The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - March 27, 2000 - 5B 2000 NCAA Ice Hockey Championship 1. Maine East Regional 4. Colgate 5. Michigan 5. Michigan 3. New Hampshire 6. Niagara 6. Niagara West Regional 2. St. Lawrence 1. Maine Providence Civic Center Providence, RI April 6 2. North Dakota 2. St. Lawrence Providence Civic Center Providence, RI April 6 i East Regional 3. Boston University Championship Game 3. BostonUniversity 6. St. Cloud State 4. Boston College 4. Boston College 5. Michigan State Providence Civic Center Providence, RI April 8 4. Boston College 1. Wisconsin West Regional 2. North DakotaI I Mi* chiganwaits and waits in game delay By Geoff Gagnon Daily Sports Writer ALBANY, N.Y - Six hours after it had begun, 9,000 people pulled them- selves from their seats to cheer a St. Lawrence team too tired to do the same. And as Boston netminder Rick 'ietro collapsed in exhaustion, his team sighed its way off the ice and small cheer erupted from the hallway beneath the stands at Pepsi Arena. Waiting in the din and glow of the set- ting sun on Pearl Street outside, Maine coach Steve Walsh and his players cele- brated simply the game's end and pre- pared for their much delayed battle with Michigan - again. ressed for the scheduled 3:30 face- ,Michigan and Maine found their sec- ond-round NCAA tournament game pushed back to a 7:05 start as Boston University and St. Lawrence rewrote col- legiate hockey history. In a marathon match that tested the spirit of the fans and the legs of the play- ers, St. Lawrence rallied to beat Boston in four overtimes, nearly three hours after Michigan's game was set to start. "That was one of the greatest efforts ever seen," St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh said. "That may have been the greatest game I've ever been a part of." But it was the game that Michigan and Maine were still waiting to play that had players biting back emotion and bubbling with nervous anticipation. "We all wanted to get out there and play," Michigan's Scott Matzka said. "Guys were getting dressed and dressed and stretch to stay loose. I bet 'Ike) Comrie got dressed three times before the game." While the afternoon's second game became the nightcap - players from both schools fought the growing nag of uncontrolled anticipation. "We knew there was nothing we could do, Maine's Ben Guite said. "Still when you're just thinking about the game for that long it's tough not to get uptight." Tried like the emotions of thousands of Boston University backers and St. Lawrence lovers was the patience and focus of two teams forced to wait and watch for their turn to vie for a spot in the Frozen Four. "Having to wait took an edge off of both teams," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "But it's the same for both teams." As the afternoon faded and the day's first game continued on, both teams feared the delay might wreak havoc on the schedules they had hoped to maintain - particularly eating times. So as players dressed back into warmup suits and running shoes to watch the longest game in college hockey histo- ry delay theirs into the night, food was ordered to bolster an all-but-forgotten 10:30 a.m. Michigan team meal with sandwiches, pretzels and the like. "We ordered whatever we could get our hands on," Berenson said "Fortunately it didn't come down to giv- ing guys I.Vs, but I have seen that too." For Maine, the story was very much the same, and although coach Shawn Walsh couldn't have predicted the unorthodox delay, he said he said he's come to expect the unexpected when his Black Bears meet the Wolverines. "We ate two meals today before the game just in case something happened," Walsh said. "If you look at the history you see ithat that typically something wacky happens when Maine plays Michigan." More than wacky - the circum- stances surrounding yesterday's waiting game were downright ironic. The record beaten yesterday for the NCAA's longest game was the record held by none other than Michigan and Maine, who skated into three overtimes before Maine won 4-3 in the 1995 Frozen Four. But if yesterday's delay made for a long wait for Michigan, imagine the day it made for St. Lawrence and Boston. Consider a Boston squad that began practicing at 6:45 a.m. and finished its day in frustration nearly 12 hours later- all of this having played the day before. "We knew that they would be tired having played the day before," Marsh said. "I told my guys after the first over- time that we'd keep it up as long as we need to. I just didn't think it would take that long." True to his word, Marsh's troops main- tained their attack, peppering Rick DiPietro with an onslaught that allowed the netminder to tally a record 77 saves - a hollow record for the Hockey East Rookie of the Year. "I would give them all back for the game;" DiPietro said of the saves that saw him etch his name into the record book. The teams combined to shatter the pre- vious mark for shots in a game by 48 - setting the new record at 154 in an exhausting day. "We'll probably watch a movie on the ride home,' Marsh said, smiling before his team headed for the bus. "But I can guarantee nobody will stay awake for more than one." Michigan 4, Colgate 3 (OT) Michigan 2 1 0 1- 4 Colgate 0 2 1 0- 3 First period - 1. UM, Roemensky (Langfeld, Koch) 6:41: 2. UM, Comrie (Cammafleri) 16:55 (pp). Penalties- UM, Koch (boarding) ) 0:21; COL, O'M alley (h~olding stick) 16:08; UM, Vancik (hooking) 19.04. Second peiod-3. UM, Mink (Cammalleri, Shouneyia) 6:39 (pp); 4. COL, MacDonald 'Marostega) 12:43 (pp); 5. COL, Campbell (Murphy, MacDonald) 17:13 (pp). Penaties-COL, Morin (roughing after whistle) 4:51; UM, Ortmeyer (roughing after whistle) 4:51; COL, Campbell (interference). 5:36: UM, Gassoff (interfer- ence) 7:04; UM, Swistak (boarding); 8:02; COL, Marostega (interference), 8:35; UM, Koch (roughing after whistle), 11:45; COL, Murphy (hooking), 14:23; UM, bench minor served by Mink (too many men), 15:50; UM, Peach (tripping), 16:38; UM, Jillson (rough- ing after whistle) 18:24: COL, McDonald (roughing) 18:24; COL, McDonald (roughing after whistle) 18:24. Third period-6 COL, Campbell (Nolan, MacDonald) 19:12; Penalties-COL, Johns (hooking), 3:05; COL, Campbell (tripping), 12:23. Overtime - 7. UM, Koch (Comrie) 12:44. Penalties-- none. Shots on goal - UM 8939--35; COL 9-7-9-6-31. Power Plays -COL, 2 of 7; UM. 2 of 7. Sa - UM, Blackburn 9-5- -28; COL,Harder 6- 8-9-8--31. Referee - Tim Fitzgerald. Unesmen - Randy Schmidt, Dan Carey. At: Pepsi Arena. Maine 5, Michigan 2 Maine 0 0 5 -5 Michigan 0 1 1 - 2 First period - no scoring. Penalties - UM, Ortmeyer (interference), 1:50: UM, Jillson (trip- ping), 4:06: MA, Walsh (roughing), 4:06; UM, Peach (slashing). 5:48; UM, Swistak (checking goalie). 6:46; MA, Lundback (holding). 9:29; MA. B. Heisten (slashing). 16:23; MA, Walsh (unsportsmanlike), 20:00; UM, Comrie (high sticking). 20:00.. Second period-1. UM, Comrie (Ortmeyer, Peach), 12:22 (sh). Penalties- MA, Buite (interference), 8:59; UM, Fraser (holding). 12:09; MA, B. Heisten (high sticking), 16:22: UM, Matzka (interference), 18:19. Third period - 1. MA, Guite (Dimitrakos. Reimann), 5:14 (pp); 2. UM, Comrie (Cammalleri, Ortmeyer), 6:52 (pp); 3. MA, Guite (Larose, Loya), 8:01; 4. MA, C. Heisten (B. Heisten), 14:29; 5. MA, Trattnig (Reimann), 15:31; 6. MA, Walsh (unassisted). 19:09 (sh, eng). Penalties- UM, Vancik (interfer- ence), 4:21; MA, C. Heisten (cross checking). 6:21: MA, Larose (butt ending major), 18:44; UM, Hilbert (roughing). 19:18. Shots on goa - MA 12-15-18-45; UM 7138-28 Power Plays-MA,1of 6; UM,1 of6. Saves - ME, Yeats 7-12-7 - 26; Blackburn 12-15- 13 -40. Referee - Mike Schmitt. Unesmen - Tom Carpento, John Jones At: Pepsi Arena. Attendance: 9,094 East Regional All- Tournament Team Pos. Name School F Mike Comrie Michigan F Andy McDonald Colgate F Ben Guite Maine D Justin Harney St. Lawrence D Chris Dyment Boston U. G Rick DiPietro Boston U. G Derek Gustafson St. Lawrence Most Valuable Player: Derek Gustafson, St. Lawrence Outshot? - no luck for 'M' this time Before last night's loss to Maine, Michigan was 8-1-2 when out- shot. But last night was Michigan's largest shot deficit this season. The Black Bears pelted Michigan goalie Josh Blackburn with 45 shots, to Michigan's 28. AP PHOTO Michigan's John Shouneyia and Maine's A.J. Begg couldn't meet each other for over three hours due to the Boston University and St. Lawrence matchup's four overtimes. West Regional Boston College shocks Wisconsin after slipping by Spartans, North Dakota denies Niagara MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - For the aond year in a row, Boston College ha's taken a tough road to the Frozen Four. This time, the Eagles earned their trip to nearby Providence, R.l., by going 950 miles west. Goalie Scott Clemmensen was the key, kicking out 28 shots as. the Eagles upended top-ranked Wisconsin 4-1 in a second-round game at the NCAA West Regional Saturday night. Brian Gionta scored two goals and ake Bellefeuille and Jeff Giulinao had one each for the Eagles. They advance to the semifinals of the Frozen Four in Providence on April 6. "When I saw the brackets, I knew we would have to play two good games here to advance" said Eagle coach Jerry York. "Tonight, we were solid defensively all night. That was a key." Wisconsin, the WCHA regular sea- son champ and the first seed in the West Regional, never led in the game. In fact, the only time the Badgers were consistently dangerous was in the sec- ond period when they outshot the Eagles 12-5. It marked the second year that the fourth-seeded Eagles advanced to the frozen Four with a victory over the West's top seed. Last year, Boston College defeated North Dakota before losing to Maine in overtime in the semifinals. NORTH DAKOTA 4, NIAGARA l: Jeff Panzer had three assists and sopho- more Andy Kollar stopped 26 of 27 shots as North Dakota beat Niagara 4- 1 Saturday night in the NCAA West Westerly winds Saturday's results: (4) Boston College 4, (1) Wisconsin 1 (2) North Dakota 4, (6) Niagara 1 Friday's results: (4) Boston College 6, (5) Michigan State 5 (OT) (6) Niagara 4, (3) New Hampshire 1 Regional tournament, propelling the Fighting Sioux to the Frozen Four. The win gives the Fighting Sioux (29-8-5) a chance to go for their sev- enth NCAA title in Providence, on April 6. They will play Maine. Kollar, who started one-third of North Dakota's games this season, was in the nets because of the lingering effects of a concussion junior goalie Karl Goehring suffered during prac- tice almost two weeks ago. Sioux coach Dean Blais said the decision to go with Kollar was made after practice Friday afternoon when Goehring com- plained of dizziness. Blais said while Goehring is the usually the go-to guy in the nets, the team has faith in Kollar. After stunning New Hampshire with a 4-1 upset Friday night in its first- ever NCAA appearance, Niagara (30- 8-4) dug itself an early hole whe) North Dakota dominated play by send- ing a barrage of first-period shots at Greg Gardner. Gardner was the hero of the New Hampshire win when he stopped 34 shots, but the Sioux took advantage of early goals in both the first and third periods to spark the win. After North Dakota got to Gardner early and often in the firstperiod, the Sioux took a 2-0 lead in the first 20 minutes. The Purple Eagles came out of the locker room and turned the tables on Kollar, firing 17 shots on goal. KollarBturned away all but one shot, but Blais admitted he felt the momentum swing back to Niagara. Scorn' Goren is Sioux senior Lee Goren, the leading goal scorer in the WCHA, who took a pass from Panzer and stuck in his 32nd goal of the sea- son at 1:05 of the third. Panzer said the team watched Gardner and the Purple Eagles from the stands Friday night and noticed a way to exploit Gardner. East Regional St. Lawrence outlasts BU in four-overtime thriller ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Because his team didn't have to play a first- round game and his opponent did, St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh said he kept waiting for fatigue to become a ztor in his team's quarterfinal NCAA playoff game yesterday against Boston University. As 60 minutes of regulation stretched to 80, then 100, then 120 tinutes after three overtimes with the teams still tied 2-2 and no end in .s. , loose puck to the BU goal mouth and slamming a rebound of his first shot past Terrier goalie Rick DiPietro. Carruthers' goal also ended a mem- orable goaltending display by DiPietro and St. Lawrence's Derek Gustafson - both freshman - who combined for a record 149 saves. It sent the St. Lawrence players into a mad celebration around Carruthers while BU players merely slumped in exhaustion after playing what amount- S-A t. -,r v.md.. inn am c n ..itt Eastern excitement Sunday's results: (1) Maine 5, (5) Michigan 2 (2) St. Lawrence 3, (3) Boston University 2 (40T) Saturday's results: (5) Michigan 4, (4) Colgate 3 (OT) (3) Boston University 5, (6) St. Cloud 3 game time shattered the record for n . MeCAA toulrnament cnntest off Hobey Hopefuls On March 16, the Hobey Baker Award' Committee announced 10 finalists for the award chosen by the ballot of all 60 Division I coaches and a fan vote. From these, a winner will be selected by a 20-member panel and announced April 7 at the Frozen Four. Among those being considered is Michigan's Mike Comrie. Mike Comrie After beginning the season with 10 points in nine games, Comrie cooled off a little midway through the sea- son. But this past weekend, when the goals counted most, Comrie came through with a performance that caught the nation's eye. The speedy center tallied four points, including the 100th point of his career. Ty Conklin, junior goaltender, New Hampshire Made 15 saves in 4-1 loss to Niagara in NCAA first-round game on Friday night. Jeff Farkas, senior forward, Boston College Scored two goals, including the game winner in overtime, in Boston College's 6-5 victory over Michigan State. The Eagles then defeated No. 1 Wisconsin to advance to Frozen Four. Brian Gionta, junior forward, Boston College Had a goal and an assist in first-round win over Michigan State, and scored two goals in 4-1 defeat of top-ranked Wisconsin in quarterfinals. Shawn Horcoff, senior forward, Michigan State Had three assists in Spartans 6-5 overtime loss to Boston College in NCAA first-round game on Friday night. Joel Laing, senior, guard, RPI Did not play Mik. Mnttau, ininr. defenseman. Boston College I