Seems like both games got pretty good coverage on the list, so I'll only make a few comments about each game. LSSU vs. Harvard/Greatest Hits Too bad this wasn't the final. These were the best two teams. Watching this game was like looking at a greatest hits film for the '94 hockey season. I have never seen such a physical game the whole season, and never seen so many bone crushing checks. So how did LSSU win? The same way they always win. It's the machine. Take any LSSU team from the last five years and tell me you could tell which year? Last year maybe they had a little more offense with Rolston. But other than that the picture would be the same. Blue and Gold player creaming an opposing player against the side boards. Puck staying in the corners. No real offensive rushes. I can't understand why more college coaches haven't copied the Jeff Jackson system. Sure it's boring and your players have to be in top condition. But look at the results. Now Harvard played an outstanding game. In fact they probably make the top 5 best hits list. They played 3 periods of flawless, intense hockey. However one defensive lapse gives the system the win. Aaron Israel played slightly behind Lacher, so guess who won? Lacher apparently has regained his end of season form. Some of his stops were virtually unconscious. The game started off the worst possible way for Harvard. LSSU starts its board slamming routine, and Israel can't come up with his first save. A slight Harvard miscue has their defense bunched to the left of the net with the puck bouncing to the right. Barnes alertly flies in and lays a tough wrister by Israel. Before the score Harvard starts its own highlight film. McCann lays a crushing hit on a LSSU player, and McCann and Ferreri sandwich LSSU's Beddoes with a nasty pile driver hit. The period continues with Harvard smacking LSSU players, LSSU smothering Harvard against the boards. As usual commentator Norton makes a good analysis noting that LSSU's forechecking of the Harvard's D's into the boards prevents Harvard from getting any kind of offensive rush. While Harvard's forwards, like Steve Martins, force the puck up-ice, they have no trailers to dish off to. The second period starts with another good Norton comment. He notes Harvard had modified its break-out play to try and screen off the initial LSSU forechecker. And Harvard begins to find a little more open ice to operate in. From midway through the first through most of the second, Harvard is able to dominate play. Lacher however dominates the scoreboard. It takes a perfect shot from Brian Farrell to get Harvard on the board. Farrell takes the puck at his own blue line and skates through center ice. As soon as he enters the offensive zone he lets loose with a screamer that ends up in the LSSU net. At first I thought Lacher had choked, but a replay shows Farrell had made an almost impossible shot. Skating to his left, Farrell lets loose a shot traveling to his right. Lacher, properly positioned to cut the angle, sees the shot cross in front of him, and squeezes between his glove and the right post. Norton quite correctly points out there is nothing Lacher could have done to prevent that shot. The period ends with a near LSSU score. Although dominated by Harvard, they still end up with a 2 on 1, with Israel coming up big to save the tie score. And one other Norton gem. Commenting on Harvard's Cory Gustavson, "nifty as can be, like the Ice Capades..." Third period continues the LSSU re-assertion. Tallaire scores on an illegal pick play. The replay shows Beddoes takes out McCann and his defensive partner with an guide missile hit. Harvard's Farrell comes right back shortly thereafter on a nice power play goal to re-tie the game at 2-2. The remaining seven minutes see LSSU and Harvard hanging on. Lacher manages to push Steve Martins shot, after his flight up the right side, over the net. Harvard manages to skate through a 5 minute major, the result of an out-of- control Nielsen boarding. Aaron Israel comes up big repeatedly for Harvard, getting them out of the period and into overtime. In the overtime LSSU makes it 3 OT's, 3 wins. Harvard makes its only major defensive mistake of the game. The two Harvard defensemen get caught up-ice, actually only to the right of the blue line. But the machine, perfectly positioned as always, has two LSSU forwards free on the right at mid-ice. Beddoes takes the puck in on a breakaway, actually a 2-0, shoots 5 hole, and Israel can't save the game. 3-2 LSSU, take a ticket for the next victim. Minnesota/BU Not going to report much about this game. It was boring. Minnesota, except for a momentary flurry in the first 8 minutes of the second period, never was in the game. Not to say the crowd wasn't. I think that was one of the loudest college hockey crowds I have ever heard. At times you could barely hear the announcers. BU however eventually silenced them by the third. BU should be awarded the title WCHA wrecker of the year. Playing a virtually identical game as the semi-final win over Wisconsin, BU's suffocating defense never allows Minnesota to skate. I thought Linna and O'Sullivan had particularly strong games. Most of the Gopher shots are of the weak variety, single shot episodes that JP McKersie easily picks off. I was surprised to see McKersie in net. But I guess that makes Jack Parker look like a genius. Now he has a rested Herlofsky for Saturday night. And Herlofsky could definitely use the rest. Pomichter is the BU star of the game, coming up with the second and fourth BU goals. The other posts cover the scoring more than adequately. It was BU from start to finish. A good rehearsal for their next game, which will be unlike any they have played all year. Officiating in both games IMO, was a little strange. The first two periods of LSSU/Harvard saw few penalties called, despite the bodies that seemed to be littering the ice. Then in the third *mild* hits get whistled. But I can't say the officials affected the outcome. Similarly the BU/Minnesota game didn't see a lot of penalties. Shegoes and his CCHA crew allowed a lot of nasty hits throughout the game without blowing their whistles. Minnesota seemed to have dished out a lot of illegal hits, but I would guess the refs let the players skate on, since BU dominated play without any help from the zebras. Saturday night look for an all-out defensive brawl. BU will try to hold up LSSU forwards everywhere on the ice. LSSU will slam BU's talented defensemen against the boards. BU will be unable to generate any offense from its defense. LSSU will only score off BU errors. Either team could win this one, but I like LSSU because the machine will just go on, and Lacher will come up big. It won't be an offensive showcase, just a textbook on how to play hockey. _ "NYS // Hockey" Go 'Gate // Brian Morris Go RPI // Albany, NY ______// [log in to unmask] (______/