Miami sophomore forward Riley Barber has been named captain of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team.
[scg_html_wjc2014]The alternate captains are Michigan sophomore forward Andrew Copp and Boston University sophomore defenseman Matt Grzelcyk.
A year ago, Barber helped the U.S. capture the gold medal at the World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia, with three goals and three assists.
Barber, Copp and Grzelcyk were teammates on the Team USA squad that won the gold medal at the 2012 Under-18 World Championship in Brno, Czech Republic.
Team USA also announced Sunday that it has reduced its roster to 24 players by cutting Michigan freshman forward J.T. Compher, Boston College freshman forward Ryan Fitzgerald, New Hampshire defenseman Brett Pesce, Edmonton Oil Kings forward Henrik Samuelsson and Sarnia Sting defenseman Anthony DeAngelo.
One more cut will take place prior to the tournament start on Thursday, Dec. 26.
“We are pleased to have settled on our three goaltenders and seven defensemen for the tournament,” said Jim Johannson, general manager of the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team and also the assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey, in a statement. “Due to a medical matter, we are still evaluating our forwards and expect to make a final decision by our first game on Dec. 26.”
The U.S. begins defense of its gold medal against the Czech Republic on Thursday (Dec. 26) at 5:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. EST). In the U.S., the game will be televised live on the NHL Network (DirecTV 215, DISH 477) and streamed live on NHL.com.
WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod will resign when his contract expires at the end of this, his 20th season leading the league in which he once played, the league announced Friday.
Since succeeding Otto Breitenbach in 1994, McLeod has presided over the addition of Minnesota State, Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha as well as the development in the most-attended college postseason tournament.
But he also saw the WCHA membership splinter in the summer of 2011 after Minnesota and Wisconsin departed for the new Big Ten. Six other schools broke off from the WCHA to form the NCHC, and the WCHA absorbed remaining members from the CCHA and independent Alabama-Huntsville to create the current 10-team league.
A former Minnesota-Duluth player and administrator, McLeod said he has been associated with the league since 1965.
“The opportunity to get to know and to work alongside so many outstanding coaches and administrators, to become acquainted with so many marvelous student-athletes, and watch our sport grow and prosper has been a blessing,” McLeod said in a statement released by the league. “I will forever be a fan.”
The WCHA announced last month that women’s commissioner Sara Martin was retiring. Both retirements are effective when contracts expire on June 30, 2014, and the league plans to hire two new leaders.
During McLeod’s tenure, the WCHA developed the Final Five format that drew attendance totals greater than 82,000 six times during the 2000s at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Last season, the final for the WCHA in its pre-breakup team arrangement, the tournament drew 87,295 fans.
The WCHA went through a drastic change last offseason when it lost eight former members and added six new ones.
After the Big Ten announced it would sponsor hockey and take Minnesota and Wisconsin with it, five league teams — Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota — joined with Miami of the CCHA to form the NCHC. The WCHA’s St. Cloud State and the CCHA’s Western Michigan later joined them.
In the aftermath of that breakup, McLeod and the WCHA invited members of the dissolving CCHA to join, which led to the addition of Alaska, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State and Northern Michigan. Alabama-Huntsville also found a home in the new-look WCHA after three seasons as an indepenent.
“As a group, we’ve had some bumps and bruises and weathered some difficult times, but the one thing that has remained constant has been our respect of each other and our collective commitment and effort to do what’s best both for the WCHA and the game of ice hockey,” McLeod said in a statement. “And of that I could not be more proud.”
McLeod was the first recipient of the President’s Award from the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 and received the Jim Fullerton Award from the ACHA in 2004.
In the first 19 years of his time as WCHA commissioner, league teams won the national championship eight times. The Hobey Baker Award winner came from the WCHA 10 times.
McLeod joined the WCHA office after serving as athletic director, assistant athletic director, business manager and sports information director at Minnesota-Duluth after a period of over 25 years.
The following have demonstrably improved their play during 2013. It’s a good bet that they will continue in 2014
Tori Charron, Norwich: The senior forward who led the nation in goals a year ago with 30, is back, stressing opposing goaltenders with aplomb. Charron finished off the 2013 portion of the Cadets’ schedule with a six game point streak that was composed of six goals and six helpers. Charron’s contributions to the Cadets’ pursuits are glaring. She has registered six game winning goals and three power play markers thus far. In her second season with Norwich, the former Elmira College skater has amassed 88 goals and 41 assists in 89 career games.
Isabel Waidacher, St. Scholastica: Performing with all the cache of a veteran, the Switzerland born freshman has recorded seven multi-point outings in 11 games. Her five goals, eight point offensive outburst against Finlandia arrived in just her third game as a collegian.
Allison Era, Plattsburgh: The Glendale, AZ, senior has anchored the outstanding Cardinals defense that is apparently unsolvable as seen through the early going. Era, always an offensive threat, has a team-high 13 assists.
Megan Myers, Utica: Myers has scored points in all eight of the Pioneers games thus far, racking up seven goals and 14 points. The Las Vegas, NV, forward is well ahead of her all-time best, points-per-game average of 1.60, which she registered in her sophomore season. Myers has been an important cog in the Pioneers current six game win streak.
McKenzie Taggart, Stevenson: As an independent program in only its second season, the Mustangs are in the infancy of constructing a base for the future. Taggart has been at the forefront in that regard; finishing as leading scorer a year ago. Taggart has netted 11 goals thus far; good enough for fifth in D-III action. The sophomore forward is also tied for second with six power play goals. Taggart, who notched the first hat-trick in the Mustangs brief history in an 8-4 loss to St. Benedict earlier the month, will have an opportunity to add another entry into the record book, as she is two points shy of eclipsing the 13 points she finished with last season.
Janna Beilke-Skoug, Wisconsin-Stevens Point: Beilke-Skoug has seen a touch over 600 minutes of play in 2013; ranking her third in the country. The juniors’ positive progression has been a boon for the Pointers who rank seventh in overall team defense. Beilke-Skoug has dramatically reworked her numbers. Her GAA has fallen from 2.41 in 2012-13 to 1.49 currently and her save percentage has followed suit, increasing from .907 to .948. Beilke-Skoug stands at 8-1-1 at the break, a marked improvement from her 5-6-2 of last season.
The white turtleneck that Geneseo forward Tyler Brickler donned Sunday in Rochester, N.Y., did the trick as the Knights downed Nazareth outdoors at Frontier Field (photo: Dan Hickling).
Call it a style statement, if you like.
Or winter wear fit for the occasion.
The solid white worn by Geneseo’s Tyler Brickler and his linemates during the Ice Knights’ outdoor clash with Nazareth last Sunday proved to be both fashionable and functional.
Brickler, a junior and a key cog in the Knights’ attack, cut quite a figure on the frozen Frontier Field rink in Rochester, N.Y., potting two goals in leading the nation’s 12th ranked squad to a hard-fought 3-2 triumph.
He scored his seventh goal of the season in the second period to put Genny up 2-1, then added some insurance – which would prove to be quite necessary.
Coming as it did in the final five minutes, Brickler’s second of the day turned out to be the decisive goal in a most memorable contest.
“It was a great play by David Ripple,” said Brickler. “He passed it over to [linemate Ryan] Stanimir. I was sort of just alone and ‘Stanny’ ended up putting it right on my stick. The goalie [Ed Zdolshek] sort of shifted to the right, so I decided to put it on my backhand. It just trickled in. I was really happy.”
Brickler has been playing left wing on a line with right wing Stephen Collins and centered by Stanimir.
The chemistry between the three is readily apparent as the trio occupies the first three spots on Geneseo’s scoring ladder.
All of them landed in Geneseo after beginning their college careers elsewhere. Brickler (Massachusetts-Lowell) and Stanimir (Sacred Heart) both were transfers from Division I schools, while Collins (Arizona State) was discovered while playing club hockey.
With all those similarities, it’s little wonder that they chose to dress alike for the outdoor tilt, with their white collars providing a stark contrast to their deep blue Knights’ sweaters.
“Our line decided to get white turtlenecks,” said Brickler, who is in his second year at Geneseo. “So when our line would come up for a shift, the coaches would yell for the ‘White Turtleneck Line.'”
Warmed by their color-coded layers, the trio kept matters hot in the Nazareth zone, having accounted for 10 of the Knights’ 29 shots on goal.
“The conditions were fine,” said Brickler. “In the first and second periods, we were dealing with the sun. But I think Cortland has a colder arena, to be honest with you.”
Elements or not, Brickler said that the Knights’ objective was to play its standard game and let Nazareth deal with that.
“We wanted to keep our same attitude, which is blue collar,” he said. “Do unbelievable on the forecheck and back check. The coaches did a good job preparing us. We just had to carry out that mission, so it was good.”
CHA linesman Laura Johnson has been named to the women’s hockey officiating staff for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, according to a recent announcement by the IIHF.
“Laura is one of our finest linesman,” said CHA commissioner Bob DeGregorio in a statement. “She has definitely earned this opportunity. We are proud to have one of our officials selected to participate in the Olympics and excited for her to have this experience. I am confident that she will do a fine job and will represent College Hockey America well in Sochi.”
“Just to have that feeling of representing your country at an Olympic event,” said Johnson in a statement. “I can’t even imagine…and to do it with the same group of officials that I’ve worked with and become friends with over the last few years, it’s really special.”
Johnson, who played at Concordia (Minn.) from 2005-07 and is now in her second year working CHA games, was chosen for the Olympics based on her performance at the IIHF World Championships, which she worked in 2012 and 2013.
WCHA linesman Alicia Hanrahan will also work women’s games at the Olympics.
Providence’s Jon Gillies watched John Gibson lead the Americans to World Juniors gold last year and now wants to have his time in the crease (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Jon Gillies treated last year’s World Junior Championship as a learning experience. This year, the Providence goaltender may have a bigger say in how the United States fares in Sweden.
Gillies was on the 2013 U.S. World Junior Championship team that won gold in Ufa, Russia. Even though he logged only 20 minutes of game time, the 6-foot-5 South Portland, Maine, native said that the experience he earned was tough to quantify.
[scg_html_wjc2014]”Last year was a learning experience, and I went over there with an open mind-set ready to play any role that they needed me to,” Gillies said. “It was a pleasure to be around those guys and on that team and part of that family we built. It was a memory that I will cherish forever, that gold-medal win.”
Gillies said it was an honor to be on last year’s team because it was loaded with so much talent.
“You’ve got guys playing in the NHL that were on that team and you have John Gibson leading every category in the AHL,” he said. “There was a lot of superstars on that team that just made it fun to be around. They were great guys that accepted everyone else; they were never cocky.”
What he learned from playing behind Gibson was instrumental in the success that he’s had at Providence since last year’s tournament.
“I came back a better goalie just from watching him,” Gillies said of Gibson, who with the Norfolk Admirals has played more games this season than any other AHL goalie. “His mental makeup is unbelievable — he never gets too high and never gets too low. And that was the biggest asset of his game. Obviously on the ice he’s a superstar and he’s spectacular. He was the best goalie in the world and there’s no doubting that — it’s a fact.”
Gillies said last year’s team dynamic, not only the fact that it won gold, set the bar high for this year’s squad.
The Americans lost two of their four pool games last season — both 2-1 against Russia and Canada — before outscoring opponents 15-2 in three medal-round games.
“It’s a great precedent for this year, to make sure that we stay the same way,” he said. “We keep plugging, we stay even-keeled and we remember that it’s not over until it’s over because anything can happen, especially when you get to the medal round.”
At Providence, Jon Gillies is 10-1-3 with a 1.88 GAA (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Even though the team is different, Gillies said that camp has went a little smoother the second time around.
“Definitely the second time around is a little better because you know what to expect,” he said.
He added that it was easy to get a feel for this year’s coaching staff — Minnesota’s Don Lucia, Boston College associate coach Greg Brown, St. Cloud State’s Bob Motzko and Denver assistant David Lassonde.
“They’re very straightforward with what they demand of us,” Gillies said. “They let us know what they expect, and that’s all you can ask of a coaching staff. It’s black and white, there’s no gray areas.”
Gillies finished his freshman year at Providence with a 17-12-6 record and a 2.08 GAA. This season, he has posted a 10-1-3 record and a 1.88 GAA. His eight collegiate shutouts are a Providence record.
In Tuesday night’s game against Minnesota State, Gillies started for the U.S. and played the first half of the game before Lucia put Anthony Stolarz in net. Gillies gave up one goal and had 11 saves in the junior team’s 3-2 overtime win over the Mavericks.
Lucia did not disclose much about who would get the majority of the time in net in Sweden, but he said that he liked the way both goaltenders played on Tuesday.
“I thought both of them did a good job,” Lucia said. “They did what we hoped they would do.”
Boston College’s Thatcher Demko, who is the team’s third goaltender, did not dress on Tuesday.
Gillies said that he felt a little pressure to be a leader on the team this year, having experienced all the travel and commotion from last year’s tournament. But he added that leadership comes with being a goalie.
“Goalies on every team are a leader,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran or a rookie. I just tried to answer questions about the guys on what to bring and what not to bring, how fast the tournament is and how things work and different things like that. Most of it is just trying to lead by example.”
On the season:
Dan: 79-34-12 (.680)
Chris: 79-34-12 (.680)
This Week’s Picks
Friday, Dec. 20: Providence at Army Dan: This is one of those games where PC fans have to worry that their team doesn’t take Army too lightly. That said, I think the Friars will be just fine. Providence wins. Chris: This the only one out of 14 games to be played over the next 10 days that will be held in an AHA rink. But that alone won’t be enough for the Black Knights to knock off the No. 5 Friars. Providence wins.
Friday, Dec. 27: Penn State vs.Robert Morris (Three Rivers Classic) Dan: Penn State won the first meeting of the year, 5-4, in a game featuring 93 shots. That said, they also barely beat Sacred Heart and were swept by Air Force. These two teams seem to produce instant classics, and I’m guessing this is the time for the Colonials to start righting the ship. If RMU loses, I’m vowing to quit my jinx and never pick them again. RMU wins. Chris: RMU won this tournament last season, but I don’t see that happening this time. I’m picking the Nittany Lions in a close game. Penn State wins.
Saturday, Dec.28 Robert Morris vs. Bowling Green/Boston College (Three Rivers Classic) Dan: If RMU wins, then they’ll likely draw Boston College, who is playing BGSU in the “York Bowl” in the first round. If that happens, consider the Penn State game a Pyrrhic victory. Regardless who they play, I’m picking against The Sons of Schooley, but Holy Cross ruined any chance of catching the Eagles napping. Boston College beats RMU or Bowling Green beats RMU Chris: I’m expecting this to be the consolation game, and I’m expecting the Colonials to play Bowling Green. But you never know. I’m picking Boston College to defeat RMU, or RMU to beat Bowling Green.
Holy Cross vs. Bentley (Frozen Fenway) Dan: Both teams are planning huge alumni events for the game, and the atmosphere should be great for the first ever AHA game at Frozen Fenway. The Falcons are dressing in the Red Sox locker room; consider Branden Komm the Bentley Big Papi for his flair for dramatic, game-winning, heart-stopping saves this year. Holy Cross, though, hasn’t lost a season series in this rivalry since 2009 and held a 2-1 lead into the third before Bentley won in OT in their first meeting. Bentley wins. Chris: Outdoor games are more difficult to pick, because weather conditions can dictate a style of play that may favor one team over another. But Bentley’s on such a roll right now that I’d pick them even if the game were played in a parking lot. Bentley wins.
Canisius vs. Massachussetts-Lowell (Catamount Cup) Dan: On neutral ice, anything can happen. If the Griffs win, it’ll announce loudly that their title defense is just getting warmed up. But UML is 10-2 in their last 12. Mass-Lowell wins. Chris: An upstart RIT squad beat two ranked teams to win this tournament two years ago, and there’s no reason why Canisius can’t do the same thing. But I think the 10th-ranked River Hawks won’t be taking the Golden Griffins lightly. Mass-Lowell wins.
Saturday, Dec 28 and Sunday, Dec. 29 Mercyhurst at Ohio State Dan: Despite being in first, the Lakers are 2-6-1 in non-conference play. The Buckeyes are 8-4, including six straight against the league. Ohio State sweeps. Chris: Ohio State has been good at home this season (7-3) and is 6-0 against AHA competition so far, but think the Lakers get a split here. Ohio State wins Saturday; Mercyhurst wins Sunday.
Sunday, Dec. 29 Sacred Heart at Connecticut (UConn Holiday Classic) Dan: I’m going to miss when UConn hosts a holiday tournament and an eastern pod teams plays a league game in the first round. UConn wins. Chris:This tournament game, played at The XL Center in Hartford, counts as a league matchup. I’m going with the Huskies to win despite them giving up the home ice advantage. UConn will have to get used to playing in Hartford, where the Huskies will play all of their home Hockey East games next season. UConn wins.
Holy Cross at Yale Dan: It’s a bummer that Holy Cross will have a physical, emotional game in the league on Saturday and the defending national champions on Sunday. Yale struggled into break, losing to Dartmouth and tying Harvard. But this will be a good progression back to play for the Elis after playing the Russian Red Stars on Friday. Yale wins. Chris: The Crusaders have a quick turnaround, going from Fenway Park to the Whale at Yale the following day. I’m going with the No. 11 Bulldogs on home ice. Yale wins.
Air Force vs. Northeastern (Ledyard Bank Classic) Dan: Stop Kevin Roy, and the rest becomes infinitely easier. Northeastern still has a 3.32 GAA. Air Force wins. Chris: Another ranked foe stands in the way of an AHA team (The Huskies are No. 16 in the USCHO.com poll). But I’m sticking with the Falcons in this neutral-ice contest. Air Force wins.
Canisius at Vermont (Catamount Cup) Dan: Vermont was on a roll until their last game, sweeping UMass and Maine before losing to NU. Mario Puskarich is turning into the freshman find of the year, especially since their other highly-coveted freshman, Brady Shaw, is in a funk. Vermont wins. Chris: This “tournament” features a pre-determined lineup, so the Golden Griffins will play the host Catamounts no matter how they fare against Lowell the day before. I’m going with the home team. Vermont wins.
Monday, Dec. 30 Sacred Heart vs. UMass/Quinnipiac (UConn Holiday Classic) Dan: I don’t think it will matter, but I think Sacred Heart is better suited for a matchup with UMass. Quinnipiac’s system is designed to kill opposing offenses. UMass or Quinnipiac win. Chris: I think Quinnipiac will defeat UMass in the first round, so the Pioneers will most likely face the Minutemen in the consolation game In either case, I think SHU finishes fourth. UMass or Quinnipiac wins.
UMass/Quinnipiac at Connecticut (UConn Holiday Classic) Dan: I really hope this is UMass-UConn because that’s one of those great “other sports” rivalries that would translate great into hockey. The basketball rivalry is getting a shot in the arm thanks to the surge of the Minutemen. Why can’t hockey do the same? UMass wins. If it’s Quinnipiac, well then that’s just lame. Quinnipiac wins. Chris: Sticking with my predictions, this would mean a Quinnipiac-UConn championship, and I’m going with the No. 8 Bobcats. Quinnipiac wins. If it’s a UMass-UConn matchup, UConn wins.
Air Force vs. Providence/Dartmouth (Ledyard Bank Classic) Dan: There is no reason why Providence should lose to a Dartmouth team that apparently forgot how to play hockey this year and is 2-10 after going 15-12-5 last year. For Air Force’s sake, I don’t know what to hope for. Providence wins if they play the Friars. Air Forcewins against the Big Green. Chris: If my prediction holds up, the Falcons will play the Friars in the title game. I think Providence wins that matchup. In the event the Falcons are paired with the host Big Green, I like Air Force to win.
Minnesota and Wisconsin are the only teams that have played more than two Big Ten games so far this season (photo: Jim Rosvold).
It’s Wednesday evening and I’m putting the finishing touches on this week’s column, the last of the first half of the season. Coincidentally, I just filed fall semester grades for my four classes at Mott Community College on this last day of the semester. We’re a week away from Christmas but the mood is end-of-the-year reflective.
It’s too soon for me to process the last 16 weeks of teaching — I think that also requires a beverage stronger than what’s served in this coffee shop near Flint, Mich. — but now that my head is no longer full of research essays and student poetry, I have a little room to breathe and to think about the first half of the Big Ten’s inaugural season.
Let that sink in for a minute: Not only is the first half of the 2013-14 season in the books, but we’ve just witnessed half of the first-ever season of Big Ten hockey. All of college hockey’s recently shifted landscape is still so new that it’s challenging for me to wrap my very small brain around how things have changed, let alone about how these changes may play out by March and April.
Complicating the processing is the small number of league games played so far by Big Ten teams.
I think that looking back at the first half requires more thought … and more coffee. Are you in?
Six teams, interesting schedule
It’s midseason and Minnesota leads the Big Ten with a record of 3-0-1. Four conference games. The only other Big Ten team to have played four league games is Wisconsin; all others have two to their credit.
At the start of this season, we all knew that the early going for each Big Ten team would be front-loaded with nonconference play. Quite frankly, I didn’t anticipate how much fun this would be to watch. What a delight to see Boston College play Michigan in Ann Arbor on Oct. 10 — and what a delight to see that the level of play mimicked an NCAA playoff game. The same goes for last week’s Ferris State-Michigan contest, which was everything a game between two top-five programs should be.
While the shifting in scheduling isn’t limited to the Big Ten, it did make for some perhaps unanticipated side effects, like nonconference play that felt all too familiar. When Minnesota was gearing up for its first-ever weekend of Big Ten play, coach Don Lucia said it was a non-issue.
“The reality is that I almost feel like we’re playing the WCHA,” said Lucia. “That’s what’s been a little bit strange.”
In the two weeks leading up to that first league series, the Golden Gophers played former WCHA foes Minnesota State and Minnesota-Duluth. When Ohio State and Michigan opened their Big Ten seasons, they did so against each other — on the weekend when their respective teams were meeting on the gridiron, something of an annual big deal for each of those schools.
Goaltending, perhaps the story of the season so far
I admit that I was a skeptic when it came to the Wolverines this season … until I saw Zach Nagelvoort play. The freshman goaltender currently leads the nation in GAA (1.67) and is fourth in the nation (.944) in save percentage.
His steady presence seems to have provided a key ingredient to cementing a team that had the consistency of oatmeal for much of 2012-13. Sure, the Wolverines made a run for it at the end of last season, but last season Michigan impressed me more with what it lacked than what it had — in spite of having the boatload of talent it has every year.
Then there’s Wisconsin junior Joel Rumpel (2.14 GAA, .926 save percentage). Since his return from an ankle injury in mid-November, the Badgers are 6-1. Remember that Wisconsin is 8-5-1 overall.
Minnesota sophomore Adam Wilcox (2.17, .923) is 11-2-2 this season and is one key reason for the Gophers’ success.
The goaltending story of the first half, though, is Ohio State’s Logan Davis (2.21, .909), who stepped in for an injured Matt Tomkins, the freshman draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, after sophomore Collin Olson left the team the week before Tomkins was injured. Olson is another NHL draft pick, property of the Carolina Hurricanes. Davis is a third-string walk-on from the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington.
It was a position that Davis never imagined. “He was the third goalie on the team,” said OSU associate head coach Brett Larson. “He knew the situation coming in behind two NHL drafted goalies. He was excited to be part of the team knowing that he was the third goalie.”
Adding to the drama, the Buckeyes suited up two more walk-ons, Aaron Gretz and Aaron Kahn. Gretz is a junior catcher for the Ohio State baseball team. Kahn was the starter for the OSU club team — and gives up his entire year of club eligibility to back up two other goaltenders until Tomkins returns.
Incidentally, Davis has a 3-2 record.
Fabulous freshmen
Minnesota’s offense is second in the nation, averaging 3.94 goals per game. It is somewhat surprising, then, that no single Golden Gophers player has reached the 10-goal plateau yet.
The team is spreading the scoring around and Gophers’ freshmen are not shy about grabbing some of that glory. Minnesota has scored 63 overall goals; the rookies have netted 27 of them. That’s nearly 43 percent of Minnesota’s overall scoring.
Leading the goal scoring among the freshmen are Justin Kloos (6-11–17) and Hudson Fasching (6-8–14). Seven of Minnesota’s rookies have at least one goal.
Other rookies with good scoring first halves include Michigan’s JT Compher (5-9–14) and Tyler Motte (5-3–8); Michigan State’s Mackenzie MacEachern (6-3–9) and Villiam Haag (5-3–8); and Wisconsin’s Grant Besse (4-3–7).
Then and now
At the start of the season — when the whole thing was nothing but potential — each coach said at least one thing that remained with me throughout the first half.
Minnesota
For Minnesota, the big question was who was going to replace the five juniors lost to the pros at the end of the 2012-13 season. At the Big Ten media day, coach Don Lucia addressed this. “So this group, we have to be patient and allow them to grow during the course of the season,” he said. “But we have some guys that can make plays and we’ve seen that so far in practice and just in our couple days.”
It’s interesting to me that the Gophers really needed no patience for their freshman class to acclimate and step into the roles needed for the team to be successful. It’s also fun to watch upperclassmen have good first halves. Junior forwards Seth Ambroz (8-5–13) and Sam Warning (5-15–20) have certainly done the proverbial stepping up; Ambroz had nine goals in 38 games last season, while Warning had eight in 29.
Wisconsin
The Badgers were picked by the coaches in the preseason to finish atop the Big Ten this year. “I think the reason we were picked in that position,” said coach Mike Eaves, “is because you take a look at our lineup and we’re an upperclassmen team.”
Nine Wisconsin seniors have played every single game this season. Forward Michael Mersch (10-6–16) leads the team in goal scoring, and every single senior has at least one goal this season.
Michigan’s Luke Moffatt is an under-the-radar player who has scored four of his five goals on the power play (photo: Rachel Lewis).
Michigan
Eaves wasn’t the only coach counting on his upperclassmen at the start of the season. Said Michigan’s Red Berenson: “I’ve always said … you’re as good as your senior class.”
Four Michigan seniors have played all 14 games this season, and while none is as flashy as some of the younger Wolverines players, each is a key contributor to Michigan’s overall game. Forward Luke Moffatt (5-7–12) is an under-the-radar player with four power-play goals to his credit. Captain and defenseman Mac Bennett is one of the most underrated players in college hockey.
The leadership of this senior class — including that of assistant captain forward Derek DeBlois and defenseman Kevin Clare — is another difference between this year’s Wolverines and the team last year that didn’t make the NCAA tournament.
Michigan State
The Spartans are young and there’s no trading anyone. Just ask coach Tom Anastos.
“So a lot of youth, a lot of inexperience last year and in certain spots,” said Anastos. “We lost five defensemen from the previous year, so one of the challenge for me when I came in was to try to restructure our roster. This isn’t like pro hockey where you can make trades. You have to kind of live through some of those transitions and timing and so on.”
While it’s true that Michigan State has 15 freshmen and sophomore skaters, the Spartans weren’t playing like an inexperienced team at the end of the first half. Michigan State had a respectable weekend against Minnesota Dec. 6-7, tying the Gophers 2-2 — and taking the extra shootout point — before losing the next day 3-2. And the Spartans held tough for a while in a 2-0 loss to a very good Ferris State team Dec. 14. This is a team that plays hard and is nearing the level of consistency required to be competitive.
Ohio State
At the start of the season, first-year coach Steve Rohlik said: “We’re excited. We’ve got a great group of kids back with our leading scorers, with Ryan Dzingel, Tanner Fritz, and Max McCormick back up front. Certainly going to have to lean on them.”
Juniors Dzingel (9-9–18), Fritz (2-13–15) and McCormick (7-9–16) are responsible for 18 of OSU’s 50 overall goals. Dzingel and McCormick are on pace to equal their goal scoring of a year ago.
Penn State
Coach Guy Gadowsky was frank at the beginning of the season when asked about his team.
“No idea. I mean, we’re new,” said Gadowsky. “It’s a new conference. We’re new. We’ve never been in a conference. So very difficult for me to say this is what you’re going to get. We don’t know.”
Prophetic words for an unpredictable team, but we do have some idea of what the Nittany Lions are about. Penn State has the 44th-best offense (2.46 goals per game) in the nation, the 53rd-best defense (3.77 goals per game) and the Nittany Lions are sixth in penalty minutes (16.8) per game. Gadowsky likes his players to play passionately. They do.
The Nittany Lions ride a six-game losing streak into the Three Rivers Classic on Dec. 27 and 28, last playing an inconsistent weekend against Wisconsin. In their 7-1 loss Dec. 6, the Nittany Lions were outshot 43-28; in the 4-3 loss the following night, the shot differential was 31-30 in favor of the Badgers and Penn State scored a goal in each period, giving Wisconsin a game.
Players of the week
Two Big Ten teams were on the successful (or semi-successful, at least) end of things last week. Not surprisingly, their players are the ones honored this week.
First star — Michigan freshman goaltender Zach Nagelvoort: Nagelvoort stopped 29 of 31 shots when the No. 3 Wolverines tied then-No. 4 Ferris State 2-2 last Wednesday. True, Nagelvoort and the Wolverines won the shootout. True, the shootout doesn’t matter. True, too, that Ferris State absolutely is the real deal, and the rookie was well tested.
Second star — Wisconsin senior forward Michael Mersch: Mersch had two goals in Wisconsin’s two-game home sweep of Colorado College, earning his 100th career point with his goal in Friday’s 4-1 win.
Third star — Wisconsin junior forward Brad Navin: With a goal and two assists in Wisconsin’s 4-3 overtime win Saturday, Navin had his second career multi-point game — and one of those assists was on Tyler Barnes’ game-winner in overtime.
My ballot
1. Minnesota
2. Michigan
3. Ferris State
4. St. Cloud State
5. Union
6. Providence
7. Quinnipiac
8. Clarkson
9. Massachusetts-Lowell
10. Yale
11. Boston College
12. Wisconsin
13. Vermont
14. Miami
15. Notre Dame
16. Lake Superior
17. North Dakota
18. New Hampshire
19. Northeastern
20. Minnesota State
Happy holidays, folks
Enjoy whatever it is you celebrate — and celebrate the people in your lives who mean so much to you. Merry Christmas. Happy Solstice. Happy New Year.
With the holiday season in full swing, let’s see what’s on the wish list for MASCAC teams for the second half of the season.
Framingham State
I spent last week in this space writing about the Rams and Eric Ward and the upperclassman finally putting a solid season in after a couple rough seasons. Despite the tremendous 4-1-1 record in MASCAC play, coach T.J. Brown has one big wish from Jolly Old Man and that’s improved special teams. The power play is ranked 50th of 60 teams in Division III at 15.7 percent. The penalty kill is at 71.4 percent. Those numbers will have to improve if they want to be in the mix at the end of the season.
Salem State
The Vikings of Salem State are sitting in second place in the conference and what is interesting about their 6-3-0 overall record is they have four overtime victories this season. Walking the tight rope I am sure has raised coach Bill O’Neil’s blood pressure. Winning games in regulations is on the wish list and a win against Massachusetts-Boston at the Frozen Fenway event on Jan. 7 would help. O’Neil will also hope to see freshmen Alex Minter, John Needham and Tanner Fahlstedt continue to produce in the second half.
Westfield State
One of the Westfield wishes is to swap the the Becker and Southern New Hampshire nonconference games in January with two more MASCAC games. The Owls are 0-5-0 outside the MASCAC and 4-2 inside the conference. To be fair, four of those nonconference games were one-goal games. Another wish on the Owls’ list is to find a way to win those games as they sit 1-5 in one-goal games.
Fitchburg State
“There’s no place like home for the holidays” is a perfect motto for the Falcons. They are 4-3-0 at home this season and 1-3-0 away from the friendly confines of the Wallace Civic Center. The Falcons have 14 games remaining, seven at home and seven away. Good teams win at home, but the great teams find a way to win on the road. If they can go 5-2 in the second half on the road, that could possibly move them up a position or two in the standings. Another wish for the Falcons is to get freshman sensation Jake Martin back. He has put up a 4-8-12 line in eight games this season, but has missed the last four games.
Plymouth State
Last season’s regular-season champions have been hovering around .500 this season. Just like Westfield State, they will want to learn to come from behind. When their opponents score first, Plymouth State is 0-3-0 and in one-goal games, just 1-3-0. A part of that is working a large freshmen class into the program. Now through sources, I was able to obtain the wish list from the rink staff at Hanaway Rink. They want stronger netting for the goal cages for Zach Sarig’s slap shot.
Massachusetts-Dartmouth
Last year’s postseason champions are also in a rebuilding mode. At the same time, forwards Mike Restuccia (4-11-15) and Shaun Walters (8-4-12) are looking for one of their young teammates to contribute regularly. Besides those two, the Corsairs have no one with more than five points on the roster. UMass-Dartmouth has played strong in the first period, but hasn’t been able to transition that to the second and third periods.
Worcester State
I am sure the biggest wish on coach John Guiney’s list is that I never do a column on the Lancers for the rest of the season. My first column of the season was on the Lancers jumping out to a 3-0-0 start to the season and halfway to matching last season’s win total. Since that column appeared, the have gone 1-6-1. On the ice, Worcester State has been undisciplined, but more so in conference play where the Lancers average nearly 29 minutes in the sin bin. They have allowed 14 goals on the penalty kill in the first half, too.
If Santa is looking for some last-minute gift ideas for teams in the ECAC Northeast, well, I have their wish lists.
Salve Regina
The Seahawks hope their success in conference games continues in the second half of the season. They sit 4-1 in the conference with the lone loss to Wentworth on Nov. 12, which was a 2-1 game. Coach Andrew Boschetto is building up the program in the right direction, but the team still needs to find a way to come from behind and win a game on the road. They are 1-4-0 when trailing after one period and are winless after two periods. When they go on the road, they are 1-5-0.
Nichols
Coach Kevin Swallow is that one person you struggle year after year trying to find a gift for. He doesn’t have any needs that need to be addressed immediately. He got an early holiday gift when goaltender Alex Larson and Tyler Beasley avoided the sophomore slump. Larson is 6-1-2 in goal with a 2.47 GAA and a .923 save-percentage. Beasley has passed the halfway point to last year’s point total of 28. This year, he has a 6-10-16 line in 10 games.
Johnson and Wales
If this was a Thanksgiving column, Johnson and Wales coach Eric Noack would be thankful for a lot of things. How about that three-headed monster in forwards Josh Obregon (12-4-16), Cody Sarmiento (7-9-16) and Stefan Brucato (1-14-15)? The freshmen and sophomore classes have done a good job helping the Wildcats to a 9-3-0 record this season. They are also thankful for the superb special teams so far.
Western New England
The Golden Bears are another team that’s off to a very good start. They have done a very good job of getting out to a lead and holding onto to it. In the second of the season, they will face the class of the ECAC Northeast, though. They still have two games remaining with Nichols and Johnson and Wales and one game remaining with Salve Regina.
Suffolk
The Rams will be looking for a more potent power play. They are 8-for-56 on the man-advantage and coach Chris Glionna will be looking for his team defense to be better in the second half of the year. They are allowing 3.80 goals per game in conference games and still nine games in ECAC Northeast remaining on the schedule.
Wentworth
The Leopards had big plans as the ECAC Northeast playoff champions last season. There’s plenty coach R.J. Tolan wants from Santa. The biggest thing on the list is more goal production as they only have two players with four goals and another with three. The Leopards also haven’t had much luck in one-goal games as they are 2-4 in those games.
Becker
It has been a struggle for the Hawks this season. The Hawks are hoping the 10 games at home in 2014 will turn things around. They have had only three games at home and are 0-2-1. Goal support for goaltender Gregg Hussey is another thing for coach Steve Hoar’s squad. Hussey has a .891 save percentage, which isn’t that bad for a goalie that’s seeing a lot of shots.
Curry
The Colonels want goals and want them fast. They have only scored 13 all season in eight games. That’s not going to win many games. To that statistic, a better power play is in order for coach T.J. Manastersky. Curry starts the second half with seven nonconference games, but will face stiff competition against teams like Oswego, Utica, Wisconsin-Stout and Manhattanville. This will be good for them to get ready for the remaining conference games in late January and February.
Mat Bodie and Daniel Carr have helped Union to the top of the ECAC Hockey standings (photo: Melissa Wade).
Quinnipiac was the hottest team over the first two months of the season, ripping off a 13-game unbeaten streak following a loss in the season opener.
But the Bobcats are on a 1-2-2 stretch heading into the holiday break, ceding first place to red-hot Union, which ended the first half on a 10-game unbeaten streak.
Here’s a look at where the teams stand heading into the break, listed in order of the current league standings.
Union (12-3-3)
Quick hit: A win and a tie at then-No. 1 St. Cloud State sent the Dutchmen into the break as one of the hottest teams in the country. Union is third in the nation in scoring thanks to a balanced attack; eight players are in position to reach double-digit goals on the season.
Second-half outlook: Junior goalie Colin Stevens has a .933 save percentage since being pulled against Penn State on Dec. 1. A healthy second half by Stevens, who missed time earlier with an injury, will help, although freshman Alex Sakellaropoulos had 34 saves last Friday against St. Cloud.
Quinnipiac (13-3-3)
Quick hit: The Bobcats uncharacteristically blew a two-goal lead against Princeton on Nov. 23 and enter the break 1-2-2 over their last five games. Freshman Sam Anas leads Quinnipiac in scoring with 13 goals and 25 points, and is among the national leaders as well. The Bobcats are outshooting their opponents by a whopping 272 shots, by far the best in the country.
Second-half outlook: Quinnipiac’s young defensive corps should continue to improve as the year progresses. QU has enough depth to allow coach Rand Pecknold to rotate his younger players out of the lineup as needed to avoid any fatigue down the stretch. The Bobcats need to watch the turnovers and stay focused, regardless of the opponent.
Clarkson (12-3-1)
Quick hit: Picked last in both the coaches and media polls, the Golden Knights have been the story of the first half. Clarkson surpassed last season’s win total in the middle of November. Coach Casey Jones said before the start of the season that the Golden Knights’ defense needed to improve, and that’s been the case thus far, as Clarkson is allowing only 2.29 goals per game.
Second-half outlook: As good as the defense has been, the Golden Knights’ penalty kill hasn’t been anything special. Clarkson also has given up more than three goals per game in conference play. The Golden Knights should be in the mix for a top-four spot but have a tough second-half schedule, starting with three straight nonconference games against Massachusetts-Lowell, and home and away matchups with both Union and Quinnipiac.
Colgate (7-9-1)
Quick hit: The Raiders ended the first half by getting swept at home by Massachusetts, which entered the weekend with four wins. Still, Colgate is 5-3-1 in ECAC play, including wins at Union and Clarkson, in addition to a nonconference win at Ferris State, one of only two losses for the Bulldogs. Last year’s freshman class has been strong again, as Colgate’s top five scorers are all sophomores.
Second-half outlook: The Raiders slumped down the stretch last season, in part due to their inexperience. A return to form by captain Spiro Goulakos, who is still building up his stamina after missing part of the second half last year with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, should help bolster the blue line.
Cornell (7-4-2)
Quick hit: Before rushing to judgment that Cornell is past its first sub-.500 season since 1998-99, keep in mind that the Big Red were 6-3-2 at this time last year. Still, another solid year by goalie Andy Iles and production from the upperclassmen has Cornell right in the mix.
Second-half outlook: Last year’s second-half slump was the result of a lot of little things adding up, putting the Big Red in “uncharted waters,” as coach Mike Schafer said at the time. A healthy Cole Bardreau along with the continued breakout of Brian Ferlin should help Cornell continue its production on the power play.
Rensselaer (8-6-4)
Quick hit: All things considered, it could be worse for the Engineers, as RPI lost starting goalie Jason Kasdorf for the year after just two games. But Scott Diebold (.922 save percentage) has plenty of experience and has been solid since Kasdorf was lost. Ryan Haggerty leads the nation with 18 goals, and is one of four Engineers skaters averaging at least a point a game.
Second-half outlook: The defense has been solid and the offense has been there most nights for RPI. So what’s been the problem? Finishing. In baseball terms, the Engineers have been more Fernando Rodney than Koji Uehara. RPI is outscoring teams 28-5 in the first period but is getting outscored 39-34 in the second and third periods.
Yale goaltender Alex Lyon has been praised for his cool under pressure (photo: Matt Dewkett).
Yale (6-3-3)
Quick hit: Much like Cornell, the Bulldogs have nearly an identical record compared to last year’s holiday break. But unlike the Big Red, Yale ended the season as national champions. A one-point weekend at home against Harvard and Dartmouth was a disappointing way to end the first half. The Bulldogs have gotten some key goals from their freshman class, as well as solid work in net from newcomers Patrick Spano and Alex Lyon.
Second-half outlook: Yale coach Keith Allain, a former goalie himself, recently praised Lyon for his cool under pressure and improved puck-handling skills. The return of injured forwards Jesse Root and Anthony Day will be a boost for the Bulldogs entering the second half.
Brown (5-6-1)
Quick hit: The Bears have gotten great production from the trio of Mark Naclerio, Matt Lorito and Nick Lappin. Senior Marco De Filippo and freshman Tyler Steel have been solid in goal. The power play hasn’t clicked yet, as Brown is just 7-for-49 on the man advantage.
Second-half outlook: Brown needs secondary scoring badly, as no other forward outside of the Naclerio, Lorito or Lappin has more than five points. A tough start to the second half awaits — the Bears travel to Denver and Colorado College before hosting Boston College.
Harvard (4-7-2)
Quick hit: The Crimson’s nine NHL draft picks are the most in the ECAC, but that hasn’t translated into on-ice success. Goalies Raphael Girard and Steve Michalek have been good, but Harvard has gotten little scoring outside of Jimmy Vesey or Kyle Criscuolo.
Second-half outlook: Someone needs to step up to take the pressure off of Vesey and Criscuolo. If that can happen, Harvard has gotten the goaltending thus far to do some damage in the second half.
St. Lawrence (8-9-2)
Quick hit: A four-game losing streak dampened what was a solid first two months for the Saints. Senior Greg Carey has 36 points in 19 games, and is tied with younger brother Matt for the team lead with 13 goals. The Saints are averaging 3.62 goals a game and have the best power play in the country.
Second-half outlook: St. Lawrence needs to work on a defense that is 52nd in the nation and has given up 14 goals over the last three games. There’s no reason to expect the offense to drop off, so any improvement on the back end could determine how far the Saints go.
Dartmouth (2-10)
Quick hit: Dartmouth joins Clarkson as one of the surprises of the first half, only for the wrong reasons. The Big Green started 0-8 but are 2-2 since, including a win at Yale. Charles Grant has given Dartmouth some stability in net over the last few games.
Second-half outlook: A home-ice spot might be a tall task given the Big Green’s start, but it could be attainable if the defense continues on the upswing. Dartmouth gave up eight goals over its last four games after allowing at least five goals five times in the eight prior games.
Princeton (3-12)
Quick hit: Princeton is 0-4 since scoring three times in the last half of the third period to beat Quinnipiac 4-3 on Nov. 23. The Tigers have lost a seemingly countless number of man-games to injuries; only seven skaters have played in all 15 games. That certainly makes it hard to sustain any sort of consistency.
Second-half outlook: Getting healthy could go a long way toward improving the Tigers’ second-half outlook. Andrew Calof is one of the league’s top forwards but has played in only five games due to injury. Princeton dressed only 17 skaters in a 5-2 loss to RPI on Dec. 7.
Elmira women celebrate a goal. Photo c/o Elmira Athletics.
In making a case for the strongest, most competitive conference in the nation, the ECAC West has presented outstanding credentials.
While the initial portion of schedule produced little in the way of surprises for habitual national challengers Plattsburgh and Elmira, the remaining contenders have shown themselves worthy of loftier goals. The top five teams in the ECAC West are a joint 16-4-2 in nonconference action. Potsdam, currently fifth in the circuit, has forged an impressive 4-1-0 slate in that regard.
“At this point, the overall conference picture has been quite consistent with years past,” said Potsdam coach Kevin Green in analyzing the first half of the season. “Plattsburgh and Elmira will always be where they are. I believe the next four spots will continue to be up for grabs between Utica, Neumann, Oswego and ourselves. The remaining programs are showing signs of positive growth in terms of being more competitive as evidenced by recent scores this past semester. All coaches are doing a respectable job relative to resources that are available to them.”
Plattsburgh seized the top place in the D-III poll at the outset of the season, while Elmira has been within arm’s reach throughout.
“Our conference has had a nice first half of the season,” said Elmira coach Dean Jackson, whose club went into the semester break riding a three-game win streak. “Five of our teams from our conference are well above .500, along with some big wins against nonconference opponents. Plattsburgh is as strong as ever, and without question are an extremely strong contender for a title this season. Utica College and Oswego State have had themselves a very hot first half of the season, and I anticipate them to continue their success in the second half of the season. The second half of the season will be very exciting.”
Utica coach Dave Clausen’s take on the overall power of the conference mirrors his colleagues.
“There should be some very interesting battles for playoff position during the second half of the season,” Clausen said. He recalled a recent two-game series as an example. “At 8-2-1, Oswego looks to have a strong team. They had a loss and a tie in Potsdam earlier. I think that shows that in our league, anyone can win on any day.”
Given the competitive slant of the conference, both Clausen and Green believe that sitting in fourth and fifth place respectively is not a hindrance making their mark on the postseason.
“Our goal is to finish in the number three or four spot, which is attainable provided we play to our level of capability,” Green said of his team, which returns to play on Jan. 7 against Castleton on the road. “At this point, I feel we match up very well both in conference and nonconference games that lie ahead. Our biggest obstacle is ourselves. If we can learn how not to do it wrong, in terms of making the common mistakes, we will be in a great spot. However, the games must be played and the efforts on those days will determine our fate.”
“I really like where our team is going into the break,” said Clausen, who is in his 13th campaign behind the Pioneers bench. “We have three very good lines. Megan Myers (8gp 7-7-14) has continued to produce at a high level, but unlike in past years, we are not as reliant on her production to get scoring. We have had 12 different goal scorers in our first eight games, and that means we don’t have to count on one person or one line to do all of our scoring for us.”
The Pioneers have also received quality goaltending from senior Jennie Hamel, who is three victories shy of 30 for her career.
“If we can be a little more consistent with execution and effort, I think we can be included as one of the best teams in the country.”
Plattsburgh will visit Elmira on the weekend of Feb. 7-8 for a set that will likely decide the enviable playoff hosting rights.
Until that point in the season, Jackson is intent on keeping his charges attuned to what they have accomplished thus far.
“We have many positives that we can continue to feed off of going into the second half of the season,” he said. “There is no question moving forward we need to improve in certain areas of our game, but I am confident in our women and staff that we will be focused and ready upon the team’s return from the holiday break.”
Christmas is around the corner, and that means a break in the college hockey action for a couple of weeks. It’s not exactly the halfway point in the season, but this brief hiatus is a good time to look back on the 2013 portion of the 2013-14 Atlantic Hockey season.
Here’s what AHA co-writer Dan Rubin and I think. Feel free to share your thought in the comments.
Breakout team of the first half
Dan — Bentley: The Falcons were selected low in the AHA’s preseason coaches poll despite returning a corps predicted to fight for a first-round bye to start last season. After a 1-6 start, they’ve overwhelmed opponents, and they enter the break on one of the nation’s longest undefeated streaks (seven games). Any skepticism about this team’s first-half ceiling was eradicated by their thumping of Boston University at Agganis Arena.
Chris — Bentley: Mercyhurst is in first place, but that’s where many (including Dan and I) thought the Lakers would be. We also picked Bentley to finish higher (fifth) than the coaches did (ninth), because the Falcons returned almost intact from the 2012-13 season, a campaign that started full of expectation but ended with the talented Falcons going 1-10-2 over their final 13 games. Bentley had already in my mind sewn up the “breakout team of the first half” designation before last Saturday’s 4-1 win at Boston University. That was icing on the cake.
Breakout player
Dan — Justin Danforth, Sacred Heart: Danforth has 12 points through the Pioneers’ first 10 games, and he’s only a freshman. He’s part of the reason Sacred Heart isn’t a pushover this year. He had two assists in the team’s 3-1 win over Bentley, and he had a four-point weekend in Sacred Heart’s four-point weekend against Army. Although the Pioneers aren’t a top-tier team yet, Danforth is providing the centerpiece C.J. Marottolo can build around.
Rochester Institute of Technology goalie Mike Rotolo makes a save on the tip by Niagara’s Hugo Turcotte last Saturday (photo: Omar Phillips).
Chris — Mike Rotolo, RIT: When the local product made his first start on Nov. 23 against St. Lawrence, the Tigers were 1-7-2. They’re 5-0-1 since. The freshman has just enough minutes in net to qualify for league/national statistical ranking, and his 1.97 GAA is tops in the league and 11th nationally. He’s been named both rookie and goalie of the week in the AHA over the last few weeks. It remains to be seen if this is merely a hot start or the beginning of a great career, but for now, Rotolo is making a big impact.
Team most in need of a break
Dan — Robert Morris: With a potentially lethal combination in Zac Lynch and Cody Wydo and a good, solid crop of defensemen, this is a team that has big-game capabilities. But whether it’s due to a tough schedule or bad luck, the Colonials are 2-10-2 and tied with Army, Sacred Heart and American International for last place. How bad is their luck? Eight of their losses are by one or two goals.
Chris — American International: The Yellow Jackets had an wildly inconsistent beginning to the season, but got off to their best start ever in league play, opening 3-0 with wins over Sacred Heart, Bentley and Holy Cross. But AIC hasn’t won a game since Nov. 9, going 0-9 since then. A sweep at the hands of Maine last weekend where the Jackets were outscored 12-2 needs to be put behind them as the calendar turns to a new year and hopefully a fresh start.
Team poised for a second-half surge
Dan — Connecticut: The Huskies are 3-1-1 in their last five games entering the break, 5-2-1 overall in league play. If not for Bentley’s undefeated stretch, they’d be the hottest team in the east. The Huskies are one of the most balanced scoring teams in the league, and goalie Matt Grogan was a force last year. They finished last year’s season on a 6-1-1 stretch.
Chris — Connecticut: The Huskies are tied with Air Force for the easiest remaining schedule based on winning percentage (.479) and have a healthy Brant Harris, who missed UConn’s first six games due to injury. Coach Mike Cavanaugh brought in a talented group of freshmen with Hockey East in mind, but it’s seniors that are leading the way and who will be crucial down the stretch: Harris, Billy Latta, Jordan Sims and goaltender Matt Grogan.
Roughest road ahead
Dan — American International: The Yellow Jackets started the league year 3-0 and were quick darlings. They’ve since lost nine in a row. They’ll open the second half with series against Air Force, Niagara, Robert Morris, UConn and Canisius, with a game against Massachusetts sandwiched in the middle. The first and last series are at home. No esta bueno.
Chris — Army: The Black Knights have played two more league games than most of the other teams but are tied for ninth place and have the lowest winning percentage (.273) in conference play. Army also has the toughest remaining schedule (teams still left to play have an average .571 winning percentage). That’s partially due to Army’s own record, of course, but after a visit from No. 5 Providence on Friday, the Black Knights get back into action after the holidays with series against Mercyhurst, Air Force and RIT, all teams in the top half of the standings.
First Half all-stars, MVP and coach
Dan’s picks:
Forwards: Alex Grieve, Bentley; Alexander MacMillan, AIC; Ryan Misiak, Mercyhurst
Defensemen: Greg Noyes, RIT; Steve Weinstein, Bentley
Goalie: Branden Komm, Bentley
MVP: Branden Komm, Bentley
Coach of the first half: Rick Gotkin, Mercyhurst
Chris’ picks:
Forwards: Alex Grieve, Bentley; Cody Wydo, Robert Morris; Matthew Zay, Mercyhurst
Defensemen: Nick Jones, Mercyhurst; Steve Weinstein, Bentley
Goalie: Branden Komm, Bentley
MVP: Branden Komm, G, Bentley
Coach of the first half: Ryan Soderquist, Bentley
USCHO weekly awards
I’m in agreement with the league’s picks this week:
Player of the week: Mercyhurst’s Daniel O’Donoghue had three assists in a 5-5 tie with Robert Morris on Saturday, making him the 16th player in school history to reach 100 collegiate points.
Goalie of the week: Bentley’s Komm set the milestone for career wins at Bentley (36) in style with a 42-save performance in a 4-1 win at Boston University.
Rookie of the week: RIT’s Rotolo stopped 34 of 36 shots in rough conditions as the Tigers tied Niagara 2-2 at “Frozen Frontier.”
We wish you …
On behalf of Dan Rubin, I wish you happy holidays and a great 2014.
Nazareth goaltender Ed Zdolshek flaunted the eyeblack Sunday against Geneseo outdoors at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y. (photo) Dan Hickling).
The conventional thought is that when it comes to outdoor hockey games, the goalies have it bad.
The forwards and defensemen get to skate from end to end, working up a sweat, perhaps, but certainly, for a shift, at least, able to tune out the cold.
Not so the goalie who has to stay between the pipes and shiver, except when the puck is in his end.
That’s when he has to snap back into the frozen moment, follow the puck as it kicks up a small flurry of snow accumulation and brace himself for all sorts of unnatural bounces.
That’s what was in store last Sunday for Nazareth’s Ed Zdolshek, as he and the rest of the ECAC West’s Golden Flyers hosted SUNYAC foe Geneseo (9-2-0) outdoors at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y.
Nazareth, which may be the best 1-9-1 team ever (with five losses of two goals or fewer), fell to the Ice Knights, 3-2, on an partially sunny afternoon that Zdolshek, or any one else who took part in the chilly occasion, a first involving either conference, isn’t likely to forget.
“I thought it was definitely pretty tough for the goalies,” said Zdolshek, a sophomore from Parma, Ohio. “It was difficult with the wind and the glare. And even with the snow coming in your eyes, it was a challenge, but it was a fun atmosphere.”
How does one prepare for something so unique?
Well, there is the eyeblack that most players, Zdolshek among them, sported to combat any solar flareups.
“It was definitely challenging, especially during the first period and the third with the glare coming in to my eyes,” he said. “But the wind was the most difficult part, blowing in my face. But the puck was definitely taking some funny hops.”
Bundling up was another precaution taken, too, but just enough to keep from getting bogged down by bulky, or even worse, soggy togs.
“I wore a couple layers extra,” said Zdolshek, who stopped 26 Geneseo shots. “I tried to stay focused and keep my head in the game, down when the puck was in the other end. Sometimes the cold was getting to me, but I tried to stay focused and battle through it.”
Nazareth coach George Roll felt that with the conditions likely to be iffy (or worse), that sticking to the basics was the best approach.
“We prepared like any other game,” Roll said. “It’s the same for both teams, so you don’t want to get caught up in that. You simplify your game a little bit. I think the big thing is to try to get more pucks to the net. You’re not going to be able to make a lot of plays, so our focus was to get some traffic and try to get some ugly goals.”
Freshman Ben Blasko scored both of Nazareth’s goals, and neither of them were of the ugly variety.
“It was a great experience,” said Zdolshek. “It was awesome to play out here. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I was glad to be a part of.”
Ferris State goaltender CJ Motte is unbeaten in 17 games this season (photo: Ferris State Athletics).
We went into this season not knowing a lot about how the WCHA would shake out. Matt knew the old CCHA teams pretty well, same with Shane and the leftover WCHA programs.
But what would happen when they blended together? Would it go together like chocolate and peanut butter or would it go the way of oil and water?
So far, it seems like the former.
In half a season, we’ve learned quite a bit about the new-look league:
• 1. It’s better and perhaps deeper that many folks thought.
• 2. It’s got many more good players than those preseason polls indicated.
• 3. There seems to be a team running away with the league title — and it’s not Minnesota State.
Here are Matt and Shane’s all-conference picks for the first half of the season. One thing’s for certain: This was a lot easier in September.
Forwards
Cody Kunyk, senior, Alaska
Kunyk is second in the WCHA in goals scored with 11 in 18 games, giving him a slightly better goals-per-game average than Bemidji State’s Cory Ward. Kunyk’s eight assists also tie him for second in the league in scoring, with his 1.06 points-per-game average topping the league.
Jean-Paul Lafontaine, junior, Minnesota State
Lafontaine is the WCHA’s top threat on the power play at the halfway point, leading the league in power-play goals and points. Seven of his eight goals and four of his eight assists have come on the man advantage.
Cory Ward, sophomore, Bemidji State
Ward is the WCHA’s leading goal scorer in the first half with 12 in 20 games, plus he’s had four assists. He’s been the model of consistency, scoring goals in 11 games and points in 14.
Honorable mentions: Scott Allen, junior, Alaska-Anchorage; Garrett Thompson, senior, Ferris State; Alex Globke, freshman, Lake Superior State.
Defensemen
Jason Binkley, junior, Ferris State
Binkley leads all WCHA defensemen in scoring with 15 points off three goals and 12 assists. Those 12 assists also rank second among all players in the league, with the 13 by Bowling Green’s Ralfs Freibergs leading everyone. Defensively, he’s plus-11 to lead the first-place Bulldogs.
CJ Ludwig, senior, Northern Michigan
Ludwig won’t end up on the final regular season all-WCHA team because of the season-ending knee injury he suffered Nov. 29, but he was arguably the league’s best defenseman in the first half. Before his injury, he was the league’s top power-play threat, with four of his five goals and five of his seven assists coming on the man advantage. Since his injury, the Wildcats have not won a game.
Honorable mention: Scott Czarnowczan, senior, Ferris State; Kevin Czuczman, junior, Lake Superior State.
Goaltender
CJ Motte, junior, Ferris State
At the break, Motte has yet to taste defeat, with a 14-0-3 record in his 17 starts. He leads the league in minutes as the only WCHA netminder to top 1,000. His GAA of 2.15 is second in the league and his .927 save percentage ranks third.
Honorable mention: Cole Huggins, freshman, Minnesota State
Top player
CJ Motte, junior goaltender, Ferris State
Record is often times a poor judge of how good a goaltender can be — he can let in four goals and get the win or allow just one and get the loss — but Motte has the save percentage and GAA to back up that 17-game unbeaten record.
Runners-up (tie): Jason Binkley, D, Ferris State; Jean-Paul LaFontaine, F, Minnesota State
Top rookie
Alex Globke, forward, Lake Superior State
Averaging nearly a point per game, Globke not only leads the Lakers in scoring, but all freshmen in the WCHA with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points. His best game this season came Nov. 22 at Bemidji State, when he scored two goals and an assist.
Runner-up: Cole Huggins, goaltender, Minnesota State
Top coach
Bob Daniels, Ferris State
The Bulldogs are unbeaten in 12 games this far in the WCHA at 10-0-2, and at 14-2-3 overall they’re ranked No. 2 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. Ferris State is also on a national-best 15-game unbeaten streak.
Runner-up: Jim Roque, Lake Superior State
Tom Serratore and Bemidji State are doing better than most predicted (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Surprise team
Bemidji State
The Beavers were picked to finish seventh by the league’s coaches and eighth by the media, but midway through the season, they’re sitting tied for third in the WCHA with 14 points in 14 games. Maybe that one media member who picked the Beavers to win the league knew something we didn’t, or the person just got lucky.
Runner-up:
Lake Superior State
Surprise player
Cole Huggins, freshman goaltender, Minnesota State
The Mavericks were all set to ride Stephon Williams as a sophomore this year in goal, but he’s been unseated by Huggins as the go-to-goaltender in Mankato. Huggins sports a league-best 1.73 GAA and .934 save percentage in his nine starts and 12 appearances.
Best pickup
Zach Lehrke, senior forward, Minnesota State
Lehrke walked away from hockey at the beginning of the year due to a painful medical condition. After missing the Mavericks’ first 10 games of the season, he had a change of heart and came out of retirement in mid-November. Minnesota State has won seven of eight games since Lehrke returned. Not only does he have three goals and six assists in eight games, but the Mavericks’ power play turned from a weakness into a strength.
Biggest loss
Ryan Carpenter, junior forward, Bowling Green
The Falcons’ top returning scorer and preseason all-WCHA pick suffered a broken finger that required surgery in the preseason. When he was finally cleared to play again, Carpenter’s bad luck struck again, and he broke his foot in practice blocking a shot and went back on the shelf. Bowling Green weathered the storm early, starting off 5-2-2. But the team sure could use him now, as it’s gone 3-6-2 since.
Bemidji State freshman forward Phillip Marinaccio has bee issued a one-game suspension as a result of his actions in the Dec. 14 game against Alaska.
Marinaccio’s suspension was determined after a review by the league office of an illegal check at the 17:06 mark of the third period. He was assessed a five-minute major for spearing and a 10-minute game misconduct at the time of the incident.
Marinaccio will sit BSU’s next game on Friday, Jan. 3, versus Northern Michigan.
The WCHA announced Wednesday a one-game suspension to Alabama-Huntsville junior defenseman Ben Reinhardt as a result of his actions in the Dec. 14 game against Minnesota State.
Reinhardt’s suspension was determined after a review by the league office of an illegal check at 13:50 of the third period. At the time of the incident, Reinhardt was assessed a five-minute major for hitting from behind and a 10-minute game misconduct.
Reinhardt will miss the Chargers’ next game on Friday, Dec. 27, at Wisconsin.
Massachusetts junior defenseman Oleg Yevenko has been invited to join the Belorussian national team and participate in the Arosa Challenge, hosted by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation, from Dec. 19-22.
St. Cloud State goes into the break at 11-2-3 (photo: Jim Rosvold).
With the NCHC going almost completely dark over the holiday break, I felt now would be a good time to put out midseason report cards for each of the league’s eight teams.
Only two NCHC teams will be playing between this column’s publishing date and the start of the 2014 calendar year. Western Michigan will participate in the Great Lakes Invitational after Christmas, while Miami has an exhibition game scheduled for New Year’s Eve.
At any rate, for our last NCHC column of 2013, here are letter-grade reports on each league team in alphabetical order.
Colorado College: D+
Coach Scott Owens’ club is still battling and has occasionally been rewarded for its efforts, but those rewards have been much too few and far between.
I’ve been encouraged by the Tigers’ work in their last two series against Nebraska-Omaha at home and away to Wisconsin, but at 2-12-3 overall and 2-5-3-1 in the league, CC is going to have to successfully navigate a tough second-half schedule if it wants to secure a place above the NCHC’s basement come the end of the regular season.
Denver: B-
Denver came out of a tumultuous offseason in which it lost long-standing coach George Gwozdecky and a bevy of top-quality players leaving early, so the Pioneers can be forgiven for their shaky start to their 2013-14 campaign.
First-year coach Jim Montgomery’s Pioneers (9-6-3, 4-3-1-1) have stepped up their game, though, and thanks to continued great goaltending from Sam Brittain and more pucks starting to hit the backs of DU’s opponents’ nets, I’m confident Denver will continue its ascension in 2014.
Miami won only three of its first eight NCHC games (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Miami: B-
This is one of those instances where a specific grade can have positive connotations for one party and not so great ones for another. Whereas Denver has made a big climb up into its B- spot, Miami (9-7-2, 3-5-0-0) has disappointed a lot of people, likely including the RedHawks themselves.
Most NCHC prognosticators had Miami in the league’s top two going into this season, but we haven’t seen Enrico Blasi’s team play well enough consistently enough to make us think the RedHawks are the league and national contenders we thought they’d be.
Minnesota-Duluth: C+
At 7-8-1 and 3-5-0-0, it’s easy to look at the seventh-place Bulldogs and say they haven’t been good enough so far this season, and I wouldn’t dispute that.
I do, however, envision a better second half of the season for UMD, as it has eight winnable home games remaining and a road slate Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin’s club could safely navigate if it can hit a rich vein of form.
This is a team that could clinch home ice for the first round of the NCHC playoffs if it consistently puts in the effort and gets a few bounces to go its way.
Nebraska-Omaha: B
Seeing as I and many others had picked UNO to finish at or near the foot of the NCHC table, it appears the second-place Mavericks (8-7-1, 5-2-1-1) are punching a bit above their weight.
The bad news is UNO had a rough start to this season and its nonconference record — most glaring are splits with Bentley and Northern Michigan and a sweep at home at the hands of Cornell — may come back to bite the Mavericks.
The good news? UNO has been maybe the NCHC’s biggest surprise in league play, and if the Mavericks can miss out on the sort of late-season tailspin they’ve experienced the last couple times around, this may yet be an NCAA tournament team.
North Dakota: B
North Dakota appears to be its usual North Dakota self of recent years, starting out slow before finding its legs and rocketing up the league standings.
UND sits at 9-7-2 and 5-5-0-0, having not been as consistent as it should’ve been through the first half of the season, which is as underwhelming as it sounds.
However, as coach Dave Hakstol’s bunch has won each of its last five games and has one of the NCHC’s easiest remaining schedules, I fully expect North Dakota to keep climbing and possibly even win the league’s regular season championship. Watch this space.
St. Cloud State: A-
I have a feeling I might get roasted by Huskies fans for “only” giving St. Cloud State (11-2-3, 6-1-1-0) an A-, but while the truth’s out there that no NCHC team has been perfect thus far, St. Cloud has unquestionably been the best of the bunch.
A lot was made before this season about the Huskies losing a Hobey Baker Award winner in Drew LeBlanc as well as a few other key pieces from recent years, and SCSU’s offense could afford to be more consistent.
However, coach Bob Motzko has this team winning from the net out with goaltender Ryan Faragher’s great play begetting solid play in the Huskies’ own zone begetting wins, and lots of them.
Western Michigan: C+
Western Michigan is one of the surprisingly few teams that is where we thought in preseason that it would turn out to be.
There’s a lot of time for the Broncos (7-8-3, 3-5-0-0) to climb above the foot of the NCHC table, though, but Andy Murray’s club is going into the winter break having lost three of its last four games and has maybe the league’s toughest second-half schedule.
I’m not convinced this is a last place team — nobody should be, anyhow, given the current bottom three have identical NCHC records — but Western’s in danger of becoming that if it doesn’t start finding more consistency.
Players of the week
Offensive player of the week — Rocco Grimaldi, North Dakota: The third-year sophomore UND forward dished out three assists in last weekend’s home sweep of former WCHA rival Northern Michigan. He had the primary assists on both game-winning goals over the Wildcats, and Grimaldi extended his own point streak to five games, all of which UND has won.
Defenseman of the week — Jordan Schmaltz, North Dakota: UND allowed only two goals all weekend against Northern, and Schmaltz had a big part to play in that. He helped UND kill seven of the Wildcats’ eight power plays on the weekend, and Schmaltz wasn’t on the ice for either of Northern Michigan’s goals. He also contributed three assists to the cause, including two during power-play opportunities in UND’s 4-1 win Friday.
Rookie of the week — Kyle Osterberg, Minnesota-Duluth: The forward led UMD to its split last weekend with Western Michigan, putting together two goals and an assist on the weekend. He came up particularly big in Duluth’s 4-3 win Saturday, opening the scoring just 12 seconds into the game before adding an assist on a goal that put UMD up 3-0 in the first period.
Co-goaltender of the week — Sam Brittain, Denver: The senior from Calgary, Alberta, allowed only one goal in each game last weekend at No. 18 Rensselaer. Over the two games against the Engineers, Brittain made 40 saves — 22 Friday, 18 Saturday — while also posting a .953 save percentage and 0.94 GAA. This is the fourth time already this season that Brittain has earned at least a share of this award.
Co-goaltender of the week — Zane Gothberg, North Dakota: The sophomore goaltender has been playing well lately, and he led his team to both of its wins last weekend against Northern Michigan. He put together 24 saves in UND’s 4-1 win Friday, and Gothberg needed to make only 13 saves the following night en route to a 3-1 victory. Hakstol is likely to turn to him again coming out of the winter break, as Gothberg is riding a career-best five-game winning streak.
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