QUNNIPIAC PERSISTENT SPEEDY ATTACK PREVAILS FOR 2023 CHAMPIONSHIP

College Hockey Update: Minnesota came out with guns blazing in the NCAA Hockey Championship game last Saturday night, April 8, 2023, in Tampa, FL., and at the outset it didn’t look good for Quinnipiac — they were playing a little sloppy, as if they had just stepped out of bed. How sloppy? How about a penalty for a hit to the head less than a minute into the game? Minnesota took advantage of the off-kilter Quinnipiac start when John Mittlestadt scored on a wrap-around goal that found Quinnipiac goalie Perets way out of position — in fact, totally outside of the crease — six minutes into the first, for the 1-0 Gopher lead. The goal seemed a sufficient wake up call for Quinnipiac, and next thing you knew, their defensive play jelled and stepped up considerably, but their offense lagged, and they didn’t get a shot off until the seven minute point of the first. The first ended 1-0, Minnesota, and the Gophers had outshot Quinnipiac 7-4.

The second period saw much the same play as the bulk of the first, with each team able to move the puck up and down the ice, but not do a whole lot in each other’s zones. Minnesota struck again four minutes into the period when Brock Faber had nowhere to send the puck, but alertly identified the boards in the end zone as a willing participant in a bounce-off-the-boards pass to Jaxon Nelson, who saw it coming and quickly buried it in the net when it reached him off the rebound, extending the Gopher lead to 2-0. Play continued and Minnesota appeared to be in control. But four minutes later Zach Metsa took the puck down the shooter’s right side boards and quickly zipped it in to Cristophe Tellier in front of the crease, who pounced on it and flew it into the net, narrowing the Minnesota lead to 2-1. This seemed to be another wake up call for Quinnipiac, and they picked up a speedy offensive attack that resulted in a shots advantage of 11-6 for Quinnipiac, but did not produce any more goals. The teams went into the break with Minnesota holding the 2-1 lead.

Quinnipiac picked up in the third where they had left off in the second, and then some. Minnesota was dedicated to staying at home, maybe too much. The Bobcats were relentless in mounting barrages on the goal, but to no avail. Minnesota clung tightly to its one goal lead. Minnesota went on the power play three minutes into the third and Perets pad blocked a Jackson LaCombe shot from the point, and that seemed to be the total offensive effort for Minnesota in the period. Meanwhile the persistent Quinnipiac attack was yielding nothing, despite having an 18-7 shots advantage through the entire second, plus the first half of the third. The offensive focus of the Bobcats led to a two-on one breakaway by the Gophers with nine minutes left, but Minnesota’s Snuggerud didn’t manage to score. A minute later a shot through traffic from the point by Charles-Alexis Legault was stopped by goalie Close, and it was starting to look as though Quinnipiac just might not be able to convert on all of this offensive effort. Minnesota called timeout a minute later, with seven to go in the third, seemingly to give the team a break from the Quinnipiac onslaught, as they had been out shot in the third 9-1 at that point, and 24-14 in the game. The period had seen faceoffs in the Minnesota zone as a result of Minnesota clearing the puck, but icing it.

Logan Cooley was called for a high-sticking penalty with five minutes left, and Quinnipiac had a power play opportunity. Minnesota’s Close made face to face stops on Quinnpiac, and with only half a minute left on the power play, and only four minutes left in the game, Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold must have been thinking, “This is all we get with a five on four advantage??” He must have, because he called a timeout, and when they went back on the ice for a faceoff in the Minnesota zone, he pulled Perets from the net and added another attacker for the six on four advantage. “Now or never” must have been the thinking. Quinnipiac moved the puck freely around the zone but was not successful at converting with the two man advantage and time ran out. As Cooley re-entered the game, the puck went from the blue line to to Collin Graf in the shooter’s left circle. Quinnipiac was now in the perhaps unintended position of skating six against five defenders with an empty net and a full three minutes to go. Graf was patient, held for a second, and then five seconds into the six on five, he pulled the trigger and fired the puck into a small space between Close’s knees, and presto! Game tied, 2-2. Three minutes left to play. Both teams battled for the winning goal, but neither prevailed. I’ve made much of the Quinnipiac offensive push in the last thirty minutes of play, but not mentioned their stellar defensive efforts during that stretch. Their defensive play continued, and it was time for OT.

Don’t blink. Really, don’t blink. OT started with a faceoff won by Minnesota that sailed either into or over the Quinnipiac bench. Two seconds off the clock. Time for a second faceoff. Routine enough, eh? Don’t blink. Really, don’t blink. What ensued off of this second faceoff was hard to follow in live action and it might have made some, including me, wonder how they got so lucky at pulling off something that just had to be sloppy. Do yourself a favor and replay this, stopping it about every second to see what happened, and how it unfolded. Jacob Quillan won the faceoff, and fed it behind himself to Zach Metsa, playing in the right side defensman position at the center ice circle. Metsa dropped back with the puck to the blue line, as right wing Collin Graf drifted back from his position on the red line to midway between Metsa’s position and the red line, edging towards the shooter’s right side boards, while left wing Sam Lipkin initially turning to his right, toward the Quinnpiac defensemen, spun aound and then came across the ice, towards the shooter’s right side board creating a lot of attention by the defenders on the shooter’s right side of the ice. Quillan engaged his faceoff opponent, Jackson LaCombe, for a second, and then, seemingly tamely, headed off in a perpendicular line to the shooter’s left side board until he was at the edge of the faceoff circle, and then headed down ice to the Minnesota zone. Minnesota seemed to have him off their radar at this point.

As Lipkin hit the edge of the center ice faceoff circle midway between the red line and the blue line at the Quinnipiac zone, Metsa zipped him the puck and it was off to the races. Lipkin entered the Minnesota zone, then Quillan, and as Quillan entered the zone there were only two from Minnesota in there — the goalie and a defenseman, LaCombe, following Lipkin. When Minnesota’s Jaxon Nelson stepped on the blue line in pursuit, just right of center, he saw his man, Jacob Quillan, two steps ahead of him over on the left in a massive white patch of ice with only one man near him, the referee. Lipkin continued freely down the ice to the shooter’s right side circle and passed across to his left, just in front of his defender, and well ahead of Quillan’s defender Nelson. At that point Minnesota goalie Close saw Quillan at the circle for the first time, and Nelson had picked up speed and was closing on Quillan. Close moved quickly to his right to seal off the net from Quillan, as Nelson move to intersect with Quillan and knock him off course. But in an instant, Quillan read it, and changed direction from down ice to across ice, splitting the two Minnesota defenders, skated right across a wide open crease, and gently tapped in a back-hander to give Quinnipiac the 3-2 win and the 2023 NCAA Hockey Championship, leaving both Close and Nelson sprawled out on the ice. All that in seven seconds.

So congratulations to Quinnipiac, with its first ever NCAA Hockey Championship, which is great for the sport, giving more, and more people interest in it, and therefore truly growing the sport. How did they get there? They beat all three of the top ranked Big Ten teams in three straight games — first #8 Ohio State; then #2 Michigan; and then #1 Minnesota. Seems like there is a story line there . . . .

The outcome of this game was a big upset in our pool, as only three of our forty-nine participants had picked Quinnipiac to win this game, compared to twenty-five of forty-nine who picked Minnesota to win it. Eight had picked Michigan; seven had picked Denver; three had picked Boston University; one had picked Harvard; one had picked Michigan Technological University; and one had picked Pennsylvania State.

THE 2023 COLLEGE HOCKEY UPDATE POOL

First I must make an apology to this year’s winner, that I didn’t manage to get a U.S. made sweatshirt for the trophy prize. The only sweatshirts that are made here (and are therefore of better quality in material, and in workmanship on the front side logo) are made in the U.S., and are delivered only to vendors who order them for sale at the arena that is the site of the Frozen Four. And as we all know, the best stuff sells out on the first day of play, Thursday, so I have to find someone who will be there on that day, and I just didn’t pull that off this year. I was super lucky to have found Colby Shepard to get one in 2019, and Chris Wall in 2022. I had to order one made in China in 2021 for winner Chuck Speare and we lucked out that it was pretty good; let’s hope for the same luck this year, as it is on it’s way here from over there.

The Results Of The 2023 Pool

Ok, I’m sure we all remember very clearly where we were in this thing at the conclusion of the first two regional rounds were played — four participants knotted at eleven correct picks apiece, one a past winner. Then five participants right on their heels with ten correct picks apiece. Only twelve were possible!

So here’s the scoop — a little drama in 2023.  Craig Miller came from the middle of the pack with nine correct picks to win it this year, and managed to do it with no tie-breaker involved — twelve correct picks out of fifteen, plus two bonus points for getting the winner, for total of fourteen points. Have to say it is great to see a nice guy win it, and Craig is as nice of a guy as there is, always thinking of others before himself; a very deserving winner. He was followed by Gene Shimshock who had eleven correct picks, plus two points, for a total of thirteen, and by Mike Michela (a past winner), who had ten correct picks, plus two points, for a total of twelve.

Here’s what we learned in a quick congratulatory phone call with Craig “Mr. Nice” Miller, as we asked him how he did it, and what he thought of the outcome of the tournament. Craig said, “First of all Tom, you gotta KNOW hockey, and do I know hockey or what?? I am a Century Club Member at Gustavus Adolphus, with forty-seven goals and fifty-three assists, for a hundred hockey points in only one-hundred-five games; about a point per game, not bad, doncha know! Next, you gotta know what is going on out there nowadays, and I watched highlight videos of the top eight ranked teams. Know what I saw? Qunnipiac is fast, and I mean REALLY FAST. Very aggressive. I knew no one would keep up with them, and they didn’t. In the end it was clear that Minnesota had not seen speed like that this season, not with that schedule of theirs. I mean, did you see those Minnesota hosers standing around at the end of the game in OT looking at each other saying, ‘What just happened?’ On the goal tending I have to say Close, but no cigar. The cigar goes to Quinnipiac. And the coaching? Oh my gosh oh golly, what a contrast. You got one guy playing an empty net with five minutes to go, putting it all on the line with total confidence, and the other guy hiding in the corner with his tail between his legs for more than a full period, afraid to do anything, jeezaloo. At this point, what can I say, other than it REALLY sucks to be Minnesota, and realistically, to be from Minnesota. Thanks for letting me be in the pool — but this year it was sort of like taking candy from a baby.” Thanks, Craig, for giving us your insights!

Final College Hockey Update Pool Standings

Winner, Craig Miller

12 correct picks, 14 total points

11 picks, 13 points: Shimshock

10 picks, 12 points: Michela

For everyone else, correct picks = total points; no one else picked the winner.

12: Fairbrother, MOlson, Ryan, Sell, CSlaughter

11: KRamsey, MReichel, Rice, GSchreader

10: Esposito, Hollywood, Kelly, Muscarella, EOlson, Oswald, Peterson, Rarden, PReichel, JSchreader, TShymanski, Smith

9: Allen, Holte, Huberty, Kriesel, DShymanski

8: Gallus, Krajan, KMattson, Meier, DRamsey, JSlaughter

7: Cattermole, Kramer, McLean, Pastor

6: Carlisle, Erdman, DMattson, PMattson, Shepard, Sweeney

5: Bettendorf, WRoth

3: ORoth

FINAL TEAM RANKINGS/FINAL POLL FOR 2023

This provides the final poll for the 2023 season, rankings records, and ranking at the end of the conference tournaments, prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament:

FINAL, END OF SEASON DIVISION I MEN’S POLL APRIL 10, 2023

Rnk	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Quinnipiac	(50)	34-4-3	1000	3
2	Minnesota		29-10-1	950	1
3	Michigan		26-12-3	890	2
4	Boston University		29-11-0	844	5
5	St. Cloud		25-13-3	746	6
6	Denver		30-10-0	721	4
7	Ohio State		21-16-3	690	8
8	Penn State		22-16-1	643	11
9	Cornell		21-11-2	611	12
10	Harvard		24-8-2	558	7
11	Western Michigan		23-15-1	495	9
12	Minnesota State		25-13-1	478	10
13	Michigan Tech		24-11-4	403	13
14	Merrimack		23-14-1	366	14
15	Alaska		22-10-2	265	15
16	Northeastern		17-13-5	179	16
17	North Dakota		18-15-6	139	17
18	Colgate		19-16-5	122	19
19	Michigan State		18-18-2	120	18
20	Omaha		19-15-3	59	20

Others receiving votes: Canisius 54

Congratulations to Quinnipiac and to Craig “Mr. Nice” Miller on their wins, and on reminding all of us that good college hockey is played everywhere.

And thanks to my behind the scenes contributors for who know a lot more about hockey than I do, for helping me out — Greg Schreader, John McLean, and Bruce Carlisle (and sorry if I am overlooking anyone else).  And thanks to our co-publisher, Jim Slaughter, for making this possible by putting this blogsite online, and especially this year, for hanging in there and bringing this thing back to life.

So, that’s all for now.  STAY TUNED, and go Terriers, go College Hockey!

— Tom