Union, Boston College aren't strangers

by Ryan Fay

Tonight's opening round East Regional game between Union and Boston College (9 PM, ESPNU/WatchESPN) will mark the first meeting between the two schools.

But that doesn't mean players on both teams aren't already familiar with one another.

Wayne Simpson played prep hockey with Boston College's Steven Whitney for three years at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts. Simpson and Whitney served as two of the team's three captains during their senior year.

Whitney has gone on to post impressive numbers for Boston College. His 26 goals rank second in the country this season behind St. Lawrence's Greg Carey, who netted 28. Whitney's 45 points are second-best in Hockey East, and he eclipsed the 100 career point plateau earlier this year. Entering play this weekend, the senior has 128 points in 159 contests for BC.

Whitney (Hockey East)

"He's a great player," Simpson said of Whitney. "He's been playing real well and that doesn't surprise me. He has a very good shot and if he finds ice just one time it could kill us. We have to be extra aware of him. It's going to be important to shut him down this weekend."

Doing that will be easier said than done.

"It's tough," Simpson admitted. "We just have to know when Whitney is out there. We have to be physical, make it hard for him to earn his ice, and wear him down."

The only player in Hockey East with more points than Whitney this year is teammate Johnny Gaudreau, who has 50. There are two Union connections to Gaudreau.

Defenseman Charlie Vasaturo, who is out for the year with a knee injury, goes way back with Gaudreau as the two are from neighboring parts of New Jersey. Shayne Gostisbehere played with Gaudreau during the recent World Junior Championships in Russia, where Team USA captured a gold medal.

Gaudreau, also known as "Johnny Hockey", was a major reason why. He led the field with seven goals, including a hat trick, and tied for the team lead in points with nine.

"Gaudreau is an excellent player and he's very shifty," Gostisbehere said. "Even as small as he is -- 5-foot-8, 150 pounds -- it doesn't matter. He's a great player. He has great hands and eyes. He's a playmaker out there."

The best example of that playmaking ability came in last year's national championship game victory over Ferris State. With the Eagles leading 2-1 in the third period, Gaudreau picked up a loose puck at his own blue line and after escaping from Ferris State's Kyle Bonis, he weaved around Bulldogs defenseman Brett Wysopal and roofed a backhander past goalie Taylor Nelson. Whitney added an empty netter to ice the 4-1 win.

Gostisbehere said Gaudreau, a Hobey Baker finalist this season, can be contained if Union does a couple things.

"Just don't look at the puck and keep him in front of you if you can," he advised. "He gets lost very easily and the next thing you know he's putting the puck in the back of your net."

That's one thing the Dutchmen won't want to see.

BC's Alber is one that got away

by Ryan Fay

When Boston College defenseman Patch Alber suffered a serious knee injury in late December, one of the first phone calls the Clifton Park native received came from Schenectady.

"Rick Bennett was one of the first in the hockey community to reach out to Patch right after his knee surgery on New Year's day," said Larry Alber, Patch's father.

Alber, who returned to action on March 15th against Vermont after missing 20 games, has a long history with the Union head coach. The elder Alber said Union recruited Patch and that Bennett, then an assistant under Nate Leaman, was the primary contact between Union and his son. The two still keep in touch.

"Union's interest seemed serious at the time," the elder Alber recalled. "Leaman called Patch the summer between his junior and senior years of high school -- as soon as NCAA rules allowed."

The elder Alber said the Dutchmen had a lot to offer in his son's eyes. 

"Union was attractive to Patch primarily for its location close to home, its reputation as a great academic institution, its coaching staff, the direction that Union was heading as an up and coming powerhouse, and that a teammate from Northwood School, Mario Valery-Trabucco, played there," the elder Alber said.

Ultimately, though, things didn't come together.

"Patch was, and still is, small for a defenseman at 5'10, 170-pounds and that made most coaches and teams postpone any offers until the end of the season," the elder Alber said. "At the end of the day, Union just didn’t see enough to seal the deal."

Bennett wishes he could have that decision back.

"You can chalk that one up to a bad decision by Rick Bennett -- a real bad decision by Rick Bennett," Bennett said. "I had a chance to see Patch play. We really liked his character. It was one of those where we weren't sure for a defenseman what we were looking for at that time. I'm not going to throw it on the other staff -- I'll take credit for that one."

The elder Alber said there aren't any hard feelings because Union wasn't the only school to say 'thanks, but no thanks.'

"I'm not blaming Union, as RPI and a few other ECAC teams all expressed interest but offers just didn’t materialize," he said. "Boston College seemed to be willing to overlook his size and took a chance on him as a recruited walk-on and he jumped at it."

Alber, now a senior, impressed enough to earn a scholarship the past two years. In four years on Chestnut Hill, the 24-year-old has dressed in 112 games, scoring four goals and chipping in 25 assists. He has a cumulative plus-51 rating.

"He has had a real fine career for us," said Boston College head coach Jerry York.

Along the way, Alber has won national championships in 2010 and 2012. Union, which faces Alber and the Eagles tomorrow at 9 p.m. in the East Regional semifinal, hopes the local kid doesn't add a third.

Q&A with CHN's McMahon and Meloni

by Ryan Fay

Union (21-12-5, 10-8-4 ECAC Hockey) takes on Boston College (22-11-4, 15-9-3 Hockey East) Saturday at 9 pm in the opening round of the East Regional at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI.

For the scoop on the Eagles, I checked in with Mike McMahon and Joe Meloni, Hockey East insiders for College Hockey News.

UNION HOCKEY NEWS (UHN): Which BC players should Union fans keep an eye on?

MIKE MCMAHON (MM): Johnny Gaudreau is obviously one of the best forwards in the entire nation. Steven Whitney, also a forward, is a guy who I think is really underrated in that he performs in all three zones better than anyone that I've seen in Hockey East. Then they have a great supporting cast. Forwards Pat Mullane and Bill Arnold are top-line players on most other teams and they're missing another forward in Kevin Hayes (right quad) who would have made them even better.

Parker Milner flies under the radar a bit, in the sense that I don't feel like many people recognize him as one of the better goaltenders in the nation, and I think he is. The guy won a national title and was MVP of the entire tournament.

UHN: What are BC's strengths this year?

JOE MELONI (JM): BC's strengths are the same as they always are. They can score in bunches in a hurry. They don't have the offensive depth they had a season ago, but their top four forwards are as dangerous as anyone in the country. Each of their top two lines has a weaker player, but both of them can be opportunistic scorers and are strong on the forecheck.

BC's top power-play unit is dominant with it's usual quick, confident puck movement. Keeping track of Gaudreau at the half-wall and along the goal line is nearly impossible. The Eagles are going to get their chances.

They're also the most confident team I've ever seen. Even with their loss in the Hockey East tournament, nothing has changed for them. They know what they're capable of, and they play to their strengths.

UHN: What are BC's weaknesses this year?

JM: BC's weaknesses are its depth at both forward and defense. Last year, they had three scoring lines that could put up points against anyone. That has dwindled this year with a handful of forwards doing most of their scoring... BC has shifted its lines a bit in the last few weeks to spread out some of the explosiveness.

On the defensive end, it's been a very tough year for BC. There are four freshman defensemen that see regular time. Mike Matheson is the exception to this, since he's a truly dominant player even as a freshman. He'll likely double shift throughout the tournament, expect him to play more than 30 minutes on Saturday night. He's a special player at both ends of the ice.

Aside from Matheson, though, BC has some issues. They'll most likely play five defensemen on Saturday, with either Travis Jeke or Colin Sullivan (both freshmen) dressing and seeing little time. As a whole, the defensive corps has shown some problems against teams that forecheck heavily and pressure the initial puck carrier on the breakout.

A lot of this can be neutralized with good support from their quick forwards, but that takes away some of their numbers in the neutral zone. All in all, the defensive unit is a fine group, but it's difficult to see them winning a national title if they aren't perfect these next few weeks.

UHN: How has BC played lately?

MM: They've played OK, for them. Given how they've typically performed in February and March, I think many BC people are disappointed with what they've seen thus far. They weren't Hockey East champs for the first time since 2009. They've allowed over three goals per game in their last 10 games, which isn't a good recipe. One thing that really sticks out to me, though, is that they've scored nearly 40% of their goals the last 10 games on the power play. For Union, that number is only about 17%. That tells me that the Dutchmen are playing much better 5-on-5.

UHN: How do you see the game going?

MM: Like most games this time of year, I think it's close. But honestly, I have Union not only beating Boston College, but winning that region. I think the Dutchmen have been one of the hotter teams the last three weeks and I really like the way they've defended. I see a 3-2 Union win. Maybe 4-2 if they can tack on an empty netter.

JM: I think Union wins this one. Rick Bennett's team prides itself on defensive excellence and commits to it. They create offense through this defensive discipline. That's exactly the type of style that can get to BC, especially if Union's forecheckers create some turnovers below the face-off circles. Union wins, 4-2.

__________

Follow McMahon on Twitter at @MikeMcMahonCHN
Check out McMahon's "Mack Report" website here
Follow Meloni on Twitter at @JoeMeloni

AUDIO: Jerry York conference call

by Ryan Fay

Boston College men's hockey head coach Jerry York participated in a conference call with the media on Tuesday. York, the winningest college hockey coach of all-time with 935 wins, talks about Saturday's East regional matchup against Union and much more.

Listen to York via the player below or click here.

Hosted by Kiwi6 file hosting. Download mp3 - Free Music Hosting.

Frozen Four 2011: Day 2

Today was the "off day" of the Frozen Four weekend, so all the hockey fans had a free day to do what they pleased. We, along with many other college hockey fans, decided to attend Opening Day for the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. I saw a decent amount of North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth fan, and one RPI an RIT fan.

I'm a huge baseball junky (I wrote my senior thesis on the Montreal Expos), and have attend a ton of baseball games throughout the country so I had a great time checking out a new stadium and just watching the game. Target Fied opened up last year and is considered to be one of the best stadiums in baseball. I thought the stadium was nice. I really liked all the granite and some of the touches around the stadium, but I still think stadiums such as Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia) and Comerica Park (Detroit) were better. I also wasn't too impressed with the food selection. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the awesome food at CitiField (NY Mets). It was a boring games as the A's scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning and held on to the 1-0 lead until the bottom of the 8th when the Twins scored two runs before Joe Nathan secured the 2-1 victory for the home team in the 9th. I had never been to an Opening Day before, so I thought there would be a festive feeling at the stadium, but that was not the case. The team did honor some legends and did some ceremonies, but besides that it really didn't feel like Opening Day.

For a late dinner tonight we went to Joe Senser's, which is a sports bar/restaurant right down the street from our hotel in Bloomington (click here). They had some interesting burgers and a decent beer selection. I enjoyed watching the end of the Wild-Oilers game on the big TVs.

Today was also a big day in college hockey as the Hobey Baker and Humanitarian Awards were announced. Miami's Andy Miele won the Hobey (click here), while Boston College's Brooks Dyroff won the Humanitarian Award (click here). Also, as reported before, the All-American teams were announced (click here).

Tomorrow is the last full day of the Frozen Four. Our plan is to head to the Mall of America for a bit and then stop at Mickey's Dining Car before heading to the championship game. It should be an interesting game. I have no idea who I think will win.

Here are some pictures and videos I took at Target Field today:

Outside Target Field

Statue of Rod Carew

View from Right Field

Another view from Right Field

The view from our seats

The Opening Day ceremonies

College Hockey Video of the Week (2/7/11): It's Beanpot Time!

Today begins Beanpot 2011! The first game is between Northeastern and Harvard at 5pm, and the second game between Boston University and Boston College begins at 8pm. The winners of each game will face each other next Monday at 7:30pm, while the losers will play in the consolation game at 4:30pm.

For more info on the tournament check out Beanpot Hockey.com and Wikipedia.

The second game is the "bigger" game of the two. The Terriers won the Beanpot and the NCAA Championship in 2009, while the Eagles did the same thing last season. This game is the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. BC has won the three previous games this season by the scores of 9-5, 5-2, and 3-2.

So, in honor of the BC-BU game here are some videos that pertain to the rivalry:

BC's "Beanpot Trot" (1986):


What BC and BU students think of each other:


Beanpot pump-up video from 2009:


CSTV's Beantown Faceoff (2006):

Nathan Gerbe Scores Two Goals in Five Seconds

Nathan Gerbe is a former Boston College Eagle and currently plays for the Buffalo Sabres. I watched Gerbe and the Eagles win the NCAA championship in 2008 where he became one of my favorite college hockey players of all-time (and I've seen a lot of great players). He's incredibly tiny for an NHLer (listed at 5'5" and 178 lbs), but is also extremely fast and hard working.

You can see these attributes here as he scored two goals against my favorite NHL team, the New York Islanders (yeah, yeah I know the Isles are awful but they're my team!), last night in a 5-2 loss in Buffalo.

P.S. Rick Jeanneret has the best hockey announcer voice of all-time.




Oh, and here's a sick video of Gerbe taking a penalty shot in college. I know I've already posted this before, but it's really good:

College Hockey Video of the Week: College Hockey Outdoors

With the 2011 NHL Winter Classic coming up this Saturday, I thought it would be appropriate to show highlights of two of the latest college hockey games to be played outdoors.

The first video is of the "The Big Chill at the Big House" where Michigan and Michigan State played in front of a record 113,411 people (at least that was the number that was announced) a few weeks ago. The second is highlights from "Frozen Fenway" where Boston University and Boston College went head-to-head at Fenway Park last season.

I'm still waiting for a Union-RPI game to be played outdoors...

BC's Jimmy Hayes does the John Wall dance

Am I the only one out there that's completely bored because Union is once again not playing this weekend?
Well, to entertain everyone (and myself) I give you Boston College's Jimmy Hayes doing the John Wall dance. This goal celebration took place during the Eagles' blow out of Yale in the 2010 NCAA East Regional Final. From what I know, Hayes is the only college hockey player to pull off the dance during a game.

For those of you who have been living under a rock, John Wall was a freshman phenom basketball player at Kentucky last season, and was picked first overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards.

Wall is famous for being an incredible basketball player and for his dance. The dance has become so famous that it is a pop culture thing. There was even a song made after the dance! People all over the country have been doing the dance... including college hockey players. It's a very simple dance, but people seem to love it.

Jimmy Hayes


John Wall does the "Dougie" and his own dance on Opening Night


Do The John Wall - Troop 41

College Hockey Video of the Week (10/11/10): Lombardi's hat trick in the HE 2010 Championship and Feature on Jeff Lerg

So, if you don't know I've been interning with the Albany Devils in their PR/Media department with former Union Assistant SID Kevin Zalaznik. In the weeks leading up to the home opener (which occurred this past Saturday) Kevin had me doing a lot of writing, researching, and updating of player bios of players in the Devils organization. Over this time I came across two familiar names: Matt Lombardi and Jeff Lerg. Both players will be playing for the Trenton Devils (ECHL) to begin the season. Maybe we will see them in Albany or New Jersey in the near future.

Lombardi finished up his senior season at Boston College last season with a bang as the Eagles won the 2010 National Championship. But, Lombardi's shining moment came in the Hockey East Championship game against Maine. Coming into the game Lombardi scored only seven goals in his four career career. Luckily for the Eagles, Lombardi picked the perfect moment to record his first career hat trick, which included the game-winning goal in overtime to give his team a 7-6 victory. This game was one of the wildest games in college hockey of the 2009-10 season. Here are the highlights:




Jeff Lerg also won an NCAA championship when his Michigan State Spartans won it all in 2007 over Boston College in dramatic fashion. It was a great year for Lerg who was named USCHO's Player of the Year. What makes Lerg so special is that he's such a great goaltender while standing at just 5' 6". He has also overcome some other obstacles, which you can see in this video:

Interview with Union's new Assistant SID Jeffrey Weinstein

With the departure of Kevin Zalaznik to the Albany Devils there was an opening for the Assistant Sports Information Director at Union. This position is one of the most important positions in the athletic department as this person handles the media and public relations for the biggest team at Union: the men's ice hockey team. Last week it was rumored that the position was filled by Jeffrey Weinstein. This was confirmed first by Ken Schott and then later by Jeffrey himself.

Jeffrey is the third Assistant SID that I have dealt with (Hilary Haynes and Zalaznik) and each has been a good experience. I bet working with Jeffrey will be equally as enjoyable.

So, let's get this thing underway and get to know Jeffrey...

DG: Where are you from and where did you go to high school?
JW: I grew up in Briarcliff Manor, New York and attended Briarcliff High School, home the Bears. Our claim to fame, at least while I was there, was an appearance in the 2002 Class C football championship game at the Carrier Dome. Onondaga's Mike Hart ran for over 300 yards against us and we lost....big.

DG: Did you play sports growing up and/or in high school?
JW: I played for my high school soccer team, and ran track as well. I also played a lot of baseball and floor hockey. During my senior year of high school, I played in a local roller hockey league. A lot of checking and bravado, but little goal-scoring.

DG: Where did you go to college for undergrad?
JW: I attended Boston College.

DG: What was the best part about going BC?
JW: Wow, tough to pick one aspect. But I guess I'd have to say the best part was the combination of receiving a great education while having a big-time athletic program as a major social outlet. I was lucky enough to attend BC during a period of great athletic success, culminating in the 2008 National Championship for Jerry York and the BC hockey team.

DG: Did you go to a lot of BC hockey games? Did you have a favorite player?
JW: Yes, I attended a number of games every year as a fan, and covered more as a writer for the student newspaper. My favorite player was Nathan Gerbe. He's 5'6" with a ton of skill, but also played with an edge, kind of like my favorite player growing up, Theo Fleury.

DG: What did you do at BC?
JW: I was a communications major at BC. My main extracurricular was writing for the student newspaper, The Heights. I was a sports editor there during my sophomore, junior, and senior years.

DG: Where did you go for post-grad?
JW: I attended Georgetown University, where I completed a masters degree in Sports Industry Management.

DG: Tell us about the SIM program at Georgetown. Where did you intern as a part of the program?
JW: The SIM program at Georgetown is just two years old. Most students intern for course credit during the day, and take classes at night, completing the degree in one calender year. The program is well connected with sports executives in the DC area, and we had ample opportunity to meet many of them. The highlight was having Mark Cuban speak to our class during halftime of a preseason Wizards game. An interesting guy, who had some insights on the next breakthrough in the sports industry, concerning sports medicine. My internship was with the Washington Capitals, where I was a media relations assistant.

DG: Have you ever been to Schenectady before?
JW: Yes, I have.

DG: What have you heard about Union and Schenectady prior to getting on campus?
JW: My dad graduated from Union in 1976, and has great memories from his college days, including the start of the Ned Harkness Era. He brought me and my older brother up to Union a number of times when we were younger.

DG: What do you like to do in your free time?
JW: I'm a runner - I ran the Boston Marathon in 2008, and have been trying to work my back into the same shape I was in back then. I love playing golf as much as I can during the spring and summer. I'm reading Playing For Keeps, a great book by David Halberstam about Michael Jordan.

DG: What is your favorite sports team and who is your favorite athlete?
JW: My favorite team is the New York Mets, and my favorite athlete is Jose Reyes.

DG: What are you most looking forward to with your job?
JW: I'm looking forward to meeting the many coaches and student-athletes I'll be working with at Union. I've already met Coach Leaman, and I'm really excited for the beginning of hockey season.

DG: So, you’re a Mets and Jets fan (same here). Are you more excited for the baseball season to end or the football season to begin?
JW: Bring on the football season! I worry about the hype, but love Rex Ryan's attitude. He's a quote machine.