It was another solid weekend for the ECAC. Quinnipiac, Cornell and Clarkson each swept their opponents, while Rensselaer beat No. 13 New Hampshire at home. The ECAC has a 26-11-4 interconference record, by far the best of any league in the country.
Ivies in action: The remaining six teams yet to play in Division I finally got underway this weekend, including defending national champion Yale. The Bulldogs lost 4-1 to Brown Friday in the opening game of the Liberty Invitational at the Prudential Center in New Jersey. Defending champs or not, the Bears’ style of play has given Yale trouble over the last few seasons. Brown finished the weekend with a 5-3 win over Dartmouth, while Yale beat Princeton 3-2.
The Bears’ top line of Nick Lappin, Matt Lorito, and Mark Naclerio combined for 15 points in the two games. That looks to be a group to keep an eye on.
Ivies, part II: Cornell had an impressive sweep at Nebraska-Omaha this weekend, scoring four power-play goals Saturday for the first time in nearly four years. Cole Bardreau, back in action for the first time since fracturing his neck last January, had two goals and an assist in the sweep. Meanwhile, Harvard got 43 saves from Raphael Girard in a 3-0 home win over Bentley Saturday.
Quinnipiac, Clarkson keep rolling: Picked to finish last in both the coaches and media preseason polls, the Golden Knights are off to a rolling 6-1-1 start. Clarkson swept Colorado College at home after entering the weekend with an 0-11-3 all-time record against the Tigers. The Golden Knights didn’t get their sixth win of last year until Feb. 2.
Meanwhile, Quinnipiac has now won six in a row since dropping their season opener to Alaska. Freshman Sam Anas leads the Bobcats with six goals. QU will head to Colgate and Cornell to open conference play this weekend.
The NCHC’s championship weekend will be held March 21-22 at the Target Center in Minneapolis and fans can vote on the name for the event. Finalists as selected by league staff are NCHC Frozen Faceoff, NCHC Final Faceoff, National Collegiate Hockey Championship and the NCHC Fabulous Four.
Well, thanks to Colgate getting a win in overtime and Boston University’s continued inconsistency, I am now three games back of Arlan in our season picks race. Luckily, I am on top in the NCHC race! And, of course, there’s always time to make it up this year (as I did last season). Last week, I went 11-6-1 (.638) to bring my season total to 31-14-5 (.670), while Arlan went 12-5-1 (.694) to move to 34-11-5 (.730) on the year. Let’s see if I can chip at Arlan’s lead this week.
Friday, Oct. 25
Clarkson at Cornell Candace: Cornell looked good against Northeastern, and is home. Advantage: Big Red. Cornell 4-2 Arlan: A week ago, I’d have gone with Clarkson, and one’s first answer is often the right answer. Cornell 2-1
Quinnipiac at Harvard Candace: Can the Bobcats prove they belong at the top of the class? Something tells me no. Harvard 4-2 Arlan: Quinnipiac steps up in class and Harvard steps out of the gate. Harvard 3-2
Princeton at Dartmouth Candace: I honestly don’t know what to expect out of this game, so we’ll go with home ice. Dartmouth 4-2 Arlan: Dartmouth usually bounces back after losses like the one to BC. Dartmouth 2-1
Friday-Saturday, Oct. 25-26
Providence home-and-home with Northeastern Candace: I hate picking Providence games. And Northeastern games. And any Hockey East games other than Boston College. Northeastern swept this series last year. They probably won’t this season, but to avoid getting the dates wrong, I’ll call a sweep. Northeastern 2-1, 2-1 Arlan: The teams played some wild affairs last season, but the Huskies always won. Northeastern 5-2, Providence 2-1
Minnesota at Bemidji State Candace: Minnesota should continue to roll. Minnesota 4-1, 5-1 Arlan: Of the current WCHA venues, Bemidji State’s Sandford Center is where the Gophers have the poorest winning percentage. Minnesota 3-1, 5-1
Minnesota-Duluth at Minnesota State Candace: The Bulldogs are coming off a disappointing series with Minnesota, and should be up for a sweep to rebound from it. Minnesota-Duluth 4-2, 3-2 Arlan: Must wins for the Bulldogs, but Mankato can be a very tough place to play. Minnesota-Duluth 2-1, 4-2
North Dakota at St. Cloud State Candace: After a disappointing loss at home to Ohio State, North Dakota needs the points big time. North Dakota 4-2, 4-1 Arlan: UND has taken the last dozen meetings head to head; does that continue? North Dakota 3-2, 7-1
Boston College at Syracuse Candace: Syracuse has been pretty good so far this year, but I expect the Eagles to take it. Boston College 3-1 Arlan: Syracuse is 0-1-1 in this series, but the teams haven’t played in three years. Boston College 3-2
Vermont at Robert Morris Candace: If there’s anything I hate more than picking Providence games, it’s picking Robert Morris games. Robert Morris 4-2, 3-2 Arlan: What’s more fun than picking a Catamounts/Colonials game? Picking two of them! Robert Morris 2-1, 3-2
Saturday, Oct. 26
St. Lawrence at Cornell Candace: I expect this to be close, but the Big Red should prevail. Cornell 4-2 Arlan: Can Clarkson soften the Big Red up enough for the Saints to take advantage? Cornell 4-2
Quinnipiac at Dartmouth Candace: Oh bother. Flip a coin? I’ll go with home ice. Dartmouth 2-1 Arlan: As you said, the Bobcats are usually good at winning the games they should, and I think that includes Dartmouth. Quinnipiac 4-2
Princeton at Harvard Candace: Princeton has played Harvard tough the last few years, but the Crimson have too much. Harvard 3-1
Arlan: The Tigers have been the tricky part of this travel pairing for the Crimson, but not in the last five meetings. Harvard 4-1
Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 26-27
New Hampshire at Penn State Candace: UNH has been consistently inconsistent, but the Wildcats should have enough for a sweep. New Hampshire 4-2, 4-1 Arlan: If both UNH and Penn State play to potential, the Wildcats should come out on top. New Hampshire 3-1, 4-3
Tuesday, Oct. 29
Boston University at Northeastern Candace: This is one of those games that I have no idea what to expect. Boston University 4-2 Arlan: Ask me with a minute remaining in this game and I’ll probably still get it wrong. Boston University 3-2
Thanks to correctly picking the split days in the UNO-Northern Michigan series, as well as calling for a Miami sweep so that I got at least one of the dates for the win correct, I have opened up a three-game lead on Matthew in our series picks race. Last week, I went 5-4-1 (.550), hardly a great percentage, to move to 13-7-4 (.625) after two weeks. Matthew went 2-7-1 (.250) last week, to move to 10-10-4 (.500) on the year.
As always, we pick every NCHC game each week.
Friday-Saturday, Oct. 25-26
Colorado College at Clarkson Candace: Clarkson sports a 4-1-1 record, but all of its wins are against Atlantic Hockey teams that have struggled to start the year, so it’s tough to know for sure how good the Golden Knights are. However, on home ice, I think Clarkson is good for a split. Clarkson 3-2, Colorado College 3-2 Matthew: The Golden Knights are unbeaten in their last three games and have only lost one of their six games so far this season, all against solid opposition. I think they’ll pick up their second loss of the season this weekend, though, when Colorado College comes to Potsdam, N.Y. That said, adding Clarkson’s good form so far this season to the fact these games being held at Cheel Arena, I think the Golden Knights are good for a split. Clarkson 4-2, Colorado College 3-1
No. 10 St. Cloud State at Colgate Candace: Colgate has been a little up and down, and St. Cloud, after a bye week, should be raring to go. Call it a sweep. St. Cloud 4-2, 4-1 Matthew: Colgate is at home for these two games, but the Raiders have had an inconsistent start to the season and got pumped 7-0 last time out at Bowling Green. Welcoming into Starr Rink a very good and rested St. Cloud State team is far from what one would call a surefire solution in aid of getting back to winning ways. St. Cloud State 2-0, 3-1
Niagara (Fri.) and Canisius (Sat.) at No. 17 Denver Candace: After a long trip out to Alaska, Denver returns home, having finally named captains (David Makowski, Josiah Didier and Zac Larraza). To boot, it’s homecoming weekend. I think this weekend is just what Denver needs to settle down, but both games will be closer than expected. Denver 2-1, 3-1 Matthew: I don’t know about you, Candace, but I’m finding it a bit tricky to get a really good read on this Denver team so far this season. I didn’t quite see the Pioneers’ season-opening sweep of Merrimack coming, and I definitely hadn’t envisioned DU losing to both Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage last weekend, even though, in fairness, both losses came in overtime. Now, however, they’re back at home against Niagara and Canisius, teams we’ll remember from last season’s NCAA tournament but clubs that haven’t exactly set the world on fire so far this season. Denver 4-1, Denver 5-1
No. 3 Miami at No. 8 Providence Candace: I’m not completely sold on Providence yet, and I think Miami is one of the best teams in the country, so I’ll pick a Miami sweep. Miami 2-1, 4-1 Matthew: The RedHawks split at home last weekend in the big NCHC curtain-raising showcase series with North Dakota, and I think Miami will pick up another win and a loss here. I like this Miami team a lot, but flying out east to face a Providence team that tore Minnesota State apart two weeks ago and scored a ridiculous ten goals in its last game is a tall order for any team. Providence 4-2, Miami 3-1
No. 2 Notre Dame at Minnesota-Duluth Candace: The Bulldogs rebounded nicely in the second game of a season-opening series against Colorado College, winning 5-1, and giving the first signs that their offense might be getting untracked. The Fighting Irish have looked outstanding so far. I’ll call Notre Dame in a sweep of two close games. Notre Dame 3-2, 4-2 Matthew: I’ve really liked how UMD has looked so far this season, but with all due respect to Michigan Tech and Colorado College, the Bulldogs are facing a significantly tougher task this weekend when they welcome second-ranked Notre Dame to town. NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton will be in attendance for those games, and he told me earlier this week Friday’s tilt will mark the first time he’ll have visited the Amsoil, but I’m not sure he’ll come away from the weekend completely happy with the results on the ice. Still, though, as Duluth is at home for this series, I’ll go with a split. Notre Dame 5-3, Minnesota-Duluth 4-2
No. 19 Cornell at Nebraska-Omaha Candace: The Mavericks have looked very inconsistent to start the year, but have two weekends under their belt. Meanwhile, this is the season opener for Cornell. I’m thinking split. Nebraska-Omaha 4-2, Cornell 4-2 Matthew: UNO has been up-and-down so far this season and is having serious issues staying out of the box, as the Mavericks were called for 21 penalties last weekend at Northern Michigan and have been hit with 34 in total in their first four games. That needs to change this weekend against Cornell ahead of a grueling November slate for UNO: Denver, North Dakota, Michigan and Miami. There’s an easy joke to be made here about how the Big Red stands a good chance of winning in Nebraska this weekend, but I do think Cornell will pick up one ‘W’ this weekend. Cornell 4-2, Nebraska-Omaha 3-1
After three weekends of nonconference play in the WCHA, the 2013-14 conference slate begins for Alabama-Huntsville, Bemidji State, Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan.
Alaska hosts one more nonconference series while Bowling Green plays Tuesday night.
Alaska-Anchorage, Ferris State, Lake Superior State and Minnesota State are all off this weekend, though the Lakers have a Tuesday home exhibition against Laurentian.
Shane: I really thought Bemiidji State and Minnesota State would be a big rivalry because of their long history and the fact that they continued to play nonconference games after going D1. But these were the best teams in the CHA for several years and that fact remains fresh in the teams’ and fans’ minds. I agree it will be fun, and I agree on a split. Chargers 2-1, Beavers 3-1
Michigan Tech vs. Northern Michigan (home and home)
Matt: The Wildcats host the Huskies on Friday in Marquette before the two sides play again 24 hours later in Houghton. This has been a tame series in recent years, partially because Tech has been in rebuilding mode. The Huskies’ 8-2 butt kicking of the ‘Cats last year may have lit a spark in the NMU locker room. Now we’ll see if a four-game series ignites it further. Wildcats 4-3, Huskies 4-2.
Shane: Good for the WCHA to schedule a pair of rivalry series to kick off the conference schedule. It will be interesting to see how this one develops now that these teams are back in the same league for the first time since 1997. They’ll split, but I think each wins at the other’s barn. Huskies 5-2, Wildcats 3-2
Mercyhurt at Alaska
Matt: With wins over Denver and Air Force, plus a tie with Western Michigan, the Nanooks are off to a solid start at 2-1-1. Mercyhurt is 1-4-0 to start the year and the last time the Lakers were in Fairbanks two years ago, they got hammered by both the Nanooks and Seawolves. Nanooks 5-1, 3-1.
Shane: These are the final nonconference games for the Nanooks, who are also at home. Mercyhurst might be road weary after playing in a tournament at Minnesota, then home against Ferris State then at Merrimack. Now a trip to Fairbanks? Their frequent-flyer miles will be rewarded with a pair of losses. Nanooks 3-2, 6-2
Tuesday
Bowling Green at Ohio State
Matt: It’s Part II of what was an exciting Tuesday night game a week ago, with BGSU scoring four unanswered goals in the second and third periods to rally for a 4-3 win over the Buckeyes in Bowling Green. Now the series shifts to Columbus, where the 0-3 Buckeyes have been stewing since. I like a confident Falcons team. BGSU 3-1
Shane: Ohio State plays a home-and-home with Robert Morris this weekend, so it will be interesting to see how it comes out of that series. But I still think the Buckeyes are a mess, while the Falcons are showing off their depth without Ryan Carpenter. Falcons 4-3
Last week: Shane, 11-5-2; Matt 8-8-2. Overall: Shane 21-12-5; Matt, 18-15-5.
On the season: Dan 21-10-2 (.667)
Chris 22-9-2 (.697)
This Week’s Picks
Friday, October 25th and Saturday October 26th: Robert Morris vs. Ohio State Dan: I find it hard to believe that RMU could be winless to this point. I feel the same way about Ohio State. Before I ever picked this, I knew Chris and I would say something similar. Robert Morris on Friday; Ohio State on Saturday Chris: Both teams are looking for their first win of the season. I think they’ll each get that. Ohio State wins Friday; Robert Morris Saturday.
Quinnipiac vs. Holy Cross Dan: Quinnipiac outshot Bentley by a 50-13 margin, but they only won by one. I hope Rand Pecknold is a fan of The Who, because They Won’t Be Fooled Again. Quinnipiac sweeps Chris: Holy Cross hasn’t beaten the Bobcats since 2005 and I don’t think it will happen this weekend. Quinnipiac sweeps.
Mercyhurst at Alaska Dan: This Laker team is too good to be 1-4, but Fairbanks jet lag has to count for at least one loss. Alaska wins on Friday; Mercyhurst on Saturday Chris: The road warrior Lakers are at it again. Mercyhurst is 0-5 all-time against the Nanooks, but I’m picking them to win the second game. Alaska wins Friday; Mercyhurst Saturday.
Friday, October 25: Rochester Institute of Technology at Penn State Dan: Penn State struggled with Air Force last weekend. This game, with less emotion than the opener against Army, will be similar to that now that RIT can be just another game. RIT wins. Chris: Penn State spoiled RIT’s homecoming last season, and they’re a better team this year. RIT may be as well, but not enough to get the victory. Penn State wins.
Canisius at Air Force Dan: Not only is this a chance for revenge after being swept out of the playoffs last year, but this is also a chance for Air Force to remind Canisius who’s top dog in the AHA. Air Force wins. Chris: Canisius usually plays well at the Academy, including a sweep in last year’s quarterfinals. But The Falcons are playing well and I think they get some revenge. Air Force wins.
Niagara at Denver Dan: I think Denver is a team that will compete for the NCHC’s inaugural title. The AHA has really struggled stepping out of the league this year, too. Denver wins. Chris: The Pioneers are smarting from a pair of tough losses last weekend in Alaska, and I think home cooking carries them this weekend. Denver wins.
Union at Connecticut Dan: UConn is on the rise, and Union is a little bit down. Their paths haven’t intersected yet though. It’ll be close, but I think Union wins. Chris: Union is another squad coming off a tough weekend, but so are the Huskies. I think UConn takes its home opener. UConn wins.
Saturday, October 26th: Sacred Heart at American International Dan: This is going to boil down to goaltending. Granted there’s only one game on AIC’s docket and it was against a team expected to contend in Hockey East, but SHU is vastly improved in the back. Sacred Heart wins. Chris: The Pioneers are an improved team and AIC gave up ten goals in a loss to Providence last Saturday, but I think the Yellow Jackets will rebound. AIC wins.
Canisius at Denver Dan: See also: Niagara at Denver. Denver wins. Chris: I’m predicting more of the same for Denver in a home sweep of AHA teams. Denver wins.
Bentley at Harvard Dan: After pasting the Falcons to open their season last year, Harvard fell off badly. They graduated three of their top five scorers, and their defense has questions. Bentley is dealing with injuries, but despite bad shot discrepancies, they haven’t been blown out. They’re screaming for a break through. Bentley wins. Chris: Bentley had hundreds of fans at last year’s meeting at Bright Center, but went home disappointed as Harvard rolled, 5-0. But I I think Bentley breaks through this time. Bentley wins.
Army at Merrimack Dan: Merrimack is sorely underrated with a packed top tier of Hockey East. This game is almost completely sold out, too, save for about 50 standing room tickets as of press time. Merrimack wins. Chris: Army has an unusual early schedule, playing its first game on 10/11 at Penn State, and then off for over two weeks. Merrimack has four games under its belt including a split last with Mercyhurst last weekend. Merrimack wins.
Sunday, October 27: Niagara at Air Force Dan: The AHA has a funny way of correcting itself so nobody ever really pulls too far away. Adrian Ignani will continue to assert himself among the league’s elite. Niagara wins. Chris: This should be an entertaining matchup, as Niagara looks to erase the memory of a pair of lopsided losses in the last weekend of 2012-13 regular season. But I think the Falcons are poised for a four-point weekend. Air Force wins.
I don’t know about you, but I am jonesing for some college hockey.
Last week
Drew: 4-5-1 (.450)
Paula: 6-3-1 (.650)
Season
Drew: 12-6-1 (.658)
Paula: 13-6-1 (.675)
This week
Everyone but Wisconsin plays this week. It’s all nonconference play as league games don’t begin for another month.
Boston College at Minnesota
Drew: The Hockey East/Big Ten challenge has been very interesting to watch this season, and I hope they keep it around in the future. Boston College started the season by losing to Michigan at Yost Ice Arena, but rebounded by embarrassing the Badgers last weekend. Speaking of lopsided games, the last two contests between the Gophers and Eagles have been exactly that. Boston College took down Minnesota 6-1 in the 2012 Frozen Four and Minnesota returned the favor last season at the Mariucci Classic 8-1. The Gophers are 9-1 all time against Boston College when they play on the Minnesota’s home ice. It’ll be interesting how see how the two teams handle playing a two-game series against each other, after only playing once the past two seasons.
Paula: Through three games this season, the Eagles are averaging 5.67 goals per game; through four games, the Gophers are averaging 5.00 goals per game. Yes, it’s early, but it’s still interesting that each of these teams has 13 different players with at least one goal through the first two weeks of the season. This is a Friday-Sunday series, with Friday’s game beginning at 7:00 p.m. local time and Sunday’s at 1:00 p.m.
Drew’s picks: If the curse of being No. 1 this season doesn’t get to the Gophers this week, the curse of me picking them might. Minnesota 5-3, 2-1 Paula’s picks: I’m just not picking against the Gophers until they lose. Minnesota 3-2, 3-2
Boston University and Massachusetts-Lowell at Michigan
Drew: After a strong opening weekend, Michigan had another strong second week and picked up a win and tie at New Hampshire. The Wolverines get another ranked opponent (and a second that went from being No. 1 to unranked in two weeks) this weekend. BU has faced two ranked teams this season; the Terriers are 1-1 with the win over Wisconsin and a home-loss to RPI. The Terriers have won the last two meetings against Michigan. UMass-Lowell’s season went from bad to worse last weekend when Quinnipiac swept the River Hawks in a home-and-home series.
Paula: The Wolverines were seriously tested by New Hampshire last weekend, especially after sophomore starter Steve Racine left the Friday night game in the third period with a groin injury. Racine will sit out the game against BU but may be ready for Saturday. Replacing Racine in net Friday will be freshman Zach Nagelvoort, who earned his first collegiate win last Saturday. It would be extraordinary if the Wolverines had two capable goalies this season. Extraordinary. I’m not picking against them, either, until they lose. These games are Friday and Saturday nights at 7:00 p.m.
Massachusetts-Lowell and Boston University at Michigan State
Drew: The two teams from Massachusetts will face both Michigan and Michigan State this weekend, but I don’t think they’ll get the two squads confused at all. The Spartans opened up their season by getting swept by Massachusetts. MSU returns home for its home opener this weekend, but the going does not get easier. UMass-Lowell’s only win of the season was a 5-2 home win over Massachusetts.
Paula: Last weekend on the road, the Spartans were outscored 8-3 by the Minutemen. Against this weekend’s opponents, Michigan State is 13-11-0. The Spartans last met Lowell in East Lansing in October 2008, a series the teams split. That’s the same season in which Boston University last played Michigan State, a 2-1 win for the Terriers in the 2008 Ice Breaker. The Spartans are young and struggling. These games are Friday and Saturday nights at 7:00 p.m.
Drew’s picks: UMass-Lowell 3-1, Boston University 5-0 Paula’s picks: Lowell 3-2, BU 3-2
RIT at Penn State, Vermont vs. Penn State
Drew: After traveling to Colorado last weekend, Penn State will get to entertain a guest in its shiny new arena again this weekend. RIT showed that it could score some goals against a quality opponent when it played Michigan, but at the same time the Tigers (0-3-1) showed off their suspect defense in the 7-4 loss to the Wolverines. After facing RIT on Friday, the Nittany Lions will head to Philadelphia to face Vermont in the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff. The Catamounts are 1-1 this season with a tie and loss against North Dakota.
Paula: The Nittany Lions were outscored 8-3 by Air Force on the road last weekend, but coach Guy Gadowsky was encouraged by the effort and PSU did generate 62 shots on goal. The only player with more than one goal for the Nittany Lions through three games this season is sophomore Eric Scheid. The Nittany Lions defeated each of these opponents last season; PSU beat RIT by a goal Oct. 20, 2012, in Rochester and the Nittany Lions beat Vermont on the road, 4-2, Jan. 19. Friday’s game against RIT begins at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday’s game in Philadelphia against Vermont begins at 5:00 p.m.
Drew’s picks: Penn State 4-1 over RIT, Penn State and Vermont 2-2 tie Paula’s picks: RIT 4-3, PSU 3-2
Robert Morris vs. Ohio State
Drew: After taking a weekend off, hopefully to figure some things out, the Buckeyes will get a chance to nab their first win of the season against another winless team, Robert Morris (0-2-1). OSU is in the middle of a very busy early-season period in its schedule (seven games in nine days), and the sledding does not get easier next weekend when OSU welcomes Minnesota-Duluth to town.
Paula: There is good history between these programs with the overall series tied 3-3-2. Last season, RMU beat OSU 3-2 in Columbus Dec. 7, 2012, and the teams tied 2-2 the next night in Pittsburgh. I know better than to pick against the Colonials in Columbus, where RMU has all three of its wins against the Buckeyes. If picking Robert Morris jinxes the Colonials, I will hear it pronto from RMU coach Derek Schooley. This is a home-and-home, Friday-Saturday series, with Ohio State hosting Friday. Games begin each night at 7:00 p.m.
Drew’s picks: OSU 2-0, 4-2 Paula’s picks: RMU 4-3, 3-2
The tweets and such
I’ll be in Ann Arbor Friday and East Lansing Saturday. Say hello if you get the chance.
Plenty of games threw me off last week, though Dave was only one game better thus leaving us tied after two weeks.
Dave last week: 10-6-1 Jim last week: 9-7-1 Dave’s record-to-date: 25-9-2 Jim’s record-to-date: 25-9-2
Friday, October 25
Massachusetts at Maine (non-conf.)
Jim’s pick: Both teams are coming off wins but UMass has been a little more impressive thus far. I’m going with the Minutemen. UMass 3, Maine 2
Dave’s pick: Agreed. UMass impressed me even in their season-opening loss to BU. UMass 3, Maine 2
Massachusetts-Lowell at Michigan State
Jim’s pick: The River Hawks have stumbled out of the gate but so, too, have the Spartans. UML 5, MSU 3
Dave’s pick: Agreed again. It’s time for the River Hawks to get moving before they dig too big a hole. UML 3, MSU 2
Miami at Providence
Jim’s pick: This is one of many great games this weekend. And while I feel this is a split, not sure which team will win which night. PC 4, MU 2
Dave’s pick: I’m a believer in the Friars and this game is at home, but I like Miami just a little more. MU 3, PC 2 (OT)
Northeastern at St. Lawrence
Jim’s pick: I’m going with the Huskies here based on their offensive success to date. NU 4, SLU 3
Dave’s pick: I’m remaining skeptical about Northeastern for one more week. SLU 4, NU 3
Boston University at Michigan
Jim’s pick: BU has done some good things but Michigan is pretty hot out of the gate. UM 4, BU 2
Dave’s pick: BU’s win over Wisconsin was tempered by the loss to Rensselaer. Michigan has been too strong and is at home. UM 3, BU 1
Boston College at Minnesota
Jim’s pick: BC may not win both games but I have to believe they’ll want some revenge for last year’s 8-1 loss at Minnesota. BC 5, UM 3
Dave’s pick: I’m loathe to pick against BC, but Minnesota is operating on all cylinders and will be enjoying a huge home-ice advantage. UM 4, BC 2
Notre Dame at Minnesota-Duluth
Jim’s pick: Notre Dame is playing really well and, despite a tough road environment, I think the Irish will win. UND 4, UMD 2
Dave’s pick: Agreed. It’s hard to pick against the Irish right now. UND 3, UMD 2
Saturday, October 26
Army at Merrimack
Jim’s pick: The Warriors lost to one AHA team. Don’t see it happening again. MC 3, Army 1
Dave’s pick: Merrimack has started slow, but I’m still a believer. MC 4, Army 2
Massachusetts at Maine (non-conf.)
Jim’s pick: Part of me wants to call a sweep here for UMass but I feel like the Black Bears can pull one out. Maine 3, UMass 2
Dave’s pick: I was about to call this a UMass sweep until I factored in the effect of the Alfond crowd. On neutral ice, I’d like the Minutemen, but this one goes to the Maine-iacs. Maine 3, UMass 2 (OT)
Boston University at Michigan State
Jim’s pick: BU gets back to the win column against the Spartans. BU 5, MSU 2
Dave’s pick: Is it pick on the Spartans time? Yes, as a matter of fact, it is. BU 4, MSU 2
Miami at Providence
Jim’s pick: RedHawks earn the road split. MU 3, PC 1
Dave’s pick: I wish it weren’t the case, but I’m seeing a RedHawks sweep. MU 3, PC 2
Vermont vs. Penn State (at Philadelphia)
Jim’s pick: As I’ve said a few times, I expect Vermont to be a decent team and a win against Penn State should be expected. UVM 5, PSU 3
Dave’s pick: I’ve got low expectations for Penn State in its first year with the big boys. UVM 4, PSU 1
New Hampshire at Rensselaer
Jim’s pick: I know I called RPI over-rated last week and was proven wrong when they beat BU, but I think UNH, even on the road, is the better team here. UNH 4, RPI 2
Dave’s pick: After watching UNH dominate Michigan and come away with only a tie last Friday night, I believe the Wildcats are much better than their record. UNH 3, RPI 2
Northeastern at St. Lawrence
Jim’s pick: I’m expecting the Larries to come back with a victory to earn the split. SLU 4, NU 1
Dave’s pick: My lingering Husky skepticism points to an SLU sweep. SLU 3, NU 1
Massachusetts-Lowell at Michigan
Jim’s pick: Lowell needs a few wins to offset early losses but Michigan on the road is the wrong opponent to get those wins. UM 3, UML 1
Dave’s pick: I might see a different result mid-season and on neutral ice, but this one goes to the Wolverines. UM 3, UML 2
Notre Dame at Minnesota-Duluth
Jim’s pick: Irish complete a big road sweep. UND 3, UMD 2
Dave’s pick: With a sweep, the Irish could become the nation’s number one team, if BC cooperates and takes Minnesota down a peg. UND 4, UMD 3
Sunday, October 27
Boston College at Minnesota
Jim’s pick: I really want to pick a sweep here for the Eagles but the No. 1 team in the nation will get two points from a hungry BC team at home. UM 3, BC 2
Dave’s pick: It’s been a long time since I picked BC to get swept on a weekend, but the combination of a very tough foe and a very tough crowd combines for that pick. UM 3, BC 2 (OT)
Three of Division 1’s four Huskies programs are in action against the ECAC this weekend. In related news, 6.7 percent of DI hockey programs are Huskies… while only 3.4 percent of DI are Bulldogs. We have a serious canine gap here. Oh hey, and ECAC Hockey is a national-best 17-8-3 against other leagues.
Friday, October 25
Brown vs. Yale 4:00 Liberty Hockey Invitational, Prudential Center; Newark, N.J.
Time to see what the Ivy League is made of. Brown has been a peripheral contender in recent years – tough to play, but rarely a favorite. Yale has been… oh. National champs. Ok. Both teams feature new faces, especially in goal, so it’s tough to predict how that battle-within-the-battle will end, but let’s take Yale and see how things fall from there. Bulldogs, 4-2.
Colorado College at Clarkson 7:00
CC is just 1-1 after a home split with Minnesota-Duluth. Clarkson is on a bit of a roll – 4-1-1 – but the nine points all came at the expense of Atlantic Hockey opponents Niagara, Mercyhurst, and RIT. With all due respect to the AHA, it’s time to see what the Knights can do against a member of one of the power conferences. Advantage to ‘Tech though; they’re at home… 3-2 Clarkson.
Quinnipiac at Holy Cross 7:00
Friday’s game will be HC’s fourth of the year (0-3), and first against an opponent from outside the Bay State. The Crusaders dropped decisions at BU and in a home-and-home with Northeastern; with the Bobcats’ sweep of UMass-Lowell last weekend, anything but a sweep this weekend will leave a sour taste. 4-1 QU in Round 1…
Northeastern at St. Lawrence 7:00
The Huskies are a perfect 4-0 after sweeping Alabama-Huntsville and Holy Cross; SLU is 3-1 after a split at Ferris State and a home sweep of Maine. Both teams are going to learn a lot about themselves this weekend, and I like the Saints in Appleton so far this year. This will likely be a split, but call me optimistic: 3-2 Saints on Friday…
Union at Connecticut 7:05
What would have looked like an easy pick in the preseason doesn’t look like such a no-doubter anymore, with Union struggling to contain opponent scoring and UConn returning home after a couple of battles in Mankato, Minn. One or two early goals for the Huskies could really mess with Union’s beleaguered psyche. All that said, Union is still a very talented team with a high ceiling, whereas Connecticut is 0-2 with two goals scored this year. Union on the road, 4-2.
Dartmouth vs. Princeton 7:05 Liberty Hockey Invitational, Prudential Center; Newark, N.J.
We hope – for the league’s sake – that it’s more than a friends-and-family crowd in Newark this weekend, but I’m not holding my breath. Still, it’s cool for the kids to take a twirl on NHL ice in a new venue. These two programs are each fighting to define themselves, as Dartmouth hopes to ditch last year’s injury bug and Princeton wants to make a run at a top-four finish. The Green come in with the more proven lineup, and has the early edge, but Princeton’s new talent has a great opportunity here to prove its value. 3-2 Dartmouth.
St. Cloud State at Colgate 7:30
A Frozen Four member last April, SCSU is 1-0-1 after last weekend’s home deuce with Bemidji State. Colgate is .500 (2-2-1), but is still a bit of an unknown quantity. A win over the Huskies would be a significant one for the Raiders, but I’m not sure they’re up for it yet… the ‘Gate has been a bit rusty in its own end, surrendering seven goals twice (along with two one-goal games and a shutout). 3-2 SCSU.
Cornell at Nebraska-Omaha 8:37
Not sure what to make of Cornell yet, but here’s UNO: Home split with Bentley, road split at Northern Michigan. Cornell is hungry for a bounce-back season, and you know Mike Schafer will have his boys ready from the first face-off. Sorry I can’t be more insightful, but that’s the way these early-season games go. 3-1 Cornell.
Saturday, October 26
Brown vs. Dartmouth 4:00 Liberty Hockey Invitational, Prudential Center; Newark, N.J.
Smart money takes Dartmouth, but I can’t shake the feeling that Brown will leave the Garden State with some points (even though these are non-conference games, so there are technically no points at stake). The Bears just have a way of stealing games at unpredictable times, in very predictable ways: Hard work, gritty hockey, exceptional goaltending. Will Saturday feature some larceny? Look for it… though I’m still picking Dartmouth, 4-2.
Holy Cross at Quinnipiac 4:00
Afternoon games can be brutal… poor attendance, quick turnaround, especially after a drive (even if it’s only a two-hour trip). Expectaction: Sloppy hockey, half-full rink, QU victory. 3-1 Q. UPDATE: Call me lazy. Call me cynical. Call me sloppy, sarcastic, or snide… but mostly, call me wrong. Quinnipiac’s TD Bank Sports Center ticket office has confirmed that Saturday’s matinee is, in fact, completely sold out. Kudos to the Bobcats – and even more to their fans – for achieving what is often a steep challenge. While my analysis is flawed in part, the score prediction stands.
New Hampshire at Rensselaer 7:00
RPI takes on its third top-flight Hockey East opponent of the year, having dropped a stinker at Boston College, edged BU in Boston, now taking on UNH in Troy. The Wildcats are sub-.500 (1-2-1), but those losses have come at Minnesota and against Michigan. The visitors will not be happy with anything short of a win in the Capital District, which makes the game all that more meaningful for the Engineers. RPI has national aspirations; this is another big early-season litmus test. I’m picking frustrated UNH, however, 4-2.
St. Cloud State at Colgate 7:00
Colgate is still a good step or two behind the Huskies, for the time being. SCSU sweeps in Hamilton, 4-1.
Colorado College at Clarkson 7:00
CC bounces back and splits a competitive weekend pair, 4-3.
Northeastern at St. Lawrence 7:00
Call it a split: Wish I could be in the North Country this weekend, because this series is shaping up to be a doozy. 3-2 NU.
Princeton vs. Yale 7:05 Liberty Hockey Invitational, Prudential Center; Newark, N.J.
Yale will be getting all the picks until they prove they shouldn’t. 5-3 Yale.
Bentley at Harvard 7:30
Don’t count Bentley out too soon; the Falcons downed Nebraska-Omaha on the road to open the season, and played Quinnipiac tight in Hamden on Tuesday. That said, Harvard, 3-2.
Cornell at Nebraska-Omaha 8:07
Split? Or sweep? Tough call… I guess that’s why they pay me the big bucks . Coin flip says… Cornell. Anyone got a Magic 8 Ball? 4-3 Red.
Tuesday, October 29
Harvard at Rensselaer 7:00
RPI claims the first points of the ECAC Hockey regular season, and takes its first official step toward the crown… what, too soon? 4-2 RPI.
With all eight first-place votes, Wisconsin-River Falls has been picked to win the inaugural WIAC women’s title, according to a preseason poll conducted Thursday by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
UW-River Falls went 21-7-2 record a season ago, marking the fifth consecutive season the school hit the 20-victory plateau.
Merrimack announced Thursday that the women’s program’s first varsity season in Hockey East will begin with the 2015-16 season.
Erin Hamlen will be the Warriors’ first head coach.
“We are excited to bring a quality women’s hockey program to Hockey East,” said Merrimack president Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D., in a statement. “This varsity program will allow Merrimack to expand its recruiting efforts and meet the growing student-athlete demand of finding a rigorous academic experience coupled with a competitive and diverse set of athletic offerings.”
“It was a great day for our athletic department when we hired Coach Hamlen this past summer and today’s announcement is equally exciting,” added Merrimack director of athletics Jeremy Gibson. “Merrimack has a rich history in the college hockey world and I am thrilled that with the support of President Chris Hopey, we will be introducing a women’s ice hockey team to a college and community with such strong passion for the sport. I am grateful for the support received from Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna and the representatives of the other schools across the league throughout this process.”
Hamlen, who will coach Merrimack for the first two seasons, is equally elated.
“I am incredibly excited that Merrimack women’s hockey will be a full-fledged, varsity Division I program in 2015-16,” Hamlen said in the news release. “Our staff has made great headway over the past few months and we are confident that our program will be highly successful because of what Merrimack has to offer our student-athletes. We look forward to competing in Hockey East in our inaugural year and appreciate their support as we begin our journey into one of the best leagues in NCAA hockey.”
Hamlen led the University of New England women’s team during its inaugural season in 2012-13 and prior to UNE, Hamlen spent a decade at New Hampshire, helping guide the Wildcats to four straight Hockey East tournament titles, six straight regular-season crowns and two appearances in the Frozen Four.
Hamlen will be joined by assistant coach Brent Hill.
“This is an important day in the history of our Hockey East women’s conference,” Bertagna said in a statement. “We look forward to significant contributions from the Merrimack women, much as their men have for so many years.”
Clarkson is 4-1-1 after three weeks, with defense and goaltending playing big roles in the early turnaround from a nine-win season (photo: Jim Rosvold).
The season is only three weeks old, but Clarkson is almost halfway to its win total from all of last year.
The Golden Knights are 4-1-1 through six games; they didn’t win their fourth game of 2012-13 until Dec. 8, en route to nine wins. Their first win last season came on Nov. 9, as Clarkson finished with seven ties and seven one-goal losses.
“We certainly prefer to go through the learning curve getting some wins,” coach Casey Jones said. “We won a couple of close ones that didn’t go our way last year and that in and of itself is a confidence booster.”
Increased depth throughout the lineup has given Jones and his staff the option of rotating players in and out of the lineup. Twenty different players have a at least one point this season.
But the biggest advantages might be in goal and on defense. Freshman Steve Perry and sophomore Greg Lewis have been sharp, combining for a .930 save percentage so far.
“Neither one of them has played themselves out of playing time,” Jones said. “Right now, they’re forcing my hand to play them.”
The Golden Knights have been solid in front of their goaltenders as well. Defenseman Kevin Tansey is back after missing all of last season with an injury, and that has been a big plus for the Golden Knights.
“He’s a motivated athlete,” Jones said of Tansey, adding that the redshirt sophomore began skating after Christmas last year. “He’s got a ton of energy — I’m not surprised that he’s been able to step in.”
Tansey’s return, coupled with the arrival of freshman James de Haas, who has played all six games thus far, has allowed Jones to manage his blueliners’ minutes better this season.
“Not only did they play a lot of minutes,” Jones said of his defensive group, “but now their minutes are down so they can recover and play harder minutes for us.”
Still, it hasn’t been perfect for the Golden Knights. Clarkson led Rochester Institute of Technology 3-1 after two periods last Saturday but settled for a 3-3 tie with the Tigers.
“We haven’t spent a ton of time managing leads,” Jones said. “I thought we gave up a few too many turnovers and they took advantage in transition. We have to learn how to play with a lead and use the other team’s aggressiveness against them.”
Goalie injuries hit the Capital Region
One was replacing a two-time league champion. The other was expected to help his team compete for a league title this season.
But both Union goalie Colin Stevens and his counterpart, Rensselaer’s Jason Kasdorf, missed last weekend with injuries. Stevens, who replaced Troy Grosenick, was hurt in the Dutchmen’s season opener Oct. 11, while Kasdorf was injured in practice last week.
Their replacements have each fared a bit differently.
RPI junior Scott Diebold stopped 48 of 50 shots in a pair of Engineers wins, while Union was swept at home for the first time in nearly two years. Freshman Alex Sakellaropoulos replaced Stevens after the junior was hurt on Oct. 11 but gave up nine goals on 34 shots last weekend, before giving way to Dillon Pieri midway through Saturday’s game.
An RPI spokesperson said Kasdorf wasn’t expected to play in RPI’s home games Saturday against New Hampshire and Tuesday against Harvard, but his status was unknown after that.
A Union spokesperson said Stevens’ status hadn’t changed since getting hurt, but The Daily Gazette reported Wednesday that Stevens could return to practice Thursday and make the trip to Connecticut.
“We recruited Scotty Diebold to be a No. 1 goalie and at this time last year, I think he was,” RPI coach Seth Appert said after last Friday’s game. “He ended up getting beaten out by Jason last year and, really, Jason put such a stranglehold on it that this was one of Scotty’s first chances to get back in there. He’s a battler, he’s a competitor and he’s gotten better in the last 12 months even though he hasn’t gotten to play a lot.”
Despite the sweep at home, Union coach Rick Bennett wasn’t frustrated with his team’s effort Saturday, when the Dutchmen outshot Lake Superior 48-17 but lost 3-2.
“I’ve been here when we’ve finished in last place, and I’ve been here when we’ve finished in first. That was one of the more impressive performances that I’ve seen from a team from Union, so we are very happy,” Bennett said after Saturday’s game.
Both teams have had their share of offensive stars so far. Engineers junior Ryan Haggerty leads the country with seven goals, while Union’s Kevin Sullivan is tops with eight assists. Union freshman Michael Pontarelli leads the country with four power-play goals.
Haggerty is well on his way to shattering his personal and team-high 12 goals from last year. His seven goals are only one shy of CJ Lee’s team-leading total of eight during the 2011-12 season.
League blackout
There’s been plenty written about the year ECAC Hockey had last season. But it’s not reflected in this season’s television schedule. NBC Sports Network, which has broadcast several league games as part of its college hockey coverage the last few years, has no ECAC teams on its schedule.
Assistant commissioner Ed Krajewski said the league was working on getting games to air on various networks but had nothing to announce yet, outside of the league championship weekend in March, which will be broadcast on Fox College Sports.
Most schools broadcast home games online, although some require a subscription plan. The complete list of online broadcasts by school is here.
“Hopefully we’ll get some down the road,” Krajewski said. “We’ve reached out and we’ll see who comes back to us.”
Around the league
• It arguably took the biggest hit of any ECAC team in the offseason, but Quinnipiac swept Massachusetts-Lowell last weekend and beat Bentley on Tuesday to move to 4-1. Saturday’s game in Hamden, Conn., featured the unveiling of a new high-definition video board and the raising of banners commemorating the Bobcats’ 2012-13 ECAC Hockey regular season championship, the Northeast Regional championship and the first Frozen Four appearance in program history. Since-graduated seniors Eric Hartzell, Clay Harvey and Kevin Bui were on hand for the ceremony. Quinnipiac also announced a contract extension through 2017-18 for coach Rand Pecknold last Thursday.
• Four of the six Ivy teams were in preseason action last weekend. Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale all recorded wins against their Canadian opponents. Cornell rolled over York 7-2 Saturday night, a team that included former NHL third-round pick and AHL veteran John de Gray. The Big Red lit up goalie Andrew Perugini, who played two seasons of pro hockey in the ECHL and AHL.
• A couple of league alumni had some notable pro milestones over the last week. Former Rensselaer and current Chicago forward Brandon Pirri scored his first NHL goal Thursday against Toronto and followed it up with another on Saturday. Former Union goalie Troy Grosenick picked up his first pro win in his first pro start for AHL Worcester on Sunday.
• Haggerty isn’t the only league player among the national leaders in the early going. Colgate goalie Eric Mihalik is second in GAA and save percentage. The senior goalie made 38 saves in a 1-1 tie Friday at Bowling Green, not far from his hometown of Avon Lake, Ohio. “It was probably Eric’s best game for us in a bit and he seemed very comfortable tonight,” Raiders coach Don Vaughan told Colgate Athletics following the game. Colgate has some young talent up front, but a strong season from the veteran Mihalik would be a big boost to the Raiders.
• He’s got a long way to go to catch his brother, but St. Lawrence freshman Matt Carey scored his first collegiate goal in the Saints’ 5-3 loss at Ferris State last Saturday. Older brother Greg has 68 career goals, including a nation-best 28 last season. The pair has skated on the same line in three of the Saints’ four games this year.
Weekly awards
As selected by the league:
Player of the week — Ryan Haggerty, Rensselaer: The junior scored five goals in two games, including his first career hat trick Saturday against Sacred Heart.
Rookie of the week — Drew Smolcynski, St. Lawrence: Smolcynski scored two goals in his first collegiate game Friday, a 3-2 win at Ferris State.
Goalie of the week — Michael Garteig, Quinnipiac: The sophomore stopped 45 of 47 shots in a home-and-home sweep of Massachusetts-Lowell.
Nic Kerdiles, Mark Zengerle, Tyler Barnes (7) and Michael Mersch (25) saw Wisconsin lose a pair of games in Boston last weekend (photo: Melissa Wade).
Well, that was a kick in the head. Mostly.
In the second full week of Division I play, five of the six Big Ten teams played, all played nonconference opponents and all traveled to do so. So, how did the league fare? Perhaps not as expected, with a 3-6-1 record for the weekend.
Minnesota swept Bemidji State and Michigan tied and defeated New Hampshire, but everyone else who played got swept by road opponents.
In spite of the record, it wasn’t all bleak. In fact, the three coaches I talked to this week whose teams didn’t win were upbeat, and it wasn’t just spin.
“Obviously, we had high hopes going out there,” Eaves said. “Friday was our first game on a small sheet against a team that was very motivated. It was one of those nights.”
One of those nights included being down 7-0 by the middle of the game. “Mama said there’d be days like that,” Eaves said.
Eaves said that the kind of weekend the Badgers had was “a good reminder this early in the season” of the level of play needed to succeed. “We believe we have a good team,” he said. “We saw signs of that.”
Signs like effort. “We gave up the big plays against Boston University,” Eaves said. “They got faceoff goals. But our effort was good. The players played hard and we had some very good offensive opportunities.”
The Badgers outshot the Terriers 43-26.
Another coach happy with the up-front effort of his team in two losses was Michigan State’s Tom Anastos. Like the Badgers, the Spartans went east; Michigan State lost 3-1 and 5-2 to Massachusetts.
“There were some positives that we liked,” Anastos said. “Once we adapted after Friday night — well, in game one, you’re all hyped up and you’re thinking, ‘God, what’s sucking the energy from me?’ We battled through that game and I was pleased to see how hard we battled.”
In the Saturday loss, four of Massachusetts’ five goals were with the man advantage, three in the second period alone, when the Minutemen netted four goals in a little over 10 minutes.
“With the exception of special teams, it was much better than the night before,” Anastos said. “A lot of young guys showed some good skill and created some offensive chances — probably the most scoring chances we’ve had in a game in I don’t know how long.”
The Spartans, whose offense was 55th in the nation last season, had 65 shots on goal to the Minutemen’s 68. Senior Greg Wolfe, who had nine goals in 42 games last season, had two of Michigan State’s markers and sophomore Michael Ferrantino had the other; Ferrantino had three goals in 42 games last season.
Penn State dropped two to Air Force, 5-2 and 3-1, but coach Guy Gadowsky echoed his colleagues in summarizing the weekend.
In the second night, Gadowsky said, “We had better energy in our systems play, in our forecheck, in the little details in the offensive zone. We did some good things.
“I thought we received a lot of valuable information and were taught a great lesson about consistent team work ethic. Air Force played great. That’s certainly what the coaching staff took away from the weekend, the consistency needed to compete at this level.”
Everyone can benefit from a little time away
Eaves, Anastos and Gadowsky — plus Michigan’s Red Berenson — said that playing on the road against nonconference opponents contributed to team development in almost intangible ways.
“Having an trip like that, early in the season,” Eaves said, “is always good. When you travel, you have to deal with things. Boston was just packed with people. You learn. You roll with the punches.”
For Michigan State, the series against Massachusetts opened Division I play; the Spartans played an exhibition the week before.
“We’re incredibly youthful,” Anastos said. “Things hold true for travel that hold true in general. Guys are acclimating to college hockey. For some, it’s their first experience with that atmosphere. It was definitely a benefit from that perspective. We didn’t get to bring our whole team … but we traveled by charter and it was just our team together and I think that was just a benefit particularly for a youthful group.”
“I think it was a good road experience,” Berenson said. “We’d only played two games, one home and one at RIT, and to go into a place like New Hampshire, a top-tier program, was good for our team.”
In the 1-1 tie Friday night, the Wolverines carried a 1-0 lead into the second period on Tyler Motte’s power-play goal, but the Wildcats tied it up early in the second when Nick Sorkin scored.
Then with the score tied 1-1 early in the third, Michigan’s starting goaltender, Steve Racine, left the game with a groin injury, replaced by the untested freshman Zach Nagelvoort, who stopped a penalty shot five minutes into his first turn in net for the Wolverines.
“They called it and he stopped it,” Berenson said. “That gave him a lot of confidence and the team some confidence in front of him.”
Nagelvoort started Saturday for Racine, who will miss at least Friday’s home game against Boston University and may sit out Saturday’s contest against Massachusetts-Lowell.
“Saturday night, we played better,” Berenson said. “We had no idea how Nagelvoort would play.”
The freshman made 22 saves in his first win.
Berenson’s summary of the weekend: “All we did, really, was survive the Friday game. Racine had to play lights out and Nagelvoort had to go.”
Gadowsky said that it’s becoming clear to him that this season is different from 2012-13, when Penn State played its first year as a D-I team as an independent.
“It does feel a little different,” Gadowsky said. “We are part of a league. Everyone is new to the Big Ten, but we’re very new to a situation. We feel like we’re a part of it now. Last year, we were playing a lot of different teams on a lot of different levels. This year, our opponents feel a little bit differently about us. Everything is heightened.”
At the start of the season, Gadowsky said he wasn’t sure what to expect from his team this year. After the trip to Colorado, he’s still not sure what he has.
“I think it’s still a little early for that, too,” Gadowsky said. “Who knows in this league? No one knows. If you just look at our team, we have certain expectations from last year that may be quite different from this season. I think we have a real high quality group of guys.”
As for the bonding that comes from being on the road, Gadowsky said: “It can always be nice to spend a little more time together. That majority of that team-building, though, can happen after a victory on the road.”
An interesting schedule
With only six teams in the conference, the Big Ten needs to schedule a fair amount of nonconference opponents to fill the season, and the league chose to do that to start the season. Big Ten conference play doesn’t start for another month.
That, said the coaches, is a good thing.
“I think it’s going to be a lot like basketball,” Eaves said. “You play a lot of nonconference opponents before getting to league play, so the level of play when we start the Big Ten is going to be pretty high.”
With the exception of Penn State, every team in the league is adjusting to a schedule with far more nonleague foes than it faced in previous regular season play.
“It’s all new,” Anastos said.
The “front-loaded” schedule — to borrow a term from Anastos — is a “benefit” for the Spartans.
“It helps you gather experience,” he said. “We are so inexperienced and we have so much newness on the team. We’re going to go through the growing process.”
Anastos said that the play against teams outside of the Big Ten will ready his young team for when league action begins at the end of November.
Berenson also said that the schedule is beneficial.
“It’s a catch-22, whether we should be playing more Big Ten games, but I think it’s good, personally,” he said. “I think it’s really good. We’re getting a good taste of some of these other teams. We have two more this weekend. That’s one benefit of a smaller league.”
The Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge
I have to say that I love this, even though I think the Big Ten will come out on the losing end of it when that proverbial final buzzer sounds this Sunday.
Between Oct. 18 and Oct. 27, there are 13 contests that pit Big Ten teams against Hockey East teams for the inaugural challenge. Teams get two points for a win, a point for a tie and a bonus point for a road win. So far, Hockey East leads the Big Ten 9-4 in the challenge.
The bragging rights will be determined by the results in seven games this weekend: Boston University at Michigan, Lowell at Michigan State and Boston College at Minnesota on Friday; BU at MSU, Lowell at Michigan and Penn State vs. Vermont on Saturday; and BC at Minnesota on Sunday.
It was tough enough to concede the superiority of Hockey East during my CCHA years. I can’t wait to hear it from Dave Hendrickson after this is finished.
At least Dave and I are both Red Sox fans.
Favorite quote of the week
This comes from Anastos, and is in reference to working with such a young team: “Real life takes time.”
Words by which to live.
Players of the week
The Big Ten honors its top players of the week with that traditional hockey three stars. I like it.
First star — Minnesota junior forward Sam Warning: Warning is honored for the second straight week after scoring three goals and two assists in Minnesota’s road sweep of Bemidji State. In four games played this season, Warning has five goals and four assists for nine points, tying him with Northeastern’s Kevin Roy for the national lead in points so far this season.
Second star — Michigan freshman forward Tyler Motte: Motte was essential for the Wolverines last weekend when Michigan tied and defeated New Hampshire on the road, with the only goal in the 1-1 Friday tie and the game-winning goal in Michigan’s 3-2 overtime win. Motte has three goals in four games.
Third star — Minnesota freshman forward Justin Kloos: Kloos had a goal and four assists in Minnesota’s sweep of Bemidji State. He and teammate Hudson Fasching are tied for the scoring lead among Big Ten freshmen (2-4–6).
My ballot
1. Minnesota
2. Yale
3. Notre Dame
4. Miami
5. Michigan
6. Boston College
7. North Dakota
8. Providence
9. New Hampshire
10. St. Cloud State
11. Wisconsin
12. Massachusetts-Lowell
13. Quinnipiac
14. Boston University
15. Minnesota State
16. Clarkson
17. Union
18. Denver
19. Lake Superior State
20. St. Lawrence
For the record, I was one of the two people who voted Minnesota No. 1 last week. I have a feeling about the Gophers. As long-time CCHA fans will warn fans of the Gophers, that may spell doom for Minnesota.
I think I’m telling you about that, too, because it gives Miami fans further “proof” of my anti-RedHawks bias. Seriously, I miss you former CCHA folks — a lot.
Shameless self-promotion
Remember that I’m splitting Big Ten duties this season with my partner-in-writing, Drew Claussen. In weeks that I have the weekly column, he writes the Monday blog; we reverse roles weekly, so I’ll have the Monday blog next week and Drew will handle the column.
Over the first decade of NCAA tournaments, Minnesota-Duluth won half of them.
In the three years since that fifth NCAA championship in 2010, coach Shannon Miller’s Bulldogs have not won an NCAA tournament game, including missing out on the national tournament altogether in consecutive years for the first time. In 2013, Minnesota-Duluth did not even advance past the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
“We didn’t have leadership last year; we didn’t have great chemistry,” Miller said. “We didn’t have a lot of talent at all. It was just sort of an ugly season.”
What caused the decline to a 14-16-4 record, the program’s only losing season? To be sure, Bulldogs were beset by injuries, including two of the holdovers from that 2010 championship team, Jessica Wong and Audrey Cournoyer. Wong was coming off of hip surgery in the off season that limited her effectiveness and back problems forced Cournoyer to retire after being available for only five games.
Additionally, the emergence of the North Dakota program has hurt Minnesota-Duluth on a couple of fronts.
The format of the WCHA schedule, where teams play each other at least four times each season, makes it very unlikely that the conference would be able to advance more than two or three teams to the eight-team NCAA field. In 2011, when Minnesota-Duluth last made an appearance, Wisconsin and Minnesota joined it in the tournament and North Dakota barely missed out. North Dakota replaced the Bulldogs in the field in 2012, and last March, only Minnesota and North Dakota received bids. None of the other four teams in the league has ever competed in the NCAA tournament. Where it was once essentially a case of three teams competing for two or three tournament spots, the ascension of North Dakota has altered the dynamic to four teams in the running for two or three berths. Plus, the more competitive the league becomes, the more the losses pile up for WCHA teams finishing third and fourth and the more likely that the conference representation will be two rather than three.
North Dakota has also hurt Minnesota-Duluth’s recruiting, particularly in Europe, a hotbed for Miller over the years.
“They got Michelle Karvinen instead of us from Denmark, but she plays for Team Finland, and they got [Susanna] Tapani from Finland instead of us,” Miller said. “If those guys are on our team instead of their team, then we’re here and they’re here.”
With that, she indicated her team positioned above North Dakota in the standings instead of below following a recent head-to-head series in Grand Forks where Minnesota-Duluth had to settle for one of six points. North Dakota is also siphoning off top talent in western Canada, another traditional source of Bulldogs recruits. This season’s North Dakota roster includes players like sophomore Meghan Dufault of Winnipeg, Man., and freshman Halli Krzyzaniak from Neepawa, Man., veterans of Canada’s Under-18 team and strong additions to the roster of any team.
Despite those challenges, Minnesota-Duluth added a class of seven freshmen to bolster the roster.
“We’re much better than we were last year at this point in time,” Miller said. “We have more talent, and they’re listening, and they’re working, and they have really good chemistry. The leaders in the locker room are really important, and they’re doing a good job. There is a lot to build on with these guys.”
Minnesota-Duluth did emerge from the recruiting battles with a coveted Manitoba native of its own, Ashleigh Brykaliuk of Brandon.
“The poor kid, she’s a freshman and she’s starting on the first line; she’s a centerman for the first power-play unit,” Miller said. “That is a lot of responsibility for a freshman, but she’s the best centerman we have, so that’s who is going there, and she’s going to learn as she goes.”
Through six games, Brykaliuk is tied for fourth on the team in scoring with five points.
Another rookie, defenseman Lara Stalder of Luzern, Switzerland, leads the way with nine points.
“She’s a great addition to our team,” Miller said. “She’s got great feet, she’s got great hands, she’s got great vision, and she works. And she listens and she is unselfish; she’s a real team player. She’s the complete package, so we’re thrilled.”
Stalder likes her new home as well.
“It’s great to play here,” she said. “It’s amazing how the facilities are and how popular hockey is here, because in Switzerland, it’s not that popular. Here, you feel like a star.”
To date, she is playing like one.
“I like to play offense, too, to be involved in the offensive rush, and I hope I can continue that because the coaches give me the free ticket to be offensive,” Stalder said. “But also, I have to play solid defense.”
Like Brykaliuk, the team is relying on Stalder to do a number of things well immediately.
“I’m a freshman, and they gave me so many roles to step in there,” Stalder said. “It’s great the support of the coaching staff. They believe in me, and that’s great to have as a player, because I get confidence and I can play better.”
The Bulldogs needed an offensive boost after losing their primary scoring threat from the blue line.
“We lost Brigette Lacquette late,” Miller said. “We didn’t find out until May or June that she was centralizing with Canada. You can’t replace her then. Other kids, you know they’re going to centralize, because they’re that good. They’re pretty much on the team. Brigette got invited late, like we found out late, so it’s like, ‘What are we going to do?’ So Stalder has really helped with that situation.”
Unfortunately for Minnesota-Duluth, it may have to make do for a time without Stalder as well. She said that the country’s Olympic roster has not yet been decided, but she has a good chance at making it.
“When I was 16, I could go to the championship with the ‘A’ team in Switzerland, and it was there where I started to believe it,” Stalder said. “It was three years ago, and Sochi is a big dream of mine, and I hope I can attend, because the last two championships, I was injured two weeks before, so I hope I can go.”
Miller expects her to realize that Olympic dream, but it compromises her team’s defensive corps.
“She’s going to be gone for about two weeks in November; that’s obviously going to hurt us,” Miller said. “And she’s going to be gone for a month in February. It’s going to hurt us a lot when she’s gone. There’s no question.”
The problem is compounded because junior defenseman Tea Villila has national team commitments for Finland. A possible reinforcement could arrive in the person of Lacquette; the junior might rejoin the Bulldogs, as Jocelyne Larocque did in January of 2010.
“If Brigette does get cut, and those kids are leaving, we already know they are leaving for a month, so Brigette needs to come back,” Miller said. “You want to be on the team, you’ve got to be on the team. You’ve got to step up when your team needs you. So I’m pretty sure that will happen if she gets cut, but I hope she doesn’t. I’d rather struggle through February and have her make the Olympic team.”
Should Stalder wind up going to Sochi, she’ll face the challenge of juggling school with both an NCAA and an international team.
“In Switzerland, we have to work or go to university the whole day,” Stalder said. “Here, we can arrange that with hockey. Yeah, it’s hard to miss something in school, but I think I have good mentors here who help me very well.”
A pair of Swiss goaltenders, Patricia Sautter-Elsmore and Riita Schaublin, played for earlier Minnesota-Duluth teams. Stalder said she received both an endorsement of the program and help with the transition from Sautter-Elsmore, who still lives in the area.
Stalder has seen the benefits in the weeks she has been playing and practicing with the Bulldogs.
“The speed is great and it’s for me like I would play in the national team,” Stalder said. “In Switzerland, we have a league, but here it’s such a huge difference. The passes are faster and I like that. I can prove myself here.”
Minnesota-Duluth is settling into its schedule with a 2-3-1 record, including 0-3-1 in the WCHA, but come March, Stalder’s team may prove itself as well.
“We have to grow as a team and that comes with time,” Stalder said. “We will see at the end of the season, because we are a great team.”
George Michalke missed most of last season after a head injury, but he has three goals in four games this season for Air Force (photo: Melissa Wade).
The Air Force Falcons are only four games into this season, but they’ve had enough drama to fill a complete schedule.
Disrupted by the government shutdown and frustrated by bad breaks and weird bounces in a pair of season-opening losses at the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, Alaska, the Falcons found their groove last weekend on home ice with a convincing sweep of Penn State.
Air Force’s season got off to a rocky start, uncertain if it was going to be allowed to travel to Alaska. The Falcons were cleared to fly at the last minute.
“We lost work days because of the shutdown,” Falcons coach Frank Serratore said. “We lost our exhibition [a home game against New Brunswick]. In a way, the [Alaska] Fairbanks game was our exhibition where we got some of the kinks out.”
The Falcons allowed only 17 shots on goal in their opening contest with Alaska but lost 6-1. The following day, Air Force had a territorial advantage for most of the game against Alaska-Anchorage but surrendered three goals in the final 1:52 and lost 4-2.
“Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong”, Serratore said. “The game-winning goal, it was a crazy play where [defenseman Adam] McKenzie goes into the corner to play the puck, and … his stick gets caught in a gap in the boards. The puck goes out in front of the net and it’s a goal. Three seconds to play.
“Our special teams were not good all weekend [0-for-12 on the power play; three power-play goals allowed]. Our goaltending wasn’t good the first game.”
Last weekend was a different story, as the Falcons swept Penn State 5-2 and 3-1.
“The effort was absolutely better,” Serratore said. “Special teams were better. [Goaltender Jason] Torf was outstanding. We got some bounces. We’ve been a team that has gotten some bounces but we didn’t get any bounces in Alaska and going all the way back to the [AHA quarterfinal] series with Canisius last year.”
A positive development for the Falcons has been the return of forward George Michalke, who suffered a serious head injury just five games into last season and missed the remainder of the 2013-14 campaign. Michalke has three goals in four games so far this season after registering eight goals in his prior 70 games.
“He’s never played like he is right now,” Serratore said. “He’s got a lot of energy and enthusiasm.
“I think when something like that happens, when your career is literally in danger, when you’re taken away from the game, you realize how much you miss it.”
Air Force awaits the next challenge, hosting Niagara and Canisius this weekend.
“It doesn’t get any easier,” Serratore said. “Not in this league anymore.”
Youth movement at Sacred Heart
Despite a 7-1 loss to Rensselaer last Saturday, things are looking up for Sacred Heart. The Pioneers are 2-2, already matching their win total from last season.
Victories over then-top-ranked Massachusetts-Lowell and conference rival Bentley have been offset by a pair of losses to No. 12 Rensselaer.
Fresh faces are making big contributions so far. Alex Vazzano, a transfer from Vermont, has been in net for both wins this season, posting a .917 save percentage and a 3.00 GAA. Last season, Pioneers goaltending had just a .872 save percentage and a 5.01 GAA.
Junior Drew George leads the team in scoring with three goals and four points, but five of the other Pioneers players with points are freshmen.
In Sacred Heart’s 3-1 victory over Bentley last Wednesday, Vazzano posted 37 saves while freshman Mitch Nylen had a goal and an assist. Another rookie, Justin Danforth, had a pair of assists.
The Pioneers travel to American International on Saturday.
Goaltending in the spotlight
After a record 25 nonconference wins last season (combined 25-48-12), AHA teams are behind that pace so far at 5-25-1.
Atlantic Hockey went 3-9-1 last weekend, with wins earned by Mercyhurst (split with Merrimack) and Air Force (sweep of Penn State). AHA teams were outshot by an average of 38-25 in those contests, with only Air Force outshooting its opponents.
In all but three of those 14 games, Atlantic Hockey goalies made 32 saves or more. Highlights included Mercyhurst’s Jimmy Sarjeant stopping 35 of 36 shots in a 3-2 win over Merrimack, Bentley’s Brandon Komm making 33 saves in a 2-1 loss at Maine, and Holy Cross’ Matt Ginn’s turning away 48 shots in a 5-2 loss at Northeastern.
Ginn’s save count was the third-highest single-game total in Holy Cross’ 15-year Division I history. Ginn also holds second place with a 51-save effort against Brown in 2012. The all-time record for saves in a game at Holy Cross is 56 by Matt Smith in 2000.
Not to be left out, Niagara and Robert Morris skated to a 3-3 tie on Saturday, and goaltending was key in that contest. Rookie Adrian Ignagni made 35 saves for the Purple Eagles and sophomore Terry Shafer came up with 36 stops for the Colonials.
Fathers and sons
This season there are four Division I players with paternal ties to Atlantic Hockey coaches:
• Tom Serratore is finishing his college hockey career at Minnesota. He’s the son of Air Force coach Frank Serratore (and the nephew of Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore). He’s played in 109 games, tallying 15 points.
• Stu Wilson, son of Rochester Institute of Technology coach Wayne Wilson, won a national championship in his freshman season at Yale. Wilson led all rookies in scoring at Yale last season with 17 points.
• Trevor Hills, the son of RIT associate head coach Brian Hills, is starting his rookie season at St. Lawrence.
• The lone AHA player on the list is freshman Jack Riley, who has appeared in all five games to date for Mercyhurst. He’s the son of Army coach Brian Riley and nephew of former Black Knights coach Rob Riley. He’s also the grandson of legendary coach Jack Riley, who was behind the Army bench for 36 years and coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 1960 at Squaw Valley.
In situations like these, it’s often mom who attends games since dad is hard at work with his own team. Frank Serratore said he’s able to follow Tom quite well thanks to the Gophers having the majority of their games televised.
“It’s an NHL-caliber broadcast”, he said. “I Tivo them and watch when our game is over.”
USCHO Atlantic Hockey players of the week
Dan Rubin and I have decided to choose our own players each week instead of just reporting on the official league selections. But I am in agreement with the trio picked by the folks in Haverhill, Mass.:
Player of the week — Air Force junior Cole Gunner: Gunner had four points (two goals, two assists) in a sweep of Penn State.
Goalie of the week — Air Force senior Jason Torf: Appearing in his 92nd and 93rd games, Torf stopped 59 of 62 shots to earn a pair of wins.
Rookie of the week — Sacred Heart’s Mitch Nylen: Nylen scored his first career goal and added an assist in a 3-1 win over Bentley.
Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the defending NCAA Division III champion, has been selected to win the WIAC championship, according to a preseason poll conducted with the league’s head coaches and sports information directors on Wednesday.
This season is the first that conference teams will compete solely under the banner of the WIAC after previously being members of the NCHA.
Eau Claire picked up eight first-place votes in the poll.
Mitch Jones and Northern Michigan start their four-game season series with Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech this weekend (photo: Adelle Whitefoot).
After opening the season at Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame, the Michigan Tech Huskies begin a four-week run against rivals this weekend with Northern Michigan, followed by Michigan, Michigan State and Lake Superior State.
While every win is important, third-year Huskies coach Mel Pearson knows some mean more than others.
“If you have to beat anybody at all during the year, it better be Northern Michigan for us,” said Pearson, who played for the Huskies from 1977 to 1981. “Obviously, we have had a pretty good rivalry with Michigan and Michigan State in hockey, but I’ve learned.”
The Wildcats and Huskies will meet as conference rivals for the first time in over 15 years Friday in Marquette and Saturday in Houghton.
Tech and Northern — separated by a 100-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 41 — were conference rivals from 1981 to 1984 in the CCHA, then in the WCHA from 1984 until 1997, when NMU returned to the CCHA.
“These are games our fans want to see,” said NMU coach Walt Kyle, who played against Pearson with the Wildcats after transferring in from Boston College for the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.
“I’ve been here 12 years and those are the games when the building has the most energy — our building has the most energy, their building has the most energy. It is a rivalry and it’s a fierce rivalry, but it’s not a bitter rivalry.”
The Wildcats and Huskies will meet two more times this year — Feb. 21 in Houghton and Feb. 22 in Marquette.
It’s the first time the two sides have met four times in a season since 2004-05. Last year, the two games between the rivals were played on Tuesday nights.
Pearson said playing NMU four times a year, including twice in Houghton, does ease the pain of not seeing the likes of Wisconsin or Minnesota on a regular basis.
“It lessens the blow, no question,” Pearson said. “I think we have an opportunity for our fans to go to Marquette. It’s an easy drive for their fans to come here. I just think it creates some electricity in the building. People will come to these games. We’re going to have great crowds.
“We always should have played four games whether we were in the same conference or not.”
Bemidji State, Alabama-Huntsville renew CHA rivalry
Alabama-Huntsville will play its first-ever WCHA series this weekend, hosting its old rival Bemidji State.
The two teams were members of the now-defunct College Hockey America conference and squared off several times in their small-college eras, including four times for the NCAA Division II championship. Each team won two of those meetings.
The Chargers were idle last weekend, while the Beavers were swept at home by now-No. 1 Minnesota. Both teams are winless so far.
The series between Huntsville and Bemidji dates to 1994, with the Beavers leading the all-time series 38-28-4, including wins in 14 of the last 16 meetings (14-1-1).
The Chargers won the last meeting in Huntsville’s Von Braun Arena 4-3 on Jan. 8, 2011.
The last time the Lakers opened with back-to-back sweeps was in October 2011 when they downed current WCHA rival Alabama-Huntsville on the road and former CCHA rival Michigan State in Sault Ste. Marie.
The Lakers’ 15 goals — which leads the WCHA in goals per game at 3.75 — have come from 13 different players in the wins over Robert Morris in the Sault and at Union. Junior defenseman Kevin Czuczman and Andrew Dommett each have two goals while a total of 17 Lakers players have either a goal or an assist.
Besides an Oct. 29 home exhibition against Laurentian, Lake Superior State is off until a nonconference series Nov. 1-2 at Wisconsin.
Mavericks feeling better after sweep
Minnesota State was feeling better about itself following its sweep of Connecticut over the weekend after opening the season with a pair of losses at Providence.
“We had a good week of practice,” junior forward Matt Leitner told the Mankato Free Press after Saturday’s 6-1 victory. “We got back to the little things, being hard to play against. We weren’t hard to play against last week. We were soft to play against.”
The Mavericks are idle this week and will open WCHA play next week at Bemidji State.
Coach Mike Hastings called this week a “maintenance week,” in which he plans to rest a few players and study what went right and what went wrong over the season’s first two weeks.
Around the WCHA
• With last year’s leading scorer Ryan Carpenter out with a broken finger, senior forward Bryce Williamson has stepped up to lead Bowling Green in scoring with four goals and three assists. This week’s WCHA offensive player of the week is tied for the lead in scoring in the WCHA with Ferris State’s Garrett Thompson and Justin Buzzeo, who each have three goals and four assists.
Sophomore forward Ben Murphy also has four goals for the Falcons, tying him and Williamson for the league lead in goals scored with Alaska’s Cody Kunyk and Alaska-Anchorage’s Matt Bailey.
• Alaska-Anchorage is idle this weekend. The Seawolves, who won just four games a season ago, improved to a 3-1 after their overtime win over former WCHA foe Denver. That game broke a six-game losing streak and 10-game winless streak against the Pioneers.
• Alaska won its second straight Brice Alaska Goal Rush and took the title for the fourth time in six years. Kunyk was named tournament MVP. The Nanooks will host Mercyhurst this weekend, already marking the end of their nonconference schedule.
• WCHA players of the week: Williamson (offensive); Lake Superior State senior defenseman Zach Sternberg (defensive); Alaska freshman goalie Davis Jones (rookie).
NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton says the league has been showcased in a positive light in the opening weeks of its inaugural season (photo: NCHC).
He may have only been in his current job since the middle of July, but Josh Fenton so far is relishing life in his first year as a league commissioner.
NCHC league play began with a pair of games televised nationally last Friday night on CBS Sports Network. Fenton saw one game live, having been in attendance at Friday’s Miami-North Dakota game in Oxford, Ohio, but, having seen every game so far via television and the teams’ video exchange service, the 34-year-old gave good marks to what he’s seen so far.
“I think this past weekend in particular was a terrific spotlight for the conference,” Fenton said. “Having two games Friday night on CBS Sports Network nationally televised allowed me to go back and watch both of them on a replay, and I thought the production with which CBS Sports Network showcased the conference was just terrific.
“I, myself, was at the Miami-North Dakota series on the weekend, but I thought the way the conference was spotlighted Friday night was great, so first and foremost, from an exposure standpoint, that was great and important to us. Secondly, from overall how things are going, I think things are going very well.”
Fenton is planning to visit all eight NCHC schools during the first two months of the season, and will be in Duluth, Minn., this weekend for Minnesota-Duluth’s two-game set against second-ranked Notre Dame.
He and his coworkers at the NCHC’s league office in Colorado Springs have been able to work well remotely with the league’s member institutions, too, and he’s pleased with the level of communication thus far.
“I wouldn’t necessarily pinpoint one big good thing we’ve accomplished so far,” Fenton said. “But overall I would say the coordination and collaboration between the conference office and the member institutions’ staff members and the teams and student-athletes and coaches has been terrific.
“Everybody’s been working very cooperatively to help with how we want to go about doing our business and putting on a great show and a great presentation for these games.”
It’s not just about working with the universities’ officials and players, though. Fenton said that, between what goes on in the league’s venues and through league-run multimedia platforms as such as the NCHC’s Website and smartphone app, the conference is working to make itself open and responsive to fans’ feedback.
“We’ve been working on some details with our Website and our mobile app and will continue to make improvements there, but one thing that’s important to me in particular is how our fans’ feedback is and how they’re consuming our product, whether that’s on the Website, on the app or in the venue,” Fenton said.
“It’s important for me and for the conference in general to understand the feedback and listen to the feedback and make appropriate changes when necessary based on suggestions fans are making.
“Certainly, we can’t make changes every time a fan suggests something, but if it makes sense to the way fans are consuming our product and the information that we’re trying to deliver to them, we’re going to do that.”
Working to make the NCHC’s product as strong and fan-friendly as possible is an ongoing process, of course. However, Fenton is happy with how exposure through multiple platforms is helping the league to develop in its infancy.
“Overall, just the way the conference has been exposed from a media standpoint and not necessarily just from a television standpoint, I think the conference has been showcased in a very positive light, and that’s a great thing,” Fenton said.
“I think it speaks to our ability to deliver on what we say we’re going to do.”
Miami’s Coleman bounces back from ejection
It’s rare that a college hockey player gets tossed from a game one night and nets a hat trick his next time out, but Miami junior forward Blake Coleman was able to pull off just that last weekend at home against North Dakota.
At 4:27 of Friday’s third period, with Miami trailing UND 3-2 and in the process of climbing out of a 3-0 hole into which the visitors threw the RedHawks earlier in the game, Coleman saw his night end prematurely. Coleman made a hit on UND’s Michael Parks in front of the end boards and was whistled for a five-minute major penalty for checking from behind as well as a game misconduct.
When Coleman discovered Friday night that he would be eligible to play in the rematch the following night, though, his preparation started in the Steve Cady Arena home team’s training room while his compatriots were still playing in what ended up as a 4-2 win for the visitors.
“Friday night was obviously difficult for me, just because the game was still at hand and our team was still in it, and that’s how that penalty basically killed our chances coming back, so I just glued myself to the TV in our training room once I got kicked out,” Coleman said. “Obviously, it was a call I didn’t necessarily agree with to the extent of the call, but there’s nothing I could do apart from figure out if I was playing on Saturday.
“Coach [Enrico Blasi] seemed to think Friday night that I would be playing [Saturday], so I just went to the cold tub and prepared as if I was going to be playing the next night. I didn’t see it as much of a redemption opportunity; I just prepared the same way I normally do and had that mentality that [the game misconduct call was] an everything-happens-for-a-reason type of thing.”
Maybe that reason was to give Coleman a little extra rest going into Saturday’s game.
He and linemates Jimmy Mullin and Devin Loe all shined in the RedHawks’ 6-2 win Saturday night, with Mullin and Loe both picking up two assists while Coleman scored three, including one unassisted tally.
Blasi suggested he wasn’t surprised by Coleman’s performance Saturday after getting ejected from the series opener the night before.
“I thought it was important for him to come back and play well, and Blake is that type of player where he plays hard and goes to the tough areas of the ice,” Blasi said. “He plays a very intense game and sometimes he gets called for some penalties, but we know he’s going to play hard every night.
“He played well last year for us and was one of our [main] guys, and he’s just a big body that can really skate and play a real intense game where every team would like a player like that. He’s just a real good piece to our puzzle, and hopefully he can continue to get better and continue to take steps.”
Coleman insisted he wasn’t seeking redemption Saturday night, but one could argue he got it anyway.
“I looked at [the tape from Friday] a little bit, but it wasn’t something I dwelled on,” Coleman said. “I think that the call was made in [the referee’s] opinion, and obviously it’s easy to say looking back on video as opposed to watching it live, but it happened and it happens all the time in hockey where there’s going to be calls you don’t agree with, and you’ve got to put it behind you and keep playing.”
Thompson battling for UNO’s No. 1 goaltender job
If, going into this season, you told Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais that three of his team’s first four games of the new campaign would feature starts from one of the Mavericks’ two true freshman goaltenders, he might not have believed you.
“I probably would have questioned that,” Blais said with a laugh when I approached him with that hypothetical earlier this week.
That’s what’s happened, though, and while junior goaltender Ryan Massa was looked at going into the 2013-14 season as the Mavericks’ solid No. 1 goaltender, newcomer Kirk Thompson has proven that the competition to win the starting spot for UNO is nowhere near being a one-horse race.
After Massa conceded five goals in UNO’s surprise 6-4 season-opening loss at home to Bentley Oct. 11, Blais called upon Thompson to take over in net in the following night’s rematch with the Falcons.
That turned out to be a pretty good choice.
Two of UNO’s three goaltenders — including freshman Reed Peters — had zero college hockey experience coming into this season, but Thompson didn’t look too green in his debut, making 25 saves and picking up a 4-2 win.
That performance against Bentley convinced Blais to give Thompson a second consecutive start, and that ended in a second consecutive win last Friday night when the Mavericks won 2-1 at Northern Michigan. Thompson again looked solid in the Mavericks’ net, stopping 28 Wildcats shots and being beaten only once in the game’s second period during a five-on-three power play for NMU.
Saturday’s rematch didn’t turn out so well for Nebraska-Omaha, with Northern picking up four power-play goals en route to a 6-3 win. However, Blais said Thompson’s experience as a starting goaltender in junior hockey helped him contribute so much so soon as a freshman in Omaha.
“I think he had a lot of confidence for his first time out [against Bentley],” Blais said. “He played for Prince George in the British Columbia league and he saw 40 shots per night, and he said on Saturday [against Bentley] when I asked if he was OK to start the game, he said, ‘I’ve played 50 games per year for the last three years,’ and that’s a lot of hockey, and he saw a lot of rubber.
“What he saw Friday night [against NMU] was nothing, so he said he was ready to go again Saturday, but you always like to check with your goaltenders and see how they did in the game before and how they’re going to do tonight and if they’re ready to go.
“Once in a while, they’ll tell you if they aren’t feeling well or aren’t ready to go for a different reason, but like any other player, [your goalies] are ready to go.”
Thompson has quickly endeared himself to UNO fans, and he said he appreciates Blais showing faith in the newcomer so early on.
“From my point of view, I know what I’m capable of, although the fans might have been a little surprised as nobody here is familiar with me,” Thompson said. “That’s especially with me coming from the BCHL and stuff, but I’m glad I got the opportunity to go in.”
Whether Blais and his assistant coaches have in place solid Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in goal is still unclear.
“Our goaltending is certainly a unique situation,” Blais said. “We’ve got three now and Reed Peters hasn’t gotten a chance apart from playing one period [in UNO’s exhibition game against the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology on Oct. 7] and gave up a goal but did OK.
“Right now, we’re really going to have watch our goaltenders in practice just to see if one has a better bead on the puck than the others during the week.”
Who might become UNO’s starter night-in and night-out, however, is not an issue Thompson has been overly keen to sit down with them to discuss. To him, all that matters right now is making the most of the opportunities that present themselves.
“I haven’t talked to our coaches about that at all,” Thompson said. “The only impression I get is that, if you’re going to play well and give the team a chance to win, you’re going to get to play more.”
NCHC players of the week
Offensive player of the week: Shane Berschbach, Western Michigan. Berschbach collected three goals and an assist en route to being named to last weekend’s Brice Alaska Goal Rush all-tournament team. Two of those goals came in the Broncos’ 6-2 win Friday over Alaska-Anchorage.
Defensive player of the week: Jaccob Slavin, Colorado College. The Tigers newcomer shined in CC’s first-ever NCHC series, which ended in a split at home against Minnesota-Duluth. Slavin picked up a goal and an assist in the two games against the Bulldogs, and he helped the Tigers kill 12 of UMD’s 13 power-play opportunities.
Rookie of the week: Alex Iafallo, Minnesota-Duluth. Iafallo kept Slavin from picking up a second weekly award by netting two goals and assisting on another in the Bulldogs’ 5-1 win at CC Saturday night. He also fired a team-high nine shots on goal in UMD’s two games last weekend in Colorado Springs.
Goaltender of the week: Frank Slubowski, Western Michigan. Like Berschbach, Slubowski was also named to the Brice Alaska Goal Rush all-tournament team after leading Western to a runner-up finish in the competition. He finished his weekend with a .914 save percentage and 53 saves, including 29 in 65 minutes during a 3-3 tie Saturday with host school Alaska.
