Two NAHLers commit to Spartans

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

The Fairbanks Ice Dogs have announced that third-year defenseman Brock Shelgren has committed to Michigan State University for next season.

This year, the 20-year-old from Chicago has five goals and 19 points after 47 games. He is also a plus-14.

"I’m very excited to be attending such a prestigious hockey program like Michigan State,” said Shelgren, who played in last month’s NAHL Top Prospects Tournament.

Shelgren will join freshman forward Joey Shean (Fairbanks, 2005-07) on the Spartans’ roster.

"I had the chance to talk to Joe and a few of the other players and they told me how great it is to play there (at Michigan State),” said Shelgren. “I was also very impressed with the coaches and their honesty throughout the recruiting process."

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The St. Louis Bandits have announced that second-year forward Ben Warda has committed to Michigan State University.

“We couldn’t be happier for Ben,” said Bandits coach-GM Jon Cooper. “He’s worked very hard for this opportunity and will be a tremendous asset to the Spartans program.”

Warda, from Lake Orion, ranks sixth in league scoring this season with 22 goals among 63 points after 48 games. The 20-year-old who participated in last month's Top Prospects Tournament is also a plus-25.

MiCHO Power Poll 03.05.08

Yep, you guessed it.

The Michigan Wolverines are still the No. 1 team in the MiCHO Power Poll after clinching the CCHA regular-season title splitting with Ferris State.

Michigan State stayed in the second slot with a convincing sweep of Bowling Green.

Ferris State is ranked third once again after their home-and-home split with Michigan.

No. 4 Northern Michigan remains there after a win and a tie over Lake Superior State.

Movement was at the bottom of the poll as Wayne State fell from No. 6 to No. 7 and LSSU made the jump up one notch.

Complete Poll

1) Michigan, 27-5-4 (split with Ferris)
2) Michigan State, 23-9-5 (swept Bowling Green)
3) Ferris State, 15-14-5 (split with Michigan)
4) Northern Michigan, 15-17-4 (lost, tied LSSU)
5) Michigan Tech, 12-17-5 (split at Denver)
6) Lake Superior, 9-18-7 (beat, tied NMU)
7) Wayne State, 9-23-2 (swept at Bemidji State)
8) Western Michigan, 8-25-3 (split with Notre Dame)

Each week, MichiganCollegeHockey.com editors Matt Mackinder and Tom Balog will compile the MiCHO Power Poll. The poll will comprise the eight Division I teams in the state of Michigan.

NOTE: This is the last installment of the Power Poll for the 2007-2008 season. Stay tuned to MiCHO for all of the Michigan team's playoff coverage.

Bulldogs lose top '09 recruit Schmitz

Courtesy of Western College Hockey

United States National Under-17 defenseman Beau Schmitz committed to Ferris State nearly two years ago, but over the weekend, he reportedly de-committed, choosing instead to re-open his recruitment for the 2009-2010 season.

There have been rumors about Schmitz eventually signing with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League, but for now, it sounds like Schmitz is still looking at the college route.

Schmitz, a Howell native, was Plymouth's first-round pick in last May's OHL draft.

Michigan and Michigan State are two schools that he's been rumored to be talking to.

B2 Networks to Broadcast 2008 CHA Men's and Women's Playoffs

Three Women’s and Three Men’s Game Can be Seen Live From Niagara’s Dwyer Arena

Courtesy of B2 Networks Communications Department

DETROIT , MI – College Hockey America and B2 Networks announced today that the entire 2008 CHA Women’s Tournament and the first three games of the 2008 CHA Men’s Tournament will be broadcast worldwide on B2 Networks. All action will be broadcast live from Dwyer Arena in Niagara University , N.Y.

“The CHA is extremely pleased to join with the B2 Networks in bringing CHA Division I men's and women's Championship Tournament Hockey to college hockey fans worldwide," said CHA Commissioner, R.H. "Bob" Peters.

The women’s tournament begins on Friday, Mar. 7 with the semifinals.

Top-seeded Wayne State will take on fourth-seeded Robert Morris at 3 p.m., and second-seeded Mercyhurst will follow against host Niagara, the No. 3 seed at 7 p.m.

Mercyhurst is ranked No. 7 in the nation in the Mar. 3 USCHO.com poll.

Friday’s winners will meet to determine the 2008 CHA champion on Saturday at 7 p.m. All times are Eastern.

On the men’s side, Wayne State will take on Alabama-Huntsville in the quarterfinal match up on Friday, Mar. 14 at 7 p.m. The winner will face top-seeded Bemidji State in the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The second semifinal will follow at 7 p.m. between second-seeded host Niagara and third-seeded Robert Morris. All times are Eastern.

"B2 Networks has enjoyed an expanded role in delivering CHA games to fans around the world this season thanks to our partnerships with Alabama-Huntsville, Bemidji State, Mercyhurst, Niagara and Wayne State," stated Richard Brosal, B2 Networks Executive Vice President for Business Operations and Marketing. "We are pleased to be involved in the conference’s men’s postseason for the second straight year, and for the first time, we will be broadcasting the women’s tournament as well."

Fans can purchase individual game passes for $8.00 ( US ) each. In order to view the games, fans will need a high-speed internet connection and the current version of Microsoft Windows Media Player. Purchases can be made at www.b2tv.com or www.collegehockeyamerica.com.
B2 Networks is a premier provider of reliable and secure international television and pay-per-view broadcasting systems. Our network of arenas, stadiums, local venues and data centers are currently in use to distribute live sports and events to personal computers, television screens, mobile devices and commercial venues around the world. Working with organizations such as the AHL, ECHL, NLL, IHL, USHL, NAHL, Arena Football Leagues and selected NCAA and NAIA conferences and member institutions, B2 Networks has established itself as a leader in innovative global direct to home, mobile and television broadcasting. For the B2 Networks' Programming Guide visit www.b2tv.com, or for information about B2 Networks, visit www.b2now.com.

WSU sweeps Niagara, grabs share of CHA title

By Susannah Nichols/ Wayne State Women's Beat Writer

The Wayne State Warriors (21-8-3, 9-2-1 CHA) closed out their regular season with two wins over Niagara - a 3-1 decision on Friday and a 4-3 victory on Saturday. The wins earned the Warriors a share of the CHA regular-season title. The team also holds the No. 1 seed entering playoff competition.

Melissa Boal, who earned CHA Offensive Player of the Week honors for her weekend contributions, scored the Warriors' first goal on Friday night. Tina Vanderhoeven fed Boal the puck on a Warriors' power play, and Boal sent a wrist shot into the net. Boal set up Sam Poyton midway through the second period, and then scored herself less than 30 seconds later. Danielle Wilson was credited with an assist on Boal's second goal.

Niagara scored once in the second period, and goalie Valery Turcotte made 24 stops to seal the 3-1 victory.

Niagara struck first in Saturday's contest as Ashley Riggs notched a power-play goal at 7:22 of the opening period. Boal set up Poyton to knot the game at one, but the Purple Eagles wrested back the lead early in the second frame. Chelsea Burnett took advantage of a Niagara misplay to go in alone and score unassisted to tie the game back up.

Boal got the Warriors' their first lead of the game by batting in a rebound from Lindsay DiPietro (the assist was DiPietro's NCAA-best 46th of the season). Vanderhoeven was also credited with an assist on the play. The Warriors extended their lead to 4-2 when Katrina Protopapas and Sammi Bowers set up captain Ashley King for her third goal of the season.

In the final period, the Warriors fought off a five-minute penalty, and Niagara pulled their goalie for an extra attacker in the final minutes, resulting in a goal that cut the Warriors' lead to one. However, Turcotte came up huge for her team, making several key stops in the final minutes to preserve the Warriors' lead. She made 17 saves for her 16th win of the season. She finished the weekend with a .922 save percentage and was awarded CHA Defensive Player of the Week honors.

The Warriors begin playoff action against fourth-seeded Robert Morris on Thursday at Niagara.

WSU seniors photo courtesy Mark Hicks/West Side Photographic

Beavers take two from WSU

by Karl Henkel/Wayne State Men's Beat Writer

Eight goals in a two-game series is usually enough to come out with at least one win. But against the high-powered offense of Bemidji State, the Wayne State Warriors came out with something they've become all to familiar with – a sweep - this time, at the hands of the Beavers.

After BSU jumped out to a couple of two-goal leads, the Warriors scored three second-period goals in just over six minutes to take a 4-3 lead heading into the final frame.

Bemidji State's Blaine Jarvis tied the score 6:12 into the third, but a Derek Punches power-play goal put WSU back on top, but not for very long.

Matt Francis re-tied the score at the 11:37 mark, before Riley Weselowski scored the eventual game-winner, albeit in disputed fashion.

“It was four feet offsides,” WSU head coach Bill Wilkinson said of the winning goal. "The referee just didn't make the right call.”

Matt Pope's empty-netter sealed the 7-5 Beaver victory, improving their head-to-head record against the Warriors to 3-2-0.

Wayne State wasted a three-point effort from senior Stavros Paskaris and two-assist nights from Jeff Caister and Derek Bachynski.

Game two tried to live up to the high-scoring fiasco of the previous night, and it didn't dissapoint.

Jared Katz and Bachynski scored first-period tallies, but BSU had two of their own, and the score remained tied after 20 minutes.

The second period was the start of the 'Ryan Cramer Show' as the Beaver forward lit the lamp twice in a five-minute span, putting Bemidji state up, 4-2.

Punches added a late third period marker, but by that time the lead was three, with BSU going on victorious, 5-3. The win also clinched the CHA regular season title for Bemidji State.

“With a break here and there, we could have won both those games,” Wilkinson added.

Wayne State (9-23-2, 5-13-0 CHA) returns home to the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum for one final time this weekend to take on the Niagara Purple Eagles (19-9-4, 11-5-2), who are 4-0-0 against the Warriors this year. Both games (Friday and Saturday) start at 7:05, with the latter being Senior Night, as WSU sends off four of its finest in forwards Bachynski, Paskaris, captain Mike Forgie and Tylor Michel.

Broncos split series with Notre Dame

By Tom Morelli/WMU Beat Writer

In their last conference series before the CCHA Tournament, Western Michigan ended their five-game losing streak and upset No. 11 ranked Notre Dame last Friday night in Kalamazoo by a 3-0 score.

Because this was their last game at home, the Broncos honored their graduating class of five seniors beforehand. Head Coach Jim Culhane’s 2008 senior class included defensemen Nathan Ansell and Jonathan Lupa, and forwards Brian Bicek, Jeff Pierce, and Mike Lesperance. All of the seniors played in the contest except Lesperance, who sat out because of a season-ending injury to his wrist.

The emotions of Senior Night were quite apparent amongst the Western Michigan players, as they spent most of the opening period on the penalty kill. The Broncos racked-up seven of their 15 penalties in the first 20 minutes of the game. Fortunately, they didn’t surrender any goals to the Fighting Irish power play, and both teams remained scoreless heading into intermission.

Western Michigan lost a player early in the second period, as defenseman Kevin O’ Connor was slapped with a 10 minute misconduct for arguing calls with the officials. Even with O’ Connor in the penalty box, the Broncos were able to muster some offense. Sophomore Chris Clackson blasted a slap shot from the blue line on Notre Dame goaltender Jordan Pearce, which allowed Western Michigan to crash the net on a rebound. Pierce circled around the boards and fed the puck to Cam Watson, who shot the puck in from the side of the net.

The Broncos were able to add an insurance goal in the last minute of the period, thanks to a turnover in the neutral zone. While Lupa sat in the box on a kneeing penalty, Watson poked the puck away from the Fighting Irish and made a pass up ice to a speeding Patrick Nagorsen. From there, Nagorsen deked past the Notre Dame defense on the right side and scored his first collegiate goal.

Co-captain Jeff LoVecchio scored an empty-netter with 16 seconds remaining in the game for his ninth goal of the season. Helping out on the play was forward Patrick Galivan, who tallied his team-high 22nd assist.

Sophomore netminder Riley Gill (pictured left) tied a career-high with 42 saves en route to his first shutout of the season.

The tides turned the following night, as the Fighting Irish topped Western Michigan with a 3-1 victory in South Bend, Indiana.

Special teams served as the downfall for the Broncos, as they allowed Notre Dame to score all of their goals on the power play.

Ryan Thang added his 16th goal of the campaign about halfway through the first period. Assisting on the lamp-lighter was Ian Cole and Kyle Lawson.

The Fighting Irish scored once again, this time late in the second period. Cole and Thang both earned their ninth assists of the season on Erik Condra’s goal at the 17:57 mark.

Gill was beat again in the third period, as Evan Rankin and Ben Ryan helped set-up a Mark Van Guilder goal.

Western Michigan winger Adam Flink took a pass from defenseman Tyler Ludwig to ruin Pearce’s opportunity for a shutout with seven seconds left in the game. With the goal, Flink scored his first as a Bronco.

Once again, Gill had a busy night between the pipes. With his 36 saves, Gill stopped 78 of 81 shots in the series. For his efforts, Gill was named CCHA Goaltender of the Week.

The weekend split gives Western Michigan a record of 8-25-3 overall (4-22-2 CCHA), as they head into the first round of the CCHA Tournament this Friday. The Broncos will battle with Ferris State University in a best-of-three series.

Michigan wins CCHA regular season

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan Beat Writer

By virtue of their 5-3 win over Ferris State Friday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan claimed the CCHA regular season championship.

Michigan head coach Red Berenson was philosophical after the game, however.

"It isn't hard to believe, but it is hard to enjoy coming off the latter part of the game when we seemed to be on our heels," Berenson said. "But looking at the season in perspective, no one thought that Michigan would be a first-place team. And it is not like the other teams have had bad years. Notre Dame, Michigan State and Miami are all powerhouse teams, but this young team has found a way to win games night after night, home and away, close games, games that we played really well, games that we didn't play so well.

"So, it is a tribute to those guys in the locker room, the captains, the defensemen, the goalies, and all the freshmen and how well they have played. So, it has been a total team effort."

Brandon Naurato, Brian Lebler, senior captain Kevin Porter, Louie Caporusso and Max Pacioretty scored in the win. Mark Mitera tacked on three helpers and Billy Sauer made 28 saves in net.

"I don't think anyone, including the guys in the locker room, thought this would be possible," Porter said. "Then after the first few weekends we started to believe and gain confidence and here we are today."

Brendan Connolly, Blair Riley and Mike Fillinger recorded goals for the Bulldogs. Pat Nagle started and made 17 saves in 42:56, getting pulled after Caporusso's goal early in the third period. Derek MacIntyre made four saves on four shots the rest of the way.

Scott Wietecha added two assists for FSU.

By finishing first in the conference, Michigan (27-5-4, 20-4-4 CCHA) has earned a bye through the first round of the CCHA Tournament (March 7-9) and will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent in a three-game quarterfinal series the weekend of March 14-16 at Yost Ice Arena.

Ferris State (15-14-5, 12-12-4 CCHA) hosts Western Michigan this weekend in a first-round matchup.

Photo courtesy U-M Photo Services

Wildcats and Lakers tie Saturday

By Lee Hampden/Northern Michigan Beat Writer

After dropping a tight 3-2 game Thursday night in Sault Ste. Marie against Lake Superior State, Northern Michigan battled back Saturday night on home ice for a 2-2 tie versus those same Lakers.

Matt Siddall and Billy Smith scored third-period goals 2:19 apart for NMU to gain the tie. Erik Gustafsson assisted on both goals.

Simon Gysbers and Troy Schwab tallied for LSSU in the second period just 2:28 apart.

Brian Stewart finished with 32 saves for the Wildcats and Pat Inglis kicked out 29 for the Lakers.

NMU (15-17-4, 12-13-3 CCHA) hosts Ohio State this weekend in the first round of the CCHA playoffs, while Lake Superior State (9-18-7, 7-15-6 CCHA) travels to Bowling Green for their first-round meeting.

MSU sweeps aside Bowling Green

By Matt Mackinder/Michigan State Beat Writer

The defending national champion Michigan State Spartans won their final two games of the regular season last weekend in a home-and-home series with Bowling Green.

The Spartans have earned a first-round bye in the CCHA playoffs and will host the quarterfinal round on March 14-15. MSU's opponent will be determined based on the results and re-seeding after the opening round.

Friday night, Justin Abdelkader had MSU's first hat trick in two seasons and Jeff Lerg made 28 saves as Michigan State posted a 6-3 victory at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans exploded for three goals in the final 2:30 of regulation to break open a tie game and send the seniors out as winners in the final home game of the regular season.

"This was big because we really wanted to get a win for the seniors," said Abdelkader. "They've meant so much to the program and so much to the younger guys on the team. They've been a real good class, leadership-wise, on and off the ice."

Tim Kennedy, Matt Schepke and Jeff Petry also scored for MSU. Corey Tropp and Daniel Vukovic added two assists apiece.

Lerg made 32 saves, Chris Mueller had a pair of goals and Kennedy chipped in a goal and an assist as Michigan State cruised to a 4-0 shutout victory at Bowling Green on Saturday night to close the regular season.

MSU finishes the campaign with a 23-9-5 overall mark, 19-6-3 in CCHA play.

Jeff Dunne tallied the other Spartan goal Saturday night.

Michigan State held BGSU without a power-play goal in the series. The Falcons were 0-for-3 on Friday and 0-for-6 on Saturday.

Adrian takes MCHA championship

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

Freshman Eric Miller sent his team and the fans that traveled from Adrian College very happy on Sunday afternoon as his overtime goal at 2:29 gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 win over Finlandia for the MCHA championship.

Miller received a beautiful pass from captain Adam Krug just outside the faceoff circle and put the wrist shot over the right shoulder of Donovan. Eric Bailen also was credited for an assist on the game-winner.

Both goaltenders were stellar inside the Kern Center on the campus of the Milwaukee School of Engineering as Brad Fogal made 18 saves and earned the win between the pipes.

Ryan Donovan earned the tournament MVP trophy making 38 saves for the Lions and keeping them in the contest from the opening faceoff.

Adrian outshot Finlandia, 39-18. Miller’s 40th goal of the season gave Adrian a 26-3-0 overall record in their inaugural season.

The Bulldogs had advanced to the finals with a 5-3 win over MSOE on Saturday. FU beat Marian, 4-2, Saturday to face Adrian.

Finlandia finishes the season 18-9-2.

Adrian may receive a bid to the national Division III tournament. Stay tuned to Michigan College Hockey for further details.

Photo courtesy Adrian College athletics

Ferris and Michigan split finale

by Tom Balog / Ferris State Beat Writer

A night after getting thumped by the Michigan Wolverines 5-3 in Ann Arbor Friday, the Ferris State Bulldogs returned to their home ice on Saturday and shocked the No. 1 team in the nation with a 4-3 overtime win.

"It's a tough loss when you lose in overtime, obviously," said Michigan head coach Red Berenson. "I thought we were playing pretty well in the second period -- we had the lead. We gave up the lead in the third and maybe had our chances, but I thought we gave up too many chances. We didn't play as well defensively. Our penalty killing wasn't strong, and our faceoffs were a factor in tonight's game."

FSU started the scoring with back-to-back, first period power-play markers by Justin Lewandowski and Justin Menke.

The Wolverines responded with markers by Carl Hagelin and Kevin Porter and the score was tied 2-2 after 20 minutes of play.

Max Pacioretty gave U of M their first lead when he scored at 13:58 of the second.

Lewandowski notched his second of the night at 3:57 of the third to tie up the score at 3-3 and that would last until overtime.

Senior Adam Miller became the hero at 3:22, redirecting in his seventh of the season to give the Bulldogs the victory.

With the win, the Bulldogs snapped a seven-game losing skid to the Wolverines.

Mitch O'Keefe stopped 29 shots in between the pipes for FSU. Bryan Hogan turned away 37 for the Maize and Blue.

Ferris State will face Western Michigan in the first-round, best-of-three CCHA playoff series that will begin Friday night at the Ewigleben Arena in Big Rapids. Friday's game will also be televised on FSN Detroit at 7:35 p.m.

Michigan will get a week off and a first-round bye in the CCHA tournament.