Pre-Olympic Rankings

    The 2010 Winter Olympics open Friday in Vancouver, British Columbia and the International Ice Hockey Federation has released World Rankings. Here's a release and the rankings for men and women from the IIHF using a pre-Olympic point system:

With five days left as of Monday to the opening faceoff of the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, the IIHF released the pre-Olympic World Ranking Report.

Russia, which has won two consecutive IIHF World Championship gold medals, tops the men’s pre-Olympic ranking report with 2925 points ahead of Canada (2905 points) and Sweden (2795). Click here for the men’s complete ranking report.

In the women’s pre-Olympic report, the United States is on top with 1790 points, ahead of Canada (1750 points) and Sweden (1675). Click here for the women’s complete ranking report.

The IIHF World Ranking is a tool to reflect the long-term quality of the countries' national team program. The IIHF World Ranking is based on awarding points for the final positions in the last four IIHF World Championships and in the last Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament.

The system uses a four-year cycle as the points earned in one year decline by linearly 25 percent within the next three years and in the fifth-year results are dropped from the calculation altogether.

Posted by: pates on 2/9/2010 at 10:18 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: winter olympics hockey

Miami Loses Part of Family

The No. 1-ranked Miami of Ohio team lost part of its family last weekend, as student manager Brendan Burke, son of Minnesota native Brian Burke, general manager of the U.S. Olympic men's team and the Toronto Maple Leafs, died along with a passanger in a car accident in Indiana. Here is a story from Sunday's Oxford (Ohio) Press:

By Rick Cassano, Oxford Press Staff Writer

OXFORD, Ohio — Miami University’s hockey players hit the ice with heavy hearts Saturday night.

Stunned by the death of student manager Brendan Burke a day earlier, the top-ranked RedHawks channeled their emotions into a 10-4 pounding of Lake Superior State at Steve Cady Arena.

“There’s really no words to describe the emotions,” Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. “All the boys just really wanted to do this for Brendan. I think it shows the kind of person he was, what he meant to us.

“It was a difficult 24 hours for everybody,” he continued. “I think we all know in the locker room that he was with us tonight.”

Burke, 21, was headed back to Oxford for Friday night’s game when he and a passenger were killed in a car crash in Indiana. Blasi got the news during Friday's game and told the team afterward.

Burke is the son of Brian Burke, general manager of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the U.S. Olympic hockey team.

“Brendan was more than a student manager,” Miami assistant athletic director Josh Fenton said. “The guys in the locker room considered him basically a teammate. They were really, really close to him.

“Brendan had such an infectious personality,” he added. “When he walked into the room, it was a big smile. Everybody loved him. Everybody gravitated towards him.”

Burke made national headlines in November when he went public via ESPN.com that he was gay and how the revelation brought him even closer to his father.

“The reaction was all positive,” Fenton said. “That’s the type of person he was.”

Burke was set to graduate from Miami in May and planned to attend law school. His hockey duties included video breakdown and compilation of goalie statistics.

“Not unlike the Burke family, he had an eye for the game,” Blasi said. “He knew exactly what he was watching. He could pick out things that we as coaches or as a staff needed to get ready for the next weekend.”

RedHawks junior captain Tommy Wingels fought back tears as he spoke about Burke after Saturday’s game. The players placed “BB” stickers on their helmets Saturday, and jersey patches honoring Burke will be added to their uniforms next weekend.

“I tried to stay focused, but everything going through your head is about Brendan,” Wingels said. “Not one guy is going to get through it himself. It’s 27 guys and the coaching staff. I’m just so thankful to have them.”

Burke’s funeral will be Tuesday in Canton, Mass. Blasi said the team will attend.

“We want to be there to support the family because Brendan meant so much to us,” Fenton said. “We think it’s important to be there.” 

Posted by: pates on 2/8/2010 at 8:34 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Tags: brendan burke, brian burke, miami of ohio hockey

USCHO Polls

     Here are Monday's U.S. College Hockey Online polls:

USCHO Division I Men

 1 Miami               (46)    20- 4-6 
 2 Denver              ( 3)    18- 6-4  
 3 Wisconsin           ( 1)   16- 7-4 
 4 St. Cloud State            18- 8-4 
 5 Bemidji State              18- 6-2 
 6 Yale                            14- 6-3 
 7 Minnesota Duluth       18-11-1 
 8 Cornell                        13- 6-3 
 9 Colorado College          17-10-3
10 Boston College            15- 8-2 
11 North Dakota              13-10-5
12 Maine                         14- 9-3
13 Michigan State            17-10-5
14 Ferris State                17- 9-4
15 New Hampshire          13-10-4
16 Union                         15- 7-6
17 Vermont                     13- 9-4
18 Massachusetts            16-11-0
19 Michigan                    16-13-1
20 Mass.-Lowell              14-12-2

Others Receiving Votes: St. Lawrence 28, Alaska 18,
RIT 15, Boston University 8, Rensselaer 8,
Northern Michigan 6, Sacred Heart 5, Lake Superior 3,
Minnesota 1.

USA Today-USA Hockey Magazine

 1 Miami                
 2 Denver                
 3 Wisconsin            
 4 St. Cloud State          
 5 Bemidji State             
 6 Cornell                           
 7 Yale                         
 8 Minnesota Duluth         
 9 Colorado College           
10 Boston College            
11 North Dakota                       
12 Maine           
13 Ferris State              
14 Michigan State          
15 New Hampshire                      

Others receiving votes: Massachusetts, 27; Union College, 21; Vermont, 18; Michigan, 6; Rochester Institute of Technology, 1.

USCHO Division I Women

 1 Mercyhurst          (12)    23-2-3
 2 Minnesota Duluth (2)  21-5-4
 2 Minnesota (2)               21-7-2
 4 Clarkson                       20-7-3
 5 Harvard                       15-5-4 
 6 New Hampshire            16-6-5 
 7 Connecticut                 18-7-5 
 8 Providence                  13-9-8 
 9 Northeastern               16-6-5
10 Wisconsin                   16-11-3

Others Receiving Votes: Cornell 5, Quinnipiac 3,
St. Lawrence 3.

USCHO Division III Men

 1 Oswego   (20)         21-1-0  
 2 Norwich                  16-1-4  
 3 St. Norbert              17-3-3 
 4 St. Scholastica       16-3-4 
 5 Plattsburgh              14-4-4 
 6 Williams                  12-3-3 
 7 Gustavus Adolphus   15-4-2  
 8 Elmira                     16-4-1  
 9 Middlebury               11-4-4  
10 Hamline                  14-4-3  
11 Amherst                  14-3-3  
12 Adrian                     18-3-0  
13 Wentworth               17-2-1 
14 Wis.-River Falls        14-7-2 
15 Bowdoin                   13-5-1  

Others Receiving Votes: Manhattanville 33, Augsburg 5,
Fredonia 5, Neumann 2, Hamilton .

Posted by: pates on 2/8/2010 at 6:37 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: umd hockey, us college hockey online

INCH: No. 11

     Monday's Inside College Hockey Power Rankings are here with Minnesota Duluth at No. 11 noting:

Minnesota Duluth 3    Maybe the Bulldogs want to avoid finishing first in the WCHA to steer clear of a first-round playoff series against Michigan Tech. UMD has been the victim in two of the Huskies’ five wins this season, the most recent coming Friday in Houghton.

Posted by: pates on 2/8/2010 at 7:41 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

Tags: umd hockey

Sunday in the WCHA

     Super Bowl Sunday is being celebrated in Duluth and St. Cloud, Minn., by toasting first-place teams in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. On Saturday night, in the only conference games, UMD rallied to win 3-2 at Michigan Tech, while St. Cloud State clobbered Alaska Anchorage 6-0 at the National Hockey Center.

     UMD (14-7-1) and St. Cloud State (13-6-3) have 29 points each. Denver is third with 28, and Wisconsin and Colorado College are tied for fourth with 25. North Dakota is sixth with 19. (Complete standings at bottom of post.) Denver, Wisconsin and North Dakota have two games in hand over UMD and St. Cloud State.

      The Bulldogs are off this week before finishing against North Dakota, Minnesota and Alaska Anchorage. St. Cloud State is at North Dakota this weekend.

      What else happened Saturday? Finishing nonconference sweeps -- Denver won at Air Force 2-1 in overtime, and Colorado College stopped Mercyhurst 5-3. Wisconsin topped Michigan 3-2 outdoors in Madison's Camp Randall Stadium.

      The PairWise Rankings indicate the WCHA's strength entering the final month of the regular season. Six league teams are in the top 10 -- No. 2 Denver, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 St. Cloud State, No. 7 Colorado College, No. 9 (tie) UMD and North Dakota. That's a drop of three spots for UMD.

       In WCHA games, Mike Connolly leads the league in scoring 9-19-28, tied for second are Justin Fontaine and Jack Connolly with 27, and Rob Bordson is tied for seventh with 23. Kenny Reiter ranks third in goals-against avrage (2.18) and second in save percentage (.920).

     Here's a look at Saturday's games:

     In St. Cloud, Minn., Garrett Roe and Aaron Marvin each had two goals, and Ryan Lasch a goal and two assists as St. Cloud State remains on a pretty good roll. The Huskies are 13-2-2 the last 17 games. Goalie Mike Lee made 33 saves for the team's first shutout in more than a year.

     “(Roe) was the catalyst for our offense tonight,” Marvin told the St. Cloud Times. “He was working up and down the rink, making plays and finishing checks. He put the puck on net. The same thing goes for (Jared) Festler and Lasch (Marvin’s linemates). Those guys don’t quit working. You’re going to get a lot of offense when guys like that set the tone.”

      In Madison, Wis., it was a scene to behold as 55,031 (the second-largest crowd to watch a college game) cheered as Wisconsin rallied with two Brendan Smith power-play goals in the final six minutes to defeat No. 20 Michigan in the Camp Randall Classic. Smith, a junior defenseman, finished the game with a goal with 72 seconds to play. It started in 21 degrees with a NW wind of 11mph. Wisconsin defeated Bemidji State 6-1 in a women's game in the first part of the double-header.

     "That first step out there, hearing the crowd and seeing them hanging over the sides, was something else," Wisconsin left winger Jordy Murray, who had a goal, told the Wisconsin State Journal. "Words can't describe that."

     At the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., a goal credited to Denver's Kyle Ostrow, went off the back of Air Force defenseman Brad Sellers with 57 seconds left in overtime as the Pioneers survived. Denver's Matt Donovan and Air Force's Jacques Lamoureux, with his 18th goal of the season, had earlier goals. Air Force outshot Denver 46-35 and WCHA goalie leder Marc Cheverie earned the victory.

     "We couldn't have played any harder. We couldn't have played any better," Air Force coach Frank Serratore told the Denver Post. "Did [Denver] deserve to win tonight? Not in my book. I thought we were the better team, but you know what? They're the No. 2 team in the country and they found a way to win. That's what championship teams do."

     Also in Colorado Springs, right winger Tyler Johnson of Cloquet had two goals, including an empty-netter with 56 seconds to play as Colorado College topped Mercyhurst College. Johnson has 10 goals this season. Freshman goalie Michael Shibrowski got his first collegiate win. Mercyhurst, beaten 6-0 by UMD last month in Burlington, Vt., had three power-play goals. Colorado College had three second-period goals.

     “In the second period we came out flying and we got some big goals,” said Johnson told the Colorado Springs Gazzette. “Every game is like a playoff game and it was important to get some momentum going into the bye week.”

     And from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, UMD rallied from a two-goal deficit for the fifth time this season to earn a victory and a series split with Michigan Tech. Three special teams goals -- two on power plays and one shorthanded -- led the way. The Mike Connolly-Jack Connolly-Justin Fontaine line was even reunited for the last one-plus periods. Below is a recap from Daver Karnosky of U.S. College Hockey Online:
 

HOUGHTON, Mich. — Looking for their first sweep since 2008 and first home sweep since Oct. 19-20, 2007, the Michigan Tech Huskies Huskies picked up a pair of first period goals, but couldn’t sustain the pressure, allowing the No. 6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to chip away at the lead and skate away with a 3-2 win Saturday night at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

“This is the game you expect when you play against Tech,” said Bulldogs’ coach Scott Sandelin. “A tight, one-goal game. I thought their goalie played great, I thought our goalie played good. It’s a wonder anybody scored any goals out there.”

Mike Connolly finished off the three-goal run for the Bulldogs at 12:16 of the third period with a rebound goal. Connolly took a pass from Jack Connolly and carried the puck nearly the length of the rink before firing a shot and then picking up his own rebound. Wade Bergman also assisted on the goal, Connolly’s 11th of the year.

The Bulldogs (18-11-1 overall, 14-7-1 WCHA) jumped out of the gates flying, taking the game to the Huskies and forcing freshman netminder Kevin Genoe to make several of his 11 opening period stops before the Huskies (5-22-1 overall, 4-18-1 WCHA) got their feet wet. Fortunately for the hosts, Genoe was more than ready for the challenge, finishing the game with 36 saves.

Freshman defenseman Steven Seigo broke the game open for the Huskies with a one-timed shot past Bulldogs’ goaltender Kenny Reiter at 9:38. Assistant captain Jordan Baker made the pass from Reiter’s right to the streaking Seigo, who notched his third goal of the season. Junior center Eric Kattelus, Winter Carnival Most Valuable Player, also assisted on the goal.

“I think we took a good step [this weekend] ,” said Kattelus. “They got some bounces towards the end. We can’t dwell on this for too long.”

The Bulldogs’ best chances to even the game came six minutes later when both Justin Fontaine and Drew Akins had chances in close to Genoe. Fontaine’s initial shot was stopped and Akins picked up the rebound, but Genoe came across the crease to make a huge save.

Fontaine put the Huskies on the power play shortly after and it cost the Bulldogs dearly.

Seigo fed Baker at the right point for a long shot that deflected off a Bulldogs’ defender and past Reiter at 17:01. Seigo and Kattelus both assisted on the goal, Baker’s eighth of the season.

The Bulldogs started the second period the same way they had the first, jumping all over the hosts and any loose pucks they could find along the way. Genoe made numerous solid stops to keep the Huskies on top.

After a batch of penalties put the Huskies on the lesser end of a four-on-three advantage, the Huskies were able to get back on track and get pucks to Reiter. In one shift, Baker, Kattelus, and Dobson missed three chances to bury the puck in a gaping net with Reiter knocked down and out of the crease. Reiter finished the night with 21 stops.

“I thought we had a really good push with some sustained pressure,” said Huskies’ coach Jamie Russell. “I think that might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but we didn’t get a bounce there.”

With freshman defenseman Carl Nielson in the box for holding, the Huskies had a great chance short-handed when Kattelus and freshman winger Mikael Lickteig skated down on a two-on-one, but Lickteig’s shot sailed over the net. After getting the puck back into the offensive zone, the Bulldogs capitalized.

David Grun pounced on a rebound off a shot from Scott Kishel and buried the puck behind Genoe to cut the Huskies’ lead in half at 11:21. Travis Oleksuk also assisted on the goal, Grun’s third of the season.

The Huskies had a power play early in the third period, but the Bulldogs did a great job of keeping the Huskies out near the boards instead of allowing them the passing lanes necessary to set up scoring chances.

The Bulldogs pulled even after Drew Akins netted a power-play goal at 10:26 of the third period. The goal, Akins’ sixth of the season was assisted by Justin Fontaine and Mike Connolly.

The Bulldogs went two-for-seven on the power play while holding the Huskies to one-for-three on the man advantage.

Standings courtesy of College Hockey Stats.net

                         Conference Only                    Overall
                    Pts  GP  Record  Win%  GF- GA   GP  Record  Win%  GF- GA
 1 Minnesota Duluth  29  22 14- 7- 1 .659  74- 58   30 18-11- 1 .617 100- 81
   St. Cloud State   29  22 13- 6- 3 .659  74- 59   30 18- 8- 4 .667  98- 75
 3 Denver            28  20 12- 4- 4 .700  59- 49   28 18- 6- 4 .714  87- 68
 4 Wisconsin         25  20 11- 6- 3 .625  75- 48   27 16- 7- 4 .667 104- 64
   Colorado College  25  22 11- 8- 3 .568  75- 61   30 17-10- 3 .617 103- 79
 6 North Dakota      19  20  8- 9- 3 .475  54- 46   28 13-10- 5 .554  80- 62
 7 Minnesota         18  20  8-10- 2 .450  57- 55   28 13-13- 2 .500  78- 77
   Alaska Anchorage  18  24  8-14- 2 .375  55- 89   28 10-16- 2 .393  67-103
 9 Minnesota State   13  20  6-13- 1 .325  49- 64   28 12-14- 2 .464  75- 74
10 Michigan Tech      8  22  4-18- 0 .182  47- 90   28  5-22- 1 .196  59-114

Posted by: pates on 2/7/2010 at 10:01 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

Tags: umd hockey, wcha