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2005-06 Minnesota State Season Preview

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One could make a case that Minnesota State didn’t have many things going in its favor in an eighth-place campaign a year ago. It did have David Backes and Travis Morin, and one of the best things going into this season is they’re both back to help the Mavericks in their drive to get back among the WCHA’s top teams.

In his first two seasons in the WCHA, Backes has emerged as one of the league’s most exciting players, even if his team wasn’t among the conference’s best. When he was paired with Morin last season, the Mavericks had a great one-two punch to drive their offense.

But the defense wasn’t up to par. If that issue can be shored up by a more experienced group this season, Minnesota State figures to have a decent chance to make inroads toward a better season.

“For the first time in a while, we’re going to have an experienced team again,” Mavericks coach Troy Jutting said. “I think we’ve got some older kids again now and we’ve got experienced defensemen and a good group of experienced forwards back, so I think that’ll be a big asset for us.”

The Mavericks return three 10-goal scorers — Backes, Morin and sophomore Ryan Carter — and have potential for more offense if they can stay healthy, but that won’t mean much if the team doesn’t get better defense and goaltending.

Minnesota State ranked 54th of 58 NCAA Division I teams in defense last season, and none of the three goaltenders who played was able to crack the .900 mark in save percentage.

The Mavericks were merely average on the penalty kill last season, and that’s an area to which Jutting is pointing as a spot for improvement.

“In our league it’s tough enough as it is and when you’re playing a man down it becomes very tough,” he said. “And we’ve got kids back there [on defense] now that are experienced veterans. We’ve played a lot of freshmen and sophomores the last two years and our league can be very unforgiving in that respect. I think now we’ve got an experienced defensive corps but we’ve also got two freshman goaltenders out of three kids, too.”

Junior Chris Clark, who started 15 games last season, is the only returner. He’s joined by newcomers Dan Tormey and Mike Zacharias. Jutting pointed out that there has been no shortage of quality seasons from WCHA freshman goaltenders recently, but said any of the three could emerge as the starter.

“I think it’s a situation where you’ll probably see two goalies go for a while at least, if not the whole season,” Jutting said. “It’s definitely a situation that needs to resolve itself through playing time. I think it’ll take us a while to get to that point, but I do like all three of them.”

In front of them, the Mavericks need good seasons out of juniors Kyle Peto and Chad Brownlee and sophomore Steve Wagner, among others. Peto is known more as an offensive defenseman but his experience is vital.

Wagner got a lot of minutes as a freshman and Jutting said he should be one of the league’s better defensive defensemen in time.

David Backes, who scored 40 points last year, will anchor the Maverick offense.

David Backes, who scored 40 points last year, will anchor the Maverick offense.

“I just think those kids now are at that stage mentally that they won’t be getting rattled and they understand the situations they’re going into,” Jutting said. “They’re all talented enough and now they’ve been there enough where they understand what it’s going to take to be successful, and I think that’s the biggest key in this league.”

Up front, the Mavericks need more consistent performances from a handful of players. If Brock Becker and Jeff Marler can stay healthy, if Rob Rankin can chip in and if Austin Sutter and Joel Hanson can reach their potential, Minnesota State will have enough offense.

Backes and Morin need to go to the next level, too.

“I think any time you look at our league, teams that are successful, they usually have a couple of kids that are just a little bit different,” Jutting said. “Every player in the league is a good player; it’s usually those couple of difference-makers that allow you to have a chance to be successful in the league. With David and Travis now being juniors and both of them having pretty good freshman and sophomore seasons, I think they’re ready to take the next step and hopefully become those difference-maker players in our league.”

Remember that this is a team whose six seniors were on the team that tied for second place in their freshman year, so there’s a memory of success there that could fuel them.

“I think they’re excited to get back there,” Jutting said.

2005-06 Women’s ECACHL Season Preview

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With its third Frozen Four appearance in the five-year history of the NCAA women’s hockey tournament, St. Lawrence solidified its status as one of the nation’s elite programs. But while the Frozen Four banners have been perennial, the championship banners have not – at either the conference or national level. Could this be the year the Saints finally get over the hump?

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If the ECACHL coaches are right, that answer is yes. The Saints earned eight of 11 first-place votes in the league’s preseason poll with good reason. They return four of their top five scorers, six defensemen and their top two goalies, giving them far and away the most veterans of any of last year’s Frozen Four contenders.

Harvard, winner of the last three ECACHL regular season titles and the last two postseason titles, has typically been the Saints’ nemesis. St. Lawrence is just 0-9-3 against Harvard dating back to 2001, a run that includes two ECAC and two NCAA tournament defeats. Expectations for the Crimson this season have been muted since the team lost two-fifths of its top power play unit to graduation and the other three-fifths to the Olympic camps. Yet Harvard did take three of four points from St. Lawrence in 2002 with a roster of comparable inexperience, so the Crimson can never be taken lightly.

Dartmouth, the league’s third perennial Frozen Four contender, has seen lofty preseason expectations deflate under the burden of injuries in each of the past two seasons. This season might be different with less pressure of expectations, fewer distractions to national team callups, and perhaps additional help in the net. And the team returns Tiffany Hagge, one of the most dynamic scorers left in college hockey.

Aside from the usual powers, no conference will be as deep and unpredictable as the ECACHL. The league has several teams that seem capable of finishing anywhere from second to eighth this season. Yale and Princeton, each with all-star goalies, should be capable of maintaining their success, although each also lost a superstar to the Olympic camp. Former power Brown seems headed back on the right track behind strong freshman and sophomore classes. Both Colgate and third-year program Clarkson have made rapid progress in recent years with no signs of slowing down this season. Either could have the kind of breakthrough results that Yale had a year ago by advancing to the ECACHL semifinals.

Rounding out the league is Cornell, Quinnipiac, and Union. Quinnipiac joins the league for its first season after going winless in College Hockey America a year ago. Next year, the league will welcome D-I newcomer Rensselaer, who is playing this season as an independent. The addition of RPI will make the ECACHL the first D-I league to have matching membership among its men’s and women’s programs.

In a change from recent seasons, the 2006 ECACHL Championships will be held at the site of the highest seed instead of a predetermined location. If the prognostications hold true, the ECACHL’s best will be headed to the North Country come March.

1. St. Lawrence

2004-05 Record: (28-8-5, 14-3-3 ECACHL)
Head Coach: Paul Flanagan (142-60-8, 7th season) was the ECAC and AHCA National Coach of the Year in 2001, and he has led St. Lawrence to three Frozen Four appearances in five seasons.
2004-05 Stat Highlights: The Saints were a steady eighth in the nation in both scoring offense and defense. Special teams were an area of weakness as the Saints were just 15th and 14th on the power play and penalty kill, respectively. SLU led the conference in penalty minutes.
Key Departure: All-League forward Rebecca Russell (32-38-70) figured on more than half of the Saints’ goals and finished her career as the school’s all-time leading scorer.

MEAGHAN GUCKIAN

MEAGHAN GUCKIAN

Key Returnees: The Saints return all the defensemen and the top two goalies from a year ago, and although Russell is a big loss at forward, the team still has plenty of firepower. In net, the Saints have Findlay transfer Jess Moffat, a former CHA tournament MVP who was among the nation’s top goalies down the stretch of last season. Sophomore goalie Meaghan Guckian, one of the Saints’ ECAC All-Rookie players at every position a year ago, earned the bulk of first half starts. Combined the two were about as successful as Rachel Barrie, the Saints’ All-American goalie who departed in 2004. At defense, junior Abbie Bullard and sophomore Annie Guay have both been All-Rookie selections, and Guay and senior Laurie Ross both have Canadian U-22 experience. At forward, the Saints are led by Preseason All-League selection Emilie Berlinguette (22-25-47), who was one of the nation’s hottest players down the stretch of last season. Chelsea Grills (20-23-43) was the 2004 ECAC Rookie of the Year, and Sabrina Harbec (16-20-36) was a 2005 All-Rookie selection at forward.

CHELSEA GRILLS

CHELSEA GRILLS

Key Newcomers: Sophomore defenseman Kerri Wallace, an WCHA All-Rookie selection and Canadian Under-22 captain, transfers to St. Lawrence from Minnesota State to toughen an already strong defense. Freshman Alison Domenico is expected to have an immediate offensive impact after posting (11-26-37) numbers to be the No. 2 scorer for the NWHL’s Ottawa Raiders, a team that included former Saints standout Ricki-Lee Doyle. Carson Duggan and Lisa Batchelor both played at an elite level with the Edmonton Chimos of the WWHL.
Outlook: St. Lawrence is stacked with talent of all ages, so a third straight Frozen Four appearance would be no surprise. The Saints faltered in 2002 the last time expectations were nearly this high, but this team is far deeper. The biggest question mark appears to be whether all that St. Lawrence talent can work together to be successful on the penalty kill and power play, where the team struggled a year ago. No one has ever won an NCAA title without being among the national leaders in special teams, and the Saints will have to improve in that area to reach that height. As usual, St. Lawrence’s early schedule is brutal, with six of the first nine games coming against Minnesota, Mercyhurst (2), Providence, Dartmouth and Harvard. With a strong performance there, the Saints could very well establish themselves as the team to beat.

2. Dartmouth

2004-05 Record: (27-8-0, 16-4-0 ECACHL)
Head Coach: Mark Hudak (51-16-2, 3rd season) has led Dartmouth to a No. 1 national ranking and Frozen Four appearance in each of his two seasons and has served seven seasons on the program’s coaching staff.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Dartmouth was third nationally in scoring and power play but just 13th and 16th in scoring defense and penalty kill, respectively.
Key Departures: Four of the teams’ top five scorers and All-League defenseman Alana BreMiller are not back this season. Seniors Cherie Piper (23-37-60), Katie Weatherston (38-15-53), and Gillian Apps (16-26-42) are all training with Team Canada, and captain Meagan Walton (11-29-40) has graduated. Junior goalie Christine Capuano (12-2-0, 1.93, .903) whose career was marked by flashes of brilliance and injuries, did not return. Sarah Parsons, Dartmouth’s top recruit, was selected to the U.S. national team before she arrived.
Key Returnees: Tiffany Hagge (27-21-48) is the second-leading returning goal scorer in the nation, and she was especially hot in the second half. Junior Caroline Ethier (11-7-18) has been the top scorer of her class. Senior Kate Lane (15-6-0, 2.61, .891) has been Dartmouth’s No. 1 goalie in the last two Frozen Fours.
Key Newcomers: Freshman Carli Clemis was a top goalie with the U-18 Alberta team and could give Lane immediate competition for the goaltending job. Forward Maggie Kennedy was the top scorer for the Connecticut Polar Bears club. Forward Kelly Marcotte stood out among the youth with the Oval X-Treme. Shannon Bowman was a member of the Canadian national inline team.
Outlook: This is the most inexperienced roster Dartmouth has had since the 1999-2000 team that had no seniors but still advanced to the national tournament. Last year Dartmouth struggled with a short roster, compounded by injuries and national team callups, and although this year’s team only has one more player, this roster should at least provide more unity and stability throughout the season. Goaltending remains a question mark, but it can only get better from what Dartmouth had last season.

3. Harvard

2004-05 Record: (26-7-3, 17-1-2)
Head Coach: Katey Stone (227-103-13, 11th season), the ACHA Coach of the Year in 1999 and the ECAC Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2005, led Harvard to the national title in 1999 and appearances in the last three NCAA championship games.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Harvard’s special teams were solid as usual with a power play ranked second in the nation and a penalty kill ranked fourth. The team was fourth in total offense and sixth in total defense.
Key Departures: Harvard is the only team in the nation to lose its top five scorers. Start with Nicole Corriero (59-32-91) who set the single season goal-scoring record a year ago. Linemates Julie Chu (13-56-69) and Sarah Vaillancourt (25-42-67) are with Team USA and Team Canada, respectively. All-ECACHL defenseman Ashley Banfield (9-32-41) has graduated and junior Caitlin Cahow (6-29-35) was selected to her first U.S. national team.
Key Returnees: Harvard will need an even bigger season from goalie Ali Boe (22-6-2, 1.86, .912), who overcome a rough start and became a difference-maker down the stretch. Jennifer Raimondi (8-15-23) with 68 career points is Harvard’s top returning scorer. Both juniors Katie Johnston (5-13-18) and Jennifer Sifers (6-6-12) have been playing on Harvard’s top two lines for most of their careers.
Key Newcomers: Harvard’s in the best shape on the defensive end with two 5’10 recruits, Kati Vaughn and Lauren Herrington. Vaughn is a standout at Choate and the Connecticut Polar Bears, like Harvard superstars Angela Ruggiero and Julie Chu before her. Brittany Martin looks to continue Chanda Gunn’s tradition of strong Californian goalies in college hockey.
Outlook: Harvard was a top 10 team in a similar transition period of 2002. While this team is stronger in net with more defensive depth than four years ago, it lacks the obvious impact scorers. Harvard has consistently built one of the top power play units in the country since 1999, even in 2002, but never before has the team lost its entire top unit. A number of different players will have to step up into new roles. Harvard teams this decade have consistently done as good or better than preseason predictions, largely thanks to strong conditioning through the course of the season. On paper, the Crimson appears to have too many holes to contend for the league or national title, but if any team’s earned the benefit of the doubt relative to what’s on paper, it’s this one.

4. Princeton

2004-05 Record: (16-10-5, 10-7-3 ECACHL)
Head Coach: Jeff Kampersal (135-113-21, 10th season) led the Tigers to back-to-back 20-win seasons from 2002-2004. He was the ECAC Coach of the Year in 2001-02.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Princeton was a disappointing 13th nationally in offense and 9th on the power play. The defense was 7th overall but just 11th on the penalty kill.
Key Departures: The team was set to return its nine leading scorers until No. 2 scorer Liz Keady (15-13-28) earned a selection to the U.S. national camp. The team lost three seniors to graduation, mostly defensive players, including former All-Rookie selection Katharine Maglione.
Key Returnees: Roxanne Gaudiel (15-10-5, 1.88, .926) ranked among the nation’s best goalies a year ago. All-League junior Dina McCumber (3-18-21) is the leading returning scoring defenseman nationally. Juniors Kim Pearce (15-15-30), Laura Watt (9-17-26), and senior Heather Jackson (6-17-23) are the top returning scorers overall.
Key Newcomers: Princeton’s incoming class fills its defensive holes with three recruits in that area. One defender of note is Katherine Dineen, who played for the same Minnesota Thoroughbred team as Princeton standouts Nikola Holmes and Megan Van Beusekom. The team also brings in two forwards and a goalie.
Outlook: Princeton struggled to score last season, its first since the graduation of All-League forward Gretchen Anderson, and the loss of Keady obviously won’t help in that regard. That said, the Tigers’ ECACHL rivals aside from St. Lawrence also have less offensive punch than a year ago, so Princeton could win more low-scoring games. Defensively, Princeton started strong but faded down the stretch, giving up four goals or more in five of its last 10 games, after going 20 straight games without allowing four goals. The Tigers will be challenged to regain that good form, especially while working younger players in on the defensive end.

5. Colgate

2004-05 Record: (16-15-4, 9-7-4 ECACHL)
Head Coach: Scott Wiley (44-53-8, 4th season), a St. Lawrence alum, was the ECAC Coach of the Year in 2003-04.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Colgate was 6th in the conference on total offense and was tied for 2nd in total defense. The power play was 5th and the penalty kill was 3rd. The Raiders took the second-fewest penalties in the conference.
Key Departures: The team loses leading scorer Amanda Barre (20-19-39) and former All-League goalie Rebecca Lahar (10-10-0, 2.43, .906).
Key Returnees: Junior goalie Brook Wheeler (6-5-4, 1.76, .931) was as good or better than Lahar throughout the season. Seniors Becky Irvine (14-25-39) and Allison Paiano (14-18-32) give Colgate plenty of returning firepower, and defenseman Tara French (2-15-17) was the 4th-leading scorer and a Canadian U-22 selection.
Key Newcomers: Good things seem to come in pairs for Colgate, as the program recruited pairs of forwards from both the Syracuse Stars and the Bowness Bruins in Calgary. The team brings in 5’11 defenseman Clancy Todd from Ontario and All-N.E. Prep defenseman Kiira Dosdall.
Outlook: The Raiders have been stuck at seventh-place for three straight seasons, but with no irreplaceable losses to graduation and league rivals getting hit hard by the Olympic absences, this could be the year they finally make a move.

6. Yale

2004-05 Record: (16-15-1, 12-7-1 ECACHL)
Head Coach: Hilary Witt (37-51-6, 4th season), a former Northeastern star, was the ECAC Coach of the Year in 2002-03.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Yale was just 7th in conference scoring offense and 8th in scoring defense. The power play was 9th and the penalty kill was 7th, atypical numbers for a team that placed fourth in the conference.
Key Departures: Yale lost two key players on the defensive end, captain and second-leading scorer Erin Duggan (11-16-27), and U.S. national team selection Helen Resor (7-11-18), a sophomore.
Key Returnees: Senior goalie Sarah Love (14-13-1, 2.65, .907) was a preseason All-League selection. Juniors Jenna Spring (13-15-28) and Kristin Savard (9-15-24) and senior Deena Caplette (10-16-26) are the top returning scorers.
Key Newcomers: Carry Resor gives Yale its third straight recruiting class with a Resor, joining cousin Helen and sister Nina. Yale has seven recruits in all, including 5’10 forward Sarah Tittman from Wisconsin.
Outlook: 2004-05 was a record-breaking season for Yale, and it’ll be tough to improve on that success. Love at times has looked like the best goalie in the country, but Yale had a long stretch of inconsistency in the defensive end a year ago. With the team more inexperienced on the blue line now, it probably won’t get any easier.

7. Brown

2004-05 Record: (15-15-2, 11-8-1 ECACHL)
Head Coach: Digit Murphy (276-129-36, 17th season) is the winningest active coach in the sport, and she last led Brown to ECAC titles in 2000 and 2002.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Brown had impressive special teams with the conference’s third-best power play and second-best penalty kill, but was in the middle of the pack otherwise..
Key Departures: Forward Jessica Link (16-12-28) was the team’s top scorer. Her senior year was injury plagued, but she had accounted for more than half of Brown’s offense as a junior. All-League defenseman Amy McLaughlin (5-11-16) transferred to UNH for her final season of eligibility.
Key Returnees: Sophomore Hayley Moore (11-15-26) is an All-Rookie selection and the top returning scorer. Junior Kathryn Moos (7-15-22) is a great all-around athlete. Myria Heinhuis is Brown’s All-League defenseman. Duties in net were split between Stacey Silverman and O’Hara Shipe.
Key Newcomers: Kim McManus, sister of recent Brown graduate Krissy McManus, was the leading scorer for Lawrence for the last two years and a perennial All-League player. Goalie Nicole Stock was a two-time Prep team MVP for Choate, and she could get playing time right away.
Outlook: After a disappointing season with a senior class plagued by injuries, this year should be a step back in the right direction for Brown, even if it doesn’t result in a higher finish in the standings. There’s plenty of talent in the younger classes, so this team could be a national contender again in a couple years.

8. Clarkson

2004-05 Record: (13-17-6, 7-12-1 ECACHL)
Head Coach: Rick Seeley (83-45-13, 3rd season) started up the Clarkson program after bringing success to D-III Manhattanville.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Clarkson took the fewest penalties in the ECACHL and was in the middle of the pack otherwise.
Key Departures: A fledgling program, Clarkson had no losses to graduation.
Key Returnees: Junior Jill Nolan (14-7-21) led a balanced Clarkson scoring attack. Kira McDonald (10-15-3, 2.25, .917) earned the bulk of Golden Knight starts.
Key Newcomers: The team brings in two forwards and three defensemen to complement 18 returning players. Among them is defenseman Kelsey Fletcher, a Ms. Minnesota hockey finalist, Micheleeen Devine, the top scorer in Alberta midget play, and a pair of players from the Quebec U-22 team.
Outlook: Despite always not getting the results, the Golden Knights always earned praise last season for how hard they worked. With strong goaltending and improved experience and depth, the Golden Knights should be capable of pulling a few more upsets this season.

9. Quinnipiac

2004-05 Record: (5-26-2, 0-12-0 CHA)
Head Coach: Michael Barrett (21-72-6, 4th season) is in his fourth season with the Bobcats since a winning run with the Sacred Heart program.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Quinnipiac was near the bottom nationally in scoring offense and defense and last nationally on the power play.
Key Departures: Gillian Gallagher (8-9-17) was the team’s leading scorer.
Key Returnee: Sophomore Aimee Whittaker (10-6-16) was the team’s top goal scorer as a freshman.
Key Newcomers: The incoming freshmen class of seven loaded with Ontario talent should provide a big boost to Quinnipiac in its first season of ECACHL play. Defensemen Nicolette Leone and Trudy Reyns and forward Hayley McMeekin all have NWHL experience.
Outlook: After slipping to five wins last season, the Bobcats should take a step forward this season and debut ahead of Cornell and Union – teams they’ve handled in recent years. It’ll be tough for them to get ahead of Clarkson, who they took one of four points from in last season’s weekend series.

10. Cornell

2004-05 Record: (3-22-3, 3-16-1 ECACHL)
Head Coach: Doug Derraugh (1st season, Cornell ’91) is serving as interim coach while Melody Davidson coaches the Canadian national team.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Cornell was at or near the bottom of the conference in most categories with the penalty kill being a particular area of weakness.
Key Departures: The team graduated just three seniors, two on the defensive end.
Key Returnees: Brianne Schmidt (9-7-16) led the team in scoring a year ago. Senior Jen Munhofen has been the top scorer in the past.
Key Newcomers: Cornell has four recruits, led by Brianne Gilbert, an MVP with the Toronto Junior Aeros.
Outlook: Cornell should be more competitive this season, but it will be tough to move up in the standings in this league.

11. Union

2004-05 Record: (5-27-1, 0-20-0 ECACHL)
Head Coach: Tim Gerrish (5-27-1, 2nd season) is a former Middlebury assistant coach and current U.S. women’s national team assistant.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Union was last in the league in scoring offense and defense and near the bottom in other categories.
Key Departures: The team graduated just four seniors.
Key Returnee: Junior Elisa Nichols (14-5-19) scored twice as many goals as any Union player.
Key Newcomers: Union has eight incoming recruits.
Outlook: Union was a bit more competitive last season, its second in D-I, and the progress should continue this season, but the program still has a long way to go before escaping the league cellar.

2005-06 Colorado College Season Preview

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Numbers can be powerful, but not all-telling.

Colorado College returns 91 percent of its goal-scoring from a year ago, most of it in the forms of Hobey Baker Award winner Marty Sertich and award finalist Brett Sterling.

It has 21 players returning from the team that tied Denver for the WCHA regular-season championship and made its first trip to the Frozen Four under coach Scott Owens.

A strong, seven-member senior class has won 81 games in its first three seasons.

So is the bar raised for the Tigers this season? Do they have to do better than just make the Frozen Four for the season to be a success? The expectations on CC may be higher, but key lost elements make it difficult for the Tigers to get into specifics.

“We feel that we have the potential to hopefully get deep and far into the postseason,” Owens said. “But I think we have some things we need to sort out, with losing Mark Stuart and the leadership component and reorganizing our defensive corps a little bit. And we’re always looking over our shoulder. The projected top teams in this league are scary right now. I hope we’re capable of doing some of the things we did last year and then maybe executing better at the very end.”

They knew the end of last season, which came with a humbling 6-2 loss to rival Denver in the national semifinals — all six Pioneers goals were on the power play — would leave them without goaltender Curtis McElhinney. But when the NHL resumed after its lockout, Stuart’s time of impending departure came around, too.

Stuart, the league coaches’ pick for defensive player of the year last season, was as important to the team as a whole as he was to the defense because of his strong leadership abilities.

Those responsibilities will fall to four senior forwards, Owens said — Sertich, Sterling, Trevor Frischmon and Joey Crabb. They’ll have to pull together a team that faces questions on defense and in goal.

Three defensive regulars are gone, and it’s not only their experience that they’re taking. Richard Petiot is 6-foot-4; Brady Greco is 6-foot-3; and Stuart is 6-foot-2. Losing that kind of size in the defense will force a reorganization in addition to the replenishing of the CC defensive corps.

That leaves juniors Brian Salcido and Lee Sweatt with big roles this season. Junior Brandon Straub, who played only 10 games last season, is expected to see more time. Freshmen Cody Lampl and Jake Gannon should get right into the mix.

Marty Sertich, the reigning Hobey Baker winner, returns to CC for his senior season (photo: Casey Gibson).

Marty Sertich, the reigning Hobey Baker winner, returns to CC for his senior season (photo: Casey Gibson).

“We drop off a little bit with size and some defensive play, but we just mostly need to reorganize it and figure out who’s going to be able to play with whom,” Owens said. “I still think we have the people to make it work, we’ve just got to put it together the right way.”

McElhinney’s graduation leaves Matt Zaba to get the majority of the work this season. Zaba is hardly inexperienced — he has made 41 appearances in his first two seasons and had to fill in as the full-time starter two seasons ago when McElhinney had mononucleosis — but he’ll be watched to see whether he can handle plenty of work.

Freshman Drew O’Connell and little-used junior Chris Kawano will get some playing time, but it appears that Zaba will be the mainstay in the CC goal.

“He’s played a lot of quality games for us and so it’s not like we’re putting a young kid in there,” Owens said. “I think we’re able to put a pretty good veteran in there, and he’s a good goaltender as well.”

If all else fails, the Tigers should have their offense to fall back on. They were fourth nationally in scoring last season behind the All-American duo of Sertich and Sterling.

Losing Stuart takes a bite out of the Tigers — even if it was in many circles an expected departure — but having the nation’s top two scorers of a year ago return for their senior seasons was comforting for CC.

Still, the Tigers have to provide the backup scoring that was critical last season. Crabb had 16 goals, while Aaron Slattengren added 12 and Frischmon 10. That senior trio has to contribute again, and CC is expecting more out of sophomores Derek Patrosso and James Brannigan while hoping for points from freshmen Chad Rau and Andreas Vlassopoulos.

“There’s a lot of guys, but I think there’s a lot of potential with them,” Owens said.

Owens recognizes that this team has issues to overcome, but he said there’s also a certain level of continuity from last season that will help out.

“A lot of the pieces, a lot of the philosophies are the same,” he said. “A lot of the power-play personnel is the same. It’s getting the defensive corps organized. … We’ll probably play very similarly, we’ll have a lot of the same beliefs, we have a lot of the same personnel in key spots, we return a lot of scoring. But it doesn’t always just happen that you pick up where you left off. There’s new dynamics, new chemistry and we’ve got to work on that.”

2005-06 St. Cloud State Season Preview

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Over a span of just five short seasons, St. Cloud State went from its highest highs to its lowest lows. From the viewpoint of the Huskies’ ninth-place WCHA finish of a year ago, memories of the 31-win season of 2001 are awfully fuzzy.

That’s about the same view Bob Motzko has about his first team in St. Cloud. The former Minnesota assistant coach became Craig Dahl’s assistant in the offseason, then launched into the top spot when Dahl resigned at the end of August. Motzko still has an interim title before his name, but there are few who believe he won’t be the one in charge when a permanent replacement is named.

He has a lot of the same cast as Dahl did last season, which is a statement that might not inspire much confidence in a team coming off its worst finish in the WCHA. But there are two X-factors with the Huskies this season: Motzko and goaltender Bobby Goepfert.

It’s a distinct possibility that the newness of Motzko as the head coach — or simply the change in power — will shake the Huskies out of the funk that has settled over the team for the better part of the last two seasons.

“The one thing that continually was said to me throughout the summer when I was around Craig and Fred Harbinson, the other assistant here, is these guys are a lot better than people think,” Motzko said. “You’re going to see that we’re a lot better than people think. The more I’ve been around the guys, I’m pretty encouraged by those words.”

Goepfert has been hyped as the future of the St. Cloud program since he decided to transfer there from Providence. This season, he’ll have to prove he was worth the wait, as many think he is.

The Huskies were inconsistent in goal last season, with Tim Boron getting most of the starts ahead of Jason Montgomery. Goepfert, who was 15-9-3 in 2003-04, his last season at Providence, will have to have a solid season for St. Cloud to make a defensive gain.

“He’s ready to go,” Motzko said. “He’s got a track record of being an outstanding goalie. The other goalie that’s back, Timmy Boron, who was a sophomore last year, had moments last year of being a very, very good goaltender. So goaltending looks to be a strong point of this hockey team.”

In the other areas of the game, there is a great deal of doubt paired with a dash of uncertainty.

Will Andrew Gordon be able to follow up on his impressive freshman campaign? Will Joe Jensen hit a higher level of scoring as a senior? Is there enough scoring to get the Huskies out of the depths of the WCHA in offense?

St. Cloud had only two players with 10 or more goals last season — tied with Alaska-Anchorage for the fewest — and desperately needs to right that to keep up with other high-scoring teams this year.

Justin Fletcher and Casey Borer have good reputations around the league for their defense, but inexperience at the position as a whole seemed to bring the Huskies down and their goals against average up last year.

Joe Jensen is SCSU's top returning scorer this season as the team rebuilds (photo: Jason Waldowski).

Joe Jensen is SCSU’s top returning scorer this season as the team rebuilds (photo: Jason Waldowski).

All over the lineup, the team needs some breakthrough seasons, and Motzko thinks it can get them.

“The big thing that happens in college hockey every year — and we have to have it here this year and we have to hope for it — is you always have the element of the unknown,” Motzko said. “There’s someone that has that big breakthrough season, and we’re really leaning heavily that we have to be a program that is encouraged by that someone else is going to step forward, be it a Konrad Reeder or one of our freshmen.”

There’s hope around the St. Cloud program that last season was indeed rock bottom for the program. Dahl often said that he believed the team was at the end of a two-year rebuilding cycle last season.

If that’s the case, the Huskies need to start bouncing back this season.

“The players, they’re just hoping to find out how big a jump they can take and that they think last year where they finished was not a true indication of where the program is,” Motzko said. “It was just a year where someone had to fall there and they got picked. Traditionally in the last few years this program has been much higher in the standings.”

So is a new direction in order from Motzko and his charges? He isn’t willing to go that far yet.

“We’re in the WCHA, the strongest league in college hockey, and we are taking the direction our whole league is taking, that we are fighting for survival and fighting for our place in our league and getting the best student-athletes we can to get in our program, and so I would be very cautious to ever use the word ‘new,'” Motzko said.

“This league continues to reinvent itself, it seems, with the great tradition, and that’s what St. Cloud has to do right now. We have to reinvent ourselves again to stay up in the pack in this league.”

2005-06 Alaska-Anchorage Season Preview

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Four years ago, Dave Shyiak and John Hill were the finalists for the open head coaching position at Alaska-Anchorage. Hill got the job then, with his tight connections to the city and the school — his alma mater — the big reasons why.

The Hill era was tumultuous, with off-ice issues and a one-win season countering a sense of rebirth and the program’s first appearance at the WCHA Final Five. But it was rarely suggested that the Seawolves erred in choosing Hill to guide the team in colors he once wore.

This offseason, however, Hill resigned and returned to an assistant coaching position at Minnesota when he couldn’t secure an extended contract for himself and higher salaries for his UAA assistants, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Upon leaving, he suggested the future of the program was cloudy.

Shyiak doesn’t agree. The former Northern Michigan assistant enters this season as the new face of Seawolves hockey and is more than willing to take on what still appears to be a tall task of getting Anchorage to the top half of the league.

“I think the program is stable. I certainly wouldn’t put my name in a situation where I didn’t think I would have a chance to succeed,” Shyiak said. “I believe in the program. I believe in the potential for success here. And both [assistant coaches] Jack Kowal and Keith Morris did a great job of upgrading the talent level from three to four years ago, and I certainly think it’s in the right direction. I think it’s solid. It’s just we’re going to continue to build on our recruiting efforts until we can get those type of kids that can take us to the upper portion of the league.”

How long that will take — or whether it can happen — is anybody’s guess. The Seawolves have had 10 or more victories in consecutive seasons only once since the end of the Brush Christiansen era in 1996, missing out on a second by one win last year.

The string of losing seasons is at 12, the same number of seasons the Seawolves have played in the WCHA. Those are cold, hard facts that are tough to avoid, but they don’t have to define a team as it moves into its next stage.

“It’s a team that’s basically in transition right now,” said Shyiak, who was an assistant at Northern Michigan for 10 seasons. “With all the changes over the course of the summer, with me being named head coach and we also made some other changes in regards to our support staff, we really don’t have an identity yet as a team as a whole. I can tell you what I like so far is I think we have tremendous leadership.”

Those leaders will be central to UAA forming its identity under Shyiak. Senior Ales Parez and juniors Charlie Kronschnabel, Justin Bourne and Chad Anderson figure to play key roles in that effort, Shyiak said, and have already started to smooth the transition.

WCHA All-Rookie honoree Nathan Lawson returns to man the Seawolf nets (photo: UAA sports information).

WCHA All-Rookie honoree Nathan Lawson returns to man the Seawolf nets (photo: UAA sports information).

Bourne is the top returner in goals (12) and points (23), while the Seawolves need a bigger year from Parez in his return from a broken leg.

That injury limited Parez last season, just as other injuries held back the team as a whole. In that capacity, a fresh start is one of the most welcome signs around given the number of injuries that have plagued the Seawolves of late.

The scoring-by-committee ways of past UAA teams have made it difficult for Shyiak to get a precise gauge on what he’s working with offensively.

On the other side, Shyiak concedes he’s going to have to have patience with a defense that lost three regulars from last season. Anderson figures to be the blueline mainstay this season after playing in all but one game last season. Sophomore Luke Beaverson was the only Seawolves defenseman to appear in all 37 games a year ago.

Anchorage allowed 1,432 shots on goal last season, the most in the WCHA. So while goaltenders Nathan Lawson and John DeCaro had save percentages of .914 and .906, respectively, the Seawolves’ defense was the second-worst statistically in the league.

Improving that area and the special teams — the power play and penalty kill ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in the league — are high on Shyiak’s list of things to do. But he’s counting on more good play out of Lawson, who earned a spot on the WCHA all-rookie team, edging out Denver’s Peter Mannino.

The ideal situation would be for Lawson to come out right away and grab the starting spot with a great start to the season. “I’d like to see that, for sure,” Shyiak said. “He’s going to be given that opportunity to prove that he’s an all-league player.”

Shyiak said he’s still working on long-range goals for the program and said he wants his team to be known right off the bat for its work ethic and for being strong in its end of the ice.

As for the rest of the story, the Seawolves will take it as it comes.

“As far as what we want to win, a number of wins, where we want to fit in the standings, that’ll take care of itself at the end of the year,” Shyiak said. “We’ve got to mold this group as quickly as possible, find out what our team is, find out what our identity is and progress from there. We just want to get better every single day and approach it that way.”

2005-06 WCHA Season Preview

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Stop us if you’ve heard this one before:

The WCHA is going to be so tough this year …

Yep, right before the start of every season it seems anyone connected to the WCHA is putting forth the opinion that the six months that lie ahead will provide some of the best competition the league has ever seen, replete with scintillating battles for positions that go right down to the minute details.

Truth be told, it can get a little old.

The thing is, they’re usually right.

Do we need the reminders? The five teams in the NCAA tournament for the last three seasons? The .714 winning percentage outside of the conference a year ago? The four straight national champions?

And the big one: the four teams in the Frozen Four last season?

Now there’s a category where the league can do no better this season. A year ago, the league was the story at the Frozen Four, earning all four spots — an accomplishment that has to rank among the greatest the WCHA has ever put forth, even if it was attained by an anomaly of bracketing.

“Nobody else was represented except the WCHA,” said George Gwozdecky, who earned his second straight NCAA championship with Denver last season in that all-WCHA weekend in Columbus, Ohio. “I don’t see the competitive level of this league changing at all from the last few years. In fact, it might be ratcheted up even more.”

That’s even with a handful of well-known players taking their talents to a higher level.

CC's Marty Sertich (r.) and Brett Sterling may have even more open ice after the WCHA's offseason losses on D (photo: Melissa Wade).

CC’s Marty Sertich (r.) and Brett Sterling may have even more open ice after the WCHA’s offseason losses on D (photo: Melissa Wade).

The league’s defensive corps took a significant hit from early departures to the NHL. Everyone figured Colorado College’s Mark Stuart would go pro and he did, joined by Denver’s Brett Skinner, North Dakota’s Matt Greene and Minnesota-Duluth’s Jay Rosehill, among others.

With a number of defenses in full rebuilding mode, the offense could be the draw again this year. Think CC’s Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling will mind? Or Denver’s Gabe Gauthier? Or a host of Minnesota players?

A tough road? You’d better believe it.

One of these seasons, a coach will say that the league as a whole is down. “I sure would like to know what year that’s going to be,” Gwozdecky said. “It ain’t going to be this year.”

So you probably can’t blame coaches for telling the truth. It’s so tough …

… that winning the MacNaughton Cup will be a accomplishment deserving celebrations far greater than the short one allowed before moving to bigger quests.

Whoever gets through this group deserves to raise the silver cup at the end of the season. Sure, there were significant losses in talent from last season, but consider this: Eight of the top 11 and 73 of the top 102 scorers from last season are back for more this year.

And the list of contenders for the league championship is long.

You’ve got Denver, which keeps finding a way to get things done. There’s Minnesota, with most of its key players back and a stellar freshman class.

North Dakota figures to be in the mix, even with a bunch of newcomers in the lineup. You’ve got to figure Wisconsin into the race this season based on a veteran lineup and potential for a surge in scoring. Colorado College will be up there with a strong offense.

Grab bag, anyone?

“I don’t think any of us know how it’s going to turn out in the end,” North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said.

… that anyone who finishes in the top five will have earned it.

Even if Alaska-Anchorage, Michigan Tech, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State and St. Cloud State are projected to be in the bottom half, there’s a better-than-average chance one of them will actually be hosting a WCHA playoff series in March. Isn’t that always the way?

“You can be a player on the national scene in the middle of the pack in our league, so there’s a lot of hope for everybody in our league,” new St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko said. “If you’re in our league and you’re in the middle, you’re in a hunt somewhere. You’re playing for something. Denver won the national title two years ago and they finished fifth. So every coach is talking that way.”

UMD isn’t that far removed from the Frozen Four, even if most of the cast from that experience is gone. The Bulldogs have work to do, but they should be in the mix for a top-five spot in the final weeks of the season.

If any one of the expected top five falters, someone will be waiting to pounce.

… that a team can return a Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner, a 34-goal scorer and 87 percent of its scoring from a squad that made it to the Frozen Four and still be considered to be merely fighting for a top-three spot the next year.

That’s Colorado College, which was able to keep Hobey winner Sertich and strike partner Sterling on the roster despite the wave of post-lockout NHL signings. That would seem to give CC a hold on a favorable position this year, but it will have to earn it.

“We could be as good as last year and drop two or three spots in the standings,” Tigers coach Scott Owens said. “You just don’t know. That’s how good this league is — top to bottom, not just the top five.”

… that even the teams in the bottom half will make their presence felt.

Assuming a win over one of the league’s bottom-feeders in the standings is just a bad idea.

There was no better example last season than a three-week stretch that saw Michigan Tech get a win at Denver and a sweep at Minnesota.

It has reached the point where upsets in the WCHA just aren’t surprises anymore because, while there is often a clear division between the haves and the have-nots, the have-nots don’t seem to care.

So welcome to the 54th version of the WCHA, where the road just keeps getting tougher and tougher.

Here’s a look at the league’s 10 teams in predicted order of finish.

Click on any team name at the top of the sections below for its individual season preview.

Minnesota

Phil Kessel heads up the Gophers' highly-touted freshman class.

Phil Kessel heads up the Gophers’ highly-touted freshman class.

Head coach: Don Lucia, 19th season overall (441-232-50), sixth at Minnesota (162-77-21)
2004-05 record: 28-15-1 overall, 17-10-1 WCHA (35 points, tied-third of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 3.52 goals per game overall (fifth in NCAA), 3.75 conference (second in WCHA)
2004-05 team defense: 2.48 goals per game overall (17th), 2.86 conference (fourth)
2004-05 power play: 20.5 percent overall (12th), 22.9 percent conference (second)
2004-05 penalty kill: 83.4 percent overall (25th), 84.2 percent conference (fifth)
Key returners: F Danny Irmen, jr. (24-19-43); F Tyler Hirsch, sr. (11-33-44); F Ryan Potulny, jr. (24-17-41); D Chris Harrington, sr. (2-24-26); G Kellen Briggs, jr. (21-12-0, 2.43, .912)
Newcomers to watch: F Phil Kessel (32-30-62 in 32 games for USA NTDP); F Blake Wheeler (19-28-47 in 58 games for Green Bay/USHL); F Ryan Stoa (14-24-38 in 38 games for USA NTDP); G Jeff Frazee (14-7-0, 2.70, .916 in 24 games for USA NTDP)
Early departures: None
Other key losses: F Barry Tallackson (11-8-19); F Garrett Smaagaard (8-8-16); G Justin Johnson (7-3-1, 2.34, .914)
2005-06 predicted finish: First
The bottom line: Kessel will get a lot of the attention, but Minnesota has plenty of other weapons on offense and defense to justify its position in the early rankings.

Wisconsin

Head coach: Mike Eaves, fifth season overall (67-69-16), fourth at Wisconsin (58-50-16)
2004-05 record: 23-14-4 overall, 16-9-3 WCHA (35 points, tied-third of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 3.10 goals per game overall (21st in NCAA), 3.36 conference (fourth)
2004-05 team defense: 2.22 goals per game overall (seventh), 2.29 conference (first)
2004-05 power play: 19.6 percent overall (17th), 22.3 percent conference (third)
2004-05 penalty kill: 86.9 percent overall (seventh), 86.2 percent conference (first)
Key returners: F Robbie Earl, jr. (20-24-44); F Joe Pavelski, so. (16-29-45); F Ryan MacMurchy, sr. (11-22-33); D Tom Gilbert, sr. (8-9-17); G Brian Elliott, jr. (6-2-1, 1.16, .945)
Newcomers to watch: F Jack Skille (15-22-37 in 42 games for USA NTDP); F Ben Street (29-39-68 in 56 games for Salmon Arm/BCHL); F Tom Gorowsky (18-35-53 in 54 games for Sioux Falls/NTDP); G Shane Connelly (14-17-3-1, 2.99, .911 in 37 games for Chicago/USHL)
Early departures: F Ken Rowe (0-2-2); F Mark Heatley (0-0-0)
Other key losses: G Bernd Brückler (17-12-3, 2.40, .914)
2005-06 predicted finish: Second
The bottom line: The offense looks improved, but can the performance there finally match the potential? A big question in goal, too, as Elliott takes over.

Denver

Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player Peter Mannino is back in net for the two-time defending champs (photo: Melissa Wade).

Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player Peter Mannino is back in net for the two-time defending champs (photo: Melissa Wade).

Head coach: George Gwozdecky, 20th season overall (404-284-54), 12th at Denver (255-161-33)
2004-05 record: 32-9-2 overall, 19-7-2 WCHA (40 points, tied-first of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 4.05 goals per game overall (second in NCAA), 4.07 conference (first in WCHA)
2004-05 team defense: 2.56 goals per game overall (18th), 2.89 conference (fifth)
2004-05 power play: 20.6 percent overall (11th), 21.2 percent conference (fourth)
2004-05 penalty kill: 85.0 percent overall (15th), 84.4 percent conference (fourth)
Key returners: F Gabe Gauthier, sr. (26-31-57); F Paul Stastny, so. (17-28-45); D Matt Carle, jr. (13-31-44); G Peter Mannino, so. (18-4-1, 2.19, .927)
Newcomers to watch: F Brock Trotter (20-38-58 in 60 games for Lincoln/USHL); D Chris Butler (6-22-28 in 60 games for Sioux City/USHL); D T.J. Fast (8-28-36 in 58 games for Camrose/AJHL)
Early departure: D Brett Skinner (4-36-40)
Other key losses: F Luke Fulghum (23-19-42); F Jeff Drummond (16-23-39); D Matt Laatsch (1-10-11)
2005-06 predicted finish: Third
The bottom line: Gauthier and Carle should lead the Pioneers to a good regular-season finish, and after that they know how to get things done.

Colorado College

Head coach: Scott Owens, seventh season overall and at Colorado College (153-76-18)
2004-05 record: 31-9-3 overall, 19-7-2 WCHA (40 points, tied-first of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 3.73 goals per game overall (fourth in NCAA), 3.50 conference (third in WCHA)
2004-05 team defense: 2.35 goals per game overall (11th), 2.36 conference (second)
2004-05 power play: 23.6 percent overall (third), 25.2 percent conference (first)
2004-05 penalty kill: 84.0 percent overall (21st), 85.4 percent conference (second)
Key returners: F Marty Sertich, sr. (27-37-64); F Brett Sterling, sr. (34-29-63); D Brian Salcido, jr. (7-23-30); G Matt Zaba, jr. (10-5-2, 2.46, .916)
Newcomers to watch: F Chad Rau (31-40-71 in 57 games for Des Moines/USHL); F Andreas Vlassopoulos (2-15-17 in 36 games for USA NTDP)
Early departures: D Mark Stuart (5-14-19); D Brady Greco (4-2-6); F Mike Sertich (0-0-0)
Other key losses: G Curtis McElhinney (21-4-1, 2.24, .922); F Scott Polaski (2-15-17); D Richard Petiot (3-5-8)
2005-06 predicted finish: Fourth
The bottom line: The offense should be fine with Sertich and Sterling leading the way, but the defense and goaltending must prove they will be as strong after the loss of big-time players.

North Dakota

Head coach: Dave Hakstol, second season overall and at North Dakota (25-15-5)
2004-05 record: 25-15-5 overall, 13-12-3 WCHA (29 points, fifth of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 3.02 goals per game overall (25th in NCAA), 2.54 conference (eighth)
2004-05 team defense: 2.29 goals per game overall (10th), 2.39 conference (third)
2004-05 power play: 19.0 percent overall (18th), 17.1 percent conference (seventh)
2004-05 penalty kill: 85.9 percent overall (12th), 85.2 percent conference (third)
Key returners: F Travis Zajac, so. (20-19-39); F Drew Stafford, jr. (13-25-38); F Rastislav Spirko, so. (16-21-37); G Jordan Parise, jr. (17-7-3, 2.13, .917)
Newcomers to watch: F Jonathan Toews (48-62-110 in 64 games for Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school); F T.J. Oshie (37-62-99 in 31 games for Warroad (Minn.) HS); D Brian Lee (Moorhead (Minn.) HS); D Zach Jones (1-1-2 in 41 games for USA NTDP)
Early departures: F Brady Murray (8-12-20); D Matt Greene (2-8-10)
Other key losses: F Colby Genoway (13-31-44); F Rory McMahon (14-17-31); D Matt Jones (6-11-17); D Nick Fuher (7-22-29)
2005-06 predicted finish: Fifth
The bottom line: With 13 freshmen on the roster, UND may be rough around the edges early but don’t expect that to last. Given history, that would be foolish.

Minnesota-Duluth

Head coach: Scott Sandelin, sixth season overall and at Minnesota-Duluth (85-97-22)
2004-05 record: 15-17-6 overall, 11-13-4 WCHA (26 points, sixth of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 3.13 goals per game overall (18th in NCAA), 3.21 conference (fifth in WCHA)
2004-05 team defense: 3.11 goals per game overall (t-35th), 3.18 conference (sixth)
2004-05 power play: 17.9 percent overall (30th), 19.0 percent conference (sixth)
2004-05 penalty kill: 79.2 percent overall (49th), 77.2 percent conference (eighth)
Key returners: F Tim Stapleton, sr. (19-20-39); F Justin Williams, sr. (5-10-15); D Steve Czech, sr. (3-10-13)
Newcomers to watch: F Andrew Carroll (32-22-54 in 60 games for Sioux Falls/USHL); F Michael Gergen (56-50-106 in 66 games for Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school); D Jason Garrison (22-40-62 in 57 games for Nanaimo/BCHL); D Josh Meyers (8-24-32 in 57 games for Sioux City/USHL)
Early departures: D Jay Rosehill (0-5-5); F Blair LeFebvre (2-5-7)
Other key losses: F Evan Schwabe (19-26-45); F Marco Peluso (19-19-38); D Tim Hambly (5-15-20); D Neil Petruic (1-8-9)
2005-06 predicted finish: Sixth
The bottom line: This season will go a long way in showing whether the real Bulldogs showed up in 2003-04 or in 2004-05.

Minnesota State

Head coach: Troy Jutting, sixth season overall and at Minnesota State (78-92-24)
2004-05 record: 13-19-6 overall, 8-16-4 WCHA (20 points, eighth of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 3.11 goals per game overall (19th in NCAA), 2.93 conference (sixth in WCHA)
2004-05 team defense: 3.68 goals per game overall (54th), 3.89 conference (10th)
2004-05 power play: 18.3 percent overall (25th), 16.7 percent conference (eighth)
2004-05 penalty kill: 80.3 percent overall (40th), 78.8 percent conference (sixth)
Key returners: F David Backes, jr. (17-23-40); F Travis Morin, jr. (12-19-31); D Kyle Peto, jr. (3-24-27); G Chris Clark, jr. (6-6-4, 3.42, .897)
Newcomers to watch: F Mick Berge (13-44-57 in 60 games for Lincoln/USHL); D Blake Friesen (4-9-13 in 48 games for Sioux Falls/USHL); G Dan Tormey (23-4-2-3, 2.25, .926 in 32 games for Cedar Rapids/USHL); G Mike Zacharias (27-17-5-3, 2.98, .888 in 53 games for Tri-City/USHL)
Early departure: G Kyle Nixon (0-2-1, 6.66, .802)
Other key losses: F Brad Thompson (13-11-24); F Adam Gerlach (11-11-22); D Steven Johns (2-13-15)
2005-06 predicted finish: Seventh
The bottom line: The Backes-Morin combination is impressive, but it won’t be enough to move the Mavericks up the standings unless the team can get some better defense.

St. Cloud State

Head coach: Bob Motzko, first season overall and at St. Cloud State (interim)
2004-05 record: 14-23-3 overall, 8-19-1 WCHA (17 points, ninth of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 2.73 goals per game overall (36th in NCAA), 2.36 conference (ninth in WCHA)
2004-05 team defense: 3.15 goals per game overall (39th), 3.57 conference (eighth)
2004-05 power play: 12.2 percent overall (53rd), 9.9 percent conference (10th)
2004-05 penalty kill: 83.3 percent overall (27th), 78.6 percent conference (seventh)
Key returners: F Joe Jensen, sr. (12-14-26); F Andrew Gordon, so. (9-8-17); D Justin Fletcher, jr. (8-14-22); G Tim Boron, jr. (10-18-3, 3.00, .904)
Newcomers to watch: F Michael Olson (32-28-70 in 60 games for Nanaimo/BCHL); D David Carlisle (2-12-14 in 58 games for Lincoln/USHL); G Bobby Goepfert (transfer from Providence)
Early departures: None
Other key losses: F Dave Iannazzo (16-16-32); F Peter Szabo (5-15-20); F Mike Doyle (9-8-17); D Matt Gens (3-14-17)
2005-06 predicted finish: Eighth
The bottom line: Not sure what to expect from the Huskies? Join the club. Goepfert has been touted as someone who can make a difference; now he needs to.

Michigan Tech

Head coach: Jamie Russell, third season overall and at Michigan Tech (16-50-9)
2004-05 record: 8-25-4 overall, 7-19-2 WCHA (16 points, 10th of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 2.46 goals per game overall (44th in NCAA), 2.29 conference (10th in WCHA)
2004-05 team defense: 3.68 goals per game overall (52nd), 3.50 conference (seventh)
2004-05 power play: 22.1 percent overall (seventh), 20.3 percent conference (fifth)
2004-05 penalty kill: 79.2 percent overall (52nd), 76.8 percent conference (ninth)
Key returners: F Chris Conner, sr. (14-10-24); F Brandon Schwartz, sr. (10-16-26); D Lars Helminen, jr. (8-24-32)
Newcomers to watch: F Ryan Angelow (46-26-72 in 43 games for Oakville/OPJHL); F Alex Gagne (35-35-70 in 60 games for Cowichan Valley/BCHL); G Michael-Lee Teslak (21-9-0, 2.47, .931 in 33 games for Prince George/BCHL)
Early departures: D Marek Dora (2-4-6); F B.J. Radovich (1-0-1); F Rolf Ulvin (0-0-0); G Bryce Luker (1-6-1, 4.66, .872)
Other key losses: F Colin Murphy (11-42-53); D Clay Wilson (3-4-7); G Cam Ellsworth (7-18-3, 3.23, .916)
2005-06 predicted finish: Ninth
The bottom line: Progress has been measured in effort, not victories, but the time will come soon when that has to change.

Alaska-Anchorage

Head coach: Dave Shyiak, first season overall and at Alaska-Anchorage
2004-05 record: 12-19-6 overall, 9-15-4 WCHA (22 points, seventh of 10 teams)
2004-05 team offense: 2.54 goals per game overall (43rd in NCAA), 2.57 conference (seventh in WCHA)
2004-05 team defense: 3.49 goals per game overall (47th), 3.64 conference (ninth)
2004-05 power play: 13.6 percent overall (47th), 13.3 percent conference (ninth)
2004-05 penalty kill: 78.3 percent overall (55th), 76.4 percent conference (10th)
Key returners: F Justin Bourne, jr. (12-11-23); F Ales Parez, sr. (5-10-15); D Luke Beaverson, so. (0-2-2); G Nathan Lawson, so. (7-15-3, 3.32, .914)
Newcomers to watch: F Adam Corrin (36-40-76 in 63 games for Winnipeg South/MJHL), F Jay Beagle (28-42-70 in 64 games for Calgary Royals/AJHL), D Shane Lovdahl (7-32-39 in 60 games for Cedar Rapids/USHL)
Early departures: D Brandon Segal (2-9-11); D Matt Hanson (3-4-7); D Tyler Cherwinski (0-4-4)
Other key losses: F Martin Stuchlik (12-13-25); D Lee Green (2-4-6)
2005-06 predicted finish: 10th
The bottom line: Can Shyiak do more than John Hill did with the Seawolves? There’s plenty of work to be done to end a 12-season string of losing campaigns.

2005-06 North Dakota Season Preview

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There are differing opinions on what to expect out of North Dakota this season, but history suggests that discounting the Sioux because they lost a few players is a bad idea.

A year ago, the UND offense was supposed to be in peril because it lost stars Zach Parise and Brandon Bochenski to the pros. The Sioux didn’t light up opponents, but they got good performances out of a pair of freshmen — Travis Zajac and Rastislav Spirko — to get by most of the time.

Zajac, in particular, made his presence felt in the Sioux’s NCAA tournament run, scoring twice in the regional finals against Boston College, twice in the national semifinals against Minnesota and the lone UND goal in the 4-1 loss to Denver in the title game.

This season, the defense is in the spotlight. Four regulars from last year’s defensive corps are gone. Robbie Bina, who split 32 games between defense and forward before suffering a neck injury in the WCHA Final Five, will sit out this season — if not more — on a medical redshirt.

And again, the newcomers will have to come through. North Dakota lists five freshmen among its defensemen (part of 13 freshmen overall) and they’ll probably all get into the mix as the Sioux try to replicate the defensive success of a year ago.

That’s one of the reasons UND coach Dave Hakstol can list himself among the WCHA coaches who are playing a wait-and-see game with their teams this year.

“We don’t feel like we’re starting with a bare cupboard; probably the exact opposite of that,” Hakstol said. “We feel good about the ability and the skill level, and in the case of the returning guys, their experience level. I think up front we’re going to have a real nice mix; it’s just a matter of finding the right combinations. In goal, I expect us to have a real good, solid tandem there that can be consistent and be good leaders for us every night.

“Back on the blue line is where we’re going to be a little bit younger. We’re going to have probably three or four freshmen in the lineup each night, so the veterans back there — Matt Smaby, being a key guy leadership-wise back there, is going to have to be real solid every night and the young guys are going to have to make the adjustment. They’re very good, talented players. Now they have to make the adjustment to playing at the level the WCHA challenges you to be at.”

A certain level of newness was expected on the UND defense because it had three seniors at the position a year ago. But Matt Greene left for the pros and Bina’s prognosis cut into leadership and depth, respectively.

So now, the freshman class will play a huge role for the Sioux. Two of the defenders, Taylor Chorney and Brian Lee, played at the high school level a year ago but will be able to rely on international experience.

They’ll be looking toward Smaby for guidance, especially early. The Sioux voted the 6-foot-5 junior their captain days after the start of practice.

After turning heads at the Frozen Four, sophomore Travis Zajac returns to the UND offense (photo: Melissa Wade).

After turning heads at the Frozen Four, sophomore Travis Zajac returns to the UND offense (photo: Melissa Wade).

“He’s a natural-born leader and he’s ready to step into that role,” Hakstol said. “I expect him to be the guy that leads the way back on the blue line for us. The last five or six weeks of the year last year as we were going through our playoff run, he was arguably our most effective player on the blue line, and I expect him to just continue in that role.”

The playoff run was highlighted by the 12-game unbeaten streak of goaltender Jordan Parise. He was 10-0-2 before taking the loss in the championship game, and his jump in play near the end of the season was often pointed to as one of the reasons why UND, the WCHA’s fifth-place team, was so successful.

Now a junior, Parise will again compete with sophomore Philippe Lamoureux for playing time.

“They’re very competitive and they both want as many minutes in between the pipes as possible, but they’re both great team guys,” said Hakstol, who forecast the duo as a tandem this season. “As competitive as they are, they’re good teammates with each other as well as among the team. Jordy got hot and he took the ball and ran with it last year. That’s how it is come playoff time.”

The Sioux are hoping for more big things from Zajac (20 goals last season) and Spirko (16), with juniors Drew Stafford and Chris Porter having key roles. But with the loss of six full-time forwards, the freshmen will have work to do up front as well to help UND get to the NCAA tournament and a home-ice spot at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Jonathan Toews scored 48 goals and 110 points in 64 games for Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school last season, while T.J. Oshie put up 37 goals and 99 points in 31 games for Warroad (Minn.) High School and Andrew Kozek led the British Columbia Hockey League with 48 goals.

The adjustment period will be different for each player, but it’s clear that North Dakota is going to need some big things out of its rookies all over the lineup.

“We need very good leadership out of our returning guys, whether they’re sophomores, juniors or seniors, and I think the young guys need to chip in right away,” Hakstol said. “If we’re able to do that, when you take a look at the league, if we can find ways to win some games early and have a respectable first half, I think by the second half of the year, this group of guys has a chance to really come together.”

2005-06 Women’s CHA Season Preview

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Entering its fourth year, College Hockey America is playing with already its third different four-team configuration. But while conference membership has constantly been in flux, the standing leadership has not. No matter the CHA opponents, Mercyhurst has torn through them. The Lakers are a near-perfect 34-1-1 in CHA competition, including the postseason. With four of the top six scorers and all six defensemen returning from the team that led D-I in goals against average, their ambitions extend far beyond another CHA title.

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The CHA lacks the six teams necessary for an NCAA autobid, but that proved no obstacle for Mercyhurst, who made the tournament at-large in the inaugural eight-team field. They went into enemy territory at Harvard, now the national runner-up three years running, and took a two-goal lead before falling in an epic triple overtime battle. As the Mercyhurst program continues to improve and the Olympics drain talent from the sport’s traditional powers, the Lakers have the ability to reach the Frozen Four and beyond.

As the Lakers establish themselves at the national level, the gap between them and the rest of the CHA isn’t getting much narrower. That the league has been in constant flux hasn’t helped. In case you’ve lost track, here’s the membership-rotation recap – Findlay folded as Quinnipiac joined for the 2004-05 season, Ohio State joined and left before playing a game, and most recently Robert Morris joined as Quinnipiac left for the ECACHL.

Even without 2005 CHA Player of the Year Teresa Marchese, Mercyhurst is still loaded with talent.

Even without 2005 CHA Player of the Year Teresa Marchese, Mercyhurst is still loaded with talent.

Niagara and Wayne State could be neck-and-neck for second place once again. Wayne State, where Jim Fetter inherited a program at the bottom of D-I and brought it to .500 in his first season and then .500 within the CHA last season, takes a big step forward by hosting the CHA tournament this year. Niagara has traditionally been Mercyhurst’s toughest CHA rival, but the Purple Eagles will have to cope without Coach Margot Page and top scorer Ashley Riggs, who figured on more than half of Niagara’s goals. Page is the Canadian Olympic team’s assistant coach, and Riggs is in contention for a roster spot. Rounding out the league is Robert Morris, a first-year program facing the immediate challenge of D-I conference play.

1. Mercyhurst

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2004-05 Record: (28-7-2, 11-0-1 CHA)
Head Coach: Michael Sisti (140-51-11, 7th season) was the AHCA National Coach of the Year in 2005. His contract was recently extended through the 2008-09 season.
2004-05 Stat Highlights: The Lakers had the nation’s best defense (1.16), second-best penalty kill (91.5), as well as the sixth best offense and power play.
Key Departures: First Team All-American goalie Desi Clark led the nation in goals against average, ranked second in save percentage and closed out her career with a brilliant 78-save performance against Harvard. While Clark leaves big skates to fill, the playmaking abilities of CHA Player of the Year Teresa Marchese might be tougher to replace. Marchese led the team with 21 goals and 32 assists, big numbers within the Lakers’ system. The team graduated three other seniors, including captain Chrissy Yule.
Key Returnees: The reason why Mercyhurst needn’t sweat the loss of Clark is the return of All-USCHO Rookie Team selection Laura Hosier. She didn’t miss a beat when earning the starting nod her freshman year (12-0-0, 0.75, .953), which included wins over New Hampshire and Brown. Hosier will have six familiar faces playing at defense, highlighted by First Team All-CHA juniors Ashley Pendleton and Michelle Bonello. As for the offense, senior Samantha Shirley (18-19-37) and junior Stefanie Bourbeau (18-12-30) are the top two returning scoring threats. Shirley, Mercyhurst’s top goal scorer two seasons ago, scored all 18 of her goals last season during the Lakers’ 21-3 finish to the season.
Key Newcomers: Forward Valerie Chouinard, a Canadian National Under-22 Team selection with NWHL experience, is the Lakers’ most reputable recruit. She’s the second Under-22 recruit in as many years for Mercyhurst, alongside sophomore Stefanie Jones (13-11-24). The Lakers also have two incoming forwards from Ontario’s Under-18 team and one from the WWHL’s BC Breakers. Two incoming goalies and another defenseman will add depth to areas where Mercyhurst is already strong.
Outlook: Any finish short of hosting an NCAA quarterfinal should be a disappointment for this Mercyhurst team. The Lakers might lack a single explosive offensive talent, but such players are few and far between in Olympic years, and Mercyhurst’s forward depth is strong. A consistent offense and near-unbreakable defense were enough to get Niagara and Minnesota to the Frozen Four in 2002. If Mercyhurst’s scorers develop as expected and the defense remains as strong as a year ago, they can get there too. The Lakers had their offensive lapses a year ago, especially early in the season, and such episodes could be more frequent without Marchese. They’ll need a stronger start to prove otherwise, especially with series against St. Lawrence and Minnesota from Oct. 21-29 that will be a strong early indicator of the team’s NCAA title potential.

2. Niagara

2004-05 Record: 16-15-3 (6-5-1 CHA)
Head Coach: Heather Reinke (1st season), a former All-ECAC defenseman and a longtime Niagara assistant, is serving as the interim coach while Margot Page serves on Canada’s Olympic staff.
2004-05 Stat Summary: The Purple Eagles were second in CHA to Mercyhurst in most statistical categories. They were the third-most penalized team in the nation.
Key Departures: Freshman Ashley Riggs (29-22-51) figured on more than half of Niagara’s 95 goals last season in earning All-CHA honors prior to her selection to Canada’s Olympic camp. Captain Candice Moxley (10-10-20) was Niagara’s other CHA selection. She was one of just two seniors on the roster.
Key Returnees: In addition to Riggs, Niagara had three other promising members of the CHA All-Rookie team. Two of them, defenseman Shannon Moulson (9-12-21) and goalie Nikki Rudy (7-9-1, 2.12, .933), also earned Second Team All-CHA honors. The other half of the goaltending tandem Allison Rutledge (9-6-2, 2.21, .929) was a Preseason All-CHA selection. Charde Hoyle-Levy (10-15-25) is Niagara’s top returning scorer.
Key Newcomers: Niagara brings in a small class of two transfers and two freshmen that could have an immediate impact. Forward Lisa Agozzino is a transfer from perennial power UMD, and Candice Boyles is Quinnipiac’s highest scoring defenseman ever. Melanie Mills was captain of the Toronto Junior Aeroes, and forward Emilie Castonguay has NWHL experience.
Outlook: Niagara made the Frozen Four in the last Olympic year of 2002, but the timing isn’t right for history to repeat itself this time around. The Purple Eagles did show off plenty of young talent last season, and they should be capable of another second-place CHA finish.

3. Wayne State

2004-05 Record: 13-17-3 (6-6-0 CHA)
Head Coach: Jim Fetter (28-32-7, 3rd season), a former Mercyhurst assistant, led Wayne State to a school record win total in his first season and the school’s best CHA finish ever in his second season.
2004-05 Stat Summary: Wayne State was third in the CHA in most major statistical categories, and was one of the least penalized teams in the country.
Key Departures: Kelly Zamora (11-18-29) was Wayne State’s captain and lone First Team selection.
Key Returnees: Junior Laura Monk (13-15-28) was the top goal scorer for Wayne State last season and the No. 3 scorer for the late Findlay program as a freshman. All six defensemen return, including Second Team All-CHA Sarah Campbell (0-14-14), who transferred from Quinnipiac before last season. Valery Turcotte (8-10-2, 2.49, .899) earned the majority of starts as a freshman.
Key Newcomers: Among the five freshmen forwards added by the Warriors are Melissa Boal, the Team MVP of the Ottawa Raiders club, and Amanda Hungle, a top scorer with Team Saskatchewan.
Outlook: Wayne State made strides last season with a weekend sweep of Niagara, but the Warriors dropped their next three to the Purple Eagles, who had a more solid season overall. The age makeup of their team is similar to Niagara, but the Purple Eagles return a few more proven commodities on both ends of the ice. Wayne State’s probably another a year away from a considerable improvement in their offense, which was held to a goal or fewer in 11 of its last 19 games.

4. Robert Morris

2004-05 Record: New program
Head Coach: Kevin McGonagle (1st season) comes over after leading D-III Bowdoin to the 2004 NESCAC title.
Outlook: Robert Morris is one of three new D-I programs this season. The team eases into its schedule with series against D-I independents Sacred Heart and Rensselaer, the latter of whom just moved up from D-III this season. The Nov. 26-27 series against Boston University, the other D-I program starting from scratch, will be an early gauge of Robert Morris’ progress.

2005-06 Denver Season Preview

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The 80 goals of production lost will be hard to replace. So will the experience of the four departed defensemen out of the regular lineup.

But the way the Denver Pioneers have taken care of things in the last two seasons, those might turn out to be merely minor inconveniences.

En route to back-to-back NCAA titles, every challenge thrown at the Pioneers has been met and cast aside. Two years ago it was done in a frantic sort of way; last year it was in a more controlled manner.

Given that track record, Denver has to be considered to have a great chance at becoming the first team in more than 50 years to three-peat, no matter which way the Pioneers go about doing it.

“It was a much different approach and a much different plan that the team used to their success last year from the year before,” Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky said. “I’m sure this season’s team will be even different from that. Every year you have new challenges and new question marks and we’ve got that this year again.”

They’ll have to overcome a young defense and an offense that will have its depth challenged. But there’s a good chunk of the core of the twin title teams back to steer things, still using the lessons of the 2003-04 season as their guide.

Gwozdecky makes no secret of the fact that season was his most difficult — and possibly most draining — as a coach, despite that it ended with the Pioneers parading an NCAA trophy.

“We did not do things efficiently,” Gwozdecky said. “We did not do things with great maturity or great efficiency. We didn’t have a lot of discipline. I think we really got to the point where we had so little margin for error and I think that’s when the character and the understanding started to develop in some of our core guys.”

The lasting messages from that team allowed last season’s Pioneers to go through most of the season seemingly in cruise control, at least in relation to the tumultuous year that preceded it. And with players like senior forward Gabe Gauthier and junior defenseman Matt Carle having gone through both of those experiences, this year’s Denver leadership corps has a solid foundation.

The Pioneers lost defenseman Brett Skinner to a pro contract, but keeping Gauthier and Carle around provided a sigh of relief.

Gauthier scored 26 goals and ranked third in the WCHA with 57 points in earning All-American honors last season, and if he can continue his career progression — he had 16 points as a freshman and 43 as a sophomore — he’ll be a surefire Hobey Baker Memorial Award candidate.

Carle was strong as a freshman but only furthered that reputation a year ago, when he was named an All-American and to the all-WCHA first team.

“There’s no doubt in my mind they are two of the top players in the country,” Gwozdecky said.

With Brett Skinner gone, the importance of Matt Carle to DU increases (photo: Melissa Wade).

With Brett Skinner gone, the importance of Matt Carle to DU increases (photo: Melissa Wade).

Will the rest of the Pioneers fill in around them? The Pioneers lost 45 percent of their scoring from a year ago through the graduation of seven players and Skinner leaving for the pros, and will need players like juniors J.D. Corbin, Adrian Veideman and Michael Handza and sophomore Tom May to pick up the slack.

Paul Stastny made a name for himself in his rookie season after a slow start, scoring twice in the national championship game against North Dakota.

Defense is a greater concern for the Pioneers. Only Carle and sophomore Andrew Thomas are back from last year’s regular cast of characters on the blue line.

The likely scenario is Carle and Thomas will get plenty of minutes while juniors Jon James, who appeared in two games last season, and Zach Blom (six games) and a freshman class that includes Chris Butler and T.J. Fast gets up to speed.

A year ago, the kinds of questions that currently surround the Pioneers’ defensemen were heaped upon Denver’s goaltenders. But Peter Mannino and Glenn Fisher responded well — so much so that Mannino, who was a freshman, took home the most outstanding player award from the Frozen Four. That was a far cry from his start to the season — Boston College scored three first-period goals on him en route to a 6-2 victory.

The Denver defense could follow a similar path this season as the team looks to become the first to win three straight NCAA hockey titles since Michigan in 1951, 1952 and 1953.

“With work and teaching and patience, both those young [goalies] came along and really developed,” Gwozdecky said. “I think the question mark this year is our blue line, and we’re going to have to take the same approach. Fortunately, they can take some direction from our All-American in Matt Carle and a real steady sophomore in Andy Thomas. But I think that’s going to be a work in progress, especially the first half of the season.”

2005-06 Air Force Season Preview

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The next Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner won’t likely come from the U.S. Air Force Academy. But in listening to the Falcons’ coach and key players talk, this year has the potential to be an all-out “ultimate team” on the ice in Colorado Springs, with no single player taking the spotlight.

After a first-round overtime upset of Wayne State in the CHA tournament last season, Air Force fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Bemidji State. It’s the Falcons’ goal that with the type of team chemistry already exhibited in captain’s practices and team functions that the semifinals may be just a starting point come next March.

“This team really energizes me,” head coach Frank Serratore said. “They’re all fun to work with and they like to go out there and have fun. There’s no baggage on the team this year and not one bad apple. If the chemistry’s not right, that can make for a long, tough year, but this team is as cohesive as they come and we need to be the ultimate team. We don’t get the blue-chip players; we get the good second-level kids that we hope can make our 20 better than the other team’s 20 each and every night.”

The Falcons found out mid-summer that leading scorer Brandon Merkosky was transferring to Clarkson. But with the freshmen coming in and a corps of returning players, two of those returnees have little reason to worry.

“We don’t really have what you would call a standout guy,” junior defenseman Brian Gineo said. “We roll four lines and you really can’t expect any one guy to put all the scoring on. The chemistry is awesome. The frosh came and stepped right in and it’s hard to believe they weren’t on the team a year ago. That’s how well they fit in.”

“I can’t say that we have a weakness on this team,” said senior co-captain Matt Bader. “I’ve noticed that a couple guys from last year have come back and improved and I feel we have a very well-rounded team here. The freshmen have been incredible and have already become one of the guys.”

Serratore went on to say that he has a feeling about his team this year, a team he calls “the best I’ve had since I’ve been here and certainly the team with the toughest schedule.

“Our goal every year is to be the most difficult team to play against in the country,” Serratore added. “Right off the bat we play [at] Maine, [at] Union, then Denver and Colorado College and then we host Bemidji State to start conference play. Our [sports information director] was saying that it’s probably the toughest schedule since 1992 or 1993.

“But look at it like this. We’ve been rebuilding the past two years and now we have a solid foundation and solid players. The only thing that separates our top line from our fourth line is experience.

“People have asked me, ‘So what do you have this year?’ And I say, ‘I don’t know, but we have a whole lot of it.’ We have players with speed, players with skill, players that are physical and players that are good with the puck. We’re up for the challenge.”

Junior goalie Pete Foster came alive a year ago and posted five shutouts, tied for third-best in Division I. Foster also had a respectable 2.66 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. Backup Ian Harper also had a goals against average under three (2.97) and should push Foster this season for playing time. Seldom-used Ben Worker may also figure into the equation.

Brooks Turnquist (photo: Air Force media relations).

Brooks Turnquist (photo: Air Force media relations).

Defensively, only two blueliners are gone from a year ago and the rest back along with freshmen Mike Mayra and Greg Flynn. Gineo anchors the back end along with senior co-captain Brooks Turnquist, whose kid brother, Blake, is also back for his second season in the forward role.

Up front, junior Andrew Ramsey is the top scorer back after a 25-point campaign in 2004-2005. Sophomore Eric Ehn tallied 22 points and sophomore Josh Print looks to improve on his seven-goal output.

“There’s been a lot of turnover in the CHA and we want to capitalize on that and just do as well as we can,” Gineo said. “The key is to be consistent. But I can’t say enough about our freshmen. Off the ice the whole team does everything together, but on the ice it can get intense. We might scream at someone for making a mistake on one shift, but we trust them enough to go out there on their next shift and compensate for it. That’s the kind of team I think we’re going to have this year.”

Bader concurred.

“This team is very tight,” said the second-year captain. “We all want what’s best for the good of the team. Last year, when I was voted captain as a junior, it was a bit of a surprise, but I didn’t change how I go about the game. This year, I guess you could say I see more of the administrative side where the younger guys come to me with problems and I get involved more.”

The stretch in which the Falcons really want to get involved is next March in Detroit at the CHA championships, hosted by Wayne State. As Serratore said about the CHA in general, “Anything can happen at any time in any game.”

2005-06 Holy Cross Season Preview

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As you look back at last year’s Holy Cross team, you have to think that the 2004-05 edition of the Crusaders was one of the better teams to play in either the MAAC or Atlantic Hockey and not take home any hardware.

It would seem like last year’s ‘Cross club had everything — two solid goaltenders, a high-powered offense that lost three of its top scorers but also returned seven of its top ten point-getters, and most importantly, the experience and know-how to win.

Then February happened. Two non-league losses followed by a road loss at Sacred Heart began the month. Two wins seemed to right the ship. But a four-game winless skid down the stretch pushed the Crusaders into fourth place to end the year.

Though HC finally got things back on the right track, closing with a 7-2 win at Bentley and a first-round semi-upset of Sacred Heart at home, their season was ended by red-hot Mercyhurst in the semifinals.

A year later, head coach Paul Pearl will look to repeat everything last year’s team did but this time translate hard work into success.

If there’s anywhere that success needs to begin, it’s likely in the offensive department. Last year’s club actually had a lower goals against average than Holy Cross’ 2003-04 team that went to the NCAA tournament. But a lack of scoring, particularly at key times in the game, led to 17 losses or ties in games decided by two goals or fewer.

“For a team that had some pretty good forwards, we had a lot of games last year where we’d get 42 shots and two goals,” said Pearl. “It’s obviously an offensive production issue.”

As Pearl notes, it’s not for a lack of talent that pucks aren’t finding the back of the net. Up front, the trio of Pierre Napert-Frenette, James Sixsmith and Tyler McGregor (though they rarely actually played on a line together) could be the best offensive trio in the league. That, though, didn’t always translate to goals.

To change that, Pearl will look to his most experienced players, namely Napert-Frenette and McGregor, as well as Blair Bartlett and Andrew Weber to pace the offensive attack. Last season both Weber and Bartlett were hampered at times with injuries, so if they should stay healthy you might see some offensive production.

Between the pipes, Holy Cross has the number-one veteran goaltending tandem in the league, if not the country. Tony Quesada and Ben Conway have played just about every single game for the last three seasons and both have the experience needed to win a championship. The ability to rely on them to steal a few games could mean the difference for Holy Cross between fourth and first place come March.

2005-06 Connecticut Season Preview

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When Tim Olsen arrived on the UConn campus four years ago, no one knew the impact he could have. Having transferred from Division III Augsburg, head coach Bruce Marshall knew he had a talented player but didn’t know he’d watch Olsen net 100 points in his three seasons in Storrs.

Now for the first time in four years, the Huskies are living life without Olsen.

As much as you’d think that was a major negative, Marshall is actually seeing it as somewhat of a positive.

“I find it as a positive in some ways because the [players] won’t be looking to say, ‘Well, we’ve got Tim’ or ‘Once Tim gets one goal, we’ll be okay,'” said Marshall of Olsen, who last year scored 36 points in 37 games. “Now guys can’t be looking around waiting for that to happen, so they’ll have to create things. In a way it’s turning a negative into a positive.”

The challenge that comes along with replacing one of the league’s top scorers is one that Marshall says his team will embrace, but the most important thing to help get things done has to do with the club’s start.

“I think getting off to a good start is crucial,” said Marshall, whose club last year won just three games total before the Christmas break. To change that, though, UConn will need to play well on the road, as the Huskies will begin with five straight road games and be away for eight out of the first nine and 10 of the first 13.

TOMES

TOMES

“It doesn’t look like it will be easy this year eight,” said Marshall. “The first six league games for us [five of which are road games] will be a challenge.”

Part of meeting that challenge and showing that UConn is an improved team will be the play of junior goaltender Scott Tomes. Last year, Tomes battled injury much of the season, but down the stretch was thought of to have the ability to steal games. When injured, Tomes was replaced by rookie Brad Smith and the tandem will give Marshall a decision to make if there’s going to be a clear number-one.

“Brad [Smith] needs to show that the experience he got from [Tomes’] injury makes him want more,” said Marshall. “Tomes needs to see that he’s won over 20 games in the last two years and he needs to decide which way he’s going to go.”

If anything is to be said for this year’s UConn team it’s that the Huskies have promise. Promise doesn’t always earn you much in sports, but if these UConn players can take promise and convert it to results, look for the Huskies to be challenging for one of the home-ice spots come season’s end.

2005-06 Bentley Season Preview

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Bentley joins a handful of bottom-half preseason picks in wondering what things between the pipes will look like this season. With the graduation of Simon St. Pierre, who recorded all but six decisions last season, the Falcons will hope to answer the goaltending question immediately with the addition of Ray Jean, a transfer from Maine.

Jean, who sat out last season, came to Bentley last fall after serving as third-string backup to all-American netminder Jimmy Howard. It is head coach Ryan Soderquist’s hope that Jean can make an immediate impact due to his age and experience.

“Ray Jean should carry the bulk of the games,” said Soderquist, who noted that Jason Kearney, MVP of the North American Junior Hockey League last season, can serve as a solid backup. “It’ll be interesting to see who can step up to the plate, but it’s a question mark right now.”

Outside of goaltending, this year’s Bentley hockey club is actually one of the more experienced in the league. The senior leadership on the club could make it a contender if the Falcons can address a handful of holes in the team’s game immediately.

The first hole comes on the power play, and Soderquist is going to look to a senior to right that ship.

Brendan McCartin, who has been a solid producer for the Falcons at forward despite having a bit of a slow year last season, will move back a few steps to play defense this year. Soderquist hopes that, if anything, McCartin can not only add size and skill to the blueline, but also an offensive punch that’s missing, particularly on the power play.

SODERQUIST

SODERQUIST

About McCartin, Soderquist said that the senior blueliner “needs to come to be one of the top players in the league, not just on the team.” Soderquist hopes that McCartin will take on the role of the offensive defenseman that has been missing since the graduation of Steve Tobio, who tallied 120 points in four seasons, in 2002.

“When you look back at our power-play percentages, they were higher back [when Tobio quarterbacked the power play],” Soderquist said. “To be able to stand on that power play with confidence and know when to take the shot or when to make the pass, that’s what’s been the difference.”

If Soderquist has another major concern, it’s how his team will play early in the season. Last year, the Falcons fell behind early and entered the Christmas break with just two league wins. If the team’s goal is to earn a home-ice bid, it will need a much faster start than that.

2005-06 Wayne State Season Preview

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Wayne State’s senior class was its freshmen class back in 2002-03, when the Warriors earned their third straight College Hockey America title and their first NCAA tournament automatic bid.

The past two years have yielded little as far as postseason play, but the class of 2006 has aspirations of returning to the winner’s circle this season.

“We have the same outlook every year and that’s to win our league tournament and get to the NCAAs,” senior goalie Matt Kelly said. “We’ve won it in the past and ultimately we’d like to get back there. This is my last year around here, so it’d be nice to go out on top.”

Last year, an overtime goal by Theo Zacour advanced Air Force past WSU at the CHA tournament in Grand Rapids, Minn. Next March, the tournaments (men’s and women’s CHA) will be held at WSU’s “new” home rink, the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Detroit. The Coliseum was Wayne State’s home during its inaugural 1999-2000 campaign.

Kelly, a co-captain along with senior defenseman Greg Poupard, heads a four-member senior class that also includes defenseman Steve Kovalchik and forward John May. Incoming freshmen are also at a low as the Warriors have only five newcomers and two redshirt freshmen arriving in the Motor City.

Forward Jon Grabarek won a United States Hockey League Clark Cup championship last season with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and defenseman Matt Krug, kid brother of sophomore forward Adam, won a North American Hockey League Gold Cup title with the Texas Tornado.

“Jon Grabarek will be a very talented freshman for us,” WSU head coach Bill Wilkinson said. “Matt Krug will have to prove his ability for playing time. Krug has a good upside with his offensive skills and tenacity. He has a knack for big-time open-ice hits.”

But with the players back and the seniors that were a part of the title run in 2003, there’s no reason to believe Wayne State can’t make noise in conference play. Sophomore Stavros Paskaris led the team in scoring last season and earned CHA rookie of the year honors as well. Paskaris said that while the team has made improvements, the Warriors shouldn’t be taken for granted.

“I don’t think anyone should count us out,” said Paskaris. “We’ve set our goals high and we have a good chance this year. We only lost a couple guys from last year and it’s always hard losing guys, but our freshman class has some good players and should turn some heads.”

The only losses for the Warriors are defenseman Mark Bradshaw, a freshman last year who wasn’t medically cleared to return this year due to concussion problems, and John Grubb, a forward whose four years at WSU were riddled with injuries. Defenseman A.J. Bozoian also joined the team last year, but is not back this season.

Forwards Tylor Michel, Jason Baclig, Mike Forgie, Mark Cannon, Nate Higgins, John May, Mark Nebus and Ryan Wright all return along with defenders Matt Boldt, Adam Drescher and Dan Iliakis. John Nogatch will sit out this year after transferring from Lake Superior State.

After posting a 7-9-4 mark in CHA play in 2004-05, WSU obviously wants to put a couple more in the win column. And a great deal of how that happens depends on who is in goal for Wayne State. Kelly started the majority of games, but Will Hooper, a transfer from Findlay, saw action in 14 contests.

Stavros Paskaris (photo: Mark Hicks / WestSide Photography).

Stavros Paskaris (photo: Mark Hicks / WestSide Photography).

“My mindset is to go out and win games,” said Kelly. “If it’s Will in net or me in net, it doesn’t matter to me. I just want to go out there and have fun and if we win games, I’ll be a happy camper.”

“We have a pretty good one-two punch in goal,” said Wilkinson. “Matt has the upper hand heading into camp, but our hope is that Will continues to push him because Matt’s a good competitor.”

Also back is junior forward Jason Bloomingburg, a recent record-setter for WSU. Last year in his first year in Detroit after transferring from Providence, Bloomingburg potted a school-record 20 goals, shattering the old mark of 18 set by Dusty Kingston in 2000-01. Classmate Taylor Donohoe, a steady defender, won’t put up Bloomingburg-type numbers, but last year knocked cold two players — Nebraska-Omaha’s Bryan Marshall and Air Force captain Matt Bader.

Schedule-wise, Wayne State has a tough nonconference docket. The Warriors play road games at Clarkson (Oct. 28-29), Union (Nov. 25-26), Michigan State (Jan. 6-7) and Northern Michigan (Feb. 3-4) and will play in two tournaments — the Lefty McFadden Invitational in Dayton, Ohio, on Oct. 8-9 and the Badger Showdown in Madison, Wis., on Dec. 30-31. The lone home non-league contests are Dec. 9-10 versus Merrimack.

“The CHA looks interesting and tight this year,” added Kelly. “Every game counts. If you get swept in a weekend, you could fall a couple spots, but if you win both, you could go anywhere.”

Wayne State gets going with three exhibition games against ACHA powerhouse Oakland University on Oct. 4 and Oct. 19 and also against Guelph (Ont.) on Oct. 13. Sandwiched between those games are games against Michigan State and Miami at the Lefty McFadden.

2005-06 Atlantic Hockey Season Preview

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And then there were eight.

In a year of transition, Atlantic Hockey still has hopes for growth. After losing Quinnipiac at the end of last season to the ECACHL, the fledgling league will play with eight member clubs for the first time since most of the remaining members established themselves as a Division I conference (then under the MAAC name) back in 1998.

But never fear, as all accounts indicate that this year’s edition of Atlantic Hockey could be one of the best ever.

Sure, there are only eight clubs, but the product will be eight clubs that, for the most part, will have the depth to call themselves legitimate Division I hockey programs. That’s something that couldn’t always be said for a conference that for years has been thought of by some as Division I wannabes.

Mercyhurst head coach Rick Gotkin

Mercyhurst head coach Rick Gotkin

If some on a national level in D-I have viewed Atlantic Hockey as college hockey’s forgotten stepchild, don’t tell that to a team like Boston College, which, as the number-one seed in its regional, came within a goalpost of being bounced from the NCAA tournament by league champion Mercyhurst. It seems that the credibility of Atlantic Hockey, along with fellow start-up league College Hockey America, is growing throughout the hockey nation.

All that said, the season that lies ahead should have some interesting twists and turns. First off, dropping to eight teams for this go-round (and this season only, as RIT and Air Force will join the league next year) creates a bit of a scheduling conundrum. If every team played every other three times, the results would be only 21 league games and a massive hole to fill with nonconference contests which, for some, can be difficult to get.

Thus the athletic directors voted to play each opponent four times, giving each team 28 league games. The schedule, then, will force two-game weekend sets. Ask any coach in the WCHA, and you’ll hear that it’s extremely difficult to sweep a weekend series, meaning the parity in this league might just go through the roof.

Also changed is the league’s tournament format. Unlike last year, the postseason tournament will have a predetermined site for the final four, meaning that though the regular season is important, all the standings will settle is deciding the matchups and home ice in the first round.

On the ice, look for continued improvement among league recruits as teams have become more competitive in national recruiting. The top clubs are no longer fighting for recruits just amongst themselves, but instead battling schools like Massachusetts-Lowell, Rensselaer, and Michigan Tech for blue-chip players.

All of that said, what follows is my take on how these eight teams’ seasons might unfold. As usual, no prop betting — and certainly, don’t take these picks to Vegas unless you want to donate your money.

Click on any team name at the top of a section below to view its individual season preview.

Mercyhurst
2004-05 overall record: 18-16-4
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey record: 14-7-3
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey finish: Second (tie)
2004-05 predicted finish: First
The short story: Mercyhurst lost a lot of scoring power but still returns one of the deepest teams in the league. What will be interesting will be watching how the team handles having four game-worthy goaltenders, led by late-season phenom Mike Ella.

Holy Cross netminder Tony Quesada

Holy Cross netminder Tony Quesada

Holy Cross
2004-05 overall record: 16-14-6
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey record: 12-7-5
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey finish: Fourth
2004-05 predicted finish: Second
The short story: Holy Cross was a better defensive team last year than a year prior when they won the league championship. What needs to improve is goal-scoring, or else the Crusaders will continue to be the victims in one-goal losses. Look for the senior goaltending duo of Tony Quesada and Ben Conway to be among the league’s best.

Canisius
2004-05 overall record: 16-15-4
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey record: 14-7-3
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey finish: Second (tie)
2004-05 predicted finish: Third
The short story: Canisius will have a new look with head coach Dave Smith behind the bench. The Griffs hope his experience as an assistant at Mercyhurst, Bowling Green and Miami can help turn around a team that last year was solid on the ice but a major headache for the school off the ice. Canisius could even be the darkhorse to finish in first.

Sacred Heart
2004-05 overall record: 13-21-1
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey record: 13-10-1
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey finish: Fifth
2004-05 predicted finish: Fourth
The short story: The Pioneers are possibly the league’s deepest team with one question mark — that being how goaltender Jason Smith will react to being the day-to-day go-to guy. This might be the most potent offense in the league, but without knowing how this team will perform between the pipes, it’s impossible to pick them higher than fourth. Mentally, the Pioneers have to be ready to play from October through April and not allow for the late-season hiccups that cost them a year ago.

Connecticut
2004-05 overall record: 11-23-3
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey record: 10-12-2
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey finish: Sixth
2004-05 predicted finish: Fifth
The short story: UConn will need to replace an enormous offensive hole in graduated forward Tim Olsen. Head coach Bruce Marshall will likely look to a committee rather than an individual to do that job, which may be tricky. Goaltender Scott Tomes needs to stay healthy and prove that he belongs in the league night in and night out. If he’s the backbone this club needs, UConn could challenge for home ice.

Army
2004-05 overall record: 7-21-3
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey record: 5-16-3
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey finish: Eighth
2004-05 predicted finish: Sixth
The short story: Army was a tough team down the stretch last season and because of that could be a threat to a lot of opponents this year. As always, the Black Knights will play an aggressive, in-your-face style of hockey that’s the program’s staple. The biggest question mark will be in goal as Brad Roberts hopes to return to the form he showed as a freshman.

Bentley
2004-05 overall record: 8-20-6
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey record: 6-13-5
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey finish: Seventh
2004-05 predicted finish: Seventh
The short story: Bentley will be defined by one element this season: goaltending. The loss of Simon St. Pierre in net is a critical one for the Falcons, who will look to Ray Jean, a transfer from Maine, and rookie Jason Kearney to fill the gap. Head coach Ryan Soderquist is moving high-scoring forward Brendan McCartin back to defense hoping to add some firepower from the point, particularly on the power play. The question mark in goal, though, makes it hard to pick the Falcons any higher than seventh.

American International
2004-05 overall record: 4-23-4
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey record: 4-16-4
2004-05 Atlantic Hockey finish: Ninth
2004-05 predicted finish: Eighth
The short story: When the league’s last-place team loses its best player and that player happens to be a goaltender, you can expect them to be picked last the following season. Such is the case with AIC, which graduated Frank Novello, one of the top goaltenders in the league last year. With that in mind, Gary Wright’s squad will need to severely reduce the number of quality scoring chances it allows if there’s any hope of the Yellow Jackets ascending from the league’s cellar.

2005-06 Army Season Preview

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As a rookie head coach, Brian Riley found out what it’s like to be challenged.

Besides the fact that Riley’s brother Rob, his predecessor, had left him one of the youngest lineups in the country last year, an early-season injury to goaltender Brad Roberts really put Riley behind the eight-ball in season one.

One year later, though, Riley and his club seem on the way to better things. A more experienced team at West Point will try this year to pull out of the bottom of the league and, if that happens to come true, it’s highly likely that there will be one man there leading the charge.

Roberts, now back to health, is the number-one key to Army’s success this season. Riley hopes that Roberts can return to the form that, as a freshman, earned the rookie goaltender first team all-MAAC honors.

“I tell people all the time, ‘As Brad goes, that’s how we’ll go,'” said Riley. “Brad loves being in the position [to carry a team]. He’s a hard worker on and off the ice and I know that he’s looking to end his career in this league on a big note.

“The biggest thing that we hope can happen is that he stays healthy.”

Assuming Roberts can perform up to task, Army can then turn its attention to its offense, or lack of offense, as may be the case. Last year, Army was the only team in the league to average fewer than two goals per game. The Black Knights’ power-play unit was anemic at best, something Riley hopes to focus on and change very early.

“Scoring goals and the inability to score on the power play were our biggest problems last year,” said Riley. “If we’re going to improve as a team we certainly need to improve in those two areas.”

In addressing the power-play issue, Riley will look for a player to step up and take charge.

“Finding that right person to quarterback the power play unit is something we’ll have to do,” said Riley. “We don’t have a lot of natural goal-scorers on our roster, so a lot of the goals we’re going to score are going to have to come from hard work and finding a way to bury a rebound or something.”

The gritty mentality that Riley wants on the power play will, he hopes, carry throughout the entire club. It’s obvious to Riley that this isn’t going to be a club of prodigious goal-scorers, but rather a blue-collar team with only a few highlight-reel goals to show.

“Everyone expects when you play against Army that you’re playing a physical, disciplined and mentally tough team,” Riley said. “So [we have to] make sure that we’re all of those things. If you’re not, other teams will come in and take advantage of you.”

If Riley likes any one thing best about his team, it’s the leadership. And if there’s one player who needs to act on that leadership, it’s captain Seth Beamer. Last season, Beamer scored just 14 points, down from 18 the year prior. If this Army offense is to break out of its shell, Beamer will need to lead by example and hopefully have plenty of followers.

2005-06 College Hockey America Season Preview

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Not a single regular-season game has been played in College Hockey America, but already teams are being hyped, promoted and readied for the opening of conference play.

Bemidji State won the regular-season title and tournament championship last year and nearly advanced in the NCAA tournament only to go down in overtime to eventual champion Denver.

But for all six teams in the CHA, it’s about new beginnings, rebuilding and reloading. Each team lost a key cog in its lineup and each team brought in freshman classes they feel will fill the voids.

Seven of the top ten scoring leaders from a year ago graduated (one transferred), yet all goalies are back as none of the six starters last year was a senior. Leading scorer Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale from Niagara have moved on along with Alabama-Huntsville’s Jared Ross and Craig Bushey, Bemidji State’s Brendan Cook and CHA player of the year Andrew Murray and Air Force’s Brandon Merkosky, who left the military to transfer to Clarkson.

“This could be the best year ever in the CHA,” Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder said. “Any one of four teams could win it.”

Bemidji State bench boss Tom Serratore echoed those observations.

CHA preseason all-conference pick Bruce Mulherin drives the UAH offense (photo: George Olden).

CHA preseason all-conference pick Bruce Mulherin drives the UAH offense (photo: George Olden).

“You look at a team like Huntsville, who has four all-league players back and they’re just scary,” Serratore said. “Then you have Wayne State that has all their scoring back and you can see there’s a lot of quality depth in the league this year. There’s going to be a lot on the line every night.”

Of the league’s six projected starting goalies, Bemidji State’s Matt Climie posted the best numbers last season with a goals against average of 1.80 and a winning percentage of .694 (12-5-1). Scott Munroe from Alabama-Huntsville had a .930 save percentage to pace all backstops and Wayne State’s Matt Kelly was near the top in all categories with a 10-10-1 record, 2.54 goals against average and a .922 save percentage, second only to Munroe. NU’s Jeff Van Nynatten battled through a serious hand injury and is looking to rebound in his senior campaign while Air Force junior Pete Foster was among the nation’s best with five shutouts last year.

“Looking at the league, I think all the teams are even right now,” UAH head coach Doug Ross said. “Niagara has pressure to step up, Wayne State is always tough and until someone knocks off Bemidji State, they’ve got to be the favorite. You can never count out Robert Morris or let your guard down against Air Force. It’s hard to say what’s going to happen this year.”

WSU head coach Bill Wilkinson has an idea.

“The CHA will be another dogfight this year,” said Wilkinson. “Bemidji State returns a great nucleus, Niagara has had an influx of good players, Alabama-Huntsville should be just as talented despite losing Jared Ross, Air Force was a much improved team last year while Robert Morris had a good second half and they have a talented netminder.”

Notable freshmen entering the conference this year look to be Niagara forward Les Reaney, who led the British Columbia Hockey League with 100 points last year, NU defenseman Dan Sullivan, UAH forward Josh Murray, Bemidji State forward Brandon Marino, Wayne State forward Jon Grabarek, who won a United States Hockey League title with Cedar Rapids last season, Robert Morris forward Jason Towsley and Air Force defenseman Greg Flynn.

“In past years, teams that have won the CHA have won 16 or 17 games,” observed RMU head coach Derek Schooley. “This year, I think maybe 12 or 13 wins will get you the title. This will probably be the tightest and closest CHA season to date.”

“Last year, everyone knew who was in the upstairs of the league and who was in the downstairs,” Air Force head coach Frank Serratore said. “This year, I have no idea. All I know is that anybody can beat anybody on any given night.”

The first CHA game of the year pits brother against brother as Bemidji State starts defense of its CHA crown on Oct. 28 at Air Force. The CHA tournament this year will be held in Detroit at the [nl]Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum, Wayne State’s home in 1999-2000 and home once more for the next three years, on March 10-12.

Click on any team name at the top of a section below to view its individual season preview.

Bemidji State
Coach: Tom Serratore, fifth season at Bemidji State (69-58-17), fifth season overall (69-58-17)
2004-05 overall record: 23-13-1
2004-05 CHA record: 16-4-0
2004-05 CHA finish: First
2005-06 predicted finish: First
The short story: Sure, the Beavers graduated league player of the year Andrew Murray and 20-goal scorer Brendan Cook, but the old adage says the champion stays on top until it’s taken down. With a wide-open CHA this year, BSU may not go 16-4-0, but will rack up enough wins to get a first-round bye in the tournament in March.

Alabama-Huntsville
Coach: Doug Ross, 21st season at Alabama-Huntsville (346-222-37), 21st season overall (346-222-37)
2004-05 overall record: 18-10-4
2004-05 CHA record: 14-5-1
2004-05 CHA finish: Second
2005-06 predicted finish: Second
The short story: Jared Ross is gone, but don’t count the Chargers out as Bruce Mulherin, the CHA’s top goal-scorer, returns, as do senior defenders Jeremy Schreiber and Jeff Winchester, who can both add offense from the blue line. Goaltender Scott Munroe will again be counted on every night.

Jason Bloomingburg set a team record last season by potting 20 goals (photo: Mark Hicks / WestSide Photography).

Jason Bloomingburg set a team record last season by potting 20 goals (photo: Mark Hicks / WestSide Photography).

Wayne State
Coach: Bill Wilkinson, seventh season at Wayne State (95-99-18), 24th season overall (408-400-71)
2004-05 overall record: 14-17-4
2004-05 CHA record: 7-9-4
2004-05 CHA finish: Fourth
2005-06 predicted finish: Third
The short story: Wayne State lost just its injured captain and a freshman defenseman. Everyone else returns to Motown, including the top line of 20-goal scorer Jason Bloomingburg, Tylor Michel and Adam Krug. Last season’s CHA rookie of the year, Stavros Paskaris, should keep improving. In net, Matt Kelly looks to handle the duties, but Will Hooper showed in stretches last year that he is capable of winning games. Defensemen Greg Poupard and Steve Kovalchik are quietly one of the CHA’s top duos.

Niagara
Coach: Dave Burkholder, fifth season at Niagara (68-68-11), fifth season overall (68-68-11)
2004-05 overall record: 15-19-2
2004-05 CHA record: 9-9-2
2004-05 CHA finish: Third
2005-06 predicted finish: Fourth
The short story: How do you replace Barret Ehgoetz’s 46 points and Ryan Gale’s 24 goals? The answer: with a committee of forwards. Jeff Van Nynatten had an off season last year in net, but steady defenseman Andrew Lackner has logged oodles of ice in his first three years and should be out again in all situations this year. Captain Jason Williamson is well-respected in the locker room.

Air Force
Coach: Frank Serratore, ninth season at Air Force (119-153-18), 13th season overall (168-245-27)
2004-05 overall record: 14-19-3
2004-05 CHA record: 5-14-1
2004-05 CHA finish: Fifth
2005-06 predicted finish: Fifth
The short story: Serratore said one of Air Force’s goals every year is “to be the most difficult team to play in the country.” The Falcons play a rough, grinding game and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Junior goalie Pete Foster pitched five shutouts last year overall and Andrew Ramsey should improve on his 11 goals and 25 points in the absence of Brandon Merkosky, who transferred to Clarkson.

Robert Morris
Coach: Derek Schooley, second season at Robert Morris (8-21-4), second season overall (8-21-4)
2004-05 overall record: 8-21-4
2004-05 CHA record: 4-14-2
2004-05 CHA finish: Sixth
2005-06 predicted finish: Sixth
The short story: The only place to go for the Colonials is up. Returning goaltender Christian Boucher can be a one-man gang at times and two Niagara transfers (Aaron Clarke and Bryan Mills) could spark the team. Senior captain Kurt Wright has the leadership and scoring prowess and has the potential to singlehandedly carry RMU on his back if need be. Look for a couple of RMU upsets this year in league play.

2005-06 Sacred Heart Season Preview

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Last year was supposed to be “the year” for Sacred Heart. Everything had fallen into place for the Pioneers and, without any doubt, everyone in the Sacred Heart locker room felt poised to finally take the next step and make it to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

Sometimes, though, even the best-laid plans fall apart for no apparent reason. Non-league struggles were the first thing to hamper Sacred Heart. The Pioneers weren’t just losing their non-league games against tough opponents, they were getting buried.

But that didn’t seem to bother them as things within the league were working out masterfully. Come January, a loss here and a loss there spattered the league schedule and then, on February 19 a 4-1 loss at AIC sent the club on a tailspin from which it would never recover. Sacred Heart went on to lose its final six games, bid goodbye to home ice and get bounced from the first round of the playoffs.

Needless to say, the returning players from last year’s team have a lot to prove.

“Going into this season, we’re the most balanced that we’ve ever been in terms of returning guys that can contribute,” said head coach Shaun Hannah. “We look at the season in thirds. Last year, the first third we were very strong. The second third we were good. The back third we were not good, for whatever reason.

“We can point to a lot of reasons for that but the bottom line is we didn’t get it done in the last third.

“This year, the season is again divided into thirds and we have to look to be strong in all three thirds this year.”

The fact that almost all of the team from last year returns is Hannah’s biggest reason for hope going into the season. The losses, though, that Sacred Heart had were significant.

First and foremost, the Pioneers will need to replace goaltender Kevin Lapointe. Jason Smith, an NHL draft choice and a goaltender whom Hannah feels has promise, will take over the reins. It’s something that Smith has been groomed to do throughout his first two seasons.

Offensively, the loss of Garrett Larson will be key, particularly on special teams. Hannah says that he’ll look to Pierre-Luc O’Brien, a junior who has had two very strong seasons, to immediately fill Larson’s role — but he still feels there are a couple of other guys who have the ability to be clutch scorers in both even-strength and special-teams situations.

Though league-wide expectations may not be as high for Sacred Heart, the team’s own hopes are set as high as can be. This is likely one of the deepest teams Hannah has ever assembled. If the pieces can fall into place, particularly goaltending, you can look for Sacred Heart to give Holy Cross and Mercyhurst a run for the league title.

2005-06 Niagara Season Preview

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Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale have moved on and left Niagara with gaping holes up front. But coach Dave Burkholder isn’t one to panic, and in fact has high optimism as his Purple Eagles start their 10th season of college hockey.

Ehgoetz, NU’s all-time leading scorer, was Mr. Everything for Niagara a year ago, including being team captain. Gale posted career numbers with 24 goals and earned himself an ECHL contract with the Toledo Storm. But up and down Niagara’s roster, the defense looks solid and the forwards have the potential, by committee, to replace Ehgoetz and Gale’s numbers.

“You can never replace what a guy like Barret Ehgoetz did for this program,” said Burkholder, who enters his 10th year behind the bench at Niagara and fifth as head coach. “But I think this year with our overall depth, we’ll be able to go out and make some things happen.”

Along with Ehgoetz and Gale, defensemen Shayne Baylis and Ryan Carrigan and forward Kris Wiebe also graduated.

Back in net for his senior year will be Jeff Van Nynatten, who led NU to the CHA championship in 2004 before a hand injury last year shelved him for two months. Junior Allen Barton and sophomore Scott Mollison are also back to vie for playing time, but most signs point to freshman Juliano Pagliaro pushing Van Nynatten for time between the pipes.

“The times I’ve seen Pagliaro during practice, he’s a very intense goaltender,” NU senior captain Jason Williamson said. “He looks like he’s ready to push ‘Dutchy’ [Van Nynatten]. In practice, he challenges the shooters and I really like what I see out of him.”

Pagliaro was named the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s goalie of the year and the Estevan Bruins’ MVP after going 37-15-5 with a Bruins-record 2.45 goals-against average, three shutouts and a save percentage of .917.

“Jeff knows this year he has a lot to play for,” said Burkholder. “As a sophomore he took us to the tournament, but last year was pretty much a wash. He knows he’s a senior and this is his last chance to get this team back to the [NCAA] tournament.”

Defensively, the Purple Eagles return their nucleus that includes senior Andrew Lackner, junior Pat Oliveto and sophomores Trevor Mallon, Travis Anderson and Mike Novosad. Freshmen Armando Scarlato and Dan Sullivan should also contribute as first-year collegians along with sophomore Scott Langdon.

“We are very comfortable back there with our defensive corps,” said Burkholder. “We’re led by Andrew Lackner who has played in all situations since his freshman year. Oliveto has made the most of his past two years, but what I’m most excited about is seeing our sophomores. Last year, they gained valuable experience and I’m anxious to see what that translates into this year.”

Lackner added that Sullivan, a true freshman, has raised eyebrows already.

“In practice, I’ve been paired up with Sullivan and I’m very impressed,” Lackner said. “He’s smart with the puck and very calm out there. He’s got a great head on his shoulders and is definitely ready to step in.”

Forward Randy Harris is also back for his final season after sitting out the past three years with medical issues stemming from respiratory problems. Harris was a freshman on Niagara’s 2000 championship team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after a first-round upset of New Hampshire. Interestingly, Harris scored in that game to give Niagara an early 1-0 lead and the Purple Eagles went on to a 4-1 victory.

Jeff Van Nynatten (photo: Niagara media relations).

Jeff Van Nynatten (photo: Niagara media relations).

“Randy Harris petitioned the NCAA for medical hardship to get his one year of eligibility back,” Burkholder explained. “He is returning to Niagara to go to grad school and get his year back. We are going to give him the opportunity to play, as, without question, he will be one of our most skilled guys. Where he fits in is kind of a question mark at this time, but he could be one of our top offensive producers.”

Senior Justin Cross is another veteran forward NU is counting on to produce. Known throughout his career as a streaky player, Cross hopes to keep a consistent streak going this season and should be helped when surrounded by players like Williamson, junior Sean Bentivoglio, sophomore Matt Caruana and freshman Les Reaney, who led the British Columbia Hockey League in scoring last year with 38 goals and 100 points. Incoming forward Joe Coiro will redshirt while rehabbing a reconstructed shoulder.

“Cross has been in the shadows of some pretty good players the past couple years in Barret, Gale and even Joe Tallari,” said Burkholder said. “This is his year to step it up and be one of our go-to guys.

“If Williamson can stay healthy, he’s a very dynamic player for us. He was a unanimous choice for captain and always puts his best effort out there. Bentivoglio is also a player who has been progressing and I’m anxious to see what he can do this year. Basically, we’ll have four complete lines every night.”

Niagara’s nonconference should prove its mettle outside of the CHA. The Purple Eagles host Vermont (Oct. 28-29), play a home-and-home with Cornell (Nov. 25-26) and also travel to New Hampshire (Dec. 30) and to Minnesota (Jan. 6-7). NU plays seven of its first eight games at Dwyer Arena, and Burkholder feels that favors his squad.

“This is definitely our most attractive home schedule,” said Burkholder. “The reason being is that these are reciprocating games from a two-year contract with schools like Clarkson, Vermont and Western Michigan. When you add the Cornell home-and-home weekend, our home game being at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, this is one of our most aggressive schedules that we have ever encountered.

“Last year we were on the road for eight straight games, which was very grueling. This year, we start with a very long home stand that I think is going to help since we are a very young team. So, the first month at home isn’t a bad thing, that’s for sure. What also stands out is how we are balanced to finish out the year, home and away. I think that should prepare us a lot, and we should have no excuses going into the CHA playoffs.”

That will be in Detroit, where NU is hoping to replicate some of its postseason magic from 2004.

2005-06 Robert Morris Season Preview

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The colors of Robert Morris are red, white and blue — and after last season’s surprising inaugural season with a cast of freshmen, the Colonials are hoping for an all-American turnaround in 2005-06.

Last year, RMU featured a lineup of 18 freshmen, a sophomore and a junior and though the Colonials finished in the CHA cellar, their 4-14-2 league record was 10 points better than the winless record some predicted.

Head coach Derek Schooley said his squad used statements such as that for motivation, and it showed when they won their first-ever regular season game, on the road no less, against Canisius. The Colonials also took league champs Bemidji State to overtime twice, beat and tied Wayne State and shellacked Niagara, 6-0, at home on Jan. 29. Altogether, RMU played nine overtime games and went 2-3-4 in those contests.

“Our game is work ethic-based and there’s no quick fix overnight,” Schooley said. “We’re gradually building up the program and have a great nucleus back and key additions.”

There’s no bigger returning player than sophomore goaltender Christian Boucher. Last season, Boucher saw the bulk of time in the cage and took the decision in all eight wins for the Colonials. His statistics (2.86 goals-against average and .916 save percentage) were also respectable. But it was outside the numbers that had Schooley raving about his goalie.

“Boucher held us in a lot of games that we probably had no business being in,” said Schooley. “He stole games for us and kept the shots down and gave us a chance. He is a legitimate Division I goalie and is all-league caliber. He was our workhorse last year and we’re looking for him to be that guy again this year.”

Pittsburgh native Carrick Davis will be RMU’s No. 2 goalie behind Boucher.

Boucher added that he knows being a netminder carries pressure, but after last year, he’s learned to deal with it.

“I expect that there will be some games where I’ll have to steal a win for us,” said Boucher. “I expect there to be pressure on me to repeat after what I did last year. I also think the coaches expect it from me, but I don’t think that I’ll have to do it as often this year. I think there will be a couple of games this season where we will be able to put the pressure on the other team and not have to worry so much about winning by keeping the puck out of the net.”

Team co-captain Kurt Wright, the only player who will be honored on Senior Night this year, came in last year after a year at Findlay, which folded its program due to budget constraints. Being one of two players with previous D-I experience (forward Doug Conley was the other, with Niagara in 2002-2003), Wright immediately assumed a leadership role and captained last year’s team with defenseman Rob Cowan, and will do so again this year.

“Our goal is to build on our wins from last season,” said Wright, who also attended New Hampshire before Findlay. “We won’t be satisfied with just eight wins this season given the amount of talent that we have in the locker room. I think our personnel has been upgraded and we’ve managed to move along the bottom five percent of our team and bring in better, more skilled players.”

Christian Boucher (photo: Robert Morris University).

Christian Boucher (photo: Robert Morris University).

As for wearing the ‘C,’ it’s Wright’s hope it helps his offensive production.

“I’m looking to take on an advanced leadership role offensively, especially in the numbers department and specifically goal-scoring,” Wright said. “Last year, I scored six goals in the first half of the season before an injury slowed me down. I expect to produce a lot more on the offensive end and build on the seven goals from last year. I want to increase my offensive numbers in order to help the team win games.”

Forwards Jace Buzek — RMU’s leading scorer a year ago — as well as Logan Bittle, Brett Hopfe, Joe Federoff, Conley and David Boguslawski are all back and freshmen Steve Bandurski, Andrew Jackman, Chris Margott and Jason Towsley will fight for spots. Niagara transfer Aaron Clarke should also help out up front and fellow NU transfer Bryan Mills will add punch to the defense.

Joining Mills on the back end are Andrew Bonello, Cowan, Jeff Gilbert, Chris Kaufman and Eric Trax. Kaufman made the CHA’s all-rookie team last spring. Freshmen Jeremy Barber and Greg Petersen are also new to the Pittsburgh area.

“For the team, I think it’s that we have four lines that can play,” said Boucher. “We’re not as big as a lot of teams, but all of our guys are quick and can skate. I think we’ll be able to outskate a lot of teams and we have tremendous speed. We’re going to be able to us that to our advantage and have teams chase us around the rink.”

And if all goes as planned, Robert Morris could chase a league title down the stretch.

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