I know that it is traditional to spy on coaches’ requests to Santa Claus at this point of the year, but recent events suggest that a few programs would not be too receptive to me pilfering correspondence that originated within the athletic department, so during the extra time between wrapping and opening packages I stuck to information that is already in the public domain.
Twitter has become a popular venue for some coaches — along with millions of other people. To find coaches’ tweets to Santa, I’d have to wade through thousands begging for an elusive Zoomer the Robotic Dog in order to find one request for a sniper that can make goal lights glow like Rudolph’s nose. Even Jimmy Fallon needs facial expression and involvement from The Roots to make such messages entertaining. #Notinthemood.
So I’m just going to turn to more trivial matters, like hockey trivia. Perhaps in the future, we’ll attempt to cover more ground, but for today, we’ll confine our domain to questions relating to the NCAA National Collegiate Tournament.
1. How many different programs have competed in at least one NCAA Tournament?
2. What conference has had the most members reach at least one NCAA Tournament, and how many of its members have done so?
3. If everything goes according to schedule, how many different cities will have played host to an NCAA Frozen Four by the time the 2018 tournament is complete?
4. The winning goaltenders in the 13 NCAA Championship games played to date originated from how many unique countries?
5. Name at least five players that have reached the NCAA Tournament with multiple programs.
6. Who scored the winning goal in the longest game in NCAA Tournament history?
7. What is the largest deficit overcome by the winning team in an NCAA Tournament game?
8. Which player scored game-winning goals in the NCAA Championship game in back-to-back seasons?
9. What team has appeared in the most consecutive NCAA tournaments?
10. What program has competed in the greatest number of Frozen Fours?
11. Which program has triumphed in overtime more than any other in NCAA Tournament play?
12. On the other side of the coin, which squad has had its season end in OT in the NCAA Tournament the most times?
13. Most likely everyone knows that Minnesota-Duluth has won the most NCAA Tournament titles, but do the Bulldogs also hold the mark for most games won in NCAA Tournament history?
14. What is the record for the most goals scored by a player in a single NCAA Tournament game?
15. How many programs have reached the tourney under multiple head coaches?
16. Who holds the record for the quickest goal to start an NCAA Tournament game?
17. Name at least five sister acts to reach the NCAA Tournament on the same roster. Also, identify a pair of sisters that opposed each other in NCAA Tournament play.
18. Identify the person who has experienced the women’s NCAA Tournament as both a player and a head coach.
19. What goalie holds the record for most saves in a championship game?
20. Who is the only person named Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player for a team that did not win the championship?
No peeking
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I’m serious now!
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OK, here are the answers.
1. The answer is 17. They are, according to the year of their first participation, Dartmouth (2001), Harvard (2001), Minnesota-Duluth (2001), St. Lawrence (2001), Brown (2002), Minnesota (2002), Niagara (2002), Wisconsin (2005), Mercyhurst (2005), Providence (2005), New Hampshire (2006), Princeton (2006), Boston College (2007), Boston University (2010), Clarkson (2010), Cornell (2010), and North Dakota (2012).
2. ECAC Hockey has had seven of its 12 members advance to the NCAA tourney.
3. Nine different cities will have hosted the Frozen Four by the time play has wrapped up in 2018. They are: Minneapolis, Minn.; Durham, N.H.; Duluth, Minn.; Providence, R.I.; Lake Placid, N.Y.; Boston, Mass.; Erie, Pa.; Hamden, Conn.; and St. Charles, Mo.
4. Winning goalies have hailed from five different countries: Finland, Switzerland, the United States, Sweden, and Germany. U.S. born goaltenders have backstopped six titles, and Finnish netminders have earned three.
5. Some examples of whom I am aware are: Rachael Drazan (Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota); Johanna Ellison (Boston College and Minnesota-Duluth); Brittony Chartier (Minnesota and St. Lawrence); Anna McDonald (Boston College and Harvard); Jen Wakefield (New Hampshire and Boston University); Geena Prough (Mercyhurst and Wisconsin); Jocelyne Lamoureux (Minnesota and North Dakota); and Monique Lamoureux (Minnesota and North Dakota).
6. Jinelle Zaugg broke a scoreless tie at 7:09 of the fourth overtime to lift Wisconsin over Harvard on March 10, 2007.
7. In a quarterfinal on March 10, 2012, Cornell yielded the first three goals to Boston University before rallying to win a crazy game, 8-7, on Laurianne Rougeau’s game winner at 19:50 of the third OT.
8. Natalie Darwitz of Minnesota scored the deciding goals in victories over Harvard in both 2004 and 2005.
9. Mercyhurst first reached the tournament in 2005, and the Lakers have been back every season since for a still-active streak of nine straight NCAA tourneys.
10. Minnesota has reached the national semifinal round on nine occasions.
11. UMD has won in OT four times.
12. Overtime has been cruel to Mercyhurst in four different years; the Lakers finally enjoyed their first win beyond regulation in March.
13. No. Having won 16 games, Wisconsin edges out both UMD and Minnesota at 15 for that distinction.
14. Four. Nicole Corriero of Harvard accomplished the feat versus Mercyhurst on March 19, 2005. Minnesota’s Bobbi Ross matched it against New Hampshire the next season.
15. The answer is four or five, depending on how one views it. Dartmouth, Minnesota, St. Lawrence, and Boston College have advanced under different regimes, while Clarkson had co-head coaches Shannon and Matt Desrosiers.
16. Jenelle Kohanchuk of BU scored 13 seconds into the Terriers’ win over Mercyhurst on March 22.
17. Those that I remember are: Winny and Chelsey Brodt of Minnesota (2003); Stefanie and Julia Marty of New Hampshire (2008); Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux of Minnesota (2009) and North Dakota (2012, 2013); Katherine and Margaret Chute of Harvard (2010); Karlee and Amber Overguard of Cornell (2010, 2011); Brooke and Brittany Ammerman of Wisconsin (2011, 2012); Alev and Derya Kelter of Wisconsin (2011); Bailey and Shelby Bram of Mercyhurst (2012); Elizabeth and Mary Parker of Harvard (2013). Tracy Catlin of Harvard and Dartmouth’s Amy Catlin opposed each other in the third-place game in 2001.
18. Clarkson coach Shannon Desrosiers played for St. Lawrence in the inaugural tournament in 2001. Others like Julie Chu, Caroline Ouellette, Laura Slominski, and Natalie Darwitz have been behind the bench as assistants in addition to playing in the event.
19. Amanda Mazzotta of Cornell made 61 stops in a losing effort in a triple-overtime game versus UMD in 2010. Jennifer Harss saved 49 shots in earning the win in that championship.
20. Senior forward Kristy Zamora of Brown in 2002.
