I basically dropped the ball on getting my picks to Paula before she posted her own. It won’t become a trend…hopefully.
Here goes!
I will not claim to be an expert on the Eagles. I’ve seen their highs in winning a national title a couple years ago. I’ve also personally seen their lows when Minnesota scored a touchdown and converted the two-point conversion on them last season at Mariucci Arena (8-1 final, sorry for the lame football reference).
I think the most interesting aspect for Boston College this season will be how they go about replacing Parker Milner. Both Brian Billett and Thatcher Demko are said to be competing for the Eagles’ No. 1 spot. I personally see Demko prevailing. It will be interesting to see who gets the call tonight.
My pick
My heart say Michigan because of home-ice advantage, but my head says Boston College 3-1. I guess I’ll go with my head this time.
As always, you can follow Paula and myself on Twitter. She’ll be at the game tonight and will provide some live updates: @drewclaussen and @paulacweston
Is it wrong for me to be so excited about tonight’s Boston College-Michigan game that I can barely sit still?
The Wolverines are 4-0-0 versus the Eagles in Yost Ice Arena and 11-6-0 all-time against Boston College. Michigan beat BC in their last meeting, 4-2, a semifinal game at the 2011 Great Lakes Invitational at JLA.
Michigan’s 2012-13 season ended with a 3-1 loss to Notre Dame in the last-ever CCHA playoff championship game. Boston College bowed out last season in the NCAA East Regional, with a 5-1 loss to Union.
05 OCT. 13 Shelb Wignall (Quinnipiac-4) Sydn Burghardt ( St.Cloud State-13) St.Cloud State University hosts Quinnipiac University in a nonconference match-up at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St.Cloud, MN. (BRADLEY K. OLSON)
The 2014 NCAA National Collegiate Frozen Four will be held at High Point Solutions Arena at the TD Bank Sports Center, home to Quinnipiac hockey.
Bobcats coach Rick Seeley and his team are very aware of that fact.
“Anything can happen, but we’re certainly not going into this year saying if we don’t make the Frozen Four, it’s a disappointing year,” Seeley said.
It is, however, an intriguing opportunity. Minnesota-Duluth won NCAA titles on its home ice in 2003 and 2008. Minnesota triumphed at home in March after falling in Minneapolis in the final in 2006 and the semifinals in 2010. Each program also missed out on competing in a Frozen Four that it hosted.
For other programs, the timing of hosting has been just a little bit off. New Hampshire hosted in 2005, and then reached its first NCAA tournament and the Frozen Four a year later. Boston University was the host in 2009, but didn’t start its run of four straight NCAAs, including two trips to the final, until the next season. Mercyhurst came up a game short as the host in 2011 after being a Frozen Four participant in each of the two seasons prior.
The Bobcats may not appear to be on the brink of a title run.
“This program has never gotten past the semifinals of our conference,” Seeley said.
Quinnipiac doesn’t need to look beyond its own conference to see an example of a program making a historic postseason push. Cornell hadn’t won a postseason game in the NCAA era before it tore through the conference and national tournaments in 2010 and fell short of the title by the slimmest of margins.
So why not the Bobcats? What is to stop them from taking another step forward this season, and playing their way into the NCAA tournament? Once there, the lure of advancing to their own Frozen Four would be a great motivator.
“It’s definitely something we’ve talked about as a team, and it’s something we’ve talked about in the summer, but we’ve kind of made it a group effort to focus on each game,” said junior goaltender Chelsea Laden.
Laden is still settling into the role of number one goaltender for Quinnipiac. She made her 17th career start over the weekend; Victoria Vigilanti, a senior a year ago, started 130 games for the Bobcats. That relative inexperience in goal is one of the hurdles that must be cleared to make an NCAA dream a reality.
“We have Syd Rossman, but she’s a freshman and she’s got some learning to do, but we think in time she’ll be a great challenger to Chelsea for that starting job,” Seeley said.
Rossman, like Laden, played her high school hockey in Minnesota, which would seem to make Quinnipiac in Hamden, Conn., an unlikely destination.
Laden said, “When I first heard ‘Quinnipiac’ and I got the email, I literally was like, ‘Who is Quinnipiac?’ I didn’t even know how to say Quinnipiac. My dad was like, ‘Don’t leave any doors closed.’ It was the very first visit I had. I had Yale and Princeton after that. I knew I was going to go to Quinnipiac as soon as I visited. I just felt like I clicked in and I loved the team, loved the coaches. It just felt like a good environment that I could succeed in.”
In the environment Seeley has created for the Bobcats, there are certain steps to success.
“We have a team bible, and every year, we’re supposed to follow it,” Laden said. “We love 0-0 games, we’re going to be hard to play against — it’s something that’s expected, and it’s not an option.”
A team can’t play low-scoring games without strength on the blue line. As in goal, defense is a position where Quinnipiac is light on experience. A pair of defensemen made their NCAA debuts over the weekend, and so far, so good.
“I thought our two freshmen ‘D,’ Taryn Baumgardt and Emma Greco, just stepped in and played like veterans,” Seeley said.
Three more defensemen are sophomores, along with one senior, Shelby Wignall. Despite the position’s youth, Seeley sees stars in the making.
“Cyd Roesler, who had a great year for us, but she was a freshman and made her share of freshman mistakes, has just shown up with a focus,” he said. “We were happy with her last year, but her conditioning is outrageous. She’s already looked to as a leader as a sophomore. While I think most teams we played noticed her, I think she could be scary this year on the point. She’s big, she’s strong, and she’s an intelligent player. She’s gotten a lot better in her own zone. She’s already running one of our power plays. We expect a lot of great things from her.”
“Kristen Tamberg, while she’s not going to be as offensive as Roesler, was getting a lot of attention last year,” Seeley said. “It’s just great seeing the difference. The biggest time for growth generally for a college player is between their freshman and their sophomore years. They come back, obviously knowing a lot more when they come back than they did the year before. She’s just a different kid with so much confidence. Even though they’re sophomores, those two could be leading us this year, that’s for sure.”
If that unit comes together well, it could make life easier for Laden or whomever winds up in goal. It helps as well if the forwards can make plays to prevent the puck from ever reaching their own zone in the first place. The Bobcats’ offensive star, Kelly Babstock, proved to be particularly adept in that area in Quinnipiac’s game on Saturday, picking off a number of St. Cloud State passes and turning them into scoring chances for her team.
“She’s got a great offensive mind, so she’s reading the play even when the other team has got the puck,” Seeley said. “She does a lot of that. She does a lot of great back-pressures and just 180s back the other way.”
Babstock has had to operate thus far this season without her usual offensive sidekick.
“Nicole Kosta might be our best all-around player, and she’s out with a pulled groin,” Seeley said. “So when she comes back, all of a sudden, we’re pretty strong through our top three lines in terms of potential scoring. Kosta could be back in a week or it could be two months; we’re not sure. In the past, that kind of injury would have killed us, but we’re still a pretty good team without her, so we’re really excited about how we might be when she gets back.”
That excitement is based in part on how the Bobcats have evolved since Seeley took over the program in 2008.
“I would say the second and third year we got there a little quicker than we thought, but we basically leveled off for the last few years,” he said. “I thought last year we took a great step. The first couple years we were successful, it was basically Vigilanti stopping 50 shots and us scoring a couple on 15. Last year we outshot every opponent I think all year and just played with a confidence we hadn’t had.”
Confidence is often bred from success, something Quinnipiac was able to find over the weekend despite its offense being stuck in neutral for five and a half periods. Babstock teamed with sophomore Nicole Connery and freshman Emma Woods to fuel a third-period comeback and earn the Bobcats a nonconference win.
“For how early in the season it is, they’ve really come together and solidified even without Kosta,” Laden said. “She’s a great playmaker; we could really use her out there. But just knowing that we have people to come in and fill in for her, and we can still find success, it’s a really good feeling.”
After opening the season with a tie at St. Cloud, a win in the second game of the series was huge for Quinnipiac should its postseason fate come down to a comparison with a WCHA team.
“We understand every game from a national standpoint is as important as the last game of your season,” Seeley said. “Pulling out three out of four points here gives us a good position as far as common opponents, and obviously, a loss today would have eliminated any chance of going head-to-head with any team from the West.”
Admittedly, we may be getting too far ahead of ourselves to consider NCAA selection criteria when the season has just gotten underway.
“We’re learning as a group of girls that we can’t look too far ahead,” Laden said.
From past experience, I’ve seen that March and such PairWise Rankings considerations are not as far away as it may seem in October. Even if the PairWise numbers do not shake out in the Bobcats’ favor, with the ECAC’s automatic bid, a team like Quinnipiac can also play its way into the NCAAs by getting hot in the league tournament like St. Lawrence did a couple of years ago.
“If it happened — it’s an Olympic year, there are some star-quality players not playing this year in the NCAA that will be back next year; that will level the playing field a little bit,” Seeley said. “But there’s still some really strong teams, and I have a hard time saying, ‘Yeah, we’ll be one of the top four.’ With that said, that’s why we play the games; anything can happen.”
Even if nothing happens on that front, March can still be a positive time for the program.
“One great thing about Quinnipiac is I think it’s a place that can do really well in the Frozen Four, whether we’re in it or not,” Seeley said. “I don’t think there’s many places like that. The buzz is about bringing in four great teams and making sure they have the best experience possible.”
After its first Frozen Four appearance, Massachusetts-Lowell is the favorite in Hockey East and a consensus preseason No. 1.
Change, you’ve been a comin’ for quite some time. And for Hockey East, you’re finally here.
The biggest change Hockey East has seen, quite possibly in league history, occurs this season with the addition of Notre Dame. A dominant league that has won four of the last six national titles could get even more powerful with the addition of Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish are considered by most to be an emerging national power because of two Frozen Four appearances in recent years, including a loss to Boston College in the national title game in 2008.
And while the addition of one team may not seem like a major change (say, as opposed to the Big Ten and NCHC, two leagues starting from scratch this year), the implications of Notre Dame’s additions will be far-stretching.
Begin with the league schedule. With a 10-team league, Hockey East members played three league contests against each of their nine other members for a 27-game slate. With each NCAA hockey team allowed a 34-game schedule, that required just seven nonleague contests for each coach to schedule.
This season, each of the 11 members will play two games against each of the other 10 teams for 20 league games. Doing the math, each coach needs to schedule 14 nonleague games to reach the maximum of 34 contests.
For some schools, that’s a piece of cake. Boston College and Boston University relish in the extra nonleague contests. When you consider that two of the previous seven nonleague games were allotted to the Beanpot and each team generally played two nonleague games in holiday tournaments, the opportunities to schedule national powers in nonleague play have been few and far between.
While it may be easy for the BCs and BUs to find non-league opponents, it hasn’t been as easy for schools like Maine, Merrimack and Massachusetts. Those three will play Hockey East opponents in nonconference games this season.
According to BC coach Jerry York, the ability to schedule additional nonleague games has to be looked at as an opportunity, not a problem. It also, according to York, has to be used as a way to grow every program.
“It’s the best thing that’s happened to our league in a long time,” York said. “We’ve got to raise up all these Division III schools that play hockey to say, ‘Here’s where we want to be. We want to aspire to be like the Wisconsins, the Minnesotas.’ That type of fan base and that type of emphasis on hockey.
“We’ve done that here at BC. And look at all of a sudden Lowell is the No. 1 team in the country. Providence is having a terrific resurgence. I think the more we need to assimilate the bigger schools — the BCs, the BUs — and not worry about bringing everyone down to [a lower level]. If you can’t host a Big Ten school at your university, work to make your university more conducive to doing that.”
While there may be issues for schools out of conference, the concentrated, 20-game schedule within Hockey East also will make every league game magnified. Take last year’s regular season champion, Massachusetts-Lowell. A season ago, Lowell began the Hockey East season 2-6-1 yet rallied to win the league title in a 27-game league schedule. This season, a slow start could be a death sentence.
“We’ve reduced Hockey East to 20 league contests and in 20 league contests you better not blink too much,” Lowell coach Norm Bazin said. “You might find yourself in a position you don’t want to be in by the end of the season.”
Another change in Hockey East this season impacts the playoffs. For the first time in nearly two decades, every team will make the postseason. The top five teams will earn a first-round bye.
The remaining six teams, though, will not face one another in best-of-three series as many other leagues do in a four-round playoff. Rather, Hockey East’s first-round will be considered a play-in game, a single-elimination, winner-take-all game that will determine the field for the Hockey East quarterfinals.
On the ice, preseason polls already paint a different picture for Hockey East. Lowell is coming off its first regular season and playoff titles. The River Hawks were tied with Boston College as the preseason No. 1 in the Hockey East coaches’ poll and will begin the season a consensus No. 1 in the national polls, a spot the River Hawks have never held.
Three new coaches also will man benches in Hockey East with Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson joining first-year head coaches David Quinn at BU and Red Gendron at Maine.
This certainly is a brand new day for Hockey East and should be as unpredictable as ever.
Here’s a quick, alphabetical look at Hockey East’s 11 teams (predictions are below). Click on a team’s name to see its full preview.
Expectations likely will be way too high for the Black Bears despite the maturation of last year’s impressive rookie class; home ice appears out of reach. Read more
The Huskies missed the playoffs three of the last four years and sadly, would be favorites to make it four-of-five if not for the new playoff format. Read more
The Catamounts could close the gap that exists between them and the top seven teams, but they still look like a bottom-half team. Read more
Jim Connelly’s predictions
1. Massachusetts-Lowell
2. Boston College
3. Providence
4. Notre Dame
5. New Hampshire
6. Vermont
7. Boston University
8. Merrimack
9. Massachusetts
10. Maine
11. Northeastern
Dave Hendrickson’s predictions
1. Massachusetts-Lowell
2. Boston College
3. Notre Dame
4. Providence
5. New Hampshire
6. Boston University
7. Merrimack
8. Maine
9. Vermont
10. Massachusetts
11. Northeastern
Connor Brickley played in only 24 games last season because of injury, but he’s being counted on by Vermont (photo: Melissa Wade).
If you’re looking for a dark-horse team in Hockey East, look no further than the Vermont Catamounts.
Coming off three straight down years, most are underestimating Vermont, and with good reason. Since making back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2009 (a Frozen Four year) and 2010, Vermont has failed to finish higher than seventh place in Hockey East. (The Catamounts finished eighth in 2010 but still made the NCAA tournament.)
But this year’s Vermont team represents something important to coach Kevin Sneddon. Having to clean house in 2011 and 2012, eliminating players that he felt weren’t productive to the environment, Sneddon said he finally has the team he wants taking the ice.
“We took a big step last year maybe not in the standings or wins-wise, but culturally, competitiveness and knowing what to do to be successful,” Sneddon said. “Our returning players, we can look for these guys to really help us out.”
Two of the key returning players are senior forward Connor Brickley and fifth-year senior forward Chris McCarthy. Both players have been hampered by injuries (McCarthy lost most of the 2011-12 season and was granted a medical redshirt) but enter the season healthy and will be counted on to contribute. Add to that a senior class that also includes Matt White, H.T. Lenz and Nick Bruneteau, and Vermont may have the deepest group of seniors in the league.
“We have a really good senior class both talent-wise and leadership-wise,” Sneddon said. “We haven’t had that combination for a while. We’ve had good guys, but now we have some real talent so that when push comes to shove and you’re down a goal or you’re up a goal late game, you need your seniors to rise to the occasion.”
One area that was a problem in recent years for the Catamounts but solidified last season was goal. In a freshman class that included standouts like Connor Hellebuyck and Jon Gillies, Vermont’s Brody Hoffman may have been a bit overlooked. But knowing that he would make the routine save all the time and a five-bell stop every now and again gave last year’s team confidence that will carry over to this season.
The rookie class also will bring a bit of a change to the Vermont blue line. Where in past years the Catamounts have touted big men on the point, Sneddon recruited two defenseman in Chris Muscoby and Rob Hamilton that both are under 6 feet.
“We just wanted skill,” Sneddon said. “We wanted guys who can make plays and help on the power play. They’re freshmen so I don’t know how quickly that will happen. But, big picture, we just wanted some more talent out there that could go along with the guys who can play physical for us.”
Predicted to finish ninth in the preseason coaches’ poll, Vermont could finish higher and possibly even compete for a home-ice spot. This is a program that isn’t far removed from a Frozen Four with the senior leadership and talent it could take to return to prominence.
About the Catamounts
2012-13 overall record: 11-19-6
2012-13 Hockey East record: 8-13-6 (tie-seventh)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): Ninth
Key losses: D Anders Franzon
Players to watch: F Chris McCarthy, F Kyle Reynolds, F Connor Brickley, F H.T. Lenz, D Michael Paliotta, G Brody Hoffman
Impact rookie: While most expect Brody Hoffman to be the main man in net for the Cats, don’t be surprised to see either Mike Santaguida or Pat Feeley, both freshmen, to see some time and maybe have an impact on this team.
Why the Catamounts will finish higher than predicted: Despite a few seasons of struggle, Vermont may be the league’s biggest dark horse given the number of upperclassmen on the roster. The key is whether this team can stay healthy, something that has plagued it in recent seasons.
Why the Catamounts will finish lower than predicted: Goal scoring has been a major issue in recent seasons. If the Catamounts can’t find that scoring chemistry across at least three lines, they could struggle once again.
Providence coach Nate Leaman says the Friars’ success this season will depend on how well young players develop (photo: Melissa Wade).
While most people will remember the 2012-13 Hockey East season for the emergence of Massachusetts-Lowell, it may be necessary to be reminded that with a couple of different puck bounces, the Providence Friars could have been the ones celebrating.
Providence, which finished tied for third (and after tiebreakers was the fourth seed in the playoffs), could have captured the league title had it defeated the River Hawks at home on the final night of the regular season.
Two weekends later, Providence lost a third-period lead against Lowell in the Hockey East semifinals to end their season, and the River Hawks went on to capture the Lamoriello Trophy.
That, simply, is how tight things were last year.
For Providence fans, reliving both of those memories may be painful, but they should also serve as a reminder of how high expectations should be for this year’s team. Possibly the most underrated club in the preseason coaches’ poll (picked fifth), the Friars return a significant piece of last year’s club, led by standout goaltender Jon Gillies.
Last season, Providence coach Nate Leaman equated Gillies to a 40-goal scorer, figuring that he saved the club a goal a night with a save that one wouldn’t expect him to make. This year, Gillies’ return (for what could be his final season at Providence if the NHL comes calling), combined with the maturity of a gritty lineup that gave many Hockey East teams fits, should produce even better results.
Still, Leaman guards against any sort of inflated expectations.
“We’re still very young,” Leaman said. “Twenty of our players are freshmen or sophomores this year. Our success is going to depend upon those young guys taking steps.”
For Leaman, this season is about taking the next step. The Friars haven’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2001 and returned to TD Garden last year for the second straight season under Leaman after having missed the playoffs for three straight seasons under coach Tim Army.
“Are we satisfied with that or can we grow up?” Leaman said when asked how Providence can build upon the two Garden visits. “We had a winning season last year, we were ranked nationally and we were under consideration for the national tournament. A lot of people pat you on the back and think we had success, but that’s a minor step.”
If the Friars are to turn that into a major step this season, they’ll have to get more offensive production. Their 2.76 goals per game were tied for 28th nationally. You can look to upperclassmen like Ross Mauermann and Derek Army along with sophomores Nick Saracino and Mark Jankowski, both looking to improve on solid rookie campaigns, to provide some offensive punch.
On the blue line, Providence will have to replace Myles Harvey, who, despite just one goal last season, was a major presence. John Gilmour had moments of brilliance in his rookie campaign.
This is a young team but youth has proven powerful for many in the past. There’s that potential for the Friars.
About the Friars
2012-13 overall record: 17-14-7
2012-13 conference record: 13-8-6 (tie-third)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): Fifth
Key losses: F Tim Schaller, D Myles Harvey, D Alex Velischek
Players to watch: F Ross Mauermann, F Derek Army, F Mark Jankowski, D John Gilmour, D Steven Shamanski, G Jon Gillies
Impact rookie: With few major departures, the Friars recruiting class is a small one. But one player who could have some impact is rookie forward Nick Rufo, who was among the players listed on the futures list by NHL Central Scouting.
Why the Friars will finish higher than predicted: When you have a goaltender as solid as Jon Gillies, anything is possible. He was the heart and soul of this team a season ago, and it lost very little from its nucleus. Add in coach Nate Leaman and his track record for turning around programs and you have to believe the Friars will battle for the regular season title.
Why the Friars will finish lower than predicted: The one X-factor for the Friars is youth. This is still a team that is heavy in underclassmen. While you expect improvement from the sophomore class, there is still a lack of experience in championship situations.
T.J. Tynan and Notre Dame are in unfamiliar territory this season after moving to Hockey East (photo: Rachel Lewis).
Notre Dame enters Hockey East this season with the high expectations of a perennial power tempered by the challenges of a new league, one that many contend is the toughest in the country.
“It was never easy in the CCHA,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson says, “but it’s going to be even more challenging in that I think there are more high-end teams, teams that are basically going to compete to be in the Frozen Four. You’re going to have to beat teams of that quality on a more regular basis.”
In addition to the quality of those teams, there’s the overall unfamiliarity.
“The biggest challenge we have is that there are 10 teams we have to prepare for that are going to be new,” Jackson says. “New venues, new styles of play. The officiating will be a little different. [Our opponents] only have to prepare for us.”
That said, this is a strong team that projects to be in the thick of the Hockey East race. The Fighting Irish won the CCHA tournament last year and over the past seven seasons have taken three CCHA postseason titles and two regular season crowns. They’ve appeared in five NCAA tournaments and two Frozen Fours, falling to eventual champions Boston College in 2008 and Minnesota-Duluth in 2011.
The strength begins up front. Of the nine forwards who recorded double-digit points last year, all but top-scoring Anders Lee return.
“I think that there’s potential for us to become a good offensive team,” Jackson says. “Anders will be tough to replace, but we do have good guys coming in behind him. Jeff Costello and Bryan Rust both had great years. T.J. Tynan has been a consistent performer for us over the last several years.
“Then we’ve got some young guys that are going to come into play. Mario Lucia is a sophomore [along with] Steven Fogarty and Tom DiPauli. We’ve got a freshman, Vince Hinostroza, that’s going to impact us up front.”
In goal, senior Steven Summerhays returns with a firm grip on the No. 1 position, with freshman Chad Katunar the heir apparent.
“Steven Summerhays really took a big step last year, his first full year as our No. 1 guy,” Jackson says. “He’ll be hard to knock off that pedestal. But I have real high expectations for Chad Katunar. He’s a big 6-5 kid, very athletic, but it’s going to take him a little time. Summerhays will be our guy to start the year and I assume that he’s going to have a career year for us.”
In front of Summerhays will be a veteran group of blueliners that returns all but Sam Calabrese. Junior Robbie Russo generates the most offense from the group, while seniors Stephen Johns, Shayne Taker and Kevin Lind provide solid defensive play.
“We’re a senior-laden team with a sound defense,” Jackson says. “We’re not dynamic back there necessarily, but we’re pretty good defensively and simple offensively.
“I think that bodes well for our forwards. Just get the puck up to the forwards and let them carry the load.”
About the Fighting Irish
2012-13 overall record: 25-13-3
2012-13 CCHA record: 17-8-3 (second)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): Third
Key losses: F Anders Lee, D Sam Calabrese
Players to watch: F Bryan Rust, F Jeff Costello, F T.J. Tynan, D Robbie Russo, G Steven Summerhays
Impact rookies: F Vince Hinostroza, G Chad Katunar
Why the Irish will finish higher than predicted: The Irish return most of the talent that won the CCHA last year. On paper, they’re a top-10 team.
Why the Irish will finish lower than predicted: It’s a new league with lots of adjustments in store. With so many other top teams separated by a paper-thin margin, third place can easily become seventh.
Northeastern’s Kevin Roy led rookies nationally with 1.17 points per game last season (photo: Melissa Wade).
There is only one direction for Northeastern to go and that is up.
A season after a disastrous finish in which the Huskies won just once in their final nine games while trying to make the playoffs, Northeastern will look to build upon the positives of a season ago.
The good news is that all 11 teams in Hockey East will make the playoffs, thus ending NU’s two-year postseason drought. But if this team is to qualify as anything but the 11th seed, there will have to be significant improvement.
The No. 1 area that needs a boost is defense. Northeastern allowed a league-worst 97 goals in Hockey East play and a 3.47 goals against average overall ranked 55th of 59 teams nationally.
“It starts with team defense,” said coach Jim Madigan, entering his third season. “It’s not just goaltending. It starts from the goaltender out. It’s goalie, defenseman and forwards. It all starts there from our perspective.”
Captain Josh Manson will leading the charge defensively. He and Dax Lauwers will be the top two returning defenseman and are critical to Northeastern’s improvement in limiting quality chances.
Team defense is certainly a concern but the biggest red flag to this Northeastern defense (and team) is in goal. According to Madigan, all three goaltenders returning from last year — Clay Witt, Bryan Mountain and Derick Roy — are all competing for the top spot.
“From the outside, I think people see a little uncertainty [in net],” Madigan said. “From my end, I see three athletes who are competing for the No. 1 job. With competition brings out the best in everybody.”
While defense is a major concern for the Huskies, the offense brings with it some confidence. The return of Kevin Roy, who last year was one of the top rookie goal scorers in the nation, was a major positive for Northeastern.
“If you look at Kevin last year, he was the leading freshman point-getter in college hockey until he got hurt [missing the final seven games with injury],” Madigan said. “For him, he needs consistency. He knows he came dominate. Now it’s just going out and dominating each and every game.”
If anything, Madigan will look to bottle up some moments of success from last season, including a solid start to the season and an upset win over Boston University in the Beanpot semifinals. Memories of that success are what Madigan hopes can translate into additional and more consistent success this season.
“We’ve got the personnel to win in this league,” Madigan said. “We have to play better team defense and get a little lucky without losing key bodies on the injury side.”
About the Huskies
2012-13 overall record: 9-21-4
2012-13 Hockey East record: 5-18-4 (10th)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): 11th
Key losses: F Vinny Saponari, F Ludwig Karlsson, F Garrett Vermeersch, G Chris Rawlings
Players to watch: F Kevin Roy, F Braden Pimm, F Cody Ferriero, D Colton Saucerman
Impact rookie: Freshman forward John Stevens could be a candidate for the Hockey East all-rookie team. Last year playing in the USHL for Dubuque, he helped lead his team to the Clark Cup and was the team’s rookie of the year.
Why the Huskies will finish higher than predicted: A season ago, there were flashes of brilliance for the Huskies. With talented forward Kevin Roy returning, they could surprise some teams and finish near the middle of the pack.
Why the Huskies will match their predicted finish: The reality is Northeastern doesn’t have the depth of many of the other teams in the league. With little experience in goal, it could be a long year if one of the team’s goaltenders doesn’t emerge as a standout.
Casey DeSmith was the goaltender of record in all but three of New Hampshire’s games last season (photo: Melissa Wade).
New Hampshire was in the mix last year for the regular season title and, despite falling to Providence in the Hockey East playoffs, secured the second seed in the NCAA’s Northeast Regional. The Wildcats got to within one game of the Frozen Four but lost to Massachusetts-Lowell.
Although they lost some significant players, this team once again looks to be a league and national contender. This program has been the model of consistency, earning NCAA tournament berths 14 of the last 16 seasons.
The strength starts between the pipes, where Casey DeSmith recorded all but three decisions last year, going 19-10-7 with a 2.23 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
“We’re very, very comfortable with our goaltending,” Wildcats coach Dick Umile says. “Casey looks great. He’s in great shape and he’s competing hard. I expect him to [play] with an awful lot of confidence and pick up hopefully where he left off the beginning of last season.”
Despite losing two key defensemen, the Wildcats return All-American Trevor van Riemsdyk, a difference-maker with his offensive capabilities, along with seniors Eric Knodel and Justin Agosta, both of whom also bring a strong offensive component to the blue line.
“We lost Connor Hardowa and Brett Kostolansky, two senior defensemen, but Brett Pesce was a freshman who played very, very well for us last year,” Umile says. “And Trevor is a very, very skilled player who had a fabulous season. I believe he’ll be an All-American again.”
Last year’s squad played strong in its own end and often carried the territorial play but failed to finish its offensive chances with the consistency of past UNH teams. Of the three forwards who scored 15 goals, only Grayson Downing returns. However, top point-producer Kevin Goumas is also back along with other Wildcats players looking to move into more prominent roles.
“We have to find out who’s going to do the scoring for us,” Umile says. “John Henrion and Austin Block had pretty good seasons as senior forwards last year, but Kevin Goumas is an exciting, dynamite, fierce competitor. I think he’s going to step it up in goal production along with Grayson Downing.
“We’ve got a good sophomore class that we feel is going to do some good things for us, [especially] Danny Correale and Maxim Gaudreault. That’s going to be an important class for us as they step in and play some key roles for our team.
“We’ve got freshman Tyler Kelleher coming from the national program. He’s a smart hockey player who’s going to come in and play on our top lines and add some offense to our program.
“But we’ve got a good nucleus coming back, a mature group that’s had experience. I think we’re going to get scoring from multiple players.”
About the Wildcats
2012-13 overall record: 20-12-7
2012-13 Hockey East record: 13-8-6 (tie-third)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): Fifth
Key losses: F John Henrion, F Austin Block, F Dalton Speelman, D Connor Hardowa, D Brett Kostolansky
Players to watch: F Kevin Goumas, F Grayson Downing, F Casey Thrush, F Nick Sorkin, D Trevor van Riemsdyk, D Eric Knodel, G Casey DeSmith
Impact rookies: F Tyler Kelleher
Why the Wildcats will finish higher than predicted: They have strong goaltending and a difference-maker in Trevor van Riemsdyk on the blue line. If the Wildcats can finish their offensive chances, another regular season title should surprise no one.
Why the Wildcats will finish lower than predicted: The Wildcats could get off to a slow start while trying to fill the holes up front and on the blue line.
Jordan Heywood leads Merrimack’s defense and was second in scoring last season (photo: Gil Talbot/Merrimack Athletics).
For the last few years, the doubters have looked at Merrimack’s losses to graduation and said, “OK, so this is the year they drop back down to the cellar.”
Not this time.
The Warriors lost only defenseman Kyle Bigos and role-playing forward John Heffernan from last season’s squad, one that remained in contention until the last couple weeks of the season and finished only five points out of first place.
With a veteran squad, Merrimack could be in the title hunt all year long.
“It makes for a lot less mentoring and a little more coaching,” Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy says. “We’ve got a lot of familiarity with how we want to play and the strengths and weaknesses of our players. There really was much more fine-tuning that went on this offseason than in years past.
“With that said, last year wasn’t good enough, so we need to get five points better. But we have both goaltenders back, our defensive corps should remain strong, and now hopefully [everyone] is a little bit stronger, a little bit faster and maybe a little more confident. With that, we can get more consistent offensively and on the power play.”
Sam Marotta and Rasmus Tirronen return between the pipes. Dennehy played the hot hand, but for the most part, Marotta took the lead.
“Both guys played really well in certain stretches,” Dennehy says. “It got to the point where Sam kind of took the reins and ran with it, but we also were confident enough to throw Raz in there late in the season.
“Both guys came back in good shape, they’re both confident and they both know where they fit.”
The defense, led by Jordan Heywood, who finished second on the team in scoring, isn’t bashful about jumping into the play.
“We’ve had at least three defensemen in the top scoring by position each of the last four years,” Dennehy says. “We want our defensemen getting up in the play. We think [when we’re] five-on-five, if they’re not looking to jump into the offense then there’s not going to be much offense.”
Up front, Mike Collins doesn’t get as much attention as other top scorers in the league but is an underrated threat. Behind him are a host of forwards with single-digit goals and double-digit points.
“Michael has been great for us from day one, but I think you’re going to see [five or six] guys take their game to another level,” Dennehy says.
“We had a lot of freshmen in the lineup last year that were called upon to play more than maybe they were capable of, but that experience should pay off. It’s still going to be scoring by committee, but I think there will be more opportunities.”
About the Warriors
2012-13 overall record: 15-17-6
2012-13 Hockey East record: 13-11-3 (sixth)
2013-14 predicted finish: Seventh
Key losses: F John Heffernan, D Kyle Bigos
Players to watch: F Mike Collins, F Shawn Bates, F Connor Toomey, D Justin Heywood, D Brendan Ellis, D Dan Kolomatis, G Sam Marotta
Impact rookies: F Hampus Gustafsson, F Chris LeBlanc, D Craig Wyszomirski, D Jonathan Lashyn
Why the Warriors will finish higher than predicted: The Warriors finished only five points out of first place and lost less talent than any other team.
Why the Warriors will finish lower than predicted: Given the margin between them and the lower four teams in the league last year — a larger gap than with first place — they’d really disappoint if they finish lower than seventh. But the margin between winning and losing remains tiny, so any lack of focus could still be fatal.
Massachusetts-Lowell’s Joseph Pendenza is part of a strong returning corps of forwards (photo: Melissa Wade).
If the 2011-12 season for the Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks — the first for coach Norm Bazin — was a banner year as many considered, there needs to be a new term to describe the 2012-13 campaign.
After making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996 two seasons ago, last season was a dream for many Lowell fans. The River Hawks captured both the regular season and postseason Hockey East titles for the first time in program history and advanced to the Frozen Four, also a first for Lowell.
But if there is any sign that this could be considered the standard that future teams will be judged against, one only has to think back to Lowell’s 3-2 overtime loss to Yale in the Frozen Four. For it was that loss that many considered a disappointment, given how hot the River Hawks were entering the four-team affair in Pittsburgh.
Many believed it was Lowell’s tournament to lose once four clubs that had never captured a national title advanced past the regionals.
Alas, a title wasn’t in the cards last April and, though the team has long put that run in the rearview mirror, it’s no surprise that Lowell was the consensus preseason No. 1 team nationally.
Those expectations, like most of what has happened on the revitalized Lowell campus over the last two years, are new for Lowell. The team lost four players from last year’s team, two of whom (captain and forward Riley Wetmore and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, who signed early with Buffalo) would be considered blue chips and thus holes that must be filled.
“I don’t know we can replace those guys,” Bazin said of Wetmore and Ruhwedel. “Those are terrific players with maturity and experience they gained along the way. We just have to let some people mature.
“It’s going to be a different chemistry and group that we’ll let evolve.”
The core nucleus of last year’s team returns. Offensively, it once again is likely that you won’t see any River Hawks players at the top of the nation in scoring but rather four balanced lines.
Players like Joseph Pendenza, Scott Wilson and Derek Arnold enter the season as well-known names, but, as happened so often a year ago, anyone on this team could easily step up on any given night.
Defensively, there will be a need to replace Ruhwedel’s presence, particularly on the power play. Look for Joe Houk and Christian Folin, both of whom proved to have laser shots, to be the critical offense components to the blue line.
And, of course, in goal there once again will be two netminders that have led different teams to the NCAA tournament. While Doug Carr was the standout two seasons ago, Connor Hellebuyck posted some of the best goaltending numbers of all time as a rookie a year ago and will be on the preseason list for major awards.
The question, then, is whether the River Hawks can succeed once again, this year as the heavy favorite rather than the sometimes-overlooked underdog.
According to Bazin, whether chasing or being chased doesn’t matter too much.
“Really [being a favorite] doesn’t change anything for us,” Bazin said. “We can only control what we can control and those are predictions. I don’t put a lot of stock into them nor do I lose a lot of mental energy over them.
“The kids are reminded daily that it is a process for us. We just have to go through the process with a new group and that’s what we’re focusing on now.”
Players to watch: F Scott Wilson, F Joseph Pendenza, F Derek Arnold, D Joe Houk, D Christian Folin, G Connor Hellebuyck
Impact rookie: Forward Even Campbell arrives in Lowell with highly touted offensive skills and a 6-foot-4 frame that made him attractive at this summer’s NHL draft, where Edmonton selected him in the fifth round.
Why the River Hawks will finish higher than predicted: On paper, Lowell should repeat as Hockey East champions given that the club returns most of its scoring as well as a goaltender who posted a remarkable statistical season. If the River Hawks can score goals on a regular basis, this could be one dominant team.
Why the River Hawks will finish lower than predicted: As a team that hasn’t had a lot of experience with success, it’s so easy to get caught up in expectations. We saw it in last year’s Frozen Four, where the River Hawks were a heavy favorite against Yale only to be stifled by the Bulldogs. If more teams can figure out how to stop the River Hawks’ transition game, it could be difficult to live up to expectations.
Branden Gracel had 34 points in 34 games for Massachusetts last season (photo: Melissa Wade).
Being a first-year coach of any program can be difficult. Being the same first-year coach hired late in an offseason can simply be daunting.
That is exactly what Massachusetts coach John Micheletto faced last season.
That didn’t deter the Minutemen from doing some good things on the ice. UMass earned impressive victories over NCAA tournament teams Boston College and New Hampshire and came away victorious from the Ledyard National Bank Classic at Dartmouth over the holidays.
There also were significant areas of concern for the Minutemen, all of which need to be addressed if UMass is to rise in the standings and surpass the coaches’ poll prediction of a 10th-place finish this season.
Offense is the biggest area that needs improvement. The Minutemen were a better-than-average defensive team and, at times, created problems for opponents by forcing turnovers. Converting those turnovers into goals, though, was a struggle.
“We can’t go through the first 20 minutes [of a game] and have the better of the opportunities and the shots and not have the scoreboard reflect that,” Micheletto said. “Eventually, that catches up to you in this league. You can’t let good teams hang around and not take advantage of your opportunities.”
The Minutemen return their top three forward scorers from a year ago in seniors Branden Gracel, Conor Sheary and Michael Pereira. On top of that, Micheletto and his staff brought in four freshman forwards to add to the offense in Steven Iacobellis, Ray Pigozzi, Frank Vatrano and Brandon Wahlin. (Vatrano, however has been ruled ineligible for the regular season by the NCAA.)
Defensively, the Minutemen hope to continue on last season’s improved play but may have a hole in net with the dismissal of goaltender Kevin Boyle. Boyle, who was in net for eight of the 12 UMass wins last season, was let go by Micheletto and transferred to Massachusetts-Lowell, where he will sit out this season.
That leaves Steve Mastalerz as the only goaltender with significant experience and could put pressure on incoming freshman Alex Wakaluk. When asked if Wakaluk would compete for time from the start, Micheletto said, “absolutely.”
If there is a single player that Micheletto hopes can improve, it is blueliner Oleg Yevenko. The Belarusian arrived in training camp this year 15 pounds lighter than last season.
“[Yevenko] made an unbelievable commitment to his body and his conditioning,” Micheletto said. “He looks really good and has gained a lot of confidence having a year of learning our style of play under his belt.”
The prospects for UMass are high and Micheletto hopes this is a year in which his team can take a step forward. But this, indeed, is a team that needs significant improvement and that ability to improve is what likely will dictate success for UMass this season.
About the Minutemen
2012-13 overall record: 12-19-3
2012-13 Hockey East record: 9-16-2 (ninth)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): 10th
Key losses: F Rocco Carzo, D Conor Allen, G Kevin Boyle
Players to watch: F Michael Pereira, F Branden Gracel, F Connor Sheary, D Joel Hanley, G Steve Mastalerz
Impact rookie: With goaltender Kevin Boyle removed from the program, look for rookie Alex Wakaluk, last year’s MVP for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, to split time with Steve Mastalerz.
Why the Minutemen will finish higher than predicted: Coach John Micheletto, now in his second season, has his first recruiting class in place and will be much more settled in than a season ago when he was a late hire to replace longtime head coach Don ‘Toot’ Cahoon. Simply put, this team should be much more prepared this season than last.
Why the Minutemen will finish lower than predicted: When you look where UMass ranked in most statistical categories a season ago, you’ll find the Minutemen in the middle of the pack nationally in almost every one. If that mediocrity doesn’t improve, neither will the Minutemen.
Martin Ouellette posted a .917 save percentage for Maine last season (photo: Melissa Wade).
It takes mere seconds with new Maine coach Red Gendron to see that he’s fully aware of the cauldron of high expectations that comes along with his job.
Maine hockey isn’t an afterthought; it may not even do it justice to call it an obsession. Among the hardcore followers, Maine is a religion. The Black Bears are expected to compete not just within Hockey East but nationally. And not just compete but win.
“There’s absolutely no question,” Gendron says. “Shawn Walsh set the bar high and Tim Whitehead did a terrific job for a long, long period of time. We have to be about winning championships. There are no illusions.
“I’m beloved perhaps right now in Maine because we haven’t lost a game. I might be able to run for governor today, lose a game, and be impeached the following day.”
At least for now, Gendron sees that as a good thing.
“You embrace it,” he says. “Here’s the thing about Maine: The University of Maine hockey program belongs to the citizens of the state of Maine. They are that passionate about it.
“We have a proud tradition that we have to live up to. That’s the mission, end of story.”
A key to whether Gendron gets off on the right foot with those fans will be whether last year’s freshman class continues to progress. Four of the five top scorers last season were freshmen, led by Devin Shore and defenseman Ben Hutton.
“They need to take another step forward,” Gendron says. “That’s the bottom line. You talk about having a nice freshman year, but the numbers weren’t off the charts. So they have to get better for us to be successful.”
Gendron makes a good point. While Shore led the team in scoring with 26 points, neither he nor any of the returning players achieved double-digit goals. The prominence of the freshmen may have been every bit as much a testament to the overall offensive ineptitude of that team as the freshman class’s talent.
What isn’t in question is the experience in the net. Seniors Martin Ouellette and Dan Sullivan both have served as No. 1 goalies at Maine, with Ouellette seizing the job that had been Sullivan’s the year before.
“We have two senior goalies; it’s not just Marty,” Gendron says. “Both of them have experience in Hockey East and have been successful in Hockey East. So, on paper, our goaltending is pretty good. But you’ve got to stop the puck on Friday and Saturday night. End of story.”
As for those two, the defense, and the forwards, Gendron considers the slate clean. He wasn’t around to see what they did, or didn’t, accomplish last year.
“I’m still getting a feel for what they can do,” he says. “Does it matter what happened last year? No, it doesn’t.
“What matters is what are you doing now? That’s what matters and that’s what we’re all about, moving forward.
“I was at Yale last year and we won a national championship. If we start the season 0-10, people aren’t going to be too happy with me, are they? End of story.
“Same thing for the players. What they did last year is last year.”
About the Black Bears
2012-13 overall record: 11-19-8
2012-13 Hockey East record: 7-12-8 (seventh)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): Eighth
Key losses: F Joey Diamond, F Kyle Beattie, D Mike Cornell, D Mark Nemec
Players to watch: F Devin Shore, F Ryan Lomberg, F Steven Swavely, D Ben Hutton, G Martin Ouellette
Impact rookies: F Brady Campbell, F Brian Morgan
Why the Black Bears will finish higher than predicted: Last year’s freshmen could take a big step forward, combined with the spark from new coach Red Gendron.
Why the Black Bears will finish lower than predicted: On paper, the gap between Maine and the teams above it in the standings has gotten larger through attrition, not smaller.
Goaltender Sean Maguire and forward Danny O’Regan liekly will be key elements for Boston University this season (photo: Melissa Wade).
For the first time in 40 years, someone other than Jack Parker will be leading Boston University hockey. That someone is David Quinn, a former associate coach under Parker and the man chosen to fill Parker’s large shoes.
So how do you replace a legend?
“You don’t think about it,” Quinn says with a smile. “These jobs are tough enough. You can’t consume yourself with whom you’re replacing and what’s happened before you got there.
“I’m in a unique situation in that usually when there’s a coaching change, you’re picking up a program that’s broken and needs a rebuilding process. We’re not in that situation.”
Let’s not forget that BU played Massachusetts-Lowell to a scoreless tie for 51 minutes in the Hockey East championship game before falling to the River Hawks 1-0. A slump in January and February put the Terriers in the position of needing to win that game to get into the NCAA tournament.
“We’re going to hope to avoid that little stretch and we’re going to hope to score one more goal in the Hockey East championship game and give us a chance to win it,” Quinn says.
Although there’s been a good amount of turnover on the Terriers roster, goaltenders Sean Maguire and Matt O’Connor will provide stability in net after strong freshman seasons.
“To watch those two freshman goalies adapt so quickly to college hockey [last year] was very impressive,” Quinn says. “They’re good-sized kids; they’re athletic. It’s a great situation to step into as a first-year coach.”
In front of them is an offensively talented group of defensemen led by Matt Grzelcyk, Garrett Noonan and Ahti Oksanen, all of whom totaled at least 17 points.
“In this day and age of hockey, you need all five guys contributing offensively — you can’t rely on just your forwards,” Quinn says. “It’s going to be a good group to have back there to generate our offense and start our transition.”
Up front, three of last year’s top four scorers return: Danny O’Regan, Evan Rodrigues, and Cason Hohmann. After those 30-plus point producers, however, there’s a precipitous drop to Max Lane (7 points) and Sam Kurker (5). Those two will need to take huge leaps forward while several of the incoming six freshmen contribute right away.
“Hohmann, Kurker and Lane made great jumps the second half of the season,” Quinn says.
Looking at all the holes on the blue line and up front, he adds, “We’ve got 10 freshmen so the bottom line is that our freshmen are going to have to contribute if we’re going to have depth and have success.
“But the thing that I’m excited about is our senior leadership. We have five seniors that have done a phenomenal job my first six months here in setting the tone and taking ownership of the team. It’s been fun to watch.”
About the Terriers
2012-13 overall record: 21-16-2
2012-13 Hockey East record: 15-10-2 (tie-third)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): Sixth
Key losses: F Matt Nieto, F Wade Megan, F Sahir Gill, D Sean Escobedo, D Ryan Ruikka
Players to watch: F Danny O’Regan, F Evan Rodrigues, F Cason Hohmann, D Matt Grzelcyk, D Garrett Noonan, D Ahti Oksanen, G Sean Maguire, G Matt O’Connor
Impact rookies: F Robbie Baillargeon, F Nick Roberto, F Brendan Collier
Why the Terriers will finish higher than predicted: The Terriers came within a goal of winning the Hockey East tournament last year. If the freshmen come through early, this can be a strong team.
Why the Terriers will finish lower than predicted: A lot rides on the freshmen, an almost certain recipe for a slow start. In particular, the depth up front could prove to be a big problem without significant rookie contributions.
Boston College’s Johnny Gaudreau is expected to be one of the nation’s top forwards in 2013-14 (photo: Melissa Wade).
One of the most difficult things to do as a college hockey program is to have consistent success year in and year out. That success is defined differently program-to-program and sometimes those definitions can progressively become more difficult to live up to.
Such may be the case for Boston College. The Eagles have captured four national titles since 2001, including three in a five-year span between 2008 and 2012. Over than same stretch, the Eagles dominated in Hockey East play, winning the regular season title twice and the postseason title four times.
So when you consider that the Eagles couldn’t win either Hockey East title and were knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the opening round, it’s easy to say that last season was a bit of a disappointment.
There are dozens of teams out there who would like to have a taste of BC’s disappointment. But for a team that defines itself by trophies, 2012-13 didn’t yield the desired results.
That’s the bad news. The good news for the Eagles is that they return some of the best players from last year’s team.
At the top of the list is forward Johnny Gaudreau, one of Hockey East’s biggest game-changing forwards. Gaudreau led the nation a year ago in points per game, potting 21 goals and 30 assists in a 35-game slate shortened by an appearance at the World Junior Championship.
Joining Gaudreau will be returning forwards Bill Arnold and Kevin Hayes, both of whom put up decent numbers a year ago. Hayes was sidelined with injuries for more than a quarter of BC’s games last season but still finished fifth among forwards on the team in scoring.
On the blue line, the Eagles will miss the services of Patch Alber (who missed a significant part of last year with a leg injury) and Patrick Wey. But Michael Matheson is one of the nation’s top sophomore defensemen after a freshman campaign in which he scored eight goals and 25 points.
And fellow sophomores Teddy Doherty, who showed flashes of offensive potential on the blue line, and Colin Sullivan, a solid stay-at-home defender, also return.
The biggest question for the Eagles, thus, may be in goal. With the graduation of Parker Milner, who led BC to four Beanpot titles, three Hockey East crowns and two national titles, there is a significant hole in net.
Brian Billett was given limited time over the past season and is unproven and will be joined by a highly touted recruit in Thatcher Demko.
“There’s a pretty good battle for goaltending between Brian Billett and Thatcher Demko,” BC coach Jerry York said. “That will be an interesting scenario to watch for me.
“Demko brings a lot of size, he’s 6-foot-4 and he’s played World Championships for the [U.S.] Under-18 team, so he’s got a lot of experience.”
If you’re looking for the biggest changes this year for the Eagles, it won’t be on the ice. After having the same coaching staff in place for the last nine seasons, half the staff this year will be new. With associate head coach Mike Cavanaugh leaving the Heights to become head coach at Connecticut and longtime goaltending coach Jim Logue retiring, there will be two new faces behind the BC bench.
Former New Hampshire standout goaltender Michael Ayers will replace Cavanaugh and take over the duties as goaltending coach as well as running the penalty kill and defensemen. Former Eagles and NHL veteran Marty McInnis will become the team’s volunteer assistant.
“Change is always hard to go through,” York said. “Marty, of course, brings a lot of NHL credentials to our program. And Mike Ayers has been with the national development team for the past couple of years and he’s going to bring some new ideas, some new thoughts on hockey to our staff. Both are welcome additions.”
So the question remains how good can BC be? Can the Eagles maintain an every-other-year national championship pattern as they have since 2008? If this club can stay healthy and get solid goaltending, you have to think that’s possible.
Key losses: F Steven Whitney, F Pat Mullane, D Patch Alber, D Patrick Wey, G Parker Milner
Players to watch: F Johnny Gaudreau, F Bill Arnold, D Michael Matheson, G Brian Billett
Impact rookie: With the departure of Parker Milner between the pipes for the Eagles, look to rookie Thatcher Demko to see some significant time in net in his first season.
Why the Eagles will finish higher than predicted: With Johnny Gaudreau leading the way, the BC offense should be strong. But it will be the defense that needs to click to make this team successful, particularly in goal where there are plenty of question marks.
Why the Eagles will finish lower than predicted: Simply put, BC has losses at every position from a year ago, none bigger than goaltending. It’s whether there are players who can step in and fill the holes in the Eagles lineup that could dictate success or failure for the Eagles.
The Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2013 includes former Dartmouth All-American and 1948 Olympian Joe Riley and Jim Prior, the voice of Boston University and the Beanpot.
According to the Burlington Free Press, Vermont junior forward Kyle Reynolds will miss the rest of the season after suffering a left knee injury in last Saturday’s exhibition game against Ottawa.
Reynolds was the Catamounts’ third-leading scorer a season ago with nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points.
“It’s a big loss, there’s no question,” Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon told the paper. “The hardest part is to see how it happened. To look at the clip and say, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me’ that that [Ottawa] player intentionally targeted his knee. He didn’t have the puck. It would be one thing if he had the puck so he was prepared for it, but he didn’t see it coming and it’s a hard pill to swallow.”
Midway through Saturday’s 7-0 win, Reynolds and linemate Chris McCarthy were injured on the same play. McCarthy returned later in the game, but did not play Sunday versus Acadia.
Sneddon questioned both plays, but no penalties were called on either hit. Canadian players are also not subject to discipline for exhibition games in the U.S., the story added.
“We’ve got the capability with some numbers and some talent that when one door closes, one door opens for somebody else,” added Sneddon. “That’s the way we as coaches have to pick up the pieces and move on, but there’s no question that’s a big loss for us.”
According to the Providence Journal, a new four-team tournament that may include a first-round matchup between Brown and Providence for the Mayor’s Cup could be coming to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence on Thanksgiving weekend of 2014 or 2015.
The other first-round game may be between a Big Ten team and a Hockey East team, according to Boston University radio play-by-play announcer Bernie Corbett, who has been working on the specifics of the tournament.
“Our hope at this point is to start in 2014,” Corbett told the Journal. “We’d like to have the Mayor’s Cup game as part of the tournament — Providence and Brown play in the first round every year and then to have a Hockey East-Big Ten scenario as the other game. That’s pretty much the format we’ve established at this point. That way, you’d be assured of having a Providence team in the championship game.”
The report noted that the Hockey East-Big Ten matchup could be part of the Big Ten/Hockey East Challenge, an event the two conferences are initiating this season.
Sally Butler (Princeton – 10) skates through the neutral zone. Butler scored two goals in the game to help the Tigers down Syracuse 4-2. (Shelley M. Szwast)
Princeton lost out in the playoff race last season as injuries had the Tigers by the tail.
“Last year, we played with 14, 15 skaters almost every game, which didn’t bode well for us on the Saturday afternoon games,” coach Jeff Kampersal said.
Despite the graduation of leading scorers Corey Stearns and Kelly Cooke, Kampersal looks to have the slack picked up by seniors such as Olivia Mucha, Sally Butler, and Denna Laing, who have been among those hit by the injury bug in recent campaigns.
“Those guys were our leading scorers their freshman year,” he said. “I think they have a lot of potential.”
He also expects to receive a boost from the other end of the roster.
“We have really good seniors and solid players throughout, but I think we have a really good freshman class coming in as well,” Kampersal said. “Seven new kids, and then we have Jaimie McDonell, who was a really good freshman player for us last year who didn’t play because she got injured. We’ll have eight new players, so it is pretty exciting.”
After a mediocre season defensively by his team’s standards, Kampersal expects that aspect to rebound as well.
“We have a great goalie in Kimberly Newell,” he said. “Last year, she was really young. She pretty much played all the minutes for us, and that took its toll on her. She pretty much took all the minutes in practice as well. Our other goalies were hurt, so we had to deal with pretty much overextending her. I think she had a really good summer. She’s trained really hard. She made a select group to play against the Canadian national team players this summer, so she had a lot of training, a lot of conditioning this summer playing against the best players in her country. I think she’s ready to step up and be better than she was last year and be really good for us.”
Depending on how the offense comes together, how Newell handles the workload, and whether the team fares better on the injury front, Princeton could possibly end up hosting an ECAC quarterfinal series, or be out of the postseason all together. The ECAC playoff races figures to be that wide open.
“Anybody can finish in any position,” Kampersal said. “Points will be tough to come by, so we have to be really good all the time.”
In 2012-2013, Princeton was unable to get on a roll, never winning more than two consecutive ECAC games and winning back-to-back games on only one occasion in conference.
“We have a big home stretch after our first few weekends,” Kampersal said. “That will be really important. Hopefully, we can get some points right in there.”
Colgate celebrates a goal by Miriam Drubel (Colgate -8). (Shelley M. Szwast)
Coach Greg Fargo’s introduction to Division I women’s hockey was a trip to Minnesota a year ago with his new team to face the defending national champions. To the credit of Fargo and his players, they were undeterred by being outscored 18-0 in that series and went on to have a successful season, including a return to the ECAC postseason.
“For sure a different feeling coming into the second season and already having established expectations for the girls,” Fargo said. “It’s different than last year, when everything was new for us coaches and the players to get to know one another. We certainly feel like we’re looking forward to getting things off and going. More than anything, we’re just looking for our group to pick up right where we left off in that series against Cornell and start our year from that point.”
The Raiders gave the top-seeded Big Red all they could handle in a quarterfinal series, holding final-minute leads in both games before losing heartbreakers. Colgate definitely didn’t conduct itself as though it was content to just reach the postseason or act awed by being there.
“We knew that coming into the season, we were going to have to figure out ourselves a little bit because there were so many unknowns early on,” Fargo said. “I think we hit a turning point around Christmas with our trip up to St. Lawrence and Clarkson, and that’s when I think the kids really started to buy into what we were selling as coaches. From that point on, we felt like we could have a chance to win every single game that we played. The goal at the start of the year was to make the playoffs, and were we surprised? No, I don’t think so. Certainly happy to reach that. I think looking forward now, everybody understands where our team could go and so we’ve raised our goals even more.”
Though not graduating a large class, that class did include the Raiders’ top two scorers in Brittany Phillips and Jenna Klynstra.
“Obviously, we’re losing some scoring and some leadership in the seniors that graduated the last year,” Fargo said. “I think for us this year it’s going to have to be scoring by committee. Taylor Volpe is somebody that comes to mind first and foremost, had a good year last year, played extremely well down the stretch, but maybe didn’t fill up the score sheet as much as she can. Melissa Kueber is another one who comes to mind who has a whole lot of ability to score. I think she’s one of the fastest players. She sees the ice really well. She can make plays. We’re going to look to her to contribute offensively. Miriam Drubel is another one who had a great offensive year for us. I wouldn’t call her a goal scorer, but she works so hard that she puts herself in position to get her points every night.”
Colgate appears to be set in goal.
“Ashlynne [Rando], like our team, finished off her season extremely well,” Fargo said. “Down the stretch, when our team was on a run, she was one of our best players. I think having gone through what she went through last year as a freshman, with some of the ups and downs that you go through when you’re a freshman, I think it’s going to make her stronger in the long run. We’re excited to continue to see her development, and hopefully, she’ll be able to play an even bigger role for us this year as we make another playoff push.”
As a whole, the players and coaches for Colgate are just more seasoned and prepared this time around.
“We’ve got six freshmen on the team, as opposed to having 22 freshmen,” Fargo said.
