Ferris, Michigan, Michigan State, Western advance

CCHA Press Release

The CCHA has placed five teams in the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship for the second time in league history and will be represented at three of the four regional sites.

CCHA tournament runner-up Michigan and regular-season champion Ferris State are headed to the Midwest Regional at Green Bay, Wis. Miami and Michigan State will travel to Bridgeport, Conn., for the East Regional and CCHA champion Western Michigan will play in the West Regional at St. Paul, Minn.

The four regional winners advance to the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., on April 5-7.

Western Michigan (21-13-6), coming off their second CCHA championship title and first since 1986, will make their second consecutive appearance at the NCAA tournament and fifth in program history. The Broncos are the No. 4 seed at the West Regional and will take on North Dakota (25-12-3) of the WCHA at 1:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 24.

The Michigan Wolverines (24-12-4) are making their 22nd consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, earning the second overall seed in the tournament. The maize and blue will take on Cornell (18-8-7) in the Midwest Regional. The puck drops at 9:00 p.m. EST on Friday, March 23. Michigan will be looking to capture its tenth national crown.

Also competing in the Midwest Regional, Ferris State (23-11-5) takes the No. 2 seed and will skate against Denver (25-13-4) of the WCHA. This marks just the second time that the Bulldogs have been selected for the NCAA tournament and first since the 2002-03 season. Ferris State and Denver will take the ice on Friday, March 23 at 5:30 p.m. EST.

The Miami RedHawks (24-14-2), making their tenth NCAA tournament appearance overall, are the No. 2 seed at the East Regional where they will meet Massachusetts-Lowell (23-12-1) of Hockey East in the 6:30 p.m. Eastern time game on Friday, March 23. The RedHawks, appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in the past nine years, are looking to make the Frozen Four for the fourth time in five years.

The Spartans of Michigan State (19-15-4), are the No. 4 seed at the East Regional and will face off against Union (24-7-7) of the ECAC in the 3:00 p.m. Eastern time contest. The Spartans last NCAA tournament appearance was in 2008 when they advanced to the regional final against Notre Dame.

This marks the second time that there have been five CCHA entries in the national tournament, tying the conference record set in 2004 when five teams (Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State) also advanced.

The championship playoff format involves four predetermined regional sites with four teams assigned to each site. The four regional winners advance to the Frozen Four. The entire championship uses a single-elimination format.

Automatic qualification privileges are granted to the postseason champions of five conferences. The remainder of the field is selected at large.

Boston College of Hockey East is the No. 1 overall seed. The other No. 1 seeds, in order, include Michigan, Union and North Dakota.

Stampede! Broncos capture CCHA championship

By Bob Miller/Western Michigan Beat Writer

DETROIT - Western Michigan built a three-goal lead after two periods and then held on in the third period to beat Michigan, 3-2 Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena, taking its first CCHA tournament championship since 1986.

WMU captain Ian Slater put the Broncos ahead with a lead they would never surrender with a spinning first-period goal off a rebound from Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick.

Dane Walters and Chase Balisy each chipped in a goal during the second period to give Western Michigan a commanding lead after 40 minutes.

Kevin Clare grabbed third-period momentum with a nifty shorthanded effort, culminating with a slick move on eventual tournament MVP, Bronco netminder Frank Slubowski, to pull Michigan within two goals, 3-1.

Luke Moffatt's pinpoint pass to Lee Moffie while Michigan enjoyed a five-minute power play later in the third tightened the contest to 3-2, leading to a furious final few minutes.

Slubowski and the Broncos held off the Michigan onslaught to capture the title.

“It’s tough to talk after something like that,” said Western Michigan coach Andy Murray. “Your emotions. I’m just so happy for our players. This is all about them. It’s all about their commitment. All year they’ve worked extremely hard. I’ve had a lot of hard-working teams as a hockey coach, and I’m an old coach, so there’s been a lot of teams, but I’ve got a real hard-working core here. If you’ve got a good goalie, you’ve got a good chance to be a good coach. That’s the bottom line.”

“It was a night of good bounces, you know, being in the right spot, working hard, using your body to shield off the defender,” added Walters. “We got a couple good bounces and I guess that’s how it goes sometimes.”

Photo/CCHA

Moffatt the OT hero as Michigan downs BGSU

By Bob Miller/Michigan Beat Writer

DETROIT - Michigan learned what Northern Michigan and Ferris State had already found out, but survived to tell the story, unlike the Wildcats and the Bulldogs.

In their semi-final match of the CCHA playoffs, the Wolverines had to climb back from a two-goal deficit and then play into a second overtime period before Luke Moffatt scored the overtime-ending goal to eliminate the improbable run that Bowling Green had made through the tournament as the 11th and lowest-ranked seed in the post-season playoffs.

After eliminating higher ranked Northern Michigan and Ferris State in successive weekends, Bowling Green carried a 2-0 lead late into the second period against Michigan. Then, the puck that had bounced so fortuitously for the Bulldogs took a bounce the other way.

Michigan defenseman Jon Merrill threw a looping shot from the right point toward Bowling Green netminder Andrew Hammond with only 10 seconds left in the second period. Hammond, who later admitted he didn't see the shot until it bounced, failed to corral the slowly bouncing puck and the Bowling green lead was narrowed to 2-1.

Michigan used the late second period goal to fuel their offense and pressed the Falcons without success in the third period until David Wohlberg converted Derek DeBlois' backhand pass from behind the Falcon net at 17:15 to send the game to overtime.

In the first overtime period, the announced crowd of 7,823 was treated to pure hockey excitement: end-to-end rushes by both teams, pucks clanking off goalposts on both ends of the ice, all without resolution of the tied score.

Moffatt finally ended the game 1:04 into the second overtime following a hard-working set-up by linemate A.J. Treais and the tired Wolverines could finally look ahead to Saturday night's 7:35 pm playoff final game against Western Michigan.

"We knew it was going to be an ugly goal," said Moffatt. "At that point in the game, shots are coming on the net and you've got to drive the net hard and hopefully get a rebound. Fortunately, it came right to me and I was able to get it in."

"Obviously, fatigue sets in at some point, but we train all year, all summer, for games like this," said Wohlberg. "We had a game like this against Notre Dame and we were able to fight through it mentally and physically and that paid off for us."

"You have to give Bowling Green a ton of credit for the season they had, particularly the last month," Michigan coach Red Berenson said post-game. "They were the real deal, and we saw it again tonight. It was anyone's game. We were able to get back into the game after a two-goal deficit. I thought that goal near the end of the (second) period was a huge goal and then obviously in overtime anything can happen. We've been in a few of these, but you've got be lucky, too."

Broncos beat RedHawks, to play for Mason Cup

By Bob Miller/Western Michigan Beat Writer

DETROIT - Western Michigan continued its workman-like trip through the CCHA championship playoffs with an efficient 6-2 win over Miami in the tourney semi-finals at Joe Louis Arena late Friday afternoon.

The Broncos dismissed Lake Superior State in two games last weekend to earn their spot in the final weekend playdown and gave the RedHawks similar treatment, dominating Miami from start to finish.

Greg Squires and Will Kessel each scored a pair for the Broncos, with Squires earning his 100th career point in the process, and Frank Slubowski added his usual steady performance in goal.

“They are expected to score,” said WMU coach Andy Murray of Squires' and Kessel's two-goal games. “To be successful, you need all of your units. We’re a four-line team. We play everybody. Everybody has the same mission out there. Last weekend, it was the same thing.”

The win punches Western Michigan's ticket for a spot in the CCHA playoff final against Michigan on Saturday night.

“Tonight was one of those games where the puck was going in the net,” Squires said. “We were fortunate to get six tonight. This is huge for us. Not just for myself, but for the team. We talked about where we came from, but like Coach (Murray) said, we have more tomorrow. Then, we’ll be happy.”

In Murray's estimation, the quick start provided by Squires two early goals and one more of the shorthanded variety by J.J. Crew were crucial to the win.

“I thought it was important because I watched a tape of Miami against Michigan State and Michigan State was down after 11 seconds in the hockey game,” said Murray of the Broncos' early lead. “We knew that it would be imperative to get off to a strong start.”

Broncos sweep Lake Superior to reach the Joe

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

Western Michigan swept a game Lake Superior State squad in two straight contests last weekend at Lawson Ice Arena and will venture to Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA semifinals for the second consecutive season.

"We're pretty excited," said WMU coach Andy Murray. "There's four teams from the CCHA left that have a chance to win the championship, and we're one of them, so that's gratifying."

Friday night, the Broncos skated to a 4-2 win and then sealed the deal with a 5-2 victory the following evening.

"Our guys were very determined," Murray said Saturday night. "We thought we needed to play better than we played last night. We challenged our guys today. The first thing we did at our meeting here this morning was I asked everybody who in the room thought they could play better tonight than they played last night, or could be better than they were last night. I put my hand up and everybody else put their hand up as well. We all needed to be better and I thought we were tonight."

WMU captain Ian Slater scored twice and Mike Leone had a goal and an assist Friday night, while goalie Frank Slubowski needed to make just 20 saves. Dane Walters notched the other goal.

Zach Sternberg and Colin Campbell scored for LSSU, who got a 29-save outing from Kevin Kapalka.

Saturday night, Kyle O'Kane tallied twice and Leone and Dan DeKeyser each registered two assists for the Broncos. Matt Tennyson had a goal plus a helper, while Slater and Luke Witkowski scored other goals in the win.

Slubowski made 27 saves, compared to Kapalka's 35 stops.

Campbell and Zach Trotman scored for the Lakers, whose season is more than likely over as an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament seems unlikely.

The Broncos will play in the first semifinal Friday night at the Joe, taking on Miami at 4:35 p.m.

Hunwick leads U of M past Notre Dame, into CCHA semis

By Bob Miller/Michigan Beat Writer

Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick fully played up to the performance level he'd demonstrated in the past two years of post-season play and led the Wolverines to a two-game sweep of their quarterfinal CCHA playoff series against Notre Dame.

The series win earned the Wolverines a spot in this weekend's CCHA championship semifinals at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

As much as the Wolverines were surprised at having to play such a talented Notre Dame team in the quarterfinals, Michigan has to be even more surprised to be matched against No. 11 playoff seed Bowling Green in their semifinal tilt on Friday.

Bowling Green traveled to Northern Michigan in the opening round and disposed of the Wildcats in a deciding third game, then performed the same trick against No. 1 seed Ferris State this past weekend to secure their spot in the semifinals versus the Wolverines.

In the opener with the Irish, Michigan forward Chris Brown sent the Wolverine faithful home both happy and tired when he scored the game-winner three minutes into the second overtime period with a snap shot from the circle to Notre Dame netminder Steve Summerhays' left for a 2-1 Michigan win.

The Wolverines managed to build a 3-0 lead on a pair of goals by David Wohlberg and a single by Phil Di Giuseppe in the Saturday rematch against Notre Dame and then held on to win 3-1 to clinch the series.

Hunwick's solid play in both games was the crucial component for the Wolverines.

“It’s a good feeling,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson of his team's advancement to the CCHA semifinals. “It wasn’t easy. Last night’s game was a game either team could have won and I thought Hunwick was the difference in that game.”

I thought we were okay in the first period,” offered Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson. “We got some life later in the game. I thought that Riley Sheahan and his line gave us a little energy as the game progressed. It's just that Hunwick's too good and we've had a tough time finishing over the last couple months.”

If Michigan can manage to end Bowling Green's Cinderella run in Friday's semifinal game, the Wolverines would take on the winner of the Western Michigan-Miami semifinal contest in Saturday night's tourney finals at the Joe.

Hunwick photo (GLI 2010) by Matt Mackinder/MiCHO

Ferris State clinches CCHA regular season title

By Bob Miller/Western Michigan Beat Writer

Western Michigan (the geographic region, not the university) shared two of the CCHA's top teams in Ferris State and Western Michigan (the university) this season.

Fittingly, the regular season's final weekend series matched the Bulldogs and the Broncos with top spot in the conference at stake.

Ferris State removed all doubt Friday night in the series opener with a 1-1 draw that Western Michigan eventually won in the tiebreaker. The Bulldogs were the real winner, however, as the tie clinched the regular season championship for Ferris State.

Greg Squires score the only goal in the shootout to clinch an extra point for the Broncos.

Jordie Johnston, for Ferris State, and Shane Berschbach, for Western Michigan, had the game's only regulation time scores.

“The fans certainly got their money’s worth tonight,” WMU head coach Andy Murray told mlive.com on Friday. “It was an exciting hockey game. I thought the officials did a good job of letting the players play the game. It was physical. On the first shift (of the game), there must have been four or five big hits. Both teams battled and both teams wanted the points. It was a great game for everybody to watch and it was certainly nice to see a senior get the shootout goal.”

Danny Dekeyser's two goals and Frank Slubowski's shutout performance led the Broncos to a Saturday night 3-0 win in the regular season finale for both teams.

“I don't think tonight's a night to worry about,” Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels told USCHO. “We had enough opportunities to score, but their goaltender (Slubowski) deserves a lot of credit. He played a great game.”

Both Ferris State and Western Michigan earn first round CCHA playoff byes by virtue of their finish in the top five in the conference. The Bulldogs and Broncos will both host second round playoff series starting on Friday, March 2.

Photo/Ferris State Athletics

Bulldogs clinch share of CCHA championship

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

Top-ranked Ferris State earned at least a share of the CCHA championship over the weekend, following a pair of 5-1 and 4-1 victories over Bowling Green. With the sweep, the Bulldogs are now just one point away from earning the conference title outright heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

Junior Matthew Kirzinger put Ferris State on the scoreboard by netting a power-play goal at the 3:39 mark of the second period. Earning helpers on that play were linemates Garrett Thompson and Jordie Johnston.

Thompson himself would light the lamp, scoring the eventual game-winner with just over a minute gone-by in the third.

Down by a 2-0 margin, the Falcons cut that deficit in half, courtesy of a Ted Pletsch goal just shy of the midway point.

The Bulldogs retaliated by scoring three goals over a seven-minute span to close out the game, with markers by T.J. Schlueter, Cory Kane and Aaron Schmit.

Senior goaltender Taylor Nelson stopped 19 of 20 shots for Ferris State. At the other end of the ice, Andrew Hammond had 31 saves, including 12 in the first period alone.

Saturday's contest was nearly a mirror-image of the night before, with the Bulldogs scoring the first two goals of the game.

Kirzinger and Kane's markers in the second period were answered by Bowling Green's Adam Berkle, who scored with under two minutes left in the frame.

An even-strength goal by Schmit at 4:22 in the third gave the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead, which stood until Schlueter added an empty-netter with 56 seconds remaining.

Nelson outperformed Hammond in the saves department, 21-16 to improve to 17-4-2 as a starter this season.

Ferris State (22-8-4 overall, 16-6-4 CCHA) rides a 14-game unbeaten streak into the final weekend of the regular season, where they are set to face Western Michigan (16-13-5 overall, 13-10-3-3 CCHA) in a home-and-home series.

Miami wins first Mason Cup, tops WMU

By Karl Henkel/Western Michigan Beat Writer

Miami finally cooled off Western Michigan and won its first Mason Cup in school history with a 5-2 victory Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.

Tournament MVP and Grosse Pointe native Andy Miele and Curtis McKenzie scored less than two minutes apart in the third period to break a 2-2 tie.

The Broncos didn’t go down without a fight, as they tied the game early in the third period after trailing 2-0.

Mike Leone and Dane Walters scored power-play goals for WMU following first-period goals from Bryon Paulazzo and Reilly Smith.

"I’m very proud of our guys and how hard they fought," Western Michigan coach Jeff Blashill said. "I’m more happy with the sacrifices they made through the summer and this season leading up to this point. I’ve talked to the guys about how you have to learn lessons along the way. This was certainly a tough loss and there was a lot of disappointment. I’m proud of our guys, but now we have to turn our heads to the NCAA Tournament."

Though both teams scored a pair of goals with the man advantage, Miami dominated the game when it came to shots on goal.

"We need to congratulate Jeff Blashill and the job he did with Western and the great game tonight with it being 2-2 with 10 minutes left in the game," Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. "The veteran team we have showed its true colors when they scored we started to take the momentum back. These guys deserve all the credit. They are the ones that go out there and execute and perform. They weren’t satisfied with one. They got another one and another one after that. I’m so proud of them making history today."

Jerry Kuhn stopped 30 shots for WMU and Cody Reichard turned aside 14.

Western Michigan will find out Sunday morning if it earned an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Miami secured a spot with its win Saturday.

Photo courtesy CCHA

Michigan takes third in CCHA tourney

By Bob Miller/Michigan Beat Writer

One year ago, Michigan charged out of the CCHA playoff championships at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit with a load of confidence, another conference title in their pockets and a wave of momentum to use in an NCAA title bid.

This year, those same CCHA championship games raised doubts and offered some signs of hope for an NCAA playoff run.

After being embarassed by Western Michigan in Friday's semifinal round, the Wolverines came back to quietly play an effective game against Notre Dame to take third place in the tourney, although the game was very evenly played.

Friday night's 5-2 spanking by Western Michigan caused coach Red Berenson to question his Wolverines' sense of desperation.

“I can't tell you what went wrong,” said Berenson of the loss. “I could tell you we didn't kill penalties well. The puck went in too easily for them and we didn't generate much. So, give Western credit. They played like a desperate team and they were the better team.”

The win against Notre Dame was directly a result of a goaltending clinic put on by Shawn Hunwick.

After a fluky initial goal by Notre Dame with an assist due to a bounce of a referee's helmet, Hunwick stoned the Fighting Irish with a career high regulation-time 42 save performance in Michigan's 4-2 win.

Louie Caporusso added a goal and an assist to lead the offense in the win.

WMU thwarts Wolverines in CCHA semis

By Karl Henkel/Western Michigan Beat Writer

With one huge second period, Western Michigan snapped Michigan’s eight-game winning streak and earned a spot in its first CCHA Championship since 1986.

The Broncos scored four times in the second period in a 5-2 victory Friday night and tallied three power-play goals, avenging two defeats to the Wolverines earlier in the year.

Mike Leone, Dane Walters and Matt Tennyson jolted WMU to a 3-0 lead midway through the second period, all scoring on the power play. WMU was 3-for-6 with the man advantage overall.

Lee Moffie scored a power-play goal to put Michigan on the board, but the Broncos scored two goals in 2:26 near the end of the second.

Derek Roehl and Kyle O’Kane scored even-strength goals for Western Michigan, which chased Michigan goalie Shawn Hunwick after two periods.

Hunwick allowed five goals on 23 shots. Bryan Hogan made four third-period saves.

Meanwhile, Jerry Kuhn stopped 29 of 31 shots for WMU.

The Broncos meet Miami Saturday at Joe Louis Arena. The RedHawks throttled the Irish, 6-2, Friday night.

Photo courtesy GS Photo

Michigan sweeps BGSU, loses Wohlberg

By Bob Miller/Michigan Beat Writer

Even though Bowling Green battled right through to the end, Michigan breezed to a two-game sweep of the Falcons in their quarterfinal CCHA playoff series at Yost Arena last weekend.

The Wolverines move on to face Western Michigan in one semifinal game on Friday at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit while Notre Dame and Miami meet in the other semifinal matchup. The winners of those two games meet in the championship final Saturday evening.

Five different goal scorers hit the back of the net for the Wolverines in their opening game 5-1 victory Friday night. David Wohlberg, Chris Brown, Scooter Vaughan, Lindsay Sparks and Luke Moffatt scored singles for Michigan.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Wohlberg was lost for the season late in the contest with a broken collarbone.

Defenseman Lee Moffie scored twice for Michigan in Saturday night's 4-1 series-clinching win for the Wolverines.

“Well, I’m the glad the game is over,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson after Saturday's game. “I’m glad the series is over. I’m glad our seniors don’t have to play another game here. I don’t think we scored on our best chances, but we played hard."

Broncos top Bulldogs, off to "The Joe"

By Karl Henkel/Western Michigan Beat Writer

The Western Michigan Broncos reached yet another milestone in their magical season, this time with a thrilling overtime goal in an elimination game and earned a spot in the CCHA semifinals for the first time in 17 years.

Max Campbell’s overtime tally propelled Western Michigan to a 5-4 victory Sunday over Ferris State in the final of a best-of-three series in Kalamazoo.

“Unbelievable. I’m the happiest person alive right now,” said WMU goaltender Jerry Kuhn, who made 29 saves, including six in overtime. “I get to go home and play in front of 18,000 fans. It’s a dream come true.”

WMU now preps for a battle with Michigan Friday night at Joe Louis Arena. The Wolverines are coming off a two-game sweep of Bowling Green.

The Broncos blew two three-goal leads in the finale, after Trevor Elias, Shane Berschbach and Matt Tennyson scored to give WMU a 3-0 lead early in the second period. Ferris State quickly erased its deficit with three second-period tallies of its own.

In overtime, the hero was Campbell, who scored his 18th of the season off a feed from Dane Walters at 2:23. He beat Pat Nagle, who made 26 saves.

Nagle previously anchored Ferris State’s 3-1 victory in the opener. He made 31 saves and allowed only a second-period goal to Mike Leone.

Cory Kane and Travis Ouellette (two) scored for the Bulldogs.

Kuhn stopped 26 shots for the Broncos.

In the second game, Western Michigan got revenge with a 3-1 victory of their own.

Berschbach and Danny DeKeyser (power play) both scored in the second period, and Kuhn was nearly flawless, making 30 saves and allowing only a second-period goal to Mike Fillinger.

Elias sealed the victory with an empty-netter.

Nagle stopped 28 shots for the Bulldogs.

The Broncos have less than a week to prepare for the Wolverines on Friday (8 p.m. Fox Sports Detroit). UM swept WMU in Ann Arbor in their only series this season, but Western is eager to get a third crack at Michigan.

“Personally, being here for the first three years, it’s always been a sad goodbye for the seniors,” Campbell said. “To be a part of the winning team, and to be going to the Joe, it’s just surreal. It’s an awesome feeling.”

CCHA unveils 'Hockey In The D' logo

CCHA Press Release

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association on Wednesday announced a new ‘Hockey in the D’ slogan and logo developed in celebration of its 30th anniversary hosting the CCHA Championship at Joe Louis Arena. This year’s tournament is planned for March 18-19.

“The CCHA Championship is the longest continually running conference championship event held at an NHL venue,” stated CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos. “Joe Louis Arena has been home to so many great games, players and moments since 1982, and the conference looks forward to many more to come in downtown Detroit.”

The ‘Hockey in the D’ slogan celebrates the annual tradition of championship hockey in the city of Detroit, one of the premier hockey cities in North America. Each year, the best teams from the CCHA travel to Detroit for semifinal, third-place and championship games to, ultimately, determine a CCHA Tournament champion that receives the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The event has attracted an average of over 30,000 hockey fans to the Joe each year.

“We are proud to celebrate 30 years of CCHA tradition in Detroit,” said Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. “This event is an opportunity to features all that our city has to offer. We welcome all the visitors and excitement the CCHA Championship brings to Detroit.”

The unique ‘crest within a crest’ logo, showcases the league’s traditional primary blue color along with the Detroit skyline and Ambassador Bridge, which pay tribute to Detroit and the state of Michigan, both known for their rich hockey traditions.

“This is a great milestone for CCHA,” said Tom Wilson, president of Olympia Entertainment, the sports and entertainment company that operates Joe Louis Arena. “Hockey is a beloved sport in this community – from youth hockey, to college hockey, and all the way up to the pros. The CCHA develops some of the best players in the sport, and the Ilitch companies are proud to be a part of CCHA’s 30th anniversary at Joe Louis Arena.”

The 2011 CCHA Championship will face off Friday, March 18 at Joe Louis Arena with semifinal games at 4:35 and 8:05 p.m. The third place-game will be played Saturday, March 18 at 3:35 p.m., followed by the championship game at 7:35 p.m. Both semifinals and the championship game will air live on FOX Sports Detroit PLUS.

Know Your Rinks: City Sports Center

By Tom Balog/Wayne State Beat Writer

Arena: City Sports Center (CSC)

Capacity: 500

Year Built: Rink one in 1993 and rink two in 1994

Anchor Tenants: Wayne State University women, Detroit Red Wings practice facility and Grosse Pointe South and U of D Jesuit high schools.

Famous game: WSU hosted the 2003 and 2010 College Hockey America tournaments at the CSC. A 3-2 OT win over Mercyhurst on 2/23/2008 was also a historic milestone victory for the Green and Gold.

Unique item: The City Sports Center is former health and fitness center and was modified to house two NHL regulation size ice surfaces. Both rinks are connected by a glass-walled conference center, weight room, and locker rooms that are suspended over the main entrance to the facility.

Where to eat: Greektown with multiple great restaurants is just a few miles west on Lafayette. Pegasus and Golden Fleece and are local favorites. Downtown Detroit has some other gems like Foran’s Grand Trunk with many micro and craft beers on tap, the Detroit Brewing Company near Comerica Park brews their own great beers (Try the Milkshake Stout!) and good food, and Cheli’s Chili Bar is great for the hockey fans. The Old Shillelagh is also a fun Irish bar also in Greentown and Z’s Villa is a terrific historic bar just a few minutes north on Piquette that caters to the Wayne State faithful.

Best seats: With only 500 seats, there is really not a bad spot in the CSC. As usual, a spot at the top of the stands near the redline will give you the best view of the full ice service. There are also a few round tables near the end boards on the north side of the rink that are a great spot to have take down the usual concession stand fare and get up close and personal to the rink.

Attractions: It’s Detroit, so you’ve got the Wings, Lions, Tigers, Pistons, MoTown, Science Center, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Historical Museum, etc, etc, etc. The best thing to is to check out VisitDetroit.com.

Photo courtesy of Mark Hicks & Wayne State Athletics.

CCHA changes playoff format - again

CCHA Press Release

All 11 teams will participate in the playoffs during the 2010-11 season under a new post-season model adopted by the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

The first round of the 2011 CCHA Playoffs will take place March 4-6. The top five seeds will receive first-round byes, while the remaining six teams will play best-of-three series’ at campus sites. The No. 6 seed host the No. 11 seed, the No. 7 seed will host the No. 10 seed, and the No. 8 seed will host the No. 9 seed. The winners will advance to the CCHA Quarterfinals.

The CCHA Quarterfinals will take place March 11-13 with another round of best-of-three series at campus sites. The No. 4 seed will host the No. 5 seed. The No. 3 seed will host the highest seed to win its series in the first round. The No. 2 seed will host the next highest seed to win its series in the first round. The No. 1 seed will host the lowest remaining seed. The winners of the series in the CCHA Quarterfinals will advance to the CCHA Championship.

The 2011 CCHA Championship will take place March 18-19 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The CCHA Semifinals will take place on Friday, March 18, with the highest-remaining seed playing the lowest remaining seed and the second-highest remaining seed taking on the third-highest remaining seed for the right to play in the title game. Saturday, March 19 will feature the CCHA Third-Place Game and the CCHA Championship Game.

2010 CCHA Champions - Michigan

By Matt Mackinder/At the CCHA Tournament

DETROIT - The Michigan Wolverines are on a roll and after beating Northern Michigan tonight, 2-1, the Wolverines are in the NCAA Tournament for the 20th straight season.

If Michigan had lost, the streak would have been snapped.

“We had not talked about the NCAA Tournament until this morning and I reminded the team that we would not be in the tournament unless we won this championship,” Michigan head coach Red Berenson said. “The goal this week was to try and get by Miami and get in the championship game. We talked about how if we win this game, we'll be in the tournament and if we don't, we won't. It's not about where we are, but how we got here.

"To me, this has been the most challenging way into the tournament that Michigan has had in a long time. That's good for our team and our players. Good for our seniors and good for (goaltender) Shawn (Hunwick). We've had a little more adversity than the average team and they've been amazing.”

Hunwick, playing goal in place of starter Bryan Hogan, was named CCHA Tournament MVP, but downplayed the honor after the game.

“It was a nice feeling, but I think it takes away from the team,” said Hunwick. “The guys played tremendous. I don't even know if I deserve to be an MVP. I don't even know if I deserve to be a star (of the game). The boys played tremendous and it's nice to get a little recognition. I just have to keep on going.”

“I think he's earned a spot on our playing roster,” laughed Berenson. “I don't even like small goalies. I've always been a big goalie fan, but I'm a fan of small goalies who battle hard. He is a warrior. He's not too worried, he's out there playing hard for his team and his team is out there playing hard for him. You can call it any kind of story you want. It's an opportunity and he's taking advantage of it.”

Hunwick made 17 saves versus NMU, allowing just an Andrew Cherniwchan goal midway through the third period on a nice backhand shot from in tight.

“I try to play like any other game,” said Hunwick. “I think this is the biggest game of my career. I think it's my sixth or seventh start overall, I'm not even sure. You just have to take it in five-minute segments. You win that segment and get to the next one.”

The Wildcats knew they had a battle on their hands in the title game.

“They got pucks behind us, they forechecked, they came at us from the attack, they had great back pressure, they stole the puck from us numerous times coming up ice, and we failed to get pucks in, we failed to generate a forecheck,” NMU head coach Walt Kyle said. “Their defense did a very good job.”

Louie Caporusso started the scoring in the final minute of the second period on a Michigan power play when he jumped on the ice to replace Matt Rust after Rust’s stick snapped during a play.

“I think everyone wants a lot of power-play time,” said Caporusso. “At the same time, Matt realized it would have been quicker for me to get out there than for him to grab a stick, and who knows if that stick is good for him or not? So I just jumped out there. I didn’t really give him a choice. At the same time, hey, we scored a goal. I’m sure he was happy.”

Caporusso tallied the eventual game-winner at 8:53 of the third period in deflecting a Steven Kampfer shot from the left point.

In the third period, Michigan allowed just three Northern Michigan shots.

Brian Stewart made 33 saves for the Wildcats.

Kyle said the game, even in a loss, will help his team improve and ready itself for the regionals that start this weekend.

“I guarantee you, this game will make us better,” said Kyle. “There aren’t many teams that are going to push you like those guys pushed us tonight. They are fast and they came at us.”

Caporusso said the team is peaking at the perfect time of the season.

“It was just a commitment to play sound team hockey, defensive hockey, playing for one another, playing for the team,” said Caporusso. “Something clicked. I can’t tell you what it was, but I think maybe the adversity throughout the whole year.

“Finally, we said it’s up to us. It doesn’t matter what people say or what’s thought of us. We just have to work our hardest and play well.”

All-Tournament Team

F - Louie Caporusso, Michigan
F - Ray Kaunisto, Northern Michigan
F - Carl Hagelin, Michigan
D - Erik Gustafsson, Northern Michigan
D - Steven Kampfer, Michigan
G - Shawn Hunwick, Michigan

Photos by Matt Mackinder/MiCHO

RedHawks down Bulldogs, 2-1

By Matt Mackinder/At The CCHA Tournament

DETROIT - Jarod Palmer's goal with 4:04 to go in the third period proved to be the game-winner as Miami defeated Ferris State, 2-1, in the third place game this afternoon at Joe Louis Arena.

Ferris generated just 13 shots on Miami goalie Connor Knapp, including just two over the final 20 minutes.

Knapp, playing in place of CCHA Player of the Year Cody Reichard, allowed just a Casey Haines power-play goal at 14:49 of the second period. The goal was initially waved off, but after a lengthy review, it was called a good goal.

"I wasn't trying to pass to Casey," laughed Blair Riley, who assisted on the goal.

"The puck hit my stick and then something else - my shin pad, something, I don't know," said Haines. "Then I spun around looking for it and it was in the net."

The RedHawks opened the scoring 4:44 of the middle period when freshman Steve Mason, a native of the Netherlands, crashed the net after a Chris Wideman shot rang off the crossbar and knocked in his first career goal.

That goal, too, was reviewed and ultimately ruled a goal.

On Palmer's goal, he faked a slap shot, walked between the circles and wired the puck past Ferris State goalie Pat Nagle.

Nagle went to the bench with just under 90 seconds to go, but the Bulldogs failed to get the equalizer.
When the seeds are announced tomorrow for the NCAA Tournament, Miami is expected to be a high seed, perhaps the No. 1 overall seed.

"If we get the No. 1 seed, this has been a very successful season," said Miami coach Enrico Blasi, who also wouldn't say who starts in goal next weekend. "We have two No. 1 goaltenders and that's a good problem to have. They'll both battle this week during practice and as a staff, we'll make our decision at game time."

As for FSU, qualifying for the NCAA round of 16 may need the Bulldogs hoping a few teams lose tonight in other conference tournaments.

"I think right now, we need Cornell and Boston College to lose," said Ferris State coach Bob Daniels. "I think we have a 50-50 chance of getting in, so we'll see."

The selcection show starts tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2.

Photos by Karl Henkel/MiCHO

CCHA Finals: Photo Gallery

The final score tells the story

Michigan's Tim Miller and Chris Summers at post-game presser

The Notre Dame seniors with the championship banner

Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson

Notre Dame's Ryan Thang with the Mason Cup

National anthem prior to the title game

Tournament MVP Jordan Pearce

Thang hoisting the Mason Cup to the ND faithful

The 2009 Mason Cup champion Notre Dame Fighting Irish

All photos by Matt Mackinder/MiCHO

UND tops Michigan in CCHA final

By Matt Mackinder/At the CCHA Championship

DETROIT - Hockey games are 60 minutes for a reason and tonight, Michigan found out why.

Leading 2-1 going into the third period, Notre Dame rattled off four straight goals in the third to pull away and take the CCHA tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 5-2 win in front of 19,126 at Joe Louis Arena.

"I think where we're at in the season, no loss is a good loss, so we've got to take it, learn from it and move on," Michigan junior co-captain Chris Summers said. "We've got a week to prepare for next weekend and it's do or die now."

Freshmen Luke Glendening and David Wohlberg staked the Wolverines to an early 2-0 lead until Billy Maday scored midway through the second period to bring the top-ranked Irish to within one.

"I thought we played pretty well in the first period," Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson said. "The first goal was rather fluky and the second shot was just a blocked shot and a bad break. Down 2-0, I didn't feel like we were down 2-0. I thought we were playing well. It was just a matter of being patient enough to try and generate some scoring chances."

Just 20 seconds apart early in the third, Calle Ridderwall (1:45) and Ben Ryan (2:05) beat Michigan goalie Bryan Hogan to give Notre Dame a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Ridderwall and Christiaan Minella added late goals to ice the game for Notre Dame, now 31-5-3.

"We really didn't play that well the first 30 minutes, I didn't think," Michigan senior forward Tim Miller said. "They were getting way too many opportunities and then they scored with five seconds left on the penalty kill and I think that was the turning point."

Hogan made 29 saves and tournament MVP Jordan Pearce stopped 28 for the win.

Both the No. 3 Wolverines (29-11-0) and the Irish will find out their regional opponent and location tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2.

Photo by Matt Mackinder