Monday, December 30:
St. Lawrence 6, Northeastern 5 (2 OT; well, 1 5-min. OT and a full OT)
Dartmouth 6, UMass-Lowell 2
 
Tuesday, December 31:
Northeastern 4, UMass-Lowell 3 (consolation)
St. Lawrence 3, Dartmouth 2 (championship)
 
All-Tourney Team (from my memory):
G Clint Owen, St. Lawrence, 33 saves in championship game
D Tom Cullen, St. Lawrence, 1 goal, 1 assist
D Mike Nicholishen, UMass-Lowell, 1 assist
F Jon Calla, Northeastern, 3 goals
F David Whitworth, Dartmouth, 3 goals, 1 assist
F Derek McLaughlin, St. Lawrence, 2 goals (also the tourney MVP)
 
Fans representing 3 of the 4 teams formed our little group at the games:
We met HOCKEY-L'er Paul G. (Lowell fan) for the first time; the fathers
of Dartmouth players Jason Wong (freshman goalie) and Curtis Wilgosh (soph
forward), (providing the Canadian perspective); and Linda Harrison and
me, who adopted Northeastern as our "team" for the weekend because we
couldn't follow BC out to the Mariucci in Minnesota.
 
SLU 6, NU 5 (2 ot) - St. Lawrence may have been off balance to start this
one, having come straight from winning the Pepsi tournament in Grand
Rapids.  They gave up an immediate power play goal (0:44 of 1st) and then
let NU score twice more on weak defensive giveaways/play.  The Saints
finally got their act together and came back with 2 of their own.  Mark
McGrath collected a loose puck after a goal mouth scramble and slid it
into an unguarded net, and Paul DiFrancesco scored on a power play by
deflecting it off an NU defenseman.  The second period started even but
SLU took advantage of a 2-minute 5x3 power play to tie the game -- Derek
McLaughlin 1-timed a nice DiFrancesco cross-ice pass through the 5-hole.
They finally took the lead late in the period, as McGrath tipped in a
loose puck in the crease and a wide-open Alex Gordon scored easily
when Ruddock faked a shot and passed to Gordon at the left post.  The
third period was all Northeastern as SLU sat back on the lead.  Jon
Calla got NU within 1 by beating the SLU defense to a long rebound and
firing it past Bracco.  After tempting fate most of the period, SLU
gave up the tying goal with just over a minute left.  DiFrancesco's ill-
advised penalty gave NU a power play and a faceoff in the SLU zone.  The
Huskies lifted the keeper for a 6x4 advantage and scored when Justin
Kearns tipped a Kayhko slap shot high and into the goal.
 
Confusion reigned in deciding the overtime rules.  Finally they played a
quick 5-minute OT.  No one scored though each team had a good chance.
The 2nd, full OT lasted only 5:33 as Poapst gave SLU the win -- Robitaille
made an initial stop but could not control the rebound and it finally
trickled into the net.
 
Dartmouth 6, UML 2 - This was an entertaining game most of the way until
Dartmouth pulled away at the end.  2 late power play goals in the first
gave the Big Green the lead, but Lowell played well in the 2nd period to
tie the game.  Unfortunately for Lowell, the defensive giveaway that led to
Whitworth's unassisted breakaway goal to close the 2nd seemed to deflate
them.  Dartmouth scored early in the 3rd to regain the 2-goal cushion,
then relied on goalie Wong to hold the lead.  He played a good game,
showing why he has had such early success (and making his dad happy.  He
also picked up an assist on the 2nd Dartmouth goal by Whitworth.)
After UML pressure most of the period, Dartmouth scored 2 more late to
cement the win.
 
Northeastern 4, UML 3 (consolation) - The Huskies, who had played fairly
well the night before, again showed some offensive ability in this one,
and they finally picked up a win after 10 straight losses.  Lowell didn't
appear very motivated and was sluggish until midway in the game.  NU
definitely had more to gain from this game, staying with number one keeper
Robitaille to try to break the losing streak.  Lowell played Lindsay in
goal and gave Martin Fillion a rest.  The game-winner was another UML
giveaway, letting Kaminski score unassisted at 12:01 of the third.  There
was a very light crowd for this game.
 
SLU 3, Dartmouth 2 (championship) - St. Lawrence played an opportunistic
and defensive style to win the final, partly to defend against Dartmouth's
speed and offensive counterattacks and partly to conserve their energy
after playing their 4th game in 5 days.  The first period was scoreless,
and both teams played rather tentative and sloppy.  SLU got the break
they wanted early in the 2nd when Joel Prpic was sent in alone on a
shorthanded breakaway.  He came in straight and roofed the shot under the
crossbar to give them a 1-0 lead.  Then they went into their defensive
shell, dumping the puck, protecting the middle of the ice, and daring
Dartmouth to score.  The Big Green was frustrated by the tactics, and
didn't even the score until 13:32 of the 2nd, when Poulton hammered home
a rebound of a Whitworth shot.  With the tie, though, SLU went back to
the offense and scored just 52 seconds later to regain the lead.  Then,
back into the defensive shell.  Dartmouth carried all of the offensive
play well into the 3rd period, and Whitworth finally evened the score
at the 14:11 mark, to the delight of the home crowd.  A silly penalty by
Dartmouth gave the Saints a power-play immediately afterward, though,
and they scored the game winner just 35 seconds later.  McLaughlin
was camped unmarked at the edge of the crease and got an easy score.
Dartmouth put on a final frantic flurry but could not get the equalizer.
 
I have to disagree with the selection of McLaughlin as the MVP, despite
his 2 goals and the tournament winner.  Both his goals were relatively
easy scores as he sat unmarked by the edge of the net and was the
beneficiary of his teammates' work and passes.  My personal choice was
goalie Clint Owen, whose stellar work in the championship game under
good Dartmouth pressure preserved the SLU win.  He made several great
back-to-back saves on rebound opportunities, and I don't think they
would have won without him in the net.
 
Thompson Arena is a great place to watch hockey, and I highly recommend a
trip if you get the chance.  From a fan's perspective, the sightlines are
great and you don't have to fight crowds for parking, concessions, rest
rooms, etc.  (Though that may change if Dartmouth continues to improve.)
It is functional rather than fancy, but I tend to prefer that.  (Linda
said it reminded her of UNH's new arena on the inside due to the shape of
the arena and the layout of the seating, etc.)  It would have been nice to
have the students, the band, and some warmer weather, but ....  (-10 F. on
New Year's Eve night.)  Hanover doesn't have a lot to offer over the
holiday break, but it is a nice small town and not far from lots of winter
skiing, etc.
 
The Dartmouth fans are few but enthusiastic for their team, now that they
have shown some competitiveness, currently 7-4.  However, 8 of their 11
games have been at home, and after this weekend's home pair against Brown
and Harvard, they will face 10 of their last 16 on the road.  They have
beat up on Hockey East (4-0), like much of the ECAC this year, but must
continue to score goals and prove that they can keep up the pace.  The
emergence of the freshman goalies has been a surprising boost.
 
St. Lawrence has again rebounded from a slow start to show life, and they
managed to win 2 holiday tournaments on the road.  (Admittedly, not the
most robust competition in those tourneys, but I'm sure the SLU fans
aren't complaining too much about that.)  They aren't flashy, but if
Owen's return to goal can settle them defensively they should win a fair
share of games.
 
UMass-Lowell may be destined to live near .500 this year, but I suppose
many of their fans would have been happy with that after their losses of
personnel and their head coach.  They now enter a stretch in Hockey East
where they have to play a tougher schedule, and time will tell if they
can sustain their success so far.
 
Northeastern has now won another game (finally) and maybe can focus on
playing better defensive hockey so they can win some more.  Coach
Crowder is trying his best, but they just don't have much strength or
ability to handle one-on-one battles in the corner.  (He was quoted
about this recently but I made the same observation watching them in
the tournament -- it is pathetically obvious that they cannot control
the puck along the boards.)  Once they are on the attack they have some
ability to score, and there is some promise for the future, but it will
probably continue to be a long season for the Huskies.
 
We had a good time at the tournament, most of the hockey was entertaining,
and it was fun to talk to the hockey parents to learn their perspective
on college hockey, recruiting, refereeing, the differences between the
States and Canada, etc.  I will post again with comments on that soon.
--------------------               ----------------------
Rick McAdoo                        [log in to unmask]
"Volunteer reporter"               A positive BC fan.  GO EAGLES!
 
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