby is the most important player in this series. He is the best player on either roster, and has a strong supporting cast. It will take a lot to stop him, and then after you stop him, you have to stop the guy you left open to stop him, good luck Henrik.

I think the Rangers will look to try and get Sean Avery on the ice with Sidney Crosby, while he won’t be able to defend him one-on-one, Avery should be able to push him around in the corners and maybe get Sid the Kid to flip his lid.

In the end, New York Rangers win in Game Six. Lundqvist wasn’t at the top of his game against the Devils, but that is due to the fact that he didn’t need to be. In this series, Lundqvist will play with everything he has and steal at least two games, one of which being on the road.

While the Penguins boast some of the most talented offensive players (Crosby, Malkin, Hossa), the Rangers boast a great defensive team backed up by the best goalie left in the playoffs (Henrik Lundqvist).

Western Conference Semifinals

Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche

This is a series which will re-ignite one of hockey’s great rivalries. Some familiar names (Forsberg, Sakic, Lidstrom) mixed with some new ones (Stastny, Datsyuk, Zetterberg), will make for one fun series.

Both teams needed six games to advance out of the first round, Colorado beating the Wild and Detroit downing Nashville, expect this series to last longer.

Both teams can play, and win, hockey games in different ways. It won’t be too long before they each abandon puck possession and finesse play, for dump, chase and kill the defense-man hockey.

I enjoy a good series in which both teams play offensively and score a lot, but this will be a series for the old time hockey fans. Bodies will be flying, players will be walking just fine to the locker room holding their wrists so the other team doesn’t know they are going to try and quick fix their sprained ankle.

Each team will have an injury report longer than the last novel I read, but there won’t be any readers, or authors, because this is the type of series where you play through the pain, until you can’t skate.

I really don’t think there is much to write in preview for this series other than hold on to your hats, and hope the refs don’t ruin it by calling penalties left and right. Just for continuity’s sake, I will say that Detroit did sweep the regular season 4-0.

In the end, Detroit wins this in seven. The teams win all their home games, and at least half of each roster will need a vacation, although neither team will want it, one of them will have to take it.

This series, however, will be the one that tires out the Red Wings and prevents them from getting any farther. I would say that there wouldn’t be much time before they joined the Avalanche on the golf course, but I don’t think either team will be able to swing a golf club for about a month or two.

San Jose Sharks vs. Dallas Stars

I was disappointed in the Flames, I fully expected them to be able to knock off San Jose, but the Sharks battled past the game when they managed to blow a 3-0 lead, and took it in seven.

Dallas showed a lot of what it takes to be a championship team in downing the Ducks, the defending Stanley Cup champs, in five games. Marty Turco is beginning to etch his place in hockey history, and the Stars are looking more and more like hoisting the Stanley Cup after every game.

In the regular season, they split the eight games they played right down the middle. This series could be just as even, but something is telling me Turco won't let it be.

Each teams star players will take turns shining, but in the end, Evgeni Nabokov vs Marty Turco is the most important match-up in the series. Whichever goalie can hold on the longest, and make the biggest impact for his team, will advance to the Conference Finals, then beat the Red Wings.

In the end, the Stars will win this one in five. I don’t know why, I am just going with my gut on this one, Dallas will ride on the back of Marty Turco, and shut down the Sharks.

The Sean Avery Rule

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:29:00 -0400

Really NHL?

I thought the dance Sean Avery did in front of Martin Brodeur was hilarious. I personally think more players should do it. You just have to allow the defense to push them out of the way.

How entertaining is it to watch a Hall of Fame goaltender get angry? It is wicked entertaining.

All this new rule does is delay the inevitable. Pretty soon Avery is going to get into a fight with a goalie, and it will be awesome.

Whether it's a young goalie who doesn't know what kind of trouble he is about to get into or an experienced veteran who gets so angry he just doesn't care, it is going to happen.

Right now, Avery is Brodeur's least favorite person on the planet. It is only going to be a matter of time before Brodeur flips out and jumps him. For Marty's sake, I hope the Rangers end this series in five games because he might die if he fights Sean Avery.

Why are Devils fans so angry at the distraction? I guess they just feel cheated because they don't have a player with Avery's skill and ability to aggravate.

I'll admit it: If Avery wasn't a Ranger, I would probably hate him too. Not because he is in the league only to get under the opponent's skin, but because he is an agitator who will go after anyone, and he possesses plenty of skill.

Avery has a series high three goals right now and is also in the top 10 in goals and points in the entire playoffs. I don't think any other Ranger or Devil can say that.

Devils fans, stop calling Sean Avery a Ken Doll, a b****, or not a team player. Sure, Avery is in magazines and dates (or at least goes to bed with) more than his fair share of hot celebrities, but he is not made of plastic. He is still a good hockey player.

He is also not a b****. That is what agitators do, they try to find ways to get under their opponents' skin and into their heads.

To those who say he is not a team player, are you serious? He wouldn't be around if he wasn't a team player. He doesn't put up enough points to only be able to think about himself.

Avery is all about the Rangers...and his paycheck. He does want more money, but he deserves it. He is one of the first guys to drop his gloves or throw a big check when the Rangers' butts are dragging to try and get something going.

Sure he is underpaid, and rightfully so should argue for more money, but when guys around the league are being paid more to do less, I agree with him. However, with the Rangers payroll where it is, I wouldn't jump ship if I were him. I would stick around and play for mediocre money and a good chance at winning the Stanley Cup.

Hockey East Tournament: Preview and Predictions

TJ Ferguson — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:37:05 -0400

This weekend marked the end of tumultuous Hockey East Season. Several teams saw their share of successes and failures. In the end University of Maine and Merrimack College are out getting ready to plan for next season.

University of New Hampshire earned the number one seed separating themselves by quite a few points from everyone else. Also clinching home ice advantage in the first round were Boston University, University of Vermont and Boston College.

No. 1 UNH Wildcats vs. No. 8 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Minutemen

Preview:

The Whittemore Center is a tough place to play, unless you are the 2007-2008 Northeastern University Huskies who went 2-0 there this season.

Fortunately for UNH, they will play UMass who haven’t quite faired as well up in Durham. UNH won the regular season series 2-1, the loss coming in the first meeting between the two teams in Amherst. UNH would win the home-and-home series about a month later.

UNH is riding a high horse right now, they are the only team in HE with less than 10 losses overall, and are the only team that hasn’t gone through a slump at some point during the regular season.

UMass has been struggling lately and needed to win on the last day of the season to make the playoffs. The win shows that they have character. One may say well, it was against Merrimack College, but the weekend before they beat the red hot BU Terriers, then swept the weekend against Merrimack.

Still, UNH is probably going to be too good to lose twice in one weekend in a place where they have lost only four times to HE teams all season. Two of those loses though were at the hands of Northeastern University.

UNH Wins:

UNH is a strong team; they are hard to beat, especially on their own ice sheet. They will play a fast paced game, and not give an inch.

UMass Wins:

In order for UMass to win, they will need to attack the net hard right from the first whistle, all the way to the last horn. They will need to beat Regan several times and limit the impact of all of the Wildcats stars.

If UNH gets down early, it could get quiet and allow UMass to make the game more like a neutral site game allowing the door to victory to open for them.

Prediction:

The Wildcats will win 2-0. While UMass is a good squad, UNH is much better. With the playoff atmosphere, guys like Mike Radja, and Kevin Regan aren’t going to let there be an upset.

No. 2 BU Terriers vs. No. 7 University of Massachusetts-Lowell Riverhawks:

Preview:

BU students will pack Agganis Arena. The Terriers are riding a 9-1 streak with the loss coming on the road. They got off to a slow start, but lately, BU has been showing that they are most definitely a force to be reckoned with.

UML has had some poor results of late and will definitely be looking to improve on their downward trend. However, BU is playing great hockey, they are scoring goals, playing well defensively, and just getting the job done night in and night out.

Since the second half of the season started, BU has been one of the better teams in HE, and probably even the nation as they have managed to sneak back into the nations top 20.

BU will look to its star players to keep the momentum going into the playoffs and hope that if they do make any mistakes; their goaltending will be behind them.

UML will need get off to a quick start and take the crowd out of the game, which will be hard, Agganis is one of HE’s loudest rinks.

BU Wins:

Because the Terriers will continue their streak of excellent play and get the job done and do what everyone expects them to do.

UML Wins:

If they can go hard at BU’s defense and score early, and end the series in two games. BU will win game three if it gets that far. They should also hope for terrible weather to prevent the Terrier faithful from making it back to Boston from spring break.

Prediction:

BU wins 2-0. UML has been on a rotten pace lately, and BU is playing its best hockey of the season and not looking like they will be cooling off anytime soon. Even if there are not enough students in the city, alumni and general fans will pack Agganis, and the BU squad won’t give them any reason to be quiet.

No.3 UVM Catamounts vs. No. 6 Northeastern University Huskies:

Preview:

UVM, like BU were Hockey East bottom feeders in the early stages of the season. Then one weekend, they took some thunder off of a hot team by skating to a draw and then winning the second night.

That team was the Huskies, it was in January, and the Huskies had just seen their marvelous unbeaten streak snapped by Merrimack.

UVM and NU played two games up in the Gutterson Field house, NU anxious to get back to adding wins, and UVM starting to desperately need wins.

Ever since, Northeastern has been in freefall as they were in first place in the HE standings, they now are sixth.

The Huskies will be going to Burlington with revenge on their minds hoping to get back on track and make it to the Garden while stifling the opponents that marked the turning point of their season.

UVM Wins:

Because Northeastern struggles at Gutterson. Vermont is 1-0-1 at Gutterson this season against the Huskies. And while that doesn’t seem too convincing, the way the games went are, NU was lucky to pull out a tie.

UVM will have to use it’s speed to match the quick guys of Northeastern and make sure to control the pace of the game and keep the crowd interested.

NU Wins:

Because Joe Vitale is going to gel the squad together like they were in the first half of the season. Brad Thiessen will help by proving he is one of the nation’s best goalies.

The young guns will have to come out and get goals for Northeastern, if some of the third and fourth liners can chip in and take the pressure off of Vitale and his linemates, the Huskies should be able to score the victory.

Prediction:

This is going to be the most exciting first-round matchup. The Huskies will pull off the upset and win 2-1.

Joe Vitale has emerged as a true leader legends are born in the playoffs, Joe Vitale and Brad Thiessen will write their greatest chapters to this point and carry the Huskies to a semifinal at the TD Banknorth Garden.

#4 BC Eagles vs. #5 Providence College Friars:

Preview:

When teams like Northeastern and UMass started to fall in the standings the door for the Friars to enter the home-ice battle opened. Unfortunately for them, in the last week, they lost two to BU and NU and BC split their home-and-home series.

In the regular season, PC managed to win the season series 2-0-1, with both wins coming at Conte Forum. However, the Friars have been on some bad form over the past few weekends and will need to turn it around if they want even a sliver of hope at beating BC.

BC’s form hasn’t been much better, and they have had some loses which may show that they are weak at home. They haven’t won at Conte Forum since January, when they beat UVM 5-2 and 4-1.

BC Wins:

Because they will snap out of it, and figure out how to use the crowd to their advantage at Conte Forum. They also will ride the momentum from their 4-1 win against Northeastern last weekend and play as hard as they did.

PC Wins:

Because they have already beaten BC twice at Conte Forum. They will have to play hard and score early, much like BC did to Northeastern this weekend. The longer this series is close, the more of an advantage BC has.

Prediction:

The Eagles will win 2-1. This will be a tough series, Nathan Gerbe will bring the same intensity he brought to Matthews, and pretty much everywhere he goes. Providence will try to answer, but BC will run the game.

While there is the potential for a very exciting series, the Eagles will finally hold down their home ice. However, Providence is too good to get swept and they have had good fortunes at Conte Forum this season.

BC will not let themselves be the only team to lose four games to the same team in front of the home crowd.

College Hockey: Northeastern, UMass Split Weekend Series

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:27:32 -0500

The Northeastern Huskies and the UMass Minutemen met twice this past weekend, once on each school's home ice.

Friday night, at Matthews Arena, Northeastern defeated the Minutemen 2-1 with goals from unlikely heroes.

The game's first goal was scored by UMass’ Marc Concannon at 11:54 seconds of the first period. Scott Crowder was credited with the assist as he intercepted a Husky pass in the neutral zone and set up Concannon on a breakaway.

At 14:13, just a short while later, David Strathman scored his second goal of the season to tie up the game for the Huskies. Dan Nycholat and Chad Costello were credited with the assists.

The Huskies were cycling the puck around in the UMass zone when Costello passed to Nycholat at the point and Nycholat fed Strathman, who made a move towards the goal and scored top shelf.

The game would remain tied for almost all of the second period. It wasn’t until Kyle Kraemer scored his first goal of the season with just 15 seconds before the second intermission that the Huskies finally took the lead.

Kraemer was assisted by Joe Vitale and Nycholat. Nycholat moved the puck to Vitale via the boards and Vitale got the puck to Kraemer, who was able to walk right in on Paul Dainton and beat him high on the far side.

The goaltending was great for both sides, Dainton was beat twice by the Huskies but he made 33 saves in the losing effort. Brad Thiessen earned his 14th win of the season, stopping 28 shots.

Saturday night, the action moved to the Mullins Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. This time, the Minutemen would emerge victorious, earning a 3-1 victory.

Alex Berry scored both of UMass’ first period goals. The first, an even strength goal at 7:19 was assisted by Martin Nolet. The second goal came on the power play at 13:30 and was assisted by James Marcou and Chris Davis.

At 9:45 of the second period, PJ Fenton would score UMass’ third goal of the game. James Marcou and Justin Braun assisted on the power play goal.

In the third period, the Huskies looked like they were getting back in the game when Kyle Kraemer scored on the power play at 11:40. It was his second goal in as many games, and also his second of the season.

With the weekend split, the Huskies moved up a spot in the USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men’s Poll.

They also moved into a tie for 15th with Princeton in the Pairwise Rankings. If the Huskies hope to make the NCAA tournament, they will need some more wins to climb out of bubble territory.

After the weekend, Hockey East is getting crowded. The University of New Hampshire is clearly in the lead with 32 points, but beyond that, just six points separate second from seventh. Northeastern is currently tied with Providence College in third with 24 points.

Northeastern plays a home-and-home series with Boston University this coming weekend. BU is currently tied in fifth with the University of Vermont just one point behind NU and PC.

Around the league this weekend, PC is playing a home-and-home series against Merrimack College. UVM will play two games at UMass Lowell. UML is currently sixth in HE with 20 points.

Lose-Lose Situation for Northeastern Hockey

TJ Ferguson — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 05:39:54 -0500

Husky Hockey fans looked on in disbelief as their men’s hockey team failed to win either of their matches against Providence College.

The pair-off loses extends the Huskies winless streak to four games as they have lost each of their last three games. In their last six games, Vitale and Co. have gone 1-4-1.

The scary thing is these are six games that the fans expected, not hoped, to win.

Friday night was a terrible night for the Huskies. They were at home hosting the Friars but couldn’t get anything going as P.C. rolled to a 5-1 win.

The game was scoreless after the first period, and then Providence got a short-handed goal from Nick Mazzolini.

Then on a 5-3 advantage, PC really opened the game up, scoring on the two-man advantage (Matt Taormina) and the ensuing one-man advantage (Jon Rheault).

Ryan Ginand got the Huskies on the board a couple minutes later with a power-play goal of his own. But in the third period, Taormina would score again, this one also a power-play goal. Then about half way through the third, Ian O’Connor scored the games only even-strength goal to make it 5-1.

Then on Saturday night, the Huskies went to Providence looking for a little revenge. At first it seemed like they might be able to make it happen.

Wade MacLeod scored on the powerplay about nine minutes into the first period. Then Jimmy Russo made it 2-0 as the Huskies seemed to have regained the edge in the series.

However, the Friars had different plans. A goal by Pierce Norton and a power-play goal by John Cavanagh would send the teams into the first intermission tied up at two.

The second period was another win for the Friars. Ben Farrer scored an even strength goal to give Providence it’s first lead in the game and Norton’s second power-play goal of the night gave them a little bit of an insurance policy.

About halfway through the third, John Mori scored the game's seventh and final goal, making it 5-2 to cap off a weekend the Huskies hope to soon forget.

The pair of losses drop the Huskies record to 8-7-2 in Hockey East and 11-8-3 overall. With the University of New Hampshire and Boston College both earning points this weekend, the gap between the Huskies and first place has grown significantly.

With the two wins, Providence has now tied with the Huskies for third place in Hockey East with two games in hand. Nationally, the Huntington Hounds dropped from 11^th to 13^th while Providence jumped into the rankings at 14^th.

The Huskies also fell into a tie for 13^th with Wisconsin in the Pairwise Rankings. That would set them teetering on the edge as far as making the NCAA tournament goes, especially if there are many upsets in the conference tournaments.

There is one more game for the Huskies to prepare before the Beanpot as they will square off against the University of Massachusetts at Amherst on Friday February 1^st at 7:30 PM at Matthews Arena. The game will be aired by NESN.

The Minutemen are currently ranked eighth in the Hockey East Standings, two points behind Boston University and two points ahead of the University of Maine. They are also ranked 15^th in the nation.

The Huskies are now five points behind first place UNH and four points behind BC. And now the Huskies also have to worry about UMASS-Lowell who is just two points back in fifth place with a game in hand on Northeastern.

On Monday, February 4^th, the Huskies face off against Harvard University, opening up the 56^th annual Beanpot Tournament at the TD Banknorth Garden. Last year, Northeastern defeated the Crimson in the consolation game.

Rangers-Thrashers: A Shutout at Madison Square Garden

TJ Ferguson — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:23:57 -0500

Somewhere Little John is yelling in disbelief at his television: "WHHHAT!?"

He has just witnessed his beloved Atlanta Thrashers shut out by the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Henrik Lundqvist earned his league-leading—it's a tie at least—seventh shutout of the season stopping every shot that came his way. Thanks to the defense, the Thrashers managed just 14 shots on goal.

Offensively, the Rangers may have found that scoring touch they were looking for, beating Kari Lehtonen 4 times.

Scott Gomez and Jaromir Jagr had two assists for the Rangers. Fedor Tyutin had three assists. The goals were scored by Brandon Dubinsky, Sean Avery, Martin Straka, and Jagr.

Defensively, Marc Staal may have played his best game of the season. He wasn't on ice for any goals but played a considerable amount of time and performed solidly on the defensive end.

There were no powerplay goals to speak of tonight, but the Straka's occurred while the Rangers were on the penalty kill. In fact, all Thrasher power play opportunities were killed off.

Now, an update from the rest of the league:

The Washington Capitals had the night off, so that's two more points between them and the Broadway Blues.

The Boston Bruins were downed 8-2 by the Montreal Canadiens, helping the Rangers to cover some of the ground they lost this weekend.

The New York Islanders ended up winning down in Carolina 6-3, so they will keep pace with the Rangers and remain two points ahead in the standings.

The win keeps the Rangers in last place in the Atlantic Division and ninth place in the Eastern Conference. However, fans and players alike are imagining this game was a showing of things to come, not just another win surrounded by a bunch of losses.

The Rangers are back in action on Brian Leetch night as they host the Thrashers for a rematch. The pregame festivities should prove emotional for players and fans alike as one of the best defensemen ever to grace the game is honored, having his number hoisted to the rafters of the most famous arena on Earth.

Northeastern-Delaware: Huskies Prevail in OT

TJ Ferguson — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:59:37 -0500

It is safe to assume that Northeastern's Baptiste Bataille enjoyed his birthday while defeating Delaware in overtime at the Matthews Arena.

He didn't put up many numbers, but he did hit a big three pointer late in the second half which gave the Huskies a short lead. He also went 4-4 from the charity stripe for a total of seven points, all coming in the second half.

Matt Janning led the way with 20 points for the Huskies, while Nkem Ojougboh brought down nine rebounds. Both were game highs.

Perhaps the biggest factor in the game was the Huskies' ability to keep Herb Courtney in check—or rather, Courtney's own foul trouble, which kept himself on the bench. He played just 10 minutes because of numerous fouls, and managed to make just one basket on two shots.

Courtney also picked up an assist and two blocks before fouling out well before the end of the second half.

Maybe it just wasn't his night. Maybe it was the rowdy Husky fans getting into his head. But Herb Courtney might as well have not shown up to the game.

The Huskies improve to 7-10 overall and 3-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association, and are tied with James Madison University for seventh place in the conference.

Wednesday night the Huskies have an important game on the road against UNC-Wilmington, who is just one game ahead of the Huskies in the CAA standings at 4-3.

If the Huskies can play like they did against Delaware, they should be able to pull out the win.

Northeastern Huskies Struggle at UVM

TJ Ferguson — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:11:55 -0500

The men's hockey team from Northeastern ran into a bit of an obstacle this past weekend.

The Huskies were in Vermont to play a pair of games against the host Catamounts.

Friday night, the Huskies squandered a 2-1 lead late in the third and eventually ended with just a tie.

Saturday night, the Huskies lost bigger. They seemed to be bringing the game back when in the third period, netting a goal cutting the UVM lead down to 3-2.

But a couple of goals by the Catamounts made the score 5-,2 and put this one out of reach for Northeastern.

The loss drops the Huskies from ninth to eleventh in the nation, and down to third place in Hockey East—one point behind Boston College and the University of New Hampshire.

After the longest unbeaten streak the men's hockey team has had since I've been a Husky (11 games at 9-0-2), they have gone 1-2-1 in their last four with the lone win coming at home against Merrimack College, who is last place in the Hockey East.

Hopefully the team has put this mediocre play behind them, because the Huskies need to start winning again.

Next weekend, the Huskies have a home-and-home series against Providence College. This will be an important series, as the Friars are only four points behind the Huskies in the Hockey East standings—and when you are nipping on the heels of BC and UNH, you can't afford to let too many points slip away.

These games will be the final two meetings of the regular season between these two teams—their first meeting being the Huskies Home Opener, which Northeastern won 3-2.