NAPLES, Fla. — According to a reports on the St. Bonaventure athletics website (GoBonnies.com), the Atlantic 10 conference member schools voted unanimously to expand the conference tournament to include all teams.

Last year, the postseason format included the top-12 teams in the conference, leaving four of the 16 teams out. However, with the shrinking of the league due to conference realignment, adjustments were deemed necessary.

The A10, which includes New England programs UMass and URI, will have 13 teams in the 2013-2014 season. Temple announced its defection to the American Athletic Conference, formerly known as the Big East, while Charlotte made the decision to join Conference USA. Butler, who joined the conference in 2012, and Xavier were invited to join the newly minted Big East, made up primarily of the “Catholic 7″ that broke off from the former Big East.

George Mason will join the league in 2013 as its 13th member. Davidson will become the conference’s 14th for the 2014-15 season.

URI would benefit from the new format, having failed to make the postseason in consecutive seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13. UMass, who won five straight conference tournaments from 1992 through 1996, has rarely had trouble making cut for the tournament.

The league also announced it would feature a television schedule of 25 games nationally on NBC Sports Network, a new partner as well as other games through existing deals with ESPN and CBS Sports Network.

In 2014-15, the league schedule will be altered to an 18-game conference slate, which will allow for more league rivalry games.

This is what happens when you play a sloppy game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On Thursday night, Boston had a chance to sweep the Rangers out of the playoffs. But Chris Kreider’s overtime goal kept New York alive with a 4-3 victory. The series now heads back to Boston for Game 5.

The Bruins blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads despite finally getting their power play going, scoring twice with the man advantage. Tyler Seguin’s first goal of the playoffs gave the Bruins the lead in the third period, but the Rangers tied it up less than two minutes later.

Tuukka Rask allowed four goals in a game for the first time in this series, including a soft goal in the second period, when he fell over backward trying to stop a backhander by Carl Hagelin. Rask also was asleep at the switch when Derek Stepan stole the puck from Zdeno Chara behind the net and scored what turned out to be a relatively easy wraparound.

The Bruins still lead the series, 3-1. Game 5 is Saturday night at TD Garden.

AMHERST — If there’s one thing Charley Molnar isn’t lacking, it’s confidence.

During a chat session hosted by Boston.com, the UMass head football coach stated his lofty expectations for a program that won just one game in its first full season of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play — to be one of the best collegiate programs in the Northeast.

“We’ll get there by recruiting our geographic footprint and doing a better job than our competitors and developing our players once they arrive on campus. For coaches, success is greater than just wins and losses, especially for a team transitioning from [FCS] to [FBS],” he said. “We’ll evaluate our improvement by reducing turnovers, decreasing pre-snap fouls (illegal procedure, off-sides, delay of game, etc.) and how our team performs off the field; specifically in the classroom, strength gains, and social development.”

While he didn’t specify exactly what he considered to be the Northeast, it could be argued that the Minutemen are already one of the strongest programs in the region, seeing as they are one of only three New England teams playing at football’s highest level along with Boston College and UConn.

Molnar later extended his predictions on the program’s future success even higher, stating that he foresaw his team becoming one of the 25 best programs in the nation.

“I absolutely believe that UMass can and will be ranked nationally,” he said

No New England FBS team has finished the season ranked in either of the major polls — AP or the USA Today Coaches Poll — since 2007 when Boston College finished 10th, going 11-3 and beating Michigan State in the Citrus Bowl behind Matt Ryan.

The “cornerstone” of Molnar’s plans for the team’s success, he explained, was the “Made in Massachusetts” concept he adopted when he took over the program. He said while not a heralded recruiting ground, keeping Division I football prospects in the state by recruiting them to UMass was imperative.

“Over the last several years, the state of Massachusetts has produced on average 10 [FBS] players annually. Recruiting the Commonwealth has been a priority of mine since my first day on the job,” he said. “This initiative states that in five years the Minutemen will go to a bowl game with 50 percent of our starters being from the Bay State.”

Molnar went on to point out that while only 20 percent of last year’s Minutemen squad were from the state, the team will report to camp on Aug. 4 with 33 percent of its roster originating from Massachusetts.

Addressing the upcoming season, the coach said it was his goal to play “meaningful games in November” during the team’s first year of bowl eligibility and “compete to be in the top half of the league,” and possibly the postseason.

“In 2012, the MAC had 12 [bowl] eligible teams and 6 bowl bids,” he said.

If Molnar wants that to happen, much work had to be done.

The Minutemen finished at or near the bottom of every major category — both offensive and defensive — in 2012.

An offense that was last in the nation in scoring needs to address serious problems on the offensive line. UMass quarterbacks were sacked 32 times in 2012 and running backs had a dreadful 2.68 yards per carry.

Molnar pointed to that and the lack of big-play receivers as two things he hoped would be alleviated as the team goes through camp.

“In order for us to win the [MAC] East, we need to quickly develop depth on the [offensive line] and have more playmakers at the [wide receiver] position. I know we recruited the right guys for these jobs, but your guess is as good as mine as to when they’ll be ready to play championship level football,” he said.

Molnar also conceded that depth was an issue for the offensive line. The Minutemen spring roster only features nine lineman and keeping a healthy and able offensive line together was a struggle for them last season, especially when their best player, tackle Anthony Dima, was out for three games with a leg injury.

“We’re hoping that one of the five new [offensive linemen] will be ready to step up and contribute immediately,” Molnar said. “We have received good news since the conclusion of spring practice; Vince Westcarr has decided to return to play his senior season. He should be an immediate impact player on the [offensive line].”

Leading the offense will once again be Mike Wegzen, a redshirt sophomore who took over as the team’s starting quarterback after Kellen Pagel announced he would not return to the team in order to play baseball in 2012. However, he doesn’t have a stranglehold on the job, according to Molnar.

“Based on spring practice Mike Wegzyn was our most improved offensive player,” he said. “He’ll be the number one [quarterback] going into summer camp. But he better be looking over his shoulder because AJ Doyle is right on his heels.”

Wegzen started 11 games for the Minutemen in 2012, throwing for 1825 yards, six touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Doyle, a true sophomore, made one start and eight appearances, racking up 419 yards, three touchdowns and eight picks.

Redshirt freshman Stacey Bedell and sophomore wide out Tajae Sharpe were among those offensively that Molnar said he expected breakout years from.

On the defensive side of the ball, incoming linebackers Shane Huber and Steve Casali would see immediate playing time, Molnar said.

Huber, from New Jersey, was ranked 63rd at his inside linebacker position by ESPN with good size and athleticism and considered a two-star recruit by Rivals.com.

He committed to the team in the summer of 2012, then decommitted at the end of the year due to concerns raised by the Boston Globe and New York Times that Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy was not supporting the program. However, he re-committed and signed his National Letter of Intent on Feb. 6.

Casali, also an inside linebacker, had 80 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and scored two defensive touchdowns as a junior for Sachem High School East in Farmingville, N.Y. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Casali followed that up with 104 tackles in his senior season. Playing both ways, he also excelled as a downhill-style running back who accumulated awards for being the best running back, linebacker and defensive player in Long Island, on top of the Suffolk County Division I MVP while setting 18 school records.

Sophomore Khari Bailey-Smith is expected to have a big impact, Molnar added.

In addition to this year’s MAC schedule, UMass has marquee road games against Wisconsin and Kansas State. The SEC’s Vanderbilt and FCS’ Maine visit the Minutemen at Gillette Stadium.

Season tickets are on sale now and single-game tickets will become available on July 8.

All home games will be played in Foxboro in 2013. However, Molnar said in 2014, the team will begin playing select games at McGuirk Stadium, despite the fact that “there are no plans for on-campus stadium expansion or enhancement of amenities.”

“We look forward to 2014 when we begin to play some games back on campus,” he said. “At this time, how the games will be divided between Gillette and McGuirk is undetermined. I do know this — we will definitely play our homecoming game and any MAC weeknight games on campus. We will play BC at Gillette and the rest of the schedule will be decided once the MAC schedule comes out next spring. We think our recipe for success will always be a combination of both venues.”

Photo from the Boston Herald

When things are going your way, the puck tends to bounce in your favor.

Such was the case Tuesday night for the Bruins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Rangers. Daniel Paille picked up a bouncing puck and beat Henrik Lundqvist with 3:31 left in the game, giving the Bruins a 2-1 victory.  Boston leads the series, 3-0.

Johnny Boychuk scored for the Bruins earlier in the third period to erase a one-goal deficit.

Tuukka Rask made 23 saves.

One key stat in this series: the Rangers power play, or lack thereof.  New York was 0-for-10 with the man advantage in Game 3, and 2-for-38 in the playoffs.  It’s worth mentioning the Bruins’ power play has also been abysmal.  Boston is only converting at a 16% clip (4-for-25) in the postseason.  The Bruins did not have a power play on Tuesday night.  Maybe that’s a good thing.

The Bruins can close out the series with a win Thursday night in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.

BOSTON — Former Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi has been selected as the 19th player and 21st member of the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Bruschi, alongside Patriots’ former broadcaster Gil Santos, who lent his voice to the team for 37 years, will be inducted on Sunday, August 11, in a ceremony open to the public.

The “perfect Patriot” as he was one named by Bill Belichick, joins Drew Bledsoe (2011) and Troy Brown (2012) as just the third player in the history of the Patriots Hall of Fame to be inducted in their first year of eligibility, as voted by fans. He will also be honored during a halftime ceremony at the Gillette Stadium home opener against the New York Jets on Thursday, September 12.

“We knew when we drafted him in 1996 that ‘Bruschi’ was going to be a fan favorite in New England,” said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. “But, he was so much more than that. During the most successful era in the history of the franchise, Tedy was the heart and soul of the defense and proved to be a champion, both on and off the field. He was a high-energy, tenacious defender whose playmaking abilities helped propel the Patriots to three Super Bowl championships in four years. His remarkable and courageous return to the field following a stroke only added to his legend and solidified his place among the most iconic Patriots in franchise history. We look forward to celebrating his induction with our fans.”

Bruschi famously suffered a stroke in 2005, but recovered and played three more seasons with the Patriots before eventually retiring in 2009, citing his health and family. He played in 211 career games, during 11 winning seasons, nine of which were playoff seasons, eight division championships, five conference championships, five Super Bowls and three of those were title-winning Super Bowl games. Bruschi notched 448 tackles, 30.5 sacks and had 12 interceptions. When he played with the Patriots, the team had a 144-67 record, as well as 16-6 record in the playoffs.

Bruschi was originally drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft. He currently works as an analyst for ESPN and will also season as a pre-game host for WBZ’s pre-season game telecasts during the 2013 season.

HAVERHILL — With the University of Connecticut jumping ship as part of the Hockey East expansion, the Atlantic Hockey Association is looking at adding St. Anselm and the University of Rhode Island for the 2013-14 season.

John Connolly reported in the Boston Herald that the two schools have “the inside track” to join the conference that had two representatives in the NCAA tournament for the first time in its history this year.

URI does not currently have a varsity hockey program. However, according to Connolly, a private group known as the Blue Line Commission has been raising the $5 million necessary to make the jump. Currently a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, which oversees non-varsity college hockey teams, URI ranked 17th overall with a 19-12-3 record and lost to Stony Brook in the first round of the ACHA Division I National Championship.

Connolly also reported that in addition to money, Title IX issues remain an hurdle for URI.

St. Anselm was 18-8-3 overall during the 2012-13 season and was the Northeast 10/ECAC Division II champion for the fourth year in a row. In the NE-10 hockey championship’s 14 years of existence, has participated in 13 finals, winning eight.

According to the AHA website, the league recently announced it will have a 28-game league schedule beginning in 2014-15 with each team facing 10 league opponents twice for a total of 20 games, plus an eight-game wild card league schedule. The conference also will increase the number of scholarships allowed to 13 in 2014-15 and 14 in 2015-16.

UConn, who recently introduced former Boston College assistant Mike Cavanaugh as their next head coach, announced it would move its hockey program to Hockey East for the 2014-2015 season, becoming the league’s 12th member. Notre Dame announced it would join the conference for the 2013-2014 season in October 2011.

The AHA consists primarily of schools in New England, New York and Pennsylvania, with the exception of Air Force, which is located in Colorado Springs, Colo. St. Anselm, located in Manchester, N.H., and URI would be the first schools from each of their respective states to compete in the league.

New England competitors include American International College (Springfield), Holy Cross (Worcester), Bentley (Waltham),and Sacred Heart (Fairfield, Conn.).

URI and St. Anselm would also be their states’ third Division I hockey programs. The Rams would be joining Brown (ECAC) and Providence (Hockey East), while Dartmouth (ECAC) and New Hampshire (Hockey East) would welcome the Hawks to the D-I ranks.

National runner up Quinnipiac, now in the ECAC, was a founding member school of AHA, which was formed in 1997 as part of the MAAC and became its own conference in 2003.

Photo from www.saintanselmhawks.com

This was a total team effort.

The Bruins beat the Rangers on Sunday afternoon, 5-2, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.  Five different Bruins scored in this game, and Tuukka Rask was terrific in the Boston goal.

For the first half of the game, every time the Bruins took the lead, the Rangers responded.  After rookie Torey Krug put Boston up 1-0, Ryan Callahan tied it for New York shortly thereafter.  When Gregory Campbell gave Boston a 2-1 lead, the Rangers tied it less than a minute later on Rick Nash’s goal.  But when Johnny Boychuk beat Henrik Lundqvist at the 12:08 mark of the second period, there would be no more ties in the contest.  The Bruins added two more goals in the third from Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic, the first of which was nearly a carbon copy of the goal that ended the Leafs’ series.

Rask made 35 saves for Boston.  As for King Henrik, he has suddenly become human.  After blanking the Caps in back-to-back games in the first round, the Bruins have beaten him eight times in the first two games of this series.

Of course, maybe the Rangers have the Bruins right where they want them.  New York fell into an 0-2 hole against Washington and came back to win that series in seven games.

Game 3 is Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

AGAWAM, Mass. — “‘Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls…’ welcome to the Carl Beane Baseball Field at Memorial Field.”

The man who will always be known as “the voice of Fenway Park,” Carl Beane, was honored by his hometown on Agawam back on April 27 when the little league baseball season opened.

Beane, a former Agawam resident who used to play for the town’s little league team, and later coached it, had former Memorial Field dedicated in his name by the town with a parade and two granite markers that display the field’s new name the “Carl Beane Baseball Field at Memorial Field.” An inscription on the 2nd marker, reads, “Carl E. Beane 1952-2012.  The ‘Voice of Fenway Park.’  A former Agawam Little League player, coach & hometown hero.”

The renaming of the field and granite markers were not all that the town of Agawam did, however. Agawam High School’s class of 1971 (Beane’s graduating class) also dedicated a bright red metal bench in Beane’s honor behind the third base line at the new Carl Beane Baseball Field.

Beane suffered a heart attack while driving his car last year, causing him to crash into a tree in Sturbridge. He was 59 years old.

Beane replaced Ed Brickley as the Red Sox public address announcer back in 2003 and remained with the team until he passed away in 2012. The day following his death, the team played with no public address announcements as a tribute to the late announcer.

“He always was an Agawam boy–western Massachusetts,” said Darryl Beane, Carl’s brother. “He always thought it was very cool that someone from a small town could be on the biggest stage in the world and then to be honored with a monument like this.”

Among his other accomplishments, Beane was a Western Massachusetts native and graduated from Agawam High School in 1971. He went on to graduate from the Career Academy School of Broadcasting in 1972, and would later teach at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting’s Needham campus until it closed in 2009. Beane worked as a broadcaster for ESPN Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio, Westwood One and the Associated Press, as well as had his voice featured in the 2005 film Fever Pitch and in an exhibit at the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame.

Beane was a hometowner who frequently returned to Western Massachusetts and was famous for giving his “tour of the rings,” all over New England, in which he trusted and allowed fans to be photographed wearing his two Red Sox World Championship rings.

“He wanted to know that he made a mark in the world, that he’ll always be remembered,” said Darryl Beane. “He never really grasped how famous he was. He always said he wanted to leave a mark and never be forgotten. I think he has accomplished that.”

Maybe the Bruins should just play overtime in every playoff game from here on out.

On Thursday night, it was Brad Marchand who played the role of hero.  He took a centering pass from Patrice Bergeron and beat Henrik Lundqvist to give Boston a 3-2 victory over the Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.  The Bruins are now a perfect 3-0 in overtime games in these Stanley Cup Playoffs.

After a scoreless first period, Boston got on the board in the second, courtesy of Zdeno Chara.  The goal snapped Lundqvist’s shutout streak; he blanked the Caps in the last two games of their first-round series.  The Rangers tied it on a potentially backbreaking goal with 1.3 left in the period by Ryan McDonagh.  If that wasn’t tough enough, Derek Stepan gave New York the lead just 14 seconds into the third.  But Torey Krug got the equalizer for Boston less than three minutes later.

The Bruins controlled the play in OT, outshooting the Rangers 16-5 and eventually getting the game-winner from Marchand.

Game 2 is Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.

Admit it: you still can’t believe that happened.

There were the Bruins, trailing the Leafs by three goals in the third period of a decisive Game 7, having played miserably since the opening minutes of the contest when they actually scored first. They were dead. They had nothing left in the tank. There was no chance in the world of them coming from behind to win.

Oh, yes there was.

This will go down as one of the great comebacks in NHL playoff history. Midway thru the third, Nathan Horton made it 4-2. OK, so they still trailed by two. With less than two minutes remaining, Tuukka Rask came off for the extra skater. With 1:22 left on the clock, Milan Lucic put home a rebound. It was 4-3. 31 seconds later, with the net still empty at the other end, Patrice Bergeron’s wrist shot found the back of the net.

Tie game.

The crowd at TD Garden went bonkers, except for those who left early. Yes, there were empty seats as the clock ticked down. It’s yet another reason to never leave a game early – ever.

In overtime, Patrice Bergeron completed the incredible comeback by picking up a loose puck and putting it past James Reimer.

Boston 5, Toronto 4. Final.

Yes, it really did happen.

The Elias Sports Bureau says the Bruins are the first team in NHL history to win a Game 7 after trailing by three goals in the third period.

The Bruins advance to the conference semifinals to take on the Rangers, who eliminated the Capitals in another Game 7 on Monday night.