10 I TUESDAY, March 15, 2005 ACHA national tourney provides first-rate action By Josh Moyer BENSENVILLE, M SOME WOULD CALL it a sec ond-rate league, a poor man's NCAA. But for anyone who attended an ACHA game this past season, that person probably reached a far dif- MY OPINION ferent conclusion: the ACHA may not have the same talent, but it's just as exciting. I attended the ACHA National Championship Tournament near Chicago last weekend And while Penn State came up short in the title game, I still didn't go home disappointed. I witnessed some of the best hockey games I've ever seen. No. 1-seeded Rhode Island over came No. 9 Weber State, 3-2, in over time and was then upset by Minois in the final period of the next round Penn State also defeated Ohio in the last 75 seconds, and virtually every game went down to the wire. What more could you ask for? Well, for some fans, that answer was still the NCAA. One conversation I had with a local went something like this: Local [excited]: Is this game really for the national championship? Me: Yeah. But it's the ACHA, not the NCAA Local (disappointed]: Oh ... what's that? Don't make the same mistake that may be club hockey, but it's no second-class association. NCAA Division I talent is all-around take Penn State's Joe Maglaque and Michael McMullen, for instance. Both played for Division I Fairfield until the team disbanded. Instead of going to a different NCAA school, they both Icers From Page 8 "This is his second goal of the tour nament, and obviously the biggest one." Arcobello, the sweat pouring off his face, played down his significance in the deciding score and said, "lb put all the glory or honor on one person is not right. "It's just another day at work," he added with a half-smile. Arcobello wasn't the only rookie to contribute, though. Scanning the locker room, red-head ed freshman defender Keith Jordan one of the Rookie of the Year favorites easily stuck out. While his team competed against tournament host Robert Morris the night before, Jordan was in the emer gency room. "I was really pissed off that I didn't play yesterday, but it felt really good to get on the ice," he said, pausing between coughs. Jeremy Drey/Collegian Malcolm Scatllffe returns the volley during a doubles match against Illinois with Mark Barry. Scatliffe and Barry lost, 7-6, in a tie break. Tennisßecently the duo has struggled, going 0-2 during the Lions' road From Page 8. matches during spring break, in con tests with No. 65 Indiana and Villanova who is getting to every ball and we're "They're freshmen being freshmen," just doing a good job putting opponents Bortner said. "They have to realize away," Sherman said. that at this level, no matter who you're r Part of their success may partially" , playing, you have to be ready. Hopeful tbe due to the effort that Sherman is ly they'll learn from it [the Villanova sable to put toward doubles play. The loss]." ;freshman is not in the singles lineup at Even with their success so far, 'this stage of the season, and has been James said, as freshmen they are not devoted to making the most of his time. at the top of their games yet. Sherman iin doubles. said that the duo can still work on hit ' "With not playing singles, I have to ting its second or third balls better, be more focused on doubles I to keeping those shots out of the net. If know that I'm helping the team by they can keep long volleys going, the playing well," he said. "I know my extended play prevents opponents biggest impact is in the doubles, so I from getting easy points off of Penn try to do as much as I can for the State's mistakes , team," At this point, Sherman and James our best stuff," Sherman said. "At the are certainly doing a great deal for same time, when we can make our • their team. opponents have to play our shots, In their victories, many times they we're playing our best doubles." will finish their match first, thus giving A controlled aggression, as Bortner the other doubles pairings some describes it, is the key to doubles, and ' momentum with which to work. And.: once the two freshmen can master the momentum only builds for the rest that, the Lions could find themselves of the Lions, as a win at doubles, with 1-point cushion at the start of sin played first, can take pressure off of all gles play every weekend for the the singles players. remainder of the season. opted for Penn State of the ACHA. The Icers' Kevin Jaeger is another example. NCAA schools didn't take a gamble on him because they believed the 5-foot-8 forward was too small 130-plus career goals later, I think it's safe to say they were wrong. But just how good are these guys? Fbr that answer, go back to January when the ACHA represented Team USA at the World University Games. The ACHA competed against teams with NHL players and squads with Olympic athletes. Still, it managed a respectable 3-3 record. Not too bad club players vs. NHL skaters. It's hard to compare the ACHA to existing leagues. But think of it this way: the ACHA simply recruits play ers who fall through the cracks in the NCAA. Fbr you football fans and quarter back aficionados out there, think Kurt Warner with the Arena Football League or Ibmmy Maddox with the XFL or even Doug Flutie with the CFL. What we have with the ACHA is a collection of Warners, Maddoxes and Fluties good players in a not-so- recognized league. Ilrust me, I wouldn't have taken the trip to Chicago and stayed in a place surrounded by cop cars and "gentle man's clubs" if I thought otherwise and even if our "clean" towels were matted with the previous guest's body hair, our luggage was lost, our first flight was cancelled and our second flight was twice delayed. I'd still do it all over again. And even though I won't have the leers' beat next season, I'll still make the trip to the national championship tourna ment. Of course, next year, I'll just drive to a relative's house. Josh Moyer is a sophomore majoring in jour nalism and a Collegian Icers' writer. His email address is jjm4s4@psu.edu. Jordan came down with a viral infec tion and couldn't even walk, according to Battista. Jordan wound up playing sick the entire four-day stretch. The State College native was hooked up to an IV the evening before and was also forced to take an ample amount of Motrin, Pedialite, Gatorade and vitamins. Still, the soft-spoken rookie played. "What a difference it made having Keith , • lineup eve ` 4 ‘` Battista • r%l MeM l 1,-n also finished with a pair of goals, including the game tying goal against Ohio. And Paul Zodt ner recorded a score after playing with the Leers' red line, opposite seniors Kevin Jaeger and Mike Carrano, a majority of the time. "They all grew up Zodtner, Arco bello, Jordan, McMullen," Battista said. "A lot of these guys, they're gonna be the nucleus of our team for a long time to come. "And I'd like to think they're all going to wanna get back here right away." "When we play aggressive, that's SPORTS Michael Conroy/Associated Press Michigan State's Lindsay Bowen (20) goes over Minnesota's April Calhoun as they scramble for a loose ball during the Big Ten tournament final. Spartans: A scrappy club Aggressive play and a never say-die attitude helped lift Michigan State to a Big Ten championship. By Nate Heckenberger COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER I nc h 114 j , psu edu INDIANAPOLIS -- It took just three words for Michigan State's Kristin Haynie to explain what her team had more of than any other team in the Big Ten tournament. . heart. - sakkiilaynie, - g Playeeigthe tour naigrigi; "aver team had just won its first-eVe'r Sig Ten tournament title. Cast into the tournament sharing the regular season title with No. I seed Ohio State, the Spartans won their three games in determined fashion. Meshed with a roster full of good-but not-great players. No. 2 .seed Michigan State won the tournament by beating teams that were led by stars. "Basketball is meant to be played that way," Michigan State coach Joanne McCallie said of her team's effort against Penn State. "If you have four or five people that can really bite you any night, you're really tough to defend.- What also stuck out even more than the fact that four Spartans averaged double figures was their ability to Lady Lions By Nate Heckenberger INDIANAPOLIS E LEVEN TEAMS. Ten games. Four days. One champion. And one glaring necessity that is all the more impor- tant in March. If it wasn't obvi - -s : ous enough MY OPINION throughout the regular season, with Ohio State's 6-foot-5 Jessica Dav enport winning Big Ten Player of the Year honors, having a dominant post player to go with solid guard play is the recipe for success in the conference. The tournament champion, Michi gan State, was a pure example of what that inside-outside balance means. The Spartans' guards did everything that was asked of them handle the bas ketball, make clutch shots and get the ball to the post. In the final minutes of last Monday's championship game, when Michigan State scored the final eight points to win its first tournament championship, forward Liz Shimek scored the first four and 6-foot-4 Kelli Roehrig was there for the final rebound and the icing on the foul line. "It's tremendously important to have people who can command in the paint and play with confidence," Michigan State coach Joanne McCallie said the day before her team dismissed Penn State. "The Big Ten has excellent post players. It's just a big part of the game. You have to be able to get the paint scores. A lot is made of 3-point shoot ing and outside play, but I would just say the guard play, handling the bas ketball and making sure the ball gets to those post players inside-out will be the determining factor, particularly in March." Boy, was she right. adapt. All three games were won in dif ferent ways, and all three came down to the wire. Game one was the shocker of the bunch, maybe even the wake-up call that sparked the run. As the No. 7 seed, Illinois led by two with two minutes left in regulation. It was then that senior guard Lindsay Bowen stripped Illinois guard Tiffanie Guthrie and scored to force overtime. From there, all MSU did was shutout the Fighting Illini 11-0 in overtime. Then it was Penn State's turn to take a shot, and the Lady Lions decided to bri'►gtome serious offense. Isto problem, thanks for coming. Four Spartans Haynie, Bowen, Liz Shimek and Kelli Roehrig combined for 65 of the 83 points, leaving the Lady Lions wondering how 76 wasn't enough in a tournament game. "It definitely helps them out because they have a lot of people scoring," Penn State senior guard Tanisha Wright said after the loss. When the Spartans finally got to the main event last Monday, No. 4 seed Minnesota had knocked out Ohio State to set up a match-up between the con ference's best remaining team and arguably the best remaining post play er, Minnesota's Janel McCarville. Instead of a shootout, Michigan State played in and won the lowest-scoring title game in the history of Big Ten lack necessary balance But it's that kind of philosophy that Penn State hasn't practiced lately, which may explain the drought of tour nament championships since 1996. Rather, the Lady Lions program is built around guards. It's not as if bas ing a team around the best backcourt in the conference is a bad thing, but for those who never saw or heard of a game outside the Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State does lose. And a lot of that can be contributed to not having any other options besides Tanisha Wright and Jess Strom. Earlier in the season when Strom was home with an illness as her team traveled to Northwestern, Wright was forced to take on the entire scoring load with no other legitimate scoring option and Penn State lost. When Wright got in foul trouble this season at Purdue, Strom wasn't enough to carry her team to a win. If Penn State can learn anything from the most recent tournament, it should be that balance is the key. Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone used Michigan State as an example even before the Spartans were Big Ten champs. "They have solid guard play and a dominant post presence," she said. "If you take the guards away, you go inside. If you go inside and they dou ble, you kick out to the shooters and drivers." Sounds easy enough. Minnesota, the No. 4 seed, upset top seeded Ohio State thanks to its center Janel McCarville and her 21 points, 15 rebounds and her ability to hold Dav enport to 12 points and 12 rebounds in 43 minutes. McCarville and her side kick down on the block, Jamie Broback, who would have been the tournament's Most Outstanding Player had the Golden Gophers pulled out a win, were the reasons they were even in the championship. Penn State, on the other hand, was some late game heroics from Wright and Strom away from losing to lowa in THE DAILY COLLEGIAN tournament title games. The scoring was down, along with the 56 percent shooting percentage that Michigan State had against Penn State. So with the offense down, the defense was up, starting with McCarville. Just a day after one of the tournament's best individual performances, in which she scored 21 points, amassed 15 rebounds and held Big Ten Player of the Year Jes sica Davenport to just 12 points, "Lady Shaq" had nothing left in the final. McCarville made 1-of-17 shots for two points, and her team did not fare much better, finishing with a 26.8 shoot ing percentage. Despite the shooting woes, the Golden Gophers led by two with 4:17 left in the game. Like they had all tournament long, the Spartans dominated the final stretch, scoring the last eight points of the game and winning their 12th straight game, dating back to Jan. 23, at Penn State. "We have a balanced team of attack ers," McCallie said. " ... There was lots of times where that game could have gone either way . ft was close. You just can't care. You just want to give your very best. I think I saw my team turn that corner. There was a part there were it was back and forth, and I just saw them turn that corner. They're a special group." Special in a way the other 10 Big Ten teams could envy. the quarterfinals, and was handcuffed against Michigan State. lowa center Jamie Cavey and team mate forward Johanna Solverson com bined for 41 points and 13 rebounds against the Lady Lions; both were a serious matchup problem all night, especially with Amanda Brown in foul trouble. Then, two days later with Strom missing five minutes in the first half with a turned ankle and Wright sitting out seven-plus minutes because of fouls, Penn State could get neither a defensive stop nor establish a strong enough inside presence to take the focus off of either of the seniors Shimek and Roehrig, meanwhile, lit up the Lady Lions for 37 combined points and got to the free throw line 16 times. Penn State got there just nine times as a team. The blame should not go to Brown or Ashli Schwab or whoever had the responsibility in the paint. Brown and Schwab do a good job fulfilling their roles on the supporting cast, getting rebounds and taking turns scoring every-so-often. It's the system that is flawed. Instead of bringing in a post player to use as that yin to the guards' yang,•the Lady Lions' posts are simply there to hope fully take away the opponents' beast in the middle, while the guards win it. It seems all well and good, and Wright and Strom certainly are an exciting pair to watch lead a team. So Coach Portland, if you can hear this: For the next Tanisha Wright's sake. Or the next Jess Strom, or Kelly Mazzante or whomever's sake. Take notice of the Spartans, or even the Gophers and Buckeyes, and get some one who scares people inside. And if it ever happens, get that woman the ball and watch out, success in March just might follow. Nate Heckenberger is a senior majoring in journalism and a Collegian women's basketball writer. His e-mail is nchll4@psu.edu.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers