Wisconsin-Stevens Point opens its season with a two-game series against St. Norbert. Photo Credit: UW-Stevens Point Athletics
Here we go. A new NCAA Division III hockey season is underway and every team here in the west region is looking forward to a full slate of games.
The MIAC lost a team and gained a team, the WIAC still technically has the reigning national champion in it – that would be Wisconsin-Stevens Point – and St. Norbert is playing again after sitting out 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That only makes the NCHA even tougher than it already is.
But we begin the season with a number of non-conference games. Here’s a handful to keep an eye on during the opening weekend.
Oct. 29
Wisconsin-Stevens Point vs. St. Norbert
It’s a game fitting for the NCAA tournament, and there might not be a better way to start off a year than having two national powers go at it.
The best part is they’ll play two in a home-and-home, starting Friday at St. Norbert.
The Pointers actually played hockey last season, which means they won’t have to shake the rust off as much as the Green Knights will.
But St. Norbert has plenty of experience back from its team two years ago and that will make things interesting. UW-Stevens Point, 3-1; St. Norbert 4-3
Saint Mary’s at Lake Forest
The Cardinals hit the road for a two-game set against the Foresters in one of the more interesting early-season crossover matchups.
The last time these two teams played back in 2019, they played to a tie in the opener before the Cardinals lost 4-3 in the finale.
Saint Mary’s opened last season with four consecutive wins. Another hot start would be something they would love to see.
The Foresters are looking for a quick start as well after a one-win season last year. They’ll be under the direction of a new coach and have a good mix of veterans and newcomers. Playing at home won’t hurt their cause either. Saint Mary’s, 4-2; Lake Forest, 3-2
Concordia (Wisconsin) at St. Scholastica
It’s a game pitting two former conference opponents. Concordia remains in the NCHA but St. Scholastica is now in the MIAC.
The Falcons won both games last year, including one in overtime and return their starting goaltender in Bo Didur. If he performs well, the Falcons have a shot.
But the Saints are no pushover. They return their top five point scorers from a year ago. It will be interesting to see if offense or defense wins out in this one. St. Scholastica, 5-3
Marian at Concordia
The Cobbers and Sabres play a two-game set over the weekend.
Concordia comes in looking to shake the rust off after playing just two games last season.
The good news is the Cobbers have two of their top players back in Tyler Bossert and Jacen Bracko. Those two will be counted on to jump start the offense early.
Marian, meanwhile, is coming off a season where it won the NCHA tournament. The Sabres have the offensive weapons to make life tough on any opponent and they also have a veteran goaltender who was the MVP of the league tourney. Marian, 4-1 and 5-4
Aurora at Arcadia
The Spartans have a lot of experience back, losing only one player from last season’s team. The returning group includes All-American goaltender Josh Boyko. Having a player like that gives Aurora a chance to win on any given night.
The Spartans face an Arcadia team that is brand new to the NCAA Division III hockey world. And while there will be excitement because of it, especially with the Knights playing this two-game series at home, the experience of the Spartans likely wins out this weekend. Aurora, 5-1 and 6-2
Oct. 30
Wisconsin-Eau Claire at Saint John’s
This game pits two of the better teams in the west region. The Blugolds are the favorite in the WIAC and the Johnnies could be the team to beat in the MIAC this season.
It’s a good early-season test for both teams. Saint John’s welcomes back several of its top players, including Mac Berglove, who won five games last season. The Johnnies also return one of their top scorers in Auggie Moore.
The Blugolds are always on top of things offensively and scored 29 goals in an eight-game season a year ago. That momentum should carry over into this season. UW-Eau Claire 3, Saint John’s 2
Adrian at Utica
This is a huge non-conference two-game series for both teams right out of the gate. The first game is set for Saturday and the series concludes Sunday.
The Bulldogs bring back a wealth of talent, including Alessio Luciani, who was the player of the year in the NCHA last season. They also welcome back Zachary Heintz, who was the freshman of the year in the conference two seasons ago before sitting out last year because of the pandemic.
The Pioneers played 10 games last season, winning eight, and outscored the opposition 56-13 during an eight-game win streak. They return 13 of their top 14 scorers from a team that led the country in scoring last year at 5.90 goals per game. Utica, 5-3; Adrian 6-5
Utica’s Brandon Osmundson looks to lift the Pioneer offense in a two-game battle with Adrian (Photo by Jeff Pexton)
Wow! It is really here! The return of DII-III hockey in New England is on tap for this weekend with a full slate of non-conference action to kickoff the 2021-2022 season. There is great excitement amongst the players, coaches, conferences, institutions and fans – and yes, even with the media covering this great sport. Conference previews, a Q&A with NEHC Katie Boldvich and the national poll will appear next week on the site. While the Potsdam/St. Michael’s games have been postponed due to COVID protocols, there will be plenty of action this weekend including some perennial national powers facing-off against each other as well as some early tournament action to get teams in the hardware hunt. It is going to be really challenging to know how to pick games with many teams not having played a real contest in over 600 days but intrepidly, I will try. Here are twelve games to watch this weekend along with the first picks of the season:
Friday, October 29, 2021
Endicott v. Salem State
This North Shore battle between CCC and MASCAC teams always produces and exciting game. Endicott has been favored in the pre-season coaches poll for their conference and it is hard to argue that based on Conor O’Brien returning in goal – Endicott, 4-1
Stonehill v. Curry
The Colonels return some serious offensive firepower including Alex Ochterbeck, Michael Snow and Salve Regina transfer Danny Eruzione. They get on the scoreboard early against a game Stonehill team – Curry, 5-3
Hobart v. Oswego
This is one of the premier games of the weekend between high-powered SUNYAC and NEHC teams. Oswego has re-tooled with a number of D-1 transfers and that experience carries the Lakers to a hard-fought victory – Oswego, 4-2
Plymouth State v. Plattsburgh
This is another game to open the season that features a past 2020 NCAA tournament participant in Plymouth State playing against a tough Cardinal team. Coach Moffat has recruited some high-end talent and gets a good benchmark on their pre-season development – Plattsburgh, 3-1
Stevenson v. Canton
The Mustangs were part of the only conference playing a competitive schedule last season where they advanced to the UCHC title game. That experience with a young roster helps Coach Dawes’ team to an opening night win – Stevenson, 5-2
Anna Maria v. Assumption
This game is part of the Worcester City Cup tournament with Nichols and Worcester State providing the other teams competing for early season hardware. The AmCats have a talented roster, but Assumption is just a little deeper and more experienced which helps garner the win – Assumption, 3-2
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Fitchburg State v. New England College
The Pilgrims return some key offensive leadership in Nikita Pintusov and Connor Inger who can turn a game in a single shift. The Falcons always play well for Coach Dean Fuller but this one goes the way of the home team on a late third period goal – NEC, 3-2
Adrian v. Utica
This is the first game in a two-game series and the home arena will be rocking for the Pioneers who are very experienced and big to compete against the always heavy game Adrian brings to the ice. Special teams are a big factor in the one goal win for the home team who sends the fans home happy – Utica, 5-4
Nazareth v. Geneseo
The Knights are really young but have some solid experience in all three phases of the game to help the young recruits develop. Home ice and special teams matter in this one where the crowd lifts the Knights to a win that needs an empty-net goal for the comfort margin – Geneseo, 5-3
Rivier v. St. Anselm
Rivier is brand new this season to the D-III ranks and open against an experienced Hawks roster. In this case experience trumps the adrenaline and youthful enthusiasm for the new team. A fast start helps the Hawks to the win – St. Anselm, 4-1
Salve Regina v. Norwich
The Seahawks have a re-tooled roster including some D-I transfers and they will be tested by a Cadet team that always creates pressure on opponents playing at Kreitzburg Arena. This one will be very close but home ice is worth the goal differential – Norwich, 3-2
Wentworth v. Skidmore
The Thoroughbreds always seem to be one of the teams that sneaks up on opponents, so the Leopards better be ready for a roster that contains several experienced and talented “super-seniors” that return to the line-up as graduate students and exercising their eligibility – Skidmore, 3-1
It is crazy that opening weekend includes games between teams that qualified for the last NCAA tournament seeded in 2020. That adds even more pressure and excitement to the start of the season as the results could influence a few things in March. It’s been a long time but there is still only one way to start the game – “Drop the Puck!”
Adrian heads into the new season as the favorite to win the NCHA title. Photo Credit: Adrian Athletics
A new season means another competitive year ahead in the NCHA. St. Norbert was the only team that didn’t play last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Green Knights are back and ready to compete for a championship.
Adrian is poised to be a contender as well and won the title two years ago. And Marian enters the year as the reigning league tourney champ. The Sabres seem to have the talent in place for another run.
MSOE should be in the title hunt as well after finishing as the tournament runner-up last year.
The Bulldogs are the favorite going into the season and St. Norbert is picked as the runner-up. but in a league that is a grind night in and night out, anything is possible.
Adrian (16-6-1, 8-0 NCHA)
The Bulldogs are ready to contend for a title once again and have the talent to do it.
Several key players return, including Zachary Heintz, who is back this season after sitting out last year for medical reasons. He was the NCHA Freshman of the Year in 2019-20. He’ll add a lot ot the offense as he tallied 14 goals and 19 assists two seasons ago for the Bulldogs.
Alessio Luciani, Cam Gray, Jaden Shields and Sam Ruffin also return. Luciani was the top scoring threat on the team last season after racking up 14 goals and 22 assists.
Jaden Shields came through with four goals and finished second on the team in assists (17) while Sam Ruffin finished his season with 10 goals and nine assists.
Cam Gray will be counted on in goal after fashioning a 12-5-1 record last season and four shutouts. He made 466 saves.
Adrian has added several key newcomers, including Marion transfer Ty Enns, who tallied 47 points in 45 games. Hunter Wendt comes in from Ferris State and Aydo Adeniye is a transfer from Alabama Huntsville. Matus Spodniak is a transfer from AIC.
“We’re really excited to get going. The culture that is in place is the best it’s ever ben during my time at Adrian,” head coach Adam Krug said. “There is a ton of talent, too, but that doesn’t mean much unless we’re all bought into our roles, into our team identity.”
Aurora (5-4, 4-3 NCHA)
The roster for the Spartans is going to look familiar to last season as they lost only one player. Co-Captains Josh Boyko and LA Grissom will lead the way for Aurora as they both return for a fifth season.
Boyko finished with a 3-3 record last season and allowed 23 goals while tallying 232 saves.
The Spartans also return their top three scorers in Brayden Sampson, Jack Yaunich and Adam Keyes. Sampson finished last season with four goals and a team-best nine assists.
Jaunich tallied five goals and three assists and Keyes racked up four goals and four assists. The goal total for Jaunich was the highest on the team.
Riley Donyon was also productive on offense last season as he came through with three goals and three assists.
A cast of talented newcomers should help bolster the depth of the Spartans, including a pair of Division I transfers. . Simon Boyko transfers in from Vermont while Andrew Lane is a transfer from Alaska Anchorage.
“I’m very excited about this group,” head coach Jason Bloomingburg said. “They’re hungry and determined. It is a relentless group with a very high work ethic and skill set. We’ve set some lofty goals that we believe are realistic of achieving.”
Concordia (9-12, 6-2 NCHA)
The Falcons gear up for a new season knowing they will hae some experience on their side. Cory Dennis is among the key returning players. He’s coming off a season where he scored four goals and dished out 12 assists.
Thomas Dyball also returns for the Falcons. The standout defenseman tallied a goal and five assists last year.
Michael Makarenko also returns and played a key role offensively last season. He finished with four goals and three assists during the 2020-21 campaign.
The Falcons will also have experience in goal as Bo Didur returns for another year. The senior standout started 10 games last season and racked up 428 saves. He stopped nearly 90 percent of the shots he faced.
Finlandia (1-7, 1-7 NCHA)
The Lions hope to bounce back after a tough 2020-21 campaign in which the they won only one time and dropped their final four games of the season.
Second-leading scorer Tyler Perkins is among the returning players for the Lions. He scored a goal and dished out five assists.
Marcus Gloss is back as a goalie for the Lions. He started four games last season and made 105 saves.
Lake Forest (1-5, 1-5 NCHA)
The Foresters have a new head coach in Sean O’Malley, who spent the last seven years as an assistant coach.
Lake Forest has three of its top players back off a team that only played six games last season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Josh Giacomin scored 24 goals in his first two seasons with the Foresters, including 15 two years ago, and is looking to return to that form in a season with more normalcy.
Will Lebel tallied 10 goals and seven assists two years ago. Scotty Nicholson also returns and brings experience to the table and will be one of the team’s top playmakers. He came through with 10 assists last season.
O’Malley likes the way his team looks heading into a new season.
“We have a good mix of veteran leadership along with a solid group of young players who are meshing well,” O’Malley said.
Lawrence (4-5, 4-4 NCHA)
There isn’t a shortage of experience for the Vikings as they head into a new season. A total of 24 letterwinners return.
Davis Kirkendall is among the list of key returnees after tallying four goals and three assists. He was an all-conference pick last season.
Kyle Gierman also returns. He earned a spot on the league’s all-freshman team after coming through with eight assists last season.
Charles Stewart will provide a boost to the team as well. He was the Vikings’ leading scorer last year with four goals and five assists. Matt Meinger returns as well and is a fifth-year senior as well asa team captain.
Lawrence should be solid in goal as well with Brian Tallieu and Alex Mosquera both returning to the team. Tallieu started five games and went 2-2. He racked up 132 saves. Mosquera made four starts last season and tallied 129 saves.
This Vikings squad will be one of the largest in school history as 30 players are on the roster.
“Our team will compete every night and be a team that is difficult to play against,” head coach Mike Szkodzinski said. “Our core principles of pride, passion and purpose will be on display every time we play.”
Marian (12-7, 5-3 NCHA)
The Sabres won the Harris Cup last season to cap a challenging season on a high note. They are hoping to add another trophy to their collection this season.
Colby Muise is among the key returning players. He went 11-4 with a 2.31 goals against average while saving more than 92 percent of his shots. Muise was also the league tournament MVP.
Parker Colley is coming off a year where he finished with eight goals and 10 assists, with half of those goals and assists coming over the final six games.
Gianni Vitali racked up three goals and 12 assists last season. He led the team in assists.
Marion has added several newcomers to the roster as well, including BRady Lynn from the University of Ontario. He should be one of the better scorers on the team after managing 16 goals and 23 assists during the 2019-20 BCHL season.
Nick Cherkowski originally committed to Merrimack but is now with the Sabres while Alex Rondeau is a transfer from Alaska Fairbanks. First-year player Jordan Simoneau should also make an impact.
The Sabres enter this season with high hopes and look to repeat as Harris Cup champs for the first time since doing it in 2001 and 2002.
“My expectations for the team this year are very basic. I want the players to give their best effort daily on the ice, in the classroom and in their personal lives,” head coach Zach Gaynor said. “I want them to play with pride for each other and with honor for the crest in front of their jersey. I believe if they are willing to do those things they will have a chance to go 1-0 every night.”
MSOE (10-7-2, 3-4-1 NCHA)
The Raiders played for the NCHA title last season, finishing as the runner-up to Marion, and are ready to make another run at the championship this year.
Among the players set to help try to make that goal a reality are Jack Nickels and Garrett Gintoli. Nickels was an all-conference selection as a defenseman and Gintoli earned all-conference honors at forward.
Nickels scored two goals and dished out 10 assists while Gintoli paced the offense with eight goals and 13 assists.
Finding a goaltender will be key. All-conference pick Logan Halladay is gone but newcomers George McBey and Darius Bell will compete with returning player Nick Stofcheck for the starting job. McBey is a transfer from Alabama Huntsville.
The Raiders are looking forward to a more normal year and one of their schedule highlights will be an outdoor game against Adrian on Jan.2 at Fifth Third Field in Toledo.
“This season will provide us with a lot of great opportunities, something we know not to take for granted,” head coach Graham Johnson said. “We hope to build off some success we had last year with a veteran team, but this conference is grueling on a nightly basis.”
St. Norbert (17-10-2, 11-7-2 in 2019-20)
The Green Knights are always a contender both in the NCHA and nationally, and they are ready to return to the ice after they didn’t have a season last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 20 letterwinners return from the team that took the ice during the 2019-20 campaign. That group includes leading scoring threat Peter Bates, who finished that season with 19 goals and 25 assists.
Peyton Frantti also returns for the Green Knights. He was third on the team in scoring two seasons ago, tallying 15 goals and 19 assists for a team that was the league tourney runner-up.
Tim Nicksic will also play a key role offensively after coming through with six goals and 15 assists. Ben Schmidling is also back. He tallied 12 goals and eight assists in 2019-20.
St. Norbert is in good shape defensively heading into the new season as Colby Entz will be back in goal. He won 12 games two years ago and owned a 1.88 goals against average.
Trine (5-10-1, 3-4-1 NCHA)
Trine is coming off a year where it did reach the conference tournament and the Thunder is taking aim at having the kind of season it did two years ago when it won 13 games and made it to the semifinal round of the NCHA tourney.
Brenden Pappas will help in that cause as he is coming off a year where he tallied five gaols nine assists. He was the team leader in points.
Garrett Hallford was the top goal scorer last season for the Vikings as he racked up seven.
Shane Brancato played in 12 games last season, starting 10 of them, and he finished with 297 saves. He saved just over 88 percent of the shots he faced.
“We are looking to build on the success of our 2019-20 season and our ability to play last year,” head coach Alex Todd said. “Looking back on our last full season (two years ago), we posted a strong finish and made a splash in the NCHA Harris Cup tournament. Last season, just getting the opportunity to play throughout the year should be a great advantage going into this campaign.”
Will Colgate be celebrating goals this weekend when the Raiders host Western Michigan in a nonconference series? (photo: Olivia Hokanson).
Okay, show of hands: Who took Western Michigan (+400) last Friday over then No. 1 Michigan? If you did, good for you.
And if you hit a five-team parlay with last week’s five featured games, GREAT for you. A $100 bet on those games in a five-team parlay paid a whopping $7,075. That’s some real money, if you found someone to take that action.
But if you didn’t, I’ve got some good news for you. Thanks to an alert reader, we have found that in states in which DraftKings operates its sportsbook legally, you can place bets on certain college hockey games.
You won’t find a lot of them. This week, of the five games I am highlighting, only three of those are currently listed on DraftKings. And notably, I am handicapping the Friday night games when there are two-game Friday-Saturday series. This weekend, you’ll notice that the DraftKings odds I am providing for No. 19 Boston University vs. UMass Lowell are for Saturday’s game at UML.
As usual, a disclaimer:
Understand, this is for entertainment purposes only. USCHO.com is not a licensed gambling platform and no money may be wagered through this site or any subsidiary of USCHO.
Enjoy and, if you bet, may you be successful.
* Games marked with asterisks indicates odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook
No. 14 Notre Dame (+155) at No. 7 Minnesota (-190)*
At +155, Notre Dame is one of the best value plays around. Granted they are headed on the road to play a Minnesota team that has to be hungry after having lost three of its last four games. But simultaneously, Notre Dame has been excellent when jumping to the lead.
Look for the first goal to mean a lot in this game. Notre Dame isn’t unable to comeback, but chasing the game has never been the ideal game plan for Jeff Jackson’s squad.
Interesting thing to note, a season ago, the road team won all four games in the series between these two clubs.
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Bowling Green (+170) at No. 17 Bemidji State (-220)
As the CCHA teams continue to slowly ease into their league schedules, we may begin to see which teams are the haves and which are the have nots.
Bemidji State’s win against North Dakota gives the Beavers a ton of betting credibility, and a considerably high preference among the USCHO writers with nine of the 10 picking the Beavers (remember last week, though, when all 10 selected Michigan… oops).
The host Beavers are 5-1-1 versus Bowling Green since February 23, 2019, and is 5-0-1 in its last six against the Falcons at home.
Bemidji will have to slow a Bowling Green offense that scored six goals last time out against NCHC foe Miami.
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No. 15 Harvard (-175) at Dartmouth (+155)
For both Harvard and Dartmouth, Friday will be a milestone game. It will 600-plus days since each team has played an NCAA hockey game, both schools having laid dormant a year ago due to COVID-19.
Honestly, there are almost too many X-factors here to properly handicap the game. Both rosters look a little different, particularly Harvard which lost some players (Jack Drury, Jack Rathbone) to the NHL during the pandemic layoff. And Dartmouth will have a bench boss coaching his first year in Reid Cashman, who was hired during the pandemic and has waited almost 18 months to coach his first game.
The two clubs did square off against one another in an exhibition back on October 16, with the Crimson skating to a 4-0 win, which is the main reason to make the Crimson the somewhat-significant favorite.
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UMass Lowell (+130) at No. 19 Boston University (-160)* Note: DraftKings odds are for Saturday’s game at UML
While this is a rematch of last year’s Hockey East quarterfinal, won by the River Hawks at BU’s Walter Brown Arena, 2-1, that’s probably where the similarities end.
A lot of both teams’ lineups look a little bit different and both come into this weekend series in different places.
UMass Lowell is 2-1-1 in its four games, having 18 days off between its opening series against Arizona State and last weekend’s two games vs. Michigan State, while BU is 3-3-0 and has split all three weekend series thus far.
Fridays haven’t been friendly to BU of late having lost home games to Sacred Heart, 3-2, and Merrimack, 4-1. Home ice, though, has been an advantage for BU over the River Hawks at Agganis Arena. The Terriers are 5-1-1 in their last seven against Lowell in their proper home.
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No. 13 Western Michigan (-175) at Colgate (+145)*
Western Michigan was the biggest mover in last week’s USCHO.com poll, jumping four spots after beating then-No. 1 Michigan on the road and dropping a home contest to the Wolverines in overtime.
But Colgate is a plucky team and could be considered an early dark horse in the ECAC. Some think that Colgate benefit in their league by playing a season ago, just one of four teams to do so in the ECAC. But will that translate out of the conference?
Thus far, the start has been strong for the Raiders, going 5-2-0, but you can argue that they haven’t played a team as strong as Western Michigan.
Though just four games into the season, the Broncos are averaging nearly four goals a game.
Saint John’s will come into the 2021-22 season as one of the teams expected to contend for a league title. Photo Credit: Saint John’s Athletics
Things are going to look a little different in the MIAC this season.
For starters, St. Thomas is no longer in the league, moving up to Division I, and that in itself is a huge deal as the Tommies were a regular contender in the MIAC.
In fact, St. Thomas was the last team to win a conference tourney title as it claimed the 2020 crown but did not get to play in the NCAA tournament after it was canceled due to the pandemic.
There’s also a new team in the league in St. Scholastica, which moves over to the MIAC from the NCHA.
A full schedule is also set for the league after a 2020-21 season that was rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only two teams played at least 10 games last season, with Saint Mary’s leading the way with 11 games. Saint John’s played 10. Concordia and St. Olaf had the fewest games played with two apiece. There was also no MIAC tournament.
Saint John’s has finished on top of the regular season standings the last two years and they’ll be among the contenders again this season as the teams in the league get set to battle in what should be a highly competitive season.
Augsburg (4-1, 1-1 MIAC)
A new era begins for the Auggies, who will be the under the direction of alum Greg May. May played from 2003-07 for the Auggies.
Augsburg scored 24 goals during a shortened season last year while allowing only eight.
The Auggies should be productive offensively again this season, especially with Austin Martinsen back. He led the team in scoring last year with four goals and eight assists.
Gavin Holland and Austin Koss are also back. Holland finished second in scoring with five goals and three assists while Koss tallied three goals and three assists.
The Auggies return their other two scorers that finished in the top five on the team as well in Grant Reichenbacher (two goals, three assists) and Logan Kons (two goals, two assists).
Augsburg will be young in goal, however, as no one returns at that position. River Goodmanson and Samuel Vyletelka are listed at that position on the roster.
Bethel (2-6, 0-4 MIAC)
The Royals didn’t get a chance to play a lot of games last season and are hoping to put together a winning season. The last time they finished at least .500 was during the 2008-09 season.
Jarrett Cammarata will try to help lead the way. He’s the Royals’ top returning scoring threat, coming off a year where he tallied three goals and five assists.
Luke Posner also returns after finishing last season with three goals and three assists.
Finding others to step up on the offensive end will be key if Bethel is to take a step forward.
In goal, Ridge Gerads and Sam Metcalf have the most experience, with both playing in six games apiece.
“There is a lot of potential and youth,” Royals head coach Chris McKelvie said. “In order for us to make the jump this year, the team needs to find consistency.”
Concordia (1-1, 1-1 MIAC)
The Cobbers have been one of the more consistent teams in the league over the last decade, reaching the MIAC playoffs in eight consecutive seasons.
A year ago, though, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they managed to play just two games.
But things are a little more normal this season and Concordia is ready for the season. Two of its top players are back in Tyler Bossert and Jacen Bracko.
Bossert was an All-American in 2019 and has 50 assists in his career. Bracko has tallied 15 goals and 11 assists in his career at Concordia. The senior was an all-conference pick in 2020.
Several newcomers are on the roster for the Cobbers, including Isaac Hinkermeyer and Braden Costello. Both played for the Bismarck Bobcats of the NAHL. Hunter Olson has also been added. He played junior hockey for the Northeast Generals of the NAHL.
“I am excited about this year’s team,” head coach Chris Howe said. “We have a lot of experienced players returning and our incoming class should be fun to watch as they develop throughout the year.”
Gustavus (0-5)
The Gusties played only five games last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic but are hoping to push for a winning season this year after narrowly missing one two seasons ago when they finished 11-12-3.
Connor Clemons scored nine goals and 14 assists two seasons ago while Nick Klishko is also back after tallying six goals and 13 assists during the 2019-20 campaign. Both players scored only one goal apiece last year.
Tyler Ebner returns as well and finished with seven goals and 19 assists last season. Among the key newcomers are Brandon McNamara and Grant Boldt.
This will be the 22nd season of hockey at Gustavus for head coach Brett Petersen.
Hamline (2-4, 1-2 MIAC)
Hamline begins its year under the direction of a new head coach in Shane Wagner. He’s looking forward to the opportunity. He played hockey at Hamline from 2002 through 2006.
“I couldn’t be more excited to get started at Hamline,” Wagner said. “The program has meant a lot to my family and I. Now being part of its coaching history is a special feeling.”
The Pipers return a handful of key players, including Joe Collins, who came through with three goals and two assists last season.
Brendan Sheehan is also back after tallying two goals and two assists while Tyler Nyman finished with two goals last season. Jeron Hirschfield is also back. He dished out a pair of assists last year.
A familiar face is among the newcomers. Jackson Bond is back at Hamline after playing for St. Thomas last year. He spent his freshman year at Hamline and scored four goals in four games last season for the Tommies.
The Pipers have added five other transfers, including Bronson Adams from Marian and Scott Moyer from Bethel.
Saint John’s (6-2-2, 4-0-1 MIAC)
The Johnnies are always one of the top teams in the conference and this year should be no different.
Start with the fact that Mac Berglove is back. He’s using his extra year of eligibility as a result of the pandemic and is coming off a year where he fashioned a 5-2-2 record and recorded 244 saves. He’s won a total of 17 games in his career.
Auggie Moore and Jack Johnson will pave the way offensively for the Johnnies. Moore led the team in scoring with five goals and eight assists while Johnson came through with five goals and six assists.
Cole Souto is also back after tallying three goals and an assist last season. Two of his goals came off the power play. Like Berglove, he’s using his bonus year of eligibility.
Returning players Dan Wieber (2 goals and seven assists) and Henry Enebak (three goals and two assists)., along with Peter Tabor (three assists) and will be key contributors as well.
The Johnnies have also added several transfers to the mix, including three from rival St. Thomas in Lewis Crosby, Josh Maucieri and Nick Michel.
Saint John’s will have the luxury of playing 13 games at home this season, including four consecutive to start the season, and that could help the tone for a successful year.
Saint Mary’s (5-6, 3-2 MIAC)
The Cardinals have their top four players in points back and could emerge as one of the contenders in the league.
Bud Winter is in that group. He led the team in scoring with six goals and six assists. Ryan Soynich came through with three goals and a team-best nine assists.
Brady Lindauer and Sam Hanson also return. Lindauer was second in assists (8) and Hanson finished tied for the second most goals on the team (5). Tyson Liverance (3 goals, 3 assists) and Trevor Wilhem (six assists) will be key contributors as well.
The Cardinals also picked up a couple of transfers that should make a difference. Matt Huton is in from Robert Morris and Kellen Theraldson arrives from Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
“We still consider this group to be on the younger side, but we expect this team to take the next step to becoming an annual contender in the MIAC,” head coach Ryan Egan said.
St. Olaf (1-1, 0-2 MIAC)
No team was maybe more impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic then St. Olaf, which got on the ice just twice last season.
The Oles are hoping to have a much more normal year this season and reach the MIAC tournament for the first time since 2014.
Jared Pedersen, Evan Shoemaker and Noah Heisler are the top returning players for the Oles. Pedersen scored two goals to pace the team and is being counted on to lead the team on and off the ice. He’ll be counted on to be one of the team’s top scorer.
Shoemaker should play a pivotal role on defense while Heisler has the skills to be an impact player as well.
The one thing about St. Olaf is that it will be young as there are 11 first-year players on the roster. Still, head coach Eddie Effinger believes there is plenty of talent on the roster.
We see tremendous talent and depth, especially in our collection of players in front,” Effinger said. “We know there will be successes and failures throughout the year and we want to to be a group that doesn’t shy away from either of those opportunities to learn.”
St. Scholastica (7-8, 4-4 NCHA)
The Saints begin their first season in the MIAC and also have a new coach in Dave Williams, an alum of the school who takes over after Kevin Moore resigned in August.
St. Scholastica has a roster featuring a host of young but talented players, including Arkhip Ledenkov. He was the NCHA Co-Freshman of the Year after tallying 12 goals and six assists in just 11 games.
His brother, Fillimon, earned a spot on the all-freshman squad after coming through with four goals and 14 assists.
Three other Saints finished in double figures in points, wth Michael Talbot racking up five goals and 11 assists.
Tyler Hinterser came through with six goals and nine assists and Sam Fuss led the team in points off the power play (nine). He finished with 14 in all, including 10 off assists. His brother, Sam, is among the team’s key newcomers.
Jack Bostedt went 3-1 in goal last season with an .894 save percentage.
After videos went viral last March detailing the inferior weight room setup provided to the women’s basketball championship, NCAA president Mark Emmert commissioned an external gender equity review across all sports.
Phase one of the report came out in early August and focused specifically on men’s and women’s basketball. Monday’s report was the second phase and detailed inequities across all other NCAA-sponsored sports.
The 154 page report can be found here and it should be required reading for anyone involved in sports. The majority of the report is a breakdown of inequities in individual sports, but the opening 60 pages do a stellar job of showing how the problems shown therein are systemic, problematic and fixable.
This report contained no information that was surprising or groundbreaking to anyone that has spent time around the NCAA and in particular, women’s college hockey. The inequities are not new. While helpful to have the information gathered and reported from an outside source and freely available to the general public, it also does not matter if the report does not incite major change.
Despite being a non-profit that is supposed to be focused on the student-athlete experience, the report found “woven into the fabric of the NCAA is a pressure to increase revenue to maximize funding distributions to the membership.”
“Phase II of our review has shown that this same pressure has led the NCAA to invest more—and in some instances considerably more—in those championships that it views as already or potentially revenue-producing, while minimizing spending for other championships. Because the mere handful of championships that the NCAA views as revenue-producing are exclusively men’s championships—Division I baseball, men’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, men’s lacrosse and wrestling—this has significant implications for efforts to achieve gender equity between the men’s and women’s championships in those sports. The NCAA’s simultaneous failure to put in place systems to identify, prevent, and address gender inequities across its championships has allowed gender disparities in these and other sports to persist for too long.”
The study looked at spending, marketing, fan engagement and corporate sponsorships both men’s and women’s championships within a single sport and found a number of issues. Achieving gender equity does not mean that the NCAA will spend the same amount of money on all players, but the report found that the NCAA has no process for monitoring if the difference in spending per athlete is equitable. In hockey, the report found, the NCAA spent $9,805 per student-athlete at the men’s hockey championship and $3,421 per student-athlete at the women’s in 2019.
“The NCAA’s continued investment in one gender’s championship over the other’s can perpetuate disparities by limiting the less-resourced championship’s capacity for growth and development,” the report said.
The hockey-specific case study section opens with this: “The Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship provides a markedly different experience for its student-athletes than its counterpart, the NC Women’s Ice Hockey Championship. The men’s championship, which is a much larger event involving twice as many teams and four-to-five times as many fans, benefits from greater promotion, more extensive television coverage, and a more professional ‘look and feel.’ One stakeholder with experience at both the men’s and women’s tournaments observed, ‘It’s really like they’re different sports.’”
“In this way, the ice hockey championships are a stark example of how the NCAA’s broader decision to provide greater support to more revenue-producing championships has a gender equity impact on the student-athlete experience. As one stakeholder put it, ‘[The NCAA] uses its decision-making and negotiating power to bolster men’s hockey events, while squandering opportunities to support women’s hockey in ways that would both help the sport and itself.'”
Some of the biggest takeaways:
One big point the case study found is that the NCAA also allows 27 players to dress for the men’s teams, but only 24 for the women, with no explanation. The study reports this has left women’s players who were part of the team all season off the tournament roster. It’s a cruel rule that doesn’t seem to even serve a monetary purpose.
In 2019, the NCAA spent $9,805 per student-athlete at the men’s championship and $3,421 per student-athlete at the women’s.
“In Division I ice hockey, for example, there are 11 NCAA staff members who contribute to the men’s tournament, including three Championships staff, a media coordinator, and seven External Operations staff members. The women’s tournament, however, has only two Championships staff members assisting with it.”
“Overall, the NCAA spends about $193,000 each year on promotional expenses related to the men’s tournament, compared to only $11,000 a year for the women’s,” it says in the ice hockey case study section.”
While the men’s ice hockey championship is a highly-marketed destination event, the women’s does not get the same treatment.
The NCAA puts on twice as many fan festivals for men’s championships as it does for women’s championships.
In hockey alone, the NCAA spent $65,000 more on signage for the men than the women.
In terms of “access ratios” – the number of championship participation opportunities relative to the number of total student-athletes in a sport, 26.7% of men’s teams are able to participate in the championship, while only 19.5% of women’s teams are.
A longtime major point of concern and contention in women’s college hockey is how limiting travel costs is one of the primary criteria used during tournament field selection. The words “bracket integrity” do not appear anywhere in the manual for selecting teams. (My Twitter thread on this is here).
It seems like a good time to remind you that the primary goal of the NCAA DI Women's Hockey Tournament Committee/Seeding is to not spend money. pic.twitter.com/AZtMoEFgJD
The men’s championship manual directs the selection committee to maximize “competitive equity, financial success and the likelihood of a playoff-type atmosphere at each regional site.” It makes no mention of cost and instead, specifies that “the integrity of the bracket will be protected.”
“As one coach observed, ‘On the men’s side it’s about putting together the best field. On the women’s it’s about saving money and avoiding flights.”’Stakeholders raised the concern that this difference in seeding impacts the competitiveness of the women’s tournament, making it less exciting, and potentially stunting the growth of the sport.”
This report specifically cites travel and accommodates as one of the main guiding principles the NCAA must apply in order to assure gender equity.
“The type and quality of transportation to championships should be substantially the same, as should the degree to which travel considerations are permitted to impact the brackets.”
The report goes into detail about the ways broadcasts, branding, signage, corporate sponsorships and fan festivals affect the watch-ability and popularity of a particular championship.
While the NCAA has recently created separate Twitter accounts for men’s and women’s volleyball, they continue to use a single account for both men’s and women’s hockey and the coverage there is heavily skewed towards the men’s game.
The split in coverage has improved in recent years, but as I detailed on my own Twitter, the @ncaaicehockey twitter handle has long treated the woman’s game as an afterthought.
“For example, in ice hockey, the NCAA Twitter account @NCAAIceHockey uses “#FrozenFour” on social media to market the men’s ice hockey championship, but “#WFrozenFour” to market the women’s championship.And the website linked on the Twitter account (ncaa.com/frozenfour) goes to the NCAA’s webpage for Division I men’s ice hockey only,” noted the report.
In response to the viral women’s basketball complaints, the NCAA conducted a self-review of gender equity among all Championship staff. A number of small changes were implemented in sports like lacrosse and softball, but in a sport like hockey, where the equivalent of two-thirds of one full-time employee was assigned and any NCAA presence at the women’s NCAA tournament was not immediately apparent to those of us who were there, it’s difficult to feel like that review would be at all beneficial.
Additionally, “NCAA Championships staff explained that this review was not comprehensive and was done quickly during the championship season. The NCAA did not create any process to track issues that were identified but not resolved, or to maintain a list of specific changes that resulted from the review.”
This past summer, the NC Women’s Ice Hockey Committee requested a bracket expansion from eight to 10 teams. In September 2021, the Competition Oversight Committee noted that “[w]hile the committee supports the merits of the proposal . . . it agreed to table the matter until the next opportunity to fund it.”
The difference in how tournament selection takes place is focused on as part of this study.
“ESPN also broadcasts a one-hour selection show for the men’s tournament, but the selection show for the women’s tournament lasts only a few minutes on the NCAA website. One women’s ice hockey coach mused, ‘For our selection show, if you were cheering, you didn’t know who you were playing, it was over that quickly.’
This whole project was kicked off by women’s basketball players taking to social media to show the inequities they were experiencing at their national tournament. They were loud, gathered support and made it so the NCAA could not ignore what was happening.
Student-athletes have no choice but to play under the auspices of the NCAA and shouldn’t have had to be the ones that hold them accountable for providing an equitable experience. This report is a start at identifying the issues – especially since the report showed how badly the NCAA handled internal reviews of these same issues – but it’s time for the NCAA to make broad changes and a commitment to transparency in how and when those changes are coming.
The NCAA’s Board of Governor’s statement in response to the publishing of the study made broad statements in support of equity, but there has been little said about concrete plans or timelines as to how and when the recommendations from the report will be enacted. Until there is a clear outline of how the NCAA will close the gaps laid out in the report, players, fans, programs and the media have to continue to put pressure on them to not let this report and its contents be ignored.
Vermont hopes to have more scenes like this over the weekend against Boston College (photo: Vermont Athletics).
Vermont’s record (0-4-0) indicates a struggling men’s hockey team.
The game scores tell a different story — one of a club that has been competitive in every game.
Scan the Catamounts’ schedule so far and one will find a pair of one-goal losses and, perhaps more importantly, no blowouts or embarrassments.
The mentality of constant improvement will be what UVM takes into its weekend series with No. 9 Boston College (3-2-1, 1-0-0 Hockey East). The series (Friday at Vermont, 7:05 p.m., and Saturday at BC, 7 p.m.) will mark the conference opener for the Catamounts.
“This is going to be a long journey for us,” UVM coach Todd Woodcroft said. “The lessons we’re learning in these one-goal losses, they’re stinging today but they’re going to help us in five games, ten games, next year. The adversity we’re facing, (it’s) going to lend toward our story at the end. You need a little bit of drama. Nothing would be interesting if we weren’t in these one-goal games.”
Woodcroft said despite the Catamount’s lack of wins, his club has shown improvement in several categories from this point in last season (UVM finished 1-10-2 in the COVID-shortened campaign), citing a 40 percent improvement in shots on goal.
“We’re generating, now it’s capitalizing,” he said. “I hate the term ‘baby steps,’ but we’re taking incremental steps here.”
Close games against top-quality opponents such as No. 5 Quinnipiac (2-0 loss) and Colgate (2-1 loss) indicate the Catamounts don’t expect to roll over for the Eagles.
“I’m happy we’re playing these teams,” Woodcroft said. “Quinnipiac’s a great team — they went out and waxed (No. 6) North Dakota (5-2 win and 3-2 loss last week). Colgate’s on a great tear right now and we were right there with them. (We) feel we’re on the way.”
BC coach Jerry York said coaching 28 years in Hockey East has taught him no team should be taken lightly.
“I have a great feeling that there’s not much separation between the top team and the bottom team,” York said. “Evermore so this year — every time you play a Hockey East opponent, it’s going to be decided by who plays the best hockey that particular night.”
York said he likes what he’s seen so far from his Eagles through seven games (including one exhibition), but noted that they need improvement in what he called the “structure” of their game.
“Whether it’s forecheck or D-zone or special teams — it’s still early to gauge how successful a year we’re going to have,” York said. “But in the small sample, I like what I’ve seen.”
*****
Defending NCAA champion UMass (2-2) dips its toes into conference waters for the first time this season with a weekend series against Merrimack (3-3, 1-2). The Minutemen and Warriors will play Friday at Merrimack at 7 p.m. and Saturday in Amherst on NESN-plus at 7 p.m.
The start of league play hopefully will provide a spark for the Minutemen, according to coach Greg Carvel, who was disappointed with his club’s lack of urgency in a 3-2 exhibition loss to Dartmouth last weekend.
“League games bring a different level of desperation, and I think we really need that,” Carvel said. “I think our guys are a little guilty of not having enough desperation in the game, and you saw that the way we got scored upon — guys just not working hard enough to defend.”
Carvel said it will be to Merrimack’s advantage that they’ve thrice played Hockey East opponents so far this season.
“It’s probably helped push their team forward at a quicker pace than we have,” Carvel said. “(I) think our group, hopefully, finds that urgency and desperation. We need to keep getting better.”
Warriors coach Scott Borek said facing the 2020-21 national champs twice to close out October will be a good test for where his team stands.
“I think their sea legs are pretty good right now,” Borek said about UMass. “We’ve played a hard schedule thus far. Playing the teams in Hockey East makes us a better team. Even our out-of-conference — Sacred Heart’s off to a good start, as is Colgate. I feel good about the competition we’ve had, (but) I think UMass — they’re the best team we’ve faced so far.”
The Saint Michael’s men’s hockey team’s season-opening home-and-home weekend series with Potsdam will not be played as scheduled, per the established institutional and conference COVID-19 health protocols.
The teams plan to reschedule the games later in the season.
Brandon Puricelli collected 15 points a season ago for Lake Superior State and already has 11 points in 2021-22 (photo: LSSU Athletics).
It might have been reasonable to assume at the start of the 2021-22 season that Lake Superior State might have some issues scoring goals this year.
After all, the Lakers lost four of their top five scorers (Ashton Calder, Pete Veillette, Hampus Eriksson and Will Reidell) either to graduation or the NCAA transfer portal (in a few cases, to both).
Many members of the college hockey pundit class (this writer included) thought that losing all these players might make LSSU’s pursuit of a second consecutive NCAA tournament berth or conference tournament title a little more difficult.
How’s that working out for us? Well, so far the 5-3-0 Lakers are eight games into their season and have already scored 30 goals — tied for second in the country. Junior Brandon Puricelli has six goals and 11 points already, while junior Louis Boudon has three goals and 10 assists.
Oops.
As is usually the case, Lake Superior State’s coaching staff knew better.
“I think people who cover the league and around college hockey, that was a big question for a lot of people was how we were going to score, but maybe not so much on staff,” Lakers head coach Damon Whitten said Tuesday morning. “We knew that some of the people we lost and moved on would be big losses, but we’ve shown a history around here of having guys step up.”
Whitten mentioned the 2018-19 season, when Diego Cuglietta led the nation with 25 goals in 38 games. The next season, the Lakers’ Max Humitz ended up netting 22.
“Diego a few years ago leads the nation in goals, then he graduates and people ask ‘Who’s going to score?’ Then Humitz steps up and does it with a huge year,” Whitten said, saying he sees some similarities in his team this season. “I think we felt we had some pieces in place to replace the guys we lost and we’ve done that at a really high level so far, which is great. And we’ve had a few different guys step up.”
Aside from Boudon and Puricelli, who were known quantities, the Lakers have so far been getting a lot out of players who are either newcomers or aren’t household names to anyone outside the Soo. Whitten said that the Lakers are currently using six or seven freshmen along with two transfers in the lineup most nights.
Boston College transfer Harrison Roy has 11 points so far, while sophomore defender Jacob Bengtsson and senior forward Miroslav Mucha both have eight. And in last weekend’s sweep against Union, a pair of freshmen — Josh Nixon and Timo Bakos — each had multi-point games.
“Coming into the weekend we wanted to get some secondary scoring to go along with Boudon and Perch and Roy, and we did it with some young guys stepping up,” Whitten said. “We’ve certainly answered some of those questions so now sustaining that will be the big challenge as we move forward.”
One consequence, though, of the Lakers utilizing so many new players in the lineup is that the team still has to work on maintaining discipline. They’re currently the most-penalized team in the country, having taken 49 penalties for 131 minutes. Their penalty kill is 33 for 43 — just 76.7 percent.
“We’ve got to stay out of the penalty box,” Whitten said. “We did a little bit better job this weekend, but part of that inexperience we have is on the penalty kill. I think our top six penalty-kill guys moved on. So we have to clean that up in the future. It will help our goaltenders if we can stay out of the box and they can see even more even-strength situations.”
A trickle-down effect of the Lakers’ ill discipline is that their goaltending tandem of junior Seth Eisele and sophomore Ethan Langenegger have each given up 14 goals. The two goalies have been alternating games every weekend and Whitten said he plans to do the same for the Lakers’ upcoming home series against St. Lawrence. Nether has yet emerged to take over for stalwart Mareks Mitens, who went pro after graduating last season.
“We’re very comfortable with how both guys have gone so far. They’ve both done a good job, but those numbers are being inflated a little bit because of all the time we’ve spent on the penalty kill,” Whitten said. “But we’re very comfortable with both guys. We started with Seth playing the first night of a series and Lang the second night and we’ve flipped it the last two weekends. We’ve got to revisit that soon but I think we’re going to rotate for a little while and see if anyone emerges.”
This weekend’s series against the Saints represents the Lakers’ final nonconference games of the season. At least one win this weekend guarantees they’ll have at least a .500 record outside of CCHA play. Not bad, considering three of their four nonleague opponents were NCAA tournament teams last season.
“We went down and had some good games down in Ann Arbor against Michigan despite getting swept, and in Omaha we played very well. I think they still only have one loss and that was to us. We’ve had a really challenging schedule, and our young guys have been thrown right into it and they’ve done a really good job,” Whitten said. “You’re seeing some quick growth and building from them, and they’re just going to keep getting better and better.
“We’ll be very experienced when it’s all said and done, and we’ve had some really good things to build on.”
Derek Hammer collected four goals and five points in seven games last season for UW-Eau Claire (photo: UW-Eau Claire Athletics).
Wisconsin-Eau Claire has been selected to win the 2022 WIAC men’s hockey championship, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
The Blugolds have claimed three WIAC regular-season titles and three Commissioner’s Cup trophies in program history – with the most recent in 2020.
The conference will have a new point structure for the 2021-22 campaign and introduce shootouts following the five-minute three-on-three overtime period. If a shootout is needed, both teams will be awarded a tie in their overall record with the shootout determining the winner and which team will be awarded an additional point in the conference standings. Teams will be awarded three points for a win in regulation, two points for a win in overtime or shootout, and one point for a shootout loss or overtime loss.
All six teams will qualify for the WIAC tournament (Commissioner’s Cup), which begins Feb. 18-19 with first round series between the No. 6 seed and No. 3 seed, as well as the No. 5 seed and No. 4 seed. The two first-round winners will advance to the semifinals at the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds for a semifinal series Feb. 25-26. Both semifinal victors will face off for the Commissioner’s Cup on March 5. All games will be played at the higher seed.
Wesleyan has announced that the school has hired Joe Ferriss as an assistant coach for the Cardinals’ men’s hockey team.
Ferriss was a three-year graduate assistant at UConn from 2018 to 2021, assisting the program with video breakdown of games and practices, developing scouting reports and practice plans.
Ferriss graduated from UConn in 2016 with a degree in exercise science after playing 120 games during his four-year career on the ice for the Huskies.
During his playing days with the Huskies, Ferriss had 32 career points on 14 goals and 18 assists. Off the ice, he was a Dean’s List student-athlete from 2012 through 2015, a three-time recipient of all-academic honors from both Atlantic Hockey and Hockey East and named a UConn Senior Scholar-Athlete award recipient.
Senior Sami Miller looks to finish her college career at UW-River Falls on a high note in 2021-22 (photo: S. Silver Photography).
Wisconsin-River Falls, the defending conference champion, has been selected to win the 2022 WIAC women’s hockey title, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
The Falcons own seven regular-season first-place finishes and six O’Brien Cup championships in program history.
The conference will have a new point structure for the 2021-22 campaign and introduce shootouts following the five-minute three-on-three overtime period. If a shootout is needed, both teams will be awarded a tie in their overall record with the shootout determining the winner and which team will be awarded an additional point in the conference standings. Teams will be awarded three points for a win in regulation, two points for a win in overtime or shootout, and one point for a shootout loss or overtime loss.
All five teams will qualify for the WIAC tournament (O’Brien Cup), which begins Feb. 22 with a first-round game between the No. 5 seed and No. 4 seed. The first-round winner will advance to the semifinals Feb. 25-26 against the No. 1 seed, while the No. 2 seed and No. 3 seed will square off in the other semifinal. The semifinal winners will meet for the O’Brien Cup on March 5. All games will be played at the higher seed.
It has been about 600 days since Harvard last played hockey after the Ivies decided to cancel their 2020-21 season. Head coach Ted Donato joins hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger to discuss what the lost season was like, preparing for this season, this year’s Harvard team, and Friday night’s game at Dartmouth.
We also preview UMass Lowell at No. 19 Boston University, No. 13 Western Michigan at Colgate, No. 14 Notre Dame at No. 7 Minnesota, and Bowling Green at No. 17 Bemidji State.
Mitchell Gibson is back between the pipes this season for Harvard (photo: Harvard Athletics).
Anyone taking a government course at one of the six Ivy League schools is no doubt familiar with the concept of a “blank slate.”
Developed by the English philosopher John Locke, it’s the idea that humans are born with an empty mind that is filled up with knowledge and ideas as they move through life. It’s also something that many of the Ivy League’s hockey coaches have likely experienced firsthand this fall as they worked with their teams in preparation for the start of the season.
This weekend will be the first time that the six Ivy League hockey schools – Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale – play a meaningful hockey game in over a year and a half. That long layoff started when the sports world shut down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and continued when the Ivy League canceled all sports last season.
As a result of graduations and transfers, many of the Ivy League teams start the season with a drastically different look compared to the last time they took the ice.
“I really feel like we’re starting over and building from the ground up again,” Cornell coach Mike Schafer said.
The Big Red were the No. 1 team in the country in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season, but enter this year with only 13 players with collegiate experience.
None of Cornell’s three goalies have played in a NCAA game. It’s the first time Cornell has entered a season with no collegiate experience in goal since 1984 – when Schafer was a sophomore defenseman for the Big Red. Senior Nate McDonald and freshmen Ian Shane and Joe Howe will compete for the starting goalie job this season.
“One thing that is consistent over time, when you’re involved in the game long enough, you know that somebody will step up,” Schafer said of the Big Red’s goaltending situation. “You just don’t know who it is going to be. We have three great kids that are working really hard to prove themselves and I’m sure one of them will rise to the occasion.”
Like Cornell, Yale also enters the season with a large group of newcomers. Only nine of the Bulldogs’ 24 players have appeared in an NCAA game.
“I don’t have a choice,” Bulldogs coach Keith Allain said. “The past is the past and we’re looking forward. This is the first time in my career that I’ll have 13 freshmen and sophomores, guys that have never played in a college hockey game.”
The opening of the season is an extra challenge for first-year Dartmouth coach Reid Cashman, as all 28 players on the Big Green are new to Cashman and his staff.
“We will take baby steps, we’ll put in our base, and then we’ll just build as the year goes. There’s just no way to incorporate everything you want to be as a team from Day 1.”
Harvard is one of the few Ivy teams that wasn’t entirely gutted entering this year, as the Crimson return Mitchell Gibson in goal along with four of its top seven scorers from 2019-20. Even with a lot of familiar faces back, there’s still more excitement than usual entering this season for Harvard.
“Obviously, we’re all understanding of the circumstances that led to that situation,” Crimson coach Ted Donato said of not playing last year. “I think for us, were just very excited to be back in school full-time and be around the team and to be back playing the game we love. There’s a certain energy and excitement around the team early on that had been a really breath of fresh air.
“Everybody is really excited to kick the season off.”
Adrian won the Peters Cup title in 2021 and hopes to repeat in 2022 (photo: Adrian College Athletics).
Peters Cup champions for the second consecutive season a year ago, Adrian has been picked by league coaches to place first in the upcoming NCHA regular season, according to the results of the coaches preseason poll.
The Bulldogs finished the 2020-21 campaign with a 16-6-1 record and went 8-0 in NCHA conference play to win the regular-season title.
Adrian and Trine battle in a game from the 2020-21 season (photo: Adrian College Athletics).
Adrian has again been picked by league coaches to place first in the upcoming NCHA regular season, according to the results of the coaches preseason poll.
The Bulldogs are seven-time defending regular-season champions and are coming off an undefeated campaign in which they went a near-perfect 20-0-1, topped by a victory in the Slaats Cup championship to close out the winter.
The team received eight first-place votes and 64 points total in the poll.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire enters the 2021-22 season as the favorite to win the WIAC. Photo Credit: UW-Eau Claire Athletics
It should be another competitive year in the WIAC.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire is the favorite going into the season and is seeking its fourth conference title in program history. The Blugolds have also won three league tournament titles.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-River Falls will also be in the hunt. The Pointers enter the year as the reigning national champions and are going to make a run at the WIAC crown.
Wisconsin-River Falls is motivated by the fact that it didn’t get to finish what it started after COVID-19 issues ended its conference tourney run. The Falcons were the top seed in the tournament last season.
Wisconsin-Superior won the league title last season, it’s 11th WIAC championship in program history, and has the experience in place to repeat while Wisconsin-Stout and Northland could play spoiler on any given night to a team’s championship hopes.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire (4-3-1, 4-2-1 WIAC)
Matt Leon begins his 15th season as the head coach of the Blugolds, who are aiming to maintain the offensive success they enjoyed last season when they cranked out 29 goals in just eight games.
Jon Richards should play a big part in keeping things rolling. He’s coming off a season where he scored five of those goals to go along with an assist.
Derek Hammer punched in four goals and also tallied an assist while Charles Weiland was a productive defenseman, finishing with a goal and three assists. Both were all-conference selections last season.
Simon Sagissor will also be looked upon as a key contributor for the Blugolds, who are always in the mix for a league title and more.
Northland (0-8-1, 0-7-1 WIAC)
The Lumberjacks have optimism as they lost just one player to graduation. They hope that leads to success during the 2021-22 campaign.
Chris Curr is back after earning all-conference honors (honorable mention) last season. He started in goal and fashioned a .924 save percentage.
Cameron Coutre is the top returning goal scorer for Northland, racking up three goals last season, and Cole Woodliffe finished second on the team in points (1 goal, 4 assists).
Matt Murphy and Connor Evans will help anchor the defense for the Lumberjacks, who begin their third season in the WIAC.
Wisconsin-River Falls (6-3-1, 5-3 WIAC)
Experience shouldn’t be a problem for the Falcons, who have 19 returning letter winners, including all three of their goaltenders.
Among the key returnees is Vilho Saariluoma, who was the WIAC Newcomer of the Year last season. He scored five goals and dished out eight assists.
Cayden Cahill is back for a fifth season and that experience and familiarity with the program will prove invaluable for the Falcons as they take aim at a conference title run. Cahill finished with four goals and six assists last season.
Dean Buchholz and Dysen Skinner are both back in goal, with Buchholz earning first-team all-conference honors while Skinner was an honorable mention pick in the WIAC. Buchholz was 2-2 and made 117 saves. Skinner finished 3-1 and racked up 135 saves.
As if the depth wasn’t already solid enough, River Falls added four transfers, including Caleb Anderson from Gustavus, who was the MIAC Player of the Year in 2020 as well as an ACHA second-team All-American.
River Falls goes in feeling as if it has a little unfinished business after its semifinal game of the WIAC tournament was canceled because of COVID-19 protocol. The Falcons were the top seed in the tourney last season.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point (7-4-1, 4-4 WIAC)
The Pointers are the last team to win a national title in Division III hockey after winning it in 2019. There was no NCAA tournament in 2020.
It remains to be seen if they can win it again this season, but they’ll certainly be in the mix for a conference title. Carter Roo is among the players back and tied for third in scoring with five goals and four assists.
Jordan Fader will also be counted on offensively after tallying three goals and two assists last season. Brandon McReynolds also returns for the Pointers. Both he and Fader are seniors.
In goal, the Pointers will be able to count on Eli Billing, who started five games and earned two wins. He made 104 saves.
The Pointers’ depth should be bolstered by a handful of transfers, including three from Alabama Huntsville in Mick Heneghan, Noah Finstrom and Connor Witherspoon. Those three have found a new home after the Chargers brought a halt to their hockey program last May.
Tyler Krueger is looking forward to seeing how things go for his team, especially with a return to a little more normalcy.
“There’s a different buzz, a different level of excitement than last year,” Krueger said. “There;s no replacing fans at Willett and this team is excited to experience that again.”
Wisconsin-Stout (4-7, 4-6 WIAC)
Raphael Gosselin was the leading scorer for the Blue Devils a year ago. He’s back ready to build off that success after scoring four goals and dishing out seven assists.
Logan Nelson also returns for Stout after tallying four goals and three assists.
The defense will be anchored by Zach Cloutier, who fashioned a goals against average of 1.63 and recorded a 3-1 record. He racked up 116 saves.
But while the Blue Devils have some experience on the roster, they also have a lot of newcomers. A total of 13 to be exact.
Head coach Mike MacDonald is expecting his team to be an improved one.
“Through recruiting and development, I know we are a better team this season,” MacDonald said. “I am hoping that our growth as a team is reflected in our overall record. I know it won’t be easy because most of our competition this year has improved as well.”
Wisconsin-Superior (7-3, 5-3 WIAC)
The Yellow Jackets won the conference tournament title a season ago. It marked their 11th WIAC crown in program history.
They have a good chance of winning another considering their roster features nine seniors and 11 juniors.
What’s even better is that five of their top six scorers are back, led by top scoring threat Artur Terchiyev, who finished last season with three goals and seven assists.
Chad Lopez also returns. He came through with seven goals and two assists. He finished third on the team in scoring and was the team leader in goals scored.
Dylan Johnson ranked fourth in scoring and is coming off a year where he scored five goals and dished out four assists. Jordan Martin (2 goals, 5 assists) and Coltyn Bates (4 goals, 1 assist) are also back to help lead the way offensively.
Myles Hektor brings experience to the goaltending position. He went 3-0 and fashioned a 1.75 goals against average while making 110 saves.
The Yellow Jackets have added four transfers as well. Two are from Canisius in MacGregor Sinclair and John Stampohar. They also added netminder Landon Pavlisin from Norwich. He played in two games for the Cadets last year and won 49 games in his junior career.
If Superior can build off last season and navigate a challenging start to its season where it will play its first five games on the road, it will have a shot at being one of the top teams in the WIAC.
Holy Cross players celebrate a recent goal (photo: Mark Seliger Photography).
New Holy Cross coach Bill Riga is a rookie in a league known for coaching longevity.
The average tenure for an Atlantic Hockey coach is currently 15 seasons, and the last change was the addition of Canisius’ Trevor Large and Niagara’s Jason Lammers five years ago.
It’s the first collegiate head coaching stint for Riga, who spend the last 13 seasons as an assistant at Quinnipiac.
His Crusaders earned their first win of the season, and Riga’s first win as coach, last Saturday with a road 3-2 victory over Bentley.
“It’s been a bit of a process so far,” said Riga. “We’ve been getting better every game.”
Riga was hired in May, so the team he inherited from David Berard, who left to become an associate athletic director at Providence, was already set with a few exceptions.
“The transfers were mine,” he said. “Because of the timing, those came even before the assistants.”
The two transfers, sophomores Tyler Ghirardosi (Quinnipiac) and Matt Guerra (Robert Morris) are first and tied for second, respectively, on the team in scoring.
Riga said at the beginning of the season there were a lot of details to consider in preparing for his first stint as a head coach. Now, it’s mostly about the hockey.
“Many of the distractions went away,” he said. “It’s more hockey-intensive now.
“As we move along, it’s not about learning and doing new things, like we were before the season. It’s more about adjusting rather than re-teaching. (Before the season), everything we did was new. Now we’re trying to improve and adjust.”
Riga noted that one of the big differences between an assistant versus a head coach is being responsible for the overall mood on the bench.
“A head coach is more in control of the emotional tone,” he said. “Everything affects a team’s mentality and how they handle play.
“It’s about keeping the bench calm and speaking with one voice, especially with officials. If somebody’s going to get warned, I’d rather it be me.”
When asked to compare his new conference to others in college hockey, Riga points to improvements in several areas of Atlantic Hockey.
“As a whole, it’s getting better and better,” he said. “The transfers have clearly made a difference so far this season. It’s upped the anti. Teams are older and have added skilled players, guys in some cases that have played 100 games.
“When you combine that with the (new) facilities, it’s very promising.”
The Crusaders, like a lot of AHA teams, have an aggressive nonconference schedule. Holy Cross has already played Northeastern and Boston College and travels to Notre Dame next weekend.
“(A tough schedule) helps with recruiting,” said Riga. “The guys here want to play those teams. Games like that set the standard and let you know where you’re at.”
This week, Riga squares off against his former team, Quinnipiac.
“It will certainly be special,” he said. “Seeing all the players and everyone that works in the rink. At the same time, I’m trying to to stay focused on what we’re doing. Hopefully it will be a really competitive game.”
Hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger are joined by Providence head coach Nate Leaman. The discussion includes a look at the Friars’ 5-2 start, how transfers and fifth-year players are affecting college hockey, mentoring assistant coaches, and this weekend’s games with New Hampshire.
Tate Singleton has been an early-season impact player offensively for Ohio State (photo: Ohio State Athletics).
When the coaches poll came out in September, the Big Ten opener between the teams predicted to finish sixth and seventh probably didn’t cause many to bust out the Sharpie.
That being said, both Ohio State and Michigan State have, at least to a point, navigated their early-season nonconference schedule successfully and will be looking at this weekend’s series at OSU as a potential springboard for the rest of the first half of the schedule.
After dropping the season-opener to Bentley, Ohio State comes into this weekend with a 3-1-0 record. The Buckeyes also garnered a few votes in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll and are coming off an early-season bye week.
“I think (the bye) came at a good point for us,” Buckeyes coach Steve Rohlik said Monday. “It kind of gave us a little restart to look at things that we need to continue to work on and get charged up for three Big Ten weekends in a row.”
In their four games, 17 players have registered at least one point for the Buckeyes. The days of relying on a players like Mason Jobst or Tanner Laczynski to pace the offense have passed and scoring by committee is now the law of the land.
“There’s a lot of guys that contribute and that’s our team,” Rohlik said. “We need everybody to contribute up and down the lineup, (and) we need goals from every line and every single one of our guys can contribute to each win. That’s one thing that we’re realizing that our whole group has to play because we can’t count on one or two guys.”
Even with the committee approach, Tate Singleton has been the cream that Buckeyes’ fans have hoped would rise to the top of the proverbial crop so far this season. After a tough 2020-21 season where he recorded 11 points, the junior has three goals and two assists through four games this season.
“You, me and everybody else, last year was a challenging year for everybody,” Rohlik said. “It was no different for Tate or anyone else on our team, what our guys had to go through. The one thing I love about Tate is his work ethic never changes, and maybe it didn’t show up on the score sheet last year, but he brought the work ethic every day and eventually that’s going to pay off.
“For him, it doesn’t always have to matter to be on the score sheet for him to be an impact player.”
With Tommy Nappier’s graduation, goaltending was also a question mark for the Buckeyes heading into the season. Junior Ryan Snowden started opening night, but freshman Jakub Dobes has made a strong case for himself in the next three games, allowing only four goals while recording three wins.
“All three of my goalies have been working hard in practice, (volunteer assistant coach Dustin Carlson) has done a fantastic job with them,” Rohlik said. “Snowden went in there and he made some fantastic saves and played well, even though we lost that first night out in Bentley. He did his job and he gave us a chance. (Dobes) came in and he’s been very good. Now it’s about being consistent over the long haul.
“I like our goalies. Certainly, it’s an area everyone looked to, as far as Nappier played so many games over his career, but I like what we have. We’ve just got to learn to be consistent and show up every day.”
With Michigan State coming into town, Ohio State is basically looking into a mirror. Rohlik loves to preach team defense from the goaltender out and the Spartans seem to like to play the same style of game.
“They just try not to give you a lot of space or a lot of room,” he said. “They get the goaltending and they clear things out, they don’t want to give you second and third opportunities. If they can shut you down with their five men and goaltender and then create some chances at the other end, that’s exactly how they play. When they’re on, they’re tough to beat.”
At his press conference on Monday, Michigan State coach Danton Cole echoed Rohlik’s thoughts on the series.
“They work extremely hard, they’re really good defensively, they put a lot of pressure on you that way,” Cole said. “The penalty kill has always been outstanding for them, the goaltending has always really good.”
