NCAA Tournament

[scoop85]

+1.

Love this quote from their AD:

"We certainly wish George the best in his future endeavors and we are thankful for his 19 years at the helm of our hockey program," said Denver athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes. "He certainly had his fair share of success, returning the program to the pinnacle of the collegiate hockey world during our great run in the middle of the previous decade."

Interesting word choices in this article. Looks like it wasn't mutual...

Quite a surprise to me.  I have to think there was more going on there than wins and losses.

[ugarte]

RPI is losing Nick Bailen whom the powerplay was centered around. The powerplay will need to be reconstructed. He will be replaced on the roster by Parker Reno who was a finalist for Minnesota's Mr. Hockey award and is expected to be drafted this year, but he is not the offensive force (and often defensive liability) that Bailen has been. Besides for him, RPI is indeed not losing much. We lost most of the Class of '13 when Jerry D'Amigo and Brandon Pirri left three years ago. We might have been concerned about the loss also of Marty O'Grady, had he not been injured most of the year.

Barring defections to the pros, We aren't going to be losing much a year from now either.

I think you also have to worry about a defection to another Division One school. Word was that Appert was looking for a position at Northeastern a couple years ago after his NCAA appearance. Hopefully he's growing to love the hot dogs at Famous Lunch, but I wouldn't bet a quart of zippy sauce on it.

I am concerned about that, but even people here have said that he has to win something first.

Denver has a sudden opening, with George Gwozdecky unexpectedly departing after 19 seasons.

I've started my stopwatch for the overly-sanctimonious "Denver has the guts to do what Cornell didn't..." post from ScrewBU.

What I expected was "here's the qualified, available coach you've been saying doesn't exist." Because... it's hard to argue with that.

Also, don't fire Schafer.

[jtwcornell91]

1. The ECAC's national performance this year is the best it's been in decades. Obviously the level of competition in the league has improved tremendously.

Counting the current teams, best performance since 1980.  Jeez!  Break up the ECAC!

Clearly, being the only league untouched by the coming apocalypse has left us at the Power Conference.

This is a pretty amazing Frozen Four field.  Just about the only way it could be better is if MankatoMinnesota State had come out of the Midwest instead of SCSU.  I know Penn State and the Big T6n caused the whole mess, but I still blame the NCHC schools for bolting the established Western conferences and leaving them to collapse like a house of cards.

[KeithK]

+1.

Love this quote from their AD:

"We certainly wish George the best in his future endeavors and we are thankful for his 19 years at the helm of our hockey program," said Denver athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes. "He certainly had his fair share of success, returning the program to the pinnacle of the collegiate hockey world during our great run in the middle of the previous decade."

Interesting word choices in this article. Looks like it wasn't mutual...

Quite a surprise to me.  I have to think there was more going on there than wins and losses.

Sounds like it.  Gwod was probably asking for more money (there are references to "contract demands") and the administration might have gotten fed up with him.

[Jim Hyla]

+1.

Love this quote from their AD:

"We certainly wish George the best in his future endeavors and we are thankful for his 19 years at the helm of our hockey program," said Denver athletic director Peg Bradley-Doppes. "He certainly had his fair share of success, returning the program to the pinnacle of the collegiate hockey world during our great run in the middle of the previous decade."

Interesting word choices in this article. Looks like it wasn't mutual...

According to the USCHO article:

Gwozdecky, 59, was to complete a 12-year contract after next season and told the Denver Post before the season was over that he thought an extension was on the way. Instead, according to two Post sources, Gwozdecky was fired and the school will pay the remaining year on his contract.

Read more: http://www.uscho.com/2013/04/01/gwozdecky-steps-down-as-denver-head-coach-after-19-seasons/#ixzz2PG9nmKfi

Not too mutual.

[jeff '84]

From USCHO - Time to give ECAC its due:

http://www.uscho.com/in-the-corner/2013/03/31/commentary-its-time-to-give-the-ecac-their-due/

[nyc94]

Quinnipiac goaltender Eric Hartzell is in the Hobey Hat Trick.

http://www.uscho.com/2013/04/03/gaudreau-hartzell-leblanc-make-up-2013-hobey-hat-trick/

[Jim Hyla]

Nice article from USCHO on the '51 and '52 Yale teams and getting to the NCAAs.

Many things don't change with time:

"I think the '51 and '52 teams were equally good. The '51 team had a better record, but we didn't go out West that year at Christmas," explained Larry Noble Jr., who captained the 1953 edition of the Bulldogs icers. "In '52, we went out and played Denver, Colorado College and Minnesota — two games each

the selection committee — I'm not sure who it was made up of — was highly influenced by the Boston sportswriters. They were always pushing [Boston College] and BU to go out as the two [Eastern] representatives,"

That 1951 team had only one loss at the time the selection committee was supposed to meet. With a tough decision looming, the group delayed the vote until the Harvard-Yale game, the penultimate of Yale's regular season. Harvard won.

"Two hours later, they selected two other teams," Noble said.

But much like with CU Lax, a tournament, or lack thereof, allowed them to get in.

"They decided that BC, BU, Yale and St. Lawrence were the four best teams, and they really couldn't decide among them," Noble said, "so they decreed that there would be a playoff among these four teams. BC and BU thought they deserved to be picked, like they always did, and refused to play in the playoff. So, I think to their huge surprise, the selection committee picked Yale and St. Lawrence."

[Jordan 04]

Quinnipiac goaltender Eric Hartzell is in the Hobey Hat Trick.

http://www.uscho.com/2013/04/03/gaudreau-hartzell-leblanc-make-up-2013-hobey-hat-trick/

Another year, another "Well, if LeNeveu didn't..."

[adamw]

Quinnipiac goaltender Eric Hartzell is in the Hobey Hat Trick.

http://www.uscho.com/2013/04/03/gaudreau-hartzell-leblanc-make-up-2013-hobey-hat-trick/

Another year, another "Well, if LeNeveu didn't..."

LeNeveu was up against a guy with 80 points. No one in this bunch is anywhere close. That's the difference.

[RatushnyFan]

We're all victims of circumstances, right?  That said Lenny's 2002-2003 #s look a little better than Hartzell's.  Re. 80 points, Jeff Panzer had 81 points for UND the year that Ryan Miller won (UND was 29-8-9 in 2000-01).  Perhaps the fact that Miller had just won the award two years prior biased voters against Lenny.  Miller is only the second goalie ever to win the Hobey.

Perhaps Hartzell's numbers alongside of Q's emergence as a true national contender will help him.  The top scorers on Q have only 30 points and I think the team averages only about 3 goals a game so he'll get a lot of credit.

[Josh '99]

We're all victims of circumstances, right?  That said Lenny's 2002-2003 #s look a little better than Hartzell's.

That was a "JUUUUST a bit outside" kind of "a little", not a literal "a little", right?

[CowbellGuy]

We're all victims of circumstances, right?  That said Lenny's 2002-2003 #s look a little better than Hartzell's.

That was a "JUUUUST a bit outside" kind of "a little", not a literal "a little", right?

http://db.elynah.com/player.php?id=27

LeNeveu - 1.20 GAA (1st in nation), 0.940 SV% (1st in nation)
Hartzell - 1.55 GAA (3rd in nation), 0.933 SV% (8th in nation)

But, you know, it's the system and all that...

[gomestar]

this two weeks between regionals and frozen 4 BS is annoying.  total buzzkill from the excitement of last weekend.

[marty]

this two weeks between regionals and frozen 4 BS is annoying.  total buzzkill from the excitement of last weekend.

What is the reasoning behind the week off?