Functional art: Nebraska-Omaha masks show collaboration between artist, goalie

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November 5, 2013

Nebraska-Omaha goaltender Ryan Massa started working on his mask design with John Sparano right after last season ended (photo: Matthew Semisch).

As soon as a goaltender commits to play at Nebraska-Omaha, still several months before he puts skate to CenturyLink Center ice for the first time, John Sparano gets straight to work.

The owner of Omaha-based company Helmethead Design, Sparano has painted Mavericks goaltenders’ masks since 2010 and he also works with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. He’s been painting masks since 2006, and he now has the process down to a pretty exact science.

It’s not all down to just him, though. The potential for customization is what drives the industry he works in, and Sparano gives a lot of credit to the goaltenders he works with who literally wear his artwork season after season.

“I would say 95 percent of the time it’s more a 30-70 split,” Sparano said in terms of the ratio between what he offers in consultations with goaltenders and what they contribute at that stage.

“They give me a rough idea of what they want: ‘A logo here on the mask, my number here.’ They really don’t have things set in stone in their minds. I show them my ideas and we build off of that.

“The teams I work with stress that they want the masks to be team-oriented, so the player has a limited theme to work with, so that’s why it’s more on me to come up with the ideas and fit [the players’ and teams’] wants into it.”

As for how the collaborative part of the process works, Sparano said it’s largely the same every time.

“The process is the same for all clients. I meet them, they tell me what they want on their mask, I go and come up with some ideas,” Sparano said. “I then send my ideas to them. Most times they come back and have some changes or come up with something else they want on it.

“Sometimes I hit the nail on the head the first time and life is good. So we bounce back and forth a few times with ideas and changes until we get it right, then we start painting.”

This year’s models

For Nebraska-Omaha freshman netminders Kirk Thompson and Reed Peters, this season is their first playing using painted masks, and they and Sparano began bouncing ideas off one another almost immediately after the athletes became Mavericks players.

Kirk Thompson’s mask is in a western theme, with riveted marks down either side similar to those one might find on a cowboy boot (photo: Matthew Semisch).

“After I committed to UNO, I got a call from [Sparano] pretty quickly, and I’d never gotten a mask painted before, so I didn’t really know the whole process,” Thompson said.

“He told me he had some ideas, and I actually talked to one of my friends back home, and he had some ideas as he’s a pretty creative guy. So [my friend] drew up a sketch, and I sent it over to John, and I pretty much said this was the basic idea of what I wanted done, and we went from there.”

What emerged as the final product is based on what Thompson called a western theme, with riveted marks down either side similar to those one might find on a cowboy boot.

UNO’s secondary bullhead logo also features on both sides, and the two sides — painted in UNO’s primary colors of red and black — are separated by a white bar down the front of the mask emblazoned with the word ‘Omaha’ and Thompson’s sweater number.

Peters and Sparano ended up going with a somewhat less elaborate design than what’s found on Thompson’s mask.

For Peters’ mask, Sparano used only red as a base color and included an amalgamation of UNO’s primary and secondary logos on the top and two Omaha-area points of interest — the “Desert Dome” exhibit at Henry Doorly Zoo and the winding Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge over the Missouri River — on either side.

On the bottom of the front side of Peters’ mask is a custom logo that combines both his sweater number and his, to put it mildly, unusual nickname.

“Most of the team calls me either Petey or Sloth or whatever else they want to call me,” Peters said. “But I got the Sloth nickname in high school and it just stuck.

“It started with high school hockey, and I’d always been kind of tall and lanky,” said the goaltender listed at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds. “One guy one day said I looked like a sloth and everyone laughed, and that made it stick. It stayed that way with my high school team and I’ve been getting called that ever since.

Reed Peters has his nickname on his chin (photo: Matthew Semisch).

“It usually carries on to other teams, so I’ll tell [new teammates] people have always called me Sloth, and they ask why and I tell them it’s because I look like one, or so everyone says, so it catches on. It’s a catchy name.”

An image of a sloth also features on the back of his mask inside a red maple leaf. Peters, from Morden, Manitoba, and Surrey, British Columbia, native Thompson both wear symbols on the backs of their masks representing their Canadian heritage.

Junior goaltender Ryan Massa, the Mavericks’ lone American goaltender, is onto his second mask painted by Sparano. For this season’s mask, he and Sparano got down to work just after UNO’s spring break, not long after the Mavericks’ 2012-13 season ended.

“We started working on the project right after spring break and started bouncing ideas off of each other in terms of what I was looking to do and what his ideas as an artist were, and we just kind of started brainstorming,” Massa said.

“Then it was down to eliminating certain ideas and figuring out what would look good on the mask, what wouldn’t, what color scheme we’d use, what color my pads were that I’d go with this year, and all that stuff.”

What they came up with incorporates things about Massa’s team as well as himself.

The Littleton, Colo., native’s mask for this season features a custom logo at the top of the mask featuring his sweater number as well as a depiction of the Rocky Mountains. On either side of the mask are an unofficial UNO bullhead logo and that of the first-year NCHC.

On the back, Massa went with a tribute to his grandfather, who passed away around the time that Massa and Sparano began brainstorming ideas for this season’s mask’s design. At the bottom of the backplate are three symbols from the Zen school of Buddhism that represent positive thinking, relaxation and focus.

Massa said he doesn’t self-identify as a Buddhist, but that Zen is something that he continuously came across in books and eventually decided to incorporate it into how he operates as an athlete.

“I’ve been reading several sports psychology books, and a lot of them focus a lot on meditation, and Zen is a big part of that,” Massa said.

“Some of these symbols are something that’s unique and something I can look at before I put [the mask] on every night and know it’s something that can help me calm down, focus and get ready to go.”

A labor of love’s job description

Sparano has posted step-by-step photos of the goalie masks, race car helmets and other items he has customized for clients, but he finds himself having to be careful to a degree on social media.

When posting updates of UNO’s goaltenders’ masks to be used in the 2013-14 season, he only mentioned the netminders by number and never by name. NCAA Bylaw 12.5.3 clearly states that student-athletes cannot make expressed or implied endorsements of commercial products or services.

None of the three UNO goaltenders mentioned Helmethead Design when interviewed for this story, and Sparano never mentioned any of the student-athletes by name when he was interviewed.

Sparano said that aspect of the job, while difficult in places, just feels like something that comes with the territory.

“It’s a rule I have to play by, and I’m fine with that,” Sparano said.

“The hard part is after you work with a player for a few months and then the season starts and they have a good game or get their first win or shutout, I can’t show any kind of public congrats. That’s the hard part. You form a friendship with them and then you have to sit back and just be a fan.”

The fan part comes easy to him. He’s a lifelong hockey fan and supported the Mavericks long before UNO approached him to paint its goaltenders’ masks.

“I would say I’m no bigger of a fan now than before,” Sparano said. “It just feels different every time I go to a game, or see a picture on the Web or in the [newspaper] and I see my work.”

Sparano hopes that good fortune and continuing to master his craft will pay off for him as Helmethead’s business grows.

“I have to keep learning the art of custom painting,” he said. “Keep practicing. Keep challenging myself and stepping outside my comfort zones and trying new things.

“The biggest key to the future of Helmethead Design is luck. I have learned in my short three years of painting for people that when a team finds someone they are comfortable and trust to paint their masks, they stick with [that artist].

“They don’t go looking for someone new. I just need teams to give me a chance. Give me a shot to see what I can do for them. A little luck can go a long way.”

TMQ: Frozen Four returners St. Cloud State, Quinnipiac haven’t lost much

By Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski

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November 5, 2013

Cory Thorson and St. Cloud State are 5-0-1 after sweeping North Dakota on the road (photo: Bradley K. Olson).

Here’s our weekly look at big events and big issues around Division I men’s college hockey.

Jim: It didn’t take too many weeks but we finally are at the point that Cornell’s perfect team of 1969-70 can breathe easy. Granted, there are a number of teams that haven’t lost yet but no one will post a perfect slate.

Of all the teams, though, ties or no ties, the one that has caught my eye to this point is St. Cloud State. At 5-0-1, the Huskies just swept North Dakota on the road. Coming off a Frozen Four season, are the Huskies a team to watch?

Todd: If they weren’t heading into last weekend’s series, they were when they left Grand Forks. We always look at the pieces a team loses in the offseason — and there were some big ones with the Huskies in Hobey Baker Award winner Drew LeBlanc and Ben Hanowski — but sometimes we forget about what a team returns.

Nic Dowd, Jonny Brodzinski and Co. know how to win and know how to put up points, so I see the potential for St. Cloud State to be back in the Frozen Four mix again this season.

The Huskies are up to third in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll but have another top-10 matchup ahead when they host No. 7 Miami on Friday and Saturday. St. Cloud State could put itself in a great position for a run at first place with another pair of wins.

Jim: It’s pretty impressive that the stable for St. Cloud is hardly barren and this team seems poised for another title run. This weekend will be another great test for the Huskies in a very tough NCHC.

Another Frozen Four team that many thought had massive losses but is off to a fast start is Quinnipiac. After the Bobcats lost their opener, they have run off eight straight wins and sit at 8-1. Yes, that team lost 11 players, but you also have to look at the returners, similar to St. Cloud.

Quinnipiac still has the brothers Jones (Kellen and Connor), Matthew Peca and Jordan Samuels-Thomas to pace the offense. Add in rookie Sam Anas, who leads the team in scoring with 13 points in nine games, and you have to believe this Bobcats team is ready for another run toward the Frozen Four.

Combine that with St. Cloud, and part of me wonders whether we sometimes make too big of a deal of teams losing large and high-impact senior classes.

Jordan Samuels-Thomas is one of four Quinnipiac players averaging at least a point per game this season (photo: Melissa Wade).

Todd: We probably generalize too much and make too much out of the number of goals and points lost without analyzing who’s there to fill in those losses. With Quinnipiac, you saw another Hobey Baker Award finalist leave in goaltender Eric Hartzell and you pencil that position in as a potential weak spot. Then Michael Garteig puts up a 1.56 GAA in his first nine games and you start re-examining things.

Speaking of re-examining things, how many people are going to be taking a look at what’s going on at North Dakota after its pair of home losses to St. Cloud State? The early schedule is pretty tough on UND, which is 2-3-1 heading into a series at Nebraska-Omaha. It then plays series against No. 20 Minnesota-Duluth, at No. 17 Boston University and against St. Lawrence before November is over. I know better than to make a big deal out of the way North Dakota plays in the first half of a season, but I’m sure there are interested onlookers there.

Jim: One very definable result of restructuring is the strong nonleague schedules that a lot of schools are putting together. You reference North Dakota and, if the team struggles, it could have eight or nine losses before this month is over.

New Hampshire is another school that seems to have a murder’s row of opponents to begin. Clarkson, Minnesota, Michigan, Rensselaer and Massachusetts-Lowell leave the Wildcats at 1-5-1. It does seem that the top teams in the NCHC, Big Ten and Hockey East scheduled a large number of games against one another. And that makes me wonder what will happen in the national picture come March when the powers will have not only beaten up each other in league play but also struggled against difficult nonleague schedules.

Todd: Well, they all chose to move to their new conferences knowing that was going to be a possibility, so I guess I’m not going to feel too much sympathy if that’s the case. But it’s all speculation now anyway, and we’ll have to see how things actually shake out in March.

It’s a little odd to think some teams are already 25 percent done with their regular season schedule, but that’s the case.

Jim: Looking ahead to this week, what games will you be watching out west? Out east, the most noticeable matchup is between two of college hockey’s best rivals, Boston College and Boston University. The Eagles will travel down Commonwealth Avenue to face the Terriers on Friday night.

In ECAC Hockey, a Brown squad that many have high hopes for will travel to white-hot Quinnipiac on Friday, one night before the Bobcats host a rematch of last year’s national title game, welcoming Yale on Saturday.

Todd: I mentioned the St. Cloud State-Miami series earlier, but that’s not the only series between top-10 teams on this weekend’s schedule. No. 4 Notre Dame hosts No. 1 Minnesota in what, a week ago, would have been a 1-vs.-2 matchup. But the Irish lost their Hockey East opener to Vermont last Friday and fell two spots in the rankings. Still, it has the makings of a landmark series.

Optimism sky-high for all nine SUNYAC teams, no clear-cut favorite

By Dan Hickling

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November 4, 2013

Buffalo State captain Mike Zannella wants to see his Bengals’ team make an impact this year in SUNYAC play (photo: Dan Hickling).

Optimism runs amok at the beginning of every hockey season, with each team insisting that its conference is wide-open and that a league title is there for the taking.

This time, they mean it.

Really.

It’s been a while – four years, to be precise – since anyone other than Oswego has captured the SUNYAC regular season crown, but this year, or so league’s eight other teams hope, the outcome could be different.

After all, the Lakers graduated 14 players off of last year’s squad, the one that made a second consecutive (and futile) trip to the Frozen Four championship game.

A cautionary note: Any drop off in Oswego may be more imaginary than real.

That first step may not be a doozie, after all.

“People are going to look for Oswego to falter with a new team, but they will not,” said Geneseo bench boss Chris Schultz. “[Lakers’ coach Ed] Gosek is one of the best in the game and he will have them ready come February.”

Still, if there should happen to be a void at the top, there are as many as four squads – Plattsburgh, Geneseo, Buffalo State and Fredonia – who feel as though they have the gas to get them there.

“I believe that Plattsburgh has put themselves in a position to be the early season favorite,” said Brockport coach Brian Dickinson. “And although Oswego lost a lot of key guys to graduation, they always seem to reload, so their new group will get better as the season takes shape. Geneseo and Buffalo State look to have brought in some key guys to help fill the void lost to graduation and they’re both experienced playoff teams. I believe that anyone can beat anyone on any given night and it will take a team’s best effort to win games. It will be an exciting season.”

The excitement could be felt throughout the bottom tier of the SUNYAC, too, if squads that have been turned away from the playoff party in recent years can play their way into the top six.

Brockport, Cortland and Morrisville are all eager to end their playoff droughts, while Potsdam, which nabbed the final tourney spot last year, wants to fend off the others, or even improve its playoff, if it can.

“Top to bottom, the SUNYAC is one of the best leagues in the country,” said Cortland coach Tom Cranfield, who returns to the Red Dragons’ bench after an absence of seven years. “It is a tough league to play in due to the physical toll night in and night out. There is never an easy win.”

And there are rarely any dull ones, either.

Indeed, there are enough SUNYAC subplots afoot to keep things very interesting throughout the entire season.

“I think the SUNYAC is an amazing league,” said Schultz. “There are simply no nights off. You may of course have your occasional blowout, but that happens in the NHL, too. Our players have grown accustomed to having to give your best or you will lose. It is that simple.”

BROCKPORT

About the Golden Eagles
Coach: Brian Dickinson, 20th season overall (138-301-45) and 17th at Brockport (124-253-39)
2012-13 overall record: 7-16-2
2012-13 SUNYAC record: 5-10-1 (7th)
2013-14 predicted finish: 7th
Key losses: D Mike Hayward (4-11-15)
Key returnees: F Jesse Facchini (3-16-19), G Jared Lockhurst (3.02, .919), G Aaron Green (3.22, .897), F Shane Cavalieri (9-5-14), D Matt DeLuca (0-5-5) , F Brendon Rothfuss (6-6-12), F Chris Cangro (7-10-17)
Key newcomers: F Jake Taylor (15-12-27, Lindsay OJHL), F Nick Marinac (10-24-34, Trenton OJHL), D Robbie Hall (4-17-21, Trenton OJHL), F Ryan Johnson (9-12-21, Trenton/Newmarket OJHL), F Andrew Parks (1-3-4, Trenton OJHL).
Outlook: The Golden Eagles are feeling a little playoff-starved, having missed the postseason three seasons in a row. “Three seasons has been too long,” said Dickinson. “And we have talented players in the program.” One of those, Lockhurst, could build off last year’s strong freshman season to become an upper-echelon SUNYAC goaltender.

BUFFALO STATE

About the Bengals
Coach: Nick Carriere, ninth season overall and at Buffalo State (88-104-19)
2012-13 overall record: 13-12-2
2012-13 SUNYAC record: 7-8-1 (4th)
2013-14 predicted finish: 4th
Key losses: F Nick Melligan 13-17-30), F Trevor McKinney (12-9-21), F Matt Bessing (12-9-21), D Zach Hale (1-2-3), F Drew Klin (0-6-6), D Dan Andersson (0-0-0)
Key returnees: G Kevin Carr (2.52, .921), F Mike Zannella (16-10-26), D Todd Graham (2-3-5), D Ben Kramer (0-10-10), F Brett Hope (4-23-27).
Key newcomers: F Taylor Pryce (22-14-36, North York OJHL), F Adam Rossi (17-41-58, Abbottsford PIJHL).
Outlook: The senior-laden Bengals have designs on a title run and with sniper Zannella and puckstopper Carr, they might just have the means to make one. “Our goal is to continually improve on last season’s progress and turn a few heads,” said Carriere.

CORTLAND

About the Red Dragons
Coach: Tom Cranfield, 7th season (2001-07, 2013-14; 53-93-16)
2012-13 overall record: 7-15-3
2012-13 SUNYAC record: 3-11-2 (8th)
2013-14 predicted finish: 8th
Key losses: F Mike Lysyj (18-15-33), F Chris Kaleta (15-13-28)
Key returnees: F AJ Moyer (7-15-22), F Adam Bevilacqua (10-11-21), F Nick Zappia (12-6-18), D Ryan Wagner (1-8-9), G Lyle Rocker (3.65, .895)
Key newcomers: F Brant Sherwood (2-7-9, Plymouth State), F Matt Esposito (9-24-33, Rochester EJHL)
Outlook: Cranfield regains the reins after the retirement of Joe Baldarotta and hopes to take the Red Dragons in an upward direction. “Our expectation is to be a playoff team,” said Cranfield, who directed Cortland to its lone winning season back in 2001-02. “We have been absent from playoffs for too long and we are looking forward to making an appearance again.”

FREDONIA

About the Blue Devils
Coach: Jeff Meredith, 26th season overall and at Fredonia (353-269-64)
2012-13 overall record: 7-16-3
2012-13 SUNYAC record: 5-9-2 (t-5th)
2013-14 predicted finish: 5th
Key losses: G Mark Friesen (3.18, 8.96), F Brett Mueller (1-5-6), D Brad Nunn (1-1-2), F Mat Hehr (8-7-15).
Key returnees: F Alex Perkins (3-2-5), F Matt Owczarczak (2-4-6), D Ryan Edens (0-0-0), F Andrew Crist (0-0-0), D Ryan Wilkinson (1-3-4) F Steve Castriota (4-8-12), F Jared Wynia (7-2-9), F Taylor Bourne (5-5-10)
Key newcomers: G Chris Eiserman (Bridgton Acad.), F Travis Fernley (18-23-41, Truro MJAHL), Garrett Moore (12-18-30, Carleton Place CCHL), F Erik Moberg (30-19-49, Wilkes-Barre AtJHL), F Marcus Ortiz (6-10-16, Wilkes-Barre AtJHL), F Blake Forslund (21-26-47, Aurora/Orangeville OJHL).
Outlook: Fredonia is looking to break out of the middle of the SUNYAC pack, but will have to amp up the offensive output to do it. “Obviously we have to improve on the number of goals we scored last year [46],” said Meredith. “For the first time in my career in the history of the program, we finished last in the SUNYAC in goals scored. An even more humbling than that, we finished last in the country in goals scored per game, so that’s a real that’s a real point of emphasis for us.” Top returning goal-getters Wynia and Bourne will have to carry a large part of the scoring load.

GENESEO

About the Knights
Coach: Chris Schultz, 8th season overall and at Geneseo (99-78-7)
2012-13 overall record: 17-9-1
2012-13 SUNYAC record: 11-4-1 (3rd; lost semifinal)
2013-14 predicted finish: 3rd
Key losses: F Kaz Iwamoto (3-18-21), F Ryan Bulach (10-7-17), F Corbin Rosmarin (13-2-15), D Alex Lubczuk (5-11-16), D Colin deJersey (5-9-14).
Key returnees: F Zach Vit (7-22-29), F Tyler Brickler (9-12-21), D David Ripple (9-13-22), D Nate Brown (5-11-16), D Jack Caradonna (2-22-24), G Bryan Haude (2.38, .915).
Key newcomers: F Stephen Collins (27-15-42, Arizona St. ACHA), F Ryan Stanimir (3-4-7, Sacred Heart), D Derek Stahl (1-12-13, Islanders EJHL), D Matt Solomon (0-4-4, Sacred Heart), D Cam Hampson (, New Jersey EJHL)
Outlook: Hopes are lofty in Genny, where the well-balanced Knights could make legitimate run at a SUNYAC championship. “Our expectations are high, but we cannot get ahead of ourselves,” said Schultz. “We will focus on being in the moment. We will focus on competing hard and being selfless on the ice, in the locker room and in our community.”

MORRISVILLE

About the Mustangs
Coach: Kevin Krogol, 2nd season overall and at Morrisville (4-19-2)
2012-13 overall record: 4-19-2
2012-13 SUNYAC record: 4-12-2 (t-8th)
2013-14 predicted finish: 9th
Key losses: F Jamie Nelson (6-18-24), D James Jarvis (5-10-15)
Key returnees : F Mike Dolman (10-15-25), F Ryan Marcuz (9-15-24), G Chris Azzano (3.87, .890), D Eric Fletcher (1-1-2).
Key newcomers: F John Doyle (7-16-23, Orangeville/Aurora OJHL), F Darren Young (18-52-70, Niagara Falls GOJHL).
Outlook: Did you know that Marcuz is the SUNYAC’s top returning point-getter (he was fourth last season with 20)? The Mustangs’ playoff hopes will rest on stealing a few wins from unsuspecting foes.

OSWEGO

About the Lakers
Coach: Ed Gosek, 11th season overall and at Oswego (213-57-16)
2012-13 overall record: 25-5-0
2012-13 SUNYAC record: 14-2-0 (first; lost national championship game)
2013-14 predicted finish: 2nd
Key losses: F Paul Rodrigues (16-30-46, National Player of the Year), F Jon Whitelaw (10-20-30), F Luke Moodie (22-22-44), D Zach Josepher (9-14-23), D Jesse McConney (4-23-27), F Chris Brown (7-27-34), G Andrew Hare (1.88, 9.30).
Key returnees: F David Titanic (11-8-19), F Kyle Badham (1-5-6), D Nick Rivait (1-7-8), D Bobby Gertsakis (7-10-17).
Key newcomers: F Mike Montagna, (0-3-3, Vermont), F Brandon Adams (16-19-35, Soo NAHL), F Morgan Bonner (1-2-3, Sacred Heart), D Mike Wills (0-0-0, Merrimack), D Mackenzie Scott (2-4-6, Trenton OJHL), F Alex Botten (22-58-80, Stouffville/Georgetown OJHL), F Kenny Neil (21-56-77, Nepean CCHL), F Matt Galati (30-21-51, Pickering/St.Michael’s OJHL), F Shawn Hulshof (25-20-45, Trenton OJHL), D Stephen Johnson (9-28-37, Cornwall CCHL), F Chris Raguseo (7-29-36, Whitby OJHL), G Matt Zawadzki (2.85, .916, Nepean CCHL).
Outlook: They’ve suffered two consecutive national title game disappointments and have lost more than a dozen seniors off of last year’s SUNYAC champs. Thus, there are plenty of unknowns being harbored on the shores of Lake Ontario. “We have a young inexperienced team,” said Gosek. “[We also have] untested, unproven goaltending. We hope to improve each practice and each game and to be our best at end of season.” With a host of newcomers, including several with D-I experience on hand, practices (and games) should be very interesting.

PLATTSBURGH

About the Cardinals
Coach: Bob Emery, 25th season (524-166-54)
2012-13 overall record: 19-7-1
2012-13 SUNYAC record: 13-2-1 (2nd; lost SUNYAC final)
2013-14 predicted finish: 1st
Key losses: F Jared Docking (11-19-30), D Paul Puglisi (1-7-8)
Key returnees: F Luke Baleshta (7-19-26), F Kevin Emmerling (14-10-24), F Dillan Fox (9-11-20), Nick Jensen (6-9-15), F Alex Jensen (7-7-14), G Mathieu Cadieux (1.78, .929)
Key newcomers: D Patrick Hermans (Northwood Sch.), F Kyle Hall (19-24-43, Battleford SJHL), F Dakota Mason (26-41-67, Brooks AJHL)
Outlook: Some observers have already handed the Cardinals the SUNYAC crown, but Emery isn’t buying any of the hype. “As we found out last year, you cannot take a night off,” said Emery. Plattsurgh has a solid group of returnees, with Cadieux the most important of them.

POTSDAM

About the Bears
Coach: Chris Bernard, 8th season overall (49-117-10) and fifth season at Potsdam (23-47-5)
2012-13 overall record: 9-16-1
2012-13 SUNYAC record: 6-10-1 (t-5th; lost quarterfinal)
2013-14 predicted finish: 6th
Key losses: F Matt Viola (5-15-20), D Brett Waters (2-8-10)
Key returnees: F Adam Place (9-12-21), F Mike Arnold (16-4-20), D Nick Avgerinos (0-5-5), D Kevin Carpenter (0-3-3)
Key newcomers: TBA
Outlook: The Bears will return to their Maxcy Hall den after last year’s shutdown for renovations. With Place and Arnold – two of the league’s top snipers – back for another season, Potsdam could puck plenty of pucks in enemy nets. The key to any success will be in their ability to keep pucks out of their own. “The SUNYAC remains extraordinarily competitive,” said Bernard. “We must bring superior work ethic and execution every night to meet our objectives.”

St. Cloud’s Motzko, Quinnipiac’s Pecknold guest on Nov. 5 USCHO Live!

By USCHO Podcasts

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November 4, 2013

Our guests on the Nov. 5 edition of USCHO Live are St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko, whose undefeated Huskies are atop the early NCHC standings, and Quinnipiac coach Rand Pecknold, whose Bobcats are off to a strong start following their runner-up finish in last year’s national championship.

Join us for the conversation and information, Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 8 to 9 p.m. EDT at blogtalkradio.com/uscholive. If you can’t listen live, check out the podcast of USCHO Live! available on the player at the right (click through if you’re reading this via RSS.)

Be part of the conversation! Send your tweets to @USCHO, and your emails to [email protected].

Each episode of USCHO Live! features a look at news around NCAA hockey, a look ahead at upcoming games and events, and conversation with people who coach, administer and play college hockey, and journalists who cover the sport.

About the hosts

Jim Connelly is a senior writer at USCHO.com and has been with the site since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he co-writes “Tuesday Morning Quarterback.” Jim is the winner of the 2012 Joe Concannon award, and is a studio analyst for NESN.

Ed Trefzger has been part of USCHO since 1999 and now serves as a senior writer and director of technology. He has been a part of the radio broadcasts of Rochester Institute of Technology hockey since their inception — serving as a producer, studio host, color commentator and as RIT’s play-by-play voice for seven seasons. Ed is also general manager for a four-station radio company and is based in Rochester, N.Y.

MASCAC race looks to be wide open for 2013-14 as ‘anybody can beat anybody’

By Nathan Fournier

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November 4, 2013

Fitchburg State returns Ryan Connolly to the Falcons’ lineup this season (photo: Richard Orr).

The MASCAC could be a multiple horse race for the 2013-14 season.

In the league coaches’ poll, last season’s regular-season champion Plymouth State and Westfield State each received three first-place votes. Massachusetts-Dartmouth – last year’s MASCAC tournament champion – is right behind in third place while Salem State is in fourth picking up the other first place vote.

“If you look at the points totals [in the coaches’ poll] you will see there are seven points that separate the top four teams,” said Plymouth State coach Craig Russell. “I don’t think anyone at this point [is the favorite]. I think Westfield State will be the top team in our league because they return the most and they have a very good goaltender[Ian Perrier].”

“If you look at our league since it has started, the last four years, four different winners,” added Westfield State coach Bob Miele. “You had Salem State, Fitchburg, then Plymouth, and last year UMass-Dartmouth. It’s how it’s going to be this year and with our league, you don’t know who’s coming and going on your team.”

Westfield State is returning 11 of their 12 scorers from last year’s team that fell in the MASCAC quarterfinals to Fitchburg State.

“We played a good team in Fitchburg State,” said Miele. “When you play a team three times in the regular season and you play a team a fourth time, every game is so difficult. Playoffs, anybody can beat anybody and obviously, we had higher aspirations than the first round.”

Miele likes the depth of his squad.

“We have a good amount of seniors and juniors that had some pretty good point totals last year,” Miele said. “Most of them are coming back. We have a goaltender coming back, some good solid defensemen. We are excited about the year.”

Russell says his squad will rely on his veterans to start the season.

“We don’t know a whole lot at this point,” Russell said. “We are going to try to take it a game at a time early and see how things go. We have a good core coming back. We will obviously rely on those guys.”

The Panthers also are bringing in junior Chad Barthelmess, who spent the last two seasons at the Division I level with Sacred Heart.

“He played on their top two lines last year,” Russell said of Barthelmess. “He brings in a lot of college hockey experience, which will help early on.”

Plymouth State will have to replace Jack Astedt in net and Tyler Ingerson, who has been the backup the last three years, will get his chance this season to be the No. 1 goaltender.

Russell stated he has never been afraid to put Ingerson into the net in a big game.

Massachusetts-Dartmouth has a couple key guys coming back, including Dmitry Antipin, who was able to show off his skills at the New Jersey Devils prospect camp this past summer, and Shaun Walters, the team’s leading returning scorer. The Corsairs were the lone team in the conference to receive any consideration in the preseason USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll.

“That’s one team every year you have to respect,” said Miele. “Coach [John] Rolli may be one of the best college coaches in any sport in the nation.”

Salem State and Fitchburg are two teams that didn’t lose too many seniors off their respective squads from last season. They also have plenty of coaching experience as Bill O’Neil (Salem State) and Dean Fuller (Fitchburg State) have 1,002 wins between them.

Worcester State and Framingham State will also provide stiff competition to the rest of the conference.

“I think Worcester will be better,” Russell said. “They brought in a couple of guys that are pretty good and I don’t believe they graduated a whole ton.”

Fitchburg State

Nickname: Falcons
2012-13 Record: (11-14-2, 9-8-1)
2012-13 Postseason: Lost to UMass-Dartmouth 7-1 in the MASCAC semifinals
Head Coach and Record with School: Dean Fuller (474-256-45, 30th season)
Key Returning Players (with ’12-13 stats): John Celli (11-16-27); Ryan Connolly (17-9-26); Max Lorenzen (11-13-24); Sean Loebs (6-10-16).
Key Departures: Joseph Caveney (17-30-47); Trevor Lawler (7-18-25); Justin Quinn (4-12-16); Randy Wolcott (11-11-2, .918 save-percentage, 2.99 goals-against-average).
Key Newcomers: Alex Duplessie (Boston Jr. Bruins (CHA) 6-14-20); Jon Johannesson (Yarmouth Mariners (MHL) 18-15-33); Connor Bowman (Wichita Falls Jr. Thunder (WSHL) 8-11-19); Aaron Dusek (Atlanta Jr. Knights (EJHL-South) 6-16-22).
Prediction: 5th — The Falcons will continue their youth movement this season. There’s only two seniors on their roster and and five juniors. The young guys know how to put the puck in the net as their top returning scorers are John Celli and Ryan Connolly. With the departure of Randy Wolcott in goal, three juniors Corey McMahon, Ryan Wysocki, and Dan Finn will look to fill his shoes.

Framingham State

Nickname: Rams
2012-13 Record: (2-19-3, 0-15-3)
2012-13 Postseason: Didn’t make the playoffs
Head Coach and Record with School: T.J. Brown (14-72-10, fifth season)
Key Returning Players (with ’12-13 stats): Ryan McDonald (18-13-31); Daniel Miressi (15-16-31); Brendan McCarron (4-15-19); Jay Nicholls (7-7-14); Eric Ward (5-7-12); Thomas Tracy (2-8-10).
Key Departures: Benjamin Pacific (3-4-7); Eric Walsh (2-3-5).
Key Newcomers: Mark Essery (Hartford Jr. Wolfpack (AJHL) 5-10-15); Andrew Mathieu (Mass. Jr. Mariners (NSHL) 23-27-50);
Prediction: 7th— It was a tough year in 2012-13 season for the Rams. The good news a lot of their core guys are coming back. The biggest question for Framingham State will be who will take the reins in net. They used three goaltenders last year and each had a goals-against-average over four.

Massachusetts-Dartmouth

Nickname: Corsairs
2012-13 Record: (12-8-7, 9-3-6)
2012-13 Postseason: Lost to Bowdoin 5-2 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Head Coach and Record with School: John Rolli (557-175-34, 30th season)
Key Returning Players (with ’12-13 stats): Shaun Walters (9-11-20); Dmitry Antipin (7-9-16); Greg Girtatos (4-10-14); Ben Vandervies (1-2-1, .896 save percentage, 3.63 goals-against average.
Key Departures: Dave McDonald (12-13-25); Phil Bronner (15-7-22); Nick Marquis (9-8-17); Swann Boisvert (5-9-14); Dan Dempsey (6-8-14); Zach Helper (2-11-13); Ryan Williams (11-6-6, .922 save percentage, 2.58 goals-against average.
Key Newcomers: Nic Wackerly (Billings Bulls (AWHL) 15-22, .901 save percentage, 3.38 goals-against average); Jonathan Houk (Northern Cyclones (AJHL) 3-15-18); Devin Welch (Northern Cyclones (AJHL) 2-10-12); Chris Andre (Yellowstone Quake/Helena Bighorns (AWHL) 26-34-60).
Prediction: 2nd — The Corsairs look to repeat as MASCAC champions and bring some key veterans back. Dmitry Antipin will need to have a big year coming off his New Jersey Devils prospect camp success. Defensively, they have only Nate Duprere coming back. Again, they are another MASCAC team replacing their goalie from last season.

Plymouth State

Nickname: Panthers
2012-13 Record: (19-7-1, 14-3-1)
2012-13 Postseason: Lost to UMass-Dartmouth 2-1 in the MASCAC Championship game
Head Coach and Record with School: Craig Russell (51-20-8, fourth season)
Key Returning Players (with ’12-13 stats): Mike Freitag (9-16-25); Zach Sarig (9-11-20); Andrew Wigg (8-12-20); Dave Walters (3-15-18); Tyler Ingerson (3-1-0, .951 save percentage, 1.51 goals-against average).
Key Departures: Alex Cottle (8-24-32); Kyle Greco (14-14-28); Travis Stevens (8-11-19); Richie Zobak (4-13-17); Jack Astedt (15-5-1, ,931 save percentage, 2.12 goals-against average)
Key Newcomers: Baxter Strachan (Bay State Breakers (EJHL) 6-7-13); Erik Strom (Växjö Lakers J20 (Swedish U-20 SuperElite League) 1-7-8); Tom Dowell (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights (AJHL) 6-31-37) Michael Economos (Corpus Christi IceRays (NAHL) 15-20-35)
Prediction: 2nd — The Panthers, who fell in the MASCAC finals, will have to replace a couple of key pieces. They will be replacing their top two scorers in Alex Cottle and Kyle Greco. They will have to rely on Tyler Ingerson in net, who put up very good numbers in limited action. Plymouth State is bringing in 15 freshmen. Tom Dowell and Erik Strom could be possible replacements for Richie Zobak as offensive defensemen.

Salem State

Nickname: Vikings
2012-13 Record: (14-12- 1, 10-7-1)
2012-13 Postseason: Lost to UMass-Dartmouth 5-4 in the MASCAC semifinals
Head Coach and Record with School: Will O’Neil (516-323-55, 33rd season)
Key Returning Players (with ’12-13 stats): Kyle Phelan (9-18-27); Eric Defelice (9-16-25); Kristofer Faric (9-15-24); Chad Goodwin (13-8-21); Andrew Bettencourt (8-11-19); Ryan Sutliffe (10-11-1, .896 save-percentage, 3.04 goals-against average)
Key Departures: Derek Crooker (5-10-15); Matt Kenline (6-6-12).
Key Newcomers: Tanner Fahlstedt (Alaska Avalanche (NAHL) 20-20-40 in ’11-12); Brad Jones (Walpole Express (AJHL) 2-14-16); Chad Goodwin (Salve Regina (ECAC-Northeast) 13-8-21); Ryan Doherty (Boston Jr. Ranagers (AJHL) 11-4-15);
Prediction: 4th — The Vikings will be a contender once again this season. They return their top five scorers and didn’t lose anyone on the back end. Ryan Sutliffe put up respectable numbers in goal. With a couple transfers coming in and an older freshman class, the newcomers should have an impact from the start of the season.

Westfield State

Nickname: Owls
2012-13 Record: (14-9-3, 9-6-3)
2012-13 Postseason: Lost to Fitchburg State 4-3 in the MASCAC quarterfinals
Head Coach and Record with School: Bob Miele (40-52-13, 5th season)
Key Returning Players (with ’12-13 stats): TJ Powers (15-18-33); P.J. McCadden (10-12-22); Vince Perreault (11-10-21); Dalton Jay (9-11-20); Ian Perrier (12-7-2, .921 save percentage, 2.93 goals-against average)
Key Departures: Steve Evans (8-21-29); Lucas Romero (3-15-18)
Key Newcomers: Jake Suvak (Elliot Lake Bobcats (NOJHL)2-11-13); Jackson Leef (Texas Tornado (NAHL) 17-41-58); Justin DeVincentis (Milton Icehawks (OJHL) 4-29-33)
Prediction: 1st — Westfield State is bringing 10 of its 12 leading scorers back from last season, including their top five scorers from last season that all had 20-plus points. Juniors T.J. Powers and Steve Evans will lead the charge. The Owls will have four freshman on defense and it will be key for them to make a quick transition from juniors to the college game.

Worcester State

Nickname: Lancers
2012-13 Record: (6-17-3, 3-12-3)
2012-13 Postseason: Lost to Salem State 5-0 in the MASCAC quarterfinals
Head Coach and Record with School: John Guiney (152-325-33, 22nd season)
Key Returning Players (with ’12-13 stats): Nathan Stanley (7-10-17); Derek Serbon (5-9-14); Cody Osburn (2-11-13); Cody Brier (6-6-12); Salvatore Tecci (4-3-1) .911 save-percentage, 2.88 goals-against average.)
Key Departures: Michael Leskun (5-8-13); Mark Evans (0-1-0, .829 save-percentage, 5.16 goals-against average)
Key Newcomers: Jim LeNoir (Philadelphia Jr. Flyers (AJHL) 2-12-14); Alex Dewitz (Helena Bighorns (AWHL) 22-30-52); Clayton Kanemitsu (Hampton Road Whalers (EJHL-South) 8-22-30); Crissostomos Villarreal (Space Coast Hurricanes (EJHL-South) 15-22-37); Richard Bohan (Dallas Ice Jets (WSHL) 40-52-92)
Prediction: 6th — The Lancers return most of their roster from last season. Salvatore Tecci showed some promise last season in goal. Nathan Stanley and Derek Serbon should lead the team offensively and should get some secondary scoring from some freshmen that bring offensive upside.

Women’s D-I wrap: Nov. 4

By Arlan Marttila

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November 4, 2013

Halloween followed by plenty of tricks
The only game played on Halloween featured suddenly dependable Robert Morris, and the Colonials handed out the first of their back-to-back shutouts of host Penn State and have now won five straight. The high jinks didn’t begin until November had arrived.

It wasn’t a case of ranked teams losing left and right. No. 10 Ohio State was swept, but that was on the road at No. 2 Wisconsin. Previously unbeaten and No. 7 Harvard was the only other member of the top 10 to suffer a defeat, but that one definitely makes the list of strange sightings, coming against a Rensselaer squad that had only one win and none in its previous six games. Even in several games where the final result wasn’t out of the ordinary, how it was reached was peculiar.

November also delivered a few treats mixed in, such as Cornell being presented with rare penalty-shot opportunities on consecutive days.

Just a little bit longer
During Maria Lewis’ three seasons behind the Maine bench, no team was more likely to play beyond 60 minutes. The Black Bears did so 26 times, so it seemed fitting that over the weekend they played two overtime ties in their first action since her resignation was reported last week.

Each result was painful for Maine in its own way. On Friday, Northeastern gained a 1-1 tie on the strength of a short-handed goal by Katie MacSorley, the Huskies’ nation-leading sixth short-hander. Sunday’s contest saw Connecticut score three times in the final five minutes to wipe away a 4-1 deficit, including a pair of extra-attacker goals.

Maybe splits aren’t so bad
Providence finally broke its pattern of splitting every weekend, but not in the way it wanted. The Friars lost both halves of a home-and-home series with No. 6 Boston College in drastically different ways.

On Friday on home ice, they took a 2-1 lead only to have the Eagles storm back with the only five goals of the second period. Down 7-3, PC scored three extra-attacker goals in the final two minutes only to come up short when the Eagles scored the final goal into an empty net and won, 8-6. Neither starting goaltender was around by the third period of the game, where BC’s Haley Skarupa and Kate Leary and Friars Molly Illikainen and Corinne Buie all had four points.

Corinne Boyles and Sarah Bryant were back in their respective creases on Sunday when action resumed at BC and found the surroundings more to their liking. The teams went to overtime tied, 1-1. The Eagles took advantage of a fortuitous bounce that created a two-on-one break that Melissa Bizzari converted into the game-winning goal.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss
Despite suffering heavy off-season losses, defending league champion Boston University is the only remaining undefeated team in Hockey East play. The Terriers took to the ice three times in five days and claimed wins over: Northeastern, 3-2 in overtime; New Hampshire, 3-1; and Vermont, 6-0. Senior captain Louise Warren had the overtime game-winner in the first game and scored a pair of goals in each of the other victories.

Hey, who tilted the ice?
We’re accustomed to wackiness in Hockey East, but ECAC Hockey got in on the oddities as well. No. 3 Cornell needed only 11 shots and less than 20 minutes to score five times and chase Kimberly Newell from the Princeton net, with Taylor Woods scoring twice. Perhaps the Big Red took their collective feet off the gas at that point, or replacement Ashley Holt just had all the answers, including denying a penalty shot, because the Cornell side of the scoreboard didn’t move again. Meanwhile, the Tigers scored on half of their eight second-period shots and turned a 5-0 laugher into a 5-4 squeaker. At that point, Princeton’s offense went silent as well, and a game that produced nine goals in the first 31 minutes ended with nary another goal celebration.

On Saturday, the defense for No. 9 Quinnipiac succeeded where others had failed, stifling the country’s best offense. Cornell’s only goal came when the Bobcats’ skaters were forced to leave the ice and Emily Fulton converted a penalty shot to salvage a 1-1 tie and allow the Big Red to remain unbeaten and atop the conference standings. Shiann Darkangelo had staked Quinnipiac to a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal.

It’s not the quantity, but the quality
Harvard outshot host RPI by a 30-15 margin, but it was the Engineers who enjoyed a 2-1 ratio on the scoreboard. Laura Horwood and Lauren Wash bookended goals by the Crimson’s Dylanne Crugnale and Harvard fell from the unbeaten ranks.

Brown faced an even larger shot disadvantage on the road at No. 5 Clarkson. Ariana Rucker scored in the second period for the Bears to offset an earlier Jamie Lee Rattray goal. The Golden Knights piled up a 54-11 shot advantage, including 29-1 over the final 25 minutes, but thanks to the 53 saves from Aubree Moore, Brown took away a point from the 1-1 tie.

Minnesota-Duluth outshot visiting St. Cloud State, 53-28, on Friday but fell by a 4-1 score. A pair of Amy Olson goals and 52 saves by Julie Friend were enough for the Huskies to come out on top. On Saturday, the Bulldogs shot advantage was 40-23, but they had to settle for a 1-1 tie when Julia Gilbert scored with an extra attacker on the ice and 22 seconds left.

How the rest of the top 10 fared
Things were more tranquil for ranked teams out west.

Kelly Terry’s seven points and Saturday hat trick keyed the No. 1 Minnesota Gophers’ sweep of Minnesota State by 4-1 and 7-0 scores.

Blayre Turnbull led the way with two points per game, including a pair of goals on Sunday, as Wisconsin spotted Ohio State a first-period goal each day but came back for 4-1 and 3-2 wins.

No. 4 North Dakota didn’t have the services of Michelle Karvinen or Susanna Tapani at Bemidji State, as they prepared for the Four Nations Cup with Team Finland. A hat trick by Megan Dufault on Friday and the first two collegiate goals by Amy Menke were highlights in handing the Beavers 6-2 and 5-1 defeats.

Quite the helper
Without looking, can you name the player that sits atop the assists category with 13? I couldn’t either. But the correct answer is RMU rookie forward Brittany Howard, who also has four goals for 17 points through her first 10 games.

Badgers back on track, Penn State spreads the wealth and Buckeyes remain hot

By Drew Claussen

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November 4, 2013

Four out of the five Big Ten teams in action last weekend enjoyed playing another round of non conference games at home — all five enjoyed some success, going a combined 7-1-1 .

Here are three things I saw.

1. Wisconsin rebounds against Lake Superior State

The Badgers’ losses to Boston College and Boston University kind of got a lot of press, and it didn’t help that Wisconsin had to wait two weeks before taking the ice again. A solid win and tie against a Lake Superior State squad that was undefeated heading into the weekend was a great way to respond.

The Badgers’ 3-3 tie against the Lakers on Friday night may have been more impressive than their 8-1 win on Saturday night. Wisconsin fell behind 3-0 in the first period on Friday, but fought back with a goal late in the first and two goals by Tyler Barnes in the third period.

“Well we were hoping for a different start. As a matter of fact, it felt like we were in Boston again,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said. “It felt like holy-smokes we still haven’t got the demons from Boston out of our system yet.”

Barnes’ game-tying goal came late in the third with Wisconsin’s net vacant, albeit for only eight seconds.

“This is exactly what we needed for our guys,” Eaves said. “This is the kind of game to get some sound feedback that says we are a pretty good team that overcame some adversity.”

Wisconsin picked up right where it left off on Saturday. The Badgers had a 4-1 lead after two periods on Saturday night, and then netted four more goals in the third. Wisconsin got 44 shots on goal Saturday night, compared to the Lakers’ 22.

Landon Peterson started both games for Wisconsin, he gave up four goals on 47 shots.

2. Penn State gets five goals from five players

Penn State picked up its second win of the season against Robert Morris Friday, and it was a team effort.

The Nittany Lions got goals from Eric Scheid, Luke Juha, Tommy Olczyk, Casey Bailey and Mike Williamson in Friday night’s 5-4 win over the Colonials. Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky said that the team moved the puck well during the game, just not necessarily on its scoring plays.

“We moved it around well in the first period and didn’t have anything to show for it,” Gadowsky said. “We got a couple power play goals in the off of a face off, and that’s part of it for sure, but it wasn’t the movement that got us the goals. Maybe it’s appropriate, because we did move the puck pretty well.”

Though he gave up four goals, goaltender Matthew Skoff was huge for Penn State with 48 saves.

“He’s a battler,” Gadowsky said. “And I think the team feels pretty confident with him back there, even when things are getting a little hairy.”

3. Ohio State splits with Minnesota-Duluth, continues hot streak

After starting the season 0-3, the Buckeyes have won four of their last five contests. Ohio State rebounded from a 3-1 loss with an impressive 4-2 win against Minnesota-Duluth at home on Saturday night.

“We played in spurts [Saturday night], but all in all I thought it was our best weekend of hockey this season,” Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik said. ”We can be a pretty good hockey team when we play a full 60 minutes.”

OSU was vastly outshot on Saturday, but freshman Matt Tomkins made 39 saves. Tomkins has a 4-3 record this season with a 3.04 GAA.

The Buckeyes have an opportunity to stretch their hot streak into something substantial. Their next two series are at home against Niagara (1-4-1) and Canisius (1-4).

Notes

Paula has the column this week, it’ll be posted Thursday morning.

Follow both of us on the Twitter
@drewclaussen
@paulacweston

Three Things: Atlantic Hockey – November 4, 2013

By Dan Rubin

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November 4, 2013

Easing into league play this weekend within the AHA made sure we didn’t go home disappointed. Here’s three reasons why, with a little help from my favorite Irish rockers, U2:

Mercyhurst: “Even Better Than the Real Thing”

Let’s run down how the Mercyhurst season has gone to date. First, it started with the Lakers entering the season as the prohibitive league favorite, returning almost all the key ingredients from a squad that baked up a spot in the league title game. Their reputation took a hit through the most brutal non-conference stretch of games we’d seen in a while that saw them start 1-5-1. While there was a thought that Mercyhurst would eventually gel, there was this lingering tension that the Lakers weren’t, maybe, who we thought they were.

Then they smoked Air Force.

Leading 3-1 late in the first, Mercyhurst allowed the Falcons to score late, leading by one after twenty minutes. Then they scored five unanswered goals to crush the visiting service academy, 8-2. It was a loud statement from a team that needed one, highlighted by Matthew Zay’s 1-2-3 night. Daniel O’Donoghue and Ryan Misiak each scored twice, Kyle Dutra added two assists, and Randy Cure and Nick Jones both finished with an absurd +4 on the defensive end. And Jack Riley collected his first collegiate point, which drew the following tweet from his dad (and Army head coach) Brian Riley:

Congrats to @Jack_Riley29 on getting his first point tonight against Air Force. #betteragainstthemthanus #proud

— Brian Riley (@Coach_BRiley) November 3, 2013

Love the hashtag of #Betteragainstthemthanus, making the tongue-in-cheek reference to the conflicted feelings of a proud father against a coach trying to do his job.

Entering the weekend, a lot of around the AHA scene were wondering what Air Force’s first league trip east would yield. They shut out RIT 2-0 on Friday then headed down to Erie for the Saturday game. A four-point weekend would give Air Force the proverbial solid start out of the blocks in the race for the top seed come playoff time (see also: Niagara, 2012-13). Mercyhurst, in need of a good showing, took the opportunity take the league’s preeminent power and rudely usher them off center stage by announcing their own arrival. They got better than that – the Lakers produced a large thunderclap that’s put the rest of the league on notice.

Robert Morris-Penn State’s budding rivalry: “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss me (?), Kill Me”

When people talk about rivalries in college hockey, it inevitably begins with games between Boston College and Boston University, Harvard and Cornell, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and Maine and New Hampshire. While Robert Morris and Penn State surely cannot counter with that type of history, the Keystone State opponents are quickly becoming heated adversaries. An annual rite of passage is forming where the team’s alternate who plays at home with a second game as the opener to the Three Rivers Classic that started last year in Pittsburgh.

Last year, Robert Morris swept the Nittany Lions in their first year in Division I college hockey. The former new kid on the block as the most recent school to elevate before Penn State, the Colonials won 3-2 in Happy (Hockey) Valley last year despite being outshot 40-29. That game featured 16 penalties for 32 minutes. When they met in the Three Rivers Classic, RMU pasted Penn State, 6-0, in a game featuring 13 penalties for 37 minutes. The first game had a couple of penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct with some embellishment and boarding thrown in for good measure. Playing at the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins, there were a couple of hitting after the whistle penalties and a game misconduct to Penn State’s David Glen for contact to the head.

Fast forward (or rewind) to this weekend. Penn State picked up its first win over RMU and second win of the year with three second period goals. Robert Morris, who led 1-0 after one, scored to make it a 3-2 game before the end of the second, then tied the game on a third period penalty shot. Penn State would pull away, though, with two power play goals. Ever the competitive squad, the Colonials refused to go quietly into the night, scoring with less than a minute on an extra attacker goal. Cody Wydo scored all four goals, a silver lining in a loss that featured another 15 penalties for 38 minutes and a cross-checking misconduct.

While it clearly doesn’t have the history, game between Penn State and Robert Morris are fast becoming intense affairs. And fans can anticipate more of the same when they meet again at the Three Rivers Classic at Consol Energy Center after Christmas.

Army: “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

Army entered the season knowing they’d have some struggles up front on a team featuring only one senior. The coaching staff made it clear that they had supreme confidence in Rob Tadazak’s ability as a goalie to keep them in games as they began the jelling process with only two games in October. But even with Tadazak stopping 90% of pucks this year, the Black Knights are 0-4-0 after getting swept by UConn and Bentley this weekend.

But if there’s a positive in a weekend where they were outscored 9-4, it’s that Army was never really truly put away by any of the teams. UConn jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the Black Knights, but they never pulled away. Army kept the score closer by cutting leads to 2-1 and 3-2 before giving up a final strike. And against Bentley, they went down 3-0 but were able to score 30 seconds after Max French put Army at rock bottom.

Say what you want about an 0-4-0 start, but Army is better than the record indicates. They just haven’t been able to find wins. They get back at it on Friday when they face a pair of Bay State foes, hosting Holy Cross on Friday and heading to Boston College for a Saturday tilt.

Plattsburgh seizes East-West Classic, Productive new faces for St. Anselm

By Ken Castro

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November 4, 2013

Cardinals, Balisy prevail in Vermont send off
Whether the 2013-14 edition of the East-West Classic affords a template for future achievement in the spring most likely depends on perspective. Plattsburgh came away from Kreitzberg Arena with arguably the clearest vision of its adeptness in the wake of a 6-0 drubbing of host Norwich on Saturday and a subsequent 1-0 win in which it was bolstered by Bridget Balisy’s first period power-play goal against Manhattanville the following day. With three goals and an assist, Balisy acquired Most Valuable Player honors.

Elmira, fortunate in rising up to erase a two-goal deficit in the third in a 2-2 deadlock against Manhattanville, was less so in a 3-2 loss to Norwich on Sunday. All of the Cadets scores arrived in in the first period. Norwich junior goalie Taylor Fairchild was awarded her first career start in the victory. Elmira’s power play was rendered inefficient (0-9, vs. Norwich, 1-16 overall) in the two outings.

St. Anselm gets push from freshman
A sparse weekend schedule notwithstanding, St. Anselm got out of the proverbial gate precisely the way it concluded its ECAC-East jaunt in 2012-13. Finishing with seven consecutive victories last February, the Hawks opened with a pair of one-goal, home ice wins over Massachusetts-Boston (2-1) and Sacred Heart (4-3/OT).

Although the graduation of both Kathryn Picarello and Rosemary Giarrusso, who combined for 38 goals and 76 points a year ago, created a glaring omission, St. Anselm ultimately returned six of its eight top scorers to the offensive mix, including senior Courtney Winters, who posted 22-21-43 numbers, good for second in the conference, and junior Tiffany Herron (38 points).

This weekend however, the focus was underscored by a pair of freshman whose presence figured in both outings. Alexandra Starzyk and classmate Chelsea Stanclift were responsible for both markers in the Mass.-Boston go-round, with Starzyk garnering the game-winner by means of the power play in the second period. Mass.-Boston averted a whitewash with four seconds to go in regulation with a six-on-three power play. Starzyk secured her second game-winning goal of the weekend just 29 ticks into the extra period against nonconference foe Sacred Heart. Sophomore Sarah Geisinger centered Starzyk and Herron in the win over the Pioneers. The line totaled four points on the night.

Head coach Kerstin Matthews, in her sixth campaign, is now within eight wins of 100 in her tenure with the Hawks. St. Anselm redirects its collective efforts to the road, where it fashioned a 9-0-2 record in 2012-13 with a pair of nonconference matchups against Neumann.

Oswego on point
Oswego State kicked its new season into play with a 5-0 win over (NC) New England College at the Oswego State Classic. Freshman Ashley Lyman put three points (1-2-3) in her ledger, while senior captain Olivia Boersen scored twice. The Lakers outshot NEC, 48-11, in the game. Sunday, Oswego senior Megan Hagg provided (NC) Castleton State with its initial loss of the year by scoring 2:31 into overtime in securing a 3-2 result. Castleton had edged Cortland, 1-0, in its opener, while Cortland reset with a 4-1 triumph over NEC.

Kivisto tacks on four in split
Wisconsin-River Falls split a pair with Bethel, winning the opener, 5-3, and falling Saturday afternoon by an identical score. Bethel sophomore Caroline Kivisto concluded the weekend with four goals including two of the power-play variety. Wisconsin-Superior pounded on Hamline 12-1 on Friday before finishing the two-game set with 4-2 win. Dani Schultz got both game-winning goals for Wis.-Superior.

Conference sweeps mark early key series

By Candace Horgan

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November 3, 2013

Sweeps
The NCHC had three conference series this past weekend, with four teams playing their first conference games, and for a league that is supposed to be all about parity, the results were surprising, as all three series were sweeps, and two of those sweeps were by the road team.

Western Michigan was the lone NCHC team to take advantage of home ice in conference play, sweeping Colorado College. On Friday, the Broncos rallied from an early two-goal deficit, tying the game at 17:34 of the first on a Jordan Oesterle tally. That was all the scoring until 1:52 of overtime, when freshman Kyle Novak picked an opportune time to get his first collegiate goal, notching the game-winner. On Saturday, the Broncos jumped all over CC, getting a 3-0 lead by early in the second en route to a 5-1 win. Western Michigan is on a 3-0-1 streak after dropping its opening two games.

Super St. Cloud
I picked St. Cloud to win the NCHC at the start of the year, and so far, the Huskies have made me look good, as they are one of only two undefeated teams in the country after this past weekend. St. Cloud State should be moving up in the rankings after an impressive road sweep of North Dakota. It was the first time since 2010 that North Dakota was swept at home, and in both games, St. Cloud rallied from a goal down after one period. On Friday night, the Huskies scored twice early in the third to take a 2-1 lead and got the game-winner from Andrew Prochno at 12:36. North Dakota pulled within one on a Mark MacMillan goal with under five minutes left, but couldn’t get the tying goal. On Saturday, the Huskies got two in the second to take the lead, and Kalle Kossila added an insurance goal in the third. The Huskies played great team defense Saturday, limiting North Dakota to 17 shots after giving up 31 in Friday’s game.

Defensive Denver
The last conference series pitted Nebraska-Omaha at Denver, and the Mavericks won both by identical 3-2 overtime decisions, and in both games, Josh Archibald scored the game-winner. For Denver, a few things are concerning. First, Saturday’s loss was the fourth overtime loss for the Pioneers, and all four losses are by identical 3-2 scores. Coach Jim Montgomery singled out conditioning as something that needs to improve. Of more concern is that while the defense remains strong (Sam Brittain is 10th nationally in goaltending and the Pioneers are ninth in team defense), the offense continues to struggle. In eight games so far, the Pioneers have scored only 19 goals. Of that total, 12 have been scored by defensemen; 63 percent of Denver’s goals are scored by the defense, and the top two goal scorers on the team are defensemen, Joey LaLeggia and David Makowski.

Rampaging RedHawks
The Miami RedHawks swept Canisius this past weekend, and the team’s offense, currently ranked fourth nationally, continues to terrorize opposing netminders, in no small part due to the play of Austin Czarnik and Riley Barber. Czarnik is first nationally in scoring, and Barber is tied for second in scoring. Czarnik had two goals and an assist in Saturday’s 5-2 win. Also leading the way offensively for Miami is Blake Coleman, tied for 11th in scoring nationally.

Rankings roundup: How ranked teams fared, Oct. 28-Nov. 3

USCHO Staff Report

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November 3, 2013

Tim Daly scores No. 9 St. Cloud State’s first goal in a 3-1 victory at No. 5 North Dakota on Saturday (photo: Bradley K. Olson).

Here’s how the 20 teams in the Oct. 28, 2013, USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll fared in games from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3:

No. 1 Minnesota did not play. Record: 5-0-1. Next: at Notre Dame, Nov. 8-9.

No. 2 Notre Dame lost 2-1 at Vermont on Friday, won 3-2 at Vermont on Saturday. Record: 6-2. Next: vs. Minnesota, Nov. 8-9.

No. 3 Providence lost 4-3 at No. 18 Boston University on Friday, won 3-1 vs. No. 18 Boston University on Saturday. Record: 5-1-1. Next: at Merrimack, Nov. 8; vs. Merrimack, Nov. 9.

No. 4 Michigan won 3-2 in overtime vs. Michigan Tech on Friday, won 2-1 vs. Michigan Tech on Saturday. Record: 6-1-1. Next: at Nebraska-Omaha, Nov. 15-16.

No. 5 North Dakota lost 3-2 vs. No. 9 St. Cloud State on Friday, lost 3-1 vs. No. 9 St. Cloud State on Saturday. Record: 2-3-1. Next: at Nebraska-Omaha, Nov. 9-10.

No. 6 Miami won 3-0 vs. Canisius on Friday, won 5-2 vs. Canisius on Saturday. Record: 5-2-1. Next: at St. Cloud State, Nov. 8-9.

No. 7 Quinnipiac won 7-2 at Colgate on Friday, won 3-0 at No. 17 Cornell on Saturday. Record: 8-1. Next: vs. Brown, Nov. 8; vs. Yale, Nov. 9.

No. 8 Boston College won 4-2 vs. No. 19 Northeastern on Friday, won 4-3 in overtime at No. 19 Northeastern on Saturday. Record: 4-2-1. Next: at Boston University, Nov. 8; vs. Army, Nov. 10.

No. 9 St. Cloud State won 3-2 at No. 5 North Dakota on Friday, won 3-1 at No. 5 North Dakota on Saturday. Record: 5-0-1. Next: vs. Miami, Nov. 8-9.

No. 10 Rensselaer lost 2-0 at Harvard on Friday, won 7-1 at Dartmouth on Saturday. Record: 5-2-1. Next: vs. Cornell, Nov. 8; vs. Colgate, Nov. 9.

No. 11 Yale tied 3-3 vs. St. Lawrence on Friday, won 6-3 vs. No. 17 Clarkson on Saturday. Record: 2-1-1. Next: at Princeton, Nov. 8; at Quinnipiac, Nov. 9.

No. 12 Lake Superior State tied 3-3 at No. 13 Wisconsin on Friday, lost 8-1 at No. 13 Wisconsin on Saturday. Record: 4-1-1. Next: vs. Alaska, Nov. 8-9.

No. 13 Wisconsin tied 3-3 vs. No. 12 Lake Superior State on Friday, won 8-1 vs. No. 12 Lake Superior State on Saturday. Record: 3-2-1. Next: at Miami, Nov. 15-16.

No. 14 Cornell won 4-2 vs. Princeton on Friday, lost 3-0 vs. No. 7 Quinnipiac on Saturday. Record: 3-1. Next: at Rensselaer, Nov. 8; at Union, Nov. 9.

No. 15 Massachusetts-Lowell won 5-3 vs. New Hampshire on Friday, won 3-2 in overtime at New Hampshire on Saturday. Record: 5-3. Next: vs. Northeastern, Nov. 9.

No. 16 Minnesota State lost 4-1 at Bemidji State on Friday, won 4-3 at Bemidji State on Saturday. Record: 3-3. Next: vs. Bowling Green, Nov. 8-9.

No. 17 Clarkson won 4-3 at Brown on Friday, lost 6-3 at No. 11 Yale on Saturday. Record: 7-2-1. Next: at Dartmouth, Nov. 8; at Harvard, Nov. 9.

No. 18 Boston University won 4-3 vs. No. 3 Providence on Friday, lost 3-1 at No. 3 Providence on Saturday. Record: 4-4. Next: vs. Boston College, Nov. 8.

No. 19 Northeastern lost 4-2 at No. 8 Boston College on Friday, lost 4-2 in overtime vs. No. 8 Boston College on Saturday. Record: 5-3. Next: at Massachusetts-Lowell, Nov. 9.

No. 20 Minnesota-Duluth won 3-1 at Ohio State on Friday, lost 4-2 at Ohio State on Saturday. Record: 4-3-1. Next: at North Dakota, Nov. 15-16.

Looking to play more games, goaltender Olson leaves Ohio State

USCHO Staff Report

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November 3, 2013

Collin Olson was Ohio State’s opening-night starter this season but was pulled early in his only other start (photo: Rachel Lewis).

Goaltender Collin Olson, a sixth-round NHL draft pick, has left Ohio State, citing a lack of playing time.

Olson, a sophomore, is expected to return to junior hockey.

“Collin feels he hasn’t played the number of games he’s needed over the last few years,” Buckeyes coach Steve Rohlik said in a statement released by the team Sunday. “He has decided leaving our program to find somewhere he will play more games will be best for his future. He is a good kid and a good student and we wish him nothing but the best.”

Olson, who was picked by Carolina in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft before he started at Ohio State, played in nine games as a freshman and two this season.

He allowed six goals on 38 shots in a season-opening loss to Miami on Oct. 11, then was pulled from an Oct. 25 game against Robert Morris after allowing two goals on the Colonials’ first three shots.

For his collegiate career, Olson has a 2-4-1 record, 3.70 GAA and .885 save percentage.

The Buckeyes have two freshman goaltenders left on their roster: Matt Tomkins, who has started the other six games this season; and Logan Davis.

St. Anselm picked by league coaches to again win Northeast-10

USCHO Staff Report

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November 1, 2013

St. Anselm was picked first among six schools in the Northeast-10 Conference’s preseason coaches’ poll released on Thursday.

The Hawks, who received five first-place votes, have won the last four Northeast-10 conference championships.

Franklin Pierce garnered the other first-place vote.

Team (First-place votes)	Total Points
1. St. Anselm (5)	25
2. St. Michael's	19
3. Stonehill	16
4. Franklin Pierce (1)	14
5. Southern New Hampshire	11
6. Assumption	5

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Augsburg

Bethel

Concordia (Minn.)

Gustavus Adolphus

Hamline

St. John’s

St. Mary’s

St. Olaf

St. Thomas

This year’s models

A labor of love’s job description

BROCKPORT

BUFFALO STATE

CORTLAND

FREDONIA

GENESEO

MORRISVILLE

OSWEGO

PLATTSBURGH

POTSDAM

About the hosts

Fitchburg State

Framingham State

Massachusetts-Dartmouth

Plymouth State

Salem State

Westfield State

Worcester State

Standing ovations: Quinnipiac, Union

Rotten tomatoes: Dartmouth, Princeton

Fun with stats

1. Don’t discount Bemidji

2. Where’s the offense, MSU?

3. Ready to bounce back?

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