2009 ACHA Divison 1 Championship- Cleveland, OH

No. 6 Iowa State

Who to watch: Bill Adolph, Mike Murtaugh, Brian Spring, Brody Toigo

Rundown: After being eliminated in the quarterfinals last year, the Cyclones are led by seniors Mike Murtaugh and Bill Adolph and are hungry for the national championship. Junior Brian Spring leads the team in goals with 29 to go along with Murtaugh’s 28 and freshman Brody Toigo possesses one of the most dangerous slapshots in the league to go with his thirty assists. The Cyclones lost a heartbreaker in the final game of the CSCHL tournament to Ohio before beating North Dakota State 9-2 and 10-0 to get back on track heading into the national tournament. The Cyclones haven’t won the tournament since its inception in 1991-92 and have finished runner up twice.

No. 11 Westchester

Who to watch for: Jim Gehring- 57 goals 44 assists

Rundown: Westchester is coming into the tournament on a hot streak, winning four of their last five games with the four victories being against teams that are in this tournament. They come in with a 26-6 overall record. The Cyclones beat up on the Golden Rams 7-1 in their only regular season match up, but they are looking to prove that it was a fluke.

No. 3 Delaware

Who to watch: Mike Gardner- 25 goals 33 assists, Kevin Miller- 19 goals 36 assists

Rundown: Delaware was in the ACHA’s top five throughout the entire season and enter the tournament with a 25-5 regular season record. They split the season series with Stony Brook, winning the first game 4-3 then tieing the second game before losing in a shoot out.

No. 14 Stony Brook- Who to watch: Angelo Serse- 30 goals 19 assists

Rundown: Coming in with a record of 18-12 in the regular season, the seawolves should be feeling fortunate to be in. A big reason why is their leading goal scorer Angel Serse. Serse is a talented player, but it will take a greater effort by more than just him to extend Stony Brook’s season.

No. 7 Rhode Island

Who to watch for: Cory Manley- 18 goals, 9 assists

Rundown: The Rams come into this match up with an impressive 21-8 record. This teams also bounced around the ACHA’s top five throughout the season and are in search of their first ACHA national championship.

No. 10 Ohio

Who to watch: Ryan Tessemer- 17 goals 21 assists

Rundown: The Bobcats are one of the hottest teams coming into nationals as they made a magical run through the CSCHL tournament, erasing a 3-1 deficit going into the third period of the championship game against Iowa State, winning 4-3. They boast a 25-12 regular season record coming into the national tournament. This is a team that plays unselfish, physical hockey and could be one of the most exciting opening round match ups against the Rams.

No. 2 Penn State

Who to watch: Tim O’ Brien- 29 goals 16 assists, Lukas DeLorenzo- 19 goals 23 assists

Rundown: The Nittany Lions definitely come in to the tournament with history on their side as they look to add their sixth ACHA title to the trophy case. They won it four years in a row from the 98-99 to the 02-03 season. They come in with a 27-7 record, but have suffered some late season losses. This shouldn’t deter the Nittany Lions as they are clearly one of the favorites to be the last team standing.

No. 15 Duquesne

Who to watch: Brian Bahurins- 20 goals 30 assists

Rundown: Duquesne barely got themselves in position to get themselves to Cleveland. Bahurins could help them make it close for a bit, but it may take a miracle for them to get past the powerhouse Nittany Lions.

No. 5 Oklahoma

Who to watch: Kyle Allan- 33 goals, 22 assists

Rundown: The Sooner carry a 29-7 regular season record to Cleveland and are in search of their first ACHA national championship. The Sooners last loss was to Iowa State in Ames on January 31st which means they carry a nine game win streak into the tournament.

No. 12 Kent State

Who to watch: Chris Hourigia- 21 goals 27 assists

Rundown: While their nickname may be the Golden Flashes, there isn’t really anything that stands out about this team. They have good team speed but it’s not likely to be enough to get them past the more talented more physical Sooners. They come in with a record of 21-15.

No. 4 Illinois

Who to watch for: Jordan Pringle- 28 goals 31 assists

Rundown: The defending champions held the number one standing for the majority of the regular season before running into some late season troubles, but bring a 26-9 to the table. While Pringle and Wemeta are the team’s leaders in goals and assists respectively, the Illini have multiple weapons that use the ice well and can score at anytime. If the Illini can get their act back together in time, it won’t be a huge surprise to see them repeat.

No. 13 Central Oklahoma

Who to watch: Matt Cohn- 17 goals 21 assists, A.J. Alfrey- 13 goals 19 assists

Rundown: This is definitely the dark horse of the tournament. They bring a 23-12 record in and have played well against the nations top teams. If Illinois doesn’t bring their best game, the Broncos could send them home a lot earlier than expected. This is the tournament’s upset alert.

No. 8 Liberty- Who to watch: Dave Sementria- 27 goals 34 assists

Rundown: Liberty brings a sold 24-11 record to the tournament and hope to make some noise in the tougher region of the bracket. This team is a little undersized but is very physical and can play grind it out hockey.

No 9 Robert Morris University- Who to watch: Luke Bennett- 25 goals 64 assists, Jacob Javitt- 35 goals 53 assists

Rundown: This team looks very strong after winning the regular season ECHL title with a 31-8 record. They are lead by Luke Bennett and Jacob Javitt, who are masters at finding the open guy for a goal. Expect the Colonials to be a tough out.

No. 1 Lindenwood- Who to watch: Jake Ebner- 33 goals 28 assists, Chad Boeckman- 31 goals 31 assists

Rundown: The Lions are the top team coming in and are very dangerous. While Ebner and Beockman are key, the whole team is worth watching because of their pure speed and talent. The defending runner up will be looking for a rematch with the Illini, who beat them in the finals last year. They might get it too with a possible rematch in the semifinals.

No. 16 Penn State-Berks

Who to watch for: Sean Zelachowski- 21 goals 17 assists, Shane Allen 13 goals 23 assists

Rundown: They were able to slip in the national’s last spot, congratulations on getting here, but look for a quick exit from these guys.