Power play clicks for Cornell; Brown delivers surprises

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October 31, 2013

Cole Bardreau scored two of Cornell’s seven power-play goals last weekend at Nebraska-Omaha (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).

Brown and Cornell finished the 2012-13 regular season in seventh and ninth place, respectively. It was a moderately successful year for a gradually improving Brown program; it was a season to forget in Ithaca.

Both squads look to make big steps forward this year, and both have good reason to expect as much.

After Cornell’s sweep of Nebraska-Omaha in the Cornhusker State and Brown’s triumph in the inaugural Liberty Hockey Invitational, the mood is so far, so good.

Red road-ready

What was the big difference between the Mavericks and Big Red? Two fractions: 2/14 and 7/15.

The two and seven represent power-play goals; the 14 and 15, power-play opportunities. That’ll do it, all right.

“We found a way to win. Our special teams did well for us on the weekend,” Cornell coach Mike Schafer said. “We have a lot of things to improve as far as our game is concerned. UNO is a good hockey team, and Friday and Saturday we needed good special teams and good goaltending to win the game.”

The visiting Red scored three power-play goals in Friday’s 5-3 win and piled on with four more with the man advantage in Saturday’s 4-3 final. UNO outshot the Red 71-33 on the weekend (40-13 on Friday alone), but senior goaltender Andy Iles was up to the task with 65 stops.

Unfortunately, even Iles’ best can’t placate Schafer, who has seen a little bit of everything as he closes in on two full decades behind the Cornell bench.

“As a coach, you’re a worrywart all year,” Schafer said. “All things at all times — that’s what you [fret about] as a coach. You constantly worry about trying to generate offense five on five, defense five on five. You’re constantly worried about your power play and penalty kill. You’re always paying attention to all aspects of your game. You can always use improvement.”

That’s not to say that the coach is cranky … just diligent. He sees great promise in this team after all, in both its returners and the rookies.

“I’m happy with some of our returning players, like [junior forward] Madison Dias, [sophomore forward] Johnny Knisley, and I’m happy our offensive players have gotten off to a quick start. And obviously I’m happy with some of the adjustments that our freshmen have made. You see [rookie defender] Patrick McCarron as an offensive guy who we thought would do the job; he’s done that. [Forward] Eric Freschi has been a great addition, is strong defensively, plays hard. Definitely happy with some of the freshmen and their transition to college hockey.”

Schafer also mused about the spotlight being freshly cast on ECAC Hockey in light of last year’s NCAA success, and what it means for the league to post such strong nonconference results out of the gate this fall (26-11-4, best in the country).

“You look at the games last year in the NCAAs, on the national scale, and obviously our teams did very, very well,” Schafer said. “I think that comes across to some of the rest of the country as a surprise, but not to the members of the league. I think it was important for us to come back as a league and have a strong start to kind of reinforce the strength of different teams.

“You’ve got Clarkson, who was picked really low — picked to finish 12th in our league — and they’re off to a 6-1-1 start. They’ve got a really good hockey team. It’s just a matter of the league being extremely tough this year, and that helps everybody involved. The strength of the league is going to help [regarding] the NCAAs down the road, and not only make you better but get more [ECAC] teams in it.

“I think that the league itself has always put up good teams on any given year, but it’s just recently over the last three or four years that the depth of the league has started to get better.”

Schafer now draws positive comparisons between the ECAC’s current status and the way leagues like Hockey East and the former WCHA have been in recent years.

“Last year, Yale won the national championship but finished fourth in the conference tournament,” he said. “That’s the kind of success that you’ve seen from some of the other leagues on a given year. For us, it’s refreshing that it’s happening but it’s also something — as a veteran coach — I know that if you want to change people’s opinions, you’ve got to have continued success.”

As for Cornell, the Red have no recent laurels to rest on. Last year’s dismal campaign featured a season-sinking seven-game losing skid (and 10 losses in 11 games) to open the 2013 calendar year. It’s a new season and a new page for Schafer’s side.

“For us, we just hope to have a similar kind of year in the sense of different parts of the season — and just not have a seven-game skid right in the middle of it,” he said. “That’s what we hope the difference is.”

Brown’s Nick Lappin (left) and Matt Lorito combined for three goals at the Liberty Hockey Invitational (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).

Bruno on the rise

Following stunning victories over Yale and Dartmouth in Newark, N.J., last weekend, Brown is off to its first 2-0 start in 11 years. As much as he hates to admit it, even coach Brendan Whittet is a bit surprised.

“When you’re looking at the opponent — the defending national champs, and all the weapons they have coming back — I was a little nervous, honestly, going into it,” he said. “We responded really well. The guys started off a little slow — I thought Yale had us back on our heels a little bit for the first period, and then we got comfortable and we played a great game from the second period on.”

The game was not without its trials, as senior captain and Maple Leafs draft pick Dennis Robertson was ushered from the game in the 24th minute for a hit-from-behind major and game misconduct. That left the team without its leader and top defenseman.

“It was a continuation of our defensive responsibility, tenacity, puck management, determination and passion from the prior year,” Whittet said. “It was good to see that continuation, and it was good to see how we responded to some adversity. We were down 1-0, and our captain had gotten a five-minute major, was out of the game, and everybody responded really well. It was neat to see, because it’s a mature team in that regard. There was no panic.”

For the first time in recent memory, the Bears possess a handful of credible, reliable offensive threats to go along with their tremendous grinding ability and work ethic.

“To cap the weekend with a championship trophy, it was a great team effort, but also great individual efforts by [sophomore Mark] Naclerio, [sophomore Nick] Lappin, [junior Matt] Lorito, [sophomore] Brandon Pfeil, our goaltending was excellent — which I think a lot of people … would question [about this year’s team],” Whittet said. “The guys played very, very well in their respective games.”

For those who have tuned out Brown in the past, here’s your chance to catch up on what could be a dynamic team.

“I’d say watch No. 28 — Nick Lappin — and No. 27, Mark Naclerio. Two sophomore forwards that do a lot of little things correct,” Whittet said. “They’re strong on pucks, they’re around the net a lot offensively, they’re unbelievably solid defensively, they’re on both the power play and penalty kill. Their upside and potential are tremendous. Those are two guys who are ready to blossom, to take off, and their linemate’s not too shabby either, in Matt Lorito.”

Don’t sleep, either, on Robertson, who has steadily compiled 54 points in 100 career games from the blue line.

“He’s very responsible defensively,” Whittet said. “He’s the engine, he’s the horse that drives our team from the back end. He’s just an absolute beast of a player. He plays 30 minutes a night for us. He plays in all situations. He goes into corners and battles, and he comes out with pucks. He is everything you would want in a hockey player, and he’s gotten better and better and better, and he has matured.

“He understands the timing of the game, when he should and shouldn’t jump in. Should he jump in? Should he play defense? … We try and play him in every situation we can. He can play ridiculous amounts of minutes and not get tired. We look to him to be our leader, and he’s done that very, very effectively.”

Ultimately, what will separate a successful Brown campaign from the fits-and-spurts seasons of years past will be consistency. Coaches’ favorite buzzword is a fleeting thing, and the Bears have yet to master the art of wire-to-wire effort.

“That’s what we’re searching for,” Whittet said. “I talked to them the other day about starting at a high level and continuing to a higher level. I don’t want peaks and valleys, and a lot of that will be borne out by how we approach each and every game. I tell our guys that there’s only 29 games in an Ivy regular season, and we’ve already played two … we’re down to 27. My expectation is that they play with intensity at a high level each time they step on the ice, and I believe that’s realistic.”

Another strong start for Minnesota, which says it’s forming its identity

By Drew Claussen

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October 31, 2013

At 5-0-1, Minnesota goes into its first bye week of the season with another strong start (photo: Jim Rosvold).

After six contests, and going into its first off weekend of the season, Minnesota is 5-0-1, the No. 1 team in the nation and riding a hot streak.

Sound familiar?

Minnesota was 6-2-2 in its first 10 games last season and went 9-1 in its first 10 contests of the 2011-12 season. The Gophers made it to the Frozen Four in 2012 and were bounced in the first round of the tournament last year by eventual champion Yale.

Though the Gophers had a high national ranking last year as well, this year’s start seems more impressive because of the competition they have faced. Minnesota’s only ranked opponent in its first 10 games of last season was Michigan State. The Gophers swept the Spartans on opening weekend and Michigan State disappeared from the rankings shortly after.

This season, the team has picked up impressive victories over New Hampshire and looked good in its series last weekend against Boston College. Minnesota tied BC 3-3 on Friday and took down the Eagles 6-1 on Sunday afternoon.

“There are a lot of good teams right now, we won a couple games this weekend, and that’s really all it means,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said after Sunday’s win. “We have to continue to work to get better. There are some areas of our game defensively that we have to get better. We have to stay healthy and keep moving forward.”

The team’s health came into play for the first time last weekend when Jake Parenteau suffered an upper-body injury after losing his footing and crashing into the Gophers’ goalpost during Friday’s game against BC.

“It’s a little bit different, you know, guys are in and out of the lineup,” sophomore defenseman Mike Reilly said. “It’s tough to lose a great player like that — he was definitely a big part of the first five games. We’ve got to adjust just a little bit, but [Jake] Bischoff came in and played great for us.”

Minnesota’s start to this season may have come as a surprise to many because of the five early departures from last year’s team. The Gophers’ freshmen have stepped up in a big way early this season. Freshmen Justin Kloos (9 points), Hudson Fasching (8) and Taylor Cammarata (6) are all in the top five on the team in scoring this season.

“I think we are starting to build a little identity of a team,” Reilly said. “We had to face one of the fastest teams in the nation. We haven’t really faced a team like that. I know it’s early on, but it’s a team we can probably face later on at the end of the year definitely.”

One thing that remains to be seen this season is how the Gophers can handle a ranked opponent on the road. Minnesota has played only two games away from Mariucci Arena this season, a road sweep of Bemidji State. Sanford Center may have even felt like home for Minnesota, as a lot of Gophers fans made the trip.

After their off weekend this week the Gophers will get that first road test next weekend when they travel to No. 2 Notre Dame for a two-game series.

“I think it’s good to regroup going into a team like Notre Dame,” Reilly said. “It’s going to be hard against them, but I know that if we go into practice Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and focus we can get ready for Notre Dame.”

Young pups big for Wolverines

Michigan may have lost for the first time last weekend, but thanks to early season wins over Boston College, New Hampshire and Boston University, the No. 4 Wolverines (4-1-1) have established themselves as a definite contender in the Big Ten.

A lot of the credit for the team’s success can go to its freshmen.

Freshmen Tyler Motte leads the team with four goals, and JT Compher leads Michigan with five assists. Freshman Evan Allen has also picked up two goals for the Wolverines this season. All three freshmen forwards have spent time together on the second line so far this season.

“I just had a good feel for these three; they’re competing hard,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “They’re always making good decisions on the ice.”

The trio of players seem to be comfortable playing together, because they have played together before this season.

“We’re all the same age, and we’ve all been together for a few years,” Allen said. “Me and Tyler have been together before that, so I think we have a lot in common on the ice and off the ice. I think we play together really well, and we want to keep it going.”

Michigan also has a solid freshman between the pipes in Zach Nagelvoort, who has a 2-1 record this season. Nagelvoort stopped 18 of 19 shots last Friday against Boston University and stopped 34 of 36 in Saturday’s loss to Lowell.

“I really liked our goalie,” Berenson said after Friday’s game. “This was his first home start. There was a lot of pressure on him for a lot of reasons: He’s a local Michigan kid, his grandparents live here, he has always wanted to come to Michigan. This was his chance to start at home, and I thought he looked solid.”

Senior defenseman Mac Bennett also took note of the freshman’s strong play in net last weekend.

“It’s a huge confidence booster, that’s for sure. He played fantastic tonight,” Bennett said after Saturday’s game. “And he gave us a chance to win this game. He’s been really, really solid since he’s come in, and I’m really happy with his play.”

With Joel Rumpel injured, Landon Peterson made both starts in goal two weeks ago (photo: Melissa Wade).

Badgers look to rebound at home after off week

With the beatdown that No. 13 Wisconsin took in Boston now a semi-distant memory thanks to an off weekend, the Badgers will look to get back on track this weekend when they welcome undefeated No. 12 Lake Superior State to the Kohl Center.

“I like the way we went back to work last week. We accomplished a lot of things that we as a coaching staff set out to do,” Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said. “And so when we left the week on Friday, we felt that we went back to the basics. We worked hard, we worked smart and we worked on playing as a team. So we feel it was a good week.”

Wisconsin’s struggles in Beantown happened with a key player not on the trip. Junior goaltender Joel Rumpel was sidelined with an ankle injury suffered during practice.

Rumpel is be part of another Wisconsin goaltending duo this season. Landon Peterson started the Badgers’ first game against Northern Michigan and Rumpel made the start in the second game. Peterson made both starts against Boston College and Boston University, gave up 13 goals and got yanked in the game against BC in favor of third-string goalie Adam Miller.

“Right now we’re hopeful for the weekend but that will be determined pretty strongly over the next couple of days,” Eaves said Monday of the possibility of Rumpel playing this weekend.

This weekend, it will be even more important for the Badgers to get back on track because their next two weekends will be on the road at Miami and Minnesota.

Three stars

First star — Ohio State junior forward Nick Oddo: Oddo had two goals and one assist in the Buckeyes’ first two victories of the season last weekend over Robert Morris. He was the only player in the conference to light the lamp more than once over the weekend. Oddo is also the first player not from Michigan or Minnesota to be honored with a Big Ten weekly award.

Second star — Minnesota junior forward Sam Warning: Warning has to have gotten used to seeing his name in the weekly awards by now. This is the third straight week he has received the honor. Minnesota’s speedy forward notched three assists in last weekend’s tie with and win over Boston College. Warning is tied for the national scoring lead with 12 points.

Third star — Michigan freshman goaltender Zach Nagelvoort: Nagelvoort racked up 52 saves last weekend against Boston University and Massachusetts-Lowell. He picked up the win over BU, but Michigan dropped Saturday’s game to Lowell.

Komm, Gensler making their mark as two of Bentley’s all-time best

By Dan Rubin

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October 31, 2013

With 54 career goals, Brett Gensler is eight away from the Bentley program record (photo: Melissa Wade).

The beginning of Atlantic Hockey’s 2013-14 season was very much trick rather than treat.

The league is in the midst of one of its worst nonconference showings in years, and after having two teams in the NCAA tournament a year ago, it’s increasingly appearing as if only the automatic bid will earn a low seed come the spring.

Yet there are positives to take away from what’s been an arduous start. Sacred Heart upended the then-No. 1 team in the nation when it beat Massachusetts-Lowell. Air Force swept Penn State. Mercyhurst picked up a win against Merrimack. And the league games themselves have been some of the most exciting so far this season.

Despite a 1-5 start and five-game losing streak, the Bentley Falcons are playing some of their most competitive hockey in two years, and two of their players are well on their way with a march into the program’s all-time record books. All of this comes as they continue an eight-game road stretch to open the season and a first half in which they’ll play only four games in their own barn.

After defeating Nebraska-Omaha 6-4 on opening night, Bentley has since lost a return match with the Mavericks and road games to Sacred Heart, Maine, Quinnipiac and Harvard. They’ve been in each of the games, losing by more than two only once (at Harvard). And they’re developing a team that’s looking toward its league games with a more determined eye after a disappointing season last year.

“I think last year taught us a lot about who we were and what we could be as a team,” coach Ryan Soderquist said. “We refocused this year and while the results haven’t been there, there are things that I see in this team coming together that keep us poised for a great year. It’s a completely different attitude that we have in practice, on game day, and it has us really excited to get into the bulk of our league games.”

Soderquist’s Falcons are being led by two players marching toward history. Goalie Branden Komm needs just one win to become the fourth goalie in program history with 30 career wins. Six more wins will tie him for the all-time wins record.

He holds the two greatest single-season GAAs for his work over the last two years, and he is first or second in appearances, saves, shutouts and career GAA. In that last category, he’s the only Bentley goalie to record a career GAA under 3.00 with that number still in progress. Last summer, he spent time in the NHL development camp for the Ottawa Senators, just over the border from his native Buffalo area.

This season, Komm recorded at least 30 saves in each game except for the loss to Sacred Heart. Against Quinnipiac, he saved 46 shots in a one-goal loss as the Bobcats outshot Bentley 50-13. In his last two games, he’s saved 82 of 89 shots with a .921 save percentage.

Bentley has a goal differential of -0.33, a number it wants to improve but one that still ranks third among AHA programs.

“I think when you look at stats, if I’m first or second at anything, it’s more of a compliment to how the team can play, how far the program has come at Division I, and how far we can go in terms of hopefully getting that first [AHA] title and first NCAA appearance,” Komm said.

“Before the puck can get to me, it has to get through five other guys. So even if it’s a shot on goal, if they can change the angle or force something that’s easier to stop, then that’s about the entire team more than it is about one guy.”

Alongside Komm, senior forward Brett Gensler is on the verge of breaking the team’s Division I scoring record. With 54 career goals, the 2012 Walter Brown Award winner needs just eight strikes to tie the record. And with 63 assists, he’s three away from moving into second and 21 away from taking the lead for the program at the NCAA’s top flight.

Beyond that, his 117 career points ranks ninth all-time at any level, and his 52 points in 2011-12 is a program record he claimed from his head coach.

“Brett’s a player that we need to be complete on the ice, not just a scorer,” said Soderquist. “When he’s able to dish the puck and find other guys, it really opens up our opportunities and creates chances to score for others and, when the attention is off him, for himself as well.”

The Falcons wrap up their season-opening road trip this weekend when they head to Merrimack on Friday and conference foe Army on Saturday.

Bad Jackets, good Jackets

American International opened its season Oct. 19 by shocking Schneider Arena and Providence with a 1-0 lead in the first period and a 1-1 tie after the frame. Halfway through the second period, the Yellow Jackets trailed by only one.

Then the floodgates opened, and the Friars scored two sets of three unanswered goals to win 10-4. It was the first time the Yellow Jackets allowed double digits in goals since Oct. 23, 2011, when Air Force landed 12.

But a positive mind-set of a team that didn’t quit spilled over a week later at home against Sacred Heart. Switching Ryan Kerpan for Ty Reichenbach in net, AIC took a 3-0 lead in the second period and defeated the Pioneers 4-1 to win their league-opening game for the first time in two years. Coincidentally, the last time AIC won its first league game, it was also over the Pioneers, at home.

Matt Grogan had 47 saves in Connecticut’s 2-2 tie with Union (photo: Omar Phillips).

Grogan just getting warmed up in Storrs

Last year, Matt Grogan played well enough to wrestle Connecticut’s starting goalie job away from Garrett Bartus, the bread and butter of the program for three years.

Grogan, who had played in 10 games over the two years prior, ended up playing in 23 games last season, notching a 1.93 GAA and .937 save percentage, good enough for eighth and fifth in the country, respectively. In both categories, he finished second in the league to only Carsen Chubak from Niagara.

Back for a fifth year after redshirting as a freshman, Grogan struggled by his standards at Minnesota State on opening night, allowing two goals and stopping only 29 shots as UConn lost 2-1. The next night, he let in six goals despite stopping 42 shots, and the Huskies lost 6-1 to the Mavericks.

Grogan broke through in a big way last week, though, when he saved 47 shots and took a 2-2 tie from visiting Union. The Dutchmen, who have been to three consecutive national tournaments, including one Frozen Four and another regional final, outshot the Huskies 49-23. Even though the UConn defense would love to have a better showing, it has to help knowing that it has a stone wall protecting its goal.

The wild, wild west

If the league’s slate of games is any indication so far, the west is going to be a wild shootout.

Air Force beat Canisius on Friday and Niagara on Saturday, scoring seven goals in the latter. Niagara and Robert Morris skated to a 3-3 tie with a combined 77 shots on goal. Niagara has beaten Canisius. Canisius beat nationally ranked Denver in a nonconference game.

If this is setting a trend, pencil in games this weekend for viewing pleasure. Air Force comes east to play Rochester Institute of Technology and Mercyhurst. One big dog in the yard plays another big dog before taking on a team that’s predicted by many to be the biggest dog this season.

Players of the week

Continuing the trend of picking our own players of the week, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the league’s choices for top skaters. The AHA chose Chad Demers from Air Force as the player of the week, with Canisius’ Keegan Asmundsen as the goalie of the week.

All respect to Dick Vitale, the league took Kyle Dutra as its “diaper dandy,” naming the Mercyhurst freshman as rookie of the week. I’m going to agree in a couple of areas, but I’m disagreeing in goal.

Player of the week — Air Force forward Chad Demers: The big, bad Falcons are picking up steam after their opening weekend blues in Alaska. Taking conference wins over Canisius and Niagara, Demers scored four points for the cadets, including three against Niagara. He had an assist on the game-winner against Canisius and has points in five straight games. Through six games, he has nine points, including seven assists.

Goalie of the week — Connecticut’s Matt Grogan: Maybe I’m a sucker for the eastern goalies, but Grogan put together one of the finest performances in the nation’s short season so far in the 2-2 tie against Union. His Huskies were outshot 16-6 in the first period and trailed 2-0 after one. In the second period, he served as a major catalyst in the UConn comeback, stopping all 19 Dutchmen shots as his team tied the game despite being outshot 19-12. He stopped 11 more in the third, then all three in overtime (UConn did not have a shot on goal in the extra frame).

Rookie of the week — Mercyhurst forward Kyle Dutra: Dutra was solid at both ends of the ice last week for the Lakers, scoring his first two career points with an assist in each game against Alaska. He is a top-six forward for the Lakers, but his greatest achievement in my opinion came from his two-way ability. He peppered the Nanooks defense with seven shots on goal, then blocked three in his own end. Well-earned bruises and hustle earn him the honors as best newbie this week.

East/West Hockey Classic highlights Women’s D-III season openers

By Derek Dunning

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October 30, 2013

For the fourth straight year the East/West Hockey Classic hosted by Norwich University highlights the opening weekend of the NCAA Division III women’s ice hockey season.

The annual predetermined matchup tournament features the top two teams from the ECAC West, Elmira and Plattsburgh, taking on the top two teams from the ECAC East, Norwich and Manhattanville. All four teams were ranked in the top 10 in the USCHO Poll released on Monday, to only further the distinction of the East/West Hockey Classic being the premier D-III women’s hockey tournament annually.

Elmira enters as the reigning national champions and the preseason No. 1-ranked team after finishing last season with a 25-4-1 record on its way to winning its third national championship and first since 2003. The Soaring Eagles were a bit of an underdog heading into the season after losing their coach, some key seniors and their top scorer.

However, Elmira proved the naysayers, (including me), wrong by beating Bowdoin, 4-0, in the NCAA quarterfinals, upsetting previously unbeaten Gustavus Adolphus, 4-3, in overtime in the semifinals, and then edging Middlebury, 1-0, in the National Championship.

Elmira returns six of its top-10 scorers from last year, including the top three. Juniors Ashley Ryan (17-14-31) and Ashton Hogan (19-7-26) return as the top offensive leaders from last year, as well does senior do-it-all forward Tanis Lamoureux (13-14-27).

Junior defenseman Brooke Wilgosh (7-14-21) was named to the All-East/West Classic team in 2011 and freshman forward Olivia Nystrom (6-13-19) started her career off well last season, earning All-East/West Classic Tournament team honors in 2012.

In goal, Elmira will have to replace standout Lauren Sullivan, who was a key cog in the Soaring Eagles’ run to the title last year. Senior Lisa Marshall will look to fill the void along with a pair of freshmen in Kyle Nelson and Kierra Pietramala. Marshall went 8-1-0 in nine starts with a 0.89 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage.

While Elmira was celebrating, its arch-rival Plattsburgh was left to wonder what could have been, as the Cardinals were the odds-on favorite to win last year’s title heading into the final weekend.

Plattsburgh had been dominant all season, coming into Superior, Wis., for the Frozen Four with a 26-0-2 record. However, Plattsburgh’s bid to repeat its 2007 unbeaten season was abruptly cut short by Middlebury with a 4-1 loss in the NCAA semifinals.

The Cardinals return everyone from last year’s squad, except for their leading scorer and reigning Laura Hurd Award (National Player of the Year) winner Teal Gove, who tallied 29 goals and 21 assists for 50 points.

Junior Shannon Stewart (21-18-39) had a breakout season last year, while Jenny Kistner totaled a team-leading 22 assists to go along with 12 goals for 34 points. Senior defenseman Allison Era (13-16-29) was an All-American last season, while junior Emma Rutherford (12-14-26) and senior Chelsea Van Glahn (14-8-22) round out the top offensive returnees.

Plattsburgh will also get back Jordan Caldwell for another season, who missed almost all of last season due to an injury. Although the Cardinals won’t have Teal Gove anymore, they will have her sister Tyne, who transferred to Plattsburgh over the summer after spending two seasons at Norwich. Tyne registered 20 goals and 31 assists for 51 points in 58 career games with the Cadets.

In goal, returning senior First Team All-American Sydney Aveson was 23-1-2 last year with a 1.19 GAA and a .937 save percentage.

Plattsburgh coach Kevin Houle will have a new assistant at his side this season, as former Laura Hurd Award winner Danielle Blanchard returns to her alma mater as a coach. Blanchard was one of the best to ever wear a Cardinals uniform, and helped lead Plattsburgh to back-to-back national titles in 2007 and 2008.

Norwich enters the 2013-14 season coming off making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance in the last six seasons. Norwich also fell victim to Middlebury after the Panthers upset Norwich, 4-3, in overtime in the NCAA quarterfinals to end Norwich’s bid to reach its fourth straight national championship.

Despite the early NCAA tournament exit, the Cadets still went 22-4-3 last season and return the reigning ECAC East Player of the Year in Tori Charron. She led the country with 30 goals and dished out 14 more assists for 44 points.

Senior defenseman Kayla Parsons (11-15-26) enjoyed a breakout season last year on her way to earning All-American honors along with Charron. Junior Kaycie Anderson (6-15-21), as well as senior defensemen Marie-Philip Guay (2-15-17) and Brittany Sharman (4-12-16), round out the top returning scorers for the Cadets.

In goal, junior Loren Carrier returns after compiling an 11-1-2 record with a .923 save percentage and a 1.24 goals against average. Junior transfer Taylor Fairchild and freshman Celeste Robert will also compete for time.

Like Plattsburgh, Norwich will also be welcoming a familiar face back behind the bench this season as well with Sophie Leclerc returning to her alma mater as an assistant coach for the Cadets. Leclerc ranks second in nearly every all-time program offensive category and helped lead Norwich to its first national championship in 2011.

Manhattanville is coming off an 18-9-1 season and finished as the ECAC East Tournament runner-ups to Norwich. The Valiants are ranked ninth in the USCHO Poll, but they were a senior heavy team a year ago and return just three of their top-10 scorers.

Junior forward Alla Traun (5-13-18) is the top returnee, while classmates Trenah Stauffer (5-5-10) and Rachael Morrison (1-8-9) return as the top defensemen. Junior Michelle Meggiolaro had seven goals last season.

In goal, junior Kristen Shaughnessy is the lone returner from last year’s trio of netminders. Freshmen Olivia Drew and Dana DeMartino will compete for time as well.

The Classic kicks off on Saturday when Manhattanville takes on Elmira at 2 p.m., with Plattsburgh battling Norwich in the nightcap at 5 p.m. On Sunday, Manhattanville faces Plattsburgh at 1 p.m. while Elmira takes on the host Cadets at 4 p.m. in the finale.

Little East/West Classic?
While the Norwich Tournament is certainly the headliner of the opening weekend slate of games, Oswego State will also be hosting a new tournament featuring the same format and the same two conferences.

Oswego and fellow ECAC West member Cortland will be taking on New England College and Castleton this weekend in a classic tournament format at the Campus Center Ice Arena.

While it doesn’t have the same established star power, it does feature some of the up and coming challengers in both conferences, with Oswego and Castleton making significant headway toward the nation’s elite over the past few seasons.

Campbell and Fulton are becoming more recognizable at Cornell

By Arlan Marttila

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October 30, 2013

Emily Fulton (Cornell -17). (Shelley M. Szwast)

It has been said many times in sports: the name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back.

That is certainly true at Cornell. The Big Red like to rock it old school, and don’t wear any names on the backs of their jerseys. However, certain names have been synonymous with their recent rise to the upper echelons.

Last weekend, senior goaltender Lauren Slebodnick set a new program career wins record when she posted her 54th and 55th victories. Slebodnick bested a mark former teammate Amanda Mazzotta established in 2012. That speaks to the fact that for a program that’s been competing since the 1972-73 season, these are the good old days. Cornell had three 17-win seasons in its first decade, and that stood as the program high until 2010.

Doug Derraugh became coach in 2005. The recruiting class he brought to Ithaca, N.Y., in fall 2007 included Rebecca Johnston, and Cornell was relevant again. In their first year, those players helped the Big Red win more than 10 games for the first time in the NCAA era of the sport.

Other stars like Catherine White, Laura Fortino, Laurianne Rougeau, and Brianne Jenner followed, and the 2009-10 campaign started a string of four seasons with more than 20 wins, regular-season ECAC championships, and NCAA tournament appearances. That stretch also included two seasons of at least 30 wins, three league playoff titles, three trips to the Frozen Four, and competing in the longest NCAA Championship game.

Coming into this season, all those star players are gone. Johnston and White graduated in 2012, and Rougeau and Fortino followed last spring. Jenner, coming off of a 70-point season, is centralized with the Canadian national team preparing for the Olympics.

Jessica Campbell, a senior forward for the current Big Red, said, “One of the strongest things about being at Cornell playing for this team is that since I’ve been here as a freshman, we’ve had a very talented roster. We’ve had members of both U.S. and Canada’s national team at all levels here, so we’re constantly competing with each other, getting better that way.”

By far the most proven performer returning offensively for Cornell was junior Jillian Saulnier, having piled up 95 points in her first two years. Beyond Saulnier, nobody had a 30-point season on her resume, but perhaps Derraugh possessed a greater wealth of talent than was first apparent.

“The coaches did a great job at recruiting, and we keep bringing in young, talented individuals,” junior forward Emily Fulton said. “To be able to practice day in and day out with individuals like Brianne Jenner and Rebecca Johnston, it only furthers everyone’s skill development. I think that’s a great strength we have at Cornell, is that we challenge each other each day. That continues our progression as players and as people.”

Prior to the start of the season, Derraugh spoke about players that he expected to fill some of the holes on his roster.

“Jess Campbell is somebody that is always there and seems to play her best when we need it and scores big goals for us at big times in big games,” he said.

Campbell emerged last year as a bit of a Harvard killer. She scored twice, including short-handed, in a February win over the Crimson that aided Cornell in besting them for the league title, and she had the game-winning goal in the final two minutes of the ECAC Championship game.

Now she’ll be counted on to be an impact player on a regular basis.

“Honestly, losing [Fortino, Rougeau, and Jenner] was a big loss to our team, but I think it just presented an opportunity for everyone to step up and take on that challenge,” Campbell said. “I think for me personally, being a senior co-captain, it was just another opportunity to lead by example and try to establish the way I want the whole team to play, exemplifying that in my own play. I’m just trying to continue that and every game get a little bit better and making an impact, whether it’s offensively, defensively, or whatever way I can contribute to the team.”

“Emily Fulton is another one who seems to relish those situations and steps up for us, especially when we lose [players],” Derraugh said.

Derraugh placed Campbell and Fulton as wings on the first line with Saulnier in the middle.

“The three of us were members of the [Canadian] Under-18 national team four years ago, so we have played together before,” Campbell said.

Through the first four games for Cornell, the trio has played like they’ve always been together, producing at least two goals in each contest. In an important weekend versus Clarkson and St. Lawrence to start ECAC play, they combined for seven goals, 12 assists, and 19 points.

“We all bring something different to the line, and I think that’s what really made us successful overall,” Campbell said. “We’re all very fast. Jill and Emily have great puck skills. We all kind of complement each other in a different way, and I think that’s what made us very successful, because when we do establish our forecheck and use our speed, that’s when we get the scoring opportunities.”

The line has had so much success that with 12 points, Fulton leads the country in points per game.

“I’m definitely surprised with those stats, but I’ve worked hard throughout the summer and to be playing with such great players like Jess and Jill makes things so much easier,” she said.

Fulton has become an assist machine. Her two assists per game have her leading that category as well, and she had five helpers versus Clarkson alone. The junior from Stratford, Ont., can score or be a playmaker, depending on the situation.

“I think that’s definitely one of my strong points,” Fulton said. “I’m able to do both, but just the players I’m playing with, we move the puck well. All my linemates can finish well.”

On the other wing, Campbell currently is second in the country behind her teammate in both points and assists per game.

“To be that strong that early on is a good confidence builder for us as a line,” she said. “The first couple practices, it wasn’t as great as that, but it’s gotten so much better. I think we’re going to do great things together as a line.”

Rapid development of that chemistry as a line and a team is made all the more important because Ivy League teams begin their seasons later than the other programs.

“We can only be allowed to practice a week before we start playing those teams,” Campbell said. “It is kind of frustrating to know that other teams get that advantage, but it’s just another challenge that is presented us.”

According to Campbell, the later start may benefit Cornell.

“Because we don’t have a lot of time, we really focus in and put all of our energy and attention into learning the systems early and getting after them as quickly as we can in our first games,” she said. “We’re so eager to come out. I think maybe being in the Ivy League, we have so much academic time that early on we’re so excited to get on the ice and start the season as a team that it almost works in our favor sometimes.”

The Big Red gained another source of motivation from the manner in which last season ended on home ice in the NCAA quarterfinal versus Mercyhurst. Cornell immediately answered a late goal by the Lakers with one of its own to force overtime, only to have the visitors score again five minutes into the extra session.

“We were definitely upset with how the season ended, but we couldn’t harp on that,” Fulton said. “We had to move on right from there. That’s when we started our next season is right after that game finished. Everyone knew what had to be done and we set our goals. We worked together throughout the summer. So that has definitely helped us, especially the returning players for this upcoming season.”

All five of Cornell’s postseason games in March went down to the final minutes. In the four ECAC tournament games, the Big Red found a way to triumph, but their fortunes ran out in the national tournament.

Fulton said she had never before been on a team that played a similar string of nailbiters.

“We definitely learned from it,” she said. “You’ve just got to play consistently throughout the 60 minutes. That’s what we’re really trying to work toward this year, is that consistency throughout and not leaving it until the end of the game, but starting right from the drop of the puck.”

So far, so good. Cornell has held a lead of at least two goals through the final five minutes of each of its four games.

That’s all been a product of having the nation’s best offense, averaging over a goal per game more than every other team.

“I don’t think people didn’t see that we have this talent, but I think it kind of gets lost in the whole transition year where they think all the best players have been plucked, but I think we still have a very strong team and very strong players on our team,” Campbell said. “We just have a very close-knit team. I think when you combine those two things, that’s what really makes for a successful team.”

Ten finalists named for four men’s Frozen Four bids

USCHO Staff Report

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October 30, 2013

Ten finalists have been named in bidding to host men’s Frozen Fours from 2015 to 2018, the NCAA announced Wednesday.

They are:

• TD Garden, Boston (Hockey East/Massachusetts Sports Marketing Association)
• First Niagara Center, Buffalo, N.Y. (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference/Canisius/Niagara)
• Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y. (ECAC Hockey)
• Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia (Penn State/Philadelphia Sports Congress)
• Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh (Robert Morris)
• Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State/Columbus Sports Commission)
• Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. (Navy/Greater Washington Sports Alliance)
• Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn. (Minnesota)
• United Center, Chicago (Notre Dame/Chicago Sports Commission)
• Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, Fla. (Wisconsin/Tampa Bay Sports Commission)

Seven of the 10 will have hosted a Frozen Four once Philadelphia hosts this season’s event. Barclays Center, Nationwide Arena and United Center are the exceptions.

The NCAA also announced finalists for Division I women’s and Division III men’s championships.

Four sites were chosen as finalists for the women’s Frozen Four:

• Family Arena, St. Charles, Mo. (Lindenwood/St. Louis Sports Commission)
• Ridder Arena, Minneapolis (Minnesota)
• Whittemore Center Arena, Durham, N.H. (New Hampshire)
• Ralph Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks, N.D. (North Dakota)

Three sites are in the running to host Division III men’s championships:

• Ridder Arena, Minneapolis (St. Scholastica)
• Herb Brooks Ice Arena, Lake Placid, N.Y. (Plattsburgh State/Olympic Regional Development Authority)
• Utica Memorial Auditorium, Utica, N.Y. (Utica)

The Division III women’s championship will be held at campus sites.

The finalists were selected by the NCAA hockey committees. Winners are scheduled to be announced on Dec. 11.

ECAC East women’s preseason poll shows Norwich the favorite

USCHO Staff Report

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October 30, 2013

After capturing their fourth ECAC East tournament title in the past five seasons, the Norwich women have been tabbed the favorite this season in the preseason coaches’ poll that was unveiled Tuesday.

The Cadets garnered 143 out of a possible 144 points, receiving first-place votes on all but one ballot.

St. Anselm finished second with 119 points and the other first-place vote.

Team	Total Points
1. Norwich	143
2. St. Anselm	119
3. Manhattanville	112
4. Holy Cross	105
5. Salve Regina	94
6. Castleton	90
7. Massachusetts-Boston	74
8. Southern Maine	61
9. New England College	55
10. Plymouth State	44
11. St. Michael's	21
Nichols	18

Norwich men picked to finish atop ECAC East in 2013-14

USCHO Staff Report

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October 30, 2013

Norwich received 93 out of a possible 100 points in the 2013-14 ECAC East preseason coaches’ poll released Tuesday.

Massachusetts-Boston was picked to finish in second place, edging out the defending ECAC East tournament champion Babson by just two points.

Team	Total Points
1. Norwich	93
2. Massachusetts-Boston	88
3. Babson	86
4. Castleton	67
5. Skidmore	57
6. St. Anselm	50
7. New England College	38
8. Southern Maine	26
9. University of New England	25
10. St. Michael's	21

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