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2002-03 Canisius Season Preview

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As the youth movement rips across the MAAC, one coach isn’t overly thrilled. And Canisius coach Brian Cavanaugh won’t pull any punches when he tell you.

“We’re a young team,” Cavanaugh said very matter-of-factly. “We graduated pretty much all the name players that people are familiar with and gave us a lot of wins and success over the last four years. Now we’ve got a total of 18 freshmen and sophomores. So who knows what will happen?”

When you go to the market, you see a group of bananas and you have to figure out, do you pick this one or this one and wonder which one will mature.

— Brian Cavanaugh, using a grocery analogy to his new recruiting class

Though that sounds like a negative, it may not be. The simple fact is that Canisius will enter this season with one overwhelming question mark: whether those 18 players dotting the lineup can produce enough to win.

Canisius returned just 12 players from a 2001-02 team that finished a disappointing 14-17-4. Only Iona (11) returns fewer.

With that in mind, Cavanaugh set out to recruit players who would complement what the team already had — speed — and bring a missing element: physical play. Thus, Cavanaugh’s rookie class is comprised of players like Dan Bogner (6-3, 200 lbs.), Jon Durno (6-4, 200 lbs.), David Ovcjak (6-3, 210 lbs.) and Tim Songin (a whopping 6-5, 230 lbs.)

“Last year’s freshman class was comprised of smaller, faster kids and I think we got outsized and beaten by a lot of teams,” Cavanaugh said. “So this year I went out and recruited a balance, because if you have a good mix of both size and speed, you feel you can match up with any team.”

So with a freshman class that would make the school’s basketball coach jealous, Cavanaugh can head to the drawing board to work at developing the club. The next question: how will these players fit in?

“When you go to the market, you see a group of bananas and you have to figure out, do you pick this one or this one and wonder which one will mature,” Cavanaugh joked. “That’s what we have here. We have a lot of young kids who are green around the ears and we have to see which ones will mature and grow quickly.”

Cavanaugh admits that he will rely heavily on players’ leadership to not only guide this year’s team, but to make sure that the freshman class quickly becomes acclimated. Leading the club will be tri-captains representing each of the returning classes: senior Tom Wnuk, junior Rob Martin and sophomore Mark Persick.

Those captains will have a quick opportunity to welcome the rookies into college hockey, as the Griffs begin the season in Buffalo at HSBC Arena, the site of this year’s Frozen Four, against the likes of North Dakota and either Niagara or Michigan the second night of a weekend tournament.

“We should have a great atmosphere to begin the year at the College Hockey Showcase,” said Cavanaugh. “It will be good for the club to play in front of a large crowd each night to get them used to college hockey.”

2002-03 Mercyhurst Season Preview

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Mercyhurst’s Rick Gotkin got a surprise a week or so ago when he saw the league’s coaches’ poll. His team was once again listed first.

“I thought that Quinnipiac, because they were the defending champions and they returned so much, that they’d be favorite,” said Gotkin.

Somehow, the other coaches in the league disagreed.

“I’m not surprised to be in the top three or four but I was surprised that we’re picked to win it again,” Gotkin said. “I’m humbled that the coaching peers feel we’re the team to beat. It’s a great compliment to our players and coaches and our tradition.”

Peter Aubry, one of the best [goaltenders] the school has ever seen, has graduated. That opens the door for Matt Cifelli, a junior netminder who saw little action his first two seasons.

If Gotkin’s Lakers are going to win the championship, though, they’re going to have to fill a bit of a hole in goal. Peter Aubry, one of the best the school has ever seen, has graduated. That opens the door for Matt Cifelli, a junior netminder who saw little action his first two seasons.

“The torch passes from Aubry to Matt Cifelli,” said Gotkin. “We’ve always liked Matt. That’s why we’ve brought him here. It’s unfortunate because he’s sat behind one great player.

“But in the games that he’s played, he’s played very well. He’s a very athletic goaltender and a great competitor. He needs a good chance and we’re prepared to give it to him.”

Gotkin will also need to replace Louis Goulet, a fiery forward who on many nights could come alive to steal a game for the Lakers, a headache to many a MAAC coach.

According to Gotkin, unlike the situation in net, no one player will replace Goulet.

“To replace Louie, we need to do it by committee, and we need four or five guys to step up,” quipped Gotkin.

Much of Mercyhurst’s success the past two years has come as a result of knowing how to win. If the Lakers remained in a game late, likely they came away victorious.

“In the last two years, we’ve had some good years, but we’ve won a lot of one-goal hockey games,” Gotkin said. “It didn’t matter who we played — those were great hockey games every single night.”

Obviously, the Lakers will need to continue that tradition to find themselves on a winning path come season’s end. But they will also need to show commitment to team defense that propelled the Lakers to the NCAA tournament two seasons ago.

After Cifelli, the defense will be led by seniors Mike Muldoon and Mark Chambers. T.J. Kemp was a welcome addition to the Laker defense last season and Gotkin hopes that rookies Preston Briggs and Conrad Martin can have the same impact this year.

2002-03 Holy Cross Season Preview

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A season ago, Holy Cross shocked much of the hockey world by finishing tied for third place, just one season removed from missing the MAAC playoffs entirely.

Though eyes were opened by a team that scored at will, particularly on the power play, and shut down opponents with what once was considered a nonexistent defense, one person who wasn’t surprised was head coach Paul Pearl.

“I was telling this team that they were good two and three years ago,” said Pearl. “We got caught a little shorthanded there for a few years, but our expectations as a team and a program are always to do well.”

We didn’t lose a lot numbers-wise but we lost a lot of great players … I know it’s a cliche, but we need to get better as the year goes along.

— Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl

Maybe that gives reason to why Pearl doesn’t seem surprised that his club was picked as a top-four team this season in the league’s coaches poll. Though Pearl admits that the MAAC is a “wide-open league,” he believes that his club will have the ability to succeed.

“We’re good offensively, so we just have to be persistent in defending,” said Pearl. “If we do that, we can be a good team.”

Though Pearl thinks his team is solid up front, they will be without Pat Rissmiller, the league’s leading scorer and offensive player of the year a season ago. He graduated last season and has since signed with the San Jose Sharks — the first NHL contract for a MAAC player.

“We’ve got a lot of experience back but we’ve lost a lot. We didn’t lose a lot numbers-wise but we lost a lot of great players like Rissmiller,” said Pearl. “I know it’s a cliche, but we need to get better as the year goes along.”

Holy Cross’ first-round playoff exit came in a game where goaltending just didn’t come through. Though at times it was a strength for the Crusaders, a late-season collapse at the position leaves the starting job up for grabs.

“I think one of the four goalies in camp will be a good goalie this year,” said Pearl. “If you can make the simple save, you’ll be pretty good for us. We don’t get into games where we allow 45 shots, so I’m not worried at all.”

The Crusaders will, for the second consecutive year, take on a hefty nonleague schedule with Colgate, Brown and Merrimack dotting the calendar in December and January. Pearl, though, is clear on what his team’s focus will be.

“We’ve progressed pretty good in nonleague games and that’s a sign of us improving as a program,” said Pearl. “But we’re about trying to win the MAAC. Nonleague games are nice and we get all jacked up, but we want to win the MAAC.”

2002-03 Sacred Heart Season Preview

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Shaun Hannah has always been one of the calmest-looking coaches in the MAAC. Though young in age (replaced as the league’s youngest coach this year by Bentley’s Ryan Soderquist), Hannah’s composure has always been his trademark.

But talk to Hannah as this season approaches and it’s almost impossible for him to contain his enthusiasm.

“Looking at what the team’s done over the summer, they’re prepared,” said Hannah about a club that lost very little to graduation after a highly successful season. “They appear to be a team that is hungry. We have real strong leadership in our captains, Richard Naumann and Marty Paquet. They’ve done a good job leading the team in the right direction.”

I think [the poll] gives our guys a little bit of confidence … It’s good for them to know that others think they can do well.

— Shaun Hannah, on being picked third by the MAAC coaches

Maybe Hannah’s words sound composed, but his voice isn’t. That contains an excitement that borders on giddiness.

And it’s with good reason. In his lineup each night will be one of the league’s best goaltenders in Eddy Ferhi. Last season, Ferhi posted an impressive 13-12-4 record and a 12-7-3 record in MAAC play. He has a solid backup in sophomore Kevin Lapointe, making the Sacred Heart net the team’s strongest point.

Sacred Heart was picked third in the preseason coaches poll, something that Hannah looks to give his players a spark entering the year.

“I think [the poll] gives our guys a little bit of confidence,” Hannah said. “They believe in what they’re capable of but that gives them a little more confidence. It’s good for them to know that others think they can do well.”

Hannah feels what separates his club from the competition is experience. The 13 seniors in the lineup have seen the Pioneers slowly move up in the league standings yearby year, and finally reach the MAAC final four for the first time a season ago.

“This is a team that’s had a taste of the honey, but now they’d like to get into the bucket,” said Hannah. “Experience is a critical thing. When you add it all up in the past three years, you take all those experiences and try to build on them. They’ve got a lot to draw from.”

Hannah believes that his team is not only competitive in the MAAC but also on the national stage. Licking his chops at the thought of an NCAA bid, Hannah has outlined a tough nonconference schedule with two games each against “Big Four” conference opponents Colgate and Miami.

“Just looking at our own schedule, we have a nonconference schedule we can be competitive in,” said Hannah. “In the past, I think we’ve been over our heads some times. But we’ve proved we can play with those guys. We can feel confidence going into each game knowing we’re going to be in the game. And if we are, that will do a lot for others’ view of us on the national stage.”

A stage that it’s obvious Hannah is itching on which to sit.

2002-03 American International Season Preview

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It seems that whatever question you ask American International coach Gary Wright these days, you get the game answer.

What aspect of AIC’s game most needs improvement?

“Goal-scoring.”

What will it take to get out of the nine through 11 spots and make the playoffs?

“Goal-scoring.”

Can AIC be effective from the beginning of the season until the end?

Yes: with “goal-scoring.”

And anyone who has followed this AIC team for the past few seasons understands why Wright harps on increasing his club’s offensive output.

We’ve got a large group of players returning, but we have eight recruits, making this a little bit of a bigger class. We’ve struggled for a few years here, so we’re full of fresh optimism.

— AIC coach Gary Wright

In ’99-’00, AIC mustered only 83 goals. A year later, the Yellow Jackets found the net only 80 times. Last year, that number decreased to a measly 63. So Wright is correct in saying that his team’s scoring ability will dictate their success in the upcoming year. Still, the coach remains realistic about his team’s ability.

“We have to generate more offense and that will aid us psychologically,” said Wright. We are stronger than last year but we’re not among the elite teams in the league.”

An area of brightness for the Yellow Jackets may be between the pipes. Rookies a season ago, both Frank Novello and Chad Davis opened eyes around the league.

“I’d like to thank that goaltending is one of our strengths,” said Wright. “Frank Novello and Chad Davis got quite an indoctrination last year.

“My thoughts about them are predicated by how I saw them as freshmen, but all the signs I saw last year point to that as a team strength.”

Wright hopes, too, that his rookie class will be a shining light. Despite losing only five players, Wright has brought in eight rookies in a class that he believes can be solid contributors.

“With our freshmen, hopefully we have one of the most skilled classes we’ve ever had,” Wright said. “We’ve got a large group of players returning, but we have eight recruits, making this a little bit of a bigger class. We’ve struggled for a few years here, so we’re full of fresh optimism.”

Optimism is exactly what Wright and AIC will need to tackle the schedule. In addition to the tough MAAC billet, AIC will face defending CHA champion Wayne State as well as MSU-Mankato from the WCHA.

“I think last year we didn’t have that diverse a nonleague schedule,” said Wright. “This year, we’ve made a pretty big step.

“Wayne State is the defending CHA champion and Mankato’s made a nice statement in the WCHA. For a couple of years there we had enough challenges in our own league. This year we decided to take a few nonleague games as well.

Regardless, it will all return to an offense that will need to fire early and often if AIC is to return to being a playoff team. Juniors Trent Ulmer and Guillaume Caron, each of whom showed signs of scoring touch last season, will be burdened with the task of carrying the Yellow Jackets. Mike Budjos and Alex Walsh are the senior blueliners, while you can expect Novello and Davis to see equal time between the pipes.

2002-03 Bentley Season Preview

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After a last-place finish in the MAAC for two consecutive seasons, Bentley needed one thing more than anything else: a fresh start.

And though you can look to the cliche that every team begins the year with a clean slate, the Falcons knew after last season they needed a little more than that.

soderquist

soderquist

Thus, the athletic department sought out one of the school’s most prolific scorers, Ryan Soderquist, to lead the club in 2002-03. Soderquist replaced the well-liked but largely unsuccessful Jim McAdam at the conclusion of the ’01-’02 campaign.

Soderquist, an assistant coach under McAdam for two years, knows that it isn’t just the team that needs a fresh start.

“I’ve been associated with the team for six years, but I’ve come in here trying to act like I’ve never been around the team,” said Soderquist, the youngest Division I coach in the country at age 25. “I just want to start fresh.

“The attitudes of the players [towards beginning anew] have been great. The leadership of the seniors has been seen already, even if they haven’t been the best leaders in the past.”

With Soderquist’s appointment came a renewed commitment by Athletic Director Bob DeFelice to make hockey a competitive Division I sport for the university. Soderquist is the first full-time coach the school has had, and is working with an increased budget for scholarships and recruiting. That though, might put extra weight on the young coach’s shoulders to produce some immediate results.

“When I was first named the head coach it was great, and over the summer it was great. Even now it’s great, but day by day as we get closer you can start to feel the pressure building that this is my team,” Soderquist said. “I know that the heat’s going to come down on me.”

Still, though, Soderquist feels he has the right ingredients.

“I’m young and don’t have the experience of my colleagues in the league,” said Soderquist. “But I think we’ve put things together and I feel ready to do it.

“Putting things together” has included recruiting a 12-man freshman class to replace just four graduating seniors. That alone might indicate that no one’s position on the team is safe — Soderquist indicated that cuts will be made to trim down the current 29-man roster.

Soderquist feels that the club he has assembled is deeper than past clubs. He feels that whereas past rosters have included only one or two lines that could score, his ’02-03 team comes to the table with three (three-and-a-half, as he said) such lines.

So what is Soderquist’s goal?

“I feel that if we compete every night and stay focused, teams will leave here saying, ‘We just lost to Bentley — what happened?'”

And if this new-look team shapes out like Soderquist hopes, don’t be surprised to see exactly that happen.

Wayne State Picked To Repeat In CHA

By Geof F. Morris
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With everyone excited about the prospects of a new season and a chance for an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, the coaches of College Hockey America have selected Wayne State as the preseason favorite to win the conference. Wayne State, which enters the 2002-03 season with the nation’s longest unbeaten streak at 12 games, received five of the six first-place votes and garnered 25 points overall.

Alabama-Huntsville received the other first place vote and 20 points overall. Bemidji State came in third with 18 points, Niagara in fourth with 13, and Air Force and Findlay tied for fifth with seven points apiece.

“We’re returning everybody and that’s a good thing from our point of view,” said Wayne State head coach Bill Wilkinson. “Everyone’s gunning for us, as they were last year, and everyone’s got a lot of returning players and will give us a good challenge.”

The Warriors have three of the six preseason All-CHA selections in senior forward Jason Durbin, senior defenseman Tyler Kindle, and senior goaltender David Guerrera, who was also selected as the conference’s preseason Player of the Year. If Guerrera can follow up on his stellar junior season, he could become only the third goaltender in Division I history to repeat as its conference’s player of the year.

The other members of the preseason All-CHA team are: Bemidji forward Marty Goulet, the league’s returning scoring champion; Findlay forward Rigel Shaw, who set a CHA record with 15 goals in conference play in 2001-02; and Huntsville defenseman Tyler Butler, who led CHA defensemen in scoring last season.

The first year of the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament sees the conference’s toughest non-conference schedules to date. CHA teams will face nine of the fifteen teams in the final USCHO men’s D-I poll, including Huntsville’s trip to watch Minnesota raise their national championship banner.

The Chargers’ non-conference schedule was considered by most coaches to be the toughest of any league member, but coach Doug Ross seemed undaunted. “We’ve got one hell of a schedule this year, opening up with [WCHA members] Wisconsin, Denver, and Minnesota. We’ve got the toughest schedule we’ve ever had, but our guys are really excited about it. They’re working really hard at it. We’re really competitive as a league no matter who we play right now, and we’re looking forward to it.”

“We could win it, or we could finish sixth,” said Bemidji coach Tom Serratore. “Our first ten games and road schedule will be keys. We had enough points early on last season to keep us in second place. We want to play our best hockey at the end of the year, which we didn’t do last year.”

“It’s been unbelievable around here this fall,” said Niagara coach Dave Burkholder. “It’s been a media frenzy with the Frozen Four that we’ll host with Canisius this spring. This is our toughest schedule in our history. Doug [Ross] and I probably have the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. It’s been a different attitude since the first day of dry-land training. There’s been a lot of excitement and a ton of emotion.”

Air Force coach Frank Serratore said that his team looks to capitalize on a strong push at the end of last season, which saw them go unbeaten for eight games until a loss to Wayne State in the tournament semifinal.

“We ended on a real good note,” he said. “We struggled with our chemistry, but we got it together and turned it around. It was all about our players, and we think that’ll carry forward into this year. Who knows where we’re going to be? Regardless of that, we’re looking forward to battling and we’re in the big time now.”

“We obviously were very disappointed with last year,” said Findlay head coach Craig Barnett. “Our goal was to win the league, and we missed that. Last year we really wanted to establish ourselves, and by the end of the year we felt that we hadn’t finished that goal. We started strong, sweeping Mercyhurst, but then we seemed to get complacent.”

The Oiler program added Pat Ford as associate head coach after long time assistant Rob Haberbusch left for Iona in the offseason.

“We had to make some changes for several reasons,” said Barnett. “One of the changes was within staff when Rob departed for Iona in July. Due to his departure, we were able to get Pat Ford over from Wisconsin. I am very excited about the new addition and hope that with Pat’s past successes and experience, that this change in staff will benefit the young Oiler program and help us move up the ladder in the CHA.”

“Balance is going to be a key in this league, because you might win games with your third and fourth lines,” said Wilkinson. “I don’t think you can shut out anyone at this point, and anyone can step up and take it down the stretch. Everyone is capable of getting a hot goaltender, a hot scorer.”

Air Force, Bemidji, and Niagara open up play on Friday, October 4 with the Falcons and Purple Eagles taking part in the Lefty MacFadden Invitational in Dayton, Ohio, and the Beavers hosting Manitoba. Air Force and Niagara kick off conference play when the Falcons visit Niagara on the first weekend in November.

2002-03 Connecticut Season Preview

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The 2001-02 season ended with both a flourish and a whimper for Connecticut. After winning an unlikely game at Holy Cross on a last-minute goal to advance to the MAAC final four for the third time in four years, the Huskies were shut out by Mercyhurst in the league semifinals.

But though that was likely a disappointment for head coach Bruce Marshall, it paled in comparison to the rest of the season. A poor start for the Huskies left the league champs from two seasons earlier in a position to miss the playoffs for the first time ever.

It’s probably one of the more ambitious nonleague schedules that we’ve had. It’s going to be demanding and it’s going to prepare us.

— Bruce Marshall, on a nonleague schedule that includes Yale, Northeastern and UNH

But a six-game winning streak in the midst of winter saw the Huskies average more then four goals a game and proved one thing: this team had the ability to score.

“Last year our offense was solid at times,” said Marshall. “I think offensively we have guys returning that had some success last year and I hope they’ll take that into another year when it’s really needed.”

Now, though, Marshall is left with figuring out the other half of the game. Though the offense scored a healthy 104 goals last year, the defense allowed 129 tallies, and this with all-league pick Mike Boylan anchoring the blue line. So now, without Boylan to key it, the UConn defense will need something or someone to step up and enhance the team-defense concept.

That may start with the last line of defense — goaltending. Both Artie Imbriano and Jason Carey have shown flashes of brilliance, but consistency, or lack thereof, may dictate UConn’s success.

“Last year, I don’t think our goaltending ever really hurt us, but it never really helped us,” said Marshall. “If you can get them to be a difference, it makes things happen.”

Marshall hopes that each of his goaltenders might push the other, knowing much of the team’s hopes rest on their shoulders.

“We split [both goaltenders] down the stretch last year and now I think they’re looking at each other to want to be the number-one,” said Marshall.

Marshall likes the rest of the club’s nucleus.

“I think we have good balance in the group, it’s now just a question if someone’s going to step up and prove that,” said Marshall. “We need players who want to have breakthrough kind of years.”

Those breakthrough years will also be needed to carry UConn into an aggressive nonleague schedule that features the likes of Yale, Northeastern, New Hampshire, Mass-Amherst and Union.

“It’s probably one of the more ambitious nonleague schedules that we’ve had. It’s going to be demanding and it’s going to prepare us,” said Marshall. “Last year after a weekend in Providence [against Providence College and Brown] we had a six-game winning streak. So this year we’re [playing some nonleague games] a bit earlier and we’ll see what that does for us.”

2002-03 Iona Season Preview

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When the MAAC began four years ago, Iona came into the league with diminutive expectations. The club was winless in the season prior, so head coach Frank Bretti did what he felt was necessary: clean house.

As a result, the recruiting class of the 1998-99 season became essentially a new team: 18 freshmen. Attrition claimed just three from that class, leaving the translation an ugly one — Iona lost 15 players after last season.

Likely Iona is the only team in the country to lose more players than it returns — 15 graduated, only 11 back. Gone are players like Ryan Carter, the MAAC’s all-time leading scorer, and Nathan Lutz, a two-way defenseman with the nose for the net.

“From a realistic standpoint, we have a lot of newcomers, and the strength of the league and the strength of our nonconference schedule doesn’t make it easy on us,” said Bretti.

Not exactly a vote of confidence. But, at the same time, in a similar situation as four falls ago, these waters aren’t totally uncharted for the sixth year coach.

“We’re happy with our recruiting class and in the long run we’ll develop a little bit more of a deeper team than we’re used to seeing in the past,” said Bretti.

“The first group we brought in of 18, a lot of those guys stuck around, so after that we were able to bring in impact recruiting classes. This group represents players that are a little bit deeper. Our third and fourth line and our sixth, seventh and eighth defensemen will add a little to this team.”

Bretti was quick to point out that his current club will take an entirely different mindset than teams past.

“We’ve been a team where our offensive players have carried a lot of the weight, whereas today we’ll look to more of an overall approach,” Bretti noted. “We want to be an offensive team but we need to be a little bit more of a physical team and stronger on defense.”

That has been the war cry for the Gaels for three seasons now, and two years ago, it seemed to come true. Iona fixed a lot of its defensive miscues and entered last year as a favorite for the league title. But things fell apart, and a combination of injuries and increasing maturity throughout the league showed Bretti that his club was still short on the defensive side.

One item that could spark that defense will be the play of goaltender Mike Fraser. The senior sported a terrific season two years ago, but took a back seat to rookie Scott Galenza a year ago. Galenza, though, has decided not to return to Iona this season, giving Fraser the number-one job to run with.

“We’ll be looking to Mike Fraser in goal,” said Bretti. “He’s had his ups and downs but if the defense can play well he could get off to a pretty good start.”

Still, entering any year with a rookie class larger than your other three combined leaves too many unanswered questions. It also makes setting team goals impossible.

“We’re not at a point where we can set goals,” admitted Bretti. “We just have to get these guys to understand that they have to try to get better each week. If we can do that, hopefully we’ll be in a position to make the playoffs. I’m not going to say that we have to get home-ice advantage because I don’t know what the hell’s going to happen.”

2002-03 Army Season Preview

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If a year can be dubbed important to the success of a veteran Army program, it is the present one. A club that showed plenty of bright lights a season ago, the Black Knights will have a little extra to play for this upcoming season — home ice in the playoffs.

Though Army has never even hosted a MAAC playoff game, traveling for first-round losses in each of its first two seasons, the school will play host this season to the MAAC final four.

A season ago, Army finished 5-11-6 in games decided by two goals or fewer and, when the defense allowed four or more goals, didn’t record a win until February.

So a pleasant scenario could appear for the Black Knights: win enough games to make the playoffs, win a single-elimination first round playoff matchup and play two home games with a bid to the NCAA tournament on the line in late March.

But before the Black Knights get ahead of themselves, they have to worry about the task at hand — improving on last season’s talent-laden but young squad.

If the Chris tandem of sophomores Garceau and Casey can avoid a sophomore slump, the offense may be in excellent shape. As rookies, those two forwards finished one-two in scoring on an Army club that dumped in 100 goals.

The caveat to Army’s success, though, may lie with team defense. A season ago, Army finished 5-11-6 in games decided by two goals or fewer and, when the defense allowed four or more goals, didn’t record a win until February. So keeping the opposition’s scoring output low will be key for the Black Knights.

The basis for that achievement could be in net. With Army losing senior Scott Hamilton, a goaltender who could steal a victory or two at times, sophomore John Yaros will be the lone duck on the roster with experience in net. A year ago, he carried a solid .910 save percentage and matched that with a 3.04 goals against average. But despite carrying good stats, Yaros’ record was a lackluster 2-8-5, a tally that will need to improve if the Black Knights are to make a move in the standings.

Yaros will be joined by rookie Brad Roberts, who played junior hockey last season for New York Apple Core (EJHL) — the same club that graduated Yaros one year earlier.

The work will be hard, and it likely will be an uphill battle for the boys from West Point. But the potential to play in front of the league’s best attendance base (Army lead the MAAC in attendance last season) in a two-game playoff with a big dance berth on the line seems more than fitting as a reward.

2002-03 MAAC Season Preview

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Was it really five seasons ago that all this mayhem began?

Personally, I remember living in New Haven, Conn., and working in the American Hockey League when there were rumblings about a new college hockey conference. I remember the talk that Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, and Fairfield were all about to become Division I schools.

At the time, it just didn’t make sense. I was only a year removed from the college game and I couldn’t really imagine a new league or new teams entering.

But here we are. Five years later, the MAAC is not only a reality, it’s become a common name around the world of college hockey. I remember first writing this column and telling people “I cover the MAAC” — I got some of the strangest looks. I don’t think a tenth of the people I talked to had any idea what the MAAC was.

The ability of the league’s 11 member schools to recruit competitively … exists. Heck, the league itself, along one of its members — Canisius College — will host this year’s Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y.

Today, that’s all different. The credibility of the league has increased. The ability of the league’s 11 member schools to recruit competitively in tough junior and prep school markets exists. Heck, the league itself, along one of its members — Canisius College — will host this year’s Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y.

Buffalo? Yup, you’ve got that one right. So there won’t be a lot of chance of playing golf on the off day at this year’s Frozen Four. But there will be plenty to do in this hockey hotbed.

“The event has been sold out since early this summer,” said Tom Jacobs, director of championships for the NCAA. “The nice thing about having a sellout is that your energy can be spent on making it the best possible experience for the fans, rather than marketing the event itself.”

And trust me, folks, this promises to be an event like no other. If you can get there, go!

But I digress.

With added credibility and a richer talent pool, the MAAC will venture into season five with heightened expectations. The league itself is as competitive as it’s ever been, with parity from the number-one to number-11 slots. Come March, three teams won’t make the postseason even though all may be deserving.

At the same time, competition is heating up for MAAC schools outside the league. MAAC members will play a total of 42 games against 20 “Big Four” opponents this season — including three from last year’s Frozen Four (Michigan, New Hampshire and Maine) — highlighted by Iona College’s daunting nonleague schedule of Providence, Alaska-Anchorage, Colorado College, Rensselaer, Mass-Amherst, Union, Maine and Brown.

Now comes the question: How much nonleague success will the MAAC have? The answer is yet to be seen, but one believes that it would increase from the handful of wins and ties clubs have mustered to date. With this being the fifth season, every player on a roster was recruited after the MAAC league began — so every player on all 11 rosters was recruited as a Division I-caliber player.

Regardless, the competition promises to be tough all around the MAAC. With crystal ball in hand, I will try my best to project the order of finish (the school’s name links to each individual team’s preview).

1. Mercyhurst
Location: Erie, Pa.
Coach: Rick Gotkin (15th season, 256-142-24)
Last year: 24-10-3 (21-2-3 MAAC, first place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 18/6
Key Losses: Peter Aubry, G; Louis Goulet, C; Brad Olsen, C; Mark Varteressian, D
Key Recruits: David Borrelli, F; Preston Briggs, D; Conrad Martin, D; Andy Franck, G

2. Holy Cross
Location: Worcester, Mass.
Coach: Paul Pearl (Eighth season, 99-96-18)
Last year: 17-12-5 (14-7-5 MAAC, T-third place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 21/4
Key Losses: Pat Rissmiller, F; Derek Cunha, G; Tony Delusio, C
Key Recruits: Pierre Napert-Frenette, F; Peter Bartline, G; Tony Quesada, G

3. Quinnipiac
Location: Hamden, Conn.
Coach: Rand Pecknold (Eighth season, 124-65-16)
Last year: 20-13-5 (15-6-5 MAAC, second place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 18/7
Key Losses: Neil Breen, F; Todd Bennett, F; Ryan Olsen, F
Key Recruits: Aaron Ludwig, F; John Kelly, F; Dan Rossi, D

4. Sacred Heart
Location: Fairfield, Conn.
Coach: Shaun Hannah (Sixth season, 81-86-13)
Last year: 16-14-4 (15-8-3 MAAC, T-third place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 21/4
Key Losses: Peter McRae, F/D; Lloyd Marks, F; Paul Spesito, F; Chris Mokos, F
Key Recruits: Rocco Molinaro, C; Bernie Schmiel, D; Erik Roos, RW

5. Connecticut
Location: Storrs, Conn.
Coach: Bruce Marshall (14th season, 202-140-31)
Last year: 13-16-7 (11-10-5 MAAC, sixth place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 21/6
Key Losses: Mike Boylan, D; Matt Herhal, F
Key Recruits: Eric St. Arnauld, F; Andy Muschinski, F; Mike Hoffman (redshirt), D

6. Army
Location: West Point, N.Y.
Coach: Rob Riley (17th season, 223-253-30)
Last year: 9-17-6 (9-11-6 MAAC, eighth place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 27/6
Key Losses: Joe Carpenter, F; Tim Fisher, F; Nathan Mayfield, F
Key Recruits: Nick Hamm, D; Corey Rudd, D; Brad Roberts, G

7. Iona
Location: New Rochelle, N.Y.
Coach: Frank Bretti (Sixth season, 65-86-12)
Last year: 13-18-2 (12-12-2 MAAC, seventh place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 11/15
Key Losses: Ryan Carter, F; Nathan Lutz, D; Rob Kellogg, F; John Gilbert, F
Key Recruits: Neil Clark, LW; Chris Martini, C; Aaron Kakepetum, D; Jamie Carroll, LW

8. Canisius
Location: Buffalo, N.Y.
Coach: Brian Cavanaugh (21st season, 290-252-40)
Last year: 14-17-4 (13-9-4 MAAC, fifth place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 12/11
Key Losses: Sean Weaver, G; Steve Birch, D; Brad Kenney, F; Chris Duggan, F; Corey Lucas, David Deeves, F
Key Recruits: Dan Bognar, C/LW; Dave Ovcjak, RW/LW; John Durno, RW/LW

9. American International
Location: Springfield, Mass.
Coach: Gary Wright (19th season, 212-270-29)
Last year: 7-21-0 (6-20-0 MAAC, ninth place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 17/5
Key Losses: Oliver Gagnon, F; Kevin Fournier, D
Key Recruits: Preston Cicchine, D; Andy Walbert, F; Ryan Robin, F; C.J. McConnell, F

10. Fairfield
Location: Fairfield, Conn.
Coach: Jim Hunt (Third season, 17-42-5)
Last year: 6-23-3 (4-19-3 MAAC, 10th place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 24/2
Key Losses: Tim Desmarais, F
Key Recruits: Michael McMullen, F; Ryan Murphy, D; Mike Chaconas, F

11. Bentley
Location: Waltham, Mass.
Coach: Ryan Soderquist (First season)
Last year: 4-26-2 (4-20-2 MAAC, 11th place)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 18/4
Key Losses: Steve Tobio, D
Key Recruits: Josh Thompson, C; Brett Murphy, D; Josh Chase, D

2002-03 Fairfield Season Preview

By
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The Wonderland of Ice arena in Bridgeport, Conn., isn’t the greatest of buildings for a college hockey team to call home. It’s a bit dark and plenty dingy, and in the last few years even had poor enough ice to halt a college game played there.

Maybe that’s part of the reason that Fairfield had but two wins in the building all of last season. It’s a good excuse, but doubtful, because just one season earlier the Stags posted a 7-4-2 record there.

Regardless, the one thing that is clear is that if Fairfield is going to return to the playoffs this season, the Stags need to take advantage of home ice and win more games in friendly confines.

Coach Jim Hunt will probably have the best deck of cards he’s been dealt in his three years to attempt such a feat. Fairfield returns 92 percent of its goal-scoring power from a season ago, with Rae Metz, Dan Cotter, Ryan Tormey and Casey Laflamme — the team’s top four scorers a year ago — all back for their final season.

So the outlook for Fairfield might just be, “If we’re going to do it, now’s the time.”

With the offense seemingly in place, the Stags will have to worry about keeping the puck out of their own net — after giving up 121 goals a season ago. The finger will have to point to goaltending.

A season ago, Fairfield employed five different goaltenders — though current sophomore Michael Wolfe and current junior Craig Schnappinger played in 28 of the club’s 32 games. If there is hope for success this season, though, the revolving door will need to be mended.

Hunt didn’t recruit new goaltending for this season — obviously satisfied to make work what he has — and he brought back four of the five netminders, leaving stiff competition for a spot in the lineup (though also leaving the possibility of more confusion).

Six rookies in the Stag lineup — five of them at forward — will make for a large squad, giving Hunt plenty of options and possibly even depth down the stretch.

With only one player eclipsing 6-2 in height — 6-3 sophomore Lyon Porter — look for Fairfield to use speed over strength to spark the club to victory.

2002-03 CHA Season Preview

By Geof F. Morris
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The six member schools of College Hockey America enter the 2002-03 season with a common goal: coming out of Kearney, Neb., with the conference’s first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA postseason.

“We’re all working to get ready for the tournament, no doubt about it,” said Alabama-Huntsville head coach Doug Ross.

We’re all working to get ready for the tournament, no doubt about it.

— UAH coach Doug Ross, on the CHA’s first NCAA autobid

Only one CHA member school has made the NCAAs — Niagara, back in 1999-2000, when the Purple Eagles upset New Hampshire in a first-round matchup that still stands as the CHA’s finest hour. The last two years, however, Wayne State has captured the conference tournament, only to be left on the outside looking in when at-large bids were handed out.

At Niagara’s Dwyer Arena last March, one thing was clear: the tournament was important to every player and coach, because they all knew that no one in the league was going on to the NCAAs.

At the time, UAH’s Steve Milosevski, who’d sprained his ankle in the tournament semifinal against Bemidji State and was apparently going to play in the finals, said “This is all we have left to play for this season. What am I going to do–go home now?”

Something to play for … that’s all this conference has ever really wanted.

The team with perhaps the most to play for is Wayne State. The boys from Hockeytown sure have an interesting schedule lined up: they will play in five arenas across the metro area, including Joe Louis, in an effort to fire up their fans. WSU’s long had a hard time garnering fan support, although watching them the last two years leaves one wondering why.

The Warriors are the obvious preseason pick to be No. 1 going into Kearney. They return virtually their entire roster, most importantly David Guerrera in goal. Guerrera is the class of CHA netminders, and with the joyous return of Marc Carlson from a year spent battling cancer, he won’t be asked to shoulder the entire load as he was last year. A stout defense will support those goalies, led by Tyler Kindle.

On offense, the Warriors bring back their top players, including Dusty Kingston and Jason Durbin, who will captain this year’s squad. One looks on down through the lines and realizes this: the tough nonconference schedule may be gone, but the tough, gritty players are still there.

Serratore

Serratore

Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore had one point to drive home: “Wayne State and [Alabama-]Huntsville are the class of our conference this year … But the rest of us are certainly going to have something to say about it.”

On paper, Serratore is right: the Chargers have reloaded.

The thing that killed the Chargers in 2001-02 was defense. Senior goalie Mark Byrne suffered two broken wrists in a nasty fall while washing windows last summer, but he stayed off of unsteady ladders and comes back primed to extend his school record for shutouts in a career. Junior netminder Adam MacLean and freshman Scott Munroe promise to provide depth in net, and according to coach Doug Ross, all three have a shot at playing.

“Oh, I’ll play all three of them,” said Ross. “Certainly Byrnie’s our horse, but MacLean and Munroe will get some time. Scotty’s a big kid, and that’s what we’ve been needing in net.”

Another area where size was needed was on defense. The Charger blueliners were ravaged by injuries last season as then-freshman Doug Watkins was the only Charger defenseman not to miss time to injury at some point. UAH brings back the core of its defense with the top pair of Ryan Leasa and Tyler Butler, the return of Ian Fletcher from injury, Watkins, David Halliwill, Ryan Brown, and two freshmen in Jeremy Schreiber and Jeff Winchester, whom Ross labeled “a monster” due to his size.

The Chargers return the bulk of their offensive firepower, losing only Jessi Otis to graduation. Mike Funk returns from a redshirt year to captain the squad. His size should add a needed boost to the Chargers in front of the opposing net. The lines of Steve Charlebois, Jason Hawes, and Joel Bresciani and Karlis Zirnis, Jared Ross, and Craig Bushey are almost assuredly going to return for this season, with the other positions up for grabs. Competing for ice time will be freshmen Bruce Mulherin, Todd Bentley, and Luke Flaig.

Tom Serratore’s Bemidji State squad is a solid bet to come in third. They have scoring with Marty Goulet, Riley Riddell, and Andrew Murray, which Serratore likes.

“I think our offense is decent, [although] we’re not up there with Wayne State and Huntsville,” said Serratore. “Murray and Riddell are going to be really good as sophomores for us, and we hope those guys make the next step. We really need a third line this year, and that’s what we’re trying to find. We’ve got some good guys coming back, and our freshmen will contribute. They’re going to be young, and that will hurt us at times, but I think they’ll all be great additions.”

The concern for BSU is the play in net. Grady Hunt was good but inconsistent last year, and Dannie Morgan unfortunately wasn’t much help when Hunt was having a rough stretch. Agreed Serratore, “Grady’s our No. 1 going into the season. Dannie and Kelly Shields may have something to say about that. Consistency is what we need in there, and I think we can find it.”

The defense for Bemidji should be sound, as they lost only Mark Phenow on the blue line. However, Jamie Mattie was supposed to be a big addition for the Beavers, but was declared ineligible due to signing a contract to play major juniors.

As Serratore said, “It’s a blow for us but it’s really a blow for Jamie. There was no competitive advantage for him playing juniors, but signing a contract is what did him in. The rules are the rules, though.” The Mattie situation is a sad one for BSU and the CHA as a whole, as the conference would have been strengthened with a player of his caliber.

The surprise pick here for fourth place in the CHA is Findlay. Call me crazy, but Rigel Shaw is a star for the Oilers, and his offensive contributions should continue to grow as he acclimates his play to Division I. The big loss for the Oilers is Brant Somerville, their career scoring leader.

Findlay coach Craig Barnett thought that pick was a bit high, suggesting sixth. “After last season’s performance, we certainly deserve it. I want to use last year as a motivation for this year.”

Nothing doing — the talent level is too high for a last-place finish.

You know it’s coming … you can’t talk about Findlay without talking about the goalie situation. Barnett said that Kevin Fines and Jamie VandeSpyker will have an “even” shot at playing this season, which seems appropriate. VandeSpyker looked overmatched at times last season, and Fines may be more solid in goal.

The top pickup for the Oilers is Sean Kotary, who comes to Ohio with a fair amount of experience. Said Barnett, “He played at Bowling Green two years ago, and he’ll get to play right away for us because he played juniors last year in Des Moines. He’s our first-ever NHL draft pick, and we’re real excited about him. This is a second opportunity for him.”

The Oilers do have a hole on the blue line from the loss of Somerville. One player who really could pick up the slack is Paul Prefontaine, a freshman defenseman from Alberta.

“Paul Prefontaine is a very skilled, mobile defenseman,” said Barnett. “He’s a guy that should help us with our transitional game and should help us begin to replace Brant Somerville.

“No freshman will ever replace someone like Brant, but in terms of talent, Paul’s going to be a great guy for breaking the puck out from our end.”

Air Force always has a tough row to hoe. Because of the nature of the Academy, the Falcons are usually younger as they come straight out of high school, and obviously Air Force is limited to recruiting Americans. While this does present some challenges, the Falcons still have a good set of players this season.

Frank Serratore’s charges will be anchored by their netminders. Due to injuries and inexperience amongst the backups, Mike Polidor shouldered nearly all of the load last season as a sophomore. Now the junior will have help in the form of freshman David Goodley, one of the Falcons’ exciting freshmen.

“David Goodley gives us depth in goal that we were lacking [last year],” said Serratore. “He should be a quality second guy behind [Polidor].”

Scott Zwiers and Andy Berg lead the offensive charge, and they’re helped by Spanky Leonard, Justin Hamilton, and Shane Saum. As Serratore says, “Wayne State was the only team in the nation hotter than us [at the end of last year]. We really think our freshman class will contribute right away and give us a shot.”

And they are good, but not quite good enough to overtake Findlay.

Coming in last but not least is Niagara. Dave Burkholder begins his second season as coach of the Purple Eagles having made his presence known in the offseason, dumping over half a dozen players from his roster. While Burkholder is undoubtedly trying to mold his program, it’s not clear what the cost is going to be to his team. Regardless of attitude problems, it’s not clear that you can drop as much talent as the Purple Eagles have done and still compete.

One place where Burkholder seems ready to shake things up is the one he knows best: goaltender. Burkholder was an All-American at RIT in 1983, and he doesn’t seem content with the status quo.

Burkholder said, “We’re looking for battlers. Goalies, by far, have to be the mentally toughest competitors on our team. We believe increased internal competition will bring out the best in them, and, as importantly, give us the quality depth we lacked down the stretch.”

Rob Bonk has been solid in his two seasons, and as a big goalie, is very valuable. However, Burkholder’s comments suggest that Ryan MacNeil and Jeff VanNyatten both have a shot. MacNeil is reportedly recovered from the injury that ended his season last year, but he could come in third behind VanNyatten, one of the best prospects in Ontario Junior B.

Senior Chris Sebastian holds down the Purps’ blue line. Burkholder says that Sebastian’s one of the fastest players in all of D-I, and with 56 points already in his career, he seems primed to have a stellar senior season. Andrew Nahriniak and Dave Hominuk will also provide solid play in the defensive end.

Hannu Karru and Barrett Ehgoetz will have to pick up the offensive load for Niagara, as many of the ex-Eagles were forwards. Bernie Sigrist will come back from a season of injuries that saw his scoring drop from 28 points as a freshman to just 11 as a sophomore. The Eagles will be able to stop opposing offenses, but there are concerns about their ability to net goals.

Despite the improvement as UAH should see from recruits and injury returnees — after all, the return of Funk and Fletcher is like adding two more players — Wayne State is still top dog. UAH should be a close second, as a tough nonconference schedule (including WCHA powers Wisconsin, Denver, and Minnesota) should provide a lot of experience, just as a similar early schedule did for Wayne State last year.

Bemidji State is the best of the rest, though Findlay, Air Force, and Niagara all come up close behind. But as Serratore said, “There’s only a goal or a goal and a half difference between the first- and sixth-place team in our league. I don’t know how it’s going to come out — on paper it’s Wayne State and Huntsville, but we’ll all have a lot to say about that. It’s going to be a great year.”

It will indeed. See you in Kearney, if not before.

Sasner Headed to MIT

USCHO Staff Report
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Julie Sasner, most recently an assistant coach for the 2002 U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team, was officially named head coach at MIT.

Sasner

Sasner

Sasner, also a former coach at Cornell and Wisconsin, will be inheriting a Division III team that was 0-19 last season, scoring two goals while allowing 226.

“We could not be more thrilled to have her lead our team,” said MIT assistant athletic director John Benedick. “She has an illustrious history in women’s ice hockey both as a player and a coach.”

Sasner was recently a finalist for the opening at New Hampshire, only to lose out to former UNH men’s assistant Brian McCloskey.

At the time, Sasner, a native of Durham, N.H., was critical of that decision.

“Personally, it’s a blow,” said Sasner to the Portsmouth Herald. “It’s tough for me to see the job go to someone who’s never coached women’s hockey before. I can’t help but think this is a huge setback to women’s hockey and women’s sports. I question the school’s motivation with this decision.”

Sasner, 36, was named 1995 Coach of the Year by the American Women’s Hockey Coaches Association while at Cornell. She became Wisconsin’s first coach after it started the women’s program in 1999-2000. She left the Badgers to be an assistant for the U.S. national team.

Sasner was a player on the first U.S. Women’s National Team in 1990, which won the silver medal at the world championships. She served as an assistant coach with the 1995 U.S. National Junior Team and the 1995 U.S. women’s select Team that competed in Finland.

A 1988 Harvard graduate, Sasner was a two-sport athlete for the Crimson. She was All-Ivy four times in hockey, and two times in soccer, was the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year in 1985 and Ivy League Player of the Year in 1988.

Yale has Oct. 10 Deadline for New Women’s FF Bid

By Adam Wodon
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It’s back to the drawing board for Yale University officials, who thought they had already sewn up the bid to host the 2004 NCAA Women’s Frozen Four for nearby New Haven Coliseum.

But, during the summer, New Haven Coliseum officials made overtures about closing down the building over economic problems. On Aug. 31, the doors officially closed.

Yale and the ECAC would still like to host the tournament, but now must find another practical venue that’s also up to NCAA standards. The NCAA has given them until Oct. 10 to report back. At that time, the NCAA Women’s Ice Hockey Committee will decide whether Yale’s new bid is good enough, or whether the bid process should be completely re-opened.

“The bid went to the host institution, and it’s up to them now to work out the facilities issue,” said Troy Arthur, the NCAA’s assistant director of championships. “Whether we’re re-opening the bid, or going with an alternative site, all those questions still need to be answered.”

Arthur said no is to blame for the situation.

“It caught a lot of people by surprise,” said Arthur. “The host, Yale, the ECAC, I don’t think anyone saw this as a potential issue. They’ve been very good about staying in contact and what their progress is.”

The state of Connecticut has three other viable buildings. The arena in Bridgeport, about 20 miles southwest of New Haven, is about a year old, and houses the American Hockey League’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Hartford, about 45 miles north of New Haven, houses the Wolfpack of the AHL. And there’s a new arena in Uncasville, Conn., at the Mohegan Sun Indian reservation and casino 50 miles east, but it’s unlikely the NCAA would allow the event to be held at a casino.

ECAC Women Coaches Select Harvard

USCHO Staff Report
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The Crimson of Harvard were picked by six of the ECAC head coaches as the best team in the preseason poll. The Crimson return nine forwards, all six defensemen, and two goaltenders, and also add Olympian Julie Chu to their lineup.

The Dartmouth Big Green got two first place votes and were picked second in the league. The other first place vote went to defending ECAC Tournament champion and National Runners-up Brown.

St. Lawrence was picked fourth, followed by Princeton, Cornell, Colgate, Yale and Vermont.

Next season there will be ten teams in the league with the addition of Union and the year after Clarkson will join the league.

ECAC Preseason Polls Pick Cornell

USCHO Staff Report
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Cornell, the defending regular season champion, and Harvard, the defending ECAC tournament champion, finished 1-2 in both the preseason coach’s and media polls.

In the coach’s poll, the Big Red edged out the Crimson by one point, garnering seven of the 12 first place votes and a total of 116 points. The Crimson received the other five first-place votes and finished with 115 points.

In the media poll, the Big Red took 16 of the 21 first place votes for 247 points while the Crimson took four first-place votes and 226 points.

Clarkson finished third in both polls with 99 points in the coach’s poll and the Golden Knights received one first-place vote and 202 points.

After that there was some divergence among the polls.

In the coach’s poll Brown was awarded fourth place, followed by St. Lawrence, Yale, Colgate and Rensselaer.

In the media poll it was Dartmouth in fourth, followed by Brown, St. Lawrence, Rensselaer and then Yale.

The last four slots in the coach’s poll were given to Dartmouth, Union, Princeton and Vermont. In the media poll, it was Colgate, Princeton, Vermont and Union.

The selections for the preseason All-Conference squads were identical from both the coaches and the media. Harvard led the way with two selections, while Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth and Yale each had one, making the squad an All-Ivy squad.

G Yann Danis, Brown
D Doug Murray, Cornell
D Trevor Byrne, Dartmouth
F Chris Higgins, Yale
F Dominic Moore, Harvard
F Brett Nowak, Harvard

Chris Kelley, the sports director for WPTZ NewsChannel 5 in Plattsburgh, N.Y., was the fifth recipient of the ECAC Media Recognition Award. Kelley covers Vermont, Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

Past Media Recognition Award Winners:

1998 Ken Schott, Schenectady Gazette
1999 Bob Ahlfeld, WPDM/WSNN
2000 Barbara Huebner, Boston Globe
2001 Jayson Moy, US College Hockey Online

Amateurism: The Post-Mortem

By Adam Wodon
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More than four years ago, the NCAA commissioned a group to study the issue of amateurism. Their goal was ambitious: re-define the term how it relates to collegiate athletics. By doing so, the NCAA believed new legislation could erase some inequities and anti-common sense found in the system.

The group’s recommendation came in late 1999. It concluded that amateurism should be defined not based upon monetary advantages — or connections to pro leagues, agents or drafts — but rather based upon whether the action of the prospective student-athlete gave them an actual competitive advantage over other athletes.

It leveled the playing field, they believed, especially between domestic and international student-athletes, and made eligibility determinations a lot simpler and cut and dried.

“We wanted to get away from what you’re labeled, and what things are called, and look to the actual competitive advantage you gained,” says Lisa Dehon, a former assistant district attorney in Kansas who headed the commission.

“If you didn’t gain a competitive advantage, how are you any different than an incoming freshman?”

Three years later, after many delays, consternation and amendments, the conclusive Amateurism legislative package was finally voted on by the NCAA Management Council in June. The results were a watered down package that virtually gutted all of the philosophical aspects of the original recommendation, while leaving in bits and pieces that will do varying amounts of good.

For hockey, this was more or less an anti-climax.

The original sweeping legislation would have had an immense impact on hockey, forcing prep school and USHL players — who often enter college as 19- or 20-year olds — to lose a year of eligibility for each season played after age 18. On the other hand, it also would have allowed 16- and 17-year old major junior players to enter the NCAA with all of their eligibility intact — though whether that was good or bad evenly divided the hockey community.

After a number of productive meetings that left everyone feeling good, a series of hockey-specific amendments were enacted that eliminated all of these concerns, to the point where amateurism de-regulation would have little effect on hockey.

One piece left in, however — that dealing with the draft — does have a direct impact.

In a direct appeal to common sense, the NCAA finally enacted an across-the-board draft rule. It allows student-athletes, prior to enrollment, to be drafted without losing college eligibility. (Baseball already had the rule, and it was a moot point in football.)

When the NHL changed its draft age from 18 to 19, they allowed 18-year olds to “opt-in.” However, by forcing this declaration, the NCAA determined this amounted to a statement of professionalism. As a result, 18-year olds that opted-in and were drafted could no longer play college hockey.

The new legislation allows an 18-year old just entering college hockey, or one going to prep schools or juniors, to opt-in to the NHL Draft without losing eligibility.

Unfortunately, because this is pre-enrollment legislation, 18-year old “true” freshmen already in college still lose eligibility when they opt-in to the draft. The most famous case of this is ex-Boston University goalie Rick DiPietro, who was four days short of the cutoff to be considered 19, and thus had to opt-in to the draft and renounce his collegiate eligibility. He made the right move, especially considering he was taken No. 1 overall in the draft, but still stated a preference for staying in school if he was able to.

“The draft becomes more complicated within the sports,” Dehon says. “[You] almost have to do it on sport-by-sport basis.

“If the hockey community wants it, the [NCAA] Hockey [Committee] could make that recommendation and move it on to the amateurism cabinet for discussion.”

The only other significant part of the package the Management Council approved, allows players to accept prize money prior to entering college. But unlike the original proposal, which would have eliminated all restrictions, the enacted legislations says student-athletes can only accept money not exceeding actual travel costs and other expenses.

“They were being cautious,” says Dehon. “We had some safeguards in there that we didn’t think would be a problem. But if you look at the majority of kids that have problems with accepting prize money, they usually don’t even get enough to cover expenses — so it’s still going to help a lot of kids.

Though the legislation was watered down on the Division I level, Dehon is pleased that it was enacted, almost as a whole, in Division II and III.

“At least we got those divisions to understand what we were doing and to not be afraid of it,” Dehon says. “Division II completely embraced it. Division III comes from a different philosophical place so it took a little bit longer to get them there.

“I think it will benefit Division I to see what’s happening in Division II and III.”

Division II was first on board, as far back as January, 2001.

“D-II was seeing an influx of very mature older international sutdent athletes,” Dehon says. “They were concerned about the incredible competitive advantage those kids were bringing in and wanted to even the playing field for all kids, domestic and foreign.

“D-III, I think, saw that, if D-II does what they do, [D-III] may end up having the problems that D-II had. Divsion II was reactive, and Division III was pro-active. and wanted to make sure they had something fair set up before they had the problem.”

Division I, of course, was on a completely different wavelength, influenced mostly by the powerful basketball community.

“In D-I, you have the added element of money and increased pressures to win and all that,” says Dehon.

While Dehon was proud of her work, she can’t help but be disappointed in the final legislation as a whole. She remembers working so hard on a package that, she believed and still believes, made strong philosophical sense.

“Originally, I wanted them to accept everything. I thought it all worked together and needed to be done,” says Dehon. “But the more I thought about it, the more I was happy they accepted what they did, because if we can keep the door open …”

According to the original philosophy of the proposed new legislation, the particular act of signing a pro contract or taking prize money at an event did not, in and of itself, give you a competitive advantage. The advantage comes in participating at a higher level of competition after graduating high school.

One of the biggest reasons for making this push was the effect of international athletes, who often compete in highly-organized competition well after high school, but don’t fit into the American definition of “professional.” They could come to the U.S. to compete as a 21-year old freshman and retain all eligibility.

The new legislation said, it doesn’t matter whether you were in the NBA, or some foreign league that wasn’t technically professional … you still lose one year of eligibility for each year played after high school. Sign with an agent, enter a draft, play in the NHL, it didn’t matter. Just don’t compete.

“I wanted to treat domestic kids and international kids as closely as we can. You don’t want to be so punitive against our kids — because we know our system — and then international kids slip in under the radar because they just haven’t triggered a certain word.

“I want to look at what they did, and what our domestic kids did, and are they appropriate for our college programs; and if they are, I want them to have the opportunity, and if they aren’t, then there are those professional opportunities out there for them.

“Basketball was difficult. In basketball, you can paint a whole lot of scary ‘What Ifs,’ and it becomes hard to battle ‘What Ifs.'”

If one good thing came out the process, it was the new, unprecedented feel-good atmosphere between the NCAA and the hockey community. Two years ago, there was trepidation by hockey, fearing Dehon’s group would act like a steadfast monolith, unwilling to budge. Dehon was worried the hockey people would just shoot from the hip. But they met at the coach’s convention in Florida, one side prepared and the other side prepared to listen, and came away with a group of satisfying (though, now moot) amendments.

“The hockey community was great. We’re not that scary,” says Dehon with a chuckle.

“If they see pieces of that legislation that make sense for their sport, I think they have a good shot to do it, and I would encourage them to do it.

“And you know what, if they needed help, I’d be more than happy to help them.”

Woog, Fusco Brothers Enter U.S. Hall

USCHO Staff Report
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Former Minnesota coach Doug Woog, former Hobey Baker Award winners Mark and Scott Fusco, Joe Riley have been inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, located in Eveleth, Minn.

The formal induction ceremony will take place Wednesday, Dec. 4.

In his 14-year coaching career with the Golden Gophers, Woog guided Minnesota to an average of nearly 28 wins per season and seven WCHA Championships. He led the Golden Gophers to 12 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including six trips to the NCAA Final Four. He finished his career behind the bench as Minnesota’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 389-187-40 (.664) before resigning after the 1999 season.

Woog was an All-American at Minnesota under John Mariucci and served as team captain his senior season. He was a three-time All-State selection as a prep at South St. Paul High School. He would return to become head coach at South St. Paul in 1977 and led the school to four state tournament appearances. Woog has also been heavily involved in USA Hockey, both as a player and coach.

Woog is currently an assistant athletic director at Minnesota.

The Fusco brothers played at Harvard, with Mark winning the Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s top player in 1983, with Scott following suit in 1986. Mark Fusco was a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic hockey team that competed in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, and played in 80 games over two NHL seasons with the Hartford Whalers. Scott Fusco played in the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics, and is the only two-time ECAC Player of the Year Award winner.

Scott Fusco, 39, becomes the youngest person in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, with Mark, 41, right behind.

Riley joins his brothers Jack and Bill in the Hall. Following high school, Riley attended the University of Illinois where he played freshman hockey for Hall of Fame coach, Vic Heyliger. Riley’s career was interrupted by World War II military service, and when he returned from Europe he transferred to Dartmouth where he played two seasons from 1947 to 1949.

At Dartmouth, playing for the late Hall of Fame coach, Eddie Jeremiah, Riley set the record for most goals in a season in his senior year a record, which still stands today. Playing two varsity seasons, Riley appeared in 47 games and netted 67 goals and 49 assists for the Green, an average of 2.5 points per game. This places him 4th all time in Dartmouth goal scorers and is tied for 12th in total points after just two year of play. Riley was selected for the AAU Olympic Team and went to St. Moritz, Switzerland to represent the United States in the 1948 Olympics.

Cole Named Fishman Intern

USCHO Staff Report
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Seth Cole has been named the recipient of the fourth annual Brian Fishman Internship, given each year to an outstanding college graduate who is pursuing a career in athletic media relations by USA Hockey. Named in honor of the late Brian Fishman, who served as the Manager, Communications and Marketing for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) in 1998-99, was established by USA Hockey in 1999. Fishman passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 7, 1999 at age 28.

Cole, who joined USA Hockey on Sept. 4 and will remain through next June, recently completed the Asa S. Bushnell Internship with the Eastern College Athletic Conference. His responsibilities with USA Hockey will include serving as a liaison with the USA Hockey NTDP as well as providing assistance with various media and public relations projects, event promotions, publishing initiatives and American Hockey Magazine.

“Seth’s experience and passion for hockey will be a tremendous asset to USA Hockey,” said Brian’s father Barry Fishman. “Brian’s mother, Ruth, and I are proud to welcome a young individual with his outstanding qualities to continue the developing tradition of this internship program.”

While with the ECAC, Cole served as the primary media contact for the men’s NCAA Division I and Division III hockey programs. He wrote, designed and edited the 2001-02 ECAC Division I Men’s Hockey Media Guide; redesigned and maintained the ECAC Division I hockey web site, www.hockeyecac.org; and wrote and distributed the ECAC Division I and Division III Men’s Hockey Weekly Release. He also served as a liaison for the ECAC Division III Men’s Mid-Atlantic Soccer Championship and represented the conference at the ECAC Division III Women?s Northeast Soccer Championship.

Previous Brian Fishman Interns have included Yariv Amir in 2001-02 from Colgate University, Cassy Maxton in 2000-01 from Miami University (Ohio), and the inaugural recipient, Jennifer Dame, in 1999-2000 from St. Cloud State University.

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