College Hockey Update:  Thursday’s First Round Update

NOTE:  In the original posting, I announced that we had 32 participants in this year’s pool.  We actually have 33, as I overlooked an entry that was received on Weds., 3/23 at 6:39pm with a very misleading subject line!  All numbers cited below have been updated to reflect 33 entries/participants.

PAVEL AND MANKATO STATE REPEL HARVARD

In what started out as a game in which Mankato State used its size and tenacity to essentially push the Harvard players aside, and essentially ended that way, the Harvard team managed to distinguish themselves in the middle of the game by gaining composure and taking advantage of some key opportunities.  Mankato State blitzed their way to a 3-0 lead on goals by Connor Gregga, fourteen minutes into the first, Reggie Lutz, with two minutes left in the first, and by Brendan Furry, two minutes into the second.  Mankato outshot Harvard 19-6 in the first frame. Perhaps it was a bit of starting to feel at home in the Eastern Region in Albany, N.Y., but whatever it was, Harvard got their feet under them and things weren’t so one-sided in the second, as Harvard managed ten shots to Mankato’s fifteen.  Fifteen minutes after the Furry goal for Mankato, Harvard got a good feed from behind the net to the base line and a slippery tight-angle shot got in to make it 3-1.  One minute later a good, quick hole shot by Harvard made it 3-2, and it was suddenly a game with two minutes left in the second.  Mankato had seen this sort of thing go wrong on them in previous NCAA Tournaments, and this time they came back, as Ondrej Pavel scored what proved to be the game winning goal, six minutes into the third, making it 4-2 at that time.  Harvard did score again on a power play opportunity with four minutes left to make it 4-3, but despite matching Mankato in shots in the third at 6-6, Mankato stifled any more Harvard efforts to take the win and to advance to play Notre Dame on Saturday for a berth in the Frozen Four.  This outcome was not an upset in our pool, as 30 participants chose Mankato to win, compared to only three who chose Harvard.

SLAGGERTS AND NOTRE DAME BEAT NORTH DAKOTA

That last “s” is not how that last name is spelled; that’s a plural “s.”  The second game in the Eastern Region in Albany, N.Y. saw a largely defensive first period in which Notre Dame barely outshot North Dakota five to four, but yielded a goal to the Fighting Hawks with only a minute left in the frame.  Only one minute into the second, a determined Landon Slaggert scored (assisted by his brother, Graham Slaggert), to tie the game at one apiece.  The second was a bit more “wide-open” than the first, as Notre Dame barely outshot North Dakota nine to eight, and stalemated the last nineteen minutes as far as scoring is concerned, ending tied at one-one.  In the third North Dakota got on the horse and outshot Notre Dame twelve to eight.  But right as the buzzer went off Notre Dame scored to win it 2-1!!  Or did they?  On one hand it appeared that they had won, and on another hand, it appeared they had not.  Turned out there was a timing glitch between the light and the game clock, and after closely looking at the video, the goal was waived off, sending the two teams to OT.  But Graham Slaggert scored in less than two minutes of OT (assisted by his brother, Landon Slaggert) to give Notre Dame the 2-1 OT win.  Notre Dame advanced to play Mankato State on Saturday.  This game was an upset in our pool, as only thirteen participants picked Notre Dame to win, compared to twenty who picked North Dakota.

MINNESOTA-DULUTH SENDS MICHIGAN TECH PACKING BACK HOME

This one was all Minnesota-Duluth.  The Bulldogs outshot the Huskies thirteen to nine in the first, and importantly snagged a late first period goal by Kobe Roth with five minutes left, to take the 1-0 lead.  In a largely defensive second in which Michigan Tech barely outshot Minnesota-Duluth seven to six, the teams skated to a nonscoring stalemate.  Michigan Tech mounted a good offensive effort in the third, outshooting Minnesota-Duluth twelve to six, but did not convert on any of their twelve attempts, while Minnesota-Duluth opportunistically managed a goal off of only five shots when Kyler Kleven scored six minutes into the frame for the important insurance goal.  Kobe Roth also found the empty net with only seven seconds left in the game after Michigan Tech added the extra attacker, to make the final 3-0, Bulldogs.  UMD advanced to play Denver in the Western Region Championship Game on Saturday.  This game was not an upset in our pool, as only four participants picked Michigan Tech, compared to twenty-nine who picked Minnesota-Duluth.

DENVER HOLDS OFF LATE UMASS-LOWELL COMEBACK EFFORT

While UMass-Lowell scored first in the second game of the opening round of the Western Region, the game seemed to be pretty much Denver’s from that point on.  The Lowell score ten minutes into the first was answered when scored nine minutes later, tying it at one apiece.  The two teams skated to a non-scoring stalemate in the second, as Denver mounted a smothering defense that allowed only three Lowell shots on goal, compared to a decent offensive effort by Denver, with nine shots.  Denver was in charge early in the third, and Carter Savoie scored nine minutes into the period to give Denver the 2-1 lead.  Lowell seemed to return to its early game momentum and scored a goal at the fourteen minute point, tying it at two apiece.  Lowell continued to press.  Could the River Hawks pull it off?  Denver took the lead again with three minutes left on a goal by Cameron Wright, and despite a good effort by Lowell, it wasn’t to be, as Denver rallied and tightened things up on the ice to take the 3-2 win.  Denver advanced to play Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday in the Western Region Championship Game in Loveland, CO.  This game was not an upset in our pool, as only three picked UMass-Lowell, compared to thirty who picked Denver.

OUR POOL

We only have 33 participants this year.  I don’t believe we’ve had that small of a number since prior to 2012.  We have had 40 or more every year since 2014, and fifty or more every year since 2018, with our high water mark of 58 in 2019 (no tournament in 2020).  Sorry to those I scotched out of the deal by sending the bracket out a day late, compounded by the NCAA having the tournament start a day earlier this year, which meant you all only had one day to get your picks in, compared to three days every year before this.

Top Picked Teams To Win It All

• Michigan . . . . . . . . 8
• Mankato State . . .  8
• Denver . . . . . . . . .  4
• Minnesota . . . . . . . 4
• UMass-Amherst . .  3
• St. Cloud State . . . 2
• Minnesota-Duluth . 1
• Michigan Tech . . .  1
• North Dakota . . . .  1
• Northeastern . . . .  1

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