Preview of the ECAC Men's East Championship Weekend
Cape Cod, Mass. - The Semifinals of the ECAC Men's East Hockey League are set to begin this Saturday, March 8, with the Championship to be decided on Sunday, March 9. In the opening Quarterfinal round UMass Boston and Salem State College both pulled off upsets. Seventh seeded UMass Boston defeated Babson 4-1, and sixth seeded Salem State doubled up Castleton State 6-3 to propel them into the Semifinals. Norwich University and New England College both won their first round games and join the Beacons and Vikings in the Semifinals. Championship weekend will be hosted by Norwich University. All games will take place at the Kreitzberg Arena and will feature a live webcast presented by Hub City Hockey exclusively on FASTHockey.com
In the first Semifinal game top seeded Norwich University will host UMass Boston on Saturday March 8 at 3:00 p.m. The two teams met on Saturday, January 19 for their only meeting of the season. The Cadets went into UMass Boston and defeated the Beacons 3-2 in overtime. Sophomore Goalie Ryan Donovan (Rexford, New York/Hartford Wolfpack, AJHL) stopped 42 Cadet shots in the losing effort. Norwich got a goal apiece from their two top offensive weapons Nikita Kashirsky (Moscow, Russia/Walpole Stars, EJHL) and Rick Cleaver (Vancouver Island, British Columbia/Salmon Arm Silverbacks). In last year's Men's East Playoffs Norwich beat UMass Boston 8-2 in first round action.
Freshman forward Chad Anderson (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia/Weyburn) leads the Men's East in Playoff scoring with three goals. The Rookie notched the hat-trick in the Cadets 8-0 win over Skidmore. Rick Cleaver was the top offensive threat all season for the Cadets scoring 24 goals and adding 27 assists for 44 points. In the first round win Cleaver scored a goal to go along with two helpers. Sophomore goalie David Thompson (Wainwright, Alberta/Camrose Kodiaks, AJHL), who played 50:31 of a shutout in the first round, will look to continue his success between the pipes. Thompson recorded 12 wins in net during the regular season, posting a 2.13 goals against average. In their first round win UMass Boston received goals from four separate players, including Freshman standout Eric Tufman (Abington, Pennsylvania/Philadelphia LittleFlyers, AJHL) who tallied 36 regular season points (28-18-36). Ryan Donovan was solid in net during the Beacon's first round win giving up one goal and recording a .971 percent.
The second Semifinal, to be played at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, will feature Salem State and fourth seeded New England College. The Vikings and Pilgrims squared off on the last weekend of the season with New England College coming away with a 5-2 victory. The Pilgrims were aided by three third period goals that launched them to the win, including one by Mark Ehl (North Vancouver, British Columbia/Powell River Kings) who finished with a goal and two assist. Ron Baia (West Haven, Connecticut/Winchendon School) picked up the win in net stopping 36 Viking shots. In last year's Men's East Quarterfinals New England beat Salem State 4-3.
New England College senior forward Brian Pouliot (Hooksett, New Hampshire/UNH) tallied two goals and an assist in the Pilgrims first round win over Southern Maine. In their first round upset Salem State received two goal and one assist efforts from both sophomore Aaron Blades (Chino, California/Cushing Academy) and Freshman Mike Genovese (Hingham, Massachusetts/Walpole Stars). The goaltending battle will feature Pilgrim goalie Ron Baia and his .914 regular season save percentage, and 12-4-3 regular season record. Commanding the crease for the Vikings is junior Ryan Hatch (Medway, Massachusetts/Santa Fe Roadrunners) who has compiled a 14-10-record.
The winner of the two Semifinals will meet to decide the ECAC Men's East Championship on Sunday, March 9 at 3:00 p.m. All three games this weekend will be presented by Hub City Hockey and web cast exclusively on FASTHockey.com
On Thursday, March 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET FASTHockey.com will present the 2008 ECAC Division III Ice Hockey Leagues All-Conference Awards Web Show. Individuals will be able to log onto FASTHockey.com on Thursday, March 6 and complete a free registration to watch the show. Once logged in, users can click on "ICE TV" to see the broadcast.
