News from U.S. College Hockey Online: NCAA ice hockey news, features, scores, stats, fan forum and more. http://www.uscho.com/ 2009-11-21T06:50:05-06:00 FeedCreator 1.7.1 2009-11-20T10:33:34-06:00 2009-11-20T10:33:34-06:00 2009-11-20T10:33:34-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17535/ThisWeekinDIWomensHockeyNovember202009.html Dan Hickling, USCHO Women's D-I Correspondent

Ragging the puck while waiting for the Qwest Tour to hit the Granite State …</p> <h4>Ten Years of Title-hunting</h4> <p>Taking note that Minnesota-Duluth will be celebrating its 1'th anniversary in womens' hockey this weekend - “A Decade of Dominance” - when Minnesota State hits the Iron Range. Talk about an illustrious program. What Shannon Miller has built in Duluth has been innovative and always entertaining. I remember watching Swedish forward Erika Holst warming up before a game, some years back, and thinking, “that slap shot could really hurt somebody”. It was Duluth that really paved the way for Europeans to come Stateside to play womens hockey, and also paved the road westward …</p> <h4>Early Signings</h4> <p>Taking note of the early signing announcements that are trickling out: UMD signed five players on the first sign­ing date of the class of 2'1', and with the addition of the five Bulldogs currently centralized with their respective national teams ahead of the Olympics (Kim Mar­tin, Elin Holmlov, Haley Irwin, Jocelyne Larocque and Pernilla Winberg), UMD is looking strong for next year.</p> <p>The Bulldogs new signees include for­ward Dana Gallop (Grand Rapids, Min­n.), forward Jamie Kenyon (Sparta, Wisc.), forward Jenna McParland (Schreiber, Ont.), forward Brienna Gillanders (Kyle, Sask.), and defenseman Noora Jaakkola (Toijala, Finland). Gallop is a Miss Hockey finalist, and also has U-18 experience - as does Kenyon. Jaakkola looks to be as tough to play against as her name is to spell.</p> <p>Wayne State coach Jim Fetter inked four players to replace the team's graduating quartet. Katie Gaskin (Pickering, Ont.) and Cari Coen (Torrance, Calif.) will help bolster the back line, while a pair of Little Caesar's teammates - forward Rachel Hardwick (Algonac, Mich.) and goalie Lisa Marshall (Powhatan, Va.) - will also head to Motown.</p> <p>“I feel that these players bring quickness and hockey sense,” said Fetter. “We had addressed speed as an (area) that we needed to improve.”</p> <p>Perhaps the most intriguing of the incoming classes will assemble next fall at University of Minnesota. Bethany Brausen (Little Canada, Minn.), Sarah Davis (Paradise, N.L.), Baylee Gillanders (Kyle, Sask.), Amanda Kessel (Madison, Wis.), Kelly Terry (Whitby, Ont.) and Elizabeth Turgeon (Cherry Hills Village, Colo) all have signed National Letters of Intent.</p> <p>The name that jumps out from that bunch, of course, is Kessel's, who like her brothers Phil and Blake, decided to forgo the chance to play in her own back yard at Wisconsin. Instead, she'll become a Gopher.</p> <p>“Minnesota was my gut feeling and I knew it would be the right fit for me,” said Kessel, a forward like older brother Phil. “I feel Minnesota will help me achieve my dreams of winning a collegiate national championship and playing in the Olympics. The facilities are unbelievable along with the coaches and the team. I am thrilled to be a Gopher.”</p> <p>Kessel has played at Shattuck-St. Mary's the past three years.</p> <p>Another Minnesota recruit with hockey genes is Turgeon, the daughter of former NHL pivot Pierre Turgeon, who played 19 seasons in the big league. Elizabeth is another former member of the U-18's, and has been skating with the Colorado Selects for the past few seasons.</p> <p>Gophers coach Brad Frost was understandably pleased to have landed Turgeon, a gifted scorer like her dad.</p> <p>“Liz has deep hockey roots,” Frost said. “She has grown up around the game and is a big, strong forward who can put the puck in the net. She sees the ice well and works extremely hard both on and off the ice. Liz played on the United States U-18 team that won gold in 2''8 and has made a huge impact with her Colorado Select team. She is a very likable and mature person who will fit in great with our team both on the ice and in the classroom.”</p> <p>More on next fall's freshman invasion coming soon.

2009-11-20T10:51:39-06:00 2009-11-20T10:51:39-06:00 2009-11-20T10:51:39-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17536/ThisWeekinDIIIWomensHockeyNovember202009.html Derek Dunning, USCHO Women's D-III Correspondent

<h4>The Champs are Back in Town</h4> <p>It’s been a long seven-and-a-half-month wait for Jim Plumer and the Amherst Lady Jeffs after winning last year’s NCAA championship in thrilling fashion with a 4-3 overtime victory over Elmira. However, this Saturday the wait is finally over as the Lady Jeffs hit the ice for the first time in the 2''9-2'1' season with a pair of NESCAC league games against Wesleyan.<br /> <br /> Due to league rules, the NESCAC teams have been unable to start play until this weekend. However this year, the NESCAC isn’t at quite as big of disadvantage because of the NCAA implementing the Oct. 15 flat start date for D-III hockey schools this season. In previous years, some schools would have played close to 1' games by the time the NESCAC schools played their first.<br /> <br /> Amherst returns as the number-one-ranked team in the latest USCHO.com poll as the Lady Jeffs garnered 13 first-place votes to easily out-distance second-ranked Elmira.<br /> <br /> While the Lady Jeffs will be starting the season at number one, they did lose a solid group of five players that were instrumental in turning the Amherst program from a laughingstock into a perennial national powerhouse. Gone are dynamic forwards Tarasai Karega, Lindsey Harrington, and Anna MacLean as well as two of the Jeffs biggest leaders on the defensive end in Julie Radziewicz and all-everything goaltender Krystyn Elek.<br /> <br /> Although Elek was only a junior, she opted to forgo her senior season and focus on academics in her final year at Amherst.<br /> <br /> “We’ve known that Krystyn wasn’t planning on playing hockey this year since May,” Plumer said. “The four seniors along with Krystyn made a huge impact on our program and really helped us turn the corner. They brought our program to another level and certainly left their legacy. However, we’re ready to embrace the challenge of defending our title and I honestly think this year is the most focused group we’ve had since I’ve been here. All the returning players realize the opportunities they have to fill holes and now will have a chance to shine after waiting in the wings.”<br /> <br /> This year’s Lady Jeff roster features 21 players, including 18 returners from last season’s National Champions squad. Junior forward Courtney Hanlon returns as last year’s scoring leader with 19 goals and 14 assists. Seniors Kate Dennett and Michelle McGann tallied 25 and 19 points respectively to both rank in the top six for Amherst scorers last season. Sophomore Emily Vitale will also look to fill the void left by Karega and Harrington as she will look to improve upon her seven goals and 15 assists last season.<br /> <br /> “We return five of our six d-men from last season, which has really been the foundation of our team,” Plumer said. “We’re looking for big things out of Kristen Dier and Randi Zukas to lead that defense unit. Kate Dennett and Courtney Hanlon will play huge roles for us. Dennett will forever be defined as clutch after her performance in the National Championship game last year.”<br /> <br /> As far as newcomers this season, Plumer said he expects all three freshmen to make an impact for the Lady Jeffs this season.<br /> <br /> “Geneva Lloyd is a freshman defenseman that has looked great in practice so far,” Plumer said. “She’s going to fit in perfectly with our mobile puck-moving defenseman style. Megan Doyen is a fast little forward that plays a lot like Lindsey Harrington and she took on Lindsey’s number 24 too. Kaitlyn McInnis has been only with us on the ice a few times as she was finishing up the field hockey season. She’s going to be a big strong power forward and a presence on the ice when she finally gets up to speed after missing a lot of ice time because of field hockey.”<br /> <br /> As far as the rest of the league goes, Plumer expects Amherst to face tough challenges from many of its NESCAC foes.<br /> <br /> “Everybody has gotten better this year,” Plumer said. “Middlebury has a great freshman class and they are going to be a lot better than they were last year and that was a team that made and hosted the Frozen Four. I think Bowdoin is ready to make a move back up to where they used to be and Hamilton could be a team to watch out for as they got a great freshman goalie coming in that will compliment an already very good offense.”<br /> <br /> First up for the Lady Jeffs on their title defense will be a trip to Middletown, Conn., to take on the Wesleyan Cardinals. <br /> <br /> “This year is going to be an interesting year as we’re the odd team out and have no travel partner this year in the NESCAC,” Plumer said. “It makes the season a lot different playing a team twice in a row instead of two games in two nights against different teams. Last year, Wesleyan played us as tough defensively as anybody. They have a new coach this year in Doug Mandigo (Middlebury head coach, Bill Mandigo’s brother) so we’re not really sure what to expect. We’re just really excited to finally play again.”<br /> <br /> <h4>Two Showdowns, Two Regions</h4> <p>Not to get lost in the fact that the NESCAC teams will finally be hitting the ice this weekend, both the east and west regions have two terrific two-game series on tap this weekend. In the east, Plattsburgh and Elmira renew their rivalry with just a combined five games between the two teams this season. This is the earliest in the season these two bitter rivals have met since 2''1 when the Soaring Eagles and Cardinals split a two game series.<br /> <br /> In the west, Wisconsin-Superior travels to defending NCHA champion and O’Brien Cup winner Wisconsin-River Falls for a pivotal early season showdown for both schools. The Yellowjackets are coming off a big upset win over third-ranked Gustavus Adolphus. River Falls returns all of last year’s squad that made it all the way to the final four before bowing out to Elmira in the national semifinals. <br /> <br /> Elmira and Plattsburgh have both now completed two full four year cycles and after Elmira got the upper hand on the Cardinals in the first four years, sweeping all four ECAC West Tournament crowns as well as two national titles. The Cardinals rebounded the second four years with two national titles of their own. The all-time series stands at 13-13-3.<br /> <br /> Gone are the star names of past Soaring Eagle greats: Laura Hurd, Edith Racine, LeAnne Denman, Jackie O’Neil, Kayla Coady, Allison Cubberley, and Jamie Huntley. On the Plattsburgh side of things names such as Liz Gibson, Lynn Taylor, Carolyn Roy, Jenn Clarke, Erin O’Brien, Danielle Blanchard, Breanne Doyle, and Claire O’Connor. <br /> <br /> Who will be the next batch of players to etch their names into the history books of this storied rivalry? More importantly, which way will the pendulum swing for the next four years? We’ll all get our first glimpse this weekend as the two teams collide at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena on Saturday and Sunday.

2009-11-20T16:25:17-06:00 2009-11-20T16:25:17-06:00 2009-11-20T16:25:17-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17537/ThisWeekinMIACNov192009.html Scott Bridges, USCHO MIAC Correspondent

<h4> Weekend Roundup </h4> <p>If anyone had any doubts as to how wide open the MIAC is this season, the opening weekend of conference play dispelled them. Only one team managed to win both games this weekend and of the eight games played only two were decided by more than two goals. </p> <p>Bethel topped St. John’s 5-3 on Friday in a close game. The Royals scored three third period goals, including an empty netter, to close out their first win of the season. </p> <p>Before the season, Bethel coach Joel Johnson said his team would be relying more on a scoring by committee approach. His team followed through with that on Friday as four different players lit the lamp for the Royals in their first home game. </p> <p>On Saturday, the series shifted to St. John’s, where the Johnnies held a sizeable shot advantage throughout the game. Despite being outgunned 23-13 through two periods, the Royals held a 2-1 lead. Although the third period was filled with action, the only scoring would come on an empty netter to seal the 3-1 win for Bethel, giving them sole possession of first place. Fittingly, three different players scored for the Royals in the game.</p> <p>Augsburg faced off against St. Thomas on Friday hoping to end their two game shutout sweep, which the Auggies faced against NCHA opponents UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls. However, the Tommies would spoil Augsburg’s home opener with a 3-' defeat. </p> <p>St. Thomas scored a goal in each period, and never really let Augsburg get into the game, despite shots being relatively even. The Auggies went '-4 on the power play, continuing what has to be a disappointing trend for the team. </p> <p>On Saturday the scoreless streak, as well as the disappointment on the power play, would evaporate. The Auggies came out playing hard and physical, and at the end of the second period, they held a 3-' lead on the strength of three power-play goals. The third period though, would see the Tommies come roaring back in front of their home crowd, and eventually tie the game in the final minute. That late goal would propel St. Thomas into a tie for second place in the league after their three point weekend. Conversely, it would also knock the Auggies into a tie for sixth place with one point.</p> <p>St. Mary’s traveled to Concordia (MN) in a meeting of two young teams. Both St. Mary’s coach Bill Moore and Concordia’s coach Chris Howe have tried to focus on getting their teams to put out a full effort for 6' minutes, as well as to be more consistent in their play.</p> <p>On Friday, St. Mary’s would outshoot Concordia heavily, but while the Cardinals may have controlled play, the Cobbers took advantage of their chances and were able to skate away with a 6-3 victory. This marked the most goals scored by Concordia against D-III competition since the 2''6-2''7 season.</p> <p>This game was a wild affair, with two power-play goals for each team and a shorthanded goal thrown in for good measure. Despite all the special teams play, there were 13 combined penalties in the game, good for 26 minutes.</p> <p>On Saturday, the story would be almost the exact opposite. Concordia would be the team controlling play, outshooting the Cardinals 43-3', yet it would be St. Mary’s scoring two quick goals in the third period to open up a 3-' lead. Concordia would get a goal back halfway through the period, but that would be it for the scoring as St. Mary’s would earn the 3-1 win. While no goals were scored on the power play this time, the teams ended up committing 22 penalties for 63 minutes.</p> <p>St. Olaf and Gustavus Adolphus faced off for what looked to be the marquee matchup coming into the weekend. Friday was a game of two halves, with the Gusties starting off strong, and coming up with leads of 1-', 2-1, and 3-2, only to see St. Olaf battle back each time. After a furious charge in the third period, the Oles would tie the game at 3-3 late in regulation. Neither team would be able to score in overtime, and the game ended in a tie.</p> <p>While fans of both teams might be left wondering what would have happened if the Gusties had been able to keep up their pressure for three periods instead of two — or if the Oles had been able to control play early on instead of mostly in the third period — the game ended up being evenly played on the ice, and fittingly the score reflected that.</p> <p>Saturday’s game at Gustavus ended up being a wild one. Gustavus would control shots on goal, leading 25-13 after two periods, and 3'-19 for the game, but Gustavus would be the one facing deficits of 2-1 and 3-2 early on, with David Martinson scoring each time to tie the game up, </p> <p>In the third period, Martinson stole the show, scoring four minutes in to give the Gusties a 4-3 lead, and scoring shorthanded a few minutes later to make it 5-4. After the Oles scored to close it to 5-4, the Gusties would be able to hold them off the rest of the way to come out of the weekend with fourth place, and tied with St. Thomas for second place in the MIAC.</p> <h4>Coming Up Next </h4> <p>This coming weekend again sees eight of the nine MIAC teams playing conference games. With an odd number of league members, one school misses out on conference games each weekend. This weekend sees Augsburg instead has two games scheduled against MCHA opponent Concordia (WI). </p> <p>Hamline was the last team out this past weekend, and the Pipers jump into their conference schedule with a home-and-home series against St. Mary’s. Hamline was the only MIAC team not to lose against the NCHA when the two conferences faced off two weeks ago, winning 6-3 at UW Stevens Point, and skating to a 1-1 tie at St. Norbert, the nation’s top team according to the USCHO DIII Poll.</p> <p>The Cardinals will need to find some consistency if they want to come out of this weekend with a win. Hamline can move the puck well and, if given room to skate, can be relentless in turning defensive breakouts into odd man rushes.</p> <p>After spending last weekend at home, Concordia (MN) heads to the road for two games at St. Olaf. This will be a tough test for the Cobbers, as they face off against last season’s MIAC regular season champions. </p> <p>The Oles are a balanced team that is smart with the puck, goes from defense to offense quickly, and doesn’t have many weaknesses. Concordia will have to work hard for both games to be able to stop St. Olaf’s attack, and they’ll have to work to create their own chances, as the Oles are not a team that shoots themselves in the foot.</p> <p>These two teams met at the MIAC Showcase during the season’s opening weekend, although it did not count towards the conference standings. St. Olaf came away with a 5-2 win in that game, scoring two shorthanded goals in the second period to basically put the game away. The Cobbers didn’t go quietly though, scoring twice in the final frame to cut it to 4-2 before an empty netter ended things.</p> <p>While the Cobbers will likely try to come out playing harder and smarter this time around, the Oles are a tough team anywhere they play, let alone at home. Last season they went undefeated in their own barn, scoring almost twice as many goals as they gave up.</p> <p>When Bethel and Gustavus Adolphus met in the MIAC Showcase, it was a mismatch on paper. The Gusties went to the NCAA championship game last season while the Royals finished seventh in the MIAC, missing out on the playoffs by three points. Yet in the third period, it was the Royals who were up 3-1 behind two power-play goals. In the end though, Gustavus was able to score three straight times to escape with a 4-3 victory.</p> <p>If the Royals learned that they need to play hard for the full game in order to come away with a victory, they have a chance to get some points this weekend. But if the Gusties learned that they also need to play hard, and not overlook any opponents, then their speed and quick puck movement may be more than Bethel can handle.</p> <p>This weekend’s biggest matchup is a classic rivalry game as St. Thomas and St. John’s play faceoff. When these teams met in the MIAC Showcase, they finished with a 1-1 tie. St. John’s led until late in the third period, when the Tommies were able to convert on their eighth power-play chance to tie it up.</p> <p>St. Thomas will be looking to build on their three point weekend against Augsburg, while St. Johns will be looking to move past their weekend sweep at the hands of Bethel. Another sweep will dig a big hole for the Johnnies to get out of in order to make the playoffs, while another big weekend of the Tommies could see them move into first place.</p> <h4> Turkey Time</h4> <p>With Thanksgiving coming up, my next column will not be until the first week in December. So, before finishing up here, it’s time to take a look at what the MIAC will be up to while you’re hopefully spending time with friends and family…and lots of turkey. </p> <p>Some teams will be taking the week off. After their upcoming games against Concordia (WI), Augsburg takes the weekend off. Like Augsburg, Gustavus Adolphus and St. Mary’s will be off until December after their games this weekend. </p> <p>While Bethel also takes off Thanksgiving weekend, the Royals start early when they host UW River Falls on Tuesday, Dec. 1, before jumping back into conference games the following weekend.</p> <p>If you’re up for some hockey before the holiday, you’re in luck as Hamline hosts UW-Eau Claire the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Eau Claire has looked impressive against the MIAC so far, shutting out Augsburg and beating Gustavus Adolphus 3-1 earlier in the season. Hamline will be putting their undefeated record against NCHA opponents on the line in this one.</p> <p>If you’re looking to get out and work off some of the stuffing and biscuits after Thanksgiving, you do have some MIAC options open. Four teams will be playing the weekend following Thanksgiving, although only one will be at home.</p> <p>St. Thomas hosts UW-Superior in the only game that will be played in Minnesota that weekend. The Yellowjackets were the NCHA’s regular season champions last season, and after a rough start to the season seem to have gotten the rust off, outscoring their last three opponents by an average of four goals.</p> <p>St. Olaf plays two games that weekend, but will head to Illinois to play against Lake Forest. This is Lake Forest’s first year in the MCHA, following their 5-2'-2 season in the NCHA last year. When they played last year, St. Olaf won 7-1 while putting 63 shots on net.</p> <p>The most intriguing MIAC action after Thanksgiving unfortunately occurs over 6'' miles from the Twin Cities, as both Concordia (MN) and St. John’s head to Michigan for Adrian College’s Thanksgiving Tournament. Concordia has an especially busy week, as they host Northland the previous Monday before hitting the road. </p> <p>While it is labeled a tournament, it does not have a true tournament format. Instead of the winners of Friday’s games playing on Saturday, the event has fixed matchups for both days, with both Concordia and St. John’s playing fifth ranked Adrian and Buffalo State.</p> <p>Buffalo State is currently 1-5-1, and will face fellow SUNYAC foes Plattsburgh (ranked third nationally) and Potsdam this weekend. They will play Concordia on the Friday following Thanksgiving before playing St. John’s on Saturday. The Johnnies have a very tough game facing them on Friday. Adrian is 4-' this season, which is only the third season their hockey team has been in existence. However, in that short time, they have amassed an amazing record of 57-4-1. Their only loss last season was against Neumann, the eventual national champions.</p> <p>This tournament will give these MIAC teams a chance to face some competition they normally wouldn’t be likely to face, as well as a chance to gauge themselves against one of the western region’s elite teams. </p> <p>If you happen to be in Michigan for the holiday, I highly recommend you check out this tournament if you have the chance. Adrian has had very few chances to face competition against the MIAC or NCHA, so it will be interesting to see how they fare. Besides, it’s Thanksgiving hockey, it should definitely be more fun than watching the Lions or Raiders from your couch.</p> <p>Hopefully you have a great Thanksgiving no matter what you end up doing, and I’ll see you back here the first week in December.

2009-11-20T22:05:06-06:00 2009-11-20T22:05:06-06:00 2009-11-20T22:05:06-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17538/NESCACSeasonPreview.html Tim Costello, USCHO ECAC East/NESCAC Correspondent

We are still more than a month away from Christmas and all of the good New England hockey fans have been patiently waiting for their conference season to begin after enduring daily looks at the box scores from every other league in the Northeast, including the newly formed MASCAC conference. </p> <p>The wait is over: Friday night begins what will likely be the most hotly contested and tight race in the NESCAC conference in years. And considering how close the standings have been — and how playoff positions have shifted right up until the final day of the season for the last five seasons in a row — that is a noteworthy statement.</p> <p>In keeping with the holiday theme, many coaches are very thankful that the season is getting underway as nearly three weeks of practicing has teams with the fever (not Swine flu) to play a real game against somebody, anywhere! There are lots of new faces in the league this year, so coaches are anxious to see what the pieces look like on the ice and start the process that will improve the level of play from November right through February. And beyond. </p> <p>The theme from all of the coaches has been optimism, as one would expect with everyone sitting with a '-'-' record right now. Most are happy with what they have seen over the multiple practice sessions as well as liking the all important team chemistry that brings the new and old players together in the new puzzle that starts every season. </p> <p>“I really don’t believe things will be much different than the past few seasons,” said Connecticut College head coach Jim Ward. “It may be the most competitive season we have seen with virtually everyone having the ability to finish near the top of the standing. Everyone wants to get off to a good start early, earn some points and find the consistency needed to be competitive every night. It will be a lot fun and it all starts with some great conference games this weekend.”</p> <p>So, here we go again. Get ready for the rollercoaster action to begin starting on Friday night; it’s going to be a very exciting season. This year like most others will really challenge anyone’s prognostication abilities — but here’s my best effort at figuring it all out.</p> <h4>Amherst Lord Jeffs</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 22-5-1<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 16-2-1<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> First<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> First</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “You can’t expect to replace a player like Jeff Landers with just one guy so we will be looking for the entire group, particularly upfront, to find those goals and points that he produced last year,” said head coach Jack Arena. “We are young on the defensive side but also have Cole [Anderson] back which should help cover up for a few mistakes while things get settled.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b> The Lord Jeffs have built a reputation for an excellent power play and penalty kill rankings as last year’s numbers will attest to. This season will be no different as Arena will be looking for production from a number of people, including captain Keith Nelson who takes over as the leader on the power-play unit hoping to improve on his 26 points from last season.</p> <p><b>Players to Watch: </b>Junior goalie Cole Anderson (1.51 goals against average, .954 save percentage), along with his teammate Jonathan LaRose, were nothing short of spectacular last year and gave Amherst the best goaltending tandem in the country. LaRose has left school, so the burden will fall to Anderson to backstop an inexperienced defense early. If he can come anywhere close to last year’s numbers, Amherst will be in position to repeat last year’s title run. </p> <p><b>Summary: </b>Last season saw the Lord Jeffs win their first NESCAC championship based on great goaltending, strong defense and timely scoring. This year’s formula for success will need to see an uptic in offense from a talented group of forwards — including Ted Vickers, Mark Colp and Eddie Effinger — that can take some pressure off the defense. </p> <h4>Middlebury Panthers</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 19-7-1<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 14-4-1<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Second<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Second</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “I really like what I have seen from this group, starting out in practice this month,” head coach Bill Beaney said. “We won’t score as many goals as we did last season and based on personnel will have a more traditional Middlebury look focused on being solid in the defensive end of the ice. We have a lot of new players this year and we are excited about what they can do on the ice.” </p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b> Captain John Sullivan and freshman phenom Martin Drolet return as the top scorers from last year’s team and will be expected to continue to produce numbers on the power play along with Charles Nerbak and Ken Suchoski.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b>Sophomore goalie John Yanchek hopes to build on a solid freshman season that saw him go 12-1-' with a 2.56 GAA. A return to the 3-2 forecheck system will help Middlebury continue the team’s reputation for solid goaltending and tight defensive play. </p> <p><b>Summary: </b> The Panthers lost several key players to graduation but have added some talent to build on their reputation for aggressive defense, team speed and opportunistic offense. Scoring goals may be a challenge for this team but if the back-end is solid, they won’t need much to continue the program’s winning ways.</p> <h4>Williams Ephs</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 15-9-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b>12-5-2<br /> <b>2''7-2''8 League Finish: </b> Third<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 USCHO Prediction: </b> Third</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “I really like our team,” said head coach Bill Kangas. “We have some key players back from last season which should help us and the experience some of our young guys had filling in for some of injured players last season should help us with our balance upfront. We have two solid goaltenders and three good lines so we should be able to compete every night.</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>The special teams will really need a boost on the power play and the return of a healthy Alex Smigelski should help the Eph’ production. Limited to only 17 games last season, Smigelski had eight goals and five assists. Look for those numbers to improve with a full season of opportunities.</p> <p><b>Players to Watch: </b>Sophomore defenseman Justin Troiani returns to lead the defense for Williams. Last season, he was a key on both ends of the ice, chipping in six goals and five assists from the blueline.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>Williams enjoyed a solid campaign last year and returns a solid nucleus of players to challenge the conference elite. To succeed, the goaltending tandem of Ryan Purdy and Marc Pulde will need to build on last year’s solid numbers while the offense will need to provide balanced production.</p> <h4>Connecticut College Camels</h4><br /> <br /> <b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 13-9-3<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 9-7-3<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Fifth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Fourth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “We are certainly more experienced and every group the past three seasons has continued to improve and do something the previous team had not achieved,” observed head coach Jim Ward. “I really like the skill of these kids and expect that we will continue our trend of achieving more as a team as compared with the previous season. We have high expectations and believe we can play with the consistency needed to compete at the top of this league.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>Special teams will be a key focal point for the Camels, who hope to better their 77% kill rate on the opposition’s power play and bump up their own 15.7 efficiency rate with the man advantage. Look for forwards Ryan Riffe and Julien Boutet to improve on their individual totals of four goals apiece on the power play.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b>While Ward would like to see this team to increase shots on opponents’ goalies and heighten their scoring opportunities, he would also prefer to see the shots against reduced to help out senior netminder Greg Parker, who has demonstrated over his first three seasons that he is one of the league’s best goaltenders. Parker will be expected to continue his strong play for the Camels and build on his outstanding career statistics.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b> This team returns a speedy and talented group of forwards from last year’s team that just missed out on securing a home ice in the playoffs. If the Camels find consistency early in the season — better offensive output and solid netminding — the Camels fighting for home-ice advantage.</p> <h4>Bowdoin Polar Bears</h4><br /> <br /> <b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 11-12-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 8-9-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Sixth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b>Fifth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “Last season I thought if we improved our goaltending and overall save percentage to around .9'' we would be right there in the hunt,” said Bowdoin head coach Terry Meagher. “This year I would like to see that number around .915 and we need to produce some more goals, especially from players who have had some success scoring points in the past.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>Senior Mike Corbelle scored six of his 1' goals last season on the power play. Look for some other contributions from the Polar Bears with the man advantage, as they try to improve upon last season’s 21.7% success rate.</p> <p><b>Players to Watch: </b> Senior forward and captain Colin MacCormack really got his game going late in the season, producing nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points. Meagher has been impressed with MacCormack’s leadership and hopes some of the other upper classmen return to form this season. In particular, Senior forward Ryan Blossom will be looking to improve on his 8-8-16 totals from last season.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b> The Polar Bears have a ton of talent and a young group of players that gained a lot of experience last season on the power play, penalty kill and support roles which should translate to a balanced line-up this season. The new Sid Watson Arena opened in mid-season last year so this is the first full campaign for the team playing in their new rink. If Bowdoin scores more goals, they will be looking at playing a home playoff game in their new arena.</p> <h4>Trinity Bantams</h4><br /> <br /> <b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 16-9-'<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 12-7-'<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Fourth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Sixth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “Our strength starts with Wes [Vesprini] in goal,” said Trinity head coach Dave Cataruzolo. “Our real question is going to be about who steps up defensively where we have a lot of new faces and lack experience. With so many new faces on the roster this season the team has a new feel so we will need to focus on playing our style and good defense.” </p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b> The power play was pretty effective last season, but graduation took away more than 5'% of the Banrtams’ goal scoring with the man advantage. Look for junior Adam Houli and sophomore Paul Jaskot to lead the attack and add to last season’s double digit goal totals. <br /> <br /> <b>Player to Watch: </b> With defense a clear focus for the Bantams, junior goalie Wes Vesprini is going to need some help out front. Blueliners Regnar Alksnis and sophomore Mike DeMayo are expected to be factors on both ends of the ice for Trinity. </p> <p><b>Summary: </b> Newcomers abound on this roster so all of the moving pieces may take some time to figure out. Trinity plays a disciplined style and strong goaltending should have them in every game while some of the young players grow accustomed to the much faster college game. If the young players contribute and some experienced players like Egor Petrov and Richard Hollstein take their games to the next level, Trinity may sneak up on a few teams at the most important time of the year.</p> <h4>Hamilton Continentals</h4><br /> <br /> <b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 9-15-1<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 8-11-'<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Seventh<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Seventh</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “I really like our depth up front and in goal,” stated second year head coach Norm Bazin. “I think we have improved our team speed and level of competitiveness which will be important keys to our desire to push the pace and play aggressive transition hockey. We are inexperienced on the blueline so we will see how that develops now that we start getting some real game action this weekend.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>Nearly 5'% of the team’s power-play goals last season were scored by forwards Chris Lorenc and Joe Buicko, who each tallied seven times. Both players return this year as the leading scorers from last season and will be expected to continue to produce points in all situations.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b>The departure of defenseman and captain Kyle Roulston has been a loss both on the ice and in the locker room. This year’s captain Joe Buicko will be expected to pick up the leadership role as well as lead by example on the ice as the Continentals will be looking to improve on last year’s jump back into the NESCAC playoff picture</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>It’s year two for Bazin and his first recruiting class has been added to this year’s roster. The team understands the system and expectations and will now need a core group of freshmen and sophomores to develop quickly on defense in order for this team to exceed last year’s much improved record. The Continentals are not going to sneak up on anyone, but they have the talent to make sure playing against them is never easy.</p> <h4>Colby White Mules</h4><br /> <br /> <b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 6-15-3<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 4-13-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Tenth <br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b>Eighth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “We lost a number of one goal games last season and certainly did not have the success we are used to on the power play for example,” recalled head coach Jim Tortorella. “We struggled to score goals in all situations but the opportunities and effort was there so we can build on some things with the group of returning players we have that will grow from last year’s experience. Our style is about taking care of the defensive end first so if do that well we will continue to be competitive in this league.” </p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>The power play has always been a strength for Colby, but last year the productivity dropped to just 13.4 %, with forward Michael Doherty accounting for five tallies. Look for these numbers to improve this year with help from junior Billy Crinnion and senior Michael Belliveau.</p> <p><b>Players to Watch: </b> Junior goalie Cody McKinney has a career .91' save percentage and has played in 42 games in his first two seasons for Colby. While last year’s goals against average was up, McKinney is still one of the league’s best and if he gets some support offensively, can make a couple of goals stand up for a victory.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b> As in the past, defense and goaltending will be the foundation of Colby’s success. If the offense comes to life early and the three newcomers make contributions, look out for the White Mules come February, when Tortorella’s crew is usually playing its best hockey.</p> <h4>Tufts Jumbos</h4><br /> <br /> <b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 11-12-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 7-1'-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Eighth<br /> <b>2''8-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b>Ninth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “I am really excited about this team,” admitted Tufts head coach Brian Murphy. “In the past we have had two or three guys that could take over a game but this year we have solid depth from the goal out and guys that have improved a lot over where they were at the end of last season. This is the best group we have had here and I am looking forward to a good season and competing with this team every night starting this weekend.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>The Tufts power-play unit will need to improve on their 16.9 percent success rate and also cut down on the seven shorthanded goals scored against the Jumbos. Goalie Scott Barchard will look to be the team’s best penalty killer and match last season’s impressive .927 save percentage. </p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b> Junior Tom DeRosa, who transferred to Tufts from Division I Merrimack College, lived up to expectations last season in leading the Jumbos in scoring. This season, he is anticipated to build on last year’s numbers, which included a team leading line of 15-13-28 and five power play and game-winning goals. </p> <p><b>Summary: </b>This is clearly the deepest team Murphy has had at Tufts. If they can get balanced scoring and consistent play from Scott Barchard, the Jumbos could be in the playoff mix yet again — and from there anything could happen.</p> <h4>Wesleyan Cardinals</h4><br /> <br /> <b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 4-17-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 4-13-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Ninth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction</b> Tenth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “We have a lot of new faces around here this season,” said head coach Chris Potter. “Clearly we have struggled to score goals over the past several seasons including last season and we will need to find ways to create more opportunities. We have some inexperience in some areas that will need to develop and prove itself out but there is great potential here if we can focus on playing our style and our game from the outset.” </p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b> Both special teams need some improvement for the Cardinals to take the pressure off 5-on-5 play. Having scored just 43 goals as a team last season, Wesleyan will need to limit the opponent’s man advantage opportunities and exceed last year’s 17 power-play goal output.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b> Goalie Tim Archibald enters the season as the number one netminder but has seen action in just 13 total games, including five last season. His .9'2 save percentage last year was more than respectable, but he will have to prove he can be consistent while playing two games each weekend. </p> <p><b>Summary: </b>The Cardinals have a lot of question marks entering the season and will be looking for answers from players both old and new. It may take awhile for the chemistry and assembly of all the moving parts to come together, but if the offense can produce and the goaltending play consistently, Wesleyan may not be looking from the bottom up.</p> <p>The offseason is finally over. The weeks of tryouts and preseason practices are finally complete. The game uniforms are clean and ready.</p> <p>Drop the puck!

2009-11-20T22:05:42-06:00 2009-11-20T22:05:42-06:00 2009-11-20T22:05:42-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17539/ECACEastSeasonPreview.html Tim Costello, USCHO ECAC East/NESCAC Correspondent

The interlocking schedule between the ECAC East and NESCAC conferences takes on a different look this year with the departure of the Salem State Vikings and long-time head coach Bill O’Neill to the newly formed Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC). Replacing the Vikings are the Nor’easters from the University of New England, who under head coach Brad Holt will begin their first season as a varsity program. </p> <p>What won’t be much different is the high level of play and tight race for playoff position that we have seen over the past several years, including league championship wins by Babson from a sixth and seventh seed in two of the last four seasons. Last year, the Beavers beat eighth seeded UMass-Boston in overtime to win the title and advance to the NCAA tournament.</p> <p>You might think this is about parity. Well, that may be partially true in the sense that yes, any team can win in any given game. But do not confuse parity with mediocrity. This league has superb hockey teams from top to bottom, on both sides of the interlocking schedule, which makes it very challenging to produce wins every weekend. There are no nights off for any team and you better bring your best game if you want to be competing for a championship come March.</p> <p>The past couple of seasons have found the teams separated by just one or two points, with tiebreakers determining the seeding positions. This year expect more of the same. Here is my shot at how they will all finish in the ECAC East.</p> <h4>Norwich Cadets</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 13-8-4<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 11-5-3<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> First<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' Coaches’ Pick: </b> First<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> First</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “We have everyone back on defense,” said head coach Mike McShane. “We were pretty solid back there last year and if we can get a little better it should help us in those games where scoring is tough or you run into one of those hot goaltenders that a lot of teams seem to have now. I really like this group as they are working hard and seem to have a good atmosphere around the rink and in the locker room. Everyone is excited to get going as part of Norwich’s celebration of 1'' years of ice hockey at the school.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b> Sniper Nikita Kashirsky has graduated so the power play for the Cadets will be more about creating traffic and leveraging puck movement to create goals from the point or down low. Expect the penalty kill to be strong with the defensive unit intact and the return of goaltender Ryan Klingensmith.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b>Captain Tyler Stitt will set the tone for the Cadets, and his leadership has already garnered the attention of his coach who likes what he sees on-and- off the ice. Fellow senior DJ Fimiani will be expected to build on his eight goals and 11 assists from last season and support a balanced offensive attack for Norwich.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>If defense and goaltending win hockey games then clearly the Cadets are well-positioned to be successful this season. An early season tribute to the centennial of Norwich hockey and the national championship teams of 2''' and 2''3 may stir some feelings of some unfinished business from last season. The Cadets have always hosted in March and this year should be no exception.</p> <h4>New England College Pilgrims</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 15-1'-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 9-8-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Fourth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' Coaches’ Pick: </b> Third<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Second</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “We have a nice group coming back.” said head coach Tom Carroll. “You never really know how all of the pieces are going to fit together but we have a veteran group of guys who have been around for a couple of years and have helped the younger players get acclimated to college hockey and how we play at New England College.” </p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>Expect to see skilled forwards continue to excel on the Pilgrims’ special teams. Leading scorer Mark Ehl is back for his senior season and expects to exceed last year’s 1' goal and 17 assist output. Backstopping the Pilgrims is goaltender Aaron Harvey, who has proven to be a very consistent player for NEC. Harvey earned the number one billing by posting a 2.49 goals against average and an impressive .914 save percentage.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b>Senior defenseman Trevor Turner (4-14-18) has been a leader on this team since he first stepped foot on the ice as a freshman. This will be Turner’s third year as captain of the Pilgrims, a rarity for most teams, at any level. Turner is solid on both ends of the ice and distributes the puck well in transitioning to the offensive zone. Don’t expect a lot of goals from this blueliner, but he has tallied over 4' assists in the past two seasons.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>The Pilgrims only play 1' home games this season, so being a good road team is going to be an important factor in the team’s success. NEC always seems to be there at the end of the year in one of the top four playoff spots. This year should be no different; and if the younger players can come up to speed quickly like the experienced guys, Tom Carroll’s squad could be playing for some hardware come March</p> <h4> Castleton State Spartans</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 15-9-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 11-6-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Second<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' Coaches’ Pick: </b> Second<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Third</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “Last year’s group were the first seniors that I had brought into the program,” stated head coach Alex Todd. “There is a natural change in the atmosphere with a lot of new kids coming in this season and players who didn’t have to be leaders last year moving into new roles on this team. It is an exciting time and we are looking forward to competing hard every night. We have improved our overall team speed and will be playing a little different style with this group.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>Defenseman Omar Pacha led the Spartans in power-play goals last season with six. Expect some of the new look forwards to contribute to improving on last year’s 18.3% success rate. Goalie Seth McNary grew into the number one position last year after competing with two seniors. This season he will be pushed by two new freshmen. When McNary is on, his size and movement make it very difficult for teams to score in any situation so expect the penalty kill to put up solid numbers.</p> <p><b>Player To Watch: </b> Senior forward Steve Culbertson (1'-18-28) is the top returning point getter from last year’s team. If he can duplicate those totals, he should easily eclipse the 1'' point mark for his career at Castleton. His offense will be a much need commodity for the Spartans.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b> Just one point separated Castleton from cross-state rival Norwich for the top spot in the regular season. There are lots of new pieces on this year’s Spartan squad, so turning that youthful exuberance into focused play and strong results will be the challenge for captain Nick Westcott and his head coach. This program has come a long way quickly but still has yet to make the league finals so there is no lack of motivation for Castleton players this season.</p> <h4> Babson Beavers</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 17-6-3<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 13-4-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b>Seventh<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' Coaches’ Pick: </b>Fourth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Fourth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “The group that just graduated certainly had a lot of success here with the program,” stated head coach Jamie Rice. “We lost several of our top players that were big pieces in last year’s title run. That said we have some younger guys that played an equally big part in our success and will now be looked upon to lead our team with many new players and get everyone pulling in the same direction.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b> Babson’s power-play production was an exceptional 22% last season with a balanced distribution among several players. The Beavers have never been a one dimensional team, so look for junior Terry Woods, senior Chris Wood, senior Shane Farrell and senior Casey Fazekas to add to their goal totals this season.</p> <p><b>Players to Watch: </b> Senior Jason Schneider (11-22-33) is the team’s leading scorer and he will have some help this year with some added talent to the roster. Goalie Andrew Peabody moved into the number one role late last season and backstopped the team into the NCAA tournament. His .9'6 save percentage was solid, as was his 2.42 goals against average.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>With two conference championships under his belt, Rice knows how to get his team playing its best hockey at the right time of the season. There may be some younger and less experienced players on this roster, but Babson has demonstrated the ability to compete every game and improve their level of play when it matters most. Don’t underestimate the defending champs.</p> <h4> UMass-Boston Beacons</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 1'-16-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 4-14-1<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Tenth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' Coaches’ Pick: </b>Eighth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Fifth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “We want to compete with the best in this league and really improve our regular season results,” said Beacon head coach Peter Belisle. “We had a tough regular season last year where we lost a ton of one goal games and had some kids that never got into their groove until late in the season. We can definitely build off of last year’s playoff run and this team knows what it is going to take if we are going to be near the top in this league.</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>Senior goaltender Ryan Donovan has been outstanding in his first three seasons for UMass-Boston. Last year he started out slow, so look for the four year starter to be focused from the first drop of the puck in helping the Beacons to improve on their 73.4% penalty kill rate..</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b> Eric Tufman, who played on the winning U.S. team at the World Jewish Games this summer, will look to rebound offensively from a down season that saw him post 1' goals and 16 assists as a follow up to a 37 point season as a freshman. Sophomore Wayne Sands was a pleasant surprise in both ends of the ice last season. The defenseman quarterbacked the power play and posted 1' goals and six assists in his first season.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b> There are not the wholesale roster changes that UMass-Boston has had in the previous seasons. This core group has really matured and is looking to make a statement beyond last year’s overtime loss in the conference championship. There is a strong group of seniors that can show the way and if the core players play up to their talent, Belisle may be playing in another big game come spring.</p> <h4> Skidmore Thoroughbreds</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 13-1'-3<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 8-8-3<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Sixth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' Coaches’ Pick: </b> Sixth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Sixth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “We didn’t lose a ton from last year’s team,” said head coach Neil Sinclair. “We have a great core group back with some talented forwards, some solid young defensemen and good goaltenders. We will be looking to continue to push the puck offensively utilizing our speed but also striving to be more consistent with our overall game and results.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b> With opponents scoring 27% of the time on the man advantage, the penalty kill has to be a top priority for Sinclair’s squad. Look for sophomore Nick Dupuis ('-13-13) to be the trigger man on the man advantage for the Thoroughbreds as they try and improve on last year’s 12.5% success rate with the man advantage.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b> Sophomore Colin Bessey was last year’s ECAC Rookie Goalie of the Year. He was a big part of Skidmore’s success last season, posting a 2.68 goals against average and .919 save percentage. Forward Hunter Thayer (9-1'-19) will be expected to provide a lot of offense along with senior Matt Czerkowicz and junior Alex Mykolenko.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>This team has some good skilled players up front, on defense and in goal. The defensive corps will be made up of freshmen and sophomores so how quickly they gain experience will be a key to Sinclair’s goal of being more consistent. This team played well when it counted most last year so look for the experience and motivation to keep this group focused on improving last year’s finish.</p> <h4> Southern Maine Huskies</h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 11-12-2<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 8-8-3<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b>Fifth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' Coaches’ Pick: </b> Sixth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Fifth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “We are going to have a lot of new faces this year,” noted head coach Jeff Beaney. “We have a group of key performers back from last year and if they can help the younger guys come along quickly we can be very competitive in this league. We’ll have an idea of where we are pretty quickly as our first few games include the likes of Norwich, Williams and Middlebury.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>About 25% of the Huskies goals last season were scored on the power play with defenseman Paul Conter (8-18-26) leading the way with five goals. While the goal total was good the success rate should improve from last year’s 16.4%. The Huskies will also need to improve the penalty kill from last season’s 73.5%. Look for top netminder Koray Celik to backstop a better man-down unit this season.</p> <p><b>Players to Watch: </b>Senior forward Chris Travis (15-8-23) will be a key contributor upfront for the Huskies this season. Combined with junior Zack Joy (14-1'-24), the Huskies will need to see last year’s goal production from these two in support of the younger players gaining college experience.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>Southern Maine has a new travel partner this year which may make the second game of the weekend doubleheader more challenging depending upon the competitiveness of the UNE team joining the league. The Huskies have always been right in it and this year they will need some veteran leadership and consistent goaltending to help them play for a home-ice berth at the end of the season.</p> <h4> St. Anselm Hawks </h4> <p><b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 1'-15-1<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> 6-12-1<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Eighth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' Coaches’ Pick: </b> Seventh<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Eighth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “We are very young,” admitted Hawks assistant coach Mike Curtis. “We will have 14 freshmen on the roster and a lot of depth at forward with four of our top six scorers returning. Our team is basically made up of juniors and freshman so we need continued development from the upperclassmen while the freshmen get up to speed on what college hockey is all about. We are expecting the enthusiasm of the incoming group will get our returning players motivated for success so we can get back the level this team was at just a couple of seasons ago.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>Penalty killing will need to improve as the Hawks gave up all most as many goals to opponents as they scored themselves with the man advantage. The power play was very effective and Coleman Noonan (five power play goals), Paul Snell (five) and Nick Wheeler (six) all return to support the offensive effort for the Hawks.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b>Goaltender Alex Wyse started 13 games for the Hawks last season, after transferring from D-I Clarkson. A save percentage of .874 and goals against average of 4.51 are statistics that Wyse will need to improve upon in order for the Hawks to compete each night against the teams in this league, especially as a young defensive corps gains experience early in the season.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>This team is still young but has some strong performers from a year ago to build on particularly with the forwards and goal scoring capabilities. Consistent goaltending will be a key early on as will a rapid adjustment to the college game by the freshmen. While they aren’t eligible as a D-II school for the league playoffs, the Hawks want to prove they can compete with the league’s best as they prepare for a run at the NE-1' title in March.</p> <h4> St. Michael’s Purple Knights</h4> <p><b>2''7-2''8 Overall Record: </b> 11-15-1<br /> <b>2''7-2''8 League Record: </b> 4-14-1<br /> <b>2''7-2''8 League Finish: </b> Ninth<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 Coaches’ Pick: </b> Ninth<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 USCHO Prediction: </b>Ninth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b> “There are a lot of unknowns with this year’s team,” said head coach Chris Davidson. “We lost a lot scoring up front and a very consistent goaltender in Tyler Bilton. We will be counting on a lot of new faces to play a very disciplined style, particularly in the defensive end to support our new goaltenders. We have some very good leadership and expect that will help us keep the young guys focused on crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s and paying attention to the details of the game that we will need to compete in this league.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b>The power play will be looking to replace over half of last year’s goals following the graduation of Chris Healey and Ryan Mero. A healthy Alex Higgins up front should help the Purple Knights’ production. The penalty will have to get significantly better as opposing teams scored with the man advantage better than 21% of the time; a problem for a team looking for offense early in the season.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b> Senior defenseman and captain Dave Vorozilchak (4-1'-14) will be needed to be a force at both ends of the ice and really provide strong leadership for a young team looking to find itself early in the season.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>There are a lot of new components for this year’s team that need to be figured out including the offense and goaltending. Like St. Anselm’s, the Purple Knights definitely want to compete in the conference and show they can play with the best the league has to offer while preparing for their own D-II championship at the end of the season in the NE-1' conference. If St. Mike’s can find some scoring and goaltending becomes a strength for this team, they could be hoisting the NE-1' trophy again this season.</p> <h4> University of New England</h4> <p> <b>2''8-2''9 Overall Record: </b> 14-4-1 (Club Schedule)<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Record: </b> '-'-' (Did Not Play)<br /> <b>2''8-2''9 League Finish: </b> Did Not Play<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' Coaches’ Pick: </b> Tenth<br /> <b>2''9-2'1' USCHO Prediction: </b> Tenth</p> <p><b>Team Overview: </b>This is the inaugural season for the Nor’easters from the University of New England under head coach Brad Holt. “We have had two good recruiting years as we have played a club hockey schedule the past few seasons and have had time to get ready for the transition to the ECAC East,” said an excited Holt. “While we have two good recruiting classes with some good players from the prep and junior ranks, all the teams we are competing with have four good recruiting classes so we need to be patient and play or style of hockey with our personnel to help us be successful.”</p> <p><b>Special Teams: </b> UNE got a taste of the D-III level last week when they played Salve Regina from the ECAC Northeast. Despite outshooting the Seahawks by a wide margin, they lost a close 3-2 game and went just 1-for-7 on the power play. Special teams will be an important piece of the puzzle for Holt’s squad and they will have a much better barometer when they open the regular season Friday night against Norwich at home.</p> <p><b>Player to Watch: </b>Junior forward Jack Nolin is the real deal for the Nor’easters and will be relied upon to be productive in all situations on the ice. The rest of the roster is largely made up of freshmen and sophomores with very limited experience but anxious to be a part of building the program at UNE. Holt likes to play a “run and gun” style with lots of pucks to the net and stretching the defense so it will be interesting to see how this group of players acclimate themselves to the level of play in the ECAC East.</p> <p><b>Summary: </b>The Nor’easters aren’t worried about the wins and losses as much as they are about being competitive and being successful in reaching key goals as a team. Holt has been successful everywhere he has been and if the first recruiting classes can compete hard against top flight competition early on, UNE can quickly build a successful program in the way that Castleton, UMass-Boston and Skidmore have done with new coaches over the past several seasons.</p> <p>It’s here: the start of what will surely be an extremely competitive and roller-coaster like season. Everyone is anxious to play for real and this weekend kicks-off the pursuit of the ECAC East title. Hope you are all ready!</p> <p>Drop the puck!

2009-11-19T14:16:56-06:00 2009-11-19T14:16:56-06:00 2009-11-19T14:16:56-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17526/ThisWeekinSUNYACNov192009.html Russell Jaslow, USCHO SUNYAC Correspondent

<h4>Developing Stories</h4> <p>The season is still quite young. However, certain stories are already starting to develop.</p> <p>For starters, and not surprisingly, Oswego and Plattsburgh are staking their claim as the elite teams in the SUNYAC as well as national contenders. Overall, they each have only one loss, are playing tight defense, and especially in the case of Oswego, scoring plenty.</p> <p>As we quoted Oswego coach Ed Gosek last week, their main concern is who to play each game as everyone is capable of being in the lineup. That's a problem any coach would love to have.</p> <p>"Our season has been good so far," Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. "We played well against Oswego. I thought we played hard. We just didn't play smart. That was the difference."</p> <p>Watch out when they do.</p> <p>It will be an exciting year watching the Lakers and Cardinals duke it out, but perhaps even more thrilling will be how the rest of the league pans out. The parity between the other seven teams is astounding.</p> <p>It's like a dog chasing his own tail. Consider these circular results in just the first three weeks of league play:</p> <p><ul><br /> <li>Geneseo beat Potsdam who beat Brockport who beat Morrisville who beat Geneseo.</li><br /> <li>Potsdam beat Brockport who beat Morrisville who beat Potsdam.</li><br /> <li>Cortland beat Fredonia who beat Buffalo State who beat Cortland.</li><br /> <li>Brockport beat Buffalo State who beat Cortland who beat Fredonia who beat Brockport.</li><br /> </ul></p> <p>No wonder these seven teams are separated by just four points with four of them tied at four. More intriguing is the one team that has played less games (four compared to everyone else's five), Morrisville, has the fourth best record by percentage.</p> <p>Morrisville may end up being the real developing story of the year. </p> <p>They are .5'' in both conference and overall play, have already scored more SUNYAC points in their history, have not been swept in a weekend, have beaten Elmira, Geneseo, and Potsdam with only one of those wins coming at home, and in each one of those wins scored the winning goal in the third period or overtime. Perhaps it's time to stop calling Morrisville the underdog and call them a bona fide playoff contender.</p> <p>"I think we've done our part to prove that," Morrisville coach Brian Grady said. "We can control our actions. We can't control what other people think. We've proven that we can be successful. We're just going to take care of what we can control."</p> <p>Why has the SUNYAC become an anybody can beat anybody league?</p> <p>"Five to seven years ago, the SUNYAC really took off," Emery said. "The new coaches are working really hard to get good players. It's a league that anyone can beat anybody."</p> <p>If anybody is going to break away from the pack of seven, it might be Fredonia. After letting up seven goals each against Cortland and Oswego, they have only let up nine goals in their next four games including a shutout and have not lost a conference game since (their only loss coming to Elmira). The Blue Devils are playing the best, most consistent hockey outside of Oswego and Plattsburgh.</p> <p>When evaluating the early going for certain teams, you have to be careful when comparing it to expectations.</p> <p>"To be honest, coming off the year we had last year, we expected to be a little further ahead, but at the same time, we are still in a position to be fighting for a home playoff berth," Brockport coach Brian Dickinson said. "We got the North Country trip out of the way. The losses to Potsdam and Fredonia could have gone our way that we let slip away. Hopefully, we can continue to learn and make rapid improvements to have a successful season."</p> <p>"Problem overall was where we were ranked," Emery said. "Our ranking was based on last year and not on how many people we lost and all the new players coming in."</p> <p>With the upcoming weekend full of conference games before the brief holiday period, the developing stories will continue to emerge and adjust.</p> <p>Potsdam is in a sandwich looking up at Fredonia and down at Buffalo State as the Bears travel to those two Western New York schools. Morrisville looks to maintain the playoff hunt as they travel to Cortland. Geneseo and Brockport, currently tied, resume their rivalry. And Plattsburgh won't have it easy as they make their longest SUNYAC road trip of the year.</p> <p>"This has always been our toughest road trip as far as getting points," Emery said. "We have our work cut out for us."</p> <p>As does everyone in the year of parity.</p> <h4>Primelink Shootout</h4> <p>With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, this column will take next week off. Everyone have a great Turkey Day. After you stuff yourselves silly, go out and catch some tournament or nonconference Division III hockey. Perhaps the best action will be at the Primelink Shootout where Plattsburgh will once again compete.</p> <p>Ever since rotating a Western team into the format, this year's tournament features probably the strongest field ever. UW-Stout, fresh off a national semifinal finish, joins the fray. The host team, Norwich, will have the pleasure of facing off against the Blue Devils while Plattsburgh will play Middlebury in the first game on opening night.</p> <p>Buffalo State partakes in the Adrian Tournament which will use a fixed scheduling format which will match-up East and West. The Bengals will face Concordia (MN) and St. John's.</p> <p>Brockport travels to the Skidmore Invitational taking on the University of New England in the first game. Speaking of the Thoroughbreds, they will face Potsdam before the holiday in a special game at Lake Placid, home of this year's national championship. And Potsdam travels to Utica for two games while Cortland gets to host Hobart.</p> <p>Plenty of great games to be thankful for.</p> <h4>SUNYAC Short Shots</h4> <p>After Potsdam tied the game late in the third period, Morrisville retook the lead 1:'7 later on a goal by Bobby Cass, his second of the night, to eventually win 5-3 ... Ryan Silveira scored a hat trick to lead Brockport over Buffalo State, 5-2 ... Pat Street made 22 saves to shutout Geneseo, 5-', as Mat Hehr and Alex Morton each scored a pair ... Stephen Mallaro got a pair of power-play goals as Oswego beat Cortland, 5-1.</p> <p>Ryan Bulach scored the winning goal with 4:21 remaining in Geneseo's 3-2 win over Buffalo State ... Fredonia needed two late third period goals by Ian Cosgrove and Bryan Ross to beat Brockport, 5-3 ... Five different Plattsburgh players scored in a 5-1 win over Morrisville ... Oswego opened a 3-' lead and then hung on to defeat Utica, 3-2.</p> <h4>Game of the Week</h4> <p>How to choose? There are all the aforementioned holiday tournament games. There are many key SUNYAC matchups this weekend, and the way this year is going, picking a conference game is the way to go.</p> <p>The one we're going to choose is Brockport at Geneseo. These teams are currently tied with identical 2-3-' records. As is par for this season, every point is going to be so important with such a tight race. Last year, Brockport won both games against the Ice Knights, 7-2 and 5-2.</p> <p>"We expect it to be a highly emotional game," Brockport coach Brian Dickinson said. "I don't think the teams like each other. We're tied, so there are crucial points. We had the better of them last year, so I'm sure they will be talking about that in their locker room. It will be a hard fought, entertaining game."</p> <h4>On The Periphery</h4> <p>I have a problem. A serious problem.</p> <p>My brother-in-law after living the past 18 out of 21 years in Tokyo, Japan has moved back into the Rochester area. In the process, he had a large family — five boys and then a girl, currently ranging from a college freshman to a three-year-old. Many of the boys are avid sports fans and participants. Growing up mostly in Japan but attending the American School in Japan (ASIJ), enabled them to become exposed to baseball, basketball, and even American football, as well as cross country, swimming, and wrestling (much to the delight of their father, an All-Ivy League wrestler at Cornell).</p> <p>However, there was virtually no exposure to hockey. Worse, none of them care about the sport.</p> <p>One nephew even had the gall to tell me hockey is not a real sport. He told me this in Toronto when I took two of them to a Yankees-Blue Jays game (thankfully, they are at least all Yankees fans). I threatened to leave him behind to see how long he could survive in Canada with that sort of attitude.</p> <p>I have to believe if I took them to a college hockey game, exposed them to the excitement of not just the game itself but the atmosphere found at the collegiate level and have the ability to sit so close to the action to experience the speed and hitting, they would become instant converts. Especially if I took them to say a Plattsburgh-Oswego, Fredonia-Buffalo State, Geneseo-Brockport, or Air Force-RIT contest.</p> <p>But what happens if they still don't like the sport? What do I do then? Disown them?

2009-11-19T15:13:16-06:00 2009-11-19T15:13:16-06:00 2009-11-19T15:13:16-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17527/ThisWeekintheNCHAMCHANov192009.html Matthew Webb, USCHO NCHA and MCHA Correspondent

Another week brings another installment of the <a href='/rankings/?data=uscho3m'>USCHO.com Division III</a> men's poll and in what is, as usual, no real shock, NCHA teams are all over the place.</p> <p>Five in all grace this week’s edition, and once again St. Norbert is most newsworthy. The Green Knights two game sweep over the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point not only kept them in the top spot, but in the process they also sucked all the first place votes away from Plattsburgh and Oswego, neither of which lost last weekend. The Green Knights now lay claim to 16 of the 2' top tallies.</p> <p>Two of the first place votes not going to St. Norbert were claimed by Adrian, and the Bulldogs remain in the five spot following a weekend sweep of Northland.</p> <p>A three point weekend kicked UW-River Falls up two spots to sixth, and St. Scholastica, Stout and Superior fall into Nos. 8, 9, and 14, respectively. Interestingly, St. Scholastica’s two spot jump was enough to leapfrog Stout even though the two played to a pair of draws last week.</p> <p>This is the second week in a row that three MCHA teams have received votes, but after a '-2 weekend the Milwaukee School of Engineering is no longer one of them. With two wins over those same Raiders, Marian snuck in with three tallies and in the process became the fourth MCHA team to receive votes this season. Lawrence lost to Superior but picked up a single vote and is still hanging on.</p> <p>What does all this mean? Not much, but it’s pretty impressive that 1' of the 15 NCHA and MCHA teams have received votes at some point this season. </p> <h4>Objects In Your Mirror… </h4> <p>One glance at the MCHA standings and everything looks pretty much in order. Adrian is undefeated and at the top while the five teams (Lawrence, Lake Forest, MSOE, Finlandia and Marian) that follow are those that were expected to battle it out for second through sixth this season.</p> <p>A second glance, however, reveals one peculiarity: Marian is 2-2 and tied for fifth with Finlandia. Marian was picked second in the preseason coaches’ poll so seeing it in the bottom half the league is a little surprising…or is it?</p> <p>The Sabres were roughed up in Adrian on opening weekend and came out on the short end of 4-1 and 9-1 drubbings. So while the '-2 start wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, losing to Adrian early isn’t a relative setback considering the Bulldogs have yet to be beaten by any other MCHA team.</p> <p>“It gave us an idea of where we were at and what we needed to work on,” said head coach Jasen Wise. “Any time you play Adrian it’s a great measuring stick to see where you’re as far as the national radar goes. If you have weaknesses they will expose them.”</p> <p>Things didn’t get much easier for the Sabres last weekend as they faced a home-and-home series with MSOE, the preseason fourth place selection by the MCHA coaches.</p> <p>When the weekend concluded, the Sabres had scored 3-1 and 4-3 wins. Wise was especially pleased considering MSOE took three of four in the series last year and, like Marian, is expected to be in the hunt for playoff home ice. It was the first weekend sweep over MSOE by Marian since January of 2''8.</p> <p>On Friday, the Sabres were outshot 26-11 through two periods but tallied twice in the third period to break a 1-1 deadlock and score the 3-1 win. A bit more experienced than they have been the past few years, Wise thinks it paid off late in Friday’s contest.</p> <p>“I don’t know if we would have won it last year,” Wise said. “Based on last year [MSOE] probably would have won that. It’s definitely not the way we want to start out a game. They outplayed us for the first period and a half to two periods.”</p> <p>Saturday was a different story as the Sabres tallied three times in the opening 1' minutes and led 3-1 after the first period. They extended the lead to 4-1 midway through the second and held on for the 4-3 win.</p> <p>“We didn’t change anything from a tactical standpoint,” Wise said. “We just talked about coming out and matching the third period intensity from Friday’s game. We ended things well on Friday and we wanted to carry that over.”</p> <p>A bright spot on the weekend was the play of freshman netminder Alex Bjerk. He turned back 62 of 66 spots on the weekend, and performed admirably all season.</p> <p>“He’s played excellent. I thought we hung him out to dry a little bit in the second game with Adrian. We didn’t help him out at all in that game, but aside from that he’s kept us in some games. His job is to give us an opportunity to win and he’s done that,” Wise said.</p> <p>While the Sabres stand at 2-2, there is no doubt they aren’t flying under the radar on anyone in the MCHA. Adrian and MSOE are two of the top teams in the league and Marian will not see either again in the regular season.</p> <p>“In a way it’s kind of nice. The big thing is that we got the sweep over MSOE. It would have been nice to get at least a split with Adrian, but any time you face teams like [MSOE and Adrian] you have to prepare all week for them. You better be on your game and do everything well in order to get the win.”</p> <p>Up next, Marian hosts a two game set with aforementioned Finlandia, who also stands at 2-2 in MCHA play. The Sabres went 4-' against the Lions a year ago.</p> <p>“They are big games and we have to beat them,” Wise said. “If we want playoff home ice and want to compete for a conference title we have to win games at home. It’s a great opportunity to play them at home and try to get the two wins.”</p> <h4>Sorry, Stout</h4> <p>If one were to look at the Fan Forum this week, it is obvious one of the hot topics is what went down near the end of last Saturday’s Stout-St. Scholastica game in Duluth. For those who are not yet aware, here are the basics of it:</p> <p>In the final minute of overtime in a 1-1 game, Stout forward Joel Gaulrapp and St. Scholastica goaltender Zach Kleiman made contact. Both hit the ice, and as Gaulrapp and Kleiman both got up and struggle to rejoin the play, the Blue Devils hold the zone at the near left point and ultimately work the puck to forward Derek Hanson in the low slot. Hanson patiently waits and beats Kleiman short side to give Stout the 2-1 conference win. Or not.</p> <p>The Stout celebration ensued and the Blue Devils lined up for the postgame handshake, but citing possible goaltender interference the goal was nearly immediately protested by the Saints.</p> <p>After a lengthy meeting with the Saints’ bench, and with both coaches standing at center ice, the officials had about a two minute conference of their own near the scorer’s table. The ultimate decision? Man in the crease, no goal. The final 44.7 seconds of overtime played out and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.</p> <p>As expected, everyone has an opinion of what went down, and as usual those opinions often seem to hinge on which team one happens to support. The difference between the usual issues with officiating and this instance, however, is that video of the “incident” has been posted publicly.</p> <p>If you haven’t seen it, here it is. Video is courtesy of Stout radio broadcaster Matt Kaskavitch.</p> <p><object width="4''" height="3''"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7626215&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait='&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7626215&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait='&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="4''" height="3''"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/7626215">UW-Stout's Overtime Goal At CSS (Called Back)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user137'558">Matthew Kaskavitch</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p></p> <p>Well, what does everyone think? I was at this game, and regardless of what side of the fence one falls on here, two main issues arise with the call. The first is whether it was even the correct call and the second is the image portrayed by the long delay between the goal itself and the eventual ruling. I have my opinions on each, but as it’s a moot point now I shall let you all draw your own conclusions.</p> <p>Did I say it’s moot? Why yes I did. Despite some fans believing that Stout might be able to protest and retroactively be awarded a point for the win, I’m here to tell you that’s not going to happen.</p> <p>There is no existing NCHA bylaw that allows for a game to be formally protested, and the concept of a protest is succinctly addressed in the 2''8-1' NCAA Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey Rules and Interpretations.</p> <p>Rule 6 — Section 39</p> <p><em>Section 39. Protests are not recognized or allowed.</em></p> <p>It can’t get much simpler than that, so while the merits and procedure of the call itself will no doubt continue to be discussed, the fact of the matter is that the game was a tie and will remain so. It’s certainly conceivable the league could issue a statement admitting an improper call was made, but no matter what happens to that end, the outcome of the game will not be changed.</p> <p>For better or worse, perhaps, but it means that at this point the only thing the Blue Devils can do is prepare for this weekend’s home series against Stevens Point.</p> <h4>Missing the Point?</h4> <p>Speaking of the Pointers, they are thus far an example of how playing in the deepest league in the nation can be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, the league is as high profile as it gets in Division III, but on the other there are no easy games.</p> <p>Through the first month of the season, the Pointers’ strong core group of returning players and a highly touted recruiting class have yet to pay dividends when it comes to the win column.</p> <p>“Obviously it wasn’t the start we were looking for but it is what it is. It’s where we are at right now but we have to get out of it,” said head coach Wil Nichol of his tea’s 2-5 start.</p> <p>The Pointers defeated Northland and Bethel in non-conference action and suffered a non-league setback at the hands of Hamline. Of more consequence is that Stevens Point has been swept in both NCHA series it has played this year, falling 4-2 and 2-1 to St. Scholastica at home three weeks ago and dropping 9-3 and 2-' decisions at league-leading St. Norbert last weekend. The Pointers are the only team in the NCHA without a point this season.</p> <p>“We don’t talk about being '-4, we talk about 14 league games being left and there are plenty of points there to go get,” Nichol said.</p> <p>“As a coaching staff we’ve seen it all. We’ve seen a Friday night at St. Norbert’s where we didn’t do a lot right. We’ve seen a couple losses where we feel a bounce of the puck goes the other way and we get a win.”</p> <p>The Pointers’ roster features 19 underclassmen and though Nichol has been relatively pleased with their overall level of play, the inexperience has shone through at times — non more than last Friday at St. Norbert.</p> <p>Trailing by only one entering the final period, the Pointers conceded five third period power-play goals, two of them coming with the Green Knights playing with a five-on-three advantage.</p> <p>“You can’t keep going to the well. It’s just something we can’t do. We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot, be it with penalties or with turnovers,” he said.</p> <p>Stevens Point is currently averaging 28.4 penalty minutes in the game, second most in the NCHA.</p> <p>“We don’t help ourselves when we take undisciplined penalties. We adjusted last weekend from Friday to Saturday, not just with the penalties but also on the penalty kill,” Nichol said.</p> <p>In the 2-' loss on Saturday, the Pointers held the Green Knights scoreless on six chances with the extra man.</p> <p>Stevens Point could realistically be facing a '-6 start in conference play as this week they must hit the road for a series at Stout, and Dunn County Arena has been a house of horrors for the Pointers over the past few seasons.</p> <p>They are 1-7-' at Dunn over the past four seasons, and are 1-1'-1 overall against the Blue Devils over that same span. Nonetheless, Nichol remains upbeat.</p> <p>“We’re not trying to focus on what’s happened other than to learn from it, rather we are trying to focus on a very good Stout team,” he said.</p> <p>“We have 19 freshman and sophomores who don’t know about that and don’t care about that. Stout has a very good team right now and always plays well in their rink so our focus is simply to go in there and do anything and everything we can to get a win on Friday night.”</p> <p>The Pointers were a popular dark horse pick in the NCHA this season, but if they want to play that role they will need to avoid falling into too deep of a hole.</p> <p>“I’m proud of our guys, whether it’s the freshman or our seniors. I think the young guys are finding out what every player who is new to this league finds out, and that’s that this is the best league in Division III hockey,” Nichol said.</p> <p>“This is the best of the best and they’ve found that out by playing two excellent teams [St. Norbert and St. Scholastica] right out of the gate.”</p> <p>Truly, there is no better way to gain experience than trial by fire, and though the losses thus far have been tough to stomach, Nichol no less views them as invaluable learning experiences that he hopes will pay dividends sooner rather than later.</p> <p>“Life is about choices and that’s what we’ve talked to our guys about,” he said. “How we handle this right now is our choice and it’s a life lesson. The world has kind of knocked us down to our knees, but we’ve got to get up together. If we’re able to get up and get through this together, it’s one of those things that can really unify a team and a program.</p> <p>“I hate to lose more than anybody, but everything happens for a reason and this is a test for us.”</p> <h4>Tasty Travels</h4> <p>Before delving into this week’s culinary goodness, something was brought to my attention so I need to clarify. I originally stated establishments would be rated on a 1-5 puck scale, but when handing Luigi’s a 3.5 puck rating a week ago I was thinking four was the max. As a result, it’s going to remain at 1-4. Consider a rough guide this:</p> <p>1: Poor<br /> 2: Decent<br /> 3: Very Good<br /> 4: Absolutely Outstanding</p> <p>Ok, with that out of the way, this weekend brings us to Anchor Bar and Grill in Superior, Wisconsin. Located at 413 Tower Ave. on Superior’s north end at the southern tip of the Blatnik Bridge, Anchor has long been a favorite of Superior locals and in-the-know visitors alike.</p> <p>The dimly lit tavern offers the expected (well, if you’re from Wisconsin): a bar and some tables. The décor is almost exclusively maritime themed, and the odd collection of nets, gyroscopes and vintage ship signs fits the image of the Twin Ports perfectly.</p> <p>As far as the food, Anchor is known as having one of the best bar burgers around. As a result, I had to bypass the one pound “Gallybuster” and dial up the signature 2/3 lb. Anchor staple: the Anchor Burger.</p> <p>Like the establishment itself, there was nothing fancy about this burger. A two-patty burger with cheese, lettuce and tomato, its simplicity need not be mistaken for a lack of quality. The thing is darn good and it’s tough to even figure out why. Because of that, it’s not even worth trying to figure out; it’s only worth eating.</p> <p>Anchor offers up a variety of burgers for those with different tastes, but it’s a stop I recommend. The service was not the most impressive and sure it isn’t coal-fired steak, but that’s not what Anchor is about. It’s about serving a good bar burger and in that regard it’s awfully tough to top.<br /> Also economical, the 2/3lb namesake, fries and a 34 oz. Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest ran me all of $9. Nothing to shake a stick at! A slight ratings ding for the service, but it’s easy to understand that when locals want a bar burger there’s a reason they flock to Anchor.</p> <p>Anchor Bar and Grill receives: 3.' pucks.

2009-11-19T16:32:33-06:00 2009-11-19T16:32:33-06:00 2009-11-19T16:32:33-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17528/ThisWeekintheWCHANov192009.html Theresa Spisak, USCHO WCHA Correspondent

I think I'm going to start using this area as the number of points which separate first and 1' in the league given this year is going to undoubtedly be as close as last year.</p> <p>Right now that number is 1'. League leader Colorado College has 13 points while last place Minnesota State has only three.</p> <h4>Red Baron WCHA Players of the Week</h4> <p><b>Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week:</b> Justin Fontaine, UMD.<br /> <b>Why:</b> Scored five points in the Bulldogs split with Michigan Tech, including four goals in Saturday's 8-1 victory.<br /> <b>Also Nominated:</b> David Toews, UND; Ryan Lasch, SCSU; Ben Street, UW.</p> <p><b>Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week:</b> Dan Dunn, SCSU.<br /> <b>Why:</b> Made a career-high 47 saves to help his Huskies beat North Dakota Saturday and earn the weekend split.<br /> <b>Also Nominated:</b> Nate Prosser, CC; Brady Lamb, UMD; Brad Eidsness, UND; Cody Golubef, UW.</p> <p><b>Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week:</b> Joe Howe, CC.<br /> <b>Why:</b> Stopped 59 of 62 shots and earned his first collegiate shut-out to help his Tigers sweep Minnesota State.<br /> <b>Also Nominated:</b> Craig Smith, UW. </p> <h4>The Case of Pioneers v. Fighting Sioux</h4> <p>This weekend's series between No. 2 North Dakota and No. 3 Denver should be one of the marquee match-ups for the weekend and, indeed, probably still will be. However, I can't help but think that the injuries plaguing both teams might dull a bit of the luster this series has. On the flip side, however, said injuries might make this series that much more interesting.</p> <p>The Fighting Sioux are without senior captain Chay Genoway, out indefinitely thanks to a hit from behind by SCSU's Aaron Marvin.</p> <p>At the Sioux's weekly press conference, coach Dave Hakstol refused to talk about Genoway, particularly in regard to his status.</p> <p>"[There's] no change from what I said after the game [Saturday] night," he said. "I don't mean to be difficult, but that's the simple fact; that's where we're at."</p> <p>The Pioneers, on the other hand, have two big variables in sophomore defenseman Patrick Wiercioch and junior goaltender Marc Cheverie. Wiercioch sprained his medial collateral ligament in his right knee against Anchorage and his return is uncertain. From the sounds of things, Wiercioch could possibly play, but it appears the Pioneers don't want to rush his return, according to the <em>Denver Post</em>'s Mike Chambers. </p> <p>Cheverie, on the other hand, could be the team's wild card. As you probably know by now, Cheverie has been out for what will be three weeks this weekend with an injured leg, thanks to being sliced by a skate a few weeks ago against Minnesota State. Most prognoses had him coming back in four weeks; Cheverie himself wanted to be back in three, for this series. </p> <p>From Chambers' blog: </p> <p><blockquote>"Chevy ... told me he feels 1'' percent and is good to go. ... DU coach George Gwozdecky said team doctors remain in control and will continue to monitor the wound after each practice. "Once they clear him to play, it will be in our hands," Gwoz said. Translation: If the doctors clear him to play, he will play."</blockquote></p> <p>Denver will have freshman defenseman Matt Donovan back, though. Donovan didn't practice last week thanks to a broken finger, but, according to Chambers, is ready to go for this weekend.</p> <p>Regardless of the injury X-factors, the series should be at the very least interesting, given the history between these two teams, particularly over the last few years.</p> <p>"Two things make this an interesting series," Gwozdecky told the Post. "First, we're playing against a longtime rival. Secondly, they're two points ahead of us [in the WCHA] and they have a terrific team."</p> <p>The series might also have future repercussions down the road in the season, but the teams aren't trying to focus on that aspect.</p> <p>"It's about one weekend," said Hakstol. "We don't want to be too ominous about what this weekend is about. It's going to be two good teams going at it very hard, I can tell you that. It'll be great college hockey. Where it will all shake out as far as important weekends as we get to mid-, late-March, I guess we'll have to see."</p> <p>When it comes to this series, I think Denver's Rhett Rakhshani probably phrased it best in a clip that's on <a href='http://www.denverpioneers.com/'>DU's Web site</a> that was undoubtedly filmed before the season:</p> <p>"Crimson Creatures, Pioneer Nation, or just your Denver fanatic: Please join us Nov. 2' and 21 as we take on the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, or whatever name they might have for this upcoming season. It's going to be a fun weekend filled with great hockey, great skill and competitiveness, and maybe if you're lucky, our coach will walk across the ice to the penalty box. Hope to see you guys there on the 2'th and 21st."</p> <h4>Around the WCHA</h4> <p><b>UAA:</b> The <em>Wisconsin State Journal</em>'s Andy Baggot had an interesting quote from Seawolves coach Dave Shyiak regarding the officiating in this past weekend's series between the two teams. The Seawolves had 24 penalties for 51 minutes over the weekend, and, in general, five WCHA teams are in the top 1' nationally when it comes to penalty minutes.</p> <p>"Personally, I really struggle with the way the game is being called in this era," Shyiak said after Saturday's game. "I don't think it's good for the fans. I don't think it's good for the players.</p> <p>"It's not the [officials'] fault. They're being told to officiate this way. I guess the best [way] to describe it is [the officials] are on egg shells because hits along the boards, contact to the head, every little thing is being called. In my opinion, it's taken away from the beauty of the game."</p> <p><b>CC:</b> The Tigers keep rolling, as evidenced by their first-place standing in the conference as well as their No. 7 ranking in the polls. Coach Scott Owens is happy, but knows that tougher times are still ahead.</p> <p>"It's good for confidence and it's good to get some recognition nationally," he told the <em>Colorado Springs Gazette</em>, "but it doesn't really matter at all. What counts is the RPI and PairWise in mid-January."</p> <p>He also stressed the need for those crucial league points, as the difficulty of the Tigers' schedule goes to 11 after the holiday break, when the team sees Duluth, North Dakota and Minnesota for the first time as well as Wisconsin and Denver for Round 2.</p> <p><b>UM:</b> Remember how last week we talked about the Gophers' abysmal power play? Well, things are improving in that respect for Minnesota — the team scored two power play goals each night, making the team now 6-for-48 on the PP and tied for 45th in the country (as opposed to the 56th they were last week).</p> <p>"We weren't doing so well on the PP and now we are kind of clicking," sophomore Jordan Schroeder told the <em>Star Tribune</em> after Sunday's game. "It's a positive thing to take out of the game tonight. Definitely we have some other things to work on and move forward."</p> <p><b>MSU, M:</b> The Mavericks unveiled a new, third jersey Saturday night against CC that have a retro-type look as well as a patch honoring 4' years of Maverick hockey. Head over to <a href="http://mankatofreepresshockey.blogspot.com/">Shane Frederick's blog</a> for a picture.</p> <h4>Match-Ups By the Numbers</h4> <p>Colorado College gets the non-conference opponent this week while Michigan Tech gets to rest up.</p> <p><b>#15 Wisconsin @ St. Cloud State</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> UW — 6-3-1 (4-3-1 WCHA). SCSU — 4-4-2 (3-2-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> UW leads the overall series, 4'-24-8.</p> <p><b>#2 North Dakota @ #3 Denver</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> UND — 7-2-1 (5-2-1 WCHA). DU — 6-3-1 (4-1-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> UND leads the overall series, 129-11'-8.</p> <p><b>Minnesota State @ Alaska-Anchorage</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> MSU, M — 3-6-1 (1-6-1 WCHA). UAA — 4-8-' (2-6-' WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> MSU, M leads the overall series, 3'-19-6.</p> <p><b>#2' Minnesota-Duluth @ Minnesota</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> UMD — 7-4-1 (4-3-1 WCHA). UM — 4-5-1 (3-4-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> UM leads the overall series, 127-68-13.</p> <p><b>#7 Colorado College vs. Robert Morris</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> CC — 7-2-1 (6-1-1 WCHA). RMU — 3-6-1 (1-2-1 CHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> This will be the first meeting between the two teams.</p> <h4>Future WCHA Team Watch</h4> <p>Bemidji State split with in-state and future conference foe Minnesota last weekend and hosts current conference opponent Alabama-Huntsville this weekend. Nebraska-Omaha split with Lake Superior State and travels to the U.P. to play former WCHA member Northern Michigan this weekend.</p> <p>#8 BSU: 8-1-1 overall, 1-1-' vs. WCHA<br /> #12 UNO: 5-2-3 overall, '-'-' vs. WCHA</p> <p>It should also be mentioned that BSU's win over Minnesota was its first ever over the Gophers, and a big win in terms of the program, according to Beavers coach Tom Serratore.</p> <p>"It's a monumental win," he said after Sunday's 6-2 victory. "This is Minnesota pride on ice. It's a great program. Any time you can win in this building you take it. It's a very difficult place to play."</p> <h4>It's Apparently Never Too Early</h4> <p>Here we are in November and already people are thinking of March and, more specifically, April. </p> <p>First at SiouxSports.com and now here at USCHO and a few other places, the PairWise Rankings, usually not out until late January/early February, has already made its first appearance.</p> <p>If we played the NCAA tournament <em>now</em> and said screw you to the conference tournaments, taking just the top 16 teams, we'd see five WCHA squads — UND (fifth in the uber-early PWR), CC (seventh), UW (eighth), Denver (1'th) and UMD (12th).</p> <p>Silly me, I thought seeing Starbucks and the malls put out their Christmas decorations this past Tuesday was way too early. On this time frame, they're late ... which is a scary thought.

2009-11-19T19:23:57-06:00 2009-11-19T19:23:57-06:00 2009-11-19T19:23:57-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17529/ThisWeekinAtlanticHockeyNov192009.html Chris Lerch, USCHO Atlantic Hockey Correspondent

<h4>Playoff Atmosphere</h4> <p>It's less than one third of the way into the Atlantic Hockey season, but there's already a playoff intensity. Last weekend saw three ties and and five one-goal games — that's eight out of 1' games decided by a goal or less. It's said that defense and goaltending win championships, and there was plenty on display with only 38 goals scored in the 1' games. </p> <p>Only RIT was able to take four points, thanks to a pair of one-goal wins at Mercyhurst.</p> <p>"[Mercyhurst] is a very talented team and we were fortunate to come away with four points," RIT coach Wayne Wilson said. "Both games could have gone either way. Mercyhurst was playing desperate hockey, needing these games at home. And we were playing desperate hockey, too. We hadn't won on the road this season."</p> <p>Air Force, which is tied with RIT for first place, was able to take three points at Connecticut despite scoring only three goals on the weekend. On Friday, Andrew Volkening made 29 saves in a 1-' win, and the teams skated to a 2-2 tie on Saturday. The Falcons scored all their goals in the third period of the two games. </p> <p>"This series was a street fight all weekend," Air Force coach Frank Serratore said. "A lot of times, low-scoring games are snoozers, but these two games were not."</p> <h4>Weekly Awards</h4> <p><b>Player of the Week for Nov. 16, 2''9<br /> Andrew Favot — RIT</b></p> <p>The senior forward had a hand in all five RIT goals last weekend, with a goal and four assists. Favot has scored at least one point in nine straight games and leads the AHA with 15 points in league play.</p> <p><b>Goalie of the Week for Nov. 16, 2''9 <br /> Andrew Volkening — Air Force</b></p> <p>The senior allowed just two goals on 59 shots to help the Falcons to a win and a tie last weekend at Holy Cross. The Crusaders' first goal of the weekend came during the second period on Saturday, snapping a shutout streak for Volkening of 183 minutes.</p> <p><b>Rookie of the Week for Nov. 16, 2''9 <br /> Ben Meisner — AIC</b></p> <p>The freshman stopped all 35 shots he faced on Saturday to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 2-' win over Army. Meisner also picked up an assist on the game-winning goal. He already has two shutouts this season.</p> <h4>Staying Hot</h4> <p>AIC's Adam Pleskach started his collegiate career with a bang, picking up six points in his first three games. The freshman has yet to cool off. He factored in both Yellow Jackets goals on Saturday and leads the team with seven goals and three assists through nine games. Last season, the top goal scorer for AIC (Chad Richardson) had just nine goals in 35 games. </p> <h4>Milestones</h4> <p>Two AHA players hit the career century mark for points last weekend. Air Force forward Jeff Hajner reached the milestone on Saturday with an assist, and RIT's Dan Ringwald had his 1''th career point with an assist on Friday. Ringwald becomes the first defenseman in RIT's Division I era to record 1'' points. </p> <p>In the "almost there" category, Canisius' Josh Heidinger is at 99 points and counting. One more assist for Heidinger will also tie a school record (7'). </p> <p>At the other end of the ice, Air Force's Volkening recorded his 13th career shutout on Friday, a school record. </p> <h4>Hornet's Nest</h4> <p>It's only two games, but AIC is working on a nice home-ice advantage. The Yellow Jackets are 2-' at home and have yet to allow a goal at the Olympia Ice Center. AIC will try to continue the streak this Friday when it hosts Canisius. AIC's next four games are at home.</p> <h4>The Secret's Out</h4> <p>Thanks to a visit by CBS College Sports analyst and sometimes USCHO.com contributor Dave Starman, the secret's out on RIT's Ritter Arena, which Tiger fans have long claimed was one of the best places to watch a college hockey game, dating back to the Tigers' Division III days.</p> <p>Starman saw a game at the Ritter recently, and called it one of the top five places to see a college hockey game.</p> <p>If you're a USCHO.com Extra subscriber, you can read all about it <a href='/news/college-hockey/id,17457/AGreatAtmosphereMoreShouldExperienceHintHint.html'>here.</a></p> <p>If you're not, here's a brief excerpt:</p> <p><blockquote>Sold out Friday night for a visit from Army, the place is exactly what college hockey is about. Full to the rafters and standing two to three deep behind the railing above the seating area, the atmosphere is electric. ... Between the pep band, the small size of the arena (2,1''), and perhaps the best public address announcer in college hockey, the RIT Tigers have created a buzz on campus that more people should see on a national broadcast.</blockquote></p> <p>Maybe Dave can pull some strings at CBS and get a third AHA game televised this season.</p> <h4>First Person Accounts</h4> <p>Some AHA players are blogging about the season. You can read about the experiences of:<br /> Canisus' <a href="http://www.gogriffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=2'5''&ATCLID=2'4794793">Chris Forsman</a><br /> RIT's <a href="http://www.rit.edu/sportszone/blog/athblog/michaelj.html">Mike Janda</a> and <a href="http://www.rit.edu/sportszone/blog/athblog/jaredd.html">Jared DeMichiel</a>.</p> <p>I'll keep adding more as I find them.</p> <h4>Saturday Night's Not Alright?</h4> <p>An interesting trend is developing concerning the AHA schedule — more and more afternoon games. This season there are 14 matinees on the docket. Last year there were 12. The season before that, eight. </p> <p>Some are due to scheduling constraints — Canisius, for example, plays some afternoon games because it is not the main tenant in its home rink (Buffalo State). Others have to do with travel — some teams would like to get a jump start back on what can be an eight- or nine-hour bus ride. </p> <p>Some Division III leagues like the NESCAC and ECAC East have long played their Saturday games in the afternoon because they say it benefits getting the student athletes more time on their campus and less time in a hotel. </p> <p>But the numbers show that attendance is well down for afternoon games when compared to night games. I'm willing to bet that RIT, which is averaging about 1,9'' fans per game will not come close to that on Saturday, when the Tigers will play their first afternoon game since 2''1. </p> <p>A few matinees thrown in here and there are fine, but I'm concerned to see the league continue add more and more of these each season.

2009-11-19T16:36:56-06:00 2009-11-19T16:36:56-06:00 2009-11-19T16:36:56-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17530/ThisWeekinHockeyEastNov192009.html Jim Connelly, USCHO Senior Writer

<h4>Splitsville</h4> <p>We've just about reached Thanksgiving, and amazingly every single league series in Hockey East has been split. </p> <p>And I mean split. No team has taken four points in a two-game series. Similarly, no team has taken three points from the same team. </p> <p>Granted, Hockey East plays less two-game series than, say, the WCHA and the CCHA, but to get to this point and not have a single sweep is amazing. </p> <p>Last weekend, that fact was brought to its pinnacle as all four two-game league series were split one game a piece. Three of the four saw one team win handily in the opening game only to lose the following night. </p> <p>The most dramatic of those was Boston College and Vermont. The Eagles won Saturday night's opening game, 7-1, in a game where BC coach Jerry York said "everything we shot went in."</p> <p>That was true for certain. The Eagles had just 19 shots on Friday night. Goaltender Rob Madore started the game for Vermont and allowed four goals on 12 shots. Mike Spillane relieved him in the third and stopped just four of the seven shots he saw.</p> <p>"Everything they touched turned to goal," Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon said after the game. "Everything we touched turned to coal."</p> <p>You'd think with both of Vermont's goaltenders struggling, Sunday's second game would be a cakewalk. That was until Spillane made 3' saves in the rematch, frustrating the Eagles offense by holding it to just two goals and, in the process earning a 3-2 victory. </p> <p>"This is the fourth Hockey East series this weekend to go to a split, which confirms what a lot of us thought: That this league is going to be incredibly balanced and a battle for all of us," York said after the loss. "I thought we did a lot of positive things [on Sunday]. It was a better game and a better effort for us."</p> <p>With the holidays approaching, Hockey East's season will become a bit more disjointed. After three teams play two-game series this weekend, many of the single games that comprise the three-game season series that each Hockey East teams play against one another, will get played between now and mid-January. </p> <p>This may be where the top of the league separates from the bottom as the best clubs will begin taking two single games from league mates when not facing the same opponent on back-to-back nights. </p> <h4>Whitehead: "I Like my Team"</h4> <p>Things in Orono, Maine, haven't been a cakewalk for coach Tim Whitehead and his Black Bears team for the last couple of years. After qualifying for the NCAA tournament in each of his first six seasons, including four trips to the Frozen Four, Whitehead's club finished near the bottom of the league for the last two years — missing the playoffs in 2''8 before qualifying in the eighth spot last season and bowing out in the first round. </p> <p>In a town that is used to winning, the heat is certainly on this year's Maine team. After cleaning house over the summer in a move Whitehead said eliminated some of the players who just didn't fit into the Maine hockey culture, the Black Bears got off to a bit of a slow start. </p> <p>Maine lost a two-game series at Union to open the season then dropped the first game of a two-game set at home against Michigan State. </p> <p>But since the Black Bears returned a night later to beat Michigan State, which we all at this point in the season know is an impressive team, things have looked better. </p> <p>The Black Bears posted three straight wins culminating last Friday night with a trouncing of Northeastern, 6-2, on the road. Over the three-game span, Maine scored 13 goals while allowing just five. </p> <p>And that there seems to be the secret to this Black Bears team, which now sits at 4-6-'. In its four wins, Maine has allowed just eight goals total. In the six losses, its allowed 3', or an average of five goals per game. </p> <p>The Black Bears sit in a tie for fifth place with six points in league play, but that is just two points behind league leader Massachusetts. </p> <p>Whitehead, though, is very enthusiastic about this year's team. What hasn't yet translated onto paper in the form of wins is the chemistry that this team has built, something that was missing from last year's bunch.</p> <p>"I like this team a lot," said Whitehead. "They're a very coachable group of guys."</p> <h4>Terriers Find the Win Column</h4> <p>Not exactly a headline you'd have expected to see at this point in the season. </p> <p>BU earning a win was never big news in the past. But after a 2-6-' start that included a four-game losing streak, last Saturday's 6-4 win over Merrimack for the Terriers suddenly becomes news.</p> <p>It's been an ugly start to a national title defense for Jack Parker's club. Before Saturday, BU eclipsed four goals just once, and that took overtime against Massachusetts-Lowell. And in the four-game losing streak that culminated in a 6-3 road loss last Friday night against Merrimack, the Terriers scored just seven goals, more than two goals below the 3.93 goals per game the Terriers scored to lead the nation last season. </p> <p>There certainly have been reasons. Beyond losing a heap of talented players after last season, BU was without Nick Bonino, the most talented returning player, until last Saturday night. </p> <p>Though it's impossible to say that Bonino's return sparked the Terriers offense (particularly given that he figured in just two of the six BU goals), his presence is certainly felt. </p> <p>"It's obviously nice to get Bonino back," said Parker.</p> <p>The veteran coach admits, though, that even having Bonino back, he's not in full game shape in terms of conditioning just yet. He played on Saturday's game last weekend because of that.</p> <p>"It has nothing to do with his shoulder," said Parker of the reason Bonino played on Saturday and not Friday. "He could've played [Friday] night. I didn't think he'd be able to play two games in a row conditioning wise."</p> <p>Another welcome addition to the BU lineup last weekend was goaltender Grant Rollheiser. He played for the first time this season and will provide some relief to Kieran Millan, who was last year's hero down the stretch for the Terriers but has struggled thus far this season. </p> <p>Rollheiser allowed four goals on Saturday night in the win, but when you consider that three of those goals came with Merrimack on the power play, his 25-save effort looks more impressive. </p> <p>Though what possibly makes the Rollheiser effort most impressive is the result: for BU, that's a much needed win.</p> <h4>Upon Further Review ...</h4> <p>This season marks the first year for Hockey East that video review will be in place at all games in all Hockey East buildings. In the past, video review of goals only took place during television games or in games played at the relatively-new Agganis Arena, which has state-of-the-art video capabilities. </p> <p>But the league mandated that all rinks must have a system in place to review questionable goals and many schools made significant investment in camera systems and video equipment over the offseason to make this possible. </p> <p>Last Saturday night against Vermont, Boston College's new system got its first test. And after referee Kevin Keenan went into the review area to watch what to the naked eye appeared to be an innocuous play, the first video review was under way.</p> <p>The play occurred past the midway point of the first period, with the game tied at one. Vermont's Chris McCarthy swatted at a puck in front of BC netminder John Muse. It appeared Muse made a somewhat routine save but as he did, the goal light went on. </p> <p>Keenean decided that he'd review the play. But after 1' minutes of Keenan appearing to look at the screen, Vermont was beginning to have déjà vu to last year's NCAA regional, where a 12-minute review led to the Catamounts' regional winning goal in overtime against Air Force. </p> <p>This time, the decision wasn't as pleasant as Keenan emerged after 1' minutes to make the "no-goal" signal. From there, BC exploded for the final six goals of the game in a 7-1 win. </p> <p>The next day, two interesting items were revealed before the game. First, the puck indeed had crossed the goal line (though this writer's eyes never saw it, I'm taking the word of a somewhat reliable source). Second was that BC's instant replay system was not working properly. </p> <p>Apparently, the video engineer working that game hadn't properly marked the video tape to cue the segment of video that contained the controversial play. Thus, for 1' minutes, referee Keenan had just one angle to review — a center ice camera that gave him a worse angle than he had with the naked eye standing to the side of the net. He waited for the overhead view, the one not marked properly, but alas he couldn't cue that camera. </p> <p>The following night, BC officials ensured that the system had been fixed and that appeared to be true as a play in Sunday's game went to review and within two minutes the referees had been able to look at all camera angle to determine that the puck hadn't crossed the line on a Boston College bid to tie the game. </p> <p>Certainly, Saturday's instance is the growing pains of a new system and, in retrospect seemingly didn't affect the outcome of the game. Though had the Catamounts been credited with the goal, being ahead 2-1 rather than tied and eventually, before the end of the period, behind by a goal could have swayed the momentum. That, though, we'll never know. </p> <h4>And Finally, Not That it has Anything to do With Anything, But ...</h4> <p>I must once again reference a hockey-related subject in this area that's generally reserved for non-hockey talk. Those of you who thought I'd talk about the famous "fourth-and-2" play from Sunday's Patriots game might have to wait for Dave's return next week.</p> <p>Instead I want to use this space to pay tribute to a friend. On Saturday morning, I got a phone call from a former UMass-Lowell hockey player who delivered the sad news that another former River Hawk, Ryan Golden, was killed in an automobile accident on Friday night. </p> <p>Goldie, as many people knew him, was just 35 years old. He may not stand out to fans around Hockey East like the names Dwayne Roloson, Shane Henry or Greg Bullock, all who were teammates of Golden. But Ryan Golden will be remembered by many as the extra-large man with an extra-large heart. </p> <p>Though a seventh-round pick of the Boston Bruins in 1993, this talented high school hockey star didn't materialize to the superstar player in college. Instead, he was a role player who did his best when given the chance to play. He saw the Lowell program through some of its best years and in his four seasons, the Chiefs (which became the River Hawks), reached the Hockey East tournament at the Garden four times and twice those same Lowell teams qualified for the NCAA tournament. </p> <p>Personally, I'll remember Ryan not for his play on the ice, but for his friendship off. He and I lived together for my final two years of college. As one good friend said this week, "I still remember his laughs. He had two. His booming laugh from the belly and his 'I'm up to no good' laugh." Anyone who knew him enjoyed either laugh equally. </p> <p>Goldie was a man who probably never knew it, but touched a lot of people around him in such a positive way. He was great with little kids and was the star on the ice at the kids clinic the team would host throughout the season. In attending his wake on Wednesday night, I was touched by the number of young hockey players, presumably some of whom he had coached, who were in attendance. </p> <p>We're never prepared to lose a person in life — I've learned that after just 36 years here myself. But when someone young leaves the Earth, you can't help but stop and wonder why. </p> <p>I, personally, don't like to push my religious views on anyone but being a Catholic and believing in an afterlife, I personally hope that Goldie is taking his first shift on Heaven's all-star team today. </p> <p>We'll miss you buddy. </p> <p><em>Scott Weighart contributed to this report</em>

2009-11-19T16:38:09-06:00 2009-11-19T16:38:09-06:00 2009-11-19T16:38:09-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17531/ThisWeekinECACHockeyNov192009.html Brian Sullivan, USCHO ECAC Hockey Correspondent

<h4>'Gate Crashing</h4> <p>Colgate University. You remember it, right? Hamilton, N.Y., ... the Raiders. They used to win stuff back in the day.</p> <p>Bulletin: The Raiders are back, and big-time.</p> <p>The Maroon & Gray are 5-2-4, but more pertinently, they're 3-'-1 in ECAC Hockey and riding the nation's second-longest unbeaten streak (six, one behind Michigan State). </p> <p>"We've found a way to win a couple games here; you probably wouldn't have said that [we were having a good season] three weeks ago," coach Don Vaughan said. "We found a way to turn some things around after a couple of tough losses. We stuck to the task, guys kept working. ... With the young guys, we knew there were going to be some growing pains, so they're learning. It's a bit of a baptism by fire, but we've steadily improved."</p> <p>Colgate's primary bugaboo in recent years has been a painfully mild-mannered offense: show up, skate around quietly, and offer the opposition a point or two in a doggy bag at the final buzzer. Last year's Raiders mustered 2.4 goals a game, and barely 2.' in league play. That was down from 2.6 goals per game the previous year, but the 2''9-1' Raiders are looking to make all of that ancient history.</p> <p>"It's a maturity thing. Guys are starting to develop a little bit," said Vaughan, whose boys have three goals or more in seven straight games, and nine of the season's 11. "We've got some nice production out of Robbie Bourdon. He's got four goals, but he's probably had as many Grade-A chances so he could easily have a couple more. </p> <p>"Guys like [junior Francois] Brisebois — you expect the [David] McIntyres and the [Brian] Days to show up, they did it last year and in previous years — but you get Brisebois to step up, chip in a couple; [Nick] Prockow's got a couple, Jason Williams has got a couple, so we've spread it around and that's been nice."</p> <p>An early gut-check moment found Colgate down 4-1 at the second intermission, the visiting Harvard Crimson romping despite a 26-19 Raider advantage on the shot board. The 1,35' populating Starr's stands were not pleased.</p> <p>That sure changed in a hurry, though. McIntyre scored and added two assists, Smith scored twice with one helper, and Bourdon popped one in as well to lead the Raiders back in a four-goal thunderstorm of a third period. </p> <p>It was a huge 5-4 win for Vaughan and his team.</p> <p>"I think that in terms of our own psyche, to come back against Harvard was really important for some of our guys. It's something we haven't done a lot; to come back against a team like that was really important for our mind-set. It gave a number of guys that extra boost of confidence. I think some of that carried over into the next couple games."</p> <p>McIntyre, a Hobey Baker candidate last year, has had an understandably tougher road to hoe this time out. What he's lacked in the goal department, though, he's made up for with well-rounded, end-to-end play.</p> <p>"David's getting a lot of attention, as you might expect," said his coach. "We anticipated that coming into the season: He's a premier player in the country, and his reputation's going to precede him into every building that we play in. He's handled it very well, and even with the added attention he's been able to stay focused and stick to his game. </p> <p>"He hasn't scored as much as I know he would like," Vaughan said, alluding to McIntyre's two goals and nine assists, "but I can tell you that he's certainly had chances. We always say in this game that as long as you're getting those opportunities, eventually they'll start to go in. I think he's been playing very well. You look and he's got two goals, but he could easily have seven or eight. He's working on some other aspects of his game, and that's been a huge contribution to our success."</p> <p>As for the aforementioned freshman Bourdon, Vaughan admitted that the youngster has surprised him and his staff so far.</p> <p>"He has. We knew he had a lot of skill, but he brings some other things to our team as well. He's not a big guy, but he plays physical. He's not afraid to mix it up, and he's got an incredible release — he can shoot a puck as well as anybody on our team. He can really get it off. He's very comfortable, for lack of a better way of putting it. For freshmen, it sometimes takes them a while to adapt, and I just haven't seen it in him as much as in some others."</p> <p>Vaughan's major concern at the moment is how to address a young and often leaky defense.</p> <p>"We've made some mistakes that have really cost us in some really important games. Some of that is youth, but it's coming from a good place — I think they're trying to make plays, and I encourage them to do that because in the long run that will make us better. Some of the young guys have yet to grasp the pace and the speed of the game, and sometimes they're a half-step slow ... or forcing it through traffic. It's also a situation where even some of our older guys are anxious to get going the other way, and getting ahead of the puck. It's a collective problem, not just our defensemen and our goaltenders."</p> <p>The coach specifically praised senior goalie Charles Long, who played a protagonist's role in last weekend's win over Brown and tie against Yale.</p> <p>All of a sudden, this week's ECAC Hockey spotlight is shining on Hamilton once again, as the Raiders get a power-or-poseur opportunity at home against Princeton and Quinnipiac.</p> <h4>A Tale of Two Ivies</h4> <p>Harvard and Princeton have been going at it for generations. The institutions' most storied rivalries have occurred on the gridiron, in the Capitol, or in the broad realm of academia, but let there be no bones about it: Whenever the H and P get together, the stakes are higher.</p> <p>The Garden State skaters have held a clear achievement advantage over their New England rival in recent years, but you'd never know it from their bouts. Harvard has held firm against Princeton, splitting the season series in each of the last three years despite ultimately disappointing campaigns. </p> <p>Last weekend marked the programs' first intersection of the new season, and to no one's surprise, it was a tight one. Junior Michael Biega planted one behind Princeton's Zane Kalemba in the final minute of regulation to earn Harvard a 3-3 draw, ending two long streaks as well: Harvard's season-opening five-game road swing, and Princeton's six-game homestand. </p> <p>Harvard limps home 1-3-1, but if it's any consolation, the Crimson's losses came at the hands of Colgate, Cornell and Quinnipiac — the top three teams in the league early on. The Cambridge club won't pack its bags again until a pair at Minnesota, nearly two months, a holiday break and six games away. </p> <p>Princeton, meanwhile, is 3-2-1 with losses to Yale and St. Lawrence. The Stripe'd Ones might not have a glimmering record, but they do boast the nation's second-best penalty kill (93.1 percent effectiveness) and seventh-ranked power play (25.9 percent). </p> <p>Playing in Harvard's parallel universe, the Tigers don't play at Hobey Rink again until Jan. 4, with seven road games and two neutral-site tournament tilts (at the Florida College Classic) in between. </p> <h4>Following the (Other) Leaders</h4> <p><b>Quinnipiac</b></p> <p>The Bobcats are in first place two weeks into the league season, but this is no two-week fluke. Through nine games this fall, QU has yet to score fewer than three goals in a game, and has only given up three or more goals once.</p> <p>Those are some elite trends right there.</p> <p>In fact, the perennially prolific Q-Cat offense hasn't put together such a consistent streak since early 2''6, when it surpassed two goals in 11 consecutive games. Hamden's high-fliers are a perfect 5-'-' at home, they're second in the nation in offense with 4.22 goals a game, and third in goal differential (scoring 2.'' more goals per game than their opposition). Their 38 goals are the most they've scored to open a season since ''2-'3 (when they blitzed all comers with 48). </p> <p>All of this has come together to get the Bobcats off to the best nine-game start in their Division I history, matching 1998-99's achievement. (That team started 15-1-', if the 'Cats still need something to shoot for.)</p> <p>Unfortunately, while the Q is certainly a big deal right now, its searing start isn't setting any league records: Princeton started 8-1-' just last year, and Cornell did it in ''2-'3. And speaking of the Big Red ...</p> <p><b>Cornell</b></p> <p>In case you skipped right over the Quinnipiac note, the Bobcats are second in the country in scoring with nearly four and a quarter goals per game.</p> <p>Cornell, however, is first.</p> <p>The Big Red Machine, so mythically renowned for its steel-trap defense and Kevlar goaltending, has opened it up in a big way with almost four and a half goals a game so far. Seniors Colin Greening and Blake Gallagher lead Division I in points-per-game, the power play is still shredding opponents at a 34.5 percent clip, and remember how I said that QU is third in the nation in goal differential? Yeah, Cornell's first (plus-2.4').</p> <p>You know what <em>that</em> means: There ain't no Big Red without the Big.</p> <p>Iconoclastic though the offense may be, the party-sized defense is sticking with tradition: hit 'em hard, clean, and often. The D ranks eighth nationally at 2.'' goals against per game, and goalie Ben Scrivens — in his last year in Ithaca — is back to snapping up shots at a furious pace. </p> <p>While Colgate is worth a hard look this weekend, don't forget that the CU's travel together: Colgate welcomes Quinnipiac and Princeton this week; Cornell will see the same powerful partners in reverse. </p> <h4>Do You Remember ...</h4> <p><a href='http://www.uscho.com/news/college-hockey/id,13167/ThisWeekintheECACHLNov232''6' target='_blank'> ... three years ago?</a> One of my first columns for this distinguished source had me scratching my head over the backwards home-ice winning percentages in this loopy league. </p> <p>My, but how things change.</p> <p>This autumn, league hosts are already off to a 3'-12-7 jump on their road-weary guests, while ECAC Hockey members are 11-25-7 when dressing in the visitors' locker rooms. (The league is 2-2-' at neutral sites overall.) </p> <p>The top four teams in the league — Quinnipiac, Colgate, Cornell and Rensselaer (with all due respect to Union, RPI has an extra win) — are an accumulated 16-2-2 at home, while a much more modest 7-5-3 elsewhere. The Engineers are 5-1-' at Houston Field House, but 2-4-1 away. St. Lawrence is 4-1-1 at Appleton Arena, and 2-3-' when out. Even Clarkson, which can't seem to catch a break, is 3-2-' at Cheel ... and a miserable '-6-' everywhere else.</p> <h4>The Notebook</h4> <p>Nope, not going to make an external film reference on this one. Not that I'd have any idea what I was talking about anyway, obviously ... </p> <p>• Quinnipiac's Eric Lampe, Cornell's Blake Gallagher and Yale's Broc Little are all averaging a goal per game.</p> <p>• Dartmouth is the last team in the nation without a "point" ... which is to say, without a win or tie. ("Point" is in quotes because Alabama-Huntsville and Clarkson are also technically point-less, since points are only awarded in league games.)</p> <p>• Brown has come close, but is still seeking its first win in the Brendan Whittet Era.</p> <p>• Clarkson was once 3-2-'; the Golden Knights are now 3-8-'. You can do the math.</p> <h4>Readers' Poll</h4> <p>A look back: Remember <a href='http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=86'48' target='_blank'>this poll?</a> </p> <p>Guess what? Every Ivy sports an L-shaped blemish already, only four games in. So much for you 13 would-be prognosticators. Clarkson? The Knights are close to that 3'-shot mark, but they're on the wrong side of it for seven of you with 28.6 per game. Rensselaer lost to Army a mere three days after the poll went up, so that's another four guesses out the window, and Colgate's special teams have evened out: the penalty kill has stumbled moderately, but the power play has warmed up as well. </p> <p>Three of you are still in line for bragging rights, as Saints frosh Kyle Flanagan remains tied for the team lead with 11 points ... despite being invisible on the scoresheet in his last two games, and missing Saturday's win over RPI with an injury. </p> <p>Finally, there were two trends that nobody figured would hold: Union outscoring its opponents by a 3-1 ratio in the third period, and Quinnipiac boasting three goalies with sub-2.25 goals-against averages. Union's dominance in the final frame has waned, but don't look now ... the Bobcats' twine-tending trifecta is still spectacular. Rookie Mathieu Cadieux (1.98 GAA), classmate Eric Harzell (2.'1) and sophomore Dan Clarke (2.2') are rock-solid behind the 'Cats' newfound defense.</p> <p>As for <a href='http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=86431' target='_blank'>last week's poll,</a> I think that in retrospect I asked the wrong question. I should've known that just about every fan boos the opposition, and it was silly of me not to jump right past that and into what I'd hoped would be the heart of the matter: <a href='http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=86617' target='_blank'>is it ever acceptable to boo one of your <em>own</em> players?</a> I'll put this one up as poll 1A for the week.</p> <p>Question 1B is this: <a href='http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=86618' target='_blank'>Which of the league's high-profile players</a> would you most want to build a team around? I'm not going to specify whether your theoretical squad would be a pro or college program, so ponder freely. </p> <p>Just for argument's sake, I'm adding an "other" category for players I didn't select, but I'm also adding an option to vote more than once ... so if (and only if) you vote "other," please select a favorite from those listed as well. For the benefit of the poll, of course.

2009-11-19T16:39:14-06:00 2009-11-19T16:39:14-06:00 2009-11-19T16:39:14-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17532/ThisWeekintheCCHANov192009.html Paula C. Weston, USCHO CCHA Correspondent

<h4>Brave New World</h4> <p>Until 35' BC, everyone in Western culture who thought about such things knew that Earth was flat. </p> <p>Until 1543, everyone in Western culture who thought about such things knew that Earth was the center of the universe, and everything orbited around it.</p> <p>Until 1932, everyone who was anyone knew that there could be nothing smaller than the atom.</p> <p>Until 2''2, everyone who was anyone knew that the universe began with a Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago.</p> <p>Until 2''8, every elementary school child — and everyone else — knew there were nine planets in our solar system.</p> <p>And until Nov. 14, 2''9, I knew a whole lot more about CCHA hockey than I do right now. Here are just a few things I knew before last weekend's slate of league play.</p> <p><b>Alaska is a Top-1' Team</b></p> <p>Well, Alaska may very well be a top-1' team, but I was absolutely certain of this before last weekend. Since Friday the 13th, however, I have my doubts.</p> <p>Congratulations to the Bowling Green Falcons for their first win of the season, a 3-1 decision over the Alaska Nanooks last Friday. Nick Eno (.9'2 SV%, 3.34 GAA) turned aside 24 shots in the contest.</p> <p>The Nanooks allowed six goals against the Falcons in their two-game split series in Ohio. That would be six goals scored by the 54th-best scoring offense in the country, allowed by the current second-best defense nationally.</p> <p>BGSU junior David Solway had two assists in the Nov. 13 Falcon win and two of Bowling Green's three goals the following night.</p> <p><b>Miami is the Best Team in the Country</b></p> <p>Well, Miami may very well be the best team in the country — with arguably the best class in the country, the RedHawk junior class — but after earning just two points at home against Ferris State last weekend, I'm not so sure.</p> <p>Last weekend, the Bulldogs and RedHawks tied twice, with Ferris State "winning" each night's shootout. In Friday's 2-2 game, Bulldog Blair Riley netted the tying goal with the extra attacker at 19:37 in the third. In Saturday's contest, FSU took the extra shootout point by prevailing through 11 rounds, netting two goals to Miami's one.</p> <p>My surprise at the results of this series has nothing to do with Ferris State, nor do I want my newly challenged belief system to be considered a lack of respect for FSU. It's just that I had seen Miami dominate Michigan utterly and completely in the second game of the RedHawks' sweep in Ann Arbor.</p> <p>Of course, until last week, I believed that Ferris State was a mid-pack CCHA team. I'm now beginning to realize that junior Pat Nagle (.946 SV%, 1.47 GAA) is having a career season and that he and sophomore Taylor Nelson (.933 SV%, 1.81 GAA) are a formidable last line of defense for the Bulldogs.</p> <p>And FSU senior Blair Riley (8-2—1') has now surpassed by one the number of goals he scored in 37 games last season. He scored one of Ferris State's two shootout goals in that 11-rounder Saturday.</p> <p><b>Michigan is a Team Loaded with Obvious Talent</b></p> <p>Yes, the Wolverines are talented — very talented. Before last weekend, I would have said that Michigan will finish, without a doubt, no lower than third place in the CCHA this season.</p> <p>Not anymore.</p> <p>The Wolverines are now in sole possession of 1'th place in the CCHA — 1'th place! — after two losses to Michigan State last weekend. Those losses extended Michigan's losing streak to four games, the longest such streak the Wolverines have endured since the first half of the 2''5-'6 season.</p> <p>In their four losses, the Wolverines have mustered just four goals while allowing 13.</p> <p>After Saturday's loss, coach Red Berenson reminded the media that the losses are team losses, not the fault of any one player, and he was certainly correct about the general lack of sharpness UM displayed. He also correctly pointed out that in Saturday's 2-' loss, junior goaltender Bryan Hogan (.893 SV%, 2.51 GAA) did his best to keep the game close, giving Michigan a chance in the contest.</p> <p>But what I saw of Hogan through the weekend had me concerned — not because there's no effort or talent there, but because he leaves an enormous back door for anyone to walk through. The Spartans scored two of their three goals on him that way in Friday's game, and Hogan was lucky a few times in both contests as MSU missed wide-open marks with the Wolverine netminder many feet in front of (or beside) the Michigan cage.</p> <p>He's not getting any help on defense. Obviously, no one is helping Michigan offensively. </p> <p>In spite of their current predicament, I do know that the Wolverines are loaded with talent. I don't know why Louie Caporusso, who had 24 goals last season, has just one this year. (Perhaps because Aaron Palushaj is no longer there to help set him up?) I don't know why others on the Michigan offense haven't emerged as scorers <em>du jour</em>, as has happened in years past for the Wolverines after early departures and other key player turnover.</p> <p>I also know that Matt Rust and Carl Hagelin were absolutely the two best players on the ice for Michigan against MSU. Rust was noticeable every time he was on the ice, and for all the right reasons.</p> <p>After Saturday's game, Berenson did say that he can't fault his team for not scoring; he said that the Wolverines simply don't have the ability right now to do so.</p> <p><b>Michigan State is Rebuilding This Year and Won't Secure Home Ice</b></p> <p>Well, the Spartans may indeed by rebuilding after last year's disappointing season, but they're doing so at a rate much more quickly than I expected. I think they're doing so at a rate more quickly than coach Rick Comley expected, too.</p> <p>There are many reasons for MSU's success in the early going this season, reasons attributable to more than just someone forgetting to order the glass shoulders this year. While the Spartans are healthy this year, they're also stupid-young, meaning they have newcomers who don't have any memory of last season's anomaly nor any idea that maybe they shouldn't be in first place with their nation-leading nine wins.</p> <p>The Spartans recruited to need this year, something embodied in their bigger-stronger-older mantra. Freshman Derek Grant (5-7—12) was born in 199' and stands well over 6 feet tall. His classmate, Chris Forfar (4-1—5) is even older, with a 1988 birth year, and he's 6 feet tall. These guys have proven themselves to be immediate-impact players and bring with them not only mental maturity, but physical sturdiness that the Spartans can definitely use.</p> <p>With 18 freshmen and sophomores on this squad, the Spartans are young class-wise, but not experientially. That brings an enthusiasm to their game combined with good hockey sense — and the ability to adjust to new systems the MSU coaching staff is implementing. </p> <p>The result is a very fun team to watch, one that is being rewarded with some key victories. </p> <p>And with 18 sophomores and freshmen on the roster, last weekend's sweep of Michigan marks the first time 18 players on the team beat the Wolverines, as UM took all five meetings between the archrivals last season.</p> <p><b>Notre Dame Will be Crowned CCHA Regular-Season Champs</b></p> <p>Man, I knew this one in my bones back in September. Now, not so much.</p> <p>The Irish took two points away from last weekend's series against Northern Michigan, losing Saturday night and picking up the extra shootout point after Sunday's 2-2 tie. Notre Dame rides a three-game winless streak into this weekend's series against the CCHA's current top team, Michigan State.</p> <p>After Saturday's tie, ND coach Jeff Jackson said that there were "positive signs" for the Irish, who trailed 2-' after Ray Kaunisto and Jared Brown netted goals 1:46 apart in the first three minutes of the second period.</p> <p>The Irish are averaging 2.25 goals per game, for the nation's 5'th-best scoring offense. Notre Dame has scored five goals in the last three games and the Irish are 1-4-' in games decided by a goal this season. Last season, ND went 11-2 in one-goal contests.</p> <p><b>Ohio State Can't Sustain a Weekend-Long Effort</b></p> <p>Well, this wasn't something I knew at the start of the season. I picked the Buckeyes to finish fourth this year — with internal, unpublished reservations — and by the third week or so, I was wishing I could swap my OSU preseason pick with the one I made about Michigan State, whom I picked eighth on the year.</p> <p>In 2''8-'9, the Buckeyes were finally realizing some of the potential of their very talented team. They were rewarded for this by earning a trip to the NCAA tournament.</p> <p>Then this season began, and OSU fell into the same old ways. The Bucks were unprepared for weekend series and began playing weakly Fridays and recovering Saturdays. It's a pattern Ohio State fans grew tired of long ago, along with the excuses for why the team was performing the way it was. Early departures. Youth. Injuries. Blah, blah, blah.</p> <p>Last weekend, however, saw a pair of solid 4-2 wins over the visiting Western Michigan Broncos, a team that Ohio State should beat. OSU coach John Markell seemed encouraged that the Buckeyes "stuck to the game plan" Friday night, a contest in which they scored all four goals in the third period, three of them within the span of 49 seconds: Paul Kirtland on the power play at 4:5', Hunter Bishop at 5:24 and Mathieu Picard at 5:39.</p> <p>It was also nice to see junior Dustin Carlson (.925 SV%, 2.36 GAA) get his first win of the season; he's been the Buckeye goalie in net on Friday nights. </p> <p>So runs the list of things I knew last week that I no longer know at all. Next, you'll probably try to convince me that there's water on the moon.</p> <p>Tune in next week to see the ever-growing list of other things I don't know at all.</p> <h4>Another Reason to Love Red Berenson</h4> <p>In college hockey, you're either on or off the Berenson bandwagon. I'm clearly on, without apology.</p> <p>As Berenson was leaving the post-game press conference following Friday's 3-2 loss to Michigan State last week — after all was said and done — he turned to the press to make a point. He wanted us to know why senior Brian Lebler was a healthy scratch against the Spartans in Yost.</p> <p>Lebler didn't play, said Berenson, because he stepped on a RedHawk during the Nov. 8 5-1 Miami win over Michigan in Ann Arbor. It was an extraordinary game in which the Wolverines were completely outplayed and became completely undone and undisciplined. The incident didn't seem especially malicious at the time and Berenson said that Lebler hadn't intended to hurt anyone, but as he was leaving the press room, he wanted everyone to know that Lebler's action "was just not something you do."</p> <p>This is the same coach who called me at home in 1998 to tell me that senior goaltender Marty Turco wouldn't be starting in the first game of his final series against Michigan State because Turco had skipped class and Berenson wanted to send a message.</p> <p>That's the reason I'm on.<br />  <br /> <h4>You Suck.  No, Really.  You Do.</h4><br />  <br /> Everybody sucks.  I know this only because I attend college hockey games.  Tropp, you suck.  Michigan, when you return to full strength, you still suck.  <br />  <br /> But the people who suck the most are the student fans who do little more than declare that everyone — at every rink — sucks.  <br />  <br /> Here's an idea: find a new verb.  I'm tired of all the sucky suckers in the world and the sucking that they do.  They do other things.  I'm sure that in addition to sucking, they also cry, carp, lie, writhe, hurl, smell, squeal, mutter, fail, procrastinate, defecate, shop at Wal-Mart and cheat on their taxes.  <br />  <br /> Variety is the spice of life.  Student fans, you are by definition attending colleges at which you are allegedly improving your minds.<br />  <br /> Do us all a favor and find a new verb. Or two.  And avoid the realm of the profane and pornographic, please.

2009-11-20T07:43:47-06:00 2009-11-20T07:43:47-06:00 2009-11-20T07:43:47-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17534/ThisWeekintheCHANov192009.html Matt Mackinder, USCHO CHA Correspondent

Niagara wishes all its games could be on Wednesday night at home.</p> <p>After putting an "'-fer" on the board through the first six weeks of the season, the Purple Eagles finally got in the win column with a 4-1 win over RPI at home on Wednesday.</p> <p>"To come out and play a full 6'-minute game against a good team feels great," NU coach Dave Burkholder said. "Our third period really put a big exclamation point on our effort. It truly was our best period of the game."</p> <p>Brent Vandenberg notched his first collegiate multi-point game with two goals and an assist and now has a three-game point streak.</p> <p>"Tonight, I was in the right spot at the right time," Vandenberg said. "We have to play tough in front of the net, since all goals won't be pretty, but they will count just as much on the scoreboard."</p> <p>Giancarlo Iuorio and Egor Mironov also scored for the Purple Eagles, who also got two assists from Chris Moran and 19 saves from Adam Avramenko.</p> <p>The game was also just the second-ever game played on Hump Day at Dwyer Arena. NU beat Hobart, 12-3, during their inaugural season 13 years ago.</p> <p>NU won't have to wait another 13 years for the next Wednesday game — just one week. Next Wednesday night, Niagara travels to Robert Morris for a Thanksgiving Eve tilt.</p> <p>Last weekend, Niagara and RMU played a home-and-home series that saw the Colonials win, 5-3, Friday night at Niagara and then the two teams play to a 3-all draw Saturday night in suburban Pittsburgh.</p> <p>Friday night, Chris Kushneriuk's hat trick led the way for RMU with his third goal midway through the third period proving to be the game-winner.</p> <p>Nick Chiavetta and Scott Kobialko also tallied for Robert Morris and goalie Brooks Ostergard finished with 38 saves.</p> <p>Andrew Hare, in his Dwyer debut for Niagara, turned aside 29 shots. Moran, Vandenberg and Ryan Olidis were the only three to beat Ostergard.</p> <p>"We had a good weekend and got rewarded," RMU coach Derek Schooley said. "We played hard, battled and competed on Friday night. We got some timely goals from Chris Kushneriuk and played well defensively. On Saturday, we showed a lot of drive and character coming back from two goals down to tie Niagara. It was a very exciting hockey game. Niagara is a good team and certainly much better than their record indicates."</p> <p>Back at the Island Sports Center Saturday night, a three-goal outburst in the second period in a span of 3:15 gave NU a 3-1 lead, but two late goals in the second and third periods brought RMU into the stalemate.</p> <p>"We played a great road game," said Burkholder. "We were looking for that fourth goal to win the game, but instead only have a point to show for it."</p> <p>Brendan Sheehan, Mironov and Paul Zanette scored three goals in three minutes in the middle stanza, but Nathan Longpre's second of the game at 16:56 of the second made it a one-goal game and then Trevor Lewis' tally at 16:'5 of the third tied it up.</p> <p>"The freshmen in particular were truly an energy line for us this weekend," Burkholder said. "Their goals were a result of nothing but hard work and it really got the ball rolling for us."</p> <p>Avramenko made 31 saves, while Ostergard kicked out 35.</p> <p>Kushneriuk added two assists for the Colonials.</p> <p>This weekend, RMU heads west to No. 7 Colorado College — never an easy team to play, according to Schooley.</p> <p>"Colorado College plays an up-tempo style and they are very well coached by Scott Owens," Schooley said. "They are getting excellent goaltending and have some high-end players. This should be another challenging weekend for us with a high level opponent and a long trip to Colorado Springs."</p> <h4>Beavers Notch First-Ever Win Over Minnesota</h4> <p>Bemidji State hit their first rut this season when Minnesota snapped their undefeated streak Saturday night on the road, but BSU rebounded with their first-ever win over the Gophers Sunday night.</p> <p>Minnesota took a 4-1 win the first night and the Beavers responded with a 6-2 win the following evening.</p> <p>"Overall, I thought it was a pretty good hockey game," said BSU head coach Tom Serratore Saturday night. "Did we put 6' minutes together? Obviously not. [Minnesota] won the special teams battles tonight and typically the team that wins the special teams battles wins the games."</p> <p>Jordan George started the scoring just 2:'3 into the game, but that's where the offense stopped.</p> <p>Dan Bakala made 25 saves in suffering his first collegiate loss. He had started the season 6-'-'.</p> <p>Sunday night, BSU never trailed and wound up with what Serratore called a "monumental win."</p> <p>"[Minnesota] is one of the premier teams in the country and obviously Minnesota's Pride on Ice," said Serratore. "Anytime you can win a game in this building you take it. Mariucci Arena is a very difficult place to play. I am very proud of our guys. I thought the biggest thing we did tonight was that we defended extremely well. I thought we took the middle of the rink away and I think that led to a lot of our success."</p> <p>Jamie MacQueen led the Beavers' attack with a pair of goals, while Shea Walters, Matt Read, Brad Hunt (also with a helper) and Aaron McLeod added single goals to back Mathieu Dugas' 25-save performance.</p> <p>George contributed two assists for BSU, who are now 8-1-1 overall. Minnesota now sits at 4-5-1.</p> <p>And oh yeah, BSU is ranked eighth in the nation. Minnesota? Nowhere to be found.</p> <p><br /> <h4>UAH Swept by UMass-Lowell Down South</h4> <p>After a fast start this season, the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers have cooled down and were swept at home last weekend by then-fifth-ranked Massachusetts-Lowell and former Niagara coaches Blaise McDonald and Jerry Forton.</p> <p>UAH managed just one goal all weekend in losing 3-1 Friday night and then 4-' Saturday night.</p> <p>Kevin Morrison's breakaway goal 46 seconds into Friday's game was the one time the Chargers lit the lamp.</p> <p>The UAH penalty killers did hold the Lowell power play (fifth-best in the nation going into last weekend) scoreless both nights.</p> <p>Cameron Talbot made 3' saves Friday and another 27 on Saturday night as Huntsville's losing skid at home is now at a half-dozen games.</p> <p>UAH now hits the road for 1' straight road contests starting with a series at Bemidji State this weekend.</p> <p>"We're working hard," UAH captain Ryan Burkholder said to the <I>Huntsville Times</I>. "It's just we're having trouble scoring. The chances are there. It's going to come." </p> <h4>Like Brother, Like Brother</h4> <p>Colin South played for the same junior team as his older brother, Furman, and will join him at the same college team next year when both will be part of the Robert Morris squad.</p> <p>Colin is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound forward who has 18 points in 17 games so far this season playing alongside Ben Murphy and RIT recruit Adam Mitchell with the Bay State Breakers of the Eastern Junior Hockey League.</p> <p>"Playing Division I college hockey has always been a dream of mine and now I will be able to realize that dream when I attend Robert Morris University next fall," said Colin. "I am very excited to further my hockey career along with my education. I am also excited to play with my brother, Furman, on the same team and have my parents in the stands each night."</p> <p>"Colin is a big part of our team," said Bay State head coach David McCauley. "He adds offense and accountability to our lineup. I am very excited for Colin and the South family that both boys are close to home playing Division I college hockey."</p> <p>The South family resides in nearby Sewickley, Pa.</p> <h4>BSU Makes Two Recruits Official</h4> <p>Bemidji State announced this week that forwards Radoslav Illo and Jeff Jubinville signed their letters of intent during the early signing period and will join the WCHA Beavers next fall.</p> <p>Illo, a fifth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks last June, currently plays for the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League, while Jubinville is with the Wenatchee Wild of the North American Hockey League.</p> <p>"Both of the players in this year's early signing class have the skills and abilities help us to transition to the WCHA, while maintaining the same unique characteristics that are Beaver hockey," said BSU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Ted Belisle.</p> <p>Illo will be the fifth BSU player that has been drafted into the NHL, joining current Beavers defenseman Chris Peluso (Pittsburgh) and BSU alumni Andrew Murray (Columbus), Gary Sargent (Los Angeles) and Dale Smedsmo (Toronto).</p> <p>Illo will also be the first Slovakian to join the BSU program and will accompany Emil Billberg (Sweden) as the only European-born players on the Beavers' 2'1'-11 roster. </p> <p>"Rado's skills and abilities as a hockey player and a person will be a nice addition to Beaver hockey," said Belisle. "He has a dynamic shot, he is a goal scorer and his potential was noticed by the NHL and Anaheim. We are very excited about adding a player with good size that can get up and down the ice and score goals."</p> <p>Prior to joining the NAHL, Jubinville, an Edmonton native, played two seasons with the St. Albert Steel of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, where he put up 37 goals and 96 points in 119 games.</p> <p>Jubinville currently plays for former BSU graduate assistant coach Ryan McKelvie and follows Dugas as Wenatchee alums to the Bemidji State roster.</p> <p>"Jeff Jubinville is a very skilled player," McKelvie said. "He is one of the fastest skaters in our league, has excellent hands and shoots the puck well. He's got good hockey sense, finishes all of his checks, and is not afraid to go to the tough areas. He should fit in well with the up-tempo style of play at Bemidji."</p> <p>"Jubbie is a dynamic skater who brings talent to our forward group in every situation," Belisle added. "He is reliable defensively, while offensively he has skills to produce. The fans will really get excited about his speed and the way he can get around the rink."</p> <p>Illo and Jubinville are the 17th and 18th early period signees at Bemidji State since the program made the jump to Division I in 1999.

2009-11-18T14:28:11-06:00 2009-11-18T14:28:11-06:00 2009-11-18T14:28:11-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17524/ThisWeekintheECACWestNov192009.html Scott Biggar, USCHO ECAC West Correspondent

<h4>Growing Pains</h4> <p>With a very youthful team, Neumann has been struggling through the first quarter of the season. The Knights are a respectable 2-2-2, despite having played a very difficult schedule to date. But Neumann is '-2-2 in its last four games and the two losses were by large margins.</p> <p>"It's all growing pains, consistency and all those types of things," said Neumann head coach Dominic Dawes.</p> <p>This past weekend is a great example of those growing pains. On Friday, Neumann got out to a quick start at Elmira when freshman Aaron Keaney scored. But the Knights got into penalty trouble soon thereafter with some undisciplined play and paid the price as Elmira scored three goals before the end of the first stanza.</p> <p>"We've been struggling with discipline and taking a lot of penalties," said Dawes. "That is what killed us. We took four penalties in that game when we were on the power play already, to negate our power play. Discipline has been a big factor."</p> <p>Lack of discipline and consistency during key moments of the game have been recurring problems for Neumann since the first game of the season.</p> <p>"Our biggest problem this whole year has been consistency," said Dawes. "The first weekend with Geneseo, we had some good periods and some bad periods. The tie with Utica, we didn't really show up until the third period. The next weekend at Utica, we got into huge penalty trouble and then the same thing at Elmira. For us, it is consistency, discipline and finding where we are at with a young group."</p> <p>For a maturing team like Neumann, special teams can be one of the more difficult aspects of college hockey to master. The power play is clicking along pretty well for the Knights, but they haven't gotten the knack of penalty killing yet. Elmira scored four extra-attacker goals last Friday to seal a 6-2 victory and the Neumann penalty killing is a paltry 61% overall.</p> <p>"We've been working on it and just need to get better with it," said Dawes. "It is obviously something that we will continue to work on. In the Hobart game, we were a lot better than we had been with it. We took strides in the right direction and have to build off of that."</p> <p>After suffering the beating at the Thunderdomes, Neumann moved north on Route 14 to Hobart Saturday night. The coaching staff shook things up, starting almost all of the freshmen. It was a closely matched game, with neither team building more than a single goal lead. Neumann played much better and scored an extra-attacker goal with 23 seconds remaining in the third period to scratch out a 5-5 tie.</p> <p>"The Hobart game was a big step for this group," said Dawes. "If you look at the lineup, we made quite a few changes. The younger guys stepped up and played very well. Three whole lines were all freshmen lines and they stepped up big time working hard all over the ice. It was probably our best team effort."</p> <p>Now that the Knights are six games into this year's campaign, both the players and the coaches are starting to figure out how the puzzle pieces fit together and what it will take to compete.</p> <p>"We are finding who is going to fit," said Dawes. "With the young guys, the only way they are going to learn is to get out there in some of these games against the nationally ranked teams. That is how they are going to get better and how we are going to get better. We're starting to find guys fitting into different roles. It has been an interesting process. New guys have stepped forward."</p> <h4>Almost</h4> <p>Lebanon Valley, while still winless so far this season, is definitely making strides. Numerous coaches have mentioned in passing how their overall play has improved and the high level of effort that the players are giving on the ice.</p> <p>The Flying Dutchmen put a scare into Elmira this past Saturday. The Soaring Eagles got out to an early two goal lead with a pair of power-play tallies in the first period before Lebanon Valley came storming back in the second frame.</p> <p>Junior Brad Surdam scored three minutes into the second period and sophomore Josh Goellner tied the game 2-2 just four minutes later. Being tied midway through the contest gave the Flying Dutchmen a jump, but Elmira scored a late second period goal and added a third period power-play tally to seal the 4-2 victory.</p> <p>As the 2' freshmen and sophomores on the Lebanon Valley roster continue to gain experience, that elusive first win of the season should come sooner rather than later.</p> <h4>Game of the Week</h4> <p>Neumann continues its difficult league schedule this week, but unlike the last four games the Knights will finally be back home in the friendly confines of the Ice Works. On Friday, the Knights will try to get revenge for the 7-3 drubbing Utica put on them two weeks ago.</p> <p>Saturday, Manhattanville comes to Astor, Penn.. Neumann has a three game home winning streak against the Valiants going back two seasons. But Manhattanville is undefeated so far this year and will be looking to get a jump on Neumann during their first meeting this year.</p> <p>"It is by no means any easier but it will be nice to get home," said Dawes. "After this weekend, these guys will have seen some of the best teams in the country and will know what it is like to play at the highest level. That will be something good for us to build on. We'll know where we are going to stack up and what we need to learn."

2009-11-17T15:22:21-06:00 2009-11-17T15:22:21-06:00 2009-11-17T15:22:21-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17523/TuesdayMorningQuarterbackNov172009.html Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski, Senior Writers

<b>Jim:</b> Well, Todd, another weekend in the books and plenty of action to talk about. But let's start in the CCHA where two (maybe three) of the more interesting storylines played themselves out this weekend. First, there's Ferris State, which went into Cady Arena at Miami and earned two overtime ties and shootout victories over No. 1 Miami. We talked a bit how Ferris State hadn't gotten respect yet from the pollsters, mostly because of a weak home schedule. But I think the Bulldogs should've opened some eyes this weekend playing two very competitive games with the nation's top team. Another interesting series was the league's biggest rivalry, Michigan-Michigan State. For the second straight weekend, Michigan got swept. It's the first time Michigan has dropepd four straight games since the 2''5-'6 season and the first time the Wolverines have dropped consecutive two-game league series since the 1985-86 season (that year, Michigan was swept in its final four league series and in the first round of the CCHA tournament to end the year with 1' straight losses). On the other side of that coin you have Michigan State, national champions just three years ago despite more recent struggles, maybe returning to the dominant team they were in 2''6-'7. Three very diffierent storylines, certainly Todd, but what do you make of them?</p> <p>This article is part of a subscription to USCHO Extra. Subscribe at <a href="http://www.uscho.com/extra/">http://www.uscho.com/extra/</a>

2009-11-16T16:43:20-06:00 2009-11-16T16:43:20-06:00 2009-11-16T16:43:20-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17521/GreenisGoodStNorbertStaysAtopDIIIPoll.html Nicholas Jon Wood, D-III Editor

MINNEAPOLIS — Ibid. </p> <p>What better way to describe a poll where none of the top five teams (nor the top 15) change? For the second consecutive week, St. Norbert is the top team in college hockey, followed closely by Oswego, Plattsburgh, Manhattanville, and Adrian. </p> <p>What did change were the first place votes. Where last week saw five different teams receive top tallies, in the latest poll only three were so fortunate. The six first place votes of Oswego and four belonging to Plattsburgh were nearly all funneled to St. Norbert, who increased their total from seven to a robust 16. Fourth place Manhattanville added one to its list of supporters while Adrian’s two votes remained secure.</p> <p>After a three point weekend at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s home rink, UW-River Falls moved up two spots to sixth. Still idle Middlebury — whose first game is this Friday at conference foe Tufts — remained in seventh. By virtue of their home ties against ninth ranked UW-Stout, St. Scholastica vaulted over the Blue Devils in rising two spots to eighth.</p> <p>Stout remains ninth while Amherst, who hosts Wesleyan to begin their season on Friday, are up one position from last week and round out the top 1'.</p> <p>The Elmira Soaring Eagles were the big movers of the week, ascending four spots to No. 11 after impressive home victories over then-sixth ranked Neumann (6-2) and Lebanon Valley (4-2).</p> <p>As yet untested Norwich will finally to get to prove their mettle for the first time this season as they take on the cleverly named Nor'easters in Biddeford, Maine on Friday.</p> <p>The Neumann Knights fell seven spots to No. 13 after falling to Elmira and new-No. 14 Hobart.</p> <p>Last week’s No. 14, UW-Superior, rounds out the nation’s top teams.

2009-11-18T11:22:13-06:00 2009-11-18T11:22:13-06:00 2009-11-18T11:22:13-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17522/MichiganStateRisestoSixthMiamiContinuestotopRankings.html Compiled by USCHO Staff

Michigan State keeps climbing the <a href='/rankings/?data=uscho1m'>USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll</a>.</p> <p>Next stop, top five?</p> <p>The Spartans are on the brink, checking in this week at No. 6 after a sweep of a home-and-home series with then-No. 6 Michigan.</p> <p>Miami retained the top spot after tying a pair of games against Ferris State at home. North Dakota stayed put in second; Denver and Massachusetts-Lowell each moved up a spot to third and fourth, respectively; and Cornell fell two spots to fifth.</p> <p>Michigan State was the biggest upward mover in the poll, advancing eight spots from last week. The Spartans are one of the early surprises this season after a dreadful 1'-23-5 season a year ago.</p> <p>The Wolverines, meanwhile, fell 1' spots to 16th after seeing their losing streak stretch to four games.</p> <p>Quinnipiac moved up seven spots to No. 13 after improving to 8-1 with victories over Harvard and Dartmouth.</p> <p>Wisconsin rejoined the poll at No. 15 after a home sweep of Alaska-Anchorage. Defending national champion Boston University, just 3-6 on the season, dropped out of the rankings following a split with Merrimack.</p> <p>This week's highlight series is No. 3 Denver hosting No. 2 North Dakota on Friday and Saturday. Other games between ranked teams include No. 5 Cornell hosting No. 19 Princeton on Friday and No. 13 Quinnipiac on Saturday; No. 6 Michigan State playing No. 14 Notre Dame at home on Thursday and in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Sunday; and No. 9 Yale hosting No. 11 Massachusetts on Thursday.

2009-11-14T12:03:50-06:00 2009-11-14T12:03:50-06:00 2009-11-14T12:03:50-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17492/FormerRiverHawkGoldenKilledinCarCrash.html Compiled by USCHO Staff

Former Mass.-Lowell River Hawks forward Ryan Golden was killed in the early hours Saturday morning when his car rolled over on the highway in his hometown of Reading, Mass.</p> <p>Golden, who played at Lowell from 1993 through 1997, was a member of the last two River Hawks teams to appear in the NCAA tournament in 1994 and 1996. He appeared in 51 games for Lowell, scoring two goals and four assists. He was a 7th round draft choice of the Boston Bruins in 1993. </p> <p>Golden was the younger brother Maine standout Mike Golden, who played for the Black Bears from 1985 through 1988 and was an all-American and Hobey Bakey finalist.</p> <p>Details regarding the accident are unclear and funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

2009-11-13T15:33:44-06:00 2009-11-13T15:33:44-06:00 2009-11-13T15:33:44-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17470/ThisWeekinDIIIWomensHockeyNovember122009.html Derek Dunning, USCHO Women's D-III Correspondent

<h4>Making Strides</h4> <p>The 2''9-2'1' Division III women’s hockey season is well underway and we have already had a couple of major surprises to start off the season. Adrian, a team picked to make some major noise in their first season as an official member of the NCHA, is off to a '-4 start; dropping two games apiece to ECAC West foes Utica and Neumann.</p> <p>Sticking with the NCHA, Concordia (Wis.) is off to a 3-1 start after sweeping Buffalo State and taking down St. Benedict 2-1 before falling to St. Catherine 4-3 in overtime. The Falcons are just two years removed from going '-22-3. Last year, Jim Ingman led Concordia (Wis.) to 6-17-3 record and with the start he has the team off to this year, it seems like the Falcons might be poised to improve even more in just their program’s third year of existence.</p> <p>With traditional powers Manhattanville, Elmira, Plattsburgh, Gustavus Adolphus, Amherst and Middlebury all having not played yet or played just once so far, it has allowed some of the other Division III women’s hockey programs a chance at the spotlight.</p> <p>Two teams that have taken advantage of this opportunity have been the Neumann Knights and the Lake Forest Foresters. </p> <p>Neumann was a team that I chose this season as my dark horse in the ECAC West and so far they have proven to be a solid choice. The Knights swept Adrian by scores of 5-1 and 3-2 and then followed that up this past weekend taking a point from ECAC West Pre-season Coaches’ Poll favorite, R.I.T.</p> <p>While you may be thinking, big deal, Neumann took a point from a good team. Well, at first glance I would agree with you. However, Neumann came back from down two goals in the third period to earn the tie against the Tigers on Friday. </p> <p>“Last year, we had a team that would quit once down two goals,” Kennedy said. “A perfect example of that was the ECAC West semifinal against Elmira.”</p> <p>Elmira was leading 2-' on a pair of goals from Jenna McCall when Niki Blazenko lit the lamp to get the Knights on the board. However, Elmira’s Kayla Coady answered just nine seconds later to give the Soaring Eagles the two goal lead back and in the process took all the wind out of the sails for Neumann.</p> <p>“We quit on ourselves being down two goals to a good team,” Kennedy said. “This year we’ve already proven we can come back against that and we now know that we have the ability to score goals in bunches. We weren’t mentally tough last year and I feel this year we’ve addressed that issue by working hard in the off-season and being that much more mature now as a team. This is the best shape our program has ever been in.”</p> <p>Neumann rallied from being down 4-2 with two third period goals coming from Kayla Dubowski and Jessica Schroeder respectively. The Knights struggled all weekend to stay out of the penalty box and R.I.T. made them pay for it, connecting five times on the power play.</p> <p>“Anytime you can take a point off (R.I.T.) it’s huge,” Kennedy said. “Their returning talent mixed with their freshman class is great and makes them a very dangerous team this year in our league. We controlled the play of Friday’s game from the middle of the second period on once we started staying out of the box. However, when we were taking penalties, they cost us all weekend and we’ve got to work on that in order to improve.”</p> <p>“It was good for us to get the experience playing a team of their caliber so early in the season. I think this is the start of our team making believers out of people that don’t believe in us.”</p> <p>Neumann has been led this season by Jessica Schroeder. She has tallied three goals and six assists so far in her junior campaign. Kennedy praised Schroeder’s play as a big reason why the Knights are off to a strong start.</p> <p>“Jess will be one of the top players in our conference this season and should be an All-American if she continues the way she’s been playing so far this season.” </p> <p>What makes Neumann’s start to the season more impressive is they have done this all without stand out goaltender Mel Brunet. Brunet left Neumann after her sophomore season posting 15 wins and a save percentage of .91'. </p> <p>“Mel left for personal reasons and we thank her for the past two seasons,” Kennedy said. “We understand and respect the reasons why she didn’t return.”</p> <p>Neumann finishes off its six-game home stand this weekend by hosting the Oswego State Lakers for a pair of ECAC West conference games. Neumann swept the Lakers 4-3 and 3-' last season at the Campus Center and have never lost to Oswego in the six meetings they have had so far in their respective program’s histories. </p> <p>“Oswego always plays us tough,” Kennedy said. “We are preparing more for them than we did for both R.I.T. and Adrian. They are a hardworking team that always wants to beat us. A lot of coaches talk about taking each game one at a time; we’re honestly doing that this year.”</p> <p><br /> <h4>Western Surprises</h4> <p>In the west, the Lake Forest Foresters have been drawing attention with their 3-'-1 start. Lake Forest’s most recent impressive feat was taking three points from NCHA foe Wis.-Superior. The Foresters downed the Yellow jackets 2-1 on Friday and then followed it up with a 2-2 tie the next night to stun Wis.-Superior.</p> <p>“I knew we had the talent,” said Lake Forest head coach Carisa Zaban. “It was all a matter of when we could pull it all together and play consistently. This is the first time we have had all four classes here and the freshman have stepped in and played very well for us.”</p> <p>What makes Lake Forest’s start even more impressive is they have been winning with a short bench. The Foresters only have 15 skaters whereas most teams usually have 18. </p> <p>“We’ll be getting one back next semester but for the most part this is the team we have,” Zaban said. “There are two ways of looking at the short roster, I look at it and tell the girls that this is an opportunity for everyone to have more playing time and a bigger impact on the game. We also can’t afford to have a line take a night off like some other teams can because we simply don’t have the skaters to be able to do that. We have three lines that compete every night and work hard and that’s all a coach can ask for.”</p> <p>Lake Forest has relied heavily on the contributions of sophomores Kim Herring and Jessica Dare, who have accounted for 1' of the 13 Forester goals this season. </p> <p>“Herring has an eye the back of the net,” Zaban said. “She’s an extremely hard worker and earns everything she works for. I told (Jessica) Dare towards the end of last season that she had tremendous potential. She worked hard in the off-season and now we’re just starting to see her potential and hard work pay off.”</p> <p>Lake Forest will put their unbeaten streak on the line this weekend as they travel to Augsburg for a pair of non-conference games. The Auggies are '-2 so far this season with losses to Wis.- Stevens Point 2-', and Wis.-River Falls 5-'.</p> <p>However, Zaban said she isn’t taking Augsburg lightly. </p> <p>“We’re expecting a good series,” Zaban said. “I like playing non-conference games early. We haven’t played them since last November. They’ve got a lot of freshman this season and are a good team that can beat you if you take them lightly.

2009-11-16T08:46:17-06:00 2009-11-16T08:46:17-06:00 2009-11-16T08:46:17-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17473/ThisWeekinMIACNov122009.html Scott Bridges, USCHO MIAC Correspondent

<h4>Pipers Pack a Punch </h4> </p> <p>The biggest bright spot for the MIAC this weekend was the Hamline Pipers. On Friday, the Pipers won 6-3 at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, who may be the most improved team in the NCHA this season. On Saturday, Hamline was the only MIAC team not to lose to their rival conference, coming out of new No. 1 St. Norbert with a 1-1 tie.</p> <p>Both of these games had their share of drama, and neither one came easily. On Friday, the teams combined for 25 penalties for over 6' minutes in the sin bin for various players. On Saturday the numbers were much more modest, with a combined 11 penalties for 22 minutes. However, 18 of those PIMs were in the second period alone, with each team seeing some 5-on-3 action.</p> <p>St. Norbert wasn’t able to capitalize on either of their 5-on-3 chances, or any of their 5-on-4 opportunities either, as the Green Knights ended up going '-6 on the power play. </p> <p>“Our penalty kill came up big for us” said Hamline coach Scott Bell. “It was a hard fought game with both teams playing hard, and stopping their power play, especially those 5-on-3s really kept us in the game.”</p> <p>However, just after a Hamline penalty expired, the Knights were able to score the game’s first goal, as Matt Boyd lifted the puck over Hamline goaltender Beau Christian.</p> <p>Before the period ended, the Knights would give Hamline a 5-on-3 chance of their own, and coach Scott Bell immediately used his time out to make sure the Pipers were prepared. </p> <p>“We had some guys who were tired, and I wanted to make sure we had the right guys out there on the power play” said Bell. “You don’t get many good chances against a team like St. Norbert, and I wanted to be able to take advantage of that opportunity.”</p> <p>The strategy paid off. With the first St. Norbert penalty about to expire, Brian Arrigoni got the puck to the net, and Taylor Vichorek scored to tie the game. </p> <p>After such a wild period, neither team would commit another penalty until SNC’s hooking call with 33 seconds left in overtime. The Pipers wouldn’t be able to convert, and the game ended in a hard fought 1-1 tie.</p> <p>Friday’s game against Stevens Point saw the Pipers emerge with a 6-3 win after a penalty riddled game. A major penalty, ejection, four matching minors, and all told more penalty minutes than minutes played marred this game.</p> <p>“Despite all the penalty minutes, I thought we played disciplined hockey” said Bell. “We easily could have taken some retaliatory penalties and made things harder on ourselves.” </p> <p>While they don’t play this coming weekend, the Pipers play their first home game of the season the following weekend, opening MIAC conference play with a home-and-home series against St. Mary’s. Last season’s match-up saw Hamline sweep the Cardinals. While they held a commanding advantage in shots on goal, the games were close (4-2 and 7-6 in overtime).</p> <p>Bell isn’t taking anything for granted. </p> <p>“We try to come prepared to work” he said. “In this league, if someone doesn’t come to play, they’re most likely going to get beat.”</p> <p>Last season the Pipers finished the season two points out of second place. Any game has the potential to be the difference between earning home ice in the playoffs and missing the playoffs entirely. The kind of attitude and focus that Bell is trying to instill in his team could turn Hamline into one of the teams to watch for in the MIAC this year.</p> <p>With conference play looming, we’ll soon find out. </p> <h4> MIAC-NCHA Crossover</h4> <p>Last weekend saw the first weekend of non-conference games between the NCHA and MIAC. While there are a handful of other games between the two conferences in the next few weeks, the next round of league vs. league action doesn’t take place until early January. </p> <p>While Hamline’s play was a bright spot for the MIAC, the overall results were somewhat disappointing for the league. Last season the NCHA won the inter-conference series with a record of 46-16-2. This season, several MIAC teams were looking to put on a better showing, even though the MIAC was on the road for every game.</p> <p>The weekend started off promising, with MIAC teams winning three of their seven games on Friday, including Hamline’s win over UW-Stevens Point.</p> <p>Gustavus Adolphus put in a dominating performance at UW-River Falls, allowing only six shots in the first two periods and ultimately outshooting the Falcons, 37-19. </p> <p>Despite the shot advantage, this game was a close and hard fought affair. The Gusties played hard the entire game, and came out with a 3-2 win. While it may have been only the second weekend of the year, as the game came down to the wire in front of a loud River Falls crowd, it had all the feel and excitement of a playoff game.</p> <p>St. John’s also had success against St. Scholastica. Like the Gustavus game against River Falls, the score was close while the shots were not. However unlike the Gusties, the Johnnies were outshot heavily, 53-21.</p> <p>St. John’s goaltender Tony Civello stood on his head, turning away 52 shots in his first college game while backing the Johnnies to the 3-1 win.</p> <p>As promising as Friday looked for the league, Saturday was just as <br /> disappointing. Hamline’s tie against St. Norbert was the only game that didn’t end in an NCHA win.</p> <p>While that sounds bleak, several games were competitive. </p> <p>Augsburg lost 1-' at UW-River Falls, Bethel lost 5-4 at UW-Stevens Point, and Concordia (MN) lost 4-3 at St. Scholastica. </p> <p>Except for St. Mary’s, this weekend saw every team in the MIAC either win or lose a game by one goal. When home ice is reversed in January, some of these results will likely be reversed as well. </p> <p>While a 3-1'-1 mark on the weekend may seem disappointing, there was still a lot gained. Many coaches look forward to these games as a gauge to see how they compare to some elite teams (four of the NCHA’s seven teams were in the top 15 in the most recent <a href='/rankings/?data=uscho3m'>USCHO.com Division III</a> poll.) Some also treat them as true non-conference games; as a chance to try out new things and get playing time for some players who might not normally see much ice time.</p> <p>After Gustavus’s win over River Falls, coach Brett Peterson said “the main point is to come out and play hard. I feel we played hard all game, and we had a lot of contributions from players who normally might not see much ice time. Tomorrow at Eau Claire we’ll put out an entirely different lineup.”</p> <p>That said, no coach in this league will tolerate a team going into a game expecting to lose. </p> <p>“I will not accept losing” said Augsburg coach Chris Brown, following their 1-' defeat at the hands of UW-River Falls. “Knowing we played hard all game long helps, and I think if we play that way all season we’ll get more than our share of wins, but it’s always tough to take a loss.”</p> <p>So while the results as a whole from this past weekend may not look astonishing, they’re not as bad as they seem. And with the crossover finished until January, teams can turn their focus to the games that matter the most as conference play starts up. </p> <h4> Let The Season Begin!</h4> </p> <p>With the first two weekends of non conference games out of the way, the season really begins for the MIAC teams this Friday and Saturday as league play starts up. Because the MIAC has nine schools, one team (Hamline) has the weekend off while the other eight teams have two game series against each. St. Mary's and Concordia MN play two games at Concordia, while the other three series this weekend are home and home.</p> <p>Hopefully everyone’s shaken off the rust and worked out any kinks, because at the end of the season one loss can mean the difference between being in the playoffs or sitting in the stands.</p> <p>If the start of the MIAC season wasn’t big enough, this weekend has its share of interesting matchups to boot.</p> <p>Gustavus Adolphus faces off against St. Olaf while St.Thomas goes against Augsburg. All four of these teams were in the playoffs last season and are looking to start this year off strong.</p> <p>The other four teams in action all missed out on the playoffs last season and will be looking to jump out of the gate and get some points early on. St. Mary’s and Concordia (MN) face each other in a battle of second year coaches. Both St. Mary’s coach Bill Moore and Concordia coach Chris Howe have focused on getting their teams to play hard consistently for 6' minutes. It’ll be interesting to see how they fare against each other as they try to climb up the MIAC ladder.</p> <p>The last matchup of the weekend is Bethel vs. St. John’s. Bethel comes into this weekend looking for their first win of the season, and after four games on the road (including two one goal losses), the Royals are hoping to get things going in their first home game of the season on Friday. </p> <p>Across the ice, St. John’s will be looking to build on their results from last weekend. St. John’s had a tough weekend, going on the road to face St. Scholastica and UW-Superior, both of whom made the NCAA tournament last season. The Johnnies beat Scholastica on Friday before losing to Superior the following day. After splitting against such tough competition, St. John’s is hoping to keep playing at that same intensity now that they’re playing games that count the most.</p> <p>With the league in full swing and the race for the conference title looking as wide open as ever, hopefully this weekend will give us some answers on which teams are ready to step up and which teams still have some work left to do.

2009-11-16T00:06:22-06:00 2009-11-16T00:06:22-06:00 2009-11-16T00:06:22-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17520/ThisWeekinDIWomensHockeyNovember132009.html Dan Hickling, USCHO Women's D-I Correspondent

When you head west and pull off one big upset, it may be dismissed as a fluke.<br /> However, when you pull off a second such stunner, you begin to gain a reputation as a giant-killer ... which is how the hockey world can now regard Robert Morris.</p> <p>Last weekend, the Colonials motored out to Madison to face defending national champion Wisconsin, and handed the Badgers a 3-1 spanking. A night later, they came within an eyelash of repeating the result before falling 3-2 with less than two minutes to go in overtime.</p> <p>This from a Robert Morris squad that has never finished higher than third in the five team CHA, a conference often regarded as the least of the four loops in women's hockey. Perhaps it's time to reconsider the standing of the CHA - and RMU - in the women's hockey continuum.</p> <p>“There are times when you feel the other teams don't give you respect,” said Colonials goaltender Daneca Butterfield, “which is fine. It makes you work that much harder to earn it. When you win, it makes you feel that much better. I think we're earning it slowly.”</p> <p>As has been said in this space before, the CHA is not a league to be trifled with. Mercyhurst's ownership of the top spot in each weekly poll this season is just one example.</p> <p>Another would be the way RMU has whipped up on the best of the west the past two years. Last season, it was the Colonials' astounding upset of Minnesota in the season opener that sent eyebrows arching. This year, they had already engineered a split with mighty Minnesota-Duluth, then repeated the feat at Wisconsin.</p> <p>These are the same teams that have captured all eight previous NCAA championships.</p> <p>“We've beat good teams,” said Butterfield, a junior from Kronau, Saskatchewan (surely you've heard of it). “Because we've had the opportunity to play ranked teams and come out with victories. So any doubt in our minds is definitely not there any more.”</p> <p>Having already scored such queen-sized upsets outside the division, Butterfield said that the Colonials have now set their sights on striking blows within the CHA.</p> <p>Ultimately, that means toppling Mercyhurst, whom they have failed to beat in 17 previous tries.</p> <p>“Mercyhurst has a great team and a great program,” Butterfield said. “However, we haven't had the opportunity to play them yet (this year). Playing the great teams that we have already played this year has gotten us ready for them. Whatever teams shows up to play on any given night can take home the 'W'. We've had quite a rivalry with them, so I don't think it's out of reach that on any give night, either of us can come out with a win. It's a matter of who comes the most prepared and ready to battle.”</p> <p>When doing battle with Robert Morris, you'd better keep an eye on that sling shot.</p> <h4>Empty Netters</h4> <p>While on the subject of goalies, the numbers thrown up to date by Northeastern sophomore netminder Florence Schelling are positively mind-numbing. The Pride of Oberenstringen, Switzerland (sure, you've heard of that one, too) has allowed just seven goals in nine starts this year, good for a teensy '.77 GAA and a .97' save percentage. Schelling leads all the nation's goalies in both departments, and is a huge reason why the Huskies have reeled off a fine 7-1-2 mark (3-'-2 in HEA).

2009-11-16T08:47:35-06:00 2009-11-16T08:47:35-06:00 2009-11-16T08:47:35-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17461/ThisWeekintheECACWestNov122009.html Scott Biggar, USCHO ECAC West Correspondent

<h4>More Offensive</h4> <p>The Manhattanville offense is clicking nicely three weeks into the season, averaging 6.67 goals per game to lead the nation. Coming off a strong weekend against Lebanon Valley (whom Manhattanville scored 16 goals against) some might scoff at the garish numbers. Not so fast.</p> <p>"I was impressed with Lebanon Valley," said Manhattanville head coach Keith Levinthal. "I think they have made great strides and worked hard for 12' minutes. We played well too, but despite the scores that is a much improved hockey team we played. We had to earn what we got against those guys. In the past, we haven't. For whatever it is worth, I'll be happy when I am done playing them because they are going to beat somebody."</p> <p>Leading the way on the scoreboard last weekend were junior Mickey Lang and senior AJ Mikkelsen. Lang scored four times and assisted on another Friday night, tying a school record for goals in a game set by Chris Trafford back in 2''8. Lang's linemates, senior Arlen Marshall and freshman Scott Hudson, certainly helped on the big night.</p> <p>"The line of Lang, Hudson, and Marshall were absolutely on fire," said Levinthal. "It is a pretty quick and skilled line. They scored some really nice goals. Mickey is an exceptionally fast skater and plays tough. He was the beneficiary of a good line."</p> <p>Mikkelson had two helpers on Friday, and then chipped in a pair of goals and added two more assists Saturday to rack up six points on the weekend series.</p> <p>"He had a little bit of a disappointing season last year so it was good to see him put some points on the board," said Levinthal. "As he goes, our power play goes."</p> <p>Scoring is not something that the Valiants have excelled at the past two seasons. During that span, Manhattanville averaged less than four goals per game and finished fifth and third respectively in conference offense. The early success at lighting the lamp this year could portend a turn around on the scoresheet for Manhattanville.</p> <p>"We've only played three games but it does appear, based on some of the goals we are scoring, that we have significantly more firepower than we have had in the last two years," said Levinthal. "Three years ago, we led the country in scoring. It looks like, at this early stage, that we have more offensive potential than we have had since that year. We have shown some offensive flair."</p> <p>In other news this week, Manhattanville has hired Hamilton's long-time former coach Phil Grady onto its coaching staff as an assistant. After serving as head coach for 24 seasons and amassing 3'4 wins, Grady retired citing health reasons and family concerns. Coach Levinthal had a prior relationship with Grady and had an open position on his staff. A few preliminary conversations later and Grady is now a Valiant.</p> <p>"I've known Phil Grady for a long time and I heard he was itching to get back into coaching," said Levinthal. "We were fortunate enough that he was able to join our staff. It is a huge addition to our program given his experience and stature in the game. He has the ability to bring a lot every day. He has an unbelievable work ethic. To have somebody who has been in the game as long as he has, he brings some major experience to our team. We are lucky to have him."</p> <p>The added experience comes at a good time for Manhattanville as they have a bye this week before heading right back into league play on November 2'. The Valiants will be on the road against Lebanon Valley Friday and then head to Neumann, a place they haven't had success in well over a year.</p> <p>"I hate the bye week because it will be a challenge for us to have a week of practice with nobody to play," said Levinthal "It will be an issue for us to make sure we are sharp that Friday at Lebanon Valley. Plus we are playing a team for the third straight time and it only gets harder the more you keep playing a team back-to-back-to-back."</p> <p>Manhattanville was swept at Neumann in early November last season, accounting for half of the team's total losses all season. And the Valiants also lost their only game at Neumann two seasons ago. The Knights home rink, the Ice Works, has not been a friendly place for Manhattanville and that will be playing on the mind of the Valiants team for the next two weeks.</p> <p>"We've lost three in a row at Neumann," said Levinthal. "I think those two losses at Neumann last year cost us getting into the [NCAA] tournament. That was kind of our Waterloo last year. We have to go in there and find a way to win a hockey game against a team that is obviously very good. I hate the two week layoff."</p> <h4>Early Starts</h4> <p>Hobart endured a rough weekend last Friday and Saturday. It started early at Geneseo when the Knights scored twice in the opening four minutes of the game, the first of which was shorthanded while the other was a 2-on-1 breakaway.</p> <p>The Statesmen climbed back into the game mainly on the shoulders of junior Matt Wallace, who finished off a hat trick six minutes into the third period to cut Hobart's deficit to 4-3. But that was as close as the Statesmen could get.</p> <p>"We spotted Geneseo some grade A chances right off the bat," said Hobart head coach Mark Taylor. "We had plenty of chances to win. We missed a breakaway. We had a couple of guys that didn't have their best game, and that factored into it, but at the same time that's not all of it. We have to be ready to play."</p> <p>Hobart didn't get much help from the referees either, who disallowed three Statesmen goals during the game. While one was clearly not a goal, the other two were a bit more controversial and hindered the Statesmen as they tried to dig out of their early hole.</p> <p>On Saturday at Brockport, Hobart was much better from the opening faceoff. Junior Daniel Organ scored just 28 seconds into the game and classmate Christopher Bower added another eight minutes later to pace the Statesmen to a 4-1 victory.</p> <p>Entering the season, there were two big question marks hovering over the Hobart team.</p> <p>The first was how 13 freshmen would meld with the team. While the jury is still out on this, five of the freshmen have amassed at least a point this season and Christopher Cannissaro is tied for the points lead on the team with three goals and three assists. However, the freshmen have struggled at times as seen at the start of the Geneseo game.</p> <p>"We're feeling some growing pains early this year but we'll get rid of them," said Taylor.</p> <p>The other question mark was in net as Hobart tries to replace an All-American goaltender. Newcomer Nick Broadwater has seen the majority of starts and has played all but 3' minutes between the pipes for the Statesmen. Broadwater has impressive stats, including a 1.74 goals against average and a 92.9 save percentage and appears to be settling into the starting role quite nicely.</p> <p>"Right now, he has established himself as the front runner," said Taylor. "He has had the opportunity to do it and has done well. I'm sure the other guys will keep the challenge coming."</p> <h4>Game of the Week</h4> <p>Neumann travels to the Thunderdomes to take on Elmira in the Game of the Week. The Knights are used to playing in front of hostile fans, though, as they are coming off a tough two games at the Utica Aud.</p> <p>Neumann failed to hang on to a two goal lead two weeks ago, settling for a 4-4 tie, but then got blown out in a 7-3 special teams barnburner this past Friday. The Knights gave up six power-play goals on 1' chances and you can be sure that coach Dominic Dawes has been focusing on that area of the game this week.</p> <p>Elmira is coming off a harder-than-it-should-have-been game against Fredonia, in which the Soaring Eagles watched the Blue Devils score a pair of shorthanded goals in the third period to tie the game, 4-4. Sophomore Rick Acorn scored midway through the period to preserve the victory for Elmira. Every tally was accounted for via special teams.</p> <p>With special teams dominating, you can expect a wild affair as Elmira and Neumann meet for the first time this season.

2009-11-12T15:07:24-06:00 2009-11-12T15:07:24-06:00 2009-11-12T15:07:24-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17462/ThisWeekinSUNYACNov122009.html Russell Jaslow, USCHO SUNYAC Correspondent

<h4>Oswego Makes First Big Statement</h4> <p>Oswego accomplished two tasks early in the 2''9-1' season. The Lakers broke a 1' game winless streak against their arch nemesis and they became the team to beat in the SUNYAC. And they did it on the road.</p> <p>They accomplished these tasks be defeating Plattsburgh, 5-2, after blowing a 2-' lead.</p> <p>"We're happy," Oswego coach Ed Gosek said. "What we're happiest about is that there is no complacency. We know we can get better. We know we can correct [our mistakes]."</p> <p>Eric Selleck and Jon Whitelaw scored power-play goals within 1:18 late in the first period for the first intermission lead.</p> <p>After an even first, the second period was all Plattsburgh, as they outshot the Lakers, 18-3. Two of them went in to tie the game up. First it was Kyle Kudroch on the power play early in the period followed by a late even-strength goal by Vick Schlueter.</p> <p>"We had some rookie mistakes," Gosek said. "The guys weren't ready to be challenged with the kind of speed that Plattsburgh has."</p> <p>However, the Lakers struck back with a tick left on the clock.</p> <p>"We got lucky to get one back late in the second," Gosek said.</p> <p>"We were outshooting them in the second period," Emery told the Press-Republican. "The goal took some of the wind out of our sails."</p> <p>Chris Laganiere did the honors.</p> <p>With 3:'6 left in the third, Whitelaw scored his second of the night for the insurance tally with a 2-on-1 counterattack. With 2:'8 left, Selleck got his second to clinch the game with an empty netter.</p> <p>"Many times, we've gone up there and played very well, but their goaltender was better than ours," Gosek said. "This time, our goalie was better than theirs."</p> <p>With Paul Beckwith, the early season choice, out with the flu, Kyle Gunn-Taylor got the call for the second night in a row. He made 32 saves for the win.</p> <p>The Lakers are now 5-1 overall and 4-' in the conference, alone at the top. What's enabling Oswego to get out to a strong start?</p> <p>"The biggest thing is with all the guys we have, all the guys have been able to play," Gosek said. "We've been rotating them around, and no one has stood out. Therefore, we keep rotating them through the lineup. They are more worried about playing than who we're playing, and that takes some of the pressure off worrying about whether they are going to get up for a certain team or have a letdown."</p> <p>Speaking of letdowns, their next game is a proverbial trap game as they travel to Cortland. The Red Dragons may be 2-3 overall while only winning one league game, but they have exploded offensively twice (against Lebanon Valley and Fredonia), have scored an average of 4.4' goals a game, and two of those three losses have been by one goal (Buffalo State and Potsdam), including one in overtime.</p> <p>"We certainly respect Cortland," Gosek said. "They play hard. They're well coached. Our guys know that, too. But, the mind set is sometimes, 'Oh, we're playing Cortland.' It takes focus. You can't have any letdowns in our league anymore. The scores this year are proving that. What used to be the weakest team in the league are now knocking off teams every week. It's a dogfight every night."</p> <p>Meanwhile, Plattsburgh suffered their first loss of the season as they fell to 3-1 with all conference games played so far. The Cardinals hope to turn it around at Morrisville in their only contest of the weekend, which, as Gosek explained, is no longer a gimme game.</p> <p>"This is the first adversity we've faced in quite a while," Emery said. "Now, we'll see where we go from here."</p> <h4>SUNYAC Short Shots</h4> <p>Sean O'Malley scored 27 seconds into overtime to give Brockport a 4-3 victory over Morrisville ... The next night Morrisville beat Geneseo, 4-3, in overtime on a Matt Salmon goal, his second of the night ... The other overtime game over the weekend was also a 4-3 score when Potsdam defeated Cortland on a goal that bounced off the defender's chest after deflecting off the goaltender's stick.</p> <p>Plattsburgh scored twice in the first 1:48 of the second period to break open the game en route to a 5-1 win over Cortland ... Justin Fox scored twice and Oswego scored their last two goals 33 seconds apart in an 8-1 route at Potsdam ... The winning goal for Fredonia's 4-2 victory over Buffalo State was a shorthander by Steve Rizer.</p> <p>Two other games ended in a 4-3 score ... Geneseo defeated Hobart on two goals by Dan Brown ... Fredonia fell to Elmira after tying the game at three with two consecutive third period shorthanded goals.</p> <h4>Game of the Week</h4> <p>More like the round robin of the week. The Buffalo area teams visit the Rochester area teams, and the set up could not be any closer. All four teams have played three conference games with identical 1-2 records in a six-way tie for fourth place. Still early in the season, but these are the type of weekends that teams look back on as either lost opportunities or moments that turned their season around.</p> <p>It starts with Buffalo State playing at Brockport and Fredonia visiting Geneseo on Friday the 13th. Then the road teams will head in opposite directions on I-39' to switch opponents.</p> <p>"We expect SUNYAC hockey," Buffalo State coach Nick Carriere said. "Brockport has Sheridan, a good, big goaltender in the pipes. Geneseo has been playing some good teams. They both went up to the North Country and had some pretty good contests against some good teams up there. There's a lot of parity in our league. We can't take anybody lightly. It's going to be tough in our first conference road trip."</p> <p>Tough and exciting with some much needed points on the line.</p> <h4>On The Periphery</h4> <p>It's a conspiracy, I tell you. A conspiracy.</p> <p>First Philadelphia and now Buffalo.</p> <p>Last week I mentioned how they ran out of pretzels while touring Philly. This past weekend I walked up to the concession stand at Buffalo State during the first intermission and watched the person in front of me leave with a pretzel. I reached the cashier.</p> <p>"Sorry sir, we're all out."</p> <p>I'm surprised I didn't need a paper bag.</p> <p>This week, I will be in Brockport, home of the Best Pretzel in SUNYAC. If they, too, run out, then I will become very paranoid.</p> <p>I may even start thinking a certain rival attempting to usurp the crown of USCHO food critic is weaving a conspiratorial web.

2009-11-12T21:25:48-06:00 2009-11-12T21:25:48-06:00 2009-11-12T21:25:48-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17463/ThisWeekinHockeyEastNov122009.html Dave Hendrickson, USCHO Hockey East Correspondent

<h4>Up Is Down And Down Is Up</h4> <p>It's enough to make you cue up Diana Ross singing "Upside Down." </p> <p>(I'm not going to infringe on the copyright of songwriters Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards by adding anything more than, "inside out and round and round." Got the tune in your head now? OK, let's roll.)</p> <p>While the season is still young, its topsy turvy nature has led to a number of anomalies.</p> <p>• Defending national champion Boston University is in last place, 1-4 within the league.</p> <p>• The two Massachusetts state schools are atop Hockey East (Lowell at 3-1-1 and UMass at 3-1-') an awfully short time after some questioned whether the two programs should be combined so they could be more competitive. (Of course, the phrase "programs combined" was nothing more than a euphemism for blowing up Lowell and its proud history.)</p> <p>• Nine of the 1' league teams earned votes in last week's USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll. The lone holdout? Maine. Go back a couple years, and imagine the odds you'd have gotten on that one. </p> <p>• Merrimack, picked to finish last, got more votes in the poll than New Hampshire.</p> <p>• BU is tied for last in the league (with Northeastern) for overall offense.</p> <p>• UNH is last in the league for overall defense and penalty kill.</p> <p><em>Inside out and round and round ...</em></p> <h4>Which Wildcats?</h4> <p>On the one hand, UNH's 2-1-1 league record puts the Wildcats in a tie for third place, just two points out of first with a game in hand. On the other hand, their 2-5-2 overall mark is the slowest start in coach Dick Umile's 2' years.</p> <p>It's been a roller coaster season so far for UNH. The team has shown its customary firepower, exploding for five goals in eight minutes against Miami, the consensus No. 1 team in the country. Last Friday, the Wildcats stunned Boston College with three third-period goals to force overtime, an extra session in which they almost pulled out the win.</p> <p>Those heights, however, are more than matched by the depths of a weekend double-shellacking at Wisconsin and last weekend's failure to get more than one point (the comeback point against BC) in two admittedly tough league games, the latter against fifth-ranked Lowell.</p> <p>Which version of the Wildcats will show up this weekend?</p> <p>"That's exactly how we've felt," Umile says. "We've been inconsistent. We've been making improvements and just as we make the improvements in our five-on-five game, we get penalties and [lose on the penalty kill].</p> <p>"I consider Lowell to be a pretty good team, especially down there, and I thought we played well this past weekend for two periods. Then in the third period we came out and got penalties and made it very difficult for ourselves. They put us away a couple of times on the power play. There were penalties and a couple of mental mistakes on our part that cost us the game."</p> <p>The statistic for the weekend that leaps out at you is the UNH penalty kill. BC went 4-for-5 on the power play and spent the fifth opportunity in the offensive zone for virtually the entire two minutes. In fairness, a defender had lost his stick, making the needed clearing play all the more difficult. Additionally, three of the four power-play goals came from the point, one a deflection off a UNH stick.</p> <p>But it didn't get much better against Lowell, where the Wildcat PK allowed three goals in six opportunities.</p> <p>Getting a single point out of a weekend in which the PK allowed a 7-for-11 conversion rate borders on the miraculous. </p> <p>"You have to evaluate how they went in," Umile says. "Most of them were scored from outside with a couple of deflections. They got the puck out to the point, got shots off, and there were screens.</p> <p>"So I don't know if it was fundamentals as much as us not getting in shot lanes and the other team executing. It's hard to say. </p> <p>"We're obviously not playing great in special situations. We allowed seven power-play goals [last weekend]. It happened, it was disappointing and it cost us games."</p> <p>In large part because of the penalty kill struggles, UNH ranks last in Hockey East in overall defense, allowing an average of 4.22 goals per game. That's over a goal per game allowed more than every other Hockey East team but one (Maine at 3.88).</p> <p>Brian Foster, an All-Hockey East team runner-up last year while posting a 2.68 goals-against average and a .91' save percentage, has seen his numbers plummet to 4.19 and .871. However, Umile is quick to defend his goaltender. </p> <p>"If you were to look at Brian Foster's numbers, [you'd say that] they're not good," Umile says. "But he played well against Miami when we lost. He played well against Wisconsin. So I don't know if those numbers really equate to what kind of goaltender he is. </p> <p>"PK has been a big part of it. The percentage against us is not good. We struggled early on with team defense at Wisconsin. </p> <p>"I think we've made improvements. Hopefully we're getting better and we'll just have to continue to look ahead and play each week and start over again. That's how were going to approach it."</p> <p>At least the firepower up front remains.</p> <p>"Offensively, we'll be able to score," Umile says. "Hopefully we'll be able to score more often by playing better defense. I thought we played better team defense, especially five-on-five against Lowell. </p> <p>"We just need to improve in that area. There's no question."</p> <p>Given the slow start overall, this weekend looms large with two games at UMass. A strong showing will push the '-4-1 nonconference record into the background as the Wildcats take their accustomed place at or near the top of the standings. However, UMass coach Don "Toot" Cahoon will have his boys prepared to make a statement themselves.</p> <p>"I know that Donnie has got his team playing well," Umile says. "They're very good in specialty situations so we'll have to pay attention there. </p> <p>"It's going to be a battle all year long. This weekend its UMass; next weekend it's BU. So you just have to pay attention to your next game and continue to improve. That's where our focus is right now."</p> <h4>Catamounts Climbing</h4> <p>Vermont got off to a good enough start with a split at Denver and a 4-1 win over BC, but lopsided losses at Merrimack and Maine raised a few eyebrows. The Catamounts had been projected to finish well ahead of both teams and the 5-2 and 4-1 scores made matters even worse.</p> <p>Last weekend, however, the Vermont team most people expected to see this year showed up. It battled back to earn a hard-fought 3-3 tie with fifth-ranked Lowell, then shut out Providence, which had entered the contest 5-2-'.</p> <p>"They played really well," UML coach Blaise MacDonald said after the tie. "They kept us disjointed for most of the game. I would say it was a very disappointing game for us and I think you have to credit UVM for making us play that way."</p> <p>From the other locker room, Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon waxed effusive in praise for his team.</p> <p>"I'm not going to go negative tonight at all," he said. "I don't think our penalties [early that led to two Lowell power-play goals] were anything other than playing aggressive."</p> <p>"I just love the way our team played tonight. You can look at the result and say it's not a win but if we play like that the rest of the year, we're going to be a tough team. </p> <p>"We played 65 of the hardest minutes we've played all year. As a coach, that's what we're trying to get out of our guys. We played a very good team and I thought we played very well against them.</p> <p>"We certainly made mistakes, but we didn't have any letdown moments, even down, 3-1. We fought our way back to make it 3-3, and we had some great chances to win the game."</p> <p>Sneddon spoke similar words two days later after the Catamounts shut out Providence, 3-'.</p> <p>"I thought we gave it our all for 6' minutes," he said. "We were excellent for two periods but a real intense effort for 6' minutes again. [It was a] very complete weekend for us obviously against two good teams.</p> <p>"[We played] defensively some of our best hockey. We made the most of our opportunities."</p> <p>One obvious difference in the weekend lineup was Justin Milo, who returned from injury to play his first games of the season. And what a return. The senior scored a goal and added an assist against Lowell, then scored two goals against Providence. </p> <p>"The thing we love about Justin is he loves to shoot the puck," Sneddon said. "Most players nowadays want to pass first, then their second thought is to shoot. He knows what his job is. He knows what his role is, and that's to get pucks going to the net.</p> <p>"He's a very special athlete. To play in a high-tempo game like [the one against Lowell] without much practice or conditioning just speaks volumes for what kind of athlete he really is."</p> <p>The Catamounts now must take their success on the road for two games at Boston College. </p> <p>"I think we've got our confidence back," Sneddon said. "Our guys are understanding their roles better now than ever before having gone through some adversity.</p> <p>"We've got to take our energy and the way we played this weekend at Gutterson and play that way on the road. That'll be our challenge."</p> <p><hr></p> <p>Thanks to Diana Giunta.

2009-11-13T07:10:14-06:00 2009-11-13T07:10:14-06:00 2009-11-13T07:10:14-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17464/ThisWeekinAtlanticHockeyNov122009.html Chris Lerch, USCHO Atlantic Hockey Correspondent

<h4>Sweet Sweep</h4> <p>Canisius swept Mercyhurst last weekend, 6-4 in Erie on Friday and 4-3 in Buffalo on Saturday. It was the first time ever in the 21-year history of the rivals that the Golden Grffins had defeated the Lakers on consecutive nights. The games were the 59th and 6'th played between the two schools. </p> <p>"Our team worked extremely hard," Canisius coach Dave Smith said. "It was a very gritty and determined effort. We are finding ways to win right now and I am very proud of our guys."</p> <p>The Griffins had suffered from a first-period power outage so far this season, scoring just three times in eight games. But last weekend, Canisius opened 3-' and 2-' leads on Friday and Saturday, respectively. </p> <p>"Getting the lead after the first period makes a huge difference," Canisius senior forward Josh Heidinger said after the game on Saturday. "We struggled early in the season to start games but it is a huge momentum boost for us now."</p> <p>The highlight of the weekend for Canisius was a game-winning penalty shot by Cory Conacher with 4:36 to go in regulation on Saturday. After Mercyhurst defenseman Kevin Noble covered the puck in the crease, Canisius was awarded the penalty shot, and Conacher potted it for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. </p> <h4>Weekly Awards</h4> <p><b>Player of the Week for Nov. 9, 2''9 <br /> Jordan Cyr — Holy Cross</b></p> <p>Cyr had four points (three goals and an assist) last weekend to help the Crusaders split with Scared Heart. Cry leads the team in scoring with 11 points.</p> <p><b>Goalie of the Week for Nov. 9, 2''9 <br /> Jared DeMichiel — RIT</b></p> <p>The senior stopped 47 of 49 shots to lead the Tigers to 6-1 and 2-1 wins over Army. On Saturday, he made several key saves in the latter stages of the game to help RIT to the 2-1 comeback. </p> <p><b>Rookie of the Week for Nov. 9, 2''9: <br /> Jeff Larson — Connecticut</b></p> <p>Larson made 48 saves on 5' shots to help Connecticut to a sweep of AIC (see more below). </p> <h4>Deserving a Better Fate</h4> <p>I do radio for RIT, and in that role I have to be a bit of a "homer" since the majority of our listeners and viewers on B2 are Tigers fans. But I've got to admit: Last Saturday night, I was rooting for Army goaltender Joe Spracklen. </p> <p>Spracklen, a senior, was making his ninth career appearance in net for the Black Knights. He was '-2-2 all-time coming into the game, and played very, very well. Looking for his first career win, Spracklen shut down for two periods an RIT offense that had scored 19 goals in its previous three games. </p> <p>But it wasn't to be. Bad bounces and questionable calls cost Spracklen and his team the game, as RIT scored twice in the final nine minutes to escape with a 2-1 win. </p> <p>"[Saturday] was what we expected both nights," said RIT coach Wayne Wilson, whose team won 6-1 over the Black Knights on Friday. "This was a real goaltender's duel."</p> <p>Army had scored early in the second period on a beautiful 3-on-5 shorthanded goal thanks to a two-on-one rush by Eric Sefchik and Cody Omilusik. Sefchick stripped a defender of the puck for the breakout and then dished to Omilusik to make it 1-' Army.</p> <p>That lead would stand until RIT's Dan Ringwald poked home a loose puck at 11:42 of the third period. </p> <p>With just under four minutes to play, Tiger Chris Haltigan got his stick around Army's Kyle Maggard. What would have been a late power play for the Black Knights was negated when Maggard was called for embellishment on the hook.</p> <p>The Tigers would get the game winner just over a minute later, when Andrew Favot took a shot from a tight angle that Spracklen got a piece of as Tiger Sean Murphy crashed the net. Murphy, Army defenseman Cheyne Rocha and the puck all seemed to cross the goal line at the same time, with the net coming off as well. </p> <p>I've seen the replay several times and can't for myself determine if it was a goal. Both coaches after the game commented that they weren't sure, either. After a brief pow-wow between the officials, Favot was credited with the goal. </p> <p>"It wasn't the goal that I had a problem with," Army coach Brian Riley said. "I had a problem with the embellishment call. I watched the tape. I don't know how the ref could call that an embellishment. I couldn't really see if it crossed the line before the net came off." </p> <p>More bad luck for Spracklen, who played well enough to win, but came up short.</p> <h4>Centennial Shutout</h4> <p>Air Force's Andrew Volkening celebrated his 1''th career game in style, posing his 12th career shutout on Saturday. The senior stopped all 27 shots he faced in a 3-' win over Bentley. </p> <h4>Rebounding</h4> <p>After giving up 13 goals to RIT in a pair of losses two weeks ago, Connecticut's Jeff Larson came back with a vengeance last weekend. The rookie goaltender stopped 48 of 5' shots to lead the Huskies to their first two wins of the season in a 3-1, 4-1 sweep of AIC.</p> <p>For his efforts, Larson was named AHA Rookie of the Week.</p> <p>"He's played well," UConn coach Bruce Marshall told USCHO.com. "Last weekend was a total blowup for us a team and for a young kid to go from giving 13 goals on the weekend and to come back ... will help him down the road." </p> <h4>Saturday Night's All Right</h4> <p>Sacred Heart defeated Holy Cross 4-3 on Saturday to keep an unusual streak going. The Pioneers so far this season have not won on a Friday night ('-3) but are undefeated on Saturday (2-'-1). <br /> <br /> <h4>Five More Years</h4> <p>The Air Force Academy and hockey coach Frank Serratore have agreed on a new five-year contract that runs through the 2'13-14 season.</p> <p>"Frank has committed to building a successful program on and off the ice," associate athletic director Dermott Coll said. "The success the team has had the last few years is a direct reflection of the hard work and effort he and his staff have put into this program. The Academy is proud of the team and coaches and all that they have accomplished on the ice, in the classroom and in the community."</p> <h4>Brutally Honest</h4> <p>The Quote of the Week comes from Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin after his team was swept by Canisius last weekend. In both cases the Lakers fell behind early and attempted comebacks that fell short. </p> <p>"We're not very good," Gotkin said. "Good teams don't go down 3-', 2-'. Comeback hockey, come-from-behind hockey, is losing hockey. The good news is we have some time to think it out, sort it out, but right now, we're a very average to below-average hockey team." </p> <p><hr></p> <p>Thanks to the USCHO arena reporters who contributed to this column: Russell Jaslow, Ben Kirst and Nate Owen.

2009-11-13T20:43:48-06:00 2009-11-13T20:43:48-06:00 2009-11-13T20:43:48-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17465/ThisWeekinECACHockeyNov122009.html Brian Sullivan, USCHO ECAC Hockey Correspondent

Here's an old tried-and-true column format: the hot-and-cold list. Join me as we narrow a big-picture view of ECAC Hockey down to a few noteworthy teams, units, and players.</p> <h4>Who's Hot ... </h4> <p><b>Colgate</b></p> <p>Specifically, the offense and Charles Long. The Raiders have scored 16 goals in their last four games, and eight in each of the last two weekends. The 'Gate hasn't scored that many goals in a four-game stretch since late February 2''8, and that was mostly thanks to an 8-' win over Union to kick-start the run. Want to know the last time that Hamilton Hockey potted three goals in four consecutive outings? Try Jan. 13-21, 2''6. Every team craves consistent productivity over unpredictable pyrotechnics, so take heart Raider fans; you just might have something to work with.</p> <p>Sophomore Austin Smith has a half-dozen goals already, and Hobey candidate David McIntyre has nine assists and 11 points through nine games. This success on the scoreboard all comes in spite of a power play that ranks 53rd of 58 Division I teams, scoring only five goals in 51 advantages to date.</p> <p>Long is making sure the offense's efforts are worthwhile, holding a 1.7' goals-against average and .946 save rate in two league games, and has allowed five goals on 76 shots in his last three appearances.</p> <p><b>Quinnipiac</b></p> <p>The Bobcat offense is always fierce, and this year is no exception as the Q has 29 goals in seven games and hasn't scored fewer than three in any one outing. But here's a change of pace: the QU <em>defense</em> may finally be coming around. </p> <p>After years of high-scoring, up-and-down, run-and-gun hockey, Rand Pecknold may have gotten his message through to what has long been a second-rate defense. If you can throw out Halloween's 8-5 loss at Robert Morris, the 'Cats have given up a measly nine goals in six games, and that eight-goal blemish marks the only contest in which the squad surrendered more than two. </p> <p>"Absolutely, we've been very good defensively as a team for six of our seven games," said Pecknold. "It's definitely been a strong point on the team, it's been something we've been focusing on, and fortunately we're also finding a way to score goals.</p> <p>"We've got a ton of freshmen D — we've got five on the roster — so we are young back there. We actually have 13 freshmen, so we're a young <em>team</em>. There are some positives to that: they've certainly infused a lot of energy into our program; I think that's been a positive. I think a huge positive, probably more than anything, has been my senior class. It's really stepped up and responded from a leadership standpoint, and the chemistry in our locker room has been excellent so far. Overall, guys are just buying in."</p> <p>The goaltending triumvirate of freshmen Mathieu Cadieux and Eric Hartzell and sophomore Dan Clarke each post save percentages at .924 or better, and Clarke's 2.6 goals-against average is the worst of the three by more than half a goal. </p> <p>"The media keeps asking me about the goalie thing," Pecknold said of his current three-way rotation, "and my answer across the board is textbook: It's going to play itself out."</p> <p>Quinnipiac players are still spending a hefty amount of time in the box — see the 15 penalties, 41 minutes, and 13 shorthanded situations absorbed against the Saints on Saturday — but the penalty kill is holding so far at 88.4 percent overall, and the power play — when it gets its chance — has lit the lamp on one power play out of five.</p> <p>"I thought we took some bad [penalties] on Saturday, a couple ... I guess I would just call them stupid," stated Pecknold, "and a couple were selfish. We need to clean that area up. I didn't think it was a huge concern before Saturday — I certainly thought we could get better in that area, but Saturday was <em>bad.</em> We just took some really bad ones, and we need to clean that area up.</p> <p>"I don't think, by any means, that we're as good as we can be," reiterated the coach. "We need to get a lot better. But what's happened is that in some of these games where we haven't played our best, we've still found a way to win. I'm not sure if that's because we're a good team, or if it's a little bit of luck. I guess once we get a bigger sample size on the season, we'll have a better idea of that."</p> <p><b>Cornell</b></p> <p>Has anyone noticed that the Big Red power play is scoring four times out of nine? </p> <p>Seriously?</p> <p>The PK unit has killed 16 of 18, the Red are blowing the opposition out 7-1 in the third period, and Ben Scrivens — remember him? — holds a .922 save percentage and a goals-against average under 2.'. More than a dozen skaters (13, to be precise) have been written into the scoring through three games.</p> <p>Just another indomitable-looking team out of Ithaca, I suppose.</p> <p><b>Broc Little</b></p> <p>The Yale third-year has four goals in three games, including a game-winner, a power-play goal, and a shorthanded tally. He looks good to beat his freshman-year 11, and likely his sophomore-year 15. At this rate, he'll beat them both combined.</p> <p><b>Chase Polacek</b></p> <p>RPI's junior striker has six goals in his last six games, with six helpers to boot. He's already matched his seven rookie-year goals, and doesn't have far to go to meet last year's 11-goal, 21-point total.</p> <p><b>Rookies</b></p> <p>Harvard phenom Louis Leblanc (2-3-5, three games), Yale's Andrew Miller (1-3-4, three games) and St. Lawrence's Kyle Flanagan (4-7-11, nine games) rank one-three-five on the national rookie scoring list, listed by points-per-game. Combined, this trio has 2' points in 15 games. Keep an eye on first-year Engineers Brandon Pirri (6-4-1') and Jerry D'Amigo (3-6-9) as well. That's a lot of points in a significant number of games already (1').</p> <h4>... and Who's Not</h4> <p><b>The rest of the Ivy League</b></p> <p>First, one error to correct: In remarking on Yale's five-goal outburst at Princeton last week, I mistakenly noted that Tigers goalie Zane Kalemba had allowed five goals in two of his last three games. This was erroneous, as the Bulldogs only scored four of their five goals against the Hobey Baker candidate — the fifth was planted in an empty net.</p> <p>Besides that, though, five of the six Ivy programs have been perfectly capable of making their own mistakes thus far. Apart from 2-'-' Cornell, the Ivy League is a combined 2-8-2, with last year's overachieving sensation — Dartmouth — bringing up the rear at '-3-'. </p> <p>The Big Green have been outscored 13-6 in their three ECAC Hockey contests to date, and it's no coincidence that the team's penalty kill has been a positively abominable 1' for 17 — worst in the nation at 58.8 percent. The power play is a disaster as well with two goals in 18 opportunities, and the squad is already serving 23 minutes a game in the box. These issues have undeniably factored into sophomore Jody O'Neill's .863 save rate, but he'll have to step up as well if the Green are to secure another home playoff series. </p> <p>Sure, Yale beat Princeton in the Garden State, but what have you done for me lately? That game was a non-conference contest, and in the Bulldogs' league-opening weekend, the unanimous conference favorites slunk out of the Capital District with a single point to show for their mileage. RPI piled on the Blue & White with three unanswered goals in the last 37 minutes of Friday's 5-2 decision, while the Elis required a Sean Backman extra-attacker goal with seven seconds left on Saturday to salvage a draw with Union. Yale was 1-of-1' on the power play on the weekend, and was beaten 7-3 in five-on-five play. </p> <p>Yale's travel partner Brown may not carry the same burden of external expectations that the other Ivies do this year, but under new head coach Brendan Whittet, the reinvented Bears can't be happy with the way last weekend evolved. Friday's 3-1 lead after 24 minutes at Union evaporated into a 3-3 tie thanks to two Mike Schreiber goals, and Bruno's only offense on Saturday was found in a 5-on-3 power play in a 3-1 loss at Rensselaer. Goaltender Mike Clemente stopped 54 of 6' shots on the road trip, but his offense mustered a mere 38 — 19 each night. The special teams will need work, as the power play went 1-for-9 and the kill allowed three goals in 13 shorthanded situations.</p> <p>Down in Jersey, Princeton has all the pieces to be an elite team in college hockey ... but it's still early, and the pieces don't make a pretty picture just yet. The penalty-killing unit is gorgeous, a perfect 13-for-13, but that's not an especially desirable number of unmatched penalties to be taking in a single weekend. Defending ECAC Hockey and Ivy League Player of the Year Zane Kalemba has had an uncharacteristically pedestrian start, posting a 2.7 goals-against average and .917 save percentage with a 1-2-' record. The stalwart senior may feel a little heat from junior Alan Reynolds, who helped the Tigers rebound from Friday's 5-2 loss to St. Lawrence with a one-goal, 31-save show in Saturday's 4-1 victory over Clarkson.</p> <p>Harvard may have beaten Dartmouth to open its season, but letting consecutive 3-1 second-period leads at Colgate and archrival Cornell end in losses is sure to drive coach Ted Donato to an unhealthy Pepto habit. On Friday, the Crimson led 3-' after one and 4-1 after 4' minutes, but with under 1' minutes to play the Raiders scored three goals in 5:23 to steal two points. In Saturday's tilt at Lynah Rink, Donato switched out Friday starter Kyle Richter in favor of junior Ryan Carroll. Once again, the Cantabs built a 3-1 lead — this one held through 37 minutes of play — before the Big Red erupted for five goals over the following 16 minutes of hockey. This sent the Crimson home with a solid cup-check of a loss, 6-3, and no protection in sight. </p> <h4>Readers' Poll</h4> <p>Last week's <a href='http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=86235' target='_blank'>shootout poll</a> received more posts and votes than any of the three previous surveys, apparently because people feel <em>pretty</em> strongly about their old-school hockey.</p> <p>Despite forgetting an option regarding in-season tournament scenarios, a whopping — and yes, you can actually hear the majority "whop" on this one — 39 of 53 voters struck down shootouts as the most unholy of all Satan's cruel designs. A small but significant five voters, on the other hand, can't get enough of shootouts, voting in favor of the tiebreaker in all applicable situations. A few more individuals rallied for the format's regular-season appearance, and one Brown fan declared himself a Communist. </p> <p>Intrigued, I e-mailed ECAC Hockey's head-coaching fraternity to ask its opinion. Six coaches got back to me (there are a few others who don't even own computers, I'm beginning to suspect), with a few differing opinions. </p> <p>Four coaches support the idea of regular-season shootouts to determine league standings, but not PairWise rank (those games would go down as ties, in the NCAA's eyes). The remaining two coaches declared themselves totally opposed to the idea, with one elaborating that with so few league games compared to other conferences, such a format would have a correspondingly greater (and ergo less desirable) impact on the standings than it might in other leagues.</p> <p>That will be a tough question to compete with, but let's give it a shot: <a href='http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=86431' target='_blank'>when, if ever, is it acceptable to boo a collegiate hockey player?</a> This inquiry is sure to get a rise out of some of you, so by all means, make your voices heard. I look forward to the forthcoming carnage.

2009-11-12T21:40:11-06:00 2009-11-12T21:40:11-06:00 2009-11-12T21:40:11-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17466/ThisWeekintheWCHANov122009.html Theresa Spisak, USCHO WCHA Correspondent

Though a few of the usual suspects have been hanging around the top half of the league, we've still got more of the same like last year, as only seven points separate first and 1'th place.</p> <h4>Red Baron WCHA Players of the Week</h4> <p><b>Red Baron WCHA Co-Offensive Players of the Week:</b> Evan Trupp, UND; Sean Wiles, UAA.<br /> <b>Why:</b> Trupp scored three goals to help his Fighting Sioux sweep Michigan Tech. Wiles also scored three goals in the Seawolves' split with Denver.<br /> <b>Also Nominated:</b> Bill Sweatt, CC; Rhett Rakhshani, DU; Patrick White, UM; Blake Geoffrion, UW.</p> <p><b>Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week:</b> Alex Kangas, UM.<br /> <b>Why:</b> Stopped 73 of 79 shots on goal in the Gophers' split with Wisconsin, including a career-high 45 shots on Saturday.<br /> <b>Also Nominated:</b> Gabe Guentzel, CC; Brad Eidsness, UND; Ryan McDonagh, UW.</p> <p><b>Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week:</b> William Rapuzzi, CC.<br /> <b>Why:</b> Had three points (2g, 1a) in the Tigers' split with Minnesota-Duluth.<br /> <b>Also Nominated:</b> Zach Budish, UM; Danny Kristo, UND; Craig Smith, UW.</p> <h4>More Gopher Woe</h4> <p>If the injury news wasn't bad enough, Minnesota has now lost a player off the roster completely. Sophomore defenseman Sam Lofquist left the program earlier this week and has signed with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.</p> <p>Lofquist's departure makes this the fourth year in a row the Gophers have lost a player midseason. It also means the Gophers are down to six healthy defensemen (basically the bare minimum) as well as 22 total players on their roster. (Teams typically carry 26 players. It should also be noted that one of the original 26 players is Bowling Green transfer Jacob Cepis, who will join the team in the second half.) Coach Don Lucia, on his weekly radio show, remarked that now, "We got the guys who want to be here."</p> <p>All this news is resulting in a firestorm of comments all over the Internet from fans, saying things ranging from, "Whatever, get the people who don't want to be at Minnesota out of there" to "FIRE DON LUCIA NOW!" Who knows what will happen (I'm personally not one for speculating much), but it will be interesting to see how things play out at the U, whether it be this season or over the next couple years.</p> <h4>Thoughts and Comments from the Weekend</h4> <p><b>UM:</b> While at CC Friday for the CC/UMD series, I was fortunate enough to catch a good chunk of the Gopher/Badger game on Fox Sports North. One of the stats FSN showed was the Gophers' abysmal power play — at that point in Friday's game, 1-for-32. Overall this season, Goldy is 2-for-35 with the man advantage, good enough for 56th of 58 teams, above only Alabama-Huntsville and Niagara.</p> <p><b>CC:</b> For a while this season, it seemed as though Tiger fans had listened to all the Debbie Downer news circulating around their team, as attendance had been noticeably lower than normal to start the year. However, as CC's early season success has gotten out, the fans have returned to World Arena in kind. Friday's crowd was CC's biggest yet this season; even Director of Athletic Communications Dave Moross noticed, commenting, "We've got ourselves a crowd."</p> <p>The Tigers also had a penalty shot on Friday night. It's unsure how many penalty shots CC has seen over the years (the school doesn't keep track), but the event was definitely the first in coach Scott Owens' tenure (11 years), making Stephen Schultz's eventual miss a rare spectacle.</p> <p><b>DU:</b> Denver is hoping its bye week will be kind in terms of injury recovery. The Pioneers are already without goaltender Marc Cheverie, who hopes to be back in two weeks for North Dakota, but defenseman Patrick Wiercioch went down late in Saturday's loss to UAA as well. </p> <p>Cheverie, in his recovery, sat down with DU's media relations office for an interview (teams often have player profiles/interviews on their respective Web sites) and, somehow, the question of how to eat an Oreo came up. Besides the fact that I think everyone over the age of 3 probably knows the proper Oreo-consuming process, I thought the exchange was amusing.</p> <p><blockquote><b>SG (DU media relations person):</b> I asked (freshman) Drew Shore this question and he was confused ...<br /> <b>MC (Cheverie):</b> That sounds about accurate.<br /> <b>SG:</b> So let's see if you do a little better than him ... How do you eat an Oreo?<br /> <b>MC:</b> Split it, lick it, dip it and eat it.<br /> <b>SG:</b> Nice. He was so confused.<br /> <b>MC:</b> He's too young to understand.</blockquote></p> <p>College hockey players: They're just like us (whether in good ways or bad ways).</p> <p><b>UMD:</b> On a personal note, it's nice to see Bruce Ciskie back on the call of UMD games. Over the years, one gets to know their fellow media members in the other cities and, quite frankly, it sucks not being able to see your friendly acquaintances year after year due to budget cuts and whatnot. So, Ciskie, nice to see you back traveling again.</p> <p><b>UND:</b> Danny Kristo, my random preseason pick for Rookie of the Year for the WCHA media poll, finally scored his first collegiate goal.</p> <h4>On Home-Ice Advantage</h4> <p>Brad Elliott Schlossman of the <em>Grand Forks Herald</em> had an interesting piece this week on the Fighting Sioux and their ridiculous home ice advantage at the (new) Ralph Englestad Arena.</p> <p><a href='http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/14'6'7/'>From the article (you may be asked to log in)</a>: The last time the Sioux have lost at home was a year ago (Nov. 29, 2''8, vs. Cornell). None of the current players on the SCSU roster (this weekend's opponent), the MSU, M roster or the DU roster has won a collegiate game at the Ralph.</p> <p>The Sioux went 7-9-1 in the first season at the new Ralph and since then, have gone 1'3-36-21 at home for a .7'9 winning percentage (compared to .693 at the old Ralph).</p> <p>After reading these facts, I was curious about how the other teams in the league have fared at home and whether they've enjoyed the same home-ice advantage. Information was found primarily for teams with newer arenas. Also good to note is that not all schools said if their totals included exhibition games. CC's did, so I went ahead and added in exhibition games for all teams when adding this year's games to the overall totals. This may skew the numbers slightly, but not enough to make a huge difference. Hopefully.</p> <p>Colorado College is 187-69-12 since the World Arena opened in 1997 for a .717 winning percentage at home.</p> <p>Denver is 134-66-9 for a .663 winning percentage in the 1' years of Magness Arena.</p> <p>Minnesota State is 13'-81-34 at the Verizon Wireless Center since it opened for an even .6'' winning percentage.</p> <p>Since 1989 when the National Hockey Center opened, St. Cloud State is 232-122-38 for a .64' winning percentage.</p> <p>The Seawolves are 238-2'2-52 at the Sullivan Arena for a .537 winning percentage.</p> <p>Wisconsin is 125-93-23 at the Kohl Center for a .566 winning percentage.</p> <p>The main thing to take away is that pretty much everyone enjoys home ice; the advantage is just larger for some. From those that I could find without compiling home winning percentages for hundreds of years of history, CC has the largest home-ice advantage while Alaska-Anchorage, understandably, has the worst.</p> <p>You may notice that the DECC (Duluth), Mariucci Arena (Minnesota) and MacInnes Student Ice Arena (Michigan Tech) are absent. None of the schools mentioned their team's home-ice record (as far as I could find). I can understand Michigan Tech somewhat (given their arena is quite a bit older), but I was surprised that the Gophers mentioned squat among all the other information about Mariucci.</p> <h4>Match-Ups By the Numbers</h4> <p>We get to see one of our future teams in action this weekend for the first time (Beavers at Gophers) and Denver gets a week to rest up.</p> <p><b>St. Cloud State @ North Dakota</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> SCSU — 3-3-2 (2-1-1 WCHA). UND — 6-1-1 (4-1-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> UND leads the overall series, 5'-27-1'.</p> <p><b>Colorado College @ Minnesota State</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> CC — 5-2-1 (4-1-1 WCHA). MSU, M — 3-4-1 (1-4-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> CC leads the overall series, 25-12-1.</p> <p><b>Michigan Tech @ Minnesota-Duluth</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> MTU — 2-6-' (1-5-' WCHA). UMD — 6-3-1 (3-2-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> MTU leads the overall series, 116-72-18.</p> <p><b>Alaska Anchorage @ Wisconsin</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> UAA — 4-6-' (2-4-' WCHA). UW — 4-3-1 (2-3-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> UW leads the overall series, 42-13-9.</p> <p><b>Bemidji State @ Minnesota</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> BSU — 7-'-1 (4-'-' CHA). UM — 3-4-1 (3-4-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> UM leads the overall series, 6-'-'<br /> <b>Of Note:</b> UM has outscored BSU 35-9 in the all-time series ... the closest game was a 2-1 UM win on Feb. 6, 2''4 ... BSU has outscored opponents 3'-1' this year.</p> <h4>Future WCHA Team Watch</h4> <p>The Beavers continued their roll, sweeping conference foe Robert Morris last weekend. This weekend, they get to face their soon-to-be conference mate Minnesota in a Saturday/Sunday series. Nebraska-Omaha, on the other hand, managed to gain only two points against Michigan State, losing and then tying (though technically beating in a shootout) the Spartans. The Mavericks host Lake Superior State this weekend.</p> <p><b>BSU:</b> 7-'-1 overall, '-'-' vs. WCHA<br /> <b>UNO:</b> 4-1-3 overall, '-'-' vs. WCHA</p> <h4>On the Flip Side of the Coin</h4> <p>For the past few years, you've read a piece in this column either about the Sioux's slow start around about this time of the season or about their (supposed) second-half surge sometime in late February/early March.</p> <p>This year, however, the Sioux have gotten off to a faster start than the rest of us have been accustomed to. So, it's understandable that coach Dave Hakstol was asked at this week's team press conference how it felt to not have to answer questions about a slow start. </p> <p>His response? "I don't know [how it feels]; I still have to answer all the other ones about not having a slow start so it's not much different."</p> <p>Good to know that at least he has a sense of humor about it all.</p> <h4>P.S.</h4> <p>Last Friday, I was sent a video by Jay Levin of the Nashville Predators about the team's prospects involved in the Gopher/Badger rivalry. Obviously, it was too late to stick in the column, but given that the two teams will face off once again at the end of the year, I figured it'd be interesting to <a href='http://predators.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=739&id=4563' '>share with everyone</a>.

2009-11-12T22:20:43-06:00 2009-11-12T22:20:43-06:00 2009-11-12T22:20:43-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17467/ThisWeekintheCHANov122009.html Matt Mackinder, USCHO CHA Correspondent

And the beat goes on for Bemidji State.</p> <p>Honestly, this is a team that's looking like it will not only keep up with the rest of the WCHA next year, but for the time being will be a team that looks unstoppable in CHA play.</p> <p>The facts don't lie.</p> <p>The Beavers are one of three unbeaten teams in the nation and are off to their best start in 25 years at 7-'-1. That seven is also lucky as it's their ranking this week in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll — the school's highest ranking ever.</p> <p>Goaltending was looking like a big-time issue heading into this season after Matt Dalton bolted for NHL money with Boston. Two freshmen and an unproven sophomore were what BSU was leaning on this season.</p> <p>Now, that unproven sophomore, Dan Bakala, is 6-'-1 in his last seven starts with a goals-against average of under 1.'' and a save percentage hovering near 98 percent.</p> <p>Wow. Matt who?</p> <p>Look at last weekend when Robert Morris and a proven goaltender, Brooks Ostergard, came to town. The Beavers allowed just one goal over both games and swept the series from the Colonials.</p> <p>This weekend, though, BSU travels to Minnesota for a series with the unranked 3-4-1 Gophers, who have struggled this year and had sophomore defenseman Sam Lofquist leave the team this week for the OHL's Guelph Storm.</p> <p>Minnesota isn't even ranked and one Minneapolis blogger, Roman Augstoviz of the Star Tribune, this week wondered if it's the Gophers who are going into this series as the underdog. </p> <p>Methinks he's bang-on.</p> <p>History is on Minnesota's side, however.</p> <p>Minnesota has won all six previous meetings with Bemidji State, outscoring the Beavers by a 35-9 count. </p> <p>Ouch.</p> <p>The past five matchups have been played at Mariucci Arena with the most recent series being Feb. 6-7, 2''4. The teams first met on Oct. 14, 2''', in Bemidji. Aside from a 2-1 win on Feb. 6, 2''4, the Gophers have won each of the other five games by at least four goals.</p> <p>Alas, that's why they play the games.</p> <h4>Bemidji State Handles Robert Morris</h4> <p>In Friday night's 2-' win, Bakala made 23 saves and made goals by Matt Read and Jordan George stand up.</p> <p>The game was scoreless after 4' minutes and RMU had the best scoring chance of the game 13 minutes into the second period.</p> <p>Bakala moved to the right post to make a save, but was unable to corral the loose puck, leaving the net wide open for J.C. Velasquez. Just as Velasquez fired the shot, BSU freshman defenseman Brady Wacker dove across the crease to deflect the shot wide.</p> <p>Jake Areshenko recorded his first NCAA point with an assist on Read's tally.</p> <p>Ostergard finished with 37 saves.</p> <p>The next night, BSU had 13 skaters register points in a 6-1 rout of the Colonials.</p> <p>Brad Hunt had three assists in the game.</p> <p>Darcy Findlay, Tyler Lehrke and Ian Lowe gave the Beavers a 3-1 lead through two periods with a Denny Urban goal late in the second being the only blemish.</p> <p>Read, George and Emil Billberg finished the scoring barrage in the third.</p> <p>Bakala turned aside 27 shots for the 'W,' while Eric Levine made 34 saves in the loss.</p> <h4>Niagara Still Winless After UMass Sweep</h4> <p>Niagara came into its delayed home-and-home set with No. 19 Massachusetts looking to end its winless drought, but came up empty with a 4-1 defeat Friday night and a 4-2 loss Sunday afternoon.</p> <p>In the series opener Friday night on the road, the Purple Eagles had a 1-' lead on a goal by Ryan Olidis 22 seconds into the second period. UMass scored two to take a 2-1 lead into the third period, where the Minutemen added two empty-netters to seal the deal.</p> <p>"A lot of our game I like, even with the tight loss," NU coach Dave Burkholder said. "We played a great road game, but sadly we sputtered on our last power play in the second period. We ended up taking a penalty and they converted on the man advantage. When you play a team as good as UMass, they will make you pay for your mistakes."</p> <p>Andrew Hare finished with 29 saves for Niagara.</p> <p>NU dropped to '-7-1 in another tight game Sunday.</p> <p>On a day where Niagara honored the 1999-2''' team that earned the program's first NCAA tournament berth, the Purple Eagles came out strong early. </p> <p>Again, Niagara had an early lead when Egor Mironov scored six minutes into the first period. </p> <p>"I think that we came out with a lot of energy," Burkholder said. "We were excited to finally be back at home after a six-game stretch."</p> <p>The Purple Eagles held a 1-' advantage until early in the second period when UMass struck twice in a 5'-second span to take a 2-1 lead. Burkholder then yanked starting goalie Adam Avramenko for Chris Noonan.</p> <p>Niagara would tie it halfway through the second stanza when Chris Moran found Olidis in the slot for the one-timer. </p> <p>UMass scored two goals late in the third to put the game away.</p> <p>"We were too sloppy today," Burkholder said. "UMass played a patient and good road game and in the end got the victory."</p> <p>Noonan made 25 saves coming off the bench. Avramenko stopped 11 shots in his 24:56 of work. </p> <h4>NU Gets Commitment From Austrian Black Hawk</h4> <p>No stranger to having European players in their program, Niagara will have Austrian-born Patrick Divjak in its lineup starting next season.</p> <p>The Waterloo Black Hawks forward is playing his third year in the USHL and his first with Waterloo after the past two years with the Sioux Falls Stampede. During his time in Sioux Falls, he also participated in the World Junior Championship for Austria.</p> <p>"We felt we had a big opportunity when Patrick became available over the summer," Waterloo coach P.K. O'Handley said.  "He's been a good fit with our power play centering a veteran group."</p> <p>Divjak will play for former Black Hawks forward Tim Madsen, who is a member of Niagara's coaching staff. Madsen skated for the Hawks in 2''3-2''4, winning a Clark Cup title, before joining the Purple Eagles in the fall of 2''4.</p> <p>Niagara has dressed Finland natives Hannu Karru, Timo Makela (a former captain), Mikko Miettinen and Mikko Sivonen throughout the course of its history.</p> <h4>CHA Commish Discusses Status of League</h4> <p>In the <I>Niagara Gazette</I> this week, acting CHA commissioner and Niagara AD Ed McLaughlin sat down for a Q & A session with Gazette sports writer Tim Schmitt. </p> <p>McLaughlin, who has always been up-front and straight to the point, held nothing back when asked about the situation that happened over the summer between Alabama-Huntsville and the CCHA.</p> <p>"I talked with athletic directors in the CCHA and I talked with Huntsville," he told the newspaper. "I didn't play a part in any of the application process or anything like that, but I unsuccessfully campaigned for them. I campaigned for them, though. It was our hope that we'd find a home for everybody. If the home wasn't together, we wanted everyone to have one. It's disappointing, but you can't tell people how to do their business either.</p> <p>"I think there are geographical obstacles that make it hard for the CCHA teams to wrap their brains around it. You're already going to Alaska, and they don't see Huntsville as a hockey place, even though they have great tradition. The CCHA has minimum operating numbers in terms of dollars, and that's certainly not anywhere near where the CHA teams have been. I think Huntsville committed to getting there, but I think it was night and day, what they've been spending and what we've been spending."</p> <p>McLaughlin was also asked if he feels powerless at times, if he feels like he's being twisted and his thoughts on Bemidji State getting accepted into the WCHA.</p> <p>"It's one of the single most bizarre things of my professional life," he told the newspaper. "And we've had some bizarre experiences. Bemidji is a big rival for us. And while I'm happy for them and their progress, you want them to do well, but as the Niagara AD, not this year. I was happy for them last year too. It was great for our league [and] it was great for college hockey that it happened. But it's a really bizarre dynamic because it's hard to close down a league and to keep focused on things. You don't want people to say that it doesn't matter. </p> <p>"The championship game back on CBS College Sports this year, that was an important thing for me because I don't want the kids to ever think that we don't care. It's a sad thing, but we can't have the kids experience not be the same."</p> <h4>And Then This From Don Lucia</h4> <p>Minnesota coach Don Lucia, on his weekly radio show this past Monday, gave praise to his squad's opponents this weekend from Bemidji State and also touched on the ever-changing landscape of college hockey.</p> <p>"Bemidji State has an unbelievable tradition in hockey with Bob Peters going back 4' years," Lucia said. "And they have won countless Division II titles, NAIA titles, and All-Americans, NHL, Olympians. I think it's great that there is going to be another [WCHA] team in the state of Minnesota. They are going to have a great facility to play in.</p> <p>"I was a huge proponent of Bemidji State being a member of the WCHA because it is good for college hockey. We always have to be looking at the big picture and what is good for college hockey. And college hockey is unique because we are a sport where Bemidji State can compete with Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. You can't do it in other sports, but hockey is the one-sport where it doesn't matter whether you are Division III like Colorado College or a Big Ten member. </p> <p>"Everyone is basically on an equal footing."

2009-11-13T09:26:01-06:00 2009-11-13T09:26:01-06:00 2009-11-13T09:26:01-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17468/ThisWeekintheCCHANov122009.html Paula C. Weston, USCHO CCHA Correspondent

<h4>Old Business</h4> <p>Last week, I registered my discontent with the issues surrounding the Oct. 3' shootout in Omaha, when Bowling Green was awarded the extra shootout point despite an ineligible player scoring the deciding shootout goal. To refresh the memories of those unfamiliar with the case, BGSU freshman Jordan Samuels-Thomas was the only one to score in the shootout, and Samuels-Thomas should have been ineligible because he was in the penalty box at the end of overtime.</p> <p>In my attempt to illustrate what I see as a greater problem — the shootout being a distinctly different beast from the game itself — I unintentionally created the impression that the CCHA could have acted in a way different from how it did to resolve the situation.</p> <p>I never said in last week's column that the league should have allowed a shootout the following day, as UNO coach Dean Blais suggested in his statements post-game, statements that I quoted, nor was it my intention to imply that such action should be taken. </p> <p>One of my contentions was then and remains theoretical. I was questioning when a game ends. I did not mean it in the literal sense — that a game ends when a buzzer sounds, or when all parties have made their collective ways into their respective locker rooms. </p> <p>Instead, I was using the situation in Omaha to illustrate the difference between what occurs on the clock and what occurs off, to reiterate my position that the shootout is extracurricular, not part of the actual game. </p> <p>What I wrote did, however, create confusion that I did not intend.</p> <p>To wrap up this particular subject, I've received quite a bit of e-mail informing me that the officiating crew involved in that game was let go by the CCHA. That is simply not true. The league has disciplined those officials, but has not released the nature of the discipline. </p> <p>And that's the end of that.</p> <h4>Old Business, Part 2</h4> <p>Maybe I was born skeptical. Maybe I'm just not a nice person. </p> <p>After reading my esteemed colleague Danny Martin's interview with former Alaska head coach Doc DelCastillo in the <em>Fairbanks Daily News-Miner</I> this week, I remain unconvinced that DelCastillo was the victim of a vast player-led conspiracy to get him fired from his position as Nanooks coach.</p> <p>This is an article that I know Danny Martin and the <em>News-Miner</I> worked hard to produce. The <em>News-Miner</I> filed a public records request in April of last year to obtain documents related to this case, and for Martin's article, University of Alaska-Fairbanks officials seem tight-lipped.</p> <p>In the article, DelCastillo claims he was released by the University of Alaska-Fairbanks based on unsubstantiated accusations of sexual harassment and that the University "deliberately" put him "in a situation to make it look like something happened that didn't happen."</p> <p>In the article, DelCastillo also admitted to having contacted by cell phone the two women who brought the accusations of sexual harassment, one of whom was a student.</p> <p>I have several problems with DelCastillo's whole story. I do not understand what these women would stand to gain personally by accusing DelCastillo of sexual harassment. Many victims of sexual harassment — men and women alike — do not report what they've experienced for fear of backlash, of not being taken seriously, or because of the shame associated with reporting. Given the potential negative effects on the lives of his accusers, I don't see them fabricating their reports.</p> <p>Another problem I have is the way DelCastillo describes his cell phone contact with the women who accused him. In fact, I have a problem with DelCastillo calling these women at all — not because it's de facto proof that he sexually harassed either of them, but because it reveals an incredible level of either poor judgment or arrogance. In other words, DelCastillo didn't realize the potential repercussions for a married man in a public position to carry on private cell phone conversations with these women, or he thought himself to be untouchable if there were repercussions. Yes, it's a he-said, she-said. It just raises a flag for me.</p> <p>The third issue I have is with DelCastillo's notion that the entire team was conspiring to get him fired. This is a red flag for me for many reasons. I have a hard time believing that the University of Alaska-Fairbanks was duped by its own men's ice hockey team into firing an upstanding local citizen. I also have a hard time believing that a team could or would plot such an operation. I have met several of the Nanooks players who were allegedly involved in this plot — players recruited by current coach Dallas Ferguson — and I simply do not believe them capable of such wholesale, capricious malice. </p> <p>Well, I don't believe them capable of such wholesale, capricious malice without evidence, and that's the biggest problem I have with DelCastillo's entire story.</p> <p>That having been said, I am not accusing DelCastillo of sexual harassment; I'm just reacting to what he's elected to tell the media.</p> <h4>Old Business, Part 3</h4> <p>OK. Back to the hockey at hand. Sort of.</p> <p>This week, the Michigan State Spartans and the Michigan Wolverines meet for the first time since a <a href='http://www.uscho.com/recaps/2''82''9/m/'1/24/msu-um.php'>Jan. 24 game</a> that saw defenseman Steve Kampfer leave Yost Ice Arena strapped to a gurney, Kampfer's father storm into the Spartan locker room and confront Tropp, and Spartans Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp suspended from the MSU team for the rest of the season.</p> <p>We all know that Tropp has returned to the Spartan squad; he's leading the Spartans in scoring (3- 3—6), is tied with six other CCHA players for second place in conference scoring and is tied for second in the nation in power-play production with five goals.</p> <p>For his part, Tropp told my esteemed colleague at the <em>Lansing State Journal,</I> Neil Koepke, that he's a different player today. "I made it a mistake," Tropp said. "That's not the player I am."</p> <p>Michigan coach Red Berenson told the <em>Michigan Daily</I> that what happened in that game "was unfortunate" and "uncalled for," but that "it was dealt with well on the other end," meaning by Michigan State hockey.</p> <p>The Jan. 24 game was the fifth win of the season for Michigan over Michigan State; it was the most competitive and interesting game in the 2''8-'9 series between the teams until Conboy's clothesline of Kampfer and Tropp's subsequent slash of the defenseman as he lay on the ice. </p> <p>The lopsided results of what is usually an entertaining and fairly even series involving the Wolverines and Spartans was a direct result of the awfulness of MSU's 2''8-'9 series. Last season, Michigan State finished tied for 1'th place in the CCHA, while Michigan tied for second.</p> <p>Heading into this weekend's series, MSU is all alone in second place, two points behind league-leading Miami. UM is tied for sixth place and a full seven points behind the Spartans.</p> <h4>New Business?</h4> <p>"Everybody's contributing right now and our defense is playing pretty good and our goaltending's pretty good." So said Miami head coach Enrico Blasi after his RedHawks swept Michigan last weekend. The understatement was completely appropriate; Miami beat the Wolverines twice in Yost ... which is home to the indisputable Master of Understatement, Berenson.</p> <p>For his part, after being swept by Miami at home, Berenson said that his team played like "spoiled brats." Yes, that's a direct quote. </p> <p>It's Miami that's the story of the week — or maybe the dopes associated with the CCHA should be the story of the week. The RedHawks were picked third in both the CCHA media and coaches 2''9-1' preseason polls, behind Michigan and Notre Dame. I think before the season began there was some speculation about how the end of their 2''8-'9 season would affect them and questions about the legitimacy of their appearance in last year's title game, fair or no. Miami didn't play in the CCHA tournament, and I think some of us may have wondered if their run to the national championship was a fluke.</p> <p>I picked them third this season, but for reasons wholly unconnected to Miami hockey; I thought that Notre Dame and Michigan would have stronger starts (and perhaps stronger teams) this year. I picked them to lose twice last weekend in Yost because they'd only won three games there before.</p> <p>After having seen the RedHawks beat the Wolverines 5-1 Saturday night, I have no doubts about their legitimacy this season. They are absolutely for real, top to bottom. They played a hard, even game Friday and an intense contest Saturday. The result was a two-goal weekend for the Wolverines and their first sweep at home at the hands of an opponent since Northern Michigan beat them Oct. 26-27, 2''1.</p> <p>"Part of our team, part of our trademark is to play good team defense," said Blasi. "You have to do that against Michigan. Otherwise, their going to bury you. I thought our guys did a good job of keeping sticks in lanes and deflecting a lot of things to the outside and not giving them much room."</p> <p>As Saturday's game progressed, the Wolverines took dumb penalty after dumb penalty — 65 minutes in all for UM to Miami's 3', leaving the Wolverines completely unable to break Miami's dominance as the game progressed.</p> <p>Even though the penalties were lopsided, Blasi said that he didn't know "if anyone kept it together real well" during Saturday's contest. "It's an emotional game, it's a rivalry right now, and we're in their building," said Blasi. "You know they're not going to die. They fought hard and I thought we matched their intensity right off the bat."</p> <p>The Miami sweep was a complete team effort, which is how Miami is establishing itself as one of the best programs in college hockey. Every class contributed to the weekend in tangible, measurable ways. In Friday's game, two seniors — Jarod Palmer and Brandon Smith — scored all three Miami goals. (Smith's was the third of his career.) In Saturday's contest, the juniors and freshmen scored. Sophomore goaltender Cody Reichard registered both wins, stopping 47-of-49 in the two-game set.</p> <p>In Saturday's win, Reichard looked amazing. He stopped things that came through heavy traffic. He made point-blank saves. He gave up few playable rebounds. </p> <p>"Do I look surprised?" asked Blasi. "He's been playing like that for the better part of a year, so it doesn't shock us at all."</p> <p>Reichard said that Saturday's game was much more intense after Michigan lost Friday, and that through the first period Saturday that ended tied 1-1, the RedHawks "were just hanging on there for a while."</p> <p>"They got on the board early," said Reichard. "You never know. The crowd was in it and they were going."</p> <p>This week, the RedHawks will be tested again, but by another team that may have been overlooked at the start of this season. Ferris State is 7-3-' to start the season with a 6-'-' record at home.</p> <p>Junior Bulldog goaltender Pat Nagle has quietly begun what could be a career season. In five games this season, Nagle has a .938 save percentage and 1.58 goals-against average, making him eighth and sixth nationally among goaltenders in those categories.</p> <p>Nagle, however, is not alone in the FSU net. The Bulldogs have been rotating Nagle with sophomore Taylor Nelson, whose 1.8' GAA is 11th in the nation.</p> <h4>Monkey Business</h4> <p>According to this week's USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll, six of the top 13 teams in the country call the CCHA their home. That's half the league.</p> <p>Complete disclosure here: I vote in this poll. My CCHA picks? No. 1, Miami. No. 6, Notre Dame. No. 9, Alaska. No. 1', Michigan. No. 12, Michigan State. No. 14, Nebraska-Omaha.</p> <p>After seeing the polls in print, so to speak, I got to wondering. Can the CCHA be <em>that</I> good this season? I mean, is this league good enough to merit having half its teams counted among the 15 best programs in college hockey this week?</p> <p>As I've said, I'm a born skeptic. However, there's evidence that the CCHA is re-emerging as one of the premier leagues in college hockey. I'd argue that the league was down for a while in the early part of this decade, but three different CCHA teams — from three different CCHA states — ascending to the last three national title games is something that's hard to ignore. That the first two of those teams finished fourth in league standings and last year's team didn't play in its own league championship tournament may actually provide better evidence that the league is not only good, but deep.</p> <p>But I'll defer to Blasi when it comes to the polls. This is what he said after sweeping Michigan last weekend.</p> <p>"Rankings ... we don't really talk about. We don't really care. We're trying to get better every day and we're trying to focus on the games we're playing right now. Rankings don't mean anything to us until the end of the year, and hopefully we can be one of those teams playing, but we've got a long way to go and there's a long process involved to do that."</p> <h4>Bits of Business</h4> <p>Here are a few scattered impressions from the last week of CCHA hockey.</p> <p>• Michigan State is a fun hockey team to watch, and their place in the CCHA standings is no fluke. They're relaxed and playing good team hockey — and enjoying it, after last year's endless misery.</p> <p>• The Spartan power play is a blast. They scored 2' power-play goals in all of 2''8-'9, and they're already at 15 this season.</p> <p>• Nebraska-Omaha doesn't strike me as a top-ten team — yet. Even in UNO's shootout "win," I thought that MSU was the better team last Friday night.</p> <p>• UNO head coach Dean Blais is a unique character. He bolted for a recruiting trip the moment last Friday's contest was over. It was nice to catch up with Nick Fohr, however.</p> <p>• Mike Johnson and Scott Greenham — does a goaltending battle get any better than that this season? Johnson (.957 SV%, 1.25 GAA) made 35 saves in Notre Dame's 3-2 win over Alaska last Friday. Greenham (.939 SV%, 1.35 GAA) stopped 26 in UAF's 3-1 win over ND Saturday.</p> <p>• Ohio State should consider changing its mind on rotating its goaltenders. Dustin Carlson (.927 SV%, 2.43 GAA) is '-5-', all Friday games. Cal Heeter (.923 SV%, 2.17 GAA) is 3-1-1 with a shootout "win," all in games on Saturday nights.</p> <p>• Lake Superior State junior Chad Nehring leads the CCHA in conference scoring with five goals and two assists. In 1' games this season, Nehring has netted seven total goals, surpassing his previous two season totals. In 37 games last year, Nehring had six goals; in 37 games in 2''8-'9, he scored four.</p> <p>• Bowling Green remains one of four teams nationally yet to record a win this season. Two of those teams — Dartmouth and Brown — have played just three games. BGSU and Niagara each have overall records of '-7-1.

2009-11-13T16:05:13-06:00 2009-11-13T16:05:13-06:00 2009-11-13T16:05:13-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17474/ThisWeekintheNCHAMCHANov122009.html Matthew Webb, USCHO NCHA and MCHA Correspondent

The first regular season installment of the <a href='/rankings/?data=uscho3m'>USCHO.com Division III</a> men's poll was released on Monday, and at first glance it looks pretty much as expected. Five NCHA teams grace the top 15 and Adrian is hanging out roughly where it has for the better part of the past two years. </p> <p>The big mover was St. Norbert, who at 4-'-1 vaults all the way to the top spot in the land, up ten positions from the inaugural poll. The Green Knights landed seven first place votes, one more than second place Oswego. </p> <p>Adrian and its two first place votes slid up one spot to number five, while River Falls, St. Scholastica and Stout landed at eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively. Superior rounds out the NCHA teams by holding onto 14th, down 1' spots from its preseason ranking of fourth </p> <p>Though seeming like a conventional poll — as far as the NCHA and MCHA are concerned — further examination reveals otherwise. </p> <p>A look at the “others receiving votes” shows Milwaukee School of Engineering landing 1' votes and Lawrence five. That makes this poll the first in the history of USCHO in which three MCHA teams received votes. </p> <p>Not something that is bound to send shockwaves through the world of Division III, but empires aren’t built overnight. And in terms of the poll (which reflects the collective perception of numerous D-III coaches) it looks like we can add a third brick to the foundation of the MCHA’s castle. </p> <h4> First Impressions</h4> </p> <p>After discussing the magnitude of the gap between Adrian and the rest of the league a week ago, the Bulldogs went out and scored a road sweep at Marian. Considering the Sabres were expected to be one of the Bulldogs’ biggest challengers, the 13-2 combined weekend score certainly seems to indicate, for now at least, that the Bulldogs are once again the team to beat — and once again it’s by a considerable margin. </p> <p>They aren’t alone at the top of the league, however, as MSOE, Lawrence and Lake Forest are all undefeated in league play. </p> <p>Lake Forest? Yep, that’s right. </p> <p>As first year MCHA members, the Foresters ultimate place in the conference still remains an unanswered question, but for head coach Tony Fritz, last weekend’s 7-6, 3-' road sweep over Finlandia is about as good of a start as he could have hoped for — and for more than just the obvious reasons. </p> <p>“The most prevailing thought is that it’s the first week since ’'5 that we’ve swept anybody,” he said. “We swept [University of Wisconsin-]Eau Claire and [UW-Stevens] Point that fall and then swept Stevens Point that spring in the conference playoffs and that’s the last time we’ve swept anybody. </p> <p>“This was the first sweep ever for our seniors. Doing it on the road was very important as that’s a tough road trip. It’s important to your players that they are successful and that’s the key.” </p> <p>Beyond that, the significance of a four point road weekend is not lost on Fritz as Lake Forest is expected to be in the mix with Lawrence, MSOE, Marian and Finlandia for the 2-6 spots in the league. </p> <p>“That’s huge and it’s puts us in the driver’s seat for the first time in a long time. Here we are with four points in the second week and we’re pretty excited about that.” </p> <p>The Foresters scored a wild 7-6 win on Friday in a game that featured a combined 11' penalty minutes. </p> <p>They held a slim 4-3 lead after the second period but blew the game open in the third as freshman defenseman Trent Brown tallied twice and rookie forward Phil Bushbacher added another in the opening five minutes of the final frame. </p> <p>The Lions scored twice in the next four minutes and added another with only 14 seconds to play, but it wasn’t enough and Lake Forest’s first foray into the MCHA ended with the “W”. </p> <p>“I just sort of felt we were going to be okay. We were killing penalties alright and everything, but there are still always those unknowns,” Fritz said. </p> <p>Saturday featured an entirely different style of game, but Lake Forest prevailed again, nothing a 3-' victory. Freshman netminder Brendan Sullivan turned back 19 Lions’ shots to pick up his first career shutout. </p> <p>The Foresters roster has 15 freshman so while growing pains will no doubt be a fact of life for some amount of time, the shutout was especially pleasing to Fritz considering they allowed eight goals in their opener at St. Norbert and six in Friday’s win. </p> <p>“(On Friday) we were too helter-skelter,” Fritz said. “We were playing too much of a run-and-gun game and in our own end we weren’t playing very solid. We were relying on our goalie to keep us in it in the wrong way.</p> <p>“The second game is where the transformation really took place. We took care of business defensively and that’s key for us and that’s the way we have to play. Anybody who wants to be successful has to first shut things down in their own end.” </p> <p>Lake Forest will remain an intriguing team to follow this season as it’s not every year a team switches leagues. Despite being one of the more established programs in the West, they might as well be a first year program as it relates to the MCHA. Between that and the challenges that a young team presents, ups-and-downs are a certainty, but for now the Foresters are off to about as good of a start as they could have hoped for. </p> <p>“It’s the first step and that’s very important. It puts us in the right direction and just gives us some confidence,” Fritz said. </p> <p>“We’re just trying to be conservative and realistic because we’ve still got some really good teams to play. We still have Adrian for four games, Lawrence is better, MSOE is a good team, Marian is a good team and so on. We also play St. Olaf non-conference so it will be tough. There are a lot of good teams out there no matter where you play.” </p> <h4>A Sick Obsession</h4> </p> <p>Considering the NCHA is so tight it’s almost impossible to figure out where everyone stacks up as of now, let’s try something a bit different this week. <br /> As touched on in this week’s introduction, NCHA teams are all over the place in the national rankings. With four teams cracking the top 1' and another just outside of it, allow me to put the cart four months ahead of the horse and start talking about (gasp!), the NCAA tournament. </p> <p>Over the past four seasons I have stressed numerous times that come selection time, one game can make or break a season. Within the selection system currently implemented, the key component of my contention is that it often doesn’t matter if that one key game was played last week or is in late February. </p> <p>The NCHA landed three teams in the NCAA tournament field last season, the first time in 1' years that was the case. </p> <p>So what are the prospects for this season? Well, pretty good in the sense the NCHA has as many quality teams as it does, but there have been numerous changes this offseason that, one way or another, will possibly have a profound effect. </p> <p>They all stem from the fact the NCHA has switched to an 18 game conference schedule in which each team will play every other three times. Talk has circulated that this might raise the opponent’s winning percentage (OWP) component of the selection criteria for NCHA teams. OWP has carried significant weight in recent years and it has been purported that, like what seems to be the case in a league like the ECAC West, more conference games might raise OWP league-wide. </p> <p>Having nothing better to do, I tried to quantify this to see if this theory might be accurate. As always, trying to predict the future involves some assumptions, but this is how it works. </p> <p>Using last season’s results, I attempted to adjust last season’s results to determine what last year would have looked like had it been played under this season’s schedule format. </p> <p>The assumptions: </p> <p>— The adjusted playoff formats of the MCHA and NCHA have been accounted for<br /> — The new MCHA divisional setup was accounted for<br /> — Lake Forest simply “replaced” Crookston in the MCHA, but the Foresters record was adjusted to a likely realistic 1'-1'-' in the MCHA (Crookston was 5-15-') and the records of other MCHA teams were adjusted accordingly<br /> — NCHA teams lose two conference games with Lake Forest and pick up a third with every other NCHA team<br /> — NCHA teams lose four games with MIAC teams and MIAC teams lose four games with NCHA teams. In both cases the first four NCHA-MIAC games of each team’s season last year were the ones used<br /> — The MIAC teams needed to pick up four games, so the “extra” four opponents they each play <em>this</em> season were used to simulate these<br /> — Games against Eastern opponents are not counted<br /> — This counts games played up through the conference tournaments in all leagues </p> <p>Again, and as simply speaking as possible, last season’s results established trends. Last season’s schedules were then altered to match this year’s scheduling patterns, and the established trends were reapplied to determine results. </p> <p>The NCHA ended up looking like this: </p> <p> GP W L T Win % OWP</p> <p>Superior 27 2' 4 3 '.796 '.5115<br /> Stout 29 22 5 2 '.793 '.5155<br /> St. Scholastica 27 18 8 1 '.685 '.4985<br /> St. Norbert 27 17 9 1 '.648 '.5476<br /> Stevens Point 27 11 14 2 '.444 '.5217<br /> River Falls 27 9 17 1 '.352 '.6'91<br /> Eau Claire 27 7 19 1 '.278 '.5833</p> <p>When looking at the resultant OWP’s, the first thing that jumps out are the gargantuan OWP’s of River Falls and Eau Claire. Only problem is that in this scenario, neither is in the NCAA picture. So how about the top four teams in the league? </p> <p>Last season’s OWP’s for Superior, Stout, St. Scholastica and St. Norbert were .5339, .5361, .5367 and .5725, respectively. </p> <p>Comparing the hypotheticals calculated above to last season’s reality, the net changes were: </p> <p>Superior: -.'224<br /> Stout: -.'2'6<br /> St. Scholastica: -.'382<br /> St. Norbert: -.'249 </p> <p>An across the board drop, and the question is why? A few ideas come to mind. <br /> Namely, the reduction of games against the MIAC serves to hurt the overall records of NCHA teams. This is of course predicated on the NCHA dominating the MIAC, which is what it did last season by going 3' games over .5'' in the Interlock. Only one NCHA team finished below .5'' a year ago, and rest assured that will not be the case this season. </p> <p>As games between NCHA will always result in a composite .5'' record it means the overall win percentages of the league will drop. Combine the lower overall winning percentages with six additional games against each other and a drop relative to last season appears inevitable. </p> <p>St. Norbert is an easy team to look at to demonstrate this. Last year, the Green Knights played eight games against UW-Stevens Point, UW-River Falls and UW-Eau Claire, and those three had a combined record of 38-38-5 (.5''). <br /> After adjusting the schedule, however, the same Green Knights play Stevens Point, River Falls and Eau Claire a total of 11 times, and the three offer a combined record of 27-5'-4. That’s nearly half of the season coming against teams with a combined .333 winning percentage. </p> <p>Simply put, that is not going to help OWP. </p> <p>An interesting sidebar here is this change overpowers the removal of two games against a 5-2'-2 Lake Forest, the Foresters actual record a year ago. </p> <p>Numerous other things arise, but would only serve to muddle the point. The only one I will point out, because it’s simple and interesting, is that the difference between playing Gustavus Adolphus and St. Olaf versus playing Concordia (MN) and St. John’s is quite significant. The same goes for playing, for example, MSOE and Lawrence instead of Northland and Concordia (WI). The magnitude of the impact from just a couple of games can be surprisingly large. </p> <p>I’ll admit, this endeavor took on a life of its own just because I was curious to see what sort of an impact the 18 game league schedule might have on OWP, but ultimately I’m left with two grand conclusions:</p> <p>First, the 18 game NCHA schedule makes perfect sense from a balance standpoint and the return of the two game series are wonderful for fans. Nonetheless, I purport that the changes will invariably hurt the OWP’s of the top NCHA teams. We’ll know the validity of this soon enough. </p> <p>Secondly, it is fascinating in the sense that it shows how fickle some of these things can be, which means just win and keep on winning. After all, if you’re good enough …the numbers won’t matter. </p> <h4>Tasty Travels</h4> </p> <p>The beneficiary, perhaps, of last weekend’s travel was none other Luigi’s Pizza in River Falls, Wisconsin. Located at 1'3 E Locust St. in its quaint downtown, this was my second visit to Luigi’s. In the name of full disclosure, I stopped there last season and was quite disappointed with the manicotti … and I’m not easily disappointed. Following that experience, a coworker chided me for not getting the deep dish pan pizza and was insistent on the fact that when visiting Luigi’s that “you <em>have</em> to get it”. </p> <p>So I did. Before ordering, three things jumped out at me on the menu. The first was the claim of authentic Chicago-style deep dish, which, when applied literally is a tough standard to uphold. The second was the 45 minute cook time and the third was the promotion of a homemade tomato sauce that lauded its sweetness and garlic undertones. </p> <p>Those are some pretty lofty proclamations from a no-frills operation in a not-so-big town in western Wisconsin, but wait the 45 minutes I did. </p> <p>Forty-one minutes later, our server slapped the cast-iron pan baking pan right on the table and it was immediately apparent Luigi’s lived up to the first promise. No question it was legitimate Chicago-style deep dish. As for the tomato sauce, it was downright excellent and was everything the menu promised: sweet with a definite garlic presence. The key to its excellence, and it was excellent, was that the garlic did not overpower the other flavors working in the sauces’ favor, but was evident enough to make it a truly different sauce. </p> <p>As for the rest of the pizza, it was loaded with cheese and toppings and the homemade crust maintained its firmness despite spending over a half hour in the oven. I’ve eaten a lot of pizza — some good and some not so good — and bottom line is that this thing was great. </p> <p>In addition to the pie that surpassed expectations, our server was fantastic and actually asked if we were in town for the hockey game. She even seemed impressed when we explained what USCHO was. Winner! Drinks were refilled promptly and she took the time to make plenty of friendly conversation. Top marks across the board in this department as well, and trust me, her tip indicated as much. </p> <p>A deep-dish at Luigi’s will run anywhere from $8 to $25 depending on the size and amount of toppings you wish to get, but it’s cheaper than it seems. A small accounted for two legitimate meals for me and ran about $13 with four toppings. </p> <p>In summation, I don’t know who Luigi is, where he is from, and why he moved to River Falls, but we should all be happy that he did … and that he brought his recipes with him. I recommend his deep dish to anyone looking for some pregame eats should they be in town for a NCHA clash at Hunt Arena. </p> <p>Truly a pleasant surprise and I leave with only one small word of advice: when they say a medium can feed three to four people, they aren’t joking. </p> <p>Luigi’s receives: 3.5 pucks.

2009-11-11T19:09:58-06:00 2009-11-11T19:09:58-06:00 2009-11-11T19:09:58-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17460/SchroederImStayingatMinnesota.html Compiled by USCHO Staff

Minnesota forward Jordan Schroeder says all the speculation about his departure from the Golden Gophers is false.</p> <p>In a rare response to Internet rumors that he was planning to leave Minnesota, Schroeder committed his future to the team.</p> <p>"I am fully committed to this team and university," Schroeder said in a statement released by the school on Wednesday. "I have no intention of leaving college early to play pro hockey."</p> <p>Schroeder was a first-round draft pick by the NHL's Vancouver Canucks last season, following a stellar freshman campaign for the Gophers. He posted 13 goals and 45 points in claiming the WCHA's top rookie honors.</p> <p>Speculation on his future lingered through the summer, and even after he returned for his sophomore year.</p> <p>"It is unfortunate that these rumors continue to come out and I have no idea where they begin," Schroeder said. "I think it's important for me to publicly state that I am going nowhere. I am dedicated to this team and plan to help us reach our goals for the remainder of this season and future years."</p> <p>Through eight games this season, Schroeder has no goals and five points.

2009-11-10T14:06:58-06:00 2009-11-10T14:06:58-06:00 2009-11-10T14:06:58-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17458/TuesdayMorningQuarterbackNov102009.html Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski, Senior Writers

Todd: Well, Jim, we're a month into the college hockey season, and we're starting to get some answers on those nagging preseason questions. We're seeing last season's national championship game teams go in opposite directions so far this season. We're seeing some surprises in the East and in the West. But I want to start this week talking about one of the biggest upward movers in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll: Bemidji State. At 7-'-1, the Beavers are up to seventh in this week's poll. Should it matter that they haven't played a ranked opponent, or does their record stand on its own?</p> <p>This article is part of a subscription to USCHO Extra. Subscribe at <a href="http://www.uscho.com/extra/">http://www.uscho.com/extra/</a>

2009-11-10T23:18:05-06:00 2009-11-10T23:18:05-06:00 2009-11-10T23:18:05-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17459/RisingOutoftheCrowd.html Justin A. Rice, Special to USCHO

Carl Hagelin didn't exactly stand out from the crowd when he attended Red Berenson's Michigan Hockey Camp as a youngster almost a decade ago, even though he traveled all the way from Sodertalje, Sweden, to skate in Ann Arbor and in Berenson's graces. </p> <p>"No I don't [remember him]; I remember his older brother, Bobbie, was a really good prospect," Berenson, Michigan's 26-year hockey coach said. "Carl was really young then but his brother was noticeably good." </p> <p>Berenson might not recall the younger Hagelin attending his camp, but Berenson and his camp left an awfully large imprint on the impressionable mind of the younger Hagelin. About seven years after attending camp in Ann Arbor for the first time, Hagelin was drafted in the sixth round (No. 168 overall) by the New York Rangers in the 2''7 NHL Entry Draft but chose instead to play for the Wolverines. </p> <p>"I was always the tiniest kid on the team. I was a late bloomer on and off the ice," said the junior left winger, who didn't start playing hockey until he was about 8 years old. "When I was 16 or 17 I grew and put some weight on." </p> <p>But even though his brother went pro (currently playing in Denmark) straight away, Hagelin turned down opportunities to take the same track. Instead the 6-foot, 181-pounder decided to follow in the footsteps of his father by attending school in Michigan. While his father went to Western Michigan, Hagelin turned down Ferris State and Northern Michigan to become a Wolverine. </p> <p>The 21-year-old left-hander, however, didn't finally make a name for himself in Ann Arbor until his sophomore season when he set single-season highs for points (31), assists (18), goals (13), game-winners (four) and multi-point games (8).</p> <p>Through eight games this season, Hagelin was the Wolverines' second-highest point scorer with seven (three goals, four assists).</p> <p>"I think Carl can have a better year offensively," Berenson said. "He's emerging as a top college player. If he can put the puck in the net he'll go a long way with his game and he won't surprise anyone. </p> <p>"From my understanding he was not a high-end playing coming up. He was a late bloomer. Now he's an elite skater. Something must've switched on in his body because he put it all together. There's no question some humility comes along with [being a late bloomer]. Carl is a terrific individual. He's humble and he works so hard. He earned the respect of the players before he ever stepped on the ice in the offseason workouts with his work ethic."</p> <p>This season Hagelin was added to the power play and going into a late-October, two-game sweep at Lake Superior State, Berenson said he would try using the Swede on two different lines simultaneously to try to spark the then 2-2 Wolverines. On Oct. 3' Hagelin registered the game-winning goal and an assist against Lake Superior State for his 13th career multi-point game and second of the season. </p> <p>Being on the power play also means Hagelin is expected to produce around the net, an area of his game with which he has struggled. In a 3-2 loss against defending national champion Boston University on Oct. 24, Michigan scored twice in the final period to tie the game before losing. Hagelin missed several opportunities around the net during the game but said the loss was a good gauge of where the team was at. </p> <p>"It's always good," he said of playing top teams. "We like playing all the good teams. Last year we lost to BU 7-2. We had a bad attitude and it decreased our self confidence. This year we showed we have a lot of character in that third period. By coming back we showed what team we can be, a hard-working team in the third period."</p> <p>And if Michigan continues that hard work it could make it all the way to the Frozen Four, which this year is 45 miles down the road from Ann Arbor in Detroit. Hagelin would be in good company among the Swede-heavy Detroit Red Wings, some of whom Hagelin has skated with during the summers. </p> <p>"Before I came here I wasn't that big of a [Red Wings] fan," said Hagelin, adding that he only makes the trip from Ann Arbor to Joe Louis Arena about four or five times a season because it is too time consuming. </p> <p>That wouldn't be an issue come April, when the Frozen Four makes its way to Detroit's Ford Field. </p> <p>"Obviously that's one of our goals this year to win the NCAA championship," he said, "but we can't look that far ahead."

2009-11-09T19:01:29-06:00 2009-11-09T19:01:29-06:00 2009-11-09T19:01:29-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17454/SerratoreGetsNewDealatAirForce.html Compiled by USCHO Staff

Air Force and coach Frank Serratore have agreed to a new five-year contract that will keep Serratore behind the Falcons' bench through the 2'13-14 season, the school announced Monday.</p> <p>Serratore, who is in his 13th season with Air Force, has led the Falcons to three straight NCAA tournament appearances after Atlantic Hockey postseason championships.</p> <p>He has a 2''-216-32 overall record at the Academy and led the team to a program-best 28 wins last season.</p> <p>"Frank has committed to building a successful program on and off the ice," Air Force associate athletic director Dermot Coll said. "The success the team has had the last few years is a direct reflection of the hard work and effort he and his staff have put into this program. The Academy is proud of the team and coaches and all that they have accomplished on the ice, in the classroom and in the community."</p> <p>Details of the contract are being finalized, the school announced.

2009-11-09T19:24:37-06:00 2009-11-09T19:24:37-06:00 2009-11-09T19:24:37-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17455/MiamiNearsUnanimousStatusAtopRankings.html Compiled by USCHO Staff

Miami strengthened its hold on the top spot in the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll on Monday, collecting 49 of the 5' first-place votes.</p> <p><blockquote><b>Related link:</b> <a href='/rankings/?data=uscho1m&season=2''92'1'&week=11'9'>Full rankings</a></blockquote></p> <p>The RedHawks swept a pair of games at then-No. 4 Michigan last weekend, outscoring the Wolverines by a combined 8-2.</p> <p>North Dakota moved up one spot to No. 2, while Cornell, Denver and Massachusetts-Lowell round out the top five.</p> <p>Defending national champion Boston University fell 1' spots — the biggest drop of the week — to 17th after losses at Northeastern and at Maine dropped the Terriers to 2-5.</p> <p>Bemidji State made its debut in the top 1', jumping four spots to No. 7. The Beavers swept Robert Morris last weekend to improve to 7-'-1.</p> <p>No. 14 Massachusetts moved up five spots, while No. 9 Alaska and No. 13 Michigan State each advanced four places.</p> <p>Wisconsin dropped out of the rankings. Quinnipiac reappeared in the poll at No. 2'.</p> <p>This week's schedule brings five games between ranked teams: No. 3 Cornell at No. 12 Yale on Friday; No. 6 Michigan playing a home-and-home series with No. 13 Michigan State on Friday and Saturday; and No. 15 Vermont playing at No. 16 Boston College on Saturday and Sunday.

2009-11-09T21:04:22-06:00 2009-11-09T21:04:22-06:00 2009-11-09T21:04:22-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17456/BackonTopStNorbertAgainDIII’sBest.html Nicholas Jon Wood, D-III Editor

MINNEAPOLIS — What is past is prologue.</p> <p>Or so it must seem to the St. Norbert Green Knights who, a year removed from a national championship, can again lay claim to being the top team in D-III college hockey. Gaining any sense of comfort upon that throne, however, would probably prove unwise. Closely mimicking the preseason poll, four other teams received first place votes.</p> <p>Ascending an astounding 1' spots to the top of the heap, St. Norbert’s 4-'-1 mark earned them seven first place votes. The Oswego Lakers, who also have returned to national legitimacy after a season that failed to meet their lofty standards, moved up six spots to second after a 5-1 start, including a 5-2 upset of formerly top ranked Plattsburgh. They received six top tallies.</p> <p>Previously No. 1 Plattsburgh fell to third, but did have four staunch allies thinking they are still the top team in the country.</p> <p>In another remarkable surge up the rankings, the Manhattanville Valiants moved up eight spots to claim the fourth position and earn one first place tally. Their three wins without a defeat include victories over Hobart and a sweep of Lebanon Valley.</p> <p>The Adrian Bulldogs received two first place votes and are ranked fifth.</p> <p>Teams six through 1' include defending national champion (and previously No. 2) Neumann, Middlebury, University of Wisconsin River-Falls, UW-Stout, and St. Scholastica.</p> <p>Neither team having yet played a game, Amherst and Norwich are ranked Nos. 11 and 12, respectively. </p> <p>Though Hobart fell eight spots after struggling to a 2-2-1 opening mark, the most precipitous fall down the poll belonged to the University of Wisconsin-Superior, who fell 1' spots after being swept by previously unranked (but newly eighth ranked) in-state rival UW-River Falls. </p> <p>The Elmira Soaring Eagles round out the top 15 while Gustavus Adolphus dropped out of this week’s poll.

2009-11-09T21:29:19-06:00 2009-11-09T21:29:19-06:00 2009-11-09T21:29:19-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17457/AGreatAtmosphereMoreShouldExperienceHintHint.html Dave Starman, USCHO National Columnist

There are certain rinks in college hockey that are great atmospheres. For years my feeling has been that nothing compared to Yost (Michigan), Lynah (Cornell), Alfond (Maine) and the Kohl Center (Wisconsin).</p> <p>This article is part of a subscription to USCHO Extra. Subscribe at <a href="http://www.uscho.com/extra/">http://www.uscho.com/extra/</a>

2009-11-07T00:34:43-06:00 2009-11-07T00:34:43-06:00 2009-11-07T00:34:43-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17427/ThisWeekinDINovember62009.html Dan Hickling, USCHO Women's D-I Correspondent

Used to play “I spy with my wandering eye” with my kids, when both they (all six of them) and I were a lot younger.</p> <p>Found myself doing so again this week as I perused the D-I landscape.</p> <h4>What Caught my Eye: WCHA</h4> <p>Da Badgers. Just when you think you've got Wisconsin figured out, the Badgers hit you with a crate full of knuckle pucks.</p> <p>Yes, they are the defending national champs, but they've also lost their accomplished head coach - Mark Johnson - to the Olympic team. And yes, all their firepower (sophomore sniper Brooke Ammerman excepted) has been siphoned off to the Olympics, to graduation, or to both.</p> <p>But when they sputtered to a 2-3-' start, and were beaten by teams (Ohio State, Bemidji State, and North Dakota) they've manhandled in the past, one could sense a seed change was underway.</p> <p>That's when they go and outscore Ohio State, then upend high-flying Minnesota.<br /> That's what caught my eye there.</p> <h4>What Caught my Eye: ECAC Hockey</h4> <p>Gotta be Clarkson. You knew the program was building. You knew that the Desrosiers - Shannon and Matt - were probably the best married couple coaching tandem in womens hockey (okay, the sample size for that one is a little small).</p> <p>But the way they handled New Hampshire (6-2) and Boston University (7-2) was very impressive. Connecticut transfer Dominique Thibault has indeed been the impact player that every one hoped she'd be (7-8-15), but she's had scoring help with three fellow Golden Knights having joined her in the double-digit point club.</p> <p>Clarkson has the second-stingiest defense in the country, but also the seventh-most prolific attack. Nice balance, which has vaulted Clarkson to the second spot in the USCHO poll ... their highest ever ranking, if memory serves.<br /> So, yeah, that's what caught my eye.</p> <h4>What Caught my Eye: Hockey East</h4> <p>The roster that the WHEA will be putting on the wide Whittemore Center ice for the Nov. 22 tilt against the U.S. National team as part of the Qwest Tour.</p> <p>The squad, with reps from all eight WHEA schools, isn't long on experience with just six seniors among the skaters. Now the Nationals, with more than a dozen players who were playing college pucks last year, have been thrashing its collegiate opponents so far.</p> <p>Its 6-1 rout of the WCHA All-Stars, and 11-1 blasting of North Dakota, stand in testimony. Neither could have been very pretty or entertaining to watch, for that matter.</p> <p>One remains hopeful that the group sent out by the WHEA - headed by Player of the Month (and one of the most exciting skaters in the game today) Kelly Paton of UNH - will manage to keep matters close. Or hey, even pull off a stunner.</p> <h4>What Caught my Eye: CHA</h4> <p>A coupla things, there. The first is that Mercyhurst suffered its first loss of the season, a Halloween night 4-3 setback to Minnesota-Duluth, but was still able to hang on to its No. 1 poll ranking. The Lakers played a stiff non-conference slate, and will now get to work against its CHA sisters with a pair of weekend tilts at Wayne State.</p> <p>The other is that Robert Morris will head out to Wisconsin (see above) for what on paper would be a pair of romps for the Badgers. However, last year, the Colonials made a similar trek out to Minnesota and shocked the Gophers - then ranked No. 1 - 3-2.</p> <p>Caveat Badger, I guess.

2009-11-06T18:21:22-06:00 2009-11-06T18:21:22-06:00 2009-11-06T18:21:22-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17412/ThisWeekinMIAC.html Scott Bridges, USCHO MIAC Correspondent

<h4>MIAC Showcase</h4> </p> <p>The inaugural MIAC Showcase was held at the Bloomington Ice Gardens this last weekend. From Friday through Sunday, all nine teams from the MIAC got to go out and face off against each other. </p> <p>It wasn’t a tournament format: there were no playoffs or seedings, no champion declared or trophy won, nor was there an all-showcase team. What there was though, were nine games of fast paced, end-to-end hockey. </p> <p>Attendance for the showcase broke the 2,''' mark, even though the event was not at any team’s home rink. With day passes costing $5 and giving access to all three games, it’s easy to see why the event was still able to draw so many fans. </p> <p>While on the surface it seems like it’d be difficult to fairly schedule nine teams each playing twice over three days, the system in place minimized the work for each team. </p> <p>Teams were divided into pods of three, with each school playing the other two in their pod. When there was a game going on, the third team in the pod administered the game, being responsible for scorekeeping, ticket collecting, and any other necessary tasks. This spread the workload around evenly. On a game day, teams only had to worry about playing their game, and only had to deal with the other work on the day they weren’t playing. </p> <p>The format of the event also reduced the costs for every team. Normally a weekend away from home means paying for travel expenses without getting anything in return. By splitting the income, each team would only have to put in a small amount of money for the event to break even, and if enough tickets were sold, each team would actually profit on the weekend. </p> <p>From an administrative standpoint, the event was a huge win. Every team in the conference got to play two games at little to no cost, no teams had to put in more administrative work than any other team, and no one had to spend time trying to schedule games to start the season. </p> <p>Oh yeah, there was some excellent hockey too. </p> <p>The second day of games alone saw three shorthanded goals, a natural hat trick, and a shutout. It may have been the first games of the season for the MIAC, but every team came out playing hard and flying up and down the ice for the whole weekend. </p> <p>St. Olaf and Augsburg were the only two teams to come out of the weekend 2-', although St. John’s and St. Thomas both came out undefeated (1-'-1) after tying in the final game on Sunday. Augsburg defeated Bethel and last year’s MIAC playoff champion Gustavus Adolphus. St. Olaf beat Concordia MN and Hamline. The Oles probably had a little extra motivation after last season’s playoff loss to Hamline. </p> <p>Bethel, Concordia (MN), and St. Mary’s were the only schools to finish the weekend without a win, but all three showed they can compete with the rest of the league. Concordia was leading for much of the game until two quick third period goals put Hamline ahead for good. </p> <p>Bethel stormed out to a 3-1 lead over Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday, but a shorthanded goal drew the Gusties within one, a power-play goal tied it, and Gustavus would go on to win after scoring the game winner with less than seven minutes to play in the third period. Despite giving up two goals within 1:13 of each other, St. Mary’s hung with St. Thomas right until the end of their game, with a third period goal putting the Tommies up 4-2. </p> <p>While this was the first showcase the MIAC has put on, several coaches hoped that it would continue next year as well, with some possible changes including a different venue and all-tournament team, but still keeping the format used this year. </p> <p>All in all it was a great weekend of hockey any way you look at it. It allowed the conference to highlight their talent and put on a show for potential recruits. It allowed the teams to schedule a hassle-free weekend of games. And of course, it was great for the fans to be able to easily and inexpensively see so many games, with some great fast paced hockey being played. </p> <h4>Augsburg Auggies</h4> </p> <p>Augsburg finished last season with mixed results. On one hand they were the league’s highest scoring team, scoring over 4.5' goals per game. They finished out the regular season on a 6-1-1 tear, and even though they finished in the fifth and final playoff spot, they had their sights set on making some noise in the playoffs. </p> <p>On the other hand, they had the league’s third worst scoring defense, giving up exactly four goals per game, giving up only one tally less than the last place MIAC team (in conference games). As confident as they were in their offense, they had to be just as concerned about their defense. </p> <p>In the playoffs, Augsburg faced Hamline, and despite holding 2-1 and 3-2 leads, the Auggies weren’t able to hold on, and eventually lost 5-4 in what had to be a disappointing end to their campaign. </p> <p>Flash forward to this season, and the Auggies are once again excited and looking forward to making some noise. They have every reason to be as confident (if not more) about their offense to start this year. They brought back virtually every scoring threat from last season, including their top two lines. </p> <p>When asked about some of the benefits of bringing back so many players, coach Chris Brown said “Experience is the biggest thing, last year on the penalty kill we were somewhat passive, because we didn’t have enough experience. This year we’ll be able to try new things and be more aggressive.” </p> <p>Despite being on the power play for over 1' full minutes, Gustavus Adolphus never really seemed to look comfortable against Augsburg, who constantly applied pressure and possibly forced the Gusties to make quicker decisions with the puck than they would’ve liked. This pressure helped Augsburg to kill off three early penalties before finally giving up a power play goal during a five minute power play following a checking from behind major. </p> <p>Their only question mark to start the season was their biggest question mark last year as well: their defense. While only graduating one blueliner last year, the Auggies also graduated their starting goalie. If the Auggies were on the ice, the odds were pretty good that so was Andrew Kent — of the 1,568 minutes Augsburg played hockey last year, Kent was on the ice for all but 52 of them. </p> <p>Losing their workhorse meant that coming into opening weekend, Augsburg had two sophomore goalies and two freshmen netminders on their team . . . and none of them had ever started a college game. </p> <p>“You can never really be sure what you’re going to get from someone making their first start,” Brown said of his young goalies. “Sure, you see them in practice and warm-ups, but once the game starts, they could be lights out or they could give up 1' goals, you just never know until you’re out there.” </p> <p>He ended up starting each freshman goalie in one game this weekend, and they did not disappoint. In Augsburg’s first game of the season, Justin Lochner got the nod. He faced 34 shots from Bethel and stopped them all, recording a shutout in his first collegiate game. Against defending conference champion Gustavus Adolphus, Brown started Nate Pellegrino, who allowed three goals on 32 shots while getting the first win of his career. </p> <p>After the games, Brown specifically pointed to the defense, especially the freshmen. </p> <p>“David Hines, Kristof Reinthaler (both freshmen), and Nikki Holt did a great job,” he said. “Two of them were playing their first college games and really played well. As for the goaltenders, I think the games speak for themselves out there. We still haven’t given up a goal 5-on-5.” </p> <p>While it’s definitely early in the season, as a group, these two goalies have a .955 save percentage and 1.5' goals against average. If they can keep up anything close to these numbers for the rest of conference play, these Auggies are going to be a terror for their opponents. </p> <p>Their offense has shown no signs of letting up, scoring nine goals (including three on the power play), over the weekend. And if their goaltending and team defense can build off of this weekend, this is a team that may be challenging for the conference title all season long. </p> <h4> MIAC-NCHA Crossover </h4> </p> <p>After the opening weekend of games, the MIAC goes head to head with the NCHA before both leagues jump into conference play full tilt. </p> <p>There are many interesting matchups this weekend. Gustavus Adolphus and Augsburg head to UW-River Falls, who’s fresh off a road sweep of UW-Superior, while St. Thomas heads to UW-Stout in a clash of the Tommies’ defensive style vs. the wide open attack of the Blue Devils. </p> <p>In the last few years, the NCHA has dominated these crossover games, including going 46-16-2 against the MIAC last season. It will be interesting to see how this season goes, with both leagues starting at the same time. In the past, the NCHA tended to start before the MIAC, so by the time they faced each other, the MIAC was playing its first games of the season while the NCHA had already shaken off some rust and gotten some games under their belts. </p> <p>Even with that lopsided record last season, when the two leagues faced off a second time in January last season, the results weren’t quite as skewed, with the MIAC going 6-9-1 in the final weekend of the crossover. With everyone playing two games before they clash again, maybe things will be more even this time around. </p> <p>Even with both leagues starting at the same time, this weekend still favors the NCHA heavily. Not only are all the NCHA teams at home, four of them are nationally ranked in the <a href='/rankings/?data=uscho3m'>USCHO.com Division III</a> poll, while among the MIAC, only Gustavus Adolphus garnered national recognition.</p> <p>Regardless of the outcomes, these games should give teams from both leagues a gauge on where they stand and what they need to improve on. It should be a good week of hockey no matter who comes out on top.

2009-11-06T16:52:13-06:00 2009-11-06T16:52:13-06:00 2009-11-06T16:52:13-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17413/ThisWeekintheNCHAMCHA.html Matthew Webb, USCHO NCHA and MCHA Correspondent

Welcome back for what should no doubt be another chaotic season. Though many things changed from a season ago, the preseason <a href='/rankings/?data=uscho3m'>USCHO.com Division III</a> men’s poll is not one of them: it remains littered with NCHA teams, six in all. </p> <p>Defending Peters Cup champion Stout was the highest of the bunch and checked in at No. 3 while Superior landed on their heels in fourth. The Blue Devils and Yellowjackets each garnered one first place vote. </p> <p>St. Norbert and St. Scholastica showed up at Nos. 11 and 13, respectively. Both Stevens Point and River Falls also received votes but failed to crack the top 15. </p> <p>As usual, Adrian is the lone MCHA team to receive votes and popped up in sixth. It’s the highest preseason ranking ever for the Bulldogs. <br /> The MCHA kicks off its regular season in earnest this weekend while the NCHA hosts a slew of MIAC opponents. <br /> And now, without further ado… </p> <h4> Go Figure</h4> <p>While the relative strength of the NCHA on the national level remains to be determined this season, the parity within the league itself has elevated itself to levels not seen in a very long time — if ever. </p> <p>Last weekend marked the return to two game conference series and in somewhat shocking fashion it was the three road teams that skated away with all six wins. St. Scholastica, a NCAA tournament team a year ago, garnered a 4-2, 2-1 sweep in Stevens Point but surprisingly the other two NCAA representatives from a year ago are both off to '-2 league starts. </p> <p>St. Norbert traveled to Menomonie and dismantled preseason NCHA favorite Stout 2-' and 4-1, while upstart River Falls traveled to Superior and took down the Yellowjackets 2-1, 7-4. Throw in the fact that Eau Claire dropped games to Marian and Lawrence, and what a way it was to kick the season off. </p> <p>“I was surprised by the sweeps across the board by the road teams and that’s a real statement on the strength of the conference,” said St. Norbert head coach Tim Coghlin, whose Green Knights moved to 3-' on the year. “If you look around the league you probably expected Stout, Superior and Stevens Point to really come out and have good series at home. I understand the series were all very, very close, but for the road team to win twice really is a strong statement.” </p> <p>Coghlins’ statements were very nearly echoed by River Falls head coach Steve Freeman. </p> <p>“I think this just shows how balanced the league is. The other thing to notice is how they were all real tight games. Our series up in Superior was two great games and if you look at the other series it was the same across the league.” </p> <p>Balance aside, the biggest waves of the weekend were almost certainly made by St. Norbert. Sweeping a weekend is nothing new for the Green Knights, but considering some of their struggles a year ago, going into Stout and serving up two dominant performances was an outcome few expected. </p> <p>To put it in perspective, in the process of scoring the four conference points, the Green Knights outshot Stout 4'-21 on Friday and 44-17 on Saturday, margins that are dumbfounding considering Stout’s offensive prowess. </p> <p>“I think [Stout’s Joel] Gaulrapp line is as good as any there is out there, so to do what we did really speaks to the quality of our defensive play and our goaltending,” said Coghlin. </p> <p>The prolific line of Gaulrapp, Scott Motz and Derek Hanson did connect for the <br /> Blue Devils’ goal on Saturday, but that was it for the weekend. </p> <p>“It’s hard to play a critical series this early in the year so special teams didn’t look great, but 5-on-5 I thought we were the better team and to me that says a lot,” he said. </p> <p>The results are especially encouraging for the Green Knights as Stout manhandled St. Norbert in Menomonie a year ago. Considering the game was scoreless after two on Friday, Coghlin is especially pleased with the way they were able to win. </p> <p>“It was a little bit of reverse to what happened to us last year,” Coghlin said. “We couldn’t find a way to get a ‘W’ and we were getting outworked and outscored in the third period. Our conditioning looked extremely good this weekend and I thought we were the better team both nights.</p> <p>“That’s the kind of game that can help you become a better team quickly. I certainly hope that’s something that happens for us, but with an 18 game schedule there are certainly going to be ups and downs. Nonetheless, when you put yourself in positions to win games you are going to win more than you lose and that’s what we did.” </p> <p>River Falls’ victories in Superior move the Falcons to 3-' overall and the four points land it atop the NCHA after one week, which for Freeman is a refreshing change of pace from the sluggish 1-6-1 overall and 1-3 league starts the Falcons limped out to a year ago. </p> <p>“Obviously we hope to win every game we play, but that was huge for us early on. Wessman is a tough to play and to go in there against a very good, big and physical team and get four points early on is real big for us,” Freeman said. </p> <p>The Falcons wins couldn’t have been any more different from a stylistic standpoint. A third period goal by freshman defenseman Brady Horn capped off a 2-1 dogfight on Friday, while the Falcons’ offense, paced by a four point night by freshman Justin Brossman, exploded for a 7-4 win on Saturday. </p> <p>Interestingly, River Falls was outshot 43-25 in Saturday’s contest. </p> <p>“The first game was real tight and the second one opened up a bit, but there was a lot of physical play. This just goes to show that there are no sure things in this league even with home ice,” Freeman said. </p> <p>The Falcons are off to a much better start than a year ago. Much of this can be attributed to the fact their very young roster of a year ago has a year of NCHA experience under their belts, but Freeman also keyed on the contributions of this year’s newcomers. </p> <p>“I think some of the players we’ve added through our recruiting class have helped out a bit,” he said. “We’re a little more skilled and a little quicker, especially in the back. Our special teams also held up well, and those things can come and go, but we scored four power-play goals and didn’t allow one so that was the difference in the series.” </p> <p>This weekend the NCHA teams all square off against MIAC foes, and River Falls draws a pair of tough opponents in Gustavus Adolphus and Augsburg. The Golden Gusties return nearly everyone from last year’s NCAA finalist squad, while Augsburg is coming off a 2-' weekend at the MIAC Showcase. Included in the Auggies two wins is a victory over the Gusties. </p> <p>“Both teams are playing well and it should be a great test playing Gustavus right away on Friday,” Freeman said. “Obviously they went to the Frozen Four last year and they are tremendously talented up front so it should be a real challenge for us. At the same time Augsburg is off to a good start so we certainly need to be ready to go this weekend.” </p> <p>The superb opening weekends of St. Norbert and River Falls are evidence the NCHA plans on remaining as quirky as always. With St. Scholastica also 2-' in conference play it means the NCHA coaches’ preseason second, fifth and sixth picks are atop the standings while the first, third and fourth place selections all reside at '-2. </p> <p>Sixteen games to go. Welcome to the jungle. </p> <h4> The “Adrian Gap” </h4> </p> <p>During the Cold War, the “missile gap” was a phrase coined in reference to the disparity in nuclear weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union. Numerous estimates contended that the Soviets possessed far more firepower than we did and that the “gap” needed to be addressed by our government most urgently. </p> <p>History has shown that the concept’s advocates knew all along that the purported gap was exaggerated, but perpetuated it anyway so as to achieve its own ends. </p> <p>In that same vein, I now present . . . the “Adrian Gap”. </p> <p>Most people know the numbers, but here they are again. Since joining the MCHA two years ago, Adrian has posted a 39-1 league record. The Bulldogs have won 37 straight MCHA regular season games and claimed the Harris Cup playoff championship each of the past two years. </p> <p>As no MCHA team has yet had a chance to prove itself on the national stage, this phenomenon has led to endless discussions on the relative on-ice merits of the Adrian program. </p> <p>The stakes have now been raised: as the MCHA finally has a NCAA automatic qualification bid, it means that beginning this season someone from the league will get that long-awaited shot on the national level. </p> <p>Adrian is the overwhelming preseason favorite to be this team. 39-1 is impossible to argue with and the Bulldogs landed every possible first place vote in the preseason coaches’ poll. The lone vote they didn’t claim was that of Adrian head coach Ron Fogarty as coaches (should he have even wanted to) are not allowed to vote for their own team. </p> <p>Division III hockey often reminds us that past performance is often no certain indicator of future results, so before anyone starts punching the Bulldogs’ ticket to the NCAAs, I can think of two far better things to worry about. </p> <p>First, how big is the gap between Adrian and the host of teams trying to real them in? And second, like the missile gap, is this all merely perception due to “policy by press release” (meaning: if it gets said enough times it becomes truth)? </p> <p>“There is no doubt right now that Adrian is the class of our league and we need to do what we can to catch up with them. I think the gap is probably closing but we have a long way to go to catch those guys,” said Lawrence head coach Mike Szkodzinski, whose Vikings finished second in the MCHA a year ago. </p> <p>Similar sentiments were shared by Milwaukee School of Engineering head coach Mark Ostapina. The Raiders have fallen to the Bulldogs in the MCHA playoffs each of the past two seasons, including a 7-1 loss in last season’s title game. </p> <p>“They are very good and there is no question about it,” he said. “They have a high level of execution and they’ve got some players with superior skill levels. </p> <p>“Right now everyone is chasing them, and until they are caught that gap is as big as the Grand Canyon.” </p> <p>Marian and head coach Jasen Wise, aside from being the lone MCHA team to ever defeat Adrian, is the third team many are looking at to be the one that can step up and give the Bulldogs a legitimate run. </p> <p>“Look at the scores last year. I don’t think the gap closed at all because they are flat out good,” Wise said. “Has it closed this year? I think it’s still too early to tell. Until one of the other schools steps up and beats them on a regular basis there is still going to be a big gap.” </p> <p>The fairly high praise is warranted based on Adrian’s success, but it’s also to be expected from a trio of coaches who have just as much desire as Adrian to win the league, the Harris Cup, and to be the first MCHA team in history to participate in the NCAA tournament. </p> <p>Let’s see what some more numbers say: </p> <p>As mentioned, Adrian is 39-1 all-time in the NCAA, but let’s not count games against Northland, Crookston and Concordia for the time being. That leaves MSOE, Marian, Lawrence and Finlandia. </p> <p>Adrian has played those teams a total of 26 times in two plus years and holds a 25-1 record. The Bulldogs’ average margin of victory has been 5.42-1.85. <br /> For comparison’s sake, those same four teams have played teams from the NCHA a total of 24 times over that same span. The NCHA’s 19-2-3 record is dominant, and its average margin of victory is 4.63-1.88. </p> <p>In those 24 contests, St. Norbert was the opponent seven times, Superior six, River Falls three, Eau Claire three, Stevens Point twice, Stout twice and St. Scholastica once. </p> <p>Considering we have little else to go on, those 5' games sure seem to put Adrian on par with numerous teams who are routinely ranked in the top 1' nationally. </p> <p>Unfortunately, that’s not a case that can be made (yet) for any other team in the league. That raises the question as to whether Adrian’s mere presence has served to help improve the overall quality of the league by providing even more impetus to improve as rapidly as possible. </p> <p>While other coaches acknowledge that it certainly is a factor in the sense Adrian has set a standard they know they have to exceed in order to win the league, two other factors appear to be much more driving factors in this respect. </p> <p>The first is that it’s the natural progression of the league. Finlandia has already put some excellent teams on the ice, while coaches like Wise and Szkodzinski played for top programs and were well aware of what constitutes an elite program before Adrian ever existed. Additionally, let’s not forget that Ostapina has already coached a team to the NCAA tournament when he led New England College to the NCAAs in 2''1. </p> <p>“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things, but there is no doubt that coach Fogarty and that program have forced us to step up our efforts when it comes to recruitment and ultimately our on ice product,” Szkodzinski said. </p> <p>“I think it’s just general circumstances as far as programs go across the board,” added Ostapina. “A lot of things are just based on the natural progression of how schools do business.” </p> <p>The second is most likely the most significant. For the first time ever, MCHA coaches are able to sell their team, as well as any potential recruits, the fact that it is no longer a foregone conclusion that their season will end before the NCAA tournament even begins. </p> <p>“Obviously the AQ [automatic qualifier] has heightened everyone’s awareness about our league,” Ostapina said. “Everyone now understands what the carrot is that all teams are chasing. It’s great for the MCHA to be on an equal footing with all these other leagues. It helped the ECAC Northeast when they got it, and it will definitely help the MCHA now that we have it.” </p> <p>Indeed it will, but as far as this season goes will it be enough to help anyone push the threshold Adrian has established? </p> <p>Maybe we’ll find out this weekend as Adrian hits the road to take on Marian. It was almost two years ago that the Sabres scored the win over the Bulldogs, but Adrian has won the last two meetings by a combined score of 18-4. One way or another, this weekend will no doubt set the tone for whether this season’s “Adrian Gap” is a matter of perception or reality. </p> <h4> Signed and Sealed</h4> <p>I’ve been meaning to do this for three years, but this year I finally did it. </p> <p>Just to be on record, prior to the start of this season I recorded numerous predictions. In the name of honesty, they have been signed and sealed by new our MIAC writer Scott Bridges and he has safely stowed them away — well out of my reach. Some are a bit off the wall, some will no doubt seem obvious in retrospect, and some I just don’t have the guts to currently utter publicly. When all is said and done, I’m going to look like a prophet or an idiot, and my money is on the latter, but either should no doubt prove amusing. </p> <p>However things unfold, stay tuned as full disclosure and analysis will be unveiled at the end of the season and we can all see how the future as I foresaw it compared to the reality all of us will have witnessed. </p> <h4> Tasty Travels</h4> <p>This final bit of early season housekeeping concerns a new feature to the column. As some may recall, I spent an entire section in one of last season’s columns lamenting the closing of an excellent sandwich shop near St. Norbert. At the same time I expressed my contempt for chain restaurants and extolled the virtues of finding great dining establishments when I travel for Division III games. </p> <p>It’s time to take this to the next level. This season, this section will feature a legitimate weekly review of a restaurant located in a D-III city. As I’m always up for learning new things, I have some places already planned but I’m always open to suggestions on this matter. Do you know a great local place that I should hit up while traveling? If so, please feel free to send your suggestions to matthew.webb@uscho.com and should my travels bring me to your town, I could very well take you up on your recommendation. One word of warning: no matter how I try to combat it, I do not like seafood. </p> <p>Naturally, all establishments will be rated on a 1-5 puck scale. Take that, pretzel.

2009-11-07T00:28:04-06:00 2009-11-07T00:28:04-06:00 2009-11-07T00:28:04-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17429/ECACWestPreview.html Derek Dunning, USCHO Women's D-III Correspondent

<h4>RIT Tigers</h4><br /> <b>Coach:</b> Scott McDonald (62-14-4, 4th season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 21-3-2<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 15-2-1 (2nd)<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> First<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> First</p> <p><b>Key Losses:</b> Keltie Jones and Sandra Grant<br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> Jr. Sarah Dagg (16-24-4'), Jr. Katie Stack (17-17-34), Jr. Traci Galbraith (6-14-2')<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> Kim Schlattman, Kayla Ross, Danielle Read</p> <h4>Elmira College Soaring Eagles</h4> <p><b>Coach:</b> Greg Fargo (24-5-1, 2nd season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 24-5-1<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 16-1-1 (1st)<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> Second<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> Second</p> <p><b>Key Losses:</b> Kayla Coady and Allison Cubberley<br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> Sr. Jenna McCall (19-26-45), Sr. Jamie Kivi (5-22-27), Sr. Lauryn DePaul (16-6-22), Sr. Tiffany Hart (5-15-2')<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> Madison Johnston – Toronto Aeros, Caitlin Metcalf – Calgary Edge, Jill DeBus – Detroit Little Ceasars</p> <h4>Plattsburgh Cardinals</h4> <p><b>Coach:</b> Kevin Houle (143-24-9, 7th season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 22-5-2<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 15-3-'<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> Third<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> Third</p> <p><b>Key Losses:</b> Danielle Blanchard, Claire O’Connor, Ainsley Brien, Danielle Beattie<br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> Sr. Stephanie Moberg (18-21-39), Sr. Laurie Bowler (14-13-27), So. Kara Buehler (1-5-6)<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> Teal Gove, Jordan Caldwell, Erika Pomponio</p> <h4>Neumann Knights</h4> <p><b>Coach:</b> Matthew Kennedy (57-55-7, 6th season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 16-11-'<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 12-6-'<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> Fourth<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> Fourth</p> <p><b>Key Losses:</b> Janelle Marier and Robyn Armstrong<br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> Jr. Jessica Schroeder (13-22-35), So. Jasper Thomson (14-19-33), So. Nicole Alexopoulos (16-1'-26), So. Kayla Dubowski (4-22-26)<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> Tanya Lamon, Olivia Pryzbylkowski, Shannon Donnelly</p> <h4>Utica Pioneers</h4> <p><b>Coach:</b> Dave Clausen (121-77-13, 9th season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 14-1'-2<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 1'-7-1<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> Fifth<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> Fifth</p> <p><b>Key Losses:</b> Jess Leclerc and Sam Rowan<br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> Jr. Lynny Gonzales (8-17-25), Sr. Jill Doherty (9-4-1, 1.64 GGA), So. Mackenzie Roy (4-12-16)<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> Meghan McMahon and Carmen Johnson</p> <h4>Oswego Lakers</h4> <p><b>Coach:</b> Diane Dillon (24-44-5, 4th season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 8-16-1<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 5-12-1<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> Sixth<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> Sixth</p> <p><b>Key Losses:</b> Stephanie Esposito, Jessica Lister, Ashley Meyers<br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> Jr. Emi Williams (6-11-', 2.82 GGA), Sr. Angie Friesen (4-3-7), So. Kathryn Sbrocchi (2-3-'), Sr. Jenna Kirkwood (4-5-9), So. Jillian Bergeron (3-6-9)<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> Bryanna Forrest, Becky Carra, Alex Szypryt, and Kristin Metzger</p> <h4>Chatham Cougars</h4> <p><b>Coach:</b> Phoebe Manchester (5-41-1, 3rd season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 4-19-1<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 4-14-'<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> Seventh<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> Seventh</p> <p><b>Key Loss:</b> Jacquelin Regan<br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> So. Lauren Campbell (8-4-12), So. Dawson Bancroft-Short (6-8-14), So. Leah McNaughton (9-6-15), So. Ashley Reid (2-5-7)<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> Ashley Kuechle and Jessica Rattle</p> <h4>Potsdam Bears</h4> <p><b>Coach:</b> Jay Green (4-17-2, 2nd season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 4-17-2<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 3-13-2<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> Eighth<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> Eighth</p> <p><b>Key Losses:</b> None<br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> Sr. Hilary Hitchman (4-16-2, 3.71 GGA), So. Stephanie Simons (4-7-11), So. Breanna Roy (6-1'-16)<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> Katie Komsa, Brittany Westlake, and Jen Conophy</p> <h4>Buffalo State Bengals</h4> <p><b>Coach:</b> Robert Burke (16-45-8, 4th season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 2-18-4<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 2-12-4<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> Tenth<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> Ninth</p> <p><b>Key Loss:</b> Melissa Jeckovich <br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> Jr. Marissa McMullan (7-5-12), Sr. Casey Bull (3-3-6), So. Bri Murphy (5-3-8), So. Leah Knott (2-6-8)<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> Lauren Mallo - Fraser Valley Phantom, Kailyn Murray - Warner Hockey School, Rio Flynn - Appleby College (ON)</p> <h4>Cortland Red Dragons</h4> <p><b>Coach:</b> Earl Utter (9-37-6, 3rd season)<br /> <b>Last year’s record:</b> 3-19-3<br /> <b>ECAC West Record:</b> 2-14-2<br /> <b>Coaches’ Projection:</b> Ninth<br /> <b>My Prediction:</b> Tenth</p> <p><b>Key Losses:</b> Maggie Welker and Kalee Stoever<br /> <b>Key Returnees:</b> Sr. Nicole Ruddy (3-2-5), So. Katie Double (2.92 GGA, .923 Save %), So. Danielle Scharf (1-3-4)<br /> <b>Newcomers to watch:</b> (F) Maggie Giamo, (F) Taylor Puckhaber, (D) Jamie Kruczek</p> <h4>Conference Breakdown:</h4> <p>When it comes to the ECAC West, you usually always immediately think the power trio of Elmira, Plattsburgh, and R.I.T. Once again, these three programs are at the top of the league’s pre-season rankings and are the odds on favorites to <br /> win the conference crown.</p> <p>However, the gap between this trio and the rest of the conference is slowly starting to close. All three teams sustained significant losses from last year’s squads including names like Kayla Coady, Danielle Blanchard, Allison Cubberley, Danielle Beattie, Sandra Grant, and Erica Owczarczak. All three teams will need contributions from their freshmen classes as well as players that haven’t been counted on before as much, to become “go to” players.</p> <p>Enter the Neumann Knights. Neumann is my dark horse pick this year in the conference. The Knights return nearly all of their core from last year’s squad and started the season off with an impressive two game sweep of Adrian. I fully expect Neumann to challenge the powerhouse trio and probably even steal a few points. </p> <p>Utica rounds out the top half of the league and they should safely finish in the top five and could challenge Neumann if they find their scoring touch that went M.I.A. last season.</p> <p>The battle for sixth place will likely be an all out war once again this season. Oswego State finished sixth last season and I’d put them as the early favorites to garner the last playoff spot but Potsdam, Chatham, Buffalo State, and Cortland are right there and could just as easily take the last spot as well.</p> <p>Buckle your seat belts folks; a new hockey season is here!

2009-11-05T15:17:43-06:00 2009-11-05T15:17:43-06:00 2009-11-05T15:17:43-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17402/ThisWeekinSUNYAC.html Russell Jaslow, USCHO SUNYAC Correspondent

<h4>First Big Upset</h4> <p>It didn't take long for the first big upset involving a SUNYAC team. Morrisville, playing their first game of the season, stunned Elmira, playing their third game, 2-1, in the Thunderdomes.</p> <p>"A great win for our program," Morrisville coach Brian Grady said. "A great confidence boost. I think it's huge. I told my team afterwards, 'You beat a nationally ranked opponent on the road on their ice. This is a team that has a lot of speed, All American type players, and made the national playoffs last year.' The confidence from that will hopefully carry over."</p> <p>The Mustangs took a 2-' lead scoring a goal in each of the first two periods. Rob Sgarbossa got the first at 15:26 while Adam Hercules scored in the second at 7:'1. Elmira got one back in the third at 4:44. At that point, Morrisville hung on despite taking two penalties. They blocked a couple of shots in the last minute when the Soaring Eagles pulled their goalie.</p> <p>"We took advantage of our opportunities, and they didn't take advantage of theirs," Grady said. "Our goaltender played very well. Made the saves he had to, and also made the saves he shouldn't have."</p> <p>No surprise Caylin Relkoff was the star of the game. Out shot 58-27, Relkoff stopped 57 — which was just enough.</p> <p>But just how did Morrisville beat Elmira?</p> <p>"I talked to [Oswego coach] Ed [Gosek], watched a lot of film, and tried to approach them the same way Oswego did [the week before]," Grady said. "We tried to slow them down as much as possible. We obviously don't have their speed. We tried to get physical with them, tried to stay in front of the puck."</p> <p>Elmira did come back the next night to win 6-2. However, when the game was even strength, it was a 2-2 score. Elmira scored three power-play goals and one with the teams skating four aside. Plus, Morrisville gave up a lot less shots in the game at 35. True, a loss, but still parts of the game you can use as positives.</p> <p>Now Morrisville begins their conference schedule traveling to Brockport and Geneseo. How will they try to keep the momentum?</p> <p>"Consistency, effort, and execution," Grady said. "If we do all the little things right every time you go over the boards, you get the big things like wins in the end. Effort and execution will win games for us, and we have a great goaltender."</p> <p>As everyone knows.</p> <p>Geneseo has experience from last year with Morrisville's capabilities when they play at the top of their game.</p> <p>"We learned it the hard way last year," Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said. "They came into our rink in January and went up 5-'. I remember it like it was yesterday. We made it 5-4, but they eventually got the win.</p> <p>"They are going to knock some teams off this year. Our players know that. Their players know their roles. They are very well coached. Plus, they got a stud goaltender. He's a big body who knows how to make the big save."</p> <h4>Boyd Jones (1953-2''9)</h4> <p>The SUNYAC community received shocking news this week. Potsdam's Sports Information Director, Boyd Jones, <a href='http://northcountrynow.com/obituaries/view.asp?a=Obituaries&id=5'59'>died suddenly</a> at his home in Canton, N.Y. this past Sunday. He was 56. Jones, who got a B.A. and Masters from Potsdam, worked there since 2'''. Prior to that, he was employed at SUNY Canton in various positions.</p> <p>USCHO extends condolences to the family and friends of Boyd Jones as well as the Potsdam community.</p> <p>"Obviously, this is a somber time within our department," Potsdam Athletic Director James Zalacca said. "A sad and tragic loss. Boyd was an extremely loyal, extremely dedicated, extremely personable employee. His presence will be greatly, greatly missed."</p> <p>Indeed.</p> <h4>SUNYAC Short Shots</h4> <p>Cortland opened up a 7-2 lead thanks to two tallies and two assists by Patrick Palmisano and held on to beat Fredonia, 7-5 ... Oswego scored a pair of goals in each of the first two periods to defeat Buffalo State, 4-1 ... Six different players scored as Potsdam came back twice to defeat Brockport, 6-3 ... Plattsburgh scored twice within 16 seconds late in the third period to beat Geneseo, 4-2.</p> <p>In the last six minutes of the game, Oswego scored twice within 2' seconds and twice within 36 seconds to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 victory over Fredonia ... Buffalo State's Joel Sheppard and D'Arcy Thomas each scored a pair in beating Cortland, 6-5 ... Plattsburgh needed three third period goals to put away Brockport, 4-1 ... Adrian Rubeniuk made 3' saves to help Geneseo notch their first win of they year, 3-2, over Potsdam.</p> <p>Chris Cannizzaro scored with 48 seconds left in regulation and Alan Fritch made 42 saves as Buffalo State tied Hobart, 2-2 ... Chris Laganiere scored twice as Oswego defeated Elmira, 7-2 ... James Muscatello notched two goals in Fredonia's 7-' win over Lebanon Valley with Pat Street earning the shutout on 23 saves ... The next day, Mat Hehr had a pair of goals as Fredonia beat Lebanon Valley again, 6-1.</p> <h4>Game of the Week</h4> <p>When I selected the Mark Your Calendar Game for each team in my <a href='news/college-hockey/id,17358/SUNYACSeasonPreview.html'>season preview</a>, two of those games happen to face off this weekend. Thus, I have no choice but to select them both for the Game(s) of the Week.</p> <p>There's not much more that can be said about an Oswego-Plattsburgh game that hasn't already been written about one of the top rivalries in Division III hockey. Fittingly, even though it is very early in the season, these teams are tied for first and both undefeated in league play. This game in Plattsburgh will be the first round of a season long battle.</p> <p>Meanwhile, on the complete opposite side of the state, the relatively recent heating up of the Fredonia-Buffalo State rivalry begins another chapter. The statistics show how close, yet how one-sided this rivalry has been lately.</p> <p>In the past 14 meetings, 12 have either been ties (three) or one goal games including one empty-net verdict. The last two conference matchups ended in a tie. However, Buffalo State has won just one of those 14 previous games.</p> <p>"My players know there's some history there," Buffalo State coach Nick Carriere said. "They see any of the SUNYAC contests as important. But they see these games from last year that went back and forth and wound up in ties. We're sick of ties. It's time we separate ourselves from that. Hopefully, if we do the things that we are in control of, we can come out on top."</p> <p>"You're up for all the SUNYAC games," Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith said. "You don't play enough not to be. The urgency of how important Friday night is that it's a playoff game for us. That's a team we'll be battling all season for a playoff spot. We need to come out and get a quick start and play a full 6' minutes."</p> <p>No matter the outcome, the fans at Buffalo State are sure to be entertained. They may even get to see an extra five minutes of action.</p> <h4>On The Periphery</h4> <p>This past weekend my wife and I took a long weekend vacation in Philadelphia. This trip was planned a few weeks ago, so it was purely a coincidence that we were in the City of Brotherly Love when the Phillies were in the World Series and hosting the middle three games.</p> <p>On Friday, we were downtown and came upon the local TV station holding a pep rally on a closed off street. A number of local restaurants set up booths giving away free items to show off their delicacies. When I noticed a few people walking around with some great looking hot, soft pretzels, I could barely contain myself.</p> <p>I immediately searched out the booth. I was horrified to find they had just run out.</p> <p>At least that's what they claimed. Perhaps they knew by looking at me that I am a diehard Yankees fan.</p> <p>That's okay. By Wednesday, I had the last laugh.

2009-11-05T15:30:51-06:00 2009-11-05T15:30:51-06:00 2009-11-05T15:30:51-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17403/SurgeryWillEndSeasonforMinnesotasBarriball.html Compiled by USCHO Staff

Minnesota forward Jay Barriball will have season-ending surgery to repair a knee injury he suffered in practice on Tuesday, the school announced Thursday.</p> <p>Barriball, a senior, is eligible to apply to the NCAA for a medical hardship waiver. If approved, he would be able to play another season in college.</p> <p>His surgery is scheduled for Friday.</p> <p>Barriball had four points through five games this season. In 124 career games for the Golden Gophers, he has registered 39 goals and 1'2 points.

2009-11-05T20:59:34-06:00 2009-11-05T20:59:34-06:00 2009-11-05T20:59:34-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17404/BookExcerptBurntheBoats.html Scott Weighart, USCHO Senior Writer

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from <em>Burn the Boats: A Seven-Championship Season for Boston University Hockey</em>, written by USCHO Senior Writer Scott Weighart. For more information or to order a copy, go to <a href='http://www.buhockeybook.com' target='_blank'>www.buhockeybook.com</a>.</p> <h4>MAD MEN</h4> <p>While BU's inability to adapt to Vermont's neutral-zone trap frustrated Jack Parker, getting swept at home by the Catamounts absolutely incensed Matt Gilroy. Afterwards, the Terrier defenseman vented to assistant captain Brian Strait. "We were both really pissed off," Strait recalls. "We knew we were a lot better than that, and the effort that we gave and the carelessness. ... It just wasn't like us. I remember he stormed up to my room, fuming, right after the game on Saturday, and he said, 'I can't believe this. Coach is letting this happen: He didn't yell enough.'</p> <p>"And I was saying, 'Calm down: It's the beginning of the season.' The next day we, the captains, went up to Coach and said, 'It's not going to happen again. We might lose another one — definitely we're not losing two in a row — but we're going to make sure that we're not going to play like that again.'</p> <p>"And Coach was kind of the same way [as me]: 'Don't worry about it; it's the beginning of the season.' And we said, 'Look, we're just making sure you know that that's not going to happen again. It's unacceptable, and if anything like that ever happens again, you have all the right in the world to blow up at us.' But it didn't ever happen again. We lost a couple of games. Those were our third and fourth losses, that early in the season, and the whole rest of the season we only lost two more."</p> <p>Yet the doldrums continued in the short term. Next up was a game against Atlantic Hockey rival Holy Cross. The coaches decided to bench Nick Bonino, who had cooled off dramatically after his torrid start. Taking away ice time by making a player a healthy scratch is often the m.o. to put the whole team on notice. After all, it's sometimes impossible to bench every player who may deserve to sit.</p> <p>"That not only gets Bonino's attention, but it makes the rest of the boys say 'He benched Bonino? Well, I could be benched pretty quickly, too,'" Parker says. "Those types of things can help guys. It's happened to a whole bunch of sophomores, forever. He got off to a great start. The puck was jumping in the net for him. Then he stopped scoring and started pressing, then he started thinking about scoring goals. When you're playing hockey and you start worrying about scoring goals, you suck at every other aspect of the game, and then you never get the puck and you never score the goal. He went the route that many great players have gone."</p> <p>Parker refuted the notion that scratching a highly talented player is always his call; he told me that it could be any of the coaching staff making the case. "One of us would step up and say, 'What are we accepting here?' This kid is supposed to be a ten-beller, and we're accepting eight bells from him. Our staff has the ability to say, 'Don't get fooled by this; don't accept mediocrity.' Nick was not trying to be mediocre. He was just out trying to do what he's supposed to do for our team but going about it the wrong way, and he just didn't get it until we had to sit him down and said, 'That's enough, Nick.' Then he was pissed, but he realized, 'It must be pretty bad if they're benching me.'"</p> <p>Playing without Bonino, BU went out against the Crusaders and emerged with their least inspiring victory of the whole season, a 3-2 decision that was in doubt till the final buzzer. After getting out to a 2-' lead, the home team just about called it a night. For the first time all season, Parker reamed out his club between periods. "I remember it probably took the first 1' or 12 games before Coach came in the locker room and screamed at us to pick it up," Jason Lawrence remembers. "Coach hadn't come in and yelled us up to that point. So he yells at us, then he walks out, walks back in, and says, 'I really haven't had to yell at you guys for 12 games — that's amazing. I'm sorry about this ..."</p> <p>Lawrence got called for slashing in the last minute, giving Holy Cross a better chance to tie the game. The senior would be benched for the subsequent game with St. Lawrence as a result, but fingers could be pointed at any number of culprits, afterward. "In general, with the exception of a few guys, it was a pathetic performance by my team," Parker said at the press conference. "You've got to give Holy Cross credit for coming in and playing hard and saying 'Holy Jesus! This is BU? We can play with these guys. ... We can more than play with these guys.' And they did."</p> <p>Escaping with a narrow win over an Atlantic Hockey opponent with a record around .5'' and a ton of freshmen and sophomores in the lineup, Parker expressed more doubt about his team than at any time previously or subsequently during the season. "I think we fell into a trap of thinking we were better than we were and now we're in the trap of worrying about if we're as good as we ever were or as good as we can be," Parker said in the press conference. "We're so far away from where we were the first five or six game in terms of decision making and effort and skating. I thought Holy Cross looked quicker than we did.</p> <p>"We're at the point where we're not sure if we're any good at all."</p> <p>For his part, Matt Gilroy was mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. Taking matters into his own hands, Gilroy managed to earn the wrath of his coach at the next practice. "He refused to practice hard," Parker says. "It wasn't anything verbal he was doing. He was coasting through drills, and I made him do one again. So he did it even slower. There were some words said on the ice but most of it was his body language, and I finally said, 'Hey, screw.'"</p> <p>Parker followed his co-captain into the locker room and gave him a tongue-lashing that harkened back to his earlier days of high-decibel coaching. "I got him out of his dressing room and into my dressing room, and I got in his face and said, 'Who the hell do you think you are?!' I thought this guy is too big for his britches."</p> <p>However, it's revealing that Parker told me this story when I asked him to elaborate on something he said repeatedly later in the year — how Gilroy actually made him a better coach. "He's never ever admitted it, but I think he got himself thrown out of practice on purpose," Parker says. "I think what he was telling me was 'You should be doing this to everyone else; you're too easy on these guys right now.'" In light of Gilroy's complaint to Strait about Parker not getting mad enough with the team, it seems extremely likely that the altercation was a deliberate ploy on Gilroy's part.</p> <p><em>Copyright 2''9 by Scott Weighart — All rights reserved</em>

2009-11-05T20:42:42-06:00 2009-11-05T20:42:42-06:00 2009-11-05T20:42:42-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17405/ECACWestSeasonPreview.html Derek Dunning, USCHO Women's D-III Correspondent

<h4>ECAC West Preview</h4> <p>When it comes to the ECAC West, you usually always immediately think the power trio of Elmira, Plattsburgh, and R.I.T. Once again, these three programs are at the top of the league’s pre-season rankings and are the odds on favorites to win the conference crown.</p> <p>However, the gap between this trio and the rest of the conference is slowly starting to close. All three teams sustained significant losses from last year’s squads including names like Kayla Coady, Danielle Blanchard, Allison Cubberley, Danielle Beattie, Sandra Grant, and Erica Owczarczak. All three teams will need contributions from their freshmen classes as well as players that haven’t been counted on before as much, to become “go to” players.</p> <p>Enter the Neumann Knights. Neumann is my dark horse pick this year in the conference. The Knights return nearly all of their core from last year’s squad and started the season off with an impressive two game sweep of Adrian. I fully expect Neumann to challenge the powerhouse trio and probably even steal a few points. </p> <p>Utica rounds out the top half of the league and they should safely finish in the top five and could challenge Neumann if they find their scoring touch that went M.I.A. last season.</p> <p>The battle for sixth place will likely be an all out war once again this season. Oswego State finished sixth last season and I’d put them as the early favorites to garner the last playoff spot but Potsdam, Chatham, Buffalo State, and Cortland are right there and could just as easily take the last spot as well.</p> <p>Buckle your seat belts folks; a new hockey season is here!</p> <h4>Team Previews</h4> <p><b>RIT Tigers</b></p> <p>Coach: Scott McDonald (62-14-4, 4th season)<br /> Last year’s record: 21-3-2<br /> ECAC West Record: 15-2-1 (2nd)<br /> Coaches’ Projection: First<br /> My Prediction: First</p> <p>Key Losses: Keltie Jones and Sandra Grant<br /> Key Returnees: Jr. Sarah Dagg (16-24-4'), Jr. Katie Stack (17-17-34), Jr. Traci Galbraith (6-14-2')<br /> Newcomers to watch: Kim Schlattman, Kayla Ross, and Danielle Read</p> <p><br /> <b>Elmira College Soaring Eagles</b></p> <p>Coach: Greg Fargo (24-5-1, 2nd season)<br /> Last year’s record: 24-5-1<br /> ECAC West Record: 16-1-1 (1st)<br /> Coaches’ Projection: Second<br /> My Prediction: Second</p> <p>Key Losses: Kayla Coady and Allison Cubberley<br /> Key Returnees: Sr. Jenna McCall (19-26-45), Sr. Jamie Kivi (5-22-27), Sr. Lauryn DePaul (16-6-22), Sr. Tiffany Hart (5-15-2')<br /> Newcomers to watch: Madison Johnston, Caitlin Metcalf, and Jill DeBus</p> <p><br /> <b>Plattsburgh Cardinals</b></p> <p>Coach: Kevin Houle (143-24-9, 7th season)<br /> Last year’s record: 22-5-2<br /> ECAC West Record: 15-3-'<br /> Coaches’ Projection: Third<br /> My Prediction: Third</p> <p>Key Losses: Danielle Blanchard, Claire O’Connor, Ainsley Brien, Danielle Beattie<br /> Key Returnees: Sr. Stephanie Moberg (18-21-39), Sr. Laurie Bowler (14-13-27), So. Kara Buehler (1-5-6)<br /> Newcomers to watch: Teal Gove, Jordan Caldwell, and Erika Pomponio</p> <p><br /> <b>Neumann Knights</b></p> <p>Coach: Matthew Kennedy (57-55-7, 6th season)<br /> Last year’s record: 16-11-'<br /> ECAC West Record: 12-6-'<br /> Coaches’ Projection: Fourth<br /> My Prediction: Fourth</p> <p>Key Losses: Janelle Marier and Robyn Armstrong<br /> Key Returnees: Jr. Jessica Schroeder (13-22-35), So. Jasper Thomson (14-19-33), So. Nicole Alexopoulos (16-1'-26), So. Kayla Dubowski (4-22-26)<br /> Newcomers to watch: Tanya Lamon, Olivia Pryzbylkowski, and Shannon Donnelly</p> <p><br /> <b>Utica Pioneers</b></p> <p>Coach: Dave Clausen (121-77-13, 9th season)<br /> Last year’s record: 14-1'-2<br /> ECAC West Record: 1'-7-1<br /> Coaches’ Projection: Fifth<br /> My Prediction: Fifth</p> <p>Key Losses: Jess Leclerc and Sam Rowan<br /> Key Returnees: Jr. Lynny Gonzales (8-17-25), Sr. Jill Doherty (9-4-1, 1.64 GGA), So. Mackenzie Roy (4-12-16)<br /> Newcomers to watch: Meghan McMahon and Carmen Johnson</p> <p><br /> <b>Oswego Lakers</b></p> <p>Coach: Diane Dillon (24-44-5, 4th season)<br /> Last year’s record: 8-16-1<br /> ECAC West Record: 5-12-1<br /> Coaches’ Projection: Sixth<br /> My Prediction: Sixth</p> <p>Key Losses: Stephanie Esposito, Jessica Lister, Ashley Meyers<br /> Key Returnees: Jr. Emi Williams (6-11-', 2.82 GGA), Sr. Angie Friesen (4-3-7), So. Kathryn Sbrocchi (2-3-'), Sr. Jenna Kirkwood (4-5-9), So. Jillian Bergeron (3-6-9)<br /> Newcomers to watch: Bryanna Forrest, Becky Carra, Alex Szypryt, and Kristin Metzger</p> <p><br /> <b>Chatham Cougars</b></p> <p>Coach: Phoebe Manchester (5-41-1, 3rd season)<br /> Last year’s record: 4-19-1<br /> ECAC West Record: 4-14-'<br /> Coaches’ Projection: Seventh<br /> My Prediction: Seventh</p> <p>Key Loss: Jacquelin Regan<br /> Key Returnees: So. Lauren Campbell (8-4-12), So. Dawson Bancroft-Short (6-8-14), So. Leah McNaughton (9-6-15), So. Ashley Reid (2-5-7)<br /> Newcomers to watch: Ashley Kuechle and Jessica Rattle</p> <p><br /> <b>Potsdam Bears</b></p> <p>Coach: Jay Green (4-17-2, 2nd season)<br /> Last year’s record: 4-17-2<br /> ECAC West Record: 3-13-2<br /> Coaches’ Projection: Eighth<br /> My Prediction: Eighth</p> <p>Key Losses: None<br /> Key Returnees: Sr. Hilary Hitchman (4-16-2, 3.71 GGA), So. Stephanie Simons (4-7-11), So. Breanna Roy (6-1'-16)<br /> Newcomers to watch: Katie Komsa, Brittany Westlake, and Jen Conophy</p> <p><br /> <b>Buffalo State Bengals</b></p> <p>Coach: Robert Burke (16-45-8, 4th season)<br /> Last year’s record: 2-18-4<br /> ECAC West Record: 2-12-4<br /> Coaches’ Projection: Tenth<br /> My Prediction: Ninth</p> <p>Key Loss: Melissa Jeckovich <br /> Key Returnees: Jr. Marissa McMullan (7-5-12), Sr. Casey Bull (3-3-6), So. Bri Murphy (5-3-8), So. Leah Knott (2-6-8)<br /> Newcomers to watch: Lauren Mallo, Kailyn Murray, and Rio Flynn</p> <p><br /> <b>Cortland Red Dragons</b><br /> Coach: Earl Utter (9-37-6, 3rd season)<br /> Last year’s record: 3-19-3<br /> ECAC West Record: 2-14-2<br /> Coaches’ Projection: Ninth<br /> My Prediction: Tenth</p> <p>Key Losses: Maggie Welker and Kalee Stoever<br /> Key Returnees: Sr. Nicole Ruddy (3-2-5), So. Katie Double (2.92 GGA, .923 Save %), So. Danielle Scharf (1-3-4)<br /> Newcomers to watch: Maggie Giamo, Taylor Puckhaber, and Jamie Kruczek

2009-11-06T08:56:55-06:00 2009-11-06T08:56:55-06:00 2009-11-06T08:56:55-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17406/ThisWeekintheCCHANov52009.html Paula C. Weston, USCHO CCHA Correspondent

<h4>He Shoots! He Scores! He Shouldn't Have!</h4> <p>There's only one thing more exciting than a shootout, and that's a shootout that helps to illustrate the idiocy of the shootout.</p> <p>When the game between Bowling Green and Nebraska-Omaha remained tied at the end of a five-minute overtime Friday, Oct. 3', a shootout ensued — as is the current fashion in the CCHA. The only player to score was Bowling Green freshman Jordan Samuels-Thomas, in the second round of the shootout. As UNO's Rich Purslow missed in the third round, Bowling Green appeared to have earned two points in the shootout win.</p> <p>Samuels-Thomas, however, was in the penalty box at the end of the overtime, making him ineligible to shoot when OT ended.</p> <p>Apparently, referees Derek Berkebile and Stephen McInchak and assistant refs Chris Davis and Chad Evers didn't catch this. After the game, Mavericks coach Dean Blais went on the record to say that at least he had seen that Bowling Green had used a player that was "not legal." Blais also had some suggestion for how to resolve what was clearly an unacceptable situation.</p> <p>"The league's got to decide what it's going to do, whether that's starting out tomorrow's game with that shootout and finishing it off or to keep going and start a new game," said Blais, "but a player can't come out of the penalty box and take that shot."</p> <p>Except in Omaha. I guess. The following day, the CCHA released its decision regarding the shootout.</p> <p>"This error in rules enforcement during the course of the game, while unfortunate, can only be corrected during the course of the game," said CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos. "Once the game is concluded, there are no further actions that can take place to correct the situation."</p> <p>And that's the kicker, isn't it? When does a game conclude when followed by a shootout? What if UNO protested immediately? There's no clock for a shootout; the game itself was over many minutes before the ineligible player was allowed to shoot. </p> <p>Or does this mean that the CCHA considers the shootout — a display best reserved for a skills challenge — part of the actual game rather than an artificial means used to break ties and keep fans in seats?</p> <p>The league's own Rule V.8 says that "protests arising from decisions of game officials or from errors or misinterpretations of rules will not be considered." How convenient. And last Saturday's press release referred also to NCAA Rule 6, Section 39, which states that protests of such errors or misinterpretations of rules are not allowed.</p> <p>The league's rule about a player's eligibility in the shootout differs from that of the NHL, which says that all players can participate in the shootout "unless they are serving a ten-minute misconduct or have been assessed a game misconduct or match penalty" (Rule 84.4). The end result is that Nebraska-Omaha is clearly penalized a point for officiating error. We're not talking some rule open to interpretation, like a player in the crease or a puck being directed in by a skate. This is blatant, and I don't see anything in the CCHA rules that clearly dictates why the league couldn't have addressed this more satisfactorily Saturday.</p> <p>Last Saturday's CCHA press release ended with the league committing to a "review of all policies, protocol and circumstances surrounding this situation."</p> <p>If only "this situation" referred to the lunacy of the shootout, I'd take some reassurance from that.</p> <h4>Candy is Dandy, but ...</h4> <p>... who cares about that kind of sweet stuff when there's sweetness to be had in CCHA match-ups this weekend?</p> <p> <b>No. 1 Miami at No. 4 Michigan</b></p> <p>Topping the charts (so to speak) is the Miami-Michigan series, set for Ann Arbor. The No. 1 RedHawks haven't won in Yost Ice Arena since Oct. 1', 2''6. The No. 4 Wolverines are intent on taking care of the little things — like faceoffs, the element of the game that UM head coach Red Berenson seems most intent in discussing this season.</p> <p>In previewing this week's series in <em>The Michigan Daily,</em> Berenson again highlighted the faceoffs, an aspect of the game that seems to illustrate Berenson's own preferred style of hockey. "It's a second effort thing, it's being ready, it's being focused and bearing down."</p> <p>The Wolverines have outdrawn opponents 2''-187 this six games this season, with two usual suspects emerging as go-to men on the draw; last weekend, junior Louie Caporusso won 17-of- 28 drops in two wins over Lake Superior, while his classmate Matt Rust won 24-of-4'. Freshman Kevin Lynch won 7-of-16 last weekend as well.</p> <p>The RedHawks are 6-1-' this year for their third-best start in program history. In their last four road games, the 'Hawks have netted 14 second-period goals.</p> <p><b>No. 1' Nebraska-Omaha at No. 17 Michigan State</b></p> <p>This is the series that will tell me whether I'm right about either of these teams. I think the Mavericks deserve the respect they're getting nationally; I think the Spartans deserve more.</p> <p>The Mavericks have responded well to their new coach, and have yet to lose their first game of the season. In the <em>Omaha World-Herald</I> this week, Blais complimented MSU coach Rick Comley and gave UNO fans a clue as to how the Mavericks may win this weekend. "You know you're not going to go in there and outcoach him [Comley]," said Blais, "so you have to hope your guys can go in there and outwork them."</p> <p>Playing 6' minutes has been a mantra in Munn Arena, where the Spartans are far more improved this season than most people around the league have yet to believe — but they are young, something that affects many aspects of the game.</p> <p>"The negative or concern is third periods," said Comley after beating Western Michigan 2-1 Friday, Oct. 3'. "We've lost some leads now, but that's a sign of youth. We knew coming in faceoffs were a critical part of the game, and we lost two key faceoffs that led to a goal and almost a tying goal."</p> <p>The Spartans are earnest and fun to watch. The Mavericks are experienced out front and backstopped by redshirt freshman John Faulkner, whose win percentage (.8'') ties him for 1'th in the country.</p> <p><b>No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 13 Alaska</b></p> <p>At 5-'-1, the Nanooks have recorded their best-ever October, having allowed no more than two goals in any contest, and outscoring opponents 18-7 overall. One of those wins was a 2-' victory over Michigan, the first shutout of the Wolverines in Nanook history.</p> <p>A big part of UAF's success this season is sophomore Scott Greenham (.934 SV%, 1.14 GAA). Last season, Greenham played in five games while he backed up starter Chad Johnson, whose nation-leading .94' save percentage and 1.16 goals-against average weren't good enough for serious Hobey consideration. (But I digress.)</p> <p>This year, with Johnson gone and Greenham in, the Nanooks are continuing their stingy ways of a year ago, allowing just 1.17 goals per game so far this season for the second-best scoring defense in the nation. Last year, UAF finished second in the country as well, allowing on average 1.74 goals per game.</p> <p>This weekend, the Nanooks face a team that is also traditionally stingy with the goals. Last year, the Fighting Irish finished first in the nation in scoring defense, averaging 1.73 goals per game. That was in front of goaltender Jordan Pearce. This season, the Irish have the sixth-best scoring defense (1.62) in front of a trio of Notre Dame goaltenders. Junior Brad Phillips (.923 SV%, 2.18 GAA) has seen five of ND's eight games this season, and I don't think the defense has figured out yet how to play effectively in front of him. It doesn't help that junior defenseman Teddy Ruth has missed the start of the season and will be out against Alaska this weekend.</p> <p>I think the Irish have yet to come into their own this year — but I think they will. They're a better team than their 4-3-1 record indicates. </p> <p>With no disrespect meant to the Nanooks, Alaska is benefitting from a very nice first-half schedule. The Nanooks haven't had to leave their home state yet this season, and when they do travel to the Lower 48 in the first half of the season, they'll face Bowling Green, Lake Superior and Western Michigan, three teams below them in the standings.</p> <p>Last weekend, the Nanook senior class distinguished itself by beating Ferris State twice — giving that class a record of 13-'-2 all-time against the Bulldogs. My esteemed colleague at the <em>Fairbanks Daily Miner</I> captured the best quote from FSU head coach Bob Daniels about the streak, which Daniels called "an anomaly." </p> <p>"I think if you just look at the sheer number of games that are close, it's an oddity," said Daniels, who hastened to add that he wasn't implying that the Nanooks hadn't earned the wins. Daniels called the streak "a rare situation."</p> <p>Two sets of hardware, a 5-'-1 October and the cementing of a 15-'-2 domination over a specific opponent is a darned good way to start any team's season.</p> <h4>He Shoots, He Finally Scores</h4> <p>Congratulations to Miami sophomore defenseman Chris Wideman, who netted his first career goal in Saturday's 2-1 win over Northern Michigan. Wideman led all RedHawks last year in his rookie season with 26 assists.</p> <h4>Hate to Point Out the Obvious, but ...</h4> <p>... Bowling Green is still winless, in spite of the shootout debacle in Omaha last weekend. The Falcons remain the only CCHA team still looking for a real victory.

2009-11-05T21:39:22-06:00 2009-11-05T21:39:22-06:00 2009-11-05T21:39:22-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17407/ThisWeekintheCHANov52009.html Matt Mackinder, USCHO CHA Correspondent

Every year when CHA coaches are asked about their nonconference schedules, they all usually say something along the lines of "in college hockey, anyone can win on any given night."</p> <p>Last Friday night, Robert Morris opened its home schedule against No. 18 Quinnipiac and was soundly defeated, 5-'.</p> <p>Sure, on paper, that looked about right.</p> <p>The next night, however, RMU busted an eight-spot on Quinnipiac (four from Nathan Longpre) and took an 8-5 win.</p> <p>"Last night, we got beat pretty bad, and we didn't want to come out tonight again like that — we wanted to send a message to them," Longpre told USCHO after the game. "I just kept it simple and kept firing the puck on net."</p> <p>The four goals, along with Eric Levine's 58 saves in net, are a new school record. Longpre tacked on an assist for a five-point night.</p> <p>Still, RMU coach Derek Schooley wasn't totally ready to give his team full marks on the win. In fact, being that the game was played Halloween night, it only made sense the one word he used to describe the game.</p> <p>"Scary," quipped Schooley in the same USCHO recap. "We gave up way too many shots and we took way too many penalties, but we played hard, and the things we talked about before the game were the things we did well tonight."</p> <p>J.C. Velasquez scored twice, Chris Kushneriuk added a goal and three assists and Ron Cramer notched the other Colonials' goal. Cullen Lundholm recorded three assists to boot.</p> <p>"What an up-and-down weekend," noted Schooley. "We played soft, scared and lost all the 1-on-1 battles on Friday only to do the complete opposite on Saturday. We got great performances from Nathan Longpre and Eric Levine, but also got a great team effort. Dave Cowan and Brock Meadows were excellent in killing five Quinnipiac power plays in the second period Saturday."</p> <p>This weekend gets no easier as RMU travels to Bemidji State to open CHA play with the 11th-ranked Beavers, undefeated so far this season with a 5-'-1 record. </p> <p>"Bemidji has been on a roll again this year," Schooley said. "They have built on the excitement of going to the Frozen Four by starting out very strong. They play hard, fast and are very good defensively. Tom Serratore has them playing their systems very well and they have got huge starts from Matt Read, Brad Hunt and Dan Bakala. This will be an exciting challenge in a good hockey environment."</p> <h4>BSU Squeaks Out Two Wins in Huntsville</h4> <p>One heartbreaking loss is difficult enough, but two in the same weekend? By the same score? Against a nationally-ranked team? Both in overtime?</p> <p>Yeah, that pretty much sums up Alabama-Huntsville's two-game set with Bemidji State last weekend as the Beavers won both by a 2-1 count in the extra session.</p> <p>Saturday night, Read was the hero with both goals and Bakala stopped 29 shots, only allowing Neil Ruffini's goal early in the third period.</p> <p>Jordan George assisted on both goals for BSU.</p> <p>"It was kind of ugly, but we won't apologize for it," Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore said after the game. "You've got to win games like this and I am glad we found a way to win, but we've got to be better than this." </p> <p>Cameron Talbot kicked out 2' shots for UAH.</p> <p>Then Sunday afternoon, same old story.</p> <p>Ben Kinne won it 61 seconds into the OT with a slapper over Talbot's shoulder.</p> <p>Read had tied the game for Bemidji State with a slick move in tight on Talbot midway through the third.</p> <p>For the Chargers, Kevin Morrison scored and Talbot finished with 2' saves once again.</p> <p>UAH is idle this weekend.</p> <h4>Niagara Falls To Cornell, Colgate</h4> <p>New York's non-CHA teams have not been kind to Niagara so far this season.</p> <p>After getting dumped by Clarkson and St. Lawrence three weeks ago, NU hit the road to No. 6 Cornell and Colgate last weekend and dropped two more.</p> <p>Friday night at Cornell, Jason Beattie scored his first NCAA goal and Egor Mironov sent the game to overtime, but Joe Devin put NU away in the overtime effort to waste a season-high 38-save effort from Adam Avramenko.</p> <p>"It was another gritty and gutsy effort by our team on the road in a tough place to play," NU coach Dave Burkholder said. "We stuck to it and nearly pulled it out near the end, but we just couldn't put it away."</p> <p>The next evening, the Purple Eagles let a second-period lead slip away and Colgate roared back to take a 4-2 victory.</p> <p>Brothers Marc and Paul Zanette were the goal-scorers for NU and freshman goalie Andrew Hare made 28 saves in his collegiate debut.</p> <p>"I think this road trip is catching up to us," said Burkholder. "We play this tough schedule to get us ready for March. We have to stay positive, take things from today's game and move on."</p> <p>This weekend, NU plays a staggered home-and-home with 19th-ranked Massachusetts starting Friday night on the road. </p> <p>Sunday afternoon's home game is being billed as "Program Pioneer Day," where the 1999-2''' team, including the school's first senior class, will celebrate its tenth anniversary.</p> <h4>Beavers' Recruits Keep Rolling In</h4> <p>Bemidji State got two commitments this week — one from the North American Hockey League and one from the United States Hockey League.</p> <p>Wenatchee Wild forward Jeff Jubinville and Tri-City Storm forward Radoslav Illo announced their intentions to suit up with the Baevers next season.</p> <p>Jubinville, a 2'-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta, leads the Wild in scoring with 1' goals and 23 points (fifth in the NAHL) through 23 games.</p> <p>"I'm excited to get the opportunity to play for such a great college hockey program," Jubinville. "I'm looking forward to spending four years there." </p> <p>Jubinville played the previous two seasons for the St. Albert Steel of the Alberta Junior League. Last year, he recorded 19 goals among 54 points in 61 games.</p> <p>"Jeff has proven to be a dynamic offensive threat, as well as being very responsible defensively," said Wild head coach Paul Baxter.  "He's also provided us with great leadership."</p> <p>Jubinville becomes the sixth Wild player on this year's roster to commit to a Division I school — the most of any team in the NAHL — and will join former Wild goaltender Mathieu Dugas at BSU.</p> <p>Illo, a 19-year-old native of Bystrica, Slovakia, currently leads the Storm with six goals, which also ranks tied for third in the USHL. Last season, he led the Storm with 21 goals and ranked second on the club with 33 points.  </p> <p>Illo is one of 13 NHL Draft selections playing in the USHL this season after he was picked by the Anaheim Ducks in the fifth round (136th overall) this past June.</p> <p>"First of all, it's a beautiful campus on a lake and a small college that makes me feel close to everyone," Illo said on his decision. "Bemidji is a solid program and I'm looking forward to attending school there.</p> <p>"After visiting the campus, I was thrilled that I will be playing hockey at Bemidji. I'm now able to focus on the team (the Storm) and the task at hand with this commitment behind me."</p> <p>Current USHL player Mitch Cain of the Des Moines Buccaneers is also committed to Bemidji State.</p> <p>Seven members of the Beavers this season are former USHL players: Jake Areshenko (Fargo Force), Ryan Cramer (Waterloo Black Hawks), Kyle Hardwick (Lincoln Stars), Kinne (Sioux City Musketeers), Tyler Lehrke (Green Bay Gamblers), Chris Peluso (Sioux Falls Stampede) and Read (Des Moines).

2009-11-05T20:42:58-06:00 2009-11-05T20:42:58-06:00 2009-11-05T20:42:58-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17408/ThisWeekintheWCHANov52009.html Theresa Spisak, USCHO WCHA Correspondent

Well, we're three weeks in and the two Colorado schools are leading the pack, with CC being the relative surprise. </p> <h4>Red Baron WCHA Players of the Week</h4> <p><b>Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week: Tony Lucia, UM.</b><br /> Why: Scored five points (3g, 2a) including two shorthanded goals, to help his Gophers sweep Alaska-Anchorage.<br /> Also Nominated: Jesse Martin, DU; Rob Bordson, UMD; Brendan Smith, UW.</p> <p><b>Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week: Brendan Smith, UW.</b><br /> Why: Had strong play on both ends of the ice, including picking up four assists, a plus-3 rating and four blocked shots to help his Badgers sweep New Hampshire.<br /> Also Nominated: Patrick Wiercioch, DU; Alex Kangas, UM.</p> <p><b>Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week: John Ramage, UW.</b><br /> Why: Scored two goals and had one assist to help his Badgers sweep UNH.<br /> Also Nominated: Adam Murray, DU; Eriah Hayes, MSU, M.</p> <h4>Paging a Doctor to the Locker Room</h4> <p>Two weeks ago, I touched briefly on Alaska-Anchorage's injury situation. While fairly grim for Seawolf fans, it's nothing compared to what some of the other teams are facing around the league.</p> <p>Here are a few of the many instances of teams who have been hit by injuries, going alphabetically by team.</p> <p><b>Alaska Anchorage:</b> As mentioned earlier and more extensively discussed in an earlier column, the Seawolves started the season without seniors Nils Backstrom and Trevor Hunt and lost junior Luka Vidmar as well.</p> <p><b>Colorado College:</b> The Tigers have had several injured players this season. Senior Mike Testwuide missed time with a concussion, freshman William Rapuzzi suffered a lower-body injury that kept him on crutches for a while and senior Dan Quilico is out with a sprained wrist. </p> <p>The worst injury for the squad, however, for a myriad of reasons, has to be losing senior Andreas Vlassopoulos to a season- and most likely career-ending knee injury. Vlassopoulos, if you recall, also sat out the 2''5-'6 season, also due to a knee injury and one that caused over a year of rehabilitation.</p> <p><b>Denver:</b> The Pioneers briefly lost sophomore Joe Colborne to a broken index finger, but, more importantly, are currently without junior goaltender Marc Cheverie. Cheverie sustained a deep gash to his left leg in Friday's game against Mankato and is expected to be out for several weeks.</p> <p><b>Michigan Tech:</b> Compared to last year, Tech's gotten off easy.</p> <p><b>Minnesota:</b> While Cheverie going down hurts Denver, it doesn't hurt nearly as much as the two major injuries the Gophers have had — freshman Nick Leddy and senior Jay Barriball.</p> <p>Leddy went down last weekend against Anchorage thanks to an arm to his head in what, to coach Don Lucia, first appeared to be a legal, clean, open-ice hit. While there is some controversy over that now, the fact remains that Leddy's jaw was broken and he'll be out most likely until after the Christmas break.</p> <p>Barriball, on the other hand, is done for the year, after bumping knees with someone in practice this past Tuesday. His loss hurts the Gophers tremendously as he's currently tied for second in the team's scoring lead and was third last year behind Ryan Stoa and Jordan Schroeder. Barriball is eligible for a medical redshirt, however, so we'll probably see him again next year.</p> <p><b>Minnesota State:</b> Senior Geoff Irwin is out due to an upper-body injury sustained two weeks ago against Wisconsin and several other players, including freshman Tyler Pitlick, have also sat time out due to injury.</p> <p><b>Minnesota-Duluth:</b> The Bulldogs lost second-leading scorer, junior Justin Fontaine, to an upper-body injury late in Friday's game against Clarkson. Fontaine joined sophomores Scott Kishel (concussion) and Travis Oleksuk (knee sprain) on the injured list.</p> <p><b>North Dakota:</b> If the Sioux have had large injuries, coach Dave Hakstol hasn't been saying anything. In the Sioux's weekly press conference last Wednesday, Hakstol talked about a few injured players, but didn't mention any names.</p> <p><b>St. Cloud State:</b> The Huskies have had a few injuries (freshman David Eddy, sprained ankle; sophomore Sam Zabkowicz, headaches; sophomore Travis Novak, bruised shoulder), but are looking good compared to the rest of the league.</p> <p><b>Wisconsin:</b> The Badgers have seemed to have been blessed so far, as I couldn't track down an injury for them.</p> <h4>Diving Right In</h4> <p>Despite it still being technically early in the season (and trust me, I hate sounding like a broken record), several of the freshmen around the league have gotten off to great starts, jumping right into the fire and performing admirably.</p> <p>On five of the 1' teams, at least one freshman (and, in the Mavericks' case, two) is top-three in team scoring and five teams also have given freshman goaltenders extensive playing time.</p> <p>I talked a little about CC's freshman goaltender Joe Howe a few weeks ago so I won't regurgitate that information here, but also worth noting is Rylan Schwartz, third on the team with seven points.</p> <p>Denver is stacked pretty deep offensively, but the Pioneers have seen good things out of several of their freshmen, most notably defenseman Matt Donovan and forward Drew Shore. However, they've also seen flashes of brilliance from goaltender Adam Murray — and will need to see more now that he's been propelled into the No. 1 position due to Cheverie's injury.</p> <p>"I think he's doing a nice job [so far]," said DU coach George Gwozdecky. "We're happy with his progress."</p> <p>For Michigan Tech, defenseman Steven Seigo has made an immediate impact.</p> <p>"He's doing well," said coach Jamie Russell. "Our freshmen had high expectations for coming in and he's starting to make progress on the defensive side of the puck."</p> <p>The Huskies are also platooning a rookie netminder in Kevin Genoe.</p> <p>"There's a question for freshmen goalies whether they can start back-to-back games at this level," said Russell, referring to the SCSU series, "and he answered the question well."</p> <p>The Mavericks are also platooning a freshman goaltender in Kevin Murdock and have had two standouts offensively in the form of Eriah Hayes and Tyler Pitlick.</p> <p>"I've been very pleased," said coach Troy Jutting. "I'm surprised at how early they've been able to contribute to our team ... how quickly they've been able to do it and, more with Tyler, being that he just turned 18 on Sunday. [He was] a 17-year-old kid for his first four series of college hockey and I've been pleasantly surprised with how fast he's been able to contribute."</p> <p>St. Cloud State has perhaps the smallest freshman class out of everyone, with only four players, one of whom has missed the entire season thus far thanks to a sprained ankle), but his classmates have been shining through, starting with goaltender Mike Lee.</p> <p>"Mike Lee has just been outstanding for us. We've only got eight games under our belt and he's played five of the eight games and given us a chance to win every game. He's got excellent numbers," said coach Bob Motzko. "He's been everything that we've hoped for and we just keep giving him games right now and give him experience and we're very pleased with [him]."</p> <p>While defenseman Taylor Johnson has just cracked the line-up, Motzko is pleased what he's seen out of forward Ben Hanowski.</p> <p>"Ben Hanowski has been a real nice addition to our forward group ... and just keeps growing and getting better," said Motzko. "He's been showing signs of rapid improvement every day and it looks like he's got a chance to be a real offensive threat for us in the future." </p> <p>The last freshman who has cracked the top three in team scoring on his respective team is Wisconsin's John Ramage, the current league rookie of the week.</p> <h4>Match-Ups By the Numbers</h4> <p>The two "States" — Minnesota and St. Cloud — get the weekend off.</p> <p><b>North Dakota @ Michigan Tech</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> UND — 4-1-1 (2-1-1 WCHA). MTU — 2-4-' (1-3-' WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> UND leads the overall series, 136-89-8.</p> <p><b>Denver @ Alaska Anchorage</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> DU — 5-2-1 (3-'-1 WCHA). UAA — 3-5-' (1-3-' WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> DU leads the overall series, 39-14-5.</p> <p><b>Minnesota @ Wisconsin</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> UM — 2-3-1 (2-3-1 WCHA). UW — 3-2-1 (1-2-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> UM leads the overall series, 15'-81-18.</p> <p><b>Minnesota-Duluth @ Colorado College</b><br /> <b>Overall Records:</b> UMD — 5-2-1 (2-1-1 WCHA). CC — 4-1-1 (3-'-1 WCHA).<br /> <b>Head-to-Head:</b> CC leads the overall series, 81-74-6.</p> <h4>Future WCHA Team Watch</h4> <p>Bemidji State took two 2-1 overtime games from Alabama-Huntsville last weekend to remain undefeated and host Robert Morris this weekend. Nebraska-Omaha, which cracked the top 1' this week at No. 1', took four of six points from Bowling Green — losing in a controversial shootout on Friday — and travel to play Michigan State this weekend.</p> <p>BSU: 5-'-1 overall, '-'-' vs. WCHA<br /> UNO: 4-'-2 overall, '-'-' vs. WCHA</p> <h4>Again With the Early, But ...</h4> <p>Last year at this time, Michigan Tech was in an identical boat, with a 2-4 overall record, 1-3 in conference. However, the Huskies were facing a lot of injuries, particularly one to Malcolm Gwilliam.</p> <p>Even though this season's incarnation of the Huskies has the same record, things appear to be looking up. Gwilliam has five goals in six games and Russell is optimistic.</p> <p>"We're a young team, but I'm happy with our progress," he said.

2009-11-05T20:43:53-06:00 2009-11-05T20:43:53-06:00 2009-11-05T20:43:53-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17409/ThisWeekinECACHockeyNov52009.html Brian Sullivan, USCHO ECAC Hockey Correspondent

Boy, oh boy, it's that time again ... every team's in the game, and every game's a big one! Harvard kicked off the 2''9-1' ECAC Hockey season with a statement win in Hanover, N.H., but there were plenty of other ECAC domestic disputes this weekend as well. Lots to look at, so let's get down to business.</p> <h4>Yale Throttles Princeton in the Third</h4> <p>In the weekend's most potent pairing, the visiting Bulldogs popped four third-period goals past Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba to rally for a 5-2 win at Hobey Baker Rink. That marked the second time in three games (dating back to last year's NCAA tournament loss) that Kalemba surrendered five goals in a game; after that, you have to go all the way back to late December 2''7 to find an outing of equal ignominy (a six-goal defeat at the hands of Minnesota State). </p> <p>Junior Ryan Rondeau earned the 4'-save victory for the Bulldogs, who are seeking a new No. 1 with the departure of Alec Richards. </p> <p>Of the game's seven goals, only one — to open the scoring — was earned during five-on-five play: three goals were scored on the power play, the eventual game-winner was scored short-handed, another came during a four-on-four play, and the evening's final tally was buried into an empty net.</p> <h4>Harvard Upends Dartmouth With Wisdom, Youth</h4> <p>The Crimson kicked off its season-opening five-game road trip in style, toppling Dartmouth with a strong game from junior goalie Kyle Richter and balanced scoring from a young offensive corps. </p> <p>"I think [the win] is important. We're a young team, still trying to find our way," said coach Ted Donato. "We had a little bit of an issue last year with winning on the road ('-7-5), so I think that it was important to get off to a good start and be a good team on the road. Let's face it, our schedule is very difficult with five road games out of the gate, so it's important to get off on the right foot."</p> <p>Richter, coming back after a year away from Cambridge, allowed a goal on only five shots in the first period, but bounced right back with 21 stops on 21 shots in the second frame.</p> <p>"I thought Kyle played very well," said Donato. "There were times when he handled some flurries very well; he looked composed and really gave our team a big boost at times. For a guy that's been off for a year to kind of get thrown in the fire and have some real tense moments as well, I think there's a lot of positives to come out of that."</p> <p>The Crimson posted five consecutive goals after trailing 1-' at the first intermission, and a half-dozen different players had multi-point games — four of them underclassmen.</p> <p>"As I went over the lineup the other night after the game, I think we dressed up front one senior forward, one junior forward, and [six] freshmen and [four] sophomores," Donato said. "I think the kids played very well. Alex Killorn was exceptional, Louis Leblanc, Michael Biega — I thought we had a lot of guys that played very well, and we're going to need that. I think we have a little more offensive depth than maybe we've had over the last couple years, and I think it's important that we have different guys step up on different nights."</p> <p>Up next for the Bay State Ivy, the offensively awakening Colgate Raiders and archrival (and fifth-ranked) Cornell.</p> <p>"We've got a real tough weekend: we're playing a team that will be playing its eighth game, and a team that's ranked in the top 1' in the country. It doesn't get any easier for us, but I think it was a good start and we learned some things about our team."</p> <h4>Bobcats Drop a Wild One</h4> <p>When was the last time a team logged 63 shots and lost? </p> <p>Last weekend. </p> <p>Quinnipiac pounded Robert Morris goaltender Eric Levine with 32 shots in the second period alone ... and earned The Big Nada on the scoreboard for its troubles. In fact, the Colonials scored three second-period goals, despite being outshot 32-9. </p> <p>RMU junior Nathan Longpre scored a school-record four goals (plus an assist, for good measure), and QU simply couldn't break Levine and what was a thoroughly exhausted Robert Morris penalty-killing unit (3-for-1' on the advantage). </p> <p>On the bright side, how often can a team possibly lose when asserting such dominance? Senior Eric Lampe and sophomore Scott Zurevinski have each scored four goals through five games, and offensive linchpin Brandon Wong has already accumulated nine points.</p> <p>For the record, QU topped RMU 5-' the previous evening, and more than doubled the Colonials in shots, 42-2'.</p> <h4>Raiders Recall That Special Feeling</h4> <p>It's been a while since Colgate scored four goals on consecutive nights, but it finally accomplished that feat once more last weekend. </p> <p>For the first time since Oct. 17 and 24, 2''8, the Raiders topped the trifecta in back-to-back games; this was the first time that they'd done so in a <em>weekend</em> since mid-February 2''8. </p> <p>The production was borne of a determined attack that resulted in a 74-45 shot advantage over Army and Niagara, including two 17-shot periods: the second against Army, and the third versus the Purple Eagles of NU. </p> <p>As the Raiders heat up, look out for Austin Smith: The wily sophomore has four goals already, including both of his team's game-winning goals thus far.</p> <h4>Don't Call it a Letdown in Troy</h4> <p>While the Rensselaer Engineers notched a big come-from-behind win at neighboring Union College Friday night, many saw the 'Tute's home loss Saturday as a classic trap-game loss. </p> <p>Coach Seth Appert disagrees.</p> <p>"That game is a setup game, where you're playing a big rival Friday. You win, it's emotional, and then you're playing against one of the toughest, most competitive teams in the country the next night," he allowed, but continued, "I don't think we were as good in the third period against Army as we wanted to be, but at the same time we may have overextended ourselves and had a little immaturity with [players] taking too long a shift in the first and second to try to create offense."</p> <p>"I think our [fatigue] in the third wasn't so much due to lack of conditioning ... we played so hard in the first two periods that we had the puck for a dramatic amount of time, and I think some of our forwards — especially some of our younger forwards — started overextending their shifts, and staying out for 5', 6' seconds, even 7' seconds sometimes to create offense because we had the puck in their zone. I know that tired us out a little bit in the third.</p> <p>"I was impressed with our team, in how we prepared, how we came out, how good we were for the first 4' minutes. In the third, we made some mistakes. We certainly weren't as good as I wanted us to be, but still at the end of the day we outshot them 14-7 in the third period. Sometimes you've got to tip your cap to your opponent, and certainly your opponent's goaltender, but I thought our approach and our mind-set for that game was perfect."</p> <p>Whereas the Army contest featured a low-scoring total despite a number of shots (4' for RPI, 16 for the Cadets), Union was almost the exact opposite with seven combined goals on only 46 total shots.</p> <p>"It's weird, in the Union game, that as limited as the shot <em>numbers</em> were, the shot <em>quality</em> was high for both teams," mused the coach. "It wasn't one of those games where the score is 4-3 because the goalies were poor. I think the shot numbers were down because both teams played so hard. The game was physical, there were a lot of blocked shots for both teams, and so it wasn't easy to penetrate and create that offense."</p> <p>Appert isn't sweating young Bryce Merriam's low save percentage against Army, either.</p> <p>"He's a freshman. He's played two games, and given up four goals. I think that their winning goal is probably a goal that he'd like to have back, but at the same time, if Bryce can go through his career giving up two goals a game, we're going to win a lot of hockey games. He still has a lot of things to work on, but we're going to keep working on those things. At the end of the day, if your goaltender only gives up two goals — no matter how many shots they have — he's giving you a good chance to win that game."</p> <p>Third-year striker Chase Polacek is right back where he belongs, atop the league scoring list with five goals and eight points in eight games played. Polacek accumulated three goals and an assist this weekend alone, and is getting a great jump on his career-best 11-21-32 line from last year.</p> <p>"He is just strong as an ox on the puck. When he's playing a really aggressive, attacking style, he certainly has a chance to be one of the premier players in our league," Appert said.</p> <h4>North Country Notes</h4> <p>St. Lawrence is beginning to look an awful lot like ... well, St. Lawrence, all of a sudden.</p> <p>Sophomore defender Peter Child already has seven points in seven games, while senior blueliner Derek Keller has six. The Saints are designed to generate offense from their defense; if these fellas can keep up the pace, the drop-off from last year's class will be of negligible concern.</p> <p>Clarkson, on the other hand, is having some troubles. First and foremost, the Golden Knights are taking over 2' minutes of penalties a game. Combined with a soft 78 percent penalty-killing success rate, the Potsdam posse is giving up a miserable 3.57 goals a game so far, and are being out-scored 12-3 in the third period.</p> <h4>Quick Kudos</h4> <p>I haven't done enough digging to develop a comprehensive perspective on this, but in looking at <a href='http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_icehockey_rb/2''9/MIH%2'attendance.pdf' target='_blank'>last year's final attendance figures,</a> I figured congratulations — and thanks — were in order for quite a few of ECAC Hockey's members and their fans.</p> <p>For starters, Dartmouth (4,2'3) and Cornell (4,191) ranked inside the top 2' for average attendance per game, beating Frozen Four finalist Vermont. Rensselaer (3,534) edged national runner-up Miami. </p> <p>Who would've imagined, five years ago, that Yale would round out the top four in the league in attendance? It happened last year, as the Bulldogs, Quinnipiac and Clarkson all outdrew Notre Dame, which was a top-1' team all season long.</p> <p>The remaining half of the league finished between 34th (Harvard) and 5'th (Brown) nationally, but I'll spare them the individual embarrassment of being called out in print. </p> <h4>Readers' Poll</h4> <p>Not surprisingly, the <a href='http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=86'46' target='_blank'>Atlantic City</a> poll generated a lot of feedback and a good number of votes. The most popular take on the matter by far would result in no change to Albany's current situation: 21 of 49 respondents reported that they'll go to A.C. if their program makes it that far, which is the same approach they've taken thus far vis-a-vis Albany. </p> <p>More viewed the change in an unfavorable light than in an optimistic one, with 16 voters stating that they're less likely to attend this year than in years past, but a half-dozen readers reported that the Jersey Shores will be an improvement. </p> <p>Sadly, not a single person responded to the first option on the poll: that they will attend every year henceforth, because they always have.</p> <p>On the <a href='http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=86'48' target='_blank'>second poll,</a> most voters seemed to play the odds and picked the first option: an Ivy League team is likely to remain undefeated in ECAC Hockey play longer than any of the other options hold true.</p> <p>The second most popular option was one that the team in question can control, in that Clarkson will maintain a 3' shot-per-game average. Unfortunately, the Knights only took 39 shots <em>all weekend</em> at Minnesota-Duluth. Also taking an immediate tumble was RPI's home unbeaten streak, which Army promptly negated Saturday night. </p> <p>Finally, it seems no one has much faith in Union or Quinnipiac. Consider it bulletin-board material, all ye Dutchmen and Bobcats.</p> <p>This week, let's address another dated yet still current issue: the shootout. I'm a moderate conservative when it comes to hockey — I like my nets four-by-six, my offsides whistled, and my hockey played to a decision. I think that in a team sport, the teams should determine the outcome ... not single individuals <em>representing</em> the team. </p> <p>But what do you think? The CCHA has implemented shootouts to decide league contests, as have multiple D-I women's leagues. The NHL uses them, obviously, and as much as I hate to admit it, they do generate a thrill. Should the NCAA/ECAC Hockey adopt this recent gimmick too? Let's hear it; <a href='http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?t=86235' target='_blank'>vote here and be heard.</a>

2009-11-05T20:45:02-06:00 2009-11-05T20:45:02-06:00 2009-11-05T20:45:02-06:00 http://www.uscho.com/news/id,17410/ThisWeekinAtlanticHockeyNov52009.html Chris Lerch, USCHO Atlantic Hockey Correspondent

<h4>Buzzing</h4> <p>AIC is looking for a sea change this season, and so far, so good. The Yellow Jackets are currently 1-1-1 in league play, coming off a three-point weekend against Holy Cross. It's ridiculously early, but this is the best start in conference play for AIC since 2''2. </p> <p>Freshmen are leading the way, with rookies accounting for nine of AIC's 13 goals so far this season. Frosh netminder Ben Meisner is sporting a 1.51 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage through two outings.</p> <p>"We felt pretty good about our incoming class and last year's class as well," said Yellow Jacket coach Gary Wright, who is currently sidelined after suffering an accident that required him to have surgery on both legs.</p> <p>"They've made even more of an immediate impact than we thought," said Wright. "[Defensemen] Jeff Ceccacci and Chris Markiewicz are playing very well and [Adam] Pleskach has gotten a lot of attention. Our leading scorer had nine goals all last season and Adam has five already."</p> <p>Since the beginning of the season, assistant Mike Field has been filling in for Wright on the ice at practices and on the bench during games. Wright's injuries are severe enough that he has been unable to travel with the team on the road. </p> <p>"The players have responded very well to Mike," Wright said.</p> <p>"So far, so good," said Field, who was a senior at AIC just two seasons ago. "The biggest thing is making the transition easy when coach Wright comes back."</p> <p>"We've consulted on most things, and Mike has done an excellent job for such a young coach," said Wright.