OT drama in Hockey East leads into conference championship weekend

OT drama in Hockey East leads into conference championship weekend

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
USCHO dot com. Hi everyone, welcome to the podcast. Todd
Moleski here with Nicole Hasey from usc ch O dot
com and oh boy, we had a Wednesday night full
of awesome hockey and Hockey East and we had two

(00:25):
semifinals deciding who is going to play for the championship
in New ha. We also have the other three conferences
getting ready for their championships this weekend, a big week coming,
ending with the selection show on Sunday. We'll get to
that all as we go conference by conference this week.
Let's start with Hockey East because those games we got

(00:48):
a chance to watch, and man, it's some good entertainment tonight.
As we're recording tonight. Wednesday night in Hockey East, a
three to one for Northeastern at Yukon, coming back from
a goal down entering the third period. Skyler Irving scored
the tying and go ahead goals for the Northeastern Huskies,

(01:12):
and then Boston University gets a double overtime four to
three win against Boston College and the Battle of com
Ab the play two. What did I say? I said
four to three? Well there was three two. Then I
apologize I'm reading the wrong numbers. Here because I think
there are four goals originally on this box store, but anyway,

(01:32):
three to two, thank you Lindsay Bachna with a double
overtime goal there for the Terriers. So we end up
with Northeastern and Boston University playing at Yukon because it's
a predetermined site, that game being Saturday noon Eastern time
on ESPN News. That should be. So those are a

(01:57):
couple of teams that have had their bumps, ups and downs,
as everyone in Hockey East has at some point this
season or multiple points this season. One of them is
gonna make the NCAA tournament and be a Hockey East champion.
Let's have had it there, Nicole, What what are we
looking at here as Saturday? And then we'll kind of

(02:19):
circle back and talk about what we saw last week too.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, I mean, if we're just going by what we
watched tonight, I mean I almost feel like Northeastern it's
kind to be the favorite like they especially if they play.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
They played in the third period, but.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
You just looked a little discombobulated and not quite as
good as we can have seen them play, and so
I think they definitely have to take a step up
if they're gonna win that title. That being said, you
know they've won their last two games in overtime or
overtime and then double overtime. You know, they had the
regular season title essentially in their grasp and let it

(02:54):
slip away. I mean, if there has ever been sort
of a wake up call and all that sort of stuff,
like they you would think that they're sort of the
team that wants this the most at this point, right
just there's there's kind of so much backing up that
comes down to this game. But I don't think it
is a coincidence that Skyler Irving, who is one of
the most experienced teams, particularly in postseason in Hockey East,

(03:18):
is the player that made the difference for Northeastern. I
think that's one of the things that you know, sort
of they have above some.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Of the other teams.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
It's just been there before, know how to get through
this sort of thing. You know, Again, we've harped on.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
This, but like be you was the what fifth or
sixth place.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Team going picked going into this in the off season.
This is not a team that expected to be here,
or maybe they did and nobody else did, and so
there's something to having been there before. And so I
just think watching what Northeastern did, sort of be patient,
hold on, keep that game close, Lisa Johnson and net
as a rookie has just been so good. And like

(03:56):
that first Skyler Irving goal was what on five? I mean,
she took on everybody, went down the link of the ice,
got a really great shot off by herself in the
slot even though there were five people around her, uh,
picked up her own rebound and backhanded it into the net.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
I mean it was a beauty.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
And so you watched that and then you watch some
of the sort of the things that you wasn't able
to make work for them, and it's it's hard for
me to say that I don't think that Northeastern has
the edge going into that championship game, and you know,
they would be the first five seed to ever win
that tournament game per the broadcast.

Speaker 3 (04:29):
I guess I should say I didn't actually check it.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
But yeah, uh that being said, Hockey's is absolutely a
toss up. I mean we said that about the w SHA,
but I think here I say it because every one
of these teams has won and lost against each other,
and every time you think you understand how they're gonna
play and what they're gonna do and what.

Speaker 3 (04:49):
They're capable of.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
They defied those expectations and so like positively and negatively.
So I don't know, I don't know what's gonna happen,
do you.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
When we got to the third period in that uh
North Eastern Yukon game, Northeastern really started forcing the issue
in the offensive zone on a for check and that's
how they score their goals. I think all three of
their goals were off of turnovers kind of you know,
misplay of the park somewhere along the line, and that's
a you know when when you're talking about that part

(05:22):
of it. But also be you looking a little like
you said this cambobulated at times in their semi final
game against BC that maybe, you know, gives some more
towards your your thought of Northeastern maybe being or having
the advantage going into this on paper, and well, uh,

(05:45):
we'll see. I mean, anyone can get a great goaltending performance.
We know Northeastern has historically over the years, and I
would I would be interested to see that one shakes out.
That's the first game of a five game Saturday championship Saturday,

(06:06):
and I hope that sets a tone for what Saturday's
games will be that they'll be close and there'll be
some drama going into the third period, and that's let's
see what happened, because I think that's gonna be Ah,
you know, you got experience on Northeastern side. You got
a little less of it on BU side in terms

(06:27):
of deep playoff runs.

Speaker 2 (06:28):
So no, I think that's a really good point about
I mean, part of what we were saying about BU
is they were playing sloppy right, like the passes were
going into skates and and not b C wasn't able
really to capitalize on any of that, or b you
was able once they turned it over to get it
back pretty quickly. And I don't know that that's gonna
happen against Northeastern. I feel like they're going to be

(06:48):
taken off down the ice before BU has a chance
to recover. So yeah, that's just a really good point
about what Northeastern was able to do and why we're like,
you has to be cleaner. They just can not make
those kinds of mistakes against Northeastern. And I don't I
don't think that if they play like they did tonight
that they will come out victorious.

Speaker 1 (07:08):
B You got to the semifinals with a four to
three overtime win over Vermont last Saturday. Vermont led three
times by a goal in that game, and Riley Wallsh
scored to give be You its first lead in overtime.
Northeastern got to the semifinals with a three to two
win at Providence, with Skyler Irving uh Being having a

(07:30):
hand in that one as well. She and Ali Lalan
scored to give Northeastern a to nothing lead in the
second period. Providence twice cut that lead to a goal,
but the Huskies got got to the finish line and
and got to the semifinals and got another, you know,

(07:50):
another road win. So they've got to be feeling pretty comfortable.
You know. It's it's neither team's home ice when it's
being played at Yukon.

Speaker 3 (07:58):
Just the two.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
Boston teams going to Yukon to play for the championship
is a little funny.

Speaker 1 (08:03):
But so they've won two games on the road already,
so you know, they've got to feel be feeling pretty
good about that.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah, I mean, there's just we I feel like we
could go back and forth and I could make a
pretty good case for any for either of these teams
to win, right because of how they played against each
other in previous games, of the momentum of all of
that sort of stuff, Which is why I really do
think I just I based on going on the gut
feeling of what I watched tonight. Yeah, Like my my

(08:31):
gut is with Northeastern, But before watching these games, I
kind of felt like, be you has the you know,
has the chip on their shoulder, has something to prove
after letting that slip away.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
So which of those sort of two things prevail here?
I'm not sure.

Speaker 1 (08:44):
Yeah, And if you're going off of you know, results
down the stretch, you know, be you, like we talked
about earlier, lost two games to yukon Final weekend and
then had to you know, wait a week to to
do something about that. And they got it done in overtime,
but it was exactly, you know, a convincing win for

(09:06):
never having had a lead until the overtime. God. Yeah,
and it's Wednesday night against BC. It was back and
forth a lot of the time there, and I guess,
as you'd expect with a game going to double overtime,
they had a lot of chances they could have finished
that one BC did as well. But yeah, I'm with

(09:30):
you that I feel like Northeastern probably has a little
bit of an edge here, but I don't know how
much that matters when it comes down to one game
on neutral site and have at it.

Speaker 2 (09:44):
Yeah, I mean, I sometimes have made the joke that
nobody wants to win Hockey East. And what I mean
by that is that there's just often opportunities there that
I think aren't grabbed. I mean, and just that that
BUBC game tonight, Man, that game could have ended probably
seventeen different times, and like on difficult plays, like like

(10:04):
wide open goals that were finished on and rebounds that
weren't picked up and things like that. And so that's
when it's just like who is gonna Who's gonna be
the one who's gonna see this opportunity and want to
seize it. And if you look at those final few
weekends of regular season play, every one of these four
teams lost games they probably shouldn't have lost to teams
that they like arguably are better then, right, Like it's

(10:25):
all objective subjective, but looking at all of that just
makes it be like, I think that a team needs
to step up, and nobody has proven thus far that
they want to be that team.

Speaker 1 (10:38):
Yeah, that's uh a little bit of the story of
hockey this season. That's okay, Let's take a trip over
to newha where the shutouts have reigned supreme in the
playoffs so far. The Wednesday games, Long Island getting a
too nothing win over Posts and Sicker Hard to getting

(11:00):
a three nothing win over Saint Anselm, both higher seeds,
advancing to the championship game Saturday, which is Sacred Heart
at Long Island seven o'clock Eastern. I guess not surprising
that the defenses kind of rule the day on Wednesday
in New high and especially after seeing how both of

(11:22):
those teams, you know, use the shutout to get there
get into the semi finals. During the quarterfiles, Long Island
has not a loot of goal in three games now.
They swept Saint Michael's four nothing and two nothing. Abby
Thompson not having to make a ton of says thirteen
in game one, twenty five in game two, and then

(11:43):
fourteen and Wednesday's shutout against Post. So that's a good
place to be when you're going through a playoff run.
To have your your defense and goaltending playing well.

Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, and interestingly, Like, you know, we in the past
couple of years when we've talked about lu and goaltending,
we've been talking about Tingderholme, and you know, we you know,
she was sort of ongoing one of the better goalies
in the country and she transferred, and so we're talking
about new goaltending here and like the fact that they're
still keeping that up and even though we weren't really

(12:17):
talking about Abby Thompson at points through this season, like
just really impressed that they're still pulling it off and
still you know, building off that strong defense.

Speaker 1 (12:26):
Basically, the Sacred Heart win over st Anselm Kylie Green
fifty saves for the shutout there and three nothing shut out.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
If it's got to be the performance of the weekend
rights for I'm reading is right.

Speaker 1 (12:39):
That's the shots were fifty to forty one. I believe
it was in that game, which is a heck of it.

Speaker 3 (12:48):
So we were just talking about defense.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
Yeah, but I mean, that's an impressive effort to make
fifty saves and get a shut out. I don't see
that an awful lot. Sacred Heart also swept or when
they swept Assumption in the first round, they got a
one nothing win in the opener in a six to
two win in Game two. Kind of Green made thirty
seven saves in that game one for a one nothing shutout,

(13:12):
So it seems like she's doing okay with high volume
of shots. And for Sacred Heart, that's you know, we
we'd talked about Sacred Heart and Long Island kind of
going neck and neck for a lot of the season. Well,
Franklin Pierce caught up with Sacred Heart last weekend and
got the second seed.

Speaker 3 (13:33):
But lost a post. So way to go post post.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
The seventh seed beat number two. Franklin Pierce won nothing
and won nothing. We'll talk about a way to get
a playoff series win. Scoring two goals total and coming
out with a sweep is pretty amazing for the.

Speaker 2 (13:51):
Seventh seed in the conference too, Like just that's a
team that has not scored a lot of goals, not
fared very well, I mean, eleven conference wins, like that's
the I don't know, I just it's such an amazing performance.
It's such a gutsy like the pull out two one oh,
Like that's just so good for them. And like I
know they lost tonight and it was two oh, but
I just there, I think there's got to be so

(14:11):
much for them to learn and grow from what they
were able to do this postseason.

Speaker 1 (14:15):
Yeah, so that gives a Sacred Heart at Long Island
Saturday night Sharks having home ice. You think that means
a little bit for them or a little bit of
advantage for them?

Speaker 3 (14:27):
Oh goodness, I have no idea. I would like.

Speaker 2 (14:35):
I feel like Sacred Heart has been overall more dynamic
this season. I feel like, you know, they're they might
have a little bit more of the momentum and just
sort of maybe outperforming expectations. And uh, I don't really
have great reasoning. I just my gut is that it's
Sacred Hearts game to lose.

Speaker 3 (14:54):
That isn't to.

Speaker 2 (14:54):
Say that I don't think LA you can win and
you know, top seed at home all that sort of stuff.
But I just kind of feel like they have been
atop of the conference and like are you know, have
been comfortably there and just doing doing their stuff sort
of week in and week out for a couple of
years now, and I don't know, I just kind of
like the the upstirtness of Sacred Heart here and not
that they haven't been among the top team, like the

(15:15):
top half of the conference. But I just I really
feel like they just found a new level this year
and it pulled out some winds. And yeah, I don't know,
it's I don't have a huge reason why, just my
gut says.

Speaker 3 (15:26):
This is Sacred Hearts game.

Speaker 1 (15:29):
They have split four games this season, So if you're
looking for anything to go on there, sorry, there's none.
Sacred Heart has already one at Long Island, a one
nothing game, so not a high scoring game there. It's no.

Speaker 2 (15:44):
I imagine that the defense and goaltending is going to
be huge in this series, in this game, yeah.

Speaker 1 (15:49):
I mean that's really what I mean, really should come
down to in the playoffs just period. That's how you win.

Speaker 3 (15:56):
Chick make mistakes.

Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, cliche, but I mean how many times you see
a team get hot and have a good goaltender and
it carries you through. You know, when you're only talking
about having to win four games or you know, whatever
the number is for a two week or three week
playoff stretch, that that means an awful lot and what

(16:18):
the best defense win. I guess.

Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yeah, I mean, I hate the feeling of not being
able to like give good analysis or tell someone who
I think, you know, like to look at these and
be able to pick somebody. It feels like not being
good at my job. But also I think it's great
that we are in these scenarios where we're talking conference
semifinals and conference finals, and it's a toss up because
all the teams are are pretty equal in the conversations

(16:42):
we're talking about, you know, within the Hockey East, those
teams all can beat each other and all can win.
And within a new hot here, like you said, they split.
So what's gonna happen. That's determined by the teams. It's
a toss up, but it should be a great game
to watch, and I think that's all we can really
hope for, right.

Speaker 1 (17:02):
Absolutely, And that's what we hope for in all of
these playoff games as the conference season winds down this weekend. Okay,
let's take a break there. When we come back, we
will talk WCHA and ECAC. You're listening to the podcast.

(17:24):
Welcome back to the podcast, Todd Molusky and Nicole Hasey
Again with you, let's turn to the WCHA starting Friday
in Duluth, Minnesota. The final face off is what it's called.
It'll be Minnesota, the Louth against Wisconsin and Minnesota against
Ohio State. But before we get there, let's take a
look back at some some of the fourth series that

(17:47):
took place last weekend, one of which went to three games,
and that was Minnesota and needing a third game to
get past Minnesota State because the Mavericks one Game two,
five to four in double overtime after losing Game one
six one, which for me, it was just a really
incredible turnaround. The Mavericks went up three nothing in that
Game two, and the Gophers came back, but Minnesota State

(18:11):
got the last one and got the last shot to
go in and uh and the forcing game three where
the Gophers won six to two. I don't know that.
I was so expecting that one to go three. I
figured if there was a three game series in there
and WHA, it would have been d Luth and Saint
Cloud State. But that one was decided in two games,

(18:31):
two really tight games, as should say, between Saint Cloud
and Duluth. What what stood out to you about the
last weekend in WHA.

Speaker 3 (18:40):
Maybe just some of the resiliency.

Speaker 2 (18:42):
I mean, yes, the Gophers absolutely should have won that series,
but like that was a tough game to lose in
Game two, and you could just tell that, like they
came back and were like, we are not losing this.
This is not where season ends. And you know, both
them and Minnesota Duluth had sort of rough ends to
their season overall their regular season, and so to go
into those tough series, I just think like probably said

(19:03):
a good thing about both of those teams and their
abilities to go further in the postseason. I think from
Minnesota one of the big things over the last few
weeks is that it hasn't just been Abby Murphy scoring.
In fact, it hasn't been Abby scoring a ton at all,
Like she's really been shut down by a posy defenses
and the other players are stepping up, which is something
I think over the last say year and a half
we haven't really seen.

Speaker 3 (19:24):
From their second and third lines.

Speaker 2 (19:26):
So I think there's just a bit more confidence and
stuff there, which I will make them more dangerous going forward.
But yeah, I think there were just really good lessons
in like when you're going in to do or die,
like you One of the things about that Minnesota State
goal to end the two overtimes is it was in
the final what like five seconds, fifteen seconds something like that.
I mean, I remember the play happening and they went
down and they didn't take the shot, and I was like, well,

(19:48):
that that's over.

Speaker 3 (19:49):
Like I also thought like that was your opportunity, you
didn't take it.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
And then they they did come in and score. But
I feel like maybe Minnesota was already in the locker
room there a little they did. They weren't playing it
all out, and so I think there were.

Speaker 3 (20:02):
Just some really good lessons for them in that. I
don't know what about you, I thought that.

Speaker 1 (20:08):
So we had that game on at Lebon Arena while
I was covering Wisconsin game, and that one just kept
going and going, and had it on in the interview
room while Wisconsin was doing interviews, and I didn't see
the goal, but I saw the aftermath of the goal
in double overtime, and I had to go back and
watch it later. But I just thought, you know, Minnesota

(20:29):
has been in, you know, positions where it's it's had
chances to to get things done. I think back to
when they were up three nothing against Wisconsin at home
in the second game of the series there, I think
back in November, and they let Wisconsin back into it
and and the Badgers won that game I don't. You
don't get tons of chances, you know, in the playoffs,

(20:52):
and it just happened to be they they got away
with that one because it was in a best of
three series, and moving forward, they can't let things slip away.
And I think that's a not that necessarily slipped away,
but that opportunity did. And kudos to them for climbing
back into that game, because at three, nothing that could

(21:14):
have been done, and you're looking forward to game three anyway,
but they they pulled their way back into it. I
just think that, you know, the further you go into
this now, it's going to be a lot tougher to
try and pull your way back from three nothing deficits.
So that's something they have to avoid going forward.

Speaker 3 (21:32):
Sure, that's funny, sort of two takes on the same thing.

Speaker 2 (21:35):
Yeah, I guess for me, I was looking at this
resilience because they were they were down and they came
back in that game. And then and then also you know,
really making that statement when in the second day and
like poorer Minnesota State just looked dead and that their
game like they had left it all.

Speaker 3 (21:47):
In the ice.

Speaker 2 (21:47):
And so it says good things for the Gophers that
you know, they sort of had the conditioning and all
that sort of stuff to still make a statement in
that game on Sunday. But yeah, I happened to talk
to Abbey Murphy today and like, you know, like that's
that's over. We don't like we have to learn from
that because you can't. There are no more second chances.
So that's a huge, huge thing for them, and I

(22:09):
think just it's a it's a moderately younger squad. It's
a squad that hasn't gotten very far in the playoffs,
so as this for this group, and so they just
there's they all of this is learning, and all of
this is experienced.

Speaker 3 (22:21):
They can dig into Minnesota.

Speaker 1 (22:24):
The luth gets to host the final face off this weekend.
It's usually at Ritter Arena, but Minnesota is hosting the
Frozen Four this season and didn't necessarily want to do
those two big tournaments in the Spanish weeks, in which
I totally understand that. But the luth was trailing Saint
Cloud State going into the final two minutes on Friday,

(22:45):
game one of that series before they they wrestled that
one back.

Speaker 3 (22:49):
That was a wild game too. There were some great
week games this weekend.

Speaker 1 (22:53):
Were Caitlin Kramer scored with a minute fifty five left
and then it got into the final ten seconds Olivia
Walleen's scores, it was credited with five seconds left. I
don't know exactly how much time they was on the
clock or how much they put back after that, and
the Bulldogs, you know, stole that win away from the Huskies. Uh.

(23:14):
And then one two one in game two to advance.
I mean, that's a you look at that both ways.
That's exhilarating for the Louth and just a gut punch
for Saint Cloud in that game one.

Speaker 2 (23:28):
Yeah, I think the important thing to note in that
series is two really crucial challenges from Lar Schuler. So
in game one, they challenged for a penalty to be
called a major, which was successful. So their first goal
came on that five minute major power play. And in
the second game, Saint Cloud State scored in the opening
three minutes and they challenged for off sides and it

(23:49):
was called back. And those are just two obviously huge
turning points in both these games. Right Like, if UMD
doesn't get that first goal on fighting, we're not talking
about a quick comeback at the end. That's not even
on the table, and I think they just stole all
the momentum and sort of everything, all the wind out
of the sales of Saint Cloud. When that goal was
called back. Nobody scored then for like another thirty minutes
in that game to well into the second period. So

(24:12):
kudos to the staff until our shooler for calling those
and being successful. Right, Like, I feel like a lot
of times we've seen some challenges lately that are like, well,
I may as well just take it for a time out,
Like these were like she knew what she was doing,
she knew she was gonna win them. And I mean,
to some extent it's the off sides at least you
like you've seen the tape and you're like, okay, she's

(24:33):
off sides. But like on a asking for a major,
you just don't know what the officials are gonna call,
and like risking your time out in a series like
this that really is gutsy, and so I yeah, I
kudos to her. And those two were just massive turning
points in this series.

Speaker 1 (24:50):
And in that game, yeah, Wisconsin and Ohio state the
cruise passed, but as you say it, in Saint Thomas respectively,
to set up the final face off, which again to
luth against Wisconsin in the early game on Friday, Minnesota
against Ohio State in the later game.

Speaker 3 (25:06):
And when he says early, he means early.

Speaker 1 (25:09):
One Central time on Friday, which is a is it
choice choice, We'll be out of there early anyway, I
guess if you want to look at it, but there's.

Speaker 3 (25:23):
Don't say that that it could go into all.

Speaker 1 (25:26):
Right, Erase, now take that, So what's your what's your
thoughts going into this? I mean, Wisconsin has been on
such a role. Uh, you know, Ohio State can can
play right with Wisconsin in any game. Minnesota has been
right there too, and the luth is really given the
Badgers some some fits in just in the last couple

(25:47):
of weeks. I don't know that this is as cut
and dried as we want to think. With Wisconsin on
twenty whatever two game unbeaten streak, this these are the
best teams in w c h A and by the numbers,
of three best teams in the pair wise with Wisconsin,
Ohouse State in Minnesota. So let's see what happens.

Speaker 2 (26:11):
Yeah, I mean, I think it is a toss up,
like any I think no outcomes this weekend would surprise me.
And I also think that I give Wisconsin the benefit
of the doubt until they prove that they shouldn't be
given that right. So like it's it's a little of both.
I just they've been playing so well and so dominantly
and like when things click, it's it's a thing of beauty.

(26:34):
I mean, if they're playing like they played against Minnesota
at home a few weeks ago, when everybody is hitting
on all the right cylinders like they're they're nearly impossible
to be. That being said, you know they don't always
play like that. And also you know, for the first game,
UMD is a team that's absolutely given them fits and
starts v gascon can you know absolutely term the tides

(26:54):
a game. And just also the way that they play
defense is really capable of slowing down what Wisconsin wants
to do. And so yeah, I think the big problem
for um D is I'm not sure. I'm not sure
you could completely stone wall Wisconsin, and I'm not sure
that um D has the offensive higher power to overcome
whatever Wisconsin does get through.

Speaker 3 (27:15):
Is that fair? I don't know.

Speaker 1 (27:16):
I think so, And I think that's the I mean,
just a couple of weeks ago, the Badgers beat the
Bulldogs to one and two, one first one in overtime,
had to come back in both of those. So they've
got the experience in limiting Wisconsin's I guess, really good
chances or at least letting them finish the really good chances.

(27:38):
But they also haven't scored a ton either, So yeah,
it's a little bit of the Both of those have
to work out for them. They need to get some
more scoring to have a chance in that semi final
for me, and in the other one in Ohio State
and Minnesota played a couple of doozies a couple of
weeks ago at Ritter and so looking forward to that

(27:58):
one because that's a heavyweight right there.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
Yeah, that was what five periods of really great ocum
in one where Ohio State sort of blew it out
and it got real ugly with penalties and things. But yeah,
I agree to me, this is all a toss up
every which way it could. You look at this like
who no matter who wins the semi finals, no matter
like who ends up in the final game, but all
of them, I mean this again, this is there's a
lot on the line here that has nothing to do

(28:23):
with where they placed in the conference tournament.

Speaker 3 (28:24):
And so it's not just about that.

Speaker 2 (28:28):
And so I mean for UMD and probably Minnesota the
most right in terms of like where that could move
them into the pairwise and who they would have to
then play in the NCAA tournament.

Speaker 3 (28:39):
But also this is just it's for pride.

Speaker 2 (28:41):
It's all their biggest, toughest opponents, like these are going
to be the guest best games these teams play all year,
like every single one of them not only wants to
win for themselves, but wants to beat the other teams
that are there, like with a burning passion. So like
there's just there's a lot of sort of pride and
a lot on the line for them.

Speaker 1 (29:01):
Absolutely. Okay, let's take a look over to the East then,
ECAC having their championship weekend, that line of rink at Cornell.
That'll be Clarkson against Cornell and Saint Lawrence against Colgate
in the semi finals. But let's rewind because three sweeps
in the quarterfinals last week, Cornell sweeping Union, Colgate getting

(29:24):
past Princeton, Saint Lawrence getting past Yale even though they
needed overtime in the first game, and then Clarkson needed
three games to get past Quinnipiac, and that was a
massive series when you look at it nationally and pairwise
and NCAA tournament purposes. Clarkson's still alive and Quinnipiac isn't,

(29:44):
so that's.

Speaker 3 (29:45):
Right for purposes, that was the national championship games.

Speaker 1 (29:49):
Yeah, Quinnipiac won that first one three to one, before
Clarkson got a two to one win in Game two
and a four to one win in Game three. Haley
wins going twice the third one. I think that was
the one that we we thought was going to be
a battle, and it turned out to be absolutely that, right.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
Yeah, I those are two teams that are very good
at defense, that need beyond leads, scoring from beyond their
top lines. I mean, Clarkson's Hilly when as a defender
is Clarkson's top scorer. I think two of their three
top scorers are defenders. Like there's just not necessarily traditionally
that sort of like powerhouse and so those and that's
probably one of the bigger rivalries in recent years in

(30:33):
that conference.

Speaker 3 (30:34):
And so yeah, not only was it, you know.

Speaker 2 (30:37):
Teams that you really want to beat, but again it
was winner go home in a way that like was
is very when you're the ninth, you're talking nine and
tend in the country and one of them is going
to keep playing one of them season is done. Like
that's such a rough quarter final matchup.

Speaker 1 (30:52):
Yeah, that's I mean, it really comes down to uh,
you know, home ice and things like that mean means something.
I mean in the.

Speaker 2 (31:01):
First why we were talking about like down the down
standings in the conference, right, like when we were talking
about games that mattered about who plays third, fourth, and fifth,
like this is what why we were talking about it.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
And I wasn't necessarily thinking that so much on Friday
when Quinn Pak was up was three nothing on Clarkson
and we're kind of like, well, hello Clarkson, season on
the line here. But credit to them. They pulled it
together and they they got what they needed to do
and get into the the semi finals. Here on Friday

(31:33):
that the Cornell series union did not go quietly. In
that that second game Union led two to one UH
into the final two minutes of that game, Correl Prefontaine
scored with a Matt nine left and Gaby Rude with
just twenty seven seconds left. As Cornell, you know just rebounded.

Speaker 2 (31:57):
Yeah, like it was that was Union was cruising. Union
was gonna take that game. And Cornell pulled the goalie,
got that second goal from Carol prefont Taint and then yeah.

Speaker 3 (32:08):
That the the seral like hurt that I had for
Union when when Cornell scored that goal with twenty seven
seconds left, it was just like it was a whole
separate game that it lasted in the final like one
hundred and twenty seconds of that game, and it was
just it would have been such a big win for Union.
And also it's just the way that it all went down.

Speaker 2 (32:25):
It just was just very demoralizing and I it was
a little hard to watch. I'm very excited for Cornell,
you know, that's what you're here for, Like that's what
pulling the goalie does. And they didn't give up and
they were gonna play till the final buzzer. But man,
that was that was a heartbreaker for Union.

Speaker 1 (32:43):
I mean, that's just the playoffs, right, is that it's
you know, throw everything out there when you when you're
down a goal in the last couple of minutes, because
you know what, what's to lose at that point, You've
got to you got to come up with something and
credit to Cornell for getting that done at home. That
Saint Lawrence Yale series. I mentioned a three to two

(33:05):
overtime win on Friday for Saint Lawrence Claire Tile with
an overtime goal on a power play. Uh A five
on three, that's right.

Speaker 3 (33:14):
Yeah, yeah, Gale had that game.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
And sort of handed it away in a way that
was also very hard to watch. Yeah, yeah, there was
there was a there was some rough. I mean I
thrilled and lucky and privileged and stayed home this weekend.
I didn't go with you guys in Madison to watch
those games. So like I sat down at one o'clock
on Friday and Saturday and watched everything. And there was
a point where like I didn't have enough screens and

(33:36):
I was like switching around and it was amazing and
also absolutely like sensory overload. But it was also like
every time you just watched I mean, it was just
it was like a silly, stupid hit, Like it was
a bad retaliation and you're just like why are you
Like you got that you you got them on the ropes,
like and you just handed this game to them.

Speaker 3 (33:53):
It was just like, oh, poor Yale and poor.

Speaker 2 (33:56):
I feel bad for the student in the student athlete
in the moment, right because afterwards she's absolutely gonna beat
herself up about it.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
That's uh yeah, it's a tough way for that to end.
Uh you know something, someone's going home unhappy, just you
do hope it's not on a rough play, but it
does happen. So e c AS goes into its championship
weekend again, you know the top seeds are there. These

(34:25):
are the teams that fought for those top spots all
season and they got him and hear it means something.
So any any just kind of prevailing thoughts about these
four teams, and I mean, they're as far as I
can tell, they're all going to the NCAA tournament is
unless something weird happens, right, I don't possibly pretty good

(34:50):
at St. Lawrence. I mean, I suppose there's a chance
that a uh Atlantic Hockey gets a second team if
Mercy Hears beats Penn State and Penn State holds on
on to a top spot. But I don't know if
that's a feasible thing.

Speaker 2 (35:05):
Yeah, I haven't played innu ye, but I like, just
looking at it, they would say there's probably a liver
of a chance with some convoluted way that Clarkson could
be out. But yeah, it does definitely does seem that
like these talking about w h A and ECAC all
top four teams, all eight of those teams are going
to make the tournament.

Speaker 1 (35:23):
But I don't think any of those teams, especially Saint
Lawrence and Clarkson, want to leave that up to waiting
Saturday's results to to find out.

Speaker 2 (35:33):
Right, And they're all in positions where where they end
up in that final eleven bracket significantly changes their their
path to them to a title, right, So I think
that's also going to be you know, Cornella is looking
to not is looking to pass up Minnesota, Colgates looking
to not be the five seed. So there's just yeah,

(35:55):
there's just a lot on the line still, and looking
at the pair wise, everything's like down to the thousands
of points, right, just the teeniest, tiniest margins.

Speaker 1 (36:04):
So yeah, a lot of games were down to nine
left that will count towards you know, the pair wise,
but I.

Speaker 3 (36:14):
Like know that, but while hearing nine games, every.

Speaker 1 (36:16):
One of those can mean an awful lot, so let's
have at it.

Speaker 2 (36:23):
Unfortunately, everybody's playing Friday afternoon for some inexplicable reason that
I'm sure Danca would say is for student athlete rest
and stuff. But man, does it distinct that the WHA
tournament games are at one in four thirty Central and
the ECAC tournament games are at three and six Eastern
on Friday?

Speaker 3 (36:39):
Just absolutely eight of the top.

Speaker 2 (36:43):
Nine teams in the country, right, Yeah, eight of the
top nineteens in the country are going to play each
other and nobody's going to see it.

Speaker 3 (36:51):
That is frustrating.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Yeah, welcome to women's hockey, right, Yeah, you've dealt with that.

Speaker 3 (36:58):
Yeah, surprise, not surprised, but disappointed.

Speaker 2 (37:03):
Like none of this is yeah, none of this is new,
but just this is worse than normal.

Speaker 3 (37:09):
And so some of this we should say, like the w.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
C tournament used to be Saturday Sunday, and so they
have moved it so that most tournaments are Friday, so
that the hockey is done on Saturday and then the
selection is on Sunday. There is like they're doing, you know,
they're giving the selection tea a group more time and
you know whatever. And I would assume they're saying it
so that the Collesians can then get home because if
they're continuing on then they have to get on a

(37:32):
plane and go somewhere else. But yeah, it's it's not great.
I just feel I said to you this you offline.
I both agree with prioritizing the student athletes and think
that there's got to be some middle ground between a
one o'clock Friday afternoon game and prioritising the student athletes.

Speaker 1 (37:51):
I I think that's valid. I also I totally understand
the reasons that you said on the behalf of the
schools or the conferences. I can understand those two of
making sure there's a proper amount of rest and yeah,
there's a proper amount of time for the selection committee
to do its work.

Speaker 2 (38:12):
But though though supposedly there's no work to be done by.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
There's only sometimes work to be done in terms of Yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:23):
That's why I said, I'm not negating that, Like there
are reasons for having moved it forwarded, reasons for you know,
moving it, like having games earlier. But I just I
think one in four thirty is a little little egregious
move in that direction, Like even the three and six
free ecac is is better than that. So, like I said,
I think there just has to be some maybe it's

(38:43):
not middle, but there has to be somewhere in between
those two that is not.

Speaker 3 (38:48):
Lunchtime hockey.

Speaker 1 (38:52):
Okay, that is ECAC. When we come back, we will
talk Atlantic hockey and the championship game theirs with us
on the podcast. Welcome back to the podcast, Todd Maleski
and Nicole Hasey with you wrapping up things around the

(39:14):
country this week. We are going conference by conference and
that leaves us with Alanakockey, which is down to one
more game, Championship game Saturday being Penn State against Mercy Hearst.
That being in Happy Valley, two o'clock eastern start. There,
that was Penn State having a pretty easy time with

(39:37):
rit but Merciers having not such an easy time with
Syracuse in the semi finals. Syracuse won game one one
nothing and Merciers had their rally from that to win
games to game two, four nothing, in game three five
to to Theo Johansson with a hat trick in game
three to get Mercy Hearst into the championship game. Penn

(39:57):
State won their series in two games three, two and
four nothing, So a little bit of a uh, you know,
had to hold on there in game one, uh, Testaganicky
with two goals in the first game and an empty
letter in game two for the Atlantic Hockey Player of
the Year, who is the X factor in any game,
She's in correct. I mean, that's just the way it

(40:19):
feels when Penncate. If Testagianiky can get going, that means
trouble for the opponent.

Speaker 2 (40:25):
Absolutely, And I think the sort of point a underneath
that is if the rest of her team gets going
with her. I think part of the dynamic there is
is that she's you know, going to play in the
World Championships and the rest of her there is there's
just an imbalance, and so it does she can't be
the only one that steps up her game, is what

(40:46):
I'm trying to say. So yeah, I mean I do
think that that puts Penn State, you know, more than
a step ahead of anyone else in the conference. I also,
you know, you you mentioned the Syracuse win, but the
third game in that series, like Mercy Hears didn't win
that un till late in the third period, Like that
was a tie game until about ten minutes left in
that game. And so you know, I mean, if we

(41:10):
give the credit to Minnesota for being resilient, I'll give
it to Mercy Hurst here, but also the fact that
they did not have an easy ride through those semifinals
does not go to hell for their chances against Penn State.
Just Penn State has you know what, don't they have, well,
Mercy Hurst to give them their only conference loss. I
wils we will say that, right, But I mean Penn

(41:30):
State has sort of just been an inevitable ball rolling
down the hill here, So it's gonna be a lot
of work for Mercy Hurst to be able to pull
out a win there.

Speaker 1 (41:39):
I think I think we've you know, we've seen Penn
State as a is a you know, a legitimate NCAA
tournament team, not a new Hawk qualifier NCAA tournament team.
And there's seventh, sorry, you're right, sorry, Atlantic Hockey seventh
in the pair wise, you know, having thirty I don't

(42:02):
even know what their record is, but right this is
not a team that can be taken lightly. They were
in the tournament last year, got to you know, got
into overtime with Saint Lawrence and lost one nothing. So
I feel like, you know, we're looking ahead a little

(42:22):
bit here as for the NCAA tournament. But anyone who
takes Penn State lightly is making a mistake and doing
a disservice to everything that Penn State has built over
the last couple of years.

Speaker 2 (42:35):
Yeah, I mean, I think sort of everything that we
saw there in maybe a little rougher shape last year
when you said they were, you know, one one play
away from from advancing the NCAA tournament. It's all just
improved this year. And they've had even more players step up,
and Katie Tisa has had more experience and net and
they yeah, they just they did what they needed to
do this year. They you know, they have been continued

(42:56):
to schedule you know, tougher teams in the non conference.

Speaker 3 (42:58):
They dominated the h A.

Speaker 2 (43:00):
I mean, their one loss game in the last game
of the season. They are second in the country and
win per century. You know, sort of like the conversation
of you know, other teams having tougher schedules and things
like that, but they did what they were supposed to
do with their schedule, which is like sweep through it, right. So, yeah,
they do feel a little inevitable, and I do, like

(43:22):
you said, I think anybody that overlooks them is doing
so at their own peril.

Speaker 1 (43:27):
The that that series you referenced Mercy Heres at Penn
State being the last, the second one regular season regular
season series. I think Penn State won clinched the regular
season and in that first game, if I'm remembering it right. Uh,
but I mean that was an overtime win for Penn
State and then it was a three to two Merciers

(43:49):
win the next day. So, you know, game games with
things on the line there and Mercy Heris was right
in them.

Speaker 3 (43:56):
So I and down the road. Yeah that's fair.

Speaker 1 (44:00):
And having had some success in that building has got
to make them feel like, Okay, well we've done this before,
why can't we do it now. So I don't want
to you know, you know, write Penn Stadium as a
champion in ink or anything like that.

Speaker 3 (44:13):
So no, absolutely not.

Speaker 1 (44:15):
Yeah, it's it's a big hill to climb for Mercieres
to to win you know, you know, one and done
at Penn State's rink. But you know, having had some
success in doing it, I think there's a chance and so.

Speaker 3 (44:30):
And recently, which I think is the crucial part.

Speaker 1 (44:33):
Yeah. So, uh, they've got to be feeling like, you know,
once they get past having to play three games, getting
a little rest, getting kind of mentally refocused. Having just
one game to play this week, that's uh, you know,
a real big opportunity for them.

Speaker 3 (44:49):
Yeah. And I think we've talked in the past.

Speaker 2 (44:50):
I mean Michael Cisti, their coach, has been around for ages.
And I don't mean that in negative play, Like he's
got so much experience. He's someone that has his teams
for paired, that has won in the postseason, you know,
in earlier parts of his career. I just think like
he's one of those coaches that I would never overlook
or ever think that his team wouldn't be prepared in

(45:11):
this scenario. So yeah, I think it's absolutely fair.

Speaker 3 (45:15):
To say that I shouldn't be that quick to do it.

Speaker 2 (45:18):
I think I just what Penn State has done over
the past couple of years is all led to them
being in this position. Right, Like, they started scheduling those
tougher non conference games and they weren't winning them, and
this year they were. At this year, they beat Northeastern,
they beat Yukon, they beat Minnesota, They did sort of
all the things they're supposed to do to be a
team that's taken seriously on a national stage. And like,

(45:42):
arguably they could still like the if Mercy Hurst wins here,
Penn State could still make get an NCAA at large
bed as you mentioned that seven in the pairwise right, it'd.

Speaker 1 (45:52):
Be real thin margin though if they managed just to
you know, because that would do a pretty good hit
on their NPI number. So y, yes, I don't love
to see it worked out, but uh.

Speaker 2 (46:05):
It's not It's not not a zero percent chance, right, Uh,
But yeah, I just I applaud where Penn State has
taken themselves, like everything where they stand right now, and
like what we've done with their with their program over
the past couple of years has like culminating, and what
they're doing this season, and like there's a very clear

(46:26):
path to having got here. And uh, I think a
is a really good blueprint for what teams that are
not maybe in the other three, the other three sort
of upper conferences top conferences by.

Speaker 3 (46:39):
Nca qualifiers. I don't like, I don't want to get.

Speaker 2 (46:41):
The I'm not saying anything about relative about anybody, but
I just I don't know. I just think it's really impressive.
They they set out to do this to improve their
standing to be a nationally competitive and competent team, and
they achieve that, and I think that's pretty cool.

Speaker 1 (46:58):
It helps having national team level play like Testa Janicke,
and you mentioned her being on the US roster, and
let's let's let's dive into that a little bit that
got released on Wednesday, the US roster for the World
Championship in Chechia, April ninth, twentieth. There are on the

(47:18):
twenty five player US roster nine players who are in
college this season, Testagianika. We mentioned Abby Murphy from Minnesota,
Hailey win from Clarkson, Enjoy Dunn from Ohio State, and
then a group of five from Wisconsin Lacey Eden, Leila Edwards,
Kellen Harvey, Ava McNaughton, and Kirsten Simms. Avian McNaughton the
goalie making a her national team debut, senior national team debut.

(47:39):
And I know you had some thoughts on that and
something you wrote on Victory Press about how the I
think you may have mentioned it recently too on our
show about just you know what it means to have
someone come through the U eighteen team and then get
a national team looked, because that hasn't happened a ton lately, right.

Speaker 2 (47:58):
No, I mean I went and counted it up and
there are twenty I think it was twenty women that
have been goalies at the U eighteen level in the
last ten years. I went back to twenty twenty or
twenty fifteen just for our clean ten year cutoff, and
mcdonton will be the only one that will have made
a senior national team roster. So obviously some of those

(48:19):
women played multiple years, but yeah, in ten years of
the eighteen World Championship rosters, not one of those goalies
has gone on to play for the senior national team.
A couple have ended up in some of the camps
and in the development, but like generally, we just are
not developing in the US goalies from the junior team
up into the senior team, and overall only three of
them have. Alex Rinsby played in the very first two

(48:41):
U eighteens and Maddi Rooney was on the twenty thirteen
U eighteen roster. I would argue Alex circulely probably would
have made it no matter what Maddie, I don't know,
one way or the other. I don't, but I just
I think that's somewhat appalling. I think that if the
U eighteens can they have continued to win gold and

(49:02):
play in the title game. So I don't think that
we're picking the wrong teenagers. And I do understand that
picking teenagers does mean like there are gonna be some misses, right,
Like that's across all all sports. But like those most
of these are girls that are a year or two
away from the NCAA, So it's not like we're talking,

(49:22):
you know, a huge gap. But yeah, I think we're
making the right choices for you eighteen rosters as a
general rule, and then those players are not being brought
up and developed and they're not panning out in the
same way. So again I don't expect that every single
one of them would there wouldn't be rosters for all
of them. But I do think what happens is they
make you eighteen roster and then they have been expected

(49:43):
to develop on their own and in the NCAAA, and
then we might call them back, and that there's a
disconnect there. And I have, you know, for many years,
been attempting to write a story about the lack of
development USA hockey overall, and it's a really hard story
to write because nobody will talk about it. But in
the twenty seventeen boycott. Development was a huge part of

(50:05):
what the girls asked for. That like there was just
this huge gap. You know, we have the men's national
team development program, we don't have a lot of that
in girls hockey. Things with COVID did slow some of
that down. I will even, you know, give that, and
I know that money has also been an issue, But
we are now in twenty twenty five and we're still
having this conversation and like, functionally nothing has changed about

(50:26):
development for girls under USA Hockey that existed in twenty
seventeen versus now, And so that to me is just
a thing that we don't talk enough about that there
isn't enough pressure put on about and I think things
like this's where you look at the facts that like
goalies just literally are not going from our U eighteen
team to our national team is a problem. And I

(50:48):
just overall, and I would like to say this isn't
a commentary on anybody that is.

Speaker 3 (50:53):
Or has been goalie on USA Hockey.

Speaker 2 (50:54):
I just think that, like it seems crazy that we've
only had like four women filled that role over the
course of a like a lot of years. Like that
that's the pool, Like we don't have a bigger pool
to pool from is crazy to me, and ultimately like
maybe the people that have won the starting jobs would
have coming out of a bigger pool, But it does
seem a little nuts with the size of you know,

(51:17):
forty four D one women's programs and all this sort
of stuff that like, the same four or five women
have been national team goalies for what are we talking
eight twelve years at this point.

Speaker 1 (51:29):
Yeah, And it's and I know that this kind of
came up in the in a discussion of of you
know what, how you identify those goalies and how you
how you work with them when when you're able to
do that and that in the in the last couple
of years, I know, there's been more of a summer
or an off season focused about bringing together a wider

(51:52):
group of women's hockey goalies in the US.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
Yeah, there was a suburb camp this year that had
a pretty like I would impressed with the list of
who was there.

Speaker 1 (52:01):
I was, Yeah, I think that's a start. That's a
a point of progress of Okay, you can't necessarily fix
this immediately, so take the steps to fix it the
right way, or take the steps to do it the
right way of putting in resources to develop it. Now,
could there be more? Yeah, probably, and maybe there will

(52:22):
be over the longer stretch. But yeah, you're right that
you've gotten into a a position where you're you're trying
to kind of work backwards into having a goaltending cores
that you can count on for the next decade. And

(52:44):
that's it hasn't necessarily gone great, like you, like you've
pointed out here that and like if.

Speaker 2 (52:49):
This is a roster heading into the Olympics, which is
the next like the Olympics is the next big tournament
after this. None of the three of these women have
Olympics experience. Now I'm completely to having a conversation as
to whether that's necessary and whether I would like sacrifice
one of them to put a goalie that did.

Speaker 3 (53:06):
Have an Olympic experience.

Speaker 2 (53:08):
But when you look at what Canada's goaltending court looks like,
it is like a sort of glaring, like they're gonna
you know, we already are going much shownger on Team USA,
and I don't necessarily think that's a problem, But I
also think that goaltending is always a completely different conversation
about experience and comfort and whether you're gonna be rattled
and all that sort of stuff, and so yeah, it's

(53:28):
it's just interesting. And the other thing is like, I'm
I think it's great that mcnatton is here. I think
it goes along with what Team USA has been doing
about bringing in younger players, and like it is not
a coincidence that, like, even though that this is a
young roster, there are only two of these players that
have never been senior team players before. Like that progression,
like what Robleski has done head coach John Robleski has

(53:51):
done since he took over the program and after the
twenty twenty two Olympics, has all been leading to this.

Speaker 3 (53:58):
But like it's not likely.

Speaker 2 (53:59):
McNaught it's gonna get minutes at the World Championship, and
like Frankly's when if Phillips probably won't get much either,
And so there's a thought of like how much does
it matter if they're on the roster and like wanting
them to get experience and things like that too, But
that's getting.

Speaker 3 (54:13):
Really into the nuts and bolts of it.

Speaker 2 (54:15):
I just I am excited from an idea of we
need to be nourishing the talent that we have, and
I like the idea of taking this like a lot
of the question in the talk online was like, should
like Maddie Rooney or Nicole Hensley have been here? Nicole
Hensley has had a very rough season with Minnesota. Frost
has basically been replaced by Maddy Rooney. The reason she

(54:36):
was replaced by Matty Eroney is because she had won
the starting position last year because Maddi Rooney had such
a rough season, and so in terms of consistency, like
McNaughton has been more consistent across her time, and so
I can see why making that choice, particularly for a
third goalie, and again to get our of the experience.
But yeah, I just the goalie thing is, it's been

(54:57):
a one I've been on for a little while. When
I went back and looked at all the UA teen
rosters and you just look at the names and for me,
for someone who's been covering college hockey for as long,
I know that these are players that didn't necessarily like
have great collegiate careers either. So like this was our
top tailent and we just like we just kind of
let it longer.

Speaker 3 (55:16):
And that sucks.

Speaker 1 (55:17):
What do you make of the fact that of the
roster of twenty five, nine are playing in college this
year when you have, you know, people the pick from
in PWHL that could be on this World Championship roster,
but they're going with a pretty sizable amount of college
age players.

Speaker 2 (55:37):
I'm no longer surprised by it, like maybe when it
first happened, but like, this is just very clearly Robolesqui's preference.
He's also just generally pretty plays it pretty close to
the vest, and like why he does what he does,
and when you ask questions about some of that stuff,
he doesn't want to talk about it. He doesn't want
to show his hand, and so you know why they're successful.

(55:58):
They're very good. They you know, we saw when they
went out for that first rivalry series game, like when
they were all in shape, what happened. And so I mean,
this is this is the team that he has a
preference for. I don't I'm not surprised by it anymore.
The thing I think that can be difficult about saying
like one player has decent numbers in the p ub

(56:21):
in sort of like especially if it's like their first season,
there is sort of understanding like how to extrapolate that
and make them like what that means? Is it about
who they're playing against is about who they're playing with,
and so I think a lot of it is just
the chemistry and who sort of responds to his style.
I mean when he does camps and when he does invites,
like and really even rivalry series like that second that

(56:42):
third set of second set of games, where the collegiate
players weren't there, like he brought in a ton of
ped up players, but ultimately those aren't who he chooses,
and I don't think he brought those players with like
thinking like I've already made by roster. I think like
everybody got their shot, and like you either prove that
you fit in the system where you don't. So I
don't know, maybe maybe I should be more surprised, but

(57:04):
at this point, like it's just we already did a
World Championship with a roster that looked a lot like this,
So I'm not I'm not too surprised by it.

Speaker 1 (57:11):
All Right, So the World Championship again is April ninth
or twentieth in Chechia.

Speaker 3 (57:17):
We will not be attempting to pronounce the city.

Speaker 1 (57:19):
I wrote it down and I'm like, nope, it's in check.

Speaker 3 (57:23):
Yeah. Sorry.

Speaker 2 (57:25):
I keep wanting to find someone who will say it
for me once so I can hear it correctly. But yes,
sadly will not be there. I would like to go
to CHECKI in April.

Speaker 3 (57:35):
But no, I think, Yeah, what do you think about
it being younger?

Speaker 1 (57:38):
Is it?

Speaker 2 (57:38):
Like to me, it's it's a not a it's a
non point, a non starter at this point.

Speaker 3 (57:43):
But I don't know.

Speaker 1 (57:44):
I think it's it does continue a trend right of
of you know, let's see, you know, at some point
you're gonna have to to make a change from an
older group to a younger group, and that's going to
happen for Canada at some point, right And I don't
I don't know when that's going to be necessarily, but

(58:05):
uh uh, it's going to happen for them. And I
think it happened for the US in the last two
years and last three years since the Olympics, So it's
it continues that pattern. And I mean, I'm excited for it.
I am interested to see how these these young players do.

(58:26):
I mean, we've had a little bit of a look
at a lot of these players in a world before
and in rivalry series before, so it won't be new
to them. But get into those games against Canada with
a World championship on the line, and uh, that's where
you find out about some players and where I guess

(58:46):
where their trajectory is. You're not going to find out
about that in any other way. So let's see what happens.

Speaker 2 (58:54):
No, And like I said, what I like about it
is that, like you know, even a player like like
k K. Harvey isn't like her third third world. I mean,
the players that are young are all players that have
had time with the national team, and so I like
that was a very deliberate move on his part, so
that when we get to this point, they are young,
but they do have national team experience. They have been
here before. And also then I think, you know, to

(59:15):
give credit where it to do. I think the development
of these specific players has very much been at the
forefront of what USA Hockey isn't doing. And I do think,
you know, it shows in like the growth thick Christen sins,
even in KK and her confidence in herself, what Layla
has been able to do. I think giving Abby Murphy
the permission to be Abby Murphy, Tessa Janikee even like

(59:35):
being actually thinking she's sort of to me, she's sort
of the opposite and like being a little more free
and less buttoned up. And so I think that they're
you know, like I said, I think it's all been
really intentional about like what they've been able to do
in the way that USA Hockey has been able to
have a hand in how these players develop, in what

(59:56):
they can become and what they're going to do together.
And I think also he just preaches a very sort
of specific system of trust and be predictable to each other.
And if you can't do that, if it's not like
a comfortable fit, then it's not going to work. And
so the way that these players work together and maybe
them being younger and not as like set in ways
or more open to being coached, maybe there's something to that.

Speaker 3 (01:00:18):
I mean, I don't know that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:19):
I'm not saying that from any thing that anybody at
USA Hockey has said, but I do think that there's
a approach that he wants to the game, and so
I very much believe that he thinks that these are
the players that can handle that approach.

Speaker 1 (01:00:34):
All right, there are nine games this weekend, as we mentioned,
there are then only ten games left after that, and
so three weekends left of the women's hockey season, so
enjoy it as while it lasts. We've got the NCAA
Selection show coming up Sunday, eleven thirty am Eastern Time.

(01:00:56):
That'll be on ESPNU where the eleven team brand will
come out. We'll have all the information on that on
us Echo dot com as well.

Speaker 2 (01:01:07):
Expect we're going to get Patty Kaz Top ten and
Goalie of the Year Top three within the.

Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
Next week or so Yaz top ten is Thursday, so
that maybe well within a few hours of this episode dropping,
that'll be out the we admitted.

Speaker 2 (01:01:24):
I submitted my top three today, so I'd imagine that
comes out. I was looking for the email see if
he gave us a date, but I don't remember, so
that will also.

Speaker 3 (01:01:31):
Be out soon.

Speaker 1 (01:01:32):
Yeah, and so we'll you know, we'll be tracking all
those things and we'll have a lot more to say
next week after we know who's playing where in the
NCAA tournament then, and it's coming up now. It's it's
gonna be getting exciting pretty soon here.

Speaker 3 (01:01:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:01:49):
I mean, if that last week was anything to go by,
the playoffs, we're off to a RiPP ru and start
in terms of just some chaos and crazy endings and
all that sort of stuf like it was well worth
sitting down to watch all that. So I highly recommend
making some plans to watch as much as you can
on this weekend.

Speaker 1 (01:02:07):
And the Saturday schedule is a little better. It's spread
out a little bit more. The five games starting at
noon Eastern. The last game starts at seven Eastern, so
you've got a little bit of overlap in the middle
there with Atlantic Hockey starting at two, the WCCHA is
starting at three. These are Eastern time and ECAC at

(01:02:29):
three point thirty. Hockey East, like I mentioned before, starts
it at noon in the New Hot Final at seven.
So lots of stuff going on Saturday, lots of stuff
going on Friday with four games during the day as well,
So make sure you pay attention to those, Nicole. I
know we'll have everything wrapped up on ushl dot com
and on Victory Press, and so make sure you check
those out and otherwise enjoy the weekend. Right, this is

(01:02:53):
this is the way it should be, is getting down
to some really good games.

Speaker 3 (01:02:57):
Yeah, absolutely, all right, for Nicole, I'm Todd.

Speaker 1 (01:03:01):
We'll talk to you next week on the podcast.