By Nate Ewell

Note of the Week

Offensive discovery at BC – Quinn Smith came to BC from a family familiar with NCAA success. His parents, both Duke fans (his father went to law school there), named Quinn after Blue Devil basketball legend Quinn Snyder and his brother, Grant, after Grant Hill. From Duke basketball – and all-time NCAA wins leader Mike Krzyzewski – to BC hockey and Jerry York, Smith knows the importance of games in March, and his game is peaking as the calendar turns. An energy forward, Smith had a spot in the lineup from the start of the season, but didn’t record a point through Jan. 18. Since then he has 6 goals and 9 points in 10 games, including a two-goal outing in the Beanpot and the overtime winner Sunday at Merrimack. The Eagles face Providence this weekend in a home-and-home that features two of the four teams tied atop the Hockey East standings.
Saturday’s game is on NESN

Must Read/See/Hear Material

Lee’s success deserved – Albany Times-Union
LeBlanc’s all about teaching, growth – St. Cloud Times
LeBlanc’s comeback lifts St. Cloud State – N.Y. Times
Niagara: A small school, winning big – CBC.ca
‘Cory Conacher went there’ – SportingNews.com
Grand Rapids native part of UAH’s rescue – Duluth News-Tribune
Finnish Pioneer (.mp3) – The Pipeline Show
Derek Schooley on Hockey This Morning (.mp3) – NHL Network Radio

College Hockey, Inc.’s NHL Infographic

Five More Notes No One Should Be Without

Lots of logjams – The aforementioned four-way tie atop Hockey East isn’t the only logjam in the standings as Division I teams enter the final week or two of their regular seasons. In fact Hockey East, with two weeks remaining, has six of 10 league teams within two points of first place. The WCHA also has two weeks remaining and five teams are within four points of first. The other three leagues conclude the regular season this weekend, and first-round byes or home-ice advantages are very much up for grabs. Atlantic Hockey has five teams separated by just three points between third and seventh place. The CCHA has three teams, between fourth and sixth place, separated by two points. ECAC Hockey has six teams within four points from second to seventh place.

Traditional powers on the rise – The final weekend in CCHA and ECAC Hockey play find two traditional powers – Michigan and Cornell – in very unfamiliar positions. Both teams sit ninth in the conference standings, but there are signs they could be dangerous in conference tournaments. The Wolverines posted sweeps in two of their last three series, with impressive wins at Ohio State last weekend. Freshman Cristoval Nieves (NYR pick) has 10 points in his last 6 games, while sophomore Alex Guptill (DAL pick) has three straight multiple-point games. At Cornell, the Big Red are 3-0-1 in their last four and getting offense again after a seven-game losing streak in which they scored 1.4 goals per game. Senior Greg Miller has goals in four straight, including 4g-1a last weekend.
Michigan’s games vs. Ferris State are on CBS Sports Network (Friday) and FOX Sports Detroit (Saturday)

Evolution of a shorthanded sniper – Cody Wydo has come a long way since being a healthy scratch for the first four games of his freshman season. The Robert Morris forward has 30 goals since then – trailing only BC’s Johnny Gaudreau (CGY pick) and Minnesota’s Kyle Rau (FLA pick) among fellow sophomores – including a team-leading 17 this season. He’s improved his defensive play – part of what kept him out of the lineup early in his career – and he now shares the national lead in shorthanded goals with 3. Robert Morris faces Western-Pa. rival Mercyhurst in a home-and-home this weekend with both teams in the hunt for a first-round bye in Atlantic Hockey.

Makowski healthy, and thriving – Denver’s leader on defense is likely savoring his team’s stretch run more than some of his teammates. Junior David Makowski, a Wildwood, Missouri, native, missed the final 23 games of last season with a concussion as the Pioneers reached the WCHA championship game and the NCAA Tournament. Now healthy and having played in all 31 games this year, Makowski has 13 points in 13 games since Christmas entering a critical weekend at Minnesota.
More: Makowski piling up points – DenverPioneers.com
Friday’s game is on BTN; Saturday’s game is on FOX Sports Northis

Coach’s kid sparks Yale – Yale welcomes Colgate and Cornell this weekend with a chance to claim a first-round bye in the ECAC Hockey tournament. Freshman Stu Wilson has offered head coach Keith Allain a bit of everything as a rookie, from some timely goals among his 7 tallies to killing penalties even when down two men. It’s not hard to see where Wilson gets his hockey sense: his father, Wayne Wilson, is the head coach at RIT and won a national title as a player at Bowling Green.