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No Small Goals

By Terese Karmel
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When a freshman has a stellar season, it’s not unnatural to expect a slight dip the next year. That was the pattern for Sam Faber, the University of New Hampshire forward who is making up for any sophomore lapses — and they were minor — with an outstanding junior year that she is beginning to think will help carry her team to the March promised land.

This confidence was bolstered by UNH’s back-to-back wins over then-No. 1 Wisconsin in Durham recently, victories that vaulted the 17-3-0 team (9-0-0 in Hockey East) to the top spot in the national polls.

“I never saw our team like that,” said Faber following the Wisconsin victory. “We were thrilled. Our goal was to win both games. I knew in the locker room we were going to win. We have such great chemistry.”

Then on Dec. 14, behind Faber’s two goals, the Wildcats beat another No. 1 team when they handed Harvard (11-1-0) its first loss of the season.

Faber said the team was thrilled with the 4-1 Harvard win, especially heading into the break. UNH doesn’t play again until Jan. 5 against Brown.

“We knew they would come out hard and I guess we were the underdogs being No. 2,” she said. “We wanted to bring all the energy we could.”

According to Faber, the difference in the game was that the Wildcats capitalized more on their opportunities than Harvard did, although she said the Crimson are definitely one of the top three teams in the country.

In that game Faber scored twice, the first time in what was to become the game-winner, on an unusual shorthanded breakaway 48 seconds into the second period to give her team a 2-0 lead. Kacey Bellany fired a shot to Faber, who found herself all alone at center ice behind the Crimson defense. Faber deked Harvard goalie Christina Kessler and then shot at close range between Kessler’s leg pads and into the net.

Her second goal came at 3:07 in the third period when she took a pass from Kelly Patton, cut down the slot and again hit between Kessler’s legs to make it 4-0.

“This was a big win for us,” Faber said, crediting her line with her own success. “I know we have a lot to work on but we’re looking forward to resting during the break and coming back strong in the second half.”

The Wildcats are a skewed team: They are loaded with seniors who start most games (four see significant ice team) and talented freshman, including Jenn Wakefield, a prized recruit who plays on Faber’s line, and goalie Kayley Herman. Wakefield (Pickering, Ont.) Ontario, has been Hockey East rookie of the week three times and recently played for Canada in the Four Nations tournament.

Also on Faber’s line is sophomore Kelly Paton, who with 22 points is seven behind Faber’s team leading 29 (14-15). Six Wildcats are in double digits in scoring.

“Last year I was the oldest on my line so I had a lot of pressure,” Faber said. “This year, things are just clicking.” She praised both Paton and Wakefield as being among the smartest players she’s ever been with.

Faber is also trying to position herself better on the ice by using her speed to get to the outside where she’s clear. She’s shooting the puck more (her 65 shots lead the team), although coach Brian McCloskey thinks she could be shooting even more.

Faber, a sports management major from Mt. Sinai, N.Y., is only 5-4, which McCloskey thinks may have resulted in her being overlooked by some of the Midwestern powerhouses when she was at Northwood School. But he saw something in the four years he watched her.

“People knew she’d be good but maybe not how good,” said McCloskey. Faber reminded him of a UNH player he had coached on the men’s side — “slippery and always around the puck.”

While she was being recruited, Faber heard from Wisconsin and Minnesota but it was mostly the Eastern schools like Mercyhurst and St. Lawrence that really pressed to recruit her. “I just fell in love with it here,” she said of the University of New Hampshire, just four hours from her home.

McCloskey called Faber’s freshman year “fabulous.” She was third on the team with 51 points (22-29), and third among rookies and seventh overall in the country in average points per game (1.38), 10th overall in assists.

Last season she had 44 points (15-29), which was enough to lead the team and put her on the Hockey East first team as well as a number of other post-season prestigious squads. So her sophomore season wasn’t a bad year — just different.

“Sometimes when players have a great freshman year, it’s almost impossible to follow that up the second year,” McCloskey said. “She might have been pressing too hard. It happens to teams also. Sometimes it’s hard to live up to your own expectations.”

When a player falls off a little, she can start questioning herself. “Sam probably went through some questioning but this year is different, with returning players and a high profile recruit,” said McCloskey. “After last year, I’m not surprised she got off to such a great start this year.

“She’s very gifted around the net and creates scoring chances. Sometimes I have to get on her to shoot the puck.”

He also said Faber has gotten physically stronger, which helps boost her confidence because she’s on the small side. “She has vision, she’s unselfish and she has trained very hard over the summer.”

McCloskey said that because the team has such strong senior leadership, Faber does not have to be too demonstrative, and that’s not really her style anyhow. “She’s one of those players who shows by examples,” he said. ”If she gets mad, she just digs down and works harder.”

Faber has picked up several Big East weekly offensive awards this season but although she said they make her feel good, it’s the team awards she is setting her sights on, including a national championship.

When womens hockey played in the AWCHA, UNH won a national championship (1998) but has only made it to the NCAA Frozen Four once (2006) since then. Last year the Wildcats won the Hockey East tournament but only lasted one round in the NCAA regional, losing to St. Lawrence, 6-3, on their own ice in Whittemore Center.

Faber thinks this year’s team is stronger both on and off the ice, which gives her the confidence to predict a big finish to the season. “It feels different this year,” she said. “After last weekend, we know we can compete with the best teams in the west.”

UNH has to be careful not to look past weaker opponents. Earlier this season, after beating Boston College and UConn in one week, the Wildcats lost 2-1 to Princeton. Their first loss was a 3-0 defeat at the hands of St. Lawrence in the second game of the season.

For her part, Faber is on the Under-22 U.S. National Team, although she did not participate in the recent Four Nations Tournament.

“She’s on the radar,” McCloskey said. “She’s multi-talented and can be a tremendous player at the national level.”

“Going to the national program has not worked out yet,” said Faber, whose focus is somewhere else.

“Right now,” she said, “the goal is to win a national championship.”

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: December 18

By Jim Connelly and Theresa Spisak
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Theresa: Hey everyone, Theresa Spisak here, filling in for Scott Brown once again. We didn’t have many games this past week, but the end results seem to be stabilizing out a bit now that we’ve hit the midway point of the season. Once again, we have some shuffling in the top of the polls, but it appears — at least for now — that we’ve got our top teams in the CCHA and WCHA, given the lead in records. In almost every other conference, however, the teams are bunched up. Jim, do you think things will stay the same out East, with everyone close together, or does anyone have the potential to break away from the pack?

Jim: Nice to have you back again, Theresa. My thought is that the East is finally ready for a battle to the wire all around. While the ECAC and, for the most, part Atlantic Hockey have had plenty of parity over the years, Hockey East has seen the same foursome — Maine, Boston College, New Hampshire and Boston University — sit around the top. At least three of those four teams seem to be in it come season’s end. This year, though it once again could be three of those four near the top, we have new faces like Northeastern and Mass.-Lowell poised to end the pattern. I worry that the River Hawks don’t have the power to keep them sailing through the second half, but it certainly seems that Northeastern could keep at least one of those four clubs on the outside looking in for home ice. On another note, you mentioned the poll. Does it seem fair to you that Miami jumped over an idle Michigan last weekend? My experience is that the number one needs to lose to fall from graces. Michigan didn’t even have that chance. It was a very close vote, but I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.

Theresa: It may not have been fair or right for Michigan to have dropped a spot after being idle, but teams do rise and fall even after not playing. I think if Miami hadn’t played a ranked opponent instead of then-No. 16 Rensselaer (whom the RedHawks beat handily), Michigan would have stayed on top. After a week with few games, I think it boiled down to a “what have you done for me lately” type of situation, fair or not.

Jim: I agree with your reasoning, just don’t believe that it’s fair. Speaking of fair, I see your alma mater Boston University has reinstated its suspended players. The Boston Globe reported the players violated a team rule that you can’t drink on Sundays. I have a feeling that, even if this Puritanical law exists, those players maybe did a little more than tilt a Heineken on the Lord’s Day. You’ve been around the game long enough, what are your thoughts on the whole situation?

Theresa: The official team rule, as far as I understand it, is that in season, of-age players can only drink on Saturday nights after the weekend games are done. The rumors I’ve seen floating around the incident (a few from relatively credible sources) state that the players in question grabbed a beer while watching football after attending a funeral. If one is to take that story at face value, the circumstance is somewhat justifiable and explains the relatively short suspension. I have a feeling that had it been a worse violation of team rules, we would still see the players suspended. I do think this may have been handled better had it been kept inside the team, much like the 2004 Frozen Four when Denver’s Lukas Dora had to sit the championship game for violating a team rule. To this day it is still unknown what he did. Sure, we as the media and public want to know all the details, but sometimes — and maybe I say this as a former athlete — it’s better to keep things in-house. Truth be told, it just doesn’t look like Jack Parker has much control over his team these days.

Jim: I agree about keeping things in house. In all of my six-plus seasons working for college hockey teams, I never saw incidents of minor proportion because major media didn’t speculate as we do today. As I say that, I realize people like you and I in this real-time media world likely contribute highly to that. On to a happier note, let’s talk about the holidays. If there’s one team that really could use a big Christmas present from Santa, who do you think it would be? Out East, I think it’s Cornell coach Mike Schafer, along with Maine’s Tim Whitehead and the aforementioned Parker. This trio sure would like to see something like a basket of wins or a few more goals under their Christmas tree on Dec. 25. Anyone out West looking for similar treatment?

Theresa: Well, I’m sure North Dakota’s Dave Hakstol hopes for a strong second half for the fourth straight year and Minnesota’s Don Lucia wishes for a complete turnaround. Everyone from the CHA would like crystal balls to see their collective futures. Air Force’s Frank Serratore would like a nice big box of consistency and wins — no more ties, thank you very much. Finally, I’m sure Miami’s Enrico Blasi, Michigan’s Red Berenson, Denver’s George Gwozdecky and Colorado College’s Scott Owens would just like things to keep going the way they are.

Jim: Wow, y’all are greedy out West. I do, though, agree with everything you said, with a strong emphasis on the CHA. It’s really a problem at this point where the future will take the remaining soldiers in the CHA. But that will be a topic for next time. And on that note, on behalf of Theresa and Scott Brown, let me wish everyone a Happy Holiday! We’ll be back in a few weeks with more of our random musing from around the world of college hockey. Until then, stay warm (or stay cool, to those heading to the Florida tournaments)!

This Week in D-I Women’s Hockey: Dec. 18, 2007

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Sacred Moments

Lauren Fontaine picked up the puck at the center ice spot, picked up steam as she hit the Boston University blue line, then (so it seemed, anyway) calmly picked the upper right corner behind Terrier goaltender Melissa Haber.

And anyone who happened to be inside Walter Brown Arena last Saturday, picked the right time to witness a key moment in the history of Sacred Heart hockey.

Maybe even the most important moment.

In any event, Fontaine’s successful penalty shot, a seldom seen occurance on any hockey level, an absolute rarity in women’s hockey, had a galvanizing effect on the Pioneers.

The gals on the bench were screaming, jumping up and down, banging their sticks, celebrating like never before.

One might have thought that the Pioneers had just captured the Frozen Four, and not merely cut the BU lead to 5-1, midway through the second period.

“Everyone was thrilled that I put it in.” said Fontaine, a freshman from Windsor, Ont. “It did give our team some life. It brought our team together.”

Rallying points have been scarce for the Pioneers, the nation’s only D-1 independent.

So have wins.

Oh, Sacred Heart has no problems beating up on Division-III opponents, the likes of which make up half it’s schedule.

The D-I portion is another story, with nary a happy ending.

In five seasons as an independent, the Pioneers are still looking to card their regular season win over a Division-1 foe.

Sacred Heart is 0-7 in D-I play this year, while being outscored 53-7. Defeats handed them by Maine and Union, are the only wins those two schools have recorded all year.

So with no conference (a situation they hope to resolve), no on-campus rink, and no wins, you might gather that times are tough for SHU, and they are. But not as tough as you’d think.

In fact, morale among the Pioneers has never been higher.

“We still have heart,” said Fontaine. “We still love the game. Everyone of us still wants to keep going.”

It is the opportunity to offer playing time at a D-I school that provides SHU’s veteran coach Tom O’Malley a fighting chance in the ever competitive recruiting wars.

It’s a battle that O’Malley has waged before, having guided programs both Boston College and Wayne State through their birth pains.

“There are kids who are strictly going to go with the top-echelon teams,” O’Malley said, “and might not give Sacred Heart a look. But I think when they hear that they can come in and immediately become impact players, that becomes an avenue that they want to take. Some of them might have made another team, but maybe they wouldn’t be playing as much as they are, here. I think they‘re happy that they‘re going to a good school and playing D-I hockey.”

Which is what enticed Fontaine to give Sacred Heart a whirl.

“Playing D-I hockey is a dream of a lifetime for me,” she said.

Fontaine’s dream took an unexpected twist when O’Malley chose her to take the penalty shot, after her teammate, senior Katie McLaughlin was hauled down while rushing toward the BU net.

“Literally, I was in shock,” she said. “I thought ‘oh, wow’. I’m playing in this big game, everyone was looking at me, and everything was on my shoulders. I was kind of panicking. Kind of freaking out, at first. But I just breathed, and said to myself, ‘hey, Lauren, you can do this’.”

Said O’Malley, “The referee (Patrick Silva) gave me the option of a penalty shot or a penalty. I didn’t even take a second to think about it. I said ‘we’ll take the shot, Lauren hop out there’. She’s been hot, and she’s a pure sniper. I can only imagine what was going through her mind, as far as pressure. But she kept her head. She came down and she sniped it. It was an NHL goal.”

Fontaine’s shot zipped in under the crossbar, hit the back of the net, and bounded out again.

“I still don’t entirely remember how I scored,” she said, “because it was so fast. I just kind of went down there, saw an open corner, and just picked it. It ended up going in. And the whole team just attacked me.”

It would be the stuff of fairy tales to say that Fontaine’s goal served to rally the Pioneers to victory.

Instead, they went on to lose by a lopsided 11-1 count.

But the uplifting effect had been felt.

“The one thing about the BU game,” said O’Malley, “is that we never stopped fighting. We fought the whole game. Yeah, they were a very good team, and they capitalized on all the mistakes we made. I think we’ll be ready for our next matchup with them.”

For Fontaine, the impact was a little more personal.

“It was a really cool experience,” she said. “It was a big goal that I potted. I’ll probably remember it for the rest of my career.”

She won‘t be the only one.

RedHawks Reign Resumes

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As much as things change . . . . Undoubtedly a common sentiment around the country as for the past couple of months a CCHA team has sat atop the national rankings. Three weeks ago it was Miami, last poll Michigan. Now again the RedHawks reign supreme. Not without some fight from the idle Wolverines, however.

Previously No. 1 Michigan garnered one more first place vote — 24 to 23 — but four fewer total tallies to cede the top ranking to a Miami team who convincingly swept No. 16 RPI on the road, 7-3 and 5-1. Also fresh off a road sweep (of the Seawolves in Anchorage), new No. 3 Denver nabbed the other three first place votes, leaping over conference (and in-state) brethren Colorado College, who split a series with host No. 17 St. Cloud.

Michigan State rounds out the top five.

Proving that last year’s meteoric rise was no fluke, Notre Dame, 16-4-0 on the season in a conference that features four of the top six teams, remains at No. 6 while idle schools North Dakota, Clarkson, and Massachusetts also remain in place at seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.

No. 10 New Hampshire remained motionless, too, despite shutting out arch rival Maine, 2-0.

Teams 11 through 13 — Northeastern, Minnesota, and Wisconsin — did not take the ice this week, but in an early Beanpot preview on Wednesday, No. 15 Boston College’s Nathan Gerbe put on a show, scoring four times including three on the power play and one 4-on-4, as the Eagles easily handled No. 14 Harvard, 7-2, in Cambridge.

After splitting a home series against then-third-ranked Colorado College, new No. 16 St. Cloud moved up a rung while Rensselaer’s sweep at the hands of Miami demoted to them to No. 17.

Minnesota-Duluth, Bowling Green, and UMass-Lowell round out the top 20.

The Team They Love To Hate

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When University of Minnesota coach Don Lucia opted to leave his post at Colorado College in favor of taking the helm of the Golden Gophers, one of his counterparts saw the writing on the wall — or perhaps the writing on the USCHO Message Board.

“I remember when I was thinking of taking this position, I had another colleague in my league call me and say, ‘Why would you want that job? Everybody likes you now. If you go there, everybody’s going to hate you,'” Lucia recalls.

While this might not be true of Lucia personally, it does appear to be the case with the Minnesota program. A recent USCHO poll asked readers to vote on the team that they most love to hate. The Golden Gophers were the decisive winners, garnering 27 percent of the votes — substantially more than second-place North Dakota.

But why? Well, it depends on who you ask. We created a USCHO message board thread and asked fans to weigh in on why so many view the Gophers as the “rodents”, or worse. This led to 262 responses in just one week. As you might expect, Gopher fans pointed to many positive reasons for the results, while detractors had a darker interpretation.

Mike Bowman, 29, of Eagan, Minn. offered several highly articulate posts showing the upside of the Gophers being the team folks love to hate. “Much of it is jealousy,” Bowman wrote, citing the team’s great facility in Mariucci Arena, their obsequious presence on the airwaves, and their steady stream of highly touted recruits that enables the team to reload rather than rebuild.

“And of course, I would be remiss to not mention the success of the program,” Bowman added. “Multiple WCHA regular season and tournament titles, five NCAA titles, numerous runner-ups and Frozen Four berths, numerous NCAA tournament appearances, over 1000 victories, a winning record against the vast majority of teams in college hockey (I believe two of the exceptions are BU and Maine)… All of these things mean high visibility, high expectations, and a lot of seething hatred from opposing fans.”

Lucia naturally agreed with my summary of Bowman’s assessment. “We’re the lucky winner,” Lucia said when I told him of the poll results. “Well, that must say a lot of good things about us.

“It’s a combination of all of the above. I think it’s not hate at times; it’s envy of success. I think you touched on a lot of it. There’s a lot of pride in the state of Minnesota; hockey is obviously really big here, and the University of Minnesota has had a lot of success over the years. It’s like anything: When you’ve had a lot of success, and you win a lot, people get tired of that who aren’t from our state.”

I root for Minnesota to lose every game. I laugh when they lose embarassingly. I get behind whatever team is playing them that week…

— David Krawczyk – Wisconsin Alum

Lucia added another good point. While Michigan and Michigan State or BU and BC have each other as rivals first and foremost, any number of teams can pick Minnesota as their archrival.

“Fans are passionate,” Lucia said. “In our case, if you take a poll around the WCHA of who your biggest rival is, for probably Mankato and St. Cloud and Duluth and Wisconsin and North Dakota, it’s probably us. So you have that animosity right away. And for CC and Denver, we might be second. Maybe even Anchorage. I know one thing: When we go to other people’s arenas, there’s a reason they charge more for our games than for other people’s games.”

Just as baseball fans across the country got fed up with New York Yankee pennants and championships throughout the 1950s, and similar to the glee that many college football fans are getting from watching Notre Dame struggle through a terrible year, there are many fans who would relish a losing record for the Gophers this year. After all, that has only happened twice in the last 20 seasons.

Yet the naysayers are quick to say that they are not so much envious of Minnesota’s success as irritated by the arrogance of many members of the Minnesota fan base.

“Why do I love to hate Minnesota?” asked David Krawczyk, 27, of Madison, Wis. “Its the arrogance of the fans. The experiences I have had in the Xcel and in the Mariucci are by far the worst that I’ve had in any opposing rink or ‘neutral sites’. Even worse is the behavior of some of the fans when they travel. By no means am I saying every Gopher fan acts this way, but enough do to really stand out and overshadow the many reasonable fans.”

Perhaps these experiences led to Krawcyzk capturing the feelings of many opposing fans in Gopher territory.

“As a UW fan and alum, it is one of the things that is always a constant,” Krawcyzk said. “I root for Minnesota to lose every game. I laugh when they lose embarassingly. I get behind whatever team is playing them that week and if I’m watching the game at home on TV, I become one of the biggest ______ (insert team here) fans in the country if only for one night. My two favorite teams are the Badgers and whoever is playing the Gophers that night.

“Under zero circumstances could I ever root for Minnesota. If a Gopher victory was the only thing that could get UW into the NCAA tournament, I would still root for the Gophers to lose, and lose badly.”

In response to a few fans who claimed that they basically would hold their noses and root for an enemy team playing against Minnessota, Bowman scoffed at the notion that he would root for an archrival under any circumstances. “No real Gopher fan would ever cheer for UND,” Bowman wrote. “If UND plays Wisconsin, we’d cheer for both teams to somehow lose the game.”

Some feel that Minnesota has more than their share of fair-weather fans. Donald Dunlop, 46, of Anchorage, Alaska weighed in on that front. “The ‘hatred’. (I’d say here that hatred is the wrong adjective; we don’t hate them … we are sickened by them) instead comes from the swagger and the chest thumping following their success,” Dunlop wrote to me in an e-mail.

“The few that act like they’ve been there before are simply outnumbered by the jersey popping crowing ‘bandwagoners’ that show up when success seems evident. These people are all about proclaiming dominance and decrying everyone else as inferior when the Gophers win; but they are also the first ‘fans’ to express that the sky is falling when their team slips up.”

Perhaps those who have it toughest are non-Gopher fans who live in the heart of Minnesota hockey country. Minnesota resident Kent Bergene, a North Dakota native, offered this perspective. “I’ve lived in the Twin Cities for 26 years now (graduated from UND in 1981), and I would characterize most locals are ‘blithely’ ignorant, about the game of college hockey,” Bergene said.

“Minnesotans are supremely smug about how their team is the best, yet totally unaware of the facts and the reality. This is all walks and all ages, with the sole exception of posters on this board, who are generally as smug, yet smarter.”

That said, Bergene has found a way of warding off Gophermania in the office. “Yes, I have a NCAA Ice Hockey fact book at my office (because I got tired of arguing with these know-nothings). Yes, my daughters (UND fans to the core) trade trash talk with their little friends, who must have been born smug and ignorant.

“Like the transformation in a sci-fi mutant thriller, the amazing part is that when the topic changes away from Gopher hockey, these mutants become terrifically normal ‘above average in a Lake Wobegon sort of way’ people that are actually wonderful to live with.”

Various other fans complained about how the arrogance of Minnesota fans was most embodied by the concept of “pride on ice,” referring to how the program not only recruited Minnesota natives exclusively for years but claimed superiority to, say, North Dakota or Wisconsin for failing to do the same — an impossibility given how much less youth hockey is played in those states.

So the question remains: Can’t we all just get along as college hockey fans? Lucia acknowledges that opposing crowds are much more negative toward Minnesota than to his previous programs, but he also was hard-pressed to believe that Gopher fans were worse in their behavior than those at other programs. “Rest assured that I’ve been at CC and I’ve been at Alaska, and I’ve been at Minnesota, and when I go with Minnesota’s team to another facility, the way we’re treated, it’s amazing how different it is — from vulgarity to everything.

“I wouldn’t know that because I’m obviously not sitting in the stands,” qualified Lucia when told about complaints I had heard about how visiting fans had been treated at Mariucci. “You certainly hope that’s not the case. I know that we go to another facility in this league, and the whole student section is chanting ‘F the Gophers’ in unison and out loud. I’ve never heard anything like that from our fans.

“I know there’s some Minnesota fans who don’t even like going to another facility in the league — I don’t want to name names — because of how they’re treated. I know my wife even had that experience last year: There’s one facility in our league she’ll never go back.”

That said, Lucia’s biggest point was that all school administrators should be taking responsibility to get crass profanity out of arenas or any other exchanges. “We’ve got to get the vulgarity out of it. To me, that’s on the administration to get that out of it. I think it’s great when fans are into it, but I hate the vulgarity, whether it’s fan or fan or on opposing players. That has no place.”

Lucia agreed that the situation is a vicious circle. People resent the Gophers’ success, and they respond negatively to the team and their fans, thereby increasing the chip on the shoulder that some Gopher fans may feel when interacting with other fans. “It’s easier to point the finger at the other person. Personally I don’t think any visiting fans should be disrespected by hometown fans no matter where you’re playing.”

On a brighter note, Lucia absolutely loves it when opposing fans get creative in expressing their passionate dislike of his program. He laughed heartily when I read one post from a reader who said that while he not a fan of the Sioux, he rooted for T.J. Oshie to score 15 goals when North Dakota played a pair against the Gophers.

Lucia also received a memorable yuletide greeting last season. “Last year at Christmas, I got a Christmas card from a bunch of Mankato fans in Holy Cross jerseys, giving me the finger,” Lucia said. “I laughed so hard.

“I called Troy [Jutting, coach of Minnesota State] and said, ‘This is great.’ It was just a fun thing, and that’s the way I took it. I mean, there must have been 15 people, and these were adults. It was just ‘Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Section so-and-so’ and here they are with Holy Cross jerseys on, giving me the finger! I literally broke out laughing as soon as I saw it. That was a classic. To me, that’s good-natured fun.”

BU Lifts Suspensions

USCHO Staff Report
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Boston University head coach Jack Parker yesterday
released a statement that four suspended hockey
players will be permitted to rejoin the Terriers team
in its first game back from the winter exam break, a
December 30 game at home against Merrimack.

Parker had suspended the quartet – seniors Bryan
Ewing, Brian McGuirk, Dan McGoff and junior Brandon
Yip – indefinitely for what he called a violation of
team rules. All of the players have returned to
practice with the team but will not be allowed to
dress for Thursday night’s non-league game against
Dartmouth.

Though it will be 22 days between games played for the
suspended players, they will only miss two games total
because of the team’s winter break.

As part of the suspensions, Parker also stripped
McGuirk of his captaincy, naming junior Pete MacArthur
captain for last Friday’s contest against
Mass.-Lowell. He said last week that, despite being
allowed to once again play, McGuirk not will regain
his captain’s ‘C’, instead MacArthur will remain
captain through the remainder of the season.

The suspensions added turmoil to an already difficult
season for the Terriers. BU currently sits in last
place in Hockey East with a 3-6-1 record and a 4-10-2
record overall.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: December 11

By Jim Connelly and Theresa Spisak
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Jim: So the holidays are almost here and once again we have WCHA Correspondent Theresa Spisek filling in for my cohort Scott Brown. Theresa, it seems like the mighty have finally fallen, at least in the case of Miami which was shutout by Alaska on Saturday night. The pollsters spoke on Monday and the result was that the RedHawks need to take a backseat to CCHA rival Michigan. In fact, the Wolverines jumped two spots from third all the way to first with Colorado College idle last week. What are your thoughts? Was the Alaska win that bad to demote Miami?

Theresa: Honestly, I think the pollsters used it as the out they needed to finally drop Miami down. I’ve heard a lot of grumbling from people saying, “Okay, sure, Miami has a great record, but c’mon guys, it’s still the CCHA. Who have they played, really? Their non-conference record so far has been a bunch of cupcakes.” Part of me is inclined to think that stuff like that is being said because all things considered, most of the typical cream-of-the-crop teams from the typically elite conferences — Hockey East and the WCHA — are seemingly having down years and it’s just weird seeing the CCHA so dominant. However, I think we all need to step back and realize that these things are cyclical and maybe it’s just time for another conference to step up into college hockey’s national spotlight.

Jim: Well, the fact that Miami was replaced by Michigan certainly seems to support your belief that maybe this is the CCHA’s time in the college hockey cycle. Speaking of a cycle, the national picture seems to be further playing out in a microcosm in Hockey East. While Northeastern has sat at the top of the standings for a few weeks, this week another country was heard of at the top of the league as Mass.-Lowell moved into a tie with Boston College for second place. The River Hawks made their debut this season in Monday’s USCHO.com poll, albeit at number 20, after beating Boston University and Bentley at home over the weekend. You’re a one-time Hockey East follower: has this league now officially entered the Twilight Zone?

Theresa: Hey now, just because I moved back home into WCHA (and technically AHA) it doesn’t mean I still don’t keep up with the ol’ alma mater and its conference. Still, I think the key word to use in talking about Hockey East is the same for most of the conferences: parity. There’s no longer the huge gap between first and last place. The conferences where this seems most evident are Atlantic Hockey, Hockey East and the WCHA. I was down at Air Force this past weekend and Frank Serratore as well as a few of the players mentioned the parity in the league. I also hear that a lot from the WCHA coaches. In the case of Hockey East, I think again, it’s partially cyclical. Northeastern hasn’t always been a cellar-dwelling team. Massachusetts (the third team tied for second) usually flip-flops on whether they want to be part of the Hockey East elite or not. If there is anything Twilight Zone-ish about the league, I think it probably has more to do with traditional powers Maine and Boston University down near the bottom of the standings … or that six points separate first from last.

Jim: You’re right, Theresa. I believe since mid-October, the word I’ve written the most in this column is likely parity. I have little or no explanation for what has finally created it in Hockey East, but it’s fun to watch. I’m sure the coaches of the league’s perennial powers might not agree, but it certainly helps a league when teams that have struggled for an extended period of time begin winning. I was at Lowell on Saturday for their win against Bentley and it was nice to see the building pretty excited to watch a decent team. The River Hawks are 6-1-1 at home. A few years ago, a Saturday afternoon game against Bentley might have drawn 800 fans tops. But a little success saw more than 2,500 at the Tsongas. Earning the support of fans is the best way to begin a program’s resurgence. Looking forward instead of behind, this is certainly a light week ahead for games. The one match-up that intrigues me, though, is Colorado College and St. Cloud. The games are in St. Cloud but is that enough to make you think the Huskies have a chance against CC?

Theresa: I’d like to think they do, but the Huskies are having a lot of issues right now. Two weeks ago, I did a bit about them in my column and how they seemed to have done a good job filling the holes that needed to be filled from the offseason. However, their defense has seemingly fallen apart again and the fans don’t know what to do. One jokingly picked on me on the Fan Forum for not picking SCSU to win another game until the second night of the Ohio Hockey Classic. For a while this past Saturday, it looked like they proved me wrong until Denver’s Rhett Rakhshani’s crazy hat trick in the last six minutes to win it for the Pioneers. As a result, I have to keep my original thoughts on the series. St. Cloud will play the Tigers tough — especially on Friday thanks to CC’s bye week — but the Tigers will ultimately prevail with a sweep in part because I think they’re a bit stronger than Denver. Still, it should hopefully provide us with some good hockey to get us through the holidays and on to tournament time.

Jim: Yes, the college hockey doldrums are certainly approaching. Though it gives you and I a chance to once again do some prognosticating. Last week we talked about holiday tournament. This week, how about we look at some individuals? If the season ended today, who would comprise your Hobey Hat Trick?

Theresa: Sure, always give me the tough questions. There’s actually been some talk about this on the Fan Forum, though I typically tend to agree that it’s a bit early. That being said, I’ll take a stab at it. Michigan’s Kevin Porter seems to be the consensus number one pick around cyberspace. I haven’t seen him play this season, so I’ll defer judgment to my Internet peers and agree with him being up in the top three. Though goaltenders rarely ever win the award, Denver’s Peter Mannino and North Dakota’s J-P Lamoureux are both making strong cases. Though I doubt he’ll make the hat trick again, I consider Eric Ehn a dark horse candidate as well as CC’s Chad Rau and SCSU’s Ryan Lasch. I think you also have to throw Miami’s Ryan Jones and Michigan State’s Tim Kennedy into the mix. The most notable thing to me, however, is the early lack of Hobey-worthy Eastern players. You’re the Eastern guy here — does anyone from over stand out?

BU's Matt Gilroy has been mentioned as a candidate for college hockey's top honor.

BU’s Matt Gilroy has been mentioned as a candidate for college hockey’s top honor.

Jim: You’ve hit the nail on the head: scoring out East is once again down. So an award for which a lot of the scuttlebutt centers around offensive production means you won’t hear the names of guys on the right coast mentioned for the Hobey. If you’re looking for a candidate, I think it’s possible that BU defenseman Matt Gilroy could be mentioned. But that’s about it as far as Hobey Hat Trick worthy. I’ll turn the question on myself and tell you that I agree with the obvious, Michigan’s Kevin Porter. I also think that Ryan Jones will be there come season’s end. And if for some reason he’s left off, Miami goaltender Jeff Zatkoff’s numbers are impressive enough to qualify. On that note, let’s hang this one up for another week. If we don’t see you here again next week, Theresa, we’ll hopefully see you make another guest appearance very soon.

St. Norbert Nation’s New No. 1

By Nicholas Jon Wood
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When you defeat the fourth and fifth ranked teams in the nation by a combined score of 12-3, it is a good bet that you have made a strong case that you are the best team in the land. And when the reigning top teams both have sub par weekends — combining for modest but not overly impressive 2-1-1 records — your argument becomes airtight. So it went for the NCHA’s St. Norbert Green Knights.

Thanks to the aforementioned 5-2 victory over UW-River Falls and 7-1 drubbing of UW-Stout, St. Norbert earned 12 of the possible 20 first place votes. Coming on the heels of last week’s co-number ones and two others earning number one votes, perhaps in a sign that the crazy, topsy-turvy first half of the D-III season will be calmer in the weeks and months ahead, only two teams (still undefeated Elmira got the other eight) received first place tallies

After falling to new No. 12 Middlebury, 3-2, before trouncing Williams 8-1 the next evening, Plattsburgh dropped two places to third and St. Thomas — one of this year’s best stories so far — catapulted three spots to seventh after a three-win week where they outscored their opponents by 14 goals.

While idle Manhattanville moved up a rung to fifth, UW-River Falls — just two weeks ago the nation’s reigning top team — continued its slide to sixth. UW-Stout, then fifth is now seventh and Southern Maine jumped up two spots to eighth after wins over Salem State and Suffolk. The Huskies are now 7-0-1 on the season.

Babson, whose only result was an overtime tie with UMass-Boston, dropped a spot as did Hobart, despite downing Potsdam, 5-2. They are ninth and 10th, respectively. Though they registered two victories apiece, Norwich (11) and defending champion Oswego (14) remained in their previous positions.

Middlebury’s victory over then top-ranked Plattsburgh earned them enough votes to move up a rung to 12th while New England College — still unbeaten at 6-0-1 — was buoyed by two victories to No. 13. Bowdoin, who salvaged a split with Colby after losing the opener, dropped three spots to No. 15.

Bethel (16), Adrian (13), and Neumann (7) all received votes this week but no new teams entered the top 15.

Parker Discusses Suspensions

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Boston University was in the news earlier this week when four players, senior captain Brian McGuirk, seniors Bryan Ewing and Dan McGoff, and junior Brandon Yip, were “suspended indefinitely” for violating a team rule.

Following tonight’s 3-2 win over the US Under-18 team, Parker responded to a question from USCHO during the press conference regarding why the suspensions were indefinite and what would need to happen before their length was known.

“I made it indefinite because I wanted to find out how much was going on as far as breaking the rules was concerned,” Parker replied. “I’m pretty satisfied I know what’s going on, so I’ll make my decision early next week about when they’ll be back, and I’ll tell them before I tell anyone else.”

In light of McGuirk being replaced by Peter MacArthur as captain, an apparently permanent move, with Ryan Weston and Matt Gilroy being named as alternates, Parker then fielded a question about whether the team already felt any different with MacArthur as captain.

“I have no idea,” Parker said. “I took the captain off of McGuirk because of his actions. I thought it was absolutely not the leadership you need from a captain. So he’s no longer captain; somebody’s got to be captain, and I thought the way those three guys [have been playing], especially Peter has given us a great first half and a very emotional first half, I thought he’d be a good candidate for it, and I thought he’d need some help from the assistants.”

Parker also was asked if he could recall stripping the captaincy from a player prior to now.

“I don’t ever remember doing it before,” he said. “I’ve benched captains before, but I don’t remember taking the ‘C’ off a captain’s shirt. For the most part, I’ve benched captains like the way I benched McGuirk because he wasn’t playing well. The ‘C’ came off the shirt because of a lack of leadership, or leadership the wrong way, I guess.”

BU has just one game against Dartmouth on Thursday before a 17-day layoff, with finals and Christmas coming up. With Brian Strait and Colin Wilson slated to miss the December 30 and January 5 games due to being selected for the World Junior Championships, at least some of the suspended players would need to be back in action by then in order to give the team a full complement of 18 skaters.

Jon Barkan Passes Away

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College Hockey lost a dear friend with the passing of Jon Barkan. Jon was taken from us far too early, with so much more left to give to the world.

In his 39 years Jon brightened our days and made each and every one of us a better person with everything that he did, not only in college hockey but with everyday life.

I remember when I was in Atlanta about two years ago visiting my sister and her family and my nephew wanted to go to a Thrashers’ game. Jon was right there for me, with tickets on the blue line about 15 rows off the ice. That’s the kind of guy he was, always willing to help and to put a smile on someone’s face.

College Hockey won’t be the same without Jon, he was one of those people that made it a pleasure to be around the sport.

There is a whole lot more that one can say about Jon, but it’s hard to put it on paper.

From all of us at USCHO, our deepest condolences and prayers to the Barkan family.

Hostility and Abuse or Pride and Inspiration?

By Patrick C. Miller
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T.J. Oshie began and will likely end his college hockey career at North Dakota as a Fighting Sioux.

But because of the settlement of a lawsuit in which the state of North Dakota sued the NCAA over its policy against American Indian nicknames, mascots and imagery, some current and future members of UND’s athletic teams might find themselves competing under a different banner.

Oshie, who is part Ojibwe (Chippewa), believes that few people understand what the nickname means to the student-athletes who play hockey at UND.

“The Fighting Sioux name is part of our team,” he explained. “You hear us say that we’re going to play ‘Fighting Sioux hockey’. Not only is that working hard and scoring goals, it’s also playing with pride. It’s part of our tradition here. It would really be sad to see it go away.”

Under terms of the agreement, if the tribal governments of the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux reservations don’t give UND formal approval to use the Fighting Sioux nickname in the next three years, then the University must begin the transition to a different nickname. Bill Goetz, North Dakota’s chancellor of higher education, said he prefers that the issue be resolved as quickly as possible.

Tim and T.J. Oshie think the Fighting Sioux nickname should be used. (Photo: Patrick C. Miller)

Tim and T.J. Oshie think the Fighting Sioux nickname should be used. (Photo: Patrick C. Miller)

For Oshie and his father Tim, who is half Ojibwe, the potential loss of the Fighting Sioux tradition has special significance. Part of it comes from the historical connection of UND’s hockey program to Northwest Minnesota, the home of the Oshies and their Native American ancestors.

The former Sioux players Tim has met during T.J.’s time at the University have made a lasting impression on him.

“When you think of people who have donned that jersey, you always hear them say that they’d do anything for that name, for that logo, for that sweater,” Tim said. “The people that the name means the most to are in that fraternity of alumni athletes. If you talk to them about it, every single person will get emotional.”

Tim is also impressed with how UND — which doesn’t have a mascot — uses the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

“I think the University of North Dakota takes every measure to make sure that they honor Native America,” he noted. “From the first time I came here and watched a game at Engelstad Arena in 2003, I was overwhelmed. To think that people oppose this is just mind-boggling to me.”

T.J.’s hockey fortunes blossomed in 2002 when he and his father moved from the Seattle area to Warroad, Minn., where Tim’s parents grew up and he lived for two years after he was born. Previous generations of Oshies and their relatives contributed to making the town a perennial hockey power in the state.

T.J. not only played on Warroad Warrior teams that won two Minnesota high school championships, but he also learned about his Native American roots and culture.

“When I was back in Washington, I didn’t get to learn too much about the tribes,” he related. “So when I came back, my cousin Henry Boucha educated me on that a little more. It’s nice to get back to knowing where you came from.”

As a result of his outstanding high school career at Warroad, T.J. committed to play hockey at UND, became a first-round draft pick of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues and was named the Minnesota Indian Education Association’s male athlete of 2005.

“Once I won that, it was special because I was never really recognized as a Native American,” T.J. said. “It’s nice to have people know that.”

Ironically, the same Native American organization that bestowed the honor on T.J. also passed a resolution in 2001 against UND’s use of the Fighting Sioux nickname.

“When T.J. received that award, it was huge because it made a lot of people realize that he’s part of this,” Tim said. “The resolution is intact, and yet, I think a lot of people on the reservations around North Dakota and South Dakota, most of them don’t care and a lot of them do approve of UND’s nickname.”

Tim believes that rather than seeing his son as a hockey player wearing what the NCAA and some others consider a “hostile and abusive” logo, Native Americans should embrace him and the Fighting Sioux nickname with a sense of pride and view him as a source of inspiration.

“This is a kid who’s not Sioux Indian, he’s Ojibwe Indian, but he’s still Native American,” Tim said. “He’s the guy they should be using as their model, as a human being, as an ambassador to the sport of hockey and to the University of North Dakota.”

Those who’ve watched T.J. the past two seasons know that he plays the game much bigger than his size, with a never-give-in attitude and boundless enthusiasm. Tim references the 2007 Frozen Four semi-final game between UND and Boston College. He focused on his son after the Eagles scored an empty net goal with 50 seconds left to take a 5-3 lead.

“When both teams went to their benches, T.J. lined up at center ice by himself waiting for the puck to be dropped,” he recalled. “That personifies T.J. There’s no quit in him, and that’s why he is who he is.

“People need to look at him and say, ‘You know what? This is a Native American and he will never quit’,” Tim said. “I think too many of our people quit long before they die.”

T.J. wishes that UND student-athletes who compete under the Fighting Sioux banner could talk to the Sioux tribes in North Dakota who will ultimately decide the fate of the nickname and logo.

“I would like to see us be a little more involved,” he said. “I think it would be nice for the Sioux Native Americans to be able to hear what we have to say in person and realize how loyal we are to the logo and to the name. We’re the ones out there wearing it.”

His father wishes that members of the Sioux tribes could understand that how his son plays hockey symbolizes what it means to be part of the Fighting Sioux tradition.

“I hope in my prayers and dreams that he will motivate and inspire Native American children and adults,” Tim said. “That’s my mission as his father. What I’m trying to do is mold him to utilize what he’s created for himself and to give it away to the people of Native America.”

Tim has worked on the reservations and has firsthand knowledge of the many problems facing Native Americans today. He sees the battle to do away with the Fighting Sioux nickname as an unwillingness to put history in the past and deal with more pressing issues.

“We’re so worried about what happened in the past that it takes all of our emotions,” he explained. “We need to learn from what happened and move forward to make a bright future for our children. Our priorities should be on making Native America stronger because the current approach is failing.”

Drawing on a lesson he learned long ago from his late father Richard Oshie, Tim concludes, “We have to do our very best to get rid of the hatred because there’s a lot of hatred and heavy hearts in Native America. We have to learn how to coexist.”

Poll Madness

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We’ve had quite a cluster you-know-what at the top of the Division III poll for several weeks, with as many as six teams getting first place votes. This week we had a tie for the first time that I can remember, and I’ve been with USCHO since the inception of the poll. I think there’s a couple of reasons for the madness:

– We went from 15 to 20 voters this season, adding more coaches and writers. More people means more opinions.

– There are a lot of really strong teams out there right now. Four teams are undefeated (Elmira, Babson, Southern Maine and New England College), and there are six teams in the poll with just one loss and four others with just two.

So who’s number one? One can make a case for either Plattsburgh or Elmira. I’ve got to give the nod to Elmira on the basis of a 3-2 head-to-head win, Plattsburgh’s only loss. But the Cards have played five more games at this point, so we’ll have to wait and see what Elmira’s record is after 12 games. Frankly, I think they’ll still be undefeated as I don’t see a real challenge for the Soaring Eagles until the end of January when they host Utica. Geneseo on 1/12 has a shot, but I think Elmira is on its way to a 20 win season for the first time since 1999-2000.

This Week in Hockey East: Dec. 6, 2007

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Letters To Santa

Once again, we’ve intercepted mail from Hockey East arenas to the North Pole and are sharing them with you.

On Northeastern stationery:

Greg Cronin here, Santa.

I might have been a little curt with you at this time last year, and I guess I should explain. We had a killer schedule to start the season, and I’m not one who’s much for moral victories. So if I seemed a little grumpy back then, I apologize.

I’m in a much better mood this year. My boys have been very, very good. We’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations, including — if you’ll keep this under that big red hat of yours — even my own. Picked to finish seventh, we’re on top of the league. Who’d a thunk it?

So I’m just going to ask for more of the same in the second half, Santa.

Although, come to think of it, we finished 7-5-3 inside the league last year after the holidays, so maybe you responded to me getting a little testy. If so, then I’m giving you a warning. Give us a strong second half, Big Guy, or be prepared to drop the gloves.

On Boston College stationery:

Hey, Santa, this is Jerry York.

I was thinking you might have dropped a big mound of coal in my driveway this fall. We came within one day of going 0-for-November.

But there’s nothing like a win over Boston University to get things started. And nothing like a sweep over those Terriers to really get me in a good mood.

Hey, you know I was thinking that even if there are a lot of ups and downs in the early going, what really matters is how you finish.

So how about a 13-game winning streak down the stretch just like last year? Only this time, start it one game later. Let number 13 come in the national championship game, not the semifinals like last year.

Help yourself to some milk and cookies, and go Eagles!

On New Hampshire stationery:

Hey, Santa, Dick Umile here.

Thanks for giving me another great group of forwards. I can see the other coaches in this league all but turn green with envy when they have to face them.

But nobody writes you and just says thanks, so neither will I.

I would like to tighten up the defense just a little bit more. That never hurts. And I’d sure like to get the power play kick-started. A group that talented shouldn’t be eighth in the league.

But most of all, give us a little boost when we get to the Garden this year. Not that it’s automatic or anything that we’ll get there, especially the way the league is this year. It’s just that another Hockey East title like in 2003 would be really great.

And then in the NCAAs, well, we got to the championship game in 2003 and if that happens again this year, I’ll take my chances.

See, I’m only asking to win Hockey East and a 50-50 shot at a national championship. With this group of kids, I don’t feel like I’m out of line.

On Providence College stationery:

Santa, Tim Army.

I was a little worried there early in the season. Coming off a tough year, I hated to get off to a start like that.

But 4-1-1 over our last six is pretty good, even if I feel like that loss — in overtime against UNH — should have at least given us a point.

I’ve got to love our special teams. First in the league on the power play. Hey, I believe in letting players play and… well, you’ve got eyes, Santa. On the man advantage, are they playing or what?

They’re also tied for first on the PK. So I don’t need any help there under the tree. And I like both our team offense and defense.

So just some ongoing improvement and continued momentum is what I’m looking for.

On Massachusetts stationery:

Santa, this is Toot Cahoon.

I can’t say that I’m unhappy, but there’s always room for improvement. We could be more consistent. We’ve only gotten a single pair of back-to-back wins all year. But at the same time, we’re 4-1-3 over our last eight, so we’re definitely moving in the right direction.

We had some significant losses in personnel that we’ve replaced pretty well, I think so I’m pretty happy with that.

I’m delighted that we’re tops in Hockey East in scoring defense, especially after losing Jon Quick. It’s a testament to these kids, how hard they’ve worked, and how talented they are.

So what I’d really like for starters is another home ice berth. Getting those back-to-back would really solidify the gains we’ve made in the program, trying to bring winning teams year in and year out to the Pioneer Valley.

That’d be great for starters, but if we can do that then… well, call me in March.

On UMass-Lowell stationery:

What’s up, Big Guy? Blaise MacDonald here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving me some goaltending. It’s just about all I asked for last year and even if it’s a tad belated I’m not going to complain. You can’t win in this league without those guys between the pipes so I’m happy.

The team’s penalty kill also has put a smile on my face. Tied for best in the league!

For a team comprised almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores, not to mention picked to finish ninth, 3-4-4 isn’t too shabby. Three wins out of the last four is also a good sign, especially that W against UNH.

But please, Santa, cut us some slack. No more injuries. We can’t take much more of them. So tops on my list is health for the boys.

Oh yeah, it’d also be great if I could get a whole box of Dick Umile mock turtlenecks.

On Vermont stationery:

Santa, this is Kevin Sneddon.

Things weren’t looking so good there for a while, were they? Starting 0-4-1 had me thinking I’d be building a fire in the fireplace come December 24th instead of leaving out milk and cookies. I tell you, I bought matches and lighter fluid after that 9-1 loss to BU.

But we had a 3-1-1 stretch prior to last weekend’s loss and we’re scoring goals like never before, so there are some positive signs.

Still, we’ve got to fix our defensive play. I’m not asking for a return to all those 2-1 games. I still like our stylistic switch. But we can’t keep giving up goals at this rate.

So how about turning Joe Fallon into superman while we iron out the kinks in the defensive end?

On Boston University stationery:

Santa, Jack Parker here.

We’re 4-9-2. 4-9-2!

We just got swept by You Know Who.

Most nights, our goaltenders remind me how much John Curry meant to this team. And when the goalies do play well…

Hey, Santa, if you can’t figure out something to bring me, I’m declaring you academically ineligible.

On Merrimack stationery:

Mark Dennehy here.

Hey, Santa, not that I’m a vengeful guy, but how about a little bag of coal to all those who predicted we’d finish last this year?

Not that much coal on the planet? Okay. Well, you get my point.

These kids have believed in themselves and busted their butts and now they’re 6-6-2. Based on all the inner thoughts of the pundits, You Know Where has frozen over.

I’d really like to see a nice reward for these kids. We’ve finished last three straight years and its time for these guys to make the playoffs. It’s a tough league — a brutal league, make that — and it won’t take much of a bad streak for us to drop into last place.

After all, who are the only two teams who aren’t ahead of us? BU and Maine.

So give us a break. We don’t want any charity. We’ll be happy to earn it. But let a bounce or two go our way, let the kids keep improving, and we’ll take our chances on playing March 14th.

On Maine stationery:

Hey, Santa. Tim Whitehead.

Last place? Last place?

You’ve got to be kidding me. After back-to-back trips to the Frozen Four, the cellar makes me feel like I’ve fallen down Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit hole.

I knew after losing all those forwards, we’d have a lot of holes to fill this year but I didn’t expect to be last in the league in offense, power play percentage, and penalty kill.

A power play conversion rate of 7.0 percent after last year’s nation-best 25.4? It’s a bit cruel, don’t you think?

I think we’re going to turn it around and any help you can provide especially in pucks finding the back of the net would be appreciated.

But if it isn’t going to get any better, could you do me a favor? Hit me over the head with a Synergy and don’t get out the smelling salts until April.

Trivia Contest

Last week’s question asked about “well-rounded” hat tricks after UNH’s Mike Radja completed the trick with one goal on the power-play, one while shorthanded, and the other at even strength. You were to name the last Hockey East player before Radja to score such a “well-rounded” hat trick.

Without extensive research, the last one known to achieve the feat was another Wildcat, Sean Collins, on Dec. 5, 2003 at Clarkson.

Since no one guessed Collins or uncovered a more recent case, this week’s cheer goes to my niece Cherie’s team, the Providence Friars.

Go Friars! Beat Yale and Harvard! And keep that sniper shot going, Cherie!

With the column and almost all of Hockey East taking a break for the holidays, the trivia contest will, too.

Happy Holidays, one and all!

This Week in the CHA: Dec. 6, 2007

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Each CHA team has a need as the second half will be here soon enough. What better time to wish for something than the holiday season?

Alabama-Huntsville — Some wins would be nice to keep coach Danton Cole with a full head of non-gray hair. Maybe the talent is there for the Chargers, but no luck? Maybe vice versa? Maybe he needs to listen to one of Brett McConnachie’s “P-BoX” albums? The defending champs are going to be very hard-pressed to repeat, but that’s not to say they won’t give it their best fighting effort. And with Cole, this team will eventually be on top of whatever conference they fall into in the coming years. That’s not to say they won’t come alive in March (see last year), so who really knows? But it all starts with getting more wins on the board, especially in conference play.

Bemidji State — Bemidji State should beg Santa to bring the WCHA their program for next season, even if on some sort of trial basis. What could that hurt? RIT did it last year out east and Wayne State did it their first season, so why can’t BSU play a WCHA-type schedule, home and away, and let the WCHA power-that-be make the decision after next season? Either way, Bemidji State needs to keep their program for the good of not only the university, but for college hockey. Plus, the WCHA makes perfect sense geographically as we all know. With a new rink in the works, all the intangibles seem to be there, but only time will tell. Hopefully, 2008 is that time.

Niagara — The chance to win the CHA championship on their home turf is an opportunity the Purple Eagles can’t afford to let slip away. The renovations done at Dwyer Arena last summer are superb and the fans and students have been packing the joint. Niagara is due for a title and another shot at the NCAA Tournament. To get the Ted Cooks and Les Reaneys of old back for 2008 would be a bonus, as would having Matt Caruana and Juliano Pagliero continue their stellar play for the second half of the season. If it all comes together for the Purps, watch out. They’ve been snakebitten in the CHA Tournament the past couple years, but maybe that fortune changes in March. It’s anyone’s ball game, but NU has the home field edge.

Robert Morris — Christmas came early for RMU with head coach Derek Schooley’s contract extension through 2013. Now all the Colonials need is a bounce or two here and there and some luck on top of their talent and anything is possible. What Robert Morris needs more than anything heading into 2008 is consistency. They started the season on a tear, winning the Nye Frontier Classic in Alaska and beating then-No. 9 Boston University in the process. A sweep last week at Colgate hasn’t given RMU much momentum going into this weekend’s games with Quinnipiac, but the games have yet to be played. The university has the administration’s support and is definitely going places, but as to how high they can climb, that will all be sorted once the Colonials establish some consistency.

Wayne State — Where to start? An arena on campus would have been nice about five years ago, but apparently, money is hard to come by in Detroit. Maybe Mike Ilitch has some spare change he can dish out to the Warriors dying program. That would be an ultimate dream come true, but alas, we all must wake up and go one-on-one with reality. The one thing WSU needs for 2008 is for anything with a pulse to come to any of their remaining eight home games at three different rinks and give the players and coaching staff and fond farewell. It’s a crying shame the program is being jettisoned after this season, so get out and see a soon-to-be extinct hockey team.

The CHA — After March, will there even be a CHA? Maybe not, but can the four remaining teams please find homes? That should be No. 1 on the league’s list for 2008. The league has been around for nine years, but is continually the butt of jokes from the college hockey world. However, this hasn’t been as prevalent as in past years as the CHA has shown its ability to compete with any school in any conference. Notre Dame, Michigan State, Colorado College, Denver, Sacred Heart and Boston University just perked up a bit. In a perfect world, two teams emerge from nowhere and make this a legitimate league again. But we live in a far-from-perfect world, so the league needs to go out on a high note and make some noise at the NCAA tourney.

On a serious note, take time to enjoy the holiday season, whichever holiday you may celebrate, and realize that no matter how rough things may seem at times, it doesn’t matter this time of year. Enjoy family and friends and the camaraderie they bring, as well as the general overall good feelings that go around during this time each year.

To all of our readers, Happy Holidays, and soon enough, Happy New Year!

And to my family, especially my wife and two sons, I love you guys — Merry Christmas!

Beavers End Niagara’s Streak

Niagara’s 22-game home unbeaten streak came to a crashing halt last Friday as Bemidji State dominated in a 5-1 win behind two Tyler Scofield goals.

Cody Bostock and Blaine Jarvis each had a goal and an assist for the Beavers, who got a 29-save outing from Matt Climie. Pope also scored for BSU.

Vince Rocco tallied the lone NU goal and Pagliero made 24 saves for Niagara.

NU freshman Bryan Haczyk was hit with a checking from behind game misconduct just 28 seconds into the game and Bemidji State scored twice on the ensuing five-minute major.

“It’s a tough way to start the game, especially after a week off,” NU head coach Dave Burkholder told the Niagara Gazette. “Thirty seconds into the game we’re killing off a five-minute power play. And we did a horrible job at that.”

“I told the guys after the game I was not only proud of them, but also how they played the game,” BSU head coach Tom Serratore said in the Bemidji Pioneer. “I respect (Niagara) as a team and a program so much. When these two teams play it’s a hard fought and disciplined contest. There’s no chirping out there. You can just feel the mutual respect the two teams have for each other.”

Reaney was a healthy scratch, but Burkholder said it was a coaching decision and nothing more. Reaney was back in the lineup Saturday centering Rocco and Egor Mironov on the top line.

Although the streak has ended, Niagara still can hold their collective heads high knowing they made it into the record book being tied for the fifth-longest home unbeaten streak in NCAA history.

The next night, Caruana scored with 1:24 to go in the third period to salvage a 2-2 tie for the Purple Eagles.

“What a great hockey game,” said Serratore in the Pioneer. “Nobody deserved to lose that one. It was championship game-caliber hockey.”

Chris Moran also scored for NU, who was down 2-0 after goals by Matt Read and Riley Weselowski. The goal by Weselowski ended a personal 17-game scoreless drought.

Niagara looked to have the game won in the overtime, but a Purple Eagles’ shot was ruled to have never fully crossed the goal line after Climie gloved it.

“We have a lot of skilled guys out there, but our offense is just not where it should be at this point in the year,” said Burkholder. “This weekend was a bump in the road for us, which should make us a better team in the long run.”

Niagara ended the game 0-for-9 on the power play and 1-for-13 in the series.

Pagliero stopped 28 shots and Climie made 23 saves.

Wayne State Swept by Bowling Green

A Jeff Caister goal that would have tied the game late in the second period was waved off when Derek Punches was called for questionable goaltender interference. Bowling Green scored on the power play to go up 3-1 and beat WSU by that same score Friday night in Detroit in the first half of a home-and-home set between the two teams.

Jon Grabarek scored for Wayne State, but the Warriors allowed three power-play goals to the Falcons while going cold (0-for-6) on the man-advantage, matching the chilling temperatures inside the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum.

Comcast Local play-by-play broadcaster Ben Holden said on-air that he was “numb” after having been at the arena since 4:00 p.m. Friday afternoon. Game time was three hours later.

Just 431 fans saw the game and probably half of those came from northern Ohio.

Kyle Funkenhauser recorded 25 saves for WSU, with his first one coming just 10 seconds into the game.

Saturday night at the BGSU Ice Arena, the Falcons won, 6-1, and again scored three power-play goals while WSU was again invisible on the man-advantage.

Stavros Paskaris potted the one and only goal for the Warriors and Brett Bothwell turned aside 27 shots in net.

Wayne State isn’t home again until Jan. 18 when they play Niagara at the Taylor SportsPlex. The next night, the two teams play in the first half of the College Hockey Faceoff at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Notre Dame (the home team for some reason) plays Michigan (the visiting team for some reason) in the night game of the Faceoff.

The weekend after that, WSU has two more at the SportsPlex with Alabama-Huntsville. Their next home game at the frozen confines of the Coliseum isn’t until Feb. 8 against Robert Morris.

RMU Loses Both at Colgate

Robert Morris went into Colgate this weekend and came away with two notches in the loss column.

Saturday night, Ryan Cruthers (two goals), Chris Margott (goal, two assists) and Nathan Longpre (two assists) all had multi-point games, but RMU fell, 4-3, to the Red Raiders.

Colgate lead 3-0 midway through the game until RMU got rolling and scored three of the next four goals. With the loss, RMU’s three-game unbeaten streak came to an end.

Freshman Jim Patterson made 25 saves for the Colonials in his first NCAA start and was on the bench for an extra attacker when Cruthers scored his second goal of the game with less than a minute to play.

Sunday afternoon, the Colonials were blanked, 5-0. Christian Boucher made 32 saves in the loss.

“This was a weird weekend for us,” Schooley said. “We played well, but didn’t get anything accomplished on the winning side. The shots and play were even, but Colgate capitalized on their opportunities. They got better goaltending than us which in turn led to them winning both games.”

Although RMU was swept, they held Colgate scoreless on the power play, killing all seven power play chances over the weekend.

Chargers Get Commitment from AJHL D-Man

Canmore Eagles defenseman Tom Durnie has committed to Alabama-Huntsville for the 2009-2010 season.

The Calgary native is currently in his second season in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and will be the third defenseman to graduate from the Eagles program and join the Chargers — current UAH captain Scott Kalinchuk and former captain Jeremy Schreiber are the others.

”The Chargers are getting not only a very good defenseman, but a tremendous person in Tom Durnie,” Canmore coach and general manager Bob Miller said. “He has been part of our Eagles program for four years now and has shown continuous commitment to his on- and off-ice work ethic, always learning and pushing himself to be better. Tom is very focused and driven.”

Colonials Get Syracuse Recruit For ’08-09

This Trevor Lewis is definitely going to college.

Just one year after Michigan recruit Trevor Lewis signed with the Los Angeles Kings and played in the Ontario Hockey League, a Syracuse Stars player by the same name (and age) has given the nod to Robert Morris.

Lewis, from the tiny town of Lititz, Penn., is a 20-year-old forward leading the Eastern Junior Hockey League in scoring with 13 goals and 40 points through 24 games. He had 40 points all of last season in almost double the amount of games. Lewis also captains the Stars.

“All the hard work over the last few years has really paid off,” Lewis said. “I felt Robert Morris was a great fit for me and the fact that my brother will be attending Robert Morris next fall to play lacrosse makes it a little sweeter.”

“Trevor has worked so hard on and off the ice these last two years to make this dream of playing Division I hockey come true,” said Syracuse head coach Chris Firriolo. “He’s such a fierce competitor and battles shift after shift. Obviously he’s a very skilled player, but what separates Trevor from the rest is the incredible work ethic and leadership he brings to the rink each day. His speed, tenacity and ability to anticipate and slow the game down in his head are going to allow Trevor to be very successful right away at the college level.

“Whenever you have a tremendous character kid like Trevor find the success he has, it makes the whole process at this level very rewarding.”

The Stars are currently second overall in the EJHL.

This Week in the CCHA: Dec. 6, 2007

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Another Year Over, and What Have You Done?

As 2007 winds down and we’re almost to the point at which we can take stock of the first half of the CCHA season, I am haunted by the ghosts of seasons past. In fact, I can’t shake the memory of what I wrote a year ago this week, and how history has a way of repeating.

Notre Dame winning and winning, Michigan coming off a disappointing home split against a team it should have swept, a CCHA POTW with which to quibble — all of this looks too familiar.

There were six CCHA teams among the top-20 at this time last year while there are five this week, but Miami was then, as now, the top ranked among those teams, last year at this time the No. 3 team in the country.

Notre Dame

With a sweep of Nebraska-Omaha and a little help from Ohio State, the Irish are in sole possession of first place. This week.

It took four points, an idle Miami team and a Michigan loss to propel ND into the top spot, the only team in the league with 20 points. A 9-1-0 record in November didn’t hurt either, the first nine-win month for the Irish since Nov. 1983.

To sweep UNO last weekend, the Irish first had to overcome a three-goal deficit in Friday’s 5-4 win. Maverick freshman Joey Martin’s first two collegiate goals and sophomore J.J. Koehler’s second marker of the season had ND back on its proverbial heels little more than midway through the second, but the Irish netted four unanswered goals within six minutes of playing time at the end of the second and beginning of the third to take the lead — goals by Kevin Deeth (17:18), Christian Hanson (18:32), Erik Condra (0:48) and Dan Kissel (2:21), respectively.

Mick Lawrence scored at 7:57 in the third to tie it again for the Mavs, but Garrett Regan’s tally at 17:54 lifted the Irish up, 5-4.

On Saturday, Mark Van Guilder had the game-winner, Jordan Pearce had his second shutout of the year one night after his worst game of the season, and rookie defenseman Teddy Ruth starred in the role of Superman for the Irish. Ruth played with a knee injury he sustained on Friday night — “It looked like I had a baseball on the back of my knee, but we got the swelling down,” Ruth told the South Bend Tribune — had a goal and an assist.

ND head coach Jeff Jackson gave Pearce the start because, well, he’s Notre Dame’s starter. “When you have a number-one goaltender,” said Jackson, “they’re allowed to have an off night.”

Jackson was also pleased with the way in which the Irish responded to their Friday come-from-behind win. “I liked the fact that we responded to come out and play a 60-minute hockey game. It’s never going to be a perfect game, but I really liked our effort tonight.”

What’s the secret to Notre Dame’s success? It’s simple. The Irish play like a team with good leadership from upperclassmen and a balanced effort from all four classes; Notre Dame can rotate four solid lines; the Irish freshmen contribute; the ND sophomore continue to develop; Jordan Pearce (.912 SV%) is solid in net. And then there’s Jeff Jackson, Paul Pooley, and Andy Slaggert behind the bench.

See? Simple.

Notre Dame’s reign at the top of the standings may, however, be short-lived. The Irish are playing Princeton twice this weekend, while Miami and Michigan, tied for second with 18 points each, take on CCHA teams.

Michigan

At this time last year, I was writing about how the Western Michigan Broncos had broken their 16-game winless streak in Yost Ice Arena by beating Michigan, 6-3, Dec. 1, 2006, their first win in Ann Arbor since 1995.

Last weekend, another less-dramatic streak was broken Yost, when Ohio State snapped Michigan’s 11-game home win streak with a 3-2 victory. The split in Ann Arbor was certainly a big deal for the Buckeyes, as it was just their second CCHA win of the season, but these teams have split their season series now since the 2004-05 season, and the Bucks even took one from the Wolverines in 2003-04, when the teams were clustermates.

So losing to the Buckeyes — even with their current season — wasn’t necessarily a wake-up call for Michigan. Playing a team that figured out how to limit Michigan’s high-flying offense to two goals — and to shut down that offense through 57 minutes and 19 seconds, as did the Buckeyes — was the real ice water in the face.

OSU led UM 2-0 on Buckeye Tommy Goebel’s first two-goal performance as a Buckeye until nearly the end of the game. Then Michigan senior Chad Kolarik scored at 17:19 to cut Ohio State’s lead in half. Then OSU freshman Sergio Somma netted what held up to be the game-winner at 17:51. Then Kolarik scored his second of the game at 18:42.

(A tangent here: I was watching the game on FOX, and those last five minutes were among the most exciting I’ve seen, ever. Both goaltenders made amazing saves, the goals were spectacular and the outcome absolutely uncertain.)

But back to Chad Kolarik, which is the real story here. The two-man Michigan senior class of Kevin Porter (16-10–26) and Kolarik (11-11–22) have done the lions’ share of scoring for the Wolverines. So Michigan head coach Red Berenson shook up the lineup for Saturday’s contest, fielding an all-rookie line of Carl Hagelin, Matt Rust and Aaron Palushaj.

“Anytime you lose a game, you have to regroup and refocus,” said Berenson. “We have been watching Porter and Kolarik carry a large part of our offense in recent weeks and I think it’s important that we get more balance in our attack, whether it’s work ethic or puck touches or a combination.”

Or goals. Goals work. In Saturday’s 4-2 win, three freshmen accounted for all four goals. Max Pacioretty had two goals, and Rust and Hagelin each had one.

Michigan, playing Bowling Green this week with Notre Dame playing out of conference, has a chance to regain at least a share of the CCHA lead.

POTW

Last year at this time, I was grousing about Scott Parse. Now, that’s no easy thing to do, as Parse is easily one of the best players to have come through the CCHA in the 13 years that I’ve been covering.

I had no problem with Scott Parse, ever. My problem was that Parse — pitching in on the blueline for a weekend — was named CCHA Defenseman of the Week because he registered a hat trick, including a goal on the power play. Hardly defying expectations, I think, considering the player.

And so this week I have another complaint about POTW honors. Disclaimer: I love the Michigan freshman class, and Max Pacioretty is pure dynamite. He’s eighth among all players nationally for points per game, and scoring two goals in Saturday’s 4-2 win with an assist in Friday’s 3-2 loss is a nice weekend.

But weren’t the Wolverines the No. 2 team in the country last week, while the Buckeyes were, say, the No. 50 or so? I mean, wasn’t Michigan expected to win?

That’s why I was surprised that Buckeye freshman Sergio Somma didn’t get the nod. Somma responded to Chad Kolarik’s third-period goal less than a minute later for the game-winner last Friday, and he added another goal in the third period Saturday.

I know it must be difficult to choose among the worthy and I am doing anything but knocking Pacioretty and Michigan; I’m just looking at the relative fortunes of each team.

Oh, I do believe in spirits. Apparently.

Oh, What a Christmas to Have the Blues

Two home losses to Michigan State last weekend leave Lake Superior State the only team in the CCHA without a league win this season.

The Lakers battled back from three goals down Friday to make it a 3-2 final, before losing 5-2 Saturday. Sophomore Nathan Perkovich and freshman Rick Schofield each scored a goal in each game, accounting for all four Laker tallies.

Freshman Brian Mahoney-Wilson (.891 SV%) and sophomore Pat Inglis (.852 SV%) split the games.

“The guys worked hard and did everything I asked of them,” said LSSU head coach Jim Roque. “We made a couple mistakes, and when you’re a young team you’ll make some mistakes.”

The Lakers have played each of their clustermates twice, and are now 0-6-0 against MSU, UM and NMU. The last time the Lakers drew this cluster was in 2002-03, when they went 2-10-0 against the Spartans, Wolverines and Wildcats.

This weekend, the Lakers travel to Omaha for two against the Mavericks, and these are LSSU’s last games of the calendar year. Lake State starts the second half of the season against Michigan State in East Lansing, Jan. 4-5.

Silver and Gold

Four Wolverines, a Buckeye, and a Fighting Irishman walk into a rink. No, it’s not a new take on an old joke, but it is a familiar scenario when discussing the IIHF World Junior Championships.

Six players from the CCHA will play in this year’s Juniors tourney, four for Team USA, one for Team Sweden, and all from big-name schools.

Three of the Wolverines are freshmen forwards Carl Hagelin, Max Pacioretty and Matt Rust. Hagelin (Sodertalje, Sweden) and Rust (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) are tied for fifth in scoring among all Wolverines with five goals and five assists each for 10 points; Pacioretty (New Canaan, Conn.) is fifth (5-10–15).

UM defenseman, sophomore Chris Summers (Ypsilanti, Mich.), has four assists in 18 games this season and has six career goals and 18 career assists in 57 games for the Wolverines.

Notre Dame is represented by freshman defenseman Ian Cole (Ann Arbor, Mich.), who has two goals and four assists in 18 games.

Ohio State sends goaltender Joseph Palmer (Yorkville, N.Y.), who has posted a .881 save percentage and 3.38 goals-against average with a record of 4-10-1 this season.

Both Cole and Palmer earned gold medals in the 2006 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

Obviously, Hagelin will be playing for Team Sweden, and everyone else for Team USA.

Silver, gold, bronze…those are good colors of the season, gents.

The Prettiest Sight You’ll See

I never thought I’d be so happy to see Fred Pletsch on television.

The league’s director of communications and I have had our differences, but I was thrilled to see Fred alongside of Ken Daniels announcing the OSU-Michigan game last Friday on FOX. Fred and his wife, Kelly, were injured fairly badly in an auto accident a month ago — Fred’s laundry list of injuries included several broken bones — but that did little to slow down our league man. Just a week after his accident, he responded to my email from the hospital, so I don’t know why I’m surprised he returned to his commentator duties last week.

At the start of the broadcast, Fred expressed his gratitude for all the good wishes that came his way after the accident. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that we are the ones who are grateful that the Pletsches will be just fine.

And They Shouted Out with Glee!

Of course they did…after they tasted these cookies.

This is the best cookie recipe I know. Dolly is my 73-year-old mother, who still bakes dozens and dozens of cookies every Christmas. Put aside time to refrigerate the dough!

Dolly’s Cut-Out Cookies

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 cup butter
2 eggs
4 tsp. milk (1 tbs. + 1 tsp.)
1 tsp. vanilla

Method:

  • Combine dry ingredients and set aside.
  • Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time. Add milk. Mix until smooth.
  • Divide into workable amounts and wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 375.
  • Roll a small amount of dough one-eighth to one-quarter inch thick. Keep the remaining dough refrigerated.
  • Cut into festive shapes — Mom always preferred bells and other rounded shapes (less likely to get too crispy around the edges) — and place on ungreased baking sheets.
  • Brush with beaten egg whites, and decorate with colored sugar before baking.

Bake 5-10 minutes, but watch carefully; these can burn quickly. You’ll need to make sure your rolling pin is cold, the work surface is floured — I use a powdered sugar-flour mix, so as not to add too much more flour to the dough — and that you work quickly.

These are great with anything hot — coffee, tea, chocolate — and also good with milk. I wonder if Linda Greene still makes these.

Happy holidays, everyone!

This Week in the MIAC

By Derek Martin
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With nine teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, one squad has to be the odd one out. This week that distinction goes to the Hamline Pipers. There are plenty of intriguing series for this coming weekend. If you had to pick just one, go see St. Olaf taking on Gustavus Adolphus.

There is bad blood between these schools and they couldn’t be more evenly matched. The records are almost identical and both teams play a similar style of fast-paced, good passing, and hard-hitting hockey.

The other interesting match-up is Bethel and St. John’s as this could determine whether St. Thomas gets some competition for the conference title. Bethel needs to show it is going to contend for a title with St. Thomas by keeping pace with the Tommies. If Bethel can’t handle St. John’s they will have a hard time taking over first place.

St. Thomas and Chestnut’s Roasting

Three weeks ago St. Thomas swept the defending conference champions, Bethel, and last week they crushed the number one team, Wisconsin-River Falls. Currently, they find themselves 6-1-1 and ranked seventh in the nation.

The Tommies made a statement a few weeks ago to the MIAC that they were the team to beat when they swept Bethel. Last week a statement was made to the rest of the D-III hockey world when St. Thomas beat River Falls, shutting the Falcons out, 5-0.

Tommies’ head coach Terry Skrypek came away from the Bethel series feeling good about his squad. In the first game, St. Thomas won 4-1 by limiting the Royals’ chances and finishing on its own.

In the second game, they found themselves down 2-0 going into the second period and were able fight their way back into the game. Although it let Bethel back into the game after taking a 5-3 lead, St. Thomas captured the victory in overtime.

“It was great to see that we have the ability to comeback in the big games,” said Skrypek.

On his team’s shutout victory, Skrypek noted that the game was closer than the score indicated:

“We got a few breaks on shots, two that were deflected and found the back of the net. Our goalie, Tyler Chestnut took two goals away from them, with two great saves.”

Chestnut has been dynamite for St. Thomas this season. Currently, his numbers are in the middle of the pack among MIAC goaltenders but as the season continues he should make his way to the top.

Coach Skrypek feels very confident with Chestnut between the pipes: “He is not a flashy goalie but always has great control of his movements in the net.”

This is Chestnut’s first year with the Tommies but the sophomore already has the team’s respect.

“The players and Tyler have great chemistry. He is capable of stealing some games for us if we are not playing well,” remarked Skrypek.

St. Thomas’ ethos is to not get overworked by any team. When asked if the Tommies could beat an East Coast team for a national championship coach Skrypek remarked:

“If we are on our game, we can beat anyone on a given night. To win a national championship, we have to get better in certain areas. It is a long season, yet a short time from game to game.”

If St. Thomas can continue its stellar play opponents are going to have a difficult time stopping this purple and silver squad.

MIAC Players of the Week

Offense: Senior Matt Hall (Bethel) recorded three goals and three assists last weekend against Augsburg as the Royals swept the Auggies 5-0 and 4-2. Hall currently has seven goals and nine assists this season.

Goaltender: Sophomore Aaron Damjanovich (Bethel) led the Royals to a sweep against Augsburg by recording 65 saves and allowing only two goals in the series. Damjanovich has a 2.57 goals against average and a .920 save percentage on the season.

This Week’s Schedule

Augsburg vs. No. 7 St. Thomas

Overall Records: AUG — 0-7-1 (0-4-0 MIAC); STU — 6-1-1 (2-0-0 MIAC).
Top Wins: AUG — none; STU — Bethel and Wisconsin-River Falls.
Top Scorers: Ben Bradbury (1-5-6); STU — Nick Pernula (4-9-13).
Goaltenders: AUG — Adam Hendel (4 GP, 0-3-1, 3.44 GA, .887 SV%); STU — Tyler Chestnut (8 GP, 5-1-1, 2.31 GA, .909 SV%.

Bethel vs. St. John’s

Overall Records: BU — 7-2-0 (3-2-0 MIAC); SJU — 4-5-1 (2-1-1 MIAC).
Top Wins: BU — Marian; SJU — St. Olaf.
Top Scorers: BU — Matt Hall (7-8-15); SJU — Joel Stacklie (5-9-14).
Goaltenders: BU — Aaron Damjanovich (7 GP, 5-1-0, 3.05 GA, .910 SV%); SJU — Vince Wheeler (10 GP, 4-5-1, 2.58 GA, .896 SV%).

Concordia vs. St. Mary’s

Overall Records: CONC — 1-6-0 (0-2-0 MIAC); SMU — 2-5-2 (2-2-0 MIAC.)
Top Wins: CONC — Wisconsin-Eau Claire; SMU — Gustavus.
Top Scorers: CONC — Kirby Markowsky (3-2-5); SMU — Anthony Bohn (2-7-9).
Goaltenders: CONC — Jeremy Boniface (6 GP, 1-4-0. 3.82 GA, .900 SV%); SMU — Dan Smith (9 GP, 2-5-2, 4.21 GA, .898 SV%).

Gustavus vs. St. Olaf

Overall Records: GAC — 4-4-0 (2-2-0 MIAC); SOC — 4-3-2 (2-1-1 MIAC)
Top Wins: GAC — St. Norbert; SOC — Tied Wisconsin-River Falls.
Top Scorers: GAC — David Martinson (5-9-14); SOC — Nick Stalock (9-5-14).
Goaltenders: GAC — Matthew Lopes (3 GP, 2-1-0, 1.34 GA, .935 SV%); SOC — Brycen Eberwein (5 GP, 2-2-1, 3.91 GA, .883 SV%).

12/11 Bethel vs. Wis.-Superior (nc)

12/12 Gustavus @ St. John’s (nc)

This Week in D-III Women’s Hockey: Dec. 6, 2007

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Bantam-weight: Trinity Steps Up

Plattsburgh … Elmira … Middlebury … Stevens Point … Trinity? That’s right folks, I said Trinity.

The Bantams are off to a tremendous start this season with a 5-1-1 record on the year and the USCHO.com voters are taking notice. Trinity received their first top-10 ranking in school history this past week, garnering eight votes and grabbing the 10th spot over River Falls and Adrian.

“After we got over the initial shock, we were very excited about being ranked,” said Trinity head coach Andrew McPhee. “Just receiving votes two weeks ago was an accomplishment itself.”

The Bantams have swept conference opponents Wesleyan and Hamilton so far in this young season and have also tied and lost 2-0 to fourth-ranked and undefeated Amherst. McPhee points to goaltending and solid teamwork as some of the biggest reasons for Trinity’s unprecedented start.

“It starts with Isabel (Iwachiw) in goal for us,” McPhee said. “She’s been absolutely great. But it doesn’t stop there as we have been playing good team hockey in all phases of the game. We’ve added a lot of new players that fit in well with our returnees and they have all blended well into their specific roles. We’ve played consistent hockey and have been able to spread out the scoring.”

Trinity has been aided by the fact that they opened a brand new rink on campus last year for the 2006-2007 season. Now, in their second season in the new building, McPhee points to the new arena being an added bonus for bringing in recruits now.

“Our old rink wasn’t on campus,” McPhee said. “Trinity is a great academic school and we were able to bring in big freshmen classes lately because the players know they’ll get the chance to play in the new rink.”

The Bantams have now finished the first half of their season and McPhee has been pleased with the overall play of his team but knows that nothing is going to come easy for them.

“Our results have been awesome so far this season,” McPhee said. “I thought we were going to be an improved and good team but this start was certainly unexpected. We’ve had great consistency on both Friday and Saturday in our weekend games. The Amherst games were tight battles and it gave us confidence that we could play with the top teams. The Hamilton series we fell behind in both games and then came back to win, which is something we haven’t been able to do in year’s past.”

Trinity will open up the second half of their season playing in the Codfish Bowl in Boston, Mass. The Bantams will take on the Oswego State Lakers (2-6-1) in the first round. In the second game, host UMass-Boston (3-3-0) will take on Cortland (2-4-2).

Another Western Showdown

This week’s game of the week heads west once again as the undefeated and third-ranked Stevens Point Pointers (7-0-0) will play host to NCHA rival and ninth-ranked Superior Yellowjackets (7-1-0).

“It’s a big rivalry and both teams will surely be up for it,” said Stevens Point head coach Ann Ninnemann.

Stevens Point comes into Friday’s showdown coming off a sweep of previously 10th-ranked River Falls. The Pointers continued their outstanding team defense that they have shown all season, shutting down the Falcons in both games and winning by scores of 1-0 and 2-1.

Superior comes in winners of three straight since losing to Adrian. The Yellowjackets swept Concordia (WI) last weekend and outscored the Falcons 12-0 in the two games.

Ninnemann is hoping for big things from her team this weekend against Superior.

“I’m hoping to see that all the girls will step up and we’ll play our best game of the season so far,” Ninnemann said.

Superior head coach Dan Laughlin is hoping to see his Yellowjackets play three solid periods of high intensity hockey.

“Anytime you play Stevens Point, you’ve got to be on your game and not let your guard down,” Laughlin said. “If you do, they’ll take advantage. We’ve got to stick with our game plan and be patient while Stevens Point plays their extremely defensive style. Special teams are going to be important and we’ll need to stay out the box and when we get opportunities on the power play, we have to capitalize.”

Both Stevens Point and Superior have the fortunate situation of having two solid goaltenders that they have both used in tandems so far this season, alternating every game played.

“Right now it’s been working great for us,” Ninnemann said. “Perhaps later on in the season if one of them steps up huge we’ll have one ‘go-to’ goaltender, but for now we’re sticking to the tandem.”

Stevens Point’s goalie tandem has been a large part of the reason why the Pointers have given up just six goals in their seven games so far this season. Sophomore d’Andra Phillips (Swartz Creek, Mich.) is 4-0-0 on the season with a 0.82 goals against average and .962 save percentage. Fellow sophomore, Ann Hulme (Shaker Heights, OH) has been equally impressive with her 3-0-0 record on the season with a 0.90 goals against average and a .949 save percentage.

Superior’s goaltending tandem has been almost equally impressive, as the Pointers’ have given up eight goals in their eight games. Junior Rikki Nespor (Stonewall, Man.) is 3-1-0 on the season with a 0.75 goals against average and .946 save percentage while posting a Division III leading, three shutouts. Sophomore Melissa Kunzelman (Brandon, Man.) is 4-0-0 on the season with a 1.25 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

“Both of our goalies could start anywhere across the country and they have the stats to prove it,” Laughlin said. “They both have a nice healthy competitive relationship and understand why we’re using the tandem system right now.”

While Stevens Point holds the advantage in the defensive end, Superior has shown the ability to have a much more potent offense than the Pointers. Senior Stacy Anderson leads the way for the Yellowjackets with six goals and eight assists for 14 points.

Two freshmen, Lindsey LeGree and Shana Katz have made monumental impacts on Superior’s offense early in the season. LeGree has tallied five goals and seven assists for 12 points and Katz has six goals and five assists for 11 total points. LeGree has shown a knack for scoring big goals in her young career as she has scored three game winning goals already for the Yellowjackets.

“I’ve been very happy with the play of LeGree and Katz,” Laughlin said. “They both have great skills and talent and they’ve come a long way in just a short time playing college hockey. They’ve handled the pressure quite well and I’m excited about what they could do during their time here at Superior.”

Stevens Point may not have the offensive depth that Superior has, but they may have the best player on the ice on Friday night in junior Nicole Grossman. Grossman has seven goals and three assists on the season for a total of 10 points. They have also received solid contribution for sophomore Jessica Edward (4-1-5) and freshmen Dana Carothers (2-3-5).

NCAA Tournament Answers

This week, I interviewed Utica College head coach and NCAA Tournament Selection Committee member Dave Clausen. I know there has been a lot of talk and mystery over how the NCAA Tournament selection works, especially with the rapidly increasing size of Division III women’s hockey. These are some of the things I found out from talking with Coach Clausen.

First off, the NCHA does not have a Pool A automatic bid this season, even though they have the required seven teams needed. However, next year they will be able to apply for the Pool A bid and they will most likely get it. There will then be five automatic bids claimed by every conference-tournament champion.

This will wipe out Pool B, which is a bid that is awarded to teams based off of the same criteria used to determine the Pool C (at-large) winners. The only difference is Pool B is reserved only for conferences that do not have seven members and once the NCHA joins Pool A next year, there will no longer be any conferences with fewer than seven teams.

The only real difference for the NCHA will be that now their conference champion will definitely be awarded the Pool B bid when in years past it did not necessarily have to go to the champion if another team beat them out in the NCAA criteria.

However, that scenario had never happened as every NCHA tournament winner has won the Pool B bid except for in 2002 when 26-1-0 Stevens Point was held out of the tournament in favor of 24-1-1 ECAC West champion Elmira. The next year, Chatham joined the ECAC West giving the conference seven teams and getting the automatic bid.

Next, Adrian College is eligible for both the Pool B and Pool C bids this year even though they are a first-year program and an independent school.

The topic of expanding the NCAA tournament to eight teams comes up every year, according to Clausen. The NCAA has a standard rule for every 6.5 institutions competing in one sport; there is one NCAA Tournament spot awarded. Women’s Division III hockey would need 52 teams in order to get the eighth team.

Currently, there are 45 teams playing women’s D-III hockey with at least one more set to join next season in SUNY-Potsdam.

Another topic that was raised as a possibility was including games played against out of region opponents in the NCAA selection process as long as they were played over winter break. Currently, games played against teams from other regions than the one you plan in, do not count towards the record win or lose. However, they turned that down for the time being and it will remain just a secondary criteria used for Pool C comparisons.

Lastly, every member of the selection committee has a four-year term that they serve. This season will be Clausen’s last and he believes that in all likelihood he will be replaced by another ECAC West representative next year as the NCAA likes to keep things balanced between all of the conferences.

Hopefully that helps answers some people’s questions and it didn’t confuse anyone more than they already were about the wacky Division III selection process we all must go through. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me and I will gladly answer them or try and find out the answer to them if I don’t know it.

This Week in D-I Women’s Hockey: Dec. 6, 2007

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No Pet Cemetery Here

Not that they ever really went anywhere, but you can say this about the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.

They’re back.

You’d certainly have to say so after last week’s Bulldog sweep of two-time champs Wisconsin … in Madison, no less.

Sensational Russian freshman Iya Gravrilova was front-and-center (make that left wing), scoring the game winner in Friday’s 3-1 win, then coming back with two goals on Saturday.

The first of those, with 25 seconds left in regulation, sent the game to overtime, where Gavrilova scored again, 15 seconds in.

“We were supposed to win that game,” said Gavrilova, whose command of English is impressive, considering she has only been in North America for a few months. “Coach brought us together and told us ‘we can score this goal’. And that motivated the whole team.”

The twin wins vaulted UMD to the top of the WCHA charts. It also allowed the ’Dogs to hang onto the Nation’s No. 3 ranking, while dropping Wisconsin from fourth to seventh.

According to Gravilova, the ‘Dogs were merely reaping the rewards of an intense week of “skull and skate”.

“We were preparing seven days before,” she said. “Watching their games. But (as for) motivation? Sometimes you don’t need motivation.”

Duluth, of course, has been among the Nation’s Elite since Miller set up shop in the Iron Range nine years ago.

Three NCAA titles will attest to that.

Still, UMD hit something of a speed bump during the weekend of Oct. 26-27, when it was ambushed by Minnesota, suffering 3-1 and 5-1 losses.

Ranked No. 1 by USCHO at the time, the ‘Dogs sagged to fifth the following week.

But it wasn’t just their place in the national pecking order that took a hit.

The team psyche was also a bit tender, although according to Gravilova, not for long.

“Of course we were down,” she said. “But the next day, we met with Coach and she said we had to focus on the next game. The games (against Minnesota) were over. It was now in the past. This was more important. We should prepare for next game.”

Prepared indeed. North Dakota had the misfortune of being next on the UMD dance card, and was handed a 9-2 thumping for its time and trouble.

That set the Bulldogs off on its current run of seven wins in eight starts, with those pesky Gophers (again!!) providing the only loss.

Gravilova feels that the ‘Dogs are playing their best hockey of the season.

“Yes, I think so,” she said. “I think we’re playing better than at the start of the season. Our forecheck and back check is so much better. We prepare a lot of that in practice. Now we have good ’D’ zone, and we have a lot of offensive talent.”

Of course, that cornucopia of offensive abundance includes Gravilova, who is currently the highest scoring freshman (7g, 13a) in the country.

Miller has had tremendous success over the years with the Europeans she’s brought to Duluth.

Some might say that only the Europeans can feel at home in the forbidding Northern Minnesota winters.

Whatever, the case. The 19-year-old Siberian says she fits in just nicely in her new home.

“I’m really glad to have come here,” said Gravilova, who is an exercise science major. “It should be great (playing) hockey in America. And I love to be here. I have a lot of new friends, and great coaches like Julie Chu, Caroline Ouellette, and Shannon, of course. And I like my teammates.”

Perhaps some of her future teammates will be fellow Russians, whose presence in US womens’ hockey has been scarce.

Even UMD, with a host of Finns, Swedes, and Swiss on its alumni rolls, has seen just one Russian before Gravilova, namely the Moscovite Kristina Petrovskaia.

Gravilova feels that she could be at the leading edge of a Russian talent wave.

“Yes,” she said. “I’ve been talking to my friends from Russia, and they want to play here too. I think its like I’m here first, and then maybe more will want to come. I think so.”

If nothing else, she can use the “balmy” Duluth climate as a selling point.

“I think it’s the same (as Russia),” she said. “Or maybe sometimes warmer.”

Half-Full/Half-Empty

Goaltenders are notoriously pessimistic.

The glass could be filled just shy of the brim and they’ll tell you about the fluid that spilled over the edge.

Pull off 41 spine-tingling saves while keeping your overmatched team in a game it should have been blown out of, and all you’ll talk about is the last shot of the day, the one that beat you.

So it wasn’t a surprise to hear a downcast Boston University netminder Allyse Wilcox lay the blame at her own crease after allowing the goal that allowed No. 1 New Hampshire to squeak by with a 3-2 overtime win, on Saturday.

“It was a tough loss.” said the junior from Grand Blanc, Mich. “I just wish I could have helped my team out a little more.”

It’s hard to imagine what more she could have done, even as Jennifer Hitchcock buried the game winner with a mere 2.8 seconds left in overtime.

It came after a Terrier turnover at the blue line allowed Hitchcock to roll in unimpeded, and keep BU from taking its first ever point (in 13 meetings) away from the Wildcats.

“I felt pretty good, throughout the game,” said Wilcox. “I was hoping for a win, or at least a point out of them.”

Instead, Wilcox had to settle for being named the game’s first star, as well as Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week.

Even so, Wilcox feels that the young Terrier program — which will host the Frozen Four in 2009 — is on an upswing.

“Definitely,” she said. “We’ve improved, amazingly, over the past couple of years. Even our freshmen coming in have helped out a lot. I can definitely see BU going somewhere.”

With that, optimism saves the day.

The last save of the day.

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Dec. 6, 2007

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Handing Out the Grades

Grades are on the mind of student-athletes this time of year, with finals and midterms looming as the first portion of the season winds down. There are only six league games left in Atlantic Hockey before Christmas (four involving AIC), so this will be my final column of 2007.

I’m planning to attend the Dodge Holiday Classic in Minneapolis on December 29 and 30 featuring Air Force and RIT (oh, and Minnesota and Boston College, too). So look for my first column of 2008 to have extensive coverage of the tourney, plus recaps of Sacred Heart in the Denver Cup, Holy Cross in the Catamount Cup and results from the UConn Holiday Classic, featuring the host Huskies and Army.

In the meantime, we’re not quite at the midway point of the season, but it’s a good time to assess each team’s progress to date and make some projections for the remainder of the season:

AIC: 3-8-2 overall; 3-6-1 in AHA (Tied for eighth place)

Grade: C

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Dan Ramirez (Fr., G) – The freshman has all three of the Yellow Jackets’ wins and sports a .919 save percentage and a 2.16 GAA

Honor Roll: Jereme Tendler (Sr., F), Mike McMillan (So., F), Chris Bolognino (Sr., D)

Looking Back: AIC is off to a much better start than last season. Highlights include a sweep of Canisius and a 1-1 tie with RPI, ranked No. 16 at the time.

Outlook: With almost two-thirds of its conference season to go, AIC is four points out of a home ice playoff spot in the tightly packed AHA standings. The Yellow Jackets will play 11 of their final 18 league games on the road. I’m picking a finish for AIC somewhere between seventh and ninth place.

Air Force: 9-4-1 overall; 7-4-1 in AHA (First place)

Grade: A

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Eric Ehn (Sr., F) – Ehn got off to a slow start this season compared to last, but is catching fire lately, with nine points in his last four games.

Honor Roll: Brent Olson (Jr., F), Josh Frider (Jr., F), Andrew Volkening (So., G)

Looking Back: The Falcons are off to one of their best starts in school history and have looked even better in their last few games, as Ehn has started to get hot and a formally abysmal power play has shown signs of life.

Outlook: Senior Josh Print returned to the lineup from injury last weekend after missing the first 13 games of the season. When captain Mike Phillipich returns, the Falcons will be even better. Air Force has some tough road trips ahead, including Sacred Heart and Army. Still, it would be a shock to see the Falcons fall out of a home ice spot. I’m thinking a top-three finish.

Army: 6-6-2 overall; 6-3-2 in AHA (Tied for second place)

Grade: A

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Owen Meyer (So., F) – Meyer currently leads the league in goals (11) and is tied for the lead in points (20).

Honor Roll: Luke Flicek (Sr., F), Bryce Hollweg (Sr., F), Josh Kassel (Jr., G)

Looking Back: The Black Knights have the top line in the league in Meyer, Flicek and Hollweg, as well as the deepest goaltending, recently adding Joe Spracklen to the mix. Spracklen had to sit a year and 10 games due to time spend in major juniors. Army has both the top offense (3.55 goals per game) and top defense (2.18 goals per game) in the league.

Outlook: Barring injuries, I can’t see the Black Knights finishing any lower than fourth. They could use more help from their other three lines in the scoring department, but as long as the big three stay hot, Army should be at or near the top of the standings.

Bentley: 5-10-2 overall; 5-5-2 in AHA (Fourth place)

Grade: B

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Joe Calvi (Fr., G) – The freshman leads the league in goals against and save percentage and was named Goalie of the Month in Atlantic Hockey for November.

Honor Roll: Marc Menzione (So., F), Dain Prewitt (Jr., F), Jeff Gumaer (Jr., F)

Looking Back: The Falcons have an almost identical record at this point in the season as they did last year, and have a hold on fourth place despite being picked ninth in the pre-season poll. Calvi is the main reason, coming in and being more than a capable replacement for the departed Ray Jean.

Outlook: Just as they did last year, the Falcons are finding a way to take points every weekend. Calvi is keeping them in games when they’re getting outshot. I see Bentley finishing anywhere from fifth to seventh when the dust settles.

Canisius: 3-10-2 overall; 3-6-1 in AHA (Tied for eighth place)

Grade: C

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Josh Heidinger (So., F) – Heidinger is picking up where he left off last season, leading the Golden Griffins in goals (7) and points (14).

Honor Roll: Vincent Scarsella (Fr., F), David Kasch (Sr., F), Carl Hudson (So., D)

Looking Back: The Griffs have a couple of quality wins and ties to their credit, but have slumped as of late, dropping five of their last six games including a sweep at the hands of AIC.

Outlook: As opposed to last season at this time, Canisius can look forward to a ton of home games ahead, where they’re 2-0 so far. Getting touted freshman Cory Conacher into the lineup will help as well – he has yet to play due to injury. I expect Canisius to finish anywhere from sixth to ninth.

Connecticut: 4-9-1 overall; 3-7-1 in AHA (Tied for eighth place)

Grade: C-

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Andrew Olson (Fr., F) – The rookie leads the team in goals (6) and is tied for second in points (9).

Honor Roll: Sean Erickson (Jr., D), Michael Coppola (So., F), Beau Erickson (So., G)

Looking Back: The Huskies are having trouble putting the puck in the net, averaging just two goals a game to date. They have some nice wins (Air Force, Colgate) but need to string together a few more to avoid the AHA basement.

Outlook: While things look bleak right now coming off a 4-1 loss to AIC on Tuesday, the Huskies can make a move if they can string together some wins, and they have the talent to do it. My projection for Connecticut is a finish anywhere from sixth to tenth.

Holy Cross: 5-4-4; 4-3-3 in AHA (Tied for fifth place)

Grade: B

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Everett Sheen (Fr., F) – The freshman from Lethbridge, Alb. Leads the team with eight goals and was AHA’s Rookie of the Week the past two weeks.

Honor Roll: Brodie Sheahan (So., F), Dale Reinhardt (Sr., F), Ryan Driscoll (So., F)

Looking Back: The best power play in the nation and the goaltending tandem of Ian Dams and Adam Roy have kept the Crusaders in every game they’ve played, and they have some nice wins to show for it (Providence and Army).

Outlook: Holy Cross is a legitimate dark horse to finish high in the standings, especially if they can start turning ties into wins. I see the Crusaders finishing anywhere from third to sixth.

Mercyhurst: 3-11-2 overall; 3-5-2 in AHA (Seventh place)

Grade: C+

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Matt Lundin (Jr., G) – Lundin’s return from injury has given the Lakers a spark. He’s sporting an impressive .931 save percentage to date.

Honor Roll: Ben Cottreau (Sr., F), Brandon Coccimiglio (Fr., F), Scott Pitt (Fr., F)

Looking Back: A very tough schedule and injuries have hurt the Lakers. Lundin’s back but Cottreau has missed the last four games. Within the AHA, Mercyhurst has been in almost every game, with some tough overtime losses. The Lakers have given up 16 goals in the third period compared to 14 total in the first and second stanzas in league games so far, letting some leads slip away.

Outlook: This is another team that can make a move if they can get healthy and get some breaks. They have more talent than their 3-11-2 record indicates and home ice is not out of the question by any means. My predicted finish for the Lakers at this point is between fourth and seventh.

RIT: 5-5-3 overall; 4-3-1 in AHA (Tied for fifth place)

Grade: B

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Simon Lambert (Sr., F) – Lambert leads the team in points (17) and is tied for first in goals (8).

Honor Roll: Louis Menard (So., G), Matt Smith (Sr., F), Dan Ringwald (So., D)

Looking Back: The Tigers are finding out how tough it is to repeat. While RIT’s defense is steadily improving (under three goals a game now), its offense, which was averaging almost four goals a game last season, is only scoring 2.5 goals a game so far. The Tigers may be starting to build some momentum, as they are undefeated in their last five games and are coming off their first three-point weekend of the season after taking two in each of their prior four series.

Outlook: RIT will play just two of its next 12 games at home. The Tigers have the talent to finish in the top three, but need to find a way to score. They have the best penalty kill in the league, but their power play has struggled as of late. I see RIT finishing anywhere from third to fifth. December of last season was when the Tigers started to make their move – let’s see if they can do it again.

Sacred Heart: 6-6-2 overall, 6-2-2 in AHA (Tied for second place)

Grade: A

Midseason Valedictorian Player (MVP): Stefan Drew (Jr., G) – This was a close call since the Pioneers have such a balanced team, but Drew is having a fine season with a .910 save percentage and a 2.72 GAA.

Honor Roll: Bear Trapp (Jr., F), Alexandre Parent (Sr., F), Nick Johnson (So., F)

Looking Back: The Pioneers haven’t missed a step after some key losses to graduation. They bring a balanced scoring attack with seven players having at least three goals and nobody over six. Their combined special teams are best in the nation with both the 13th ranked power play and 13th ranked penalty kill in Division I. In league, Sacred Heart has the second best offense and third-ranked defense. They’re not flashy, but have the fewest losses of any team in the league so far.

Outlook: The home series with Air Force after the holidays will be huge, as will a trip to RIT and a season-closing series with Army. There are plenty of land mines along the way as well, but I like the Pioneers to at least claim one of the five home-ice spots. Predicted finish: first to fourth.

Bullseye

RIT is finding it’s a lot harder to be the hunted as opposed to the hunters. The regular season champs can console themselves in noting that they have taken at least two points in all five league series to date, and also have an emotional win over Cornell in front of a record 5,100 fans this season.

But the team is not firing on all cylinders yet, especially on offense, where the Tigers excelled last season, finishing second in the nation in goals per game (3.88). This season, they’re eighth in their own league, averaging 2.50 goals per game. The Tigers are currently in fifth place.

Coach Wayne Wilson is frustrated, but overall pleased so far.

“I’m pretty happy with where we’re at,” he said. “We’re just not scoring. We’ve gotten excellent goaltending and the effort has been there most nights. The players are doing everything we’ve asked them to do, except score.”

Sophomore Anton Kharin is yet to record a point through 13 games after a 26 point freshman season. Defenseman Brent Patry has a single assist after scoring 28 points last year. The list goes on.

“(Brennan) Sarazin, (Darrell) Draper, Patry,” said Wilson. “A lot of guys are snake-bit right now. Anton Kharin has no points in 13 games. He’s pressing right now. What he needs is a three point game and he’ll be back on track.

“The same can be said for a lot of the guys. You hope that over the course of the season, things will even out.”

Sophomore Louis Menard has played well in net, earning league Player of the Week honors the past two weeks.

“Louis has been great,” said Wilson. “Our problem is we’re not putting teams away. We get up 2-1 or 3-1 and really should be 4-1 or 5-1, but we let them back in the game. We lack the killer instinct.”

The Tigers had it last year against AIC, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 27-7 in four games last season. They travel to Springfield to take on AIC this weekend.

“They’re playing really well right now and have some confidence,” said Wilson of his next opponent. “They’re not the same team as last season. They’ve won some good games and tied RPI in their tournament. When we played them there last year the games were close until the third period. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”

An even bigger challenge awaits just after Christmas when RIT takes on Minnesota in the first round of the Dodge Holiday Classic in Minneapolis. When I asked Wilson if he would do anything different to prepare his team for an atmosphere of 10,000 fans, TV timeouts, etc., he said he had bigger concerns.

“That kind of stuff is irrelevant,” he said. “We’re excited to go to this tournament and after this weekend will be focusing on Minnesota – power play, penalty kill, which players to key on. The rest is just fluff. We’ve got enough to worry about.”

Weekly Awards

Player of the Week for December 3, 2007:

Bret Olson – Air Force.

A Falcon wins the award for the second straight week. The junior had three goals in a weekend sweep, including a shorthanded tally on Friday. Olsen is second on the team in scoring with five goals and eight assists.

Goaltender of the Week for December 3, 2007:

Louis Menard – RIT

Menard wins the award for the second week in a row. The sophomore from Chicoutimi, Que. made 57 saves on 61 shots to help the Tigers take three road points from Bentley.

Rookie of the Week for December 3, 2007:

Everett Sheen – Holy Cross

Another repeat winner, Sheen had a three goal weekend, including the game winner on Friday and the tying goal on Saturday as the Crusaders took three points from Connecticut.

Monthly Awards

Player of the Month for November:

Owen Meyer – Army.

Meyer leads the league in goals (11) and is riding an eight-game scoring streak. Also nominated: Eric Ehn (Air Force), Josh Heidinger (Canisius), Mike Coppola (Connecticut), Simon Lambert (RIT), Bear Trapp (Sacred Heart).

Goaltender of the Month for November:

Joe Calvi – Bentley

The freshman from New Lennox, IL leads the league with a 2.13 GAA and a .931 save percentage. Also nominated: Matt Lundin (Mercyhurst), Louis Menard (RIT).

Rookie of the Month for November:

Erik Peterson – Bentley

Peterson is tied for the rookie scoring lead in the AHA with 10 points, including seven in November. Others nominated: Vincent Scarsella (Canisius), Everett Sheen (Holy Cross), Brandon Coccimiglio (Mercyhurst).

Best Wishes

Congratulations to Lakers’ coach Rick Gotkin, who won his 350th game behind the bench at Mercyhurst on Saturday.

And to everyone, thanks for reading and have a happy and safe holiday. See you in January.

This Week in the WCHA: Dec. 6, 2007

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Last week we saw all 10 WCHA teams face off against each other — one of only three times that will happen all season. At the end of the weekend, things stayed pretty much the same. Colorado College and Denver remain on top with Alaska-Anchorage and Minnesota State on the bottom. Minnesota and North Dakota are still in the middle.

We also learned that my column is now apparently a curse, for St. Cloud State is currently sitting in eighth. Sorry guys.

Red Baron Pizza WCHA Players of the Week

Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week: Blake Geoffrion, UW.
Why: Had four points (1g, 3a) in the Badgers’ sweep of St. Cloud State.
Also Nominated: Jimmy Kilpatrick, CC; Mike Howe, UM; Mick Berge, MSU-M; Ryan Duncan, UND.

Red Baron WCHA Defensive Player of the Week: Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, UND.
Why: Stopped 63 of 65 Pioneer shots in the weekend split with Denver, had four shutout periods and had a .969 save percentage for the series.
Also Nominated: Brian Connelly, CC; Chris Butler, DU; Jeff Frazee, UM; Mike Zacharias, MSU-M.

Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week: Ryan McDonagh, UW.
Why: The defenseman had a +4 rating, two assists and four shots on goal during his team’s weekend sweep of St. Cloud State.
Also Nominated: Richard Bachman, CC; Tyler Bozak, DU; Rylan Galiardi, MSU-M.

Keeping Up with the Pros – Monthly Drive-By

I said I’d only do this once a month, so here we go.

NHL: Dany Heatley, UW – 14-19-33 and Paul Stastny, DU – 11-22-33, t-10th overall.
AHL: Toby Petersen, CC – 13-14-27 and Gabe Gauthier, DU – 8-19-27, t-4th overall (but Gauthier is called up currently).
ECHL: Aaron Slattengren, CC – 17-10-27, t-3rd overall.
IHL: Tab Lardner, MTU – 11-10-21, t-1st overall.
CHL: Konrad Reeder, SCSU – 11-17-28, t-7th overall.

Euro Trip

A few teams will be missing a few players as they go off to the Czech Republic to represent Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championships. The players who will also be representing the WCHA are Minnesota’s Mike Carman, Ryan Flynn, Kyle Okposo and Cade Fairchild, Denver’s Tyler Ruegsegger and Rhett Rakhshani, Wisconsin’s Blake Geoffrion and Jamie McBain and Colorado College’s Bill Sweatt.

Reader Mailbag

Again, nothing. Tear. I was going to have a contest for you guys next week, but plans change. Alas, that will come in January. It’ll be a good one though, I promise.

WCHA Report Card

Well, thanks to this column basically being “This Month in the WCHA,” I can’t break down the series like I normally do. Check that — I could, but I don’t think you want to see that many stats thrown at you and I don’t want to type all of them out. Therefore, I’ll just give you the basics along with my it’s-not-really-at-that-point-yet-but-close-enough-to-count mid-season grades for everyone.

No. 2 Colorado College
Poll Movement: Up two after sweeping Alaska-Anchorage.
Overall Record: 10-4 (10-2 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Chad Rau (9-8-17).
Goaltending: Richard Bachman (11 gp, 9-2, 1.63 GAA, .945 sv %).
Grade: A+. Bachman has stepped in and filled Matt Zaba’s skates unbelievably well, the offense has been clicking and the defense has been strong as well. Now that we know Drew O’Connell can win a game or two, the Tigers should be able to stay strong when Bachman gets a night to rest.

No. 4 Denver
Poll Movement: Down one after splitting with North Dakota.
Overall Record: 10-4 (7-3 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Brock Trotter (6-9-15).
Goaltending: Peter Mannino (14 gp, 10-4, 1.66 GAA, .936 sv %).
Grade: A-. Mannino seems to be back to his freshman year form and the young offense is working just fine. The defense is now a little older and it shows. The team still has some off nights, but it’s nowhere near as bad as last season.

No. 7 North Dakota
Poll Movement: Up one after splitting with Denver.
Overall Record: 7-5-1 (5-5 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Ryan Duncan (5-9-14).
Goaltending: Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (13 gp, 7-5-1, 1.52 GAA, .940 sv %).
Grade: C-. The Fighting Sioux didn’t lose much comparatively in the off-season, have had minimal injuries and Lamoureux has, for the most part, been outstanding. So why are they only .500 in conference? Sure, this team usually turns it on in the second half, but I’m not sure if that’s guaranteed to happen again this year. Maybe the loss of Jonathan Toews hurt more than anyone expected.

No. 10 Wisconsin
Poll Movement: Up three after sweeping St. Cloud State.
Overall Record: 7-6-1 (4-4 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Kyle Turris (6-11-17).
Goaltending: Shane Connelly (12 gp, 6-6, 2.84 GAA, .901 sv %).
Grade: C. Shane Connelly has been an adequate replacement for Brian Elliott, but nothing overly spectacular — yet. Offense, which looked to be a problem coming into the season, hasn’t been bad, all things considered. However, they’re just middle-of-the-pack right now — much like everyone else.

No. 14 St. Cloud State
Poll Movement: Down four after being swept by Wisconsin.
Overall Record: 7-5-2 (3-4-1 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Ryan Lasch (11-12-23).
Goaltending: Jase Weslosky (11 gp, 6-5, 2.03 GAA, .932 sv %).
Grade: B-/C+. Weslosky has worked well as a replacement for Bobby Goepfert and Garrett Roe has been a wonderful addition to the line-up. Still, the Huskies need offensive production from more than just Lasch and Roe and the defense still needs some work. For them to move solidly into “B” territory, they need to be able to take points from the lower teams every weekend.

No. 15 Minnesota
Poll Movement: Down one after splitting with Michigan Tech.
Overall Record: 8-7-1 (4-6 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Ben Gordon (4-9-13).
Goaltending: Jeff Frazee (11 gp, 6-5, 2.72 GAA, .896 sv %).
Grade: F. What was that I said at the beginning of the season — the Gophers don’t rebuild, they reload? Well, despite returning almost all of their offense, they haven’t been able to get it going — probably in part to the offensive losses from the back line. If something doesn’t change and fast, Minnesota fans may well be in for a long rebuilding year.

No. 16 Minnesota-Duluth
Poll Movement: Down four after taking only one point from Minnesota State.
Overall Record: 6-5-3 (5-5-2 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Josh Meyers (4-6-10).
Goaltending: Alex Stalock (14 gp, 6-5-3, 2.28 GAA, .914 sv %).
Grade: B-. Sure, they’re only .500 in league play, but all things considered, they’re doing better than most people expected. Besides, most everyone’s around .500 in league play, so that means nothing. The main problem going into this season was offensive production — they don’t have one dominant line or player (their top scorer only has 10 points), but at the same time, everyone except their back-up goaltender and a freshman defenseman out since the beginning of November has at least one point.

No. 20 Michigan Tech
Poll Movement: Stayed put after splitting with Minnesota.
Overall Record: 6-7-1 (5-6-1 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Tyler Shelast (7-3-10).
Goaltending: Michael-Lee Teslak (10 gp, 4-4-1, 1.81 GAA, .935 sv %).
Grade: C. In terms of the WCHA, these Huskies — currently fourth — are about where everyone pegged them to be. The defense and goaltending have also performed as expected, but their problem still continues to be offense. Losing a highly-regarded offensive recruit to major-juniors after failing to get through the NCAA Clearinghouse also doesn’t help.

Minnesota State
Poll Movement: Garnered one vote after taking three points from Minnesota-Duluth.
Overall Record: 4-6-2 (2-6-2 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Mick Berge (7-2-9).
Goaltending: Mike Zacharias (9 gp, 3-3-2, 1.82 GAA, .930 sv %).
Grade: D-. Sure, the Mavericks returned both goaltenders — and Zacharias has been doing pretty well, considering — but they just can’t seem to crawl their way into the top half of the league. Right now, the conference highlight for them is probably taking three points from tUMD. That’s not good, but there is an upside — with the league the way it is this season, there’s basically nowhere to go but up.

Alaska-Anchorage
Poll Movement: Still out of the polls after being swept by Colorado College.
Overall Record: 4-5-3 (1-5-2 WCHA).
Top Scorer: Kevin Clark (5-7-12).
Goaltending: Jon Olthius (11 gp, 3-5-3, 2.86 GAA, .886 sv %).
Grade: D. The Seawolves do have some positives — a point a game player in Kevin Clark, four games in hand and they’ve been relatively competitive, beating the Gophers and tying a few other teams. However, they’re also at the bottom of the league as usual. As a result, their upside is the same as Minnesota State — all they can do is improve.

In Case You Didn’t See It

I was asked to fill in on the Tuesday Morning Quarterback feature this week since my esteemed editor has been taken out with a nasty flu bug. It’s only available to USCHO Extra subscribers, so if you don’t have the feature, find and annoy a friend who does (or just spring for it). I had a lot of fun doing it and if my poor editor doesn’t get better, I may become a regular fill-in.

Try Not to Miss Me Too Much

Being the newbie here, I didn’t realize that this would be my last column until January. JANUARY! I don’t know how I’ll cope…well, except for, you know, watching hockey and making gifts and maybe even churning out a feature or two.

Since I won’t see you again until after, I hope all of you have a great holiday season, no matter how you celebrate it.

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