March 14, 2011

ATHLETIC REPUBLIC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK #20 RYAN FLANIGAN, MERRIMACK (Junior Forward; Rochester, N.Y.) Flanigan led the Warriors with two goals and six points on the weekend and a +7 rating, including a career-high three assists, four points and a +5 in Saturday's clinching win. ATHLETIC REPUBLIC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK #10 JIMMY HAYES, BOSTON COLLEGE (Junior Forward; Dorchester, Mass.) Scored four of the team's eight goals, including a hat trick in BC's series-clinching win on Saturday, in two wins over Massachusetts. PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK #15 BRODIE REID, NORTHEASTERN (Freshman Forward; Delta, B.C.) Reid scored a point in every game in the quarterfinals. His two-goal and one assist performance on Sunday night marked a career-high three points. It was the second time the Delta, B.C. native has scored two goals in a game. The rookie has scored three goals and two assists in his postseason debut for the Huskies. PURE HOCKEY DEFENSIVE PLAYER/WEEK #30 MATT DI GIROLAMO, UNH (Junior Goaltender; Ambler, Pa.) Di Girolamo turned away 56-of-60 shots to lift UNH to a weekend sweep of UVM in the Hockey East quarterfinals. He posted a 2.00 GAA and a .933 save percentage for the weekend. HOCKEY EAST TEAM OF THE WEEK NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES The Huskies were the only road team in the quarterfinals to advance winning the decisive third game on Sunday night by a 5-4 score at Agganis Arena. The Huskies are making their seventh appearance in the Hockey East semifinals.

Athletic Republic Co-Players of the Week Ryan Flanigan of Merrimack and Jimmy Hayes of Boston College ARMY ROTC THREE STARS AWARD At the conclusion of each Hockey East game, the " Army ROTC Three Stars of The Game" are selected. Congratulations to UNH's Paul Thompson for winning this year's Army ROTC Three Stars Award. Here are the final 2010-2011 season leaders: Rk. Name Cl. Pos. School 1. Paul Thompson Sr. F UNH 2. Kieran Millan Jr. G BU 3. Cam Atkinson Jr. F BC 4. Wade MacLeod Sr. F NU 5. Brian Gibbons Sr. F BC 5. Chris Connolly Jr. F BU   Chris Rawlings So. G NU

HOCKEY EAST WEEKLY TOP PERFORMERS

Barry Almeida, BC (Jr., F, Springfield, Mass.) Recorded three points (1g,2a) in a pair of home wins over Massachusetts.

Mike Collins, MC (Fr., F, Boston, Mass.) Notched the game-winner with a power play goal Saturday.

Justin Courtnall, BU (So., F, Victoria, B.C.) Recorded a point (2g,1a) in each game of the Terriers' quarterfinal series with Northeastern

Robby Dee, Maine (Sr., F, Plymouth, Minn.) Had two goals and an assist in Maine's 5-4 loss at Merrimack on Friday night…

Phil DeSimone, UNH (Sr., F, East Amherst, N.Y.) Had a goal and three assists in UNH's weekend sweep of Vermont.

Brian Gibbons, BC (Sr., F, Braintree, Mass.) Tallied two points, including his fourth shorthanded goal in Friday's 4-1 win, in a pair of wins over UMass.

Kevin Goumas, UNH (Fr., F, Lake Worth, Fla.) Handed out an assist in each game over the weekend. He fired seven shots on net and was a +2.

Wade MacLeod, NU (Sr., F, Coquitlam, B.C.) Scored a point in all three playoff games against BU, notching four in all with two goals and two assists.

Carter Madsen, MC (Jr., F, Okotoks, Alta.) Tallied his first career hat trick in Saturday's win and picked up five points and +6 rating on the weekend.

John Muse, BC (Sr., G, East Falmouth, Mass.) Recorded 44 saves (on 47 shots; .936 save percentage) in earning two wins over Massachusetts.

Gustav Nyquist, Maine (Jr., F, Malmo, Sweden) Had a goal and four assists in Maine's weekend series at Merrimack.

Joe Pereira, BU (Sr., F, West Haven, Conn.) Scored two goals in BU's 5-2 win over Northeastern on Friday.

Chris Rawlings, NU (So., G, North Delta, B.C.) Won his first postseason series with a combined 71 saves, going 2-1-0 against Boston University.

Ryan Ruikka, BU (So., D, Chelsea, Mich.) Tallied two goals in the quarterfinal series versus Northeastern.

Elliott Sheen, MC (Jr., F, Lethbridge, Alta.) Posted five points and a +6 on the weekend with a career-high three points in Friday's win vs. Maine.

Steve Silva, NU (Sr., F, Tyngsboro, Mass.) Scored a playoff-high six points (3g,3a) in the three-game BU series.

Mike Sislo, UNH (Sr., F, Superior, Wis.) Had a goal and two assists over the weekend vs. the Catamounts.

Paul Thompson, UNH (Sr., F, Derry, N.H.) Buried a pair of goals and added an assist in a weekend sweep of Vermont in the Hockey East quarterfinals.

Matt White, UVM (Fr., F, McMurray, Pa.) Tallied a goal and an assist in less than four minutes of the third period for Vermont in Game 2.

CAREER FIRSTS/MILESTONES/WHO's HOT

Nick Bruneteau, UVM (Omaha, Neb.) Netted his first career goal in the third period of Game 2 at second seeded UNH

Paul Dainton, UMass (Iqaluit, Nunvut) Finished his career with the UMass records for saves (3,226) and minutes played (7,043) – he was second in GAA (2.79) and Sv% (.908) to only Jon Quick

Phil DeSimone, UNH (East Amherst, N.Y.) Has five points in the last three games and became the third Wildcat to surpass 40 points this season

Jimmy Hayes, BC (Dorchester, Mass.) Scored goal Nos. 16-20 over the weekend to join classmate Cam Atkinson as the team's 20-goal scorers

Merrimack's Line of Flanigan-Madsen-Sheen Combined for 16 points and +19 over the weekend

Will O'Neill, Maine (Salem, Mass.) Played in his 100th career game on Friday night at Merrimack

Steve Silva . NU (Tyngsboro, Mass.) Earned his 50th-career assists and 70th-career point in Friday night's game at Boston University

Mike Sislo, UNH (Superior, Wis.) Has seven points in the last five games including an active three-game scoring streak

T.J. Syner, UMass (Springfield, Mass.) Finished the year with points in 9 of the last 11 games with 2 goals and 7 assists

Joe Whitney, BC (Reading, Mass.) Assisted on Cam Atkinson's power-play goal 14 seconds into Friday's middle period, marking the senior's 100th career assist

TEAM NOTES

Boston College: BC advanced to the Hockey East Tournament's semifinal round for the seventh straight season. The Eagles defeated Massachusetts in a best-of-three game series for the second straight season and improved to 6-1 against the Minutemen in league tournament meetings. The team's senior class captured its 99th and 100th victories and finished 13-2- 1 in 16 career games against UMass ... With 44 saves over the weekend, senior goaltender John Muse now has 3,605 career saves and its tied with Greg Taylor (1993-97) for the school's record…Captain Joe Whitney, who tallied two points over the weekend, assisted on Cam Atkinson's power-play goal 14 seconds into Friday's middle period, marking the senior's 100th career assist. Whitney joins classmate Brian Gibbons as two of 15 players in school history to record 100 assists in a career. Gibbons, who scored his fourth shorthanded goal and ninth shorthanded point of the season over the weekend, and junior Cam Atkinson (4-2-6) lead a total of six BC players who have scored the team's 13 shorthanded goals this winter; BC went 12- for-13 in penalty-killing situations over the weekend…Jimmy Hayes' hat trick in Saturday's win marked the team's first of the season and first since Cam Atkinson vs. Yale in the 2010 NCAA Northeast Regional final in Worcester, Mass. He recorded his last three-goal effort in an 8-6 home win vs. UNH on Nov. 15, 2008.

Boston University: The Terriers had their league record of nine straight Hockey East semifinal appearances come to an end with a loss in three games to Northeastern in the quarterfinal round…Sunday's decisive third game marked the fifth contest in 10 days between the crosstown rivals…After scoring just one goal each in the regular season, sophomores Justin Courtnall and Ryan Ruikka both tallied two goals over the weekend…Junior Kevin Gilroy (North Bellmore, N.Y.), who had a four-game point streak come to an end on Sunday, has scored four (3g, 1a) of his 11 career points against Northeastern, including half of his six career goals…This marked just the seventh time in 27 years – and first since 2001 – that the Terriers lost in the quarterfinals…Freshman defenseman Adam Clendening (Wheatfield, N.Y.) leads all Hockey East rookies in assists with 21…Junior Kieran Millan (Edmonton, Alta.) broke BU's single-season saves record on Friday and now has 1,180 on the year. He ranks second all-time in goaltender wins at BU with 61, one behind Sean Fields '04…BU's 5-2 victory on Friday was its 11 come-from-behind win of the year, as the Huskies scored first in each of the three games this weekend…Freshman Matt Nieto (Long Beach, Calif.) scored two goals in the series and has 21 points (9g, 12a) in his last 27 games.

Maine: Maine dropped its Hockey East quarterfinal series at Merrimack… Gustav Nyquist netted his 50th career goal on Friday night and has tallied 50 goals and 94 assists for 144 career points in three seasons with the Black Bears. He is currently tied for 17th on Maine's all-time scoring list. Nyquist finished the season with a seven game scoring streak and had two or more points in all of those seven games…He has scored 14 points in 10 Hockey East playoffs games during his career…Nyquist has led the Black Bears in scoring three straight seasons, the first Black Bear since Steve Kariya (1996-1999) to accomplish the feat… Junior defenseman Will O'Neill played in his 100th career game on Friday night at Merrimack. He was one of nine Black Bears to have eclipsed the 100-games played plateau…Five different Black Bears tallied 35 or more points during the season…Maine was 14-2-2 on the season when scoring four or more goals, with one of the two losses being on Friday night at Merrimack…Brian Flynn (Lynnfield, Mass.) scored his 20th career goal on Saturday at Merrimack. He becomes the first Black Bear to notch 20 goals in a season since Josh Soares during the 2006-07 campaign.

Massachusetts: UMass has made the HEA Tournament for the 9th straight season and 14th time overall since joining the league in 1994-95 after finishing 8th in the regular-season standings…UMass fell 4-1 and 4-2 at Boston College in the Hockey East Quarterfinals to finish the season…UMass was 1-10 this season in 1-goal games…UMass had 24 games either decided by one goal, end in a tie, end in an overtime loss, or was a one-goal game settled with an opponent empty-net goal out of 35 total games…After going 0-for-33 on the power play in the previous six games, UMass is 6-for-40 with the extra-man in the last eight games…Freshmen accounted for 40 of UMass' goals this year and 68 assists – 45% of UMass' total goals scored and 46% of the total assists…UMass will return 9 of its top 10 point producers in 2011-12 along with eight of its nine defensemen…UMass finished the season ranked 7th in Hockey East for scoring offense (2.51 gpg), 9th in defense (3.49 gpg), 9th on the power play (12.5%, 22-of-176) and 9th on the penalty kill (77.8%, 123-of-158).

Merrimack: Defeating Maine 5-4 Friday and 6-2 Saturday, Merrimack advanced to the Hockey East Semifinals for the second time in school history and will play New Hampshire Friday at 8 p.m. at the TD Garden…Merrimack took the season-series from the Wildcats winning two of three games…Merrimack's only semifinal appearance was in 1998 when it lost to BC 7-2…The third line of Ryan Flanigan (Rochester, NY), Carter Madsen (Okotoks, Alta.), and Elliott Sheen (Lethbridge, Alta.) dominated the weekend, combining for 16 points, while scoring seven of 11 Merrimack goals. The trio also combined for a +19 rating. Flanigan set career-highs with three assists and four points Saturday, while Madsen had his first career hat trick Saturday. Sheen totaled a career-high two goals and three points Friday…Merrimack finishes this season with a 14-2-1 at Lawler Arena, its best home mark since joining Division I. The Warriors won eight straight at home to conclude the season and also recorded 10 sellouts in 17 games…The Warriors rank second in Hockey East in offense, defense and power play and are sixth nationally in scoring margin…Merrimack likely wrapped up its second-ever Division I NCAA Tournament berth and its first since 1988.

New Hampshire: UNH completed a sweep of the seventh-seeded Vermont to advance to the Hockey East semifinals at TD Garden for the first time since 2007-08. The 'Cats had been to the Garden eight-straight seasons before a recent two-year hiatus...New Hampshire finished the year 4-0-1 in five games against Vermont…The 'Cats will draw fourth-seeded Merrimack College. UNH is 8-0-0 lifetime against Merrimack in the Hockey East playoffs...Mike Sislo lifted the Wildcats into the semifinals with the game-winner with three minutes remaining in the third period. Sislo has seven points in the last five games…Matt Di Girolamo moved into fourth on the single season saves list with 1057 saves. Mike Ayers holds the single-season record with 1,139 saves…Paul Thompson became just the seven Wildcat since 2000 to register 50 points in a single season with 52 points on 28 goals and 24 assists…Phil DeSimone, who has five points in the last three games, moved past 40 points with 10 goals and 30 assists…UNH captured its 20th win on Friday night and now has 20 wins in 14-of-the-last-15 season, while Head Coach Dick Umile has 18 20-win campaigns.

Northeastern: Northeastern's game three victory clinched the Huskies first quarterfinals road series win since 1991. The Huskies topped Boston College, 6-5, on Feb. 27, 1991 in a single-game elimination bout. Northeastern assistant coach Sebastien Laplante tallied a Hockey East quarterfinals tournament record five points in that victory when he was a student-athlete. Sunday's victory marks the first time Northeastern ousted Boston University from the Hockey East playoffs since 1987 in a single-game elimination. The Huskies won, 3-2. Northeastern's quarterfinal win over the Terriers ended Boston University's league-record nine-year run to the TD Garden for the Hockey East semifinals. Steve Silva is tied with Merrimack's Ryan Flanigan for the league lead in postseason points with six. Silva has accounted for three goals and three assists this postseason. The Tyngsboro, Mass. native matched a career-best tonight by scoring at least one point on his last six games. In Sunday's win, Silva scored a goal and an assist, marking his sixth multi-point game this season and 16th of his career. Brodie Reid has scored a point in every game in the quarterfinals. Reid's two-goal and one assist performance marks first time he has posted three points in a game. It's also the second time the Delta, B.C. native has scored two goals in a game. The rookie has scored three goals and two assists in his postseason debut. Rob Dongara and Braden Pimm both contributed two assists in Sunday's triumph over BU. The two-point showings for both rookies comes as career-firsts. Pimm now has three points in the playoffs (1-2-3) while Dongara has the two (0-2-2). Wade MacLeod is now tied with Kevin Heffernan as the 25th-most prolific goal scorer in Northeastern history. MacLeod has scored 59 goals in his career. MacLeod also surpassed Leo Dupere and is now the 22ndhighest point scorer in Huskies history with 133 (59-74-133). Northeastern will make its seventh semifinals appearance in Hockey East history and second in the last three years. The Huskies have made it to the semifinals in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2009 and 2011.

Vermont: The University of Vermont finished the season with a pair of losses in the Hockey East Quarterfinals at No. 10 New Hampshire Friday (March 11) and Saturday (March12)…The Catamounts fell 3-1 Friday night at the Whittemore Center as the Wildcats potted goals in each period…UVM held UNH to just four shots in the opening period…Sebastian Stalberg notched his ninth goal of the season in the second period and Anthony DeCenzo picked up the assist…Vermont only took one penalty in Game 1, but the Wildcats converted with the man-advantage as Phil DeSimone provided the game-winner…The Catamounts erased a 3-1 deficit in the third period of Game 2 on goals from freshmen Matt White (3) and Nick Bruneteau (1), but the Wildcats captain Mike Sislo tallied a goal 34 seconds after the Bruneteau strike and UNH held on for the 4-3 victory to advance to the Hockey East Semifinals at the TD Garden in Boston…On the weekend Vermont received points from Bruneteau (1g), DeCenzo (1a), Stalberg (1g), White (1g, 1a), Ben Albertson (1g), Connor Brickley (1a), Dan Lawson (1a), Drew MacKenzie (1a), Kevan Miller (1a), Matt Marshall (1a)…Rob Madore stopped 30 shots Friday and 35 shots Saturday bringing his saves total to 1,022 on the year, which is 57 shy of Tim Thomas' single-season saves record of 1,079, set in the 1996-97 season…Vermont finishes the season with a record of 8-20-8.

COMMISSIONER's CORNER by Joe Bertagna

As our four semifinalists enjoy the spotlight they have so richly earned, I'd like to deflect some of the attention to our fifth team at the Garden this weekend. The referees who will be chosen to work the championship round have also earned the trip to Boston on the strength of season-long hard work and surviving the quarterfinals. These men long ago realized that they would be the object of criticism from fans and media and coaches alike, though the latter occasionally do find the time to let the men in stripes know that they appreciate their efforts. I have never been a referee and maybe it is my experience as a goaltender that makes me sympathetic to the officials' experience. But watching them up close over the past four nights has only added to the appreciation I hold for them. It is not an easy game to do but Hockey East players, coaches, fans and media should take comfort in knowing that the officials working our biggest games take a backseat to no one in the country.