Three stories from Saturday ... HARVARD-NEW HAMPSHIRE By JOEL STASHENKO Associated Press Writer ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Sean McCann's slapshot started a five-goal barrage in the third period Saturday night, carrying Harvard to a 7-1 victory over New Hampshire in the quarterfinals of the NCAA hockey tournament. Harvard (24-4-4) advances to the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 1989, when the Crimson beat Minnesota in overtime for the championship. Harvard has given up only two goals in its three playoff games this season. Trailing 2-1, New Hampshire (25-12-3) appeared ready to take Harvard down to the wire in a close-checking, puck-control game before the Crimson exploded in the third period. McCann, a defenseman, took a cross-rink pass from Steve Martins and ripped a shot past New Hampshire goalie Trent Cavicchi from the top of the circle for his 21st goal of the season. It was Harvard's second of three power-play goals in seven attempts. Just 34 seconds later, Harvard's Chris Baird streaked down the left boards and fed Perry Cohagan, whose wrist shot made it 4-1. Less than three minutes after that, Baird finished off a 3-on-1 break by poking the puck past Cavicchi. New Hampshire brought in backup goalie Mike Heinke, but it made no difference. Jason Karmanos scored from in front of the New Hampshire goal with 8:17 to play to put Harvard up 6-1, and Cory Gustafson one-timed a shot past Heinke two minutes later on another power play to complete the rout. Harvard also scored the first time it had a man advantage. With New Hampshire's Scott Malone in the penalty box for high-sticking, Harvard's Brian Farrell circled to the left of the New Hampshire goal and flipped a backhand high over Cavicchi's left shoulder with 6:51 gone in the game. Harvard made it 2-0 when Martins intercepted a pass near center ice, skated into the New Hampshire zone and beat Cavicchi high with a 30-foot slapshot. New Hampshire clamped down on defense in the second period and drew within 2-1 when freshman defenseman Dean Woodman picked up a loose puck near the Harvard goal and lifted a shot past Harvard goalie Tripp Tracy. Tracy was otherwise steady, with 16 saves. Harvard will play Thursday in the semifinals in St. Paul, Minn., against the winner of a West Region quarterfinal between UMass-Lowell and Minnesota. MASSACHUSETTS-LOWELL VS. MICHIGAN STATE EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Ian Hebert and Norm Bazin scored power-play goals late in the first period Saturday and Massachusetts-Lowell held on for a 4-3 victory over Michigan State in NCAA West Regional first-round play. The Chiefs will play Minnesota at 5:30 p.m. EST Sunday. In the first game of Sunday's doubleheader, Lake Superior St. meets top-seeded Michigan at 2 p.m. The Lakers advanced with a 6-5 victory against Northeastern as Mike Morin scored the winning goal 15 seconds into overtime. Michigan State put heavy pressure on Lowell goalie Dwayne Roloson in the third period, but the Spartans were unable to score. Roloson made eight of his 24 saves in the final period. Lowell, which leads the nation in penalty-killing percentage, allowed only one goal in the Spartans' nine power-play chances. "I thought we had to kill too many penalties," said Lowell coach Bruce Crowder. "Other than that, we played well. We controlled the puck in the offensive zone and we did a good job of blocking out in the neutral zone to nullify Michigan State's speed." The Chiefs took a 4-3 lead into the final period. Michigan State's Anson Carter cut the margin to one with 3:51 left in the second period. Carter took a pass from Steve Guolla at center ice and broke in alone on Roloson for his team-leading 30th goal. Lowell's Christian Sbrocca opened the scoring at 6:54 of the first period. A Michigan State shot from the point was blocked, Sbrocca picked up the loose puck and scored on a breakway when goalie Mike Buzak fell attempting to cut down the angle. Guolla tied the game at 13:08 while the Spartans were shorthanded, but Hebert and Bazin scored power-play goals in the last 5:27 of the first period to send the Chiefs to the locker room with a 3-1 advantage. Steve Suk cut Lowell's lead to one goal 58 seconds into the second period. His slap shot from the point on the power play hit defenseman Travis Tucker in the back and caromed into the net. Lowell regained its two-goal margin at 5:19 when Mike Murray's wrist shot from between the faceoff circles beat Buzak, who was screened by two of his defensemen. Crowder said he felt Minnesota, which was idle Saturday, would have a slight advantage in Sunday's game. "That's why teams try to get the first and seconds seeds, so they don't have to play back-to-back," he said. "We play a lot of Friday-Saturday games in Hockey East so we're used to this. We've even played better on the second night." Murray said he felt his shot, which turned out to be the game-winner, might have caught the Spartans by surprise. "The D stayed up so I took a quick shot," he said. "I don't think they were expecting it." Michigan State coach Ron Mason wasn't upset with his team's performance. "We can't play a lot better, but we can finish the plays better than we did tonight," he said. BOSTON UNIVERSITY-WISCONSIN By JOHN KEKIS AP Sports Writer ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Mike Prendergast scored two goals and the Boston University defense stifled Wisconsin Saturday night, sending the Terriers to a 4-1 victory over the Badgers in the second round of the NCAA East Regional. The Terriers (31-7-1) held Wisconsin (26-15-1) to just 13 shots on goal to earn their second trip in four years to college hockey's final four. The Terriers demonstrated throughout why they're the top-ranked team in the nation, especially in the second period when they scored twice and held the Badgers to just two shots on goal. Jay Pandolfo broke a 1-1 tie at 2:26. Shane Johnson started the play, gaining control of the puck at the left point. His blazing shot through traffic clanged off the right goalpost right to Pandolfo, and he tapped it into a wide-open net for his 17th goal of the year. The fourth line, led by Jon Pratt, set up BU's third goal. Pratt lugged the puck up the left side and fed Kaj Linna, who relayed a goalmouth feed to Ken Rausch for an easy tip-in past Wisconsin goalie Jim Carey at 8:53. The Terriers could have had more, if not for Carey's brilliant play. He stopped Pratt on a breakaway less than a minute after Pandolfo's goal, stymied Rich Brennan and Bob Lachance on a pressure-packed BU power play, and got help from the left post on a blast by Lachance midway through the period. BU outshot Wisconsin 11-2 in the second period and 31-14 overall. Prendergast gave BU its three-goal margin of victory on a power play at 8:53 of the third period. Jacques Joubert poked the puck away from Wisconsin defenseman Brian Rafalski in the slot and Prendergast's quick shot whizzed past Carey before he could react. Both teams scored once in the first period, also dominated by BU. Wisconsin's fourth line struck first at 3:09. BU goalie Derek Herlofsky made a pad save on a drive from the right point by Chris Tucker, but Mike Doers pounced on the rebound and poked it in before the BU defense could clear. It was their lone mistake of the night. The Terriers evened the score 75 seconds later off a goalmouth scramble. Steve Thornton took the initial shot at Carey, who ended up sitting in the crease and thought he had the puck covered. But Doug Friedman poked it loose and twice tried to jam it home before Prendergast finally did at 4:24. When the Badgers did get chances, the BU defense was always there. Wisconsin didn't get its second shot on goal in the third period until 4:05 remained. But Herlofsky managed to stay sharp despite his inactivity, snagging a hard drive by Jamie Spencer with his glove. |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | Lynn Burke Newport News, Va. | | [log in to unmask] -- mail still shows [log in to unmask] | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|