NCHA Playoff Preview
by Nate Woelfel
With all of the newfound uncertainty surrounding the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, fans can at least be assured of one thing: the Peters Cup Playoffs will begin this weekend and six of the league’s seven teams will be in action.
As a result of scoring its tenth regular season title in the past 12 years, St. Norbert receives a bye directly to the semifinals while the rest will partake in three two-game series (first-to-three points) that will require a 20 minute mini-game following Saturday's contest should neither team have earned three points. Considering how tight the NCHA was all season, it would come as no surprise to see any of this weekend's series require the minigame.
Here is a look at the weekend ahead in the NCHA:
#7 UW-Stout (8-16-1, 4-13-1 NCHA) @ #2 St. Scholastica (14-7-4, 9-5-4 NCHA)
Though St. Scholastica was 2-0-1 against the Blue Devils during the regular season, the three contests were decided by the average of only one goal each. The Saints will have to bring their A-game this weekend to avoid the upset. The regular season didn’t go exactly as planned for the Blue Devils and nothing would help ease the pain like knocking off the second-seed on their own ice.
Senior forward Branden Gay has racked up four goals against the Blue Devils this season, including a hat trick in an 8-6 loss on December 2 in Duluth. Offensively, he has been the go-to-guy for Stout the last two seasons and that will be the case again this weekend.
Throughout this season's meetings, the Saints have had an answer as junior forward Tyler Miller has posted four points of his own against the Blue Devils, including a hat trick on the same night as Gay’s.
In terms of goaltending, things could be a bit up in the air for the Blue Devils as Nick Hopper and Tom Lescovich have very nearly evenly split time between the pipes during the regular season. Hopper garnered two starts against CSS this season and posted a 0-1-1 mark, while Lescovich allowed eight goals in his lone start.
Jojo Jeanetta got the nod in game one for the Saints, only to be pulled after the first period in favor of Colin Rundell who has been the netmider of record in all three games this season. Rundell has shouldered the load for the Saints and has done an excellent job. He is currently second in the conference in saves and has allowed three goals or less in his last six starts.
#6 UW-Eau Claire (11-11-3, 5-11-2 NCHA) @ #3 UW-River Falls (16-7-2, 10-6-2 NCHA)
This is a match-up of two teams who had less than stellar second halves.
The Falcons rode one of the nation’s hottest starts straight to the top of the standings, only to go 5-5 in the back end of conference play and settle for a third-place finish.
To put it plainly, it has either been stock up or stock down for the Blugolds this season. At times wins have come in bunches, but at the moment their stock is down -- way down. UWEC enters the postseason on a seven game winless streak and is just 2-5-3 in its last 10 games.
River Falls owns the season series with a 2-1 record, but the Blugolds bumped off the Falcons early in the season when both teams were at, or near, their peaks.
History suggests that it will be an uphill battle for Eau Claire. The Blugolds are just 1-6 in River Falls in the last four seasons, were swept in the opening round of the playoffs by the Falcons in 2010 and have not advanced beyond the quarterfinals since 2008.
A strength all season for River Falls has been its potent but balanced scoring attack, as evidenced by the three-game, regular season series against Eau Claire in which nine different Falcons registered goals.
As with any series in this format, game one will likely be pivotal, especially since Eau Claire is 6-3-2 in games following a win this season. The Blugolds have shown they have the capability to string wins together, and a fast start will likely be required should they wish to pull the upset.
#5 UW-Superior (9-9-7,4-7-7 NCHA) @ #4 UW-Stevens Point (12-9-4, 8-6-4 NCHA)
The fact that the lower seed claimed the season series makes this showdown one of the most intriguing in the quarterfinals.
It wasn’t flashy, but the Yellowjackets went 1-0-2 against the Pointers this season, which included a win and a tie in Stevens Point back in early November. More recently, the two skated to a 2-2 deadlock in Superior just two weeks ago.
Though Superior is just 1-4-5 in their last 10 games, their gutsy third period rally against Point just two weeks ago has undoubtedly remained fresh in their minds.
Superior has a distinct edge over UWSP in the playoffs as they are 10-4-2 all-time gainst the Pointers in the NCHA postseason, with the most recent playoff meeting resulting in a 4-2 Yellowjackets' win in last season's semifinals.
When it comes to Stevens Point, the Pointers may be peaking at the right time. After starting the season 2-5-2 they are 10-4-2 since and 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. The only significant blemish over that stretch was an 8-3 loss at St. Norbert last Friday, though the Pointers rebounded Saturday and hammered UW-Stout 9-3.
Stevens Point has won its quarterfinal series each of the past two seasons and both required the mini-game. The home-ice advantage should help the Pointers here, but considering nothing can get much tighter than a 4/5 NCHA match-up and the fact that Superior fared well in this season's three meetings, it should come as no surprise if this series is settled with a mini-game.
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