ECAC
Cons: Harvard 6, RPI 3
Champ: Clarkson 3, Brown 1
  Teams on the bubble breath a sigh of relief, but according to RPICH,
  Brown could still stage a claim for a spot...I haven't looked at the
  other factors yet to see where they stand.
 
HE
Cons: UMass-Lowell 5, UNH 4 (ot)
  Mike Murray scores with 58 seconds left in OT to give UML the win.  I
  will be shocked if anyone other than BU and Maine go to the NC$$s from
  HE.
Champ: Maine 5, BU 2
  As Ryan posted, Maine becomes the first team to win back-to-back HE
  titles in this, their 7th straight championship game.  The teams seemed
  more interested in duking it out than skating early on, but soon they
  got down to business and it was a pretty entertaining game.  After BU
  tied it 1-1 in the 2nd, Maine got one to go up 2-1 after two and then
  came up with three straight in the third to wrap it up, but BU was in
  the game most of the way and had their chances.  Snow was superb in the
  Maine net and probably deserved MVP because of tonight and also the way
  he came in vs UML and shut the door, but it went to Montgomery - also a
  deserving candidate.  All-Tourney Team was:
 
G Snow, UM
D Brennan, BU; Imes, UM
F Montgomery, UM; Murray, UML; Sacco, BU
 
Not a bad turnout at the Garden - about 9,200, after appr. 5,200 for the
semifinals.  Heather had a lot of fun in her first two trips to the holiest
of all hockey shrines in the US and we both got to see four exciting games,
which was nice.  We will look forward to heading to Milwaukee in a week and
a half.
 
I can't help but think HE would be better off shifting its tourney back a
day so the semis are Sat and the cons/champ Sunday, as far as attendance
goes.  I know I wasn't able to make the Maine-Lowell game Fri until halfway
through the 2nd period because of work, and many people may have just
decided not to bother going.  Plus, quite a few people come down from Maine
and many probably only made the trip this year for the championship game.
 
I do not believe that the tourney selection show will be on tv here in New
England, but I will keep scanning the dial to see...with the CCHA
championship due to end about 5 pm, I figure the seeds should be out around
that time.  I also figure that the 12 teams are just about set, with the
possibility still existing that the Mia-LSSU game could affect seeding but
probably not selection.
---
Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)    *HMN*