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This Week in the NCHA/MCHA

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Welcome back for what should no doubt be another chaotic season. Though many things changed from a season ago, the preseason USCHO.com Division III men’s poll is not one of them: it remains littered with NCHA teams, six in all.

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.

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.

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.
The MCHA kicks off its regular season in earnest this weekend while the NCHA hosts a slew of MIAC opponents.
And now, without further ado…

Go Figure

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.

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 0-2 league starts.

St. Norbert traveled to Menomonie and dismantled preseason NCHA favorite Stout 2-0 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.

“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 3-0 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.”

Coghlins’ statements were very nearly echoed by River Falls head coach Steve Freeman.

“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.”

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.

To put it in perspective, in the process of scoring the four conference points, the Green Knights outshot Stout 40-21 on Friday and 44-17 on Saturday, margins that are dumbfounding considering Stout’s offensive prowess.

“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.

The prolific line of Gaulrapp, Scott Motz and Derek Hanson did connect for the
Blue Devils’ goal on Saturday, but that was it for the weekend.

“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.

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.

“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.

“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.”

River Falls’ victories in Superior move the Falcons to 3-0 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.

“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.

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.

Interestingly, River Falls was outshot 43-25 in Saturday’s contest.

“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.

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.

“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.”

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 2-0 weekend at the MIAC Showcase. Included in the Auggies two wins is a victory over the Gusties.

“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.”

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 2-0 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 0-2.

Sixteen games to go. Welcome to the jungle.

The “Adrian Gap”

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.

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.

In that same vein, I now present . . . the “Adrian Gap”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)?

“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.

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.

“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.

“Right now everyone is chasing them, and until they are caught that gap is as big as the Grand Canyon.”

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.

“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.”

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.

Let’s see what some more numbers say:

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.

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.
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.

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.

Considering we have little else to go on, those 50 games sure seem to put Adrian on par with numerous teams who are routinely ranked in the top 10 nationally.

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.

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.

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 2001.

“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.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

Indeed it will, but as far as this season goes will it be enough to help anyone push the threshold Adrian has established?

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.

Signed and Sealed

I’ve been meaning to do this for three years, but this year I finally did it.

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.

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.

Tasty Travels

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.

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 [email protected] 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.

Naturally, all establishments will be rated on a 1-5 puck scale. Take that, pretzel.

This Week in MIAC

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MIAC Showcase

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.

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.

Attendance for the showcase broke the 2,000 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Oh yeah, there was some excellent hockey too.

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.

Gustavus Adolphus's Brad Wiek (19) scores the game tying goal against Bethel.

Gustavus Adolphus’s Brad Wiek (19) scores the game tying goal against Bethel.

St. Olaf and Augsburg were the only two teams to come out of the weekend 2-0, although St. John’s and St. Thomas both came out undefeated (1-0-1) 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Augsburg Auggies

Augsburg finished last season with mixed results. On one hand they were the league’s highest scoring team, scoring over 4.50 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

Despite being on the power play for over 10 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.

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.

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.

“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 10 goals, you just never know until you’re out there.”

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.

After the games, Brown specifically pointed to the defense, especially the freshmen.

“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.”

While it’s definitely early in the season, as a group, these two goalies have a .955 save percentage and 1.50 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.

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.

MIAC-NCHA Crossover

After the opening weekend of games, the MIAC goes head to head with the NCHA before both leagues jump into conference play full tilt.

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.

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.

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.

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 USCHO.com Division III poll, while among the MIAC, only Gustavus Adolphus garnered national recognition.

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.

ECAC West Preview

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RIT Tigers

Coach: Scott McDonald (62-14-4, 4th season)
Last year’s record: 21-3-2
ECAC West Record: 15-2-1 (2nd)
Coaches’ Projection: First
My Prediction: First

Key Losses: Keltie Jones and Sandra Grant
Key Returnees: Jr. Sarah Dagg (16-24-40), Jr. Katie Stack (17-17-34), Jr. Traci Galbraith (6-14-20)
Newcomers to watch: Kim Schlattman, Kayla Ross, Danielle Read

Elmira College Soaring Eagles

Coach: Greg Fargo (24-5-1, 2nd season)
Last year’s record: 24-5-1
ECAC West Record: 16-1-1 (1st)
Coaches’ Projection: Second
My Prediction: Second

Key Losses: Kayla Coady and Allison Cubberley
Key Returnees: Sr. Jenna McCall (19-26-45), Sr. Jamie Kivi (5-22-27), Sr. Lauryn DePaul (16-6-22), Sr. Tiffany Hart (5-15-20)
Newcomers to watch: Madison Johnston — Toronto Aeros, Caitlin Metcalf — Calgary Edge, Jill DeBus — Detroit Little Ceasars

Plattsburgh Cardinals

Coach: Kevin Houle (143-24-9, 7th season)
Last year’s record: 22-5-2
ECAC West Record: 15-3-0
Coaches’ Projection: Third
My Prediction: Third

Key Losses: Danielle Blanchard, Claire O’Connor, Ainsley Brien, Danielle Beattie
Key Returnees: Sr. Stephanie Moberg (18-21-39), Sr. Laurie Bowler (14-13-27), So. Kara Buehler (1-5-6)
Newcomers to watch: Teal Gove, Jordan Caldwell, Erika Pomponio

Neumann Knights

Coach: Matthew Kennedy (57-55-7, 6th season)
Last year’s record: 16-11-0
ECAC West Record: 12-6-0
Coaches’ Projection: Fourth
My Prediction: Fourth

Key Losses: Janelle Marier and Robyn Armstrong
Key Returnees: Jr. Jessica Schroeder (13-22-35), So. Jasper Thomson (14-19-33), So. Nicole Alexopoulos (16-10-26), So. Kayla Dubowski (4-22-26)
Newcomers to watch: Tanya Lamon, Olivia Pryzbylkowski, Shannon Donnelly

Utica Pioneers

Coach: Dave Clausen (121-77-13, 9th season)
Last year’s record: 14-10-2
ECAC West Record: 10-7-1
Coaches’ Projection: Fifth
My Prediction: Fifth

Key Losses: Jess Leclerc and Sam Rowan
Key Returnees: Jr. Lynny Gonzales (8-17-25), Sr. Jill Doherty (9-4-1, 1.64 GGA), So. Mackenzie Roy (4-12-16)
Newcomers to watch: Meghan McMahon and Carmen Johnson

Oswego Lakers

Coach: Diane Dillon (24-44-5, 4th season)
Last year’s record: 8-16-1
ECAC West Record: 5-12-1
Coaches’ Projection: Sixth
My Prediction: Sixth

Key Losses: Stephanie Esposito, Jessica Lister, Ashley Meyers
Key Returnees: Jr. Emi Williams (6-11-0, 2.82 GGA), Sr. Angie Friesen (4-3-7), So. Kathryn Sbrocchi (2-3-0), Sr. Jenna Kirkwood (4-5-9), So. Jillian Bergeron (3-6-9)
Newcomers to watch: Bryanna Forrest, Becky Carra, Alex Szypryt, and Kristin Metzger

Chatham Cougars

Coach: Phoebe Manchester (5-41-1, 3rd season)
Last year’s record: 4-19-1
ECAC West Record: 4-14-0
Coaches’ Projection: Seventh
My Prediction: Seventh

Key Loss: Jacquelin Regan
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)
Newcomers to watch: Ashley Kuechle and Jessica Rattle

Potsdam Bears

Coach: Jay Green (4-17-2, 2nd season)
Last year’s record: 4-17-2
ECAC West Record: 3-13-2
Coaches’ Projection: Eighth
My Prediction: Eighth

Key Losses: None
Key Returnees: Sr. Hilary Hitchman (4-16-2, 3.71 GGA), So. Stephanie Simons (4-7-11), So. Breanna Roy (6-10-16)
Newcomers to watch: Katie Komsa, Brittany Westlake, and Jen Conophy

Buffalo State Bengals

Coach: Robert Burke (16-45-8, 4th season)
Last year’s record: 2-18-4
ECAC West Record: 2-12-4
Coaches’ Projection: Tenth
My Prediction: Ninth

Key Loss: Melissa Jeckovich
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)
Newcomers to watch: Lauren Mallo – Fraser Valley Phantom, Kailyn Murray – Warner Hockey School, Rio Flynn – Appleby College (ON)

Cortland Red Dragons

Coach: Earl Utter (9-37-6, 3rd season)
Last year’s record: 3-19-3
ECAC West Record: 2-14-2
Coaches’ Projection: Ninth
My Prediction: Tenth

Key Losses: Maggie Welker and Kalee Stoever
Key Returnees: Sr. Nicole Ruddy (3-2-5), So. Katie Double (2.92 GGA, .923 Save %), So. Danielle Scharf (1-3-4)
Newcomers to watch: (F) Maggie Giamo, (F) Taylor Puckhaber, (D) Jamie Kruczek

Conference Breakdown:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Buckle your seat belts folks; a new hockey season is here!

This Week in the CHA: Nov. 5, 2009

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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.”

Last Friday night, Robert Morris opened its home schedule against No. 18 Quinnipiac and was soundly defeated, 5-0.

Sure, on paper, that looked about right.

The next night, however, RMU busted an eight-spot on Quinnipiac (four from Nathan Longpre) and took an 8-5 win.

Robert Morris forward Chris Kushneriuk had a goal and three assists last Saturday (photo: Robert Morris Athletics).

Robert Morris forward Chris Kushneriuk had a goal and three assists last Saturday (photo: Robert Morris Athletics).

“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.”

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.

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.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

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 5-0-1 record.

“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.”

BSU Squeaks Out Two Wins in Huntsville

One heartbreaking loss is difficult enough, but two in the same weekend? By the same score? Against a nationally-ranked team? Both in overtime?

Bemidji State's Dan Bakala comes up with a toe save on Alabama-Huntsville's Kevin Morrison last Sunday (photo: Doug Eagan).

Bemidji State’s Dan Bakala comes up with a toe save on Alabama-Huntsville’s Kevin Morrison last Sunday (photo: Doug Eagan).

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.

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.

Jordan George assisted on both goals for BSU.

“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.”

Cameron Talbot kicked out 20 shots for UAH.

Then Sunday afternoon, same old story.

Ben Kinne won it 61 seconds into the OT with a slapper over Talbot’s shoulder.

Read had tied the game for Bemidji State with a slick move in tight on Talbot midway through the third.

For the Chargers, Kevin Morrison scored and Talbot finished with 20 saves once again.

UAH is idle this weekend.

Niagara Falls To Cornell, Colgate

New York’s non-CHA teams have not been kind to Niagara so far this season.

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.

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.

“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.”

The next evening, the Purple Eagles let a second-period lead slip away and Colgate roared back to take a 4-2 victory.

Brothers Marc and Paul Zanette were the goal-scorers for NU and freshman goalie Andrew Hare made 28 saves in his collegiate debut.

“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.”

This weekend, NU plays a staggered home-and-home with 19th-ranked Massachusetts starting Friday night on the road.

Sunday afternoon’s home game is being billed as “Program Pioneer Day,” where the 1999-2000 team, including the school’s first senior class, will celebrate its tenth anniversary.

Beavers’ Recruits Keep Rolling In

Bemidji State got two commitments this week — one from the North American Hockey League and one from the United States Hockey League.

Wenatchee Wild forward Jeff Jubinville and Tri-City Storm forward Radoslav Illo announced their intentions to suit up with the Baevers next season.

Jubinville, a 20-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta, leads the Wild in scoring with 10 goals and 23 points (fifth in the NAHL) through 23 games.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

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.

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.  

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.

“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.

“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.”

Current USHL player Mitch Cain of the Des Moines Buccaneers is also committed to Bemidji State.

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).

This Week in ECAC Hockey: Nov. 5, 2009

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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 2009-10 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.

Yale Throttles Princeton in the Third

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 2007 to find an outing of equal ignominy (a six-goal defeat at the hands of Minnesota State).

Junior Ryan Rondeau earned the 40-save victory for the Bulldogs, who are seeking a new No. 1 with the departure of Alec Richards.

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.

Harvard Upends Dartmouth With Wisdom, Youth

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.

“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 (0-7-5), 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.”

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.

“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.”

The Crimson posted five consecutive goals after trailing 1-0 at the first intermission, and a half-dozen different players had multi-point games — four of them underclassmen.

“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.”

Up next for the Bay State Ivy, the offensively awakening Colgate Raiders and archrival (and fifth-ranked) Cornell.

“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 10 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.”

Bobcats Drop a Wild One

When was the last time a team logged 63 shots and lost?

Last weekend.

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.

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-10 on the advantage).

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.

For the record, QU topped RMU 5-0 the previous evening, and more than doubled the Colonials in shots, 42-20.

Raiders Recall That Special Feeling

It’s been a while since Colgate scored four goals on consecutive nights, but it finally accomplished that feat once more last weekend.

For the first time since Oct. 17 and 24, 2008, the Raiders topped the trifecta in back-to-back games; this was the first time that they’d done so in a weekend since mid-February 2008.

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.

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.

Don’t Call it a Letdown in Troy

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.

Coach Seth Appert disagrees.

“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.”

“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 50, 60 seconds, even 70 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.

“I was impressed with our team, in how we prepared, how we came out, how good we were for the first 40 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.”

Whereas the Army contest featured a low-scoring total despite a number of shots (40 for RPI, 16 for the Cadets), Union was almost the exact opposite with seven combined goals on only 46 total shots.

“It’s weird, in the Union game, that as limited as the shot numbers were, the shot quality 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.”

Appert isn’t sweating young Bryce Merriam’s low save percentage against Army, either.

“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.”

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.

“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.

North Country Notes

St. Lawrence is beginning to look an awful lot like … well, St. Lawrence, all of a sudden.

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.

Clarkson, on the other hand, is having some troubles. First and foremost, the Golden Knights are taking over 20 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.

Quick Kudos

I haven’t done enough digging to develop a comprehensive perspective on this, but in looking at last year’s final attendance figures, I figured congratulations — and thanks — were in order for quite a few of ECAC Hockey’s members and their fans.

For starters, Dartmouth (4,203) and Cornell (4,191) ranked inside the top 20 for average attendance per game, beating Frozen Four finalist Vermont. Rensselaer (3,534) edged national runner-up Miami.

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-10 team all season long.

The remaining half of the league finished between 34th (Harvard) and 50th (Brown) nationally, but I’ll spare them the individual embarrassment of being called out in print.

Readers’ Poll

Not surprisingly, the Atlantic City 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.

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.

Sadly, not a single person responded to the first option on the poll: that they will attend every year henceforth, because they always have.

On the second poll, 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.

The second most popular option was one that the team in question can control, in that Clarkson will maintain a 30 shot-per-game average. Unfortunately, the Knights only took 39 shots all weekend at Minnesota-Duluth. Also taking an immediate tumble was RPI’s home unbeaten streak, which Army promptly negated Saturday night.

Finally, it seems no one has much faith in Union or Quinnipiac. Consider it bulletin-board material, all ye Dutchmen and Bobcats.

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 representing the team.

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; vote here and be heard.

This Week in SUNYAC

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First Big Upset

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.

“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.”

The Mustangs took a 2-0 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 7:01. 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.

“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.”

No surprise Caylin Relkoff was the star of the game. Out shot 58-27, Relkoff stopped 57 — which was just enough.

But just how did Morrisville beat Elmira?

“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.”

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.

Now Morrisville begins their conference schedule traveling to Brockport and Geneseo. How will they try to keep the momentum?

“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.”

As everyone knows.

Geneseo has experience from last year with Morrisville’s capabilities when they play at the top of their game.

“We learned it the hard way last year,” Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said. “They came into our rink in January and went up 5-0. I remember it like it was yesterday. We made it 5-4, but they eventually got the win.

“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.”

Boyd Jones (1953-2009)

The SUNYAC community received shocking news this week. Potsdam’s Sports Information Director, Boyd Jones, died suddenly 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 2000. Prior to that, he was employed at SUNY Canton in various positions.

Potsdam SID Boyd Jones.

Potsdam SID Boyd Jones.

USCHO extends condolences to the family and friends of Boyd Jones as well as the Potsdam community.

“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.”

Indeed.

SUNYAC Short Shots

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.

In the last six minutes of the game, Oswego scored twice within 20 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 30 saves to help Geneseo notch their first win of they year, 3-2, over Potsdam.

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 7-0 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.

Game of the Week

When I selected the Mark Your Calendar Game for each team in my season preview, 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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.”

“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 60 minutes.”

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.

On The Periphery

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.

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.

I immediately searched out the booth. I was horrified to find they had just run out.

At least that’s what they claimed. Perhaps they knew by looking at me that I am a diehard Yankees fan.

That’s okay. By Wednesday, I had the last laugh.

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Nov. 5, 2009

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Buzzing

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 2002.

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.

“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.

“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.”

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.

“The players have responded very well to Mike,” Wright said.

“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.”

“We’ve consulted on most things, and Mike has done an excellent job for such a young coach,” said Wright.

“We’re taking it as it comes,” said Field. “Working hard in practice and getting that to translate into success on the ice.”

Weekly Awards

Player of the Week for Nov. 2 , 2009
Dan Ringwald, RIT

The senior defenseman is a candidate for Player of the Year in the AHA, and performances like this show why. Ringwald had six points in a pair of victories over Connecticut, including a natural hat trick in the first period of Saturday’s contest.

Goalie of the Week for Nov. 2, 2009
Ben Meisner, AIC

The freshman stopped all 30 shots he faced for his first career shutout in a 3-0 win over Holy Cross.

Rookie of the Week for Nov. 2, 2009:
Chris Tanev, RIT

The rookie defeneman lit the lamp three times last weekend to help the Tigers to pair of wins over Connecticut. Tanev is a team-leading plus-6 so far this season.

Monthy Awards

Player of the Month for October 2009:
Dan Ringwald, RIT

Ringwald had nine points in October, including at least one in his last five games.

Other players nominated: Cody Omilusik, Army; Marc Menzione, Bentley; Cory Conacher, Canisius; Justin Hernandez, Connecticut; Everett Sheen, Holy Cross; Nick Johnson, Sacred Heart.

Goalie of the Month for October 2009
Thomas Tysowsky, Holy Cross.

The freshman from Amherst, N.Y., had an excellent start to his collegiate career, posting a 2.39 GAA (second in the league) and a .912 save percentage (third) in October.

Other goalies nominated: Ben Meisner, AIC; Joe Calvi, Bentley; Dan Morrison, Canisius.

Rookie of the Month for October 2009:
Adam Pleskach, AIC

Pleskach scored a least one goal in three of his first four games, and leads the team with five goals and seven total points.

Other rookies nominated: John Kruse, Air Force; Dan Koudys, Bentley; Sean Ambrosie, Connecticut; Chris Tanev, RIT.

Not Very Sentimental

Last Friday’s 6-2 win over Connecticut was RIT coach Wayne Wilson’s 189th behind the Tiger bench, the most in school history. At the buzzer, goaltender Jared DeMichiel scooped up the puck as the team left the ice. In his post-game interview, Wilson was asked if the team presented it to him in the locker room.

“Yeah, but some kid probably has it by now,” said Wilson. “It’s nice, but it’s a number right now. Give me a puck at NCAAs or maybe after my last game. I hope this wasn’t my last win.”

It wasn’t. Wilson got No. 190 on Saturday.

What’s a Guy Gotta Do?

In that same RIT-UConn game on Friday, Tigers defenseman Al Mazur recorded a hat trick, the first ever by a defenseman at RIT in the Division I era. He’s a lock for player of the week, right?

Nope. The next night classmate D-man Dan Ringwald had a natural hat trick, edging out Mazur for the weekly honors. In all, RIT blueliners have scored 12 of the team’s 25 goals.

Homecoming

Army rookie Andy Starczewski, a native of Whitesboro, N.Y., had more than 200 family and friends in the stands when the Black Knights traveled to Colgate last Friday. Starzewski came through with a goal and an assist in the 4-4 tie.

Injury Bug

Two of the better sophomore forwards in the league are out of commission. Mercyhurst’s Phil Ginand, who had 34 points last year including 10 power-play goals, is applying for a medical redshirt for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.

RIT forward Tyler Brenner, who was second on the team last season with 35 points, also has a knee injury, but fortunately for the Tigers will miss only a month or two.

Third-Period Wall

Canisius has had a habit of falling behind early in games this season, but fortunately for the Golden Griffins, goaltender Dan Morrision has been stellar in the late stages of games. The sophomore has a save percentage of .953 in the third period so far.

ECAC West Season Preview

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ECAC West Preview

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Buckle your seat belts folks; a new hockey season is here!

Team Previews

RIT Tigers

Coach: Scott McDonald (62-14-4, 4th season)
Last year’s record: 21-3-2
ECAC West Record: 15-2-1 (2nd)
Coaches’ Projection: First
My Prediction: First

Key Losses: Keltie Jones and Sandra Grant
Key Returnees: Jr. Sarah Dagg (16-24-40), Jr. Katie Stack (17-17-34), Jr. Traci Galbraith (6-14-20)
Newcomers to watch: Kim Schlattman, Kayla Ross, and Danielle Read

Elmira College Soaring Eagles

Coach: Greg Fargo (24-5-1, 2nd season)
Last year’s record: 24-5-1
ECAC West Record: 16-1-1 (1st)
Coaches’ Projection: Second
My Prediction: Second

Key Losses: Kayla Coady and Allison Cubberley
Key Returnees: Sr. Jenna McCall (19-26-45), Sr. Jamie Kivi (5-22-27), Sr. Lauryn DePaul (16-6-22), Sr. Tiffany Hart (5-15-20)
Newcomers to watch: Madison Johnston, Caitlin Metcalf, and Jill DeBus

Plattsburgh Cardinals

Coach: Kevin Houle (143-24-9, 7th season)
Last year’s record: 22-5-2
ECAC West Record: 15-3-0
Coaches’ Projection: Third
My Prediction: Third

Key Losses: Danielle Blanchard, Claire O’Connor, Ainsley Brien, Danielle Beattie
Key Returnees: Sr. Stephanie Moberg (18-21-39), Sr. Laurie Bowler (14-13-27), So. Kara Buehler (1-5-6)
Newcomers to watch: Teal Gove, Jordan Caldwell, and Erika Pomponio

Neumann Knights

Coach: Matthew Kennedy (57-55-7, 6th season)
Last year’s record: 16-11-0
ECAC West Record: 12-6-0
Coaches’ Projection: Fourth
My Prediction: Fourth

Key Losses: Janelle Marier and Robyn Armstrong
Key Returnees: Jr. Jessica Schroeder (13-22-35), So. Jasper Thomson (14-19-33), So. Nicole Alexopoulos (16-10-26), So. Kayla Dubowski (4-22-26)
Newcomers to watch: Tanya Lamon, Olivia Pryzbylkowski, and Shannon Donnelly

Utica Pioneers

Coach: Dave Clausen (121-77-13, 9th season)
Last year’s record: 14-10-2
ECAC West Record: 10-7-1
Coaches’ Projection: Fifth
My Prediction: Fifth

Key Losses: Jess Leclerc and Sam Rowan
Key Returnees: Jr. Lynny Gonzales (8-17-25), Sr. Jill Doherty (9-4-1, 1.64 GGA), So. Mackenzie Roy (4-12-16)
Newcomers to watch: Meghan McMahon and Carmen Johnson

Oswego Lakers

Coach: Diane Dillon (24-44-5, 4th season)
Last year’s record: 8-16-1
ECAC West Record: 5-12-1
Coaches’ Projection: Sixth
My Prediction: Sixth

Key Losses: Stephanie Esposito, Jessica Lister, Ashley Meyers
Key Returnees: Jr. Emi Williams (6-11-0, 2.82 GGA), Sr. Angie Friesen (4-3-7), So. Kathryn Sbrocchi (2-3-0), Sr. Jenna Kirkwood (4-5-9), So. Jillian Bergeron (3-6-9)
Newcomers to watch: Bryanna Forrest, Becky Carra, Alex Szypryt, and Kristin Metzger

Chatham Cougars

Coach: Phoebe Manchester (5-41-1, 3rd season)
Last year’s record: 4-19-1
ECAC West Record: 4-14-0
Coaches’ Projection: Seventh
My Prediction: Seventh

Key Loss: Jacquelin Regan
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)
Newcomers to watch: Ashley Kuechle and Jessica Rattle

Potsdam Bears

Coach: Jay Green (4-17-2, 2nd season)
Last year’s record: 4-17-2
ECAC West Record: 3-13-2
Coaches’ Projection: Eighth
My Prediction: Eighth

Key Losses: None
Key Returnees: Sr. Hilary Hitchman (4-16-2, 3.71 GGA), So. Stephanie Simons (4-7-11), So. Breanna Roy (6-10-16)
Newcomers to watch: Katie Komsa, Brittany Westlake, and Jen Conophy

Buffalo State Bengals

Coach: Robert Burke (16-45-8, 4th season)
Last year’s record: 2-18-4
ECAC West Record: 2-12-4
Coaches’ Projection: Tenth
My Prediction: Ninth

Key Loss: Melissa Jeckovich
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)
Newcomers to watch: Lauren Mallo, Kailyn Murray, and Rio Flynn

Cortland Red Dragons
Coach: Earl Utter (9-37-6, 3rd season)
Last year’s record: 3-19-3
ECAC West Record: 2-14-2
Coaches’ Projection: Ninth
My Prediction: Tenth

Key Losses: Maggie Welker and Kalee Stoever
Key Returnees: Sr. Nicole Ruddy (3-2-5), So. Katie Double (2.92 GGA, .923 Save %), So. Danielle Scharf (1-3-4)
Newcomers to watch: Maggie Giamo, Taylor Puckhaber, and Jamie Kruczek

Book Excerpt: Burn the Boats

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Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from Burn the Boats: A Seven-Championship Season for Boston University Hockey, written by USCHO Senior Writer Scott Weighart. For more information or to order a copy, go to www.buhockeybook.com.

MAD MEN

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.’

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“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.’

“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.”

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.

“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.”

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.'”

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 2-0 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 10 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 …”

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.”

Escaping with a narrow win over an Atlantic Hockey opponent with a record around .500 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.

“We’re at the point where we’re not sure if we’re any good at all.”

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.'”

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.”

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.

Copyright 2009 by Scott Weighart — All rights reserved

This Week in the CCHA: Nov. 5, 2009

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He Shoots! He Scores! He Shouldn’t Have!

There’s only one thing more exciting than a shootout, and that’s a shootout that helps to illustrate the idiocy of the shootout.

When the game between Bowling Green and Nebraska-Omaha remained tied at the end of a five-minute overtime Friday, Oct. 30, 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.

Samuels-Thomas, however, was in the penalty box at the end of the overtime, making him ineligible to shoot when OT ended.

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.

“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.”

Except in Omaha. I guess. The following day, the CCHA released its decision regarding the shootout.

“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.”

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.

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?

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.

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.

Last Saturday’s CCHA press release ended with the league committing to a “review of all policies, protocol and circumstances surrounding this situation.”

If only “this situation” referred to the lunacy of the shootout, I’d take some reassurance from that.

Candy is Dandy, but …

… who cares about that kind of sweet stuff when there’s sweetness to be had in CCHA match-ups this weekend?

No. 1 Miami at No. 4 Michigan

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. 10, 2006. 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.

In previewing this week’s series in The Michigan Daily, 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.”

The Wolverines have outdrawn opponents 200-187 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-40. Freshman Kevin Lynch won 7-of-16 last weekend as well.

The RedHawks are 6-1-0 this year for their third-best start in program history. In their last four road games, the ‘Hawks have netted 14 second-period goals.

No. 10 Nebraska-Omaha at No. 17 Michigan State

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.

The Mavericks have responded well to their new coach, and have yet to lose their first game of the season. In the Omaha World-Herald 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.”

Playing 60 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.

“The negative or concern is third periods,” said Comley after beating Western Michigan 2-1 Friday, Oct. 30. “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.”

The Spartans are earnest and fun to watch. The Mavericks are experienced out front and backstopped by redshirt freshman John Faulkner, whose win percentage (.800) ties him for 10th in the country.

No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 13 Alaska

At 5-0-1, 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 2-0 victory over Michigan, the first shutout of the Wolverines in Nanook history.

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 .940 save percentage and 1.16 goals-against average weren’t good enough for serious Hobey consideration. (But I digress.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Last weekend, the Nanook senior class distinguished itself by beating Ferris State twice — giving that class a record of 13-0-2 all-time against the Bulldogs. My esteemed colleague at the Fairbanks Daily Miner captured the best quote from FSU head coach Bob Daniels about the streak, which Daniels called “an anomaly.”

“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.”

Two sets of hardware, a 5-0-1 October and the cementing of a 15-0-2 domination over a specific opponent is a darned good way to start any team’s season.

He Shoots, He Finally Scores

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.

Hate to Point Out the Obvious, but …

… 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.

This Week in Hockey East: Nov. 5, 2009

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More Tightly Packed Than Ever?

Hockey East has gotten off to a sluggish (at best) start against the other conferences. A 16-14-1 record doesn’t appear all that bad at first glance, but once you get past the 5-0 record against upstart Atlantic Hockey, the results are decidedly underwhelming: 3-3 against the ECACHL, 6-5-1 versus the CCHA and an ugly 2-6 against the WCHA.

Admittedly, only two teams have losing records out of conference: Maine (1-3) and New Hampshire (0-4-1). UNH’s performance has been particularly schizoid. The Wildcats are Hockey East’s only undefeated team in league play (2-0), but have taken it on the chin worse than anyone else against the other leagues. Those results can probably be explained only by the quality of the nonconference opponents (two games each against top-ranked Miami and No. 18 Wisconsin) and the unreliability of small sample sizes.

Even so, as a local sports legend once said, it is what it is. The league will have its work cut out for it during the holiday tournaments if NCAA tournament bids are to be expected in abundance.

All that said, the Hockey East standings may be more tightly packed from top to bottom than ever before. The league has long boasted, and rightfully so, of this top-to-bottom strength and it may have more to boast about than usual this season in that respect, at least based on the first few weeks.

Merrimack and Providence, the two teams projected to finish out of the playoffs, are collectively a game over .500 within Hockey East and five games over .500 overall. Massachusetts sits atop Hockey East after being pegged for seventh.

The teams with losing league records make the case even stronger: Boston College (1-2), Boston University (1-2), Maine (1-2), Vermont (1-2) and Northeastern (0-2). Three of those five qualified for the NCAA tournament last year, with BU and UVM squaring off in the national semifinal game. This weekend or the next may be the last that some of these teams spend under .500.

As a result, the Hockey East standings may well be compressed like never before.

“I think you see some coaching staffs that are more familiar with the league,” Massachusetts-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald explains. “They’ve been around for four or five years and now they’ve really been able to cement their philosophies [within their programs].

“You can see our league’s level of prestige nationally and how it allows everybody to recruit at a higher level. So the talent [is greater] top-to-bottom.

“There are also some teams in our league that have [a significant] home-ice advantage regardless of their talent. As long as you play half your games at home, you’ve got a chance to win some games.

“All those factors figure in. It’s just a question of who can sustain things and show consistency [week in and week out].”

No Problems With The Bull’s-eye

When this year’s preseason coaches’ poll picked Lowell to finish second, it evoked memories of past programs that hadn’t faced high expectations year in and year out and withered beneath the weight of suddenly being thrown into the limelight.

Not Ready For Prime Time Players, if you will.

Would the River Hawks fall into that trap? Before the season started, MacDonald scoffed at the prospect.

“I’ve been on teams before that [a poll like that] might have caused a little bit of shriveling — ‘Oh my gosh, now we’ve got to play up to these expectations,'” he said.

“It depends on the makeup of your team, but it’s a non-factor for us. This team is very, very focused and has tremendous leadership. Mature and confident.

“We have a team that played well in the Garden last year, but [after we lost in the championship game] it wasn’t like, ‘Wow!’ It was disappointment. When we beat Vermont [to get to the Garden], it was a good accomplishment but for our team it was, ‘What’s next?’

“It’s a cliché, but you can sense it when you’re around our team. Nobody could possibly set higher standards for our team than the players have for themselves.”

Based on the early going, MacDonald knew whereof he spoke. Of the teams projected to earn home ice, only Lowell has jumped out with a winning overall record. Last weekend, after losing a heartbreaker in overtime to BU, the River Hawks rebounded on the road with a 3-2 win to salvage a split in the home-and-home series.

“That was an impressive victory by our team,” MacDonald said after the game. “I give our team a lot of credit. Emotionally, that was a difficult game to swallow last night [but] good teams always bounce back.

“And then when you equate the fact that we’re playing a great BU team on the road, that’s a real credit and testimony to the mental toughness of our team. Winning on the road is huge in this league.”

Days later, MacDonald revisited the theme of his team playing with bull’s-eyes on their jerseys.

“We’re so acutely aware of what we need to do and who we are and how we’re going to get to where we want to be that it’s all about us as opposed to other external things such as peoples’ opinion of us, other teams’ opinion of us, and where we are with respect to everybody,” he said. “We just go about our business.

“I like a lot about our team in terms of our commitment — how we conduct our business on a daily basis. [But] I think we need to, and can, play a lot better than we have. We’re just too inconsistent to be able to reach our standard of excellence. …

“I think this team has a lot of potential to get better. We’re playing OK. I say that because this [past] weekend our best players were freshmen and sophomores. I see them almost every day getting better and they’re going to give us a good dimension for our team.”

Given that Lowell has one of the most veteran teams in the country, that assessment of his underclassmen is a stunning one.

“First of all, the reason that our younger players are playing well is because they’ve been taught by our veterans,” MacDonald said. “They’ve done a great job leading our freshmen and sophomores to a place where they feel confident to contribute and they understand how to really prepare emotionally for when they come to play.

“I thought this past weekend we had a line of Matt Ferreira, who’s a sophomore and Riley Wetmore, who’s a freshman, and Colin Wright, who’s a freshman, and they impacted the games all weekend. On Friday, David Vallorani, Michael Budd, and Mike Scheu had an unbelievable night and a pretty good Saturday night. They’re all sophomores.

“Those are some guys that are really important players for us with a terrific amount of drive.”

As a result, the River Hawk scoring is about nicely distributed as possible (two players with six points, four with five, and another four with three or four points).

“One of our strengths going into the season was that we had good quality depth in a lot of areas,” MacDonald said.

That depth will be challenged as defenseman Barry Goers has been lost for a while to injury. Tim Corcoran filled in on Saturday. MacDonald sees the group as one that hasn’t yet played to its full potential.

“We have what we feel are six defensemen that [make up] a really dominant D-corps,” he said. “That unit can play better, but for them to play better we need better back pressure from our forwards. But I think our defensemen have some room for improvement as a unit.”

Are the River Hawks on track for a successful season? BU coach Jack Parker sure thinks so.

“I like that team,” he said after losing to them on Saturday night. “They’ll be a home-ice advantage team in our league. There’s no question in my mind.”

Maine Rebounds

A week ago, the Maine Black Bears had just lost to New Hampshire, 5-2, dropping their record to 1-5 overall and 0-2 within Hockey East. On tap were four games against teams that played in the NCAA tournament last year (Vermont, BU, and two at Northeastern), followed by three against projected home ice teams (two against Boston College and one at Lowell).

On the surface, two words might have come to mind: Long Season.

However, after an impressive 4-1 win over Vermont, Black Bear fans have more reason for optimism. They’re more likely to recall the split with 17th-ranked Michigan State, an impressive achievement in its own right that was threatening to become overlooked in light of the 1-5 record.

“We’ve made some progress,” Maine coach Tim Whitehead says. “We have a long way to go but certainly the games against Michigan State and Vermont were a good step for us.”

Glass-half-empty fans will note that Maine has yet to win a game on the road. Glass-half-fullers will retort that the Black Bears are now 2-1 at home and perhaps moving back to the old days of Alfond Arena dominance.

“That’s definitely very important for us,” Whitehead says. “For many years there was such a strong home ice advantage here. We’ve lost some of that the last couple years. A big part of us establishing ourselves as a legitimate program and a contender will be to reestablish our home-ice advantage.

“Having said that, we obviously need to improve on how we perform on the road.”

Special teams proved decisive in the win over Vermont. The Black Bears scored three power-play goals, killed off all five of their penalties and added a goal while shorthanded. Their power play now ranks second in the league, converting at 27.7 percent rate. The weekend improved the PK’s standing to eighth (76.5 percent).

“The power play has certainly been a bright spot for us so far this year,” Whitehead says. “It’s been very consistent and we’ve created a lot of offense off it.

“Our penalty kill has not been very strong so we’ve spent a lot of time on it. It was just one game, but [killing] 5-for-5 with the shorthanded goal gives us the confidence that we can continue to improve in that area. So that was an even bigger step for us than the power-play goals.”

Defense in general, and not just on the penalty kill, has been a focus after starting out as Hockey East’s worst defensive team. Even after holding Vermont to a single goal, Maine still ranks last at 4.14 goals against per game.

“We’re focusing on giving our goalies a better opportunity to succeed by eliminating quality scoring chances and eliminating second shots,” Whitehead says. “I think that will allow Scott [Darling] and our other goalies to gain more confidence and start having more success.

“Scott played fabulous against Vermont. He really lifted up our team and gave us a great opportunity to win. He was the catalyst and that was a big step for our team.

“In the meantime, we need to help him play more consistently at a high level. We’re working very hard on our same-zone defense, the net front in particular where we’ve allowed some second shots and some back-door passes. We’re spending a lot of time in practice on that so we can get out from the bottom of the league in that category and help our goalies gain the confidence they need to play at their best.”

Freshmen aren’t often the keys to a team’s power play — “Hey, wait your turn, rookie!” — but that’s not the case for Maine. Adam Shemansky earned a share of league Rookie of the Week honors with his two man-advantage goals against Vermont. In seven games, he’s now scored five goals, four on the power play, and added two assists. Not bad for a kid who is only 5-7 and 160 pounds.

“Even for us, Adam has been a bit of a pleasant surprise,” Whitehead says. “We recruited him so obviously we saw a lot of potential there, but I’m a little surprised that he’s got a point a game at this point in the season. I’m very excited for Adam.

“As a smaller-sized player growing up, he’s had to earn everything that he’s gotten. So I’m very confident that with his attitude he’s going to continue to get better and this is just the tip of the iceberg for him.”

Shemansky isn’t the only shining light among Maine’s younger players. In fact, the top four Black Bear scorers are freshman or sophomores and the top 10 includes only one senior.

“No doubt, we feel we’ve had a couple strong recruiting classes here, making up for some lost time due to some pro signings and a couple of mistakes we made recruiting,” Whitehead says. “It’s helped us a lot and we’re really excited about the new players.

“The second part of that is that the players that are returning have made a stronger commitment to come back in great shape. We’ve seen some real big improvement in some of our juniors and seniors that we felt had been underachieving a little bit.

“You see guys like [seniors] David de Kastrozza and Kevin Swallow who have emerged this year as legitimate impact players for us. Their hard work has paid off. So that’s just as exciting of a development as the top players coming in.”

On The Importance of Faceoffs

At the level teams play at within Hockey East, subtle advantages often become magnified into the difference between wins and losses. Such may have been the case in Lowell’s 3-2 win over BU. Over the first two periods, the River Hawks dominated faceoffs, winning 85 percent of them.

“There’s probably about 70 faceoffs a game so if you can win a lot of those you’re playing offense, which is our goal,” UML’s MacDonald said. “That gives you some real positive rhythm to your game. But it takes five guys on the same page to win faceoffs.”

BU’s Parker rued his own team’s “horrendous” performance in the oft-overlooked area.

“When you win faceoffs, you get shots on net and you get absolute puck possession,” he said. “You demoralize a power play when you’re on the penalty kill because you win the faceoff and ice it. And when you’re on the power play, you keep it in the zone and you get a chance to play off your power play without having to go back and bring it up.”

And Finally, Not That It Has Anything To Do With Anything, But …

This past Tuesday was the official release date of The Trouble With Heroes, an anthology of original stories looking at “the other side” of mythical and historical heroes. Some big names contributed to this book along with little old me. I really like my own snarky story, “Beloved.” If you read the opening, I think you’ll buy the book.

Here’s the official description:

These 22 all-new tales pay tribute to the true heroes — the people who enable and put up with heroes. From what it’s like to be Hercules’ wife (complete with an appearance by Hercules in drag) to the trials of H.P. Lovecraft’s housekeeper, from the perils of being King Kong’s girlfriend to the downside of dating a shapeshifter, this anthology turns heroism on its head, revealing the behind-the-scenes drama, as opposed to glorious rescues. From the Pied Piper’s power trip to David acting like a giant you-know-what after slaying Goliath, these stories show heroes in all their ignominy and shine a light on the unsung faithful standing in their shadows.

For your information, I’m the David-and-Goliath guy. You’ll laugh at least once. Trust me.

Check it out in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section (perhaps under new releases) under the editor’s name, Denise Little. Or order it through Amazon or any other online bookstore.

Thanks to Scott Weighart.

This Week in the WCHA: Nov. 5, 2009

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Well, we’re three weeks in and the two Colorado schools are leading the pack, with CC being the relative surprise.

Red Baron WCHA Players of the Week

Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week: Tony Lucia, UM.
Why: Scored five points (3g, 2a) including two shorthanded goals, to help his Gophers sweep Alaska-Anchorage.
Also Nominated: Jesse Martin, DU; Rob Bordson, UMD; Brendan Smith, UW.

Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week: Brendan Smith, UW.
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.
Also Nominated: Patrick Wiercioch, DU; Alex Kangas, UM.

Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week: John Ramage, UW.
Why: Scored two goals and had one assist to help his Badgers sweep UNH.
Also Nominated: Adam Murray, DU; Eriah Hayes, MSU, M.

Paging a Doctor to the Locker Room

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.

Here are a few of the many instances of teams who have been hit by injuries, going alphabetically by team.

Alaska Anchorage: 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.

Colorado College: 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.

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 2005-06 season, also due to a knee injury and one that caused over a year of rehabilitation.

Denver: 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.

Michigan Tech: Compared to last year, Tech’s gotten off easy.

Minnesota: 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.

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.

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.

Minnesota State: 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.

Minnesota-Duluth: 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.

North Dakota: 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.

St. Cloud State: 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.

Wisconsin: The Badgers have seemed to have been blessed so far, as I couldn’t track down an injury for them.

Diving Right In

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.

On five of the 10 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.

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.

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.

“I think he’s doing a nice job [so far],” said DU coach George Gwozdecky. “We’re happy with his progress.”

For Michigan Tech, defenseman Steven Seigo has made an immediate impact.

“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.”

The Huskies are also platooning a rookie netminder in Kevin Genoe.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

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.

“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].”

While defenseman Taylor Johnson has just cracked the line-up, Motzko is pleased what he’s seen out of forward Ben Hanowski.

“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.”

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.

Match-Ups By the Numbers

The two “States” — Minnesota and St. Cloud — get the weekend off.

North Dakota @ Michigan Tech
Overall Records: UND — 4-1-1 (2-1-1 WCHA). MTU — 2-4-0 (1-3-0 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: UND leads the overall series, 136-89-8.

Denver @ Alaska Anchorage
Overall Records: DU — 5-2-1 (3-0-1 WCHA). UAA — 3-5-0 (1-3-0 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: DU leads the overall series, 39-14-5.

Minnesota @ Wisconsin
Overall Records: UM — 2-3-1 (2-3-1 WCHA). UW — 3-2-1 (1-2-1 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: UM leads the overall series, 150-81-18.

Minnesota-Duluth @ Colorado College
Overall Records: UMD — 5-2-1 (2-1-1 WCHA). CC — 4-1-1 (3-0-1 WCHA).
Head-to-Head: CC leads the overall series, 81-74-6.

Future WCHA Team Watch

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 10 this week at No. 10, took four of six points from Bowling Green — losing in a controversial shootout on Friday — and travel to play Michigan State this weekend.

BSU: 5-0-1 overall, 0-0-0 vs. WCHA
UNO: 4-0-2 overall, 0-0-0 vs. WCHA

Again With the Early, But …

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.

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.

“We’re a young team, but I’m happy with our progress,” he said.

Surgery Will End Season for Minnesota’s Barriball

USCHO Staff Report
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Minnesota forward Jay Barriball will have season-ending surgery to repair a knee injury he suffered in practice on Tuesday, the school announced Thursday.

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.

His surgery is scheduled for Friday.

Barriball had four points through five games this season. In 124 career games for the Golden Gophers, he has registered 39 goals and 102 points.

Men of the Month

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It’s hard to believe – especially if you’re a fan of an Ivy League team whose season just began, but an entire month of the 2009-10 college hockey season is in the books. We’re now past the point of using last year to try to project what might happen this year, and that is especially true in the case of the race for the Hobey Baker Award.

The last time I wrote, I was looking at what last season might have to say about this season. Now, we’re starting to see who some of this season’s best players have been. With a month of college hockey gone, not only do we have a decent statistical basis on which to evaluate top players, but we also have Player of the Month awards. So, in this entry, I’m going to look at this month’s honorees from across the country and evaluate their likelihood of being a factor in the Hobey race.

In the CCHA, Alaska goaltender Scott Greenham was a surprise winner of the award, not in the sense that he was undeserving, but in the sense that it was hard to see this kind of a performance coming going into the season. The Nanooks went 5-0-1 in October, and with Greenham posting a .949 save percentage and a 1.14 GAA, it’s not hard to see why. Greenham’s play in October put him solidly in what we here at the Hobey Watch like to call “Ryan Miller territory,” and if he stays there, there’s certainly no reason why he couldn’t be a contender for the Hobey. Of course, he’d need some help from the team in front of him to get there, but the Nanooks produced a Hobey finalist last season in Chad Johnson, and they may well have another where that came from.

Now, playing devil’s advocate, all six of the Nanooks’ games in October were in the state of Alaska, against opponents who traveled from the lower 48. When it’s Alaska’s turn to travel and contend with jet lag and all the other occupational hazards that go with going on the road, we’ll start to get a better sense of how much of a contender Greenham is. That isn’t to say he’s not a contender – Johnson certainly was – but we don’t really know yet.

In Atlantic Hockey, the player of the month is R.I.T. defenseman Dan Ringwald, who had nine points (3g, 6a) in seven games for the Tigers. Nice numbers, certainly, especially from a defenseman, but RIT went 2-5-0 in October. On the one hand, that makes Ringwald’s +1 rating all the more impressive. On the other, it’s hard to get noticed on a sub-.500 team, even more so when that team doesn’t play in one of the Big Four conferences. That said, RIT’s five losses were against ECAC Hockey opponents Clarkson, St. Lawrence and Colgate, plus a pair against reigning Atlantic champ Air Force. Given the way the Tigers decimated UConn, it wouldn’t be too shocking to see them emerge as a force to be reckoned with once again in Atlantic Hockey, and if that happens, Ringwald will get more of a look as a potential Hobey finalist. I have my doubts about him as a potential winner, but we’ll see.

In Hockey East, it’s hardly surprising that UMass forward James Marcou is the Player of the Month. All he did was score 11 points in five games as the Minutemen went 4-1. Last year, I couldn’t help but norice how often Marcou’s name turned up on the Hockey East press releases, and I think that this year, he could easily be a finalist. Is he a contender to win the Hobey? I’ll need to see more goals, because we know Hobey likes his forwards to score goals, but Marcou has definitely put himself on the radar as much as anyone else in the season’s first month.

Now, as of this writing, ECAC Hockey, the CHA and the WCHA have not named monthly award winners, so I’m going to have to pick players who grabbed attention.

In ECAC Hockey, the fact that half the conference’s teams started play last weekend makes it tough to pick a player, but Quinnipiac forward Brandon Wong makes it easy. Wong had three goals and six assists for the Bobcats, who went 4-1-0 in October, including a pair of wins at Ohio State. One of Wong’s goals was the game-winner in one of those road wins over the Buckeyes, and performing well in non-conference action is often a good way to get yourself noticed. Wong has made noise before, and has a history as a goal-scorer (27 as a freshman, in case you’ve forgotten), so it’s going to be well worth watching Wong – all about alliteration! – as the season progresses. Can he win the Hobey at Quinnipiac? My gut feeling is no, but then again, if he keeps putting up the numbers, my guts – like John Cusack’s in High Fidelity – may be proven to have doo-doo for brains (yes, I said doo-doo…this is a family site, people!). And I have no problem invoking Cusack…he’s buddies with former Wisconsin Badger Chris Chelios (gotta love the Malibu Mob).

In the CHA, Bemidji State forward Matt Read has 10 points in six games for the 5-0-1 Beavers. Bemidji is going to be watched a good bit more this season – between the Beavers’ run to the Frozen Four last season and their impending WCHA membership – so if Read can continue to produce, he may give Jacques Lamoureux a  run for his money when it comes to that Hobey finalist spot that seems to go to one small-conference player each year.

Finally, there’s the WCHA, where there are three players well worth a Hobey look based on October numbers. One is Wisconsin defenseman Brendan Smith, who has nine points in seven games. Now, the Badgers’ start this season hasn’t exactly been red hot – they’re 3-2-1 with a couple of tough conference losses to Colorado College and Minnesota State, but when the Badgers win, they win big, and Smith’s +2 rating complements his two goals and seven assists nicely. Plus/minus isn’t that big in the Hobey finalist considerations – see Smith’s former teammate, Jamie McBain – but if Smith continues to produce at this level, don’t be surprised to see Smith – a former first-round NHL draft pick and a rare college pick by the Detroit Red Wings – force his name into serious Hobey consideration.

The other players worth watching out of the WCHA after a strong October are a pair of Bulldogs: Minnesota Duluth’s Jack Connolly and Justin Fontaine. What I like about their Octobers is that they’ve both shown excellent balance on the scoresheet, scoring goals AND handing out assists. The Bulldogs are off to a solid start, and if it continues, these two should have a shot to get into the upper echelon of the Hobey talk.

Speaking of which, let the talk continue.

This Week in the ECAC West: Nov. 5, 2009

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Splitting the Mustangs

In a bit of a surprise, Elmira split a home-and-home series with the Morrisville Mustangs this past weekend. Coming off a rough and tumble weekend against Oswego, the Soaring Eagles are a bit dinged up and keenly felt the loss of the missing players against Morrisville.

“The games were interesting to say the least,” said Elmira head coach Aaron Saul. “We’re still a young group with only four seniors and have a bit of the injury bug where we have some guys playing different roles. We’re trying to get healthy and hopefully we will get some guys back this week.”

Elmira started out a little slow on Friday night and found itself down 2-0 by the midway point of the second period. But the Soaring Eagles gained momentum as the game went on, outshooting Morrisville by a 58-26 margin during the contest. Sophomore John Clewlow scored early in the third period to make a game of it, but Morrisville’s junior netminder Caylin Relkoff continued his huge night to seal the victory for the Mustangs.

“On Friday night, we got off to a little bit of a slow start,” said Saul. “Their goaltender played extremely well. We started playing better as the game went on. We were trying to score late in the game but hats off to their goaltender. He played awesome.”

Elmira freshman Darren McDonald saw his first action in goal for Friday’s game, making 24 saves during the contest to keep it close.

“[McDonald] played great,” said Saul. “Definitely the loss certainly wasn’t his fault. He made some great saves and looked comfortable in net. I thought he was good.”

Saturday’s rematch at Morrisville was a completely different game. Elmira jumped on the Mustangs early and often, scoring three goals in the opening 11 minutes. The Soaring Eagles kept rolling with another trio of tallies in the second period to finish off Morrisville by a 6-2 margin. After the frustrations of Friday’s game, the victory on Saturday was a bit of a confidence booster for Elmira.

“We got to their goaltender early and scored on our second shift of the game which definitely helped us with our confidence,” said Saul. “We played a pretty solid two periods Friday night and then Saturday we really dominated for three full periods.”

Saturday’s game also saw a resurgence in Elmira’s power play, something that has been sorely missing for the Soaring Eagles so far this year. Prior to the series finale, Elmira had been unable to score on its first 16 man advantages of the season. Things finally clicked on Saturday when the Soaring Eagles chipped in three goals on 11 power-play opportunities. While the new found success is a welcome change, the power play is still a big worry for Elmira.

“It is a concern,” said Saul. “Injuries at that position have a lot to do with it. We are trying certain guys that aren’t normally power play guys just due to injuries. We’re moving the puck but we’re not getting the results. It was nice to get a couple of power-play goals on Saturday. It is definitely something that we will continue to work on.”

Dodging Freight Trains

Utica opened its season with a tough game against defending national champion Neumann on Friday. Helping the Pioneers along were 2,795 screaming fans at the Aud.

The first two periods saw exciting, hard nose hockey, but only a single goal as Utica took a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the contest. The Pioneers chipped in another tally just over two minutes into the third period and it looked like Utica was on its way.

Then Neumann freshman Aaron Keaney scored his first of two goals on the night at 3:45 of the third period. The next thing the Pioneer bench knew, they were picking themselves up from the side of the train tracks and were down 4-2 in less than seven minutes.

“The goals were in bunches,” said Utica head coach Gary Heenan. “When we scored the first goal in the third, we thought we were in pretty good control. Then they get a 4-on-4 goal and like a championship team would they fed off that and came like a freight train and grabbed a hold of the game. We kind of anticipated that but we just couldn’t handle it.”

Utica was able to take some steam out of the Neumann train at 13:23 when sophomore Brian Gibbons tallied on the power play to make the score, 4-3. It came down to a last second play off a faceoff deep in the Neumann zone as the few remaining seconds ticked off the clock before Utica was able to tie it up.

“We put in a faceoff play,” said Heenan. “Everyone kind of picked out. The shot went through seven guys. I don’t think the goaltender ever saw it until it was in the back of the net. Luck was on our side in that case.”

Sophomore Tim Coffman’s goal at 19:59 of the third period tied the game 4-4 and demonstrated a resilience that was missing from last year’s Utica team.

“To come back was pretty good for us,” said Heenan. “Last year, we’d give up some leads and they would be gone. For this early on, to show that kind of character and not give up right to the final second obviously was a huge boost for us. We came away saying we blew the lead but are pretty happy we battled back to get the tie.”

In overtime, Utica got into penalty trouble when freshman Kyle Zobler was sent to the box for hitting from behind, followed by junior Kregg Guestin for crosschecking. But another weak point from last season, the penalty kill, held strong and kept the Knights from scoring in overtime. Utica killed off all seven Neumann man advantages during the game, while scoring one power-play goal on its five chances.

“It was a great night for our PK,” said Heenan. “We put in a design specifically for them and it worked out. We scouted them, had an idea of what they were going to try to do, and it was a great read to stop them.”

Game of the Week

In an unusual scheduling quirk, Neumann and Utica are right back at it again this weekend, as the Knights travel back up to the Aud for a rematch. Given the fireworks from last Friday, fans should expect another hard fought contest between these two heavyweight teams.

“We’re looking forward to the rematch,” said Heenan. “Last week was a playoff hockey game this early in the season. There were a lot of hits going on both ways. To see the resiliency from both teams when they were down in the third period was a testament to the league.

“We expect nothing different this week. Both teams are going to watch some tape, put some new strategy in. Needless to say, [Neumann coach] Dominic [Dawes] is a great coach and he is going to put a wrinkle in for this week, so we have to be prepared for something different. It is a huge game already.”

In conjunction with a Utica men’s/women’s hockey double header on Friday, the teams are going to “Pink the Rink” to raise breast cancer awareness. Both Utica teams will wear special pink jerseys that are being auctioned off for charity, and there will be a myriad of other activities and fundraisers at the Aud to support the cause. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the games as well.

“I would love to look out into the stands and see 4,000 fans wearing pink,” said Heenan. “The support we have had from the city so far this year has been phenomenal and we hope for the same type of turn out on Nov. 6th.”

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: Nov. 3, 2009

By Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski
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Jim: Well, Todd, plenty going on over the last week, the least of which is a bit of controversy out of the CCHA. As we all know, the CCHA added a shootout to determine the winner of league games a year ago. Well, what seems like a pretty straightforward addition to games became a bit of debacle when the CCHA’s officiating crew for the Bowling Green at Nebraska-Omaha series, led by referees Derek Berkebile and Stephan McInchak, allowed Jordan Samuels-Thomas, who was serving a minor penalty at the end of overtime, to shoot and score the shootout-winning goal. Now, a lot of folks aren’t familiar with quirky rules in the shootout, one of them being that any player who is in the penalty box at the end of overtime is not eligible to participate in the shootout. But the people you hope would know the rules are the officials. No one caught this until the game was over, which according to the CCHA’s statement, is too late to correct the error. Now, a point for Bowling Green come season’s end isn’t likely to make much difference, but a fast start by UNO shows that school could be in a heated battle for, say, home ice or the league title. I’d hate to see a mistake like this have impact on the standings come season’s end.

Todd: I agree absolutely, but I’d hate for people to use this against the shootout concept when really, it’s a human error that caused the problem. Just like when Wisconsin was wrongly denied a tying goal at the end of regulation in a game two seasons ago at Denver, that was a referee’s incorrect interpretation of the video replay system — not the video replay system itself — that was the problem. In this case, it was the referees and the off-ice officials who erred, not the shootout system. There are plenty of feelings against the shootout — you don’t have to go much farther than many of the CCHA coaches — so I know there probably are some who will use this as fuel for their fire when it doesn’t belong in that category. Maybe we really should be talking about amending the rules to add a way to correct these kinds of situations when they arise. Speaking of UNO, however, I found it interesting that both the Mavericks and Bemidji State — the two teams about to enter the WCHA — are undefeated through six games this season. I’m sure that’s just a coincidence, but it also goes to show those around the WCHA that there aren’t going to be any easier nights when the league expands to 12 next season.

Jim: I have to say that the early play of Bemidji State and UNO has impressed me. I think we all hoped that Bemidji could remain hot after its Frozen Four run a year ago. And Dean Blais behind any bench will be a great injection into a team, but those are two clubs that really have impressed me thus far. Another is Alaska. This is a team that has been knocking on the door for a few years now, but a 5-0-1 record to begin the season certainly warrants attention. Some may say the Nanooks have had a soft schedule, but Michigan certainly isn’t an easy way to kick of the season, and sweeping a weekend series against Ferris State is an accomplishment. This weekend will be a major test as Alaska hosts Notre Dame to end an eight-game season opening homestand.

Todd: I think Alaska had to make something out of that early-season homestand for no other reason than the number of road games the Nanooks have remaining after that stretch. After this weekend’s series against the Irish, they play Bowling Green and Lake Superior State on the road on back-to-back weekends. It’s often mentioned that the Alaska schools have the toughest travel demands in college hockey, and I looked at some numbers last season that showed how much Alaska-Anchorage falls off after the holiday break, with travel being one of the likely causes. I wonder if that happens to the Nanooks, too. But, hey, there’s always something to look forward to at the end of the season: Alaska and UAA play a home-and-home series to close the regular season — that’s only 355 miles one way! While we’re on the subject of home-and-home series, any surprise that Boston University and Massachusetts-Lowell split theirs last weekend?

Jim: I think the only real surprise from the Lowell-BU series was that the home teams lost both games. Also ironic was that the home team never led in either game. Lowell almost had better fortune from the weekend as it, at least, took BU to overtime in Friday’s loss and could’ve taken three of four points. But I think when the dust settles this season, you can still expect BU and Lowell to be among the better teams in Hockey East. What was more interesting for that league this weekend was the number of split series. Hockey East isn’t known for early season home-and-home series. Each team plays three games versus one another and the “single” game from the three-pack usually seems to take place before Christmas with the home-and-home series (if there is one) after the break. Late season, you usually hear coaches of the top programs talking about how difficult it is to sweep those home-and-home series, and with all three being split this weekend (Providence and UMass split, as did Boston College and Merrimack), you can see their point.

Todd: The one place I was expecting to see a split — at least after Friday’s game — was at Wisconsin, where New Hampshire was embarrassed on Friday in a 4-1 loss, then humbled again the next night, 6-1. The Badgers had been inconsistent going into the series, but the Wildcats never put up much of a fight, which was a bit of a shock to me. UNH has a young team, so I’m sure some bumps along the way were expected, but a 2-4-1 start is probably something to be concerned about, don’t you think?

Jim: That series truly was the ultimate shocker of the weekend for me. UNH has seemed pretty strong to this point of the season and was playing a Wisconsin team that, as you put it, hasn’t been overly consistent in the early going. Getting smoked twice on the road just seems completely out of character for any Dick Umile-coached team. But maybe they asked for tricks and not treats on Halloween. So enough about the past. What games will you be monitoring this weekend?

Todd: Well, it’s a Minnesota-Wisconsin weekend, so that’s always near the top of the list. But I think the highlight this weekend will be No. 1 Miami at No. 4 Michigan for a pair of games. A split would be predictable; anything else would leave one team at an advantage early this season. I’m also interested to see how Vermont rebounds this week. The Catamounts are on a little bit of a roller coaster so far, aren’t they?

Jim: I wouldn’t want to be Vermont for the last two weekends. Nothing says brutal worse that a three-plus hour bus ride from Merrimack and a six-plus hour bus ride from Orono, Maine, after getting beaten solidly at both. The only thing that might make this weekend easier is that the Catamounts play at home. Lowell won’t be an easy opponent on Friday nor will a red-hot Providence squad on Sunday. But if Vermont is going to right the ship, now is the time. Another team — well, group of teams — looking to use this weekend to get back to reality is Atlantic Hockey. The conference has posted just three non-league wins thus far but will return all 10 teams to conference play beginning Friday.

Todd: In fact, there’s only one nonconference series on the schedule this weekend — Massachusetts and Niagara in a home-and-home series Friday and Sunday. That means there are a lot of points on the table and a lot of changes possible in the league standings.

UNO Joins Top 10 for First Time This Season

USCHO Staff Report
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Nebraska-Omaha has joined the top 10 of the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men’s Poll at No. 10, and fellow undefeated team Bemidji State is knocking at the door.

Related link: The full rankings

Miami retained the top spot in the poll after a pair of one-goal victories at Northern Michigan.

UNO, fresh from a weekend that featured a controversial shootout loss and a victory against Bowling Green, moved up two spots to reach the top 10.

The Beavers, another team destined for the WCHA next season, earned a pair of overtime victories at Alabama-Huntsville and gained three spots to reach 11th.

No. 12 Colorado College, No. 13 Alaska and No. 17 Michigan State also each moved up three spots.

Conversely, Vermont fell five spots to No. 15 after losing at Maine. Boston University fell three spots to seventh after splitting a home-and-home series with Massachusetts-Lowell to drop to 2-3 on the season.

The River Hawks moved up one spot to eighth.

The top three spots were unchanged, with Miami, Denver and North Dakota staying put.

Minnesota-Duluth entered the poll at No. 20, replacing Quinnipiac.

The marquee matchup this weekend is No. 4 Michigan hosting top-ranked Miami on Friday and Saturday. Other games between ranked teams include No. 8 Lowell playing at No. 15 Vermont on Friday; No. 9 Notre Dame playing at No. 13 Alaska on Friday and Saturday; No. 17 Michigan State hosting No. 10 Nebraska-Omaha on Thursday and Friday; and No. 12 Colorado College hosting No. 20 Minnesota-Duluth on Friday and Saturday.

What I Think: Week 4

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Some thoughts after the fourth weekend of the season:

* I know many do have a real problem with the CCHA using shootouts to decide how points are allocated after tie games. I share some of those concerns, but I am in favor of the shootout as a way to inject some life into what can be a very dull ending to a game.

But if you’re going to use it, the least we can ask you to do is to get it right.

That didn’t happen Friday night in Omaha, where Bowling Green took the extra point for winning the shootout even though an ineligible player scored.

CCHA rules say a player who is serving a penalty at the end of the five-minute overtime is not eligible to shoot in the shootout. Yet, that’s exactly what the Falcons’ Jordan Samuels-Thomas did.

As we learned in the days following Wisconsin’s no-goal-that-should-have-been-a-goal drama in Denver two seasons ago, the result is final once the officials step off the ice, so there was no way to replay the shootout to determine a fair result under the rules. Bowling Green keeps the extra point.

In a statement released before Saturday’s game, CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos called the mishap “unfortunate,” and the league said it would review its policies and protocol.

I feel the same way about this that I did about the Wisconsin-Denver fiasco. Just like in that case instant replay wasn’t to blame, the shootout is not to blame here. It’s the human error that — although prone to happen — gives a black eye.

* I was expecting a little more out of New Hampshire in its two-game series at Wisconsin this weekend.

Like, say, being competitive.

* Here’s something that caught me off-guard when it arrived in the inbox Sunday evening: Minnesota’s pair of victories over Alaska-Anchorage marked its first sweep of a two-game regular-season home series against one opponent since January 2008.

Yeah, that’s a lot of qualifiers, but it still surprised me. The Gophers had nine chances for a true home sweep since taking two from Wayne State on Jan. 4-5, 2008.

Here’s hoping that’s not a bad sign for the future of Alaska-Anchorage’s program.

* Both of the WCHA members-elect are off to unbeaten starts through six games. Despite the shootout, um, loss on Friday, UNO is 4-0-2. Bemidji State is 5-0-1.

Nothing like reinforcing consumer confidence.

* There were scary moments in Denver on Friday when goaltender Marc Cheverie had to be taken from the ice on a stretcher after his left calf took a deep cut from a skate.

It appears there was no major damage in the sense of risk to his career, but Cheverie will miss time — at least a few weeks.

That puts freshman Adam Murray in the solo spotlight a lot earlier than expected, and he’ll have to bring up his stats — 1-2-1 record, 4.27 goals-against average, .856 save percentage — to keep the Pioneers going at the pace it appeared they were reaching before Cheverie’s injury.

* Michigan State earned its sixth victory of the season on Saturday by beating Western Michigan. That’s news only in relation to last season, when the Spartans didn’t reach six wins until they beat Alaska on Jan. 2 en route to a dismal 10-23-5 record.

You don’t need to look much past Michigan State’s goals-for/goals-against split to see the difference. Last year, it was 1.63/3.11. So far this season, it’s 3.62/2.50.

* It’s about time to start downgrading teams in my top 20 ballot for having losing records. With that being said, here’s what I submitted for this week:

1. Denver

2. Miami

3. North Dakota

4. Michigan

5. Yale

6. Massachusetts-Lowell

7. Notre Dame

8. Cornell

9. Nebraska-Omaha

10. Boston University

11. Alaska

12. Bemidji State

13. Colorado College

14. Princeton

15. Vermont

16. Michigan State

17. Wisconsin

18. Boston College

19. Quinnipiac

20. Massachusetts

This Week in D-I Women’s Hockey: October 30, 2009

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Don’t look now, but …

What’s up with the CHA, anyway?

Syracuse is suddenly respectable. Wayne State is, as we all know, still unpredictable. And Mercyhurst, is, well, still the top-ranked team in the land.

Let’s start with the Orange.

The second-year program appears to be making great strides under head coach Paul Flanagan. Syracuse is fresh off its most impressive weekend in its brief history, having swept RPI (finalists in the ECAC tourney last year) in two games … on enemy ice, no less.

The kicker (which as you’ll see was a poor choice of words) was the five-minute major (and game disqualification) assessed to RPI’s Allysen Weidner for kicking an opponent, which opened the gates to three power-play goals by the Orange.

Syracuse had started the year 0-4-1, but three of the losses were one-goalers to Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. As it is, Flanagan, the architect of the Tournament teams at St. Lawrence, seems to have built his Orange into CHA contenders well ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, WSU – which has been Mercyhurst’s prime rival for CHA supremacy – has been tough to get a handle on. Perhaps the Warriors are still trying to figure themselves out after losing their top four scorers (Melissa Boal, Lindsay DiPietro, Sam Poyton, and Natalie Payne) to graduation.

Twice they have skated to scoreless ties in regulation, although in their latest start last Saturday at Colgate, they did get Veronique Laramee-Paquette’s game winner in overtime.

Then there is Mercyhurst, which upped its mark to 6-0-0 with a pair of 4-1 wins at Cornell. That was good enough in the eyes of USCHO’s pollsters to retain its No. 1 ranking. The Lakers, who have outscored their foes 24-5, are in for their toughest test to date, when No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth rolls into Erie for a pair.

With Niagara seemingly back on the rise and Robert Morris capable of surprises, it will be mighty interesting to see what happens when the CHA foes start beating up on each other in a week’s time.

A Bulldog’s fight

Last winter in this space, we told you about the gallant off-ice battle waged by Yale forward Mandi Schwartz, who was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

Schwartz was forced to leave the Bulldogs and school to undergo a rigorous series of treatments back in her native Saskatchewan, which included bone marrow transplants.

At the time, the outlook for Schwartz’s recovery was uncertain.

Finally, there is good news. Make that great news.

According to Yale coach Hilary Witt, Schwartz is in remission and will be able to return to New Haven to resume her senior year.

“She’s doing great,” said Witt. “She’s looking forward to getting back, and getting herself physically healthy. Hopefully, she’ll be stepping back on the ice as an Eli again someday.”

In response to Schwartz’s situation, Yale held several fundraisers and bone marrow drives. An initiative held in April resulted in the testing of over 700 potential donors, which is believed to be a record for an event of that kind.

“When something like that happens,” said Witt, “it takes the wind right out of you. It was one of the most awful experiences as a coach you can go through. To have one of your players have to live with that, and fight for their life. As a team, we rallied around her, emotionally, very well. I was very proud of them.”

Whether Schwartz, who had played in 73 straight contests for Yale before being stricken, can fully complete her comeback by playing again remains to be seen.
Still, miracles do happen, and according to Witt, Schwartz is gearing up for the day she can wear the Blue and White again.

“It’s her ultimate goal,” Witt said, “to get back and skate on this team, again. Obviously, we would welcome that with open arms. (But) as her coach, and someone who cares about her, I just want her to be healthy for the rest of her life. It’s an added bonus if she can play hockey again.”

Yale, which battled Providence to a 2-2 tie in last Friday’s season opener, will dive into ECAC play with a tough North Country trip to face No. 7 St. Lawrence and No. 3 Clarkson (whose 6-2 thumping of No. 4 New Hampshire came a shock to many, including this guy).

MIAC Season Preview

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Every season across Division III hockey it seems that parity becomes more and more prevalent. As one coach put it, “it used to be that you could look at your schedule and pencil in six to seven games as ones that you’d win; now you look at it and it’s maybe one to two.”

This past season saw four MIAC teams separated by a whopping three points. With teams near the top losing in some cases significant scoring or goaltending and teams near the bottom returning most of their team, that makes this season even more wide open.

This is easily one of my favorite times of the season. Some teams have a game or two under their belt while others are gearing up to start their seasons in a week or so. Will powerhouse teams be able to rebuild and hold off everyone else? Or will a solid team put it all together and steal the show?

One of my favorite quotes is one attributed to the late Herb Brooks: “When I look at a clean sheet of ice, all I see are possibilities.”

Right now is the ‘clean sheet’ time in college hockey when people are full of expectations, hopes, and dreams. They’re getting ready to drop the puck to see where those possibilities will lead.

This is my first season covering the MIAC for USCHO, but its nowhere near my first following D-III hockey. The MIAC this season is one of the most wide open conferences I’ve seen since I began following the league.

Each of these teams could easily finish two to three spots above or below where
I’ve picked them, so I might be better served picking names out of a hat than trying to rationalize out where I think they’ll finish. The league is that close together right now.

That said, here are my predicted picks (in reverse order of finish) for the 2009-2010 MIAC campaign.

St. Mary’s Cardinals

Head Coach: Bill Moore, 3rd season overall and at St. Mary’s (19-30-2)
2008-09 Overall Record: 4-20-1
2008-09 MIAC Record: 3-12-1 (9th)
Key Returners: F Mike Glaesmer, jr., (8 goals, 7 assists, 15 points); D A.J. Woodward, jr., (4-10-14)
Key Losses: None
2009-10 Projected Finish: Ninth.

It’s been six years since St. Mary’s finished above .500 or made the MIAC playoffs. Despite only losing three players from last year’s team to graduation, this does not look to be the year the Cardinals break that streak.
Last season St. Mary’s had the worst defense in MIAC play, giving up 5.81 goals per game. They also had the second worst offense in the league, scoring 2.88 goals per game.

While this seems bleak, the Cardinals do return the lion’s share of last year’s team. If players such as Morgan Shepherd (0-5-5 last season) can find their scoring touch again (13-13-26 two years ago) and the other returning players continue to develop, St. Mary’s should be able to stay in games where they were overmatched last season.

While it has been a while since St. Mary’s last postseason appearance, coach Bill Moore remembers better days. While this is his second consecutive season behind the bench, he also served as interim coach in 1989-90.

“One thing we want to do this year is come at it with a new attitude, and compete every day for the entire game, which is something we may have lacked a little bit last season.”

The area with the biggest room for improvement is in net. While the Cardinals return a senior goaltender, two incoming freshmen will be fighting for the starting job.

All in all, while it looks like it may be another season to recruit and rebuild, the Cardinals opponents would do well not to overlook them. Last season’s team managed upset victories over University of Wisconsin-River Falls as well as a season ending win over St. John’s that kept the Johnnies out of the MIAC playoffs.

While I do not see the Cardinals making the postseason this season, it does hold a lot of potential for them. With another season to work under coach Brown’s system and leadership from players such as senior defensemen Jeff Miller and Nick Carlson, this team should be improved over last year’s squad. They should be in more games and in position to surprise any team expecting to win without their opponent playing full bore.

Unfortunately though, with the MIAC getting better as a whole, improving as a team doesn’t necessarily mean a climb up the standings.

St. John’s Johnnies

Head Coach: Doug Schueller, 2nd Season Overall and at St. John’s (10-14-1)
2008-09 Overall Record: 10-14-1
2008-09 MIAC Record: 7-8-1 (6th)
Key Returners: F Mike Wallgren, jr., (7-11-18); D Brent Broderson, jr., (6-12-18); F Grant Ellena, so., (9-6-15)
Key Losses: F Jake Hipp (12-10-22); F Pat Connelly (11-6-17), F Brian Baker (9-8-17); F Clayton Rehm (1-15-16); G Vince Wheeler (10-9-1, 3.00, .903)
2009-10 Projected Finish: Eighth.

If you want an example of how close the MIAC was last year, I present to you the 2008-2009 St. John’s Johnnies!

Last season St. John’s finished two points behind fifth place and the last MIAC playoff spot. Over the season, the Johnnies lost seven games by one goal, including four conference games.

With a few more lucky bounces their way, they could have been fighting for the top spot in the league going into their last game of the season, instead of needing a win to reach the playoffs.

However they also won six games by one goal, including five conference games. That means that with a few more bad bounces against them over the season, instead of having a shot at a playoff spot coming into the last weekend, they could have been in eighth place and looking forward to the next season.

Every game in this conference is important. Every odd bounce of the puck, lack of hustle, or fluky goal can mean the difference between making or missing the playoffs.

Will St. John’s have the puck luck to rise above the parity and return to the top of the MIAC? While its certainly possible with the league looking closer than ever this season, I picked them finishing closer to the bottom than the top.

The Johnnies lose significant parts of last year’s team. Three of their top four goal scorers? Gone. Their top goalie? Gone.

After losing that scoring and their top netminder, the team will be looking to rely on their defense early on, and luckily that is the one area of the team that mostly returns intact. Gone to graduation is Lance Wheeler, who manned the blue line in all 25 games for the team last year; after him though, the team returns all of their defensemen.

Brent Broderson returns for his junior year after playing defense in all his team’s games last season, as well as finishing tied for second in the team in scoring.

Returning with him are forwards Mike Wallgren and Grant Ellena, the team’s top returning goal scorers (seven and nine goals, respectively). Also returning after missing half of last season is Gabriel Harren, who coach Doug Schueller is hoping will have a good full season.

“We always take a lot of pride in our offensive zone play, and I’m looking for us to improve some more in this area in order to play more of the game in the offensive end of the rink,” he said.

The Johnnies will almost certainly be depending on returning players early on in the season while the team figures out the goaltending situation and new players get their skates under them. With returning players having more experience under Schueller’s system, one or two impact freshmen may be all it takes to push the Johnnies up the standings into the playoffs.

If the Johnnies can get solid goaltending to replace Wheeler (who saw all but some 300 minutes of ice time last season), they could be in the mix for the playoffs again this season. If their goaltending is shaky, though, they are going to need to get a lot of offensive output to match their sixth place finish last year.

Bethel Royals

Head Coach: Joel Johnson, 3rd season overall and at Bethel (27-20-3)
2008-09 Overall Record: 11-13-1
2008-09 MIAC Record: 7-9-0 (7th)
Key Returners: F Chris Fiala, so., (9-17-26); D Mason Swenson, so., (5-9-14); G Aaron Damjanovich, sr., (9-13-1, 3.45, .904)
Key Losses: F Kent Bostrom (11-22-33); F Brad Peterson (10-15-25)
2009-10 Projected Finish: Seventh.

Last season, Bethel finished three points out from fifth place and making the MIAC playoffs. That team was split between several freshman making impacts as well as several seniors leading the team in scoring.

The main question facing the Royals is where their scoring is going to come from. Like St. John’s, the Royals lose three of their top four goal scorers. Bostrom and Peterson are gone to graduation, and were the only players to tally 10 or more goals.

Sophomore Chris Fiala is the team’s top returning goal scorer, notching nine tallies in 23 games last season. After him though, only one player returns who scored at least five goals: defenseman Mason Swenson.

Unlike St. John’s, the Royals return their starting goaltender. Aaron Damjanovich saw all but 170 minutes of ice time between the pipes last season and put up solid numbers, with a 3.45 goals against average and .904 save percentage.

In front of him, the Royals lose two senior defensemen, but return a solid core of blueliners made up mostly of sophomores, along with senior Kyle Dynan.
If the returning defensemen can shut down opponents from scoring, it will give their young forwards a chance to step up and fill the scoring void.

Their opening schedule is not going to make this easy though. While the Royals start with four non-conference games to try to figure things out, they only play one of their first seven games at home. After that stretch, they host last year’s runner up in the NCAA championship game Gustavus Adolphus, as well as the NCHA’s UW-River Falls.

There are no easy games in Bethel’s first half schedule, as following that tough homestand they head to Concordia MN for two games between two teams that may see themselves fighting for the fifth and final MIAC playoff spot.

Their second half schedule starts off easier with 2 against MCHA last place team Northland, but then quickly gets tougher with two more non-conference games against NCHA teams St. Scholastica and UW-Superior. After those, they finish up with 10 straight conference games that will most likely make or break their season.

A schedule like that does not do any team favors, let alone one that will be searching to find who’s going to step up and score goals.
Coach Joel Johnson knows that making up for the offense they lost will be a team effort.

”You don’t replace someone like Bostrom (the Royals’ leading scorer last season) with one player; you just hope that the rest of the team can make contributions that take us above where we were. This year’s team will rely more on scoring from all over, instead of our top line.”

Bethel will be focusing more on keeping games low scoring and strong special teams to give them a boost, and while some players may not end up on the score sheet, the efforts they put in are absolutely necessary to make a system like this work.

Juniors Christian Fogerty and Tom Menozzi, as well as sophomore Jake Kogler are some of these players, and will be relied on to put in solid performances, even if it doesn’t necessarily show up in the box score.

As a whole, this Bethel team looks to be improved over last year’s version, but with the quality of the MIAC improving as a whole, that might not show up in the standings at the end of the season. Time will tell if the improvements made will be enough to push the Royals back into the MIAC playoffs.

Concordia (MN) Cobbers

Head Coach: Chris Howe, 2nd season overall and at Concordia (MN) (4-19-2)
2008-09 Overall Record: 4-19-2
2008-09 MIAC Record: 2-12-2 (9th)
Key Returners: F Marc Harrie, so., (9-11-20); D Mark Johnson, so., (1-11-12); D Erick Galt, so., (3-8-11); G Mike Persson, sr., (1-9-1, 3.95, .85)
Key Losses: F Alec Holen, (9-11-20)
2009-10 Projected Finish: Sixth.

Last season saw the Cobbers finish last in the MIAC with a 2-12-2 overall record. However, when you look closer at their season, you will notice two ties, seven one goal losses and four defeats by two tallies. This was a team that was in most of their games until the very end.

They also had 18 freshmen on the roster, and bring in a handful more this season.

When I spoke to coach Chris Howe, he was extremely excited to see what the young players had to offer.

“We’re going to have 22 underclassmen on the team this year. Last season some of our best players were freshmen, and again this season some of our best players are our freshmen.”

That is not to say that the upperclassmen are being pushed aside. Coach Howe was proud of the way the returning juniors and seniors are taking a leadership role on the team, something made even more important with so many first or second year players.

Howe’s focus for the team is defense first, especially taking care of things in the Cobbers’ defensive end. He wants to instill a tough, defensive mindset and have his team playing hard all game, every game.

“Goals are at a premium, especially in this league with how defensive-minded it is. If you don’t take care of the puck in your own end, you’re just going to make it that much harder on yourself to win games.”

Concordia lost only three players from last season to graduation, meaning their entire defensive corps will return. Returning with them is senior goaltender Mike Persson.

Last season saw Persson mostly splitting time with freshman Elliot Okland, with both putting up similar numbers. This season though, will see Persson getting the lion’s share of ice time from the get-go.

“He’s worked really hard over the summer to improve his game, and it shows. The team has really rallied behind him since we’ve started practicing, and it’ll be his job when the season starts.”

With improved goaltending, hard working players, and good young talent, the Cobbers could be the biggest surprise in the MIAC this season. Teams coming into a game expecting an easy win will be in for a rude awakening.

Augsburg Auggies

Head Coach: Chris Brown, 9th season overall (96-99-15) and 4th at Augsburg (27-43-7)
2008-09 Overall Record: 9-16-1
2008-09 MIAC Record: 8-7-1 (5th)
Key Returners: F Chris Johnson, sr., (14-28-42); F Nick Guran, so., (16-15-31); F Joel Sauer, jr., (15-16-31); F Jim Jenson, jr., (12-14-26); F Trevor Doden, so., (10-14-24); F Mario Mjelleli, jr., (9-13-22)
Key Losses: G Andrew Kent (9-16-1, 3.99, .881)
2009-10 Projected Finish: Fifth.

If you head out to an Augsburg game this coming season, make sure you get there early. You will not want to miss a single minute, because if last season was any indication, goals are going to be coming fast and furious for 60 minutes.

The Auggies led the MIAC in scoring with 4.56 goals per game last season, but they also gave up 4.00 goals per game, putting them seventh in scoring defense.
This is another team that is very difficult to pick a spot for. They lost only one significant player from last year’s team and return virtually every scoring threat from last season. They also finished on a tear, going 6-1-1 to close out the regular season.

However, the one player they lost was a big one: goaltender Andrew Kent. Kent was in net virtually every minute the Auggies were on the ice last season (all but 51:23).

Coach Chris Brown has two sophomore goalies returning from last year’s team, and brought in two freshmen to compete for the starting job as well.

“We’ve only been on the ice for a little over a week now, and the job is currently wide open. We’re hoping someone steps up and earns the job going forward.”

Like most MIAC teams, defensive play is the focus right now.

“Our goals against last season were way too high. We led the league in scoring, but gave up the third highest goals allowed. We need to work on being more detail oriented without the puck, and working on the technical and positional aspects as well.”

Coach Brown made sure to point out the leadership the team brings back, as well as how hard the players push themselves to succeed.

With that kind of determination on top of an increased focus on defense, this team could be dangerous. With goaltending being a question mark, the rest of the team is going to have to step up early on until things get settled, and their schedule favors them here. Augsburg plays only four conference games in the first half of the season.

That leaves a tough second half for them, with only make-or-break conference games from mid-January till the end of the season. But if they can solidify their defense and get reliable goaltending, the offense this team brings back could make them a threat to win the MIAC outright. However, with a poor defensive showing last season and lots of questions about goaltending, that might be a stretch.

With the firepower they have, they should make the playoffs. And once there, anything can happen. This Auggies team will be a lot of fun to follow this season, that’s for sure!

St. Thomas Tommies

Head Coach: Terry Skrypek, 23rd season overall and at St. Thomas (402-183-41)
2008-09 Overall Record: 12-11-3
2008-09 MIAC Record: 9-5-2 (3rd)
Key Returners: F Rob Johnson, jr., (19-16-35); F Andrew Kappers, jr., (8-15-23); F Parker Burgess, sr., (10-11-21); F Alex Arnason, sr., (9-11-20); G Cary Wood, so., (8-3-1, 2.53, .895)
Key Losses: D Adam Davis (7-19-26); F Tom Knutson (9-13-22)
2009-10 Projected Finish: Fourth.

For the past two seasons, St. Thomas has finished tied for second in the MIAC.

By now it’s almost become expected that the Tommies will finish in the upper half of the league. They play a defensive style of play that does not allow their opponents many chances, and at the same time allows the Tommies to have chances of their own.

This season will be a big test for them on defense, as they lose three defensemen to graduation. Experience in net may play a big role early on in the season, as players who may have not seen as much ice time in previous seasons are asked to carry heavier loads.

Returning is sophomore goaltender Cary Wood, who last season had a stellar 2.53 goals against average to go along with a respectable .895 save percentage. On some teams, a save percentage like that would lead to a much higher goals against average, but against St. Thomas’s defense, their opponents averaged only 24.3 shots per game.

The Tommies offense will have to do without one of the top scoring defensemen in the league as Adam Davis (7-19-26) was lost to graduation. But the team does return their top three goal scorers last season, including junior Rob Johnson. Johnson was a terror on the power play last season, notching 10 power-play goals (St. Thomas had 31 tallies on the man advantage last season.)

Like most defensive teams, special teams play has always been of importance to St. Thomas. It’s a cliché, but being able to shut down your opponent’s power play while being able to capitalize on your own opportunities can go a long way towards winning a game, especially when your opponents tend to have limited scoring chances away from the power play.

If the Tommies are weaker on defense this season, it will be a tough start to the season for them. After four non-conference games, they open MIAC play away against Augsburg . . . who had the highest scoring offense in the conference last season.

If St. Thomas reloads on defense instead of rebuilding, this is a team that will cause the rest of the MIAC fits all season. Solid defensive play, solid goaltender, the ability to score from more than just the top line, and solid special teams all add up to a team that should be competing for one of the top spots in the MIAC all season.

St. Olaf Oles

Head Coach: Sean Goldsworthy, 13th season overall and at St. Olaf (123-151-35)
2008-09 Overall Record: 16-7-3
2008-09 MIAC Record: 12-1-3 (1st)
Key Returners: F Isak Tranvik, jr., (11-19-30); F Bryan Osmondson, sr., (9-9-18); G Nick Krauss, jr., (13-3-1, 2.58, .919)
Key Losses: F Dylan Mueller (14-18-32); F Roger Trousdale (9-16-25); F Nick Stalock (12-10-22); D Sam Windsor (11-6-17)
2009-10 Projected Finish: Third.

Unlike some other teams, St. Olaf has no questions surrounding their goaltender situation. The Oles return the MIAC’s top statistical goalie in junior Nick Krauss.

Last season the Oles were second in the MIAC in scoring defense, allowing only 2.44 goals per game. While they did lose three of their top five scorers, this is a balanced team that returns many players poised to fill the gaps.

Forward Isak Tranvik returns for his junior year after putting up an impressive 30 points last season. Coach Sean Goldsworthy singled out sophomore defensemen Derek Grogan, Charlie Raskob, and Caleb Harrison as players he expects to play a bigger role this season as well.

Coach Goldsworthy went on to talk about the philosophy he has for the team.

”This is a defensive league, so obviously it’s important to focus on your own defensive play. But at the same time it’s important not to neglect offense.”

It sounds simple enough, but all too often you see teams focusing on one side in favor of the other, leaving them with a weakness. This St. Olaf team is solid from top to bottom and from one end of the ice to the other. They won’t dazzle you with flashy tricks or coast to coast rushes, but they will put out line after line of hard working and skilled players.

Last season saw the Oles jump from a sixth place finish two years ago to a MIAC regular season championship. It also saw the second and seventh place teams in the MIAC separated by six points. Despite that parity, St. Olaf finished in first place with a seven point lead. They did not lead the league in scoring and they didn’t have the fewest goals allowed. They did not lead the league in penalty kill percentage, power play percentage, or fewest penalty minutes per game. What they did do was finish in the top of every one of those categories.

They might not blow you away in any particular area, but they will likely be average or above average in all of them. With that kind of balance, the Oles’ opponents will be hard pressed to find a weakness to exploit. That very same balance also allows the Oles to take advantage of weaknesses in the teams they play.

If a team does not show up ready to work hard for a full 60 minutes, you’re likely to see St. Olaf come out on top. And if the rest of the MIAC isn’t ready to fight hard all season long, look for St. Olaf to come out near the top of the league again this season.

Hamline Pipers

Head Coach: Scott Bell, 5th season overall and at Hamline (43-54-8)
2008-09 Overall Record: 16-11-1
2008-09 MIAC Record: 9-7-0 (4th)
Key Returners: D Chris Berenguer, jr., (14-25-39); F Brian Arrigoni, so., (12-17-29); F Kyle Kurr, sr., (13-15-28); F Ryan Kupperman, jr., (13-14-27); G Beau Christian, so., (9-7-1, 2.56, .904)
Key Losses: F Dustin Fulton (12-23-35); D Joe Long (13-17-30)
2009-10 Projected Finish: Second.

For any other team, losing a 30 point player, let alone the second best scoring defenseman (13-17-30) in the conference, would be a serious concern. While it is still not a loss to be taken lightly, Hamline has the luxury of returning the league’s top and fourth highest scoring defensemen.

Hamline finished with the second best offense in MIAC play last year, finishing the season with two fewer goals than Augsburg. The Pipers lost some valuable players, but return the lion’s share of their team.

Besides the obvious scoring threats they bring back, coach Scott Bell has high expectations for two sophomores who will be playing their first full season for the Pipers. Forwards Jordan VanGilder and Kelly Plude saw limited action last season, and with an offseason to get accustomed to Bell’s style and philosophy, should see more ice time this coming year.

If the rest of Hamline’s team performs the way they did last season, they will be in good shape. If they improve on last season, expect the Pipers to be in the mix for the regular season title.

While they do score a lot of goals, Hamline doesn’t just rely on their offense to carry them in games. Sophomore Beau Christian had a solid performance in net last season, allowing only 2.56 goals per game and finishing with a .904 save pct. With two defensemen lost to graduation, Christian may have to start strong while players get accustomed to higher expectations and responsibilities.

Christian is no stranger to taking on responsibilities himself though. He started his freshman season backing up then-junior Matt Wanvig, but when Wanvig struggled, it was Christian’s job to come in and try and shut the door.

One area that could make or break Hamline’s season is special teams, and coach Bell pointed out that this is an area they put extra emphasis on each season.
The Pipers lead the MIAC in power-play percentage last season, scoring on 23.0% of their opportunities. However, they also were second in the league in penalty minutes, meaning their opponents got plenty of opportunities of their own.

Compounding the problem, they finished seventh in penalty kill percentage, with their opponents scoring on 20.9% of their power-play chances.

If the Pipers can get consistent goaltending this season, their offense should net them enough goals to make them competitive with any opponent they face. If they can decrease the number of power-play goals they give up, whether by giving up less chances or killing more penalties, then this might be the year the Pipers take home the MIAC title.

Gustavus Adolphus Golden Gusties

Head Coach: Brett Peterson, 10th season overall and at Gustavus Adolphus (113-110-16)
2008-09 Overall Record: 19-11-0
2008-09 MIAC Record: 10-6-0 (2nd)
Key Returners: F David Martinson, sr., (26-15-41); F Ross Ring-Jarvi, so., (10-21-31); F Patrick Dynan, sr., (8-16-24); F Brad Wieck, jr., (8-16-24); F Eric Bigham, sr., (14-8-22); F Rory Dynan, sr., (12-9-21), G Josh Swartout, jr., (8-6-0, 3.17, .883)
Key Losses: F Casey Dynan (9-10-19); G Matthew Lopes (11-5-0, 2.24, .906)
2009-10 Projected Finish: First.

I know some people will think this is the easy choice to finish first, but Gustavus Adolphus has earned it.

Last postseason the Gusties went on a tear, winning the MIAC tournament, and then advancing through the NCAA tournament until finally losing in the national championship game. A lot of people are familiar with this story, but what they’re not familiar with is that Gustavus was a solid team all year.

They finished the regular season in second place, tied with St. Thomas with 20 points. The most obvious strength of their team was its defense, as they averaged only 2.25 goals against in conference play. They did not stand out offensively, finishing fifth out of nine teams with 3.62 goals per game.

Some things that may have been overlooked about the Gusties were their special teams play and their discipline. They were the second least penalized team in the MIAC, had the third best power play, and fifth best penalty kill.

This is a team that doesn’t beat itself and takes advantage of their opportunities. They do the little things it takes to consistently put them in a position to win.

This is not a team that relied solely on a hot goalie to carry them through the playoffs, like some casual observers may think.

The Gusties do lose the goalie that saw most of the playing time down the stretch, but junior Josh Swartout put up respectable numbers over the course of last season, and will hopefully be able to build on them.

Up front, the Gusties return virtually their entire team, including six players who put up more than 20 points, and four players who scored at least 10 goals. They lost no defensemen to graduation, which has to be a scary prospect to
offenses across the league.

If they can get solid goaltending throughout the season, the depth, defense, and special teams of the Gusties will make them very difficult to beat on any given night, giving them a good chance of adding a MIAC regular season title to go along side last year’s playoff championship banner.

MIAC Showcase

This Friday through Sunday (Oct. 30-Nov. 1) the inaugural MIAC Showcase will take place at the Bloomington Ice Gardens (Bloomington, MN.) All nine MIAC teams will be in action against each other, with each team playing two non-conference games.

If you are a fan of the MIAC or just a fan of hockey in general, I strongly advise that you take advantage of this opportunity for a great weekend of hockey.

Each day will have three games (game times are 2 p.m., 5 p.m., and 8 p.m. each day), and admission is $5 per day (children under five are free.)
Directions, schedules, and more information are available on the MIAC Web site, as well as on the Web sites of most MIAC teams.

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