Here are the results from the holiday tournaments played over the past
couple of weeks. Where there was a single host team for the tournament,
I put that team in caps.
Great Western Freeze Out (Los Angeles, CA)
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Semifinals: Boston College 3, Minnesota 2
Michigan State 4, Toronto 3
Consolation: Minnesota 7, Toronto 5
Championship: Michigan State 3, Boston College 2
Nissan/Jeep Classic (Anchorage, AK)
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Semifinals: ALASKA-ANCHORAGE 8, Dartmouth 1
British Columbia 6, Merrimack 4
Consolation: Merrimack 6, Dartmouth 3
Championship: ALASKA-ANCHORAGE 5, British Columbia 4 (ot)
Dexter Shoe Classic (Orono, ME)
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Semifinals: Clarkson 7, Western Michigan 0
MAINE 7, Brown 5
Consolation: Western Michigan 6, Brown 3
Championship: MAINE 8, Clarkson 4
RPI Invitational (Troy, NY)
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Semifinals: Western Ontario 2, Alaska-Fairbanks 1 (ot)
RPI 12, Union 4
Consolation: Union 5, Alaska-Fairbanks 2
Championship: RPI 5, Western Ontario 4
Syracuse Invitational (Syracuse, NY)
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Semifinals: Lowell 4, Colgate 3 (4 ot)
Lake Superior 3, Cornell 2
Consolation: Colgate 4, Cornell 3
Championship: Lake Superior 8, Lowell 3
Great Lakes Invitational (Detroit, MI)
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Semifinals: Michigan 2, Michigan Tech 1
Maine 6, Michigan State 3
Consolation: Michigan Tech 3, Michigan State 2
Championship: Michigan 3, Maine 1
Badger Hockey Showdown (Milwaukee, WI)
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Semifinals: North Dakota 8, Bowling Green 2
WISCONSIN 3, St Lawrence 0
Consolation: St Lawrence 6, Bowling Green 3
Championship: WISCONSIN 3, North Dakota 2
Sheraton/USAir Classic (Burlington, VT)
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Semifinals: VERMONT 4, Northeastern 3
New Hampshire 6, Dartmouth 3
Consolation: Dartmouth 6, Northeastern 4
Championship: New Hampshire 7, VERMONT 6
and, one non-Division I tourney:
Codfish Bowl (Dorchester, MA)
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Semifinals: Salem State 11, Bowdoin 5
UMASS-BOSTON 6, Hamilton 3
Consolation: Bowdoin 5, Hamilton 4
Championship: Salem State 15, UMASS-BOSTON 6
This tourney is the Beanpot of the ECAC East.
Overall, I think the tourneys were pretty successful this year. I did
lambast the Freeze Out before, but I noticed a significant number of fans
for the exciting finale between MSU and BC, won by MSU. (Refereeing
and announcing still left something to be desired.)
The GLI was also on tv in New England, and I doubt that any of the other
tourneys matched it for attendance and quality of play (though it looks
like the Syracuse tourney & Sheraton/USAir Classic - alias Auld Lang Syne
Classic - had a few exciting games, too).
Since it was requested, the GLI All-Tourney Team was as follows:
G Steve Shields, Michigan
D Keith Carney, Maine
D Aaron Ward, Michigan
F Martin Robitaille, Maine
F Jim Montgomery, Maine
F Denny Felsner, Michigan
MVP: Steve Shields, G, Michigan (1.00 GAA in 2 games)
The GLI drew 16,172 the first night and 16,782 the second. I was hoping
for a Maine-Michigan final, and that's how it turned out. Both teams were
pretty evenly matched, and after the teams exchanged goals in the second, it
remained 1-1 until 3:35 left in the game when Michigan's David Oliver beat
Maine goalie Garth Snow on a breakaway. The empty-netter came with six
seconds left. Jean-Yves Roy was a marked man in the GLI and turned over the
spotlight to equally capable teammates Jim Montgomery, Scott Pellerin, and
Martin Robitaille, but when Roy had his chance late in the second period he
couldn't convert a breakaway of his own, and so Oliver's goal was the
difference. Michigan outshot the Black Bears, 31-21, including 10-3 in the
final period. This was the Wolverines' third straight GLI championship.
For those fans unfamiliar with the tourney, it is hosted by Michigan,
Michigan Tech, and Michigan State, and a fourth team is invited (thus the
"Invitational" part of the name) each year. The high quality of the teams
involved makes it one of the more interesting tourneys because it tends to
match up top teams from different areas of the country (much like what I
suspect they are trying to do with the Freeze Out).
I suspect Western poll voters gained a little more respect for Maine after
the Black Bears dismantled MSU and only lost to Michigan in the final
minutes. Similarly (even though I don't vote in the polls), after seeing
Michigan for the first time this year, I think it's pretty clear the
Wolverines are among the nation's very best, and it will be interesting to
see what they can do in the NCAAs.
- mike (off to Alaska-Fairbanks v. Merrimack)
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