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D-III Hockey Independents Preview – Non-conference wins a focus for quartet of teams in East

Goaltender Logan Bateman from Albertus Magnus looks to increase his 16-win total from last season for the Falcons (Photo by Morgan Violette)

These teams would love to be playing in a conference and have the chance to battle for a league title or an opportunity to play on the national stage. Being an independent makes the former impossible but the latter a remote possibility and so, four teams play their non-conference schedules with the hope of impressing conferences and earning wins to be relevant in tournament conversation.

I don’t think we are going to sneak up on anyone this year,” said Albertus Magnus head coach, Kyle Wallack. “We started the season at 0-4 last year and yet finished at 16-8-1 with some high-quality wins over teams like Hamilton, Trinity, and Plattsburgh. Our focus is to be better this year and earn enough quality wins that we might at least be part of the conversation at tournament time. We would love to win 20 games and have a great group back to make that effort.”

Albertus Magnus

The Falcons return five of their top six scorers from last season and return stellar goaltender Logan Bateman who missed the first month of the season last year when the Falcons started 0-4. Look for a better start this season in the hunt for a 20-win season.

Anna Maria

The AmCats graduated their top five scorers from last season so a combination of returning forwards and new players will be expected to chip in with goal production. Cam Tobey will be expected to contribute on both ends of the ice from his defense position while Zack Roncarati, Cole Johnston and Aidan Richardson look to be the #1 netminder for coach Dave McCauley.

Rivier

The Raiders benefited from a great freshman season from forward Milan Breczko who finished with 12 goals and 24 points on the season. He and fellow sophomores, Tyler Duderstadt and Nicholas Paolucci will need to add a bit more offense for coach Matt Keating’s Rivier squad.

SUNY – Canton

The Kangaroos downed Albertus Magnus in last year’s inaugural GNAC Commissioner’s Cup to claim bragging rights among the independent programs. This year there won’t be that end of year tournament due to scheduling challenges, but Canton will be competitive with their challenging schedule that always includes SUNYAC opponents. Goaltender Filip Schlyter returns along with a mobile and physical defensive group that will help keep the Roos in the game against any opponent.

Players to watch

Albertus Magnus:                          Alex Gagnon – forward; Jonathan Stein- forward

Anna Maria:                                   Cam Tobey – defense; Derek Raposo – defense

Rivier:                                              Brandon Brown – goaltender; Evan Lugo – forward

SUNY-Canton:                                Filip Jakobsson – forward; Brady Morrison – forward

USCHO Predicted finish

  1. Albertus Magnus
  2. SUNY-Canton
  3. Anna Maria
  4. Rivier

The season opens this weekend with Canton in a two-game series at Stevenson while Anna Maria faces Nichols in the opening round of the Woo Cup Tournament in Worcester, MA. Rivier plays a two-game series against the UCHC’s newest member, Alvernia and Albertus Magnus faces St. Michael’s for two games this weekend to open the new season.

 

This Week in Atlantic Hockey: Even after picking up sweep over Lindenwood, AIC team still ‘a work in progress’

It was mostly splitsville in Atlantic Hockey last week, with both conference series (Rochester Institute of Technology at Air Force and Sacred Heart at Niagara) ending in splits.

In each case, the home team won the first game, with the visitors coming back the next day to get their three points.

Mercyhurst and Clarkson also split a non-conference series in the North Country, with Friday’s 2-1 overtime victory the first of the season for the Lakers.

The only team to record two victories last week was American International, which swept visiting Lindenwood 5-0 and 5-3.

Jordan Biro had a goal and an assist in each game, and Alexandros Aslanidis earned both wins in net.

It was a nice bounce-back victory for the Yellow Jackets, who dropped a 7-3 decision to Holy Cross earlier in the week.

Looking at the big picture, coach Eric Lang says that his team, which features 18 new players, is on track, if not ahead, of where he thought it would be at this point in the season.

“We’re a work in progress,” said Lang. “Our schedule hasn’t allowed for a full week of practice yet, so I’m looking forward to that this week. We need to clean some things up. But overall, I’m pleasantly surprised with our team.

“Right now, we’re at about 25 percent of our potential.”

Adjustments are ongoing, and some were made after Tuesday’s loss to Holy Cross.

“We did some good things in that game,” said Lang. “We did a good job blocking shots. We had the puck a lot. But Holy Cross’ will to win superseded what we were able to do.”

So that means that there is still plenty to work on, according to Lang.

“We weren’t happy as a staff,” he said. “There were some tough film sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. (For the series against Lindenwood) we infused some new guys in the lineup.”

Aslanidis, a freshman, is 3-1 in four starts with a .926 save percentage and a 1.78 GAA.

Biro, a transfer from Colorado College, leads the team in scoring with three goals and eight assists. Senior Blake Bennet, last season’s playoff MVP, leads the way in goals with six in eight games.

Next up for AIC is a game on Friday at Army West Point. The Black Knights are coming off a wildly entertaining 7-6 overtime loss to the U.S. National Development Team last Sunday in front of a packed house at Tate Rink.

Games with Army West Point are always special for Lang and his staff. Lang spent four years as Brian Riley’s assistant before taking the head coaching position at AIC.

Brendan Riley, Brian’s son, is an assistant at AIC. He previously squared off against his dad for four years as a player at Mercyhurst. Brother Jack is on the Black Knights’ bench as Director of Hockey Operations. He also starred for Mercyhurst.

“Really looking forward to it,” said Lang. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere. It always feels like going back home for me, especially with Brendan Riley on our bench.”

Win or lose, Lang’s team is ahead of schedule, and the four-time defending Atlantic Hockey champions have a knack for peaking at the right time.

“We already have four wins,” said Lang. “Last year we didn’t get to four wins until Thanksgiving.”

The Yellow Jackets opened last season 3-10-1 before winning 10 straight to run away with the regular season title and ultimately winning the playoff championship as well.

“We’re notoriously slow starters,” said Lang. “Our game is fairly complicated in how we play, with an emphasis on detail. Our goal is to be playing our best hockey at the end of the season.”

That Minnesota-North Dakota weekend, what’s ahead with writers Myers and Schlossman: USCHO Spotlight Season 5 Episode 4

Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Jess Myers and Brad Schlossman of The Rink Live to relive last weekend’s Minnesota-North Dakota series and what’s ahead for both teams, plus a look around the NCHC and Big Ten and the rest of D-I men’s college hockey.

This college hockey podcast is sponsored by DCU – Digital Federal Credit Union – at dcu.org.

Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, in your favorite podcast app, or on Spreaker.

Check out all of USCHO’s podcasts, including USCHO Weekend Review and USCHO Edge, plus our entire podcast archive.

This Week in NCHC Hockey: After three years at Colorado College, Cruikshank filling major role, playing top minutes for St. Cloud State

St. Cloud State senior forward Grant Cruikshank was named the NCHC forward of the week after helping the Huskies sweep No. 2 Minnesota State, recording a team-best five points with three goals and two assists (photo: St. Cloud State Athletics).

As he recalls it, on the day he learned current St. Cloud State forward Grant Cruikshank entered the transfer portal ahead of his fifth season of eligibility, Huskies coach Brett Larson met Cruikshank for lunch.

Larson had been close to securing Cruikshank’s commitment before, but SCSU came up second to Minnesota after Cruikshank finished a three-year spell at Colorado College. He averaged a point every other game in 90 appearances with the Tigers, and when he left Colorado Springs after his junior year, Minnesota saw the same potential in the son of speedskating legend Bonnie Blair that Larson did.

So, when Cruikshank became available once again, Larson didn’t waste time. He grabbed his keys and made the hour’s drive down Interstate 94 to Minneapolis.

“Once we found out he was in the portal, it was the first call I made,” Larson said. “That was a main area of focus for us, losing (former SCSU forwards Kevin) Fitzgerald and (Nolan) Walker down the middle, and we knew a freshman wouldn’t be able to fill those types of minutes or that type or role right away, so we thought in order to be good, we’d need to find a guy to get us better down the middle quick, and Grant has definitely done that.

“I was very thankful to be able to get him this year. (Second-year SCSU assistant) R.J. Enga had a relationship with him, coaching him at Colorado College, we built a relationship with him last year in the recruiting process and he’s been exactly what we expected. He’s an all-around, 200-foot player that you can play in any situation. His leadership skills are high-end, and his dedication, work ethic and commitment to getting better are as high as pretty much anyone I’ve ever been around. I think that rubs off on the guys around him.”

Six goals and 16 points through six games for St. Cloud says plenty, and Cruikshank played a big role again for the undefeated Huskies last weekend as they swept a home series against second-ranked Minnesota State.

Cruikshank scored the game-tying goal in the second period of SCSU’s 3-2 win Friday, and he set up Kyler Kupka’s winner on a power play 35 seconds into the third. When the Huskies won 4-3 in Saturday’s rematch, Cruikshank scored the opener shorthanded, then broke a 3-3 tie with 3:26 left, off a feed from Kupka.

Larson knew from prior experience against MSU that nothing would come easy last weekend.

“We played Mankato a few times over the last few years, two down there last year, and the games were similar,” Larson said. “Mankato is a team that has a great ground game, and they spend a lot of time in your end and protect pucks and make you defend a lot. Our goal was to just not get frustrated, hopefully defend well, protect the middle of the ice and then be able to make a play when we got our opportunities.

“I was proud of our guys that they were able to do that without getting frustrated. It seems like every game we play against them like that. Friday was a really good, even hockey game, and I thought it could’ve gone either way. On Saturday, Mankato dominated long portions of that game and we were able to hang on through goaltending, and being able to take advantage of our few opportunities. Without the goaltending we got, that could’ve gone a different way.”

For his efforts against MSU, Cruikshank was named Monday as the NCHC forward of the week. He’s already in even more rarified air, though, within the Huskies’ program. His six goals scored in the first six games of the season made him the first SCSU player to do that in 21 years.

He’ll be looked to again this weekend as SCSU, up six spots to second in the latest DCU/USCHO Division I Men’s Poll, plays a home-and-home series with another Minnesota nonconference rival, Bemidji State. The Beavers are fresh off earning a win and tie against Michigan Tech, and Larson knows the Huskies can’t take votes-receiving BSU lightly.

“The thing I’ve noticed about college hockey is it’s almost a race to see who can keep getting better, and we’re going to have to be better this weekend than we were last weekend,” Larson said. “Bemidji’s clearly a good team that has added some nice offensive pieces that blend in well with their hard-working defensive style.

“It’s just the continued push every week to get better at college hockey, because if you don’t, you’re going to get beat.”

MASCAC Hockey Preview – Panthers poised for repeat in MASCAC

PSU forward Myles Abbate has eyes on another MASCAC championship for the Panthers (Photo by Kim Bownes – AD)

Plymouth State has been the elite team in MASCAC over the past few seasons – winning the conference title but still in search of their first NCAA tournament game victory. This year the Panthers look to accomplish both but first things first – the MASCAC championship.

“We were so close last year against UNE in the NCAA tournament,” said PSU head coach Craig Russell. “One bounce away but it will happen, and this year is a different group looking to get it done. We graduated a lot and have several new guys, but I like our group. They really have great character. We may not score as many goals, but we may be able to afford that with our blueline and goaltending experience.”

“I think the league will have a different look for some teams this year, but everyone is going to be competitive. Just look at what Framingham State did last year in making it to the finals – you have to be ready to play every time out on the ice.”

The Favorites

The Panthers will rely on their experience including defenseman Ted Austin, forward Myles Abbate, and goaltender Kalle Andersson. They have depth which will allow some young players to get comfortable in the Panther systems as they look to repeat as conference champions.

Fitchburg State will arguably have a different look without Brian McGrath in goal for the Falcons. While the goaltending will sort itself out, the forward group is stellar and includes top producers Hunter Fortin and Rece Bergeman who can put up goals 5-on-5 or on special teams.

The Dark Horses

Westfield State picked up their game behind the strong goaltending of Valtteri Valtonen. While there are key losses in the forward group to graduation, the blueline is strong with the likes of Chris Sullivan and Tom Skold. If the Owls can grow from where they finished last year, they could be in the hunt in February.

Worcester State, under Bob Deraney’s coaching managed to finish at 8-8-2 in conference play last year and earned the #3 playoff seed. All-conference defenseman Max Roth returns along with an improved supporting cast that should find the Lancers to be very competitive starting with their opening game against Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

Players to watch

Fitchburg State:                             Hunter Fortin – forward; Rece Bergeman – forward

Framingham State:                        Ashton Collazo – forward; Blake Carlson – goaltender

UMass – Dartmouth:                    Michael Perrone – forward; Jake Maynard – defense

Plymouth State:                             Myles Abbate – forward; Kalle Andersson – goaltender

Salem State:                                   Matt Yianacopolus – defense; Erik Larsson – forward

Westfield State:                             Joseph Carbone – forward; Valtteri Valtonen – goaltender

Worcester State:                           Max Roth – defense; Henry Bruckner – defense

USCHO Predicted finish

  1. Plymouth State
  2. Fitchburg State
  3. Westfield State
  4. Worcester State
  5. Salem State
  6. Massachusetts-Dartmouth
  7. Framingham State

The Panthers open with a pair of challenging opponents this weekend, hosting Plattsburgh on Friday night before traveling to Babson on Saturday. The first weekend also sees the Lancers competing for early hardware in the Woo Cup Tournament featuring Assumption, Anna Maria, Nichols and Worcester State – nothing better than opening the season with a trophy.

D-III Women’s Hockey Preseason Preview – More competition amongst top teams, a new program, and teams to look out for

Middlebury wins the 2022 Women’s NCAA Championship 3-2 in OT vs Gustavus (Photo by Will Costello)

D-III Women’s Hockey is finally back as we await the first puck drops of the opening season this Friday, October 28, 2022. We saw a huge leap in the overall competition within the top teams last season, closing the skill-gap further between the bottom-half and the top-half ranked teams.

While the common group of top 5-6 teams maintain their stature, the level of competition does nothing but good for the game of women’s hockey and brings more unpredictable outcomes.

The Defending Champions

The defending champions Middlebury, coached by Bill Mandigo who’s entering his 35th year with the program, has a bigger task at hand than normal this season. After going a perfect 27-0 last season, winning the title, and now heading into this season as defending champions, Coach Mandigo says last year’s success can’t be the main topic of the team. “I don’t think that is, or should be our emphasis. We will view the season as a journey where each day the goal is to get better and have fun in the process. That is the approach we took last year…don’t put the cart before the horse!” When asked about what he believes was the biggest reason behind his team’s success last year, he said, “I think we had excellent goaltending and good defensemen. We put an emphasis on playing in our own end and the players bought into it. We also had great leadership who never let anyone panic in tight/tough situations. They believed in themselves, and their confidence grew throughout the year.”

Middlebury will open their season with a two-game series at home vs Trinity on November 18/19, 2022.

A New Program

This season will be the inaugural season for the new program Hilbert College Women’s hockey, led by Head Coach Cole Klubek. Klubek, a Hamburg, NY native, is looking to get the new program off to a good start. Founded in 1957 with an average enrollment of 800, located in Hamburg, NY, the program will be competing as an independent for the ‘22-’23 season.

Hilbert College Women’s Hockey to compete in their inaugural ’22-’23 season (Photo by Janet Schultz)

When asked about the most encouraging elements Coach Klubek has seen from the team, he said, “The effort during our exhibitions was nonstop. They had 4 days together on the ice and never quit even with a short bench. To have that fighting spirit going into the first weekend is infectious.” Klubek is already busy at trying to establish his foundations as a coach with the team, consisting of all new freshmen and transfers: “Hard work and empathy go a long way in building relationships. I want to foster a culture that understands and honors both.”

Hilbert College will play their first-ever regular season game on the road at 3:30pm Friday, October 28 at Alvernia University in Redding, PA.

Teams Looking to Make a Leap

It’s always interesting to see improvement year after year from various programs, but a team that should be focused on this season that may be overlooked by many is St. Norbert. Led by Head Coach A.J. Aitken, who enters his 3rd season with the Green Knights, coming off a 20-9 season last year. When asked about his quick success with the team, highlighting his 1st year record of 8-19 compared to his 2nd year record of 20-9, Coach Aitken said, “Starts with recruiting the type of player that you want in your program. Highly driven in the classroom and willing to put the work off ice. We believe this process leads to on ice success. I am fortunate to have had assistant coaches that worked hard to identify the right student athlete.”

Look for St. Norbert to be a top competitor in the NCHA and possibly become a top-10 ranked team in the polls. The Green Knights open their season at home vs Hamline University in a two-game series on October 28/29, 2022.

Adrian College had an up-and-down season last year, starting relatively strong, climbing the rankings, but were then devastated roster wise by COVID-19, causing them to drop a few games they (on paper) should’ve won handily. Adrian returns 2 juniors, 6 seniors, and 2 graduate seniors, with a veteran loaded team, Coach Shawn Skelly, who holds a career record of 86-15-7 and has won 20+ games in all 4 seasons at Adrian, said:

“We believe we have the group to make a strong run this year. Losing in the semi’s of the NCHA playoffs last season has really helped our group come into this season more focused and ready to go. It’s our goal every year to make it into the NCAA Tournament and from there it’s a matter of showing up in those one game elimination games. Most of our players have some experience in those games but others have not after the couple of canceled tournaments during COVID. Lots of work to go and tons of time to focus on our process to get to where we need to go.”

Adrian opens its season with a big two-game test on the road at Oswego State on October 28/29, 2022. Oswego defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 in Adrian last season in their lone matchup.

UW-Eau Claire led by Coach Erik Strand, finished last season 23-6, handing UW-River Falls their only regular-season loss, while falling in the NCAA Tournament opening round to the eventual runner-up Gustavus 3-0, looks to make that jump as well as he returns a loaded veteran-led squad:

“Every season provides an opportunity to learn ways to become better. I liked how our staff broke down last season and prepared for this year. We are very excited about the group we returned and have been impressed with how they have helped our 1st year’s become acclimated to UW-Eau Claire both on and off the ice. We believe the potential is there for another successful season and we will hopefully be a tough team to play against every night.”

Look for UW-Eau Claire to make a possible NCAA Tournament run this season as Coach Strand has brought nothing but consistency to UW-Eau Claire since he arrived. Eau-Claire opens their season on the road vs Saint Benedict (Minn.) in a two-game series on October 28/29, 2022

Hockey’s Back

I think Head Coach Michael O’Grady of Chatham University, who’s coming off a record setting year for the program, speaks for every coach, player, and fan when he says: “I am excited for our season to get rolling, and the way our schedule shaped up this year. Every program in our conference has gotten stronger and I think that will make for some great hockey games and challenge all of us to bring our best games each and every night.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Week in CCHA Hockey: Experienced Bemidji State transfers making impact with Beavers, have ‘all been a joy to coach’

Mitchell Martan is spending his fifth season of NCAA eligibility at Bemidji State after previously playing at Canisius (photo: BSU Photo Services).

Few teams lost quite as many impact players over the offseason as Bemidji State.

Aside from the Sillinger brothers (Owen and Lukas) – the team’s joint leading goal scorers with 17 apiece – the Beavers also lost a big chunk of their leadership group. Fifth-year senior captain Ethan Somoza – an older, hard-working veteran who embodied a certain Beaver mentality – graduated, as did a number of other four-year players like Alex Ierullo, Tyler Kirkup, Brad Johnson and Alex Adams.

Those players scored a lot of points for the Beavers, but most importantly they were veteran leaders who knew what Tom Serratore and the rest of the BSU coaching staff wanted from them.

The Beavers had some stalwart veterans returning, like forward Ross Armour and Eric Martin and defensemen Elias Rosén, Will Zmolek and Kyle Looft. But they knew they needed a few more guys who could come in and make an instant impact with both their play and their leadership.

So, coming into this season, Serratore had a solution: dipping into the transfer portal. The Beavers usually tend to bring in one or two a season. But this year, they brought in three: Mitchell Martan from Canisius, Kaden Pickering from St. Lawrence and Jackson Jutting from Colorado College.

All three have played key roles for the Beavers in their four games so far this season: Martan is leading the team in goals (four) and points (six), while Pickering has a pair of assists and Jutting one helper. Jutting, a junior from Prior Lake, Minn., also scored the game winner in Saturday’s shootout win against Michigan Tech – a goal that won’t show up in his stats but helped the Beavers finish off their weekend in the Upper Peninsula with five points.

Serratore said adding three transfers this season was an easy call because of the way all three approach the game.

“We needed experience,” he said. “We lost a boatload of guys, so the one thing they bring is experience. They’re battle-tested, and that was important to us coming into a young team. If you don’t lose that many guys, maybe you don’t bring as many transfers in, but we felt at this particular time, the amount of guys we lost last year and the impact they made over the course of four years, we felt we needed to bring in some experienced hockey players. We’re really happy with them, and they’ve all been a joy to coach.”

It hasn’t just been the transfers that have stood out so far for the Beavers, who are 2-1-1 just four games into the young season. Freshman Lleyton Road, who was held off the scoreboard in BSU’s season-opening series against Arizona State, had himself a statement weekend against the Huskies, scoring twice and assisting on another in Friday’s 5-2 win before netting an unassisted tally in Saturday’s 2-2 tie that the Beavers won in the shootout.

“Guys are playing well,” Serratore said. “A lot of it is getting opportunities. I think they’re feeding off each other. We’ve only played four games, so it’s early and there’s a lot of hockey left, but I think we’re getting good production from a lot of different guys, and I think a lot of it is a lot of different guys are getting opportunities because we lost so many guys from last year.”

Case-in-point: Many of the returning standouts so far this year have been sophomores. European wingers Alexander Lundman, from Sweden, and Jakub Lewandowski, from Poland, played sparingly last year but are currently playing top-line minutes. Jere Vaisanen, from Finland, appeared in 37 games a season ago but has shifted from winger to center. And defenseman Will Magnuson and Tony Follmer both figure to have increased roles on the blue line after the departures of Johnson and Tyler Jubenvill.

“If you’re young, you don’t always get opportunities,” Serratore said of his sophomore class. “The only way you can get better, the only way you can get experience and the only way you can develop is by playing. It’s their time. They’re coming in a lot more confident. When you come in as a freshman you don’t know what to expect, and when you’re not playing all you’re trying to do is survive and get in the lineup. Now that they’re coming in as sophomores, they are more battle-tested, more experienced, they know exactly what is expected of them, and they know how we want to play. There’s just a lot less for them to have to think about coming into their second year compared to their first year.”

The Beavers hope their relative fresh faces can keep up their successful, hard-working play all season. They take on No. 2 St. Cloud State in a home-and-home this weekend.

“Just because you lose so many guys doesn’t mean you don’t have good players waiting in the wings,” Serratore said. “We’ve got a lot of good honest players who work hard. The key is, can they continue to take advantage of it? Two weekends doesn’t make a season. We want to stay consistent.”

UCHC Hockey Preview – Strong challengers await Utica’s bid to repeat in UCHC

Osmundson’s stellar season for Pioneers earns USCHO D-III Rookie of the Year
Utica’s Brandon Osmundson looks to lift the Pioneers to another UCHC championship (Photo by Jeff Pexton)

The UCHC continues to expand its membership with Alvernia joining the conference this season as the 11th team in the league. While the new team will be expected to be competitive, the top of the standings still looks like it will be a race among a handful of usual competitors.

“There continues to be a lot of growth in the UCHC,” said Stevenson head coach Dominick Dawes. “New teams and better level of play every year as teams look to compete with the teams at the top. We expect that Utica is going to be right at the top of the list along with Wilkes and we want to challenge right there with them. Hopefully, we get a hot start and beat some good teams to get some early momentum, but I expect like it is every year it is going to come down to some critical games in February to figure out the final seeding for the playoffs. It should be a fun ride!”

The Favorites

It’s no surprise that Utica is the favorite to repeat as champions as they return a solid nucleus of players including defenseman Justin Allen and Brian Scoville and forwards Buster Larsson, Dante Zapata and Brandon Osmundson. Sophomore Bryan Landsberger along with two freshmen will battle for time in goal and coach Gary Heenan will have the Pioneers focused on getting back to the elusive Frozen Four this season.

Stevenson returns a roster with only four seniors but with great experience starting with goaltender Ryan Kenny. Austin Masters provides great leadership for the Mustangs who will look to take the next step as a program by winning their first conference title.

The Dark Horses

Wilkes lost a pair of premier forwards in the conference in Donald Flynn and Tyler Barrow to graduation and will look for Phil Erickson to lead a young group of Colonels. The return of a healthy Michael Paterson-Jones in goal may be what Wilkes needs to find themselves in the championship game again at the end of the season.

Chatham will rely heavily on senior goaltender Ricardo Gonzalez but if young forwards like Andrew Warhoftig improve their productivity from last season, the Cougars will contend against all-comers in the conference.

Coaches/Players to watch

 Alvernia:                           Andrew Burke – coach: Peter Falivena – forward

Arcadia:                            James Spaargaren – forward; Dylan Florit – forward

Chatham:                         Andrew Warhoftig – forward; Ricardo Gonzalez – goaltender

King’s:                               Jack Cooper – forward; Tyler Blanchard – forward

Lebanon Valley:               Blake Tosto – forward; Darion Benchich – forward

Manhattanville:              Tyler Roy– goaltender; Artem Mateichenko – forward

Nazareth:                         Ryan Turse – forward; Nick Charron – forward

Neumann:                        Luke Croucher – forward; Joey Mancuso – forward

Stevenson:                       Ryan Kenny – goaltender; Frank Vitucci – forward

Utica:                                 Brandon Osmundson – forward; Justin Allen – defense

Wilkes:                              Phil Erickson – forward; Michael Paterson-Jones – goaltender

USCHO predicted finish

  1. Utica
  2. Stevenson
  3. Wilkes
  4. Chatham
  5. Manhattanville
  6. Neumann
  7. Nazareth
  8. Alvernia
  9. Lebanon Valley
  10. Arcadia
  11. King’s

After the opening weekend upcoming, the first weekend in November sees Utica traveling to Stevenson for a two-game series that should see some intense hockey for points and position in the league. No time to ease into the season for anyone in the conference.

 

 

 

 

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Penn State firing on all cylinders as Nittany Lions finding way back to scoring in bunches

The Penn State offense has been on fire to start the 2022-23 season (photo: Ed Mailliard).

The college hockey season is a six-month-long debate, but Penn State has already crafted an impressive opening statement.

Averaging 5.17 goals per game through their first three series – six games, all wins – with all but three goals coming at even strength, the Nittany Lions are playing hockey that looks a lot more Penn State-ish than fans have seen in recent years.

That is by design, and all of this season-opening success goes back to lessons that COVID taught the Nittany Lions.

“It’s basically getting back to what we used to do, in a more personalized way,” said coach Guy Gadowsky.

During the 2020-21 season, every D-I team adhered to its own institution-specific guidelines for playing hockey during the pandemic, as well as to NCAA, Big Ten, and CDC rules. For teams in the Big Ten, that meant little in-person interaction among players as well as between coaching staffs and their teams.

For Gadowsky, especially, this was challenging.

Even as he was coaching that season, he mentioned how hampered he felt because he couldn’t spend time with his team, with his staff. Gadowsky was public about having to spend that season separated from his wife, Melissa, and their daughter, who went to the Canadian Maritimes because of health risks to Melissa during the early days of the pandemic without vaccines.

Everyone who knows Gadowsky knows just how personable he is. Being able to communicate – to participate in a community – is intrinsic to his coaching success. When COVID made the kind of coaching at which Gadowsky excels impossible, the Nittany Lions found themselves at a bit of a loss.

“I don’t think I’ll ever take the job that our whole staff does in a personal way for granted,” said Gadowksky. “I really think that was a big part of it. The little things that this staff does and the reason why we want to get really great people is that the personal touch that they have goes a long way. I will never take that for granted again.

“Another thing I’ll never take for granted again is the amount of work or how valuable it is for new players to learn through example from the older players. In COVID, we had to be in cohorts. They weren’t hanging out at the rink. They weren’t with each other off hours from the rink. The fact that we weren’t able to have guys together to learn from the leaders – I’m never going to take that for granted again either.

“Even though we did know how important those aspects were, I was still shocked at the magnitude and how quickly things could change without it.”

The effects on the program were immediate. In the 2018-19 season, the Nittany Lions were 22-15-2 overall and averaged an astonishing 4.54 goals per game. Penn State built on that and finished 2019-20 with the regular-season B1G title, 20-10-4 overall, outscoring opponents 121-88 in all games, and averaging 3.56 goals per game.

The numbers for what we now think of as “the COVID season” are a stark contrast: 10-12-0 overall, tied for fifth in B1G play, averaging 2.95 goals per game and outscored by opponents 81-65.

Last year, the Nittany lions again finished tied for fifth but showed some improvement, with a 17-20-1 record and scoring 3.08 goals per game.

“A lot of this work was done in the past two years,” said Gadowsky. “Our culture was just in a totally different place from what we’re used to. I give all of the players but the leaders specifically from last year credit. They were tasked with changing this culture, a number-one priority, and I think they really worked hard to do it.”

Defenseman Paul DeNaples returns for a fifth season and is serving as captain for the second year in a row. Senior forward Connor McMenamin is an assistant captain for the second straight year.

Some of the leadership that Gadowsky sought was imported this season. Two fifth-year forwards transferred into Penn State, Ashton Calder from North Dakota and Ture Linden from Rensselaer. Gadowsky said that his staff thought hard before deciding to bring in transfer players.

“We weren’t going to do it unless we got specific tools out of them, like having them here for specific reasons and specific strengths,” said Gadowsky. “Also, we really wanted a lot of leadership again. Where we were with our culture coming out of COVID, that was a very big priority for us.

“I think both these guys bring a lot of veteran maturity and that was something that was very important to us. They’ve made an impact off the ice as well as on the ice. They play that role. So far, we couldn’t be happier with them.”

Calder and Linden have each scored three goals.

The Nittany Lions opened their season with a home sweep of Canisius, a home-and-home sweep of Mercyhurst, and two wins at home last weekend against St. Thomas. After beating the Tommies 6-2 in that series opener, the Nittany Lions needed overtime to win the second game. It was the alternate captain, McMenamin, 4:40 in OT who scored his second goal of the season for the win.

“I think in college hockey, you’ve seen it over and over, anybody can beat anybody,” said Gadowsky. “It happens every year.

“Last year, Canisius beat us. It’s nice to see that the work that the team has done translates. Every game in college hockey is difficult. At the end of the year, we’ll have a very high strength of schedule whether we like it or not, so we’re happy to get off to a good start against anybody.”

The success of the early season, said Gadowsky, comes from “getting back to what we used to do, in a more personalized way.”

He added, “That job isn’t done, but what I think you’re seeing is that trend over to the ice, the work that everybody’s done off the ice. That’s what I think you’re seeing.”

This weekend, Penn State opens its Big Ten conference play with a road trip to Wisconsin.

This Week in ECAC Hockey: Rensselaer ‘Godfather’ Hallbauer enjoying uber-veteran status in last season of NCAA hockey

Rensselaer captain Kyle Hallbauer has collected two assists so far this season for the Engineers (photo: Perry Laskaris).

Kyle Hallbauer knows all of the jokes.

He’s old enough to remember when the members of One Direction weren’t heading in different directions. He was around when the Titanic sank, but at least THAT was the movie and not real life. His nickname in the locker room is “Grandpa” and the “Godfather.”

This past weekend, he played against the United States National Under-18 Team, meaning he skated against players almost 10 years younger than him. He’s practically five years older than the average-aged hockey player … on his own team.

Thanks to the COVID-canceled season of 2020-21, the captain of Rensselaer’s hockey team is one of a selected group of hockey players who will turn 26 years old before the season ends. In a world where that might draw laughs or looks, Hallbauer wears that badge as an honor thanks to the opportunities afforded to him both on and off the ice, and while he is recognized as an elder statesman of sorts with Rensselaer’s 4-1 hockey club, he remains a prime example of how the talent pool in hockey is developed in a unique manner unlike anything in college sports.

“I definitely knew I was going to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, guy in the league,” Hallbauer said. “But I don’t really see it from an age standpoint. If you’re on a team, you’re there for a reason. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are. If you can play, you can play, and if you can play for that long, you play for that long. It’s an opportunity that fell into my lap, so I decided to go with it.”

The way athletes funnel into college hockey guarantees an older talent pool with the majority of recruits matriculating out of the various junior leagues that dot the American and Canadian hockey landscape, but a select group comes directly from the high school or prep school landscape. They skew much younger, but they offset older players who play in the developmental showcase leagues.

That occasional 18-year-old true freshman is still somehow less jarring than the sight of a 21-year-old who played two or three years in a junior league. That age is more readily recognized for upperclassmen, many of whom are well into professional careers by their mid-20s. Some have even gotten married and started families.

Older players are more rare occasions, but they can offer programs a combination of life experience and athletic know-how. In football, for example, an older player is usually someone who started a minor league baseball career but decided to return to college to play football, as was the case with former first-round picks Chris Weinke and Branden Weeden.

In hockey, though, a mid-20s athlete is more common, and a player like Hallbauer was able to qualify for an early bachelor’s degree because of his credits amassed during his junior hockey career. Joining the Engineers as a freshman then gave RPI that mature athlete while he subsequently retained all four years of eligibility to pursue multiple degrees.

“I was as old as you possibly could be, going into juniors, and then I played for Kingston, which isn’t even a team anymore (the Voyageurs were sold to the Barrie Colts after the 2018-19 season),” Hallbauer said. “But playing in Kingston, I got a little taste and heard things about college hockey, and I knew I was poised to at least make an attempt to play Division I. So then I went into the NAHL to play for Lone Star, and my coach, Dan Wildfong, helped with a lot of exposure to schools that he talked to. He was always on the phone, and we had scouts at every game, so I couldn’t have asked for a better spot.”

“With everyone, we look at pieces of growing a program,” added RPI coach Dave Smith. “We never plan on regressing, so for everybody that we bring in, we ask them to subscribe to everything academically, athletically, and socially. If they’re interested in that – we use the language ‘everyday champion’ – then it really doesn’t matter about their age. We look at the talent level and the academic profile and determine if it’s a great fit. In Kyle’s case, he was an excellent student and experienced in junior hockey, and he’s a terrific hockey player. That was a good fit in the beginning, and it’s remained a good fit.”

“I just really played my game for most of that year [in junior hockey],” Hallbauer sai26d. “RPI saw me at a showcase at the beginning of the year, but another player on my team, Ture Linden, committed to [play for the Engineers]. Right before they talked to me, he told me it was a great place, so after going to a [showcase] for uncommitted players and young guys that were already committed, I talked to them, and they called me a few days later and offered me a spot.”

He still had to discover and foster a role within the program, but after four-plus years, it’s hard to deny his impact on the program’s reboot and rebuild under Smith. In each of his first two seasons, Hallbauer played 30 games, and RPI earned a first-round bye with the No. 4 seed before the onset of COVID-19 canceled the entire postseason at the conference and national levels.

Losing that year stung, but like every other athlete on his team, Hallbauer faced subsequent challenges during the pandemic after RPI opted out of the 2020-2021 season. The ability to transfer made it open season for players who wanted to skate, but his mind returned to his master’s program, and he remained with the school because of the credits he’d already amassed while playing for the Engineers.

“Roster construction, for us, starts the year before,” said Smith. “We discussed with guys what their plans were, and we set goals with them [while] they set goals with us. We talked about their plans for an academic degree with what we call our ‘plan of study.’ We talked about experience and what opportunities are available for them here, and potentially, we talked to them about the transfer portal and how it works for graduate students. Even as we’re going through those discussions, they know the value of an RPI master’s degree or an RPI education. They live in and walk in the RPI hockey player’s shoes, so they understand what it’s all about.”

“Because I was a 21-year-old freshman, I had tons of credits coming into school,” Hallbauer said. “So I had the opportunity to graduate in three years and start my graduate program during the COVID year. Once I started the grad program, there was no reason for me to leave. Even without hockey, academics-wise, RPI was such a good school.’

As a result, an unintended gap year from hockey created his newfound status as one of the oldest players to skate in the 2022-23 season. A player born in March 1997 will spend most of the season as a 25-year-old before hitting his 26th birthday right as the playoffs begin.

“The guys stayed are a true testament to seeing [it through] for the long run,” Hallbauer said. “I think that helped me with my decision to stay. Everyone is here for a reason, and everyone that stayed is very close. We can bring all the new guys, the transfers, the freshmen into [the program] and get them into the family as fast as possible. It’s definitely worked out, and I think that we’re now one of the closest teams that I’ve been a part of.”

It’s a true payoff for a player whose patience in arriving at the Division I level is emblematic of college hockey’s opportunities. A player who nearly didn’t receive the chance to play college hockey after two years in juniors is now the captain of an ECAC hockey program. There’s a certain level of appreciation, and this weekend, it’s a moment he intends to soak in as his team faces Union for the Capital Skates currently located in the RPI locker room.

“It’s always fun when you play someone that lives 25 minutes away,” Hallbauer said. “The Union rivalry has been around for a long time. We have a trophy that whoever gets the most points earns the Capital Skates. If you lose the skates, you basically have to sweep to get them back. In our locker room, the skates are sitting right above the logo in the middle of the room. Everyone looks at them every day, and we know that’s what we’re playing for. The freshmen don’t know it yet, but all the other guys are constantly telling them that we have to beat [Union] at any cost.

“We’re prepared to do that this year.”

CCC Hockey Preview – Nor’easters looking to build off Frozen Four experience

UNE’s Billy Girard looks to build off an incredible first full season for the Nor’easters in the CCC (Photo by Joe Ambrose)

The University of New England carried the CCC banner all the way to the Frozen Four last season but will face strong challenges from the other teams in the conference. New coaches at Nichols (Alex Gacek) and Suffolk (Shawn McEachern) will bring new depth and excitement to this season’s battle for the conference championship.

“I think it is a really good league,” said Suffolk head coach Shawn McEachern. “I am new to the league but know we are going to need to play a disciplined, aggressive and fast game to compete and win in the CCC. I am lucky to have inherited a quality group from Chris Glionna and they have been very committed to working hard and learning our systems for how we can best play and compete in the league.”

The Favorites

UNE has progressed every year in advancing beyond the conference on the national stage including last season’s run to the Frozen Four. Captain Daniel Winslow, Jared Christy and Jake Fuss lead a strong group of forwards while goaltender Billy Girard IV has emerged as one of the best goaltenders in the league. Building the blueline back from key losses to graduation will be important to the Nor’easters run to repeat as conference champions.

Endicott has been a contender in the conference since joining the CCC but face their first season without All-American goaltender Conor O’Brien. The group is experienced and returns key players including forwards Zach Mazur, Connor Beatty, Andrew Kurapov, Svet Kuchynski and Noah Strawn.

The Dark Horses

Curry had a very successful season with coach Peter Roundy and saw some breakout performances from forward Timmy Kent and goaltender Roland Polasek. This year’s team will need to see the next jump in production for returning players who showed they were competitive with everyone and especially on home ice.

Salve Regina is always in the mix and returning forwards Mitch Walinski and Cayden Kraus will provide some offensive firepower for the Seahawks.

Players to watch:

Curry:                                              Roland Polasek – goaltender; Timmy Kent – forward

Endicott:                                         Andrew Kurapov – forward; Conor Beatty – forward

Nichols:                                           Alex Gacek – coach; Conor Leonard – forward

Salve Regina:                                  Mitch Walinski – forward; Cayden Kraus – forward

Suffolk:                                            Sean McEachern – coach; Cal Wilcox – goaltender

University of New England:         Billy Girard IV – goaltender; Jake Fuss – forward

Wentworth:                                   Connor Carbo – goaltender; Kevin Obssuth – forward

Western New England:                Sam Mitchell – forward; Shane Miller – defense

USCHO Predicted finish

  1. University of New England
  2. Endicott
  3. Curry
  4. Salve Regina
  5. Suffolk
  6. Wentworth
  7. Nichols
  8. Western New England

McEachern’s Rams will benchmark where they are in the league quickly as their schedule includes two-game series each with Salve Regina, Endicott and UNE in their first ten games before the semester break.

This Week in Hockey East: Surging offense has UConn ranked in top 10 for first time in team history

UConn players mob Andrew Lucas after his OT winner downed Boston University last Friday night (photo: Ian Bethune/The UConn Hockey Blog).

When he transferred to Connecticut over the summer, Andrew Lucas knew he was joining a hungry men’s hockey team.

The Huskies were coming off a season where they missed an NCAA tournament appearance by one overtime goal.

Lucas, meanwhile, was at Vermont, playing well but for a struggling team.

The junior forward has been pretty hungry himself so far this season, racking up eight points (1-7-8) in as many games and leading Hockey East in scoring among defensemen, tying Northeastern forward Aiden McDonough for the overall lead with seven league points. Lucas is also tied with forward Ryan Tverberg — who thrice scored in a weekend series at Boston University — for the team scoring lead (5-3-8).

“When a defenseman’s leading your team in scoring — I don’t know if he is, but he’s up there — that shows you how much of an offensive addition he’s been,” UConn coach Mike Cavanaugh said. “It’s great to get that type of offense from the back end.”

Lucas scored twice — including the game winner in overtime — in a 4-3 win at Boston University on Friday night. Despite losing 4-2 in the second game of the series, the split was enough to move UConn up four spots in the latest DCU/USCHO.com D-I poll, from No. 14 to No. 10.

It’s the first time the Huskies have ever been ranked this high — coming into the season, UConn had never ranked higher than No. 19, according to the UConn Hockey Blog.

Lucas is one of 16 newcomers on this year’s UConn team, a group that includes three other transfers. Though the first-year players weren’t on last year’s squad that lost in overtime to UMass in the Hockey East championship game at TD Garden, they definitely share the rest of the team’s desire to go further this year.

So far, the offense is doing its part.

UConn has averaged more than 3 goals in its first eight games, including a 6-1 blowout of then-No. 11 Ohio State at the Hartford Civic Center on Oct. 15. One week earlier, they beat Union 4-3 in OT.

“When you have 16 new bodies on the team, you just never know how they’re going to mesh or gel,” Cavanaugh said. “The fact that we’ve won a couple games in overtime early certainly doesn’t hurt.”

Lucas’s overtime goal against BU, the first of his collegiate career, came less than a minute into the extra frame. Surrounded by all three of BU’s skaters, Lucas fired from the blue line and scored on a low shot just past the goalie’s pad.

“We’re winning games,” Lucas said after the goal, which extended UConn’s unbeaten streak to seven games. “It’s just been fun. (The veteran group) has been great, welcoming all 16 new guys. That made it really easy on me, and I’m sure it made it easy on all the freshmen too. We have a lot of really good players in the returning class, too.”

NCHA Hockey Preview: Reigning NCAA champion Adrian an overwhelming favorite heading into new season

The Adrian Bulldogs are the reigning NCAA champs. Photo courtesy of Adrian Athletics

The best team in the nation resides in the NCHA as Adrian is coming off a national championship season.

Repeating as champs is never easy, but the focus first for the Bulldogs is on navigating the always competitive NCHA.

As expected, the Bulldogs are the favorite in the conference, but rival St. Norbert is always in the national discussion and should be among the top contenders in Division III.

Trine is coming off its best season in the short history of its program and is likely to be a tough team to beat night in and night out.

Aurora is also poised to be one of the better teams in the NCHA, while teams like MSOE and Lake Forest should be much improved as they gear up for another season.

Adrian (31-1, 18-0 NCHA)

The Bulldogs come into the year on a 31-game winning streak. Their last loss was Oct. 30, 2021 when they fell 3-2 in overtime to then third-ranked Utica. It was the only loss Adrian suffered before putting together an impressive win streak.

While every year is different, some things won’t change for the Bulldogs, who return 21 players, including a pair of All-Americans in Sam Ruffin and Alessio Luciani.

Ruffin was the MVP of the NCAA tournament. He scored twice in the national final and racked up 19 goals in all to go along with 28 assists.

Luciani led the Bulldogs in points (48), scoring 17 goals and dishing out 31 assists, while Ty Enns was the top goal scorer, punching in 20 goals to go along with 25 assists. He ranked third on the team in points.

Matus Spodniak, Jaden Shields and Matt Couto are also key returning players for Adrian. Spodniak ranked fourth in points (37), scoring 17 goals, and Shields helped anchor the defense while dishing out 23 assists. He also scored six goals.

Couto also played as a defenseman and finished with three goals and 10 assists.

Several newcomers should help Adirian’s bid to win another conference title and contend nationally. Riley Murphy transfers in from Alaska and Cam Babiak is a transfer out of Bowling Green.

The goaltender position will look different this year.  Cam Gray is gone but Nic Tallarico and Dershahn Stewart will both battle for the starting position. Tallarico played in nine games and went 4-1 while Stewart fashioned a 4-0 record. He played in seven games in all.

St. Norbert (24-7, 16-2 NCHA)

One thing you can count on each is year is for the Green Knights to be in contention for a title.

Leading the way are Liam Fraser and Colby Entz. Fraser was the second-leading scorer a year ago, lighting up the scoreboard for 24 goals while dishing out 23 assists. Entz played in 18 games in goal and made 384 saves while fashioning a 13-3 record.

Michael McChesney and Carter Hottmann will also play key roles for the Green Knights. McChesney registered 12 goals and 12 assists while Hottmann racked up nine goals and 13 assists.

Brock Baker also returns after a season where he scored 10 goals and dished out nine assists.

Brendan Mark and Brendan Aird are also returning players for St. Norbert. Mark tallied six goals and nine assists while Aird dished out 12 assists to go along with two goals.

Ben Schmidling (6 goals, 7 assists), Michael Spethmann (5 goals, 8 assists) and Jordan Strand (2 goals, 10 assists) also finished in double figures in points last season.

Aurora (18-9-1, 12-6 NCHA)

Jason Bloomingburg begins his seventh season at the helm of Aurora. 

Simon Boyko and Jack Jaunich are both back and will help lead the way offensively. Boyko scored 18 goals last season to go along with nine assists. Jaunich tallied 15 goals and dished out 23 assists.

Adam Keyes was a big playmaker as well. Along with scoring nine goals, he also came through with 23 assists. Gio Procopio was an assist machine as well, racking up 21. He scored four goals as well.

Carson Riddle, Hassan Akl, Juliano Santalucia and Kolby Thornton are among the newcomers who could make an immediate impact for the Spartans.

Aurora won nearly 20 games a year ago and was a solid team at home and on the road, going 9-4 in both instances.

Trine (19-9, 11-7 NCHA)

Trine is coming off its best season in program history, nearly winning 20 games. Alex Todd begins his sixth season as the head coach. He sports a 53-61-8 record during his time at Trine.

A total of 23 players return for the Thunder, including Garrett Hallford, who is back for a fifth year. He holds every offensive record in program history and scored 10 goals while dishing out 22 assists a season ago.

Brendan Prappas, Justin Meers and Frank Trazzera all return as well, and will be key contributors on offense.

Prappas finished with 10 goals and 17 assists last season while Meers came through with eight goals and 12 assists.

Trazerra tallied six goals and 12 assists for the Thunder, who scored 114 goals in all last season.

Two newcomers to keep an eye on for Trine are Brendan Hill and Sam Antenucci. The first-year players both come to Trine out of the NAHL.

Trine will aim to take another step forward this year and build on the momentum it gained last season. The Thunder won five of their final six games, including two in an opening-round conference tournament series against Lawrence.

MSOE (11-14-2, 8-10-1 NCHA)

Graham Johnson says he’s excited about the group he’ll have take the ice this season for the Raiders. MSOE has a lot of young talent and expectations are high.

Seniors Matt Hanewall, Kyle Herbster and Christian Sabin will be looked upon to lead the way. 

Sabin paved the way for the Raiders last season, scoring 13 goals and dishing out 14 assists, and he’ll look to build off that success this season.

Hanewall is also coming off a big year where he scored 15 goals and dished out 11 assists. 

Herbster is also poised to step up in a big way. He scored 11 goals last year and also tallied 16 assists.

Fourteen newcomers are on the roster, with Jacob Bosse, Carson Jones and Gramm McCormack having the potential to play key roles for the Raiders, who have a chance to put together a winning season.

Lake Forest (7-18-2, 5-11-2 NCHA) 

Under the direction of second-year head coach Sean O’Malley, the Foresters have the talent to be one of the better teams in the NCHA. A total of 23 players are back, including Matteas Derraugh, an NCHA All-Freshman team selection. Derraugh finished third on the team in points with 13, scoring five goals and handing out eight assists.

Ben Perkins also returns. He finished second on the team in scoring last season, tallying nine goals to go along with 11 assists. Those totals were the second-most on the team.

Jared Gerger should provide a big lift for the offense after tallying eight goals and five assists last season.

David Cohen returns as well and is coming off a year where punched in five goals and came through with six assists. Scotty Nicolson is also back in the fold. He tallied three goals and six assists a year ago.

Carson Poulin and Nick Wiencek are both back as well and both players have experience in the goaltender position. Wiencek started 18 games and went 6-11-1. He made 530 saves. Poulin made nine starts, going 1-7-1, and he tallied 300 saves.

Marian (10-14-3, 5-11-2 NCHA)

The Sabres begin a new era as Clay Van Diest is the new head coach of the program. He is familiar with the league already, having spent two seasons as an assistant at MSOE.

Eighteen returnees are back, and the group is headed up by Colby Muise, who fashioned a 9-13-3 record and ranked second in the conference with 759 saves. He made 30 or more saves in six games and registered a save percentage of better than 90 percent.

Ty Mosimann is the top returning scorer on the team, scoring nine goals and dishing out 12 assists. He produced five multi-point games last season. 

Blake Kleiner comes into the season as a team captain and scored four goals while dishing out five assists.

Several newcomers should play key roles as well for Marian, including Seth McCulloch out of the SJHL. He ranked eighth on his team in points last season with 10 goals and 13 assists. Matthew Shaw out of the NA3HL helped lead his Rochester team to the Fraser Cup title.

Lawrence (10-13-4, 8-8-2 NCHA)

A new era begins for the Vikings, who welcome in Brett Wall as the new head coach. Wall had been coaching the Hudson Havoc of the USPHL.

Wall will have 19 returning players to work with as he begins his first season at the helm of the program. The group includes all-league defenseman Kyle Gierman, who dished out 17 assists, the most on the team, to go along with two goals. Gierman came up with 15 of his assists in league action and was one of the top scoring defenseman in the NCHA.

Six of the top eight scorers all return, including Gierman, and that should set the Vikings up for a turnaround season. Zach Lodes scored 12 goals and tallied 10 assists last year while Zack Olsen racked up nine goals and 13 assists. Ivan Galaguzov is also back after punching in 10 goals and dishing out eight assists.

In goal, the Vikings will lean on Brian Tallieu, who split time at the position last season. Tallieu went 4-4-1 and stopped more than 90 percent of the shots he faced.

Concordia (3-20-2, 2-15-1 NCHA)

Last season wasn’t an easy one for the Falcons, who won only three games. This season could be even tougher as 22 newcomers are on the roster. A total of just five players return. 

Justin Schwartzmiller is one of those returnees. He scored five goals and dished out two assists. Nick Wieben came through with a goal and five assists.

Zach Brydges and Andrew Malek also return, as does Liam McGarva.

The only other players on the roster with experience are UW-Stout transfers Nick Bowlin and Joey Petronack.

Finding wins won’t be easy, but perhaps by late in the season, the Falcons will have meshed and be in a position to finish on a high note.

Finlandia (2-23, 1-17 NCHA)

It took until Feb. 11 of last season for the Lions to get their first conference win of the season. They got it with a 3-2 victory over Concordia. Their only other win came against Northland.

Finlandia is hoping the story will be much different this season as it goes into the year with more experience. Sixteen letterwinners are back for the Lions, including three of their top six scorers.

Phil Schader is the top returning scorer on the team, ranking fourth on the team in points (9). He scored four goals last season and also dished out five assists.

Max Messier is also poised to be a key scoring threat for the Lions, coming off a year where he scored five goals and three assists. His goal total was the second highest on the team.

Chris Beyer also returns. He tallied two goals and five assists last season.

Finlandia scored 39 goals in all but gave up 122. 

Joe Burcur has spent 15 seasons as the head coach at Finlandia over the course of two different stints. He was first at the school from 2001 until 2009 and then came back to Finlandia in 2016.

College hockey traveler completes lifelong mission of seeing men’s games at every NCAA D-I rink

Joe Connor takes in a game last February at Alaska Anchorage (photos: provided by Joe Connor).

By Joe Connor, “Mr. Sports Travel”

If someone would have told me when I moved to San Diego at 24 years of age in 1996 that one day when I was in my 50th year on this planet, I would finish enjoying a game at every NCAA Division I men’s hockey venue, I would have replied, “You’re nuts!”

Sure, I grew up in West Hartford, Conn., where my late father, an Air Force veteran, was a season-ticket holder for the WHA New England Whalers and later the NHL Hartford Whalers. My Dad was my hero. He introduced me to hockey, coached myself and other local kids in the towns’ youth program, and I played at Kingswood-Oxford in the New England prep leagues, so the game has always been in my blood.

Yet when I moved to America’s Finest City in 1996, the closest D-I men’s college hockey program was in Colorado Springs. Today, it’s Tempe, Ariz. The future? Keep venturing west, my college hockey friends!

CALLED TO TRAVEL

So how did I do it? It started with a life-changing event. My father passed away in my late 20s – I realized then how short life can be. This experience shaped my whole life trajectory. I was inspired by my father and our road trips across New England from youth hockey to seeing the pros, including to the Springfield (Mass.) Civic Center to watch the Whalers before the Hartford Civic Center re-opened in Jan. 1980 following a roof collapse. The 1979-80 season was the city’s first in the NHL – and my first playing hockey.

My initial sports travels started small – but just kept getting bigger and bigger. As a self-employed Career Coach with no children and who has never married, I’ve put most of my income in rental properties which is how I 100 percent self-fund my trips. I’ve sports traveled to nearly 40 countries across six continents, enjoying more than 55 different sports.

Over the past 20 years, I’ve enjoyed at least one contest at every NHL arena; 56 North American minor league games outside San Diego (home of the AHL Gulls); and 74 junior league games, of which 49 have been in Canada across three provinces and the rest in the U.S. (nine in the NAHL and a home game at every club in the 16-team USHL), plus I’ve attended dozens of youth or high school/prep games, from New England to Alaska.

I’ve also attended a game at every NFL, NBA, and MLB home – and every NCAA D-I basketball venue (both the men and the women, of which there are more than 350). In November 2022, I’ll finish seeing a home game at my last NCAA D-I Football Championship Series school – there are 131 of those! They don’t call Mr. Sports Travel for nothing!

COLLEGE HOCKEY TRAVELS

Beginning in 2018, across the lower 48 states, I’ve driven my car to sporting events that is “wrapped” in the American flag, raising awareness of OperationFirstResponse.org, a four-star rated charity that helps veterans, service members, first responders, and their families. To mark turning 50 this year, I’ve enjoyed a sporting event in each of the 50 United States, plus the District of Columbia and even British Columbia!

I began chronicling my journeys for USCHO starting in 2013 when I could see the finish line in the distance with the goal of enjoying a game at every D-I men’s venue before I turned 50. The COVID year of 2020 pushed me off a year, yet it’s been the journey of a lifetime.

The 2022-23 D-I men’s college hockey season has 62 teams, dispersed across five time zones and 20 states, from Vacationland in Maine to the Last Frontier in Alaska. That’s a unique distinction that no other college sport can claim, including football, basketball, and soccer!

Even though I grew up in New England, I was so busy suiting up as an amateur I never attended a single college hockey game! I didn’t enjoy my first men’s game in the flesh until Halloween 2004 at Walter Brown Arena when Boston University beat Maine, 2-1 (my last visit to BU was against Boston College at Agganis Arena). I was in Beantown in ‘04 to enjoy the Red Sox Parade following their first World Series victory since 1918. And on Oct. 2, 2022, at Alaska-Anchorage, I enjoyed a game at No. 62 when Western Michigan beat the Seawolves, 4-1 (Note: I enjoyed men’s games at then non-Division I Lindenwood and Stonehill in previous seasons).

All told, since that Halloween Day in 2004, the sports travel breakdown by the numbers:

Men’s NCAA D-I College Hockey Games Attended: 89 (home games at all 62 teams)

Women’s NCAA D-I College Hockey Home Games Attended: 7 (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Minnesota State, BU, St. Lawrence, Franklin Pierce, and Post)

Non-D-I U.S. College Hockey Games Attended (both men and women, including club): 17

With conference play upon us, below are my “Sweet 16” favorite DI men’s college hockey game day experiences, broken down by four regional brackets to mirror the current post-season format. Also included is a homage to Maxwell Smart’s favorite phrase “missed it by that much!” – to a fifth team in each bracket – plus, my favorite rinks and rivalries by region. Of course, this is all subjective: personally, I prefer a smaller, intimate atmosphere and could care less about amenities and suites. So whatever flights your game day fancy, enjoy!

The Michigan Tech fans were more than happy to welcome Connor to their home rink.

RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRACKET – THE BEASTS OF THE GREATER NORTHEAST BRACKET!

For this bracket, the northeast encompasses both the New England and Mid-Atlantic states.

5. Missed it by that much – Quinnipiac (ECAC): As noted in a long-ago USCHO.com column, there’s not a bad seat in the house here and the student section is amped.

4. Maine (Hockey East): My favorite “Cawlidge Hawkey” experience across the six New England states. Bias meter: I attended the late Shawn Walsh’s week-long camp here when I was 13 years old and stayed in the dorms. It was the first time I was ever away from home by myself. I remember my late cousin Pete walking me to the gate back in the pre-911 airline days when non-passengers could do such a thing and then exclaiming as I prepared to board, “Now, go kick ass!” Since been back to Orono for hockey twice. It never gets old. The student section balcony overhangs the ice like vultures, like impending danger. Maine’s recent on-ice performance may not be like in Walsh’s days but it’s still an awesome game day experience.

3. Clarkson (ECAC): I love this place. Setup very much like Denver, but on a smaller scale, with one main concourse that runs down to the glass. The only game I’ve enjoyed here – the atmosphere was off the charts – and the student section and band certified awesome. Just down the road from Potsdam is St. Lawrence in Canton – cooler building but not remotely the same vibe as Clarkson, except when Clarkson pays a visit! My first St. Lawrence game they hosted the Golden Knights! Also enjoyed the rivalry in Lake Placid.

2. Penn State (Big 10): Bias meter: one of my dear friends from college lives nearby so I’ve been to Happy Valley more times than I can count at this point, from hockey to football to hoops, baseball, and volleyball. Phenomenal atmosphere and good luck finding a ticket sometimes. Welcome to Hockey Valley, my friends! You won’t be disappointed.

1. Cornell (ECAC): As I’ve said to my puck friends for years, welcome to the Fenway “Pahk” of “Cawlidge Hawkey” – where if you like your space, this ain’t your place! But if you’re like me and cherish a packed house inside historic cracker box confines, you’re in for a real treat when you visit The Big Red. Get cozy my friends, starting from the low roof to the cramped aisles. Limited standing room. Seats packed together. Student section: stellar. Band: rock on. And even better: Ithaca is one of the prettiest and happening college towns in North America. You’ll love it here.

Favorite northeast rivalries: Maine-New Hampshire; Clarkson-St. Lawrence; Boston College-Boston University; and speaking of Beantown, play the Beanpot at Matthews!

More favorite northeast rinks and experiences: They don’t make old-style barns and cracker boxes anymore that thankfully still exist today at cozy Cornell, St. Lawrence, and Union. Ditto great barn-style cribs at Vermont, Dartmouth, and Northeastern. Enjoyed cowbells ringing my ears at Union and packed houses at Dartmouth and Vermont. And I still love Princeton’s Hobey Baker and Ingalls Rink at Yale, the latter where I played high school puck as an opponent. No region in college hockey has more old school and distinct venues than this bracket!

The famous American flag-wrapped car makes an appearance at North Dakota.

RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRACKET – THE GOATS OF THE GREAT LAKES BRACKET!

For this bracket, the great lakes include teams from Ohio west to Wisconsin.

5. Missed it by that much – Michigan Tech (CCHA): Friends have asked me: how are you going to do this bracket? Man, this was my toughest because Ferris State is a blast – and long live the Lawson Lunatics at Western Michigan. But I just absolutely loved my visit to the home of the Huskies – the community at large, the venue, the creativity, and outfits of the band – everything. You haven’t experienced college hockey until you visit the upper peninsula. And if you’re a real fan of old school barns like me, when you make the UP pilgrimage, visit the historic rinks in Houghton, Marquette, and Calumet – they don’t make wonders like this anymore, kids.

4. Michigan State (Big 10): Always had a ton of fun at Munn. Been here twice (pre and post renovation). The school did a great job updating the place without taking away the intimacy. Also been to see Sparty for multiple football and hoops games, plus baseball and volleyball (old hoops venue where Magic Johnson played).

3. Notre Dame (Big 10): Bias meter: I was raised Catholic and long been a Notre Dame fan. I wasn’t smart enough to be admitted – but, hey, look at me now! My first visit for hockey was at The Joyce Center where during an intermission there was a delay announced due to a tornado warning – to this day thankfully my only such experience! My most recent visit was to the new arena – an absolute marvel. I’ve also been to UND multiple times for football and hoops contests, plus baseball.

2. Michigan (Big 10): Arena-specifically, this is one of my favorite barns in college hockey and clearly my all-time favorite by far across the Great Lakes. Opening in 1923, there’s simply nothing like it in this part of the country. Two visits for hockey here, most recently when the Irish kicked the snot out of the Wolverines. The poor student section. My heart went out to them – actually, it didn’t. However, there’s no denying I prefer Yost’s history (which is not a knock on the Irish arena). Yost is just special.

1.Wisconsin (Big 10): Having also enjoyed a game at every D-I football and basketball venue (they don’t call me Mr. Sports Travel for nothing!), Madison is simply the best college sports town in the fruited plain (and frankly, there is not a close second. Sorry to disappoint you Ann Arbor, State College, Boston, East Lansing, South Bend, Columbus, Lincoln, Minneapolis, and Austin). Enjoyed multiple puck games here over the years – as well as a women’s tilt (easily the No. 1 game day experience on the women’s side). The Crease Creatures student section is game day ready. To quote the late Badger Bob Johnson –“it’s a great day for hockey.” And to quote Mr. Sports Travel – “that would be always in Madison!”

Favorite great lakes rivalries: Northern Michigan-Michigan Tech; Michigan-Michigan State; Wisconsin-Minnesota.

More favorite Great Lakes rinks and experiences: There’s only Yost. After that, I like the unique, old-school feel of Lake Superior State and Ferris State. Separately, modern, beautiful and with not a bad seat in the house? That’s Miami-Ohio – also been there twice.

LEFT SIDE OF THE BRACKET – THE STATE OF HOCKEY BRACKET!

Yes, Minnesota – the state – gets it own bracket. Because it really is the State of Hockey. In addition to the college pucks, I’ve enjoyed multiple Wild games; the junior showcase in Blaine; high school games in Duluth, Edina, Richfield, Hibbing, and Virginia in the Iron Range; and the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth.

5. Missed it by that much – Bemidji State (CCHA): The coldest day in my 50 years on this planet was the day I enjoyed my only game here. Holy Schnikes, minus nine degrees – but had a great time and, hey, I obviously survived (even if I nearly froze my left testicle off – and my right). Cool venue, and pretty campus and town, too.

4. Minnesota State (CCHA): Located downtown, I don’t care for the arena itself even though it’s a short distance from campus, but the fans more than make up for it. Mankato is simply a stellar hockey town. When you visit, swing by All Seasons Arena. Built in the early 1970s, enjoyed a women’s game here years ago. The rink has a cool old school feel to it.

3. St. Cloud State (NCHC): The athletic centerpiece on campus, the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center is one sweet game day experience! My only visit here the place was hopping from puck drop. The student section poured it on – and the place was packed to the gills.

2. Minnesota Duluth (NCHC): Hometown of one of my favorite singers, Bob Dylan, “you don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows,” this quintessential hockey town on Lake Superior is a two-hour plus drive from Minneapolis, boasting three of my favorite rinks in its city limits alone, one of which is Amsoil Arena, home of the Bulldogs. Not a bad seat in the joint and love the second deck. Solid atmosphere here. Also enjoyed the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Arena and Duluth Heritage Sports Center, which tells the story of the city’s rich hockey history with outstanding murals all over the place.

1.Minnesota (Big 10): You can sense and feel something different and special – even before you enter the building. The “M” flag sails atop the arena. Enter the front lobby – history. Climb the steps – you see the ice below and more history oozes. Banners don the rafters over what feels like every inch of the roof – and with good reason, given the programs’ rich history. Been here twice and can’t wait to return. Also enjoyed a women’s game at their separate rink, plus Gophers football, hoops, baseball, and volleyball.

Favorite State of Minnesota rivalries: North Dakota-Minnesota and Wisconsin-Minnesota are great. In state, Minnesota versus St. Cloud in St. Cloud and Minnesota against Minnesota Duluth in Duluth.

More favorite northeast rinks and experiences: Mariucci Arena, Minnesota. On the high school side, Hibbing Memorial is a classic (the NHL Blackhawks held training camp here in the 1930s!).

LEFT SIDE OF THE BRACKET – THE GO WEST BRACKET!

For this bracket, the west encompasses teams from the I-29 corridor west to The Last Frontier.

5. Missed it by that much – Arizona State (Independent): Kudos to the Sun Devils administration for their audacity when they decided to take the D-I plunge. They had a vision – and despite countless doubters – today it’s amazing. When I think about what makes America great – to be bold, fearless, and to maximize ones’ potential – in the college hockey world, this is Exhibit A. Super excited to see when Augustana launches next season. The only question now is, who’s next to be bold? Tennessee State? Liberty? UNLV? God Bless America.

4. Omaha (NCHC): I wish I could have caught a game at Civic Auditorium – heard it was a stellar game day experience. My first visit for hockey here came after the Mavericks moved to the larger downtown venue and current home of Creighton basketball. My last visit was to its third home, on-campus Baxter Arena in 2018. Had a splendid time.

3. Colorado College (NCHC): After years playing at off-campus at utterly sterile “World Arena” (as if!), Tigers brass got smart and built an outstanding, easy-to-access on campus venue. This is among the steepest seating bowl of a new arena built in the last 25 years I’ve experienced – which is saying a lot because I’ve literally been everywhere. Pluses? Not a bad seat in the joint. Minuses? Good luck finding a ticket – and watch your footing as you’re carrying that hot dog and beverage, walking gingerly down the aisle back to your seat. Like most new arenas these days, the highest-level seats are suites – but the best atmosphere is on the main concourse where it’s also standing room only. Stay comfy, my friends.

Connor enjoying the atmosphere in Denver at Magness Arena.

2. Denver (NCHC): If you’ve never been to a Pioneers game, memo: arrive early. Located off frequently congested I-25, south of downtown, the traffic and high-density campus require time and patience. But it’s worth it. While Colorado College’s new digs are the latest, greatest, UD’s venue is old school charmingly simplistic – and just a tad greater vibe (my subjective preference). Essentially one seating bowl runs from the only main concourse right down to the glass. Never forgotten my first game here against North Dakota. Electric.

1.North Dakota (NCHC): Enjoyed two games at Ralph Engelstad Arena. First game here, 2008. Hour or two before puck drop. Absolutely freezing out. Nastiest wind – and blowing snow. The line to get into the building? Longer than hell but well worth the warm wait: Welcome to College Hockey Heaven, its most exquisite grand cathedral. From the fan support and atmosphere to its grand marble floor entrance and the intimate seating bowl, there’s simply no better place to enjoy the game, period. Frankly, there is not a close second.

Favorite west bracket rivalries: North Dakota-Denver; North Dakota-Minnesota; Denver-Colorado College; Governors’ Cup: Alaska-Anchorage against Alaska, the latter of which is based in Fairbanks.

More favorite West bracket rinks and experiences: Like Mr. Sports Travel, there is only one GOAT – aka, there is only one Ralph!

Separately, journeying to Alaska to see No. 61 and No. 62 was a blast. Alaska-Anchorage has packed them in since re-launching the program after a brief hiatus. Some 360 miles north is the founding campus in the state university system and the northwestern most DI men’s program with also the coolest nickname – the Alaska Nanooks, the Inuit term for polar bears. Half the fun is just getting to Fairbanks – and bring your cowbell! Although it opened in 1990, the Nanooks home feels much older – in a good way to me! I like the upper deck and the history reflected here, with banners adorning one end of the rink while the entryway and halls are lined with black and white photos and old jerseys from yesteryear.

AWARDS TIME!

MR. SPORTS TRAVELS’ GAME DAY ATMOSPHERE FINAL FOUR: Cornell (East Bracket); Wisconsin (Great Lakes Bracket); Minnesota (State of Hockey Bracket); North Dakota (West Bracket).

MR. SPORTS TRAVELS’ GAME DAY ATMOSPHERE NATIONAL CHAMPION: North Dakota!

As the Greatest of All-Time (G.O.A.T.) Sports Traveler, I hereby bestow the “NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Best Game Day Atmosphere Trophy to North Dakota! Because this special place is in a league of its own!”

To learn more about Joe Connor, also known as Mr. Sports Travel, visit the college hockey page on his website and click on links to some of his previous columns on USCHO.com:

2021 | 2019 | 2018 | 2014 | 2013

SUNYAC Hockey Preview – Knights focused on drive for five

Junior Alex DiCarlo is one Oswego’s leading scorers looking to capture a SUNYAC title this season (Photo by Oswego Athletics)

SUNYAC has seen Geneseo win the last four conference championships contested and there is most definitely a bullseye on the Knights with several teams looking to unseat the defending champions.

“We have a really good group with good chemistry,” said Oswego head coach, Ed Gosek. “This group is really fun to coach, and it really shows in their off-season regimen that we got stronger and quicker. This is an experienced group and very focused on being “long-term greedy.” No shortcuts! Working hard every day to be better and help us reach our end of year goals – not just making the championship game, winning it.”

The Favorites

The Knights lost the national championship game to Adrian but return a strong group of players including goaltender Matt Petzian, defenseman Nicholas Elia and forwards Peter Morgan, Justin Cmunt, and Tyson Gilmour. Geneseo doesn’t beat themselves so the challenge for the rest of the conference is to find a way to beat them.

Ed Gosek’s Oswego team has a different look this year – not with a lot of new talent but more with off-ice conditioning in the weight room that finds a stronger and quicker group of Lakers. The defense is a solid group in front of returning netminder Eric Green. The strength of the Oswego group is upfront where nine of the top ten scorers return.

The Dark Horses

Plattsburgh is always a contender, and this year coach Steve Moffatt sees the return of a productive lineup including Bennett Stockdale, Trey Thomas and Carson Gallagher. Sophomore Jacob Hearne looks to build off a solid freshman season in goal for the Cardinals.

Cortland may have the best goalie in the conference, if not the country, in Luca Durante who gives the Red Dragons a chance to win every game. Nick Grupp and Giancarlo Romano lead an experienced group of defenders while there is balance and depth among the forward group. If Cortland can score goals, Durante will give them a chance to win. 

Players to watch

Brockport:                        Andrew Harley – forward; Nolan Egbert – goaltender

Buffalo State:                   Nikita Kozyrev – forward; Joel Frazee – forward

Cortland:                          Luca Durante – goaltender; Nick Grupp – defenseman

Fredonia:                          Logan Dyck – goaltender; Ethan Kirbis – forward

Geneseo:                          Peter Morgan – forward; Matt Petzian – goaltender

Morrisville:                       Jake Kaplan – forward; Curtis Abbott – forward

Oswego:                           Alex DiCarlo – forward; Connor Sleeth – forward

Plattsburgh:                     Bennett Stockdale – forward; Jacob Modry – defense

Potsdam:                          Josh Bifolchi – forward; Drew Rose – defense

USCHO predicted finish

  1. Geneseo
  2. Oswego
  3. Plattsburgh
  4. Cortland
  5. Brockport
  6. Buffalo State
  7. Fredonia
  8. Potsdam
  9. Morrisville

Oswego may have one of the most difficult strength of schedules as they start the season with Hobart and Elmira this weekend before commencing SUNYAC play in November.

Nomination period now open through Dec. 23 for 2023 Hockey Humanitarian Award

Union’s Josh Kosack addresses the crowd in Boston after being named the 2022 Hockey Humanitarian Award winner (photo: Jim Rosvold).

The Hockey Humanitarian Award is presented annually to college hockey’s “finest citizen” and seeks to recognize college hockey players, male or female, who contribute to local and/or global communities in a true humanitarian spirit.

Each year, the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation receives many submissions from sports information directors and hockey coaches across men’s and women’s Divisions I–III varsity programs. The committee then reviews the achievements of this group of nominees.

Nomination forms are due Dec. 23, 2022.

Since 1996, the committee has welcomed a wide range of candidates, including team captains, role players and campus leaders – all of whom have led volunteer efforts that help children, the handicapped, the homeless and the disadvantaged. These student-athletes reaffirm each year that there are, throughout this and other college sports, young people who deserve notice for reasons that ultimately are far more important than mere personal athletic statistics or won-lost records.

The Humanitarian Award will again be presented at the men’s Frozen Four in conjunction with the Hobey Baker Memorial and Mike Richter awards in Tampa, Fla., on April 7, 2023.

A list of nominees will be announced in January followed by a list of finalists. All finalists will be interviewed in person or via Zoom.

The 2022 winner of the Hockey Humanitarian Award was Union’s Josh Kosack.

NEHC Hockey Preview – Overall strength of conference will drive battle for top spot

Senior Sam Best and the Massachusetts-Boston Beacons look to challenge near the top of the ultra-competitive NEHC conference (Photo by Massachusetts-Boston Athletics)

In what many consider the most competitive conference on the D-III hockey landscape, the NEHC has emerged beyond just the top teams in recent years setting up great competition for the conference championship. This year will be no different as expectations for the level of play are higher across all the institutions leading to a very competitive race.

“I think the league gets deeper and better every year,” said Massachusetts-Boston head coach Peter Belisle. “I think for a long time the league was a 3-headed monster and now it’s like a 7-headed monster or even more. I hope that we can get our new freshmen up to speed quickly and take advantage of the great goaltender we have in Sam Best. It would be great if we could stay in the top four again this season, but it is going to be a challenge with the caliber of teams we will see every weekend.”

The Favorites

Hobart is always in the mix under the tutelage of coach Mark Taylor. While this year’s edition of the Statesmen includes three brand new goaltenders, the supporting cast is deep and experienced which should help the guys in the crease to sort out the rotation and help the team win hockey games. Forwards Luke Aquaro, Wil Crane and defenseman Austin Mourar provide both productivity and leadership.

Elmira lost some key players including goaltender Chris Janzen but returns a solid group that includes forwards Chance Gorman and Janis Vizbelis amongst the top nine returning up front from last year’s NCAA roster. Freshmen Brody Haynes and Kyle Curtin will compete with senior Jeffrey Zero in goal as the Soaring Eagles look to win the conference title for the first time.

The Dark Horses

Norwich will be in the mix and backstopped by goaltender Drennen Atherton, they may not need a lot of scoring to win hockey games. Seniors Callum Jones, Noah Williams, Braedyn Aubin and John Banovetz will be key to the leadership while taking the next step will be expected for forward Clark Kerner following his outstanding freshman season.

Skidmore reached the conference championship game last season and coach Rob Hutchison has a dynamic roster looking to get back there again. Goaltender Tate Brandon is amongst the best in the conference and the roster is a deep and balanced one for the Thoroughbreds.

Babson is never in a re-build mode but more a re-load scenario especially after the departures of goaltender Brad Arvanitis to graduation and forwards Ryan Black and Mike Egan to D-1 at UNH and Niagara respectively this season. Coach Jamie Rice always has depth and players that fit into the Babson system. Over a dozen freshmen join the Beaver roster but look for veterans Max Torrez, Chris Rooney, Andrew Holland and Nolan Hildebrand to help this team mature quickly.

Players to watch

Babson:                                           Thomas Kramer – forward; Chris Rooney – forward

Castleton:                                       Brandon Picard – forward; Zach Papapetros – defense

Elmira:                                             Chance Gorman – forward; Janis Vizbelis – forward

Hobart                                             Luke Aquaro – forward; Zach Tyson- forward

Johnson & Wales:                         Kody Legassie – forward; Jaxon Friedman – goaltender

UMass-Boston:                              Nolan Barrett – defense; Sam Best – goaltender

New England College:                   Alex LaPlante – forward; Spencer Kozlowski – goaltender

Norwich:                                         Clark Kerner – forward; Drennen Atherton – goaltender

Skidmore:                                       Tate Brandon – goaltender; Patrick Kaeden – forward

Southern Maine:                           Austin Marini – forward; Kyle Penton – goaltender

USCHO predicted finish

  1. Hobart
  2. Elmira
  3. Norwich
  4. Skidmore
  5. Babson
  6. Massachusetts-Boston
  7. New England College
  8. Southern Maine
  9. Castleton
  10. Johnson & Wales

Non-conference action dominates the opening weekend but league play kicks-off in November with critical early season points on the line for all the teams in the NEHC.

TMQ: New DCU/USCHO.com poll reflects playoff-type games played over wild weekend

Michigan poured on the offense in a weekend sweep on the road at Lake Superior State (photo: Michigan Photography).

Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.

Dan: Happy Tuesday, everyone, and welcome inside the battle room here for a Massachusetts-based edition of this week’s TMQ. Pleasure to be riding alongside Jimmy this week to break down what was an insane weekend of college hockey.

As expected, the marquee matchups offered little to no disappointments. Minnesota and North Dakota split two playoff-type atmospheres reminiscent of the old days when these were conference games. St. Cloud beat Minnesota State and refuted the “St. Cloud hasn’t beaten anyone” theory from before the weekend. Quinnipiac split at Maine. Michigan did Michigan things, and Denver did Denver things.

The rankings that were released this week reflected those wild and crazy times. Minnesota remained No. 1, but the next 10 teams changed spots, with St. Cloud jumping into the fray with an undefeated 6-0-0 record and 14 first-place votes. I’m one of the folks who jumped on the St. Cloud bandwagon, buuuuuut (drawn out for dramatic effect) there are tons of factors other than simple numbers involved here, I feel.

Jimmy, first thoughts when you saw the rankings?

Jim: Well, I think the top of the poll feels a little off to me. You have a two-loss Minnesota team ranked No. 1 while North Dakota, a team that was seconds away from a two-game sweep of the Gophers this weekend, is all the way down in sixth. To me that seems like a disconnect.

I have a difficult time having a two-loss team at the top when you have others teams without a loss playing some excellent hockey. UMass just manhandled Union twice this weekend and comfortably swept Denver a week ago. St. Cloud State is a perfect 6-0-0 and just swept Minnesota State and Wisconsin (two wins that look better after the Badgers sweep of Minnesota Duluth). I can even make a case for Michigan at this point to be No. 1.

But that’s why there are 50 voters and I’m just one voice.

Speaking of Minnesota Duluth, I’m not surprised to see them free fall down to 19th. Honestly, you could probably make a case to not even rank the Bulldogs are being swept by Wisconsin and Minnesota State over the last two weekends, being outscored 16-3 in those games. I know it’s early but is it time to sound the alarm on a team that many thought should challenge Denver and North Dakota for the top spot in the NCHC?

Dan: Nope, and there are a few good reasons for it.

Make no mistake, UMD had a bad weekend against an opponent we all believed it would handle with ease, but I don’t think the performances are as indicatively bad as our brains want to tell us. Wisconsin played well against both Ohio State and St. Cloud, and even though there weren’t wins, three out of four games against teams that have a case for a top ranking is exactly the kind of winless record primed for a breakthrough. I think the wins are more of a compliment to a Wisconsin team that we all doubted more than a knock against Duluth.

That said, what happens moving forward is the real key for that program. This is a sneaky tough weekend against Cornell this week, and next weekend at Colorado College is against a team that’s historically been a beatable program. If there are too many slips over those two weekends, then I think we can start writing the Bulldogs into the next tier of NCHC teams. There is no way, in my mind, they can head into the November stretch against Omaha and Western Michigan with too many losses in hand, especially since they haven’t touched the Denver-St. Cloud-North Dakota portion of the schedule.

In short, I don’t have warm fuzzies, but I’m not panicking.

Turning our attention back here to our homefront, I was surprised that UMass Lowell barely moved the needle in the rankings after beating Northeastern on the road. That felt more of an indictment of the Huskies than an endorsement of the River Hawks, but truthfully, it was a fantastic hockey game.

I know you had a front-row seat to that one, but I remain surprised that more people aren’t taking stock of how competitive these games are becoming on the eastern front. Hockey East in particular is getting deeper and deeper as the season moves forward, and I count at least six teams off the top of my head – UMass, Northeastern, PC, BU, Lowell, even BC – as programs that I think have the tools and talent to rattle the cage this year.

Jim: You know, having been around Hockey East as long as I have, I think coaches in that league are okay with being a little disrespected by polls. There is a mentality that it is easier to simply not have a bull’s eye on your back.

That said, within Hockey East, I expect there to be an absolutely battle royale. Eight of the 11 teams in the league are either ranked or are receiving votes in the latest USCHO poll. Plenty of storylines and reason that multiple teams can win the league title and, in reality, you can expect a team that many might consider as a potential champion as a team that won’t even finish top four and get home ice.

And I know that many leagues believe that there is plenty of parity in their leagues. The Big Ten leads all leagues for intra-conference winning percentage with a likely-unsustainable .725 winning percentage. Much of that came from a perfect 7-0 record last Friday night.

But Hockey East is right on the B1G’s tail, at .667 (while the NCHC is third at .602). All three of those win percentages are solid and will result in a plethora of NCAA at-large bids.

But back to your original point. Yes, I think Hockey East is getting a little overlooked.

Your new beat, ECAC Hockey, will be playing with all 12 members beginning this weekend as the Ivies finally get underway. We could wax on about how annoying the delayed start to the Ivy schedule is, but I’d rather think about which teams from that side of the ECAC are the most competitive. Harvard and Cornell usually seem like the answer. Any additions you would make?

Dan: If we’re looking at national contenders, I think the list stops there until ECAC can build its way back to a third bid to the national tournament.

I’ve mentioned this a couple of times, but Harvard’s tournament championship avoided a disaster scenario for the league where it only had one bid for the first time in forever. Though it should be noted that, in some ways, Harvard’s win knocked Clarkson off the bubble, though some funky math did that when the Golden Knights finished 16th in the Pairwise Rankings.

Let’s double back to the rest of the Ivy League, which is in its second year of the post-pandemic rebuild. If we’re looking strictly at the other four teams other than Harvard and Cornell, none of them jump off the map as contenders. Brown has to find some scoring after losing the majority of its offensive production, and Yale and Princeton both need some things to go right before we count them among the middle tier of the conference. Dartmouth is an intriguing option, but the Big Green would have to catch some teams that are further ahead as the season started.

ECAC has openings because the league is so top heavy, but Clarkson’s bad start coupled with RPI’s better-than-expected start has things jumbled when it comes to jumping into the mixer. I can’t see Clarkson staying down, and I predicted RPI would finish in the lower four. That means something else has to happen with those Ivy schools that, as the year begins, is pretty difficult to predict.

I will say this – one of those schools is going to ruin someone’s season, and it’s probably going to happen early. Harvard has Dartmouth and Princeton this weekend, and a loss now could come back to haunt someone in the hunt for the postseason. Other than that, it’s going to be the same old teams.

It’s honestly a little frustrating to me, though I know the onus is on the on-ice production of other programs, but it feels like even the start of this year is steamrolling towards the same teams factoring into the national tournament race. As of right now, it’s the Michigan-Quinnipiac-UMass-Minnesota State-name your school that’s usually in the tournament, and with the exception of Minnesota-Duluth, we’re maybe seeing the reemergence of a BU or the emergence of a UConn.

I’m trying to think of the last time we saw an honest-to-goodness breakout. With the exception of UMass’ title in 2021, which came on the heels of its loss to Minnesota-Duluth in 2019, we haven’t seen a new national champion since Providence’s title win in 2015. We had that glorious three-year stretch when we crowned new national champions in Yale, Union, and PC. Minnesota Duluth was right there in 2011, and even RIT’s Frozen Four appearance in 2010 signaled the start of something new.

We’re seeing mini-flares every now and then (AIC’s win over St. Cloud rings in my ears), but what’s going to take, in your mind, to get some new names into the mixer? I feel like the days of Cinderella just aren’t there anymore, though I know that’s an incorrect statement even as I make it.

Jim: While I understand that it might be difficult to find your next Cinderella, especially if you consider a first-time national champ to be what defines that category, it might be difficult to find.

We’ve seen some teams knocking on the door. UMass Lowell has been one of the most consistent teams in Hockey East for a decade, though still has just a single national tournament. Western Michigan is another school that is on the upswing of late. Arizona State is another club I look at as always being in the national picture.

Oh, and let’s not forget another “new” program in Penn State. The Nittany Lions may not have played world beaters at this point, but they are 6-0-0 and getting national consideration.

I don’t want to say that any of these teams are ready to knock off the world and win a national title, but any of them could pull of what Providence, Union and Yale did. Why not, right?

NCHC suspends Minnesota Duluth’s Howard two games after major cross checking penalty Oct. 22 against Wisconsin

HOWARD

The NCHC has issued a two-game suspension to Minnesota Duluth freshman forward Isaac Howard, in accordance with the conference’s supplemental discipline policy.

The suspension stems from an illegal hit during the Bulldogs game against Wisconsin on Oct. 22 at Amsoil Arena.

During last Saturday night’s game, Howard was assessed a major penalty for cross checking and given a game misconduct penalty at 7:23 of the second period, following a video review.

Howard will be required to serve the two-game suspension during UMD’s series against Cornell this weekend, Oct. 28-29. Howard is eligible to return for Minnesota Duluth’s series opener at Colorado College on Friday, Nov. 4.

NE-10 Hockey Preview – Wide-open race expected in competitive league

St. Anselm’s Andrew Andary was the NE-10 Player of the Year last season and looks to lead the Hawks to a conference championship this season (photo: Saint Anselm Athletics).

Since the 2016-17 season, four different teams have hoisted the championship banner in the NE-10 including Assumption two times, St. Anselm, Southern New Hampshire and Stonehill. With the departure of Stonehill to play in the D-1 ranks, the NE-10 now fields just six teams who will play each other four times each during the regular season on the way to the playoffs and conference championship. Last year’s champions from Assumption are certainly in the mix and the coach from last season’s regular season winner, Southern New Hampshire’s coach Sean Walsh believes the race this season is wide open.

“We have George Thurston and his 21 goals back along with Adam Mercer in goal but lost defenseman Joe Fiorino to graduation,” stated Walsh. “Our area of focus is the blueline, but every team has strengths and weaknesses to figure out entering the season. New coach Tim Richter will bring a lot of energy to Post who made it to the title game last year and everyone else has some great players to build around. It is going to be an interesting race.”

The Favorites

St. Anselm returns last year’s Player of the Year in Andrew Andary along with All-NE-10 defenseman, Jack Murphy, and experience in goal with Nick Howard. The supporting cast is deep for the Hawks who will be seeking their first conference title since the 2017-18 season.

Southern New Hampshire brings back George Thurston who scored over twenty goals last season and was among the leaders in the country on the power play. Adam Mercer will backstop the Penmen and help stabilize the defensive end as a young group develops in game action.

The Dark Horses

The Assumption Greyhounds are the defending champions and return graduate student Michael Zampanti to the ice to bolster the offense with Colin Philippon as four of the top five scorers from last season have graduated. The Greyhounds will also look to someone other than David Altman in the blue paint and give the team a chance to win every game.

Post, who made it to last season’s championship game, will be looking to one of their rostered goaltenders to step up to replace the graduated Brandon Brown as new coach Tim Richter takes over a team with a lot of positive momentum from last season.

Players to watch

Assumption:                                   Michael Zampanti – forward; Colin Philippon – forward

Franklin Pierce:                              Cody Rumsey – forward; Conor Foley – forward

Post:                                                 Tim Richter – coach; Niko Grollman – forward

Southern New Hampshire:          Adam Mercer – goaltender; George Thurston – forward

St. Anselm:                                     Jack Murphy – defense; Andrew Andary – forward

St. Michael’s:                                 Jeremy Routh – forward; Case Kantgias – defense

USCHO Predicted finish

  1. St. Anselm

2. Southern New Hampshire

3. Assumption

4. Post

5. Franklin Pierce

6. St. Michael’s

The season starts out quickly with Southern New Hampshire and St. Anselm opening conference play on Friday night. In a quirk of this year’s schedule, the two teams open the regular season, close out the first half in December with a pair of games and open the second half in January to complete their four-game series.

 

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