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Greg Cronin Speaks Out

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“Last July when I was entertaining some other opportunities, people were trying to keep me at Maine,” said Greg Cronin, who served a year as Maine’s interim head coach before recently taking a position with USA Hockey. “They were very disappointed that I might leave. Now a lot of people have opened the door and let me leave because we’re 7-7-1 and as far as they’re concerned, I haven’t done a very good job.”

"Greg Cronin saved Maine hockey."

— Maine Sports Information Director Matt Bourque

The dichotomy between Cronin’s supporters — like Bourque and athletic director Suzanne Tyler — and his detractors speaks volumes. Those who choose to look only at the surface see the Black Bears’ .500 record under Cronin this year and their even worse standing in Hockey East (2-5-1 for seventh place). Then they look at Shawn Walsh’s legendary track record. To them, the difference in results tells all they need to know.

“He did a fabulous job here,” countered Walsh, who returned Dec. 24. “You can get an idea for how highly he’s respected in the hockey community by [the fact that USA Hockey hired him.] I don’t think it’s coincidental that USA Hockey opened up the position for him right when he left here. They obviously held onto that position for him because they wanted him on their staff.”

“I’m not sure if people who haven’t been around our program understand the adversity and challenges that Greg went through,” said Bourque. “It would have been easy for things to fall apart so badly that we couldn’t put it all back together. If we’re successful ten years down the road, a lot of people will have forgotten about him, but he’s the guy who will have held it all together. Greg Cronin saved Maine hockey.”

“No paycheck at the end of the season”

Cronin inherited a team last December that had just seen its head coach exiled for a year and had banned itself from the NCAA tournament. “When I first took over, I was concerned that the players would feel sorry for themselves and go into a martyr mentality,” said Cronin. “So I yelled quite a bit and I was very intense around the players. I don’t know if it got them motivated out of fear or out of respect for me, but it worked.”

“I respected the man,” said co-captain Dan Shermerhorn. “He has a lot of emotion and a large will to win. He has a fire and intensity that I haven’t seen in many people. It’s second to none.”

Although the Black Bears lost 3-2 to Providence in the title game, Cronin considered going to the championship game as a head coach one of the highlights of his career. “We would have been the second seed in the East. I think that’s a real tribute to the way we handled things last year.”

In the off-season, however, the roof caved in. The NCAA ruled that the self-imposed penalties were insufficient. In addition to severe scholarship restrictions, the NCAA banned this year’s squad from not only the NCAA tournament but the Hockey East playoffs as well. This opened the door for four potential All-Americans — Blair Allison, Jeff Tory, Brett Clark, and Tim Lovell — to leave the team, defections that would gut what would have been one of the top teams in the country. It also shattered the dreams of the players who stayed.

Cronin was left to pick up the pieces while Maine filed an appeal. He chose not to emphasize the long-shot possibility of the postseason ban being overturned, instead telling his team to assume that there would be no playoffs.

“If you go to work every week and don’t pick up a paycheck, all of a sudden you’ll say what’s the use of going to work every week?” said Cronin. “People just don’t understand this, but there is certainly something to be said about a group of players that continued to compete game in and game out even though there’s no paycheck at the end of the season.”

“The way they evaluate hockey is pathetic…. Their evaluation of the amateur rule is a joke”

Cronin pulled no punches when discussing the NCAA, hardly surprising given its effect on his team.

“I’ve seen its sharp teeth,” he said. “It’s a faceless bureaucracy that seems to control an awful lot of your life and your success as a coach. After going through an investigation and a hearing, I have a lot of respect for the responsibility of those people to police college athletics. I was impressed with the way they conducted the investigation. They were very thorough and indiscriminate in what they did.

“But if I were to group them with the Clearinghouse, which is independent of the NCAA, I would say that college athletics in the nineties is a rapidly changing environment that at this point the NCAA is not equipped to deal with.

“Three things concern me about the NCAA,” he said. “One is their stance on increasing academic standards. It cripples potential players who were not given the educational resources to achieve a high grade or SAT score. There are too many cultural differences to ensure a kid’s success in an urban environment or even in a rural environment. The NCAA is not sensitive to that.

“Two, the way that they evaluate hockey is pathetic. They look at it the same way they look at football. But we’re not playing in the same arena that football and basketball coaches recruit in. We’re dealing with a different monster called major junior that can influence a kid at fourteen and fifteen years old. We can’t even get in the kid’s mailbox with a letter. We have to wait until the kid’s a junior [in high school] before we can send him a letter, and by that time he’s already been influenced. [The NCAA] has refused to make an adaptation to that. Consequently, college hockey, in my estimation, is going down. The level is not what it used to be. We continue to lose kids to major junior.

“Three, their evaluation of the amateur rule is a joke. They’re too hung up on trivial rules that they feel violate amateur status and qualify conveniently as excessive benefits. That’s a concern because it not only affects the school, it impacts the kid as well.”

“You may … have ten guys that are nailheads. They can’t add four and four”

The NCAA certainly couldn’t criticize Maine’s academic performance this year. The Black Bears posted their highest team grade point average (GPA) in many years. Cronin downplayed his role in that achievement.

“There are a couple factors that influence GPA,” he said. “Number one is the quality of students you have on your team. You may be an NCAA champion and have ten guys that are nailheads. They can’t add four and four. That impacts GPA.

“The one common denominator among the four seniors that stayed here is that all four have an agenda academically. Shermerhorn’s got a 3.6, Trevor [Roenick] has a 3.2, [Jason] Mansoff’s got a 3.3 in mechanical engineering, and Reggie Cardinal is going to graduate with a business degree which is very important to him and his family as a native American.”

That academic orientation certainly helped the team’s GPA. Even so, coaches who care about academics must instill discipline not only on the ice but in the classroom as well.

“The other factor is that I made them go to class,” said Cronin. “If they didn’t go to class or if they missed study hall, I made them run at six in the morning in the springtime, because I didn’t want to see the academics erode. I think that had an impact on their diligence in the classroom because they had to be there. But you know,” Cronin added wryly, “maybe they were just taking easy classes.”

“I give myself a D, a B and an A”

According to Cronin, there are three components to judging a college coach.

“Number one is wins and losses,” he said. “That’s the most visible thing. I would give myself a D on that because we’re 7-7-1. Now did my coaching impact those games? To some degree it probably did. Would Shawn have had a better record? Maybe he would have had one or two more wins. I don’t know.

“The second thing you judge yourself by is what you do to prepare your team, in terms of the practices you run, the preparation you do for opponents, and the post-game breakdowns [you use] to educate your players. And I’d give my staff and myself a B in that.

“The third thing you’ve got to do in a college environment to judge yourself is ask how have the players responded to you, not only as a coach but also as a person. Have they gone to class? Have they done work in the weight room? Have they handled themselves with class and dignity? Have they been socially responsible? I give myself and my staff an A for that.”

Fundamental to everything Cronin tried to accomplish was his relationship with his players.

“Not to brag,” Cronin said, “but we’ve got maybe 30 guys and I would say that anywhere between 28 and 30 guys would say, ‘Hey, that guy was fair, he was honest, and he taught me lessons about life.’ And that’s what this vocation is all about.

“The proudest moment I had in my tenure as interim head coach was at my press conference [when I was leaving]. Every single kid came up to that room and listened to me talk to the media for about half an hour. They waited for me to get done, and they all shook my hand and gave me a hug. That to me is why you’re in college athletics, to be able to have that relationship with players.”

Afterwards, Bourque said to Cronin, “I’ve never seen kids so devastated by somebody leaving. They may not say it because they want to make sure that they’re respectful of Shawn, but those kids are crushed.”

“From a human perspective,” said Cronin, “I think it’s great. When you have that kind of impact on kids, you’ve obviously done something very well to influence them in a healthy way.”

“I’m the media’s dream and an athletic director’s nightmare”

It didn’t always seem to the media and fans that Cronin’s players felt that way about him. When the colorful Cronin got talking, it made for lively reading. Sometimes, though, the reading seemed to be at the expense of his players, who might be expected to resent his comments.

“Matt Bourque says that I’m the media’s dream and an athletic director’s nightmare,” said Cronin ruefully.

Cronin’s athletic director for the past year, Suzanne Tyler, wouldn’t go quite that far but — while applauding Cronin for performing a great job during trying circumstances — did add, “He sometimes said things that I felt were private things for the men on the team. It’s not that I wished he hadn’t said some of the things. I think he wished he hadn’t said some of the things that came blurting out.”

“He wears his heart on his sleeve,” explained Shermerhorn. If Cronin said after a game that “the forwards stunk — they didn’t do anything out there,” he was echoing comments the players were making in the locker room. “He said things that a lot of us players felt but were afraid to say,” said Shermerhorn.

“I think you have a responsibility to the sports fans,” said Cronin. “If you have people who are curious about what happened to your team, why give them a bunch of scenery? Tell them where it’s at.”

Although it probably surprises some people to hear it, Cronin did have limits to what he intended to say.

“I would never criticize a specific skater like a particular forward or defenseman because that to me is way too visible and that can cripple a kid,” said Cronin. “But what people don’t understand is that the most important position is the goaltender. There aren’t three guys playing goal, there’s one guy. So it’s obvious who you’re talking about when you say you had poor goaltending.

“But when I look at our scoring chances and our grade A opportunities over the last 15 games, we were averaging 27 per game and our opponents were getting 16. If someone told me that was going to happen over 15 games, I’d figure we were going to win at least two-thirds of those games. Well, those are great stats, but if your guy isn’t stopping the puck, I don’t care how good you are, you’re going to be in a dogfight every game.”

And Cronin’s guy wasn’t stopping the puck. Alfie Michaud, recruited to back up All-American Blair Allison for a year and gradually ease into the number-one role, instead was thrown to the wolves when Allison left in the wake of the NCAA sanctions. With only walk-ons in reserve, Michaud was on his own. The original plan for Maine’s renowned goalie coach Grant Standbrook to change Michaud from a flopper to a more stand-up style during his transition year instead became a crash course conducted in front of thousands of fans. Between the high-profile pressure that comes with playing for Maine and the confusion over the style change, Michaud’s performances suffered.

Aside from a solid game or two, Michaud played poorly (3.84 goals-against average and .832 save percentage). The same has happened to many freshman goaltenders who eventually came back to perform well, some like Garth Snow and Martin Fillion even earning All-Hockey East honors. But as freshmen most were allowed to shrink back into the shadows to soothe their battered psyches or at least share the blame with another netminder instead of continuing to take their lumps in the limelight. Michaud did not have that luxury.

At times, Cronin’s blunt remarks seemed likely to exacerbate the problem. From “he looked like a fish flopping around there” to “I don’t know what Alfie’s problem is,” Cronin’s candor reached near-painful levels.

“But I tell you I took Alfie aside,” said Cronin, “and said to him, ‘Now listen, Alfie. I’m going to tell you something as a friend. I made a comment about our goaltending in the paper. I don’t regret doing it because I want to make sure people understand what’s going on with this team.

“You’re a part of this team. Publicly, maybe it’s not very good. I’m not necessarily proud of the fact that I said it. But the bottom line is that I care about you as a person. I want to see you succeed. And those comments are independent of the way I’m going to coach you and the way that I’m going to deal with you as a player. I’m going to put you back in the net and I’m going to let you get out of your rut.’

“Now I can say that [other stuff] in the paper, but he knows when I shut my door and tell him that to his face that I’ve got confidence in him and that gives him a lift.”

Unfortunately, a lift eventually proved not to be enough. In Cronin’s last two games as a Maine coach, he was forced to switch to walk-on Javier Gorriti, with mixed results.

Without question, Allison’s departure opened the biggest of many cans of worms for Cronin. Arguably, in his absence the Black Bears endured the weakest goaltending in the league. That dubious honor had fallen to New Hampshire the previous year and UMass-Lowell the year before that. Neither team could keep its head above .500, despite the All-Americans on their rosters. Not even Bruce Crowder, who earned Coach of the Year honors in two of the last three years, could coach past deficiencies between the pipes. Maine, at 7-7-1, was not alone.

Some fans recognized these problems and absolved Cronin. Others laid the blame at his feet.

“I’m more laid back than Shawn”

In many ways, Cronin inherited an impossible task. Replacing Shawn Walsh in Maine is like replacing Vince Lombardi in Green Bay, Billy Martin in New York or Red Auerbach in Boston. For many Black Bear followers, if Cronin turned water into wine, then Shawn Walsh would have produced a better vintage.

“He had big shoes to fill,” said Shermerhorn. “He wasn’t given a lot of credit for the things he did because of the allegiance to Shawn Walsh that is alive here in Maine. Everything he did was always compared to how Shawn Walsh would have dealt with it. I don’t think he had the opportunity to develop himself as an individual coach here because he was always in that shadow. It was a tough situation, but I think he dealt with it more than adequately. It was almost unfair to him that this happened, but that’s just the way the situation was.”

It was a comparison Cronin made himself.

“I was always privately comparing myself to how Shawn would handle situations,” said Cronin. “I would react to things the way I felt was appropriate, but with a certain degree of Shawn’s influence. I obviously learned a lot from him. I’ve taken as much from him as possible to shape my future as a head coach. I don’t think there’s a better coach in the country in terms of his management of his time and his schedule and his pro-activity during the week.

“In terms of systems, I didn’t do anything differently. The biggest change that I’m sure the kids felt is that I’m more laid back than Shawn is. That may sound strange since you hear stories about me breaking sticks and punching things.”

True, there have been more than a few stories.

Cronin on a regular basis littered his locker rooms with sticks broken in his fiery attempt to make a point. Cronin’s lone failure occurred in his final game when he tried to break a Jason Price composite. Cronin emerged from the locker room muttering to reporters that he’d almost broken his leg on “a stick that must have been made of kryptonite.”

Although no fracture occurred that evening, Cronin broke bones in his hand during last year’s Hockey East semifinals when he smashed it emphatically on a locker room table between the second and third periods. When his team promptly rallied from a deficit to win 5-2, this year’s trail of fractured Sherwoods and Eastons probably became inevitable, not to mention the locker room challenge that became his trademark: “Do I have to break my hand again?”

So … more laid back?

“I give the players a lot more latitude than Shawn does,” explained Cronin. “I would say that he puts them on a two-foot leash and I maybe give them six feet. Sometimes that comes back to haunt you because kids are kids and they’ll try to expand it from six to eight. Then you’ve got some erosion of little things that are critical to the program’s success. But obviously I was able to pull them in a little bit when I felt that was happening.

“[What I’m talking about is] off-ice team behavior. Whether it’s the length of somebody’s hair, whether someone is wearing an earring, or whether sweatsuits are being tucked in properly. Shawn’s a real stickler for little things. I just tend to say, hey, if a kid wants to wear his hair a little bit longer than what I feel is appropriate then I feel that’s his prerogative. The bottom line is that as long as they go to class everyday, compete academically, and show up for games and compete in hockey, I really don’t care what they do as long as it’s not too much of an eyesore for the program.”

Realistically, though, the on-ice performance, not earrings or length of hair or tucked-in sweat suits, formed the bottom line of comparisons between Cronin and Walsh.

“A lot of people think that Shawn is going to come in and turn this thing around,” said Cronin. Clearly Cronin has heard the phrase, with its obvious implication of who’s to blame, a few more times than he’d like. Although he sees Maine as no better than .500 this year without better goaltending, Cronin said, “I hope Shawn does [turn it around] for his sake, and even more importantly, for the players’ sake. If Shawn does well and the program does well, then the players are happy and that’s the most important thing in college athletics.”

“I started looking over both my shoulders”

“Coach Cro was in a tough situation,” said Shermerhorn. “There was a lot of praise for the seniors who came back this year. But with our commitment, we knew we’d be back for the full year. He didn’t. He had December 24th written on his calendar. He didn’t know what was going to happen after that. He fulfilled his commitment to us by sticking around until now.”

“The closer I got to the conclusion of my interim tenure,” said Cronin, “to be very honest, I started looking over both my shoulders because I could feel Shawn coming on. I’ve said all along that I’m humble enough to go back and be an assistant coach, but I think it would have been difficult for everybody if I stayed. Shawn is probably relieved to some degree that I’m not going to be there. Not because he doesn’t like me but just because it makes his job easier. He can take control without having to worry about relationships with players and what they might think about me.”

Even more importantly, Cronin considered the opportunity too good to pass up. He will be working with Jeff Jackson and Bob Mancini, former head coaches at Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech, to build USA Hockey’s Elite Development Program for 17- and 18-year-olds.

“This is an opportunity to enhance my professional career,” said Cronin, who sees himself eventually going to the NHL or becoming a head coach either in college or major junior. “How many coaches can go from college to pro hockey? It’s not going to happen. But this is an organization that literally stands between college and the NHL. I’m really excited about it.”

Cronin felt he profited from the last year, despite all the difficulties.

“I think I’ve actually learned more about myself as a human being than I have as a coach. As a head coach you feel a lot more responsible for the success of the team. There were times during the year when I’d get real dejected and frustrated with the way things were going because there were a lot of things out of my control. Clearinghouse issues, NCAA issues, injuries and things like that. I think the biggest challenge for any human being is when you get down like that to motivate yourself and find the energy to stay positive and have a healthy outlook.

“I’m going to miss college hockey. I’ve been quoted as saying that I’m sick of the NCAA and it’s too inhibiting and I’m glad I’m getting out of it, but I’m going to miss the excitement, the BU rivalry, the New Hampshire rivalry and certainly the fans at the Alfond Arena…. But most importantly I’m going to miss the kids in the Maine locker room. The relationship I had with them will last forever.

“You can’t put a price on that.”

Sertich Gains 300th Win

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Minnesota-Duluth coach Mike Sertich won his 300th career game on December 21, as the Bulldogs defeated visiting Harvard, 4-2, in a non-conference game.

The win is a milestone for the 14-year coach Sertich, but far from the only one. Not only has he won 300 games, but he has also been named the WCHA Coach of the Year four times, only the second to do so; has compiled a .539 winning percentage (300-254-35); guided his team to three WCHA championships (1983-84, 1984-85, 1992-93); four NCAA appearances (including a classic four-overtime championship game against Bowling Green); and he won the Spencer-Penrose Award as Division I National Coach of the Year in 1983-84.

Sertich is the winningest coach in the history of Minnesota-Duluth hockey, after taking over in 1982 for Gus Hendrickson. The win also places Sertich 36th on the all-time NCAA win list.

A native of Virginia, Minn., Sertich played with Minnesota-Duluth three seasons from 1966-69, accumulating nine points in 64 games as a defenseman. He went on to coach at Grand Rapids high school with Gus Hendrickson, and in 1975 the two joined the UMD hockey program, Hendrickson as head coach and Sertich as associate in charge of recruiting.

His current season has the Bulldogs at 11-8-1, good for fifth place in the WCHA. The team’s next WCHA action comes when they host Alaska-Anchorage on January 10-11, 1997, after an exhibition game against an international team.

This Week in the WCHA: December 20, 1996

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WCHA PREVIEW: Dec. 13-15, 1996

WCHA Preview: Dec. 20-21, 1996 by Jim Thies

Although most of the WCHA is off this weekend, Minnesota-Duluth stays in action, hosting ECAC member Harvard in a weekend series in Duluth, Minn. The rest of the teams take a break from play, but will be in action again soon, with several clubs involved in tournaments against strong competition. Those games are always fun for fans, because they can see how their favorite teams matchup against competition from Hockey East, the ECAC and the CCHA. Bragging rights are on the line.

But for now, back to this weekend’s games.

Alaska-Anchorage (5-7-2, 3-7-2 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (10-4-2, 8-4-2 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 CT, National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN

St. Cloud State has a lot to gain from this series. For Alaska-Anchorage, it’s another chance to beat a top team and gain some respect.

Alaska-Anchorage did not play last weekend and hopes to improve on its 2-2-1 road record. David Vallieres (5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points) is 4-5–9 over his last five games and is a fine leader for a young UAA team. Goalie Doug Tesky (3-4-2, 3.39 GAA, .892 save percentage) has started the last seven games and has given the Seawolves the chance to win by making the big save. UAA must remain disciplined this weekend. They average just 7.58 penalty minutes a game, but they are ninth in the league in penalty killing (75.8 percent).

If St. Cloud State can win twice, the team jumps to second place, just one point behind leader North Dakota. The Huskies lost to Minnesota at home last Saturday, but came up with their first-ever win in Mariucci Arena on Sunday in a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory. Maybe Sunday’s win will propel them to better things this weekend at home where SCSU is 5-1-1 this year. Mark Parrish (10-7–17) is second in the league in goals and had the hat trick in Sunday’s win. He has had points in 11 of his last 13 games. If Dave Paradise (6-10–16) can get three points, he will reach 100 in his career. He enters the series 54-43–97.

ELMO Picks: SCSU gets two wins, 5-2, 4-1.

Harvard (5-5-2, 4-4-2 ECAC) at Minnesota-Duluth (9-8-1, 8-7-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 CT, DECC, Duluth, MN

This should be an interesting matchup of two solid programs from two great leagues. Neither team will be able to slide through this series since both teams are capable of big games if the opponent falters.

Harvard is on a small unbeaten streak, going 3-0-1 in its last four games. Before that the Crimson were 2-5-1. One reason for the resurgence is more goal production. Harvard has scored three or more goals in each game during the run, while it scored three goals only once during the previous eight-game stretch. Another reason is the improved power play. The Crimson had a 2-for-57 stretch at one point of the season, but go to Duluth on a 5-for-13 streak. A key player for Harvard has been freshman goalie J. R. Prestifilippo, who posted a 3-0 shutout win over Union in his last outing.

Minnesota-Duluth lost twice to Denver last weekend, and wants to get back on the winning track. The Bulldogs are 8-0-1 in their last nine non-conference games and 6-6-0 at home this year. Mike Peluso (12-8–20) is fifth in scoring in the league and has at least one point in 13 of 15 league games he’s played. Ken Dzikowski has personal season highs in goals (8), assists (13) and points (21) this year already. He had his first career hat trick in the 6-3 loss to Denver.

ELMO Picks: UMD wins twice: 5-3, 4-3.

Next Week in the WCHA:

Thursday, Dec. 26 Northern Michigan at Saskatchewan

Friday, Dec. 27 Colorado College vs. Vermont Denver vs. Yale Michigan Tech vs. Michigan Minnesota vs. Boston College Wisconsin vs. New Hampshire Boston University at North Dakota Northern Michigan at York University or Regina Finland at Minnesota-Duluth (exh)

Saturday, Dec. 28 Colorado College vs. Wisconsin or New Hampshire Denver vs. Maine or Air Force Michigan Tech vs. Michigan State or Lake Superior State Minnesota vs. Miami or Clarkson Wisconsin vs. Colorado College or Vermont Boston University at North Dakota Northern Michigan vs. Regina or York

Sunday, Dec. 29 Northern Michigan at Saskatchewan

Monday, Dec. 30 Finland at Minnesota (exh)

Tuesday, Dec. 31 Colorado College at Michigan State Finland at Wisconsin (exh)

Jim Thies is the WCHA Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jim Thies. All Rights Reserved. Return to Feature Articles Return to News and Recaps Return to US College Hockey Online

This Week in Hockey East: December 20, 1996

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Hockey East Preview: Dec. 20-21, 1996 by Dave Hendrickson

Will Hockey East ever beat the ECAC again?

Since November 26 — Hockey East’s last victorious date on the calendar — the two leagues have faced each other in 14 games played on seven calendar days. Hockey East has won only two of the games and none of the dates. Over the season the league has posted a dismal 8-18-2 record against its allegedly perennial weak sister. Even second-ranked New Hampshire (2-2-0 against the ECAC) and fourth-ranked Boston University (2-3-1) have stumbled against the senior circuit.

"Hockey (L)East" — this column’s preseason catch phrase — is proving prophetic with a vengeance.

This week offers two more chances for either redemption or more bloodied noses. Maine will face either Princeton or Union in the second round of the J.C. Penny Classic while Merrimack entertains Dartmouth.

After last week’s 1-2 record in picks, may the hockey gods strike this writer dead if he goes against the ECAC again. Said writer is tempted to predict landslide wins for all ECAC teams in an attempt to appease the powers above. Rumor has it, however, that they are offended by shameless acts of sucking up, so this week’s Hockey East-ECAC picks only nod subtly in the ECAC’s direction.

Last week’s record in picks: 1-2 Season record in picks: 57-32

J.C. Penney Classic Maine (7-7-1, 2-5-1 HE) vs. Dalhousie (record unavailable), Friday, 8 p.m. Princeton (8-2-2, 6-2-1 ECAC) vs. Union (5-6-1, 2-4-1 ECAC), Friday, 5 p.m. Consolation Game: Saturday, 4 p.m. Championship Game: Saturday, 7 p.m. All games at Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

Grant Standbrook assumes the Black Bear reins for one week before the much-anticipated return of Shawn Walsh on December 24th. Maine opens the J.C. Penney Classic against Dalhousie, a perennial CIAU (Canada’s NCAA) power from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They will then face either Princeton or Union in a tournament final or consolation match.

"It’s difficult to assess Dalhousie," said Standbrook, "because we don’t see them and we’re not really aware of the calibre of talent that they play against. That varies greatly from year to year. They’ve come in here in the past, a Canadian team from the Maritimes, and won the tournament. Other years we’ve handled them relatively easily."

Last year Dalhousie went 1-2 against Division I opponents, beating Alaska-Anchorage before losing to weak Dartmouth and Yale squads. The two years preceding, however, they swept both Ohio State and Merrimack, so they remain a dangerous wild card.

Although information about this year’s squad has proven elusive, they should once again feature Dany Bousquet, who at one point was projected to be a top Black Bear recruit out of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League.

"The one team that’s the favorite would be Princeton," said Standbrook. "They’re nationally ranked, they’re playing very well, and they have the best record to date."

Playing very well, indeed. They’re 6-1-1 in their last eight games, are tied for first place in the ECAC, and thumped UMass-Amherst 7-2 last Friday, outshooting them almost 2-to-1 in every period. "They were a very good offensive transition team," said Minuteman coach Joe Mallen. "They outworked us and out-quicked us, and that hasn’t happened in a lot of Hockey East games. They seem to have put all the pieces back together after a down year last year and look like they can do some damage."

Standbrook isn’t sure exactly what to expect from Princeton. "They won the tournament against us a couple years ago and played well using a neutral zone trap which gave us difficulty. I don’t know whether we’ll see that again." The two leagues do not swap tapes so Standbrook hasn’t seen the Tigers play, but he intends to prepare for the trap anyways. "We’ll have to be ready for anything. Obviously, we’ll have a chance to see them play their first round game against Union. It will be very helpful to see them. We know we’re in for a fight."

If instead the Black Bears face Union on Saturday night, they’ll be facing another unknown. The Flying Dutchmen have been riding the goaltending of Trevor Koenig for much of their success. Earlier this month Koenig was ranked third in the nation, compiling a 1.89 goals against average and a .940 save percentage in eight games. Those sizzling stats have cooled slightly in the last few games, dropping to 2.10 and .930, but still add up to some of the best in either league.

Union has yet to give up more than four goals in any game and have only given up that many twice, both losses. Their problem is scoring, which reached a head when Harvard shut them out last week. Except for a 7-3 win over Dartmouth early in the year, the Dutchmen have averaged less than two goals a game this season.

"We’ve got to be doing things well ourselves," said Standbrook. "We’ve got to be better at both ends. Right now we’ve got a horrendous goals against average [3.63 and a .842 save percentage] and we’re not scoring like we should. We’re getting all kinds of opportunities. If we weren’t getting the opportunities I’d be really concerned, but we’ve had the opportunities but just haven’t been putting the puck away. Right now there are more goals going in in our end than in the other end. So we’ve got to shore up our team defense and prevent the high-percentage shot and the second shot."

A major reason for the poor goals against average lies between the pipes where Alfie Michaud struggled through the first thirteen games before giving way to walk-on Javier Gorriti the last two. Gorriti played well in his first full game, earning a win against Boston College, but returned to earth in the final game before exam break.

"Right now Javier Gorriti is our first goaltender," said Standbrook. "We’ll have to watch practices this week to determine whether Alfie Michaud plays or not."

The Maine players will also have to deal with the strange transition from Greg Cronin, their fiery interim coach for the last year, to Standbrook for this weekend, to Walsh.

"Emotionally it was difficult for [the team to see Cronin leave]," said Standbrook. "The team had grown close to him. He’s a very emotional coach. He’s a player’s coach…. Our incoming players have never played for Coach Walsh, have never really met Coach Walsh, so they don’t know what to expect. For the veterans, it will be an easy transition.

"Coach Cronin has made it easier by not varying any of the team tactics, so the transition [in that respect] should be very, very smooth."

PICKS: Maine beats Dalhousie 5-2 but loses in the finals to either Princeton (6-3) or Union (3-1).

Dartmouth (5-3-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) at Merrimack (3-10-1, 2-7-1 HE) Saturday, 7 p.m., Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA

Dartmouth has become one of the quietest surprises in college hockey this year. After years of being mired either in the ECAC basement or frightfully close to it, their winning record now includes three straight wins: 4-1 over Vermont, 6-4 over Merrimack, and 6-5 over UMass-Amherst.

Freshman Jason Wong has been a discovery in the Big Green nets. Going into last weekend’s win over UMass-Amherst, Wong led ECAC netminders with a 1.88 goals against average in league games (2.46 overall) and a .926 save percentage (.904 overall). Many observers consider him the leading candidate for ECAC Rookie of the Year.

Dartmouth beat UMass-Amherst 6-5 last weekend on the strength of three power-play goals, picking up 10 man-advantage situations to UMass’s three. David Whitworth, Ryan Chaytors, and Bill Kelleher — while not ranking among league scoring leaders — have combined to lead the Big Green to an average of four goals a game and more than five in their three straight wins.

Merrimack, on the other hand, is a team going in the opposite direction. They are now 0-6-1 in their last seven. Although they bounced back from a 9-0 drubbing by New Hampshire to play them to a spirited 4-1 loss in the UNH barn, Merrimack desperately needs to put some W’s onto their record, if for no other reason than to keep spirits high.

"Our morale is fine," said coach Ron Anderson. "That’s part of being an athlete — dealing with the peaks of winning and the valleys of defeat. This isn’t something new for us.

"Even though we don’t like where we are, we’re not discouraged. Out of our ten league games so far, we’ve played four of the six games we’ll have to play against BU and UNH. There aren’t a lot of teams that are going to beat those two this year. I like that we can come off the break, play three non-league games, and then take a run at the teams near us in the standings. We’re only four points out of fourth.

"The freshmen have come along really well and the upperclassmen are finally getting it going. That’s really important for us."

Anderson figures that the injured players who have returned will not only be 100 per cent physically, but will also have their full game legs by the return of league play. Before then, however, they must face the Big Green this weekend and avoid a repeat of their 6-4 loss three weeks ago.

"We didn’t play with energy and aggressiveness up there," said Anderson. "We didn’t work hard enough. It was a bad night; we just didn’t play well. I expect us to play much better this weekend back at home."

PICK: Dartmouth 5-3 (although if the hockey gods would just look the other way…)

Dave Hendrickson is the Hockey East Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Dave Hendrickson . All Rights Reserved.

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Northern Lights

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University of Alaska-Fairbanks hockey coach Dave Laurion sighs. “The first five games of the year, soon after Erik got hurt, we weren’t very good. All of our returning players who knew Erik didn’t play well. Right away, we’re oh-and-seven at home against good teams, when we’re not playing our best hockey.”

He pauses. In his voice are sadness and frustration — for his team, the Nanooks, and for one player in particular. “That first Lake State game has got us behind the eight-ball now. We should have won that one.”

Another pause. “I’m surprised we haven’t won a game at home, but we’ve been beat by some good hockey teams.”

There’s more to the Nanooks’ shaky start than a tough early CCHA schedule. Sophomore defenseman and Fairbanks native Erik Drygas lost his skate edge and went head-first into the boards during a preseason, non-contact drill on Oct. 7. Drygas severely fractured his fifth cervical vertebra and remains partially paralyzed, with only limited movement in his extremities. His prognosis is uncertain. For a team whose roster boasts seven Fairbanks natives and 11 native Alaskans overall, and in a city of just 31,655, Drygas’ injury is even more personal, closer to home, than it might otherwise be.

“The UAF hockey program is more a community program, in some ways right now, than a school program,” says Eric Carlson, keeper of the Nanooks’ Web site and board member of the UAF Hockey Face Off Club. “I have a feeling that makes it somewhat different than some of the other CCHA programs.”

Officially in its second year of CCHA play, the UAF hockey program is, indeed, different from other programs in its league. For one thing, this member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association is just a two-hour drive from Mt. McKinley, and a mere 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle.

At this time of year, the sun rises at about 10:45 a.m. and sets at roughly 2:45 p.m. The school is literally a thousand miles from its nearest CCHA opponent. According to the Fairbanks Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Fairbanks is “an easy gateway into the Alaskan wilderness.” The Bureau also claims that Fairbanks is the “dog mush capital of the world.”

This isn’t South Bend. It isn’t even Sault Ste. Marie.

This remote location shapes the way in which the Nanooks recruit, and therefore the personality of the team. The Nanooks are the second-oldest team in Division I men’s ice hockey, with an average age of 21.67. Two Nanooks, goaltender Ian Perkins and forward Sean Fraser, are married; Fraser is a father.

In a recent article in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, assistant coach Tavis MacMillan theorized that the Fairbanks location attracts more mature players, players who can handle living in the frontier of the Alaskan Interior. Said MacMillan, “It’s a tough transition to move from western Canada or wherever to anywhere…but from the prairies to Alaska, it’s tough for any kid to handle.”

Another factor that separates UAF from its more established and centrally located counterparts in the CCHA is its lack of history as a hockey powerhouse. While Michigan and Lake Superior State compete for and attract the hottest 18-year-old recruits, UAF tends to recruit older players who are at the peak of their play, players who don’t sign with the glossier programs.

These players bring a maturity to the program that manifests itself on and off the ice. According to Carlson, on a recent flight back to Fairbanks after a “road” trip, the flight crew made a point of telling Dave Laurion what a pleasure it was to have the Nanooks on the flight, and that they were the best team with which the crew had ever traveled.

Mature players, native Alaskans and hometown boys, a remote location…it all adds up to a unique hockey program. “We’re a small community a long ways away,” says Laurion. “We’re a tight group. We work hard to get the best Alaskans who want to play for us.”

In addition to the other challenges of recruiting players from “The Outside” to come to Fairbanks, UAF competes with sister school Alaska-Anchorage for in-state talent. “Our drawing area is very small,” says Laurion. “The population of the areas surrounding and between Fairbanks and Anchorage is roughly 300,000 people, which is a lot smaller than, say, the Toledo, Ohio, area.”

The number of hometown players has a positive effect on the community. When Eric Carlson was growing up in the sixties and early seventies in Fairbanks, he says he never dreamed of playing any sport at the Division I level.

“Now,” says Carlson, “kids from Fairbanks see local players like Erik Drygas, Fred Scott, Greg Milles, Kirk Patton, and now Brian Upesleja and Kerry Hafele. They see that things can happen for them, too, whether it’s in sports or any other field.

“To look at the number of kids involved in local youth hockey now is amazing. When I grew up there were maybe a couple dozen die-hard hockey players hitting the ice outdoors in very cold temperatures.” Now, according to Carlson, the local youth hockey programs are flourishing, thanks in part to Barb and Chuck Milles, the parents of former Nanook Greg Milles.

The UAF fan base is made up primarily of Fairbanks residents. “We are constantly talking about how to get students more involved,” says Carlson, “but we don’t have the long tradition of a school like Michigan State. The injury to Erik kind of dampened a lot of [fan] enthusiasm, because he is always in the back of our minds.” Carlson says that the team’s current struggles on the ice are affecting fan reaction as well. “But we are still trying to stay behind them, nonetheless. You know, you just hope they realize it.”

Immediately after Drygas’ injury, before he was moved for treatment to Craig Hospital in Colorado, his proximity was difficult for his teammates. Visiting Drygas daily exacted an emotional toll on the players, which of course had an impact on the Nanooks’ game. “Every day that goes by we still keep in touch with Erik,” says Laurion, his voice low. “But now the constant reminder isn’t there.”

At the Nanook season opener on Friday, Oct. 11, Drygas was introduced as an honorary member of the starting lineup. His jersey will be placed on the bench for every game, until he is able to come back and wear it himself.

The feeling among Nanook fans and the coaching staff is that it’s time for the healing to begin, for everyone on the team. “It’s been a frustrating year for us,” says Laurion. “We need to play well, to win some games, to get some confidence back.”

Where Do They Come From?

By Jim Thies
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Teams from the WCHA are among the best in the country, year after year. As a unit, the league has won 29 NCAA titles, as well as claiming runner-up honors 25 times. WCHA teams have appeared a total of 77 times on the national stage.

Obviously, players and coaches of member schools take pride in such success over the years. But where do the players come from, and where do they get their game experience?

Let’s take a look.

According to the 1996-97 WCHA Yearbook, there are 278 players among the 10 WCHA teams. There are 14 states and seven Canadian provinces represented, as well as five European nations.

The top geographic location for players? By a landslide, it’s Minnesota with 94. Next, but well behind the Land of 10,000 Lakes, are two Canadian provinces: Alberta with 31, and Ontario with 24. A full breakdown looks like this:

British Columbia — 20
Saskatchewan — 20
Manitoba — 15
Michigan — 15
Alaska — 11
Wisconsin — 11
Colorado — 6
Illinois — 5
North Dakota — 5
Finland — 5
Sweden — 4
Pennsylvania — 3
New York — 2
Missouri — 2
Slovakia — 2

The nations of Russia and Latvia, the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick and the states of New Jersey, California, Washington and Massachusetts each have one player currently in the WCHA.

The state of Minnesota, which far-and-away provides the most talent to the WCHA, also permeates the conference most fully. Each of the 10 WCHA teams has at least one Minnesotan; in particular, all 26 players on the Golden Gopher roster are natives, followed by St. Cloud State, where 18 of the 26 players are from the North Star State.

As for playing experience, the United States Hockey League has 92 players currently in the conference. The USHL thus outdistances high schools — all of them combined — which collectively have provided 63 current WCHA players. Several Canadian leagues are also prime sources, as follows (note: in what follows, the abbreviation “JHL” denotes “Junior Hockey League”).

Saskatchewan JHL — 25 British Columbia JHL — 24 Alberta JHL — 17 Manitoba JHL — 13 Several other Canadian leagues feature players on current WCHA teams, bringing the total for Canadian junior hockey to around 95, pretty much even with the USHL. Also, 31 players can trace their roots to other, smaller sources — transfers, European leagues, and so forth.

As noted above, the USHL leads the conference in terms of playing experience; all 10 WCHA teams have at least one player who has played in the USHL.

Team by team, Alaska-Anchorage features 16 members with USHL experience, followed by St. Cloud State with 14; North Dakota and Colorado College, 12; Minnesota-Duluth and Denver, 8; Wisconsin and Michigan Tech, 7; Northern Michigan, 6; and Minnesota, 2.

Eight of the 10 (Northern Michigan and Alaska-Anchorage being the exceptions) have players whose previous playing time came in high school.

Also, all but two teams (St. Cloud State and Minnesota) have players who last played in the British Columbia JHL. Alaska-Anchorage has the most of these, with seven players sporting experience in that league.

This Week in the WCHA: December 13, 1996

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WCHA PREVIEW: Dec. 13-15, 1996 WCHA Preview: Dec. 13-15, 1996 by Jim Thies

North Dakota won three of four points from Colorado College last weekend, increasing its lead to six in the race for first place in the WCHA.

The Fighting Sioux are off this weekend, but would probably rather be playing to keep their hot streak going. But no matter what any of the other teams do this weekend, UND will still be in first place on Monday. And that’s just fine with Coach Dean Blais and his crew.

After the Sioux, a tight race is on for second. Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth are tied with 17 points, Minnesota and St. Cloud State have 16 apiece and Wisconsin has 15. In all, just two points separate the second- through sixth-place teams.

Here’s a look at this (short-stocked) weekend’s games.

Minnesota (9-5-0, 8-4-0 WCHA) vs. St. Cloud State (9-3-2, 7-3-2 WCHA) Saturday, 7:05 CT, National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN Sunday, 7:05 CT, Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota and St. Cloud State are tied for fourth place in the league with 16 points, and the in-state rivals will see who can get the advantage in this home-and-home series.

Minnesota had last weekend off, and should be well-rested. Sunday’s game is in Minneapolis, where the Gophers have never lost to St. Cloud (12-0-0). Saturday, the teams play in St. Cloud, where the Huskies have won four of the last six contests. Casey Hankinson (7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points) is the Gophers’ top scorer, while Erik Rasmussen (8-5–13) leads not only in goals, but also penalties (20 for 56 minutes). Erik Day (3-1-0, 1.00 GAA, .956 SV%) is at the top of the WCHA goalie charts as a fill-in for proven player Steve DeBus (5-3-0, 3.14 GAA, .895 SV%)

St. Cloud State won four points last weekend with a sweep of Northern Michigan, which puts the Huskies in a solid position at this point. The Huskies have a four-game unbeaten streak together and are 5-0-1 at home. SCSU has been making the move with solid special teams play; they are No. 1 in the league on the power play (24.6 percent) and No. 3 in penalty killing (84.9 percent). Dave Paradise (6-10–16) and Sacha Molin (9-6–15) are the two top scorers. Molin had three goals and three assists last weekend, including two power-play goals and Friday’s game winner. Goalie Brian Leitza (5-1-0, 2.68 GAA, .922 SV%) is second in the league in goals-against average.

ELMO Picks: A split. SCSU 4-3, UM 6-3.

Minnesota-Duluth (9-6-1, 8-5-1 WCHA) at Denver (6-6-2, 4-6-2 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 MT, Denver University Arena, Denver, CO

Minnesota-Duluth gained four points with a sweep of Michigan Tech last weekend, while Denver was idle. A big weekend by Denver could push them right back into the mainstream while a sweep by UMD will solidify their standing.

Minnesota-Duluth coach Mike Sertich needs two wins to reach 300 in his career, and his team would like nothing better than to get that accomplished this weekend. Mike Peluso (12-7–19) reached the 100-point mark for his career last weekend, and is third in the league in scoring. His seven power-play goals also lead the WCHA in that category. Ken Dzikowski (5-13–18) is tied for first in the league (with UND’s Jason Blake) in assists. Brant Nicklin (8-5-1, 2.91 GAA, .905 SV%) keeps getting the job done in goal.

Denver has hovered around the .500 mark most of the year, so now would be a good time for the Pioneers to take that step forward. Lately the DU penalty killing has been great (one power-play goal in the last 20 opportunities). But the Pioneers need to stay out of the penalty box against UMD; DU is sixth in penalty killing (80.0 percent) while UMD is third (22.1 percent) on the power play. Anders Bjork (2-9–11) is the leading scorer with Antti Laaksonen (6-4–10) next. Stephen Wagner (3-2-0, 2.79 GAA, .907 SV%) is the Pioneers’ top goalie even after allowing a season-high four goals to NMU on Nov. 29.

ELMO Picks: UMD gets two, 4-2, 5-3.

Northern Michigan (4-12-2, 4-11-1 WCHA) at Colorado College (8-5-1, 8-5-1 WCHA) Saturday-Sunday, 2:05 MT, Cadet Ice Arena, Air Force Academy, CO

A young Northern Michigan team has played solid hockey this year, but Colorado College hasn’t been a disappointment either. It will be fun to see which team gets the best of this series.

Northern Michigan doesn’t like to play on the road, as evidenced by their 1-7-0 record. That may be because of a young team that is not familiar with opponents’ arenas. But NMU could make a strong statement this weekend with a good showing. Bud Smith (4-7–11) is the top scorer with Rich Metro (4-5–9) second. NMU’s top three goal scorers are freshmen and that’s a great sign for the future. Dieter Kochan (4-8-1, 4.13 GAA, .880 SV%) will need a big weekend in goal.

Colorado College took only one point against North Dakota last weekend, but that’s not too bad considering how well UND has played this year. Brian Swanson (6-11–17) is the leading scorer while Darren Clark (6-10–16) is a close second. Jason Gudmundson (9-5–14) had two goals and two assists last weekend and has scored in six of the last seven contests. The Tigers are second in the league in scoring (4.07), but eighth in goals against (3.71).

ELMO Picks: CC wins twice, 5-2, 5-3.

Next Week in the WCHA Friday, Dec. 20 Alaska-Anchorage at St. Cloud State Harvard at Minnesota-Duluth Saturday, Dec. 21 Alaska-Anchorage at St. Cloud State Harvard at Minnesota-Duluth

Jim Thies is the WCHA Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jim Thies. All Rights Reserved. Return to Feature Articles Return to News and Recaps Return to US College Hockey Online

This Week in the CCHA: December 13, 1996

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CCHA PREVIEW: Dec. 13-15, 1996

CCHA Preview: Dec. 13-15, 1996 by Paula C. Weston

The teams atop the CCHA standings remain constant, as Lake Superior State and Michigan State (each with 18 points) hold on to their one-point lead over Michigan, while Miami stands one point behind the Wolverines. The potential for change in the pecking order exists this weekend when Miami hosts Lake Superior for two games.

While it’s too early to tell if the CCHA is losing its "two-tier" structure in favor of a three-tier design, it’s clear where the line is drawn between teams with realistic hopes of finishing in the top four and teams that simply won’t get there. Ferris State moves into fifth place this week, but they need six points to catch up with Miami. There are three teams with nine points each — Western Michigan, Notre Dame and Bowling Green — all tied for sixth place. In a middle-tier matchup, Bowling Green travels to Western Michigan for one game.

The second line drawn in the CCHA sand is the one that separates those middle teams from the remaining two, Ohio State and Alaska-Fairbanks. These two teams meet this week for what could be the battle of the basement, or the beginning of either team’s climb up the standings.

These imaginary lines could shift if a team gets hot or turns cold. When CCHA play resumes in 1997, it could seem like the start of a brand-new season.

Michigan State, Michigan, Ferris State and Notre Dame are idle this week. This weekend’s games are the last games involving CCHA teams until Dec. 27, and CCHA conference play begins again after the first of the year.

Last week’s record in picks: 6-2 Overall record in picks: 31-17

Lake Superior (12-5-1, 9-2-0 CCHA) at Miami (12-4-0, 8-2-0 CCHA) Friday & Saturday, 7 p.m., Goggin Arena, Oxford, OH

For the first time this season, Miami gave up more than five goals in a game, in a 7-6 OT loss to Western Michigan last weekend. For the first time this season, another team has bettered Miami in total goals against (Miami has now allowed 43 goals, Michigan 41). Is this reason to panic?

Miami coach Mark Mazzoleni doesn’t think so. "We played hard last week [at Western]. We played six good periods of hockey. Every time they went ahead, we came back."

This Miami team, which has been so good at stopping teams with high-octane offenses, will have to play tough defensive hockey this weekend to beat Lake Superior. Even with recent coaching changes, Mazzoleni knows that the Lakers have been consistent. "Lake Superior’s program has experienced so much success that [Lakers coach Scott Borek] doesn’t need to change anything. We expect a very typical Lake State team — good offense."

Unofficially, Lake Superior has two of the top ten scorers in the nation. Jason Sessa has 28 overall points, and Joe Blaznek 25. In the official CCHA tallies, Sessa has 10 goals and 12 assists, and is second in CCHA scoring.

Each team brings good goaltending to the games. Trevor Prior will start for Miami, and John Grahame for Lake Superior.

Lake Superior’s biggest weakness is special teams. The Lakers are last in the CCHA in the power play, and sixth on the penalty kill. Miami can exploit those weaknesses, with a third-ranked power play and second-ranked penalty kill in the CCHA.

This series is almost too close to call.

PICKS: Miami 4-3 Friday, Lake Superior 5-4 Saturday Ohio State (3-11-0, 3-6-0 CCHA) at Alaska-Fairbanks (2-14-0, 2-12-0 CCHA) Friday, Saturday & Sunday, 7 p.m., Carlson Center, Fairbanks, AK

Talk about your evenly matched teams. This three-game series could be the beginning, or the end, for either the Nanooks or the Buckeyes.

According to Nanook coach Dave Laurion, the key to this series is Friday’s game. "If we win the first game, I think we’ll be that much better the next two nights. I don’t know how hungry our guys are going to be. I expect both teams are very hungry. We haven’t won a game at home. The first game’s critical for us. It may give us momentum for the rest of the weekend. We need to have success early in the weekend."

The lack of success early in the weekend is what cost Alaska-Fairbanks three games at the hands of the Lakers Thanksgiving weekend. Laurion points to the 4-3 loss on Friday, Nov. 29, as determining that weekend’s outcome for the Nanooks. They lost the remaining games 4-2 and 7-5.

Both the Nanooks and the Buckeyes are frustrated for having lost close games, but Buckeye coach John Markell remains optimistic. After all, his team is doing better now than they were at this point last season. "We’re probably sitting exactly where we could be, if I were to map out the season from the beginning. Now it’s time to step up and do something about it.

"Every game for us is important. We’re looking up at most teams. Hopefully we can get a few points before Christmas."

Many teams in the CCHA are relying heavily on rookies this season, but none more so than the Buckeyes. Two of the Buckeyes’ rookies are among their top scorers, and the Buckeyes are waiting for their two freshman goaltenders to adjust to play in the CCHA. Markell says he’s asking his freshmen to play like upperclassmen, something they’ll have to do to win this weekend.

In every aspect but one, these teams are nearly identical. Goaltending, special teams, defense — that’s all a wash. What Alaska-Fairbanks has that Ohio State lacks is a powerful offensive leader. Nanook Cody Bowtell will be instrumental in this series. If Bowtell and the Nanooks can pepper the weak Ohio State goaltending with shots, it will be a long plane ride home for Christmas break for the Buckeyes.

Whichever team calls the basement home after this series will do so for the rest of the season.

PICKS: Alaska-Fairbanks Friday 5-2, Saturday 4-3; Ohio State 4-3 Sunday Bowling Green (8-8-1, 4-8-1 CCHA) at Western Michigan (7-7-1, 4-6-1 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Lawson Center, Kalamazoo, MI

This game is much bigger for Bowling Green than it is for Western Michigan. Bowling Green was ranked in the top ten in every preseason poll, and had huge expectations for this season. Now the fans are disappointed, the players are discouraged, and coach Buddy Powers is left wondering what to do to make it all better again.

"For a while, our scorers stopped scoring," says Powers. "We’ve made defensive mistakes. There are nights when we need more help in front of the net and don’t get it.

"We’re playing a lot of young guys, and they take these losses in different ways. The fans have a right to expect us to beat certain clubs, and they’re anxious for us to get back into the top of the league. The losses don’t sit too well with anyone."

Western Michigan coach Bill Wilkinson knows about dashed expectations. "We lost six forwards and six seniors in the off-season. And losing [sophomore goaltender] Marc Magliarditi threw us.

"It’s put pressure on [goaltender] Matt Barnes. He’s played pretty solid, and he’s given us enough goaltending opportunities to win games."

Goaltending is a big concern for Bowling Green, whose goaltending duo of Mike Savard and Bob Petrie has given up 66 goals on the season. "We’re giving up four goals a game, and when you give up four goals in college hockey, it’s hard to ask your offense to come up with more goals," said Powers. "You want to keep opponents under four goals.

"Five to eight times in every game there are going to be breakdowns [on defense] and you need your goalie to make those saves, and we haven’t been getting those saves. Both these guys have the ability to play at this level; both have the ability to succeed at this level."

Wilkinson says he’s glad the Broncos are home for this game. "Bowling Green is a formidable opponent, no matter what their record. Any time you play at home, you’re better off. I just wish the students weren’t gone for Christmas."

The Broncos are struggling offensively, and the Falcons are struggling defensively. Interesting pairing. Look for Bowling Green’s defense to give the Broncos an early Christmas present.

PICK: Western Michigan 4-3

Paula C. Weston is the CCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Paula C. Weston . All Rights Reserved.

Return to Feature Articles Return to News and Recaps Return to US College Hockey Online

This Week in Hockey East: December 13, 1996

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Hockey East Preview: Dec. 11-14, 1996 by Dave Hendrickson

Exam week sidelines six of the nine Hockey East teams this weekend. What the league lacks in quantity, however, they’ll try to make up in quality.

First, Boston University hosts Boston College in one of the top rivalries in the sport. Although both teams are far from peak form, this contest could be one of the most spirited of the year. UMass-Amherst, the only other active league squad, plays two surprising ECAC teams, Princeton and Dartmouth.

Last week’s record in picks: 6-4 Season record in picks: 56-30

Boston College (7-7-1, 4-4-1 HE) at No. 4 Boston University (9-3-2, 7-0-1 HE) Wednesday, 7 p.m., Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA NESN

Outside the Boston College locker room hangs a board showing the Hockey East standings, the tags for all nine teams displayed in their proper places. All, that is, except one — which is hung upside down. Yes, Boston University holds a very special place in the hearts of Boston College.

"I think somebody from the team just did that," said a laughing Marty Reasoner after BC’s win over Maine. "It’s usually on the bottom."

Fans from the West may recognize this battle as Hockey East’s version of Minnesota-Wisconsin or Michigan-Michigan State. Whether the two teams are good or bad, passion always fills the contests.

"Historically, BU has always been our rival," said BC coach Jerry York. "We just haven’t kept our end of the bargain the last six or seven years. They’ve been beating us on a continual basis. Late last year we secured a win from them, but their program has just been better than ours since ’91-’92.

"We don’t want them to drop their standards at all. We just want to bring our standards up so that when we do play, it’s for first place and for a pivotal place in the national rankings. That’s the charge we’ve accepted, and what we want.

"Our teams are getting closer," York continued. "My first year here, we were light-years away from them. This will be a good test for us to see if we are in fact closing the gap."

The Eagles, to a man, are looking forward to the contest.

"These games are played on pure emotion," said Marty Reasoner. "We proved last year that we could play with them (when BC beat BU at season’s end). We’re excited about the challenge. They’re one of the top teams in the league, and a top team in the country, so we look forward to it."

"The guys are really positive right now," added Greg Taylor. "Everyone has a great attitude and I think it’s going to be a great game on Wednesday."

Taylor may hold the result in his hands — his glove hand, to be specific. He broke that hand during an off-ice workout, and missed five games before returning to play twice this past weekend. After appearing rusty in a 6-3 loss Friday, he looked sharp the next night, winning 5-3. Even so, his hand is not fully healed.

"If I get a good, hard shot on my glove side it’s pretty painful there still," said Taylor. "But it’s to the point where I know I can’t hurt it any more, so all I’m doing is just playing through the pain out there, and that’s fine by me.

"It definitely had an effect on me this weekend. In [Friday night’s] game I was pretty timid. I would try to cover up the puck and I had no strength in my hand. I don’t think I caught one puck all weekend. I could get my glove in front of it, but I couldn’t catch anything. It definitely was a distraction. It was tough on me mentally to fight through that and just concentrate on the game."

Special teams are likely to prove pivotal, as they did in BC’s weekend series with Maine. After giving up three power-play goals and getting none of their own on Friday, they turned the tables on the Black Bears and enjoyed an identical 3-0 advantage in their Saturday win.

"We’ve gotten progressively better on our power-play," said York. "What’s concerned us is our penalty killing. Going into the weekend we were first in the league in power plays and last in penalty killing."

Another concern is containing BU’s Chris Drury, the league’s leading scorer. "We’ll certainly be conscious of when he’s on the ice," said York. "He’s had an unbelievable start, but he’s been a good player for a couple years. This is his third year and he’s a little more battle-tested. He’s a key to their game, so we’ll have to be conscious of him."

Boston University enters the game at the low point of their season, having gone 0-2-1 in their last three games, during which they’ve only scored twice. One frustrated BU fan who made the trip to Clarkson and St. Lawrence was heard to mutter, "I drove 1000 miles to see one goal?"

"[Our problem is] goal scoring," said BU coach Jack Parker. "Our power play has suffered a major shortage and our overall goal scoring has really fallen off. With guys like Lacouture dropping out and John Hynes unavailable because of injury, all of a sudden we’re very, very thin up front.

"We’re just not putting the puck in the net. We’re getting opportunities. We’ve outshot our opponents by a two-to-one margin in our last four games, and only won one of them. In our last three we’ve had over 120 shots and only gotten two goals. That’s been a major problem for us. We need to finish better and play a little bit harder around their net.

"We’ve gotten so uptight about not scoring that we’re messing up really good opportunities, shooting it right into the kid or shooting it wide," said Parker. "Other times the shot totals are deceiving. There’s not a lot of grade A chances each period."

The Terrier power play, which devastated teams last year, shoulders much of the blame.

"We’ve tried a lot of different combinations," said Parker. "We’ll try another one for BC. We’re changing the power play around and we’re changing the people around because we just haven’t found the right combinations."

After picking up just one point in their three road games, the Terriers will happily trade their recent bus rides and hostile rinks for Walter Brown Arena and rabid BU fans.

"I don’t think that there’s any question that being on the road has a lot to do with [our lack of success]," said Parker. "We took a four and a half hour bus ride in the snow down to Yale that should have been two hours or two and a half hours.

"We also had the Clarkson and St. Lawrence trip. There’s no question that playing on the road this time of year is pretty tough. Certainly two out of those three games we should have won, but we didn’t. But you’ve got to win on the road if you’re going to be successful."

Despite his team’s recent troubles, Parker expects a well-played game. "This is always a big rivalry that brings out the best in both teams. I think we’ll both play up to our capabilities and then some on Wednesday night."

Parker listed three keys to the game.

"Goaltending is always a key," he said. "BC gets opportunities. They’re a good offensive team. Tommy Noble will play and he’s been playing really well. So our overall team defense and Tommy’s ability to focus and play well against them will be important.

"Special teams are big in any big game. We’ll try to get our power play on track and we’d like to keep killing penalties as well as we have. We’re doing a really good job with that.

"We also have to just keep from getting tired. We have so few [bodies] up front that we have to be real careful how we play everybody, getting everybody off and on with quick shifts."

Parker plans to dress 11 forwards because of the Hynes injury. Defenseman Shane Johnson will also not be available, serving the second game of a fighting suspension.

PICK: BU responds to the comfortable confines of Walter Brown Arena, winning 4-2.

Princeton (7-2-2, 6-2-1 ECAC) at UMass-Amherst (7-7-0, 4-6-0 HE) UMass-Amherst (7-7-0, 4-6-0 HE) at Dartmouth (4-3-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) Friday (Princeton), 7 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA Saturday (Dartmouth), 7 p.m., Thompson Arena, Hanover, New Hampshire

Joe Mallen scored a hat trick of sorts this week. Mid-week, UMass-Amherst announced that they had extended his contract by three years. Mallen has guided the Minutemen from their rebirth in 1993-94, when they played a Division II and III schedule, to the present day.

"When you coach an expansion club, you don’t get all those wins and people don’t understand," said Mallen. "It’s been a lot of work and we’re starting to see some dividends now. I was really grateful that the university extended me the opportunity to build the program."

His team then gave him the personal hat trick with a 5-3 and 3-1 sweep over Providence. "They were two very well-played games by both teams," he said. "We got a lucky bounce in the second game to help us win it, but they were very evenly-played games and we were very satisfied with the results."

Gerry Cahill, a senior who had only scored 11 goals in his first three years, has emerged as a significant contributor for the Minutemen. In the five games leading into last weekend, he had scored eight goals and added two assists.

"He’s a self-made player," said Mallen. "He was heading to (Division III) Salem State and wound up coming with us as we started the program. Right now he’s simply doing what we ask our guys to do, and that’s just to play at a high tempo, shoot the puck quick and hard, and put it on the net. When you do that, good things will happen.

"He’s also killed penalties for the first time for us this year. Although, if you look at his results, you might think we should have done that earlier. But he’s got real good speed and he’s got real good chemistry working with Rob Bonneau on the penalty kill."

Mallen’s penalty-killing unit now totals six short-handed goals and is red-hot. They entered the weekend having stopped their opponents in 24 of their last 26 power-play opportunities, while scoring four short-handed goals. They added to that total with a pivotal Warren Norris short-handed goal on Friday.

"Our first year here (against Division III opponents) we got a lot of short-handed goals," said Mallen. "It was a philosophy where we were trying to capitalize on the other team’s mistakes. But the last two years (against Division I) we were just so young and inexperienced that our chances were slim and none. Now we’re at the point where we’re capable of capitalizing on some of these mistakes and as a result we’ve been fortunate to get six short-handed goals."

Brian Regan has also stepped up his play in the nets. "I think we’re playing better team defense," said Mallen, "but [this past weekend] Brian Regan took it as a personal challenge going head-to-head with Dan Dennis who is an All-America and Hobey Baker candidate. I think Brian really played up to that level."

This week the Minutemen face Princeton and Dartmouth. Most observers expected the two teams to again be weak sisters of the ECAC, but the Tigers and Big Green have so far stood the experts on their heads. Princeton is tied for first place and Dartmouth is over .500 for what seems like the first time since the Hoover administration.

"I’ve got a great deal of respect for both Princeton and Dartmouth," said Mallen. "Both teams seem to be playing great hockey at this time of year. We think that these are going to be two very difficult non-league matchups for us."

Princeton comes in as one of the biggest eye-openers in the ECAC. A week ago the Tigers accomplished something they’d never done in the thirty-five year history of the league: they earned a first-place standing all to themselves.

Cornell caught them this week for a share of the top spot by playing three conference games to the Tigers’ one. However, Princeton remains one of the biggest surprises in the nation.

Skeptics will point out that Princeton has yet to beat anyone significant and they’ll have a point. Although sweeps over rivals Harvard and Yale may delight their followers, they won’t go a far in establishing just how strong the Tigers are.

Unlike UMass-Amherst, which has played seven games against teams with winning records and five against top-ten teams, Princeton has played only two against teams above .500 and none nationally ranked. In those two games they lost, 5-2, to Clarkson and beat Colgate 4-3.

Princeton coach Don Cahoon dresses only five defensemen and uses only four in the regular rotation. Those four — Steve Shirreffs, Michael Acosta, Dominique Auger and Darren Yopyk — may all be freshmen and sophomores, but they are playing at a level that belies their youth.

Scott Bertoli, with six goals and five assists in league games, ranks among ECAC leaders in league scoring, followed by Jason Given (6-3–9). Goaltender Nick Rankin has also posted numbers among the ECAC elite: a 2.26 goals against average with a .928 save percentage going into last weekend.

Princeton comes off a 4-4 tie against Army and a 4-3 win over Yale. Cahoon seemed to treat the Army game as little more than an exhibition, leaving home five regulars to rest, including Acosta, Rankin, and Given. They then rode three power-play goals to beat the Bulldogs and retain a share of the ECAC lead.

"To get off to the start we’ve gotten off to, we shouldn’t be unappreciative of that," said Tigers coach Don Cahoon. "But obviously we’re going to have to play a whole lot better than that if we’re going to stay in the fray here."

Dartmouth, the ECAC’s perennial 97-pound weakling, has flexed its muscles in recent weeks. In their last four games they’ve beaten Colgate (3-2), Vermont (4-1), and Merrimack (6-4).

Leading the Big Green scoring are David Whitworth (9 points), Ryan Chaytors (8), Jon Sturgis (6) and Bill Kelleher (6). Their lone ECAC statistical leader is goaltender Jason Wong, who has posted a 2.25 goals against average and .913 save percentage in three league games.

Their surprising performance has not been based on a significant difference in play at home (a 3-2-0 record) versus on the road (1-1-0).

PICK: UMass-Amherst sweeps, beating Princeton 5-3 at home and Dartmouth 4-3 on the road.

Dave Hendrickson is the Hockey East Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Dave Hendrickson . All Rights Reserved.

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State Legislator Wants Walsh Fired

USCHO Staff Report
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A state representative to the Maine legislature plans to introduce a resolution asking the University of Maine to fire suspended ice hockey coach Shawn Walsh, according to the Associated Press.

Walsh, who was suspended for one year without pay for his role in NCAA violations, is slated to return as coach Dec. 24.

Rep. Art Mayo, a University of Maine graduate and financial backer, has reportedly been disturbed ever since the university chose to suspend Walsh, rather than fire him in December of 1995.

According to the AP, Mayo’s resolution states that the NCAA described Walsh’s role as “a violation of the provisions of ethical conduct”. Mayo’s resolution goes on to state that it does not “reflect well on the integrity of the university’s athletic programs or the overall mission of the University of Maine.”

Mayo reportedly has also told the AP that it is unclear whether or not his resolution will be debated.

University of Maine officials, and Rep. Mayo could not be reached for comment.

‘Lacrosse Goal’ Up for Awards

USCHO Staff Report
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The “lacrosse” goal by University of Michigan center Mike Legg is under consideration for two major awards this year: Canada’s sporting network TSN’s “Play of the Year,” and an ESPY awards from the American equivalent, ESPN, the University of Michigan announced this week.

Legg’s goal, which came in a quarterfinal game of the 1996 NCAA Tournament against Minnesota, featured a swinging move to flip the puck onto the blade of the stick, which Legg then threw, lacrosse style, into the goal over the shoulder of Gopher netminder Steve DeBus. The goal tied the game at two, and the Wolverines went on to win the game 4-3, and eventually the national championship.

TSN is featuring five plays for the “Play of the Year”, and Legg’s goal is the only college hockey play. Voting for the play over the internet can be done at http://www.tsn.ca/ under the “interactive” section. Voting ends Monday, December 16.

In January, Legg’s goal will be considered by ESPN for an ESPY award for “Outrageous Play of the Year”. Voting details will be announced later.

Fans Will Be Treated to Two All-Star Games

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There will be two postseason all-star games this year in the college hockey world: one featuring the top U.S. born NCAA players against the top talent from the Canadian equivalent,the CIAU; the other featuring the best of the best from Hockey East and the ECAC, as well as players drawn from the best in NCAA Divisions II and III from schools on the east coast.

Players participating in either contest will be seniors who have used up their collegiate eligibility, to avoid regulations prohibiting them from exceeding a maximum number of games.

The World University Hockey Championship will be held on April 4, 1997, at 7:30 p.m. EST at the Joe Louis Arena, in Detroit, Michigan. Team USA will face off with Team Canada in a game televised by Prime Sports Network in the United States and by TSN in Canada.

At a press conference held November 26, Michigan State’s Ron Mason was named head coach of Team USA, while Tom Watt was named the leader of the Canadian coaching staff. These two hold the record in their respective countries for most collegiate wins. Mason sports a 31-year record of 752-330-54 entering the 1996-97 season, while Watt holds a 410-106-35 record.

Joining Mason will be Jerry York of Boston College, who just collected his 500th win, Don Lucia of Colorado College, and Joe Marsh from St. Lawrence University. Watt’s staff consists of Dalhousie coach Darell Young and assistant coaches Marlin Muylaert of the University of Guelph and Tim Bothwell of the University of Calgary.

Team USA will be missing some of the marquee players in the likes of Brendan Morrison of Michigan and the French Connection of Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin of Vermont, due to their Canadian heritage. Only U.S. born players are eligible for the team, while only Canadian players will be asked to play for Team Canada.

Some players from the east will be asked to participate in both games, like All-American goaltender Tim Thomas of Vermont, who is from Michigan. A preliminary list of players from the four major conferences is available. This list is almost certain to change.

Organizers of the event, which include CCHA commissioner Bill Beagan and ECAC commissioner Joe Bertagna, among others, expect that next year will feature a two game home-and-home series, and by the year 2000 other teams will join to make this a true World Collegiate Championship.

The second annual Eastern Senior All-Star Game will be held Sunday afternoon April 6, 1997, at the University of Vermont’s Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vermont.

This is a continuation of the event that began last year at New Hampshire’s new facility, the Whittemore Center. New Hampshire is expected to host next year’s event, which is expected to become an annual tradition on the east coast, alternating between Hockey East and ECAC sites.

This year, organization of the event has switched hands. “We are pleased that the American Hockey Coaches Association has relinquished the rights to this game and it is now a joint venture of ECAC Hockey and Hockey East,” said ECAC commissioner Joe Bertagna.

It is expected that Vermont’s three All-Americans, Eric Perrin, Martin St. Louis, and goalie Tim Thomas, will be involved in the game, and give a lucky audience one last chance to watch them play together.

Coaching staff, game format, and any experimental rules will be released in the upcoming weeks.

This Week in the ECAC: December 13, 1996

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ECAC PREVIEW: Dec. 13-14, 1996 ECAC Preview: Dec. 13-14, 1996 by Jayson Moy

The holiday season is upon us, and as usual, that means a light schedule of games. There are only two on the ECAC docket this week, and both involve a Hockey East foe — UMass-Amherst.

The ECAC is currently overwhelming HEA opponents, posting a 16-8-2 record thus far. The ECAC has never had a winning record against Hockey East, dating back to the conferences’ split in 1984.

The ECAC had its best chance in 1994-95. That year, the record stood at 23-23 (excluding ties) going into the Beanpot, but Harvard lost both games and Hockey East won the series again.

Of the teams in action this weekend, Princeton has yet to face Hockey East, while Dartmouth was a winner in its only game, 6-4 over Merrimack. UMass-Amherst is 0-1-1 against the ECAC, including a 4-1 loss to Vermont.

The battle for the Whitelaw Trophy intensified this past weekend as well, in nine conference games. Not one team gained four points, but several earned three, including Rensselaer, Colgate, St. Lawrence, and Harvard.

The Engineers pulled off a last-minute win against ECAC leader Cornell, and then settled for a tie with Colgate when the Red Raiders scored a late goal to tie the game. The Red Raiders had defeated Union the night before.

St. Lawrence (3-3-1) and Harvard (3-4-2) tied on Friday night and then beat Brown and Clarkson, respectively, in one-goal games.

Princeton (6-2-1) moved into a tie for first place with Cornell with its win over Yale. The Tigers were also tied for first going into the holidays in 1990, but finished 11-10-1, their only over-.500 ECAC season.

The Big Red (6-2-1) was one of the teams on the wrong end of the weekend; they took only one point from two home games. Ahead this week:

Princeton (7-2-2, 6-2-1 ECAC) at UMass-Amherst (7-7-0, 4-6-0 Hockey East) Friday, 7:00 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

The Tigers are in first place in the ECAC, along with Cornell. They played a tough game against Yale on Saturday, and despite Princeton’s lofty standing, head coach Don Cahoon senses that work still has to be done.

"To get off to the start we’ve gotten off to, we shouldn’t be unappreciative of that," he said. "But obviously we’re going to have to play a whole lot better than that if we’re going to stay in the fray here."

The experiment with Mike Bois on defense should continue in this game for the Tigers. The non-league game provides Princeton a chance to get some rest for its short-staffed defensive unit, though the young group has performed admirably so far.

The Minutemen come off of a weekend sweep of Providence, 5-3 and 3-1. Those wins moved UMass-Amherst into sixth place in Hockey East. Warren Norris and Rob Bonneau scored two goals apiece in Friday’s win over the Friars.

Head coach Joe Mallen just received a three-year extension on his contract; he has brought the program respectability in just its fourth year.

PICK: Princeton is flying high, and UMass-Amherst is finding themselves. This one will be a struggle, but the Minutemen use the home ice to their advantage. UMass-Amherst 4, Princeton 3

UMass-Amherst (7-7-0, 4-6-0 Hockey East) at Dartmouth (4-3-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Thompson Arena, Hanover, NH

UMass-Amherst is previewed above.

The Big Green are winners of two straight, including a 4-1 upset of Vermont. Additionally, Dartmouth is 3-1-0 in its last four games.

"We got off to a disappointing start," said head coach Roger Demmet. "We played below our potential."

It doesn’t hurt that the Big Green have turned to freshman goaltender Jason Wong. He currently possesses a 3-1-0 record, 2.73 GAA, and .895 save percentage, and is the early favorite for ECAC Rookie of the Year.

PICK: After a two-week layoff, one has to wonder how ready Dartmouth is, but the advantage might be in the rest. UMass-Amherst will have played the night before against a relentless Princeton team — fatigue does play a factor, but not that much. UMass-Amherst 5, Dartmouth 3

Also as usual during the holidays, many ECAC teams are involved in tournament action. There’s another light schedule next week, as the first of the holiday tournaments hits.

Friday and Saturday, December 20 & 21 Harvard at Minnesota-Duluth

Friday and Saturday, December 20 & 21 J.C. Penney Classic: Princeton vs. Union Dalhousie vs. Maine

Saturday, December 21 Dartmouth at Merrimack

Jayson Moy is the ECAC Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jayson Moy . All Rights Reserved.

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Lovell Will Not Play this Season

USCHO Staff Report
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UMass-Amherst senior forward Tim Lovell has decided to sit out the remainder of this season as a redshirt year, and play a full season with the team in 1997-98 the school announced Thursday.

“It was a tough decision for me, but I think I’ve made the right one,” said Lovell. “Playing next season will give me a chance to complete my degree, which has always been one of my primary goals.”

Lovell transferred to UMass this summer after three seasons at Maine. Lovell had the option of playing the second half of this season, or sitting out the entire season under NCAA requirements regarding transfers and academic credits. He did not have to sit out the usual mandatory one-year because Maine was banned from the NCAA Tournament this summer by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

“I think Tim has made a great decision for both himself and our program,” said UMass head coach Joe Mallen. “The time will give him an opportunity to complete his degree program, plus he will make an immediate impact on our team that will have lost two of its top scorers next season.”

At Maine, Lovell had 108 career points, including 51 goals in 115 games played. In 1995-96 he was an All-Hockey East selection for the Black Bears.

Face Off: Week 3

USCHO Staff Report
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Welcome to U.S. College Hockey Online’s roundtable discussion. Each week, various members of our staff take on a hockey topic. Sometimes serious, sometimes silly — but either way, watch the feathers fly: no punches will be pulled, and no quarter given, when these people face off.

Who will — or Should — Win the Hobey Baker Award This Year?

Tim Brule, USCHO Coordinator: Who should win the Hobey Baker this year? The French connection. Yes, both Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin, two guys who have been lacing ’em up since middle school together. I have only had one chance to see them play live, at last year’s NCAA Frozen Four, on the slurpee the folks in Cincinnati called ice. But they made a huge impression on me.

Take a look at last year’s numbers…

     GP G A PTS
Eric Perrin   38 29 56 85
Martin St. Louis 35 29 56 85

…and you can see why it’s hard to distinguish between the two. They feed off each other, like no other college hockey tandem in recent memory.

Who will win the Hobey Baker? Brendan Morrison of Michigan. Why, he played like a man possessed in the NCAA Tournament with a broken forearm, which has immortalized the man amongst media types. My big knock against him is his health. If he stays healthy, he puts up astonishing numbers. But last year he missed eight games, and when your team only plays 36 regular-season games, this is something to worry about.

Deron Treadwell, News Editor: It’s hard to say who should win, especially early in the season when any selection is bound to be influenced by exposure and grounded in simple guesswork.

So much can happen after Christmas that could decide the Hobey. A top contender could get injured, or a dark horse could only push himself into the limelight. It makes the game of picking a top-contender much like journalistic Russian Roulette.

Let’s spin …

If you look at the Hobey Baker as an individual award, then I think your leader has to be Chris Drury from Boston University. Last season Drury was a Hobey finalist, but overshadowed by teammate Jay Pandolfo, despite being neck-and-neck scoring-wise all season long.

The Terriers aren’t loaded with the same kind of talent they have had in the past and Drury is the cream of the crop. He’s carrying this team right now, and leading Hockey East in scoring. His numbers may not be as impressive nationally as others, but at the same time he isn’t blessed with a deep supporting class either to help pad those stats.

It’s hard to argue against guys like John Madden and Brendan Morrison of Michigan for the Hobey. Morrison has been especially impressive the last two seasons, despite being injured for a stretch both years. Madden is really turning it up this year, and had a six-assist night Dec. 7.

But these guys play on a very deep team, with three or four lines that can score goals and create offense. Boston University doesn’t have that this season, and that is what makes what Drury is doing so much more impressive.

Lee Urton, Media Relations: Even if the Selection Committee passed a special amendment allowing for St. Louis and Perrin to be nominated jointly, there is still another guy in Burlington who may split the vote.

Brendan Morrison is an exceptional player, but his team doesn’t need him to be. This year, he is about third or fourth on an incredible team. Despite an outstanding career, the Hobey doesn’t belong here.

A defenseman hasn’t won the Hobey since 1984, and only two have ever won it. They are not flashy enough. But in my mind, Mike Crowley may very well be the best player in the nation.

Should win: Mike Crowley, Jr., D, Minnesota Will win: Brendan Morrison, Sr., C, Michigan

Dave Hendrickson, Hockey East Correspondent: I’m going to be a total sleazeball and pick two players on my ballot, Tim Thomas and Chris Drury. This may be a case of indecisiveness — but maybe not.

Thomas dominates games like no other netminder in the East. Not only does he make the spectacular saves, he also intimidates shooters, who become convinced that they must be perfect to beat him, and miss entirely. Thomas may lead the universe in turning opponents’ scoring opportunities into shots wide of goal. Although you have to go back to 1988 to find the last time a goaltender won the award (Robb Stauber), this may be the year to repeat that honor.

The Chris Drury Scoring Machine can’t be stopped. Still only a junior, he leads the country with 16 goals; no padded stats with cheap assists here. And even when he piles up the helpers, like he did in one five-point game against Providence, he really is doing most of the work. If he does win the Hobey, there will be no legends about him being awarded assists while sitting on the bench.

My apologies to all the West candidates, especially Brendan Morrison, who I expect will win it. I just haven’t seen these players enough, if at all, to include them on my ballot. Then again, maybe I could split my vote 10 ways …

The WCHA At The Half

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It’s December already, hockey fans. The WCHA season is nearing its halfway point, and that can mean only one thing: media frenzy.

That’s right. If there’s one thing media types love to do, it’s stop in the middle of a season and start pontificating — handing out laurels, wondering who’s going to do this and that and trying to guess which teams are headed for Bigger and Better Things. In other words, it’s time to inject a lot of hyperbole and wild speculation into a perfectly good season.

Well, far be it from me to argue with tradition. Let’s see what we can dig up here …

Forward of the Half-Year: Dave Hoogsteen, North Dakota. When the WCHA coaches’ preseason poll came out, UND was listed fifth. But after a three-point weekend against conference power Colorado College, they’re 11-4-1, first in the WCHA standings.

Hoogsteen, a 5-7 sophomore from Thunder Bay, ON, has been a big part of that. He’s tied for the league lead in scoring (11-12–23) with linemate Jason Blake, who has one fewer goal. One might argue that this award is rightly a two- or even three-man effort — Hoogsteen, Blake and teammate Ian Kallay, but Hoogsteen gets the nod here.

Hoogsteen comes off a freshman season during which he scored 20 points for a middle-of-the-pack Sioux team, and has only improved from there. He has been the focal point of the Sioux offense this season (with a big assist to Blake, in particular), and has helped lift his teammates to their lofty standard of performance.

Runners-up: Blake; Kallay; Mike Peluso, Minnesota-Duluth; Erik Rasmussen, Minnesota.

Defenseman of the Half-Year: Mike Crowley, Minnesota. Gopher fans watched Crowley put up huge scoring numbers (17-46–63) last year — even bigger for a defenseman. Hobey Baker winner Brian Bonin probably deserved some of the credit for that, and with him gone, Crowley’s offensive production is down so far this year (2-10–12 through Dec. 9)

Don’t be fooled. Crowley is now anchoring the defense on a team loaded with very young talent, and he’s contributing with his speed and passing, in ways that don’t show up on the scoreboard. But they do show up in the Carlson College Hockey Potentials, which rank college hockey teams based on overall offense and defense.

The CCHP has Minnesota second in defense, despite the fact that the Gopher blue line sports three freshmen, and two players with ten games’ combined experience at the start of the year. That, in large part, is Crowley’s doing. Crowley is probably the leader for the Gophers. He might be overlooked for the Hobey Baker this season, but no one in college hockey means more to his team. Gopher fans are praying that he stays in school for one more year.

Runners-up: Eric Rud, Colorado College; Curtis Murphy, North Dakota.

Rookie of the Half-Year: Brant Nicklin, Minnesota-Duluth. It’s one thing to ask a freshman to step in and contribute as part of a three-man line, or to help at the blue line. It’s entirely another to put him between the pipes and tell him that he and he alone is the last line of defense.

Well, that’s what Mike Sertich did at UMD this season, and guess what: Brant Nicklin has done everything anyone could have asked. With the departure of netminding stalwart Taras Lendzyk after last season, Nicklin has debuted as the Bulldogs’ number-one goaltender. Starting every game but one this year, he currently sports a 9-5-1 record, with a GAA of 2.71 and a save percentage of .907.

Runners-up: Dave Spehar, Minnesota; Toby Petersen, Colorado College; Stephen Wagner, Denver.

Goalie of the Half-Year: Brian Leitza, St. Cloud State. In a slightly thin year for goaltending, this guy has really taken off. A 6-2 junior from Lake Villa, Ill., Leitza leads the WCHA in save percentage (.922) and goals-against average (2.68), and sports a 6-1-0 record overall for the 9-3-2 Huskies.

This is Leitza’s third year as a regular in net for the Huskies — he was the team’s co-MVP last year. But his performance has improved dramatically this season, and without him, there’s no way SCSU is making a run at the Final Five.

Runners-up: Brant Nicklin, Minnesota-Duluth; Toby Kvalevog, North Dakota; Stephen Wagner, Denver.

Coach of the Half-Year: Dean Blais, North Dakota. This one’s a no-brainer. In just three years, Blais has taken a team which had fallen from prominence and remade it into a contender. The Sioux’ steady improvement has culminated this season in an 11-4-1 record, earning the respect of hockey fans nationwide and a number-three ranking in the Dec. 9 Around the Rinks/USCHO Poll.

Runner-up: Mike Sertich, Minnesota-Duluth.

Now, a bit of speculation. Gaze into the crystal ball, and don’t say you weren’t warned.

Comeback of the Second Half: Denver University. Remember, you read it here first. The Pioneers were highly regarded during the preseason, but lost three straight to open the year. Since then, they have coasted to a 6-6-2 record, 4-6-2 in the WCHA.

Consequently, the Pioneers have fallen off the radar of most WCHA observers. But a break last weekend will be followed by a run of six home games, after which the Pioneers visit Minnesota in a series that could make or break their season. Don’t be surprised to see DU make a move toward the top, and claim a spot in the Final Five come spring.

Now it’s time to really reach. If these turn out to be right, tell all your friends about the genius working down at U.S. College Hockey Online. Otherwise, this has obviously all been a Communist plot to undermine the quality of college hockey reporting. That’s the story, and this writer is sticking to it.

WCHA Player of the Year: Jason Blake, North Dakota. This one’s really a mess, partly because the award is somewhat dependent upon team performance — if the Gophers really heat it up, this could be Crowley, or if Denver comes on, Antti Laaksonen could be the man.

But this is a reach, after all. Yes, it says up above that David Hoogsteen has outperformed Blake thus far — just barely. Blake is showing signs of coming to the front for the Fighting Sioux. Last weekend, in UND’s most important series to date, all he did was score four goals, including a Saturday hat trick to lift his team to a 7-3 victory and a three-point weekend. Performances like those are what separate a player from his peers, and a team from the pack.

Working against Blake is the fact that he’s just a sophomore, and was not especially highly touted before the season. So this pick is really about half prognostication, half wild guess. Nonetheless, Blake just might end up with the best year of any forward in the WCHA, and that could be enough.

Runners-up: Crowley; Laaksonen; Mike Peluso, Minnesota-Duluth; Brian Swanson, Colorado College; Dave Paradise, St. Cloud State.

MacNaughton Cup (regular-season champions): Minnesota. The Golden Gophers, currently fifth in the polls, have shown that a perennially-strong program is once again a force in the WCHA. Thanks to a non-conference stop at the College Hockey Showcase and a weekend off, the Gophers are only tied for fourth in the conference. But that is a deceptive statistic, one which belies the fact that the Gophers have been the strongest team in the WCHA so far.

Don’t believe it? Look at their record against other top teams, both in and out of the WCHA. They swept highly-regarded North Dakota last month, including a convincing 10-6 victory in the second game of that series; also, Minnesota split a series with Colorado College, winning easily 5-2 before losing a heartbreaking 2-1 contest in which CC spent the entire third period playing dump-and-run.

Yes, all of those games were at Mariucci Arena, but they were also early on, when a young defense was still unsure of itself and an almost-as-young offense had trouble scoring consistently.

Then, at the Showcase, the Gophers handily defeated No. 7 Michigan State and took No. 1 Michigan to overtime before losing in the Wolverines’ back yard. Those games, the Gophers’ most recent, showed a youthful group of blue-chip recruits melding with established talent to create a buzzsaw of a hockey team. Look out.

Broadmoor Trophy (tournament champions): Minnesota. If the synthesis of fresh faces and experienced talent continues, this team could be well-nigh unbeatable by playoff time.

This Week in the CCHA: December 6, 1996

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CCHA PREVIEW: Dec. 4-7, 1996

CCHA Preview: Dec. 4-7, 1996 by Paula C. Weston

The CCHA became a more interesting place this week. The Lake Superior State Lakers vaulted into first place by winning four games in six days, and taking advantage of non-conference games for second-place Michigan State, third-place Miami, and fourth-place Michigan.

The middle ground got muddier as Ferris State stopped Notre Dame’s momentum and gained sole possession of fifth place in the conference with two wins to complete a season sweep of the Irish for the season. Bowling Green and Ohio State split a home-and-home series, with each team perhaps showing what it’s truly capable of this season. Western Michigan also split, in a non-conference series with Providence, and is tied with Bowling Green and Notre Dame for sixth place.

Ohio State is alone in ninth, since Lake Superior’s fortune came at the expense of Alaska-Fairbanks. The Nanooks remain in last place thanks to their three losses at home to LSSU.

Any way you look at it, the CCHA is a more slippery division than it was a week ago. Just four points separate last-place Alaska-Fairbanks from fifth-place Ferris State. And with the scant schedule that rounds out 1996, things could even out even more. Lake Superior, in particular, is idle this week.

Last week’s record in picks: 11-5 Overall record in picks: 25-10

Western Michigan (6-5-1, 3-4-1 CCHA) at Michigan (13-1-1, 6-1-1 CCHA) Wednesday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m., Yost Arena, Ann Arbor, MI

The Broncos of Western Michigan are getting help from emerging goaltenders: sophomore Matt Barnes and freshman Peet Moseley. In a split last week with Providence, Barnes made 29 stops in a losing effort, while Moseley saved the second game for the Broncos by recording 38 saves in a game in which Western Michigan was outshot 42-24.

Of course, when a game comes down to goaltending in the CCHA, you want to have the ever-consistent junior goaltender from Michigan, Marty Turco, whose save percentage of .894 ranks him among the best.

These teams might be more even offensively than one would think. While Michigan’s John Madden has 16 points on the year, and several other Wolverines are at 10 or more, there are several Broncos’ in double digits as well.

The team with the more experienced goaltending — and the potential for spectacular offense — will prevail.

PICK: Michigan 6-2

Miami (11-3-0, 7-1-0 CCHA) at Western Michigan (6-5-1, 3-4-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Lawson Arena, Kalamazoo, MI

The well-oiled Miami machine pulls into Kalamazoo for the only full-weekend series in the CCHA. What used to be a tentatively confident Miami team is now playing like it’s used to winning.

Miami coach Mark Mazzoleni says that an overall team effort is responsible for Miami’s success. "The biggest thing that’s helped us is our depth. Our so-called fourth line has helped us a lot. They’re playing as good as our top lines. We rotate in seven, not the standard six, defenders. We’re playing everyone on the team, so everyone feels as though he’s contributing."

Western Michigan will need all of its firepower to face the CCHA’s stingiest defense. Miami has allowed only 34 goals against this season; a big part of that is the league-topping goaltending duo of juniors Trevor Prior and Adam Lord. Western can expect to see both of them this weekend, as Mazzoleni is perfectly happy with a rotation. "Our team has confidence in them," he said.

Who wouldn’t? Prior’s save percentage is .920, Lord’s is .922. Prior’s goals against average is just 1.51; Lord — the slacker — has a GAA of 2.00.

Still, Mazzoleni is ready for the Broncos to play hard, fighting for that middle ground in the CCHA. "I expect a really tough series. There have always been very competitive games between us, no matter where we are in the standings. Western has one of the best defensive cores in our league."

Even though Western is fighting for position, Miami is on a tear right now. Only one Miami player is under in the plus/minus ratio, and he’s at -1 in league play only. Ever hear the phrase "Cinderella story"? Well, you’re reading it.

PICKS:Miami 4-1, 3-2

Ohio State (3-10-0, 3-5-0 CCHA) at Ferris State (7-10-1, 4-8-0 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Ewigleben Arena, Big Rapids, MI

Ferris State junior goaltender Jeff Blashill came up with 51 saves in two games to help the Bulldogs sweep Notre Dame last week. Freshman Mike Szkodzinski started in goal for Ferris Friday, but was replaced by Blashill after allowing two goals before the 10:00 mark. In Friday’s game, Blashill saved all 29 shots he faced, and for his efforts was selected as the Bauer/CCHA Defensive Player of the Week.

Outstanding goaltending alone doesn’t guarantee wins. Ferris has four players with double-digit points, including senior forward Gordy Hunt, who had two goals in Friday’s game. But no real offensive leader has emerged for the Bulldogs.

"We don’t really have a go-to guy up front," said assistant coach Drew Famulak. "We seem to be getting things done by committee."

That could be good news for the Ohio State Buckeyes, whose defense is suffering this season. The Buckeyes are starting to feel the loss of their stellar goaltending duo of Askey and Brown, who both left after last season. In the net for the Buckeyes are freshmen Tom Connerty and Ray Aho. Connerty got shelled Saturday in losing to Bowling Green, and his goals against climbed to 5.54. Sunday, the Buckeyes played up to their potential, dominating a game against BGSU. Aho got his first collegiate win, but his goals against average is 4.09. Yikes.

Still, the Buckeyes looked impressive Sunday, with a newly-formed line of sophomore Chris Richards, junior Todd Compeau, and senior Steve Brent that has the potential to do what the Buckeyes have the most trouble doing — scoring points. Brent and Compeau each had two goals in Sunday’s game.

Buckeye coach John Markell has respect for Ferris State. "They’re playing very well. It’s a key game. We’ve already won the series with them, but we need the points."

Said Famulak, "We’re just trying to build on the success we had last weekend."

PICK: Ohio State 6-4

Notre Dame (4-9-1, 3-7-1 CCHA) at Michigan State (10-5-0, 8-2-0 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, MI

The Irish need some of their namesakes’ fabled luck. Last week, Notre Dame was hoping to pick up at least a few points, with three games in six days. Some analysts (hmm-hmm) thought the Irish would use the series against Ferris State to continue their climb in the CCHA. Instead, Ferris swept Notre Dame for the season, and the Irish gained no ground.

They’re not likely to gain any against the Spartans, either. The Spartans split last weekend in the College Hockey Showcase, beating Wisconsin before losing a tough game to Minnesota 5-3.

Notre Dame has a sleepy offense, and goaltending that needs to improve. A trio of sophomores — Aniket Dhadphale, Benoit Cotnoir, and Brian Urick — have double-digit points, but the team has scored only 39 league points to their opponents’ 52. Goaltender Matt Eisler’s save percentage is .884.

Michigan State coach Ron Mason, however, is taking nothing for granted. "All I know is that they’re a much improved team this year over last year, in depth and talent," said Mason.

"It will be a tough game. In any of the games we had with them last year, they were very competitive. It seems like Ferris may have their number, so you can’t judge them by that series."

But you can judge Michigan State by the numbers: 68 goals for and 49 against. Two Spartans — Sean Berens and Mike York — among the top-ten scorers in the CCHA.

Notre Dame will have to wait until Saturday to pick up CCHA points.

PICK: Michigan State 6-2

Alaska-Fairbanks (2-12-0, 2-10-0 CCHA) at Bowling Green (7-8-1, 3-8-1 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH

The Falcons broke their eight-game losing streak last Saturday against OSU, only to meet and lose to a different OSU team Sunday afternoon. Falcons coach Buddy Powers was happy with the win, but unhappy about the way his team played all weekend.

"Our boys just have to play harder. They’re not playing hard enough," said Powers after the loss to OSU. "If you don’t play hard, you don’t get to score goals.

"Overall, we have to be grittier. Different guys keep making big mistakes defensively. It seems when we make a big mistake, it ends up in our net. You’ve got to score more than three goals to win a hockey game."

Scoring goals is not the only problem BGSU has. Goaltending seems to be the main one. Senior Bob Petrie has an .843 save percentage, with a 4.42 goals-against average. Sophomore Mike Savard is playing little better. With Savard’s .863 save percentage, and a 4.38 GAA, the two are virtually identical in the net.

The Nanook offensive slump may be what saves Bowling Green in this game, or it may not. The Nanooks have scored only 40 goals this season, but Ohio State had scored only 34 before its meeting with the Falcons last Sunday.

The Alaska-Fairbanks goaltending is little better than that of Bowling Green. Chris Marvel has a save percentage of .868, and Ian Perkins is about the same at .862. Both are allowing more than four goals per game.

But there’s something wrong with Bowling Green. The team, fans and coaches seem dispirited. Two weeks ago, Powers said that no one is afraid of Bowling Green. The Nanooks may be fearless Friday night.

PICK: Alaska-Fairbanks 5-4

Alaska-Fairbanks (2-12-0, 2-10-0 CCHA) at Notre Dame (4-9-1, 3-7-1 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., JACC, South Bend, IN

This could be the game to watch. Each team is recovering from a sweep — the Nanooks at the hands of the Lakers, the Irish from the sting of the Bulldogs. Each team is hungry. Each team needs this win. Only one can have it.

When you look at scoring, the teams seem evenly matched. Notre Dame has scored 39 goals and allowed 52; UAF has scored 40 and allowed 61. But Notre Dame has a significant advantage in every other category: league goaltending, power play, and penalty-kill.

This game is going to come down to who wants it more. Notre Dame would gain significantly more ground with two points than would Alaska-Fairbanks. Throw in the home crowd, and the Irish have the edge.

PICK: Notre Dame 4-2

Michigan (13-1-1, 6-1-1 CCHA) at Ferris State (7-10-1, 4-8-0 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Ewigleben Arena, Big Rapids, MI

Normally, you don’t talk about Michigan last in any given preview. Without being disrespectful to either team, however, this is not exactly the game of the week.

Michigan continues its offensive dominance in nearly every game it plays. Coach Red Berenson admitted that Michigan was outplayed last week in its game against Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase, but the Wolverines still won the game. And they won the game the same way they won the NCAA Championship — an overtime goal scored by Brendan Morrison. Magic.

The mark of a good team is that it can pull a victory from defeat. If the Wolverines can come back to win in overtime after blowing a lead to the No. 5 team in the country, they should be able to handle a team that has yet to make a mark on the CCHA.

The key to this game is not how many goals Michigan is capable of scoring — they’ve scored 16 more goals than Ferris State has in CCHA play this season — but how few they’ve allowed. They are the second-tightest team in the CCHA, second only to Miami, which has a phenomenal goaltending duo. Michigan has allowed only 37 goals this season, and done it with one goaltender, Marty Turco. Ferris, in contrast, has allowed 69 goals this season. There’ll be a few more in this one.

At this point, Michigan is too, too solid for Ferris to beat.

PICK: Michigan 7-2

Apologies to the Providence hockey organization for mistakes in last week’s preview column. I wrote, "Providence swept Northeastern last week, squeaking by 4-3 in OT on Friday, and rolling 8-0 on Saturday. Overall, however, Providence is not exactly an offensive powerhouse. Providence has no player with more than three points in league play, and no one with more than five points in overall play." Providence did not need overtime to win the Friday game. Also, before that game, Providence had 11 players with more than three points in league play (three players had 10 points) and 13 players had more than five points overall. At that point, David Green led the team with 12 points in 11 game.

Paula C. Weston is the CCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Paula C. Weston . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in Hockey East: December 6, 1996

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Hockey East Preview: Dec. 5-8, 1996 by Dave Hendrickson

BC coach Jerry York’s 500th win (see Jerry York: The Road To 500 Wins, elsewhere on USCHO), New Hampshire’s taking of the Governors’ Cup, and BU’s two losses led the Hockey East news last week. The league returns to its usual slate of home-and-home series after a week of non-league games.

Last week’s record in picks: 10-7 (Tuesday game pending) Season record in picks: 50-26

No. 2 New Hampshire (11-2-0, 8-0-0 HE) vs. Merrimack (3-8-1, 2-5-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Volpe Complex, North Andover, MA Saturday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH

New Hampshire won the second Governors’ Cup, beating host Vermont 8-6 and then Maine 7-2. Since the semifinal game against the Catamounts paired two top-ten teams, many considered that game to be the de facto championship. Vermont jumped out in front 2-1, dominating the first period with a shot advantage of 19-9 before UNH struck for five goals in the second.

"Matile kept us in there in that first period," said UNH coach Dick Umile. "They were getting some pretty good shots out in front, but he’d stop the first one and then we’d clear it after that. But they were getting scoring opportunities. St. Louis’ line was pretty exciting. But in the second period we took the game right away from them and exploded. We gave them a couple [of] soft goals in the third period to make it close. But once we got going in the second period I thought the guys played great."

Umile didn’t consider the passionate Catamount home crowd the reason for his team’s slow start. "We look forward to going up to UVM. It’s one of the premier places to play in college hockey. I don’t think the reason we weren’t playing well in the first period was because of the crowd. If anything, I think the crowd helps you in games like that and the guys just rally together and play hard."

In the championship game, the Wildcats again used a second-period explosion, scoring four unanswered goals to put away the Maine Black Bears. The UNH offense’s penchant for scoring goals in bunches has finished off many teams that have hung on for a period or two.

"Hopefully we won’t get so used to these second period [outbursts] that we keep waiting one period," said Umile. "The good thing is that we’ve got a very balanced team. We really have six forwards that can put the puck in the net at any time. And we’re getting it from the freshman line too. Once we get going we’re capable of scoring in bunches because we have some pretty good goal-scorers here."

Mark Mowers earned tournament MVP and Hockey East Player of the Week honors for his five goals and two assists. He now ranks third in overall league scoring with 10 goals and 11 assists in 13 games. Defenseman Jayme Filipowicz was a Hockey East Rookie of the Week Honorable Mention for his +8 performance in the tournament.

UNH faces a Merrimack team that swept them early last year, precipitating a downward spiral the Wildcats never pulled out of.

"There’s no secret that they’ve given us a tough time," said Umile. "With us at the top of Hockey East, they’ll really be going after us. We expect it to be a tough weekend and definitely respect them. They never get any credit for how well they play. Merrimack may not win a lot of games, but they always work hard and they take you right to the end. Hopefully we can come out on top."

The only good thing for Merrimack last weekend was that their two losses were against non-conference teams. Facing two very winnable games, the Warriors dropped a 6-4 contest with Dartmouth and then lost 5-2 to Rensselaer.

"Both of our opponents played very focused and worked hard," said Merrimack coach Ron Anderson. "And unfortunately we were kind of casual. Even in the RPI game when we were listed with 40 shots, we didn’t have 40 scoring opportunities. We talk about being prepared, but maybe it’s human nature to get lazy around the holidays."

A similar effort against UNH could result in double-digit goals for the buzzsaw Wildcats.

"Maybe it’s the best thing for us," said Anderson. "There’s nothing wrong with playing the best." In fact, Merrimack’s only point in their recent 0-4-1 stretch was against third-ranked BU. "Hopefully, we can iron out some of the kinks and have a good performance going into the exam break.

"We have a lot of players coming back from injuries," continued Anderson. "All but Ryan Guzior have been cleared to play. But conditioning is a key. None of the returning players have their game legs yet. We’re trying to work them back in there."

John Jakopin will remain on defense. Although the coaching staff had hoped to move him back up front to fill a power forward role, a rattled blueline corps needs him more.

PICK: UNH sweeps, 5-3 at Merrimack and 7-2 at home.

UMass-Amherst (5-7-0, 2-6-0 HE) vs. Providence (6-6-1, 4-3-1 HE) Friday, 7 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI NESN Sunday, 2 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

Providence split a home series with Western Michigan, winning the opener 4-3 in overtime before dropping the return match, 5-4.

"Friday night was a good hockey game," said PC coach Paul Pooley. "They were up 2-0 and then we came back. Both teams had chances to win. We were fortunate to win it in OT." Travis Dillabough got the game-winner, his fifth of the season.

"Saturday night we played really well," continued Pooley. "We just made some major mental mistakes. They had five shots in the second period and scored four goals. If you look at the scoresheet, they scored four goals within 19 seconds." Those backbreaking sequences occurred in the second period, when a Western Michigan goal at 3:37 preceded another one 10 seconds later, and then a goal at 9:51 was repeated in just nine seconds.

"We just broke down mentally and made some young mistakes. It’s not physical, it’s mental. We’re just not making the right decisions at the right time," Pooley said.

The Friar power play connected all weekend long, going 2 for 4 on Friday and 3 for 4 on Saturday. "Our power play moved the puck well," said Pooley. "Obviously it had some success. But you know, when your power play is going like that you should win the hockey game. We didn’t. It’s unfortunate."

Providence faces ninth-ranked Vermont in a Tuesday night match before this weekend’s home-and-home with UMass-Amherst.

"The weekend games are huge games for us. With UNH and BU out in front, everyone else is bunched in together. It would be great to get a couple wins against UMass going into Christmas break. It’s our goal to make sure we win so many series each year. We’ve already won two. We want to get number three out of the way. So they’re huge games."

UMass-Amherst dominated Air Force last weekend, 4-1 and 10-2.

"We had to play five of our first ten games against the top six teams in the country," said Minuteman coach Joe Mallen. Although they dropped all five, UMass-Amherst has posted a 5-2-0 record against unranked foes. "We’ve won four of the last five games — two against Air Force, one against Army, and one against Merrimack. That’s a pretty good stretch for us at this point in the program."

"Our special teams need to improve," said Mallen. "There’s no doubt about that. But I’m happy with our progress. We’re really playing a good up-tempo brand of hockey with good speed and quickness. We’re putting ourselves in a position where we can win any game on any night."

Mallen, like all other Hockey East coaches, looks at Providence and expects a tough, defensive struggle.

"Their system works really well in their rink," he said. "We’ve got to be prepared to play a grind-it-out kind of game."

PICK: Providence wins the grind-it-out game at home 4-3, but the underrated Minutemen get the split on their larger ice surface 5-4.

UMass-Lowell (6-6-0, 4-4-0 HE) vs. Northeastern (2-9-2, 1-7-1 HE) Thursday, 7 p.m., Matthews Arena, Boston, MA Saturday, 7 p.m., Tully Forum, Lowell, MA

UMass-Lowell dropped both games in the Governors’ Cup, losing first to Maine 4-3 and then 6-4 to Vermont in the consolation game.

"Our game against Maine was just a great hockey game," said Lowell coach Tim Whitehead. "We had a 3-1 lead going into the third but we probably didn’t deserve it. Sometimes that happens. And I don’t think we were comfortable with that.

"It was very similar to the first time we played Maine, when we had a 4-1 lead in the first period and we may have deserved only a 2-1 lead. I think that allowed Maine to be a little more focused for the next period and it allowed our guys to almost loosen up a bit. We’re a pretty inexperienced team. We’re just not comfortable yet playing with that type of lead.

"But we’ve obviously played very well when we’re behind this year. We’ve had some great comeback wins, which is something we didn’t really do last year. That’s an encouraging thing. We almost did that the next night against Vermont. We were behind 2-0 and then 4-2 going into the third and we ended up tying it with a couple minutes left. Unfortunately, they got the game-winner and then an open-net goal."

This week his squad faces their old mentor, Bruce Crowder, for the first time.

"It’s going to be fun for all the guys on the team and definitely for myself," said Whitehead, who was Crowder’s assistant for five years. "It’ll be a great series. You’ve got two teams that weren’t supposed to have much success this year but both of them have surprised some teams. Anything could happen this weekend. Nothing would surprise me."

Northeastern tied Rensselaer 2-2 before dropping a 4-3 contest with Harvard.

"We’re playing better and that’s the big positive," said NU coach Bruce Crowder. "We lost to Harvard by a goal but we also killed off 12 out of 12 Harvard power plays. We just needed to play more five-on-five hockey. We have to keep focused and keep working. It isn’t going to happen overnight."

Crowder singled out captain Rick Schuhwerk and freshman goaltender Marc Robitaille for their play. "Rick has played consistent defense for us. He brings a lot of ‘positiveness’ to our team.

"And then you have Marc Robitaille," continued Crowder. "We had to have a conversation with him a week ago and tell him that he didn’t have to carry the whole team on his shoulders or be a hero. We just want him to learn from each night, get better, and improve his consistency. He’s seeing a lot of rubber this year, which is really a great situation for him. He’s getting a lot of experience with no pressure on him."

Crowder recalled his UMass-Lowell years fondly. "I have a lot of great memories. There were a lot of very, very positive moments for me there.

"I’m sure it will be a lot of fun for the Lowell kids playing against me for the first time. I’m sure they won’t have any trouble getting up for the game. But our kids won’t have any trouble getting up for this one either. Lowell knocked them out of the playoffs the last two years. So it should be a really good contest."

PICK: Northeastern ekes out a 5-4 win at home before the River Hawks get the split 6-3 back in their barn.

Maine (6-6-1, 1-4-1 HE) at Boston College (6-6-1, 3-3-1 HE) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

After a midweek 4-2 win over Northeastern, Boston College lost 6-3 to Clarkson before getting Jerry York his 500th career win with a come from behind 6-4 win at St. Lawrence.

"I told the team not to think about 500," said York. "We kid about it sometimes, but we’re focused on other things. We try to downplay individual achievements and emphasize our team goals."

Beyond the milestone win, the biggest news out of Chestnut Hill is that goalie Greg Taylor will return to play this weekend. The decision to play him in one game or two has not yet been made, but he will play in at least one.

In the interim, Mike Correia has filled in well, though not quite at Taylor’s level. "He started slowly," said York, "but he’s come on real strong. He’s had a tough stretch [with Taylor out], playing a lot of games in a short amount of time. But now he say say, ‘Hey, I can play at this level.’ "

York has emphasized keeping the shot totals down, a point even more important in Taylor’s absence. Prior to the Eagles’ road trip to Clarkson and St. Lawrence, they had held powerful UNH to 20 and 24 shots in losing efforts and then Northeastern to 23. On the road, however, they surrendered 33 to Clarkson and 39 to St. Lawrence. With totals like that, Taylor’s return gains added significance.

"Our power play is slowly getting better," said York. "We started out this season 0 for 18, but we’re looking a little more dangerous out there now." BC features sophomore Marty Reasoner and four freshmen — Mike Mottau, Jeff Farkas, Blake Bellefeuille and Kevin Caulfield — on its top man-advantage unit.

Bellefeuille earned Hockey East’s Rookie of the Week honors with a goal and an assist in all three BC games this past week. He is tied for the league lead in rookie scoring with eight goals and six assists in 12 games.

Maine came back for a 4-3 win in the semifinal round of the Governors’ Cup against Lowell before losing decisively to the second-ranked UNH Wildcats.

"I thought we played well against Lowell," said interim coach Greg Cronin. "We outshot them 31-15. As usual, we had to come from behind to win it. In the second period we outshot them 11-3 but were outscored 2-1, which has been a reflection of our entire season. But I thought we played a solid game defensively and the puck started to go in for us in the third period.

"Against New Hampshire I thought it was a good first period by both teams. Then they opened it up in the second period. They capitalized on some turnovers on our part. They’re a talented team. You turn the puck over in dangerous areas of the ice against them and they’re going to score. They took advantage of that and won the game decidedly, 7-2."

Walk-on goalie Javier Gorriti replaced Alfie Michaud in both games, earning his first Division I win, over UMass-Lowell. Although Cronin has delivered biting criticisms of Michaud this year, he supported his goalie this time. "Alfie’s playing real well," he said. Cronin said that he did not yet know whether Gorriti would play this weekend.

The many Black Bear injuries seem to be abating. Ben Guite missed the UNH game with an elbow injury and Bobby Stewart has been out with a knee problem. Cronin hopes to have them both back for the BC series.

PICK: Boston College sweeps, 5-4 and 4-2.

No. 3 Boston University (9-3-1, 7-0-1 HE) vs. Yale (3-4-1, 3-4-1 ECAC) Saturday, 7 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, CT

Boston University stunned its backers with back-to-back ECAC road losses last week, dropping games to St. Lawrence 2-0 and Clarkson 4-1.

Coach Jack Parker, who was not available for comment, was very upset with his team after the losses. The Daily Free Press quoted a livid Parker:

"I’m concerned with two or three individuals, and I’m concerned with the whole team’s demeanor," Parker said. "They’re banging sticks when they don’t score goals and mouthing off to the officials when they don’t like a call. It’s inappropriate behavior, and it detracts from the focus we’ll need to win."

Shane Johnson tops the list of likely receipients of Parker’s wrath. Johnson must serve a two-game suspension for a fight in the Clarkson game, his second fighting-related suspension this year. Other doghouse candidates are Chris Drury and Mike Sylvia, who both picked up 10-minute misconducts for arguing with the officials.

Johnson’s suspension depletes an already short-handed squad. The Terriers began the season with less depth than usual due to late defections to the pros, then lost freshman standout Dan Lacouture last week when he left school for personal reasons. Defenseman Chris Kelleher is listed as day-to-day due to a knee injury and may miss the Yale game, further thinning the blueline gang.

In past years, missing a few players for a game against Yale would be no big deal. Last year the Bulldogs finished in last place in the ECAC, going 7-23-1 overall and 4-17-1 in league play. They weren’t a particularly competitive last place either, giving up more goals than any other ECAC team and coming within two goals of finishing last in goals scored as well. They then graduated their only player who merited any league honors, leading scorer and defensive standout John Emmons.

So how are the Bulldogs hovering near .500?

They’ve done it by beating not only last place Brown, but also by knocking off two of the ECAC’s strongest teams, Cornell and Clarkson. In their last four games they’ve topped Cornell (4-3), lost to Colgate (4-3 in OT) and Princeton (4-2), and then defeated Brown (4-3 in OT).

Despite being expected to lack any firepower at all, they have three scorers among the ECAC top ten. Rookie of the Week Jeff Hamilton, a 5-10, 165 pound freshman out of Avon Old Farms, sits in third place with four goals and six assists for ten points. Sophomore John Chyz (3-6–9) has already exceeded his five-point total of last year. And junior defenseman Daryl Jones, formerly a defensive specialist, has also cracked the top ten with 1-7–8 totals.

PICK: BU 6-3.

Dave Hendrickson is the Hockey East Correspondent for U.S. College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Dave Hendrickson . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in the ECAC: December 6, 1996

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ECAC PREVIEW: Dec. 6-11, 1996

ECAC Preview: Dec. 6-11, 1996 by Jayson Moy

The ECAC lead switched hands for three days last week, as the upstart Princeton Tigers laid claim to first place after Saturday’s victory. The Big Red of Cornell reclaimed the lead with a win Tuesday evening.

Both teams are in ECAC action this weekend and are looking to put some distance between themselves and third place. The difference between second and third is currently four points.

There are a lot of teams in hot pursuit, many of which have games in hand on the two leaders — and most of them are involved in ECAC action this weekend.

Clarkson (7-4-0, 3-2-0 ECAC) & St. Lawrence (3-8-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) at Brown (1-7-1, 1-5-1 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Meehan Auditorium, Providence, RI

St. Lawrence (3-8-0, 2-3-0 ECAC) & Clarkson (7-4-0, 3-2-0 ECAC) at Harvard (3-5-1, 2-4-1 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Bright Hockey Center, Cambridge, MA

Clarkson turned out to be the big winner this past weekend when Boston College and Boston University came to the North Country.

Two victories, 6-3 and 4-1 over BC and BU, respectively, have the Golden Knights back on the winning edge. They had not won a weekend series since sweeping the Buckeyes of Ohio State in the opening weekend.

One of Clarkson’s strengths is its balanced scoring. That showed this weekend as eight different Knights tallied goals. And the Knights have only lost three times in their last 20 games against Harvard and Brown. They swept both season series last year.

The Saints turned in one of the shockers of the season with a 2-0 win over then-No. 2 Boston University on Friday. Jon Bracco made 46 saves, a personal high, in the victory. His effort earned him ECAC Player of the Week honors.

The next evening against Boston College, Bracco gave up two goals in the first period to Brian Callahan. After stopping all 12 shots in the second, he gave up four more goals to the Eagles and dropped the 6-4 decision.

The Brown Bears had their hearts broken in overtime by the Bulldogs of Yale, 5-4. They had a 3-1 lead, but lost it late in the game. However, another bright spot at forward appeared as Jade Kersey put two goals on the board.

The Bears are 3-2-1 against St. Lawrence in the last three years, but their record against Clarkson is decidedly in the Golden Knights’ favor. The Bears have not recorded a win over Clarkson since 1992, going 0-10-3 in that span.

Harvard dropped an ECAC contest to Princeton, and rebounded with a non-league win against Northeastern, 4-3. That win saw three freshmen score — Mark Moore (2 goals), Trevor Allman and Matt Macleod.

This could be a good sign for the Crimson as they try to break out of their scoring woes. Their league-low 2.14 goals per game is one area of concern for Ronn Tomassoni. Another area of concern is the power play. The Crimson continue to flounder with the man advantage, going 0-for-54 since their opener.

PICKS:

Clarkson at Brown: Clarkson’s depth showed this past weekend with the sweep. The Bears continue to get one forward into the mix each weekend. They need to get more of the forwards going each game. Clarkson 6, Brown 4

St. Lawrence at Harvard: Harvard may be breaking out of their scoring slump. If the Crimson can get off the skids with the power play, they will have a chance. The Crimson get an unpredictable Saint goalie (Bracco or Eric Heffler) in this game. The power-play slide ends, and Harvard wins. Harvard 4, St. Lawrence 3

St. Lawrence at Brown: One gets the sense that Brown is ready to break out. They do it here. Brown 6, St. Lawrence 2

Clarkson at Harvard: Clarkson gets their second sweep in a row as Harvard can not slow down the forwards of Clarkson with their hitting. Clarkson 7, Harvard 2

Union (4-4-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) & Rensselaer (6-4-1, 3-1-0 ECAC) at Colgate (6-5-0, 3-4-0 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Starr Rink, Hamilton, NY

Rensselaer (6-4-1, 3-1-0 ECAC) & Union (4-4-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) at Cornell (6-2-0, 6-1-0 ECAC) Friday & Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., Lynah Rink, Ithaca, NY

Union claimed a victory over OUAA member Ottawa this past weekend, 3-1. "It was as forecasted," Union coach Stan Moore said. "It’s a little harder to get up for a non-league game like this one as opposed to an important league game."

The league games coming up are important because Union, along with Rensselaer, has played the fewest ECAC games. If the Dutchmen do not wish to fall behind in the standings, they have to get some league wins in the games they have in hand.

This weekend the games come against a team with which Union has had little league success — Colgate — and one which it has had good success against: Cornell. The Dutchmen are 1-9-0 against Colgate, with the lone win coming in 1994 when they defeated the Red Raiders 7-6 in Schenectady.

The Dutchmen stand at 4-6-0 against the Big Red, even though Cornell won both games last year. The Dutchmen were 4-2 in the previous six games between the two teams, and Union won its first-ever league road game at Lynah Rink.

RPI comes off a 1-0-1 weekend with a tie at Northeastern, 2-2, and a win at Merrimack, 5-2.

Matt Garver returned to the lineup from his shoulder injury and set up three of the Engineer goals in RPI’s win over the Warriors.

Unfortunately, the Engineers might have lost another player; the team’s second leading scorer, Mark Murphy, injured his right arm/hand in the second period against Merrimack. At press time, Murphy was questionable for this weekend.

RPI has lost four straight ECAC regular-season games versus Colgate, and handed Mike Schafer his first ECAC loss last season.

Colgate comes off a shellacking by Miami (OH), 14-2, and a loss to Cornell on Tuesday evening, 3-1.

Colgate got out of the gates in a hurry, but has not done well recently. After starting the season 5-1, including a win against No. 2 New Hampshire, the Red Raiders have gone 1-4.

One of Colgate’s big guns, Mike Harder, has not scored a goal in four games after a great start. Harder has often gotten off to slow starts before breaking out after the new year. But the trend seems to have reversed a bit; also, linemate Dave DeBusschere has not scored in two games. The two of them have been neutralized by the opposition after starting the season on fire.

Cornell reclaimed the top spot in the ECAC standings with its win Tuesday, and once again there was another hero in Ithaca. Darren Tymchyshyn’s shorthanded goal 1:08 into the third period was the game-winner. Ryan Smart was the hero in Saturday’s loss to Miami, scoring two goals.

Cornell knows the woes of facing RPI with a fast start on the line. Last year, the Big Red were undefeated in the ECAC going into their December matchup. They suffered their first defeat of the ECAC season, 5-3, in Troy.

PICKS:

Union at Colgate: Colgate has to get back the offense that propelled their fast start, but Union continues to play the tough defensive game. The Dutchmen will frustrate the Red Raiders just like they have frustrated a lot of other opponents. Union 3, Colgate 2

RPI at Cornell: RPI has blended well, but still has some trouble defensively. It has to play well in its own end to win, and get good goaltending. The Big Red remember the first loss of last year. Cornell rebounded with a 4-0 shutout in Lynah last year, and that will carry over. Cornell 5, RPI 4

Union at Cornell: Cornell seems to be able to adapt its style and win against any defense. That will do it here, in a low scoring affair. Cornell 3, Union 1

RPI at Colgate: RPI has not beaten Colgate since the ECAC Semifinals on its way to the ECAC Championship two years ago. The Red Raiders will continue to struggle against RPI. RPI 5, Colgate 2

Princeton (6-2-1, 5-2-1 ECAC) at Yale (3-4-1, 3-4-1 ECAC) Saturday, 7:00 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, CT

Princeton was in first place in the ECAC for three days before Cornell regained the top spot on Tuesday.

The last time Princeton was 5-2-1 to start the ECAC season, it finished with its only .500 or better record. That was in 1990 when the final was 11-10-1. The Tigers were also briefly in first place that season.

Princeton continues to play sound defense and it continues to get more scoring than last year. Scott Bertoli is the second-leading scorer in the ECAC with 11 points (6-5).

Yale is a surprise in third place of the ECAC at this juncture. Not many expected the Elis to surpass last year’s total of four ECAC wins.

"We’re getting some shots," said head coach Tim Taylor, "We’re capable of keeping a lot of teams off balance."

For the second week in a row, the Bulldogs have an ECAC Rookie of the Week. Saskatchewan native Cory Shea scored the overtime goal in the come from behind win over Brown.

PICK: Princeton hopes to sweep the series from the Bulldogs in New Haven. The Tigers win a squeaker here. Princeton 4, Yale 3

Harvard (3-5-1, 2-4-1 ECAC) at Union (4-4-0, 2-2-0 ECAC) Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., Achilles Rink, Schenectady, NY

Both teams are previewed above.

PICK: One thing is certain with these two teams — they don’t score much. The difference will be capitalizing on turnovers. Union is the more physical team, and will force more of those. Union 3, Harvard 1

Boston University (8-3-1) at Yale (3-4-1) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, CT

Boston U. managed only one goal this past weekend in its venture to the North Country. The big guns for the Terriers were held scoreless; Chris Drury and Shawn Bates did not garner a single point.

The Terriers will look to get the offense rolling with this non-league contest.

PICK: The big scorers do make a comeback in this game. While the Bulldogs have been impressive, they are not of the same offensive caliber as the Terriers. BU 6, Yale 3

Princeton (6-2-1) at Army (7-7-0) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Tate Rink, West Point, NY

Princeton is previewed above.

The Black Knights have had a respectable season, playing over-.500 hockey thus far. Keep in mind one fact, though: they are only 2-7-0 against major Division I schools, with those wins early in the season against Minnesota-Duluth and Mankato State.

The Cadets recently won the Williams tournament with a 5-4 victory over the Ephs in the Championship Game.

Army is led on offense by seniors Frank Fede (7-8–15) and Bill Morrison (4-8–12). In goal, the Cadets have seen Daryl Chamberlin put up some uncharacteristic numbers. Currently he has a .873 save percentage and a 4.17 GAA. His save percentage is 20 points lower than his career average, and he is 1.5 goals over his career GAA mark.

PICK: Princeton is too much for the Cadets. Princeton 4, Army 2

There’s light action next week, as schools break for finals and for the holiday season.

Friday, December 13 Saturday, December 14 Princeton at UMass-Amherst UMass-Amherst at Dartmouth

Jayson Moy is the ECAC Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 Jayson Moy . All Rights Reserved.

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This Week in the WCHA: December 6, 1996

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WCHA PREVIEW: Dec. 6-7, 1996

WCHA Preview: Dec. 6-7, 1996 by Jim Thies

North Dakota has jumped out to a four-point lead in the WCHA standings with 20 points, but Colorado College and Minnesota are close behind with 16 points each with another important weekend of play at hand.

The big series has CC at UND in a pair of games which could put either team in a good spot as the season reaches its midway point. With the Gophers (presumably recovering from their trip to the College Hockey Showcase) idle this weekend, a sweep by either team puts them in the driver’s seat — at least for now.

Here’s a look at each of this weekend’s series.

Colorado College (8-4-0, 8-4-0 WCHA) at North Dakota (10-4-0, 10-4-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:35 CT, Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks, ND

North Dakota has the honor of hosting this important series as both teams will try to make their moves for the top.

Colorado College split with Alaska-Anchorage last weekend; the Tigers need to do better in this important series. CC is four points behind UND, but since the Tigers have played two fewer games, the UND lead in the standings is not that great.

CC is 3-2-0 on the road in WCHA play; they hope to improve on that mark that this weekend. Brian Swanson (6-9–15) will need another good weekend, as will goalies Judd Lambert (6-4-0, 3.26 GAA, .876 SV%) and Jason Cugnet (2-0-0, 2.88 GAA, .889 SV%).

North Dakota, which has earned four sweeps this year, aims for a fifth at home, where the Fighting Sioux have lost just once in six WCHA games. UND boasts the top three scorers in the league in Dave Hoogsteen (10-9–19), Jason Blake (6-11–17) and Ian Kallay (7-9–16). Specifically, Hoogsteen leads all WCHA goal-scorers and Blake’s 11 assists are second in that department. Toby Kvalevog (8-3-0, 2.94 GAA, .878 SV%) mans the nets for UND.

ELMO Picks: North Dakota sweeps again: 5-2, 4-1.

Wisconsin (6-8-0, 6-6-0 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (5-6-1, 3-6-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 AT, Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, AL

Alaska-Anchorage is coming off a great weekend, splitting at Colorado College. The Seawolves look for more good things against Wisconsin this weekend.

Wisconsin lost twice, to two very good teams, in last weekend’s College Hockey Showcase. Now they must regroup for this WCHA series, which could be key for them. In league play, the Badgers have scored 39 goals and given up 40; this weekend goals will be at a premium against a defensive Seawolves team. Brad Englehart (7-5–12) needs to get some support from his teammates in the offensive zone. Goalie Kirk Daubenspeck (5-6-0, 3.41 GAA, .886 SV%) won’t see a lot of shots this weekend, but needs to stay mentally in the game when the puck does get to his end.

Alaska-Anchorage is on a high right now after beating CC at home and handing the Tigers only their second loss in the past 35 games in that series. This is a pair of games the Seawolves think they can sweep, and thatt could happen if they stay sharp in the defensive zone and take advantage of their scoring chances. David Vallieres (4-7–11) had two goals and two assists in the win over CC. Stacy Prevost (5-4–9) is a disciplined player who hasn’t taken a penalty in a WCHA game this year. Doug Tesky (3-3-1, 2.83 GAA, .907 SV%) has been the mainstay in goal — his mediocre won-loss record belies his fine performance thus far this year.

ELMO Picks: UAA sweeps: 3-1, 3-2.

Michigan Tech (5-9-1, 2-9-1 WCHA) at Minnesota-Duluth (7-6-1, 6-5-1 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 CT, Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center, Duluth, MN

Both of these teams had it rought last weekend, earning only one point (out of eight) between them.

Michigan Tech got that one point with a 3-3 tie with St. Cloud State that ended a five-game losing streak. The Huskies will be idle for three weeks after this series, so there’s no reason to hold back. MTU is tied with Alaska-Anchorage for the fewest goals scored (24) in league play this year, and UAA has played two fewer games. As one might expect based on that figure, offense has been a problem for Tech; Andre Savage (4-4–8) is the only MTU player listed among the WCHA scoring leaders.

Minnesota-Duluth is just 4-4 at home this year in league play, a major factor in their middle-of-the-pack standing. Nonetheless, the Bulldogs have done a nice job in special-teams play. They are third in power-play conversions (21.3 percent) and second in penalty-killing at 87.5 percent. Mike Peluso (9-6–15) has jumped to fourth in the scoring race while Ken Dzikowski (5-10–15) is sixth. Brant Nicklin’s stats (6-5-1, 3.07 GAA, .901 SV%) may have fallen, but he is the only goalie the Bulldogs have used in a league game this year.

ELMO Picks: A UMD sweep. 5-2, 5-1.

Northern Michigan (4-10-2, 4-9-1 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (7-3-2, 5-3-2 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 CT, National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN

Northern Michigan and St. Cloud State are within three points of each other in league play, and this weekend the two teams meet for the only times this year. Obviously, a lot is on the line.

NMU picked up three big points against Denver last weekend and hopes to use that as a springboard to further success. They have allowed the most goals (55) in league play, but were much improved last weekend when they gave up only six. Bud Smith (4-7–11) has been the team’s steadiest player this year, with points in every series.

St. Cloud State also picked up three points last weekend, against Michigan Tech. The Huskies have played only four of their 12 games at home, and they are 3-0-1 in that span, which bodes well for this weekend. Dave Paradise (6-7–13) and Mark Parrish (4-8–12) are the team’s top point-getters, but make no mistake: the Huskies will love having Matt Cullen (3-5–8), out the last two series, back in the lineup.

ELMO Picks: A SCSU sweep. 5-2, 4-2.

Next Week in the WCHA Friday, Dec. 13 Minnesota-Duluth at Denver Saturday, Dec. 14 Northern Michigan at Colorado College Minnesota-Duluth at Denver Minnesota at St. Cloud State Sunday, Dec. 15 Northern Michigan at Colorado College Minnesota at St. Cloud State

Jim Thies is the WCHA Correspondent for US College Hockey Online.

Copyright 1996 JIm Thies. All Rights Reserved. Return to Feature Articles Return to News and Recaps Return to US College Hockey Online

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