Spiro Goulakos is back at full strength after a battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma (photo: Melissa Wade).
Four of Colgate’s top five scorers last season were freshmen, which somewhat masked the fact that the Raiders relied on a large senior class for some important contributions.
The Raiders enter this season down three starting defenseman in Jeremy Price, Thomas Larkin and Nathan Sinz. Also gone are forward Robbie Bourdon and Kurtis Bartliff, meaning that once again Colgate will rely on a number of freshmen to step into the lineup.
“Most programs try to create a culture and identity and I think in many cases we try and recruit players that fit that mold,” coach Don Vaughan said. “That said, 10 new faces are in the program and many of them are going to have to play.”
One player the Raiders are glad to have back at full strength is junior captain and defenseman Spiro Goulakos.
Goulakos was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the middle of last season, but is in remission and ready to go.
He left the team in late January to begin cancer treatments in his native Montreal, but was given the chance to play toward the end of the season after treatments were going well. He returned at Dartmouth on Feb. 16, and the defenseman scored the game-winning goal in a 4-1 win over Union at home.
“All of us involved with Colgate hockey are very happy for Spiro and his family,” Vaughan said earlier this summer. “He has handled this illness with incredible courage and grace. We are excited to have him back in good health and leading our team as captain.”
In addition to the emotional boost of having their captain back, Goulakos was a important player on the ice for Colgate, running the first power-play unit that consisted of freshmen Tyson Spink, Tylor Spink, Kyle Baun and Mike Borkowski.
Sophomore Spencer Finney earned most of the playing time in goal for stretches of last season but gave way to senior Eric Mihalik as the year progressed. Freshman Charlie Finn got the start in Saturday’s season opener but gave up six goals to Ferris State before Mihalik shut out the Bulldogs Sunday to give the Raiders a split in their season-opening series.
Colgate wore down a bit last year as the season went on, ending with one win over the final month-and-a-half, including getting swept by St. Lawrence in the first round of the playoffs.
Even though Vaughan and his staff just went through the process of putting together a team full of newcomers, he knows it’s still not an easy task.
“They’ll be a steep learning curve and we’ll try to do a lot of the same things that we’ve done for years and get those guys on board quickly,” Vaughan said. “But that’s a challenge. We’ll have to find our identity early and hope that those young guys are going to contribute early.”
About the Raiders
2012-13 overall record: 14-18-4
2012-13 ECAC Hockey record: 6-13-3 (11th)
2013-14 predicted finish: Ninth in both the coaches’ and media polls
Key losses: F Robbie Bourdon, D Jeremy Price, D Thomas Larkin, D Nathan Sinz
Players to watch: F Kyle Baun, F Tylor Spink, F Tyson Spink, F Joe Wilson, D Spiro Goulakos
Impact rookies: F Tim Harrison, G Charlie Finn
Why the Raiders will finish higher than predicted: Last year’s productive freshman class is even better this year, while several newcomers make an impact as well.
Why the Raiders will finish lower than predicted: The second-half slump from last season carries over, and Colgate can’t stabilize its goaltending situation.
Allan McPherson led Clarkson in scoring last season but missed the playoffs (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
It’s not uncommon for a coaching change to cause some uneasiness in a college program. Players might wonder where they fit, or what impact any incoming recruits may have on their place on the team.
Now entering his third season and second full recruiting class, Clarkson coach Casey Jones is hopeful that problem is in the past.
“I found that guys were looking over their shoulders a little a bit at that first recruiting class coming through the door,” Jones said. “And know we have a little bit of confidence in our older guys that they understand the leadership that needs to be with your program. Hopefully that will carry us through the close games.”
It could have been a different season a year ago for the Golden Knights had some of those close games Jones referenced swung the other way. Clarkson had seven ties and seven one-goal losses, and finished the year with five goals in its last five games, including a sweep by Brown in the opening round of the playoffs.
“We didn’t end on a great note offensively,” Jones said. “It came down to some injuries, but there’s no excuse. I think we have more depth up front now and competition for positions hopefully gives us depth for some guys who are not consistent.”
Despite that, Jones is more worried about his defense and goaltending.
“We have to keep the puck out of our net more,” he said, pointing to Clarkson’s 3.14 goals per game allowed, which was tied for 47th in the nation.
Sophomore goalie Greg Lewis saw the majority of time last year and finished with a 3.02 GAA and a .898 save percentage.
“He had a good offseason; his body broke down a little bit [toward the end of the year],” Jones said. “First and foremost, our discipline and defensive statistics have to improve.”
He’ll be pushed for time by a pair of freshmen in Ville Runola and Steve Perry. Clarkson’s defensive group should be bolstered by the return of Kevin Tansey, who sat out all of last season after being a victim of an assault in the summer. Freshmen Jordan Boucher and James de Haas should add depth as well.
The Golden Knights’ defense got off to a near-perfect start over the weekend at No. 20 Niagara. Lewis allowed one goal on Saturday, while Perry followed up with a shutout Sunday against the Purple Eagles, who were 15-0-2 at home last season. Perry’s shutout was the first by a Clarkson rookie goalie in his debut in 27 years.
Senior Allan McPherson finished as the Golden Knights’ leading scorer but was out Clarkson’s two playoff games after getting hurt in the regular season finale. Senior captain and Bruins prospect Ben Sexton has shown potential in his first three years but has yet to put together a complete season.
“We’re at an interesting time here,” Jones said. “It’s a tough time to be rebuilding [in the league].”
About the Golden Knights
2012-13 overall record: 9-20-7
2012-13 ECAC Hockey record: 8-11-3 (10th)
2013-14 predicted finish: Twelfth in both the coaches’ and media polls
Key losses: F Adam Pawlick, D Andrew Himelson
Players to watch: F Allan MacPherson, F Ben Sexton, F Joe Zarbo, F Jarrett Burton
Impact rookies: G Ville Runola, G Steve Perry
Why the Golden Knights will finish higher than predicted: One of the freshmen or sophomore Greg Lewis emerges in net and the Golden Knights find a way to turn seven one-goal losses and seven ties from last year into wins.
Why the Golden Knights will finish lower than predicted: There’s no lower to go after being picked last in both polls, but if Clarkson’s offensive slump from last season carries over and the defense and goaltending doesn’t improve, there’s little reason to think it’ll rise from the bottom.
Matt Lorito quietly scored 22 goals for Brown last season (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
Brown coach Brendan Whittet was adamant last season that there was more to the Bears than just senior goalie Anthony Borelli.
That may be the case, but there’s no doubt that replacing Borelli will be one of the biggest tasks for Brown entering this season. The senior goaltender took over the starting job in December after not playing for two years and finished third nationally in save percentage in addition to posting four shutouts.
The Bears finished over .500 last year for the first time since 2004-05, and beat top-ranked Quinnipiac in the opening game of the ECAC championship before losing to Union in the final.
They’ll have several candidates to replace Borelli in net, but Whittet isn’t revealing any front runners.
“We have no preconceived notion about who is going to be our starting goaltender,” he said. “We’ll let it sort itself out in practice.”
Candidates include freshmen Tyler Steel and Tim Ernst, along with senior Marco DeFilippo.
It was an injury to DeFilippo that allowed Borelli to get a chance — somewhat fitting, considering the injuries that the Bears dealt with last year, especially on defense.
Defenseman Nate Widman was lost for the year with an ACL injury in the third game of the season, while forward Ryan Jacobson, Brown’s second-leading scorer two years ago, was done in early February with an ACL injury as well.
“I don’t think it was so much offseason condition or training or anything of that nature,” Whittet said. “We need a little bit of luck. The adjustment is such that you are playing guys you weren’t expecting in those specific roles.”
One of those players who moved around was forward Jake Goldberg, who switched to defense at midseason. Goldberg held his own, but Whittet would prefer to not have to manipulate his roster again.
The Bears might have better luck with injuries, but they’ll need some offensive production from someone other than forward Matt Lorito, who quietly ranked among the national leaders with 22 goals last season.
Lorito’s numbers were even more impressive considering Brown had no one else with more than seven goals. Sophomore Mark Naclerio finished with 23 points and was an excellent faceoff man for the Bears last season, while a bump in production from forwards Nick Lappin or Garnet Hathaway would help spread the offense throughout the Brown lineup.
The Bears will get a chance to see where they stand right away, as Brown opens the season Oct. 25 against defending national champion Yale as part of the Liberty Invitational.
About the Bears
2012-13 overall record: 16-14-6
2012-13 ECAC Hockey record: 7-9-6 (seventh)
2013-14 predicted finish: Eighth in both the coaches’ and media polls
Key losses: F Chris Zaires, D Richie Crowley, G Anthony Borelli
Players to watch: F Matt Lorito, F Mark Naclerio, D Dennis Robertson
Impact rookies: G Tyler Steel, G Tim Ernst
Why the Bears will finish higher than predicted: Brown finds a replacement for Borelli, complements its grind-it-out defense with some more offense and stays healthy.
Why the Bears will finish lower than predicted: Lorito is forced to carry the offense again, and Brown can’t stay healthy for a second season in a row.
After sweeping Colgate last weekend, Minnesota maintains the top ranking in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll.
Minnesota received all 15 first-place votes.
Boston College, Clarkson and Cornell remain ranked No. 2, 3 and 4, respectively, while Wisconsin moves up two to sit in a fourth-place tie this week with Cornell.
North Dakota jumps two places to sit sixth, Boston University falls a pair to No. 7 and Harvard is up one to No. 8 this week.
New to the rankings this week are Minnesota-Duluth at No. 9 and tenth-ranked Ohio State.
And we’re back …
What is to be learned from the games and exhibitions over the first couple of weeks?
As is often the case early, results can be unpredictable. Consider the CHA, where the only team with a winning record is Penn State, a second-year program that took its lumps last season. The Nittany Lions had unexpected success at Vermont as they did a year ago.
Granted that there is little data to go on at this point, like those early returns on election night with less than one percent of the precincts reporting, but some trends are emerging.
Conference power
Listen to coaches around the country and one keeps hearing comments like, “I think we play in the strongest conference,” or, “Our league is the most competitive from top to bottom.”
Such conference loyalty is commendable, but which leagues have done the best job of backing up the claims so far?
Given Penn State is its only winning team, it obviously isn’t the CHA. Collectively, the league has gone 5-9-2 in the early going, a .375 clip, and has been outscored by 21 goals.
Hockey East has struggled even more. HEA teams are 4-8-1 versus teams from other conferences, a .346 winning percentage, and are minus 17 in goal differential. It’s worth noting that neither Boston College nor Boston University, the circuit’s two Frozen Four teams from last spring, have started their nonconference schedules.
ECAC Hockey, minus the six Ivies, has recorded a 6-5-1 mark outside the league, a .542 percentage, and is nine goals to the good.
The WCHA leads the way with a 9-2-2 record in such games, a sizzling .769 percentage, outscoring opponents by 29 goals, with only Wisconsin yet to play outside of the league.
These numbers are swayed by which teams have traveled or faced tougher competition, but lower-division teams from some leagues have fared better. We’ll revisit these records around Thanksgiving to see how the balance has shifted.
Fast starter
In the early going, the No. 3 Clarkson Golden Knights have given every indication that they are who we thought they are. While not quite unscathed by roster turnover from last season, it’s safe to say that they have been less beset by such scathing than most of the other top contenders. With its core intact, Clarkson has surged out of the blocks. It had a pair of strong wins over rival St. Lawrence in non-ECAC games, 5-2 and 4-1, after opening with a 12-1 demolition of RIT.
Streak in jeopardy?
No. 7 Mercyhurst has qualified for the NCAA tournament in each of the last nine seasons, often by getting off to a quick start and not looking back. The Lakers split at Minnesota State to open the season, losing 4-2 and bouncing back with a 3-2 win. After an overtime defeat on home ice on Saturday inflicted by Ohio State, 4-3, Mercyhurst finds itself on the wrong side of the .500 mark.
However, their streak has grown so long because of what the Lakers do when faced with a challenge. Two years ago, after the same one-of-three start, they rattled off nine consecutive wins. In October 2008, Mercyhurst opened with a particularly tough stretch that saw it post three wins and four losses. The team responded with a run of 28 wins in its next 29 games and reached the NCAA Championship.
Clutch performers
What do Kylie St. Louis of Robert Morris and Taylor Kuehl of Ohio State have in common? Both scored in overtime to upend Rensselaer and Mercyhurst respectively. In each case, the losing team had erased a two-goal deficit, only to ultimately have its rally negated.
Offensive catalysts
Clarkson has the top offense in the country, averaging seven goals per game, and defenseman Erin Ambrose is a major reason why. The sophomore tallied hat tricks in her first two games and is averaging three points per contest.
A number of newcomers have already burst onto the scene, none in more spectacular fashion than Susanna Tapani of North Dakota. The Finnish product contributed six points in her first college series. She’s not the only one doing heavy lifting at UND, as junior Josefine Jakobsen matched her point for point against Lindenwood.
In the absence of Alex Carpenter, No. 2 Boston College needs a big season from Haley Skarupa. She delivered in her sophomore debut with three points, including a couple of slick goals, versus Maine in a 5-1 win.
Rachael Bona was asked to fill Amanda Kessel’s spot on Minnesota’s top line, and the junior responded with seven points at Colgate. Her new center, Hannah Brandt, avoided a sophomore jinx with a six-point weekend.
Still perfect
In goal, Julie Friend of St. Cloud State and Kayla Black of Minnesota-Duluth have yet to be scored on this season. Both turned in shutouts in their only appearances, although Friend had to settle for a tie when her team was blanked at the other end versus Quinnipiac.
How the rest of the top 10 fared
Last season, No. 1 Minnesota didn’t allow a goal until its third game or trail until its ninth game. The Gophers didn’t make it two minutes into the new season before falling behind. In all, they faced three deficits over the weekend against Colgate; they only trailed nine times in 41 games last year. Minnesota did emerge with 3-1 and 8-3 wins over the Raiders.
No. 6 Wisconsin opened WCHA conference action by dropping Minnesota State by 3-0 and 5-1 scores.
No. 8 North Dakota kept Nicole Hensley of Lindenwood busy during 5-1 and 6-1 wins. The sophomore made 46 and 69 saves in playing both ends of the weekend set.
No. 10 Northeastern was the only other ranked team to taste defeat. The Huskies lost a 4-1 contest to Syracuse and came from behind to claim a 5-4 win over RIT on Saturday.
No. 4. Cornell, No. 5 Boston University, and No. 9 Harvard have yet to commence NCAA competition.
Andrew Prochno and St. Cloud State beat Sean Kuraly and Miami for a spot in last season’s Frozen Four. The teams are expected to compete for the inaugural NCHC regular season title (photo: Rachel Lewis).
College hockey teams, regardless of which conference they’re in, beat up on each other through the regular season in order to obtain favorable spots in a postseason in which they’ll beat up on each other all over again.
In a league as powerful and competitive top to bottom as the new NCHC, though, it’s tough to tell in preseason how much the eight teams will have left in their tanks come playoff time.
That’s the view held by Bob Motzko, the St. Cloud State coach that guided the Huskies last season to a share of the regular season championship in the WCHA, traditionally one of Division I’s strongest leagues.
Six former WCHA member schools make up three-fourths of the NCHC: St. Cloud State, Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota.
All six teams have plenty of experience squaring off with each other on the ice. Now, though, they’ll also get to try to beat up on — and also be beaten up by — Miami and Western Michigan, two of the top three teams last season in the now-defunct CCHA.
“It’s almost silly to rank predictions for our eight teams,” Motzko said. “I don’t think you will find a league in the country that can be more balanced with eight programs as you do here, and I think it’s going to play out that way.
“Our schedule on paper, when you look at it, doesn’t look a whole lot different than it did in the past. The big change for us is we are going to Western Michigan and Miami on our schedule, and really you can’t think any more than you have to start the fight week-to-week, and we’re probably going to be a league that is very geared to [the NCHC] playoffs.
“We’re going to beat each other up all year long and you’re going to want to be playing your best hockey at the end of the season.”
Talk to any coach or player in the NCHC and they’ll tell a story similar to Motzko’s. Some, like Western Michigan coach Andy Murray, feel being in such a well-balanced league is what fans desire and what will make his young team this season better.
“We couldn’t take a night off in the CCHA, and we can’t now,” Murray said upon considering both the Broncos’ NCHC schedule as well as Western’s non-conference slate this season.
“We’re going to have tough games all the time, and our players are going to learn to thrive. And with 10 new players, we’re not letting them in the back door and tell them to pace themselves and find their way. If we do that, we’re going to be so far behind at the start of the year. So we’ve got a tough schedule but that’s what our fans want to see, and I believe that’s how we’re going to get better.”
Another view shared throughout the new league is that, while the landscape may be different going forward, how the teams prepare to earn the desired results will be much the same as before.
“We were used to playing in the WCHA, which is considered, year in and year out, to be the most competitive league in the country,” North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said. “And now we’re beginning a new chapter and will start new traditions in the NCHC just as other teams will in their own respective leagues.
“I expect the new NCHC to be as competitive top to bottom as any in the nation, so I don’t think our mentality or preparation will change a whole lot. I think the WCHA has prepared us very well to go into another very competitive league.”
Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin said he feels the same way about how the WCHA prepared his band of Bulldogs for life in their new conference.
“I think the competitive standpoint is obviously going to be very similar,” Sandelin said. “I think the difference is that we are going to be playing each other more than we did in the WCHA with some teams.
“The schedule was certainly significant in some years, depending on who you played. I think this is certainly going to make it more difficult week in and week out to win hockey games, but at the same time, that’s the exciting part. I think that is the challenge we are looking forward to. I think when you play a strong schedule, it forces you to get better quickly.”
With as strong as the NCHC is, then, it’s hardly a cliché to say every league game matters.
“I felt [the strength of the WCHA] was a big reason that our league then had some success, and I think this league will have the same thing, too, with everybody pushing each other,” Sandelin said.
“The unfortunate thing is some good teams at the end aren’t going to be in there, but that’s why you play the regular season.”
Listed below are links to USCHO’s NCHC team previews, listed in alphabetical order (see below for predictions). Click on each school’s name for a full preview complete with capsule information.
Then-senior goaltender Joe Howe carried the previously inconsistent Tigers to last season’s WCHA playoff championship game, but coach Scott Owens now has to build upon that success without Howe and four of CC’s top five scorers from the 2012-13 campaign. Read more
Jim Montgomery, the Pioneers’ first new head coach since 1994, has been given the reins to a DU team that features 10 freshmen and is missing some key early departures such as forward Nick Shore and goaltender Juho Olkinuora. Read more
RedHawks coach Enrico Blasi took a team featuring 12 freshmen to last season’s CCHA regular season title and the NCAA Midwest Regional final, and most of that squad returns as Miami enters a new conference that many prognosticators expect the RedHawks to win. Read more
Forwards Tony Cameranesi and Austin Farley and defenseman Andy Welinski had impressive freshman seasons in 2012-13, and they will be relied upon heavily to lead a young UMD team that features only nine upperclassmen. Read more
The Mavericks could have done without having to lose star forward Matt White and a would-have-been freshman defenseman in August. While this year’s UNO roster lacks both depth and numbers, many accomplished upperclassman veterans will look to help keep their team competitive. Read more
UND doesn’t rebuild so much as it reloads. One of last season’s best senior classes in all of college hockey is gone, but North Dakota is ushering in one of the nation’s best groups of incoming freshmen and returns solid veterans at every position. Read more
Hobey Baker Award winner Drew LeBlanc and a few other key pieces have left St. Cloud, Minn., but returning stars like forward Jonny Brodzinski, defenseman Nic Dowd and goaltender Ryan Faragher are determined to prove that the cupboard is far from bare and that the Huskies have the potential to make a second consecutive Frozen Four appearance. Read more
Goaltender Frank Slubowski is back after backstopping the CCHA’s second-best defense from last season, but the Broncos need to pick up the pace at the other end of the ice after having scored the fewest goals of any team in their league in 2012-13. Read more
Candace’s picks
1. St. Cloud State
2. Miami
3. North Dakota
4. Denver
5. Colorado College
6. Minnesota-Duluth
7. Nebraska-Omaha
8. Western Michigan
Matthew’s picks
1. Miami
2. North Dakota
3. St. Cloud State
4. Denver
5. Minnesota-Duluth
6. Colorado College
7. Nebraska-Omaha
8. Western Michigan
Goaltender Frank Slubowski is a dependable veteran for Western Michigan, which seeks more offense this season (photo: Rachel Lewis).
Western Michigan did some good things in its final season in its old league, but other parts of the Broncos’ game need work as WMU enters college hockey’s post-realignment era.
The Broncos finished third in the now-defunct CCHA’s closing campaign, and that success was largely due to their defense. Western boasted the league’s second-stingiest defense (2.13 goals per game) and a starting goaltender in Frank Slubowski who gave up even less than that (2.11) over 30 appearances.
Slubowski is back for the inaugural season of the NCHC, though, and so is the bulk of last season’s defensive corps. That’s the good news; the bad news is Western has lost a lot of offensive talent from a 2012-13 team that didn’t score much to begin with.
The players that left Kalamazoo, Mich., last summer were responsible for 37.9 percent (33 of 87) of their team’s goal-scoring output over the 2012-13 season. When you consider no CCHA team scored fewer goals in the last campaign than the Broncos did, Western’s list of departures hits that much harder.
Forwards Dane Walters and Mike Leone, two of WMU’s top five point-scorers last season, have graduated. Also gone is defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who opted to forgo his senior season in favor of signing with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings.
Western Michigan coach Andy Murray said that lack of scoring prowess, combined with seven losses in the Broncos’ final 11 games of last season, kept WMU from making a third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
“[Losing that much] of our scoring from last year would not be very much because we didn’t score very much,” Murray said. “We were one of the lowest-scoring teams in all of college hockey, and we were certainly, for 90 percent of last season, in the top three in terms of goals against, and we let that slip a little at the end. That’s why we didn’t get to play in the national tournament after being ranked in the top 10 all year.
“Our offense-to-defense differential has to be better. We can’t afford to give up anything more defensively, so we’ve got to continue to emphasize solid team defense. But we want our defense to be based on an attacking offense where we have the puck, and we need to have a higher finishing percentage on our shots.
“We generate a lot of shots and don’t give up a lot of them, but we’ve got to continue to emphasize defense. Our defensive numbers last season were quite good as we had the puck so often offensively, but we weren’t efficient enough with our finishing ability.”
Murray’s list of returning players includes plenty of players who know how to get on the score sheet, however. Senior forwards Chase Balisy, Shane Berschbach and Mike Cichy will be relied upon to lead the lines up front.
On the blue line, senior defenseman Dennis Brown is a solid veteran offensive defenseman. Sophomore Kenney Morrison had a good first year in Kalamazoo and should play an expanded role this season with that experience under his belt.
The rest of Western’s playing personnel is relatively unproven. Add to that eight freshmen entering the fold — down from nine after star recruit and first-round NHL draft pick Mike McCarron signed with the Montreal Canadiens in July — and Murray will be relying on the upperclassmen to lead a young team this season.
“This is a young team, and people are telling me it’s the youngest team Western’s ever had,” Murray said.
“We’ve got four seniors here, as well, that have been with me for two years and one with Coach [Jeff Blashill, who coached WMU during the 2010-11 season]. It’s the case with any college program that people can talk about the freshmen, but ultimately it’s the upperclassmen that have to be the difference-makers.”
If the youth can jell quickly with the veterans and the Broncos can find the balance between offense and defense that eluded them last season, a return to NCAA tournament play is possible. If the bonding and balancing don’t happen, though, Western might find itself further down the NCHC standings than it’d like to be come March.
About the Broncos
2012-13 overall record: 19-11-8
2012-13 CCHA record: 15-7-6-3 (Third)
2013-14 predicted finish: Candace eighth, Matthew eighth
Key losses: F Dane Walters, F Mike Leone, D Danny DeKeyser
Players to watch: F Chase Balisy, F Shane Berschbach, D Dennis Brown, D Kenney Morrison, G Frank Slubowski
Impact rookies: F Sheldon Dries, F Kyle Novak, D Mike McKee
Why the Broncos will finish higher than predicted: Their .605 winning percentage in the 2012-13 campaign, compared to .585 the season before, indicates an upward trajectory under Murray. The 2013-14 Broncos are a very young bunch, but with that youth comes a lot of potential to keep Western’s momentum under Murray going.
Why the Broncos will finish lower than predicted: WMU lost to graduation and professional hockey a lot of the offensive weaponry from a 2012-13 Broncos team that didn’t score very often to start with. Replacing what left Kalamazoo after last season is a big burden to place on a team featuring 16 underclassmen.
Nic Dowd and St. Cloud State are fueled by the loss in their last game last season (photo: Rachel Lewis).
In many ways, 2012-13 seemed like a dream season for the St. Cloud State Huskies. They won the MacNaughton Cup as WCHA regular season champion on the final weekend of the season and spent large stretches of the year ranked in the top 10.
After being upset by Wisconsin in the Final Five, the Huskies rebounded with convincing wins over Notre Dame and Miami in the NCAA Midwest Regional to advance to the program’s first Frozen Four.
However, St. Cloud’s dream season was undone by the first 11 minutes of the Frozen Four semifinal game against Quinnipiac, where sloppy play and strong work by the Bobcats had St. Cloud in a 3-0 hole it never came back from.
“We are pretty proud of our team last year from start to finish,” St. Cloud coach Bob Motzko said. “We grew a tremendous amount and became an outstanding hockey team. We are sure disappointed with the first five minutes of that semifinal game, and we give Quinnipiac a lot of credit. They took advantage of our slow start and got on top of us and then their goalie wouldn’t let us back in.
“There’s definitely some frustration in that, but overall we are proud of our season. This is a new season, and we want to build on what we’ve been doing here for a long time.”
Senior forward and team captain Nic Dowd, who finished second in team scoring last season, echoed his coach’s comments.
“Obviously, we can use that to our advantage. We’ve been to a Frozen Four now and been in those high-pressure situations and we’ve won a couple of championships, and I think that’s just good for a program,” he said. “There’s always those games where you are going to have a hard time getting to the next level, so for us to finally break through and won a league championship, I think that is something we can use to our advantage this season. I think the main thing I always tell people is that we lost our last game of the season, so I think that should be enough fuel.”
Last season, the Huskies were led by Hobey Baker Award winner Drew LeBlanc, who scored 53 points, led the nation in assists with 37, and was 10th nationally in points per game while earning WCHA student-athlete of the year honors. LeBlanc is gone to graduation, as is fifth-leading scorer Ben Hanowski. Another key loss was junior defenseman Nick Jensen, who signed with the Detroit Red Wings. However, most of the Huskies roster returns to build on last season.
A key for the Huskies will be whether Jonny Brodzinski and Kalle Kossila, who finished third and fourth, respectively, on the team in scoring as freshmen, have sophomore slumps.
Brodzinski tied for fifth nationally and led all rookies in goals scored with 22.
“Yeah, we are a young hockey team still,” Motzko said. “We lost four players off last year’s team, which is a low number. The problem on our side is that we lost some great players, or big parts of our team last year. We have some pieces to put back together.
“We have a lot of goalies returning, we are strong in goaltending, we like our offense, but it’s a new season. We want to build off what we’ve been doing and the excitement last year, but that excitement isn’t going to score goals or keep goals out of the net. This team has to find its heartbeat and its pulse and its identity, and that’s the challenge that all of us have to start the season.
“You do want to build on the things you do, but you start new, and that’s the exciting thing about starting a new season, finding the leadership and players that are going to take big steps in their career and put it together.”
One player from whom Motzko is looking for big things is goalie Ryan Faragher, who was 21st in goaltending nationally last year with a 2.27 GAA and a .914 save percentage.
“When Mike Lee went in for surgery and was out for almost three months, Ryan got baptized under fire his freshman year and he came through outstanding, and with Mike signing and leaving early, Ryan fell into the No. 1 spot as a sophomore,” Motzko said. “Ryan was a very, very good college goalie last year and a big part of our success. …
“He has to raise his game on a more consistent basis night to night and be a dominant factor, because he can be a dominant goalie. He’s just an outstanding young man and a fierce competitor, and he wants that challenge and we’re excited for it.”
About the Huskies
2012-13 overall record: 25-16-1
2012-13 WCHA record: 18-9-1 (Tie-first)
2013-14 predicted finish: Candace first, Matt third
Key losses: F Drew LeBlanc, F Ben Hanowski, D Nick Jensen
Players to watch: F Nic Dowd, F Jonny Brodzinski, F Kalle Kossila, G Ryan Faragher
Impact rookies: D Ben Storm, D Niklas Nevalainen
Why the Huskies will finish higher than predicted: With a Frozen Four under their belt and some fierce firepower up front, they should continue to terrorize opposing defenses. The Huskies finished tied for third nationally in team offense.
Why the Huskies will finish lower than predicted: The loss of Nick Jensen could hurt an already middling defense. St. Cloud finished tied for 17th last year in team defense and needs to improve on that number.
Rocco Grimaldi is expected to help lead North Dakota’s offense (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
No sports team at any level can afford to spend too much time thinking about past accomplishments and former greats on its roster.
This is something known all too well by North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol, charged this season with leading a young UND squad into a new conference.
UND’s 4-1 NCAA West Regional final loss March 30 at the hands of eventual national champion Yale stung on several levels. It meant the end of a strange season for UND, but it also prompted the departure of a group of six seniors that supplied over 43 percent — 59 of 135 — of the team’s goals in its 2012-13 campaign.
What’s worse, despite getting major contributions from two Hobey Baker Award finalists in then-senior forwards Danny Kristo and Corban Knight, UND’s men’s hockey team’s final season in the WCHA wasn’t the program’s finest. It was the first season in the last 11 in which North Dakota failed to win either the WCHA’s regular season or playoff title or qualify for the Frozen Four.
Now, though, Hakstol and a UND team that includes eight freshmen has a chance to restore order as it tries to make hay in the inaugural season of the NCHC.
Hakstol said last season won’t be UND’s sole motivation to improve this time around. Not that it could be, anyway, with so many new players on the roster.
“It’s a different year, and this is a very different group,” Hakstol said. “We’re going to be a young team this year, and while that doesn’t change the fact that I’m not happy with our ending from last year, that has nothing to do with how this season is going to begin or, more importantly, how this season is going to progress.
“I’m sure there’s motivation for all the returning players based on a lot of different things, not just the ending of last year, but this is a very different team.”
This is one of the younger teams Hakstol has had since he took the reins at UND in 2004, but that’s not to say it’s an underwhelming one on paper.
Eight newcomers, including six 2013 NHL draft picks and Canada’s Junior A 2012-13 goaltender of the year in Matt Hrynkiw, will try to quickly jell and compete with the veterans in the squad.
UND also boasts returning veterans that pack plenty of firepower. UND’s scoring output may not turn out to be quite as prolific as it was last season, but third-year sophomore Rocco Grimaldi, junior Mark MacMillan and sophomore Drake Caggiula will be expected to lead the lines up front.
UND will miss departed defensemen Joe Gleason, Derek Forbort and Andrew MacWilliam, but senior Dillon Simpson is set to be this season’s team’s rock in defense. Junior Nick Mattson is also a solid, veteran blueliner.
Goaltending might be UND’s biggest strength this season. Senior Clarke Saunders and sophomore Zane Gothberg make up one of the NCHC’s best goalie tandems, and both were among the WCHA’s top four goaltenders in both major statistical categories between Feb. 1 and the end of last season.
Between what returns this season and the new talent coming in, the potential is there for UND to improve upon what the 2012-13 team managed to accomplish. As for worrying how much the team might miss last season’s stellar senior class, however, that isn’t a thought Hakstol’s willing to entertain.
“We’re really proud of that senior group, and they were great players and great leaders and a lot of those guys are going to go on to good careers playing the game and doing other things, but [their departure] is where you turn the page now to a new team,” Hakstol said. “Everyone might look at them and compare stats with who you lost, but I don’t.
“As a staff, we’re just really focused on looking at who we have on this year’s team. And we’re going to be young, but that doesn’t really matter. We feel like we’ve got 26 guys in our locker room that can help us become a good team this year.”
About North Dakota
2012-13 overall record: 22-13-7
2012-13 WCHA record: 14-7-7 (Third)
2013-14 predicted finish: Candace third, Matthew second
Key losses: F Danny Kristo, F Corban Knight, F Carter Rowney, D Andrew MacWilliam, D Joe Gleason, D Derek Forbort
Players to watch: F Rocco Grimaldi, F Mark MacMillan, F Drake Caggiula, D Dillon Simpson, G Zane Gothberg, G Clarke Saunders
Impact rookies: F Luke Johnson, F Wade Murphy, F Adam Tambellini, D Paul LaDue
Why UND will finish higher than predicted: One or both of North Dakota’s veteran goaltenders — or perhaps even Matt Hrynkiw — could catch fire, and yet another solid UND recruiting class will jell in a hurry with the team’s veterans.
Why UND will finish lower than predicted: UND’s goaltending and defense might be strong, but, considering how prolific last year’s seniors (apart from third-string goaltender Tate Maris) were at the other end of the ice, huge shoes have been left that require filling.
Nebraska-Omaha’s Ryan Walters tied for second nationally with 52 points last season (photo: Michelle Bishop).
Looking at Nebraska-Omaha’s roster for the 2013-14 season, one might wonder if that list is a bit short on numbers and depth.
It is. On both counts.
UNO just experienced a second consecutive offseason that included the introduction of a new assistant coach as well as players leaving school early. The most recent summer was arguably worse than the one before, though, as the Mavericks were forced in August to jettison a player that wore a “C” on his sweater last season.
On Aug. 16, UNO coach Dean Blais announced he was releasing two players and suspending a third after the three student-athletes were ticketed for disorderly conduct in connection with an Aug. 3 incident in downtown Omaha that allegedly involved the use of racial slurs.
One of the two players dismissed was Matt White, a team captain from last season who finished third on the club in goals (16) and fourth in points (34).
Would-have-been incoming freshman defenseman Preston Hodge was also dismissed. Senior forward Alex Simonson, who appeared in 18 games in 2012-13, is suspended and will miss the beginning of the new season.
However, White, who arguably would have been UNO’s best returning playmaker, is easily the most prominent of the three. Blais said the absence of White and Hodge makes for a big change in what this season’s Mavericks team is going to look like.
“Every year, we’ve had something like this happen that we haven’t expected to happen in the summer when school’s not in session,” Blais said. “We hadn’t even gotten going [with preseason training] and school wasn’t on, but they got here in July and come the middle of August, bam, we’re without a defenseman and a forward, and that affects a lot.
“It affects the team because we’re down to seven defensemen, and one forward line doesn’t have a winger with White out of there, so instead of 15 forwards, we’re down to 14 and down to seven defensemen from eight, so it makes a huge difference.”
The early departures didn’t end with White and Hodge, though. Two other former UNO defensemen signed NHL contracts in the offseason, with Andrej Sustr and Tony Turgeon linking up with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh, respectively.
Some defensive stalwarts such as senior Michael Young and sophomore Nick Seeler return, but UNO’s biggest strength coming into this season is unquestionably the offense. Apart from White, every forward from last season’s roster returns.
This season’s senior class will be heavily relied upon. 2012-13 Hobey Baker Award candidate Ryan Walters is the headliner after a 22-goal, 52-point season, but Johnnie Searfoss, Zahn Raubenheimer and Brock Montpetit also will be looking to end their college careers on a high note.
For as strong as the offense will be, though, the Mavericks’ goaltending is by far the team’s biggest question mark going into this season.
Junior Ryan Massa is UNO’s lone returning netminder. He sat out the majority of the last season for what were initially cited as personal reasons, and he practiced with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL before rejoining the Mavericks in January.
John Faulkner was one of only three UNO seniors last season, and the Mavericks parted ways with would-be junior Dayn Belfour in the summer. This leaves Massa ahead of incoming freshmen Reed Peters and Kirk Thompson.
Blais said he feels prognosticators’ questioning of UNO’s goaltending depth this season is fair.
“With Ryan Massa, last year he didn’t come back with the numbers he’d put up the year before,” Blais said. “Which is understandable as he missed half a year of practicing with the college guys and instead worked with the Lancers, where it’s different shooting and a different speed. But he’s back now to where he was two years ago, and he’s looked upon [this season] to be our starter.
“After him, we’ll see what happens.”
Questions surrounding UNO’s goaltending and defensive depth influenced 16 NCHC media members in placing the Mavericks last in the league’s inaugural preseason media poll. Finishing at the bottom of the eight-team conference, however, is something Blais won’t tolerate.
“Eighth is not going to be acceptable to this team,” Blais said. “[Our players] will tell you they want to win, and do we have a legitimate chance to win? We’ll see, but we’re short [due to late dismissals] already, and that’s strike two, and that’s a factor.
“[White and Hodge] were two players that we were going to count on, and now we’re short. Does that mean we can’t be successful, though? Absolutely not.”
About the Mavericks
2012-13 overall record: 19-18-2
2012-13 WCHA record: 14-12-2 (Seventh)
2013-14 predicted finish: Candace seventh, Matthew seventh
Key losses: F Matt White, F Brent Gwidt, D Bryce Aneloski, D Andrej Sustr, G John Faulkner
Players to watch: F Ryan Walters, F Josh Archibald, F Dominic Zombo, D Michael Young, D Jaycob Megna, G Ryan Massa
Impact rookies: F Jake Guentzel, F Austin Ortega, D Ian Brady
Why the Mavericks will finish higher than predicted: Although White’s situation was unfortunate, UNO’s offense still comes into this season stacked and shouldn’t have much difficulty finding the back of the net.
Why the Mavericks will finish lower than predicted: Goaltending is UNO’s biggest question mark coming into the 2013-14 campaign, with defensive depth another issue. What’s worse, the Mavericks have made a habit of stumbling down the stretch (2-14 in March in UNO’s past three seasons).
Tony Cameranesi scored 14 goals as a freshmen for Minnesota-Duluth (photo: Bradley K. Olson).
Streaky might be the best word to describe the 2012-13 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. Inconsistent would be another.
After opening last year with series splits against Ohio State and Notre Dame, the Bulldogs went 1-4-2 before closing the first half strong with four wins and a tie in six games.
After going 3-1 in January, the Bulldogs hit their nadir in February, with a 0-6-2 stretch before winning their last four of the regular season. They were then swept by Wisconsin in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
“I didn’t think we had a ton of offensive depth up front, and goaltending, too,” Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said. “We lost Kenny Reiter. We had Aaron Crandall back, but at the end of the day with Matt McNeely being a freshman goalie who played a majority of the games, we were young in certain spots.”
Such streaks of inconsistent play might be expected for what was a young team. The Bulldogs had seven seniors on last year’s squad, but only one, Mike Seidel, was counted on to score. Seidel led the team in scoring, tying with freshmen Austin Farley and Tony Cameranesi, while defenseman Wade Bergman finished with 17 points.
The bad news is that if youth leads to inconsistency, the Bulldogs are even younger this year, sporting only four seniors and five juniors. They might be hard-pressed to improve an offense that ranked only 35th nationally with 2.61 points per game, and a defense that was 38th nationally in allowing 2.87 points per game.
“I think we are younger this year, freshmen- and sophomore-wise, just based on our numbers,” Sandelin said. “I think we have 17 or 18. In terms of underclassmen, we are pretty young. … It is how it is, and a lot of teams are going through it.
“It was hard to pinpoint last year. It’s tough when you struggle to score goals. Our power play was certainly big for us last year, and when you score 41 of your 99 goals on the power play, certainly that’s great, but we need to be a little better five-on-five. I think there were a lot of little things that led up to some inconsistencies.”
The bright spot for the Bulldogs is at forward. Cameranesi and Farley, who finished 17th and 25th, respectively, in the WCHA in scoring as freshmen and were tied for the team lead in points with Seidel, return. Also back and looking to step up as a junior is Caleb Herbert.
“We didn’t score a lot five-on-five last year, so I think this year we have potential if those guys continue to produce, Cameranesi and Farley certainly, along with Herbert, who is a junior and I think will be key for us offensively,” Sandelin said. “I think we have a little more depth and talent. I think the potential to score more is certainly better.”
The Bulldogs are also young on the back line. Sophomore Andy Welinski is expected to be the big gun on defense; he finished with 18 points last year as a freshman. Tim Smith and Derik Johnson return as juniors and are expected to provide a calming influence.
“We certainly hope that players like Willie Corrin, who showed some good things last year in limited playing time, can step up and fill some holes that we have,” Sandelin said. “That’s probably where we lost the most with [Drew] Olson and [Wade] Bergman and then [Chris] Casto leaving early. There are some big holes to fill there.
“We have some guys who have experience, the guys you don’t hear a lot about, like Timmy Smith, Derik Johnson and Luke McManus — guys who have been around and played — so we are hoping those guys will be the steady forces back there and use their experience. Guys are going to need some time to acclimate to the speed of the league. Willie [Raskob] is coming out of Shattuck. Carson Soucy has played one year of junior in Alberta. Dan Molenaar has played two years in the USHL and has had some injuries. They’re still a little green back there.”
Sophomore Matt McNeely and senior Aaron Crandall are back in net for the Bulldogs. McNeely played 25 games as a freshman, sporting a .902 save percentage and 2.67 GAA. Crandall had a .891 save percentage.
Also in net is sophomore Alex Fons, who saw limited playing time as a freshman. For now, Sandelin expects McNeely to be the starter.
“I think right now, Matt’s likely ahead just based on what I saw last year,” Sandelin said. “Obviously, Crandall is a fifth-year senior and has played the most games for us and has 20-some wins for us, and the other guy, Alex Fons, started a game in Bemidji and played part of another game for us.
“I think a lot of it is going to depend. I like our goalies. We need those guys to be good. I think that will be a huge key to how successful we are this year, is how good our goalies play. We need an overall save percentage around 91 or 92.”
About the Bulldogs
2012-13 overall record: 14-19-5
2012-13 WCHA record: 10-13-1
2013-14 predicted finish: Candace sixth, Matt fifth
Key losses: F Mike Seidel, D Wade Bergman, D Drew Olson, D Chris Casto
Players to watch: F Austin Farley, F Tony Cameranesi, F Caleb Herbert, F Joe Basaraba, D Andy Welinski, G Matt McNeely
Impact rookies: D Willie Raskob, D Dan Molenaar, D Carson Soucy
Why the Bulldogs will finish higher than predicted: McNeely should continue to progress, and the team returns a lot of experience from last season.
Why the Bulldogs will finish lower than predicted: If Farley and Cameranesi fall prey to the dreaded sophomore slump, scoring could be an issue for the Bulldogs.
Miami’s Austin Czarnik returns after a 40-point sophomore season (photo: Rachel Lewis).
Teams featuring a lot of youth often struggle, but Miami’s dozen-strong freshman class last season experienced a most impressive debut campaign.
RedHawks coach Enrico Blasi welcomed 12 newcomers to Oxford, Ohio, last season, infusing even more youth into a Miami squad that featured only eight upperclassmen. Blasi’s 2012-13 team looked like it’d been together for years, though, and came away with the final CCHA regular season title on the slate’s final day as a result.
Miami’s season ended prematurely when it dropped a 4-1 decision to St. Cloud State in the NCAA Midwest Regional final on March 31. Blasi is confident, however, that last season’s huge freshman class’ good fortune can turn into something bigger and better for the 2013-14 RedHawks in the inaugural season of the NCHC.
“The freshmen last season did great,” Blasi said. “The experience we had of winning a championship on the last day of the regular season last year and going to the national tournament and only losing in the regional final, those are all good steppingstones that hopefully the guys can use as experience to hopefully take the next step.
“I’m not sure what that means just yet, but we’ve got some new challenges this year with our new league, and travel will be different, all that stuff, so there will be some unknowns as we go through the first part of the season. But hopefully as we settle in, we’ll feel good about what we’re doing.”
Confidence isn’t an issue going into the new campaign. Both members of the CCHA’s best goaltending tandem last season are back, only three defensemen from the stingiest team defense in the CCHA last season (1.91 goals conceded per game) are gone, and the players Miami did lose after last season accounted for only 18 of the RedHawks’ 106 goals scored.
This isn’t to say graduated forwards Curtis McKenzie and Marc Hagel and defenseman and 2012-13 team captain Steven Spinell won’t be missed. This season’s team isn’t quite as young as the last one, though, and Blasi is confident that added experience will come in handy.
“We’re a year older and a little bit more experienced,” Blasi said. “Last year, we had so many young guys and had to really focus on teaching our system and culture and making sure our guys understood how we do our business here.
“This year, it’s a little bit of a different approach. The guys are a little more comfortable and understanding what we need to do so we can do a little bit more detail-oriented stuff that we probably did a little more of the second half of last season so that we have that base coming into this year.”
Miami’s offense finished third in the CCHA last season (2.66 goals per game) and wasn’t quite as dominant as the RedHawks’ blueliners, but they return plenty of weapons at both ends of the ice. Five of Miami’s top six scorers last season return, and the forwards are led by junior Austin Czarnik and sophomore Riley Barber.
Although sophomore defenseman Matthew Caito contributed 21 points to the cause as a freshman last season, Miami’s blueliners are better known for locking things down in their own zone. They teamed up in 2012-13 with a pair of talented freshman goaltenders in Ryan McKay and Jay Williams that are primed to keep stymying opposing teams’ attackers.
Both netminders played in 17 games in their first season with the RedHawks, and, as long as both McKay and Williams keep performing well, Blasi’s rotation policy isn’t going away.
“I know what we have in our locker room in terms of the competitiveness, and both Jay and Ryan are at a high level,” Blasi said.
“They get along really well, they spend a lot of time learning their craft, and our goalies have always been very professional. It’s our job to develop both of them and make sure both can play and are ready to go, and their job is to play. So I think we have a pretty good formula for our goaltenders to just go and do what they need to do.”
All the pieces appear to be in place, then, for Miami to hit the ground running in the NCHC. As for just how well the RedHawks can do in their new league, though, Blasi is less keen to talk about expectations and more interested in seeing his team go out and do the business.
“We don’t talk about expectations for results in our locker room,” Blasi said. “And that’s been a focus for our program for a number of years now. We don’t talk about winning championships and we don’t talk about going to the national tournament or anything like that.
“For us, our focus is on today and daily improvement, and every day we focus on the day at hand. We don’t worry about the past and we don’t worry about the future. I always tell our guys that if you worry about the past, you’re looking at guilt, and if you worry about the future, you’re putting too much pressure on yourself, so we’ll just focus on what we need to do today and move forward.
“That’s the approach that fits our culture at Miami, and we’ll continue to do that.”
About the RedHawks
2012-13 overall record: 25-12-5
2012-13 CCHA record: 17-7-4-4 (First)
2013-14 predicted finish: Candace second, Matthew first
Key losses: F Marc Hagel, F Curtis McKenzie, D Steven Spinell
Players to watch: F Riley Barber, F Austin Czarnik, F Cody Murphy, D Matthew Caito, G Ryan McKay, G Jay Williams
Impact rookies: F Justin Greenberg, F Devin Loe, F Anthony Louis
Why the RedHawks will finish higher than predicted: Only two of Miami’s top 10 scorers from last season are gone. The RedHawks boasted the CCHA’s stingiest defense last season (1.91 goals conceded per game). And 11 sophomores are now a year older and more experienced within Miami’s coaching staff’s system.
Why the RedHawks will finish lower than predicted: The RedHawks are joining a smaller and stronger conference from top to bottom than what they experienced before, and it’s tough to predict a winner from a new league featuring such an even playing field among the eight teams.
Sam Brittain is one of only two players left from the group of Denver players that entered school in 2010 (photo: Michelle Bishop).
It seemed like the world’s worst April Fool’s joke when the news leaked that Denver coach George Gwozdecky, who had coached the team to back-to-back national championships in 2004 and 2005, was fired as Pioneers coach.
In the end, another first-round exit from the NCAA tournament likely cost Gwozdecky his job, with a first-round exit in the WCHA playoffs to archrival Colorado College on home ice possibly contributing.
So for the first time since 1994, when current Air Force coach Frank Serratore made way for Gwozdecky, the Pioneers will have a new coach running the show. Denver hired Jim Montgomery, a former Maine standout and NHL player who most recently coached the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, inherits a roster that is much younger than it has been in previous years.
The departure last spring of junior Nick Shore for the Los Angeles Kings left only two players remaining from the seven members of the 2010 freshman class at DU in defenseman David Makowski and goalie Sam Brittain. Among the standouts from the class no longer in Denver are Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Beau Bennett.
“Our freshman class is unique,” Brittain said. “We have a lot of guys playing in the NHL right now, which is tough on a program. Usually, you look at your juniors and seniors to lead for a championship. The teams that had success last year were built around juniors and seniors. Bringing in 10 freshmen this year, maybe there are a few first or second rounders, which will only benefit us in the future when they stick around for three or four years.”
One of those freshmen, forward Brad Hawkinson, was hurt in a captain’s practice and may be lost for the year, so Denver already might be down a player. If it looks like Hawkinson will be out for the year, he will be redshirted. Junior forward Zac Larraza broke his clavicle in an early practice and will miss up to eight weeks.
Montgomery has said that he won’t announce a captain until possibly after the second weekend against Alaska, as he waits to see who steps up as a leader.
However, he expects to build on the successful tenure of Gwozdecky, and during a preseason news conference, he did not shy from the expectations that come with coaching at Denver, going so far as to say he anticipated being able to win a national championship within five years.
“That’s why I wanted this job,” Montgomery said. “I think Denver is a place where you can expect to have a chance at winning a national championship and winning your conference every year. I wanted to come to an institution that wanted to do great things on the ice, in the classroom and in the community.”
Montgomery even responded to a question from the local media about whether the last seasons at Denver had been disappointing, and offered his expectations as a measuring stick.
“I know that if my next five years are comparable to the last five years, I will view it as a disappointment,” he said.
Time will tell if Montgomery’s optimism is misplaced. For now, for the first time since 2001, the Pioneers enter the season not ranked in the top 15 in either national poll; the Pioneers are 17th in the USCHO.com Division I men’s poll and are receiving votes USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
“Whether the media ranks us or doesn’t rank us, what’s in the dressing room is what counts,” Brittain said. “We know where we stand. We know the talent we have and what we’re capable of. I think that’s the most important thing. I don’t remember the last time they gave the trophy out to the team ranked first at the beginning of the season.”
About the Pioneers
2012-13 overall record: 20-14-5
2012-13 WCHA record: 14-9-5
2013-14 predicted finish: Candace fourth, Matt fourth
Key losses: G Juho Olkinuora, F Nick Shore, F Chris Knowlton, F Shawn Ostrow, D Paul Phillips, D Scott Mayfield
Players to watch: G Sam Brittain, D Joey LaLeggia, D David Makowski, F Daniel Doremus, F Quentin Shore, F Ty Loney
Impact rookies: D Will Butcher, F Trevor Moore
Why the Pioneers will finish higher than predicted: Sam Brittain, who lost the starting job to Juho Olkinuora, is “in the best shape of his life,” according to Montgomery, and is backed by a solid corps of defensemen. It will be hard to score on the Pioneers.
Why the Pioneers will finish lower than predicted: The best defense in the world won’t help if Denver can’t score goals. The offense is more unproven than it has been in years, and young to boot. Unless some of the freshmen step up, Denver’s offense could hit anemic streaks.
Captain Eamonn McDermott says Colorado College can learn from last season’s finish (photo: Tim Brule).
After having an up-and-down season, including a stretch that started with a Nov. 16 loss to Denver where they went 2-11-2, the Colorado College Tigers caught fire at the right time in 2012-13.
After rallying to beat Denver in a three-game road series in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, the Tigers rode that momentum to a strong showing in the Final Five, upending North Dakota in overtime and blanking Minnesota before losing in the championship to Wisconsin.
Unfortunately for CC, it was too little, too late, for the NCAA tournament at that point, but the mood in Colorado Springs is energized by that run.
“I think last year was really good for everyone,” senior captain Eamonn McDermott said. “To make a run and play our best against the best, if we can learn from that it will help us win games.”
Looking at the roster this year, it seems like CC will be hard-pressed to match even that success, as the Tigers lost four of their top five scorers. Top scorer Rylan Schwartz and his 53 points and 1.29 points per game are gone, as are starting goalie Joe Howe and his .915 save percentage, to graduation. However, coach Scott Owens sees a lot of positives.
“We’ve lost some pretty big names, players that we have leaned on in the past,” Owens said. “You know what, I’m also optimistic with some of the play we saw at the end of the year. [Alexander] Krushelnyski, [Archie] Skalbeck. But I’m also looking for Charlie Taft, who had a good last month, Hunter Fejes and Cody Bradley to emerge. They were ’94s last year, freshmen and very young.
“We do have six freshman forwards coming through that I think are going to be able to contribute, whether it’s Alexander Roos or Sam Rothstein, Matt Hansen, some of these guys. I do think that while it looks on paper bleak, I think a combination of some of the upperclassmen taking a step and the defensemen contributing a little more, we get a lot out of the defensive corps, I think we’ll be fine.”
Krushelnyski was second in team scoring last year with 43 points, and is expected to anchor the top line.
Fejes proved to be a Pioneers killer last year, getting three points in a win at Denver on Feb. 9 and then scoring a goal and assist in the series-clinching win on March 17.
“He and Bradley played the third line for us all last year,” Owens said. “Really in that last playoff series in Denver and over in St. Paul, they had started to come in on the second line. I think Hunter, he works so hard and he’s such a gamer that he has the ability to contribute.
“Do I think he is going to score 20 goals? Not necessarily, but I think he has the ability to make big plays and I think his overall game will pick up immensely with a year under his belt. You know, Cody Bradley is the one who has shown some real signs of skill coming through as a junior player. We took him a little bit young last year as a ’94. He’s pretty talented. You might see him stepping up on the top line with Krushelnyski, to be honest with you.”
Defensively, things look strong for the Tigers. In addition to McDermott, the blue line is anchored by Peter Stoykewych and Aaron Harstad, as well as Carolina fourth-round pick Jaccob Slavin and Minnesota second-round pick Gustav Olofsson.
“It all starts with defense,” McDermott said. “You can’t really win without defense. I think that will be a focus for us this year. Six guys that play defense, but also all our forwards who are willing to pick it up as well. I think going into the season, team defense is going to have to carry us, not just five or six guys.”
Lost in Howe’s shadow for much of last season was goaltender Josh Thorimbert, but Owens pointed out that Thorimbert was an all-league player as a sophomore.
“That position is a little open,” Owens said. “Josh comes in as a senior now, and hopefully he learned from last year and will make it a great senior year and regain the form he had his sophomore season. Tyler Marble comes in eight months older than Josh, so he’s an old freshman and has a lot of seasoning from the junior leagues. I think he has the ability and talent level to compete.”
About the Tigers
2012-13 overall record: 18-19-5
2012-13 WCHA record: 11-13-4
2013-14 predicted finish: Candace fifth, Matt sixth
Key losses: F Rylan Schwartz, F William Rapuzzi, F Scott Winkler, G Joe Howe, D Mike Boivin, D Andrew Hamburg
Players to watch: F Alexander Krushelnyski, F Archie Skalbeck, F Cody Bradley, F Hunter Fejes, D Eamonn McDermott, G Josh Thorimbert
Impact rookies: F Matt Hansen, F Sam Rothstein, D Jaccob Slavin, D Gustav Olofsson
Why the Tigers will finish higher than predicted: CC’s offense isn’t as down as it might first appear, and with more playing time, Cody Bradley and Hunter Fejes could emerge as top offensive threats to complement Alexander Krushelnyski and Archie Skalbeck.
Why the Tigers will finish lower than predicted: While goalie Josh Thorimbert had a good sophomore year, goalie Joe Howe had the X-factor that could calm a team in front of him. Unless Thorimbert regains his form or Tyler Marble emerges in goal, the backstop could be shaky.
Canisius earned a spot in the NCAA tournament with a memorable run through the Atlantic Hockey tournament last season (photo: Omar Phillips).
Hockey is a game of anticipation. There are moments that seem frozen in time: the second before the puck drops, the time between the wind up and a blast from the point, the moment when a player finds the puck on his stick and the net open.
Anticipation is always high at this time of the year with a new season laid out before us. For Atlantic Hockey, expectations have risen coming off arguably the best season in league history.
Last season was unprecedentedly unpredictable, with traditional powerhouses finishing in the bottom half of the standings and some usual suspects making early playoff exits. The sixth and seventh seeds played for the title, and Canisius skated away with its first banner in school history.
Canisius and Niagara combined to make history. For the first time, Atlantic Hockey sent two teams to the NCAA tournament, and both represented the league well, holding leads but falling in one-goal decisions in the first round.
Expect more of the same this season.
“I think clearly it’s great, our league is great,” Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin said. “With what transpired last year, for us to get home ice in playoffs, to get to the final four in Rochester. It was all highlighted by Niagara’s regular season championship and Canisius’ tournament championship, and both teams going to the NCAA tournament and representing our league very well.”
As usual, there are many questions to be answered and subplots to be analyzed as we embark on Atlantic Hockey’s 11th season:
Can Niagara do it again? The Purple Eagles are picked to repeat as regular season champions, but lost a Hobey Baker Award finalist in net as well as some firepower.
Who has the best chance to unseat the Purple Eagles? Mercyhurst returns almost intact, hoping to build on a season that saw the Lakers get better and better. Air Force was arguably the best team in the league on the final weekend of the regular season last year.
Can Bentley finally rise? Selected by many as the dark horse last year, the Falcons ended brutally and finished 10th. With a Walter Brown Award winner, two AHA rookies of the year and a full year under the defense, can Bentley win the east’s first league title since 2006?
Can Canisius put together another amazing run? The Golden Griffins may be even better this season.
Can Connecticut win one for the road? A new coach, a new logo and a new attitude are in Storrs; what’s the Huskies’ ceiling before Hockey East comes calling?
Will the Tigers roar once more in downtown Rochester? Rochester Institute of Technology missed the semifinals and a short bus ride to Blue Cross Arena for the first time since becoming full members of the league in 2006.
Will Robert Morris rebuild or reload? The Colonials had significant losses to graduation but can’t be counted out.
Which team could emerge from the back of the pack? American International emerged as a contender last season. Will the Yellow Jackets be able to keep pace? Or will Army put together a complete season equal to its strong start last year? Will Sacred Heart make some noise?
Here are our picks for the final standings in Atlantic Hockey for the 2013-14 season. Click on each team for a more detailed preview:
The Huskies have nearly every piece returning, including a top national goalie, before leaving for Hockey East. Keep an eye on how they respond to a new coach and new attitude. Read more
The Black Knights will have a tough defense and stable goalie, but their offense lost its top scoring threat from a team that struggled to score goals. Read more
The Pioneers hit rock bottom with only two wins last year despite never quitting in any of their games. Still, there’s a lot of struggle ahead for a rebuilding program. Read more
Sacred Heart will try to build off the small successes it had last season (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
The 2012-13 hockey season is not something for which anyone will ever hang a banner at Sacred Heart.
The Pioneers’ 28-game winless streak to start the season came one short of tying a 51-year-old record held by Colorado College. Their two wins nearly rivaled the winless seasons held by the 1961 Brown, 1962 Colorado College and 1981 Alaska teams.
And their 30 losses marked the first 30-loss season by an eastern school since Fairfield posted 31 in 1998, just off the mark set of 34 set by the 2000 Michigan Tech squad.
Anybody would be hard-pressed to find positives in a season ranking among the NCAA’s dubious elite. But they were there for the Pioneers. There were tight games played against Mercyhurst, Princeton, Niagara and Connecticut. And there was the breakthrough of going 2-0-1 stretch across two weekends to gain a measure of hope at the end of a trying season.
“There were stretches in games of about three or four minutes where we just lost it,” Sacred Heart coach C.J. Marottolo said. “We lacked confidence that came with the ebbs and flows of the game, and we struggled with handling momentum. When we had momentum, we lost it, and then we couldn’t get it back.
“But we kept getting better and better, and our guys never let go of the rope no matter how tough it got. I was very proud of them at the end of the season when we finally fought and fought and got that momentum and kept it. That’ll be something for our returning guys to learn from.”
Arguably among the biggest additions to this year’s team will be Alex Vazzano, a goaltending transfer from Vermont. Last year’s team posted a GAA over 5.00.
“He was here last year and practiced with us,” Marottolo said. “He’s a part of the team, and he’ll compete for the starting job.”
That type of optimism is what’s permeating through the program’s athletic department. At the end of last year’s hockey season, Sacred Heart named a new athletic director in former Major League Baseball manager Bobby Valentine, a person who’s bringing a different culture to all aspects of the department.
“Bobby Valentine is a guy with enthusiasm through the roof,” Marottolo said. “He’s always helping all of the programs in every interview he does. He’s always talking about Sacred Heart, and he’s made it very clear he’s here to help in any way he can.”
Valentine’s arrival injects life into a hockey program flying under the radar of a growing hockey culture in Connecticut. Quinnipiac and Yale went to the national championship game out of ECAC Hockey a year ago, with Quinnipiac holding the No. 1 ranking for much of the season. And Connecticut is elevating its status with its jump to Hockey East next year.
“Quinnipiac and Yale very obviously had great years,” Marottolo said, “and that’s something that’s going to help the game in Connecticut. Our goal has to be to beat them, and we have to expect to compete with them in all aspects. We realize the way to compete with them is to get it done on the ice.”
About the Pioneers
2012-13 overall record: 2-30-4
2012-13 conference record: 2-21-4
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches poll): 12th
Key losses: F Eric Delong, F Ben Ketchum, F Kyle Verbeek
Players to watch: F Brian Sheehan, F Nick Curry, G Alex Vazzano
Impact rookie: Vazzano isn’t necessarily a rookie, but the transfer from Vermont should help stabilize a team averaging the most goals-against in college hockey a year ago. In two years with the Catamounts, he appeared in 11 games and had a GAA of just over 3.00.
Why the Pioneers will finish higher than the coaches poll: Vazzano’s first season in goal stabilizes the position. The defense gets better with a big recruiting class, and the offense scores in bunches.
Why the Pioneers match the coaches’ prediction: Vazzano can’t stabilize the defensive unit, leading to another year of goals in bunches.
Cody Wydo is expected to be the offensive catalyst for Robert Morris (photo: Candace Horgan).
Atlantic Hockey had an unprecedented pair of teams in last season’s NCAA tournament field. Robert Morris wasn’t one of them, barely missing an at-large bid. But Niagara’s at-large bid was bolstered by the league’s improved success in nonconference games, and the Colonials played a key role.
Robert Morris was 5-1-1 in non-conference play last season, best in Atlantic Hockey. That included wins over Quinnipiac and Miami.
But the Colonials failed to capitalize in league play, putting up a 13-11-3 record and a fifth-place finish. That inconsistency wasn’t lost on coach Derek Schooley, who’s entering his 10th season behind the RMU bench.
“I think over the history of our program we’ve proven we get up for big games,” Schooley said. “We beat Miami twice when they were No. 1; beat BU and Notre Dame. Our guys have to realize that there’s 34 games in our schedule, not six or seven, or one. We have be consistent from start to finish.
“We were on a seven-game winning streak and then we go to Army on national television and lose 5-0. We have to be consistent from start to finish.”
Consistency will start in net as Robert Morris looks to find a replacement for Eric Levine, who played all but 220 minutes last season, recording a .929 save percentage.
“That’s going be the big question mark of our season,” Schooley said. Between [sophomore Terry] Shafer, [freshman Dalton] Izyk and [freshman Brandon] Lane, one needs to step up. It’s one of the most important positions in sports. We like our goaltending; it’s just a matter of who steps up and gets the job done.”
Up front, junior forward Cody Wydo is expected to again be the offensive catalyst. He led the team last season with 21 goals.
“He finds ways to score goals,” Schooley said. “It doesn’t matter who you put him with, he’ll find ways to score goals.
“Cody had a good summer, he got stronger, had a good experience at Devils prospect camp, and he’s ready to take the next step. He hasn’t gotten any Atlantic Hockey accolades. I think this might be the year you see Cody really break out and become a notable name in Atlantic Hockey.”
The Colonials need players like Wydo, senior forward Colin South and junior winger Scott Jacklin to carry the team offensively in the early going as they find their way on the blue line and in net.
“We’re looking to have everybody take a step,” Schooley said. “We’ve got a big sophomore class and we’re looking for them to take steps. Everybody just needs to be a bit better. We had 20 wins last year, but we weren’t satisfied. You can’t rely on what happened last year. You just have to look forward, look to the future and get better every day.”
Learning from last season, Schooley said there will be an emphasis on battling in every conference game as hard as against nonconference opponents.
“Quite honestly, I think anybody can win this league; eight or nine teams have the ability to be in the upper echelon and get a first-round bye,” he said. “You’re going to have a bad game or two, you just have to limit that. The coaches know every game can be a battle. You can’t take anybody lightly because it’ll come back and bite you.”
About the Colonials
2012-13 overall record: 20-14-4
2013-13 AHA record: 13-11-3 (Fifth)
2013-14 predicted finish (coaches poll): Seventh
Key losses: G Eric Levine, F Adam Brace, D Andrew Blazek
Players to watch: F Cody Wydo, F Scott Jacklin, F Colin South
Impact rookie: Defenseman John Rey totaled 89 points in his last two seasons with the Amarillo Bulls of the NAHL, and was plus-47 last season. He was named the league’s defenseman of the year in 2012, when he was plus-64.
Why the Colonials will finish higher than the coaches poll: Wydo is poised to have an MVP-caliber season. If he gets some help and the defense doesn’t take a hit, the Colonials could win 20 games again.
Why the Colonials will finish lower than the coaches poll: The departed Eric Levine had over 2,000 minutes in net last season, leaving the untested Terry Shafer and two rookies to handle goaltending duties. Three defensemen also have graduated, leaving big holes on the blue line.
Matt Garbowsky should be a big part of Rochester Institute of Technology’s offense (photo: Omar Phillips).
The 2013-14 season is an especially critical one for Rochester Institute of Technology.
RIT is coming off its worst campaign since joining Atlantic Hockey seven years ago. The Tigers had never finished below third place in the standings but settled for eighth last season.
A loss to Niagara in the conference quarterfinals kept RIT away from Blue Cross Arena for the first time.
With all that in mind, the Tigers are on a mission to show that last year was an aberration.
“We weren’t happy,” coach Wayne Wilson said. “We were only a few points away but you are where you are. We put ourselves in a hole, and suddenly we were playing Niagara, who was the top of the league. I was excited with how we finished, not with the results but how we played.”
The Tigers had the ninth-best offense in Division I last season but were plagued by inconsistent defense (eighth-worst). Things improved the second half of the season, but the story for RIT wasn’t big goals scored, but big goals allowed in critical situations.
“We were second in the country on the power play; our offense was top-10,” Wilson said. “[Our] penalty kill was middle of the pack, but defensively we were near the bottom.
“This year we’re a little bit older, and that will be important. We’ve got to tighten up and we did a much better job down the stretch. We’re going to get tested early when we play Colgate and Michigan, and we’ll see how that goes.”
The Tigers platooned a pair of goaltenders last year, but junior Jordan Ruby took the reins late in the season and will carry the initial load with a pair of underclassmen waiting in the wings.
“Jordan Ruby will start off as our No. 1,” Wilson said. “He really took charge at the end of the year. We have to see what Kenny [MacLean] or [Mike] Rotolo can do. In the past we just alternated and I think that might have hurt us a little last year. Neither guy could get traction early on.”
The Tigers return about 80 percent of their potent offense, led by junior captain Matt Garbowsky (33 points last season), and seniors Mike Colavecchia (30 points) and Ben Lynch (26 points).
The defense took a hit with the graduation of Chris Saracino (73 career points) but returns high-scoring senior Greg Noyes (29 points last season) and a pair of sophomores, Alexander Kuqali and Brad Shumway, who got better and better during the course of their rookie seasons.
For Wilson, the objective is to get one goal better a game and take it from there.
“Last year came down to an overtime game and a one-goal game against the top team,” he said. “A single goal is going be the separation between winning and losing in a lot of games.”
About the Tigers
2012-13 overall record: 15-18-5
2012-13 AHA record: 11-12-4 (Tie, seventh)
2013-14 projected finish (coaches poll): Fifth
Key losses: D Chris Saracino, F Jeff Smith, F Adam Hartley, G Josh Watson
Players to watch: F Matt Garbowsky, F Michael Colavecchia, G Jordan Ruby
Impact rookie: Todd Skirving captained Sioux Falls of the USHL last season, scoring 45 points.
Why the Tigers will finish higher than the coaches poll: RIT is picked to finish higher than it did last season, and the consensus is that this is an improving team. If the defense and goaltending can get back to where it was two seasons ago and the offense doesn’t skip a beat, the Tigers will contend.
Why the Tigers will finish lower than the coaches poll: RIT is looking at a downward trend that includes last year’s 15 wins, the fewest since its inaugural Division I season in 2005-06. This year’s team needs some early nonconference wins to reverse the momentum.
Ryan Murphy is Niagara’s top returning scorer (photo: Melissa Wade).
Every team goes through a few rough patches during a season. For Niagara, those times happened at the beginning and the end of the 2012-13 campaign.
The Purple Eagles opened with one win in their first five games, but lost just four more times until the last weekend of the regular season, going 20-4-2 from November through February.
That was more than enough to allow Niagara to run away with the Atlantic Hockey regular season title. But Dave Burkholder’s squad got swept at Air Force on the final weekend of league play, and after rebounding by winning a pair of spirited games against Rochester Institute of Technology in the semifinals, Niagara was ousted 5-3 in the semifinals by archrival Canisius.
Despite the loss of Hobey Baker Award finalist Carsen Chubak in net, two of its top three leading scorers and three defensemen with a combined 370 games played, the league’s coaches picked Niagara to repeat as regular season champions.
“We’re certainly not ordering and plaques or trophies, but the AHA is a great league and to be picked is a great honor for our guys and we’ve got something to live up to,” Burkholder said. “The guys that we lost are huge and you just don’t know. Three senior defensemen in [Jason] Beattie, [Dan] Weiss and [C.J.] Chartrain. We also lost three seniors up front. You can’t put a price tag on senior leadership.”
For leadership this season, three Ryans will assume big roles. Ryan Murphy is the Purple Eagles’ top returning scorer, racking up 64 career points so far, including 36 last season. Classmate Ryan Rashid was fourth on the team with nine goals last year, and defenseman Kevin Ryan led Niagara with 23 assists in 2012-13.
“[Ryan Murphy’s] our leading scorer, the guy we’re going to lean on to lead this team offensively,” Burkholder said. “He’s a big, strong kid, power forward, he led us with 36 points. The team will go the way Ryan goes. We will start three senior forwards [Murphy, Rashid and Patrick Divjak] as our top line and hopefully again Ryan Murphy will be the guy to get our offense going.”
Niagara’s three goalies have a combined zero minutes of collegiate experience, but a pair of highly touted rookies will compete for time in net, as will a returning sophomore.
“Carsen Chubak was a Hobey Baker finalist, and he decided to take a pro contract,” Burkholder said. “We’ve filled that space with two freshman goalies. Adrian Ignagni is from St. Mike’s in Toronto. I expect his transition to D-I will be seamless. Jackson Teichroeb is a USHL goaltender, the best league in North America, and he had over 50 career wins there. [Sophomore] Chris Paulin is a hardworking kid who will be in the mix for playing time as well.”
Niagara is the first Atlantic Hockey team to see regular season action, opening Saturday with a 2-1 home loss to Clarkson to end a 22-game unbeaten streak at Dwyer Arena.
The rematch with Canisius comes a week later.
“They’ve ended our season twice,” Burkholder said. “Last year was devastating. I remember loading the bus at Blue Cross Arena and I thought we had lost our chance for an [NCAA] at-large bid. That certainly added to our side of the rivalry. We’re going to play the second week of the schedule. That should get a lot of interest and really stir the pot locally.”
Niagara is going to need to rely on freshman to extend that home unbeaten streak and again contend for a title.
“Expectations are huge around here,” Burkholder said. “If we don’t make the NCAA tournament it’s a huge disappointment. We have 10 freshmen and they’re all expected to contribute. It’s like putting a puzzle together. All 10 of these will come in and help keep us at the top of the league.”
About the Purple Eagles
2012-13 overall record: 23-10-5
2012-13 AHA record: 20-5-2 (First)
2013-14 projected finish (coaches poll): First
Key losses: G Carsen Chubak, F Giancarlo Iuorio, F Marc Zanette
Players to watch: F Ryan Murphy, D Kevin Ryan, F Ryan Rashid
Impact rookie: A pair of well-regarded freshmen goalies will look to lead the way: Adrian Ignagni led St. Michael’s to the OJHL championship last season, posting a .938 save percentage. Jackson Teichroeb had 47 wins over seasons with Lincoln and Dubuque in the USHL.
Why the Purple Eagles will match the prediction from the coaches poll: Niagara lost a lot to graduation but depth has been a clear strength for the Purple Eagles since joining the league. If the rookie goalies play well and former role players can assume key roles, Niagara can repeat as regular season champions.
Why the Purple Eagles will finish lower than the coaches poll: There’s nowhere to go but down after last season’s first-place finish. The loss of Chubak in net and a third of the Niagara offense could spell trouble.
Matthew Zay (right) led Mercyhurst in scoring last season (photo: Omar Phillips).
One way or another, year in and year out, Mercyhurst contends for the Atlantic Hockey title. Despite never finishing first in the regular season, the Lakers have made the semifinals in seven of the league’s 10 seasons, including two titles and five trips to the championship game.
Last year, despite a sixth-place finish, Mercyhurst was a win away from another conference championship.
Only once in 14 years as a Division I program have the Lakers won fewer than 15 games.
“We pride ourselves on our consistency,” said coach Rick Gotkin, who has amassed 453 wins in 25 years with Mercyhurst.
“The league is getting better and better and it’s a challenge. It’s tighter and tighter, and last year was the tightest and this year is [going to be] no different. Last year you had the six and seven seeds playing for a championship. Anyone can win and it’s going to be a great year.”
Mercyhurst again has the tools to finish at or near the top of the heap. The Lakers return over 80 percent of their offense, including a quartet of junior forwards that combined for 63 goals and 132 points last season.
Matthew Zay led the team in scoring last season, while classmates Ryan Misiak and Chris Bodo shared the team lead in goals with 18 each.
“The way we look at it is we were a pretty good young team the last couple of years and we expect to be good again,” Gotkin said. “We’ve been through it with a lot of these guys, and we expect to play for a championship.
“If those guys have average years we won’t be where we want to be, but I’m confident they’ll have good years and we’ll be where we want to be.”
Nick Jones leads a defensive squad that lost just one player to graduation. The senior captain has 60 points in 115 games, including 26 last season.
Mercyhurst lost half of the goaltending tandem it used last year with the graduation of Max Strang. But Jordan Tibbett emerged in the postseason last year as the go-to guy in net.
“Jordan went into last year behind Max Strang,” Gotkin said. “The coaching staff saw it; we said we need to get both of these guys in. Max is going to graduate and Jordan will be here and we need a guy with experience. We ended up with a rotation — one guy would play Friday, one Saturday, then one Saturday and one Friday. It worked out well.
“At the end of the day we got into that small playoff situation, Jordan played great against Holy Cross and both played great at Army. Jordan played great and [the job] ended up being his the rest of the way. We believe he is as good as anybody when he’s at the top of his game.”
Mercyhurst starts the season with a killer nonconference schedule that starts off at the Ice Breaker Tournament against fifth-ranked Minnesota and either Clarkson or No. 13 New Hampshire. The Lakers also travel to Merrimack and Alaska and host Ferris State before beginning conference play.
About the Lakers
2012-13 overall record: 19-17-5
2012-13 AHA record: 12-11-4 (Sixth)
2013-14 projected finish (coaches poll): Tie, second
Key losses: F Grant Blakey, F Paul Chiasson, G Max Strang
Players to watch: F Ryan Misiak, F Matthew Zay, G Jordan Tibbett
Impact rookie: Stephen Hrehoriak averaged 50 points a season in three campaigns in the Central Canadian Hockey League.
Why the Lakers will finish higher than the coaches poll: Mercyhurst returns five of its top six scorers and goaltender Tibbett, who emerged in the postseason as the Lakers’ go-to goaltender.
Why the Lakers will finish lower than the coaches poll: The league’s coaches showed confidence in the Lakers, picking them second after a sixth-place regular season finish in 2012-13. Even though Mercyhurst will be better, so will some other teams that could get in the Lakers’ way.
