A handful of former Billings Bulls players will be competing this weekend in the Regional rounds of the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament.
The Air Force Falcons, back-to-back champions of the Atlantic Hockey Association, currently feature six former Bulls on their roster - forwards Josh Print, Sean Bertsch and Matt Becker, and defensemen Greg Flynn, Mike Mayra and Matt Charbonneau.
Air Force, ranked 20th nationally, defeated Mercyhurst 5-4 in double-overtime last week to capture the AHA title. The Falcons will face second-ranked Miami (Ohio) today in the Northeast Regional first round in Worcester, Mass.
Flynn, a junior, is third on the Falcons' scoring chart with 31 points while Mayra, also a junior, is eighth with 19 points. Charbonneau, a senior and one of Air Force's alternate captains, is ninth with 18 points.
Miami, which fell 2-1 to No. 1 Michigan in the Central Hockey Association championship game last weekend, also features a former Bulls player in junior forward Brian Kaufman.
Kaufman, also an alternate captain, is the Redhawks' fourth-leading scorer with 12 goals and 23 assists.
The Miami-Air Force game will be shown on ESPNU at 2 p.m. MDT.
The fourth-ranked Denver Pioneers, champions of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association following last weekend's 2-1 win over Minnesota, are also competing in the regional tournament. Denver features former Bulls players Dusty Jackson, a forward, and Jon Cook, a defenseman.
Jackson, a freshman, has four goals and eight assists for the Pioneers.
Denver will face No. 17 Wisconsin today in the Midwest Regional first round in Madison, Wis.
Winners of each regional championship will advance to the 2008 Frozen Four, which will take place April 10-12 at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
The nine former Billings players competing this weekend skated for the Tier II Junior A Bulls at different points between the 2002-03 and 2005-06 seasons.
BOZEMAN TURNS BACK BULLS IN GAME 5
03/09/08
By The Gazette Staff
BOZEMAN - When the NorPac Hockey League playoff series between Billings and Bozeman was pushed to a fifth and deciding game, it became do-or-die time for both teams.
In the end, the IceDogs did and the Bulls died.
Ryland Nelson's second goal at 16:23 of the third period held up as the game-winner and Bozeman grabbed a 4-3 victory over Billings Sunday at Haynes Pavilion to advance to the America West division finals.
Bozeman will next face top-seeded Helena for the right to play in the Cascade Cup finals.
Game 1 of the division finals begins Tuesday in Helena.
Bulls coach Mike Hass said the series was evenly-matched and it showed especially on Sunday.
"It was just another fabulous junior hockey game," said Hass, whose team forced Game 5 with a 5-2 win on Saturday night. "There was end-to-end action. We had scoring opportunities and they had scoring opportunities. There was great goaltending. Great everything.
"Neither team deserved to lose this series. Unfortunately it was us."
Special teams played a key roll in the deciding game.
After scoring eight power play goals in the previous two games, the Bulls netted their three markers all while shorthanded in Game 5.
Each team's penalty kill flourished, combining to shut down every one of the game's 14 power play chances.
Johnny Feeley got the scoring started for Billings at 12:18 while down a man. His goal was answered by Bozeman's Nelson, also a shorthanded tally, as the teams were tied 1-1 after the first frame.
Former Bulls forward Alec Goplen scored the only goal of the second period for Bozeman as the IceDogs took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
At every turn in the third period, Bozeman answered the Bulls' attempts to keep pace.
When Jordan Keizer scored shorthanded to tie the game early in the period, Bozeman's Devin Nitzkorski followed up about two minutes later.
The same scenario played out later in the period as Nelson's game-winner came just a couple minutes after Eddie LaPera had tied the game for the Bulls.
"We were frustrated from the beginning," said Hass. "We were shorthanded a lot in the first (period). It was hard to battle back from that all night. It was back and forth, back and forth. They capitalized on more opportunities than we did."
For the first time in the series, Bulls forward Steven Shaffroth was held without a goal.
After scoring a remarkable 10 goals in the first four games of the series, Shaffroth was held to one assist on Sunday.
"When a player gets hot you just have to put him out there as much as you can," Hass said. "Shaffroth was the sparkplug. He really carried us throughout the series."
One factor that contributed to the Bulls' defeat was the lack of 5-on-5 skating at different stages of the game.
"There was not a lot of even-strength play tonight with all the penalties," said Hass. "And that's a detriment to us because even-strength is when we played our best hockey against Bozeman in this series."
A year after missing the playoffs in their first season in the NorPac, Billings bounced back with a much better campaign in 2007-08.
A high point came in early February when the franchise won its 500th game.
On top of that, they Bulls challenged for supremacy in their division throughout the year and proved to be a force near the top once again.
Hass said the season was a success.
"I'm very pleased with this team and their work ethic," said Hass. "Their hard work is what carried us this season. It carried us all the way to the end. The team never gave up."
NOTES: Defenseman Brian Downing returned to Bozeman's lineup for the first time since being suspended for a slashing penalty in Game 1. Downing assisted on Nelson's first goal ... Hass said 19 players are eligible to return to the Bulls next season. Two players - goalie Joe Caruso and defenseman Michael Marino - are now aged out and ineligible to return.
NorPac Playoffs
IceDogs 4, Bulls 3
Billings 1 0 2 - 3
Bozeman 1 1 2 - 4
First period - 1, Billings, Feeley 1 (Benjamin), 12:18 (sh). 2, Bozeman, Nelson 4 (Nitzkorski, Downing), 14:06 (sh).
Second period - 3, Bozeman, Goplen 2 (Greene, Smith), 8:18.
Third period - 4, Billings, Keizer 3 (Shaffroth), 1:43. 5, Bozeman, Nitzkorski 1, 2:24. 6, Billings, LaPera (Psihoules), 13:46 (sh). 7, Bozeman, Nelson 5 (Nitzkorski, Smith), 16:23.
BULLS LIVE TO SKATE ANOTHER DAY BY BEATING BOZEMAN
03/08/08
By PHIL SITES
Of The Gazette Staff
The Billings Bulls are very much alive and well.
The Bulls averted elimination in style and forced a deciding fifth game in their first round NorPac playoff series with the Bozeman IceDogs with a 5-2 win Saturday night at Centennial Ice Arena.
Former IceDog Joe Caruso stopped 40 of 42 shots, and Steven Shaffroth continued his blistering tear through the NorPac postseason with two goals - upping his total to 10 in four games - as the Bulls overpowered Bozeman, handing the IceDogs their worst loss in nearly two months.
"Everything was on the line for us today," said Caruso. "It was do or die today and we want to prove we are one of the best teams in this league."
With the Bulls nursing a 3-1 lead, Shaffroth took a pass from Cody Gabel and brought the puck into the Bozeman zone. Using seemingly superhuman vision, Shaffroth launched a canonator from the top of the zone as it rocketed past the confounded IceDog keeper Joel Hunter.
It was a bookend for Shaffroth, as he opened the scoring in the first after being credited with a tip-in goal off a slapper from Marino.
"Everyone knew what we had to do today," said Shaffroth, who has at least two goals in each of the four playoff games. "We played as a team and did exactly what we needed to do to win."
The game started off with the Bulls utilizing a deliberate offense, looking to set up tip-in and rebound goals, while stifling the Bozeman attack. The Bulls ramped up the offensive charge in the second period, outshooting the IceDogs 20-9 in the period and tallying 31 shots over the final two periods after managing only nine in the first.
"We made some adjustments today," said Bulls coach Mike Hass. "We played much more disciplined and played on our feet better and avoided penalties."
The Bulls took a 2-0 lead early in the second when Jordan Keizer put in a rebound shot on the power play only 2:52 into the period. But the Bulls couldn't convert on a 5-on-3 (coupled with a Bozeman five minute major) a few minutes later and the IceDogs got on the board when Michael Greene flipped in a rebound of his own with 12:30 to go in the middle frame.
The Bulls regrouped for the third and were able to breakthrough on their third two-man advantage of the night when Marino converted a slapshot just over eight minutes into the final period.
"We didn't want to lose tonight, we didn't want our season to be over," beamed Caruso, who says he has no personal desires in this series with his former team. "I just want to keep playing, I want to win with these guys."
The Bulls and IceDogs meet for the 15th and final time this season tonight at the Haynes Pavilion in Bozeman. The puck drops at 6:30 p.m.
"The fans carried us tonight," said Hass. "We would love to see as many people as possible make the trip with us to Bozeman."
NOTES: Johnny Feeley returned to the ice today after sitting out the previous two games with an injury suffered in Game 1. ... The Billings Junior Bulls celebrated its PeeWee State A title during the first intermission. The Junior Bulls defeated the Bozeman Junior IceDogs 4-3 to wrap up a 20-0 season.
Bulls 5, IceDogs 2
Bozeman 0 1 1 - 2
Billings 1 1 3 - 5
First Period - 1, Billings, Shaffroth 9 (Marino, Gabel), 6:55 (pp).
Second Period - 2, Billings, Keizer 2 (Harvey), 2:52 (pp). 3, Bozeman, Greene 2 (Smith), 13:10.
Shots on goal - Bozeman 12-9-21-42. Billings 9-20-11-40. Power-play Opportunities - Bozeman 1 of 8. Billings 4 of 12. Penalties - Bozeman 14 for 42 minutes. Billings 9 for 21 minutes. Goalies - Bozeman, Hunter 2-2 (40 shots-35 saves). Billings, Caruso 2-2 (42 shots-40 saves).
A - 528. T - 2:33.
BOZEMAN EDGES BULLS 7-5
03/07/08
By Gazette News Services
BOZEMAN - The Bozeman IceDogs overcame another strong performance by Steven Shaffroth to edge the Billings Bulls 7-5 in Game 3 of their first-round NorPac Hockey League playoff series Friday night.
Billings will look to avoid elimination in the best-of-five series tonight when the Bulls host Bozeman in Game 4 at Centennial Arena. Game time is 7:15 p.m.
Shaffroth netted three goals - his second hat trick of the playoffs - and helped turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead heading into the final period, but it wasn't enough to hold back the IceDogs.
Bozeman's Nolan Smith and Michael Greene scored goals early in the third to give the IceDogs a 5-4 advantage. Ryland Nelson notched the winner with 1:51 remaining after Shaffroth's third goal tied the game for Billings.
"It was just a shootout tonight, just one of those kinda games," said Bulls coach Mike Hass. "They were able to get the last goal there and we just came up a little short."
Shaffroth has tallied a league leading seven goals and nine points in only three playoff games so far. Rusty Roe and Eric Psihoules also scored their first goals of the postseason for the Bulls.
"He's playing really well for us now," added Hass. "I was happy that we got some scoring from some other people as well. I expect a good effort (today), our backs are against the wall and it's do or die."
IceDogs 7, Bulls 5
Billings 1 3 1 - 5
Bozeman 1 2 4 - 7
First Period - 1, Bozeman, Kuechler 3 (Smith), 8:01 (pp). 2, Billings, Psihoules 1 (Gabel), 16:25 (pp).
