Saturday, March 22, 2008

3/22 Recap: Gerbe, Butler tabbed for All-Tourney teams

Nathan Gerbe scored an empty net goal and dodged a check to set-up the eventual game winner as Boston College shut down Vermont 4-0 to win the Hockey East tournament title. Now the national leader in points (Kevin Porter of Michigan went 0-0-0), Gerbe's four goals and five assists in four games earned him Tournament MVP honors. Also contributing was C Andrew Orpik, whose pretty pass resulted in a first period power-play goal for BC. The Eagles figure to be a #2 seed in Worcester when the brackets are rolled out tomorrow morning. Chris Butler played another strong game as Denver earned the WCHA tourney title and Broadmoor Cup with a 2-1 win over Minnesota. In a very competitive tournament, Butler was recognized for his excellent play with placement on the All-Tournament Team. The Pioneers enter the NCAA tourney on a strong note, and will be a #2 seed in possibly Albany when play begins next week. In the ECAC Tournament championship game, D Alex Biega had an assist as Harvard fell to Princeton, 4-1. With the Crimson trailing 2-1 in the third, Biega took an interference penalty that enabled a Tigers goal on the ensuing power play. It would appear that Harvard's season is over, as an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament is unlikely for the Crimson. The sophomore played 34 games this season, scoring three goals and 19 assists to wind up as the team's fourth-leading scorer. In the QMJHL playoffs, Paul Byron had an assist as Gatineau trounced Shawinigan, 9-3. Les Olympiques now lead the first-round series 2-0. T.J. Brennan (-2) had an assist as St. John's lost to Acadie-Bathurst, 5-4. The Foggies now trail the Titan 2-0 in the series. J.S. Allard went pointless for St. John's in the loss. Benjamin Breault and the rest of his Drakkar teammates were shut down as Baie-Comeau dropped the first game of their match-up with Rimouski, 3-0. In the AHL, Marc-Andre Gragnani had a goal and an assist, and Dylan Hunter added his 18th of the season as the Amerks lost to the B-Sens, 7-4. Clarke MacArthur and Mark Mancari also added assists for Rochester. In the loss, Gragnani and Hunter extend their point streaks to four games each, while MacArthur has now registered a point in three straight. Once the Amerks leading scorer, Marek Zagrapan has now gone 14 games without a goal. The Rundown: Gragnani - goal, assist, +1 Hunter - goal, 5 SOG, +1 MacArthur - assist, +1 Mancari - assist, +2 Zagrapan - 2 SOG Drew MacKenzie did not dress in Waterloo's 3-2 overtime win over Ohio. After last night's game misconduct, his third of the season and second for grabbing a facemask, it's possible that his absence is due to a mandatory league suspension.