The well-traveled Stephen Collins has come home to play for Geneseo and has led the Knights to an impressive first half (photo: Dan Hickling).
It usually doesn’t take a rookie too long before he receives his “initiation” – his “Welcome to the SUNYAC” moment.
It’s been 10 games now as a Geneseo Ice Knight and freshman Stephen Collins has yet to receive his.
No dressing room pranks played on him by the upperclassmen.
Nor any “love taps” applied not so gently by the opposition.
“No,” said the soft-spoken Collins. “I haven’t had any of that. No chirping.”
Perhaps it’s because he’s been too busy putting up points to notice.
Collins, with seven goals and 12 points, has been racking them up a better than a point a game clip and is the SUNYAC’s top first-year point-getter.
Not by coincidence, Geneseo (8-2-0, 7-1-0) is off to a terrific start.
“It’s good to contribute,” Collins said. “It’s nice to score once in a while.”
Ice Knights’ coach Chris Schulz is effusive in his praise of his young sniper.
“The dimension that he’s added to our power play,” said Schulz, “and to our team in general with his skill is priceless.”
To consider how Collins came to be part of that team, one would need a good atlas.
Collins hails from Pittsford , N.Y., which is normally just a short hop up I-390 from Geneseo.
However, Collins, took a much more circuitous route, with junior stops in Vermont, Iowa and Ohio.
Then, when hope for Division I opportunities failed to materialize, Collins headed for Arizona State last year to sample the club hockey life.
“The league I was in was good competition,” he said. “The experience was amazing. And so was the weather.”
Collins put up impressive numbers for the Sun Devils (27 goals and 42 assists) in 43 games.
But the desire to ply his trade closer to home led him to Geneseo, where former junior teammates Tyler Brickler and Zachary Vit (SUNYAC’s reigning player of the week) were waiting for him.
“I knew it was a great school to go to,” said Collins. “And I knew a few guys on the team. They told me about it.”
Any concerns about how he would fit in with his new mates were dispelled off the hop.
“I was comfortable with the team from the start,” Collins said. “It’s been pretty good so far.”
“We knew he was super talented,” added Schulz. “It was pretty seamless. He’s all business at the rink. He loves hockey.”
The Knights have just one game to play before the holiday break, but it’s a momentous one.
On Sunday, Geneseo will meet ECAC West foe Nazareth in an outdoor contest, to be staged at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y.
Needless to say, the Knights are pretty jazzed about being part of such an historic occasion.
“Our team couldn’t be more excited to be playing at Frontier Field,” said junior goalie Bryan Haude, who comes from nearby Hilton. “It is a great opportunity and something we will all remember for the rest of our lives. We are going to prepare for this just like any other game with the exception of adding a few extra layers for the cold. It should be a great game and something we are all looking forward to.”
Bentley’s Andrew Gladiuk had six points last weekend (photo: Melissa Wade).
Before the season, Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist stressed the importance of his defense rising to the occasion.
He talked about how his team had the tools to be great but needed to invest the time on both ends of the ice.
He talked about getting strong defense and timely goaltending, and he talked about how the talent level needed to be refined in order to get the team to the heights they expected but failed to achieve last season.
The stench of last year’s finish still hangs over the team, but it’s no longer a burden or a curse. Instead, it’s a motivating driver, one that has the Waltham, Mass., school on the heels of first-place Mercyhurst at the halfway point of the season. It’s also one that has the Falcons hunting for more among an unsatisfied feeling.
“I think if you look back over where we were, we got caught in the standings as a great offensive team that didn’t stop anyone [last year],” said Soderquist. “Heading into Christmas break, we were trying too hard to outscore teams, and we weren’t necessarily improving in the right ways on defense.
“We’ve gotten much better, but it’s more the attitude in the locker room and the commitment to the little things that’s gotten us to where we need to be.”
Bentley is one of the hottest teams in the nation, owning the fourth-longest current unbeaten streak at six games. They are 5-0-1 since they last lost to American International, and they were about 30 seconds away from being 6-0.
Most recently, they displayed dominant form at both ends of the ice, cleaning up a four-point weekend against Robert Morris with 4-1 and 7-2 victories.
“I told our guys in the locker room that we had to win the second period [on Friday],” said Soderquist. “We’d struggled at times with that during the year if you look back to the AIC and Holy Cross games. So it was key that we put some distance between ourselves and our opponent so we would be able to enjoy a bigger third-period lead.
“After we won the first game, I told them that Robert Morris wasn’t going to go away, that they were going to give us everything they could in the first period on Saturday, and we had to win that. If we could win that, we’d be in a position to do the same in the second.”
That’s exactly what happened: Up 1-0 after the first period, Bentley scored twice to take a 3-0 lead into the third on Friday.
On Saturday, the Colonials controlled game flow through the first five minutes, but Bentley responded with three goals. Reeling, RMU gave up three more in the second, ultimately being forced to use all three of its goalies over the course of the weekend.
Bentley’s top six skaters led the way. Alex Grieve scored a hat trick on Friday and assisted on all three goals by Brett Gensler, who became the program’s all-time Division I points leader in the process.
Andrew Gladiuk ended the weekend with six points, and Branden Komm tied the all-time program wins record by sweeping the weekend. He also increased his save percentage to .924 and lowered his conference GAA to 2.19.
The Falcons head this week to Agganis Arena and Boston University, looking to score the league’s fourth win over Hockey East opponents. The Terriers are reeling, having taken only one point from Merrimack, sitting in a shocking 10th place in the ultra-competitive league.
It’ll provide a “solid test,” according to Soderquist. “Any time you get the chance to play in a great arena against a great program, it’s a big moment. Our campus is rallying behind the team, and they’ve given us great support everywhere we’ve gone. The students, the alumni, the faculty, the administration — we’re hoping it continues [on Saturday].”
Rochester Institute of Technology plays Niagara at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y., on Saturday (photo: Joe Venniro/RIT Athletics).
The great outdoors
This weekend kicks off the first of the AHA’s outdoor hockey games for the 2013-14 season.
Rochester Institute of Technology heads to Frontier Field, the home of the Rochester Red Wings minor league baseball team, for a game under the lights against Niagara on Saturday.
That’ll be followed by a post-Christmas feast in Boston when rivals Holy Cross and Bentley launch the Frozen Fenway event at Fenway Park.
Outdoor games have come under fire lately for being overkill with the NHL’s Stadium Series watering down the Winter Classic. But this will be the first trip outside for the Tigers, Purple Eagles, Crusaders and Falcons.
RIT will play as part of a pairing with their women’s team on Saturday; the women’s team will take on Clarkson at noon before the men square off with Niagara at 7 p.m.
The Tigers have always enjoyed great support in the Rochester area, routinely packing Blue Cross Arena for an annual game at the minor league hockey venue.
Meanwhile, the Bentley-Holy Cross game will be played at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 28. Both teams’ alumni associations are planning events for the day in town, and their recent rivalry will create a special feeling to the kickoff event.
Bentley, the designated home team, will dress in the home clubhouse used by the Red Sox. Both games will count toward the AHA standings.
Coach Mike Cavanaugh and Connecticut swept Niagara last weekend (photo: Melissa Wade).
Splitsville, USA
As part of our ongoing tracking of the West-East matchups, the East fared much better last weekend, splitting the week with the West 5-5-2.
The East was led by Bentley’s sweep of Robert Morris and Connecticut’s sweep of Niagara. The West struck where it needed to as RIT, one of the hottest teams in the league, swept American International and Mercyhurst handled Sacred Heart. Army drew a shocking split with Canisius, and Holy Cross tied Air Force on both nights.
Both divisions are featuring smoking hot guns. While Bentley is 5-0-1 in its last six games, RIT is 5-0 in its last five, tied for the fifth-best active unbeaten streak in the nation.
Connecticut is picking up steam by sweeping Niagara, and Holy Cross is proving much better than people bargained for.
Through two weeks of interdivisional play, the league is starting to separate into an upper echelon and a lower echelon. This time, however, there’s a healthy mix of East and West teams, which will make the second half of the season beyond interesting.
So you think you can dance?
Things are starting to wind down in the AHA’s first half, but that means it’s time to look at some of the neutral site and holiday extravaganzas that’ll take place in a couple of weeks between Christmas and New Year’s.
Robert Morris will host the Three Rivers Classic. The Colonials will renew a budding, great rivalry with Penn State, then face either Bowling Green or Boston College, who will meet in the unofficial Jerry York Bowl in the first game.
Canisius heads to Vermont to play in the Catamount Cup; it will draw Massachusetts-Lowell in the first game and the host Catamounts in their second of a predetermined draw.
Sacred Heart plays Connecticut in the UConn Holiday Classic in a game that counts toward the AHA standings. The tournament, moved to the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., also features Massachusetts and Quinnipiac.
Air Force heads to Dartmouth to play in the Ledyard National Bank Classic. The Falcons will draw Northeastern in the first round, then play either Providence or Dartmouth.
And Bentley draws Holy Cross in a conference game at Frozen Fenway in Boston.
Players of the week
You won’t get any argument out of me this week.
Offensive player of the week — Bentley forward Andrew Gladiuk: Gladiuk had a six-point weekend in the Falcons’ sweep over Robert Morris. Normally a sniper, he had three assists in the 7-2 victory on Saturday. He added two goals in that game for a five-point night. He is tied for the league lead in goals with teammate Alex Grieve, and he’s tied for third in the league for points with Mercyhurst’s Ryan Misiak. Bentley occupies three of the top four point spots, with Grieve and Steve Weinstein tied for first.
Goaltender of the week — Jimmy Sarjeant, Mercyhurst: It’s easy to discredit Sarjeant for putting up dominant stats against Sacred Heart; Mercyhurst is the league’s preeminent power this year and the Pioneers are one year removed from the doldrums of Division I. But the Aurora, Ontario, junior allowed just two goals over the whole weekend, stopping 30 and 37 shots in the process. He posted a .971 save percentage over the two games, raising his conference save percentage to .942 and lowering his conference GAA to 1.72.
Rookie of the week — Todd Skirving, RIT: Can we give him the rookie of the year award yet? Skirving continued to dominate his freshman campaign, scoring two goals and an assist in the RIT sweep of AIC. He potted the game winner on Friday with a third-period strike with about eight minutes to go, and he had an assist on Saturday on a power-play goal that helped ice a 5-2 victory. He leads the RIT skaters with 12 points, ranking second among conference rookies. All 12 of his points, though, have come in the last eight games, according to the league release.
Ohhhhh, we’re halfway there
Stay tuned for our midyear review next week as we approach the halfway point of the season. It’s hard to believe we’re already approaching the playoff stretch run, but it’s been one heckuva season, and this will be one of the few times you’ll get to see Chris and I lock our heads together since the season preview.
Western New England senior goalie Eric Sorenson has been stellar between the pipes this season (photo: Patrick Stewart).
The Western New England Golden Bears’ biggest key to success to start the season with a 7-3 record is their depth.
Already, 19 players have recorded a point and only two players have averaged a point per game in Brian Prost and John Kelly.
Prout has seven goals and five assists in 10 games, while Kelly has 10 assists in nine games.
As a team, WNE is averaging 3.80 goals per game, which is tied for 15th in the nation. The power play is also ranked 15th in the country.
Head coach Greg Heffernan attributes their start to the fact that the Golden Bears have an older squad.
“With the deeper roster we have, most guys are happy with our team success and there’s really a lot of self-sacrifice,” said Heffernan. “It’s fantastic to see and another thing is most of these guys are 24 or 25 years old. A lot of them when they were freshmen were 21 when we first got them.”
Heffernan said they are four lines deep and look to create depth like one of last year’s Frozen Four teams at the Division I level.
“I think when you look at Quinnipiac from last year, they went to the national championship game and I don’t think they had a single guy with a point per game,” Heffernan added. “They just had depth and really good hockey players that bought in to defense and penalty killing.
“We have tried to mold our program through depth. We take that approach and that model. We are really having the guys understand there’s no one person bigger than the team, including myself. We are going to be accountable and be held to the same set of standards. We are also going to try for achievement that’s team-related and not individual-related.”
When asked to single out any surprising players, Heffernan said there hasn’t been just one.
“I am impressed with everybody doing their job,” he said. “I got to tell you I am impressed overall of everybody doing their job. If you ask me for one guy, it’s very difficult to say.”
He also added he’s happy to see no one is trying to step on another player’s role on the team and part of that has to do with the team motto Heffernan has instilled in the team.
“We have a saying in the locker room that has been very effective for us,” Heffernan said. “It’s more of a team mission, [but] our team motto is ‘More doesn’t equal better. Better equals better.’ We talk to our guys so much about ‘I don’t need you to do more, I need you to do what you do better.'”
With everyone having their own specific roles on the team, it helps keep the pressure off to look at the stat sheet, according to Heffernan.
With the success the team is having on the ice, Heffernan is also proud of the success in the classroom that his players are having. Two of his seniors already have jobs lined up after graduation in the spring.
Wisconsin-Stout coach Terry Watkins has the Blue Devils looking forward to the second half of the season (photo: UW-Stout Athletics).
If you look at the record of Wisconsin-Stout, it’s not impressive.
Three wins. Seven losses. No one is writing home about that record.
But if you take a closer look and go beyond the surface of the win-loss column, you discover it’s a very deceiving record.
Stout has played a rugged schedule, which features five teams currently ranked in the top 15 in the nation, and has been more than competitive in those 10 games.
The Blue Devils have lost five games by a goal.
“We’re one of the better 3-7 teams in the nation,” Stout coach Terry Watkins said. “If you look at our record, we’ve lost a lot of close games. We’ve played hard and we’ve learned from the experiences. I’m very happy with where we are at as a team.”
Watkins has good reason to be happy, especially after the Blue Devils closed out the first half of the season on Saturday with a 3-2 upset of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the No. 4 team in the country. The Pointers had been unbeaten until that loss.
Stout was outshot 61-17 in the WIAC showdown, but remarkable goaltending by freshman Corey Koop (59 saves) and third-period goals by Hunter Scott and Zach Vierling sealed the deal.
“It’s a big deal to beat Stevens Point,” Watkins said. “We did a lot of things well and we took them off their game a bit. The big thing was that we were able to execute our game plan. It gives us a lot of confidence and gives us something to go into the break feeling good.”
The thing to keep in mind about Stout is that it is a young team as there are 13 freshmen on the roster. Despite being a young team, though, Watkins said the Blue Devils have made strides and have been fun to coach.
“This is one of my favorite teams in my time as a head coach,” Watkins said. “The guys work hard, they are great students and they really do learn from each game.”
Consistency has been one issue Stout has had to deal with, but it comes with the territory of being a younger team.
“We are still looking to play 60 minutes of good hockey,” Watkins said. “The inconsistency is something that happens with a young team, but we’ve been working at getting better. Overall, we’ve done a pretty good job and as they gain more experience, we will be more consistent.”
Kevin O’Donnell has paced the Blue Devils with seven goals and five assists. Koop has been solid in goal as he has racked up 320 saves. He has given up just 28 goals and owns a save percentage of .920.
Stout won’t play again until Jan. 3 when it heads to New York for a tournament at Oswego. The Blue Devils will open with Utica and then play Curry or Oswego. Utica and Oswego are currently 11th and 12th in the nation, respectively.
“Our schedule doesn’t get any easier when we come back, but the break will be good for us to get rejuvenated and look at what we need to do as a team to improve,” said Watkins. “We’ll review the good things we have done and focus on the improvements we need to make. I think the break will be very beneficial for us and we will come back ready to go.”
ROUND ONE: Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Wisconsin-Eau Claire squared off in a battle of nationally-ranked opponents and the Pointers came away with the win, knocking off the defending national champions 4-1 on Friday in the conference opener for both teams.
Garrett Ladd scored twice in the third period to help the Pointers pull away for the win. Ladd now has 10 goals on the season and is tied for second in the nation in goals scored. Brandon Jaeger tallied 28 saves to earn the win for the the Pointers, who improved to 9-0 overall.
Joe Krause scored the only goal for the Blugolds. It was his fourth of the season. Eau Claire, which was out-shot 4029, fell to 5-3 on the year.
FALCONS FLY HIGH: Wisconsin-River Falls capped its first week of WIAC play with a 5-1 win over Wisconsin-Superior on Friday night.
The Falcons remained unbeaten at home with the win and stretched their win streak to four games as Willie Hess and Bake Huppert scored two goals apiece in the victory. Hess now has eight goals on the season and Huppert has tallied four goals. Taylor Burden tallied an assist and leads the team with six while Tanner Milliron made 28 saves en route to the win.
Concordia wasn’t able to come away with a win in its weekend MIAC series with St. Thomas, but coach Chris Howe wasn’t hanging his head after the two losses to the nationally-ranked Tommies.
Concordia battled to a 2-2 tie in the first game, but lost the opportunity for a point in a shootout loss and then fell 4-2 in the series finale.
“We played a heck of a team over the weekend and we started off well with the two-goal lead [on Friday], but we missed out on an opportunity to make it 3-0,” Howe said. “St. Thomas was able to come back and force a tie. I thought on Saturday we just didn’t have our legs right away and we never got on track. But it’s a lesson learned for us. We can learn from the experience.”
Concordia had won four of five heading into its series with St. Thomas and it’s hardly out of the mix for the conference title.
The Cobbers, who reached the semifinal round of the MIAC tournament last season, are in third place with a 3-2-1 record. They are 6-3-1 overall. Concordia has 10 points, which puts it six points behind the Tommies and four points behind Gustavus Adolphus.
“Coach [Jeff] Boeser and I were talking over the weekend about how happy we are that the league is doing so well,” Howe said. “It’s very competitive and it’s going to be tight all year. You have to be ready to go each game because three points is on the line every night.”
Much of their success is a credit to a balanced offense and the play solid goaltending. Eight players have scored at least two goals for the Cobbers, including defenseman Caleb Suderman, who has struck for seven goals to go along with three assists.
“Caleb has really stepped up and he is a terrific hockey player,” Howe said. “He is one of those players that doesn’t come around too often. He is a great shooter and it’s great to see him play well. He’s a lot of fun to watch.”
Goalie Chris Neamonitis has been stellar as well. He has allowed only 19 goals and has made 325 saves. Neamonitis has started all 10 games for the Cobbers.
“We have had outstanding goaltending all year – Chris has been terrific in the net,” Howe said. “I also think our defense is doing a better job in front of him.”
Concordia will wrap up its first half of the season this weekend with a pair of games at Northland. It won’t play again until Jan. 7 when it takes on Wisconsin-River Falls.
Howe said he is counting on his players to take care of their bodies and find time to work out on the ice while on the upcoming holiday break. He also said that while the team is practice before the break, it will emphasize the importance of being focused for each game.
“We need to stay focused and be ready to play each game [because] here are no easy nights,” Howe said. “We want to prepare the best we can for every game and play our best every night. Hopefully, if we take care of our business, we’ll be in a position for a playoff spot.”
ON THE BOARD: It’s been a struggle for Hamline this season, but the Pipers finally got their first win of the year on Saturday as they edged Bethel 2-1.
Dan Bartkowiak scored the game-winner for the Pipers, who held a 33-26 edge in shots. It was the first goal of his collegiate career. Tyler Gonzales scored the goal for Hamline, which improved to 1-8-1 overall and to 1-3 in the MIAC. John Sellie-Hanson earned his first collegiate win as he made 25 saves.
BIG WIN: Saxton Soley made 25 saves to help St. John’s blank 15th-ranked Augsburg 5-0 on Saturday. It was the third career shutout of Soley’s career. The Johnnies held a 36-25 edge in shots and Alex Ach led the offense with two goals.
The Johnnies had struggled as of late, losing two in a row and four of their last six, including a 3-1 loss to Augsburg on Friday night. The five goals by the Johnnies was their second-highest goal total of the season.
A lot of what we heard back was about the selection of Tampa, Fla., for the 2016 tournament, the second time in four years that the nontraditional site will host.
Carmine Guerriero made six saves in overtime last Saturday to give Alabama-Huntsville time to get its first win of the season (photo: Alabama-Huntsville Athletics).
Following their 4-3 overtime victory over Bowling Green last Saturday night, Alabama-Huntsville’s players wanted to give the game puck to Mike Corbett for his first win as a college head coach.
“But it’s not about me,” Corbett said, recalling the moment on Tuesday morning, “so I gave it to our goalie [Carmine Guerriero].”
The win snapped a 15-game losing streak to start the season. Corbett, the first-year coach, said he’s “a positive guy, even in the most negative situations,” and that he’s seen “small successes” throughout the year. But getting that first, real victory was important.
“More for our kids,” he said. “As a coach, you can tell them they’re sticking with it, you can tell them they’re improving. But there are no end results. … We’ve been in a lot of games, but they needed that — more than I did.”
During their streak, the Chargers lost five one-goal games. Twice, they were shut out 1-0. They led now-No. 4 Ferris State 2-1 late in the third period on Nov. 2 before losing 3-2. And they were tied with current No. 1 St. Cloud State late in the third period on Nov. 16 before losing 4-3.
“I told them Saturday, ‘We’ve been here before,'” Corbett said.
On Saturday, the Chargers trailed 3-2 going into the final period. Jack Prince tied the game at 12:30 of the period, and, with just 3.4 seconds remaining in overtime, sophomore defenseman Frank Misuraca fired in the game-winner.
“You have to earn your bounces,” Corbett said. “We’re the Alabama Chargers. We’re not going to get anything we don’t earn. That’s life in Chargerville right now.”
Guerriero, a freshman, finished with 41 saves, including six in overtime.
“The biggest thing is that [the players] are coming to the rink with a good attitude and a good effort every day under tough circumstances,” Corbett said. “They’ve stayed focused on what they want to do.”
The win was just the second against a Division I team in two seasons and the fourth over a turbulent three-season stretch. Over that time, the program has had three head coaches, was cut, then given a late reprieve and languished as an independent until finally getting accepted into the revamped WCHA for this season.
“We’re always going to be the underdog,” Corbett said.
But now the streak is behind them; they’ve won “one in a row.”
The Chargers will host Minnesota State, a winner of five games in a row, this weekend and will travel to Wisconsin after Christmas.
“It ain’t going to get any easier,” Corbett said.
Scott Czarnowczan and Ferris State play at Michigan on Wednesday (photo: Ferris State Athletics).
Around the WCHA
• After sweeping Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., No. 4 Ferris State takes its 13-game unbeaten streak into Ann Arbor’s Yost Ice Arena to play No. 3 Michigan at 7 p.m. Wednesday. As CCHA rivals a year ago, the Bulldogs and Wolverines split their season series 1-1-2. Both teams won and tied on their home ice. The Bulldogs play another former CCHA rival on Saturday in Michigan State at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. FSU won three of four against the Spartans in 2012-13, with the one loss coming at Munn.
• Bowling Green’s sophomores accounted for half of the team’s scoring over the weekend in a win and loss at home to Alabama-Huntsville. Brent Tate and Mark Cooper had two of the three BGSU goals in Saturday’s loss, while Ben Murphy scored in Friday’s win. Ralfs Freibergs and Dajon Mingo had assists both nights, while Tate and Cooper had assists on Friday. Senior Bryce Williamson and junior Dan DeSalvo lead the Falcons in scoring this season, but the next four after them — Tate, Cooper, Freibergs and Murphy — are all sophomores.
• Michigan Tech came into the season with a highly touted offense but has been carried by its defense as of late. The Huskies’ defense is giving up 2.28 goals per game to rank first in the WCHA and 10th nationally. Tech has given up more than two goals in a game on just five occasions this year. Sophomore goaltender Pheonix Copley has been a big reason for the rankings with a GAA of 1.96 and .928 save percentage.
• Bemidji State has gone to overtime in four of its last five games, including a pair of 2-2 ties last weekend at Michigan Tech. The Beavers and Bowling Green each have played in seven overtime games already. Bemidji State is 1-1-5 in OT; Bowling Green is 1-3-3. Michigan Tech has played in six OTs, going 1-1-4.
• Lake Superior State has made plenty of trips to Fairbanks, Alaska, but never to Anchorage to play the Seawolves. That changes this weekend when UAA and LSSU meet for the first time since a 1992 NCAA regional series in Sault Ste. Marie. The Lakers are 4-0 all-time against the Seawolves, with three of the four games being NCAA playoff games.
• Northern Michigan closes out its nonconference schedule in Grand Forks against an old WCHA foe in North Dakota. UND and NMU last met in February 1997 in Marquette when both schools were members of the WCHA. UND leads the all-time series 26-24-3 and is 18-9-1 in Grand Forks.
• Despite losing at Sullivan Arena for the first time this season on Saturday, Alaska-Anchorage is off to its best start at home since becoming a Division I program (6-1-1). The Seawolves’ previous best start was 6-2 in 1987-88. The Seawolves will host Lake Superior State this weekend.
• Minnesota State’s power play was 4-for-46 (8.6 percent) in the team’s first 10 games. In the last six games, it’s gone 12-for-30 (40 percent). The Mavericks are 5-1 in those games.
• Alaska snapped a five-game losing streak last Saturday with its 5-4 victory over rival Alaska-Anchorage. It was the Nanooks’ second win in their last nine games after starting the season 4-1-2.
• WCHA players of the week: Ferris State sophomore forward Matt Robertson (offensive); Alabama-Huntsville sophomore defenseman Frank Misuraca (defensive) and Bemidji State freshman goaltender Jesse Wilkins (rookie).
Three returning hosts and one new venue were selected to host men’s Frozen Fours from 2015 to 2018, the NCAA announced Wednesday.
Boston’s TD Garden will host its third Frozen Four in 2015; the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., will get its second in 2016; and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., will see its third in 2018.
NCAA championships
See our NCAA tournament pages for future sites and dates:
Chicago’s United Center will host for the first time in 2017.
Women’s Frozen Fours were awarded to Minneapolis’ Ridder Arena in 2015 and 2018; the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, N.H., in 2016; and the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., in 2017.
Division III men’s championships will be played at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis in 2015; at The Olympic Center in Lake Placid, N.Y., in 2016 and 2018; and at the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, N.Y., in 2017.
The NCAA also announced sites for the 2015 and 2016 men’s NCAA regionals:
In 2015, the East Regional will be in Providence, R.I.; the Northeast in Manchester, N.H.; the Midwest in South Bend, Ind.; and the West in Fargo, N.D.
In 2016, the East Regional will be in Albany, N.Y.; the Northeast in Worcester, Mass.; the Midwest in Cincinnati; and the West in St. Paul, Minn.
Paula: That the Bulldogs are tearing up the new WCHA makes my heart very happy. Very.
Undefeated in the WCHA (10-0-2), Ferris State is riding a 13-game undefeated streak into Yost Ice Arena. Last weekend, FSU swept former CCHA and current WCHA rival Lake Superior State, 5-3 and 3-1. Most recently, Michigan dropped a 5-4 overtime exhibition game to the U.S. Developmental Team (Dec. 5), but previous to that had swept Ohio State (Nov. 29, Dec. 2) in a home-and-home series.
These former CCHA rivals are meeting for the 104th time, so if you’re new to this you should realize that there is a lot of history here — and a whole lot of love. Last season, the teams went 1-1-2, each winning a game in its own arena and with Michigan taking the extra shootout point in each of the overtime games. The last time the Bulldogs and Wolverines met was in Yost (Mar. 1-2) in the last-ever regular-season weekend of CCHA play. Michigan won 4-1 and the teams tied 1-1.
Drew: Paula is the expert on the former CCHA teams, so I’m not going to even try to out analyze her on this one. It should be a great game. I wish BTN was carrying it so I could watch it from the frozen tundra of Southern Minnesota. Maybe it’s time I finally figure out how to work BTN2Go.
Paula’s Pick: This game begins at 7:05 p.m. and I’m grateful that it’s being carried by Fox Sports Detroit, because I cannot attend. (I am also grateful that the Bulldogs play the Spartans Saturday, because I am so there.) I hate to call against a streak, but I’m going with the odds; Michigan is 41-11-1 versus Ferris State in Yost. Michigan 4-3.
Drew’s Pick: I hate to call against a streak, so won’t. Ferris State 4-3.
Colorado College goaltender Josh Thorimbert has matured this season, coach Scott Owens says (photo: Candace Horgan).
Entering last Friday’s game against Nebraska-Omaha, Colorado College was struggling through one of its worst seasons ever. The team was 1-10-2 and ranked 58th in team offense.
Things didn’t look up either, as the Tigers faced the top team in the NCHC, a Mavericks team that seems to score almost at will.
However, CC gutted out a 4-2 win on Friday to break its winless streak that dated to the season opener, then followed that with a 3-3 tie/shootout loss on Saturday.
CC coach Scott Owens said that it has been a difficult season so far, but the team had been working to get more consistent.
“I think it’s one of the toughest because it has been frustrating because we just haven’t been able to generate anything,” said Owens. “You know, 1.3, 1.4 goals for, it’s hard to win, and yet, the thing that has been frustrating is we have been in 0-0 games, 1-1 games, 1-0 games and haven’t been able to close things out. The attitude has remained really strong, really good for the team, and they just keep working.”
Entering last Friday’s game, CC hadn’t been able to get a two-goal lead since a game against Western Michigan on Nov. 1. When Sam Rothstein scored to put the Tigers up 3-1 over Nebraska-Omaha in the second period, the team felt a little relieved, even while knowing it had a ways to go.
“We’ve had leads in games before where we’ve let up a little bit, especially in the third period, not necessarily two-goal leads,” said Rothstein, a freshman who is fourth on the team in scoring with six points, behind three players who have seven points.
“I think against Denver we had a lead in the third. Getting the two-goal lead is nice, but we understood we had to lock it down still.”
While offense has been a major struggle, the team has played better defense, particularly on its penalty kill, which ranks 25th nationally.
While there have been a few games where the Tigers have given up a lot of goals, most of their losses have been in close games. Part of that is the play of goaltender Josh Thorimbert, who has played 96 percent of the minutes while putting up a .907 save percentage.
“He’s had a couple of games where they’ve gotten away from us on some nights,” Owens said of Thorimbert. “Last Saturday was 1-0 with three minutes to go in the game and he gave us a chance. He gave us a chance [last Friday] when it was 3-2. He made at least one or two saves. He’s really matured this year. He looks like a senior out there; he’s unflappable, he makes big saves for us, and he’s been playing a lot of minutes.”
The Tigers also have a tie/shootout win against St. Cloud State, a win against Minnesota-Duluth and a tie/shootout loss to Denver, things that Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais was quick to point out to anyone who thought the Tigers were a poor team, including his own players.
“No matter what you tell the guys, a team that has only won a few games, you still think you just have to come out here and put your gear on and show up and play, and that’s not the case,” said Blais. “Colorado College, I thought, outplayed New Hampshire at times. They beat Duluth, lost a lot of close games, and so they were hungry. They deserved the game.”
For now, Owens and his players are hoping to build on their most successful weekend to date. Despite their overall record, the Tigers are still third in the NCHC, ahead of Miami, Minnesota-Duluth and Western Michigan. With each win worth three points, it gives the Tigers some room to gain ground.
“I’m hoping that this reinforces that if you work hard and you give effort, some good things are going to happen,” said Owens.
Goaltender Ryan Faragher is the NCHC goaltender of the week after a pair of wins at Minnesota-Duluth (photo: Jim Rosvold).
New No. 1
For the first time since 2002, the St. Cloud State Huskies sit at the top spot in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll after an impressive road sweep of Minnesota-Duluth last weekend.
For coach Bob Motzko and his players, however, there is no reveling in the new poll position.
“It’d be a lot better if it were April 12,” said Motzko. “It’s great for your fans and school. All we talked about is we don’t think Yale was No. 1 last year in December. It’s just a nice snapshot of where things are now.”
The two games against Minnesota-Duluth were a study in contrast. The Huskies won on Friday despite being outplayed for much of the game. On Saturday, they came back with a much stronger effort to get the sweep.
“The thing on Friday is we were not having a good game and Duluth was having a great game,” said Motzko. “Our goaltender gave us a chance to win the game at the end and we were able to make a play. We were able to hang on.
“We weren’t good coming out of the break on Friday for whatever reason, but we gutted it out, found a way, and the guys really had a great effort on Saturday.”
For his efforts, Ryan Faragher captured NCHC goaltender of the week honors for the second time this year. Motzko said he has really noticed an improved play from his starter since this time last year.
“Christmas last year, we threw a challenge at him: We were playing pretty well in front of him, and he needed to become much more consistent and he has responded,” said Motzko. “I don’t have the numbers, but his record from Christmas on last year to today is pretty outstanding. Now he’s an upperclassman. We threw a lot at him the first three years, and he now is taking a leadership role. And in the big games, he has been very strong for us.”
In discussing his team, however, Motzko doesn’t sound like a coach who feels his team is at the top yet, which might be the most frightening thing for St. Cloud’s opponents. The Huskies have the top-rated defense in the country; their offense is eighth. Yet Motzko believes they can definitely be better.
“The one thing that has happened is we have been balanced and guys have taken turns,” said Motzko. “Jonny Brodzinski and Nic Dowd have been the two at the top leading us, but we are having a hard time getting guys on a roll. Joey Benik scored very early in the season and now he’s slowed down, and David Morley was slow at the start and now he’s coming on.
“There’s been very solid balance in our offense, but the critical thing is our defense. We haven’t had to score many. I just believe we are going to have to get a little more high-powered offense going. Our power play is making strides, moving in the right direction, but I just think if we get into that second-half run, we’re going to have to find ways to score goals a little bit better than we have been.”
North Dakota looks for second-half surge
For a young North Dakota team that sports eight freshmen, last weekend’s sweep of Western Michigan might be a springboard to a more successful second half, something very common in the Dave Hakstol era.
In his tenure as coach, Hakstol’s teams have had a stronger second half in all but two seasons, though Hakstol doesn’t think it’s necessarily something to do with coaching.
“I think that’s just the players,” said Hakstol. “Year after year, their commitment level to improving what they are doing individually, their commitment level to improving what they are bringing to the team mechanism on a regular basis, that’s what I attribute it to. The people in the locker room that push hard and get better, and when you get better individually, collectively usually your results get better, and I think that’s been the case for us.”
This year’s North Dakota team has had its share of struggles, having a three-game losing streak in the first two weeks of November and then a four-game winless streak near the end of November.
For November, the team went 3-6-1. However, with the sweep last weekend of Western Michigan, North Dakota is back to .500.
“We’re growing up in a lot of areas,” said Hakstol. “On a nightly basis, we’ve played good teams throughout the first half, and when we’ve been a little bit off our game, whether it be execution-wise or intensity-wise, it’s difficult to win. That’s probably the biggest thing for us this past weekend. I thought we competed hard both nights for 60 minutes and with some good bounces, got some good wins.”
One of the key contributors last weekend was freshman Luke Johnson, who captured NCHC rookie of the week honors for his four-point weekend.
“I think he’s going through a fairly difficult year for a good young player,” Hakstol said of Johnson. “He’s had his stretches where points have been tough to come by, but we’re really trying not to judge his play based on just point production. His baseline level of play has been solid, and consistency with producing points will come. Hopefully, last weekend was a good sign for him.”
Johnson was moved to a line with Rocco Grimaldi and Drake Caggiula last weekend, and Hakstol said the line showed “good chemistry.” The trio leads the team in scoring, and could help key a run in the second half.
Despite his squad’s overall youth, Hakstol was adamant that it doesn’t factor into some of the inconsistent results in the first half of the year.
“It’s not something we’ve wanted to use as a crutch,” said Hakstol. “I think as soon as you start doing that, it’s easy to start making excuses. I feel like we’ve got 26 pretty good players in the room and it’s up to us to bring a high level of play night in and night out, and we haven’t been successful enough doing that on a regular basis.”
NCHC players of the week
Offensive player of the week — Austin Czarnik, Miami: Czarnik captured offensive player of the week honors for the second consecutive week and third time this season for his four-point effort against Denver. On Friday, he assisted on Miami’s only goal in its 3-1 loss. On Saturday, he scored the first goal to get the RedHawks going, assisted on the game-winner, and added an empty-netter to polish off the win. He finished plus-2 on the weekend.
Defensive player of the week — Kevin Gravel, St. Cloud State: St. Cloud, which has the top defense in the country, gave up only three goals in two games against Minnesota-Duluth, and Gravel was a big reason why. On Friday, he had two assists, including on a power-play goal in the first period that tied the game and an empty-netter that finished the win. On the weekend, he posted three assists while having a plus-5 rating and blocking two shots. This is the second time this season Gravel has taken home defensive player of the week honors.
Rookie of the week — Luke Johnson, North Dakota: In his team’s first weekend sweep of the year, Johnson, a Chicago Blackhawks prospect, had two points in each game. On Friday, he scored two power-play goals in the team’s 3-2 win, and on Saturday, he had two assists, including on the game-winner, in another 3-2 win. He finished the weekend plus-1.
Goaltender of the week — Ryan Faragher, St. Cloud State: St. Cloud swept Minnesota-Duluth behind Faragher’s goaltending, as he had a 1.50 GAA and a .948 save percentage on the weekend while playing both games and making 55 saves. He allowed only three goals in the two games, one of which was a power-play tally, while helping to kill off seven of Duluth’s eight power-play chances. Faragher captured goaltender of the week honors for the second time this season.
Candace and Arlan both think Kelly Babstock is an early favorite to be a Patty Kazmaier finalist. (Shelley M. Szwast)
Candace: With a lot of opportunity for PairWise positioning this past weekend, inconsistency reigned, except in Boston, where the Terriers swept Minnesota-Duluth. Let’s look at that series. The Terriers haven’t exactly set the world on fire offensively, but they certainly woke up this past weekend, pasting the Bulldogs for six goals on Friday and another four on Saturday. That came on the heels of five goals against Northeastern earlier in the week. Sarah Lefort leads the Terriers in scoring, and certainly was a key cog this past weekend, but so was freshman Samantha Sutherland, who continues to improve. She has at least a point in her last four games, and could be important to the Terriers’ postseason chances. The Terriers currently sit at fifth in the PairWise. What is your impression of that weekend sweep of Minnesota-Duluth?
Arlan: There have been several teams that have surprised in a positive way in the season to date, and I’d definitely count BU among them. The Terriers certainly rose to a challenge last week after losing Kayla Tutino to a season-ending injury. Louise Warren took her place at center and skated on a line with Lefort and Sutherland. That unit was the catalyst in the sweep of UMD, as well as the win over Northeastern that preceded it. I’ll have more on Warren and her team in this week’s column.
The Terriers have been nothing if not resilient in recent years. The win over the Huskies was strange in that BU seemingly had control of the game, lost the lead, and then regrouped. Then they won two very different games over the Bulldogs, including a shootout that was a surprise after the teams played a scoreless tie in their most recent meeting last season. I watched that game last December, and UMD was able to shut down a lineup that included Marie-Philip Poulin, Jenelle Kohanchuk, and Isabel Menard. Kayla Black was out of the game a few minutes into the third period on Friday after yielding five goals, and neither she nor Kerrin Sperry was in net on Saturday. Sofia Carlstrom came on in relief, surrendered the final BU goal, and was charged with the loss. That is something that has always seemed strange to me in hockey — the new goalie gets the loss even though her team was three goals down when she entered and never caught up. Allowing five goals for the second time in the last four weeks could be the one concern for BU out of the UMD series. It was a bit more understandable against Wisconsin, because the Badgers have a top-five offense. The Bulldogs aren’t in the top 10 in scoring. The Terriers did get the all-important “W” in spite of that, so I’d guess it is a minor concern.
You certainly did a better job of predicting that series than I did. In hindsight, perhaps UMD got sky high to host Wisconsin the week before and didn’t bring the same intensity on the road at BU. The two teams’ relative performance against Wisconsin wouldn’t have indicated a BU sweep, but the Terriers did do better against St. Cloud State, the other common opponent, so maybe BU was simply the better team, pure and simple.
UMD suffering a sweep also hurt North Dakota, because it was unable to sweep the Bulldogs earlier in the year, and that contributes to BU now taking the Common Opponents category and the comparison over UND. As we kind of expected, neither North Dakota nor Clarkson could gain any ground in their series, leaving those two tightly bunched with Robert Morris in Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). Did anything stand out to you about the UND at Clarkson series?
Candace: What really stands out is that two teams that have the eighth and fourth best offenses in the country, respectively, could only muster three goals each in the series. I guess you can attribute that to both having good defenses as well; Clarkson has the third best defense and North Dakota the eighth, but really, with both squads averaging over three goals a game, you might have expected them to be able to open it some more. Both squads were able to contain the other’s top scorers as well in the games they won. On Friday, Josefine Jakobsen and Meghan Dufault teamed up on the first goal, while Susanna Tapani got an assist on the game-winner. Meanwhile, North Dakota shut down Jamie Lee Rattray and held Carly Mercer to an assist. On Saturday, Rattray scored twice, Mercer had an assist, and Dufualt and Jakobsen were held without a point. There is a part of me that wonders how North Dakota might have done had Michelle Karvinen not been out with an injury. She’s UND”s most lethal scorer, and Clarkson meanwhile had all its top players, but ultimately, teams need to be able to adapt. A pair of 2-1 games though is not what I expected.
Speaking of shutting down offenses, Harvard kept Boston College to a goal, a late one at that, containing BC’s high-flying offense, which is currently third in the country, in a tie game that also didn’t really help either team in the PairWise. The BU sweep actually gives BC some help, as the Eagles will face the Terriers four times in the second half, which gives them room to move up in the top eight. BC might also get another shot at Harvard in the Beanpot, which could help the Eagles if they win that one. Meanwhile, the Crimson continue to bedevil opposing offenses. They rank first in team defense, giving up less than a goal a game; only Cornell has been able to put up more than two goals against the Crimson. I wonder if Harvard faced Wisconsin if the game would be scoreless and result in a triple OT thriller. What is your take on Harvard and BC?
Arlan: Harvard versus Wisconsin would likely wind up 8-7 like BU at Cornell a couple of years ago; of course, that doesn’t rule out triple OT.
As for Harvard and BC, that was nothing like any defensive struggle involving Wisconsin. The Badgers smother opposing offenses, clog passing and shooting lanes, and keep everything to the outside. Harvard’s play-by-play team on the webcast kept talking about how the Crimson were keeping shots to the outside, but it looked to me that it was more a case of Emerance Maschmeyer keeping shots outside of the net rather than the defense keeping shots out of the scoring areas. Every time I watch Harvard, it is yielding a lot of shots. I know that the Eagles are a dynamic team, but 52 shots is still a surprising number to allow by a top defensive squad. Clarkson, Cornell, and BU all hit the 30s in SOG against the Crimson. So from my perspective, much of the bedeviling is thanks to Maschmeyer. I thought her defense did a nice job on the PK, but five-on-five, she definitely earns her statistics.
Looked at from the other bench, BC always seems to mount a lot of pressure, but in most games versus top opponents, few goals result. The Eagles had the four-goal game against Cornell, but three of those were scored on the inexperienced Paula Voorheis. At some point, perhaps they will start finishing more of their chances and they’ll blow away better teams with the same ease that they dispatch the weak. If so, BC will be that title contender that we keep expecting to see. I don’t know that I saw it on Saturday, given that the Eagles’ defense was allowing the Crimson to hit a lot of pipes. Had one of those gone in, the game is likely over unless BC had more extra-attacker goals in reserve.
A result over the weekend that hurt BC’s cause was Lindenwood upsetting a Syracuse team that did the same to the Eagles earlier in the year. Nicole Hensley’s 46 saves and a Katie Erickson goal with six seconds left gave the Lions a 2-1 win and eroded BC’s RPI value a bit. Given BC also has a loss to struggling New Hampshire, it is a tad vulnerable. Penn State getting destroyed by Mercyhurst aside, I wasn’t expecting the new six-team CHA to be as much fun on a regular basis as it has proven to be. Did you?
Candace: No, definitely not. In the past, the CHA has been Mercyhurst and everyone else, so it’s refreshing to see how competitive that conference is, and it bodes well for a year down the line when it will have an autobid to the NCAA tournament. We’ve certainly seen our share of surprises in the conference so far. I expected Robert Morris to battle Mercyhurst hard for the title, even if I thought the Lakers would win in the end, but I certainly didn’t see RIT beating Mercyhurst, Syracuse tying Mercyhurst, or Lindenwood beating Syracuse. It seems like there is a lot of volatility in the CHA this season. Currently, it looks possible that someone other than Mercyhurst will win the CHA outright for the first time in the conference’s history. Robert Morris has a six-point lead on the Lakers, but the Lakers do have two games in hand. It will make the series between the two in January all the more crucial. RIT and Syracuse are certainly within striking distance of second place as well, depending on how things shake out. RIT is only a game behind Mercyhurst, while Syracuse sits a game and a half back. RIT certainly gave Robert Morris all it could handle in two games this weekend, but the Colonials gutted out a pair of crucial wins. I do like seeing Lindenwood doing well. They host the Lakers this weekend; I wonder if Hensley can do it again? The Lakers have been vulnerable to scoring droughts this season, even if they did just demolish Penn State.
You discussed Wisconsin’s smothering defense; Alex Rigsby was out this past weekend, yet it didn’t seem to affect the Badgers much. Indeed, the offense put up its best effort to date in scoring seven goals on Friday and another five Saturday against a pretty good Bemidji squad that had pushed Minnesota and Robert Morris and had a win over Minnesota-Duluth right before Thanksgiving. The Badgers still aren’t the high-flying team they were a few years ago, but it will be interesting to see how their second half unfolds. What do you make of the offensive numbers the Badgers put up this weekend?
Arlan: It’s hard to make too much of the sudden offense because Brittni Mowat, the Beavers’ regular goaltender, was also out. Jessica Havel had only played 80 minutes of game action, all coming versus North Dakota at the beginning of November. From what I gathered from the Bemidji State audio, she played well in portions of each game, but it’s hard to say if Mowat would have fared better.
The positive for the Badgers was that it was their first 12-goal weekend in more than a year, and players like Blayre Turnbull, Sarah Nurse, and Katy Josephs found the net again. None of them had scored during the series with North Dakota and UMD, and for Wisconsin to be successful, it is going to need goals from more people than just Madison Packer, Brittany Ammerman, and Karley Sylvester versus top competition. The bigger relief may be that Ann-Renée Desbiens proved more than adequate going solo for a weekend, should the Rigsby injury stretch into January and the North Dakota series.
You mentioned Bemidji State pushing Minnesota. That seems to be what we are seeing from games that match the top three teams against the rest of the WCHA; the game may be close, but the lower-ranked team doesn’t complete the upset. The only game where one of the bottom five won against a top-three opponent was Ohio State’s win at North Dakota. I wonder if we’re going to see many more the rest of the way. Minnesota-Duluth may take a game or two, but that might be it. It was more even in that respect last year.
The ECAC looks to offer more upset potential, even from teams we wouldn’t have expected not that long ago. In Yale’s win at Providence on Friday, freshman Phoebe Staenz scored four goals. When we first did this column two years ago, only once did the entire Yale team score as many as four goals in an entire weekend. Among rookies, only Brittany Howard (1.47 points per game) is putting up points at a greater rate than Staenz (1.45). In contrast, no freshman for high-octane teams like Minnesota, BC, Cornell, Clarkson, or Wisconsin is averaging as much as a point per game. If we’d had a rookie fantasy draft, would you have been using an early pick on Staenz?
Candace: It’s hard to say really. Aside from slam dunks like Amanda Kessel and Hannah Brandt or Haley Skarupa and Alex Carpenter, you never really know how quickly a young player will adjust to the speed and depth of the college game. For instance, I expected Jessica Dodds to play well, but I didn’t expect the numbers she has put up so far this season. Same with Brittany Howard, who is a huge part of the Colonials’ success to date, ranking sixth in the nation in scoring. Staenz is definitely playing well, and she was on my radar, but I don’t know if I would have picked her in the first round. She has 17 points so far, the same as Dani Cameranesi of Minnesota and Emma Woods of Quinnipiac, but her points-per-game is much higher. Cameranesi, as well as Tapani, who has 16 points and a 1.07 points-per-game average, would have been in my first round picks. Staenz is making a huge impact at Yale, probably more than anyone as a freshman on her team other than Howard and Dodds. Then again, Staenz is probably getting a lot more ice time than someone like Cameranesi or even Tapani.
I will say I’m happy to see Yale out of the cellar in the ECAC, and even currently in contention for a playoff spot. There is quite the bunching in the ECAC right now from 7-12, with Rensselaer having six points, Yale five, Dartmouth and Union four, Colgate two, and Brown one. I think the battle for the final two playoff spots in the ECAC is going to be fierce. It’s the same in the upper tier, with spots 1-6 all bunched up and within four points of each other. Quinnipiac and Princeton are currently three and four, but have played three more games than the other teams, so I think Clarkson, for instance, and even possibly St. Lawrence, will move up, and I don’t think either Quinnipiac or Princeton will catch Harvard or Cornell.
In an Olympic year, it’s also interesting to see other players step up. Take Rachael Bona of Minnesota, who is currently second in the nation in scoring. Bona currently has more points in the first 20 games of the year than she scored in 41 games last year. So does Sarah Davis, and Kelly Terry, while not there yet, is on pace for a career year in her senior season. I guess it’s a tribute to the depth Brad Frost has on his team. Are there any players aside from those three that you really think have stepped up to new levels?
Arlan: If we pick any team that is having a successful year and look at its roster, we will find players showing growth, and they won’t all be at the top of the scoring charts. For example, Minnesota’s fifth-highest scorer is defenseman Milica McMillen with 19 points on the heels of 26 points as a rookie. The Gophers also needed her to play a bigger role on the blue line after losing three starters from last season, and her plus-31, which I’m guessing is tops in the country, is evidence that she’s done that. If she’d quit averaging a penalty per game, Frost would really be happy. Winning teams will also have someone like Minnesota’s Brook Garzone. Last season, she was essentially the Gophers’ 10th forward and had six points. She hasn’t had a full-time role this year either, shuffled between forward and defense depending on other injuries and missing a half-dozen games with an injury of her own, but she’s still managed to double her point total and is a plus-19 after playing 14 games. Perhaps most significant for Minnesota is that Amanda Leveille has been able to handle the full-time starter role just fine, playing all but 26 minutes with a .941 save percentage.
It’s not just the Gophers. Cornell’s Emily Fulton leads the country in scoring average and her 24 points are more than she had all of last season as a sophomore. Jessica Campbell is only four points off of her total from the previous year. On the Big Red blue line, senior Hayleigh Cudmore and sophomore Cassandra Poudrier are each up nearly half a point per game; that’s vital now that Laura Fortino and Lauriane Rougeau are gone. As a junior, Turnbull has doubled her points at Wisconsin. Maschmeyer has increased her save percentage from .935 to .964 for the Crimson. Warren looks like a different player at BU. Chelsea Laden has taken to the starting job at Quinnipiac, raising a .905 career save percentage to .945 this season. For the winning teams where no returnee jumps out in terms of statistical improvement, there are newcomers making a big difference like Tapani, Gracen Hirschy, and Halli Krzyzaniak at North Dakota or Howard and Dodds for the Colonials.
So with all of those players putting up numbers and making an impact, who are our front runners for the Patty Kazmaier Award? In the most recent Olympic years, the winners were Vicki Bendus of Mercyhurst in 2010 (36 games, 28 goals and 37 assists for 65 points), Sara Bauer of Wisconsin in 2006 (39 games, 22-36-58), and Brooke Whitney of Northeastern in 2002 (35 games, 32-24-56). One difference is that the voting takes place later in the season now than it did four years ago when Emmanuelle Blais of UMD got hot and was the dominant player down the stretch, but didn’t even make the final three. Kristy Zamora of Brown suffered a similar fate in 2002. Do you see any forwards poised to separate from the pack and join that Kazmaier list, or may this be the nontypical year where a goaltender or defenseman takes home the hardware?
Candace: The voting takes place later, but the initial list of 30 will be announced in February. Some of the players I look at so far are Kelly Babstock at Quinnipiac and Rattray at Clarkson. Christine Bestland I think is also in contention; she quietly scored her 200th career point over the weekend when Mercyhurst trounced Penn State. I think a couple of goalies might be in the initial list, such as Rigsby and also Erica Howe of Clarkson. It wouldn’t surprise me if Bona and Davis make the initial list at least, and Skarupa, Lefort, and probably Howard will as well. Fulton is a contender, at least for the initial 30. Traditionally, it seems forwards win. Of the 16 winners in the award’s history, only one defenseman, Angela Ruggiero of Harvard in 2004, and two goalies, Ali Brewer of Brown in 2000 and Jesse Vetter of Wisconsin in 2009, have claimed the honor. Brandt was in the top 10 finalists last year; she’s the only player from that list of 10 who is playing this year, as Amanda Kessel, last year’s winner, Kendall Coyne, and Alex Carpenter are all off with Team USA, while Brianne Jenner is off with Team Canada. Given that Brandt is tied for second in the nation in scoring, just one point behind Babstock, I think she’s a strong contender again this season.
What about you? Who do you see as the contenders for the Kazmaier as we near the midway point of the season?
Arlan: The candidates are so tightly bunched at this point that many different people could emerge and make a push into the top 10 or top three. It helps players with the voters, especially when it is the coaches voting, if they have extras going for them beyond raw numbers. For example, someone like Terry at Minnesota will be memorable to those who watch her in person, because her speed with the puck is something you don’t see every day. Plus, she’s more than a scorer, as she has been the Gophers’ defensive stopper for the last three years. I think that gets her into the top 30, but as with many candidates, at that point her vote totals will be impacted by how she produces relative to her teammates and others in her conference.
With that in mind, I’ll take a stab at a first draft of a top 10. Among the 10 finalists, I’d say that Babstock is as close to a lock as there is this year. Give any follower of the sport a topic like “Quinnipiac” or even “ECAC” and see how long it takes for her name to be mentioned. When you watch her play, she backs up that acclaim. She has less of a supporting cast than most of the others near the top, but still manages to do her damage on a regular basis and is always dangerous. As a senior, Rattray is also likely to be in the top 10. Clarkson has other candidates that could emerge, like Erin Ambrose and Howe, and I don’t know how many top-10 entrants the Golden Knights’ season to date can support. Ambrose has a shot as the country’s highest-scoring defenseman, but Mel Desrochers has nearly matched her, is a senior, and has to fill a big role with St. Lawrence graduating Brooke Fernandez and losing Amanda Boulier to injury. There could be more goalies and no defensemen this year. Fulton will be in if she stays on the scoring lead, but Jillian Saulnier is the bigger name if she gets hot. Somebody from the CHA likely gets in the top 10; Bestland and Howard have essentially the same numbers, and Bestland is a senior and by far the bigger name. The Lakers have to stay in the hunt, though, because team success could lift Howard above her. I think Rigsby is a safe bet, because Ammerman is too far down the list and nobody else from Wisconsin figures to get much buzz. I’d say Maschmeyer has the same thing going for her, albeit without the “C” that Rigsby wears as a senior. Someone from Hockey East will be included. Skarupa and Lefort are nearly identical, and Warren is still in the hunt. I’ll say Skarupa for now, but if the Terriers get the better of the head-to-head meetings, that will change. If Minnesota stays on top, the Gophers probably get a couple; Brandt is the most likely, followed by the one out of Bona, Davis, and Terry who winds up with better numbers. Davis and Terry get an edge over Bona due to being seniors and owning more responsibility defensively. It seems odd that nobody from North Dakota is in the running with as highly ranked as UND is, but I don’t know who that would be.
So who does that give me as a top 10? Babstock, Rattray, Fulton, Bestland, Rigsby, Maschmeyer, Skarupa, Brandt, one of Bona/Davis/Terry and I’ll say either Saulnier or Ambrose. For now, these are all written in pencil. Any glaring omissions?
Candace: No, I like that list based on where things are right now. I might actually switch out Saulnier for Howard at this point. They usually like to have a freshman in the mix, and someone like Howard, who is having an amazing year in her transition to college hockey, would be hard to ignore in the top 10. Regardless, I think the second half is setting up nicely right now.
We have a Wednesday night special this week not only for the WCHA and Big Ten, but for all of college hockey and especially the state of Michigan when No. 3 Michigan hosts No. 4 Ferris State in a battle of old CCHA rivals.
The Bulldogs bring the nation’s longest unbeaten streak at 13 games (11-0-2) into Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines have won their last four regular season games, but dropped an exhibition last week on Thursday 5-4 in overtime to their neighbors, the U.S. National Team Development Program U-18s.
Tonight’s game can be seen on Fox Sports Detroit Plus in Michigan and Fox College Sports Atlantic nationally.
Here are Shane and my pick for tonight, with the rest of the picks for this weekend’s action coming on Friday morning.
Ferris State at Michigan, 7 p.m. ET, Wednesday
Matt: Yost Ice Arena may be one of the most intimidating places to play, but the Bulldogs are very familiar with Yost having played there many times before in the CCHA. This game is also on a Wednesday — not a Friday or Saturday — with finals week coming up. I like Ferris to pull to upset in a possibly less-than-hostile Yost. Bulldogs 4-3.
Shane: Upset? This is No. 3 hosting No. 4. Should be a pick ’em, right? Frankly, this should be a big, exciting game, and I should upgrade my DirecTV sports package just so I can watch it. I keep waiting for Ferris to take a bump, but the Bulldogs just keep rolling. I’m with you, Matt. Bulldogs 4-2
New Hampshire coach Dick Umile might be asking Santa for a do-over on the start of the season (photo: Melissa Wade).
I’ve once again intercepted mail from Hockey East arenas to the North Pole and am sharing it with you.
On Boston College stationary:
Well hello, Santa, this is Jerry York.
There really isn’t much for me to ask for. I’ve become the guy no one wants to get in the Christmas draw because, well … I kind of have everything.
Three national championships in six years, not to mention four Hockey East titles. A 10-4-2 record this year and first place in Hockey East. And we’re heading into the holidays the right way with a sweep over New Hampshire.
So I suppose it’d be rather unseemly for me to complain about not winning a national championship last year … or the Hockey East tournament … or the regular season crown.
But as kids say these days, what’s up with that?
So since I’m supposed to ask for something, how about us getting back another national championship?
Hey, that’s it, Santa. Help yourself to some milk and cookies, and go Eagles!
On Providence stationary:
Santa, Nate Leaman.
We came so close last year. We’d have won the regular season title if we’d just won the final game at home against Massachusetts-Lowell. But we were a bit young and inexperienced and couldn’t pull it off. We’d had a tough time in our nonconference games, so even though we advanced to the Garden, our season ended in the Hockey East semifinals.
I think we’re pretty well positioned this year, though. Instead of our nonconference record sinking us come NCAA tournament selection time, it should vault us to the top. Our 5-0-2 record outside of Hockey East is the best in the league.
And we’re in second place.
But I must admit, Santa, my coaching life flashed before my eyes when Jon Gillies went down recently and had to miss part of a game.
How about you just keep Jonnie healthy and the Friars perfect outside of Hockey East? And if that latter wish just happens to mean a national championship, well ho, ho, ho, you figured me out.
On New Hampshire stationary:
Hey, Santa, Dick Umile here.
Any chance you could wipe out that ugly start of ours? That 1-5-1 mark was a tough hole to climb out of. So just let the season retroactively start on Nov. 2, and at 8-4 I’ll be a happy camper even if it means BC swept us. Not that I wouldn’t mind putting an eraser to that weekend as well.
Hey, at our best, we’re pretty good. But at .500, we’ve got some work to do.
So give us a bit more of a scoring touch so we don’t waste all those offensive opportunities.
And for heaven’s sake, if we get in the national tournament again this year and look really good in the first-round game, don’t make it a pyrrhic victory by, at the same time, sidelining a couple of our best players for the following matchup that decides whether we make the Frozen Four.
That was pretty cruel last year, and like the Patriots getting the pass interference call go for them last weekend, we feel we’re due a break or two.
On Maine stationary:
Santa, this is Red Gendron.
I heard that writing you is a Hockey East tradition so here I am even though it seems pretty silly to me. Probably a cockamamie idea of that USCHO nitwit Hendrickson.
But here goes.
I’m really happy about two advantages for Maine hockey that are back in a major way. First off, the power play that was an embarrassment for much of last year is now at 20.5 percent, right up there among the league’s best.
And the Alfond home-ice advantage is once again a home-ice advantage. I’m talking 7-1! Wins over BC, BU and UMass-Lowell! That’s impressive, end of story.
But you know, Big Guy, I’m hoping we don’t go the rest of the season winless on the road. How about a couple W’s away from Alfond?
And maybe a stellar recruiting class or two on top of that?
Otherwise, this may be the one and only letter you get from me. No offense intended, of course.
On UMass-Lowell stationary:
Norm Bazin here.
I’ll make it short and sweet. How about giving us a second half that resembles last year?
That’s the same thing I asked you for last season and you delivered, so I’m thinking this is right in your wheelhouse.
A year ago at this time, we were in ninth place with a 2-6-1 league record and we still won the league.
What a year! First-ever regular season crown … first ever Hockey East title … first ever Frozen Four.
Just more of the same, please, and then when we get to Philadelphia, how about we play our best game instead of one of our worst?
Yeah, it’ll be great to see the city of Lowell and the school going nuts all over again.
On Vermont stationary:
Santa, this is Kevin Sneddon.
Last year at this time, we were in the same spot as now, tied for fifth. But we had a killer schedule down the stretch and had to pull out some upsets just to make the playoffs.
You know what? We’ve got almost as tough of a stretch this year: The last four weekends we play two-game sets against UNH, BC, Merrimack and Lowell. And the two games against Merrimack are in their barn.
Everyone makes the playoffs this year, but with as many seniors as we’ve got on this team, we really need to do better than just OK, better than just two-games-and-out in the playoffs.
So how about a good stretch run and a trip to the Garden? We’ll take it from there.
Whaddya say, Big Guy?
On Northeastern stationary:
Jim Madigan here.
I tell you, Santa, after finishing last a year ago, it’s nice to be right in the mix, in the middle of the standings, and with a bunch of nonconference wins under our belts, ranked 16th in the country!
We’ve got one of the league’s top-scoring squads and Clay Witt has done a great job in the nets.
So here’s a request you probably aren’t getting from anyone else.
How about a Beanpot title?
Let us bring that puppy back to Huntington Avenue and then come Valentine’s Day, I’ll talk to someone else about the playoffs.
On Notre Dame stationary:
This is Jeff Jackson here.
What in the name of Joe Bertagna are we doing writing letters to you? Is this some hazing ritual for new coaches in Hockey East, like teams convincing rookies to go to the supermarket and get their nonexistent free turkeys?
It sounds as dumb as the notion that a two-goal lead is the toughest lead in hockey to protect.
I tell you what, everyone else can take their one-goal leads and their stupid letters to Santa, and I’ll take my two-goal leads and beg you not to bring up Paul Kariya and Jimmy Montgomery in 1993.
Oh, and by the way, if there really is something to all of this Santa nonsense, I’d like us just to get healthy.
On Massachusetts stationary:
Santa, this is John Micheletto.
We missed the playoffs last season in my first year here. Although I know that everyone makes it this time around, I’d rather we not be dangling about the bottom of the standings again. I feel we’ve played better than our record in some respects and finally got our due with a W at Notre Dame to break an eight-game winless streak.
But I look at the statistics and they aren’t promising. Last in team defense, last in penalty kill and 10th in team offense. Unless you count second in penalty minutes as a good thing — I don’t, not with a PK keeping the puck out of the net only 76.1 percent of the time — then our one calling card is a top-notch power play, second at 22.6 percent. But even that drops down to 15.7 in Hockey East play.
So how about we finish stronger in the second half, by hook or by crook, and we get some more recruits for next year like Ray Pigozzi and Steven Iacobellis?
On Boston University stationary:
Santa, David Quinn here.
I know you’ve been getting mail from Jack Parker at this address since the days of the Pony Express, but I’m the new sheriff in town and so far things aren’t going so well. We’re winless in our last five league games and a couple weeks ago got embarrassed by BC and then Maine. Our team offense is ranked ninth in the league and our defense 10th (dead last if you only count conference games).
That’s not what the season ticket holders are accustomed to.
I haven’t heard the “he’s no Jack Parker” whispers yet, but that may be because I’ve stuffed cotton in my ears.
Hey, Jack’s teams had their ups and downs, just like this team is going through. Terriers teams have stormed back from worse to take home ice and better. I believe this team has it in them even if, as a local villain would have said, “Jack Parker, Chris Drury and Colin Wilson aren’t walking through that door.”
So Santa, how about giving us some of that age-old Terriers magic so we can rocket up the standings, just like the good old days?
On Merrimack stationary:
Mark Dennehy here.
You know, Santa, the “experts” kept counting us out and kept being wrong. We defied their logic for years.
Well, I’m not going to tell you the clock has struck midnight and we’ve finally turned into pumpkins, but we didn’t have a league win until last weekend.
We’ve got the league’s worst offense and power play. It’s tough to win games averaging 1.73 goals per game.
So how about restoring some of that magic from recent years? Put a little extra spark into the scoring touch of my guys. Because we sure work hard enough to deserve it.
And if you dare leave us with that sack of coal called a return to cellar-dweller status, you may just find that sack applied upside your noggin.
If you do that to us, then here come two words for you.
Bah humbug.
And finally, not that it has anything to do with anything, but …
This will be my final column before the holidays. (Jimmy will be entertaining and enlightening you next week.) So I hope you have a great holiday season.
When you do your holiday shopping, please consider my novels.
“Cracking the Ice” takes place in 1968, during the height of the Civil Rights struggle. It follows a black, 15-year-old hockey phenom who is recruited to break the color line at an all-white prep school. The headmaster who recruited him tries to help, but the coach doesn’t want him there and neither do most of the players.
This novel has received great reviews and reader reactions. It works for any audience, 14 years and up. It’s close to out-of-print status, but if you can’t find it, you can order from me. (See below.)
“Bubba Goes for Broke,” written under my pen name David Bawdy, is an R-rated comedy and crime caper featuring the world’s dumbest crook and the Hooters waitress he tries to con. If you’re easily offended, this book is funny, but it’s not for you.
Finally, I’ll have the electronic edition available in a few days of my hockey romance “Body Check.” In it, a female sportswriter falls for an old college flame who’s traded to the local pro hockey team she covers. A journalist covering the man she loves? This breaks all the rules. This novel, published under the name D.H. Hendrickson, is definitely R-rated for the spicy you-know-what scenes. (Hey, they’re a requirement for a contemporary romance.) Check your favorite online retailer in a few days.
If you’d like personalized copies of either “Cracking the Ice” (hardcover) or “Bubba Goes for Broke” (trade paperback), drop me a line at [email protected] or send $15 for one or $25 for two (Priority Mail shipping included) via PayPal to that email account. Be sure to include address and personalization instructions. Thank you!
Or see your local online retailer.
You can always follow my fiction writing news on my website.
Happy Holidays, thanks for reading and see you next year.
For the first time in nearly 12 years, St. Cloud State is the top-ranked team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll.
This week, the Huskies earned 33 first-place votes and 978 voting points. The last time SCSU had the No. 1 ranking was in the Jan. 7, 2002 poll. This current No. 1 ranking is the seventh time the school has claimed the top spot.
St. Cloud swept Minnesota-Duluth last weekend, taking the top spot from Minnesota, which took 14 first-place votes after a tie and win against Michigan State.
Michigan remains third after a win over Ohio State and an exhibition loss to the U.S. National Under-18 Team, Ferris State climbs two spots to No. 4 after sweeping Lake Superior State and also earned three first-place nods. Providence falls one to No. 5 after tying Northeastern.
Boston College swept New Hampshire and leaps three places to No. 6, Quinnipiac falls two spots to No. 7 after tying Rensselaer and losing to Union, Clarkson took both games from St. Lawrence and jumps two places to sit eighth, Massachusetts-Lowell beat American International and fell to Maine and is down a pair to No. 9, while Union is up one to No. 10 with wins over Princeton and Quinnipiac.
No. 11 Yale drops three notches after a loss to Dartmouth and a tie against Harvard, Miami stays 12th after splitting with Denver, Notre Dame holds firm at No. 13 after a split with Massachusetts, Cornell is up one after tying Colgate and with its sweep of Penn State, Wisconsin is up two to No. 15.
Northeastern moves up three to No. 16 after its Providence tie, Lake Superior tumbles three spots to No. 17 after dropping both contests to Ferris State, Rensselaer gets back in the rankings at No. 18 after tying Quinnipiac and defeating Princeton, Nebraska-Omaha split with Colorado College and falls three places to sit 19th and Denver, with its split with Miami, re-enters the rankings at No. 20.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country.
Forwards Vince Hinostroza (Notre Dame) and Zach Stepan (Minnesota State) and defenseman Jaccob Slavin (Colorado College) have been added to the preliminary roster for the 2014 U.S. National Junior Team.
As it has all season long, Minnesota is the top-ranked team in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll.
Minnesota garnered all 15 first-place votes this week.
The next five spots mirror those of last week as Wisconsin sits No. 2, followed by Cornell, North Dakota, Harvard and Clarkson.
Boston College, tied with Clarkson in the sixth spot last week, is down one to No. 7.
Boston University and Quinnipiac flip flop, with the Terriers moving to eighth and the Bobcats sliding to No. 9.
Robert Morris round out the poll, again sitting at No. 10 this week.
The USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 15 voters, including 14 coaches of Division I programs and one women’s hockey writer.
St. Cloud State goaltender stopped 14 of 15 shots in the first period last Friday to help the Huskies beat Minnesota-Duluth (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Here’s our weekly look at big events and big issues around Division I men’s college hockey.
Todd: College hockey’s wind down to the holiday break has begun, and we have a new No. 1 team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. Unbeaten in its last seven games, St. Cloud State overtook Minnesota on the heels of a road sweep of then-No. 20 Minnesota-Duluth.
The Huskies made it to the Frozen Four with a Hobey Baker Award winner last season, but you can start to wonder whether this year’s version has a better all-around team. Their offensive and defensive statistics are both improved, and an 8-0 road record already equals their number of road wins of a year ago. Could this year’s St. Cloud State team be better?
Jim: I think there is one significant element of this year’s St. Cloud team that is better by default, and that’s experience. Once you’ve reached a Frozen Four, you have that experience. Guys know what it takes to put together a regular season that qualifies you for the tournament. They understand what is feels like to play in big games. And they know how to win games when everything is on the line.
If you look at last year’s Frozen Four teams, all four are relatively even or better than last year. St. Cloud and Massachusetts-Lowell have much better records at this point, while Yale is 6-3-3 (7-3-2 last year) and Quinnipiac is 13-3-3 (14-3-2 last year).
Todd: Before last year’s Frozen Four, St. Cloud State players and coaches were supportive of goaltender Ryan Faragher, calling him one of the best goalies in the country even though his stats paled in comparison to others in Pittsburgh. So far this season, Faragher has been a big factor in the Huskies’ success. Look to last Friday: He stopped 14 of 15 shots in the first period to keep his team in the game.
Speaking of goaltenders, we had another goaltender getting on the score sheet last weekend. Quinnipiac’s Michael Garteig got credit for a Bobcats goal that Union defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere put into his own net during a delayed penalty. (See the video here.) Garteig was the last Quinnipiac player to touch the puck, doing so when he made a save.
Jim: That’s pure coincidence, particularly given that Garteig had no intent of putting the puck in the net. That said, I am a strong proponent of goaltenders making attempts for empty nets. Gillam did it perfectly, catching a loose puck, putting it down and immediately floating a puck over the D.
It certainly isn’t a frequent occurrence, but there may be no better way to ice a game than the tender scoring the empty netter.
Todd: You’d hate to be the one that gives up an icing, then gives up a goal on the ensuing faceoff, though. I’m sure that’s why we don’t even see the attempt made more often.
I wanted to touch on what will be one of the big news items this week: The bids for the 2015 through 2018 Frozen Fours will be announced on Wednesday. You pulled together all the pros and cons of the 10 finalists for an article we posted Monday, and I’m in agreement about Boston and Washington being among the strongest contenders.
I get the feeling that the NCAA will be emboldened by the success of the Tampa experiment in 2012 and try another nontraditional site. The way I see it, Chicago could be that place even though it’s nontraditional only in that it doesn’t have a college hockey team. What do you think?
Jim: There is almost no question in my mind that a nontraditional city will be included in the group of bid winners. The question is whether the NCAA sees Washington, D.C., as nontraditional given that the area does not have a college hockey team. If so, I could see Washington, Boston, St. Paul and maybe someplace like Columbus getting the awards.
But I think that the NCAA will look at D.C. on the same par with Boston and St. Paul and will look for a city that has never hosted before. If that’s the case, I see Chicago winning out. There are a lot of good bids but also a few duds, in my opinion, like Brooklyn and maybe even Buffalo. If I had my choice, I would select Boston in 2015, Chicago in 2016, Washington, D.C., in 2017 and Tampa in 2018.
Todd: I’d have no issue with that lineup. I understand the appeal that Brooklyn holds in putting college hockey into the New York City market, but I don’t think Brooklyn is the place to do it. We’ve seen that hockey works in NYC (see the full house for Boston University and Cornell at Madison Square Garden as evidence), so maybe there’ll be something there some day.
Let’s look at this weekend’s slate of games before we wrap up. The series that stands out to me is St. Cloud State hosting Union, matching a pair of top-10 teams in their last games before the break. But the single game that has great potential to be fantastic is No. 3 Michigan hosting No. 4 Ferris State on Wednesday. The Bulldogs can make a big statement with a win there. What are you looking at this week?
Jim: This is an incredibly light week of hockey in the east. The most notable game might be another in the long list of outdoor games when Rochester Institute of Technology and Niagara face off at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y. Denver will also play a tough slate of games out east, Friday and Saturday at Rensselaer and Tuesday at Massachusetts. It should be an exhausting trip for the Pioneers.
North Dakota announced Monday that the team suspended sophomore forward Bryn Chyzyk indefinitely due to a violation of team and athletics department policy.
According to the Grand Forks Herald, Chyzyk reportedly skipped out on a $4 cab fare.
The Herald reported that Chyzyk was arrested at 1:41 a.m. Monday at the Valley Dairy store at 1220 University Ave. on a report of “larceny theft.”
“It was from downtown to the Valley Dairy, probably about four bucks,” said Mike Swehle, owner of S&S Taxi, to the Herald. “He ran into the Valley Dairy.”
Chyzyk was booked into the county jail on a city charge of theft of services of under $250.
He appeared this morning in municipal court and was released pending his next appearance, which would be a bench trial before a city judge on Feb. 19, according to the Herald.
A year ago, Chyzyk was one of three freshman players cited for underage drinking at a team party and had scholarship money taken away.
UND coach Dave Hakstol said in a school-issued statement that Chyzyk would not be reinstated prior to January 2014 and that he would have no further comment.
Chyzyk registered two goals and two assists in 13 games this season.
