NCRHA Nationals, Day Two

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

The Michigan State University vs. Central Florida game has just begun, and 15 seconds in, MSU takes the early lead on a goal by Tony Ascenzo, 1-0. At 10:27, MSU scores again, this time by Garett Radford. At 9:23, Ascenzo gets his second of the game, and fifth goal in two games, by my reckoning. Central Florida takes a penalty, and pays: 4-0, unsure of who scored. CF takes another penalty, pays again: 5-0, goal by Eric Lubanski, with 5:07 remaining in the first period.

There's a delay on the rink, as Ascenzo takes a five-minute major and Mark Lipson a minor, giving Central Florida a two-man advantage and a chance to get on the scoreboard. Poor passing and bad bounces kill about a minute off the clock before #12 scores. However, still down two men, MSU's Garett Radford gets a breakaway and scores, making it 6-1 with less than a minute to go in the first.... and that's how the first period ends.

[RichardGraham]

In earlier games today at the Tour Arena, UC San Diego defeated Saint Louis, 4-2; Lindenwood crushed North Texas, 14-0; Buffalo beat Florida International, 9-4; and Missouri St. Louis defeated Colorado State, 7-2.

In games at the Colorado Sports Center, Florida held off Rutgers, 4-1; Michigan outlasted UNLV, 9-6; and Eastern Michigan shut out Stony Brook, 2-0. Long Beach State and Towson are apparently in progress.

[RichardGraham]

In the second period, Central Florida held MSU off the scoreboard for most of the period, but Jim Goodliffe scored with about 3:35 left, and 33 seconds later, Eric Lubanksi made it 8-1 in favor of MSU.

[The weather outside blowing wind and sleet, not fit for man nor beast. Keep the doors closed and roll up your collar.]

Shots favor MSU 26-15. The period ends with the same 8-1 score.

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

I'm going to an NCRHA coaches symposium at the Marriott for a couple of hours, please check http://www.NCRHA.org for updates for the time being.

Thanks!

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

OK, I'm back. In my absence, here are some of the results:

At the Colorado Sports Center, Towson defeated Long Beach State, 5-1; Rhode Island clipped Ohio State, 5-3; and Albany beat Temple, 7-3. In a game in progress, Sam Houston State is leading Washington (St. Louis), 5-3.

At the Tour Inline Hockey Arena, Michigan State stomped Central Florida, 10-2; Irvine squeaked past Missouri Columbia, 3-2; Cal Poly Pomona outskated Louisiana Lafayette, 8-3; and in a game in progress, Neumann (Nuemann!*) is handily ahead of Elon, 7-1, with 4 minutes to go.

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

CSU San Bernardino (DII) - 2
Truman State (DII) - 1

1st Intermission

1st Period Goals
CSU - Christian Bernad (Michael Craven)
CSU - Michael Craven (Christian Bernad, Matthew Takahashi) (PP)
Truman State - Dan Moody (unnassisted)

1st Period Penalties
Truman State - Drew Vandas (Tripping)
Truman State - Drew Vandas (Hooking)
CSU - Nicolas Pogu (Delay of Game)

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

CSU San Bernardino (DII) - 2
Truman State (DII) - 4

2nd Intermission

1st Period Goals
CSU - Christian Bernad (Michael Craven)
CSU - Michael Craven (Christian Bernad, Matthew Takahashi) (PP)
Truman State - Dan Moody (unnassisted)

1st Period Penalties
Truman State - Drew Vandas (Tripping)
Truman State - Drew Vandas (Hooking)
CSU - Nicolas Pogu (Delay of Game)

2nd Period Goals
Truman State - Dane Moody (unassisted) (PP)
Truman State - Truman Patterson (Jim Dougherty, Dane Moody) (PP)
Truman State - Truman Patterson (unassisted)

2nd Period Penalties
CSU - Christian Bernad (Hooking)

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

CSU San Bernardino (DII) - 3
Truman State (DII) - 7

Final

1st Period Goals
CSU - Christian Bernad (Michael Craven)
CSU - Michael Craven (Christian Bernad, Matthew Takahashi) (PP)
Truman State - Dan Moody (unnassisted)

1st Period Penalties
Truman State - Drew Vandas (Tripping)
Truman State - Drew Vandas (Hooking)
CSU - Nicolas Pogu (Delay of Game)

2nd Period Goals
Truman State - Dane Moody (unassisted) (PP)
Truman State - Truman Patterson (Jim Dougherty, Dane Moody) (PP)
Truman State - Truman Patterson (unassisted)

2nd Period Penalties
CSU - Christian Bernad (Hooking)

3rd Period Goals
Truman State - Drew Vandas (Unassisted)
CSU - Michael Craven (Unassisted)
Truman State - Zach Rohne (Unassisted)
Truman State - Truman Patterson (Drew Vandas)

3rd Period Penalties
Truman State - Neil Bales (Roughing)
CSU - Bench Minor
Truman State - Ronnie Gentile (Hooking)
CSU - Brad Williams (Roughing)
CSU - Nicolas Pogu (Tripping)

[RichardGraham]

Final score, Neumann 8, Elon 1. Next up, Truman State vs. CSU San Bernardino.

San Berdoo strikes first, 17 seconds into the game, 1-0, built that lead to 2-0, and then watched it disappear. Now, with 11:38 left in the game, Truman State leads 5-2, and seems to have all the momentum.

Where was this reporter for the rest of the game? Please check out the IHC Home Page for the answer.

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

West Chester (DII) - 2
UC San Diego (DII) - 0

1st Intermission

1st Period Goals
West Chester - Bob McLaughlin (Eric Keene)
West Chester - Tim Saraceni (Steve Close)

1st Period Penalties
West Chester - Mike Caroll (Holding)
West Chester - Eric Keene (High Sticking)
West Chester - Mike Caroll (Roughing)

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

West Chester (DII) - 2
UC San Diego (DII) - 1

2nd Intermission

1st Period Goals
West Chester - Bob McLaughlin (Eric Keene)
West Chester - Tim Saraceni (Steve Close)

1st Period Penalties
West Chester - Mike Caroll (Holding)
West Chester - Eric Keene (High Sticking)
West Chester - Mike Caroll (Roughing)

2nd Period Goals
UC San Diago - Ben Yeaton (Stephen Lockwood)

2nd Period Penalties
West Chester - Jon Edwards (High Sticking)
West Chester - Mike Caroll (Cross Check)
West Chester - Eric Keene (Holding)

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

West Chester (DII) - 3
UC San Diego (DII) - 3

Final

1st Period Goals
West Chester - Bob McLaughlin (Eric Keene)
West Chester - Tim Saraceni (Steve Close)

1st Period Penalties
West Chester - Mike Caroll (Holding)
West Chester - Eric Keene (High Sticking)
West Chester - Mike Caroll (Roughing)

2nd Period Goals
UC San Diago - Ben Yeaton (Stephen Lockwood) (PP)

2nd Period Penalties
West Chester - Jon Edwards (High Sticking)
West Chester - Mike Caroll (Cross Check)
West Chester - Eric Keene (Holding)

3rd Period Goals
UC San Diago - Ben Yeaton (Brian Keefe)
West Chester - Tim Saraceni (unassisted)
UC San Diago - Kenny McCubbins (Jeff Ponton)

3rd Period Penalties
West Chester - Jon Edwards (Tripping)
UC San Diago - Ben Yeaton (Interference)

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

I went to the Colorado Sports Center to see some games and accidentally left my Nikon digital camera next to my laptop. Dumb move, as it's apparently gone. On the bright side, my laptop was still there. So, I'm a little bit annoyed right now. If the person who picked it up (by accident) wants to return it, no questions asked, it's got a few photos of the tournament, the Ace Jerseys booth, etc. Thanks.

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

Michigan - 0
Buffalo - 2

1st Intermission

1st Period Goals
Buffalo - Joe Malinowski (Tyler Walser)
Buffalo - Tyler Walser (Joe Malinowski)

1st Period Penalties
Buffalo - Adam Hirsch (Roughing)
Michigan - Chuck Nguyen (Hooking)
Buffalo - Adam Hirsch (Slashing)

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

Michigan - 1
Buffalo - 2

2nd Intermission

1st Period Goals
Buffalo - Joe Malinowski (Tyler Walser)
Buffalo - Tyler Walser (Joe Malinowski)

1st Period Penalties
Buffalo - Adam Hirsch (Roughing)
Michigan - Chuck Nguyen (Hooking)
Buffalo - Adam Hirsch (Slashing)

2nd Period Goals
Michigan - Eric Drucker (James Arakaki)

2nd Period Penalties
Michigan - Paul Brda (Roughing)

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

Here are the updated final scores since I last posted:

Truman State - 7, CSU San Bernardino - 4
Western Carolina - 1, Maine - 7
Missouri State - 4, Grand Valley State - 6
Shippensburg - 7, SIU - Carbondale - 3
UC San Diego - 3, West Chester - 3
Saint Louis - 9, Tampa - 3
Lindenwood - 7, Florida - 0
Rutgers - 8, North Texas - 1

Right now, at the Tour Inline Hockey Arena, there's a good game going between Michigan and State University of New York at Buffalo. Buffalo is leading 2-1 with 5:15 left to go in the second period. Shots on goal are even at 9-9. This one could be a great one, after several blow-outs.

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

Michigan - 1
Buffalo - 2

Final

1st Period Goals
Buffalo - Joe Malinowski (Tyler Walser)
Buffalo - Tyler Walser (Joe Malinowski)

1st Period Penalties
Buffalo - Adam Hirsch (Roughing)
Michigan - Chuck Nguyen (Hooking)
Buffalo - Adam Hirsch (Slashing)

2nd Period Goals
Michigan - Eric Drucker (James Arakaki)

2nd Period Penalties
Michigan - Paul Brda (Roughing)

3rd Period Goals
No goals scored.

3rd Period Penalties
No penalties assessed.

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

whats the deal with the stick Richard?

[RichardGraham]

Hi AJ,

Good question. I'm not sure. Thanks for the scoring updates -- very cool.

Actually, I just found out. Apparently, one of the Buffalo players had shaved his stickblade at the end, squaring it off, and the referee believed it could cause injury.

[RichardGraham]

Hi Folks,

Wow. About an hour ago, I'd written:

"There's a good game going between Michigan and State University of New York at Buffalo. Buffalo is leading 2-1 with 5:15 left to go in the second period. Shots on goal are even at 9-9. This one could be a great one, after several blow-outs."

I never expected that the scoring would end there, but it did. 36 minutes of play, 50 total shots (Michigan had the edge, 23-17), and only three goals. Tons of great chances and excellent goaltending, though. Both teams should be proud of their efforts.

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

Stony Brook - 2
UM - St. Louis - 1

1st Intermission

1st Period Scoring
UM - St. Louis - Blake Propp (PJ Tallo)
Stony Brook - Ricky Napoli (Jim Tamburino)
Stony Brook - Tom Cartwright (Ricky Napoli) (PP)

1st Period Penalties
UM - St. Louis - Aaron Schulz (Slashing)
UM - St. Louis - Andy Meade (Kneeing)
UM - St. Louis - Blake Propp (Slashing)

[RichardGraham]

Stony Brook 2, UM St. Louis - 2, with four minutes to go in the second period. This is another great game, and the crowd is really into it. Shots favor Stony Brook, 13-8.

Players are standing on both benches, and a terrible Toni Basil song plays on the sound system at stoppages of play. Where's the Black Sabbath when you need it?

Both of these teams have speed, and the action is end-to-end. Propp just fired a shot over the net that rimmed around the Plexiglas, and I could see the IDS lettering spin. (Not really, that just sounded kinda cool.)

Tallo has the puck stolen, Stony Brook makes a rush, shoots a wide-angled shot, UMSL comes up with the puck, loses it, UMSL's goalie makes two great saves and Scott to Shultz, GOAL!

3-2, UMSL.

Shulz has a shot kicked away, and time ticks away in the second period. One period to go in a tight game. This may be the best game of the tournament so far.

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

Stony Brook - 2
UM - St. Louis - 3

2nd Intermission

1st Period Scoring
UM - St. Louis - Blake Propp (PJ Tallo)
Stony Brook - Ricky Napoli (Jim Tamburino)
Stony Brook - Tom Cartwright (Ricky Napoli) (PP)

1st Period Penalties
UM - St. Louis - Aaron Schulz (Slashing)
UM - St. Louis - Andy Meade (Kneeing)
UM - St. Louis - Blake Propp (Slashing)

2nd Period Goals
UM - St. Louis - Blake Propp (Adam Clarke) (PP)
UM - St. Louis - Aaron Schulz (Jeremy Scott)

2nd Period Penalties
Stony Brook - Tom D'Ancona (Interference)

[BLIZARD_HOCKEY]

*Just got back online*

Stony Brook - 2
UM - St. Louis - 3

Final

1st Period Scoring
UM - St. Louis - Blake Propp (PJ Tallo)
Stony Brook - Ricky Napoli (Jim Tamburino)
Stony Brook - Tom Cartwright (Ricky Napoli) (PP)

1st Period Penalties
UM - St. Louis - Aaron Schulz (Slashing)
UM - St. Louis - Andy Meade (Kneeing)
UM - St. Louis - Blake Propp (Slashing)

2nd Period Goals
UM - St. Louis - Blake Propp (Adam Clarke) (PP)
UM - St. Louis - Aaron Schulz (Jeremy Scott)

2nd Period Penalties
Stony Brook - Tom D'Ancona (Interference)

3rd Period Goals
No goals scored.

3rd Period Penalties
Stony Brook - Ryan Keane (Roughing)
UM - St. Louis - Doug Purk (Cross Checking)
UM - St. Louis - Jeremy Scott (Slashing)

[RichardGraham]

Third period, 8:12 to go, the crowd is into the game. Napoli gets away with a couple of one-handed slashes on PJ Tallo, who complains to the referee to no avail. Now a tripping call is coming on UMSL and Tallo continues to jaw at the ref. I don't think he's going to win the argument. Stony Brook pulls its goalie and sets up a 5-on-4 advantage; UMSL can't control the puck, but when the whistle blows, precious time has dropped off the clock. 5:27 left in the game, and Stony Brook must score. Now's a good opportunity.

Shot deflected over the UMSL net, PJ Tallo controls bouncing puck, UMSL keeps it in the Stony Brook zone till 4:38. SB sets up its power play -- and the play is getting physical. Keane gets a shot, but into the breadbasket of UMSL goaltender Thomas Ames.

Time out. 4:09 remaining in the game, shots favor Stony Brook 23-14.

3:46 left, another shot to Ames' midsection. Not going to score that way, guys.

UMSl turns the puck up the rink, SB steals, Tamburino passes between legs of a teammate in the slot, UMSL gets control and shoots over the net, gets puck back, Tallo stripped of puck, takes it back from Tamburino, UMSL gets 2-on-2, puck squirts to SB goalie, big collision behind the Stony Brook net. 1:23 to go.

Scrum in front of the UMSL net, but Jim Tamburino can't jam the puck in the net. Time is ticking.

"Tell me how it ends; I can't watch," a UMSL parent tells me.

Scramble for the puck, SB gets shot that Ames probably never saw -- but fortunately, it hits him in the arm and bounces out of danger. One last pass through the UMSL crease for Stony Brook, goes out of reach... game over.

UMSL 3, Stony Brook 2.

[RichardGraham]

[Word to the wise: Be careful when you "close all tabs." I was writing a post and now it's gone. Glad it was short!]

MSU vs. Long Beach State. With 3:48 to go, MSU has a 1-0 lead, and is outshooting Long Beach 11-5. Several penalties have already been called, and I imagine there will be many more before this game's done.

MSU is carrying the play, and LBS needs to pick up its play. It does, getting two quality chances, but the first shot -- on a 3-on-0, no less -- goes over the net. The second shot hits the goalie in the stomach. At the end of one, it's 1-0, MSU, and MSU has the shot advantage, 15-7.

[RichardGraham]

In the second period, MSU scores at 10:00 on a pretty passing play -- shot goes 'tweeners. Long Beach State's goalie Jeff Aoki appears pretty disgusted with himself. 2-0, MSU, and MSU continues to threaten.

Long Beach gets a power play as Garett Radford takes a penalty, but its passes aren't crisp, and timing is running out on their one-man advantage. MSU's goalie Joe Wurst bars the door; power play over.

Another power play for Long Beach as Jim Goodliffe goes to the box for MSU, but the Californian's fail to score, MSU steals the puck and goes in on a 2-on-1 -- goal! 3-0 lead for MSU.

There's 1:33 left on a penalty to MSU as the period ends, 3-0, MSU.

[RichardGraham]

Long Beach finally makes MSU pay for its penalties, scoring at 10:52 of the third. MSU 3, LBS 1. And Long Beach has tied up the shots total, 21-21. Will they make a game of it?

A power play goal by MSU makes it 4-1 and weakens the likelihood of the previous question being answered in the positive. (Wow, what a crappy sentence! I'm getting tired. lol.)

Long Beach State is starting to show some life, as they are on the power play, and Ryan Burrows scores on a slapper, making the score 4-2 in favor of MSU. There's life in these West Coast boys yet. A bouncing puck in front of the MSU net and Long Beach backhands it in -- the score is now 4-3... when will the scoreboard reflect that fact?

That may be a moot point, MSU scores with 4:10 left to regain its two-goal lead; it's now 5-3. A time-out is called, probably by Long Beach.

A slashing call on Greg Davis slows any momentum Long Beach might have, as MSU's coach screams instructions from the bench. MSU hits the post with 2:22 left, gets the puck back after a scramble and scores with 1:55 remaining. 6-3, MSU. This game SHOULD be over...

Long Beach pulls Aoki for an extra man, leaving an empty net, and MSU's Tony Ascenzo gets the puck and scores. This game IS over. I wonder how many goals Ascenso has now; I keep typing his name.

Final score: 7-3, MSU wins.

[RichardGraham]

Now it's the UCI Irvine Anteaters against the Ohio State Buckeyes. UCI gets the first goal, then the second, a snipe by Charlie Middleton. Shots are only 3-2 in favor of UCI, eight minutes into the game -- that's a rarity. The Anteaters take a 3-0 lead on a very calm and casual tic-tac-toe passing play; I suppose it's wise to save your energy when you only have one substitute.

Ohio State gets on the board with 8:26 left in the second, but 25 seconds later, Middleton pops in a backhander -- 4-1, UCI.

"You're sick, Charlie! Sick!" shouts a UCI fan from the stands.

Shots now favor UCI, 16-8, with 7:13 left in the second period.

With 4:16 to go, Ohio State gets its second goal; UCI's leads is cut to 4-2.

A parent of a UMSL player drops by and says, "They're (UCI) good against teams that aren't deep. But against good teams with a deep bench, they're in trouble." In a way, that makes sense, but the way that UCI's players spread out the floor, conserve their energy and snipe the puck, that might be the difference. Still, over a long tournament, having such a short bench has to take a toll.

Middleton gets two shots that are kicked out by Ohio State goalie Matthew Smith's right pad with just over a minute left in the second. Middleton gets another shot, it's saved, and the period ends. UCI 4, Ohio State 2. Shots favor UCI 21-12.

[RichardGraham]

Middleton keeps shooting, but straight at the goalie. Low-percentage shots.

A penalty on UCI's Mike Tasch gives Ohio State a good chance to close the gap... but they waste a lot of time around the perimeter... then shoot right at UCI goalie Kevin Leonard.

Right after, Ohio State gets great chances, but can't put the puck in the net. However, the Buckeyes do seem to have some momentum. Leonard rolls back deep into his net... Brian Holz fires a quick shot from the slot -- and it's, 4-3, UCI in front. Ohio State continues to threaten, Leonard flops around in his net, loses his stick, picks it up, the puck is finally in the Ohio State end. Is Irvine's short bench starting to show? 4:59 remains in the game.

However, a penalty to Ohio State gives UCI a chance to get an insurance goal. Tasch brings the puck up-rink for the Anteaters... Middleton to 7 to Middleton, shot, save. 3:22 left. "Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey" comes on the sound system, perhaps a bit prematurely... now it's "Ghostbusters"... and UCI scores. They've got their insurance marker, but there's still 2:55 left in the game.

17 seconds later, the Buckeyes score again -- it's 5-4 and this is still a game.... oops, wait a minute... Charlie Middleton scores again, it's 6-4. Shot totals are creeping up -- 26 for UCI, 19 for Ohio State.

1:46 left to go, time is running out on the Buckeyes. With 12.5 seconds, though, they score. Leonard sits on his knees in disbelief. 6-5. One last shot from the slot, deflected wide, game over: UCI 6, Ohio State 5.

Wow.

[RichardGraham]

A quick interview with some of the Anteaters after the game shows their confidence and their recognition of their situation:

"We brought the team we had, and these are the guys we've got, so we've got to go with five," said UCI sniper Charlie Middleton. "So we've got to conserve energy and take our chances when we get 'em. We try controlling the puck, and when they rush, we like to keep me down low in case there's a turnover -- you know, pressure the other way."

"I think we're real strong right now," said Middleton's teammate Mike Tasch. "If we keep playing the way we're playing, it looks good for the future."

"I don't think we've played our best team game yet," said Fabian Mueller. "We've still got some room to improve."

If that's true, future UCI games in this tournament will be very fun to watch.

[RichardGraham]

The final game of the evening at this rink, the Tour Arena, is between Southern Illinois University - Carbondale ("So Ill") vs. Louisiana - Lafayette.

SIU drew first blood, and it already seems like this game is going to be very physical -- a Louisiana player cleared the crease with enough force to give whiplash. 1-0, SIU. Louisiana gets a tally soon after, 1-1, but SIU re-takes the lead with just over two-and-a-half minutes left in the first period. 2-1, SIU.

I wrote too soon -- Louisiana scores the tying goal with 2:11 left in the first. And with 1:47 to go, they score again. 3-2, Louisiana leads. With :43 to go, the Cajuns score again -- 4-2. And that's the way the period ends.

[RichardGraham]

Second period, scramble after scramble in front of the SIU net, but Zach Huling, if that's Zach wearing #8 instead of the #1 listed on the team roster, is standing on his head making saves. Brilliant goaltending.

And of course, as soon as I say that, Lafayette scores to make it 5-2. Huling could well be complaining about his team defense right about now. 7:37 left in the second period. The shooting gallery continues for Lafayette. What happened to good old-fashioned southern hospitality? Not seeing any here tonight.

With 5:21 left in the second, after some rough-housing along the boards in front of me, SIU's Matt Deall pantomines, "Me?" as innocently as can be. The ref pantomines back, "Yes, you" with a grin, but with emphasis. To the box, Deall. At 3:59, Lafayette makes him pay; it's 6-2.

With 3:04 left, SIU gets one back, scoring a power play goal of their own, and it's 6-3. Not for long. Two minutes later, Lafayette scores a power play goal to make it 7-3. When will these players learn that they've got to stay out of the penalty box? With 1:05 to go, Lafayette pots another, and it's 8-3.

SIU can't convert on a 3-on-1, and things are looking a bit dark for the team in black. End of two, 8-3, Louisiana leads.

[RichardGraham]

Lafayette doesn't waste any time, scoring to make it 9-3 with 11:09 remaining in the game. (Two more goals and it will be running time, I can't help thinking; I'm ready to go home from the evening.)

Power play SIU -- goal. Nice passing play. No going home "early." Drats. It's 9-4. Shots favor Lafayette 29-18. Make it 9-5. No, make that 10-5. 5:52 to go.

10-6, 5:07 to go.

11-6, 3:22 to go.

Can't help glancing at the Seinfeld re-run on the rink TV to my right. Let's go home, boys! It's late! No soup for you!

1:49 to go, penalty. Ref, do we REALLY need this stoppage of play now? George just bought Elaine a "big" salad, and now he's ticked off that she thinks someone else bought it.

35.3 to go. 11-7. Nice goal, SIU. Let's wrap this thing up.

That's it. Game over. Thanks guys! G'nite.