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2001-02 Rensselaer Season Preview

October 2, 2001

The Rensselaer Engineers rode a rollercoaster last season. One win, one loss. One winning streak, one losing streak. It went on like that all year. After winning two straight to end the regular season, the Engineers lost two straight in the playoffs at Dartmouth.

Suffice to say, that was not the ending Engineer fans had hoped for.

“I think they learned a lot,” said Engineer head coach Dan Fridgen. “As much as there was to learn in regards to how hungry [Dartmouth] was; they got us on our heels and we weren’t able to recover.

“I am sure that it wasn’t what we scripted as far as our season ending was concerned, but we’re moving forward. Last year was last year and we certainly are a different team this year.”

The Engineers look to have a sound start, as they only graduated one senior. But that’s a little misleading, since the Engineers have lost a total of five players from the start of last season. Two transferred, two simply left the team. But only one, graduated senior Glenn Coupal, was a regular.

But, as Fridgen has already pointed out, this Engineer squad is not last year’s.

“Even though you have only lost one player and you have five guys coming in, you’re a totally different team this year,” he said. “It’s already evident now. It seems like we’ve got more guys that are focused and we really want to make sure that we start off on the right foot instead of having a rollercoaster season to have a more consistent season in terms of our play. You learn from last year, and we’re more experienced. We’ve got more leaders this year ready to apply themselves, whereas last year we were too young to have guys step forward.”

Co-captain Matt Murley (24-17–41), Marc Cavosie (13-16–29), Carson Butterwick (9-21–30) and Jim Henkel (11-18–29) lead the Engineers up front. Cavosie spent time last season in the World Junior championships, while Butterwick was injured for a three week stretch.

There is some emphasis on Murley, as many in the league point to him as a possible Player of the Year contender, playing for his hometown team.

“He’s certainly come a long way and Matt was thrilled,” said Fridgen on Murley’s captaincy. “He’s earned it, and he realizes now that this is his senior year and just like us as a team he needs to have a good season. He’s taken responsibility. We’ve felt that he and [fellow co-captain] Steve Munn can lead our vision of this team.”

Munn was last year’s sole captain and returns to anchor a defense that also returns 26-point scorer Jim Vickers, Danny Eberly, Scott Basiuk, Hamish Cunning and Francois Senez. In addition, Matt McNeely and Blake Pickett join the blue line.

MARSTERS

In goal, the Engineers saw freshman Nathan Marsters pick up most of the playing time last season, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Team. His classmate Kevin Kurk also performed, and senior James Palmer rounds out the netminders.

“Nathan has done a real good job coming back and working on the things he needed to work on,” said Fridgen. “Kevin probably lacked some confidence last year and this year as far as early going, he’s certainly doing a real good job. His attitude has changed and I can see real good competition between those two. We’ll be okay in goal; this year it will be a team type of effort.”

The Engineers also add three forwards up front, Nick Economakas, C.J. Hanifan and Vic Pereira. With the five freshmen, the Engineers have some size — and age.

“Last year as a coaching staff we felt we needed some size up front and on defense,” said Fridgen. “Some of these incoming freshmen are older than our juniors — we needed some experience as far as age is concerned. Last year we were a young team and this year we’ve evened it out.

“You know what you have in some situations, you’re hoping that guys that stepped up last year and came through, and I am expecting them to continue it,” he said. “We’re not going to be a team that will rely on just a couple of guys. We’re going to have to play together at the get-go.”

2001-02 Brown Season Preview

By Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy

October 2, 2001

It’s going to be yet another uphill battle for the team from Providence, R.I. After losing seven members to graduation, including four of its top 10 scorers from last year, Brown was picked to finish dead last in the ECAC for the second straight year.

The road to the top spot — or even a playoff spot — may appear a long way off to some, but not head coach Roger Grillo. He feels that this year may be the one that gives his program the spark it so desperately needs.

“I think if you look at the wins overall, it’s extremely disappointing, but I felt that last year we turned the corner and played some good hockey,” said Grillo, beginning his fifth year at Brown. “We lost every game with the exception of one game where it came down to the third period. It was a one-goal game or a two-goal game. So, I thought we played well, we competed hard and played with good character; it’s just a matter of coming up with offensive production. That the young guys played that much will just bode well going into this year.”

Offensive production was certainly a problem last year and that was with leading scorer Matt Kohansky on board. Heading into the new season, the onus will be on the shoulders of captain Josh Barker to lead his team up from the depths of the league. The 6-1 Barker is arguably the most talented player on the squad. He is a tremendous two-way player on defense and a fierce competitor who has played a key role on this team since his freshman year. He has experienced the losses — both on and off the ice — and is ready to end his career on a positive note.

BARKER

He will get support from junior blueliner Paul Esdale, the team’s second leading scorer from last year. Those two defensemen will anchor a defense that returns six regulars to the lineup, including sophomores Scott Ford and Vince Macri, who logged considerable ice time last year. Two freshmen — Gerry Burke and Paul Crosty — will begin their careers at Brown on the blue line and vie for playing time. Grillo is hoping that they will add depth to the defensive corps as the season wears on.

“Josh will be back there and we only lost one kid, Chris Warrington, to graduation, [so] we should be solid back there,” said Grillo. “The two freshmen look solid back there. For the first time in two years I feel real good about the direction we’re headed and I like the leadership that we have.”

Leadership will also come from between the pipes as Brian Eklund returns for his final season. The second-year starter will need to improve his numbers from last year — .902 save percentage and 3.43 goals against average — but his stability will be critical to this team. Eklund is a solid netminder who has the ability to change the tone of a game, as was evidenced by his 48-save performance against Yale in the team’s season-ending game last year. Eklund will especially need to be a presence towards the latter stages of a game, when Brown has struggled the most. He will pushed by sophomore Yann Danis.

“Coming into it, Brian looks solid,” said Grillo. “He had a great summer, and Yann looks great and a freshman in Scott Rowan as well. It’s a battle with Brian and Yann and we’ll go from there.”

Then there is that offensive issue we mentioned earlier. Kohansky is gone and he was the team’s brightest hope for a big-time scorer. What now?

“You’re finding that the problems we’ve faced the last couple of years are facing everyone in college hockey. The days of the 25-30 goal scorers are far and few in between,” explained Grillo. “If you’re lucky to have one of those, you’ll be successful. There will be a lot of tight games because of this. Hopefully we can take some of those one-goal games and put them on the other side. If we do, we can be in pretty good shape.”

Grillo will need career years from many of his returning players, including juniors Chris Legg and Keith Kirley. The 6-2, quick-skating Kirley, who comes into this season as the second-leading returning scorer, appeared poised to break out offensively last year before a mid-season shoulder injury curtailed his momentum. If he can avoid injuries this year, he may be able to get on a roll and post some decent numbers for the Bears. Legg, a sixth-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 1999, has been touted as a natural scorer despite his 3-5–8 numbers from last year.

“There’s a couple of guys that can sneak out and have some strong years,” said Grillo. “Guys like Keith Kirley and Chris Legg, Shane Mudryk, Brent Robinson and Adam Saunders; those three played extremely well down the stretch as a freshman line.”

Mudryk, Robinson and Saunders played as a third line but were clearly one of the stronger trios for Brown down the stretch. It also wouldn’t help if one of the six incoming freshmen was able to make some waves right away to take some of the pressure off the lettermen.

“Our leading scorer had 21 points, so that was a negative for us. But I think that the experience that the guys have leads to us knowing what kind of team we have and what kind of team we can put together with our concentration and focus.

“We’ll be a much better team all around,” said Grillo. “We know that we don’t have that so-called legitimate offensive superstar, so we have to think about how we approach and do some things, but we do have some guys that can bust through and be one of those guys. But right now, we don’t have anyone that overwhelms the league from last year.”

There is no doubt that Grillo has a long road ahead of him, but he understands that his team is in a position to do just one thing — take it one game at a time.

“It’s critical for us to get off to a good start. The way the scheduling is, we have a majority of our [league] games at the beginning,” said Grillo, whose team faces eight league opponents in its first nine games of the season. “We don’t have the luxury to play three or four non-league games at the beginning of the season. We play all of ours in the middle of the season.

“So, for us, to jump right out and play 11 league games before Christmas is critical; that’s what put us behind the eight ball [last year]. In the years I have been here, we’ve been as strong as anyone down the stretch — it’s just that we can’t bury ourselves so that we put so much pressure on ourselves to have to try to win 10 in a row, which is impossible to do in this league.”

2001-02 Princeton Season Preview

By Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy

October 2, 2001

After last season, Princeton head coach Len Quesnelle must have felt as if he had seen it all. In his first year as head coach after taking over for Don “Toot” Cahoon, Quesnelle experienced a rocky road en route to finishing seventh in the league and nearly pulling off an upset victory over Cornell in the ECAC quarterfinals.

One week into December, things were going well. The team had finally begun to gel offensively and was in the middle of the ECAC hunt with a respectable 4-3-2 record, which included a key win over Dartmouth and two road ties against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Just when things were going well — that’s when the spokes, the wheels and the entire frame fell off the cart. The team that had been averaging more than three goals per game fell into a funk and dropped eight straight games heading into exam break.

“We came out of exams at the end of January after that eight-game skid,” recalls Quesnelle. “We went through some team exercises, if you want to call them that, and we really refocused on what was most important. We had 10 games in front of us and that gave us a chance to focus on what we needed to accomplish.”

The team did rebound and collect five victories down the stretch, including ECAC victories over St. Lawrence, Cornell and Vermont.

“The mindset going in the last 10 games of last year was a good learning experience for the returning players,” said Quesnelle. “We were 5-3-2 in the final regular-season games. A big reason for that was team defense. Heading into this year, I think that the team realizes how important team defense really is.”

PARSONS

Although Quesnelle welcomes back 11 lettermen, the pundits aren’t expecting much from this Princeton squad. If you had to put your finger on the key, it would fall jointly on the names of Brad Parsons and Dave Stathos.

Parsons ended his junior season as arguably the most talented offensive player on the team. He may not possess the experience of a Kirk Lamb, but Parsons proved that he can produce on a nightly basis as he finished with 24 goals last year, including a team-high three game-winning goals. More important than his statistics, however, is the senior’s ability to create through neutral ice and in front of the net. The loss of Lamb, Chris Corrinet, Shane Campbell and Ethan Doyle represents 66 percent of the team’s offense. Quesnelle will be hard pressed to replace those bodies, and a guy like Parsons will need support from returning players such as junior George Parros and senior Josh Roberts.

“Brad can be a real offensive catalyst for us this year,” said Quesnelle. “He has a good sense and savvy around the net. We have a group that has a little bit of everything.”

Freshman forwards such as James Fitzpatrick, Mike Patton and Neil Stevenson-Moore will have to make an immediate impact for Princeton to be competitive. The days of Princeton freshmen developing slowly by playing on the third and fourth lines behind guys like Jeff Halpern and Syl Apps are long gone. Quesnelle will need the newcomers to step in and take on second- or even first-line roles.

“If we’re shy of anything, it’s size,” said Quesnelle. “We have some speed and we’re real happy with the incoming freshmen group. They have high-end skill level, strength and most important great character and personality. You always want the freshmen to come in and play right away. You don’t want them to stand around. You do that by setting up protocol on how you practice. The team culture also helps to develop those guys.”

The team seems to have more answers defensively, beginning with Stathos, who returns for his final season. Stathos represents stability for the Tigers as he played in 26 games for the team last year, collecting a respectable 3.06 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. He also bailed the team out of more than a few games along the way, especially during the latter part of the season when he averaged nearly 30 saves a game. In the biggest series of the year, against Cornell during the ECAC quarterfinals, Stathos came up with 103 saves in three games.

“He is a great starting point,” said Quesnelle. “Dave was the backbone of the success we had towards the end of the season, so clearly he is the number-one guy in terms of experience for us. It’s a very good situation to be in.”

Another player who came alive last year and who will be looked upon as an anchor is sophomore Matt Maglione. The 6-1, 180-pounder, who played on the U.S. National Under-18 Team before joining Princeton, has the potential to become one of the best defensemen in the league. Reminiscent of Steve Shirreffs, Maglione uses his big frame to muscle opposing forwards in the defensive end and capitalizes on his penetrating slapshot to create in the offensive zone. He will be joined along the blue line by the likes of upperclassmen Trevor Beaney, Dave Bennett and David Schneider.

“We’re not going to ask these guys to take on a different role, just maybe to take more of a share. They have been encouraged to do all along,” said Quesnelle, whose team was picked by the ECAC coaches to finish 11th. “I don’t pay attention to where we are placed. I’m more curious to see where the other teams are.”

2001-02 Colgate Season Preview

By Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy

October 2, 2001

A year after going to the NCAA Tournament, and a controversial play in overtime from advancing to the quarterfinals, the Colgate Raiders fell out of the ECAC playoffs last season.

“We’ve put last season behind us; we tried to do that right away and not to dwell on it,” said Raider head coach Don Vaughan. “We hope that it was a speed bump, and the sooner we put it behind us and focus on this year, the better.”

In order to do that, the Raiders will have to rely on youth. Over the past two years, the Raiders graduated the likes of Andy McDonald, Sean Nolan, Darryl Campbell and Cory Murphy.

“We are very young — this is the youngest team I’ve ever had,” said Vaughan. “From a coaching standpoint that’s an exciting opportunity to be able to get a team like that, coaching them and working with them.

“The other thing that goes hand in hand with that is patience. We have to work to bring them along and our upperclassmen have been very good so far. In order for us to be successful this group will have to play like upperclassmen sooner than usual.

MORIN

“You can look to guys like Etienne Morin, Ben Bryce and Steve Silversides [to lead]. We’ll pull on the seniors even though there’s not a lot of them.”

Last season the Raiders scored 95 goals in 34 games. The season before they scored 132 goals in 35 games. That’s quite a dropoff.

“Offense is still a concern of ours as a staff,” said Vaughan. “Our offensive production was down last year and somebody else will have to pick up the slack for us. We’ll have to pull on guys like Etienne. Scooter Smith is a guy we missed in the second half last year, and a guy like him can help us. P.J. Yedon will continue to come on for us.”

Some of the dropoff came on the power play, where the Raiders were dangerous for the previous two years, but dropped from 49 goals to 37 last season.

“There were some younger guys that got to play special teams last year,” said Vaughan. “Those guys have seen some time, so from a special-teams standpoint we might be okay. We’ll miss Cory Murphy, but a guy like Rob Brown will help us out there.”

The Raiders will get an infusion of youth on the front lines. Vaughan likes what he has recruited.

“Adam Mitchell is somebody that a lot of guys would like to have in their program,” he said. “He can play offense and defense. Jaymon Hill is a big strong winger and will be able to step in and play a role for us.

“We think that if we can get [Dmitry] Yashin in the right spot… He’s not his brother (NHL star Alexei), but he’s got great hands and a pro shot. Those three guys should be able to step in right away. And we’ve got other guys that have speed. I think we’ve increased our team speed.”

The defense will also be young.

“Bryce and Silversides played well for us down the stretch and then Rob Brown played every game last year, so we’ll lean on those three guys heavily,” said Vaughan. “We’re excited about some of the younger kids, and I hope they are quick learners.

“This is the biggest group of defensemen that we’ve had. [Joey] Mormina, [Rich] Hodgkinson and [Justin] Spencer are all big kids that should be able to play.”

The Raiders will return experience in goal as both sophomore David Cann and senior Jason Lefevre are back.

“David played very well down the stretch, and Jason realizes that this is his last go at it and he wants to go our with a bang,” said Vaughan. “He seems to be ready to go. [Steve] Silverthorn is a big kid in the net and there could be a three-way battle back there.”

The Raiders are a young squad, but one that could challenge as the season goes on. But right now, Vaughan is seeing what his young team is all about.

“We’re going to have to be patient, and the schedule may be ambitious to begin with,” he said about facing Nebraska-Omaha and Minnesota in the first four games. “We have to find out where we’re at and we’ll find that out early.”

2001-02 Clarkson Season Preview

By Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy

October 2, 2001

On a Sunday night in Potsdam last March, the regular-season ECAC champions found themselves out of the hunt for the playoff title, not en route to Lake Placid for the first time since the championships have been held there.

A 3-2 loss to Vermont in overtime of the first round gave the Cats the 2-1 series win and in the process, knocked the Golden Knights of Clarkson out of NCAA contention.

“Reflecting back on the season, we played extremely well in the second half and that was encouraging,” said head coach Mark Morris. “Ending the season on the note it [did] was tough to swallow, but that also acts as incentive for us to play extremely determined this season. The chain of events that led to us being left out on the outside looking in, left a nasty taste in our mouth and we want to make things right.”

The Knights were voted first by the ECAC media in this season’s poll, not an uncommon sight.

“Polls are insignificant; it’s nice that people think that highly of our program, but we still have lots of work to do to see that through,” said Morris. “It’s a long season, there are plenty of good teams in our league and we’re not taking anything for granted. It’s not a situation we haven’t been in before, so we have to focus on the job at hand.

“We also realize that it’s been a two-year hiatus that we’ve had a chance to return to the national tournament and we really want to up our goals for the year. You’re only as good as your last game.”

The Knights lose Hobey Baker finalist Kent Huskins, but return 20 athletes this season, with a huge concentration of returning defensemen.

“It looks as if the strength of our team is from the blue line back,” said Morris. “Kent Huskins is a tough guy to replace. He might rank as one of the top defenseman we’ve had in my time here. He’s one of the irreplaceable guys.

ELLIS-TODDINGTON

“Our hope is that guys like [Chris] Bahen and [Dave] Reid, [Ian] Manzano, [Joe] Carosa and [Kerry] Ellis-Toddington will help to fill in some of those gaps, and we’ve added Ken Scuderi and Randy Jones and Brendan Farrell. And then [Mike] Nagai, who played forward last season, so there’s always that possibility that if need be he can move back in a defenseman’s role.”

The strong corps of defensemen will support junior Mike Walsh, named to the second team All-ECAC squad last season with a GAA of 1.81 and a save percentage of .924.

“He grew leaps and bounds from mid-year,” said Morris. “His confidence shot up significantly and made all the difference in the world for how much success we had that led to our league championship.”

Up front the Knights return Matt Poapst (17-19–36), a second-team All-ECAC selection, and David Evans (12-19–31). ECAC Rookie of the Year Rob McFeeters (15-15–30) and Kevin O’Flaherty (8-20–28) also return to provide scoring punch.

“We don’t have anybody that really jumps off the sheets at you numbers-wise,” said Morris. “But our biggest challenge this year is to get some of our middleclassmen to step forward and give us the depth it will take to compete against the better teams in our league.

“Don Smith, his leadership will be missed up front, and Murray Kuntz’ scoring as well. We’ve added Max Faulkner, who is a solid two-way player, and will remind people of the work ethic of a J.F. Houle. Chris Blight is a young forward with a knack to score goals and if he matures physically he’ll be able to pick up some of the scoring slack.

“Jay Latulippe is a very nifty forward and he plays a Craig Janney style — he’s got a great eye for finding the open guy. Matt Syroczynski looks to be a guy that will provide us with a physical presence. He’s a big body and a guy that has the tools that gives us the size and tools to play against the grittier teams.”

The Knights look to repeat last year’s success in winning the regular-season championship, but are also looking to get back to Lake Placid to recapture the Scotty Whitelaw Trophy.

“We’ve got a number of returning veterans that won’t soon forget how things unfolded in the series against Vermont, and I would expect that we’ll be very focused this season,” said Morris.

2001-02 Harvard Season Preview

By Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy

October 2, 2001

It’s not often that a team that finishes just a hair above .500 one year is picked as the team supreme the next. But that’s how far the fair Crimson has come since dreary days in the late 1990’s. The Mark Mazzoleni regime, in only its second year of operation, has already captured the attention of the ECAC coaches.

“Surprised,” said Mazzoleni on his reaction to the Crimson’s number-one ranking in the coaches’ poll. “You strive to reach that point where people recognize that you are making progressive steps. We are still a work in progress, but we are on the right course. We’re coming off our first winning season in seven years and we were 16-15-2. That didn’t exactly set the world on fire. The guys have realized that they have everything to prove.

The Crimson indeed has a lot to prove this year. Over the past decade, Harvard hockey has visited the highs and lows of collegiate athletics and just about everything in between. After a magical ride to a national title in 1989 under then-head coach Billy Cleary, the Crimson has endured sub-.500 seasons, early playoff dismissals and the exit of an entire coaching staff. How ironic that Harvard is ranked number one the year after the retirement of athletic director Cleary — the last remnant of that national championship team?

The key to any Harvard success will start from the back. After all, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the Crimson has no returning goalie of note and is strapped with an unproven defensive corps.

The loss of Oliver Jonas — the three-year backup who came out of nowhere during his senior campaign to capture the Dryden Award as the ECAC’s top goaltender — is a huge eyesore for the Crimson. Sophomore Will Crothers, the team’s top returning netminder, saw action in only two games last year and finished with a 4.50 GAA. The team is hoping that a freshman named Dov Grumet-Morris, a 6-2, 200-pounder out of the Danville Wings program, will compete for the starting spot right out of the blocks.

“We took a major step forward in terms of record due to Oli and that’s gone now,” said Mazzoleni. “We were really blessed in that area. I think that it’s a given that the guys know that. I am sure that they are curious to see what happens, but they are confident in Will and confident in our ability to bring in a good goaltender and to work and develop him.”

CAPOUCH

Unfortunately for Mazzoleni, questions arise over the blueliners ready to take the ice in front of the shaky Harvard net. Although invaluable leadership and experience will come from captain Peter Capouch, the Crimson is still in the process of building up its defense.

The emergence of strong freshmen such as Dave McCulloch, Kenny Smith and Blair Barlow proved to be a compliment to veterans such as Capouch and Graham Morrell — the only two senior defensemen. However, the lack of depth was too much as the season wore on. Defensive pairings changed seemingly overnight as the walking injured began to multiply. Morrell, fresh off surgery the previous summer, was the hardest hit as he missed the entire second half of last season after re-injuring his shoulder.

“I think that when you look at our team, you have to build from the goal out,” said Mazzoleni. “We are going to have to have one or two people emerge to have some defensemen [with] Peter and Graham. And Graham hasn’t really had an opportunity to play for us.”

Realizing that patience is a virtue in retooling a defense, the coaching staff has once again brought in three freshmen who have the potential to add value from the start. This impressive freshman class — Noah Welch, Jesse Lane and Ryan Lannon — average out to just over 6-3 and 207 pounds. The strength and size of the freshmen and sophomores also gives the coaching staff much more flexibility and diversity when it comes to defensive pairings.

The top of the Crimson pyramid will cause many sleepless nights for opposing teams. Bolstered by one of the best returning groups of forwards in the league and one of the premier players in the country, the Harvard offense is as strong as it’s ever been.

MOORE

Dominic Moore, a second team All-ECAC selection and the squad’s leading scorer with 43 points last season, will be the focal point as he plays his first season without a brother on the ice (Steve Moore graduated last year). The potential of Moore is boundless, just like the expectations set by his coach.

“Dom will be the premier forward in the ECAC and in the East,” said Mazzoleni. “He will be a strong candidate for All-American consideration and maybe even a finalist for Hobey. I look at him in that light.”

Moore will get considerable support from the sophomore class. Tim Pettit captured All-ECAC rookie team honors, while Tyler Kolarik turned many heads during the Crimson’s playoff journey to Lake Placid. This class is brimming with talent — some of which is yet to be tapped.

While everyone knows about Kolarik and Pettit, players such as Rob Fried and Dennis Packard have remained under the radar. Those two sophomores carry bigger, more powerful frames, but had quiet seasons playing behind their flashier classmates. An intense off-season training regimen and a year of experience, however, may turn them from role players into superstars.

“Rob is going to develop into an excellent two-way player,” praises Mazzoleni. “He has a tireless work ethic. He is very focused and being a year into college, he knows what to expect and I know that he has prepared himself for that this year. We have high expectations for him. You have to understand that he is a much different player than a Pettit and Kolarik. He is a power forward who relies on his skating ability and strength.”

Another darkhorse is junior Brett Nowak — a player itching to have a breakout season. Off-season surgery and a break midway through the season to play with the World Junior Team slowed him down as he finished with seven goals and nine assists. For the first time in his Harvard career, Nowak enters the season refreshed and healthy.

Pure talent goes a long way, but Harvard proved that it has something else going for it — coaching. While the team struggled through the inevitable growing pains last year, the special teams direction of Ron Rolston and fellow assistant Nate Leaman not only kept them in games, it also gave the team confidence and a feeling of success game in and game out. When they arrived, the three coaches preached the new Harvard system. Two years later, the league is starting to see what they mean. And as evidenced by the coaches’ poll, they’re taking notice.

2001-02 Cornell Season Preview

By Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy

October 2, 2001

You battle down the stretch, you go to the championship game and come away with a second-place tournament finish. You return your top ten scorers and the majority of your team. What happens?

You get picked third in the ECAC coaches’ poll with three first-place votes, but you get voted sixth in the media poll. Such is the case of the 2001-2002 Cornell Big Red.

“The sixth-place voting in the media poll is a slap in the face to our program based on the fact that we have the majority of our players in the championship game back,” said Big Red head coach Mike Schafer. “Our players are determined to prove a lot of people wrong. It’s one of those things where sometimes polls can hurt you, but this year, it helps.

“There’s no question that if you ask a guy to a man that we feel that we’re not a sixth-place team. Despite the lack of offense we had last year we were going head to head for first place last year towards the end of the season and we return with the majority of our hockey team.”

The Big Red are our pick to win the ECAC this season; if you look at all the factors, it is a sensible pick. The Big Red return their top ten scorers, led by captain Stephen Baby, and have a solid defense and solid goaltending.

“Last season we knew that the talk would be about producing offense to win. All the preseason talk was about offense, and that’s something our team can’t worry about,” said Schafer. “Last year we struggled early offensively — our guys found a different way to win and we continued to put pressure on teams as the season went on.

“There’s a lot of guys that need to step forward and score goals. Last year our offense was with our younger classes, and the team learned that everyone was concerned about scoring, but it’s more important to learn how to win games. I don’t care if we win 6-5 or 2-1; the bottom line is that we need to produce enough goals to win.”

Despite returning the top ten scorers, offense is a concern.

“Our senior class the previous year went down in scoring,” said Schafer. “Their production dropped and one of the things this year is that we’re looking for big years from Denis Ladouceur and David Kozier. Some guys have suffered injuries and we’re looking to get them back.

“The biggest pressure is going to be on our returning players to step up and produce.”

If that happens, the goaltending is certainly there to support the issue. Matt Underhill returns in net after a 13-8-3 season, a 1.88 GAA and a .928 save percentage.

UNDERHILL

“Matt Underhill is one of the best goaltenders in the country returning,” said Schafer. “I haven’t had anyone pay as much attention to detail as he has, and he’ll be better than he was last year. He wants to produce the kind of numbers that Ryan Miller produced last year. He’s going to be very solid in goal.”

The defense will be led by Mark McRae and Doug Murray, two of the top scorers on the team. Schafer feels that the addition of newcomers will help produce more offense from the blue line.

“A couple of the new guys will continue to help us in the area,” he said. “Charlie Cook, Jeremy Downs, and Jan Pajerski can get up and down the ice.”

Along with those three, the Big Red add Paul Varteressian, Michael Iggulden and Michael Knoepfli up front.

“The pressure is on the young guys,” said Schafer. “Without them you’re not going to have the same kind of quality team. Those guys have to produce and produce well.”

Not only that, but special teams will also play a factor this year.

“I know we’re going to have good special teams,” said Schafer. “I think that our power play was basically 1-for-25 to start the season and we ended up being third or fourth in the country, so the offense on special teams will be there.

“The media is all concerned about our offense, but the coaches know what we’ve got coming back.”

Indeed, the Big Red have the attack and look for them to finish up top this season.

“Our expectations every year are ones where we want to carry on the tradition of Cornell hockey, and that’s winning championships,” said Schafer. “Our thought process is to have a better regular season and to finish it off when we get to Lake Placid.”

Providence Tops Hockey East Preseason Poll

USCHO Staff Report

October 1, 2001

The Providence Friars were tabbed by Hockey East coaches as the favorite to capture the league’s regular season crown, despite not receiving a single first-place vote.

Four different teams received at least one vote for first, led by Maine with four. Boston College received three votes for first, while Boston University and New Hampshire received one each.

None of the nine coaches chose the Friars, who nonetheless came in first in the overall tally, edging out second-place Maine by a single point in a close race.

It is the first time that Providence has ranked first in the preseason balloting and the first time that the first-place pick has not received a single vote for first.

Providence returns six 25-point scorers, including the league’s top returning point-getter, Devin Rask, after the Friars finished second in the regular season and the conference tournament last season.

Defending NCAA champion Boston College, which lost eight seniors as well as underclassmen Chuck Kobasew, Krys Kolanos, and Brooks Orpik, was chosen third. New Hampshire ranked fourth and Boston University fifth.

Only 14 points separated the first-place Friars from the fifth-place Terriers.

UMass Lowell, Northeastern, Merrimack, and UMass Amherst rounded out the poll.

2001-02 Minnesota-Duluth Season Preview

By Todd D. Milewski

October 1, 2001

Scott Sandelin has a number in his head, but it may not be the one you’re thinking of.

It’s not 10, as in Minnesota-Duluth’s place in the 10-team WCHA in his first year with the school.

It’s not 28, as in the number of losses the Bulldogs had in 2000-01. It’s not seven, as in the number of wins.

It’s not even the astronomical 166, as in the number of goals his team allowed.

You’re a winner if you guessed 36, as in the average number of shots the Bulldogs gave up in Sandelin’s debut season in Duluth. The problem is, you’ll be a loser on the ice more often than not if you give up 36 shots a game.

So, among numerous things that need to be fixed before UMD will make headway in the WCHA, one that stands out is the tremendous number of chances the Bulldogs are allowing.

“I don’t get so caught up in total number of shots, but I think our biggest problem is where those shots were coming from,” Sandelin said. “There’s no question we have to be better defensively. My goal, and it’s not easy in college hockey, is to limit teams to 20 to 25 shots, and not quality shots like they were getting.

“We can’t go into games giving up that many shots and that number of quality shots and expect to win.”

That’s just one of the problems that plagued the Bulldogs last season and could show up again. On the other side of the puck, they scored only 103 goals, 2.64 a game. That resulted in nearly a goal and a half more in the against column than in the for column.

The Bulldogs will have to close that gap to be successful, but Sandelin’s heard that line before.

“That question gets asked all the time,” he said. “People around here say, ‘Did you bring in goalscorers?’ I say, well, what are goalscorers? There’s not a lot of guys that are pure goalscorers.

“I’ll take 10 guys that score 10 goals as opposed to two guys that score 20. We’ve got some guys that are capable of scoring 20. I think we have more guys that can score more in that 10-to-15 range and give us a little more depth that way.”

The burden of producing on offense falls on everyone, but perhaps most on Tom Nelson and Nate Anderson. They’re the keys, being the top two scorers on last year’s team.

"I think we have more guys that can score more in that 10-to-15 [goal] range and give us a little more depth that way."

— Scott Sandelin, discussing the source of offense for the Bulldogs this season

“Not to put pressure on him, but I think Tom can be as good as anybody in our league,” Sandelin said, putting pressure on the senior anyway.

Sandelin touts Nelson, a 6-foot, 190-pound center from Superior, Wis., as a great leader with great hands, and wouldn’t be surprised if Nelson put together a season worthy of first-team recognition.

Both Nelson and Anderson made jumps last season, Nelson to 41 points and Anderson to 30.

“Part of it, maybe, is they regained some of their confidence in what they can do offensively,” Sandelin said. “I want those guys to know they had a good year last year, but to build on that. I think both of them are capable of doing that.”

To be successful on offense, though, the Bulldogs have to get consistent scoring from a number of players. Watch for improved totals from senior captain Judd Medak and junior Jon Francisco. If their numbers rise, chances are, so will the Bulldogs.

Unlike the offense, the defense will see some changes in personnel at the top. Jesse Fibiger and Ryan Coole graduated, taking with them a physical element that may be tough for UMD to recapture.

In its place, however, Sandelin expects his defensemen to be better at moving the puck. Eventually.

“I like to say we’re going to be pretty young there, to a point,” Sandelin said. “But I like our freshmen and our returning guys. We’re going to be much more mobile and we’re going to be much better at moving the puck. That might not be evident right away, but in time, it’s what I wanted to see here.”

In time, Sandelin wants to see a little bit of what he saw in his time as an assistant at North Dakota: defensemen making plays, not just stopping them.

The Bulldogs are moving Mark Carlson to defense from forward in an effort to gain more experience in the back. Carlson and Andy Reierson have good offensive traits for defensemen, but for now, they’ll have to concentrate on defense.

In the future, though, the Bulldogs’ defensemen will have an added responsibility.

“If we lacked one thing from losing Coole and Fibiger, is maybe a little of the physical,” Sandelin said. “What we gained is, we’ve got some guys that, even though they’re young I think in time will be very good in creating that transition game.”

For now, though, Duluth’s defensemen have to work with the goaltenders, and vice versa, to bring the goals against down. Rob Anderson got the majority of the minutes in net last season, with Adam Coole limited by injury.

Neither had good numbers: Anderson’s goals against average was 3.80; Coole’s was 4.27.

“I think Rob Anderson proved he is a very good goaltender last year; the unfortunate thing is he saw a lot of shots,” Sandelin said. “Adam Coole was doing great until he hurt his thumb. He got some confidence back at the end of the year even though he didn’t win.”

The Recruits: The First Class

Sandelin’s first full recruiting class includes the Canadian Junior A player of the year, but the coach doesn’t want to focus on that.

“I don’t like to put pressure on our freshmen,” Sandelin said. “I like to talk about them, but I don’t like people to go, ‘He’s the Canadian junior player of the year, he’s got to be great.'”

But Sandelin is excited about bringing in Tyler Brosz, who made a name for himself last year as the captain of the Olds Grizzlies of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

“He’s kind of a guy that I like to say doesn’t do one thing great, but does a lot of things well,” he said.

The Schedule: Early Challenge

The Bulldogs open the regular season at the Maverick Stampede in Omaha, Neb., where they’ll play host Nebraska-Omaha and either Michigan or Providence.

“I like it. I think it’s a good gauge to play those types of teams, especially early in the year,” Sandelin said. “If these are the top programs, how do we do and where do we need to go to get there? It’s a great start for us.”

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs host defending national champion Boston College, Yale and Miami in the Silverado Shootout in late December.

WCHA Coaches Select CC as Favorite

By Todd D. Milewski

October 1, 2001

There will be a new team on top of the WCHA at the end of the season if the league’s coaches are correct.

But that new team won’t be new to winning championships.

Colorado College, winner of three straight MacNaugton Cups before North Dakota started its run of four championships in five years, was picked by the coaches to finish first in the WCHA regular-season standings in the annual Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald poll.

“Historically, the WCHA coaches have not been very accurate in their selection,” Colorado College coach Scott Owens said, “so I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing to be picked No. 1.”

The Tigers received six first-place votes and 78 points. Minnesota finished second with three first-place votes and 73 points.

“My quick reaction is I’m a little surprised. I thought Minnesota would be picked for the top spot,” said Owens, who picked Minnesota for first and North Dakota for second.

“We have high expectations for ourselves, so it’s not going to be anything that’s going to rock the locker room too much.”

North Dakota, which opens the new Ralph Engelstad Arena against the Gophers on Friday, drew the remaining first-place vote and finished third with 66 points.

Defending WCHA playoff champion St. Cloud State (fourth, 57 points) and Denver (fifth, 51 points) rounded out the top five.

Wisconsin (39 points) finished sixth, followed by Minnesota State-Mankato (seventh, 34 points), Minnesota-Duluth (eighth, 23 points), Michigan Tech (ninth, 20 points) and Alaska-Anchorage, a unanimous selection for 10th place (nine points).

The coaches chose CC forward Mark Cullen as the preseason favorite for the WCHA’s most valuable player award. The Moorhead, Minn., native had 20 goals and 33 assists as a junior last season.

“Mark’s a great leader and a great player,” Owens said. “I guess that’s not a great surprise in a sense because he’s such a competitor. But there’s a lot of very good players in the league.”

Tigers forward Peter Sejna trailed his teammate in the voting, with Minnesota’s Jordan Leopold and St. Cloud State’s Mark Hartigan also receiving votes.

Minnesota defenseman Keith Ballard was chosen as the preseason rookie of the year. The 18-year-old from Omaha in the United States Hockey League received eight of the votes from the 10 league coaches.

Wisconsin goaltender Bernd Bruckler and North Dakota forward Brandon Bochenski received the other votes.

2001-02 St. Cloud Season Preview

By Todd D. Milewski

October 1, 2001

Craig Dahl used to point to the fact his team had been to the WCHA Final Five plenty of times, but had never won one.

Can’t use that one anymore. St. Cloud State won a wild championship game against North Dakota last season to win the school’s first title in the WCHA.

But if Dahl’s looking for some motivation for his players near the end of this season, there’s one record that stands out.

0-3.

It’s the Huskies’ all-time record in NCAA tournament games. It’s a loss in 1989, another in 2000 and the most excruciating of the three, a 4-3 loss to Michigan in the quarterfinals last season.

Last season’s run was St. Cloud’s best chance to make a Frozen Four, and it fell apart. The Huskies worked all season for a first-round bye, then got it and were rewarded with having to play Michigan in Michigan.

You could say that last year is last year and it’s old news, and you’d be partially right.

But it appears the sting of that loss wasn’t lost on the SCSU players in the offseason.

“I’ve been doing this for 24 years, and this year’s team came in in the best shape, and certainly they’ve been all business,” Dahl said. “There’s been no screwing around or goofing around. They’ve been all business in preseason workouts.”

The Huskies no doubt have a lot of work ahead of them this season to match or better their 2000-01 season.

It’s going to be difficult because of the painful losses from last year’s success story — the first time the team has reached the 30-win mark. All-American goaltender Scott Meyer jumps out as the biggest loss, but then there are forwards Brandon Sampair and Tyler Arnason and defenseman Duvie Westcott, each an all-league member.

Dahl is focusing on the goaltending, where Meyer is gone but the Huskies still have a familiar face in Dean Weasler.

Weasler’s tale is a fascinating one. He’s already been a starter for SCSU, but lost that job to Meyer in the 1999-2000 season. For the last two seasons, he’s been biding his time on the bench, waiting for his opportunity to come back.

With Meyer at the top spot last season, Weasler entered the year planning to redshirt. That way, when Meyer graduated, he’d still have two years to play.

But that changed one night last season. When Meyer was injured during a game, Weasler was the first one to jump up.

“He told me about a week and a half before Scotty got hurt, ‘Coach, if you ever need me, I’m willing to give up my redshirt year in order to play,'” Dahl said. “So when Scotty got hurt, I turned to [Weasler] on the bench and said, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ He said, ‘I want to go in. They need me and I want to do it.'”

Weasler’s dedication to the program is evident, but it remains to be seen whether he can be as effective as Meyer. Plus, Weasler, a senior, has endured problems with his knees in recent years, making it essential for the Huskies to find a capable backup to give him a rest once in a while.

Jake Moreland played in four games last year, and Dahl is high on Jason Montgomery, an all-league selection last year in the British Columbia Hockey League.

But what the Huskies are really looking for is consistency.

“Inconsistency in the nets kills you,” Dahl said. “Every goalie’s going to give up a bad one once in a while, but you don’t want a bad one once a game.”

Westcott’s early departure takes the star from the Huskies’ defensive group. The team doesn’t list a senior on defense, but that doesn’t mean it’s inexperienced, either.

"Inconsistency in the nets kills you …. Every goalie’s going to give up a bad one once in a while, but you don’t want a bad one once a game."

— Craig Dahl, whose Huskies hit the ice without star netminder Scott Meyer this season.

Derek Eastman played in 38 games last season and, as a junior this year, is the top veteran. Jeff Finger had a good freshman season, making his physical presence felt in all 41 games St. Cloud played.

Newcomers Jim McNamara and Matt Gens, both of whom played for the U.S. National Team Development Program, should get plenty of experience this year.

“We’re not particularly deep, but we have skill on the blue line,” Dahl said. “We can throw out six guys that can play the game.”

The offense is built around centers Mark Hartigan and Jon Cullen. Hartigan, a senior, scored 27 goals and added 21 assists last year. Cullen had 40 points.

“You couldn’t ask for much more out of them,” Dahl said.

With Ryan Malone and Nate DiCasmirro at left wing and Joe Motzko and Chris Purslow on the right, the Huskies have a solid top two lines.

The Huskies are also expecting a larger contribution from Matt Hendricks. The 6-foot, 205-pound sophomore showed great scoring touch in high school at Blaine (Minn.) The Nashville Predators pick scored only three goals and 12 points in 37 games in his freshman season.

“I think he’ll come into his own this year,” Dahl said.

Dahl has a plan for his offense, but is also prepared for things not to go the way he expects.

“We have things fairly well mapped out, but we’re dealing with human beings and things don’t always work out the way you think they’re going to,” Dahl said. “And that’s a positive and negative because sometimes guys surprise you, and it’s always happened here.”

Dahl is starting his 15th year at the school, a fact he said he tries not to notice. But it’s clear he’s happy with the fact some of his former players are making it to the big leagues.

“With us having so many guys recently sign professional contracts, it’s pretty much, ‘If you do what coach says, it’s probably going to work for you if you’re good enough,'” he said.

The Recruits: Not Much Room

It’ll be tough for many of the newcomers at forward to crack the starting lineup, but some will get their chances.

Dahl pointed to Mike Doyle and Dave Iannazzo, two players with big numbers from the United States Hockey League, as potential scorers.

The Schedule: Tough Stretches

Two areas of the Huskies’ schedule stand out to Dahl. The first is a stretch of two weekends in early November when they host North Dakota and Colorado College back to back.

A few weeks later, the Huskies play a home-and-home series with Minnesota, followed by a trip to Colorado Springs.

“Our first half of the season is really a tough sled,” Dahl said. “We have some real important games. We only play North Dakota twice, and that’s in the first weekend in November. We’re done with Colorado by Christmas — four times. The first half of the year is really important, and we’re going to have to make some hay there.”

ECAC Gives Final Approval to Tournament Expansion, Increase in Games Limit

By Jayson Moy

October 1, 2001

Monday, the ECAC Policy Committee passed two proposals to take effect in the 2002-03 season, increasing the number of allowable games in the regular season, and expanding the conference tournament to include all 12 teams.

This vote finalized a series of events that began back in April.

Under the new guidelines, the regular-season game limit will be expanded from 32 to 34 for all men’s ECAC Division I institutions in ice hockey. The 12 teams in the ECAC will then have the option of playing up to 34 regular-season games within the guidelines set forth by the NCAA.

This immediately affects only six teams — Clarkson, Colgate, Rensselaer, Union, St. Lawrence and Vermont — because the other six institutions in the ECAC are also members of the Ivy League. Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton and Yale, under Ivy guidelines, are only permitted to play 29 regular-season games, meaning that Ivy League directors would have to vote to accept the ECAC’s new limit to make the full 34 games available to Ivy schools.

The other proposal passed involves a change in the playoff format. Starting with the 2002-2003 season, the ECAC playoffs will be expanded to three weekends, with the first round taking place the first weekend, followed by the quarterfinals, and then the championship bracket the following weekend in Lake Placid.

Under the new format, all 12 teams will qualify for the playoffs and the top four finishers will earn a bye past the first round. Teams five through eight will host a first-round series against the bottom four teams.

The winners of those series will then be reseeded to travel to the bye teams in the quarterfinals, resulting in a four-team bracket at Lake Placid.

“It does a lot of things,” said Colgate head coach Don Vaughan. “It gives teams that might not have a home-ice opportunity [under the old system] to get a series in their building. It gives your top four seeds a nice rest. It draws attention to our league and then it cleans up Lake Placid and the logistical nightmare that goes along with it.”

“I am very pleased at the outcome of both proposals,” said ECAC Associate Commissioner for Ice Hockey Steve Hagwell. “The discussion was healthy on both sides of the argument and at the end, I am glad that the Policy Committee made this decision. These proposals are good for the league and they will help us grow.

“The new format is unique and gives everyone a chance, and puts extra importance on the regular season. Adding more games will help us progress in helping us grow.”

The proposals were first brought to the table by the coaches of the ECAC in their annual meetings in Naples, Fla., and further discussed at the annual Athletic Directors’ meetings. The issue was then put to the Policy Committee and tabled until Monday.

2001-02 Colorado College Season Preview

By Todd D. Milewski

October 1, 2001

The team didn’t have a trophy to show for it, but last season’s finish may have been exactly what Colorado College needed.

It put them in an even better position this year.

After putting on a good show in finishing third at the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn., the Tigers got an NCAA victory under their belt, a double-overtime one no less, before bowing out.

“It’s very hard to acquire anything close to that kind of experience without actually doing it,” said Scott Owens, entering his third season as CC’s coach.

The setup was perfect. That experience, plus some of the best forwards in the league, puts the Tigers in a small group of teams at the top of the WCHA this season.

“The run we had with the three games in St. Paul, and then turning around quickly and heading out east and playing the double-overtime game and then North Dakota, that’s experience that you can’t acquire any other way than getting your nose in there,” Owens said. “I think that’s going to be very helpful for us.”

The progression of Owens’ head coaching stint at CC is one that makes sense. He had a bit of trouble getting his team adjusted in his first year at the school. In his second season, things started to turn around and the Tigers got some national recognition.

"He’s one of those guys that can stickhandle in a phone booth."

— Minnesota coach Don Lucia, on CC forward Mark Cullen

In the third season, there’s a great chance it will all come together.

“We feel we’ve got a nice blend of experience coming back at forward and defense to help us,” Owens said. “But you never know how it’s going to go from one year to the next. We had really good chemistry and camaraderie last year, and you just kind of keep your fingers crossed and hope you can have that going for you again this year.”

And how can you not center this team around Mark Cullen? He’s one of the preseason favorites to be the league’s MVP at the end of the year following a 20-goal, 53-point season. Some strong play near the end of the year, including in front of the rest of the league at the Final Five, doesn’t hurt matters.

So how is Cullen not the focal point this year? Well, by surrounding him with Peter Sejna, Noah Clarke, Alex Kim and the like.

On paper, the Tigers have as much power as any other team in the league, though Minnesota would have something to say about that.

Cullen missed about a month with an injured neck last season, making his point total that much more impressive. His skills speak for himself, and they came out for the world to see in St. Paul last year.

“He’s one of those guys that can stickhandle in a phone booth,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said at the time. “You don’t see a lot of those guys anymore.”

Sejna made Owens’ jaw drop at the start of school this year. The league’s reigning freshman of the year reported at 207 pounds, 22 more than the roster says.

But it’s all muscle, Owens said, which should make him that much more effective than his 29-goal, 29-assist first season.

“He is so built right now, he has basically won every category of our preseason strength and conditioning contest,” Owens said. “He skated twice all summer, but he lifted and he got even stronger than he was. He’s the hardest working individual I’ve ever seen, and he just came in stronger.”

There’s some concern that the extra weight will slow Sejna down, but Owens is optimistic the 22-year-old will be at a good playing weight a few weeks into the season.

Clarke scored 12 goals and had 20 assists last year, but Owens said he has the potential to even improve on his fantastic freshman season of two years ago.

“There aren’t many people that would think this, but I think he had an off year last year,” Owens said. “Based on his summer and the shape he’s in now, I think he’s going to have a better year than his freshman year.

“He brings that speed and skill, and now he’s older and stronger, and he should be pretty good.”

The rest of the offense, i.e., getting some players to contribute on the third and fourth lines, is a concern. But perhaps of larger concern is the unsure situation on defense.

Paul Manning, who captained last year’s team and scored the double-OT winner against St. Lawrence in the NCAAs, departs with Mike Colgan and Brent Voorhees.

Owens, though, sounds excited about a talented trio of newcomers on the blue line — Jason Krischuk, James Laux and Richard Petiot.

“We’ve got three freshman defensemen, and even though they’re older, need to quickly fill the void,” he said. “But that’s one reason that we took some older guys, because we thought that would be our one area of concern, losing those veteran defensemen.”

Goaltending doesn’t rank as a concern, at least at this point of the season. Jeff Sanger is tops at his position, and should see plenty of action for the first time in his collegiate career.

And that’s what concerns Owens. He’s big on a two-goaltender system, which Sanger has been a part of in his first three years at CC. In his mind, it keeps the goaltenders fresher for the postseason.

“You just worry about the mental drain and the physical drain a little bit,” Owens said. “It’s 40-plus games, with a lot of pressure every game.”

Gian Baldrica and freshman Curtis McElhinney will battle for the rest of the time in goal.

The Recruits: Nowhere to Go

Despite losing only five players from last year’s team, Owens brought in seven recruits. Some, but not all, will see extensive time this year.

Forward Scott Polaski will play his share, Owens said, while the other incoming front-liners, Brandon Roberts and Nick Tsiantar, likely will have to wait for an opening.

“We lose a lot the following year,” Owens said, “that’s one reason we brought in a few more this year.”

The Schedule: Homeward Bound

When the Tigers return from a trip to Duluth on Jan. 4 and 5, they won’t have to leave Colorado for the next 10 games. They play nine out of their next 10 at the World Arena.

The only exception is the front end of a home-and-home series with Denver on Feb. 1.

2001-02 Michigan Tech Season Preview

By Todd D. Milewski

October 1, 2001

As much as this is a time of change at Michigan Tech, what really has changed?

Sure, Mike Sertich begins his first full season as coach after taking over from Tim Watters early last year, and he gets to install his systems in training camp this season instead of in the middle of the week.

But there’s nothing yet to suggest the personnel is vastly improved, which may end up costing the Huskies a big chance.

With the lower half of the WCHA open for the taking, Tech has a golden opportunity to move out of the depths of the league.

It hasn’t finished higher than seventh since a fourth-place showing in 1992-93. It won only eight games last season, and six in the WCHA for eighth place.

If Sertich wants to break the pattern of mediocrity at Michigan Tech, he needs to start right away.

The team showed new life when he took over last season, but we’ll see in the players’ attitudes and effort this season whether that was a full resuscitation or merely an extension of life support.

“We’d like to believe we’re capable of moving up in the standings,” Sertich said. “We’d like to think that last year we took a great step attitude-wise, and hopefully that will carry over now.”

Sertich is quick to admit his team suffered some losses from last year’s team — two top scorers and three key defensemen — but said he’s encouraged by the talent in some of the newcomers.

One in particular has caught some eyes. Though not a true newcomer because he practiced while ineligible last year, Bryan Perez is starting to make a name for himself around the league.

Not that many around the league can tell you a lot about him, only that they’ve heard the name. If the Huskies are lucky, league coaches will be saying plenty about Perez by the time the season’s over.

Perez, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound forward, was the only player from the WCHA to make the roster for the USA Hockey Summer Challenge after competing at the national junior evaluation camp. It’s a sign that he might also be chosen for the U.S. national junior team this winter.

“It buoyed his confidence,” Sertich said. “There was no way to really tell after practicing for an entire year. He, No. 1, got drafted fairly high [first pick of the ninth round] by the Islanders, and, No. 2, did so well with the junior group.

“When we looked at the people who got cut there, there’s some talent there. Obviously, they saw the same thing, and we’re pretty happy about that.”

If nothing else, it gave Perez a chance to get on the ice against live action. He couldn’t play for the Huskies last season because he didn’t meet academic requirements.

SERTICH

“I think that was the most important thing,” Sertich said, “that he found out he could still compete.”

While Perez is likely to make offensive contributions in his freshman season, the Huskies can’t rely on his production.

Instead, they’ll depend on senior Paul Cabana to run the offense.

Cabana scored a career-high 15 goals and 21 points last year, but if the Huskies have aspirations of improving on a meager 2.53 goals per game a year ago, he’ll have to carry his increased share, as will everyone else.

“He’s led our team in goals for three years, so I’m guessing he’ll be right up there again to contend for that,” Sertich said. “I think the biggest thing Paul has to do is take care of Paul and not put so much pressure on himself.

“Enjoy it; this is his moment and that’s why he’s trained so hard. He did a heck of a job this summer.”

Brad Patterson, a 22-point scorer a year ago, is a prime candidate to be Cabana’s set-up man this year.

But even if the Huskies’ offense can find a way to put more goals on the scoreboard, can the defense prevent the opposition from doing the same?

Tech suffered severe losses at defense with Mat Snesrud, Clint Way and Adrian Fure graduating, and the second and third defensive pairings could be a a bit suspect this year as a result.

Greg Amadio, Justin Brown and Tom Kaiman, the top three defenders, will have to tutor some newcomers quickly. Each member of that trio has seen extensive playing time in his career.

“From there, it dwindles fast,” Sertich said. “There’s going to be some kids that are fresh out of high school and some kids that are out of junior.”

With the inexperience of the new defensemen, it’ll be imperative that the Huskies get solid goaltending early in the season. Brian Rogers has the job until he loses it, Sertich said. Cam Ellsworth will be there to back Rogers up.

With some shortcomings on the defense, the pressure is on Rogers.

“We’re counting heavily on him, but I will not be afraid to use [Ellsworth],” Sertich said. “He’s already shown me he’s a quality goaltender. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he pushed him.”

The Recruits: Age Factor

At 11, the Tech recruiting class is the largest in the WCHA this season. It also features a wide age range: Forward Colin Murphy turned 21 in April, while forward Patrick Murphy’s 18th came in July.

The older players, Sertich hopes, will be able to step right into the college game.

The Schedule: Tough Start

The first four weeks of the WCHA schedule could be brutal for the Huskies. They play at St. Cloud State, at home against Minnesota and Denver and at Wisconsin.

Sertich wouldn’t be so concerned about playing those teams if they weren’t all strung together so early.

“It’s not who you play, it’s when you play them,” he said. “Some of those teams we haven’t done historically well against in the past, we’re going to catch early at home. We’re just going to have to make some hay early.”

2001-02 Minnesota Season Preview

By Todd D. Milewski

October 1, 2001

The roster reads like a who’s who of the WCHA. Leopold. Pohl. Hauser. Potulny.

They took giant strides last season in recovering a high place in the league and were rewarded with a spot in the national tournament. Their returning corps is strong, maybe the strongest in the league.

The logical next step for Minnesota is a WCHA regular-season championship … isn’t it?

Not so fast, Goldy.

Before the Gophers start dusting off the trophy case, there’s one minor detail they’ll need to take care of, something that’s popped up at the worst times in the last few years.

Flat out, the Gophers have to win the big games.

Just last year, a handful of blunders in major games put them in bad positions and ended their season.

A regular season-ending series against St. Cloud State, with second place on the line? Two losses, third place.
A rematch with St. Cloud State in front of a pro-Gophers crowd at the Final Five in St. Paul, Minn., with a first-round NCAA bye riding on the result? Another loss, bye-bye bye.
A first-round game against Maine in the NCAA tournament and a lead in the last minute? A tying goal with mere seconds left, a goaltending goof leading to the Black Bears’ OT winner and a long ride home for coach Don Lucia and his team.

So while the Gophers have as much talent as any WCHA team, they have yet to prove their ability to come through in the clutch.

But that comes with experience. To be fair, last season was the first time any of the Gophers’ players found themselves in those kinds of top-level pressure situations in college. They had played in big games before, but not that big.

“When we got in the NCAA tournament and we lost to Maine, I really felt that was the best game in many ways our kids played all year long,” said Lucia, entering his third season as the Minnesota coach.

“They really competed, and that was the thing I was most pleased with. They have to learn how to compete at that level if you’re going to win come the end of the year.”

Who knows, maybe the Gophers will find themselves pointing to the four aforementioned 2000-01 games as the biggest factor in a MacNaughton Cup championship in 2001-02. What few will deny is that they have the firepower to pull it off this year.

It’ll start at defense, where Jordan Leopold returns as a Hobey Baker finalist, the WCHA’s reigning defensive player of the year and, with North Dakota’s Travis Roche departed, the leading defensive scorer in the nation.

Every team, top to bottom, will have trouble cracking the senior and his defensive mates. While the Gophers’ defense isn’t made up of six Leopolds, the star has a tendency to carry those around him.

“He’s easy to play with, so you can put a younger guy with him on the ice and he’ll have that steadying influence,” Lucia said. “He can break the puck out so easily that he’s an easy guy to play with. You get yourself into trouble, just give it to Leo and he’s going to be able to get the puck out of your end.”

Don’t think Lucia isn’t counting his blessings that he has Leopold back. A draft pick of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Leopold could have easily skated out of Minneapolis with a big pro contract after a 12-goal, 37-assist season in 2000-01.

But since he’s back, Leopold has high expectations.

“I think he’ll just take up where he left off,” Lucia said. “He was probably right there as one of the best, if not the best defenseman in college hockey a year ago. He’s strong all over the ice and I think that we’re fortunate to have him back for his senior year.”

Lucia’s top four defensemen — Leopold, Paul Martin, Matt DeMarchi and newcomer Keith Ballard, from national Junior A champion Omaha — indicate the Gophers will be a tough team upon which to score. Nick Angell is expected to be on the third defensive pairing, Lucia said, with his partner to be chosen from a field of possibilities.

It is the strength of the team, and will be called upon to deliver a few wins, especially considering the goaltending situation is in flux, somewhat, for the first time in a few years.

Adam Hauser returns for his senior season as the No. 1 goaltender, but Lucia is adamant that the Bovey, Minn., native will not play as much as in the past.

The goal, Lucia said, is for Hauser to play 65 to 70 percent of the games, with one of two freshmen — Travis Weber or Justin Johnson — taking the remainder.

The idea is to keep Hauser as fresh, mentally and physically, as possible for the stretch run.

POHL

“Last year, I thought his best couple weekends of the year was when he had an off weekend at the end of January, and he played extremely well,” Lucia said. “I think, mentally and physically, it’s important for him to have a little bit of a break here and there. He hasn’t had that luxury before, and we think he’ll be able to this year.”

Up front, Lucia’s goal is to be strong in the middle of the ice. With John Pohl, Jeff Taffe and Matt Koalska, he said the prospects are good.

But keep an eye on Grant Potulny. As a freshman last season, he scored 22 goals and was an easy pick for the league’s all-rookie team. What’s in store for a follow-up?

“I don’t know, goals-wise, if he’ll score as many as he had a year ago,” Lucia said. “But we know the type of player he is. We still should have very good specialty teams, and that’s where he shined — in front of the net on the power play.

“I don’t think his game’s going to drastically change. He’s going to go to the net, and that’s where he’s going to score his goals.”

With two members of last year’s highly touted power play gone, some efficiency may be absent as well. Expect Taffe to take Erik Westrum’s spot up front, and Ballard or Martin in Dylan Mills’ position on the blue line.

The Recruits: Another Strong Class

It’s doubtful that this season’s freshmen will make more of an impact on the Gophers than last year’s, but it’s an impressive group nonetheless.

The headliner is Barry Tallackson, a 6-foot-4 forward from the U.S. National Development Program. In some eyes, he was the top recruit in the nation last spring.

He’s a gifted athlete, and he’ll be able to earn a spot high in the Gophers’ lineup.

“He’s just got to learn to find that consistency like all young kids do,” Lucia said. “But I think he’s got a chance to be a top-two line player for us right off the bat.”

But Lucia cautioned against expecting too much from this year’s freshmen.

“I don’t think our freshman forwards are going to score like they did last year,” he said, “because I don’t think they’re going to get the same ice time as what the guys did last year.”

The Schedule: Two Sides to Every Story

If the Gophers’ early-season schedule looks a bit on the soft side, don’t worry. There’s enough at the end to make up for it.

After the Hall of Fame Game at North Dakota on Oct. 5, the Gophers’ schedule before Thanksgiving consists of Bemidji State, Colgate, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State-Mankato and Minnesota-Duluth, with only the series vs. Tech coming on the road.

The Gophers have a good chance of standing on top of the league at the end of that stretch, and if they aren’t, it will tell more than if they were.

But the last four weekends of the regular season come against the other WCHA members of the fabulous five NCAA teams of last year: at North Dakota for two; at home for two against Colorado College; two more at home against Wisconsin; and a home-and-home series against St. Cloud State.

2001-02 Minnesota State-Mankato Season Preview

By Todd D. Milewski

October 1, 2001

Troy Jutting knows well that the college hockey season doesn’t open with the drop of the puck in October, and it doesn’t start with practice in September.

It starts the day after the previous season ends because you can’t take summers off in the collegiate game anymore. Your opponents are going to come back stronger and you have to follow suit.

That’s why the Minnesota State-Mankato coach is excited for this season to begin. He’s seen his players come back in great shape after spending the summer in the weight room, which could give them a bit of an edge in the middle of the WCHA pack.

“The kids worked real hard and for the most part have come back in better shape,” said Jutting, who starts his second year as the Mavericks’ head coach. “I’m excited about the attitude of the kids and their work ethic, but in this league a lot of times it’s the experience that comes through in the end.”

In that, though, the Mavs have quite a bit to prove. They’ll start the season with 18 of their 26 roster spots filled by freshmen and sophomores.

There are some skilled players on the roster, but not as many proven ones as other teams feature.

But there are two players in particular the Mavs can, and will have to, count on — Tim Jackman and Eric Pateman.

Jackman made his debut last season with 11 goals and 14 assists. It was impressive enough that the NHL took notice. He became the first Mavericks player to be drafted while at school when Columbus selected him with the 38th overall pick in June.

He has followed that with a productive summer, Jutting said, and will be counted on to drive the offense.

“Timmy has goals of playing in the National Hockey League one day,” Jutting said. “Tim’s a level-headed kid. It was nice for him to get drafted, but I think Tim realizes that’s just a step along the way, and that he has to keep improving and performing in order for him to reach that level. He’s worked extremely hard this summer, and he’s back in great shape.”

In his fourth season, Pateman seeks to regain some of the form he had in his second year. That year, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound goaltender was the backbone of a team that made the Final Five and just missed the NCAA tournament.

His statistics slipped last season, though, with a 3.44 goals against average and a .894 save percentage.

Pateman needs to find the form that will once again allow him to steal some games and stay healthy. He missed three weeks last season with a back injury.

“He did a lot of things to strengthen his back,” Jutting said. “He’s focused and ready to go this year, so we’re hoping for big things from Eric again.”

But after Jackman and Pateman and a handful of offensive players, the Mavericks field players who need to prove they can play in the WCHA.

Nowhere does that ring louder than on defense, where Mankato will have to stop the shots from getting to Pateman. The goaltender can be solid, but not when he’s seeing 30-plus shots every game.

“We should be a little more experienced back there,” Jutting said. “I think Andy Hedlund is ready to have a great year for us as a defensive defenseman.

“With Joe Bourne and Peter Runkel now being juniors, we’re going to rely on those kids heavily to step up their game and make sure that we limit the shots on net.”

Sophomores Aaron Forsythe, Nate Metcalf and Matt Paluczak will get more work this season on the blue line.

There’s less concern at forward, where, in addition to Jackman, Nate Mauer and Jerry Cunningham return. Mauer, a senior, scored 14 goals last season to make his name as a goalscorer for the Mavs. Cunningham had 19 assists and looks to be more of a playmaker.

Jutting also noted he’s counting on more scoring from B.J. Abel, who had 11 goals and 23 points last year.

But the coach knows he has his work cut out for him early, with plenty of young players on offense.

“It’s going to be a little bit difficult, at least initially, because we have so many young kids and we have to see where they all fit in,” Jutting said. “The first couple of weeks, we’re going to have some decisions to make and see where kids fit and just how we feel we need to play in order to be effective.”

He pointed to Grant Stevenson, a 6-foot, 180-pounder from Grande Prairie of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and Jeff Marler, one of the leading scorers in Canada’s junior system, for offensive support.

“We’ve got a lot of young kids, but when I say young kids, a lot of them are 20 years old,” Jutting said. “We’ll have to see how they adjust to the next level. It’s a big step, and some kids make it and some kids struggle with it. Hopefully, these kids will make it in a fairly quick hurry.”

The Recruits: A Smoother Road

It’s a little easier, Jutting said, to walk into an arena and say you’re from Minnesota State-Mankato now than in the years before the Mavericks joined the WCHA.

“I think the league itself gives you instant credibility,” he said. “Having a winning record two years in a row after joining the league has helped us some, too.

“And with kids like Tim Jackman and [incoming recruit] Jake Brenk getting drafted, that adds a little bit more credibility to it. Being a member of the league is obviously a huge thing in recruiting.”

Brenk comes to Mankato straight from high school in Breck, Minn.

The Schedule: Four to Remember

In one of the oddest quirks of WCHA scheduling in recent memory, Mankato plays four straight games against North Dakota. Although there is a weekend off for both teams between the games, those have the potential to be barnburners, considering Mankato’s favorable track record against the Sioux.

“I don’t know how they come about, but I don’t worry about that stuff,” Jutting said about the anomaly of scheduling. “Those are games we’re going to have to play at some point in time. It’ll be four games we better be ready for, or we’re going to be in trouble.”

The Mavericks got their first WCHA playoff victory over the Sioux in 1999, before they were even a full-time member of the league.

Unfinished Business

By Todd D. Milewski

October 1, 2001

A mere seven months after sending a record five teams to the 12-team field of the NCAA tournament, what could the WCHA possibly have left to prove?

After 50 years of hockey, 31 national championships, the likes of Mariucci and MacInnes, of Brooks, Gasparini and a guy named Badger Bob, what can the conference do this season to show it is still strong?

In a season that will start with the christening of the new palace of college hockey and end in another equally awe-inspiring arena, for what, other than the pursuit of the national championship trophy, can the league collectively strive?

The password is resiliency.

It was hard not to notice the WCHA’s pervasive presence in last year’s NCAA tournament — almost half the field wore a WCHA patch on its shoulder. It was also hard to notice that a league team didn’t win the national championship and that only one of the five teams made the Frozen Four.

That’s a 3-4 record in the regionals, and 4-5 overall in the tournament.

"I think if you ask the coaches, they’re not disappointed … but maybe if you ask some WCHA fans, they would be."

— CC coach Scott Owens, on the WCHA’s 4-5 showing at the NCAA tournament last season.

That’s enough to make the league blush.

“I think if you ask the coaches, they’re not disappointed,” Colorado College coach Scott Owens said, “but maybe if you ask some WCHA fans, they would be.”

Said Denver coach George Gwozdecky: “I think it was a little bit of a surprise, considering the success that we had throughout the season against nonleague opponents.”

But oftentimes with embarrassment comes a challenge. This year, for this league, it is this:

Prove last season wasn’t a fluke.

It won’t be easy, given the losses — planned and otherwise — that have touched every WCHA team. Some of the most prolific scorers, the toughest defensemen and the winningest goaltenders won’t be back this season, leaving behind a winning tradition and questions.

Consider the losses of:

Jeff Panzer, Bryan Lundbohm and Karl Goehring at North Dakota;
Dany Heatley, Jeff Dessner, Alex Brooks and Graham Melanson at Wisconsin;
Tyler Arnason, Duvie Westcott and Scott Meyer at St. Cloud State;
Paul Manning and Justin Morrison at Colorado College;
Erik Westrum at Minnesota.

The six forwards on that list were responsible for 157 goals last season, more than all but three WCHA teams — North Dakota, St. Cloud State and Minnesota being the exceptions.

But preseason claims of a loss of firepower have often been met with results to the contrary. Maybe it won’t be necessary to replace Jeff Panzer or Dany Heatley or Tyler Arnason; maybe their respective teams will find offensive solutions without them.

North Dakota always seems to have some offense waiting in reserve, no matter whom the Sioux lose. They had three of the top four league scorers last season, and although only Ryan Bayda is back, they’ll have plenty of players waiting to make a move.

CC’s Peter Sejna has his work cut out for him if he’s going to improve upon his rookie-of-the-year 2000-01 campaign. Although he arrived at school heavier than usual, it’s all muscle. Few doubt he has the ability to crack the 30-goal mark this year.

JON CULLEN

With Sejna, Mark Cullen (the coaches’ preseason MVP pick) and Alex Kim, the Tigers’ offense could make significant strides this season, if consistency doesn’t become an issue.

With Arnason leaving for the pros after his junior season, Mark Hartigan becomes St. Cloud’s top returning scorer. He’ll get help from Jon Cullen and Joe Motzko.

At Wisconsin, there’s work ahead if the Badgers are going to stay in the upper half of the league this season. Heatley was the only Wisconsin player in the top 30 in points in the league last season, leaving veterans like David Hukalo, Matt Hussey and the gritty Andy Wheeler to lead the charge this season.

And then there’s Minnesota. With only one major loss, the Gophers have as good a chance as anybody to win the regular-season title. That’s if star forward John Pohl can play the season injury free and if the Gophers can win the big games, starting with the first one of the season.

The Gophers and the Sioux open the new Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D., with the Oct. 5 Hall of Fame Game. Minnesota has the added pressure of hosting the Frozen Four, April 4-6 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Getting there is the goal for every team, but that gets magnified when it’s in your town.

Elsewhere:

Denver is advertising itself as having the best goaltender tandem around — Wade Dubielewicz and Adam Berkhoel — and that might not be too much of a stretch at this point. The front lines will have to produce, though, to take some pressure off the defense.
Minnesota State-Mankato has to base its run at a top-five finish around forward Tim Jackman and goaltender Eric Pateman. Then, if the Mavericks get some help in the lower offensive lines and on defense, they’ll have a shot at another Final Five run. Otherwise, you’re looking at a two-man team.

HILL
Minnesota-Duluth isn’t starting over again, but it may feel like it at times. Scott Sandelin’s second season has prospects to go better than the first, but his team has a lot of growing to do in the meantime.
Mike Sertich gets a full season with Michigan Tech, important because he was thrown into the fire early last season after Tim Watters resigned. With the entire season ahead of him, Sertich will be able to continue molding this team his way. The lack of talent, though, may be more than he can overcome.
And Alaska-Anchorage gets a fresh start with new coach John Hill. Not that Hill’s anything new to the area — he played at UAA and went to high school in Anchorage. As with most first-year coaches, there will be plenty of bumps; how Hill and the Seawolves react to them may be the telling statement of this season.

A quick look at the WCHA’s teams follows. Click on a team’s name to see its preview. Teams are listed in their predicted order of finish.

North Dakota
Coach: Dean Blais, eighth year overall and at UND
2000-01 overall record: 29-8-9
2000-01 WCHA record: 18-4-6
2000-01 WCHA finish: First, 42 points
2001-02 predicted finish: First
Quick hit: With the possibility of 10 freshmen seeing action in any game, the Sioux could take a while to get going. But don’t underestimate the tradition North Dakota has built in the WCHA’s regular season. “It’s going to take some time for the freshmen to get into the heat of the battle and feel comfortable,” Blais said. “We could take a beating until Christmas, and after Christmas, they’ll come along.”

Colorado College
Coach: Scott Owens, third year overall and at CC
2000-01 overall record: 27-13-1
2000-01 WCHA record: 17-11-0
2000-01 WCHA finish: Fourth, 34 points
2001-02 predicted finish: Second
Quick hit: It’s tough to top experience, especially when the vast majority of your team went through the NCAA experience last year. With some key contributions on defense, this team could be the total package. “We think that we really grew a lot last year as a team, especially getting to play the postseason games,” Owens said. “We return many of those players, which is the key for us.”

Minnesota
Coach: Don Lucia, 15th year overall, third at UM
2000-01 overall record: 27-13-2
2000-01 WCHA record: 18-8-2
2000-01 WCHA finish: Third, 38 points
2001-02 predicted finish: Third
Quick hit: The Gophers have the talent to win it all this season, but the questions surround their ability to win the big games. “I think, preseason, we’ll be ranked up there, but we still have question marks like everybody else does,” Lucia said.

St. Cloud State
Coach: Craig Dahl, 21st year overall, 15th at SCSU
2000-01 overall record: 31-9-1
2000-01 WCHA record: 20-8-0
2000-01 WCHA finish: Second, 40 points
2001-02 predicted finish: Fourth
Quick hit: Dahl’s team can build off the pain of watching its best shot at a Frozen Four go awry last season, but a number of losses will hurt the effort. “I’ve been doing this for 24 years,” Dahl said, “and this year’s team came in in the best shape, and certainly they’ve been all business.”

Wisconsin
Coach: Jeff Sauer, 31st year overall, 20th at UW
2000-01 overall record: 22-15-4
2000-01 WCHA record: 14-10-4
2000-01 WCHA finish: Fifth, 32 points
2001-02 predicted finish: Fifth
Quick hit: Losing a star goaltender and their top two defensemen means trouble for the Badgers. Having seven senior forwards, though, could save this team. “I think people will underestimate us because of the fact that we did lose the meat of our scoring and our goaltender,” Sauer said. “But I think we have a good group of players returning and I think we’re going to be right in the thick of things before the season’s over.”

Denver
Coach: George Gwozdecky, 16th year overall, eighth at DU
2000-01 overall record: 19-15-4
2000-01 WCHA record: 14-11-3
2000-01 WCHA finish: Sixth, 31 points
2001-02 predicted finish: Sixth
Quick hit: The defense and goaltenders aren’t in question; the offense is. Can the Pioneers find enough scoring power to crack the top five? “It’s just a matter of putting things together now,” Gwozdecky said.

Minnesota State-Mankato
Coach: Troy Jutting, second year overall and at MSU
2000-01 overall record: 19-18-1
2000-01 WCHA record: 13-14-1
2000-01 WCHA finish: Seventh, 27 points
2001-02 predicted finish: Seventh
Quick hit: The Mavericks don’t have a ton of talent, but with forward Jackman and goaltender Pateman, they have more than others. “We’ll be young, but I like the skill level of our young kids and I like the summer we’ve had,” Jutting said.

Minnesota-Duluth
Coach: Scott Sandelin, second year overall and at UMD
2000-01 overall record: 7-28-4
2000-01 WCHA record: 3-22-3
2000-01 WCHA finish: 10th, nine points
2001-02 predicted finish: Eighth
Quick hit: The Bulldogs need to generate some offense while the defense comes along. “The players, just with knowing us and us knowing the incoming freshmen because we recruited them, that’s a big step,” Sandelin said.

Michigan Tech
Coach: Mike Sertich, 20th year overall, second at MTU
2000-01 overall record: 8-24-4
2000-01 WCHA record: 6-19-3
2000-01 WCHA finish: Eighth, 15 points
2001-02 predicted finish: Ninth
Quick hit: Sertich holds his first training camp with the Huskies, hoping a new attitude can help the team climb the league ranks. But the talent is still questionable. “We’d like to believe we’re capable of moving up in the standings,” Sertich said.

Alaska-Anchorage
Coach: John Hill, first year overall and at UAA
2000-01 overall record: 7-24-5
2000-01 WCHA record: 4-20-4
2000-01 WCHA finish: Ninth, 12 points
2001-02 predicted finish: 10th
Quick hit: Hill, a former Seawolves captain, is stressing his team will play an up-tempo game, a new concept in Anchorage. “I think our kids can relate to the message we’re trying to get across to them as to what it takes to be a Seawolf and what this program is going to be about,” he said.

Former UAH Player, CHA Exec, Dies at 31

USCHO Staff Report

October 1, 2001

Former Alabama-Huntsville player, Jean-Marc Plante, who had been working in the school’s athletic department, collapsed and died Sunday of an apparent heart attack. He was 31.

Plante was playing a street hockey game in Madison, Ala., when he collapsed.

Plante, the athletic marketing director for Alabama-Huntsville, had worked in the front office of the NHL’s Florida Panthers and with minor league teams in Utah, Birmingham and Huntsville. He returned to UAH’s athletic department two years ago.

For the past two seasons, Plante served as CHA conference tournament director, and was a hockey ambassador for the 2001 NHL All-Star festivities in Denver. The Laval, Quebec, native played on Alabama-Huntsville’s first NCAA Division I team in 1988.

Plante played in a local adult hockey league and had just started coaching one of the Huntsville Amateur Hockey Association’s youth travel teams.

Hockey East Announces TV Schedule

USCHO Staff Report

October 1, 2001

At least 38 games involving Hockey East teams will be telecast throughout New England in 2001-2002, highlighted by at least 23 on Fox Sports Net New England.

The league’s “Fox Sports Net New England Hockey East Game of the Week” package, beginning in January, has been supplemented by a separate deal that Boston University also inked with the regional cable channel. BU telecasts on FSNE will commence in October, marking the earliest point in the season that FSNE has ever aired games.

Maine and New Hampshire have also agreed to deals with WABI-TV and New Hampshire Public Television, respectively.

According to league commissioner Joe Bertagna, a variety of other broadcast options are still being explored by several teams.

FSNE’s coverage will conclude with exclusive broadcasts of the 2002 Hockey East Championships at Boston’s FleetCenter in March.

2001-2002 Hockey East Composite TV Schedule

Fri  Oct. 26    7:00  NHPTV     Northeastern at New Hampshire
Sun  Oct. 28    7:00  FSNE      Merrimack at Boston University
Sun  Nov.  4    7:00  FSNE      New Hampshire at Boston University
Fri  Nov.  9    7:00  WABI      Boston University at Maine
Tue  Nov. 20    7:00  FSNE      Boston University at Harvard
Sat  Nov. 24    3:00  FSNE      Cornell at Boston University
Sun  Nov. 25    3:00  FSNE      Cornell at Boston University
Sun  Nov. 25    6:00  NHPTV     Denver at New Hampshire
Fri  Nov. 30    7:00  NHPTV     Boston College at New Hampshire
Fri  Dec.  7    7:00  WABI      Boston College at Maine
Sat  Dec.  8    7:00  WABI      Boston College at Maine
Sun  Dec.  9    3:00  FSNE      UMass Amherst at Boston University
Fri  Jan.  4    7:00  WABI      Providence at Maine
Sat  Jan.  5    7:00  NHPTV     Merrimack at New Hampshire
Sun  Jan.  6    3:00  FSNE      Northeastern at Boston University
Sun  Jan. 13    4:00  FSNE      Providence at New Hampshire
Sat  Jan. 19    7:00  NHPTV     UMass Amherst at New Hampshire
Sun  Jan. 20    3:00  FSNE      Boston College at Boston University
Fri  Jan. 25    7:00  NHPTV     Boston University at New Hampshire
Sun  Jan. 27    3:00  FSNE      Providence at Boston College
Sun  Jan. 27    7:00  FSNE      New Hampshire at Boston University
Fri  Feb.  1    7:00  WABI      New Hampshire at Maine
Sat  Feb.  2    7:00  WABI      New Hampshire at Maine
Mon  Feb.  4    8:00  TBD       Boston College vs Boston University (Beanpot)
Fri  Feb.  8    7:00  FSNE      UMass Amherst at Boston University
Sat  Feb.  9    7:00  FSNE      UMass Amherst at UMass Lowell
Sun  Feb. 10    4:00  NHPTV     Providence at New Hampshire
Mon  Feb. 11    8:00  TBD       Beanpot Championship
Sat  Feb. 16    6:00  FSNE      Wild Card
Fri  Feb. 22    7:00  FSNE      Providence at Boston University
Fri  Feb. 22    7:00  NHPTV     UMass Lowell at New Hampshire
Sun  Feb. 24    3:00  FSNE      Wild Card
Sat  Mar.  2    7:00  FSNE      Maine at Boston University
Sun  Mar.  3    4:00  FSNE      Wild Card
     Mar 7-10   7:00  FSNE      Hockey East Quarterfinals
Fri  Mar. 15    4:00  FSNE      Hockey East Semifinal 1
Fri  Mar. 15    TBA   FSNE      Hockey East Semifinal 2
Sat  Mar. 16    TBA   FSNE      Hockey East Championship

2001-02 Wisconsin Season Preview

By Todd D. Milewski

October 1, 2001

For years, Wisconsin has rightfully earned the nickname “Goaltender U.”

This season, however, it’s shaping up more like “Goaltender Who?”

The Badgers have always pulled and prodded as much as they could out of their goaltenders, making a few NHL stars among mostly high-quality WCHA netminders.

That education will have to come quickly for Wisconsin to keep up with the Joneses of WCHA goaltenders.

Graham Melanson, a workhorse known for his stability, gets replaced this season by Scott Kabotoff and Bernd Bruckler, two players known collegiately for … well, for not being known.

That, combined with a young defense, could be the downfall for the Badgers early this season.

But Badgers coach Jeff Sauer, entering his 20th season at UW, doesn’t seem fazed, outwardly anyway, by his large question mark in net.

“When a team brings a young goaltender in, the guys up front play harder for him,” he said. “They want to make sure he has success because they realize it’s the most important position on the team.”

It’s certain Kabotoff and Bruckler will take turns stealing the starting spot away from each other as the season goes on, and maybe that’s the way Sauer likes it. The last time the Badgers had a goaltending battle — between Melanson and Mike Valley in 1997-98 — they won the Final Five and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Kabotoff will get the first start, Sauer said. He’s started only one collegiate game, a 6-6 tie against St. Lawrence in the 1999-2000 season. He appeared late in the NCAA quarterfinal loss to Michigan State last season, after Melanson went out with a knee injury and the game was decided.

The Badgers have to hope he’s been paying attention from the bench.

“He’s been in every rink in the league. He’s had the opportunity to see all the other teams,” Sauer said. “He hasn’t had a lot of playing experience, but I know he’s certainly anxious to play. We’ll give him the opportunity, see what he can do and we’ll go from there.”

Bruckler will be waiting for his opportunity. One of the top recruits nationally last season, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the offseason. There’s something about first-year goaltenders doing well in the WCHA, but Bruckler will have to learn the ropes.

SAUER

“He’s a gifted goaltender,” Sauer said, “but he’s just a first-year player in this league, and it’ll take some time for him to gain experience too.”

With every point possibly meaning the difference between a home series and one on the road in the first round of the playoffs, the Badgers can’t afford to wait on their goaltenders too long. The same could be said for their defensemen.

Sauer pointed at Brian Fahey and Mark Jackson as blueliners he’ll need to play a bigger role this year, considering the losses of defensive mainstays Alex Brooks and Jeff Dessner.

Dan Boeser needs to again show he can play with the big boys in the WCHA. Rob Vega, the lone senior at defense, hasn’t yet proven he can be a star but could be solid.

“Getting some experience as quick as we can, that’s the key,” Sauer said.

Oh, by the way, Dany Heatley left in the offseason, taking his 57 points and a big signing bonus to Atlanta. Not that losing one of the WCHA’s biggest players is an oversight, but Sauer has his concerns elsewhere early this season.

But 57 points is an awful lot to make up for any team. Can the Badgers’ seven senior forwards find a way to keep the offense rolling?

“Well, let’s put it this way,” Sauer said. “They have to.

“Confidence or not, the thing from my perspective is, you’ve got almost two full lines of seniors that are experienced in the WCHA. It’s their turn to step up.”

The Badgers can thank their lucky stars for that group of seven seniors on offense. It makes one wonder about next season, but, hey, that’s next season. Living in the present, UW returns much of what makes it a gritty team: namely, captain Andy Wheeler and forward Matt Murray.

“With the experience at forward, that should really help carry us, to let the young guys on the team gain some experience,” Sauer said. “We’ve got half a team that’s pretty mature, pretty experienced, and we have the other half that’s going to take a learning period.”

Rene Bourque had a solid finish to the 2000-01 season, and Sauer is counting on him to complement the senior leadership with more goal production.

“Rene came on really strong at the end last year, and he’s going to be in the lineup from day one, playing a regular shift,” Sauer said. “Given what he did late last year and how he came on, he’s a real key.”

There’s enough potential at forward — in the absence of a superstar — that UW can threaten other teams with three powerful lines.

Time will tell whether the Badgers grow another star player, but it’s more likely the forwards come together as a group to get the job done.

“I think people criticized us a bit in the past for relying too much on Heatley and [Steve Reinprecht],” Sauer said, “so now we’ve got a chance to throw three, four lines at people with a little more depth, and they don’t know where it’s coming from.”

The Recruits: Youth Reigns

The lone recruit at forward is Alex Leavitt, a 17-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta. He’s a good skater and has proven he can score, but his age raises some eyebrows.

“I look for him to be in the lineup; where and with whom, I don’t know,” Sauer said. “He’s an exciting player because he has great quickness and really handles the puck extremely well.”

The Badgers also are expecting an immediate contribution from Andy Wozniewski, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound defenseman who played in the North American Hockey League last year after his freshman season at UMass-Lowell.

Joe Campbell, another defenseman, will take some time to acclimate himself to the WCHA, Sauer said.

The Schedule: Champions Everywhere

After a season-opening series with Wayne State at home, the Badgers enter a national championship double. They play at North Dakota to open the WCHA season, then host Boston College for a pair the next weekend.

BC won the national title last year, beating North Dakota; the Sioux won the NCAA title in 2000.

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

USCHO Staff - July 4, 2025

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