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NCAA hockey notes / preview capsules

Todd D. Milewski  —  3/29/2008 7:02 am

Part of the reason that the NCAA has delayed awarding Western regional sites for 2010 and 2011 is to allow for a discussion of whether there should be a uniform ice size for the national men's hockey tournament.

That leaves the Kohl Center and a number of other West Region arenas on hold to see if they'll even be in the picture in the future.

The Midwest and West regionals this season both will be played on large ice surfaces, while the East and Northeast sites have the smaller, NHL-sized sheets. The Frozen Four in Denver will be played on a smaller rink.

If the committee determines that it's in the best interest to have a consistent ice size, the 85-foot NHL regulation undoubtedly will win out and places like the Kohl Center (97 feet wide), Minnesota's Mariucci Arena (100 feet) and Colorado College's World Arena (100 feet) will be left out.

Visiting coaches at the Midwest Regional, which starts today at the Kohl Center, don't seem to mind the big ice, even though all of their home rinks are smaller.

"It's a broad issue because we want to have great regional sites, we want to have great fan interaction and great fan participation," said North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol, whose team plays Princeton at 2 p.m. today. "That really limits the number of sites that we have.

"In an ideal world, we play the Frozen Four on an NHL rink (so) it would probably be nice to stay true to form. But in saying all of that, I think atmosphere and the fan participation is more important than anything when you're looking at the venues. This is going to be a great venue for a regional tournament."

North Dakota is 5-2-1 this season on rinks wider than 95 feet. Princeton is 0-1, with a 6-1 loss at Minnesota State.

Denver, which plays the University of Wisconsin today, is 6-4. The Badgers, the only team in the regional that has wide home ice, are 12-13-5.

In what may be an indication of the division in the ranks, one page in the NCAA hockey rule book says rinks should be as close as possible to 85 feet wide, while another page indicates the recommended width as 100 feet.

"Baseball fields are different sizes," UW coach Mike Eaves said, indicating that playing areas vary in a number of sports. "It's how you want to take a look at it."

By the sound of it, players aren't bothered much by the change in ice size.

"You don't necessarily prepare any different," said Princeton captain Mike Moore, whose team plays on an 80-foot-wide home sheet. "The less you think about it, the less it affects you."

Finally feeling different

Wisconsin captain Davis Drewiske noticed the new logos on the Kohl Center ice early in the week and saw the Midwest Regional stickers on the boards Thursday.

But it was on Friday, with the NCAA-timed practices and the media sessions, that things started to feel different. The rest of the week could have been confused with just another week of practice.

"You could just feel the excitement, with all the other teams here, watching other teams practice a little bit and with the media stuff going on," Drewiske said. "That's just a little bit more fuel to the fire. You can feel the energy and the excitement building. We could feel it throughout the week, and especially today."

Back to the WCHA

Princeton coach Guy Gadowsky played at Colorado College from 1985 to 1989, so he got into the clubhouse of a Western Collegiate Hockey Association-dominated regional. Wisconsin, Denver and North Dakota are part of the WCHA.

"I'm a Princeton guy now, so I wouldn't say my roots are that deep," Gadowsky said. "I'm just happy to be here -- we'd play anybody at the NCAAs. It's interesting that there will be three WCHA teams there, but I'm thinking all about Princeton."

NORTH DAKOTA (26-10-4)

Coach Dave Hakstol

Regional rewards: The Sioux went to the Frozen Four in each of coach Dave Hakstol's first three seasons. Will it be 4-for-4? If so, Hakstol would become the 10th coach to make the Frozen Four in at least four straight seasons, and the first since Jerry York at Boston College (1998-2001).

Two for Hobey: North Dakota is the only team in the country with two of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award. Junior forward T.J. Oshie, a first-team all-WCHA selection, and second-team goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux were among the players chosen by Division I coaches. Oshie, a 2005 first-round draft pick by the St. Louis Blues who turned down an offer to turn pro last offseason, has increased his goal scoring total over last season but his point total is down by 11. Lamoureux, a senior, leads the country in goals against average. The Sioux also have the defending Hobey winner, junior forward Ryan Duncan.

Second-half success: The Sioux had the nation's longest unbeaten streak entering the playoffs at 17 games (14-0-3). They stretched it to 18 before losing Game 2 of a first-round WCHA playoff series to Michigan Tech. UND has only three losses in 2008, but that's nothing new. Last season, the Sioux had only four losses in the 2007 portion of the schedule.

Local connections: Freshman defenseman Derrick LaPoint is from Eau Claire.

DENVER (26-13-1)

Coach George Gwozdecky

Back in the race: The last time we saw the Pioneers in the NCAA tournament, they were skating off the ice in Columbus, Ohio, with the national championship trophy for the second straight season. They followed that 2005 title game victory over North Dakota by missing the tournament in 2006 and 2007. Denver had missed the tournament two years in a row under coach George Gwozdecky only once before (2000 and 2001).

Going in strong: Denver beat North Dakota and Minnesota to win the WCHA Final Five last weekend, its league-record 15th postseason title. It was the third time in the last seven years that the Pioneers have won the Broadmoor Trophy. Senior goaltender Peter Mannino stopped 66 of the 68 shots he faced in the two games.

They've been there: Denver has four players remaining from its 2005 championship team; only three of them -- Mannino, Tom May and Andrew Thomas -- played regularly on that team. Mannino was 3-0 in the NCAA tournament that season, recording a 1.67 goals against average and a .959 save percentage.

Local connections: Assistant coach Steve Miller is a Sun Prairie native. Gwozdecky played at Wisconsin from 1973 to 1977.

PRINCETON (21-13)

Coach Guy Gadowsky

Hobey hopeful: The Hobey Baker Award is named after a former Princeton player, but junior Lee Jubinville is the first Tigers player to be a finalist for the honor. Jubinville, the player of the year in the ECAC Hockey League, had 10 goals and 31 points in 22 league games, but just one goal and seven points in 11 nonconference games.

The best and the brightest: Senior forward Landis Stankievech, who scored the winning goal in last Saturday's ECAC title game, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in November. A mechanical and aerospace engineering major, the Alberta native wants to study philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford. He's the 20th Princeton athlete chosen to be a Rhodes scholar. That list includes former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley.

Second trip: Princeton's only other entry in the NCAA tournament was in 1998, when the Tigers lost to eventual champion Michigan in the first round.

Plenty of zeroes: Sophomore goaltender Zane Kalemba has three shutouts in his last five games.

Local connections: None.

WISCONSIN (15-16-7)

Coach Mike Eaves

Plenty of time off: Because of a bye week to end the regular season and a two-game loss to St. Cloud State in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, the Badgers have had plenty of down time in March. Their game against Denver today will be just their fourth of the month, and their fifth in 35 days.

Youth on display: Wisconsin is the third-youngest team in the NCAA tournament. When the regionals started Friday, the Badgers' average age was 20 years, 11 months, 9 days. Only Boston College (20 years, 5 months, 27 days) and Michigan (20 years, 6 months, 25 days) are younger.

Rare company: Only four teams have ever started the NCAA tournament with a losing record. Alabama-Huntsville, the College Hockey America playoff champions, was 13-19-3 last season and lost to Notre Dame in overtime in the first round. Colorado College was 18-21-1 in 1978 and lost to Bowling Green. Minnesota was 12-14-1 in 1971 but advanced to the title game with an overtime victory over Harvard before falling to Boston University.

Local connections: Ten Badgers players -- Andy Bohmbach (Hudson), Davis Drewiske (Hudson), Josh Engel (Rice Lake), Jeff Henderson (Menomonie), Ryan Jeffery (Madison), Craig Johnson (Waupaca), Patrick Johnson (Madison), Kyle Klubertanz (Sun Prairie), John Mitchell (Neenah) and Podge Turnbull (Hayward) -- are Wisconsin natives. Coach Mike Eaves (1974-78) and assistant Mark Osiecki (1987-90) played for the Badgers.

Todd D. Milewski  —  3/29/2008 7:02 am