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It’s Just A Game

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A state of emergency has just been called by the State of New York for the North Country.

The second half of the annual home-and-home rivalry between two North Country neighbors, Clarkson and St. Lawrence, takes place this weekend at Appleton Arena in Canton, N.Y. — an event that North Country residents look forward to every year. And in light of what has happened in recent weeks, they are anticipating it even more.

On Jan. 8, 1998, a freak weather pattern created havoc in the northernmost reaches of New England and New York, as well as southern Quebec and Ontario. The result: an ice storm.

The storm lasted almost two days, dumping inches of ice on a swath of land that included ECAC communities Potsdam, Canton and Burlington, which suffered the brunt of the storm. Burlington was hit hard, but even more damage was incurred in Potsdam and Canton.

During and after the storm, Potsdam and Canton suffered electrical outages, downed trees and power lines, heat loss, water loss and displaced people, and in some areas, five inches of ice. New York called a state of emergency in the North Country, and the whole area became a maze of distress.

The ice storm affected every facet of life, including the hockey teams at Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

The Golden Knights’ home, Cheel Arena, was turned into a shelter for those without access to their homes. Inside Cheel, cots were set up for those in need of a place to sleep and get heat, and the kitchen was opened to serve those that were hungry and could not cook for themselves.

“It’ll be years until the community [of Potsdam] will be back on its feet,” said Clarkson head coach Mark Morris. “It was an absolutely devastating time. There are people without heat [or] a place to sleep, and hungry. To date people are still trying to put their lives back in order.”

Morris and his coaches used their office as a place to stay with their families during the crisis. The Golden Knight players, as well as those on the men’s and women’s basketball teams, were called into volunteer service — everything from cooking to serving to cleaning to consoling those that came through the doors of Cheel.

On one day alone after the storm, more than 3,500 people were served food when they entered through Cheel’s doors.

“We did a small part compared to what some of the other volunteers did,” said Morris about his team. “It’s unbelievable if you look at the amount of help that people gave during such a difficult time. You really see people’s true colors come out in a time of need.”

Volunteers and crews from other parts of the state continue to help the North Country get back on its feet, but there is still a lot of work to be done. At this writing, almost 90 percent of the community has had electrical power restored, but several rural areas are still affected.

In terms of hockey, the Friday and Saturday after the ice storm hit, Clarkson and St. Lawrence were scheduled to host a pair of games with New Hampshire and UMass-Lowell. That entire series was cancelled due to the storm and the ensuing emergency.

In Canton, the Saints’ home, Appleton Arena, lost its ice surface when the electricity went out. Cheel was also close to losing its ice, and besides, Cheel was also being used as a shelter.

In Burlington, the game between Yale and Vermont scheduled for Jan. 9 was switched to Saturday afternoon. The damage in Burlington was not as severe, but still enough to create electrical outages, downed power lines and displacement of its residents.

Gutterson Fieldhouse was running on an auxiliary generator, and even that conked out on the morning of the Jan. 9, in the middle of a meeting involving Vermont and Yale personnel.

UVM Sports Information Director Gordon Woodworth had to hold a flashlight in order for Yale head coach Tim Taylor to use the telephone, to call the Yale athletic director in order to inform him of the game’s cancellation.

“The best thing to do was to stay inside,” said Woodworth. “Just stay home and let people do their jobs to get back to normal.”

Vermont and Dartmouth were scheduled to visit the North Country the weekend after the storm. Those games were switched to Vermont and Dartmouth because the North Country was still in disarray.

Clarkson was forced to move its practices to Lake Placid, 80 miles away. There was a physical toll, but there also was a mental toll.

“It took some time for the younger kids to comprehend what was going on,” said Morris. “Some of us that are older have been through situations where we have been without power, but some of the younger kids couldn’t comprehend it. `What do you mean, we don’t have electricity?’

“In a time like this, having lights, heat and electricity is something that you just can’t take for granted.”

“I am proud of the way the guys handled everything,” said Saint head coach Joe Marsh. “We learned that there is a lot more to life than hockey games over the last week.”

There was also a lot of concern among team members for their families. Many of the athletes are Canadians, and southern Quebec and Ontario were also hit pretty hard.

Vermont’s Andrew Allen is from Van Kleek Hill, Ont., a rural dairy community. His father, John, was interviewed on CNN after the storm regarding the damage and its effect, and Van Kleek Hill is still not back to normal.

Electrical crews continue to work throughout the night to bring a sense of normalcy back to the northern parts of the Northeast. Some people are still without water, heat and electricity. It has been a difficult time for all, and adversity is an understatement.

That brings us to Saturday, and the annual North Country rivalry between the Golden Knights and the Skating Saints.

Knight and Saint hockey are a way of life for many people in the North Country. Potsdam and Canton are just 10 miles apart on Route 11, and the game usually generates a lot of hoopla, but it pales in comparison to what has happened.

“It’s strange because it just doesn’t feel like St. Lawrence week,” said Clarkson’s Sports Information Director Gary Mikel. “People are still getting back to their regular routines.”

But there is a hockey game to be played, and bragging rights of the North Country are on the line. So don’t blame anyone for trying to make everything sound normal.

“We are hoping things will start to get back to normal this week,” said Marsh. “We are looking forward to a good week of practice and then a strong effort against Clarkson on Saturday night.”

The community is looking forward to the game as a part of getting back to everday life, but one can’t help but be reminded of what happened three weeks ago.

“People are longing for something to talk about, and I think it’s a welcome break,” said Morris. “But then you go home after the game and you look at all the fallen trees in your front yard, and all the people getting their lives back in order — that’s what’s important.”

It is, after all, just a game.

D-II Power Bemidji State Considering Jump to D-I

USCHO Staff Report
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Bemidji State University, a Minnesota school which is a perennial power in NCAA Division II men’s ice hockey, is considering moving its program up to Division I play as soon as next season, the Minnapolis Star Tribune reported Tuesday.

With few teams remaining in Division II hockey and a move down to Division III infeasible under NCAA rules, Division I play is now being seriously considered, longtime head coach R.H. Peters said.

“We are still conferring about facts and figures, and studying budgets of other programs and of our other sports programs,” Peters told the Star Tribune. “I broke it to our players that the move is under discussion.”

Bemidji State, the defending Division II champion, is 11-5-2 overall this season, and 9-3-0 in the NCHA.

Travis Roy Autobiography Hits Shelves

USCHO Staff Report
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Travis Roy, the Boston University player paralyzed on the first shift of his first collegiate game, has officially released his autobiography, Eleven Seconds.

“The book is finally my chance to tell my story,” said Roy prior to a reading before a packed house of several hundred students at Boston University’s George Sherman Union. The book was written with the help of E.M. Swift of Sports Illustrated.

Roy wanted to tell his story because of concerns that the media had not quite managed to capture who he is.

“They make me someone I’m not,” he said. “I’m just a regular kid…or maybe I’m a little special, but the person I am wasn’t born from that accident.”

Eleven Seconds, published by Warner Books, retails for $20.00.

USCHO Hockey East reporter Scott Weighart contributed this report.

Big Doings In Big Rapids

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It’s January 1996, the first month of the second half of the college hockey season, and the CCHA has settled into its usual “two-tier” system. The usual suspects — Michigan, Michigan State, Lake Superior, Miami — crowd the top, while the rest of the league looks up from below, behind in everything from points to wins to talent.

In January 1996, the Ferris State Bulldogs were one of the second-tier teams trying finish eighth or better to make the CCHA playoffs. The Bulldogs were a respected team, with a win against Miami and tie against Michigan State, and by the end of January, they had won seven CCHA games. With three left against Alaska-Fairbanks, Ferris State was expected to hang on to that last playoff spot, to earn the right to face Michigan in the first round of the CCHA playoffs.

But seven wins were all the Bulldogs would get. With two losses and a tie versus UAF, Ferris State would miss the playoffs — for the first time in 11 seasons since the team first joined the CCHA.

“That was really difficult, from the standpoint of the kids,” says Bob Daniels, Ferris State’s head coach since the 1992-93 season.

“It had nothing to do with effort on the part of the players,” says Daniels. “Sometimes when you struggle through a year, it becomes a lost season. I don’t think that happened for us last year. Right down to the last minute, we were trying to gain a spot in the playoffs. At no time did we throw a shovel of dirt on the season and say, ‘Let’s wait til next year.’

“What was most impressive about last year was the ability of our players to hang together. It just didn’t happen for us last season, but again it was not lack of character by our kids.”

It’s January 1997 now, a year later and, seemingly, a world away from where Ferris State was at this time last season.

With a record of 7-8-3 in the CCHA, the Bulldogs already have 17 points, good enough in this season of league parity to flirt with fourth place and home-ice advantage.

Good enough to defeat and tie Notre Dame. Good enough to beat Miami, to tie Michigan.

Good enough, without a doubt, to make the playoffs.

Drew Famulak, the assistant coach who recruits for Ferris State, says that the success of this season is no fluke. This is something the Bulldog coaching staff has planned for all along.

“We’ve tried to build more of a skating team,” says Famulak. “We’ve just felt that we needed a couple of kids back there to handle the power play. We’ve been looking for good defensemen, and developing the defensemen we have.”

Four years ago, when Ferris State went looking for the players who would make this season possible, Famulak looked toward western Canada and toward the heartland of the States. For good measure, Famulak took a look around the state of Michigan to see who, among that state’s crop of talent, hadn’t been spirited away by the Wolverines and the Spartans.

Famulak found an outstanding recruiting class, now juniors: ten of them. Nine players in this class — kids from Kamloops, Regina, Grand Marais, Wixom, Livonia, South Range, and a few other points west — are forwards.

This is a junior class that’s making noise, just as Famulak knew they would. “I think our junior class has done a good job of stepping forward,” he says.

He’s right.

Junior right winger Joel Irwin leads the team in league scoring, with eight goals and 11 assists. Through mid-January, the Bulldog junior class was responsible for 46 of 59 Ferris State goals in CCHA play.

Famulak says that this junior class is especially ready this season because of the difficulties the team experienced the last two years. Because this class was such a big one, many of the current juniors played as soon as they came to Big Rapids.

“They had to,” says Famulak. “We needed them.

“They’ve seen a lot of crucial situations as freshmen and sophomores,” says Famulak, and that prepared them to compete, even if it took them a couple of seasons to prepare.

It’s not just the ability to score goals — or the Ferris State junior class — that has turned this team around this season. It’s a host of things, both tangible and intangible, that Famulak says contributes to the Bulldogs’ success.

“We recruited kids that work hard, kids that work hard and compete,” he says. “And it’s a very close-knit team.”

Famulak says that some of the best leadership on the team has come from its senior class of just two players, Jeff Blashill and Brett Colborne. “Our kids really look up to these two.”

Colborne has blossomed into a solid defenseman who can play well on both sides of the puck, with three goals and 11 assists in league play through mid-January. But Jeff Blashill’s numbers in net for the Bulldogs this season are less than impressive: one period of play and three goals.

Numbers don’t always tell the whole story, says Famulak. “Jeff’s leadership skills are probably the best on the team. He’s great in the locker room.

“He’s just a great kid. He’s a finance accounting major, he’s very intelligent. The players really respect him.”

Leadership, the fruition of an offense planned for years ago, a defense shored up by freshmen Scott Lewis and Matt Golden, and unexpectedly good goaltending from rookie Vince Owen have combined to make Ferris State more competitive than anyone expected this season. In light of the Bulldog hockey program’s recent history, however, this success is more than the sum of one team’s ability to turn their luck around after not making the playoffs.

“We’ve kind of gone through a couple of phases,” says Daniels. “One of the things that was difficult for us was about five years ago, when the university’s administration was going to drop the program.”

Ferris State had just hired a new president who didn’t see value in college athletics. One of her first moves was to propose the dismantling of the hockey program. “She wasn’t really pro-athletics,” says Daniels. “It didn’t matter if we were popular or not.”

That was just after Daniels took the Bulldog helm in the 1992-93 season. In Daniels’ rookie season, the Bulldogs had one of their best years ever, with 21 wins and a trip to the CCHA semifinals. It was only the fourth time in Bulldog history that the team had won 20 games, and the first time a rookie coach won more than 16.

Fortunately for Bulldog hockey, the university’s board of directors saw a way to delay the Bulldog hockey eviction. “The board of trustees didn’t want to say no to her,” says Daniels, “but they didn’t want to see it go through.”

They worked out a compromise with the university president, an evaluation period to determine whether or not the program should stay. This was a way for the new president to save face in what was clearly an unpopular move, and a way for the hockey program to buy some time.

Although there were really no evaluation criteria to determine the program’s future — Daniels says it was clear from the beginning that the hockey program would stay — the situation created great difficulty for Ferris State hockey, and did a lot to undo what Daniels had done as an assistant from 1989-92 and as head coach.

“During that time we weren’t allowed to recruit,” says Daniels. “After two years, the board said hockey’s here to stay…but the residue remains, and those were some lean recruiting times.”

When Daniels first arrived in Big Rapids, Mich., his goal “was to build a competitive program where my kids were respected in community programs as well as the classroom. I felt the first thing I wanted to accomplish was some stability. We had rolled over three coaches in a four-year span. It was pretty important, I thought, to create some stability here.”

Having done that, now he says, “My goal has changed. Now we want a championship. [Last year] we felt all along that if we had gotten into the playoffs we could get to the Joe.”

With their sights on a league title, the Bulldogs are, in Famulak’s words, “very upbeat.”

Daniels says that the success of the hockey team is tied to the overall atmosphere at Ferris State, where he says good things are happening.

“There’s a new library, a new recreation center. We’ve updated and remodeled many of the academic buildings. It’s a tremendous atmosphere. Hockey is a big part of that and athletics in general is a big part of that. The whole thing is about growth.

“It’s like a renaissance period for the university.”

A renaissance for Bulldog hockey, as well.

This Week in the CCHA: January 16, 1998

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But if you take a closer look, you find a league that’s tight and cozy, and no team’s position seems guaranteed.

While Michigan has 27 points in first place, Michigan State has 25 points in second place, and Miami has 20 in third. Big deal, you say? Yup, when you consider that the difference between third and eighth places is a mere four points.

Miami has 20 points, Northern Michigan 19 and Lake Superior 18; Ferris State and Notre Dame each have 17, and Ohio State can claim 16 points.

More evidence of parity: among all CCHA league games played this season, 22 have gone into overtime, and half of those (11) ended in ties.

Miami, Michigan State, and Bowling Green have played the fewest league games (15), and Miami has all of its games against Michigan State–and, for that matter, Michigan–left to play.

Fourth place–and perhaps third place, second place, and first place–is still up for grabs. Northern Michigan may, indeed, finish fourth and host the first round of the playoffs. So may Lake Superior, Ferris State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. The odds are in favor of someone hosting the first round of the CCHA playoffs who hasn’t done so in quite a while (or maybe ever).

Michigan has just one game this weekend against visiting Alaska-Fairbanks. The Wolverines won two hard-fought games last weekend, beating Bowling Green 4- 2 at home and Western Michigan 4-3 in overtime in Kalamazoo. The Nanooks took one of three from Notre Dame at home, losing 4-2, winning 3-2 and losing 5-1.

Michigan State hosts Alaska-Fairbanks and travels to Ferris State. The Spartans tied and beat the Wildcats at home last week, 1-1 and 6-1. The Bulldogs beat Miami 5-1 and lost to Ohio State 5-3 on the road last week.

Miami had a rare one-point weekend last week, losing to Ferris State and tying Lake Superior–at home. The RedHawks go north to Northern Michigan and Lake Superior this weekend.

The Wildcats host Miami and the luckless Western Michigan Broncos this week.

Lake Superior lost to Ohio State 7-0 before tying the RedHawks last week. The Lakers host Western Michigan and Miami for the rematch this week.

Ferris State has one game against Michigan State this weekend. The Bulldogs split a trip through Ohio, beating Miami but losing to Ohio State.

The Buckeyes host a Sunday matinee game against Bowling Green this weekend. Ohio State comes off a four-point weekend, while Bowling Green fought hard in a losing effort against Michigan.

After a trip to Alaska, Notre Dame has earned a week off.

Last week’s record in picks: 5-6 Overall record in picks: 70-53

Could the person who swiped my crystal ball return it, please? No questions asked.

No. 7 Miami (14-4-2, 9-4-2 CCHA) at Northern Michigan (10-8-4, 7-6-4 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Lakeview Arena, Marquette, MI No. 7 Miami (14-4-2, 9-4-2 CCHA) at Lake Superior (10-8-4, 7-6-4 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, MI

The rumors have been flying that senior RedHawk Dan Boyle is injured and will miss the rest of the season. You heard it here: Dan Boyle is not injured, as of this week.

However, Miami does have a few key players hurting, one of whom is out for the year.

Vitali Andreev has been out for a bit now after re-injuring the knee he hurt last season. Andreev will probably be out for another week.

Senior captain and defenseman Todd Rohloff’s college career is over after tearing two major ligaments to his wrist a few weeks back. He’s not even traveling with the ‘Hawks this weekend for moral support.

In the RedHawks’ Friday loss to Ferris State, Mark Shalawylo broke two fingers; he’s gone for four-to-six weeks.

"That’s hockey," says Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni. "Time to move on."

With the wingers Andreev and Shalawylo out of the line up, Mazzoleni says he’ll be playing freshmen wingers Anthony Donskov and Ernie Hartlieb. Each has played just one CCHA game.

"This is the type of situation where you look for your seniors to step up and lead," says Mazzoleni. "If you’re counting on freshmen to carry you, you’re in trouble."

The RedHawks ran into a little trouble last week with the Bulldogs, who beat Miami 5-1 in Oxford. "Ferris State played as well as I’ve ever seen them play," said Mazzoleni. "Our team probably didn’t give them the respect they should have. Once they got the lead they were very good at keeping it. It’s hard to come from behind when you’re down if you don’t have the right attitude at the beginning of the game.

"We dug a hole and they threw the sand on us."

The RedHawks travel to the U.P. this weekend to play their final regular-season games against Northern Michigan and Lake Superior. The Northern series is split, as is the series against Lake–sort of. Lake and Miami have gone into overtime twice this season, with the Lakers winning 4-3 in Oxford, and the teams skating to a 3-3 tie in Oxford just last week.

Miami at Northern Michigan

When the Wildcats visited Oxford in December, they delivered Miami a 3-2 loss. The RedHawks rebounded the following night with a 5-2 win.

"Northern Michigan is a team that plays extremely well at home," says Mazzoleni. "I don’t expect them to play a passive game in any manner. We have to keep our game simple on the road."

This game pairs up two of the least-penalized teams in the league, in spite of Northern’s reputation for physical play. Special teams may not be much of a factor, which is good news for the Wildcats.

Miami has the best power play in the league, while only Bowling Green’s league penalty killing is less effective than Northern Michigan’s. Also, Northern’s power play is the worst in the league.

It may very well be that Northern doesn’t have great special teams because they don’t need them often, with just 170 league penalty minutes. But you don’t want to give Miami even one opportunity, because Tim Leahy and Gregor Krajnc will come right for you.

Miami has an offense deeper than that of nearly any other CCHA team, and this game may come down to whether or not Northern Michigan can keep Miami from creating good offensive chances. With two Miami forwards out of the lineup, Northern definitely has a fighting chance. But with Adam Copeland, Leahy, Dan Boyle, Krajnc, Marc Tropper, Dustin Whitecotton–etc., etc.–with scoring totals in the double digits, the word "blitz" comes to mind in a setting other than football.

Miami has the clear edge in the net as well. Both Trevor Prior and Ian Olsen are saving about 90 percent of the shots they face, more or less. Prior’s GAA is 2.61; Olsen’s is 2.76. The collective GAA for the Wildcats is 3.31, while the team save percentage is .861. Those numbers aren’t far off Duane Hoey’s stats, since Hoey has seen the bulk of time between the pipes for Northern.

The key to this game is whether or not Northern can shut down the Miami offense, an offense that scored just four goals last week, and offense eager to erase the lingering memories of a one-point weekend.

PICK: Miami 4-2

Miami at Lake Superior

The Lakers may just have Miami’s number this season.

With a 4-3 overtime win in Sault Ste. Marie earlier in the season, and a 3-3 tie in Goggin just last week, Lake Superior is clearly doing something right against Miami.

Laker head coach Scott Borek called the tie a "very good hockey game," adding that Miami and Lake Superior were "two teams that were both desperate for success" after each loss Friday night.

"We were fighting for some confidence," says Borek. The Lakers were shut out 7-0 by the Buckeyes in Columbus the night before playing Miami. "Losing that game at Ohio State as humbling as it was–that was a difficult struggle confidence-wise."

Mazzoleni says that the game between Miami and Lake was a "very clean hockey game, very spirited–an excellent college hockey game."

Given the season series so far, both coaches expect nothing less than good college hockey on Saturday night. "That will be another great game," says Borek. "Hopefully we’ll both come in with a win.

"I think we’ve played our best hockey of the year against Miami."

It not as surprising as it may seem on the surface that these two teams are playing each other tough this season. Even though Miami came out gunning from the gate and Lake was a bit slow to start, each has potentially explosive offense, good defense and solid goaltending.

Miami has the defensive edge, but Lake Superior has one of the best rookie goaltenders in the league in Rob Galatiuk.

Lake Superior owns this series overall (43-11-9), in Sault Ste. Marie (27-1-4), in Oxford( 15-10-5), and on neutral ground (1-0-0). The Lakers are playing good hockey, and the RedHawks are hurting. Look for the upset.

PICK: Lake Superior: 4-3

Western Michigan (5-16-2, 4-12-1 CCHA) at Lake Superior (10-8-4, 7-6-4 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, MI Western Michigan (5-16-2, 4-12-1 CCHA) at Northern Michigan (10-8-4, 8-6-3 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Lakeview Arena, Marquette, MI

When you ask Western Michigan head coach Bill Wilkinson how he’s doing, he’s liable to answer, "How do you think?"

The Broncos haven’t won a game since Nov. 14, a 4-3 overtime win against Lake Superior. That’s a dozen straight losses since mid-November, some of them heart-achingly close, some of them outright blowouts.

There was the 2-1 overtime loss at Miami. The 2-1 loss to Notre Dame. The 4-3 loss to Michigan. The 3-2 loss to Cornell.

Of course, there were the 9-1 loss to Ferris State and the 12-5 loss to North Dakota.

But just last week, there was the 4-3 overtime home loss to No. 5 Michigan, the game that ended when Bubba Berenzweig scored for the Wolverines with just 24 seconds left.

The game in which Matt Barnes made 34 saves to Marty Turco’s 18.

"We played well against Michigan," says Wilkinson. "As a coach, I can’t ask for much more than I got [in that game]."

In order to snap the Bronco losing streak, Wilkinson says, "We’ve got keep playing the way we played against Michigan. If we do that, sooner or later we’ll have a win."

Sooner is better than later for the Broncos, whose nine points are just enough for tenth place in the CCHA–and not near enough (not now, anyway) for a playoff spot.

"We’ve still got time," says Wilkinson, "but we need to win one soon."

Western Michigan at Lake Superior

This series is split so far. When the teams met in Lawson Arena in November, the Broncos won 4-3 in overtime, then lost the following night 4-1. Wilkinson says that he hardly knows what to expect from the Lakers.

"After that 7-0 loss to Ohio State and the tie with Miami, we’re not sure what to think."

Lake Superior head coach Scott Borek says that the Broncos are a better team than their record indicates. "They’ve only given up more than four goals three times this year, and you can’t blame them for North Dakota. They’re a great defensive team."

Borek says that a team in Western Michigan’s position–trying to make the playoffs, just a few weeks short of a team playing the spoiler–is a "dangerous" team.

"They’re sitting back right now. They’re too good to be where they are right now. I hope they get points, but not this weekend."

Neither of these teams has yet to realize its potential this season. Wilkinson says that his team is working hard; Borek has said that his team is merely "competitive," in spite of a recent hottish streak.

The numbers tell a story of two similar teams.

Each team has played 17 league games, and the Lakers have double the points the Broncos have in CCHA play. Western Michigan is being outscored by opponents in CCHA play, but not embarrassingly so–the margin is 39-52. The Lakers are one of only two of the top eight CCHA teams to score fewer goals than they allow (53-60).

Western has solid goaltending. The beleaguered Matt Barnes has been the sole Bronco goaltender of record, and his league stats are more than just respectable–a GAA of 2.87, and he’s saving 90 percent of the shots he faces. Barnes has made 447 league saves.

For the Lakers, Rob Galatiuk, Jayme Platt, and Shawn Greene have combined for a league GAA of 3.45, and a save percentage of .886. Galatiuk alone, however, has numbers nearly identical to those of Barnes–2.82 GAA, .903 save percentage. Galatiuk has made 400 league saves.

The main difference between the two teams–as Bill Wilkinson himself will tell you–is offense. Frank Novock leads the Broncos in scoring, with 10 goals and 5 assists for 15 points. Steve Duke is the second-leading scorer…with no goals, just 12 assists. Joe Corvo has 10 points, but the next highest goal scorer is Chuck Mindel, with just five goals. All the big guns for Western are in the minus.

The Lakers, however, have a little bit of real offense. Terry Marchant is one of three CCHA players with 25 league points (9-16). Jason Sessa has 13 goals and 10 assists. There are a few other Lakers who can score–Joe Blaznek, Tobin Praznik–but only the top two Laker scorers are on the plus side of things.

That may not be a deep offense, but it is a potentially explosive offense, and Marchant, at least, is playing consistently.

Western needs these points more than Lake does, but the likelihood that Western will get its first points in over a dozen games against a semi-hot Laker team in the Soo is, well, smallish.

PICK: Lake Superior 4-3

Western Michigan at Northern Michigan

It’s a shame that Western Michigan doesn’t have much offense; Northern Michigan doesn’t have much goaltending.

Northern beat Western twice in Lawson Arena this season, 3-0 and 4-2. The Wildcats have played inconsistent hockey all season, and it’s hard to know from one week to the next which Wildcat team will come out to play.

Last week the ‘Cats tied Michigan State 1-1 and lost the following night to the Spartans 6-1.

Like the Broncos, the Wildcats have played any number of close games. Unlike the Broncos, the ‘Cats have a solid first line and an assortment of players who can score, enabling them to win those squeakers.

Fred Mattersdorfer leads Northern Michigan in league scoring, with six goals and six assists, just one league penalty, and a plus three. The combination of Roger Trudeau and J.P. Vigier is one that should not be ignored. Between them, the pair has a dozen goals and nine assists.

Then there’s Buddy Smith and Curtis Sheptak, both of whom are capable of being playmakers.

The Wildcats must be doing something right defensively, in front of the net, because Dan Ragusett, Duane Hoey, and Jason Flick are combining for a team save percentage of just .861, while allowing 3.31 on average as a team. Hoey has seen most of work in net, with a 3.18 GAA and a save percentage of .868.

The team sits comfortably at plus 54 in league play (compared with Western’s minus 68), so the Wildcats are generously spreading around the scoring opportunities.

The ‘Cats are a young team, which is the main reason for this season’s less-than-consistent performance.

If Western can penetrate the generate solid offensive chances, the Broncos have a good opportunity to pick up at least a point. Of course, it all depends on who decided to play offense for the Broncos.

PICK: Western 3-2

Alaska-Fairbanks (7-15-2, 4-12-1 CCHA) at No. 2 Michigan State (18-3-3, 10-3-2 CCHA) Friday, 7:08 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, MI No. 2 Michigan State (18-3-3, 10-3-2 CCHA)at Ferris State (8-11-3, 7-7-3 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Ewigleben Arena, Big Rapids, MI

Ron Mason looks forward to the return of Bryan Adams to the Spartan lineup.

"Adams will probably start skating again on Monday," says the Michigan State head coach. "He compliments York so well. It was no accident that they were our top two scorers [before Adams’ injury]."

The left winger fractured his right clavicle November 30, and yet still remains the fourth scorer for the Spartans with two goals and 10 assists.

That’s a stat that says almost as much about the Spartan offense as it does about Adams. And while we’re on the subject of Spartan offense…

What is Sean Berens eating these days, anyway? Berens has 10 goals in just four games, and he’s scored them this way by game, since the title game of the GLI: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Berens had a hat trick against Alaska-Fairbanks January 3. He paid for that hat trick with a game disqualification, which forced him to miss the Spartans’ 1-1 tie with Northern last Friday night.

When Berens and the Spartans played Northern Saturday, the senior had four goals–and his second hat trick in two consecutive games played.

He’s the first Spartan on this current roster to have a hat trick.

"The pucks went in for him," says Mason. "He got some timely goals."

Timely. Are hat tricks and game-winner ever untimely?

Alaska-Fairbanks at Michigan State

Before going to Fairbanks, Ron Mason made no effort to hide how little he looked forward to the trip. As it turned out, his gut instincts were right: the teams split the weekend, with a 6-4 win for UAF in the first game, and a 6-2 win for the Spartans in the second.

"They always play us hard, I guess," says Mason. "Maybe playing them as close to that series will have an effect. I hope it does."

The Nanooks have had some success in Munn Arena. The Spartans lead the young series, 9-4-0 overall, and 5-3-0 in East Lansing. Michigan State beat Alaska-Fairbanks twice in East Lansing last year, the most recent Nanook visits to Munn.

We know what Michigan State is. The Spartans have a powerful defense with an extraordinary goaltender, Chad Alban. With a record of 10-2-2 in league play for the Spartans, Alban has amassed over 844 minutes in net with a GAA of 1.85 and a save percentage of .908. Last weekend, Alban made 49 saves on 51 shots for a weekend save percentage of .961. His performance against Northern Michigan earned him CCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Offensively, the Spartans have five players in the double digits in scoring. Berens–who now leads the Spartans in league scoring (13-4–17)–the incomparable Mike York (7-10–17), Rustyn Dolyny (8-6–14), the injured Adams (2-10–12), and defenseman Chris Bogas (3-7-10) have combined for more than half (33 of 51) of the Spartans’ league goals.

Fourteen of the 26 Spartans who have seen action this season are goalless. That figure includes Alban, who is credited with two assists.

There’s offense for the Green and White, but it’s shared primarily by just a few players.

The Nanooks, on the other hand, have a few more players who can score consistently. Sjon Wynia is among the CCHA’s leading scorers with 24 points in league play (12-13). Jim Lawrence (7-9–16), Jeff Trembecky (7-9–16) and Kerry Hafele (2-13–15) Chris Kirwan (6-8–14), and Eon MacFarlane (3-7–10) are the Nanooks in the double digits in league play.

No one disputes Alaska-Fairbanks’ ability to score goals, as the Nanooks lead the league in goals scored with 68. However, when the Nanooks play, they tend to allow a hefty number of goals–a total of 102 goals against this season, by far and away the most goals allowed by any team in the CCHA in league play.

Two reasons: sketchy defense, and goaltending that goes from bad to mediocre.

With Ian Perkins and Chris Marvel sharing time in net, the Nanooks have a collective save percentage of .860, and they’re allowing nearly five goals per game.

The team is minus 134 in league play, as a team. Only one Nanook, Chad Hamilton, is on the plus side, at plus one.

This is an interesting matchup. The Nanooks can score, but the Spartans routinely keep opponents to few shots on goal. The Spartans aren’t known especially for offense, but the Nanooks aren’t known especially for their defense, either.

PICK: Michigan State 4-1

Michigan State at Ferris State

The Bulldogs are sort of a chameleon team, a team that changes and adapts to surroundings depending on the situation.

When Ferris State went to Miami last week, the Bulldogs knew that they were up against one of the best offenses in the CCHA, having lost to Miami 6-2 in early December. They won 5-1.

When Ferris State went to Ohio State the following night, the Bulldogs weren’t sure what they were up against, and they couldn’t adapt fast enough, losing to the Buckeyes 5-3.

This week, the Bulldogs will probably know what to expect, having lost once to the Spartans 6-1 in October.

October was a long time ago, and if the Bulldogs are as smart as their namesakes, they will have learned how to prevent Michigan State from scoring six goals against them. The trick is to learn how to score against the stingy Spartan defense.

Joel Irwin leads Ferris State with eight goals and 11 assists in league play. Including Irwin, there are eight Bulldogs with at least ten points, although no one Ferris player has ten goals.

Watch out for Kevin Swider, who is a legitimate candidate for CCHA rookie of the year. Also playing especially well are Bren Wishart, Kenzie Homer, and Jim Dube.

But, then again, Brett Colborne, Geoff Bennets, Brian McCullough, Rob Kozak, and J.P. Tessier are not to be taken lightly.

In short, this is a very talented team, one that doesn’t get the respect it deserves in this league.

In net for the Bulldogs is one of the CCHA’s best rookie goaltenders, Vince Owen. A smart goalie who seems to learn from his own rookie mistakes even within the course of a single game, Owen’s league GAA is 3.20, and he’s saving 88 percent of the shots. This is a goaltender who should only improve with experience.

The Spartans may be the No. 2 team in the country and the second-place team in the CCHA, but if the Green and White faithful think that Michigan State won’t have its hands full with Ferris State, they would be, sadly, mistaken.

PICK: Michigan State 2-1

Alaska-Fairbanks (7-15-2, 6-14-1 CCHA)) at No. 5 Michigan (19-4-1, 13-2-1 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, MI

How tough can one road trip be? After facing No. 2 Michigan State on Friday, the Nanooks play the number-five, league-leading Wolverines Saturday.

And the Nanooks don’t do especially well in Yost Arena.

Last season, Michigan outscored Alaska-Fairbanks 32-2 in three games in Yost Arena–one regular-season game, and two playoff games. Things are closer in Alaska, but the Wolverines won two games in Fairbanks earlier this season.

In 14 meetings, the Nanooks have yet to beat the Wolverines.

This is the sole Wolverine game of the weekend, but head coach Red Berenson says, "It looks like a breather on the schedule, but it’s not."

Berenson insists that his team is the sum of a few good players–Marty Turco, Bill Muckalt, Bobby Hayes, Matt Herr–and the ability to find a way to win in close games. Last weekend, the Wolverines beat last-place Bowling Green 4-2, and needed overtime to beat next-to-last-place Western Michigan 4-3.

"These have been really tough games," says Berenson. "Bowling Green was an empty net goal, and Western was an overtime game, so figure that out. Our win against Bowling Green was ugly. Marty Turco really struggled in net."

The Wolverines will be without stand-out freshman defenseman Mike Van Ryn this weekend, who injured himself on the penalty-box door. "He’s not skating," says Berenson. "He’s day to day."

Berenson says that although his team is firmly in first place, the Wolverines aren’t really much better than any of their opponents this season. "They’re always tough games. We haven’t played Miami yet. Lake Superior was the only team we’ve really outplayed."

With the win over Bowling Green last weekend, Marty Turco earned his 112th career victory, setting a new NCAA Division I record for wins by a goaltender. With every game he plays from now until the end of the season, Turco has the potential to set a new record for wins.

The publicity that Turco received–including a well-written, half-page feature article by Steve Allen in USA Today–is a nice boost for a Michigan team that isn’t nearly the team it was a year ago.

But that wasn’t the only publicity the Wolverines were getting last week.

Chris Fox was charged with assault with intent to injure, a felony that carries a maximum of ten years on prison under Michigan law, stemming from an incident during a summer hockey game.

This is how Berenson describes the incident: "Fox was high-sticked and cut for 16 stitches. He was going to the bench. He was already bloody, he was hurt and scared, and someone came after him. He turned and lifted his stick in self-defense."

Fox’s stick caught the mouth of another player, causing damage that has already required two surgeries to correct. Berenson says, "It wasn’t intentional, and he [Fox] felt bad about it."

Berenson says that this whole incident has been investigated twice by Michigan police–last summer and last November–and, according to Berenson, both times the police indicated that the matter would be dropped.

"[Fox] is a victim of being a player on a high-profile school," says Berenson, adding, "this is not the Chris Fox we know."

Back to the game at hand.

The Nanooks may play better on the second night of their trip, but don’t expect a miracle.

PICK: Michigan 6-2

Bowling Green (4-17-2, 2-11-2 CCHA) at Ohio State (11-10-1, 8-9-0 CCHA) Sunday, 3 p.m., Ohio Expo Center (Fairgrounds), Columbus, OH

The Buckeyes are basking in the afterglow of their third four-point weekend of the season, having beaten Lake Superior 7-0 and Ferris State 5-3, both games in the tiny rink the OSU players like to call The War Memorial.

With the wins and the 12 goals last weekend, the Buckeyes have once again turned a scoring corner, now outscoring league opponents 57-51.

Credit sophomore forward Hugo Boisvert with helping Ohio State regain the upper hand in scoring over league opponents. Boisvert had five goals and an assist last weekend, scoring his first collegiate hat trick in the Ferris State game, and earning CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors.

With 12 goals and 13 assists, Boisvert is one of three CCHA players with 25 points in league play–and Boisvert insists he’s not a goal-scorer. Boisvert’s linemate Eric Meloche has 10 goals and eight assists in league play, while linemate Jean-Francois Dufour has six goals and eight assists in league play.

That line alone is responsible for 28 of the Buckeyes’ 57 league goals–just shy of half of Ohio State’s scoring in CCHA play.

It’s not unusual for any team–even the Buckeyes–to have a few players who can score, but this season, that first line is getting help from a strong second line, led by junior Chris Richards (6-13–19) and Dan Cousineau (3-7–10).

With a goal and nine assists, freshman defender Andre Signoretti has also hit the ten-mark in scoring. Signoretti tends to be paired with senior defenseman Ryan Root in regular shifts and on the power play. Root has four goals and four assists.

With all this offense and as many wins so far this season as the Buckeyes saw in all of last season, you might expect a giddy feeling in that War Memorial.

Not so. Head coach John Markell says, "I want them to stay focused." In eighth place, the Buckeyes know they’re just four points out of third place in the CCHA, but, says Markell, they also know they’re three points out of ninth.

Bowling Green has been playing much more strongly in front of rookie netminder Shawn Timm, who, with a record of 1-5-1, is allowing 3.38 goals per game with a save percentage hovering around .890.

Bowling Green’s problem is overcoming a dismal start to this season that coach Buddy Powers has dubbed "The Murphy’s Law Season." Lead scorer Dan Price was suspended indefinitely when he entered a plea of no contest to vehicular manslaughter charges.

Aside from Price, only two other Falcons have shown offensive promise this season. Adam Edinger has four goals and seven assists in league play. Curtis Valentine leads the team in goals with five.

"If you watch their scores, they’re competing very well against every hockey club they’re playing," says Markell. "We’re taking them seriously. Bowling Green is a team that can jump up and catch you."

This is the second meeting between these two teams this season. The first game was a 5-4 come- from-behind win for Ohio State, the first night during which that first line–responsible for all five goals–really showed what it’s capable of doing.

Jeff Maund is having an outstanding rookie season for the Buckeyes in net. Maund is keeping some pretty good company among CCHA goaltenders, with a record of 8-5-0 in league play, a GAA of 2.74, and a save percentage of .908. For the record, his save percentage equals Chad Alban’s save percentage.

Maund is mostly relaxed and unflappable in net, although he can give up some soft goals. He gave up two soft goals to Ferris State’s Kenzie Homer last weekend, and he gave up two soft goals to Bowling Green when the teams met in November.

He’s still a solid advantage in net.

Another advantage for the Buckeyes is the bigger ice surface of the Ohio Expo Center (formerly the Fairgrounds Colosseum). This fast-skating team has room to move on the larger surface, but the cavernous Expo Center–better suited to horse shows than hockey–swallows noise. What the Bucks gain on the ice they lose in atmosphere.

If the Buckeyes stay focused and play the game capable of playing, and if Hugo Boisvert and Chris Richards are in their groove, Ohio State should beat Bowling Green.

PICK: Ohio State 4-1

This Week in Hockey East: January 16, 1998

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Only two points separate the first-place and seventh-place teams. Boston University, New Hampshire and Providence have the edge with either two or three games in hand against the rest, but who knows how this league is going to shake out?

Boston College had the best week of them all, taking three of four points from BU (a 4-2 win) and Maine (a scoreless tie). The Black Bears also went 3-for-4, adding a 7-6 overtime barnburner over Merrimack to the tie with the Eagles.

New Hampshire and UMass-Lowell were left all dressed up with no place to go when ice storms canceled their trip to the North Country and tilts against Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

Maine’s Alfie Michaud earned KOHO Player of the Week honors with 51 saves against Merrimack and the 42-save shutout against BC.

BC’s Scott Clemmensen parlayed his 4-2 win over BU and shutout against Maine into a Rookie of the Week award.

Last week’s record in picks: 4-4

Season’s record in picks: 79-44

No. 3 Boston University (13-3-2, 6-2-2 HEA) vs.

Northeastern (12-6-2, 6-4-2 HEA)

Friday, 7 p.m., Matthews Arena, Boston, MA TV-SCNE

Saturday, 7 p.m., Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA WABU-TV68

Boston University saw its recent 18-1-4 stranglehold on Boston College broken with a 4-2 loss at Conte Forum. As a result, the Terriers complete their regular season series with the Eagles with a 1-1-1 record, that, coincidentally or not, matches their record against UNH.

"It seemed like we were trying not to make something bad happen instead of having fun playing," said coach Jack Parker. "Now, something they would consider awful has happened — they lost a game to BC. That’ll happen more often.

"They’ve got to get used to playing hard and enjoying the process and not thinking, ‘I hope we don’t lose.’ We can’t play that way against anybody, especially against Boston College."

Parker experimented by moving freshman Carl Corazzini to right wing on Chris Drury’s line, breaking up the long-time pairing of Drury with Mike Sylvia. By the third period, however, Parker had put his two top-scoring forwards back together again.

"With Albie O’Connell out, we wanted to get a little more balance on the three lines," said Parker. "But I thought that Corazzini, a freshman, was having a hard time playing with Drury. You feel a lot of pressure to get the puck to him. I thought Corazzini played well, but all in all would have been more comfortable playing with his buddy Scott Perry."

With all four of his left wings sidelined for parts of the season, Parker has had to shift players from other positions to cover for the absences. The latest such adjustment was moving freshman defenseman Keith Emery, who had been the seventh man on the blue line depth chart, to left wing where he scored the second goal against BC.

"He’s a hockey player," said Parker. "He knows how to play. We’ve been really banged up… so it was [mandatory] that we find some other guys that could play left wing. We lucked out that Emery is such a smart player that he could just jump in there.

"I don’t think he’d practiced a day there until we played him there one game. He will be very valuable to us that way. He’s almost like a couple guys who have played with us in the past that can move up or back depending on where the injuries are.

"We’ll see where he goes in the next few months. In the long run, we’ll always consider him a defenseman, but it’s nice that he can play up front."

Parker will also be looking at shifting a center or right wing to the left side so he won’t get caught again without players comfortable on that side.

Following the loss to BC, the Terriers went into the final minute of play against Providence tied in a scoreless game. Only a Jeff Kealty goal with 36 seconds remaining prevented an overtime. The 1-0 win appeared to be the latest evidence that the Ice Dogs are sputtering in the offensive end.

"I don’t think there’s any question that we hadn’t generated as much offense as we’d like up until the Providence game," said Parker. "But I thought in the Providence game, we generated a lot of offense; we just didn’t score goals. But we had a lot of opportunities. Their goalie played real well and our goalie played really well too. It could have been a 5-5 game.

"But since even before break, we hadn’t been generating much offense. That happens sometimes when half your forwards are freshman. They’re also doing a good job of mugging Chris Drury. He’s having a hard time getting on track.

"When we get people healthy and get O’Connell and [Tommi] Degerman back, we’ll have a little bit more size and a little bit more maturity and a little bit more experience up front. That will take some of the pressure off Chris and also give us a little better opportunity on the power play, which is where we’re really hurting.

"Sometimes when you get two regular goals and two on the power play, it looks like you’ve got some offense. Our power play has been anemic lately."

Drury, considered to be a near shoo-in for the Hobey Baker Award going into the season, is only 12th in Hockey East in overall scoring with 13 goals and 11 assists in 18 games.

"The puck isn’t going in the net for him as easily as it was jumping in last year," said Parker. "That will turn around any moment. There’s no question that everyone is keying on Chris Drury.

"I think there could be a little more enforcement of the rules, especially with the clutching and the grabbing with Chris, but I’m not worried about him getting up there in the 30-goal category. He’ll be there soon. It’s just a matter of him breaking out. He had some great chances the other night, but the puck just didn’t go in the net for him."

O’Connell remains questionable for this week’s home-and-home with Northeastern, as is Degerman. Both are out with shoulder injuries. Degerman is the better bet to play, but the Terriers could have both or they could have neither.

In facing Northeastern, BU has the opportunity to take first place away from the upstart Huskies, who were picked to finish last but have sat atop Hockey East since the beginning of December. Pragmatists have pointed out that the Huntington Avenue underdogs have yet to face BU, UNH or Maine and have attached an asterisk to their position in the standings.

"They’re just like Lowell was when Bruce [Crowder] was there," said Parker. "People weren’t giving them credit and then all of a sudden, there they were.

"Northeastern has had a great run. They’ve done it with what is not surprising, great goaltending and great team defense. They’ve beaten a lot of good teams and they’re a team to be reckoned with."

Northeastern dropped its only game last weekend, 6-4, to Providence. The loss snapped an eight-game unbeaten streak in Division I play.

"I didn’t think we played well," said coach Bruce Crowder. "Providence came out and took it to us in the third period. It was 4-4 and a pretty even game going into the third, but they stepped it up a notch and we weren’t able to keep pace. It wasn’t even so much the 6-4 score, but I think they hit three goalposts in the third period. They pretty much dominated us the last 20 minutes.

"Obviously, we’re going to take things from the game and minimize the mistakes that we’ve been doing. We had actually been a little fortunate in the last few games in terms of getting away with things that we’re not going to get away with down the road. Providence showed us a little better our mistakes. We’re just going to try to regroup here a little bit."

The BU match-up gives the Huskies the opportunity to prove their doubters wrong. Their comparatively weak schedule to date will be forgotten with an impressive weekend against the third-ranked Terriers.

"It’s a good opportunity for us," said Crowder. "Everybody’s been talking all year about how we’ve been doing this and we’re doing that, but we haven’t played this team or that team. Now we’re playing this or that team. I’m looking forward as a coach just to see where we are and how we match up."

Although some teams have tried matching a checking line or defensive pairing against Drury, Crowder isn’t so sure that such a strategy makes sense for his team.

"I don’t know if we have the capability of matching a line against them," he said. "I don’t know if many teams in the country have the ability to match a line against them. I just want our guys to go out there and play.

"I think there’s going to be a nice atmosphere on Friday with SportsChannel coming in here and doing the game. For us, we’re looking forward to playing BU just to see where we stand."

PICKS: The Huskies almost pull it off at home, losing 3-2, and then take it on the chin, 5-2, at Walter Brown Arena.

No. 4 New Hampshire (14-4-1, 6-3-1 HEA) at Maine (9-7-3, 6-5-2 HEA)

Friday, Saturday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

New Hampshire got as far as Burlington, Vermont last weekend on the way to the North Country, but the promise of power outages and ice storms sent them back to Durham. For the Wildcats, the game cancellations couldn’t have come at a worse time since their last game was on Dec. 31.

"We scrimmaged amongst ourselves this weekend and tried to make it as game-like as possible," said coach Dick Umile. "We had two good scrimmages with some pretty good guys going against each other, but it’s not the same as playing games.

"You don’t get the exact game situations. No matter how much you prepare for it and try to make it game-like, it isn’t. So you do the best you can do and, who knows, maybe the rest helps you, maybe it hurts you. You don’t know until you get there. We just have to start up as if we’d played this past weekend and get ready for a weekend of hockey up in Maine."

Although it isn’t yet definite, the games aren’t likely to be made up. There are no weekends when teams both have only one game, and with the travel time required for the trip, weekdays aren’t an attractive alternative.

So all attention turns to the two games in Orono. Although the defensive shell that Maine employed against BC was forced by manpower shortages, Black Bear coach Shawn Walsh could opt for the same approach against UNH, the top offensive team in the country.

"If he does that this weekend, who knows?" said Umile. "It’s a situation you prepare for each week. You don’t know what teams are going to do. We could go up to Maine with the small rink and they come after us. If that’s the case, we have to deal with it.

"The guys are aware when teams are playing a trap and whether they’re defensive or aggressive. You just have to be ready for both and fight through whatever forecheck or setup is there. We’ll worry about that when the weekend comes."

Maine opened a three-point weekend with a bizarre 7-6 overtime win over Merrimack. The Black Bears led 6-3 in the third period, but faced a five-minute major and five-on-three disadvantage with the lead down to 6-4 and eight minutes left. The Warriors scored once on the major penalty and added an extra-skater goal to send the game into overtime. A Marcus Gustafsson tally just 1:20 into the OT, however, gave the Black Bears the two points.

"It was just two different games," said Walsh. "Until the incident happened that changed the complexion of the game [with eight minutes left], I really liked the way we played. We gave up one even-strength goal. I was very pleased, because we were coming off that long layoff. We played well."

Although the Black Bears escaped the Merrimack contest without the third-period penalties hurting them, the game disqualifications given to Shawn Wansborough and Brian White combined with other absences and injuries to leave them woefully shorthanded against BC.

As a result, Walsh opted for a very defensive strategy, one which paid off with a point against the Eagles.

"Sorry to have to bore you guys to death," Walsh said to the press after the game, "but that’s what we had to do. It was Pat Burns hockey.

"This was a big point for us. We’ve put ourselves back in the picture for home ice, where I wasn’t sure that was the case after [being swept in early December by] Providence.

"We played eight freshmen tonight. When we get some regulars back in our lineup, that’s going to help our lineup a lot."

As goaltender Alfie Michaud walked by, Walsh said, "If this guy isn’t Player of the Week, I don’t know who will be. Way to go, kid."

Walsh turned out to be correct. Michaud totaled 93 saves on the weekend, including 42 for the shutout against BC, to take league’s top weekly honor.

"I don’t like to look to the past, but last year I turned it up a couple notches the last half of the season," said Michaud after the BC game. "I know I didn’t have a very good first half [of the season.] I’m going to make up for it.

"It’s a lot easier when you’re not facing those second shots. I saw everything out there and the guys did a nice job of clearing out the rebounds. I’m just happy we came out of here with a point."

Walsh points to Michaud’s strong play starting against Lowell in December following the disastrous weekend at Providence.

"I take a lot of the blame for Alfie’s first half," said Walsh following his goaltender’s shutout. "I wasn’t as sharp as I should have been in terms of [how we were] covering open people. [Now,] we’ve decided to let Alfie see the puck. If we don’t make him have to worry about any back door plays, he’ll stop it.

"That’s what happened tonight. He saw the shots and he made the saves. That’s what happened the whole second half of last year.

"He’s a great goaltender when he’s allowed to play goal. When he had to worry about the back door [earlier this season] because of our young defense, it was killing us. It took me a while to figure it out."

The Black Bears now enter their toughest stretch of the season. In their next five games, they face UNH three times and BU twice. If they can survive that sequence, the home stretch is a lot more inviting: three games with Northeastern, another three against UMass-Amherst and two more against Nebraska-Omaha.

PICKS:Maine’s best bet is catching the Wildcats rusty on Friday night. UNH squeaks that one out, 4-3, and takes the back end 5-3.

No. 10 Boston College (12-6-3, 6-4-2 HEA) vs.

Providence College (12-6-1, 6-4-0 HEA)

Friday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Saturday, 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI

Boston College broke an unenviable 1-18-4 skein against BU with a 4-2 win that had Eagle fans proclaiming the death of the gorilla that had been hunkered down on their backs.

"We’re getting there, but we’re not there yet," said coach Jerry York. "It’s a significant win when you beat a team of that caliber, but that’s only our second win over them in our last 25 games.

"It’s hard to beat the number one team; we’re not the only ones that have a hard time beating BU. They’ve controlled Eastern hockey here for a number of years.

"Certainly, we have better players now. That’s evident when you watch. But it’s one victory; let’s not make a mountain out of it."

Goaltender Scott Clemmensen surrendered goals on the first two shots he faced, but shut out the Terriers from that point on.

"That was really important for him, especially starting down, 2-0," said York. "It’s hard to hang in there. It was good, strong play by him."

The Eagles then almost completed a four-point, BU-Maine weekend, but had to settle for a scoreless tie after outshooting the Black Bears 42-17.

"We got three out of four points and even more importantly, we played well both nights," said York. "It was just a different type of game than what we’re used to. I thought we reacted well to it. We got a lot of shots. It made it kind of a dump-and-chase kind of game for us.

"You’ve got to learn to play all types of games. The trap is coming back into vogue in hockey, so we’ll have to respond to whatever style we see."

In Providence, the Eagles are taking on a team that has built its reputation on defensive play in past years.

"You have to be able to adapt to any style," said York. "In a league of this number of teams, there are going to be a lot of different types of styles. We just have to adapt and play through it."

Providence almost took four points on the weekend as well, but had to settle for two. The Friars opened with a 6-4 win over Northeastern.

"The difference certainly wasn’t goaltending, because both goaltenders played very well," said coach Paul Pooley. "We played well, but every time we broke down, they scored. We worked hard and we were physical, but it was touch-and-go. It could have gone either way."

Their game the next night against BU could have gone either way, too, going scoreless until the final minute when Terrier defenseman Jeff Kealty scored to send the Friars home disappointed.

"The goaltending was great for both sides," said Pooley. "Boyd Ballard was great and [Tom] Noble played very well, especially in the first period when we were on him a little bit.

"It was a good game. Both teams played well defensively and had some opportunities. It was a game that we could have won. I was disappointed that we didn’t. They had a couple injuries and were coming off an emotional game against BC. We had started feeling pretty good about ourselves after beating Northeastern.

"But it was just one of those things. That’s why they’re champions. They find a way to get it done."

As has been the case since Pooley took over three and a half years ago, the Friars have been getting it done in recent weeks on the strength of team defense.

"That’s the key for us," he said. "We’re not going to open it up against teams and have any success.

"We’re playing pretty well system-wise. It seems when we’re breaking down, a couple times we’re breaking down one-on-one as opposed to breaking down as a team."

The PC blue line, however, has been banged up. Richard Miller has been out with a stress fracture in his foot. He could return this weekend. Dave Gunderson separated a shoulder, returned for three more shifts because the team was short, but then got hit again. This forced Pooley to move freshman swingman Mike Farrell back on the blue line, where, according to Pooley, "He was outstanding."

Up front, where Jerry Keefe has been out with a broken thumb and appears another three weeks away, Providence has been inconsistent.

"When the guys that need to score for us score, we play well," said Pooley. "In the games against Dartmouth and Colgate" — all losses — "our big guys didn’t score. But against Northeastern, Fernando [Pisani] had four points. Against BU, he wasn’t there. He didn’t score.

"When Drury scores for BU, they have a chance to win. When [Mike] Omicioli and Pisani are on for us, we have a chance to win. The other guys are doing a great job of scoring and chipping in, but Mike and Fernando get most of the ice time, so that’s what we have to have happen."

Pooley and his staff will be studying the tapes of BC this past weekend — both games were on TV — in preparation for the upcoming home-and-home series.

"They’re a very, very good hockey club," he said. "They can dangle. They’re very skilled. We know what makes us stay in the ballpark with them. We’re going to have to beat them with defense, get good goaltending and stay out of the penalty box. There’s no secret to that."

PICKS:The Eagles sweep 3-2, 4-3, in a two-game set that could go either way.

Merrimack (7-12-1, 2-8-0 HEA) vs. UMass-Amherst (3-13-2, 0-8-1 HEA)

Friday, 7 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

Saturday, 7 p.m., Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA

Merrimack scored 13 goals in two games and didn’t get a point. The Warriors rallied to force overtime against Maine, but fell 7-6. They then took Colgate into the third period even, but lost 10-7.

They are averaging 6.30 goals-against in Hockey East games, two more than any other team, and 5.10 overall. All three goaltenders who have seen action now have goals-against averages over six in league games.

Right now, the Warriors can’t win for losing. When they open it up, no one can stop them. Unfortunately, they can’t stop anyone else either and they lose a shootout. When they play more defensively, they lose 3-2 games instead.

"We’re happy with the way we’re playing offensively, but we’re doing that at the expense of team defense," said coach Ron Anderson. "With inexperience on defense and inexperience in goal, we have to play better as a unit defensively. The tradeoff is not a good swap."

Anderson rode his thoroughbreds almost exclusively down the stretch against Maine. The drastically shortened bench put the game into overtime, but couldn’t hold on for the point.

"You can’t win with six or seven players, so you try to stretch your lineup as much as you can over the course of a game," said Anderson. "But when it gets to critical junctures, everybody shortens their bench a lot. Obviously, when we were down by three in the third period, it might have been too late to shorten the bench, but we couldn’t have done it much sooner than that. Fortunately for us, we had enough to get it back, we just didn’t have enough to pull it off in the overtime."

Anderson made two interesting moves midway through the game against Colgate, breaking up the second line of Martin Laroche, Casey Kesselring and Sandy Cohen. Laroche joined Kris Porter and Rejean Stringer — all three are in the top five nationally in scoring — on the first line. Kesselring, the team’s number four scorer, moved to the blue line.

"They weren’t having a good night anyway, so we put all the eggs in one basket," said Anderson. "That line did well, but I’m not sure what we’ll do this weekend. It’s pretty dangerous to have them all together."

Dangerous for both sides. Laroche scored a hat trick; Porter’s two goals put him atop the nation in that category with 24 and he added two assists; Stringer’s three assists added to his nation-leading total of 29. The flip side, of course, is that the second line went away. With parts of the Merrimack defense struggling, Kesselring could stay on the blue line.

"We’ll have to look at him in practice this week to see if he can really play back there," said Anderson. "It was just a matter of disassembling that line in the middle of the game so he became available. Our defense was having some problems as well, so he provided another body for us to take a look at back there."

Anderson also tried another body between the pipes in the Colgate game. Roland Sperlich got his first start of the year, but was yanked after three first-period goals. Cris Classen replaced him, but surrendered six more in less than 28 minutes, so Sperlich returned. He gave up Colgate’s final tally.

"He’s a freshman that we’re trying to get some playing time for," said Anderson. "It’s a chance for us to get a look at him. He didn’t play particularly poorly, but I don’t think either starting goaltender played particularly well. [Both coaches] rolled the dice a little bit" — Colgate started backup Shep Harder before summoning Dan Brenzavich for the final period — "and it was still a pretty good game until we actually got our [goaltending] starters in there. They gained the advantage at that point."

After the lost weekend, eighth-place Merrimack turns to two games against ninth-place UMass-Amherst this weekend. Although the Warriors faced a murderous first-half schedule that helped put them near the cellar, eighth place is eighth place. If they are going to make a second-half move, these two games reach an almost must-win status.

"All you have to do is look at the standings," said Anderson. "Anybody can add. Obviously, they’re important games for us.

"On the other hand, we’re not even halfway through our Hockey East schedule yet, so there still are a lot of games to play. It’s not like this week will make or break the season for us, but it’s an important weekend for us, no question about it."

UMass-Amherst teetered on the brink of disaster, following up the previous week’s 5-0 loss to Army (its most lopsided win over an aligned Division I team in many years) with a 6-2 loss to Air Force on Friday night. A third such loss on Saturday might have gotten the band to playing "Nearer My God to Thee."

The Minutemen salvaged the weekend, however, and perhaps the season, with a 3-0 win over the Falcons.

"On Friday night, their coach was quoted as saying that it was the best he’d ever seen a team of his play in 15 years," said coach Joe Mallen. "They got unbelievable goaltending from Aaron Ratfield. We couldn’t score early and they wound up building a lead and went from there.

"The win on Saturday night hopefully was a step in the right direction for us. Some of the things we showed on Saturday night were pride and getting back to some of the basics that we need to do to win hockey games. It was a strong effort. Let’s hope that there’s some positive momentum going into our Hockey East schedule."

Until the three service academy games, the Minutemen had been playing tough against good teams. No one likes to lose, but the games could at least be considered progress along the pothole-infested road from expansion team to becoming one of the elite. The lopsided losses in the first two service academy games, however, raised the specter of a team that had become discouraged with its record and had quit.

"The one thing we do have here is some really hard-working kids," said Mallen. "The biggest problem we’ve had has been goal scoring. What’s been happening is that we’ve gotten ourselves into a jam where we’ve had breakaways and two-on-ones and great scoring opportunities, but not been able to score.

"Then they’ve come back and gotten a goal. That’s taken a lot of wind out of our sails in some games. With a couple of goals here and there in the first or second period in any of those games, then it becomes a different game.

"We were also playing at Army and at Air Force. I thought the games were well-officiated this weekend, but you do run into different officiating in different leagues. And a capacity crowd at Army is 2300 and they had 2900 in the building.

"We’ve been in so many games down to the wire, that those two games were a little bit of frustration on our part. There’s not much we can do about that now. We just have to move forward. We still think that we can beat anybody in this league on any given night. We just have to prove it."

One of the biggest surprises has been Tim Lovell’s lack of scoring. The former All-Hockey East forward figured in all of the team’s first six goals in the season’s opening two games. Since then, Lovell has scored only three points in the last 16 games, although he didn’t play in three of them. His last point came on Nov. 22.

"Going back to the Princeton game [on Dec. 12], he severely sprained an ankle," said Mallen. "He played both games this past weekend, but he hasn’t been 100 percent for quite a while. That certainly puts a dent in our power play, our penalty kill and our regular scoring.

"He should be 100 percent by Friday night for Merrimack. He can give us the offensive spark. With the exception of the two service academy games, we’ve been one goal away a lot of nights.

"He went out of the Princeton game after four shifts and he went out of the Vermont game with a penalty, which was his fault, but if you count those two games, he’s probably missed five of the first 15 games. That makes a big difference, especially with his leadership."

If a healthy Lovell can make a difference, so too can top recruit Jeff Turner, who saw his first action against Air Force after breaking his leg in the season’s first practice. Turner, one of the top scorers in the United States Hockey League (USHL) last year, required three screws in his leg and a ligament to be reattached because of the injury. He’s a speedburner who could be an important contributor in the second half.

"He had a major, major injury," said Mallen. "His comeback, to be able to come back at this time, was nothing short of courageous. I’m not so sure that one guy can turn your whole team around, but the impact of him being out the whole first half of the year [was significant.]

"I thought that Jeff could anchor a second or third line for us. Those two lines have really been without a lot of stability. That’s the key about Jeff coming back, because now we can have that kind of stability on the second and third lines. That’s been a real shortcoming on our part."

Whenever a speed-oriented player suffers such a severe injury, sometimes he doesn’t fully return to 100 percent until the following year.

"The instincts are there," said Mallen. "His instincts in both games were very good. Now he just needs to get up to speed in terms of his timing. When he does that, we’ll see a very good freshman player for us."

A lot rides on this weekend for the Minutemen. Although the season is only half over, the cluster of seven teams all within two points of themselves at the top of Hockey East leaves Merrimack as their best bet for climbing out of the cellar and qualifying for the eighth and final playoff spot.

"They’re a good team and they can score a lot of goals," said Mallen. "We have a lot of respect for them. We’ve just got to be very careful defensively with Porter, Stringer, Kesselring and those guys. They definitely have some of the better firepower in the league.

"But it’s a two-way game. We need to score some goals, but we also need to keep them off the board. So we’re just going to stick to our basic game plan.

"We have to win as many games as we can in the second half. Our team, on a lot of nights this year, has risen to the level of play of the opponent. We’ve played well against BC and BU and against different teams for long stretches. Now the question is, what level are we going to play this weekend?

"All of our team understands the significance of these two games. We’re at a point where every game is a ‘must win’ game for us with the record we have so far."

PICKS: Merrimack plays it tighter to the vest and sweeps 5-3 and 4-2.

Yale (12-4-0, 9-2-0 ECAC) at UMass-Lowell (8-8-2, 5-5-2 HEA)

Saturday, 7 p.m., Tully Forum, Lowell, MA

Like New Hampshire, UMass-Lowell missed out on its trip to Clarkson and St. Lawrence last weekend. In the River Hawks’ case, sitting out last weekend was especially galling since the team had been playing its best hockey of late.

Coming out of the break, they had smoked Colgate 7-1 and Merrimack 8-4. Scott Fankhouser was playing between the pipes better than at any time of his collegiate career and Greg Koehler and Jeff Boulanger were leading a suddenly torrid offense.

This case of hotstreakus interruptus was about as welcome as the case of mono that sidelined All-Hockey East defenseman Mike Nicholishen.

"We did some scrimmaging at the end of last week, but then we gave them two days off," said coach Tim Whitehead. "We wanted the guys fresh this week. Then we practiced very hard on [Tuesday and Wednesday], so we should be ready to go by Saturday."

Saturday will be Lowell’s only game against the weekend, but it’ll be a tough one. Yale is one of the top defensive clubs in the country.

"We definitely have a lot of respect for how they play the game," said Whitehead. "Any time you’re playing a team that has their goals-against as low as they do, you know that you can’t make any mistakes. If you do, and they get a couple-goal lead on you, it’s going to be tough to come back on them. They don’t give up a ton of shots and they don’t give up a ton of goals. We’re going to have to be sharp ourselves defensively and make sure we don’t turn the puck over."

Nicholishen has been cleared to practice, but isn’t likely to see action until the following week against Providence.

Mark Fontas has finally gotten through the NCAA Clearinghouse and is now eligible to play. The offensive defenseman from the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers had been in limbo, unable to even practice with the team, until receiving Clearinghouse approval.

"He’s learning some of the systems," said Whitehead. "It’s going to take him some adjustment to know what we’re doing on the ice as a team. That’s another hurdle for him."

With Chris Libett out until February with a torn medial collateral ligament in his elbow, Fontas could see some action. Shawn Hebert, who missed the Jan.4 Merrimack tilt returns.

Yale has "pulled a Northeastern" this year. The Bulldogs finished tenth last year in the ECAC and were projected in the preseason coaches’ poll to stay right there. Like Hockey East’s Northeastern Huskies, however, Yale has leaped to the top of its league and now holds a five-point lead on the field.

Unlike Northeastern’s youth-movement resurgence, the Bulldogs are featuring experience, playing only one freshman on a regular basis.

Ray Giroux, one of the top defensemen in the country, leads the ECAC in blue line scoring with a 4-12–16 line in 16 games. What’s more, he’s great defensively, too. The tandem of Giroux and Daryl Jones (1-7–8), is a force to be reckoned with.

The veteran Yale blue line combines with goaltender Alex Westlund, until this year one of the best-kept secrets in college hockey, to boast the ECAC’s stingiest defense, allowing only 2.25 goals a game.

The Bulldog’s limited offense (3.25 goals a game) is led by the flashy Jeff Hamilton (11-12-23). Their special teams are remarkable. Their power play (20.3 percent) leads the ECAC and their penalty kill (87.2 percent) ranks second.

(For a more detailed look at Yale from an ECAC perspective, check out this week’s ECAC Preview.)

PICK: Yale 4-2.

Brown (4-11-1, 4-7-1 ECAC) at

Northeastern (12-6-2, 6-4-2 HEA)

Tuesday, 7 p.m., Matthews Arena, Boston, MA

Northeastern will be coming off its put-up-or-shut-up I-don’t-get-no-respect weekend with Boston University. This Tuesday night match-up then sets off all kinds of alarms. If the Huskies do well against BU, will they be full of themselves and emotionally drained? And if they don’t do well, will they be on an emotional downer?

"If we were a real established team, that could happen either way," said coach Bruce Crowder. "But with us still being so young and every game being so important for us to use to get better, I don’t see it being a problem that way.

"We had a chance to see Brown play pretty much two games out in Minnesota. The first night, they played Minnesota real tough. The next night, I thought they played even better against Notre Dame.

"And they beat Dartmouth this weekend and Dartmouth beat Providence 4-1. The way the hockey season is going this year, you just can’t look past anybody."

Brown is led by captain Damian Prescott (11-7–18) and John DiRenzo (5-11–16) up front and unconventional goaltender Jeff Holowaty (4.01 GAA, .894 SV%).

Although their 4-11-1 record isn’t impressive, the Bears have two wins and a tie in their last three games.

(For a more detailed look at Brown from an ECAC perspective, check out this week’s ECAC Preview.)

PICK: Northeastern 5-2.

This Week in the ECAC: January 16, 1998

By Becky Blaeser & Jayson Moy
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Only Yale seems to be distancing itself from anybody. The Bulldogs, despite only gaining one point this weekend, are now five points ahead of Harvard, six points ahead of Colgate, seven points ahead of Princeton, eight points ahead of Rensselaer, and nine points ahead of Clarkson and Cornell. Huh?

But remember, the Bulldogs have played half of their ECAC schedule, 11 games, already. Only Harvard and Brown, at 12 apiece, have played more games in-conference than the Bulldogs. Ah, I get it now.

Brown and Rensselaer were the big winners this past weekend, as each of those teams took three points in ECAC action. Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Princeton and Vermont took two points each, and Union was the only active team to get shut out of the point action.

January means catch-up time for ECAC teams, starting this weekend.

Last weeks predictions: 4-6 Year to date: 61-52, .539, 3rd

Clarkson (8-5-2, 4-2-1 ECAC, T-6th) and St. Lawrence (3-11-1, 2-4-1 ECAC, T-10th) at Dartmouth (5-6-3, 2-6-1 ECAC, T-10th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Thompson Arena, Hanover, NH St. Lawrence (3-11-1, 2-4-1 ECAC, T-10th) and Clarkson (8-5-2, 4-2-1 ECAC, T-6th) at Vermont(6-10-2, 3-4-2 ECAC, 9th) Friday – Saturday, 8 pm – 7 pm, Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, Vt.

Clarkson and St. Lawrence both had their games cancelled due to inclement weather in the North Country this past weekend. That weather wreaked havoc then, and continues to do so, forcing the North Country pair to switch their schedules around. This series was intended to be played in Potsdam and Canton, but instead will be moved to Burlington and Hanover.

Since no games were played last weekend, we refer you to last week.

St. Lawrence is coming off of two losses at the Great Lakes Invitational. At the tournament the Saints faced another team in the top ten, and battled tough in a consolation loss to Michigan Tech.

"We took a couple of bad penalties and made a couple of coverage mistakes that cost us, but at least we were able to snap out of it a little bit offensively," said head coach Joe Marsh. "It was a good experience for us, and hopefully one we can build on to come up with a strong finishing run."

Eric Heffler earned an All-Tournament spot as the goaltender, despite not winning a game.

"Heff gave us a chance to win those games, and you can’t ask for more than that from a goaltender," said Marsh. "He has been playing with a lot of confidence and playing very well. He got hurt a little bit late in the second period against Michigan, but played through it and had a strong third period.

"He showed us and the folks in Detroit a lot and the all-tourney spot is a reflection of just how impressive he was. There were a couple of potential All-Americas in Michigan’s Marty Turco and Michigan State’s Chad Alban who both played very well, but you don’t see many performances like the one Eric turned in."

The Saints’ record is not very impressive, but Marsh paints a different story, one about how the Saints will head into the rest of the season.

"When people look at our record, they think we are struggling…but we’ve really played some competitive games against some very good competition," he said. "Sure, it would be great to have won a few of these games, and I think we are all a little frustrated because we have come close so many times, but they will help us down the road.

"If we can continue to play at the level we are playing, we’ll get our share of wins in the stretch run….I think we can make a big move."

Clarkson rebounded with a consolation victory over Niagara in the Syracuse Invitational after losing to Minnesota-Duluth in the opening round.

The past few games for the Golden Knights may have ignited a goaltender controversy. One of the best goaltenders in the nation, Dan Murphy, has struggled all season, and in the last few games, senior Chris Bernard has played well.

Bernard has won his last four starts against Boston College, Harvard, Brown, and Niagara. These four games were his only starts in his career. Coincidentally, those are the Clarkson wins in the last five games. So the big question is: Who is in goal for Clarkson this coming weekend?

"I couldn’t tell you because it’s day-to-day right now," said head coach Mark Morris. "There isn’t a controversy. Sure, Dan Murphy’s been watching Chris Bernard play goal and it’s a little different. Every time you are faced with a different challenge. Chemistry is altered and you have to find the right chemistry and each year you hope that your team can gain."

Vermont picked up two points this past weekend, defeating Princeton and losing to Yale. It seems that the Cats have started to pick up from a horrendous start to their season, and just in time. The Cats have only one non-conference game left, as the rest of their schedule is within the ECAC.

The win over Princeton was UVM’s first at home this season. Stephane Piche had two goals in the win, and the Cats’ four other goals came from four players: Justin Martin, Jason Hamilton, Jason Reid and Phillippe Choiniere. Choiniere and freshman defenseman Andreas Moborg also lit the lamp in the loss to Yale on Saturday afternoon.

But the Cats lost three players from their roster in December. Forwards Jonathan Roy and Chris Page, along with defenseman Simon Tremblay, left the team. Tremblay, the Cats most experienced defenseman coming into the season, left to play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Dartmouth also garnered two points this past weekend with a victory over Yale, the Big Green’s first league victory (and third overall) since opening weekend, when they defeated Union.

Curtis Wilgosh scored twice against Princeton on Friday, and Jon Sturgis and Ryan Chaytors also netted pucks. In the win over Yale, the Big Green got goals from Jeremiah Buckley, Tom Ruzzo, Charlie Retter and Matt Giedt.

Jason Wong saw action both nights in goal, making 25 saves against Princeton and 28 against Yale.

PICKS: Clarkson at Dartmouth: Clarkson, 6-3 St. Lawrence at Vermont: St. Lawrence, 5-2 St. Lawrence at Dartmouth: Dartmouth, 4-3 Clarkson at Vermont: Vermont, 4-2

Colgate (12-5-1, 6-2-0 ECAC, 3rd) at Cornell (7-4-2, 4-3-1 ECAC, T-6th) Saturday, 7 pm, Lynah Rink, Ithaca, NY Cornell at Colgate Monday, 7:30 pm, Starr Rink, Hamilton, NY

Round one of this rivalry took place last Saturday at the Nassau Coliseum, where Cornell and Colgate skated to a 2-2 tie.

Larry Pierce gave Cornell the lead in the first period. Bill Baaki tied the game for Colgate in the second, but Pierce’s second score gave the Big Red the lead back. Dan Wildfong tied it at two with less than two minutes to go in the second, and the teams played to the draw in the third.

With a win this weekend, Colgate netminder Dan Brenzavich can become the school’s all-time victory leader. He already holds Colgate’s mark for saves.

PICKS: Colgate at Cornell: Cornell, 5-3 Cornell at Colgate: Colgate, 6-3

Rensselaer (9-7-2, 4-4-2 ECAC, 5th) at Union (3-14-2, 2-7-1 ECAC, T-10th) Saturday, 7 pm, Achilles Rink, Schenectady, NY

It’s the Capital District Rivalry, the Route 7 Series, the Crosstown Clash, etc., etc.

This will be the second time that these two teams meet this season, with Rensselaer winning the first — a non-conference game — 3-2 on a Jean-Francois Gosselin goal with less than a minute to play.

Rensselaer has gone unbeaten in its last three games (1-0-2), while Union has not won since Dec. 5 when it defeated Cornell. Since then the Dutchmen are 0-6-1.

In its last six games, Union has gone into the third period either ahead or tied. The Dutchmen are 0-5-1 in those games, having scored just one third-period goal. They were up 2-1 against Harvard going into the third before losing in OT, 3-2.

"The key to it is to not make it devastating," said head coach Stan Moore on the third period collapses. "One of the things we’ve done with the players is to explain the things we need to do to get better, challenge them with the idea of playing harder. I don’t think it’s physical. Right now, it’s probably from the neck up. It’s something that’s very correctable, but it starts now. It has to start as soon as possible."

Rensselaer came out of the weekend with three points, and head coach Dan Fridgen hopes it’s a starting point.

"I don’t think we’re playing the way we’re capable of playing yet," he said. "To come out of the weekend with three out of four points not playing the way we’re capable of playing as a team, hey, that’s pretty good.

"We’ve got to tighten up in our own end as far as defense is concerned, and the goaltenders, thank God, have been there to make the saves for us."

Both teams had players leave their teams during the past month. Mauro DiPaolo departed the Engineers to play in Halifax, and Union lost Sean Nolan and Daniel Pugen. Pugen has left school and Nolan is gone for personal reasons.

PICK:Rensselaer, 4-2

Yale (12-4-0, 9-2-0 ECAC, 1st) at UMass-Lowell (8-8-2, 5-5-2 Hockey East, T-6th) Saturday, 7 pm, Tully Forum, Billerica, Mass.

Yale got stung a little bit on Sunday. The Bulldogs lost the third period to Dartmouth, and thereby lost the game, but defeated Vermont on Saturday afternoon for two points. The ‘Dogs remain on top of the ECAC and have widened their lead to five points.

Jeff Hamilton was named the ECAC Player of the Week with five points on the weekend, tallying a goal and an assist against Vermont, and a goal and two assists against Dartmouth.

Yale is first in the league in power-play conversion rate (20.3 percent) and is second in the league on the penalty kill (87.2 percent). Yale has only allowed six power-play goals in league action — all of them in the third period.

UMass-Lowell is led by Greg Koehler (14-8–22), who leads the team in scoring and is among the leaders in Hockey East with nine HEA goals. Jeff Boulanger (8-8–16), Shannon Basaraba (5-10-15) and Chris Bell (7-8–15) also bolster the River Hawk attack.

For more on UMass-Lowell, please refer to the Hockey East preview.

PICK: Yale, 4-3

Northeastern (10-6-2, 6-4-2 Hockey East, T-1st) at Brown (4-11-1, 4-7-1 ECAC, T-6th) Tuesday, 7:30 pm, Meehan Auditorium, Providence, RI

Brown is coming off of its most successful weekend in the ECAC thus far. The Bears took three points with a victory over Union and a tie against Rensselaer.

"The guys are really playing well right now," said head coach Roger Grillo. "We’re doing some good things. We’re moving the puck well, guys are working extremely hard and its a credit to the guys hard work in practice."

The Bears now take a break from the ECAC schedule with three non-conference games.

"Our non-conference schedule this season is very difficult," said Grillo. "We’ve played Boston University, Minnesota, Notre Dame and Boston College. Now we’ve got Northeastern, Providence and UMass-Lowell, and only one of those games is at home. It’s a tough go for us."

Northeastern remains in a tie for first place in Hockey East, surprising many people, and despite losing its latest contest, 6-4, to Providence. The Huskies and Friars were tied at four going into the third period before Providence scored twice to take the game.

Please refer to the Hockey East preview for more information on the Huskies.

PICK: Northeastern, 5-2

Most teams finish their non-conference schedules next week, as there is only one ECAC contest in the lot.

Next week’s schedule (ECAC Games in bold): Friday, January 23 Union at Army Cornell at Western Michigan Rensselaer at Ferris State Denver at Vermont

Saturday, January 24 Clarkson at St. Lawrence Army at Yale Rensselaer at Western Michigan Cornell at Ferris State Denver at Dartmouth Brown at New Hampshire

Tuesday, January 27 Dartmouth at UMass-Lowell

This Week in the WCHA: January 16, 1998

By
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The return to a complete schedule comes after a pivotal group of games a week ago, during which the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota showed why they are the defending national champions. UND took two clear-cut decisions from then-No. 8 Colorado College, 4-1 and 6-1, narrowing St. Cloud’s lead to just two points in the conference standings and restoring the Sioux to the top spot in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll.

Lest we forget, let’s repeat ourselves. The Huskies lead the WCHA by two points, coming off a nonconference sweep of Nebraska-Omaha. The second of those, a 6-2 Saturday win, moved head man Craig Dahl into the school’s all-time lead in coaching victories with 182, one more than Charlie Basch (1968-84).

The Wisconsin Badgers are nipping at the Huskies’ heels as well. Two home games against Minnesota-Duluth last weekend produced three points for the Badgers, drawing them into a second-place tie with the defending champs.

Meanwhile, CC’s zero-point series with the Sioux dropped the Tigers perilously far out of the lead; at 7-6-1 in league play, Don Lucia’s squad is now eight points behind St. Cloud and treading water in fourth place. The losses also booted the Tigers out of the USCHO poll, where they had resided since the start of the season.

Michigan Tech, Alaska-Anchorage and Minnesota-Duluth come into the weekend holding down fifth, sixth and seventh place, respectively. Only two points in WCHA play separate the three teams. Tech and UAA split a pair in the U.P. last weekend, while the Bulldogs claimed a single point from Wisconsin.

Bringing up the rear are Denver and Minnesota. Each has a bare six points in-conference, though Minnesota’s season has been the much more disappointing of the two. The Gophers took a pair from independent Mankato State last weekend, fanning Mariucci fans’ hopes of a second-half rally. Denver, after a week off, visits Minnesota Friday and Saturday to see who can get out of the league cellar.

Now, without further ado…

Michigan Tech (11-10-2, 6-9-1 WCHA) at No. 1 North Dakota (14-3-1, 10-3-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m. CT, Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks, ND

"We’re ba-ack!"

Not that they were ever really gone, mind you, but the Fighting Sioux’ decisive sweep of Colorado College last weekend was worth much more than just four WCHA points and the nation’s number-one ranking. Rather, those two wins have put the rest of the conference on notice: UND is gunning for a second straight title.

Although the Sioux tallied 10 goals in the two-game series, the top story was again the play of Defensive Player of the Week Karl Goehring. The freshman netminder allowed just two goals to lower his conference-leading goals-against average to 1.51. Overall, Goehring now sports a 9-1-1 record, a 1.41 GAA and a .951 save percentage.

Coming to Goehring’s aid has been junior sniper Jason Blake (11-14–25), who had a 12-game scoring streak ended by the Tigers Friday, but came back to notch 2-2–4 Saturday — all of those points coming in the second period. After a slow start, the speedy Blake is once again among the WCHA’s scoring leaders.

"He was supercharged [Saturday night]," Sioux head coach Dean Blais told the Dakota Student. "I thought he played really well from the drop of the puck."

UND also claimed the WCHA Rookie of the Week in Trevor Hammer. The defenseman earned a plus-3 rating on the weekend, and scored the first goal on Friday, an unassisted tally which was also his first of the season.

The Sioux, who have now won six straight in ascending the WCHA and national rankings, next face an opponent — Michigan Tech — which they beat six straight times last season, including twice in the conference playoffs.

The Huskies, though, have some solid play of their own to boast about. Although Tech split a pair with Alaska-Anchorage in its last two outings, that series could easily have been swept by MTU. The Techsters won Friday’s game, 3-0, behind two goals from Riley Nelson (12-14–25) and a shutout by David Weninger; then, on Saturday, the Huskies came from behind to tie it up at three before the Seawolves pulled away late.

Weninger (8-7-2, 3.04 GAA, .891 SV%) has firmly reestablished himself as MTU’s number-one goalie, thwarting an early-season challenge from none other than his brother, Todd. The junior has been instrumental in the Huskies’ current 8-3-1 run, during which the Tech defense has given up 30 goals for a 2.50 per-game clip.

That defense is especially critical to Michigan Tech’s success, because the Huskies are capable of scoring in bunches. Three MTU skaters — seniors Andre Savage (7-14–21) and Bret Meyers (12-14–26) and sophomore Nelson — stand among the top ten in WCHA scoring, and that despite the fact that Savage has missed several games with a bum shoulder. Meyers, in fact, had an eight-game scoring streak snapped by the ‘Wolves.

Picks: Savage is questionable for this series, and North Dakota smells blood. The Sioux have already weathered some difficult matchups, and have what may be the softest schedule of any contender down the stretch. Despite Tech’s quality play of late, UND’s run for the MacNaughton Cup may very well go into overdrive here. UND 5-3, 4-1

No. 6 St. Cloud (14-4-2, 11-2-1 WCHA) at Minnesota-Duluth (10-11-1, 5-8-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m. CT, Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, Duluth, MN

Speaking of streaky, it wouldn’t surprise this writer to find the UMD Bulldogs’ team picture next to that entry in Webster’s. Duluth started the season a modest 3-3-0 before falling into a 1-6-0 rut, then reversing course into a 6-1-0 string which culminated in the Syracuse Invitational title.

The ‘Dogs then hung tough in an exhibition matchup against the Scandinavian team HV-71, leading midway through the contest before falling 4-2 — which made UMD the only WCHA squad to stay within five goals of the touring Finns.

But Minnesota-Duluth lost a prime opportunity to gain ground in Madison last weekend, pulling out a 2-2 tie late on Friday before dropping the recap, 5-3. Friday’s game was notable for senior winger Ken Dzikowski’s game-tying goal late in the third period. Dzikowski, who marked up 35 points during the 1996-97 season, has precisely six this year, though four of those have come in his last four games.

But if Dzikowski gets back on track offensively, it might work wonders for the scoring-starved Bulldogs, who have only 31 goals in 14 WCHA games. Last season’s Rookie of the Year, goaltender Brant Nicklin (10-11-1, 3.04 GAA, .902 SV%), has been an ironman once again, playing all but one period this season; but only one skater, sophomore Jeff Scissions (6-10–16), who totaled three points against the Badgers, stands among the top 20 in league scoring.

Last weekend’s series also marked the end of a long and odd Bulldog streak of a different kind. UMD led Saturday’s contest 3-2 after two periods before losing, which meant that for the first time in nearly two years Minnesota-Duluth dropped a contest it led after 40 minutes. Incidentally, the ‘Dogs are now 23-1-2 in such games since Feb. 3, 1996.

Their opponents, the conference-leading St. Cloud Huskies, are finally starting to convince fans and pollsters that they’re not just doing it with mirrors. After a 2-3-1 start, SCSU has run off a 12-1-1 stretch which includes two wins against Colorado College and a split at North Dakota.

Goatender Brian Leitza is a huge part of the story thus far. The senior holds a 14-2-2 record and a 2.06 GAA, as well as a sharp .930 save percentage. He recorded two wins in net last weekend, holding Nebraska-Omaha to three goals total as the Huskies squeaked out a 2-1 win before pasting the Mavericks 6-2 to finish the sweep.

A considerable amount of the offense came from defenseman Tom Lund, who tallied a pair of goals and added an assist in Saturday’s win. The three-point game was the second of the year for the sophomore blueliner, accounting for six of his eight points on the season.

Picks: The all-time series between these teams is knotted at 20-20-5, and the two split earlier this year in St. Cloud, but that was before the Huskies went on their current tear. It took Craig Dahl almost 11 seasons to accumulate 182 wins — he won’t take long to get numbers 183 and 184. St. Cloud 4-3, 3-1

Colorado College (12-7-2, 7-6-1 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (5-12-3, 5-9-2 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m. AT, Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, AK

For the first time this season, the Colorado College Tigers are unranked, and although that fact shouldn’t worry Don Lucia much, CC’s victimization in Grand Forks might.

It’s no shame to lose at North Dakota — hell, most every team in the WCHA has done it this season or last, and repeatedly. But the Tigers went down hard, by a combined margin of 10-2 in the two games; both times they fell behind early and were stymied by the glove- and stickwork of Sioux goalie sensation Karl Goehring.

"He’s been one of the biggest stories in the league this season," Lucia told the Dakota Student. "In the three games we’ve seen him, he’s just been great….He’s got my vote for Rookie of the Year."

Continued Lucia, "We played well for two of the three periods both nights last weekend, but North Dakota is just too good of a team for us not to play our best for the entire 60 minutes."

Best play or not, though, the UND series fits into a pattern for the Tigers this year. Against weaker teams, CC has been very successful, as one might expect. However, against premium opposition — Maine, North Dakota, St. Cloud and New Hampshire — the Tigers are a combined 0-6-2. That’s not the kind of performance that’ll take you very far in the playoffs.

Now, not to say Colorado College can’t turn up the heat, as the Tigers did last month in a 9-1 thrashing of neighboring Denver. The problem is, they can also shut down completely without warning, like on the very next night — an inexplicable 6-0 beating at the hands of those same Pioneers. CC can score (47 goals in 14 WCHA games), but they can also be scored upon (46 goals against).

Meanwhile, across the ice, the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves have the opposite problem. That is, it’s pretty tough to score on goaltender Doug Teskey (5-8-2, 2.52 GAA, .922 SV%) and the ‘Wolf D. But it’s even tougher for the UAA offense to get started.

Sure, the Seawolves scored five goals to beat Michigan Tech Saturday. But that was only the second time all season that Anchorage has managed more than three goals in a game, and only the fifth time the Seawolves have scored more than two. Before that 5-3 win, UAA had been shut out in consecutive games.

Interestingly, Saturday’s win came one day after the genteel Seawolves’ most penalized game under head coach Dean Talafous: 18 minutes were assessed against UAA Friday night, including the first misconduct penalty for a ‘Wolf under Talafous’ direction (against Duvie Westcott, who came back to score his first career goal, the game-winner, Saturday).

Good news for the Seawolves has been the offensive reawakening of captain Stacy Prevost (2-8–10), who now leads UAA in scoring after a three-assist game Saturday. Prevost, who had suffered through a horrible scoring drought dating back to last season, now has seven points in his last five games.

Picks: The Tigers do have scoring, in the form of junior Brian Swanson (9-16–25) and senior Jason Gudmundson (8-13–21) and resurgent blueliner Scott Swanson (2-13–15). But goaltending after freshman Colin Zulianello (8-4-1, 2.55 GAA, .895 SV%) has been shaky. And the trip to Anchorage is enough to undo the strongest club, which the Tigers are not right now. UAA 3-2, CC 4-1

Denver (4-16-0, 3-11-0 WCHA) at Minnesota (7-13-0, 3-9-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m. CT, Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, MN

If they ever invent time travel, the USCHO editorial staff is going back to April, 1997, walk into the Stardust in Las Vegas, and place a bet that two NCAA tournament teams will be fighting it out for last place with three wins apiece in January.

After they get done staring and asking what he’s talking about, he’ll head back to the present, collect his winnings and retire to a small tax-free island somewhere. Because that’s just where Denver and Minnesota are right now.

The Pioneers are 4-16-0 overall, which matches the second-worst start in school history (the only worse one coming in 1990-91, at 2-16-2). They have exactly one win in two months, a 6-0 drubbing of Colorado College in December.

Much of the problem lies with the defense, specifically in goal. The sophomore tandem of Stephen Wagner (2-8-0, 4.44 GAA, .850 SV%) and Ben Henrich (2-8-0, 4.57 GAA, .846 SV%) has been extremely shaky, especially for a season in which scoring is down league-wide and many goaltenders have save percentages over .900 and goals-against averages below three.

At the other end, the Pioneers have to be doubly relieved that winger Paul Comrie (10-12–22) decided to stay in school. Comrie leads Denver in scoring by a significant margin, and has picked up the pace in recent games.

Unfortunately, few others have joined Comrie in putting the puck in the net, as the Pioneers have just 31 goals in their last 12 games — and 12 of those goals came in two games, only one of which Denver won.

Minnesota, meanwhile, may be righting the ship somewhat. A sweep two weekends ago against Mankato State was the Gophers’ first of the season, bringing them to 3-1-0 after a school-record nine-game losing streak. Unfortunately for Minnesota, the three recent wins all came out of the WCHA, leaving the Gophers still languishing at the bottom of the league standings.

Junior center Wyatt Smith (11-12–23) leads the injury-depleted Gophers in both goals and assists, but he has had assistance lately from co-captain Casey Hankinson (7-5–12), who has eight points in his last four games, including a goal in each one of those contests.

Minnesota will be missing players again this weekend, most notably defenseman Ben Clymer, who is out for the season, and co-captain Ryan Kraft. At one point against Mankato, the Gophers were forced to skate eight forwards after sophomore winger Dave Spehar went to the locker room. That lack should be eased somewhat this week with the return of freshman Aaron Miskovich from the world junior tournament, and Bill Kohn likely to be back in the lineup after a concussion.

And make no mistake — the fans at Mariucci still harbor secret hopes. 7-13-0 or not, the Gophers believe that they can effect a turnaround, and with four of their last five series against Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado College and St. Cloud, this next stretch is critical.

Picks: Minnesota has looked better the last couple of weeks, albeit not against top competition; the return of Miskovich, Kohn and maybe even Kraft will help. Denver, however, looks like its heading nowhere but to the bottom of the WCHA this year, unless Wagner and Henrich can step it up. Minnesota 4-3, 5-2

No. 8 Wisconsin (13-6-1, 10-3-1 WCHA) vs. Nebraska-Omaha (5-14-0 vs. D-I) Friday, 7 p.m. CT, Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI Sunday, 2 p.m. CT, Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, NB

The only WCHA team not in a conference battle this weekend is Wisconsin, which insinuated itself into the thick of the WCHA pennant race with a three-point effort against Minnesota-Duluth last Friday and Saturday.

It could easily have been four, as the Bulldogs overcame a late two-goal deficit to tie Friday’s contest. Despite outshooting UMD 44-31, the Badgers were largely stymied by Bulldog goalie Brant Nicklin, and by an injury to T.R. Moreau midway through the contest.

Steve Reinprecht (11-11–22), the team’s second-leading scorer, also went down momentarily during that game, forcing head coach Jeff Sauer — now the WCHA’s all-time winningest — to reshuffle his lines and slowing the Badger charge.

Nevertheless, the UW-UMD regular-season series ended 3-0-1 in favor of Wisconsin, partly thanks to Reinprecht, the reigning Offensive Player of the Week. The second-line center had a pair of goals and an assist to propel Wisconsin to the 5-3 victory Saturday.

"When you take seven of eight points from a team during the season, you’re doing your job," Sauer said.

Doing their jobs with abandon have been defenseman Craig Anderson (7-17–24) and Reinprecht, who are one-two in both Badger scoring and WCHA scoring. Senior center Joe Bianchi (4-11–15) hasn’t been far behind, either.

But the most pleasant surprise for Sauer’s crew may just be goaltender Mike Valley, who has answered doubters by posting a 2.54 GAA and a .917 SV% which bely his 8-7-1 record. No doubt, Valley has been a capable replacement for the departed Kirk Daubenspeck.

This weekend, Sauer gets to match wits with a former assistant, Nebraska-Omaha head coach Mike Kemp. Kemp leads the Mavericks into Madison on Friday, while the Badgers come a-callin’ two days later in Omaha.

The Mavs are a young squad playing its first season in Division I, and after a solid start, that youth and inexperience have started to show. UNO took decisions from Air Force, Union, Mass-Amherst and Denver en route to a 5-6-0 start in D-I play, but are now mired in an eight-game losing streak during which they have been outscored 35-13.

Leading the Maverick scorers is Derek Reynolds (5-14–19), followed by Billy Pugiliese (9-7–16) and Jason Cupp (10-5–15), who had a two-goal game versus St. Cloud Saturday. Manning the nets most nights is Jason Mitchell (3-10-0, 3.40 GAA, .894 SV%).

Picks: Wisconsin is way too hot for Nebraska-Omaha, which is getting a rough introduction to big-time hockey. The Mavs hang tough for a while, but the Badgers take two. Wisconsin 4-3, 5-1

Charges Against Maine Players Dropped

USCHO Staff Report
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The Penobscot County district attorney’s office announced Tuesday that it will not prosecute University of Maine hockey players Shawn Mansoff and Matt Oliver on charges of criminal threatening.

Mansoff, a sophomore from Edmonton, Alb., and Oliver, a junior from Euclid, Oh., were accused with participating in a racial incident last month in which junior goaltender Bryan Masotta allegedly left a threatening voice-mail message on the answering machine of a black Maine football player.

According to published reports, Mansoff and Oliver have been suspended by the university for one year. Both have appealed Maine’s decision and are awaiting a hearing. All three players remain suspended indefinitely from the hockey team.

Don’t Look Now, But…

By Lisa Morrison and Mike Ward
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It’s January in Ann Arbor, and the University of Michigan Wolverine hockey team sports a 12-2-1 conference record halfway through the CCHA regular season. The Wolverines sit atop the CCHA, in front of the Michigan State University Spartans and the Miami University RedHawks.

A Wolverine icer leads the nation in power-play tallies, and is second in goals and overall scoring. The goalie has set NCAA records for career shutouts and wins.

Expectations are high again as the team focuses on winning the CCHA regular season and conference tournament and — oh, yes — the NCAA championship. Memories of the 1996-97 Michigan dream team led by Brendan Morrison and company, or of the 1995-96 national championship squad?

No, this is the 1997-98 Wolverine hockey team, and pollsters and fans alike are beginning to wonder just how good it is.

Preseason talk had focused on the departing class — among them the Hobey Baker winner in Morrison and another finalist in John Madden, the NCAA’s all-time leader in shorthanded goals; Mike Legg, the owner of the ESPY-winning lacrosse-style goal of the year two seasons ago; a hard-hitting, sniping scorer by the name of Jason Botterill; the muscle of Warren Luhning; and the defensive efforts of Blake Sloan and Harold Schock.

All of those elements led to the winningest program of the 1990s, and all of those positions needed to be filled with new faces. Many in college hockey were unsure how the Wolverines would deal with the challenge — the CCHA preseason coaches’ poll placed Michigan a distant third behind Michigan State and Miami, and fans and experts alike expected a dropoff.

So far, the skeptics are wrong.

Last year’s team garnered 26 points in its first 15 conference games; this year, the sixth-ranked Wolverines have 25 points over the same stretch. Much of that success is due to the performance of assistant captains Bill Muckalt and Marty Turco, whose decisions to stay and play their senior year on a team full of young, inexperienced players have given all concerned a chance to develop into a well-coached, motivated and successful hockey team.

Bill Muckalt turned down an NHL contract with his hometown Vancouver Canucks to play his senior year at Michigan. Muckalt’s 64 points last year were second on the team only to Morrison, and he now hopes to demonstrate that he did more than benefit from playing on the Morrison line.

In fact, Muckalt intends no less than to establish himself as one of the most dominant players in college hockey.

Marty Turco has spent the first half of his senior year showing that he is more than just the beneficiary of playing behind the class of 1997 for the first three years of his career. Turco leads the conference in minutes played and save percentage, and is second in the CCHA in goals-against average. He also holds the NCAA records for shutouts, 13, and career victories with 112.

Incredibly, there is still half of a season for Turco to add to these records.

Perhaps the greatest difference between this team and the 1996-97 squad is its reliance on these two returning players to perform every game. The Wolverines are scoring an average of 3.9 goals a game, compared to 6.5 goals last season. That means that the Wolverines find themselves in close games nearly every weekend.

Evidence? Michigan has played in 11 one-goal contests this season and has come out on top in nine of them. The Wolverines have also managed to pull out three wins and one tie in its four overtime games.

Nevertheless, head coach Red Berenson recognizes that wins don’t come as easily this season as in past years. “This year everything has to be in place,” he says. “Our best players have been our best players night after night. We’re vulnerable, our defense is younger and we don’t have that firepower up front that can keep the puck in the other team’s zone half the game.

“It’s a whole new team chemistry, but our leadership is in place.” Part of that leadership is Turco, who is doing his part to give the Wolverines a chance to win the close games by keeping a GAA of 1.94. Turco recognizes that despite having three consecutive 30-win seasons under his belt, he must take his play to another level this year.

Says Turco, “We expect a lot more shots and defensive breakdowns with so many new young players. I need to stop the puck more often and I need to make more spectacular saves than I have in years past. Before, I could have gotten by on an average season.”

Berenson believes that Turco is up to the challenge. “We have a great goalie in Turco. He has to be a factor in most games at some point and he has been. When there are breakdowns in the game, Turco has to make the difference.

“Turco is now exposed, because he doesn’t have the big defense and the big forwards in front of him. He’s getting more good-quality scoring chances against him than he did last year.”

Berenson recognizes that much of the Wolverines’ success is also due to Muckalt’s maturity and aggressiveness. “He’s been the dominant player in most of our games, and that’s the kind of season he’s been challenged to have [for Michigan to be successful]. One of the reasons that Billy came back this year is to establish himself as one of the premier players in college hockey.”

Berenson believes that Muckalt has adjusted well from simply being a member of the Morrison line to becoming the team’s offensive leader.

“Billy Muckalt is now our feature player. He’s not playing in the shadows of Morrison, Botterill, Madden, Legg and Luhning. Now he’s on his own. Those guys are gone.”

Muckalt embraces the opportunity to step into the spotlight. “I loved playing with Brendan and Jason, but I’m a good player and I can be a good player on my own. I’m not in anybody’s shadow. Each guy has his own turn and I guess it’s mine.

“I’m trying to take advantage of it. I’m just excited coming to the rink to play — and it’s a challenge.”

Muckalt is dominating scoring in the CCHA, having been involved in 42.4 percent of the goals in Michigan’s conference games. Muckalt also accounts for 25.4 percent of the Wolverine goals. In 15 games, Muckalt has 15 goals — five of which were game winners. He also has two hat tricks.

Another major difference between the 1996-97 squad and the present team is the immediate impact of a freshman class of nine. Muckalt believes that team chemistry is progressing enough for this team to contend for the CCHA crown and a bid to the NCAA tournament.

Said Muckalt, “I really like the chemistry and the composition of our team. We’re responding from the freshmen all the way up to the seniors. If we play our best individually and as a team, we’re right there with any team in the nation. This year anybody has a shot.

“We are not rebuilding; we’re reloading.”

Turco agrees, saying that the coaching staff has done much to prepare this inexperienced team for the mental and physical rigors of playing in a conference that has produced the national champion in six of the last 14 years.

“Our character has been shown in all the one-goal games we’ve been in. We’ve been handling the stress and the outside influences very well. That’s a tribute to our coaches. They’ve done a great job. They’ve done a lot more teaching this year.”

Both Turco and Muckalt recognize the importance of strong senior leadership on this young team.

States Turco, “As a senior, as a captain, you really concern yourself with what’s going on with the team in general on and off the ice. You take guys under your wing.”

Adds Muckalt, “As a senior you need to lead by example on and off the ice. Leading by example is better than saying things. That’s what Mike Knuble did for me. That’s one thing our senior class has tried to do. We back up what we say on and off the ice. That’s the most effective way — that’s the Michigan way.”

Whether this “reloading” Michigan team has the firepower to shoot its way into its sixth Final Four appearance in seven years remains to be seen. However, one thing is certain.

Bill Muckalt and Marty Turco will be leading the way.

Promoting the Passion

By
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The Latrell Sprewell incident was in high gear. Sports talk shows, like those on Boston’s WEEI radio, were discussing nothing but the case of the basketball star who choked his own coach. Then, crackling over the airwaves, came the Sports Flash, WEEI’s 20-minute update.

“Merrimack Warriors hockey coach Ron Anderson announced that Cris Classen will be starting in goal tonight against top-ranked Boston University. Said Anderson, ‘It was the proper, ethical thing to do.'”

Of course, Anderson had said no such thing. The sound bite had used an authentic Warriors quote, one that had already been heard on the show, but one of the Golden State Warriors discussing their disciplinary actions against Sprewell rather than the Merrimack Warriors discussing their goaltending rotation.

The culprit behind the humorous injection of college hockey into the discussion had been Sean Grande, WEEI’s Sports Director and Hockey East’s new play-by-play announcer.

“Hey, we gotta get college hockey some airtime, too,” he says with the grin of the class clown who has slipped a whoopee cushion into the teacher’s chair.

Grande, who teams with former UNH All-American Cap Raeder on Sportschannel New England Game of the Week broadcasts, is pretty much the lone missionary for college hockey on Boston’s all-sports talk radio station. Dale Arnold, a WEEI host and Boston Bruins broadcaster, champions the sport of hockey in general, but Grande is the collegiate game’s voice.

“Why don’t you talk about college hockey?”

Given his position, some wonder why Grande doesn’t get more than the occasional reference to the sport on the air.

“In college hockey circles,” he says, “I hear it all the time. ‘Why don’t you talk about college hockey?’ The answer to that question is very simple. We’re not the newspaper.

“In a newspaper, once people buy the paper they can read anything they want. The paper has accomplished its goal of having you buy the paper. A radio station requires listeners, the most listeners possible, and that means talking about the headline issue that day.

“I’ve been ripped at the station, mostly in jest, about trying to interject college hockey. It does take a lot of pleading. Last year, I remember going on all day long for people to watch the BU-Michigan national semifinal game. It turns out it was rewarding because the next day people were talking about it on the air. ‘That was a great game last night. What a great game. What a great story that was.’

“Sometimes you can push your own agenda like that. But during football season, that’s not going to happen. We have to talk about college hockey and grow it, and make people aware of the game to the point where it is what most people want talked about.”

“Is women’s college basketball a better product than college hockey?”

Making college hockey more visible to the masses — making it what most people want talked about — is easier said than done.

“Television is very important,” says Grande. “I’m going to get myself in trouble here, but in college hockey there are two mentalities. The prevailing one among the people already in it is that we’ve got the greatest thing going…and if other people don’t care about it and if we don’t become popular in the mass media or nationally, who cares, because we have it and we love it. That is the prevailing attitude.

“I think you encounter that in any profession — the fear of exposing what you have and becoming bigger — because everything is very manageable now. College hockey is very manageable.

“[The other attitude] is, we have the greatest product in the world. Let’s wake everybody else up.

“It is just a shame to me to see the proliferation of college basketball games on national television [while college hockey gets so little]. I love the game of basketball, but sometimes you shake your head.

“I’ll get myself in more trouble now. Women’s college basketball. Title IX is a very important thing. It’s very significant. I think women’s athletics are great and I wish them all the success in the world.

“But is women’s college basketball a better product than college hockey? Their championship game is on national television. Their game is on constantly. Their game is on this weekend. But you can’t find a college hockey game. You just can’t.”

So then, how can the sport best showcase itself in its limited TV exposure?

“We’ve got to make it exciting,” says Grande. “The Western leagues are very much ahead of the Eastern leagues in television coverage. They know exactly what they want to do. They present their game very well. They do a lot of unique things with sound — miking referees and miking coaches. It’s very interactive. That’s the kind of stuff we want to get involved in.”

It hasn’t taken the SportsChannel team long to implement that idea. In its first broadcast, the Jan. 10 game between Boston College and Maine, viewers got to hear, for example, Black Bear coach Shawn Walsh’s late-game instructions, exhorting his troops to avoid high turnovers at all costs.

Of course, conveying the unique atmosphere of a college hockey game has limitations, too. Miking the referee and coaches may work well, but miking the crowd itself could broadcast some chants better left off the airwaves.

“You do it more visually,” says Grande. “People bring signs to the rivalry games. Give viewers a flavor of what’s out there. I tell you, I’m not much of a cook, nor was anyone in my family, but before I got to BU I didn’t know what a sieve was.

“There are some unique things to college hockey. College hockey has all the great things that the other college sports have, that college football has and college basketball has. Things that the NHL could never have. And it’s hockey. It’s a very unique product.”

A product with major stars like Chris Drury, Jason Krog, Marty Reasoner and Steve Kariya. While trying to convey the rivalries and atmosphere inherent to college hockey, should the broadcast team also be looking to trumpet its top individual attractions?

“While marketing the individuals is something that probably should be done more of, remember that SportsChannel and Fox New England are going to be doing these games long after Chris Drury and the individual players are gone,” says Grande. “You want to establish an identity with those players, because [that will help] when they’re playing in the NHL.

“But if you want to stress individuals that are going to put the league over and help raise consciousness about the league regionally and nationally, let’s talk about Paul Kariya. Let’s talk about Brian Leetch. Let’s talk about Tony Amonte.

“I would like to see more connection between college hockey and the NHL. You may see highlights [on NHL broadcasts] of players when they played in the league. You may see Shawn McEachern scoring the winning goal in the championship game against Garth Snow. Hey, you know these two guys now; well, they were involved in a great Hockey East moment.

“The NHL’s stance, naturally, is ‘What can you do for us?’ We can do a lot for them. Has college basketball helped the NBA? Sure it has. It isn’t the same thing because of the other sources of players playing in the NHL, but [the basis for mutual benefit is still there].”

The personalities of a broadcast team can also go a long way to maximizing the entertainment viewers can experience. Grande’s quick wit, a major-league 98-mile-an-hour fastball if there ever was one, shines through.

In the initial SportsChannel broadcast, Grande and Raeder were faced with a unique challenge — making an inherently-boring scoreless tie interesting. With Maine missing a boatload of players for various reasons, Walsh employed a defensive-shell style of play, so much so that after the contest ended, he opened his comments to the press with, “Sorry to have to bore you guys to death, but that’s what we had to do.”

Although the assumption holds that most games will sell themselves, this one needed an entertainment injection by the broadcast team. Not everyone can make a 0-0 game interesting. SportsChannel viewers were not let down.

As the game neared the end of regulation, Grande noted that BC’s last scoreless tie was against Fordham in 1920. He then turned to Raeder and asked, “So what was that game like, Cap?”

Minutes later, when BC’s Brian Gionta leaped over Maine goaltender Alfie Michaud to avoid a collision while the netminder covered up the puck, Grande improvised. “Gionta be nimble. Gionta be quick. Gionta jumped over Michaud’s stick.”

Though not quite sufficient to put him in the Hall of Fame, that quip was but one example that Hockey East got the right guy.

“I would like to think that Cap and I will have a lot of fun, be entertaining and people will want to listen,” he says, “but this is not the Sean Grande and Cap Raeder show. This is about college hockey and exposing the product and being excited about what’s going on.”

“When you with fall in love with something, you gobble it up”

Grande came to the collegiate game comparatively late, but made up for lost time in a hurry.

“Someday my mother will release them to humiliate me, but there are tapes of me doing play-by-play off the television when I was five or six years old,” says Grande. “From the time when I was 12, [when] I realized that I wasn’t going to play second base for the Mets, I knew my only shot at the major leagues was play-by-play.”

So Grande headed off to BU and discovered college hockey accidentally.

“The first game I went to was a BU-BC game in Walter Brown Arena in 1987,” he recalls. “Dan Shea scored the winning goal for BC. It was a sellout crowd and an unbelievable atmosphere. I had always loved hockey growing up as a Ranger fan, but the college game hadn’t meant anything to me.

“But after that first game, it became a passion. When you fall in love with something, you gobble it up. You take in everything. You read everything there is to read.

“I’d go to the library to research some paper I was writing, do five minutes of research, and then look at old Boston Globe stuff on the [ECAC] playoffs in 1978 and the national championship.”

By his junior year, he was broadcasting the BU games on the student station and “majoring in college hockey.” Luck was with him, because that season, 1989-90, marked the Terriers’ turnaround after two consecutive losing campaigns. Then, in his senior year, BU — with players like Tony Amonte, Shawn McEachern, Keith Tkachuk, Peter Ahola and Scott Lachance — lost the now-legendary triple-overtime national championship game to Northern Michigan, 8-7.

“I don’t know what I’ll accomplish, or what level I’ll get to, or how many games I’ll end up doing at the major league level, or whatever will happen to me as an announcer, but I doubt if anything will mean as much to me as doing the national championship game in ’91,” says Grande.

“It was a game I ended up doing by myself because the station couldn’t afford to send my partner out. So I ended up doing a four-hour hockey game by myself up there in St. Paul. It was a great thrill. To this date, I can rattle off the lines for Northern Michigan.

“It was an unbelievable night. When you’re a student covering a team, it’s like you’re a player. You don’t know if you’re going to get to the next level or not. You don’t know if you’re going to continue as a professional, so that game means everything to you.”

“You can’t make a living broadcasting college hockey games”

From there, Grande interned at WEEI until “they felt sorry for me, so they gave me a job,” worked behind the scenes while learning the business, and capitalized on the broadcasting assignments that came his way. Over time, a Beanpot gig with Arnold on WEEI led to broadcasting BU games on WABU-TV68, which led to being considered for openings this past summer broadcasting either the Boston Bruins or Boston Celtics.

When neither of the two opportunities with the professional teams worked out, Grande was available for the SportsChannel job. Although the position wasn’t his first choice and the “major leagues” are his ultimate objective, he didn’t view broadcasting Hockey East games as simply a launching pad to the big time.

“From the time I was 12 years old, my goal has been to make it to major-league level,” he says. “It’s my goal and it’s always been my goal.

“You can’t make a living broadcasting college hockey games. There’s just not enough of them. But college hockey in general, and Hockey East in particular, are separate from my stepping-stone agenda.

“Doing this particular job is different for me because of my emotional attachment to it. There are other jobs that I’ve done where it was more of stepping-stone situation. You’re always passionate about what you do, and I’m passionate about play-by-play in any game that I do.

“But, [for example,] I did the [minor league] Providence Bruins once when they were doing fill-in games a few years ago [during the NHL strike]. That was about getting work at that level and performing at that level.

“There’s always a bigger picture in the back of your mind. But this is separate for me, because it’s been such a passion of mine. My ideal situation would be to become a major-league broadcaster and still be able to do college hockey is well. You could certainly do that in baseball or football.”

Recently he hit the big time, at least for one game, filling in on play-by-play for a Celtics radio broadcast when the regular announcer couldn’t get back to Boston because of a snowstorm.

Until such random occurrences become the routine, however, Grande will continue with his odd marriage of sports talk radio and play-by-play announcer.

“Especially in this part of the country where [sports talk] has become increasingly negative and satirical, it’s like having your left foot and your right foot both planted, and there’s an earthquake and two sides separate and you’re being pulled apart,” he says. “It’s a little bit difficult now to do both just because of the nature of it.

“The station in general, and the show that I’m on in particular, are just about entertainment. We love the games, but it’s about doing some Latrell Sprewell jokes, some Mike Tyson jokes and some bits about Michael Irvin. We’ve gone in this direction and ratings have been phenomenal. It’s an interesting dual life.”

“Is playing on TV a reward? Yeah, it’s a reward”

SportsChannel’s emphasis on the marquee schools in its schedule at the expense of others — most notably Merrimack and UMass-Amherst, both of whom were omitted — raised the hackles on some necks around the league.

“If the package only includes nine games in the regular season, which is the plan, it’s going to be hard to create a situation where getting everybody on is a priority,” says Grande. “Remember that SportsChannel is putting itself in this position knowing that this was a money-loser for NESN. Despite that, they still want to jump in the boat.

“So, number one, you’ve got to understand the commitment for SportsChannel — and it should be — is to put the best game on. Is playing on TV a reward? Yeah, it’s a reward.

“Number two, if the league or schools raise money, more games can be on. That remains a possibility, too.

“The one-word answer to the situation is patience. There’s a big picture and this is a three-year deal. We’re trying to accomplish something for the whole league.

“If it means that BU, BC and Maine are going to be on three, four or five times this year, understand that there’s a reason for it. It’s not like it’s going to be that way forever. That’s not the intention, because that doesn’t help anybody either. We want every team to be marketable and every team to be attractive on television, but that takes patience.”

Michigan Goalie Turco Breaks Collegiate Win Mark

USCHO Staff Report
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With Michigan’s 4-2 victory Friday night over Bowling Green, Wolverine netminder Marty Turco earned his 112th career win, topping the record of 111 previously held by Steve Shields, Turco’s predecessor at Michigan.

Turco, in his senior year with the Wolverines, was honored with a plaque commemorating his achievement after stopping 14 shots on the evening. Said Turco, “[The record] wasn’t a dream come true, but it was self-gratifying. It’s more a reflection on the program.

“I never wanted the focus on me and now that it is done with, the focus can go back on the team.”

Sixth-ranked Michigan is 17-4-1 on the season and stands at 12-2-1 in-conference, atop the CCHA.

This Week in the ECAC: January 9, 1998

By Becky Blaeser & Jayson Moy
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The past weekend saw Vermont achieve its first conference victory of the season; in fact, the Catamounts garnered their first two ECAC wins.

Yale took sole possession of first place with a sweep of Rensselaer and Union. Brown, Harvard and Princeton each picked up victories, and Rensselaer gathered one point. Union and Dartmouth were the hard-luck losers on the weekend, both getting swept.

Last week’s predictions: 4-10 Note: Last weekend, this writer became the first in USCHO history to correctly predict a tie. Yes, I am patting myself on the back for that one — everyone else is shooting me for my other picks. And by the way, I didn’t predict Northeastern to win the Mariucci Classic.

Year to date: 57-46, .553, 3rd

Yale (11-3-0, 8-1-0 ECAC, 1st) and Princeton (9-3-4, 3-3-3 ECAC, T-4th) at Vermont (5-9-2, 2-3-2 ECAC, T-8th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, Vt. Princeton (9-3-4, 3-3-3 ECAC, T-4th) and Yale (11-3-0, 8-1-0 ECAC, 1st) at Dartmouth (4-5-3, 1-4-1 ECAC, 12th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Thompson Arena, Hanover, N.H.

Vermont was a big winner the past weekend with two wins, 4-2 over Brown and 4-3 versus Harvard — the first two for the Catamounts in the ECAC this year.

"We’ve played a couple of pretty good games and this gives us a good feeling," said head coach Mike Gilligan. "All during the week now during practice, it will give us some confidence for the next weekend."

The sweep came on the heels of a disappointing Sheraton/US Airways tournament, a tournament in which the Cats lost both of their games. But That tourney came on the heels of a one-month layoff for Vermont.

"The break was too long," said Gilligan. "We stood around in our own building and were beaten soundly by Providence and Bowling Green. I think that we finally got going last weekend. The competition is what finally got us going."

Speaking of going, freshman goaltender Andrew Allen picked up both wins, and for his efforts was named ECAC Rookie of the Week as well as ECAC Goaltender of the Week.

And not only the wins and the honors: Allen had the game-winning goal against Harvard. After a centering pass by Harvard’s Henry Higdon went the length of the ice and into an empty net, Allen, the last Cat to touch the puck, was given credit for the goal.

"(Allen’s) been real strong and he’s only really had one so-so game," said Gilligan. "He’s greatly improving as the season goes on. Right now he’s the number-one goaltender because of his play and because of the fact that (James) Tierney’s condition — where he’s sore after every game and unable to go every weekend."

Dartmouth impressed many people when it won the Sheraton/US Airways Classic over the holiday break. When the Big Green returned to ECAC action, they lost two games, including Friday to Harvard.

"The way the team performed, I really can’t ask much more," said head coach Bob Gaudet. "We generated some good offense and we’ve been playing well lately. Were getting there. It just would have been nice to win (Friday)."

The next evening, the Big Green came from behind to force overtime, but were stymied by Brown in the extra session.

Gaudet believes that his team is ready to go on a roll, and since he has taken over, the team has consistently gotten better efforts and performances as the season has gone by.

Yale is sitting atop the ECAC and its lead is expanding. After a weekend sweep of Rensselaer and Union, Yale had a four-point edge on idle Colgate.

"That’s the team that’s been beating Clarkson and winning at Lynah Rink," said head coach Tim Taylor. "We can be pretty strong defensively and we’ve been managing to hold everybody’s top players in check all year. A lot of that credit goes to Ray Giroux and Daryl Jones. I usually try to get them out there against the top lines. It’s been the key to our success."

The Bulldogs not only have been sitting atop the ECAC because of defense, but also has gotten some offense to go with the defensive pressure.

"I think that’s the way we have to play, and we know it," said Taylor about his teams performance over the weekend. "I was thrilled that we got four goals. One of our goals for each game is to score four, (and when we do) we should win.

We’ve had a lot of games this year which were 2-1, 3-2, and we’ve had problems scoring four goals. Then when we spot a team two goals like we did against Lake Superior, the guys realize that it’s a big mountain to climb. This was more of our style. We shut them down and that got the momentum going and made us believe in ourselves again."

Princeton picked up three points on the weekend in the ECAC after a stunning upset of number-one Boston University last Tuesday evening. The Tigers fell behind in both games last weekend, but came back to defeat Union and tie Rensselaer.

"We showed some character, we battled from two goals down and we gave ourselves a chance to win the game," said head coach Don Cahoon about Saturday’s tie. "We battled from being down one goal (against Union) to grind out a win, and we battled from behind on Tuesday night. (Those} are three games in a row where we showed some character."

The ECAC’s overall leading scorer, Jeff Halpern, scored the insurance tally in the win over Union and the game-tying goal against Rensselaer. Halpern has seven goals and nine assists in his last nine games and leads the league with 25 points (12-13).

PICKS: Yale at Vermont: The two-game Cat winning streak is broken. Yale 4, Vermont 2 Princeton at Dartmouth: The Tigers extend their unbeaten streak. Princeton 4, Dartmouth 1 Princeton at Vermont: See above for Princeton. Princeton 5, Vermont 2 Yale at Dartmouth: Yale keeps first place, and is pulling away. Yale 3, Dartmouth 1

Harvard (5-8-2, 5-4-1 ECAC, 3rd) and Brown (3-11-0, 3-7-0 ECAC, T-8th) at Rensselaer (8-7-1, 3-4-1 ECAC, 7th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Houston Fieldhouse, Troy, N.Y. Brown (3-11-0, 3-7-0 ECAC, T-8th) and Harvard (5-8-2, 5-4-1 ECAC, 3rd) at Union (3-12-2, 2-5-1 ECAC, T-10th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 – 7 pm, Achilles Rink, Schenectady, N.Y.

Harvard comes into this weekend without all-everything goaltender J.R. Prestifilippo. He came down with a case of mononucleosis, and is out indefinitely. Without Prestifilippo last week, the Crimson split a pair of games, defeating Dartmouth and losing to Vermont.

"J.R. wasn’t at the top of his game in Wisconsin and when we came back home and had him tested, we found out why," head coach Ronn Tomassoni said Friday. "And plus, we have not had an easy schedule thus far. It seems like every time we’re playing someone, they are either ranked in the top ten or coming off a high, so (Dartmouth) was a huge win for us.

"Considering all the things that have happened to us in the past week, this was a big win for us," Tomassoni added. "The kids hung in there tough and showed a lot of character once again, but his time it was a ‘W’ — and it’s always better when it’s a ‘W.’"

The next evening the Crimson allowed a goal with a minute to go in the game against Vermont which broke a 2-2 tie. Two more were scored after that, but unfortunately for the Crimson, each team had one.

"I thought that we were just outstanding in that third period," Tomassoni said. "That may have been our best period of the year, but unfortunately we don’t have a lot to show for it."

Brown recovered to win in overtime against Dartmouth on Saturday evening. The Bears held a two-goal lead with 4:07 remaining in the third period but the Big Green came back to tie it. The previous evening, the Bears dropped a 4-2 decision to Vermont in the first game between Vermont coach Mike Gilligan and his former assistant, Roger Grillo.

Damian Prescott was named the ECAC Player of the Week for his efforts on the weekend. Prescott figured in the scoring on six of the eight Bear goals, with three goals and three assists. The six points moved Prescott into third place in league scoring with 14 points (8-6).

The arrival of Mike Bent is paying dividends already for the Bears. Bent had a goal and an assist in the Mariucci Classic, and assists on both Brown goals Friday.

Union is 0-4-1 in its last five games — losses to Princeton and Yale this past weekend, a loss and a tie to Mankato State, and a loss to Colgate. The Dutchmen have scored just 10 goals in that span.

Mark Szucs has goals in three of the last four games, and Charlie Moxham scored two in the loss to Yale on Saturday. The Dutchmen have played 17 games, but not one player is in the top 25 in overall scoring. Freshman Bryan Yackel is the leading scorer with 11 points (3-8).

In the ECAC, only one Dutchman has more than three points, freshman Clark Jones (2-3–5). Meanwhile, Moxham’s two goals this past weekend give him the team lead with three. Only three other players have three points — Yackel (1-2–3), Brent Ozarowski (2-1–3), and Mark Will (0-3–3).

Trevor Koenig is ranked 20th in the NCAA in save percentage. This could be a little deceiving because Koenig has faced 113 shots in the last three games, allowing 11 goals. Over 12 games, Koenig has made an average of 32.2 saves per game. In the ECAC, Koenig has played every single contest, and has an average of 30.63 saves per game.

Rensselaer gained one point in the ECAC this past weekend with a loss to Yale and a tie against Princeton. Head coach Dan Fridgen was not pleased with the weekend swing.

"We as a team have to realize that if we are going to win games we have to play as a team collectively," he said. "In order for us to be successful everybody’s got to be come ready to play, and play well, and be efficient. We’ve got to be more efficient, from capitalizing in penalties to playing well in our zone."

Despite the way the weekend went, Fridgen isn’t necessarily planning a shakeup.

"I don’t think it’s a matter of changing things up," he countered. "It’s a matter of staying on track with what we have, and maybe we’ll revamp or remold it a little bit, but as far as to what we are trying to accomplish, it’s not going to change much there."

The ECAC’s second-leading scorer, Alain St. Hilaire, went down with an injury against Princeton. His status was unknown at press time. St. Hilaire is a bulwark of the offense for the Engineers, but Fridgen wants others to pick up the scoring load.

"You can’t look for certain guys to score all the time," he said. "This is a team where we need some balance. If we’re not getting balance, we’re not going to win hockey games. If we’re not getting balanced scoring, then we have to prevent goals."

PICKS: Harvard at Rensselaer: Home cooking is what the Engineers need. Rensselaer 7, Harvard 3 Brown at Union: I bet you I can do it two weeks in a row. Brown 3, Union 3 Brown at Rensselaer: The Engineers here as well. Rensselaer 6, Brown 4 Harvard at Union: The Crimson continue in the top half of the league. Harvard 4, Union 1

New Hampshire(14-4-1, 6-3-1 Hockey East, 2nd) and UMass-Lowell(8-8-2, 5-5-2 Hockey East, T-4th) at St. Lawrence (3-11-1, 2-4-1 ECAC, T-10th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Appleton Arena, Canton, N.Y. UMass-Lowell (8-8-2, 5-5-2 Hockey East, T-4th) and New Hampshire (14-4-1, 6-3-1 Hockey East, 2nd) at Clarkson (8-5-2, 4-2-1 ECAC, T- 4th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Cheel Arena, Potsdam, N.Y.

St. Lawrence is coming off of two losses at the Great Lakes Invitational, in which the Saints faced a team in the top ten in Michigan and battled tough in a consolation loss to Michigan Tech.

"We took a couple of bad penalties and made a couple of coverage mistakes that cost us, but at least we were able to snap out of it a little bit offensively," said head coach Joe Marsh. "It was a good experience for us, and hopefully one we can build on to come up with a strong finishing run."

SLU goaltender Eric Heffler earned an all-tournament spot, but did not win a game.

"Heff gave us a chance to win those games, and you can’t ask for more than that from a goaltender," said Marsh. "He has been playing with a lot of confidence and playing very well. He got hurt a little bit late in the second period against Michigan, but played through it and had a strong third period.

"He showed us and the folks in Detroit a lot, and the all-tourney spot is a reflection of just how impressive he was. There were a couple of potential All-Americas in Michigan’s Marty Turco and Michigan State’s Chad Alban, who both played very well, but you don’t see many performances like the one Eric turned in."

The Saints record is not very impressive, but Marsh paints a different story, one of how the Saints will head into the rest of the season.

"When people look at our record, they think we are struggling…but we’ve really played some competitive games against some very good competition," he said. "Sure, it would be great to have won a few of these games, and I think we are all a little frustrated because we have come close so many times, but they will help us down the road.

"If we can continue to play at the level we are playing, we’ll get our share of wins in the stretch run. We’re going to gear it up for New Hampshire and Lowell, and then really concentrate on making a move in the ECAC standings. There is a lot of hockey left, and I think we can make a big move."

Clarkson rebounded with a consolation victory over Niagara in the Syracuse Invitational after losing to Minnesota-Duluth in the opening round.

The past few games for the Golden Knights may have ignited a goaltender controversy. One of the best in the nation, Dan Murphy, has struggled all season, and in the last few games, senior Chris Bernard has played well.

Bernard has won his last four starts, against Boston College, Harvard, Brown and Niagara — the only starts in his career. Coincidentally, those are the Clarkson wins in the last five games. So the big question is: Who is in goal for Clarkson this coming weekend?

"I couldn’t tell you because it’s day-to-day right now," said head coach Mark Morris.

So there is a controversy — or maybe there isn’t.

"No, there isn’t a controversy," said Morris emphatically. "Sure, Dan Murphy’s been watching Chris Bernard play goal and it’s a little different. Every time you are faced with a different challenge. Chemistry is altered and you have to find the right chemistry, and each year you hope that your team can gain."

New Hampshire keeps rolling along, despite losing to Miami in the Denver Cup championship. The Wildcats earned a weekend off after topping Colorado College 5-3, dropping the title tilt to the RedHawks 4-2, and winning a New Year’s Eve battle, 6-2 at Nebraska-Omaha.

UMass-Lowell took an 8-4 decision over Merrimack this past Sunday in a wild game which saw 15 different River Hawks put up points during the bombardment.

For more information on the Wildcats and River Hawks please refer to the Hockey East preview.

PICKS: New Hampshire at St. Lawrence: St. Lawrence loses to another top-ten team. New Hampshire 5, St. Lawrence 3 UMass-Lowell at Clarkson: The Knights take this one. Clarkson 5, UMass-Lowell 2 UMass-Lowell at St. Lawrence: Home ice. St. Lawrence 4, UMass-Lowell 3 New Hampshire at Clarkson: Clarkson has been hot, but not here. New Hampshire 6, Clarkson 4

Cornell (7-4-1, 4-3-1 ECAC, T-4th) vs. Colgate (11-5-0, 8-2-0 ECAC, 2nd)(Non-Conference Game) Saturday, 6 pm, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, N.Y. Colgate (11-5-0, 8-2-0 ECAC, 2nd) at Merrimack (7-10-1, 2-7-0 Hockey East, 8th) Sunday, 2 pm, Volpe Center, North Andover, Mass.

How did this one come about? A non-conference game on Long Island, of all places?

This is the first of three meetings between the Big Red and the Red Raiders in the span of nine days. The two travel partners are playing a preliminary-round game before their war in ECAC league play next weekend.

Colgate lost to UMass-Lowell 7-1 on Friday evening, falling behind 3-0 after one period, and not faring much better in the second en route to the loss. The Red Raiders bounced back on Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 win at Providence. The league’s scoring leader, Jed Whitchurch, had a hand in all three goals, all on the power play.

Cornell finished fifth in the Gryphon Invitational. The Big Red lost in the first round to the defending CIAU champions Guelph, falling behind 3-1 at the end of the first period as head coach Mike Schafer was ejected from that game. The Big Red came back to defeat Wilfred Laurier and then Waterloo to capture the fifth-place finish.

Merrimack comes off of a shellacking by UMass-Lowell last Sunday, and this coming weekend’s tilt with Colgate seems to indicate one thing — Air Vaughan versus Air Anderson. Merrimack boasts the nation’s goals-per-game leader in Kris Porter (1.22 goals per game), and Colgate has the ECAC’s leading attack offensively.

For more on Merrimack please refer to the Hockey East preview.

PICKS: Cornell vs. Colgate: Sit down — I can’t see past the hair spray in your hair! Cornell 3, Colgate 2 Colgate at Merrimack: Will the red light be burned out? Merrimack 8, Colgate 6

Next week, it’s going to get slow again, with only a few ECAC games.

(ECAC Games in bold) Friday, January 16 Dartmouth at St. Lawrence Vermont at Clarkson Northeastern at Brown

Saturday, January 17 Vermont at St. Lawrence Dartmouth at Clarkson Rensselaer at Union Colgate at Cornell Yale at UMass-Lowell

Monday, January 19 Cornell at Colgate

Badgers’ Moreau Taken to Hospital After Hit

USCHO Staff Report
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Wisconsin forward T.R. Moreau was taken off the ice on a stretcher at the Dane County Coliseum on Friday night after a Minnesota-Duluth forward checked him into the boards during a WCHA hockey game.

At 15:02 of the first period, Moreau, a sophomore from Rockford, Ill., skated into a corner behind his own net, and was forechecked cleanly by UMD forward Joe Rybar. Television replays showed that after Moreau’s waist hit the board, his head whiplashed into the glass.

After lying approximately 15 minutes face-down on the ice, Moreau was wheeled out the Coliseum’s north exit on a stretcher. Accompanied by his parents, Ronald and SueAnn, he appeared to be breathing regularly. X-rays on Moreau’s neck were negative, but he was to undergo further testing at the University of Wisconsin hospital.

Moreau has four goals and one assist on the season, including the Badgers’ first goal Friday night.

USCHO WCHA reporter Scott Tappa contributed this report.

This Week in Hockey East: January 9, 1998

By
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And it’s pouring media this week, as Sports Channel New England (soon to be Fox New England) begins its Hockey East Game of the Week on Saturday with a Boston College-Maine clash. Look for an upcoming interview with play-by-play announcer Sean Grande and color analyst Cap Raeder.

Adding to the exposure will be a new addition, a Hockey East AudioNet Game of the Week. Opening with Friday’s Maine-Merrimack game, Hockey East becomes the first collegiate conference in any sport to sponsor an exclusive Internet-only broadcast package. Kudos to Commissioner Joe Bertagna and Director of Media Relations Ed Saunders, who

expressed interest in this outlet at the beginning of the year and followed through on it.

On the ice, UMass-Lowell earned all the headlines last weekend, smacking around Colgate 7-1 and Merrimack 8-4. Coach Tim Whitehead will be a millionaire if he can bottle whatever he concocted for a New Year’s punch for the River Hawks.

Lowell’s Greg Koehler earned Koho/Hockey East Player of the Week honors with four goals and four assists. Teammate Jeff Boulanger walked away with the league’s Rookie of the Week award with three goals and three assists.

Last week’s record in picks: 5-5 (and it could have been much worse)

Season’s record in picks: 75-40

No. 1 Boston University (12-2-2, 5-1-2 HEA) at Boston College (11-6-2, 5-4-1 HEA)

Friday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA WABU-TV68

Boston University hung onto its No. 1 ranking by the skin of its teeth following a 3-2 loss to Princeton (despite a 32-18 shot advantage) and a 6-2 win over Niagara. No. 2 North Dakota actually garnered more first-place votes, but the Terriers squeaked by with 264 points to 261 for the Fighting Sioux.

This week’s resumption of hostilities with arch-rival BC and then Providence — both teams who have earned top-ten support this year — could clear the muddy waters of who is number one, especially since North Dakota hosts No. 8 Colorado College for two games.

The BU-BC matchup, their last this year until either the Beanpot championship game or the postseason, promises to be another great contest. In early December, BC outplayed BU for significant parts of a 5-1 loss, but saw the game turn on a second period in which the Eagles outshot the Terriers 15-3, only to be outscored 2-0. The following night back at Walter Brown Arena, BC held a 3-2 lead until Mike Sylvia’s tying six-on-four goal.

"We’re 18-1-4 against them the last few years," says BU coach Jack Parker. "If you looked at all those games, you’d be amazed at how many were so close. If you look back in the history of the series, there’s been times when BC has won 10 in a row.

"It’s almost like when we play each other, it’s a flip of the coin. Sometimes the heads comes up 10 times in a row. It seems like it should be 50-50, and in the long run it will be. I think we’ve played each other almost 200 times and each has almost a hundred wins.

"We’re fortunate that we’re in the streak right now, no question about that. When they break it, it’ll be a relief for them. Obviously, they will break it. I just hope it’s not the next game."

The Terriers go into the game banged up. Greg Quebec is expected out for the season following ankle surgery. Albie O’Connell has not played the last two games because of a shoulder injury and won’t be back until next weekend against Northeastern. However, Juha Vuori, who missed the Niagara game, will play.

Boston College was off last week, following a 3-2 loss to Northern Michigan in the Bank One Badger Showdown opener and a 6-6 tie with Harvard in the consolation game. The Eagles fell off the top 10 map after the tournament, which perhaps is unfair considering that they were without four of their top players.

Their number-two, -three and -four scorers, Brian Gionta, Jeff Farkas and defenseman Mike Mottau, were all with the U.S. Junior team, where they certainly distinguished themselves. Farkas led all scoring in the tournament with six goals and four assists in seven games; Gionta finished fifth with five goals and three assists. The pair were the United States’ top two scorers, while Mottau finish fourth on the team behind Michigan State’s Mike York.

A fourth Eagle, Bobby Allen, would have been a lock to make the team but was sidelined with an injured shoulder. He returns to action this week.

Considering the absences, BC’s tournament performance was not as disappointing as it might have seemed on the surface.

"We were very competitive in both games," says coach Jerry York. "We had some holes to fill with the three missing World Junior players and Bobby Allen’s injury, but went right to the wire with Northern Michigan and they have a fine team. We would have liked to have capitalized on more goal-scoring opportunities. It was a very tight, defensive battle.

"The next night, goals came a lot easier for us. They were harder to defend, but they came easier. It was a wide-open, offensive affair by both teams. That’s what happens often in consolation games, particularly of Christmas tournaments."

Freshman Mike Lephart distinguished himself in the consolation game with a hat trick, the first for any Eagle this year, earning him last week’s Hockey East’s Rookie of the Week award.

"Mike has certainly improved as the season has gone along," says York. "He played on a line with Marty Reasoner and Blake Bellefeuille" — a line he’ll stay on this week — "so that should help his point production. Those are two really good players to play with."

Gionta, who had played with Reasoner all season before leaving for the junior tournament, will now play with Farkas. York has given both a few days of recuperation; they traveled back from the tournament on Sunday, but won’t return to practice until Wednesday. Andy Powers will join the two on the left side.

The goaltending trio of Scott Clemmensen (3.25 GAA, .867 SV%), Andy McLaughlin (3.79 GAA, .858 SV%) and Mike Correia (no games due to a hamstring injury) continues to be the biggest BC question. McLaughlin got the hook after giving up five goals in the first half of the tie with Harvard.

"Andy fought the puck that night," says York. "There’s no question about that, but he’s played well for us during the year.

"It’s going to be a week-by-week process with the goaltending. Mike has practiced and we’re trying to get him into a hockey game, but he’s gone almost a full year without playing in a game situation. That makes it tough when all the games are so important for us."

As a result, Clemmensen will get the start against the Terriers. Depending on his performance, he could also get the nod the following night against Maine.

"We’d certainly like to even up the season’s series with BU with a well-earned win," says York. "But they’re an outstanding hockey team. We’ll have to be at the top of our game. With Maine the next night, it’s going to be quite a weekend of hockey here at BC."

PICK: The Eagles will not only play as well as they did in the first two games against BU, they’ll also get the W, 4-3.

Northeastern (12-5-2, 6-3-2 HEA) at

Providence College (11-5-1, 5-3-0 HEA)

Providence College (11-5-1, 5-3-0 HEA) at No. 1 Boston University (12-2-2, 5-1-2 HEA)

Friday, 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI

Saturday, 7 p.m., Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA

Northeastern followed up its Mariucci Classic championship with another one, this time in the Saskatoon Chill Out. After dropping a Thursday-night exhibition against Saskatchewan 6-4, the Huskies beat Regina, 3-1, in the tournament opener and got their revenge against Saskatchewan, 3-2, in the title game.

They return for just this one game on Friday before a two-game set with BU next weekend shows how well this surprising first-place team stacks up against the nation’s elite.

"This start was important for us confidence-wise," says coach Bruce Crowder. "It’s an interesting situation because there are teams that are beating teams that you’d never expect. I’m not saying it’s wide-open, but we may not be that far out of it.

"We’re awfully young. It was a good first couple months of the season, but we’ve got a lot of hockey left."

As described in

Last To First And Lovin’ It, the Huskies have risen from the Hockey East cellar on the backs of its kids — only three players who aren’t freshmen or sophomores dress for most games.

"They’ve raised the level of the bar on what’s expected," says Crowder. "Now it’s up to them to maintain that. It’s part of maturing to not accept anything less.

"They’ve raised the bar themselves. It hasn’t been the coaching staff. They’ve found ways to compete and now we’ve got a little idea of what we can do. We like what we’re doing and we want to keep doing it. We’ve got a lot of tough hockey ahead of us, but it’s nice to be in a situation like this.

Crowder still sees an opportunity for improvement in some of the game’s finer points.

"[They need to correct the] little things, like turning the puck over at the offensive blue line when you’re up by two, not getting it deep, not forcing them to go 200 feet," he says. "There are a lot of things like that that you’ve got to learn from being in those type of environments and learn that when you do screw up, the coach is probably going to scream at you when you get to the bench."

Providence dropped its only game last weekend to Colgate 3-2.

"They had two five-on-three goals, three power-play goals and their goaltender was outstanding," says coach Paul Pooley. (Technically, one of the two five-on-threes had become a five-on-four by the time of the goal, but his point remains valid.) "That sums up the game. We had some great chances, but [Dan Brenzavich] made some great saves. They just scored on the power play and we didn’t."

>From Pooley’s perspective, a couple of the key penalties "were kind of questionable, but a penalty is a penalty and that’s the way it is."

Providence now returns to Hockey East play and what Pooley refers to as "two huge games." After playing more non-conference games to date than games within the league, the Friars now take on two of the teams ahead of them in the standings.

Up first is Northeastern, a team that has beaten them twice already, 2-0 (including an empty-net goal) and 3-2.

"They outworked us both games," says Pooley. "We came back and had some great chances, but their goaltender played very well, as he’s done the whole year. We just have to be ready to play and work for 60 minutes. They’re a hard-working hockey club. Robitaille is playing tremendous. He equalizes a lot of things for them."

Pooley’s own goaltender, freshman Boyd Ballard, has also been playing well.

"We’re not giving up many goals," says Pooley. "He’s made some big saves for us; he’s making the saves when he has to. We’ve just got to find a way to score more goals for him."

The Friars will then take on Boston University, previewed above. BU’s defense outstrips all rivals in the league. The Terriers are giving up an average of 2.06 goals per game (2.34 within the league), two-thirds of a goal less than their closest rival.

"The big thing is that you’ve got to get traffic in front of the net," says Pooley. "And you’ve got to be patient, because you’re probably not going to get a lot of scoring chances.

"We’ve got to limit their chances, play great defense, stay out of the penalty box as much as possible and try to shut them down and wait for our opportunities. And when we get one, put it in the goal."

PICKS: Not a good week for Providence. Northeastern 3-2, BU 4-2.

Maine (8-7-2, 5-5-1 HEA) at Merrimack (7-10-1, 2-7-0 HEA)

Friday, 7 p.m., Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA AudioNet

Maine finally returns from the holiday break after being off since its last game on Dec. 13 until resuming practice on the 3rd.

While off the ice, the program still wound up in headlines, but for all the wrong reasons. Three hockey players — Brian Masotta, Matt Oliver and Shawn Mansoff — were charged with "criminal threatening" for allegedly making a phone call that included exceptionally ugly threats and racial language.

"All three have been suspended indefinitely," says coach Shawn Walsh. "Mansoff is fighting it vigorously. He’s hired a lawyer and said he wasn’t in the room and wasn’t even around. Of the three, he is the only one that may be back. He may have been erroneously charged, but we’ll see."

Masotta has already admitted his primary role in the incident and has publicly apologized. For Oliver, this was not his first problem — he had been suspended for disciplinary reasons the latter half of last season. Both are gone. Mansoff remains suspended, but could return depending on the outcome of the Jan. 16 court date.

Immediately, many observers — most of them, but not all, among the legion of knee-jerk Maine-bashers — proclaimed this yet another case of ethical bankruptcy in Orono and laid the latest sins at Walsh’s feet.

Having read a transcript of the phone call, this writer can only feel disgust for the genetic garbage that chose to spew out such hatred.

However, are the Maine hockey players who had nothing to do with the phone call to blame? Obviously not.

Are Walsh and the Maine program in general to blame?

Look at it this way. Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne was vilified, and justly so, for his handling of the Lawrence Phillips incident. The running back assaulted a former girlfriend, but was suspended only until Nebraska’s next big game. After that, Osborne supported his "troubled" star.

Has Walsh defended Masotta? No. Masotta is gone. Unlike Osborne, Walsh has made the right ethical decision. The only player who may return is one who is claiming that he is innocent. Should Walsh throw a potentially-innocent player to the wolves because it might be good PR? If he did, that would say a lot — and none of it good — about Walsh.

No student body is totally composed of angels. Neither is a hockey team. A coach can’t chaperone his players. All he can do is act decisively and ethically to deal with transgressions.

Which Walsh has done in this case.

"It was an isolated incident between two students that knew each other," he says. "Unfortunately, these things happen. Part of being a college coach is problem-solving. Unfortunately, this had to be dealt with immediately and swiftly."

Okay. Enough of the distasteful stuff and onward to the fun…

With Masotta gone, Walsh has summoned Javier Gorriti to back up top goaltender Alfie Michaud. Prior to the Dec. 12-13 series with UMass-Lowell that closed out the first semester, Michaud had bottomed out with some exceptionally weak performances. Losing Masotta essentially puts the Black Bears into the nerve-gangling position of sinking or swimming with Michaud. Last year, that resulted in sinking in the first half, and swimming like a gold medalist in the second.

"Interestingly enough, Alfie played very well at Lowell [in the last games before the break] without Brian Masotta around," says Walsh. "I had suspended Brian for academic reasons for the Lowell series, so who’s to say? Alfie gave us very good goaltending in Lowell, which is a tough place to win."

Walsh will be filling the lineup with other replacements. Despite the extraordinarily long layoff, several players are still banged up or otherwise unavailable. In addition to Masotta, Oliver and Mansoff, Maine will be without Tuomo Jaaskelainen, who has temporarily returned to Finland on a family matter. Jason Vitorino, Matthias Trattnig and Ben Guite are still banged up. Only Guite is expected to play.

Maine hosted Merrimack in mid-November and split the series, losing 5-4 and winning 6-4. At the time, Merrimack was scoring a lot but giving up even more. Although the Warriors have tightened up defensively and, at the same time, lost some of the offensive punch, Walsh still sees an offensively talented team.

"They are obviously a very high-scoring team," says Walsh. "We played two evenly-played games in November. You have to be very conscious of their top two lines."

Merrimack dug a hole for itself against Niagara, falling behind 3-0 until captain Martin Laroche scored a hat trick in the school-record span of 1:40 to lead the Warriors to a 5-3 win.

No such heroics were available two nights later against UMass-Lowell, however, as the River Hawks convincingly downed Merrimack 8-4.

"It was a pretty lethargic effort on our part," says Anderson. "I thought we broke down all over the place. I don’t think we forechecked very well, we didn’t cover people very well, and I don’t think our goaltending was very good.

"You don’t play 160 games [in college hockey] like you do in baseball. It’s something where we better go to work… and say, ‘We better correct some things, guys.’ It doesn’t get better unless you make it get better.

"[I knew we were in trouble] in the middle of the first. When I saw we weren’t skating, I knew we we’re going to have trouble sooner or later unless Lowell didn’t skate either. When I saw that, I knew it was going to be a long night."

In the second intermission of the Niagara game, Anderson had challenged the Warriors, telling them that the third period would define the rest of their year. No coach, however, can repeat such entreaties game after game, even when the team is sputtering as it was against Lowell.

"It was no more of a challenge than it is every single night," says Anderson. "Every time you step on the ice, it’s supposed to be the same way. There’s no excuse. You’re challenged all the time."

Particularly disturbing was the weak play of goaltender Cris Classen. In the six previous games, he had posted a 2-2-1 record — he relieved backup Tom Welby in one game — with a 3.08 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. He’d also earned a Hockey East Player of the Week award. Pretty encouraging stuff for the consensus biggest Merrimack question entering the season.

Admittedly, in the Lowell game, he had a schizo defense in front of him. Some Warrior defensemen played very well, including All-Hockey East candidate Darrel Scoville. A couple other blueliners, however, were brutal. Even so, Classen still allowed four soft goals before getting the hook with 8:36 remaining.

"It wasn’t only him," says Anderson. "It was him and our defense. And our forwards didn’t play very well either. Our team really revolves around our forwards. If our forwards aren’t playing well, we aren’t a very good team."

The silver lining in the cloud was the 3-for-6 performance of the power play. It has been sizzling at an 11-for-24 clip in the Warriors’ last six games, using a four-forwards-plus-Scoville configuration. In a startling turnaround from past years, the Warriors now lead the nation in power-play percentage. Still, a strong power play can only cover up so many other poor performances.

"You play a small percentage of a game on the power play," says a rueful Anderson.

Other than Scoville, linemates Kris Porter (22-11–33) and Rejean Stringer (4-26–30) have been the top standouts in even-strength play. Despite being integral parts of the Warrior power play, they still entered the Lowell contest with plus-minus ratings of +7 and +5, respectively, to lead the team along with defenseman Ryan Guzior.

PICK: Maine scrapes off the rust and wins 5-3.

Maine (8-7-2, 5-5-1 HEA) at Boston College (11-6-2, 5-4-1 HEA)

Saturday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA TV-SCNE

The league’s television package kicks off with this matchup between Maine and BC, both previewed above.

For the Eagles, the television spotlight is but the latest indicator that they are back as one of Hockey East’s marquee teams.

"Maine as an opponent brings a lot to the table for TV also," says BC coach Jerry York. "We’d certainly like to play well in the first game in the Fox TV package."

The contest acts as the rubber game in the series after a strange two-game set in November. BC took the opener 6-1, but then lost the rematch 12-5.

"They’re just loaded with talent," says Maine coach Shawn Walsh. "You have to play well defensively because they have such skillful players."

PICKS: The Eagles fly, 5-4.

No. 5 New Hampshire (14-4-1, 6-3-1 HEA) and UMass-Lowell (8-8-2, 5-5-2 HEA)

at St. Lawrence (3-11-1, 2-4-1 ECAC) and Clarkson (8-5-2, 4-2-1 ECAC) Friday (UNH) – Saturday (UML), 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Appleton Arena, Canton, NY Friday (UML) – Saturday (UNH), 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Cheel Arena, Potsdam, NY

New Hampshire ended its break by packing three games into five days. After splitting contests in the Denver Cup, defeating No. 8 Colorado College 5-3 and losing to No. 4 Miami 4-2, the Wildcats traveled to the latest site for hockey mania, Nebraska-Omaha, where they beat the Mavericks 6-2.

In the Denver Cup, UNH was the only team that would have had to beat two top-ten teams to win its tourney. UNH partisans could have claimed that Miami had an advantage going into the championship game, after facing a much easier first-round foe.

"I didn’t look at it that way," says coach Dick Umile. "That’s the easy way out. I thought it was an opportunity to play two top teams, which you have to do in postseason play. It was a great opportunity to play teams that you don’t usually play.

"I thought we played well against Colorado College and okay against Miami. We’re disappointed that we lost it, but we played against two of the top teams in the country."

On New Year’s Eve, the Wildcats then took on Nebraska-Omaha and its 8,000-plus fans.

"I thought Nebraska-Omaha was absolutely terrific," says Umile. "I tell you, it is going to be one of the premier places to play college hockey. The enthusiasm, the fans, everything about it out there is great.

"It’s a well-coached team. Mike Kemp and his assistant coaches have done a terrific job very quickly. They’re going to be a team to be reckoned with. It’s just a fabulous place to go and play hockey."

Mark Mowers has picked up points in all three games since his return, getting two assists against CC, and a goal each against Miami and Nebraska-Omaha.

"He wasn’t at 100 percent at the tournament, but now that we’re practicing he’ll be back to 100 percent," says Umile. "He played and everything went well. He made a couple moves in the games [that showed] that he’ll be back to 100 percent real quick."

This week, UNH heads for the North Country for the last two of a five-game stretch of nonconference games.

"Every weekend, it just gets tougher and tougher," says Umile. "You just keep respecting your opponent. This weekend we go to St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The following weekend we go up to Maine for two. We just have to be ready to play every weekend."

UMass-Lowell entered the break with five losses and two ties in its last seven games, but rocketed out of the second-half gate with a 7-1 demolition of Colgate and an 8-4 domination of Merrimack.

With only four points separating first and seventh place in Hockey East standings, the latter win moved the River Hawks into a tie for third. They have, however, played more league games than any other team. As a result, they could be leapfrogged by several teams playing within the league this weekend while the River Hawks head to the North Country.

"We had a real good week of training camp," says coach Tim Whitehead. "In fact, it was almost too good. The pucks were just jumping in the net. I was a little worried that it would be tough to translate it into the game. But we played well because we practiced well this week.

"And when a couple fall in for you, it gets your emotion level up. The guys really got moving with the puck and attacking the net."

In the Sunday night contest against Merrimack, the River Hawks got points from 15 different players.

"Friday night was more one line production-wise," says Whitehead. "It was a good team win because we kept the puck out of the net, but it was important to get contributions from everybody [on Sunday].

"The one concern we’d had going into the game was that because we’d scored seven goals on Friday night, there was the temptation for guys to maybe think, ‘Hey, what about me? Where are my points?’ There was a little of that in the first period.

"We sensed some guys trying to get cute and make the extra pass and the long stretch pass and that type of thing. Once the guys got back to playing it simple and getting it up the boards and making the easy passes, it went well."

Goaltender Scott Fankhouser played well in both games. He has now started three straight games after replacing former top netminder Marty Fillion early in a 7-3 loss to Maine. In fact, he’s played in six of Lowell’s last seven games, two of them in relief.

Fankhouser went into the break on a high note, making 36 saves against Maine to help grab a point in a 3-3 tie, and has continued with his best play in a River Hawk uniform. In particular, he had one great three-save sequence early in the Colgate game before his teammates took control.

"That’s what you need out of a good goaltender," says Whitehead. "When the game was up for grabs, he came up with a couple second- and third-shot saves. He’s real good with the first shot. When he makes second- and third-shot saves like that, it’s great. He worked real hard over the break and he’s playing well."

With All-Hockey East defenseman Mike Nicholishen out with a knee injury before the break and mono since then, Whitehead has moved Doug Nolan back to the blue line to fill in.

"He’s doing a great job," says Whitehead. "He’s a great team player. This isn’t tennis or golf. I like those sports, but in hockey you’re going to be asked to do things that aren’t [your preference.] He’s probably a little frustrated that he hasn’t been able to play forward, but we’ve talked about it.

"I think it’s making him a better hockey player. When you learn to play to play defense as a forward, you learn to appreciate how tough it is on the defensemen and it makes you a little smarter on your forecheck and how you play the game.

"He hopes it’s a shorter experience than I do, but he’s doing a real good job. He’ll eventually go back to play forward, but at least if he’s called upon, we know what he can do."

Jeff Boulanger joined Greg Koehler in giving UML a sweep in the weekly league honors. Boulanger’s 3-3–6 weekend gives him 8-8–16 on the season and points in four of the last five games.

"He’s strong, he works hard and he’s very tough along the boards," says Whitehead. "He’s tough and he’s got real good hands in tight areas. He and Kyle Kidney on that line are just physical presences. They complement [Brad] Rooney very well."

St. Lawrence has struggled this season and entered the break with four straight losses. Although the Saints then lost both games in the Great Lakes Invitational, they almost toppled No. 6 Michigan, losing 3-2, and suffered a similar fate in the consolation game to Michigan Tech, 6-5.

Freshman Erik Anderson is giving All-ECAC forward Paul DiFrancesco a run for the Saint scoring lead, with both at 11 points in 14 games.

Goaltender Eric Heffler has been a major surprise, posting a 2.07 GAA and a .940 save percentage. In late November, he tossed a shutout weekend at Rensselaer (1-0) and Union (7-0).

Clarkson seems to be repeating its pattern from previous years by getting off to a slow start (2-3-1, this year, plus another two exhibition losses), but heating up (now 8-5-2) and becoming one of the hottest teams down the stretch.

Captain Chris Clark (6-9–15) leads the Golden Knight scoring, but has plenty of help with Ben Maidment, Dana Mulvihill and Matt Reid with 13, 12 and 12 points, respectively.

Senior All-American Dan Murphy, an iron man who played in all 112 Clarkson games during his first three years, has surprisingly seen fellow senior Chris Bernard play all 60 minutes of each of the Golden Knights’ last four wins. Bernard now has a stellar 1.75 GAA and .928 save percentage to go along with his unblemished 4-0-0 record.

(For a more detailed look at St. Lawrence and Clarkson from an ECAC perspective, check out this week’s ECAC Preview.)

PICKS:At the risk of seeming like a homer, this looks like a Hockey East sweep. Prior to last weekend, this was looking more like a split weekend, at best, for Lowell, but now the River Hawks are hot. Look for a 4-3 win over Clarkson and 4-2 against St. Lawrence.

New Hampshire continues to look like one of the top teams in the country. They’ll win 5-2 over St. Lawrence and 5-4 over Clarkson.

UMass-Amherst (2-13-2, 0-8-1 HEA) at Air Force (9-7-0, 0-2-0 vs. aligned D-I)

Friday, Saturday, 7 p.m., Cadet Ice Arena, Colorado Springs, CO

UMass-Amherst began the second semester on a disastrous note, losing 5-0 to Army. In past years, the Minutemen have returned from the holidays in a similar fashion, last year dropping a 9-5 tilt to Rensselaer and the year before losing 7-1 to Maine.

"We have historically struggled a bit coming back off the break," says coach Joe Mallen. "Part of it, I’ve always thought, hasn’t been so much loss of momentum at the break, but we’ve just run into the meat of the schedule where there are no easy games."

With the Minutemen entering 1998 with an eight-game winless streak and the meat of this season’s schedule looming in February, the Army game took on added significance. Unfortunately, it became a missed opportunity.

Now they’ll turn to the back two-thirds of a three-game stretch against the service academies and look to better launch their second half against Air Force.

"These non-league games are where we want to gain some momentum going into the rest of our season," says Mallen. "If you look at the remainder of our schedule once we get down towards the end of January and into February, it basically reads Maine, Maine, UNH, BU, BU, UNH, Maine, BU. It is really a tough stretch."

Mallen wasn’t exaggerating. In the month of February, the Minutemen play New Hampshire and Maine three times each, Boston University twice, and UMass-Lowell once.

Ouch!

As a result, two wins this weekend are imperative. Still, Mallen remains upbeat.

"We’ve tried to maintain a positive attitude and an optimistic attitude," says Mallen. "I think our guys have done a good job at that. We just feel that if we take it one game at a time, play well and work hard, we can win any game we play.

"And our young kids have been playing terrific for us, so I feel optimistic about the future of our program."

The Air Force Cadets, under first-year head coach Frank Serratore rely on Justin Kieffer, Scott Bradley, Nels Grafstrom and defenseman Dan Davies for the bulk of their scoring.

Sophomore Aaron Ratfield (4.66 GAA, .875 SV%) is their top netminder.

So far this year, the Cadets have not fared well against Division I teams from the four conferences, losing 5-1 to Yale and 9-1 to Merrimack.

PICKS: The Minutemen prove that the Army game was an aberration, winning 4-2, 5-2.

Colgate (11-5-0, 6-2-0 ECAC) at Merrimack (7-10-1, 2-7-0 HEA)

Sunday, 2 p.m., Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA

Merrimack, previewed above against Maine, hosts Colgate, an enigma in recent weeks if there ever was one.

The Red Raiders looked horrendous against UMass-Lowell, trailing 7-0 before the game was half over. They allowed numerous odd-man rushes, exhibited poor defensive coverage and, in particular, allowed a virtual tip drill on shots from the point.

They then showed their flip side, however, using three power-play goals and good goaltending by Dan Brenzavich to rebound with a 3-2 win over Providence.

The Red Raiders still lead the ECAC in scoring, averaging 4.12 goals per game, but the thumping at the hands of Lowell and a 6-2 loss to Minnesota-Duluth the week before leave a lot of questions unanswered.

Perhaps most indicative of their dual-nature is their performance on the man advantage. They lead the ECAC with 18 power-play goals and rank second in percentage (18.9), but have surrendered an appalling seven shorthanded goals. Only one other ECAC team has allowed as many as three.

(For a more detailed look at this baffling team, check out this week’s ECAC Preview.)

PICK: If both teams play as poorly as they did against Lowell last weekend, coaches Anderson and Don Vaughan will probably be jumping off a bridge.

Look for both to get at least partially back on track, with Merrimack earning a 5-4 win.

This Week in the CCHA: January 9, 1998

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And the most interesting place this weekend is once again the middle of the CCHA pack, where just six points, ambition and a little luck separate the ninth-place team from the fifth-place team.

No. 6 Michigan is a team with little to prove. After losing the GLI to Michigan State, the Wolverines swept the weekend and the season against Ohio State at home, a 4-2 televised win and a 6-0 shutout. Michigan leads the league with 23 points. This week the Wolverines host the unpredictable Bowling Green Falcons and travel to play Western Michigan.

After winning the GLI, No. 3 Michigan State traveled to Alaska-Fairbanks last weekend, where they split with the Nanooks, losing 6-4 and winning 6-2. Michigan State looks to prove that loss a fluke when Northern Michigan comes to Munn for two this weekend.

The Spartans and No. 4 Miami share identical league records, so the teams are tied for second place, each with 19 CCHA points in 13 games played. After beating Notre Dame 3-1 Friday and skating to a 2-2 tie against the Irish Saturday, the RedHawks feel they have little to prove — even if no one believes them. This week Miami hosts Ferris State and Lake Superior.

With 18 points in 15 games, Northern Michigan is one of the CCHA’s enigmas, beating Bowling Green 6-5 in overtime and losing to Ferris State 5-2 last weekend, both at home. Northern Michigan is like a shadowy film noir figure: you just don’t know what it’s going to do next. The Wildcats travel to East Lansing for two this weekend.

Lake Superior is the CCHA’s Team of the Moment. After winning the Rensselaer Invitational, the Lakers beat Bowling Green at home, 6-2. This team may not even have to prove it’s legitimate after a sluggish start to the season; other CCHA teams are believers already. The Lakers — who with 17 points are just a hair behind Northern Michigan — travel through Ohio for games with OSU and Miami.

Ferris State is a darned good 7-10-3 team, and they can prove it. The Bulldogs beat Northern Michigan 5-2 on the road last weekend. This weekend, the Bulldogs — just two points behind Lake Superior — head to Ohio to face the same opponents as the Lakers, on opposite nights.

Notre Dame is just two points behind Ferris State, as last weekend the Irish lost to and tied Miami at home. This weekend the Irish go all the way to Alaska to try to prove they are playoff contenders.

The other CCHA enigma is Ohio State, who lost a close 4-2 game to Michigan in Yost on Friday, then took a punishing 6-0 loss to the Wolverines Saturday. The Buckeyes are a point behind Notre Dame, and want to prove this weekend against Lake Superior and Ferris State at home that they’re better than their four-game losing streak might suggest.

The Nanooks proved last weekend that the cliche is true: on any given night in this league, any team can beat — or be beaten by — any other team. Alaska-Fairbanks surprised Michigan State at home by splitting with the third-ranked team in the nation, a 6-4 win Friday and a 6-2 loss Saturday. The Nanooks, with 11 points, want to prove that the distance — both geographic and in the rankings — is something they can overcome.

Western Michigan is the coldest team in the CCHA right now, but that doesn’t prove a thing. The Broncos dropped two games last weekend to No. 2 North Dakota, 12-5 and 5-1, both on the road. The Broncos host Michigan for one game this week.

Bowling Green has proven that what goes around comes around. The Falcons are playing much better after a slow start, taking Northern Michigan to overtime (and losing 6-5) on the road, and losing to Lake 6-2. The Falcons are a long shot for the playoffs with just six points, but never, ever count a Buddy Powers team out until the last whistle has blown.

Last week’s record in picks: 9-2 Overall record in picks: 65-47

Lake Superior at Ohio State Friday, 7 p.m., OSU Ice Rink, Columbus, OH Lake Superior at No. 4 Miami Saturday, 7 p.m., Goggin Ice Arena, Oxford OH

The Lakers have a six-game win streak on the line this weekend, but if you took a look at Lake Superior’s record for the first 13 games of the season, you might be a bit thrown by their recent success.

From the start of the season through Dec. 5, the Lakers were 4-7-2, a spotty spell that culminated with a 7-0 loss to Michigan on national television.

(The last time Lake and Michigan played on television, on Feb. 21 of last year, Michigan won 8-0 in Yost. Note to Scott Borek: stop playing the Wolverines on television.)

Since beating Miami in 4-3 in overtime on December 6, however, the Lakers have been, well, unbeatable. But don’t tell head coach Borek that the team didn’t begin to turn it around before that game.

"First of all, you can’t include that Michigan game — that game was just a blip," says Borek. The coach insists that the team was slowly building to the point at which they could defeat top-ten Miami.

"Early on I think we were young in goal, and we were young on defense. I think we got out of the gate slow and the weight of expectation was heavy on us."

With 10 rookies and nine sophomores, this is a team that had a lot of adjusting to do at the start of the season. And Borek says that Lake Superior attracts talented players but not the marquee players that bigger schools in less remote places can get. "We’re not Michigan so, frankly, we don’t get the best recruits in the country."

After beating Miami, the Lakers swept Ohio State at home, then took the Rensselaer Invitational tournament (eliminating then-tenth ranked Yale in the process). Last week Lake beat Bowling Green.

But don’t call this team hot.

"To be brutally honest," says Borek, "all we are right now is competitive. We are by no means a team that is going to make the playoffs. I still think on paper that Ohio State and Notre Dame are better hockey teams than we are right now. We still have a long way to go."

In a town where hockey is the only game, Borek was concerned earlier in the season that the criticism of loyal and vocal Laker fans might hurt his young players before they had the chance to get used to playing in the CCHA. Now, he worries that the flood of opposite sentiments might get in the way of a team not yet used to winning.

"I think we’re handling success better. We’re not getting caught up in anything. Our players and coaches realize it’s not the last six, but only the next one that matters."

>Lake Superior at Ohio State

With their two wins over the Buckeyes earlier in the season, the Lakers have a 22-game unbeaten streak against the Buckeyes riding on this one little game, maybe the last chance this Buckeye senior class has to beat Lake Superior.

That Buckeye winless streak is second only to the Buckeye winless streak against Michigan (more on that later).

Ah…the last remaining vestiges of the Jerry Walsh years. But I digress.

Don’t talk about unbeaten streaks to Borek either. He doesn’t think his team’s chances against the Buckeyes this weekend are particularly good, especially since the game is being played in the tiny little Buckeye barn known simply as the OSU Ice Rink.

But veteran Buckeyes call it The War Memorial.

(Ah…the last remaining vestiges…)

"You have to be pretty mature to go into that building and win," says Borek. "Every shot from the red line is a grade-A opportunity."

When last these two teams met in Columbus, the games were played at the Expo Center/Fairgrounds Coliseum, a much bigger ice surface than the War Memorial. There are 19 players on the Laker squad who have never even seen the inside of the little rink.

"At home," says Borek, "we can make a mistake…and recover. You can’t make a mistake in that little rink and expect to recover."

It’s more than just the rink, says Borek. "Ohio State dominated us here. For five periods, they flat-out outplayed us."

Buckeye head coach John Markell won’t argue with that. "We dominated in Sault Ste. Marie. But we couldn’t score."

After losing two games to Michigan last weekend –t he first games the Buckeyes had played since their two losses to Lake before the break — Markell knows that his team needs to change direction.

"We’re going to try to nip things in the bud here. We’re a little frustrated right now. We’re frustrated by outshooting teams and not scoring.

"Frustration brings on tension and tension bears on your performance."

Markell knows how frustration can tangle up a team; the Bucs let frustration get in the way of playing well in a 6-0 loss to Michigan Saturday. But the coach says that it’s unfair to judge a team by one game against Michigan (Borek won’t argue with that), and he’s pleased with the efforts of his players.

"They’re trying hard. We took some stupid penalties [against Michigan], and you’re not going to beat anyone from the penalty box."

Markell says that turning things around for the Buckeyes is "a matter of bearing down. We have to score more than six goals in four hockey games."

Through the first half of the season, Hugo Boisvert (8-15–23), Eric Meloche (12-7–19) and Chris Richards (8-10–18) were on fire for the Buckeyes. Boisvert and Meloche play on the Bucs’ first line, and Richards on the second.

Of those three, only Boisvert had a point against the Wolverines, an assist on the power play.

Plenty of offensive opportunities, no finishing.

As in years past, goaltending remains consistently good for the Buckeyes. Jeff Maund has started since the Bucs’ 3-2 loss to Notre Dame in November, but Ray Aho remains strong in relief. Overall, the pair is combining for a GAA of 3.03 and a save percentage of .896.

For the Lakers, seniors Terry Marchant (12-18–30) and Joe Blaznek (12-6–18) and junior Jason Sessa (11-9-20) lead the team in scoring.

In league scoring, each team has two players among the top eleven: Marchant leads all players in CCHA scoring with 24 points. Sessa, Boisvert and Richards are also among the league’s top 11.

In goal for the Lakers, rookie Rob Galatiuk has been steady, and rookie Jayme Platt made an impressive first start for the Lakers in a 5-0 win over No. 10 Yale in the Rensselaer Invitational. Combined, the duo boasts a .901 save percentage and a GAA of 2.82.

On paper, the two teams look more even than not, but the intangibles will play a big role in this game.

"I think they’re on a roll. We expect them to play pretty well," says Markell of the Lakers. "They’ll be playing with a lot of confidence, and that can be dangerous. We have to get into the game early."

If Ohio State can play its game, in its War Memorial, the Buckeyes will break their four-game losing streak and that nasty winless streak against the Lakers.

If the Lakers keep their heads and thwart Buckeye scoring opportunities, it will be one very long night for a frustrated Ohio State team.

PICK: Ohio State 5-3

Lake Superior at No. 4 Miami

Neither Scott Borek nor Mark Mazzoleni said he could comment on this game; both said they were looking only at their next game, Ohio State for the Lakers and Ferris State for Miami.

Since they can’t comment, we can speculate: this will be a stunningly good game.

Over the last four years, Miami owns a slight edge over Lake Superior, 52-47-10, including this season’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Lakers in the Soo.

While the Lakers have Marchant and Sessa among the league’s top ten scorers, Miami has Adam Copeland (9-9, 18) and Dan Boyle (7-9, 16). Blaznek has 12 league points for the Lakers, but the RedHawks have four more players — Tim Leahy (16), Alex Kim (14), Marc Tropper (14), and Dustin Whitecotton (14) — in league double digits.

Defensively, Miami has an edge with Boyle, Josh Harrold, and Josh Mizerek. In net for the RedHawks, Trevor Prior and Ian Olsen are fourth and fifth in the league stats, respectively, among goaltenders with more than 60 minutes in net. The two have a combined GAA of 2.44 and a combined save percentage of .906 in league play.

This game pits the best league power play, Miami’s 23.6 percent, against the league’s best penalty-killing unit: Lake Superior’s 91.3 percent.

Miami has home-ice advantage (no small matter in Goggin), and the desire to go into the toughest part of the schedule (six games remaining against Michigan and Michigan State) on an up note.

Lake Superior has momentum to spare, but may be flat after a tough effort — win or lose — against Ohio State Friday.

PICK: Miami 4-3

Ferris State at No. 4 Miami Friday, 7 p.m., Goggin Ice Arena, Oxford OH Ferris State at Ohio State Saturday, 7 p.m., OSU Ice Rink, Columbus, OH

Miami was limited to just five goals last weekend in South Bend, beating the Irish 3-1 Friday and skating to a 2-2 overtime tie Saturday. The guns of the Miami offense don’t like to stay quiet(ish) for very long.

The flip side of that trip is that the RedHawks limited a tough Notre Dame team — albeit without Ben Simon — to just three goals in two games. And the ‘Hawks did it without their senior captain, defenseman Todd Rohloff. Rohloff injured his wrist in the Denver Cup, and may miss the rest of the season.

Ferris State had a decisive 5-2 win over Northern Michigan last Saturday, a week after a good showing in the Pepsi Tournament, where the Bulldogs beat Western Michigan 9-1 in the first round, and lost to No. 2 North Dakota 6-3 in the title game.

Ferris needs to keep getting those league points every weekend in order to stay with the middle of the CCHA pack.

Ferris State at No. 4 Miami

Don’t let the score from the last time these two teams met fool you. That was a 6-2 home loss for Ferris State to Miami, but it doesn’t tell the story of this team.

At least Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni doesn’t think so. "That 6-2 game we played against them — we thought that was unusual for them.

"We expect them to play us tough. It’s going to be a dogfight. That’s probably the best way to put it."

Ferris State assistant coach Drew Famulak is optimistic with the direction of the Bulldogs, especially with the direction of the Bulldog offense.

"We’ve been playing well. Nine [goals] against Western, three against North Dakota, five against Northern. We’re starting to see some continuity offensively."

Ask Famulak why the offense has stepped up its game, and he has a one-name answer: "Joel Irwin."

In overall play, the junior forward has 24 points (11-13). Next in scoring for the Bulldogs is Rookie Kevin Swider with 21.

But if you look at league play, Irwin is also three points ahead of Swider, but — seemingly — miles ahead of the rest of his teammates. Only five Bulldogs, including Irwin and Swider, have points totaling in the double digits in league play.

Against Northern Michigan last week, Irwin and Swider had three of Ferris State’s five goals; Swider assisted on Irwin’s two goals, and Irwin assisted on Swider’s goal.

All of this may add up to a dependence on just one line to get the Bulldogs through each game. Consider also that the Bulldogs are allowing nearly as many goals as they’re scoring, a statistic to note when playing against a team that is outscoring opponents 56-32.

Famulak says the Bulldogs know what they have to do to win in Goggin. "We have to shut down their power play, and defensively we have to be very strong."

The Bulldogs have improved defensively this season from the net out, thanks in part to rookie goaltender Vince Owen. Owen’s numbers are good; he’s saving 88 percent of the shots he faces, including 33 saves against the Wildcats last week.

"He’s solidified himself as our number-one guy," says Famulak. "Our goaltending was suspect last year and that was one of the things we needed to work on."

Mazzoleni says that Rohloff’s injury gives rookie Trent Wolford a chance to play. "If there’s a silver lining to this, it’s that a freshman will be getting some experience. And other people will have to step up."

It is true that on any given night any given team, blah, blah, blah. And Ferris State could upset the No. 4 RedHawks, blah, blah, blah.

PICK: Miami 5-3

Ferris State at Ohio State

Here’s a game that you should see, if you’re within driving distance of Columbus, Ohio.

These two teams share similar strengths and problems. They’ve both played up to their potential…and down to their potential.

In short, there’s no way to predict how this game will be played, or how it will end.

It’s been so long since these teams have played each other that the last time they met, there could have been little to foretell how well these teams would be playing this season.

These two teams haven’t seen each other since each was in a real rut, merely hoping to make the 1996-97 playoffs.

These two teams haven’t seen each other since the first half of the 1996-97 season, if you discount last season’s Pepsi Tournament.

Ohio State won the series last year, but Ferris State won the last game that counted toward league play last season, 5-3.

What a difference a year makes. Both of these teams should be getting points every weekend. Both of these teams should make some moves this weekend.

Ferris State has 15 points to Ohio State’s 12; unless Ferris State loses both games and Ohio State wins both games this weekend, the Bulldogs will remain ahead of the Buckeyes for another week.

Ferris State has momentum and a kind of league respectability that Ohio State lacks. Ohio State has the advantage of its little War Memorial and a couple of lines hungry for points.

Each team has the tendency to rely almost solely on its first line to carry a game. Even with Ferris State’s impressive junior class (nine forwards), Ohio State may be deeper offensively.

The Buckeyes may have the edge in net as well. Maund is the real thing, and Ray Aho — who should start once in a while — is no slouch, either.

Defensively, Ferris State probably has the advantage. The Buckeyes are shallow defensively, and blue-line turnovers can lead to goals very quickly in the little rink.

Oh, don’t make me call this game….

pick: ohio state 4-3

Notre Dame at Alaska-Fairbanks Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. AT, Carlson Center, Fairbanks, AK

The Nanooks must be feeling pretty good after beating Michigan State 6-4 Friday.

So, they lost to the Spartans 6-2 Saturday. They scored six goals against Chad Alban! And they beat the number-three team in the country!

And this week they’re fighting for points just to make the playoffs.

The good new for the Nanooks is that they’re playing at home, where, seemingly, they can beat anyone. Five of their six wins have been at home (the road win was over Lake State).

More good news: the Nanooks own the series with Notre Dame, 11-4-0 since 1985.

More good news: Sjon Wynia and rookie Jim Lawrence are having great seasons. Wynia leads the team in scoring in league play (11-10–21); Lawrence has 16 points in 18 CCHA games.

The bad news for the Nanooks: a combined GAA of 4.66, and a combined save percentage of .854 by Ian Perkins and Chris Marvel in league play.

More bad news: Ben Simon’s back from the juniors, and he can score. In 12 league games, Simon has 13 points.

More bad news: minus 123, and that’s not the temperature in Fairbanks.

It may very well be that the Nanooks will be overmatched, but it doesn’t mean that they’ll lose. Illogical? Try traveling to Alaska and winning. Ask Ron Mason what it’s like.

And the Nanooks are desperate for points.

PICKS: UAF 4-2; Notre Dame 4-2; UAF 5-4

Northern Michigan at No. 3 Michigan State Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Munn Arena, East Lansing, MI

Michigan State head coach Ron Mason talked about what it’s like to win the GLI, and instead of going to home to play at Munn, boarding a plane in the dark right away to travel to Alaska.

What should’ve been an upper — breaking Michigan’s nine-year GLI streak and winning it yourself for the first time since 1985 — became a moment of pleasure before a long cross-continent trip.

"It’s a tough trip for anybody who’s not used to doing it," says Mason. "With our lineup the way it is, we were happy with two points."

The Spartans’ were without top-scoring Mike York (U.S. National Junior Team) and Shawn Horcoff (injury) in Alaska.

"It’s a good thing York’s back, because he’s our only center," says Mason. Additionally, Sean Berens and his 13 league points will miss Friday’s game against Northern Michigan because of a game disqualification in the second game against UAF.

Mason sounds disgusted when he passes along all this Spartan news. "I’m not in the best of moods."

That mood could turn around with two wins over Northern Michigan — something Michigan State should be able to accomplish this weekend. But who knows?

"They’re a very good team," says Mason. "They’re a team that’s surprised a few people, but they’re legitimate."

Northern squeaked by Bowling Green 6-5 in overtime at home last week, then lost to Ferris State at home, 5-2.

This trip to East Lansing marks the Wildcats second big road trip of the year. The last time they were this far afield, the ‘Cats split a series with Miami in Oxford.

The Wildcats are capable of spreading the scoring around, and are scoring on average more than three goals per game in league play. Fred Mattersdorfer leads the Wildcats in league scoring with 12 points. Three other ‘Cats — J.P. Vigier, Roger Trudeau and Buddy Smith — each have 10 points in league play.

In order to score, however, the Wildcats will have to get by Michigan State’s amazing defense, and they’ll have to do it in Munn. They may score, but win at Munn? Unlikely.

Friday’s game could be a tough, spare (no pun intended) defensive battle, since the Michigan State defense will be well aware they need to carry the game.

PICKS: Michigan State: 2-0, 3-2

Bowling Green at No. 7 Michigan Friday, 7 p.m., Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, MI

Quick — name two CCHA teams with players facing felony charges.

If you said Bowling Green and Michigan, give yourself a gold star.

Last week, you read about senior Bowling Green forward Dan Price, who pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter charges stemming from a summer accident in which Price’s passenger was killed.

Price was suspended pending weekly review, and BG head coach Buddy Powers said of the incident, "In our team rules, you’ve got to be responsible for your actions…we want him to take some time and reflect about what’s going on in his life."

The Jan. 7 Detroit News reported that Michigan’s Chris Fox will be charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm — a felony stemming from a summer league game at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills in June.

Fox allegedly slashed another player in the face after play was whistled dead in a no-check league. The Detroit Free Press reported on the same day that the alleged victim has undergone two surgeries to repair damage to his mouth, and may need more.

If convicted, Fox could get up to ten years in prison.

Michigan head coach Red Berenson is quoted in the News as saying, "It happened last summer, but it has nothing to do with our team."

Michigan sports information could not be reached about Fox’s status for the weekend.

What does this have to do with the game between Bowling Green and Michigan? One team’s without a player, and now the Bowling Green players have nasty things with which to taunt Fox — not that they would do so — should he play this weekend.

Michigan beat Ohio State 4-2 and 6-0 last weekend. With the Saturday shutout, Marty Turco tied a couple of records…maybe you heard? Turco tied the NCAA West Regional record for career shutouts with 13 (Denver’s Gerry Powers, 1966-69), and — as everyone who reads USCHO knows — tied former Wolverine Steve Shields’ NCAA Division I record for wins with 111.

Aside from proving Turco’s worth — and he’s had a brilliant season — this means one more thing:

Congratulations, Bowling Green! You’re number 112!

In spite of Bowling Green’s recent resurgence, no one can beat Michigan in their next game, simply because of this record. But since Bowling Green is making the trip to Yost, let’s talk about how well they’ve played in front of rookie goaltender Shawn Timm.

With Timm in net, they’ve tied Alaska-Fairbanks, and beaten Michigan State and Vermont. They also took Northern to overtime last weekend on the road before losing 6-5.

Timm has a respectable GAA of 3.41 and a save percentage of .890.

In league play, the Falcons sit collectively at minus 100, and only one player other than Dan Price — Adam Edinger — has 10 league points.

Given the parity of the CCHA this season, it may be too early to write off the Falcons. But even if Bowling Green can make a run for the playoffs, it won’t begin in Yost.

PICK: Michigan 5-1

No. 7 Michigan at Western Michigan Saturday, 7 p.m., Lawson Arena, Kalamazoo, MI

The good news for Western Michigan: the Broncos scored six goals against No. 2 North Dakota on the road last Friday.

The bad news: North Dakota totaled nearly triple that number.

Last weekend, North Dakota outscored Western Michigan 17-6. This is very bad news indeed for a team that has depended on its fabled defensive core, especially when offense has been nonexistent.

And that’s what’s essentially missing from Western Michigan’s game — offense. It’s unlikely that Michigan will score a dozen goals against Western, but it doesn’t matter how many the Wolverines can score if the Broncos can’t score any.

In their four league wins, the Broncos have scored fewer goals (36) than any other CCHA team except for Bowling Green. In overall play, the Broncos have been outscored by opponents 78-49.

In league play, only two Broncos have scored in the double digits. Frank Novock leads the team with nine goals and four assists, and Chuck Mindel has no goals but 11 assists.

As Elmer Fudd would say, "There’s something screwy around here," because at the other end of the rink, Matt Barnes is playing his heart out, with a league GAA of 2.81 and a league save percentage of .902.

The last time the Broncos were on the ‘W’ side of a game was against Lake Superior at home…on November 14th, a 4-3 OT win. Since then, Western Michigan has lost 11 in a row.

What else do you need to know about Michigan? That Bill Muckalt (22-17–39) is having a career season? That Bobby Hayes (12-10–22) is an unsung hero? That rookie Mike Van Ryn is back from Team Canada and as a defenseman is a legitimate candidate for rookie of the year?

That Marty Turco (1.93 GAA, .920 CCHA) broke the record for NCAA Division I wins by a goaltender the night before this game?

PICK: Michigan 5-2

Women’s National Championship Announced

USCHO Staff Report
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The American Women’s College Hockey Alliance National Championship — the first such championship in women’s ice hockey — was announced today at a joint USA Hockey, ECAC and Hockey East press conference.

Two semifinal games will be held on Friday, March 20, at a campus site to be announced. The championship game will be played the following day at Boston’s FleetCenter prior to the Hockey East championship game. A single ticket will admit fans for both games.

The participating teams will come from the ECAC Women’s Hockey League, the nation’s first intercollegiate ice hockey league for women, and from varsity programs in the Midwest. The championship results from a grant designed by the United States Olympic Committee and the NCAA.

“We are pleased to help showcase the best teams in women’s college ice hockey through this championship,” said Dave Ogrean, USA Hockey Executive Director. “This event, coming on the heels of the first Olympic medal competition for women’s ice hockey in Nagano and the creation of The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award by the USA Hockey Foundation [presented annually to the most outstanding women’s player] caps a benchmark year for the growth of girls’ and women’s ice hockey in the United States.”

Hockey East was able to propose the pairing of the AWCHA Championship with its own tournament after league athletic directors voted to do away with its men’s consolation game this year.

“We are excited to be part of this evening of championships,” said Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna. “From my years with the ECAC, I developed a strong affinity for the women’s game. This pairing will give New England hockey fans a special and historic evening to remember.”

The championship game will be limited to a single overtime and a shootout to ensure that the Hockey East game remains close to schedule.

ECAC, Hockey East Announce Madison Square Garden Doubleheader

USCHO Staff Report
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The ECAC and Hockey East announced at a joint press conference today that New York’s Madison Square Garden will host a Dec. 22, 1998 doubleheader involving two premier teams from each conference. The first ECAC-Hockey East Holiday Doubleheader will feature Colgate, Maine, New Hampshire and Rensselaer.

“After a 22-year absence, it is very exciting to have college hockey back at Madison Square Garden,” said Paul Munick, vice-president of athletics for Madison Square Garden. “This is the first step in establishing an annual premier college hockey tournament in New York.”

From 1961 through 1976, the Garden hosted the ECAC Holiday Hockey Festival, and currently hosts the Chase Manhattan ECAC Holiday Basketball Festival.

“This is a terrific opportunity for college hockey to gain some exposure in a different market,” said ECAC hockey commissioner Jeff Fanter. “I am excited to rekindle a relationship that the ECAC once had with the Garden in college hockey. I hope this is the first of many joint ventures that we will undertake with Hockey East in the promotion of college hockey.”

“Having played in the 1970 Holiday Festival,” said Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna,” I know firsthand what a terrific experience this can be for players and fans alike. And it is also our hope that this is the first of a series of ECAC-Hockey East events that can play to the natural rivalry that exists between our conferences and our institutions.”

Wolverines’ Fox Faces Felony Assault Charge

USCHO Staff Report
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Michigan senior defenseman Chris Fox was arraigned on a felony assault charge Wednesday in connection with an incident last June in a recreational hockey league.

According to reports from the Associated Press and the Ann Arbor (Mich.) News, Fox, 21, allegedly hit a member of an opposing team in the face with his hockey stick June 15 during a game in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. A six-month investigation of the incident ensued, partly because Fox refused to identify himself to the referee, and none of his teammates would do so either.

The victim, Robert Thomas, 20, of Waterford, Mich., eventually identified Fox as his attacker from a Michigan team photograph. Thomas lost at least one tooth and underwent two root canals as a result of the attack, which Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca called “a very serious crime.”

If convicted of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, Fox could receive a 10-year prison sentence. Prosecutors also declared their intent to seek financial compensation for the victim’s medical treatment.

Michigan head coach Red Berenson said that Fox’s status with the Wolverine hockey team is unaffected, saying that the matter “has nothing to do with us — it’s a personal thing. … I’ve talked to his lawyer and they’re going to handle it.”

U-M’s Code of Student Conduct does not govern behavior outside of university property or events, unless it occurs within the city of Ann Arbor.

Fox’s attorney, David A. Binkley, asserted that his client had been struck first.

“He thought he was going to be attacked again,” Binkley said. “Chris Fox is not a criminal.”

Fox was released on $25,000 bond and a preliminary examination scheduled for Jan. 15, before Bloomfield Hills District Judge Edward Avadenka.

Hockey East Online Game of the Week Announced

USCHO Staff Report
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Hockey East has announced an agreement with Dallas-based Audionet to begin broadcast of selected games live over the Internet, including the conference’s championship tournament.

Broadcasts will be available through Hockey East Online, the conference’s official web site. According to a release issued by Hockey East, the league is the first conference in any sport in the nation to develop a league-wide Internet broadcasting program.

“We are continuing our efforts to bring Hockey East to more fans outside of our region,” said Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna. “We’ve had 1,000 hits each day on our website. And now we expect to see even more interest in the conference through this package.”

The Game of the Week begins Friday, Jan. 9, as Maine visits Merrimack (7:00 p.m. ET). Dan Parkhurst of Chamber Works, Inc., developers and engineers of Hockey East Online, will handle play-by-play duties. Parkhurst is a former student broadcaster for WUNH.

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Bowling Green assistant coach Paskaris leaves bench, named assistant athletics director for development with Falcons

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Women’s Division I College Hockey: The PodKaz Offseason interview – A visit with 2-time defending NCAA championship coach Joe Cranston of UW-River Falls

Nicole Haase -

After 42 years coaching Amherst men’s hockey team, Arena retires as ‘heart and soul’ of Mammoths program

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Western New England men’s hockey coach Young announces resignation after four seasons with Golden Bears

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SUNYAC tabs Fredonia’s Sudbrink as conference men’s hockey scholar-athlete of the year for ’24-25 season

USCHO Staff -

‘A proud day’ as former Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey captain Brodt tabbed new head coach for St. Scholastica

USCHO Staff -

Denver sophomore blueliner, recent Wild signee Buium tabbed USCHO Player of the Year for ’24-25 season

USCHO Staff -

Western Michigan’s Ferschweiler leads Broncos to national championship, named unanimous USCHO Coach of the Year for 2024-25 campaign

USCHO Staff -

After 48-point freshman season with Boston University, Hutson adds to accolades with 2024-25 USCHO Rookie of the Year honor

USCHO Staff -

Wisconsin’s Simms, McNaughton, Minnesota’s Primerano take home final women’s hockey HCA monthly honors for ’24-25 season

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