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Sleeping Giant

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The Harvard Crimson were on top of the college hockey mountain 10 years ago. Bright Center was packed to capacity every night, the 1989 national champions boasted three Hobey Baker Award winners in a seven-year span, and the recruiting pipeline was overflowing with future All-Americas like Ted Drury, Steve Martins and Sean McCann.

The second half of the next decade proved to be bit of a disappointment for the Cantabridgians, however. How bad? After advancing to the NCAA tournament in 1993 and 1994, would you believe falling to the depths of four straight losing seasons prior to this year? A goals-against average over 3.50 in this age of defensive-minded hockey? A power play under 15 percent?

It was a not-so-quiet secret in the ECAC these last few years that Bright was no longer a threatening arena in which to play. The Crimson’s troubles were enough to turn off their three core groups of fans: the influential hockey alumni who formerly congregated in the rink’s southeast corner, the unruly but erudite face-painting denizens of the area beneath the press box, and the cynical old-timers on the west end, many of whom remember athletic director Billy Cleary from his playing days.

A brief but stormy era of Harvard hockey may be coming to a close, however, under new head coach Mark Mazzoleni. The unbridled enthusiasm and fresh ideas of the former Miami University pilot have revitalized players who formerly dreaded their afternoon practice sessions. The Crimson roared out of the gate with four wins in their first five games, including a 2-1 victory at Cornell and a 13-goal home weekend against Dartmouth and Vermont.

No one who knew former head coach Ronn Tomassoni enjoyed watching him struggle during his last few seasons in Cambridge, but, for the sake of Harvard hockey tradition, it was time for a change. The simple fact is that Tomassoni’s last few Harvard teams earned a label as underachievers. The ECAC coaches picked Harvard for 3rd, 5th, 3rd and 2nd in the last four pre-season polls. The Crimson finished 8th, 5th, 8th, and 6th, respectively. Not the stuff of a championship-caliber program, which is what Mazzoleni honestly believes he has inherited.

“I felt in my heart that this is one of the elite eight jobs in college hockey,” Mazzoleni said recently as he reflected on his decision to leave Miami after five years. “I have no aspirations to coach in the pros and I have made the steady progression up the coaching ladder, so this is where I want to end my career. No matter how good we were at Miami, there was always Michigan and Michigan State. I think Harvard can be the Michigan of the ECAC.”

On his way up the ladder, Mazzoleni assisted Doug Woog at Minnesota and led Wisconsin-Stevens Point to consecutive Division III national titles. The Wisconsin native started his coaching career as an assistant to Val Belmonte at Illinois-Chicago. Belmonte, in turn, had been an assistant to Cleary and originally introduced the current Harvard AD to the current Harvard coach several years ago.

Mazzoleni’s familiarity with Cleary and the Crimson tradition made the decision to leave his family in Ohio for the time being and room with assistant Ron Rolston at Drury’s off-season home in Bedford, Mass, a little easier. The rest of the Mazzoleni clan will come east in the spring. Despite the 400 miles separating them, the family patriarch has made the drive numerous times to catch Paul, his oldest child, hold the line for the high school football team. That kind of dedication and commitment is emblematic of why he won the Harvard job.

“Mark’s work ethic on the ice as a player was phenomenal and he has been the same way as a coach,” Ron Mason, Mazzoleni’s coach in his last season as a goaltender at Michigan State 20 years ago, said. “I talked with Billy about Mark when he was interviewing for the job and told him that I thought Mark would be an excellent choice.”

Mason shares Mazzoleni’s view that Harvard is a sleeping giant among current hockey powers. A devil’s advocate might argue, however, that Harvard’s task is tougher now than just a few seasons ago. The competition for top-quality recruits who can survive the scrutiny of the rigorous Ivy League admission standards has increased due to program upgrades at Dartmouth and Princeton. In addition, the presence of several new Division I men’s teams heightens the battle for recruits in general.

Nevertheless, if Mazzoleni and Mason cannot convince you that Harvard can rise like a phoenix from the ashes, how about the decision made by Rolston? All he did was leave the same post at Clarkson, the ECAC’s team of the’ 90s, to take part in the renaissance on North Harvard Street.

“I would not have come here unless I thought that Harvard had as much or more potential than Clarkson to get to the championship level,” Rolston said with an air of certainty. “We have the opportunity to play an up-tempo style and still be strong defensively. We won a lot of games at Clarkson, but didn’t make it to the final four. I think Harvard has that ability.”

Rolston knows a little bit about winning hockey games. Prior to serving as Mark Morris’ top aide in Potsdam, he worked the bench alongside Jeff Jackson at Lake Superior State. He first encountered Mazzoleni while working in the CCHA in 1994.

“Mark called me back then to try and get me to work at Miami when he started there,” recalled Rolston. “When I heard he had this job, I sort of had a feeling that he would give me a call again. I always had a lot of respect for him. His teams at Miami played extremely hard. We faced them a couple of times in the playoffs when I was at Lake Superior, and it was tough.”

Rolston knew from his ECAC experience that the Harvard cupboard was far from bare. The Crimson have three former ECAC All-Rookie team players on the roster, one of the top recruits in the country and several other players who were considered blue-chip recruits at the time of their matriculation.

Tomassoni and departed assistant Jerry Pawlowski, of course, recruited all of the current Crimson skaters. The difference in their performance on the ice under Mazzoleni, however, is palpable. Late arrivals at the team’s second home game of the season, against Vermont, were treated to a four-goal third period uprising that included a spectacular one-on-one effort by freshman Dominic Moore and a pretty bang-bang play finished by his sophomore brother, Steve. Harvard fans have not seen offensive creatively like this since Steve Martins last shed the classic Harvard jersey in 1995.

“It is all about confidence,” senior captain Trevor Allman said. “We have to believe in the new system, believe in ourselves and get over the past. Coach Mazzoleni is allowing us to be creative. We want to generate offense by being a quick, transition-oriented team.”

The new Harvard style is predicated on puck possession and speed. When it works, it can be a thing of beauty. When it does not, it will result in a few odd-man rushes towards the Harvard end. Either way, it makes for a pretty entertaining evening.

“It is a little bit like a fast break offense,” Mazzoleni explains. “The goal is to keep pressure on opposing defensemen, and, if they start coming out of the zone and turn it over, push it right back down their throats. But the emphasis is also on being responsible with the puck. You can be creative, but not if it means exposing the puck or dribbling in areas where the opposition can take it away.”

Mazzoleni is relying heavily on his assistants, Rolston and former Maine volunteer assistant Nate Leaman, to help him revamp the Crimson. Rolston and Leaman bring to the table a familiarity with Eastern recruiting and experience with successful programs.

“I told Ron and Nate that I sure as heck didn’t know everything about hockey and that I hoped to put their best ideas to use,” Mazzoleni said. “We are certainly importing some of the things they did in their former positions; the end-zone offense is the same as Rolston used at Clarkson and we are using a forecheck similar to Maine.”

Arguably the biggest challenge facing the new staff is familiarizing themselves with the Academic Index, the Ivy League admissions barometer for athletes. The “AI” assesses various academic criteria, including SATs, Achievement Tests and class rank, on a weighted scale. Each recruiting class must exceed the permissible average AI score and all candidates must clear the minimum standard.

“We all have our calculators,” joked Rolston. “It has been a little overwhelming to get used to the system. We are a little behind in recruiting because of it; we still have to figure out who the good students are among the top players we have seen.”

The staff is also early in the process of assessing the talent at hand. Rolston had the luxury of watching Harvard in person and on tape prior to his arrival. Mazzoleni and Leaman are still trying to figure out which member of the Turco family is on the roster (Scott), which Moore goes where (sophomore Scott and freshman Dominic are forwards and oldest brother Mark is on defense) and which Nowak is which (freshman Brett is one of the nation’s premier recruits; sophomore Derek is out with an injury). Don’t even ask them to pronounce “Capouch”, as in sophomore defenseman Peter (the “C” is soft and the “ch” is silent — “Sapoo”).

Mazzoleni chose to take a fresh view of his talent by deliberately avoiding a look at the team statistics from last year. Consequently, players like seniors Matt MacLeod and Jamin Kerner are back in the lineup after primarily serving as spectators the last two years.

“MacLeod and Kerner have done a good job,” Mazzoleni said. “For whatever reason, they didn’t play much before. I just wanted to come in and give guys a chance to show what they can do based on what I see in practice and games, not what they did or didn’t do in prior seasons. If you want ice time, you are going to have to earn it.”

And there is plenty of ice time to go around in this new regime. Mazzoleni emphasizes short shifts and rolling over four lines. The Crimson intend to wear teams down with their speed and high-octane style.

In addition to the new offensive nuances, the coaching staff has invested significant time in shaping up the defense in front of goaltenders J.R. Prestifilippo and Oliver Jonas. Prestifilippo’s career goals-against average climbed from 3.18 to 3.56 as the blueline corps deteriorated around him over the past three years.

“Watching tapes after I took the job, I could see that the skill level was there but the team needed to play better away from the puck,” Rolston said. “They really followed the puck around, especially defensively. We need to get them to appreciate the benefit of good defense away from the puck.”

The defense now begins at the opposing blue line, where the strong-side forward locks on the puck carrier and leaves the other two opposing forwards to the defense. Senior Mark Moore is confident that repetition in practice will drill the new philosophy home and eliminate the odd-man rushes against.

“The different forecheck changes the way we play defense, although we will still play man-to-man in the defensive zone,” said Moore. “When you implement a new system it takes a little while to get used to it. We will learn.”

Moore and Allman are part of a large senior contingent that risks becoming the first to graduate without clearing the .500 mark since the Class of 1982. They are well aware of the responsibility that they bear.

“Coach Mazzoleni specifically asked the seniors to take charge and play a role in helping him make the transition,” Mark Moore said. “The fact that there are eight seniors on the team, as opposed to the four we had last year, makes it a lot easier. We can spread the responsibility around and each deal with one or two guys.

Moore’s family can claim as much of a role in improving attendance as Mazzoleni’s brand of firewagon hockey. The Moores staged a family reunion in Boston during the first home weekend, bringing 26 people to the games. With Mark hammering opposing forwards in the crease and Steve and Dominic filling the net at the other end, it is enough to make visiting coaches utter the English translation of Roberto Duran’s famous words of capitulation.

For his part, Mazzoleni is playing the role of town crier to fill seats. He wrote a letter to the alumni encouraging their support and then made a plea directly to the masses.

“It is part of my responsibility to go out and promote the program,” explains Mazzoleni. “We have 6,000 students at this school; if we can hook 200 freshmen a year and they bring their friends, we’ll be in good shape. I went to the freshman dining hall to speak to them, to encourage them to come support us. I told them that we would play hard and be disciplined. I wrote the same thing in the letter to the alumni.”

Will all three core fan constituencies respond to the coaching staff’s entreaties? The student turnout at the first home games of the year suggests that the hard sell is working at one level. The cynical old-timers and power alumni are probably not far behind if the team keeps winning.

“It has been a tough learning process,” Allman opined. “We’ve had to practice hard and learn a new playbook. There are a lot of new drills and we are still getting the hang of it. We have a long way to go.”

Harvard already shows significant signs of having made progress. If Allman is right, and there is more to come, it should make an evening at Bright Center a memorable event for the home team and its fans once again.

A Time To Give Thanks

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As families across the country celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving (by the way, my favorite holiday thanks to the enormous amount of food you can eat without feeling guilty), I thought it might be nice to take a light-hearted look at what the folks around the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference have to be thankful for.

Rand Pecknold at Quinnipiac has plenty. First off, to be sitting in first place, without one of your top forwards, Chad Poliquin — that alone deserves a cheer of the apple cider. You know somewhere, too, he’s thankful that the University of Maine gave up on forward Shawn Mansoff, allowing him to transfer to Quinnipiac. The sophomore has 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) for the Braves and is the leading scorer in MAAC play (16 points).

Paul Pearl at Holy Cross is thankful for the fact that his bus does not have to make another trip to Albany, N.Y., this season. After last weekend’s loss to RPI, 10-2, Pearl won’t have to hear the annoying horn that sounds after each RPI goal again. Though he may be hearing it in his sleep.

UConn’s Bruce Marshall is thankful that the club’s non-conference schedule is over this weekend. In games against non-MAAC teams, UConn is 0-3 and has been outscored 14-7. (Unfortunately, after the turkey settles on Thursday, UConn still has to face UMass-Lowell and either Air Force or Yale this weekend at the Festival of Lights tournament in Lowell.) Marshall is also thankful that half of the games are played at home. UConn is 2-0 at home, outscoring its opponents 15-2 in those two games. On the road, UConn is 0-5, being outscored 28-12.

The greatest thing that Sacred Heart’s Shaun Hannah has to be thankful for is goaltender Alexi Jutras-Binet. Now in his third year with the Pioneers, Jutras-Binet has been a constant backbone for the club. His 2.44 goals-against average is second in the league and his 429 minutes and 30 seconds is the most by any goaltender in the league. Jutras-Binet has helped Sacred Heart to the top of the MAAC in the defensive rankings, averaging a stingy 2.50 goals against as a team.

Mercyhurst’s Rick Gotkin is thankful that hockey games are 60 minutes long. Four times this season the Lakers have trailed at the end of two periods, and four times they have come away victorious. In league games, Gotkin’s club has spent 49 percent of the time trailing, yet still posts a 6-0-1 record. Guess that’s not hard when you outscore your opponents 14-4 in the third period.

Fairfield’s Marc Dennehy is thankful to be home for the holidays. Dennehy’s Stags opened up its season with a nine-game road trip. Over the five week span, the Stags posted an 0-8-1 record on the road with trips to Air Force, Canisius, Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac. When Dennehy and his bunch returned home this past Sunday, they happily tied Sacred Heart, 3-3.

I think Iona coach Frank Bretti would be thankful if yours truly didn’t feature his team anymore. Two weeks ago, I featured Iona against Mercyhurst as the MAAC Game of the Week, and since then, the Gaels have gone 0-4-1. All kidding aside, I’m sure Bretti will be putting a few more wins on his holiday wish list. Hope that Santa delivers a little, too, for Iona’s sake.

Bentley’s Jim McAdam has to be giving thanks for his senior captain Ryan Soderquist. Now the leading scorer in school history, Soderquist has placed himself among the top forwards in the league. His 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in only seven games is best on the club and ranks him fourth in the league in scoring. McAdam might be even more thankful if hockey would eliminate the second period. His Falcons have been outscored 14-5 in the middle frame this season.

Canisius coach Brian Cavanaugh is very thankful to have a penalty-killing unit that is tops in the MAAC. Canisius has allowed only eight goals in 55 attempts this season (85.5 percent), while at the same time scoring a league-best four shorthanded goals. Now, Cavanaugh just wishes that his power play would catch fire. The Griffs have scored just six goals in 51 man-up chances (11.8 percent).

AIC’s Gary Wright will give thanks this Thanksgiving that his Yellow Jackets were able to pick up their first league win last weekend. The 5-1 win over Fairfield was enough to lift the club out of the MAAC cellar. Wright, like Cavanaugh at Canisius, will be very thankful if his team’s power play comes to life. Having scored just three goals with the man advantage all season, you might say that AIC’s power play is on life support.

And finally, MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor is giving plenty of thanks for the success of his young league to date. Certainly, there is room for improvement, but the MAAC’s debut season and postseason tournament easily met fans’, players’ and coaches’ expectations. Congratulations to the commish, and to everyone involved in making MAAC hockey a reality.

A Merry Time at Merrimack

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Before the year started, Hockey East coaches, not to mention this writer, picked Merrimack to finish last.

It seemed eminently reasonable. The Warriors had come within one point of finishing in the cellar last season and that was before losing All-Hockey East center Rejean Stringer (56 points) and Kris Porter (45).

“Being picked last in the Hockey East poll doesn’t surprise me when you lose 80 percent of your offense,” said coach Chris Serino at the time. “This year, we don’t have a 30-goal scorer like a Porter or a 70-point guy like Stringer.

“But we’ve got eight or 10 forwards who could score between eight and 15 goals for us. If they all get in between eight and 15 goals, we’ll really make up for what we lost between Stringer and Porter.”

"I think maybe my first two years here, if we won a game or if we won two games, guys were still [thinking], ‘Geez, we were lucky to get those.’ These last couple games, we’ve worked hard and we deserved to get them. … The difference between my last two years and my first two years is that guys are going out and getting something that they want."

— Merrimack senior Cris Classen

And with hopes that the returning cast on defense and in goal would solidify, Serino looked for his program to progress in his second year at the helm.

After seven games, however, Merrimack stood at 2-5-0, with its only wins coming against the MAAC’s Holy Cross and last year’s number-one Eastern punching bag, Union. Never mind that Union would soon show that it was much improved. At that point, it looked like two asterisks and five losses.

With the next four games including contests against nationally-ranked Maine and Boston College, Serino’s preseason optimism looked like, to paraphrase Yogi Berra, 50 percent wishful thinking and 90 percent whistling past the graveyard.

Especially considering the final game of those first seven, a 4-2 loss to Boston University. Forget the final score. After 40 minutes, it was 4-0 and BU had just outshot Merrimack, 18-6, in the second period alone. The Warriors looked, to put it bluntly, outclassed, outhustled and out-everything-ed.

Goodbye, hope. Hello, cellar. This was going to be a looooong year.

When Merrimack scored two late third-period goals, it seemed reasonable to write them off as little more than Clearasil on a pimple. A 4-2 score looked cosmetically more pleasing than 4-0, but presumably BU had just gotten sloppy in a contest that it had long since won.

Heck, Serino didn’t even bother to pull his goaltender in the closing minutes. Apparently, a two-goal loss was the best that could be hoped for.

A looooong year.

Now that Merrimack has ripped off a 3-0-1 streak, however, the move looks like a stroke of genius.

“I don’t know if it was a stroke of genius, but I just know it was the right thing to do for my team,” says Serino. “Maybe for someone else’s it wasn’t, but for my team it was. It’s like anything else. When you know your players, you get a feel for them and hopefully you’re smart enough to know what you need to do to help them.

“We hit rock bottom at the end of that second period at BU. That’s the only reason I didn’t pull the goalie. People looked at me, like, ‘This guy doesn’t want to win.’

“I’ll be honest. I didn’t think we were going to win. I wanted to take my team out of that game in the most positive manner I could.

“Sometimes your competitiveness gets in the way of your brain. And I was trying not to let that happen to me in that game.”

With the undefeated defending national champion Maine Black Bears up next, though, it looked like more than positive thinking would be needed just to keep the score close, much less escape with any points.

Instead, Merrimack held a 3-2 lead until a Maine extra-skater goal with 18.8 seconds gave the Black Bears a tie. The Warriors had battled with the number-two team in the country and finished even.

“When the game was over, there were no guys throwing sticks up in the air,” said Serino at the time. “In the locker room there were no guys cheering or patting each other on the back. Maybe that’s the sign of us growing up.”

The tie, albeit one with its disappointing aspects, appeared to be a potential coming-of-age performance.

“You want a coming-of-age game?” said Serino. “Our coming-of-age game is tomorrow night against UMass.”

Merrimack then kept the positive momentum going with a 4-3 win over UMass-Amherst for a three point weekend. With a talent-laden Boston College team on the next weekend’s horizon, however, the possibility of a bubble-bursting shellacking loomed. The Eagles had lost to Northeastern and Maine and seemed likely to vent their frustrations on the outmanned Warriors.

Think again. Instead of acting as an outlet for BC’s frustrations, Merrimack compounded them with a 2-0 win. Two days later, the Warriors duplicated the 2-0 whitewashing, this time against UMass-Lowell.

The back-to-back shutouts were the school’s first in Division I. Even including the dominant D-II years, the last time the feat had been achieved was Nov. 29-30, 1970. Coincidentally, the shutouts by Tom Welby and Cris Classen, respectively, were also collegiate firsts for the two netminders.

“In Hockey East, when you get good goaltending that gives you an opportunity to win,” says Serino. “When you don’t get good goaltending, you can’t win. It’s not possible.”

Welby earned back-to-back Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performances against Maine and Boston College. Classen got the wins against UMass-Amherst and UMass-Lowell, the latter garnering him a share of the league honors with Welby.

Classen’s increased ice time stands in sharp contrast to last year when Welby got the nod game in and game out. After the two split the opening weekend series, Welby started the next 24 of 25 games, with the lone bone tossed to Classen a November game against Army. Not until Feb. 12 against Northeastern did he get another opportunity.

“Tommy is a real good goaltender, but I think I beat him up last year,” says Serino. “I think I let him go too long. He was playing well and he gave us the best opportunity to win, but to be honest, I didn’t have confidence in Cris. I’m not saying something that I didn’t tell him. [But after] he beat Northeastern, then he started to play.”

This year, he has four decisions (2-2-0) to Welby’s seven (3-3-1). In the last four, the two have split the games, 50-50, with Welby getting Maine and BC on Friday night and Classen getting the two UMass schools on the weekend’s back end.

“Does that mean he’ll go every other game now?” says Serino. “Probably not. But if Tommy faces a game like he did against Maine or against BC [facing 46 and 36 shots, respectively], I’m going to use the next guy the next night. But if Tommy gets a 20- or 25-shot night, then I’ll use him again.”

The team’s defensive success is more a collective one than individual. There are no Mike Mottaus on Merrimack. Many forwards in the league will hold an advantage over the Warrior blueliners, but Serino is confident that hard work will still win out.

“We’re going to get beat sometimes in one-on-one situations,” he says. “That’s just the nature of the beast, but if we keep working the way we are, keeping guys around the puck, then even when the [other team] barrages us, we’ll have guys jumping on loose pucks.

“If we put ourselves in an odd-man situation, we’re in trouble. If we put ourselves in an even situation, we’ve got a shot. And even more than even situations, we’ve had a lot of times when they have a two-on-two and it becomes a two-on-four because we’ve got two backcheckers back with them.

“If we keep doing those things and the kids realize their importance, it’ll happen for us.”

In that regard, the team’s recent success has fed the defensive intensity. When a team hits hard times, the backchecking is usually the first thing to go. But when it’s winning, the defensive grind feels worthwhile.

“Guys on the bench are cheering when someone strips the puck on the backcheck,” says Serino. “The other night against BC, Greg Classen took a guy right to the net, right through the net, so he had no play. Guys were cheering, ‘Look at that backcheck!’

“It gets contagious. But you’ve got to win. Winning makes kids believe a lot more. They believe in what we’re doing. They try to do the things we’re doing. But if you don’t win, they start trying to do it their own way.”

The seven-out-of-eight points the last two weekends haven’t necessarily looked pleasing in the box scores. Merrimack has been outshot in every contest, decidedly so in three of the four: Maine (46-26), UMass-Amherst (35-27), Boston College (36-20) and UMass-Lowell (43-16).

The shot totals, however, don’t tell the entire story. Not all shots are created equal. For example, while there were far too many breakdowns against Lowell, the Warriors played a strong game against BC.

Just because Merrimack was outshot doesn’t mean there was necessarily a problem. A team can be successful allowing numerous shots from the outside and from poor angles as long as it can capitalize on a smaller number of quality opportunities.

“Against BC, we played very well,” says Serino. “The shots were lopsided, but the ones we had were good ones. [Against Lowell], we had good shots, just not a lot of them.

“That’s the way we’ve played. That’s smart playing. We’ve done a good job of eliminating the odd -an rushes since the Maine game and [if] you look at the shot charts and they don’t have anything in the slot and everything was outside, [then] we were playing pretty well defensively.”

Of course, a team’s play can always turn around in a hurry. The U-turn may be positive, such as from the debacle against BU to the recent successes, or it may be negative. There’s a fine line separating wins and losses in Hockey East.

“Let’s face the facts,” says Serino. “We’re not the most talented team in the league. We’ve got to battle and we’ve got to grind to win.

“There are two tiers in this league. There are BC, UNH, Maine and maybe a BU or whoever. And then there’s the rest of us. When you play them, it’s real easy to get up for them.

“But we’re all battling for points. It’s very important that you concentrate every game and get the points when you can get them, because they don’t come very easily in this league.”

At 5-5-1 overall and sitting in fourth place in Hockey East, the Warriors have reason to believe that they can keep the puck bouncing their way.

“We’re in a mode right now,” says Serino, “where we’re finding ways to win rather than finding ways to lose. One thing this team has done over the last two and half weeks is they’ve put the individual things aside. All they care about is winning.”

Thanks to Scott Weighart for his assistance.

This Week in the ECAC: November 17, 1999

By Becky Blaeser & Jayson Moy
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The Triple Threat and The Stingy Seven

If you take a look in Canton, N.Y. and the St. Lawrence Saints you’ll see something which one doesn’t exactly see all the time — a Triple Threat in Jeremy Symington, Sean Coakley and Derek Gustafson.

The last time that the USCHO staff can remember such an instance was Boston University with Cashman, Herlofsky and McKersie in 1992-93 and Mass-Lowell with Lindsay, Fankhouser and Fillion in 1994-95.

If you hadn’t figured it out, it’s the three-goaltender rotation on a regular basis.

“I don’t know if I have ever done it,” said head coach Joe Marsh. “Quite honestly, there is no reason not to do it. All three kids work hard and are talented.

“I would assume at some point maybe two guys or one guy will split. But I don’t see us right now arbitrarily looking at statistics and saying that this guy is third. There is so much more than statistics there. The guys are confident in all three. The thing that I notice the most is that all three guys are supporting each other. As tough as it is to rotate three, I think it’s their personalities and their camaraderie that makes it work. They are all good guys and they deserve a shot.”

The Saints are off to a 8-0-0 start after sweeping Rensselaer and Union, behind Symington and Coakley, at home this past weekend and a large part of it is due to the Triple Threat replacing ECAC Player of the Year and All-American Eric Heffler in between the pipes.

Saint fans knew that replacing Heffler was a big question mark for the Saints, but people heard straight from Marsh exactly what he was going to do.

“To fill [Heffler’s] shoes three guys will be battling it out,” he said before the season began. “I don’t think we’ll see a situation where we have the same guy in there every night.”

And thus far, Marsh has stuck to what he has said. Juniors Symington and Coakley each have three wins and Symington’s numbers are a 2.00 GAA and a .934 save percentage, while Coakley’s are a 1.67 GAA and a .950 save percentage. Freshman Gustafson has a 0.50 GAA and a .984 save percentage in two wins.

“It’s a good situation for them,” said Marsh. “The team defensive concept is bought into and if I’m not scoring 20 goals a year we can contribute in a lot of different ways.

“In goal it should be a team where the guys are not going to be surprised about what they have in front of them. Everyone will be blocking shots, playing defense and that should give the guys that are in the goal confidence that they’re not alone out there.”

And the defense so far for the Saints has been spectacular. The Saints have allowed only 13 goals in eight games and have returned seven defensemen with experience to this year’s squad — The Stingy Seven.

“Our defense has been around,” Marsh said. “A lot of them played when they were young and played a lot. They read situations real well now and we were giving up goals back then and they are experienced.

“We’ve got two premier defensemen. I like their defensive mentality and they are led by [Justin] Harney and [Dale] Clarke. Those two guys are very hard workers and can log a ton of ice time. They can work both ends and Justin is one of the premier offensive defensemen in the league. Both of those guys give us a chance to play a high-tempo transition game.”

Joining the two back there are fellow seniors Jake Harney and Josh LeRoy, juniors Kevin Veneruzzo and Matt Desrosiers and sophomore Ray DiLauro. The unit of seven is working hard to stymie opposing offenses and allowing their young goaltenders the chance to make the saves.

“We’re playing pretty hard defensively and I think we know we have to,” said Marsh. “We’ve worked hard on that. Our guys knew they had to play that way for the last couple of years because goals have been hard to come by. Fortunately we’ve got good goaltending and I’m happy with our defense from our forwards too.”

If you look closely too, three of the Stingy Seven are in the top seven in scoring for the Saints. Clarke leads the Saints with nine points (3-6–9) and Harney (0-7–7) and Desrosiers (2-5–7) each have seven points. That is something that Marsh likes, but also dislikes at the same time.

“Clarke and Harney can play, as can Desrosiers [offensively], but we need to work a lot on trying to sustain our offense a little bit,” he says. “We’re harping on defense all the time so in the back of everyone’s mind it’s hard to let go offensively and at the same time not worry about, ‘I better not do that because I have to get back there.’

“So far, we can’t complain. We’ll have walk that fine line of sustaining our offense better but not forsaking our defense to do it.”

That has been the story for the #6 Saints thus far. A Stingy Seven on defense and a Triple Threat in the nets.

It’s Just Old Hat

Continuing in the North Country, Clarkson is still winless in the ECAC and winless at home after losing to Union and Rensselaer by 3-2 scores each night. The Knights are 0-2-2 in the ECAC and 0-4-0 at home.

It’s just old hat, isn’t it? Considering that the Knights are known to start the season slowly and pick it up at the end, one could say that the usual panic has set in from the fans and the media. But are the Knights worried?

“Look at our start last year and look what we accomplished,” says goaltender Shawn Grant. “Every game so far has been a close game, but we can’t panic right now. There are little mental errors here and there. But we’ve got a long season ahead of us and a lot more games to play.”

“You never know from year to year,” said head coach Mark Morris. “You can’t bank on the fact that you’re going to run the table, it’s a hard way to do business. We’ve got our backs against the wall and it’s an uphill battle. We’re going to continue to strive for wins and it’s another tough weekend coming up again.”

It just seems so eerily familiar. What is it about Clarkson and starting the season?

“If I knew that answer we wouldn’t be in the dilemma that we’re in now,” said Morris. “We’ve had way too many injuries and we don’t have the depth that we have had in the past. We need to be steadier from a defensive standpoint. It seems like every mistake we’re making is winding up in our net. We have to improve between the pipes, we’ve got to stop making the giveaway pass in our own zone at a critical time and we need to muster an attack that is going to give us some goalscoring.

“We figured some things out with our team [this past weekend against RPI]. We saw some positive results and if it weren’t for bad luck we wouldn’t have any at all, that’s just the way things are going for us right now. Our guys played well periodically this past weekend and we need to do it for sustained periods of time. We came alive in the third against RPI and there were plenty of missed opportunities. Bottom line is that we have to score.

“We played a more complete game and I don’t think RPI came close to being a big threat to us. Credit them for the win, but I felt we controlled the game.”

“If I knew we wouldn’t be in this situation right now,” said senior defenseman Philippe Roy. “It’s not one problem, it’s, well, I just don’t know.

“We need everyone to chip in and go in the same direction. It just seems to take us longer than other teams. We can’t wait to get out of there. Every year that I have been here there has been adversity at the beginning of the season. I don’t know if that makes us stronger or better, but it seems that were in the same pattern this year. And to be honest, we can’t wait to get out of there and put some wins on the board.”

The Knights will try to get some of those wins against Colgate and Cornell this coming weekend.

Brown and Out

Sometimes a step forward isn’t necessarily all great news. In the case of Brown, every step in the right direction seems to be accompanied by an even larger leap back. Every positive play is followed by one which accentuates the need for improvement. Can you tell that it’s been a long season already for the Bears?

Last weekend, the team finally showed some offensive life by notching an unprecedented — at least for them — six goals on Saturday night against Colgate. But still, the final score read: Colgate 7, Brown 6.

“We have to take all the positives we can out of this experience, but it’s still a disappointment,” said Brown coach Roger Grillo following Saturday night’s loss to the Red Raiders. “Scoring six goals is a major step in the right direction, but we’re just not playing consistently on either end. We’re giving our opponents far too many chances.”

The numbers tell the story. Brown is off to an 0-5 start. The Bears have allowed 26 goals and scored only 12. Jeff Lawler, the team’s top scorer, has two goals and two assists. The goaltending duo of Graham McNally and Brian Eklund have a combined 5.50 GAA. The power-play unit is producing at a 13 percent clip, and the team as a whole has spent only 17.3 percent of its time leading a game this season.

“The negatives thus far in the season is that we aren’t doing a good job keeping puck out of our own net,” said Grillo. “We gave up 15 goals and that alone is not conducive to winning many games. Our biggest concern is getting our goals-against average to 2 or 2.5 or at the highest 3.0. We are capable of doing that, it’s a matter of being a lot better in our own zone.”

It’s no mystery that this Brown squad takes on an entirely different identity when Scott Stirling is between the pipes. The senior netminder was so instrumental in Brown’s mini-surge into the ECAC playoffs last season when he collected 134 saves in the team’s final five games, including a 35-save performance in a heartbreaking 2-3 overtime loss to Clarkson in the quarterfinals. That momentum was quickly stopped less than 11 minutes into the season opener, however. At the 10:40 mark of the first period against Harvard on Oct. 30, Stirling pulled his groin and has yet to see any ice time since then.

“It’s been a factor, there’s no question,” said Grillo. “[Stirling] is a senior, he’s a leader on this team. Not only in games, but we also miss him in practice. The two younger guys [Eklund and McNally], who haven’t played much because of Stirling, have been thrown in the fire this season. They are getting better and except for the Cornell game, they are allowing us to be in each game.

“We have had opportunities. We just have to be better in our defensive end and be quicker getting the puck out of the zone. Right now, we aren’t doing a very good job taking care of the puck and we aren’t making it hard for the other team.”

While the sympathetic nods are being accepted on behalf of the depleted goaltending squad, no one quite knows what to make of the offense. Mike Bent, James Duval, Jon Zielinski, Tyler Garrow …. What happened to that crop of 12 returning forwards who were expected to lead the offense?

“I think that [the offensive and defensive problems] are related in that part of the reason why we have struggled offensively is because we haven’t had the puck enough,” said Grillo, who will once again be without the services of top returning forward Bent this coming weekend. The highly touted senior has played in only three contests this season due to injury.

And the key to a turnaround for the Bears?

“I think that it’s the upperclassmen, without question,” Grillo said. “They did that on Saturday [against Colgate]. Jeff Lawler, our assistant captain, had a four-point weekend. We hadn’t had someone with multiple points until that point.”

Grillo also feels that this dismal 0-5 start is just a continuation of what has become a unwanted tradition with the Brown program: slow starts.

“Unfortunately, the reality of Brown hockey has been notoriously slow starts,” said Grillo. “During my first year, we were 2-11 at Christmastime and finished fourth in the league. I don’t know what the exact reasoning is behind it, but it has been like that for a long, long time. We have tried to address the problem this year, but it hasn’t worked. We are in the same spot that we have been for the last 20 years.”

This Week in the CCHA: November 17, 1999

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Stock Options

With a third of the season behind us, now is as good a time as any to take stock and make some less-than-bold statements. Who’s the best the league has to offer? Who’s the worst?

And where in this league can you get what passes for a decent meal, anyway?

Best Player: Hands down, Michigan’s Mike Comrie.

Comrie (11-12–23) is leading the country in scoring, averaging 2.09 goals per game, having recorded a point in each of the first nine games he played this season. Miami broke Comrie’s streak on Nov. 12, but the sophomore came back with a goal and two assists the following night.

Comrie is tied for the lead in goal production in the CCHA (11, with Michigan State’s Adam Hall), and he and teammate Mark Kosick make the Wolverine power play–which converts at a rate of 25.3% overall–click.

He doesn’t have the best plus/minus in the league, but this young man is the kind of player that can break open a game, period.

It takes a lot for a player to stand out on a team like Michigan, a team blessed with many talented forwards. Comrie does.

Best Forward Other Than Mike Comrie: Michigan State’s Shawn Horcoff.

With five goals and 16 assists, Horcoff is second in the nation in scoring, behind his rival Comrie. Horcoff has had at least one point in each game of Michigan State’s current 10-game win streak, and he’s averaging 1.91 points per game in overall play.

With one-third of the season gone, the senior has already totaled 57% of his scoring from last year.

And, oh yeah–good things happen when Horcoff’s on the ice. He’s +16 in overall play.

Best Defenseman: Michigan State’s Mike Weaver.

You don’t hear his name much when scorers are mentioned, but Weaver is a true stay-at-home defender who can read–and thwart–a play like no one else in the league.

Best Goaltender: Michigan State’s Joe Blackburn.

I’m the first to admit that I’ve not always been a believer in the Church of Joe, but I’m a convert now.

Blackburn seems to have come into his own as a junior, poised and confident, and handling the split time in net with Ryan Miller very well.

Through six games overall, Blackburn is 5-1-0, with a 1.45 GAA and .930 save percentage. He makes the big play again and again and again, leaving fans and opponents scratching their heads and asking how he did it.

Northern Michigan’s Dan Ragusett is a close second. The junior with the hot glove hand is 6-2-0, and in nine games played, and has posted a .944 save percentage and a 1.39 goals against average, stats that make him fourth best in the nation.

Best Rookie: The flipside of the Church-of-Joe equation, Ryan Miller.

Yeah, Miller’s stats–5-0-0, .960 SV%, 0.91 GAA–are better than either Blackburn’s or Ragusett’s, but he’s had Joe to spell him on Friday nights all season.

Best Rookie Other Than Ryan Miller: Michigan State’s Brad Fast.

It seems unfair that the Spartans are so loaded with talent, but there it is.

Fast, an offensive defender, helps to give Michigan State a new dimension this season, a team where the scoring threats can come from the blue line as well. Fast has three goals and four assists in overall play, and he’s +14 overall.

He’s wicked at point on a power play that converts one-fifth of the time in overall play.

Most Improved Player: Western Michigan’s David Gove.

After Comrie and Horcoff, Gove leads the country in points. Now, statistics can be misleading–Gove’s point totals are through 12 games, as opposed to the #4 leading scorer, Boston College’s Jeff Farkas, who’s trailing Gove by just one point even though he’s played four fewer games, but when the top three scorers in the country are from a conference that showed fairly weakly last season, you can crow a little, for however briefly it lasts.

Back to Gove. Through those 12 games, Gove has six goals and 14 assists for 20 points. In 36 contests last season, Gove had just 15 points. This season, Gove has more than matched half his total point production from his first two seasons (38).

Players Most Likely To Be Overlooked: Michigan’s Scott Matzka and Mark Kosick, Western Michigan’s Mike Bishai, and Miami’s Evan Cheverie.

Why Matzka and Kosick? Because Matzka, one of the hardest-working players in the league, is always overlooked. And Kosick is overshadowed by Comrie. Kosick is the bomb–fast, smart, with an enviable touch with the puck.

Who’s Mike Bishai, you ask? Well, he’s a sophomore who leads the nation in power-play goals with seven–and he didn’t register a single goal last season in 26 games played.

Evan Cheverie (5-7–12 overall) has two power-play goals, two shorthanded goals, two game-winners, and is plus four. He leads a tenacious Miami team, having stepped up in a big way in the absence of Jason Deskins.

Biggest Surprise on the Plus Side: The Western Michigan Broncos have proven that they have talent, have determination, and can play with just about anyone in this league. Are they going to take the conference? No. Are they going to host a playoff series? Maybe.

Biggest Surprise on the Down Side: Flip a coin. Heads says it’s Ohio State, tails says it’s Notre Dame.

If the coin lands on its side, it’s Alaska-Fairbanks, who upset both Michigan and Ohio State (well, the latter was an upset then) and have done little since.

Most Annoying Aspect of the Game: Where is the five-on-five hockey?

Before you work yourself up into a lather because you think this is going to be an official-bashing column, pipe down. There are calls in every game that can go either way, to be certain, but most of the calls I’ve seen this season have been right on the money.

There have just been a whole lot of them, and not only because the majority of games I’ve attended have been at Value City Arena.

I’ve heard everyone from coaches to players to fans to press complain about the amount of the game that’s being played on special teams. If you’re not on power play after power play, you’re killing penalty after penalty–and there’s very little even-strength hockey.

Not only is this annoying because the alleged "flow" of the game is disrupted, but it can make for some pretty strange hockey. On more than a few teams around the league, your power players are also your penalty killers. These boys get mighty tired as the game progresses.

Of course, the solution is to stay out of the box. But that’s easier said than done, not only because this is hockey, but because the officials seem to be calling more penalties–not inconsistently, necessarily, but more of them.

Perhaps it’s time for a meeting on the subject. Or at least a group hug.

Most Unsportsmanlike Crowd: Yost Arena.

The perennial winner of this award–or loser, as the case may be–is stooping to new lows this season. The chant of "Ugly Parent" is crass beyond most anything I’ve heard, other than the list of what fans chant when an opponent goes to the penalty box.

Such conduct is a blemish not only on a winning program but the sport itself. The Wolverine fans are fond of chanting "So-re Los-ers," when in fact the fans at Yost are the sorest winners in the league.

Best Rink Food: Main course, Schottenstein Center. Dessert, Munn Arena.

For my money (since I have so little), the personal pizzas by a local chain sold at the Schottenstein Center are hot, tasty, and under $5. Without a doubt, this is the best hot rink food I’ve found.

But if you want to treat yourself, go to Munn Arena, throw your dietary concerns to the wind, and buy one of those little ice cream sandwiches they sell, the ones with a scoop of vanilla holding together two incredible chocolate chip cookies. To die for.

Oddest Moment This Season: The lights go out in Marquette.

Clarkson came to town, and someone forgot to pay the electric bill. I wasn’t there, but that must have been odd.

Similarly, the last few minutes of the 8-4 Michigan win over OSU at the Schott were played in dimmed lights after the arena lost partial power. That was strange.

What does this all add up to? Well, Michigan’s forwards are fast, fast, fast, but Michigan State has the best team in the league. Both Northern Michigan and Western Michigan are more than just competitive, and Ohio State is downright disappointing, as is Notre Dame, whose time was supposed to be upon us.

But, as they say, there’s a lot of hockey left to be played. And as Casey Jones, OSU’s assistant coach said recently, "A lot of other teams in this league are going to drop the same games that we have.

Considering that eight of OSU’s league losses have come to Western, Michigan State, Michigan, and Northern–and considering the records of those teams–who can argue with the logic of that?

The Phantom Goal

Michigan State’s third goal in their 5-2 win over Bowling Green last week, the goal that held up to be the game-winner, was a gift. Literally.

"The puck never went in the net," says Falcon head coach Buddy Powers.

"He’s right," says Spartan head coach Ron Mason.

The goal, credited to Brad Fast, was actually a save by rookie Falcon goaltender Tyler Masters. This is how Powers tells the story:

"Masters made the save, [referee Steve] Piotrowski was looking in the net for the puck, and Masters handed it to him. The Michigan State guys were standing around, then the goal light comes on and the horn blares. The State guys start jumping up and down and the referees were looking around like, what happened what happened what happened.

"It wasn’t within two feet of the net."

As is the case with most stories, there’s at least one more side here, and Mason takes issue with the proximity of the puck to the net ("near the crossbar," he says), and the sequence of events. Mason claims that the Spartan players jumped up and down immediately, since the goal light and horn went off right away. He also says that Piotrowski signaled a goal right away.

"It’s one of those situations," says Mason. "The referees handled it the way they should. The original replay wasn’t definitive. Then we got a close-up replay after the game that shows that it didn’t cross the line, it was in his glove."

Mason–keep in mind, he’s the coach of the team that won the game–also says that these sorts of "situations" tend to even themselves out.

Earlier in the game, Mason says, Michigan State had a goal that was clearly a goal–"not something that needed to be reviewed"–waved off.

"They had a delayed penalty called. The whistle just blew, and–bing!–our shot from the point went in. They never touched the puck, and the whistle blew."

So, says Mason, "It wasn’t like it was the only goal of the game."

Streak-Busters

Congratulations to Falcons Tyler Knight and Greg Day, the only two people to score on Michigan State netminder Ryan Miller in over 180 minutes of hockey.

Knight (2-1–3) also assisted on Day’s goal. Day (5-4–9) leads the Falcons in both overall and conference scoring.

Quote of the Week

"It’s a credit to the guys, that they’re able to stay together through some adversity. That’s what college athletics is all about. That’s what athletics is all about."

Miami head coach Enrico Blasi, on his team’s performance in the wake of losing both Jason Deskins and Gregor Krajnc to torn anterior cruciate ligament injuries this season.

Trivial Matters

Last week, I offered up a trivia question: Name the Florida team with two CCHA goaltenders on its roster. You got bonus points for correctly identifying the starter and the backup.

The correct answer is, of course, the Florida Everblades, the ECHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. Former Bronco Marc Magliarditi (remember him?) starts, while former Buckeye Jeff Maund backs.

Maund is 3-0-0, and leads the league with a 1.50 GAA. His save percentage is .935.

With a .938 SV%, a 1.74 GAA, and a record of 5-4-0, Magliarditi is third in ECHL goaltending stats.

Hats off to all of you who answered correctly. The first correct answer to come in was given by "jbiasi." Isn’t there a "biasi" who posts on the Message Board?

Games and Grudges of the Week will return after Thanksgiving.

This Week in the MAAC: November 17, 1999

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Soderquist Dominates Yellow Jackets

Leave it to Bentley College senior forward Ryan Soderquist to take control of a situation. Not even a quarter of the way through his senior season, Soderquist has already become the Falcons’ all-time leading scorer, and last Saturday night he added his name to the record books once again.

Just one night after the Falcons were demolished by the UConn Huskies, 8-1, Soderquist knew that the Falcons needed to make a definable turning point in their season. And he did exactly that, with a little help from fellow senior Brian Gangemi. Soderquist broke the MAAC record for points in a game, registering three goals and three assists helping his club to a very important 9-2 victory over the Yellow Jackets of American International.

"We came in [on Friday] night and played an awful game," said Soderquist, who now leads the club with 13 points (six goals, seven assists). "We thought we had to come home after [that] and turn around our season [right away]."

Soderquist wasn’t the only Falcon to record a hat trick in the contest, as Gangemi scored three goals himself, and added two assists, doubling his point total to 10. The hat trick marked the first three goals of the season for Gangemi.

Soderquist currently ranks third in the league in scoring, while Gangemi is tied for 10th.

Lakers Still Perfect

The Mercyhurst College Lakers woke up Sunday morning still at the top of the MAAC standings with a perfect 6-0 record in league play. But the record is thanks in no small part to the patron saint of comebacks as the Lakers, for the fourth time in their six wins, rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit against Sacred Heart on Saturday night on their way to a 3-2 overtime victory.

Head coach Rick Gotkin was extremely happy with his team’s road comeback and realizes that this club has more than luck on its side.

"Momentum and confidence is a big part of any sport," Gotkin said. "Were confident about the way we’re playing, but still need to get better every day. It’s still early.

"Sacred Heart played very, very well. We were very fortunate to find a way to win," he added. "The good news for us was that we found a way to win. We got the first [goal] and got a little confidence, got the second and them we had momentum. Then we got a power play in overtime and we scored."

The hero in this week’s contest was Aaron Morrison, a senior out of Uxbridge, Ont. It was the fifth goal of the season for Morrison, and his second game-winning tally in as many nights. Morrison scored early in the second period against Iona last Friday night to give the Lakers a 3-1 lead en route to a 4-2 victory.

The 6-0 start for the Lakers is the best in the short history of the MAAC. Quinnipiac began last season 4-0 before dropping a 2-1 contest to UConn last November. After that loss, the Braves reeled off an eight-game MAAC winning streak which still stands as the longest in league play.

This weekend, the Lakers will be off for the exam break (the school is in trimesters). They will return to action on Tuesday night when they battle natural league rival and travel partner, Canisius.

MAAC Game of the Week

Bentley College at Sacred Heart University Milford Ice Pavilion, Milford, Conn. Friday, November 19, 1999, 7:30 P.M.

This weekend’s MAAC Game of the Week features two teams currently walking different paths. The Pioneers of Sacred Heart are bordering on making a break into the top of the MAAC standings, while the Bentley Falcons are doing everything they can to keep their heads above water in the first year of Division I play.

Bentley had one of the most unusual splits ever last weekend. After losing 8-1 on Friday night to Connecticut, the Falcons not only split the series, but ended up scoring the same number of goals as their opponents for the weekend.

AIC was the Falcons’ victim on Saturday night, and thanks to hat tricks by Soderquist and Gangemi (see above), The Falcons cruised to a 9-2 win. Bentley currently stands at 2-3 in the MAAC (2-4 overall), and is tied with the same UConn team that pummeled them, in sixth place.

Sacred Heart has come full circle — for the positive — from last season. Just one season ago, the Pioneers opened the season 0-11, not posting their first MAAC win until the first week of January. This season, the Pioneers are surging toward the top of the MAAC with a 2-2-1 record.

And the Pioneers two league losses can be put in the "hard to swallow" class. The first came to defending regular-season champ and preseason favorite Quinnipiac, a hard-fought 5-3 loss. And the second came last Saturday night, when Sacred Heart dropped a 2-0 third period lead to current front-runner Mercyhurst, losing 3-2 in overtime.

But those tough losses, coupled with encouraging wins over Canisius, UConn and Army, are what give the Pioneers hope.

"We proved to ourselves that we can compete with the top teams in the league this year," head coach Shaun Hannah said. "We let [the games] slip away, but to take a positive out of it, we know we can compete."

No surprise to MAAC followers is the fact that the scoring leaders for the Pioneers are members of this year’s highly-talented freshman recruiting class. Forward Martin Paquet (5-2-7), and defenseman Les Hrapchak (3-4-7) lead the way.

In net for Sacred Heart is a goaltender who needs no introduction to MAAC opponents, Alexi Jutras-Binet. Now in his third season with the Pioneers, Jutras-Binet continues to post impressive numbers that he has in past seasons. The only difference this year is that his low goals-against average (2.29 through six games) is coupled with a strong team defense.

"Our goals-against is down, and we attribute some of that to Alexi," said Hannah. "But our team defense has improved. Army only got off 15 shots the other night and only three in the third period."

This is the first meeting of these two clubs since the 1997-98 season when Bentley trounced the Pioneers, 10-3. At that time both teams were members of Division II — Bentley and ECAC Central member and Sacred Heart a D-II independent.

Weekly Honors

The MAAC Player of the Week — no shock here — is Bentley’s Soderquist, for his record six-point game on Saturday versus AIC. The senior, Bentley’s all-time leading scorer, notched three goals and added three assists in the Falcons’ 9-2 win.

Sophomore Sean Wear of Canisius College was named the MAAC Goalie of the Week for the second time after making a career-high 42 saves against Iona in the Ice Griffs’ 3-2 victory on Saturday night. On the season, he has a goals-against of 2.31 and a .920 save percentage overall.

Matt Erhart of Quinnipiac College was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week. Erhart scored the first two goals of his collegiate career on Friday night as the Braves knocked off Fairfield 11-2. Saturday, the defenseman added three assists as Quinnipiac won a non-conference game with Fairfield 8-2.

Around the League

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL–Junior defenseman Aaron Arnett (Laval, Que.) had a goal and two assists on the weekend. He leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring with a goal and three assists on the season.

BENTLEY–Sophomore defenseman Steve Tobio (Belmont, Mass.) is tied for first in MAAC defenseman scoring with 3-6-9.

CANISIUS–Cory Lucas (Scarborough, Ont.) netted his second game-winning goal of the season against Iona…. Senior defenseman Tim Warrilow (Owen Sound, Ont.) scored his first goal of the season Saturday against Iona… Sophomore Scott Teeter (Shelbourne, Ont.), who began the season as a forward, played in the defensive rotation against Iona.

CONNECTICUT–Senior goalie Marc Senerchia (Greenville, R.I.) played 50:39 against Bentley without giving up a goal…Anders Johnson (North Kingston, R.I.) and Ron D’Angelo (Massapequa, N.Y.) each scored two goals in UConn’s 8-1 win over Bentley on Friday.

FAIRFIELD–All four Stag goals last weekend were scored on the power play. Freshmen tallied both goals and all seven assists…. Eleven of the Stags’ 18 goals this season have come on special teams. Fairfield has nine power-play goals and two short-handed scores.

HOLY CROSS–Freshman Brandon Doria (Bayonne, N.J.) scored a goal and an assist in the Crusaders’ 3-3 tie with AIC. Doria has a goal in three of four conference games played by Holy Cross.

IONA–Ryan Carter (Fort Nelson, B.C.) leads the Gaels in scoring with 10 points (three goals, seven assists)…Ryan Manitowich (Calgary, Alb.) is tied for first in the MAAC in goals scored with 6 goals in 7 games…. Iona captain Rob Kellogg (Ballwin, Mo.) returned to the lineup this weekend after sitting out three games with an injury. Kellogg tallied an assist in both Friday and Saturday’s games.

MERCYHURST–Aaron Morrison (Uxbridge, Ont.) scored both game-winning goals in the Lakers’ two wins last weekend… Freshman right wing Chris Brotka (Erie, Penn.) scored his first career collegiate goal Friday at Iona… Freshman defenseman Mike Muldoon (Oakville, Ont.) picked up his first two career points (0-2-2) Saturday.

QUINNIPIAC–In two games this weekend there were 16 multiple-point outings by Quinnipiac players… Freshman Brian Herbert (Langley, B.C.) had a season-high four points on Saturday (2-2-4)…. Seventeen different Quinnipiac players have tallied at least one goal this season.

SACRED HEART–Freshman Martin Paquet (St. Catherine, Que.) scored two goals and added two assists to lead the Pioneers to a 5-2 win over Canisius… Freshman Les Hrapchak (Wakaw, Sask.) added a goal and two assists in the win…. Paquet and Hrapchak accounted for both Pioneer goals in Saturday’s loss to Mercyhurst.

Getting Better with Age

After all the whining and complaining I did here last week about how bad my picks record has been on the season, fortune shined on me as I went 7-4 last weekend, improving my season record (that’s not hard) to a whopping 16-16, or a very even .500.

Looking back at last week, it was Shaun Hannah’s Sacred Heart club that pulled off the biggest shocker, upsetting touted Canisius, 5-2 on Friday night. That combined with Holy Cross’ 3-3 tie with AIC (I picked Holy Cross, 3-2), were my two blemishes on Friday night.

I will give myself a little pat on the back (been working out the arm muscles so they can reach better) for picking Sacred Heart over Army. In years past, Sacred Heart has always played Army tough. This time, the Pioneers came away with the win, 2-1, thanks to Lloyd Marks’ late goal.

As always, you can read my picks for this week’s games on the right-hand side of this page.

This Week in the WCHA: November 17, 1999

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Assessing the freshmen

It may still be early in the season, but it’s a good time to look at the impact the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s crop of freshmen has made on the teams. There may be little question as to whom the dominant rookie has been so far this season, but as a team, it’s a little trickier.

Reporters and fans could debate the merits of one player in a team’s system until they all run out of air, but that still leaves us without a consensus on the team with the biggest freshman impact.

So call this The Freshman Project. Using my limited mathematical skills, I drew up a crude equation using some statistics to come up with what I call the "Milewski index," a number to judge the effectiveness of a player.

Now, please don’t take this as a scientific study or anything even closely resembling one. This is just a purely quantitative estimate of the player’s performance and value to his team so far.

The Milewski index is derived using a player’s points-per-game average and scoring rank on his team. This only counts players who have appeared this season. The points-per-game average is multiplied by 25 minus the player’s scoring rank. Or, if you’re into formulae: ppg * (25 – scoring rank). In other words, the higher index, the more impact on the team and more scoring production. A team’s index is compiled by taking the mean of the freshmen players’ indices.

For the purpose of this study, goaltenders were eliminated. Some teams have freshman goaltenders and some don’t: It would be just too tough to account for them on some teams and not on others.

Some results are predictable, and some aren’t.

The predictable: Wisconsin’s Dany Heatley is far and away the leading freshman in the WCHA. His index is 34.5, more than the total on four league teams: Minnesota State-Mankato; Michigan Tech; Alaska-Anchorage; and Minnesota.

It seems the coaches knew something when they named him the preseason favorite for rookie of the year. Minnesota coach Don Lucia, whose team played Heatley’s Badgers last weekend, seemed impressed.

"Heatley’s just in another level than everybody else," Lucia said. "You might as well mail in the votes now for rookie of the year in our league."

The unpredictable: With Heatley, Brad Winchester and Brian Fahey, the Badgers’ index isn’t tops in the league. That honor goes to Colorado College, which has an average index of 10.66, compared to Wisconsin’s 9.735. The reason? The Tigers have four players who have all scored a point, giving them something more than 0 to contribute to the average. Wisconsin has two freshmen who have played but not scored, bringing down the average.

Oh yeah, it doesn’t hurt that Noah Clarke scored a 26.64 from 10 points in nine games, ranking him tied for first on his team.

The list, in reverse order, of teams based on their average index follows:

10. Michigan Tech (1.97): The Huskies have four freshmen who have played, but they have combined for four points in a total of 33 games. Jeff Keiver leads the group with two points and a 3.96 index.

9. Alaska-Anchorage (2.642): The thing that brought Anchorage down in the rankings is that they just have so many freshmen who have played but not put many numbers on the board. Dan Gilkerson has a 6.6 index to lead the Seawolves, but four of the team’s nine freshmen are at 1.2 or below.

8. Minnesota State-Mankato (2.856): The Huskies’ effect is also what kept the Mavericks’ average index low. Five freshmen, five points. Two players with no points. Not good for an average. In the team’s six games, a freshman has not scored a goal. Don Brose certainly has a veteran team in Mankato, though, which also gives a bit of the reasoning for the low numbers.

"Unless you’re an extremely weak program where freshmen are going to stand out, typically freshmen are going to come in and they have some learning to do," Brose said. "It’s rare that freshmen will step in in established programs that are programs in the upper half of the league and make an impact. They’ll contribute, but they won’t make an impact." 7. Minnesota (5.597): This might be another surprise to some. The Gophers have Shawn Roed and Jeff Taffe, who each has an index of 10.0 with five points in 10 games, but that’s really been it as far as freshman production.

Lucia said Roed, who played for the U.S. National Junior Team Development Program and the Twin Cities Vulcans of the United States Hockey League, has stood out over Taffe thus far.

"I think you see the difference between someone that’s coming right out of high school vs. someone that’s played junior hockey," he said. "Actually, Shawn has probably been the better of the two so far, and I think the experience from playing in Ann Arbor as a junior and with the Vulcans as a senior shows the difference."

6. Minnesota-Duluth (6.175): The Bulldogs have only four freshmen who have seen playing time this season, with Jon Francisco standing out as the most impressive. He has five points (all assists) and ranks second on the team. His 19.09 index is fourth in the league.

"He’s a very skillful player who you don’t need to carry the load," UMD coach Mike Sertich said, referring to his team’s veteran players. "There’s no pressure on him like there is in some programs when you bring in a lot of freshmen to play right away. He’s a good athlete. He’s a good hockey player."

5. Denver (7.058): Kevin Doell has a 15.6 rating, Greg Barber a 14.0 index and J.J. Hartmann an 8.5 mark. But that is offset by Jordan Bianchin’s 2.25, Aaron MacKenzie’s 2.0 and Jason Grahame’s 0.0. It’s still not a bad group, though, especially if Doell and Barber can keep up the pace and stay in the top five in scoring.

4. St. Cloud State (7.512): By these numbers, the Huskies have the second-ranked freshman in Ryan Malone. He has 12 points in 10 games and ranks second on the team. That’s a 27.6 index.

"He’s got the ability to carry the puck and make plays," North Dakota coach Dean Blais said. "He’s big and strong and knows the game. He’s got a lot of hockey sense. I think he’s a future NHL prospect just because of his size and strength. He’s not real quick, but he’s a good all-around player."

3. North Dakota (7.936): Here’s where, by my own admission, these numbers may not work. The Sioux have three of the top 11 players in the index — Ryan Hale (17.2, fifth), Travis Roche (15.0, seventh) and Ryan Bayda (10.54, 11th).

"At times, they’ve been our best players," Blais said of his team’s freshmen. "Chris Leinweber (a defenseman, 5.32 index) and Travis Roche, the first six games were our top two defensemen. They’re going to have their ups and downs, but we’re certainly happy with all the freshmen forwards. We’re playing eight freshmen because we lost eight seniors and they’ve done real well."

2. Wisconsin (9.735): The Badgers have everyone’s choice as top freshman in Heatley — "Heatley is probably the best I’ve seen in a long time in our league," Sertich said — but don’t forget about Brad Winchester (10.8, tie-ninth) and Brian Fahey (10.8, tie-ninth).

"I was really impressed with Winchester, Heatley and Fahey for Wisconsin. All three of those are going to be very good players," Lucia said.

1. Colorado College (10.66): The Tigers only have one player in the top 10, but Clarke, combined with a productive Tom Preissing and others, is enough to put them on top of the league under these ratings.

CC’s committee

A flashback:

On the WCHA’s annual coaches’ teleconference, Colorado College coach Scott Owens addressed a perceived lack of leadership in scoring on his team this season.

"I don’t know if we’re going to be able to score quite as much as they did last year, but we’re hoping it’s going to be done a little bit by committee," he said.

Let’s take a look at the Tigers’ series with Michigan Tech last weekend. They swept the Tigers, 9-1 and 6-3. Yes, not a shock against Tech at home. But the interesting statistic, and the thing Owens had to be thrilled with, was that 15 players had at least one point in the series, including 14 Tigers in Friday’s game. You want "by committee?" That’s "by committee."

Yes, Brian Swanson and Darren Clark are gone, but this group of players seems to be carrying on quite nicely.

The big three thus far has been Toby Petersen (2-8–10, 1.25 points per game), K.J. Voorhees (7-3–10, 1.11 ppg) and Clarke (4-6-10, 1.11 ppg). But the key component appears to have been, like on so many other teams, the non-marquee players.

Mark Cullen has tossed in nine points; Justin Morrison, eight; Jesse Heerema and Paul Manning, seven each. If that kind of output can continue, the Tigers will be right near the top as the league schedule progresses.

CC makes its first visit to Denver’s Magness Arena on Saturday, following a Friday game at the World Arena in Colorado Springs. Remember the last time these teams met? Denver, in the midst of one of the greatest late-season runs in recent memory, erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and downed the Tigers 3-2 in overtime to advance to the WCHA Final Five championship game.

There have been some classics in this series. Here’s hoping for a couple more this weekend.

Change for the better in Duluth

It’s way too early to call Minnesota-Duluth’s performance this season a 180 from last year, but, as Sertich put it, "It’s a little bit different than last year for these kids."

And how. Through six games, the Bulldogs have matched last season’s league win total (four) and have one more league road victory than last year (three).

This isn’t coming against fluff teams, either. UMD split at Wisconsin (that’s still Wisconsin’s only loss of the season), took one of two at home against Colorado College and, most recently, went on the road to sweep St. Cloud State.

Not by much, but a win is a win. The Bulldogs won 3-2 in overtime on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday. Winning one-goal games. Now that’s a novel concept for Sertich’s team.

"We’re winning one-goal games instead of losing them. Last year, we were losing them," Sertich said. "Most of the time in one-goal games, there’s a lot of luck involved. We just happen to be in the right places at the right times, I guess."

Last season, the Bulldogs were 2-9 in games decided by one goal. Three of the team’s last four games were one-goal losses.

Some things don’t change, though. UMD is 4-2 but has led for just over 100 of the 364 minutes the team has played this season.

There appears to be a new attitude in Duluth, though — one based on winning.

"They set the bar, now we’re holding them accountable to the bar," Sertich said. "Every time they raise the bar, that’s something they’re going to have to be responsible for."

They’ll look to put the bar up again this weekend in a series at Minnesota. The Gophers are coming off a pair of heart-wrenching losses to Wisconsin. Possibly the worst thing about the weekend was that the team played its heart out against one of the best teams in the nation right now, was extremely close to getting at least a point, and came away with nothing.

"We’re good enough to play with everybody but we’re still not at the level with the elite teams across the country," Lucia said.

You can’t call this weekend a breather for the Gophers, but compared with the rest of the schedule, it’s close. This is the first time Minnesota plays a team not ranked in the top 10 in the country.

Birth of a rivalry?

Remember that WCHA first-round playoff series between Minnesota State-Mankato and North Dakota last season?

North Dakota probably does.

The Sioux got a rude awakening from the team given the No. 10 spot in the playoffs, a 3-2 overtime loss on Friday night and a dogfight the next night. North Dakota escaped — with an emphatic 10-0 win in the deciding game on Sunday — but knows never to take Mankato lightly.

The teams meet in Engelstad Arena again this weekend.

"Three years in a row they’ve been on a waiting list and we’ve won the league three years in a row so they’ve been our opponent (in the first round)," Blais said. "So we know Mankato real well. Actually, they have the same team that they had last year. We’re going to have our hands full." North Dakota holds an 8-1 record over the Mavericks, but after last season’s playoffs, you just never know.

"If you play them nine times, you’re going to get whomped once, you might pick one off once and North Dakota’s going to win the good share of them," Brose said. "That’s what happened to us. We got blown out in the third game (of the playoffs), but otherwise we played them tough, and I think as tough as anybody has.

"We won in overtime on Friday and we actually played better in a 3-2 loss on Saturday. I thought we had them on the run, I thought that we were playing extremely well, we had breakaways, uneven rushes. I thought we played a lot better on Saturday, but we lost. That’s the kind of performance that we need to have."

Thumbs of the week

Up to Eric Pateman. The Minnesota State-Mankato goaltender notched his fourth career shutout Saturday to tie him for the Mavericks’ all-time lead. He has a 1.98 goals against average and a .932 save percentage this season, good for second in the league in both categories.

Down to keeping the whistle in the pocket in the last minute. Wisconsin’s Matt Murray got away with what appeared to be interference in the right corner with 10 seconds left on Friday against Minnesota, leading to Dustin Kuk’s game-winning goal with seven seconds on the clock. Probably would have been called if time wasn’t running out. Nice play, though.

Up to Jeff Scissons. The Minnesota-Duluth forward scored three points last weekend in the Bulldogs’ sweep of St. Cloud State to up his career point total to 100. He is the 43rd player to do so for the Bulldogs.

Down to privacy rules in the USCHO poll. I want to know who voted for Minnesota State-Mankato. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; I just want to know who it was.

Around the league

Alaska-Anchorage: The Seawolves get a chance to regroup and rest after their losses to North Dakota last weekend. Coach Dean Talafous’ team has two straight bye weeks before its meetings with Minnesota on Dec. 3 and 4.

Because of the Great Alaska Shootout basketball tournament at Sullivan Arena over Thanksgiving weekend, the Seawolves have always been on the road for the holiday. Not this year, though. It’s the first time they’ll be at home for Thanksgiving since the team’s inaugural 1979-80 season.

Michigan Tech: A loss on Friday to Upper Peninsula rival Northern Michigan would not only send the Huskies further into despair, it would send them further into the history books. Tech (0-10) has opened the season with 10 consecutive losses only once (1940-41) and has never lost 11 games to open a season.

Wisconsin: Here’s another interesting fact about Heatley. He has eight goals through his first 10 games. His father, Murray, who also played at Wisconsin, had eight goals through his first 10 games. Crazy.

Murray Heatley ended up with 75 goals in 86 games for the Badgers over three years. Will Dany Heatley last that long in Madison? To be continued…

This Week in the Hockey East: November 17, 1999

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Wild Weekend

Until Sunday’s Maine-BC tilt, every single Hockey East game last week was either decided by one goal or ended in a tie. Yet despite the nip-and-tuck battles, UNH swept all four weekend points while Maine, Northeastern, Boston University and Merrimack took three of four. At the other end of the spectrum, Boston College and Providence College went oh-for-four while UMass-Lowell and UMass-Amherst lost their only games.

The biggest surprises, of course, came on Friday when Merrimack tied #2 Maine, 2-2, and Northeastern toppled then-#3 Boston College, 6-5.

[Writer’s note: Major computer problems and other difficulties have cut short this portion of the column severely. My apologies. The verbosity should return next week.]

Souza Snakebit No More

Last year, UNH’s trio of Jason Krog, Darren Haydar and Mike Souza formed the top-scoring line in college hockey. Providence College’s number-one unit of Mike Omicioli, Fernando Pisani and Jerry Keefe wasn’t far behind.

The graduation of Krog and Omicioli, however, left voids on the two lines which no one has felt more than Souza and Keefe. Souza (23-42-65 last year, tied for fourth in the nation) entered last weekend with only one goal and four assists in seven games. Keefe (16-36-52) had dropped to no goals and only two assists.

"Look at who they played with last year," explained PC coach Paul Pooley. "Michael Omicioli created a tremendous amount for Keefe and Pisani. And obviously Krog created a tremendous amount for Souza and Haydar.

"You take those two guys out of the mix in each situation and they’re not going to get as many chances and they’re not going to finish. Without those two guys who were catalysts for them, somebody hasn’t stepped up to make it happen. That goes to show how valuable [Krog and Omicioli] were."

This past weekend, Keefe failed to get off the goal-scoring schneid, but did pick up assists in both games.

Souza topped that, scoring his second goal and adding three assists.

"It was a big sigh of relief to get that [goal]," said Souza, "especially after the way things went earlier on [that night]. I had two of the best chances I’ve had all year [but didn’t score].

"It was a relief for my linemates, too, because they’ve probably been getting frustrated themselves with me."

It’s been difficult for the sniper not to get frustrated.

"Especially being the captain, you have stay positive at all times," he said. "It’s hard to do when you’re not scoring goals, but I’ve been trying to contribute in every way possible and working hard. That’s all you can do."

Souza also looked at films from last year to see what, if anything, he was doing differently.

"It was fun to watch a couple of those games that I hadn’t seen yet," he said with a smile.

"I was doing the little things better. Little things that led to offensive opportunities, stuff like chipping the puck into space instead of into the middle.

"I’ve still got to work on them. I didn’t play a great game [on Saturday], but I probably played one of my better games this year."

Attrition at UNH and BU

New Hampshire forward Matt Dzieduszycki has opted for major junior hockey with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League, thereby foregoing his remaining collegiate eligibility. The sophomore had been highly regarded going into last season, but finished with only two goals and eight assists in 29 games. This year, he had scored one goal and added two assists.

A thumb injury has sidelined Boston University freshman defenseman John Cronin for four to six weeks. He will be in a cast for about four weeks and then will begin working toward returning to the lineup.

He had impressed in his first nine games, scoring three goals and adding two assists while also playing well defensively. His absence further depletes the Terrier blue line, which opened the season with little depth.

A Promising Start

New Hampshire freshman Josh Prudden may not have gotten into his first contest until this past weekend, but he made an immediate impact.

"I’d been working hard, trying to get into the lineup all year," he said. "A couple guys got injured, so I got my opportunity."

On his very first shift, just 1:23 into the game, he assisted on a Jim Abbott goal to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

"You couldn’t ask for anything better than that," he said with a smile. "It was pretty exciting."

Trivia Contest

Last week’s trivia question was: What happened the last time that Wild E. Cat threw the fish (at UNH)?

The guesses came fast and furious. One fan had the fish hitting the ref. Another had it hitting Jack Parker. (Perhaps a case of wishful thinking?) A third had Wild E. Cat stealing the fish and having himself a frozen fish dinner. Ouch!

And there were many more.

Only one person, however, got it right. This week’s tip of the fedora goes to Dawn Scarpini. On Jan. 22, 1991, the fish slipped out of Wild E. Cat’s paw and hit a Yale assistant coach. It was the feline’s last, but perhaps most memorable, throw.

Thanks again are due UNH Sports Information Director Steve Jones for the information.

This week’s trivia contest takes a musical bent. Even if you’ve never witnessed the answer in person, you may be able to deduce it anyway.

And the question is: the Providence College public address system plays one particular Billy Joel song on a regular basis. What is the name of the song and what is the occasion that prompts its playing?

Mail your responses to Dave Hendrickson. Media representatives are excluded.

Get Well Wishes

It was his sixth back operation. This one was supposed to take four hours and instead took nine. The patient? My brother, Ray.

Hang in there, ‘bro. There’s a tee time waiting for us in six months.

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

I are a ideot.

With last weekend’s Maine-Boston College game at 2 p.m., I thought I had the perfect day lined up. Start it with a cup of Creme Brulee coffee, courtesy of Perfecto’s Cafe in North Andover. Add in a huge omelet with everything but the kitchen sink tossed in. Sit down to Peter Gammons’ column in the Globe.

And then watch the BU-Northeastern game that I’d taped the night before while covering UNH at Providence. I already knew that it had come down to overtime and a controversial disallowed goal, so I was figuratively licking my college hockey chops.

The coffee was delicious, the omelet even better and Gammons only disappoints when he isn’t in the paper.

The morning came to a grinding halt, however, as soon as I hit the play button on the VCR. What was Jerry Seinfeld doing on the tape? And then the Bruins? Where were the Huskies and Terriers?

Unfortunately, VCRs and TVs are not yet idiot-proof. If you program them for channel 38, you will get channel 38 even if you meant channel 68.

A half hour later I was still fuming.

"I can’t believe what an idiot I am," I said.

"I can," was the response.

UVM’s Richardson Leaves School

USCHO Staff Report
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In the second piece of bad news to strike Vermont hockey this week, the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press reported yesterday that Vermont sophomore Don Richardson has left the team and withdrawn from the university.

Richardson said that he did not feel the school and the team were the “right fit” for him.

Richardson had not played in a game this season due to a shoulder separation. As a freshman, the 5-foot-5-inch forward from Holbrook, N.Y., had seven goals and eight assists while playing in every Catamount game.

Vermont Hockey Hazing Alleged

USCHO Staff Report
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The University of Vermont is investigating a possible hazing incident involving one of its athletic teams.

WCAX-TV in Burlington, Vt., is reporting that it has confirmed that the incident, which involves the men’s ice hockey team, relates to the consumption of alcohol, and that students were forced to perform “degrading” acts. No students were reported injured in the alleged hazing.

Thus far, Vermont officials have not confirmed any of the reports. All inquiries to the athletic department are being redirected to the university’s public relations director, Enrique Correderra.

The university is currently working with an outside investigator to determine the merit of the allegations, and whether disciplinary action will occur. Practices have been closed to the media since Wednesday.

This Week in the Hockey East: November 10, 1999

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What’s Wrong With UNH? or Step Back From That Ledge, My Friend

What a difference a couple weeks can make. Just 14 days ago, the Wildcats held a 3-0-0 record, a number-five ranking nationally and were scoring at a rate of over five goals per game.

Now, following a 6-0 whitewashing administered by RPI, 2-1 squeakers over UMass-Lowell and UMass-Amherst, and then a 5-1 disaster at Yale, the New Hampshire landscape looks very different.

And not just because of the Wildcat fans who are poised to jump off bridges from the wooden-covered relic in Plymouth to the steel edifice outside Portsmouth.

"We’re 5-2 and who knows?" says coach Dick Umile, fresh from the UNH war room. "We’re not playing great right now. But in the game that we lost, 6-0, we probably played one of our better games."

Say what? If the 6-0 loss was one of the better games, then…

"It’s weird," says Umile. "A 6-0 loss… you’d never guess that that’s how we played. We did a lot of good things in the RPI game, but they executed on some great scoring opportunities and beat a good goaltender [Ty Conklin]. But it was one of our better games.

"Then in the Lowell game, Ty played well and won that one for us. And he obviously helped us win the game against UMass when UMass played well.

"But we’re not playing well right now and expectations are always high for the program. That’s okay, but we’re a different team [this year]. As coaches and players, we’re just concerned with how we’re playing.

"And we’re not happy with the way we’re playing. We’re not playing well defensively off the puck and we’re not handling the puck well."

Defensively, the Wildcats have given up 23 goals in their seven games (3.29 per game). That’s a canyon-sized gap from last year’s league-best 2.19 average. And it’s not as if they’ve hit the toughest part of their schedule either. All of their opponents to date except for RPI were projected in the preseason to finish in the bottom half of their leagues.

Of course, losing blueliners Jayme Filipowicz, Steve O’Brien and Christian Bragnalo was expected to provide some early defensive bumps in the road.

What is surprising, however, is the offense scoring a total of only five goals in the last four games and being outshot in the last three games by UMass-Lowell, Yale and UMass-Amherst. Jason Krog was a terrific collegiate player and was a big loss, but couldn’t a pylon center a line with Darren Haydar and Mike Souza on it and have the trio still be successful? After all, the "S" line of Souza, John Sadowski and Jason Shipulski had been an effective unit as freshmen two years ago.

A line of Krog, Haydar and Souza amounted to an embarrassment of riches, didn’t it? After all, Krog might have been number one in the nation’s scoring race last year, but Souza was fourth and Haydar seventh. The filet mignon of that trio didn’t turn into canned Spam without Krog, did it?

Yet after seven games, Haydar totals only seven points and Souza five. And what about the other waves of forwards that UNH once sent after opponents?

"We had one line last year that scored an awful lot of goals and everybody else chipped in," says Umile. "[Now] we’re getting people chipping in here and there, but we’re not [scoring in bunches]. We lost a pretty good piece of that line and we’re still trying to find the best combinations. We’ll play around with them."

Umile opted to break up Haydar and Souza to start the Yale game, reuniting the "S" line, but after a bad first period pulled the plug on that experiment. For now, Sadowski will stay between the two star wingers.

What may have been overlooked is the offensive impact of losing not only Krog but also Filipowicz and O’Brien. The two stellar blueliners not only played terrific defense, they also quarterbacked the league’s second-best power play. Last year’s 22.7 percentage conversion rate has plummeted to 14.9 percent.

"Defense means a lot on your power play," says Umile. "We lost a lot. The three top people on that one unit were Krog, Filipowicz and O’Brien. Obviously, we’ve got to try some different people there. But the guys are doing okay."

And, power play aside, it can almost never be underestimated the offensive impact of defensemen who can break the puck out of their own end.

"The defense is always important," says Umile. "It gets you out of the zone. It keeps people from getting into the zone. We’ll make some adjustments there."

UNH fans may just need to adapt to a different style team than they’ve seen in recent seasons. "We’re not going to be the offensive team that we were last year," says Umile. "We accept that. But it’s okay if we have to win 3-2 or 2-1. We’ll learn how to win that way. We’ll accept winning that way. As long as our number is larger than the other number, that’s all I care about.

"[We’ll be] okay as long as we keep getting better and better. Ty’s playing well and the defense is getting more and more experience. Some of the lines are playing well and some of the lines aren’t playing well. Hopefully, we can tie things together."

And so, UNH Nation, it’s time to step back from that ledge, my friend.

#2 Maine vs. #3 Boston College

It’s easily one of the marquee match-ups of the young season, one sufficiently attractive that it’s a surprise it wasn’t held back until January for a Fox Sports New England telecast.

Last year, BC knocked off Maine in the league semifinals before defeating New Hampshire in overtime for a Hockey East title. Weeks later, the Black Bears returned the favor in the NCAA semifinals and then they toppled UNH in overtime for a national championship.

Number two takes on number three. It’s tough to get any better.

"It’s a match-up, Maine vs. Boston College, that over the last couple years has produced some outstanding college hockey games," says BC coach Jerry York. "We understand going into the game that it’s going to be an up-tempo, very, very quick-paced game. There’s not much ice when these teams play each other because of the close checking, but it’s at a high tempo.

"We’re certainly looking to utilize our home-ice advantage. Early indications are that it will be a complete sellout approaching 8,000 spectators here on Sunday afternoon. It’s going to be one of those early-season match-ups between two very good teams that has conference implications and national implications. I know our squad has a great deal of respect for the Black Bear program."

The Eagles enter the weekend on a high note. They jumped out quickly against Lowell on Sunday and

finished with a 4-1 win.

"There were stretches where we played well and stretches where Lowell controlled the tempo of the game," says York. "But that’s why our league is so good.

"Our lapses weren’t in the offensive zone; we had lapses in our defensive zone. But we did move pucks well. That’s probably the best part of our game at this juncture. We can make four or five passes that lead to [quick scoring opportunities]."

In addition to eliminating the defensive zone lapses, York sees a few keys to his team’s success on Sunday at 2 p.m.

"To win, we’ll have to get fine goaltending and win the penalty game," he says. "We’d like to win that penalty game with fewer penalties and more scoring chances in power-play situations.

"Also, our defensive corps has been our mainstay so far and our goals-against are down so within that context we’ll have to limit their chances and hopefully continue to play good defensive hockey."

Of course, the Eagles can’t look immediately to the Maine tilt since they play Northeastern on Friday night. And the Huskies proved their mettle last weekend, traveling to Orono and coming away with a 2-2 tie. If ties are supposed to be equivalent to kissing your sister, then this sis looked a lot like Cindy Crawford.

"It was a good step for us," says NU coach Bruce Crowder. "The previous weekend, we went out to Wisconsin and played pretty well, but didn’t get anything for it.

"But I thought we played well up in Maine. We got some good goaltending and our special teams were good. They have to be in this league. The thing I probably liked the most is that our kids showed a lot of composure."

That tie was the first blemish in Maine’s record and toppled the Black Bears from the number-one ranking, dropping them to number two.

On Sunday, however, they rebounded with

an impressive 5-2 win over Providence College.

"Those second and third periods were the best hockey we’ve played this year," says Maine coach Shawn Walsh. "Actually, all 60 minutes were tremendous, but the first period we had to kill off four straight penalties.

"They scored on a five-on-three and a five-on-four, so they took advantage of the power plays and tied it, but we outshot them, 32-9, over the last two periods. We really got all cylinders and all our work habits going.

"We were determined after Friday’s performance [in the tie]. We weren’t happy with our performance, but a lot of the credit has to go to Northeastern. We played very well in the first period and they weathered it. Gilhooly made some good saves.

"And in the second and third periods, I thought Northeastern outplayed us. They outworked us and we didn’t have the jump we had in the first period, probably because they stepped it up."

Had complacency crept into the defending national champs after they’d climbed to the top of the polls with a 5-0 record?

"I think there’s been complacency all year," says Walsh. "It happens until you realize that you’re not infallible. But we lost that complacency for Sunday’s game. We were very upset and played much harder.

"But I also don’t want to take anything away from Northeastern. They’ve got a very good team."

Just like BC, Maine must play a potential "trap" game on Friday. The Black Bears will face off against Merrimack.

"We’re going to make it clear in our team meeting that there’s one game and that’s Friday’s game," says Walsh. "That’s the way we always prepare. We’re not even going to discuss BC until Friday night at 10 o’clock.

"I respect [Merrimack coach] Chris [Serino] enough to know that he’ll have his team playing really hard. And anybody in their own rink in this league can beat anybody."

And then on Sunday afternoon, it’ll be the season’s first Clash of the Titans.

"They’re just a tremendously talented club," says Walsh. "They’ve got as good a five individuals as you can play against and their supporting cast seems to be getting better."

Out of My League

This only affects Hockey East peripherally, but did anyone else notice what Yale did two weeks ago? With five of the Bulldogs’ players suspended, including All-American Jeff Hamilton, they faced #5 Michigan at Yost Arena. All the excuses in the world would have been available after the inevitable shellacking.

Instead, Yale almost escaped with a point, losing 3-2.

Three days later, the Bulldogs faced UNH. Playing once again without Hamilton, they won, 5-1.

That, folks, is some heavy-duty resilience.

Odds and Ends

You know how you always think of a retort too late to actually use it? Well, file the next two items under the category of missed writing opportunities.

Missed opportunity number one: An earlier column discussed Merrimack’s 6-5, 250-pound defenseman Stephen Moon and 5-9 penalty-killing waterbugs, Nick Parillo and Nick Torretti. The title for that section was a dumb one. It should have been "Moon and the Munchkins."

Missed opportunity number two: Last week, Maine held the distinction of being both the number-one team in the country and also listed at the bottom of the official Hockey East standings. You see, every other team except the Black Bears had played at least one league contest.

In the USCHO version of the standings Maine trailed all teams that had recorded at least one point, but was ahead of teams that had lost their league games and thus still had no points. In other words, in the middle of the pack. The standings released by the league, however, showed the #1 Black Bears at the very bottom.

It was a matter of no significance whatsoever, but would have given rise to a perfect title. Instead of "A New Number One" the title of the section should have been "The First Shall Be Last and the Last Shall Be First."

Okay, so maybe you didn’t grow up memorizing the King James Version…

One other note: Hey, caring for the environment is a great thing, but we’ll know that recycling has gone too far if the folks responsible for tossing the fish after the first UNH goal even thought about reuse after the 6-0 loss to Rensselaer.

Trivia Contest

Last week’s trivia question was: At UNH there has been a long-standing tradition of tossing a fish onto the ice when the Wildcats score their first goal of a home game. In Whittemore Center history, how many total pounds of fish have been tossed?

The correct answer, courtesy of UNH Sports Information Director extraordinaire Steve Jones, is 1,255 pounds. That is one motherlode of fish!

Apparently, most readers couldn’t even hazard a guess, based on the trickle of email that came in, and those that did weighed in on the low side. The closest response was 700 pounds. A tip of the fedora to "Chester and Wild E. Cat."

This week’s trivia contest will also honor our winner. The question is: What happened the last time that Wild E. Cat threw the fish?

Mail your responses to Dave Hendrickson. Media representatives and Wild E. Cats, past and present, are excluded.

League Honors (October, Nov. 2-7)

Player of the Month Jeff Farkas, Boston College – (SR, F) scored eight goals and added eight assists for 16 points in just five October games.

Goalie and Rookie of the Month Mike Gilhooly, Northeastern – compiled a 2-1 record in four appearances, stopping 91.3 percent of the shots and recording a 2.29 goals-against average.

KOHO Player of the Week Blake Bellefeuille, Boston College ­ (SR, F) factored in all four BC goals in a 4-1 win over UMass-Lowell, scoring once and assisting on three others.

Rookie of the Week Mike Gilhooly, Northeastern – led the Huskies to a 2-2 tie at #2 Maine, making 24 saves.

Defensive Player of the Week Doug Janik, Maine – (SO, D) scored a goal in both games this weekend while leading the Black Bear defense.

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

Has something funny gotten into the water?

First, the Associated Press Player of the Year Award was announced for baseball and, to no one’s surprise, it was Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez. Atlanta’s Chipper Jones got a few votes, too, but the knee-slapper was that some media kook voted for Texas Ranger pitcher Aaron Sele over Martinez.

It’s one thing to opt for an every day player like Jones over a once-every-five-day hurler. Almost certainly wrong in this case, but defensible. But another pitcher? Aaron Sele over Pedro the Magnificent?

Apparently, those warnings in the sixties about LSD flashbacks were true.

But heck, everyone knows there are nuts in the media. Many might consider this writer to be Exhibit A.

Surely, however, the managers and coaches would get their votes right.

Guess again.

This year’s American League Gold Glove Award for the top defensive first baseman went to Rafael Palmeiro. The problem is that Palmeiro played only 28 out of 162 games at the position. The rest of the time he was a designated hitter, albeit a great one, because of a pair of arthroscopic knee operations before the season started.

In other words, someone who played no defensive position at all in over 82 percent of the games was named a top defender.

It seems that those managers and coaches should pay more attention to who is playing the game and spend less time spitting tobacco, chewing sunflower seeds and scratching themselves.

Don’t be surprised if a future column or feature uses these two recent examples as inspiration and doles out The Bonehead Awards. If there’s anyone qualified to make those selections, it would be your humble Hockey East Correspondent.

This Week in the CCHA: November 10, 1999

By
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Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming

Did you know that I’m a slut?

Did you know that I’m a slut for Michigan State?

Well, you did if you were one of the two people who recently felt compelled to email me, anonymously, to tell me that he or she sees me for what I really am, as revealed through my work for USCHO.

I hate it when I have more fun than I know I’m having.

Taking a page from "Pops" Hendrickson, I’d like to offer a class in funny-bone location.

Paula Weston vs. The CCHA Fans or Sense of Humor 102

In case you missed it, my esteemed colleague, Dave "Pops" Hendrickson took some heat from a few utterly humorless RPI fans who didn’t understand that his prediction of a 15-0 UNH win over the Engineers was a joke. While I can’t say that the writing that has motivated the hate mail I’ve received lately has been intentionally funny, I can say that at least I have been laughing a lot lately.

The basic difference between Dave’s Humor 101 and Paula’s follow-up course is that Pops wanted you to understand the humor in his column, and I want you to understand how funny your angry email is.

Of course, both Dave’s and my courses could be subtitled, "How to Take Yourself Less Seriously as a Hockey Fan," or "Here’s the Clue You’ve Been Looking For."

Granted, as a writer and semi-public figure, I’m open to all kinds of ridicule and abuse. I’d go so far as to say that as Paula C. Weston I’m open to all kinds of ridicule and abuse. I welcome feedback from readers, and have enjoyed correspondence with many college hockey fans.

And I’m not disputing that I haven’t earned derision at one or many points in my career.

But when Alaska-Fairbanks fans start writing to tell me how disrespectful I am of their team, I’ve got to laugh.

One fan of UAF–the same Nanooks that have won two of eight CCHA contests–wrote to tell me that he’s tired of my "smak" [sic] and that I’ve never shown the Nanooks any respect. Another UAF fan let me know that I know nothing about hockey because I predicted that Ryan Miller would get his third consecutive shutout for the Spartans while playing in Fairbanks on Nov. 6. The email arrived Nov 5.

(The Spartans shut out the Nanooks 3-0 on Nov. 6. Miller was in net. My prediction? "Michigan State sweeps the weekend and maybe Ryan Miller gets another shutout. Michigan State 4-0.")

While the silence of the Notre Dame and Bowling Green fans has been deafening–and welcome, since I seem to be Public Enemy #1 in both South Bend and BG–pockets of people in places like Kalamazoo, Sault Ste. Marie, and–get this–Columbus have filled the void this season.

One Bronco fan wrote to tell me that "I’d be sorry" that I picked Western so low in my preseason poll. I’m not sure what that means, since it’s less specific than the letter which began, "No household names? Where the hell is your house?" (My Bronco season preview explains that one.)

From Sault Ste. Marie–where I’m apparently known as a slut–I’ve also heard that I have the "hots" for various players around the league, which, says this writer, explains why I’m "hung up" on Ryan Miller, Ray Aho (could it be the goalies?), David Gove (who actually should be a household name), and Daniel Carriere.

And in Columbus–where I live and breathe, the address that earns me my OSU homer designation–Buckeye fans have said that I’m too hard on their team. While I haven’t been labeled a slut by anyone here (probably because anyone in this city who knows me knows that I have no life), I have been told that what I "know about Buckeye hockey equals zero" and that, as one fan put it, I "must live in Ann Arbor, because I obviously bleed Maize and Blue."

Just let me pop a vein and check that for you, okay, buddy?

Of course, my favorite email of all time arrived recently, sent by a hockey fan who said he wrote early in the season so that I am "not overly humiliated as [I] will be as the season unfolds."

About my season preview, the same hockey fan wrote, "It is obvious that the person who wrote this article is from the east coast as it is so slanted in perspective and lacking in objectivity." He’s got me pegged–born and raised in the coastal city of Syracuse, NY.

And this same writer revealed that he reads USCHO regularly when he wrote, "The fact that the CCHA so strongly intimidates you shows that it must be the premier conference in the back of your frightened little mind."

So, to sum, I’m an east-coast slut for Michigan State, who has the hots for several players, who knows nothing of Buckeye hockey, who bleeds Maize and Blue, who has it in for the Nanooks (and Lakers, and Broncos, and…), and who is motivated to write that the CCHA is a weak sister compared to Hockey East not because of last year’s NCAA performance but because of my "frightened little mind."

And it’s just the second week in November.

I wonder who I’ll be in January?

Oh, and to those of you who have written to tell me off, to those of you who throw your angry energy my way, for those of you who take your sport so seriously that you need to spout in such unintentionally funny ways, I have just one thing to say:

Thanks for reading U.S. College Hockey Online.

Two Firsts, We Think

First first: Mavericks win.

With their 5-3 win over Notre Dame, Nebraska-Omaha registered the first CCHA victory in program history.

David Brisson had the game-winner at 7:16 in the second. Kendall Sidoruk, this week’s CCHA Defensive Player of the Week, made 23 saves in net for the Mavericks.

Second first: Two goals, four seconds apart.

Although no one has the stats on this one, it’s believed that the third-period Michigan goals against Ohio State on Nov. 6–at 10:33 and 10:37, shorthanded–are the fastest goals scored in league history. Well, at least in Wolverine history. Maybe.

Scott Matzka scored the first–his second shorthander of the night–and Bob Gassoff had the second. Gassoff’s goal was a long lob just seconds, obviously, from the faceoff. The puck bounced all the way from beyond the blue line to the OSU net, right over Peter Wishloff’s stick.

The last time two goals were scored within four seconds in collegiate play is unknown, but it happened last in the NHL on Dec. 15, 1995, when Deron Quint of the Winnipeg Jets scored goals at the 7:51 and 7:55 marks in the second period in a 9-4 win over Edmonton.

"You kind of feel sorry for the goalie," said Michigan head coach Red Berenson.

Yup.

The Rest of the Story…

Notre Dame picked up a point and a little bit more in Omaha: the stomach cruds.

Head coach Dave Poulin said that the bug was sudden and vicious. "[Jeremiah] Kimento went down before the game. [Nathan] Borega was down in the second period. We had guys in the locker room, just lying on the floor, sick. They couldn’t get up.

"It was so fast and nasty that we thought it was food poisoning, until [Chad] Chipchase went down this morning [Tuesday]."

That would be goalie Chad Chipchase. With Kimento out, the forward dressed to back up Irish rookie Tony Zasowski in net.

Three Eggs, Thank You

With the Spartans’ 3-0 win over UAF (now, this is smack!), rookie net-wunderkind Ryan Miller earned his third shutout of the season.

Michigan State head coach Ron Mason is quick to point out, however, that Spartan Joe Blackburn deserves some of the credit.

"Joe’s the go-to guy here, and Miller doesn’t have the same pressure. When he [Miller] comes into a game, he can be relaxed because it’s the second game and Joe’s done the job the night before."

Mason also says that Blackburn is "a great kid," and that there are few goalies, "let alone players, who would handle this situation as well."

Miller’s three shutouts are two shy of former Bronco Marc Magliarditi’s single-season record of five. Mags did it as a rookie, too.

OK, So You Think Pops Is the Only Guy Out There With a Head Full of Useless Knowledge?

I’m not the trivial type–really, I’m not–but this trivia question is a good one, and fairly easy. Name the Florida team with two CCHA goaltenders on its roster. Bonus points: who’s starting, and who’s backing?

Send your answers to Paula Weston.

Games of the Week

Alaska-Fairbanks (3-7-0, 2-6-0 CCHA) at Notre Dame (2-6-2, 1-5-2 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m., Joyce Center, South Bend, IN

Yes, Irish head coach Dave Poulin was concerned that his players were dropping left and right before and during Notre Dame’s 5-3 loss to UNO Saturday, but as Poulin says, "The point is of more concern. The sickness goes away."

With one point on the weekend and four in league play, Poulin says that in the short term, Notre Dame’s aims are realistic."

"We just have to win a hockey game. We have very, very short-term goals."

Enter Alaska-Fairbanks, a team tied with the Irish in CCHA points, a team that was able to beat Ohio State and Michigan at home–and do very little since.

Last weekend, the Nanooks dropped two at home to Michigan State, 5-1 and 3-0.

It’s difficult to find a silver lining in a weekend when you’re outscored 8-1 in two games, but if UAF can be happy about something it has to be this: just 18 penalty minutes in two games. The Nanooks had been averaging 24.80 minutes in the box per game. After the series with MSU, they’re averaging 21.63 minutes per game.

Good thing the UAF penalty kill is effective 87.8% of the time, good enough for third-best in this season of special teams.

Fairbanks leads the series 12-9-0, but Notre Dame has dominated the past three years (7-2-0), outscoring the Nanooks 17-5 last season.

The story may be different this year, with each team so similar in stats early in this campaign. Some numbers to ponder:

Alaska-Fairbanks and Notre Dame are tied in goal production, each team averaging 2.38 goals per game in eight league contests.

Notre Dame is allowing 3.75 goals per game to Fairbanks’ 4.00

Each team has seven power-play goals. Notre Dame (.147) is fifth to UAF’s (.130) sixth in league man-advantage production.

Fairbanks has the edge in net. Lance Mayes, the rookie who as emerged as the Nanook starter, has a .897 save percentage in seven conference contests. In the Irish net, Kimento and Zasowski have combined for a .883 team save percentage in ten league games.

If Fairbanks stays out of the box, the games are evenly matched. But if the Nanooks revert to form for one or both of these games, the cool-headed Irish, averaging just 17.5 penalty minutes per game, may have the advantage.

That is, if Notre Dame can find the net.

"We don’t have a line that’s meshed," says Poulin. "Our good players are not playing well. And when things are down, it seems, everything goes against you. It’s magnified."

Dan Carlson and Ben Simon are leading Notre Dame in conference scoring. Each has two goals and three assists for five points. David Inman leads the Irish in goal production with four.

If the Irish have recovered from the ‘flu, and the Nanooks are lagging from the trip, look for a split with Notre Dame winning Friday night.

Picks: Notre Dame 4-3, Alaska-Fairbanks 5-3.

Grudge of the Week

#5 Michigan (8-1-0, 5-1-0 CCHA) vs. Miami (5-2-2, 2-1-2 CCHA) Friday, 7:35 p.m., Firstar Center, Cincinnati, OH Saturday, 7:05 p.m., Goggin Arena, Oxford, OH

Who in this league doesn’t hold a grudge against the Wolverines?

Michigan, now 1-1-0 in Grudge Match Play, faces the RedHawks, who have plenty to be disgruntled about following last year’s sweep by the Wolverines, including a last-minute 1-0 victory on Dec. 4 in Oxford. All told, Michigan bet Miami 1-0, 6-1 and 9-4 last season.

The Wolverines own this all-time series 48-14-2, and are 13-3-0 in the last 16 meetings.

Last weekend, each team beat up an Ohio CCHA clustermate, outscoring opponents by the collective total of 21-5. Michigan trounced Ohio State 6-1 in Ann Arbor before squeaking by the Buckeyes 8-4 in Columbus. Miami managed Bowling Green to the tune of 7-0.

"This will be a great challenge to us," says Miami head coach Enrico Blasi. "I don’t think I’ll have to motivate the players."

Could be good games, both.

Picks: Michigan 4-2, 5-3.

League Notes

Alaska-Fairbanks (3-7-0, 2-6-0 CCHA)

Streak: five losses

Rookie goaltender Nathan Wheeler made his debut against the Spartans, stopping 34 of 37 shots on goal (.919 SV%) in the 3-0 loss.

Wheeler was down ice from Spartan netminder Ryan Miller, his teammate from the Soo Indians (NAHL) during the 1997-98 season. Both goalies were ranked first and second in most of the NAHL goaltending stats in their year together.

Sjon Wynia (4-0–4) had the sole goal for Fairbanks against Michigan State.

Bowling Green (3-2-0, 3-4-0 CCHA)

Streak: one loss.

Bowling Green’s 7-0 loss to Miami was the first shutout the Falcons have allowed in 48 games, since the Bulldogs did it on Feb. 21, 1998.

Every Falcon who’s skated in at least three games has a point this season. Greg Day (4-3–7) leads BG in league scoring.

Bowling Green has registered the first goal of a game just once this season, and the Falcons are 2-4-0 when opponents score first.

Falcon junior defenseman Louis Mass holds the dubious distinction owning the active lead for most games without a goal at 47. Mass last scored on Feb. 20, 1998, against Western Michigan.

Ferris State (4-6-0, 4-6-0 CCHA)

Streak: one win.

When the Bulldogs head to Bemidji State this weekend, they’ll be playing their first nonconference games of the season, and assistant coach Drew Famulak says that they’ll be more than motivated.

"It’s a point of pride for us. Coach Daniels emphasizes that other people in the league are going to watch how we play out of league."

The change of venue will also be welcome. "We’ve been at home for a while, so it’s good to take a bus trip. We’ve never been there, so our kids are excited."

Sophomore defenseman Chad McIver scored his first collegiate goal in Saturday’s win over Lake Superior.

Rookie Phil Lewandowski rides a four-game point streak into Minnesota, after scoring the game-winner Saturday.

Lake Superior (3-5-0, 3-3-0 CCHA)

Streak: One loss.

For the Lakers, the CCHA is Ferris State. Four of LSSU’s six league games have been against the Bulldogs.

Five of the Lakers’ six games have been one-goal affairs, with Lake amassing a 3-2-0 record in those games.

Ben Keup (7-1–8) and Trent Walford (4-1–5) are responsible for 11 of Lake Superior’s 16 league goals.

The Lakers take this weekend off.

Miami (5-2-2, 2-1-2 CCHA)

Streak: One win, two unbeaten.

Miami’s shutout of Bowling Green marked the second time in 72 contests between the Ohio rivals that the RedHawks have held the Falcons scoreless. The time Miami shutout over BG was a 4-0 win on Nov. 15, 1996.

Rookie goalie David Burleigh got the win. Burleigh is the first RedHawk freshman to post a shutout since Steve McKichan blanked Ferris State, 4-0, on Feb. 19, 1988.

Senior Jeremy Bautch earned his first collegiate hat trick in the 7-0 win. Two of Bautch’s goals were unassisted. His five goals this season are more than double (two goals, 36 games) his total from last year.

#5 Michigan (8-1-0, 5-1-0 CCHA)

Streak: four wins.

Sophomore Mike Comrie had seven points (2-5–7) in the series against OSU last weekend. Comrie is the first player in the country to reach 20 points this season and leads the country with 10-10–20. Comrie has at least one point in each game this season.

Seven Wolverines had multiple-point games against Ohio State. On Friday, Mark Kosick (2-1–3), Josh Langfeld (0-2-2), and Dave Huntzicker (1-1-2) registered more than a point, while on Saturday, Scott Matzka (2-1-3), Mike Cammalleri (2-1-3), and John Shouneyia (1-1-2) combined to make the Buckeyes miserable.

#4 Michigan State (8-1-0, 8-0-0 CCHA)

Streak: eight wins.

The Spartans’ 8-0-0 CCHA start equals Michigan State’s best conference start of all time (1986-87).

Michigan State has scored first in each of its wins this season.

Senior Shawn Horcoff (4-13–17) has equaled his career-best, eight-game point streak, averaging over two point per game in the last eight contests.

Sophomore Adam Hall (9-2–11) has nine goals in Michigan State’s eight-game win streak, and is one goal shy of equaling his regular-season goal production from last season.

Joe Blackburn and Ryan Miller have combined for .950 team save percentage in league play, allowing on average just 1.11 goals per game. Blackburn is clearly the slacker here, with his lousy .926 SV% and 1.55 goals per game.

(Michigan State fans: consult with Rensselaer fans on how to locate a funny bone.)

Nebraska-Omaha (1-3-2,1-3-2 CCHA)

Streak: one win, three unbeaten.

With the weekend series against Notre Dame, senior goaltender Kendall Sidoruk surpassed the 1,000 mark in saves and moved past Jason Mitchell for the all-time lead at UNO with 1,013 saves.

The Mavericks registered power-play goals in each game against Notre Dame, the first that’s happened for UNO since a series with Bemidji State last February.

Seven different Mavericks were responsible for the seven goals against Notre Dame last weekend.

Northern Michigan (6-3-1, 4-1-1 CCHA)

Streak: one loss.

Northern’s loss to Western Michigan was their first loss to the Broncos since rejoining the CCHA. The Wildcats are 7-1-0 in their last eight games against Western..

Junior Ryan Riipi carries a career-high four-game point and assist streak in to this weekend’s series with Ohio State. Riipi has 0-4-4 totals in his last four appearances.

The all-time series between the Wildcats and their opponent this weekend, the hapless Buckeyes, is tied at 18-18-3. Northern snapped a five-game losing streak against Ohio State on Feb. 13 with a 7-2 win in Marquette.

Notre Dame (2-6-2, 1-5-2 CCHA)

Streak: one loss.

Notre Dame scored twice in the first period of last week’s loss at UNO, after totaling just one first-period goal in the first nine games.

Senior Andy Jurkowski (3-1–4) has a point in four of the last games, including goals vs. Ferris State, Miami and UNO.

Senior Troy Bagne (1-0-1) scored his fourth career goal (and second career CCHA goal) in the 2-2 tie at UNO.

Ohio State (2-8-0, 1-7-0 CCHA)

Streak: nine losses.

Three rookies notched their first collegiate goals for the Buckeyes last weekend.

Nic Boileau (1-1–2) had the only goal in OSU’s 6-1 loss to Michigan Friday.

Luke Pavlas (1-1–2) and linemate Ryan Smith (1-1–2) had their first goals in Saturday’s 8-4 loss, and the line of Pavlas, Smith, and Yan Des Gagne (1-1–2) combined for three of OSU’s four goals on the night.

The four goals in OSU’s loss to Michigan Saturday equaled half the Buckeye goal production in their previous seven games. Ohio State has been outscored 40-14 in league play this season.

The current Buckeye losing streak is one short of a ten-game streak Ohio State endured in 1995-96.

Western Michigan (5-4-1, 5-4-1 CCHA)

Streak: one win.

Western Michigan’s five wins this season equal their total for the entire 1998-99 campaign. It took the Broncos until Feb. 5 to reach 11 points last year.

The Broncos snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Wildcats with that 5-2 win Saturday night, a game in which Northern doubled the Broncos in shots, 40-20.

David Gove (5-12–17) and Mike Bishai (8-6–14) have responsible for 13 of Western’s 34 conference goals, but Western scores by committee. All 11 Broncos who have found the net in conference games have scored at least two goals.

This Week in the ECAC: November 10, 1999

By Becky Blaeser & Jayson Moy
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The Dutchmen Cometh

It was a bad bus ride home from Massachusetts almost two weeks ago. The Union Skating Dutchmen had just dropped 6-2 and 3-1 decisions to Mass-Lowell and Merrimack and sat at 0-5-0 on the season. Less than a week later, the Dutchmen shocked many with an 8-6 win over Colgate in their ECAC league opener.

“We had player meetings all week and tried to focus the guys on things,” said head coach Kevin Sneddon. “The only thing we can control now is the present, and what’s in the past is past. A lot of articles had been written about how we hadn’t won in 17 games and I just kept saying to the guys, ‘Yeah, we’re 0-5, but our schedule and the level of competition, we have to pull the positives out of that.'”

And they certainly did with that 8-6 victory as a lot of streaks were snapped that evening for the Dutchmen. They had lost their last 14 games, dating back to a tie against Harvard last season. They had not won in 17 games, dating back to a victory over Army last January, and they had not won an ECAC game in 19 contests, dating back to November, 1997, when they beat Rensselaer. The Dutchmen also scored at even strength, something they had not done for over 26 periods of play.

“We knew that Colgate has a lot of talent and …. I think they still have more skill and talent overall, and we felt that heart could beat that,” said Sneddon. “There were 20 guys that believed in themselves and they outmatched the speed and skill of Colgate.”

“We weren’t ready for that kind of game,” acknowledged Colgate head coach Don Vaughan.

The next evening, the Dutchmen clung to a 1-0 lead until 2:17 left in the third period, when Cornell scored. The Big Red eventually won in overtime, disappointing those looking for the first Union ECAC weekend sweep since they defeated Colgate and Cornell at the end of the 1997-98 season.

“It was kind of disappointing on Saturday night; it was just one of those things,” said Sneddon. “[Cornell] had some nice plays and the next thing you know you are losing in overtime.

“That was the thing I was most impressed with our team — they were able to handle two different styles. We didn’t want to focus on the negatives and after Friday I didn’t want them to focus too much on the highs.”

“The guys started to believe in themselves and that was the key,” added Sneddon. “It’s a very focused group this year. Everyone is on the same page and it’s a matter of the guys not accepting anything but 110% of themselves.

“It’s a fine line — guys start to almost accept not winning and I had to teach them how to hate to lose. Looking back on Lowell and Merrimack it might have been a good thing. It gave me the opportunity to show the guys what it’s like when you don’t perform, and not give yourselves a chance to win. If we go hard, there will still be times when we fall short, but we have to give ourselves the opportunity, and that’s to play Union-style hockey: that’s to get to the puck first and to be physical. Only good things can come of that.”

A weekend split is not something every team strives for, but it was important to the Dutchmen.

“I think so from a confidence standpoint,” agreed Sneddon. “But I can’t let up on the guys. I can’t let them think that they are going to be successful now and that things will come easy now. The way we’re going to be successful is to come with that grit and determination, and that will allow us a chance to win.

“I’m hoping that it’s contagious. I don’t want them to get complacent. It’s only one win and I want them to get hungry for another win. We showed glimpses of that, coming back, competing well against Cornell and now it’s my job to make sure that they focus on that. If we can do that, we’ll be successful weekend after weekend.”

Let’s Play Special Teams, Part II

This week we chronicle the exploits of the Colgate Red Raiders on the power play, where they have been lethal this season. They have 10 power-play goals in 33 opportunities — a 30 percent clip.

“Our power play has been working well,” understated head coach Don Vaughan. “We got five [Friday] and three [Saturday], and we’ve been moving it around all right; unfortunately, and not to read too much into it, we end up seeing a lot of special teams now. You have to spend at least two days practicing it.”

The Red Raiders came out of the weekend with 21 power plays, scoring on eight of them. That’s 38.1 percent, in case you didn’t have your abacus.

The dangerous first says it all. Andy McDonald centers Sean Nolan and Daryl Campbell, with Cory Murphy and Mike Marostega on the points. It’s not really a coincidence that they are the top five scorers on the squad.

Still Going …

Harvard coach Mark Mazzoleni must have awakened early on Sunday morning and immediately checked the papers. His eyes did not deceive him; his Harvard team was undefeated.

After having a mere three months to prepare for the season, implementing an entirely new system along the way, the first year Harvard coach had done what many believed impossible — he had led the struggling Crimson to a 3-0 record. This past weekend it was an offensively dominating homestand in which the team posted 13 goals, the most by the Crimson during a homestand since 1994 and the most in a home opening weekend since 1990. Some were enough impressed by Harvard’s performance to vote them into the top 10.

“We really wanted to start this season and sort of send a message to the league that we’re going to be real contenders this year,” said Harvard senior goaltender J.R. Prestifilippo, who in two games has a 1.00 GAA and a .966 save percentage. “We wanted to get the offense going and that’s what we did.”

There is no denying that the close-marking style of Mazzoleni has suited the Harvard players just fine through two weekends of play. The system has allowed the Crimson snipers to find open ice and penetrate the red zone with ease. Two players who have benefited the most have been the highly-touted rookies, Brett Nowak and Dominic Moore. Last weekend, the two newcomers combined for five goals and three assists. More impressive than the sheer numbers, however, was their confidence on the ice as many of those goals came from spectacular individual moves.

“They are both very, very good players and I think the thing that we are trying to do — and they are reaping the benefits of — is a good, balanced attack,” Mazzoleni said. “When you look at their ice time, it’s probably not in the top half of what we’re putting out there with our forwards, but they are just chipping in real well out there. They are just very skilled players.”

Asked about their ability to create one-on-one, Mazzoleni replied. “You can’t teach that.”

Likewise, older players such as Jamin Kerner, Matt McLeod and Scott Turco are finding a home in the Mazzoleni system, and that newfound confidence and excitement is contagious. “This [past] weekend was very big,” said Harvard senior captain Trevor Allman. “It’s all about confidence with our new system right now, and putting the past behind us.”

The schedule has been one of Mazzoleni’s biggest assets thus far. The defensive holes and lack of experience with a 1-3-1 system has yet to be exposed by the likes of Brown, Dartmouth and Vermont. Defensively, the Crimson has gotten solid play from newcomer Aaron Kim, sophomore Peter Capouch and senior Matt Scorsune, but they will be tested by the agility and experience of Colgate and Cornell this coming weekend. Unlike the past three games, each errant deflection and miscommunication on defense will be punished.

Is this team for real? The jury is still out, but if the Mazzoleni system can stand up to the pressure of its first real road trip and the speed and size of Cornell and Colgate, then maybe, just maybe …

Earning Their Stripes …

After getting trounced by Niagara in the season opener, the sympathy thoughts (or hearty high-fives, depending upon who you are a fan of) began streaming towards Princeton, N.J. It appeared that it was going to be a very long season for Don “Toot” Cahoon and his Tigers as they tried to get over the loss of a dynamic senior class.

One week later, such ideas have changed. Is Princeton actually going to be a contender after all? Following an impressive performance against a stingy St. Lawrence club in which the Tigers outshot the Saints by a 45-29 margin, and then a gutsy come-from-behind tie with Clarkson on Saturday night, the answer could be a resounding yes.

“We’re a whole lot more organized than we were two weeks ago,” said Cahoon, following the surprising 3-1 loss against St. Lawrence.

Although the Tigers are having trouble finishing — they did, after all, only score four times on a total of 75 shots last weekend — they are beginning to show signs of cohesiveness. Case in point, the Princeton power play created numerous scoring chances down the stretch against St. Lawrence and then Shane Campbell played the role of hero with the game-tying goal against Clarkson.

“When you play Clarkson, it’s very hard to generate flow,” Cahoon said. “They’re physical, they lock on, and they live and die with the power play and faceoff plays, and they live and die with all these little things. [We’re] a team with a group that hasn’t experienced a lot of that.

This weekend will be an enlightening experience for Princeton. The young Tiger corps was thrown into the fire during its first league weekend, having to face two of the top-ranked teams. Dartmouth and Vermont should be less daunting to Princeton defensively as both lack the tight-checking, disciplined style of Clarkson and St. Lawrence. But Princeton made it very clear last weekend that although it has the innate talent to compete with anyone, it also has many roadblocks to overcome before it can compete week in and week out.

“We’re a long way from being game ready,” Cahoon admitted. “There are situations that arise during the game where it’s a whole new thing with a whole new group of people. So we need more practice and we need more games.”

New Sheriff In Town?

Clarkson head coach Mark Morris is on the verge of becoming the all-time win leader as a head coach at Clarkson. With one win this weekend against Union or Rensselaer Morris compiles his 254th win at Clarkson, tying him with the legendary Len Ceglarski. Two wins and Morris is the new leader in Potsdam.

The Eli On A Roll

Picked to finish seventh, but closing the gap quickly. That could just be the running motto of the Yale Bulldogs through one weekend of league play.

Things weren’t looking so great for Tim Taylor’s team after losing five players, including All-American candidate Jeff Hamilton, to a preseason suspension. But the team has come out of the gates strong, beginning with an impressive (if a loss can be impressive) 3-2 season-opening loss to then sixth-ranked Michigan at Yost Arena.

The Bulldogs have only dropped one since, and that was a 2-0 empty-net contest against one of the stingiest teams in the league — St. Lawrence.

The rotating goalie system of Trevor Hanger and Dan Lombard is working smoothly. Both netminders have stepped up to the plate in the absence of All-American Alex Westlund and have provided stability to the defensive corps. The two combined for 66 saves over the weekend.

It is no surprise, however, that with Hamilton sidelined the past four games, finishing has been an issue for Taylor. Yale’s lone goals this past weekend came from somewhat unlikely sources in Lee Jelenic and Luke Earl.

“In retrospect, in both games we had a plenty of breakaways and our share of quality chances,” said Taylor to the Yale Daily News. “We’ve got to finish, but it’s not easy to score.”

Hamilton is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday against Dartmouth.

“We have the potential to be very good; we had some pretty good chances and worked hard to get them,” continued Taylor. “But we scored two goals in 120 minutes of hockey and you can’t do that.”

Thanks to Adam Wodon for his help with this week’s column.

All photographs used by permission of the appropriate Sports Information Departments. Any reproduction without authorization is prohibited.

This Week in the MAAC: November 10, 1999

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Comebacks and Upsets

The third week of MAAC action was chock-full of excitement — highlighted by high-character comebacks and nail-biting overtime victories.

There were some firsts as both Bentley and Sacred Heart broke through with their first wins of the season. For Bentley, its come-from-behind, 3-2 win over defending tournament champion Holy Cross was also the club’s first win in MAAC and NCAA Division I play.

Fantastic comebacks have highlighted the young season, as MAAC teams have erased three or more-goal deficits seven times already; the largest was Mercyhurst’s four-goal comeback in a 6-4 win over Bentley two weeks ago. Iona also impressed in the first week of MAAC play, overcoming two three-goal deficits to tie Quinnipiac, 7-7.

At the same time, the MAAC has been no stranger to overtime. Nine games involving league members have already gone to extra time, with three games this past weekend playing long. The Sacred Heart Pioneers, riding the back of MAAC Goalie of the Week Alexis Jutras-Binet, played two overtime contests this week, The Pioneers upset UConn on Friday night, 2-1 in overtime, and skated to a 2-2 tie with AIC on Saturday night.

Zeroes All Around

It’s not too often that in a game in which the final score is 9-5 that you can talk about the number zero. But in last weekend’s game between Canisius and Fairfield, this was the case.

Unfortunately, the zeroes referenced here are not the kind that put smiles on a coach’s face: in each of the three periods, one of the two goaltenders finished the frame without a save.

In the first and second periods it was Canisius’ netminder Sean Weaver was without a save. Weaver allowed two goals each period. In the third period, Fairfield’s David Hines did not stop any of the four shots he faced.

The two goalies combined for 25 saves while allowing 14 goals.

MAAC Game of the Week

Mercyhurst at Iona Friday, November 12, 1999, 7:00 P.M.

About five weeks ago, as I sat writing the season preview, the phrase "X-factor" kept running through my head. Reason being, with the youth that makes up this MAAC league, there is and was pretty much no way to predict who could do what.

And two teams, Mercyhurst and Iona, have played their roles perfectly.

Mercyhurst, in its first year of Division I hockey and first season in the MAAC, has come out of the gate with a blazing start, winning its first four league games. Moreover, the team has shown the character usually reserved for national champions.

In three of the four league games, Mercyhurst has rallied from at least a three-goal deficit to win. They fell behind 4-0 to Bentley before winning 6-4, and were behind 4-1 to both Fairfield and Quinnipiac this past weekend before going on to win both games, 5-4 and 6-4, respectively.

According to head coach Rick Gotkin, now in his 12th season behind the Mercyhurst bench, he’s happy but concerned with his team’s comebacks.

"We wanted to get out of the gate strong this season. And we’ve found a way to win our first four," Gotkin said. "[The comebacks] have helped our kids’ confidence and building character, and all those cliches. I’d just like to get a better start.

"It’s great that we show the ability to come back. But I told the team that sooner or later, this [falling behind] will catch up with you."

Offense has not been a problem for the Lakers, who are averaging 5.5 goals per conference game. Junior left wing Eric Ellis leads the league in scoring with 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in four games, and junior center Jeff Gould leads the MAAC in goals with six .

Truly, the only downfall for the Lakers is their slow starts, and as Gotkin says, over the course of a 35-game season, that will take its toll. But it is an advantage come playoff time, knowing that no matter how big a deficit you face, if there is time left on the clock, the game is never over.

"The game is just so wide-open and teams have so many talented kids," Gotkin said. "The message to take from this is that this is why we play 60 minutes. You never give up because a lot can happen. I am excited that we won, but concerned with the fact that we’re falling behind."

When asked if Gotkin believed his team would meet Iona this early in the season with first place on the line, the coach humbly downplayed his club a bit.

"I could believe that Iona would be [on top] but I wouldn’t have believed that we’d be [there also]," Gotkin said laughingly. "It’s nice to be in first place, and I’m not complaining, but it’s a long year. I’m sure there’ll be a point in the season when we struggle.

"My philosophy is that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you handle what happens to you. So far we’ve handled it pretty well."

On the other side of the fence, the Gaels of Iona College have made a 180-degree turnaround over the course of about a year and a half. Only 13 months removed from being picked dead last in the inaugural MAAC preseason coaches’ poll, the Gaels have lost only one of their first five games this season, and stand in second place in the MAAC at this early juncture.

Iona is coming off of what they might consider a big upset — a 4-3 overtime win over UConn (which was predicted right here at USCHO in last week’s column). It was the Gaels’ first win ever against UConn, and it came before a packed house last Saturday night at the Ice Hutch in Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Head coach Frank Bretti is pleased with his team’s start and even more pleased with the play of his younger players.

"I felt very strongly about the recruiting class that we brought in," Bretti said. "In terms of what they can deliver, they’re off to a good start. Also, our returning players are a little bit better than last year. And their experience is basically what has carried us to this point."

The Iona offense is without a doubt one of the most potent in the league. With the MAAC’s leading scorer from last season, Ryan Carter, returning, plus the addition of a solid crop of seven hard-working recruits, Bretti’s team is beginning to open eyes.

"A major part of [our offense] is our practice, preparation and philosophies," Bretti added. "We’re a team who goes over a lot of options. Our philosophy is based on puck control in the offensive zone. So far it’s been successful."

Bretti says he’d still like to improve his defense, though he has received solid goaltending from rookie Mike Fraser (3-1-0, .933 SV%, 2.24 GAA). He also notes that his defense is suffering from a couple of injuries right now.

The Gaels have already been warned by their coach that things will only get harder.

"I’ve told the club that the more you win, the tougher it gets and the more you have to prepare," Bretti said.

One fact that Bretti acknowledged is that he and everyone else around the league could never have predicted that this weekend’s matchup with Mercyhurst could be a "big game" only a month into the season.

"Mercyhurst becomes the biggest game for us," Bretti said. "A month ago, no one knew what Mercyhurst is like. And a month ago, we didn’t know where we’d be at this point."

MAAC Weekly Honors

The MAAC honored Eric Ellis of Mercyhurst as Player of the Week. A junior from Hamilton, Ont., Ellis led two dramatic comebacks as Mercyhurst erased deficits against Fairfield and Quinnipiac. Ellis chipped in three assists on Friday night and scored two goals in the third period on Saturday night.

Alexis Jutras-Binet of Sacred Heart was named the MAAC Goaltender of the Week. Now in his third season with the Pioneers, Jutras-Binet stopped 27 shots both Friday and Saturday night as Sacred Heart posted a win over UConn and a tie against American International. The junior allowed just three goals on the weekend.

Rae Metz of Fairfield becomes the first Stag recognized for a weekly award, as Rookie of the Week. The freshman, who hails from Kent, Oh., scored two goals in a 5-4 loss to Mercyhurst on Friday, including the first of his collegiate career. He added a goal and two assists versus Canisius on Saturday as the Stags fell the Ice Griffs 9-5.

Notes from Around the League

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL–Senior goaltender Tom Patty (East Alstead, NH) recorded 28 saves to help AIC preserve a 2-2 tie with Sacred Heart on Saturday in his only action of the week. He sports a 1.92 GAA and .942 SV% in two starts this season.

BENTLEY–Bentley earned its first Division I win with a 3-2 victory over Holy Cross. It was also the Falcons’ first win over Holy Cross since 1982-83 … Ryan Soderquist (Stoneham, MA) continued his torrid scoring pace over the weekend. He leads the team with three goals and four assists for seven points.

CANISIUS–Sophomore Chris Duggan (Woodville, ON), the team’s leading scorer last season, missed last weekend’s games with a wrist injury … The Ice Griffs welcome back forwards Ryan Puntiri (Plymouth, MA) and Brad Kenny (Burlington, ON) this week as the two completed their soccer season. Puntiri was first-team All-MAAC for soccer and Kenny was a second-team pick.

CONNECTICUT–All three of the Huskies’ losses this season have been one-goal setbacks, including two overtime losses last weekend.

FAIRFIELD–The Stags opened the offensive floodgates this week, scoring their most goals in a game this season at Mercyhurst (4) and surpassing the total the following night at Canisius (5). Stag freshmen scored eight of the nine goals. Rae Metz (Hamilton, ON), Steve Calderara (Douglasville, GA), Casey Laflamme (Biddeford, ME) and James Lubinski (Niles, IL) got their first collegiate goals.

HOLY CROSS–Jim Whelan (Island Park, NY) had a goal and an assist in the Crusaders’ 3-2 loss at Bentley.

IONA–Iona’s 4-3 overtime victory over UConn was the Gaels first win against the Huskies in their last six attempts. Iona freshmen Scott Meyerhoff (Calgary, AB) and Mark Hallam (Medicine Hat, AB) are tied for the MAAC freshman scoring lead with seven points (three goals, four assists) in five games.

MERCYHURST–Sophomore Brad Olsen’s (Calgary, AB) game-winning goal against Quinnipiac Saturday night was his first goal of the season and second game-winner of his career. Junior defenseman Jody Robinson’s (Scarborough, ON) goal against Fairfield Friday night was his first of the season and first game-winning goal of his career.

QUINNIPIAC–Junior Chris Cerrella (North Massapequa, NY) has a seven-game point scoring streak, and a five-game goal-scoring streak … Seven of the Braves’ eight games this year have been decided by two goals or less. Quinnipiac is 3-3-1 in those games.

SACRED HEART–Richard Naumann (Boerne, TX) had a goal and two assists on the weekend as the Pioneers posted a win and tie in two MAAC games. Lloyd Tenant (Billings, MT) chipped in a goal and an assist on Saturday night.

Not Exactly a Fortune-teller

Well, anyone who has followed my picks over on the right side of the page realizes that I am simply not having a great season so far. I can’t really explain why, but the host of upsets (even though it’s so hard to call them that so early in the season) have helped a little bit.

Last week was as close to being "my week" when it comes to picks as I’ve had, so I figured I’d let every one know that (call it shameless self-promotion). In all honesty it could be summed up as the "close but no cigar" week.

I did make two long-shot picks — namely, that both Sacred Heart and Bentley would get their first wins of the season. And that I was correct about. Unfortunately, I picked them both to win on Saturday night and they both got victories on Friday.

For Saturday night’s Bentley-Army game, I was right on the ball with the score — 6-2. Unfortunate again that I selected Bentley to be victors instead of Army.

The last close call was that I picked Quinnipiac to lose its first MAAC game of the season, but again, wrong night. The Braves feel on Saturday night to Mercyhurst when I picked them to fall to Canisius. Nice try, again, but still no medals.

To my credit (gosh, my arms sore from patting myself on the back), I did pick the Iona-Connecticut game exactly, with the Gaels a 4-3 winner. That’s the first time this season that I’ve gotten both the winner and the score on the nose. Do I got something for that?

Don’t forget to read this week’s picks, handsomely displayed on the right-hand side of the page. And watch my still-below-.500 winning percentage drop further.

Police Called To Rink In Wake Of Brawl

USCHO Staff Report
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Local police were summoned to the site of Saturday night’s game between Elmira and Wisconsin-Superior after a brawl broke out between Elmira players and non-playing members of the Superior squad.

Superior, Wis., police named Jeff Wells, a Wisconsin-Superior freshman from Toronto as the instigator of the fight, which took place after the second period. Wells and other players came down from the stands to confront Elmira’s Robert Siewert near the locker rooms shortly after a crosscheck into the boards on UWS forward Jason Paschal.

A five-minute major was called for the hit, which left Paschal on the ice until paramedics arrived to take him to a local hospital; but the penalty was whistled against Jason Silverthorn, rather than Siewert, who eyewitnesses said threw the check against Paschal.

Wells and other Superior players not in uniform then sought out Siewert, whom UWS head coach Steve Nelson accused of bragging about the hit. Elmira head coach Glenn Thomaris’ glasses were broken during the brawl, and Elmira captain Adrian Saul required stitches for cuts on his wrist and hand.

Superior Police Sgt. Chris Moe and officer Chris Kirchoff entered the locker room in search of Wells, and were confronted by Nelson, who told them they had no right to be there. Moe also said that the UWS staff refused to assist police in locating Wells.

“Nelson began to yell at me in front of his entire team,” said Kirchoff in the Elmira Star-Gazette. “I warned Nelson to stop yelling at me or I would arrest him for disorderly conduct.”

Ejected from the game after the fracas were Elmira’s Siewert, Michael Hulbig, Jeff Angelidis, Jason Tremblay and Kenny Keil. Departing for UWS were Jeff Glowa, Bryan Grycan, Kris Wilson, Randy Currie and Ivan Prokic. All will miss one game in addition to the ejection Saturday.

Paschal was released from the hospital over the weekend, and Nelson told the Superior Daily Telegram Monday that he could be in uniform this Friday.

No arrests were made, although approximately 10 Superior police officers remained at the arena for the third period. Siewert declined to press charges, police said.

Compiled from Superior Daily Telegram and Elmira Star-Gazette reports.

Between the Lines

By Adam Wodon
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Welcome to our first “Between the Lines” column. The goal is to give a different take on the issues than you may see elsewhere, or cover topics that don’t get covered anywhere else. College hockey has a lot of interesting stories, but ESPN isn’t knocking down the door to cover them all.

If you disagree with something I write here, or just want to comment, feel free to email me. If your letter has some good thoughts, I may respond. Otherwise, save your fingers. Remember, everyone’s entitled to an opinion, including me. Knocking your favorite team doesn’t make me a bad guy (it’s the jail time in Malaysia that makes me a bad guy, but that’s for another day).

If you see anything crazy during your stops around the rinks each weekend, drop me a line and let me know. Otherwise, thanks for reading.

The ECAC has seen a changeover in the top again. A year ago, Phil Buttafuoco took charge of the conference as a whole, hockey and otherwise. Now, Steve Hagwell, who Buttafuoco once worked with at the NCAA, has replaced Jeff Fanter as hockey commissioner. The names have changed, and some of the delegation of duties may also change, but one thing hasn’t changed: the grumblings by some member schools over the home office’s perceived missteps.

To use a New Age word, the ECAC has “issues” right now. And we’ll be delving much deeper into them over the coming weeks.

By the way, Fanter left to become assistant SID in charge of men’s basketball at Indiana (watch out for flying chairs, Jeff). For some reason, I just don’t see Bruce McLeod, should he ever leave the WCHA, becoming an assistant SID. Just a thought.

To paraphrase Yale coach Tim Taylor, “If Princeton is an 11th-place team, then our league’s going to be pretty good.”

OK, he was saying that about his own team … two years ago. But the same could be said now for Princeton, picked 11th in the coach’s preseason poll.

Of course, that Yale team went to the NCAA tournament. No one is making any such bold predictions for Princeton — they probably won’t even be .500 — but the Tigers have never finished out of the ECAC playoffs under Cahoon, and I’d be shocked if they did so this year.

“We’re a good enough team to win some games and be in the thick of this,” says Cahoon. “I think it’s more of a mental thing than a physical thing. I think we’ve proved that. But, mentally, we’re so far away from being a competitive team … kids are looking over their shoulders and wondering what’s going to happen.

“It’s all a whole different makeup. I feel like maybe how I felt 5-6 years ago, where we were getting better but I wasn’t sure they totally understood all it took.”

Joe Marsh knows all about the validity of polls. His St. Lawrence team was picked ninth last year, but finished second and went to the ECAC tournament final.

“Princeton’s a very gritty team, they have been for a few years,” Marsh said. “They lost a ton through graduation: [Syl] Apps, [Scott] Bertoli, [Jeff] Halpern, [Steve] Shirreffs. It’s an all-star team. But there’s residuals from that.”

Agreed. But it still cracks me up how no coach ever wants to admit he believes a team will have a bad season. Someone picked Princeton 11th, for cryin’ out loud.

Only one player who has ever transferred colleges is now playing in the NHL: Former North Dakota star Jason Blake, who started at Ferris State and is now with the Los Angeles Kings. Of course, this may speak more to how few players transfer than any sort of dubious reason.

Nonetheless, another player may soon add to the list: Tim Lovell is leading the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins in scoring with seven goals, including four game-winners, and 14 points in 13 games. Lovell played three seasons at Maine before transferring to UMass to escape the cloud of NCAA sanctions.

Looking forward to seeing how Mike Gilhooly handles this weekend against BU and/or BC. Northeastern’s goalie was the Hockey East Rookie of the Month for October, then turned in a big 2-2 tie with Maine to start November. With Jason Braun home to be with his sick father, coach Bruce Crowder may hand the full reins to Gilhooly this weekend.

Gilhooly’s wins are against Bowling Green and UMass-Amherst, but if he can pull off another showstopping weekend, he may give Northeastern fans reason to believe they’ll have this year what they thought was coming last year until Marc Robitaille decided to depart for the pros.

Have you seen some of the early-season numbers? BC’s Jeff Farkas has 16 points in six games. Michigan’s Mike Comrie and Michigan State’s Shawn Horcoff have 13 points in seven games. And with an incredible 13 goals — and just two assists — in seven games, RPI’s Brad Tapper may be a candidate for the Cy Young Award as well as the Hobey Baker. Surely there will be other contenders, but these guys have early Hobey favorite status. My personal favorite: Can I box St. Lawrence’s Justin Harney and Dale Clarke and nominate them as an entry?

There are some interesting games this weekend, as always.

Let’s see how RPI and SLU, two early ECAC upstarts, fare against each other. Thankfully, that game is first, so RPI has no “we played Clarkson the night before” excuse. My feeling: St. Lawrence is for real … jury is still out on RPI.

In Hockey East, I’m looking forward to Providence and New Hampshire, waiting to see what direction their seasons take.

The big matchup out West, of course, is Minnesota at Wisconsin. Wisconsin is flying right now, despite the loss of David Tanabe, but, as the cliche goes, throw the records out the window. Amazingly, the USCHO message boards have been quite civil about this weekend’s games. Who spiked the water up there with polite pills?

My new favorite team? The Fairfield Stags. It’s not just that they start the season with nine road games in which they’ll travel over 5,000 miles; or that they have 15 freshmen on a team that won one game last year; or that their leading scorer (Steve Calderara) is from Georgia. It’s that they have a new head coach who deserves to be cheered for in Mark Dennehy. Dennehy was the second assistant at Princeton, and he was as big a part of their success in the last three years as anyone. He played in the Heinze-Emma-McInnis era at Boston College, and there may not be a better young coaching prospect out there. He’s got the personality, knowledge and pedigree to be a success for a long time.

The death of the college player’s pro potential has been greatly exaggerated. With numerous former NCAA players leading their AHL teams in scoring, and with another fine crop of NHL rookies to add to last year’s bonanza, the college game has much to be proud of. There was a time there when I wondered who would take the torch from the likes of Amonte, LeClair, Leetch, Richter, McEachern, etc. But that concern is no longer there.

In last season’s AHL All-Star Game in Philadelphia, 18 of the 34 non-European members played U.S. college hockey. This season, former Vermont star Martin St. Louis of Saint John leads the league in scoring, and these guys lead their teams: Louisville, Eric Boguniecki (New Hampshire); Lowell, Ray Giroux (Yale) and Dave Hymovitz (Boston College); Philadelphia, Jim Montgomery (Maine); Providence, Tim Lovell (Maine, UMass-Amherst); Springfield, Eric Healey (RPI) and Sean McCann (Harvard); Worcester, Marty Reasoner (Boston College). Meanwhile, goalies Dan Murphy (Clarkson) and Jean-Marc Pelletier (Cornell) are one-two in the league in goals-against average for Quebec and Philadelphia, respectively.

In the NHL last year, a bumper crop of rookies included Calder Trophy winner Chris Drury, finalist Brendan Morrison, Bill Muckalt, Tom Poti, Jay Pandolfo and Matt Cullen.

This year’s group includes the likes of Mike York, Brad Chartrand, Paul Comrie, Steve Kariya, Jason Blake, John Grahame, John Madden, Blake Sloan and Jeff Halpern.

Alaska-Anchorage is proving its coach, Dean Talafous, right. Talafous thought his current team was even better than last year’s sixth-place squad, but the coaches picked the Seawolves last in the WCHA. Right now, they are second, but we’ll see how long it lasts following a big test against newly-anointed No. 1 North Dakota.

I think they’ve already clinched a better record than 0-6 Michigan Tech.

Taking a look at Ferris State’s roster one day (don’t we all?), something immediately struck me about freshman Kevin Caudill. No, it wasn’t that he hails from Tustin, Calif. And it wasn’t that he weighs 165 pounds. It’s that he’s 6-foot-3 and weighs 165 pounds.

I suddenly started fearing for his safety. I mean, Brian Gionta is 165 pounds … but of course he’s 5-7. Maine’s newest Kariya, Martin, is 5-7, 160; Gianni Cantini of Brown and Don Richardson of Vermont weigh in at a Freddy Patek-like 5-6, 160. Can Caudill meet the rigors of Division I hockey?

“Obviously, his strength is a concern,” says Bulldogs coach Bob Daniels. “He’s a very good skater, very mobile, and our challenge is to put strength on him. But by the time he’s done, I think he’ll be a very good hockey player.

“He was actually 158 when he came here. He’s been so busy growing, he can’t stop to put weight on. We knew he wouldn’t be major contributor his first year, but he has Division-I skills and he hasn’t looked out of place.”

Please send Baskin-Robbins’ gift certificates to USCHO, attention: Adam Wodon, and I’ll be sure to pass them on to Kevin.

And if ever a player didn’t fit a name, it’s Cornell’s Stephen Baby. At 6-5, 220, Baby is anything but. He’s also from the high-rent district of Chicago’s northern suburbs — specifically Winnetka, a growing hotbed of U.S. talent.

By the way, the tallest listed player is Harvard’s Kyle Clark (6-6, 210). Maine’s Robert Ek is 6-5, 210, but Merrimack’s Stephen Moon takes the overall award, coming in at a Lindros-like 6-5, 240. Oh, if only …

With Matt Adessa and Mark Wilkinson on the roster, is Western Michigan now officially the Wayward Home of The Sons of Coaches Dismissed Under Dubious Circumstances?

After seeing Steve Kariya’s disappearing act in last year’s Final Four, did anyone think he’d be as good as he is in the NHL? Oh, wait, is that a letter from Maine fans? Duck! (Duck? No, that’s Paul Kariya.)

BU eighth? What, has Dave Hendrickson lost his mind? Well, our esteemed writer lost that years ago, but when it comes to Hockey East, I’ll take his opinions over anyone’s in the country. Nonetheless, an opinion is just that, and everyone’s got ’em — mine is that you don’t pick a Jack Parker-coached and recruited team to finish eighth. You just assume there’s some talent there that Parker will whip it into enough shape to finish respectably. It’s the same philosophy that ensures Princeton of finishing no lower than ninth. Don Cahoon has less to work with, but it’s similar, in relative terms.

Is there a greater feat in hockey history than Harvard’s C.J. Young scoring three shorthanded goals in 49 seconds? That happened almost 11 years ago, on Dec. 12, 1988, and to this day, it still amazes me every time I think of it. The closest I ever saw was Martin St. Louis’ 2 1/2 shorthanded goals against Princeton in one game. He scored one just as his team’s penalty was expiring, and scored another as he came out of the penalty box to make a three-on-five a four-on-five. I didn’t see Young’s, but it’s incredible nonetheless.

I just had to say that.

What In The Name Of Dominik Hasek…

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… is going on with Hockey East goaltending? Hasek, a consensus choice as the world’s top netminder, opened the National Hockey League season with a 1-4-1 record and enough poor performances to earn a seat on the end of the bench. He then returned to action and promptly tore a groin muscle, an injury that is expected to sideline him for months.

While perhaps not as dramatic as Hasek’s fall from the pinnacle, Hockey East goaltending has certainly opened the season in upheaval. Some of the netminders expected to be among the best struggled in the early going, while several newcomers have already staked preliminary claims to the league’s upper class.

Let’s look, then, at the initial returns of how that position is faring throughout Hockey East.

The Established Number Ones

New Hampshire — Ty Conklin would be Exhibit A for the unexpected. Last season, the junior set a Hockey East record with a 1.64 goals-against average, and overall posted a 1.84 mark, second-best in nation, and a .932 save percentage. While splitting time with then-senior Sean Matile, Conklin allowed more than two goals in only three of the 16 regular-season games in which he played.

This year, however, he reached that total in each of his first three games. In the UNH home opener against Vermont, he allowed four goals on 22 shots. Then Lake Superior State got three past him the following weekend. But UNH remained undefeated, so there seemed no need to make much ado about nothing.

“He might not be on the top of his game so far,” said UNH coach Dick Umile at the time. “I don’t think the team is, or anyone is early in the season. He made the key saves when he had to. He’s not happy that he let in three goals, but you can start to get greedy because the kid always had it [at or] under two.”

Indeed, a critique would have seemed as absurd as claiming that Mark McGwire had “slumped” to a mere 65 home runs in 1999 after his record-shattering 70 one year earlier.

However, then came New Hampshire’s early-season Waterloo when the Wildcats fell at home to Rensselaer, 6-0. It was in every way a team loss, but Conklin surrendered all six goals on just 17 shots and, particularly in the third period, looked like anything but one of the league’s elite goaltenders.

Few people had expected Conklin to match last year’s gaudy statistics in light of UNH losing three of its top defensemen, but this dropoff appeared Hasek-ian.

Fortunately, Conklin (2.87 GAA, .895 SV%) has more recently returned to form, holding UMass-Lowell and UMass-Amherst to single goals in 2-1 wins as well as allowing only one of Yale’s five tallies in relief of backup Matt Carney.

“Ty’s in a groove right now,” said Umile. “He’s playing real well.”

UMass-Amherst — Markus Helanen (right), who probably entered the season as co-holder (with Conklin) of the title “Hockey East’s Top Goaltender,” seemed to share the early form of his UNH rival through the first few games. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t at his accustomed level.

Helanen

Helanen

“We got good goaltending from Markus,” said coach Joe Mallen after the Minutemen lost their opener to Colgate, 3-2, “but a couple broke off his equipment and in.”

The same thing happened one week later against Northeastern. Shots that Helanen had stopped cleanly last season were breaking into the net off his pads.

“We expect all of our guys to come off of last year and all of a sudden be playing exactly as well as they did in February,” said Mallen. “It takes a long time to get the timing down.”

As with Conklin, Helanen’s most recent efforts have been encouraging. Following a 4-1 loss to Boston College, he shut out Army, 1-0, and then allowed two goals in a tie with UMass-Lowell. Backup Mike Johnson got the nod in the 2-1 loss at New Hampshire.

For UMass-Amherst to make a move in the standings, however, Helanen will have to steal games like he did last year, most notably a three-out-of-four point November weekend against Maine when he stopped 87 of 89 shots. His statistics to date (2.53 GAA, .914 SV%) are fine, but the only win so far has come in overtime against Army, when his teammates held an overwhelming 55-19 shot advantage.

In league games, the Minutemen have either matched or outshot their opponents three times and recorded losses in each case. Admittedly, shot totals can be misleading, but UMass fans will know that Helanen is truly back in full force when their team starts recording wins in those games.

Boston College — Scott Clemmensen has been perhaps one of the most unappreciated goalies in recent memory. While some observers place him close to Conklin and Helanen, others consider him BC’s potential Achilles’ heel. No other league netminder spans such a wide range of evaluations.

In part, that’s a reflection of BC’s oft-overwhelming talent. With such a team, Clemmensen must often fill the role of Grant Fuhr on the dominating Edmonton Oilers teams that were led by Wayne Gretzky. Clemmensen must stay sharp whether he sees a lot of rubber or not.

He looked good the first two weekends, but faltered in a big way in BC’s 6-5 overtime loss at Minnesota. He had to wait nine days to redeem himself, but did so in a 4-1 win over UMass-Lowell.

“I thought Scott Clemmensen was terrific in goal,” said coach Jerry York after the game. “He was coming off an unusually poor effort in his last game and he bounced back and probably played his best game of the year.

“He hasn’t had a lot of all-league consideration because there’ve been great goaltenders here in Hockey East, [Michel] Larocque and Conklin last year and [Marc Robitaille the year before].

“He’s improving. The big thing about him is he’s just got to be consistent.”

For the first time in his three years, Clemmensen (2.47 GAA, .900 SV%) has some competition for playing time. Freshman Tim Kelleher (1.50 GAA, .927 SV%) has won both of his starts, including a 4-1 win at Minnesota that followed the overtime loss.

“We made up our mind that he was going to play before we went out there,” said York. “He’s had real good practices and has played pretty well now.

“The best of both worlds is to have two good goaltenders paying sharp all year. We’ll have to watch how [things develop]. It’d be great to have a tandem of goaltenders.

“The next 80 games [over this year and next] we’ll have those two goalies and I’m not sure if it’s going to be 60-20 or 40-40, but Timmy has come on hard.

“I’d like to think of them as a 1 and 1-A.”

Merrimack — Tom Welby is in much the same role as Helanen this year, looking to steal games in which the opponents hold the upper hand in play and nail down wins in the other games.

So far, the wins have come over Holy Cross, 5-2, and Union, 3-1, both of which fell into the “nail down” category. And in the October losses, Welby could hardly be blamed after facing 56 Boston College shots and 47 at St. Lawrence.

“He’s played very well for us,” said coach Chris Serino at the time. “Last year, he was thrown into a fire where everyone thought he was going to be like he played against BU in the [1998] playoffs. But he had only played five games that year, so last year was his first full year.

“He’s a much better goaltender this year. He’s very steady now and controls the tempo of the game better.

“I think he’s in the upper echelon of the goaltenders in the league.”

On Nov. 5, however, Welby got the hook after giving up five goals on just 14 Boston University shots. Sophomore Jason Wolfe performed the mop-up duty and then reprised that act one night later after senior Cris Classen played well in a 4-2 loss to the Terriers.

Welby (4.27 GAA, .887 SV%) is still “The Man” in the Merrimack nets, but the two backups could see more action.

Providence College — Boyd Ballard has been an enigma in his two-plus years as a Friar. It can be bewildering for PC fans to see a great stacked-pad save from the same goalie who allows a slapshot from near center ice to go in.

Against BU on Oct. 30, Ballard (3.41 GAA, .876 SV%) allowed an unscreened wrist shot from the point to sneak through the five hole, a softie that proved decisive in a 3-2 loss.

“As a goalie, you have to make the saves that you should make and then make some of the saves that you shouldn’t,” said coach Paul Pooley. “Some of the goals that go in are [saves he should make] and that’s what he needs to work on.

“He’s let a lot of poor goals up over his career, but he’s made a lot of huge saves. But they can’t coexist. You’ve got to take the bad goals out.

“I think he’s played well and is on the verge of getting there, but I don’t think he’s in the upper echelon yet.”

The Emerging Number Ones

Northeastern — Mike Gilhooly has made the biggest initial splash of the new goaltenders, earning both the Hockey East Rookie of the Month and Goaltender of the Month awards for October. And of all the new netminders, Gilhooly is the only one that had to beat out a returning starter.

“He’s a little catlike, which I like, and quick on his feet,” said coach Bruce Crowder after Gilhooly backstopped the Huskies to an early 2-0-0 record. “[His play] has been very encouraging for us.”

Even so, Crowder wasn’t about to dispense with last year’s returning top goalie, Jason Braun.

“I wouldn’t say that one kid has the nod over the other kid,” said Crowder. “We’re going to play with our hunches and take it from there. We’re going to play whoever we think will win the game for us.

“[But] right now, we see a little bit more in [Gilhooly]. That’s why he’s playing.”

Braun got his opportunity when Northeastern traveled to Wisconsin for a pair of games. Braun started the first game and, due to a problem with Gilhooly’s skate blade, played all but three and a half minutes in the second.

“We got good goaltending out of Jason Braun both nights,” said Crowder. “He played a great game on Friday night and made some key saves. I just decided to leave him in there the next night so he basically played almost all of that game.”

Sadly, Braun remained behind in Wisconsin to be with his ailing father and wasn’t expected to return until after the Nov. 13-14 weekend.

Gilhooly (2.17 GAA, .915 SV%) then proved instrumental in the Huskies’ 2-2 tie at Maine against the then top-ranked Black Bears, holding the fort during a first-period 15-7 shot disadvantage.

Nonetheless, Crowder is taking a wait-and-see approach.

“Obviously, Mike had a good October and he had a good game up at Maine,” said Crowder. “He’s got the ball and is going to run with it. But it’s early in the season and they don’t give out trophies this time of year.”

Boston University — No team entered the season with less experience in the nets, a rarity for the Terriers given coach Jack Parker’s strong preference for a goaltender rotation. But last year’s poor start and the heroics of Michel Larocque conspired to limit Jason Tapp to only two decisions — both losses — and a smattering of mop-up duty.

“I can’t remember having two guys who were [either] freshmen or sophomores who hadn’t played very much,” said Parker. “It was the first time we’ve opened up the season with that little experience.”

And those who doubted Tapp’s abilities nodded knowingly when BU traveled to Vermont, outshot the Catamounts, 48-20, and still lost, 7-4.

“There haven’t been too many times in my career that we’ve outshot a team by 30 shots and not won the game,” said Parker. “Goaltending was a big difference. Their goaltender set a career high with 44 saves and [Tapp] struggled at times and they were opportunistic. But we dominated every stage of the game except the scoreboard.”

Nonetheless, Parker didn’t discard the sophomore, even when his freshman partner in the BU no-experience rotation shined. And although it’ll take a while before Tapp’s statistics (3.54 GAA, .816 SV%) recover from the Vermont outing, Parker’s patience was rewarded recently with a strong performance against Merrimack. Tapp might have recorded a shutout if not for some sloppy defensive-zone play in the final six minutes, but still came away with a 4-2 win.

Ricky DiPietro (2.50 GAA, .903 SV%), the other half of the tandem, has prompted comparisons to Garth Snow with his puckhandling abilities. In time, he may prove to be the best of Hockey East’s freshman goaltenders.

“There’s no question that he adds another dimension to the game and makes it easier on the defensemen,” said Parker after a 3-2 win over Providence in which DiPietro was the difference. “One of the hardest things in hockey is going back to get the puck when someone’s bearing down on you, pick it off the wall and try to get it out of the zone. [With DiPietro] they can hold people up for a second and let him get it out of the zone for them.

“He made some great decisions and he can really execute. We recruited him knowing he was really good at that. But we also recruited him knowing that he can stop pucks and that’s the most important thing.”

Maine — The loss of Alfie Michaud from last year’s national championship team left only sophomore Mike Morrison, who compiled a 3-0-1 record and enviable statistics (1.73 GAA, .917 SV%) in limited play, and Matt Yeats, who redshirted last year.

When four games into the season the tandem had allowed three or more in each contest, Black Bear fans had to wonder. Three or four goals against Minnesota was one thing, but New Brunswick and Canisius?

In the next four games, however, Morrison (2.50 GAA, .908 SV%) and Yeats (2.27 GAA, .919 SV%) allayed those fears, holding Ohio State, Northeastern and Providence to two goals or less. Maybe the loss of Michaud wouldn’t hamstring Maine’s repeat hopes after all.

“They’re very consistent and I couldn’t ask anything more out of both of them,” said coach Shawn Walsh. “Anytime we give up a goal, people are going to say, ‘Oh, Alfie….’ They forget that Alfie was a guy who didn’t even get a vote for the all-league team.”

The omission had seemed like an injustice. Larocque, Conklin and Helanen all deserved the votes that they received, but UNH’s Sean Matile had struggled through his senior year and although he’d had an exceptional career his votes might have properly gone Michaud’s way.

“Some of the other goalies had better regular seasons,” said Walsh. “Alfie had the great postseason.

“But we’re getting goaltending every bit as good as we did last year at the start.”

UMass-Lowell — Like BU and Maine, the River Hawks faced a major question in goal following the graduation of Scott Fankhouser. Jimi St. John (left) had looked overmatched in the first half of his freshman season and, despite making major strides in the second half, still had accumulated very little game action (1-5-0, 4.82 GAA, .854 SV%).

St. John

St. John

St. John was joined by Cam McCormick, whose last contest had been on Dec. 19, 1997. The British Columbia native arrived on campus in January, 1998, but had played in two major junior games and, as a result, had to sit out an entire year. He then redshirted the final three months of the 1998-99 campaign to avoid using up another entire year of eligibility.

So in early October it was anyone’s guess how good the goaltending would be for Lowell.

As it has turned out, St. John (1-2-1, 3.21 GAA, .883 SV%) has continued to show progress and McCormick (1-3-0, 3.01 GAA, .870 Sv%) has proven worth the wait.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said coach Tim Whitehead. “Our goalies have been tremendous. They’re coming along quicker than we thought. They both still have things they want to work on, but they are working on them and they are making progress.

“Even if there’s a goal or two that they’d like to have back because of something they’re working on, I’ve been very pleased with where they’re going. I know where they’ll be eventually.

“I’m happy. Our goals-against is down. … Long-term, we should be in a very good situation.”

This Week in the WCHA: November 10, 1999

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Climbing the ladder

When Wisconsin beat Michigan Tech at home, it could have been called expected. When it split with Minnesota-Duluth at home, it could have been called a setback. When the Badgers swept non-conference foe Northeastern, it was — interesting.

But with a 5-1 record through six games, the question of the Badgers’ opponent quality could easily be raised, and they had played all six games at home. Yes, the scoring was finally there, but against who?

Maybe that’s why it took until last weekend’s road sweep of Denver for the Badgers to be nationally ranked. UW made its debut this week at No. 7 in the USCHO poll following a pair of games in which it had to pull wins out down the stretch.

On Friday, Dany Heatley — who has so far lived up to his billing as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s top freshman — scored off a deflection off a Denver defenseman with 37 seconds left to give the Badgers a 3-2 win. Saturday, freshman Brian Fahey scored with four minutes left to break a 3-3 tie and, after an empty-net goal, UW had a 5-3 win and the cherished road sweep.

As far as UW coach Jeff Sauer is concerned, now his team can forget about the home loss to Duluth. The Badgers stand in first place with 10 points through six league games. Alaska-Anchorage is two points back and North Dakota has seven points, but also two games in hand over the top two.

You can just see the character building on this Wisconsin team. When freshmen show the poise to be out there when the game is on the line and come through with game-winning goals, things are looking good.

"The interesting thing, we scored eight goals on the weekend and we had seven different people score," Sauer said. "We have a lot of that type of thing going on now, which is a real positive.

"The big thing is we’ve played eight games, and the last three Saturday nights, we’ve had major people out of our lineup. (Steve) Reinprecht was out, (Dan) Bjornlie was out one night, Saturday night (against Denver) we only played with four defensemen and we were still able to win. That tells you a little bit about the character."

Yes, it was easy to dismiss the Badgers as pretenders early in the season, given the schedule. But Sauer knew the early part of the schedule was when his team was going to have to play well. A bad start this season would not allow the Badgers to contend for the title in early March. Sauer said his team deserves to be ranked where it is, and that they will have to push forward on the ice to maintain that ranking.

"In our own minds, we felt we had a team that should be a pretty good team this year," he said. "I think we’re just doing it on the ice. We’ll just continue to try to do it on the ice and take it where it goes, so to speak.

"I think people underestimated our freshman class from a year ago. They have really contributed to us this year. Now, everything has kind of fallen into place. We have to stay free of injury. We’re like any team — we lose two or three key people and it brings us back."

Beginning with the Denver series, Wisconsin’s schedule has begun to pick up. The Badgers host Minnesota this week, and despite the Gophers’ rough start, this series is always one to watch.

Minnesota has flat-out owned this series this decade (25-9-4) but there may have been a crack last season the Badgers can try to crawl through this year. Minnesota won both games at the Kohl Center last season, but the Badgers got their first win at the new Mariucci Arena later in the year, followed by a tie.

But the "Border Battle," as it has been dubbed, may have lost some of its luster, especially on the Wisconsin side. Sauer claims his team’s Minnesota natives are the only ones that really understand the rivalry.

"Minnesota, to Dany Heatley (a Calgary, Alb., native), it’s another country," Sauer said. "That’s the thing that we have to do as a coaching staff, get our non-Minnesota players to understand what this rivalry is all about. There’s been enough talk about football this year when we played Minnesota early on that the guys know that.

"I didn’t have a very good record against Doug Woog; hopefully I can turn that around against Donny (Lucia), at least while he’s coaching at Minnesota."

The biggest thing about this weekend, as opposed to some meetings in the past, is that both teams have something to gain besides the satisfaction of beating the other. Wisconsin can hold onto the top spot with a sweep and Minnesota could climb back into the top half of the league with a pair of wins; and, as Sauer put it, the Gophers just have a lot to play for.

"I know the Minnesota teams get ready to play us, it’s a big weekend for them," Sauer said. "It’s a big weekend for them in terms of making the next step. From our standpoint, we want to continue what we’ve started here.

"If you’re going to have a matchup of two big teams in the WCHA this weekend, this certainly is the right time for both teams to make a statement. Hopefully, we’re the ones that do."

Anchorage next in line

This is nothing new to North Dakota.

For the second straight week, the No. 1-ranked Fighting Sioux face an opponent looking to validate its claim as an upper-level team. Last weekend, it was St. Cloud State. UND promptly gave the Huskies a setback, winning 6-0 and 4-3.

This weekend, Alaska-Anchorage steps up to face the team that always seems to kill any momentum its opponent may have. It happened last season to the Seawolves, when they lost to UND 8-0 and 4-3, starting a six-losing streak that ended the season.

Once again, this is a measuring stick for the team the coaches picked to finish dead last in the league. They’re in second place right now. But coach Dean Talafous said there’s really nothing special his team can do to prepare for the Sioux.

"At this point in the season, we have to play our game," Talafous said. "We realize playing a team like North Dakota, we have to be at the top of our game, no question. But there’s not a whole lot else we can do. We’ve been working real hard all year to continue to improve and be at our best. That’s pretty much what we have to do.

"We can’t play nervous, we can’t play scared, we have to play our game to the best of our ability."

The Seawolves swept Michigan Tech in Houghton last weekend, giving the team a bit of a boost into what most likely will be their toughest weekend of the young season.

No matter what happens this weekend, Talafous said he’ll accept the effort because he’s seen a lot of pride in his team.

"We’re obviously not a perfect team, we were picked by everybody to finish last. We’re not a powerhouse by any stretch," Talafous said. "As a coach, when you have a team where each individual is coming to the rink every day and giving it his best effort, that’s all you can ask. I haven’t always had that here, but I can honestly say now that we have a team that takes pride in their effort and their performance and tries to get better each day.

"I don’t know what the season’s going to end up being, I just know it’s going to be very rewarding because of the effort they give each day."

Sertich is back; will Bulldogs follow?

Good news for Minnesota-Duluth: coach Mike Sertich should be back on the bench this weekend after missing the team’s last four games while fighting pneumonia.

Sertich said Tuesday that he wasn’t fully recovered — that probably won’t happen for another month — but he was well enough to return to practice.

Bad news for Minnesota-Duluth: Sertich returns to see his team travel to St. Cloud, where they have had a history of mediocre performances, according to Sertich.

"My biggest concern is having 20 guys on the rink compete," Sertich said. "Historically, we’ve had a tough time there. Some of the times we’ve been there, we have not played with a full contingent of players because a few people never showed up to play."

Having a week off may help the Bulldogs, though. At the very least, it gave them a week to get some health back — Sertich included.

"This is the first time I’ve been with them for a couple weeks," Sertich said. "I haven’t been near the rink. When they had the week off, the staff wasn’t there. So it was kind of a week off. The only thing that I noticed is that a couple guys who were nicked up are pretty well healed now. I think that’s the best thing that came out of the week off."

To be successful this week, Sertich said, the Bulldogs will have to stop the mistakes and protect the puck.

"That’s where we’ve had trouble with Wisconsin and Colorado, to date," Sertich said. "A lot of it was self-inflicted pain. We just can’t panic, we’ve got to be patient."

Bad times in Houghton

To put it nicely, things have been better at Michigan Tech.

The Huskies are 0-8 overall and 0-6 in the WCHA. Four of the team’s eight losses have been shutouts, including a 3-0 loss Friday to Anchorage.

The team’s leading scorer is Jarrett Weinberger with six. Through eight games.

Things don’t get much easier for the Huskies this week, as they face Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

Michigan Tech coach Tim Watters said he would prefer not to comment for this story, saying only: "We’re fragile right now, but we’re going to plug ahead. It hasn’t gone as well as we expected."

One wonders how long it may take for the Huskies to get their first win of the season. After the series with Colorado College, they have another home-and-home series with Northern Michigan, who blanked them in two games to start the season.

Only once before in the long history of the Michigan Tech program has the team lost its first eight games. That was in 1940-41, when Tech lost its first 10 before winning the season finale.

That one may be in danger of falling.

Thumbs of the week

This is a new segment of the column, highlighting some of the good and bad performances of last weekend’s action.

Up to Don Lucia. He got through the weekend he had been dreading since he took the position at Minnesota — a return to Colorado College — with a split.

Down to A.J. Aitken. The Michigan Tech senior co-captain took a spearing penalty in the last minute of Friday’s loss to Anchorage, putting him out for Saturday’s game. Captains have to know better than that.

Up to Toby Petersen. He became the 60th member of the Colorado College "Century Club" with his 100th point late in Friday’s win over Minnesota.

Down to whoever planned the Wisconsin-Minnesota series the same weekend as the game where Ron Dayne will probably break the NCAA rushing record. Not a lot you can do about this, though.

Around the league

Denver: One of the biggest questions for any coach is "How will my team respond to adversity?" George Gwozdecky should get his answer this weekend.

A week after dropping a pair at home to Wisconsin, the Pioneers have to regroup and face Minnesota State-Mankato on the road.

"What I would like to have is two wins," Gwozdecky said. "That’s probably the No. 1 response that I would like to see out of our team. That’s a big response, because Mankato’s a pretty good team. We’ve played them over the past two years and had really had some great battles. We’re not an experienced or mature team yet.

"The ideal response is for us to be able to go in there and play as well as we can, having corrected some of the areas or having improved some of the areas that we were weak in this past weekend.

"Believe me, it was extremely disappointing to come out on the short end on the scoreboard both nights," he added, "but the feedback that we got, all I can say is thank you very much, now we know where we’re at, now we know what we have to get better at, and we will."

Minnesota State-Mankato: You’ve read about it, you’ve heard about it and now it’s finally here. The Mavericks finally drop the puck in a home WCHA game on Friday against Denver.

Now that it’s here, I can probably stop writing about it, huh?

This Week in the MAAC: November 3, 1999

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A Record-Setting Week

Of course, in a conference that is only a year and two weeks old, you’re going to have records set and broken almost every week. And last week was no exception to the rule as two more league marks fell.

However, one might easily think that Quinnipiac and Iona are taking this a bit to an extreme. One week after the two clubs combined for the most goals ever in a game (14 goals in a 7-7 tie), they recorded eight goals in the first period of last Friday’s contest — the most ever in one period.

Quinnipiac’s Chris Cerrella, currently second in the MAAC in scoring with 10 points, was the only player to tally two goals in that wild 20 minutes. He scored the Braves’ first goal of the period at 1:05 to tie the score at one, and then scored their fourth goal at 19:04 to again knot the game.

In the MAAC opener for both Bentley and Mercyhurst, the clubs set two records, neither of the high-class variety. A line brawl in the first period on the contest resulted in 152 minutes in penalties that period and a game total of 162 minutes (81 for each club) — both MAAC records. All five skaters at the time for both clubs were given misconduct penalties, with Matt Kowal of Bentley and Marc Vanteressian of Mercyhurst receiving game disqualifications.

Lakers, Braves Sweep

Only two clubs were able to win both of their games in the first full weekend of MAAC play. Mercyhurst handled Bentley, 6-4, on Friday before beating Holy Cross, 5-2, on Saturday. Quinnipiac was victorious in two two-goal games, a 5-3 win over Sacred Heart and a 6-4 win over Iona.

Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin was extremely pleased with the way his team welcomed themselves into the MAAC. He talked most about the fact that for his club, last weekend was not their first two-game weekend. With four games already under their belt, Gotkin felt the Lakers were in good game shape.

"I think that [having played four games] was the difference," Gotkin said. "We talked about it before [Friday’s] game.

"We said we’d like to have a great start and win convincingly, but if it’s going to be a tight game — as it always is against Bentley — in the third period, the fact that we’ve played four games may be the ultimate thing that decides the contest, and it was."

Gotkin was also impressed with the play of forward Eric Ellis. A junior, Eric is one of the team’s assistant captains, and his leadership was a big factor in Friday’s come-from-behind win over Bentley.

"[Eric] is a big-game player," said Gotkin. "He’s only a junior and we expect him to have a great year this year and next year. He’s a leader."

"You need somebody going hard for you. I was thinking [Friday] was just one of those nights when 18 guys are brain-dead. He wasn’t. He kept going and kept doing the little things, and then I think we got offense and momentum and scored goals."

Ellis wasn’t simply a motivating factor for the team. He factored on the scoresheet that night as well, registering two goals and an assist.

MAAC Game of the Week

Quinnipiac College at Canisius College Amherst Pepsi Arena, Amherst, N.Y., 7:30 P.M. ET

The Canisius Ice Griffs roll out the red carpet this weekend as they welcome MAAC preseason favorite Quinnipiac College this Friday night at the Pepsi Arena in Amherst, N.Y.

The game is a rematch of last year’s MAAC semifinals, when the Ice Griffs stunned top-seeded Quinnipiac, 5-2, and dashed the Braves hopes of appearing in the NCAA tournament.

One might expect Quinnipiac’s sixth-year coach, Rand Pecknold, to be focused on the rematch and gearing up to play the Griffs, but instead, at this early point of the season, he has to worry about injuries.

After losing arguably the best player in the league, Chad Poliquin, for the season, Pecknold has also lost sophomore defenseman Dan Ennis, as well as sophomore Todd Bennett, who has been pushed to forward to take the place of Poliquin. "I don’t think we’re focused in on [playing Canisius again] as much as I originally thought we would," said Pecknold. "We’ve been hit hard by the injury bug. So our focus isn’t who we’re playing, it’s simply the injuries and getting kids healthy.

"Last season we were healthy all season; this year is kind of the opposite."

Remembering last year’s semifinal against Canisius, Pecknold feels that his team’s main objective has to be finishing plays.

"It’s simply a matter of who’s going to execute and who’s going to finish," said Pecknold. "I watched last year’s semifinal the other day and saw so many opportunities where we just didn’t finish. We had a couple of breakaways here, a puck that hit the knob of the goalie’s stick there.

"It all comes down to either finishing or goaltending, depending which side you’re on."

And goaltending for Quinnipiac is not as secure as it was last season. Last year’s standout, J.C. Wells, has been struggling lately, and was pulled in last Saturday’s game against Iona.

"We’re trying to focus on being a good defensive club," Pecknold noted. "Last year we were a good defensive team and our goaltending was phenomenal. This season, we haven’t quite gotten that goaltending yet. It’s making our forwards and defensemen play better."

Last Saturday, Jimmy White, a sophomore from Coventry, R.I., came off the bench in relief of both Wells and Dan DiLeo to gain his second career win. The move to use White, according to Pecknold, was an eye-opener for his club.

"Jimmy’s a good goaltender who hasn’t gotten much of a chance," Pecknold said. "Wells struggled a bit, giving up two goals on three shots, so I put in DiLeo.

"And then [DiLeo] played pretty well, but let up what I thought was a soft goal. So I figured if I was going to hold J.C. accountable, I had to hold Danny as well.

"So I told Jimmy he was going to play and he went in there and did a great job. It shocked him and shocked the team a little, but I think that helped and made the team play better defensively."

If Quinnipiac is going to be successful this weekend, they will not only have to be successful defensively, but also find a way to beat the Canisius goaltending tandem of Stephan Fabiilli and Sean Weaver — the two have combined for a 2.30 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. Weaver’s only loss was a 2-0 decision to Holy Cross last Friday, while Fabiilli’s blemish was a 6-3 loss to defending national champion Maine two weeks ago.

Weekly Honors

The MAAC honored Jeff Gould (Sarnia, Ont.) of Mercyhurst University as the Player of the Week for this past week. Gould posted the first hat trick of the season in MAAC play as Mercyhurst defeated Holy Cross 5-2 on Saturday. He also tallied a goal in Friday’s win over Bentley as the Lakers swept their first two MAAC games ever.

Peter Aubry (Windsor, Ont.) of Mercyhurst was named the MAAC Goaltender of the Week. Aubry stopped 24 of 26 shots against defending MAAC champion Holy Cross as the Lakers defeated the Braves 5-2. This season, the sophomore netminder is 1-0-1 with a 2.40 goals-against average and a save percentage of .928.

UConn’s Scott Brown (Blaine, Minn.) was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week. Brown scored his first collegiate goal and the first of the game seven minutes into a 7-1 win over American International to set the scoring tone for UConn. He also earned a +4 on the evening.

Around the League

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL — Senior goalie Tom Patty (East Alstead, N.H.) led the Yellow Jackets to their first win of the season, over Army 3-2 on Saturday. Patty stopped 40 shots including 17 in the third period to preserve the win.

BENTLEY — Ryan Soderquist (Stoneham, Mass.) scored the 66th goal of his career in the first period against Canisius on Saturday, making him the all-time leading goal-scorer in Bentley history. That topped the old record set by John Maguire.

CANISIUS — Steve Birch’s (Pickering, Ont.) third shorthanded goal of the season against Bentley on Saturday was the game winning goal. Three shorthanded tallies sets a Canisius record … It took Canisius just two games to earn its first league win this season. The Ice Griffs didn’t win their first league contest until the ninth game of the 1998-99 season.

CONNECTICUT — Sophomore defenseman Matt Herhal (Pottstown, Penn.) tallied back-to-back goals in the first period to lead UConn to its first league win of the season over American International.

FAIRFIELD — Fairfield’s 6-1 loss at Air Force last Friday was the first-ever meeting between the two schools … Freshman Kevin Nolan (Whitestone, N.Y.) netted his first collegiate goal in Saturday’s game versus the Falcons. The Stags are in the midst of a nine-game road stretch which continues this Friday at Mercyhurst.

HOLY CROSS — Freshman Brandon Doria (Bayonne, N.J.) notched the only two goals of the game in a 2-0 Crusader win over Canisius. He added another tally against Mercyhurst on Saturday.

IONA — 1999-2000 MAAC preseason Player of the Year Ryan Carter (Fort Nelson, B.C.) has tallied two goals and four assists in the team’s first three games of the season … Freshmen Mark Hallam (Medicine Hat, Alb.) and Ryan Manitowich (Calgary, Alb.) are tied for the team high in goals scored with three.

MERCYHURST — Mercyhurst had never led at Bentley before sophomore left wing Brad McDonald’s (Oakville, Ont.) goal early in the third period last Friday put the Lakers ahead 5-4. The Lakers lost back-to-back 6-5 overtime games at Bentley last year … R.C. Lyke’s (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) two goals at Bentley were his first career goals.

QUINNIPIAC — Jim White (Coventry, R.I.) came off the bench to record 18 saves and allow no goals in a 6-4 win over Iona on Saturday … Neil Breen (Spokane, Wash.) and Chris Cerrella (North Massapequa, N.Y.) each have four multiple-point outings this season. The two rank first and second in MAAC overall scoring.

SACRED HEART — Alexis Jutras-Binet (Quebec City, Que.) made 41 saves in the Pioneers’ season-opening 5-3 setback at Quinnipiac … The Pioneers host UConn in their home opener Friday at the Milford Ice Pavilion.

This Week in the CCHA: November 3, 1999

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The Bottom Look Like Up

So, Michigan State tops the conference, followed by Western Michigan, Northern Michigan, and Bowling Green.

Western Michigan? Bowling Green?

While Notre Dame and Ohio State linger near the bottom of the standings, other programs more familiar with the cellar in recent years are seeing some daylight, and the team with the most notable early-season turnaround is Western Michigan.

Last season the Broncos compiled a record of 6-20-8 (5-17-8 CCHA), one of their worst in history. This year, just eight games into the season, Western Michigan already has two-thirds of last year’s win total, with a record of 4-3-1.

"I think the big thing we’ve talked about as a staff and players is willingness to work hard and compete every time we play," says head coach Jim Culhane, who replaced longtime Western head coach Bill Wilkinson late last year.

Culhane, a former Bronco himself and an assistant since 1992, took the reins as interim coach before in February before being named head coach in early March. Under Culhane, the Broncos posted a 3-2-2 record, picking up eight points in the CCHA race, scoring on average 3.57 goals per game.

In the 25 games before Culhane took over, Western had earned just 10 league points and was scoring just 1.88 goals per game.

The difference, says Culhane, is attitude.

"We don’t have a Mike Comrie or Mike York. We just have a group of young men–staff included–willing to work really hard."

And that hard work has paid off. Last season as a team, Western finished -225, and was outscored 119-69 by league opponents.

This year so far, the Broncos are +7, and are outscoring conference foes 28-21.

"You look at the guys who are scoring for us," says Culhane. "It has to be by committee. We don’t have the lead, star player."

David Gove (4-8–12, +2), Michael Bishai (7-4–11, +2), and Daryl Andrews (2-7–9, 0) lead the team in scoring. A year ago, Gove had 20 points in 29 games, and finished at -15. Andrews had 13 points, and was -20. And Bishai’s total offensive output for 22 league games last season was two assists, and he was -10.

"My philosophy is just to really compete," says Culhane.

In spite of what appears to be vast improvement, Culhane and the Broncos are realistic about their chances this season.

"We’ve played Bowling Green, Miami, Ohio State, and Lake State. What we’ve found is that we can compete against these teams.

"Now Michigan, Michigan State, Northern Michigan–those are the top-tier teams…we know we can play against the middle teams, but we haven’t been tested by top-tier teams yet."

And if you look at Western’s record you’ll see one recurring problem that Culhane would like to fix. "We’re still looking for us to put a whole package [together], both Friday and Saturday night. We did that Ohio State, but we’ve been looking for that ever since."

The Broncos beat OSU back-to-back, then won against BG on Friday before losing Saturday–and repeated that pattern against Lake last weekend.

According to Culhane, the second-night losses are not from lack of trying.

"If you’re willing to lay it on the line, every time you play, you’re going to give yourself opportunity for success.

"It’s our jobs as coaches to prepare them. It’s their jobs to go out and compete–every shift, every game."

And that’s what the Broncos have learned this season. Is everyone else taking notes?

Games and Grudges

In this first full week of "cluster" play, the Game of the Week could easily be this week’s Grudge, and vice versa. And each features the Ohio teams. Why? Because you dance with them that brung ya–and because this is arguably the toughest cluster in the league.

Each team in Ohio plays each other Ohio team tough, period.

It doesn’t matter if Bowling Green is lighting the lamp and Ohio State can’t even find it; a game between the Falcons and the Buckeyes will be intense.

Or maybe you’re a Miami team that looks like it may not make the playoffs, and you’re playing the Buckeyes, who are on track to head to the NCAAs. What do you do if you’re the RedHawks? You play the Buckeyes so tough that you take the season series.

Most CCHA fans think that all the good hockey happens north of the border (i.e., in Michigan), but some of the most passionate puck is played in that non-hockey state, Ohio.

And this year, the Wolverines are just lucky enough to be along for the ride.

Game of the Week

Bowling Green (3-1-0, 3-3-0 CCHA) at Miami (4-2-2, 1-2-2 CCHA) Saturday, 7:05 p.m., Goggin Ice Arena, Oxford, OH

The beginning of cluster play in Ohio also marks the start of the quest for the cup–the Ohio Cup.

Never heard of the Ohio Cup? Well, Miami’s Enrico Blasi has. Blasi recalls what it was like to play for the Cup when he was a RedHawk–er, Redskin. Um, when he played at Miami.

"We have the Ohio Cup between the three [Ohio] schools. When I was here, when we won the Ohio Cup, we went to the Joe the one year, won the league the next. They [Bowling Green and Ohio State] are good teams, and you’ve got to beat them."

While the Cup–awarded to the CCHA team in Ohio with the best record against the other two teams–doesn’t seem like such a big deal, it can be a barometer of things to come. The last time the Buckeyes took the Cup back to Columbus (from whence it originates), they made their first appearance in the NCAA postseason tournament, and went on to the Frozen Four.

But Bowling Green’s Buddy Powers isn’t thinking about the Cup. "I think we’ve got to get the two points. We’ve had success down there."

The Falcons lead the all-time series 50-16-5, which includes their 2-0-1 mark against Miami last season. Bowling Green is 21-11-2 in Goggin, including a win and the tie last season.

This is Blasi’s first time facing the Falcons as a head coach, and he knows how fast this BG team can be.

"It’s a big challenge for us. We just have to concentrate on playing our game, playing 60 minutes. BG’s a good team.

"We’ve seen some fast teams this year, so I don’t think that will be an adjustment for us."

Of concern for the RedHawks is the loss of Gregor Krajnc (0-1–1), who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Krajnc’s injury hurts an offense already shortened by the loss of Jason Deskins, who also tore an ACL.

Blasi says the injury forces Miami to "do the little things right, because you don’t have two guys who can break the game open for you."

Powers, however, says he was impressed with the way the RedHawks played after Deskins was hurt, and doesn’t know what to expect.

"That [loss of a key player] can go to ways. You don’t know how they’re going to respond."

After four league games, Ernie Hartlieb leads the RedHawks in scoring (1-3–4), followed by Evan Cheverie (2-1–3). In league play, the ‘Hawks are averaging fewer than three goals per game, but are being outscored by opponents by a very narrow margin.

Not so the Falcons. Nine different Bowling Green players combined for the 13 goals the Falcons dumped on Alaska-Fairbanks last weekend. Thirteen players have at least one goal in the four conference games BG has played.

Led by Greg Day (4-3–7), Craig Desjarlais (2-4–6), Ryan Murphy (2-2–4), and Curtis Valentine (0-5–5), the BG offense looks like it may fly again this season as it did last year. BG is outscoring league opponents 19-12 in four games.

The goaltending is good for both clubs. For Miami, Andy Marsch has posted a 1.92 GAA and a .918 save percentage in two league games. Tyler Masters (3.02 GAA, .886 SV%) has played all four BG league games.

But don’t be surprised if you see David Burleigh in net for Miami, or Tom Lawson tending the goal for BG. Both coaches say that they haven’t made a decision on the start.

This game should be intense, fast, and if the Falcons play like they did last weekend, potentially lopsided. One thing is certain: games between these two teams are tough, and both coaches think this cluster is the hardest in the league.

"I don’t mind the fact that it rotates it every year," says Powers, in all seriousness.

Pick: Bowling Green 4-3

Grudge of the Week

Ohio State (2-6-0, 1-5-0 CCHA) vs. Michigan (6-1-0, 3-1-0 CCHA) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, MI Saturday, 7:05 p.m., Schottenstein Center, Columbus, OH

"I truly feel that we recognize Michigan as being a good hockey team," says Ohio State head coach John Markell.

"It’s not the typical Michigan-Ohio State rivalry you get in other sports. It doesn’t have that tradition yet. We feel they’re a good hockey team, and apparently Red feels that we’re a good hockey team."

No rivalry? Yeah, right.

Michigan has owned this all-time series 45-21-8, although Ohio State holds a 3-1-1 advantage in the last five meetings.

Before the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines in the 1998 CCHA semifinals, Michigan lorded over Ohio State to the tune of a 34-game unbeaten streak.

No rivalry?

Michigan exacted revenge on the Buckeyes in last season’s CCHA semifinal, eliminating Ohio State in an exciting 3-2 game.

No rivalry?

The Buckeyes took the season series from the Wolverines, 2-0-1, last year for the first time in more than a decade, and one of Michigan’s two losses to the Buckeyes was at Yost Ice Arena–where the Buckeyes hadn’t won in 19 previous games.

The average attendance at the last four meetings between the Wolverines and the Buckeyes last season was 13,816.

And don’t forget that Michigan netminder Josh Blackburn told the media he "slipped on a Buckeye nut" when he injured his foot.

So, don’t tell us there isn’t any rivalry.

Here it is: Ohio State is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak, with one-goal losses to Michigan State and Maine. Last weekend, OSU lost 3-2 and 3-1 to the defending national champions.

Michigan, on the other hand, beat Yale 3-2 in its only game last weekend.

The Wolverines have forwards who can fly, and the Buckeyes can’t seem to find the net. But Ray Aho is keeping Ohio State in most games, and the Buckeyes continue to compete, outshooting Maine 19-9 in the third period of Sunday’s loss.

Sooner or later, some of those pucks are going to go in.

Picks: It’s a bold prediction, but one of two things is going to happen. Ohio State will play as well as in the first game of each of the previous weekends, and will win Friday on the road and lose Saturday, or toss them both away. Ohio State Friday, 3-2; Michigan Saturday, 4-2

League Notes

Alaska-Fairbanks (3-5-0, 2-4-0 CCHA)

Streak: three losses.

Daniel Carriere (4-1–5 overall) leads the Nanooks in goals with four, two of which were scored Saturday in UAF’s 5-4 loss in Bowling Green.

That game was a penalty-filled one, with 114 minutes served up to both teams. At one point in the second period, every player on ice except for the goalies went to the box. UAF had a season-high 62 penalty minutes in that game.

Alaska-Fairbanks leads the league in penalties, averaging 31.83 minutes per conference game. Bobby Andrews (3-3–6 overall) leads the Nanooks in penalties, with 10 for 28 minutes in eight games. Andrews is also second in overall scoring.

Nathan Rocheleau (3-4–7 overall) leads UAF in scoring, and is one of four Nanooks even or better in plus/minus rating. Two of Rocheleau’s three goals were notched on the power play in league games.

The Nanooks last beat Michigan State, this weekend’s opponent, on Jan. 2, 1998, when the Spartans were ranked #2 in the country. UAF is 1-4-0 against MSU in the last four games in Fairbanks.

Bowling Green (3-1-0, 3-3-0 CCHA)

Streak: three wins.

In Saturday’s 5-4 win over Alaska-Fairbanks, defenseman B.J. Adams scored his first goal since Feb. 14, 1998, a goalless streak of 49 games. The tally was the game-winner, and it was Adams’ first point since he registered an assist at Notre Dame on Nov. 13, 1998.

Falcon Greg Day likes playing the Nanooks. The sophomore had back-to-back three-point games against UAF (2-1–3 Friday, 1-2–3 Saturday), the second and third three-point games of his career. His first? In Fairbanks, on Feb. 13, 1999.

Nine different players accounted for the 13 BG goals on the weekend, including rookies Ryan Fultz and Tyler Knight, who scored their first collegiate goals.

After being held to 30 or fewer shots in their first three games of the season–all losses–the Falcons have put at least 30 shots on net in each contest since, all three wins.

Ferris State (3-5-0, 3-5-0 CCHA)

Streak: two losses.

The only goal the Bulldogs managed against Michigan State was Friday’s power-play marker by rookie defender Troy Milam.

Milam’s goal illustrates two positives for the Bulldogs this season: freshmen and the power play. More than half of Ferris State’s goals (52.6%) have come on the power play, and the Bulldog freshman class is responsible for nearly a third (31.6%) of FSU’s goals so far this season.

"Obviously, our power play was clicking against Notre Dame [two weeks ago]," said assistant coach Drew Famulak, who adds, "Our freshmen have adapted well."

Ferris State’s power play connects at 16.4%, good enough for fourth in the league.

Lake Superior (2-4-0, 2-2-0 CCHA)

Streak: one win.

Ben Keup (6-3–9 overall) scored four consecutive goals in the first period of Lake’s win over Western, setting a school record for most goals in a period, and earning him CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Perhaps overshadowed by Keup was Lake netminder Jayme Platt, who stopped 47 of 51 shots on goal in that game. In conference play, Platt has a 3.12 GAA and .901 save percentage.

Twenty-seven of those 51 shots came on the Bronco power play.

The Lakers face cluster-mate Ferris State for the second and final series of the regular season this weekend. Four of Lake’s first six league games are against the Bulldogs.

Lake Superior and Ferris State split two weeks ago, each picking up a 4-3 win.

These are the Lakers’ first road games of the season.

Miami (4-2-2, 1-2-2 CCHA)

Streak: one tie.

Bad news for the RedHawks. Senior forward Gregor Krajnc is out for the season with a torn ACL, the same injury that has sidelined Jason Deskins. Krajnc (6-1–7 overall), the team’s leading goal-scorer, suffered the injury in the first period of Friday night’s 2-2 tie with Notre Dame.

Rookie defender Matt Medvecz scored Miami’s first goal each night vs. Notre Dame, the first two of his collegiate career.

Miami has already seen three games with overtime action. Last season, the RedHawks set a new school record with 10 overtime games (4-1-5).

#5 Michigan (6-1-0, 3-1-0 CCHA)

Streak: two wins.

The Wolverines are scoring three times as many goals as their opposition in the opening and closing periods. Michigan has outscored opponents 12-4 in the first period and 13-4 in the third.

Congratulations, Red Berenson! Michigan’s 3-2 win over Yale Saturday was the head coach’s 400th.

Sophomore Mike Comrie (8-5–13 overall) is currently riding a seven-game point streak, having scored in each contest this season. In overall play, Comrie has three power-play goals, one shorthanded goal, and two game-winners. He’s currently tied for sixth in conference scoring.

The Wolverines are averaging 2.1 power-play goals per game and have scored at least one in each game this season, which is bad news for the Buckeyes, whose penalty kill (75.9%) is last in league play.

#4 Michigan State (6-1-0, 6-0-0 CCHA)

Streak: six wins.

Not convinced that the Spartans are for real? Here are some things to think about:

Michigan State has allowed one goal in its last four games, while giving up 1.29 goals per game overall and 0.83 goals per game in league play.

Michigan State has scored at least one power-play goal in all six conference matches this season. The Spartan power play is clicking along at 32.4% in league play. The Spartan PK is killing penalties at the rate of 95.6% in conference play.

Goaltenders Joe Blackburn and Ryan Miller have a combined league save percentage of .960. Miller earned his second consecutive shutout when the Spartans beat Ferris State 4-0 Saturday. Miller–a rookie, and this week’s CCHA Defensive Player of the Week–is only the second goaltender in MSU history to post back-to-back shutouts. Ron Scott did it in 1982.

Senior forward Shawn Horcoff leads the conference in scoring (6-3–10). Horcoff has been involved in 48% of Michigan State’s goals this season.

Sophomore forward Adam Hall (6-2–8) scored the first goal–the game-winner–in each of Michigan State’s shutouts this season.

In conference play, the Spartans have outscored opponents 26-5.

Head coach Ron Mason says, "I’m so happy with the way things are going." No kidding. Nebraska-Omaha (0-3-1, 0-3-1 CCHA)

Streak: one tie.

Congratulations to the Mavericks, who earned their first CCHA point in a 4-4 tie with Northern Michigan–on the road–Saturday night.

Nebraska-Omaha had not scored in the second period this season until Jeff Hoggan (2-0–2) and Jeff Edwards (1-0–1) tallied in the second stanza of Saturday’s game.

The Mavericks were the first team to prevent Northern Michigan from scoring in a game in Saturday’s tie.

Edwards, Dan Zaluski, Shane Glover and James Chalmers scored their first points of the season in the tie.

Northern Michigan (5-2-1, 3-0-1 CCHA)

Streak: one tie.

Northern’s 2-0 shutout win over UNO was the Wildcats’ fourth shutout of the season, tying the school’s single-season record set by the 1990-91 NCAA championship team. In 1990-91, it took 40 games to record four shutouts. This season, it’s taken just seven.

Duane Hoey and Dan Ragusett are combining for a .920 league save percentage.

Northern’s back-to-back league shutouts (Oct. 16 and Oct. 29) marked the first consecutive shutouts in school history. Hoey was in net for the 2-0 win over Ferris State; Ragusett got the win against UNO last weekend.

The line of Roger Trudeau (5-5–10), Chad Theuer (3-5–8), and J.P. Vigier (6-1–7) has recorded a goal in each game this season. The trio is one, two, and three, respectively, in scoring for the Wildcats this season.

Notre Dame (2-5-1, 1-4-1 CCHA)

Streak: one tie.

Rookie goaltender Tony Zasowski (say that three times really fast) made 58 saves on the weekend while the Irish took three points from Miami, earning him CCHA Rookie of the Week honors. Zasowski became the first freshman to start in goal for Notre Dame since Matt Eisler (1994-95).

Senior Joe Dusbabek snapped a 16-game goalless streak, notching power-play goals in each game against Miami. Dusbabek (2-2–4 overall) also had an assist in the 5-2 win.

Rookie defender Evan Nielsen notched his first two career points when he picked up assists against Miami.

The Irish are 0-1-6 in their last seven overtime games (0-1-5, 1998-99).

Sophomore forward David Inman has five goals this season, half of last season’s total.

Ohio State (2-6-0, 1-5-0 CCHA)

Streak: seven losses.

The Buckeyes are in the midst of their worst losing streak since early in the 1995-95 season, when they dropped 10 in a row.

(Correspondent’s note: For those of you who have met me in person at games around the league…that losing streak was when I began carrying bags of Hershey’s Kisses to home OSU games because of the mood in the press box. Coaches of other teams began asking me for chocolate when I covered on the road. Hence, the Kisses.)

Senior Ray Aho made 41 saves in Sunday’s 3-1 loss to #1 Maine, the sixth time in his career he’s cracked the 40-save plateau. Aho’s save percentage is .908 overall, .903 in league play. In eight games, Aho has made 228 saves–more than any other goalie in the CCHA, although Western’s Jeff Reynaert is a close second with 213.

Two of Ohio State’s last four losses–to ranked Michigan State and Maine–have been by one goal. In Friday’s 3-2 loss to Maine, two of the Black Bears’ three goals went in off of Buckeye defenders.

The Bucks are being outscored 26-9 in league play, and only two players on the team–forward Jean-Francois Dufour (3-3–6) and defender Jaisen Freeman (0-1–1)–are on the positive side of plus/minus in league play, each with a rating of +1. Dufour leads the team in scoring.

Western Michigan (4-3-1, 4-3-1 CCHA)

Streak: one loss.

Junior David Gove (4-8–12) is flirting with the league scoring lead, registering points in each of the eight games the Broncos have played this season. Gove is second only to Michigan State’s Shawn Horcoff in scoring, but Gove has played two more games than the Spartan.

The Broncos are 0-6 against the Wildcats since Northern rejoined the league, including an 0-3 record in Lawson Arena.

Western won for the first time since 1995 in Ste. Sault Marie when they beat the Lakers 4-1 Friday night.

Redshirt rookie goaltender J.J. Weaks made his Bronco debut late in Saturday’s 5-4 loss to Lake State.

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