Vic’s picks
Victor Fernandes unveils his predictions for the NCAA Division I tournament:

East Regional
at Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, R.I.
Semifinals – Saturday
No. 4 Canisius def. No. 1 Quinnipiac
No. 2 Boston College def. No. 3 Union
Championship game – Sunday
No. 2 Boston College def. No. 4 Canisius

Northeast Regional
at Verizon Wireless Arena – Manchester, N.H.
Semifinals – Friday
No. 4 Wisconsin def. No. 1 UMass-Lowell
No. 3 Denver def. No. 2 New Hampshire
Championship game – Saturday
No. 4 Wisconsin def. No. 3 Denver

Midwest Regional
at Huntington Center – Toledo, Ohio
Semifinals – Saturday
No. 4 St. Cloud State def. No. 1 Notre Dame
No. 2 Miami, Ohio def. No. 3 Minnesota State-Mankato
Championship game – Sunday
No. 4 St. Cloud State def. No. 2 Miami, Ohio

West Regional
at Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, Mich.
Semifinals – Friday
No. 1 Minnesota def. No. 4 Yale
No. 2 North Dakota def. No. 3 Niagara
Championship game – Saturday
No. 1 Minnesota def. No. 2 North Dakota

Men’s Frozen Four
at CONSOL Energy Center – Pittsburgh
Semifinals – April 11
No. 2 Boston College def. No. 4 St. Cloud State
No. 1 Minnesota def. No. 4 Wisconsin
Championship game – April 13
No. 2 Boston College def. No. 1 Minnesota

NCAA Division I Tournament schedule
East Regional
at Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, R.I.
Semifinals – Saturday
No. 1 Quinnipiac (27-7-5) vs. No. 4 Canisius (19-18-5), 5:30 p.m. ESPN3
No. 2 Boston College (22-11-4) vs. No. 3 Union (21-12-5), 9 p.m. ESPNU
Championship game – Sunday
Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m. ESPNU

Northeast Regional
at Verizon Wireless Arena – Manchester, N.H.
Semifinals – Friday
No. 1 UMass-Lowell (26-10-2) vs. No. 4 Wisconsin (22-12-7), 4:30 p.m. ESPN3
No. 2 New Hampshire (19-11-7) vs. No. 3 Denver (20-13-5), 8 p.m. ESPNU
Championship game – Saturday
Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m. ESPNU

Midwest Regional
at Huntington Center – Toledo, Ohio
Semifinals – Saturday
No. 1 Notre Dame (25-12-3) vs. No. 4 St. Cloud State (23-15-1), 1:30 p.m. ESPN3
No. 2 Miami, Ohio (24-11-5) vs. Minnesota State-Mankato (24-13-3), 5 p.m. ESPN3
Championship game – Sunday
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m. ESPNU

West Regional
at Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, Mich.
Semifinals – Friday
No. 1 Minnesota (26-8-5) vs. No. 4 Yale (18-12-3), 2 p.m. ESPNU
No. 2 North Dakota (21-12-7) vs. No. 3 Niagara (23-9-5), 5:30 p.m. ESPNU
Championship game – Saturday
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m. ESPNU

Men’s Frozen Four
at CONSOL Energy Center – Pittsburgh
Semifinals – April 11
East Regional champion vs. Midwest Regional champion, 4:30 p.m. ESPN2
Northeast Regional champion vs. West Regional champion, 8 p.m. ESPN2
Championship game – April 13
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. ESPN

No. 6 Mercyhurst (18-16-5) vs. No. 4 Connecticut (19-13-4)
When: Friday, 7:05 p.m.
Where: Blue Cross Arena – Rochester, N.Y.
On the air: www.americaonesports.com (live stream), WMCE-FM/88.5 & wmce.mercyhurst.edu (radio), www.atlantichockeyonline.com (live scores)
Up next: Championship game (Saturday, 7:05 p.m. at Blue Cross Arena)*
What to expect: Mercyhurst has reached the Atlantic Hockey Association semifinals for the second straight season. The Lakers lost to eventual champion Air Force 5-2 in this round a season ago. … The Lakers rebounded from an eight-game winless streak with a sweep of 11th-seeded Army at Mercyhurst Ice Center two weeks ago and a series win at No. 3 Holy Cross last weekend. … Mercyhurst hasn’t reached the title game since consecutive trips in 2008 and 2009 (lost to Air Force both times). … The Lakers haven’t won an AHA championship since beating Quinnipiac 3-2 in the 2005 title game. They also beat Quinnipiac 6-5 to capture the 2001 title, when the league was known as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. … Mercyhurst and UConn split their two-game, regular-season series in Storrs, Conn., with the Lakers losing 5-4 Jan. 18 and winning 5-0 the following night. … The Lakers lead the all-time series 32-13-3. Yet they have lost three straight and four of six games against the Huskies in the postseason, including a UConn sweep in the 2011 AHA quarterfinals. … With top-seeded and 15th-ranked Niagara (23-8-5) facing seventh-seeded Canisius (17-18-5) in the other semifinal, the conference will have a champion from a school other than Air Force and Rochester Institute of Technology for the first time since Holy Cross in 2006. Air Force, which lost to Canisius in the quarterfinals, had won five of the last six titles (2007-09, 2011-12). RIT, which lost to Niagara in the quarterfinals, won in 2010 on the way to the first NCAA Division I Frozen Four appearance for the Tigers and the AHA. … Senior F Grant Blakey has five goals and seven points in the Lakers’ five playoff games. … UConn senior G Matt Grogan has a 14-3-3 record, 1.88 goals-against average and .939 save percentage since taking over as starter midway through the season. He was the Huskies’ only player to earn all-conference honors (third team). Mercyhurst features three all-stars – junior D Nick Jones (first team), sophomore F Ryan Misiak (second) and sophomore F Matthew Zay (third). … Niagara has never reached the title game. Canisius hasn’t reached the final since 1999 (lost 4-3 to Holy Cross). … Niagara junior G Carson Chubak leads the nation with six shutouts and ranks among the top five in winning percentage (.773), goals-against average (1.81) and save percentage (.941). He’s one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which honors the nation’s top men’s hockey player. … Freshman F Ralph Cuddemi, a former Erie Otters draft pick, has two goals and seven points in 34 games for Canisius.
* If the Lakers win tonight

- Victor Fernandes

Atlantic Hockey Association final four schedule
at Blue Cross Arena – Rochester, N.Y.
Semifinals – Friday
No. 1 Niagara (23-8-5) vs. No. 7 Canisius (17-18-5), 4:05 p.m.
No. 4 Connecticut (19-13-4) vs. No. 6 Mercyhurst (18-16-5), 7:05 p.m.
Championship game – Saturday
Semifinal winners, 7:05 p.m.
Note: Champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament.

The Mercyhurst University women’s hockey team gained one spot in the latest USCHO.com Division I poll, which was released Monday. The Lakers (2-0-0), which swept a season-opening series with College Hockey America newcomer Rochester Institute of Technology this past weekend, passed Northeastern (0-0-0) for the ninth spot with 34 voting points.
Defending national champion Minnesota (2-0-0) retained the No. 1 spot after sweeping Colgate by a combined 18-0 score this past weekend. Cornell (0-0-0) and Boston College (0-0-0) moved up one spot to second and third, respectively, despite not playing any games. Wisconsin fell to fourth from second after a win and tie against unranked Minnesota State-Mankato. North Dakota (0-0-0), Boston University (0-0-0), St. Lawrence (0-0-0) and Minnesota Duluth (0-0-0) rounded out the top 10.
Quinnipiac (0-0-0), which hosts Mercyhurst Friday and Saturday, made the honorable mention list with two points.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Mercyhurst University women’s hockey team didn’t start fast this time around.
The 10th-ranked Lakers didn’t score in the first period after scoring twice in the opening 18 seconds in Friday’s season opener.
But the Lakers responded strong in the final two periods of a 7-0 College Hockey America win against Rochester Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon in front of 630 at James Ritter Memorial Ice Arena. Mercyhurst (2-0-0, 2-0-0 CHA) swept the season-opening series from the Tigers (0-2-0, 0-2-0), which are in their first season as a NCAA Division I program.
Freshman Emily Janiga provided the offensive spark with the first three goals and four points of her collegiate career. She snapped a scoreless tie 8 minutes, 15 seconds into the second period, and scored again 5 minutes later. She also assisted on Shelby Bram‘s goal that opened a 3-0 lead with 1:13 left in the period.
Janiga capped her first career hat trick 6:31 into the third. Christine Bestland scored twice in the period – her second and third goals of the season – and added two assists for a four-point outing. Kelsey Welch, one of three transfers from Niagara, scored her first goal as a Laker. Fellow transfers Jenna Hendrikx and Kaleigh Chippy had an assist apiece. Molly Byrne and Vaila Higson each had two assists for the Lakers, which went 3-for-9 on the power play after failing on all eight chances Friday.
Senior goaltender Stephanie Ciampa stopped all 17 shots she faced for her first career shutout in her sixth career start. The Lakers head to Hamden, Conn., next weekend for a two-game non-conference series at Quinnipiac.

Hillary Pattenden had a perfect start to her season Friday night.

Mercyhurst College’s senior goaltender stopped 20 shots on the way to her 10^th career shutout in the Lakers’ season-opening 4-0 win against Quinnipiac at Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Bailey Bram’s short-handed goal 9 minutes, 44 seconds into the game was the only offensive support Pattenden needed in the battle of nationally ranked teams.

Kelley Steadman and Christine Bestland had a goal and assist apiece for the eighth-ranked Lakers (1-0-0). Lauren Jones added a goal while freshman Caroline Luczak and Wayne State transfer Gina Buquet recorded their first points with the Lakers.

Victoria Vigilanti made 30 saves for the No. 9 Bobcats (0-1-0). The teams meet today at 4 p.m. at MIC.

The Mercyhurst College women’s hockey team has been picked to capture a 10^th straight College Hockey America championship in the coaches poll, which was released Wednesday.

The Lakers received three of four first-place votes and nine total points. Niagara had the other first-place vote to tie Syracuse for second. Robert Morris was picked to finish last in the four-team league. The eighth-ranked Lakers open the season Friday against No. 9 Quinnipiac at 7 p.m. at Mercyhurst Ice Center.

HAVERHILL, Mass. - The College Hockey America coaches have voted who they believe will take the regular0season crown for the 2010-11 season.  Last year’s tournament champion and NCAA Frozen Four Semifinalist, Mercyhurst, which collected 16 points and four first-place votes, is this season’s top choice, as selected by the coaches.

The Lakers prevailed over Syracuse in the CHA Tournament, 3-1, to garner their tenth straight conference crown. Mercyhurst defeated Boston University in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Division I Tournament, before falling to Cornell in the national semifinals, 3- 2 in overtime, in Minneapolis, Minn.

Syracuse, last year’s tournament runner-up has been chosen second by the coaches.  The Orange earned the last first-place vote and totaled 13 points.  Following Syracuse is Niagara, which collected 10 points, followed by Robert Morris (7 points) and Wayne State (4 points).

Exhibition contests kick off the start of the CHA season on Saturday as Wilfrid Laurier travels to Erie to face Mercyhurst at 2 p.m, while Wayne State makes the trek to Toronto to face York at 7 p.m.  The regular season will start the following weekend with all five institutions in action in non-conference matches.  Mercyhurst will host St. Cloud State, while Niagara will take on Quinnipiac.

Robert Morris faces Providence, as Wayne State will drop the puck against Bemidji State.  All four of those series will be a two-game series.  Syracuse will play a single game on Oct. 1, as the Orange will host Northeastern.

The 2011 Tournament will take place in Syracuse, N.Y. at Tennity Rink with the first round taking place on March 4.  The semifinals will be the next night on March 5, with the championship game o March 6.

- From CHA news release

2010-11 College Hockey America Preseason Coach’s Poll

(First Place votes)

1.                        Mercyhurst (4)                        16

2.                        Syracuse (1)                        13

3.                        Niagara                        10

4.                        Robert Morris                        7

5.                        Wayne State                        4