@mgoblog ☆。★。☆。★ 。☆ 。☆。☆ ★。＼｜／。★ Doug Nussmeier ★。／｜＼。★ 。☆。。☆ ☆。 ★。 ☆ ★
— Aaron Geschiere (@AGeschiere) August 30, 2014@mgoblog •☆*´¨`☽¸.★*´♡¸.★*´♡ ( ☆* Doug Nussmeier ´`★.¸¸¸. •°´♡¸.★*´♡¸.★*´♡
— max (@maxaiden) August 30, 2014Seriously, we're really excited about the NCAA hockey tournament. Deadspin did a preview of all 64 teams in the basketball edition, so in that tradition we offer you these incredibly uninformative previews of the teams in the hockey tournament. We started posting these by regional yesterday, so today's are the last two. All the regional previews are compiled in a handy PDF here (205K).
The Empty Seats Do Raise Questions. Verbatim from Wikipedia: "The Cheel Arena attendance record of 4,125 was set on January 18th, 2003 against arch-rival St. Lawrence University, although many consider it to be unofficial due to the large number of empty seats at the game." Clarkson also owns the dubious distinction of the only school to reach the finals three times and come away without a championship. It Really Was An Awful Film. Then Again, So Was Down Periscope. Roger Ebert coined the "Stanton-Walsh Rule" which states that "no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or [Clarkson alumnus] M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad." Ebert later conceded that this rule was broken by 1999's Wild Wild West. |
Thanks, Unky Herb! Herb Brooks coached the St. Cloud State Huskies in the 1986-87, helping the Huskies move up to Division I play. He was also instrumental in the building of the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. Ducks Fly Together. That same National Hockey Center became the site where many of the interior scenes were filmed in The Mighty Ducks. No word on whether Brooks helped develop the Flying V. |
We're #2! Strangely, the University of Maine is only the second largest university in the state, and not only that, it loses out to a directional school. Its enrollment of 11,000 students is eclipsed by the University of Southern Maine. Twice As Nice. Maine is one of only two schools (Minnesota-Duluth being the other) to see back-to-back winners of the Hobey Baker Award. This occurred in 1992 when Scott Pellerin won it and then in 1993 when Paul Kariya was honored as the Black Bears won their first national championship. |
Take THAT, Bob Vila! Among the famous non-sporting alumni of UMass include William Monahan, the Oscar winning screenwriter of The Departed, Bill Pullman (not Bill Paxton), Rob Corddry, formerly of The Daily Show and now starring on Fox's The Winner, and Black Francis of The Pixies (did not graduate). The best of these however may be Norm Abram, Class of 1972, "America's most famous carpenter", host of New Yankee Workshop, and Massachusetts' second most famous television Norm. Jack Donaghy will be rooting for the Minutemen. Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, is a UMass alum (Class of 1957). Known as Neutron Jack for his sometimes ruthless style of cutting employees, he was named Manager of the Century by Fortune Magazine in 1999. Geoff only has nice things to say about him. |
We started posting these by regional yesterday, so today's are the last two. All the regional previews are compiled in a handy PDF here (205K).
Who Are We? The Wildcats! Unlike certain other sports, New Hampshire is the lone team in this year's tournament calling themselves the Wildcats and only one of two in all of Division I hockey. The most popular mascot? Four teams (Michigan Tech, Northeastern, St. Cloud State, and UConn) call themselves the Huskies. Get The Picture. Famous UNH alumni include novelist John Irving, actor Blanchard Ryan (of Open Water fame) and Craig's favorite, actor Mike O'Malley of Yes, Dear and an eponymous sitcom which was cancelled after two episodes. |
They're a Bit Pedantic About That. Miami University is a bit touchy about that other Miami, as they've been around since 1809 and feel they've earned it. The first line of their Wikipedia page states that it is often "colloquially and incorrectly" referred to as "Miami of Ohio", so that about sums it up. Harrison Wouldn't Wear A Helmet Either. Miami is one of only four schools to produce both a president and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback (the others being Michigan, Stanford, and the Naval Academy). Their alumnus Benjamin Harrison (not the Harrison that died after 30 days in office) is one of the mostly forgotten presidents of the late 19th century. Ben Roethlisberger left Miami after his junior season to declare for the NFL draft. |
The 700 Club. Coach Jerry York is the leader among all active coaches, besting cross-town rival Jack Parker of BU. However, many of his 749 wins at the start of this season came not with BC, but with Bowling Green and Clarkson, so Parker is the leader by a longshot for wins at a single school. NBC. Both SNL's Nancy Walls and Amy Poehler are alumnae of Boston College. Walls, who's married to Steve Carrell, has also been featured on the Daily Show and as Michael Scott's girlfriend/real estate agent on The Office. Poehler (married to Will Arnett) has been part of the Upright Citizens Brigade and did some excellent work as an RA on Undeclared ("We don't have judgment, we just...have pizza"). |
Viggo the Carpathian. Or rather, the Cantonese. Nestled way upstate in Canton, NY, St. Lawrence counts among its alumni actor/poet/musician/Aragorn Viggo Mortensen. Apparently the university has a talent for producing stars of epic movies, as Kirk Douglas attended class somewhat earlier in the century. Hockey's Cradle of Coaches? As a player, Ron Mason took St. Lawrence all the way to the finals of the NCAA tournament back in 1961, where they lost to Denver by a painful 12-2. Mike Keenan is another Saints product, and we hear he's still looking for work somewhere. In the early '80's a certain Mike McShane guided the Saints, but we're pretty sure he's not the guy from Whose Line... |
Seriously, we're really excited about the NCAA hockey tournament. Deadspin did a preview of all 64 teams in the basketball edition, so in that tradition I offer you these incredibly uninformative previews of the teams in the hockey tournament. We'll be posting them by regional today and tomorrow. All the regional previews are compiled in a handy PDF here (205K).
We Call It an Herb Because There's an H in It. Herb Brooks, coach of the "Miracle on Ice" team won the Gophers their first 3 NCAA titles in the '70's. A former Gopher player himself and two-time Olympian, Brooks was killed in a car accident in 2004. In State. In a not uncommon situation for Minnesota hockey, every player but one on this year's Gopher squad hails from that state. In fact, over 1/3 of the entire WCHA's roster comes out of Minnesota. |
Someday We'll Find It, the HSR Connection. Current Michigan captain Matt Hunwick's uncle was my 8th grade history teacher, former defenseman Eric Werner was the brother of one of my high school classmates, and former backup netminder Kevin O'Malley was my eye doctor's son. Current defenseman Mark Mitera was a student of Craig's in high school. In 2007, There'd Be More "Regina" Puns. Coach Red Berenson grew up near the provincial capital on the Saskatchewan prairie. His Regina Pats juniors coach took the head coaching job at Denver and recruited him, but Berenson didn't think DU's academics were strong enough. Another Saskatchewan native already at Michigan convinced coach Al Renfrew that Berenson was worth getting, resulting in Red getting his first plane ride and the first free recruiting trip ever offered by Michigan hockey. Getting Berenson helped Michigan pull in 14 other Saskatchewan-born players from 1958 to 1964. |
Ralph Engelstad Loved Nazis (Or at Least Their Memorabilia). The namesake of UND's arena was fined $1.5M by the Nevada Gaming Control Board for throwing birthday parties for Adolf Hitler in 1986 and 1988, including bartenders with "Adolf Hitler – European Tour – 1939-1945" t-shirts. His Nazi memorabilia collection featured a painting of himself in Nazi uniform, captioned "to Adolf from Ralphie". Ralph Engelstad Loved His "Hostile or Abusive" Mascot. Engelstad got his name on the building because it was his money that built the $104M arena. Construction was suspended for two months when Engelstad found out that the university was considering changing its mascot and logo. In the end, he extracted a promise from the state Board of Education that the school couldn't change its mascot and integrated over 2,000 Sioux heads into the arena's design. With the NCAA's ban on "hostile or abusive" mascots, North Dakota is likely to face sanctions, as two of the three Sioux nations actively oppose the "Fighting Sioux" mascot. If appeals are exhausted, North Dakota would be ineligible for postseason play until it changes mascots, and "The Ralph" wouldn't be able to host NCAA events unless all (2,000!) Sioux logos were covered up. |
Stretching the Definition. The Air Force Academy's Falcons used to compete in College Hockey America before departing this season for the now-nominal Atlantic Hockey, so as to be in the same conference as Army. We hear they get a discount on airfare. Navy stands opposed to frozen water on principle and does not field a varsity squad. Well, I Suppose It Worked Out Then. Army and Air Force met in Atlantic Hockey's league final, the first time two service academies had ever met in any championship game. After a scoreless first period, Air Force rolled to a 6-1 victory. In securing the conference's automatic bid, they also became the first service academy to advance to the NCAA hockey tournament. |
Seriously, we're really excited about the NCAA hockey tournament. Deadspin did a preview of all 64 teams in the basketball edition, so in that tradition I offer you these incredibly uninformative previews of the teams in the hockey tournament. We'll be posting them by regional today and tomorrow.
You've Come A Long Way, Baby. This year, Notre Dame won its first CCHA championship. The Irish first joined the league in 1981, when they jumped ship from the WCHA with Michigan, Michigan State, and Michigan Tech (Tech would later jump back to the WCHA). After the 1982-83 season, ND left the league, dropping hockey altogether. It was re-established as a non-scholarship varsity sport the next season and the team operated as an independent, for a while forming an ad-hoc league with Alaska-Anchorage, Alaska-Fairbanks, and American International. Notre Dame returned to the CCHA fold in 1992, agreeing to make hockey a scholarship sport once more and secretly paying the conference entrance fee (Thanks to Mike B. for the correction). Say Ya To Da UP, Eh. Notre Dame's coach is Jeff Jackson, who won a pair of NCAA titles at Lake Superior State University up in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Rejected school mottos there include "Your Gateway to Northern Ontario" and "The High School After High School". |
This Is How You Know You've Been Around Awhile. The CCHA's championship tournament trophy was renamed in 2001 after current MSU athletic director Ron Mason while he was still the hockey team's head coach. Mason hoisted his namesake cup in its first year of existence, but couldn't repeat in his final year behind the bench, losing in the 2002 finals to Michigan. Mason's 924 victories are still the all-time mark among all collegiate coaches. Say Ya To Da UP, Pt. II. MSU's current head coach, Rick Comley, also made his bones in the UP. In 1991, his Northern Michigan University Wildcats won an NCAA hockey championship of their own by outlasting Boston University in a wild 8-7 triple-overtime game. |
Al Michaels's Finest Hour. The only East Coast players on the 1980 US Olympic Hockey Team (of "Miracle on Ice" fame) came from BU, including goalie Jim Craig and left wing Mike Eruzione, whose 20-foot slapshot with ten Old Man Parker. Head coach Jack Parker is in his 34th season behind the bench for BU. He started the year with 724 victories to his name, all with the Terriers, the most victories a coach in D-I has recorded at a single school. |
Hoc-key? UAH is the southernmost hockey program in NCAA Division I and the only one in the former Confederacy. It will formally host the 2012 Frozen Four, though the tournament will take place in Tampa, FL. The Peenemünde of the South. Legend has it that UAH's program only exists because of Wernher Von Braun. The ex-Nazi rocket scientist was sent to Huntsville to work on American missiles, and its rink is named in his honor. In 1975, UAH fielded its first club hockey team, known as "Von Braun's Bullies". The program eventually graduated to varsity status, playing in Division II (where they won two national titles) and now Division I. |
