College Hockey Update:. Last week featured four top-twenty matchups in the conference tournament schedules, and Michigan held at #4 after hosting and beating Notre Dame, which edged Notre Dame down to #9; and Minnesota-Duluth moved up two spots to #8 after they swept their weekend at St. Cloud State, dropping the Huskies down three notches to #12. Massachusetts edged up to #11 after hosting and beating Providence, as the Friars held at #20; and Connecticut entered the top twenty at #19 after hosting and beating Boston University, knocking the Terriers down two pegs to #18.

Mankato State held at #1 after hosting and beating Northern Michigan; and Minnesota held at #2 after hosting and beating Pennsylvania State.  Denver held at #3 after hosting and sweeping Miami of Ohio; North Dakota held at #5 after hosting and sweeping Colorado College; and Quinnipiac held at #6 after hosting and sweeping St. Lawrence.  Western Michigan held at #7 after hosting and sweeping Nebraska-Omaha; Northeastern edged up to #10 after hosting and beating Boston College; and Massachusetts-Lowell edged up to #14 after hosting and beating Merrimack.  Clarkson jumped up three rungs to #14 after hosting and sweeping Union College; Michigan Tech dropped two slots to #15 after hosting and getting thumped by Bemidji State; and Harvard entered the top twenty at #17 after hosting and taking two of three from R.P.I.  An idle Ohio State edged down to #16.

COLLEGE HOCKEY UPDATE FEATURED PLAYER

Last weekend North Dakota had huge help from sophomore forward Jake Sanderson, who scored a goal Friday night in his team’s 2-1 win over Colorado College, and he also added an assist Saturday night in his team’s repeat 2-1 win, as North Dakota hosted and swept C.C. in opening round/quarterfinal action of the NCHC Tournament.  The 6’2″ 189lb sophomore is tied for sixth in goals scored on his team, with eight, and is third in assists, with eighteen.  As a freshman he tied for fifteenth in goals scored, with two, and he was sixth in assists, with thirteen.  He isn’t from North Dakota, but is from a neighboring state known for yielding so many great hockey players.  Ok, another hint, it starts with a M.  Yes, you got it, Montana.  His hometown of Whitefish, MT., is home to 7,800 residents spread among its seven square miles on the Whitefish River at an elevation of 3,000 feet.  It saw its first European settlers in 1883.  It is in the northwest corner of the state, and it does get chilly there, with an average high of 28 and average low of 16 in December.  It’s record cold is -33 degrees.  Sanderson is from a hockey family, with his dad, Geoff, having played seventeen years in the NHL, compiling 355 goals and 345 assists along his way.  His uncle Guy Sanderson was a defenseman at Clarkson from ’89-’93.  And his two cousins played in the NHL as well:  Wade Brookbank was an NHL Defenseman who played five seasons between 2003 and 2009, and Sheldon Brookbank was also a defenseman who played in the NHL between 2006 and 2014.  Jake seems to be viewed favorably by the NHL as well, seeing how he was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry draft with the fifth pick overall.  He is the highest NHL-drafted player in NCHC history.

Friday night in Grand Forks after a highly defensive first period (North Dakota out-shot CC 4-2), North Dakota opened things up and Jake Sanderson notched the first goal two minutes into the period for the 1-0 North Dakota lead.  CC came back and tied it at one apiece only a minute later, and then nine minutes later Tyler Kleven scored what would prove to be the game winner for the 2-1 North Dakota win.  North Dakota out-shot CC 15-9 in the second, before the teams got back into defensive deep freeze in the third, as CC had a 5-4 shot advantage in the stalemated period.  Shot totals were a North Dakota advantage, 23-16.  Saturday night was a bit more wide open than Friday, but just a bit.  North Dakota had a 10-5 first period shot advantage, but for the second night in a row, the first was scoreless.  In the second Matteo Costantini again scored early for North Dakota, only a minute into the period, to make it 1-0. CC again came back about a minute later to tie it at one apiece, this time on a CC power play. And later in the second, this time eleven minutes later, Riese Gaber scored what proved to be the game winner, this time on a North Dakota power play (assist by Jake Sanderson) to make it 2-1, for the North Dakota win.  A very determined CC team outshot North Dakota 30-22 on the night, about even in the second, but 15-3 in the third.  North Dakota advanced to the NCHC semifinals Friday night.

North Dakota is coached by Brad Berry, who moved up from his assistant coach position in May of 2015 after Dave Hakstol became the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.  Berry, a former NHL Defenseman, is from Bashaw, ALB., and played college hockey at North Dakota. In addition to nine years as an assistant at North Dakota, he spent a year as a scout for the Dallas Stars and two years as an assistant coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Berry is now in his seventh season as head coach, and his teams have compiled a 162-75-25 record to date, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament, taking the title in 2016, his first season.  North Dakota, 24-12-1, and ranked #5, will face #7 Western Michigan Friday night at the XCEL Center in St. Paul, MN., in the NCHC semifinals.

THIS WEEK’S TOP TWENTY MATCHUPS

The conference tournaments already have six top-twenty matchups Friday night:  #4 Michigan at #2 Minnesota for the Big Ten Championship; #8 Minnesota-Duluth playing #3 Denver, and #7 Western Michigan playing #5 North Dakota in the NCHC semifinals in St. Paul’s XCEL Center; #19 Connecticut playing #10 Northeastern and #13 Massachusetts-Lowell playing #11 Massachusetts-Amherst in the Hockey East semifinals in the Boston Garden; and #17 Harvard playing #14 Clarkson in the ECAC semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y..  Clearly there will be more top-twenty matchups in the finals on Saturday night.

REMAINING TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE FOR FRIDAY NIGHT (all games are single game elimination on Friday, with winners facing each other the next night, Saturday, unless otherwise noted):

Atlantic Hockey, games at Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica, N.Y.

• #21 American International College vs. Mercyhurst University
• United States Air Force Academy vs. Rochester Institute of Technology

Big Ten, final championship game only, Saturday night at Minnesota

• #4 University of Michigan at #2 University of Minnesota

CCHA, final championship game only, Saturday night at Mankato

• #21 Bemidji State University at #1 Mankato State University

ECAC, games at Lake Placid, N.Y.

• #6 Quinnipiac University vs. Colgate University
• #14 Clarkson University vs. #17 Harvard University

Hockey East, games at the Boston Garden

• #10 Northeastern University vs. #19 University of Connecticut
• #11 University of Massachusetts at Amherst vs. #13 University of Massachusetts at Lowell

NCHC, games at XCEL Center, St. Paul, MN.

• #3 University of Denver vs. #8 University of Minnesota at Duluth
• #5 University of North Dakota vs. #7 Western Michigan University

THE NCAA TOURNAMENT POOL

Here’s what will happen next for us readers:  I’ll send the NCAA tournament bracket Monday night, March 21st via email.  When you receive it, please make your picks and email to me right away, following the directions on how to send me your picks (in a single typewritten line), by the deadline, Thursday, March 25th at 5PM Pacific Time.  The Board of Directors has voted, and THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSIONS PAST THIS DEADLINE THIS YEAR:  THIS IS A HARD DEADLINE.  It’s right around the corner, the NCAA Tournament and the Frozen Four!  Who do you think will make it to the Frozen Four?

NOTE:  You should be receiving two notices when there is a new posting:  1) One via an email directly from me, during the day when the posting is made; and 2) One via an email from the system hosting the website, at night, after I have sent out my email.  If you are only receiving the night time email from the system hosting the site each time there is a new posting, you will not receive a bracket from me, since brackets are sent via my personal email, so you should send an email to me right now advising me of this, and I’ll add you to one of four email lists to which I send notices.   Send an email to my personal email address:  [email protected]

This provides the top twenty teams, rankings, records, and last week’s results:

[table id=235 /]

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and go Terriers!

— Tom