Stewart A Quiet Freshman For Northern Michigan

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March 7, 2007

Never mind that Northern Michigan freshman goalie Brian Stewart almost singlehandedly eliminated Ohio State in last weekend’s first-round CCHA series.

He’s just elated to be playing college hockey after bouncing around the Canadian junior ranks the past two seasons and three seasons ago in the ill-fated Continental Elite Hockey League.

The six-team CEHL, a non-sanctioned junior league that allowed 21-year-olds, lasted only three years (2001-04), but in its final year, Stewart was part of the Continental Cup champion Metro Fighting Moose out of New Jersey.

STEWART

His older brother, Dave, who ultimately ended up leading the CEHL in scoring after an early-season trade, began the year in New Jersey with his kid brother. The Moose had former NHL defenseman Bruce Driver as their assistant coach and director of player personnel and Ken Daneyko as an assistant coach as well. Their head coach was former minor pro and junior coach Dave Lohrei.

Stewart is arguably the league’s bragging right when it comes to players it sent to Division I colleges. Most players, if still playing, are in the low minors or playing Division III. One player, bruising forward Steve MacIntyre, signed with the New York Rangers after being banned for life from the CEHL for on-ice brutality.

Driver became close with Stewart, then 18, and saw potential far beyond the junior ranks.

“I certainly had a vision for Brian as a Division I goalie, but it was just a matter of whether he wanted to work hard enough to become one,” Driver said. “At such a young age, he was already a very good goaltender, but there was still so much potential for growth as a player that it seemed inevitable.”

Fast forward three years to last weekend.

Northern Michigan was facing Ohio State in a first-round CCHA playoff series. Bill Zaniboni had gotten the hook in the first game and NMU head coach Walt Kyle inserted Stewart, a goalie who had just three NCAA starts up to that point — though one was beating then-No. 2 Miami back on Nov. 4.

The Wildcats lost the game when Stewart came in, but he played the role of superhero last Saturday and Sunday and eliminated the Buckeyes.

“I think the biggest single thing … is we changed goaltenders,” Kyle told reporters Sunday. “And that’s no slight on Billy (Zaniboni). We changed goalies and the kid (Stewart) was unbelievable. I mean, he was unbelievable. The save he made in the goalmouth down here (Sunday) in the third, that’s pure athlete right there.”

The “pure athlete” save Kyle mentioned was Stewart’s spread-eagle stop of Corey Elkins’ point-blank shot with five minutes to go in the third, just one of many highlight-reel plays Stewart made last weekend.

Stewart said that the Miami win was his coming-out party and after that 39-save performance several months back, his confidence level hit astronomical proportions.

“I played the third period the night before, but when I was told I’d be starting that Saturday game, sure, I was nervous,” said Stewart, a native of Burnaby, B.C. “But once I got out there and made the save on the first shot, which was a breakaway, I kind of settled down and the pressure went away.

“That game maybe wasn’t my best or favorite all-time, but definitely top three. I had some good ones in junior.”

With the Moose, Stewart was named the league’s rookie of the year and shared top goalie laurels after a 19-1-0 record with a 1.78 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. In the playoffs in 2004, Stewart was even better with a perfect 3-0 mark, an 0.67 goals-against mark and a .978 save percentage. This year, through last weekend, Stewart is 3-2-0 with a 3.23 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

“As a coach, I encouraged Brian to work hard in practice as that is where all young players can improve the most,” noted Driver. “He had the mentality to push himself and to stop everything in practice. Coach Lohrei, (Moose general manager) Mark Puttenvink and myself all took an interest in Brian’s development as we quickly found that he was probably the player on our team with the most potential.

“That’s not to say we didn’t have an interest in all our other players, but as junior hockey coaches, it is our job to develop and prepare all our players for the next level. We also had former Michigan goalie Al Loges help us out at training camp, which was a huge plus for Brian because he had never had a goalie instructor before.”

The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Stewart spent the 2004-05 season in the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League with the Cobourg Cougars and last year back home in B.C. with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the British Columbia Hockey League. College was his top priority and said Maine had an interest in him, but it never went further than that.

“A few other schools were after me, but Northern made the best offer,” said Stewart, now 22. “I knew coming in here that Billy was the starter and I’d be the backup. That was fine with me and early on I got a good feel for things here. Zaniboni has helped me out on the ice, giving me tips and stuff like that. He’s especially helped me with my rebound control.

“I really like it here, too. Walt runs a good program and I think it’s been a good year. Hopefully, we can keep it going.”

Stewart is planning on sticking around Marquette through the early part of the summer to take spring/summer classes and “to sort out everything” academically.

But based on his play last weekend, it appears some of the “everything” may already have been straightened out. At least on the ice.

More on UMD

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March 7, 2007

Here’s the latest on the UMass-Dartmouth saga.

Interesting comments from Louise Goodrum, Athletic Director at UMD:

“It’s an oversight on my part,” Goodrum said, “We went through the bid process and it covered the first round. I didn’t put down for the quarterfinals, because I didn’t suspect we’d be in position to host at the quarterfinals level.”

“It would be nice to host,” Goodrum said. “I know the NCAA has policy and procedure they need to follow. They do a lot of championship games, If they give us a little break that opens the door in the future to other schools. I’ve learned that in the future I’ll bid for everything and see how things happen.”

I talked with an official at another school, who agreed with me that the bid process needs to be revised. The notion of submitting essentially the same bid for different rounds is counterproductive. This official told me that for basketball, his school submitted four bids, two each for men (first and second rounds) and women (first and second rounds). All four bids are identical. “It’s the same gym,” he said. “And we don’t even think we’ll make the NCAAs.”

Imagine the paperwork generated by all these schools submitting “just in case” bids. But, based on the hard lesson UMD learned this week, its looks like there’s no alternative.

A Solid Foundation

By Tim Rooney

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March 6, 2007

Notre Dame has overcome the doubters at every turn this season.

Picked seventh in the CCHA before the season, the Irish have put together a year for the ages, compiling a 27-6-3 record and winning their first-ever CCHA regular-season title. Even though the Irish enter the playoffs No. 1 in the polls and No. 2 in the PairWise, the doubters remain. One thing no one can question, however, is that the Irish seniors deserve every bit of success they achieve this season after enduring a rollercoaster four years under the Dome.

Of the hockey class of 2007, seven members regularly contributed to Notre Dame’s first-ever NCAA tournament team during their freshman year. Forwards T.J. Jindra and Jason Paige, along with defenseman Wes O’Neill, played in all 39 games, and David Brown made 26 appearances in goal.

Wes O’Neill is among the Fighting Irish seniors who have seen success under Jeff Jackson’s tutelage.

Despite the Irish’s loss to Minnesota in the first round, the future appeared bright. But after completing the best season in Notre Dame’s history, the following year was the worst in Notre Dame’s modern hockey history. The team went 5-27-6 and did not record a win in its last 19 games.

Enter Jeff Jackson. After the 2004-05 season, coach Dave Poulin resigned and the Irish turned to Jackson to rebuild a suddenly struggling program. Jackson, who had most recently been an assistant coach with the New York Islanders, knew he had a challenge ahead of him.

The class of 2007, now juniors, was at a crossroads with Jackson’s entrance. No one was sure whether Jackson would attempt to build his team around them or shun them for younger and perhaps more talented players.

O’Neill was contemplating accepting a contract to turn pro, and Brown was coming off a season where he went 2-10-1 with a 4.30 GAA and a save percentage of only .870. Paige and Josh Sciba both saw their stats decline after solid freshmen campaigns. Sciba and O’Neill actually tied for the team lead in goals, but only scored six apiece.

Despite the previous season, Jackson viewed the upperclassmen as the foundation of his team. Jindra was named the captain as a junior, and Jackson made every effort to embrace, not alienate, his upperclassmen.

“Instead of trying to force guys out, I tried to let them know that once I took this job, you’re my players,” Jackson said. “I may not have recruited you here, but I’m your coach now.”

After a 13-19-4 season last year and an eighth-place CCHA finish, Jackson seemed to have the Irish turned in the right direction. Still, not even Jackson expected the Irish to be this good this soon. Coming into the year, Jackson hoped his team could finish in the top four of the CCHA and earn a first-round bye.

An early trip to the East Coast was the first indication that this season might hold something more than expected. After splitting a home-and-home with Minnesota State, the Irish faced a daunting task: two road games in two nights against Boston College, ranked No. 1 at the time, and Providence.

The Irish responded brilliantly. Aided by a hat trick by junior Mark Van Guilder, Notre Dame blew out BC 7-1. Freshman Dan Kissel netted another hat trick the next night, and a 6-1 victory over the Friars capped a huge weekend for the Irish.

“People made a lot of out the Boston College game, but to be able to come back the next night and have success was the first sign that we could be a better team [than we originally thought],” said Jackson of the road trip.

With expectations raised, Notre Dame did not disappoint in conference play, finishing 21-4-3. The Irish relied heavily on their defense, which, led by O’Neill and fellow seniors Noah Babin and Tom Sawatske, finished the regular season as the top-ranked defense in the country.

On a team of few stars, Brown has stood out, putting up career-best numbers across the board with a 25-5-3 record, a 1.68 goals against average, a .927 save percentage as well as a school-record five shutouts. Brown has emerged as a favorite to capture college hockey’s top individual prize, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

When asked what a Hobey Baker award might mean for the program, Jackson stressed the exposure that comes with it.

“Notre Dame needs to be put on the map as far as college hockey goes,” he said. “Awards are nice, but being recognized for excellence is the most important thing. The recognition of David is going to be directly related to how the team’s done.”

David Brown could depart the ND campus with an armload of individual accolades (photo: Ray Bartnikowski).

Senior forwards Michael Bartlett, Paige, Sciba, and Jindra joined Brown and the defensemen as the dependable foundation of the team. As the season went on, however, the Irish turned to younger players to pick up the scoring.

Freshmen Kevin Deeth and Ryan Thang played on the top line for much of the year along with sophomore Eric Condra, and the three finished as the team’s top three point scorers. Van Guilder was fourth, and sophomore Garrett Regan has had a breakout year, scoring 12 goals and finishing fifth on the team in scoring.

For Jackson, the willingness of the seniors to step aside for some of the underclassmen was a key to the season.

“What the seniors have done best is incorporating the young kids and not having an envy or jealousy for some of the success our freshmen have had,” he said. “It’s been a total team effort and the contributions from the older guys have been really helpful to the team.”

Despite the contributions from the seniors, one of Notre Dame’s major concerns going into the playoffs is experience. While the seven seniors have been in the NCAA tournament, none has faced the challenge at hand: for the first time, they are the team everyone wants to beat in the playoffs.

However, Notre Dame’s scheduling attempted to provide some exposure to playing on the big stage. Trips to Fort Wayne’s War Memorial Coliseum and Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena, along with the Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa Bay, were designed to give the young Irish as much experience in big arenas as possible. Jackson also noted the Boston College trip and a 7-3 victory in Michigan’s Yost Arena as wins in a hostile environment that would provide confidence in the playoffs.

The more immediate concern is the two-week layoff before the CCHA playoffs. While a weekend off will be good for some of the injured and tired Irish players, they have to be careful not to let rust creep into their game.

Jackson was hurt by the layoff earlier in his career, when his top-ranked Lake Superior State team was upset in the first round of the 1991 NCAA tournament after a long layoff. The greatest concern for Jackson is Game 1 on Friday night, when the Irish face the challenge of an Alaska team that has just come off an emotional series win. Jackson said one of the biggest factors on Friday night could be the support of a boisterous home crowd, especially the students.

“Our students have been awesome all year long. They make a big difference,” Jackson said, also speaking about the importance of being placed in a NCAA regional close to home.

“I’d like to see us play in Grand Rapids for our fans. I’d like to think that maybe we could get a thousand students to bus up there,” Jackson mused. “The following this year has been much better, and I’d like our fans to have the opportunity to see us play in the NCAA tournament.”

Regardless of how this season ends, the future looks bright for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame’s incoming class of seven players is widely-regarded as one of the best in the country. Goaltender Brad Phillips and defensemen Ian Cole and Teddy Ruth will come from the U.S. Under-18 team. Forwards Robin Bergman, Billy Maday, Calle Ridderwall, and Ben Ryan are all having solid seasons in the USHL and should immediately infuse some additional skill into the Notre Dame offense.

With that injection of talent, Jackson envisions a return to the more aggressive style of hockey his LSSU teams played.

“When I first came in here I envisioned playing an up-tempo style,” Jackson said. “We ended up becoming a little more conservative. Next year may allow us to play more the style of hockey that I was originally intending.”

With the current and incoming talent, the Irish appear to be stacked for years to come. It’s possible that the future will hold many more banners to be raised in a yet-to-be-constructed arena. Team and individual records may be set, and players may go on to NHL success.

As the years roll by, this year’s senior class may fade into the background. Besides Brown, none of these seniors will stand atop the record books, and it remains to be seen which might make names for themselves at the next level.

But when any Fighting Irish hockey fan stares at those banners in the future, they will remember the foundation the class of 2007 built. David Brown, Wes O’Neill, Tom Sawatske, Noah Babin, Josh Sciba, Michael Bartlett, T.J. Jindra, and Jason Paige have already left a legacy.

But don’t try to convince any of them of that quite yet. There are still a few more dreams to be realized for the Irish this season.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: West

By Scott Brown

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March 6, 2007

Central Issue

The first round of the CCHA playoffs offered plenty of drama last weekend, with three of the four series going to the full three games and two underdogs advancing to the quarterfinals.

The biggest upset of the first round went to Alaska, which upended sixth-seeded Western Michigan with a 3-1 victory in Game 3.

“Everyone outside of our dressing room criticized us for not having a good year, and there were other people out there who didn’t believe in us,” left wing Kyle Greentree told the Anchorage Daily News. “But we believed in ourselves.”

But there might not have been a third game had the Nanooks not pulled off a stunning comeback to take the first game of the weekend.

Wylie Rogers backstopped Alaska past Western Michigan in Game 3 Sunday.

With the Broncos leading 2-0 late in the third period in Game 1 Friday, Alaska turned a two-goal deficit into a tie in a span of 1:05. Making matters even more improbable, the rally started with a shorthanded goal by Ryan Muspratt, which narrowed WMU’s lead to 2-1 with just over two minutes left in regulation.

Adding to the suspense, Darcy Campbell, who had taken the penalty that gave WMU its power play, tied the game just seconds after leaving the sin bin. Lucas Burnett then capped the UA comeback at 4:09 of overtime, scoring to provide Alaska an unlikely 3-2 victory.

After a one-sided Bronco win on Saturday knotted the series, the Nanooks turned to Wylie Rogers to secure a berth against top-seeded Notre Dame in the second round. Rogers stopped 32 of 33 shots in Game 3 to show WMU the door.

For Western Michigan, which had designs on a first-round bye after sweeping Michigan State two weeks ago, the loss was a shocking end after a promising second half. The Broncos had reeled off a 10-3 record before losing to Lake Superior State in the regular-season finale, but now find themselves planning for next season unexpectedly early.

Alaska, meanwhile, earned the privilege of testing Notre Dame’s postseason prowess. The Fighting Irish, who remained No. 1 in the USCHO.com/CSTV poll for the fifth straight week Monday and were off last weekend, go into the CCHA playoffs as a surprise regular-season champion without a recent pedigree.

After making the NCAA tournament in 2004, Notre Dame endured a 19-game winless streak to end the 2004-05 season and then lost in the first round in 2006 — to none other than Alaska.

Tournament Tempest

For three Western teams, the next two weeks will decide whether they will keep playing after the conference tournament championships are handed out.

WCHA squads Denver and Colorado College and CCHA member Michigan State are all sitting between No. 12 and No. 16 in the bonus-adjusted PairWise Rankings, meaning all — or none — could make the field of 16 come selection time.

As most USCHO.com readers know, this ain’t basketball, where athletic directors and conference commissioners pore through reams of paper detailing Team X’s record at neutral sites on Thursday afternoons, or comparing rebound margins against nonconference opponents.

No, this is college hockey, where a computer does the heavy lifting and the tournament selection committee only has to hash out where to place the teams in the four regionals. (I for one, prefer our method to theirs, but others may disagree.) Anyway, the aforementioned three teams, along with St. Lawrence and Massachusetts, are the ones most squarely on the bubble after last weekend’s results.

Thanks to the vagaries of the PairWise, CC’s three-point weekend against DU did a great deal to hurt the Pioneers’ credentials, but not as much to help the Tigers thanks to UMass pulling off an even bigger accomplishment by taking two wins against Maine. Those four points helped keep the Minutemen just ahead of the Tigers in the PWR, though neither would be in the field as of today.

(Speaking of “what if,” CC blew a two-goal Saturday lead before ending up with a 5-5 overtime tie thanks to two extra-attacker goals by the Pioneers, from Keith Seabrook and Ryan Dingle, in the last 36 seconds of regulation. Had the Tigers held on for the win, they would have moved ahead of UMass in the PWR.)

Of the three Western contenders, the Pioneers, at No. 12 in the PairWise, are technically in the best position, but both WCHA teams probably need to win their first-round playoff series to get into the NCAAs. DU might conceivably make it without advancing out of the first round, but it’s highly unlikely, especially with the threat of tournament upsets in other leagues.

Now, if the top seeds win out in the league’s other playoff series, CC and DU would face off in the Thursday play-in game at the Final Five in what could well turn out to be an NCAA eliminator — especially if CC loses it.

NCAA D-III Preview: Bethel At River Falls

By Matthew Webb

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March 6, 2007

Once again it will be the MIAC and NCHA squaring off in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament as MIAC champion Bethel (17-9-1) will travel to at-large bid recipient UW-River Falls (21-5-2) for a 7:05 p.m. CT Wednesday faceoff. The winner will advance to play at St. Norbert (24-3-2) in Saturday’s Quarterfinals.

The Royals enter the tournament on a bit of a tear, going 11-1 down the stretch and claiming their first ever MIAC Tournament title. Bethel’s appearance in the tournament is its first in school history. Meanwhile, UW-River Falls is no stranger to NCAA tournament play, making its 11th appearance in the tournament field but first since 2004. The Falcons claimed national titles in 1988 and 1994 and are 22-12 all-time in NCAA Tournament games.

River Falls head coach Steve Freeman happily stated, “We’re excited about it.”

The two met earlier this season in River Falls, with the Falcons coming out on top 7-4, but only after six third period goals erased a 3-1 deficit. Bethel’s strong finish, however, suggests they will be a dangerous team to play this Wednesday.

“They are very deep,” said Freeman. “I saw them play last weekend and they are playing very good hockey. They have good speed and play extremely hard. They are especially deep up front.”

The Royals deep offensive cast is led by sophomore Nick Miller (10-18-28). He is accompanied by junior Jeff Balvin (7-18-25), senior Steve Eastman (9-14-32), and five others with at least 20 points on the season.

The Falcons are also loaded offensively, but clearly sparked by the T.J. Dahl-Derek Hansberry-Pat Borgestad line. Led by NCHA Player of the Year Dahl’s 52 points, the unit has combined for 105 on the season. River Falls also has three others with over 20 points on the year, and seven more who check in with double digits. The scoring depth is something Freeman suggests the Falcons might not have had in the past.

“Last year we weren’t getting any scoring out of our other lines,” said Freeman. “People could really key in on those guys (Dahl, Hansberry and Borgestad). Those guys will still get their chances, especially on the powerplay, but the scoring depth is something that really works in our favor.”

One of the most intriguing story lines in Wednesday’s meeting is that Bethel is on a roll and just beat two good teams last week, while River Falls lost to St. Scholastica in the NCHA Semifinals and will have been idle for ten days.

“We’ve been working on cleaning up our game a little bit,” said Freeman. “We have to stick with our game. We’ve been working on getting everyone on the same page and on staying solid defensively. Against a team like Bethel you have to stay solid defensively or you’ll get beat.”

The Falcons’ defense was second-best in the NCHA this season at 2.25 goals per game and all starts with sophomore goalie A.J. Bucchino (20-5-2, .932, 2.12). The Royals are likely to counter with freshman Aaron Damjanovich (13-5-1, .912, 2.56).

“He’s been solid all year long for us,” Bethel coach Peter Aus told USCHO’s C.J. Spang. “He doesn’t panic, he’s not up or down, he’s just a real steady kid and that’s the kind of kid you like to have in the net.”

The meeting will mark the 10th straight season a NCHA team has faced a MIAC team in the NCAA Tournament. NCHA teams are 9-3-1 against the MIAC in that stretch. The last time a MIAC team defeated a NCHA team in the NCAA’s was in 2005 as St. Thomas scored a 3-2 quarterfinal win at St. Norbert. The next most recent instance occurred in 1998 when Augsburg swept UW-River Falls in a two-game quarterfinal series.

CHA Names All-League Teams

USCHO Staff Report

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March 6, 2007

Niagara’s Sean Bentivoglio, Ted Cook and Les Reaney were honored for the second straight year as College Hockey America announced its all-league teams Tuesday.

Four members of the First Team were unanimous selections, including Bentivoglio, Cook, Shaun Arvai of Alabama-Huntsville and Matt Climie of Bemidji State.

Head coaches and assistant coaches from the five schools voted on the players and were not allowed to vote for any member of their respective teams.

First Team All-CHA

F Sean Bentivoglio, Sr., Niagara (Thorold, Ontario)
F Ted Cook, So., Niagara (Hogansburg, New York)
F Travis Winter, So. Bemidji State (St. Cloud, Minnesota)
D Shaun Arvai, Sr. Alabama-Huntsville (West Lorne, Ontario)
D Pat Oliveto, Sr. Niagara (Rochester, New York)
G Matt Climie, Sr. Bemidji State (Leduc, Alberta)

Second Team All-CHA

F Aaron Clarke, Sr., Robert Morris (Peterborough, Ontario)
F Grant Selinger, Sr. Alabama-Huntsville (Regina, Saskatchewan)
F Les Reaney, So., Niagara (Ceylon, Saskatchewan)
D Dan Iliakis, Sr., Wayne State (Scarborough, Ontario)
D Mike Salekin, Sr., Alabama-Huntsville (Castlegar, British Columbia)
G Juliano Pagliero, So., Niagara (Dalroy, Alberta)

Possibilities, Possibilities

2006-07 CCHA All-Conference Teams

All-Ivy First Team

All-Ivy Second Team

Honorable Mention

Player of the Year

Rookie of the Year

Central Issue

Tournament Tempest

First Team All-CHA

Second Team All-CHA

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