Ferris State's run ends in regional final

By Tom Morelli/Ferris State Beat Writer

Ferris State's chance of completing their unfinished business from two years ago was nixed on Saturday night after losing a 2-1 double-overtime thriller to North Dakota at the Midwest Regional Championship in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Both teams mirrored each other from the beginning, with neither one able to find the back of the net in the first period.

The Bulldogs grabbed the initial lead at the 7:31 mark of the second, thanks to senior Cory Kane's 14th goal of the campaign from between the faceoff circles. Fellow classmate Andy Huff and junior netminder C.J. Motte were both credited with assists on that play.

Just over three minutes later, North Dakota was able to even-up matters while on the man-advantage. Nick Mattson fed a one-timer to Paul LaDue at the blue line, which was subsequently deflected in by Stephane Pattyn from just outside the crease.

The contest remained deadlocked at one goal apiece until Connor Gaarder of North Dakota netted the game-winner off a back-handed redirect in front with 1:28 elapsed in the second overtime session. On a play that was eerily similar to the previous goal, North Dakota's Mattson and LaDue both picked-up their second helpers of the evening.

Despite the loss, Ferris State head coach Bob Daniels was very supportive of his team after the game.

"First of all, I want congratulate North Dakota in winning tonight and playing a great game," said Daniels. "[But] I want to congratulate our players as well. They really played well, and, more importantly, it's been a great ride. I'm exceedingly proud and realize that we're going to look back and be appreciative of this year. Its a little painful right now, but I am very appreciative of the efforts of our team."

The Bulldogs outshot their opposition 45-26, increasing their shot production gradually as the game wore on.

Motte had 24 saves to finish his second season as a starter with a 28-9-3 ledger. At the other end of the ice, Zane Gothberg made 44 stops to notch his 20th win of the season.

Senior captain Scott Czarnowczan, Kane and Motte were named to the All-Midwest Regional Tournament Team, where they were joined by North Dakota's Rocco Grimaldi, Gaarder and LaDue.

Ferris State finishes the 2013-2014 season with an overall record of 29-11-3.

Ferris State 1, Colgate 0: In Friday's opening round of 16, freshman Gerald Mayhew knocked in a loose puck at 10:01 in the first period to advance the Bulldogs to the Midwest Regional Championship. Motte stopped all 35 shots to secure his fifth shutout of the season.

MiCHO Power Poll 10.22.2013

This season's inaugural MiCHO Power Poll is now posted for your viewing pleasure.

1. Michigan (tie, win against New Hampshire) 
2. Lake Superior State (swept Union) 
3. Ferris State (win over Mercyhurst, split with St. Lawrence) 
4. Western Michigan (win over Alaska-Anchorage, tie against Alaska) 
5. Northern Michigan (split with Nebraska-Omaha) 
6. Michigan Tech (swept by Notre Dame) 
7. Michigan State (swept by UMass) 

Each week during the regular season, MichiganCollegeHockey.com staffers will compile the MiCHO Power Poll. Contrary to popular belief, there is no coin flip involved. The poll comprises the seven Division I teams in the state of Michigan.

Michigan natives aplenty in NCAA tournament

No schools from the state of Michigan made the round of 16 for the NCAA tournament that starts this weekend at four sites across the country, but the Mitten State is still well-represented with plenty of players on the rosters of the 16 qualifying teams.

BOSTON COLLEGE
Patrick Brown, Jr., F, Bloomfield Hills

CANISIUS
Doug Beck, So., F, Plymouth

MASSACHUSETTS-LOWELL 
Adam Chapie, Fr., F, Oxford
Connor Hellebuyck, Fr., G, Commerce - pictured
A.J. White, Fr., F, Dearborn

MIAMI 
Riley Barber, Fr., F, Livonia
Austin Czarnik, So., F, Washington
Garrett Kennedy, Sr., D/F, Brighton

MINNESOTA STATE 
Jean-Paul Lafontaine, So., F, Oxford

NIAGARA 
Kevin Albers, So., D, Lake Orion
Ryan Rashid, Jr., F, Farmington Hills

NOTRE DAME 
Joe Rogers, Jr., G, Marysville
Bryan Rust, Jr., F, Novi
Andy Ryan, Fr., D, Brighton
Mike Voran, Jr., F, Livonia

ST. CLOUD STATE 
Kevin Gravel, Jr., D, Kingsford

YALE 
Ryan Obuchowski, Fr., D, West Bloomfield

'92 Lakers unducted into LSSU Hall of Fame

By Michael David/LSSU Beat Writer

Last weekend the members of the 1992 NCAA National Championship team were inducted into the Lake Superior State University Hall of Fame. The '92 Lakers defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 5-3 in the Frozen Four final to take the NCAA crown back to Sault Ste. Marie. Pictured, are members of the team playing in a Alumni game against other Lakers from the past. Skating for the 'champs', were the likes of Mark Astley, John Hendry, Sandy Moger, Rob Valicevic, Brad Willner, Jim Peters, Mike Smith, and Dan Angelleli. Also returning for the ceremony, were head coach Jeff Jackson and assistant coach Paul Pooley. Laker netminder Darrin Madeley was also in attendance, but did not arrive in time to participate in the game. I did have a chance to speak with him, though, and he's still one of the nicest guys in hockey.

Broncos knocked out of NCAAs by North Dakota

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

After a CCHA playoff championship and a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, Western Michigan's season is again over prematurely after North Dakota topped WMU 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the West Regional in St. Paul, Minn.

Kyle O'Kane netted Western Michigan's lone goal in the second period and Frank Slubowski made 25 saves between the pipes.

After O'Kane's goal, the apparent tying goal was waived off as the officials ruled that the net was dislodged before the puck bounced off of captain Ian Slater and across the goal line.

Michael Parks, Corban Knight and Brock Nelson (empty-net) scored for the Sioux, while Aaron Dell finished with 24 stops in goal.

North Dakota will play the Minnesota-Boston University winner tomorrow with a berth to the Frozen Four at stake.

Western Michigan ends the season with a 21-14-6 record, the most wins since the 1995-96 season.

Cornell skates by Wolverines in overtime

By Bob Miller/Michigan Beat Writer

Michigan tempted the overtime gods one too many times.

After coming out on the positive end of overtime wins against Notre Dame and Bowling Green in the CCHA championship tourney, first-seeded Michigan's season ended 3:35 into the first overtime period in upset fashion against fourth-seeded Cornell, 3-2, in the semifinal round of the NCAA Midwest Regional Friday night in Green Bay, Wis.

Kevin Lynch had knotted the game for the No. 2 overall Wolverines with only 4:01 left in the third period. Captain Luke Glendening opened the game's scoring when he gave Michigan a short-lived 1-0 lead only 1:10 into the first period.

“I liked the way our team started,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “The goal that was disallowed was obviously a factor in the game. I was wondering why it was being reviewed. Give Cornell credit, they got back in the game.”

Michigan thought it had a 2-0 lead early in the first period, but the goal was disallowed and Cornell turned the tide of momentum from that point.

"We had a strong start with Luke popping one and then when I put it in, emotions were running high," Lynch said. "But that was early enough in the game where I don't think it could have affected the outcome. We're a strong enough team where we could have come back, and we did at the end of the game."

The Wolverines had plenty of chances to make an offensive difference in regulation time. Numerous times, Michigan failed to connect on power-play attempts, including a five-minute major.

"We got shots, but we didn't score, and that was the frustrating part," Berenson said. "We needed to score. Especially when you're trailing in a game, your power play needs to score."

Spartans one and done in NCAA tournament

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

Michigan State entered the NCAA tournament as the 15th seed and drew overall No. 2 seed Union in the first game of the East Regional in Bridgeport, Conn., Friday afternoon.

MSU played well, but suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Dutchmen, effectively ending the Spartans' 2011-12 season.

Will Yanakeff made 29 saves for Michigan State (19-16-4), while Matt Berry scored the lone goal for the Spartans on a second-period power play.

For Union, Hobey Baker finalist Troy Grosenick finished with 20 saves and Jeremy Welsh tallied a goal and an assist.

Union will play the winner of No. 5 Miami and No. 12 Massachusetts-Lowell matchup for the right to go to the Frozen Four in two weeks in Tampa, Fla.

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.

Grand Rapids tabbed for 2013 regional

Courtesy of the NCAA

The NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee has selected the four regional sites for the 2013 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.

The four sites and regionals, being held between March 29-31, include: East Regional in Providence, R.I.; Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H.; Midwest Regional in Toledo, Ohio; and the West Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Brown will serve as hosts for the East Regional and New Hampshire will host the Northeast Regional. Bowling Green will host the Midwest Regional and Michigan will host the West Regional.

"The committee has placed an emphasis in the regional rounds on neutral-site buildings with NHL-size ice surfaces," said Sean Frazier, chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee and associate athletic director at Wisconsin. "All of these facilities meet those standards, and we feel the arenas and hosts will be able to provide a tremendous championship opportunity for the student-athletes."

The 2013 Men's Frozen Four will be held in Pittsburgh at the Consol Energy Center, April 11 and 13. The 2012 championship will be held at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., April 5 and 7.

Michigan/Minnesota-Duluth: Line Charts

MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

Forwards
Carl Hagelin-Louie Caporusso-Chris Brown
Scooter Vaughan-Kevin Lynch-A.J. Treais
Ben Winnett-Matt Rust-Luke Glendening
Luke Moffatt-Jeff Rohrkemper-Derek DeBlois

Defense
Jon Merrill-Chad Langlais
Kevin Clare-Greg Pateryn
Lee Moffie-Mac Bennett

Goaltenders
Shawn Hunwick
Bryan Hogan

MINNESOTA-DULUTH BULLDOGS

Forwards
Mike Connolly-Jack Connolly-Justin Fontaine
Kyle Schmidt-Travis Oleksuk-J.T. Brown
Mike Seidel-Jake Hendrickson-Joe Basaraba
Keegan Flaherty-Max Tardy-David Grun

Defensemen
Justin Faulk-Mike Montgomery
Wade Bergman-Brady Lamb
Drew Olson-Trent Palm

Goaltenders
Kenny Reiter
Aaron Crandall

Adrian's luck runs out in title game

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

The Adrian College Bulldogs fell painfully short in their bid for their first NCAA Division III Championship, falling 4-3 to the St. Norbert College Green Knights at the Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Saturday night.

"We had a few lapses on the penalty kill and that really lead to them getting the win," said head coach Ron Fogarty. "I'm proud of our guys and the heart they showed each time we went down a goal. I'm also proud to be the head coach of Adrian College."

Nick Tabisz scored on the power-play at 15:26 of the third period to seal the title for St. Norbert who were in the championship game for the fifth time in the last eight years.

Sam Kuzyk, Kyle Watson, and Eric Miller lit the lamp and Brad Fogal made 30 saves for an Adrian team that finished with an overall record of 25-4-1.

"We could not gain any momentum because every goal by us was answered by them," said senior Sam Kuzyk. "Our team tried to overcome the penalties but they really did a good job of making those penalties hurt."

Cody Keefer popped in a pair of goals, Johan Ryd added a power-play marker and B.J. O'Brien stopped 18 as SNC won it's second National Championship.

The 17 outgoing Bulldog seniors won four MCHA regular season and Harris Cup titles and depart with an overall record of 102-12-2.

Senior blueliner Jeremy Klaver and senior forward Shawn Skelly both nabbed Frozen Four All-Tournament Team honors.

Photo courtesy of Adrian Athletics.

Adrian to play for D-III championship

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

Adrian advanced to the Division III national title game with a 5-3 win over Oswego State Friday afternoon in Minneapolis.

The Bulldogs, winners of 14 straight games, will now play for the first NCAA championship in school history tonight against St. Norbert.

Shawn Skelly scored twice, while Zach Graham, Andrew Dovey and Mike Towns added singles to back Brad Fogal's 39-save performance in net.

"We are thrilled to be moving on and it really has not hit me yet," said senior forward Eric Miller, who added two assists. "We still have one more game to win before we can really exhale. Our goal four years ago was to win a national title and we are so close to realizing a dream."

The national championship will be decided tonight at 8 p.m. from Ridder Arena in Minneapolis.

The game can be seen by going here and clicking on the live video link.

Michigan tops UNO, off to regional final

By Bob Miller/Michigan Beat Writer

They waited and waited. And waited some more.

After what seemed an interminable delay, Michigan won their first round NCAA Regional opener over Nebraska-Omaha, 3-2, in overtime Friday night in St. Louis as they sat on the ice. Or on the bench. Or stood or kneeled on the ice.

The odd victory was presented to them by a referee's ruling that a shot taken by Greg Pateryn from the right point had deflected under Nebraska-Omaha's goaltender and barely found its way over the goal line.

The peculiar nature of the win partially obscured the fact that the Woverines had rallied from a 2-0 early deficit to gamely come back and tie the game in regulation time on goals by Louie Caporusso and Kevin Lynch. Lynch was also credited with game-winner at 2:35 into overtime.

"I thought their defense was playing us hard," said Lynch of the overtime scenario. "I wasn't sure if it went in or not. I know it went in off of a defenseman. I wasn't sure if it crossed the line. I figured the longer they reviewed the better it was for us. Coach just had us stay focused and keep our heads in the game while we had to wait. I was pretty confident that it was going to go our way."

Michigan advances to play Colorado College, surprise winners over number one-seeded Boston College, late Saturday night for a spot in the Frozen Four.

"We have to put this game behind us between now and when we go to bed, and start refocusing'" Michigan coach Red Berenson warned post-game on Friday. "The whole weekend comes down to tomorrow night. We want to be a Saturday night team."

Wolverines, Broncos make big dance

CCHA Press Release

The CCHA has placed four teams in the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship for a sixth straight year and the conference will be represented at three of the four regional sites.

CCHA Tournament champion Miami and Notre Dame are headed to the Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H., CCHA regular-season champion Michigan goes to West Regional in St. Louis, Mo., and Western Michigan travels to the Midwest Regional in Green Bay, Wis.

The four regional winners advance to the Men’s Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn., on April 7-9.

The Miami RedHawks (23-9-6), coming off their first CCHA Tournament title and making their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance overall, are the No. 1 seed at the Northeast Regional where they will meet New Hampshire (21-10-6) of Hockey East in the 4 p.m. Eastern time game on Saturday, March 26th. The RedHawks, appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in the past eight years, are bidding for a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four.

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (23-13-5), are the No. 3 seed at the Northeast Regional and will face off against Merrimack (25-9-4) of Hockey East in the 7:30 p.m. Eastern time contest at Verizon Wireless Arena.

The CCHA regular-season champion Michigan Wolverines (26-10-4) will make their record 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance when they skate as the No. 2 seed against Nebraska-Omaha (21-15-2) of the WCHA in the 5:30 p.m. Eastern time game in St. Louis. The Wolverines are bidding to capture their 10th national crown.

Western Michigan (19-12-10), returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996, is the No. 3 seed at the Midwest Regional and will face Denver (24-11-5) of the WCHA on Saturday, March 26th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time. The Broncos are appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time overall.

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

The championship playoff format involves four predetermined regional sites with four teams assigned to each site. The four regional winners advance to the Men’s 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.

Yale University of the ECAC is the No. 1 overall seed. The other No. 1 seeds, in order, included North Dakota, Boston College and Miami.

MTU to host regionals in 2011, 2012

MTU Press Release

The NCAA recently announced the hosts and sites of the 2012 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Regionals and Michigan Technological University has been given the Midwest Regional to host at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis.

The announcement from the NCAA is the first regarding Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship sites since September 2008, when Tech and the Resch Center were given the 2011 Midwest Regional.

The 2011 and 2012 regionals will be the second and third time Michigan Tech and the Resch Center have combined up to host NCAA Hockey Tournament events. The pair hosted the 2006 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Midwest Regional, which featured three sellout games and saw Wisconsin defeat Cornell, 2-1, in three overtimes in the championship.

The dates for the regionals are March 26-27 in 2011 and March 24-25 in 2012.

NHL Draft tonight in Los Angeles

Boston College - National Champions

Photo by Karl Henkel / MiCHO

BC Eagles capture fourth national title

By Tom Balog / Live at the Frozen Four

It was a battle of David vs. David at Ford Field on Saturday night.

Two college hockey giants in Wisconsin and Boston College went toe to toe and in the end, it was the BC Eagles hoisting their fourth National Championship trophy.

Senior center Ben Smith rifled a power-play shot from between the rings and beat Scott Gudmandson five-hole at 12:37 of the opening period to give the BC Eagles a 1-0 lead. Brothers Steven and Joe Whitney were credited with the assists.

"It takes a full 60 minutes effort," said Smith. "I think we proved we could play at that level and it showed in our success"

Wisconsin battled back and outshot BC, 9-6, in the second period and it looked like the third period would be close.

Looks can be deceiving though as Boston College turned their game up again.

The 1-0 score held until 1:38 of the third when Cam Atkinson (pictured) came flying down the wing and let a backhander fly. It beat Gudmandson in the five-hole again for the sophomore’s 28th marker of the year and two-goal Eagle lead.

Just over two minutes later the Eagles added more insurance in the form of a Chris Krieder goal. Kreider tipped a Jimmy Hayes pass into the stick side to make it a 3-0 contest.

Atkinson added another nail in the Badger coffin at 7:20, beating the UW defense and Gudmandson through the five-hole for his second goal of the evening.

Matt Price added an empty-netter and that was more than enough to give the Eagles their second title in three years.

"We had a great journey," said Hobey Baker winner Blake Geoffrion. "Obviously right now we're pretty disappointed in our play today and they're a better team on the ice. We'll go back and reflect on the past couple of days here and look back on it and we should be proud of ourselves."

John Muse finished with 20 saves for the Eagles for his second shutout of the year and is also 8-0 in NCAA playoff games.

"I thought our club played very sound," said BC head coach Jerry York. "Johnny Muse was clearly on top of his game tonight. This is three championships in a row for Hockey East and I feel very excited about this championship."

Gudmandson made 21 stops on the other end in a losing effort.

All-Tournament Team
F- Boston College, Cam Atkinson
F- Boston College, Ben Smith
F- Boston College, Joe Whitney
D- Wisconsin, Brendan Smith
D- Boston College, Brian Dumoulin
G- Boston College, John Muse

Most Outstanding Player- Boston College, Ben Smith

Ice Chips…

- Boston College holds the edge in the all-time series with Wisconsin, 12-9-0.

- BC has as many wins in three days in Ford Field as the Detroit Lions have had in the last two seasons.

- Saturday’s game set a new world indoor hockey attendance record with 37,592 fans jammed into Ford Field.

- This was BC’s fourth trip to the championship game in five years and tenth overall.

- Saturday’s game was the third time Wisconsin played for the National Championship in Detroit. They won the title in 1977 by beating Michigan, 6-5, in overtime at Olympia Stadium. Then in 1990 they took down Colgate, 7-3, at Joe Louis Arena.

- BC head coach Jerry York now has four national titles. One at Bowling Green in 1984 and three with the Eagles in 2001, 2008 and 2010.

- RIT fans were still in full force, chanting RIT during breaks throughout the game.

Photo by Karl Henkel / MiCHO

West tops East, 10-6, in Skills Challenge

By Karl Henkel/At the Frozen Four

Detroit -- The State of Michigan had six representatives — including Wayne State women’s coach Jim Fetter — that participated in the NCAA Skills Competition at Ford Field Friday night.

The West won, 10-6, thanks in part to former Wayne State goaltender Lindsey Park’s victory in the rapid shot competition, which consisted of eight shots fired in succession at the goaltender.

“She showed why she’s one of our better goaltenders,” Fetter said of Park. “Just looking at the smile on her face, it’s a great way to finish her career at the collegiate level. Just seeing the smile on her face is what it’s all about.”

Park said just participating was enough for her.

“It was a lot of fun and it’s a great thing for women’s hockey to come and compete on a stage like this,” she said. “We don’t necessarily always get the recognition. I think it’s nice for even young girls and boys to see the talent that’s coming through women’s hockey.”

Other Michigan participants, all on the West squad, included Nick Sucharski (Michigan State), Zac MacVoy (Lake Superior State) and Pat Inglis (Lake Superior State). Tom Newton (Michigan State) also coached the West team.

After the teams split the puck control relay, the East took both points in the fastest skater event and then took two of three in the hardest shot contest. Thanks to Park, the West took all three in the rapid shot, then swept the accuracy shot before outscoring the East, 2-1, in the shootout.

Pictures by Karl Henkel/MiCHO

Three in-state players All-American

Compiled by MiCHO Staff

Three players from Michigan-based schools were named AHCA All-Americans this evening at the Frozen Four.

Northern Michigan forward Mark Olver was a First Team honoree for the West side, while NMU teammate Erik Gustafsson and Michigan State's Jeff Petry were named the Second Team defensemen for the West.

All three gave up their final year of NCAA eligibility and signed NHL contracts recently - Olver with Colorado, Gustafsson with Philadelphia and Petry with Edmonton.