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This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Oct. 27, 2005

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The Never-Ending Question

Connecticut coach Bruce Marshall, when asked if Atlantic Hockey teams are beginning to close the gap between themselves and clubs in Hockey East, had a quick comeback.

“You guys [the media] love to ask that question, don’t you?” he quipped.

Truth is, the media and a lot of fans in Atlantic Hockey do, indeed, like to talk about how the league is maturing.

MARSHALL

MARSHALL

I’m not sure why, but personally I’m obsessed with the topic. Maybe it’s because the league is relatively new. Maybe it’s because, as media, we watched Atlantic Hockey teams act as the doormat of college hockey for so long. Maybe it’s because, even as the media that follows the league, we writers take jabs from the other conference writers (okay, I just sounded like a nine-year-old getting picked on).

But right now, this is a hot topic.

Two wins for the league against Hockey East last weekend made the topic even hotter.

Holy Cross’ 3-2 upset of Massachusetts on Friday night got things started. Connecticut following that up a night later by beating Merrimack furthered matters. But for both coaches, the answer to the question, “Is this gap closing?” might not be the one you expect.

“I think the gap may be closing,” said Marshall. “But we’re not going out this weekend and playing New Hampshire for two and then heading to Lowell for two [as a Hockey East club like Merrimack is].”

As Marshall noted, it’s nice to beat a Hockey East opponent, but it means nothing come season’s end if UConn isn’t near the top of the AHA standings.

Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl was even more frank.

“I just hope more than any gap closing that we talk about that as we continue to do well in non-league play, we get more of a following,” said Pearl, noting that as a league what sets Atlantic Hockey apart most from leagues like Hockey East is low attendance. “The biggest thing our league lacks is fans. To get more of that atmosphere around the league is what we want.

“None of us have a 5,000-seat facility, but we could all stand to get more of a collegiate feel to our building. It would be good to have more people in tune with our league on a day-to-day basis.”

Pearl said that the exposure that the league lacks is what makes people across the nation believe that its members are underdogs every time they take the ice.

“People need to see that Mercyhurst is a good hockey team,” said Pearl. “They’re not a good Atlantic Hockey team. They’re a good hockey team.”

Like Marshall, Pearl likes to keep his emotions in check when talking about the ramifications of winning big non-league games.

“I don’t think all of a sudden because we beat UMass that we’re going to start stealing recruits from Harvard, but with that said, it certainly helps our program and it draws some more favorable attention to our league.”

Weekly Awards

Player of the Week

Ryan Lessnau, Bentley: It was easy to pick Lessnau as player of the week, seeing as he factored into four of the five goals that Bentley scored on the weekend. Impressive was his performance in Friday night’s 3-2 victory over Robert Morris, where he assisted on the first two goals and scored the eventual game-winner.

Goaltender of the Week

Tony Quesada, Holy Cross: In a league filled with good goaltenders, one way to win this award is to pull a major non-league upset. That’s exactly what Quesada did, stopping 22 of 24 shots in a 3-2 upset of UMass.

Co-Rookies of the Week

Jon Anderson, Connecticut: As a goaltender, the best way to start off your career is with a win. Anderson did just that, stopping 36 of 37 shots that Merrimack threw his way on Saturday night to pull off the 2-1 upset victory.

Kai Magnussen, Holy Cross: Paul Pearl said the two things that excited him in Friday night’s upset of UMass was that his first line didn’t have to score a goal to get the victory and that two rookies combined for the game-winning goal late in regulation. Magnussen, for his part in scoring the goal, earned a share of the league’s rookie of the week award.

Comeback Crusaders

In Holy Cross’ upset win at UMass on Friday, the script was written for the Crusaders to lose. As had happened so many times to Atlantic Hockey teams in non-league action, Holy Cross played UMass tight for the entire game, carried a 1-1 tie late into regulation and then, suddenly, surrendered the go-ahead goal to the opposition.

On Friday, what looked to be the death knell came with 6:37 remaining when Stephen Werner gave UMass a 2-1 lead.

Holy Cross, though, didn’t crumble.

And when Rob Godfrey scored with 3:25 remaining in regulation, the game looked destined for overtime.

Sixty-seven seconds later, though, rookie Kai Magnussen found the net, gave Holy Cross a lead that it wouldn’t relinquish and, one game into the season, a reason to believe.

“To be able to play our best hockey of the night late in the game, it was good to see,” said Pearl. “The guys didn’t hang their heads on the bench, which was a good sign, especially this early [in the season].”

Pearl credits his club with playing a smart game against UMass. Though the final shot total read 34-24 in Holy Cross’ favor, Pearl says the game was evenly-matched.

“I thought [when UMass] controlled it at times, it didn’t necessarily result in shots,” said Pearl. “We were into our systems pretty good and did some nice things there. We got our scoring from our second and third lines, which is nice. You don’t want to be a one-line team.”

What was most impressive for Pearl was the play of his defense. Having lost Tony Coskern, a workhorse who could log up to 35 minutes each game, to graduation, Pearl wasn’t sure how his current corps would react in a game situation.

“It’s not one of those situations where we have that top-end guy [on defense],” said Pearl. “We just have a lot of kids who are very good players, and that’s a positive.”

Polished Rookie Shines For Huskies

If there was one notable item on the scoresheet of UConn’s 2-1 victory against Merrimack Saturday night, it was the name of the UConn goaltender.

Jon Anderson, playing in his first career game for UConn, not only was given the nod by Marshall but proved he was up to the task. Anderson impressively stopped 36 of 37 Warrior shots on the night, showing Marshall that he has yet another skilled goaltender in his arsenal.

“He got us the win and that was encouraging,” Marshall said matter-of-factly. “We’re trying to give every guy [on the team] a shot. It’s easier as third-line center to go out and show yourself. With a goaltender, that’s a little harder.

When asked what made Anderson so strong, Marshall believes it was the experience that he gained in junior hockey last season for the Billing Bulls.

“[Anderson] played on a very average team last year so he saw a lot of shots and kept his team in a lot of games,” said Marshall, who will now have to jockey between Anderson and his two established goaltenders, Scott Tomes and Brad Smith, in handing out playing time.

“[Having another goaltender] adds depth and gives us options. I don’t think one game can dictate that a kid has won over the starting job. We’ll give them each the opportunity to see how this thing is going to pan out.”

Which goaltenders will play this weekend against Mercyhurst?

Marshall said simply, “We’re still pondering that situation.”

Rivalry Renewed?

In sports, college sports in particular, rivalries are a big part of the game. But to be a rivalry, both teams have to believe that they are, indeed, one another’s rival.

Boston University coach Jack Parker once noted that a lot of teams feel like BU is their rival. But to Parker, only one school will ever be BU’s rival — and that’s Boston College.

So amidst a lot of scuttlebutt last weekend about Canisius renewing its rivalry with RIT, don’t blame Griffs head coach Dave Smith for wondering what all the hype was about.

“I don’t know that it’s much of a rivalry because RIT is something like 38-6 [actually 31-7-1] against Canisius,” said Smith.

But though Canisius may not see RIT as its rival right now, Smith believes that there’s a chance that such a rivalry could soon develop.

“They’re a New York school,” Smith said of RIT. “We see them on the road recruiting. We want to be real strong regionally. We’re going to come up against them recruiting and on the ice we’ll play them four times every year. So I think it may be a great rivalry.”

As for last weekend’s series, Smith felt that each of the two games had its own flavor, that Friday’s opening game in Buffalo “was more of a battle,” while Saturday’s rematch in Rochester, which Canisius won, was more in line with the Griffs’ style.

Smith said that Saturday’s rematch wasn’t as physical as Friday, playing into Canisius’ skating style of play. This, Smith believes, is a result of Canisius conditioning to play back-to-back nights.

Smith was, though, impressed with the job that RIT coach Wayne Wilson has done to build a team that will be competitive next year when it joins Atlantic Hockey.

“It’s not a surprise to the coaches,” he said of RIT’s ability to play competitively against Division I teams. “A lot of us respect what Wayne Wilson has been doing at the Division III level. They’re getting good players, developing them properly.”

USCHO Women’s Game of the Week:
New Hampshire at Brown

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In the late 1990s, New Hampshire vs. Brown was one of the premier matchups in women’s college hockey. In 1998, the first year of a women’s college hockey national championship, it was the premier matchup. The two teams met in both the 1998 ECAC final and the national championship game, with Brown winning the former and UNH taking the latter. Much has changed seven years later, as both programs have had their ups and downs through the WCHA’s rise in 2000 and the sport’s NCAA sponsorship in 2001. The Wildcats haven’t made a national tournament since 1999, but they have clear NCAA title aspirations in their fourth season under Brian McCloskey. Brown has contended more recently with the 2002 team that reached the NCAA final, but this season’s expectations aren’t nearly as strong.

The Bears’ Friday night opener at UNH is the toughest of any Ivy team starting its season this weekend. When Brown hosts the back end of the home-and-home on Sunday, coach Digit Murphy will have learned plenty about her team, making for a more competitive debut of this historic rivalry on the USCHO Game of the Week schedule.

Game Time: Sun. 2 p.m. ET (Broadcast Links)

No. 5 UNH(3-0-0 overall, 1-0-0 Hockey East)

Top Scorers: Leah Craig, So., F (6-1-7), Nicole Hekle, Jr., F
(1-6-7), Lindsay Hansen, Sr., F (1-4-5), Angela Taylor, Fr., F
(1-4-5), Martine Garland, Jr., D (2-2-4)
Top Goaltender: Melissa Bourdon, So. (3-0-0, 1.00, .923)
Scoring Offense: 6.00 (1st)
Scoring Defense: 1.00 (1st)
Penalty Minutes: 10.7 (24th)
Power Play: 40.9% (1st)
Penalty Kill: 93.8% (3rd)

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Through the first two weekends of the season, UNH has been as dominant as everyone envisioned. The team is clicking on both ends of the ice. The deep offense has an unprecedented 10 players averaging a point per game through three games, and the defense is finally healthy after last season’s disasters. And if last weekend is any indication, sophomore Leah Craig will make a leap in ability from freshman to sophomore year similar to what the team saw from Nicole Hekle a year ago.

The Wildcats’ special teams were already pretty good last season despite the short roster and lack of defensive experience, so it’s no surprise they are strong again this season. Brown, who had the nation’s fifth-best penalty kill last season, should be a good test for a UNH team that’s netted three power play goals in each of its first three games. The biggest source of improvement for the UNH power play should be in the sole spot on the blue line. The team has rotated former All-Rookie selection Martine Garland, who returns from injury, and Amy McLaughlin, an All-ECACHL defenseman who transferred from Brown. This week’s guest analyst, Kristen Thomas, knows full well the ins and out of that position in McCloskey’s system.

Brown (15-15-2 overall last season, 11-8-1 ECACHL)

All Brown statistics from 2004-05
Top Scorers: Hayley Moore, So., F (11-15-26), Kathryn Moos,
Jr., F (7-15-22), Keaton Zucker, Sr., F (4-14-18), Myria Heinhuis,
Sr., D (6-8-14)
Top Goaltenders: Stacy Silverman, So. (3-8-2, 2.67, .903),
O’Hara Shipe, So. (9-7-0, 2.33, .909), Nicole Stock, Fr.
Scoring Offense: 2.59 (15th)
Scoring Defense: 2.31 (12th)
Penalty Minutes: 13.2 (14th)
Power Play: 16.4% (13th)
Penalty Kill: 89.5% (5th)

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Brown hasn’t escaped any of its last three season-opening weekends without a defeat, and given the particular toughness of this year’s opponent and the youth of this team, there’s little reason to expect this one to be any different. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some of the upstart freshmen and sophomores on this team to play beyond their years and give the Wildcats a good challenge. And Moore, Moos, and Heinhuis are three of the best players left in the conference.

The Bears’ freshman class should be interesting to watch. Freshman goalie Nicole Stock could see some time this weekend among the young goaltender crop, as neither sophomores Silverman nor Shipe emerged as the No. 1 goalie through all last season. Kim McManus could be even better than sisters Kelly (UNH and BC) and Krissy (Brown ’05).

A Change In Power

By C.J. Spang
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In 2004-2005, the Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles saw their hopes of a MCHA tournament three-peat get swept up in a pair of losses to the Raiders of the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

While the Raiders have all the tools necessary to repeat as champions, there are plenty of teams looking to snatch away the Harris Cup.

A new mountain to climb for the MSOE Raiders

For the defending MCHA regular season and tournament champion Raiders, this season’s success will largely depend on their men between the pipes.

Junior netminder Matt Burzon was an honorable mention for the Preseason All-USCHO West team and the only player in the MCHA to receive a vote.

As a sophomore, Burzon led the conference in save percentage at .922, goals against average at 2.26, shutouts with three and was tied with Minnesota-Crookston’s Jaden Isakson for the best record at 8-3-0. Bruzon’s backup, junior Joe Dovalina, put up impressive numbers as well, posting a 2.66 goals against average and an .882 save percentage en route to a perfect 5-0-0 record. Also in the mix is junior goaltender Josh Rudolph. Rudolph didn’t see much time last season, but his team knows he will be solid in goal when the time comes.

“We expect (Burzon) to be as good as last year if not better,” coach Mark Ostapina said. “We feel that we’ve got a trio of good goaltenders that make our guys better everyday just by facing them in practice.”

But the Raiders are hardly a one-dimensional team.

Last season, the Raiders led the MCHA in team offense at 5.00 goals per game, team defense at 2.44 goals per game, power play conversions at 24 percent and penalty killing at 88.3 percent.

Don’t expect those numbers to decline either.

The Raiders are returning three-fourths of their scoring, including their top three scorers; senior James Shipley, sophomore Blair Hanberg and sophomore Lee Swallow, who combined for 71 of the team’s 209 points.

Even though the Raiders are returning much of last year’s Harris Cup winning team, they don’t think this season will be smooth skating at all.

“Last year we made it to the top of the mountain,” Ostapina said. “Right now we’re at the bottom of the mountain again, but it’s a different mountain. It’s a steeper mountain because we’ve got the targets on our back.

“I think everyone improved in our league and we feel we’ve improved,” he continued. “But it’s going to be tough fight, there’s no doubt about it. We’re not expecting anything or assuming anything. We feel we have to go out there and earn it again.”

But with all that returning firepower, look for the Raiders to stay atop the MCHA.

Experience plus youth equals success for Vikings

While the gap between MSOE and the rest of the MCHA is significant, the Lawrence Vikings stayed relatively close last season, placing second by mere six points with a 9-7-0 record.

This season, the Vikings will be looking for someone to step up and replace their two all-time leading scorers, Ryan Blick and Mike Burkhart, who were lost to graduation.

Senior Mason Oakes and junior Joe Searl are the likely candidates, as Oakes tied for the team lead in goals scored and Searl tied for the team lead in assists in 2004-05. But Lawrence also has four freshmen forwards who will be looked to as well.

“We’re looking for some freshmen to come in and step it up right away,” coach David Ruhly said. “But we’re also really looking to our returners who have worked hard over the off-season to come out and get the job done.”

The Vikings were in the middle of the pack in terms of team statistics and will rely on a defense that was second in the MCHA, allowing an average 3.44 goals per game. But with the addition of five freshmen defenders, that number could swing either way.

“I’ll tell you that right now we have a phenomenal defense class that came in,” Ruhly said. “I think we have three guys there that could step up into our top six right away, maybe even four.

“But what it’s going to take from us [to win] is more teamwork,” he said. “I think we have the team mentality right now through our leadership from our captains to go out there and make sure that we’re grinding, every single shift, every single game, every single practice and that’s something that maybe we didn’t have as much of last year.

“So that hard work ethic is putting a lot of commitment out there from the team and I think that’s going to turn around and lead to some good things on the ice as well.”

The Lions’ offense is on the prowl

Don’t be fooled by Finlandia’s 7-8-0 conference record last year. It was only the Lions’ first season and MCHA and this year they may be the surprise team in the MCHA.

Last year the Lions finished tied for third in the conference with the Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles. But the Lions have an extremely talented sophomore class that should gain some recognition this year after solid freshmen campaigns.

Led by sophomores Joe Lewis and Josh Paquette, Finlandia returns a mind-boggling 95.8 percent of their scoring punch. Lewis and Paquette were number one and two in scoring in the MCHA as freshmen with 29 and 28 points, respectively. Lewis tied for the league lead with 17 lamp-lighters and Paquette led the conference with 21 assists.

“I think (Lewis and Paquette) came in and surprised some people,” coach Joe Burcar said. “I think not only did they some surprise some people, I think as a team we surprised people.”

But the scoring doesn’t end with Lewis and Paquette. Sophomore Mike Parks had a solid freshmen season with 23 points, and junior Joe Welgos led the league with nine power play goals.

However, Parks will be starting this at defenseman this season and will hopefully shore up a defensive unit that was next-to-last in team defense, giving up an average of 4.31 goals per game.

“We really want him to anchor that defense,” Burcar said. “We’re looking for him to groom some of our young guys along and obviously stabilize the defensive core.”

While it will be comforting having Parks back there, Burcar is by no means content with his defensive situation.

“[Defense] is still an area of concern,” Burcar said. “But that’s something that we work on every day in practice, not only from our defensive position but from our forwards down to our goalies. Let’s face it; defense wins championship so that’s something that we’re really looking at right now.”

If the Lions can come up with any sort of defense and continue to score goals at their blistering pace, look for them to climb into the top of the MCHA standings.

Golden Eagles looking to soar once again

After two heartbreaking one-goal losses to the Raiders in the MCHA tournament finals, the Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles are looking to win the conference championship that they won in 2003 and 2004.

Anchoring the Golden Eagles will be sophomore goalie Jaden Isakson. Isakson was tied for the league lead with an 8-3-0 conference record and was second in the MCHA with a 3.01 goals against average.

Minnesota-Crookston will have lost their top scorer in Brock Anundson to graduation and will be looking to their number two scorer, senior Patrick Knutson, to fill the void. Knutson was only one point behind Anundson with 21, on 13 goals-7 on the power play-and eight assists.

On paper, Minnesota-Crookston is at the bottom of the MCHA, but luckily for the Golden Eagles, the games are played-and won-on the ice.

Marian and Northland look to make up ground

Despite having the second-best offense in the MCHA last season, the Marian Sabres managed only 16 points and a 7-8-1 record in conference play.

With the loss of three of their four leading scorers, in addition to zero seniors on this year’s roster, the Sabres are going to need their young players to step up in a big way. Sophomore Bryan Gallagher may be one to take charge of the team after scoring 17 points in only 14 conference games last season.

The Sabres (0-1-0 overall) dropped their first game of the season at the hands of No.2 St. Norbert’s by a score of 8-2 on Tuesday. But their youth did come through as three underclassmen notched all of Marian’s points on two shorthanded goals.

Sophomore Carl Bresser scored less than one minute into the third period on a pass from freshman Eric Rakow. Two minutes later, freshman Kyle Rasmussen notched an unassisted goal to pull the Sabres within one. But the Green Knights were too much and scored five unanswered goals to end the game.

First-year head coach Steve Fabiilli has his work cut out for him at Northland College. The Lumberjacks have been at the bottom of the MCHA the past four seasons and last season only managed 42 goals in conference play on their way to a 2-14-0 record.

But the Lumberjacks return their two leading scorers, seniors Jeff Affleck and Winston Bothner as well as sophomore goalie Todor Petkov, who notched all three wins for the Lumberjacks in 2003-2004.

Let the games begin

This weekend has a slew of non-conference games.

On Friday, Lawrence travels to Wisconsin-Stout, Lake Forest visits Milwaukee to take on the Raiders and Marian will host Buffalo State. Saturday pits Minnesota-Crookston at Wisconsin-Stout, MSOE at Lake Forest, Lawrence at No. 13 Wisconsin-River Falls and Fredonia at Marian.

Conference play begins next weekend as Marian takes on MSOE. On Friday November 4, MSOE will host Marian, and on Saturday, Marian will host MSOE. Barring a major catastrophe, look for the Raiders to start conference play with a pair of wins.

Northland will also see action next weekend as they play a pair of games at Concordia and on Saturday, Finlandia will host the Toronto Rattlers in the Rattlers’ first of four games against the MCHA.

Mark your calendars

While none of these games are going to be seen on cable, there are plenty of MCHA games worth keeping an eye on this season.

On December 26, MSOE takes on Babson at the Babson Inivational. This will be one opportunity to gauge where MSOE ranks nationally. The other big non-conference game will be on January 7, when second-ranked St. Norbert travels to MSOE. If the MCHA hopes to garner any national respect, MSOE needs to make a decent showing against St. Norbert’s.

The biggest conference games will be in the final weekend of the season, when MSOE hosts Finlandia for a home and home series against the Lions. If the youthful Lions put together a solid effort throughout the season, these two games may shuffle the pecking order in the MCHA.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: East

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Throughout the season, USCHO.com staffers Scott Brown and Jim Connelly will offer their views on the previous weeks’ action, alternating writing duties every Tuesday. Brown will focus on the West and Connelly on the East, in a regular column exclusive to USCHO Extra.

Let’s Get Things Started

A week later than my counterpart, Scott Brown, here begins my trail as your Tuesday Morning Quarterback (should maybe we call this Tuesday Morning Goaltender? Nah, we’ll just confuse folks!)

Every other week, I’m going to give my thoughts on the goings on in college hockey, from an eastern perspective. I expect over time that my strong eastern bias, which I’ve been accused of all too often, will shine through. Anyone how knows me knows that I could care less that the WCHA put four teams in the Frozen Four last year. I still think Hockey East is the best conference in the country (fire-retardant suit is on, so flame away).

Here’s what you can expect:

• My opinions on the world of college hockey

• Some good battle back and forth between myself and Brown (by the way, Scott Brown is a doctor — of math, yeah, whatever — and he’s also quite pompous, so I have no problem utilizing Paula Weston’s nickname of Dr. Pompous in this column)

• Hopefully, good insight in the college hockey out here in the east.

• Exclusive coverage of all three eastern leagues — Hockey East, ECACHL and Atlantic Hockey

Here’s what you won’t find:

• Praise for the CCHA or WCHA (I’ll praise the CHA every now and again because I really like Niagara)

• Respect for Dr. Pompous

• Predictions on which you should bet your house

So let’s get things started in Hockey East…

Cat Calls

SNEDDON

SNEDDON

Am I the only person who is really surprised at how well Vermont has played thus far this year? Yes, I believed coach Kevin Sneddon on media day when he told me that he thought his team could compete. But right now they’re about to crack the top 10 in the USCHO.com poll!

If you look at the numbers, you can see why. The Cats have allowed just one power-play goal in four games and scored seven. Special teams are going to be critical this year, even more so than, say, last year as from what we’ve seen to this point, as we’re seeing as many five-minute majors Britney Spears has trucker caps.

Vermont is also getting good goaltending from Joe Fallon, a player who surprised many last year as a freshman. If you thought his 1.96 goals against average and .921 save percentage were good last year, you’ll be even more impressed with a 1.25 GAA and .935 save percentage through his first four games this year.

You also have to like the line of Jeff Corey-Torrey Mitchell-Brady Leisenring. Against Minnesota-Duluth, the trio posted 13 points in two games. The whole Minnesota-Duluth team only had four points in the series.

Is Vermont a contender? The Catamounts certainly have my vote right now. Still to be told, though, is whether or not this play will continue inside of Hockey East.

Tidal Wave in the Atlantic

Maybe it’s appropriate that Atlantic Hockey is named after an ocean because it seems that tides are turning.

The league that I’ve referred to as “fledgling” has never had much success outside of conference play. Entering this season, most of the non-league success for Atlantic Hockey came against either College Hockey America (that’s like beating up your twin brother) and the ECACHL (and that’s like beating up your eight-year-old brother when you’re seven).

In total, the league had just two wins against either Hockey East or WCHA opponents. Until now.

This past weekend, Holy Cross went into Massachusetts and stole a game and Connecticut played Merrimack tight on back-to-back nights and split the weekend series. Add to those a Mercyhurst win at Minnesota-Duluth and a Connecticut tie against Union two weekends ago, and it seems that the fledgling isn’t so fledgling anymore.

Before we go picking Canisius to make the Frozen Four, though, we do have to be realistic. It’s likely that the league will still, come year’s end, have the worst out-of-conference record. The bottom of the barrel teams stand little to no chance against opponents from the “Big Four” conferences.

But for now, we do have to look at the fact that the league’s top teams are beginning to hold their own against some pretty good hockey teams. That alone is reason to celebrate.

Seeing Red

It’s not the biggest upset in the world, but Rensselaer’s 3-2 road win at Boston University on Friday night was worthy of note.

Beating the Terriers in their barn is noteworthy enough, but the fact that the Engineers needed to overcome a two-goal deficit nearly midway was what opened my eyes.

Add to that the fact that Mathias Lange was once again impressive in net, making 29 saves (for the record, BU outshot RPI, 31-13), and coach Dan Fridgen has to be at least a little bit impressed with his team’s performance. Personally, having seen him play, I think that Lange is a fundamentally sound goaltender whose play could give RPI a lot of hope this season.

Sardines at Matthews

Hats off to Northeastern and new head coach Greg Cronin for packing Matthews Arena on Saturday night for the team’s home opener against Boston College. Reports are that the old barn was near overflow with 5,402 actual fannies in the seats (as opposed to the weak “tickets sold” that a lot of schools report).

It’s the biggest crowd that old Matthews Arena has seen since November 3, 1995, when 5,750 saw Boston University beat NU, 6-4.

The fact that Northeastern was able to steal a tie had to make most of the NU fans in attendance want to come back for more. Heck, if college hockey had adopted the shootout format like the NHL, Cronin’s bunch might have been able to hook for life some of those freshmen with moldable minds.

Pictures at an Exhibition

Was anyone concerned that both Harvard and St. Lawrence dropped exhibition games this weekend to Canadian schools?

Harvard fell on Friday night to McGill, 4-3 (for the record, Dartmouth beat McGill, 5-2, on Saturday), and St. Lawrence lost to Western Ontario, 4-1, on Saturday (a team that Clarkson squeaked by the night before).

So is there any reason for concern? Personally, I think it’s hard to tell.

The thing that most don’t realize when they look at the scores of these games is that, often time, coaches are playing every single player (the rules allow coaches to dress more than the 18-skater, three-goaltender limit for exhibition games).

Also, as was the case for Western Ontario against St. Lawrence, the Canadian teams often treat these games like their Stanley Cup and come up with huge performances (the Western Ontario goaltender had 59 saves!).

Truth be told, these exhibition games are pretty much a no-win situation for the U.S. schools. This year, to boot, it seems that many became even worse losses than just on the scorecard.

In BU’s exhibition against Toronto, top forward John Laliberte was given a game disqualification, which carries with it a one-game suspension, for hitting from behind under the stricter enforcement of that penalty this season (see above, for the Britney Spears reference). The last thing coach Jack Parker wanted was to open his season without his best player.

Hence, you’re seeing the trend that a lot of schools are no longer scheduling exhibition games. Add to the fact that teams are trying to squeeze in as many games as possible, the trend these days is to start playing as many “real” games as soon as possible, even if it means doing so in the first week after practice opens.

Wolverines Retain Top Spot In USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

USCHO Staff Report
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Michigan, still unbeaten this season after tying archrival Michigan State Saturday, retained the top spot in Monday’s USCHO.com/CSTV Division I men’s poll. The Wolverines picked up 27 of 40 first-place votes to outdistance No. 2 Cornell, which opens its regular season this weekend.

The Big Red earned six first-place votes to finish ahead of third-ranked Colorado College and fourth-ranked Ohio State, which swapped spots this week in the wake of CC’s sweep of Notre Dame and Air Force and the Buckeyes’ three-point series with Bowling Green.

Coming in fifth was Maine, which held its ground by sweeping Alabama-Huntsville. No. 6 North Dakota was next, up two spots after taking three points at New Hampshire.

Minnesota, which won both its games last weekend against Minnesota State, was again No. 7, followed by Boston College, which fell to eighth after tying Northeastern.

Denver came in ninth after wins over Notre Dame and Air Force, and Michigan State held at No. 10.

Vermont, which rolled past Minnesota-Duluth in a pair of wins, jumped four spots to No. 11, followed by Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Northern Michigan and Bemidji State.

The 16th spot in the poll belonged to Boston University, with Dartmouth, St. Lawrence, Miami — which debuted after sweeping Nebraska-Omaha, and then Alaska-Fairbanks rounding out the Top 20.

Dropping out was Harvard, which was leapfrogged despite not yet playing an official game. The ECACHL team opens its NCAA schedule Saturday.

Back in the Saddle – Division III Preview

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The more things change, the more they remain the same. Many great Division III players moved on at the end of last season, and each team will look to see who will step up and fill their shoes. That was a recurring theme in the conversations I had with coaches this week. All are looking for the chemistry, the “magic” that makes good teams great.

As usual, I’ll preview the top 15 teams as determined by the USCHO Division III Preseason Poll . A total of 24 teams got votes, with a fairly clear consensus on the top 17. One thing most voters agree on is that Middlebury should be where it left off last season – on top. Over the next two weeks, I’ll preview the top 15 as well as a few dark horses. This week, it’s the top eight according to the poll.

1. Middlebury

Poll: 220 points (11 first place votes)
Last Season: 23-4-3; NESCAC playoff champions; NCAA Division III champions
First Game: Friday, Nov. 18 at Tufts

Can you say “Streak”?

The Panthers will go for an eighth title this season, and third in a row. Middlebury wins them in bunches, with the previous five coming from 1995-1999.

Unlike the 2004-2005 season when the Panthers had to adjust after losing a great deal of talent, the departed seniors from last season leave Middlebury short on experienced leadership going into this year.

“Last year we had exceptional leadership from Brian Phinney and Levi Doria,” said coach Bill Beaney. “We didn’t lose a lot in terms of points, but we lost so many quality minutes from them, as well as their calming influence.

“When we went through a tough spell last season, losing three games in five days, it was those players that helped us make that the turning point of the season.”

Beaney will look to a new group to provide that leadership this season.

“We have large sophomore and junior classes that we’ll be depending on,” he said. “They have experienced some big wins and some disappointments as well.”

A trio of sophomores looks to improve on stellar freshman campaigns – Goaltender Ross Cherry, defenseman Tom Maldonado and forward Mickey Gilchrist.
Cherry took over midway through last season and backstopped the Panthers to the national title. Maldonado’s 29 points (4 goals, 25 assists) led the team in scoring last season and Gilchrist set a modern day school record for goals by a freshman (21, tops on the team).

“Mickey is our go-to guy,” Beaney said. “He caught fire last year and scored some very big goals.”

Beaney would like to see more of that late-season fire this year, and will look to captain Jeff Smith to supply the leadership.

“He knows what we need to do to be successful.” Beaney said. “We have a team that can certainly contend, but what kind of team will we be in February? The team last year found the magic and overachieved. We need to find that magic again.”

Do that, and the Panthers will keep the Streak alive.

2. St. Norbert

Poll: 195 points (3 first place votes)
Last Season: 24-3-3; NCHA regular season and playoff champions; Lost in the NCAA quarterfinals to St. Thomas
First Game: Tuesday, Oct. 25 vs. Marian

Another dominant season is expected for the Green Knights, who are shooting for their fifth straight Peters Cup title. Losing only three seniors make St. Norbert look good on paper, but coach Tim Coghlin still has concerns.

“Sure we lost only a few players, but look at those players,” said Coghlin. “I don’t think we’ll ever have another player quite like Jason Deitsch, he meant so much to this team. And Ryan Tew was probably the best defenseman we’ve ever had.

“We also had Jim Underwood for half the season last year. Those three guys put in four years of doing pretty much everything they could for us and logged a tremendous amount of ice time.”

Having such dominant players is a mixed blessing, with the downside coming when they’re gone.

“We had our leaders and a good supporting cast,” said Coghlin. “But now it’s time for the supporting cast to step up. It’s great that we have a lot coming back. But I want to know is – a lot of what? We have 10 seniors this season and we’re going to need them to step up and take charge.”

Taking up the challenge will be senior captain Connor Hughes, who had 39 points last season, as well as senior Spencer Carbery, who led the team in goals with 24.

Seven of eight defensemen are back, as well as goaltender Kyle Jones, who was 17-1-1 with a .924 save percentage, good for second-team All-American and first-team All-NCHA honors in just his rookie season.

3. St. Thomas
Poll: 169 points
Last Season: 20-6-5; MIAC playoff champions; Lost in the NCAA title game to Middlebury
First Game: Friday, Nov. 4 vs. Wisconsin-Stevens Point

The Tommies got hot at the right time last season, winning five postseason games in a row, including four on the road, to capture the MIAC title and make it all the way to the NCAA title game. Coach Terry Skrypek was named national coach of the year.

The 2005-06 edition of the Tommies must compensate for the losses of All-Americans Dustan Lick and Anthony Blumer, as well as All-MIAC goalie Zach Sikich.

The good news is that St. Thomas returns its top three forwards (Brandon Wilcox, Dan Krmpotich, and Nick Harris) as well as all but one defenseman. The big hole is in net, since Sikich and fellow departed teammate Kevin Hennessey played in all but one game last season.

Still, it looks like the poll voters expect the Tommies to make some noise in the West and return to the national tournament this season.

“They’re going to be very good again,” said Coghlin. “They’ve got good chemistry and play hard.”

4. Manhattanville
Poll: 165 points (1 first place vote)
Last Season: 21-4-1; ECAC West playoff champions; lost in NCAA quarterfinals to New England
First Game: Friday, Oct. 28 at Brockport

Manhattanville was the top ranked team in the East for most of the latter part of last season, achieving the top Eastern seed going into the NCAA tournament on the basis of an ECAC West title and a 11-0 nonconference record. But things ended in a hurry thanks to Cinderella New England College, which upset the Valiants 4-2 on home ice in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Can Manhattanville build on last season and advance to the D-III Frozen Four and beyond?

“Good question,” said coach Keith Leventhal. “We lost a player (Jason Kenyon) that is impossible to replace. We have 12 seniors, which is tricky. In situations like that it’s usually either very good or very bad. The key is how we’ll face adversity, how we’ll respond when things aren’t going well.”

Expected to have big final seasons for the Valiants are forwards Tyler Resch, co-captain Billy Foulds, and Ross Oldcorn. The defense will be anchored by co-captain Galloway Carroll and fellow seniors Chad Van Diemen and Paul Prefontaine.

As was the case last season, expect Leventhal to rotate his trio of netminders: senior Jay Chrapala, junior Andrew Gallant and sophomore Paul Reimer. Each had big wins for the Valiants last season.

With so many veterans, Leventhal is looking for a strong season from many guys who were role players in the past.

‘We were very deep last year,” he said. “Some of the guys we’re expecting big things from didn’t play very much. They’ll get their chance this season.”

5. St. John’s
Poll: 156 points
Last Season: 23-3-2; MIAC regular season champion; lost to St. Thomas in the NCAA First Round
First Game: Friday, Nov. 4 at St. Norbert

Like Manhattanville, St. John’s was flying high until its national title hopes were suddenly derailed. A 22-1-2 regular season record guaranteed the Johnnies a spot in the NCAA tournament despite a 2-1 loss in the MIAC title game by archrival St. Thomas.

A rematch four days later in the NCAA tournament, again on home ice, had the same result – a 4-2 loss and the end of a promising title run.

This should make St. John’s, coming off its best season in school history and returning three All-Americans, all the more motivated.

Seven of the Johnnie’s top ten scorers are back, including senior All-American Scott Bjorklund (34 points last season). Also returning are All-American senior defenseman Darryl Smoleroff and All-American junior goaltender Adam Hanna, who was second in the nation in GAA (1.62) and save percentage (.939) last season.

In all, 21 players should be back from last year’s squad, again making the Johnnies a national contender. Early games against NCHA powerhouses St. Norbert and Wisconsin-River Falls will set the tone for the rest of the season, but the games that are sure to be circled on St. John’s calendar are Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 when the Johnnies square off against St. Thomas.

6. Trinity
Poll: 131 points
Last Season: 21-4-2; NESCAC regular season champions; lost in the NCAA semifinals to St. Thomas
First Game: Friday, Nov. 18 at Hamilton

The Bantams are another team that most overcome the loss of multiple All-Americans. Gone are three year starting goaltender Doug Kisielius and team leader Joe Ori.

“How do you replace two all Americans?,” said head coach John Dunham. “We’ll be different, for sure, but we might even be better. We have to create a new team identity.”

With at least two players poised to have all-star seasons, the Bantams could indeed be as good if not better.

“We have great leadership in (Brendan) Timmins and (Cameron) Finch,” Dunham said.

Timmins was all-league last season at Defense, and Finch was the leading goal scorer with a whopping 24 tallies.

The main question mark will be in net, with junior Drew Barber expected to step into the starter’s job.

“We have an experienced group of eight seniors that have won a league title and played in the NCAA tournament twice,” said Dunham. “We’re expecting a good freshman class and hope to make a run. It’s going to be a tough, well-balanced league again this season. In order to win the title, a team is going to have to at least split games against the top four teams (in the league) and win 90% of the rest of their games. I expect the team that finishes first will have three or four (conference) losses.”

7. Wisconsin-Superior
Poll: 124 points
Last Season: 19-3-7; lost to St. Norbert in the NCHA championship game
First Game: Saturday, Oct. 29 at Wisconsin-Stevens Point

The 2004-2005 season was a mixed bag for the Yellowjackets. They posted the fewest number of losses in school history, but had to settle for a whopping seven ties.

Coming within a game of making the NCAA tournament helped to erase the memory of a poor 2003-2004 season (at least by UWS standards), but not making the Big Dance for the third time in a row means that for the first time in 15 years, Superior has a squad made up of players that have never played an NCAA tournament game. Which way the team goes this season will depend on how they compensate for the loss of a huge senior class – 12 players that accounted for over two thirds of the teams offense last season.

Among the departed were three All-Americans: defenseman Dale Lupul and forwards Mike Wiggins and Kyle Nosan.

Other than the huge whole left by Lupul at the blueline, the rest of the UWS defense remains relatively intact. The real challenge for coach Dan Stauber is up front, where all those points will have to come from someone new. Look for senior Jay Dardis and junior Myles Palliser to step up.

All three goaltenders – Mathieu Bonnelly, Baron Bradley, and Ryan Quinn – return. Bonnelly, a senior, was the best of the bunch last season, earning all-league honors. With an inexperienced group of forwards, goaltending and defense will be key.

8. Norwich
Poll: 111 points
Last Season: 18-5-3; ECAC East regular season champions; lost to New England in the ECAC East semifinals
First Game: Friday, Nov. 18 at Salem State

Things got bad in a hurry for the Cadets at the end of last season. Riding high with a 17-2-3 record, Norwich lost three of its last four games to finish out of the running. An upset loss to New England College on home ice in the ECAC east semifinals doomed the Cadets, who missed out on an at –large NCAA bid thanks to upsets in the NESCAC and MIAC playoffs.

Norwich lost the best player in Division III – Kurtis McLean graduated and took his 212 career points with him. And McLean, the only college hockey player to ever been named All-American four times, isn’t the only loss. Forward Vadim Bellaev and netminder Kevin Schieve were also keys to the Cadet’s success for four years.

The good news is that goaltender Mike Boudreau is back, as well as a good supporting cast that must transition to prime-time players. An early test – a matchup with archrival Middlebury in the first round of the Primelink Tournament on Nov. 25, will give an early indication as to the ability of the Cadets to keep pace with Babson and New England, which will challenge for supremacy in the ECAC East.

NEXT WEEK: Teams 9-15, plus a few others to watch.

A Dream Realized

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With the drop of the puck and look to the sky, a new era began for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on October 8.

The drop of the puck signified the first game that RPI would play as a Division I women’s hockey program. The look to the sky was for Bill Cahill — this was, after all, one of his goals.

As the day grew close and the reality of the situation set in, you couldn’t help but turn your thoughts to the gentleman whose charm, charisma and knowledge had left a lasting imprint on so many people. One of Cahill’s visions was coming to fruition, two years after his passing.

CAHILL

CAHILL

On October 5, 2003, the call went out to many — a call that was met with shock and sadness. Bill Cahill, the women’s head hockey coach at RPI, had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 53.

There wasn’t a lot that anyone could say or do. The biggest tribute was to carry on. And RPI did. Men’s assistant coach John Burke was named the head coach and the team went on to a second-place finish in the ECAC East, narrowly missing an NCAA tournament bid.

But what happened halfway through that season was something that “BC” had dreamed about, part of what he was working towards. In January of 2004, Rensselaer president Shirley Ann Jackson announced that the school would elevate women’s ice hockey to the Division I level.

“I am thrilled, and the members of the women’s team are thrilled,” said Burke at the time. “We have an opportunity to carry out one of Bill’s goals, which was to compete successfully at the highest level, and we are elated.”

“There’s no denying that Bill Cahill’s presence made the decision an easy one,” said RPI athletic director Ken Ralph.

BC’s goal was to compete at that highest level and now Burke had been given the tools to carry out that goal. With the plan in hand, Burke got to work.

The Engineers will cycle through 18 scholarships over the course of four years. Instead of giving out all 18 in one year, Rensselaer will hand them out in increments to move the program forward to the full-scholarship route.

As the process moved along, the reminders were still there. That became even more apparent earlier this year, when the American Hockey Coaches Association named Cahill the recipient of the Joe Burke Award, which presented annually to the person who has given outstanding contribution, support, and dedication to women’s hockey.

“Bill had a genuine passion for the game of hockey and loved to talk about the game as much as he loved coaching,” said MIT head coach Julie Sasner in her nomination of Cahill. “He was supportive of all hockey, men’s and women’s, girls’ and boys’, and not just his own team. He would talk the ears off of anyone who would listen to his ideas about drills and systems. He was a friend to anyone who loved the game of hockey.

“Bill was a true friend and the kind of guy who loved moving the salt and pepper shakers around to demonstrate a forecheck after you played his team. He was generous with his time and knowledge. Few people could match Bill’s tremendous enthusiasm for the game. His early passing is a huge loss to the hockey community.”

The Engineers continued to work towards that highest level, and when practice started in September, it was clear that the Engineers were getting ready. They were getting going; they were getting ready to compete.

They looked to the sky and smiled.

The highest level arrived at Houston Fieldhouse on October 8. There was a little bit of nervousness and a lot of reflection.

“Part of me will be thinking of Bill, and how he was working towards this,” said Burke before the game. “And part of me will be thinking about how it’s a new chapter and it’s been a long time coming.”

The building was electric. You could feel the excitement and as game time approached you could sense him. You could feel Bill Cahill getting ready to watch the game.

“He’s seeing it,” said Burke. “He’s trying to get his Red Sox squared away, but he’s really looking forward to the season. Even though he’s not here, he is here. He’ll always be a part of this program and of RPI hockey.”

The Engineers, armed with their first scholarship recipients, shut down Sacred Heart 4-0. BC was smiling — you just knew that he was. The next afternoon the Engineers swept the Pioneers, 11-1. And you knew his smile was even broader.

Last weekend came a bigger test for the Engineers. They played a home-and-home with Colgate, an established ECACHL playoff team.

With the heads high and the dreams large, the Engineers took a 2-0 lead in the second period. Colgate came back to tie the game in the third period, dominating play.

But in overtime, senior Kari Rabatin, one of the five Engineers who played under Cahill, scored the game-winner.

And surely, Cahill smiled again.

The next night the Engineers scored late in the third period and tied Colgate, 1-1, to move to 3-0-1 on the season. Rosina Schiff, the senior goaltender who also played under Cahill, was named the USCHO.com Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts in goal.

The schedule this season doesn’t have the Minnesotas, St. Lawrences, Dartmouths and Harvards — that will come next year when RPI enters that ECACHL.

But this year, as an independent, there’s plenty of time and room to grow. Plenty to prove, plenty to smile about and plenty for BC to see.

“He’ll always be around,” said Ralph. “I won’t ever be able to picture Rensselaer without Bill Cahill. With the staff that we have in place we’re going to ensure that he always will be here. The players that Bill recruited may be rotating out of the program, but he’ll always be a constant presence.”

The Engineers are upon the dream, working towards the goal. They’re where BC wanted them to be. And you know he’s smiling that smile.

This Week in the CHA: Oct. 20, 2005

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While certain College Hockey America teams are making a big splash on the ice during this young season, it’s what’s happening off the ice that has many raising an eyebrow or two.

With Air Force jetting (pun intended) for Atlantic Hockey next season, the CHA is in need of a replacement school to keep the league at six teams and thus fulfilling the requirement for an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament via the conference postseason.

Kennesaw State appeared to be the front-runner to fill the Air Force void. But earlier this week, the Atlanta-area school backed out, citing financial issues. The Owls currently have a club hockey program, and it looks like a Division I team won’t be realistic by this time next year, even though the school’s athletics department made the jump to Division I this fall.

“We were looking forward to bringing hockey to Kennesaw State and the Atlanta area, where hockey is good, with the Thrashers, and it is also expanding down south,” CHA commissioner Bob Peters said. “Of the 280 men’s club teams in the nation, 47 are down there along the coast heading north. States like Florida, Texas and even Tennessee have several club teams, so finding hockey isn’t a problem. But as far as Kennesaw State, they issued the statement; we have issued nothing to this point.”

Penn State is another option, and the Nittany Lions already know a bit about the CHA after beating Robert Morris two weeks ago. A perennial national contender and seven-time national champions at the club level, the Nittany Lions could also forge a rivalry with Robert Morris due to proximity.

“We will be holding a conference call with the other commissioners the first week of November to discuss our strategies,” Peters added.

The CHA, in just its seventh year of existence, has seemed like a carousel at times. The league began with Army as a member, but the Black Knights jumped to Atlantic Hockey a year later. Wayne State joined the fray in 2000 and went on to win three straight league titles. Robert Morris came into the league last year and now, another new team awaits invitation for 2006-07.

Got any ideas?

Bemidji State On A Roll

Why, who is that ranked No. 14 in the most recent USCHO.com/CSTV poll? Could it be Bemidji State, a team supposedly rebuilding this year? Is that the same Beavers team that has won four straight nonconference games against, gulp, WCHA opponents? Is this the same team that worried about the losses of Andrew Murray and Brendan Cook?

The answer to all the above is a resounding “yes.” Bemidji State is off to a 4-0-0 start for the first time since the 1997-98 season, its first such record in its Division I era. With a home sweep of Minnesota State last weekend, it marked the first time BSU had swept the Mavericks on home ice in 11 years.

“This validates that we have had a very good program for the last couple of years,” Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore said. “It’s a long year and there are always going to be some ups and downs. We have good chemistry. We’re preparing for (WCHA opponents) like we would prepare for anybody. It’s a slap in our face to question our play against the WCHA; it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We respond and compete the same way.”

The Beavers are idle this weekend before heading to Air Force Oct. 28 to open CHA play.

RMU Not Playing Like Second-Year Team

A second-year program is supposed to be still working out the bugs and kinks, right? Looks like Robert Morris didn’t get that memo.

Maybe losing to Penn State was looked upon as a bit of an embarrassment, but you’d never give it a second thought after the Colonials beat Western Michigan, head coach Derek Schooley’s alma mater, last Saturday in Kalamazoo, Mich., and then topped the college-bound U.S. Under-18 Team Sunday in Ann Arbor.

“It’s probably the biggest win for our program,” said Schooley to USCHO after the WMU game, “to come in and beat a school with history and tradition. This team (Western Michigan) has been to three NCAA tournaments, it’s been around forever. Great hockey players have come through here, but just to be able to compete with and beat this program is probably our biggest win as a program.”

With the wins, RMU gained a supporter or two in the media as they garnered two points in the current USCHO.com/CSTV poll. The last time Robert Morris appeared in the poll followed a win in the team’s first-ever game at Canisius, Oct. 22, 2004. The Colonials earned one vote in the poll the following week.

Air Force Now A Trivia Answer

It’s not the type of trivia question any team wants to be the answer to, but Air Force has the dubious distinction of being the victim of RIT’s first Division I victory. Last Saturday at the Quinnipiac Cup, the Air Force power play sputtered and RIT didn’t as the Tigers took a 5-2 win.

“Our power play is really hurting us,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “The effort is certainly there, but we have to find a way to score goals. We outshot a team for the second straight night. We only scored three goals in two games and that’s not going to get it done. The guys work so hard, but it is demoralizing not to have any success. Our power play needs to convert. It’s that simple. The question entering the season was ‘Who’s going to score for us?’ and that is still the question.”

On a more positive note, Serratore signed a new five-year contract this week that will carry through the 2009-2010 season.

Train Coming To Huntsville In ’06

Though it can’t be made official until next month, Alabama-Huntsville will have forward Tom Train on the roster next fall. The 20-year-old from the two-time defending North American Hockey League champion Texas Tornado had planned on joining the Chargers this year, but a paperwork snafu now has Train back in Texas.

“It just got extended until next year,” Train said of his scholarship. “I’m looking forward to heading down there. Every year they seem to improve and last year they almost made it to the NCAA tournament. It’ll also be nice to have family and some of my high school buddies in the building when we play at Wayne State. I have a lot of relatives and it’ll also be nice to have my grandpa there, too.”

Train, from Troy, Mich., is in his second year as the Tornados’ captain.

“(Former Texas teammate and sophomore UAH forward) Denny Reagan mentioned me to Coach (Doug) Ross last year,” Train added. “The coaches came to see me play a few times and made me an offer.”

Though known for his toughness, Train was tied for second in the NAHL with 33 goals and third on Texas with 69 points a year ago. He has three goals among nine points through nine games this season.

Niagara Captain A Natural

Jason Williamson dons the ‘C’ this year for the Purple Eagles, but for the senior from British Columbia, it’s old hat.

Williamson was an assistant captain last season and captained the Vernon Vipers back home his last two years of juniors.

“It’s definitely a great honor to be the captain of this team,” Williamson said. “It comes with pressure, but it’s good pressure to have. I’m ready to go.”

Past NU captains have gone on to the pro game. Barret Ehgoetz (a 2005 grad) signed with the ECHL’s Toledo Storm and was dealt to the Utah Grizzlies Wednesday, Joe Tallari (2004) is in the New York Islanders’ organization and Nick Kormanyos (2003) is toiling in the Southern Pro League with the Fayetteville FireAntz, and Scott Crawford (2002) played last season in Germany for the Leipzig Ice Lions.

On a different note, this weekend’s home game against Western Michigan is another in what has become somewhat of a feud over the years for Niagara.

“Niagara has become a good nonconference rivalry for us, due to the number of times we have played them,” Western Michigan head coach Jim Culhane said. “There is a lot of respect between the programs and we run into them quite a bit on the recruiting trail. We look at this game as a big challenge coming off the loss last Saturday. We’re also looking to improve upon our road record.”

Warriors’ Top Scorer Out?

What seemed like an innocent hit may have shelved Wayne State’s top scorer of a year ago.

Stavros Paskaris, the CHA’s rookie of the year last season, left last Thursday’s exhibition game against Guelph in the first period holding his left shoulder after a hit along the boards in the Warriors’ zone. During the second period, he emerged from the WSU locker room out of his equipment and with his arm under his T-shirt in a sling.

“I just went to brace myself for a hit and I don’t know what happened,” said Paskaris. “Hopefully it’s nothing major.”

The school has Paskaris listed as day-to-day with an unspecified shoulder injury and it’s not known if he’ll be ready for the two-game set at Clarkson next weekend. He didn’t play in Wednesday night’s exhibition against the Oakland University club team.

Hirsch To Miss Season For ‘Personal Reasons’

USCHO Staff Report
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Tyler Hirsch, Minnesota’s leading scorer last season, will apply for a medical hardship waiver for personal reasons and miss the remainder of the 2005-06 season, the school announced Thursday.

“This was not an easy decision, but one that I feel was the best decision for both myself and the team,” Hirsch said. “I will use this year to concentrate on other aspects of my life, but I plan on returning to the team next season.”

Hirsch, who is a senior this year, would be allowed to play the 2006-07 season if the waiver is approved.

“We’re certainly going to miss having Tyler in the lineup this season, but we fully support his decision to take the year off and apply for a medical hardship waiver,” Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said. “We look forward to his return next season.”

Hirsch, a native of Bloomington, Minn., had two assists in two games this season.

The forward led the team in scoring with 11-33–44 in 2004-05, a season which saw him in the spotlight during the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn., last March.

After a semifinal loss by Minnesota, and with the ice cleared of players and officials, Hirsch stayed on, placed a puck at center ice, and skated in alone on an empty net. He fired a slapshot from 10 feet out, went into the crossbar and into the end boards along with the net. He then skated to center ice, placed his stick on the red line, and left.

After that incident, Lucia alluded to personal issues Hirsch was experiencing. It was not immediately known if Hirsch’s waiver request for 2005-06 is in any way related.

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Oct. 20, 2005

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Falcons’ Fire

If there were any question whether or not Bentley will be a good hockey team this year, last Friday’s game versus Air Force in the Q-Cup tournament may have been an answer.

The potential trouble spot for the Falcons was goaltending entering this season. Friday, though, Ray Jean, a transfer from Maine playing in his first game with Bentley, put together a terrific 32-save performance to pull off what one might consider bit of an upset win over Air Force, 3-1.

“We didn’t really know what to expect,” said Soderquist about Jean. “We saw him all year last year (when he was a redshirt) but that didn’t mean much.

“For him to come out and play solid in his first game for us was big. He did what we knew he could do, which was exciting. It’s only been one game, but he showed the boys what he can do. He was very relaxed. He played very simple and basic, so we were happy.”

The impressive performance did not sway Soderquist from his game plan, which was to play Jean on Friday and rookie Jason Kearney the following night. Kearney was given the start in the championship game against Quinnipiac but was relieved in favor of a third goaltender, Geordan Murphy (Bentley’s only returning goaltender with experience) midway through the second period after surrendering five goals. Bentley lost that game, 6-0.

The play of Jean wasn’t the only positive for the weekend for Bentley. Soderquist was also happy with the performance of the power play, which scored two of the team’s three goals on Friday night.

That effort was led in part by Brendan McCartin, who Soderquist placed back on defense for this season in a hope of adding some size and skill to the Bentley blue line.

“He was the only guy on our team to make the all-tournament team,” Soderquist said of McCartin. “He had a great weekend on defense.

“He had two assists on Friday and that’s what I anticipate that we’ll see from him: a lot of assists and hopefully some power-play goals from him this year.”

McCartin quarterbacked the first power-play unit for the Falcons, a position that Soderquist noted preseason was a key one for his team to fill.

“We definitely think that he has the capability of being the quarterback on the power play,” said Soderquist. “This weekend he was out there for two power-play goals and they were the difference in the game.”

Bentley has not had a defenseman with big-time offensive ability since Steve Tobio graduated in 2002 (Soderquist was an assistant coach at the time). Ask to compare Tobio and McCartin, Soderquist noted that it’s a tough comparison.

“I do think that in the whole game, [McCartin] can add what [Tobio] added to the team,” said Soderquist, noting that McCartin is a more solid two-way player. “Tobio has a special talent for the power play. He was one of the better power-play guys in our league.”

Still, two major question marks for the Falcons — goaltending and special teams — are close to being erased, though only if the success of both can carry through for the entire season.

Weekly Awards

Player of the Week

Cole Koidahl, Connecticut: Koidahl was a factor in three of UConn’s four goals in a non-league tie against Union. In a game that saw UConn erase four one-goal leads, Koidahl netted the first goal of the game for the Huskies and then assisted on goals number three and four, the final one tying the game in the third period.

Goaltender of the Week

Ray Jean, Bentley: As mentioned above, Jean was a major factor in Bentley’s 3-1 victory over Air Force Friday night in the semifinals of the Q-Cup tournament in Northford, Conn. His 32 saves stifled Air Force and opened plenty of eyes around Atlantic Hockey.

Rookie of the Week

Dan Giffin, Canisius: For the second straight week, Giffin picked up the Rookie of the Week award, but did it this time in defeat. Though solid in net, Giffin and company fell 3-2 to crosstown rival Niagara on Friday night, making 23 stops in defeat.

Huskies Make a Good Point

It’s not often that a coach whose team opens the season with a tie is too excited. But for UConn’s Bruce Marshall, the Huskies’ 4-4 season-opening tie with Union was a big positive.

The Huskies four times overcame one-goal deficits on the road against a Union team that one night earlier beat up on Atlantic Hockey member Sacred Heart, 5-2.

“[Union] had played a couple of games and it being our first game, I was excited with our energy level and our work ethic,” Marshall said. “We had to come back and tie the game four times, and being early in the season we could’ve packed it in.

“We focused on staying within our system as a way to be successful. We made mistakes. We weren’t perfect but we weren’t making five mistakes within one shift.”

Marshall turned to sophomore Brad Smith in goal, choosing him over junior Scott Tomes. But he admits that the positions of number-one and -two are in no way set.

“He played well enough,” said Marshall of Smith. “We’ll do something different in the net this weekend and give Tomes a start. Early on, this is a test for both guys. They can’t have a mulligan so they have to show me, ‘Hey, I want to be that guy.'”

Marshall was especially pleased with the play of rookie Sean Erickson. The rookie defenseman from hockey hotbed Eden Prairie, Minn., played the point on the power play for the Huskies and assisted on Chris Uber’s game-tying goal with 7:33 remaining.

“For a freshman to come in there and be the point guy can be a lot more challenging,” said Marshall of Erickson’s play on the power play. “You’re making plays and decisions and can give a guy a chance at a shorthanded goal. He was very poised back there and played well.”

It was also encouraging to see the Huskies score four goals from four different players, particularly as Marshall hopes to replace the lost scoring of Tim Olsen (to graduation) with multiple players rather than just one.

Things won’t get a lot easier for the Huskies on the road ahead. UConn travels to Merrimack for a two-game set this weekend before heading to Mercyhurst for two the following weekend to open league play.

Cup Still Runneth Over

As mentioned last week, Atlantic Hockey got off to a solid 2-0-0 start in the season-long Commissioners’ Cup race. That record was padded with another win last weekend, as Bentley’s victory over Air Force was a Cup game. The league also suffered its first loss, Sacred Heart’s 5-2 defeat at the hands of Union.

It wasn’t known at the time of last week’s column just how badly the league did in last year’s Commissioners’ Cup race. It turns out thanks to some crack research at the league office, Atlantic Hockey finished 1-6-0 in Commissioners’ Cup games last year, meaning the fledgling league has already tripled its win total of a year ago in just two weeks. Not too shabby.

Revisiting Old Foes

American International will play its first-ever home game against an ECACHL opponent this weekend. Sounds exciting, but there’s a catch. The Yellow Jackets are reacquainting themselves will an old rival, Quinnipiac, which moved from Atlantic Hockey to the ECACHL just this year.

If you’re expecting that maybe AIC could pull off a win in the two-game, home-and-home series, maybe you want to think again. According to Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist, whose team lost to Quinnipiac, 6-0, in the Q-Cup finals last weekend, the Bobcats are a much-improved team from last year and the days of Atlantic Hockey.

Soderquist said Quinnipiac’s recruiting class was one of the best he’s ever seen (assuming that he meant among Atlantic Hockey teams, not comparing them to say, Minnesota’s recruiting class this season).

Not that this writer has any reason to discuss the success of a team outside of Atlantic Hockey, but with Soderquist’s comments, it’ll be interesting to see if the Bobcats might be able to squeak their way out of the ECACHL basement in year one.

This Week in Hockey East: Oct. 20, 2005

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You’re The GM

It never happens in college sports, of course, but is a staple of the professional scene. There’s an expansion draft to provide talent to a newly formed team. A general manager must protect those players most important to the team in terms of salary, age, position and contribution.

Forgetting about salary, let’s do that for the teams within Hockey East. Assume that there’s a new program at the University of Nowheresville and each existing school can protect only two players. UofN will then get to select a single player, after which more can be protected.

The key is to identify the two most important players, not just for this year, but in the years to come. A senior will contribute for one year, but a freshman for four. So youth is a major factor.

Position is also an issue. There has to be a strong bias in favor of goaltenders since a team goes nowhere without strength between the pipes.

Here, then, are this GM’s choices.

Merrimack

Based on this year alone, the one obvious no-brainer choice would be all-everything defenseman Bryan Schmidt. A second likely selection would be Brent Gough.

However, what about the future? Schmidt and Gough are both seniors and the Warrior program is in the building phase. Wouldn’t it, then, make more sense to go with freshmen or perhaps sophomores?

In this case, we’ll mix and match. It’ll be Schmidt based on pure performance and sophomore Hank Carisio, who already has goals in his first two games.

Northeastern

In terms of talent, Mike Morris is the obvious choice. After that, no other candidate stands out head and shoulders above all others. Morris, like Schmidt, is a senior.

Given the importance of the goaltending position, what about junior Adam Geragosian, who sparkled against North Dakota and might be the answer in the post-Keni Gibson Era? Or what about freshman Doug Jewer, a highly thought of recruit?

Once again, we’ll mix and match and go with Morris and one of the goaltenders. Based on Jewer being a freshman, we’ll roll the dice that four years of him makes for a better value than two years of Geragosian.

Providence

There are a host of upperclassmen who might qualify, but none stand out the way that Schmidt and Morris do at Merrimack and Northeastern.

So let’s go with sophomore Tyler Sims in goal. Despite a tough opening game, Sims proved himself last year and is a clear talent among the younger players.

The other spot may be a gamble, but we’ll go with freshman defenseman Matt Taormina. Before even the first practice, PC coach Tim Army was effusive in his praise for what this offensively-skilled blueliner could do, so sight unseen we’re going with the rookie.

Massachusetts

One could make a case that the single most indispensable player has been Matt Anderson, but like the other go-to guys at UMass, he’s a senior.

We’ll go with younger players instead. Thinking goaltending first, we’ll take freshman Jon Quick. He was a highly regarded recruit who has gotten off to a good start.

The other spot goes to P.J. Fenton, who some saw as a role player when he first arrived at UMass, but who has turned himself into a productive scorer.

Vermont

This is the easiest team of all to pick. Yes, there are some strong upperclassmen, but two sophomores stand out.

Joe Fallon is young, a goaltender and very, very good. Last year’s ECAC Rookie of the Year, Fallon is a no-brainer.

The other pick is Torrey Mitchell, who totaled 30 points as a freshman and earned All-Rookie Team honors.

Maine

The choices get tougher on this team with a lot of depth, but no real superstars.

But based on his stellar performances so far, there’s no way we can leave freshman goaltender Ben Bishop off the list. Winner of back-to-back league awards, he’s got three games under his belt and already has a goals-against average under two and a save percentage of .923.

Add in Bret Tyler, the sophomore defenseman who totaled 20 points last year, and you’ve got two strong young players to anchor the defensive positions.

Boston University

With the ongoing preference for anchoring the goaltending position, how can you not take John Curry, even if he is a junior? He was a revelation last year and in BU’s lone game this season picked up where he left off, allowing only a single goal.

The other pick is a tougher one, but goes to sophomore Pete MacArthur, who accumulated 27 points last season and scored twice in the Terriers’ opener against Lowell.

Massachusetts-Lowell

Most of the key River Hawk contributors are upperclassmen, but the significant exception is sophomore goaltender Peter Vetri. Considering how poor goaltending sank Lowell in recent seasons, Vetri is an obvious choice.

And in many respects, so is the other one. Cleve Kinley may be a junior, but you don’t get many defensemen like him, so he and Vetri are the picks.

Boston College

The first choice is sophomore goaltender Cory Schneider, who despite a misstep out of the gate, will be a big difference-maker for the Eagles this year.

Then it gets tough.

Do you go with junior Brian Boyle, a first-round NHL draft pick and a 19-goal scorer last year? How about highly-regarded recruit Brock Bradford?

Bradford doesn’t have a point yet, but he’ll get the nod since there’s a pretty good chance that the 6-7 Boyle will turn pro next year anyway.

New Hampshire

There’s been an emphasis on youth and goaltending so far and we won’t stop now.

We’ll take sophomore netminder Kevin Regan to anchor that position.

Then it gets brutally tough. How do you ignore three juniors — Brett Hemingway, Jacob Micflikier and Daniel Winnik — who are the top returning scorers in the league? Can you project which of them may turn pro next year, making them “virtual seniors”?

We’ll stick with youth and go for sophomore Mike Radja, although there may be last-minute waffling and a possible switch to Matt Fornataro.

Hey, it’s an interesting exercise. Your mileage may vary.

Say What You Really Think

Anyone who was around for Northeastern coach Greg Cronin’s tenure at Maine knows that he was a walking quote machine. In fact, one of his own lines was, “I’m the media’s dream and an athletic director’s nightmare.” (See “Greg Cronin Speaks Out” for Exhibits A through Z.)

After a 2-1 loss in the second game at North Dakota last weekend, Cronin showed he’s lost nothing off his quote machine fastball. The Huskies incurred 37 minutes of penalties that gave the Sioux 13 power plays and both goals. Not surprisingly, Cronin wasn’t happy with the officiating and he spoke his mind to USCHO arena reporter Patrick C. Miller.

“Honest to God, I’ve coached in the National Hockey League, the American Hockey League, the OHL, international, WCHA, Hockey East, and that was the worst officiating I’ve ever seen in my life,” Cronin said. “All three of them — Moe, Larry and Curly — were sniffing glue. It was embarrassing. If I was the league, I’d be embarrassed by that.

“I’ve even coached games in Russia, for God’s sakes. I’ve seen better officiating than that…. [North Dakota has] a better team than us. I don’t have any superficial [delusions] of grandeur…. And I don’t mind when [the referee] calls a penalty. When we get hooks and holds and trips, call ’em. They’re penalties.

“But don’t manufacture [BS] calls because he’s got marbles in his pocket and he’s got three on Northeastern and he’s gotta get twice as many into his pocket for North Dakota. It’s BS.

“I was embarrassed for the guy. It was pathetic. If this game was played in Boston, they would have been booing him and throwing stuff at him.”

No one ever accused Cronin of beating around the bush.

However, fans who enjoy reading such ref-bashing had better enjoy it now because it isn’t likely to happen again. Longtime observers of Hockey East know that any overt criticism of the officials is forbidden based on the principle that the men in stripes don’t have an opportunity to defend themselves and no one hears a retraction when the videotapes later back up the officials’ calls.

And in this case, Cronin didn’t toe the line of overt criticism; he kicked the living stuffing out of it.

It made for great reading, but also a conversation with the league office.

There will be no pronouncement of an official reprimand, as has happened in the past with other coaches. Those public trips to the woodshed are for repeat offenders and Cronin doesn’t fit that profile.

So when you read future stories about Northeastern, expect colorful quotes, but only until you get to discussion of the zebras. Then, in all likelihood, you’ll need to read between the lines.

An Initial Stumble

After BU topped Lowell 3-1 in Hockey East’s first league game, Terrier coach Jack Parker cautioned that too much can’t be read into the River Hawks’ 1-2 start.

“I think Lowell’s going to be fighting for the top four all year long,” he said.

Even so, the game was a disappointment for River Hawk fans. All but two players in the lineup were juniors and seniors, so experience was heavily on their side. Unfortunately for them, that didn’t translate into a win.

“I think they’ve got 11 freshmen and sophomores playing; we had 16 juniors and seniors, and you would’ve never known it based on tonight’s performance,” UML coach Blaise MacDonald said after the loss. “They were everything we want to be.

“I really think we’re a team that’s trying to find itself with the loss of a couple guys from last year’s club, and I’m afraid we’re a team that wants it a little easier than it’s going to be. But really when you a play a team that’s playing like BU, they’ll make a lot of teams look bad.”

BU notwithstanding, it has been surprising that the veteran River Hawks haven’t gotten out of the gate in stronger fashion.

“I knew we had to get better in some areas, and we still do,” MacDonald said. “But this is our third game, and we haven’t even come close to playing a ‘C’ game yet, so that’s not a good thing.”

When asked if this means he’s going to have to coach his players differently, MacDonald said, “Well, we can’t trade anybody, so I guess we’re going to have to.”

Quotes Of Note

MacDonald on whether he got a good look at a particular play: “I actually did not. You haven’t noticed that I’m only five-foot six?”

Cronin on Northeastern’s opening night 6-0 loss to North Dakota: “They just outclassed us. It was not a good effort all around. It could have been 10 goals. It was an ugly game.”

Maine coach Tim Whitehead on his team’s 5-1 win over Denver on Friday: “We got contributions from everybody. There were no weak links.”

Maine assistant captain Steve Mullin after completing a sweep of the defending national champs one night later: “There was a little bit of revenge on our minds. It definitely feels good to beat a Western team after all the talk that they were going to clean up again this year. To do it in our barn, in front of our own fans, makes that even much more special. We went out there trying to prove something for ourselves and if it makes a statement for Hockey East too, that’s even better.”

Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy after a 3-2 win at Bowling Green gave the Warriors their first win since Jan. 1: “When the fall comes around, everybody is 0-0. You have to wipe the slate clean. There are times when you have to have long term memory, and there are times where you have to have long term memory loss. These guys have been dedicating themselves to get ready for this moment.”

Dennehy two nights later after a seven-goal Michigan first period resulted in a 9-2 loss: “Handling success is sometimes harder than handling failure. We really had a gutsy performance on Friday night. I think too many of our guys got too high with the highs, and we weren’t ready and prepared for that first period tonight.”

BC coach Jerry York after a 3-2 loss at Michigan: “It’s a long way to April — a lot of ups and downs. But I like what I saw tonight.”

Way To Go, Higgs

Congratulations to BU freshman Chris Higgins on scoring his first collegiate goal in his inaugural game. And to add icing to the cake, it was the game-winner.

BU coach Jack Parker first saw Higgins three years ago when the goal-scoring machine was playing on a line centered by my favorite playmaker of all time, Ryan Hendrickson. (Yes, that would be my son.)

That duo was a great combination to watch. Ryan’s great ice vision complemented Higgins’s clever scoring touch. If the puck got on his stick, it found the back of the net. And the puck got on his stick a lot.

“Higgs” made a habit of making goaltenders look foolish, a trait that Parker noticed in that game three years ago and led to Higgs wearing the Terrier jersey now.

Congrats and good luck.

Another Tip Of The Hat

Here’s a one-week late congratulation to Eric Frede for winning the Hockey East Media Award. It’s an honor richly deserved by a great guy. He has much higher profile positions — you have watched Red Sox games, haven’t you? — but his passion for college hockey is unquestioned.

Upon Further Review

I mentioned in last week’s “A Little Tidbit” segment my amazement at the note from a colleague about a bench-clearing brawl in Northern Michigan’s intrasquad game.

If you go back in the archives and retrieve the column, however, the segment is no longer there. That’s because USCHO could not vouch for the story’s reliability, so the segment was (correctly) removed.

But since some of you read the segment, you should also read a retraction. Consider that story to be of dubious credibility.

And if it was definitively false, my apologies to Northern Michigan.

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

• For those who might be curious, this week’s column was originally to be titled “Forty Days And Forty Nights” and was going to begin:

And so it was that as the rains continued night and day, Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna and Media Relations Director Noah Smith decided to build an ark so that all of Hockey East would not be washed away, never again to be remembered.

Then a terrible thing happened. It stopped raining. And the fantasy of a Hockey East Ark seemed dumber by the minute. (An aside: I find myself using the “dumber by the minute” phrase all too often these days.) All of which explains how I stumbled on the idea of the expansion draft…

• I usually can’t devote much time to college football, but what an unbelievable football game that was between Notre Dame and USC last weekend. My appreciation for Charlie Weis has me pulling for the Irish every weekend.

• It boggles the mind that the Red Sox haven’t signed Theo Epstein yet. The guy has been at the helm for three tremendously productive seasons, one of which resulted in the breaking of the curse, while simultaneously transforming the farm system from one of the worst in baseball to one of the best. Surely, it can’t be compensation, not when GMs cost less than a utility infielder. If the issue is interference by Larry Lucchino and Theo leaves, then Lucchino goes from being an interesting interview on WEEI to the Enemy himself. Theo should consult with ownership on money issues, as does any general manager, but baseball decisions should be his and not Lucchino’s. Exhibit A would be the trade Theo had in place with Colorado at the trading deadline only to have ownership pull the rug out from underneath him.

• The Patriots have certainly missed Tedy Bruschi, but we’ll all be holding our breath every time he’s involved in a big hit. Even knowing that he and his doctors have dotted every “i” and crossed every “t,” you still have to be nervous. Good luck, Tedy.

Thanks to Patrick C. Miller, Scott Weighart, Todd D. Milewski, Lindsey Ungar and Matthew Conyers.

This Week in the CCHA: Oct. 20, 2005

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It’s Early, but It’s Nice

Once upon a time, the CCHA was a league to be feared. As recently as the 1990s, the teams around these parts were considered among the toughest in the country, with savvy goaltending, fearsome defense, and physicality second to none.

During the last five years or so, however, changes have occurred to help the CCHA along a newer and not so glamorous path. First, teams out east increased their speed and finesse, then teams west improved recruiting conference wide, everybody seemed to update their systems — with many CCHA teams seemingly doing so last — and before you knew it, Todd Milewski became the only hockey writer of any importance in the known universe.

That changed on Oct. 14, 2005, when Kyle Greentree’s high-slot wrist shot beat Kellen Briggs at three minutes and forty-five seconds into overtime in Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena.

Okay, so maybe one win by a mid-pack CCHA team over the then-No. 1 squad in the country doesn’t count for much, but UAF’s tie with Minnesota the following day — combined with a few well-placed CCHA wins over nonleague opponents — put every other conference on notice after last weekend.

There was Ohio State’s split with Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Nebraska-Omaha’s Maverick Stampede title win over New Hampshire, Michigan’s win over Boston College, Lake Superior’s three points — three points! — over Colgate, and Michigan State’s title win over North Dakota in the Lefty McFadden Invitational two weeks ago.

So far in this young season, the CCHA has doubled up on nonconference opponents, compiling a 14-7-2 record against non-CCHA foes. It’s not merely the quantity of wins that counts, but the quality — and the quality of the losses.

Let’s be fair. It’s nice that the Buckeyes beat the Tigers in their first game out west, but it would have been just as nice for Northern Michigan to sweep St. Cloud State at home, for Bowling Green to beat Merrimack at home, and for Western Michigan to beat Robert Morris at home.

Robert Morris. In Lawson Arena. In Kalamazoo.

For years during the recent downward spiral, CCHA coaches have been telling us that “this” is the year that the league bounces back and contends, making the CCHA the league that cried wolf — repeatedly. Still, for CCHA fans thirsting for a stronger national showing, it’s mighty tempting to be optimistic.

Thank goodness for Mike Kemp.

“I’m not one to judge too early, to get excited about too much too soon,” says the UNO head coach. “I think our schedules are set up [so] that we can get some really good representation on a national basis. That is something that will help us out in the RPI down the road.”

After the cautionary beginning, Kemp’s comments get to the heart of how everyone felt about UAF’s three-point weekend in Minneapolis, about the importance of initials that hockey fans know so well: RPI, PWR, NCAA.

There wasn’t a coach in the league whose team has a legitimate chance of being invited to the NCAA tournament who wasn’t overjoyed that the Nanooks beat the Gophers, that the Mavericks beat the Wildcats, even that the Spartans beat the Sioux and the Wolverines beat the Eagles.

As “Last 16” — more weight given to the final 16 games of the season — is no longer a criterion for ratings purposes, these nonconference wins can go a long way for the rest of the teams within the CCHA.

Of course, this also means that everyone in the CCHA is going to be pulling for Minnesota this year while gunning for UAF.

And the nonconference play is only going to get more interesting as the season progresses. The Spartans travel to Ithaca in two weeks to take on Cornell in the Big Red’s first D-I games of the season; MSU and UM host the Showcase this year; CC rounds out the Great Lakes Invitational this year.

On the flipside, the Buckeyes fill December with nonconference games they should win, all in Columbus: two games each against Alabama-Huntsville and Union at Value City Arena, and Holy Cross at Nationwide Arena to start the Ohio Hockey Classic.

And the Bucks know all about what can happen when you are the team under consideration and you’ve lost to someone who’s not. Just ask them about their trip to Clarkson last December.

Maybe someone in Minneapolis should have asked someone in Columbus about the Bucks’ series against Clarkson before last weekend.

I, for one, am glad the thought never occurred to the folks in Minneapolis.

Couldn’t Have Happened to a Nicer Guy

Anyone who knows UAF head coach Tavis MacMillan knows that he loves hockey. Yes, the former Nanook loves UAF hockey, but he loves the game itself with a passion that can still be described as youthful.

When I was catching up by phone with MacMillan at the start of the season, he interrupted my earnest questions about UAF with, “You online?”

I was, so he told me to go to the New York Islanders’ roster page. I did. I saw guys’ Islanders headshots that resembled bobbleheads.

“Isn’t that cool?” he asked. I could hear his grin half a continent away.

The win over Minnesota was a coming-of-age moment of sorts for MacMillan, who as a Nanook played for now-Gopher coach Don Lucia.

“It felt special just to compete against Coach,” MacMillan told USCHO’s Scott Brown after the game. “It’s a great way to start the season.”

Anyone who caught “Tuesday @ the Rink” this week caught a few classic MacMillan moments. When a fan from North Dakota asked MacMillan to “share” his “secret” on preparing his squad for trips outside of Alaska, MacMillan replied, “It is absolute 100 percent rocket science.”

When asked about the Nanooks’ single first-place vote in this week’s USCHO.com/CSTV poll, he said, “I didn’t look to see who votes on those polls to try and pinpoint who might have given us that vote. I do know that I don’t have a vote, so it wasn’t me.”

And even though UAF opens CCHA play with Michigan at home in two weeks, MacMillan is focused on a more immediate task at hand. “[L]ooking ahead to our series with Michigan … really isn’t an option because of the Governor’s Cup.”

Sure, a series against another potential No. 1 team is important, but playing Alaska-Anchorage for the first of four games in a series that absolutely consumes Alaska hockey fans is all the Nanooks and MacMillan — the consummate Nanook — can see.

As for the Nanooks’ appearance in this week’s poll and the lone first-place vote, MacMillan spoke prophetically to my esteemed colleague Danny Martin of the Fairbanks News-Miner on the way back to Fairbanks after the trip to Minneapolis.

“It’s a small sign of respect, but we still have a long way to go and it was only two games into the season.”

Yes, It’s Early, but …

When the Ohio State beat Colorado College 4-2 last Friday, the Bucks did something they hadn’t done in years: they won the opening game of their Division I season.

Okay, so they did two somethings: they also recorded their first significant win against a nonconference opponent since Oct. 27, 2000, when OSU beat Maine 3-2 in overtime in Alfond Arena.

When Rod Pelley scored shorthanded at 4:48 in the third period of that game, putting the Buckeyes ahead for good, he broke a streak that OSU was happy to see end.

This was the fourth consecutive season that began with a road game against a nationally-ranked opponent for OSU, but the first time since 2000-2001, when they beat Northern Michigan 5-3, that the Bucks began the Division I season with a win.

In 2001-2002, OSU tied Notre Dame opening night; in 2002-2003, it was Minnesota 7, OSU 2; in 2003-2004, Denver beat the Bucks 5-2; last year, OSU lost to New Hampshire, 5-1, in the Ice Breaker.

Notice the scores, too, for those last three season-opening losses: Rest of the World 17, OSU 5.

Head coach John Markell was, of course, philosophical about the now-defunct streak. “You tell me another team that takes that kind of load. We try to avoid home games early in the season, and that’s why we do what we do.

“As anyone who knows us knows, we are team that will travel.”

The Bucks showed early-season poise and patience in the win, coming from behind after Brett Sterling scored on the Tiger power play at 1:38 in the first.

And, yes, that means that the Buckeyes took a penalty before the season was two minutes old.

The Name of Fear Is …

He doesn’t look so tough in his Wolverine headshot, but freshman defenseman Jack Johnson is apparently something to be feared.

During the Outdoor Living Network’s (OLN) 2005 NHL Entry Draft recap feature earlier this month, various prospective draftees were seen being put through grueling physical tests as well as tough psychological interviews.

Every young man was asked what he fears, and according to one interview, about half responded with, “Spiders.”

According to OLN, two responded with, “Jack Johnson.”

When Johnson, drafted in the first round (third overall) this year by the Carolina Hurricanes, was dished this tidbit, he had the modesty to look surprised, even abashed, but now that he’s played four games for Michigan, we know why.

Eight penalties for 16 minutes. In four games.

Okay, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. We all know he’s a phenomenal player, the highest-draft player the Wolverines have ever seen, a gold medalist with Team USA in the 2005 IIHF World Under-18 championship tournament, and already a two-time CCHA player of the week honoree — this week for defense, last week for rookie.

Maybe he’s a target. Maybe that’s why his minutes are so, um, significant so early in the season. It’s true that a couple of other players have racked up some minutes as well. Fellow Wolverine Andrew Ebbett has 17 minutes in four games, and in two games each, Ferris State’s Matt Verdone has 15 minutes, Miami’s Taylor Hustead has 12, and UNO’s Bill Thomas has 15.

But those guys padded their stats with major penalties. Every one of Johnson’s infractions was of the minor variety.

Reminds me of a player from UAF from a couple of years back … but I dare not say it.

Not yet. It’s early.

Games of the Week

It’s pretty early to talk head-to-head comparison, but there are at least a few interesting points to make about this series. And, no, it’s not who you might think.

Miami (1-1-0) at Nebraska-Omaha (2-0-0)
Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, Qwest Center, Omaha, Neb.

The Mavericks of Nebraska-Omaha had the Wildcats of New Hampshire just where they wanted them after the first period of last Saturday’s Maverick Stampede title game. UNO was up 3-1 on goals by Alex Nikiforuk, Thomas Klempa, and Mick Lawrence.

But you know what they say about a two-goal lead.

“Yeah,” chuckles UNO head coach Mike Kemp, “we gave up a couple that we probably shouldn’t have given up.”

UNH came back with two goals to tie it in the second, but just 39 seconds after Matt Fornataro knotted it up, rookie Dan Charleston scored the game-winner, fed by sophomore Bill Bagron, and the Mavericks were on their way to their second consecutive Stampede championship.

“The best thing about the game is the way we hung in there,” says Kemp. “We had to kill off a full two-minute, five-on-three early in the third.”

The Mavericks are a potentially powerful mix of veterans and new blood. Junior Alex Nikiforuk accounted for all three of UNO’s goals when the Mavs beat Army 3-2 in their first game last weekend, and added that first goal Saturday; Klempa, who had two goals in the win over UNH, is a freshman, and Lawrence is a sophomore.

Kemp says that UNO’s depth is more than just an asset on the ice. “They come together very well. It’s rewarding to see. There’s a lot of diversity amongst the youth and the experienced players.”

The one spot that lacks experience is in goal, but there may be depth. Sophomore Eric Aarnio earned the win against Army, while freshman Greg Barrett beat New Hampshire.

Another freshman, Jerad Kaufmann, “played very, very well against Manitoba” in exhibition, says Kemp, who adds that all three will compete for playing time.

“I don’t know that we’ll rotate every weekend … but each one is eager.”

This week the Mavs take on another CCHA team with questions in net, the Miami RedHawks. Two weeks ago, the RedHawks opened their season as hosts of the Lefty McFadden Invitational, with freshman Jeff Zatkoff in net both nights. In the opening game against North Dakota, Zatkoff allowed three goals on 19 shots, but followed up with a 4-0 shutout of Wayne State the following day.

Like UNO, the RedHawks are a potentially potent mix of veterans and rookies, with depth up front and at the blue line, and maybe even in net.

Miami has a talented group of forwards, some of the fastest and most elegant skaters in the league, and when they’re on — and not injured or sick — they are to be taken seriously, and the Miami blueline is among the toughest in the league — when not sick or injured.

“They’re hard to judge on their first two games,” says Kemp. “They’re pretty confident and they should be. They played North Dakota tough.”

Those Miami forwards can score on almost anyone, it seems, except for NoDak’s Jordan Parise, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. The RedHawks did everything they could but score against Parise, outshooting the Sioux 37-22 in the contest. By all accounts, Parise was the difference.

Miami is 4-1-2 in the last seven meetings between the squads, but it’s too early in the season to even think about the RedHawks, says Kemp. “It’s not like we can spend some time on them. All we’re going to do is work on our own team.”

Putting the Defense Back in Defender

Okay. So after years of harping about how the CCHA overwhelmingly awarded its “Defensive Player of the Week” to goaltenders, I was gratified to see a step in the right direction last season with the creation of the distinct “Defenseman of the Week” and “Goaltender of the Week” awards.

As nice as it is to honor defensemen on their own, exclusive category, the award tends to go overwhelmingly to blueliners who rack up offensive numbers during games.

This vexes me. I need your help.

I think defensemen who successfully defend, thwart opponent chances, block shots on penalty kills, create turnovers that lead to offensive chances — even when they, themselves, don’t receive assists — and generally defend their own ends deserve an award of their own.

And since I can’t be in all places at all times, I need you to do the nominating. Just send me the name of one or two defenders you personally witnessed make consistently outstanding defensive plays during a given game or weekend series, and I’ll choose the top blueliner and honor him here every week.

You must include specific, detailed evidence that I can verify through the player’s program to convince me he deserves consideration.

Write in by Tuesday of next week, and the first Blueliner of the Week will be honored in the third full week of the season.

You know where to find me.

Promises, Promises

Last week I promised Games of the Week and a new award, and I’ve delivered. Yes, they’re scant; it’s early. I also promised trivia and perspective, but I lied. I’ll try to make it worth your wait next week.

As in the past, the prize for winning trivia here will be dinner at Dave Hendrickson’s house. No, he doesn’t know.

My Apologies to NMU

I would like to extend a personal apology to the Northern Michigan University hockey program for remarks in last week’s column. I was misinformed, and I meant absolutely no disrespect to the NMU coaches and players, whom I hold in high regard, as they know.

This Week in the ECACHL: Oct. 20, 2005

By Timothy Muir McDonald
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After two weeks of games against non-conference opponents, many of which were on the road, the ECACHL has fared well against the more-closely located competition from Atlantic Hockey or Hockey East, but has struggled against teams from the geographically distant CCHA and WCHA.

“Home ice is a huge advantage in college hockey, especially in some of the big arenas out West,” said Union coach Nate Leaman.

“What is most challenging is that a lot of non-conference teams aren’t willing to play reciprocal games in our buildings, so we’re on the road a great deal of the time against non-conference teams,” Leaman added.

Of the 22 non-conference games played thus far, 13 contests have been on the road and many of those games involved travel over long distances to play WCHA or CCHA opponents. Thus far this season, ECACHL teams have played at Michigan and at Wisconsin, in Colorado Springs as part of the Ice Breaker Invitational and in Anchorage, Alaska, for the Nye Frontier Classic. Here is the ECACHL’s record against other conferences:

ECACHL vs. Atlantic Hockey 2-0-1 (Bentley, Sacred Heart, Connecticut)
ECACHL vs. CCHA 0-3-1 (Michigan, Lake Superior)
ECACHL vs. CHA 1-2-0 (Niagara, Air Force)
ECACHL vs. Hockey East 4-2-0 (UMass-Lowell, Providence, Massachusetts)
ECACHL vs. WCHA 2-3-0 (Wisconsin, Michigan Tech, Colorado College, Alaska-Anchorage)
ECACHL vs. Independent 1-0-0 (RIT)
Overall 10-10-2

While a 10-10-2 record is hardly problematic, the less than equal number of home and road games, not to mention the difficult venues and travel distances that come with playing the Michigans and the Wisconsins of the world, have put the ECACHL and its teams at something of the disadvantage.

The thousands of miles of travel clearly had an effect on both Rensselaer and Colgate this weekend, with both coaches Dan Fridgen and Don Vaughan citing the distance as a factor in their teams’ energy levels.

Troy, New York to Anchorage, Alaska … .by way of Pouce Coupe, British Columbia

“It was a long way to go for a pair of weekend games,” Fridgen said, referring to his team’s contests in Alaska as part of the Nye Frontier Classic.

I believe Fridgen, of course, but curiosity compelled me to plug into Mapquest the street addresses for Houston Field House in Troy, N.Y., and Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska. In case you’re also curious, Mapquest puts the trip by car at approximately 76 hours, over the course of which your automobile would travel approximately 4,432 miles.

I’m not positive, but I think that means you’d have to make sure to change the oil in your car while in Pouce Coupe, B.C. Pouce Coupe, in case your curiosity has held up this far, has a population of 833 and the closest city — referred to as a “boomtown” on its website — is Dawson Creek, B.C., population 11,290.

So now you have at least a little sense of what Fridgen must have meant when he talked about how his team was worn down by the very act of traveling to Alaska. Back to the hockey …

“In the first game against Alaska, the travel got to us a little bit,” Fridgen said. “We were a little lethargic and they certainly took advantage of that, especially on the power play.”

The Engineers’ fatigue figured prominently in its penalty killing struggles; Alaska-Anchorage scored three power-play goals on the night, including go-ahead goals when the score was tied 1-1 and later at 2-2.

On Saturday night, however, it was the Engineers’ turn to rally, as they turned in a strong performance against Michigan Tech.

“Against Michigan Tech, we had a real good game,” said Fridgen. “We came back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits, and then we got a big goal, a power-play goal from Andrei Uryadov.”

That was Uryadov’s first collegiate goal, at 14:25 of the third, and it proved to be the game-winner, allowing the weary Engineers to salvage a split of their nearly 9,000-mile road trip.

A Sojourn to Sault Ste. Marie

Compared to the Engineers’ transcontinental crossing, the Colgate Raiders’ trip of more than 750 miles for a pair of games against Lake Superior State seems insignificantly short. But that’s still a long way to go, and the distance combined with travel delays to ensure that Vaughan’s team didn’t arrive in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., until the early hours of Friday morning for a game later that evening.

“It made for a really long trip,” said Vaughan. “There’s no easy way to get up there.”

“But we played well,” he continued. “We had opportunities; we just didn’t capitalize on our chances. We missed some really good chances.”

On Friday night, despite being outshot 32-22 and spending eight shifts on the penalty kill, the Raiders managed a 2-2 tie with the Lakers. That was largely attributable to the continued strong presence in net from sophomore netminder Mark Dekanich, who stopped 30 shots.

On Saturday, though, the time spent on the penalty kill caught up to the Raiders during a 3-2 loss. The Lakers scored all three of their goals on the man-advantage; over the course of the weekend, Colgate racked up 59 penalty minutes and was only able to kill off 10 of 14 power plays for Lake Superior.

“We took some positives away from the weekend,” said Vaughan. “We’re still a pretty young team, so it’s good experience for our freshmen and sophomores.”

“You never want your team to be satisfied [with a one-point weekend],” he continued. “We want to find a way to win those close games.”

On Deck

A number of exhibition games dot the calendar for the coming weekend, and five of the six Ivy League teams — Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale — will take the ice for the first time. By a quirk of the schedule, Brown will not take the ice for an exhibition game until Friday, October 28 against Concordia, a team from Quebec.

Union is idle for the weekend; St. Lawrence and Clarkson will both face Western Ontario and the Golden Knights will also host the U.S. Under-18 Team on Saturday night. Clarkson coach George Roll appreciates having a weekend’s worth of exhibition games to keep his team fresh but at the same time practice specific capabilities that haven’t been performing up to par.

“We’re plan on getting some guys out on the ice who haven’t played yet in the lineup,” he said. “Our power play is very good; even the times we haven’t scored, we’ve created a lot of opportunities. But we haven’t shown the discipline necessary to be successful, and we’re not at all satisfied with our penalty kill.”

“We’re going to be trying out some different forechecks,” he continued. “And we’re going to try using some of our power-play guys on the penalty kill.”

“Obviously with the games not counting we can play around a bit.”

A Challenging Task

The three teams that will be engaged in non-exhibition contests this weekend are Quinnipiac, Colgate, and Rensselaer. For the Bobcats that means a simple home-and-home series alternating between Hamden, Conn., and Springfield, Mass. And for the Raiders, that means a meeting with the Black Knights of Army and a fresh opportunity to rebound from last weekend’s disappointments.

“Playing against Army is going to be a challenge,” Vaughan noted. “They’re never going to quit, and so we have to match that intensity and work ethic [that they bring].”

The most intriguing game on tap for the weekend, though, is Friday night’s match between Rensselaer and Boston University. Jack Parker’s Terriers are 1-0-0 after defeating UMass-Lowell a week ago and it will be interesting to see what sort of game plan Fridgen and his staff assemble to slow down one of the most well-balanced teams in Hockey East.

“This weekend we certainly have our work cut out for us against Boston University, but we’re looking forward to the challenge,” Fridgen said. “We’ll have to play a real smart game because they are always a big, fast team up front with quality forwards and big, very mobile defensemen.”

MacDonald Will Seek Redshirt

It was announced this week that Rensselaer senior forward Kirk MacDonald, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer last April, will apply for a medical redshirt for his senior season.

MacDonald, who was named one of three captains of the 2005-06 team, led the Engineers with 16 goals and 36 points last season. Having concluded his cancer treatment near the end of the summer, he had been hoping to return to the ice this season. He issued a statement to that effect on October 5, noting his desire to return but also the uncertain timetable for full recovery.

This Week in the WCHA: Oct. 20, 2005

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First things first:

• Weekends like the last one, when WCHA teams combined to go 5-10-1 in non-conference games, are just payback for the Frozen Four last season.

• Minnesota’s stunning opening weekend against Alaska-Fairbanks drew memories of the 2003 opening weekend, when the then-No. 1 Gophers were flat in the Maverick Stampede, losing to Maine and falling behind Nebraska-Omaha 3-0 before rallying for a 7-3 win. That team started 2-7-1, and if this year’s Minnesota squad comes even close to that there’s going to be a lot of head-scratching.

• Given the success Bemidji State has scored against WCHA teams thus far, its home-and-home series against North Dakota on Dec. 16 and 17 should be a good one.

No Home Cooking

For as nice as the new arenas are around the WCHA, you’ve got to admit that the old barns had something in them.

That something was a home-ice advantage. These days, there isn’t as much of a sense of intimidation coming from the building as there was in the days of the old Mariucci Arena, the old Ralph Engelstad Arena and the like.

That might be why it’s becoming easier statistically for road teams to win WCHA games.

Over the past three seasons, the number of road victories in WCHA play has jumped, from 48 in 2002-03 to 58 in 2003-04 to 62 last season. Last season, home teams were just 64-62-13 in 139 WCHA games played on campus. (Minnesota State played one home game at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.)

Parity is one explanation. Just about every league game is up for grabs, so home and away doesn’t play that much of a role there.

“But I also think there’s something to the fact that old Dane County Coliseum is gone. Old Mariucci is gone. Our old [Ralph Engelstad Arena],” North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said. “The old, classic buildings, I think they maybe provided for a little bit more of a home-ice advantage. When you go on the road [now], everything is pretty bright, pretty new. So maybe we’ve lost a little bit of that.”

Last season, Minnesota had the best WCHA road record at 10-4, while Minnesota State and Alaska-Anchorage tied for the worst at 4-8-2.

Michigan Tech’s MacInnes Student Ice Arena was the easiest building for opponents to win in statistically, with the Huskies going just 2-11-1 in their 14 league home games. Wisconsin’s Kohl Center was the toughest place to get a road win. The Badgers went 11-3 on home ice, losing only to Denver, Minnesota and Colorado College.

Trivial Matters

After two weeks of the season, there are no WCHA teams left undefeated. How many were undefeated after two weeks last season? Answer below.

Bump In The Road

Some speed bumps you see coming in time to either slow down or swerve out of the way. And then sometimes you hit one at full speed, making such a racket when the car finally hits the ground that everybody around stops to look.

Minnesota knows the feeling of the latter.

Alaska-Fairbanks’ win and tie at Mariucci Arena threw a heap of questions into the early part of the Gophers’ season, like about whether they really have the hard workers to get the job done.

Granted, it’s one series and it shouldn’t be cause for the Chicken Little kind of talk that is being used by some for the WCHA as a whole after last weekend. But there are clearly issues the Gophers will have to iron out.

“I’ll take the blame,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia told USCHO’s Scott Brown. “I obviously did a poor job of preparing this team. … This week [in practice] we’ll see who wants it: which 12 forwards and six defensemen.”

There probably weren’t too many Gophers players looking forward to practice this week.

No Lulls

Bob Motzko is slowly getting acquainted with his St. Cloud State team, and he already sees an area where he’s trying to make an adjustment.

Motzko, the first-year Huskies coach, is making an effort to get his players to avoid stretches when their intensity lags. He’s looking for players to be on their toes, not their heels.

“We have to fight through the moments when we try to settle in,” said Motzko, who makes his home debut as the St. Cloud State coach Friday when the Huskies host Wisconsin.

He got his first collegiate victory last Saturday when Joe Jensen scored late in overtime for a 3-2 victory at Northern Michigan that gave St. Cloud State a split.

And this weekend, Motzko will be looking to follow in Craig Dahl’s footsteps in winning his home debut. Dahl, the only other coach in the Huskies’ Division I history, beat Air Force 6-3 on Oct. 30, 1987.

St. Cloud is looking for an offensive surge this season to improve upon the ninth-best scoring team in last year’s WCHA statistics. Motzko has no intentions of reining in the offense.

“We’re going to go out there and try to make plays,” Motzko said. “We want to go out and beat people and the only way is to go out and try.”

Early Success Helps

The early reports from North Dakota are good, and not just because the Sioux are 3-1. They have been put in learning situations and have been able to draw valuable lessons.

They got a split at the Lefty McFadden Invitational two weekends ago, then returned home and earned a sweep of Northeastern with a good offensive outing (a 6-0 win) and a solid third-period defensive effort (a 2-1 win).

With the young roster the Sioux have, those early experiences are vital.

“I think these are all experiences you have to go through as a team,” Hakstol said. “It’s nice to be able to have a little bit of success early in the year and to be able to learn from those. It gets tough if all your learning experiences come through losing situations. It’s nice to be able to learn and go through some experiences as a team while we’re having a little bit of success. I think that’s the most positive way to build and to learn.”

This weekend brings another challenge when UND plays at New Hampshire.

“We’re going to go out and play on an Olympic sheet for the first time,” Hakstol said. “We’re going to go into a hostile environment for the first time. We’re playing against one of the top teams in Hockey East. It’s important for us to try and have some success, but it’s going to be a whole new set of circumstances.”

Teeing Off

Even where the WCHA had some success on the ice last weekend, its officials got a bit of a black eye. After his team lost 2-1 to North Dakota last Saturday, Northeastern coach Greg Cronin let loose on the officiating crew that was led by referee Bill Mason.

North Dakota, which swept the series, had 13 power plays compared to Northeastern’s five.

Here’s part of what Cronin had to say to USCHO’s Patrick C. Miller after the game:

“Honest to God, I’ve coached in the National Hockey League, the American Hockey League, the OHL, international, WCHA, Hockey East, and that was the worst officiating I’ve ever seen in my life. All three of them — Moe, Larry and Curly — were sniffing glue. It was embarrassing. If I was the league, I’d be embarrassed by that.”

WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said he got a copy of a letter of reprimand from Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna to Cronin on Monday. He also said league officials were surprised by what they heard from Cronin.

“On our behalf, we’re a little dumbfounded by the deal,” McLeod said.

In Other Words

• League players of the week were Michigan Tech’s Chris Conner on offense, Colorado College goaltender Matt Zaba on defense and North Dakota forward T.J. Oshie and Alaska-Anchorage defenseman Mat Robinson as the top rookies.

• Minnesota forward Danny Irmen will be out four to six weeks with a hand injury suffered while blocking a shot in the Gophers’ loss to Alaska-Fairbanks last Friday. He was scheduled for surgery this week.

• Minnesota-Duluth radio announcer Kerry Rodd, who didn’t miss a game in 18 years, resigned from KDAL radio last week, the Duluth News Tribune reported. KDAL is planning on picking up the Vermont radio feed for this weekend because arrangements couldn’t be made in time. Bruce Ciskie is slotted to slide over from UMD football to hockey starting with next weekend’s series at Michigan Tech.

• Wisconsin forward Matt Auffrey left the team on Monday to join Kitchener of the OHL in search of more playing time. The sophomore, who was battling for a lineup spot with the Badgers, had three goals and eight points in 26 career college games.

• Denver goaltender Peter Mannino had his seven-game winning streak stopped with a 4-2 loss at Maine last Saturday. He hadn’t lost since allowing five goals in relief of Glenn Fisher in an 8-5 loss at Minnesota State on Feb. 25.

• Michigan Tech will induct former hockey player Gerald Fabbro and six others into its sports hall of fame before Saturday’s game against Northern Michigan.

• Trivia answer: Five — Minnesota-Duluth (3-0-1), North Dakota (3-0-1), Colorado College (2-0), Wisconsin (2-0) and Alaska-Anchorage (1-0-1).

Final Word

Referees have one of the worst jobs around because someone always thinks they’re wrong, but Cronin stepped over the line in bringing his thoughts on officials to the media last Saturday. Still, in my view, WCHA referees could stand to be more consistent. And privately, there are some who just nodded when hearing of the comments.

USCHO D-III Men’s Preseason All-USCHO Team Announced

USCHO Staff Report
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Players from teams in the preseason USCHO Division III poll dominate the list of all-stars on the 2005 Preseason All-USCHO Team.

logos/alluscho.gif

Preseason No. 1 Middlebury placed two players on the East team, while second-ranked St. Norbert and No. 5 St. John’s dominated the West, placing four and three players, respectively. Sixth-ranked Trinity has two players on the East First Team.

The All-USCHO teams are selected by the USCHO staff. Complete All-USCHO teams appear below.

East First Team:

Forward — Cameron Finch, Sr., Trinity
Forward — Gus Katsuras, Sr., Hamilton
Forward — Ryan McCarty, Jr., Potsdam
Defense — Tom Sullivan, Sr., Babson
Defense — Brendan Timmins, Sr., Trinity
Goal — George Papachristopolous, Sr., Bowdoin

East Second Team:

Forward — Mike Carmody, So., New England College
Forward — Eric Frank, Sr., Mass.-Dartmouth
Forward — Mikey Gilchrist, So., Middlebury
Defense — Jason Murfitt, So., Manhattanville
Defense — Arthur Fritch, So., Colby
Goal — Ross Cherry. Middlebury

Honorable Mention: Bret Adams (Curry), Adam Dekker (Utica), Jocelyn Dubord (Oswego), Matt English (Geneseo), Mike Gooch (Neumann), Josh Hector (St. Anselm), Ryan Scott (Oswego), Matt Zeman (Fredonia)

West First Team:

Forward — Spencer Carbery, Sr., St. Norbert
Forward — Jay Dardis, Sr., Wisconsin-Superior
Forward — Brandon Wilcox, Sr., St. Thomas
Defense — Andrew Derton, Jr., St. Norbert
Defense — Keith Detlefsen, Sr., Gustavus Adolphus
Goal — Adam Hanna, Sr., St. John’s

West Second Team:

Forward — Scott Bjorkland, Sr., St. John’s
Forward — Tyler Canal, Jr., Lake Forest
Forward — Connor Hughes, Sr., St. Norbert
Defense — Mike Kautz, Sr., Wisconsin-Stout
Defense — Darryl Smoleroff, Sr., St. John’s
Goal — Kyle Jones, So., St. Norbert

Honorable Mention: Ryan Adams (Bethel), Mathieu Bonnelly (Wisconson-Superior), Matt Burzon (MSOE), Tyler Dahl (Wisconsin-River Falls), Chris Gehrke (Wisconsin-Stevens Point), Critter Nagurski (Augsburg)

USCHO Women’s Game of the Week:
Minnesota at Mercyhurst

By Arlan Marttila
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The Mercyhurst Lakers have dominated College Hockey America over the conference’s first three seasons. Last year, they took another step, qualifying for the NCAA tournament and pushing eventual runner-up Harvard to the brink of elimination in three grueling overtimes. If the Lakers want to continue their advancement and make the Frozen Four, they’ll have to beat teams like Minnesota, who have played in the national semifinal in seven of their eight seasons.

Mercyhurst’s best hope to do so may be to follow the recipe that St. Lawrence used in defeating Minnesota on opening weekend. The Saints came out hard from the start and exploited a physical edge all over the ice, while their deep and talented defensive corps limited the speedy Gophers to a mere 16 shots on goal for the game. The Gophers figure to need more chances than that to win, because they lack the established finishers they’ve had in past seasons.

Game Time: Sat. 3 p.m. ET (Broadcast Links)

No. 8 Mercyhurst (3-1-0 overall, 0-0-0 CHA)

Top Scorers: Julia Colizza, Jr., F (2-3-5), Valerie Chouinard, Fr., F (3-1-4), Stephanie Jones, So., F (0-4-4), Samantha Shirley, Sr., F (3-0-3), Michelle Bonello, Jr., D (1-2-3)
Top Goaltender: Laura Hosier, So. (3-1-0, 1.30, .928)
Scoring Offense: 3.00 (9th)
Scoring Defense: 1.25 (T-5th)
Penalty Minutes: 14.5 (T-11th)
Power Play: 3 of 28, 10.7% (14th)
Penalty Kill: 28 of 29, 96.6% (2nd)

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Mercyhurst hockey has been synonymous with good defense, and a big reason why is that the program is always strong in net. Laura Hosier anchors the position this year, following the likes of Desirae Clark and Tiffany Ribble. Another component to their defensive prowess is a strong blue line, including All-CHA first-teamers Ashley Pendleton and Michelle Bonello.

As is the case with many contenders in an Olympic year, the Lakers could use a marquee player up front. The freshman class adds talent to the forward mix, featuring Valerie Chouinard from the Canadian U-22 team. Senior captain Samantha Shirley recently passed the 100 point mark for her career and epitomizes the type of players in the Mercyhurst lineup.

“We’ve always been characterized as a disciplined, hard-working team with a lot of character and passion,” said 2005 AHCA National Coach of the Year Mike Sisti. “Those are ingredients we think are constants for us.”

For the second season in a row, the Lakers lost their opener despite enjoying a large advantage in shots over a lower-ranked opponent from the WCHA. Their ability to get a higher percentage of those pucks into the net may determine how high they ascend in 2005-2006.

No. 4 Minnesota (3-1-0 overall, 2-0-0 WCHA)

Top Scorers: Erica McKenzie, So., F (3-3-6), Andrea Nichols, Jr., F (2-2-4), Gigi Marvin, Fr., F (1-2-3)
Top Goaltender: Brittony Chartier, Fr. (3-1-0, 1.26, .939)
Scoring Offense: 2.25 (13th)
Scoring Defense: 1.25 (T-5th)
Penalty Minutes: 14.5 (T-11th)
Power Play: 4 of 20, 20% (6th)
Penalty Kill: 25 of 28, 89.3% (10th)

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Winning three games out of four isn’t bad – Minnesota is just accustomed to winning more. Maintaining a .750 winning percentage over the next five weeks will be a challenge, however, as they face tough series against No. 8 Mercyhurst, No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth, No. 9 Ohio State, Brown, and No. 2 Wisconsin.

The difficult early stretch in the schedule compounds the Gophers’ problem of finding new sources of offense. The rebuilt power play has connected 20 percent of the time – respectable, but nowhere near the 31 percent of last year. Production at even strength has been minimal, with only three such goals over the first four games. One source of optimism for Minnesota is Ms. Hockey for Minnesota high schools Gigi Marvin, who has shown flashes of brilliance. The Gophers set an NCAA record with 19 shorthanded goals in 2004-2005; ironically, they are on pace to match that total thanks to a pair by leading scorer Erica McKenzie.

Freshman goalie Brittony Chartier has performed like a veteran, befitting her Canadian U-22 pedigree. Chartier can claim two shutouts for her first four times out and will likely get many chances to add to that total.

For the Gophers to achieve their goal of defending their title while hosting the Frozen Four in Mariucci Arena come March, they will have to match the hard work and discipline that Mercyhurst incorporates. This weekend’s series serves as a good indicator as to how they are progressing.

RPI’s MacDonald To Apply For Medical Redshirt

USCHO Staff Report
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Two weeks after issuing a statement saying that he hoped to come back this season after treatment for testicular cancer, Rensselaer senior forward Kirk MacDonald has decided to apply for a medical redshirt this season to continue his recovery.

“My cancer treatments ended two months ago,” he said in a prepared statement two weeks ago. “Now I am working to regain my weight and my strength. Although I do not have a timetable, I am anxious to be back on campus and back on the ice.

“In the meantime, I wish my teammates well as they begin the season and will be following with interest. Their support, and the support of all of the RPI hockey fans, has been a big boost for me and my family.”

MacDonald was diagnosed with testicular cancer back in April and had been undergoing treatment. He led the Engineers last season with 36 points (16-20–36) and was named a captain for the coming season.

Welcome To USCHO Extra!

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Dear fans of college hockey,

USCHO Extra is under way as of Monday, Oct. 17, and if you’ve already subscribed to Extra, thanks for coming along for the ride.

Throughout the hockey season, subscribers will be getting more from USCHO.com. That includes a customizable home page with unique Extra content, a new, improved Fan Forum and, if you prefer, a site free of image-based advertisements.

Also, we’re offering exclusive content in the form of original journalism from the USCHO.com staff, all season long, to Extra subscribers. Every week, you can look forward to new columns and features on topics ranging the spectrum across college hockey.

We hope these improvements enhance your enjoyment of the site. For the past year, we’ve taken your comments and feedback, and we’ve worked hard to incorporate elements we think you’ll find useful and valuable.

If you’ve already logged in to Extra, then you’ve seen what we’re talking about: the latest stories specific to your team and conference, as well as the USCHO Extra features box for your easy perusal.

That features box will contain exclusive content available only to subscribers. To kick things off, debuting this week on Extra is Tuesday Morning Quarterback, a weekly column by longtime staffer Jim Connelly and yours truly. Jim and I will be giving our views on the previous weeks’ action across the nation, with Jim focusing every other week on the East, and me covering the West in the remaining weeks.

That’s only the beginning, though, as we bring you regular columns, features, analysis and opinions, all from familiar USCHO.com faces and new ones too.

In short, the definitive college hockey resource has gotten even better, as we celebrate our 10th season of award-winning, in-depth coverage.

Welcome to USCHO Extra, and thanks for your support. We think you’ll like what you see.

Best regards, and we’ll see you online and at the games.

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Air Force’s Serratore Signs Deal Through 2010

USCHO Staff Report
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Air Force head coach Frank Serratore has signed a new five-year contract which will extend him through the 2009-2010 season, according to senior associate athletic director Michael Saks.

Serratore came to Air Force from the Manitoba Moose of the International Hockey League in 1997. He is currently in his ninth season with the Falcons. He has a 120-154-18 record at Air Force and an overall record of 169-246-27 in 13 seasons as a college head coach.

He was head coach at Denver from 1990-94, posting a 49-91-9 record.

Serratore holds the school record for Division I wins. Prior to Serratore coming to the Academy in 1997, the Falcons had won a total of 86 Division I games in 29 seasons. Serratore currently has 88 Division I wins in eight seasons.

Among previous AFA head coaches, Chuck Delich won 49 Division I games in 11 years, John Matchefts won 17 in 11 years and Vic Heyliger won 20 in six years.

In competition against other U.S. military service academies, Serratore is 13-4-1 vs. Army overall and 12-4-1 versus the Black Knights while at Air Force. Navy does not have a varsity team.

Serratore has also been a master at getting his teams prepared on the road. Air Force’s nine road/neutral wins last season broke the school record for Division I road wins.

Prior to Serratore taking over the Falcons in 1997-98, AFA won just eight road games in six years. Under the eighth-year coach, the Falcons have won 44 road games and have won 36 percent of his games on the road (44-81-10).

Tuesday Morning Quarterback: West

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Throughout the season, USCHO.com staffers Scott Brown and Jim Connelly will offer their views on the previous weeks’ action, alternating writing duties every Tuesday. Brown will focus on the West and Connelly on the East, in a regular column exclusive to USCHO Extra.

Shock To The System

Minnesota came into the weekend as the No. 1 team in the nation, but the Gophers sure didn’t leave that way.

A few days ago, the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks rolled into Mariucci Arena wanting to know whether they could skate and shoot with the host team. And throughout the weekend series, the Nanooks frustrated the Gophers with an effective forecheck, played smart and hard, got good netminding and added a healthy dose of offense.

MacMILLAN

MacMILLAN

The results? The Nanooks proved they could handle everything Minnesota had, shocking the Gophers with an overtime win Friday and battling to a draw Saturday.

Now mind you, it was opening weekend for both programs, and two games are still just two games, but the consequences for both teams could be far-reaching.

For UAF, the three-point weekend built confidence that head coach Tavis MacMillan was glad to see.

“I like the identity that we’re trying to create this early in the season,” said MacMillan, who played under current Minnesota head coach Don Lucia during his first three seasons with the Nanooks, when Lucia was behind the bench for UAF.

MacMillan also referred to the “special” feeling of competing as a coach against his old mentor — though the quality of his team’s performance certainly had to stoke the fires as well.

Lucia, meanwhile, had little praise for his team after Saturday’s game.

“I was surprised by how we played this weekend,” he said. “Very surprised.

“The freshmen aren’t my biggest concerns,” he added, referring to the Gophers’ highly-touted rookie class. “I was disappointed in some of our older guys. I’m hard-pressed to find some guys this weekend who I can say had good games. … We have too many guys trying to be too cute.”

It’s not as if the Gophers didn’t have their chances. But they were consistently outbattled by a Nanook team unfazed by the pomp and grandeur of Mariucci Arena, and unimpressed by the challenge of overcoming one of the nation’s most storied programs on its own turf.

The experience of rookie phenom Phil Kessel was a microcosm of the Gophers’ woes. Kessel, the most-hyped college recruit in recent memory whose eventual commitment to Minnesota created quite the media stir, was kept quiet by an aggressive UAF defense, limited to just one assist on the weekend.

The Nanooks laid plenty of hits on Kessel, who showed his potential with some nifty moves and hard slapshots, but the results weren’t there — for one weekend, at least.

Lucia is known for his even temperament, and his team has come to reflect that. The Gophers were businesslike even after Saturday’s disappointment, vowing to regroup in practice and make something better happen this weekend.

“[The coaches] aren’t happy with us, and they shouldn’t be,” said Gopher forward Andy Sertich.

But some of the Gophers who faced off against Fairbanks might not see as much ice time in the near future. Lucia took the blame for not preparing his squad to face real competition, but it’s still the players’ game to play, and the likely result of the 0-1-1 weekend will be shuffled lines and potentially, some outright benchings.

“This week, we’ll see who wants it — which 12 forwards and six defensemen,” Lucia said.

UAF, meanwhile, seems to have little to worry about if its performance last weekend is any indication. Last season’s returning scorer, Kyle Greentree, was Friday’s hero with two assists and the overtime game winner, and both of UAF’s goaltenders played well; MacMillan started incumbent Wylie Rogers Friday, then handed the netminding duties over to freshman Chad Johnson Saturday.

“We’re confident in both our goalies,” MacMillan said, and rightly so, it seems.

Any way you slice it, it’ll be interesting to see how both programs move on from here.

Beavers Make Their Mark

The growth of college hockey depends on parity. When new programs, or teams stepping up a level of competition, succeed, it’s good for the game. That’s why the birth of the MAAC Hockey League, now Atlantic Hockey, was a plus for the sport. That’s why the founding of College Hockey America, and the continued viability of the league, which has been beset by membership changes, is needed.

And that’s why Bemidji State has been a breath of fresh air in the early going.

The Beavers, the CHA champions last season, now own a four-game winning streak against WCHA opposition this season, after sweeping Minnesota-Duluth on the road and Minnesota State at home.

The victories were well-earned: though the Beavers were handily outshot in the first game of their season against UMD, the next three games featured even shot totals. More impressive were BSU’s starts: in each of the four contests, the Beavers scored first, and never trailed.

Those four performances follow the Beavers’ last NCAA game, in which Bemidji hung in with eventual national champion Denver in the first round of the NCAA tournament before falling in overtime. Looks like good things are coming out of northern Minnesota.

Along The Same Lines…

Congratulations to RIT and head coach Wayne Wilson, who earned their first win as a Division I program, 5-2 Saturday night over Air Force. Those two programs will be seeing one another regularly in future years, as both will join Atlantic Hockey for the 2005-06 season.

Protection You Can Trust

Last season, Denver’s Geoff Paukovich’s nasty hit from behind on North Dakota’s Robbie Bina broke Bina’s neck, putting him out of action for the rest of the year, and, as it turns out, for this season as well. The NCAA took notice, adding hitting from behind as a no-nonsense enforcement issue for 2005-06.

The rule change instituted during the offseason mandates a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for all offenders. Any hit from behind is now a major, without the option of calling boarding or charging, as might have been done in past seasons.

That fact was in evidence last weekend, as several players ran afoul of the officiating in various games across the country.

Paukovich, in fact, was one of them, picking up the major and accompanying game misconduct against Maine in the second period Saturday.

Now, in the course of enforcing the new standard, there will be some whistles that draw the ire of coaches and fans along the way. But this writer, at least, is in full agreement with the stiffer penalties. Safety must come first, especially as players get stronger, faster and better year after year.

Better to send a few players to the showers on borderline calls than to risk permanent injury due to overaggressive play or outright cheap shots.

Great Lakes State

The state of Michigan has been done proud by two of its most successful programs so far. Michigan and Michigan State, traditionally among the CCHA’s powerhouses, are a combined 6-0-0 through the first two weekends, including the Spartans’ title at the Lefty McFadden Invitational and the Wolverines’ 3-2 win over Hockey East powerhouse Boston College Friday.

For 4-0-0 Michigan, the reward was the No. 1 spot in Monday’s fractured USCHO.com/CSTV poll. The Spartans are ranked 10th.

The perfect combined record won’t last much longer, though; the Spartans and the Wolverines next face one another, on Saturday.

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