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This Week In The WCHA: Oct. 17, 2002

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The New Class

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think of Thomas Vanek, Tyler Hirsch and Gino Guyer as being in the mold of Noah Clarke and Grant Potulny.

Just follow this one.

In the 1999-2000 season, Clarke made his WCHA debut with a tremendous campaign — 17 goals and 20 assists in 39 games for Colorado College. The only reason he wasn’t the WCHA’s rookie of the year was a kid named Dany Heatley.

In 2000-01, Potulny did about the same for Minnesota, putting up 22 goals and 33 points in his first season. The only reason he wasn’t the league’s rookie of the year was a kid named Peter Sejna.

With North Dakota’s Zach Parise the target for the majority of the attention given to the league’s freshmen this season — and justifiably so thus far — Minnesota’s Vanek, Hirsch and Guyer might find themselves in a position similar to that of Clarke and Potulny.

Chances are, they’d take it.

Going through the season without being expected to take the world by storm, as is some of the weight on Parise, should afford that Minnesota trio the necessary time to grow into the scorers of the future.

The Gophers won’t be counting on Vanek and Hirsch, each of whom netted a goal and an assist in last Saturday’s 7-2 victory over Ohio State, for instant offense this season. As a center on a team that lost two preeminent middlemen in the offseason, Guyer, who also scored on Saturday, has slightly more expected of him.

Guyer was Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey last season at Greenway High School. Eyes are on Vanek as the first European to play for the Gophers and as a big-time scorer last season in the United States Hockey League. Hirsch was Parise’s linemate last season at Shattuck St. Mary’s high school in Minnesota.

“We have enough good players where we don’t have to rely on one freshman to carry the mail,” Gophers coach Don Lucia said. “We don’t need a freshman to come in and be our No. 1 center or quarterback our power play. We have guys returning that can do those jobs. They’re able to move into the lineup in a little bit less significant roles.”

Each has the potential to make waves as a freshman, as they showed in their first game. That’s nothing out of the ordinary for the Gophers, however. Vanek scored their first goal of the season, making it three years in a row a freshman has done so for Minnesota (Mike Erickson last season and Matt Koalska two years ago).

But that group just scratches the surface of the list of league freshmen who could play a role larger than their limited experience would suggest. The Gophers contribute even more, with defensemen Peter Kennedy and Chris Harrington rounding out a dynamite recruiting class.

CC defenseman Mark Stuart got the only vote for WCHA rookie of the year not awarded to Parise by the league’s 10 coaches. The Tigers also feature forwards Brett Sterling and Marty Sertich, the 2001 Minnesota Mr. Hockey — he’s the first top Minnesota prep player not to play for the Gophers since Kris Miller, the 1987 winner, played at Minnesota-Duluth.

St. Cloud State has some potential bright spots in forwards Bille Luger, Brock Hooton and Jonathan Lehun, but scoring hasn’t been and isn’t now the concern for the Huskies (things like being able to field a full defense tend to cloud other issues).

With defensive spots open in Denver, Scott Drewicki and Brett Skinner will get some chances for the Pioneers. The same goes for Lee Marvin and Matt Greene at North Dakota — yes, the Sioux indeed have some freshmen not named Parise.

Wisconsin dressed five freshmen in last Friday’s season opener, including a third line of Nick Licari, Adam Burish and Ryan MacMurchy.

And, though he isn’t a freshman, UMD’s T.J. Caig will get plenty of attention when he’s eligible for his first collegiate action in late December.

Digest all that? It’s almost enough to make you ask, “Zach who?”

Yep. Right.

It’s In The Net

If you have seats behind a goal at the Kohl Center and enjoy the unobstructed view, you’d better enjoy it while it lasts.

Sometime this season, crews will install nets much like ones at the ends of the ice in NHL arenas at the Kohl Center. They weren’t ready for the start of the season because the installation will require some construction in the ceiling to allow for quick retraction for event changeovers.

The same process is under way in Duluth, where Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said he expects safety nets to be in place by the time Colorado College rolls into town next weekend.

Ultimately, safety is the concern, especially after a 13-year-old fan died at an NHL game last season days after being hit by a puck. But there are some who think enclosing the ice is a bit extreme.

“It’s like anything; I think you can overreact,” Lucia said. “Some people get hit, but there’s risk in everything we do in life. You can’t eliminate every risk in everything we do.”

The WCHA discussed safety netting in its buildings in the offseason, but no action was taken. Some think it’s more a matter of when it’ll happen than if.

“I think it’s a big discussion point, but I don’t think it was ready for this year yet,” said Colorado College coach Scott Owens, who estimated costs to install safety nets at the World Arena would run into six figures.

On The Shelf

At Minnesota, captain Potulny was originally expected to be out for up to six weeks with a broken fibula. Potulny, the overtime hero of last season’s NCAA championship game, was injured last Saturday.

However, the latest word is that Potulny could be out four months because he also tore ligaments in an ankle.

“Taking your captain out of your lineup to a young team — as much a fear as anything else is, who’s going to step up with the leadership and who’s going to be the vocal guy in the locker room? Because we do have a bunch of quiet kids for the most part,” Lucia said.

Appealing Again

For the second time in a year, Minnesota-Duluth is finding itself with an eligibility issue for one of its players.

Last season, it was Caig and his participation in a major junior tryout camp that brought on dealings with the NCAA. Now, the Bulldogs are appealing to restore the eligibility of freshman Justin Williams.

The NCAA Clearinghouse, which handles eligibility issues, said it required 17 Canadian high school core courses and Williams had only 16. The matter is under appeal and UMD is waiting for a decision from an NCAA committee.

UMD was working off a form that required 16 core courses, Sandelin said. Another form the school later received listed 17.

“From our standpoint, it’s black and white,” Sandelin said. “From [the NCAA’s] standpoint, I’m sure there’s other things. It’s just frustrating to have them add something that really they gave us no justification for adding.”

Williams, 6-foot and 180 pounds, scored 213 points in 201 games from 1998 to 2001 for Drayton Valley of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

“He works extremely hard, so, yeah, he would have seen some ice time,” Sandelin said. “And maybe he will against Colorado if we get a favorable ruling.”

Here You Go

Attention, New Hampshire fans — in particular the ones who already had this weekend circled on the calendar before leaving St. Paul last April.

Minnesota’s coming to town with the national championship, the No. 1 ranking and a coach who’s willing to lead the cheers of “Overrated!”

There you go, Whittemore Center fans. All wrapped up and ready for you to run with.

“You can start the overrated chant right now because we don’t belong as the No. 1 team in the country,” Lucia said. “I think we have the potential to be a pretty good team but we’re nowhere near that right now.”

Because of Potulny’s injury, the Gophers likely will dress six freshmen. Half of the forwards that played in last season’s title game won’t be around for this weekend.

It’s hard to gauge whether the Gophers are the No. 1 team in the country because voters think they’re the best team, or because they won the national title last season and haven’t lost since.

It’s probably a combination of the two. Whatever its origins, that ranking will be severely tested this weekend.

“It’s going to give us an indication of how far we have to go,” Lucia said. “There’s going to be times this weekend, unlike last week, where we’re going to spend time in our own zone and we’re going to get frustrated, we’re going to have 7,000 people screaming against us.

“[To see] how well we react to that, it’ll be good. Because then we can go back to work on Monday and say, ‘See, I told you.'”

Second Time Around

Denver did a decent job of handling Boston College and Northeastern last season at the Nye Frontier Classic in Anchorage. Now the Hockey East schools get a chance at the Pioneers in their barns.

In a big weekend for WCHA-Hockey East duels, Denver goes to Chestnut Hill on Friday before visiting Matthews Arena on Saturday. Victories over BC and Northeastern were Nos. 1 and 2 of nine straight to open last season, but remember that streak ultimately was undone by another Hockey East team, New Hampshire.

Denver showed none of the rust or defensive inexperience that may have been expected last weekend. On the contrary, in a 5-0 victory over Michigan State, the Pioneers proved the defense is ready and in a 3-2 win over Nebraska-Omaha, they proved the offense is set to provide timely goals. Luke Fulghum scored with 1:25 left to break a 2-2 tie.

Believe The Hype

In case you missed it, Parise’s first weekend in college hockey went something like this:

Five goals (two on the power play, two shorthanded and one at 5-on-5), three assists, 10 shots (a .500 shooting percentage isn’t too shabby), a plus-2 rating, a first-star selection, a second-star selection, two North Dakota victories and a WCHA offensive player of the week award.

So much for being overhyped.

No Read

So we know the St. Cloud State special teams have picked up just about where they left off last season. The Huskies scored two power-play goals and two shorthanded goals in a split last weekend at Ferris State.

We can infer from the performance of the Huskies goaltenders last weekend that Jake Moreland is getting closer to being a solid No. 1. He made 40 saves in a 2-1 win on Friday while Jason Montgomery stopped only 26 of 31 shots in a 6-3 loss on Saturday.

That may be all of a read of St. Cloud that can be made, however. It scored only one 5-on-5 goal all weekend, that coming from freshman Brian McCormack.

It’s too early to tell whether a lack of even-strength goals is going to be a trend for the Huskies. But it’s likely there will be nights when the power play isn’t happening and the Huskies’ offense then will need to prove it can get the job done at 5-on-5, too.

Youthful Mistakes

A pair of long road trips should give Owens more of an idea what he’s working with this season.

The Tigers play Maine and Iona in the Nye Frontier Classic in Anchorage this weekend and go to Duluth next weekend. Through the first six games of the season, all Owens is hoping for is for his team to “keep our head above water.

“I think we were hurt a little bit by not playing an exhibition game this year,” he said. “We didn’t get into our building until the day before we played. The key is I’m real high on our young guys; we’re just very young and we’re going to make some mistakes.”

The mistake of going to the penalty box cost CC in a 4-1 loss to Massachusetts-Lowell last Saturday. Richard Petiot was called for charging, leading to a goal. Peter Sejna was called for tripping, leading to a goal three seconds after the resulting power play ended.

And the Tigers were called for too many men on the ice, leading to another River Hawks goal.

No Holding

Minnesota-Duluth held leads in both of its games against Notre Dame last weekend but has only a tie and a loss.

The Irish scored a goal in the last minute to force a 2-2 tie and rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 5-3 victory. They outscored UMD 4-1 in the third period last weekend.

That goes back to a trend the Bulldogs would be happy to stop as soon as possible. They were outscored 57-37 in the third period last season.

Boeser Back

Wisconsin defenseman Dan Boeser, who battled follicular B-cell lymphoma this summer, was in the starting lineup for last Friday’s Badgers season opener. But he was held out of Saturday’s game, ending his streak of consecutive games played at 81.

Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said he held Boeser out because the junior wasn’t in optimum condition after missing some of training camp because of his illness.

“I think it was the right thing to do if you are playing percentages and you want to play it smart,” Eaves said, “although he [Boeser] would never agree with that.”

Making An Appearance

Vice President Dick Cheney made an appearance at the Colorado Springs World Arena last Saturday night before the Colorado College game. His wife and daughter are CC alums who were back for homecoming festivities.

Cheney was presented with a CC hockey jersey, but no one from the team got to meet the VP.

“They’ve got helicopters hovering over the World Arena,” Owens said. “It’s just a big-time entourage and you can’t even get close.”

In Other Words…

Minnesota State-Mankato is the last WCHA team to open its season, doing so this weekend with a series at Providence. It’s the first meeting between the schools. … Mavericks forward Shane Joseph earned titles as the team’s best stickhandler and fastest skater in a skills competition. Dana Sorenson won the shooting accuracy contest and Kyle Nixon came out on top in the goaltending category. … UMD assistant captain Jesse Unklesbay is the first first-year Bulldogs player ever to be a captain. He played two seasons at Alaska-Anchorage before transferring. … Erik Jensen was Wisconsin’s captain in last Friday’s opener. Eaves will not name a permanent captain until the second half of the season.

This Week in the CHA Women’s League: Oct. 17, 2002

By Craig Roberts
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The CHA gets underway with its first conference games this weekend. Findlay travels to Niagara, Oct. 18-19.

All four of the league’s teams will be in action for the first time as No. 10 Mercyhurst and Wayne State are both busy with nonconference action.

The formation of the league came about as six teams departed the ECAC to form Hockey East, leaving Niagara without a conference as neither league invited the Purple Eagles to be a member.

Meanwhile. Findlay, Mercyhurst and Wayne State were looking for something more than the loose association they had under the auspices of the Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Alliance.

With automatic berths in the NCAA championship in the offing once the tournament expands, it was felt that beginning the conference now would put the CHA in position to get one of those berths.

Findlay coach Adam Brinker feels that the time was right for the formation of the new conference.

“This is definitely a step in the right direction,” he said. “I think the fact that we have a reputable league, looking at what they have done in men’s hockey, helps us out. We now have an organization with the backbone to do what we want to do.”

The recognition factor is also a plus. The teams will compete for the first CHA Women’s title, March 7-8, 2003, at Wayne State. The fact that there will be individual and team honors are both motivating factors for league members.

“It gives the players something to play for,” Wayne State coach Tom O’Malley said. “It gives them recognition and something to significant which to strive for.”

The geography of the conference should also lend itself to increased competition. Mercyhurst coach Michael Sisti, who’s team won all three GLWHA titles, sees the formation of the new league as a tool for making the four teams, who have all played each other in the past, battle even harder.

“Niagara is a good geographic fit,” he said. “I think we all recruit kids from the same area. Having those kids and being closer together should make for some great games and great battles.”

The Purple Eagles may feel the need to prove something in the league’s first season. After a 19-2-0 record, an ECAC Eastern title and a third-place finish at the Women’s Frozen Four, Niagara was bumped from the conference.

Scheduling, which was more of a problem for the GLWHA teams than for an ECAC member, doesn’t present an immediate problem for Niagara and head coach Margot Page, who had her team’s schedule in place before the new conference alignment was announced.

“We still play a tough schedule with a good mix of conference games along with Hockey East and ECAC teams, very similar to the one we played last year,” Page said. “The only down side is that now our opener is a conference game and we don’t have any games to get ready for that.”

Recruiting to a new league with only four teams may seem to present a problem but Page feels prospective student-athletes are more informed to make college choices than they used to be. Her team’s move should not adversely affect recruiting.

“The kids we recruit are much more knowledgeable about women’s college hockey than they were a few years ago,” she said. “They know who has the good programs and where they can play good hockey so, no, we’re not affected by the move.

Time will tell where the CHA fits into the larger scheme of things. However, with 10th-ranked Mercyhurst and national third-place finisher Niagara leading the way, the conference already boasts two of the nation’s top programs and establishing itself as a competitive league should not be hard for the newest organization in women’s hockey.

CHA “House”Hold Hints

Niagara, which is hosting the first conference games in CHA history this weekend, will have a pregame ceremony honoring last year’s team and its accomplishments … The Purple Eagles will raise banners honoring their ECAC regular-season championship as well as their NCAA Frozen Four appearance … They will also have a ring presentation with their entire 2001-02 team present … Despite losing twice to No. 2 Minnesota, Findlay recorded a school first when Melissa Oliver recorded her 100th career point in Sunday’s 7-1 loss. She is the first Oiler women’s player to reach the plateau … Niagara is the CHA’s last team to open its season … The Purple Eagles have not played an exhibition or regular-season game to date … Findlay and Wayne State opened with exhibition games three weeks ago and Mercyhurst took on Bemidji State, Oct. 4-5 … The Lakers’ 4-0-0 start is the best in their four-year existence … After three exhibition games, Wayne State is opening its regular season with home games this weekend against Colgate … No. 10 Mercyhurst’s series at No. 7 St. Lawrence is the only matchup in the country this weekend between ranked teams.

CHA Awards

None for the week ending Oct. 13.

Coming Up

Findlay at Niagara (Friday-Saturday)

Niagara leads the all-time series 5-0-1 … This is the third consecutive season the Purple Eagles have opened by taking on Findlay … Oiler senior Erin Blair was announced as the team’s No. 1 goalie but gave up 15 goals in two home losses to No. 2 Minnesota last weekend … Niagara begins its first season with Tania Pinelli in goal … She earned 67 of the Purple Eagles’ 71 wins in their first four seasons … Junior Jennifer Mascaro, who boasts a 1.87 career goals against average, is expected to be the team’s number-one netminder this season.

Colgate at Wayne State (Friday-Saturday)

Colgate leads the all-time series 3-2-0 … The teams are 1-1-0 as Division I opponents … The Red Raiders open their first season under head coach Scott Wiley, the team’s assistant coach the past three seasons … Wayne State outscored its opponents 14-4 while posting a 2-0-1 record in three exhibition wins … Junior goalie Anna VanderMarliere played in both victories and is expected to get the starting nod in the Warriors’ opener … Sophomore Tina Thibideau, who stopped 23 shots in a 2-2 tie Sunday, will be the backup.

No. 10 Mercyhurst at No. 7 St. Lawrence (Saturday-Sunday)

St. Lawrence holds a 5-0-1 lead in the teams’ all-time series … The Lakers are facing their first ranked opponent of the season after jumping out to a 4-0-0 start … Senior forward C.J. Ireland scored points in each of Mercyhurst’s first three games but had the streak snapped in Sunday’s 4-2 win over Connecticut … Ireland and senior defenseman Randi Pilger will both play in their 100th career game Saturday … After splitting time in goal between senior Tiffany Ribble and sophomore Desirae Clark, Laker coach Michael Sisti went with Ribble in both wins over UConn … Ribble is expected to get the nod this weekend as well … St. Lawrence has one of the country’s most veteran-laden lineups, featuring 16 upperclassmen on its 25-player roster.

This Week in the ECAC: Oct. 17, 2002

By Jayson Moy and Becky Blaeser
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One Out Of Two

The Engineers of Rensselaer went 1-1 on the weekend, but it was still a successful weekend. On the opening night of the Ice Breaker, the Engineers took it to their hosts, dominating Wisconsin in all areas of the game except shots.

“A nice win, but it’s just the first one (of the season),” Engineer head coach Dan Fridgen said. “We did the little things and kept it simple. We had a lot of people stepping up and contributing, which is something we have to do.”

The next night the Engineers lost to Boston University, but it was a good weekend nonetheless.

“I’m still working guys in and out of the lineup; it was encouraging to see that [Friday night] some guys stepped up and [Saturday night] others guys tried to step up,” said Fridgen. “We got some pretty solid performances overall from a lot of people this weekend. So there’s a lot of work to be done, but it’s not something that’s out of the reach of this team. They realize they have to get better and they know it’s a lot of hard work.”

It certainly was a bright weekend for the Engineers. They are the only ECAC team to defeat the host school in the Ice Breaker, and only the second ECAC team to get a win in the semifinal round.

The Raiders Stampede

The Raiders of Colgate went to the Maverick Stampede and in a strange turn of events lost 6-5 in the second overtime to Nebraska-Omaha. The weirdness was that the first OT was only five minutes long — a violation of NCAA rules governing tournament play. Strange, and the NCAA didn’t find it funny. It didn’t affect the outcome of the game, which was still recorded as a loss for Colgate.

Forgotten in the whole overtime mess was the fact that Colgate was down 5-1 only 27 minutes into the game, but by the time 40 minutes had expired, the Raiders had tied it with four straight goals in the second period.

The Raiders came back the next afternoon and lost a close 2-1 game to Michigan State. Two one-goal losses, but still encouraging for head coach Don Vaughan.

“The team competed hard both nights,” he said. “It was tough for our young team to have to do the quick turnaround for the 5 p.m. game on Saturday, but they handled it well.

“Perhaps the biggest thing I will take from the weekend is the come back on Friday night. I really think that speaks to the character of our team. I don’t feel we could have done that last year. As for Michigan State … I felt we had the better of the play in the second period and could have put them away, but their goalie came up big. We had numerous chances in the third to tie it up. He was the difference in the game.

“Of course as a coach you are never satisfied with a loss, but we saw a lot of good things from our team this past weekend.”

The Raiders open at home against UConn this weekend and have to feel confident.

“It is very important for any young team to understand what it takes to win against ranked teams and to be able to compete and play hard under difficult situations,” said Vaughan. “I really feel we went a long way in accomplishing that in Omaha last weekend.”

The Saints Get Going

St. Lawrence came out of the first weekend with a split in its series with Miami. After a nervous first effort, the Saints picked it up and took game two with help from ECAC Rookie of the Week John Zeiler and a team effort.

“It was a much better effort in a lot of areas [Saturday],” said Saint coach Joe Marsh after the game. “I thought we really go outworked last night, but tonight we did a much better job. I can’t say enough about our goaltending in both games, Mike McKenna was outstanding last night and Kevin kept coming up with the big plays tonight.

“We were able to give him a little more help and we came through with some big plays from the younger guys again. Zeiler’s goal was a big one, both in terms of the situation in the game and the way he got it — just hustling as he crashed the net. I think we made some very positive strides against a good hockey team.”

The Saints will continue to get things going with three homes games this weekend, which in recent years seems like all the home games in a span of half a season — two against Michigan Tech and an exhibition with the US National Under-18 Team.

Dutchmen Coming Of Age

Union went into the opening weekend with some optimism as a young team opened against Providence on the road. The Dutchmen were outplayed, but there was some good.

“I really did see some positives out of our team,” said head coach Kevin Sneddon. “We know it’s going to take some time and we need to learn from our mistakes, especially tightening up in our own zone.”

The next night the Dutchmen clawed their way back to a 4-4 tie with Merrimack, scoring with just 50 seconds left in the third period.

“I don’t think you’ll see this team ever quit,” said Sneddon. “They really showed a lot of character tonight to pull off a tough comeback like that after spotting a team a field-goal lead. We just kept chipping away.”

The Dutchmen host Niagara this weekend in their home opener. Union fans should be excited as the Dutchmen bring this edition home for the season.

Ouch

The Catamounts of Vermont were blown out of their own building this past weekend as No. 3 New Hampshire pounded them 10-0.

“That’s a pretty good team,” head coach Mike Gilligan said. “I don’t think they’re nearly as good as we made them tonight. We came out of the locker room beaten. Our guys didn’t feel like they were good enough to beat this team.”

That attitude is going to have to change as the Cats travel to take on No. 4 Boston University and No. 7 Boston College this weekend, not an easy task at all. If the Cats are going to succeed, they will have to use last Saturday’s whupping as a motivator.

Out of the Gates — Finally

While many of the ECAC teams have been on the ice for nearly a month and have (in some instances) several games under their belts already, the rest of the league finally laced up the skates for the first time this past week.

Adhering to league requirements, the six Ivy schools — Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Yale, Dartmouth, and Princeton — were allowed to begin formal practices on October 15.

Before the league season kicks off in November, however, these Ivy teams will take part in exhibition contests, beginning next week against such warmup squads as Guelph (out of Ontario) and the US Under-18 Team.

Ups And Downs

As a new feature to our weekly column, we’re going to shine a spotlight on the league each week and select a “best” and “worst” of the weekend. This week, one choice was easy, one was tough.

The Best – The Rensselaer Engineers

The Engineers were one of only two teams to win a regular-season game this weekend, but in defeating the Wisconsin Badgers, the Engineers got a huge win over the hosts, showed the world that the ECAC teams are a presence and got the league and themselves some respect.

The Worst – The Maverick Stampede

It was tough not to pick Vermont’s 10-0 loss to New Hampshire, but due to an absolutely shameful oversight, the Raiders had a tie turn into a loss, and that’s our choice this week. It may only be a shame now, but the bigger shame would be if that tie matters in terms of an NCAA tournament berth.

Where Have All the ‘Characters’ Gone?

By Joe Bertagna
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It is March, 1971. Harvard University’s hockey team has qualified for the NCAA Tournament, then a modest four-school event, before any of us had ever heard the words “Frozen Four” or “bracket expansion.” The site that year was the Onondaga County War Memorial Coliseum in Syracuse, N.Y.

A few days before the event, a local Boston broadcaster stepped in front of some bright lights and directed a microphone at Harvard’s crusty and wily head coach, Ralph “Cooney” Weiland. A Stanley Cup winner with 300-plus college wins under his belt, Weiland was two games from retirement and his penultimate opponent was the University of Minnesota.

The reporter led off with what he must have considered an innocent enough opening question about the Crimson’s opposition in the semifinals.

“Coach, what do you know about Minnesota?”

Weiland looked into the glare of the lights and with just a trace of a grin said, “Well, it’s cold. And they have lots of lakes. So they must have some good players.” End of interview.

 

In the days when college hockey benches were manned by guys named “Cooney” and “Snooks” and “Amo,” one didn’t have to go far to find an original. A character. A larger than life figure. But where have they gone?

They have to be teacher, tutor, parent, motivator, disciplinarian, and — given the myriad rules directed at them by school, league, the NCAA and society — they might also benefit from training as a lawyer. I would have loved to witness a compliance officer explaining the latest NCAA Manual to Ned Harkness or Murray Armstrong.

Many years ago, when the University of Vermont’s Jimmy Cross received an award for his career body of work, he noted that he might have been one of the last “characters” in the game. And that his inclusion in the list was a stretch. The game was changing. And the new breed of coaches, while equally committed and even more prepared, were somehow different than the giants that preceded them.

Last Sunday, The Boston Globe ran a column about Boston University’s Jack Parker, written by nationally known sportswriter Bob Ryan. In it, Parker observes: “The game hasn’t changed much at all … other than the face mask business. But the way we prepare is drastically different. The big changes are outside the boards, so to speak.”

I’ll give him the distinction. And on another occasion, I’d like to suggest that many of the changes “outside the boards” have indeed affected the game played within. But that’s for another time.

For the present, I’m concerned about those changes that have helped create a climate where those “characters” I knew and loved are so few and far between. We have professionalized our sport, and by “professional,” I am not referring to pro hockey or the NHL. I mean kids playing one sport all year, summer leagues designed to market kids, 12-year olds spending $1,000 for their summer off-ice program, sophomores in high school committing to the college of their choice, 190-day seasons ending after baseball’s opening day because we want to insure we get on television, digital editing systems allowing for greater preparation of your team and greater knowledge of your opponent than ever before, and a culture of political correctness that has every coach alerted to the consequences if he yells at Johnny too loudly or asks any freshman to pick up the puck bag after practice.

How much do you think a John Mariucci or a Jack Kelley would enjoy being a head coach today?

I work for the nation’s coaches and have the utmost respect for them. So don’t misconstrue what I’m saying here. They work extremely hard, and have collectively brought professionalism in the positive sense to their jobs. And some of them are even starting to be fairly compensated for what they do.

But most of them are under incredible pressure to win and even greater pressure to dot every “i” and cross every “t” with how they treat each kid, from the time he or she is a recruit to the time they graduate. They have to be teacher, tutor, parent, motivator, disciplinarian, and — given the myriad rules directed at them by school, league, the NCAA and society — they might also benefit from training as a lawyer. I would have loved to witness a compliance officer explaining the latest NCAA Manual to Ned Harkness or Murray Armstrong.

So is it any wonder that those who will allow their full personality to emerge are so hard to find? Thank God for Mike Sertich and Joe Marsh and all the others who have found a way to navigate all the obstacles placed before them and still emerge intact with a sense of humor and a personality reminiscent of the “characters” of yesteryear. But there aren’t many with the job security to take the chance any more. The stakes are higher. The potential fallout too serious.

Fortunately, we have the stories. And from time to time, in this space afforded me by USCHO, I would like to keep some of them alive. Every coach out there has a gem of a story about his or her mentor. Some we could actually print. The “good old days” weren’t always better. But they aren’t coming back, and from time to time, we could use a reminder of another way to do business.

 

The game was getting late. Brown University’s Jim Fullerton leaned forward to urge his Bears to follow his secret power play strategy practiced earlier in the week.

“Go into ‘The Diamond! Go into ‘The Diamond’,” he yelled from the Meehan Auditorium bench.

Not to be outdone, the great John “Snooks” Kelley of Boston College stood a few feet away on the visiting bench and leapt into action as only the Snooker could. “Lookout for ‘The Diamond,’ he shouted. “Look out for ‘The Diamond!'”

Joe Bertagna is the Executive Director of the American Hockey Coaches Association, the commissioner of the Hockey East Association, and an old goalie.

This Week in the WCHA Women’s League: Oct. 17, 2002

By Craig Roberts
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Women’s college hockey — in particular, women’s hockey at the University of Minnesota — takes another step forward this weekend when the Gophers open Ridder Arena, the first hockey arena in the United States dedicated to a women’s program.

The impetus for the arena came with a lead gift of $500,000 from the late Bob Ridder and his wife Kathleen. Longtime supporters of women’s athletics at Minnesota, the Ridders have long been supporters and benefactors of both men’s and women’s hockey. Bob shared the Lester Patrick Award with Wayne Gretzky in 1994 for outstanding service to hockey in the United State. The manager of the 1952 and 1956 U.S. Olympic hockey teams, he was part of the ownership group which founded the Minnesota North Stars. Ridder was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976 and the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998.

Kathleen served on the advisory board for women’s athletics while Minnesota had separate athletic departments for men and women, and served a stint as the chair of the committee.

The Gophers have worn an “R” patch on the shoulders of their jerseys to honor the Ridders since Bob passed away in July of 2000.

Ridder Arena is part of a state-of-the-art facility, which also houses the Gophers’ men’s and women’s tennis programs with 10 indoor and 12 outdoor courts. Also included is a strength and conditioning area of more than 4,000 square feet. In all, the entire facility encompasses 165,762 ground square feet. The hockey arena occupies 57,618 square feet and features 3,000 seats in a bowl configuration, and nine suites and a club room with a combined 326 seats.

The facility also has 11 team locker rooms, coaches and officials locker rooms, player lounges for both hockey and tennis teams, and fully-equipped training and equipment rooms.

The team took to the ice for the first time Tuesday and excitement abounded. “This place is money,” sophomore forward Kelly Stephens said as she stepped through the gate.

Many of those players, however, don’t have the perspective of head coach Laura Halldorson, who played in the early 1980s at Princeton. She knows from first-hand experience how far women’s hockey has come and appreciates where the game now stands.

“When I step back and think about what just happened, with Ridder Arena being built, it really is hard to believe,” she said. “I never imagined that 20 years ago.”

Although the new arena and its amenities will give the Gophers an edge in recruiting, Halldorson hopes other schools will follow suit.

“Hopefully, this means we’re leaders,” she said. “Hopefully, we won’t be the last school to do something like this. Obviously, it’s a huge undertaking, financially and otherwise, so I know it’s not going to be easy for other schools to duplicate.

“We’re just very fortunate that we had the chance to do this with the help of the Ridder family and a lot of other people.”

Senior defenseman Winny Brodt, who graduated from Roseville High School in 1996 when there were no varsity women’s hockey programs in the state, originally attended New Hampshire, where she helped lead the Wildcats to the first American Women’s College Hockey Alliance national title.

Brodt, recognized by the Minneapolis Star Tribune as one of Minnesota’s 100 most important sports figures of the 20th century for her influence on girls’ hockey, sees the new arena as a watermark for the sport.

“When I grew up playing hockey, I played with the guys,” she said. “I didn’t even fathom that I would be playing women’s college hockey. To have this rink built just for our program is unbelievable.

“I think this is just going to throw the numbers through the roof,” she said of the effect Ridder Arena will have on girls playing the sport. “The girls are going to see this and they’re going to want to be like Natalie Darwitz, Krissy Wendell and Ronda Curtin.”

Despite all of its amenities, one problem Ridder Arena has is press accommodations. The press box is still under development, as architects failed to design the front row of the area with enough space for working media to sit.

Although it seems to be a problem that no one wants to talk about, the problem is not unique for hockey arenas. Both the Midwest Wireless Civic Center, in Mankato, and the National Hockey Center, in St. Cloud, were built without press boxes and had to have press areas retro-fitted into them.

Likewise, Mariucci Arena, the home of Minnesota’s men’s team, boasts exceptional sight lines throughout the building but suffers from an ill-designed press box. Many seats in the box do not allow an easy view of the players’ benches or the ice surface from boards to the near faceoff spots.

Minnesota, the first Division I school outside of the ECAC to add women’s hockey, was instrumental in the formation of the WCHA Women’s League, won the last AWCHA title in 2000 and hosted the inaugural Women’s Frozen Four in 2001.

The University has once again come to the forefront in providing for its student-athlete and leading women’s hockey into what it hopes will be a new era.

WCHA “House”Hold Hints

When Minnesota opens Ridder Arena Saturday, the ceremonial puck drop will be presented by Kathleen Ridder, who dropped the puck for the Gophers inaugural game, Nov. 2, 1997, along with Julie Otto, the team’s first captain, and U.S. Olympian and former Gopher Courtney Kennedy … The 1999-2000 national championship team will also be introduced at the event … UMD head coach Shannon Miller was honored by the Calgary Flames at a luncheon in Calgary Tuesday … Miller will also conduct the ceremonial opening faceoff to start the game between the Flames and Boston Bruins Thursday at the Calgary Saddledome … SCSU first-year forward Gretchen Dahl is the niece of Husky men’s head coach Craig Dahl … SCSU head coach Jason Lesteberg was recently honored at his alma mater, Gustavus Adolphus, as one of that school’s top 15 men’s hockey players … An NCAA Division III All-American and national player-of-the-year finalist as a senior, Lesteberg graduated in 1996 … Four of the Huskies’ five goals over the weekend came from new players … The league’s two newest head coaches, BSU’s Bruce Olson and Wisconsin’s Mark Johnson, collected their first wins as collegiate head coaches over the weekend … Olson’s win came Saturday in a 2-1 win over St. Cloud State and Lesteberg, the Beavers’ former head coach … Johnson’s first win also came Saturday as the Badgers downed Northeastern, 4-2 … Wisconsin senior defenseman Sis Paulsen became the fourth Badger to join the 100-point club when she collected an assist in the Badgers’ 2-1 win over the Huskies … Ohio State was 7-for-12 on the power play in its weekend sweep of Minnesota State … Sophomore forward Jeni Creary, who led the league in goals last season, had points on six of the seven goals … Three league players, forwards Joanne Eustace and Caroline Ouellette of UMD and defenseman Carla MacLeod of Wisconsin, were missing in action over the weekend while taking part in the Canadian National Team Development camp in Toronto … Badger freshman forward Nikki Burish joins her brother, Adam, a frosh on the men’s hockey team at Wisconsin, as the first sister-brother duo in the four seasons UW has had women’s hockey … Burish is also the first women’s hockey player at Wisconsin from Madison.

WCHA Awards

Offensive Player of the Week–Jeni Creary, So., F, Ohio State
Defensive Player of the Week–Nicole Uliasz, So., D, Wisconsin
Rookie of the Week–Natalie Darwitz, Fr., F, Minnesota

Coming Up

No. 2 Minnesota at St. Cloud State (Friday)
St. Cloud State at No. 2 Minnesota (Saturday)

Minnesota has won five of six games at the St. Cloud State’s National Hockey Center … The Gophers have won 13 of the teams’ 14 meetings … Husky head coach Jason Lesteberg is 0-2-2 against Minnesota … He had his Bemidji State team in position to win three of four meetings with the Gophers last year, with three of the four games going into overtime … Minnesota junior forward La Toya Clarke needs just one point to join the 100-point club … Gopher sophomore goalie Brenda Reinen did not play in either of the team’s wins over Findlay as a precaution but is expected to be available this weekend … SCSU junior captain Kobi Kawamoto is out at least another month after breaking her ankle in the team’s 4-2 exhibition win Oct. 6 … Sophomore Melanie Pudsey, who hurt her shoulder in that game, and rookie Katie Hauge, who injured her ankle in practice, both missed the Bemidji State series and are questionable for this weekend.

Minnesota State at No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth (Friday-Saturday)

UMD will be raising its second NCAA championship banner to the roof of the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center Friday … The Bulldogs have won all 13 of their meetings with Minnesota State … Sophomore forward Caroline Ouellette, a gold medalist at the 2002 Olympics, makes her UMD debut this weekend after missing the team’s opening series at Providence, along with senior forward Joanne Eustace, while attending Team Canada’s development camp … A pair of rookies accounted for MSU’s goals last weekend … Freshman forward Devon Nichols scored the team’s lone goal in a 6-1 loss to Ohio State and sophomore forward Melanie Salatino, a transfer from Wisconsin-Superior, scored in a 3-1 loss …

New Hampshire at Ohio State (Friday-Saturday)

New Hampshire has won six of the teams’ first seven meetings … The Wildcats, who won their season opener, 4-0, over Vermont last week, are 22-2-1 in season openers … One of those two losses was a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Ohio State, Oct. 19, 2001 … The OSU power play was 7-for-12 in its opening series at Minnesota State … Sophomore forward Jeni Creary had points on six of those seven goals … Both Buckeye goalies, senior April Stojak and freshman Natalie Lamme, played against MSU and are expected to receive starts this weekend … UNH freshman forward Lindsay Hansen was named rookie of the week by Hockey East after collecting a pair of assists in a 4-0 win over Vermont.

No. 6 Wisconsin at Connecticut (Saturday-Sunday)

Wisconsin is 1-0-1 all-time against Connecticut … The Badgers are playing their second consecutive series against a Hockey East foe this weekend … Wisconsin posted a 10-1 win and a 1-1 tie in its home opener last season against the Huskies … Badger sophomore defenseman Carla MacLeod returns to the Wisconsin lineup after missing last weekend’s series while attending the Canada’s National Team Development Camp … Fellow blueliner Nicole Uliasz returned to the Badgers last weekend after missing the 2001-02 season playing with the U.S. National Team … For her efforts in leading a defense that allowed less than 20 shots in each of two games against Northeastern, Uliasz was named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week.

North Dakota at Bemidji State (Sunday)

After a pair of exhibition games last weekend, North Dakota is playing its first game against NCAA competition … Bemidji State is one of just two schools in the country to have already played four games this season … After going pointless in the season’s first game, BSU senior forward Amber Fryklund has scored in three straight games … Junior goalie Anik Cote started both games at St. Cloud State last weekend after splitting with senior Bre Dedrickson in the team’s opening series at Mercyhurst, Oct. 4-5 … The Sioux have three players with Division I experience in junior defenseman Abbey Strong and junior forwards Stasia Bakhit and Sherrie White, all of whom transferred from Findlay.

This Week in the CCHA: Oct. 17, 2002

By
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Entering the first full week of CCHA play, Western Michigan has the early lead in the standings, having taken two from Bowling Green last weekend.

League matches include BGSU at Ferris State, Miami at Nebraska-Omaha, Michigan State at Northern Michigan, Ohio State at Alaska-Fairbanks, and a home-and-home series between Western Michigan and Notre Dame.

If the early going will be a harbinger for the regular-season race, look for standings to be — to use one CCHA coach’s phrase — “squashed” from now until March.

Our Last-Place Team Is Better Than Your First-Place Team

Congratulations to Lake Superior State on the Lakers’ 2-1 win over Quinnipiac in last week’s Black Bear Classic.

The win was not merely a victory for LSSU, but a triumph for the entire CCHA, and it earns the Lakers the title Defenders of the Realm for at least this week.

Maize And Blue Blues

Losing captain John Shouneyia to a fractured wrist in an exhibition game against Toronto Oct. 5 was a tough blow for the Wolverines. The senior captain, who will miss the next two to four weeks, is a natural leader and notched 50 points last season.

Now the Wolverines have learned that junior alternate captain Andy Burnes will be out for at least three weeks with mononucleosis. (What is in the water in Ann Arbor, anyway?) Sophomore Eric Nystrom will sit in as alternate captain until Burnes returns.

As if losing Shouneyia and Burnes weren’t enough, Michigan will have to do without Jason Ryznar (shoulder) for this weekend’s series against Merrimack.

The Wolverines have five healthy defensemen to dress going into Friday’s game.

Hot In Ohio

The RedHawks are red hot, at least in the early going. Through four games, Miami has outscored opponents 22-9 to lead the league in goal production, averaging 5.50 per game. Mike Kompon and Vince Pulera have four goals each for the RedHawks.

On the warmish side are the Falcons, averaging three goals per game through four games played. Steve Brudzewski and Mark Wires each have three goals for Bowling Green.

This Porridge Is Too Cold

Ohio State’s R.J. Umberger and Lee Spector each had a goal in OSU’s 7-2 loss to Minnesota.

Remember that OSU is the Big Ten school in Ohio. Right?

Games Of The Week

Rick Comley built the Northern Michigan hockey program from scratch. Walt Kyle played for Comley, coached with Comley — and had to wait a darned long time for Comley to finally give it up so that Kyle could come home.

Michigan State (1-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) at Northern Michigan (1-1-1, 0-0-0 CCHA)
Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m., Berry Events Center, Marquette, Mich.

And just how will this two-game series unfold? “I don’t really know,” said Kyle.

Kyle, coaching his fourth D-I game at Northern Michigan, said he doesn’t yet have a handle on how well his own squad is performing because the ‘Cats have yet to play a CCHA opponent. “I don’t know what the competition within the league is like. I don’t know what the other teams are like.”

Kyle did say that he thought the Wildcats “played pretty well” against Boston University and Wisconsin in last weekend’s Ice Breaker, but said that with four freshman defensemen, play “got a little scrambly at times.”

As for facing his old friend and mentor, Rick Comley, Kyle said, “It’s not that emotional for me in that regard. When you’ve coached for a long time, the person on the bench is not the issue.”

Kyle added, “I’m excited to be back coaching my first game here in Marquette. I’m happy that I’m going to be involved in his [Comley’s] first league game.”

The Wildcats tied Boston University 4-4 before dropping the title game to Wisconsin 4-3 in Madison last weekend. Michigan State was uncharacteristically shut out in its opening game against Denver — 5-0 — and the Spartans mustered just two goals to beat Colgate in the second round of the Stampede in Omaha on Saturday.

In the early going, it’s hard to tell how the Spartans will respond in the post-Mason, post-Miller era, but it’s probably safe to say that NMU will adjust to its coaching change with more speed and ease than will MSU.

Notes for the series:

  • MSU leads the all-time series 20-11-2
  • MSU is 8-2-0 vs. NMU in the squads’ last 10 meetings
  • MSU is 6-5-1 in Marquette
  • Chris Gobert paces the Wildcats with seven points (1-6-7)
  • Bryce Cockburn leads NMU in goals (3-1-4)
  • Craig Kowalski is sporting a .908 SV% through three games
  • Brian Maloney and Corey Potter each have a goal for the Spartans
  • No Spartan has more than one point through two games this season
  • Matt Migliaccio had a .968 SV% Saturday’s MSU win
  • Justin Tobe had an .857 SV% in Friday’s MSU loss
  • To start the season, the Spartans are -19 as a team
  • To start the season, the Wildcats are an even 0 in plus/minus

    Other fun things to ponder:

    Michigan State dropped two of its last three games — dating to last season — to teams from Colorado, and each time the Spartans were shut out. NMU ended the 2001-02 season with a 2-0 loss to Colorado College in NCAA tourney play.

    The last time the Spartans dropped a season opener was in 2000-01, when they lost to CC in Colorado Springs — and after which they tore through the competition, amassing a 10-game win streak.

    The last game Rick Comley coached for NMU was against MSU, when the Spartans — led by Ron Mason — beat the Wildcats 2-1 in last year’s CCHA semifinals.

    This series may be fought in net, especially since the Spartans are still adjusting to the new coach.

    Rest assured that Comley’s former players won’t want to disappoint their long-time coach. The Wildcats will do all they can to beat the Spartans — and an NMU victory would be a reflection on both coaches.

    Picks: MSU 3-1, NMU 3-2

    Grudge Of The Week

    It was March. It was Detroit. It was Alaska-Fairbanks’ first trip to the Joe.

    Then the clock struck midnight, and the Buckeyes had beaten the Nanooks 6-5 in overtime. And given that Quinnipiac had already received its invitation to the ball, there would be no prince, no glass slipper, to save UAF’s fairy tale.

    Ohio State (0-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) at Alaska-Fairbanks (1-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA)
    Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m. AT, Carlson Center, Fairbanks, Alaska

    Don’t tell Guy Gadowsky that there’s any bad blood between these two squads. “There is no sense of avenging anything,” said Gadowsky. “We certainly remember that they’re the team that put us out [of the NCAAs].

    “Hockey’s hockey. Physical play and aggression are part of hockey. That always surprises me when people think a game is more physical or less physical because of who’s playing.”

    As nice a guy as is Gadowsky, this is hard to believe. UAF fans hate OSU. It’s probably safe to say that at least a few Buckeyes — players, that is — dislike Aaron Voros. There was that little thing about taunting the Buckeye bench last season.

    Then there was the matter of running goaltender Mike Betz in the CCHA quarterfinals last year.

    Gadowsky said — and rightly so — that Voros is a premier player in the CCHA, and he defends the sophomore’s style of play. “I’d rather have him play with passion” than have to motivate him, said Gadowsky.

    Gadowsky also said — and rightly so — that Voros goes to the box with company from the opposing team far more often than he goes alone.

    Enough about one player (but isn’t it great that UAF has such a player, one who can generate points and publicity?)

    This is the gist of this series: The Buckeyes and the Nanooks will play a good game on Friday night, and then UAF will take it to OSU Saturday.

    Why? I don’t know. I called Miss Cleo. I consulted the tarot. I read a random person’s palm.

    That and the fact that the Buckeyes look like they’re not prepared for this season, let alone this series.

    OSU lost 7-2 to Minnesota in the Hall of Fame Game in St. Paul last weekend. Losing to the defending national champions is no shame, but it is, apparently, enough for Buckeye fans to call for the head of the coach on a platter.

    Fan disgruntlement aside, the Buckeyes were simply flat against the Gophers. After the loss, OSU head coach John Markell expressed displeasure with his team, a team that blew a five-minute advantage (including what would have been a full minute of five-on-three) at the end of the first by taking two penalties of its own within that five-minute span.

    “[After the second] I told them, ‘We’ve got to stay out of the box, and we’ve got to win one period. We’ve got to do something for ourselves,” said Markell.

    OSU goaltender Mike Betz was peppered with 51 shots in the game, 39 through the first 40 minutes.

    Conversely, the Nanooks split a weekend series with in-state rival Alaska-Anchorage, rebounding from Friday’s 4-2 loss to shut out UAA 4-0 in the second game. Lance Mayes had 27 saves in the opener; Preston McKay stopped 22 in his first shutout of the season.

    Freshman Kelly Czuy had two goals in the win.

    “They came out storming,” said Gadowsky of the Seawolves in UAA’s win. We came back in that game, and we played a strong game Saturday.”

    Gadowsky sees the series against Ohio State for what it is — the CCHA opener, and an important chance to take points from not just a league opponent but a clustermate.

    “I expect good hockey because they’re an excellent hockey team,” said Gadowsky. “This is a new year, and if we want to be successful we have to play well at home.”

    The bottom line? It’s a long way from Columbus to Fairbanks. It’s a big sheet of ice. Either team could sweep this weekend, and the teams are — in theory — evenly matched.

    If the Buckeyes mail in another performance, it will not only be a long weekend for OSU fans, but a very long season. The Nanooks will be ready, and if OSU is ready, fans in Fairbanks should be treated to some good hockey watching their favorite and least favorite teams.

    Picks: OSU 4-3, UAF 5-2

    Voros Watch

    UAF sophomore forward Aaron Voros earned two minor penalties for four minutes last weekend in two games against UAA. He also picked up an assist and finished +2 on the weekend.

    With the Buckeyes in town this week, however, both Voros’ point and penalty totals may be higher.

    Picks: four points, no more than 10 minutes in the box

    • The Fusco Brothers: America’s Dream

    By Adam Wodon
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    It wasn’t called the Frozen Four in 1983, when Scott and Mark Fusco headed to the season’s final weekend in Grand Forks, North Dakota. In fact, a lot was different back then.

    The squabbles between “Easterners” and “Westerners” in college hockey is as old as the sport. But in 1983, it might as well have been the U.S. vs. the Soviet Union, that’s how little the two “sides” seemed to know about each other.

    Just what were these Harvard guys doing here, some Grand Forks locals thought as the Fuscos sat down for the pre-tournament banquet dinner. They knew Minnesota, they knew Wisconsin — schools that had just bumped off the mighty Sioux. But not Harvard.

    “Do you guys have your own rink?” said a woman at the table.

    The Fuscos laughed, politely. “I know we’re new at the game,” Mark said, “but we’ll try to do our best.”

    Wisconsin won its semifinal the next night, and anticipated a rematch with the archrival Gophers in the final. But the Crimson had other plans. They pummeled Minnesota, 5-1, and put themselves right in the middle of the hockey map.

    “That was very gratifying,” Mark says today. “I wish we could’ve beaten Wisconsin, but they had a stacked team — [Chris] Chelios, [Bruce] Driver, [Mark] Behrend, [Pat] Flatley — it was a close game and they beat us.”

    The Fuscos were also put on that map. Three Olympic games, two Hobey Baker Awards, four All-America awards, and four trips to the NCAAs later, Mark and Scott Fusco — a couple boys next door from Burlington, Mass. — were honored with induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minn.

    “We all grow up in our own country and play the game because we like it,” says Mark, “but to be recognized as one of the greatest players from your country, it’s a pretty great honor.”

    East vs. West

    Following the 1983 NCAAs, the Fuscos soon became more familar with East-West tensions of a different and much more grandiose sort.

    Mark Fusco was the first defenseman to win the Hobey Baker Award, taking the honor in 1983.

    Mark Fusco was the first defenseman to win the Hobey Baker Award, taking the honor in 1983.

    The pair was selected to play on the 1984 Olympic team, following in the footsteps of their Harvard coach, Bill Cleary, who had played on the gold-medal winning 1960 team.

    During the pre-Olympic tour, there was still an afterglow from the United States’ stunning 1980 Olympic win over the Soviet Union … a victory that propelled hockey in America, and — it’s not overstating it to say — also gave hope to America as a country.

    That December, the nation still very much embroiled in the Cold War, Team USA met a lesser, but still formidable, Soviet Union team in a “rematch” in Lake Placid. In hockey terms, this matchup wasn’t all that big a deal. In sociological terms, it was huge. The game was broadcast on national television.

    “It was an unbelieveable atmosphere,” says Scott. “The whole town of Lake Placid was packed in. I’ve never been in a rink so loud. The place was going crazy when we were in the locker room.”

    “I remember going out on the ice,” Mark remembers, “and I’ve never felt the same feeling as going out on the ice. It was a nationalistic feeling. It was the first time a Soviet team had been back. It was still the height of the Cold War, and we beat ’em, and the people were going ballistic. It really was something unique and special.

    “It’s like the ghosts of American hockey were hanging right in the rafters. It was a unique feeling. I don’t think an American team will have this issue again. So the ’80 team did a great thing for all of hockey and certainly American hockey, and paving the way for guys like me.”

    Unfortunately, the U.S. could not match that success in the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo. Playing with the weight of a nation’s expectations, the Americans lost to Canada in the opening game, one day before the actual opening ceremonies, and could never get on track.

    "The point it drove home to American players was, for the first time, we can play with anybody. These guys are just like us, a few years older than I was at the time, and coming through the same system, the same background, and could play with any players in the world."

    — Scott Fusco about the 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medal

    “I don’t think we felt that much [pressure] until we got to the Olympics,” says Scott. “It was actually a great year. We had unbelievable sponsorshiop and support as we did our pre-Olympic schedule, everywhere we went, we were the big show in town. It was very exciting.

    “I think it did hit us when we got to the Olympics that there were these expectations here, and we had a very young team and we didn’t really perform up to our capabilities.”

    Again, it was a different time. With Sarajevo then a crowning jewel of Yugoslavia, today, it’s been ravaged by war.

    “What I think back to are the people that we met,” says Scott. “The people were very nice, very friendly, they would go out of the way to do anything for us when we were there. As you travel around and meet people from different cultures and backgrounds, you realize they’re the same as we are. Their political situation may be different, or their economic situation, but they’re just people. They want the same thing, and every once in a while you think about what they’re going through compared to what we have here, and it makes you sad in a way.

    “Ten years later, [someone] did an extensive documentary about it. They showed the old rink; they had U.N. peacekeeper vehicles parked in the wall.”

    Cambridge Revival

    The changes at Harvard were much less geo-political, but no less vast in a relative sense, from the time Mark Fusco arrived, until the time Scott Fusco left.

    A struggling program in 1979, Fusco went to Harvard, hoping to help revitalize it and, more importantly, to get his degree. It was before 1980, before American Bobby Carpenter was a Sports Illustrated cover boy, and U.S. kids just didn’t think about the NHL in those days.

    “I met [Cleary] and I decided I really wanted to go to Harvard,” says Mark. “It’s a great school, and at that time in high school, I had no reason to think I’d be a good enough player to play after college. So I just wanted to go to college and get a great education.

    “It was a different time. … The odds of an American kid making the NHL were still fairly slim.”

    Mark’s arrival coincided with the building of a new rink, Bright Arena.

    “All of a sudden, we had one of the best facilities. So what was a negative became a positive. And I think Harvard changed their recruiting policies, trying to go out into the Western U.S. and Canada to recruit the best players.”

    And as the changes were occurring at Harvard, they were happening everywhere else, too.

    It’s almost a cliche to say it now, but it’s no less true; when the 1980 U.S. Olympic team won the gold medal, the shockwaves it sent through American hockey — and America — were enormous.

    “It certanily changed my thoughts,” says Mark. “When they won the gold medal, I think everybody looked up and said, ‘That would be pretty good to be an Olympian.’ And I really set my sights on becoming an Olympian.”

    Scott was still in prep school at Belmont, but the impact was the same.

    “The point it drove home to American players was, for the first time, we can play with anybody,” says Scott. “These guys are just like us, a few years older than I was at the time, and coming through the same system, the same background, and could play with any players in the world. And immediately after that, a lot of them did well in the NHL, and more and more Americans started doing well in pro hockey.”

    The Crimson were still below .500 in Mark’s sophomore season, but the portent of things to come arrived in February, when they won the Beanpot for the first time since 1977.

    “That really set the stage for Harvard to have a good program in the ’80s,” Mark says. “When we won that, it proved we were on the upswing. We beat BC, which was one of the best teams in the country. That was a big difference.”

    As this was happening, Scott was making his college decision.

    “I was approached by a junior team,” says Scott. “I was playing in the midget nationals and a team talked to me about going up there. But it was one conversation. No one really did it at that time.”

    Had Scott not gone to Harvard, big brother might never let him hear the end of it. Mark was looking forward to playing with his brother, but, more importantly, looking forward to Scott’s goal-scoring prowess.

    Scott Fusco scored 107 goals in four seasons at Harvard, and played in two Olympic games.

    Scott Fusco scored 107 goals in four seasons at Harvard, and played in two Olympic games.

    “We really needed [Scott],” says Mark. “It made a big difference when he showed up, and the overall quality of the players on our team went up. We really didn’t have a [sniper] until he showed up.

    “[And] Neil Sheehy, he was a forward and really wasn’t a good forward. He changed positions and became a defenseman. That made a big difference on our team as well, and he became a good defenseman. That really solidified things; it gave us size and strength.”

    Ultimately, there really was no big choice for Scott.

    “The money wasn’t as big in the NHL. So from the player’s side, the decision was, you basically went to college,” Scott says. “Even if you made it big in the NHL, it wasn’t a huge amount of money. Now you’re talking millions and millions of dollars. It adds complexity to the equations. What’s the best way to get that pot of gold. Most American players 20 years ago were more interested in going to college, and if pro hockey developed after, you kinda take that as it comes.”

    Crimson and Hobey, Over and Over

    After three solid recruiting classes, and the Beanpot win, Harvard got another big win over BC in the ECAC tournament. Despite heading into the playoffs below .500, the Crimson then blew out Clarkson in the semifinals, before losing to Northeastern in the finals. They wound up getting an NCAA tournament bid, before losing to Wisconsin in the first round.

    “I think we learned a lot,” says Mark. “And then my last year, we started off 8-0, and we only lost nine games all season.”

    This time, the ECAC tournament championship was theirs. Personally, Scott lit it up for 33 goals in his sophomore year, and Mark followed up a 40-point season with 46 from the backline. And the Crimson marched their way to the NCAA semifinals in Grand Forks, N.D.

    And if the sight of a bunch of Harvard nerds in the semifinals was good for a big shrug, imagine the scene when Mark had the nerve to win the third-ever Hobey Baker Award, beating out the likes of future NHL’ers Scott Bjugstad, Bob Brooke, James Patrick and Randy Velischek. He was the first defenseman, and first “Easterner” to win the award.

    “It was some sort of function room at the rink,” says Joe Bertagna, a former Harvard goalie and current commissioner of Hockey East, who then worked in Harvard’s athletic department. “And as soon as they announced it, there were like 20 writers, and they announced ‘Mark Fusco from Harvard’ and all the Western writers walked out of the room.

    “It was completely Dark Ages when you think what they do now with the Hobey.”

    With the Fuscos away for the Olympics, Harvard slipped under .500 the following season, which was only a temporary setback until Scott’s return for his junior season in 1984-85.

    Meanwhile, Mark got a contract with the NHL’s Hartford Whalers. Fate allowed him to play his first NHL game in Boston Garden.

    “I don’t think many NHL games have been snowed out, but we were snowed out in Montreal on a Tuesday night, and we ended up playing in Boston on Saturday. So I guess it was destined.”

    After 17 games following the Olympics, Mark played 63 for Hartford the next season, scoring three goals, including his first against Boston. But when Hartford wanted to send him to the minors, Mark decided to call it a career.

    “I had just gotten really badly hurt, and I think, yeah, there was the issue they were going to send me down and that was catalyst for things,” Mark says. “But I got really badly hurt and had many head injuries during my career, and this was the worst one.

    “Basically, a guy [New Jersey’s Jan Ludvig] pulled my helmet off and I got checked into the glass. … I spent a week in the hospital. So it was a combination of things, and I don’t regret my decision to leave. I just felt it was time. I never really as a kid thought about hockey as a career. I did it because I liked it, and that’s why I went to Harvard, so I’d be able to do other things.”

    “It’s really all your perspective on things. My perspective was to be educated and I really wanted to go to business school — and to Harvard business school — and I did. I think the decision in Hartford, I got really badly hurt, and I didn’t feel good. And I hadn’t played any minor league games to that point, and I really didn’t want to go backwards. And it was time at a crossroads. There’s a lot of things to do in life … I’m educated, let’s move on to the next thing.”

    Meanwhile, the ECAC Scott returned to had also changed. Bigger than any Eastern hockey-Western hockey squabble there had been, the Ivy/non-Ivy squabble resulted in a whole new set of hockey tensions, and the creation of Hockey East. The ECACs 17 teams had turned into 11, and Harvard lost some rivalries.

    But soon that was forgotten, as Scott went about the business of tearing up the ECAC and RPI steamrolled its way to a national title. Scott scored a career-high 34 goals and 81 points, but the Crimson fell short of the finals, and Scott lost the Hobey Baker Award to Minnesota-Duluth’s Bill Watson.

    “Bill Watson was a good player, they had a good team,” Scott says. “I can’t say it was a bad pick. A lot of time with the awards it depends on where you’re from, and what year it is; East-West, one wins two in a row, then it’s the other side’s turn to win.”

    Mark and Scott Fusco after Scott was named winner of the 1986 Hobey Baker Award.

    Mark and Scott Fusco after Scott was named winner of the 1986 Hobey Baker Award.

    The next season was Scott’s last to make a last impression and join his brother among the ranks of Hobey elite, and he didn’t squander the opportunity. Helped by an infusion of young players by the names of Lane MacDonald, Ed Krayer and Allan Bourbeau — names that would become quite important three years later when the Crimson finally won the elusive national championship — Harvard rolled its way back to the national semifinals.

    But in a semifinal win against Denver, Scott got hurt. The Crimson went on to lose a bitterly disappointing 6-5 game to Michigan State in the finals.

    “We had the lead most of the game,” says Scott, holding not the slightest bitterness about the situation. “You always think, could I have made a difference? Maybe yes, maybe no. The game could’ve taken a totally different path, who knows.

    “I knew I wasn’t going to play the next day, [but] it wasn’t a serious injury. At the time, once you got over that point of ‘I’m not going to play,’ there’s nothing I could do about it. I was still excited to be in the finals and hopeful we could pull it out anyway. It was hard to watch, very nervewracking. …

    “It was a disappointing way to end a career, but overall I don’t have any bad things to say. I was given a great opportunity by coach Cleary and the coaching staff, we had a good group of guys and were very successful.”

    End of an Era

    Scott decided to go to Switzerland to play pro hockey the next season, and then geared himself up for another Olympics, this time in Calgary in 1988. It was the last time the U.S. would play the Soviet Union in a meaningful game, before the collapse of Communism that came rapidly over the next couple of years.

    Olympic teammate Peter Laviolette, now the coach of the NHL’s New York Islanders, remembers Scott fondly.

    “I remember him as being an honest hard-working American kid,” says Laviolette. “You want good people to represent the United States and he was one of those people.

    “He had talent, but he worked hard at it. He cared about the game, he cared about winning hockey games — but probably the thing that sticks out most is that he was a good person.”

    The ’88 Olympic team was even more loaded than the disappointing ’84 one. Brian Leetch, Craig Janney, Mike Richter, Kevin Stevens, Scott Young, Brian Mullen … But, again, there was no medal.

    “Through the whole tournament, we had a tendency to make a mistake at the wrong time,” says Scott. “Either give up a bad goal, take a bad penalty. But in terms of competitiveness, we pretty mcuh dominated every team, even the games we lost. So that was frustrating because we felt we should have done much better. Had we had a break gone our way, or cut down on our mistkes just a little bit, we probably would have been in contention to win a medal. We had enough talent to do that.”

    And then … Scott followed in his brother’s footsteps, and quietly said goodbye to competitive hockey.

    “I just felt I played a lot of hockey, had done pretty much all I wanted to do, and it was time for me to do something else,” says Scott. “And I just wasn’t that excited to continue to play hockey.

    “It was never a huge goal of mine growing up to play in the NHL. I just took one step at a time and followed the path that led me. So it’s never really bothered me.”

    Something Old, Something New

    Fifteen years later, the Fuscos have parlayed what was once a family software testing business into executive positions for a major corporation. Mark was recently named president at Ajilon Consulting, an IT services provider which acquired the Fuscos’ business.

    It’s as if those philosophies of their old coach, Bill Cleary, live on. The deep-seeded belief that amateur athletics is the ultimate ideal. Also a U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame member, fans of today may not remember how great a player Cleary was, and how, as a coach, his passion for his ideals came out in everything he did.

    “He was just a great guy to play for. He’s such a competitive guy, and he let the players play,” Scott says. “We had very few rules about what we had to do on the ice. As a forward, as long as we had one forward in a defensive position, that’s all we needed. It’s not like it is now where, ‘You four guys stand in center ice and we’ll let one guy go in and play offense.’ We played a very fast game, we moved the puck, we skated, we pressed the offense a lot.

    “Teams just play so much more defensive. In the ECAC in particular, it’s just, a lot of the teams aren’t very talented. They figure, if they can get into the third period in a one-goal game, you have a chance to win. You get a power play, get a lucky break, someone makes a nice play and ties it up.

    “He was definitely a disciplinarian, but he had a great knack of keeping practice light, knowing when the team needed a day to just fool around and have some fun, and then there were days we had to knuckle down and work hard. At a place like Harvard, it was very successful because you have a lot of acadmeic stress, so in some ways it’s hard to really drive the guys every day for six months. And it worked. We had fun. Everyone loved coming to the rink every day.”

    Now the hockey fix is had on Sunday mornings, where the Fuscos can still be found playing every week at Bright Arena, in a who’s who of Ivy League and Harvard hockey lore. In what has to be the smartest regular pickup game in the world this side of the Oxford intramural league — the Fuscos play with MacDonald, Cleary, Kirk Neilson, ex-NHL and Princeton defenseman Mike McKee, and a host of others.

    It’s a chance to remember the old days, especially playing for Cleary.

    “Occassionally, the old coach comes out in him sometimes, when guys aren’t doing what he thinks they should be doing,” says Scott, as the memories come back.

    It’s not a bad life for a couple Harvard hockey yokels, eh?

    2002-03 RIT Season Preview

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    It seems like every preseason RIT fans are talking about losing an All-American to graduation. Jamie Morris, Pat Staerker, Steve Toll.

    A look at the ’02-’03 preseason shows nothing different, as RIT tries to find a way to replace three-time first-team All-American and 2002 AHCA College Division Player of the Year Jerry Galway.

    “Obviously Galway is a big loss,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson. “We’re hoping for some strength in numbers. We’ll take a look at that and see where we stand. To replace one player, I don’t think you can ever replace just one guy. And it may not be freshmen. I think internally it is who is going to step up from the other classes as well.”

    Galway was one of the best two-way defensemen ever at RIT. Quarterbacking the power play is perhaps where his loss will be felt the most.

    “The two Ryans [Franke and Fairbarn] are where we will look to fill in that role,” said Wilson. “Franke’s strength is still in his offense. He may be as gifted offensively as Jerry was, but Galway was a better all-around guy.”

    New Kids on the Block

    There is a youth movement afoot at RIT. Nine freshmen will be joining the team this year, the biggest class that Wilson has recruited as he enters his fourth year as coach.

    The defensive freshmen are the ones everyone will be looking at early in the season. Marc Hyman, who scored 33 points in 45 games for Thornhill, leads the group. Unfortunately, Hyman suffered a broken wrist, which set back his work in camp. He is back on the ice now and catching up fast.

    “He’s another key guy power play-wise and has good size,” said Wilson.

    J.R. Holmes also joins the Tigers. Holmes played 12 games for Niagara in the 2000-2001 season, and comes to RIT as a sophomore.

    Ian Fazzi, a native of San Jose, California, played for Northwood Prep last season. Fazzi has a blistering slapshot from the point and is physical in his own zone.

    Up front, the Tigers are looking for the freshmen forwards to add to their already potent offense. Darren Doherty is a small, speedy forward who tallied 83 points in 49 games for Cobourg (OPJHL) last year.

    “He is just getting acquainted,” said Wilson. “You see flashes, but nothing really consistent. He’s going to be real good. He’s a lot stronger on his feet than I anticipated. He’s just getting used to the speed of having to play at a higher tempo.”

    francke

    francke

    Craig Hupp, from the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Jr. B team, has also impressed the RIT coaching staff. “He’s kind of come out of nowhere, and is playing real well so far,” said Wilson.

    Rounding out the forwards is Brent Macovi, who is out with a rib injury.

    RIT’s rock-solid goaltender, Tyler Euverman, is a senior this year, so Wilson has begun to look for someone to step into his shoes next season. Wilson brought in two freshman goaltenders this year so he could put them in some game situations and see how they react. George Eliopioulous and David Wrisley will both try to succeed Euverman.

    “I think our goaltending has really jumped up,” said Wilson. “We have great depth. And I think we have a really good future. Tyler is clearly our number-one, but I wanted to bring in some guys to take a look at.”

    With so many new recruits, veteran leadership becomes even more important. Senior Sam Hill will wear the captain’s ‘C’ this season, with fellow senior Mike Bournazakis and junior Ryan Fairbarn as assistant captains.

    “This year maybe more so than other years, even those without the letters have all been through the battles, so they are very well prepared at leading our team as well,” said Wilson. “I have been very impressed with the initiative our players have taken in [weight]lifting , and things like that, besides what is mandatory for them. We’ve got a long ways to go, on conditioning, and defensively being more structured.”

    A Schedule From Heaven

    RIT fans are in for a rare treat this season with 16 regular-season home games. The Tigers haven’t had that many on the schedule since the late ’80s.

    “I’ve been trying to [get more home games] for years now,” said Wilson. “It is kind of a reward for the fans and the team.”

    Also back on the schedule this season are games against longtime SUNYAC rivals Plattsburgh and Potsdam. For various reasons, those teams fell off RIT’s schedule a few years ago. Wilson worked hard with both coaches, and the rivalries will be renewed this year.

    “We’re looking forward to the rivalry,” said Wilson. “It’s been long overdue. It only makes sense to play these teams.”

    Wilson is also an advocate for the new travel partner system in the ECAC West.

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    “I think it’s great,” said Wilson. “I think our league is starting to come together. The coaches have worked very hard on it, with the support of the athletic directors.”

    One thing missing from the schedule this year is the Chase Rochester Cup Tournament, which pitted the four Rochester-area teams — Brockport, Hobart, Geneseo, and RIT — in a season-opening tournament based on the very successful annual Chase Basketball Tournament. However, since these four teams already play each other regularly in hockey, the tournament seemed a little redundant.

    Even though the tournament won’t be played this year, Wilson is entertaining thoughts of resurrecting it in the future, albeit with a little different format.

    “I think we would like to change the format a little bit,” said Wilson. “Why are we doing this when we play Hobart several games already? I think it would be better with [say] Geneseo, and then attract two other teams from elsewhere. It is really hard to do your own tournament, because you are limited to who you can play at the time of year that we would like to play that tournament. So, if I were to have another team with me on that, then getting two teams is a little easier than getting three teams.”

    Summing It Up

    With the largest recruiting class in years, the outlook for the Tigers is a little more muddied than fans are used to. But the potent offense is mostly intact, and an all-star goaltender is still in net, so the Tigers should once again be in the mix at the end of the season.

    “I think it is going to be a great year,” said Wilson. “Everyone is touting our league. Somehow people look at our league lightly. I would love to see anyone come in and play us, Elmira, and Manhattanville. Those three teams can match up with anyone in the country. The intensity in our games is that much more than anyone else. We can’t lose in our league, because league gains home ice, and home ice is so important to get to the NCAAs.”

    2002-03 Manhattanville Season Preview

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    This year is when life gets interesting for the Manhattanville hockey team, its coach Keith Levinthal, and its fans.

    Manhattanville’s fourth recruiting class enters this year as freshmen. Over the past three years, the team has had a taste of some success and some frustrations. The Valiants reached the ECAC West championship game once (2000), and made the playoffs all three years. However, inconsistent play has plagued the Valiants, causing them to lose games they perhaps should have won.

    While building rapidly, the team has been riding the “new program” label, becoming the model for other new teams. However, with four full classes in the rink, Manhattanville is moving out of the that phase and into the established category of teams. These next few years will give the team the ability to earn a reputation either as a perennial contender, or as a plateaued, middle-of-the-road team.

    “I think we have always put pressure on ourselves to win, and we have always felt from the very beginning that that is good,” said Levinthal. “We dealt with expectations to win a lot, but that is where we want to be. It is really easy to lose perspective on things, but the reality is we’ve been significantly better every year. We played 27 times last year and only lost seven times. This is without a doubt our most talented team we have had here, probably our fastest team, maybe even our biggest team. If we work hard and play smart, we’re going to be good.”

    The Fourth Class

    Manhattanville brought in eight players this year; four forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie. Long known for having big bruisers on his team, Levinthal has been recruiting more and more skilled players for balance. This recruiting class includes a smattering of junior league all-stars, MVP’s, and team-leading scorers.

    “We think this is our most skilled class yet,” said Levinthal. “It will change the style of our team a little bit. The biggest change is from a flat-out skills standpoint. We have been slowly heading in this direction, but keep pushing to move in that direction. On defense, we have some guys who can move the puck. That was one of the needs we looked at from last year. Our forwards were good, but we had a hard time getting them the puck.”

    “For the forwards, three of the four kids are just damn good offensive players,” said Levinthal. “The fourth is a much more rounded player.”

    Two of the new forwards come from the same Winkler Flyers team in the MJHL. Ross Oldcorn was an MJHL second team All-Star and finalist for the league MVP award, scoring 100 points in 61 games.

    Billy Foulds, also from Winkler, is that “much more rounded player.”

    “He’s a gritty, hard-nosed, real good in the corner kind of guy,” said Levinthal.

    Joining Foulds and Oldcorn up front will be Dan Law (Trail Smoke Eaters, BCHL) and Tyler Resch (St. Albert Saints, AJHL).

    On defense, Levinthal recruited two players he hopes will help to get the breakout going, and a third who fits the classic Manhattanville mold.

    Galloway Carroll (Ft. MacMurray Oil Barrons, AJHL) was a defensive All-Star in the Alberta Junior league the last two seasons. “He’ll be one of those guys who can give us some more offense from back there,” said Levinthal.

    Scott Hoffart (Notre Dame Hounds, SJHL) will also be looked at to create some offense from the defensive side of the puck.

    Then there is Miles Fee (Dauphin Kings, MJHL), a monster defender at 6-5, 225 pounds who will ensure that no opposing player stands in front of the Valiant net for long. “He has some good skills for a big guy,” said Levinthal. “He will be real tough to play against in our new rink.”

    Losses

    Manhattanville didn’t escape unscathed during the offseason. The Valiants lost two of their stars from last year’s team. Goaltender Jon Peczka, who played in 18 games last season, returned to campus but will not be rejoining the team.

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    With Peczka out of the picture, the starting goaltender position is open. Senior Jeremy Hill, junior Chad Killam, and freshman Jay Chrapala all have a shot at earning the position.

    Also missing from the team this year is freshman standout Lee Stubbs. Stubbs was a speedy little forward, and was tied for third in scoring last season, tallying 11 goals and 18 assists. But he didn’t return to campus this fall for the start of classes.

    Home Early, Away Late

    Manhattanville’s schedule this season is one of extremes. The Valiants open up with four of their first five games on the road, including a tough early-season pair of league games at RIT and Hobart.

    “The weekend you can’t help but see is that RIT/Hobart weekend right off the bat,” said Levinthal.

    Then Manhattanville gets to enjoy the cozy confines of its new home rink (more on that shortly) for seven straight games before the Christmas break.

    “Part of that, with the ECAC West, is that we don’t have a lot of flexibility to get home games,” said Levinthal. “I do like the idea of playing home games early in the year and getting off to a good start, though.”

    The Valiants pay for that long pre-holiday homestand late in the season. After the holidays, Manhattanville begins the second half of the season at the Plattsburgh tournament and then stays on the road for seven of its remaining 12 games.

    “We have New England College in the first game of the Plattsburgh tournament, and it will be a tough game,” said Levinthal. “We’ve never been up [to Plattsburgh], and as we try to upgrade our schedule it is a good opportunity for us”

    Levinthal hasn’t been a big proponent in the past of the new ECAC West travel partner system. “We have had discussions about playing each other three times per season, which I kind of prefer,” said Levinthal. “But we’re OK with the travel partner system.”

    New Home

    After playing the last three seasons at Skate Nation Arena at New Roc City, Manhattanville moved a few miles northeast to Playland Ice Casino in Rye, N.Y. The new home of the Valiants is closer to campus, and has superior amenities for the team. Playland has been the practice facility for the New York Rangers since 1979.

    “The Rangers built their own facility, so we moved into where they were,” said Levinthal. “It has a very different kind of feel from New Roc. We moved into the Rangers locker room, which will be the envy of most D-III teams. The rink is painted in Manhattanville colors, and they have done a lot of things to make it feel like home for us. The ice size is a little different, at 208’x77′. It will be a real tough place for people to play.”

    Long and narrow, with an immense neutral zone, the rink at Playland will most definitely give Manhattanville a home-ice advantage.

    2002-03 Elmira Season Preview

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    It has been five long years since the Soaring Eagles have been invited to the NCAA tournament. Elmira’s last trip to the Big Dance was in the ’96-’97 season, when they lost a two game series to St. Johns in the quarterfinals. That ties the longest such stretch in school history, which first occurred back in the early ’80s.

    The Soaring Eagles came oh-so-close last season, twice. RIT scored the game winner in the closing seconds in a regular-season meeting. And then Elmira tallied what would have been a tying goal in the ECAC West championship game less than a second after time had expired.

    “You know, I just spent all off season getting that out of my mind,” said Elmira coach Tim Ceglarski. “Those three games that we played against RIT last year are some of the best games that any of our programs have seen in many years.”

    Last season was a learning experience for coaches and players. “I think we made some great strides last year,” said Ceglarski. “We played very well against ranked opponents. We had a couple of hiccups along the season, but I think our guys learned how to come and play and get pumped up for the better teams.”

    But enough of last year. This is a new season down at the Thunderdomes.

    “I don’t know if we want to look back and see the way we did last year, because the makeup of our team is so entirely different,” said Ceglarski. “We need to face each game as we are coming to it, and try to build off the momentum. We will come to play against the best teams in the country, but we need to come to play every single night. We have a relatively young team, and we will need to see how well they react to a tough schedule.”

    In The Back Office

    The key for Elmira this year is in its own defensive zone. Elmira lost two steady goaltenders and three top defensemen to graduation. The only holdover in net is junior goaltender Ben Sadler (.837 save%, 3.14 GAA) who played in only three games last season.

    Competing with Sadler for the starting job are two freshmen; Bill Owczarczak and Greg Fargo.

    “Billy O,” as he is called out of necessity, hails from West Seneca, N.Y. He is an athletic goaltender with a reputation for handling the puck well.

    Fargo comes from the junior hockey ranks of Kingston, Ontario, as a big, tall, stand-up goaltender. He plays his angles well.

    “The puck just seems to hit him,” Ceglarski said.

    colorscans/20012002/elm-manh-0301_1.jpg

    “We are very green back there [in net], not a lot of game experience at this level,” added Ceglarski. “That just means we need to buckle down and play good defense around them and give them a chance to get their feet wet before we get into the meat of the schedule in league play.”

    With the goaltending position up for grabs, the Soaring Eagle defense will need to carry a lot more weight this season. The good news for Elmira fans is that the Soaring Eagles return three solid players to form the nucleus of the new defensive unit.

    “We think we return three of the better defensemen in the league in Mike Clarke (7-19-26), Chris Mann (5-11-16), and Lawne Snyder (3-15-18),” said Ceglarski. “That is three pretty good veteran defensemen.”

    Two standout recruits both come from the Ontario Provincial Junior League. Andrew Morris is a 6-3, 225-pound defenseman who played for Couchiching. “He can move the puck very well, and plays very physically,” said Ceglarski.

    The other freshman that Ceglarski will rely on is Ashton McLean, from the Wexford Raiders, whom Ceglarski described as a “stay-at-home defensive defenseman who likes to play physical. Positionally, he is tremendous in his own zone.”

    “Without taking anything away from the group of six we had last year, we think our group of six defensemen will be much better than any group we have had over the last five to six years,” Ceglarski concluded.

    In The Front Office

    Up front, the theme stays the same for Elmira this season: everything starts from the defensive zone.

    “The idea for the forwards we brought in this year was to bring in some guys that can play both ends of the ice,” said Ceglarski. “We know we are going to be young on D and young in net, but will also have some offensive abilities as well.”

    Ceglarski lost First-Team ECAC West All-Star Steve Kaye after the season. Not only was Kaye tied for second in goals last season, he was the leader of the team on and off the ice for his entire four-year career at Elmira.

    “Obviously, you can’t replace a Steve Kaye,” said Ceglarski. “Steve brought a lot to the table with his play. Probably one of the best penalty killers in D-III hockey, and was the heart and soul of our team. So we had to try and find a way not to replace him, but to bring some other attributes to the table.”

    The other attributes Ceglarski was looking for were speed and ability to play both ends of the ice. He brought in four highly-touted freshmen to try and fill the void:

    Those four: Brandon Rose — “Very skilled, play making forward, plays both ends of the ice very well. Would rather pass than shoot.” Andrew Hawke — “a great two-way hockey player who can put up points but is also very strong in our defensive zone.” Randy Campolini — “a very fast offensive forward.” Scott Brady — “a smaller forward, very speedy and can move the puck to score some goals.”

    Those four will have some big shoes to fill, indeed.

    The Schedule

    Elmira once again faces a tough schedule, playing many teams expected to be in the top 15 in the national polls all season long.

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    The Soaring Eagles open up on the road against perennial western power St. Norbert’s. “A couple of these games are still held over from the past regime,” said Ceglarski. “Our guys are real excited about going out to St. Norbert’s. That should be a real eye-opener for our younger guys.”

    Unlike past seasons, Elmira has a nice mix of home and away games this year, never having more than four of either in a row. “We tried to get away from being away from our place more than three games in a row,” said Ceglarski. “We were able to try to get away from playing weekday games as well.”

    Another change is that the annual Thanksgiving weekend tournament hosted by Elmira appears to be no more. This was a highlight tournament, pitting top teams from the eastern and western conferences. Unfortunately, with the NCAA frowning on out-of-region play, the tournament had outlived its usefulness.

    “We got rid of [the tournament] for a number of different reasons,” said Ceglarski. “The out-of-region games, the NCAA doesn’t look too highly towards. It was a nice idea for a tournament, with the western teams, but it didn’t grow with the rest of college hockey.”

    Another new idea this season is the introduction of a travel partner system within the ECAC West. Elmira is paired up with Utica. “I think it is great,” said Ceglarski. “I think that is the way we need to go as a league. However, with six teams it is very difficult. I would like to see us have eight teams, it would be a heck of a lot easier. Right now, with six teams we have to do whatever is best for our league.”

    Elmira will experiment this season, playing its December 15 game against Johnson & Wales at the Coach USA Arena in downtown Elmira.

    “There are rumors that we bought the building or are moving down there permanently, so there is a lot of buzz about this,” said Ceglarski. “This is really a lot about promoting hockey in Elmira. We are happy to bring our product down to a group of people who have never seen us play.”

    Only a One Year Interruption

    Alumni Weekend has always been a spectacle at Elmira. Not only do former players come back to the Thunderdomes to reunite, play some hockey, and reminisce, but it also marks the annual war when the Soaring Eagles host RIT. Elmira and RIT have met on Alumni weekend for at least the last 20 years.

    But this year, due to a scheduling snafu, Elmira will face off against Manhattanville on Alumni Weekend.

    Ceglarski explained it this way. “We have played RIT on our alumni weekend for as long as anyone can remember. This year, the reason it got changed was because of the Empire 8 men’s and women’s schedules. Our scheduled alumni weekend had both basketball teams playing away.

    “So we had to change our alumni weekend, which was after RIT’s and our schedules were already complete. So there was no way that RIT could change their schedule. [RIT coach] Wayne [Wilson] has committed to be back on our alumni weekend schedule next year. We are happy to have Manhattanville on our schedule this year, which has turned into a great rivalry.”

    2002-03 Utica Season Preview

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    Last year was a learning experience for the Pioneers, as they started from nothing and quickly built a team people noticed. Gary Heenan’s theme last season was that his team of freshmen needed to gain maturity and learn to play like sophomores and juniors in order to achieve their goal of making the playoffs.

    The Pioneers fell just short of that goal, but gained a lot to carry into the coming season.

    “I don’t know that we ultimately achieved that level of maturity last year,” said Heenan. “Talent-wise, I think we’re there, but I think maturity hurt us coming down the stretch last year. It is experience, and we didn’t have it. I don’t think it was ever a question of talent. It was a question of guys being really prepared and going after it 60 minutes at a time. We’re really excited to have guys back who can say they have experience now. It’s not that we’re a second-year team, it’s that we’ve been here already so there really are no excuses for lack of maturity this year.”

    But with the success of last year’s inaugural season comes a downside. Utica won’t be able to take teams by surprise, and will instead need to fight for every win to achieve their lofty goals.

    “In our league, you have to show up every day,” said Heenan. “We’ve got to be ready every game. I still believe it is the strongest conference in the country. And I believe that we fit into that conference. One thing I think we learned was that last year we may have surprised some guys; they weren’t expecting much from a first-year club. We’re not going to have that luxury this year.

    “With our record and what we achieved last year, teams are going to be prepared for us and be prepared for a battle. We’ve got to work that much harder and execute that much more, for us to be successful. Our goal this year is to fight for that third spot in the playoffs. We were tremendously disappointed last year (to miss the playoffs) because we thought it was achievable. Playoffs will remain the goal, but we feel that we could achieve a third-place spot.”

    Newcomers

    There are two critical areas to address during the second and third year of building a college hockey team. The first of those is the need to balance the class size on the team. All but two members of last year’s Utica squad were freshmen. Obviously, a coach would like to remain loyal to those players who helped him to start the team. However, he also needs to continually recruit at least a handful of players each year in order to build a mix from freshmen to seniors over the first four years of the program.

    Heenan worked towards that goal this year by bringing in six freshmen. And in doing so, he also began to address the second critical area. New teams can have so many glaring deficiencies that it is impossible to plug all of the holes at once. So a coach needs to prioritize them, and recruit players to fill the neediest places first.

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    Looking at last season, the Utica coaching staff felt that goal-scoring needed immediate attention.

    “We brought in all of the freshmen for the purpose of scoring goals,” said Heenan. “We thought our goal production was down last year. Defensively we were pretty solid, we just need more goal-scoring.”

    Good hands and puck handling skills are mentioned repeatedly as Heenan talks about his recruits.

    He describes forward Trent Flory (Buffalo, OPJHL) as “a real hands guy, who when in tight, the puck is going to be in under the crossbar.”

    Pat Caslin (Springfield, NAHL), another forward, continues the trend. “His puck protection skills are outstanding,” said Heenan. “He is a big kid, and should be one of the premier players in our league as a freshman.”

    Shane Presley (Buffalo, OPJHL), a third freshman at forward, was recruited both for his puck skills as well as to add toughness to the forwards. “Shane is more of a power forward, a strong skater who finishes every hit,” said Heenan. “He is a workhorse who has strong hands.”

    Not all of the recruits were forwards, but the same theme holds for the single defenseman recruited: Ed Mullen (Walpole, EJHL). “Eddie is a power play-type defenseman who will hopefully quarterback the power play for us,” said Heenan.

    Guiding the freshmen, and the wagonload of sophomores on this young Pioneer team, will be sophomore captain Jimmy Sokol. Sokol led Utica in the scoring last year tallying 17 goals and 12 assists, and was named the ECAC West Rookie of the Year.

    “On and off the ice, Jimmy is just a character person,” said Heenan. “He is one of those that not only do the guys want to look to, but that I’ll lean on as well for his opinion at times.”

    A Toughie of a Schedule

    Utica starts its season hosting Potsdam and Oswego, two tough teams that are expected to contend for top honors in the SUNYAC this season. This will put the Pioneers to the test early, but Heenan believes that playing the top teams around the nation will help develop his team into the elite class.

    “I’ve been criticized quite a bit for the strength of our schedule,” said Heenan. “Adding Potsdam, Oswego, Hamilton twice, going to Norwich. I’d be surprised if we aren’t in the top ten in strength of schedule in the nation. It is my belief that if we are going to get better, we’ve got to play the best teams right now. As a recruiting tool, I want to sell schedule. I want to be in the rinks that are alive, and that really define college hockey.”

    Utica follows up those two home games with six road contests, the first batch of what will be 15 games away from the friendly confines of the Utica Aud. This magnifies the importance of the first two games as Utica tries to build confidence from the start.

    “Last year it was the other side. Year in, year out, [the number of home games] changes,” said Heenan. “When you play these top teams, it is tough for them to come to your rink. For a young team, it is tough to go on the road. It is a challenge. As long as we have success in those first two games at home to set the foundation, we should be all set. ”

    One thing Heenan does like is the ECAC West travel partner system.

    “Strangely enough, it was my idea to bring it to the table,” said Heenan. “It helps us. It takes out guys playing with the schedule to try and manipulate it to their advantage. It is kind of a check-and-balance that you do have to play Friday and Saturday, that you don’t have single-game weekends. I think it levels the playing field a little bit more.”

    Continuing to Build

    Continuing to build will be the theme for Utica. The Pioneers have established a foundation with the success of last year. Now they need to firm it up, proving that last year wasn’t a fluke, and take the next steps up the ladder towards the top of the league. More tools are brought to the table with this year’s freshman class. It’s up to Heenan to put those tools to good use.

    2002-03 ECAC West Season Preview

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    Stability. Plain old, simple stability. That is the key word this year in the ECAC West. For the first time in five years, the same teams will be entering the new season with the same coaches.

    What an extraordinary event.

    The instability started following the 1997-98 season, when Canisius and Niagara left the ECAC West to move up to Division I play. Mercyhurst followed suit a year later. Fortunately for the ECAC West, Manhattanville joined to prevent the league from collapsing completely.

    The 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons were played with only four teams. Then last season Utica and Neumann joined to expand the league back to a reasonably-prolific six teams.

    The ECAC West is no longer on the brink of extinction, and the coaches have the opportunity to truly improve the league.

    The position of head coach within the league hasn’t been any more stable over the last four years than the membership has been. All of the longtime coaches resigned or were replaced with newcomers: Eric Hoffberg after 10 seasons with RIT, Glenn Thomaris after 14 seasons with Elmira, and Bill Greer after 16 years with Hobart.

    The longest-tenured coaches in the ECAC West now are Keith Levinthal with Manhattanville of Wayne Wilson of RIT. Both are entering their fourth year with those teams.

    This year, everything is different. The dust appears to have finally settled. The same six teams that completed last season are all returning to compete again this year, with the same six head coaches. Truly remarkable, indeed.

    With that comes the ability to grow as a league. Many of the coaches had long conversations over the summer exchanging creative ideas on how to improve the league. The ECAC West is no longer on the brink of extinction, and the coaches have the opportunity to truly improve the league, both in how things operate internally and also to make more visible improvements that the casual fan might notice.

    Some of those efforts have already been in the news. The recent athletic directors’ meeting considered a proposal to alter the league schedule to include each team playing the others three times per year. That was voted down, but it is a taste of some of the efforts occurring behind the scenes. Stay tuned for more as the season progresses.

    The Picks

    On to the preview of the season. This year, it was very hard to make prognostications for the finishing order; the top three teams are very close, and even Hobart and Utica are breathing down the necks of the contenders. Below are the final picks, in order of predicted finish. Click on any team name to read its individual season preview.

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    Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers
    Coach: Wayne Wilson, fourth season, 72-10-4
    2001-02 Overall Record: 23-2-2, NCAA Quarterfinals
    2001-02 League Record: 9-1, regular-season champion, playoff champion
    Quick Hit: RIT brings in its largest class of recruits in years. The Tigers also will enjoy their most home games since the 1980s. Will the friendly confines of Ritter Arena help the freshmen settle in? The majority of the offense returned, and All-American Tyler Euverman is still in net, so the Tigers retained the target on their back with the No. 1 pick.

    Elmira Soaring Eagles
    Coach: Tim Ceglarski, second season, 18-9
    2001-02 Overall Record: 18-9
    2001-02 League Record: 8-2
    Quick Hit: Elmira’s biggest worry this season is squarely inside its defensive zone. The Soaring Eagles lost their top two goaltenders to graduation, and struggled at times last year on the breakout. Ceglarski and assistant Aaron Saul are renowned recruiters, but did they work their magic again this season?

    Manhattanville Valiants
    Coach: Keith Levinthal, fourth season, 38-35-6
    2001-02 Overall Record: 16-7-3
    2001-02 League Record: 5-4-1
    Quick Hit: This is the swing year for Manhattanville. Levinthal now has four full classes playing for him, and the Valiants are ready to shake off the moniker of being a “building” program. I originally had the Valiants picked in the No. 2 slot. But the loss in September of Jon Peczka and Lee Stubbs dropped them to No. 3 in my book. The questions in goal and the loss of their fastest skater put a lot of pressure on the freshmen.

    Hobart Statesmen
    Coach: Mark Taylor, third season, 16-31-4
    2001-02 Overall Record: 10-16
    2001-02 League Record: 5-5
    Quick Hit: The Statesmen only lost one senior from last year’s team; goaltender Adam Lavelle was a stud in every game. Those two factors give Hobart a slight — and I repeat, slight — edge over Utica to gain the fourth spot.

    Utica Pioneers
    Coach: Gary Heenan, second season, 10-12-3
    2001-02 Overall Record: 10-12-3
    2001-02 League Record: 2-7-1
    Quick Hit: Utica surprised many last season with a successful opening campaign. Expectations are now high as Heenan begins the second year in his scripted program of building the Pioneers into a contender. They will press Hobart right up to the end of the season for the fourth and final playoff position.

    Neumann Knights
    Coach: Nick Russo, fifth season, 16-70-2
    2001-02 Overall Record: 2-23
    2001-02 League Record: 0-10
    Quick Hit: Last season was an unmitigated disaster for the Knights. Not only did they lose all ten league contests, they weren’t competitive in many of the matches. The college has re-emphasized its commitment to the program, and Russo has recruited the best players he can find to start the program back toward respectability.

    2002-03 Neumann Season Preview

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    Last year was Neumann’s rookie season in the ECAC West. After playing an independent Division III schedule for three seasons, the Knights stepped into league play and received an eye-opening reception, getting thoroughly thumped in most of their contests.

    “It couldn’t get any worse than last year,” said Neumann coach Nick Russo. “I say that, and now they are going to be on the road for 16 games. It’s going to get a little bit worse travel-wise but it really can’t get worse otherwise.

    “Every morning I wake up, I still hear horns going off in Utica and bells being rung at RIT. ’24-0,’ I write in shampoo in the shower every morning. That was about as bad a season as you can go through. To survive that and stay together I feel the sense of unity this year. I feel the confidence that it’s going to get better.”

    Even with the repeated drubbings on the scoreboard, it was interesting to watch Neumann’s games towards the end of last season. The team could have gone one of two ways: self-destruction, imploding under the sheer frustration of playing hopeless contests, or coming together as a team, supporting each other through the low times, knowing that hockey is only a game.

    Russo kept the mood in the locker room light, stressing the importance of the team as family, and the players responded. Having weathered the storm last year, that unity should pay dividends.

    Catching Up With the Joneses

    However, Neumann still has a great void to cross before they become competitive in the league. The first step towards that goal is recruiting.

    “I knew that we had to ‘catch up with the Joneses,’ not just ‘keep up with the Joneses,'” said Russo. “I did a lot of travel this year for recruiting. One of the things I tried to do was to look at places [where other ECAC West teams] were recruiting, and I wanted to hit some places where they weren’t. So I spent a lot of energy in Alberta, around Calgary, and Quebec.”

    This past recruiting cycle was the first real opportunity that Russo could use the lure of playing in the ECAC West in his pitch to the potential recruits. That allowed him to get his foot in the door in places where before they wouldn’t talk to him.

    “It made a huge difference in the sense that, it is frustrating as a coach when kids don’t look you in the eye,” said Russo. “When you mention teams like RIT, Elmira, and Manhattanville, they’re on you. If you want to beat RIT and Elmira, you have to recruit kids that could play there.

    “It was a huge recruiting tool for me being in the ECAC West. Kids want to play those teams. Kids want to play at that level. … Fortunately, the school has given me the opportunity to do that. The school’s eyes were opened last year that if we want to make hockey work here, we have to let this guy recruit. Just being in the ECAC West made Neumann College realize that hockey is different out there.”

    Recruits

    With so many things having gone wrong last season, where was Russo to concentrate in improving his team? Play in the defensive zone was the answer.

    "Every morning I wake up, I still hear horns going off in Utica and bells being rung at RIT. ’24-0,’ I write in shampoo in the shower every morning."

    — Head coach Nick Russo, on Neumann’s struggles last year

    “As much as scoring was a problem last year, I think our bigger problem last year was keeping the puck out of our own net,” said Russo. “I really tried to recruit some forwards that can play two ways. The kids from Canada are two-way players, really tough and gritty defensively.”

    Russo recruited three forwards from Alberta, all with good offensive numbers and strong in their defensive zone. Jon Hancock (Cochrane, Alberta) played for the Cochrane Generals (HJHL) and tallied 41 points in 36 games. He also adds toughness, as Hancock amassed 193 penalty minutes in those same 36 games.

    Clark Minken hails from Calgary, Alberta, and tallied 24 points in 25 games for the Salt Lake Maple Leafs (WSHL) last season.

    Matt Mayer also comes to Neumann from Calgary, where he played for the Junior Flames (AMHL), scoring 24 points in 35 games.

    Defensive forwards won’t do much good unless Neumann also improves its defense, and it looks like Russo made some progress there as well. Joe Viscuse, a two-way player who can step into either a defenseman or forward role, is touted as the “best player in the Philly area.” Viscuse played last season for the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, a team that Russo has never been able to recruit from before, but now can thanks to the ECAC West.

    Tim Tabb (Boston Harbor Wolves, EJHL), Joe Ciocco (Lowell Jr. A Lock Monsters), and Joshua Riley (Catholic Memorial) also join Viscuse on defense.

    The new recruiting ability also helped Neumann with walk-on recruits this season. Paul Reuter (Waldorf, Maryland) played for Canterbury Prep the last two seasons, and decided he wanted to go to college somewhere closer to home. So he walked on at Neumann and has been a pleasant development.

    “I had heard a lot of things from the guys, and he looked like a pretty tough kid,” said Russo. “He was a surprise.”

    Schedule

    Neumann starts with a tough schedule each year, just competing against teams within the ECAC West. Add in games against geographic rival Lebanon Valley and the strength of schedule goes up even more. This season will be particularly tough, with 16 road games.

    “I don’t think it can get any tougher,” said Russo. “I did 16 home games last year because I didn’t want it to get any tougher. I’m looking down the road that hopefully it will flip-flop next year when these kids have a little more experience.”

    Russo is understandably ambivalent about the new ECAC West travel partner system.

    “I’m OK with it,” said Russo. “I’m so far away from everybody that it doesn’t really matter who my travel partner is.”

    It is a long process to build a new program into a competitive team in one of the toughest leagues in the nation. Neumann has the additional baggage of overcoming several years of negative momentum. But Russo and the Knights are making strides, and now have additional resources from Neumann to continue that process for years to come.

    The End of a Rotten Day

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    Five ayem. I awake with another splitting headache. It goes from the back of my head into my right eyeball. This makes five days in a row.

    Maybe it’s brain cancer, I worry. I tell myself to quit being a nutcase. I roll over. I’ve got to get back to sleep, but can’t. It’s been like this for a week now. No wonder my head feels like an egg that’s been dropped on the sidewalk.

    I toss and turn for two hours, but sleep won’t come. Exhausted, I finally drag myself out of bed.

    I feel like death warmed over.

    The house is freezing. It’ll be another six days before the furnace is serviced. In the meantime, pneumonia lurks like a mugger, ready to pounce as soon as my insomnia renders me helpless.

    I stagger to the bathroom. I stare into the mirror and groan. Brad Pitt won’t feel threatened today. My hair looks like Don King’s. My eyes are bloodshot. I glare at the face that for years has inspired women to think, “Not if he’s the last man on Earth.”

    Today is Friday. Usually that calls for jeans at the day job, but I’m covering a game tonight — the first of the season, no less — and will need to be reasonably dressed.

    I exhale loudly. My root canal of an attitude does not befit dress clothes. I pull on jeans and a T-shirt and toss the dress clothes in the direction of my gym bag.

    I check my email. Several readers are disappointed that this week’s column didn’t include a trivia question. They say that is the best part of my column. The trivia question is the best part of my column? There’s a shot to the family jewels. A trivia question being the best thing you write is like a woman falling in love with you because of your toenails.

    It’s going to be one of those days.

    I drop my son off at school because his own car has been totaled and we’re still getting the runaround from the insurance company. I think of the woman who almost killed us and my blood pressure soars.

    Forget brain cancer or pneumonia. I’ll be a goner thanks to a blown gasket in my brain. It’ll be the ultimate irony, a self-inflicted termination after surviving the crash. I am officially a basket case.

    I stop at the coffee shop, in dire need of a caffeine hit to clear the cobwebs. I am such a zombie, I walk past my own nephew. His high school French class has come for reasons I can’t fathom. To order French vanilla, extra, extra? Why weren’t my French classes more like that? Sadly, I know the answer to that question. When I was in high school, coffee shops hadn’t yet been invented.

    Somehow I make it to the day job. Why do they insist on having the lights on? I need to sleep.

    I resolve to exercise at lunch time. Get the blood pumping. Nothing could possibly make me feel any worse than I do already.

    Then again, I’ve underestimated my boss. He sends an email to the entire lab informing us that the project is in trouble. Of course, it has been in trouble since the Eisenhower administration. The boss says that it’s vital that we all work this weekend. Again. Both days.

    To show his solidarity with us peons, he has even cancelled his business trip to Europe. He thinks this is good for morale, but he’s mistaken. Now I have to cancel the order for the keg.

    Nonetheless, I maintain my faith that the company will eventually make all this extra work worth my while. If I’m lucky, I might even get a free T-shirt.

    Soon it’s lunchtime, but I can’t go to the fitness center until a guy gives me a file so I can start a test. Two hours ago, he said it would only take him five minutes. I’m still waiting, paralyzed, unable to do anything productive until he shows up.

    I go to my web browser. I check out my 401.k. It looks like my retirement will include eating Alpo three days a week.

    I check out my latest column. Not because I’m narcissistic. No, not me. I just want to see how it looks. With my brain cells dying at an alarming rate, I can almost wonder, “So what did the old buzzard write about this week?” and then be surprised at the result.

    I fear that this is the season I plummet into flat-out senility and write total garbage. That is, instead of the partial garbage I’ve become semi-famous for.

    After all, my best writing is the trivia question. Somebody, please, shoot me.

    But the column looks okay. That is, until a foreign word leaps out at me. My editor has changed a word. The impudence! Where exactly do editors get the idea that they can change my words? I know which one did it. If he were in the room with me right now, I’d strangle his neck.

    And then, of course, end up in the electric chair.

    But at least in that case, my death won’t have been in vain.

    Eventually, I get the necessary file from my co-worker and start the test. But now the cafeteria will be closed by the time I finish my workout. Should I just skip the exercise like I’ve done so many other times? And let my posterior continue to be best measured in degrees of longitude?

    No, I need to get the blood pumping and the gut receding. So I go to the cafeteria and decide for a healthy double-feature. I’ll not only exercise; I’ll get a salad for lunch, too. I’m so proud of myself. Someone should put a star on my forehead.

    I load the cucumbers, carrots and tomatoes into a small container that the cashier weighs. She announces that I owe five dollars and five cents. Five dollars for this swill? Five dollars for the taste equivalent of chewing cardboard? I’d have been better off getting a cheeseburger and fries. The coronary infarction would kill me, but at least I wouldn’t die penniless, starving and miserable.

    I modify the old joke to fit vegetarians. They don’t live longer. It just feels that way.

    I stow the priceless vegetables in the refrigerator and head for the fitness center. I’ll get the blood pumping. I’ll get the fat burning. I’ll get an exercise high.

    Maybe, maybe not.

    I’ve put earplugs in and am peddling away on the stationary bike, reading a short story by David Morrell. Within a page and a half, however, the woman on the bike next to me goes to the TV and cranks the soap opera up to full volume. The short story I’m trying to read is soon being pulverized to bits by words from the soap opera that blast through my earplugs. They’re trapped on a stalled elevator. They kiss, softly at first and then with great ferocity. They tell each other that, oh, this is wrong. Then they do it some more. Very, very wrong. Oh, oh, oh. More, more, more.

    I toss the book aside. I give up. I tell myself to enjoy the workout. Remember that exercise high, I tell myself.

    Instead, I think about what I am doing. Exerting great energy, but going nowhere. Sounds like the day job.

    Eventually, I am back at my desk, luxuriating over my five-dollars-and-change vegetables. I think that if I’d been eating these at five ayem this morning, I’d have had no trouble getting back to sleep.

    Not to worry, I tell myself. Heading into Boston for the game tonight, I’ll be picking up my daughter to bring her into the city. We’ll stop at a favorite Thai food restaurant, no doubt joined by her boyfriend. The pad thai will make up for the expensive cardboard I’m enduring now.

    Well, so much for that idea. I get a message that my daughter needed to get into the city earlier than planned, so she took the train.

    This is awful news. I’d been looking forward to being told by my wonderful daughter that I have an I.Q. of zero. She loves me, but now that she’s a college student she has become aware that intellectually I am a turnip. This is why I am paying staggering sums of tuition? So that my daughter can learn that I am a nincompoop? Her mother would be happy to teach her that for free.

    Oh, well, I tell myself, I’ll get the Thai food all by my lonesome.

    I leave two hours before game time for a drive that typically takes less than an hour.

    I almost leave the tape recorder on my desk. Since I can’t read my own writing, taping is a must. I always double-check that I have the recorder, but almost forget this time. Do those dying brain cells just build up inside my skull or do they leak out somehow? Either answer seems repugnant.

    Southbound traffic should not be a problem this far north of Boston. I should be going against all the flow. Yet the entrance ramp onto Route 93, which has never taken more than three or four minutes, takes almost an hour. I sit powerless to stop all the cars cutting in line.

    Tonight, if I weren’t such a calm, well-adjusted individual, road rage would put me six feet under.

    As I sit there and the clock advances while my car does not, I realize that there’ll be no time for Thai food. My stomach growls. There goes the reward for the veggies of great price and limited taste. I suddenly wonder if all that roughage might not have been such a good idea.

    The pounding in my head, which had subsided earlier, is back. I feel as old as the pyramids.

    Eventually, I get past the bottleneck, a horrifying-looking accident that strikes too close to home. I look the other way. I recite this past month’s mantra, “Lucky to be alive. Lucky to be alive.”

    Soon I return to form, though, and resume grumbling about insurance companies, bosses and vegetables.

    I park and see that I’ll be on time for the game, but as I rush through the rain toward the arena, my stomach is growling, my head is pounding and I wonder what I’m going to write about. My colleague and good friend, Jim Connelly, will be writing the game story. I’ll be writing a game-day feature.

    It’s been a while since I’ve seen Jim, but this might not be a good day for it. Every time I see him, he’s with a different attractive female. Perhaps tonight I’ll die of envy.

    I get something to eat inside the arena, but no one would confuse it with pad thai. I scurry to the press box, say my hellos and take my seat. I rub my pounding temples.

    The band is blaring and the students are cheering, which should be toxic twins for my reverberating cranial cavity, but instead I begin to feel better.

    A female’s bare midriff catches my attention. My mood brightens.

    But I digress …

    In the student section, I see a face painted with the school colors. I smile.

    The players are introduced. The visitors are treated with the customary rudeness. The home team is greeted with rousing cheers.

    The singer of the anthem is introduced and I look down from my position above the ice. My eyes involuntarily swivel to the cheerleaders to my right. My eyes involuntarily linger.

    Once again, I digress …

    The puck is dropped. Before the game is a minute old, the visitors pick up a penalty. The students chant, “Get off the ice! Get off the ice!”

    My headache has receded into the background.

    At the 12-minute mark, Brian Tudrick scores the first goal for Northeastern. I love kids like “Tuddie,” who’ve been given limited physical tools — he’s 5-10 — but scratch-and-claw their way through redshirt seasons, games in the stands, and tough-to-shake fourth-line status. My own son, with much the same physique, was once told to watch Tudrick and learn from him. He’ll later score yet another goal, earn third-star honors and be signing autographs for the kids downstairs.

    I smile broadly.

    It’s all coming back to me. The bands … the fans … everything that makes up this unique atmosphere … the games played at full intensity … coaches who are not only intelligent and articulate, but also considerate … players who are still a pleasure to talk to even if they’re the stars … hard-working players who aren’t usually the stars, but through perseverance still get their moment of glory … and all of college hockey’s many delightful subtleties.

    That’s why we come back every year. That’s why we love the game.

    And so even though this contest isn’t much of a contest — Northeastern thumps Connecticut, 10-1 — there’s still a smile on my face.

    As rotten days go, I could at least appreciate the finale.

    2002-03 Hobart Season Preview

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    Adding depth is the name of the game this year for Hobart. The Statesmen played all of last season with only 14 forwards and six defensemen. Luckily for Hobart, the team didn’t suffer a lot of injuries during the season, and made it through without the bench shrinking too much. Head coach Mark Taylor is trying to fix that this season by bringing in another large class of recruits.

    “We only had 14 forwards last year, so we were down numbers,” said Taylor. “Some day I hope we will be at a short list of recruits. This year will be a competitive year as far as bidding for playing time. We’re trying to add depth and improve total depth.”

    Hobart got into this situation several years ago, when disciplinary problems led former coach Bill Greer to clean house. He brought in a huge class of 21 freshmen in a single season and basically rebuilt the team from the ground up. A year ago at this time, Taylor found himself with the remnants of that class graduating and brought in 16 rookies to fill the spots. Even though he only lost one player from last year’s team to graduation, he brought in another large class of freshmen this year to get out of that four-year cycle.

    “When you replace 16 seniors, you don’t want to get into that vicious cycle again,” said Taylor. “So we have been trying to get a good number of new faces here last year, and there will be a good number of new faces here this year. And next year we will hopefully start the traditional class of six or seven kids every year.”

    New Faces

    Taylor is looking for his new recruits to build around his core group of players right from the start.

    “We have a good group of forwards coming in that will improve us, as well as the guys coming back taking a step,” said Taylor. “And the same thing on defense. We’ll have the guys who were the core part of our defense back, and we will need the size and strength of our defensive recruits.”

    Four of the new forwards jump off the page of new players. Lee Carrier (Northwood Prep) is a big kid, 6-5, 220 lbs., who was on the Central Scouting preliminary report last fall.

    Carrier isn’t the only freshmen that will add size to the Hobart lineup of forwards. Matt Garman (Bridgewater) also is hefty at 6-0, 200 lbs., and he knows how to use that size to grind in the corners and go to the net.

    Taylor didn’t just add size to the forwards, he added some smaller freshmen also to help in the speed department. Taylor describes Andy Poirier (Taber) as a “kind of dynamic little player.” Brian Keane (St. Sebastian Prep) will also be looked to for his speed and quickness.

    After a year of getting some recruits from Canada and other nontraditional places, Hobart has returned to looking at eastern prep schools for its incoming players.

    “Due to the type of school we are, we are going to have success recruiting at Prep schools,” said Taylor. “I think our level of kids coming from there is going to be better and better.”

    Hobart was also lacking a little size on defense last season. To fix that, Taylor recruited some big kids that will be able to standup opposing players at the blue line, or just bury them in the corners.

    Will Bowdine (6-4, 210 lbs.), Matt Windhol (6-2, 210 lbs.), and Wes Scott (6-3, 195 lbs.) will all beef up the Statessan defense this season.

    Help In Goal

    lavelle

    lavelle

    If there was one player on last year’s team who Hobart relied on every game, every week, it was rookie phenom Adam Lavelle. Lavelle played almost 1,400 minutes last year, amassing an .891 save percentage and a 4.17 goals against average. He single-handedly at times kept Hobart in games and played several games hurt.

    One of Taylor’s glaring needs this season was to find a reliable backup for Lavelle, someone who could give him a rest at times or replace him if injuries hit again.

    “There are two other freshman goalies coming in, John Murphy and Tom Keller from Rochester,” said Taylor. “Hopefully one of those guys will step to the plate and help spell Lavelle some.”

    The other thing that would help take some of the pressure off of Lavelle is if Hobart can improve the play in front of him.

    “The other side is that we will be a much improved team,” said Taylor. “In our league, there is no question, we can get better but we still will have a challenge out there. I’m looking at playing better and more competitive hockey, and we may not have a drastically better record. We can have better games and still come up short, or have better games and have a ‘W.’ Our league is competitive, no question. We have three teams that are viable national tournament teams. We improved as a group again, and it will still be a wait and see to see who materializes.”

    Schedule

    Hobart’s schedule is a little easier this year, not necessarily because of whom they play. All of the same teams are on the schedule with the exception of MCLA. The difference in this year’s schedule is January.

    colorscans/20012002/hobart_brockst_110601.jpg

    Last season, Hobart played a grueling eight-game road trip the entire month of January. Taylor made that schedule on purpose, thinking that since the school was on break anyway the team might as well play on the road. Unfortunately for the Statesmen, the plan backfired and Hobart went 1-7 during that stretch, with the only win coming against Neumann.

    “That January trip wasn’t supposed to look that bad,” said Taylor. “During January, we’re not in school. So that was designed to be a more successful trip.”

    This year, Hobart has a more traditional schedule, with a sprinkling of home and away games throughout the season. Hobart opens up with one of its toughest games when Potsdam visits the Geneva Recreation Center on October 30.

    Taylor is taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the new ECAC West travel partner system.

    “I think that is fine,” said Taylor. “I think it will be a good thing. All of the coaches in the league are trying to find a way that is more practical and supportive of the league. It is worth a step and we will see where it goes. I don’t really think it changes things a ton.”

    Other Tidbits

    Taylor’s former assistant, Jason Lammers, left Hobart last spring for a similar position at Division I Clarkson. Taylor looked around Division III hockey for a new assistant coach and through some old contacts found Matt Lindsay. Lindsay was an assistant coach at Utica last season for Gary Heenan.

    “My goal here is to get good guys in here and to help them move up in the coaching ranks in a year or two,” said Taylor. “Would I want a good guy here for more than two years? Yeah, but that’s not what the position is designed for financially. And for their professional development, they need to get into a spot where they are in Division I. Our motto here is that we will go after being the best that we can be. If that means winning a championship, great. If that means some of us moving up the ladder and going different places in hockey, then that is what we are trying to do.”

    Hobart’s outlook on the season is simple: build some depth, increase its level of play, and make the playoffs at the end of the season. In other words, be the best that it can be.

    “Our goal is to be a deeper, stronger team,” said Taylor. “We’re going to go after it the same way we have been going after it. We have a little bit better idea of where we can go than we did last year. We need to find a way to come up with some more wins this year. We’ll be playing a lot of the same teams. Everyone else will be just as good and getting better that we play. I don’t really see anybody who has really dropped down. We will be better as well. We have to find, or make, a way to come up with a few more ‘W’s.”

    2002-03 College Hockey America Women’s Season Preview

    By Craig Roberts
    -

    New ground is broken this season with the birth of College Hockey America Women, one of two new Division I college hockey conferences for the 2002-03 season.

    Three of the new league’s teams, Findlay, Mercyhurst and Wayne State, previously formed the Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Alliance. They are joined by Niagara, a team left without a conference when Hockey East was formed by a contingent of ECAC teams. Neither Hockey East nor the ECAC asked Niagara to be part of the new alignment, so the Purple Eagles, fresh off their first Frozen Four appearance, joined the CHA, helping to add credibility to the fledgling league.

    Mercyhurst coach Michael Sisti, whose team won all three GLWHA titles, sees the formation of the new league as a tool for making the four teams, who have all played each other in the past, battle even harder.

    “Niagara is a good geographic fit,” he said. “I think we all recruit kids from the same area. Having those kids and being closer together should make for some great games and great battles.”

    Findlay coach Adam Brinker talked about what the league would be able to do for its member schools in the future. With many expecting the NCAA championship tournament to expand to a minimum of six teams thanks to conferences receiving automatic berths, he feels the time for the CHA had come.

    "This is definitely a step in the right direction. … We now have an organization with the backbone to do what we want to do."

    — Findlay coach Adam Brinker on the birth of the women’s CHA

    “This is definitely a step in the right direction,” he said. “I think the fact that we have a reputable league, looking at what they have done in men’s hockey, helps us out. We now have an organization with the backbone to do what we want to do.”

    With a postseason tournament and weekly and postseason awards, the players have rewards awaiting them on both an individual and team basis.

    “It gives the players something to play for,” Wayne State coach Tom O’Malley said of the league’s formation. “It gives them recognition and something to significant which to strive for.”

    One team some expected to be adversely affected by the move is Niagara. A member of an established league, the Purple Eagles won the ECAC title last year. However, head coach Margot Page doesn’t see a negative effect for her program.

    “The kids we recruit are much more knowledgeable about women’s college hockey than they were a few years ago,” she said. “They know who has the good programs and where they can play good hockey so, no, we’re not affected by the move.

    “We still play a tough schedule with a good mix of conference games along with Hockey East and ECAC teams, very similar to the one we played last year. The only down side is that now our opener is a conference game and we don’t have any games to get ready for that.”

    Niagara's Valerie Hill

    Niagara’s Valerie Hill

    Niagara and Mercyhurst each received two first-place votes and eight points to share top honors in the CHA Women’s Preseason Coaches Poll. Findlay and Wayne State each had four points in the poll.

    Mercyhurst has already played four games, opening with a weekend home sweep of Bemidji State and followed by two more home wins this past weekend over Connecticut.

    Findlay, after a 9-4 exhibition win over the University of Windsor, Sept. 28, dropped 8-1 and 7-2 decisions at home over the weekend to No. 2 Minnesota.

    Wayne State opened with 6-1 wins over Windsor and Guelph before tying the latter 2-2 to post a 2-0-1 exhibition record. The Warriors open the season with home games Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-19, versus Cornell.

    Niagara opens the same days, but without the benefit of exhibition games. The Purple Eagles jump immediately into the conference schedule by hosting Findlay.

    Below are listed the CHA’s member teams. Click on any team’s name to see its individual season preview.

    Findlay
    Coach: Adam Brinker, 42-48-8, 3 years; 42-48-3, 3 years at UF
    2001-02 overall record: 8-24-2
    Notes: The Oilers return 14 players but have 17 underclassmen, including 10 freshmen, on their roster.
    He said it: “We’ll learn about our team early,” Brinker said of his team, which opened against No. 2 Minnesota. “We have to learn quickly about the focus and work it takes to win. We shouldn’t have to wait until January to learn we should have been doing more.”

    Mercyhurst
    Coach: Michael Sisti, 61-30-4, 3 years; 61-30-4, 3 years at MC
    2001-02 overall record: 24-8-1
    Notes: The Lakers won all three titles during the existence of the Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Alliance.
    He said it: “This year’s pool of recruits was deeper than it’s ever been,” Sisti said. “The quality of kids and talent is there and this year you’ll see the deepest pool of quality teams.”

    Niagara
    Coach: Margot Page, 71-50-11, 4 years; 71-50-11, 4 years at NU
    2001-02 overall record: 26-8-2
    Notes: Niagara returns 15 players from its 2002 team which won the ECAC championship and advanced to its first NCAA Women’s Frozen Four.
    She said it: “You can’t replace some of the players we lost,” Page said. “But you can look to have everyone contribute more.”

    Wayne State
    Coach: Tom O’Malley, 72-157-11, 8 years; 11-67-4, 3 years at WSU
    2001-02 overall record: 6-23-2
    Notes: Wayne State begins the season with 28 players on its roster.
    He said it: “It’s creat some interesting competition in training camp,” he said. “When we only had 18 or 19 players, everyone knew they were going to play. Now there’s competition to get in the lineup and stay there.”

    2002-03 Mercyhurst Season Preview

    By Craig Roberts
    -

    Optimism abounds at Mercyhurst, where preparations are well under way for the program’s fourth season.

    Head coach Michael Sisti’s first recruiting class comes into its senior season having won 61 games; the group makes up half of the team’s 24-player roster.

    “It’s been a fun ride,” Sisti said. “It’s been fun watching them grow and develop together. The team chemistry is great.”

    Ranked as high as sixth nationally last year, the Lakers appear ready to step up to the next level and have plenty of experience with which to make that happen. Coming into the season, seven players had appeared in 90 or more career games and, with 12 games against teams ranked in USCHO’s preseason poll, they have their work cut out for them.

    Mercyhurst got off on the right foot with a pair of one-goal wins over Bemidji State, Oct. 4-5. Last year, the Lakers lost four of their first six games, one by two goals, three by one goal and two in overtime.

    “Those one-goal games can go either way,” Sisti said. “They can make or break a season and we hope winning some of those games early this year will help us down the road.”

    Experience in goal is a strong argument for a successful Mercyhurst season in 2002-03. Senior Tiffany Ribble enters her final campaign with a career 1.49 goals against average and a .930 save percentage. A midseason injury last year threw sophomore Desirae Clark into the fire. She responded with a 13-win rookie season, posting a 1.78 GAA and .904 save percentage.

    Tiffany Ribble in action for Mercyhurst last season.

    Tiffany Ribble in action for Mercyhurst last season.

    “We’ll have some tough decisions to make with our goalies,” said Sisti, who went with Ribble in both wins over Bemidji. “Desirae proved she can be a Division I goalie last year. I’d much rather have options when making decisions about who to play, and I like the depth we have.”

    In front of those two, the Lakers sport a solid defense which allowed just 20.2 shots per game last season. A trio of big seniors, 5-7 assistant captains Elizabeth Betteridge and Randi Pilger, along with 5-6 Jennifer Jeffrey, will anchor the group.

    Jeffrey’s 19 points were tops amongst team defensmen last year while Pilger topped the group with seven goals, tying for the team lead with five power-play tallies.

    Sisti likes his blue-line corps but is quick to add that his Lakers play good team defense.

    “It’s a combination of our defense corps and our forwards,” he said. “We take pride in our own end of the ice and believe in taking care of the defensive zone.

    “We’ve got strong, mobile defensemen who make good decisions and forwards who do a good job of coming back and picking people up.”

    Even with that defense-first mindset, Mercyhurst doesn’t lack for offense. Sophomore Sara McDonald topped the team with 18 goals and 30 points as a rookie and was a member of the U.S. National U-22 Team during the summer. Senior captain C.J. Ireland is the team’s all-time leading scorer with 107 points in 95 career games.

    Sisti is also optimistic about his team’s outlook because of the work they did in the offseason, as well as what they accomplished a year ago.

    “We’ve gotten stronger in the weight room,” he said. “As we get stronger, I think we’re more confident. Our seniors have worked hard. They’ve played a lot for us and they all hope to go out having their best season.”

    After completing a four-game homestand with two wins against Connecticut, the Lakers are on the road for the first time this season, Oct. 19-20, when they face No. 7 St. Lawrence.

    2002-03 Findlay Season Preview

    By Craig Roberts
    -

    After a 9-4 exhibition win over Windsor on Sept. 28, Findlay head coach Adam Brinker knew his young team still had some work to do.

    “We saw a lot of early-season mistakes,” Brinker said. “They were mistakes that are typical of young teams. But we’ve had a couple of weeks to correct those things. I guess we’ll find out because we jump into it right away.”

    Brinker was referring to his team’s schedule, which opens with four games against 2002 NCAA Frozen Four participants: No. 2 Minnesota and Niagara.

    Although young, with a roster featuring 17 underclassmen, the Oilers have 14 players returning from last year. Brinker believes they learned from their 8-24-2 season a year ago. Among those 24 losses were seven by one goal and six by two goals.

    “A lot of factors go into a one-goal game,” Brinker said. “I think we were able to learn from that. Last year we couldn’t bury our chances but this season, they seem pretty focused. Our players have come back in better shape physically and are more ready to play.”

    Although averaging more than two goals per game is high on the priority list for Findlay this year, the hopes for success begin in goal, where senior Erin Blair returns for her final season.

    Despite a 4-19-1 record, Blair managed to keep her team in a number of games and her performance in the season’s second half, Brinker thinks, built her confidence for this season. He also feels comfortable with backups Jessica Moffat, a freshman, and sophomore Amy Jones, who was 4-3-0 in eight appearances last season.

    blair

    blair

    “A lot will depend on Erin,” Brinker said. “She’s played a lot of games and has a lot of experience. It’s her job to run with. Moffat will challenge for the backup job and it’s my hope that she and Amy will compete and push Blair to be better.”

    The most visible change in the Oilers this season may be on defense. Last year, Findlay was at a size disadvantage against most of its competition. The addition of three defensemen 5-7 or taller, coupled with a group of returning players who seem to have put in time in the weight room during the offseason, should help solve that problem.

    “We’re improved on defense,” Brinker said. “If you look at where we got beat last year, it wasn’t because the kids didn’t work hard or put in the effort, but we got pushed around.

    “We’ve gotten bigger and stronger this year. The hope is that we won’t get pushed around in the slot and that we’ll be stronger on the offensive blue line and do more offensively.”

    Findlay got just six goals and 22 points from its defense but looks for that to change with the return of four regulars and the addition of three freshmen.

    Junior Leanne Tunks is expected to lead the blue line group, while sophomore Julie Robert is the team’s top returning scoring defenseman after notching three goals and seven points as a rookie. The Oilers addressed the size issue with the addition of a trio of rookies in 5-7 Hilary Foord, 5-8 Danielle Wysomierski and 5-7 Meghan Dunlap.

    Despite losing its top three scorers from last season, Findlay will rely on a group of players who, with some seasoning last year and better offseason conditioning, should improve the team’s 72-goal output.

    Senior captain Melissa Oliver is the team’s top returning scorer after collecting four goals and 15 points last season. Sophomore Heidi Tallqvist was second on the team with nine goals as a rookie.

    “Oliver has come back in tremendous shape,” Brinker said. “Tallqvist is back after a season of injuries and, as a whole, the kids look quicker and stronger on the puck.

    “I feel we’re deeper up front than we have been in the past and we’ve got everyone going in the right direction.”

    After opening the season against No. 2 Minnesota over the weekend, the Oilers will face Niagara on the road in their first CHA competition, Oct. 18-19.

    Minnesota Maintains First In USCHO.com Poll

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Minnesota used a convincing 7-2 victory over Ohio State in the annual Hall of Fame Game, held this year at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, to continue its dominance of the top spot in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. The Gophers earned 24 of the 40 first place votes, and finished with 576 points, both numbers increased from last week.

    Denver finished second in this week’s voting, but also earned more first place votes and more overall points than last week, following a 5-0 win over No. 10 Michigan State and a 3-2 victory over host Nebraska-Omaha to win the championship of the Maverick Stampede tournament in Omaha, Neb.

    The biggest gains in this week’s poll were made by North Dakota, which won the championship of the Xerox College Hockey Showcase with a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory over No. 6 Michigan. Freshman sensation Zach Parise scored two goals and added an assist for the Fighting Sioux in the win. North Dakota climbed from No. 13 last week to No. 9, while Michigan fell three spots.

    Entering the poll this week at No. 15 is Providence, which won two non-conference games over the weekend, downing Union 5-2 and Iona 11-0.

    Next week sees mostly non-conference action with nearly all ranked teams seeing action. Some classic early-season matchups are in store, with No. 2 Denver travelling to No. 7 Boston College, No. 5 Maine and No. 11 Colorado College meeting in the first round of the Nye Frontier Classic hosted by Alaska-Anchorage, and No. 10 Michigan State meeting No. 14 Northern Michigan in a conference battle. The weekend is highlighted by a two-game set featuring No. 1 Minnesota visiting No. 3 New Hampshire.

    The USCHO.com Poll is compiled by U.S. College Hockey Online, and consists of 40 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 12 beat writers from across the country. The poll is published weekly by the Associated Press.

    2002-03 North Dakota Season Preview

    By Craig Roberts
    -

    North Dakota opened its inaugural season by splitting a pair of exhibition games at Manitoba; the games summed up what head coach Shantel Rivard had said of her team beforehand.

    “We have a young, inexperienced team,” she said during training camp. “Our fitness level is good and we’re putting in a lot of hard work. We will not give up in games this year.”

    In Friday’s 3-2 victory, the Sioux had to show their work ethic. After taking a 3-1 lead with just over six minutes to play, UND allowed Manitoba to score but held off the Bisons at the end.

    “I thought it was a very good performance for the first game,” Rivard said. “We have a lot of things to work on, but this was definitely a big win.”

    Amber Hasbargen had 15 saves in the game for the Sioux while Meaghan Nelson and Aynsley Allen had the team’s other goals.

    Saturday saw the Sioux hold a 36-21 advantage in shots on goal but the inexperience of youth showed.

    “I actually thought we outplayed them, as the shots on goal would indicate,” Rivard said. “They just capitalized on their chances and we didn’t.

    “Mistakes are to be expected from a young team, and when we made those mistakes, Manitoba capitalized.”

    Hasbargen and Margaret-Ann Hinkley will backstop the team during its inaugural season. Hasbargen was named the high school goalie of the year in Minnesota as a senior at Warroad High School last year.

    “They have different styles,” Rivard said. “They’ll split time for now and we’ll see what happens.”

    The defense features a senior, a junior and four freshmen and is a group Rivard likes.

    The duo of upperclassmen is expected to anchor the blue-line unit. Rivard ranks former UND club player senior Mikaela Tofte as having the team’s best shot. Junior Abbey Strong is a transfer from Findlay where she had nine points last season and has six goals and 21 points in 65 career games.

    Up front, North Dakota got a pair of transfers from Findlay in juniors Stasia Bakhit and Sherrie White. White scored the game-winning goals in Friday’s exhibition victory while Bakhit assisted on the team’s lone goal Saturday.

    Last season, Bakhit led Findlay with 17 goals and 26 points while White was tops on the team with 10 goals. Bakhit has 48 career points while White has established herself as a goal-scorer, notching 25 goals in 65 games.

    Rivard said excitement surrounds her team right now and she hopes that continues.

    “We’re a first-year team in the best college arena in the country,” she said, referring to the $100 million Engelstad Arena. “We’re excited to make history. You only get to start a program once.”

    UND has a 32-game schedule in its first year, six exhibition games against Canadian universities and 26 games against NCAA Division I opponents. The Sioux will play 15 home games, including 14 Division I games.

    North Dakota’s first official game will be Sunday, Oct. 20, at Bemidji State. The Sioux’s home opener will take place Oct. 26-27 when they take on Boston College.

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