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This Week in the SUNYAC: Nov. 8, 2001

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Keep It Simple

Buffalo State is off to the best start in school history. And after one week of SUNYAC play, the Bengals find themselves in an unfamiliar position — tied for first place with Plattsburgh, with a 2-0 conference record.

Last season, its best-ever overall and in conference, Buffalo State won just four of 14 SUNYAC meetings.

The Bengals, scoreless in their first two games, have been on a scoring tear, averaging almost six goals per game since.

“At the SUNYAC Challenge, we found out some of our weaknesses. Not shooting, and not crashing the net was one of them,” said coach Jim Fowler.

Todd Nowicki, this week’s USCHO D-III offensive player of the week, leads the SUNYAC in scoring after the first weekend, with two goals and six assists.

“Ever since he’s been here, he’s always been putting up points,” said Fowler.

His linemates, fellow senior Joe Urbanik and junior Jason Comardo, are among the league’s top three scorers after the first weekend. Urbanik, with four goals and two assists, is second, and Comardo is tied for third with two goals and three helpers.

The three skated as a unit for about three-quarters of last season, but this season have really gelled.

“All three of them are moving the puck, and I they think they finally know each other. When one guy shoots, the other guys are going for the net,” said the sixth-year head coach.

While Buffalo State has been an offensive machine, the Bengals did give up four goals against both Geneseo and Brockport, and allowed the Ice Knights 40 shots.

The Bengals, down 4-2 after a two periods in the Geneseo game, came back with three unanswered goals.

FOWLER

FOWLER

“In the defensive zone we want to make sure that we’re blocking shots and that we’re not giving up quality shots,” said Fowler. “Geneseo came out flying against us and they didn’t quit for 60 minutes. I think our guys had to adjust to that.”

The Bengals, along with travel partner Fredonia, face two perennial SUNYAC powers this weekend: Plattsburgh and Potsdam.

To be successful against the Cardinals on Friday night, Fowler’s team needs to avoid mistakes that an opportunistic Plattsburgh team is so good at capitalizing upon.

“I talked to the guys about playing very smart, simple hockey. Plattsburgh’s the kind of a team that every time you make a mistake, you’re going to find it in the back of the net,” noted Fowler.

“If we take off a couple shifts against Plattsburgh, they’re going to be up one, two-nothing right away against us.”

Fowler boils the keys to Friday’s game down to three things: “Play 60 minutes, play simple, and play smart.”

Saturday, Buffalo State hosts winless Potsdam. In the SUNYAC Challenge consolation game, the Bears smacked the Bengals, 5-0.

“They totally dominated us in the SUNYAC Challenge,” said Fowler. “Potsdam’s a skilled team. We have to go out there and set a tempo, work hard, and get the puck deep, and get shots on net. When they do have their chances, we have to play the body, and not let them wheel-and-deal out there.”

How well Buffalo State does in achieving its goals this weekend will give the rest of the SUNYAC an idea of just how good the best Bengals team ever really is.

Close, And Finally A Cigar

Geneseo notched its first win of the season last Saturday afternoon, a 2-1 overtime victory over Fredonia.

“In reality, we should probably have three wins right now. They’ve been close, one-goal games, and that’s going to happen,” said first-year coach Brian Hills.

“We had a bounce go our way Saturday, and that made the difference for us.”

In addition to the one-goal victory, two of Geneseo’s losses have been also by one goal, including Friday night’s 5-4 loss to Buffalo State.

“Friday night we were in control with Buff State, leading 4-2 going into the third, and had three defensive mistakes,” said Hills. “It was kind of unfortunate to lose the way we did, because we were in pretty good control and had several chances to tie it up, too.”

Geneseo has done a good job putting the puck on net, averaging over 34 shots per game. Except for a season-starting drubbing by Manhattanville, the Ice Knights have outshot their opponents, including a 41-29 advantage in shots in a 7-4 loss to Hobart, and 39-23 in a 2-1 loss at Brockport.

Even so, Hills is looking to his defense to make the difference.

“We’re a team that’s got to be real strong defensively, because we’re not a team that’s going to score four to six goals on a regular basis. In order to win games, we’ve got to be winning them 2-1, 3-2, 4-3,” said Hills.

“I think we’ve been pretty sound defensively. For 40 minutes against Fredonia, I don’t think we gave them a good scoring chance, and I think we did a fairly good job against Buff State, too.”

Hills was also happy with the play of goalie Brett Walker, who saw his first action last weekend since struggling a bit his debut as an Ice Knight in the Manhattanville loss. “He came back strong for us last weekend, and he’s part of the reason we had a chance to win both games,” said Hills.

This weekend, Geneseo and travel partner Brockport, host Oswego and the upstart Cortland Red Dragons.

What do the Ice Knights need to do to win this weekend?

“In order to beat a team like an Oswego, or a Potsdam, or a Cortland, we’ve got to play well for pretty much 50 or 60 minutes of the game,” said Hills. “We can’t afford to make a lot of big mistakes, because those teams will capitalize on those mistakes.

“That’s what I’m looking for this weekend. Trying to string together a series of minutes where we make as few mistakes as possible.”

That will be especially important against Oswego, a team that was able to mount several odd-man rushes last weekend against Plattsburgh.

Not A Schmeer Campaign

Throwing objects on the ice is a great hockey tradition — okay, maybe it’s not great, but it is a tradition.

Whether it’s an octopus tossed by a Detroit Red Wings fan — the eight legs representing the wins required at one time to drink from Lord Stanley’s Cup — or the ancient practice of throwing hats onto the ice after a player gets his third goal, some fans just love a chance to throw stuff.

Oswego fans got their chance to litter the playing surface last Friday, as the Great Lakers played host to Plattsburgh.

As has become the custom when the Cardinals come to town, fans launched hundreds of bagels onto the ice to “feed the birds” after Oswego’s Matt Vashaw drew first blood, scoring on the power play just three minutes into the contest.

Although they scrambled like a S.W.A.T. team to clear the chewy debris, it still took the rink crew more than ten minutes to remove the bagels and a few minutes more to squeegee up the crumbs.

After a quick inspection by referee Jeff Fulton to make sure everything was kosher, the game got back underway, but not before the public address announcer reminded fans that any other objects thrown on the ice would result in a penalty to Oswego.

The Lakers had no opportunity to capitalize on the momentum they might have gained on the early marker; Plattsburgh reeled off five unanswered goals over the next 50 minutes.

With nothing for the Oswego faithful to celebrate, only an occasional bagel made it onto the ice here and there, again resulting in warnings, but no penalties. Some of those fans were ejected by state police who provide security at the games.

In the third period, the Lakers narrowed the Plattsburgh lead to 5-2 on a shorthanded goal by Brian St. John.

Plattsburgh, whether not in game shape as coach Bob Emery said after the contest, or just a bit complacent with a big lead, had been outplayed by Oswego through the first 15 minutes of the third. The Laker goal might have turned the tide a bit with a fair amount of time still left on the Romney Field House clock.

A few Great Laker fans spoiled that chance, though, by heaving a half-dozen more bagels onto the ice after the St. John goal.

In addition to the remaining 40 seconds of the Plattsburgh power play, Oswego also had to kill off the two-minute bench minor that resulted from the yeasty debris. Although the Lakers managed to stave off the 5-on-3, Plattsburgh sealed the victory with its sixth goal during the remaining 5-on-4.

Did the loss in momentum after Oswego’s first goal or the late bench minor cost the Lakers the game? Outside the Oswego dressing room, coach George Roll said he didn’t think so.

“I don’t buy that. They beat us tonight, and that had nothing to do with the outcome,” said Roll.

Cardinal fans will get to return the favor Jan. 25, when the Lakers visit the north country, though the Plattsburgh faithful eschew the edible for projectiles with a little more bounce.

Unless Oswego achieves the improbable, a shutout of the Cardinals, the Lakers will be torrented with hundreds of tennis balls heaved from the higher bleachers of a thundering Stafford Ice Arena when the homestanders get their first score.

While the bagel-throwing tradition with Plattsburgh has developed in recent years, it supplants an older one shared with the Lakers’ biggest rival before the advent of the SUNYAC autobid, RIT.

Through most of the 1980s, the once-archrivals belonged to the defunct New York College Hockey Association, and battled more than once for that conference’s championship.

Citrus fruit matching the school colors served as ammunition when the two teams met. In games at RIT’s Frank Ritter Arena, fans would throw oranges onto the ice after the first Tiger goal, while Oswego fans would return the favor with limes at the Romney.

The fading of the rivalry, not to mention the removal of oranges from RIT dining halls the week before Oswego games, saw the tradition disappear.

Did Oswego fans cost their team the game? No. The game is won or lost by the players on the ice.

But it’s impossible to say what difference an extra bounce in Oswego’s step might have made after the first goal, or what chance the Lakers might have had in the third without an extra penalty to kill.

The only influence a team’s faithful should have on a game is the encouragement of players with boisterous cheers and rousing applause. A band, some signs, and even cheerleaders, are a nice touch.

It may be fun to toss baked goods or sporting goods onto the ice.

But maybe it’s time for fans at both schools to lay this “tradition” to rest.

SUNYAC Trivia

Last week’s question:

While we’re in the north country, what NCAA ice hockey rule change was precipitated by Potsdam’s pregame drills?

During warmups, Potsdam used two goals or a pair of pylons in lieu of a second goal set on either side of the ice. The practice was banned by the NCAA rules committee.

This week’s question:

Two SUNYAC teams have faced each other for the Division III championship only once. What were the teams and the year?

Game Of The Week

Potsdam at Buffalo State

A lot is hanging in the balance for these two teams. A loss to Buffalo State, depending on the outcome of Friday’s game at Fredonia, could put the Bears at 0-and-4, while a win both nights would improve their SUNYAC record to 2-2.

A win by the Bengals could help cement their position as one of the SUNYAC’s contenders, while a sweep by the two teams from up north would drop the Bengals to the middle of the pack, with games at Oswego and Cortland ahead.

This Week in Hockey East: Nov. 8, 2001

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Saving His Best For Last

Last year he posted a 1.96 goals against average and a .924 save percentage, but was still able to force his way into only one out of every four games. Such was life for Maine’s Mike Morrison as the backup to Matt Yeats.

Not so this year. Morrison has not only wrestled the top spot away from Yeats, but earned Hockey East’s ITECH Goaltender of the Month Award for his 1.93 GAA and .947 save percentage in October.

In Maine’s lone game last weekend, Morrison backstopped a win over previously undefeated UMass-Lowell. This week, the Black Bears host Boston University on Friday night and Sacred Heart on Sunday. With the coaching staff committed to giving each goaltender a start, look for Morrison to take on the Terriers as an increasingly entrenched number one goalie.

The senior’s success has been the result of perseverance through limited playing time the last two seasons.

“Even though I didn’t get the nod every weekend, that didn’t knock me down and make me give up and say it wasn’t worth it,” he says. “Last year I realized that, hey, I had nothing to lose here after I kind of lost my job in my sophomore year. I realized that Matt was playing more and I just had to work hard in practice, better myself, and just work on my progress.

“Who knows? Anything can happen. I just need to be on my game when [an opportunity] comes. That’s what I’m doing this year.”

That opportunity arose when Yeats got off to a slow start while Morrison stopped 46-of-47 shots in a win at North Dakota and 33-of-35 in a tie at Western Michigan. His performances have helped Maine stay afloat during a very difficult early schedule.

“[His success hasn’t been surprising] because I’ve seen how hard he works,” says interim head coach Tim Whitehead. “Not knowing him before, I may have been surprised, but now that I’m here and I see how he trains and how he focuses and how he carries his practice habits into games, [I can see that] it’s not an accident that he’s doing well. He’s prepared himself.

“It’s his senior year and he wants to elevate his game and continue playing hockey. I think he has an excellent opportunity to do that. He’s just got to keep working hard and good things will happen for him.”

For Morrison, his senior year has given him a different perspective on his potential role on the Black Bears.

“Being a senior, it’s a whole lot different for me and my [outlook] towards the team,” he says. “I finally realize what the seniors used to talk about when they’d say, ‘You’ll see when you’re a senior.’

“I’m realizing that I’m responsible for these guys. I want to set a good example and show them that this means a lot to me and that I’m going to give it my all, however they need me.”

Earning the Goaltender of the Month Award was a proud moment for Morrison, but he’s keeping it in perspective.

“It felt pretty good,” he says. “It was definitely a nice compliment. I grew up watching Hockey East. I think a lot of us who play forget that when you were a kid — especially kids from New England who know Hockey East — you’d watch Hockey East and those players were just legends [to you]. They were unbelievable. You have to remember that now we’re that caliber of player.

“To see me get an award like that was a proud thing, but I’d only started in two of the games and came in during two of the others. There were other goalies who played more games. I just had a couple good starts and things went my way.”

With a laugh he adds, “Who knows, maybe [Hockey East Commissioner Joe] Bertagna wanted me to finally get one of these because I work for him in the summer.”

Morrison isn’t about to rest on his laurels now.

“[The award] was definitely a compliment and I’m appreciative,” he says, “but give me one of those in February or April and I’ll be happy because that will mean that I’m doing my job down the stretch. That’s what matters.”

A Real Two-Way Player

REIMANN

REIMANN

Maine’s Tom Reimann, this week’s KOHO Hockey East Player of the Week, has now registered hat tricks this year both at forward and defense. He accomplished the feat up front this past weekend in a 6-3 win over UMass-Lowell; he got his other trick in his first game on defense, an exhibition contest against Moncton.

The Black Bears entered the season thin on the blue line after losing four veterans from last year’s squad. Redshirt freshman Prestin Ryan had to sit the first three games until he began eligible and just as he did, Francis Nault was lost to injury. Nault may return this weekend, but the blueline corps has been thin all year.

As a result, Reimann was asked to move back until recently.

“After a few games he was anxious to get back to forward,” says Whitehead with a laugh, “but he was a team guy. His natural position is forward, but he handles it well back there.

“He’s really become a complete hockey player. I think playing defense has helped his game because he’s more defensively aware. He’s a very good defensive forward in addition to always having been a good offensive forward. Any forwards who have a chance to play defense, it really helps them round out their game.

“He’s a versatile player obviously and he’s a smart hockey player. He’s got great hockey sense. He has the poise to make the right pass at the right time and he can shoot the puck.”

College Hockey Drive Time

Yours truly is hosting a new radio show with UMass-Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald on WJUL-FM (91.5) on Tuesday nights from 5:30 to 6:00. “College Hockey Drive Time” focuses on the River Hawks, but will strive to be of interest to all aficionados of the sport.

For a school radio station, WJUL has a very strong signal so tune in if you’re in the Greater Lowell area.

Southern Maine residents can hear my commentary various weekday mornings on WJAB (1440/95.5). Send an email if you’d like advance notice of the times.

Take My Ref… Please!

When Hockey East and the WCHA announced plans to swap referees on a very limited basis, it opened the door for many predictable smart aleck remarks.

“Hey, we’ll send you (fill in the blank) for a bag of pucks. Whaddya say? No deal? No problem. You can keep the pucks…”

Even so, it’s an interesting idea. Hockey East’s Jeff Bunyon officiated two games at Minnesota on Oct. 26-27; WCHA official Mike Schmitt will fly East for games on Thanksgiving Day weekend, a time when interconference matchups stretch thin this league’s officiating lineup.

“It’s a pilot program,” says Hockey East Supervisor of Officials Brendan Sheehy. “The league can’t afford to pay airfares [on a consistent basis]. It’s not a big deal for the WCHA because they fly people anyway, but we can’t afford to start flying people around. It would become too expensive.

“But for this particular weekend, we did it. We’ll probably do another [weekend] in the second half and maybe next year do three [weekends]. It just nationalizes the refereeing a little bit. It’s good for the guys and it’s good for the teams.”

Given the natural tensions that can develop over a long season between coaches and officials, a visiting referee can help avoid familiarity breeding contempt. A two-time swap results in four games being covered by a new face.

“It’s not good that by the time the playoffs are over, someone might see, [for example], John Gravellese nine times,” says Sheehy. “That’s not good for anyone.”

Hitting From Behind

Although there has been what seems like an increase this year in hitting from behind major penalties with the accompanying game misconduct, there has been no more special emphasis placed on the call this year than the last two.

“It’s been in the rulebook as a point of emphasis,” says Sheehy, “[but] this is now the third year. The [NCAA] Rules Committee wants to eliminate it from the game. They emphasize four or five things [in the rulebook] every year and this is the third year it’s been a point of emphasis. It’s a pretty touchy thing.”

That holds true whether the hit from behind appears to be vicious or not.

“It’s not [whether it’s] an attempt to injure that’s the key,” says Sheehy. “It’s a hit from behind directly into the end boards, side boards or net. We tell our referees that if there is any doubt, they should lean towards calling it rather than not calling it because it’s very dangerous and you’re defenseless to protect yourself.”

New Hampshire’s Ed Caron was called for the infraction in his first collegiate shift. UMass-Lowell’s Baptiste Amar and Laurent Meunier were banished from games against Boston College and Providence, respectively. BC’s Dave Spina got the gate in a contest at Northeastern.

It’s hardly a coincidence that all but Meunier are freshmen.

“You probably see it more earlier in the season than later in the season because freshmen don’t realize that they’re gone for the game with a game misconduct,” says Sheehy. “In high school they could maybe get away with it, but [in college hockey] there’s no tolerance for the hit from behind.”

"It’s absolutely something that we need out of the game."

— UML coach Blaise MacDonald, on hitting from behind.

UMass-Lowell has already had to kill off two of the major penalties while losing Amar and Meunier, two top players, but coach Blaise MacDonald isn’t looking for leniency.

“It’s absolutely something that we need out of the game,” he says. “It puts the official in a tough spot because you see some of those where it certainly is embellished. That’s quite a penalty to pay, being down five minutes and [the player is] kicked out of the game so it’s a tough call for the ref. We just need to stay away from it and [not] make it close.

“We had a wonderful teaching moment [against Providence] that I accentuated on the bench and in the locker room at the end of the second period where Yorick Treille was coming up sideways to somebody, but rather than make it close and hit him and allow him to potentially embellish the hit, he made careful effort to turn him sideways so he was facing him and hit him.

“I made that point as a teaching point and then we went out and got a hit from behind…

“We were wrong. It was a hit from behind. Don’t make it close.”

Coaches stand behind the tight calling of the penalty because they can recognize that even if they lose a top player for a game misconduct, strict enforcement may also help avoid losing such a player for many games or even a career because of a serious injury.

“If the player did it, it’s not the referee’s fault,” says Sheehy. “I mean, Bobby Allen got a [hitting from behind] game misconduct in the NCAA regional quarterfinal in Albany a couple years ago. If the call is there, we want it called with no reflection on whether he’s a good player or not a good player. If we let it go and it was just a two-minute minor, maybe more people would get hurt.

“To be frank, I haven’t had a single [complaint] from a coach for a guy getting thrown for a hit from behind,” says Sheehy, who adds with a rueful laugh, “and I’ve had a lot of [complaints] from coaches.”

The Minutemen Surprise

One of the positive surprises so far this season has been the play of UMass-Amherst. The Minutemen stand at .500 with a 2-1 record in league play including a 4-2 win over Northeastern on Saturday.

Even in their 3-2 weekend loss at Providence they impressed. They fielded a lineup with 10 freshmen, including goaltender Tim Warner, but played the Friars even both territorially and on the scoreboard for most of the game.

“I liked our competitive spirit,” said coach Don Cahoon, “but I didn’t think we played very organized. We showed our inexperience at certain times. A couple young mistakes cost us big.

“[We need to improve most] in the defensive zone. The team in general and especially the young kids have to understand the consequences of a bad turnover or not being thorough with the puck. We had a couple plays like that that ended up in the goal.”

Cahoon rejected any thought of moral victories despite his team’s youth.

“You either win or you lose,” he said. “You get the job done or you don’t. There are certain things we’ll take from it as a coaching staff and try to impart on the team, but it’s a very shallow feeling.”

Warner, the former star with the Central Mass Outlaws and Avon Old Farms, allowed some unnecessary rebounds, but also showed a lot of promise.

“Timmy did a good job competing,” said Cahoon. “He stopped some pucks. He made some brilliant saves. [Rebounds are] an area that obviously he’ll work on. Some days are better than others with him in that regard.

“He’s a good young goaltender who in time and with hard work will be a good goalie in this league.”

UMass’ top freshman, however, appears to be forward Greg Mauldin, who played on a line with Tim Turner.

“He’s going to be a good player,” said Cahoon. “He can skate and handle the puck. He competes. We’re pleased with him.

“We’re pleased with all the freshmen.”

One freshman, Sean Regan, had a legion of supporters in the stands. His former prep school, Pomfret, brought the entire hockey team as a show of support for its former star.

If Cahoon continues to select kids almost exclusively from the local prep schools, UMass could begin to see such groups on a regular basis.

“We’re the only school in this league that can go on the road and have a partisan crowd if we do this right,” he said. “We’re going to go into Boston regularly and we can fill half the rinks if we can develop that fan base with people that are just going to cheer for Massachusetts. I’d like to think that some day we can do that…”

A Bend in the Road

While it wasn’t a sharp U-turn from losses into immediate domination, Providence posted two wins last weekend to begin a gradual turnaround after a disastrous start. The Friars edged both UMass-Amherst and Merrimack, 3-2, giving PC a 3-4-0 record.

“I think this is going to be the biggest win of the regular season for us,” said Jon DiSalvatore after Friday night’s win over UMass. “Starting off with a little bit of a slump the way we did and coming through with a big win makes it more of an emotional [lift].

“It’s a much-needed win as far as the standings are concerned, but it’s very early in the season. I’d say it’s going to be a determining factor in how we take off in the season.”

Coach Paul Pooley saw plenty of things that needed fixing, but when you get off to a rocky start, a win is still a win.

“On paper we were picked to finish first, but we aren’t ready to be a first-place hockey club yet,” he said. “I hope we will be by the end of the year…

“We’re not making good decisions at times and it almost cost us…. We seem to be our own worst enemies starting out this year. We’re playing defensively at times, but we’re learning and growing.”

One problem has been that the Friars have invariably found themselves playing catch-up. Prior to Saturday night’s matchup with Merrimack, they had surrendered the first goal in every game. Even on Saturday when the Friars finally broke that unenviable streak, they still found themselves outshot in the first period, 15-5.

“Last year we got one [goal] then two then three a lot of times,” said Pooley. “This year we’re getting down, 1-0, and having to fight back. You can only get the air pump out on the bench so many times — gotta pump ’em back up again.

“We’ve got to start quicker. It’s breakdowns. Every time we break down, it seems to go in the net.”

An even more shocking problem has been the power play. The Friars were expected to be the league’s offensive bellwether, but have mustered only four power-play goals in 41 chances and that’s after going 1-for-5 against Merrimack. Their 9.8 percent conversion rate ranks dead last in the league.

“Puck possession doesn’t mean much on the power play,” said Pooley. “You’re only measured by your results. We’ve got too much talent to not have a good power play. We’re going to have to stay with it or change the components because it’s obviously a situation we have to improve upon. Our power play is anemic.”

Mixed Emotions

You know the old line about your mother-in-law driving off the cliff in your new car…

Well, Maine interim coach Tim Whitehead’s emotions weren’t quite that mixed when his Black Bears hosted UMass-Lowell, but his five years as an assistant coach and another five as head coach of the River Hawks certainly made for a unique evening.

“There were definitely a couple times during that game when I was watching Lowell,” he says with a laugh. “It was weird after 10 years. Having recruited all those guys and with so many of them as juniors and seniors now, I just know them so well.

“I love those guys and I love the way they play. It was a weird night, but at the same time when the puck dropped, I was focused and ready to go.

“I’m looking forward to going down there in January [when Maine plays Lowell on the 25th and 26th] and seeing some old friends and playing some more hockey.”

BU Seat Dedication

In case you missed this news brief, here’s a special story from Babcock Street:

Boston University made history Sunday night dedicating the first seat ever in the 30 year history of Walter Brown Arena in memory of 12-year-old Stephen Glidden. Glidden was killed tragically this past summer when a bus he and his schoolmates were traveling on crashed in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Though he was only 12 years old, Glidden was an extremely faithful Boston University hockey fan, a season-ticket holder that rarely missed a game.

Rather than offering a moment of silence in Stephen’s memory, his family asked for a moment of cheering, as that was how Stephen spent so much of his time at Walter Brown Arena.

Boston University will place a plaque on seat nine, in section 13, row F in Stephen’s memory.

Trivia Contest

Last week’s question asked which team already had six defensemen who had scored at least one goal.

The correct answer was the UMass-Lowell River Hawks: Jerramie Domish, Baptiste Amar, Darryl Green, Chris Gustafson, Josh Allison and Josh Reed.

The first reader to correctly get the team and all six defenseman was Nick Raimondi (a.k.a. Wildfan). His cheer is:

“Fear The Fish!”

This week’s question is one of the most sadistically difficult trivia questions this writer has ever heard. It stumped most of the USCHO staff for a while. Here it is: in a regular season contest between two teams, what is the maximum number of players (skaters and goalies) for the two teams that can officially be credited with dressing in the one game? Give your rationale.

Hint: It isn’t 42 (18 skaters and three goaltenders for each team). It’s a number much higher than that. Think creatively and don’t worry about practical concerns such as how many players might actually be on a team’s roster or fit on the team bus.

Mail your responses to Dave Hendrickson.

This Week in Division III: Nov. 8, 2001

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Bank On It

On the back of the dollar bill, written in semicircular scroll just below the pyramid, is the phrase “Novus Ordo Scelorum.” It means, roughly, “A new order has begun.”

I learned this while talking with Milwaukee School of Engineering head coach Mark Ostapina. That’s the slogan he’s instilled in his players, their theme for the 2001-2002 season.

And it appears to be working. MSOE swept Minnesota-Crookston last weekend, 6-3 and 5-2, to grab first place in the MCHA. Until the loss on Friday, UMC had never been defeated in league play, going 23-0-1 over the last two seasons.

Conversely, MSOE finished dead last in 2000-2001, going just 3-12-1 in league play.

“They’re working extremely hard,” said Ostapina of his team.

“They’ve bought into a new system and a new philosophy.”

Ostapina is back in Wisconsin, where he played for the Badgers in the late 1970s. After that it was Sweden, Anchorage, Lowell and most recently the head coaching position at New England College, which climaxed the 2000-2001 season with an ECAC East title and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

“I’ve been very impressed so far,” said Ostapina. “I decided to challenge them and put a lot on their plates from day one.

“So far, they’ve devoured every morsel.”

Players like senior Ryan Moren (Lakeville, MN) and freshman Andy Eisch (Crystal Lake, IL) are prime examples. Moren is the veteran leader who was the team’s leading scorer last season; Eisch had four goals and two assists last weekend to pace the Raiders.

“I ran this team through the same drills we did at Wisconsin, and I was hoping they’d pick them up by mid-season,” said Ostapina. But they’re already executing them in some ways superior to what I was used to in Division I.”

One of the main changes made by the new coach has been in the MSOE zone, where he’s instilled a more defensive system that’s paying dividends.

“I don’t think we really believed in it in the Buffalo Tournament (loses to Fredonia and Buffalo State), but we really executed well last weekend against Crookston.”

Case in point: goaltender Adam Blumfield was 1-11 with a 5.00 GAA.. This season, he has a 2.66 GAA and was named MCHA goaltender of the week.

“I think we snuck up on Crookston a bit,” said Ostapina. “It was their first games and we had played the weekend before. In Buffalo, we fell victim to that, since Fredonia and Buff State had played a couple of games already.”

There’s still a long road ahead — MSOE hosts MCHA champion Marian this weekend followed in two weeks by a rematch series with Crookston — but the Raiders are already within one conference win of matching its total for all of last season.

Chalk it up to determination, says the coach.

“I borrowed something from Shawn Walsh,” he said. “I told the team that they would be judged by their ability to compete every day.”

Bengals Roar

Optimism is also high in another Great Lakes city. The Buffalo State Bengals are 2-0 in conference and tied for first place. That’s never happened before.

FOWLER

FOWLER

“It’s got a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” joked head coach Jim Fowler. ‘We’re playing for first place this weekend.’ Never been able to say that before either.”

The Bengals are indeed playing for sole possession of first place in the SUNYAC this weekend, but they’ll be heavy underdogs against Plattsburgh State.

“They have so many weapons,” said Fowler.

But Buffalo State has a few things on its side: home ice and more experience than they’ve ever had.

“We have a lot of juniors and seniors. It used to be that I’d have to bring in a whole lot of guys each season to plug holes. Now we just need to fill in some gaps.”

Fowler attributes this mainly to being able to coach full time instead of what was formally a part-time position.

“Instead of being on the Zamboni, I can be in my office watching tape or out recruiting.”

That’s led to a 4-2 start (2-0 SUNYAC), the best ever for the Bengals, who have defeated MSOE, Utica, Brockport and Geneseo.

Things started slow, with a pair of shutout loses at the SUNYAC challenge to open the season, but since then, the Bengals are on a roll, and, even though it’s very early, thinking playoffs.

Outside of Plattsburgh, it looks like there’s going to be a lot of parity in the SUNYACs this season, with every team having a chance at one of the six postseason spots.

“That’s our goal,” said Fowler.

Buffalo State is led by a trio of forwards, junior Joe Urbanik (Calumet City, IL), who led the team in scoring last season with 37 points, senior Todd Nowicki (Buffalo, NY), who already has 11 points this season and was named USCHO.com’s first Division III offensive Player of the Week for this season, and junior Rocky Reeves (Anchorage, AK), a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian award last season.

“He’s a real leader,” Fowler said of Reeves. “Incredible character and a great student-athlete.

“He’s working right now on organizing a clothing drive and is getting the rest of the team involved.”

All three plus goaltender Nick Berti (Orchard Park, NY) will have to come up big against Plattsburgh and Potsdam this weekend if the Bengals expect to continue their min-streak, but the confidence of winning a few games can go a long way.

“We aren’t getting ahead of ourselves,” said Fowler. “But there’s no reason to think we can’t achieve our goals of making the playoffs and playing well throughout the season in order to get there.”

Game of the Week

The folks on the USCHO.com message board have been taking full advantage of the new features installed over the summer; one of which is the ability to generate poll questions that others can respond to.

One poll that’s been created each week is the “Game of the Week.” Several matchups are proposed and voted on.

This weekend’s winner in a landslide is the tilt between Wisconsin-River Falls and Wisconsin-Superior.

In a rematch of last season’s NCHA championship, as well as the NCAA consolation game (both won by Superior), UWRF comes in at 1-0-1 in conference, while the Yellowjackets are a surprising 0-2.

UWS lost to both Lake Forest and St. Norbert last weekend, and at 0-2 in conference will be hard pressed to match last season’s 11-3 mark (30-4-1 overall).

The Falcons need to keep pace with Lake Forest, which is off to a surprising 2-0 start in conference after winning just three league games all last season.

Like the Bengals and Raiders, the Foresters are off to a quick start, looking to turn the standings from last season upside down. Whether any of these teams will be successful remains to be seen, but signs of “Novus Ordo Scelorum” are everywhere early in the Division III season.

This Week In The WCHA: Nov. 8, 2001

By
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A Milestone?

In the storied tradition of college hockey, 49 coaches have attained the 300-win plateau — Canisius’ Brian Cavanaugh the most recent.

George Gwozdecky is one victory away from being the 50th. He’s at 299, but to hear him talk about it, he might as well be going for win No. 183 this weekend at Michigan Tech as No. 300.

“It means absolutely nothing to me,” Gwozdecky said, “I’ll be very honest with you.”

In a way, that’s unfortunate. Part of this great game is its history, and when it has a chance to be made, it should be celebrated.

Gwozdecky, on the other hand, sounds as if he doesn’t want his 300th win to overshadow his players or his team.

"It means absolutely nothing to me."

— Denver coach George Gwozdecky, downplaying his imminent 300th win.

“To me, it’s really insignificant compared with all of the other things that are happening within the program this year,” he said. “That’s the way I truly feel about it. Perhaps when I’m long out of this game, I’ll be able to look back at it. But there’s so many good things going on with the team and how the team’s playing and being developed.

“To me, whether it’s one game away or 10 games away, it’s very insignificant.”

With his team’s next victory, Gwozdecky will become the fifth active WCHA coach with at least 300 wins. He’ll join Wisconsin’s Jeff Sauer, Michigan Tech’s Mike Sertich, St. Cloud State’s Craig Dahl and Minnesota’s Don Lucia.

He won 67 games at Wisconsin-River Falls and 83 at Miami before arriving at Denver in 1994.

Instead of focusing on 300 as a milestone, however, he’s looking at another step on the road to a successful season.

“I don’t mean to downplay it, because for some people it might seem like something that should be talked about,” Gwozdecky said. “I really don’t consider it that way at all.”

High Honors

Compliments are compliments, no matter the source.

Many people have called St. Cloud State the No. 1 team in the country this week, enough that the Huskies gained that status for the first time in the school’s Division I history.

There are some statements, however, that mean just a little more than the rest. For instance, when Dean Blais, coach of the WCHA’s best team over most of the last five years, says you’re at the top of the pack, it carries a bit more weight.

“Best team in the country, I think, right now,” the North Dakota coach told the Grand Forks Herald after Saturday’s 6-1 SCSU victory and a sweep of the defending MacNaughton Cup champion.

Thirty-six of the 40 voters in the USCHO.com poll agreed this week. What does that get them?

In April, it could get them a wooden plaque adorned with gold and a few pictures that will become part of team lore.

In November, though, it brings the best game every opponent can muster, plenty of attention that may or may not be wanted and higher expectations.

Yes, higher expectations than 8-0 and 6-0 in the league. How about 10-0 and 8-0 after this weekend, for one?

That’s what the Huskies have earned: Once you’re No. 1, any slip-up from that point is magnified. Look at Minnesota. The Gophers played a sub-par weekend against Michigan Tech, still came away with three points on the road and saw the nation’s top spot travel 60 miles up Interstate 94.

Let’s be honest here: The Huskies will not be the No. 1 team for the rest of the season. Doing so would most likely mean they ran the table through the entire season — a 44-0 record that would put them among the greatest hockey teams of all time.

At some point, there will be another No. 1. The Huskies, though, need to focus on not making this run the best of their season. People don’t remember who starts the season on top; they remember who ends it there.

“We’re only eight games into the season,” St. Cloud goaltender Dean Weasler told the St. Cloud Times. “Whatever they say right now doesn’t matter. You could say it puts a target on us, but I think we’ve had one all along this year.”

Said forward Lee Brooks: “We’ve got to take the games one by one, and if people are going to come gunning for us, I guess that’s good. That will mean we’ll have to play that much better.”

You Scratch My Back…

It had to work out this way at some point. Minnesota goaltender Adam Hauser, maligned for allowing four goals on eight shots in his first period of work this season, made further amends last Saturday night.

Travis Weber came on in that opener against North Dakota and earned the victory. When Weber was lit up for four first-period goals by Michigan Tech last weekend, Hauser replaced him, stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced and helped Minnesota earn a tie.

Much Rejoicing

This week’s Clay “Woodrow” Wilson update comes with some happy news: “Woody” scored his first collegiate goal in the first period of last Saturday’s 5-5 tie with Minnesota, then followed it up with another goal later in the period.

For the season, that’s two goals and no assists for the freshman defenseman.

And all of Sturgeon Lake, Minn., population 250, celebrating its centennial in 2001 and hometown of Clay Wilson, rejoiced.

Time Dwindling

OWENS

OWENS

At this rate, Colorado College coach Scott Owens said, his team, picked by the coaches to finish first in the WCHA, could be out of the running for a top-two spot in a number of weeks.

“The battle for first and second place could be over within two weeks, from our perspective,” Owens told the Denver Post after Saturday’s loss to Denver.

“We just have to focus on getting better as a team. But until our big horses find a way to score, it’s going to be tough for us.”

The Tigers find themselves at 0-4 in the WCHA, the only team without as much as a point in the league. They’re 12 points behind front-runner St. Cloud State with two games in hand, but eight behind second-place Denver, which has played the same number of league games.

And good luck trying to find a CC player among the WCHA scoring leaders. You have to read down all the way to No. 24 to find Mark Cullen, with two goals and six assists.

The Tigers are last in the WCHA in scoring, averaging a mere 2.67 goals through six games. The defense is holding the Tigers together right now, and it’s a good thing or the season could be a total wash already.

They did what they had to do on Monday: get back to work.

“I was real curious how they would respond,” Owens told The Gazette of Colorado Springs after Monday’s practice. “We’re disappointed, but not distraught. They feel we’re still going to be a good team. We had a very good practice.”

With two games at St. Cloud this weekend, there’s no time for the present for the Tigers to start making up ground in the WCHA race. A fight for the top half of the league would await after another unsuccessful weekend.

Losses? What Losses?

Hey, wasn’t St. Cloud State supposed to be hurting this season? Hurting because of some painful losses in personnel?

Scott Meyer? Brandon Sampair? Tyler Arnason? Duvie Westcott?

Remember them? They were supposed to be the players St. Cloud State fans were longing for this season. You know, the good old days of last year.

Sorry, fellas.

Weasler and Jake Moreland have done an admirable job in goal, replacing the all-league Meyer. Nate DiCasmirro and Mark Hartigan have filled in for Sampair and Arnason, not to mention significant contributions from Matt Hendricks and Mike Doyle.

Defenseman Derek Eastman could match or better Westcott’s 34-point contribution on the blue line. Judging from the 1.75 goals allowed a game, the defense as a whole is coping with loss quite well.

But don’t feel too bad if you were one of the ones not expecting the Huskies to make this kind of run. WCHA coaches are with you.

“I think everybody is surprised with how well they have played and how dominating they have been in the early part of the season,” Denver’s Gwozdecky said. “All due respect to the team that they have right now, but they lost so much in the offseason.

“I don’t think anybody could have forecast St. Cloud playing that well at this time of the year.”

Pioneers Loss

Denver freshman defenseman Jussi Halme underwent shoulder surgery on Tuesday and will likely miss a good portion, if not the rest, of the regular season.

“That’s a blow to Jussi and our defensive corps,” Gwozdecky said. “Fortunately, we’re deep there, but he was playing on a regular basis — in a position where he was one of our top four guys.”

If Halme, 6-foot-1 and 182 pounds, is unable to return this season, he can petition the NCAA for a fifth season of eligibility under medical hardship rules.

On and Off

North Dakota has an off weekend to try to regroup after a 4-5 start and a 3-3 mark in the WCHA.

One question, though: Have the Sioux had an “on” weekend yet this season? With the possible exception of a sweep of Colorado College, North Dakota hasn’t been able to sustain a solid effort through an entire weekend.

Another Top Spot

St. Cloud State scored eight goals on 17 power-play attempts last weekend in North Dakota, vaulting the Huskies past Minnesota as the league’s top power-play team.

The Huskies have converted on 43.4 percent of their chances with the man advantage (23 of 53) to Minnesota’s 42.9 percent.

“It’s not brain surgery,” DiCasmirro told USCHO’s Nick Clark last Saturday. “It’s just finding the open man and going to the net, and we have been able to do that.”

Hold It

Think the course of the week for the Michigan Tech players was “Holding a Lead 101?”

The Huskies lost a 3-1 lead in a 7-3 loss to Minnesota last Friday, then had 4-0 and 5-1 leads on Saturday, but tied 5-5.

Cullen’s Comeback Slow

Caution appears to be the name of the game in bringing St. Cloud State captain Jon Cullen back to speed from a knee injury.

He won’t play again this weekend with a sprained medial collateral ligament suffered against Clarkson on Oct. 12. He may even sit out St. Cloud’s next series — at Alaska-Anchorage next weekend — so he can be rested and ready after the Huskies’ bye week for a home-and-home series with Minnesota on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

He Said It

“As a team we thought we had them on the ropes most of the weekend, except for 10 minutes (Friday) and five minutes (Saturday). It’s disappointing to get a tie, but we know that they’re the best team in the nation and we can play with anyone.”

— Michigan Tech senior Brad Patterson, on last weekend’s series with then-No. 1 Minnesota.

This Week in the ECAC Northeast: Nov. 8, 2001

By Ed Seero
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In addition to my ECAC Northeast duties here at USCHO, I cover an AHL team for my local paper.

Last week, I covered a game where the home team came out flying, dominating the visitors in every facet of the game. But when the first five minutes of the second period rolled around, everything was different.

Suddenly, the visiting team turned the tables, carrying the play and generating multiple scoring chances. But then, just as quickly as it began, the moment ended and the game was ripped away from the visitors for good.

After the contest, deep in the bowels of the arena, I was sitting with the head coach in his brightly furnished office along with some other members of the media. The TV was on and the tape of the just concluded game was playing with the sound muted.

He is Western Canadian and when he speaks, you can tell. In addition to his Western Canadian roots, he is distinguishable because he is an older AHL coach, a guy who has been around. His minor league record is outstanding, and he even saw time as an interim coach on the NHL level — unusual in these days of Paul Maurice and Peter Laviolette. And if you think those guys are young, you should see some of the guys manning AHL benches. Many of them are just barely out of the pro game themselves.

With his experience comes a certain innate wisdom that is apparent when he speaks. This is a man who has seen a lot of hockey and gets paid to think about it and apply his knowledge. Soft-spoken and polite, he speaks of hockey with ease, often so that you don’t really realize that he is saying something packed with meaning until later, when you play back the tape.

Anyway, I asked him about those first five minutes of the second, when his team had temporarily been tossed around like rag dolls. I wondered what had happened, if the other team changed something up systems-wise or something. But before I could even finish the question he began to answer.

What he said was that no, the beginning of the second period was just a normal part of the natural ebb and flow of a hockey game and that he has been coaching for twenty five years and there is nothing unusual about that at all. Within games, and within seasons, there are always portions where your team will play exceptionally well or exceptionally poorly and that anything — a sparky shift from your fourth line, a shorthanded goal, or a even something as simple as a player laying out to block a shot — can be a turning point. But at the same time you cannot put too much meaning into one particular five-minute span or even one game. In Jimy Williams-speak, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Now this is a thought that might have come from anyone. But coming from the mouth of that man at that particular moment, it was infinitely wise. He was Yoda to my Luke Skywalker, eager to apply this newfound knowledge to something useful.

Well, maybe that is a stretch, but it really did ring true. When you think about all the peaks and valleys a season, a game, and even an individual shift can go through, it really gets your mind churning.

With that, I hopped into the car on Saturday night and headed an hour West to take in the second night of the Paine Webber Faceoff Classic, hosted by Assumption College in Worcester, Mass.

Driving down Lake Ave., the last road before taking a right into the Buffone Rink parking lot, I began to think again about what the coach had said.

Here I was, going to watch four teams with a lot of early-season questions they would be attempting to answer. I was anxious to see the outcome, but not as anxious as they would be. They wanted to answer those questions right now, and so did I. That would make my job much easier.

Sometimes it’s important for a team to get going right from the start, especially a young team searching for an identity. Most of the time it is the first handful of games of the season that dictate how the first semester is going to go. You’re either working off of the momentum you gained in the first contests, struggling to find some consistency, or desperately trying to gain back some of the wins you lost out on in the beginning.

I pulled into the spot outside the rink, gathered my things and headed towards the entrance.

“Not too much can be made of these first few games. The games are important in that they count on your record but they are not going to make or break a season,”I thought. But they could help either way and so you can’t completely dismiss them. After all, any point of the season can be the impetus to an ebb or a flow.

And with that in mind, I took in the Paine Webber Faceoff Classic.

The Paine Webber Faceoff Classic

Assumption College hosted the fifth annual Paine Webber Faceoff Classic over the weekend. The Hounds took home the trophy for the first time, winning in impressive fashion over two good teams, Salve Regina and Worcester State.

On Friday night the Assumption offense was paced by the first line of Junior Co-Captain Bob Reddish (1-1–2), Freshman Jeff Ilvonen (0-2–2), and Freshman Parker Gately (1-0–2).

Goaltender Dan Lupi played solid in the effort, allowing only two goals on thirty six shots. The Hounds won the game 3-2 over a tough luck Salve Regina team.

On Saturday the offensive impact of the first line continued as Reddish (1-2–3), Gately (2-0–2) and Ilvonen (0-2–2) accounted for all of the Assumption goals. They were all plus three on the night. Lupi was outstanding again, only allowing two goals on thirty one shots and getting the win in the 3-2 victory over the Lancers. Lupi garnered tournament MVP honors.

Bob Reddish’s goal at 0:38 into the second period of Saturday’s contest was highlight reel material. Carrying the puck on the right side of the ice, Reddish moved over the blue line on what was shaping up to be a two on two play. He made a quick fake right, the defenseman bit on it and Reddish, a lefthanded shot, pulled the puck around the flailing defenseman to his forehand before ripping a wrist shot top right corner.

The wins are very important for the Greyhounds who are clearly trying to establish themselves as a new team, already doubling their win total from the first half of last year. This team has more speed and depth up front than in years past and it was evident in the Saturday night game. Some of the Worcester State observers on hand even said that it was the best Assumption team they had seen in five years. With contributions from the youngsters and veterans alike, Assumption looked like a team on the rise.

Worcester State took second place in the four team tournament. The Lancers clawed and scratched their way to second place.

On Friday night the Lancers took on a tough Fitchburg State team. The squads battled for three periods and then some. Despite never trailing in the game and doubling the total shot output of Worcester, Fitchburg couldn’t quite pull out the win. After the overtime, the game was decided in a shootout which the Lancers won 2-1. Officially, the game went into the books as a tie for both teams.

Worcester State benefited from an outstanding effort between the pipes by freshman John Coderre who only allowed two goals on forty four Fitchburg shots.

The efforts of senior forward Chris Susi should not go unnoticed. Susi’s physical presence was evident throughout the weekend. He also scored a goal in each of the two games.

Worcester State and Assumption will battle again on Saturday as the Lancers host the Greyhounds at 7 p.m.

In the first game on Saturday Fitchburg State won the consolation game 4-2 over Salve Regina. Fitchburg stole the game behind three third-period goals.

The entire night Salve goalie Chris Burns was stifling the Fitchburg offense, including a number of flurries right on the doorstep. He looked like he would shut the door, putting the game into the books as a solid and hard fought win for Salve. And then the third period happened and the Falcons took over. Again, ebb and flow.

Two rookies, Robert Zapf and Sebastien Corbeil played great games in the win. Zapf had two goals and Corbeil contributed a goal and an assist to pace the winning Falcon effort.

Conspicuously absent from the goal scoring column during the weekend was one of the league’s premier players, Fitchburg senior Jeff Brodeur. No matter. It was only two games and he played an exceptional game on Saturday night. His talents are obvious and there is no doubt that we will see him light the lamp on numerous occasions in the near future.

With as many as nine freshman in the lineup on any given night, Fitchburg is a young team and for them to put together two solid games like they did speaks to how good they are. Expect FSC to be a tough team all year.

Fitchburg will take on Johnson and Wales on Sunday in what should be a barnburner.

Salve Regina had tough luck all tournament long. They are a better team than their two losses indicate. Third periods have not been kind to Salve thus far. In consecutive nights the Seahawks were outscored in the third and ended up losing because of it.

On Friday night Salve outshot Assumption in every period and was two for seven on the power play but couldn’t quite pull out the win. Assumption scored two third-period goals to Salve’s one and that was the difference.

As mentioned, Saturday saw history repeat itself. The Seahawks, and specifically goaltender Chris Burns had an excellent game. It seemed that they had Fitchburg’s number through two and a half periods. Two Fitchburg goals in a two minute span killed the Seahawks. FSC then netted an empty-net goal to make the final score 4-2.

Junior forward Matt Hillberg led the way offensively for the Seahawks. He had a 3-1–4 line over the weekend including both of the Salve goals on Saturday night.

Salve is off until next Tuesday when they travel to Boston to take on the Suffolk Rams at eight p.m.

Goaltending is a huge difference maker. It can mean a few games in the long run, especially late in the season when the old ride the hot goalie axiom kicks in.

In that light, Salve goaltender Chris Burns’ numbers do not do him justice (0-2-1, 2.59 GAA, .927). Saturday night he stoned Fitchburg on numerous occasions and made all the saves he should have made. Only one of the four goals scored, a spectacular individual effort by Fitchburg’s Chad Fletcher, were shots that Burns even had a chance to stop. And Wednesday night he saw fifty shots in the 1-1 tie with UMD, a good tie for Salve at that.

If Burns plays like this all year, the Seahawks are not only set between the pipes, but they will steal a good two to three games from teams that should beat them based solely on goaltending.

Congratulations, Coach Bowes

Wentworth beat Stonehill on Friday night at the Bridgewater Ice Arena 6-3. Junior Dave Zelasko had a hat trick and Freshman Brad Carpenter chipped in with a goal and two assists for Wentworth.

Raj Bhangoo played net for Wentworth and saved 27 of 30 shots.

On Tuesday night the Leopards played host to Western New England College. Wentworth beat the visiting Golden Bears 3-1. Jamie Vanek played well in goal for the Leopards who moved to 2-0 on the season. The Leopards are off until next Wednesday when they travel to Worcester State.

The win was a good one for Wentworth but was even sweeter for head coach Bill Bowes. With Tuesday night’s win, Bowes earned his 200th career victory. Bowes has compiled a record of 76-76-4 at Wentworth and is now an impressive 200-172-12 in his career behind the bench.

In Other Action Around The League

Lebanon Valley is 0-2? Strange. Remember, LVC: ebb and flow, ebb and flow.

The Dutchmen lost to first year varsity team Utica College 3-1, which is not entirely shocking nor is it shameful for the Dutchmen. Seeing as how the Pioneer roster is made up of predominantly elderly freshmen who came out of junior leagues (which seems to be the trendy and successful way of building a solid team in the first few years of D-III existence), they are not exactly pushovers. Utica is now 1-1-1 on the young season.

LVC is hoping the wins start flowing pretty soon. They will host Framingham and UMass Dartmouth on Friday and Saturday respectively in their first league action of the season.

The UMass-Dartmouth versus LVC game will be a great one to watch. Both teams are coming off of frustrating games and it will be interesting to see who responds better.

While they are in Pennsylvania, the Corsairs will stop at Neumann for a 2:15 tilt on Sunday afternoon. Sunday night’s torturous ride home will be made a lot smoother should Coach Rolli’s UMD crew come out on top. A 2-0 weekend would make it a joyride.

On Wednesday night the Worcester State Lancers faced off against Nichols and it was no contest. Worcester State rattled off seven straight goals, including two from sophomore Dan Marshall, and two in seventeen seconds from Sean Henry, before Nichols even got one on the board. The Lancers went through three Nichols goaltenders en route to the 8-4 drubbing of the Bison. That win moves Worcester to 1-1-1 on the season.

In other action on Wednesday night, the Fitchburg State Falcons traveled to Stonehill to play the 0-2 Chieftains. Don’t let Stonehill’s record fool you. They are a very good team. Their first two games were against the cream of the league crop, Wentworth and Johnson and Wales, and their opening schedule is the toughest of anyone in the league, hands down. They had to be champing at the bit for a win. They seized the opportunity.

The older and more experienced team won out. Stonehill rode two third-period goals including one on the power play by Mike Ryan, his first of the season, to down Fitchburg 2-1.

Stonehill used their third goalie in three games in the win. Freshman Jared Waimon had twenty six saves as he earned the win for the Chieftains who move to 1-2 on the young season.

Stonehill has a long break between games. Their next contest is Wednesday, November 20 when they travel to Waterville Valley, New Hampshire to take on Plymouth State.

The Assumption win streak is over. After winning two straight games the Hounds hosted the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales. Assumption could not maintain momentum as they took it on the chin in a sound 7-2 beating by JWU.

Freshman Manu Mau’u and sophomore Chris Thunman each had three points, contributing two goals and an assist apiece in the winning effort. JWU is now 2-0. Assumption is 2-1.

As alluded to earlier, Wednesday night the Corsairs of UMass-Dartmouth headed down to Rhode Island to take on the Seahawks of Salve Regina. It was the first game of the season for UMD.

Wally Siggins struck on the power play for the Corsairs with just over four minutes remaining in the first period. The goal made it 1-0.

The second period saw Seahawk forward Frank Mingone net the game tying goal at 11:57. That would be it for the goal scoring. After one overtime, the game finished in a 1-1 tie. This was a great tie for Salve as they needed something to hang their hats on for their efforts. They would rather have three wins certainly, but if they keep working like they have been, there will be a switch and things will start flowing the Seahawks’ way.

UMD is 0-0-1 and Salve moved to 0-2-1.

Last but not least was Saturday’s matchup between Nichols and Framingham State. This game turned into a good matchup as the two teams battled hard for four periods.

The teams traded goals in the first and third period before Nichols’ Paul Brady finally beat Framingham State goalie Paul Morgan (38 saves, four GA) in overtime to take the win 4-3.

Mike Loftus and Dan Torti each contributed two points for Nichols while Matt Anderson, David Earl and Joe Horges were multiple point scorers for Framingham. This game was the first of the season for both teams.

For Nichols, sophomore Paul Brady is off to a good start. He scored the overtime goal to capture the “W’ against the Rams and followed that up with a 1-1–2 performance in Wednesday night’s game.

Framingham makes the long trek southward to Lebanon Valley on Friday before coming home and hosting Johnson and Wales on Tuesday.

Nichols will participate in the Curry Tournament this weekend.

The Curry Tournament

Like last weekend’s Paine Webber Faceoff Classic, Curry College will host a tournament featuring four ECAC Northeast teams. The tournament will be played on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday will see WNEC vs Nichols at three p.m. WNEC is coming off of a game in which they played Wentworth tough. Nichols won against Framingham and followed that up by getting pounded by Worcester State 8-4. This will be an interesting matchup. Who will win is anyone’s guess. The question is, which team is better prepared?

The second game, scheduled for 6:30 will see tournament host Curry playing the Rams of Suffolk University. Each team will be playing their first game of the young season so it should be interesting to see who is able to shake the rust off first.

The consolation game will be played on Sunday at 3 p.m., followed by the championship game scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m.

All games will be held at the Max Ulin Rink in Milton, Mass., the home of the Curry College Colonels.

Remember ebb and flow. Ebb and flow.

And finally …

Things That Keep Me Up At Night

  • David Spade said it best the other night on Late Night with Conan O’Brien when he told the Yankees, “Don’t hog the world series. You’ve had it for the last three years.”
  • In a related note, it is good to know that the case is closed and that [nl]Mariano Rivera is actually human. I was getting ready to spearhead an effort and put together a crack staff of gumshoes to actively investigate that matter.
  • I’m glad the World Series is over because if I had to read the line, “Byung-Hyun Kim is Korean for Calvin Schiraldi,” one more time I think I would have been sick.

    What frustrates me is not so much the line — just that it’s a blatant ripoff of famed sports radio caller “Butch From The Cape.” There is no doubt that many of the journalists who used the phrase knew exactly what they were doing, and that is shameful.

  • Spanky Leonard is the best thing to happen to Air Force Hockey since, well, ever. His parents must have one hell of a sense of humor.
  • The supervising producer for “Who’s the Boss” was named Bud Wiser. Seriously. Look it up. You can’t make that stuff up.
  • In a recent athlete’s edition of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” the two final answers after the 50/50 were Daisy and Pansy. Johnny Bench is in the hotseat and he says, “Maybe I should call Carl Lewis.” Wow. Again, some things you just cannot make up.

    • This Week in the ECAC West: Nov. 8, 2001

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    Travel Partners Next Season

    This season isn’t even three weeks old, but the coaches are already looking ahead to next year and how the league will be structured. Starting next season, the ECAC West will use a travel partner system for scheduling purposes. All league games will be played as Friday/Saturday pairs, with the travel partners switching teams between nights.

    The partners will be Elmira paired with Hobart, Manhattanville with Neumann, and RIT with Utica

    League contests will also be scheduled for the same weekends that the SUNYAC plays its league games. The good news about this plan is that it will leave all the other nonleague weekends available for the teams to schedule cross-league contests. This should help to alleviate some of the scheduling conflicts that have prevented certain ECAC West/SUNYAC games from being played over the past few years.

    The bad news is that this may mean that some longstanding ECAC West games might be moved off their traditional weekends. Games such as RIT at Elmira, which is always scheduled in late January for Elmira’s homecoming weekend, or the flip side of Elmira at RIT, traditionally scheduled as the last game of the season, might be moved to accommodate the new schedule.

    Television Celebrities

    The Manhattanville athletic department has made arrangements to televise six to 12 contests across multiple sports each year through the 2003-2004 season on a tape-delayed basis. Included in this package will be two men’s hockey games this season. The Valiant contests against Hobart on January 26 and against Elmira on February 9 were chosen to showcase. Unfortunately, the contests will only be available in the local cable market, and not nationwide.

    Nonetheless, this should be great exposure for Manhattanville’s program, as well as the league as a whole.

    Be Careful What You Wish For

    “We wanted to schedule the games like this to give our players an idea of what it was like to face these teams back to back on a weekend,” said Neumann coach Nick Russo. “If we are fortunate enough to finish fourth and make the playoffs, they will need to know how to handle great teams back to back.”

    Those were Russo’s words in last week’s column. It turned out to be an even tougher weekend that he was looking for.

    Friday’s contest against Elmira was a physical contest, with no less than six Neumann players going down with injuries. The Knight’s net also got shelled as they were outshot 85-9, and lost the contest 10-1.

    The game on Sunday against RIT went somewhat better. Neumann stayed close and was only down 3-2 midway through the second period. A fluke goal opened the Tiger floodgates, and RIT won the contest going away, 12-2. A moral victory, of sorts, for Neumann was that it was only outshot 54-19 in this contest.

    “We can only get better,” said Russo, reminded of last week’s wish. “We have the whole season before we see these guys again. Now we have until February to figure it out.”

    Home Opener at the Aud

    While Neumann was getting beat up, both literally and figuratively, Utica enjoyed a milder introduction to the league. The Pioneers hosted their inaugural league contest against Hobart last week and it turned out to be quite a game played in front of a healthy crowd of 1,100 fans at the spacious Utica Aud.

    Utica enjoyed leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in the first and second periods. But Hobart has found a new trait this season, something that has been missing in past years: tenaciousness. The Statesmen stayed in the contest, and tied the game early in the third period. Trevor Gowan scored the game-winner for Hobart midway through the final stanza, and the Statesmen won their first league contest of the season 4-3.

    “We played with some purpose and passion in that game,” said Hobart coach Mark Taylor. “Our locker room has really come together in a way that is encouraging.”

    Being in the Spotlight

    For a program in only its third season, Manhattanville has been getting plenty of press coverage, and is a topic of conversation in every rink around the league. Coaches, players, and fans are all keeping a close eye on the Valiants as they continue to charge towards the top, both in the league and in national polls.

    “Everyone talks about RIT’s rivalry with Elmira, and that certainly has a long and storied history behind it,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson. “But I think that our games against Manhattanville have been developing into just such a rivalry also, and in some ways may be a stronger rivalry for the players.”

    Media outlets have also been putting the spotlight on to the Manhattanville team, watching them develop and compete. Local press and TV coverage, USCHO, and various other media have all been clamoring for time from the coaching staff and players. The Valiants are learning how to deal with being in the spotlight, although the adjustment can be difficult at times.

    “I almost wish that the media, and somewhat the fans around the league, weren’t paying as much attention to us as they are,” said Manhattanville coach Keith Levinthal. “I don’t think we are ready to carry that mantle of expectations yet.”

    Almost pulling out the win against RIT last weekend in a thrilling game will not do anything but reinforce the kudos and attention that the team has garnered so far.

    Game of the Week

    Only a few contests are scheduled for this week, but one stands out, if nothing more than for the possibilities. Elmira heads up Route 14 on Saturday night to take on Hobart.

    This is Hobart’s opening night in its newly-renovated rink. The Statesmen have shown noticeable improvement this season, while Elmira is off to a much better start than last year. This game should be closer than past meetings between these two teams.

    Will Elmira continue its march back towards the top of the league standings? Or will Hobart show that it is not longer the pushovers of the past?

    Oh, the possibilities…

    This Week in the CCHA: Nov. 8, 2001

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    Two Is the Loneliest Number

    Before Nov. 2, the Lake Superior State Lakers had slim — but important — breathing room between themselves and the CCHA basement, and the Ferris State Bulldogs were winless. By the time the Lakers left Big Rapids, the Bulldogs were four points richer and Lake State was alone at the bottom.

    “We played very well the first night,” says Laker head coach Frank Anzalone. “When we needed a talented play we didn’t get it. Defensively we were sound, we just didn’t score. We walked in on the Ferris goalie alone several times, but they didn’t walk in on our goalie.”

    At the end of Friday’s game, Ferris State goaltender Mike Brown had a 2-0 shutout, and Anzalone had hope for Saturday’s rematch. Anzalone and the Lakers soon learned that hope is not enough.

    In Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the Bulldogs, the Lakers jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first, but by the end of the second period the game was tied 2-2. Ferris State made it 3-2 in the second, and 4-2 early in the third.

    Down by those two goals late in the third, Anzalone pulled Laker goaltender Terry Denike, after which the Bulldogs promptly scored two empty-net goals.

    “I pulled the goalie for goals five and six, because I wanted my kids to believe they still had a chance to win that game,” says Anzalone. Losing two to Ferris State was especially difficult, says Anzalone, “mostly because of my ego, that this is Ferris and we can beat them at least once.”

    Since returning as head coach to Lake Superior State, Anzalone says, he’s learned that he has a lot of work to do to return the Lakers to “the way it was before.”

    Before he left, he means.

    “We’re trying to re-instill in them [the players] what the work ethic needs to be like, what the passion needs to be like. As we recruit players who fit that bill, they’ll be able to teach that work ethic to the other players.”

    Anzalone says he has a tough job ahead of him, both in the long and short term. His most immediate concern is points this weekend in a home-and-home series with fellow Yoopers Northern Michigan.

    “Rick’s [Comley] got a good team and he knows it. Rick’s a little different from me. He’s got the 5-9 guy who can fly, he’s got some size, and he’s got some finesse,” says Anzalone, who sees as his mission the restoration to Lake Superior State of blue-collar, grind-’em-down hockey. The two-game set begins in Sault Ste. Marie, and that game is all Anzalone can see.

    “We’ve got to play great tomorrow night. We can’t even think about Saturday night on the big sheet [in Marquette].”

    Anzalone has a simple formula for beating the Wildcats. “We have to play our buns off. We’ve got to get good goaltending. And we need to get really disciplined officiating.”

    Since his return to the CCHA, Anzalone has been unhappy with what he calls “average” officiating, and he’s let Brian Hart, head of league officiating, know it.

    “Sometimes the officiating changes,” Anzalone says. “When we were at MSU, I thought the officiating was average. At home, I thought it was fine. I think the refs who let the kids dictate the games ref the best games.”

    So the Lakers can take points from the Wildcats if they hustle, if they get good goaltending, if the officiating is decent, says Anzalone. “If we get that and the stars are aligned properly, we can beat Rick one game.”

    Will Work for Fans

    "Some students are bound to giggle, in a good way. We’re hoping they’ll be intrigued."

    — LSSU coach Frank Anzalone, on his players’ wearing handmade signs promoting Laker hockey this week.

    Another concern of Anzalone’s is the lack of student attendance at Lake Superior State home games. It’s a crime, he says, since the students live directly across the street from Abel Arena.

    His solution? Advertise on the players. On the players.

    Wednesday through Friday, Lake Superior State players wore — around their necks — cardboard signs that read, “Come see me Friday night free. Laker Hockey. Wear white.”

    “The Blueliner club made them,” says Anzalone, whose players began wearing them in the dining hall Wednesday evening. Anzalone says the humor of the approach will make Lake Superior State students realize that his Division I players “are not above” the student body.

    “A couple of guys are worried about reactions, and there’s always going to be somebody who’s a jerk,” Anzalone explains, “but I’ve told them to walk away from people like that.

    “Some students are bound to giggle, in a good way. We’re hoping they’ll be intrigued.”

    Students at LSSU pay $40 per year for hockey, the only sport that charges admission at Lake State. Anzalone says that he’s hoping that at least a few students will show up for the free home game against Northern Michigan and like it enough to return, next time with a few more friends.

    This isn’t Anzalone’s first hands-on attempt at improving the atmosphere at home games. “I had whole bands come over because they needed a pep talk,” says Anzalone. “They’re not attired by the school, so I gave them jerseys.”

    Not Laker jerseys, mind you, but blue and gold hockey jerseys that say, “Hockey School.” The color scheme is right, and, says Anzalone, “You should have seen their [band members’] faces when we gave them the jerseys.”

    Anzalone says he wants the band to know that somebody cares. “Now they’ll feel as though they belong there.”

    If the walking billboards and new band jerseys don’t work, Anzalone is bound to scheme up something else to draw attention to his hockey program — which is exactly the point.

    Three Is No Charm

    Just above Lake Superior State in the CCHA standings and keeping company with Notre Dame is Bowling Green. With three points, the Falcons are “just trying to win games, and struggling to do it,” says head coach Buddy Powers.

    Through eight games, the Falcons have just three scorers who have reached five points: Greg Day (2-3–5), Brian Escobedo (2-3–5), and Grady Moore (1-4–5). Bowling Green has scored 17 goals through the first eight contests, averaging 2.12 goals per game (11th in the league). BGSU is allowing 4.00 goals per game, last in the league.

    “Every mistake winds up in our own net,” says Powers, “and we haven’t been able to reverse that equation.”

    The Bowling Green power play is a respectable fourth in the conference (.171), but the Falcon penalty kill is dead-last (.750), which is never good news for a team which leads the league in penalty minutes (26.50 per game).

    Contributing to these early Falcon difficulties has been what Powers calls a “brutal” travel agenda, with three of the first four weeks on the road — and we’re not talking trips to the local park, either.

    BGSU spent Oct. 12-13 at the Ice Breaker Cup in Maine, Oct. 19-20 in Marquette, Mich., and Nov. 1-2 in Munn Arena.

    “To bus up to Maine and come back, and then back to Northern…,” says Powers, his voice trailing off. Anyone familiar with the nature of travel in the CCHA understands him completely. The Falcons had to bus to Maine — 36 hours round-trip — because they were originally booked on a 40-seat commuter plane that couldn’t accommodate the team’s equipment.

    “So we all went on the bus, along with the equipment,” says Powers.

    In the Ice Breaker, the Falcons lost to Maine and tied Clarkson. In Marquette, BGSU lost a one-goal game to Northern Michigan before tying the Wildcats the next night.

    Back home during the third week of play, BGSU split with local rival Ohio State. The 4-3 loss in Saturday night’s game was “heartbreaking,” says Powers, as it was the Falcons’ second loss in two consecutive weekends which resulted from an opponent goal in the last 30 seconds of the game.

    MASTERS

    MASTERS

    Then BGSU had the luck of drawing Michigan State, in Munn, after the Spartans returned from a rare road sweep in Omaha. They lost to Michigan State, 6-3 and 4-0.

    “If anything,” says Powers, the Spartans “were still a bit tentative” during the Thursday night 6-3 BGSU loss. “Let’s face it; we got three goals on them. Ty [BG goaltender Tyler Masters] had a bad night, and the pucks went into the net way too easy.”

    The 4-0 loss — and Michigan State goaltender Ryan Miller’s 21st career shutout — was another story, says Powers. “The next night they [MSU] played awesome. It was kind of like a surgical defeat — very precise.”

    Goaltender Tyler Masters (3.93 GAA, .892 SV%) is one of Bowling Green’s bright spots, though he’s had a couple of “bad nights,” says Powers, including that 6-3 loss and the loss to Ohio State. “He started off tremendous. He was good against Clarkson and Northern.”

    For all the rockiness of the start, Powers is happy with his squad. “Our effort and our attitude and all those things have been tremendous, but they’re not translating into wins. We’re so close. The guys just have to keep grinding.”

    Powers adds, though, that his team could use a shot in the arm, and soon. “These things have a way of wearing on you when they always go the wrong way.”

    Games of the Week

    There is drama everywhere in this league, and not just at the top.

    Ferris State (4-3-0, 2-3-0 CCHA) at Notre Dame (1-5-2, 1-2-1 CCHA)
    Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m., Joyce Athletic Center, South Bend, Ind.

    The Bulldogs travel to South Bend after sweeping Lake Superior State at home, 2-0 and 6-3. This season, Ferris State has the potential to be the CCHA darkhorse, if talent and hard work prevail.

    This week’s CCHA Offensive Player of the Week, Rob Collins (7-9–16), leads the Bulldogs and the league in overall scoring through seven games — and he has no penalty minutes.

    Ferris State has a dynamic duo in net, two goaltenders whose early season performance would make them household names by now were they not playing for a team in Big Rapids. John DeCaro (1.68 GAA, .938 SV%) is the Bulldog goalie of record for three games, while Mike Brown (2.28 GAA, .919 SV%) played the other four.

    DeCaro is currently first among CCHA goaltenders, while Brown is fourth. Ferris State is tied with Michigan State for fewest goals allowed per game in overall play in the CCHA (2.00), and the Bulldogs are fifth (3.43 goals per game) in overall league scoring.

    The FSU PK is third (.887), but here’s the kicker: Ferris State has scored just one power-play goal in 40 attempts through its first seven games, putting them at the bottom of the league with a .025 PP percentage.

    Ferris State appears to have Notre Dame’s number, owning the all-time series with the Irish 28- 11-3 (15-5-2 in South Bend). Last season, the Bulldogs beat the Irish twice, 4-2 and 3-2 (OT), Jan. 5-6 at the Joyce.

    Notre Dame closed a six-game road swing with a split in Northern Michigan last weekend, upsetting the Wildcats 5-4 Nov. two before falling 4-1 the following night. Connor Dunlop (1-9–10) and David Inman (4-4–8) proved to be too much for the Wildcats to handle in the Notre Dame win. Dunlop’s four-assist performance was a personal career best, while Inman’s two goals and two helpers in the contest marked his second collegiate four-point game.

    Freshman goaltender Morgan Cey (3.84 GAA, .869 SV%) is the go-to guy for the Irish. All eyes should be on rookie Brad Wanchulak (2-1–3), who is as tenacious and smart as they come.

    Picks: Notre Dame is a hard-working and much-improved team this season — but so is Ferris State, and the Bulldogs have certain advantages. Still, the Irish weren’t deterred against Northern Michigan, so these should be too hard-fought games. Notre Dame 3-2, FSU 4-2

    Grudge of the Week

    This weekend, the Miami RedHawks travel to meet the Bowling Green Falcons. There is no love lost between these two teams.

    No. 15 Miami (5-2-1, 3-0-1 CCHA) at Bowling Green (1-5-2, 1-4-1 CCHA)
    Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m., BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, Ohio

    “These games are going to be hotly contested,” says Powers, this week’s master of understatement.

    After dropping two regular-season games to Miami in Oxford (4-2, 9-3, Jan. 26-27), the Falcons stunned the RedHawks with two 4-3 decisions, the second in overtime, during the first round of the CCHA playoffs…in Miami.

    The RedHawks return to the beloved Goggin Arena after picking up three road points against Western Michigan, tying 4-4 and winning 5-2 Nov. 2-3. Mike Kompon (3-3–6) had two goals in the tie, while Joe Pomaranski (3-3–6), and Danny Stewart (4-0–4) also scored.

    In the 5-2 win, Stewart and Greg Hogeboom (8-5–13) had two goals each, and Nick Jardine (3-4- -7) notched his third of the season.

    The RedHawks have a clear advantage on the offensive side of the puck, but with David Burleigh in net (.295 GAA,. .889 SV%), the goaltending is a wash. Defense? As Powers said, those Falcon mistakes tend to find their way to the back of the BGSU net.

    Pick: Bowling Green leads this all-time series 54-20-5, dating back to a 15-0 win in the first-ever game between the teams in 1978. Ah, those were the days. Miami 4-2, 4-2

    R.I.P., Freddie and Freda

    “Birds don’t usually live that long.”

    — Powers, on the longevity of the original Freddie and Freda Falcon, retired this week.

    Freddie, 1950-2001. Freda, 1966-2001.

    This Week in Women’s Hockey: Nov. 8, 2001

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    A Sign of Things to Come

    Minnesota’s two-game sweep of Ohio State last weekend featured the offensive talents of two early candidates for WCHA Rookie of the Year, if not WCHA Player of the Year: the Buckeyes’ Jeni Creary and the Gophers’ Kelly Stephens.

    The freshmen each accounted for a clean majority of their teams’ goal-scoring this weekend, with Creary netting two of the three Buckeye goals and Stephens scoring three of the five Gopher goals, including crucial game-tying goals in each game and the game-winning goal in the second game. Creary leads the nation with 10 goals this season, and she has figured in 14 of Ohio State’s 19 goals this year. With six goals for the season, Stephens has scored four more than any other Gopher player.

    “We needed [Stephens] to contribute right away, based on who we lost [to graduation],” said Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson “She brings a lot of offensive skills. We had some big holes to fill, and she’s doing a great job.”

    Halldorson said that Stephens and Creary have a different set of strengths — while Stephens’ best assets are her speed and hard work, Creary wins games with her great hands.

    Creary has had greater success with her on-ice vision, earning four assists for the season, while Stephens has just one. Three of Creary’s four assists came against New Hampshire last month.

    Minnesota has shown character early in the season, following up a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Minnesota-Duluth with a 1-1 tie the next day, then coming from behind in both games against Ohio State last weekend.

    “We lost nine players to graduation this year, and they were all important, so we have to now establish an identity with our group,” Halldorson said. “Now we’re confident and we have something to build on.”

    Ohio State, in contrast, has failed to hold on to a second period lead four times this season, including both Minnesota games, a 2-2 tie against Bemidji State on Oct. 13, and a 4-3 overtime defeat at New Hampshire on Oct. 20. The loss at the Whittemore Center was particularly crushing, because the Buckeyes held the lead until the final minute, but a soft shot from Wildcat freshman Steph Jones — which she admitted she fired just to get off the ice — somehow found its way into the net to tie the game. The Buckeyes’ next opponent, St. Cloud St., has had similar troubles of its own. The Huskies blew a 4-0 lead in a 4-4 tie against Bemidji State on Oct. 27.

    The matchup between Bemidji State and Minnesota is the most intriguing in the WCHA this weekend. The Beavers, who won just nine games all last season, are now riding a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2), although none of those victories have been against opponents above .500. Unlike the Gophers and the Buckeyes with their high-scoring freshmen, the Beavers’ attack has been carried by its veterans. Leading the way is junior Amber Fryklund, whose seven goals and seven assists trail only Creary among WCHA scorers.

    “Bemidji has always worked hard,” Halldorson said. “I haven’t seen them play yet, but it sounds like they’re very much improved. At this point we can’t take any team lightly. It’s very hard to predict scores in our league this year, and Bemidji has proven that with [its] results.”

    UMD gets the weekend off following its two-game sweep of Wisconsin. Bulldog junior Patricia Sautter had her chance to shine in net while usual starting goaltender Tuula Puputti was playing at the Three Nations Cup in Finland. Sautter gave up just one goal in two games. That’s 11 fewer goals than UMD gave up in the two games during Puputti’s extended absence for last year’s Cup.

    Ivy Awakening

    After the usual delayed start to their seasons, the top Ivy teams have their first key head-to-head meetings of the season, as Brown hosts Dartmouth on Friday night and Harvard hosts Dartmouth on Saturday.

    Dartmouth is coming off a dominating weekend against Vermont, where it outshot the Catamounts by a grand total of 127-4 in its 8-0 and 9-1 wins, and junior Carly Haggard led the Green with five goals. Colgate, which tied Harvard last Saturday and fell 2-0 to Brown on Sunday, appears to have handled the jump from D-III to D-I more smoothly than Vermont.

    The Brown-Dartmouth game on Friday will be teams’ first meeting since their epic ECAC semifinal showdown last season, which ended with Haggard — straight off a faceoff — impressively fighting her way through a crowd of Bear defenders for the game-winner in double overtime, following a Dartmouth goal that was called back.

    Brown goalie Pam Dreyer still managed to make the ECAC All-Tournament team for her efforts in that game, despite not reaching the ECAC final. This year, Dreyer has yet to give up a goal through two games against Cornell and Colgate.

    Brown will still be missing junior co-captain Kim Insalaco for the rest of the Bear soccer season, which will finally come to an end on Saturday. Insalaco will be hoping for a promising hockey season, as her injury-riddled soccer team finished last in the Ivies.

    Saturday’s Harvard-Dartmouth is a rematch of last year’s ECAC final and the Frozen Four third-place game, though the stakes will be much lower this time around. The teams went 2-2 in their four meetings last year.

    2001-2002 Brockport Season Preview

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    Brockport had a season last year that Brian Dickinson would just as soon forget.

    “We were in such disarray with attitude problems. Last year was not what our coaching philosophy is about,” said the sixth-year coach. On top of that, a number of injuries depleted the Brockport roster, and still other players left the team at the semester break.

    Things Are Different

    Early in the 2001-02 campaign, it’s clear that things are different for the Golden Eagles.

    TEFFT (photo: Thomas E. Safran)

    TEFFT (photo: Thomas E. Safran)

    Picked to finish last in the SUNYAC, Brockport has already beaten Geneseo, 2-1, in the consolation round of the Chase Rochester Cup Tournament. The Golden Eagles also played a solid game against RIT in the tournament’s opening round, despite a 7-0 loss.

    “I’m pretty happy with where we’re at. Certainly, we have a long way to go, but I think we got out of the weekend what we were looking for,” said Dickinson.

    “I would have liked to have another one or two [goals] for a cushion there, but, in retrospect, winning 2-1 was the best thing for us. We’re going to be in a lot of those games, and we’ve got to learn how to win those one-goal games.”

    Brockport returns seven forwards to the squad, including last season’s second- and third-leading scorers, senior co-captain Darren Kennedy and junior Nick Smyth. They’re joined by eight newcomers.

    Two rookie forwards started on the first line over the past weekend for Brockport: Mark Digby and Brad Zarem. Both came to the team directly from high school hockey.

    “They were both a couple of what I consider steals to get out of high school. I’m not sure they are players, at this point, that Brockport could get if they chose to play a year of juniors.”

    The transition to the college game from high school is a bit more daunting than from juniors, too. “I think they’ve got a lot to learn, especially the speed of the game. They can’t relax for a second because they haven’t played at this speed, ever,” said Dickinson.

    Defense will be key as Dickinson figures his team to be in a lot of close games. A veteran defensive squad returns for Brockport, including junior co-captain Nate VanKouwenberg, who missed several games with a wrist injury, and offensive-minded sophomore Casey Firko.

    DICKINSON

    DICKINSON

    Goaltenders Steve Tippett and Joe Messina return for the Golden Eagles, joined by junior transfer Brian Tefft.

    Tefft saw his first action against Geneseo, impressing Dickinson. “He made the saves he was supposed to make, and made all but one of the ones he wasn’t supposed to make. But the area I really liked was the way he controlled his rebounds, and the ones he didn’t cover, he was really good at steering them away from trouble.”

    A Huge Win

    A win in an early season tournament consolation might not seem a big deal. But for Brockport, its first win since Dec. 8, 2000, was “huge,” said Dickinson.

    “The guys know that playing our system, we can win hockey games. They’re starting to understand that, yeah, we’re not going to play in many 6-5 games … we’re going to play in a lot of 2-1, 3-1, 4-2 hockey games, and we’ve got to get ourselves mentally ready for that.”

    Bottom Line

    A healthy Brockport squad, both mentally and physically, and some good recruits, should propel the Golden Eagles in their mission to regain a playoff berth.

    2001-2002 Fredonia Season Preview

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    In his 14th season at Fredonia, coach Jeff Meredith is still having fun.

    “I’m really enjoying working with this bunch of guys. So I’m having a lot of fun and they’re having a lot of fun at practice every day,” said Meredith.

    MEREDITH

    MEREDITH

    A roster which includes 13 freshmen is making up for inexperience with ability.

    “I think we have more skill than we’ve had in the past four years. I guess the question is will we be a better hockey team, initially, because of that skill. I think we have the potential to, but [we need to] pull it all together.”

    Strengths

    Fredonia is backstopped by last season’s SUNYAC goaltender of the year, Will Hamele. The junior had a stellar .941 save percentage and a 1.90 GAA in conference play last season.

    Returning Hamele in goal, along with “some discipline and hard work in our own zone, will keep our goals against down in the same neighborhood,” said Meredith.

    The Blue Devils have shown the ability to play a defensive-minded game when necessary. On the road, despite losing, they held RIT to four goals and Plattsburgh to three. Visiting Fredonia also blanked Oswego.

    Meredith looks for improvement on the scoreboard; last season, no Blue Devil averaged over one point a game.

    “I think we have the ability to finish plays now with some of our older guys and some of our younger guys that we haven’t had in the past, which hopefully will make a difference in our goals scored,” said Meredith.

    One Blue Devil who has stepped up already is junior forward Christian Fletcher. The team’s second-leading scorer last year already has four goals in the team’s four games.

    “He’s had a great start so far,” Meredith enthused. “That’s been a bit of a nice surprise, because honestly, when you look at it, he only had 19 points on the year last year, and I think he’s got six already. That’s great to see when one of your older guys gets off to a good start. It just makes things easier. Things fall into place.”

    Senior forward Dave Barnett has five points thus far, as does defenseman Dan Rohanna. Another blueliner, Craig Florkowski, has four points.

    Focus

    Rather than looking at the rest of the league, the Blue Devils are concentrating on improving their own game.

    “We’re just kind of focusing on ourselves and focusing ourselves on what we do best,” said Meredith. “Whether it’s the amount of effort, the amount of discipline we need, or getting our systems in order, we focus more on how we play than who we play. We just have to.”

    Bottom Line

    A strong defense and stingy goaltending took the Blue Devils to the playoffs last year. A few more points on the scoreboard from a more skilled team could take them past the first round.

    2001-2002 Buffalo State Season Preview

    By
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    It has been a gradual process, but the plan put in place during his first season at Buffalo State is now paying off for coach Jim Fowler.

    FOWLER

    FOWLER

    Fowler started 1996-97 without a recruiting class, and over the next couple of seasons had to concentrate on filling a roster. Those teams were not competitive, and Fowler knew that getting beat by double-digit scores was not going to build confidence or attract recruits.

    “So we tried to pick teams that were at our level, newer programs, and teams that were, hopefully, turning the corner, to start playing them and build some confidence first,” said Fowler. “So as you start to win games, seven games, 12 games, and not three games, you start to get over the hump, and guys say, ‘Hey, they’re starting to win, maybe I’ll go there now.’

    “That was my toughest sell, to try to get guys to come to a team that won three games last year. Now, we’re a playoff contender, we’re knocking at that door, we can battle with these teams now. Guys want to hear that. They want to play for a winner, or someone who’s going to be there soon.”

    Knocking At The Door

    This year’s SUNYAC preseason poll finds the Bengals in fifth, a finish that would put them in the playoffs for the first time.

    “We’re returning nine of our top 10 scorers. I think that [the SUNYAC coaches] looked at the offensive capabilities we have,” said Fowler.

    Fowler’s top four scorers from last season — forwards Joe Urbanik, Todd Nowicki, third-year captain Rocky Reeves, and Jason Comardo — are all back. They combined for 52 goals in the 2000-01 campaign.

    On the defensive end, “We have pretty much a veteran team, with our No. 1 goaltender coming back and some pretty solid defensemen,” said Fowler.

    Four blueliners return, including assistant captain Jad Ramsay, Ricardo Hernandez, Cyle McCorkle, and Guy Duquette.

    Goalie Nick Berti, who emerged as the team’s top netminder in the second half of the season, will be challenged for game time by freshman Adam Horvath and junior Steve Thering, who comes to the Bengals after two years of junior college hockey at SUNY Morrisville.

    Momentum

    After a season in which the Bengals achieved a number of firsts: a .500 record (12-12-1), a seven-game unbeaten streak, and records for wins, goals, and shots in a season, Fowler’s squad is ready to battle for one of the SUNYAC’s six playoff spots.

    “Each year I’ve been in the league — for 13 years as a player and coach — you’ve always had Plattsburgh, Potsdam, and Oswego, and maybe Fredonia up there, but I think its going to be a race for three or four teams for the last two playoff spots.”

    Bottom Line

    With a veteran squad that has learned how to win, a steadily improving Buffalo State is going to be in the hunt.

    2001-2002 SUNYAC Season Preview

    By
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    The 2001-02 SUNYAC season promises to be the most competitive in many seasons.

    Defending national champion Plattsburgh still stands head and shoulders above the rest of the conference. But for the first time since expanding the conference playoffs to six berths, every team has a legitimate shot at the postseason.

    SUNYAC coaches agree.

    Plattsburgh State claimed the 2001 Division III championship.

    Plattsburgh State claimed the 2001 Division III championship.

    “The league has taken a big jump in getting stronger, depthwise,” says Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith. “I think the teams at the bottom and the middle have gotten more competitive and that just makes the conference more reputable.”

    Brockport’s Brian Dickinson concurs: “I don’t think the last place team is going to be 0-14. I think a lot of us are going to have two, three, four wins and it’s going to kind of spread out because nobody is going to be a pushover.”

    Buffalo State coach Jim Fowler, whose Bengals are picked to make the playoffs for the first time in the SUNYAC preseason poll, says it’s going to be down to the wire. “Each year I’ve been in the league — for 13 years as a player and coach — you’ve always had Plattsburgh, Potsdam, and Oswego, and maybe Fredonia up there, but I think its going to be a race for three or four teams for the last two playoff spots.”

    Oswego’s George Roll also notes the improved competitiveness in the conference. “I think the whole league’s improved. You know, obviously Cortland’s a much better team. I was one of the guys who voted Buff State fairly high; I was very impressed with them, especially the second half of last year. I think they’re going to take some people by surprise this year.”

    Meredith says that no team can take any other lightly. “Even with as much talent as Plattsburgh might have, if they don’t come ready to work, they stand a good chance of losing or even tying anybody. That just makes for a great league.”

    Two new coaches join the conference. Former Bowling Green assistant and All-American Brian Hills takes the helm at Geneseo, while alumnus Tom Cranfield returns to Cortland.

    Here’s a quick look at the conference’s eight teams, in the order they were chosen in the preseason coaches’ poll. Click on each link to see a more in-depth report.

    SUNDBERG

    SUNDBERG

    1. Plattsburgh Cardinals

    Coach: Bob Emery
    2000-01 Record: 29-5-0, NCAA champions
    2000-01 Conference: 13-1-0, SUNYAC regular-season and playoff champions

    With most of its high-powered offense returning, a goalie still improving, and some good rookies, Plattsburgh may even be better than last year.

    2. Oswego Great Lakers

    Coach: George Roll
    2000-01 Record: 17-9-1
    2000-01 Conference: 10-4-0, 2nd place regular season, lost to Potsdam in semis

    Oswego will be a playoff team again this season. How high the Lakers finish and how far they go in the SUNYACs depends on the progress of a young squad.

    3. Potsdam Bears

    Coach: Ed Seney
    2000-01 Record: 20-8-3
    2000-01 Conference: 8-3-3, 3rd place regular season, playoff runner-up

    Although a young squad may take a few games to gain some experience, look for the Bears to be clawing their way to the top in the second half of the season.

    4. Fredonia Blue Devils

    Coach: Jeff Meredith
    2000-01 Record: 12-11-3
    2000-01 Conference: 7-5-2, 4th place regular season, lost to Geneseo in first round

    Defense and goaltending took the Blue Devils to the playoffs last year. A few more points on the scoreboard could take them past the first round.

    5. Buffalo State Bengals

    Coach: Jim Fowler
    2000-01 Record: 12-12-1
    2000-01 Conference: 4-10-0, 7th place regular season, did not qualify for playoffs

    A veteran squad that has learned how to win, Buffalo State is going to be in the hunt.

    6. Geneseo Ice Knights

    Coach: Brian Hills
    2000-01 Record: 14-13-2
    2000-01 Conference: 5-7-2, 5th place regular season, lost to Plattsburgh in semis

    With every team in within reach of the playoffs, Geneseo will need a strong effort all season.

    7. Cortland Red Dragons

    Coach: Tom Cranfield
    2000-01 Record: 9-16-2
    2000-01 Conference: 4-8-2, 6th place regular season, lost to Potsdam in first round

    Strong goaltending, hard work, and some young talent can put Cortland in the playoffs again this year.

    8. Brockport Golden Eagles

    Coach: Brian Dickinson
    2000-01 Record: 2-21-2
    2000-01 Conference: 0-13-1, 8th place regular season, did not qualify for playoffs

    A healthy Brockport squad, a good attitude, and some good recruits should help the Golden Eagles to regain a playoff berth.

    2001-2002 Plattsburgh Season Preview

    By
    -

    A national championship and a No. 1 ranking in the preseason USCHO.com Division III poll put a bulls-eye on the backs of the Plattsburgh Cardinals.

    EMERY

    EMERY

    “We’re going to be everyone’s big game, especially in our rink. It seems it’s a tough place to play, but it’s an easy place to get ready to play,” said coach Bob Emery.

    Despite some preseason turmoil, and a midseason slump, Plattsburgh was the hottest team in the nation down the stretch last year.

    But turmoil doesn’t bother Emery: “When you have hard times, it makes you stronger as a team. I hope this isn’t an year without any turmoil for us, because turmoil makes you stronger.”

    On the ice, instead of off?

    “Any turmoil.”

    Three Top Centers

    “Our top three centers are as good as any three centers in the country,” said Emery, speaking of Brendon Hodge, captain Jason Kilcan, and Guy Come.

    Hodge, Kilcan, and forward and assistant captain Mark Coletta were the top three scorers for Plattsburgh last season, combining for 57 goals and 115 points. All three return for Emery and associate coach Kevin Houle. The team loses its fourth-leading scorer, SUNYAC tournament MVP Derrick Shaw, to graduation.

    Arguably the best goalie in Division III during the playoffs last season was Niklas Sundberg.

    Part of his improvement last year came from getting into better shape. This year, he’s in even better shape, according to Emery.

    HODGE

    HODGE

    “His body fat is extremely low and he’s had a great camp so far. I hope he can pick up where he left off. He did a great job down the stretch for us last year.”

    Sundberg amassed a .926 save percentage, a 2.27 GAA, and a 27-5-0 record last season.

    If there’s an area in which the Cardinals will need to improve as the season progresses, it might be on defense, where the loss of Bryan Murray, a two-time second-team All-American, and Bobby Owen will be felt.

    “I think the hardest position to teach is defense. And we have two freshmen who we think are real good, but we have to be patient with those guys. So if we had a weakness, it would probably have to be on defense,” said Emery.

    Junior assistant captain Peter Ollari, and senior Jeff Marshall are among those who return on the blue line for Plattsburgh.

    Special teams should continue to be another strength for the Cardinals. Last season a decent 24 percent on the power play was overshadowed by Plattsburgh’s penalty kill, which allowed just 20 power-play goals while scoring 17 times shorthanded.

    Rebuild? Not Here

    Plattsburgh never seems to be in a rebuilding mode. The Cardinals have won the SUNYAC eight times in Emery’s 11 seasons behind the bench.

    “We don’t like to rebuild at Plattsburgh; we like to retool. Any time you have more than five or six guys to replace, it’s very tough on the program. Sometimes it takes you more than a year to get it back.”

    Emery’s nine freshmen will have to compete hard for playing time. “We’ll have a few rookies in the lineup. We’re very happy with what we’ve seen. There’s an adjustment period for the freshmen, but they end up taking someone’s job, at least one or two of them.”

    Bottom Line

    With the nucleus of its high-powered offense returning, a goalie still improving in his senior year, and rookies looking to fill some shoes, this year’s Plattsburgh Cardinals may even be better than the champs of last season.

    2001-2002 Potsdam Season Preview

    By
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    Potsdam is in a bit of a rebuilding mode this season, with 11 rookies on the roster.

    Coach Ed Seney’s Bears, who in game two of the SUNYAC championship were the only team to beat Plattsburgh in its last 15 games, lose five of their top seven scorers from last year. Those five accounted for 61 of the team’s 120 goals last season.

    “You don’t want to bring in 12 if you lose 12, because you have to replace 12 again in a few years,” said Seney. “Six came in as freshmen and the rest as transfers. Losing 11 or 12 is tough.”

    Goaltending And Defense The Key

    With the loss of so much offensive power, Seney is looking to goaltender Ryan Venturelli and his defensive corps, which includes last year’s second-leading scorer Dave Weagle, to keep the Bears in contention.

    “Our biggest strengths are our goaltender and our defensemen. We’re not going to win many games 6-5, 5-4. We’re going to have to win a lot of 3-2, 2-1, 4-3 games. If we hold teams under three, I think we’re going to have a pretty good shot.”

    As the season progresses, Seney expects his large crop of rookies to fill the shoes of the departed players.

    “I think our rookies are playing well. I think we’re going to be okay once we get to next semester. I think it’s going to take a semester for guys to get that experience under their belt.”

    Veteran players will also have new responsibilities, said Seney.

    “Our returning guys haven’t been asked to play the role they’re going to play this year. On our power play, only one guy returns who played on our top power play last year. Now it’s their turn to step into that role and it’s going to take them a little while to adjust to that.”

    Seney also pointed out that there is a bit of an adjustment for new players coming from Canadian juniors.

    “It’s just so hard for them to adjust to [having] no red line, and that every game counts. The kids you get from junior hockey in Canada, they play 70 games a year, and we play 14 in our league. So [one game] is as important as playing a Plattsburgh in a championship game. Sometimes kids have a hard time understanding that.”

    How Good Is This Team?

    “[Until] we’ve played everyone once, we don’t know,” said Seney. “I think most of the goalies in our league are pretty good. And if a goalie gets hot in our league, anybody can beat you, because there’s not that many snipers in our league who can score 25 goals.”

    Bottom Line

    Although a largely underclass squad may take a few games to get the experience needed to compete in the SUNYAC, look for the Bears to be clawing their way to the top half of the conference in the second half of the season.

    2001-2002 Oswego Season Preview

    By
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    Oswego coach George Roll adds seven rookies to an already-young squad.

    This year’s Lakers are talented, but like the rest of the SUNYAC, just a notch or two below league-leading Plattsburgh.

    “We’re pretty much a freshman, sophomore team. I think in a couple years we will have closed that gap [with Plattsburgh] — not to say we can’t beat them on a given night, but I do think their talent level is better, stronger, than the rest of the league,” said Roll, whose team starts its 2001-02 season against the defending national champs.

    “How long that process takes, we’ll have a better idea after this weekend, obviously.”

    Defense And Goaltending A Plus

    Defense will be one of Oswego’s strengths, particularly in the early part of the season.

    “I think our defense is pretty solid, although we’ve got two freshmen playing. I think the two of them have made the transition fairly smoothly to this level. Mark Strzoda and John Nadalin are both very reliable at both ends of the ice,” said Roll.

    As we noted in last week’s SUNYAC column, Roll has three good goaltenders vying for ice time in Joe Lofberg, Tyson Gajda, and Sebastian Matte. “It’s gonna be a difficult situation in terms of who is going to be No. 1,” said Roll.

    Gajda will get the start for the season-opener against Plattsburgh, but all three are “going to get their opportunity to prove themselves and when that opportunity presents itself, they’ve got to make the most of it.”

    On offense, the Lakers have lost their top four scorers from last season, totaling 48 goals and 140 points.

    Several of the last two years’ recruits are poised to pick up the scoring slack, including three sophomore forwards: SUNYAC rookie of the year Mike Lukajic, Brian St. John, and Matt Vashaw, junior John Hirliman. Defensemen Joe Carrabs and Nate Elliott will also contribute offensively.

    However, depth at forward is going to be a challenge for Oswego, at least early on.

    “We’ve got some talented young guys, but I think physically, some of them are a ways away from really making an impact at our level,” said Roll. “I think that they’re capable of it but I don’t think we’ve got the depth to score with four lines. I think our top two lines are pretty strong, but again, they’re all freshmen and sophomores.”

    Roll also thinks that the Lakers may not rack up the goals they did last season, when they averaged more than five per game.

    “I don’t think we’re going to be as explosive as we were last year, especially early on. But as the season progresses, I think we will get better in that area.”

    Patience Is A Virtue

    One thing Roll believes is vitally important to the development of his young team is patience.

    “I think that especially with this team, we’re just going to have to be patient and try to get better every weekend,” said Roll. “I think it’s going to take some time. It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight. There are going to be some growing pains with this team, but I think they’re definitely capable of putting up some real good numbers.”

    Bottom Line

    Oswego will be a playoff team again this season. How high they finish and how far they go in the SUNYACs will hinge on the continued development of a young and skilled squad.

    2001-2002 Geneseo Season Preview

    By
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    Geneseo started this season with an event that had never happened in the program’s history: a coaching change.

    Brian Hills, a former assistant coach and All-American at Bowling Green, takes over an Ice Knights squad from Paul Duffy, who retired after 26 seasons at the helm.

    HILLS

    HILLS

    Although last year’s Ice Knights had three of the top 15 scorers in Division III, the team finished in the middle of the SUNYAC pack.

    Change will be the watchword this season. As Hills put it, “I think pretty much everything I’m doing here is new to them.”

    Some Holes To Fill

    The biggest hole left from last season for Geneseo is on offense. The loss of last year’s first line, with Aaron Coleman and Jack Staley graduating, and David Bagley transferring to RIT, leaves a void of 149 points to fill.

    “I think the biggest thing here is we lost a lot off offense, and it’s going to be a matter now of who steps up to be our offensive leaders this year,” said Hills.

    “Hopefully some guys can increase their numbers from last year. That’s what I’m looking for at this point — which guys who played in the shadows of a couple guys last year — which guys can step up and chip in offensively for us.”

    One of those Hills is looking to is senior captain Tony Scorsone, last year’s fifth-leading scorer with nine goals and 11 assists. In three games, Scorsone leads the team with two goals and three assists.

    Another key forward, Matt Lester, accounted for 13 goals and 11 assists last season and was the fourth-leading scorer.

    Defensively, Hills returns a solid veteran corps. Seniors Scott Lephart and Tom Westcott are joined by juniors Michael Drezek and David Baran, and sophomores Jeremy Nau, Andy Ford, and Jon Schnepf.

    Goalie Jeff Phelps, who played in 12 games last season, returns. Phelps and freshmen Scott Blackman and Brett Walker have seen action in net so far.

    Geneseo is 0-for-3 so far this season, giving up four power-play goals in a 7-4 loss to Hobart in the Chase Rochester Cup, but keeping Brockport 0-for-10 a man up and scoring a shorthanded goal in a 2-1 loss in that tournament’s consolation.

    The Ice Knights lost to Manhattanville, 10-1, in their first tilt.

    Veteran Leadership A Key

    Although the Ice Knights have 11 freshmen on the roster, the team has a balance of players from each class.

    Hills will be relying on leadership from his upperclassmen as his team adjusts to his system, and players adapt to new roles on his team.

    “I think we have great senior leadership … I think it’s going to be important that those guys [Scorsone and the three assistants] lead us during my first year here.

    “One thing I do know that I have here is an extremely hard-working group of young [players], and I’m really proud of the work effort they’ve brought to the table so far from the dryland right up to our first few weeks of practice.”

    Bottom Line

    With every team in the SUNYAC within reach of the playoffs, the Ice Knights will need a strong effort all season.

    2001-2002 Cortland Season Preview

    By
    -

    Under new head coach Tom Cranfield, the Cortland Red Dragons are off to a 3-0 start.

    How did they get there? Hard work.

    After downing Potsdam and Fredonia in the SUNYAC Challenge, Cranfield said, “I don’t know if we’re as talented as those teams, but we worked very hard.”

    That work ethic is something Cranfield has stressed to his team: “We take everything game by game and day by day. We try to break games into periods and periods into shifts and try to make them as small as we can and just try to instill a positive work ethic.”

    More Than Just Hard Work

    Cortland returns a roster of players who made it to the playoffs for the first time since Cranfield played for the team in the early ’90s.

    “[The four seniors] have taken a lot of pride in that, and a lot of ownership, too. They were here when they won three games in their first year,” said Cranfield.

    With nine freshmen and five sophomores, the rookie coach is depending on the leadership of his veterans to help with the development of his underclassmen.

    “Trevor Bauer is one of our captains, and I’ll tell you what, there’s not a kid with better character. I think that’s important, especially when you have the number of young kids we have. While we feel we have a great young team … our senior leadership is right where we want it to be, so I think that’s going to mean a lot later in the careers of these freshmen and sophomores.”

    Goaltending is the team’s biggest strength, according to Cranfield.

    “I think with John Larnerd, and with a good backup in Mark Paine as well, we can steal some games with our goaltending.”

    Cranfield is effusive in his praise of Larnerd: “I have had the privilege of working with some Division I goalies who have just entered college, and John is quite an athlete. He works hard at it, and he’s a focused kid, and I think his numbers speak for themselves. He’s just a great athlete and he works too hard to be denied. It’s early and I don’t know all that much about him. But he stops the puck, I know that.”

    Seven of the team’s top ten scorers are back, and Cranfield is pleased with the depth he has on offense. “I don’t see a lot of difference between our third and fourth lines; we’ve got a lot of skilled guys. You’ve got to play four [lines] if you can. I think it makes a big difference come third period.”

    Cranfield said that the area his team needs to work on the most is on defense.

    “I think we struggle defensively. I think we need to get stronger, and work on conditioning.”

    Cranfield wants to keep his team from leaning too much on its goaltending: “We need to tighten up in our defensive zone and make teams work for what they get.”

    What Lies Ahead

    While Cranfield is happy with the start of this season, he’s not willing to look too far down the road.

    “We don’t want to jump the gun and make any predictions yet, I’ll tell you that. We want to take it one game at a time and what happens, happens.”

    Bottom Line

    Strong goaltending, hard work, and some young talent can put Cortland back in the playoffs this year.

    Hodgkin’s Return Sidelines Holy Cross’ Crane

    By
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    Holy Cross forward Glen Crane will miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with a recurrence of Hodgkin’s Disease. The second-year freshman missed the entire second semester last season after being diagnosed with the cancer, but underwent chemotherapy that was believed to have put the disease into remission.

    Last season, Crane played in only four games for the Crusaders before being sidelined by illness. This year, Crane played in Holy Cross’ exhibition loss to St. Nick’s, and the opener of a two-game series at Air Force.

    Crusaders coach Paul Pearl showed obvious disappointment in losing Crane.

    “He was one of my best forwards in the first two weeks of practice,” said Pearl. Crane scored a goal in the opening exhibition game.

    In tribute to their teammate, Crusaders players will shave their heads for this weekend’s games at Mercyhurst and Canisius. Crane began chemotherapy treatments yesterday.

    Serino Temporarily Steps Down

    By Kevin Conway
    -

    It wasn’t so much how Chris Serino felt that forced him into temporarily stepping aside as Merrimack head coach. It was more of what the 30-year veteran saw in himself that proved unsettling.

    SERINO

    SERINO

    Diagnosed with throat cancer in August, Serino informed school officials on Tuesday that he was officially turning over the full-time responsibilities of running the Warriors to associate head coach Mike Doneghey for the duration of the fall semester. The third-year coach will, however, continue to perform off-ice administrative duties on behalf of the program.

    By the end of December, Serino, 52, will have completed the aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatments he is currently undergoing for the malignant tumor in his neck. At that time, he will be better able to evaluate the toll coaching the rest of the 2001-02 season will have on his health.

    If not convinced by then he can commit to returning to the rigors of coaching Division I college hockey, Serino said he will stay off the bench for the remainder of the season.

    Struggling with severe discomfort brought on by his most recent six-day chemotherapy regiment, Serino has missed several practices but just one of the five games Merrimack has played this fall entering tonight’s home date against New Hampshire. Sunday’s game at Boston University, which was televised on Fox Sports New England, marked his second game back on the bench.

    When watching a tape of the telecast, what Serino found more appalling than his team’s 4-0 defeat was his own actions, prompting him to make the difficult decision.

    “I get home, I’m in pain and my wife is in tears, but I really don’t understand why,” Serino said. “Then I’m watching the game at 2 in the morning looking at myself saying, ‘No wonder why I’m in this much pain.’ I mean, I can handle a lot of challenges, but I can only handle them one at a time.

    “I’m frustrated because I’ve had to make a decision that really hurts me. But I know it’s the right decision to make. I looked at myself the other day (on the tape) and said, ‘You’ve got to be asinine to be doing this.’ Sunday I was having trouble just talking and you saw the other part of it. You can imagine what that will do to me over the long haul.”

    After receiving the complete support of college president Richard Santagati and athletic director Robert DeGregorio, Serino informed assistants Doneghey, Stu Irving and Louis Finocchiaro of his decision. Doneghey called a team meeting Tuesday afternoon to break the news to the Warriors.

    “I told him this was the biggest game of your life,” recounted DeGregorio of his Monday evening meeting with Serino. “He’s got to win this game against cancer before he can win any more hockey games. I told him he needs every ounce of his energy, both mentally and physically, to beat this thing.”

    Following the announcement of his diagnosis in late August, Serino commented that once he felt he was becoming a distraction for his club he would step aside. Sunday at Walter Brown Arena is when he first sensed a problem.

    “I was in real pain Sunday night,” Serino said. “Watching the tape, I could see the kids looking at me with concern to see if I was all right. That’s no way to play a game.

    “I’ve been enough of a distraction to them, coming and going. I can’t get what I want to get across being there for the amount of time that I am. So I think this is the best way. I’ll do whatever they want me to do, break down the films or administrative stuff, whatever they need me to do in the background.”

    Doneghey adamantly refutes Serino has been anything but an inspiration for the Warriors.

    “How could a guy who bleeds blue and gold and has over 30 years of coaching experience be a distraction?” Doneghey reasons. “The guys feel for him and they miss him, but he wasn’t coach Serino. Coach could always but a positive spin on any negative situation, and he wasn’t doing that.

    “He was trying to condense his coaching into the few hours he could be here,” said Doneghey, who suffered a loss to UNH Oct. 18 in his Merrimack head coaching debut. “Not that it was having a negative effect on the kids because they always listen to coach Serino. But in their minds, they could have been wondering if we’re just puppets with coach Serino pulling the strings, or were we really in charge. He cleared all that up for the team and the coaching staff.”

    Merrimack junior captain Anthony Aquino admitted the club was not as shocked with the latest news as when Serino made his initial announcement in August. Just the same, he said, being without their head coach will not be easy for the Warriors.

    “It kind of hurts a little bit,” Aquino said, “but at the same time he wants us to just play and not worry about how he’s doing and how he’s going to be. Whether he’s here or not, though, we’ve got to start playing well. And we’ll play just as hard for Mike, Stu and Louis as we would coach Serino.”

    Beanpot Finds Home on NESN

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    The 50th anniversary Beanpot will be televised on New England Sports Network (NESN), according to a report in the Boston Globe.

    The annual hockey classic, played on the first two Monday nights in February, ran into television difficulties a year ago when WABU, a local Boston television station that showed Boston University games as well as the Beanpot, changed its television format, eliminating college hockey at midseason. AT&T Broadband, the local digital cable provider, picked up the Beanpot at the 11th hour.

    The announcement comes just one week after the ECAC revealed it will not renew its television contract with NESN for this season, sighting lack of funding for production costs. NESN has long broadcast college hockey in New England, dating all the way back to the inaugural Hockey East championship game in 1985.

    Four years ago, NESN lost Hockey East coverage to Fox Sports New England, a second regional cable sports network.

    This year’s Beanpot will take place on Feb. 4 and 11 at the FleetCenter in Boston.

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    Reigning Hobey Baker winner, Michigan State star Howard gives up senior season, signs NHL deal with Oilers

    USCHO Staff -

    McKenna, odds-on favorite as No. 1 pick in 2026 NHL Draft, announces commitment to Penn State for ’25-26 season

    USCHO Staff -

    Report: Tennessee State not fielding men’s hockey team for 2025-26, aiming to move start to 2026-27

    USCHO Staff -

    Former Western Michigan, Michigan goalie, NHL video coach Scarpace named new assistant at Michigan Tech

    USCHO Staff -

    Michigan State standout, 2025 Hobey Baker winner Howard earns USA Hockey’s Jim Johannson College Player of the Year award

    USCHO Staff -

    Seasoned junior, college hockey coach Bruneteau returning to Stevenson as head coach of Mustangs men’s hockey team

    USCHO Staff -

    Hobart men’s hockey assistant coach Kovachis heading back to Niagara as Purple Eagles’ new assistant

    USCHO Staff -

    UMass Boston women’s head coach Bradley hired as new assistant coach for Penn State women’s team

    USCHO Staff -
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