College Hockey:This Week in the NCHA/MCHA
Another week in the books and yet another week of shuffling for NCHA and MCHA teams in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll.
No longer do six NCHA teams grace the top 15, as winless weekends by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point dropped both from the realm of the ranked. Though those two teams fell, wins over both by UW-River Falls obtained the Falcons a single vote, which means there are now seven NCHA teams receiving votes.
Up at the top, yet another strong weekend from each held St. Scholastica and Superior at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively. The Saints retained their three first place votes.
St. Norberts 0-1-1 weekend dropped the Green Knights from fifth to eighth and they were leapfrogged by Stout who now stands at No. 7.
Youve got that right people: half the top eight teams in the country are made up of squads from the NCHA.
Speaking of the top eight, its a location Adrian no longer finds itself in, as despite a 3-1, 10-1 sweep of then second place Marian, the Bulldogs actually dropped a spot down to No. 9. They remain the only MCHA team to receive votes.
Well, theres no rest for the weary as both the MCHA and NCHA have two weekends of conference play remaining. As a result, this week we finally check in with Superior, as well as two MCHA teams mired in battles for playoff home ice.
Twin Ports, Twin Powers
Last weekend was more of the same from the northern travel partners, as UW-Superior and St. Scholastica traveled to St. Norbert and Lake Forest and skated away with a combined seven of eight possible points.
Both picked up wins at Lake Forest and Superior skated to a 2-2 tie at St. Norbert. Meanwhile, the Saints scored a 3-0 victory at St. Norbert. It was the Saints first victory over St. Norbert ever at the Cornerstone.
Despite the Saints impressive 17-3-2 overall record, win at St. Norbert and an earlier 7-2 victory over Superior, with two weeks and three games to go the Yellowjackets remain atop the NCHA, albeit barely.
They sit at 17-2-3 overall, 8-1-2 in the NCHA, and one point clear of the Saints for the conference lead.
How are they doing it?
One thing to take note of is that this has not come out of nowhere. Superior sets its proverbial bar extremely high, and was no doubt disappointed in the past few seasons — especially its playoff disappointments.
That being said, the Yellowjackets posted a 33-12-8 ledger over the past two campaigns, which is certainly a record most teams would be more than happy to have achieved.
They are also loaded with upperclassmen, 17 in all, eight of whom are seniors. Like it has for St. Scholastica, the wealth of experience appears to be paying dividends for the Yellowjackets.
I must admit I feel foolish for dropping the ball on Superior and picking them fifth in my preseason predictions. Especially considering I was the one expecting big things from them in the NCHA playoffs last season.
One interesting element to this years edition of the Yellowjackets is that they dont necessarily resemble some of the Superior teams of past years.
Warranted or not, Superior has a reputation of being a skilled and physical team that plays with a bit of an edge. Certainly weve all seen the jokes about players of past years hair length or their propensity for chirping with the best of them.
Accurate or not, its a perception that is out there. The interesting thing about this years club, however, is that they are almost the anti-Superior team relative to those preconceptions.
They are a bit smaller, a tad less physical, and just as skilled. They quietly go about their business and they have done it extremely well.
In fact, Id go so far as to say they resemble something closer to the Middlebury team I saw at the Frozen Four two years ago more than they do their own 2002 national championship squad. Not that anyone would complain about being either, but the style contrast is indeed noticeable.
Parts seem interchangeable, everyone looks sort of the same, everyone does everything out on the ice, and they are all on the same page a vast majority of the time.
As one Western coach said just yesterday, [b]y the second week of the season they looked like a team that was in mid-season form.
The Yellowjackets have exhibited nothing to dispel that notion. Much of that begins in goal with senior netminder Chad Beiswenger. Just as he was last season, Beiswenger has been lights out this year and played a major role in Superiors success.
He is the only goaltender to touch the ice for the Yellowjackets this season, having fashioned a 17-2-3 record with a 2.02 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.
He leads the nation in minutes played by over two full games and his 2.02 GAA ranks him 13th nationally. His 17 wins are good for second most in the country.
The Yellowjackets defense ranks second in the NCHA and has conceded a meager 22 goals through 11 games. Though Beiswenger is a key reason for their stinginess, he isnt doing it alone.
They also boast a host of skilled mobile defensemen and are led by a pair of juniors in Brian Bina and Art Clark. A converted forward, the versatile Ryan Kuntz has also played a key role on the Superior blue line, as have Jeff Seifert and Josh Herman.
With Beiswenger in net and three strong defensive pairings, its highly unlikely the Yellowjackets defense will crack any time soon.
The Superior offense is no slouch either, ranking second in scoring in the NCHA. Its 4.41 goals per game are also good for ninth best in the nation and the Yellowjackets rank third nationally in scoring margin, winning by an average of 2.36 goals per night.
One of Superiors main strengths up front is its balanced attack. The Yellowjackets currently lay claim to five 20 point scorers, but none have more than 27. Juniors Braden Desmet and Chris Wilson lead the Yellowjackets with 12 tallies apiece, while senior Kevin Huck leads the team with 18 assists.
A pair of sophomores — Logan Isley and Talon Berlando — as well as senior Seth Reda help to fill out the chamber on Superiors scoring revolver.
Another boon for the offense this season has been improved production on the power play. The Yellowjackets struggled with the man advantage the past few years, scoring at a 16.4% clip a year ago, 14.6% the year before and a paltry 12.2% in 2005-06.
While not setting the world on fire, they have continued to improve and are currently converting 20.9% of their power play chances, a definite upgrade over recent years.
Overall, it is not an exaggeration to say this years version of the Yellowjackets has no discernable weaknesses. On top of that, despite being a point back in the NCHA race, they are in the enviable position of controlling their own destiny.
Their three remaining games are at home: after hosting Eau Claire and Stevens Point they close out the season by welcoming national No. 2 St. Scholastica to their barn. Win out and the regular season NCHA title, as well as home ice throughout the playoffs, is theirs.
In a league as combustible as the NCHA, its easier said than done to string three wins together against teams that were nationally ranked as recently as a week ago.
That said, there is certainly no reason to think the Yellowjackets cannot lay claim to their first NCHA regular season title since 2001.
After all, theyve done nothing to suggest otherwise.
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