Home Blog Page 1474

Cleary to Retire as Harvard AD

USCHO Staff Report
-

Bill Cleary, who coached Harvard to an NCAA National Championship in 1989, is retiring as its athletic director, effective June 30, 2001.

Cleary was the men’s hockey coach for 19 seasons before stepping down after the 1990 campaign. He served as the school’s athletic director since then.

“Billy Cleary has brought delight and distinction to Harvard athletics since 1952,” said Jeremy Knowles, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. “We have been truly fortunate to have his example and his leadership.”

Cleary was a standout player at Harvard from the time he arrived in 1952 until leaving for the Olympics in 1956. That year, he helped the U.S. captured a silver medal. Four years later, he was the top scorer for the U.S. team that won the gold at Squaw Valley, Calif. Cleary was also the leading scorer for the 1957 U.S. National Team, and captain and MVP for the 1959 U.S. National Team.

After several years as a high school and college hockey official, he returned to Harvard in 1968 as the freshman hockey coach and later as assistant varsity coach. In 1971, he began his tenure as the head men’s coach, where he posted a 324-201-22 record. In 1989, he guided the Crimson to a 31-3 record and the NCAA Championship, the first-ever NCAA-team title in school history.

Under Cleary, Harvard reached college hockey’s final four on seven occasions and advanced to the national championship game three times. Harvard also won two ECAC Tournament titles, four Beanpot Championships, and 11 Ivy League Championships.

“Harvard is a very special place and it has been a privilege to be part of such a tremendous educational and athletic environment for so many years,” said Cleary. “It’s been a unique opportunity to work with students, coaches, alumni and alumnae, faculty members, and the many other wonderful supporters of our athletic program.”

In 1997, Cleary received the Lester Patrick Award for contributions to hockey, was named to the NCAA Ice Hockey 50th Anniversary Team, was chosen the U.S. Hockey Player of the Decade for 1956-66, and was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was selected one of the “100 Golden Olympians” by the U.S. Olympic Committee. He had previously been inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame in 1989.

Cleary, who also lettered in baseball at Harvard, holds or shares seven Crimson hockey records: most goals in a period (4, vs. Northeastern); goals in a game (6, vs. Providence); goals in a season (42, in 1954-55); longest goal-scoring streak (15 games, during 1954-55 season); most assists in a game (8, vs. Dartmouth); most points in a period (5, vs. Northeastern); and most points in a season (89, in 1954-55). He was a First Team All-America selection in 1954-55 when he helped the Crimson to the Beanpot title, a berth in the NCAA Final Four, and an overall 17-3-1 record.

With 41 sports, Harvard has the largest Division I athletic program in the nation.

Under Cleary, the athletic department has seen the expansion and renovation of many of its facilities, including the Murr Center, an 89,000-square foot facility adjacent to Harvard Stadium that houses administrative staff, the ticket office, varsity weight room, Varsity Club, Athletic Hall of History, six tennis courts, and 16 international-sized squash courts.

Cleary has taken pride in guiding Harvard as its led the way in opportunities for women. Women’s lacrosse and ice hockey have particularly flourished in recent years.

Cleary is a member of the Ivy League’s Committee on Administration, and is on the selection committee for the USA Hockey Hall of Fame. From 1992 until 1996, he was a University Division representative of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

In 1999, Cleary was named by Sports Illustrated as Massachusetts’ 33rd best athlete of the 20th century. The Boston Globe, meanwhile, placed him 68th on its list of the top-100 New England athletes of the past century.

2001 Recruiting Lineup Card

By Chris Heisenberg
-

Signing hockey recruits early is nothing new. Since 1990, the NCAA has set aside a week in November allowing hockey teams to ink-up the recruits who made early commitments.

At the time, the feeling was that the early signing period would benefit the lesser-known programs, giving them a chance tie up commitments from their recruiting “finds” before the big programs started sniffing around. Through the decade, teams have made quicker decisions on players, availing themselves of the period.

As a result, the number of early signings has grown at a steady rate. This season, for example, over 100 players signed National Letters of Intent during the early period. In comparison, last season, 80 players signed early; another 80 signed in 1998; 72 signed in 1997; 69 signed in 1996; 52 signed in 1995; and only 49 signed in 1994. All in all, scouting has moved from an in-season, to a summer activity.

Not only are more players committing to programs at the early signing period, but those committing are also doing so much earlier.

By NCAA rules, teams are only able to initiate contact with players on July 1 in the summer between the player’s junior and senior years of high school. Historically, that date had marked the start of the recruiting season. But prospective student-athletes may initiate contact on their own. This season, many of the top recruits made unofficial campus visits and committed even before the end of their junior years. Like dominos, these early choices caused a lot of the recruiting pieces to fall into place well before the November signing date.

Things moved particularly fast for the U.S. talent, as several key recruiting targets made verbal commitments last spring, breaking the logjam much earlier than in past years. When the dust settled in the fall, BU, UNH, Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota had already wrapped up top U.S. talent like Ryan Whitney, Brian McConnell, Jim Slater, Sean Collins, Jason Bacashihua, Mike Erickson, Keith Ballard and Dwight Helminen.

Several of these players project to make an immediate impact next season. Whitney, a two-way defenseman, has been hailed by many to be a top five NHL draft pick, excelling during international tournaments. Ballard, fresh off a season with the U.S. National Program, displays skills that will return offense to Minnesota’s blueline. Brian McConnell, another preseason NHL first rounder, is a bit more raw, but equally sought out. Not far behind were the likes of Providence, Maine, Harvard, St. Lawrence and North Dakota.

As usual, coaches waited longer to review the Canadian talent, because many players make the move from midget hockey to the junior level at age 18. Compounding the difficulties was the absence of a dominating talent. Out west, for example, the Alberta Junior League (AJHL) lacked the big names from the past three years, when players such as Mike Comrie, Dany Heatley, Krys Kolanos and Connor James had established their bona fides early in their senior season, drawing early college suitors.

While Alberta lacks the top-end talent, this year it offers older, more experienced forwards who can make solid contributions. But it also means college coaches prefer to see them in action before commiting a scholarship.

The run-and-gun British Columbia League (BCHL) also broke the mold by offering a defenseman as its best prospect. The BCHL, producer of offensive players such as Paul Kariya, Brendan Morrison, Ryan Bayda, Shawn Horcoff, Chuck Kobasew and Jeremy Jackson, offered up Duncan Keith, a mobile defenseman in the Travis Roche mode. After being pursued by Denver, Maine, and BC, he ultimately settled on Michigan State.

In the Canadian plains, a 16-year old, Alex Leavitt, accelerated his schooling in order to graduate early, thereby jumping to the head of the Saskatchewan Junior League recruiting list. Out east, Ontario did not offer up a clear offensive dynamo like Jeff Farkas, Brian Gionta, Darren Haydar or Mike Cammalleri. It does, however, offer up plenty of talent of the likes of St. Lawrence’s Jimmy Ball and Cornell’s Mike Knoepfli.

Reviewing the list of current recruits, keep in mind the following warning: Hockey players blossom at different ages, so beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. For every blue chip Paul Kariya, there is the unheralded Jean-Yves Roy. One need not look any further than last year’s seniors. In March, 1996, The Hockey News ran a profile of its “Top 10” college recruits. They were:

  1. Jeff Farkas, Boston College
  2. Ben Clymer, Minnesota
  3. Tom Poti, Boston University
  4. Peter Ratchuk, Bowling Green
  5. Mike Mottau, Boston College
  6. Dave Spehar, Minnesota
  7. Dan Peters, Colorado
  8. Fernando Pisani, Providence
  9. Brad Defauw, North Dakota
  10. Joe Dusbabek, Notre Dame

Last spring, four years later, Mottau earned the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s best performer, edging out The Hockey News’ number one selection Jeff Farkas. However, three picks, Ben Clymer, Peter Ratchuk and Tom Poti, quit school for the pro game, while others went on to solid, but not spectacular careers. Meanwhile, unsung recruits like Wisconsin’s Steve Reinprecht, Colgate’s Andy MacDonald, North Dakota’s Jeff Panzer and RPI’s Joel Laing, earned Hobey nominations.

Lastly, the player comments that follow are based largely on reputation and word-of-mouth, whereas recruiters are trained to find the hidden gems. Using the “reputation” standard, players like Jason Krog and Rejean Stringer would have garnered only brief mention in an article like this.

In short, it is somewhat presumptuous to announce the winners in the recruiting race when you never know how players will develop in college, so don’t be surprised to see a number of unsung players surpass those labeled today as “blue chip” recruits.

Ultimately, the results of this November’s choices will not be known until 2003 at the earliest.

(Chris Heisenberg operates the ultimate independent web site on recruiting, chronicling the progress of each school’s incoming class).

UConn Will Not Bid for 2002 MAAC Tournament

USCHO Staff Report
-

Just days after Army said that they will not bid to host the 2002 MAAC Championships, Connecticut now has stated that it will not bid on the event either.

UConn, which hosted last year’s event and will be the host again this March, does not want to host the tournament in 2002 because of the costs involved, according to league officials. MAAC by-laws currently state that the host institution is responsible for many of the costs associated with hosting the event.

The conference only covers the cost of on-ice officials, marketing materials, pucks, and the television broadcast. Participating teams are responsible to pay for travel, hotel costs, meals and the league banquet. All other costs, such as event staff, hospitality, and off-ice officials, becomes the responsibility of the host team.

Holy Cross, which hosted the inaugural MAAC tournament in 1999, and Quinnipiac are the only two schools believed to be bidding for the 2002 event. Quinnipiac, which does not have an on-campus rink, will look to hold the event in the New Haven Coliseum.

SUNYAC Newsletter: Dec. 13, 2000

By
-

Potsdam Hands Plattsburgh First Conference Loss In Over Two Years; Buffalo State On A Roll

It’s been a long time since Plattsburgh State lost a SUNYAC contest, but Potsdam State’s 5-3 victory allows the race for first to remain very much open in the second half of the season. Potsdam and Oswego State now are tied for second, each just two points out, with Fredonia State trailing by three.

The week ended on a high for Potsdam as it defeated Norwich, 2-1. Plattsburgh came back to beat Amherst, 4-0, while Oswego, after beating Cortland State, 9-1, lost to Elmira, 3-1. Meanwhile, on the other end of the standings, Buffalo State positioned itself heading into the second semester for their first-ever playoff spot by shocking Fredonia, 3-2 in overtime, to continue a hot streak that has seen Buffalo win four out of six games.

Team-By-Team Report

PLATTSBURGH (Ranked No. 3) — The Cardinals came out flat in the big match at Potsdam, much to the chagrin of coach Bob Emery. “The game was lost before we hit the ice,” Emery said. “We were just standing around, and it was the worst warmup I can remember.”

Plattsburgh fell behind 3-1 after one period with the lone goal scored by Joe Dolci. Plattsburgh cut the lead to 3-2, and then 4-3 in the second period on goals by Mark Coletta and Jason Kilcan, the latter with a two-man advantage. But despite pulling the goalie for over a minute, Plattsburgh could not get the equalizer and eventually let in an empty-netter in the 5-3 loss. Plattsburgh bounced back later in the week with a 4-0 victory over Amherst. Goals were scored by Coletta, Brian Toussaint, Rob Retter, and Bobby Owen, and Niklas Sundberg got the shutout with 20 saves. Plattsburgh returns to action on January 5-6 in its own tournament, facing Hobart first and then either RIT or Colby.

OSWEGO (Ranked No. 9) — The Great Lakers split last week, winning the important game but losing the emotional one. Oswego pounded Cortland, 9-1, to remain in a second-place tie with Potsdam at the halfway mark. John Sullivan and Mike Lukajic got a pair of goals. Single tallies were registered by Steve Cavallaro, Nate Elliott, Joe Carrabs, Joe Pecoraro, and Chris DiCarlo as Oswego went 4 for 8 on the power play and Joe Lofberg made 22 saves for the win. Oswego’s big rematch against Elmira ended in a 3-1 loss. After a scoreless first period, Elmira took the lead at the 2:08 mark of the second. Oswego came right back 1:01 later to tie it up on a goal by Sullivan. Elmira scored later in the second, and sealed the win with its second power-play goal of the night in the third. Lofberg made 35 saves, but this time Oswego went 0 for 8 on the power play. After a lengthy midseason break, Oswego hosts Manhattanville on January 12.

POTSDAM (Ranked No. 7) — The Bears had perhaps their finest week of the season, ending the semester with a pair of huge victories. First, Potsdam came out flying at home against Plattsburgh to beat the first place team, 5-3. Then, Potsdam repeated their earlier victory against defending national champions, Norwich, this time in a 2-1 score. Brett Joly put Potsdam ahead against Plattsburgh midway through the first. Plattsburgh tied it up 41 seconds later. Potsdam came right back 58 seconds later when Erick Curtis scored. Dave Weagle’s power-play goal gave Potsdam a two-goal lead at the end of one. Joe Wlodarczyk gave Potsdam another two-goal lead on a power play midway through the second. Dave Weagle’s second goal of the night, an empty netter, sealed the win. Against Norwich, Potsdam won another thriller, this time 2-1. Chris Hesse scored first 4:03 into the game. The next goal didn’t come until 3:08 left in the game when the Cadets tied it up. Then, what looked to be a devastating tripping penalty taken by Potsdam’s Mike Smitko at the 17:32 mark, turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Dave Weagle scored the game winner — shorthanded — with just 1:52 left. Potsdam still has some games left before the year is out, barely. They compete in the Lever 2000/Shaw’s Holiday Tournament at New England College on December 30-31 facing Plymouth State and the host team.

FREDONIA — The Blue Devils’ second-place residence was short-lived as they were stunned by Buffalo State, 3-2 in overtime. Fredonia was always fighting from behind in this one — they tied the game at one on a goal by B.J. Bouschor in the second period, and again to force overtime with 1:51 left when Christian Fletcher scored. However, overtime doesn’t give you the opportunity to come back, and Fredonia let in the winner with 30 seconds left in the extra stanza. Will Hamele made 27 saves. Fredonia struggled again against a much weaker Plymouth State, but did manage to pull out the win, 2-1. Fredonia found themselves again down in this game when Fletcher tied it in the second. Tom Clohert got the game winner in the third. Hamele got the win with 15 saves. After the break, Fredonia gets back into action slowly with an exhibition game at Humber on January 10.

GENESEO — The Ice Knights went on a scoring rampage last week, turning the red light on 23 times in three games. First, they disposed of Brockport with ease, 5-0, giving coach Paul Duffy his 350th career win. Jason Gurnett scored twice with Pat McKendry, David Bagley, and Tony Scorsone scoring once. Kevin Koury got the shutout with 20 saves. In the first game of the Hamilton Invitational, Geneseo’s offense continued to maintain pace, but the score was a lot closer as they beat Hobart, 6-5. Geneseo took a 4-1 lead on goals by Aaron Coleman, Jack Staley, Gurnett, and Matt Lester. Geneseo then held a commending 6-2 lead with additional goals by Jason Burgess and Jack Staley. However, Hobart scored three goals in the latter part of the third period, but Geneseo held on for the win. Koury made 18 saves. In the championship game, Geneseo obliterated New England College, 12-3. This high will have to last till January 10, which is when the Ice Knights play again when they host Elmira.

BUFFALO STATE — The Bengals are one of the hottest teams in the SUNYAC right now, having won three of their last four games, and four of their last six. The biggest win of them all came against Fredonia, 3-2 in overtime, on the road. Jeff Lacapruccia gave Buffalo State the lead in the first. He gave the Bengals the lead again in the second. Joe Urbanik won the game with 30 seconds left in overtime. The win gave Buffalo State a share of sixth place, just two points behind fifth. Buffalo State kept on rolling pounding Plymouth State, 10-1. Lacapruccia scored another two goals. Josh Bluman also scored twice, 45 seconds apart. Mark Yoder and Rocky Reeves scored shorthanded goals. Nick Berti just missed the shutout by 3:53 and ended up making 26 saves. In Buffalo State’s short hockey history, they have perhaps never looked forward to the second semester as much as this year. But they’re not done with the first semester as they host a pair of games against Neumann this weekend.

CORTLAND — Cortland’s lone game last week was one they would like to forget, losing to Oswego, 9-1. The Red Dragons didn’t get on the scoreboard until it was 7-0 nearly midway through the third. Brad Reynolds scored that solitary goal. Cortland let in four power-play goals. Mark Paine had a miserable night in goal being yanked after letting up the first three goals on just three shots. John Larnerd finished the job with 24 saves. Cortland hosts Humber in an exhibition game on January 6.

BROCKPORT — Brockport’s disappointing first semester hit its nadir when they lost to Geneseo, 5-0. This left the Golden Eagles winless in conference play with just one point, having scored only nine goals in seven league games. Brockport hoped to bounce back in their own Jimmy Mac Invitational, and they did beat the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), 4-3, breaking an 11-game winless streak, but then lost to Skidmore, 5-4 in overtime. In the MCLA game, after Dave Braunstein gave Brockport an early 1-0 lead, Adam Prescott gave them another edge on a shorthanded goal. Prescott and Stephen Howard gave Brockport a 4-2 lead after the second period, and Tom Payment made 29 saves for the win. The Skidmore game was a see-saw affair as Skidmore led 1-0; Brockport took a 2-1 lead (Don Stiner and Steve Falcone scored); Skidmore took a 3-2 lead; Brockport tied it up (Jeffrey Everhart); Skidmore took the lead again; Brockport tied it up one last time (Darren Kennedy); and finally, Skidmore won it 4:18 into overtime. Payment made 38 saves. Prescott and Payment made the All-Tournament team. Brockport gets back on the ice at New England College on January 9.

Game Of The Week

With one pairing scheduled twice, and not a really exciting matchup at that, we’ll bypass such a tough decision. We’ll be back next week for a midseason review before we too take a holiday break.

NCHA Newsletter: Dec. 13, 2000

By Tim Somers
-

MIAC Gets Some Revenge As Interleague Schedule Continues

The NCHA faltered a little last weekend in its dominance of the MIAC. Wisconsin-Superior was the only NCHA team to finish the weekend with two wins, defeating both Gustavus Adolphus and St. Olaf. St. Norbert and Wisconsin-Stout went 1-0-1 and Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-River Falls and Lake Forest all split. Wisconsin-Eau Claire and St. Scholastica were the only NCHA teams to finish the weekend without at least one win.

Around the League

Wisconsin-River Falls: The NCHA-leading Falcons are the first team in the West to acquire 10 wins on the season, with their 10th coming on a 2-1 victory over Concordia-Moorhead Saturday.

Trailing 1-0 in the second period, Falcon leading scorer Shane Fukushima tied the game 6:31 in. Just over seven minutes later, Jared Anderson scored the game-winner, lifting the Falcons to the 2-1 win.

Sunday was a completely different story than the one the Falcons had been reading all season. St. John’s, fresh off a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin-Stout, dominated the Falcons until late in the third period, and led 2-0. Matt Elsen scored the lone Falcon goal with only 1:38 remaining in the third period cutting the to 2-1, and the Johnnies added an empty-net goal 22 seconds later to finish off the Falcons.

River Falls is one of the few NCHA teams in action this weekend, taking on Augsburg on Friday and Eau Claire on Saturday.

Wisconsin-Stout: The Blue Devils continued their hot play last weekend, ending with a 1-0-1 record. On Friday, they tied MIAC-leading Concordia-Moorhead, and Saturday they defeated St. John’s 5-1.

Friday, the Blue Devils and the Cobbers battled to a 2-2 tie. Erik Chilson got the Devils out to a 1-0 first-period lead, only to see the Cobbers score in the second to tie it at one. The Devils fell behind 2-1 in the third, but Matt Olson scored with 8:27 remaining to tie it at two.

Neither team was able to score in the five-minute overtime.

On Saturday, Stout took the lead in the first period and never gave it up. Brad Weappa got the Devils on the scoreboard 6:09 into the first period, followed five minutes later by Matt Olson, extending the lead to 2-0. St. John’s scored its lone goal to answer, rounding out the first period.

The second and third periods were all Stout. Aaron Decker and Nathan Legler both scored in the second and Andy Anderson added another in the third.

The Blue Devils are off until January 5 as they travel to St. Olaf, then head home for a matchup with Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday the sixth.

St. Norbert: The Green Knights got back on track this weekend after dropping their weekend series with Norwich and Middlebury a week ago. The Knights picked up three points with a win over St. Mary’s and a tie with St. Thomas.

Brant Kersey got the Knights on the board first on Friday night against St. Mary’s, but the Cardinals tied up the game before heading to the locker room after 20 minutes. In the second, the Knights once again took the lead on a goal from Trent Dickson and took the 2-1 lead into the third period.

In that final stanza, the Knights put three more goals on the board to finish off St. Mary’s. Ryan Nahorniak, Chris Bodnar and Shane Dickson all picked up tallies in the third.

Saturday was a bigger battle than some had thought it would be. St. Thomas, which has struggled early, took it to the Knights, leading 2-1 after two periods with the lone Knights goal coming from Felix Angst in the first. Chad Ashenberg tied the game early in the third, only to see the Tommies tie the game four minutes later. The Green Knights pulled the goalie with 1:16 remaining in the period and it paid off, with Bodnar picking up his second of the weekend with just four seconds remaining in regulation, tying it at three.

St. Norbert is taking the holidays off and returns to the ice on January 5 and 6 at Bethel and Augsburg.

Wisconsin-Stevens Point: The Pointers have two streaks going right now; neither one is good.

In each of their last five game, the Pointers have had to battle back from at least one goal. The other streak is only two weekends long, but it’s even more disturbing than going down 1-0. For the last two weekend, the Pointers have been unable to win on Friday nights, meaning the best they can do on the weekend is split — which is what they’ve been able to do.

Last weekend was a perfect example. Friday, the Pointers dropped a 4-2 decision to Augsburg, falling behind 1-0 halfway through the first 20 minutes but tying it up on a goal by Matt Interbartolo. However, 30 seconds later, the Auggies regained the lead and also added another tally to close out the first-period scoring.

The lone tally of the second period came from the Pointers’ Ryan Maxson, who picked up his team-leading 11th goal of the season, cutting the Augsburg lead in half. But the Pointers weren’t able to bulge the twine in the third period and gave up another Augsburg goal, continuing the evil Friday trend.

Saturday, a completely different Stevens Point team showed up at Bethel. What made this game different is that Stevens Point had to come back from a two-goal deficit twice. While not a glowing statistic, it certainly showed this reporter that the Pointers are starting to come around.

The Pointers fell behind in the first just 2:48 in, but Maxson answered with his first of three goals on the night later in the period to tie the game at one. The Auggies scored again to round out the first.

The second period started out well for the Pointers as Justin Zimmerman picked up his first goal of the season 10 minutes in and Mikhail Salienko put the Pointers out in front for the first time on the weekend two-and-a-half minutes later. Bethel answered however, with three goals of their own, their last with just 34 seconds remaining in the period, to again take the lead and send it to the third.

The third period was all Stevens Point, however. Bryan Fricke picked up a shorthanded goal (the Pointers’ first of the season) eight minutes in and the floodgates opened. David Boehm continued his hot play, picking up his third goal in four games, and Maxson picked up goals two and three to finish out the scoring. The Pointers’ final three goals came in a span of just 3:35.

The Pointers are off for the holidays and return to action January 5 and 6. Friday, January 5, the Pointers are on the road to take on St. Thomas and then return to Stevens Point to take on St. Mary’s.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire: The Blugolds finished the weekend with an 0-2 record, but not for a lack of imagination. On Friday, the Blugolds fell behind early in the game and, despite three goals in the third, couldn’t muster enough offense to defeat Bethel, dropping the weekend opener 6-4.

On Friday, already trailing 1-0, Bryan Chambers tied the game at one at the 10:10 mark of the first. Bethel tied up the game, however, with a goal before the end of the first period.

Trailing 5-1 just three minutes into the third period, the Blugolds tried to come back. Tim Murphy picked up his first of the game only to see Bethel respond with another goal, pushing the lead back to four. Eau Claire responded with two more goals (Mike Lucenti and Murphy), but it wasn’t enough to pull out the win.

Saturday was one for the books. After a benign first period, Augsburg led the Blugolds 2-1, with the lone Blugold tally coming from Lucenti. All told, there were four penalties called in the first, two for each team.

During the second period, things totally unraveled.

Just 51 seconds into the middle period, both Augsburg’s Shawn Smith and Kuzma Kurakin of Eau Claire were called for matching cross-checking penalties, during which Augsburg extended the lead to two goals. Augsburg added another at the 4;12 mark to stake a three-goal lead, and it all went downhill from there for UWEC.

At 4:50 of the second, Tim Murphy was a called for a two-minute high-sticking penalty. Augsburg scored a power-play goal 1:29 later, and 25 seconds after that, Murphy was once again whistled, this time for a two-minute slashing penalty. Add another power-play goal for Augsburg 1:38 later, and then Augsburg’s five-on-five squad punched on in at 9:15 of the second to extend the lead to 7-1.

Things didn’t stay quiet long as Murphy was then whistled for a minor slashing penalty and also received a 10-minute misconduct. (We’re only halfway through the period at this point.)

The scoring was finished for the period, but the action was far from over. 33 seconds later, Augsburg’s Nick Murray and Eau Claire’s Jeff Pradal were whistled for coincidental slashing minors. 1:12 later, EC’s Chambers was called for a minor slashing penalty and EC’s Chris Hunter received a 10-minute misconduct. Just eight seconds later, WEC’s Nick Tietjen went off for a two-minute slashing call.

Okay.

To recap, we’re now five-on-three, with five Blugolds and one Auggie sitting on their respective penalty benches. Tietjen’s penalty doesn’t start for another seven seconds. At 12:54 of the second period, Augsburg’s Andy Ness and EC’s Ben Manny join the crowd with coincidental slashing penalties. Finally, all penalties expire, and we’re back to five-on-five.

For about 16 seconds.

The Auggies’ Chad Moore got whistled for cross-checking at the 15:10 mark. Again, the penalty expires and we’re back to five-on-five, this time for 45 seconds before Mike Jackson of Augsburg gets whistled for a two-minute tripping call, and it’s back to five-on-four for EC. That penalty wouldn’t expire before the next penalty was assessed, as Augsburg goaltender Ryan McIntosh rounded out the period with a five-minute spearing penalty and the game disqualification that goes along with it.

All told, in the second period alone, there were 17 penalties for a total of 61 minutes.

But, unlike college basketball, there are three periods in a hockey game and the third was just as interesting as the second.

Entering the period leading 7-1, the Auggies were probably pretty content sitting back and playing defense.

Yeah, and I have a legitimate chance of getting on ESPN’s new “2-Minute Drill” game show.

The penalties came first, though. Kurakin picked up the first penalty of the third 6:51 into the final stanza, going off two minutes for elbowing, and just 52 seconds later, something snapped.

Eau Claire’s Jeff Pradal was called for a five-minute spearing penalty and game DQ, the Eau Claire bench was given a two-minute unsportsmanlike penalty, and Brian Buskowiak was given a 10-minute misconduct and yet another game DQ, putting the Blugolds at a three-on-five disadvantage for the next 3:08.

Well, that would be unless Augsburg scored, which they did at 10:09, putting us back at five-on-four. After getting back to five-on-five, Eau Claire once found the sin bin when Chris Hunter picked up two minutes for slashing and another two for cross-checking, putting the Blugolds down two men once again for the next 1:59.

Well, that would be unless Eau Claire did something like to what they did: pull the goalie.

It took Augsburg no time to prove that “logic” fruitless, scoring two power-play goals in less than 15 seconds, extending the lead to 11-1. With a 10-goal lead, in a MIAC arena, the leading team’s coach has the option of going to running time, which is what happened.

But wait — there’s more!

With approximately 7:05 remaining in the third period, Eau Claire’s Adam Sklader and Augsburg’s Shawn Smith were whistled for slashing minors. This was, evidently, all Eau Claire could handle, as the Blugolds skated off the ice, not to return.

The officials initially whistled the Eau Claire bench for a minor penalty for delay of game. After EC didn’t return to the ice, the officials checked the NCAA rule book and found under Rule 6-39A “refusal to obey an official’s decision is not permissible.” Rule 6-39A goes on to specify a sequence of penalties, ending with a forfeit, and that’s eventually what happened. Under the officials’ discretion, the game was forfeited in favor of Augsburg.

Through all 60 minutes of the game, there were 33 penalties called for 123 minutes in total. Included in those penalties were two spearing majors, three game disqualifications and six 10-minute misconducts. And since we’re into the holiday season, I’m sure there were also some turtle doves and partridges in pear trees.

What does this all mean? According to the NCAA, the stats for the players count toward season totals; however, the official score of a forfeit is 1-0.

Following that exciting game, the Blugolds are about due for a day off, which they get this Friday, but take to the ice again Saturday, playing host to Wisconsin-River Falls.

Lake Forest: The Foresters were one of the many teams in the NCHA to come away this weekend with only one win; that came on Saturday against St. Mary’s. Friday, they dropped their weekend opener to St. Thomas.

In the opener, the Tommies and Foresters battled through a scoreless first period, but the Tommies scored first in the second period. It took only two minutes for the Foresters to respond, as Dan Holmes picked up his fifth goal of the season, tying the game at one.

St. Thomas added another in the first to round out the scoring in the first 20 minutes.

The St. Thomas lead grew to 3-1 just 47 seconds into the third and the Foresters could only muster one more goal, from Dan Dimauro at 11:15.

On Saturday, the Foresters again fell behind in the first period, but Adrian Wong responded for the Foresters two-and-a-half minutes later.

The second saw the remainder of the scoring, and it was all for Lake Forest. Beau Llewellyn scored his first of the season at 2:06, Andrew Jay picked up his second of the season 31 seconds later and Wong his second of the game at 7:54.

The Foresters return to action on January 5 and 6 at Augsburg and Bethel.

Wisconsin-Superior: The Yellow Jackets seem to have things going their way lately. Following their sweep this weekend, they have now won five out of their last six games, and last weekend, the ‘Jackets picked up nonconference wins over Gustavus Adolphus and St. Olaf.

Friday night, the ‘Jackets and Gusties fought through a scoreless first period before the Gusties scored first in the second (10:10) — but Eric Pitoscia answered for Superior just 2:29 later, tying the game at one. Kris Wilson gave Superior the lead five minutes later with his third of the season. The Gusties added the tying goal in the final minute of the period, sending it to the third tied at two.

Any momentum the Gusties got from the late second-period goal was taken away early in the third as Alan Haspargen scored just 28 seconds in, putting the ‘Jackets out in front for good. Jay Stewart and Jeff Glowa added tallies later in the period to finish out the scoring.

Saturday, the ‘Jackets had little to worry about with St. Olaf.

After a scoreless first period, the ‘Jackets picked up two goals in the second from Rob Ziemmer and Stewart.

In the third, Superior picked up two more from Cameron Van Sandt and Stewart with his third on the weekend.

The Yellow Jackets have one game this Friday at St. Thomas, then take the holidays off, returning on the fifth and sixth of January against St. John’s and Concodia-Moorhead at home.

St. Scholastica: The Saints took two on the chin this weekend, dropping both games to the MIAC’s bottom two teams, St. Olaf and Gustavus Adolphus.

Friday, the Saints got things started on a good note as Josh Oyler scored just 15 seconds into the first period, but they saw their early lead slip to a tie later in the period.

In the second period, the Oles got on the board first, only to see their lead slip away, as Scholastica’s Sean Andrews picked up the tying goal to finish out the scoring in the second.

The Oles picked up the only goal in the third, dropping the Saints 3-2.

Saturday brought no relief for the Saints, falling behind 2-0 through the first 54:08. The lone Saint tally went to Phil McDonald at 17:04 of the third.

The break can’t get here early enough for the Saints, but they’ll have to wait one more week as they have a home-and-home nonconference series with Hamline this weekend.

Game(s) of the Week:

Looking over the schedule for this week, there isn’t much to pick from for a GOTW. I would like to say that the River Falls series with Augsburg and Eau Claire would do it, but other than seeing if Augsburg can play without starting goaltender Ryan McIntosh (serving one-game suspension for the game DQ vs. Eau Claire) or if Eau Claire has taken some anger-management classes and can cope with not having Jeff Pradal and Bryan Buskowiak, I just don’t see it. Hamline and St. Scholastica could be entertaining, but it is finals week, and it’s going to take something like Stevens Point vs. St. Norbert to rip my interest away from Beginning C++ and Astronomy.

So, with that said, I’ll give you, the reader, the option. You pick which game you want to see and go see it! Looking at the attendance lately in both MIAC and NCHA venues, the games could use some warm bodies in the seats. For instance, do you realize that only 200 people saw the fiasco between Eau Claire and Augsburg? Or that 75 — yes 75 — people saw the shootout between Stevens Point and Bethel?

What else is there to do on a Saturday night?

Go out and see a game!

Coming up for the second half of the season, I will be caving to a number of readers who have caringly emailed me. I will be doing predictions. There will be a catch, though: I will only pick the winners. No scores, just winners.

There will be no column next week, as I’m giving you the rest after reading all of this. The next NCHA report will be the week of January 3, previewing the last weekend of interleague play between the MIAC and NCHA, and not a minute too soon for this reporter.

Have a great holiday season, and we’ll see you in the next century!

This Week In Division III: Dec. 13, 2000

By
-

This will be my last column of 2000, and as the holidays approach, my thoughts turn to the gifts I would bestow on certain folks in the D-III hockey world.

Now’s my chance to play Santa!

To opponents of the Middlebury Panthers – Shots on goal, and a lot of luck. You’ll need it. The Panthers, ranked number one in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll, have been nearly perfect in their own zone so far this season. The goaltending tandem of freshman Marc Scheuer and sophomore Christian Carlsson have allowed just one goal on 98 shots in six games. That’s just 16 shots a game by opposing teams.

To fans of teams playing at NESCAC schools – A chance to visit some of the campuses, which are just gorgeous, especially in the winter. I remember a couple of seasons ago walking into the rink at Williams, with my boots crunching under the lightly falling snow and the bell tower chiming out the hour. Just a great campus setting. Colby, Middlebury and Hamilton are all the same way. Rustic surroundings, intimate rinks and kick-butt hockey.

To opponents of RIT – A “Get Out of the Penalty Box Free” card. The Tigers are clicking at a 51.5% rate with the man advantage: 34 of 66 through 11 games. That’s sick. Last weekend, RIT defeated host Air Force 4-3 in the championship game of the Radisson Inn Classic by scoring three times on a single major penalty to the Falcons.

To Plattsburgh – A season where all anybody cares about is what goes happens on the ice. It’s a blessing and a curse being the number-one sports attraction in town. I’m sure that other programs have had off-ice incidents, but they aren’t constantly under the glare of a media spotlight like the Cardinals are.

To the MIAC – The end to their “running time” mercy rule. In games at MIAC schools, when one teams gets up by 10 goals (fortunately a rare occurrence) the clock doesn’t stop until the game’s over. We don’t even do this in PeeWees — it cheats the players of game time and makes stats for players in these games hard to compare with others. The netminder’s GAAs will be slightly lower, and offensive players will be cheated out of equitable scoring opportunities. Steve Aronson set all kinds of MIAC records for his career, and I know he played in some blowout games. How many points would he have had if he hadn’t missed shifts in those games due to a running clock?

Last weekend, this rule was part of a nasty incident in a game between Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Augsburg. Some at the game said that the Blugolds, trailing 9-1 at the time, intentionally pulled their goalie and did not contest two Augsburg goals in order to invoke the mercy rule and speed up the end of the game. Other sources claim Eau Claire allowed the goals to get its players out of the box quickly and move on. In any event, the Blugold players eventually left the ice in the third period and allowed the clock to run out, making the game technically a 1-0 forfeit. What a mess.

To RIT – Another Bournazkis brother. The two at RIT, senior Peter and sophomore Mike, are scoring 5.26 points a game between them. They are currently first (Pete) and tied for second (Mike) in the nation in total points. Mike is leading the nation in assists, while Pete is fourth in goals and second in power-play goals — to another RIT player, Derek Hahn. I did mention those 34 power-play goals for RIT.

To Norwich – A chance to work out the bugs that have caused the defending national champion to get off to a 3-4 start. The Cadets are very young, but have reloaded, not rebuilt. Given time, I expect them to make the NCAA tournament and have a chance to defend their title.

To Potsdam and Wisconsin-Stout – A ban on the “Cinderella” label. Both of these teams are for real, especially the Bears, who will give Plattsburgh a run for the SUNYAC title. Even if they don’t got that far, expect Potsdam to be in contention for the NCAA pool “C” slot.

If the Stout Blue Devils can keep it up, they’ll have home ice in the NCHA playoffs, and then anything can happen.

To the ECAC West – A couple of new teams (Neumann and Utica next season) and someone to make this more than a two-horse race. Manhattanville and Hobart can play with RIT and Elmira, but need more confidence.

To Jason Boudrow – Some recognition. The junior from Tufts is averaging an unreal 3.71 points per game so far. The Somerville, Mass., native has 10 goals and 16 assists in just seven games. He’s on a pace to score 89 points this season.

To Elmira – A return of the fickle fans that have left for the lure of “beer and fighting” at the Elmira Jackals’ games at the new Coach USA arena. The new United Hockey League team has cut into attendance at the Domes so far. But the Soaring Eagles are getting hot, so maybe that will bring back some fair-weather fans.

To the NCHA – A bigger NCAA tournament field. With four and often five teams in the USCHO.com Top 10, at most two and possibly only one will make the Big Dance. What a dogfight the league playoffs will be.

To the D-II schools, especially Minnesota-Crookston – A national championship to call their own. The five D-II schools in the ECAC at least get to have a D-II tournament, but the Golden Eagles are stuck in the MCHA, and will have to settle for a shot at defending that title against some D-III programs.

To Dana Marek – A few more years of eligibility and a hot tub. The 47-year-old sophomore for UMass-Boston has two assists so far, and has got to be one of the leaders in the dressing room. He’s been given a chance because Joe Mallen is short on players, but who knows? He can play till he’s 49.

To the coaches and players – A dearth of injuries and lots of exciting games.

And finally, to the fans – May all your hockey wishes come true! Have a great holiday season, and I’ll see you at the rink.

Picks

Last Week: 3-1
On the Season: 22-10

This Week:

Only a few teams are in action, so this will be a short list:

Augsburg at Wisconsin-River Falls (12/15): This one could have postseason implications. UWRF is the best team in the West, and here’s another chance to prove it. UWRF 6, Augsburg 3.

Wisconsin-Superior at St. Thomas (12/15): Here’s a chance for the Tommies to end a disappointing first half of the season on a high note. However, the ‘Jackets are just too strong. UWS 4, St. Thomas 3

Wisconsin-River Falls at Wisconsin-Eau Claire (12/16) – This is a nonconference game, but don’t tell it to these guys. The Blugolds will be missing some players due to all the DQs at Augsburg last weekend. UWRF 5, Eau Claire 2.

This Week In Women’s Hockey: Dec. 13, 2000

By Zevi Gutfreund
-

The Big Green Machine

If anyone doubted that Dartmouth should be No. 1 before last weekend, they should be convinced by now. The Big Green backed up its undefeated record with two convincing victories over then-No. 2 Minnesota, 5-1 and 4-0, on Saturday and Sunday.

Dartmouth (10-0-1) shut down Minnesota (11-4-1) offensively as the Gophers, who score 4.31 goals a game, managed just one goal in Hanover the entire weekend despite taking 60 shots on goal. A lot of the credit should go to Big Green goaltenders Amy Ferguson and Meaghan Cahill, but Dartmouth’s defense, led by junior Correne Bredin and senior Liz Macri, made life miserable for Minnesota’s high-scoring forwards all weekend.

“We shut down Minnesota by putting a lot of pressure on them in all three zones,” head coach Judy Parish Oberting said. “We put pressure on them in deep, stepped up through the neutral zone and were aggressive in our own end. Liz and Correne certainly are the cornerstones for us defensively, but all six of our defensemen worked together and made it very difficult for Minnesota to get any real good looks at the net.”

The Big Green also had no trouble scoring against the Gophers; though Dartmouth has none of the ECAC’s top scorers. The Big Green makes up for this with a deep bench. Six different Dartmouth skaters scored against Minnesota, and the Big Green got three goals from third-liners Lydia Wheatley and Sarah Clark. Oberting is more than happy to get this kind of contribution from Wheatley, Clark and linemate Kim McCullough.

“Lydia Wheatley is as responsible defensively as any forward I have seen in the league,” Oberting said. “She anticipates well in all three zones, is both strong and quick on her feet and plays through the body very well.

“Kim McCullough is extremely strong, handles the puck well and can fire the puck. She understands the game, reads the play well and gets herself in scoring position. Sarah Clark is really beginning to turn it on. Offensively she has an excellent eye for the net and keeps getting better each week. All three of them are smart, responsible players. They gave us a huge lift this weekend and are capable of playing against any line in the country.”

Fortunately for the rest of the country, Dartmouth won’t play anyone else until December 27, when it travels to the Lake Placid Tournament.

Duluth is Lovely in December

Harvard coach Katey Stone was thinking about more than a nice Christmas vacation when she scheduled a road trip to Duluth for late December. The No. 2 Crimson (8-3-0) is heading into the freezing weather of northern Minnesota for two games this weekend against No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth (11-4-1), mainly to give Harvard its first-ever look at the newest national power.

Despite a two-week layoff, Harvard is on a roll. The Crimson finished off November by winning at No. 4 St. Lawrence (7-3-2) and No. 6 Brown (6-3-2). Harvard has only lost one game — to top-ranked Dartmouth — since the return of senior Tammy Shewchuk (6g, 15a) and junior Jennifer Botterill (13g, 7a), the second- and third-highest scorers in the ECAC.

“We are developing nicely so far,” said Stone. “It’s important to finally have everyone out on the ice. We’re not playing our best hockey yet, but we’re playing good hockey and that’s a great place to start.”

More importantly, Harvard is starting to clamp down on defense. With rookie goaltender Jessica Ruddock (0.82 GAA, .967 save percentage) between the pipes and senior Tara Dunn providing a forward’s skills at the blue line, the Crimson has allowed just three goals in as many games.

Ruddock will receiver her biggest test to date in Duluth. The Bulldogs feature three of the WCHA’s top 10 scorers in sophomores Maria Rooth (15g, 18a), Hanne Sikio (16g, 12a), and Erika Holst (9g, 15a).

“They are good one-on-one players,” Stone said of the UMD scorers. “We need to keep things simple in the defensive zone. That means making clean passes rather than stickhandling from goal line to goal line.”

On the other end, Botterill, Shewcuk and company will have to face UMD netminder Tuula Puputti, who leads the WCHA in GAA (1.99) and save percentage (.919).

Predictions

Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 16-17

No. 2 Harvard at No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth – The Crimson is on a roll, but the Bulldog scorers are hard to stop. Harvard, 3-2; UMD 5-3

ECAC West Newsletter: Dec. 13, 2000

By
-

Tournaments Galore

Tourney play swept through the ECAC West this week as Manhattanville won the Jimmy Mac Invitational and RIT took top honors at the Radisson Inn Hockey Classic. Elmira’s highlight of the week was gaining revenge on Oswego.

Team-By-Team Report

RIT: The Tigers opened up the week defeating league foe Hobart, 7-3. Lanner Fayad put RIT on the board first with a score just 6:48 into the contest, but Hobart answered, and kept the game close until midway through the second period. What had been a tight territorial battle turned into an open-ice race, and the officials started to lose control of the game. RIT scored two late second-period goals, and opened up the third with two more goals to take a lead it would never relinquish. Nonetheless, RIT struggled most of the night, both against Hobart’s tenaciousness and against the calls.

“This was a game set up for us to play poorly and we did just that,” said coach Wayne Wilson. “Our power play was awful, our penalty kill was horrible, our defense was terrible, and that’s just about the whole game.”

Peter Bournazakis and Josh Faulkner led RIT in scoring with a goal and two assists apiece.

RIT then jumped on a plane and headed out to Colorado Springs, Colo., to play in the Radisson Inn Hockey Classic at Air Force. The Tigers opened up against Connecticut College, and cranked open the scoring floodgates midway through the first period on a tally by defenseman Ryan Fairbarn. The Tigers rattled off three more first-period goals and kept up the blistering pace through the remainder of the game for an 11-3 victory. Peter Bournazakis led the scoring with three goals and one assist.

The championship game against Division I Air Force was extremely even. After a scoreless first period, RIT got on the board 8:07 into the second period when Adam George scored. Air Force got tagged with a major penalty just two minutes later, and the Tigers jumped all over the ensuing five-minute power play. RIT dominated during the power play, taking control as Sam Hill, Ryan Fairbarn and Peter Bournazakis all scored, but Air Force wasn’t about to fold up the tarmac.

Air Force scored on the power play late in the second period, and then came out and dominated the third territorially. Air Force scored again at 14:17 of the third period, and then tallied another after pulling its goalie at 19:35, but RIT hung on by its fingernails to the 4-3 victory.

RIT has now won all four of the tournaments that it has played this year (Blue Devil Invitational, Chase Rochester Cup, Face Off Classic, Radisson Inn Hockey Classic). The Tigers will be looking to keep the streak alive after the holidays as they head up to the North Country for the Plattsburgh Classic, the last stop on their tournament tour this season.

ELMIRA: The Soaring Eagles got a measure of revenge last weekend. Oswego drubbed Elmira 7-3 to open the season, and the Soaring Eagles were looking to right that wrong as the first half of the season wound down.

They did. “This was one of the better games we played all year, top to bottom,” said coach Glenn Thomaris.

Elmira’s Mike Hulbig scored on the power play 2:08 into the second period, but Oswego answered a minute later to knot the score 1-1. Eddie Cassie regained the lead for Elmira at the 12:42 mark and this time the lead held. Netminder Rob Ligas was stellar in net, stopping 33 of 34 Laker shots.

“I thought Rob did a nice job of controlling the rebounds, especially when they crashed the net, which Oswego did a lot of,” said Thomaris. Steve Kaye sealed the 3-1 win with a power-play goal midway through the third period.

Elmira hit the road for a contest against Williams on the very next day. The final score was 6-3 in Elmira’s favor, but the contest was much closer than that. Mike Clarke got Elmira going with a goal 13:34 into the first period. Williams knotted the score early in the second with a shorthanded goal, but Jason Silverthorn scored later on the same power play to regain the lead for Elmira.

Elmira’s penalty kill unit had an outstanding weekend, keeping Oswego 0-for-8 and Williams 0-for-5. “Our PK guys blocked some shots and kept their composure very well,” said Thomaris.

Willams scored 1:08 into the third period to tie the game 2-2. Elmira took the lead for a third time at 4:11 when Eddie Cassie scored four-on-four, but once again Williams tied the game just 14 seconds later.

“Rob stopped a couple of breakaways that saved us,” said Thomaris.

Elmira then benefited from a not-so-smart play by Williams late in the third period, with the game still tied 3-3. At the 18:11 mark, “our guy was going into the corner and (Ryan Sochacki) threw him down like a steer. The ref had to call it,” said Thomaris.

On the ensuing power play, Mike Hulbig took a feed in the slot from Lawne Snyder and scored at 18:43 to give the Soaring Eagles their fourth lead of the night. This time the lead stuck as Williams pulled its goaltender, but Elmira converted two empty-net goals in the closing minute to complete the 6-3 final.

Midway through the season, Elmira has climbed back to a 6-6 record. “We’re kind of in a little pattern here, lose three then win three,” said Thomaris. “The competition that we have played has made us better. If we can get through the holidays with three wins, then that should give us some momentum.”

More good news for Elmira is that Kris Carlson, who has had a cast on his foot since playing Plattsburgh on November 18, will be getting the cast off during the holidays and should rejoin the team shortly thereafter.

Holiday play for Elmira centers around the Codfish Bowl, where the Soaring Eagles will take on St. Anselm in the opening round and either UMass-Boston or New Hampshire College in the final round. Then it is back home for the Soaring Eagles to host Wentworth on January 6.

MANHANTTANVILLE: Manhattanville coach Keith Levinthal was looking for a good finish to the first half of the season, and he got just that when the Valiants played in Brockport’s Jimmy Mac Invitational Tournament last weekend. With a preset pairing format, Manhattanville won the tournament by defeating both Skidmore and MCLA by similar 3-1 scores.

The Valiants opened the weekend against Skidmore. Damon Iannillo notched two goals early in the first period to give Manhattanville the lead, and Sean Keane added to the score early in the second period for the Valiants. Skidmore managed to tuck in a goal in the third period, but Manhattanville was able to coast to the 3-1 victory.

Next night, the Valiants took on MCLA, with a very similar outcome. This time Ray Williams chipped in two first-period goals, sandwiched around a tally by John Auxier, to give Manhattanville the 3-0 lead. MCLA scored a goal early in the second period, but that was the only one the Valiant defense would let in as Manhattanville held onto the 3-1 margin for the remainder of the game. Jon Peczka (20 saves against Skidmore) and Rob McShane (34 saves against MCLA) combined for the stellar weekend in net for Manhattanville.

After the holidays, Manhattanville jumps right back into the fire with a tough game against SUNYAC power Potsdam.

HOBART: The Statesmen began the week against league foe RIT, and dropped the contest 7-3. Hobart entered the game with much more emotion than RIT and carried play to the Tigers throughout the first 30 minutes; Hobart’s Jerry Toomey collected a drop pass in the slot and scored at 10:26 of the first period to tie the game 1-1. The Statesmen dictated a tight territorial game until about midway through the second period when play opened up. RIT scored the next four goals before Hobart’s Sean Elliott scored a power-play tally midway through the third period. Jerry Toomey got his second of the night three minutes later to narrow the margin to two goals, but that was as close as Hobart could get.

Hobart headed to the Hamilton Invitational tournament next and faced Geneseo for the third time this season, having earned a split in the previous two contests. Geneseo netted the only first-period goal, and Hobart’s Zach Mundy answered early in the second to tie the score. Geneseo notched the next three to take control of the game before Greg Reynholds temporarily stemmed the tide with a Statesman goal 17:47 into the second period.

Geneseo scored two more to take a commanding 6-2 lead early in the third period, but Hobart didn’t roll over, as has sometimes happened in past years. The Statesmen put on a late game charge and almost pulled it out: Trevor Gowan and Evan Hurley each scored power-play goals to start the charge, and Zach Mundy scored his second goal of the game with 17 seconds remaining to make the score 6-5, but Hobart came up just short as the clock ran out.

The Statesmen faced host Hamilton in the consolation game, and got on the board first at 6:23 with a goal by Justin Macklin. Reynholds scored midway through the second period to build the Hobart lead to 2-0, and this time it was the Statesmen trying to hold onto a lead in the third period as Hamilton charged — but the Continentals scored twice in the third period to tie the game. Neither team could get a goal after that, and the contest ended in a 2-2 draw. Sam Weiner was a standout in net for Hobart, stopping 43 of the 45 Hamilton shots that he faced.

Hobart joins RIT up at the Plattsburgh Classic tournament after the holidays. The Statesman have the unenviable task of taking on the host Cardinals in the first round.

Game Of The Week

With all teams on break due to the impending holiday, there is no Game of the Week pick this time around.

(I’ll wait as the wails of despair quiet down.)

Now that that’s over, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season. The next ECAC West Newsletter will be published the week of Janaury 8 as the second half of the season gets into full swing.

Future in Doubt for Gophers’ Petersen Following Concussion

USCHO Staff Report
-

Minnesota freshman defenseman Bethany Petersen is awaiting word from doctors about her hockey future following a scary incident in Saturday’s loss to No. 1 Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H.

Petersen

Petersen

Petersen tumbled into the boards and remained, according to reports, unconscious for as long as 15-25 minutes. After she awoke, she was given oxygen and taken to a nearby hospital for observation. She was released Sunday and able to attend the Gophers’ second game of the weekend at Dartmouth.

Petersen has a history of concussions, and it is possible doctors will tell her never to play competitively again.

“The problem is, she has a history of concussions so she’ll have to go through a battery of tests when she gets home and see our doctors,” Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson said to the Minnesota Daily after Sunday’s game. “And I think the fact that she was unconscious for 25 minutes — that’s not a good sign.”

Petersen is scheduled to see Minnesota doctors some time this week.

Petersen is the sister of Toby and Ian Petersen, who both played at Colorado College. Toby recently scored his first NHL goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Minnesota-Crookston Names New Coach

USCHO Staff Report
-

After five months and a pair of interim head coaches, Minnesota-Crookston has named Gary Warren its permanent replacement for Mark Huglen, though he won’t begin his role until this season is over.

Warren has been the head coach at Minot State University-Bottineau (N.D.) for the last 16 years, where he won three junior college championships (1986, 1991, 1998). The Bottineau native is a 1977 graduate of Minnesota-Duluth.

Prior to arriving at MSU-Bottineau, Warren was assistant coach at Air Force, and was the Director of the USAFA Youth Summer Hockey Camp from 1980-83.

“Gary has been a very successful coach,” said Minn.-Crookston athletic director Lon Boike. “He is experienced, is a proven recruiter, and is exceptionally knowledgeable in the game of hockey. We are happy to have him.”

The Golden Eagles are currently being led by Mike Swentik on an interim basis. They are 7-2-1 overall (5-0-1 MCHA). Warren will take over as soon as this season is completed.

Huglen resigned in July to pursue his academic career full-time.

False Finish: Augsburg Claims Forfeit Victory After UWEC Leaves Ice

By Tim Somers
-

Augsburg took a forfeit victory over Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday night after the Blugolds left the ice surface while trailing 11-1 with just over seven minutes remaining in the third period.

Under NCAA rules, if a team or portion of a team leaves the ice in protest of an official’s call, the game is ruled a forfeit.

Following matching minor penalties for slashing, including the 10th penalty of the period against Eau Claire, the Blugold players headed to the locker room in protest, with the coaching staff remaining on the bench.

Under MIAC rules, with a 10-goal lead, the game was being played under running time, so initially, Eau Claire was assessed a bench minor for delay of game and the officials let the clock run out without re-dropping the puck.

However, after a subsequent check of NCAA regulations, it was determined that a major penalty for delay of game should be assessed to Eau Claire and a forfeit awarded to Augsburg.

The NCAA rule in question is Rule 6-39A, which reads: “The refusal to obey the decision of the referee shall not be permitted … PENALTY: Minor penalty for delay of game. If this continues, a major penalty shall be assessed. Should this behavior persist, the game shall be forfeited.”

At the point of the protest, the two teams had combined for 123 minutes in penalties (Augsburg 31 minutes, Eau Claire 92), including three game disqualifications, six 10-minute misconducts and two major penalties for spearing.

All statistics from the game will count, according to the NCAA.

Mercyhurst, Army Game Postponed; Makeup Date Jan. 5

USCHO Staff Report
-

For the second time in three weeks, Mercyhurst has run into severe weather problems, forcing a postponement of a game. This time, tonight’s game against Army will be pushed back, though the second game of the two-game series, set for Saturday night, is still scheduled to be played.

Mercyhurst was scheduled to fly from Erie to Pittsburgh last night and on to White Plains, N.Y. But USAir flight 1862, from Erie to Pittsburgh, was canceled due to the weather conditions. Subsequent flight cancellations resulted in the postponement of Friday’s game.

The game has been rescheduled and will be played on Jan. 5, 2000 at 7 p.m., at Army’s Tate Rink. Army was originally scheduled to travel to Sacred Heart that evening, but instead will play Sacred Heart the following afternoon at 5 p.m., at the Milford Ice Pavilion in Connecticut.

Mercyhurst also faced rough weather on Nov. 21, when trying to take a bus trip to Connecticut for a game against UConn on Nov. That game was also postponed.

This Week In Division III: Dec. 7, 2000

By
-

A Clear Winner

No ambiguity about this week’s number one. Middlebury captured 14 of 15 first-place votes to strengthen its hold on the top position in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll. The Panthers are idle until after the holidays, so in the meantime the battle will be for the second through tenth positions.

Around the Leagues

NCHA: Cinderella is the devil in the blue dress so far this season, as the Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils, picked to finish dead last in the NCHA preseason poll, are off to their best start in 25 years.

The Blue Devils moved into the USCHO.com Division III poll for the first time ever on the basis of an 8-3 record, which includes wins over St. Thomas and a first-ever season sweep of Wisconsin-Superior.

Stout, which went 1-12-1 last season in conference, is currently 4-2 and in second place. What’s turned around the Blue Devils? According to head coach Terry Watkins, it’s a winning attitude plus depth at every position.

“This is just a fun group of kids with a whole different attitude,” said Watkins. “Winning makes a difference to these guys.

“Our goaltending has been very good, we have a veteran defense, and forwards that can score.”

That will win you some games.

Wisconsin-Stout might have moved into second place, but first still belongs to Wisconsin-River Falls, which has held the top spot since November 13. The Falcons, ranked fifth in the most recent USCHO.com poll, have never led by more than two points in a conference that looks to be even more competitive than usual.

A whopping five NCHA teams are in the poll this week: Wisconsin-Stevens Point (fourth), Wisconsin-River Falls (fifth), Wisconsin-Superior (sixth), St. Norbert (ninth), and Wisconsin-Stout (tenth).

MIAC: Concordia remains atop the MIAC standings, and the Cobbers are threatening to run away with things. The normally tight MIAC race is just that, with the exception of the top spot, which Concordia holds by a five-point margin (5-0-1 in conference).

The Cobbers picked up four points last weekend with a sweep of second-place Bethel. Led by MIAC Player of the Week Mike Gast’s three goals, Concordia defeated Bethel 5-3 and 3-2 to remain unbeaten in conference play.

The real battle is for the other eight positions in the standings, where just three points separate the second-place teams (Bethel and St. Thomas) from the last-place team (Gustavus).

Another team that’s playing good hockey right now is the St. Mary’s Cardinals, who are on a four-game winning streak and off to one of their best starts in several seasons at 6-2-1 (2-1-1 in conference).

“Offensively, we are playing very well right now,” said head coach Don Olsen. “But it’s not just the goals — it’s the multiple-assist goals, the great passing combinations to set up the goals. The entire offense is hitting on all cylinders.

St. Mary’s is outscoring its opposition 45-27 through its first nine games.

“Our scoring has been extremely balanced so far this year,” Olsen added. “To be able to get so many people into the mix is such a big positive for us.”

St. Mary’s faces a tough challenge this weekend when it hosts number-nine St. Norbert and Lake Forest.

MCHA: Minnesota-Crookston continues to roll along, and will be hard to catch again this season. Last weekend, in the only conference games held, the Golden Eagles swept MSOE to increase their lead to eight points in the standings.

UMC goaltender Jeff Horner was outstanding between the pipes in the MSOE series, stopping 65 of 68 shots in the two games, as Crookston rolled, 8-1 and 5-2.

The Golden Eagles are a Division II program, and therefore not eligible for consideration in the USCHO.com Division III poll. At 7-2-1, they might have appeared on a ballot or two. Crookston’s only losses so far are to two ranked teams — a 10-1 loss to Wisconsin-River Falls and a 5-3 decision to Wisconsin-Stout, both back in October.

ECAC East: Picked to finish sixth in the ECAC East preseason poll, the Babson Beavers sit atop the standings at 3-0-1 (6-0-1 overall). Babson, ranked eighth in the latest USCHO.com poll, is off to its best start since the 1991-92 season.

Defending champ Norwich, coming off a split at western powers Wisconsin-Stevens Point and St. Norbert, is three points behind Babson with two games in hand. The Cadets face a tough challenge this weekend with a home rematch against Potsdam, which beat Norwich 4-3 in the semifinals of the Primelink Great Northern Shootout tournament two weeks ago.

Also lurking behind Babson are the Vikings of Salem State, also off to a good start at 2-0-1 in conference (4-0-1) overall. Salem State will host Babson in a nonconference matchup in the first round of the Salem State Holiday Tournament on December 27.

NESCAC: Has a team ever gotten off to a better start that number one Middlebury? The 6-0 Panthers have played the toughest schedule in Division III to date (including Plattsburgh, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, St. Norbert and Potsdam), and have outscored their opposition 30-1.

The Panthers’ mantra seems to be “if they don’t shoot, they can’t score.” Middlebury has allowed just 98 shots on goal in six games — that’s about 16 per game.

Middlebury is off now until January 2, 2001, when it hosts Wentworth. The Panthers had better rest up – they’ll play 11 games in January.

ECAC West: RIT’s pair of exhibition games with the U.S. Under-18 National Developmental Program team was anything but friendly. The two games featured an intensity level RIT normally reserves for archrival Elmira. The games won’t count in RIT’s NCAA record, but were a good barometer for where the Tigers stand near the midway point of their season.

Team USA won the opening game 4-1 behind strong performances by Steven Gionta (a Rochester native and brother of Hobey Baker Award candidate Brian Gionta) and goaltender Travis Weber, who’s committed to Minnesota.

RIT rebounded the next night behind a strong performance by Pete and Mike Bournazakis, who were both hampered with the flu in the first game.

The third-ranked Tigers will spend the weekend in Colorado Springs at the Air Force tournament, their fourth tournament so far this season.

Elmira got back to its winning ways with a big 7-4 win at Hamilton. The Continentals outshot the Soaring Eagles 52-38, but Elmira goaltender Rob Ligas made 48 saves to earn the win.

Elmira hosts seventh-ranked Oswego this weekend in a rematch of their first game of the season, won by the host Lakers, 7-4.

SUNYAC: Second-ranked Plattsburgh’s streak of 47 straight unbeaten conference games came to an end on Tuesday, as the Potsdam Bears knocked off the Cardinals, 5-3. The Bears opened a 3-1 first-period lead and never looked back.

That leaves the Cardinals with just a two point lead over Potsdam and Oswego at the midway point of the SUNYAC season, each team in the conference having seven league games in the books.

Brockport finds itself in last place by virtue of a 7-4 loss to suddenly hot Buffalo State. The Bengals pulled off the biggest upset of the SUNYAC season to date with a 3-2 overtime win at Fredonia on Tuesday. Joe Urbanik scored the game winner with 30 seconds to play in the extra stanza.

ECAC Northeast: The defending conference champion Wentworth Leopards are picking up where they left off last season. Wentworth, coming off a big 8-2 win over St. Michael’s, is currently tied for first in the ECAC Northeast at 6-0 (7-3 overall).

Leopard junior Tim Yakimowsky had a record setting evening in the game against St. Michael’s, establishing new school marks for goals in a game (five) and goals in a period (four).

Yakimowsky wound up with nine points on the week (eight of them goals) and was named Player of the Week in the ECAC Northeast.

Tufts is also undefeated in conference at 3-0 (5-0 overall). The Jumbos, who will move to the NESCAC next season, are being led by junior forward Jason Boudreau, who already has 18 points in just five games.

Picks

Last Week: 4-3
On the Season: 19-9

This week:

Oswego at Elmira (12/8) – Elmira’s trying to get back on track, and needs this game badly. I think the Soaring Eagles will prevail at home. Elmira 5, Oswego 3.

St. Norbert at St. Thomas – The Green Knights are looking to recover from an 0-2 weekend. They will. St. Norbert 6, St. Thomas 2.

Amherst at Plattsburgh – Will the Cardinals rebound after a shocking loss to Potsdam? Yep. Plattsburgh 5, Amherst 1.

Elmira at Williams (12/9) – Elmira looks to keep it rolling over a Williams team off to a rocky start. Elmira 3, Williams 1

Potsdam at Norwich – Revenge time, and Potsdam is due for a letdown. Norwich 5, Potsdam 4.

This Week In Hockey East: Dec. 7, 2000

By
-

“Overrated!”

If you’re gonna beat your chest when you’re on top, then you gotta take your medicine when you’re getting whupped.

While “getting whupped” may be hyperbole, Hockey East has been getting knocked on its keister the last six weeks. Back on Oct. 23, this column extolled the league’s strength after a weekend in which it went 12-1-1 in nonconference play (10-1-1 against the traditional conferences) to bring its outside record to 18-6-4. Within another week, six Hockey East teams were in the Top 15 and another dominating season seemed to be underway.

Keep in mind that a Boston University clanged post in its quadruple-overtime contest with St. Lawrence was the only thing separating Hockey East from its second consecutive three-team showing in last year’s Frozen Four. Its nonconference record in 1999-2000 was equally impressive: 12-7-0 vs. the CCHA; 3-3-1 vs. the CHA; 27-16-3 vs. the ECAC; 5-0-0 vs. the MAAC; and 15-8-0 vs. the WCHA. Add it all up and you get a 62-34-4 mark outside the league. Only the most partisan apologist for the other conferences could have claimed anything but Hockey East domination.

Those halcyon days are over. Since Oct. 23, the league has posted a 2-0-1 record against the MAAC and a 4-3-0 mark vs. the CCHA, but was only 3-5-2 against the WCHA. And care to guess how games against the ECAC fared? Try 3-9-1. Ouch!

For the season, Hockey East is now only two games over .500 in contests against the other three traditional conferences. (This is not to slight the MAAC or CHA, which are both in their infancy. At this point, wins against those teams are not really a measure of an established program’s strength.)

Here’s the breakdown on a team-by-team basis. (For formatting reasons, “Maine” has been abbreviated as “UM” and games against the MAAC are not shown. However, MAAC results are included in the totals. Three teams have played against MAAC opponents: UMass-Amherst (0-0-1), UMass-Lowell (3-0-0) and Merrimack (2-0-0). Going into this week’s Merrimack-Niagara series, there have been no Hockey East contests against the CHA. Teams are ordered according to their overall winning percentage.)

     ECAC  CCHA  WCHA  Total
 BC  1-1-0 3-0-0 2-1-0 6-2-0
 UNH 2-1-0 2-0-0 2-0-1 6-1-1
 PC  1-1-0 2-0-0 0-0-2 3-1-2
 UM  2-1-1 1-1-0 0-1-1 3-3-2
 MC  0-1-0 2-1-1 0-0-0 4-2-1
 NU  1-0-0 1-1-0 1-1-0 3-2-0
 UML 1-1-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 4-1-0
 BU  1-2-0 0-0-0 0-2-0 1-4-0
 UMA 0-2-1 0-2-0 0-3-0 0-7-2

All this adds up to a 25-23-7 record against the other traditional conferences and 30-23-8 overall. You have to like the 11-5-1 mark against the CCHA and 5-0-1 with the MAAC, but 9-10-2 vs. the ECAC and 5-8-4 in WCHA matchups is a far cry from the last two years’ performances.

A closer look, however, does show that perhaps the situation is a bit better than it appears at first glance. Even when excluding the MAAC contests, only two league teams are below .500 in nonconference play: BU and UMass-Amherst.

Both records may deserve an asterisk. There are recent signs that the Terriers are making a comeback after a brutal start. Furthermore, UMass-Amherst coach Don “Toot” Cahoon has been experimenting in his first year at the Minuteman helm. (More on that below.) UMass’ 0-7-2 nonconference record may be dismissed to some extent as growing pains.

The fact that Hockey East’s fourth through seventh teams — Maine, Merrimack, Northeastern and UMass-Lowell — are posting .500 or better marks against the other established conferences points to the league’s true strength this year, its depth.

“Nobody has the quality top to bottom like we do,” said BU coach Jack Parker at the start of the season. “That’s what makes our league so exciting, game in and game out.”

Other than UMass-Amherst’s anomalous nonconference record, what has hurt Hockey East’s stature this year is its teams at the top. Last year, four teams — BC, BU, Maine and UNH — earned rankings among the nation’s top eight teams virtually wire-to-wire.

Not so this season. As discussed in last week’s column, BU has struggled mightily and Maine has also fallen off its accustomed pace. Providence College’s surprising start has filled some of that gap, but not all of it. Only UNH and BC have earned won-loss records in line with their preseason powerhouse billing.

Same Old Pads, Same Old All-American

What does a goaltender do when he’s a little off his game?

UNH All-American Ty Conklin tried to figure that out earlier this year. He wasn’t awful. Fans at the Whittemore Center weren’t tossing slices of Swiss cheese onto the ice in his dishonor instead of throwing the fish.

He was no sieve. He still was better than merely average. He simply wasn’t quite at the All-America level he’d displayed last year.

In 1999-2000, Conklin posted a 2.49 GAA and .908 Sv% to go with a 22-8-6 record. After eight games this year, however, his numbers were less impressive: 3.02, .871 and 4-3-1.

“I wasn’t happy with the way I was playing,” he said a few weeks ago. “I’d have a good period or two and then I’d have a shaky period. I’ve always prided myself on being consistent, but I was going through a lot of peaks and valleys the first six, seven, eight games.”

What was the problem?

“If I knew what the problem was, I would have changed it right away,” he said. “I had no idea.”

Conklin paused.

“I just wasn’t getting the bounces,” he said.

Translation: he had no idea what the problem was.

Conklin’s turnaround came when his team needed him most. On Nov. 11, the Wildcats had just lost three games in a row and held a 1-0 lead over Providence going into the third period. One night earlier, the Friars had overtaken UNH from the exact same position.

Conklin came out of the locker room and stood on his head for much of the game’s final 20 minutes, prompting PC coach Paul Pooley to say, “That’s why he’s an All-American.”

In his last five games — a stretch started that night — Conklin has allowed only five goals on 143 shots (a microscopic 0.99 GAA and .965 Sv%). Not coincidentally, the Wildcats are undefeated (3-0-2) in those contests.

“He’s back to his All-America form,” said UNH coach Dick Umile.

“I feel good,” said Conklin. “I felt good actually the last two games [before that night against Providence,] but I didn’t come out with a win.”

Fans, not to mention writers, like to understand the mind of a great athlete and are fascinated by the impetus for hot streaks. As a result, this writer sought insight into Conklin’s mental approach.

When asked what was going through his head between the second and third periods of the 1-0 game against Providence, he replied, “Nothing.”

A second or two passed in pregnant silence.

Rejected headline: Key To Goaltending — Don’t Think!

“I mean,” Conklin added, “the same thing that goes through your head at the start of the game. When you start changing what you’re thinking or start second-guessing yourself, that’s when you get into trouble.”

Fair enough. Conklin was then asked if any of his third-period saves stood out as the toughest.

“No,” he said. “They don’t stand out for me.”

Rejected headline no. 1: All Saves Are Tough

Rejected headline no. 2: All Saves Are Easy

Rejected headline no. 3: What Saves?

When it was pointed out laughingly that Conklin wasn’t exactly helping, he grinned in acknowledgement.

“They really don’t stand out for me,” he said, shrugging. “It could be a shot from the red line or a shot from the top of the crease. As long as it doesn’t go in.”

Conklin wasn’t trying to be difficult. He wasn’t the first goaltender who found it easier to make great saves than explain the mystical process that led to them.

Finally, he came up with a bone he could throw to the writer starving for a story angle. And a tasty bone it was.

“Actually,” he said, “I went back to my pads that I had last year and they feel a lot better.”

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!

Jackpot!

A writer could take that one sentence and run with it in any direction. Story angles don’t get much better.

A writer could go over the top and conjure images of a team bonfire being ignited. The evil new pads would be tossed onto the inferno while everyone chanted, “It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!” Or those same pads could be attached to cement-filled skates, taken out to sea and tossed overboard.

It was the perfect story angle whether the writer was thinking bizarre or conventional.

“I’m not blaming the pads or anything,” Conklin then added to this writer’s dismay, “but I think I was just putting too much pressure on myself and over-examining everything.”

No! Blame the pads! Blame the pads!

A minute earlier, this writer would have been delighted with “I was just putting too much pressure on myself and over-examining everything.” Or a discussion of how backup Matt Carney’s performances against BU and Minnesota-Duluth have given Conklin a mental breather and allowed him to focus on the tougher team those two weekends.

But once the canines were grinding on the “old pads” bone, it wasn’t about to be surrendered.

And so this writer offers the following comparison for your appraisal, assuming the switch back to the old pads occurred roughly at the time of the second Providence game. (This exact timing is almost certainly off by a game or two, but never let the facts get in the way of a desired conclusion.)

New pads (Oct. 6 through Nov. 10): 3.02 GAA, .871 Sv% and a 4-3-1 record.

Old pads (Nov. 11 to present): 0.99 GAA, .965 Sv% and a 3-0-2 record.

Too much pressure? Over-examining everything? Carney?

I think not!

Same old pads. Same old All-American.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Minnesota Moves To The Bay State?

Is UMass-Amherst coach Don “Toot” Cahoon the next John Mariucci?

Mariucci, who coached at Minnesota from 1952 through 1967, became known as The Godfather of Minnesota Hockey by recruiting players primarily from within the state. In an era in which Western teams often concentrated on talent north of the border, Mariucci was an iconoclast who became a legend. With few exceptions, Golden Gopher rosters eventually became populated purely by native sons.

So what does that have to do with the Minutemen? Their list of recruits (see sidebar) includes one eye-popping fact: all six players come from Massachusetts. Since only six of the 26 Minutemen on this year’s roster come from the Bay State — five more come from other parts of New England — the signings signal a fundamental shift in UMass recruiting philosophy.

“At the outset I said that I felt that the school was the flagship program for the state of Massachusetts and Massachusetts has a great legacy in hockey,” says Cahoon. “I definitely wanted to make inroads there and was going to make a real overt effort to do so. So I suppose people can read [a lot into the six Massachusetts players we signed.]”

Of course, what proved to be a stroke of pure genius at Minnesota hasn’t worked anywhere else. A state has to produce a boatload of talent and there can’t be much competition for it. Even Minnesota has recently broadened its recruiting beyond state boundaries in a few selected exceptions to its tradition.

With plenty of other tough competitors going after the Massachusetts kids, Cahoon isn’t limiting himself to recruiting just inside the state borders.

“We’re leaving ourselves open to the world of recruits just as everybody else does,” he says. “But we thought it was real important that we reestablish a presence within our own state.”

The biggest roadblock to in-state recruiting at UMass has been the presence of several powerhouses in the same geography. There are seven Hockey East or ECAC teams in Massachusetts, with three more just over the border (UNH, Providence and Brown). Maine and Vermont make it an even dozen New England competitors for the same talent base.

During the early building of the program, the local UMass recruits tended to be those players who fell short of being offered deals at BC, BU or any of the other higher profile schools in the region. Since winners are rarely constructed from the scraps that have fallen off other teams’ tables, then-coach Joe Mallen looked further afield.

Cahoon, who was ingenious as a recruiter in a tough situation at Princeton, is either making inroads on his competitors or will be fighting an uphill battle on the ice in the seasons to come. Only time will tell, but Cahoon is optimistic that he’s getting the talent he needs to succeed.

“These kids are all very good players,” he says. “I think we certainly got in in the early going and established ourselves early.

“I’m not in charge of running other schools’ recruiting programs, so to what extent we encourage kids to look our way as opposed to going [the other schools’] way remains to be seen. I know that some of these kids were intrigued by those other schools. In Timmy Warner’s case, for instance, he visited many of the schools. Greg Mauldin visited a couple of other schools.

“So I think these people were all considering those types of schools as well. But to say that we took them away from any one of them, that’s another thing in itself. I’m not that bold.

“I certainly am really happy with the kids that we’ve got. I’ve worked at Lowell in the past and at BU in the past and these are kids that I would have gone after in those circumstances.”

Cahoon is still chasing another defenseman, but feels that the six signed recruits have what the program needs to take strides forward. His present roster has an abundance of size — 17 of the 26 players are six feet or taller– but needs an upgrade in athleticism. The signees would appear to offer more of the latter than the former.

“We’ve improved the level of athleticism,” says Cahoon. “We’ve improved the skating ability, the speed dimension and the puck skills. We truly went after kids who can make a play.

“And we tried to measure character and competitiveness.”

In all likelihood, those last two requirements tie into the present team’s travails. Building a program is not for the athletic faint of heart; there have recently been plenty of character checks for the Minutemen. In the last eight games, they’ve lost seven and tied UConn.

So what of the present? Fold the tents and wait for next year?

“We’re trying to encourage people to stay positive,” says Cahoon. “We knew when we took this job on that there were going to be stretches that were going to be difficult. We’re certainly in that type of stretch. Positive energy can go a long ways.

“I’ve got a group of kids that are working real hard. They’re not necessarily working real smart at this point and I include the coaching staff in with that. We’re all part of this. We need to solve this together.

“Like a lot of other people, I’ve been coming to the rink for a lot of years. I enjoy going to the rink. I hope to continue to feel that way and I want the people around me to feel that way.”

A win in either of the final two games before the break would certainly raise the enjoyment levels around Cahoon, but with the matchups at Providence and at Maine it’ll be an uphill battle.

“The fun is in the winning,” says Cahoon. “In terms of staying in the league race, obviously the points are critical. But at the same time, you’ve got to free yourself to be able to play without the fear of failure, without worrying about the consequences if you don’t win and you don’t get the points.

“It’s kind of a Catch-22. My job is to try to solve some of the problems and create a good development program so that we’re building a team. Part of the dilemma that we’re in right now is that we’ve tried a lot of different things, line combinations and defensive pairs. We’ve had forwards playing defense. We’ve had this thing all over the place.

“I have to begin to make more of an effort to get this streamlined. Obviously, the impact the recruits will have in the future will affect some of that. But even with this team as it is presently, I maybe have to package it a little more neatly and not have it all over the place.”

In all likelihood, the Minutemen have been sacrificing some of the present to improve the future. Would they have a point or two more if they were still predominately playing a defensive, trapping style of a game? Quite possibly. But does an emphasis on playing the trap have a negative impact on recruiting? Again, quite possibly.

“It’s hard to [say], but most of the guys that I’ve been around don’t want to be in the trap alignment 100 percent of the time,” says Cahoon. “At the same time, people like to play for successful programs and if the trap helps you succeed and you’re winning, then that can play a role.”

According to Cahoon, however, the key for recruits is not how the Minutemen are playing now, but how they will be playing in the years to come.

“I don’t think that the kids that chose to attend UMass,” he says, “are looking at this program today thinking for a moment that that’s what the program is going to be like a few years from now.”

More Recruiting Thoughts

Here are a few additional comments on the league’s recruits.

  • Boston University picked off four more players from the U.S. National Development Team. That gives them seven, the others being John Sabo, Pat Aufiero and Freddy Meyer. Of course, if an eighth, Ricky DiPietro, were still around, the Terriers wouldn’t be 4-8-1 right now.

    If the BU recruiters grab many more players from Ann Arbor, maybe they’ll rename the team the BU National Development Team.

  • Do you think Boston College recruits Ryan Murphy, Ryan Shannon and John Adams will have big shoes to fill? Presumably the names Brian Gionta, Mike Lephart and Bobby Allen ring a bell.
  • Maine‘s Paul Lynch may be playing with the Valley Jr. Warriors this year, but was on the blue line of Brooks School, a D-II prep, last season. In that respect, he follows in the footsteps of UNH’s Josh Prudden who went to Durham from D-II Pingree after a postgraduate year at D-I Phillips Exeter.
  • When Gerry Hickey’s current coach, former UMass-Lowell player and assistant coach Mark Carlson, describes Hickey by saying that “other teams in Hockey East won’t like to play against him,” you know that Carlson has captured the quintessence of being a River Hawk. Hard-nosed and hard-working.
  • Sight unseen, Merrimack‘s Matthew Foy looks like yet another great recruit, following in the footsteps of Greg Classen and Anthony Aquino. David does indeed slay the recruiting Goliaths every now and then.
  • You’ve got to like it when Northeastern boasts that defenseman Don Graver not only has a tremendous shot and is smart on the ice, but that he also “is a very good student with Ivy League academic qualifications.”
  • All you’ve got to hear about Providence‘s Derek Allan is that he hails from the Nipawin Hawks and is the third consecutive Hawks’ Rookie of the Year to sign with the Friars. Why is that significant? The last two were goaltender Nolan Schaefer and defenseman Regan Kelly, both major factors in PC’s current success. Pencil Allan in on next year’s All-Rookie team right now.

    A Few Random Notes

  • Did Canisius coach Brian Cavanaugh hit freshman defenseman Matt Coulter hard enough with a stick to cause a mild concussion, as has been alleged? I’ve seen many light taps to get a player’s attention, but a concussion? If true, what was Cavanaugh thinking?

    And if true, what is school athletic director Timothy Dillon doing letting his coach back on the ice after a slap-on-the-wrist five-day suspension. That’s outrageous.

  • I hope I never again cover a game between two teams with the same nickname. The Huskies vs. Huskies battle between Northeastern and St. Cloud left me tongue-tied. Which some of you may consider a good thing. …
  • One of my favorite lines from a game recap came from USCHO Editor Par Excellence Scott Brown’s account of a Minnesota – Wisconsin battle. Brown wrote, “The level of misbehavior was about what one would expect from a Badger-Gopher game…”

    Trivia Contest

    Last week’s contest referred to a defenseman from another conference who had played a Hockey East team that weekend. The player’s last name added a vowel to that of a former defenseman on the opposing Hockey East team.

    The answer was St. Cloud’s Brian Gaffaney and UMass-Amherst’s Mike Gaffney. Only one reader, Tim Doherty, answered correctly. His cheer is:

    “Go BU!”

    This week’s question concerns the double double goose egg in Hockey East last week. UNH and UMass-Lowell skated to a scoreless tie on Saturday; four days later, BC and Northeastern duplicated the feat.

    The question asks for all four teams when was the last time that they were involved in a scoreless tie, if ever? Also, when, if ever, was the last time that Hockey East had two scoreless ties in the span of eight days or less?

    If you know at least two of the five answers, send them to Dave Hendrickson and take your shot at the first post-Christmas cheer.

    And Finally, Not That It Has Anything To Do With Anything, But…

    A few random notes for this last column heading into Christmas.

  • For those of you who’ve been following my absent-minded tendencies regarding things in the oven, I did it again. This time it was the pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving, which went an extra 40 minutes before I rescued it.

    It wasn’t entirely my fault, though. The timer that was set beeps only for a minute before shutting off. A minute? What kind of timer is that?

    I can see from the faces of the jury that I’m still going to be found guilty.

    On the positive side, though, the overdone pumpkin bread wasn’t totally useless. If the basketball had somehow gotten punctured, we’d have had a reasonable replacement.

  • Enough already about doing away with the Electoral College. There are enough states that would see their electoral power cut almost in half to block such an amendment to the Constitution. So it isn’t going to happen. Besides, would you really want the insanity in Florida to be happening in all 50 states right now?

    And enough already as well about Al Gore winning the popular vote. It’s irrelevant. Both sides strategized based on the Electoral College being what counts.

    On the other hand, it boggles the mind that so many have opined that the current process be over with simply because they are tired of it. It’s one thing to finish things up because of deadlines built into the law, but quite another to argue for completion just because of the country’s increasingly short attention span.

  • I wish I’d written the screenplay for the movie “Unbreakable.” It’s not quite as perfect as “The Sixth Sense” but once again M. Night Shyamalan has captured my imagination. Both are my kind of films.
  • Is Tiger Woods one of the two or three most impressive athletes of our time? I’m still getting over his shooting eagle-eagle to catch Vijay Singh in the Grand Slam. Eagle-eagle! How’d you like to be Singh, who went birdie-birdie on the last hole of regulation and the first playoff hole and lost?
  • The best Christmas carol has got to be “Joy To The World.” And the best rendition is Mariah Carey, hands down.
  • And, no, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is not a Christmas carol, if you ask me.
  • “Scrooged” is the best Christmas movie. Heck, you could watch it in July, it’s that good.
  • I’m hoping for a thin layer of snow to crunch underneath my feet during the Christmas Eve Hendrickson family football game.
  • Even with the rush to parking spaces and the maddening lines in the malls, Christmas season is still a magical time.
  • Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night.

    • CCHA to Stay at ‘The Joe’

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    The CCHA announced today an agreement to keep the CCHA Championships at Joe Louis Arena through 2005. The five-year deal is with Olympia Entertainment, which runs the arena.

    logos/conf-cc.gif

    “Joe Louis Arena and Olympia Entertainment have been a vital partner in the evolution of the CCHA and our championship tournament for the past 20 years,” said CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos.

    Mike Ilitch, owner of the Detroit Red Wings and chairman of Ilitch Holdings, Inc., which includes Olympia Entertainment, concurred with Anastos.

    “Fans love college hockey at the Joe and Hockeytown,” said Ilitch. “We’ve been partners with the CCHA since the organization held its first championship game at JLA in 1982, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to continue our relationship with this outstanding group and its Commissioner Tom Anastos.”

    Other parts of the partnership agreement with Olympia Entertainment include weekly half-hour TV and radio shows, the Fox Sports Net games, and hosting the annual CCHA Awards Banquet at the Fox Theatre in Detroit.

    “Just as importantly, the personal commitment from Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch and their entire staff allows this relationship to go beyond just a business deal,” Anastos said. “The energy and passion they bring to the CCHA are as important to us as their financial commitment.”

    “Inside the CCHA,” which debuted on WXYT-AM 1270 Detroit in October, is the league’s new weekly radio show, hosted by Ken Kal and Jimmy Barrett. The half-hour program airs live on Tuesdays throughout the season from 8:30-9 p.m.

    Fox Sports Net, in addition to its regular schedule of games, including the CCHA Championships, will be airing a 30-minute segment called “CCHA Weekly.” The show begins its 10-week run on Jan. 13 and runs through March 17.

    This will be the 20th year for the CCHA at Joe Louis Arena. According to the CCHA, since the first Championship at JLA in 1982, over 1.3 million people have seen college games there, including the Great Lakes Invitational and three NCAA Tournaments.

    Fan Balloting Begins in Hobey Nominating Process

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    The initial phase of fan balloting for the 2001 Hobey Baker Award has begun via the Internet at U.S. College Hockey Online. Until Jan. 7, 2001, hockey fans have the unique opportunity to nominate Division I college hockey players to receive the prestigious Hobey Baker Award.

    Presented annually to the top men’s collegiate hockey player in the U.S., the Hobey Baker Award is college hockey’s top individual prize.

    Candidates receiving at least 25 nominating votes will become eligible to receive votes in the second phase: Finalist Selection. Hockey fans can follow the nominating progress with weekly updates every Monday, beginning December 18, at VoteForHobey.com.

    The second phase begins Jan. 8, and runs through March 4. During that time, registered voters may cast one ballot per day for their first, second and third choices. Fans will be casting ballots along with the 60 Division I college hockey head coaches, and the cumulative winners of the fan voting will receive a percentage of the final tally in determining the Top Ten Finalists. That list of elite players will be announced on Thursday, March 15.

    In the final round of balloting, running from March 16-28, registered voters can, once per day, cast their ballots ranking their candidates one through five. The top selection from the fans will join the ballots from the Selection Committee (comprised of college hockey personal, pro scouts and media) in determining the 2001 Hobey Baker Award winner. The award recipient will be announced in a live telecast from the NCAA Frozen Four Tournament in Albany, N.Y. on Friday, April 6, 2001.

    The Hobey Baker Award criteria include strength of character on and off the ice, scholastic achievements, and sportsmanship.

    Between the Lines

    By Adam Wodon
    -

    Last month, we wrote about the plight of Russ Bartlett, who was cut from Boston University and then, after transferring to St. Lawrence, was forced by NCAA rules to sit out a year without playing.

    Obviously, his case is not unique, and we received an impassioned letter from the parent of another player who faced similar circumstances.

    Bob Shields is the son of David Shields, a recruit for Minnesota-Duluth who received a scholarship, but was cut, along with three others, by incoming coach Scott Sandelin after three days of practice. Like Bartlett, Shields was unable to go to another school without sitting out a year. Instead, he decided to turn pro and is playing in the Central League for Oklahoma City, where he has eight goals in 19 games.

    Bob Shields wrote:

    If [you] can’t play hockey, or practice with the team, chances are very slim that other schools would risk future scholarship money on a player they can’t evaluate.

    [Plus,] scholarship funding is reviewed yearly; thought to be based upon academic standing but loosely knit on another option of “athletic ineligibility.” Thus, being cut [from] the team greatly enhances the financial hardship toward continuing your education at specific institutions.

    As expected, inquiries with the NCAA only revealed that a secretary can quote policy by rote. Athletic directors skate well in defending the decisions of new coaches and, with [a] “Good Luck,” keenly advise you of the options of immediate transfer to Division II and III schools.

    Notwithstanding such educational hurdles, what a parent can be left with is a very bitter [child]; a quality hockey player with credentials who falls through the cracks of the U.S. College scholarship system based on a new coach and a formal three-day evaluation.

    The cons of committing to a particular school are not readily revealed or admitted during the glitter and excitement of the recruiting process.

    I strongly suggest that prospective student athletes view thoroughly any and all scholarship offers subjectively during initial stages of recruitment. Ask questions — even dumb ones. Contemplate potential hardships resulting from imminent changes to the coaching staff, coaching direction, playing style, and related in-house political whim. Get your parents actively involved in the recruiting and decision making process.

    I cannot begrudge a coach for exercising his right in picking those players he feels are right for him. However, I do question the act of cutting previously recruited and scholarship players after three days of formal evaluation in lieu of walk-ons, or for the sake of reducing “numbers.” Seasons are long and subject to injury; anything can happen, even extended loosing streaks wherein forced player changes are routinely made.

    Cutting a scholarship player outright really places his educational goals and hockey aspirations on hold. Practicing players at least have the current option to redshirt for a year.

    I firmly believe the UMD action will send a strong message to potential recruits throughout the US and Canadian junior hockey leagues. Will future scholarship athletes at UMD men’s hockey sign their Letters of Intent knowing that they could be gone after three days of practice, thereby limiting their educational funding and housing to one year? I would have a few personal choice words of advice to both players and junior league educational consultants on that issue.

    I agree with you. The NCAA must change the rules for the scholarship player that no longer fits into the team plans.

    Bob Shields
    Calgary, Canada

    Part of the criticism is that Sandelin owed these players a year of time because they signed letters of intent in good faith. The letter of intent guarantees one year of scholarship money, but it doesn’t guarantee a spot on the team.

    Sandelin could not be reached for comment, but in the Oct. 6 edition of the Duluth News-Tribune, he said, “I told everyone that they were starting from scratch. Scholarships were not a factor, everyone was equal. It was a fair process. We said, ‘You’ve got three days, show us what you can do.'”

    But it’s hard to blame the coach here. Not even Mr. Shields does that.

    I’d again urge the NCAA to deal with this issue.

    Technical Foul

    Recently, Maine’s Colin Shields was declared ineligible by the NCAA. He was taking some courses while playing junior hockey in the USHL, but, since he was a native of Scotland, he needed to take a full load in order to retain immigration status.

    logos/me.gif

    So, Shields enrolled in the requisite classes, then didn’t go. But, since he enrolled in the classes, the NCAA now considered him full-time, and since he didn’t go, he didn’t pass, and thus the NCAA declared him ineligible for this year.

    Following the problems Maine had with the NCAA in the mid-’90s, they put in a much more proficient compliance department, and it paid off in this case. The school caught the problem, reported it and the NCAA ruled the player ineligible.

    But, considering the past problems, coach Shawn Walsh’s reaction caught my attention.

    Said Walsh, “He needed to pass a full year’s coursework, but he didn’t do that because he didn’t even attend some of the classes. It was really a technicality because of his nationality.

    “He didn’t tell anybody, so we didn’t know it until he filled out a form and our compliance people caught it. He didn’t let us know and our mistake was that we didn’t ask him if he was going full time. I’ve never encountered anything like it. So we’ve got ourselves to blame, too.”

    Now, I’m going to try not to make too big of a deal about this. Looking at it from a certain perspective, what Walsh says has merit. It’s a quirk of the rules that Shields was OK in the NCAA’s eyes while taking a light course load, but once he added to his load and failed the classes, he wasn’t OK.

    But, let’s get one thing clear: Shields was trying to circumvent U.S. immigration law. At best, he got stuck in a situation he wasn’t sure how to deal with, and then dealt with it poorly. If this had happened a few years ago, when Maine’s Mickey Mouse compliance system was in place, this all would have ended badly.

    Remember, years ago, when Jeff Tory was ruled ineligible because of a “technicality.” Walsh had a copy of a letter the NCAA had sent to another school, warning about potential eligibility issues. Walsh, however, thought he knew the rule, and played Tory anyway, despite that and other warning signs. That incident resulted in the forfeiture of three games and a five-game suspension for Walsh.

    There is plenty of evidence to suggest that Walsh has learned from past mistakes. But I’d suggest that he may not want to be so cavalier as to call Shields’ transgressions a “technicality,” when that’s the kind of attitude that helped get Maine into trouble in the first place.

    Let’s repeat and be clear, before the inevitable hate mail from Orono starts pouring in. Nobody — especially me — is accusing Walsh or Maine of any wrongdoing in this case. There isn’t one hint or sniff of that, and nothing I say is meant to imply so. What Shields did could have happened to any program. The compliance office found out, and the situation was taken care of.

    But, rightly or wrongly, the reaction raises the eyebrows.

    Should we expect Walsh to come out and rip the kid for making everyone look bad? Of course not.

    But, by the same token, he should be more careful than to call the issue a “technicality,” as if the NCAA is just enforcing one of those over-strict silly little rules again.

    These aren’t technicalities. They are a very clear violation of NCAA rules, and in this case, U.S. immigration law.

    Perhaps Walsh is just saying that these rules aren’t to the benefit of the student. Perhaps he has an honest disagreement with how they are handled. But that doesn’t preclude the wrong that occurred.

    Or perhaps we’re just programmed to perceive anything Walsh says in a negative light. And maybe that’s our fault. But, at least, Walsh’s choice of words was poor. And whether anyone likes it or not, his history cannot be dismissed. If that means he is being unfairly held to a higher standard, then so be it.

    On the Other Hand

    Of course, despite the previous section, there are plenty of things the NCAA does that just scream “silly.”

    Last June, BU goalie Ricky DiPietro gave up his remaining three years of college eligibility in order to “opt-in” to the NHL Draft. He had to opt-in because he wasn’t yet 19 years old, the age to be eligible for the draft. Eighteen-year olds are eligible if they decide to opt-in.

    Canadian junior players can do this without penalty.

    Most college players who have finished a season are already 19. But since DiPietro missed the deadline, he was forced with this decision: stay in school, or opt-in for the draft.

    A player like Dany Heatley, already 19, did not have to opt-in. He was taken by Atlanta, did not sign, and chose to stay at Wisconsin.

    Even though DiPietro was taken No. 1 overall by the Islanders — making history in the progress — there were still questions about whether DiPietro was ready for the NHL. The sanity of Islanders general manager Mike Milbury notwithstanding, DiPietro never had the option to just stay at BU for seasoning.

    Given that the Islanders sent DiPietro to the minors anyway, doesn’t this case scream for the option to remain in school?

    The opt-in rule can give college programs good PR. A player like Heatley is drafted as a “Wisconsin” player, instead of under the banner of his junior team.

    But, otherwise, what purpose does this rule have? It only serves to force players into decisions about entering the draft, or staying in school.

    And since we’ve already mentioned Shawn Walsh once, let’s state complete agreement with another comment he made.

    Maine goalie Rob McVicar was declared ineligible after it was learned he had opted-in to the draft last year. McVicar opted in while he was in juniors, because, as we mentioned, junior players can do so without penalty. After deciding to go to college, and realizing college players are not allowed to opt-in without losing eligibility, he “opted-out.” That didn’t matter to the NCAA, which declared him ineligible anyway.

    “It sounds like it’s no problem, but the NCAA said it’s black and white,” said Walsh. “Because you opted in, even though you opted out prior to the draft, you’re done. You’ll never play college hockey.

    “It’s stupid! What’s a shame is that he was an engineering student who was doing very well in school and enjoyed it tremendously. Now he has to go back and play junior hockey without education because there are people in a bureaucratic office who don’t feel for the student-athlete.

    “The rule is there, but the rule isn’t working.”

    We can definitely agree with him here.

    Playoff Bound

    Last year, around this identical time, I wrote that Princeton was by no means an 11th-place team. That was what the ECAC coaches had selected them as in the preseason poll. Of course, Princeton, if I do say so myself, finished sixth.

    This year, the Tigers were again selected 11th. And, again, it ain’t gonna happen.

    QUESNELLE

    QUESNELLE

    Last year, I said there was no way a Don Cahoon-coached team would finish 11th. This year, I don’t have the ability to use that as a justification — Cahoon is no longer the coach.

    This year, there’s simply too much talent there to finish 11th. You could see that after their first two weekends of play. Of course, that prediction looks better now that the Tigers are through eight games and are 3-3-2 … but I swear, I said it three weeks ago. Really.

    Everyone wanted Quesnelle to get the job. He’s a Princeton graduate and followed that up with 12 years as an assistant coach. But no one was sure how he’d be as Cahoon’s replacement.

    It’s good for hockey when a program like Princeton’s can stay strong. Sure the Ivy League schools aren’t quite as strong, as a group, as other factions of college hockey. But the more quality programs there are in college hockey, the better, and the Ivies generally do a good job given their circumstance.

    One For the Ages

    This isn’t like a big anniversary or anything, but I don’t care. Who knows if I’ll be writing this column in 16 months?

    Nearly four years ago, I saw the best college hockey game ever played. (OK, that’s a strong opinion, but it’s my column.). That game? The 1997 NCAA semifinal between Boston University and Michigan, a 3-2 final for the Terriers (they went on to lose to North Dakota in the final).

    To refresh memories, Michigan had thumped BU the year before on the way to a national championship. A slew of big-name juniors all stayed for their senior year, and the Wolverines were a juggernaut the following season, ranked No. 1 nationally almost from start to finish.

    Instead, BU won the game with an inspired effort.

    But, more than that, you had the importance of the game, the pure skill level of the players, the large crowd of 17,000 at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center, the two competing bands, and a big upset with a revenge factor, all rolled into one.

    “We were a little flat in the first period I thought then in the second period we picked it up,” said Sean Ritchlin, a sophomore on that team. “Chris Drury really carried BU and he did a real amazing job for them. I thought at the end, we were going to get one. I never thought we’d lose. It’s just one of those things where you thought your team was so good, you couldn’t lose. But that’s the beauty of college hockey, it’s a one-game thing.”

    In addition, I had the pleasure of broadcasting that game via a then-little known technology called Webcasting. It “aired” over AudioNet, a then-fledgling company that turned into Broadcast.com and was subsequently sold to Yahoo! for $6 billion, and whose owner, Mark Cuban, bought the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.

    My color man was USCHO’s own Mike Machnik, who now does color for Merrimack hockey. Thanks in large part to Mike, and to the material we had to work with, it stands as the best job I’ve ever done calling a game out of over 400 career hockey broadcasts.

    This feeling of being a pioneer, and of having had a good night on the air, admittedly adds to the aura for me. But, I still think that, without this, I’d consider it the best game I’ve ever seen.

    Ultimately, what stands out to me, more than anything, was a first period filled with some of the most ferocious, good, clean hitting I’ve seen in a college hockey game.

    A center-ice collision between Brendan Morrison and Chris Drury, two guys who would eventually be named Hobey Baker winners, stands indelibly etched in my mind. As does a collision in the corner when freshman Dan Lacouture delivered a huge blow to Michigan senior Jason Botterill. It was two big boys just going toe-to-toe, and it was riveting.

    “Lacouture killed Botterill. It was such a huge hit, and I think that really got them going,” Ritchlin said. “And Drury had a big hit on Morrison at center ice. You talk about two teams that were ready to go at each other, that was a game where two teams had a lot to prove, and I think both coaches had the teams revved up pretty good.”

    And beyond the game, what stands up is the remarkable fact that it featured 14 players who went on to play in the NHL, a figure that could surely grow in the coming years.

    Ten different Michigan players have seen NHL action: Brendan Morrison, Bill Muckalt, John Madden, Jason Botterill, Matt Herr, Warren Luhning, Bubba Berenzweig, Blake Sloan and Dale Rominski, totaling 537 NHL games entering this season. The 10th player, Marty Turco, had no NHL experience until this season, during which he’s played in five games so far. Two others (Greg Crozier and Sean Ritchlin) are significant contributors in the AHL.

    For BU, four players have totaled 408 NHL games entering the season, including Chris Drury, Tom Poti, Dan Lacouture and Shawn Bates. Four others (Michel Laroque, Chris Heron, Chris Kelleher and Jon Coleman) play prominent roles in the AHL.

    That’s 945 total games in just three seasons.

    “We were going into the game thinking BU would come out hard, and they sure did,” said Ritchlin. “It was an amazing game. It was one of the fastest games I’ve been in, and you look at that game, considering everyone who played in it, and you have a lot of respect for college hockey.”

    Lest anyone think that’s normal for a pair of Frozen Four participants, take a look at the other semifinalists from that season, North Dakota and Colorado College. Between them, three players have NHL experience: North Dakota’s Jason Blake (65) and Matt Henderson (2), and CC’s Brian Swanson, who had no games entering the season, but 14 this year.

    A quick glance at some other seasons shows very little in the way of competition for the standard established by the 1996-97 Michigan Wolverines and BU Terriers.

    Going back two seasons, the 1995 Terriers had Jay Pandolfo (210), Rich Brennan (27), Mike Grier (292), Chris O’Sullivan (60), Drury (161) and Bates (90) for a total of 840. However, their opponent in the final was Maine, with a grand total of one NHL game … by Jeff Libby.

    Two seasons before that provides a solid competitor, the final between the Maine juggernaut and defending-champion Lake Superior. That game featured 12 future NHL players for a total of 1654 NHL games over seven seasons entering this one.

    They are, from Maine (1030 total): Paul Kariya (376), Jim Montgomery (85), Chris Ferraro (73), Peter Ferraro (88), Patrice Tardif (65), Mike Dunham (137) and Garth Snow (206); from Lake Superior (624 total): Keith Aldridge (4), Brian Rolston (414), Clayton Beddoes (60), Rob Valicevic (99) and Blaine Lacher (47).

    The total of 1654 in seven seasons is an average of 236 per year. The 1996-97 Michigan-BU total of 945 in three seasons is 315 per year. Still no.

    Going back a bit farther, we get the Northern Michigan-BU final of 1991. In that game, 14 future NHL players participated, totaling 3,071 games over what is now nine seasons for an average of 341 per year. That includes, for BU (2889), Shawn McEachern (617), Tony Amonte (722), David Sacco (35), Dave Tomlinson (42), Keith Tkachuk (600), Peter Ahola (123), Ed Ronan (182), Scott Lachance (550) and Doug Friedman (18); and for NMU (1182), Jim Hiller (63), Brad Werenka (312), Dallas Drake (524), Marc Beaufait (5) and Ed Ward (278).

    Pretty darned good.

    So what does all this mean? Damned if I know. But it’s pretty cool.

    I’d love to know if any Frozen Four pairing beats this. And I’d love to know what the most amount of NHL games played is among a team of players from one particular season. BU’s 2,889 from that 1990-91 team has to be pretty good.

    Yes, folks, this is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at night. But it beats worrying about hanging chad.

    Oh Captain, My Captain

    Trivia question:

    Of the 30 NHL teams, three captains all grew up nearby each other, and played together on the same college hockey team in the same year. Who are the players, and what is the team?

    That question should be pretty easy for college hockey fans, especially those from the East. But ask that to a hockey fan friend who doesn’t follow the college game, and see how much it stumps them.

    In all, up to 12 (depending on how you look at it) NHL teams have captains with college hockey connections. Even a conservative count of nine would be a 30 percent ratio, much higher than the 20 percent or so that are in the league.

    Of those, remarkably, three all played on the same BU team that lost that epic 1990-91 title game to Northern Michigan: Shawn McEachern (Ottawa), Tony Amonte (Chicago) and Keith Tkachuk (Phoenix), all of whom left after that season following their junior, sophomore and freshman year, respectively.

    But there’s more. Hockey East can also claim Paul Kariya (Maine/Anaheim), Eric Weinrich (Maine/Montreal) and Tom Fitzgerald (Providence/Nashville).

    Then, there’s Jason Woolley (Michigan State/Buffalo), Doug Weight (Lake Superior/Edmonton), Scott Mellanby (Wisconsin/Florida), Rob Blake (Bowling Green/Los Angeles) and Adam Oates (RPI/Washington).

    That’s 11, give or take some caveats.

    For example, Weinrich shares captain duty with Saku Koivu in Montreal. In Florida, Mellanby has been out all season, but is the team’s named captain. Conversely, Michael Peca is the captain in Buffalo, but Woolley is the acting captain as Peca holds out. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the Wild are using a different captain every month, and former Hobey Baker winner Scott Pellerin of Maine was it for November.

    So, count ’em up however you want, but it’s still interesting.

    By the way, that leaves 16 (or so) captains from the major junior ranks, and three Europeans (Jaromir Jagr, Mats Sundin and Markus Naslund). In case you care.

    Props to the CCHA

    OK, so last column I made mention of a down cycle for the CCHA, and was particularly upset at Michigan being ranked so highly. And, while at the time, I still don’t think they had done enough to deserve a No. 1 ranking based on performance to that point, I’m not one to duck from my past.

    Michigan and Michigan State have clearly asserted themselves in recent weeks. All of college hockey is a large mish-mash right now, with no really dominant teams and a lot of parity. But those two teams, and the CCHA in general, have definitely played some good hockey this year.

    Particularly eye-catching was the sweep by Michigan and Michigan State of Big 10 brethren Wisconsin and Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase. Considering how I said that it appeared Minnesota was on its way back to prominence, those wins are impressive indeed.

    There’s no one conference that you can say, top to bottom, is a nightmare. But, there’s also not one major conference where there are too many slouches either. The CCHA has definitely done its share to assert itself this year.

    UConn, Quinnipiac to Join ECAC Women’s League

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Connecticut and Quinnipiac have been awarded membership into the newly-restructured ECAC Women’s League for 2001-2002 season.

    The ECAC recently decided to re-organize itself, beginning next season. Originally, the re-organization split the current 13-team league, plus current Division-III member Colgate, into two separate leagues of eight and six. Now, the addition of UConn and Quinnipiac will create two eight-team leagues.

    “The opportunity to join forces with many of the top women’s ice hockey teams in the nation is a major step forward for our first-year program,” said UConn athletic director Lew Perkins. “When we added women’s ice hockey as our 24th intercollegiate program, we made a strong commitment to play against the best teams in the country.”

    Though officially still called the second of the two ECAC Women’s Ice Hockey Leagues, the one eight-team league that UConn and Quinnipiac will join has been commonly referred to in some circles as the Women’s Hockey East. All but one (Niagara) of the other six schools are part of the men’s Hockey East, including Boston College, Maine, New Hampshire, Northeastern and Providence.

    It is more than likely, however, that the league will not ever be officially given the Hockey East monicker.

    The men’s Hockey East schools, even though, in the broad sense of the definition ECAC members, are autonomous and not under the jurisdiction of the ECAC. The new women’s league will be under the jurisdiction of the ECAC, so despite the similarities, the ECAC will likely shy away from using the Hockey East name.

    The other group of eight will comprise schools whose men’s teams all currently play in the ECAC (Brown, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, St. Lawrence and Yale).

    “Quinnipiac is very pleased and honored to be invited to be a member of this league,” said school athletic director Jack McDonald. “We are pleased to be part of what I think will quickly become one of the premier women’s ice hockey leagues in the country.”

    Adding another angle, McDonald, who spearheaded the creation of the MAAC men’s hockey league, has in the past expressed some interest in seeing the Quinnipiac men’s program move to Hockey East at some point.

    This Week In The ECAC: Dec. 7, 2000

    By Jayson Moy and Becky Blaeser
    -

    It’s a short week in the ECAC, with just five conference games and some nonconference affairs to fill the time between now and the holiday tournaments.

    With that in mind, there could still be significant movement in the standings as two sets of travel partners play each other; there’s a major matchup in Burlington this weekend, as well.

    Speaking Of Standings

    Take a look at the current standings in the ECAC, and you will see Cornell and Harvard on top.

    1. Cornell 9 pts.
    1. Harvard 9 pts.
    3. Vermont 8 pts.
    3. Princeton 8 pts.
    5. Union 7 pts.
    6. Yale 6 pts.
    6. St. Lawrence 6 pts.
    8. Colgate 4 pts.
    8. Clarkson 4 pts.
    10. Rensselaer 3 pts.
    11. Dartmouth 2 pts.
    11. Brown 2 pts.

    Or are those two teams on top? Let’s take another look at the standings.

    1. Vermont
    2. Union
    3. Cornell
    4. Harvard
    5. St. Lawrence
    6. Princeton
    7. Clarkson
    8. Yale
    8. Rensselaer
    10. Colgate
    11. Dartmouth
    12. Brown

    Those look a little different, don’t they?

    The second set of standings are based on winning percentage, the first on points. Which to use?

    We’ll contend that until February, one should use the second set.

    Two teams have played eight league games (Princeton and Yale), while four teams have played only four (Dartmouth, Rensselaer, Union and Vermont).

    Two teams have played seven league games (Brown and Harvard), two have played six (Cornell and Colgate), and two have played five (Clarkson and St. Lawrence).

    That’s a disparity that makes the point system misleading at this point in time. After all, if Princeton sweeps this weekend, the Tigers are in first place after 10 ECAC games, but they will have played five more ECAC games than St. Lawrence.

    We know it’s early on, but we think that the better gauge is to take a look at winning percentage — until February when only Harvard will have had more games within the league than everyone else.

    Harvard at Vermont

    These two teams are right next to each other in the standings. Harvard is tied for first place with Cornell, and Vermont is right behind the Crimson by one point. The major difference comes this weekend — Harvard will be playing its ninth ECAC game, Vermont its fifth.

    Needless to say, there could be implications in the standings. The winner could be all alone in first place by the time the weekend is done (pending the results of the Princeton/Yale – Union/Rensselaer matchups).

    The first time these teams met, the Catamounts took a 5-3 victory at Bright Hockey Center, coming back from a 3-1 deficit and scoring the next four goals of the game, giving head coach Mike Gilligan his 250th career victory.

    “We let them dictate the style of play for the game,” Crimson head coach Mark Mazzoleni said at the time. “In the third period, we moved away from our puck-possession game and played a high-tempo, chancy game. We’ll learn from this.”

    The Cats are back on track after a 10-2 pasting of Holy Cross last weekend. The Cats lost two Thanksgiving weekend at home, but around those losses are seven wins.

    “We didn’t come out with much intensity in the first period,” Vermont coach Mike Gilligan told the Burlington Free Press. “I thought we picked it up pretty well, though, in the second and third.”

    Likewise, the Crimson are coming off a win, a 3-1 decision over Clarkson, the first for the Crimson in Potsdam since the 1994-95 season.

    “We challenged our kids today,” said Mazzoleni. “I thought that Clarkson for the first period had the upper hand, but we were able to withstand it. The second period was very even, and in the third we played as well defensively as we’ve played all year.

    “It’s a big win for us. It’s a huge win, it’s the first time our seniors have won up here in four years.”

    Union/Rensselaer at Princeton/Yale

    No. 12 Union dropped one notch in the polls this week after a tie against Rensselaer and a loss to Quinnipiac. Head coach Kevin Sneddon was very displeased after the loss to Quinnipiac and he promised a few things.

    “We haven’t played 60 minutes now for the last couple of games. It was going to sting us at some point and [Sunday] it did,” Sneddon said. “Plain and simple, when we play hard we’re a pretty good hockey club, when we sit back on our heels, and we don’t take the body and do the little things well, we’re going to struggle, no questions about it.

    “Where we get off thinking we can play 30 minutes of hockey against anyone is beyond me. But believe me, I’ll get it out of them, don’t worry about that. We may not win every game coming up, but we’ll work harder.”

    Rensselaer defeated Quinnipiac the night before; the Engineers are now on a four-game unbeaten streak.

    “We won two periods out of the three, losing one and that’s a good weekend,” said head coach Dan Fridgen after the Quinnipiac game. “We played five out of six periods this weekend and took three of four points.”

    Princeton split on the weekend, defeating Colgate on Friday and then getting shutout by Cornell on Saturday evening. Despite the split, the Tigers are only one point out of first place in the league.

    “Except for our ties against St. Lawrence and Clarkson, we haven’t put together two strong games in a row all season,” captain Kirk Lamb told the campus paper, the Princetonian. “To pick up four points, you have to put together six strong periods.

    “Our offense was just not very good at all Saturday. With a game like this, you just have to look back and learn from your mistakes.”

    Yale dropped two games last weekend, one to Cornell and then one to Colgate, letting a golden opportunity pass to move up in the standings.

    “We were just physically outplayed both nights,” head coach Tim Taylor told the Yale Daily News. “We went up there with our game faces on, but both of those teams deserved to beat us.

    “We just didn’t execute. We didn’t come out ready to play and it seemed like we were just sitting ducks.”

    Out Of Conference

    Clarkson and Cornell are off until the Florida Holiday Tournament, but others are in nonconference action.

    Dartmouth will host Northeastern on Saturday after taking last weekend off. The Big Green are riding the wave of a victory over Maine in their last effort.

    “I said it during the week,” head coach Bob Gaudet said. “I think we’ve been playing good hockey. It’s just a matter of time before things go your way. In some sense, you make your luck by working hard and making it happen, but it’s nice to see the guys play so well and come away with a great win.”

    Brown will travel to Harvard to finish off the season series. The Bears were shut out the last time these teams met. The Bears took two points on the road in the North Country this past weekend — with two ties. Sort of a double- edged sword.

    “I am pleased with the way we battled,” Brown head coach Roger Grillo said. “We came up here to Clarkson and St. Lawrence, played some of our best hockey on arguably the toughest road trip in all of college hockey, and left without a loss, but still without a win.”

    Colgate will travel to UMass-Lowell on Saturday hoping that Saturday’s win over Yale will help to right the ship.

    “We put more emphasis on having guys back in our own end and taking the middle of the ice away,” said head coach Don Vaughan. “I thought we forced a lot of turnovers and were able to get our offense going. I think it was our most complete effort of the year.”

    St. Lawrence will travel to Michigan for a pair, part of the “Murderer’s Row” schedule.

    “We played well in both games and received solid efforts across the board; it is something we can build on,” said head coach Joe Marsh. “We’ve got two games to go before the break and we’re playing a great team in a tough place for visiting teams to win.

    “We’re going to Michigan with the idea of winning a couple of games, but the big thing is to play hard and try to build some momentum.”

    If It’s So Easy, You Try It

    As noted before, they say the third time’s the charm. It wasn’t for those ECAC fans brave enough to go against us. Michele Kelley went down last week, making it three in a row for the team of Blaeser and Moy.

    The contest thus far:

    Becky and Jayson d. Vic Brzozowski – 10-2-2 to 8-5-1
    Becky and Jayson d. Tayt Brooks – 7-7-1 to 5-9-1
    Becky and Jayson d. Michele Kelley – 5-4-3 to 2-7-3

    We’ve got plenty of people lined up to take the challenge, but we’re going to give all of you a break and wait until after the holidays to pick that up.

    Therefore, the next challenge will take place starting on January 4, 2001.

    Get those prediction hats on in the meantime!

    Happy Holidays

    We’ll see all of you after the holidays for a tournament preview, as well as a look at how the ECAC is going to stack up against the other conferences in tournament and nonconference action.

    Until then, we wish all of you a very happy holiday season!

    Thanks to David Sherzer, Dan Fisher, Michael Volonnino and Sean Peden for their contributions this week.

    This Week In The CCHA: Dec. 7, 2000

    By
    -

    They’ll Probably Have A White Christmas

    Seven players representing four teams from the CCHA have been named to the 22-man U.S. National Junior Team, set to compete in the 2001 International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Junior Championship Dec. 26, 2000, through Jan. 5, 2001, in Moscow and surrounding Russian cities.

    The CCHA leads the way among appointees to the team, which features 18 collegians. The team, considered the cream of the under-20 crop, includes returnees Andy Hilbert (10-19–29) of Michigan, making his third appearance and Notre Dame’s Connor Dunlop (4-5–9). Newcomers are Michigan defenseman Mike Komisarek (2-5–7, +4), Notre Dame forward Rob Globke (7-4–11), Ohio State forwards Dave Steckel (7-8–15) and R.J. Umberger (6-6–12), and Northern Michigan goaltender Craig Kowalski (2.77 GAA, .908 SV%).

    Wolverine Mike Cammalleri (11-14– 25) is one of just three U.S. collegians invited to the Canadian Naiontal Junior Camp, from Dec. 13-18 in North York, Ontario. Cammalleri will be competing for a spot on the 22-man Canadian roster with 33 other invited players.

    Aside from being an honor for these individuals, the teams they represent, and the CCHA itself, the appointment of these players to their respective countries’ rosters means that four teams will be without key players.

    Should Cammalleri make the Canadian squad, the Wolverines will be without their top two scorers and their already banged-up defense will be even thinner without Komisarek for the Great Lakes Invitational tournament — and for two home games against the Lakers, a team that is always up for Michigan, no matter what the rest of the Lake State season resembles.

    The Buckeyes will lose their top two centermen, Steckel and Umberger, for their holiday tournament in Florida, where they’ll face Cornell and either Clarkson or Maine, as well as two home games against Western Michigan in early January.

    The struggling Irish will play St. Lawrence and the winner of the Rensselaer-Northeastern game in their holiday tourney, before hosting Ferris State in a battle that may determine whose season is longer come March.

    Kudos to the Wildcats, who scheduled only one game against Michigan Tech for the time their starter, Kowalski, will be gone.

    Ganga Watch

    After a two-week absence, the Ganga watch returns with mixed news. Our hero, Nick Ganga, now has seven penalties for 14 minutes. The game in which he ran up his minutes was Ohio State’s Nov. 19 5-4 win over Bowling Green. Nick was in the box for six minutes, bringing his total to 12.

    Two days later, Nick balanced things out a bit with his game-winner in OSU’s 10-0 trouncing of Findlay, and he kept his cool in a very chippy 6-1 Buckeye victory in Big Rapids Dec. 1, in which he had a goal and an assist, and no penalties.

    The next night in a 1-1 tie, however, Nick added another penalty to his total (a slash, no less).

    So, for those of you keeping score, Nick Ganga now has eight goals and two assists for 10 points, is +7, has two power-play tallies and two game-winners, a shorthanded goal, and a hat trick — and 14 penalty minutes, a full 36 shy of his self-imposed limit of 50 on the season.

    Halfway there, Nick! We believe!

    He’s Making A List, He’s Answering Mail

    Have you heard? It’s that most wonderful time of the year.

    In the U.S., it’s easy to be cynical in early December. Having been assaulted by retailers since mid-September, most of us know that the real magic of Christmas is the credit card slight-of-hand used to finance the whole season.

    Instead of obsessing over which pair of slippers to buy Aunt Vera or what dessert to prepare for Uncle Al’s annual Messiah sing-along, wouldn’t it be nice to have some confirmation that the spirit of giving — that spirit that defines a traditional Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa — is still alive and among us?

    As your faithful girl reporter, I had been working day and night to find evidence of this true meaning of the season, but with little success. I pored over game summaries, only to find more unsportsmanlike conduct calls than I’d care to reveal. I searched the Internet only to find the flame wars in full swing.

    Then suddenly one day last week, a little bundle arrived via anonymous email. At first I was reluctant to open the attachment, given the results of my recent research and my history with fan mail. But just as I was about to flush the message into cyber-oblivion, something inside me said, “Have a little faith,” and I clicked on “view.”

    After scanning detected no virus, to what did my wondering eyes appear? Messages from the Jolly Old Elf himself! Here were messages from Santa Claus, answering the requests of every team in the league!

    And in the spirit of the season, Dear Readers, here they are, letters from Santa.

    Dear Nanooks,

    It’s always nice to receive mail from such close neighbors! Thank you for the useful ulu.

    As for your request, I just don’t see how I can deliver David Gove to you, but I do understand your need to score more than 2.36 goals per game. While your Jim Lawrence (8-7–15) leads your team in scoring, I’ll do what I can to help the rest of the team along, and to help Jim find the scoring touch five-on-five as well as on the power play.

    With a .924 save percentage, that young Preston McKay seems to be doing well in net, so perhaps you’re doing all you can to grant your own wish of lowering that pesky 3.57 goals allowed per game.

    Let me add that I’m impressed with the way in which you nice boys have lowered your penalty minutes this season. You’re on the good list for that.

    And unfortunately, I cannot alter the space-time continuum to allow for shorter road trips.

    You boys just keep coming at your opponents the way you do, you keep rebounding on that second night, and you’ll do all right this season. I know, I know — a point on Friday night would be nice. I’ll see what I can do.

    Yours,

    S. Claus

    Dear Falcons,

    Your request for scoring is certainly timely, but even though you are averaging 2.21 goals per game, I just cannot send you David Gove.

    I’m on the hunt for some consistency, though. You have to understand that it’s not something my elves can simply whip up from scratch. Two losses to Alabama-Huntsville, yet a win over Ohio State and ties against Northern and Michigan State — can’t you boys make up your minds?

    Put that Curtis Valentine on the ice, often. Good things seem to happen when he’s out there.

    Way to stay out of the box this season, Falcons!

    Yours,

    S. Claus

    Dear Bulldogs,

    I’ve been making a list and checking it twice. You boys have been naughty.

    You can’t average 30 minutes in the penalty box per game and expect to get anything but coal for in your stockings.

    ‘Tis the season of giving, however, and I’m in a good mood. In the upcoming months, I’ll try to help with what you need most, besides patience: defense. Even though you’re allowing 3.93 goals per game, I cannot see my way clear to give you Ryan Miller.

    I will give you a little piece of advice, Bulldogs. When a team’s penalty kill is effective about 75 percent of the time, it’s wise to play a clean game.

    Best of luck,

    S. Claus

    Dear Lakers,

    I understand that scoring 2.50 goals per game while allowing 3.39 puts you in a tight spot, but I can’t deliver David Gove.

    You’ve returned most of your team from last season, including Ryan Knox, Ryan Vince, and Jayme Platt, yet you’re not scoring, not keeping them out of your own net, and your power play and penalty kill are a mediocre ninth in the league.

    Well, there’s only one thing to do. I’m giving you something you didn’t even ask for: the gift of memory.

    Remember what it was like to dominate with defense? To beat Michigan in Joe Louis Arena? To win? I’m sure you do. Dig deep, boys. There is still time to salvage this season, but only if you remember.

    And thank your coach for that lovely volume of Yeats. The missus and I enjoyed it tremendously.

    Sincerely,

    S. Claus

    Dear RedHawks,

    With the November you had, I’m surprised you wrote to ask for anything at all.

    The strongest opponent you’ve faced is Western Michigan, and you split with the Broncos on the road — very impressive. A run of 7-1-2 in your last 10 games says a lot about the gifts you’ve already received, namely the returns of Jason Deskins and Gregor Kranjc.

    So, you can score again, but that defense needs shoring up. I’ll see what I can do. As for the request for continued good health, this is hockey, boys. Injuries are part of the package, but I’ll do what I can there, too.

    Respect. Now there’s something I wish I could grant. Given that even when you were recent NCAA tournament contenders you received no coverage from nearby Cincinnati — a city that boasts both an IHL and an AHL team — I’m not sure I can help you there.

    Stay healthy,

    S. Claus

    Dear Wolverines,

    You scamps. One minute it appears that you’re trying to be nice, reducing your penalty minutes from a nation-leading 30+ per game last season, then you take unnecessary penalties — especially in league play — and average between 22 and 25 minutes per game.

    It’s a good thing your penalty kill is about 88 percent effective. In fact, you boys seem to be effective in every aspect of the game: power play at .247, averaging more than four goals per game in league play, allowing 2.18. Just what could you possibly want from me?

    Since I’m Santa, however, I know what you need even when you don’t: cooler heads. And I know your defense could use some shoring up. I’ll see what I can do.

    And, no, I’m not going to ignore the boys in East Lansing this year. That’s just not nice.

    Yours,

    S. Claus

    Dear Spartans,

    In some ways, you are not the Spartans of old, the team with a single dominating offensive player who racks up the numbers. But you are a Spartan team that knows how to win, and that makes you very typically Michigan State.

    Your dominating player this season is Ryan Miller, whose .948 save percentage and 1.34 goals against average in league play make him nearly impossible to beat. And this is a young man who is facing more shots this season than he did last year, proving doubters wrong.

    You are allowing just 1.36 goals per game, and scoring 3.09. It’s a winning ratio, but not the best, perhaps. As long as Miller’s in net, all you need is two goals per game, but perhaps a pure goal-scorer would be a nice addition.

    Your power play is .227, your penalty kill at .912, and you take just 16 minutes of penalties per game. What more do you want?

    Perseverance would be a good gift for you, and health.

    And, no, I will not ignore the boys in Ann Arbor this year. Can’t we all just get along?

    All the best,

    S. Claus

    Dear Mavericks,

    You have been blessed with a faithful following that reminds people that the word fan rooted in fanatic. These people will watch you win or lose, which is more than some other teams in the league have.

    I understand that you’re struggling this year, and that the losses outnumber the wins. You are scoring the same number of goals per game in conference play that you are allowing, 3.30.

    Last year, you had your first season of league play, a trip to The Joe, and the respect of your peers. This season, naturally, you want to make the playoffs. I can’t give you what you’ve asked for (David Gove is simply not available), but I can help you find the oomph you need to grit out a few more wins.

    Yours,

    S. Claus

    Dear Wildcats,

    Well, you’re welcome. I knew you’d like those rookies.

    I’ve made that list and checked it twice, only to find that you’re the nicest boys in the league. Just 15.71 penalty minutes per game in league play! Imagine! Good thing, too, since your penalty kill is 11th.

    You’re playing well, and as always are among the hardest-working boys in college hockey, but your opponents are outscoring you 40-37 in conference play. This is something we can work on. You need someone with the scoring touch, and I hereby grant permission to Chris Gobert and Fred Mattersdorfer to find the back of the net more often. By my decree, they are allowed to double their league productivity of four goals each in their next two CCHA games.

    Another gift you could stand is that of a consistent game the whole weekend through, the proverbial 120 minutes of hockey. Your record reads like a coded message: Tie, loss, win win tie. Win win win, tie. Loss loss, win, loss, win, tie. Loss, tie.

    I see that you will be without rookie goaltender Craig Kowalski for a game. Not to worry. Dan Ragusett will prove capable.

    Nice job on that new arena. Please tell that one fan to keep his clothes on.

    Sincerely,

    S. Claus

    Dear Fighting Irish,

    You have many blessings, as you well know, given the number of drafted players on your roster. Why you are lingering in the cellar is a mystery to us all.

    It’s clear that goaltending isn’t the issue. Tony Zasowski has a .913 save percentage, fourth-best in conference play, and both Kyle Kolquist and Jeremiah Kimento are solid as well.

    Scoring 1.88 goals per game on average just isn’t going to do it, but I cannot bring you Mike Bishai and Steve Rymsha. Perhaps, instead, I can bring the scorer’s touch back to Dan Inman, Dan Carlson, and Brett Henning.

    You boys stay out of the box — 26 minutes per game! disgraceful! — or it’s nothing but coal for you.

    All the best,

    S. Claus

    Dear Buckeyes,

    I’m glad you like the new rookies. I told you that you would.

    I see from my list that you’re attempting to stay on my good side, reducing your ridiculous number of penalty minutes from near 30 per game to about 21 per game. Tsk, tsk. You were doing so much better at the start of the season. Keep cool, boys.

    I see that you are doing well in most areas, fifth in league scoring and third in goals allowed. Your most notable improvement seems to be defensively. I suspect your captain, Andre Signoretti, with an overall plus/minus of +13, has something to do with that.

    But there is one area where you can significantly improve, and one other gift you may need.

    First, I send you the present of a good second night. In October and early November, you had the tendency to let down a bit the second night. Lately, the effort is improving on the second night — with wins in Lake Superior on the second night, against Bowling Green in the second game, and a tie in Big Rapids the nightcap — but you need consistency throughout a whole weekend.

    The second gift you need is that of perseverance, when you lose your top two centermen, Dave Steckel and R.J. Umberger to the U.S. Junior team for your holiday tournament and games against Western Michigan. Someone will have to step up.

    Cheers,

    S. Claus

    Dear Broncos,

    You have David Gove, Mike Bishai, and Steve Rymsha. You also have Jeff Campbell, and a goaltender who is finally coming into his own.

    While you’re allowing 3.33 goals per conference game, you’re scoring an outrageous 5.11. Your power play is sublime. Your penalty kill, more than adequate.

    What do you want from me?

    Well, I can do nothing for you other than grant you permission to continue tearing up the league.

    I also happen to have a really good cookie recipe, from the mother of a good friend:

    Dolly’s Cut-Out Cookies

    3 cups flour

    2 cups sugar

    2 tbs. baking powder

    1 tsp. salt

    1/2 tsp. nutmeg

    1 cup butter

    2 eggs

    4 tsp. milk (1 tbs. + one tsp.)

    1 tsp. vanilla

    Directions:

    1. Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

    2. Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time. Add milk. Mix until smooth.

    3. Stir dry ingredients into butter/sugar batter.

    4. Divide into workable amounts and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate overnight or several hours.

    5. Preheat oven to 375. Roll a small amount of dough to 1/8-1/4 inch; keep remaining dough refrigerated. Cut and place on ungreased baking sheets. Brush with beaten egg white and decorate with colored sugar. Bake 5-10 minutes. These cookies burn easily, so watch them.

    Yours,

    S. Claus

    Games and Grudges

    The Game of the Week and Grudge of the Week will return after the first of the year.

    Happy Holidays, everyone!

    1...1,4731,4741,475...1,536Page 1,474 of 1,536

    Latest Stories from around USCHO

    Maine adds former Union head coach Bennett to Black Bears men’s hockey staff as new assistant coach

    USCHO Staff -

    Former Wilkes hockey star, USHL coach Gurska tabbed new assistant coach for Babson men’s hockey team

    USCHO Staff -

    Former Providence, St. Lawrence women’s hockey standout Tyo hired as new assistant coach with Canton

    USCHO Staff -

    Lindenwood names former Bemidji State assistant coach Magera to same job with Lions men’s hockey team

    USCHO Staff -

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

    USCHO Staff -

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

    USCHO Staff -

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

    USCHO Staff -

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

    USCHO Staff -

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

    USCHO Staff -

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

    USCHO Staff -

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

    USCHO Staff -

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

    USCHO Staff -
    ©1996-2025 USCHO.com – U.S. College Hockey Online