Maura Crowell (Harvard – Interim Head Coach) (Melissa Wade)
Harvard is another team that will have a slightly different look this season due to it being an Olympic year. Coach Katey Stone is on a sabbatical while she coaches the United States team. In her absence, Maura Crowell will serve as interim head coach.
“I’ve been working with coach Stone for three years, and we see things pretty similarly,” Crowell said. “We’re going to continue doing a lot of things we do really well. Certainly, I’ll put my own stamp on it with some tweaks, too.”
Stone isn’t Harvard’s only donation to the U.S. Olympic cause.
“Three players are with Katey and the national team — Lyndsey Fry, Michelle Picard, and Josephine Pucci,” Crowell said. “So we’ll be without them this year, but with those holes to fill, other people will certainly step up.”
Wisconsin faced a similar situation four years ago. Fresh off winning the 2009 NCAA title, coach Mark Johnson and players Meghan Duggan and Hilary Knight spent the next season preparing and competing at the Vancouver Olympics. Without them, the Badgers were inconsistent all year and failed to reach the conference semifinals for the only time in their history. The trio returned and Wisconsin was back atop the NCAA world in 2011.
Crowell isn’t concerned that anything similar will unfold at Harvard.
“These guys are all extremely competitive, driven athletes, who certainly don’t see this as a different year in terms of what their goals are and what they’re striving to do,” she said. “For me, we’re going to continue to do what we do and do it really well and keep as much consistency in past years as possible. I’ve been here for three years. We hired Laura Bellamy, who just graduated from our program. She was our senior captain goaltender, so she’s on staff; she’s a familiar face. Hayley Moore is a familiar face in her second year here. So in terms of staff, it’s a lot of familiarity, and the team is super driven. That comes from within. We don’t see it as an issue.”
Even if focus isn’t a problem, the loss of three international-quality players for the season will certainly have some impact. Those losses, plus the graduation of key seniors like leading scorer Jillian Dempsey, should be offset to some extent by the addition of some talent.
“We have a really good freshman class coming in and a lot of good returners,” Crowell said.
Marissa Gedman was the blue line’s leading scorer as a sophomore before sitting out an injury redshirt season.
“She just had her one-year anniversary since her [Achilles tendon] injury and is 100 percent, doing great, and she is our captain this year, so she’s back in a big way,” Crowell said.
Perhaps the best way to ward off inconsistency for any team is strong goaltending.
“We return Emerance Maschmeyer, who was fantastic in her freshman year, so we’re very confident in her ability,” Crowell said. “We also brought in Brianna Laing, a freshman out of Nobles and Assabet, who has U-18 experience as well. So we feel very good about that tandem.”
Kelly Babstock (Quinnipiac – 8) looks to the bench prior to a face off. Quinnipiac defeated Princeton 1-0 at Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton, N.J. (Shelley M. Szwast)
Victoria Vigilanti is likely the player that has meant the most to Quinnipiac in its brief history. The Bobcats were 3-26-5 the year before her arrival; that record jumped to 19-10-8 in Vigilanti’s first year of guarding the Bobcats’ net.
“The bottom line is with Vigilanti graduating, we have no real experience in net,” coach Rick Seeley said.
A new face of the team will emerge, and one player in particular has been leading the way offensively since she came to Hamden, Conn., three years ago.
“Obviously, Kelly Babstock leads the group,” Seeley said. “It’s hard to say she might have a breakout year after putting up [154] points in three years, but it’s the most fit she’s ever shown up and the most focused she’s been.”
While Babstock is definitely the first player that comes to mind for Quinnipiac, she also has help.
“[Junior] Nicole Kosta might be our best all-around player,” Seeley says. “We do have a great transfer coming in from Syracuse, Shiann Darkangelo, which will help solidify the center spot in our first two lines.”
Some young players will also contribute to the offense.
“Nicole Connery, who had a pretty solid freshman year – I think, 18, 19 points, scored some big goals for us — has the potential to be an exceptional player at this level,” Seeley said. “It’s just a question of when she gets there.”
In the incoming class, he likes the scoring potential of Emma Woods.
One of the hallmarks of a Seeley team is stout team defense, and that can’t be accomplished without a strong blue line. The Bobcats are talented in that regard, but young; the only representative from the upper class is senior Shelby Wignall. That unit held up well in its first weekend of play at St. Cloud State, teaming with new starting goaltender and junior Chelsea Laden to limit the Huskies to one goal in 125 minutes.
Quinnipiac next hosts a series with Penn State before a trip to Maine for two games. All three of the first opponents are expected to be found closer to the bottom of their league races than the top.
“We’re pretty excited about a gradual start to try to get this team on board,” Seeley said. “It’s a great group of characters, but when you lose Vigilanti and Reagan Boulton, our captain, it’s always going to be tough to replace that kind of leadership. It gives us an opportunity to bond. We’re on the road for long road trips two of our first three weekends, so we’ll see where the chips fall.”
Lauren Slebodnick (Cornell -30). (Shelley M. Szwast)
After a run of four consecutive regular-season titles, the ECAC Hockey coaches slot Cornell in at second in the preseason poll. That has a lot to do with the names missing from the Big Red’s roster.
“Being an Olympic year, losing someone like [leading scorer Brianne] Jenner and then also losing two All-American defensemen in [Lauriane] Rougeau and [Laura] Fortino, it’s going to be a little bit of a different look for our team, but I feel like we’ve got strong balance throughout our squad,” coach Doug Derraugh said.
The team still has great players, albeit players who have been overshadowed to an extent at Cornell by those three and recent graduate Rebecca Johnston. Now those who remain get their chance at the spotlight.
“For our team, we’ve had situations where some of our players have already had to deal with that with those players that we lost with Jenner and Rougeau and Fortino in particular,” Derraugh said. “They’ve been gone for other weekends for hockey camp, whether it’s Four Nations or the Meco Cup, where we’ve had to have some of our other players step up and they’ve done so. Obviously, Jill Saulnier comes to mind and Jess Campbell is somebody that is always there and seems to play her best when we need it and scores big goals for us at big times in big games. Emily Fulton is another one who seems to relish those situations and steps up for us, especially when we lose some of those players that you talk about. Last year, Taylor Woods stepped up as a freshman and played really strong for us down the stretch.”
The blue line is in surprisingly good shape as well.
“Our ‘D’ corps, even though we lost two All-Americans, I think we’re solid from top to bottom, led by our two seniors in [Hayleigh] Cudmore and [Alyssa] Gagliardi,” the coach said. “We have a freshman in Syd Smith that we think will help out on our back end.”
Senior Lauren Slebodnick returns to guard the Big Red net, so few if any holes can be found in Cornell’s lineup. Clarkson being the first choice speaks more to the strength of the Golden Knights than any presumed weaknesses in Ithaca, N.Y.
“In order for us to be successful this season, some players are going to have to step up to another level for us to be successful in the playoffs through the ECACs, and hopefully, the NCAAs,” Derraugh said.
He will receive some early progress reports on that front; Cornell’s October consists of opponents that have either been ranked in or near the top 10, and November ends the same way, highlighted by a series with Boston College.
“We do have some really strong nonconference teams that we have to play this year, so it’ll certainly be a real challenge for us early on in the year,” Derraugh said. “We’re going to find out in a hurry where we stand. I think also when you challenge your team early on in the season, it also pays dividends in the second half, because you’ve been through some things and faced a lot of tough teams and you’ll see where your weaknesses are and what you really need to focus on going into the second half of the season.”
Kate Martini (Yale -25) takes a shot on Kimberley Newell (Princeton -33). (Shelley M. Szwast)
After a particularly trying season in 2011-2012 that saw Yale win but a single game, hope returned to New Haven, Conn. last season. That renaissance was fueled by an incoming class that made a difference immediately, and now, according to coach Joakim Flygh, they return as sophomores bigger, stronger, and faster, and he looks for them to have even more of an impact.
They already led the way as rookies. Four members of the class — Kate Martini, Jamie Haddad, Janelle Ferrara, and Hanna Åström — finished in the top five on the team in points. Martini, the points leader, plays on the blue line, as does junior Tara Tomimoto, the runner-up in points.
That glass could be half empty or half full. It’s good that a team is getting offensive contributions from defensemen. On the negative side, one would like to see greater offense in evidence at the forward position. The net result is that the Bulldogs finished 10th in the league in scoring offense, mirroring their position in the standings.
The lack of offense puts more pressure on the defense and goaltender Jaimie Leonoff.
“She’s going to have to be very good for us to be competitive in our league, and I feel she’s more than capable of doing that,” Flygh said.
Another obstacle for Yale over the past couple of seasons has been the quantity of injuries that have knocked players out of the lineup or hampered their effectiveness. Flygh said preparation is a must in staying healthy, “Just making sure that we’re in better shape.” He added, “and a little bit of luck,” citing the number of concussions his players have suffered.
A number of things need to go right for the Bulldogs to get back into the playoff field, but at least this season, that is a realistic goal. It is made challenging by the number of ECAC teams that share that goal and are demonstrating improvement.
“Women’s hockey in general is getting more competitive,” Flygh. “A lot of teams are doing a great job of recruiting.”
As Flygh pointed out, the fact that the ECAC was the best represented conference at Hockey Canada’s U-22 camp over the summer is evidence of that.
Jessica Hoyle (Brown – 21) goes after a rebound in front of goaltender Rachel Webber (Princeton – 29), as Laura Martindale (Princeton – 13) battles for position with Jenna Dancewicz (Brown – 14). (Shelley M. Szwast)
After guiding Brown back into the postseason in her first season, coach Amy Bourbeau was unable to duplicate that feat in 2012-2013. The biggest problem was scoring goals, or rather, a failure to do so on a consistent basis. Opponents outscored the Bears nearly two to one in league play.
Reducing that gap this season becomes more daunting with the graduation of Alena Polenska, Brown’s leader in both goals and assists despite missing several games.
Bourbeau says that the team will need to work extremely hard to make up for her loss, and one of the keys will be finishing on the power play. The team clicked at 11.6 percent with the advantage a year ago, and bettering that mark would be a good place to search for added offense.
Another vital area for Bourbeau’s team will be goaltending, and the Bears are in better shape on that front. Aubree Moore ranked in the top half of the league in both save percentage and goals-against average, so if she can have a huge senior season, it will be a boost to her team.
While the Bears have distance to cover to resume their place as a contender in the ECAC and nationally, qualifying for the postseason field on an annual basis is a reasonable objective.
“Our goal is to return the team to playoffs,” Bourbeau said. “We recognize that the program is still developing, but we look forward to the challenge.”
So far, so good. Although Brown’s first official game isn’t until October 25 at RIT, Bourbeau likes how hard the players have been going about their preseason work.
“There is a lot of good energy and excitement to get started,” she said. “I look forward to surprising teams this season.”
“I think a lot of this year starts with our senior class,” said co-head coach Shannon Desrosiers. “I truly believe this year we’ll go as they go.”
The current group of seniors arrived at Clarkson on the heels of the program’s first trip to the NCAA tournament. However, a large and talented class had just graduated, so the newcomers were thrown into the fire immediately. Leading scorers Jamie Lee Rattray and Carly Mercer have been counted on to put up points throughout their careers, and goaltender Erica Howe has logged the bulk of the minutes in net.
Last season, they led the Golden Knights back to the national tournament. With 15 players from that squad returning, Clarkson is favored to not only make another excursion to the NCAAs, but to capture its first ECAC championship after losing out to Cornell by a single point in 2013.
“Just having that NCAA experience last year for those players is really going to help,” said Matt Desrosiers, the other half of the head-coaching tandem. “They know they played pretty well in that game [versus Boston University], and it definitely could have gone either way. I think that motivates the players, not only to want to get back to that point, but to go beyond. They’re prepared, they’re ready, and they have lofty goals.”
With four new players added to the mix, plus Cayley Mercer healthy after an injury redshirt, Shannon Desrosiers says that the team will have greater depth at the forward position, where last year they often had only nine players available. Ten of the 11 players to reach double digits in points are back, making it likely that the Golden Knights will better last year’s performance as the ECAC’s fifth-highest scoring offense.
Another reason for optimism is that Erin Ambrose figures to be healthy for the entire season. As a rookie, she made an immediate impact, particularly on the power play. Ambrose helped her team have the league’s second unit in power play conversion.
The staple of Clarkson’s game is a stingy defense, backed by all-conference goaltender Erica Howe. It faltered a bit in both the ECAC and NCAA tournaments, yielding a goal in the opening minutes. Matt Desrosiers says the team may have pressed a bit in those pressure-packed situations. He feels the experience will help both the players and the coaches deal with it more effectively when they get another chance on the big stage.
Shenae Lundberg (Union – 1). Princeton honored the 2012 senior class, as the Tigers defeated Union 3-0 at Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton, N.J. (Shelley M. Szwast)
Over the years, those guarding the crease for Union have faced a lot of rubber, so while goal is a key position on any team, it is even more crucial for the Dutchwomen. Traditionally, it has also been a position of strength.
“We have two returning goaltenders,” coach Claudia Asano Barcomb said. “[Junior] Shenae Lundberg played the majority of the games. I have great expectations for her. I think she’s going to be in a really good spot. Maddy Dahl is coming off an injury. She had another injury, but will be back in the lineup in mid-October. We have an incoming freshman, Emma Pincott, who I think will add a lot to the goaltending position.”
Union appears to have options in goal, and under Barcomb in recent years, the Dutchwomen have done a better job of making the shot differential more manageable with their team defense. She looks to seniors Maddy Norton and Ashley Johnston to provide leadership for the other defensemen.
The big problem is that in too many seasons, Union’s shooting percentage is in the range of .050 to .060, and too few goals result. Last season, it scored only 15 goals in ECAC action, an average of 0.68 per game.
“I think we added some kids that can put the puck in the net,” Barcomb said. “I think our veterans need to stop thinking about it and just do it. I think a lot of drills that we’ve created to be more offensive that we’ve built over the last couple of years, but this year an emphasis that we’re doing a great deal of is to have our ‘D’ jump up in the play a lot more. I think that will add more offense to our team.”
In the three games Union has already played in the young season, it has scored multiple goals in each after not doing so over a three-game stretch at any point last season. However, the Dutchwomen did have better results out of conference last season as well, posting a 7-5 record before going winless in the ECAC.
“I think some of it is the timing of games and we need to be far better prepared in the second half,” Barcomb said. “The second piece is just being able to attack the league play. That’s critical, and I think we were up and down in a lot of different games. I think we’re best when we don’t think we have a chance. When we’re in it, sometimes in the clutch part of the game in the third period, we seem to not pull through. So we spent a lot of time in the off season thinking about that and talking about it and preparing, so I hope that we are ready for that.”
Jamie Lee Rattray (Clarkson – 26), Carly Mercer (Clarkson – 19), and Brittany Styner (Clarkson – 10). (Shelley M. Szwast)
Unlike the three other conferences, where the league tournament is all-inclusive, ECAC Hockey leaves four teams on the outside looking in when the playoffs commence. It becomes a mad scramble to get into the field, and last season’s final week saw no fewer than four teams alive for the final berth.
That makes it competitive for players, stressful for coaches, and exciting for fans — at least for those that advance. That first weekend of the postseason is likely none too thrilling for the fans of teams that are eliminated by regular-season action.
Of late, the ECAC has belonged to Cornell; before that, Harvard ruled. One has to go back to 2006-07 and Dartmouth to find a year where the season title was claimed by someone other than the Big Red or the Crimson. This could easily be the year where some other squad breaks through. Six of the teams are already underway, but conference action has yet to kick off.
Clarkson looks destined to be either the league champion or to come very close. Cornell should also finish in the top four and wind up hosting.
After that, the picture gets murky. Harvard has a lot of talent and plenty of unknowns. Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, and St. Lawrence have positives, but they have also lost very key performers. Where there was a big gap between the top six and the rest of the teams in February, expect that separation to close or be erased altogether in this season’s race.
Click on the team name for a detailed preview.
Clarkson Golden Knights Projected Finish: First ECAC Coaches Poll: First Previous Season: Tie for second, 18-4-0, 36 points Key Departures: Danielle Skirrow, Hailey Wood Arrivals: Genevieve Bannon, Jessica Gillham, Corie Jacobson, McKenzie Johnson Key Players: Erica Howe (1.73 goals-against average (GAA), .931 save percentage), Jamie Lee Rattray (22-30-52), Carly Mercer (17-24-41), Erin Ambrose (6-30-36)
Cornell Big Red Projected Finish: Second ECAC Coaches Poll: Second Previous Season: First, 18-3-1, 37 points Key Departures: Brianne Jenner, Lauriane Rougeau, Laura Fortino, Erin Barley-Maloney Arrivals: Hanna Bunton, Caroline DeBruin, Kaitlin Doering, Sydney Smith, Brianna Veerman, Paula Voorheis Key Players: Jillian Saulnier (10-33-43), Jessica Campbell (16-8-24), Hayleigh Cudmore (5-19-24)
Quinnipiac Bobcats Projected Finish: Third ECAC Coaches Poll: Fourth Previous Season: Fourth, 13-6-3, 29 points Key Departures: Victoria Vigilanti, Regan Boulton, Brittany Lyons, Felicia Vieweg, Breann Frykas Arrivals: Taryn Baumgardt, Shiann Darkangelo, Emma Greco, Danielle Marmer, Mika Nervick, Sydney Rossman, Meghan Turner, Emma Woods Key Players: Kelly Babstock (28-27-55), Nicole Kosta (11-28-39), Erica Uden Johansson (11-14-25)
Harvard Crimson Projected Finish: Fourth ECAC Coaches Poll: Third Previous Season: Tie for second, 17-3-2, 36 points Key Departures: coach Katey Stone, Jillian Dempsey, Lyndsey Fry, Kaitlin Spurling, Michelle Picard, Kelsey Romatoski, Hilary Hayssen, Josephine Pucci Arrivals: assistant coach Laura Bellamy, Sydney Daniels, Abigail Frazer, Brianna Laing, Briana Mastel, Natasha Rachlin, Robyn White, Hannah Zarzecki Key Players: Emerance Maschmeyer (1.44 GAA, .935 save percentage), Mary Parker (12-12-24), Marissa Gedman (8-19-27 two seasons ago)
Dartmouth Big Green Projected Finish: Fifth ECAC Coaches Poll: Sixth Previous Season: Sixth, 11-7-4, 26 points Key Departures: Reagan Fischer, Camille Dumais, Jenna Hobeika, Sasha Nanji, Lisa Berreman, Margaux Sharp Arrivals: Robyn Chemago, Emma Korbs, Devon Moir, Kennedy Ottenbreit, Katty Ratty, Mackenzie St. Onge, Eleni Tebano Key Players: Laura Stacey (8-14-22), Lindsey Allen (7-7-14), Lindsay Holdcroft (2.11 GAA, .914 save percentage)
St. Lawrence Saints Projected Finish: Sixth ECAC Coaches Poll: Fifth Previous Season: Fifth, 12-6-4, 28 points Key Departures: Kelly Sabatine, Brooke Fernandez, Michelle Ng, Kayla Sullivan Arrivals: Alex Moore, Kirsten Padalis, Brooke Webster Key Players: Rylee Smith (15-19-34), Amanda Boulier (8-24-32), Carmen MacDonald (2.19 GAA, .925 save percentage)
Laura Stacey (Dartmouth – 10) and Gabie Figueroa (Princeton – 21) battle for the puck. (Shelley M. Szwast)
If you believe that a 60-minute hockey game is a few minutes too short, then Dartmouth may be the team for you. The Big Green went to overtime eight times in the last campaign.
When asked how to convert more of those games into victories, coach Mark Hudak laughed and said, “Score more goals.”
“I am laughing say that, but I really do mean that,” he said. “I don’t think offensively we did as well as we could have last year. I was mostly happy with the way we played defensively, but I think we were missing a little of the offensive jump, the offensive spark.”
Unfortunately, the team graduated several of its main sources of offense. That includes four of the five leading scorers, Reagan Fischer, Camille Dumais, Jenna Hobeika, and Sasha Nanji.
Hudak said he may take the reigns off of his team and allow it to be a little more creative than in the past. One player who returns and hints at having the potential to flourish in a less-structured environment is sophomore forward Laura Stacey, coming off a 22-point rookie year.
“We’ve got 20 players this year, including our three goalies, and 13 of those players are freshmen and sophomores,” Hudak said. “I think we’re going to be a little bit on the younger side, some inexperience, but I think there’s a lot of energy in the class. I think there’s also some decent talent in both of those classes. I think it’s one of those years as a coach where you’re going to have to be okay with some energetic mistakes, but I think it’s really going to be a fun group to coach.”
It is likely that there will be some moments along the way that will be less fun. The Big Green open on the road at No. 2 Boston College.
Hudak said, “I think it’s an awesome test for us to start with somebody that is that strong with that much talent for us to say, ‘Okay, this is what it is going to be like.’ Hopefully, that sets the standard for what we’ve got to prepare for and what we’ve got to be ready for all year long.”
Alexa Gruschow (Rensselaer – 11) and Brianna Leahy (Princeton – 15) face off. (Shelley M. Szwast)
Rensselaer is another team that returned to the playoffs last year after an absence.
“We think we should be there every year and fighting for home ice,” coach John Burke said. “Last year, we had five seniors but three dressed, two didn’t play much due to injury. The playoff experience is definitely going to help our kids. We had 12 one-goal losses last year. Those kids have now been in those situations. Hopefully, they’ll learn from it, but also, our kids came back and had a great summer, and they’ve had a really good fall in the weight room.”
The Engineers have some pieces in place around which to build.
“We will definitely be led by [senior forward] Jordan Smelker this year,” Burke said. “She went to the Olympic training camp this summer, had a great camp, unfortunately, didn’t make it, but the experience she garnered at the international level is going to help her out mentally. Looking forward to her having a big year.”
While Smelker is a strong two-way player, the Engineers have a star in the making in Alexa Gruschow, the team’s leading scorer as a rookie.
“She just has off-the-charts speed, breakaway speed,” Burke said. “Not just from a quick start, but also acceleration.”
RPI also bolsters its depth with the incoming class.
“I think both Laura Horwood and Katie Rooney will add to our offense,” Burke said. “We have a Finnish defenseman, Heidi Huhtamaki, that I think will surprise a few people with her play. We have a pretty solid class all around that’s coming in to help our program.”
The Engineers struggled in net two seasons ago when they came up short of a playoff spot. Burke credits junior Kelly O’Brien with solidifying the position as a sophomore. O’Brien lowered her average goals allowed and markedly improved her save percentage.
With the gains made at a number of positions, Burke expects Rensselaer to stick to its roots in terms of style.
“We’re a team that loves to compete and loves to skate and get up and down the ice,” he said. “That’s been a staple of our program. Maybe with our inexperience last year, we weren’t consistent with our effort for a full 60 minutes.”
Goaltender Carmen MacDonald (St. Lawrence – 30) made 34 saves as St. Lawrence went on to defeat Princeton 6-2. (Shelley M. Szwast)
“We have a lot of kids who’ve experienced some highs in our program, winning the championship a couple years ago,” coach Chris Wells said.
The problem for St. Lawrence is that other teams remember them winning that ECAC tournament championship; it’s hard to sneak up on somebody who is looking right at you. The Saints gave it their best shot in March, but their latest playoff push came up just short against eventual champion Cornell.
Now Wells and his players start the climb over again. SLU didn’t graduate a big class, but it included a couple of stalwarts in leading scorer Kelly Sabatine and defenseman Brooke Fernandez.
“I think the greatest thing about what we do is you get to reinvent yourself every year as coaches in a program and putting kids in the locker room as well,” Wells said. “Each year, kids come back and they’re dying to step up, and I think we have that just with the way some of the kids have come back. I think we’re going to rely heavily on our senior class, as small as it is.”
The class of four includes Rylee Smith, who has tallied over 100 points in her career at Canton, N.Y., and a pair of blue-line veterans in Mel Desrochers and Dayle Wilkinson. That duo will be all the more vital due to the loss of offensive dynamo Amanda Boulier to a medical redshirt.
“The person who is probably going to dictate which way we go the most is our goalie Carmen MacDonald, who has been excellent for us for two years,” Wells said. “[She was] the playoff MVP two years ago and got us pretty darn close last year as well.”
MacDonald was especially clutch in the ECAC quarterfinal versus Quinnipiac, shutting out the Bobcats in the first and third games. After the last couple of seasons, teams in the league may not be as anxious to secure home ice if the visitor that comes calling is St. Lawrence.
The NCAA on Tuesday published a report on how proposed changes to their rules would affect recruiting practices, with hockey at the forefront of these proposals.
To start, coaches could send unlimited text messages and other forms of electronic communications if a recruiting rule proposed by the Rules Working Group is approved in January by the Division I Legislative Council.
As well, the proposals would lift restrictions in all sports on the frequency and modes of communication and would also allow men’s hockey coaches to begin off-campus recruiting and have off-campus contact on June 15 following the completion of a recruit’s sophomore year.
Another proposal would limit a school’s recruiting materials to general and electronic correspondence (such as brochures or emails with attachments), but would lift many of the restrictions on printed and electronic general correspondence (such as ink color). Personalized recruiting materials and those created solely for recruiting purposes are still prohibited.
A third proposal would allow recruiting communication to start Sept. 1 of a recruit’s junior year, except in basketball, football, men’s ice hockey, swimming and diving, cross country and track and field. The recruiting communication date would not change for those sports as they already have set or are considering earlier start dates in separate legislation or proposed legislation.
Off-campus recruiting dates would not change for any sport.
And in the ever-changing battle for recruits with major junior players, the report stated that there is now another change for the NCAA.
“Feedback from men’s ice hockey coaches indicated strong support for both a consistent recruiting start date and deregulation of the restrictions on modes and frequency of communication,” according to the report. “Traditionally, men’s ice hockey coaches have favored an earlier recruiting start date because they compete for student-athletes against various junior leagues and athletes who participate in such leagues (such as the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior League) can jeopardize their eligibility.”
The next step for the above proposals are for them to go before the Legislative Council for an initial review later this month. Per the Division I legislative process, proposals will not be considered adopted until the Board of Directors has met and had the opportunity to discuss them.
Air Force will take part in this weekend’s Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, Alaska, after the host school worked out the Falcons’ travel accommodations during the government shutdown.
All Air Force intercollegiate events have been postponed by the shutdown, but Alaska-Anchorage confirmed late Tuesday that the Falcons would indeed travel to Anchorage for the tournament. Air Force is scheduled to play Alaska on Friday and Alaska-Anchorage on Saturday.
“Despite the government shutdown, we are pleased to announce that we have worked with the Air Force Academy to accommodate their travel to Alaska,” Alaska-Anchorage athletic director Keith Hackett said in a news release. “Thanks also to the hard work of our staff and the assistance of our terrific corporate partners at Alaska Airlines, we will be able to provide a first-class experience for both our own student-athletes and those from the visiting teams.”
Wisconsin and Minnesota are picked for the top spots in the inaugural season of Big Ten hockey (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Six teams. Big expectations. B1G conference.
As the 2013-14 season begins and the teams that comprise the Big Ten prepare for their inaugural year, one thing is clear: That which is about to transpire will be as much theater as hockey, as much entertainment and branding as winning and losing — and every Big Ten program is on board with that.
“It almost seems like, in many ways, it’s a new job,” said Don Lucia, who begins his 15th season as coach at Minnesota. “It’s so fresh this year with entering a new conference, the Big Ten. Even though we’ve played many of the teams over the years, this is the first time we’ll be playing each of the Big Ten members four times. I think it’s going to be an exciting year, not only for us, but certainly our fans.”
Adding to that excitement is the exposure the league will receive from the Big Ten Network, which has committed to 22 regular season contests plus all games from the conference playoff tournament in St. Paul, Minn., next March.
Ohio State’s first-year coach Steve Rohlik said that the Big Ten Network will put each of its member hockey teams “on a stage.” Rohlik sees the exposure as a chance for the Buckeyes to get people “to understand that Ohio State is a tremendous opportunity to grow, to be a student-athlete and play college hockey.”
Mike Eaves, heading into his 12th season behind the Wisconsin bench, said that he sees opportunities for the sport itself to grow. “I think having that [the BTN] on the table will help people find the game, and we’ll get more fans because of that,” he said.
Five of the league’s six teams come from conferences with which they had long histories, while Penn State joins its first conference in its second season as a varsity program.
The transition from the now-defunct CCHA to the Big Ten is “not bittersweet,” said Tom Anastos, the former CCHA commissioner now in his third year as Michigan State’s coach. “I’m over it.”
“The CCHA had a very nice run,” Anastos said. “All the programs have found a home, and I think the Big Ten opportunity is very exciting, both for our member schools and I think for college hockey.”
“I think it’s big for everybody,” said the man charged with building Penn State’s program, Guy Gadowsky. “It’s incredibly important for college hockey. It’s obviously going to help tremendously with exposure across the board. I think we all benefit from this.”
Red Berenson, Michigan’s 30-year coach, said that how wide the influence of BTN’s coverage “has yet to be determined,” but he also said he’s “optimistic” about what may happen.
“The game will do justice if it gets the exposure,” Berenson said. “I’m really excited about the potential of the Big Ten Network.”
The sense is that if there’s enough exposure to college hockey played by schools with widely recognized names, all 59 Division I men’s ice hockey programs will benefit and the sport itself may grow.
“It’s a good product to watch,” Eaves said, “and the fact that exposure … will be at such a high and constant level, people will know where it is and where to find it.”
A good product to watch — that product being college hockey. And what about that?
Michigan finished 2012-13 in seventh place in the CCHA, missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in 23 years. The Wolverines did play their way into the last-ever game for the Mason Cup, which went to Notre Dame.
Michigan State was last in the CCHA and lost to Miami in the second round of the CCHA playoffs.
Minnesota tied for first in the WCHA in 2012-13 and bowed out in overtime to eventual champion Yale in the NCAA West Regional.
Ohio State finished last season fourth in the CCHA. The Buckeyes ended their season with a conference semifinal loss to Notre Dame.
Penn State played as an independent last season, compiling a record that was one game below .500.
Wisconsin finished 2012-13 in fourth place in the WCHA but won the Broadmoor Trophy as the league’s postseason champion. The Badgers were beaten 6-1, though, by Massachusetts-Lowell in the NCAA Northeast Regional.
Every one of these big teams from this big league comes into this first season hungry. The excitement of the new conference will generate interest and that each of these programs will attempt to provide the kind of product — as Eaves put it — that keeps consumers coming back for more.
It will be a month after the season begins, though, before these teams begin to play each other, and every one of these teams will be filling its schedule with as many as 14 nonconference games against foes both familiar and fairly new.
How all of this comes together — the excitement of the new conference, the hype driven by the BTN, the proverbial in-conference “beating up on each other,” the amount of nonconference play, the newness of many opponents — is what will make this first Big Ten season most interesting to watch.
Fortunately, for the price of cable television, we’ll be able to watch a good deal of it unfold.
Here’s how the Big Ten coaches picked their own conference in preseason. The individual team season previews are just a click away.
The Badgers return an experienced team this season with a 10-member senior class, including Michael Mersch, who had 23 goals for Wisconsin as a junior. Read more
The Gophers lost just one senior … and a lot of talented players who opted for professional hockey rather than the Big Ten’s inaugural season. Read more
As disappointing as 2012-13 was for Michigan, the Wolverines return a talented team and remain buoyed by their second-half play from last season, especially the play of sophomore goaltender Steve Racine. Read more
A new head coach brings new enthusiasm to the Buckeyes, a team with two questions to answer: Who’s going to score, and who’s going to replace All-American Brady Hjelle in net? Read more
The Nittany Lions are a mystery — as much as to themselves as to the rest of the college hockey world. Entering their second season of Division I play, they’re nearly all underclassmen. They did go 3-2 against Big Ten opponents in 2012-13, though. Read more
Mark Zengerle had a 50-point season as a sophomore but his production dipped to 32 points a year ago (photo: Dan Sanger).
After winning the postseason title in its last season in the WCHA, Wisconsin looks poised to find success in the Big Ten this season.
One thing the Badgers have going for them is experience, with the team returning a majority of its scoring leaders from last season. The lack of turnover led to the Badgers being picked as the preseason favorite in the conference by the coaches.
“It’s almost a natural thing to happen because of the fact that we are an upperclassmen team,” Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said at the league’s media day. “I don’t think it changes anything we do in terms of our expectations and the way we want to conduct our business.”
Three of the four Badgers players with 30 or more points last season — Michael Mersch, Mark Zengerle and Tyler Barnes — were juniors and will return for their senior seasons. Nic Kerdiles was one of the nation’s top-scoring freshmen last season with 11 goals and 22 assists in 32 games.
This season, Kerdiles will make the move from wing to center.
“Nic has been a center in his life, I think he likes that position,” Eaves said. “I think he gets more touches in the middle, so it’s a pretty natural progression.”
Wisconsin also will have experience between the pipes in juniors Joel Rumpel and Landon Peterson. They split time early the past two seasons, with Rumpel getting most of the calls later in the year.
“In the beginning of the year, we’ve done this the last couple of years, we’ve switched back and forth,” Eaves said. “And then at the end of the year you want to see who is doing well and who has the hot hand and you try to ride them a little bit more.”
Even on a team loaded with experience, Eaves said that he fully expects to need to call on his younger players at some point during the season.
“We’ve brought in five young men,” Eaves said. “Out of that five, we’ll need a couple of them to step up and hopefully be positive factors after Christmastime, because it will take a little bit to get used to this level.”
The Badgers’ incoming freshmen are Grant Besse, Aidan Cavallini, Tim Davison, Corbin McGuire and Jedd Soleway.
About the Badgers
2012-13 record: 22-13-7
2012-13 WCHA record: 13-8-7 (tie-fourth)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): First
Key losses: F Derek Lee, D John Ramage
Players to watch: F Tyler Barnes, F Michael Mersch, F Mark Zengerle, G Joel Rumpel
Impact rookie: F Grant Besse
Why the Badgers will match their selection in the coaches’ poll: Nic Kerdiles could be in for a big season after switching from wing to center, which could be a scary thing for opponents because he averaged more than one point per game as a freshman.
Why the Badgers will finish lower than the coaches’ poll: The Badgers suffered from a slow start last season, going 2-7-5 in their first 14 games. If they have a similar start this year, and another team in the small six-team conference gets hot early, the hole may be too large to climb out of. That being said, the Badgers don’t play a conference game until late November.
Penn State finished 13-14 in its first season as a Division I program (photo: Omar Phillips).
So, you don’t know what to expect from Penn State hockey? Well, you’re not alone.
“No idea,” said Guy Gadowsky, the Division I veteran of 14 years who’s building a hockey program from scratch in Happy Valley.
“I mean, we’re new,” Gadowsky said. “It’s a new conference. We’ve never been in a conference, so [it’s] very difficult for me to say this is what you’re going to get. We don’t know. That is what part of the excitement is about.”
And excitement there is. After playing as an independent last season, the Nittany Lions are about to play in the brand-new Pegula Ice Arena and bring Division I conference hockey to the PSU campus for the first time ever.
Pegula Arena, of course, is named for the Nittany Lions’ benefactor, Terry Pegula, owner of the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL and the man who contributed more than $100 million for the program and construction of the building that bears his name.
“To describe the arena,” Gadowsky said, “I mean, it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful from a fan perspective. It’s a beautiful arena. It’s very comfortable. There is not a bad seat in the house.
“From the student body perspective, it’s not only beautiful, it’s fun. The student section is awesome. It’s literally as steep as code will allow.
“From a student-athlete perspective, convenient. It’s right in the middle of campus. I don’t want to say excessive, but they have everything there that they need to develop.”
About that team, though, Gadowsky’s great unknown really is difficult to define. The Nittany Lions return their two 10-plus goal scorers from last season, sophomore forwards Casey Bailey and David Glen. Junior Taylor Holstrom had nine goals a year ago, and Penn State’s offense was balanced and a little sneaky in 2012-13, averaging 2.74 goals per game to put the Nittany Lions in the middle of Division I teams.
Last year, Penn State played a schedule that included Division I and Division III opponents as well as exhibition games. The Nittany Lions had a winning record last year against Big Ten opponents (3-2), beating Ohio State and splitting with a series each with Michigan State and Wisconsin. Those games at that level of competition were especially helpful, Gadowsky said.
“We’d all like to have another year where we could get more work done,” Gadowsky said, “and learn about our team and try to accomplish our foundation. We knew we were going to play Michigan State and Wisconsin, who were already on the [2012-13] schedule. We happened to play Ohio State [in the Three Rivers Classic]. To have those three experiences, I think, are very valuable.”
Two freshmen split time in net last season, Matthew Skoff and PJ Musico, both of whom return this season. They’re joined by newcomer Eamon McAdam, who spent three years in the USHL.
“The players are all here,” Gadowsky said. “These are the guys. If we recruited you to come to Penn State, we believe you’re someone hungry to accept that challenge.
“We don’t know. Trust me, we’re not naive. We understand very well how great the programs are in the Big Ten Conference. At the same time, we need players that have that understanding but are hungry to accept the challenge.”
Gadowsky is sincere when he says he doesn’t know what the Nittany Lions can do this season, but, he said, “we’re looking forward to finding out.”
About the Nittany Lions
2012-13 overall record: 13-14 (independent)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): Sixth
Key losses: None
Players to watch: F Casey Bailey, F David Glen, D Connor Varley, G Matthew Skoff
Impact rookies: F David Goodwin, F Zach Saar, D Mike Williamson
Why the Nittany Lions will finish higher than predicted: The Nittany Lions averaged more goals per game last season than Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Expect them to be a bit underestimated, too.
Why the Nittany Lions will finish lower than predicted: As they are picked to finish last, they can’t go any lower … but the Nittany Lions may finish their first Big Ten season in last place because of their relative lack of experience.
Tanner Fritz was second in scoring on Ohio State’s roster last season with 37 points (photo: Rachel Lewis).
Ohio State begins the season with a new coach, Steve Rohlik, who served as an assistant under Mark Osiecki in Columbus for three seasons.
That makes the Buckeyes a team in transition — and one that is looking to realize its full potential.
“Well, I guess like any change, things happen,” Rohlik said. “You know, for me, it’s about having the opportunity and taking advantage of it and moving forward. That’s what I’m doing right now. I’m looking through the front window and not the rearview mirror and I have to do the best job I can for this program.”
For the past three seasons, the Buckeyes have underperformed up front in spite of having acknowledged offensive talent. In 2012-13, they averaged 2.38 goals per game, down from 2.60 the year before and 2.57 in 2010-11.
That’s a trend that Rohlik wants to reverse.
“We’ve got a great group of kids back with our leading scorers,” Rohlik said, “with Ryan Dzingel, Tanner Fritz and Max McCormick back up front. [We’re] certainly going to have to lean on them.”
Senior forward Alex Szczechura also returns, having gone from scoring four goals in 24 games in 2011-12 to a dozen in 37 games last season. If the Buckeyes are to improve in this area, though, they’ll need returning players like junior Darik Angeli and sophomore Tyler Lundey to produce more. And they’ll need immediate input from freshmen forwards David Gust and Nick Schilkey, both coming to the program from the USHL.
An even bigger question than offense for the Buckeyes, though, is the hole left in the cage by Brady Hjelle, whose senior campaign last year earned him first-team All-American honors. Hjelle’s .935 save percentage will be difficult to replace.
“We have a couple of guys there with Collin Olson from Minnesota … and Matt Tomkins from up in Alberta,” Rohlik said.
As a freshman last season, Olson played nine games with a .901 save percentage. Tomkins, a freshman this season, had a .924 save percentage over 44 AJHL games last year.
Defensively, the Buckeyes return a solid corps, including senior and captain Curtis Gedig and sophomore Craig Dalrymple, who proved to be a threat on the power play last season as well.
More than anything it seems, though, Rohlik is looking to heighten the profile of Ohio State’s program, which would be something that none of his predecessors was able to do successfully.
“Well, we do have a hockey team down here in Columbus,” Rohlik said, “and I think people are going to realize that. We do have a tradition. We do have All-Americans. We have played in six national tournaments. I think we’re going to go out there and continue to spread that message.”
As much as any coach in the Big Ten, Rohlik is relying on the conference to help spread that message.
“At Ohio State, when you think of Ohio State athletics, you think of Big Ten,” he said. “I think the hockey program there, we’re just scratching the surface, so I think it’s really going to affect our program maybe more than any other.
“With that being said, with the city of Columbus and the athletics and people who look at athletics [what] … the brand of Big Ten can mean to our hockey program is tremendous.
“We’ve got a great locker room, great people, and we’ve got a ton of support from the administration. I’m really looking forward to the start of this year.”
Key losses: F Chris Crane, D Devon Krogh, G Brady Hjelle
Players to watch: F Ryan Dzingel, F Max McCormick, D Craig Dalrymple, G Collin Olson
Impact rookies: F Nick Schilkey, D Josh Healey, G Matt Tomkins
Why the Buckeyes will finish higher than predicted: The Buckeyes have a talented team that has underperformed in recent seasons, with a junior class that is ready to break out. Don’t underestimate the bounce that can come with a welcome coaching change.
Why the Buckeyes will finish lower than predicted: The net’s a big question mark even though the defense is still solid, and Ohio State is still looking for consistent offense.
Minnesota hopes defenseman Brady Skjei can improve his offensive statistics this season (photo: Jim Rosvold).
Minnesota graduated only one senior off of last year’s team, but that doesn’t mean the squad that takes the ice this season will closely resemble last year’s.
Gone are Nick Bjugstad, Nate Schmidt, Erik Haula, Zach Budish and Mark Alt, all five of whom chose to forgo their senior season and sign professional contracts. Defenseman Seth Helgeson was the lone senior on the Gophers roster last year.
The losses of Bjugstad and Schmidt leave big holes to fill on both the top forward and defensive line. All in all, the Gophers’ reliance on star power over the past couple of years may transition to a youth movement this year.
“We have to be patient and allow them to grow during the course of the season,” coach Don Lucia said at the Big Ten’s media day. “But we have some guys that can make plays and we’ve seen that so far in practice and just in a couple days.”
Minnesota’s defensive corps is one area that is ripe with experience. The Gophers have three junior and senior defensemen along with sophomores Mike Reilly and Brady Skjei.
“So we’re a little thin with only seven [defensemen] right now,” Lucia said. “But as long as we don’t get injuries, we think the seven certainly are all good players and will compete with each other for playing time.”
Schmidt had a transformation in which he had an extremely successful sophomore season after a lackluster freshman campaign. Minnesota needs Skjei, who had three points in 36 games last season, to have a similar spike in production this season.
Opponents who get past Minnesota’s defense will still have to deal with getting the puck past Adam Wilcox.
The sophomore from South St. Paul, Minn., took over as the Gophers’ main goaltender a year ago after a brief experiment in which he split time with Michael Shibrowski in the beginning of the season. Wilcox went 25-8-5 in 38 starts last season.
Even with the loss of freshman Tommy Vanelli, who left the team last month, the Gophers have a solid group of freshmen. Also on that list is forward Connor Reilly, who missed last season with a knee injury.
Lucia hinted at the Big Ten media day that both Kyle Rau and Nate Condon could be moved to center this season. Rau, who had 40 points last season, and Condon, who had 31, are the Gophers’ top two returning scorers from last season.
“We need Kyle to score,” Lucia said. “He’s our leading returning scorer, and we need the puck on his stick as much as we possibly can.”
About the Golden Gophers
2012-13 record: 26-9-5
2012-13 WCHA record: 16-7-5 (tie-first)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): Second
Key losses: F Nick Bjugstad, F Erik Haula, F Zach Budish, D Nate Schmidt, D Mark Alt, D Seth Helgeson
Players to watch: F Kyle Rau, F Sam Warning, F Nate Condon, D Ben Marshall, G Adam Wilcox
Impact rookies: D Michael Brodzinski, F Hudson Fasching, F Vinni Lettieri, F Connor Reilly
Why the Gophers will finish higher than predicted: Sophomore backstop Adam Wilcox has the capability to shut out any team he faces. Wilcox’s flashy style of play can leave him out of position from time to time, but it didn’t burn the Gophers last year in terms of pucks ending up in the back of the net that shouldn’t have, and shouldn’t this year either.
Why the Gophers will finish lower than predicted: To be successful, the Gophers will need to rely on a lot of players to take a step up to the next level, which is entirely possible, but by no means a guarantee.
Jake Hildebrand had a .928 save percentage for Michigan State last season (photo: Matthew Mitchell/ MSU Athletic Communications).
Tom Anastos is straightforward when it comes to his expectations of Michigan State this season.
“I’m looking for 27 guys to step up, actually,” he said.
In 2012-13, their second season under Anastos, the Spartans finished last in the CCHA after having made an appearance in the NCAA tournament the season before.
“I really think we’re a program in transition,” Anastos said. “I know when I took the role there were areas that we looked to address.”
An area that Anastos has been vocal about wanting to address is team offense. He’s made it clear that he wants to play an up-tempo game with a team that is always thinking about the attack.
The year before he took over at Michigan State, the Spartans were averaging 2.58 goals per game. In Anastos’ first season, MSU improved to 2.85 goals per game.
Last year, though, the productivity dropped off to 2.07 goals on average, 55th-best in the nation. The reason, Anastos said, was player turnover.
“We lost them to graduation, and then we lost Torey Krug, our best player and the player of the year in our league that year to early departure to the pros,” Anastos said.
This season, the Spartans roster will include a total of 16 freshmen and sophomores.
“We’re still going to be young,” Anastos said. “But I think we did a lot of growing up last year. We still have a lot of growing up to do. We have very strong goaltending coming into the season, which is a good position to be good at, so I think we have a lot to build on.”
Sophomore Jake Hildebrand finished his first season with a .928 save percentage and five wins in his last nine games, including two shutouts — and all in front of a defense that was young.
“We lost five defensemen from the previous year’s team,” Anastos said, “four of which played with great regularity. We replaced them with new players and we knew that was going to be a very challenging proposition, which it proved to be.
“The good news was in spite of all that, our team got better during the course of the season. We fought through some time periods where confidence was a factor with an inexperienced group. We thought we were playing our best hockey coming together at the end of the season and when the season did end, no one wanted it to end.”
The Spartans will begin their season without their top returning scorer, junior forward Matt Berry, who had surgery last month. Junior forwards Matt DeBlouw and Tanner Sorenson each scored double-digit goals last season, as did sophomore Brent Darnell.
“We need to find offense,” Anastos said. “We were weak offensively. Part of that is our skill set, and we’re recruiting to that, yet we think we can get better with those players that we brought in and players that we have.”
Something that has improved markedly under Anastos is the way in which MSU fans see MSU hockey. Munn Ice Arena was full and noisy last season, a noticeable difference from seasons past and something that the Spartans are banking on to help with this team in transition.
“People are excited about Big Ten hockey. They’re excited about our program,” Anastos said. “Last year despite our season and our finish, we led the CCHA in attendance and we were a top-10 team in attendance, so people are excited about what’s going on, and our team feels that excitement as well.”
Players to watch: F Matt Berry, F Matt DeBlouw, F Brent Darnell, D Jake Chelios, D Travis Walsh, G Jake Hildebrand
Impact rookies: F Mackenzie MacEachern, F JT Stenglein
Why the Spartans will finish higher than predicted: The Spartans have been transitioning to a high-offense game under Tom Anastos and have worked out some of the bugs — like getting pinched less frequently — and they play well as an overall unit. Watch Hildebrand.
Why the Spartans will finish lower than predicted: Michigan State’s offense is still rebuilding and the team is young, with 16 freshmen and sophomores on the roster.
Michigan goalie Steve Racine put together a 10-game unbeaten streak late last season (photo: Rachel Lewis).
When it comes to understatement, there is no one quite like Michigan coach Red Berenson.
“As you know,” he said, “we’re coming off a not-so-good year.”
Forget that the Wolverines finished in seventh place in the CCHA; they had done that as recently as 2009-10 and had still managed to win the CCHA playoff championship at the end of that season.
No, 2012-13 was not-so-good for other reasons. Michigan finished below .500 for the first time since the 1986-87 season and the Wolverines missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1989-90, ending a 22-year appearance streak.
Berenson, now in his 30th season as Michigan’s coach, is the first to admit that the Wolverines didn’t deserve to make the tournament, and while he’s making no excuses, he is candid about one factor that contributed to last season’s disappointments.
“Although the second half of the year we got to be good and had a lot of momentum and nearly made it,” Berenson said, “nevertheless, there was a question of goalkeeping last year and I hope we’ve answered that.”
The answer is sophomore Steve Racine, who ended last season with a record of 12-6-3 and had a 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1) beginning Feb. 22. It was enough to carry the Wolverines into the last game for the Mason Cup, a win they needed to make the NCAA tournament. That performance, said Berenson, earned Racine the role of starter for this season.
It wasn’t just shaky goaltending that produced a subpar season for Michigan. There was little consistency in the Wolverines’ game in the first half of the season, and part of the glue that held the second half together was junior defenseman Jon Merrill, who elevated the play of everyone around him when he returned during the second half of last season following a neck injury. Merrill, however, is gone, as is another talented defenseman, Jacob Trouba.
“We did lose arguably two of our best defensemen last year as underclassmen to the pros,” Berenson said, “and we have to replace those guys with upcoming seniors, and Mac Bennett and Kevin Clare will hopefully carry that load, but also the incoming freshmen.”
The Wolverines finished 2012-13 with a defense that gave up 3.25 goals per game on average, worst in the CCHA and ninth-worst in the nation.
One thing Michigan has nearly always been able to count on is goal scoring, and the Wolverines return three players who netted 10 or more goals last season. Lead scorer forward Alex Guptill registered 16 goals in each of his first two seasons.
“I think we’ll be deep,” Berenson said, “and we’ll be good at forward. I think we’ll have some good, young players. JT Compher promises to be an outstanding freshman forward coming in, but after that, I think there is a lot of parity and we should have pretty good depth up front.”
Compher had 20 goals in 53 games during two seasons with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
With 10 freshmen on the roster, this will be on the youngest Michigan team in years. And even though this year’s senior class may not be as familiar to hockey fans as some senior classes past, the veterans are tested — and Berenson is counting on that.
“If your seniors are the leaders and the dominant players on your team, then you have a chance to have a good season. That will bring your younger players up a lot quicker and bring them into plays, and it will set the example for them.”
About the Wolverines
2012-13 overall record: 18-19-3
2012-13 CCHA record: 10-15-3-3 (seventh)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches’ poll): Third
Key losses: F Kevin Lynch, F A.J. Treais, D Jon Merrill, D Lee Moffie, D Jacob Trouba
Players to watch: F Alex Guptill, F Luke Moffatt, D Kevin Clare, G Steve Racine
Impact rookies: F JT Compher, F Tyler Motte, D Michael Downing, D Nolan De Jong, D Spencer Hyman
Why the Wolverines will finish higher than predicted: As everyone knows, the Wolverines can reload with the best of them — and can pull magic out of thin air, if necessary, as they have done in recent second halves. They’re fast and they should be able to score.
Why the Wolverines will finish lower than predicted: Michigan’s defense will be young with several freshmen playing in every game. That coupled with goaltending that wasn’t quite solid last season may trip the Wolverines.
All Air Force intercollegiate events have been postponed by the shutdown, but Alaska-Anchorage confirmed late Tuesday that the Falcons would indeed travel to Anchorage for the tournament. Air Force is scheduled to play Alaska on Friday and Alaska-Anchorage on Saturday.
