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~League attracts over 30,000+ fans to TD Garden for 27th annual Championship~
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ATHLETIC REPUBLIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK |
#13 CAM ATKINSON, BOSTON COLLEGE
(Junior Forward; Greenwich, Conn.) |
| Registered three points, including two third-period goals, to lift BC over Merrimack for the
league championship on Saturday night en route to earning Bill Flynn tournament Most Valuable
Player honors. |
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PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK |
#13 MIKE COLLINS, MERRIMACK
(Freshman Forward; Boston, Mass.) |
| Picked up two goals and three points on the weekend in two games at the TD Garden,
which included two points (1g,1a) in the Hockey East Finals on Saturday
night vs. the Eagles. |
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PURE HOCKEY DEFENSIVE PLAYER/WEEK |
#4 TOMMY CROSS, BOSTON COLLEGE
(Junior Defenseman; Simsbury, Conn.) |
| Recorded three points (1g,2a) with four shots on goal and a +3 rating in a 5-4 win vs.
Northeastern and earned All-Tournament honors for his efforts
over the weekend for the Eagles. |
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HOCKEY EAST TEAM OF THE WEEK |
| BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES |
| The Eagles took home their league-record 10th Hockey East Championship on Saturday
night at the TD Garden in Boston with a 5-3 victory against Merrimack College in the 27th
annual Championship Tournament. BC downed Northeastern in the semifinals on Friday
night by a 5-4 score to advance to its 15th Championship Game in school history. |
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Athletic Republic Players of the Week Cam Atkinson of Boston College |
| ARMY ROTC THREE STARS AWARD |
| At the conclusion of each Hockey East game, the " Army ROTC Three Stars of The Game" are selected. Congratulations to UNH's Paul Thompson for winning this year's Army ROTC Three Stars Award. Here are the final 2010-2011 season leaders: |
| Rk. |
Name |
Cl. |
Pos. |
School |
| 1. |
Paul
Thompson |
Sr. |
F |
UNH |
| 2. |
Kieran
Millan |
Jr. |
G |
BU |
| 3. |
Cam
Atkinson |
Jr. |
F |
BC |
| 4. |
Wade MacLeod |
Sr. |
F |
NU |
| 5. |
Brian Gibbons |
Sr. |
F |
BC |
| 5. |
Chris
Connolly |
Jr. |
F |
BU |
| |
Chris Rawlings |
So. |
G |
NU |
|
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 Joe Cannata, MC (Jr., G, Wakefield, Mass.) Led the Warriors to their first-ever HEA Championship Game with 30 saves in the 4-1 semifinal win vs. UNH.
John Muse, BC (Sr., G, East Falmouth, Mass.) Was named to the All-Tournament Team for his play in Boston with 69 saves (.908 save%) in two games.
Matt Di Girolamo, UNH (Jr., G, Ambler, Pa.) Stopped 31 shots on Friday against Merrimack at the TD Garden in the Hockey East semifinals.
Ryan Flanigan, MC (Jr., F, Rochester, NY) Led the Warriors with three goals on the weekend, earning All-Tournament team honors.
Brian Gibbons, BC (Sr., F, Braintree, Mass.) Registered three points (2g,1a) in wins over Northeastern and Merrimack; earned All-Tournament honors.
Wade MacLeod, NU (Sr., F, Coquitlam, B.C.) Scored two goals and one assist in the semifinal contest against Boston College on March 18.
Tyler McNeely, NU (Sr., F, Burnaby, B.C.) Registered a three-point outing with a goal and two assists in Friday's semifinal contest against BC.
Pat Mullane, BC (So., F, Wallingford, Conn.) Recorded a team-high four points (2g,2a) in wins (had one goal and one assist in each win).
Elliott Sheen, MC (Jr., F, Lethbridge, Alta.) Tied a career-high with two goals in Merrimack's 4-1 win over UNH.
Steve Silva, NU (Sr., F, Tyngsboro, Mass.) Closed out his collegiate career with a personal best seven-game point streak, with assist in Friday's game vs. BC.
Karl Stollery, MC (Jr., D, Camrose, Alta.) Was named to the All-Tournament and had an assist on the weekend with two shots on goal for the Warriors.
BRIAN DUMOULIN, BC (BIDDEFORD, MAINE)
Has registered six points (1g,5a) in his
current 5-game point streak
Ryan Flanigan, MC (Rochester, NY)
Has goals in four straight and 11 points in six games. He was
the leading scorer and goal scorer in the 2011 HEA tournament
with nine points (5g,4a) in four games
Brian Gibbons, BC (Braintree, Mass.)
Extended his scoring streak to six games with nine points
(4g,5a) during that time. Gibbons has tallied at least one point
in 34-of-38 games this winter
Stevie Moses, UNH (Leominster, Mass.)
Moses has goals in three-straight games for the Wildcats
PAT MULLANE, BC (WALLINGFORD, CONN.)
Is in the midst of a five-game point streak
with eight points (3g,5a) in that span
Jesse Todd (Camrose, Alta .)
Played in his 100th game on Friday night vs. UNH
Merrimack College Warriors
Appeared in first-ever Hockey East Championship and
selected to first NCAA Tournament since 1988
Boston College: BC won its record 10th Hockey East tournament
title, including its eighth under Jerry York and fourth in the last five years.
BC improved to 8-2 in league tournament championship games under York
and have captured back-to-back titles three times – 1998-99, 2007-08 and
2010-11. York has guided Boston College to a 46-11-1 record in league
tournament action…With two wins, the Eagles captured their seventh and
eighth straight victories heading into the NCAA Tournament and improve to
30-7-1 this winter...BC is 15-1-1 in its last 17 games and 21-2-1 in its last 24
games...The 2010-11 team is the third team in school history to capture 30
wins in a season, joining the 2000-01 Eagles, who set a school record with
33 wins, and the 1986-87 team that captured 31 wins in 39 games...The
team's three seniors; Joe Whitney, Brian Gibbons and John Muse concluded
their careers with three league tournament titles and a 14-1 record; Muse
went 13-1 in 14 Hockey East Tournament starts, two wins short of the all-time
record held by former Eagle Scott Clemmensen…Jimmy Hayes (4-2—6) and
Pat Mullane (2-4-6) led all BC scorers in the league tournament with six points
each…The Eagles will travel West for NCAA Tournament competition for the
first time since 2000 and the third time under York…BC and Colorado College
will meet on Friday, March 25 at 9 p.m. in St. Louis on ESPNU.
Merrimack: In its second-ever Hockey East Semifinal appearance, Merrimack
advanced to its first-ever title game with a 4-1 victory over UNH at
the TD Garden before falling to BC 5-3 in the championship game…The
Warriors earned a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the #6 overall
seed, and will take on Notre Dame Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Verizon
Wireless Arena in Manchester in the Northeast Regional. Miami and UNH
are also in Merrimack's regional…Merrimack is in the NCAA Tournament for
the second time ever and the first time since joining Hockey East. In 1988,
Merrimack qualified as an at-large team…Ryan Flanigan and Karl Stollery
earned all-tournament honors over the weekend. Flanigan scored a goal in
each of Merrimack's four postseason games and has 11 points in his last
six games, while Stollery led all players with 29 minutes of ice time in the
Championship…Stephane Da Costa (Paris, France) and Mike Collins also had
multi-point efforts Saturday…Merrimack also played in front of its largest
crowd ever, 16,003 in the Hockey East Semifinals…the Warriors are 33-0-2
in their last 35 games when leading after two periods…Merrimack and Notre
Dame have met five times but not since November 26, 1991. The Warriors
lead the all-time series 3-2 while the teams have split two meetings since
Merrimack moved up to Division I in 1988-89.
New Hampshire: UNH advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight
season... The 'Cats own the nation's second-longest streak of NCAA
appearances behind only Michigan's 21-straight trips...New Hampshire draws
one-seeded Miami in the first game Saturday, March 26 (4 p.m.), while Merrimack
and Notre Dame comprise the field at the NCAA Northeast Regional
in Manchester, N.H...UNH will once again serve as host in Manchester...
Saturday's game will be the second time the 'Cats and RedHawks have met
in the NCAA's. On March 24, 2007, the fourth-seeded RedHawks upset
the top-seeded 'Cats 2-1 in Manchester...New Hampshire and Miami enter
Saturday's games as the only two teams to win at least a game in each of the
past two NCAA's. UNH advanced to the regional finals in back-to-back years,
while Miami is coming off back-to-back trips to the Frozen Four...Senior Paul
Thompson was named Hockey East Player of the Year becoming the third
New Hampshire skater in the last four years to earn this honor. Bobby Butler
was last year's recipient, while Kevin Regan took home the award in 2007-
08... In addition, Thompson joins Regan and Butler as a Hobey Baker Award
Top 10 finalist, an award given annually to the nation's top player...Junior Matt
Di Girolamo stopped 31 shots on Friday against Merrimack. Di Girolamo is
now third on the single-season saves list with 1,088 saves in 36 games. Mike
Ayers is the leader with 1,139 saves in 41 games in 2002-03.
Northeastern: Northeastern bowed out to Boston College in its seventh
Hockey East semifinals, 5-4, on Friday, March 18 at the TD Garden. It marked
the Huskies second semifinals appearance in the last three years under
head coach Greg Cronin. Veteran Steve Silva closed out his tenure as a
Husky with a career-best seven-game point streak while Wade MacLeod and
Tyler McNeely registered their 11th and eighth multi-point performance of
the season, each accounting for three points. Silva, McNeely and MacLeod
played all 38 games together this season as the top line and in their last 17
games, each member of the trio scored at least one point in 10 of those
outings. The three senior forwards all finished over 30 points this season,
marking the time a trio cracked 30 points, individually, since Jim Fahey, Chris
Lynch, Mike Ryan and Jason Guerriero turned the trick in 2001-02. Since the
turn of the calendar year, Northeastern's 11-7-4 mark (.591) is the third-best
total in Huskies history since the formulation of Hockey East.
HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT NOTES: This is BC's 10th Hockey East
championship, increasing its own league record. (BU is second on the list
with seven.) It is the second consecutive title for BC and fourth in the last
five years. This is the sixth time a team has won back-to-back titles (BC
has done it twice before), but it is the first time a team has claimed four
titles in five years...The Eagles are now 10-5 in Hockey East championship
games...This is the 13th time a No. 1 seed has won the championship. The
last was Boston University in 2009...Boston College extended its historical
Hockey East tournament dominance over Merrimack, improving its all-time
record over the Warriors to 10-1. The Eagles' only tourney loss to Merrimack
came in the 1990 quarterfinals...With the victory, Boston College gains
automatic entry into the NCAA tournament, marking its 30th appearance
and seventh in the last eight years. BC is just the fourth team to reach 30
appearances, joining Minnesota, Michigan and Boston University. The Eagles
will be attempting to win their second consecutive NCAA title and third in four
years. Despite the loss, Merrimack is virtually assured a berth in the NCAA
tournament for the first time since 1988...BC goaltender John Muse now
owns a 13-1 record in the Hockey East tournament, two wins short of the
all-time record held by former BC stopper Scott Clemmensen.
HOCKEY EAST IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Since the league's inception
in 1985, Hockey East has sent 84 teams to the national tournament,
second most of any conference during that time (WCHA- 89)...Hockey East
teams own a 112-91-1 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament...The
Hockey East Combined Champions (12 Total; won both regular season
and tournament) own a 26-10 Overall Record and Nine of the teams
have qualified for the Frozen Four (Seven advanced to the championship
game) with four teams winning the NCAA title...The Boston College
Eagles have appeared in four the last five NCAA Championship Games,
winning the title in 2008 and 2010. Over the last 13 seasons, Hockey
East has boasted 21 of the 52 Frozen Four qualifiers, the most of any
conference. By comparison:
Hockey East: 21; WCHA: 15;
CCHA: 12; ECACHL: 2
Hockey East teams have won Seven NCAA Championships
(Maine '93, BU '95, Maine '99, BC '01, BC '08, BU '09, BC '10)
The 27th Hockey East Championship Tournament is in the
books and congratulations to Jerry York and the Boston College
Eagles. Congratulations are also due the other semifinalists who
helped deliver three compelling games and to the 30,000+ fans
who comprised our largest crowds since 2005.
So now we wish the best to our three surviving teams as
they head to the NCAA Regionals with dreams of competing in
St. Paul on April 7. None of these games are easy, regardless
of where you play or who you play. Hockey East has had great
success in this tournament, and not just the obvious three titles
in the last three years. Go back to 1998 and look at how many
Hockey East teams have competed in the Frozen Four. The
answer is 21. The closest conference to that: the WCHA with
15.
But all the conferences are sending strong representatives,
and that includes Atlantic Hockey, which has enjoyed first round
success a number of years and put its 2010 representative
into the Frozen Four. We only have to look at the weekend's
basketball results to prepare ourselves for what is likely to play
out this weekend at four sites. Best of luck to BC, UNH and
Merrimack!
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