Game 1: Northeastern at No. 8 Cornell, 4:05 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n
Northeastern Huskies (1-9-4, 1-6-4 Hockey East)<\/b>
\nHead coach: Greg Cronin
\nLeading scorers: So. F Jimmy Russo (5-8–13), Jr. D Steve Birnstill (0-10–10)
\nLeading netminder: Jr. Adam Geragosian (1-7-4, 3.37, .901)<\/p>\n
Cornell Big Red (8-3-1, 5-2-1 ECACHL)<\/b>
\nHead coach: Mike Schafer
\nLeading scorers: Sr. F Matt Moulson (7-10–17), So. F Topher Scott (3-7–10), Jr. D Ryan O’Byrne (4-3–7)
\nLeading netminder: Jr. David McKee (8-3-1, 2.61, .883)<\/p>\n
Game 2: Minnesota-Duluth at No. 9 Maine, 7:35 p.m. ET<\/b><\/p>\n
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (7-10-3, 5-6-3 WCHA)<\/b>
\nHead coach: Scott Sandelin
\nLeading scorers: Fr. F Mason Raymond (8-14–22), So. F Matt McKnight (7-13–20), Tim Stapleton (9-8–17)
\nLeading netminder: Isaac Reichmuth (4-6-3, 3.01, .890)<\/p>\n
Maine Black Bears (11-5-0, 5-4-0 Hockey East)<\/b>
\nHead coach: Tim Whitehead
\nLeading scorers: So. F Billy Ryan (4-12–16), So. F Keenan Hopson (3-12–15), Sr. F Greg Moore (10-4–14)
\nLeading netminders: Fr. Ben Bishop (6-4-0, 2.17, .914), So. Matt Lundin (5-1-0, 0.96, .957)<\/p>\n
Tournament outlook:<\/b> Maine and Cornell are the two powerhouses in this young but well-received tournament — formerly the Everblades Classic — which is the first of the post-Christmas tourneys. The Black Bears and the Big Red should be heavily favored against their first-round opponents: Minnesota-Duluth and Northeastern, respectively. Northeastern, in particular, enters the tournament with nothing to lose and everything to gain for Greg Cronin, whose return to the Hockey East head-coaching ranks has seen just one win as of the holiday break. Matters have been a bit better for UMD, though the Bulldogs reached the season’s halfway point with a sub-.500 record overall and in the WCHA despite the offensive contributions of freshman forward Mason Raymond.<\/p>\n
The story of Maine’s first half, meanwhile, has been the timely arrival of netminders Matt Lundin and Ben Bishop. That sophomore-freshman pair has ably replaced Jimmy Howard, who left early after last season to sign with the Detroit Red Wings. Howard, surprisingly, has scarcely been missed as the Black Bears have rolled to an 11-win first half, helped out by the offensive coming-of-age of sophomores Keenan Hopson and Billy Ryan on offense. Cornell, for its part, has upheld high expectations starting the season despite a statistical comedown for Hobey Baker Hat Trick goaltender David McKee, who has compiled a sub-.900 save percentage during the first half.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Florida College Classic Estero, Fla., Tuesday-Wednesday, Dec. 27-28, 2005 Game 1: Northeastern at No. 8 Cornell, 4:05 p.m. ET Northeastern Huskies (1-9-4, 1-6-4 Hockey East) Head coach: Greg Cronin Leading scorers: So. F Jimmy Russo (5-8–13), Jr. D Steve Birnstill (0-10–10) Leading netminder: Jr. Adam Geragosian (1-7-4, 3.37, .901) Cornell Big Red (8-3-1, 5-2-1 ECACHL) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n