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.
Hayleigh Cudmore (Cornell -24) plays the puck away from Cristin Shanahan (Princeton -19). (Shelley M. Szwast)
Candace: After a couple weeks of business as usual, we saw our first major upsets over the last couple of days, as Boston College fell to New Hampshire, 3-1, and Mercyhurst beat and tied Clarkson at Clarkson. Then on Saturday, Ohio State knocked off North Dakota. I’m not sure what the biggest of those upsets is, but I’d guess either BC-UNH or Ohio State over North Dakota. The bigger question is what those games might mean in the big picture. BC, perhaps having had its confidence shaken, squeaked by Yale, 4-3, on Saturday before rebounding and crushing Dartmouth on Sunday, 7-2. I think in the bigger picture though, the Clarkson one might point to more interesting things, as it showed that scoring could continue to be a problem for a team that last year finished 11 in scoring offense, the lowest total of any NCAA tournament team. What are your thoughts on the upsets?
Arlan: Without crunching the numbers at length, my gross generalization would be that scoring tends to be down in Olympic years. For example, in non-Olympic years, there has been at least one player that averaged more than two points per game in the NCAA era, and there have been seasons where six or seven have been over that mark. Only one player has done so in an Olympic year; Carly Haggard of Dartmouth averaged 2.22 points per game for the 2001-02 season. Last season, three players exceeded the two points per game threshold: Amanda Kessel, 2.73; Brianne Jenner, 2.19; and Jocelyne Lamoureux, 2.08. All of those players are gone this year, and currently, nobody is averaging over two points in the early going. That could change, but scoring averages usually tend to decrease rather than increase over the course of the season as defenses focus on the top scorers.
Obviously, the two underclassmen on that list from last year, Kessel of Minnesota and Jenner from Cornell, play for teams that have yet to lose. Of the upsets you noted, only BC without Alex Carpenter would qualify as having an obvious Olympic-year impact. But in general, I think we’ll see more upsets this year. Then there are results like Robert Morris splitting with Boston University that doesn’t even make your list of top upsets because the Terriers are not the same team without Marie-Philip Poulin.
The other factor is that many of the top teams are relying on a number of young players this season. Several of the top WCHA teams, like Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota and Wisconsin have a lot of impact in their freshmen classes. BC has a talented freshman class on the heels of a great group of Eagles rookies a year ago. Young talent is generally a little less consistent than veteran talent. A freshman star can play over her head one week and contribute to a huge win, and come back to earth the next week as her team loses a game we expected it to win.
I think youth plays a big part in the losses for both BC and UND, but it may be a matter of matchups as well. North Dakota lost to Ohio State at some point in each of the previous two seasons. Boston College lost to UNH last year and has either a loss or a tie versus the Wildcats every year. Because of that history, I almost see those results as being business as usual.
I agree with you that the result having the greatest significance was the Clarkson loss to Mercyhurst, along with a tie. These were both tournament teams last year, but the Lakers hadn’t been playing at that level so far. Three points versus the Golden Knights thrusts the Lakers back into the national picture. I don’t know that the games against Mercyhurst tell us as much about Clarkson. Even after scoring just once on the weekend, the Golden Knights are still averaging four goals per game, tied for third nationally with BC and North Dakota, so I’m not ready to conclude that offense is a big problem in Potsdam, N.Y. A top-five offense coupled with a top-five defense puts Clarkson in select company with teams like Cornell and Minnesota.
In addition to Cornell, you mentioned Yale and Dartmouth debuting. Any thoughts on those Ivy League teams now that they have joined the fray?
Candace: Cornell looked awfully good on the weekend in sweeping Northeastern. I suspect the Big Red will be fighting Clarkson, and potentially Harvard, all season for the ECAC crown. That is all the more impressive when you consider some of the players Cornell lost to both graduation and the Olympics. Jillian Saulnier is back; she was second on the team in scoring last year, but in the first two games, some other players, notably Hayleigh Cudmore, Taylor Woods, Jessica Campbell and Emily Fulton, players overshadowed a bit last year by Jenner, Saulnier, and Lauriane Rougeau, have shown they can score the big goals. It’s a little hard to read too much into Cornell, because Northeastern is a very inconsistent team, but Doug Derraugh has to be happy with the early effort.
I’m hesitant to see anything in the results of Dartmouth and Yale after one game. The question regarding the Bulldogs is whether that was a one-time effort, or something they can bring to bear more consistently. They led BC after two, gave up two quick goals, tied it up, but lost it on a short-handed goal with less than five minutes left. Part of that could be a belief thing, as Yale doesn’t have that tradition of winning. If they can take that game as evidence of good things and keep working hard, perhaps Yale can play itself into the postseason.
Dartmouth was also leading BC, up 2-1 early in the second, before giving up five goals in the last 12 minutes of the period. I expect the Big Green to get better, but they may not be an upper-echelon ECAC team this season.
Speaking of ECAC teams, what are your thoughts on Quinnipiac? The Bobcats are 5-0-1 so far, but I don’t feel they have played anybody that is a playoff-caliber team yet, so it feels hard to get a read on them.
Arlan: The schedule is a legitimate knock on Quinnipiac, but teams that started the season ranked above the Bobcats have had their struggles against non-playoff opponents, so I give them credit for remaining unbeaten. I did have the chance to watch Quinnipiac in person for my first time ever, and even though it was opening weekend, it gives another view of a team that can’t be seen on a webcast. The Bobcats have a legitimate first line. Outside of the scoreless tie with St. Cloud State to kick off the campaign, the trio of Kelly Babstock between Nicole Connery and freshman Emma Woods has put something on the board every game. That is vital, particularly in the continued absence of Nicole Kosta. While waiting for her to return from injury, it would help their cause to get secondary scoring from players like Syracuse transfer Shiann Darkangelo, Amanda Colin, and defenseman Cydney Roesler. Defensively, a young blue line and junior goaltender Chelsea Laden have been strong so far. Laden is in her first year as the starter after the graduation of Victoria Vigilanti, so that had to be a bit of a question mark heading into the season. No matter the level of competition, I’m guessing coach Rick Seeley is happy to see her limiting opponents to one goal per weekend. It will be interesting to see how she manages over the next couple of weeks when the difficulty ramps up against offenses like Harvard, Dartmouth, and Cornell.
At this point, Quinnipiac looks to be a favorite to get a home-ice berth into the ECAC playoffs. Clarkson and Cornell should be near the top in some order, and Harvard remains a mystery due to the high amount of roster turnover and the lack of an official game to date. It’s hard to put much stock in exhibitions, but a 5-2 win over McGill is more promising than most such contests. If anyone else in the ECAC has designs on a top-four finish in the league, they’ve kept it hidden to date. Rensselaer had shown some early promise, but a home loss to Vermont leaves the Engineers just 1-3-1 on the season, including a home loss to a Northeastern team that Cornell throttled twice. There will probably be a big group of teams like Union and Colgate, coming off of splits with Penn State and RIT respectively, that will take turns knocking each other off and not making a serious run at the top squads.
Do the Dutchwomen seem improved to you, or do we have to wait to see what happens when they get their crack at Dartmouth, Harvard, and Cornell in November?
Candace: I think we need to wait and see. Tentatively, I will say yes, but only on the basis of their results against Northeastern and Boston University two weeks ago, games that Union lost, but barely. A split with Penn State, no offense to the Nittany Lions, is not enough for me to say that Union is on track for the postseason. I feel the same about Colgate, although I’m annoyed that the Colgate OT win against RIT dropped me another game back in our picks race!
In terms of top-to-bottom competitiveness, I’d still rate the WCHA the best, followed by Hockey East, then the ECAC and CHA.
Speaking of Hockey East, what is your take on how things look there? I think we both agree that BC is the favorite, and should nip any inconsistency enough that the Eagles win the conference. After that, I see a lot of, dare I say it, parity. New Hampshire has a couple of good wins, and a couple of iffy results. Providence is sitting right at .500, finding a way to split each of its first three series. Boston University and Northeastern both look down a step or two from their heights of the last few seasons.
Arlan: The Colgate win over RIT was a very fortuitous development for me, but if it takes a five-on-three power-play goal in OT for me to gain ground on you, I’m not complaining.
Hockey East still looks like BC in a walk, not that the Eagles play over the last week was all that inspiring. I just don’t see a team that has a run in it; every team has problems that look bigger than those facing BC. Connecticut — new coach and a long way to go; the season will be half over before the staff and players start to get comfortable with each other, plus a talent gap exists to BC. Maine — the team was a distant seventh last year, and now the Maria Lewis suspension adds more uncertainty. Vermont couldn’t beat Penn State on home ice in two tries at home. Roxanne Douville was replaced after a period at RPI on Saturday despite not allowing any goals in that game, so maybe she’s not healthy. I don’t know enough about rookie goalie Madison Litchfield to say whether Vermont has a chance to contend if Douville isn’t on top of her game, but I’m guessing not. Northeastern has been able to ease into its schedule the last couple of years, but Cornell made sure that wouldn’t be the case this time. When I’ve seen the Huskies in the past, Kendall Coyne has been critical in establishing a presence in the offensive zone, and they’ll miss her against better teams. Providence can look good when winning one-goal games over Mercyhurst and Syracuse, but the Friars will pair that with a clunker against the same teams, so I think they are bound for their usual middle-of-the-pack finish. If UNH could ever get strong goaltending over a long period, then maybe the Wildcats would be a serious threat, but that position has been a bit iffy in Durham ever since I can remember. BU is the wildcard; the Terriers look nothing like a championship club right now, but they were dreadful for stretches two years ago and still emerged as tournament champs. However, Brian Durocher can’t even put the name “Poulin” on the line chart now just to strike terror in opposing coaches. So yes, BC remains my choice for the foreseeable future, no matter how much the Eagles may scuffle.
Can you sell me on the fine points of some other HEA crew, or is it time to move on?
Candace: No, I think we can move on. The one interesting idea I have is that you could end up with 3-4 teams all having similar records around .500 that are fighting for home ice in the HE playoffs. It could be an interesting year that way for sure.
You mentioned Boston University being a wildcard, but so is the team they split with over the weekend, Robert Morris. I can’t get a handle on the Colonials. They seem up and down, but so do Mercyhurst and Syracuse. I’m wondering how the CHA regular season race might shake out. Offhand, I’d say that perhaps Mercyhurst has turned a corner after the three-point weekend at Clarkson. The Lakers have more talent and depth. Christine Bestland and Shelby Bram are both gifted offensively, and Amanda Makela is showing signs of being a strong netminder. What intrigues me about Robert Morris though, is that they have gotten things done without some of their usual top performers leading the way. Freshman Brittany Howard leads the team in scoring with seven points, and another freshman, Maeve Garvey, is tied for second with Rebecca Vint and Kylie St. Louis with four points. Then in net, freshman Jessica Dodds is undefeated and sports a .970 save percentage.
What are your thoughts on the CHA contenders right now?
Arlan: RMU’s fate will be largely determined by goaltending and defense. That’s always been a bellwether of the program, dating back to the Nate Handrahan days when Brianne McLaughlin was the face of the team. I got the sense that Kristen DiCiocco wasn’t as consistent last year as a senior as she was in Paul Colontino’s first season. Maybe the addition of Delayne Brian from Niagara as a transfer left them unsure of their roles for a time. In any case, those two have graduated, so it is left for Dodds and junior Courtney Vinet to compete for the minutes in net, and right now, Dodds is definitely putting her stamp on the position. The expanded CHA is quickly establishing itself as a goalie conference, so I think a team is going to have to be solid in the crease in order to claim the top spot. Colontino has shown that he can make a couple of goals on offense be sufficient when his goaltending is on point, so Dodds gives me reason to believe that the Colonials can be in the race to the end. RMU will need to get additional contributions from seniors Thea Imbrogno and Kristen Richards to come out on top.
Despite that optimism, Mercyhurst remains the favorite. The Lakers have more options up front, and a talented, although young, defensive corps. Where they have to improve is reducing their penalties. They are in a familiar spot near the top of the country in penalty minutes per game, currently fourth with 13.4 minutes on average. It is a much harder game when the other team has more skaters. Mercyhurst has a big edge over most of the conference playing five-on-five, so penalty trouble is the path that will most quickly undermine its chances.
Syracuse is only 2-4 to date, but the Orange don’t have any of what I’d consider bad losses. Their schedule has consisted of solid opponents with five road games, and only the loss at Clarkson was by more than one goal. The offense has to get more consistent; Syracuse scored four goals in each of its wins, but only a total of four goals in the losses. If progress is made on that front, then the Orange could be in the mix as well.
RIT promises to be a scrappy bunch in spite of its youth. Unlike last year’s veteran club, where people understood the systems, the players will need some time to adjust, but the Tigers don’t seem to have any quit in them.
I expect a battle between Lindenwood and Penn State to stay out of the cellar, and early results suggest that I called that one wrong in my CHA preview. I’ve seen rumors that Alison Wickenheiser may be out for the year, and I don’t know that the Lions can replace her offense. However, Vince O’Mara and his team last season were able to apply lessons learned in nonconference games against the WCHA and improve during the league schedule, so that could happen again.
The Nittany Lions don’t have a big freshman class, with only four additions, but they’ve all shown up on the score sheet in the early going. I watched two of the forwards, Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen, combine to make plays to win the Minnesota High School Tournament three years in a row, and they were both involved in the winning goal down the stretch versus Union. Add some players that are accustomed to winning with the excitement that comes with a new arena, and some surprises could result.
The WCHA is the only league to have played a decent number of conference games thus far. Has anything surprised you there?
Candace: Oh, I can think of a couple of things. First, Wisconsin moved up to No. 2 in the poll this week after sweeping St. Cloud; I didn’t vote them that way, but I can see why voters did.
I thought Minnesota-Duluth might put up more of a fight against Minnesota this past weekend than it did. It seems like the Gophers are still a potent team even with some of their losses.
I think the biggest surprise to date actually was Ohio State beating North Dakota in North Dakota while keeping North Dakota to a single goal. The Buckeyes have gotten blown out in most of their recent trips to Grand Forks, and you have to go back to November 7, 2010, when the Buckeyes nabbed a shootout win, for when they were successful in Grand Forks.
On the stat sheet, North Dakota fired 36 shots on Lisa Steffes; I’d be curious to know how many of those were high-quality chances. Regardless, the Buckeyes have to be pleased with their start; of course, last year, they had a good first half and then faded down the stretch, only to rally and sweep Minnesota-Duluth on the road in the first round of the WCHA playoffs before falling to Minnesota, so the track record could be there. I’m sure however, that coach Nate Handrahan doesn’t want to go into a second-half swoon.
What do you see in the WCHA so far? Any surprises from your point of view?
Arlan: Wisconsin is likely the biggest surprise to date. I didn’t expect the Badgers to be as good as they are this quickly, but I think a lot of that has to do with their freshmen added to that Mark Johnson team defense. For being October, Wisconsin is really playing well as a complete defensive unit, so it will likely be very stingy by the end of the year. The Badgers upcoming schedule is interesting. They are in the midst of a string of three straight home series, with Ohio State being the most challenging, followed by a bye. Coming out of the bye, they are off to Vail, Colo., to play Northeastern and BU, and then make road trips to Grand Forks and Duluth. If Wisconsin comes out of that stretch in good shape, then the second half sets up well because it has North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota at home.
North Dakota is another team with a key sequence coming up starting in the second half of November after a bye. North Dakota goes to Minneapolis, hosts Wisconsin and Team Russia, and then opens December at Clarkson. If the WCHA winds up being as rugged as it appears, then the games against the Golden Knights will be extra important. North Dakota has that offensive upside, but it isn’t as far along defensively or on special teams as it will need to be for that stretch.
I watched the highlights of the Saturday game between OSU and North Dakota, and the Buckeyes were definitely in scramble mode at the end, but Steffes and her defense were able to keep all the pucks but one out of the net. A lot of those were second-chance opportunities, so I’d say there were some dangerous shots. OSU is off next weekend and then heads to Madison, which is where it started to go wrong for the Buckeyes in January. That series should set the tone for them for the rest of 2013. They have traditionally given away too many points to teams below them to make a big move up the standings, but the Buckeyes will definitely be someone teams won’t want to face in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, no matter the venue.
Minnesota-Duluth is considerably better that it was 12 months ago. Shannon Miller thought the difference last weekend was Minnesota getting bounces, but in my opinion, there was still some separation. When you don’t get within three goals of a team, it’s hard to say how much more they had in reserve. The Bulldogs were able to pressure the Gophers in stretches, but not to the extent that Wisconsin did, and their defense isn’t as tight. I’ll have more on Minnesota-Duluth and freshman Lara Stalder in this week’s column, but I do think their upcoming series at Minnesota State will be huge. With only a shootout loss through four WCHA games, it is mandatory that the Bulldogs bring a bunch of points home from what could be a contentious series in Mankato.
Regarding their potency, what the Gophers still have going for them is balance. They don’t have one line that is going to worry anyone excessively, but it has been a different line every week that has been key. They’ll have to stay healthy. They have had two skaters out and a third went down on Saturday, so they are getting very thin as far as forward depth goes. Next they get Bemidji State, Minnesota State, and St. Cloud — with five of those games on the road — before hosting North Dakota. You proved to be very accurate regarding Minnesota last year; when do you foresee its first loss this season?
Candace: Perhaps in the North Dakota series, but I’m not sure. I don’t foresee it happening before then, because I think Brad Frost will have his troops ready and able to avoid any potential letdown. The goaltending and defense were supposed to be x-factors coming into this season, but so far, both have done well. Amanda Leveille sports a .952 save percentage, and that includes series against Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth.
You mention that the Gophers don’t have one dominant line, but the depth really is incredible when you look at the roster. Hannah Brandt and Maryanne Menefee are both avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump, and playing very well. Rachel Bona leads the team in scoring, and Sarah Davis is putting up key points. Plus, Dani Cameranesi is looking like a very good player in her freshman year. I don’t feel that Bemidji State, Minnesota State, or St. Cloud have the horses the stay with Minnesota.
If I had to bet, I would say the best first-half chances would be one of the North Dakota games, followed by the road series against Ohio State. If Minnesota remains unbeaten after the first-half closing series in Columbus, then I would guess either in Grand Forks at the end of January or in Madison in mid-Feburary.
I’m just glad I don’t have to bet money (aside from our six-pack race), because Minnesota still looks like the team to beat.
Northeastern is 4-0 and is almost a quarter of the way to its 2012-13 offensive production already this season (photo: Melissa Wade).
A year ago, Northeastern scored just 81 goals in what was one of the program’s most frustrating seasons, which ended in a last-place finish in Hockey East.
As the Huskies entered this season, the expectations were equally as low — they were picked by most to finish last once again.
After two weekends of play and four games, though, this Northeastern team has shown signs of brilliance. With 20 goals, the Huskies have scored nearly a quarter of their goals from last season. At 4-0, this team has the best record to begin a season since the 1993-94 squad that qualified for the NCAA tournament.
There is, however, a need to possibly temper exuberance.
Northeastern’s opponents to date were Alabama-Huntsville, an independent turned WCHA member that a year ago posted just three wins; and Holy Cross, a team that some expect to be a contender in Atlantic Hockey, although that is a league that too many still underestimate.
Yes, maybe it is far too early to rave about this Huskies team, but the fact of the matter is this is a team that is scoring goals. Twenty in four games equals that of Minnesota and Miami, the two teams tied with the Huskies for the most nationally.
But you simply can’t take those goals off the board and, when you look around college hockey (a good example might be Massachusetts-Lowell against Sacred Heart where Lowell scored just a single goal), there are simply no guarantees that the puck will go in the net.
So say what you will about the Huskies, to score 20 goals at this point is as positive of a sign as you can find.
Northeastern coach Jim Madigan summed things up well after the weekend sweep of Holy Cross, talking about his team’s ability to close out Saturday’s 5-2 win in the third period.
“For us that is [a] textbook [game],” he said. “We’re up on a two-goal lead, we have a lot of chances and we really pursued pucks. I thought we were smart, we stayed above the puck and we were extremely disciplined.
“We finished it off really strong. We are going to have to continue doing that.”
There are a number of players early in the season making major contributions. It’s not surprising that the biggest contributor is sophomore Kevin Roy. A standout freshman a year ago, Roy has five goals and nine points in just four games.
He is hardly alone. Two rookies are near the top of the team’s scoring list. Mike Szmatula (1-7–8) and Zach Aston-Reese (0-5–5) both have been major parts of the offense. Add in senior Braden Pimm’s four goals and six points, and this is a balanced attack that could be a major threat in league play.
A big contributor to the offense thus far has been the power play. Saturday against Holy Cross, the Huskies were 3-for-7, bringing them to 8-for-25 on the season, tied with Massachusetts for second-best nationally behind Michigan.
“Our power play was 3-for-7 [on Saturday] and I thought it could’ve been 5-for-7 if not for [Holy Cross’] goalie,” Madigan said. “We’re moving the puck pretty well. Our forwards were moving and not stationary and that was the key. There’s a lot of skill out there. There’s a lot of hockey sense in our guys.
“When you have intelligent players, which I think we have, they create openings for themselves.”
If there has been an Achilles’ heel for Northeastern thus far it has been discipline. Northeastern is third in penalty minutes through four games and, a season ago when things went wrong most often, it seemed the team lacked discipline and gave opponents far too many chances to score with the man advantage.
That isn’t lost on Madigan.
“I’m trying to eliminate five-on-three situations,” said Madigan, whose team has allowed four power-play goals this season, three of those coming in five-on-three or six-on-three situations. “We just have to avoid putting ourselves in those situations. Our team is aggressive in pursuing pucks and when that happens sometimes you get a little overaggressive and we’ve got to correct that. It’s early in the season and I’m confident that we will correct that.”
All the pomp and circumstance to celebrate Northeastern could be premature. The Huskies haven’t played a nationally ranked opponent yet and haven’t played a Hockey East game. That will all change in coming weeks.
The Huskies travel to St. Lawrence, a team that swept Maine last weekend, for two games this weekend. Then Northeastern will open Hockey East play with a home-and-home series against Boston College.
But it is exciting to be able to celebrate an underdog, and given the harsh predictions against Northeastern before the season, you have to give credit where it is due for a club that starts the season with four straight wins.
Celebrating a legend
It may have been a little late in coming, but Boston College finally celebrated coach Jerry York becoming the all-time college hockey wins leader.
The ceremony was canceled twice last season and was unable to be rescheduled late in the season when a detached retina kept York out for a number of games down the stretch, but BC finally feted York last Friday night.
In true York fashion, the bench boss had little desire to talk about the event or the accomplishments celebrated.
“I tried to get out of it three times last year,” laughed York. “I’m always uncomfortable because it’s a team sport.”
Was there anything about the celebration that York enjoyed?
“We did a really good job of shortening it and keeping it brief,” York quipped.
His team did an excellent job of detracting attention as well, lighting up opponent Wisconsin for nine goals.
“There’s no way we’re seven goals better than the Badgers, but everything we did turned to gold,” York said. “Everything was going just how you diagram it. The way things were going defensively and offensively really had me excited behind the bench.
“There’s a possibility we could be a really good team.”
Ever the realist, one breath later York threw forward a dose of reality.
“Being in the business as long as I have, it’s still October,” York said.
Irish power
If anyone wondered whether Notre Dame would have an immediate impact on Hockey East, the Irish have answered those questions immediately.
After a sweep of nationally ranked Western Michigan in which Notre Dame didn’t allow a goal, the Irish took two at home against Michigan Tech, 3-2 and 7-3.
While the defense has been impressive, allowing just five goals in four games, the offense has been equally dominant.
Balance in that attack has really stood out with rookie Vinnie Hinostroza leading the club with three goals and six points. Senior T.J. Tynan, an early season must-watch in the Hobey Baker Award race, potted three of his four points last weekend.
With Notre Dame new to Hockey East, the name to remember is goaltender Steven Summerhays. Already 4-0, Summerhays has a 1.25 GAA and, more importantly, a .946 save percentage.
We’re still a weekend away from the Irish traveling to Vermont for their Hockey East opener, but it may be safe to say that every school in the league can be prepared for a battle against this new kid on the block.
Quick hits
• The USCHO.com curse has seemingly crushed Massachusetts-Lowell. Since reaching the No. 1 spot in the preseason USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, Lowell is 1-3 after being swept by Quinnipiac last weekend. The River Hawks have scored just a single goal in each of their three losses, going 0-for-17 on the power play in the three games.
• If there is one school this week that may be looking for revenge, it is Boston College. Coming off a 9-2 win against Wisconsin, the Eagles will travel for a two-game set at Minnesota, where last season BC fell 8-1. Things never felt right after that loss for the Eagles, so there may be some extra motivation, particularly given that Minnesota is No. 1 in the rankings, to win on the road.
• Hats off to Maine coach Red Gendron for earning his first win behind the Black Bears bench, a 3-2 victory Saturday over Bentley.
• Of conferences where all of the teams have played games (let’s not forget the Ivies start late in ECAC Hockey), Hockey East is the only league with three undefeated teams. In addition to Notre Dame and Northeastern at 4-0, Providence is 3-0 after a 10-4 victory against American International on Saturday.
• The Hockey East/Big Ten Challenge continues this weekend with Hockey East holding a 9-4 lead in points. Each victory in the 13-game challenge is worth two points and a road win is worth a bonus point. Hockey East, thus, has a big weekend upcoming as five of the six games in the Challenge this week for Hockey East are on the road. Both of Lowell and BU’s games against Michigan and Michigan State count toward the standings, as does BC’s Friday game at Minnesota. Saturday’s neutral-site game between Vermont and Penn State, being played in Philadelphia, could be the most important of all. If there is a tie at the end of the series, that game will be the tiebreaker.
Denver associate head coach Steve Miller has been named the first general manager and head coach of the United States Hockey League’s new expansion franchise in Madison, Wis.
Miller will start with the unnamed program on Jan. 1, 2014, and the team will start play in the USHL with the 2014-15 season.
“We interviewed dozens of qualified coaches, but Steve stood out amongst them all,” said Madison co-owner Tom Garrity in a statement. “His resume speaks for itself and we were very impressed with his vision and plan for Madtown Hockey. He is a Wisconsin native who is very familiar with the USHL and knows what it takes to put a winning product onto the ice.”
Miller is a native of Sun Prairie, Wis., and has spent the last 20 years as an assistant and associate head coach with the DU program.
“After 19 tremendous years, I am leaving the University of Denver and hockey program to be the new head coach and general manager of the Madison organization’s return to the United States Hockey League,” Miller said in a news release. “My wife, Heidi, and I would like to thank Ron Grahame, Peg Bradley-Doppes and the entire DU family for their support and friendship over the years. I would also like to thank Jim Montgomery for his belief, trust and support over the past seven months — it has meant the world to my family and me.
“Also my mentor and friend, George Gwozdecky, took a chance on me as a graduate assistant at Miami University back in 1991. I will forever be grateful to him for allowing me to grow as a person and develop as a coach. I have been fortunate to be involved with the greatest program in college hockey. The friendships of current and former players, staff and families remind me that DU will remain close to my heart and is a place that I will cherish forever.”
Montgomery called Miller’s departure “bittersweet.”
“We are happy that Steve is finally getting a well-deserved opportunity to be a head coach and run his own program, but saddened to be losing such a great person, coach, and recruiter,” added Montgomery. “Steve is a huge part of the tremendous success here over the last 20 years and has recruited and developed not only great hockey players, but student-athletes that represented Denver hockey with class on and off the ice. We wish Coach Miller all the success in the world and know that he will always be a Pioneer.”
Quinnipiac hasn’t missed a beat in the early going, and posted an impressive sweep of Massachusetts-Lowell this past weekend. The Falcons have lost three in a row, scoring only four goals over that span. Michael Garteig and the Bobcats’ defense should be too much for Bentley. The only thing that could change that is if QU head coach Rand Pecknold decides to give backups Jacob Meyers or Brady Rouleau a chance in net or rest some of his regular defensemen. Quinnipiac wins
Lake Superior State goalie Kevin Kapalka stopped 46 of 48 shots against Union on Saturday (photo: Rachel Lewis).
Here’s our weekly look at big events and big issues around Division I men’s college hockey.
Jim: Well, Todd, we’re a couple of weeks into the season and it seems like the curse of the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll is in full effect.
After Massachusetts-Lowell fell from No. 1 last week, Miami dropped a game against North Dakota and dropped from the top spot again this week. Of course, it’s difficult to really predict which teams belong at the top this early in the season, so that’s part of it.
And there are always some surprise teams out there that prove themselves early. Two of those that are sticking out to me are Northeastern and Lake Superior State. The jury is out on both, and Northeastern more so as it hasn’t played the toughest schedule (Alabama-Huntsville and Holy Cross). But for the Lakers, you have to believe this is an improved team that is coming off a two-game road sweep of Union.
What are your thoughts of the Huskies and Lakers? And what other teams surprise you out of the gate?
Todd: My initial reaction with Lake Superior State is that it’s too early to heap praise on the Lakers for anything more than a job well done in their first four games. And give them credit for that — Union hadn’t been swept at home in nearly two years, so it’s a productive step for Lake State to get that done.
But, digging into the statistics, it’s hard to say that the Lakers were a dominant team in Schenectady. Union outshot them by 11 shots on Friday and by a whopping 31 shots on Saturday. Even though the Lakers have a strong, senior goaltending corps in Kevin Kapalka and Kevin Murdock, I don’t think they can make a habit of being minus-42 in the shots-on-goal category for a weekend.
I would put Northeastern in the wait-and-see category as well for the reason that you suggested: the opponents. With St. Lawrence and Boston College on the schedule in the next two weeks, it shouldn’t take us long to get an answer on how viable a team the Huskies are this season.
I have been a little surprised by some of the results coming out of the Alaska tournaments in the last two weekends. First, it was Alaska-Anchorage knocking off Quinnipiac, then both Anchorage and Alaska took down Denver in overtime. Then again, I learned a long time ago to never be surprised at what happens in Alaska — a lot of variables get introduced there that don’t factor in the Lower 48.
Jim: My eyes certainly opened when I saw the results in Anchorage this past weekend. But for me, it was the fact that Denver lost twice. This is the same Denver team that a week ago didn’t allow a single goal against Merrimack. Yes, travel to Alaska isn’t the easiest thing and sometimes that factors in. But I expected the Pioneers to come home with a split at worst.
I can say that same thing for a few teams. New Hampshire tied and lost at home against Michigan and is 1-2-1. Lowell was swept by Quinnipiac (which, by the way, hasn’t fallen off much from last year no matter how many players it lost) and the River Hawks are 1-3.
And then there is Wisconsin, the No. 2 team in the poll a week ago that was whacked badly on its trip to Boston, losing 9-2 to Boston College and 7-3 to Boston University. Were those results the biggest shockers to you?
Todd: I’ll say this: I was not surprised Wisconsin lost twice in Boston. I was surprised by the margins. A team as veteran as the Badgers should know how to play in opposing buildings, unfamiliar or not. And it sounds like they weren’t ready for what they faced, at least against the Eagles on Friday. That’s something the Badgers have to figure out before they’ll rise to an elite level this season.
We’ll see how Boston College does in that situation at Minnesota on Friday, but the Eagles have more recent experience with the Gophers — and maybe a chip on their shoulders after losing 8-1 last season. How much motivation do you think there is this week for the Eagles?
Jim: I think this weekend provides major motivation for BC. When you look back to last season, its game at Minnesota was a major turning point in the season. Though there were some high points after that game, the 8-1 loss seemed to put some doubt in the heads of BC’s players and, in the end, the Eagles lost out on the regular season and postseason Hockey East titles and were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Last weekend proved BC can score goals against elite teams. This weekend will show how BC skates on the road with the nation’s best.
Todd: And this week’s Division I Men’s Poll has Minnesota in the No. 1 position, which, as you pointed out up top, hasn’t been kind to its owners so far this season. We’ll see if that trend continues.
On an individual level, few are having better starts to the season than Rensselaer’s Ryan Haggerty. Through four games, the junior has seven goals, including a hat trick in last Saturday’s 7-1 win over Sacred Heart. He also had a pair of goals in a 3-1 win over Boston University the night before. This could be a name to keep in mind as the season continues.
Jim: I know from experience that Hobey Baker Award voters love points. So Haggerty has a solid start. Northeastern’s Kevin Roy and Minnesota’s Sam Warning both have nine points, though fewer goals, through four games. And BC’s Johnny Gaudreau is on a 2.33-points-per-game pace already with seven points in three games to lead the nation in points per game. It is early but all four have Hobey potential.
This weekend upcoming should be interesting with newly-No. 1 Minnesota hosting BC for two. That, by far, leads my list of games to watch, though the Ivies getting some ice time this weekend gives us Cornell at Nebraska-Omaha — a good early test for the nationally ranked Big Red — and defending national champion Yale as part of the Liberty Invitational in Newark, N.J., alongside Princeton, Brown and Dartmouth.
So what games will grab your attention?
Todd: There are some more good east-west matchups to watch besides BC-Minnesota. No. 8 Providence hosts No. 3 Miami in a two-game series, while No. 4 Michigan hosts No. 13 Boston University and No. 18 Massachusetts-Lowell.
Providence is off to a 3-0 start with two wins over Minnesota State and a blowout win over American International. This series against the RedHawks should be a great test for the Friars.
NCHA coaches have tabbed St. Norbert to win the league this season after the Green Knights were named No. 1 on nine of 10 ballots in the coaches’ poll announced Monday.
Coaches could not vote for their own team.
For the first time in its six-year history, Adrian was not the preseason No. 1 in the league poll.
St. Norbert has been picked by NCHA coaches to finish first in the upcoming regular season, according to the results of the coaches’ preseason poll announced Monday.
Our guests on the October 22 edition of USCHO Live! are Northeastern head coach Jim Madigan, whose 4-0 Huskies broke into the USCHO.com Division I men’s poll at No. 20, and Wally Shaver, long-time broadcaster for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are No. 1 in this week’s poll.
Join us for the conversation and information, Tuesday, Oct. 22, from 8 to 9 p.m. EDT at blogtalkradio.com/uscholive. If you can’t listen live, check out the podcast of USCHO Live! available on the player at the right (click through if you’re reading this via RSS.)
Be part of the conversation! Send your tweets to @USCHO, and your emails to [email protected].
Each episode of USCHO Live! features a look at news around NCAA hockey, a look ahead at upcoming games and events, and conversation with people who coach, administer and play college hockey, and journalists who cover the sport.
About the hosts
Jim Connelly is a senior writer at USCHO.com and has been with the site since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he co-writes “Tuesday Morning Quarterback.” Jim is the winner of the 2012 Joe Concannon award, and is a studio analyst for NESN.
Ed Trefzger has been part of USCHO since 1999 and now serves as a senior writer and director of technology. He has been a part of the radio broadcasts of Rochester Institute of Technology hockey since their inception — serving as a producer, studio host, color commentator and as RIT’s play-by-play voice for seven seasons. Ed is also general manager for a four-station radio company and is based in Rochester, N.Y.
Minnesota is again a unanimous No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll as all 15 first-place votes this week went the Gophers’ way.
The rest of the poll has a decidedly different look from last week.
Wisconsin jumps two spots to No. 2, Cornell rises two to No. 3, Boston College falls a pair to No. 4 and Clarkson drops two notches to No. 5.
North Dakota is down one to sit sixth, Harvard leaps two to No. 7, Mercyhurst, unranked a week ago, enters the poll at No. 8 and Quinnipiac jumps one spot to No. 9.
Previously-unranked Ohio State is No. 10 this week.
Minnesota-Duluth, Boston University and New Hampshire also received votes.
The USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 15 voters, including 14 coaches of Division I programs and one women’s hockey writer.
Minnesota’s sweep of Bemidji State has the Gophers assuming the top spot in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, up from their No. 3 rank of a week ago.
The Gophers, who earned 31 first-place votes this week, are one of four 4-0 teams in the nation and all are ranked this week – Notre Dame at No. 2, Lake Superior State at No. 15 and Northeastern at No. 20.
Notre Dame, which garnered 11 first-place votes, swept Michigan Tech to rise two spots, last week’s No. 1 team, Miami, split with North Dakota and falls to third with five first-place nods, Michigan tied and beat New Hampshire and is up one to No. 4 and Boston College jumps two spots to No. 5 with a win over Wisconsin.
North Dakota stays sixth, Yale hasn’t played a game yet, but took home the last three first-place votes and sits seventh again, Providence topped American International and is up two to No. 8, two wins over Massachusetts-Lowell push Quinnipiac up five to No. 9 and idle St. Cloud State moves up a notch to No. 10.
At No. 11, Wisconsin tumbles from No. 2 after losses to both Boston College and Boston University, Rensselaer beat both BU and Sacred Heart to move up five to sit 12th, BU is No. 13, up two places, after losing to RPI and beating Wisconsin, New Hampshire is down one to No. 14 and previously-unranked LSSU enters the poll this week at No. 15.
Minnesota State rises two to No. 16 with a sweep of Connecticut, Denver falls from No. 12 to No. 17 with two overtime losses to Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage, UML is down nine spots to sit 18th, Cornell, another team that has yet to take the ice, remains 19th and Northeastern, unranked last week, is No. 20 according to this week’s vote.
The USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country.
Not the greatest of weekends for the Big Ten, with the teams going 3-6-1 against non-conference opponents.
Here are three things I saw.
1. Badgers get bombarded in Beantown
Things were looking good for No. 2 Wisconsin following an opening-weekend home sweep of Northern Michigan, but a road trip to Boston brought the Badgers back to earth. Wisconsin lost 9-2 to Boston College on Friday and was defeated 7-3 by Boston University of Saturday.
“[We faced] a team that was fired up to play for their coach,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said after Friday’s game. “Our hope was to survive the first period and we didn’t. We fell into the trap of trying to make things happen and ended up making things worse.”
Landon Peterson gave up six goals in a little more than 21 minutes of work on Friday night before being yanked in favor of Adam Miller, who gave up three more. Peterson got the start again on Saturday night and gave up all seven goals to Boston University.
The disturbing stat from Saturday’s game was the Wisconsin only gave up 26 shots and the Terriers scored three power play goals.
2. Motte shines early for Michigan
Freshman Tyler Motte was huge for Michigan in its overtime win and tie in a series against New Hampshire.
Motte scored Michigan’s only goal in Friday’s 1-1 tie with the Wildcats and lit the lamp a little more than one minute into overtime on Saturday to give the Wolverines a 3-2 win. The freshman from St. Clair, Mich., credited the team’s veterans for making his transition to college hockey easier after the game on Saturday.
“Our leadership on the team really helps us out,” Motte said. “A lot of guys up front, juniors and seniors, really have stepped up and helped us settle in early, and we’ve been moving together as a team.”
3. Warning stays hot
With all of Minnesota’s departures from last year’s team, it was clear that the Gophers would need an upperclassman to step up from a supporting role and be a major part of the team’s offense. Sam Warning has done just that through four games.
Minnesota swept Bemidji State by winning 6-3 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday. Warning tallied one goal and two assists on Friday and found the back of the net twice on Saturday for Minnesota. In the Gophers’ first four games this season he has five goals and four helpers. In 29 games last season, he had eight goals and 15 assists.
The junior from Chesterfield, Mo., was one of the Big Ten’s three stars last week and looked primed to start off the season by taking the award again this week.
Notes
Paula’s column will be posted on Thursday morning and, as always, you can follow both of us on Twitter.
A look back at the lessons learned in the world of Atlantic Hockey this past weekend.
Non-conference struggles continue.
Last week, the only wins for the AHA in non-conference play came in a big way, as Sacred Heart defeated #1-ranked UMass-Lowell and Bentley defeated Nebraska-Omaha. Despite those highs, the league went 2-14. A week later, the struggles continued as Sacred Heart was blown out by RPI for the second time in two weeks, 7-1. Despite taking a 1-0 lead and tying Providence College 1-1 through the first period (and despite trailing by only one over halfway through the second period), AIC gave up five third period goals and lost, 10-4. UConn absorbed two losses to Minnesota State in Mankato, and Holy Cross took two losses in a home-and-home with Northeastern. The only bright spots were a 0-1-1 weekend by RIT, a split by Mercyhurst at Merrimack, and a sweep in Colorado by Air Force of Penn State. Earlier in the week, Mercyhurst lost at home against Ferris State, leaving the league with a 4-25-1 record in non-conference play.
It won’t get any easier this week, either, with Bentley taking on Quinnipiac and Harvard; Holy Cross will also Quinnipiac; Niagara plays Denver before continuing conference play with Air Force; Robert Morris has a home-and-home with Ohio State; Mercyhurst heads to Fairbanks to play Alaska; RIT plays Penn State; and Connecticut hosts Union. There’s going to be substantial work left to do if the AHA wants to come close to its 25 non-conference wins from a year ago.
Bentley turns back the clock, for better and for worse.
Bentley gave Red Gendron and his Maine Black Bears all they could handle in their first home game of the season, losing 2-1 and displaying flashes of a stingy and physical defense that became the team’s hallmark over the past five years. But while the defense has started to bear down by displaying a new attitude after last year’s horrible finish, the team’s highly-touted offense has struggled, especially on the power play which was only 11% two years ago before last year’s breakout. Bentley failed on multiple 5-on-3 opportunities in the second period and on two power plays in the last five minutes of the third (including one with under two minutes to play), dropping to 3-for-21 along the way. Part of the team’s problem is that its top returning scorer, Brett Gensler, has just one assist with no goals and is -2 since registering two goals and a +1 against Nebraska-Omaha on the season’s opening night.
“We’re right there,” said Ryan Soderquist following the loss on Saturday in Orono, “but we always seem to be missing that one thing that can tie it all together. That starts at the top with our power play and our top line. Instead of standing and looking for a pass, we need to be able to move without the puck and get into position for that pass and that good look on net. There’s been too much standing around (over the first four games). Once we get that figured out, we’ll be an exciting team that can compete at a high level.”
CHA Rivalry Renewed in Big Way
Game of the week honors have to be considered for the conference game turned in by Niagara and Robert Morris in Pittsburgh on Saturday. The teams combined for 77 shots (39 for Niagara, 38 for RMU) and traded the lead by scoring one goal apiece in each period. The Purple Eagles struck first at the 5:35 mark of the first period, but Robert Morris responded less than three minutes later. The Colonials then took the lead on the power play to start the second period, striking at 10:10 off the stick of Ben Robillard, but Niagara tied the game with a man-up strike of their own from Tyler Akeson with less than a minute to go in the second frame. Robert Morris took the lead back when David Friedmann scored at 6:49 on the power play, but Niagara tied it when Mike Conderman found Isaac Kohls with 9:15 to go. Adrian Ignani and Terry Shafer were tremendous in net for both teams, with Ignani saving 35 shots for Niagara and RMU’s Shafer stopping 36.
This marked another weekend of solid conference play for Niagara, once again illustrating the parity and competitiveness within the league ranks seen throughout the past week. Robert Morris will see Niagara next on Valentine’s Day weekend in February.
The Penrose Memorial Cup was on display over the weekend during the series between Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth at World Arena (photo: Candace Horgan).
Penrose Memorial Cup
The Julie and Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup, the trophy awarded to the regular-season NCHC champion, was unveiled on the ice at World Arena in Colorado Springs Friday night before the game between Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth, a contest won by Colorado College. After the unveiling, the trophy was displayed on the concourse level of World Arena during both Friday and Saturday’s games.
CC players admitted that the display of the trophy on their home ice may have provided extra motivation in their game against the Bulldogs.
“That thing, that’s every hockey player’s dream is to win a championship, win those trophies,” said CC goaltender Josh Thorimbert, who stopped 31 shots in the win. “It’s a big trophy, so it definitely catches your eye, and all the guys in the room, that’s our goal, that’s what we are training for, is to win championships, and everyone believes that.”
The Penrose Memorial Cup will travel to all eight arenas of the NCHC schools during the year, allowing fans a chance to view the impressive trophy.
The Penrose Memorial Cup is named after Julie and Spencer Penrose, who earned much of their money thorough the copper industry, which is why the trophy includes a series of copper stars. The Penroses investments included the Broadmoor Hotel complex, where the first 10 college hockey championships were held. The couple also set up the El Pomar Foundation. The NCHC offices are located in the Copper Building on the Penrose compound in Colorado Springs.
Battling for position
North Dakota and Miami battled in Oxford over the weekend in a series that may have promised great things in a developing rivalry. The two teams were preseason favorites for the NCHC, and, perhaps fittingly, split the games. Both games were sellouts, with 3,642 in attendance, and in both games, it was junior forwards who led the way for their teams.
Junior forward Brendan O’Donnell paced North Dakota on Friday, assisting on the first goal and scoring the next two. Miami cut the lead to one goal with two strikes in the second, but Nick Mattson put it away for North Dakota in the third for a 4-2 win.
On Saturday, junior Blake Coleman notched a hat trick, his first in his collegiate career, and junior Cody Murphy scored the first goal and assisted on the last RedHawks’ tally as Miami won, 6-2.
Despite the split, North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol wasn’t happy.
“We wanted both,” Hakstol told reporters after the game. “The old adage of ‘a split on the road is pretty good’ doesn’t sit well with me, it doesn’t sit well with us. We had a chance to come in here and win two games. I didn’t think we did everything in our power to accomplish that. I think we left something on the table tonight.”
At least part of that may be due to the point structure in the NCHC. Each win is worth three points because of the adaptation of the shootout, and so the ability to win a clean game becomes all the more important. Any clean win is worth three points, a shootout win is worth two points, and the team that loses the shootout gets one point in the league standings.
CC coach Scott Owens pointed to that as a big factor in how the battles will play out after his team’s defeat of Minnesota-Duluth on Friday.
“The other thing is it is three points, and three points are a lot of points,” said Owens. “Any kind of clean win you can get to get the points is huge. It used to always be two [points], and now it’s three, so that’s huge for us.”
Youth on display
In their opening weekend series against Merrimack, the Denver Pioneers looked strong, recording two shutout wins. However, the trip to Alaska this past weekend, in which they dropped two 3-2 decisions on late goals in overtime, may have shown that Denver will likely be an inconsistent team, especially in the first half of the year. The Pioneers have only two seniors and have 10 freshmen.
In both games, Denver put itself in a position to win, but couldn’t close the deal. On Friday, Denver built a 2-0 lead, but a Nanooks goal with only 14 seconds left in the second period ended Sam Brittain’s season-opening shutout streak at 159:47, and a streak dating back to last season of 193:49. The Nanooks then capitalized on a power play in the third on goal by Cody Kunyk, and Garrick Perry scored the OT winner with just 26 seconds left in the overtime.
On Saturday against Alaska-Anchorage, Denver took a 2-1 lead at 3:30 in the third on a five-on-three power-play goal by Joey LaLeggia, but Scott Allen tied it up for the Seawolves at 11:41, and Matt Bailey notched the game-winner with just 1:15 left in the overtime.
Scoring by the forwards continues to be a problem for Denver. On Saturday, both goals were scored by defensemen. Of Denver’s nine goals so far this season, five have come from the sticks of defensemen.
“Our power play didn’t work for us, and our defensive-zone net blockouts were poor, and those two areas in particular I think really cost us,” said Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery. “We’d like to get more rebound opportunities; the problem is right now, we are giving up too many rebound opportunities.”
The inaugural Hockey East/Big Ten challenge, a 13-game series between Hockey East and Big Ten teams, kicked off this past weekend with Hockey East teams dominating. That leads the three things that I learned this week in Hockey East:
1) Hockey East was up to the “Challenge”
The Hockey East/Big Ten Challenge wasn’t very challenging this weekend as the series kicked off with the veteran Hockey East league posting a dominating 4-1-1 record against its rookie brethren. No. 7 Boston College and No. 15 Boston University both handily defeated No. 2 Wisconsin. Massachusetts, coming off a two-loss weekend to begin the season, swept Michigan State at home. The lone blemishes of the weekend came at the hands of Michigan, which earned a tie and overtime win at New Hampshire. Michigan, in fact, is now 2-0-1 against Hockey East teams after a season-opening win against BC and will host BU and Massachusetts-Lowell next weekend looking to continue the success vs. Hockey East. Both of those games will be part of the “Challenge” as will BU and Lowell’s single games versus Michigan State, BC’s Friday game at Minnesota and Penn State’s game against Vermont which is being played in Philadelphia next Saturday.
2) The top not-so-nice for Lowell
Massachusetts-Lowell began the season a preseason No. 1 in the USCHO.com poll, the first time in program history the school earned the nation’s top ranking. The River Hawks quickly learned that it’s lonely at the top beginning the season 1-3-0. Lowell’s lone win came against Massachusetts, but a season-opening loss to Sacred Heart and a sweep this past weekend in a home-and-home with Quinnipiac gave the River Hawks four consecutive losses to Connecticut teams (Lowell fell to Yale in last year’s Frozen Four). No need to push the panic button for the River Hawks just yet. Lowell began last season 2-5-1 before rallying for the school’s first-ever Frozen Four appearance.
3) An offensive explosion on Huntington Ave.
Don’t look now fans, but the team tied for the most goals thus far in the nation is none other than Northeastern. The Huskies have potted 20 goals in their first four games. Not bad for a team that last season scored just 81 goals total. You can say anything you would like about NU’s first two opponents – Alabama-Huntsville and Holy Cross – but goals are goals and a team’s offensive ability generally dictates whether or not they can score. I’ll have more on Northeastern in Tuesday’s notes column, but one thing if for sure, this NU team can score.
Shocking or explainable?
Five of the top eight teams in the most recent USCHO poll suffered defeats in the last week, four of them at home. How do we react to such developments? Should we decide that those losing teams are not as strong as we thought and lower their stock, or conclude that hockey is a game with volatile results and avoid making knee-jerk reactions to a small sample size? No matter what conclusion is reached, additional outcomes will soon surface to contradict that conclusion.
Mercyhurst rallies
The situation looked dire for the Lakers heading into a road series at No. 3 Clarkson. Losing both games would have dropped Mercyhurst to 2-5 on the season and made its NCAA tournament prospects bleak. However, Mike Sisti hasn’t put together 12 straight seasons of at least 23 wins by accident. His teams consistently rise to such challenges, and this year’s squad did as well. Goalie Amanda Makela and the Lakers’ defense combined to shut out the Golden Knights, one of the country’s top offenses, on just 19 shots in the opener. Kaleigh Chippy scored a first-period goal on a power play, and Christie Cicero sealed a 2-0 win into an empty net. On Saturday, Christine Lambert gave Clarkson a lead in the first period, Emily Janiga answered in the second frame, and Makela and Erica Howe stopped everything else as the teams finished tied, 1-1. Thanks in large part to Makela saving 49 of 50 shots in the series, Mercyhurst gained three points and was able to square its record at 3-3-1 after playing six of seven games on the road.
New Hampshire still poses a riddle
A 3-1 loss on home ice versus New Hampshire leaves No. 2 Boston College still looking for its first clean sweep of the Wildcats in a season series in the NCAA era. Vilma Vaattovaara made 36 saves while Arielle O’Neill, Nicole Gifford, and Cassandra Vilgrain scored for UNH. The Eagles rebounded with a 4-3 win over Yale on Saturday with a shortie by Taylor Wasylk deciding the matter. On Sunday, BC scored the final six goals in defeating Dartmouth, 7-2, in the Big Green’s debut, with Emily Field netting a pair in the win and Lindsey Allen scoring both in the losing effort.
Too little, too late
North Dakota, tied with Cornell at No. 5, came up short in its attempt to complete a sweep of visiting Ohio State. UND pulled away for a 5-2 win in the opener with freshman Halli Krzyzaniak scoring her first goal and adding an assist. On Saturday, the hosts spotted the Buckeyes first-period goals by Kendall Curtis and Taylor Kuehl, and 27 shots over the final two periods only halved the deficit. Lisa Steffes made 36 saves in total in earning the 2-1 win, her first of the campaign.
A tale of two goalies
No. 7 Boston University, the only ranked team to fall on the road, had few problems winning the opener at Robert Morris, 5-2. The Terriers solved Courtney Vinet five times on 28 shots; two of the goals belonged to Sarah Lefort. However, BU had no answer for freshman Jessica Dodds on Saturday when the Colonials won, 3-0. Dodds has now won all three of her starts, allowing two goals in total while saving 97 percent of the shots she has faced.
Home away from home
Minnesota-Duluth, tied at No. 7 with BU, was the only ranked team to lose to a higher-ranked opponent, but the Bulldogs were also the only one to suffer a sweep. Over the first 12 years of this rivalry, No. 1 Minnesota had little success in games played in Duluth, sweeping only once. The Gophers have fared much better in AMSOIL Arena, adding 4-0 and 6-3 wins this weekend. Amanda Leveille made 26 saves in Friday’s shutout, and senior Sarah Davis and rookie Dani Cameranesi each scored three goals on the weekend.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
Wisconsin had little trouble with St. Cloud State in 4-1 and 6-0 wins. Ann-Renée Desbiens made her debut in net for the No. 4 Badgers in the second game and earned the shutout. Brittany Ammerman had a six-point series.
No. 5 Cornell got off to a quick start with a sweep of Northeastern by scores of 6-2 and 3-0. Goaltender Lauren Slebodnick backstopped both wins and Emily Fulton found the net three times.
No. 10 Quinnipiac turned in a convincing sweep of Maine in Orono, 4-0 and 5-2. Chelsea Laden had both wins, including the 20-save shutout. Kelly Babstock’s hat trick highlighted game two.
Give and take
Splits were common in other action. Syracuse and Providence, Union and Penn State, plus RIT and Colgate all saw each competitor handed a loss to go with its win.
Lake Superior State improved to 4-0 to start the season, sweeping Union 6-5 in overtime and 3-2 on the road over the weekend. The Lakers are one of just four 4-0 teams and six unbeaten teams remaining in the country.
Stephen Perfetto scored the overtime winner on Friday. He had three assists earlier in the game and ended up with a four-point night. He also had an assist on Saturday.
Across the continent, Alaska-Anchorage came back to earth a bit with a 6-2 loss to Western Michigan on the first day of the Alaska Goal Rush in Fairbanks, Alaska. But this is a new Seawolves team. the next night it defeated WCHA defector Denver 3-2 in overtime thanks to a Matt Bailey goal. The win snapped a 10-game winless streak against the Pioneers.
Alaska, meanwhile won its second straight Goal Rush with a win over Denver and a tie against its old CCHA foe Western Michigan. A shootout victory gave the Nanooks the tournament title.
Old guys rule
Every coach will tell you that his seniors are going to lead the way. Glancing at the the early season scoring list, look which players sit at the top.
Six of the top eight scorers in the WCHA are seniors (the other two are juniors), with Bryce Williamson, a forward for Bowling Green, leading the way with four goals and seven points. He had two goals and two assists in a win and tie against Colgate. Ferris State senior Garrett Thompson and junior Justin Buzzeo also have seven points apiece.
Anchorage’s Bailey has four goals (and six points), as does Alaska’s Cody Kunyk. The top-scoring defensemen are seniors: Northern Michigan’s C.J. Ludwig and Lake Superior’s Zach Sternberg each have five points.
Minnesota State’s Johnny McInnis had a three-assist weekend in the Mavericks’ sweep of Connecticut.
Appreciate the candor
With league games beginning next week, coaches will start to tighten their lips when it comes to officiating, under the threat of fines.
Out of conference, well, enjoy the honesty.
Minnesota State’s Mike Hastings went off on the eastern officials last week at Providence, and Sunday, Michigan Tech’s Mel Pearson spoke his mind after his team received 85 minutes worth of penalties in a 7-3 loss at Notre Dame.
“I was really disappointed in the refereeing today,” Pearson said in Michigan Tech’s press release. “I feel bad for the players, the fans, everyone.
“We had a lot of guys play well, and I thought we were the better team when it was five-on-five and we’d tied the score. But when your top guys are killing penalties all night, it’s tough to get anything going offensively.”
At Northern Michigan on Saturday, Nebraska Omaha’s Dean Blais, whose team is no longer in the WCHA, expressed frustration with penalties after his team lost to the Wildcats at Marquette.
Welp, there are no more perfect teams in the ECAC… it will be up to the Ivies to try to duplicate Dartmouth’s accomplishment last year of being the last unbeaten team in Division 1. That said, Union (!!) is the only active league member under .500, somehow, as ECAC Hockey is currently 16-8-3 in early non-conference play. On to the details!
Bobcats making a splash
Rensselaer (2-0-0), Quinnipiac (2-0-0) and Clarkson (1-0-1) finished the weekend unbeaten, though it was perhaps the Bobcats – stop me if you’ve heard this before – who notched the most impressive results, preseason No. 1 UMass-Lowell 3-1, 3-1 in a home-and-home series.
They did so without the services of highly regarded rookie defenseman Devon Toews (injured against Alaska-Anchorage), and in spite of 12 penalties over the two nights. Yet the Q-Cats did what they do best: Kill penalties (all 12), block shots (over three dozen, possibly four), and score timely goals (2 for 9 on the power play). Five different Bobcats scored, including two from senior Jordan Samuels-Thomas, who finished the weekend with four points. QU improved to 3-1 on the season, dropping ninth-ranked and fellow 2013 Frozen Four participant UML to 1-3.
RPI heating up
RPI notched a bounce-back 3-1 win at No. 15 Boston University on Friday, fresh off last Sunday’s 7-2 shellacking at Boston College. The Engineers returned home to snuff out Sacred Heart 7-1 on Saturday, but the real story of the weekend may be the play of junior winger Ryan Haggerty. The Stamford, Conn. sniper tallied a dozen goals and 26 points last season, but is well on his way to shattering those numbers with a nation-best seven goals in four games this fall. The undrafted National Development Team alumnus scored twice against BU on Friday and added a hat trick Saturday. Meanwhile, junior Scott Diebold – in for the injured Jason Kasdorf – is now 2-0 with a .948 save rate and a 1.31 goals-against average.
Dutchmen drop deuce to Lakers
Union stumbled at home against unbeaten handful Lake Superior State, 6-5 and 3-2. Each side had 11 power plays on the weekend, with Union converting on three of those chances, and LSSU, two. Union out-shot the Lakers by the immense margin of 82-40 as well, which means all signs point to hot goaltending in the visitors’ net. That goalie was… two goalies.
The senior battery of Kevin Murdock (five goals against, 29 saves on Friday) and Kevin Kapalka (two goals, 46 stops Saturday) kept the Dutchmen at bay just often enough to pull out a pair of unlikely road wins, dropping Union to 1-2-1… all at home. Union has out-shot its guests in all four games (138-87 in total), but is barely ahead in the goal aggregate, 15-14. That means the U is shooting at an 11 percent success rate, but surrendering goals on 16 percent of shots-against. That’s simply not going to get it done over the long haul: Who was the last team to win a title with a save percentage of .839?
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