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MAAC Column: Oct. 19, 2000

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Same Story, So Far

For the MAAC, the thought this year has to be “bigger and stronger.” And with the simplicity of growth comes the desire for success. Success within the conference has been realized since its inception two seasons ago. Both years have had excellent competition among the teams, and the postseason tournament has proved a fan-thriller for two years running.

But there is still one small problem for the MAAC – success outside the conference. To date, no MAAC team has beaten a team from the “Big Four” (Hockey East, ECAC, CCHA, WCHA) conferences. The closest thing to this reality was Canisius’ upset of Niagara, a team that reached the West Regional final of the NCAA tournament last year, last season. But Niagara, being a member of the CHA, does not take the monkey off the MAAC’s back.

Last weekend, two more clubs, Sacred Heart University and Connecticut, the defending MAAC champion, set out to try to bounce Godzilla. But instead, both clubs got bounced themselves — badly.

Connecticut, which fell 6-1 to UMass-Lowell, the last-place team in Hockey East a season ago, clearly was not up to the level of the River Hawks, or Hockey East for that matter. Lowell outshot UConn, 45-10, on the game, but that didn’t prevent the Huskies from putting a bit of an early scare into the River Hawks.

After weathering a storm for 15 minutes, UConn took a 1-0 lead by running an offensive-zone faceoff play on its one offensive-zone draw of the period. But penalties hurt the Huskies, and near the end of the period Lowell found itself on a 5-on-3 power play, which led to a goal with 5.5 seconds remaining. That neutralized any momentum the Huskies may have had.

When UConn scored a fluke goal in its own net early in the second, that was the backbreaker.

“We were doing some things nicely [in the first period],” said Marshall, “but when we scored the goal in our own net, we didn’t respond well enough. We sort of packed it in over the next five minutes and next thing you know it’s 4-1.”

And packing it in resulted in the 6-1 final. But Marshall remained upbeat, realizing that the non-league schedule is just beginning. This week UConn travels back to the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts to face an improved Merrimack College squad that last week tied No. 6 Michigan State, 1-1.

“I told our guys that we’ve got to get to a point that we’re not playing these [non-league] games just to fill up our schedule. We’re playing these games to win them. That’s how we have to approach these games.”

The Huskies are not the only school to play a competitive non-league slate this weekend. Mercyhurst College, picked to finish second in this year’s coaches poll, will open the season on the road against established ECAC powerhouse Clarkson. It is the second consecutive season that Mercyhurst has faced an ECAC opponent, as the Lakers fell 3-0 to NCAA tournament qualifier Colgate last season.

Also this weekend, newest MAAC member Army will face Union College from the ECAC. This could be the best chance for the MAAC, but the Black Knights will be weary after facing Iona College in their MAAC opener on Friday. Union will be rested, as the Skating Dutchmen have Friday night off.

Holy Cross, which last weekend shut out Concordia University, 2-0 in an exhibition contest, will look to continue its luck in Orono, Maine, in the Black Bear Classic. Thankfully for the Crusaders, they did not draw Maine in the first round, though they will still face an unenviable opponent in No. 14 St. Lawrence. On Saturday, Holy Cross will face either Maine or the U.S. Developmental team in the championship or consolation game of the tournament.

Gaels Give New Rink A Rousing Opening

The Iona College Gaels certainly didn’t wait long to raise the roof of their new building, Sports Plus at New Roc City, last Friday night, though for most, the excitement probably came a little later than desired.

Facing preseason favorite Quinnipiac in the opening game, Iona fell behind 5-1 early in the third period before the Gaels reeled off one of the most scintillating comebacks in college hockey history.

After pulling within 5-2 midway through the third, Iona was the beneficiary of a five-minute major penalty to Quinnipiac winger Brian Herbert with just under five minutes to play. And as the clock ticked down and Quinnipiac looked like maybe they were in the clear, Iona exploded.

The Gaels scored three goals in the final 64 seconds of play, including the game-tying goal with 0.5 seconds showing on the clock, to force overtime. Even though both teams posted plenty of shots in the overtime (Quinnipiac 5, Iona 4) the game ended a 5-5 draw that easily felt like a win for Iona and a loss for the Braves.

The game was played in front of 1,306 fans, a capacity house in the new arena, and one of the largest crowds to witness a MAAC regular season game. Needless to say, this was one time where the fans had to leave happy even with a tie.

One night later, though, the Braves were able to gain revenge, winning on home ice against Iona, 3-1. Rookie goaltender Justin Eddy, making his first start in net for the Braves, registered his first collegiate win by making 18 saves. This night, it was Quinnipiac that enjoyed the power-play success, notching two of its three goals with the man advantage.

“We were still down a bit after [Friday] night’s game,” said senior winger Chris Cerrella, who notched a goal and an assist in the win. “We had a lot to prove [Saturday] after losing a 5-1 lead late in the third period [on Friday].”

Said Braves coach Rand Pecknold, “This was a big win for us. Obviously we had a huge letdown on Friday, but [on Saturday] we reloaded. We just played better defensively starting from the back out, and Justin Eddy was fantastic in his first start.”

This weekend, the Braves will host the fifth annual Quinnipiac Cup tournament, this year featuring Fairfield University, Bentley College, and Air Force in addition to the Braves.

Quinnipiac’s opening round opponent will be Bentley, the team that Quinnipiac eliminated in the first round of last year’s MAAC championships. Bentley leads the all-time series, 16-10-1, but it is the Braves who have won the last seven meetings. For the Falcons, it is their second time in the Q-Cup. They also participated in 1998, losing to Quinnipiac, 7-4, in the finals.

Air Force will be making its first-ever appearance in the tournament and will face Fairfield, a club that has been in three of the previous four tournaments. The Stags have only one win in the six tournament games. That win, back in 1997, led them to a finals matchup with the Braves that resulted in a 7-4 defeat.

The tournament has to be a favorite for Quinnipiac’s Cerrella, who has posted 13 career points in his previous six Q-Cup games (six goals, seven assists). Last year was the only time that Cerrella did not reach the finals of the tournament, as Quinnipiac fell to eventual champ Iona in the first round.

Hockey East Column: Oct. 19, 2000

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Goal By Walsh, Assisted By Walsh and Walsh

When North Dakota took the ice last Friday night for its game with Maine, fans might have wondered if they were seeing double. Or triple. Or quadruple….

Every Fighting Sioux’s jersey bore the name “Walsh” in honor of Maine coach Shawn Walsh, who was in California receiving treatment for kidney cancer. After the game, North Dakota donated the jerseys to the Coaches Foundation for auction.

The Coaches Foundation was formed in July in response to the many people who have been moved to offer assistance to Walsh in his battle against cancer. Walsh, in consultation with friends and advisors, asked that an on-going charitable group be set up to serve as a resource for coaches who might need financial help in the face of devastating illness.

The foundation will provide assistance in meeting the costs of medical treatment, medication and medical equipment for amateur athletes and coaches in significant need as a result of cancer or other forms of serious illness. It can also assist the families of coaches and provide support for participation in medical research projects, including experimental treatments and clinical trials.

Administering the foundation is a Board of Directors, including, among others, Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna (who also serves as Executive Director of the American Hockey Coaches Association) and Norinne Daly, a former Hockey East assistant commissioner.

The foundation or any of its board members may be contacted at:

The Coaches Foundation P.O. Box 115 Bangor, ME 04402-0115

On Oct. 1, the Notre Dame hockey team also contributed to the foundation. For the last three years the Irish have held a charity event in the fight against cancer in memory of assistant coach Andy Slaggert’s brother, Ed Slaggert. This year, the team held its Blue-Gold intrasquad game and sent the proceeds to the Coaches Foundation in honor of Walsh.

“The hockey community is a small one that attempts to do things both well and right,” said Andy Slaggert. “We strive to represent both Notre Dame and the sport of hockey well. Accepting this gift will allow our young men to do both.”

Husky Fever

Something is missing from Northeastern’s locker room. The standings board, that staple of locker rooms everywhere, has been banished.

Last year, the Huskies posted a 4-4-4 record in conference games against Hockey East’s four NCAA-bound teams — Boston University, Boston College, Maine and New Hampshire — including a 2-0-1 record against Maine and a 1-0-2 mark against UNH. Their record against the rest of the league, however, was a losing one. They lost all three games to Providence, lost two and tied the other against seventh-place Merrimack and lost two with one win against last-place UMass-Lowell.

Presumably, there was too much attention paid to the standings last year.

“We just take one game at a time,” said NU coach Bruce Crowder after opening the season with a 4-3 win over St. Lawrence. “That’s an old cliche, but we don’t have our standings board up in the locker room anymore. We don’t have any of that. I don’t care who we’re playing. We’re going to play. That’s the mentality. I think it’s going to be good for this team.”

Crowder’s players echoed that mindset.

“We just need to get geared up every night,” said sophomore Mike Ryan. “Every night is going to be a battle.”

“You can’t look beyond the next game,” said captain Jim Fahey. “The next game is it. It doesn’t matter who they are or what they do. They’re here to win a game and we are, too. If they’re the better team, then [so be it], But I doubt that.”

That approach to getting jacked up for the middle-of-the-road and lower teams will be tested this week as Northeastern travels to Notre Dame. The CCHA Coaches’ and Media Preseason Polls pegged the Fighting Irish at fifth and sixth, respectively, in that league.

So the jury is still out. Heck, after just one game the jury hasn’t even settled in its seats to begin deliberations.

But Northeastern’s one game was an impressive start in a year critical to the program’s hoped-for emergence on the national scene. Playing against St. Lawrence, the ECAC’s projected top team and ranked number six in the country at the time, Northeastern outshot the Saints by a wide margin in every period: 15-3, 16-3 and 13-7. This was not a misleading case of attempts coming primarily from the perimeter; the shot charts distributed to the media between periods instead showed a congestion in the “Grade A” area.

Pessimists might have still been in the majority after two periods, though. Despite a 31-6 shot advantage, the score was still 1-1. “Same old Huskies” might have been a common refrain.

“We just kept working at it,” said Crowder. “Our guys could have gotten frustrated, but hopefully this is a sign of good things to come this year.”

A third-period hat trick by Ryan proved to be the difference. All four goals came from the line of Graig Mischler, Ryan and freshman Scott Selig.

“Mischler is a little bit of a leader there,” said Crowder. “Then you’ve got Mike Ryan, who really made a commitment in the offseason. He’s bigger and stronger and he’s not getting bumped around as much. You’ve got Scottie Selig, a freshman who has some pretty good hands and some good size. He’s going to get bigger and stronger.

“Right now, it’s a good mix. We’ve got to find the other guys to do it also. So, that’s what we’re hoping for when we get back to the drawing board.”

Ryan, who bulked up by 17 pounds in the offseason, may be the go-to guy some expected when he arrived on campus as a second-round NHL draft pick.

“I feel a lot better than last year,” he said. “The coaches told me that they think I’m lot more mature after the summer. I stuck around the summer and worked out here. I feel very comfortable this year. I feel like definitely [I can be] the go-to guy if they need it.”

A strength this year may also be the Huskies’ ability to win the physical battles along the boards.

“I looked at [St. Lawrence’s] lineup before the game,” said Crowder, “and I came back and [said], ‘Boy this is a big team!’ But I thought our kids handled themselves pretty well. I thought we were a little overmatched in size, but our kids have pretty big hearts and that can make up for a lot.”

Northeastern is also getting an increasingly stronger contribution from what has become a seventh player at home, the Dog House fans. NU students have taken a page from the yellow-shirted BC Superfans and now arrive wearing black T-shirts. And with the great acoustics at Matthews Arena, they generate a lot of noise.

“It’s been fantastic,” said Crowder. “It just seems to be growing and growing. You see the balcony almost full tonight. It’s a great place to watch a hockey game. The old-timers that come in and see this, they just love it.

“That’s what we wanted to do when we came in here as a coaching staff. We wanted to not only win hockey games, but make it an event, make it something that the kids want to come to.

“The university has just expanded its on-campus housing so we’ve got a lot more kids. It’s not a commuter school anymore. We have two brand-new residence halls that opened the last two years. Those are the kids that we need to draw out on a Friday night.”

All of which is not to suggest that the Huskies will go undefeated at home this year and are now ready for the Frozen Four after playing the perfect game on opening night. There were some negatives on Friday.

Although the Huskies outscored SLU, 3-0, while playing five-on-five, they did give up a shorthanded goal and two on the Saints’ power play. St. Lawrence’s penalty killers, ranked tops in the ECAC the last two years, frequently gave them fits. And given the paucity of SLU quality shots, NU goaltender Mike Gilhooly might have been expected to allow fewer than three goals.

“It’s the first game and we made some mistakes,” said Crowder. “It’s good to play good teams at the beginning of the year because if you get your butt kicked you know what you have to improve on. They’re the teams that are going to probably be there at the end of the year, so why not learn from them?”

“We’ll be a better team come next Friday and Saturday than we were here,” said Fahey. “I can guarantee that just [based on] the way the coaching staff does things. We’ll be a better team.”

Around the Arenas

Boston College defeated Notre Dame and Nebraska-Omaha to win the Maverick Stampede.

“We are very proud to be the first recipients of the Omaha Cup,” said coach Jerry York. “We don’t get to play for very many championships during the year, so we were very excited about coming to Omaha.”

Four Eagles earned berths on the all-tournament team: forwards Krys Kolanos and Mike Lephart, defenseman Bobby Allen and goalie Scott Clemmensen. Clemmensen was selected Most Valuable Player after stopping 61 of 63 shots in the two games.

“Certainly the MVP was justifiably Clemmensen,” said York.

Two BC freshmen finished prominently in the scoring. Ben Eaves had three assists in the win over Notre Dame. Chuck Kobasew also assisted on a goal against the Fighting Irish and added a power-play goal in the title game.

Boston University saw its 17-game home undefeated streak ended at the hands of Rensselaer, 5-4. The Terriers fell behind early, but tied it up midway through the third period, only to lose on a late goal by Marc Cavosie, who had a hat trick.

“I don’t know that much about him, to tell you the truth,” said coach Jack Parker of Cavosie. “I know that he had a pretty good freshman year. But I would say a lot of guys are going to break out against our club if we play defense like we did tonight.

“We just didn’t cover anybody. We let people roam around in front of our cage, roam around in front of the Grade A area all night. We gave up five goals in our building and every one of ’em was up front. You’re not going to win too many games doing that.”

Parker did see some positives in the Terriers’ fight back from 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 deficits.

“We didn’t die; we didn’t fold,” he said. “We played hard. I told the guys that I thought that we played hard in the areas that it’s easy to play hard: offensively going to the net, trying to pick up pucks and go. But I told them that we didn’t play hard in the areas where it’s hard to play hard: covering guys without the puck, playing hard without the puck, covering guys out front, getting the rebounds in front of their net.

“We didn’t play as hard as we should have, and that’s real disconcerting. And that’s how we started off the season last year. We had real difficulties in those areas last year. And I thought we’d be a little better because of our veteran defense. But I thought our veteran defense, which I thought was the strength of our team, looked back on their heels tonight.”

Maine opened its season with a 1-1 tie against top-ranked North Dakota, but lost 4-2 in the Saturday rematch.

“We played pretty well defensively,” said interim head coach Gene Reilly after the opening-night tie. “This early, you expect some mistakes, but we covered our zones well.

“[But] our special teams didn’t play well tonight. We will need to be more consistent in that area. When you have some big guns, it usually clicks early, but we don’t have that right now and we’ll need to find a way.”

The second-night loss came as a result of a second period in which the Black Bears gave up three goals.

“That’s what you get when you don’t play good defense,” said Martin Kariya. “We just didn’t play well defensively that whole period and it cost us.”

Offense was a problem as well. By game’s end, the Black Bears would finish with a 45-30 shot advantage, including a 20-7 mark in the scoreless third period, but still with only two goals. And that came on the heels of a 46-28 advantage in the 1-1 tie.

“We got another 40-plus shot night and have very little to show for it,” said captain Matthias Trattnig.

This is an area of concern for the Black Bears. After losing their top four scorers from last year’s team, they were looking for Niko Dimitrakos and Colin Shields, among others, to take up a good deal of that slack. Dimitrakos had been injured for much of last year and Shields was considered the freshman most likely to make an immediate impact.

Dimitrakos, however, is out for the first month of this season with a broken wrist and the news is even worse for Shields, who is ineligible for the entire year.

As a result, scoring is likely to be in short supply for Maine, at least until Dimitrakos returns.

UMass-Amherst and Providence did not play last week.

UMass-Lowell had a feel-good game, posting a 6-1 victory over UConn. The River Hawks dominated with a 45-10 shot advantage, but may have had a few queasy moments when they fell behind 1-0 in the first, considering their 4-3 exhibition loss to Ottawa.

“I was pleased with our effort and with our special teams,” said coach Tim Whitehead, referring to a power play that went 2-for-5. “But we were convinced going into the game that we weren’t going to let up, even if we fell behind.

“I was actually kind of glad [UConn] scored first because we knew we wouldn’t let up until we had the upper hand.”

Whitehead may have found the sniper that the team lacked last year in freshman Laurent Meunier. Meunier, who hails from Echirolles, France — not a bad recruiting trip, there — scored twice, both on the power play.

“He’s a good all-around player,” said Whitehead. “He’s good on faceoffs, he’s got some good moves and he has skill.”

Merrimack had to feel good about its play in the Johnson Nissan Classic even though it came away with a tie and a loss. Facing the consensus choices as the class of the CCHA, Michigan and Michigan State, the Warriors acquitted themselves admirably.

They played the second-ranked Wolverines to a 2-2 tie while even strength, falling only to a superior power play.

The Warriors then tied the fifth-ranked Spartans, 1-1, after which the media selected MSU goaltender Ryan Miller the Player of the Game. Put two and two together and you have a Merrimack squad outplaying a highly-ranked team.

All the more ammunition for the observers such as yours truly who do not expect the Warriors to finish in the Hockey East basement.

And while there are many reasons for Merrimack fans to stay focused on this year, a peak ahead to next season sees the addition of forward Matt Foy. Foy has opened his junior season with 13 goals in his first seven games. Do you think a line of Foy, Marco Rosa and Anthony Aquino will give opposing coaches an ulcer or two?

New Hampshire dodged a bullet when it defeated Vermont, 5-4 in overtime despite trailing 4-2 with 10 minutes remaining.

“Anytime you go into Gutterson Fieldhouse, it’s tough, especially tonight with all the emotion they had here,” said UNH coach Dick Umile, referring to Vermont’s return to hockey after last year’s cancelled season. “A lot of good things happened and we were fortunate to win it. The guys stayed with it and found a way to win the game.”

Darren Haydar continues to be the league’s top scorer. He leads Hockey East with seven points — four goals and three assists — in three games. He also scored one of the decisive blows in the UVM game. Just 29 seconds after a goal that would have staked Vermont to a 4-1 lead was disallowed, Haydar narrowed the gap to one with a sniper’s special.

“That was a huge goal,” said Umile. “Anytime you get within one, you get them back on their heels.”

The critical emergence of the sophomore class continued with Jim Abbott and Lanny Gare scoring goals in the last 10 minutes of regulation to force overtime. The two are now UNH’s second- and third-leading scorers, both with five points.

On the down side, sophomore defenseman Kevin Truelson suffered a chest contusion and head injury on a big hit along the boards. Early indications were that he will be out for 10 days.

Trivia Contest

Last week’s question was: what player performed in Hockey East last year, made an NHL squad this fall and assisted on a goal in his team’s opening game?

Although a fair number of people got the correct answer — Merrimack’s Greg Classen — Brian Tower was clearly the first. As a result, he earned the right to select the following cheer:

“Maine Black Bears will see the rest of the perennial powers in Albany!”

This week’s question may stump a few of you. One NHL team started this season with a line made up of a three-time Hobey Baker Award finalist, a two-time Hobey finalist and a one-time finalist. Who are the three players? Warning: these aren’t necessarily Hockey East alumni.

Take your shot at choosing a positive cheer for your favorite team by mailing your smugly confident answers or wild guesses to Dave Hendrickson.

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

My motto has always been “Why do yard work when you can golf?” With the golfing season sadly coming to a close, however, I decided two weekends ago to make my annual pilgrimage into the jungle that is my back yard.

I should have gone golfing.

I now have the results of poison sumac or poison oak all over my legs and some of my arms. (It isn’t poison ivy. I know what poison ivy looks like. I’m not a total moron, just a 95 percenter.)

I itch like you would not believe! If a wild beast were about to maul me to death, I would merely request that it start with my legs and give them one really good scratch.

To make matters worse, tendinitis in one of my knees — it’s tough getting old — prompted me to take some medication. An allergic reaction resulted in hives all over my chest.

To make matters worse still, I am one of those sad creatures who considers October 15 to be my tax deadline. On April 15, I send my estimated payments along with the four-month automatic extension to file. On August 15, I request an additional two months to file. Going beyond October 15, however, is sure to raise the ire of the IRS, which even a 95 percent moron knows enough to avoid.

So here I am on October 14. It is the most beautiful day of Indian summer that one could ever imagine. It’s got to be at least 70 degrees outside, but it would just be torturing myself to get the exact temperature.

Am I golfing in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, coated with sunscreen?

Nooooooooo!

I’m sitting at my desk wanting to claw my legs to bits. My chest is itching me to distraction. And I’m not golfing, I’m doing my *@#$^& taxes!

I cannot imagine that it could possibly be worse.

That is, until I remember the time I got poison ivy in the worst place you can imagine. Well, let me clarify. The worst place a guy could ever imagine, if you catch my drift.

Suddenly, life is not so bad. IRS Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization, is like a stroll in the park. The nonstop itch, itch, itch of my legs and arms and chest is like nothing compared to what it could be if I had it there again.

I no longer feel pity for myself.

In the words of Lou Gehrig, I consider myself the luckiest man alive.

Thanks to Scott Weighart, Brian Brashaw and Jim Leonard for their assistance.

Barrett Named Sacred Heart Women’s Coach

USCHO Staff Report
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Michael Barrett has been named the new women’s head coach at Sacred Heart. Barrett replaces Joy Woog, who became the interim head women’s coach at Northeastern on Sept. 14.

Barrett was the head coach of Lyman Hall High School, and also runs the Mike Barrett Hockey School during the summer months.

Sacred Heart is coming off an 11-10-1, season in 1999-2000, and made a quarterfinal appearance in the ECAC Division III women’s ice hockey playoffs. In the four-year history of the program, the Pioneers have not had a losing season, going 46-24-4 in that time. SHU has also been in the last two ECAC Division III women’s ice hockey playoffs.

The Pioneers return their second leading scorer from a year ago, senior forward Jaime Stimets, who tallied eight goals and 25 points. Stimets needs 10 more assists to break the career record for assists, currently held by Lauren Wiggins, who finished her career last year with 59.

Junior Kim Derleth returns between the pipes for the Pioneers. She went 7-9-1 in her sophomore season, with a 2.52 goals against average.

Barrett has been an instructor for the New Haven Nighthawks/Robbie Ftorek Hockey Care Schools, in New Haven, Conn., and an assistant coach for the Connecticut Clippers Women’s Midgets Team. He has also held positions as an assistant coach at North Haven High School (1994-97), and as head coach for Milford High School (1992-94).

He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his Alma Mater, Quinnipiac, from 1985-91. Since 1988, he has held various positions at Quinnipiac, most recently as the Director of Annual Giving. He was also the Director of Alumni Affairs, and an admissions officer at Quinnipiac.

The Pioneers begin the season on Nov. 18 at Holy Cross, and begin their ECAC schedule on Nov. 19 at Williams.

WCHA Column: Oct. 19, 2000

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Hotter than … well, it’s hot

It’s a good thing coaches don’t sit during action on the ice. For some, the seats may not be too comfortable.

It’s called a hot seat, and certain WCHA coaches, and other league programs, are feeling the heat.

No one’s particularly comfortable talking about it in public, especially those most in the line of fire.

Last season, Wisconsin’s Jeff Sauer and, to an extent, St. Cloud State’s Craig Dahl had some pressure to improve. Sauer’s contract wasn’t extended another year — not a sign he was on the way out, only that the Athletic Board may have been displeased with the way things were going.

Dahl, meanwhile, followed a fourth-place finish in 1997-98 with a seventh-place finish in 1998-99.

But both coaches proved they still belonged with their team’s with trips to the NCAA tournament last season.

The story may be the same this year.

League sources say there is at least one WCHA coach sitting squarely on a hot seat, with others on shaky ground.

What comes as little surprise to most close to the league is that Michigan Tech’s Tim Watters is most likely in the worst position of all the league’s coaches.

Five years ago, Tech brought in Watters, a former all-American for the Huskies who played in the NHL for 13 years, to resurrect a sleeping program, one with three NCAA titles in its long history.

But the Huskies’ slide has continued, to the point last year where they set an NCAA record with 34 losses.

It is believed Watters has a five-year contract with the school, meaning this is the last year under the original deal.

If that is the case, it’s make-or-break time for Watters.

He said before the season that his freshman class is the best he’s seen during his time in Houghton, Mich. But there are doubts as to whether strong freshman play will be enough to pull the Huskies out of a long funk.

For others, the situation isn’t as critical as it is in Houghton. But the pressure is on.

Dean Talafous is in his fifth season at Alaska-Anchorage, having taken over a program that won just eight WCHA games in 1995-96. Talafous is a bit of a maverick among WCHA coaches in that wins and losses apparently don’t concern him as much as solid play.

Despite a change of style, the wins have been slow in coming. The Seawolves made tremendous strides last year, finishing seventh in the league, but that’s the highest they’ve finished in the Talafous era.

They still have never hosted a WCHA first-round playoff series, or even won a league playoff game.

Success can be measured in a number of ways. Talafous measures it by whether his team gives its all day in and day out. If the athletics program at UAA feels the same way, Talafous should have a job for quite a while — his players are noted for their tenacity and willingness to put it on the line.

But he might feel pressure soon to put wins on the board.

Colorado College’s Scott Owens is in his second year, but he has the misfortune of following Don Lucia, one of the winningest coaches in the long, proud history of the program.

Under Lucia, NCAA tournaments were considered a mere formality. The Tigers won three straight WCHA regular-season titles.

But Owens’ first year proved to be a challenge. The Tigers earned home ice for the league playoffs but were swept by Minnesota.

There is little chance Owens will lose his job after this year, even if the Tigers once again fail to make the Final Five.

But the Colorado College faithful expect results. Owens has to provide them.

The Kids Are Hot Tonight

Fortunately for the CC coach, he may have hit the jackpot.

The additions of Peter Sejna and Alex Kim have thus far proven to be genius. Sejna was named WCHA rookie of the week after scoring three goals and assisting on two in a sweep of Minnesota State-Mankato.

Kim has teamed with Noah Clarke. They are both from the same area in California and grew up playing hockey together. But that’s not the only interesting connection on the team.

Kim and Sejna played for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League, where Owens coached before taking over at CC. The insider knowledge of the pair appears to have helped so far this season.

Kim and Sejna played the second half of last season on separate lines, which Owens has carried over onto his team.

The results have been exactly what a team in dire need of offense has been looking for.

Sejna, in particular has played with the composure of a senior, Owens said.

“He handled the puck very well for a freshman in this league. He handled the puck in situations like an upperclassman,” Owens said. “He is older (21), but there’s still an adjustment to be made to the WCHA and the size of the sheet. He just protected the puck well and moved it at appropriate times and went hard to the net, and that’s where he got a couple of his goals.

“He helps us on the power play — he’s very good along the wall and down low, which will help our special teams somewhat. He just gives us another quality, proven scorer up front, in an area that we really struggled in last year. Up to this point, he and Mark Cullen have really hit it off well playing together. In an area where we needed a lot of help, he steps in with a lot of experience and should be able to help out right away.”

The Tigers’ offense has a lot to prove this season. Scoring six goals in each game last weekend against Mankato is just a start.

But with some welcome additions, confidence is building.

“We feel more confident opening things up a little bit,” Owens said. “We’ve gotten some scoring out of Tom Preissing as well, a defenseman. We’ve been able to get 40 shots a game, including the exhibition (against Calgary) and we’ve gotten some early success scoring. All of a sudden now, guys are feeling more confident, aren’t gripping the stick so hard. And we’re hoping that it carries over to the rest of the team.”

Light it Up

Is the glass half-empty or half-full?

Do Minnesota fans take seven- and nine-goal outputs in the Gophers’ first two games this season as a sign of a strong offense or a result of playing Notre Dame and Bemidji State?

Maybe a little bit of both.

But what Gophers coach Lucia can take pride in is that he can finally say he is putting a complete offense onto the ice. With freshmen such as Grant Potulny and Troy Riddle, who scored two goals each against Bemidji last Saturday, adding firepower, Lucia can roll four lines.

“I think the one thing that’s different this year is we have four lines that are capable of scoring,” Lucia said. “Last year, we had basically two lines that generated all the offense. Some of the returning guys look better and the freshmen have come in — we’ve put one of them on each of the four lines — and they’ve looked good so far.”

Lucia’s other focus before the season was limiting the opponent’s shots on goal. Well, through two games, the Gophers have allowed only 24 shots.

Mission accomplished … so far. A more mature defense could be the reason.

“I think that’s a big difference,” Lucia said. “Last year we played three sophomores and two freshmen. All of a sudden, that group of five is a year older. The six guys who played last year all return, and we have Paul Martin, who played the first two games and moved a guy who played last year out of the lineup. It gives us a little bit more depth back there.”

Light it Up, Part 2

As promised, all three Minnesota-Duluth goaltenders saw action in the Bulldogs’ exhibition game Sunday against Regina.

But the unadvertised special was that the Bulldogs would treat the DECC crowd — the 2,821 that were there for a Sunday night game — to something they hadn’t seen from the local side in quite a while:

Offense.

If not for the unabated offense of the marginal Indoor Football League during the summer, the DECC scoreboard wouldn’t have seen this much action in years. UMD beat Regina, a team admittedly weakened by a long road trip, 9-1.

To put that in context, the last time the Bulldogs put nine on the scoreboard in the regular season, Northern Michigan was still in the WCHA, Brush Christiansen was still coach at Alaska-Anchorage, Bob Mancini was leading Michigan Tech, Frank Serratore was ending a run at Denver and “Who Let the Dogs Out?” was still “Whoomp! There It Is.”

Duluth beat Northern 9-4 in February 1994. It’s pretty much been a downslide ever since.

But, if nothing else, the ability to score nine goals — be it against Regina, the Sisters of the Poor or the local bantam team — has to be an encouraging note for the Bulldogs.

Don’t Call it a Comeback

Maybe St. Cloud State wasn’t expected to be in this situation against Ferris State last Saturday. But the Huskies made as much as they could out of it.

Down 3-1 in the third period, the Huskies managed to claw their way back into a tie by, apparently, outworking the Bulldogs.

That’s the kind of attitude coach Craig Dahl wanted to see.

“I just told our guys, ‘If you want to compete for national recognition and stuff, you have to be able to come back from being down,'” Dahl said. “You’re not always going to be leading every game all year long. You have to be able to fight through adversity and still come out in the third period.

“I was real happy with the way we responded. We outshot them 18-4 [in the third] and 4-1 in overtime. We just really played well and came back and probably could have won it.”

Have I mentioned before that freshmen are having a significant impact on WCHA teams early this year? The Huskies are no different. Four of their six goals last weekend were registered by newcomers, including two by defenseman Jeff Finger. Andy Lundbohm and Brian Schuster scored the others.

“That’s good news because they get that out of the way and get some confidence,” Dahl said of the rookies’ first scores. “It also shows the rest of the team, ‘Somebody else can score if I’m having an off night.’

“Jeff Finger played very well, a freshman that can score a goal in each of his first two games, that’s quite something for him.”

He Said It

“In the long run, it helps to get goals from everybody.”

— Minnesota’s Potulny.

News and Views

  • Michigan Tech had three chances with a two-man advantage, including one with the game tied at two in the third period Saturday against Wisconsin. That the Huskies didn’t get a shot off on any of the three and that they lost 4-2 can be easily connected. They were 1-for-11 on the power play in the second game of the series.
  • Early in the season, WCHA teams are 6-2-5 in nonconference games. Maybe goaltending won’t be the story of the season. Maybe it’ll be the year of the tie. Is it time for college hockey to start looking at an alternate form of overtime?
  • Word is Minnesota will have a picnic prior to its home opener against Minnesota-Duluth on Friday, with free brats and hot dogs in front of Mariucci Arena. Chances are the picnic could continue through the game.
  • North Dakota set a school record with five ties last season. Judging by the first two weeks of this season (UND is 1-0-3), the Sioux should break that by November.
  • Anchorage coach Talafous is one for playing well and not worrying too much about the score. It’s funny to say, but he should be happy with one-goal losses to Michigan State and Michigan last weekend in the Johnson Nissan Classic, even though the Seawolves lost a golden opportunity to win in the third period against Michigan.
  • Weeks off can come at the worst time, even this early in the season. Colorado College had to be encouraged by a pair of victories over Minnesota State-Mankato last weekend, but now the Tigers sit for a weekend before traveling to Michigan Tech. “In one sense, it would have been nice to build off that momentum,” CC’s Owens said. “In the other sense, we’re down to five experienced defensemen already. We’re a little bit bruised up this weekend, so I think it’s actually more of a positive than anything.” Tigers defenseman Paul Manning hasn’t played a game yet this season, but is expected back for the Tech series.

    On the Docket

    The highlight of this weekend’s schedule is the opening of Denver’s, as the Pioneers’ regular-season debut is against Boston College. DU gets a pretty good opportunity to show if it’ll be able to compete against the nation’s top teams.

    Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks tangle for the first time this season with a home-and-home series. Fairbanks hosts on Friday and Anchorage is the site on Sunday. The Governor’s Cup series will be completed with two more games in March.

    In the conference, North Dakota and Michigan Tech will meet for the 200th time on Saturday.

    • CCHA Column: Oct. 19, 2000

    By
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    A Long Way to Go for a Couple of Goose Eggs

    In a week of CCHA travel and speculation, the most remarkable news was probably this: Alabama-Huntsville 5, Bowling Green 0.

    That’s a weekend total. Huntsville beat BG 3-0 the first night, 2-0 the second. Not only consecutive losses, but back-to-back shutouts.

    Falcon head coach Buddy Powers said that the lack of scoring was “kind of a combination of things.”

    “First,” said Powers, “we didn’t play hard enough to bang in rebounds. Our second effort was lacking.

    “Second, to give him credit, the kid’s a pretty good goalie.”

    “The kid” is Huntsville goaltender Mark Byrnes, who turned away 52 shots on the weekend. BG’s Shawn Timm and Tyler Masters had 25 saves each night, playing Friday and Saturday respectively.

    In reality, the Chargers scored only three times on the Falcons, said Powers, who noted that “one went off the board into the empty net” after a funny bounce off the boards sent the puck right into the cage for one of the goals Friday. On Saturday, the second Charger goal was an empty-netter.

    “It was one thing after another,” said Powers. “When we did make a good play, [Byrne] was in position.”

    It sounds like hockey by Murphy’s Law in Bowling Green. “We’re back to the drawing board this week,” said Powers. “We had umpteen power plays. We had trouble getting it up the ice. When we did get it in, we had trouble moving it around.”

    True to Murphy’s Law, after returning from a trip to the deep south only to be shut out twice, the Falcons host No. 4 Michigan.

    “Obviously,” said Powers, “the emotion will be totally different than what it was than last week.”

    It Seems You Can Get There from Here

    It seems as though Bowling Green traveled a great distance to play a couple of games last weekend. After all, most folks don’t associate hockey with Alabama.

    But just how far did the Falcons fly? Roughly 1,128.6 miles, round trip.

    Sounds like a lot, but it was actually the second-shortest trip in the league last week. The Irish went to Omaha, and traveled 1,094.4 miles all told.

    Other league travelers, all round-trip mileage: Ohio State to Marquette, 1,258.6 (by bus, as my neck will attest); Ferris State to St. Cloud, 1,427; Western Michigan to Fairbanks, 5,662; Michigan State to Anchorage, 5,788; Michigan to Anchorage, 5,886.

    All told, CCHA teams traveled about 22,245 miles.

    Was all that travel worth it? In the two league contests, each visiting team returned home with at least two points. Western Michigan tied Alaska Fairbanks 4-4 and beat the Nanooks 8-5, returning to Kalamazoo with three points and the early lead in the CCHA standings.

    Ohio State split with Northern Michigan, winning 5-3 and losing 5-2. Those two points knot the Buckeyes with the Wildcats for second place after one week of league play.

    All the rest of play was nonconference. So who defended the realm?

    Us vs. Them

    “I think the CCHA is on a down cycle.” Thank you, Rick Comley.

    The Northern Michigan head coach is one of the least pretentious people you can meet, and he’s never one to mince words. This past weekend in Marquette, Comley bravely and undramatically publicly broke with the league’s official company line.

    “If you’re going to compare the four [major] leagues’ strengths, top to bottom,” said Comley, “we’re pretty close to four. People don’t want to hear that. I know we have this battle cry that we’re the best, but I’d be careful about saying that right now.”

    While it may not be what people want to hear, it’s entirely defensible, given the CCHA’s performance out of conference last year. The league went 33-38-3 against nonconference opponents last season, excluding Wayne State, Mercyhurst, Bemidji State, and this week’s hero, Alabama-Huntsville.

    So far this season, it’s Us 8, Them 5, with 7 ties. Given that the reigning Defenders of the Realm, the Ferris State Bulldogs, are 0-1-1 after losing to and then tying No. 10 St. Cloud, 3-1 and 3-3, new candidates for the title include Lake Superior State (3-0-0) and last year’s runner-up, Michigan (2-0-2).

    The Player Makers

    This week, Northern Michigan’s Craig Kowalski becomes the latest CCHA player to be added to an unusual list. Yes, Kowalski became the league’s Rookie of the Week after a win last weekend. More importantly, however, is that the goaltender is the first Player of the Week to earn the honor against the Buckeyes.

    Last year, when Ohio State was suffering through its worst season in a long, long time, no fewer than eight players were named POTW because of accomplishments against the Buckeyes. It all began when Jeff Reynaert and the Western Michigan Broncos swept Ohio State in Columbus, the second and third losses in an OSU losing streak that would eventually reach 11 games.

    Others to earn POTW honors against the ailing Buckeyes included Ryan Miller, Mike Comrie, Dan Ragusett, and Chris Gobert. After Ohio State began to play hockey (early December, 1999), Dan Carlson, Chris McNamara, and Ryan Fultz were also helped to POTW distinction by the Buckeyes.

    Given that Ragusett and Gobert were named Players of the Week when Ohio State lost 4-2 and 4-0 to Northern Michigan in Marquette in mid-November last season, Kowalski’s award may seem like rubbing salt in old wounds, especially since the Buckeyes won soundly 5-3 last Friday night.

    However, the release announcing this week’s award is anything but insulting, and may say at least as much about the Buckeyes as it does about Kowalski’s performance: “Kowalski helped the Wildcats to a split with Ohio State, stopping 25-of-27 shots in his collegiate debut Saturday.” Helped the Wildcats to a split, something that was by no means a sure thing after Jean-Francois Dufour and Dave Steckel each notched a pair of goals Friday, helped by R.J. Umberger (1-2–3 Friday), and after Mike Betz had 26 saves.

    This season, perhaps Player of the Week honors given to Buckeye opponents will mean something, because they will have been earned.

    Games of the Week

    This week, Nebraska Omaha plays two in Munn in a rematch of the CCHA title game.

    Nebraska Omaha (1-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) at No. 6 Michigan State (1-0-1 CCHA)
    Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m., Munn Arena, East Lansing, MI

    Last weekend, the Mavericks hosted the first annual Maverick Stampede, and fell to Boston College 5-1 in the title game after blanking Niagara 4-0 in the first round.

    Four different UNO players notched their first goals of the year against Niagara — Jason White, Jeff Hoggan, Allan Carr, and Shane Glover. Glover had the sole goal in the game against the BC.

    Rodney McLeod and Dan Ellis split time in the Niagara game, while it was all Ellis against BC. Michigan State head coach Ron Mason says of the Mavericks, “I think they’re going to be very difficult. They are a much-improved team. The score with BC is misleading.”

    Mason’s Spartans returned from Alaska with a 5-4 win over Anchorage and a 1-1 tie with Merrimack.

    “I was very happy with the way we played against Alaska,” said Mason. “They’re a good team. I didn’t think we had much jump against Merrimack.”

    The Spartans appear to be one big question mark this season, having lost to the U.S. Developmental team — a game about which Mason said he was happy for his opponents rather than disappointed with his own squad — squeaked by Anchorage, and tied Merrimack, opponents they would have arguably blown away a year ago.

    “We’re still trying to find our team,” said Mason. “We’ve got some good players, but we have yet to come up with the right combinations.”

    Mason said that losing as many All-Americans as the Spartans have in the past few seasons was bound to take its toll on the team sooner or later. “Every time you do that [lose those players], you’ve got to make some adjustments. That doesn’t happen right out of the gate unless you’ve got everyone coming back.”

    In the Anchorage game, Adam Hall, John Nail, and John-Michael Liles each had a goal, while Brian Maloney notched two. Rustyn Dolyny had the Spartan tally in the tie with Merrimack.

    Ryan Miller was in net for both games, saving 19 of 23 against Anchorage, 26 of 27 in the Merrimack game.

    In spite of Miller’s back-to-back starts — and Joe Blackburn‘s shaky performance against the Developmental team — Mason insists that he’s “still looking at a two-goalie system.”

    The Spartans are 6-1-0 all-time against the Mavericks, with the loss coming last season in Munn. When last these two teams met, Michigan State took it to Omaha in the championship game of the CCHA playoffs, 6-0, on March 18.

    Andre Bogle is probable for this series after hurting his knee in the Anchorage game. Joe Goodenow sustained a shoulder injury against UAA and is questionable.

    Picks: A split, since the Spartans are still finding themselves. Perhaps they’d benefit from a couple of Robert Bly books? UNO 3-2, MSU 4-3

    Grudge of the Week

    As I asked repeatedly last season, who doesn’t hold a grudge against the Wolverines?

    No. 4 Michigan (2-0-2, 0-0-0 CCHA) at Bowling Green (0-2-0, 0-0-0 CCHA)
    Friday and Sunday, 7:05 p.m., BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH

    The Falcons and the Wolverines split their four meetings last season, each team 1-1-0 at home. Michigan owns this series 55-29-2; Buddy Powers is 3-18-1 against the Wolverines.

    It’s not unusual for these teams to beat each other up, for one of these teams to run up the score, for one of these teams to be at the bad end of a spanking administered by the other. In the series history, Michigan has outscored Bowling Green 421-351. That’s an average of nearly nine goals scored between the two teams per game.

    Some of the more memorable high-scoring games include a 12-1 drubbing by the Wolverines in Yost (Feb. 20, 1993), and a 9-8 BG overtime home win Jan. 13, 1990.

    Last season, the largest margin of victory was the Falcons’ win at Yost by a score of 6-3 on March 4.

    Prior to Bowling Green’s 4-2 home win on Dec. 3, 1999, the Wolverines had defeated the Falcons in 10 straight games, going back to November 1997.

    Picks: After suffering consecutive shutouts, the Falcons should be humiliated enough to get up for this series. That may not, however, change the outcome. Michigan 5-4, 5-2

    Picky, Picky

    Last week, my esteemed colleagues in the ECAC, Becky Blaeser and Jayson Moy, predicted that they would win the “picks” contest in which we lunatics known as USCHO Conference Correspondents engage.

    Blaeser and Moy — and can you guess who, in that duo, was responsible for the correct picks last season? — said that they’re basing their prediction on reverse order of how all of us finished last year.

    They picked me second. Meaning, I was second from the cellar last year.

    As most of you know, until this season, any game that resulted in a tie was counted as a loss in my picks record. In this tie-happy league, you can imagine how that affected my percentage.

    This year, after my esteemed colleague to the west, Todd D. Milewski, groused that his stellar picks record of last week would be blemished if he ate the 3-3 St. Cloud/Ferris State tie, the Conference Correspondents all decided that we’ll count ties as ties.

    Through years of suffering, I got nothing. Nada. Not one bone. Now, the baby among us (unless newcomer Natasha J. Parker holds that distinction) cries once and suddenly ties are ties.

    Well. Mom always did like Todd best.

    Ganga Watch

    Some of you may recall that Ohio State’s Nick Ganga promised 50 or fewer penalty minutes this season, which would be a reduction of 52 from last year.

    Ganga had two penalties for four minutes in Marquette. That’s a cushion of 46 minutes in the remaining regular-season games.

    For what it’s worth, I think he’ll keep his word.

    Travels with Paula

    Some things I learned on the road last weekend.

    Marquette is beautiful. Flanagan’s has karaoke three nights per week. Casa Calabria has the best bread I’ve ever eaten. The Berry Events Center is a gorgeous hockey rink. Rick Comley has a great office. The Puckheads are scary. One Puckhead in particular has an alarmingly hairy back. I am sexy. The Buckeyes are genuinely nice kids. Scott May snores more loudly than I do. Buses are bad places to sleep.

    Thanks to everyone in Marquette for the hospitality (especially the Puckheads, who are actually very good folks), and thank you, Buckeyes, for the ride and your time.

    Norwich Tops East Preseason Poll

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    The East Ice Hockey League coaches have selected 2000 NCAA Division III ice hockey champion Norwich as the league favorite in the 2000-01 preseason coaches’ poll.

    Norwich, which swept the conference regular-season and tournament titles on its way to claiming the NCAA crown a year ago, amassed 55 points, including six first-place votes. The Cadets posted a 16-0-1 conference mark in 1999-00. Norwich defeated St. Thomas (Minnesota), 2-1, March 18 to win its first national title.

    Salem State, which finished runner-up to Norwich in both the regular-season standings and the conference tournament, earned the second slot in the poll with 51 points. The Vikings received two first-place votes.

    New England College (41 points), Mass.-Boston (34) and Southern Maine (29) rounded out the top five. Mass.-Boston begins the campaign under the guidance of new head coach Joe Mallen.

    The poll was based on an eight-point system (i.e., eight for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team.

    2000-01 East Ice Hockey Coaches’ Poll

    1. Norwich (6)          55
    2. Salem State (2)      51
    3. New England College  41
    4. UMass-Boston         34
    5. Southern Maine       29
    6. Babson               28
       St. Anselm           28
    8. Mass. College        11
       Skidmore             11

    ECAC Column: Oct. 19, 2000

    By Jayson Moy and Becky Blaeser
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    It’s Good To Be Back

    After more than a year and a half of dormancy, the secret is finally out. The Vermont Catamounts can still play a pretty decent game of hockey. Whether it was the emotion of the Catamount faithful, the pent-up energy of the young players or simply the excitement of being out on the ice again, the Vermont players hit the rink last weekend in Gutterson Fieldhouse with something to prove.

    With most people not really knowing to expect, the Catamounts gave New Hampshire all it could handle last Saturday night. Despite breaking out to a 4-2 lead midway through the third period, Vermont could not hang on and eventually fell to UNH, 5-4 in overtime.

    “It would have been a great storybook type of night to knock off a team like that, but we’ve got big games ahead,” said Vermont head coach Mike Gilligan, whose team faces Boston University this Saturday night. “We’ve only been skating for a couple of weeks and it was our first game. So I think they had some jitters and the puck wasn’t moving that well.”

    As expected, Vermont came out of the gates tentatively and found itself behind after just 1:50 of play. Seconds after that first UNH goal, Vermont dodged what could have been a demoralizing blow. David Busch stormed down the ice all alone on goaltender Andrew Allen and lifted a sure goal over the net. What could have been a 2-0 lead for New Hampshire soon turned into a 1-1 game when J.F. Gamelin slipped a shot past Ty Conklin for the early equalizer. Despite shaky legs in the remaining portion of that first period in which UNH outshot Vermont by a 14-6 margin, the Catamounts clung to the 1-1 tie. That set the stage for a second period in which Vermont found its rhythm and broke out to a 3-1 lead after just nine minutes.

    “We played very well in the second period, especially,” said Gilligan. “We bumped them, we slowed them down and I thought it might have been enough to pull it off. But [UNH] is a team that came back with five unanswered goals in the third against Colgate, so we knew that they might not be finished.”

    Although Vermont stumbled in the end, Gilligan was able to evaluate his team in a real game situation for the first time in over a year.

    That may prove to be much more valuable than any one “W”.

    “We played hard all night, but I didn’t think we had our real legs in the third period,” said Gilligan. “It looked like we tired with seven or eight minutes to go on the clock. I’m pretty happy with the freshmen. I’m not too happy with some of the older guys.”

    One of the freshmen who made an impact in his first collegiate contest was Jeff Miles, who skated strong all night and netted Vermont’s fourth and final goal. Sophomore Gamelin, playing in only his 14th collegiate game, and senior Jean-Francois Caudron provided an offensive punch as well as the two combined for three points.

    “We made some bad decisions with the puck. We didn’t dump it deep enough when we got to their blue line,” said Gilligan. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot. It wasn’t that [UNH] took the game from us. It was that we gave it up.”

    With the anticipation and anxiety over the first game out of the way, the Vermont players were able to walk away from Gutterson with mixed emotions — a little bit of excitement and whole lot of relief. For head coach Gilligan, it’s more about the thrill of the game. Judging by his focused demeanor after the UNH game, he hasn’t missed a step.

    “It was an A-1 effort, but we’ve got to learn to think out there, too,” said Gilligan. “You can’t just run around. You’ve got to think.”

    Passing The First Test

    With nine new faces, the Rensselaer Engineers passed the first test of the season. The Engineers went into Walter Brown Arena and upset Boston University, 5-4.

    The Engineers never trailed in the game and got superb efforts from sophomore center Marc Cavosie and freshman goaltender Nathan Marsters. The two were named ECAC Player and Rookie of the Week respectively.

    Cavosie turned the hat trick with a power-play goal, a shorthander and an even-strength marker. He also added an assist for a four-point evening. His goal to finish the hat trick gave the Engineers the 5-4 lead after the Terriers had stormed back to tie the game at four.

    “When I’m out there I try not to really think. I saw an opening and I spun,” he said about his third. “This summer I really worked hard. I’m a lot stronger, and my shot’s a lot harder.”

    The young Engineers dressed seven freshmen and saw dividends as freshmen defenseman Scott Basiuk scored and goaltender Nathan Marsters made 32 saves in his Cherry and White debut.

    “I guess it was in the back of everybody’s mind — how the goalie’s going to play being that we’ve never really seen him play before,” said Cavosie. “But he was excellent. He surprised me, actually. He made some huge saves on breakaways, on two-on-ones. He gave the team a little lift, got our heads out of our a**es and got us going, and we built on that.”

    The effort vaulted the Engineers into the USCHO.com Top 15 this week at number 11, after placing 19th in the preseason poll two weeks ago.

    “I think it’s just one of those things that as a team we want to be competitive,” said head coach Dan Fridgen. “There’s a process to get to the tradition that we’ve carried, a tradition such as BU has. And I think to beat them on their home ice is something we can use as confidence into our play, but I think there’s a lot of areas where we still have to get better. I think it’s a stepping stone in the process: In no way does this make a season. We’re keeping things in perspective.”

    The Engineers will travel to face UMass-Lowell on Friday evening. Two years ago, the Engineers defeated BU to open the season and lost the next weekend at UMass-Lowell, 8-4.

    Can I Have A Re-Test?

    Neither St. Lawrence nor Clarkson could earn a win opening weekend.

    The Saints lost to Northeastern, 4-3, and Clarkson lost to Miami, 4-1, and then came back the next night to tie the RedHawks, 4-4.

    “We competed extremely hard,” said Clarkson head coach Mark Morris. “We made some mistakes, but by and large, we showed a lot of character. I thought we played exceptionally well in the early going on Friday, but we were very, very undisciplined and not sharp around our own crease. We believe we are a very green team at this point of the season and we want to build upon this weekend.

    “Saturday’s game was a positive sign for us that we are headed in the right direction. We are making a more concerted effort to follow our game plan.”

    “We were outplayed by Northeastern in every area of the game with the exception of goaltending,” said Saint head coach Joe Marsh. “Jeremy Symington did a great job for us in the goal, and that made the score somewhat misleading.

    “We obviously have a lot of work to do and we need a lot more spark if we are to be successful.”

    The Saints will take part in the Black Bear Hockey Classic, where a potential matchup with Maine looms in the championship game, while the Golden Knights host Mercyhurst to open their season at home.

    Ten Years

    Union begins its tenth season at the Division I level this weekend with a game at home against Army. “There is a new sense of pride here,” junior goaltender Brandon Snee said. “Everyone wants to prove that Union is a contender at the Division I level.”

    The Dutchmen came close to a huge upset in last year’s playoffs, losing to St. Lawrence in the quarterfinals. The Dutchmen gave the Saints a run for the money then, and they are hoping to work on that by claiming a second consecutive playoff bid, something that has only happened once in the nine years of the Union program at the Division I level.

    “I’m hoping we can improve as a program,” said head coach Kevin Sneddon. “We got a little taste of playoff hockey last season; our players will use that experience and be in the mix in March, and maybe experience Lake Placid this season.”

    Thanks to Dave Hendrickson and Scott Weighart for their contributions.

    Middlebury Tops NESCAC Poll

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Middlebury, which captured the first NESCAC men’s championship last year, is the coaches’ preseason favorite to win the 2000-2001 conference title. Middlebury edged Williams 3-2 in overtime in last year’s NESCAC championship game.

    The Panthers garnered four first-place and four second-place votes to finish with 60 points in the preseason poll. Three other teams received first-place votes, including Williams, the coaches’ choice to place second this season, finishing with 56 points in the poll.

    Hamilton (45 points), Colby (43), and Amherst (39) rounded out the top five. Hamilton received one first-place vote, and Amherst received two first-place votes.

    The poll was based on an eight-point system (i.e., eight for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team.

    2000-01 NESCAC Men’s Ice Hockey Coaches’ Poll

    1. Middlebury (4)  60
    2. Williams (2)    56
    3. Hamilton (1)    45
    4. Colby           43
    5. Amherst (2)     39
    6. Bowdoin         34
    7. Trinity         21
    8. Wesleyan        17
    9. Conn. College    9

    Dustup In D-III

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    The quest for the national championship begins anew on October 20 as the first Division III games of the season get underway.

    This looks to be the most wide-open race in years, with as many as a dozen teams having a serious chance of raising the hardware on March 17, 2001.

    Will the luck of the Irish stay with defending champion Norwich, which hasn’t lost in the year 2000? Or will Middlebury reclaim the title it held for five years previous to last season? Or is it the team on the other side of Lake Champlain, the Cardinals of Plattsburgh State, that will rule?

    What about out west? The NCHA looks to rebound from last year’s disappointment of sending just one team to the national tournament, while St. Thomas must go on without Steve Aronson, who rewrote the MIAC record book.

    Who will be standing when the dust clears?

    Don’t count on the USCHO.com preseason poll to clear things up.

    Consider the following:

  • Plattsburgh, with seven first-place votes, was selected number one by a single point, the smallest margin ever for our preseason poll.

  • Wisconsin-Stevens Point received just one first-place vote, but still finished second in the voting (by a single point).

  • Norwich got six first-place votes, but came in third by a wide margin. Some voters apparently left the Cadets off their ballots entirely.

  • A whopping 18 teams were mentioned by the voters.

    • At Norwich, head coach Mike McShane understands the difficulty of the challenge ahead. “We lost so much, we almost have a new team,” he said.

    McShane

    McShane

    The Cadets lost nine players from last year’s 29-2-1 team that went 22-0-1 in calender year 2000 to capture its first national title. Four of the Cadets’ top five scorers have moved on.

    “There are 15 new guys — 13 freshmen and a couple of transfers. Not all of them will make the team,” said McShane. “I’ll know more when I get a better look at what they can do.”

    One thing he is sure about is that his team will have to battle even harder to succeed, especially in its own conference, where the Cadets strolled to the regular-season title in 1999-2000 but faced some real challenges in the playoffs.

    “Our league will be a lot better. Many teams, including us, finished strong and look to carry that into this season.”

    Most leagues will be on the upswing in 2000-2001. Expect the NCHA to be better, as most teams retained their top players. The ECAC Northeast will be improved as the autobid to the national tournament brings in more talented skaters. The SUNYAC traditional powers will be as good as last season, if not better. The NESCAC has at least four teams capable of winning a national title, and the MCHA will continue to improve.

    Conversely, things may be down a bit in the ECAC West and MIAC, as some top players have moved on. But that only means that things will be more up in the air than ever, leading to some exciting hockey down the stretch.

    In short, the title is up for grabs.

    Fasten your seat belts!

    Of Prices Paid and New Beginnings

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    Four hours before the game, the tailgaters had already moved into position. Burgers, dogs and sausages sizzled on the grills, sending off aromas that kicked the salivary glands into overdrive.

    Indian summer had relegated the dark green logo sweatshirts to the back seat; for now, T-shirts with University of Vermont printed in green letters across the front were in vogue. With the surrounding countryside a pastoral sea of yellow, orange, red and every hue in between — it was peak foliage season — the dominant color in the parking lot outside Gutterson Fieldhouse was unquestionably green. Not just any green: UVM — as in Universitas Viridis Montis, Latin for University of the Green Mountains — green.

    Hockey was back at the University of Vermont and it was none too soon.

    Nine months earlier, the school had cancelled the remainder of its 1999-2000 season as a hazing scandal mushroomed out of control. Talk of power-play percentages, impact freshmen and storied rivalries turned to topics of a cruder and more embarrassing variety: the “elephant walk,” in which the freshmen walked naked while holding on to one another’s genitals; the similarly unclothed “olive run,” involving carrying olives between their buttocks; unfulfilled threats of having to have sex with sheep; freshmen doing pushups while dipping their genitals into beer and then drinking it. The sordid list went on and on.

    Media outlets that wouldn’t have known the ECAC from the CCHA, nor coach Mike Gilligan from Gilligan and the Skipper, descended on Burlington, Vermont, suddenly interested in college hockey.

    The story went from the frying pan into the fire when the Office of the Attorney General investigated and it became apparent that the players had lied during the school’s initial inquiry. On January 14, University of Vermont President Judith Ramaley cancelled the remainder of the season because of the cover-up.

    For the team’s legion of hardcore fans, it was the final indignity and the toughest one to swallow. An entire semester of games had been stolen away from them. They would have to go 280 days from the final contest of the bitter 1999-2000 season — a 4-4 tie with Rensselaer on Jan. 8 — until the rebirth of Catamount hockey on this summer-like October day.

    “It was like withdrawal,” said Dale McCuin, standing outside Gutterson Fieldhouse with her husband, Gordie, and another UVM veteran, Kevin Holmes. “It was bad.”

    The trio typified Catamount fandom at its most ardent. The McCuins had been attending Vermont games for 24 years.

    “I worked 12-hour shifts at night at IBM and I’d take half a night [off] and come and stand in line at three in the morning for tickets,” said Dale. “And you know what? There were people at three o’clock in the morning already ahead of me.”

    Holmes, who could boast that he’d “been here since they had the wire mesh [around the rink] and played in Division II,” described a typical tag-team approach to waiting in line for tickets.

    “People would do it in two- and three-hour shifts,” he said. “They’d stand out in the cold and then one of their buddies would come and take their spot while they’d go and get coffee and eats.”

    Now, as season-ticket holders, the trio’s days of waiting in line at three in the morning were over. Even so, they gathered outside Gutterson two hours before game time to wait in anticipation and talk about UVM hockey.

    “A bunch of years ago we came to opening night and there were two kids, number 10 and number 8,” said Gordie McCuin. “They were skating around the ice and I said, ‘Dale, watch those two kids there. They’re some good hockey players.'”

    Of course, number 10 and number 8 were the incomparable Eric Perrin and Martin St. Louis, who played for Vermont from 1993-97. Called by some The French Connection — because they were from Quebec — and by others The Elves — because they were small, wore green and performed magic — St. Louis and Perrin not only set every Vermont scoring record, but may well have gone into the history books as the top twosome ever to play college hockey.

    “I’m proud of my call that night,” said Gordie with a big grin on his face. He glanced at his wife. “And I never let her forget it.”

    “He doesn’t!” said Dale, laughing. “I can’t believe he waited [six minutes] to mention it.”

    Talk turned to Johnny. No last name was necessary. Johnny has become a much more prolific NHL scorer than he was at UVM; explanations were swapped. Comparisons of Johnny to Eric Lindros — favorable almost to the point of good vs. evil — were made.

    Johnny. Use of a last name would be redundant. Even a freshman from out of state should know that Johnny is John LeClair (1987-91). There are, after all, prominently displayed photographs of him holding the Stanley Cup outside of Gutterson Fieldhouse.

    “John is a Vermonter,” said Gordie. “He plays every night. He’s got the work ethic and he’s an exceptional hockey player.”

    Not all of the Catamount fans outside Gutterson could reminisce like the McCuins and Holmes about the LeClair years or even those of the Elves. More than a few freshmen stood in line to get the last remaining tickets that would go on sale an hour before game time, hoping to see their first UVM contest.

    But almost every fan shared the veteran trio’s opinion that the cancellation of the season last year was extreme. Too extreme.

    “I think they should have booted the people involved and kept the season going with walk-ons if they had to,” said John Gadhue, awaiting his sixth Gutterson season opener.

    “There’s not a lot to do up here in the winter if you don’t ski,” explained Gadhue’s friend, Kevin Moss. After a pause, he added with a laugh, “There’s not a lot to do up here in the winter even if you do ski.

    “This has always been the place to go on Friday and Saturday nights.”

    Holding a distinctly minority opinion was Jason Allen, a local who had also been to five or so season openers.

    “They deserved to have that year taken away from them for what they did,” he said. “It was an embarrassment.”

    There was no dissension outside the fieldhouse, however, on whether the penalty had been paid in full or not.

    “The guys screwed up and they paid the price,” said Holmes. “It was tough on everybody. It was tough on the kids. It was tough on the fans. It was tough on the whole university. It brought a lot of bad attention to us.

    “But it’s all done. They all felt bad about it. We all felt bad about it. It’s over. It’s all done with. They paid their price and now we’re going to have a good season. We’re going to do some hockey.

    “We still love UVM hockey. We loved UVM hockey last year. We love the kids.

    “Oh, I couldn’t wait for tonight. I can’t wait.”

    “They learned some lessons,” said Dale McCuin. “We’re here to support them.”

    “It’s another year,” added Gordie McCuin softly, a smile on his face. “We’re back.”

    Halfway across the parking lot from the McCuins and Holmes, Gadhue perhaps said it best.

    “UVM hockey is the whole community,” he said. “Starting tonight, the community is going to fall in love with these guys all over again. It’s all forgotten. I think everybody is just going to go nuts.”

    And go nuts they did. When the Catamounts took the ice, the standing ovation was loud and heartfelt. Only the entrance of the rival University of New Hampshire Wildcats cut it short.

    “If we couldn’t get up for this game, it would be tough to get up for any game,” said assistant captain Mike Torney.

    As it turned out, for 50 minutes the Catamounts gave their fans a lot to go nuts over. UVM led 3-1 in the second period and 4-2 with 10 minutes left in the game. Perhaps it was a bad omen, though, when a New Hampshire resident won the Friends of UVM Hockey 50-50 Raffle worth over $900, announced to a chorus of boos.

    Unfortunately for the Gutterson faithful, ninth-ranked UNH came back to tie the game in regulation and win it in overtime, 5-4.

    “It would have been a great storybook type of night to knock off a team like that,” said Gilligan. “But we’ve got big games ahead.”

    “[The fans] were tremendous,” said Torney. “I hope we gave them a good show. Next time we’re going to get a ‘W’ for them.”

    After the trials and tribulations of last year, the Gutterson faithful — faithful when acting otherwise could have been forgiven — will have earned it.

    Maine Loses Shields for the Season

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Maine freshman Colin Shields has been declared ineligible for the season as a result of a standard eligibility check by the school’s compliance office.

    While playing in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) last year, Shields briefly took full-time course work at a junior college. This rendered him a transfer student under NCAA rules and therefore subject to a one-year waiting period.

    A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Shields was expected to be the Black Bears’ top freshman after leading the NAHL in scoring. He remains enrolled at Maine and continues to practice with the team. He will become eligible at the start of next season.

    “It’s tough to lose a kid of that caliber,” said Maine interim head coach Gene Reilly. “But this is hockey — you move on.”

    USCHO arena reporter Jim Leonard contributed to this story.

    Dartmouth to Host ECAC Women’s Championships

    USCHO Staff Report
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    Dartmouth College has been named the host of the 2001 ECAC Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Championship, to be held March 17-18. Dartmouth was selected by the ECAC Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Executive Committee.

    This is the first time Dartmouth will be hosting the Championship. Brown hosted the first-ever championships in 1994, then again in 1995, 1999 and 2000. New Hampshire played host in 1996, while Northeastern hosted in 1997 and 1998.

    Brown defeated Dartmouth 6-3 in last year’s ECAC Championship game. This season’s semifinals will be played on Saturday, March 17 and the championship game will be played on Sunday, March 18. Game times and ticket information will be announced at a later date.

    A total of eight teams qualify for the ECAC playoffs. The one-game quarterfinals will be played on either March 9, 10 or 12, as determined by the host school.

    Middlebury Tops ECAC-III Poll

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    The ECAC Division III coaches selected last year’s national champion, Middlebury, as the league favorite in the 2000-01 preseason coaches’ poll.

    Middlebury earned 323 total points and received 17 first-place votes.

    Middlebury enters the 2000-01 season having won 89 straight ECAC league games. The Panthers swept the regular season last year going a perfect 17-0 in ECAC league play and defeated Colgate 5-1 in the ECAC Division III Championship.

    Colgate was selected second by the coaches, garnering 282 points and one first-place vote. The Red Raiders finished last year with a mark of 16-1.

    Williams, Vermont and Bowdoin round out the top five.

    Manhattanville received the remaining first-place vote and finished sixth in the poll with 227 points.

    Middlebury defeated Augsburg in two straight games, 5-1 and 8-1, to claim the American Women’s Collegiate Hockey Association Division III Championship held at Northeastern last March.

    The 2000-01 Division III season opens the weekend of November 10-12.

    2000-01 ECAC Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Coaches’ Poll

     1. Middlebury (17)       323
     2. Colgate (1)           282
     3. Williams              252
     4. Vermont               248
     5. Bowdoin               241
     6. Manhattanville (1)    227
     7. Rensselaer            215
     8. Colby                 207
     9. RIT                   200
    10. Sacred Heart          179
    11. So. Maine             164
    12. Hamilton              138
    13. Amherst               133
    14. Wesleyan              116
    15. Union                 101
    16. Conn. College          85
    17. Trinity                57
    18. Holy Cross             36
    19. MIT                    28

    Wentworth, St. Michael’s Favorites in Northeast

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    Wentworth and St. Michael’s are the teams to beat in the Northeast Ice Hockey League according to league coaches.

    The Leopards, who posted an 11-1-1 conference mark in 1999-00, garnered 10 first-place votes and totaled 154 points from the Division III Northeast coaches.

    The Ice Knights received six points from the Division II head coaches to top the four Division II programs.

    Fitchburg State, runner-up to Wentworth in the regular-season standings and conference tournament a year ago, shared the No. 2 slot in the Division III poll with Lebanon Valley. Each team received one first-place vote and 133 points.

    UMass-Dartmouth (128 points) and Tufts (115) garnered the Nos. 4 and 5 spots, respectively.

    New Hampshire College and Assumption shared the second spot among Division II programs. Each team received five points.

    The Northeast League, which comprises 18 teams, breaks out its standings into Divisions II and III teams. While all league games count in the standings, separate standings are kept for Divisions II and III. The winner of the Division III Northeast tournament receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III championship; the four Division II teams are seeded for an ECAC postseason tournament, which includes St. Anselm from the ECAC East Ice Hockey League.

    2000-01 Northeast Coaches’ Polls

    Division III

     1. Wentworth (10)      154
     2. Fitchburg State (1) 133
        Lebanon Valley (1)  133
     4. UMass-Dartmouth     128
     5. Tufts               115
     6. Johnson & Wales     100
     7. Plymouth State       93
     8. Salve Regina         79
     9. Framingham State     57
        Western New England  57
    11. Worcester State      52
    12. Curry                36
    13. Suffolk              34
    14. Nichols              13

    Division II

    1. St. Michael's (2)       6
    2. New Hampshire Col. (1)  5
       Assumption              5
    4. Stonehill               2

    Mankato Suspends Three For Violations

    USCHO Staff Report
    -

    On Thursday, one day before his debut as head coach, Minnesota State-Mankato’s Troy Jutting announced the suspensions of three players for violating unspecified team rules.

    Sophomore Jerry Cunningham and seniors T.J. Guidarelli and Ryan Severson — all forwards — will sit out the first six games of the season, a span that includes series at Colorado College, at defending WCHA regular-season champion Wisconsin and at home against defending national champion North Dakota.

    “There are certain responsibilities we all have in life,” Jutting said in a statement released by the school. “In this particular instance, these young men made an unfortunate decision. We are coaches, but first and foremost we are educators, and as such we have a responsibility to ensure that our student-athletes learn from these decisions and grow as individuals.”

    Guidarelli is the top returning scorer from last year’s team, which finished fourth in the WCHA and made a trip to the league’s Final Five. Cunningham scored 15 points as a freshman, while Severson had seven goals and an assist.

    CCHA Column: Oct. 12, 2000

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    Travels with CCHArlie

    There’s nothing like a little motion, a little kinetic energy, to get a party started. Someone puts on Lenny Kravitz; people dance. The carny pulls a lever; people spin.

    Someone drops a puck, and the elaborately choreographed passion play known as college hockey begins.

    Given the way in which the 2000-01 CCHA season starts, I’d say the karma quotient of the whole planet is just about to rise.

    In a league as geographically far-flung as the CCHA, it’s not unusual for teams to travel some distance on any given weekend. But even by CCHA standards, this weekend is a bit out of the ordinary.

    Three teams are in Alaska. The Broncos take on the Nanooks in Fairbanks in one of two league series scheduled this week. Michigan and Michigan State are in Anchorage for tournament play.

    In the other conference series, the Buckeyes travel to Marquette to meet the Wildcats.

    But that isn’t all. Ferris State travels to St. Cloud State. Notre Dame heads to Omaha for the Maverick Stampede.

    And — best of all — Bowling Green flies down to Alabama for two in Huntsville.

    You want to know the total mileage? So do I. In fact, I did have roughly half figured out, and this coveted number now sits on my desk in Columbus, right next to a great interview with Dave Poulin, who talked about the strength of the early Notre Dame schedule, the improvements his Irish need to make after a 7-3 loss to Minnesota, and his thoughts on this trip.

    Where am I? Gaylord, Michigan, in a room that is designated “smoking,” in a hotel whose name I can’t recall, at 3:18 a.m., fresh off the Ohio State team bus.

    Why don’t I hop on the Internet and do a little research? Excellent question. The video driver on my laptop isn’t feeling up to the task. It crashes 30 seconds into both Netscape and Explorer, blurring the screen and forcing me to reboot.

    I can, however, tell you that American Beauty is an excellent film, while Deuce Bigalow is mildly amusing, and some boxing movie whose title I do not recall nearly put me to sleep, for which I would have been grateful had it been successful.

    I can also tell you that Gaylord is home to the Call of the Wild Museum, Gift Shop, and “Fun Park,” the Jimmy Jukebox Family Center, several pizza places and family restaurants, and approximately 5,016 golf courses.

    I can also tell you a little bit about what Buddy Powers thinks of last week’s Falcon exhibition win over York University.

    You want numbers? After this weekend’s action, next week’s column will be chock-full of them.

    Good News For Falcon Hockey

    “Our freshmen played very well in the game,” says Powers. That’s very good news for the Falcons, since there are nine rookies on the Bowling Green squad.

    The Falcons beat York 8-4 in a penalty-filled game that gave Powers the chance to see his specialty teams in action. While he’s not hoping for countless whistles when the Falcons take on Alabama-Huntsville this weekend, he is eager for the chance to once again get a good look at his players in a variety of situations.

    In this season of uncertainty, when you can almost determine the finishing order of roughly nine teams in the league by drawing their names from a hat, the most interesting games scheduled may be those between Western Michigan and Alaska-Fairbanks.

    “Obviously, we want to see if we can’t get a couple of victories that count [this weekend], but more so we play all four lines in every situation. I’ll probably do that again this weekend; whatever line is up goes out on the power play. We’ve got a lot of open spots.”

    Those open spots include the net. Powers says that both Tyler Masters and Shawn Timm looked good against York. Timm stayed in Bowling Green all summer to condition.

    “I feel pretty good about that [situation in goal]. That’s one of our strong points this season.”

    Some bad news for Falcon fans. Ryan Murphy joins Doug Schueller on the DL after “running into a rookie” at practice last week. Murphy separated his shoulder and is expected to miss a few weeks.

    Games of the Week

    In this season of uncertainty, when you can almost determine the finishing order of roughly nine teams in the league by drawing their names from a hat, the most interesting games scheduled may be those between Western Michigan and Alaska-Fairbanks.

    Like most of the media and coaches, I’ve picked both of these teams to sit out the postseason. But predictions have a funny way of going awry, and determined teams have ways of proving pundits wrong.

    And there are always a few surprises in the CCHA.

    Western Michigan (0-0-0) at Alaska Fairbanks (0-0-0)
    Friday and Saturday, 11:05 p.m. EDT, Carlson Center, Fairbanks, AK

    This match is interesting for all kinds of reasons:

  • The Nanooks may play as many as 10 rookies.
  • The Nanooks have yet to play a game.
  • The Broncos have two exhibition wins under their belts.
  • The Broncos have to travel three-quarters of the distance of a continent, and then play on Olympic ice.
  • The Broncos have Dave Gove and Steve Rymsha.
  • The Broncos also have Jeff Reynaert.
  • The Nanooks have Lance Mayes.

    • These two teams split a pair of one-goal games last season in Kalamazoo, each by the score of 3-2.

    If there are to be any surprises in the league this season, the biggest of them will likely come from the bottom. The Nanooks may have won just four games last season, but a dozen of their losses were by one goal.

    The Broncos also lost a large number of one-goal games, but many of those were higher scoring all the way around, and some of their losses were whoppers, including 9-3 and 7-2 losses to Michigan, a 7-3 loss to Lake Superior, and a 7-0 loss to Ferris State — all in the second half of the season.

    Once again, the battle for 10th place in the CCHA may be as compelling as the fight for first, especially now that the league has just one automatic NCAA bid, and that goes to the winner of the tournament, not the regular season. For teams in the lower tier, capturing 10th place will almost be like Charlie winning his ticket into the Chocolate Factory; four points in Fairbanks this weekend may just extend either team’s season by at least two games.

    Picks: How long has it been since the Nanooks have swept a conference opponent at home — or anywhere, for that matter? UAF 3-2, 3-1

    Grudge of the Week — Well, Maybe

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

    In hockey, “history” can sometimes mean “issues.” For example, the Spartans and Wolverines share some history. So do the Lakers and Wildcats.

    The Wildcats also wax nostalgic with the Buckeyes, who travel to Marquette for the second consecutive season for a two-game series. Last year, Chris Gobert ran up his stats by notching five goals against the Bucks, who were famous for making Players of the Week out of many opponents. Gobert would go on to become the CCHA’s Rookie of the Year, the Wildcats would eventually bow out in the post-season against the upstart Mavericks, and Ohio State would join Alaska Fairbanks in hitting the links early.

    This history that inspired the Wildcat chant, “Ohowihateohiostate!” would be perfect for this week’s Grudge of the Week one key ingredient weren’t in short supply.

    History.

    With 10 or more rookies on each roster, the collective memories on each side are a bit diminished. True, the veteran Buckeyes will remember Gobert and his five goals, and junior and seniors on the Ohio State squad will recall having lost the last three in a row to the Wildcats by a collective score of 15-4, and seniors on the Wildcat squad may remember the Bucks’ five-game win streak against Northern from November 1997 through February 1999, but much of the shared history between these two specific squads has yet to be written.

    Last weekend, Northern tied Michigan Tech 3-3 on the road in overtime, which may be either an ominous sign for the young Wildcat squad or a ray of hope for the Huskies. Ohio State manhandled Wilfred Laurier in exhibition play in Columbus, winning 5-1, outshooting the Golden Hawks 52-19.

    Of course, these numbers — the only ones I have this week, actually — may add up to exactly nothing.

    Dan Ragusett and Craig Kowalski will likely split time in the Wildcat net; on the other end of the Olympic ice, Pete Wishloff and Mike Betz will share the Buckeye cage.

    Picks: Rookies against rookies, two hard-working squads battling it out…this is a great ticket. Northern has the edge in net as well as the home-ice advantage, but don’t be surprised if the Buckeyes take home some points after these two games. NMU 5-4, 4-3

    MAAC Column: Oct. 12, 2000

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    Okay, folks. Was it me, or did it seem like hockey season would never get here? I know that the time between April 8 and today may not look long on a calendar, but let’s just drop the puck before I get hysterical.

    And I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. At the MAAC’s media day last week, every single coach seemed to be saying, “Thank God! Hockey season is back!”

    Then again, maybe that wasn’t because their offseason was too long. Maybe, just maybe, these folks want to get this season going a little quicker than usual. Could the newly-minted pot of gold at the end of the rainbow be a reason?

    There’s no doubt in my mind that all 11 MAAC coaches have a little more bounce in their step because of the NCAA automatic qualifier granted to the conference this year.

    As Jason Patton, play-by-play announcer for the MAAC Game of the Week said, this is the beginning of the “Road to Grand Rapids” for the MAAC. (For all of you hockey pundits left scratching your head, Grand Rapids is the site for this year’s NCAA West Regional, and almost definitely where the MAAC representative will end up.) And that road, as long as it may seem for some clubs, begins this Friday night at Iona College.

    Last year’s MAAC runner-up, Iona, will open up its schedule, as well as the MAAC schedule, against Quinnipiac. The game will be a repeat of last year’s MAAC semifinal that saw Quinnipiac fall early in upset fashion for the second year in a row.

    The Quinnipiac-Iona series may be the only one on the MAAC docket this weekend, but there’s plenty of exciting non-league action.

    Defending tourney champion UConn, coming off arguably one of the best postseason runs in college hockey history, will travel to UMass-Lowell on Friday night. Lowell is coming off of one of the toughest years in school history — a last-place finish in Hockey East, often regarded as college hockey’s most competitive conference.

    Lowell didn’t have a friendly open to this year’s campaign either, losing a 4-3 exhibition decision to Ottawa last Saturday night. That may have the Huskies licking their chops for the upset, especially in light of the last game these two teams played.

    It was last Thanksgiving that Lowell and UConn faced off in the City of Lights tournament, hosted by Lowell. The River Hawks were reeling entering that game too, having extreme difficulty putting the puck in the net. But UConn was the victim of the revitalization of the Lowell offense, as the Hawks buried 13 goals en route to a 13-1 victory.

    This year, I wouldn’t expect anywhere near as poor an effort from UConn. Though they may be a bit depleted, UConn does have a little more experience handling teams like Lowell this season. And throughout the year, that experience will increase. The Huskies will play non-league games Merrimack College, UMass-Amherst, Air Force and Union before the season’s end.

    UConn is not the only school with an important non-league game this weekend. The Sacred Heart Pioneers, one of last year’s biggest surprises, will travel to upstate New York with a more unenviable task to face than UConn. The Pioneers will take on ECAC powerhouse and qualifier from last year’s NCAA tournament Colgate to open the slate.

    Unlike the Huskies, Saturday’s game against Colgate will not be the first time the Pioneer players lay a body check on someone other than a teammate. Sacred Heart was fortunate to pick up an exhibition game last Saturday night against St. Nick’s, although realistically the 7-0 win that evening probably doesn’t mean much other than the fact that SHU will not have to walk into Colgate cold.

    Sacred Heart coach Shaun Hannah, last year’s MAAC Coach of the Year, is no stranger to Colgate’s Starr Rink. Hannah made many trips there in his playing days at Cornell. So when the bus pulls into Hamilton, N.Y., on Saturday, at least Hannah will know where the entrance is.

    In case you were wondering where Colgate stacks up against the rest of the country, the Red Raiders answered you last weekend. Playing host Michigan in the Ice Breaker tournament, the Red Raiders managed a 2-2 tie before beating the Wolverines in a shootout to advance to the finals. Colgate did eventually fall, 7-3, the New Hampshire in the title tilt.

    And last, but certainly not least, on this week’s docket, is a two-game set for the American International Yellow Jackets with the U.S. Air Force Academy.

    This will be a unique experience for Gary Wright and his AIC squad, whose most exotic trip last year was to Buffalo, N.Y., to face Canisius. Travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., will certainly be a little more exciting.

    Wright joked that the biggest challenge of this weekend may not even be on the ice.

    “Air Force will be a big trip for us,” said Wright. “We’re not exactly world travelers at AIC. So not only the competition of the game, but I think also changing planes in Chicago, might be a challenge for our team.”

    Similar to Sacred Heart, AIC also opened its season against St. Nick’s last weekend with a 3-2 overtime loss in exhibition on Sunday.

    More Exhibitions than the County Fair

    As was mentioned, some MAAC teams began play last weekend. Sacred Heart and AIC both faced St. Nick’s in exhibition contests, while Canisius College battled the University of Guelph.

    Sacred Heart, by virtue of its 7-0 win, was the only victor in the three games. AIC feel, 3-2 in overtime, while Canisius gave up two late goals to lose a late-game lead and fall, 5-4.

    This weekend, the exhibition slate heats up. Canisius leads off this list traveling to Waterloo, Ontario, for the University of Waterloo Octoberfest Tournament. This eight-team bracket-style tournament will feature the Ice Griffs along with host Waterloo, Ottawa, Western Ontario, Guelph, Ryerson, McGill and Wilfred Laurier. Canisius opens against Western, and is guaranteed to play at least three games, regardless of the results.

    Mercyhurst College will join the exhibition fun on both Friday and Saturday as the Lakers host Brock University. One night after UConn faces Lowell, the Huskies will square off against Concordia University. Concordia is playing a two-game set this weekend, facing Holy Cross on Friday night. The MAAC’s newest member, Army, closes out the non-league plate. The Black Knights face Seneca at home on Friday.

    MAAC Games of the Week

    Quinnipiac University vs. Iona College
    Friday, 7:30 ET at Sports Plus at New Roc City, New Rochelle, N.Y.
    Saturday, 5:00 ET at Northford Ice Pavilion, Northford, Conn.

    The old saying, “Life comes full circle,” certainly doesn’t exclude hockey. Just ask Quinnipiac University.

    The Braves, who glided to the MAAC regular-season championship for the second consecutive year in 1999-2000, will probably have a hard time forgetting March 15, 2000. Not far away from home, in nearby Storrs, Conn., the Braves fell victim to the upset when sixth-seeded Iona College stunned them 6-4 in the MAAC semifinals. It was the second consecutive year that Quinnipiac fell in the penultimate game.

    So when Quinnipiac — donning the name Quinnipiac University, an upgrade from the old of Quinnipiac College — takes the ice this Friday night against Iona, that circle will be complete.

    But don’t tell that to head coach Rand Pecknold, who doesn’t believe that his team is thinking much about last March.

    “I know the coaching staff hasn’t focused much on [the rematch with Iona], and I haven’t heard the players talking much about it either,” said Pecknold. “We’re just focused on playing a really good hockey team that is poised to have a really good season.”

    Pecknold went on to say that Iona was simply doing what was expected of them on that March afternoon.

    “The way I look at it, Iona was doing their job. They played well,” Pecknold continued. “The only team we had to blame [for losing] is ourselves. So I don’t think there’s a revenge factor.”

    Ironically, Iona coach Frank Bretti felt a little differently.

    “With the results of last year, I think Quinnipiac has been waiting for this game since the semifinal at UConn,” said Bretti.

    Whether or not there is a revenge factor, there certainly is the building of a grudge match here, and not because of the results of past games, but because of the impact of future games. Iona was able to open plenty of eyes last March when they surged into the MAAC championship game before losing to UConn, 6-1. And with the addition of some solid recruits, Pecknold realizes that Iona could contend for the regular-season top spot along with his Braves.

    The way I look at it, Iona was doing their job. They played well. The only team we had to blame [for losing] is ourselves. So I don’t think there’s a revenge factor.

    — Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold, on the grudge factor between QC and Iona

    Lost in the excitement of the opening weekend, then, may be the impact of the early games. Pecknold agrees.

    “We try to talk about [the importance of early games] to the players a little bit, but it’s hard to grasp,” said Pecknold. “It’s hard to focus on where first place is at the beginning of the season.

    “But to our credit, and what helps us with this, is the fact that our guys don’t take a night off too much. We come to play regardless of who the opponent is.”

    Though it is early in the season to worry much about personnel, one face could look a little different in the Quinnipiac lineup this year. And that would be between the pipes.

    Though Pecknold noted that standout goaltender J.C. Wells is still the number-one goaltender and will be the starter on Friday night, the coach would not rule out the possibility of seeing rookie goaltender Justin Eddy Saturday.

    For Iona, this weekend will truly be a rebirth. The always-improving Gaels are more than ready for the season, according to Bretti. And the rebirth begins not necessarily on the ice, but in the ice itself. Friday night, Iona will christen its new arena, Sports Plus at New Roc City, just down the street from the Iona campus.

    This will be a major upgrade from the Ice Hutch, which the team used to call home. According to Bretti, Sports Plus will seat around 1,000 fans with individual seating on one side of the arena. New lockers rooms and facilities are still under construction.

    Not under construction, though, is Bretti’s lineup, one he feels is, for the first time since Iona joined the MAAC, deep and balanced.

    “I’ve been dealing with depth this year — that’s something different,” said Bretti. “We’ve been trying to hide deficiencies for two years. Going into camp, there’s more depth from top to bottom.”

    That depth is thanks in part to the development of top players, as well as a successful year of recruiting.

    “I think we’re a better team, based on the fact that we’re dressing seven freshmen who are going to receive a considerable amount of playing time,” said Bretti. “I think our practices are a lot better than they’ve been.

    “But our guys are looking forward to getting out on the ice and playing someone besides themselves. This weekend [against Quinnipiac] will be a good opportunity to evaluate ourselves, and see where we need to go. That’s the focus of our game plan.”

    Though a team like Quinnipiac should not be hard for Iona to rise to the occasion for, that doesn’t mean that Bretti will not preach the importance of these games to his club.

    “I walked in the dressing room the other day and wrote on the board, ‘Respect Your Opponent!'” Bretti said. “But I’ve never talked to the team about being picked third in the [preseason coaches’] poll. I’m sure they’ve read about it, but that won’t make us change our approach.”

    Included in that approach may be goaltending. Last season, Bretti split the time between rookie Mike Fraser and Ben Brady, who returns this year as a senior. The only decision made to date about goaltending is that Fraser will start on Friday against Quinnipiac.

    “We split much of the way down the stretch last season,” said Bretti, “But I’m not sure yet what the case will be this season.”

    One thing we can all be sure of, though: the MAAC season is just about underway. Hold on tight!

    ECAC Column: Oct. 12, 2000

    By Becky Blaeser & Jayson Moy
    -

    Time To Get Rocking

    The ECAC is all set to go, as this weekend four more teams take to the ice for the first time this season.

    The defending ECAC champion St. Lawrence Saints visit enemy ice, something that they will do a lot this season. The Vermont Catamounts return to the ice for the first time since January in front of a sold-out Gutterson Fieldhouse. The Clarkson Golden Knights travel to Ohio to start their season, the Rensselaer Engineers are guests of traditional rival Boston University. Finally, the Ice Breaker runner-up Colgate opens up at Starr Rink.

    Road Weary

    This season, the St. Lawrence Saints will spend a lot of time travelling. The Saints have a 32-game schedule, as is the norm in the ECAC (aside from the Ivy League schools) and of those 32 games, the Saints only play one nonconference home game. That comes the first weekend of November, when the Saints host Quinnipiac. In total, the Saints have 12 home games this season and will play 20 on the road.

    Saint road contests include a pair at North Dakota, a pair at Michigan, a potential matchup with Maine in the Black Bear Classic, and a first-round meeting with Notre Dame in the Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Hockey Tournament after opening the season this Friday at Northeastern.

    “Some people thought I lost my mind a little bit,” joked head coach Joe Marsh. “We don’t have a lot of home games — maybe that’s a good thing, especially if we’re not playing well.”

    But in all seriousness…

    “It’s going to be tough and looking back at last year, that Wisconsin series was the better series in terms of what it did to our team — and we didn’t win a game,” Marsh added about the series. “It was a confidence-builder; the tie on that second night felt like a win, and it started our run.”

    And what a run, as the Saints went 18-1-0 after that series until falling to Boston College in the national semifinal.

    Clawing Back

    You would have to understand if the citizens of Burlington are anxious. After all, their Vermont Catamounts have not been on the ice since January 8. This Saturday the Cats and everyone in their community look to put the past behind them and get on with one of the lifelines of the UVM community — ice hockey.

    “Last year was a pretty tough thing to go through,” said head coach Mike Gilligan. “But what it did do was show our great fans in Burlington how important hockey is to the community and the University.

    “And the kids are dying — they’re hungry to play and I’m hungry to coach. The fans are hungry to get back in the building, so we’re very excited about what’s going to happen.”

    It’s time to look at the Cats in the light of the 2000-2001 season. The Cats open up against some more Cats, the Ice Breaker champion New Hampshire Wildcats. Gilligan returns 18 players to a lineup that ended the season with a win and a tie.

    But there is also a need to go back to the past, as the Cats will honor their 1969-1970 ECAC Division II champions, coached by Jim Cross. The entire team is expected to attend.

    Confronting The Unknown

    Both Clarkson and Rensselaer enter this season with a lot of questions, and when the two teams hit the ice this weekend perhaps some of those will be answered. At least, if you listen to head coaches Mark Morris and Dan Fridgen, they seem to have that on their minds.

    "Some people thought I lost my mind a little bit."

    — SLU coach Joe Marsh, on scheduling his squad’s road-heavy season

    “This will be a teaching year,” said Engineer coach Fridgen.

    “It will be a great year for us to do some coaching,” echoed the Golden Knights’ Morris.

    The Engineers lost nine from their squad from last year, including five of their top seven scorers and their starting goaltending duo. Two freshman goaltenders and seven more freshman skaters will head into Walter Brown Arena against the seventh-ranked Boston University Terriers to experience their first taste of college hockey.

    “We’ll tell early as far as where we stand,” said Fridgen. “BU is an excellent measuring stick. The last couple of years we’ve been able to get a victory and this year it will be a tough one. It’s going to be important that we learn quickly in order to be competitive in our league.”

    The Golden Knights will also go on the road as they play a pair at Miami this weekend. The Knights return 18 this year, but only four of them are seniors, so with seven freshmen in the mix as well, the Knights certainly do have a lot of questions.

    “We’re looking to improve and one of the best things about our profession is teaching things to people,” said Morris.

    We’ve Only Just Begun

    The Colgate Red Raiders have already played twice this season. They tied the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines at Yost in the Ice Breaker and advanced to the championship game by winning the shootout 2-0. The next night, the Red Raiders held the 2-1 lead late into the second period before New Hampshire came back to put it away at the beginning of the third.

    “I thought it was pretty good for our first game,” said head coach Don Vaughan. “A lot of special-teams play is going to slow it down a bit. When the ice was good and we were playing five-on-five, for our first night, I thought it was pretty good.”

    The special-teams factor was large. The Red Raiders had to contend with 19 shorthanded situations in 125 minutes of play and allowed two power play goals.

    This week, the Red Raiders open at home against Sacred Heart.

    WCHA Column: Oct. 12, 2000

    By
    -

    You know Scott Sandelin and Troy Jutting.

    But do you know Martin Bakula, Joe Bonnett and Brad Willner? They’re part of the changing face of the WCHA, as far as the space behind the bench is concerned.

    This is a season in which if you didn’t make any coaching changes, you’re in the minority in the WCHA, a statistic that surprises some, considering the prestige of the league.

    Six of the league’s 10 teams had some sort of change in the coaching ranks between April and October, including two with new head coaches. Having two openings to lead WCHA teams in one offseason is something of an anomaly as well.

    “Every year is different, but I know that’s the most movement I’ve ever seen within our league in a long, long time,” said Sandelin, who replaced Mike Sertich at Minnesota-Duluth. He was an assistant under Dean Blais at North Dakota.

    “To have even the two head jobs come available, it’s funny because we used to talk as assistants, how do we become head coaches in our league? What’s the best route to go? Is it staying with the program you’re with? Going to the USHL like [Colorado College coach] Scotty Owens did? Going to be a Division III head coach? It was kind of a unique year.”

  • Jutting worked for longtime Minnesota State-Mankato coach Don Brose for 10 years after playing for the Mavericks. Jutting and Sandelin represent the new guard in the league, but they are just part of a tremendous overhaul in the league.
  • Bakula takes over for Chris Brown as an assistant at Alaska-Anchorage.
  • Bonnett and Norm Bazin are in as Colorado College assistants, and Terry Kleisinger will be a volunteer assistant. Garett MacDonald and Steve Nelson are out.
  • Darren Blue takes Jutting’s spot as a Mankato assistant.
  • Sandelin tabbed former Wisconsin players Mark Strobel and Steve Rohlik as his assistants with the Bulldogs, replacing Jim Knapp and Glenn Kulyk.
  • In addition to Sandelin’s departure from UND, fellow assistant Jeff Bowen left the program. Blais hired former Sioux defensemen Dave Hakstol and Brad Berry.
  • Brad Willner takes over for the departed Brett Petersen at St. Cloud State.

    That leaves only Denver, Michigan Tech, Minnesota and Wisconsin in the minority — with a stable coaching staff.

    And it leaves most of the teams with some educating to do. Not that many are all too worried about it.

    Turnover is turnover, and you deal with it.

    “I think you have a system that you stay with, not only on the ice but in recruiting,” said Blais, one of two returning head coaches with two new full-time assistants. “You try to do everything the same way even though the people change. It’s just like players: The names change but your systems don’t.”

    But Blais knows he lost a quality hockey person in Sandelin, his assistant for six years. A tremendous recruiter and defensive coach, he will be tough to replace.

    “It’s more devastating to lose a coach sometimes than one or two good players,” Blais said, knowing both feelings all too well.

    He picked Hakstol and Berry in part because of their experience. Hakstol was the coach and general manager of the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League for the last four years. Berry was an interim assistant coach for the Michigan K-Wings of the International Hockey League last year.

    But he also tabbed the pair because they know what it’s like to play in the WCHA, something that can be said for many of the other new assistants as well. And they know defense, something the Sioux will focus on this year.

    “You can read all the books you want, you can do a lot of good things, but if you haven’t played the position, it’s tough to coach it,” Blais said. “You can do it but you can’t do it as much justice as someone who’s played it. It’s just like goaltending; it’s a game within the game.”

    Rohlik and Strobel at Duluth are on the same page — they know the league. Sandelin was also impressed with their excitement about being a part of the program.

    Rohlik, a former assistant at Nebraska-Omaha, approached Sandelin about the postion during the winter meetings in Florida. That showed Sandelin he was serious about committing to the program.

    “Those guys are both hard workers; they’re going to pound the pavement recruiting wise,” Sandelin said. “More importantly, they’re going to work well with the players and teach, and that’s why they’re both here.”

    Don’t Cry For Me, North Dakota

    You can almost hear the North Dakota faithful saying, “These used to be the games we would put away.”

    Yes, it’s not like the Fighting Sioux to lose a two-goal lead. But that was the first game of the season.

    Yes, it’s not like Andy Kollar to allow five goals. But he did see 49 shots, including five in overtime.

    Yes, it’s not like North Dakota to be winless through two games — it last happened in 1994, Blais’ first in Grand Forks when the Sioux lost the first four games, two to Northeastern and two to Colorado College. But that comparison is like apples and oranges. To think this team will revert to the fate of a fifth-place squad is ludicrous.

    Even Blais was quick to point out he barely had time to cut his team to a “workable number” before the opener.

    “It’s tough to get all your systems in place, so it really wasn’t a fair assessment that way,” he said.

    Yet, all that being said, it was a bit surprising to see the Sioux lose the two-goal lead to New Hampshire last Friday, a game the teams tied. UNH won the shootout to advance to the championship game of the Ice Breaker Cup. And it was surprising to see the Sioux follow that game with a 5-5 tie. Normally, when North Dakota scores five, that’s more than enough to win. Only once last year did UND score five or more goals and lose (Nov. 20, 6-5 to Minnesota State-Mankato).

    What’s the point of all this? Maybe the Sioux are going to have to work harder than ever to win a fourth MacNaughton Cup in five years. Maybe the natural talent isn’t present up and down all four lines.

    Or maybe the tough schedule will make them stronger, ready to make a run when it really counts. Because with the Sioux’s success down the stretch in recent years, they could go .500 in the regular season and still be a favorite to win the playoff championship.

    It’s tough to get all your systems in place, so it really wasn’t a fair assessment that way.

    — UND coach Dean Blais, after ties against Michigan and UNH at the Ice Breaker Cup

    One wonders if this is the same Sioux team. The answer is “no.” One wonders if this Sioux team can manage the same success as last year’s. The answer is “we’ll see.”

    Top of the List

    Lost in the carnage that was a 9-6 Wisconsin victory over UMass-Amherst last Friday was that Brad Winchester did a fair job in his first game centering the Badgers’ featured line — between Dany Heatley and David Hukalo.

    Winchester was tabbed as the first player to replace Steve Reinprecht on the Badgers’ top line — good luck — and he held his own.

    He figured in two goals — both assists, and both on the power play. He added an assist on Saturday.

    “[The line] did OK,” Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer said. “We’ve got some work to do there. It’s a different line without Steve Reinprecht there. It has a different look to it than it did a year ago. In saying that, I was pleased with how things went.”

    And Winchester? “He’s going to be OK,” Sauer said, not giving away too much vital information.

    So much emphasis is being placed on Wisconsin’s top three because it is a vital cog to the offense. Sauer has said the top line can’t be the only source of points if the Badgers are going to be successful, and he’s right.

    But it also can’t disappear if the Badgers are going to be successful.

    Still Waiting

    Call them the late starters. Denver and Duluth will each have to wait another weekend before playing a regular-season game.

    When the Pioneers and the Bulldogs do start the season, each may be at a bit of a disadvantage compared to their opponent, which will already have played an NCAA foe. But a little extra time to prepare could be exactly what’s needed for these teams.

    It’ll give the teams time to examine their goaltending. Duluth coach Sandelin plans to use that opportunity to the fullest.

    He plans to give all three goalies — Rob Anderson, Jason Gregoire and Adam Coole — a period of action in Sunday’s exhibition against Regina.

    “It’s going to be a battle,” said Sandelin, whose team opens the regular season Oct. 20 at Minnesota. “I hope that I can get into a situation where we can split a couple guys on Friday and Saturday until somebody pulls away. Hopefully it’s a nice problem to have.”

    Denver’s Wade Dubielewicz appears to be the top candidate for the start when the Pioneers play Boston College on Oct. 20. Newcomer Adam Berkhoel is also trying to replace the graduated Stephen Wagner.

    And the Pioneers will have to be as ready as they’re going to be all season for the first three weeks. After two with BC, they play a series at St. Cloud State and a weekend set at home against North Dakota.

    Both Denver and Duluth will be opening against a team with at least a week of experience in the season.

    “When you drop the puck, the only thing that may come into it is they’re probably a little more game-ready than we will be,” Sandelin said. “In that sense, I can see it having some effect.”

    The Shoe-gate Fallout

    Wisconsin’s Sauer is thankful his team is indeed a hockey team.

    Confused? Allow me to explain.

    You see, hockey players wear skates. We can all agree on that. Other teams at his school wear shoes to compete. It would appear logical, then, that members of other teams were more susceptible to Shoe-gate, a scandal in which some Wisconsin athletes accepted unadvertised discounts and lines of credit at a Madison-area shoe store.

    In the end, the Badgers hockey team was the only one of the big four — hockey, football, men’s and women’s basketball — not to lose a player to suspension. Four hockey players — Alex Brooks, David Hukalo, Mike Cerniglia and Erik Jensen — had to close their open accounts and pay the discount they received to charity.

    “I wasn’t really worried when it started because I knew we didn’t have anybody that was going to be involved in it,” Sauer said.

    But he does have of players from Madison who have been customers of The Shoe Box, the Black Earth, Wis., store at the heart of the scandal, for years.

    “It’s a situation where they knew the store before and had an exisiting relationship with it,” Sauer said. “From our standpoint, it wasn’t unexpected. The bottom line is we’re very fortunate. And it’s fortunate that the sport we’re in, we don’t have to deal with that type of equipment very often.”

    He Said It

    “Collectively, this was a mediocre performance tonight. Maybe it was first-game jitters, but in order to be a contender, we have to do better than this.”

    — Colorado College transfer Alex Kim, on his first game with the Tigers, a 2-1 exhibition victory over Calgary last Saturday.

    News and Views

  • Speaking of Colorado College, would anyone who was convinced by the Tigers’ play last weekend that they would indeed contend for the title please stand up? Sure, it was an exhibition game, but if it was any kind of indication, it may be the same old story for the Tigers: not enough scoring. But the acquisition of Kim, a transfer from Miami, may turn out to be one of the best additions to the team this year.
  • Minnesota’s win over Notre Dame in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game marked the first time the Gophers have opened the season with a win since 1995. And you had to a be a little convinced by the offensive output displayed by the Gophers. And remember Don Lucia wanting his team to lower the shots on goal allowed? Saturday’s shots: Gophers 31, Notre Dame 18.
  • The Gophers’ win gave Lucia his 300th career coaching victory. He won 113 games in six seasons at Alaska-Fairbanks, 166 in six years at Colorado College and now has 21 at Minnesota. If he exceeds 166 in six years at Minnesota, make room at the college hockey hall of fame, wherever it may be.
  • It took Michigan Tech only one day this season what they couldn’t do in all of the 1999-2000 campaign: tie. The Huskies were one of two WCHA teams last season without a tie last season, and they only got to one overtime game in all. Remember: baby steps.
  • Alaska-Anchorage’s Green team defeated the Gold team 3-1 in an intrasquad game last weekend. The first goal of the game was scored by Pete Talafous, coach Dean Talafous’ son. Here’s to making dad proud.

    On the Docket

    It’s a national semifinal rematch this weekend when North Dakota plays Maine in Orono. The Sioux beat the Black Bears 2-0 in April to advance to the national championship game.

    That day, the big decision Blais faced was between Andy Kollar and Karl Goehring in goal. Kollar led them there, but Goehring took center stage, stopping 30 shots.

    The decision this year is a little easier. Blais has two games against Maine, so he said he’ll probably split the goaltenders.

    Also this weekend, Alaska-Anchorage faces its first of many tests, hosting Michigan State and Michigan in the Johnson Nissan Classic. But don’t feel bad for the Seawolves because of the tough opener — they wanted it this way.

    We’ll soon find out if that was a wise decision.

    • Hockey East Column: Oct. 12, 2000

    By
    -

    UNH Proves Best Out West

    New Hampshire opened its season with a bang this past weekend by winning the Ice Breaker Cup. The stellar field included No. 1 North Dakota, host and No. 2 Michigan, No. 9 UNH and No. 16 Colgate. The Wildcats faced a distinct possibility of playing well, but returning home oh-for-two after facing the top two teams in the country. Instead, they squeaked past the top-ranked Sioux with a shootout win and followed that with a convincing 7-3 victory over Colgate.

    “The thing I was most impressed with was [our] speed and the conditioning factor,” said UNH coach Dick Umile. “Our guys played well and they got better as the week went along. We’ll be better for having played the teams we played this past weekend.”

    UNH got the exceptional performances they’ve come to expect out of their two superstars, Ty Conklin and Darren Haydar.

    Conklin entered the season as Hockey East’s top goaltender and did nothing to diminish that reputation, especially in the opener against North Dakota. Apart from a fluke goal caused by an odd carom off the boards, he allowed only one other score, stopping all seven Sioux attempts in the shootout.

    “He played extremely well,” said Umile. “In the North Dakota game, Ty played very well in the second period. They got the best of us in the second period and we got the best of them in the third.

    “He showed what he can do for us when we need it. He gave us the chance to come on in the third period, which we did.”

    Haydar also was predictably immense. Against North Dakota, he scored one goal and assisted on the other. In the title game, he scored the first two goals and assisted on the fourth. Just two games into his junior year, he is now among the top 50 UNH point producers of all time.

    “Darren is a proven goal-scorer,” said Umile. “He has a knack for making plays and scoring goals. He’s done it his whole career.

    “That’s why he’s going to be one of the top goal-scorers to have ever played here and probably one of the top goal-scorers in the country.”

    Conklin and Haydar, however, were the sure bets for UNH this year. The key to the team’s success would lie elsewhere, particularly the sophomore class. It’s not a coincidence, then, that five of the seven Wildcats attempting shots in the shootout were second-year players: forwards Jim Abbott, Colin Hemingway, Lanny Gare and Josh Prudden as well as defenseman Garrett Stafford.

    “Colin Hemingway is someone who stood out,” said Umile. “He played extremely well.”

    Hemingway — who missed the first half of last year with an injury — scored one goal, Gare added two more with an assist and Abbott assisted on three tallies. Stafford scored the game-winner in the shootout, added an assist against Colgate and played strong defense while paired with senior Mark White.

    Stafford and Abbott also quarterbacked the power play, a weakness in last year’s squad.

    “They did it last year, but they were two freshmen doing it last year,” said Umile. “They’re a little bit older now and a little bit more experienced. They handled it pretty well.

    “They’ve got a year under their belt, so hopefully they’re playing with a little more confidence and understand what we’re doing. It showed this weekend.”

    Three injured Wildcats — C.J. Ficek, David Busch and Matt Swain — made significant contributions despite not playing at 100 percent. Busch scored twice, Swain added a goal and an assist and Ficek provided another assist.

    “They gutted it out,” said Umile. “C.J. played two pretty big games for a kid who had his appendix out [two] weeks ago, so give him a lot of credit. He’s a hard-nosed kid. He may get injured here and there, but he’s a tough player.

    “Busch has a pin in his foot and there’s a little bit of a psychological factor there. He’s fighting through that and this weekend really helped him. He scored a couple goals and played extremely well.

    “Matt Swain had a hip pointer and he played extremely well.”

    Of course, two games don’t make a season. The Wildcats have another tough road trip this weekend to Vermont before opening at home on Oct. 20. With the Catamounts coming off the turmoil of last year’s cancelled season, the UVM fans are likely to give their team an even bigger emotional boost and home ice advantage than usual.

    “It’s always difficult to go up to Burlington, Vermont,” said Umile. “It’s one of the premier college rinks in the country. We always look forward to going up there.

    “The fans are terrific. I’m sure they’re going to be real excited. It was exciting to take our team to Yost Arena in Michigan for the Ice Breaker and now we’re going to go to Gutterson Fieldhouse in Vermont. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

    The Transitive Law and Exhibition Games

    Acadia traveled to Boston College and Providence last weekend, losing to BC, 6-2, and PC, 4-2. Therefore, the Eagles will probably beat the Friars by two goals per game this year, right?

    Toronto visited Boston University and Northeastern, losing to BU, 5-3, and NU, 11-0. Therefore, the Huskies will clobber the Terriers by nine goals per game this year, right?

    Ottawa played UMass-Lowell and Merrimack, upsetting Lowell, 4-3, before taking it on the chin from the Warriors, 12-2. Therefore, Merrimack will crush UML by 11 goals per game this year, right?

    Well, not exactly.

    The transitive law in mathematics that, loosely interpreted, might call for some of the above conclusions doesn’t hold for hockey in general, and certainly not for exhibition games.

    In all three cases, the Canadian teams not only played a different goaltender on the second night, but also were skating on presumably tired legs against a fresh opponent.

    So Husky and Warrior fans may need to temper their dreams of recurring blowouts this year over their neighboring rivals. The transitive law does not apply.

    Class dismissed.

    Around the Arenas

    In Boston College‘s 6-2 exhibition win over Acadia, the Eagles’ top line of Krys Kolanos (goal, assist), Marty Hughes (goal, two assists) and Brian Gionta (three assists) figured in four of the six Eagle goals.

    “I think we’ve got some good depth, but we’ll depend on [the top] line this year,” said coach Jerry York.

    Brooks Orpik is day-to-day with a groin injury.

    Although Boston University‘s game against Toronto resulted in 92 penalty minutes, coach Jack Parker isn’t concerned.

    “It’s the first game for us, and guys are trying to show us that they’ll stand up, take a hit, give a hit,” he said. “We haven’t gotten into the discipline stuff. Guys haven’t gone to Mookville yet because they’ve taken stupid penalties.”

    (Mookville involves very early morning runs for offending Terriers.)

    Parker was happy with the play of his freshmen.

    “I thought all the freshmen played really well, which is really why you play these games, to see how they get acclimated,” he said. “Especially Steve Greeley, I thought he played extremely well.”

    Senior captain Carl Corazzini talked after the game about BU’s national aspirations.

    “We have 18 players back from a team that got to the quarterfinals last year,” he said. “I think this year, realistically, we’re one of about seven teams that has a shot at a national championship.”

    Maine was the only team that didn’t play last weekend. Coach Shawn Walsh completed his third five-day cycle of immunotherapy treatments at UCLA and will recuperate prior to another cycle scheduled to begin around Oct. 17.

    Wisconsin swept UMass-Amherst, 9-6 and 3-0, but the Minutemen mainstays performed well. Goaltender Markus Helanen only allowed four goals on the weekend and the Turners led the scoring: Tim with two goals and three assists and Jeff with three assists.

    “[The Turner brothers] go pretty good,” said Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer.

    UMass-Lowell certainly had the roughest weekend of the Hockey East teams. It’s never a good sign to lose in an exhibition game to a Canadian team.

    “We have to play a certain way this year if we’re going to be successful, and we did that in the first and third periods,” said coach Tim Whitehead. “But we can’t play only 40 minutes and expect to win hockey games. We have to play a physical style of hockey for 60 minutes.”

    Merrimack College fans had to like what they saw in the 12-2 shellacking of Ottawa.

    “We’ve got some guys who can put the puck in the net this year,” said coach Chris Serino. “I think we’ve got some good balance and some good depth.”

    Junior Ryan Kiley, who scored five goals in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, matched those totals in this one game. Perhaps he can now book a flight to Bermuda since he’s already filled this year’s quota.

    On a more serious note, freshman Marco Rosa turned some heads with two goals of his own. Defensemen Darren Clarke and Jeff State have moved to the head of a crowded rookie class, joining the veteran pairings of Stephen Moon with Brad Mills and Tim Foster with Nick Cammarata.

    Northeastern rookie Scott Selig took all of 1:19 to score his first collegiate goal. He added another early in the third period. Which is not to say that the highly-regarded freshman will be anointed the Huskies’ offensive go-to guy.

    Last year, Mike Ryan scored two goals in his first game and — perhaps beset by excessive expectations — went on to add only two more the rest of the season.

    Selig may eventually be a first-line and power-play guy for the Huskies this year, but look for there to be a brake applied to expectations.

    Ryan also scored two goals and added two assists while Jim Fahey led the blueliners with three assists.

    All three goaltenders — Mike Gilhooly, Jason Braun and Todd Marr — played one period of shutout hockey.

    Providence goaltenders Boyd Ballard and Nolan Schaefer split the time in the nets with each allowing only one goal.

    Freshman forward Peter Zingoni broke into the collegiate scoring column with a goal and an assist.

    With defense a key position for the Friars this year, the assists that went to rookies Dominic Torretti and Stephen Wood in their first action was a welcome omen.

    Doherty and the Media Award

    In case you missed it, Hockey East bestowed its Media Award on Northeastern good guy Bill Doherty last week. Doherty, a former NU Sports Information Director who still acts as part of the school’s radio broadcast team, built a reputation for writing some of the most colorful game notes in the business.

    A defenseman wasn’t “hard-hitting”; instead, he “hit like a root canal.” Doherty coined many an exquisite Bermanism. (He may have even preceded ESPN’s Chris Berman at the practice.) A personal favorite was goaltender Mike (Bud) Veisor, not to mention Dan (Hobey Dobey) McGillis.

    Doherty didn’t disappoint in his Media Day acceptance speech, reciting a poem he’d written for the event. It was a gutsy choice considering that much of his audience’s exposure to poetry was probably limited to limericks involving the word Nantucket.

    Here, then, is Doherty’s poem.

    THE HUSH BEFORE THE RUSH
    by Bill Doherty

    We’re all about the hush
    Before the rush

    When writers weigh leads,
    All possible
    And brilliant, of course

    ‘Til overtime intrudes
    And panic bleeds
    A better source, of beginnings

    We’re all about the hush,
    When arm-banded men dare
    Crack the ice, and the silence
    Of coliseum Krazies
    Who would referee them

    We’re all about the hush,
    When real fans pin their ears
    To the symphony of men
    Chiseling Sherwoods,
    In the balconies-on-Botolph

    We’re all about the hush,
    When players inhale
    As the team bus exhales
    To an eerie stop at Alfond

    We’re all about the hush
    When dogs heel to
    Parker’s tweed, a heed, to business
    Crowder’s fist to jaw,
    On the bench, they’ll witness

    We’re all about the hush
    When win, lose or brush
    We’ve collaborated — on stories
    For anyone who’ll listen
    To dufflebags zippin’,
    Hockey Gods sippin’
    To that Shawn fella,
    With the clipboard

    Our blue-print for the hush,
    Before the rush

    New Hockey East Award

    Hockey East has announced that it will award the ITECH “Three Stars of The Game” after all league contests. The player earning the most Star of the Game points over the course of the season will be recognized at the league’s championship banquet at season’s end. Additionally, all league goaltender awards will bear the ITECH name.

    Phantom Assists

    It took only one week for the first unquestionably phantom assist to rear its ugly head. In UMass-Amherst’s season opening loss to Wisconsin, a Minuteman player’s pass deflected off a skate into his own net.

    Wisconsin wing Kevin Granato was credited with the goal, but amazingly two assists were awarded!

    “I think the ref asked [Wisconsin winger Dave] Hergert who scored and he said ‘either 32 or 14,'” said Granato. “I was just surprised that there were two assists on the goal.”

    Surprised indeed.

    Trivia Contest

    This season, the first person to correctly answer a trivia question will not only be recognized in this column, but allowed to give a brief (roughly one sentence) cheer for his or her favorite team. Note to all the USCHO Message Board rabble-rousers: positive cheers only are allowed. This writer reserves the right to judge what is acceptable.

    Here, then, is the 2000-01 season’s first question: what player performed in Hockey East last year, made an NHL squad this fall and assisted on a goal in his team’s opening game?

    Mail your responses to Dave Hendrickson.

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

    If you have not yet seen Almost Famous, please tell me that you will not let another weekend pass without that travesty being corrected.

    This is a wonderfully written movie with great acting overall and mind-boggling performances in the supporting roles.

    Two days after seeing Almost Famous the first time, I went and saw it again.

    If you do not like this film, then you and I live on different planets.

    Thanks to Scott Weighart and Jon Linder for their assistance.

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