The NCAA Tournament Games You Should be Watching This Weekend
by Dominik on Mar 17, 2011 4:37 PM EDT
in Islanders in Diapers
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It occurred to me today, in the technology and sporting cave I live in, that several of you are already drunk, and several of that several of you are in a bar watching a college sport that is quite foreign to me. (I'm not in an NCAA pool, the smell of spring training grass no longer tickles my fancy, and I can't even remember who won the last Super Bowl, much less the four prior. Going all in and hockey involves choices.)
So lest you get too distracted by a game with strategic fouls and an endless supply of timeouts, let me humbly remind you, dear Islanders fan, that there is some other NCAA action going on this weekend, beginning now: Conference ice hockey tournaments.
The Islanders have quite a few dogs in the fight.
From the College Hockey Inc., where they've helpfully listed every NHL prospect in action this weekend, here are the Islanders involved:
Matt Donovan (Denver) TV Friday, 3 p.m.
Jason Gregoire (North Dakota) TV Friday, 8 p.m.
Brock Nelson (North Dakota) TV Friday, 8 p.m.
Brian Day (Colgate)
Blake Kessel (New Hampshire)
Anders Lee (Notre Dame) Friday, 4:30 p.m. [speaking of which, great Point Blank interview with his coach, Jeff Jackson]The Islanders will have top-notch talent on display this weekend in four different conferences. Blake Kessel, brother of Phil, is one of the best defensemen at New Hampshire and should play a key role for the Wildcats as they compete in the Hockey East.
In the WCHA, the Islanders have teammates Jason Gregoire and Brock Nelson (North Dakota) as well as Matt Donovan (Denver). Gregoire has had an outstanding junior year for the Sioux, scoring 24 goals and adding 17 assists. Nelson has also had an impressive freshman campaign, centering the third line and posting scoring totals of 7-12-19 while Donovan leads all Denver defensemen in scoring with 28 points.
Colgate senior Brian Day will do battle in the ECAC Tournament in Atlantic City and is another Isles prospect that has had a successful campaign, scoring 10 goals and assisting on 14 others.
Last but definitely not least, who could forget freshman Anders Lee of Notre Dame in the CCHA, who has had a breakout freshman season for the Irish, scoring 41 points.
I thought about sussing out which channels you can catch each game, but it's complicated depending on your system. So check the TV schedule provided here. If you don't watch college hockey much, you may have channels on your cable/satellite provider you never realized. Some of the channels that show Greatest Badminton Championships also will surprise you with a hockey game. (Better yet, even if it's a replay, you may not know it.)
So keep that in mind this weekend. It might be something to do while you're waiting for someone set up another free throw. Perhaps a diversion during the next timeout.
Not Only but Also
Several recent FanPosts and FanShots, so check the right margin of the homepage for discussions there, including observations on the season and a look at the top four defensemen available in the 2011 draft.
And speaking of NCAA, former members of, Aaron Ness has landed in Bridgeport. If you missed it earlier, we had a lively discussion on that decision in this thread.
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For those looking for the games
Many of the teams have Free Streaming of the games on their official site. Notre Dame at the very least did last weekend. It’s worth checking out the team’s schedule page to see.
"Wonder where Botta will go from here?" "to work for the Ministry of Truth?" ~ Original Rob
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
D-III Hockey
I tend to keep a keen interest in the NCAA Division III men’s ice hockey Frozen Four, which features my alma mater Oswego State once again. However, this is the bye week for the teams heading into the D-III championship weekend.
are there any
Prospects at the D III level? someone that was drafted?
"Wonder where Botta will go from here?" "to work for the Ministry of Truth?" ~ Original Rob
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Now I'm curious
Any current NHL players or AHL players come from DIII?
"Wonder where Botta will go from here?" "to work for the Ministry of Truth?" ~ Original Rob
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Eric Selleck is one
He played at Oswego for 2 seasons and now plays for the Rochester Amerks as Florida Panthers property.
Guy Hebert was probably the best known hockey player to come out of the D-III ranks.
Selleck
Just killed Joe Colburne (Leafs via Bruins in Kaberle trade) last week with a vicious dirty hit. Is he much of a “prospect” or more of a guy who might make it bc of agitation skills?
"Gervais...he looks danger in the fist with his face!" JPinVA
Website: Lighthousehockey.com Twitter: @KeithLHHockey
by Keith Quinn on Mar 18, 2011 10:54 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
TJ Tynan
I know the Isles will sometimes draft teammates of some of their prospects. I’ve watched a game or two and been impressed. He’s another small guy, but is 2 years younger than Lee (a true freshman if you will) and leads the Irish in points.
Will he be there in the 2nd or 3rd rounds? Or even later than that? All I ever see about the draft right now is who’s at the top. I just found out about Zibanejad.
"It don't make you a bad person" - Ron Bennington
I actually mentioned in the prospect report week before last that I wouldn’t be surprised if the Isles drafted him. He’s unranked according to the CSB as far as I can tell
"Wonder where Botta will go from here?" "to work for the Ministry of Truth?" ~ Original Rob
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
He’s been rising for months now in a number of scouting rankings…I think Mika Z will crack the top 10. I think he is the best all around right centre, and for the better part of the year, Strome has been ranked in the bottom half of top 10…both are right centres, but if they are compared, I like Mika better. Plus, guys like Saad project as physical thirdliners…Mika projects higher.
by CanadianIsleslifer on Mar 18, 2011 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Mika Z
Based on what I saw this guy doing as a 17 year old I wouldn’t complain if the Isles moved back a spot or three and took him.
Just YouTube ‘Zibanejad’ and get your Swedish translator ready.
"It don't make you a bad person" - Ron Bennington
thanks, I hate the basketball tourney
although I have bet on a bracket a time or 2, I never really had a chance because I am not a basketball fan at all, and this time of year sucks because 99% of sports news is about the tourney.
Idon’t get all these channels but looks like I can DVR the NH game tonight, will be watching the Isles.
Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all
Man, that "NCAA" post title totally threw me off for second...
I took a quick look at the title of this post and was like, don’t even tell me the one place I can go to escape the nonsense that is ‘March Madness’ is doing a piece on college hoops, too! Dominik what have you done to me!!
Thank god I read on and your post was about college hockey and Isles prospects… that was close one, yes?
by SchneiderDiricov on Mar 18, 2011 8:29 AM EDT reply actions
Haha, I feel your lament
Met up with friends at a bar last night (one reason I’m a bit behind on things today) and realized that only three of the 30 screens had hockey on.
Oh, and not to be pissy to all you basketball fans around here; it just “didn’t take” with me so I finally stopped trying.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
Hockey rules
but how can you not like the bball tournament? I don’t watch at all during the year but I kind of treat it like golf. I’ll watch the majors all day, b/c that’s the only thing that counts. The underdogs taking out the higher seeds, the matchups, the pride, the intensity. I love it. But then again I’ll pretty much watch any sport at any time.
The low point of my life must have been watching the Big Ten field hockey semifinals btwn Penn State and Michigan. I’ll have to admit though I spent most of the time trying to figure out how hot the girls were (and some were surprisingly ‘talented’).
"It don't make you a bad person" - Ron Bennington
I used to be able to get into that side of it (underdogs and such)
Ultimately the risk of hearing Dick Vitale and the constant timeout/intentional foul equation at the end of games just stole the thunder for me. I confess the NCAA as a body in basketball and football turns me off. (I realize these are highly subjective tastes/reasons.)
Also: Probably the advent of DVR. Suddenly when I can record hockey and soccer games all week (my two favorite sports by far) and catch up on those rather than watch whatever’s on, that choice is more appealing to me.
Lighthouse Hockey: Send us your cold, your poor, your healthy goalies.
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
