Saints ready to go

CANTON — St. Lawrence enters familiar territory in the ECAC Hockey Tournament semifinals on Friday in Albany. Union does not.

The Dutchmen hadn’t won a playoff game until last season. This year, under ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year Nate Leaman, they’re in the conference semifinals for the first time in school history. St. Lawrence is making its third trip in four seasons.

“They’ve worked to build a team up and they’ve done it the right way,” St. Lawrence coach Joe Marsh said. “We know that’s a real good team.”

The Saints did not beat the Dutchmen this year. They lost 4-3 at home and 4-2 on the road.

“You don’t want to look into it too much,” SLU’s Mike McKenzie said. “We lost both, but it should be a good game.”

Said Marsh: “Maybe it means we’re due. I think our guys know we’re really going to have to bring it.”

McKenzie, who’s recorded five points with four goals and an assist this postseason, didn’t have a point in either game against Union.

“There’s times when you’re playing well and you don’t score, but you just keep with it,” he said. “Eventually, if you just keep playing well and consistent the points will come.”

That’s what St. Lawrence is hoping for to keep its NCAA Tournament dream alive. The Saints would have to win the ECAC Hockey Tournament this weekend and get the automatic bid to make it.

“You want to focus on the prize at hand, sure,” Marsh said. “But you also want to focus on the process.”

It hasn’t changed since the conference tournament began on March 5. St. Lawrence isn’t holding long, grueling practices anymore. It’s tweaking the little things that, if not corrected, could cause major problems.

“It’s the ECAC,” McKenzie said. “On any night any team can beat anyone. That’s what makes this conference so unique and hard to play in. One little mistake can make up for seedings and stats.”

Just ask Brown about that. The Bears entered the tournament as the No. 11 seed. They disposed of RPI in the first round and stunned No. 1 Yale in the second. They’ll play No. 2 Cornell in the 4 p.m. game ahead of No. 5 St. Lawrence and No. 4 Union, which are slated to play at 7 p.m.

Only Cornell has matched St. Lawrence with three trips to the semifinals in four years.

“We hope to tap into that experience,” Marsh said entering St. Lawrence’s game with Union. “But what experience we have, they’ve got that exuberance of being their first trip.”

The Dutchmen also have potent offensive threats despite no NHL draft picks. Mario Valery-Trabucco finished second among ECAC players in overall scoring with 44 points this year. Jason Walters wasn’t far behind with 39 points.

“Their high-end guys have had great years,” Marsh said. “They’ve got good balance. I don’t see a lot of weakness there. They’ve earned everything they’ve got.”

So has St. Lawrence, which advanced to Albany without the advantage of a bye week. The Saints knocked off Clarkson in three games, two of which went to overtime. Then, they swept Colgate on the road with two one-goal wins.

“We looked at the two series we had before as great preparation,” Marsh said. “(The players) feel they’re prepared to play under pressure. We have the experience of the last couple weeks and how hard we’ve had to work and how close the games were.”

vermeulen wins ecac award

St. Lawrence University senior forward Travis Vermeulen won the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Forward award, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Vermeulen recorded career highs in points (41), goals (17) and assists (24) while leading the team in face off percentage and playing a major role on penalty kills and power plays.

North Dakota player benched

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association has suspended North Dakota forward Matt Frattin for one game.

The junior will not play today when North Dakota faces Minnesota-Duluth in a play-in game to make the WCHA’s Final Five tournament.

Frattin received a five-minute penalty Sunday night after he knocked Minnesota’s Kevin Wehrs to the ice and prompted a minor skirmish.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.