HOCKEY EAST PLAYOFF UPDATE (3/5/91) 2/27/91 Northeastern 6 at Boston College 5 NC Quarterfinal 2/28/91 Merrimack 1 at Boston University 7 NC Quarterfinal 3/1/91 New Hampshire 1 at Providence 4 NC Quarterfinal 3/2/91 Lowell 3 at Maine 5 NC Quarterfinal Final Four at Boston Garden (HockeyFest '91) (times EST) 3/8/91 Providence vs Boston University NC Semifinal 5:00 Northeastern vs Maine NC Semifinal 8:00 3/10/91 vs NC Championship 5:00 (Hockey East Champion receives automatic bid to NCAA Tournament.) HOCKEY EAST FINAL 1990-91 REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS (overall record includes playoffs) Hockey East Overall Non-league GP W-L-T Pts GF-GA || GP W-L-T GF-GA W-L-T ======================================================== 1 Boston College 21 16-5-0 32 106-77 || 37 27-10-0 182-127 | 11-5-0 2* Maine 21 15-5-1 31 110-73 || 38 29-7-2 208-119 | 14-2-1 3* Boston University 21 13-6-2 28 104-69 || 35 23-10-2 197-121 | 10-4-0 4* Providence 21 10-9-2 22 94-84 || 32 21-9-2 164-113 | 11-0-0 5 New Hampshire 21 10-9-2 22 79-78 || 35 22-11-2 151-124 | 12-2-0 6 Merrimack 21 7-14-0 14 71-103 || 33 13-19-1 134-162 | 6-5-1 7 Lowell 21 5-15-1 11 69-108 || 34 10-23-1 125-169 | 5-8-0 8* Northeastern 21 3-16-2 8 86-127 || 34 8-24-2 143-192 | 5-8-0 *-remaining in playoffs PAST HOCKEY EAST FINAL FOURS 1985 at Providence Civic Center Semifinals: Providence 5, Boston University 2 Boston College 6, Lowell 2 Consolation: Boston University 6, Lowell 4 Championship: Providence 2, Boston College 1 (2 ots) 1986 at Providence Civic Center Semifinals: Boston University 3, Providence 2 Boston College 5, Lowell 2 Consolation: Lowell 8, Providence 5 Championship: Boston University 9, Boston College 4 1987 at Boston Garden Semifinals: Maine 5, Lowell 4 Boston College 9, Northeastern 3 Championship: Boston College 4, Maine 2 1988 at Boston Garden (semifinals two games total goals at campus sites) Semifinals: at Northeastern 3/1, Lowell 1/2 at Maine 6/11, Providence 5/2 Championship: Northeastern 4, Maine 3 1989 at Boston College's Conte Forum Semifinals: Boston College 6, Providence 5 (2 ots) Maine 3, Northeastern 2 (ot) Consolation: Providence 3, Northeastern 2 Championship: Maine 5, Boston College 4 1990 at campus sites (due to measles epidemic) Semifinals: at Maine 3, Boston University 1 at Boston College 5, New Hampshire 4 (ot) Championship: at Boston College 4, Maine 3 QUARTERFINAL RECAPS NORTHEASTERN 6, at BOSTON COLLEGE 5 Northeastern came from down 5-4 in the third period to upset the regular season champion. Sebastien LaPlante had two goals and three assists to lead NU. Defenseman Paul Sacco's shot from high in the slot was the game-winner with 8:44 left was the game-winner. David Emma had the hat trick for BC, which now awaits the NCAA Selection Committee's verdict next Monday. at BOSTON UNIVERSITY 7, MERRIMACK 1 The Terriers scored four first-period goals on the way to defeating sixth- place Merrimack handily. Dave Tomlinson had two goals and freshman Keith Tkachuk had a goal and two assists for BU. (Details of the prior two games were mailed out last week.) at PROVIDENCE 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1 The Friars played superb team defense and built a 3-0 lead after two periods, holding on for the win. UNH will await the NCAA Selection Committee's decision, but its season looks to be over as the Wildcats (22-11-2) finished 5th in Hockey East and now have a losing record against Providence (1-2-1). The only goal of the first period came from Friar defenseman Jeff Robison at 8:52. UNH's Jesse Cooper tried to clear the puck from in front of his net, but Robison picked it off at the blue line and shot a knuckler that Wildcat goalie Jeff Levy never saw. He may have been screened by teammate Bob Chebator, who went down to block Robison's shot. The Friars added two more late in the second period to take a commanding 3-0 lead. With UNH forward Savo Mitrovic in the box for a dumb elbowing penalty, dangerous Friar forwards Mike Boback and Rob Gaudreau worked a give-and-go from behind the net on the left side, Gaudreau sliding the puck over to Bob Cowan all alone on the doorstep for his 9th of the year. The third PC goal was a controversial one. Although it wasn't technically a power play goal, Kevin Thomson had been whistled off for a dumb retaliatory roughing penalty at 17:55, so the Wildcats hadn't been able to get a man back out there when Mario Aube scored at what was ruled the 19:59 mark. Brian McCarthy's shot from the left point was stopped by Levy, but the rebound bounced in the air where it was grabbed by Aube, who dropped it and shot a 15-footer by Levy just as the clock ticked to 20:00. But, the buzzer didn't sound and the light hadn't come on to signal the end of the period, even though the clock read 20:00. The official time of the goal was 19:59, but referee Jim Fitzgerald sent the teams to their locker rooms without a faceoff, which doesn't make sense; if there was a goal with time still remaining on the clock, there should have been a faceoff. PC outshot the Wildcats by a commanding 19-8 margin in the second period. In the third, we had a case of the linesmen-calling-penalties rule coming into effect. At 4:09, the Providence fans went crazy about something that happened behind the play but was missed by Fitzgerald. At the next whistle, linesman Jim Bletzer conferred with Fitzgerald, who sent UNH's Jim McGrath to the box for elbowing Brian Ridolfi. But UNH got its revenge. With Ridolfi himself in the box, the Wildcats finally got on the board with 9:00 left in the game. Domenic Amodeo shot the puck from the middle of the blue line, Brad Mullahy made the save, but Scott Morrow knocked the rebound through Mullahy's legs in one of the few times all night that the Friars could not cover UNH's forwards on a rebound. This woke up the UNH crowd and we saw the famous fish make an appearance, as it was UNH's first goal of the game. That was a long road trip the fish made down from Durham. UNH didn't get many good chances the rest of the game, and although they pulled Levy, Mark Doshan scored the empty-netter for PC with one second left. Levy played a fantastic game in the Wildcat net and perhaps can only be faulted on PC's third goal. UNH could not get it together on offense and that's where they lost the game, along with the stupid penalties that led to two Friar goals. at MAINE 5, LOWELL 3 Lowell did all it could to keep coach Bill Riley's career alive, but in the end Maine was just too much for the Chiefs. A 3-2 Lowell lead with eight minutes left quickly turned into a 5-3 Maine win, but I'm sure Riley is proud of the way his team played for him in his last game. And now the Black Bears get to face Northeastern. Bruce Crowder is the new Lowell head coach, having spent the last year as associate head coach to Riley, but his several years as assistant to Shawn Walsh meant Lowell had a clear advantage in being as familiar as you can be with the Maine system. It almost paid off as the Chiefs executed their game plan nearly perfectly. Maine got on the board first at 7:15 on the power play when Jim Montgomery knocked in Jean-Yves Roy's rebound past freshman Dwayne Roloson. Brian Downey also picked up an assist for taking a whack at the bouncing puck. But Lowell played a tough period, and not long afterward Garth Snow was forced to make a media guide glove save off of Dave Pensa's blast. The score was tied at 14:26 when Dan O'Connell wristed one from the right faceoff dot over Snow's left shoulder for his 11th goal. A Hockey East record was broken twenty seconds later when Montgomery took a feed from Downey, went in alone and scored on a backhander for his second of the game, 23rd of the year. That broke the tourney record for fastest two goals, two teams, by three seconds and gave Maine a 2-1 lead after one despite being outshot 10-8. The second period was all Maine, but the only goal went up under "Guest". With Scott Pellerin's crosschecking penalty carrying over into the second period, Lowell's Brendan Flynn put in a rebound of Shane Henry's shot from the point just 54 seconds into the period to tie it at 2-2. Maine outshot Lowell, 18-3. Roloson was playing a spectacular game, but he looked injured when Maine's Patrice Tardif was knocked into him and he went down like a load of bricks. He did continue the rest of the game. Lowell was getting outplayed ridiculously, but when Normand Bazin's shot from the right circle beat Snow at 9:44 of the third to give the visitors a 3-2 lead, you could have heard a pin drop in Alfond Arena. This happened right after referee Steve McBride blew a (non) call on Maine's Matt Martin. With Lowell pressuring, Martin covered the puck with his hands right in front of Garth Snow. The puck was clearly in the crease when this happened, and yet McBride didn't award Lowell a penalty shot. Still, Lowell scored almost right off the ensuing faceoff, so it wouldn't have made a difference in the game. The floodgates finally opened at 12:36 when Maine tied the game. Keith Carney's shot from the top of the left circle went off Chief defenseman Don Parsons' skate and trickled in for Carney's third goal. Not long afterward, Martin Robitaille scored his 22nd when he fired a loose puck through Roloson's skates. Then the Chiefs' Keith Carney took a dumb hooking penalty and Maine was quick to cash in and put the game away. One minute after the penalty, at 17:58, Pellerin took a cross-ice feed from Robitaille, who was up against the left boards, and one-timed a shot from the top of the right circle before Roloson could get over in time. That made the score 5-3 and it was then that the fat lady began belting out her tune. Lowell has to be pleased with its performance in their final game, although I'm sure they are disappointed. Roloson played a tremendous game and it was one of the few times I saw the Chiefs play truly disciplined all the way through. Maine was just too much, though; it actually took some near-perfect plays to beat Roloson and some bounces that went the right way. Maine held the edge in shots over the final two periods, something like 30-6. SEMIFINAL PREVIEW 3/8, 5:00 pm: PROVIDENCE vs BOSTON UNIVERSITY The teams tied their first game back in early November, 3-3, and then BU won the last two, 6-2 and 9-5 (both at BU). PC cannot win a shootout against the Terriers, so they need to play a tight defensive game like they did against UNH and keep the shot total down. Still, the Friars have some big guns like Rob Gaudreau, Mike Boback, and Lyle Wildgoose (out for the UNH game, not sure if he'll be back Friday) that must be reckoned with. Mullahy has played well in the PC net but he's not a Terreri; he can't win a game for the Friars by himself. BU has averaged over seven goals a game in its last seven games (6-1-0) and seven goals will be enough to win. The Red Line of McEachern, Amonte and Tkachuk continues to terrorize opposing goaltenders, and this game should be no different. These guys come to play. PREDICTION: Boston University 6, Providence 3. 3/8, 8:00 pm: NORTHEASTERN vs MAINE Maine won the season series, 2-0-1, with a 9-3 win at Northeastern, and a 6-6 tie (NU blew a three-goal lead) and 3-1 win (NU blew a 1-0 lead in the third) at Alfond. Over the past five years, the teams are 8-8-4 in all games, but on the Garden ice, Maine is 0-1, losing the 1988 Hockey East Championship to the Huskies, 4-3. Also, at Northeastern's Matthews Arena, the Huskies have lost only two of eight games (4-2-2) including this season's 9-3 loss. That makes NU 5-2-2 since 86-87 against Maine on either the Garden ice or at Matthews - and Matthews has the same small ice surface as the Garden. Maine hasn't played on Garden ice since 12/10/88, when they beat Vermont 6-3 in one-half of the Boston Garden Doubleheader. Northeastern plays two games there every year. I bet Walsh will be bringing back his 7x7 and 8x8 drills this week! Of course, Maine has probably been one of the most consistent teams in the country all season long, and they have the horses to blow out the Huskies. Montgomery, Roy, Downey, Carney, Straub have all had great seasons. But I think Northeastern is a much better team than its record when it wants to play. LaPlante, Cowie, Sullivan, Taylor, and Saunders can all score at will. Goaltender Tom Cole has played several games in the Garden, and I think that will give him an advantage over either Snow or Dunham (although I think Cole is not as good a goalie). He has immense confidence there, as does the rest of his team. The nine-day layoff since the BC win could hurt the Huskies. It could also help them calm down a bit and prepare for Maine, a team it knows how to play. I expect them to continue the defensive style they played against BC, and the LaPlante-Taylor-Grossi line will be the one to watch. Maine will try to jump out and get an early lead, to put NU deep in a hole. If they can't do that, this game will be a nailbiter. If you look at the records, how they did this season head-to-head, etc. everything says Maine *should* win. That's why I'm picking the Huskies. PREDICTION: Northeastern 5, Maine 4 (ot). To those of you who would accuse me of jumping on the bandwagon, I say, hey - the bandwagon just got out of the garage a week ago! CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW I don't care who BU faces. They will win because the Garden is their second home, because they are playing as good as anyone in the country right now, and because Amonte, McEachern, Lachance, Tkachuk, Ahola know the next time they step on Garden ice, it will be in an NHL uniform. PREDICTION: Boston University 7, Anybody 4. ADDENDUM The Eastern Guru is looking forward to this weekend - between cable and traveling to the Garden, I should be able to catch all four conference championship games. I will be offering my services to the fine folks at HockeyFest as a game statistician all three nights, so you can wave to me in the press box sometime during the action even though you don't know what I look like. If you're up there, ask around for me. Good luck to fans of all eight teams, have a safe trip to Boston, and I'll look forward to reading your commentaries next week on the list. ******************** See you at HockeyFest! *******************************