Each week during the season, we look at the big events and big games around Division I men’s college hockey in Tuesday Morning Quarterback.
Jim: Well, Ed, let me first start out by saying “Welcome Back” to both you and all of our loyal readers of TMQ. I’m excited to have the college hockey season back underway.
And we’ve already seen some fantastic hockey in just nine days’ worth of games. Denver picked up where it left off in April, following up the national championship trophy by taking home the IceBreaker trophy this past weekend.
Minnesota and Minnesota State rematched their national semifinal from a year ago with a scintillating two-game home-and-home set where the host each earned a victory.
North Dakota swept Holy Cross this past weekend but now has two early-season tests in Quinnipiac and Minnesota over the next two weekends. And Minnesota Duluth started its season with a two-game sweep of Arizona State.
I don’t know about you, but I love some of these early season battles of top teams. And I don’t think it’s inappropriate to say that a lot of the top teams right now coming from outside the eastern time zone (translation: the west is really strong).
Your thoughts?
Ed: I think you’re right about the west being strong. They’re continuing the regional dominance they had last season. The NCHC and Big Ten both have non-conference records at or above .750 right now which may help stake them to seven or even eight NCAA bids between them even if they don’t maintain that lofty percentage the rest of the way.
The IceBreaker win for the Pioneers helps cement them as the top team thus far in the polls – though we should remember that those are volatile and even a split weekend can juggle the rankings for the poll voters. (By the way, since I mentioned the poll, I think it’s useful to mention that about 75% of the poll vote is made up of coaches from all around the country and the remainder is journalists. It’s not solely USCHO’s opinion.)
We should have expected nothing less than that terrific home-and-home split with the Gophers and Mavericks.
But I’m also really impressed with Ohio State. The Buckeyes got a pair of home wins over Wisconsin this past weekend, including a 4-3 win Saturday after falling behind 3-0 early in the second period.
Big Ten coaches picked Wisconsin fourth and Ohio State fifth, but I can see Steve Rohlik’s team contending for the top of the league. Meanwhile, a second consecutive 0-2 start to a season has to concern Badger fans, especially with tough non-league weekends against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth before hosting Penn State.
Jim: I think that the coaches poll in the Big Ten continues to surprise me. Sure, they seem to figure the top two teams right each year, but there has been a constant disrespect for Ohio State.
A year ago, the Buckeyes were young. But throughout last season, Steve Rohlik’s club proved itself well and I would’ve thought that the coaches would’ve had this year’s Ohio State team in the top three.
I know I had Ohio State top 15 nationally on my poll ballot and after a 4-0-0 start, I’m ready to watch this team put together yet another solid season.
I do want to turn the attention to the east a little bit and Niagara. The Purple Eagles went out to Omaha and swept the Mavericks, 4-3 each night. While those are the only two non-league wins for Atlantic Hockey thus far, it should say a lot about Jason Lammers’ team. It’s early to talk about dark horses, but heck, Niagara was picked to finish ninth in a 10-team league. Is this another example of underestimating teams preseason?
Ed: It certainly was a great pair of wins for Niagara. Chad Veltri was solid in net for the Purple Eagles, which is no surprise to anyone who has watched him in Atlantic Hockey.
As far as underestimating? When there’s so much parity across college hockey and even more so within most D-I conferences, it’s hard to know. I’d say in that conference there’s hardly a dime’s worth of difference between fifth and 10th place. Every team is pretty solid, and I’d agree with the assessment I’ve heard from more than one coach in that league: they don’t have any teams as good as the top teams in the country, but no teams as bad as the worst teams in the country.
What will be interesting is how the Purps take this experience and momentum home to Dwyer Arena as they host the top two in the coaches’ poll, AIC and Sacred Heart on successive weekends.
We mentioned the non-conference success of the NCHC and Big Ten, but right behind them is Hockey East at 11-4-1 outside the league.
Two teams that have stood out early are Northeastern and Connecticut, both of which are perfect so far in this short season. Northeastern is possibly even better than people thought they’d be. And Mike Cavanaugh has to be really pleased with UConn’s best start since the 1975-76 season in what was essentially a Division III schedule.
How do those two Hockey East teams shape up in your mind?
Jim: Well, having seen Northeastern live this weekend, I think they are an elite team. Obviously, having Mike Richter Award winner Devon Levi return this year solidifies that team in goal. But up front, I feel like they have four solid lines offensively. This is a team that couldn’t average three goals a game last year, which held them back. If they can bump that scoring offense up to 3-3.5 goals per game this year, they’ll be a national contender.
UConn is interesting to me. A nice 4-0-0 start but having faced Vermont and Union, teams that are a combined 1-6-1, I’m not sure they’ve faced enough of a test yet (and yes, the same can be said for Northeastern). This weekend’s home series for UConn against Ohio State might be one of the most interesting on the national slate of games.
Another eastern team that interests me is New Hampshire. The Wildcats went to the North Country and earned wins over Clarkson (rallying from 2-0 down to win 4-3) and St. Lawrence. I’ve felt that at some point Michael Souza will put together a team that will return UNH towards the top of college hockey. I’m not sure we can say anything yet, but two wins up North always impress this eastern guy.
Anyone else stand out for you, Ed? It’s early, but I feel like we’ve already seen some great storylines developing.
Ed: I think I’d like to keep an eye on the independents, including some teams that are likely to be overlooked but which are in the process of building (or rebuilding) their programs.
The independent most likely to be on everyone’s radar is Arizona State. The Sun Devils open their new home facility, the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, this weekend against Colgate, and coach Greg Powers has again assembled a schedule that can take them to the NCAA tournament if they win the games they’re supposed to and split or better against top contenders.
LIU is off to a good start. While they are 1-1-1 overall, with the win coming against a Stonehill team transitioning to Division I, the loss was 3-2 in overtime at Northeastern, and the tie was on Sunday at Quinnipiac. Playing close and tough with top teams bodes well for Brett Riley’s Sharks. We should also keep an eye out for an announcement about a scheduling alliance and future conference that will help teams like LIU and Stonehill get more traction.
Lindenwood is 0-4 but has battled well against the powerhouses of Minnesota and Michigan. We’ll get an idea where NHL veteran Rick Zombo’s Lions stand nationally when they take on four consecutive Atlantic Hockey programs, hosting Air Force and visiting AIC, Bentley, and Army.
Alaska Anchorage surprised Western Michigan in a weekend split with the Broncos but lost both games at Colorado College last weekend. Matt Shasby got a win in his first game as head coach at his alma mater and has a decent schedule of contenders, independents, and a couple of club teams set for this season.
Meanwhile in Fairbanks, Eric Largen’s Nanooks are off to a 2-1-1 start and have a pretty tough schedule with a number of NCAA contenders.
Why should we pay attention to these teams? Because the growth of college hockey – and the size of the NCAA tournament field – depends on their success.
