Michigan
Northeastern
Michigan Set for NCAA Opener Against Northeastern
3/20/2018 6:31:00 PM | Ice Hockey
THIS WEEK
Saturday, March 24 -- vs. Northeastern (Worcester, Mass), 4:30 p.m.
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• Complete Game Notes
• Watch: Wolverines Excited to Take Ice Against Northeastern
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 2-seeded University of Michigan ice hockey team (20-14-3) is set to take on No. 3 seed Northeastern (23-9-5) in a Northeast Regional semifinal on Saturday (March 24) at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPNews.
The top-seed Cornell and No. 4 seed Boston University will meet in the other Northeast Regional and will play at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The winners of the semifinal games will meet on Sunday (March 25) at 4 p.m. and the winner advances to the Frozen Four (April 5 and 7) at Excel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Michigan is entering its 37th NCAA Tournament -- tied for the most with Minnesota -- and its first since the 2015-16 season. The Maize and Blue has a 51-29 record all-time in the tournament, which includes a Division-I record nine national championships. The Wolverines hold a 14-5 record all-time in NCAA first-round contests and will be in search of its 25th appearance in the Frozen Four, which would tie Boston College for the most in tournament history.
Some Michigan NCAA Tournament notes:
- 51-29 record (.638) in the tournament all-time.
- 12 championship appearances (1948, '51, '52, '53, '55, '56, '57, '64, '77, '96, '98, 2011).
- 9-3 in championship games; nine titles are most in Division I hockey.
- 12-12 in semifinal games; 24 Frozen Four appearances are second most behind Boston College (25).
- Won last national title in 1998, defeating Boston College, 3-2, in overtime.
- Michigan's 22 consecutive tournaments made from 1991-2012 is the longest streak ever.
- Former Michigan coach Vic Heyliger's 10 consecutive Frozen Four appearances are double the next longest streak of consecutive appearances by a coach.
- Heyliger's six championships are the most of any coach.
- Former coach Red Berenson made 23 tournament appearances, second all-time among coaches.
- Mel Pearson becomes the first coach to lead two different programs to  NCAA Tournament appearances in back-to-back seasons (Michigan Tech, 2017).
- Pearson is 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, with the losses coming while at Michigan Tech
The Northeastern Series
Michigan and Northeastern meet for just the seventh time in program history, with the previous six games split, 3-3. The teams first met in 1964 at the Boston Area Tournament, with the Wolverines winning, 7-2. The Maize and Blue has never traveled to Matthews Arena to play against the Huskies, but Northeastern has visited Ann Arbor three times with wins in all three contests. This will be the first time the Wolverines and Huskies have met in the NCAA Tournament, with Michigan making its 37th appearance and Northeastern making its sixth; the Huskies' last appearance came in 2016, when it lost in the first round.
Scouting the Huskies
Northeastern is led by head coach Jim Madigan, who was named the 10th head coach in Northeastern history in 2011. Since 2011, the Northeastern alumnus and three-time Beanpot champion has led the Huskies to their first Hockey East Championship since 1988, when they won in 2016, and their third NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009. With a record of 23-9-5 this season, it is the first time since 1943 that Northeastern has had five consecutive seasons with a winning record.
Northeastern comes into the NCAA Tournament after losing in overtime of the Hockey East semifinals to Providence, 3-2.
Leading Northeastern
Northeastern is led by a duo of Hobey Baker finalists: junior forward Adam Gaudette and senior forward Dylan Sikura. Gaudette leads the Huskies, and the nation, in goals and points, with 30 goals and 60 points this season. Sikura is not far behind Gaudette with 53 points and is the team leader in assists (32).
Freshman Cayden Primeau has been the workhorse between the pipes for the Huskies this season, as he has played in 33 games and started 31 of them. Primeau is sixth in the country in both save percentage and goals-against average, with splits of .932 and 1.88, respectively. Primeau comes into the tournament with a record of 19-7-5.
Scouting Cornell
Cornell is led by head coach and Big Red alumnus Mike Schafer, who returned to the university in 1995. He has coached for 22 seasons, and has led the Big Red to the NCAA Tournament 10 times, with a trip to the Frozen Four in '02-03. His 412-242-89 record makes him the winningest coach in Cornell men's hockey history. Only 43 other coaches in college hockey have crossed the 400-win mark, which Schafer did in 2017.
This season, he has guided Cornell to a 25-5-2 record, including a dominant home record of 15-2-0. The Big Red is a No.1 seed and received an at-large bid into the tournament after falling to eventual ECAC champion, Princeton, in the ECAC Tournament semifinals.Â
Leading the Big Red
The Big Red is led by the dynamic duo of junior forward Anthony Angello and senior forward Trevor Yates. Angello leads the team with 26 points (13G, 13A) on the year, while Yates ranks just shy of him with 25 points (12G, 13A).
Freshman goaltender Matthew Galajda has been the main man in goal for Cornell. He has played over 1,600 minutes over the course of 28 appearances. Galajda has a goals-against average of 1.49 and a save percentage of .940. He has posted a record of 21-4-2 as he heads into the tournament.
Scouting Boston University
BU is led by head coach David Quinn, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the Terriers and has led them to an 83-54-17 record through four seasons. During his tenure, the Terriers have made four consecutive NCAA tournaments dating back to 2015. Before becoming the head coach, Quinn served as the associate head coach of the Terriers from 2004-09. In addition to his time as the associate head coach, Quinn was the head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters, where he owns a 115-94-7-20 record through three seasons.
This season, he has guided BU to a 21-13-4 record and it enters the tournament with an automatic bid after it won the Hockey East Tournament.
Leading the Terriers
Boston is led by a trio of skaters that have scored more than 30 points this season. Junior forwards Bobo Carpenter and Jordan Greenway lead the Terriers with 33 points and freshman forward Shane Bowers has racked up an additional 31 points (16G, 15A). Carpenter leads the team with 20 goals and has also recorded 13 assists, while Greenway is tied for the team high in assists with 21 on the year.
Sophomore goaltender Jake Oettinger has been the primary netminder for the Terriers this season as he has started and appeared in 36 contests, and has played 94 percent of the team's minutes. He has a 2.42 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. He holds a record of 20-12-4 and has posted five shutouts on the year.
B1G Time Players
Five Wolverines were recognized by the Big Ten this year, including scoring champion Cooper Marody, who also was named to the All-Big Ten first team. Tony Calderone and Quinn Hughes were named All-Big Ten second team, with Hughes also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Hayden Lavigne was named a Big Ten honorable mention. Sam Piazza also was recognized, as he won his second straight Sportsmanship Award.
How Sweep it is
The Wolverines have had six weekend sweeps in a season for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign. The sweep of the top-ranked Fighting Irish (Feb. 16, 18) also was the first time in program history U-M has swept the No. 1-ranked team in the polls. The highest ranked team Michigan swept previously was the No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes during the 2011-12 season.
Leaders and Best
Marody's 46 points and 32 assists lead all players in the Big Ten conference. Joining him atop the standings is Calderone, as his 23 goals are four better than second place in the Big Ten.
Finishing Strong
The Maize and Blue ended its regular season on a five-game win streak, and a six-game unbeaten streak. Since being swept by Notre Dame in early January, the Wolverines went 12-4-1, tied for the fourth-most wins in college hockey since Jan. 8.
Nifty Nine
Nine Wolverines have set career highs for points this year. The players are Tony Calderone, Cooper Marody, Hayden Lavigne, senior defenseman Sam Piazza, sophomore forward Jake Slaker, senior forward Niko Porikos, junior defenseman Joseph Cecconi, senior Dexter Dancs, and sophomore forward Nick Pastujov. Sophomore defensemen Luke Martin and Griffin Luce tied their point totals from their freshman campaigns.
Tony Lights the Lamp
Calderone's 23 goals are the most by a U-M player in the first 37 games of a season since Kyle Connor's 35 goals in 37 games during the 2015-16 campaign. Calderone's four goals on March 2 are also the most since Connor scored four on March 18, 2016, against Penn State.
Marody in Good Company
Marody's 46 points are the most by a Wolverine through 37 games since Kyle Connor had 69 in 2015-2016.
Quinntessential Blue-Liner
Hughes' 28 points (4G, 24A) from the point are the most by a U-M freshman blue-liner through 37 games since Jacob Trouba had 29 points in a 37 game season in 2012-13. His 24 assists are the most by a freshman defenseman in team history, while his 28 points put him fourth in Michigan freshman defensemen history.
Climbin' the Ranks
Marody ranks tied for ninth nationally with 46 points on the season and tied for third with 32 assists. Calderone is tied for eighth nationally with 23 goals.
Goal!
Michigan ranks seventh in the nation in goals per game, with an average of 3.35 goals over its 37 games. Calderone ranks seventh in the nation in goals per game at 0.62.
Home Sweet Home
The Wolverines have scored 73 goals at home this season, which is good for seventh in the country. An average of 3.84 goals per game at home puts the Maize and Blue sixth in the country in home goals per game.
The Finishing Touch
The Wolverines rank tied for fourth in the nation in third-period goals (47) this season. Slaker's nine third-period tallies also are tied for fourth most nationally.
Block It Out
Michigan ranks fourth nationally with an average of 15.30 blocked shots per game and third in total blocked shots with 566 on the season.
Shots, Shots, Shots
Michigan ranks ninth nationally with an average of 33.41 shots-on-goal per game, and is 24th in the nation with a +2.16 shots on goal margin per game.
CLASSy Piazza
Senior defenseman Sam Piazza was named one of 10 NCAA men's ice hockey student-athlete finalists for the 2017-18 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division-I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Through 35 games this season, Piazza has recorded 15 points (2G, 13A) on the year.
