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Hockey East teams make improvements to get results in 2016-17

By Jim Connelly & David H. Hendrickson
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Joe Gambardella (UML - 5) - The University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks defeated the Providence College Friars 2-1 at 12:27 of the third overtime in their Hockey East semi-final meeting on Friday, March 18, 2016, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Melissa Wade)
Joe Gambardella led UMass Lowell with 27 assists last season and was second in overall team scoring (photo: Melissa Wade).

With the 2016-17 season here, how do the teams stack up in Hockey East?

Our columnists make valid points and make bold predictions.

Boston College

If Boston College were any other program, you might resign to the fact that 2016-17 will be a rebuilding season.

It looked like after last season’s run to the Frozen Four, BC would suffer just slight losses from graduation. Defenseman Teddy Doherty was the only member of the senior class that made significant contributions on the scoresheet.

But when the season ended, professional signings began.

And continued.

And continued even more.

When the dust settled, the Eagles lost seven players to NHL contracts. At forward, Alex Tuch, Adam Gilmour, Miles Wood and Zach Sanford all inked deals. The blue line became thinner after Steve Santini and Ian McCoshen left. And the cherry on the top was goaltender Thatcher Demko, recipient of last year’s Mike Richter Award, signing with Vancouver.

Rebuilding year, right? Well, not so fast.

For one, it’s not like Jerry York and his coaching staff didn’t see many of these signings coming and thus planned accordingly. Pro signings for this program are commonplace and succession planning is part of the day-to-day operations.

Additionally, the Eagles have proven in the past they can reload with the best of them. Sure there may be hiccups, but seven NHL early departures isn’t going to be a postscript for this program.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of confusion and clutter when figuring out just how strong this team will be. Hockey East coaches picked BC sixth but national voters selected the Eagles fifth in the first USCHO.com poll.

Confused yet?

Last season

28-8-5, 15-2-5 Hockey East (T-1st). Lost to Northeastern in Hockey East semifinals.

Names to know

Though BC lost more than any other team in the nation in the offseason, it returns its top two scorers in Ryan Fitzgerald and Colin White.

Three questions

1. Without Thatcher Demko in net – or any real game experience – how good can this Eagles team be?
2. Will team defense be an issue with so little experience on the blueline?
3. Is earning a first-round bye a real issue for this perennial powerhouse?

Crystal ball

Jim Connelly picks the Eagles: 5th
Dave Hendrickson picks the Eagles: 6th

Boston University

When you look at Boston University’s roster, the talent can be staggering.

Forget the fact the Terriers were the Belle of the Ball at the 2015 NHL Draft with four players selected in the top 50. This past summer, BU had four players from this year’s team selected in the opening round of the draft, matching the 2007 Minnesota Golden Gophers for most in a single draft by a college team.

Most are familiar with Charlie McAvoy, who enters his sophomore campaign. Add to that first-rounders Clayton Keller, Dante Fabbro and Kieffer Bellows, and one single draft could be the harbinger of a national title.

But as the Gophers learned in 2007, draft picks don’t create a championship. The ability to take all-star caliber players and make them come together as a team can be a challenge.

“There is so much that goes into having success at our level,” said BU coach David Quinn. “The talent gives you an opportunity, and then as a group you have to collectively acquire mental toughness, perseverance and work ethic.”

Certainly, Quinn may want to downplay the talent of his team, but he’s also careful to balance out that there are 11 other teams that not just want to win a championship, but certainly want to knock off the talent-heavy Terriers.

“[The season beginning] is an exciting time for everybody, but it’s not more exciting for us than anyone else,” said Quinn. “It’s the start of a new season and each team is going to form its own identity.”

For BU, that identity can go many ways. There is scoring talent in spades, but adding depth the blueline players like McAvoy could make this BU team a difficult one against which to score.

Certainly Quinn is excited for his incoming class, possibly the strongest in the nation. But it will be difficult to get too much excitement from him before the puck drops.

“It was an exciting offseason for us,” said Quinn. “But how many times do you in sports where people have an exciting offseason but don’t get it done during the real season.”

Last season

21-13-5, 12-6-4 Hockey East (fifth). Lost to UMass-Lowell in Hockey East quarterfinals.

Names to know

There are plenty to mention here, particularly with four first-round NHL Draft picks this past June. Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson up front and Charlie McAvoy on the blueline are just two of a large roster whose names you will hear this season.

Three questions

1. With so many great players, will there be enough offense to spread around?
2. Who will step forward as this team’s go-to guy in net?
3. Expectations can be one of the toughest things to handle in college sports. Are the Terriers ready?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Terriers: 1st
Dave picks the Terriers: 1st

Connecticut

When UConn made its move to Hockey East, everyone knew that Rome could be built in a day and there could be come growing pains for the Huskies program.

But many of those pains have been minimized through two seasons and UConn has quickly become a team knocking on the door trying to unseat Hockey East’s perennial powers.

The Huskies earned a home ice spot in the opening round of last year’s playoffs and this season are picked seventh in the preseason coaches poll, just a single spot below Boston College.

The team is comprised of experienced players with 14 key contributors coming from either the sophomore or junior class. Leading that list is a duo that last year received nationally attention: Max Letunov and Tage Thompson. Last season, the pair combined for 30 of UConn’s 88 goals.

If there is a group of players that Huskies coach Mike Cavanaugh wants to rely more upon, though, it is his junior class. Players like Spencer Naas, Jesse Schwartz and Kasperi Ojantakanen have all showed ability but now will be leaned on for leadership.

“Our junior class has played two years in Hockey East,” said Cavanaugh. “They understand the opponent. And that certainly helps when playing in this league.

“On most given night, there’s eight of those guys from the junior class that are going to be in the lineup. That’s a big portion of your team.”

One of the most important members of the team is not part of the junior class and that is senior goaltender Rob Nichols.

Nichols was flashy and brilliant in his first Hockey East season as a sophomore. Last season, he remained strong but was required to make nearly 300 less saves with the team defense strengthening around him.

“Our team defense got better [last year],” said Cavanaugh. “Because our team defense got better, some of the [offensive] numbers for some players suffered.

“However, they became better defensive players and that was very encouraging to me. I felt better about the development of them as 200-foot hockey players.”

Last season

11-21-4, 6-12-4 Hockey East (8th). Lost to Vermont in Hockey East first round.

Names to know

Tage Thompson and Max Letunov were standouts as rookies and are a focal point in year two. Goaltender Rob Nichols, though, may be this team’s glue in net.

Three questions

1. UConn has a talented top line, but how deep can the offense go after that?
2. Will the Huskies team defense take enough pressure off Rob Nichols for him to emerge as a top Hockey East goaltender
3. Are the Huskies ready to handle expectations and push to be a top-six team in this conference?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Huskies: 8th
Dave picks the Huskies: 7th

Maine

Question are abound for Maine, which is coming off an 11th place finish, the lowest ever for a Black Bears program that has three regular-seaon and five postseason titles.

The biggest question might be can this team score. Last season, Maine was last in Hockey East and 55th of 60 nationally in scoring, averaging just 2.00 goals per game.

“We have some excellent players coming back like Cam Brown, Nolan Vesey and Blaine Byron,” said coach Red Gendron. “They’re players who didn’t necessarily put up numbers like we all expected them to a year ago.

“But they’re determined. They came back in great shape and I expect to get a heck of a lot more production from them.”

And while offensive production will be critical, defense and goaltending has to improve as well. Last season, only Massachusetts allowed more than Maine’s 3.39 goals per game in the league.

In goal, Maine will rely on Rob McGovern and Matt Morris to improve and will hope to tighten up the team defense in front that allowed more than 30 shots on goal per game.

Maine does have a strong recruiting class coming in that includes three players selected on June’s NHL Draft.

“With three draft picks in the [freshman] class, we’re excited,” said Gendron. “There’s always a learning curve, but I think our freshman class is more talented.”

Last season

8-24-6, 5-15-2 Hockey East (11th). Lost to Northeastern in Hockey East first round.

Names to know

Cam Brown and Blaine Byron will be leaned upon to somehow get this Maine offense going this year while goaltenders Rob McGovern and Matt Morris need to provide stability on the back end.

Three questions

1. Is this team committed to playing defense? Three-plus goals against a game won’t cut it in Hockey East.
2. Will players Brown, Byron and Nolan Vesey go from good to great and help spark this Maine offense?
3. How much impact can a freshman class with three NHL Draft picks have in bringing the Black Bears out of league’s bottom tier?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Black Bears: 12th
Dave picks the Black Bears: 11th

Massachusetts

When Massachusetts decided last April to make a coaching change, athletic director Ryan Bamford made one thing clear: he was going to be the single-man search committee and he was out to get the best candidate possible.

Bamford may have done exactly that attracting young and energetic (and, thus far in his career, successful) Greg Carvel from St. Lawrence to lead the Minutemen. Carvel, who took over for legendary Saints coach Joe Marsh in 2012, took a program that had posted two sub-.500 teams and turned it around to finish above .500 in three of his four seasons.

The task to make St. Lawrence successful may have been a bit of a challenge, but it will pale in comparison to what Carvel faces in Amherst. When Carvel arrived at St. Lawrence, the Saints were only six seasons removed from the ECAC regular season title and an NCAA appearance.

Compare that to UMass, where the Minutemen have never won a regular or postseason title, only finished in the top four of Hockey East twice and has made just a single NCAA appearance.

That, though, won’t deter the 46-year-old coach from trying. But he’s also realistic that change can’t happen overnight.

“I feel like we’re taking small steps and figuring out the team we need to be and how we have to play,” said Carvel. “I watched 8-10 games from last year and realize how I coach is different than what they were getting last year.

“So we’re starting from scratch in a lot of ways. That takes times. I’ve coached enough teams to know it takes time for those things to evolve.”

Last season

8-24-4, 2-16-4 Hockey East (12th). Lost to Boston University in Hockey East first round.

Names to know

Austin Plevy’s freshman campaign gives a lot of hope that he can be an offensive leader. But UMass’ key may be in net where Nic Reynard and Alex Wakaluk have to find a way to lower the Minutemen’s goals against.

Three questions

1. Can Greg Carvel put his stamp on the UMass program out of the gate?
2. Who can help replace Shane Walsh and Dennis Kravchenko on an offense already struggling to score goals?
3. Can the Minutemen get enough consistency in goal to have a go-to guy night in and night out?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Minutemen: 12th
Dave picks the Minutemen: 11th

Massachusetts-Lowell

There are few teams that can enter a season ranked top 10 nationally yet still have a major question mark looking over its head.

That is the case, though, for UMass Lowell. A game away from the Frozen Four a season ago, the River Hawks bring back plenty of experience. Except, in goal.

But pundits are willing to cut coach Norm Bazin a break when it comes to goaltending as his and his staff’s pedigree when it comes to recruiting and developing netminders is strong.

Maybe worried two seasons ago when Connor Hellebuyck left for the NHL what would happen in net. What happened was Kevin Boyle, a transfer from Massachusetts, developed into one of the league’s top goaltenders, leading Lowell to the Hockey East finals in each of his two seasons.

So as Lowell enters this campaign with solid depth at forward and an experienced and talented defensive corps, there will be plenty of competition for which goaltender or goaltenders can lead this team.

Bazin will have four options – two sophomores in Sean Cleary and Christoffer Hernberg, and two rookies, Tyler Wall and Garrett Metcalf.

As the season begins, all four are in the competitive mix for Bazin, and that something he seems to enjoy.

“We’re trying to figure people out, so it’s an exciting time,” said Bazin. “These are young men who are going to make mistakes. Goalies are going to make mistakes just like defensemen are. However, if you can tolerate the mistakes and track their development over the first five games, let’s say, you’ll find out who you’re really going to have in net.”

Last season

26-10-5, 13-6-4 Hockey East (4th). Lost to Northeastern in Hockey East final.

Names to know

Lowell will have the firepower with players like Joe Gambardella, C.J. Smith and Nick Masters helping pace the offense. But the biggest question is in net where four inexperienced keepers will vie to replace Hockey East co-MVP Kevin Boyle.

Three questions

1. It’s about goaltending. Which of the four goalies on the Lowell roster can replace Kevin Boyle?
2. How much can an experienced blueline corps help solidify the defense and bolster the offense?
3. Can Smith and Gambardella prove they are ready to be mentioned among the league’s top forwards?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the River Hawks: 3rd
Dave picks the River Hawks: 2nd

Merrimack

There is plenty for Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy to like about this year’s team. And much of that rolls over from the finish of last year’s campaign.

Merrimack earned home ice in the opening round of the Hockey East playoffs. As they’re known to do, they created a great atmosphere in Lawler Arena, rallied from a game down against New Hampshire and won the best-of-three series. The Warriors then put forth two hard-fought efforts against Providence in the quarterfinals before ultimately falling.

Knowing that this year’s Warriors team returns a number of key contributors from last year’s squad gives Dennehy the confidence.

“We knew last year was going to be ups and downs and we would’ve liked the downs to be not so low,” said Dennehy. “But we liked how we finished.

“Our program has only hosted a playoff series three times and as bad as last year was at times, we were able to squeak out home ice in the first round. And that first-round win over UNH gave our young guys so much experience.”

This year’s team will be, as Dennehy calls it, “in their sweet spot.” The roster features just three seniors but is laden with talent in the sophomore and junior class.

“We’re going to be as deep as we have since I’ve been here. I don’t think we have the same marquee players as we did in [the NCAA team of] 2011,” said Dennehy. “But we’re deep.”

Last season

13-19-7, 5-10-7 Hockey East (7th). Lost to Providence in Hockey East quarterfinals.

Names to know

There should be plenty of fire power for Merrimack with players like Brett Seney and Hampus Gustafsson more mature and experienced. The question is whether players like Jace Hennig and Mathieu Tibbet can improve enough to make Merrimack a team with more scoring depth.

Three questions

1. Does experience in the Warriors locker room translate onto the ice?
2. Will this team get the leadership that coach Mark Dennehy wants and needs?
3. Which goaltender will step forward and is that enough to elevate the Warriors to a top-tier team in Hockey East?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Warriors: 9th
Dave picks the Warriors: 10th

New Hampshire

As a college hockey team, one not-so-unreasonable expectation is that when your team struggles, there won’t be a ton of attention paid to your club. Because of that, even your top talent often misses out on opportunities to leave early for the NHL.

Not the case for New Hampshire. Despite a difficult year that produced just 11 wins, the least in coach Dick Umile’s 26-year tenure with the program, forward Andrew Poturalski was plucked from the Wildcats as an NHL free agent after just two seasons.

Thus, a difficult task of rebuilding for Umile got even tougher.

“Like everybody, you lose people to the pros and to graduation,” said Umile. “Our nucleus is younger and we’ve got work to do in a very, very strong league. So it’s going to be a work in progress, no doubt about that.”

The Wildcats will look to Poturalski’s linemate Tyler Kelleher to help pace the offense. A 46-point scorer a season ago, the senior has successfully produced each of the last two seasons offensively and will have the opportunity to mold some of the underclassmen like Marcus Vela and Shane Eiserman.

But for a UNH team that might struggle to score, the biggest question may be in goal. Two years ago, Danny Tirone came in after the holiday break and was the best storyline of the second half, going 14-6-0, leading the Wildcats to a berth in the Hockey East semifinals after upsetting eventual national champ Providence.

Last year, though, Tirone’s numbers were pedestrian but he was forced into action the bulk of the season after Adam Clark was tore his labrum and required surgery after starting the year with two solid wins.

“We’ll have both of them going,” said Umile. “Clark’s back and he looks great. So he and Tirone will battle on the weekends and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Last season

11-20-6, 4-12-6 Hockey East (10th). Lost to Merrimack in Hockey East first round.

Names to know

The departure of 22-goal scorer Andrew Poturalski to the NHL leaves a big hole up front for the Wildcats, but Tyler Kelleher certainly has the talent if UNH can find a supporting cast. Look for players like Shane Eiserman and Marcus Vela to move from role players to top line forward that can help lead this offense.

Three questions

1. Where will the goals come from? New Hampshire has to be deeper than a one-line team.
2. Can Danny Tirone return to the form he showed as a freshman?
3. Who will step forward as this team’s leader?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Wildcats: 10th
Dave picks the Wildcats: 8th

Northeastern

When a team hasn’t won any sort of championship in nearly three decades, you would think that there would be a good bit of satisfaction around the program.

But for Northeastern, which captured the Hockey East title last season for the first time since 1998, that’s not necessarily the case.

“I like the mindset out team has,” said head coach Jim Madigan. “Although we won the [Hockey East] championship, there was a little bit of unfinished business the way the NCAA tournament went (a 6-2 first-round loss to North Dakota).

“That corps has got a hungry taste in their mouth that we want to take our team to another level.”

Memory may serve the average fan that last year was hardly a season of unicorns and ponies for Northeastern. Despite hoisting the Lamoriello Trophy around TD Garden, the Huskies dug themselves into a 1-12-2 hole to start the year before assembling a 13-game winning streak that culminated at the Garden. It was the second straight year Northeastern started the season slow and something that Madigan hopes his team can steer as far away as possible from this season.

“It’s been the last two seasons we had the slow starts,” said Madigan. “The seniors went through this as sophomores and juniors so they understand that a big part of our success is how we get off to a start. We can’t expect to be going on these great runs.”

Last season

22-15-5, 10-9-4 Hockey East (6th). Won Hockey East Championships.

Names to know

Plenty of key components from the defending Hockey East champs return, most notably John and Nolan Stevens and Zach Aston-Reese. Ryan Ruck again will be the go-to guy in net and this team’s success will align with his.

Three questions

1. Can the momentum from the end of last season return – and more importantly be there right out of the gate.
2. Will Ryan Ruck be the same goaltender he was a year ago?
3. Can this team produce with some of the highest expectations they’ve had in years?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Huskies: 4th
Dave picks the Huskies: 4th

Notre Dame

It seems like only yesterday we were saying hello to Notre Dame. Now, we’re saying goodbye.

After a brief four-year stay in Hockey East, Notre Dame begins its swan song before heading to the Big Ten Conference next season. And the Irish, a perennial national contender since Jeff Jackson took over the program in 2005, still have plenty of unfinished business.

Since joining Hockey East, Notre Dame has yet to win a championship or even reach the title game. The Irish fell to UMass-Lowell in their only appearance at the Garden and last season was their best regular-season finish, third place, before looking to the Northeastern juggernaut.

And by all accounts, this could be the best Notre Dame team to take the ice in the four years. Goaltender Cal Peterson, voted the team’s captain, should be an early favorite for Player of the Year.

If there is one question for the Irish, it is whether this team can score. Despite losing just four senior forwards, all reached the double-digit mark in goals scored.

“Going into the season concerned about one area, it may be are we going to score,” said Jackson. “But I thought that would be an issue last year and it ended up not being so. You just hope guys develop to a point where they gain confidence in their game and they’ll get opportunities.”

“I like the group that we have here. You always have to count on the guys you have getting better. We had guys here last year not getting a lot of power play time like Dylan Malmquist and Andrew Oglevie. You expect that they’re going to be more productive.”

Last season

19-11-7, 15-5-2 Hockey East (3rd). Lost to Northeastern in Hockey East first round.

Names to know

While it is easy to point out many team’s top offensive contributors, with Notre Dame you can’t skip past Cal Peterson, who will lead this team in goal. That said, he’ll need goal support and the trio of Anders Bjork, Jake Evans and Jordan Gross will be among those called upon to keep the offense on pace.

Three questions

1. Will this Notre Dame score goals? If the Irish can produce offense, they could be deadly.
2. Is Cal Peterson ready to be the best player – not just goaltender – in Hockey East?
3. Will the Irish go out with a bang? Leaving the CCHA, Notre Dame won the league title. Can it happen again?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Irish: 2nd
Dave picks the Irish: 3rd

Providence

When Providence graduated a senior class of eight players, including its four leading scorers, a season ago, head coach Nate Leaman knew he had rebuilding task ahead of him.

Add to that the fact that goaltender Nick Ellis signed a pro contract after just one season in the full-time starter’s job and that task grew larger.

Thus, this year’s Friars team will have a bit of a new look to it. Role players will become leaders and freshman will have the chance to become immediate contributors.

“It’s a young team in the fact that our older players are jumping into new roles and, we graduated a big class, so we have a lot of freshmen who have come in,” said Leaman. “But I believe that we have a pretty good talent level. Now it’s learning to manage the games and making sure that we play together.”

Leaman isn’t in a dissimilar situation from four years ago when last year’s seniors were freshman. The main difference, though, is Providence is now a program in the national conversation year-in and year-out after winning the 2015 national championship.

“Four years ago, when we had the big freshman class come in, the program wasn’t where it is now,” said Leaman. “Those guys didn’t have a lot of expectations. They could make mistakes.

“This team is a good team but there are expectations on this team. It’s how we grow and manage those expectations and stay in the day-to-day process of getting better.”

In goal, Hayden Hawkey, understudy to Ellis a season ago, will take center stage. Leaman hopes his experience in juniors and his learning last season allows him to have an impact from day one.

“I think Hayden has a lot of experience as far as playing in the USHL. I thought he developed a lot throughout our goaltending work last year,” said Leaman. “Because he is the returning guy, he has a little bit better of a feel of what to expect in a game.”

The biggest returning player is defenseman Jake Walman. He battled through injuries much of last season but still earned All-America honors. Leaman will look to leverage his talent and experience to help guide the team from the blueline.

“Jake is a game-changer at this level,” said Leaman. “The strength of our team is the defensive corps until we can get some of these young guys adjusted.

“He’s hungry and he’s looking forward to getting back.”

Last season

27-7-4, 16-3-3 Hockey East (T-1st). Lost to UMass-Lowell in Hockey East semifinals.

Names to know

The Friars lost a lot offensively, but still return junior Jake Walman, a 13-goal scorer in action limited by injury a year ago. One of the game’s best names, Hayden Hawkey, will also need to be one of the best players for Providence if he is to replace Nick Ellis in goal.

Three questions

1. Who will fill all of the holes? Lots of offensive losses along with the early departure of goaltender Nick Ellis places plenty of questions on this team?
2. Did the NCAA title of 2015 create a legacy? A national title usually helps with recruiting. That’s something we might see this year.
3. Where will the stabilizing factor come from? Will it be a goaltender who shines, a blueline that becomes unstoppable or simply the system’s of a coach that helps this team win?

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Friars: 6th
Dave picks the Friars: 5th

Vermont

Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon admits that there was something missing from his locker room last season.

“The one thing you don’t always know as a coach when you look at your team on paper, is maturity going to be on our side,” said Sneddon. “That’s certainly going to be the case this year.”

Returning a roster of talented experienced players featuring eight seniors and seven juniors, Sneddon hopes that the experience of this club – including earning a first-round sweep of Connecticut and coming within a whisker of upsetting Boston College in the quarterfinals – can be something that propels the Catamounts to the top third of Hockey East.

“We played well down the stretch,” said Sneddon. “I think that was the message, ‘We played well down the stretch, now we have to get that going earlier.’ Last year’s team got along really well but I don’t think there was accountability.”

“The seniors combined with the juniors are doing a great job of leading and holding guys accountable. It’s all about setting standards.”

Last season

15-22-3, 6-13-3 Hockey East. Lost to Boston College in Hockey East quarterfinals.

Names to know

The Catamounts return its top three scorers – Mario Puskarich, Brendan Bradley and Jarrid Privitera – along with senior Brady Shaw who had flashes of offensive brilliance his sophomore year. Mike Santaguida is the experienced tender but will be pushed by rookie Stefanos Lekkas for time between the pipes.

Three questions

1. Will Santaguida be the man in net for the Cats?
2. Does this team have the depth and maturity to be a top-tier team?
3. Can the Catamounts stay healthy? Injuries and a lack of depth too often have hurt this club.

Crystal ball

Jim picks the Catamounts: 7th
Dave picks the Catamounts: 9th

Changes in Hockey East mean ‘we’re in a different world now’

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Sean Maguire (BU - 31) and Charlie McAvoy (BU - 7) celebrate the win. - The Boston University Terriers defeated the Northeastern University Huskies 3-1 (EN) in the first round of the Beanpot on Monday, February 1, 2016, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Melissa Wade)
Charlie McAvoy (right) and Boston University will be without the graduated Sean Maguire in goal this year, but the Terriers are still picked to finish atop Hockey East (photo: Melissa Wade).

Times are changing for Hockey East and a quick look at the league’s coaches poll proves that not only is this no longer your father’s Hockey East, it might not even be your older sibling’s Hockey East.

It has been five years since Boston College ripped off four straight postseason titles. And in that time frame, three of the four league champions were not members of what was once referred to as the “big four.”

“If you had been away for a while and came back and see UNH and Maine at 10 and 12 [respectively, in the coaches’ poll], you’d be scratching your head wondering how did that happen,” said Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna. “It wasn’t that long ago that I’d be having to acknowledge that 90 percent of our championships were won by BC, BU, UNH and Maine.

“We’re in a different world now.”

In fact, when you look at those four schools mentioned by the commissioner, only one – Boston University – is predicted to be a top-four club in preseason polls. The Terriers, thanks to three straight top-tier recruiting classes, are a near unanimous favorite. But UMass Lowell and Northeastern, which have accumulated three of the last four postseason championships, along with Notre Dame make up the other three teams picked for first-round postseason byes.

The obvious missing party is Boston College, picked sixth by the coaches, due in most part to the Eagles losing seven players early to NHL contracts.

As Bertagna points out, the success of individuals is a nice feather in the league’s cap, but also brings some concern that blue-chip players continue to spend less (far less, in some cases) than four years on their college campus.

“It’s a dual-edged sword,” said Bertanga. “What you’re doing and what you’re putting out there, the best kids are coming to your programs. At the NHL Draft in June, [Hockey East] did very well.

“But I’d be disingenuous to say that it’s not problematic that those kids don’t always play four years.

“The fans feel cheated. I’m sure BU fans were thrilled to pull up to Agganis and watch a full season of Jack Eichel. But imagine if they could have watched four years of it. It’s different and we’re still adjusting to it.”

Bertagna and the league will also soon have to make another significant adjustment. Last March, Notre Dame announced that after just four seasons in the league that it will move to the Big Ten, leaving a hole in Hockey East.

Bertagna acknowledged that 11 teams is not impossible to operate with and in fact, is likely how the league will move forward for 2017-18 and 2018-19. But 12 teams is the more ideal number for a league in every way – scheduling and playoffs being the primary area of benefit from an even dozen.

While the league is still open to adding a 12th member at some point, it is not actively soliciting a new member, Bertagna said.

The 11-team league will require the conference to make some scheduling changes next season. Each team will add an additional league game against four different opponents. These opponents were selected in an attempt to balance opponent strength using last season’s standings. Two games will be home for each opponent and two will be on the road.

In the 2018-19 campaign, those four additional opponents will remain the same on each team’s schedule, reversing which games are played at home and on the road.

“There really is nothing imminent about a 12th team on the men’s side,” said Bertagna. “We’ll see how that goes and see how conversations follow up.

“Next year would have been impossible [and] 2018-19 would have been doable [to add a 12th team] if something had developed over this offseason or even now, but there’s nothing in place that can even happen for ’18-19.”

The league will continue to assist in hosting ancillary events this season, expanding beyond last year’s offering of the Friendship Four, a four-time Hockey East/ECAC tournament played in Belfast, Ireland.

After the success of that event, it was immediately announced that the Friendship Four would once again be held this season with Vermont and Massachusetts representing Hockey East (St. Lawrence and Quinnipiac will represent the ECAC).

According to Bertagna, the tournament organizers are currently working to extend the event for at least two additional years (2017 and 2018) and an announcement could come early in the season.

In addition to the Friendship Four Hockey East will, for the fourth time, host Frozen Fenway, outdoor league games played at Fenway Park in Boston. This year’s edition will feature four league games played over two weekends.

“We have the conversations about the viability of these outdoor events,” said Bertagna. “We all know at some point you’re going to hit a point where maybe you went one too many.

“But the continuation of these special events is here to stay. It’s a charge from the [athletic] directors to the [league] office to create events that extend their branding.

“Fortunately for me, these are things I look forward to.”

ECAC Hockey Picks: Oct. 6 to Oct. 8

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Colgate and Army West Point began the ECAC (and college hockey season) last Saturday with a 1-1 tie. The rest of the non-Ivy league teams start play this weekend. All games are at 7 p.m. unless noted.

 

Thursday, Oct. 8

St. Lawrence at Penn State

Coach Mark Morris makes his Saints debut against a program that didn’t exist the last time he coached a college game. Penn State can push the pace and score plenty of goals, but St. Lawrence is a good-skating defensive team and has junior Kyle Hayton in net. St. Lawrence wins

Friday, Oct.

Vermont at Clarkson

The Golden Knights are opening at home for the second straight season, but only the third time in 18 years. Vermont is on a 7-2-1 run in the all-time series between the teams, but Clarkson is looking like one of the better teams in ECAC Hockey this year – and the Catamounts will be without its four captains due to a hazing incident that was reported today. Clarkson wins

Rensselaer at Maine

RPI is playing a game at Alfond Arena for the first time since 1993.  The Engineers will face a Maine team that averaged two goals a game last season and finished with an .898 team save percentage. It’s always tough to get a feel for teams in the early going, but expect the Engineers to win if those trends continue. Rensselaer wins

Northeastern at Quinnipiac

It’s an opening night matchup of two NCAA tournament teams from last year, although the Bobcats will be without a host of key players from last year’s national runner-up. But Quinnipiac has been through massive turnover before, and the Bobcats always seem to keep moving along. Quinnipiac wins

St. Lawrence at Penn State

I think the home team will bounce back with a win for the opening-series split. Penn State wins

Union at Michigan, 7:35 p.m

Union coach Rick Bennett likes to schedule challenging road games for his team, and the Dutchmen get one right away as they open at Michigan. While the Wolverines lost their top-three scorers from last season, they are still a talented team and should emerge with the season-opening win. Michigan wins

Saturday, Oct. 10

Union at Michigan, 5:05 p.m.

Taking a chance here, but I think Union bounces back for the split. Union wins

Boston University at Colgate, 6:05 p.m.

The Raiders are integrating plenty of new faces into the lineup, while Boston University looks like a national-title contender this year. Boston University wins

Northeastern at Quinnipiac

Huskies bounce back for the split. Northeastern wins

Rensselaer at Maine

Engineers complete the sweep. Rensselaer wins

Clarkson at Vermont

I was tempted to call a split, but the news of UVM’s suspensions makes me think the weekend will end with a Clarkson sweep.  Clarkson wins

 

 

 

 

 

Minnesota extends longtime bench boss Lucia through 2018-19 season

USCHO Staff Report
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16 Oct 15: Don Lucia (Minnesota - Head Coach). The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs play against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in a non-conference matchup at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, MN. (Jim Rosvold)
Minnesota coach Don Lucia will have coached at the school 20 years when his latest contract extension expires after the 2018-19 season (photo: Jim Rosvold).

Minnesota and head coach Don Lucia have agreed to a two-year extension that will keep the two-time national champion coach under contract through the 2018-19 season, which will be Lucia’s 20th season as head coach at the school.

“It’s truly an honor to coach this program, and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished here at the University of Minnesota,” Lucia said in a statement. “We have high expectations for ourselves just like we know people have high expectations for us, and our program is proud of the bar we have set. We require dedication and excellence in everything we do, and everybody in our locker room buys into that. We’ve had that mindset since we got here, and our goals aren’t going to change.”

The 2016-17 season stands as Lucia’s 18th at Minnesota and 30th overall season as a Division I head coach. A native of Grand Rapids, Minn., Lucia holds the Gophers record for coaching victories at 415 (415-219-68, .640), while his 694 career wins rank eighth all-time in NCAA history regardless of division (694-374-97, .638).

A four-time conference coach of the year and the 1994 Spencer Penrose National Coach of the Year, Lucia led the Gophers to back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003.

“I promise our recruits and student-athletes that we’ll help them get their degree from Minnesota and compete for championships,” said Minnesota athletics director Mark Coyle in a news release. “Coach Lucia has been honoring that promise to Gopher student-athletes for the past 17 seasons. Our men’s hockey program continues to raise banners at Mariucci Arena while also performing at a high level academically and graduating student-athletes. I’m excited to watch Coach Lucia and his team defend their Big Ten title and pursue deep runs into the NCAA tournament in upcoming seasons.”

Under the leadership of Lucia, the Gophers return to action this year as the three-time defending Big Ten regular-season champions and have won five-straight regular-season conference titles – a feat that matches the NCAA record.

Weekend picks: Oct. 6

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Matthew and I both got off to a good start, picking the sweep by Minnesota-Duluth last week. So, we’ve started 2-0. I doubt our perfection will last through this weekend, but let’s see how we do.

Thursday-Friday, Oct. 6-7

Western Michigan vs Ferris State
Candace: I don’t have a good handle on the Broncos yet, but Ferris didn’t look great last week in getting swept by Alabama-Huntsville, so I’ll go with home ice in each. Ferris State 2-1, Western Michigan 3-2
Matthew: Ferris will get back on track somewhat after being swept by Alabama-Huntsville, but I’ll take the home teams to win here. Ferris State 3-2, Western Michigan 3-2

Friday, Oct. 7

Ohio State at Denver
Candace: Home ice should help Denver start its season with a win. Denver 4-2
Matthew: Denver makes a statement in its first counter home game of the season. Denver 5-1

Friday-Saturday, Oct. 7-8

Canisius at North Dakota
Candace: North Dakota should start its season off well. I have trouble seeing Canisius containing Brock Boeser. North Dakota 4-1, 4-1
Matthew: I don’t see the Fighting Hawks running into many problems here. North Dakota 4-1, 5-1

Miami at Providence
Candace: I think the RedHawks will play the Friars really tough, but I have a hard time seeing anything but a Providence sweep. Providence 2-1, 3-1
Matthew: More than anything, I’m curious to see who plays in net for Miami. This will be a big early test for the RedHawks. Providence 3-1, 3-2

Colorado College at Massachusetts
Candace: Colorado College has been dreadful on the road the past few years. Of course, they haven’t been much better at home. A split seems likely, but who knows. Massachusetts 3-2, Colorado College 2-1
Matthew: Both teams are expected to finish last in their respective conferences this season. I think CC is the better team, but it’s a tough call this week with them on the road. Colorado College 3-2, Massachusetts 3-2

Minnesota-Duluth at Massachusetts-Lowell
Candace: This is probably the best series of the weekend, and really hard to call. I’m going with the NCHC sweep just to hope I get one of the games right. Minnesota-Duluth 3-2, 3-1
Matthew: This should be a terrific series, and it’s a really tough one to call without having seen much of either team yet. Massachusetts-Lowell 3-2, Minnesota-Duluth 3-2

Pickin’ the Big Ten: St. Lawrence at Penn State, Oct. 6

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Drew Claussen and I nearly forgot that there’s a game tonight.

Nearly.

St. Lawrence at Penn State

Drew: Penn State is going to be an interesting team this year. Teams have handled a large turnover before and been successful, but the Nittany Lions can look within their own conference to find an example of a young team that didn’t fare very well (Wisconsin, the past two seasons). St. Lawrence, on the other hand, has seven seniors and eight juniors on its roster. The Saints compiled 19-14-4 record last year. Being at home the Nittany Lions have a chance to steal a game in this series, but I’m picking a St. Lawrence sweep.

Paula: The Saints warmed up last weekend with a 4-1 exhibition win over QC Trois Rivieres while Penn State beat Queen’s in exhibition, 8-0. These teams met at the end of last October, resulting in a 2-2 tie and 4-2 St. Lawrence win. I think that St. Lawrence will be very competitive this year and Penn State will need to find its footing, but I also think the excitement of opening night will carry the Nittany Lions.

Drew’s picks: St. Lawrence 3-2, 4-2.
Paula’s picks: Penn State 3-2, St. Lawrence 4-2.

I’ll post the rest of our picks for the weekend tomorrow, along with our picks record from 2015-2016. As always, you can follow Drew on Twitter (@drewclaussen) and, if you’re a glutton for punishment, you can double down on my Twitter accounts (@paulacweston and @PaulaBonaFide). I’ll be tweeting from Yost Arena tomorrow night as Union takes on Michigan.

Duluth off to strong start in coach Crowell’s second year

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UMD Bulldog #21 Lara Stalder (Dave Harwig)
Lara Stalder is one of five seniors who has Minnesota-Duluth off to a strong start. (Dave Harwig)

Moving from Boston to Duluth, Minnesota, to take over a storied women’s hockey program that had gone through some turmoil was a daunting task for Maura Crowell. The former associate head coach at Harvard is just the second head coach in Bulldogs women’s hockey history, taking the reins after the university did not renew the contract of coach Shannon Miller.

Amid allegations of discrimination that made national headlines and led to lawsuits against the university, the women of the Minnesota-Duluth women’s hockey team were still just students trying to compete and enjoy their short collegiate careers. For Crowell, the most important thing she could do last season was to put the focus back on her student-athletes.

The transition for first-year coaches is never easy, but Crowell was determined not to let it be a “freshman year.” She knew there would be some difficulty transitioning staffs, but she also knew the players on her new team had already experienced enough off-ice distractions to last them a lifetime.

“These guys are college students and they want to have the best four years of their lives and it’s my responsibility as their head coach to provide them the best opportunity to do that,” she said.

One big way she was able to ease the transition was to change the way the players viewed themselves on the ice. Top-level athletes are rarely unaware of their shortfalls. So instead of spending practices harping solely on the things a player may be struggling with, the coaching staff makes sure the players find confidence in the things they do well, and helps them excel at those.

“We coach positivity,” Crowell said. “We want to talk about people’s strengths and coach them up. Women in general are pretty self-critical. Nine times out of 10, they know exactly what their weaknesses are and they focus on those. So what we want to do is focus on their positives and make sure that if they’re a great skater, a great shooter, a great puck mover, that they’re doing all those things all the time, too. I know they’re going to focus on the things they need to improve on,”

Though the situations are completely different, Crowell had some experience with the pressure and expectations that come with taking over for a larger-than-life (and very successful) coach. When Harvard coach Katey Stone was named coach of the 2014 U.S. women’s Olympic team, Crowell was selected to lead the Crimson in her absence.

“My approach that year was just to be myself, not try to be anyone else,” said Crowell. “And make sure that the decisions that are made are with the student-athletes’ best interests in mind.”

While it’s impossible to ignore the past in Duluth, Crowell is working on setting up the future. There’s a rich history — and strong community support — in Duluth, and Crowell hopes to see the program return to prominence.

She’s off to a good start. Despite a losing record in her first year, the Bulldogs received votes for the USCHO polls throughout the season. The team then upset Bemidji State in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and earned a spot at the Final Faceoff. Though they lost to eventual conference champion Wisconsin in the playoffs, Crowell said her players counted the tournament berth as the high point of their Bulldog careers.

Of course, many of those players now have a different highlight, as UMD tied and then beat No. 3 Boston College to open the season last weekend. The win helped the previously unranked Bulldogs to a No. 6 ranking on this week’s D-I Women’s USCHO.com Poll.

Life in the middle of the WCHA conference has been tough for programs like UMD, North Dakota, and Bemidji State as they play eight of their conference games against Minnesota and Wisconsin, two of the toughest programs in the country.

Though the games were planned and scheduled before she arrived in Duluth, Crowell admitted that scheduling top Eastern teams like Boston College (and Harvard, who they’ll visit at Thanksgiving) is a strategic move — especially with last year’s addition of a quality win bonus to team’s PairWise calculations. The ultimate goal is the NCAA tournament and a national championship, so the season has to be strategically guided by those rankings.

Beyond the mathematical spike that beating Boston College gives the Bulldogs, Crowell believes that in order for her team to succeed, they need to play — and win against — the best teams.

“We do want to play the best to be the best,” Crowell said. “I know that in the WCHA we have a tough schedule as is, but I’d rather put our team to the test out of conference and see how we can do because obviously this weekend it went extremely well. I think we turned some heads and hopefully that will help us come February. I think the reward outweighs the risk.”

In pursuit of those goals, Crowell has been working to build a culture of hard work. She’s especially proud of the fitness strides the Bulldogs have taken since last season.

The Bulldogs have one of the most eclectic locker rooms in Division I hockey, with players from five different countries. Minnesota-Duluth was one of the first schools to actively pursue European players and Crowell plans to continue that legacy.

Melding the styles of U.S. and Canadian players with women from Switzerland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic brings a depth to their team.

Off the ice, the players bring their different cultures and create a welcoming environment, and that provides a real-life learning experience to the locker room that they wouldn’t be finding anywhere else on campus.

“When you bring all them together, you get a really unique puzzle that you can put together; it certainly enhances the way we can play,” said Crowell. “The diversity in the locker room just breeds a sense of welcoming and openness. Everybody is different, but we’re all Bulldogs at the end of the day. We love being Bulldogs and there’s a sense of pride with that.”

Majority of ECAC Hockey teams face uncertainty, but all optimistic

By Nate Owen & Michael Leboff
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Jake Kulevich (Colgate - 11) celebrates his first period goal. ((c) Shelley M. Szwast 2013)
If Colgate wants any success in 2016-17, Jake Kulevich will need to celebrate more goals like this (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).

What can we expect in ECAC Hockey during the 2016-17 season?

Our columnists have the rundown of all the teams, in alphabetical order:

Brown

Brown had a rough go of it last season. The Bears’ five wins marked the third straight year the program’s win total had dropped since appearing in the conference championship game in 2013.
The five wins were also the lowest total under coach Brendan Whittet, who took over prior to the 2009-10 season.

Injuries on defense and inconsistency in goal were some of the main culprits of last year’s low win total. Tim Ernst, Tyler Steel, and Connor Maher combined for a .884 save percentage in net last season. Steel announced he was leaving school over the summer, while Ernst and Maher will be joined by incoming freshman Gavin Nieto, who was the top goaltender in the NAHL last year and had a shutout in the league’s championship game.

On defense, Whittet is looking to juniors Dane Cooper, who has been hurt much of the last two years, and Josh McArdle to fill important minutes this season. They’ll be joined by sophomore Max Gottlieb, who was one of the top offensive defenseman in the league last year.

“Guys have to step to the forefront,” Whittet said. “We have some pretty good numbers this year, which we haven’t had in the past.”

Brown will also need to replace the production of departed seniors Nick Lappin and Mark Naclerio. The duo skated on the Bears’ top scoring line for much of last season and saw time on both special team units as well.

Sophomore Tommy Marchin should continue to improve upon his impressive freshman year, but his 27 points last season are more than anyone on the Bears roster has in their career. Juniors Tyler Bird, Sam Lafferty, and Max Willman are all NHL draft picks, but no one from that trio has had more than 12 points in a season.

Brown has typically had one scoring line and struggled with offensive depth the last few seasons. That issue could be even more magnified this year if no one increases their offensive production.

“We’re looking towards the large sophomore group that is now juniors,” Whittet said. ‘They need to step up and they need to be guys we can rely upon just like we did with Nicky [Lappin]. To each of them, they have that ability; it’s just who steps to the forefront.”

Last season

5-19-7, 3-13-6 (11th). Lost to Rensselaer in the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs.

Names to know

Sophomore forward Tommy Marchin, sophomore defenseman Max Gottlieb, junior forwards Max Willman, Sam Lafferty, and Tyler Bird.

Three questions

1. Who will replace the offensive production of Nick Lappin and Mark Naclerio?
2. Can the defense stay healthy? Injuries at this position have decimated the Bears in the past.
3. Can Brown get steady goaltending? The last time it did, the Bears made it to the league championship in 2013.

Crystal ball

Several of the Bears’ younger players break out offensively, but Brown still doesn’t have the scoring depth it needs throughout the lineup. Better depth on defense puts Brown in position to compete for home ice in the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs, but the Bears will most likely be on the road come March.

Clarkson

Once of the league’s powers, the Golden Knights haven’t made it to ECAC Hockey’s championship game since winning the league title in 2007. That’s been especially magnified the last three years, as the conference’s final weekend has returned to Lake Placid after a lengthy hiatus.

But the Golden Knights enter this year in a good position to break that streak, as Casey Jones has one of his deepest groups in his sixth year as head coach.

“One of the challenges when I got to Clarkson was that we had a couple of big classes,” Jones said. “That’s kind of been our cycle, every two years it was 10 or 11 incoming freshman. It’s a little more balanced now; we’ve kind of weeded that out to the classes a little more evenly distributed. It’s our deepest team since I’ve been here; that being said, it’s going to be up to them how hard they hard want to play for each other.”

One of the major questions for the Golden Knights entering this season will be in goal. Departed senior Greg Lewis stabilized Clarkson’s goaltending with a strong second half last season. With Lewis gone, Jones said it was an open competition in net this year, with seniors Steve Perry and Ville Runola joined by incoming freshman Jake Kielly.

Whoever wins the starting job will have the benefit from a steady defensive group that should be good again despite the graduation of seniors Kevin Tansey and Paul Geiger. That group includes three NHL draft picks in juniors Kelly Summers (Ottawa) and Terrance Amorosa (Philadelphia), as well as senior James de Haas (Detroit).

Up front, Clarkson returns four of its five forwards, a group that should be strengthened with the arrival of freshman Sheldon Rempal, who led the BCHL in scoring last season.

Last season

20-15-3, 10-9-3 (5th). Lost to St. Lawrence in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Hockey playoffs.

Names to know

Sophomore forward Sam Vigneault, senior forward Jordan Boucher, senior defenseman James de Haas, junior defensemen Terrance Amorosa and Kelly Summers.

Three questions

1. Goaltending is the one thing that could hold Clarkson back this year. Who will win the starting job?
2. How will the defense handle the graduation of seniors Kevin Tansey and Paul Geiger?
3. Last year’s team average 2.66 goals per game, a solid number, but will that increase enough to push Clarkson to an elite team this year?

Crystal ball

A tough early season schedule and questions in goal might lead to a slow start for Clarkson, but the Golden Knights should earn a first-round bye for the playoffs and return to the league semifinals for the first time since 2007.

Colgate

A new arena also comes with plenty of question marks for the Raiders.

Construction of the Class of 1965 Arena was completed in time for the season opener on Oct. 1, a 2-2 tie against Army West Point. The $40 million dollar project has been in the making for several years and is a needed upgrade over Starr Rink, which had been in use since 1959.

“It’s a very exciting time for us at Colgate,” coach Don Vaughan said. “It’s a project that has been in the works for a number of years. To see it rise from the ground this year was quite emotional.”

While the new arena is good to go, there are a lot of unknowns entering the Raiders this season. Colgate graduated its top four scorers from a team that stumbled to an 11-24-2 finish after making the league championship game two years in a row, as well an NCAA tournament appearance in 2014.

Last summer’s early departures of forward Kyle Baun and defenseman Ryan Johnston left the Raiders with little depth last season. Numbers shouldn’t be a problem this year, as Colgate enters the season with 27 players after ending last year with 24.

Still, there’s not a lot of proven scoring on the roster as senior defenseman Jake Kulevich’s 38 points are the most of any returning Colgate player.

A strong senior year by goalie Charlie Finn would help. Finn took over as a starter during his freshman year, and was a steadying presence in net. However, he struggled last year, finishing with a .899 save percentage.

Vaughan revealed that the senior had offseason surgery and is still on the mend, although probably a bit ahead of schedule. Finn started the season-opening tie against the Black Knights and finished with 25 saves.

There’s plenty of depth if the senior falters. Juniors Zac Hamilton and Bruce Racine are joined by incoming freshman Colton Point, who was a fifth-round draft pick by Dallas in June’s NHL Draft.

“He’s a big, strong goaltender,” Vaughan said of Point. [That] has inspired Charlie to get back even quicker than might be expected. It will be a battle and Charlie is not going to give up that No. 1 spot easily.”

Last season

11-24-2, 6-14-2 (10th). Lost to Dartmouth in the opening round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs.

Names to know

Senior goalie Charlie Finn, freshman goalie Colton Point, senior forward Tim Harrison, sophomore forward Adam Duda, senior defenseman Jake Kulevich.

Three questions

1. Where will the offense come from this season?
2. Will Charlie Finn be able to bounce back – and if not, will incoming freshman Colton Point add stability in goal?
3. Colgate has nine incoming freshman, but a large senior class as well. Who will take advantage of the new opportunities available this season?

Crystal ball

With so many newcomers, Colgate should be interesting this year. But it might not be enough to secure home ice for the first round of the league playoffs.

Cornell

Last year’s second half slide looks ugly on the surface for Cornell, but the Big Red were involved in a number of games that could have gone either way.

Sure, there was the occasional blowout, starting with an 8-0 loss to Ohio State on Dec. 29, but the Big Red’s 4-8-5 finish to the regular season included four losses by less than two goals.

Still, Cornell rebounded by sweeping Union in the opening round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs before losing to eventual national runner-up Quinnipiac in three games in the quarterfinals.

How much further the Big Red advance this year will likely depend on finding a steady source of secondary scoring. The top line of Jeff Kubiak, Anthony Angello, and Mitch Vanderlaan combined to score 29 of Cornell’s 79 goals last year.

Angello and Vanderlaan made an immediate impact as freshman, while Kubiak almost doubled his career point total from his first two seasons at Cornell.

Big Red coach Mike Schafer said he is looking forward to seeing which player will experience a jump in production similar to Kubiak’s increase last season.

Possible candidates include junior and Florida draft pick Matt Buckles, who scored four of Cornell’s 11 power-play goals last season, and sophomore Beau Starrett, a Chicago draft pick who was limited to 15 games due to an injury. Junior Trevor Yates scored six goals last season after having only one his freshman year.

Despite the graduation of senior Reece Willcox, the Big Red should once again be steady defensively. After splitting time with junior Hayden Stewart two years ago, senior Mitch Gillam took control of the starting job last season, finishing with a .926 save percentage and seven shutouts.

Last season

16-11-7, 8-8-6 (8th). Lost to Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals of the ECAC Hockey playoffs.

Names to know

Senior goalie Charlie Finn, freshman goalie Colton Point, senior forward Tim Harrison, sophomore forward Adam Duda, senior defenseman Jake Kulevich.

Three questions

1. Will the Big Red be able to avoid another second-half slide?
2. Where will the secondary scoring come from?
3. Cornell has never been a great comeback team. Will that change this season?

Crystal ball

Cornell should be one of numerous teams competing for a first-round bye in ECAC Hockey this season. How far it goes will likely depend on the scoring depth the Big Red can manage throughout the season.

Dartmouth

A miserable start to the season ended with the Big Green one win away from having a chance at its first ECAC Hockey title last March.

Dartmouth ended the first half 3-7-1, having allowed at least five goals five times during that span. But a strong January sparked by goalie Charles Grant helped the Big Green turn around its season and upset second-seeded Yale on the road in the league quarterfinals.

Grant and classmate James Kruger graduated last spring, leaving junior Devin Buffalo and incoming freshman Adrian Clark and Dean Shatzer to compete for time in goal.

Buffalo has had limited playing time during his first two years with the Big Green, but was impressive in his first career start last season, a 1-1 tie at Michigan the night at Dartmouth lost 7-0.

“I told him at about two or three o’clock in the afternoon that he was playing,” Big Green coach Bob Gaudet said. “I asked him if he was ready and he said, ‘I’ve been ready for this my whole life.'”

Goalie isn’t the only position where Dartmouth has turnover entering this season. For the second year in a row, Dartmouth graduated a number of important contributors, including three of its top forwards in Jack Barre, Brett Patterson, and Nick Bligh and defenseman Geoff Ferguson and Ryan Bullock.

While the Big Green will need contributions from its 11 incoming freshman, its success this season will likely be determined by how it’s returning upperclassman produce, including the likes of Carl Hesler, Troy Crema, and Corey Kalk. That, along with steady goaltending, helped start the team’s second-half surge last season.

Dartmouth can play with speed, but it’s a better team when it doesn’t try to out-gun opponents. It may take a while for the freshman to adapt to the collegiate game, but if the Big Green can handle a tough first half, it may be in position to make another second-half push.

Last season

18-16-1- 11-11 (6th). Lost to Quinnipiac in the semifinals of the ECAC playoffs.

Names to know

Junior goalie Devin Buffalo, junior forwards Carl Hesler and Corey Calk, senior forward Troy Crema, sophomore defenseman Connor Yau.

Three questions

1. How will the Big Green handle the second consecutive year with a larger roster turnover?
2. Who will be the starting goalie?
3. Will both special teams units improve? Dartmouth killed 78.6 of it penalties in conference play and only scored on seven of 62 power plays.

Crystal ball

For the second year in a row, Gaudet and the Big Green will need to integrate a number of newcomers into the lineup. It might be another bumpy first half, but Dartmouth should end the year with home ice in the opening round of the league playoffs.

Harvard

Hobey Baker winner Jimmy Vesey and linemate Kyle Criscuolo may be gone, but Harvard returns plenty of talent to a team coming off consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Last year’s team made the national tournament despite a run of injuries on defense near the end of the season. Those injuries resulted in the Crimson playing Thomas Aiken, Adam Baughman and Victor Dombrovskiy in the team’s NCAA tournament loss to Boston College, a trio that played only 33 combined games last season.

Harvard’s defensive depth should be bolstered by incoming freshmen John Marino and Adam Fox. Both are NHL draft picks, with Marino being drafted in the sixth round of the NHL Draft by Edmonton in 2015, and Fox getting taken by in the third round by Calgary in June.

That duo, along with returners Wiley Sherman, Clay Anderson, and Jake Horton should give Harvard a good foundation on defense.

“We’re young at that position,” Crimson coach Ted Donato said. “We do return a lot of guys that got some valuable experience last season. It’s a tough league; there’s a lot of teams with different skills sets, whether teams are big and strong or fast and skilled. We realize that it will be a situation where we need to continue to develop through the season. But we feel we have the talent in position to make it a strength of our team.”

Junior goalie Merrick Madsen returns after taking control of the starting job early in the season ending with a .931 save percentage in 29 games. Donato said the coaching staff also has a lot of confidence in sophomore Michael Lackey, who is dealing with some health issues to start the year.

But Harvard isn’t devoid of talent up front either. Senior Alexander Kerfoot teamed with Vesey and Criscuolo to form one of the top lines in the league, while seniors Sean Malone and Tyler Malone, along with sophomore Ryan Donato are all coming off solid years.

The Crimson may not score at the same pace it did last season. But if the defense can become a strength, that may be enough to send Harvard to its third straight NCAA appearance.

Last season

19-11-4, 12-6-4 (3rd). Lost to Boston College in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Names to know

Junior goalie Merrick Madsen, senior forwards Alexander Kerfoot, Tyler Moy, and Sean Malone, sophomore forward Ryan Donato, junior defenseman Wiley Sherman, freshman defensemen Adam Fox and John Marino.

Three questions

1. How will Harvard overcome the loss of Jimmy Vesey and Kyle Criscuolo?
2. Will the Crimson be able to win an NCAA tournament game this year? Harvard had made the tournament two years in a row, but hasn’t won a game since 1994.
3. How will the defense come together? Harvard appears to have the talent to make this unit a strength of the team, something that hasn’t always been the case the last few years.

Crystal ball

Despite losing a pair of big offensive names in Vesey and Criscuolo, Harvard is once again contender in the ECAC and makes a push for a third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

Princeton

Last season

Overall record: 5-23-3
Conference record: 3-16-3 (12th)
Lost to Clarkson in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.

Names to know

Ottawa natives and former junior teammates Ryan Kuffner and Max Veronneau finished first and second, respectively, on the team in scoring. The two sophomores will have to shoulder the load again in 2016-17 if the Tigers want to improve on last season.

Three questions

1. Can the Tigers turn it around on special teams?
Last season, Princeton made good on only 11.2% of their man advantages overall. That put them dead last in the ECAC. Their penalty kill operated at 78.7 %, good for 10th in the circuit. If Princeton wants to bounce back this season it will need to improve on a lot, but special teams is a good place to start.
2. Will Colton Phinney hold up in the crease?
Despite his team’s poor season, Colton Phinney put up a .924% save percentage in 30 games last year. The senior from New Jersey has improved in each of his three years with the Tigers and if the trend continues, he could help the Tigers surprise people in ’16-17.
3. Who will help Kuffner and Veronneau in the scoring department?
Last year only one Tiger, Kuffner, scored 20 or more points on the season and only one, Veronneau, scored more than 10 goals. For the team to make noise, somebody else, perhaps Eric Robinson, will need to take some of the scoring burden from the team’s dynamic duo.

Crystal ball

The Tigers find life a little easier this year and crawl out of the cellar.

Quinnipiac

Last season

Overall record: 32-4-7
Conference record: 16-1-5 (1st)
Defeated Harvard in ECAC championship.

Names to know

Brothers Connor (D) and Tim Clifton (F) gave Quinnipiac’s national title ambitions a boost when they booked their return for their senior year.

Three questions

1. Back to the finals?
Last season Quinnipiac enjoyed its most successful season ever, winning the ECAC regular season and postseason title. They backed up their stellar conference form with a run to the NCAA Finals, which they dropped against North Dakota, 5-1. Can Quinnipiac, a program in the midst of a meteoric rise, take the final step this season?

2. How will they handle the heat?
Quinnipiac is now a known quantity on the national level, but the Bobcats have long been a force in the ECAC, having captured three regular season titles in the past four seasons. That means the 2015-16 Frozen Four runner-up will have a target on their back heading into the campaign. How will they respond?

3. Who will replace Sam Anas and Michael Garteig?
After leading the Bobcats in scoring for each of the past three seasons, Sam Anas made the jump to the NHL, signing a two-year entry-level contract with Minnesota. The first-team All-American won’t be easily replaced, but look to returning senior Tim Clifton, who had NHL deals offered to him in the offseason, to improve on his breakout season and keep the QU offense humming. Garteig handled the bulk of the playing time in the crease and his heir apparent will need to be on form from the get-go as QU faces a tough early schedule.

Crystal ball

QU struggles to replace Anas, but finds its form in time to finish second in the ECAC.

Rensselaer

Last season

Overall record: 18-15-7
Conference record: 8-7-7 (6th)
Lost to Harvard in the second round of the ECAC playoffs.

Names to know

Goaltenders Cam Hackett and Colorado College transfer and Detroit Red Wings prospect Chase Perry will give the Engineers a formidable duo in between the pipes.

Three questions

1. Will RPI roll with two goaltenders all season?
Both Perry and Hackett could start on almost any team in the ECAC, so it will be interesting to see if head coach Seth Appert commits to one for the entire season.
2. Will their scoring by committee approach work?
The Engineers will rely on depth up front rather than star power. For that style to pay dividends, all four lines will need to contribute – does RPI have that kind of depth?
3. Will Riley Bourbonnais and Kenny Gillespie take on more responsibility?
Last year Bourbonnais doubled his point production from the previous year and Gillespie tripled his, if the two of them can become the offense’s focal point this season RPI could be gate-crashers at the top of the table.

Crystal ball

RPI flies under the radar in the regular season but finds its form for the playoffs and makes a deep run in the ECAC postseason.

St. Lawrence

Last season

Overall record: 19-14-4
Conference record: 11-8-3 (4th)
Lost to Harvard in the semifinals of the ECAC playoffs.

Names to know

Last season, Gavin Bayreuther became the first defenseman in program history to lead the Saints in scoring. Las Vegas native Joe Sullivan and senior forward Drew Smolcynski will be expected to put up big numbers in the scoring department.

Three questions

1. Can Bayreuther improve even more?
The offensively gifted rearguard was named as an ECAC first-teamer last season and, should he develop his two-way style even further, could be on the NHL radar after his senior season.
2. Can they break from the pack?
Last year, not only did the Saints finish in the middle of the conference standings, but they also found themselves in the middle of the circuit in almost every statistical category.
3. Is Kyle Hayton the ECAC’s best goaltender?
The junior posted a .935 save percentage and 2.03 GAA last season, landing him as the pre-season All-ECAC first-team goaltender. If Hayton remains steady in the blue paint for the Saints, who knows how far he can carry them.

Crystal ball

Relying heavily on Bayreuther and Hayton, the Saints finish in the top-4 in the ECAC.

Union

Last season

Overall record, conference record, (standing in conference). Lost to Team X in the first round of the (conference here) playoffs.
Overall record: 13-14-9
Conference record: 6-10-6 (9th)
Lost to Cornell in the first round of the ECAC playoffs.

Names to know

Mike Vecchione, the program’s only 100-point scorer since it moved to Division I, will need to continue his outstanding production. Junior Spencer Foo finished second to Vecchione in scoring last season, could be poised for a breakout season.

Three questions

1. How will Union respond to first overall losing record (13-14-9) since 2006-07?
The Dutchmen’s struggles last year must be forgotten to get the program back on track. It will rely heavily on its top forwards, Vecchione, Foo, and sophomore Brett Supinski to put them in the conversation at the top of the conference.
2. Will experience lead to bounce-back season?
The Dutchmen are returning 10 of its top 11 scorers from last season. Will that spell success for Union? Or more of the same?
3. Can they handle a tough conference?
The ECAC is quickly becoming one of college hockey’s most competitive conferences. With the rise of Quinnipiac and the consistency from programs like Yale and Harvard, how can Union regain their form from 2014 – when they captured the NCAA title?

Crystal ball

Union relies heavily on its veterans to lead the ECAC in scoring, but its defensive issues keep the team from cracking the top five.

Yale

Last season

Overall record: 19-9-4
Conference record: 14-5-3 (2nd)
Lost to Dartmouth in the second round of the ECAC playoffs.

Names to know

Yale returns last season’s ECAC rookie of the year Joe Snively, who scored 10 goals and led the team with 28 points.

Three questions

1. Can they move past their in-state rivals?
Under head coach Keith Allain, Yale has grown into one of the nation’s most consistent programs, a run that includes the 2013 NCAA championship. Now, with Quinnipiac’s rise, Yale not only has to fight for national supremacy but also has to fight for the spotlight in the nutmeg state.
2. Who will replace Alex Lyon in the crease?
The two-time All-American goaltender signed with the Philadelphia Flyers this offseason and left the Bulldogs with some big skates to fill. The job will be up for grabs for senior Patrick Spano, sophomore Sam Tucker, or freshman Corbin Kaczperski to make their own.
3. Will the defense be able to match their ’15-16 output?
Last year, the Bulldogs rearguard unit led the nation in offense while only allowing 1.78 goals per game. Those are gawdy numbers. Will they be able to match that having lost some of their best defensemen to graduation?

Crystal ball

Despite a tough schedule, the Bulldogs are returning 70 percent of the goals scored from last Winter. Look for another top-three finish from the Bulldogs.

Dealing with departures and newcomers, who will step up in ECAC Hockey?

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March 19, 2016: Harvard Crimson goalie Merrick Madsen (31) watches puck as it approaches his glove during 2016 ECAC Tournament Championship game between Harvard University and Quinnipiac University at Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, NY. (John Crouch/J. Alexander Imaging)
Harvard goalie Merrick Madsen will need to be the backbone of the improved Crimson defense corps in 2016-17 (photo: John Crouch/J. Alexander Imaging).

Departures are inevitable in college hockey, but the top ECAC Hockey teams seemed to have been hit especially hard last offseason.

Most notable were Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey, who ended his four-year career in Cambridge by winning the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player, and Yale goalie Alex Lyon, who signed a professional contract with Philadelphia after leading the nation in goals-against-average and finishing second in save percentage.

National runner-up Quinnipiac graduated starting goalie Michael Garteig and center Travis St. Denis, and also lost forward Sam Anas and defenseman Devon Toews as early departures to professional hockey. Anas was the best offensive player on last year’s team, while Toews was one of the best all-around defenseman in the conference.

Connor and Tim Clifton decided to return for their senior years, and the Bobcats have several other promising returners as well, including sophomore defenseman Chase Priskie.

Picked first in both the preseason media and coaches polls, the Bobcats might not be the same dominant force from last season, but QU should make a push for its fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance.

Cross-town rival Yale was hit hard as well, with the early departure of Lyon accompanied by the graduation of defensemen Rob O’Gara and Ryan Obuchowski, along with forward Stu Wilson. That trio was freshmen during the Bulldogs’ national title season in 2013, and each of the three helped Yale become one of the top defensive teams in the country over the last several years.

Yale returns plenty of talent, but overcoming the loss of O’Gara, Obuchowski and Lyon will be a difficult task this year.

Harvard enters the year having made the NCAA tournament in consecutive seasons, but will be without Vesey and Kyle Criscuolo. Vesey won the Hobey Baker award as college hockey’s top player last year, the first time a player from ECAC Hockey had done so since Harvard’s Lane McDonald in 1989.

But with Merrick Madsen in goal and incoming freshmen Adam Fox and John Marino on defense, Harvard has the chance to make up for that lost offense with an improved defense.

Those losses to the league’s top teams may mean that ECAC Hockey isn’t as strong nationally, but it should make a typically competitive league schedule even closer this year.

“It’s a tough league,” Harvard coach Ted Donato said. “There are a lot of different teams in this league with different skill sets, whether teams are big and strong or fast and skilled.”

For the second straight year, the league will take part in the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Quinnipiac and St. Lawrence will take part in the event on Nov. 25 and 25 after Colgate and Brown took part in the initial event last year.

“It’s kind of a unique scenario to be doing it in season,” Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold said. “We’re looking forward to those games and having a good trip over there.”

There was also a notable coaching change as well, with St. Lawrence’s Greg Carvel leaving his alma mater for the same position at the University of Massachusetts.

That led to the return of former Clarkson coach Mark Morris to the North Country. Morris, who coached the Golden Knights from 1988 to 2003, returns to college hockey after spending the last ten years as a head coach in AHL and assistant coach in the NHL. Morris played at Colgate and then was an assistant at St. Lawrence from 1985-88. He inherits a team that may have one the best defensive groups in the league, backed by junior goalie Kyle Hayton.

The return of Morris to the North Country adds another layer to the Clarkson and St. Lawrence rivalry. Current Clarkson coach Casey Jones has one of his deepest groups since he took over at the school. If the Golden Knights can find a goalie, they could be dangerous this season.

There are rarely any positives from an injury, but when senior goalie Jason Kasdorf was hurt last year, Rensselaer got a glimpse of what Cam Hackett could do this season. The sophomore started for much of the first half after Kasdorf was injured, and RPI was 6-2-1 in those games. If the Engineers can get better defensively after a second-half slide last year and find some complementary offense, RPI could improve on last season’s sixth-place finish.

For the second year in a row, Dartmouth coach Bob Gaudet is tasked with replacing a large departing senior class. The Big Green played well in the second half last season and made it to the league semifinals thanks to some superb goaltending by the since-graduated Charles Grant.

While the Big Green rode a second-half surge to postseason success, Cornell stumbled down the stretch last season. The Big Red should be solid defensively with Mitch Gillam in goal, but will need some additional offense to improve on last year’s eighth-place finish.

Two years removed from a national title, Union has struggled to consecutive bottom-half finishes in ECAC Hockey. The Dutchmen return most of its players from last year’s team that was inconsistent at times. The pieces appear to be there for Union to improve, but it remains to be seen if it can put it all together.

Things fell apart for Colgate last season following back-to-back appearances in the league’s championship game and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2014. The Raiders simply didn’t have the depth to contend last year; many of its high-end players from last year’s roster are gone, but Colgate should be a deeper team this season.

The Raiders opened the college hockey season as well at the brand-new Class of 1965 Arena with a 2-2 tie last Saturday.

“It’s not only exciting for us, but for the league as well,” Colgate coach Don Vaughan said of the new arena. “It says that hockey is important at Colgate.”

It seems to be a repeating story for Brown: If the Bears can get some goaltending, they’ll have a chance. Injuries and defensive struggles hurt Brown last season and now it will need to replace the production from graduating seniors Nick Lappin and Mark Naclerio.

Princeton will likely finish near the bottom of the league once again, but the Tigers are trending upwards entering Ron Fogarty’s third season as coach. Colton Phinney was lost amongst the big names in goal last year in the league, but the senior enters his final year as one of the top returning goalies in the league.

Colby women tab former Dartmouth associate coach Tyng as interim coach

USCHO Staff Report
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colby_logoHolley Tyng, an associate head coach at Dartmouth and a former player at Providence, has been named interim head coach of the Colby women’s team.

“Holley brings a great deal of experience as a coach and a player at the elite level of college hockey,” Colby director of athletics Tim Wheaton said in a statement. “She brings a strong understanding of the balance of competitive hockey in an elite academic setting.”

Tyng starts at Colby immediately, and practice begins Nov. 1. The Mules open the season at home against Bowdoin on Saturday, Nov. 19.

“We have a lot of work to do between now and the start of practice and the games,” added Tyng. “It will be critical to get the team ready before we step out on the ice.”

Tyng started at Dartmouth in June 2005 as an assistant coach and was promoted to associate head coach in June 2011. She was responsible for practice and game coaching of forwards (2005-2009, 2012-2016) and defense (2009-2012) with the Big Green.

Prior to Dartmouth, Tyng was the head coach of girls hockey at Tabor Academy, her alma mater. She had a 23-10-5 record in two years.

Captain during her senior year at Providence, Tyng was a three-time ECAC All-Academic Team selection. She earned the Paul Connelly Award for distinguished sportsmanship, courage and honor in May 2001.

Daniel Webster issues statement on men’s, women’s Division III programs

USCHO Staff Report
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Daniel Webster put to rest the rumors that have been circulating recently regarding its men’s and women’s Division III teams.

A school spokesperson released this statement to USCHO.com Wednesday afternoon:

It’s unfortunate for our women’s ice hockey program being unable to play its second, and ultimately final season and despite what I’d call herculean efforts by our former coach DJ Fimiani to recruit and retain a functional roster, the numbers just weren’t there. On the men’s side, we’ve seen very minimal disruption. A few men decided to look elsewhere and that’s understandable. Coach McCambly has done a terrific job of keeping the team focused. We have nearly 50 young men trying out for the team so that goes to show that there remains a commitment to the season despite the circumstances.

Right now we are planning on fielding teams through the remainder of the academic year. It’s certainly a challenging situation, but our student-athletes and coaching staff have been terrific in accepting the situation for what it is. Our staff are all professionals and the job doesn’t change. We’re all still focused on what needs to be done for our respective teams. The goal during the teach-out, as it was explained to us, was that SNHU wanted to cause as minimal disruption as possible. President Paul LeBlanc and the SNHU team have been incredibly supportive of athletics and our student athletes. SNHU has no particular financial incentive to continue our athletics program through to May but has done so regardless for the benefit of the student-athletes.

In 2015-16, the DWC men’s team finished 3-18-1, while the women went 0-18-0.

It’s a different game for Kent at Boston College

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Kenzie Kent (BC - 12), Milica McMillen (Minnesota - 13) - The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the Boston College Eagles 3-1 to win the 2016 NCAA national championship on Sunday, March 20, 2016, at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire. (Melissa Wade)
Kenzie Kent battles,Milica McMillen in the 2016 NCAA national championship. (Melissa Wade)

Two seasons ago, Boston College lost for the first time on Feb. 10 in its 29th game. Last year, the only loss came on March 20 in the 41st game. Perhaps nothing could drive the point home as emphatically that things are different for the Eagles this time around as the fact that their initial defeat was suffered on Oct. 1 in their second contest.

Such a change was not unexpected with the graduations of Alex Carpenter and Haley Skarupa, who finished with 278 and 244 career points, respectively, the top two totals in BC history. With that senior duo spearheading the attack, BC poured in a program high of 213 goals last year.

While it remains to be seen how many times the current club finds the net, it’s a safe bet it’ll be a more modest total. Senior Andie Anastos tops this season’s squad with 104 career points, and due to an early injury, she wasn’t around by the end of Saturday’s loss.

“One of the biggest things I saw [in that loss] is how important Andie Anastos is to our team, as a captain, as a leader, as a player,” coach Katie Crowley said. “I think that took some heart and soul out of our bench for a little bit there until we really started to pick it back up in the third. You lose a kid like that who I think often gets overlooked, but she works her tail off day in and day out for us and for the Boston College jersey and for our program. For her to get hurt, it was tough for our team. I think they took a step back and said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! Now what?'”

While the Eagles were trying to answer that, Minnesota-Duluth struck early and often, and after 40 minutes the Bulldogs enjoyed a 5-0 lead. BC has grown accustomed to skating out for the third period for games where the margin was five goals or more, but it was always on the positive side of that ledger. The last time the Eagles trailed by as many as five goals was Jan. 25, 2012, in a 6-0 loss to Boston University when Carpenter was a freshman and the current seniors where juniors in high school.

“Like the coaches said, it’s a great learning experience,” forward Kenzie Kent said. “No one on this team has ever been down by that many goals. Like our [assistant] coach [Gillian Apps] said, it’s a wake-up call. Not that it’s a good thing, but we can always learn from stuff like this, and I think we will.”

Her coach also pointed to the learning aspect as a silver lining.

“I’m moving people around, because you see kids play better when they’re playing at center,” Crowley said. “You see kids play better when they’re playing at wing. That’s what you work through in this first couple weekends.”

Some of her charges are barely scratching the surface of their NCAA careers.

“I got to see a lot of really good things from our freshmen, who hadn’t seen much action,” Crowley said. “I thought in the last 10 minutes, we really started going pretty good.”

Once they got going, the Eagles broke through for a couple of goals by two of those freshmen, Delaney Belinskas and Caitrin Lonergan. For Lonergan, it was her second tally through two games at BC.

“It’s definitely a work in progress,” Kent said. “Going into this season, we knew that. It’s not going to happen overnight, so we just need to be patient. Things will definitely fall into place. We have a very, very talented team. We have a young team, but once we get them on board, we’re going to be great, I think.”

Despite being just a junior, Kent has plenty of experience when it comes to watching her college teams evolve. Once her hockey season ends in March, she puts away her skates and hockey sticks and picks up a lacrosse stick.

Being a multisport athlete in Division I was far more common a couple decades ago when Crowley was playing at Brown.

“On my team alone, I think we had five of us that were playing hockey and softball,” Crowley said. “It’s certainly changed. It’s certainly unique now. It doesn’t happen that often, but Kenzie is such a great athlete. To be able to go off a season last year of going from September to the end of March, and then to step right into a lacrosse program and take them so that they made it to the tournament, too.”

Combining the two seasons and postseasons makes for a full calendar.

“It’s like a normal D-I, one-sport athlete for the first seven months of the year, so it’s fine at that point,” Kent said. “Just getting into lacrosse, that’s when it gets more difficult for me. I get more tired and my schedule gets a little harder. It’s not too bad, it’s just that coming into my third year, it’s kind of been nonstop for three years straight, so it’s getting a little tiring.”

Anastos can relate to the demands of juggling sports, as she played both hockey and basketball before coming to BC.

“I get what she’s saying, because it is tough after a long season like that, and not finishing it the way you wanted it to go, and then being like, ‘I just need a little break and just relax a little bit,'” Anastos said. “She did a really good job of going into lacrosse and does a great job with lacrosse. She’s an unreal player.”

Crowley has also experienced having to keep training when her hockey teammates were done for the year and knows there is both a physical and mental toll.

“It’s taxing both ways,” she said. “I think for [Kent] after losing in the national championship game, it was like, ‘Let me get back out there.’ So I think that part was good for her mentally, but it’s a grueling season. I think [hockey] is the longest season in college. To be in a competitive atmosphere like she was for that long and then be able to continue to do it after that is pretty impressive.”

Kent said that while she does get tired from combining the two sports, the mental strain is more difficult.

“Last year was hard, just being so close and invested into one season and being in the national championship and then losing, changing my complete different mindset to being in the middle of a season on a different team,” she said. “It was hard, but I’m really close to the lacrosse team, so they made it really easy.”

Fostering that relationship with her lacrosse teammates takes commitment from Kent.

“Obviously, my whole mindset is on the hockey team when hockey is in session, so I don’t do anything physically, but if there is a weekend where I can hang out with the lacrosse team and go to one of their extracurricular activities, just like hang out,” Kent said. “I always try to make time for them, just so it makes it easier to jump into the season halfway through.”

With both teams traveling a fair amount, hanging out with lacrosse players isn’t always an option.

“They play fall ball, so they have something almost every weekend in the fall,” Kent said. “Then they take a couple months off and get back at it in January, so I miss a good amount.”

In today’s society, she’s found that there are ways to keep in touch.

“Like Snapchat or GroupMe, they always post pictures and keep everyone in the loop,” Kent said. “Some of my really good friends are on that team, so with the help of them, I stay connected.”

Her coaches for hockey and lacrosse also maintain a connection.

“We talk a lot just about how she’s doing,” Crowley said. “At the beginning of the year, she’s with us full time, so she doesn’t really do a lot of lacrosse until we’re done, and then her season comes up. I think the toughest part for her, like this year she tried out for the national team for lacrosse, U.S.A. national team. That took her away from things, and it’s a little bit different. Obviously, the workout is a little bit different for lacrosse than it would be for hockey, so she had to switch some things up there. But I’m never going to take that opportunity away from a kid. She’s a dynamic athlete.”

With hockey starting in September, and lacrosse lasting well into May, the national camps bring additional demands. Anyone who has worked hard for that long finds herself counting the days until the next holiday.

“I think that’s what makes everything more mentally challenging, because I get to a point where I kind of want a break academically and athletically, but it’s kind of impossible because I don’t really get a vacation-type thing,” Kent said. “Christmas break with hockey, Easter break with lacrosse — it gets hard.”

One thing that isn’t tough for Kent is deciding which set of her teammates would be at an advantage if they were to try out the other sport.

“I think the hockey team would be a better lacrosse team than lacrosse would be hockey, just because you’d have to learn how to skate, and that’s the hardest part,” she said.

The two sports require largely different talents from her.

“I would say just the quick decision-making — that’s what has helped me most with both of the sports,” Kent said. “You have to make decisions quickly and make plays quickly, so I think that’s helped a lot. I think it’s pretty much the only correlation between the two.”

Still Crowley has observed skills in Kent that she believes were honed on a lacrosse field.

“Some of the things that Kenzie does on the ice with the puck — it’s little things that you don’t necessarily see unless you’re watching her,” Crowley said. “She’ll make a behind-the-back play, or just a tip toward herself or away to somebody. She does some pretty nice things with her stick that I think certainly carry over from lacrosse.”

Kent didn’t set out to be a two-sport athlete at BC, and she was fairly far along in the recruiting process when she began to entertain the idea.

“I would say junior year when I visited BC,” Kent said. “That was not one of my goals, to play both. It just so happened that I was visiting lacrosse schools and I was visiting a couple hockey schools. Didn’t really think that I would be playing hockey, but after I met [associate head coach Courtney Kennedy] and [Crowley] and the BC hockey team, I just kind of fell in love with that. Also, the lacrosse coach Acacia Walker, she really is the only reason I can do both. She lets me come into the season halfway through and treats me like I’ve been on the team the whole year.”

Kent has excelled at both sports. Of the current hockey players, she is second to Anastos in career points, and she ranked fifth in lacrosse points in 2016 with only 10 games played. With fledgling professional leagues in both sports, could another double be in Kent’s future some day?

“Maybe,” she said. “That’d be fun.”

For now, there is other fun in Kent’s future.

“That second half of the season is always fun; we call it Trophy Season,” Anastos said. “We have the Beanpot and then Hockey East, and then you have NCAAs. That time of year is always so much fun. Everyone is clicking. Everyone knows the systems that we’re playing in a game.”

As last weekend displayed, the Eagles aren’t yet in that form.

“This time of year is obviously harder,” Anastos said. “This year we have more freshmen, so coming in, they have to adjust to the way we play hockey and Boston College hockey. It is difficult to come in and not just play like how you were playing at that level last year, because you have to move together, and you play with different people now. It’s tricky, but it’s also fun. You get to see who you play well with. Like I get to play with Kenzie now, and it’s awesome.”

Although seven rookies are figuring things out at this level, there are mentors available.

“We still have a lot of experience on our team,” Anastos said. “We still have players who have been in those positions and played in those big games. That’s a big deal. Like Makenna [Newkirk] was a freshman last year, and she scored that goal in the final game of the Frozen Four. Now, she’s older. We expect more from her now as a sophomore.”

As the captain, the demands she’s placing on her teammates are simple.

“Right now, we just want everyone to work as hard as they can,” Anastos said. “I know that this is my last year. I want everyone giving it their all like I did my past three years giving it my all for all the seniors that I knew it was their last year. That’s all I’m asking for, is everyone to work as hard as they can and show up and be ready to go for every practice and every game.”

Optimism a shared trait amongst all Big Ten teams

By Drew Claussen & Paula C. Weston
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Nick Schilkey (37 - Ohio State) (Omar Phillips)
Ohio State senior Nick Schilkey has the ability to take over games for the Buckeyes (photo: Omar Phillips).

As the Big Ten teams enter the 2016-17 campaign, each club has strong assets returning, but question marks as well.

Here are the six team capsules, in alphabetical order:

Michigan

Last season

25-8-5, 12-5-3-2 Big Ten (second)
Lost to North Dakota in the deciding game of the 2016 Midwest Regional.

Names to know

One of the more interesting things about this year’s Wolverines is that only one player, junior forward Alex Kile, was named in preseason by the Big Ten coaches as a Michigan player to watch. Kile had 16 goals last year and is one of three returning Wolverines who netted 10 or more last season, but clearly Michigan’s offense is considered a wild card in the upcoming campaign.

“We’re in another beginning of a year with a lot of question marks,” said coach Red Berenson. “Mostly this year, it’s offense. We’re trying to refigure our forwards and our power play and so on.”

The Wolverines were led last season by one of the most dynamic lines in college hockey, that of freshman Kyle Connor and juniors TJ Compher and Tyler Motte, a trio responsible for 83 of Michigan’s 107 overall goals. All three opted for professional careers at the end of the 2015-2016 season.

Two returning forwards to watch are sophomore Cooper Marody and junior Tony Calderone. One freshman forward who may be an impact player is Will Lockwood, a native of nearby Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and an alum of the U.S. National Team Development Program. Berenson said that Lockwood has “looked good in the brief showings” of preseason practice.

Another freshman to watch, said Berenson, is defenseman Luke Martin, another player from the NTDP.

“He’s a good sized defenseman,” said Berenson. “He moves the puck well. He seems to have a good head for the game. He plays with an edge. He’s a top student. He’s a terrific kid. He’s just a good fit for Michigan.”

Berenson cautioned, though, that this year’s 11-member Michigan freshman class may need time to develop. “In terms of the freshman class, I don’t know if we have the impact players that we’ve had in the last couple of years.”

Three questions

1. Can the Wolverines reload offensively following the departure of Connor, Compher and Motte? That is the most obvious question to ask, especially with the addition of five new forwards. The question of offense extends to special teams as well.

Berenson said that he’s looking for Kile to play on Michigan’s top line.

“Then,” he added, “it’s going to be a little bit of offense by committee after that.”

2. While the most obvious question is about offense, the biggest question is one that has been dogging the Wolverines for several seasons: What about goaltending? By the end of last season, Steve Racine looked very good in net for Michigan, but Racine was a senior and is gone. Michigan returns senior Zach Nagelvoort and sophomore Chad Catt and brings in two rookies, Jack LaFontaine and Hayden Lavigne.

“Nagelvoort’s our most experienced and he’ll get a chance to start early and show where he is,” said Berenson. “If his game is in place, then he’ll be a good starting goalie, but Lavigne will be pushing him and young Jack Lafontaine will be pushing the two of them.”

3. And what about the 11 new faces?

“We’re optimistic,” said Berenson. “We’ve got a good group, a big freshman class. They bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Crystal ball

The Wolverines were picked third in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll, and Berenson said that the placement is a fair assessment. Berenson is confident in the defensive depth of the team, and there are questions about offense and the newcomers, so third is probably a solid bet – but never discount the Berenson effect, the ability of Michigan to reload and challenge for a title.

Michigan State

Last season

10-23-4, 6-12-2-1 Big Ten (fifth)
Lost to Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten championship tournament.

Names to know

The Spartans are another team with just one name on the Big Ten preseason watch list, sophomore forward Mason Appleton, who had five goals and 17 assists in 37 games last season. Given that Michigan State averaged 2.51 goals per game in 2015-2016 (37th) and allowed 3.35 (49th) combined with a 10-member freshman class, it’s not surprising that little is expected of the Spartans this season, but there are returning players that should not be underestimated.

Two veteran forwards who are poised to have solid seasons are seniors Joe Cox and Villiam Haag. Cox, the captain, had a bit of a breakout junior year, increasing his goal production from five his sophomore year to 11. Haag has yet to reach his potential, but he is a natural goal scorer and had four on the power play last season.

One name that is generating excitement in East Lansing is sophomore defenseman Jerad Rosburg, who sat out most of last season with an injury.

“Rosburg, in the preseason stuff which is very limited, looks real good,” said coach Tom Anastos. “He hasn’t played hockey competitively in quite some time because of that injury.”

Anastos is optimistic about improving Michigan State’s overall team defense. With the loss of Rosburg last year and the early departure of blueliner Josh Jacobs, Anastos said, “Our numbers were down. That put a lot of stress on our defense.

“I think we have some depth back there. We’ve got a little bit different skillset, too. Zach Osburn had a good freshman year and I think that experience will really help, but right now we have eight guys competing for time which we weren’t even close to that last year.”

In fact, Anastos views the entire 2016-2017 season more as an opportunity than a challenge.

“We’re going through a period of turnover, player-wise, and coming off a very difficult season last season,” said Anastos. “There’s a lot of opportunity for guys to establish themselves, both returning veteran players in all positions, whether it’s forward, defense, and certainly in goal.”

Three questions

1. Who will emerge as the starting goaltender? That is the biggest question after the departure of senior Jake Hildebrand. Sophomore Ed Minney returns and two freshmen, John Lethemon and Spencer Wright, put up good numbers in junior hockey.

2. Can the Spartans improve their overall team defense? Anastos called defense “a real challenge for us as a team” in 2015-2016. “Our goals-against average really shot up last year and we just can’t give up that many goals.” With four freshman on the blue line and two rookies in net, defense may be a challenge again this season.

3. Will Michigan State find the identity it seeks? While the Spartans played hard last season, they often seemed hampered by a lack of overall cohesion, and Anastos has said that the team’s identity never really emerged last year. With the turnover and newcomers this season, said Anastos, “We’re going to have to show some patience.”

Crystal ball

Michigan State is picked last in the Big Ten for a reason – not because of any lack of respect, but because of last year’s overall performance and the sheer amount of uncertainty that faces the team this season. The Spartans may finish in the middle of the pack, but it’s likely they’ll be near the bottom, as the coaches predict.

Minnesota

Last season

20-17-0, 14-6-0, (First in Big Ten). Lost to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament final.

Names to know

Justin Kloos will serve as Minnesota’s captain for the second year. He had 16 goals and 27 assists last year. Junior Leon Bristedt enjoyed a breakout season during his sophomore campaign, tying Hudson Fasching with a team-leading 20 goals. Eric Schierhorn started every game for the Gophers last year and finished his freshman season with a 2.69 GAA.

Three questions

1. After dropping its first three games last year, can the Gophers be strong out of the gate this year despite a typically-tough trip to Alaska at start the season?
2. Can the Gophers fare better against the in-state rivals?
3. Will Don Lucia sign a contract extension and how many more seasons does he have left at the helm?

Crystal ball

Minnesota will have a slow start, similar to last season, but will rebound by the time conference games roll around in December and take its fourth Big Ten regular-season crown.

Ohio State

Last season

14-18-4, 8-8-4-1 Big Ten (fourth)
Lost to Minnesota in the semifinals of the Big Ten championship tournament.

Names to know

The reason the Buckeyes are picked to finish second in the Big Ten is because Ohio State returns an experienced team, one that improved significantly in the second half of 2015-2016. For Ohio State, senior leadership starts in net with Christian Frey and Matt Tomkins, and a third senior. Logan Davis, who pushes his classmates.

“We’ve got three seniors, two seniors that have played an awful lot of games and kind of have split ever since they’ve been here,” said coach Steve Rohlik. “I’ve got two quality guys. I’d love to have two guys go out there and both compete to win games until one guy says, ‘Hey, this is my job.’ I expect both guys to play well and I expect both guys to be in competition to play games.”

Additionally, the Buckeyes return all but one of their double-digit goal scorers from a year ago, including senior forward Nick Schilkey, who registered nine goals last season. Schilkey brings much more than scoring to Ohio State’s roster. Rohlik calls Schilkey a leader that is “off the charts.”

“What he brings every day – on the ice, off the ice, 4.0 student, what he does in the classroom, his community service – those are the guys you dream about having in your locker room,” said Rohlik. “I’m just lucky enough to have had the chance to coach him for four years.”

Two more forwards to watch include sophomore Mason Jobst, who netted 12 goals and 18 assists last season, and senior David Gust, who improved from three goals his sophomore year to 11 in 2015-2016.

“The guys that are coming back, we need them all to be better,” said Rohlik. “We don’t need everybody to come back and just be status quo. That’s going to be the focus right now – everybody’s got to be better if we want to be better.”

Three questions

1. Will the Buckeyes be able to capitalize on the momentum that they built in the second half of last season? Ohio State lost a lot of close games in the first half of last year and learned how to win some in the second.

“I think that’s the biggest thing,” said Rohlik, “to approach games like that to go out there and have expectations and knowing that every game’s going to be tough but expect to win.”

2. As experienced as the Buckeyes are in net, can they perform at a better level, more consistently? As Rohlik said, this isn’t a team that can come back and expect to perform at last year’s status quo to succeed.

3. Will the Buckeyes be able to shore up an overall team defense that allowed 3.47 goals per game last year, a defense that was 53rd-best in the country? Only two of their defenders are newcomers, and senior Josh Healey is certainly one of the best in the Big Ten.

Crystal ball

It’s strange to think of Ohio State as a team contending for the Big Ten title, but if the Buckeyes can capitalize on their second-half momentum from last season and rely on their talented veteran team – and if they can remain healthy – they’ll finish no lower than third and may snag a title.

Penn State

Last season

21-13-4, 10-9-1-1 Big Ten (third)
Lost to Michigan in the semifinals of the Big Ten championship tournament.

Names to know

The Nittany Lions graduated their first senior class at the end of 2015-2016, so adjustments to the roster will be made this year.

“For us, obviously, there are going to be a lot of changes at every position,” said coach Guy Gadowsky. “It’s going to be interesting for us as coaches to watch, to see how our identity is going to comes about. Three new defensemen, seven new forwards, and we don’t yet have a goaltender that’s started a Division I game.”

There are 10 freshmen on the Penn State squad, and there’s some buzz about Russian forward Nikita Pavlychev – mostly because he stands 6-foot-7. Gadowsky said that all of the newcomers were recruited for assets that will help the Nittany Lions be more competitive in league play.

“Looking at the Big Ten and how fast these teams are and how skilled these teams are, that’s an area that we had to catch up in,” Gadowsky noted.

Another freshman that may make an impact is goaltender Peyton Jones, who put up good numbers in the USHL. Goal is a position that is wide open for the Nittany Lions, after the graduation of Matthew Skoff and early departure of Eamon McAdam. Junior Matt Erlichman moves from the Penn State club team to D-I, and the Nittany Lions return sophomore Chris Funkey.

That said, Gadowsky doesn’t have a starter in mind.

“We’re optimistic that whatever route happens, we’re going to be fine, but we’re going to wait to see what happens rather than have a committed plan going into it,” said Gadowsky.

Gadowsky added that Penn State is looking for leadership from seniors David Goodwin and Ricky DeRosa and junior James Robinson, all forwards. Goodwin is the leading returning scorer, but sophomore Andrew Sturtz led the Nittany Lions in goal scoring last year with 18. DeRosa only had six goals last year, but four of them were game winners.

Three questions

1. Who will emerge as the go-to goalie for the Nittany Lions? Or will Penn State be able to find a due consistent enough to split time in net? Goaltending was a strength for the team last year – steady goaltending, that is.

Said Gadowsky: “We’re just going to see how it develops.”

2. How will having such a large rookie class impact the team, especially since the program itself is so young? That is something that will be interesting to watch and, predictably, Gadowsky is optimistic.

“I think if we’re successful, it’s going to be because we have a lot of freshmen excited energy and that energy proves to be productive,” said Gadowsky. “I know that it can go one way or another, but if we’re successful, that excited, new energy that we have is going to be funneled in a productive way.”

3. After posting their best season in their short program’s history, will the Nittany Lions be able to capitalize on that momentum and continue to progress?

“You can only look at where we were for last year from the finishing of last year, and everybody around here is thrilled,” said Gadowsky. “The wins that we had against programs that were able to [beat] was beyond what we expected at this point. That being said, this is a new year.”

Crystal ball

The Nittany Lions were picked to finish fourth in the conference for a number of reasons: player turnover, the relative newness of the program itself, and the expectations of more established programs like Minnesota and Michigan. Of all the teams in the Big Ten, Penn State is the one that may finish anywhere from second to last. There are a lot of questions marks, but the Nittany Lions will likely finish right in the middle of things.

Wisconsin

Last season

8-19-8, 3-14-4, (Sixth in Big Ten). Lost to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

Names to know

Forward Grant Besse led the team in scoring with 11 goals and 22 assists. Luke Kunin was one point behind Besse and led the Badgers in goals scored with 19. Matt Jurusik showed some prowess in net during his freshman season, but a less than stellar defense in front of him led to an 8-16-7 record and 3.46 GAA.

Three questions

1. Can Tony Granato rid the Badgers of their losing culture that has been hanging around Madison for the past couple seasons?
2. Will a new coach help raise Wisconsin’s attendance at Kohl Center from its noticeably lackluster number last year?
3. Can Granato, and his assistants Don Granato and Mark Osiecki, turn around the Badgers’ defense that was ranked 55th in the nation last season?

Crystal ball

The Badgers won’t finish last in the conference this season. Sadly, for Wisconsin fans, that’s a bold proclamation in itself. With a new coaching staff, returning players in key positions and conference opponents losing a lot of scoring the Badgers will make a push for the third spot in the conference, but will more than likely find themselves fourth or fifth.

Big Ten again looks wide-open with 2016-17 season on tap

By
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11 Mar 16: Luke Kunin (Wisconsin - 9). The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers host the University of Wisconsin Badgers in a B1G Conference matchup at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, MN (Jim Rosvold/University of Minnesota)
Luke Kunin, just a sophomore, will captain Wisconsin this season under new head coach Tony Granato (photo: Jim Rosvold/University of Minnesota).

Going into year four of the Big Ten, Minnesota is once again picked to be atop of the standings, but that’s about the only thing that has been consistent over the four seasons the conference has been in existence.

Well, kind of.

Aside from the inaugural season where the Gophers and Wisconsin made the NCAA tournament, the Big Ten has been a one-bid conference the past two seasons. Chances of at-large bids have been scarce as the six Big Ten teams have struggled against nonconference opponents.

A low RPI has not been due to a lack of trying, however.

Michigan State coach Tom Anastos said that scheduling difficult opponents is a priority and is a benefit both to his team and the conference as a whole.

“It’s always a priority given the structure of our system – we’re kind of married to each other,” said Anastos. “Your nonconference [schedule] is critically important. We’re always looking to create as difficult of schedule as we can, [but] it’s hard to predict that two and three years away.”

Anastos succeed at creating a difficult schedule. The Spartans, who were picked last in the preseason coaches’ poll, play Denver, Michigan Tech and North Dakota before the holiday break.

Minnesota was picked first for a reason; the Gophers return the most experienced squad in the conference without question. According to coach Don Lucia, however, experience doesn’t necessarily equal wins.

“The real key for us this year is did some of the returning players take a step?” he said. “You hope your seniors have good years. I’ve always been a believer that seniors tend to either have really good years or maybe struggle worrying about what’s going to happen next in their careers.”

Ohio State, which was predicted second behind the Gophers, will also try to remedy its nonconference woes. More specifically, the Buckeyes will try and be better out of the gate. Slow starts have plagued the team the past couple season and made postseason life difficult for OSU, despite the fact that Steve Rohlik’s squad played very well during the second half of the season.

“We want to get off to a good start, there’s no question,” Rohlik said. “When you look at the schedule and teams we play and everybody across college hockey, the parity is so close.

“Certainly, you want to play your best hockey at the end of the year, but if we can get some wins in that start and try to get stretch run earlier than January, it would sure be nice.”

Rohlik said the Buckeyes were able to keep games close during the first half last season, but that just resulted in close losses. He said that the team developed a new attitude at the Florida College Classic. Ohio State downed Boston College and Cornell at that tournament.

The Gophers won the Big Ten regular-season title by one point last year, but it’s easy to argue that Michigan was the class of the conference. The Wolverines had a potent offense, but their defense was a liability all season long.

The Wolverines picked third in the preseason poll, and coach Red Berenson said he doesn’t plan to use that as bulletin board material.

“I think we were picked fairly,” Berenson said. “There’s question marks surrounding our momentum going into the season. In terms of the freshman class, I don’t know if we have the impact players that we’ve had the past couple years.”

Impact freshmen were something everyone was getting used to at Michigan with Kyle Connor last season and Dylan Larkin the year before that. Connor left early, along with his linemates Tyler Motte and JT Compher. Defenseman Zach Werenski and Michael Downing also turned pro.

“I expected that we would lose a couple players,” Berenson said. “We didn’t think that we would lose five.”

One bright spot from the Big Ten’s first three seasons has been Penn State, the program that was new to college hockey when the conference came into existence. The Nittany Lions have gone from eight wins in 2013-14, to 18 in 2014-15 and 21 last season.

Coming into its fifth season at the Division I level, PSU coach Guy Gadowsky experienced a lot of turnover as his first group of freshman graduated after last season, but he said that spirits are still sky high at Penn State.

“Everyone around here is thrilled,” said Gadowsky. “The wins that we had [last season] against the programs that we were able to do it [against] was beyond what we expected at this point.”

The final talking point for the Big Ten this season is Wisconsin and its new head coach Tony Granato. The Badgers may have only 12 combined wins over the last two seasons, but they won’t get any sympathy from the new bench boss.

“These guys have gone through some experiences that they either learn from and get better from or they stay in the same mode and feel sorry for themselves,” Granato said. “I think we’ve chosen the positive one of learning from what happened and we’ve become better because of it.”

Granato believes he took over a skilled team that has underachieved in the past. He mentioned the words “skilled” and “confidence” multiple times, saying there has already been “enough positive things” happening around the program to help start raising morale.

United Collegiate Hockey Conference to join men’s, women’s D-III ranks in 2017-18

USCHO Staff Report
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uchcBeginning with the 2017-18 season, the United Collegiate Hockey Conference, a men’s and women’s league comprised of NCAA Division III institutions, will begin play.

The structure includes ten men’s and women’s teams from Chatham, Elmira, Hobart, King’s, Lebanon Valley, Manhattanville, Neumann, Stevenson, Utica and William Smith. The conference also includes the Nazareth men’s team and will welcome Wilkes men’s and women’s teams in 2018-19. Wilkes will play an abbreviated conference schedule in 2017-18.

“We are pleased to announce the formation of the United Collegiate Hockey Conference,” said Nazareth College and UCHC president Daan Braveman in a statement. “We have a tremendous grouping of academic and athletic institutions, and this will be an exciting time for our student-athletes and member institutions.”

Patricia Thompson, VP of athletics at Elmira, will serve as the VP of the UCHC and chair of the director of athletics committee.

“Establishing a new conference was a collaborative effort on the part of all of our members,” stated Thompson. “Under the leadership of our commissioner, Chuck Mitrano, we were able to move our aspirations to reality. The opportunity to incorporate our men’s and women’s programs in the same hockey conference, the infusion of new programs along with our shared commitment to provide a quality student-athlete experience were the underpinnings for creating our new and exciting UCHC alliance.”

Mitrano, currently the Empire 8 commissioner, has 22 years of experience in collegiate athletics and is in his 15th year as Empire 8 commissioner.

“I’m honored to serve as the inaugural commissioner of the UCHC,” added Mitrano. “We have an exceptional group of institutions that will make UCHC a highly respected structure in the landscape of ice hockey. We are excited to enhance the experience for our student-athletes while representing the very best values of ice hockey.”

Top to bottom, Atlantic Hockey standings may be a roll of the dice

By Chris Lerch & Dan Rubin
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Paul Berrafato (36 - Holy Cross) makes a save in overtime as Josh Mitchell (25 - RIT) looks for a rebound (Omar Phillips)
Paul Berrafato makes a save for Holy Cross last season against RIT. Berrafato could be a game-changer for Holy Cross this season, especially in AHC contests (photo: Omar Phillips).

It’s only early October, but the Atlantic Hockey schools are already planning to still be playing meaningful games next spring.

Here are the AHC team capsules in predicted order of finish:

1. Rochester Institute of Technology

Last Season

18-15-6, 14-9-5 (fifth) in the Atlantic Hockey. Won playoff title and lost to Quinnipiac in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Names to know

Twin defensemen Chase and Brady Norrish enter their junior campaigns as co-captains along classmate Myles Powell. Chase Norrish was named AHC Defenseman of the year last season and Brady Norrish has been All-League his first two seasons.

Powell is the highest returning scorer, racking up 32 points including 15 goals last season. He was named MVP of the 2016 Atlantic Hockey Tournament.

Sophomores Gabe Valenzuela (28 points) and Liam Kerins (22) look to build on prolific rookie seasons while Mike Rotolo (.907 save percentage, 2.71 GAA) returns in net for his senior season.

Three questions

1. On paper, this team may be even stronger than last season. But is it enough to three-peat?
2. The Tigers’ primary loss to graduation was leadership. Who will step up?
3. RIT will be the hunted and not the hunter for the second consecutive season. If winning two consecutive championships is difficult, can the Tigers stay in the mix to with challenge for a third?

Crystal Ball

RIT coach Wayne Wilson has had his share of success in his 18 seasons at the school, the most recent examples are consecutive Atlantic Hockey playoff titles.

He says while every championship is different, there’s a common characteristic: chemistry.

“The last two years, they were great team to be around,” Wilson said. “Really enjoyable to coach. No egos. We lost good people, on the ice and in locker room.”

Wilson will look to a new group for leadership, three junior captains (twin defensemen Chace and Brady Norrish and forward Myles Powell) and six seniors going for a third and final ring.

The Tigers are picked to finish first in the preseason coaches poll, but Wilson knows that even a regular season title doesn’t guarantee a spot in the NCAA tournament. Only once has an AHC team managed an at-large bid to the Big Dance. The Tigers came from third place in 2015 and fifth place last season to win the playoff title.

“I think a regular season title should be rewarded more, but for our league, you have to win your playoffs,” he said. “But we have a long regular season (28 games) and that does allow you to experiment with different lineups and systems.

“But from mid-January on everyone’s watching the standings and try to play their best hockey at the end of the season.”

2. Air Force

Last Season

20-12-5, 16-7-5 (second) in the AHC. Lost to Rochester Institute of Technology in the league semifinals.

Names to know

Last season, the young Falcons rode rookie goaltender Shane Starrett to a second-place finish. Starrett (.924 save percentage, 1.92 GAA) was both the all-conference first-team goalie as well as the league’s all-rookie netminder.

Up front, the Falcons return four of their four top scorers, a quartet of juniors that include leading-scorer Tyler Ledford (27 points) and Ben Kucera, who had a team-leading 15 goals last season.

Senior co-captain Johnny Hrabovsky was a second-team AHC all-star last season on defense.

A large freshman class includes defenseman Vince Renda, a Montreal native, the first Air Force player with dual citizenship since 2003.

Three questions

1. The Falcons will again be young, adding nine freshman due to the graduation of four seniors and the loss of five additional players who left the program. Can they mature quickly like they did last season?
2. Sometimes young teams overachieve and then come back to earth the following season. Can Air Force avoid a sophomore slump? As Falcons coach Frank Serratore is fond of saying, “Once is luck, but twice is skill.”
3. Last season was a tale of two special teams. Air Force’s penalty kill was best in the league but its power play was only tenth.

Crystal ball

Last season was one of coach Frank Serratore’s favorites of his 20 year career behind the Falcons’ bench. Picked to finish eighth, a Falcons team that had 12rookies and no goalies that with any college hockey experience flirted with first place late in the season and ended up second, losing in the playoff semifinals.

“It was the most enjoyment coaching I’ve had in my career,” said Serratore.

The big question is whether his team can recapture that magic. Serratore thinks they’re on their way to do it.

“If there are 10 steps in becoming a great team, last year at the start of the season, we were at step one,” he said. “Right now we’re at step seven. We are probably the deepest team we’ve had here. There’s only three seniors but we’re five lines deep and have eight defenseman and two goalies that can play every night.”

Expect the Falcons to again be in the hunt for first place. Anything less than a playoff bye will be a disappointment.

3. Mercyhurst

Last Season

17-15-4, 15-9-4 (fourth) in the AHC. Lost to Rochester Institute of Technology in the conference quarterfinals.

Names to know

The Lakers return eight of their top nine scorers, including defenseman Lester Lancaster,who tallied 29 points, second on the team last season. Lancaster was named the 2016 Rookie of the Year in Atlantic Hockey.

Classmate Derek Barach led the team last season with 32 points, while junior Jonathan Charbonneau has 23 goals in two season, including a team-best 16 last season. Red-shirt junior Jack Riley (28 points last season) welcomes younger brother Brendan to the squad — their dad Brian Riley is the coach at Army West Point.

Goaltender Adam Carlson was one-and-done in Erie, turning an impressive rookie season into a pro contract in the Washington Capitals organization. Junior Brandon Wildung (2.10 GAA, .913 save percentage) split time in net with Carlson last season, and will be called on to lead the charge in net.

Three questions

1. Mercyhurst is in the mix for a championship every year but has not won a playoff title since 2005. Will this be their year?
2. Wildung had a great rookie season, but lost the starting job to Carlson last season. Can he rebound?
3. With just three seniors, do the Lakers have the leadership to win it all?

Crystal Ball

Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin, who earned his 500th victory last season and begins his 29th winter in Erie has seen it all, and hope that this coming campaign will work out the way so many others have, despite having a young team.

“Our goal is to get better every week and by Christmas, be playing pretty good hockey,” he said. “That’s what happened last season as our freshman got up to speed.

“Last year in the second half, there were points where we were playing great. But then we had some injuries. You never know when the injury bug is going to hit and unfortunately for us, it was at the end of the season.”

If the Lakers can stay healthy and continue to mature, they’ll be a team to be reckoned with come February.

4. Holy Cross

Last season

18-13-5 overall, 16-7-5 Atlantic Hockey (tied for second in conference). Lost to Army West Point in quarterfinals of Atlantic Hockey playoffs

Names to Know

Paul Berrafato entered the season competing for playing time in the Holy Cross net. By the end of the season, he was arguably the best Atlantic Hockey goalie. He won 17 games with a 2.17 GAA and a .917 save percentage. In league play, his GAA dropped to 1.98, while his save percentage rose to .925 with three shutouts.

Of the team’s top seven scorers, six return, including T..J Moore, Mike Barrett, Scott Pooley, Michael Laffin, Ryan Ferrill and Danny Lopez. All of them posted 20-point seasons a year ago, with all but Laffin scoring 10 goals in the process.

Three Questions

1. It’s been five years since the Crusaders went to Rochester. Is this “the year,” and are they headed there as the league’s top seed?
2. Who steps to the front of the line to keep the standard of defensive excellence rolling?
3. Can the offense produce a unit just as balanced as last season?

Crystal Ball

Following the departure of goalie Matt Ginn, nobody really knew what to think of Holy Cross last season. Some preseason polls had them in the middle of the league, some had them in the bottom of the league. Coming off of a sixth place finish, nobody, it seemed, picked them to be an overly competitive team.

So naturally they responded in a typical Holy Cross way by finishing in third place.

This year, things are different; picked third in the Atlantic Hockey coaches’ poll, earning one first place vote, they’re quickly gaining traction as one of the best teams in the conference, even though it’s not on the team’s radar.

“Preseason polls are preseason polls,” said coach David Berard. “We don’t pay attention to them when we’re picked low, and we definitely don’t pay attention to them when we’re higher. All we can try to do is focus on our development and work on taking another step. We took a big step last year, but we have to focus on trying to continue to get better.”

Like so many other teams in the league, the Crusaders return the majority of their core, including virtually their entire offense. But the most popular name will be Berrafato, the junior goalie who stepped to the forefront and quickly made the crease his after the departure of all-time great Matt Ginn. The only team to allow less than 60 goals in league play last year, a step forward could mean opponents simply need to save the puck if they actually score.

“Paul is very coachable in that he always takes to working on everything,” said Berard. “He is capable of giving up a goal and putting one aside, and he can do it with a good goal where’s he’s beaten by a very good shot. He’s mentally able to keep in the game at all times, even when we have a defense that limits shots, and he’s capable of making a large number of saves when they start piling up. He always seems to make the big save when you ask him to. But at the same time, that was last year, so we’re looking for him to make another step forward, as we are with everyone, since it’s a blank slate.”

Despite the elevated expectations, Holy Cross still feels like an under the radar type of program. With the explosion of facilities enhancements and changes across Atlantic Hockey’s eastern pod, it’s easy to forget how the Crusaders started it first in maybe the most subtle manner.

“The majority of the renovations at the Hart Center left the bulk of the rink the same,” said Berard, “but there are a number of little changes that will make a difference. There’s a new dehumidifer unit that will make for better ice, for example, and there are new offices for the coaches. The biggest change is going to be the new weight room for training and rehab. It will have a resounding impact on our student-athletes.”

For a school like Holy Cross, subtle change is sometimes the best kind. Where there are more dramatic and radical changes, it’s the little things that matter. For the upcoming season, those little things could add up and lead the team straight to a league championship.

5. Army West Point

Last season

14-15-9 overall, 8-11-9 Atlantic Hockey (sixth in conference). Lost to Robert Morris in the semifinals of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs.

Names to Know

For the first time in recent memory, the Black Knights are reloaded, not rebuilt. Juniors Conor Andrle and Tyler Pham (or “cows” as third years are known at the academy) bring back 56 points from a year, and sophomore (or “yearling”) Trevor Fidler will look to build on his 28-point rookie season.

Veteran firsties Ryan Nick and Clint Carlisle each had seven goals last year, but Nick did it from the blue line as a defenseman. They’ll form the most experienced core for the team with fellow senior Parker Gahagen, who comes back after a massive 34-game season. Last year, Gahagen set a single-season program record for save percentage at .937, recording the second-best goals against average in West Point history (2.01).

Three Questions

1. One of Atlantic Hockey most pleasant surprises last year, they won’t sneak up on anyone this year. Can they rise to the elevated level of current expectations?
2. Parker Gahagen’s historic season last year left us all wanting more. Can he join the ranks of Atlantic Hockey’s all-time best with a follow-up encore?
3. Having not beaten Air Force since January 15, 2011, the two branches of the military meet four times this year, including twice in West Point. Is this the year the Army finally gets bragging rights in the Pentagon?

Crystal Ball

Last season, Cinderella turned in her glass slipper for a pair of combat boots. Ripping through the league in the season’s second half, they turned a preseason 10th place prediction into a sixth place finish. In the postseason, they blew through the first two rounds with three shutouts, then pushed league favorite Robert Morris to overtime before losing in the semifinals in their first trip to Rochester since 2008.

With the entire core coming back, West Point is in a completely different position entering this season; the preseason coaches poll has them tied for fourth with Mercyhurst.

“It’s been a process for us,” said head coach Brian Riley. “We started rebuilding two years ago, and we brought in an incredibly strong couple of recruiting classes. When you consider the guys we already had in the program, we really started to move in the right direction as a team, and you saw the results starting last year. As a coach, you always have expectations for your team, but now everyone has those expectations for us. Now it’s up to us to go out and prove that we’re up to those expectations.”

Putting together a rebuilding effort in college hockey is hard enough, but to do it at as tough of a school as West Point is even more impressive. It’s something the Black Knights have been able to do, largely thanks to the men behind the man. “(Assistant coaches) Zack McKelvie and Eric Lang both did an absolutely great job,” said Riley. “With Eric departing (for AIC), we brought in Chris McKelvie (Zack’s brother), who we think is really going to be a great college coach. We’ve already seen that we’re not going to miss a beat.”

For Army, the ceiling for this season is virtually limitless, as long as the team can take the next step. They return their entire offense, their entire defense, and one of the best goalies in college hockey. “You can’t teach experience, and it’s a huge strength,” said Riley. “We have a lot of guys with a lot of minutes, and we have to make sure that we get to use that experience to take the next step. We have to make sure it continues to grow. You can already see it; where we used to go into the season hoping to win, it’s a different attitude. Now we’re in a position where we expect to win.”

6. Robert Morris

Last Season

24-11-4, 18-6-4 (first) in the AHC. Lost to Rochester Institute of Technology in the conference finals.

Names to know

Senior defenseman Rob Mann will captain the Colonials this season. RMU’s leading returning scorer is junior Brady Ferguson, who had 34 points including 13 goals last season. Senior Daniel Levins’ 18 goals were fourth on the team last season, behind three graduating seniors.

Senior goaltender Dalton Izyk has platooned with the now-graduated Terry Shafer for the past two seasons, so expect him to be the main man in net.

The large freshman class includes Luke Lynch, who has some big shoes (skates) to fill. His older brother Zac finished up his college career at Robert Morris last season as the school’s leading all-time scorer (156 points). Luke Lynch led Johnstown (NAHL) in scoring last season with 29 goals in 57 games.

Three questions

1. How will the Colonials cope with the loss of six all-league players and nine overall?
2. How will Izyk fare as the main starter in net?
3. With 10 freshman on the roster, will it feel like four years ago, or will the success over the past three years bring a different outlook?

Crystal Ball

After consecutive 24-win seasons, the Robert Morris Colonials have a different kind of challenge ahead. Consecutive graduating classes have removed pieces of the puzzle that saw things come together for regular season and playoff titles, and a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2014.

Is this season a classic rebuilding project or has a winning tradition made it something different?

“We’ve established a winning culture and our goal is to build a new team chemistry,” said Coach Derek Schooley. “I don’t think there’s a player here that doesn’t think we can have success despite the players we graduated. There’s still a lot left on the shelf.”

That include Izyk, who is 25-8-1 through three seasons with a 2.86 GAA and a .915 save percentage.

“He deserves the first opportunity,” said Schooley. “He gets to have the first shot as the guy to carry the mail. He’s been all-league and all-tournament for us.”

Being picked to finish right in the middle (sixth) of the league’s standings in the coaches preseason poll may indicate the uncertainty that lies ahead. But Schooley says RMU brings back a solid group with the experience gained by being in and winning games with championships on the line.

“We have guys we need to step up,” said Schooley. “There’s a winning tradition here and we need to prove that we still have that.”

7. Sacred Heart

Last season

13-20-4 overall, 10-15-3 Atlantic Hockey (ninth in conference). Lost to Bentley in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs

Names to Know

There’s a deep, talented senior class ready to go in Fairfield, led by Justin Danforth and Evan Jasper. Last year, Danforth became the Pioneers’ first 20-goal scorer in five years en route to a 41-point season. Jasper piled up 33 points, meanwhile, with all but five coming in AHC play. Jordan Minello rounds out the group after scoring 10 goals and 23 points in his junior campaign.

The senior class isn’t limited to just forwards, though. Mitch Nylen and Erlich Doerksen are back for a final campaign on the blue line. They’re ready to pass the torch to sophomore Liam Clare, who had 11 assists in his rookie campaign.

None of that precludes goalie Brett Magnus, who posted a .912 save percentage and 2.63 GAA as a freshman.

Three Questions

1. After playing home ice in the first round two years ago, can the Pioneers return a playoff series to Western Connecticut?
2. Is Magnus primed to take the leap as the next great Atlantic Hockey goaltender?
3. This is one of the deepest Pioneer rosters in recent memory; how does it stack up against other programs?

Crystal Ball

Forget about the ninth-place finish; the Pioneers were Atlantic Hockey’s best-kept secret last year. They finished within two points of fifth-place Army West Point, and their 10 conference wins were more than both the Black Knights and eighth-place Bentley, tied with seventh-place Canisius. Of that foursome, their goals scored (72) rated right in Canisius (72) and Bentley (74), while their goals-against (78) rated right next to Army West Point (74).

In the playoffs, they pushed Bentley through a bitterly-fought three game series. After losing a one-goal game in the first game, they fought back for an overtime winner to force a decisive third game in what many considered the best series of the postseason.

So what’s their encore? Virtually the entire team is back. They return all but one of their top nine scorers and all but two of their regular defensemen. They return a goaltender who made 64 saves in a single game last year. Despite a schedule featuring seven of their first eight games on the road, they won’t play on the road for back-to-back full weekends the rest of the season.

“We want to be a program of growth and development,” said head coach CJ Marottolo. “We’ve been making steps every year. We have a big senior class that’s taken all the steps, and they’re all back and very focused. They’ve been great leaders who let the new guys know what the expectation is, what to expect day-to-day both on the ice and in the weight room. It’s really set the tone for what we’re trying to do.”

If the program takes another step, it’ll happen at a new home. After playing home games at the municipal Milford Ice Pavilion, the Pioneers are moving to Bridgeport’s sterling Webster Bank Arena. The home of the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, it’s a multi-regional host for the NCAA Tournament while serving as a county staple for a number of different sports.

“This is an exciting time for our program,” said Marottolo. “Playing at Webster Bank Arena is great for our players and our alumni, and it’ll have a big impact on our recruiting. They recently just put in a video board, and that arena offers us an opportunity to host some non-league games at home.”

8. Bentley

Last season

14-20-6 overall, 9-13-6 Atlantic Hockey (eighth in conference). Lost to Robert Morris in the Quarterfinals of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs.

Names to Know

This is officially Max French’s team. Despite missing eight games, he produced the Falcons’ third straight 20-goal season, scoring 23 goals and 24 assists. Now the captain, a compelling season-long storyline is how he fills the role of undisputed team leader. Junior Kyle Schmidt joins him fresh off of a 45-point season in which he led the team with a +15 rating.

The Falcon defense always seems to have someone as an anchor, top-flight blue-liner. Despite losing their top defenseman in Matt Blomquist, the torch is passed to sophomore Tanner Jago, who found himself on the All-Rookie Team last season.

An All-Rookie and all-conference two years ago, Jayson Argue found himself in a backup role after injury and a breakout year by Gabe Antoni, who posted the fourth-best, single-season save percentage in program history. Now a junior, Argue is in the right position to make the crease his once more. His .910 save percentage last year still rated 10th all-time, and his .934 save percentage as a freshman is a program record.

Three Questions

1. Bentley’s top three scorers accounted for 56 of the team’s 106 goals last year. How will they develop depth scoring within the other three lines?
2. Already one of the nation’s best scorers, does Max French make the jump into the select group of the truly elite players in the country?
3. After allowing its most goals in six years, can the defense regain the mojo that made it one of the best units in the conference?

Crystal Ball

No teams is more emblematic of Atlantic Hockey’s growth than the Bentley Falcons. Since the turn of the decade, they’ve gone from an unknown to a hidden jewel to a commodity. With the offseason announcement of a new, on-campus rink, they’ll start the farewell to the fabled John A. Ryan Arena this season. After playing this year at the JAR, they’ll play the first half of next season there before shifting to the new rink midseason.

It’s not going to be a ceremonial goodbye. After falling to eighth place last season, Bentley has some cleanup work. They have defensive infrastructure, but their 124 goals allowed was the most since 123 in 2009-2010. With Jayson Argue returning in goal, there’s a core to build around.

“Jayson looks great,” head coach Ryan Soderquist. “Last year was really a growth year for him, and he’s come back excited and fresh to start this year.”

The firepower on offense shouldn’t be a problem, but Bentley needs to get better through all four lines. They had a top line capable of scoring anytime, from any place on the ice. But injuries and inconsistent depth plagued them, something the team addressed in a talented crop of freshmen now on campus.

“We have a very strong group of freshmen,” said Soderquist. “We have a lot of depth at the forward position, and we’re going to have four lines this year that can contribute. We’re going to get away from being a little bit more one-dimensional, and we’re back to being fully healthy (to start this year).”

Among those freshmen is Jonathan Desbiens. The Montreal native tallied 83 points, including 44 goals, for the West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL, then added 15 goals in the postseason. Joining him is goalie Aidan Pellino, a player Soderquist hopes to be able to “lean on” for additional depth in the crease behind Argue.

If the defense rounds into form and if Argue produces like everyone knows he’s capable, they’ll combine with an offense that’s always one of the league’s most dangerous. If that happens, the pieces are there to send start sending the JAR out in style.

9. Canisius

Last Season

12-22-5, 10-13-5 (seventh) in the AHC. Lost to Air Force in the league quarterfinals.

Names to know

The most recognizable names from last season are gone, as Ralph Cuddemi (123 career points) graduated and Shane Conacher (106 career points) decided to turn pro after his junior campaign. Goaltender Reilly Turner also has departed after two seasons.

Back is junior Ryan Schmeltzer is the leading returning scorer, coming off a junior campaign that saw him tally 32 points, third on the team. Dylan McLaughlin scored eight goals as a freshman last season, good for fourth on his team. Classmate Cameron Heath led all defenseman last year with 16 points including seven goals. Sophomore Simon Hofley (.920 save percentage; 2.71 GAA) is the only returning goalie.

Competing with Hofley are three rookie goaltenders as part of a nine-player freshman class. Netminder Daniel Urbani was the top goalie in the Ontario Junior Hockey League last season, posting a 1.69 GAA and a .930 save percentage with Trenton.

Three questions

1. Who will step up offensively to fill the to fill the shoes of Cuddemi and Conacher, who had 40 goals and 88 points between them last season?
2. Like a lot of AHC teams this season, the Griffs are young, with 18 underclassmen on the roster. How long will it take them to gel?
3. Will the Golden Griffins benefit from or succumb to a killer early schedule?

Crystal Ball

Canisius’ early schedule is a doozy: Opening on the road at No. 1 North Dakota, then on to Alaska, followed by conference weekend against three of four teams that make ot to Rochester last season.

“And don’t forget (at Penn State),” said Canisius coach Dave Smith. “This is the stuff that win, lose, or draw is about the student athlete experience. It’s forming a bond through probably some adversity and some shared experiences.”

Smith says his goal is to find some chemistry for a team that lost its main two offensive weapons in Ralph Cuddemi and Shane Conacher, who combined for 229 career points.

“Chemistry is the single most important ingredient to success,” said Smith. “Every group takes on its own identity. I think this team will be closer to the 2013 (championship) team with more of a pack mentality than looking to Shane to make a play or Ralph to score a goal.

“We’re excited to get things going.”

If things go according to play, expect Canisius to weather some early storms and challenge for home ice in the postseason.

10. American International

Last season

7-29-3 overall, 6-19-3 Atlantic Hockey (Tied for 10th). Lost to Army West Point in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs.

Names to Know

Austin Orszulak is the biggest offensive weapon for the Yellow Jackets, entering the season with a chance to break the 100-point barrier. After 27 points a year ago, including 12 goals, he needs 33 to reach the mark.

Bryant Christian is the team’s only other 10-goal scorer from last year, but he leads a pack of six other players who tallied 10 or more points. The grandson of 1960 gold medalist Bill Christian and the nephew of 1980 gold medalist Dave Christian, he’s also the cousin of the New York Islanders’ Brock Nelson. He’s described by his coaches as a player who “does everything the right way,” both on and off the ice.

On defense, Andrew Debrincat exemplifies the hard-working spirit AIC is looking for out of their team this year.

Three Questions

1. With a new head coach and a new home barn, how does the current roster respond to moves that will fortify their future?
2. After two straight seasons finishing in last place in Division I in scoring defense, how does AIC improve in back?
3. Who is on upset watch when they play AIC this year?

Crystal Ball

At the surface level, American International might look like the same team. The colors are still black and gold. The mascot is still a Yellow Jacket. The campus is still in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Pretty much everything else changed.

There’s a new head coach, with former AIC player and Army West Point assistant coach Eric Lang taking over for Gary Wright. There’s also a new barn, with downtown Springfield’s MassMutual Center replacing the municipally-based Olympia Ice Center. And there’s a new attitude.

“We have (the players’) attention,” said Lang. “The buy-in, especially from the older guys, is high. They’re all in. They want to learn and get better. They’re okay with being pushed, and they want exactly this what we’re giving them as coaches. Right off the bat, it’s extremely noticeable to see it, and I’ve been very excited about it.”

Statistically, there’s no ignoring the need to be better. They ranked 10th in scoring offense in the conference last year (better than only Niagara), 54th in the nation. Defensively, they ranked last – in both the league and national numbers.

“We’re making a huge emphasis on getting to the net, both offensively and defensively,” he said. “We need to keep players away from our net just as well as we need to be able to get to the net ourselves. If we can defend that area 10-15 feet in front of the goalie, we will be better. That’s something that’s huge, but it takes courage to play there. It’s very hard to do against teams, and it’s very hard to defend. A lot of the goalies today can handle the stuff from outside, so (inside) is where the games have to be played.”

The blue-collar mentality will be how AIC will debut in a new rink. After playing its history in the Olympia Ice Center, a three-rink building in West Springfield, the team is moving a new hockey culture in the building. They’ll share the building with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, who are the relocated Portland Pirates.

“We inherited a top facility,” said Lang, “and probably went from the bottom tier to the top tier overnight. Guys are walking into rooms like kids in a candy store; it’s great for our current team, and I think it’ll speak for itself in recruiting. We’re able to recruit now in the USHL and leagues where they play in arenas like this. More kids are answering their phones when we call, so this is the start of something.”

11. Niagara

Last Season

6-25-6, 6-25-6 (tied for tenth) in the AHC. Lost to Canisius in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs.

Names to know

Niagara returns all three goaltenders: senior Jackson Teichroeb, and sophomores Guillaume Thérien and Joe O’Brien. Each saw action in at least 10 games last season.

Junior Derian Plouffe was one of only two players to appear in every game last season, and he led the team in goals (11) and points (18) by wide margins. Defensemen Vinny Muto (37 career points) and forward T.J. Sarcona (51 career points) lead a senior class that looks to end their careers on a high note.

Newcomers include forward Tyler Tomberlin (63 points with Fairbanks (NAHL) and Joey Molinaro, who led the Amarillo Bulls (NAHL) in scoring last season with 45 points.

Three questions

1. How long will it take a large rookie class to get up to speed? Niagara returns nine of its top 10 scorers, but will have nine freshmen on the roster, replacing four graduating players and seven others who didn’t return.
2. Will there be a go-to guy in net? All three goalies from last season return.
3. Losing three seniors from a unit that struggled last season (Niagara allowed 3.41 goals per game, second worst in the conference) presents a big challenge.

Crystal Ball

After a couple of rough seasons, Niagara coach Dave Burkholder says that a strong crop of recruits is expected to get the Purple Eagles back into the top half of the standings.

“We’re pretty excited,” he said. “We needed to be faster and we’ve accomplished that goal. We’ve got some freshman: Tyler Hayes, Caleb Boman and Noah Delmas that are moving defenseman and that will improve our ability to get the puck out of our zone faster.”

Burkholder says that a plague of injuries and tough breaks are hopefully in the rear view mirror.

“We were in almost every game last season,” he said. “We lost a lot of close games and we need to find a way to win those games.”

Niagara expects big things from senior goaltender Jackson Teichroeb, as long as he can stay healthy.

“This is the first October that Jackson’s been healthy,” said Burkholder. “We’re hoping that his senior season is going to be his best year.”

Atlantic Hockey schools enter year brimming with confidence

By Chris Lerch & Dan Rubin
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Denver vs. Air Force (Candace Horgan)
Air Force captain Johnny Hrabovsky has the Falcons primed for a competitive run in Atlantic Hockey this year (photo: Candace Horgan).

The start of a new season always comes with optimism, and for Atlantic Hockey, hopes are sky-high after a momentous offseason.

New Digs

Three schools announced plans to upgrade their facilities, including a pair of upgrades that begin this season. American International is moving from the Olympia Ice Center to downtown Springfield’s MassMutual Center. Sacred Heart is also leaving its current off-campus home, the Milford Ice Pavilion in favor of the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.

And finally, Bentley has announced plans to build a multipurpose on-campus arena that will be home to the Falcons, who will be relocating from the John A Ryan Skating Arena in Watertown, Mass. Bentley will drop the puck at its new home sometime in 2018.

“The last 5-7 years have been amazing to see the kind of growth Atlantic Hockey’s undertaken,” said Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist. “Bentley’s commitment to a $45 million building is part of that, but Sacred Heart and AIC getting new homes is also great for the league.”

“[New] facilities are going to be huge,” said Air Force coach Frank Serratore. “Now you’ll see more (nonconference) home and home series. In the past maybe some teams weren’t willing to go into Milford (Ice Pavilion) or Olympia or the JAR. But now there’s no excuse.

“If you want to win more non-conference games you have to play at home. You can’t get better in that area when you’re playing 75 to 80 percent of those games on the road.”

“We’ve already started to receive commitments from teams for non-league home games, which everyone knows can be very difficult to do,” added Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo, whose Pioneers move into Bridgeport’s Webster Bank Arena this season. “That’s something that will really be great for our administration, our fans, our students, and everyone in Fairfield County.”

18’s the Limit

The league also announced in September that it would be incrementally increasing the scholarship limit from the current 14 to 18, the maximum allowed by the NCAA. This will but the league on equal footing with the other Division I conferences.

“We at Niagara think this is great news,” said Purple Eagles coach Dave Burkholder, whose Niagara team came to Atlantic Hockey in 2010 from the now-defunct CHA, which had the full 18 scholarship limit. “It evens the playing field. Full credit goes to commissioner [Bob] DeGregorio and the athletic directors. We’re making the league better in a lot of areas. We couldn’t be happier with the vision.”

Robert Morris coach Derek Schooley echoed Burkholder’s remarks.

“It’s great for the league,” he said. “Showing improvements in scholarships and facilities are huge steps forward.”

Air Force (along with Army and Rochester Institute of Technology) doesn’t offer athletic scholarships, but Falcons coach Frank Serratore is on board with the change. “If we want to be viewed like the other leagues, if there’s an ante to play poker with the big guys then you have to play that ante, in terms of scholarships and facilities,” he said. “Our league gets better and better and is ready to take the final step. It’s not going to be long before we’re going to be on par with not just some leagues but all the other conferences.”

“This is the next step in the evolution of Atlantic Hockey,” said Holy Cross’ David Berard. “It’s tough to be consistent when you’re competing with what amounts to one hand tied behind your back. So this is going to be a big help to close that gap with the other five leagues – and then pass them. It shows that we are moving in a great direction.”

“These announcements address two of perceived negatives about the league,” said Canisius coach Dave Smith. “In two press releases they’ve been done away with and we’re very positive about the impact this will have.”

Welcome, Coach

A coaching change in this league is a rare occurrence, but we also had one of those this offseason.

There’s also a new face behind the bench at American International in former AIC player and Army West Point assistant coach Eric Lang, who replaced Gary Wright after 32 seasons at the helm.

“It is with great pride and humility that I accept the position of head hockey coach at my alma mater,” said Lang back in April when the change was announced. “Together, our staff and players will embrace the overall mission of AIC and recognize the responsibility we share to represent our institution, program and community, on and off the ice, with class, enthusiasm and excellence.”

“Our assistant coaches identified great young men, not only for what they could do on the ice but also what they offered as cadets,” said Army West Point coach Brian Riley. “Eric is very deserving of that head coaching job.”

On the Ice

In it’s 10-year tenure in Atlantic Hockey, Rochester Institute of Technology has had great success, racking up four regular season and three playoff titles, including the last two. But only in 2010 did RIT capture both.

In recent years, finishing first hasn’t guaranteed playoff success. Just once since 2010 (Air Force in 2012) has the regular season champion gone on to win the playoff title and advance to the NCAA tournament. And just once in league history did a team (Niagara in 2013) win the regular season title and gain an at-large berth in the NCAAs.

RIT, which became the second team to win consecutive titles (Air Force won three from 2007 to 2009 and also went back to back in 2011-2012) finished third in 2014 and fifth last season.

“It shows the parity and unpredictability,” said Wilson. “It’s about peaking at the right time and using the regular season to prepare yourself.

“Because we play a lot (28) of league games, it takes a bit of pressure off early. We use different lineups and different goalies. You can’t be afraid to tinker with your lineups and systems. But from mid-January on, everybody’s looking at the standings and things tighten up quite a bit.”

It’s not limited to the top of the league. Last season, the difference between sixth and ninth position was two points. A one-win swing therefore can be the difference between finishing as the highest seeded first round team and a road series in the playoffs.

“We feel like we’re getting better, but we know everyone else is too,” said Riley. “This league is so close year after year. You sit back and think to yourself how this league can get even tighter than it already is, but I think this year could be even tighter than last year was.”

Michigan’s Marody ruled ineligible until second semester

USCHO Staff Report
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marodyAccording to the Michigan Daily, Michigan sophomore forward Cooper Marody is academically ineligible and will sit out the first semester of the 2016-17 season.

The earliest Marody, also a Philadelphia Flyers prospect, can return would be for the Great Lakes Invitational, which is set for Dec. 29-30.

“Remember he got sick last year in January, and that kinda set him back in school,” Wolverines coach Red Berenson said in the article. “[Marody’s] way ahead of himself in [credit] hours. He’s a good student and he was preparing himself for the Ross Business School, but he got affected by one particular class that really cost him. I can’t tell you any more than that except he’s ineligible.

“He’ll have to work hard and he’ll be anxious to play the second half.”

Last year, Marody recorded 10 goals and 24 points in 32 games.

He was selected by the Flyers in the sixth round (158th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft.

Offseason changes have WCHA teams optimistic going into the new season

By
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2016Jan10: Tyler Heinonen (MichTech - 27). After a skating to a 1-1 OT, the Michigan Tech Huskies beat the Yale Bulldogs in a shootout to win the inaugural Desert Hockey Classic at Gila River Arena in Glendale, AZ. (©Rachel Lewis)
Michigan Tech’s Tyler Heinonen will be a go-to player for Mel Pearson’s squad this season (photo: Rachel Lewis).

What will the WCHA look like in the near future?

That seems to be the theme to the questions that curious fans and reporters continue to ask following a tumultuous offseason that saw the league announce a series of significant changes.

First, the league announced that it was eliminating the neutral-site championship semifinals and finals. That meant no more Final Five — which had been going on in some form or another since 1993. The semifinals and finals will now be held on campus for the first time since the 1980s.

Later in the summer, the league said it was following the lead of some other leagues in the NCAA by completely eliminating ties from WCHA play and instituting 3-on-3 overtime and shootouts to decide a winner in every game.

All of this would be enough to make one ponder where the league was headed.

But somewhere in between, there was this: Minnesota State applied to the NCHC. Also, both Alaska schools were in dire financial straits and in danger of elimination.

For now, at least, it’s the same-old WCHA that we’ve come to know since realignment — Minnesota State’s application to the NCHC was denied and things seem to be looking better in Alaska.

And that seems to be what the current league administration and coaches want to focus on — this year.

“We are concentrating on making the existing WCHA as strong as it can be for our member institutions,” WCHA commissioner Bill Robertson said during the league’s annual media conference call last month. “We want to be proactive and progressive. We are evolving, and adapting, and we are thinking outside the box when necessary.”

Both of the changes in the league competition for this year — playoff home ice and new overtime rules — reflect that “outside the box” thinking. And the league’s coaches agreed with Robertson that shaking things up is good for the health of the WCHA — a conference that had just one NCAA tournament berth last season.

“I’m looking forward to the changes,” Michigan Tech coach Mel Pearson said.

“I’m really looking forward to on-campus sites,” Ferris State coach Bob Daniels added. “It’s better when you can get more of your student fans into the games and I think it will bring some electricity to the game itself.”

Daniels’ team greatly benefitted from last season’s Final Five location — Grand Rapids is about 60 miles from the Ferris State campus in Big Rapids, Mich. The No. 4 seed last season, they beat top-seeded Michigan Tech and No. 2 seeded Minnesota State to claim the Final Five title and the league’s automatic tournament berth.

The previous format was played over two weekends. The first round was a best-of-three playoff series, which each higher seeded team hosting, followed by a single-weekend, single-elimination semifinal and final round all at the same neutral location.

The new format adds an extra weekend to the conference tournament. The semifinal rounds will also be best-of-three and will be hosted by the two highest-seeded teams.

The championship round is now a single-game at the home rink of the top seed.

That, coupled with the new overtime regulations, has the league’s coaches getting excited.

“I think the overtime will bring a lot of excitement to our buildings, and I know the players are looking forward to it. I think it’s a real good move by our league,” Michigan Tech head coach Mel Pearson added. “You’re going to find some very tightly contested games because everybody wants to make the home ice in the playoffs, especially since you get to host beyond the first round. I think that’s a progressive, exciting move by our league.”

Previously, when games ended in a tie after a five-minute overtime period, each team would receive a point in the standings.

Now, teams will play an additional five-minute, sudden-death, 3-on-3 overtime period. If there is still no winner at the end of five minutes, the game will be settled in a sudden death shootout.

As a result of the elimination of ties, each league game will now be worth three points. Regulation and 5-on-5 overtime wins will be worth three points each, while 3-on-3 and shootout winners will earn two points and losers one point.

The new points structure will, at the very least, add a new twist to a conference that has traditionally been very evenly-matched in the past few seasons since realignment. Last season the gap between first place and third was two points and the gap between fourth place (or home ice) and eighth place was 10 points.

“With some of the new additions that we have had as far as our league policies and playoff structure, I think that’s going to be exciting for our league,” Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings said. “And I think the way that we’re going to eliminate some of the ties is also exciting.”

So how will that play out on the ice?

Bowling Green was the unanimous pick by both the coaches and media to win the league. But both Tech and Minnesota State got some votes, too.

Defending tournament champion Ferris will likely have a say in how that goes, as will some solid teams in the middle of the conference like Northern Michigan and Bemidji State.

“It was very difficult as a coach to sit down and pick these teams,” Daniels said. “I thought there was a grouping with the top four or five teams that were difficult to separate and as you moved on through the standings, I think any number of teams you look at, and if things go the right way for them, things could be very different at the end of the year.”

So what will the WCHA look like two, three or even four years in the near future?

Who knows?

Heck, it’s impossible to tell what it will look like at the end of the season.

“When you take a look at the poll, not only the media, poll but the coaches poll, it’s going to be very tight,” Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore said. “I think in my 15 years as a head coach, from a preseason standpoint, it’s probably going to be the tightest logjam in March that I’ll ever see as a coach. Maybe the season will dictate that differently, but on paper right now early on, every weekend, every game is going to be very tight.”

Wide-open WCHA has question marks, but 10 squads that ooze potential

By Jack Hittinger & Sean Shapiro
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Dominik Shine (CS Genovese)
Dominik Shine will be a bright spot on the Northern Michigan offense during the 2016-17 season (photo: CS Genovese).

Even with all the offseason changes, the WCHA still looks to be a talented 10-team conference in 2016-17.

Here is a team-by-team look at what to expect this season in the WCHA:

Alabama-Huntsville

Last season

7-21-1 overall, 5-17-6  WCHA (10th in conference). Missed playoffs

Names to know

Junior Max McHugh led the Chargers with 15 assists and 22 points last season and should be one of the offensive catalysts this season. Fellow junior Brennan Saulnier had 17 points in just 28 games last season, while freshman forward Connor James and defenseman Austin Beaulieu both picked up votes in the WCHA preseason newcomer of the year balloting.

Three questions

1. Can the Chargers continue to improve and climb into the WCHA playoff picture after missing out by four points last season?
2. Can the Chargers limit the number of shots fired at senior goalies Carmine Guerrio and Matt Larose? The duo combined for a .911 save percentage last season, but faced constant pressure and the Chargers allowed an average of 33 shots per game.
3. Can improved special teams help the Chargers move up the standings? Alabama-Huntsville didn’t take advantage of opportunities last season and only converted on 10.7 percent of power plays while opponents scored 17.9 percent of power plays against the Chargers.

Crystal ball

Alabama Huntsville continues to its step-by-step improvement and reaches the playoffs as the eighth seed in the WCHA. It’s a short trip to the playoffs, but a step in the right direction with a young core of sophomores.

Alaska

Last season

10-22-4 overall, 8-16-4 WCHA, (8th in conference). Lost to Michigan Tech in the first round of the conference playoffs.

Names to know

The Nanooks lost most of their offensive output to graduation, but bring back a veteran group on defense. Zach Frye, Justin Woods, and Nick Hintz all played big roles as sophomores and will be part of Alaska’s leadership group. Both goalies come back from last season, including Davis Jones and Jesse Janks.

Three questions

1. How will ongoing rumors about the possible program’s demise impact play on the ice? Back in August university officials laid out cost-saving plans that could eliminate the hockey program.
2. Who steps up and puts the puck in the net for the Nanooks? Tyler Morley had a team-high 18 goals last season before graduating, while three of the top four goal scorers were seniors.
3. Can young blood inject energy for the Nanooks? Alaska brought in 12 freshmen this season and only have four seniors on the roster.

Crystal ball

The Nanooks will win the Governor’s Cup against Anchorage, but won’t make the playoffs in the WCHA. Off-ice distractions combined with a young team give the Alaska a tough hill to climb in an improving league.

Alaska-Anchorage

Last season

11-20-3 overall, 8-18-2 WCHA, (ninth in conference). Missed playoffs.

Names to know

Junior forward Tad Kozun was the team’s top goalscorer last season with 13 finished with 20 points overall. Junior forward Matt Anholt is the Seawolves top returning scorer (7g-15a-22g) after the graduation of Blake Tatchell. Finnish freshman Aleksi Ainali scored 67 points for Jokerit U20 last season. And No. 1 junior goaltender Olivier Mantha had a 2.88 goals against average in 32 games last season, but he should have some healthy competition with St. Cloud State transfer Rasmus Reijola.

Three questions

1. Will the looming threat of the program being cut motivate the Seawolves or not? The state of Alaska’s finances are not what they once were, and one proposed solution was cutting into the athletics programs at both Alaska schools. Many of the suggestions involved axing the Seawolf hockey program. UAA head coach Matt Thomas said thinks the news has been mostly positive, but it’s still a touch-and-go situation.
2. Can the Seawolves have a full year of consistency and health? UAA was around .500 before Christmas break, going 8-7-3. After that — thanks to some injuries that ravaged the squad — they won just three games the rest of the season.
3. Can Mantha carry a young defense? UAA lost three bluelines to graduation and another transferred out. Over half (five) of the Seawolves’ defensemen are freshmen.

Crystal ball

The Seawolves will be competing for one of the final league playoff spots along with their rivals from Fairbanks, but ultimately both will miss out and stay home.

Bemidji State

Last season

17-16-6 overall, 11-12-5 (6th in WCHA). Lost to Bowling Green, 2-1, in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

Names to know

Senior Brendan Harms and junior Gerry Fitzgerald tied for the team’s scoring lead last season. Junior goaltender Michael Bitzer will anchor a young defense with just one senior and one junior.
Newcomers might find it hard to break into the Beavers’ deep top six or even nine forward group, but freshman defensmen Zach Whitecloud and Tommy Muck have both impressed head coach Tom Serratore early.

Three questions

1. Can youngsters fill in on defense again? Last year, the Beavers were thin on veteran defensemen. This season, the graduation of Graeme McCormack, coupled with the surprise departure of Ruslan Pedan to HK Sochi of the KHL, leaves the Beavers thin on experienced defensemen again. Junior Brett Beauvais is the most experienced blueliner, while senior Carter Struthers hasn’t played in a regular season game in two years. The rest are sophomore (four) and freshmen (two).
2. Where will secondary scoring come from? The Beavers lost 36 percent of their scoring despite losing just five players. The Gerry, Myles and Leo Fitzgerald “Triplet Line” is still a threat every time they set foot on the ice, while Harms, Charlie O’Connor and Kyle Bauman also pack some scoring punch. Who else steps up? Only six players on the roster reached double digits in scoring last season.
3. Can the Beavers take the next step as a program? BSU hasn’t made a deep run to the postseason since its last NCAA tournament berth in 2010. That, perhaps not coincidentally, was also its last season in College Hockey America. Ever since a program-nadir nine-win season in 2012-13, the Beavers have continued to make the climb back to being a contender. Last season was their first winning one since that 2010 campaign. They have the pieces to be competitive in what is always a tough and tight WCHA, so a top-four finish and home ice isn’t out of the question.

Crystal ball

The Beavers finished sixth in the conference last season. Both the WCHA coaches and media picked them to do that again this year. It’s a fair place to put them, but the Beavers have the ability to maybe crack the top four and earn a home ice playoff berth. Top three might be a little out of reach but expect the Beavers to be in the mix and competitive for the entire season.

Bowling Green

Last season

20-14-6 overall, 16-7-5 WCHA, (3rd in WCHA). Lost to Minnesota State 2-1 in WCHA Final Five semifinals.

Names to know

Bowling Green’s junior class is going to take centerstage this season. Goalie Chris Nell appeared in 37 games last season and had a .930 save percentage and 1.91 goals against average. Defenseman Mark Friedman was a preseason All-WCHA selection and leads an experienced group.

Three questions

1. Can Chris Nell jump into the Hobey Baker Conversation? Nell was 10th in the nation last season for save percentage and could be the rock behind a WCHA title for the Falcons.
2. Can Bowling Green win its first conference championship since 1987? It’s been a long time since the Falcons were on the national radar, and after back-to-back 20 win seasons things are trending in the right direction.
3. How good can the Falcon defense be? In addition to Nell, the Falcons bring back five blue liners from last season and should be an overly stingy group.

Crystal ball

Bowling Green wins its first conference championship since 1987 and reaches the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1990.

Ferris State

Last season

20-15-6 overall, 13-11-4 WCHA, (4th in WCHA). Lost to Denver in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Names to know

Gerald Mayhew was named the WCHA Preseason Player of the year and he earned it after leading Ferris State with 41 points (25 goals, 26 assists) in 41 games. Sophomore goalie Darren Smith won 17 games last season and had .919 save percentage as a freshman.

Three questions

1. Can Ferris State turn postseason success into a regular season title? The Bulldogs effectively turned the WCHA into a one-bid league last season with their march through the Final Five.
2. How does a young defense adjust? Ferris State graduated four of its top six defensemen from last season, which leaves senior Ryan Lowner and junior Tyler Dorantes to lead a group that consists of six underclassmen.
3. Will Ferris State be the most exciting team in the WCHA? The Bulldogs are going to score quite a bit this season and the young defense group is going to be tested. Bob Daniels expects his defense to push the play, so there should be lots of back-and-forth rushes at Ferris State.

Crystal ball

Ferris State is always going to be playoff threat, but the defense isn’t there to compete for a regular season title. The Bulldogs will grab a top-three spot in the regular season standings and make some noise in the WCHA semifinals.

Lake Superior State

Last season

14-22-5 overall, 10-13-5 WCHA (7th in conference). Lost to Minnesota State in first round of conference playoffs.

Names to know

Junior goaltender Gordon Defiel made the All-WCHA third team last season with a .926 save percentage and 2.47 GAA in 29 games. Up front, junior J.T. Henke (10g-12a-22pts) led the team in scoring while sophomores Mitch Hults (9g-11a-20pts) and Gage Torrel (8g-11a-19pts) were second and third, respectively. Incoming freshmen Kris Bindulis and Collin Saccoman should be able to step in and contribute early according to head coach Damon Whitten.

Three questions

1. Will the Lakers be able to score consistently? LSSU had the worst scoring offense of any team in the league, averaging just 1.80 goals in 41 games.
2. Can goaltending carry the Lakers if the offense doesn’t come through? Defiel is one of the top goaltenders in the conference and his backup, sophomore Nick Kossoff, is also solid. The Lakers gave up a league-average 2.56 goals against last season, but will that be enough to win more games.
3. How long until the Lakers’ program is “back”? This year is the 50th anniversary of the Lake Superior State hockey program. The program hasn’t made an NCAA tournament appearance since 1996. Head coach Damon Whitten said he hopes celebrating the anniversary this year will light a spark toward reaching that goal again in the near future.

Crystal ball

The Lakers show steady improvement and once again make the playoffs. Defiel again carries them to a decisive game three against one of the top three seeds, but it’s not enough to break into the semifinals.

Michigan Tech

Last season

23-9-5 overall, 18-7-3 WCHA (tied for 1st in conference). Lost to Ferris State in the WCHA Final Five semifinals.

Names to know

Senior forwards Tyler Heinonen (15g-12a-27pts) and Joel L’Esperance (16g-10a-26pts) will make the offense tick, but it’s the defense that is the deepest, most talented group. Senior Cliff Watson, junior Matt Roy and sophomore Dane Birks are all NHL draft picks, while senior Shane Hanna has appeared in 118 career games for the Huskies. Junior Matt Roy was an All-WCHA second teamer. Freshmen Thomas Baretta, Chris Gerrie, and Alex Smith should see action up front while defenders Mitch Reinke and Erik Pedersen will get some time on the blue line.

Three questions

1. Can the Huskies overcome some big losses? There’s plenty of depth of talent on the roster this season, but the team lost All-American, WCHA Player of the Year and Hobey Baker finalist Alex Petan as well as All-WCHA goaltender Jamie Phillips, who started all but one game last season and had a 1.97 GAA.
2. Who gets the nod in the nets? Tech has two returners, and only senior Matt Wintjes has regular-season game action (eight games and just one start). Sophomore Devin Kero hasn’t seen any collegiate action while freshman Angus Redmond is the team’s other goaltender.
3. Can the Huskies win the big games? Tech went 5-2-2 in nonconference play last season — one of the better records in the league, actually — but suffered some puzzling conference losses which ultimately hurt their NCAA tournament chances (for example, being swept by Alaska Anchorage at home). This year, series with Minnesota Duluth, Michigan and Notre Dame — all NCAA tournament teams last season — will be key to deciding their fate.

Crystal ball

The Huskies have the talent to make it back to the NCAA tournament. How well they do in the nonconference will determine if they will be able to get in as an at-large or if they’ll need to win the conference tournament.

Minnesota State

Last season

21-13-7 overall, 21-13-7 WCHA (tied for 1st in conference). Lost to Ferris State in the WCHA Final Five championship game.

Names to know

Senior goaltender Cole Huggins has 38 career wins and 10 career shutouts and will be the team’s de facto No. 1 goaltender. Forwards C.J. Franklin (14g-11a-25pts) and Michael Huntebrinker (7g-12a-19pts) are the Mavericks’ top two returning scorers. Incoming freshman Parker Tuomie scored 54 points for Sioux Falls of the USHL last season and was the coaches’ pick to win the WCHA’s preseason newcomer of the year award.

Three questions

1. Can senior leaders carry the load? The Mavs lost some big names either to graduation or to the NHL (forwards Teddy Blueger and Bryce Gervais graduated while Casey Nelson signed with Buffalo after the MSU season ended). MSU has six seniors (and five more juniors) who will be asked to step into the void filled by those departures.
2. Which freshmen get playing time? The Mavs have a big incoming freshmen class of eight players. Some of them will have to play right away, especially up front.
3. Can Huggins give the Mavs a boost? The senior goalie allowed the fewest goals in the WCHA in 28 games last season and head coach Mike Hastings expects him to carry the Mavs early.

Crystal ball

Minnesota State has ruled the roost in the WCHA since realignment. They’re going to be a top three team again this season, and will fight for an NCAA tournament berth but ultimately miss out as the WCHA will be at most a two-bid league.

Northern Michigan

Last season

15-16-7 overall, 12-11-5 WCHA, (5th in conference). Lost to Ferris State in first round of conference playoffs.

Names to know

Dominik Shine was named to the Preseason All-WCHA Team after a 30-point (15 goals, 15 assists) season as a junior. Robbie Payne is back after scoring 12 goals as a sophomore, while sophomore goalie Atte Tolvanen had a .929 save percentage as a freshman.

Three questions

1. What did Northern Michigan learn about close games? The Wildcats had seven ties last season and played in 12 games that were decided by a single goal.
2. Can that experience help the Wildcats gain home-ice advantage in the WCHA playoffs? Last year Northern Michigan missed fourth place by one spot, and it cost them in a first-round playoff loss to Ferris State.
3. Can Atte Tovanen take the next step as a sophomore? The Finnish goalie was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team last season and is expected to be key cog for the Wildcats.

Crystal ball

The Wildcats are in the hunt for most of the season, but still can’t get over the hump and grab home-ice advantage in the WCHA playoffs.

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