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Season Preview: UMass-Amherst Minutemen

October 5, 2000

Hockey East’s only new coach, Don Cahoon, arrives from Princeton, where he took a difficult recruiting situation and brought that program to heights never before achieved. (Among other notable accomplishments, Princeton won its first-ever ECAC title and made its inaugural NCAA tournament appearance in 1997-98.) UMass-Amherst fans are hoping that Cahoon can work that same magic at their school.

Cahoon has already made his mark by changing many of the little things associated with the program, ranging from uniforms to locker rooms to even swapping the team benches at home so that the Minutemen will be in front of the student section.

“College coaches in general try to focus on these things because that’s their identity with their program,” says Cahoon. “We’re trying to create a culture around our team and the culture sometimes is most affected by some of the littlest things.

"We’re trying to create a culture around our team and the culture sometimes is most affected by some of the littlest things."

— UMass-Amherst head coach Don Cahoon

“So the type of uniform we put on these kids will represent my personality and what I think I want the program to represent. It’s going to be a classic, very conservative type of look. We’re doing things with the locker room to create a new look.

“We’re changing our benches, flip-flopping the sides of the ice that we’re going to sit on. There are a lot of reasons why we’re doing that. One would be just to do it differently. Another one would be to create a fan base with the student body, to make a connection with our program and the student body so that they’re working for us and not necessarily just against the other team.

“And hopefully it will create more of an environment that’s conducive to bringing kids and families and all the people in the Pioneer Valley throughout the Springfield area and the Amherst area to UMass hockey games.”

Cahoon inherits a team that achieved some success in past years by playing a predominantly trapping style. At Princeton, Cahoon’s teams were known for playing a more wide-open, skating game.

“We’re trying to develop skill,” says Cahoon. “In order for me to promote skill, we’ve got to maybe open it up a little bit. At the same time, [UMass’s] ability to be able to play some very good teams last year close and, in a couple of instances, have some success against those teams was due in part to their strong commitment to the trap and some of the things related to the trap.

“We’re going to try to use a little bit of both schemes. We’re going to open it up from time to time. We’re going to be a skating team, maybe a bumping team and try to be able to be an effective special teams type of team. We’ll look to have a positive net result in special teams.

“So there could be two periods of high tempo or there could be two periods of slowing it down and then we can go at someone on more of a high-tempo basis. I think that’s going to play in our favor because we’re going to be a little bit more unpredictable.”

TIM TURNER

The forwards who’ll be making these stylistic changes are led by Jeff and Tim Turner, but as a group contain many question marks. The Turners are the only returning players who topped the 20-point plateau last year.

“We walked into the situation here knowing that the Turners were pivotal, especially Jeff with his experience,” says Cahoon. “Timmy just had a great freshman year and I think he responded to playing with Jeff. I see no reason why he wouldn’t continue to develop and be a good player.

“There are a couple of other players in our program [who could make an impact this year]. Darcy King is another young guy who’s clever in the middle. I know that [assistant coach] Bill Gilligan speaks highly of having worked with him. The unfortunate part is that Darcy is out with a foot injury and might miss the first couple of weeks.

“There’s a young guy that didn’t play very much last year, J.R. Zavisza, that has really caught my attention and has been maybe one of our best players in the preseason. I’m hoping that with a fresh look and a new opportunity, people like J.R. will respond and play up to their full potential.

“There’s a young guy, Brad Nizwantowski, who didn’t play a lot last year either. He has good game sense and seems like he’s ready to step in and fill a role and be depended on on a day in and day out basis.

“We’ve got other players like Jay Shaw, who’s a senior, and Kris Wallis, who’s another senior. Those kids seem to be real passionate about the game and seem to put the effort and the energy into working at their game. That’s all I can ask of these kids right now.

“I still have a lot to learn about a lot of these kids, [but] they’re going to find a place in the lineup. They’re going to be called upon to fill crucial roles.”

Although there were few departures from last year’s squad and therefore little scholarship money to offer recruits, the Minutemen will have three freshmen forwards who Cahoon feels can contribute.

“Scottie Horvath, out of Avon Old Farms School, was a top player on the prep school championship team,” says Cahoon. “He’s the type of guy who might be able to play some on a power play [even though] he’ll be going through the rigors of making the transition from secondary schoolboy hockey to Division-I Hockey East hockey.

“Another boy, Michael Warner, was a teammate of his. It was a real surprise that he was going to be available to us at the end. Mike is doing a great job for us. He’s kind of a role player, a real good skater who we can look to on the penalty kill unit. He plays very aggressive, so he’s certainly going to get his playing time.

“Then we have a third boy, Thomas Poeck, who just came in from Austria. He’s going to be taking a regular shift for us. The speed of the game will be problematic initially, but he has great hockey sense. Within a short time he should be a real good player in our league.”

All of last year’s defensemen are back, led by junior Tony Soderholm and sophomore Sammy Jalkanen. Cahoon sees promise elsewhere among the blueliners, too.

“[Soderholm and Jalkanen] have exceptional skills,” says Cahoon. “They have great competitiveness. They demonstrate a level of confidence that you need to play that position.

“We have a couple of other guys who have experience. Maybe they haven’t had the same level of success as Sammy and Tony, but they have the experience and hopefully we can get them to play within themselves and be able to fill roles and do a very respectable job. We don’t want people to play out of their ability.

“I have a young guy, Justin Shaw, who’s going to be a junior this year. He hasn’t played much at all, but he’s been terrific in preseason. We’ve tried to get the idea that less is more with him. He has a great presence. He skates real well. He reads situations. He’s not going to do a lot with the puck, so don’t have him do a lot with the puck. I’m really delighted with his progress and a few others along the same line.”

Between the pipes may well be the strongest overall position on the team. Markus Helanen has had considerable success in the past and his backup, Mike Johnson, has also shined on occasion.

“Markus is a pivotal player in our program,” says Cahoon.

Nonetheless, Cahoon doesn’t want to be starting from scratch in goal next year after Helanen graduates. As a result, Johnson, a junior, will see action, too.

“It’s very important that we have a balance and that the team is sure that they can succeed with either Markus or Johnson in the net,” says Cahoon. “I think it’s only fitting that we go ahead and try to develop both of them.

“Markus will clearly be given every opportunity to be the go-to guy, but Michael has to be brought along. Going into Wisconsin [to start the season], it’s clear to me that they’re both going to play. Then we’ll just take it each day as it comes.”

Cahoon doesn’t have any specific expectations he’s set for this team.

“It’s very difficult for me to assess where we’ll be at the end of the year,” he says. “I haven’t been around these kids and been in the heat of battle with them to know how they’re going to respond to adversity and handle the awkward moments.

“My charge is to make sure that we’re a much better team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning of the year. We want to make sure that this program is moving forward on a day-to-day basis in a positive manner.”

Season Preview: Boston University Terriers

By David H. Hendrickson

October 5, 2000

If the Tin Man only had a heart… if the Scarecrow only had a brain… if the Cowardly Lion only had courage…

And if Ricky DiPietro had only stayed at BU for one more year.

It was a proud moment for college hockey when DiPietro became the first goaltender and the first collegian to be selected first in the NHL draft. But for BU supporters, it was a bittersweet moment.

With the flashy netminder back in the Terrier crease, the team would have been the clear favorite in Hockey East and a very strong contender for the national title. Instead, there are many strengths and one big question mark.

“I think we’re going to have a real good club,” says coach Jack Parker. “We’re stronger on defense than we’ve been in a long time as far as quality of players and number of players. I certainly think that we’ve got more depth up front and more skill up front than we’ve had in a while.

“The only things that keep you wondering are: everything is relative, so how good is everybody else, and how do we replace Rick DiPietro? Goaltending is a big question mark for us.”

Jason Tapp, a junior, and Sean Fields, a freshman, will seek to answer that question with exclamation points.

“We’re pretty happy with our depth [in goal],” says Parker. “We’re pretty happy with our talent there. We just won’t have the best goalie in the nation like we did last year and like we would have if Ricky returned.”

Tapp’s potential Waterloo came in late October when the Terriers outplayed Vermont in every way, outshooting the Catamounts, 48-20, only to lose when the netminder surrendered seven goals. With DiPietro playing brilliantly, many a coach would have relegated Tapp to door-opening duty for the rest of the season, but Parker and goaltender coach Mike Geragosian stuck with their beleaguered goaltender and were rewarded for their patience.

“He played extremely well the second half of the year and actually won two huge games for us,” says Parker. “We pulled Ricky in one and [Tapp] went out, stonewalled Providence and gave us a chance to come back and beat them. A week later, he beat Northeastern at Northeastern to win us the Hockey East championship.

“He had a real solid second half of the year after struggling a little bit in the beginning of the year. Even at the beginning, he had a couple of great games, but he also had a couple of bad games. We’re looking for him to be consistent. I think the monkey is off his back as far as knowing that he’s going to be playing.”

When DiPietro made his decision to turn pro in May, the assumption in most circles was that it was too late for BU to recruit any goaltender of significance. Presumably all the blue-chippers had already committed to other schools. In the eyes of the Terrier coaching staff, however, Fields was anything but a second-rate talent.

In 1998-99, he had earned Goalie of the Year honors in a lower-level Alberta, Canada, junior league. He then graduated to the British Columbia Hockey League where he was named BCHL Rookie of the Year this past season.

“Had Ricky stayed, [Fields] would have been on our radar screen for the number-one goalie recruit the following year,” says Parker. “He already had something like nine scholarship offers for the following year.

“We told him, ‘We really like you, but we want you to come now.‘”

After a visit to the school, Fields accepted the offer and the Terriers had dodged a bullet.

JOHN CRONIN

“We were really fortunate that he was available,” says Parker. “We were ecstatic to get him as late as we got him. I think that everybody would like to have a guy who’s a little older, whether it’s a defenseman or a goalie or a forward. But we think he’s a talented kid and we think we got ourselves a good one in a very, very difficult situation.”

How the playing time in the Terrier crease shakes out is anyone’s guess.

“We might alternate them for a while,” says Parker. “Or we might let Jason be the starter for a while and see how Sean comes along. But we’re pretty confident that we’ll get solid goaltending.”

Fortunately, Tapp and Fields will have an exceptional defense in front of them. Exceptional, that is, as long as Freddie Meyer is fully recovered from offseason back surgery. At present, he is expected back three weeks into the season, when BU begins its Hockey East games.

Meyer, a Hockey East All-Rookie Team selection in just half a season of play, is joined on the blue line by two other award winners: Second-Team All-American Chris Dyment and Second-Team All-Hockey East selection Pat Aufiero. Keith Emery, John Cronin, Mike Bussoli and Colin Sheen round out the deep and talented group. Sheen returns from a season in which he missed all but eight games with a broken wrist.

“If Freddy is available to us, we’re going to have as good defensemen as we’ve had since probably 1991, and we believe he’s going to be available,” says Parker. “We’re fortunate that we have seven proven defensemen. While Freddy’s out, we’ll have six proven guys. When he’s back, there’ll be more competition to see who’s playing and who isn’t. By that time, we’ll probably have another injury.”

Up front, the Terriers did lose top scorers Tommi Degerman and Chris Heron, but still return a deep lineup. Carl Corazzini led the team with 22 goals, Dan Cavanaugh was the top playmaker with 25 assists and Jack Baker also topped the 30-point mark.

“Corazzini will be the go-to guy in a lot of ways,” says Parker. “He had a great second half of the year for us. Jackie had a great second half of the year, too.

"The only things that keep you wondering are: everything is relative, so how good is everybody else, and how do we replace Rick DiPietro? Goaltending is a big question mark for us."

— Boston University head coach Jack Parker

“The sophomores — Baker, Cavanaugh and Pandolfo — all made big jumps last year. We’re looking for those guys to continue to improve, but I think we’re also looking for the two important sophomores, Brian Collins and John Sabo, to make a big jump as well this year. They both played very, very well last year, but I think they’re in the 15-20 goal bracket this year for us.”

Parker is also looking for immediate contributions from some of the five new faces up front.

“I think we’ve got a bunch of freshmen that will be playing on the first couple of lines,” he says. “I don’t think it’s going to be that freshmen are going to have to wait their turn and play on the fourth line and see if they get some ice time.

“We’re very, very high on Gregg Johnson, who’s a real top-notch center ice-man and is gonna be a real strong player in this league. Ken Magowan is a six-foot, three-inch left wing who we think is going to be able to contribute right off the bat. [Frantisk] Skladany, the boy from Slovakia, is a very clever player. All of our freshmen will be contributing and contributing a lot.

“We lost a lot at the top end by losing Degerman and Heron, but we didn’t lose a lot of scoring in [Bobby] Hanson, [Greg] Quebec and Juha Vuori. I think the five we’re replacing them with overall are a better group, especially Johnson and Magowan, who will step in and give us a lot of oomph, I think.”

All of which gives reason for lots of optimism, tempered by one factor.

“The thing that’s scary,” says Parker, “is that I think we’re going to be a better team, and yet this league is going to be even better than it was last year from top to bottom.”

Season Preview: UMass-Lowell River Hawks

By David H. Hendrickson

October 5, 2000

Even though UMass-Lowell finished in the cellar last year, it was only by a single point. It won’t take much to make a significant move in the standings.

“We recognize Hockey East is the strongest league in the country right now,” says coach Tim Whitehead. “For anyone that finished in the bottom half last year, something special has to happen to get into that top half of the league.

“We believe that something special can happen this year. Whether or not that happens, we just have to wait and see. That’s why we play the games, obviously. We believe that it can, but we know the challenge that’s in front of us.”

One key to moving up in the standings will be improving the offensive output. The River Hawks went through stages last year during which they struggled to bury the puck. They’ll also have to replace leading scorer Chris Bell.

“We’re expecting everybody to increase their offensive production,” says Whitehead. “Do we have another [Greg] Koehler or [Greg] Bullock point-wise on the horizon? We’d like to think we do, [but] it’s too early to say that.

KYLE KIDNEY

“Based on last year’s point production, it doesn’t look like it. But we think we do have a couple of guys who can put up some real good numbers this year. They haven’t done that yet, but they’ve put up good numbers in the past and the potential is there for that to happen here.”

Three freshmen — Laurent Meunier, Peter Hay and Anders Strome — will also be part of the mix.

“I think Laurent Meunier will be in a position to make an immediate impact,” says Whitehead. “And Peter Hay and Anders Strome both have talent. We’re expecting them to contribute.”

Rather than one player bursting out and carrying the load, Whitehead sees a collective emergence.

“If the whole team elevates offensively, then we’re in business,” he says.

Whitehead brings the same expectations to the defensive end, where the River Hawks finished last in the league, allowing an average of 3.29 goals per game. There wasn’t much of a difference between the sixth-ranked team and Lowell, but a similar argument could be made in the overall standings. Small differences can make for big differences.

Additionally, the team graduated its top blueliner, Kevin Bertram.

“I’m not going to say we had a good year defensively,” says Whitehead. “But at the same time, we do have a lot of potential there. In goaltending and defense, we were extremely young last year so [our problems] were no big mystery.”

Whitehead doesn’t need one player to suddenly become this year’s Mike Mottau. Modest improvements all around could pay big dividends.

“We expect all our returning guys to play better this year, play better defensively and put up a little better numbers offensively,” says Whitehead. “I do expect that to happen.

“Will someone like a [first-round NHL Draft pick Ron] Hainsey or one of our goaltenders accelerate that process and really be with the top of the league? We’ll just have to wait and see, but the potential is there.”

"I know we’ll be better in that position. How much better remains to be seen, but we will definitely be better in that area."

— UMass-Lowell coach Tim Whitehead

Two redshirt freshmen, Darryl Green and Jerramie Domish, could quickly push for playing time as well.

“They’re coming in a little older than your typical freshman, so I anticipate they’ll contribute right away,” says Whitehead.

Arguably, the biggest problem for Lowell last year was the inconsistent goaltending. Neither Cam McCormick nor Jimi St. John put up impressive numbers, although both had asterisks attached to their performances. St. John missed over two months with an injury, and McCormick may have entered the season with a thick coat of rust after sitting out almost two years because of a stint in major junior hockey.

“The goaltending position has to improve and they know that,” says Whitehead. “But again, there’s potential for that to happen. McCormick is going to be better because he played a lot of hockey last year after being off for so long. He’ll be better just from experience.

“Jimi St. John will be better just by being healthy. And Chris Davidson, the freshman coming in, is going to challenge for playing time.”

A further reason for higher expectations for the goalies is the hiring of assistant coach Pertti Hasanen.

“We have a coach on our staff now who’s a former elite goaltender and he’s going to be there every day,” says Whitehead. “So I know we’ll be better in that position. How much better remains to be seen, but we will definitely be better in that area.”

Veteran River Hawk fans may consider the potential of three goaltenders in a rotation to be an ominous thought. In 1994-95, just such a trio almost single-handedly sank one of the better squads in the program’s history.

“I can’t say that won’t happen,” says Whitehead. “It worked for St Lawrence last year until the end of the season and then one guy [Derek Gustafson] rose above. But we’re not going into the season with that in mind. We’ll just play the best goalie. Ice time will be fair, but it won’t necessarily be equal.

“We will win if we rely on each other as a team,” he says. “It’s going to have to be a group effort. Our guys are prepared to do that. It’s on all of us.

“It’s a great way to go into the year. We’re depending on every single guy to be crucial to us this year.”

Wisconsin Not Hit Hard in Shoe Scandal

USCHO Staff Report

October 5, 2000

Wisconsin’s hockey team can say something its football and men’s and women’s basketball teams can’t — it came away from an athletics department scandal largely unscathed.

Unlike the three other high-profile teams at the school, the hockey team was not hit with any suspensions stemming from athletes accepting unadvertised discounts at a Madison-area shoe store.

Four Badgers hockey players, however, were ordered by the school to pay off outstanding debts to The Shoe Box in Black Earth, Wis., and pay the extra benefit each received to a charity.

Assistant captain Alex Brooks, top-line wing David Hukalo, senior Mike Cerniglia and sophomore Erik Jensen were among 40 Wisconsin winter and spring athletes penalized Wednesday by the school for violating NCAA rules.

In addition to repayment, Cerniglia and Jensen must serve 24 hours of community service. Each received extra benefits between $100 and $299. Brooks and Hukalo had extra benefits under $100.

The penalties stem from a Wisconsin State Journal report this summer that detailed discounts of 25 to 40 percent and interest-free lines of credit for Wisconsin athletes. 121 athletes have received some sort of suspension in connection with the scandal.

Season Preview: New Hampshire Wildcats

By David H. Hendrickson

October 5, 2000

After years of explosive offensive firepower and defensive stinginess, New Hampshire had to rely primarily on the latter last season. The Wildcats totaled only a modest 122 overall goals, a far cry from their 204 in 1996-97 or even the 171 the year before last.

This finally caught up with them when they finished 4-5-1 down the stretch, with their only postseason wins coming in the Hockey East quarterfinals. For many teams that would have been a successful season, but it was a letdown for UNH fans after two consecutive trips to the Frozen Four.

“Last year didn’t go bad, qualifying for the NCAA tournament,” says coach Dick Umile. “I thought that three quarters of the season we played pretty well defensively, but we struggled scoring goals. That was our handicap, but our team overall played pretty good defense, led by Ty.”

Ty, of course, is goaltender Ty Conklin, who will again be “The Man” in the UNH crease. Conklin ceded only 123 minutes to backup Matt Carney, a factor which may have eventually caught up to Conklin later in the season. Over the first half, he was spectacular, carrying the team on his back and earning serious consideration for the Hobey Baker Award. His consistency fell off in the second half, however, and with UNH goal scoring in short supply, the drive to another national championship game stalled.

“Ty is going to play the majority of the games this year, but we’d like to try to give him a little more of a breather during the season, at least during the middle of the season and maybe down the stretch,” says Umile. “There’s no question that he’s our go-to goalie, but we’ve got competition with Matt Carney and a freshman, Michael Ayers. We’re hoping that Ty will get more of a break than he did last year, but we feel real good with our goaltending.”

"We’re basically going to keep playing solid defense and keep the number of scoring opportunities down. If we do that, with Ty Conklin, we’ve got a good shot at being in the game."

— UNH coach Dick Umile

On defense, UNH returns all but Dan Enders. Seniors Mark White, Sean Austin and Eric Lind combine with sophomore Garrett Stafford to form the nucleus. Sophomore Kevin Truelson also saw considerable action last year and will be joined by Tyler Scott and incoming freshmen Mick Mounsey, Tim Horst and Mike Lubesnick. Of the four newcomers, Mounsey — sure to be a fan favorite as a New Hampshire native — and Horst appear to have the inside track to a place in the rotation.

“We feel good about the defensive aspect of our game with five of the six [defensemen from last year] returning,” says Umile. “We also have a very, very good group of freshmen defensemen coming in, so it will really be a battle for someone to get into that lineup and maybe even challenge some of the players who played last year.”

Although the group played solid defense as a whole last year, it did lack the quarterbacking capability of a Jayme Filipowicz, both even strength and on the power play. This contributed to the team’s offensive woes. The UNH man advantage dropped to a lowly 13 percent conversion rate, at least in part because of the play at the points. With another year under his belt, Stafford may be ready to elevate that dimension of his game.

Umile, however, is none too anxious to have his defensive corps start thinking too much about offense.

“We’re basically going to keep playing solid defense and keep the number of scoring opportunities down,” he says. “If we do that, with Ty Conklin, we’ve got a good shot at being in the game.”

The biggest concern lies at forward, where UNH had its problems even prior to losing Mike Souza, John Sadowski and Jason Shipulski to graduation.

Darren Haydar (22-19–41) will once again be one of the most dynamic players in the game, but he could be susceptible to shadowing if other forwards don’t fill the shoes — and then some — of the old “S” line.

TY CONKLIN

Injuries could be a factor. Patrick Foley, a power forward who Umile calls “a heart and soul kid,” underwent reconstructive surgery on both knees and won’t resume skating until the end of November. David Busch has still not fully recovered from the severely broken ankle he suffered late last season, requiring the insertion of a pin.

Additionally, Corey-Joe Ficek had his appendix removed just two weeks prior to the start of the season. Although the prognosis was for a quick return because of the modestly-invasive procedure used, it still raised a question about the only returning double-digit goal-scorer other than Haydar.

“Obviously, Darren Haydar is our big goal-scorer,” says Umile. “We think we have a couple of seniors who can add to the scoring with Ficek and Matt Swain. They’re going to be important players.

“And we’re only going to have Jeff Haydar for a year — [because that’s all the eligibility he has left] — but he’s going to be a solid centerman for our team. He’ll do much like what John Sadowski did for our team the last couple of years: play real strong in the defensive zone, playmake and put the puck in the net.”

Three freshmen could contribute right away. Travis Banga and Nathan Martz were linemates in the British Columbia Hockey League and could be the latest big-time scorers UNH has recruited from that source. Speed merchant Steve Saviano comes from closer to Durham — Reading, Mass. — but could also make a big splash.

“All three have looked good in the early going, but it remains to be seen what they can do at this level,” says Umile. “But judging by past history, they’re going to be great players in Hockey East.”

The group that is likely to make or break UNH’s offense, though, isn’t the seniors or the freshmen. It’s the sophomores, led by Lanny Gare, but also including Jim Abbott, Colin Hemingway and Josh Prudden.

“As quickly as they come out and score goals will determine how much we can improve in that area,” says Umile. “That sophomore class is going to be an important class for us in terms of goal production.”

And if the best laid plans for a higher-octane offense don’t materialize?

“You can still win games, 2-1 and 3-2,” says Umile. “We did that the majority of last year with us not scoring a lot of goals. So it won’t be the end of the world if we don’t score a lot.

“But I do believe that’s an area we need to improve in, especially in the specialty situations. There’s no question in my mind that with last year’s freshmen stepping up and this year’s freshmen contributing that we are going to improve in that area.”

Utica, Neumann to Join ECAC West in 2001-2002

By Scott Biggar

October 5, 2000

ECAC West athletic directors have accepted the applications of both Utica College and Neumann College for admission into the league, at league meetings being held on Cape Cod this week.

Utica is starting both men’s and women’s ice hockey programs, to begin varsity competition in the 2001-2002 season. Utica recently named Gary Heenan its men’s head coach, and Dave Clausen its women’s coach. Both were previously assistants at Hamilton. The two coaches have begun recruiting in anticipation of starting play next season.

An announcement regarding a conference affiliation for the women’s program is forthcoming.

Neumann will also be joining the ECAC West for the ’01-’02 hockey season. Neumann is a small college in southeastern Pennsylvania and currently competes as an Independent in men’s ice hockey.

With the addition of Utica and Neumann, the ECAC West will be comprised of six teams for the ’01-’02 season. Neumann will be a full-fledged member of the league, however their membership status will be reviewed after the third season to ensure that certain improvements to the program have been accomplished.

“Additions of both teams are a plus for the league,” said ECAC assistant commissioner Steve Hagwell, “and it is certainly good for the teams coming in to be associated with this caliber of a league.”

Season Preview: Northeastern Huskies

By David H. Hendrickson

October 5, 2000

Last year proved to be a Jekyll-and-Hyde one for Northeastern. After breaking out to an 11-8-5 record, culminating in an undefeated January, the Huskies were looking like an NCAA bubble team. Then they lost seven of eight games in February and finished with nine straight losses and 11 out of 12.

They won’t have an easy row to hoe this year either, with tough nonconference games against Wisconsin, St. Lawrence, St. Cloud, Dartmouth, Rensselaer and Notre Dame, not to mention additional ones in the Beanpot against Boston University and either Boston College or Harvard. Adding the always-tough Hockey East games, Northeastern will likely be playing one of the 10 toughest schedules in the country.

“We have a lot of things to prove,” says coach Bruce Crowder. “We’ve got ourselves a tough schedule, but in the past we’ve tended to play well against good teams. I hope we can make a statement or move ahead a little bit.”

Before coming to Northeastern, Crowder led UMass-Lowell to two NCAA quarterfinal appearances in a three-year span, coming within an overtime loss of reaching the Frozen Four. The drive to duplicate that success at Northeastern, however, has stalled.

Even so, this year may be a unique one.

For the first time, Crowder will have a Northeastern team consisting entirely of “his” players. That is, ones that he and his staff recruited.

"We can’t use any of the excuses that we’re young anymore. We’ve got 16 juniors or seniors that are in the lineup. It’s time for these guys — especially the seniors — to step up and make a name for themselves in Division I hockey."

— Northeastern head coach Bruce Crowder

“Now if we don’t do well,” Crowder quips, “It’s all my fault!”

Even more importantly, this year’s squad will be much more heavily laden with upperclassmen than any he’s had at Northeastern.

“If you want to be successful in college hockey, you have to have your seniors carry the ball,” says Crowder. “We have seven seniors this year and in my first four years here we only had nine total.

“You can feel a lot more maturity within the guys. They’ve got a bit of an edge on them. They want to prove something to the rest of the hockey community that they can play.

“We can’t use any of the excuses that we’re young anymore. We’ve got 16 juniors or seniors that are in the lineup. It’s time for these guys — especially the seniors — to step up and make a name for themselves in Division I hockey.”

The starting point for making a name for themselves will be on the blue line. Northeastern can boast one of the stronger defensive corps in the league.

“It’s our best position without a doubt,” says Crowder. “You look at the top five guys in [John] Peterman, [Mike] Jozefowicz, [Jim] Fahey, [Rich] Spiller and [Arik] Engbrecht. Those five guys are as good as anybody that I’ve had play defense for me. They’re mobile. They’ve got hockey sense and they’re going to be a very big part of this team this year.

“Our biggest thing defensively is that we’ve got to stay healthy. That’s one of the things that has hurt us in the years gone by. We lost Engbrecht for a year, we lost Aaron Toews a few years back, we lost Peterman for most of last year and we lost [Brian] Sullivan from the Beanpot on.

“We have to stay healthy. If we can have those five guys play 35 games for us, I think we’re going to be pretty successful.”

The picture is considerably less clear in goal. Two years ago, Jason Braun saw the bulk of the action as a freshman. Last year, Mike Gilhooly did the same thing. Both had their moments, but neither one made anybody forget about Marc Robitaille, the All-American who preceded them. Also in the mix is Todd Marr, a redshirt freshman, who played juniors over the second half of last year.

MIKE GILHOOLY

“I think the jury is still out,” says Crowder. “We need one of those guys to step forward and through his actions tell us that he’s the number one guy. It’s my job and no one is taking it from me. That’s done by hard work, being a leader and obviously keeping the pucks out of the net.

“Basically, we’re asking this guy to stop the first one. We have enough experience defensively to have guys clearing the puck away. The guys know what our system is defensively. They’ve been working on it for two or three years now as individuals, so that really shouldn’t be a problem.

“You need the kid to pull you out of the fire and make spectacular saves at times, too, but I don’t think it’s like we have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores in front of them this year. His job isn’t going to be like it was a couple years ago.”

The one other major question involves the Huskies’ anemic offense. In many games, the Huskies held the advantage territorially and in the shot totals, but couldn’t bury the puck.

“When we went through our tough stretch in February where we only won one out of eight games, I think we probably outshot everybody in those games,” says Crowder. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean diddly at that end of the night except on the score sheet and it still doesn’t mean diddly there.

“We need Brian Cummings to come to the forefront like he did his freshman year. This is his senior year. If Matt Keating can give us 20 points, I think we’re going to be in pretty good shape.

“Graig Mischler is another guy. He led our team in scoring last year [with 23 points] but if we’re going to make hay in Hockey East, we need our leading scorer to have 35-40. So you run down the list: Willie Levesque; Mike Ryan is going to be a year older and a year stronger; we’ve got a freshman, Scott Selig, who has some offensive ability and another freshman, Ryan Dudgeon.

“The guys that consider themselves offensive guys or go-to guys need to fulfill those roles.”

Ultimately, though, Crowder considers goaltending to be the make-or-break position.

“You’ve got to have a kid who’s going to stop the puck and be the difference maker,” he says. “A team is not going to be successful without it.”

Season Preview: Maine Black Bears

By David H. Hendrickson

October 5, 2000

The Black Bears returned to the Frozen Four last year, but were foiled in the semifinal game by North Dakota in their attempt to repeat as national champions.

All of which moved to the background during the offseason when coach Shawn Walsh was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He’ll miss the season opener against North Dakota and the following weekend’s Black Bear Classic tournament while undergoing a second round of treatments at UCLA. Depending on any follow-up course of action, his availability may be touch-and-go for the rest of the season.

Although he’s undoubtedly one of the top bench coaches in the business, Walsh dismisses any thought that his medical problems will affect the team’s play.

“I don’t think it’ll affect our players,” he says. “Kids want to play once the puck is dropped, especially opening up with North Dakota.”

Walsh considers the strength of the team to be from the nets on out.

“Having Matt [Yeats] in net gives us a backbone with Mike [Morrison] behind him,” says Walsh. “We feel very solid in goal.”

MATT YEATS

Yeats didn’t get much ink last year, in part because of an almost total lack of flamboyance, best symbolized by his plain white mask. At a 52-flavors position, he was vanilla, simply stopping the puck consistently and leaving the headlines to others. Even so, his 2.60 GAA and .911 save percentage gave evidence that he’s one of the top goaltenders in the league and should be a mainstay for this year’s squad.

In front of him is a defense that lost Robert Ek and Anders Lundback, but returns a strong group led by Doug Janik and Peter Metcalf.

“We’re semi-thin on defense, but at the same time, we’re experienced,” says Walsh. “We’ve got four guys back who have played key roles in Final Four teams: Doug Janik, A.J. Begg, Peter Metcalf and Cliff Loya.

“I think Eric Turgeon will give us a big lift back there and we expect Kevin Clauson and Mike Schutte to battle for the sixth spot. So, we’re not expecting any freshmen to have to come in and be big players on defense this year.”

Up front, the Black Bears have some big holes to fill after losing their top four scorers in Cory Larose, Barrett Heisten (who turned pro early), Ben Guite and Brendan Walsh. Heisten and Walsh were also among the team’s most physical players.

“We lost a lot of scoring and we lost a lot of strength,” says Walsh. “But I do think there are guys who can take the next step. I think guys like Marty Kariya, Tommy Reimann and Niko Dimitrakos can all go from the 20 point level to the 40-50 point level.

“Donnie Richardson will join us at Christmas [after sitting out a year following his transfer from Vermont] and he’s going to be an impact kid. Interestingly enough, Matthias Trattnig, who’s our biggest forward, came back and won the three-mile run despite losing one of his shoes with a mile to go. So he’s obviously in unbelievable shape. And we have Dan Kerluke and a lot of guys who’ve done things.”

Additionally, three freshman forwards — Colin Shields, Todd Jackson and Brendan Donovan — appear ready to make immediate contributions.

“Colin Shields is as good of a freshman forward as we’ve brought here in a while,” says Walsh. “He looks like a guy who should be able to command some power-play time right away and be able to put up some offensive numbers. His track record shows that, too. He led the North American League in scoring.

“Brendan Donavan has been exceptionally good, too. He’s fast and feisty.

“Todd Jackson is clearly a good player. He’s going to be in the top nine forwards in all probability.”

As a result, the Black Bears should be able to plug the holes left behind by Larose and company and will likely be one of the top offensive teams in the league once again.

“We don’t return the 50-point scorer, but we have a lot of guys who have potential to do that,” says Walsh. “We’re deep up front.”

"We don’t return the 50-point scorer, but we have a lot of guys who have potential to do that. We’re deep up front."

— Maine head coach Shawn Walsh

Unfortunately, that depth will be tested early. Dimitrakos fractured a wrist in preseason practice and is likely to miss the first month of the season. He’s not only one of the most talented forwards, but one with a certified big-game reputation. With several major clashes in that first month, he’ll be missed.

“It’s a major loss for us,” says assistant coach Gene Reilly, acting as the interim coach in Walsh’s absence. “But the positive for us is that you get to develop another player or two. They’ll get thrown into a playoff atmosphere right off the bat when we host North Dakota. That will be invaluable experience for those guys when January and February hits.

“We’re going to have a tough time scoring goals [without Dimitrakos,] but everybody has a tough time scoring goals. It’s the nature of hockey right now with the way people are teaching defense and the use of video. Maybe we’ll focus a little more on defense with him out.”

Dimitrakos had earned a reputation early in his Maine career for “not having a defensive bone in his body,” as assistant coach Grant Standbrook once observed. So Reilly’s comment about more defense without Dimitrakos isn’t mere spinmastering. Ironically, though, his defensive play had appeared to be much improved prior to the injury.

“The unfortunate part is that he was paying attention to those defensive details,” says Reilly. “He was playing terrific in training camp. That’s why he’s even more of a loss.”

If there are problems that need fixing — whether related to the Dimitrakos injury or not — they’ll likely surface early.

“Our first three official games are North Dakota, North Dakota and St. Lawrence,” says Walsh. Both opponents went to the Frozen Four with the Black Bears last year. “With a team that has only three seniors, we’re going to learn in a real hurry what we need.”

2000-01 Hockey East Season Preview

By David H. Hendrickson

October 5, 2000

“We recognize Hockey East is the strongest league in the country right now. For anyone that finished in the bottom half last year, something special has to happen to get into that top half of the league.”
— UMass Lowell coach Tim Whitehead

Last year, Boston University, New Hampshire, Boston College and Maine all spent virtually the entire year in the top eight positions in the national rankings. After the four teams qualified for the NCAA tournament, BC and Maine advanced to the Frozen Four and BU came within a clanged post of making it a Hockey East threesome for the second straight postseason, falling to St. Lawrence in a record-setting quadruple-overtime thriller.

This year, Hockey East appears likely to once again be dominant on the national scene. The Big Four may all have one potential chink in their armor, but still look like season-long Top 10 material as well as serious contenders for the NCAA title.

Which is not to say, however, that the other five teams in the league will be little more than cannon fodder for the four perennial powerhouses. It sure didn’t happen that way last year.

Witness: Northeastern went undefeated against Maine (two wins and a tie) and New Hampshire (a win and two ties). Providence toppled BC, UNH and BU while also tying Maine. UMass-Amherst defeated St. Lawrence in a midseason nonconference game and then knocked off BC and tied UNH down the stretch. Merrimack topped BC and tied both Maine and BU. Only UMass-Lowell failed to post an upset of an NCAA-bound team and even so, the River Hawks still could claim five one-goal losses to various powerhouses.

Cannon fodder? Hardly. More like ticking time bombs.

Or check out these statistics: first-place Boston University finished with a goal differential in 24 league games of a mere plus-16. Second-place New Hampshire’s margin was an even more razor-thin plus-7. UMass-Lowell finished minus-18, a very strong figure for a last-place team.

Compare those numbers — unparalleled for parity in Hockey East history — with those of the first and last place teams in the other conferences: CCHA (Michigan plus-47 and Alaska-Fairbanks minus-35 in 28 games); ECAC (St. Lawrence plus-29 and Brown minus-26 in 20 and 21 games, respectively); WCHA (Wisconsin plus-42 and Michigan Tech minus-89 — ouch! — in 28 games); and MAAC (Quinnipiac plus-92 and Fairfield minus-75 in 27 games).

“I keep telling people the reason our league is so good is not who the top three teams are but who the bottom three teams are,” says BU coach Jack Parker. “Nobody has the quality top to bottom like we do. That’s what makes our league so exciting, game in and game out.”

Nonetheless, BU, UNH, BC and Maine do seem to be entering the season as clear picks to finish in the top four spots.

In which order? Last year’s preview coined the phrase Five To Nine Lottery to describe the logjam of teams not winning home ice. This year the operative phrase is the First to Fourth Lottery. Select any one of the four teams and you’d have an excellent first-place pick. Or an excellent fourth-place pick. There’s even a temptation to weasel out with a prediction of a four-way tie for first.

Weasels aside, though, here’s a quick look at the nine teams, in order of predicted finish, with links provided for more detailed analysis. (Picks were made before the Hockey East Coaches’ Poll was announced.) Click on any team’s name for its individual season preview page.

1. Boston University

Had Ricky DiPietro returned, this would be a no-brainer. At the other five positions, the Terriers boast both top-level talent and depth. They’ve also shown a mindset that has led to first-place finishes in six of the last seven years. If goaltending becomes a major problem, however, BU could be the first team out of The Big Four to fall out of playoff home ice.

2. New Hampshire

The Wildcats stumbled late last season, arguably finishing fourth among the Hockey East titans, but enter this year with the least serious questions. They did struggle offensively last year and now need to replace the lost scoring of Mike Souza and other graduated seniors. But even if the offense doesn’t explode, they still have the best goalie in Hockey East, Ty Conklin, a veteran defense and some guy named Darren Haydar.

3. Boston College

Those who anticipate the demise of the Eagles following the graduation of Mike Mottau, Jeff Farkas, Blake Bellefeuille and company forget that there’s still a lot of talent returning. Brian Gionta and Bobby Allen comprise the best forward-defenseman tandem in the league and there’s a lot of depth and experience to join them. The only reason not to pick the Eagles to finish first is the competition, and that they didn’t finish first in either of the last two seasons. Don’t bet against another Frozen Four appearance, though.

4. Maine

Maine returns a strong defense and a highly underrated goaltender in Matt Yeats. There is, however, a lot of scoring to replace and it hurts mightily to lose Niko Dimitrakos for the first month of the season. Of course, an even more major concern is the health of coach Shawn Walsh. The Black Bears aren’t the Black Bears without him behind the bench, coaching with all of his accustomed energy.

5. Northeastern

This veteran club boasts a strong blue line, but needs improved goaltending and a lot more scoring to crack the top four. Don’t count the Huskies out, though. It wasn’t a fluke that last year they took five out of six points from Maine and four out of six from UNH.

6. UMass-Amherst

Jeff Turner and goaltender Markus Helanen are the most obvious reasons for optimism, along with new coach Don “Toot” Cahoon. But the Minuteman defensive corps also returns intact and with another year under its belt could make a big difference this year. The big question is the offense.

7. Providence

Only three defensemen return from last year’s squad. The almost inevitable growing pains of freshmen blueliners could put more of a load on goaltenders Boyd Ballard and Nolan Schaefer than they can handle. What’s more, the Friars didn’t score a lot last year, even with since-departed Fernando Pisani, Doug Sheppard and Jerry Keefe (for the first half). So offense could be a question mark, too.

8. Merrimack

The Warriors lost number-one goaltender Cris Classen, four defensemen and two forwards to graduation last year before also taking a shot to the solar plexus when top scorer Greg Classen turned pro early. There are some exciting recruits coming in, however, and the team speed should improve, particularly on the blue line. So the future is looking better each year, but there are likely going to be some troubles in the early going.

9. UMass-Lowell

The River Hawks will need to get better goaltending or generate more offense to avoid a second straight year in the cellar. Can forwards like Yorick Treille, Brad Rooney and Dan Fontas elevate their games to the next level offensively? More importantly, can Cam McCormick, Jimi St. John or Chris Davidson step up and consistently provide the solid goaltending this team needs?

Season Preview: Connecticut Huskies

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

It was almost fitting, looking around the room at MAAC media day, to see UConn coach Bruce Marshall sitting close to Holy Cross benchman Paul Pearl. The two have something in common — they’ve guided their teams to MAAC tournament championships, Pearl in 1999, and Marshall last year.

And both coaches face similar challenges one year removed from that championship: an extreme loss of talent.

Pearl learned the consequences the hard way last season as his Crusaders fought tooth-and-nail just to qualify for the postseason.

This year, Marshall will receive his welcoming from the ghost of graduations past. After losing eight key players, including goaltender Marc Senerchia, who played in all but two games for the Huskies last year, Marshall will look to rebuild UConn to again earn a berth in the MAAC Championships.

“I guess this is why you coach,” said Marshall. “You coach for the next challenge. The next challenge now is to see if we can get back [to the finals].

“You have to re-educate some of the kids and educate some of the new kids from scratch. Last year is last year. It’ll be great for last year’s seniors to talk about at the alumni game, but right now it doesn’t really matter.”

"I guess this is why you coach. You coach for the next challenge. The next challenge now is to see if we can get back [to the finals]."

— Connecticut head coach Bruce Marshall on defending the MAAC Championship

One of Marshall’s challenges will be to transform his recruiting effort. Admittedly, Marshall notes that UConn does not attract the top players in the league, but looks for a long-term investment. Traditionally, UConn has tried to attract players that over four years can develop into top players, as evident in last year’s graduating class.

This year, though, Marshall’s freshmen were chosen with this style in mind, but also another trait: the ability to play the system.

“We needed to get the kid who has the right work ethic, the right discipline,” Marshall said. “We don’t score a lot of goals, so we need a type of kid who can play in a good defensive hockey system.”

Marshall’s Huskies will face fire immediately, though, as they open the season with the one team that manhandled them last year, UMass-Lowell. A longtime member of Hockey East, the River Hawks crushed UConn, 13-1, in the opener of the Festival of Lights Tournament played in Lowell last November. The Huskies will have to display the defensive ability that Marshall mentions to keep last year’s game from reoccuring.

After that, things do not get easier for the Huskies. After Lowell, UConn plays two non-league games versus Merrimack College, another Hockey East club, and will face UMass-Amherst, Air Force and Union on before the year ends.

Many look at seven freshmen that will grace the Husky lineup this season and expect them to pick up some of the slack of the departed seniors, Marshall does not.

“People can say our freshmen are looking to pick up the losses,” said Marshall, who enters his 13th season with the Huskies, “but I think it’s our sophomores and juniors that will have to decide they’re tired of being role players, and that they want to be impact players.

“The freshmen, we’ll be coaching them through the year, and the four seniors, every time they put the sweater on, it’s one game closer to the end of their college hockey careers. But it’s that next corps of kids — they need to be playing like it’s their last chance.”

Last chance, first chance, or somewhere in the middle, the Huskies will surely be challenged throughout the season. And provided that the club can maintain a decent balance throughout this tough schedule, don’t be surprised to see the Huskies skating around their own ice at the 2001 MAAC Championships.

Season Preview: Mercyhurst Lakers

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

Last year they were an X-factor, but the Mercyhurst College Lakers marched into the MAAC and took the league by storm. As one of two new entries in the conference’s second year of existence, Mercyhurst used a combination of depth and experience from the tough ECAC West league to post an impressive second-place finish.

This year, one thing is clear, especially to long-time coach Rick Gotkin.

LOUIS GOULET

Mercyhurst will not surprise anybody.

“Were going to face a lot of expectations,” said Gotkin. “The only thing worse than not achieving your goals is not living up to expectations. That will be the single biggest challenge we face this year.”

Gotkin, though, is quick to downplay his team’s number-two pick in the preseason MAAC poll.

“Polls are great, but I think that’s for the media,” Gotkin said. “We’re just going to try to work hard and give a good effort every night. With some hard word and a little bit of luck, it could be a good year for us.”

Humble indeed is Gotkin, entering his 13th year behind the bench for the Lakers. But one thing he’s not shy about is discussing the Lakers’ losses from last year.

“We lost Paul Colantino last year, a co-defensive player of the year, as well as Ashley Stevens, someone who split the goaltending. So we know we lost some impact players last year.”

To fill those holes, Gotkin will look to players like Matt Cifelli, who was player of the year in the Canadian Provincial Junior League last season. Gotkin expects him to learn a lot from returning junior netminder Peter Aubry, who finished last season with an 11-6-3 record, a .913 save percentage and a 2.44 goals against average.

"With some hard word and a little bit of luck, it could be a good year for us."

— Mercyhurst head coach Rick Gotkin

Defense will remain the key hole for the Lakers, and as the defense goes, so you should expect the Griffs season to move as well. Two freshmen, Jamie King from Kittanning, Penn., and Nolan Brown from Regina, Sask., will have to chance to step in and make an immediate impact.

Up front, the Lakers will look to junior Louis Goulet and senior Eric Ellis to lead the charge. The two finished one-two in scoring last season and will have to lead an offense that is used to playing in close games.

Last season, Gotkin’s Lakers became known as cardiac kids, posting rally wins in many games early in the year, and playing a total of 22 games (of a possible 37) decided by two goals or fewer. Last year, the Lakers fared well in those contests, posting a 14-4-4 record there. That trend may have to continue or the Lakers could watch themselves fall from the top of the MAAC.

“This year, every game we expect teams to play us like it’s the game of the year,” Gotkin said. “It doesn’t matter who we play or where we play, every game is a battle.”

2000-2001 MAAC Season Preview

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

Anybody out there remember being picked on as a little kid? I know I sure do, and I hated every minute of it. But somewhere, somehow, you always swore that your day would come. That there would be a day that you weren’t so little anymore, and that, even though you wouldn’t be able to beat up the whole world, you’d at least get the chance.

Well that day has come for the 11 schools and their coaches and players in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

After two full seasons of getting pushed around, getting beat up, and even worse — being called mean names — the MAAC will get its chance to shine this March thanks to a decision by the NCAA to grant the conference a bid to the national championship. For the first time since 1985, when the then-brand-new Hockey East Association was formed, the NCAA will allow a new league an automatic berth.

Now before all the fans out there start sending hate mail telling me that the MAAC is nowhere near the talent level of the “Big Four” conferences, I’ll concede that fact. But no one out there can say that the MAAC will not have a chance to prove itself.

And that opportunity may be exactly what the doctor ordered. For the first two seasons of MAAC hockey, only a few teams from the Big Four scheduled MAAC schools. This season, that number has expanded. Schools such as Minnesota, Maine, Providence, Yale, Cornell, RPI, and UMass Amherst, among others, all will face MAAC opponents in the regular season.

There definitely is a sense of bigger-time hockey around the MAAC. AIC head coach Gary Wright summed this up well, noting that this is the earliest he can ever remember being on the ice. His Yellow Jackets play an exhibition game the weekend of Oct. 7, marking the first time in school history that AIC has suited up before the last weekend on October.

You can feel the intensity among the coaches. Sure, everyone had their friendly face put on at the recent MAAC media day, but mentally, every one of the coaches was elsewhere — mostly back on campus thinking about the day’s practice.

But as much as things have changed with the MAAC with the addition of the NCAA tournament bid, one thing has stayed the same: parity. In the preseason coaches’ poll, the middle-of-the-pack teams, those seeded fourth through eighth, were tighter than Britney Spears’ outfit on her last concert tour. Only three votes separated number-four Army from number-seven Canisius, and teams like Iona, which registered third, and Holy Cross, which fell into the eighth slot, can’t feel much higher or lower than the rest of the pack.

There was, though, a clear message from the coaches regarding Quinnipiac and Mercyhurst — these are the teams to beat. For the second consecutive season, Quinnipiac topped the coaches’ poll with 113 votes. But Mercyhurst, which surprised last season by finishing in second place in the team’s first year in the conference, placed a close second in the poll with 105 votes.

Iona and Army were the coaches’ other choices for home ice, while Connecticut, Sacred Heart, Canisius and Holy Cross are picked to make the playoffs. That leaves AIC, Bentley and Fairfield to pull up the rear.

Or does it? Can a team like Bentley surprise folks? Can a new coach in Jim Hunt revive a struggling Fairfield program? Read on to each team’s preseason profile by clicking on the links below.

And to give you something to think about on your way there, here’s my take on the MAAC league. I don’t call myself the Swami by any means, so don’t head to Vegas to bet the house.

1. Quinnipiac Location: Hamden, Conn.
Coach: Rand Pecknold (sixth season, 75-48-9)
Last year: 27-6-3 (23-1-3 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 21/3

The strong keep getting stronger. But can the Braves win come playoff time, now that it means the NCAA bid?

2. Mercyhurst Location: Erie, Pa.
Coach: Rick Gotkin (12th season, 187-110-15)
Last year: 22-10-4 (19-6-2 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 19/7

As much talent as this team lost, it’s still hard to imagine them finishing far from the top.

3. Army
Location: West Point, N.Y.
Coach: Rob Riley (15th season, 202-216-23)
Last Year: 13-17-2 (1-9-0 CHA)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 19/5

Last year’s record in the CHA doesn’t reflect much in the MAAC. Army has enjoyed success against MAAC opponents in the past. Expect that to continue.

4. Canisius
Location: Buffalo, N.Y.
Coach: Brian Cavanaugh (19th season, 259-223-32)
Last year: 21-10-4 (16-8-3 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 19/9

All-league goaltender Sean Weaver is half the reason you pick Canisius to finish near the top — good coaching is the other.

T5. Sacred Heart
Location: Fairfield, Conn.
Coach: Shaun Hannah (fourth season, 35-45-1)
Last year: 16-15-3 (14-10-3 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 23/3

Last year’s coach of the year, Shaun Hannah, didn’t lose much. A great goaltender will be the surfboard the Pioneers might ride to home ice.

T5. Iona
Location: New Rochelle, N.Y.
Coach: Frank Bretti (third season, 17-38-3)
Last year: 17-17-3 (13-12-2 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 22/5

Iona is the dark horse, hands down. It’s hard to pick the Gaels for the top three like the coaches did, but it’s hard to imagine a team with Iona’s depth will finish below fifth. Don’t be surprised to see them at the top.

7. Connecticut Location: Storrs, Conn.
Coach: Bruce Marshall (12th season, 170-108-23)
Last year: 19-16-1 (15-11-1 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 18/8

Key losses will keep UConn from repeating the Cinderella season of last. The Huskies will make the playoffs, and maybe even make a rumble, but not before taking plenty of regular-season bumps and bruises along the way.

8. Holy Cross Location: Worcester, Mass.
Coach: Paul Pearl (fifth season, 66-38-7)
Last year: 8-24-3 (8-16-3 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 17/10

Holy Cross feels like BU last season in Hockey East. Almost impossible to pick them eighth, but as the goaltender goes, so might the Crusaders. New prospects in the position leave HC’s fate up in the air.

9. American International
Location: Springfield, Mass.
Coach: Gary Wright (16th season, 187-206-24)
Last year: 7-20-3 (5-19-3 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 15/6

Unlike a season ago, I think there may be a more defined dropoff between the number eight and nine teams. AIC has some talent, but also a lot of holes. Gary Wright’s experience as a coach is one thing the Yellow Jackets can rely on, and may be the only thing that gets them to the postseason.

10. Fairfield
Location: Fairfield, Conn.
Coach: Jim Hunt (first season)
Last year: 3-28-3 (3-22-2 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 20/6

With new head coach Jim Hunt at Fairfield, expect to see the Stags move from the bottom of the MAAC — just not this season. There are plenty of talented sophomores, but still too many underclassmen.

11. Bentley
Location: Waltham, Mass.
Coach: Jim McAdam (eighth season, 93-85-12)
Last year: 7-23-2 (7-18-2 MAAC)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 21/7

This is the team which will have to rebuild the most. Jim McAdam, the classiest of coaches, is honest with himself and everyone else when he says: “It’s going to be a long year.”

Season Preview: Bentley Falcons

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

If Bentley College becomes known for one thing around the MAAC, it will be their head coach Jim McAdam.

At age 61, McAdam has the feistiness of a coach just starting his career, coupled with the honesty of a man who has been around for a while.

So much was apparent at MAAC media day. McAdam, who ran his first team practice Monday morning, hustled as fast as he could from the team’s facility in Watertown, Mass., to Storrs, Conn. His fastest speed could only get him there an hour late, but that didn’t stop him from marching right up to the microphone and telling it as it is.

"I’m 61 years old and they look at me and think, ‘If this old guy can do these things, why can’t I?’"

— Bentley head coach Jim McAdam

“I didn’t eat and I’m starving, I hit traffic and I had practice today,” said the lively McAdam sans necktie, one of the things left behind in hysteria. “So let’s see. I’d like the goalie from Canisius, I need a goalie. I’d like a couple of forwards from Mercyhurst. I know Pearl [at Holy Cross] have a couple of guys I can use. And let’s see, Rob Riley [head coach of Army], welcome to the league, and I’d like a couple of your forwards.

“I need tons of players.”

He put it simply. No beating around the bush. No hiding his cards. Jim McAdam tells it like it is.

But if you didn’t talk to McAdam for the rest of the day, there’s still a lot he’s not telling you.

Like the fact that Bentley will boast one of the best defensemen in the league in Steve Tobio. An all-league defenseman last season, Tobio will be joined by a host of freshmen who McAdam thinks have the ability to make an impact.

Is that enough? It’s hard to say.

Bentley did lose one of the MAAC’s best one-two scoring punches in Ryan Soderquist and Brian Gangemi, as well as goaltender Joe Cullen, who backstopped the Falcons in nearly two-thirds of last year’s games.

One name that will stand out on the list of recruits, though, is Joe Lovell, whose brother Tim played at both Maine and UMass-Amherst in the mid-to-late 90’s. McAdam hopes that someone, possibly Lovell, is able to step up and lead the Falcons’ charge.

When asked what will have to happen to keep the Falcons on par this season, McAdam was his usual honest self.

“I like to run my practices,” said McAdam, about to being his eighth season behind the Falcon bench. “I keep telling the players to work hard, and with that, I work hard. I think that rubs off. I’m 61 years old and they look at me and think, ‘If this old guy can do these things, why can’t I?’

“I just want to keep things positive. That’s how I keep things in focus.”

Something this year’s Falcons will need.

Season Preview: Sacred Heart Pioneers

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

The Sacred Heart Pioneers made their statement loud and clear throughout the 1999-2000 MAAC season, a statement that they are here to stay.

An eighth-place pick last season by the MAAC coaches, Sacred Heart used heart, determination and a lot of skill from a talented group of players to muscle into a tie for fourth place — opening plenty of eyes around the league on the way.

ALEXIS JUTRAS-BINET

The catalyst behind that surge was the leadership of head coach Shaun Hannah. In his fourth season at the helm, Hannah was picked by his peers as the MAAC Coach of the Year after his Pioneers posted a 16-15-3 overall record.

Losing only three lettermen last season, one would expect the Pioneers to rank close to the top of the MAAC preseason poll, but instead they find themselves tied for fifth with defending postseason champ UConn. Not that Hannah minds.

“We’re not looking at [the poll],” said Hannah, who reached the 50-win plateau last year as a coach. “Our focus is improving on what we have accomplished.”

Improvement is the theme for Hannah and his Pioneers this year. He feels that as the league grows older, the biggest challenge is keeping the best players coming through your doors.

“The league is always improving. You don’t want to ever level off,” Hannah said. “You improve, you keep developing your program, and then eventually you’ll be where you want to be.”

Where Hannah wants to be is in the mix at the top of the league, after a season that saw the Pioneers fight tooth-and-nail for home ice, only to lose it to UConn in the last weekend of the season. They went on to fall to the Huskies, the eventual tournament champions, in a heartbreaking quarterfinal game.

"The league is always improving. You don’t want to ever level off. You improve, you keep developing your program, and then eventually you’ll be where you want to be."

— Sacred Heart head coach Shaun Hannah

As Hannah tries to improve with the MAAC, one thing will remain the same, and that is the man between the pipes. Goaltender Alexis Jutras-Binet, along with having one of the longest names in the league, will be looked to as the biggest impact goaltender in the league.

Things got a lot easier for Jutras-Binet last season when Sacred Heart’s defense improved significantly, and allowed the then-junior tender to see much less rubber. That is the trend that Hannah hopes the Pioneers can continue.

“We’re pretty solid defensively,” Hannah said. “Alexis is a senior this year, so we knows he’s going to play hard.

“Offensively we hope to generate some more goals,” Hannah noted, a season after SHU averaged only 3.06 goals per game, placing the Pioneers at the bottom of that league.

To do that, they’ll look to returning forward Marty Paquet, who led the team in scoring with 40 points last year, as well as junior Lloyd Marks, who checked in right behind Paquet with 35 points.

Season Preview: Iona Gaels

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

The darkhorse in the MAAC this season is Iona College. The Gaels, in their first two seasons, have shown signs of brilliance. Two years ago, Ryan Carter, then a freshman, burst onto the MAAC scene to win the scoring title as well as the league’s Offensive MVP.

Last year, coach Frank Bretti knew that it would take more than just Carter to be successful. And with the addition of Mark Hallam and Ryan Manitowich, the Gaels rode a slow start and a sixth-place finish in the MAAC standings to a Cinderalla playoff that included wins over Canisius and Quinnipiac before falling in the championship game to host UConn.

"The fact that we were in last year’s championship game might be a motivating factor in someone else’s game plan, but for us, we’re not going to really change anything."

— Iona head coach Frank Bretti

This year, Bretti continues to focus on improvement. The Gaels have landed more high-talent recruits that, with the complement and guidance of the past two recruiting classes, Bretti hopes can give him a balanced attack from top to bottom.

All of this has not gone unnoticed throughout the league as the coaches in the MAAC picked the Gaels third in the preseason poll. Not bad for a team which was a resounding last-place pick in the preseason just two years ago.

That translates into a term the Gaels haven’t been too familiar with: expectations. The Gaels have never been picked in the upper half of the league, and that fact alone will make it much more difficult to take teams by surprise, something Iona has been known to do the past couple of years.

Bretti, though, isn’t shaken by the expectations.

“I think [our being picked third] may be a sign of good things to come,” said Bretti. “In all honesty, you can throw the polls out as soon as we hit the ice, but as the league evolves, the knowledge of these polls increases.”

RYAN CARTER

As far as his freshman class, Bretti is confident that these players will continue to help the program grow in what he calls a “building process.”

“Regardless of what we accomplished in getting to the finals last year, you might think we don’t need that many players because we didn’t graduate many,” said Bretti, who holds a 34-55-6 record in three years with the Gaels. “But I haven’t lost sight of where we want to go with our program, and that is part of my recruiting.”

As far as being the team that everyone wants to beat night in and night out, Bretti feels his players need to simplify the way they think to be successful.

“I think we just need to keep things real simple,” Bretti said. “We’re going to go about our day-to-day philosophies of how we operate and how we do our business. They really haven’t changed much from last year.

“The fact that we were in last year’s championship game might be a motivating factor in someone else’s game plan, but for us, we’re not going to really change anything.”

And based on last year’s success, there may not be much that needs to be changed.

Season Preview: Holy Cross Crusaders

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

You might think that a feeling such as winning a championship, especially the inaugural championship in the MAAC hockey league, is something that you never forget.

And though that is probably the case, Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl, who led the Crusaders to exactly that berth two seasons ago, probably wishes that the memories of skating the championship trophy around the ice were the most vivid in his mind.

Instead, though, Pearl and his players have memories of an 8-24-3 record last season, a seventh-place finish in the MAAC, and a quick exit by means of a 10-3 loss against Mercyhurst in the first round of the playoffs. Maybe not the best memory for a coach, or anyone for that matter, but for Pearl, it’s a building block.

By returning 17 players, including his top two scorers in Brandon Doria (30 points) and Pat Rissmiller (27 points), and adding 13 new faces to the dressing room, Pearl expects the Crusaders to be competitive.

"Our biggest challenge will be to get all the guys going a little earlier than we did last year."

— Holy Cross head coach Paul Pearl

The MAAC coaches may disagree, as Holy Cross was picked eighth in the MAAC preseason poll. But Pearl is quick to point out that parity is the name of the game in his league.

“I think [Quinnipiac and Mercyhurst] are going to be the top two teams in the league,” Pearl said. “But I think three through 11 will be [up for grabs].”

Now familiar with both the top and the bottom of the league, Pearl knows better what it will take to get his Crusaders to back to the upper-tier of the MAAC: consistency.

“Our biggest challenge will be to get all the guys going a little earlier than we did last year,” noted Pearl, entering his sixth season with the Crusaders. “Last year we finished great and had a good run at the end, and even the year before, we were .500 at the break, but put together a stretch of wins in the second half and ended up winning it all.

“We need to do that a little earlier this year so that we’re not battling to get into the playoffs, but in the thick of it for home ice.”

Pearl will look to his young personnel to lead his team back towards the top of the MAAC. Of the freshmen entering Holy Cross, Pearl expects eight or nine players to take immediate impact roles. That includes one of the Crusaders biggest holes last season — goaltending.

Junior Derek Cunha, a transfer from Trinity College, will be eligible to start this season after sitting out a mandatory NCAA redshirt. Junior Matt Smith, injured for much of last season, will be given a chance to compete alongside two freshmen, Ricky Massey, who played last year for BB&N in the New England Independent School League, and Brad Holzwart, from the New England Coyotes.

Pearl admits that he has no clear favorite for who will play between the pipes, but whoever gets the first call will have the unenviable task of facing St. Lawrence University, one season removed from a berth in the NCAA Frozen Four, in the opening round of the Black Bear invitational in Orono, Maine. A win there, as great an upset as it would be, would likely set up a date with always powerful Maine in the championship game.

The non-league schedule, which will be strong for its second consecutive year for Holy Cross, will also include games against UMass-Lowell, Vermont, Providence and Yale. Undoubtedly, Holy Cross will play one of the toughest slates in the MAAC. And that’s tough from day one.

“For all the five years I’ve been here, we’ve been a great team in February and March,” Pearl finished. “Now it’s time to be a good team from the beginning, to be a good team at Thanksgiving break. If we do that, we can be a great team.”

Season Preview: AIC Yellow Jackets

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

How much is goaltending a factor in deciding championships?

If it were up to AIC coach Gary Wright, a major factor indeed. That is the one area where his Yellow Jackets will be strong this year. With returning seniors Chance Thede and Ben Brady, AIC will have the most experienced goaltending tandem in the MAAC.

But, unfortunately, that’s where the experience ends. The low-scoring Yellow Jackets struggled through their second year in the MAAC, posting a 5-19-3 league record and missing the playoffs with a ninth-place finish.

But truly this season for the Yellow Jackets will be about new experiences. According to Wright, opening practice last week was the earliest that he’s ever opened a season. The club will play its first exhibition game the weekend of October 7, when they face St. Nick’s, a school from New York state whose famous alumni include Hobey Baker.

And then the fun starts.

The weekend of October 13 and 14, AIC will travel to Colorado Springs to face Air Force. Wright joked that the trip alone will be the teams first challenge.

“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.”

All joking aside, if AIC is to find success this year in the MAAC, the area that will need to be a focal point is scoring. The Yellow Jacket attack was held to less than four goals on 21 occasions last year. When you factor in that five games went to overtime last year for AIC, it’s easy to see that even a slight increase in scoring might mean the difference between the cellar and the playoffs.

As far as players that might catalyze this offense, Wright will look for upper-class leadership. Senior defenseman Aaron Arnett, whose 23 points last year ranked second on the team, will have to become more involved.

The Yellow Jackets graduated their leading scorer, Zac Kalemba, last year, so players like Ollie Gagnon, who led the Yellow Jackets in goals with 13, will need to pick up production.

Special teams, particularly the power play, must improve as well. The AIC power-play unit operated at a league-worst 15 percent last year, scoring only 12 goals in MAAC games all season.

If the Yellow Jackets can pull together one or two of these areas, watch out come March. They could be playoff contenders. There’s plenty of experience behind the bench at AIC, now the test will be how Wright can use the experience on the bench to succeed.

Season Preview: Quinnipiac Braves

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

For the second consecutive year, Rand Pecknold and Quinnipiac University will sit on the bench each night not dressed in their typical purple, white and gold uniforms, but rather wearing the biggest bullseye money can buy.

J.C. WELLS

Without a doubt, Quinnipiac is the MAAC’s preseason favorite — possibly the biggest favorite in all of college hockey. Their closest competitor from last season, Mercyhurst, will stand as a threat, but key losses may keep them from the top.

Though we’re not suggesting you hand over the regular-season title right away, let’s just say that the engraver might want to start practicing his Qs sometime around mid-December.

Does all of this concern Pecknold, entering his seventh season behind the Braves’ bench? No way.

“Just like last season, we can’t worry about the preseason poll,” Pecknold said. “Every team in this league has just taken recruiting by leaps and bounds. We’re all getting access to better kids, so you don’t know who has a good class or not until you get out on the ice.”

Though it can’t hurt knowing that the talent level within your own program has led to two consecutive regular-season titles. That luxury alone gives Quinnipiac the confidence to tackle plans some MAAC teams cannot, such as aggressive non-league scheduling.

For the second consecutive year, Quinnipiac will face top schools outside of the MAAC, including St. Lawrence, Clarkson, RPI, Union, Minnesota and Cornell.

“We wanted an aggressive non-league schedule,” said Pecknold. “Last year, the experience of playing teams like Niagara and taking them to overtime, and having a lead with 10 minutes to play against Maine was phenomenal. We want to play as many of those games that we can.

"We wanted an aggressive non-league schedule."

— Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold on playing five USCHO.com Preseason Top 20 Teams

“All of those non-league games will be on the road, so going into those hostile buildings will allow my kids to step up to the plate and perform.”

And performance is something that Quinnipiac has been proud of for its duration in the MAAC — except in the postseason.

Last year, for the second consecutive season, Quinnipiac bowed out of the MAAC playoff tournament in the semifinals in a major upset. This season, with the automatic bid to the NCAA championships at stake, a postseason loss will have heavy consequences.

“That’s the tough thing about a one-and-done playoff in hockey. It really doesn’t benefit the top seed,” Pecknold said. “But we’ve basically got the same team back, and have a lot of upperclassmen. There’s always the saying that you win with juniors and seniors. I’ve never had that, so this year we’ll see if that holds true.”

When asked about pressure, Pecknold, truthful to the bone, could not deny its presence.

“I feel there’s a ton of pressure on us and in terms of that, I think my guys put pressure on themselves,” Pecknold said. “But there was pressure there last year, so you just have to learn and play through it.”

And Pecknold will hope the lessons learned are the lessons that teach themselves over and over again, especially in the month of March.

Season Preview: Fairfield Stags

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

Fairfield coach Jim Hunt has two challenges in front of him. The first is obvious: take a program that has amassed just four wins in the last two seasons and make it respectable.

The second challenge, though, may be the tougher – to survive at Fairfield University. With Hunt its fourth coach in five years, the number-one objective of the University has to be the retain a coach for an extended period of time to develop consistency in a program.

JAMES LUBINSKI

Granted, the last two seasons have seen coaches change jobs for bigger and better things, as Mike Doneghey departed two years ago for alma mater Merrimack and Mark Dennehy headed to UMass this season to work with legendary coach “Toot” Cahoon.

So where does this leave Hunt? Some may think, ‘In a tough position,’ but not if you ask the coach himself.

“Optimistic” is the easiest way to describe the man, who arrives at Fairfield after a stay with the U.S. National Development Program. But perhaps the word “energized” sums this coach up best.

That energy will translate into changes.

Severe changes.

“I think the first thing I have to do is to change the mentality — change the culture — of this team a little bit,” said Hunt. “That’s what needs to be done to address the returning players, and then you can instill what you want to instill into the younger kids.”

With 25 underclassmen (12 freshmen, 13 sophomores), the ability to shape players and the way they think indeed exists.

“Having such a young team lends itself very well to being able to come in and mold the freshmen and sophomore classes,” Hunt said. “The guys that have been there for a while, they’re tired of getting hammered. They’re looking for something to try and jumpstart the operation.”

"I think the first thing I have to do is to change the mentality — change the culture — of this team a little bit."

— Fairfield first-year head coach Jim Hunt

Hunt will have a different slate of players than his last two counterparts. Doneghey brought Fairfield into the MAAC without the caliber of player to win. His recruiting set up Dennehy to find a freshman class that was one of the best in the league last year.

Now Hunt receives these players as sophomores and will see 12 more talented freshmen that hope to impact the young program.

Specifically, Rae Metz, last season’s team MVP and a member of the MAAC All-rookie team, will be counted on for more than just his presence on the ice. Metz was named team captain for the coming season and will be depended upon to lead by example.

“Metz is a great player; he’s got great hands and great vision. He can set guys up and he can finish,” Hunt said. “But he’s going to be part of a blue-collar team.”

Blue-collar referring to hard-working, bumping and grinding, and most importantly, balanced.

“We’re going to have to get contributions from everybody,” said Hunt. “We’ll need offensive contributions from our defensemen, and simply to get our defensemen more involved in our game. We need to attack as a five-man unit, not a three-man unit.”

“Attacking” will be the name of the game for Fairfield, as the Stags must keep pressure away from their young goaltenders, whose play may decide exactly how well Fairfield can do this year.

A new face with a new outlook — Stag partisans hope that’s enough to propel Fairfield from the MAAC cellar into the playoffs.

Season Preview: Army Black Knights

By Jim Connelly

October 4, 2000

As one of the oldest men’s ice hockey programs in the country, the United States Military Academy, known better in hockey circles as Army, will watch tradition meet youth in its first season as a member of the MAAC.

About to enter its 98th season of men’s ice hockey, Army is not really a stranger to the MAAC. For years Army has faced off against MAAC members like Holy Cross and Connecticut. And recently, schools like Fairfield, Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac have become visitors to West Point, N.Y.

"The NCAA Tournament becomes realistic now."

— Army head coach Rob Riley

Army comes to the MAAC after a season in College Hockey America, a six-team scheduling alliance-turned league into which Army just did not seem to fit. Geographically, West Point was a plane ride from any other league opponent, and competitively, the CHA seemed a bit above the Black Knights, who went winless over the league portion of last year.

The MAAC seems to be a much better fit for Army. Besides the obvious geographic benefits of a New England-New York based league, Army has also proved more competitive against MAAC teams. Last season, Army posted an 8-3-1 record against MAAC teams, and overall holds a lopsided 113-25-5 mark against the other ten opponents.

Now geographic fit and competitiveness are great reasons to move to the MAAC, but easily the two most important reasons point to the postseason. Army’s home facility, Tate Rink, with a capacity of 2,746, will be the largest facility in the league and a probable target to host the MAAC Championships in the near future. More important than that, this year’s tournament champion will walk into the NCAA tournament, uncharted ground for the Knights. This is something that head coach Rob Riley makes clear changes his team’s focus.

“Before every season starts, every teams asks itself, ‘where do we want to be at the end?'” said Riley. “The NCAA Tournament becomes realistic now. You have to position yourself for the playoffs, then you are three wins away from you goal.”

SCOTT HAMILTON

As far as the talent that Riley will depend on to get the team to the postseason, look no further than senior forward Mike Fairman. The senior captain has enjoy success against MAAC team, with his top point games coming against Fairfield and Bentley. Fairman led the team in scoring last season with 29 points, one better than junior forward Tim Fisher. This sparkplug is small in size at 5’9″, but big in production. In 32 games last year, he notched 14 goals and matched that with 14 assists.

The defensive question for the Knights might lie in goaltending. Junior netminder Scott Hamilton will have the chance to shine this season. After splitting the duties with graduate Corey Winer last year, Hamilton will have the opportunity to keep the number-one job to himself. In two years with Army, Hamilton has posted a 13-11-2 record with a 2.76 goals against average.

Army, like many other schools in the league, will attempt to maintain a tough non-league schedule. The Knights will face Union, RPI, UMass-Lowell, and rival Air Force on the non-MAAC slate.

Regardless of who is on the opposite bench, look for Army to do everything in its power to take charge throughout the season in the MAAC. After 97 years without an NCAA bid, you have to think that the players, coaches and staff smell the MAAC autobid like a hungry lion does a steak.

Watch out, MAAC, the Army is here!

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