Well rested Huskies ready for Clarkson and East Regional

The upside (if you are one to believe that something good can come from something bad) to St. Cloud State losing in the play-in-game of the WCHA Final Five to Minnesota is that the the Huskies will have had a full seven days of rest when they take the ice to play Clarkson on Saturday in Albany, New York in the East Regional.

But the draw for St. Cloud State puts them against another team that failed in its conference tournament and is looking at the NCAA as the "real post-season" and a second chance. Clarkson won the ECAC regular season with a 15-4-3 conference record but fell to Colgate in the best-of-three playoff series despite entering it as a heavy favorite.

The Golden Knights struggled against non-conference opponents going 6-8-1.

It's actually a somewhat tough draw for the Huskies if you take into consideration the No. 3 and No. 4 seeded teams in the east are not playing far from home and the No. 1 seed might be the nation's best team. Clarkson was disappointed to not have qualified for the league championship, which ironically was also in Albany.

Clarkson coach George Roll said "It is certainly nice to stay close to home. For us, the Times Union Center is a place we have familiarity with. We expect to have a good fan base there."

The No. 4 seed in the east is Niagara, which plays No. 1 seed Michigan in the late game Saturday.

St. Cloud State Scribbles

• It's the seventh time in program history for St. Cloud State to play in the NCAA tournament and the Huskies have never won a NCAA playoff game. However, that is something that shouldn't affect this team because it is led so heavily by a talented group of underclassmen.
• Last season the Huskies were sent to the East Regional and they fell to Maine 4-1 in the first game. Clarkson was also in the regional and lost its first game
• Clarkson and St. Cloud State met back in November and the teams split in a series at Clarkson.

Clarkson Scribbles

• Clarkson is one of only three teams in the 16 teams NCAA field to not have a Minnesota native on its roster.
• Nine of the Golden Knights are from the home state of New York, while 12 players are from Canada.
• Clarkson also played Colloroado College from the WCHA and was swept in Colorado Springs in early February.
• Clarkson beat Boston College 4-2 on January 5th and did not play Niagara.

East Regional Scribbles

• Michigan, which is looking to win its first title in 10 years, has more Frozen Four appearances and more national titles than any team in NCAA hockey with 22 and nine respectively.
• Michigan only has four players from outside the United States, but none from Minnesota and 15 from Michigan.
• Niagara is making its third trip to the NCAA tournament. In its last trip in 2004 the Purple Eagles lost to Boston College and in 2000 they upset New Hampshire before losing to eventual National champion University of North Dakota.
• Niagara has one Minnesota native. Junior defenseman Travis Anderson is a 2002 graduate of Coon Rapids. Anderson played for Des Moines in the USHL. He has six assists and is tied for 4th on the team with a +10.
  
• St. Cloud Times Article on talented young Huskies
  
  Clarkson Game Preview