Home Blog Page 1518

Just Like They Never Left

By
-

Rick Comley pauses to think before he answers a question. Why did Northern Michigan leave the CCHA for the WCHA in the first place? Comley laughs. “I’m sure for lots of good reasons, when you think back.”

The cover of this year’s Wildcats’ media guide says, “Charging back into the CCHA.” Maybe it should read, a la Jack Nicholson in The Shining, “We’re baaAAAaack!”

The ‘Cats are proving this season that you can go home again, and with a vengeance.

Northern Michigan is tearing up the CCHA in early-season play, behaving not at all like a team with 20 underclassmen, a team new to a conference.

“Tearing up is probably an overstatement,” says Comley, entering his 22nd year as Northern Michigan’s head coach. “Obviously, we’re playing pretty well.”

“Pretty well” may be an understatement.

Through the third week of CCHA play, the Wildcats were 4-1-1 against conference opponents. For their first series, the ‘Cats tied and beat Upper Peninsula rivals Lake Superior; then they swept Western Michigan in two games on the road. In the third week, they split a pair with nationally-ranked Michigan at home.

This success shouldn’t be surprising to hockey fans in the CCHA. It’s certainly not surprising to fans of Northern Michigan, who have watched their ‘Cats succeed in post-season tournament play any number of times, both in the WCHA and the CCHA. As recently as 1991, the Wildcats were national champions.

From 1977 until jumping conferences in 1984, the Wildcats were members of the CCHA. As members of the CCHA, Northern Michigan enjoyed both league and NCAA success. During the 1979-80 season — in just their fourth season of hockey — the Wildcats went 34-6-1; their CCHA record of 17-3-0 was good enough for the regular-season title. The ‘Cats went on to take the CCHA championship, and to advance to the final game of NCAA tournament play, where they lost to North Dakota, 5-2.

Then in 1980-81, the Wildcats again took the CCHA title and advanced to the NCAA tournament, where they lost 5-1 to Wisconsin in the first round, and 5-2 to Michigan Tech in the consolation game.

After joining the WCHA, the ‘Cats again reached the NCAA playoffs in 1988-89, losing a first-round series to Providence. After missing a year of NCAA postseason play, Northern Michigan reached the NCAA tournament three consecutive years, beginning with the 1990-91 season, when the ‘Cats defeated Boston University for the national championship, and followed by consecutive quarterfinal appearances.

For all of that history, Rick Comley has been the head coach.

“When you like what you’re doing, you stay with it,” says Comley. “It’s just like anyone else who stays in a job for a long time. Working with new kids can keep you interested as well.”

Comley says his goal when he started coaching was the same as it is now, two decades later. “We want to be successful.”

One step toward success is a new arena with an Olympic-size ice sheet, to be completed for the 1999-2000 season. Comley says it wasn’t difficult to convince the University that a new facility was needed. “They’ve always been supportive.”

Construction on the $9.5 million Events Center is scheduled for the spring of 1998. The Center is to be paid for with a combination of bond proceeds, private contributions and money from the university’s general fund. When complete, the Center will seat approximately 4,000 for hockey, and 5,000 for other events, such as concerts.

The renewed dedication to hockey and the move back to the CCHA are both a part of Northern Michigan University’s plan to attract more students. In both of these matters, Comley says, “Our president was a leading force. It was enrollment driven…our overall enrollment was down.” The university thought that students would be attracted more to a school that competed with in-state rivals like Lake Superior and Western Michigan, and the two in-state Big Ten schools, Michigan and Michigan State.

It’s part of a plan to “reestablish our presence in the state of Michigan,” says Comley.

That reestablishment is apparent already this season. Fans in Marquette, particularly, have embraced the move back to the CCHA. “The positive thing is the reception,” says Comley. “The people in this town are very excited here about the team rejoining the CCHA.”

Comley says the university and the hockey team have more in common with schools in the CCHA than with the WCHA.

“It’s not that our fans didn’t care about the WCHA teams we played, but places like Colorado College aren’t as real to them as Lake Superior State. The names of teams in the CCHA are familiar. Lake and Ferris are Great Lakes Conference intense rivalries in other sports at Northern. The two Big Ten schools, the fans read about day in and day out.

“Certainly our fans are the reason this move is so successful.”

In addition to his duties as head coach, Comley has served as athletic director for the university for the past 11 years. Of his job as AD, Comley says, “You’re involved with everything. I enjoy a lot of different sports, [but] being both [coach and athletic director] is time-consuming. You try to go to as many different games as you can.”

“The hardest thing in the beginning is working against the perception that you’d tend to favor hockey over everyone else.”

Comley remembers a time when the WCHA and Hockey East shared teams and schedules. “It’s kind of interesting technically. We’ve participated in the WCHA-Hockey East affiliation. We played as many as 16 games interconference a season. When the WCHA expanded, then it wasn’t possible to do it any more.

“Technically,” says Comley, “the only conference we haven’t played in is the ECAC.”

Given the way the Wildcats are playing, one can only assume that the ECAC is happy about that.

The Wildcats finished 13-24-3 overall last season, with a WCHA record of 9-21-8 — hardly the kind of record that foreshadows what they have done so far in the CCHA. Comley says there are many intangibles that contribute to Northern’s triumphant return.

“It’s always a combination of things. We’re not making too much of it. We’re happy that we’re getting off to a good start. Does that mean that we’re a top-five team? No, it just means that maybe the league is a little bit more balanced than people thought.

“You look at Ohio State, you look at Notre Dame, you look at Northern Michigan and Ferris — those are four of the teams that were picked to be at the bottom of the league, and all of a sudden they’re beating teams that are picked to be at the top of the league.

“It creates great balance.”

A good deal of credit for the early-season success of the Wildcats belongs to their young goaltender, sophomore Duane Hoey. In his rookie season, Hoey appeared in 15 games, with a 3.47 goals-against average and a save percentage of .873. This season, through 12 games, Hoey’s numbers have improved remarkably: a 1.97 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

“He’s played very, very well,” says Comley. “The best goaltending we’ve had in a while. And just an awful lot of hard work. Good goaltending and hard work — it’s a young team that plays with a lot of enthusiasm.”

While the season is young, and Comley doesn’t want to sound too gleeful about the Wildcats’ success against CCHA opponents, he says there are signs that Northern’s record isn’t just early-season luck. “The real encouraging thing for me, without making too much of it, is the ability to go on the road and win. That’s a sign of whether a team is a decent team or not.”

With the return to the CCHA, the Wildcats renew old, old rivalries, some bitter — or at least comical.

On Jan. 30, 1981, with the Ohio State Buckeyes in town, the ‘Cats and the Bucs fought to the point of the ridiculous, amassing 185 penalty minutes, 98 of which belonged to the Buckeyes. The rivalry between the two teams resulted in a button that was popular among Wildcat fans in the ’80s; it read, “Oh, How I Hate Ohio State.”

College hockey has changed since then, and such roughness is no longer tolerated. But you can bet that longtime Wildcat fans — mollified for years by play in a league where the geography didn’t contribute as much to rivalry — will be pleased to reintroduce a few rink chants that even the Yost faithful haven’t made famous.

And when Ohio State visits Marquette later this month, will the spirit of the holiday season and the renewal of old CCHA friendships surround the Buckeyes in warmth and welcome? Well, sure, since residents of Marquette are a friendly bunch.

All the Buckeyes will have to do is look past those buttons, painstakingly kept for over 15 years, and dusted off for the occasion.

Where Is The ECAC Headed?

By Adam Wodon
-

Joe Bertagna believes it when he says he works for all of college hockey. He believed that when the ECAC was signing his paychecks, and he believes it now that he is the commissioner of Hockey East.

People who believe that ECAC hockey is a glorious conglomerate of 12 teams — worthy of praise over ridicule, admiration over indifference — had better hope Bertagna doesn’t forget his friends in the ECAC. And not the friends from the home office on Cape Cod, but the coaches and the hockey programs themselves.

That’s because the ECAC’s hockey programs need his help, and that of many others. Help they are not getting under their current administrative structure. Help they must get, or else slip into a background that would make the perception of the ECAC as a weak sister become a reality.

Help they may only be able to get by leaving.

When Bertagna was allowed to leave as the commissioner of the ECAC after 15 years of service, it sounded a troublesome alarm. At first Bertagna played it cool publicly, saying he just thought Hockey East was a better situation for his family. But beneath the surface was indicated the ECAC’s continued unwillingness to recognize that men’s ice hockey is the sport that butters its bread.

With those worries already in place, we waited for the naming of a new commissioner. A respected coach perhaps, like a Joe Marsh, or a former player with a background like Hobey Baker winner Lane McDonald. Those were the guesses, not that those guys actually applied.

The naming of 26-year old Jeff Fanter in July raised a lot of eyebrows and confirmed some suspicions — the ECAC administration has no concept of the importance of hockey, and the chance it has — if done right — to keep up with the other three conference powers.

Fanter is a hard worker and a good guy. He is organized and has the chance to grow into the job, and he’s sincere when he says he’s fallen in love with hockey. But, to be honest, if Fanter had applied for the commissioner’s job at any of the three other conferences, with a total of two years experience in hockey (as an assistant SID at Colgate), he would have had no chance of being hired. WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod has been an athletic director; CCHA chief Bill Beagan is a longtime hockey guy with a lot of years as a referee; Bertagna is a former Harvard goalie, Boston Bruins goalie coach, head of the American Hockey Coaches Association and director of a popular goaltending camp.

Even Jack McDonald, who spearheaded the creation of the new MAAC hockey conference, is an athletic director at Quinnipiac whose family has been in hockey for years, and a former athletic director at the University of Denver.

Consider the job description posted for the soon-to-be-vacant CCHA commissioner’s position:

“Responsibilities include oversight and management of: a) league finances; b) activities of staff members; c) playing schedules; d) CCHA and college ice hockey promotion on a regional and national basis; e) a television contract for the league and its members; f) the league’s policies and procedures as outlined in the CCHA Code of Regulations and Articles of Agreement; g) all league meetings (prepare necessary reports, materials, minutes, lodging, meals, etc.); and h) other duties as assigned by the CCHA Executive Committee. The Commissioner is the league’s primary liaison with other ice hockey organizations, NCAA, corporate sponsors and partners, and media representatives. The Commissioner works directly with a small support staff.

The CCHA is seeking candidates who possess superior leadership, management, and collaborative skills, and the vision needed to enhance the CCHA’s premier leadership role in collegiate ice hockey. Minimum Qualifications: bachelor’s degree with significant experience in intercollegiate athletics administration or related managerial field. Knowledge and experience with intercollegiate ice hockey as an administrator, coach or student-athlete is desirable. Demonstrated marketing, promotions, public relations, and event management; television and media relations; strong interpersonal, organizational and supervisory skills; effective oral, written and automated communications are preferred; and commitment to intercollegiate athletics and academic integrity are required.” (Emphasis mine)

Colgate athletic director Mark Murphy and head coach Don Vaughan made the big push for Fanter, having worked with him from 1993-95, and I respect both of those men very much.

But the questions are numerous. Were there other strong candidates? Is this an indication that ECAC higher-ups, John Garner and Clayton Chapman, really are the ones who want to pull the hockey management strings and make Fanter a de facto ECAC SID only? Did the ECAC just show yet again the reason why it has a hard time being taken seriously?

The ECAC reportedly interviewed John Weisbrod, a former player and current Executive Vice President and Director of Operations for the Albany River Rats, a very successful AHL team. Another known applicant was former Harvard hockey SID Mike Jackman. Perhaps Jackman wasn’t qualified by CCHA standards, either, but he graduated from Princeton and spent five years as a hockey SID in the league. He wasn’t interviewed.

Fanter, a graduate of Indiana, spent the last two years at his alma mater. He has always been good with his publications and publicity. But does he have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with people like Bertagna, McLeod and Beagan?

As one longtime ECAC devotee said, “When (Cornell coach) Mike Schafer gives it to a referee, is Fanter going to be able to call and tell him to cool it?” Will Fanter have clout within the league? Does the league hierarchy want him to?

Did the ECAC use hockey-playing schools solely on the search committee? Of course not. Included on the committee, in addition to Murphy, were the athletic directors at Tufts and Adelphi.

Garner acknowledges the concerns of others, but affirms Fanter as a solid choice.

“It’s probably a legitimate concern,” Garner said. “He holds his own. He’s energetic. From a public relations standpoint he’s great; administratively he’ll have to learn. Learning comes with maturity. He’ll also have the ECAC commissioner (Chapman) here to bounce things off of, and [12 ECAC] athletic directors.

“He has energy, enthusiasm and vision.”

Fanter has been okay so far, working out an agreement with the New England Sports Network to carry additional ECAC games this year. The ECAC already had an agreement with the Empire Sports Network, only seen in upstate New York and on satellite systems, but when NESN dropped Hockey East, Fanter seized the chance to get them into the ECAC fold. NESN doesn’t have to worry about as much production cost, and it was worth it to them.

“The guy’s doing a quality job,” said Mike Schafer. “He’s earned the coaches’ respect.”

“I supported him,” said Vaughan. “He’s strong in marketing and pretty creative. He’s super-organized. He’s young, but he’s way ahead of his years. There’s no concern where our league is at from the hockey end.”

But this was never about Fanter anyway. No one’s blaming him. Heck, I shouldn’t be hired for the commissioner’s job either, but if someone offered it to me, I might take it.

So let’s not lose sight of what the issue is — that the ECAC hierarchy just doesn’t get it.

No one in Centerville will admit it, but the departure of Bertagna and the hiring of Fanter smells a lot like a power play on the part of the ECAC administration. It looks very much like the ECAC higher-ups wanted to have more control over hockey, and therefore purposefully downsized the hockey commissioner’s role (despite the pretense of naming the first full-time commissioner) and instead hired what is in essence an ECAC hockey Sports Information Director.

It’s not like the ECAC doesn’t have a history of backwards thinking.

Listen to Bertagna, and the frustration in his voice:

“I asked the ECAC for a full-time assistant or to absolutely change things,” he says. “I was a little naive. I thought that I’d established myself so much that I would get a lot of the things that I asked for.

“But they did an internal study of how we did things, and concluded that the problem wasn’t that I didn’t have any help. The problem was that we had two offices. If I moved down on the Cape and used their staffing, the problems would go away. Well I wasn’t going to move after 15 years.

“And to be very blunt, they had this huge office, but some of the people there were not assets. They didn’t know hockey. They were upset that hockey was getting preferential treatment. I said, ‘It’s because it’s the only sport that raises the ECAC flag at a national level and makes money for you. You guys should bow down and give hockey the extra attention. No one else cuts you a check like the hockey tournament in Lake Placid does.'”

Internal study? Does that sound like government bureaucracy at its finest, or what?

If Bertagna wasn’t able to get things done there, what makes anyone think Fanter will be able to? The answer is: The ECAC doesn’t want Fanter to. The higher-ups will try … and fail. Or, even more scary, they don’t care to try.

The ECAC as a concept is a complete dinosaur. Not the hockey conference, but the conference as a whole. In other sports, the member schools don’t answer to the ECAC. They have their own conferences, and the ECAC just chooses players of the week and hosts some postseason tournaments. Hockey is the only sport where the ECAC has any jurisdiction. It’s also the only sport that makes them money.

The ECAC remains the only major hockey conference with a hierarchy above hockey, which gets in the way much more than it helps. The hockey programs have to answer to another authority, and the ECAC takes in more money from its highest money-maker than it gives back.

The ECAC higher-ups have to open their eyes and realize that hockey is the sport that butters its bread. It must give ultimate hockey power to an autonomous commissioner in order to keep up with the other leagues.

The system in place now is hurting hockey, plain and simple. And it does nothing to dispel the notion that the ECAC is college hockey’s black sheep.

So what does this all add up to?

It’s time for the schools of the ECAC to leave. Not just RPI, which has threatened to head to Hockey East on and off for 13 years. Or the same for Clarkson or Vermont.

No, the entire conference must leave as a whole. Form a conference outside of the structure of the ECAC. Everything else about the league stays the same, there’s no need for it to change. The time has come for this to happen.

The only thing preventing any of this from happening is the quality of human nature that naturally resists seemingly radical change. But is it really radical? How would anything be different except the name of the conference and who — or what — it answers to?

Unless there’s something I don’t know, it seems as easy as saying, “Let’s form a new conference, call it the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association, and rubberstamp it.”

You get a pretty clear feeling the coaches would love it. They are tired of seeing a multi-headed bureaucratic monster getting in the way of the league’s advancement. They are tired of seeing the conference take in more money from hockey than it gives back. They are tired of being the black sheep. They are tired of not having their own say in matters of marketing, television and anything else that relates to the improvement of the conference in terms of its relation to the overall hockey community. Tired of a leadership that doesn’t know how to lead, and won’t let those who do, do so.

The ECAC is a dinosaur, and it doesn’t necessarily have to do with the people running it. An independent conference consisting of the exact same setup — scholarship rules, academic index and schedule — but without the bureaucratic ECAC cloud hanging over it, could be just what the doctor ordered.

Don’t think it hasn’t been considered. Unofficial discussions have gotten quite serious in this regard — but it’s hard to get too far.

If you want to get really radical, an even better scenario would have ECAC teams actually joining Hockey East. Just pick up and leave, en masse. Again, nothing really has to change, except that a commissioner would already be in place: Bertagna, working once again with all of his comrades from the ECAC. Same schedule, same everything, but just play in their own 12-team division under the Hockey East auspices.

C’mon Joe, make it happen. Do what’s best for college hockey.

But for now, root hard for Fanter. It does no good to wish him badly. Perhaps he can grow on the job, find his niche, and find a way to fend off that bureaucratic monster above him.

Can he do it? I don’t know. Despite all the questions brought up, it’s not fair to make that assessment. We’ll give him a shot and hope for the best — the ECAC deserves it. But if not, the ECAC could be left in the dust when college hockey makes the big leap that’s on the horizon.

This Week in the CCHA: November 14, 1997

By
-

Consistency: n.1. firmness or thickness, as of a liquid 2. agreement; harmony 3. conformity with previous practice. How many CCHA coaches can use this word — in any of its forms — in this week’s preview?

John Markell says, "We’re still trying to establish respect, and we do that by playing more consistently."

Red Berenson says, "Our defensive play has been inconsistent. Our penalty-killing has been inconsistent. Our power play has been inconsistent. And offensively we’ve been inconsistent. So, I guess you could say we’ve been inconsistent."

"Inconsistency," says Buddy Powers.

Inconsistency is a word that could easily apply to the entire Central Collegiate Hockey Association. Who, other than Northern Michigan and Notre Dame, is playing consistently? In what way is this league constant? From what we’ve seen of the first four weeks of play, can anyone predict what will happen from one week to the next?

No. 3 Michigan State proved that there is a master plan of the Cosmos be defeating Notre Dame 3-1 at home last weekend. It was the last time the two teams will meet in the regular season, meaning the Spartans have taken this series. MSU hosts Mankato State for two this weekend.

Second in the CCHA is Northern Michigan. The Wildcats upset the natural order of things last week by splitting a series with Michigan, losing 5-3 Friday and winning 1-0 Saturday. This week the ‘Cats host the exhausted Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks, who are finishing up a five-game road trip through Michigan.

The Nanooks are at the bottom of the league, splitting a pair of lopsided games with Lake Superior last weekend, winning 6-2 Friday and losing 8-2 Saturday. The Nanooks also dropped a game to Ferris State on Tuesday, 7-2.

The resurgent Western Michigan Broncos hold tight to the third spot in the CCHA this week after a victorious sweep through Ohio. The Broncos beat Ohio State 3-1 Friday and Bowling Green 8-3 Saturday. They host Lake Superior — which split with Fairbanks — this week.

With a record of 3-3-1, Ferris State is still in fourth place in the CCHA after dropping two to Mankato State last weekend and beating the Nanooks Tuesday. This week the Bulldogs travel to No. 10 Michigan, which is in sixth place in the CCHA after splitting with Northern last weekend.

No. 5 Miami lost its only game to Ohio State, 5-4 in Columbus. The RedHawks have another single-game weekend when they host Notre Dame on Saturday.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, beat Bowling Green 2-1 Friday before losing to Michigan State Saturday. The Irish travel up the road to Ohio State for a Sunday matinee game.

Before playing ND, Ohio State faced Bowling Green Saturday night. Last week the Bucs split, losing to Western but topping Miami. Bowling Green lost two games last weekend.

Consistency. At least you can find consistency in these picks, which have been consistently bad.

Last week’s record in picks: 4-7 Overall record in picks: 25-27

Your bookie loves me.

Notre Dame (5-3-0, 2-2-0 CCHA) at No. 5 Miami (6-1-0, 3-1-0 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Goggin Ice Arena, Oxford, OH,/P>

Miami had one game last weekend, a 5-4 loss to Ohio State, the RedHawks’ first loss of the season. Miami watched a 4-1 lead dissipate in a matter of minutes — the first five minutes of the third period, to be specific.

"Neither team played well for two periods. It wasn’t a good game," says Miami head coach Mark Mazzoleni. "Then in the third period, they came out and got the initial goal, which brought their emotion level to a different state, and our kids stayed the same. Then when they came back in five minutes and popped those two goals, they took it to another level that we couldn’t. You have to give them credit for it. They were deserving of the victory, and we were not."

The game wasn’t a total wash for the ‘Hawks, says Mazzoleni. The loss to Ohio State — and the way it happened — may be something Miami can learn from.

"It was something, I think from a coaching standpoint — and this takes nothing away from Ohio State — that we’ve been trying to preach certain things to our team, but a lot of things have come easy the first part of our season, even though we could have conceivably lost a game against St. Lawrence. But it was camouflage in a victory.

"Sometimes you need to get kicked in the head hard to understand that the margin between victory and defeat at this level is so small. Any team on any given night is going to clip someone. We are usually a much more tenacious, hard-working team, and we didn’t bring that element with us on Saturday night.

"I have confidence in our kids. We have real good leadership, and they understand now what we’re trying to tell them. I think this will help us not only for Notre Dame, but down the road."

In addition to being a "tenacious, hard-working team," the RedHawks are, seemingly, a charmed one. After the loss to unranked OSU, Miami actually went up, from seven to five, in the USCHO poll.

Notre Dame travels to Oxford to play a Miami team determined not to repeat mistakes from last weekend. Notre Dame is one of the CCHA’s "teams of the moment" (sharing that bit of spotlight with Northern Michigan). The surprising Irish are playing hard, competitive hockey.

Notre Dame split last weekend, a 2-1 win at Bowling Green, and a loss at Michigan State. The game at Munn was a rematch of play from the weekend before, when Notre Dame split with Michigan State, losing at home and winning on the road.

"We did play well," says Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin of last week’s game against the Spartans. "I was encouraged by the way we played, walking into a situation where they were sitting, waiting — we had played the night before, and then traveled….It was 1-1 with three minutes to go."

The Irish are getting some impressive offense from sophomore Ben Simon, who with three goals and one assist — including a shorthanded goal–is just behind team leader Brian Urick, who has a goal and four assists.

Irish goaltender Matt Eisler has played particularly well this season. He’s fourth among goaltenders with significant time in net, with a goals-against average of 2.35 and a save percentage of .926.

Mazzoleni says that Miami will have to be at the top of its game to beat the Irish. "They have a very balanced team. They have very, very good young talent on their team. Eisler’s been as good as anyone’s goaltender so far. They’re a team that’s gaining confidence all the time, and I’m sure they feel very good about themselves. We know what we have to get done, and we respect our opponent."

In spite of the loss to OSU — and it has been just one loss — the RedHawks are an immensely talented team. Five of the top 12 scorers in CCHA league play are RedHawks, including three of the top five league scorers. In goal for the ‘Hawks, Trevor Prior has been very tough, allowing just 2.08 goals per game, and saving shots at a .915 clip.

Miami has been flawless at home.

PICK: Miami 6-3

Ohio State (4-3-1, 1-2-0 CCHA) at Bowling Green (2-7-1, 1-2-1 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Bowling Green Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH

Emotionally, these two teams couldn’t be further apart.

On Friday, the Buckeyes lost a game they should have won, a 3-1 loss to Western in which they outshot the Broncos 38-25. On Saturday, they came back from behind to beat No. 7 Miami 5-4.

Buckeye head coach John Markell says of his players, "They have the ability to play with these big clubs, but they have to be on top of their game, mentally. I think they’re learning the mental part of the game. They know that they can’t always come back like that, and they know that they have to be ready for the first period, and not just when they’re down.

"They also have to take it to the teams that we think we’re the equal of, before they even start. They have to play with emotion and confidence."

Ohio State is consistently outshooting — but not outscoring — its opponents. In their three CCHA games the Bucs have scored six goals and allowed ten. New to this Ohio State team is the ability to shoot, and sometimes to score. Leading the scoring for the Buckeyes is the all-Quebec line of sophomores Eric Meloche and Hugo Boisvert, and freshman Jean-Francois Dufour, younger brother of former Buckeye Pierre Dufour.

When this line clicks, the Bucs click. When these three score at least three points between them, the Buckeyes are 4-0-0. When they don’t, Ohio State is 0-3-1.

The Buckeyes travel to Bowling Green, a tough place for any team — but especially the Bucs — to play. There is no love lost between these two: Bowling Green owns this series, 31-56-4, but the last time these two teams met, they skated to a 3-3 overtime tie in Columbus in a memorable, physical game.

Last weekend, Bowling Green lost 2-1 to Notre Dame in South Bend and 8-3 at home to Western. "We didn’t score goals," says Falcon head coach Buddy Powers. "We didn’t take enough shots. It’s hard to win games on one goal, and then things fell apart. Some veteran guys had a bad night on Saturday night, and that really hurt us."

Powers speaks in clipped sentences. "Big mistakes on Saturday. Gave them easy goals. They only got twenty-two shots. Eight-three — you’d think we got run out of the barn, but it wasn’t that way at all. We play fine, and then make a big mistake — shot, goal."

The young Bowling Green team has been bedeviled by the same thing troubling other CCHA teams lately. "Inconsistency," says Powers. "It’s not discipline anymore, unless you want to call it mental discipline. Some of the things that [Dan] Price and [Dave] Faulkner did in the game Saturday night…their minds just weren’t on the present. They were either in the future or in the past, but they weren’t on the present. Those two guys were minus three and minus four.

"I have no qualms with the effort at all at Notre Dame. They got a power-play goal off a rebound, a shorthanded goal where they got a line change and [Ben] Simon just got a step on them and cut in alone. We had ample chances to score in the game, and just didn’t get it done."

In spite of a rough weekend and a start that’s less than what the Falcons expected, Powers is not unhappy with his team, and he knows what needs to be done for Bowling Green to turn it around.

"Our forwards have to start enjoying the game more, wanting to do things with the puck, instead of handling it like a hot potato," he says.

"It’s two things. One, we have veteran guys who are trying to step up and play big-time roles, and are putting too much pressure on themselves to handle those roles. Two, our young guys are just getting their experience. They’re not finishing.

"With the combination of things, we don’t have a really big-time, veteran player. You’re taking role players and casting them into to starring roles, and they’re getting nervous about it, not handling it well. Then they’re starting to think, ‘I gotta do this, I gotta do this, and I gotta do this.’ When you get in that mindset, nothing happens.

"Guys are playing hard, they’re working hard. I don’t have any qualms with that.

"So many of our games have been close in the third period, they could’ve gone either way. But they haven’t gone our way."

Powers also has a healthy respect for Ohio State. Put simply, he says, "They have the better club.

"They really blew Western out on Friday night but couldn’t score. To do that and to lose, and to come back the next night and be down four to one — to me, that’s a turning point game right there for them. They blow a game they should’ve won Friday night, then they’re down four-one going into the third period Saturday night and they turn around and win the game. That says to me that there’s a team, I think, that could be going in the right direction.

"We went the other way. We played a tough game on Friday night that could go either way. We lose it, we come back home. And we just give it away at home."

John Markell knows that Saturday’s game won’t be easy. "I think Bowling Green’s going to work hard — they always do. If we come in and work equally hard, hopefully we can come out on the top end. We’re in their arena. There are a lot of factors, things that have to go right, in order to work for us. If our guys come in with the attitude that we think we’re better and we don’t have to do it on the ice, we’ll be in trouble."

With a record of 4-3-1 — the best Buckeye start since the 1990-91 season, Markell can afford to be a little optimistic. "We’ve got some things to build on. I think we’ve got twenty-five guys headed in the right direction. Let’s hope that comes out of them on Saturday and Sunday."

PICK: Ohio State 5-3

Notre Dame (5-3-0, 2-2-0 CCHA) at Ohio State (4-3-1, 1-2-0 CCHA) Sunday, 3 p.m., Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, OH

Ohio State head coach John Markell effectively uses a form of this week’s vocabulary word in a sentence: "We’re still trying to establish respect, and we do that by playing more consistently. That’s what we’re striving for."

Consistency. Respect. With the first, Ohio State can surely earn the second.

The Buckeyes have knocked off two top-ten teams in the last two weeks. They took three points from then tenth-ranked Clarkson in Potsdam, and Clarkson dropped out of the top ten. They beat No. 7 Miami at home last Saturday, an exciting come-from-behind win, and Miami moved up two spots in the poll.

Some respect. Respect won’t come until the Buckeyes can prove to the hockey world that they’re for real.

"You have to go through character-building situations in order to do that," says Markell. "Learning how to win is a lot of hard work, and they’re starting to do that."

Learning how to win is something this Buckeye team has in common with Notre Dame, another team that has something to prove.

Last week Notre Dame beat Bowling Green 2-1 at home, and lost the deciding game of the season series to Michigan State, 3-1 in East Lansing. "I’m encouraged, no question. We kill penalties very well. We’re playing better in our end. We’re scoring the opportune goal, particularly the opportune power-play goal early in the game."

Both teams will be playing on short rest, both having played the night before, something each coach anticipates will be a factor in the game. "You’ll be using your bench a little more than you would," says Poulin. "It is a turn-around."

If OSU looks for some fresh legs on Sunday, Craig McKechnie and Neil Rech may get a chance to play again. Both played in the Miami win last Saturday, and Coach Markell is pleased with what he saw. "I want to compliment Craig McKechnie and Neil Rech for what they did. They came in and gave us a spark. We’re going to rotate them in and out, along with other guys, and try to get it done every night."

Both teams are getting good-to-terrific goaltending. For the Irish, Matt Eisler is solid. He’s fourth among goaltenders with significant time in net, with a GAA of 2.35 and a save percentage of .926. Ohio State has two netminders who can play well. Sophomore Ray Aho and freshman Jeff Maund have been splitting time. Maund is undefeated at 3-0-0. Combined, the goalies have a 2.85 GAA and a .899 save percentage this season.

Don’t think that Ohio State is cocky after beating Miami for the first time in three seasons. Markell says his Buckeyes are well aware of the challenge of this game against the Irish. "They know that Notre Dame is a pretty good hockey club. We’re going to have to be very aware of Ben Simon.

"We have them in our building, and we have to take care of business ourselves."

PICK: Ohio State 4-2

Lake Superior State (2-5-1, 1-3-1 CCHA) at Western Michigan (4-4-2, 3-4-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Lawson Arena, Kalamazoo, MI

"I thought for the first time, since our first game of the year, that we actually played some poor hockey. We played poorly both nights, actually."

Lake Superior head coach Scott Borek says the Lakers didn’t play up to expectations last weekend in their split with Alaska-Fairbanks in Sault Ste. Marie.

"In most ways, I was extremely disappointed that we weren’t able to continue to play well."

The Lakers lost to the Nanooks 6-2 on Friday, and won 8-2 Saturday. According to Borek, there were a number of things that prevented the Lakers from playing up to their potential. "We probably underestimated Alaska a little bit. It was parents’ weekend, and that was kind of distracting.

"We didn’t get great defense or goaltending, team defense. At a couple of critical points in the game [Friday] we didn’t do what we needed to do defensively….[Then] we didn’t play well offensively on Saturday, even though we scored eight goals."

With a record of 1-3-1 in CCHA play, the Lakers have struggled this season, so far falling far short of preseason polls that placed Lake Superior fourth overall. Borek says that, in spite of their slow start, the Lakers had been playing really good, competitive hockey, and he hasn’t been displeased.

Until last weekend.

"Losing that game on Friday was a major loss. That’s a team we’re going to have to pass at some point. That’s where we are. We’re not in the group of people that needs to climb over each other. We’re not in the group — as the preseason polls had us — with Michigan, Miami and Michigan State. We’re not in that group. And I don’t expect we will be in that group all year. But we’d better do well in the group we’re in.

"We’re not as healthy as we could be, and we’re still trying to find ourselves a little bit emotionally."

Borek hopes that this weekend’s series with in-state rivals Western Michigan will give the Lakers the jump-start their season needs.

"Now we need to get it going this weekend. Hopefully, going on the road will help us. Western has kind of healed their woes. Western’s getting outstanding goaltending and outstanding defense. They’re in every game they play.

"We are certainly the underdogs going into this weekend. We’re trying to steal some points away from a pretty good hockey team, on the road."

The Lakers will have a difficult time taking points from Western Michigan, a team that flexed its collective muscle last weekend on a swing through Ohio. Western earned four CCHA points last weekend, beating Ohio State 3-1 and Bowling Green 8-3.

Before last weekend, Western head coach Bill Wilkinson said that his offense was "missing in action." He still believes that defense will determine the Broncos’ success.

"The key to the defense is goaltending. Matt [Barnes] is seeing the puck pretty big these days. The defense is playing pretty well, not allowing too many shots against him, but the defense is not infallible. You have to make a good shot to beat him."

Barnes made 37 saves in the Broncos’ win over the Buckeyes. His GAA is 2.36, and his league save percentage is .922.

These two teams play tough — sometimes rough — defensive hockey, and Wilkinson expects nothing less. "[The Lakers] are struggling right now, and sometime that’s the worst kind of team to get. They’re going to come in here clawing and digging for points. It’s always a physical series."

Western is 1-3-0 at home, but unless the Lakers can turn things around in a week, Western will even up that record.

PICKS: Western 4-2, 5-2

Ferris State (3-6-1, 3-3-1 CCHA) at No. 10 Michigan (6-3-0, 3-2-0 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Yost Arena, Ann Arbor, MI Michigan at Ferris State Sunday, 2 p.m., Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI

The Michigan Wolverines have taken six points from their last four CCHA game, but they’ve had to travel to do it.

"We had the two longest trips of the year back to back," says Michigan head coach Red Berenson. "We went to Alaska one weekend, and the next weekend we went up to Northern. Well, I don’t think [the traveling] helped the team. I can’t say it’s an excuse for not playing better, maybe, but it’s a tough trip."

Michigan took one of two games from the Wildcats in Marquette last weekend, winning 5-3 Friday, and losing 1-0 Saturday.

"Actually, both games were close games," says Berenson. "The Friday game was 3-3 going into the third, and we scored two goals — a power-play goal and a shorthanded goal. On Saturday night, it was 0-0 until three minutes left in the game, and they scored. Both teams had chances to win it, and I thought they played a little better than we did defensively, but they couldn’t put the puck in the net offensively. And Turco played well for us defensively as well."

Friday’s game was Wolverine goaltender Marty Turco’s 100th career win.

Berenson says that although the Wolverines are ranked in the top ten, this Wolverine team is still adjusting to personnel changes, and it may be some time before Michigan is at the top of its game.

"I think we’re improving every weekend. The one real concern that I have is the absence of Matt Herr. He’s still out, and he won’t play again this weekend. It’s a groin thing that’s just not going away. It’s something we all have to be patient with, but I expected him back maybe two weeks ago — now maybe this coming week. I don’t know when he’s coming back.

And no question, he’d be our number-one centerman. It’s tough to have a player of that stature out that long, and we’re not that good a team that we can just keep surviving without him." The coach looks forward to Herr’s return also to take some of the pressure off of senior Bill Muckalt, who, according to Berenson, has assumed all team leadership.

According to Berenson, hockey fans should no longer expect that easy win or blowout game that they saw from Michigan teams of the recent past. "Our defensive play has been inconsistent. Our penalty killing has been inconsistent. Our power play has been inconsistent. And offensively we’ve been inconsistent. So, I guess you could say we’ve been inconsistent."

In this home-and-home series against Ferris State, Berenson is taking nothing for granted. "They’ll come in and play us close. They always check us well, and they play pretty well against us. I expect it to be a closer checking game than you might think on paper."

The Bulldogs are coming off a short week, having beaten Alaska-Fairbanks 7-2 on Tuesday in Big Rapids. Last weekend, Ferris State lost two games to Mankato State, 5-2 and 7-5. The Bulldogs were competitive in both games, coming back from behind in Saturday’s game to tie before Mankato put the game away in the third.

After a decent start to the season, the Bulldogs seem to be searching for what Berenson says the Wolverines are lacking — consistency. Ferris State is struggling on special teams, eighth in the league in power play, and dead last in penalty-killing. Offensively, nine Bulldogs have multiple points, but just one player, Ed Kowalski, has as many as four points in league play.

The Bulldogs have seen some good goaltending from Vince Owen this season. The rookie has a 2.98 GAA and a very respectable save percentage of .894.

Rookie Mark Kosick is leading the Wolverines in league scoring, with seven points. Michigan is also seeing excellent play from another rookie, defenseman Mike VanRyn.

Michigan may have graduated their snipers, but they’re still deeper than many teams in the CCHA, including Ferris State. Both teams need to overcome inconsistency to play good hockey in this series.

PICKS: Michigan 5-2, 4-2

Alaska-Fairbanks (2-7-1, 1-6-0 CCHA) at Northern Michigan (5-2-2, 4-1-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Lakeview Arena, Marquette, MI

Northern Michigan is one of the CCHA’s "teams of the moment." This is a squad doing better than anyone expected. With a less-than-stellar performance in the WCHA last season, and with 20 underclassmen, few people thought the Wildcats would make the CCHA playoffs, let alone beat top CCHA teams.

While it may be too early in the season to speculate about the playoffs, the ‘Cats are playing with a fire and a — dare we say it? — consistency that’s made everyone stand up and take notice. Last week the Wildcats split at home with Michigan, in a series that head coach Rick Comley predicted would be "fun." Michigan won 5-3 Friday night, but the Wildcats won 1-0 Saturday, with Fred Mattersdorfer scoring the lone goal at 15:41 of the third.

This week the ‘Cats welcome the Nanooks — although Alaska-Fairbanks may feel a bit less than welcome, playing its last road games of a season tour of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The Nanooks are winding up a punishing middle-of-the-semester swing through Michigan. After playing Lake Superior two games last weekend, they traveled downstate for a game at Ferris; now they’re back in the U.P., facing a Marquette team that’s receiving attention in the national polls.

For all of their efforts, Fairbanks has earned just two points on this trip, winning 6-2 over Lake Superior Friday night. The Nanooks dropped their next two games, an 8-3 loss to the Lakers on Saturday, and a 7-2 loss to Ferris State on Tuesday. The Nanooks scored the first two goals of the Ferris game; the Bulldogs scored the next seven.

It’s hard to imagine that Alaska-Fairbanks will have the legs to get a jump on Northern, and for this weekend they may simply be outmatched. The Nanooks lead the league in the power play, and they have some players capable of producing points, most notably Sjon Wynia with three goals and four assists, and Jeff Trembecky with two goals and five assists. And it’s worth noting that Northern Michigan has the league’s worst power play.

However, as a team, the Wildcats are plus-55, while the Nanooks are minus-90. Lots of ‘Cats can score. Few Nanooks can.

Expect Northern Michigan to continue its winning ways, adding fuel to the debate about why the ‘Cats are not yet nationally-ranked.

PICKS: Northern 6-2, 4-2

Mankato State (5-3-1) at No. 3 Michigan State (7-1-2, 5-1-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, MI

Ron Mason summarizes the Spartans’ 3-1 win over the Fighting Irish last weekend like this: "We’ll take it. Hard-fought victory. Notre Dame’s playing very well. We played very well, too."

The only game the Spartans played last weekend was the rubber match of the series with Notre Dame, and Mason wasn’t taking anything for granted going into that one. As it turned out, the Spartans had to score twice in the third period to win the game, giving them the series for the season.

This weekend, the Mankato State Mavericks travel to Munn, and, again, Mason is taking nothing for granted.

"We’re going to have our hands full because they’re a good team," says Mason. "They’re trying to prove they’re good, which means that these games are very, very important to their program, less important to ours. But on the other hand, we have to win the games."

Mason says he knows what it’s like to coach a team like the Mavericks, a team fighting for respectability and recognition.

"I’ve been on the other side of the fence many times as a coach, when I was at Lake State and Bowling Green, looking at upward teams and hoping I could have an opportunity to be as good as they are going into games like this. You have everything on your side, and quite often you win them because your kids play so hard and you get the breaks.

"We have to play our game and hope that our kids have the inner fortitude to play our best game."

Mankato State is coming to Michigan after sweeping another CCHA team, Ferris State, 5-2 and 7-5 at home. And, for the first time in Mankato State hockey history, the Mavericks received a vote for a national poll — one in the USCHO poll.

The Mavericks certainly have a chance against the Spartans, and there’s no telling what a team with nothing to lose can gain. However, it’s hard to ignore the awesome Spartan defense and goaltending. Netminder Chad Alban leads the CCHA in goaltending among players with more than a handful of minutes. Alban’s GAA is 1.57, and his save percentage is .916.

The Spartans are allowing few opportunities for opponents to score, and Michigan State has outscored CCHA opponents 23-13 in seven CCHA games.

PICKS: Michigan State 4-3, 3-1

This Week in the ECAC: November 14, 1997

By Becky Blaeser & Jayson Moy
-

League action kicked off this past weekend, and three teams came out perfect.

Rensselaer, Yale and Cornell all swept their weekend series, while Princeton won one and tied one. The Engineers disposed of Dartmouth and Vermont, 7-1 and 7-2; Yale dispatched Clarkson and St. Lawrence, 2-1 and 3-0; Cornell took care of Harvard and Brown, 5-2 and 4-3. Meanwhile, Princeton and St. Lawrence tied, 2-2, before the Friars came back to top Clarkson, 3-2.

This time around, some teams continue their league play, while others take a week off before heading back into ECAC action.

The road to Placid has kicked off…

Colgate (4-2-0, 1-1-0 ECAC, T-5th) and No. 7 Cornell (3-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC, T-1st) at Vermont (1-5-0, 0-2-0 ECAC, T-10th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Gutterson Fieldhouse, Burlington, Vt.

No. 7 Cornell (3-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC, T-1st) and Colgate (4-2-0, 1-1-0 ECAC, T-5th) at Dartmouth (2-1-0, 1-1-0 ECAC, T-5th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7:30 pm, Thompson Arena, Hanover, N.H.

Vermont knew that it would be missing some of its offense this year, including two All-Americans up front. The past ECAC weekend was the exclamation point on that thought, as the Catamounts were shut out by Union, and scored only two goals against Rensselaer.

"We’ve had a lot of trouble scoring five-on-five," said head coach Mike Gilligan. "The two goals that we got (Saturday) were two of six goals that we’ve [gotten] at even strength all year long. We have to learn to go to the net a little bit stronger than we have been."

The Cats have been outscored so far by a margin of 25-12, and before last weekend, only seven Cats had scored — two of them defensemen. The only Cat to score on the weekend was Jason Hamilton, and he got his first goals of the season.

Dartmouth rebounded from a dreadful game against Rensselaer to shut out Union on Saturday, 4-0. Eric Almon got his first career shutout and Tom Ruzzo scored two goals on the weekend for the Big Green.

The win was Bob Gaudet’s first ECAC victory at his alma mater, and he was plenty relieved after Saturday’s game.

"We didn’t have our `A’ game on Friday night," he told Ken Schott of the Schenectady, N.Y., Gazette. "Out guys gutted it out and really wanted it….We needed something to get going."

Almon will continue in the nets, especially after his strong showing on Saturday night. Jason Wong will continue to sit as his knee heals, but if Almon continues to play like he does, it could be a long time before Wong sees the ice.

Colgate came from behind to defeat Brown on Friday evening, but could not repeat that accomplishment against Harvard on Saturday. Each time, the Red Raiders fell behind by three goals in the early going.

"It’s tough to keep coming back when we spot a team three goals," Colgate coach Don Vaughan said. "We did it against Brown, but we can’t do it every time and expect to win."

The Red Raiders continue to put goals on the board — including four from Dru Burgess — but three power plays against them in the Harvard game has Vaughan concerned.

"The penalty kill is something we need to work on," Vaughan said. "We did a good job with it on Friday, but we can’t continue to take bad penalties and get away with it."

The Big Red of Cornell started defense of their ECAC championship with a sweep of Harvard and Brown. One of the unusual things on the weekend was that the Big Red played with only four defensemen, due to injuries.

"It’s tough with only four defensemen, trying to play catch-up hockey all night long," head coach Mike Schafer said. "The whole team showed a lot of character at the end, especially Jason [Dailey], in terms of executing."

While the games were not pretty, they were still wins, and the Big Red seem to be growing stronger with every game that they play.

PICKS: Colgate at Vermont: Vermont continues to struggle. Colgate 4, Vermont 2 Cornell at Dartmouth: Gaudet’s home debut does not end well. Cornell 4, Dartmouth 2 Cornell at Vermont: The Big Red need defensemen on this sheet, but they get it done. Cornell 3, Vermont 1 Colgate at Dartmouth: Ah, that home win for Gaudet. Dartmouth 5, Colgate 3

Princeton (3-0-1, 1-0-1 ECAC, 4th) and Yale (3-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC, T-1st) at Harvard (1-1-0, 1-1-0 ECAC, T-5th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Bright Hockey Center, Cambridge, Mass.

Yale (3-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC, T-1st) and Princeton (3-0-1, 1-0-1 ECAC, 4th) at Brown (0-2-0, 0-2-0 ECAC, T-10th) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Meehan Auditorium, Providence, R.I.

The Brown Bears debuted a new head coach this past weekend, and almost pulled two victories out of the hat. New coach Roger Grillo had the Bears playing well, something that will be capitalized on in the future. Brown had leads late in both games, but just could not close it out.

"You never want to give up goals late in the period," Grillo said after Friday’s game. "This is a game of huge momentum, and we gave them too much there at the end of the first period."

Colgate came back from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Bears on Friday. On Saturday, the Bears held a one-goal lead over Cornell with less than five minutes to play, and the Big Red scored three goals to win that game as well.

The Crimson of Harvard started the season with a loss to rival Cornell but came back to defeat Colgate on Saturday. In the win, Trevor Allman netted a hat trick, and the Crimson special teams came up with three power-play goals and a shorthander.

Harvard also put up a power-play goal against Cornell, and a shorthander as well. The Crimson have scored eight goals on the season, six of them on special teams. Last season, HU did not start out particularly well on special teams, especially the power play, so this could be an early indication that the Crimson are going to have a better season.

Harvard lost both games last season to Princeton, and split the series against Yale.

Princeton remains undefeated after four games, at 3-0-1. The Tigers got goals from freshmen Shane Campbell and Chris Corrinet. All told, the Tigers had goals from five different players on the weekend

Erasmo Saltarelli played both games, making 25 saves on Friday against St. Lawrence and 27 against Clarkson. Princeton is hoping to match last year’s hot ECAC start of 6-2-1, and it seems like the Tigers are on their way.

The Bulldogs of Yale have surprised a few people with their 2-0-0 start in the ECAC. That’s a surprise to some, but not to others — this Bulldog team is their best since the 1992 season, according to head coach Tim Taylor.

ECAC Goaltender of the Week Alex Westlund picked up both wins last weekend. He allowed only one goal, including his second career shutout, against St. Lawrence on Saturday. Westlund has only allowed two goals so far this season.

Jeff Hamilton, Cory Shea, Ben Stafford, Mark Turco and Geoff Kufta scored on the weekend, giving the Bulldogs a solid attack.

PICKS: Princeton at Harvard: That Princeton defense gets it done. Princeton 3, Harvard 1 Yale at Brown: Grillo continues to wait. Yale 4, Brown 2 Yale at Harvard: Harvard earns the split. Harvard 3, Yale 2 Princeton at Brown: That defense is tough. Princeton 2, Brown 1

St. Lawrence (1-4-1, 0-1-1 ECAC, 9th) at Clarkson (2-3-1, 0-2-0 ECAC, T-10th) Saturday, 7:30 pm, Cheel Arena, Potsdam, NY

St. Lawrence tied Princeton on Friday and then was shut out by Yale on Saturday in its ECAC season-debut weekend. One of the big questions facing the Saints was the goaltending. Last week head coach Joe Marsh said that Eric Heffler would start against Princeton, and Heffler stood tall against the Tigers.

"Heff really came up big for us," said Marsh. "It was a good hockey game that both teams probably thought they should have won. I know we had some outstanding chances that came up empty, and Heff robbed them a few times along the way as well."

On Saturday Marsh went with freshman Jeremy Symington. He played well also, but Marsh pointed to other factors that played a role.

"You have to give Yale a lot of credit," said Marsh. "We didn’t play as well as we are capable of playing, but a good part of that was due to Yale’s forechecking and backchecking. They won a lot of the little battles. It was a good lesson for us, and hopefully it’s one we will put to use."

Clarkson opened the season with two losses to Yale and Princeton, leaving a lot of fans in Potsdam scratching their heads. The Golden Knights scored only three goals on the weekend, from three different players. Balance in scoring is what the Knights were looking for, but more volume is what they really need.

Dan Murphy was solid in net once again — allowing only four goals — but that was not enough to bring his team to victory.

This matchup is one that is eagerly anticipated between the athletes, fans and communities. With the close proximity of the two schools, there is a huge rivalry between the two teams. Clarkson has had the better of the series, leading 94-47-6 all-time. St. Lawrence dealt the Knights their first loss ever at Cheel Arena in 1991, but since then Clarkson has won every game between the two at Cheel.

Clarkson has traditionally come on strong after playing St. Lawrence at home. Looking at the last five years, after the Knights have beaten the Saints at home, the next ten games are pretty impressive. In 1993, the Knights went 8-1-1, and in 1994, 6-2-2. Then it’s 7-2-1, 6-2-2, and last year, 9-1-0. That’s a combined record of 36-8-6.

PICK: Clarkson always gets it together for the Saints. Clarkson 6, St. Lawrence 3

Niagara (2-0-0, 0-0-0 against major Division I) at Rensselaer (5-2-0, 2-0-0 ECAC, T-1st) Saturday, 7 pm, Houston Fieldhouse, Troy, NY

Niagara head coach Blaise McDonald has put together a tougher schedule this year, with six Division I conference-aligned opponents. Rensselaer is the first on the list of teams to face the Purple Eagles.

That’s not an easy task for the Eagles to take on., but this is the first step in becoming a fully-aligned D-I club, and playing ECAC and Hockey East teams will only benefit Niagara in the future.

The Rensselaer Engineers are on a roll. They blew out Dartmouth and Vermont in their first two ECAC games, and outplayed Union in a non-conference game on Tuesday.

"No matter who you have on your schedule, you want to put your best foot forward," said Engineer head coach Dan Fridgen. "We’re looking for consistency; we don’t want to be complacent at all."

The Engineers have gotten massive numbers from their top line over the last four games. Alain St. Hilaire, Eric Healey and Matt Garver have put up 31 points over their last four games, including 22 in the two ECAC games. St. Hilaire was named ECAC Player of the Week for his efforts.

"With the way they started, people wondered about them," said Fridgen. "But you just have to stay confident and work hard, and sooner or later you’ll get your chances."

It looks like the Engineers are beginning to get the wheels going, and seem to be showing people why they were picked first in the ECAC.

PICK: Blaise wonders who put these guys on the schedule. Rensselaer 9, Niagara 2

UMass-Amherst (1-4-0, 0-3-0 Hockey East) at Union (1-5-0, 1-1-0 ECAC, T-5th) Saturday, 7 pm, Achilles Rink, Schenectady, NY

Union got in the win column Friday evening, with a 1-0 victory over Vermont. Unfortunately for them, the Dutchmen were shut out the following evening against Dartmouth. The Dutchmen also lost on Tuesday evening to the Rensselaer Engineers in a non-league game.

Union was outshot 50-20 in Tuesday’s game, and inexperience showed on the game-winning goal, which came with just 21 seconds left on the clock after freshman Bryant Westerman lost his man. After the game, Westerman stood up in the locker room and "paid the piper" to head coach Stan Moore. Moore was thoroughly impressed with his young forward.

"If I can get every player to take that kind of responsibility for their play, or if every worker in every factory, or every teacher in every school stood up and said `my bad’ when the time came it would be a better world to live in and you would have people committed," he said.

"You would also have staff and supporters say, ‘Okay, let’s see if we can do it better.’ If other people buy into the way Bryant buys into it, we’ll have a better team for it."

Moore knows that there is a lot of work to do with his young team, and doesn’t want to give them any false pretenses.

"We don’t want them to walk away with the false impression that we played with a nationally-ranked team," he said after Tuesday’s game. "I don’t want them to get [that idea], because it impedes the learning process, and I want them to get better — and they will."

The Minutemen of UMass-Amherst have had a rough go at it in the beginning. The Minutemen have not won a Hockey East contest (0-3-0), and dropped a decision to Nebraska-Omaha this past weekend. The Minutemen now have the dubious distinction of being the first D-I conference-aligned team to fall to the Mavericks.

For more information on the Minutemen, please refer to this week’s Hockey East Preview.

PICK: Union wins a low-scoring game. Union 2, UMass-Amherst 1

Harvard (1-1-0, 1-1-0 ECAC, T-5th) at No. 9 Boston College (5-1-0, 3-1-0 Hockey East) Tuesday, 7 pm, Kelley Rink, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

For information on Harvard, please refer earlier in this preview.

The Eagles of Boston College are currently ranked ninth in the USCHO Poll after back to back wins over New Hampshire. They are led by junior Marty Reasoner, a Hobey Baker candidate, and are letting their youth do the talking.

For more on the Eagles, please refer to this week’s Hockey East Preview.

PICK: The Eagles are soaring. Boston College 5, Harvard 2

Welcome Back To The ECAC

By Adam Wodon
-

Who says the hockey offseason is boring?

It certainly wasn’t that way in the ECAC, where upheaval has been the buzzword and a complicated labyrinth of movement had the wheels spinning and everybody talking.

But with the season finally in full swing, it’s time to reflect upon those changes.

It wasn’t just the usual array of big names that are gone — Harder, St. Louis, Perrin, Thomas. No, commissioners and coaches were also on the merry-go-round. In fact, other than Air Force, the ECAC saw the only two head coaching changes in the nation among major Division I teams.

It began before the end of last season, when ECAC Commissioner Joe Bertagna resigned to take the same job with Hockey East. On July 7, Jeff Fanter became the new commissioner of ECAC hockey. It’s a move that, for better or worse, everyone in the league is talking about.

It was at the Final Four in Milwaukee that USCHO broke the story of Bob Gaudet leaving Brown to become the head coach at his alma mater, Dartmouth. He took assistant Jamie Rice with him, while former Brown assistant and longtime friend Brian McCloskey left New Hampshire to join Gaudet’s staff.

The search for Brown’s replacement became tumultuous when Brown AD Dave Roach took a long time to make his decision, partially because he was turned down by his first choice, former NHL and Brown defenseman Tim Bothwell.

Brown eventually hired Vermont’s top assistant, Roger Grillo, in a move that seemed to come out of nowhere. Not that Grillo was a bad choice, but he was never considered a candidate until very late.

Lately, the ECAC has even felt the unexpected sting of departed undergrads. Princeton’s all-rookie defenseman Dominique Auger decided to forego his last three seasons to play one year of major junior hockey in his native Quebec. And St. Lawrence junior-to-be goalie Clint Owen decided to leave school after he and head coach Joe Marsh concluded it was in everyone’s best interests — which leaves Marsh with two freshmen and an inexperienced junior in nets.

Other departed undergrads include Harvard’s Craig McDonald, who left to join the Canadian national team, and Clarkson’s Mike Bushaw, who had his scholarship revoked by coach Mark Morris for an offseason incident, the same one that got sophomore Matt Reid suspended until mid-season.

And even the higher-ups in the ECAC office are feeling the winds of change.

The hiring of Fanter — or at least the approval of that hiring — was the last major move by ECAC Commissioner Clayton Chapman, who will retire after this school year.

Chapman replaced Scotty Whitelaw (for whom the regular-season hockey championship trophy is named) in June, 1990. Prior to being commissioner of the ECAC, Chapman was an assistant to the commissioner, and an assistant athletic director at Cornell, where he is a member of the Sports Hall of Fame.

Grillo Takes Over

Roger Grillo was known as a top-notch recruiter as an assistant at Vermont. Now we’ll see if he can recruit Ivy Leaguers.

Grillo was named the new coach at Brown in June, a surprise to some who thought the job would go to someone with more Brown and/or Ivy League connections. But Grillo beat out people like Boston University’s Brian Durocher and New Hampshire assistant Brian McCloskey.

One applicant who was never interviewed was Stan Moore, Union’s top man and the 1997 ECAC Coach of the Year.

It may surprise some that Moore, at Union for just one year, would seek to leave the Schenectady for the Ivy League, but it shouldn’t. The situation at Union is far from ideal, and it goes past the simple, everyday difficulties of recruiting at a small school.

Schools like Clarkson, St. Lawrence and RPI are Division III institutions that give scholarships for hockey. Vermont is a full-fledged Division I school, and Colgate, while not giving scholarships, is also D-I. The other six schools have the attraction of being Ivy League institutions.

Union doesn’t even allow preferential aid.

This puts the Dutchmen in a near-impossible situation, and if you listened closely to Moore over the past year, it’s clear he wants to make Union as quick a steppingstone as possible — and good for him, because he deserves it.

The message to Union’s administration is: if you want to play ball with the big guys, you’ve got to pay the price.

Jamie Rice, the assistant to Bob Gaudet at Brown for five years, was a minor-level candidate for the head coaching position with the Bears. He was interviewed more out of courtesy than anything else.

With Grillo getting the job, Rice has decided to join Gaudet at Dartmouth, where the pair will try to relive the success they enjoyed for most of their time together in Providence. They are joined by Brian McCloskey, another Dartmouth graduate, who had been an assistant at New Hampshire and before that also with Gaudet at Brown.

Word association: Bertagna, Hockey East, TV…

It didn’t take long for former ECAC hockey commissioner Joe Bertagna to secure a new cable television deal for his new conference, Hockey East. Bertagna took over July 1. The deal was announced July 9.

Bertagna called SportsChannel from his hotel in Milwaukee while at the Final Four in March. The Hartford Whalers had just announced they’d be leaving for Carolina, and SportsChannel was without hockey. Bertagna, forever opportunistic, didn’t hesitate to call.

Sticking to his philosophy that he works for all of college hockey, Bertagna tried to include his old friends in the deal.

“In my first meeting, I tried to sell them on a college hockey game of the week with both leagues,” Bertagna told USCHO. “It was part of what I’ve told the athletic directors here. I want to do things in general for both sides. Every once in a while they remind me that I’m not working for those other guys anymore — ‘Don’t worry about doing things for all of college hockey. Remember who’s paying you.’

“But I did what I thought was right. Personally, I believe a college package with as many games for both leagues would be terrific, but SportsChannel was quite blunt. ‘With all due respect to your old league,’ they said, ‘we’re interested in Hockey East because it’s a definable package. It’s all in our audience’s geography. We’re not interested in the other guys.’ Having done that, I could take the dual hats off and zoom in.”

He knows who signs his paychecks, but he also knows what’s good for the sport is good for his league. Everyone should take a page from his book.

We can only dream that one day he can realize his goal of a national TV contract. College hockey is underexposed in relation to the money it brings in and fans it attracts.

That day is coming, brother. I don’t know when, but the sport will get its due. Bertagna and friends are moving it in the right direction — let’s just hope the ECAC doesn’t fall on its face trying to get on the bandwagon.

Cornell hockey stays on the air — barely

Cornell was almost off the air for the first time in decades this coming season. What is probably the nation’s most popular college hockey program was apparently not enough of a money-maker for the company that owns the station which has aired the games.

Play-by-play man Grady Whittenberg, who worked full-time in sales for Q104, was fired.

The management situation of the Ithaca station was in flux over the last few years, but the one constant was Whittenberg, the consensus as best play-by-play man in the league.

You’ll have a hard time convincing people that Cornell hockey broadcasts don’t make money. That’s like Peter Angelos trying to convince people the Baltimore Orioles don’t make money.

The Big Red finally got back onto Q104 thanks to a last-minute change of heart, but not before flirting with a new home on WVBR, a quasi-Cornell home (hence VBR: “Voice of the Big Red”). But the latter’s signal was never strong enough to be a legitimate contender ’til now.

Incidentally, the games are on AudioNet this year, too, thanks to a monetary contribution from an alumnus.

St. Louis and Perrin: reunited

Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin are together again. The tandem was separated this fall as each went to separate NHL training camps — St. Louis to Ottawa and Perrin to Montreal.

The former All-Americans had deals with Cleveland that prohibited any other IHL team from using them. So if Ottawa and Montreal didn’t want them, then that’s where they would go.

It’s been a good start. St. Louis is third on the team in scoring, while Perrin has two goals in the recent week, the first two of his pro career.

At 5-foot-8 apiece, they may get discriminated against for a while. But keep playing well, and the NHL will have to take them seriously.

Tim Thomas has had a tougher time. He was released outright by Colorado, the team that had his rights through college. Thomas was faced with an organization that was deep in goal, with a couple of younger prospects in the organization. And reportedly, the former Vermont standout displeased Colorado management with some comments in the press.

Thomas is a good kid, but he has been known to run his mouth, so it’s no surprise. He landed on his feet in Houston with the IHL’s Aeros, replacing another former Vermont All-American, Christian Soucy, who broke his wrist.

Also, congratulations to Todd White, the Clarkson standout and Hobey Baker finalist, who has made the Chicago Blackhawks’ roster. He’s wearing No. 49.

Undergrads fly the coop

Players are disappearing from the North Country.

St. Lawrence goalie Clint Owen, who last year got into hot water and was suspended for half the season, has left the school. Saints coach Joe Marsh called it a “mutual understanding” that the two sides would part ways, and Owen is now plying his trade in the West Coast League.

Meanwhile, SLU’s neighbor 10 miles to the north, Clarkson, lost promising forward Mike Bushaw when the school revoked his scholarship. Bushaw and fellow sophomore forward Matt Reid, both North Country natives, got into some trouble over the summer. Bushaw won’t play at all, and Clarkson coach Mark Morris suspended Reid for several games, though he is now back in action.

In addition, freshman forward Erik Cole was suspended for the Ice Breaker Invitational by Morris for disciplinary reasons.

Already hurting offensively with the loss of top scorers White and Houle, Clarkson is scrambling, hoping Devils draftee Willie Mitchell can step in and provide some offense, and Buddy Wallace and Philippe Roy will play offense full-time this year.

Clarkson is off to its usual slow start. The Golden Knights usually follow an eerie pattern: rough start, scorching hot in January and February, fall short of an ECAC tournament title, and lose in the first round of the NCAAs. But unless things improve, perhaps Clarkson won’t get that far this time around.

This Week in Hockey East: November 14, 1997

By
-

Freshmen netminders Boyd Ballard of Providence and Scott Clemmensen of BC shared league Rookie of the Week honors.

On a more depressing note, this column’s 1-900-FAT-HEAD Pick of the Week phone line has been changed to 1-900-CLU-LESS after last week’s 3-6 debacle. After taking the weekend off to be in Ottawa — during which a lowlight was watching Eric Lindros attempt to log 30 minutes of ice time without once breaking a sweat — my return was marred by the copious amounts of egg found on my face. 3-6! Ouch!

Season’s record in picks before last week: 31-6 Last week’s record in picks: 3-6 New season’s record in picks: 34-12

U.S. College Hockey Online Game of the Week

No. 2 Boston University (4-0-0, 2-0-0 HE) vs. No. 7 New Hampshire (5-2-0, 1-2-0 HE)

Friday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH Saturday, 7 p.m., Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA

Boston University took a major step in asserting its preeminence, both in Hockey East, and nationally with a 6-0 shutout of Maine.

One key to the win was another spectacular performance, particularly in the first-period, by goaltender Michel Larocque.

"He played extremely well," said coach Jack Parker. "He made some miraculous saves, but in general he was very, very steady. When a team like Maine gets six power plays, you need great goaltending.

"I don’t think there’s any question that his overall play was a major factor in the win. There was a big difference between our goaltending and their goaltending on this particular night."

The previously noted honors bestowed on Larocque and Noble won’t surprise any stathounds. Both can boast of 1.00 goals-against averages, with Larocque weighing in with a .968 save percentage and Noble at .952.

No goaltender can achieve those numbers without a stellar defense in front of him and BU’s rotation of All-American Chris Kelleher, All-American-in-waiting Tom Poti, Jeff Kealty, Dan Ronan, and freshmen Joe DiPenta and Colin Sheen certainly qualify.

"We think our forte should be, and will be, overall team defense and winning games 4-2, and not 6-5," said Parker.

Up front, the Terriers received encouraging contributions in the Maine game from freshmen Juha Vuori (two goals), Carl Corazzini (one goal), Russ Bartlett (two assists) and Nick Gillis (one assist).

After their first major Hockey East test against Maine, the Terriers now look to a home-and-home with UNH to potentially distance themselves from a top opponent. Although BU took all four games from the Wildcats last year, there’s no guarantee for the Terriers that last year’s success will continue this year.

"If you look at the track record over a long period of time, it should be UNH’s turn," said Parker. "But the bottom line is that it’s like flipping a coin. It’s 50-50 every time. I think that in a lot of those games that we’ve won, the games could have gone either way and we were just fortunate.

"We’ll begin a new series and a new era this year and we’ll see what comes out of it. They certainly are a solid team and they’ve got plenty of firepower up front. We’ll have our hands full, especially up in the Whittemore Center with that big ice surface."

While BU cruised last week, New Hampshire stumbled twice against Boston College,

losing 6-4 in a Tuesday night road game

and again

4-1 on Friday at home,

before bouncing back with an

impressive 11-4 win over Merrimack.

"BC is playing a little better [than us]," said UNH coach Dick Umile, "but Friday night we played well enough to win, believe it or not. We just had a couple major breakdowns in the third period. Combined with our inability to score, that resulted in them getting the three goals [plus an open-netter] to our one.

"I’m not going to take anything away from them playing better. They’ve got some real skilled hockey players there, but we kept them to 18 shots. But then we just let them walk to the net on [Brian] Gionta’s goal. It was poor coverage on our part.

"Then, in four-on-four play, we left the front of the net to run and get the puck and they passed it out in front and tipped it in. That’s pathetic coverage on our part."

As a result, UNH entered the Merrimack game with an 0-2 league record, in danger of digging itself a huge hole in the standings with another loss. Instead, the Wildcats rebounded with four goals in the opening 1:32 of the second period to blow open a 1-1 game in a style reminiscent of last year’s detonators.

"We responded the way I wanted us to respond after Friday night’s loss," said Umile. "We played well on top of Merrimack not playing as well as they’re capable of playing."

The explosion included eight different goal scorers, including two by Dylan Dellezay, a senior with only three prior goals in 39 career games. Breaking up the Mark Mowers-Jason Krog-Tom Nolan line, Umile put Dellezay on a wing with Mowers and Nolan. In one of the sport’s great I’ve-died-and-gone-to-Heaven moments, the unsung hero made a strong bid to keep the experiment alive. "He had a very, very good weekend," said Umile. "He was in the lineup because he’s worked hard and he’s played well in practice. He gives us another player we can use up front there."

Now Wildcat eyes turn to Boston University, who handed them four of the 11 losses they suffered last year.

"I expect BU to do exactly like they’ve done every single year," said Umile. "They’re a solid team from the net out. We’ll have to play well to compete with them."

PICK: BU sweeps, 5-4 and 5-3, not because the Terriers have any magical hex over UNH, but because BU is simply playing so well right now.

Merrimack (4-3-0, 1-2-0 HE) at No. 6 Maine (4-2-1, 2-1-0 HE)

Friday, Saturday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

The league’s most eagerly anticipated game of the year turned into a dud, at least on the scoreboard, when

BU shut out the Black Bears 6-0.

The loss marked Maine’s worst home thumping in 11 years and served as a dramatic counterpoint to last year’s dominating

3-0

and

7-2

Maine sweep.

"It was actually a surprising kind of game," said coach Shawn Walsh. "I thought we played perhaps our best period of the year in the first period, had nine good scoring chances to their three and were down 2-0. Hockey can do that sometimes.

"Then BU’s talent, experience and defense just took over. They played very well with the lead after the first period. We had some terrific chances, but Larocque was outstanding. That happens in single games."

Two Terrier goals, in particular, combined to sink the Black Bears. A Greg Quebec shot from near the red line eluded Maine goaltender Alfie Michaud early in the game to establish a 2-0 BU lead. Then, in the closing minutes of the second, Chris Drury scored a shorthanded tally to widen the gap to 3-0 and diminish chances of a comeback.

Especially surprising was BU’s 0-for-6 shutout of Maine’s previously-lethal power play. In their previous games against U.S. Division I clubs, the Black Bears had scored on 48 percent of their man-advantage chances.

"I don’t think we executed well at all and they executed terrifically well," said Walsh. "We had probably too much of our share of puck luck in the first six games and it came back to haunt us. We had nothing — no luck at all — in this game. That happens. You have to look at it over a long period of time."

They now host Merrimack, the only team that beat them in the final 17 games last year. The Warriors not only defeated them, they did so twice.

"I’m sure our guys realize how good Merrimack can be," said Walsh. "They were the best team we played in the second half last year. They didn’t surprise us. They just played well. We’ll work hard this week and just keep trying to get better."

In Merrimack, Maine faces the one team with potentially an even more deeply wounded pride than its own. The Warriors, picked in last week’s column to beat Northeastern and then upset New Hampshire, instead dropped both,

getting stoned by NU goaltender Marc Robitaille, 6-4,

before

being blown out 11-4 at UNH.

Based on their 4-1 record that included a win over Boston College — a team that has now moved into the top ten — the Warriors had appeared primed for such a move themselves. Instead, the loss to Northeastern effectively canceled out the BC win. With their next four games against Maine and New Hampshire, they could very easily stand 1-6 in the league in two weeks with miles of ground to make up.

Despite that bleak prospect, the Friday night loss to Northeastern, ironically enough, gave some hope that the Warriors could take some points in the next four games. In that loss, they outshot the Huskies 48-27, only to be stymied by Robitaille.

"I thought we played very well," said coach Ron Anderson. "We had 48 shots, but hit a really hot goaltender. We made a couple mistakes and they capitalized on them. We could have won that game and still had a 1-1 weekend.

"Saturday night [against UNH], we were just a team out of gas. We used up so much energy on Friday night trying to win, especially when we fell behind. We really pressed late in that game, so we were just running on empty Saturday night. And UNH played very well."

Nonetheless, the 11-4 loss was hardly the pick-me-up that Anderson would have wanted going into two very tough weekends.

"We’ve just got to make sure that we don’t psychologically take a blow," said Anderson. "It’s up to the coaching staff to make sure that doesn’t happen.

"We expect to be back playing well again this weekend. We’ll reorganize and be ready to go again. Our goal has to be that game in and game out we play our best and give it our best effort."

One obvious key to the game will be to control Maine’s potent power play. The Black Bears had been scoring at a 48 percent clip going into the BU game, only to have BU shut them out.

"Right now, we don’t know what they’re doing on the power play," said Anderson. "We haven’t seen them yet, so we can’t say how we’ll kill penalties. The best way for us to kill them is not to take any."

PICK: Maine won’t allow a repeat of last year. Black Bears 6-4, 5-4.

No. 9Boston College (6-1-0, 3-1-0 HE) vs.

Northeastern (3-3-0, 2-1-0 HE)

Friday, 7 p.m., Matthews Arena, Boston, MA Saturday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA Harvard (0-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at Boston College (4-1-0, 2-1-0 HE)

Tuesday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Boston College vaulted into the top ten on the heels of its

6-4

and

4-1

sweep over UNH and now ranks higher than it has since Feb. 24, 1991.

"We’re very excited about the start that we’ve had to our season," said coach Jerry York. "We’ve won six of our first seven games. The two most recent ones against New Hampshire certainly met key objectives for us, and that was to beat those upper-echelon teams that we really have had some problems with the last number of years.

"I thought our two wins were keyed by the exceptional play by Scott Clemmensen in goal, and Marty Reasoner and Brian Gionta, who were significant offensive contributors. They had the puck an awful lot all during the series.

"I also thought our defense played well, especially Kenny Hemenway and Brendan Buckley, who really did a nice job for us."

Now the Eagles must focused against a team that has already proven it can knock off strong opponents. At times, young BC teams of recent vintage have taken such games for granted. How well the Eagles fare in this series will show a lot about the mental toughness of a team that could be tempted to re-read last week’s headlines.

Northeastern

upset Merrimack, 6-4,

before coming back to Earth with a 7-2 loss to UMass-Lowell.

"We got some really good goaltending both games, especially against Merrimack on Friday," said coach Bruce Crowder. "We were able to explode and make the most of our opportunities. Unfortunately, it was like a different team showed up the second night. We didn’t compete real well and Lowell handed to us pretty good.

"With the youth that we have," — frequently skating only three juniors or seniors — "we’re going to have rollercoaster weekends. We played decent on Friday night, though not real great, but then Saturday night I didn’t think we played well at all. It’s a matter for us as coaches eliminating the ‘not playing well at all’ and getting that to more of ‘playing pretty good’ or ‘real good.’"

For the third time this season, the Huskies won a game in the third period.

"That’s nice to see," said Crowder. "We’re only six games into the season, but we’ve come from behind or won three games in the third period. That never happened last year, so that’s a big positive."

Crowder is getting strong contributions from his two transfers, forward Bobby Davis, who came in from Northern Michigan, and defenseman David Dupont, who made the switch from Michigan Tech.

"They’re both playing well," said Crowder. "They’re obviously real hungry because they haven’t played in a year. In our situation, even though they practiced with us last year, they’re still a little bit like freshmen. We’ve got to utilize their talents to put them in situations where they can be successful."

The host of freshmen have also gotten off to strong starts.

"Most of our freshmen have gotten on the scoreboard early here," said Crowder. "It’s nice to get that off your back a little and realize that, ‘Hey, I can play at this level!’ and then hopefully get stronger and better."

The Huskies now face Hockey East’s latest top ten team, Boston College.

"Lucky us!" said Crowder with a laugh. Then, getting serious, he added, "Whenever the Boston schools play each other, anything can happen. We’re going to have to be pretty much error-free on the weekend. We can’t get overly excited, but stay within the system.

"BC is getting some good goaltending and some great offense from guys that should be giving them the offense. If anything, their defense is young, but going against one of the best offensive teams in the country [in UNH] definitely didn’t show that it was their Achilles’ heel."

Following the weekend, BC takes on Harvard in a Tuesday night clash. Last week, the Crimson split their first two games of the season. Reigning ECAC Rookie of the Year, goaltender J.R Prestifilippo, allowed an uncharacteristic five goals each game. In the more egregious performance, he allowed them on only 23 Cornell shots, leading to a 5-2 loss.

The Crimson bounced back with a 6-5 win over Colgate with Prestifilippo this time turning away 37 of 42 shots.

(For a more detailed look at Harvard from an ECAC perspective, check out this week’s ECAC Preview.)

PICK: If the Eagles take the NU series for granted — something easy to do, sandwiched between the twin UNH upsets and next week’s two against Maine — they will only split. It looks from here, though, that BC will be ready. BC 5-4, 5-2.

BC then completes its tripleheader sweep with a 4-1 win over Harvard.

UMass-Lowell (4-2-0, 2-1-0 HE) at UMass-Amherst (1-4-0, 0-3-0 HE)

Friday, 7 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

Providence College (3-2-0, 0-2-0 HE) at Army (2-4-0, 0-4-0 vs. aligned D-I)

Friday, 7 p.m., Tate Rink, West Point, NY

UMass-Amherst (1-4-0, 0-3-0 HE) at

Union (1-5-0, 1-1-0 ECAC)

Saturday, 7 p.m., Lawrence H. Achilles Rink, Schenectady, N.Y.

UMass-Lowell (4-2-0, 2-1-0 HE) at

Providence College (3-2-0, 0-2-0 HE)

Sunday, 2 p.m., Schneider Arena, Providence, RI

After flirting with disaster in a

2-1 overtime win over Army , UMass-Lowell came back with a more impressive 7-2 win over Northeastern.

"It was definitely a good team effort," said coach Tim Whitehead. "A lot of people contributed. Specifically, it was great to get production from our so-called second power-play unit, which," Whitehead added laughing, "is now our first power-play unit."

That group, which includes freshmen Jeff Boulanger and Brad Rooney, sophomores Chris Bell and Kevin Bertram, and junior Anthony Cappelletti, exemplifies the contributions the River Hawks are getting from their youngsters. They scored twice on the man advantage and Boulanger added an even-strength and a shorthanded goal. Another rookie, T.C. Harris, added another goal, his first as a collegian. Freshmen and sophomores recorded all seven tallies.

Now, Lowell travels to Amherst to play its rival sister school. The two met in the season opener, with

UMass-Lowell winning 6-4 at home.

Few rinks, however, offer a bigger difference than Lowell’s small ice surface and the Olympic sheet in Amherst.

"They’re very strong in their own rink there," said Whitehead. "We have an advantage in our rink and they have one in theirs. We’re aware of that. We just have to be careful of turning the puck over in the neutral zone, making sure that we support the puck offensively and defensively. There’s so much space there that you kind of get lost if you don’t support each other."

UMass-Amherst traveled to the Midwest where it split with the upstart Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks, getting its first win of the season, 3-2, before dropping the back end, 5-1.

"I tell you one thing," said coach Joe Mallen. "They get the place going. They get 8500 people every night. They are a very hard-working team. They’ve got a lot of transfer students, so they don’t exactly have the same sort of makeup that we had a few years ago with an all-freshman team.

"I thought we played very well the first night and wound up at least breaking the ice and getting into the win column. The second night they got a lead on us and the crowd got into the game."

One positive did come out of the loss, however. Mallen installed freshman goaltender Marcus Helanen in the nets for his first official game action. Helanen, who stopped 31 of 36 shots, is expected to succeed senior Brian Regan next year.

"We decided to give him a shot and see what he could do after Brian Regan played the night before," said Mallen. "He looked real good. He’s a big 6-4 kid. He’s got good hands, good feet, and he handles the puck well. He definitely showed some real good signs."

There’s no start of a netminding controversy here, though.

"Regan is definitely my number one guy," said Mallen. "There’s no doubt about that."

Like Whitehead, Mallen points to his home ice advantage as substantial.

"Playing at Lowell and playing at UMass are just two different scenarios," said Mallen. "They have a real, real small rink and we’ve got a real, real big rink. We’re looking for it to be a different game. Playing at their home is an advantage to them and playing at our home is an advantage to us. We’re looking to utilize our speed on our big ice surface.

The Minutemen will then go on to play Union, a team that still features All-American goaltender Trevor Koenig, but graduated 13 seniors last year.

"They’ve got a young team, a hard-working team," said Mallen. "They block a lot of shots. With Koenig, like against any good goalie, you’ve got to work on the stuff that’s going to beat him, maybe not the first shot but the rebounds, the tip-ins and the screens. Those are things that we’ll have to work on this week in practice."

(For a more detailed look at Union from an ECAC perspective, check out this week’s ECAC Preview.)

Last week, Providence ventured to Minnesota-Duluth and came away with a

6-5 win in overtime

and

a 3-0 shutout.

The sweep marked the first time a nonconference foe has swept a weekend in Duluth since 1986.

After conference losses to Northeastern and Maine sandwiched a 5-4 overtime win over Union, the trip proved the perfect elixir for the Friars.

"It was a good experience for us," said coach Paul Pooley. "We really pulled together the first night after coming out a little sluggish, and maybe needed a little confidence boost."

After falling behind 2-0, the Friars bounced back and held the lead into the final minute only to have Duluth knot the game on a penalty shot. Despite the deflating goal, PC scrambled back for the win in overtime on a shot that went in with a fraction of a second remaining.

"We’ve shown resilience the last couple years to fight back through things like that," said Pooley. "We were down 2-0 in the first five minutes of the game and fought back too. I think our team may just be growing up a little bit, in the sense of trying to keep things in perspective. It was a real good confidence-builder."

Saturday’s shutout earned freshman goaltender Boyd Ballard co-Rookie of the Week honors and gave the Friars their first winning record of the year.

"One of the things I liked," said Pooley, "was that after the first period we were up 2-0, and I said, ‘Listen, we’re not playing that well. How many guys think we’re playing well?’ Not one guy raised his hand. Everyone said that we could do better. We went out and played a really good second and third period."

Now the Friars travel to West Point for a game against an Army team that is playing close-but-no-cigar hockey. Last week, the Cadets

fell 2-1 in overtime to UMass-Lowell,

its second overtime loss of the young season. Their top line of 6-3 Andy Lundbohm, 6-1 Greg Buckmeier and 6-3 Jon Toftey is always a threat and goaltender Daryl Chamberlain has stolen more than a couple games in his four years.

Although Division I independents frequently get little credit, Pooley is not about to let his team be lulled into overconfidence.

"Look at what Mankato State is doing," he said, referring to the independent that now sports a 4-3-1 record against teams from the four major conferences. "They’re beating up on some teams that just say, ‘Hey, we’re going in for our two points and then get out of here.’

"Going down to Army is a big test because they play with so much emotion and hard work. We have to really make sure that we’re ready to play."

PC then returns home to host UMass-Lowell on Sunday afternoon. Providence swept last year’s regular season series with the River Hawks, only to see Lowell pay them back with interest with a Hockey East quarterfinal sweep to get to the FleetCenter.

"That’s a dangerous hockey club," said Pooley. "They’ve got some really good players, they play well as a team and their goaltending is solid. It’s going to be a Hockey East battle where we have to make sure that we’re ready to play, work hard and execute what we want to do."

>From Lowell’s perspective, Whitehead definitely noticed what the Friars achieved in Duluth and knows his team is catching a hot opponent.

"It’s a good job any time you make a Western swing and win two in somebody else’s rink," he said. "Obviously, they’ve got it going and they’re a strong team. It was a real good rivalry last year, so I’m sure it’ll be a hard-fought game."

PICKS: UMass-Lowell takes two on the road, 4-3 over both UMass-Amherst and Providence. The Minutemen gain a weekend split, defeating Union 3-2, as do the Friars, 5-2 over Army.

Back In The Saddle

By
-

Before the season started, Joe Mallen was realistic. One year earlier, he’d recruited Tim Lovell from Maine after NCAA sanctions put the Black Bears out of postseason action. Lovell had practiced with the Minutemen all year long and been the best player on the ice, but a year without any game action was certain to leave its mark.

“As the rust wears off, I think he’s going to do some great things for us,” said Mallen.

"When I think about him, I just smile. He’s going to make things happen."

— UMass-Amherst coach Joe Mallen

However, in performances that belied Mallen’s cautious optimism, Lovell either assisted on, or scored, all eight Minuteman goals in the opening games of the UMass season.

His play prompted opposing coaches like BU’s Jack Parker to remark, “Tim Lovell gives them a whole new look offensively.”

So much for the rust.

Lovell’s return to the form that earned him All-Hockey East honors in his junior year came as no surprise to his former mentor, Maine coach Shawn Walsh.

“He’s a terrific on-ice competitor,” said Walsh. “He can generate offense five-on-five, which is unusual in this day and age of college hockey. He certainly makes players around him better. He’s the kind of guy who can put up huge numbers if he’s got real talented offensive people playing with him.”

Walsh saw first-hand Lovell’s contributions during the 5-10, 170-pounder’s first two years with the Black Bears, highlighted by Maine’s 1994-95 run to the national championship game.

The following year, however, Maine’s self-imposed penalties kept the Black Bears out of the NCAA tournament. When a year ago last August, the NCAA added another lost postseason, the exodus began.

“The team we would have had there would have been an incredible team,” said Lovell. “But the sanctions came down and we really weren’t going to be playing for anything. That had happened in my junior year, so when I found out in August I wouldn’t be playing for anything except for myself again, I decided to make a change. I wanted to play playoff hockey.”

While teammates Blair Allison and Jeff Tory left for the Canadian national team, Brett Clark for major juniors and Brad Mahoney for a significantly larger role at Northeastern, Lovell’s transfer to UMass-Amherst caused the most head-scratching.

Why would an All-Hockey East player, unhappy at being denied a playoff berth, opt for a program still in its early developmental stages, a school likely to have a brief postseason? Why not go to one of the teams already at the top of the league?

“My credits didn’t transfer to a lot of schools,” said Lovell. “That was a big problem. UMass took my credits and they were one of my top choices in the first place. I liked the idea of going to a new, up-and-coming program.”

“The key thing I sold him on,” said Mallen, “was the fact that he could get a terrific education and he could get his degree. Sitting down with his mom and his dad, we basically set a course for him on a two-year program. We thought it might be one, but it wound up being two years in which he could get a degree from the University of Massachusetts. As a Massachusetts kid, I think he feels very proud about that.

“He also felt that he could be a big part of a program on the upswing. At Maine, he was an outstanding member of the team, but they have a lot of outstanding players. For us, I thought he could really be a big fish in a small pond.”

With the Minutemen, he planned to either join the team in the second semester when he became eligible, or sit out the entire year. The latter option begged the question: why not turn pro rather than lose a whole year?

“I saw a lot of kids my age going and playing in the pros right away,” said Lovell. “That kind of gets you deep inside. But I looked at it from the point of view that if I ever got hurt, I wouldn’t have graduated. I thought I could graduate and still go on a year later and probably be a better player because I would have matured physically.”

So Plan A became that if the Minutemen, led by Rob Bonneau and Warren Norris, got off to a great start, Lovell would join them after the holidays. Unfortunately, that plan fell by the wayside.

“We went 1-6 at the start,” said Lovell. “I knew right after that that I’d rather wait the whole season and have a fresh year coming out and trying to make the team a lot better from the start.”

In the meantime, Lovell put a lot of sweat into improving his game.

“I worked on my strength,” said Lovell. “I worked in the weight room extra hard. And I tried to fine-tune my game to get smarter at what I was doing, looking at the game as a whole.”

This year, he faces new challenges. For the first time, he is now the big fish in a pond that doesn’t have teammates of the stature of Chris Imes, Dan Shermerhorn and Steve Kariya.

“I realize that,” said Lovell. “Teams may try to key on me, but I’m ready for it. I’ve just got to manage my frustrations. If I don’t feel I can get the puck to other people, I’ll just put the puck in the net.”

In addition to providing the Minutemen with their most potent scoring punch since the program’s rebirth in 1993, he also brings several intangibles to the table.

“I think I bring a winning tradition to the University of Massachusetts,” he said.

Additionally, and in the long run most importantly, he has also brought a credibility that any new program needs to bootstrap recruiting. In the first couple years, the Minutemen attracted athletes like Rob Bonneau, for whom the UMass full scholarship was their only such offer. Building a winning team through hidden jewels and developing second-tier prospects is a slow process.

This year’s incoming freshmen, however, mark a major step forward. Jeff Turner, the United States Hockey League’s number-two scorer, and Kris Wallis, the third-leading scorer in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League, both arrived on campus as the school’s strongest recruits since the program’s resurrection.

Lovell factored into recruiting both players.

“We were able to say that they’d be able to play a year with Tim Lovell,” said Mallen. “His name and the way he plays the game with passion [are] going to attract other players, even when people come in to visit this year and watch him play. You always try to parlay and use a positive with a positive in recruiting. I think for Tim to choose to leave a program like Maine and come to UMass was a huge statement about where our program is going.”

Lovell endorsed this approach fully.

“They told me they were going to use my name and that’s great,” said Lovell. “I know when I went to the University of Maine, I looked at guys like Paul Kariya who were there. You’re going to use your top players to help recruiting.”

And to help just about everything else, too. Mallen has Lovell on the penalty kill, the power play, a regular shift and an occasional double-shift, too.

“A player of that ability, you’ve got to go with him,” said Mallen. “Ray Bourque is the first guy over the boards no matter how old he is. He’s on the power play, penalty kill and plays his regular shift. There are some guys that are the keys to your team and they’ve got to be prepared to play those kind of minutes because they can do it all.”

On the power play, Lovell can now be found on the point. His career statistics show almost as many goals (51) as assists (57), which might argue for more of a close-to-the-net sniper’s role on the man advantage than as playmaker from the point. But there’s no arguing with his success there to date.

“He can shoot the puck a ton for a little guy,” said Mallen. “He sees the ice better than any other guy we have, so he’s a good quarterback. As time goes on, it’ll be interesting to see how we can move him around to try to change the look, but for right now I like to see him run the show up top.”

Although every game he’ll play for the Minutemen this year will be important, Lovell has already mentally circled the weekend of February 13 and 14 as something special. And that has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day.

That weekend, UMass-Amherst travels to Maine for a two-game set. It will be Lovell’s first return to his old haunts. Many of the Maine fans still feel betrayed by Lovell’s defection and are likely to let him know it.

“I just want to get that behind me,” he said. “I’m part of a new team now. It’ll be kind of like getting traded. I know I’ll hear the boos, but I hope they respect my decision.

“I have a lot of friends up there and I really respect that school a lot and I respect the coaching staff. But it’s the move that I made and I’m proud of it.”

Shawn Walsh, though obviously disappointed when Lovell left, wishes him well.

“I’ve talked to Timmy since then,” said Walsh. “From what I can gather, now he’s going to get his degree, so I’m happy for him.”

Perhaps, then, Black Bear fans will remember Lovell upon his return for his three great years at Maine, rather than the one he’s spending this season in another uniform.

Whether they do or not, in future years UMass-Amherst fans are likely to look back fondly at Lovell as the “recruit” that helped take the Minutemen to the next level.

One Last Shot At Glory

By Betsy Ostrov
-

As the clock ticked down in last March’s season-ending setback at the hands of eventual national champion North Dakota in the NCAA Tournament, the seniors on the Cornell hockey team savored their last moments wearing the Red uniform. The underclassmen watched the third period come to an end and started to think about next season.

One player, however, wasn’t sure what to think. Forward Vinnie Auger awaited a decision on whether he would be granted a medical redshirt, giving him an extra year of eligibility. When the final horn sounded in Grand Rapids, Mich., Auger didn’t know whether his career was over, or if he’d be back for another campaign.

“In the beginning of the season, I thought everything was going to be fine,” Auger said. “And at first everything was fine. But, then I was denied the redshirt because I didn’t have enough classes left to take. I had to go through an appeals process that took awhile, so I didn’t know if I’d be back or not until late May or June.”

The senior was eventually granted the additional season because of a variety of injuries — mainly to his back — that have kept him out of action for parts of his last three campaigns, including virtually all of his sophomore season.

For Auger, who is, according to junior co-captain Kyle Knopp “probably our most talented player,” the ailments have limited his ability to build on the big numbers and the incredible potential that earned him Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors in 1994, and induced the Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche) to select him in the National Hockey League draft that year.

“It’s been really frustrating,” the forward said. “Sophomore year was really hard and last year was also hard because I had a broken thumb and my back went back and forth, feeling good and feeling bad. I never really got comfortable out there on the ice for too long.” This season has brought changes for Auger. Instead of lining up at center, as he has in the past, Auger has been playing left wing on a line with Knopp and sophomore center Ryan Moynihan.

The combination has looked potent thus far, as all three members tallied in the Red-White scrimmage and Auger and Moynihan lit the lamp against Ryerson in exhibition action.

“Vinnie has definitely stood out so far,” said sophomore forward Doug Stienstra. “He’s playing really well, and it looks like he’s playing with a lot more confidence out there.”

“I like playing left wing a lot,” Auger said. “I really like playing with Ryan and Kyle, and I think we’re doing well. It’s not really a big adjustment for me. It took a couple of practices to get comfortable, but now I’m fine with it. I think this line can be really effective and we can put points on the board.”

The changes for Auger have not only come on the ice, however. Thanks to all his experience, he has taken over the role of elder statesman.

“Vinnie’s a leader both on and off the ice,” Knopp said. “People see when he’s turning things up a notch and they get excited and play harder themselves. In the dressing room, he relaxes people because he knows how to deal with things. He’s been around for four years, so he knows not to get too excited or too emotional. Vinnie is laid back in the dressing room, and guys feed off that.”

The fifth-year performer agrees that he has become a team leader.

“I think the younger players look up to me because I’ve been here so long and they expect me to know more about school and hockey. I try to teach the other guys what I’ve learned.”

After watching ex-teammates such as P.C. Drouinand and Brad Chartrand continue their careers after leaving Ithaca, Auger hopes he can follow in their footsteps, whether it be in the Colorado system or abroad.

“I’ve been talking with them [the Avalanche] for the past few years,” Auger said. “They really haven’t had the chance to see me play because of all the injuries, so this year will determine what happens for me. If I get hurt again, I can put a cross through a career with them. But, if I put up good numbers and stay healthy, I can still play. Europe may be an option, or the IHL or AHL. I really haven’t decided yet, but Europe is probably my best option.”

Where would he like to play?

“Anywhere,” Auger said with a laugh. “It doesn’t matter. Wherever I can get a job is where I want to play.”

But right now, the forward is not looking ahead to next year. He is focused on the 1997-98 campaign — particularly on staying injury-free.

“I hope this year will be different,” he said. “I think I’ve gotten off to a pretty good start. I’ve been working out every day with the team, lifting with the team, and I haven’t missed a practice yet, so I’m just feeling great. This has to be the year that I get it done. It’s my last year — I don’t think they’re giving me any more.

“I’d better make it a good one.”

Leading By Example

By Joe Schatz
-

Jason Dailey has seen it all.

Three years ago, he came into a program mired in mediocrity as the only freshman defenseman. Now, he is co-captain of the two-time defending ECAC champions.

How times have changed.

Along the way, the senior has become a key to the Red defensive unit. Dailey has a reputation as a player who can do damage on both ends of the ice, and has 10 goals and 20 assists in his career to prove it. Last season, Dailey scored five tallies and picked up 16 helpers, and got his share of post-season accolades, earning ECAC All-Tournament honors.

In short, offensively and defensively, Dailey is a threat.

He has also earned a reputation as the big man on the blue line, an enforcer of sorts. And though Dailey has seen it all, he realizes that the view isn’t as nice from the penalty box. That’s the place where he spent a team-high 61 minutes last season.

“I definitely want to tone down the penalty minutes,” Dailey said with a chuckle.

And even though the Pittsford, N.Y., native loves to smash the boards, he doesn’t really see himself as the team hitman.

“I love the one-on-one battle,” Dailey explained. “Ever since I was little, I’ve loved to mix it up. But I definitely don’t think of myself as a tough guy.”

The importance of Dailey’s role as a leader has escalated this year, as he is the only senior blueliner, with the graduation of Steve Wilson, Chad Wilson and Jason Kendall. Dailey hopes his influence on his teammates hasn’t been altered.

“I’d like to think it hasn’t changed. When I came in I was the only freshman. The group of older guys — the Wilsons, Kendall — they really taught me a lot,” the senior explained. “I’ve always kind of hoped that I would be that type of guy. I hope I can kind of give advice.”

Head coach Mike Schafer agreed.

“I don’t think the responsibilities from being a captain changes things at all. Jason was elected as a captain by being voted by our team to be a captain. You just keep doing the things you’ve always been doing,” Schafer said.

“Obviously, he now has an added role of being a liaison between the coaching staff and the players, and Jason will do a fine job with that,” Schafer added.

The defenseman has certainly earned the respect of his teammates.

“I think he’s a great captain — I look up to him — everybody has respect for him. He’s not a really vocal guy, but he leads by example,” junior defenseman Jeff Burgoyne said earlier this week.

As noted above, Dailey has seen the Red program transformed from mediocrity back to national prominence. Cornell was 11-15-4, and ninth in the ECAC, when he was a rookie — times were bad. But now, the icers’ recent success gives the senior a certain perspective that can be essential to keeping things stable.

“When I was a freshman, they struggled,” Dailey explained. “The program experienced a rough spot. Then [with the entrance of Schafer] the attitude changed.

“From a coaching standpoint, I’ve learned a lot of stuff since I’ve been here that I wish I had known before,” Dailey said. Now, as captain of the two-time defending ECAC champions, Dailey, along with junior co-captain Kyle Knopp, has the responsibility of leading the Red as they face the high expectations that goes along with winning.

“There’s pressure to a certain extent. People expect us to do well,” Dailey said. “We know what it takes to win.”

Whether coming up from the blue line to light the lamp or putting a hit on an opposing forward, Dailey’s leadership and ability will be key in maintaining the Big Red’s prowess. But above all, he has earned the admiration of his peers.

“He has so much respect on the team,” sophomore David Adler said. And that’s what gives Dailey the tools to keep the Red defense running smoothly.

This Week in Hockey East: November 7, 1997

By
-

Not surprisingly, Merrimack and Maine — last year’s two hottest teams down the stretch — garnered the league’s weekly awards. Merrimack forward Martin Laroche earned Karhu Player of the Week honors for his three-goal, seven-assist weekend. Maine forward Matthias Trattnig got the Rookie of the Week nod for his two power-play goals against Lowell that wiped out an early 2-0 deficit.

This week, BU travels to Orono in Hockey East’s first clash between nationally-ranked teams. UNH also hosts Boston College and Merrimack, two teams looking to make inroads on the BU-Maine-UNH triad.

Last week’s record in picks: 9-2 (pending UMass-Lowell vs. Army) Season’s record in picks: 30-6

No. 3 Boston University (3-0-0, 1-0-0 HE) at No. 6 Maine (4-1-1, 2-0-0 HE)

Saturday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

After opening the season with three of four games against ranked nonconference teams, the Maine Black Bears turned their sights to Hockey East last week,

beating UMass-Lowell 6-2

and

Providence 6-3.

"I think what’s helped us is our schedule," said Maine coach Shawn Walsh. "Having played Colorado College and Minnesota twice [apiece] has been a real blessing."

Maine also owes much of its success to its specialty teams. The Black Bears led the country last year with a 30.2 percent power play. This year, they’re making 30.2 look like chopped liver, entering last weekend with a 33 percent rate in three games against two top-ten teams from the WCHA (not to mention five power-play goals against St. Thomas). The Bears then abused Lowell and Providence to the tune of 4-for-7 and 4-for-5, respectively.

They can now point to an unconscious 48-percent conversion rate on the man advantage.

"We’ve really just been fortunate," said Maine coach Shawn Walsh. "It’s not that we’ve been creating a lot of chances, as much as the chances are going in the net. That kind of thing is going to even out at some point, but right now we’re happy with it."

That level of success, though certainly unsustainable, is no accident.

"We work on special teams every day," said Walsh. "We always have. The key is that you’ve got to have the right personnel. We’re fortunate to have a point man of David Cullen’s ability."

Matthias Trattnig, the 18-year-old power forward from Graz, Austria, scored twice on the power play against Lowell, earning Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors. This followed right on the heels of teammate Adam Tate being honored one week earlier.

Walsh had originally expected Trattnig to take some time before making an impact because of the freshman’s youth and power-oriented style, but could be ready to alter that opinion.

"He’s coming on maybe quicker," said Walsh. "[Anders] Lundback is as well, [and he] had a nice night on Saturday. Our freshmen are really coming on for us. But we’re still just young. We dressed 15 first- or second-year players both nights this weekend."

This weekend, the Black Bears host Boston University in what is easily the Hockey East matchup of the young season.

"They’re a quality team," said Walsh. "They’re going to be no different than Colorado College and maybe better, or no different, than Minnesota. It’s going to be a game that really tests our inexperience. Historically, we’ve played very, very well against them over the years. We’re going to do our best and see if it’s good enough."

Boston University defeated UMass-Amherst 5-2 in its only action last weekend.

"I was very pleased with the way that we played technically, and as the game progressed, we got more into it emotionally," said coach Jack Parker.

"They are a much improved team. From the defensive point of view, they were really solid. Tim Lovell gives them a whole new look offensively. They were a threat whenever he was on the ice, and it was hard for us to become threats because they played so hard defensively."

The Terriers may have scored three power-play goals against UMass-Amherst, but will have trouble matching Maine’s success rate on the man advantage. As a result, the usual dictum about staying out of the box applies doubly here.

"Their power play is real simple," said Parker with a laugh. "They pass it once to the point and they shoot it at the net.

"I don’t think Shawn Walsh and his staff get enough credit, because people just look at the good players and the depth that they have, but the reason why they are real good on the power play is the reason they’re real good every place else. That’s because they just outwork the opposition. They don’t do anything fancy. They just outwork you.

"Whether they are home or away, they have a tendency to make things real difficult, more because of their work ethic than their overall skill. They have as much skill as anybody else, but they’re so good because they just work so hard.

"Our process is to do the same. Talent isn’t going to win this game. Work ethic is going to win this game. One of the things that we learned last year from Maine is that when we went up there for games that we didn’t think counted and they did, they just outworked us in every phase of the game. From that game on, we didn’t lose a game until the national championship because we took a page out of their book.

"Hopefully, we can take a page out of their book before the game starts, instead of afterwards."

Michel Larocque will be in the BU nets as Parker follows the evenly split rotation between Larocque and Tom Noble.

"Goaltending is always a key," he said. "Your goaltender has to play well, because they’re going to put traffic in front of him. They’re going to make a mess out of it in the crease, so he’s got to stay focused and kick out the long shots with traffic coming in.

"At the same time, you’ve got to get to their goalie [Alfie Michaud], because he’s a great goaltender. He played really well in the second half of last year and thus far this year. He’ll be a problem that we have to solve. The best way to solve goaltending problems is to make traffic in front of their net. They’re really good at keeping the traffic away from the net, so we’ll have to really work hard to get to their net."

PICK: One could easily make a case that no one in the country is playing better than the Black Bears right now. BU may be undefeated and ranked higher, but look for that to end this week. Maine 5-3.

Boston College (4-1-0, 2-1-0 HE) at No. 5 New Hampshire (4-1-0, 0-1-0 HE)

Friday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH

For Boston College, its three games began with the downer of a 5-4 loss to Merrimack. It seemed eerily reminiscent of last year, when the Eagles would elevate their play against BU, in particular, and then lose to teams it was expected to beat. Would this year be a rerun of last year’s disappointing season?

A 3-1 win over UMass-Amherst got BC’s ship righted and its Tuesday night

6-4 upset of fifth-ranked New Hampshire

wiped away all but traces of Friday’s disappointment.

Against UNH, the Eagles battled back from a 4-3 third-period deficit, scoring three unanswered goals for the big win. "I liked the way we played in the whole game," said coach Jerry York, "but particularly the way we came back from going down 4-3. New Hampshire is a good club, we were tied and all of a sudden, bang, they were ahead 4-3. I thought we showed good poise. That’s a great sign for our club."

Although a more mature team than last year, BC still relies on major contributions from six rookies. Brian Gionta has teamed nicely with Marty Reasoner on the top line.

"He’s going to be a great player," said Reasoner. "He’s 5-7, but he plays like he’s 6-4."

While not making as big a splash as Gionta, Mike Lephart is also playing well up front and scored the game-winner against UNH.

Of even greater significance, however, are the four freshman whose main job is defensive: goaltender Scott Clemmensen and defensemen Bobby Allen, Marty Hughes and Rob Scuderi.

"We have to be patient with these four players," said coach Jerry York. "Those are difficult positions — goaltender and defense — to break in at this level, but they’ve done a good job for us."

Clemmensen played the bookend games of the three-game set while Andy McLaughlin took the nets against UMass-Amherst. Statistically, Clemmensen didn’t shine, since the Eagles allowed only 27 shots against Merrimack and 20 against UNH, while he allowed a total of nine goals. Even so, the goals that were scored were all quality opportunities. Steady, but unspectacular, isn’t a bad start.

"He’s real solid," said York. "I think he’s playing well."

For New Hampshire, this past week gave the Wildcats a chance to prove how good they really are. Defeating a rebuilding Vermont team and Alaska-Anchorage were good wins to start the season, but how they fared against stronger teams like Rensselaer and Boston College, both of which are flirting with the top ten, would carry more weight.

The Wildcats topped Rensselaer in the final minute, 5-4, but then

fell to BC.

In both games, a disturbing trend emerged. The top line of Mark Mowers, Jason Krog and Tom Nolan scored all but one of the nine goals. Mowers earned his third career hat trick in the BC loss. The second line of Derek Bekar, Mike Souza and John Sadowski scored only once after matching the top guns against the lesser teams in the first three games.

A hip pointer sidelined Bekar for the BC tilt; he has only a 50-50 chance of playing this weekend. Jason Shipulski replaced him on the second unit, reuniting last year’s freshman "S" line.

So to what extent will UNH be expecting the top line to continue to carry the scoring load?

"Hopefully not a whole lot," said coach Dick Umile after the Tuesday night game. "[But] they did all right. They got four goals, didn’t they? When we get Bekar back, we’ll be a different team, and then, who knows? Souza and Sadowski scored a nice goal in the third period. Bekar isn’t going to turn the whole thing around, but it’ll be nice to get him back."

Mowers added, "Lately, I guess it has been a little [dependent on our line]. Hopefully, it’s not going to be like that. We’ve got some other good players. In the first couple games, it was Souza, Sadowski and Bekar that were producing and a freshman got a goal in our home opener. We don’t want it to be [just one line.]"

The other top concern that emerged from the BC game was the penalty kill. The Eagles scored three power-play goals.

"They did better a job in the specialty situations than we did," said Umile.

One can expect a lot of practice time spent on the PK before Friday.

PICK: UNH gets its revenge at home, 5-4.

Northeastern (2-2-0, 1-0-0 HE) at Merrimack (4-1-0, 1-0-0 HE)

Friday, 7 p.m., Volpe Center, North Andover, MA

Merrimack (4-1-0, 1-0-0 HE) at No. 5 New Hampshire (4-1-0, 0-1-0 HE)

Saturday, 7 p.m., Whittemore Center, Durham, NH

In past years, an automobile commercial claimed, "This is not your father’s Oldsmobile."

A similar slogan could be adopted for this season’s Merrimack Warriors. After a long struggle for respectability since entering Division I play, they now boast a 4-1-0 record, six of the top 10 Hockey East overall scorers, and even received a vote in the USCHO poll this week.

After opening the weekend against Northeastern, the Warriors then run the gauntlet of three games against New Hampshire and two against Maine leading into Thanksgiving. Ouch!

"You’ve got to play them sooner or later," said Merrimack coach Ron Anderson.

Sophomore Cris Classen (3-0-0, .911 SV%, 3.33 GAA) is erasing many of the question marks everyone scribbled between the Merrimack pipes as the season opened. He not only backstopped the 6-4 win over BC, he also came back the following night to again play well in

a 5-4 win over Union.

"We wanted to find out if he could play back-to-back games," said Anderson. "I thought he played very well…. We’re still trying to find out exactly what he’s got since he didn’t play much last year, but he’s given us real solid efforts. We feel nothing but good things for him right now."

Freshman Tom Welby played in the nets for the

9-1 win over Air Force.

The defense is also playing better than expected, although Classen’s play probably has rendered the blue line Merrimack’s biggest concern.

"I think our defense is playing a little better than I thought we’d be capable of because some of those guys didn’t play a lot last year," said Anderson. "We’re obviously happy to see that."

It’s the offense, though, that is really carrying the day for Merrimack, which is averaging six goals a game. And aside from Air Force, it is accomplishing this against primarily good defensive teams. Ohio State held Miami to only two goals (and an empty-netter), and last week kept Clarkson, ranked tenth at the time, to only three goals in two games. Meanwhile, Merrimack scored 10 in two games against the Buckeyes.

Similarly, going into its midweek game against UNH, BC had allowed only five goals in three non-Merrimack games, but surrendered five to the Warriors. Even against Union, a rebuilding team that is struggling, Merrimack had to beat All-American goaltender Trevor Koenig in scoring five times.

The top line of Casey Kesselring, Martin Laroche and Sandy Cohen is kicking butt and taking names. Members of this line figured in on three of the goals against BC, all five against Union and three more against Air Force.

Laroche’s 10 points on the weekend earned him Hockey East Player of the Week honors, one week after Kesselring won that distinction. The duo’s 13 points place the two of them behind only Maine’s Steve Kariya in the league’s overall scoring race. Trailing his linemates by only two points is Cohen, whose nine goals on the season apparently leads the country.

"They’re playing real well right now," said Anderson. "They seem to be finding each other real well and working hard. That stuff happens when you get on a roll."

Last year’s top line of Rejean Stringer, Kris Porter and Chris Halecki (who replaces the graduated Rob Beck) scored four times — all by Porter with a "Texas hat trick" — against Air Force to put them in a tie for sixth place in league scoring.

"It’s been a long time since we’ve had two or three lines that were a real threat when they went onto the ice," said Anderson. "Right now we’ve got two that are real productive for us. You don’t always get a lot of good scoring opportunities, so you want to make sure you’ve got some people who can put it away."

That they do.

Last week, the Northeastern Huskies fell to .500 after a 6-3 loss to Colgate and a tough 4-2 loss to Cornell.

"The Friday night game [against Colgate] is one we really didn’t deserve to win," said coach Bruce Crowder. "It was 3-3 with 12 minutes to go, but it probably should have been a lot worse.

"In Saturday’s game we just ran into a little hard luck. The kids really played well, but we just had a lot of adversity. We had a guy out for five minutes for hitting from behind, but about two minutes later our guy gets hit from behind. No call. He’s coming to the bench, he can’t get there and one of our players hops over to help him get to the bench. Too many men on the ice.

"So we’re in Cornell, having to kill off almost two minutes of a five-on-three. We did a good job. They scored with like one second to go.

"It was one of those things that maybe it just wasn’t in the cards. Their tying goal was one where they just threw the puck in front and it just went in off one of our guy’s skates. On the winning goal, our guy put it off the glass in our end, which is the play you want, and it hit an upright and went right into the middle of the hash. And the fourth goal was an empty net.

"We didn’t get the W, but as a coaching staff, we could pull a lot out from that game as improvement. We worked hard and obviously it wasn’t good enough, so it means we’ve got to work a little harder."

The Huskies now face another two games on the road, but unlike their trek through New York last week, will have short jaunts to Merrimack and Lowell. They’ll have to do it without impact rookie Bob Haglund, who injured his shoulder in the Cornell tilt and will be out 2-5 weeks.

Three other freshmen — Kevin Welch, Graig Mischler and Matt Keating — will be hoping to duplicate their feat of scoring just 12 seconds into the Cornell game.

"Their enthusiasm and the excitement that they bring is fabulous for us," said Crowder. "They gave us a big jump in that game."

(New Hampshire is profiled above.)

PICK: So who is the Merrimack wise guy that rang one off the post with 14 seconds left against Air Force last week to spoil what could have been a perfect 10-1 prediction? Off with his head!

Merrimack stays hot against Northeastern, winning 5-2.

That sets up a shootout against UNH, which will be playing its third game in five nights, including an emotional rematch against BC. Merrimack really opens eyes with a 5-4 win.

Northeastern (2-2-0, 1-0-0 HE) at UMass-Lowell (2-2-0, 1-1-0 HE)

Saturday, 7 p.m., Tully Forum, Lowell, MA

In both their 6-2 loss to Maine and their 4-1 win over Union, the UMass-Lowell River Hawks spent significant time in the penalty box. Maine made them pay for their wayward ways, going four-for-seven on the power-play, while Union could not, mustering only one goal in 10 man-advantages.

"We’re not the best skating team right now, and we’re taking some penalties because we’re out of position defensively," said Lowell coach Tim Whitehead. "We’ve got to improve our skating and we’ve got to improve our defensive positioning. Those are the penalties we’re taking… It’s not like our guys are taking two-handers to people."

In the Union game, Whitehead introduced a freshman line of Jeff Boulanger, T.C. Harris and Brad Rooney which scored and played well. It marked the first collegiate game for Harris, who had been recuperating from mononucleosis.

"They got better as the game went along," said Whitehead. "I started giving them more ice time because they earned it. I was pleased with how they played as the game went on. All three of those kids have good hockey sense."

Whitehead experimented with Craig Brown — a forward last year who also has recovered from a bout with mono — on defense, where he played well.

(Northeastern is profiled above.)

PICK: Northeastern could surprise in this battle of two very young teams, but Lowell will pull it out, 3-2.

Providence College (1-2-0, 0-2-0 HE) at

Minnesota-Duluth (3-3-0, 2-2-0 WCHA) Friday, Saturday, 7 p.m., Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, Duluth, MN

Providence lost its lone game last weekend,

6-2 to Maine.

"I thought we played very well," said Providence coach Paul Pooley. "Five-on-five we executed what we wanted to do. We broke down a couple times, but they had 22 grade-A chances and we had 22.

"We didn’t have that many turnovers. We played really well five-on-five. We did some good things, cycled the puck, played pretty good defensively. Specialty teams is what makes Maine so good."

Maine, which now sports a 48 percent power-play success rate, scored on four of its five advantages.

"We were in position a couple times," said Pooley. "We should have had the puck out a couple times. [They got] a couple lucky bounces, but we definitely have to work on our PK.

"If you get the puck on your stick, it’s got to get out somehow. Instead of hitting somebody, it’s off the glass. If it hits Kariya, next thing you know, it’s in your net."

The Friar man advantage scored once in five opportunities, but gave up a shorthanded goal.

"I thought our power play did pretty well for the most part," said Pooley. "The shorthanded goal we gave up, we had them running around, but we made an errant pass. But that’ll come. You can always work on specialty teams."

Providence now takes on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, a team that returned six of its top eight scorers and WCHA Rookie of the Year goaltender Brant Nicklin (18-15-4, .897 SV%, 3.25 GAA last year).

"It looks like they’re scoring some goals," said Pooley. "So we have to play good defense.

"It’s obviously a different environment. Our kids haven’t been out there. We have a couple Minnesota kids that will educate our other guys about it, but it’s a big challenge for us.

"We always play well going out West. We played well against Western Michigan" — splitting a two-game set two years ago — "and now we’re playing Duluth, a new opponent that our guys don’t know much about. So I’m excited. It’s a great time for it."

(For a more detailed look at Minnesota-Duluth from a WCHA perspective, check out this week’s WCHA Preview.)

PICK: The Bulldogs have split all three series so far this year, and it looks like Providence will make it four. Minnesota-Duluth 4-2 on Friday; Providence 4-3 on Saturday.

UMass-Amherst (0-3-0, 0-3-0 HE) at University of Nebraska-Omaha (1-4-0, 0-2-0 vs. aligned D-I) Friday, Saturday, 7 p.m., Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska

UMass-Amherst dropped two this week, 5-2 to Boston University and 3-1 to Boston College.

"I thought it was a really well-played hockey game," said coach Joe Mallen, echoing the words of BU coach Jack Parker above. "We were looking at 3-2 [going into the third] after surviving a five-minute major. I thought it was a good showing for us and I didn’t think the score was indicative of the overall game."

Tim Lovell scored both Minuteman goals, giving him a piece of all eight that the Minutemen had scored on the season through that game.

"He certainly is an important cog in the wheel and his production is really helping us, but we really need to get production from other people now," said Mallen.

The Minutemen then played to another close-but-no-cigar loss against BC.

"It was a real evenly played game," said Mallen. "The shots on goal were within one. The penalties were even. It was just a turnover late in the game up the middle that wound up in the back of the cage.

"We hit the post twice in the game. We did a good job killing penalties. They were 1-for-6 and we were 1-for-6, so we made some improvement there [after giving up three power-play goals against BU]."

Mallen’s squad now travels to the Midwest to taking on the fledgling Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks, Division I’s newest program. The Mavericks have a roster loaded with bushels of USHL graduates and have been surprisingly competitive this year. Last weekend, they outshot Princeton both games, including 35-22 in the second game, but lost and 5-2 and 5-3.

Prior to that, they split a two-game set with Air Force, losing 4-2 after outshooting the Falcons 38-12, and then winning both the shots battle (37-29) and the one on the scoreboard, 6-1.

This would seem to point to either a throw-everything-on-the-net philosophy which renders shot totals meaningless, or problems in the net with the Maverick tandem of Jason Mitchell and Rodney McLeod.

>From UMass-Amherst’s perspective, two wins are a must, no matter how competitive UNO has been.

"The key is that we’ve started with three Hockey East games and we have three Hockey East losses," said Mallen. "That’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We played real hard in all three games.

"Now it’s up to us to see if we can go out to Nebraska-Omaha and see if we can get a couple wins and come back the next weekend against Lowell and Union and see if we can get a couple more and get back to .500."

PICK: It won’t be a cakewalk, but the Minutemen take two, 5-3 and 4-2.

This Week in the ECAC: November 7, 1997

By Becky Blaeser & Jayson Moy
-

So far this young season — not counting exhibitions, games against independents and games against non-Division I opponents — the ECAC is 7-13-1. Of those seven wins, Clarkson has two of them over Bowling Green; Rensselaer defeated UMass-Lowell; Vermont beat Lake Superior State; Colgate and Cornell both upended Northeastern; and Colgate has the upset of the season thus far, at Michigan.

But then again, the ECAC started last season with a 10-11-0 nonconference record (same rules as above) going into the first weekend of the regular season. The ECAC wound up having its best-ever season against nonconference opponents.

A sign of things to come, or at least the ECAC hopes so.

But this week the ECAC regular season gets underway. All 12 teams are in the mix, and each gets a pair of games underneath its belt.

As our good friends from the world of Ultimate Fighting like to say, "Let’s Get It On!!!"

Harvard (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) and Brown (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at No. 10 Cornell (1-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Lynah Rink, Ithaca, NY

Brown (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) and Harvard (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at Colgate (3-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 5 pm, Starr Rink, Hamilton, NY

The Big Red of Cornell open up defense of their ECAC championship this weekend with a win over Northeastern already in hand. A 4-2 win is good news, isn’t it?

"I told our team that’s the worst game I’ve been associated with since I’ve been here," head coach Mike Schafer said. "We didn’t play very well and it was a situation where we got very lucky against a team that was very good."

Ryan Moynihan and Vinnie Auger both had good games, coming up with the tying and go-ahead goals for the Big Red against the Huskies.

"They came up big for us in the third period," said Schafer. "But that’s the only blessing of the weekend — the win."

That brings us to this weekend, and the beginning of the ECAC season. If you are Cornell, who better to start the season with than rival Harvard?

"The start of the season is even moreso important when you play a rival such as Harvard," said Schafer. "We had some success against [the Crimson] lately, and they’ll look to come in and play well."

The next night the Big Red face Brown — the head man there is former Vermont assistant Roger Grillo.

"They’ll probably have a lot of the characteristics that Vermont has," said Schafer about Brown.

There has been a concerted effort on the part of Schafer and Cornell to "clean up" Lynah Rink. Schafer and the university has asked that the Lynah Faithful dump five chants considered obscene. Saturday was the first night for the "new" Lynah Rink.

"We’ve been successful with it so far," said Schafer. "We’ve gotten rid of the profane chants, and we’ll hope it continues. But Harvard will be the true test."

Colgate has done some impressive work in its four non-conference games thus far: an upset of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and wins over Army and Northeastern.

"We’ve had a couple of decent outings," said a modest Don Vaughn. "We’ve been able to gain a little confidence that we needed because we graduated a lot of good seniors."

What has been impressive is the fact that the Red Raiders have gotten goals from seven different players, a balance that was in question before the season began.

"We have spread it out offensively," said Vaughn. "That is something that we were hoping for, and you had to expect that a few guys would step it up, especially guys like Dru Burgess and Andy MacDonald."

Burgess is tied for the league lead in goals with five, and MacDonald is riding a four-game scoring streak.

Another impressive factor has been the play of Dan Brenzavich. He had been questioned as the season was coming closer, but a 3-0-0 record so far has silenced a lot of critics.

"It was important for him to get off on a good note," said Vaughn. "He worked hard all summer, and he thought a lot about his game. In August you could tell that he was ready. In the immediate future, Danny has established himself."

As ECAC play starts, it’s a whole new ballgame, something that Vaughn echoed.

"The stakes are a little bit higher," he said. "There’s more pressure, for lack of a better word, so the games take on a whole new meaning."

The Red Raiders begin with Brown and Harvard this coming weekend. "Roger (Grillo, Brown’s head coach) has got great potential there," said Vaughn. "It’s hard to tell what you’re going to get with Brown because they haven’t played a game yet, who knows?

"Harvard’s got one o the best teams on paper," he added. "And Ronn (Tomassoni, Harvard’s head coach) is going to have them coming at us."

Speaking of Harvard, the Crimson also play their first official game this Friday at Cornell. The Crimson defeated McGill in an exhibition on Saturday, 5-2.

The Crimson scored three times in the second period, with goals from Geordie Hyland, Jamin Kerner and Graham Morrell. J.R. Prestifilippo made 15 saves in his two periods of action.

The Crimson are a team that is very young; they only have five seniors, but plenty of experience.

"We were in an old league last year with a young team," said Crimson head man Ronn Tomassoni. "This year we’re in a young league with a young team that’s old."

One of the seniors Tomassoni is counting on is captain Jeremiah McCarthy. The defenseman is a veteran of not only Harvard, but some international teams as well.

"McCarthy is an outstanding player," he said. "No one works harder than him, and he’s going to have a big year."

Everyone sees the talent that the Crimson have on their team, but it has yet to gel on the offensive side. It has been chronicled before, but the Crimson need to score more often this year than they did last year. Along the same lines, the special teams have to get going as well. A well-documented 0-for-57 stretch on the power play early in last year’s season still is embematic of an Achilles’ heel for the Crimson.

The Bears of Brown have a new head coach, and are looking for a better position in the ECAC standings. It’s actually the only way that they can go — the Bears finished last in the standings last year.

"There’s a quality group of players here," said head coach Roger Grillo. "We’re just trying to get things going in an upward position."

It’s a difficult road for Grillo because he did not recruit any of his players, and just finding out about them is a tough adjustment. "It’s a situation where we are getting to know them as hockey players," he said in Brown’s season preview. "When I was at Vermont, we didn’t cross over much in recruiting circles."

The first game in Grillo’s career as head coach will come at Colgate, and the Bears are just hoping to do what they can.

"We’re going to shoot for as high as we can," said Grillo. "The league is so competitive, and anyone can finish from first to last. The coaching’s too good, the recruiting is too good, and the quality of players is too good.

"Our league is as tough as any other league," he added. "We want to play quality teams, and we are playing quality teams in this league."

PICKS: Brown at Colgate: Grillo will have to wait for win number one. Colgate 5, Brown 2 Harvard at Cornell: The new and cleaner Lynah Rink. Against Harvard?! Cornell 4, Harvard 2 Harvard at Colgate: Colgate’s balanced scoring is the winner. Colgate 4, Harvard 2 Brown at Cornell: Grillo will have to wait for win number one. Cornell 6, Brown 2

Vermont (1-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) and Dartmouth (1-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at Union (0-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Achilles Rink, Schenectady, NY

Dartmouth (1-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) and Vermont (1-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at Rensselaer (2-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Houston Fieldhouse, Troy, NY

Bob Gaudet is the new man at the Dartmouth helm, and before the season began he stressed that he did not know his players very well, especially their hockey skills.

"It takes awhile to learn about them," said Gaudet after his team played one game. "They guys played hard (against Army on Friday), and we played a real solid game. We’re getting to know them, and we’ve definitely seen some good senior leadership."

One of those seniors is Jon Sturgis. Sturgis scored the first goal of the game against Army — shorthanded — and then he added another one to seal the 7-1 victory.

"He’s a quality hockey player and he shoots well from anywhere on the rink," said Gaudet. "He’s one of the most underrated players out there. He’s deceptively strong, and he’s a bigger kid than I thought he was."

Eric Almon started in goal and got the win. He was expected to share the goaltending load with fellow sophomore Jason Wong, but Wong has a twisted knee that is keeping him out of action. So it looks like Almon for now.

"Eric’s our goalie now," said Gaudet. "I don’t think I’ll play two goalies this weekend, but it will definitely be Eric on Friday and then we’ll see."

The Big Green open up against preseason number-one Rensselaer on the road, and then travel to Union. Playing the first ECAC game of the year against the league’s top-ranked team does not faze Gaudet.

"Well, you have to play them sometime, so why not now," he said. "RPI is tremendously skilled and experienced and they have great coaching. It’ll be a real tough test for us.

"That Union team is another team that is well coached," he added. "It’s tough (at Achilles Rink) because things happen very quickly. I don’t know what it is about that rink but it seems like (Union) is right on top of you."

Starting the season at 1-3-0 can get anybody down, but as any coach will tell you, there is always something that you can take away from games, even losses. It’s no different for Vermont head coach Mike Gilligan.

"I like what I’ve seen with some of the new guys," he said. "I also feel a lot better about our goaltending situation."

At the beginning of the season, Gilligan’s biggest worry was in the net. James Tierney started the first two games for the Catamounts before suffering a back injury, so last weekend freshman Andrew Allen and transfer Marty Phillips saw time in net. Allen picked up the first victory of the season for the Cats in a 3-2 win over Lake Superior State. This weekend, Tierney is still out, leaving Allen and Phillips in between the pipes to start the ECAC season.

"I hope to keep rotating three goalies until I find two that will platoon," said Gilligan.

Some of the new guys that Gilligan was referring to are Andreas Moborg, the ECAC Rookie of the Week, and Jerry Gernander. Moborg had a hand in all three Vermont goals on Friday, while Gernander picked up two goals on the weekend.

In all, five different Cats that scored on the weekend, which Grillo likes to see. "We’ve ground it out a little bit," he said. "We’ve got four lines that can compete out there. We don’t have one line that will blow you away like last year."

This weekend the Cats play their fourth and fifth games on the road of the young season, against Union and Rensselaer.

"It’ll be a good chance to see where we are, since league play is starting," said Gilligan. "We’ve been on the road for a lot of the games at the beginning, and the guys are excited.

"(Union and RPI) are two different types of teams and both will give us all we can handle."

Head coach Stan Moore knew that there would be growing pains with his young Union squad. With 13 freshmen, what else could one expect? After losses to Merrimack and UMass-Lowell this past weekend, the Dutchmen are still searching for their first win.

"Sure, we made strides in the third period, but the end result is still a loss," said freshman center Sheldon Pietrzykowski to the Schenectady (N.Y.) Gazette’s Ken Schott after Saturday’s loss to Merrimack. "We want that win, and we want it soon."

The Dutchmen are still searching for that combination that will give them their first wing. Moore has changed his lineups and still has not had success yet.

"We didn’t feel we were getting play at both ends from the lines," Moore said. "We had given up five goals in our first two games each, and really felt that we had to do something that would allow us to have some offensive ability, but at the same time, perhaps have some great presence down low in our end."

Changes were also made in goal against the River Hawks. Leeor Shtrom started instead of All-American Trevor Koenig, and not just because it was a non-conference game.

"I would do it in a league game if it helped our team play better," Moore said. "The idea is to put the best players you have on the ice. We’ve identified that with our team [and] let them know that we’re going to try and go with the best kids we have.

"It isn’t a head game. It isn’t a decision to try and get someone to learn to play well," he added. "Maybe they need a break, get a chance to evaluate, and come back to us stronger and more competitive for the next game."

And that also means in goal. Moore was pleased with Shtrom’s effort, and he will have a decision to make as to who starts the ECAC opener Friday against Vermont at Achilles.

"We’re just making sure that we have the right guy in the net," Moore said about starting Shtrom against the ‘Hawks. "I think Leeor has shown us that he deserves consideration for the next game. It’s always a delight for a coach to have a tough decision as to who you start in the net."

Over in Troy, the goaltending situation was in question, too, when Joel Laing started on Saturday against Army. Laing also started the previous game against New Hampshire, which meant that for only the second time in the last two years, the same goaltender started both games of the weekend for the Engineers. But there was no controversy there, just one simple thought.

"I thought that in this situation that we had to get Joel going," said head coach Dan Fridgen. "I wanted to get him a victory."

Laing picked up that first victory of the season against Army, 4-1, after a 5-4 loss the night before.

Other good signs for the Engineers came in the form of Eric Healey and Alain St. Hilaire’s first goals of the season.

"I believe it was good for them to get their first goals," said Fridgen. "Because when you start pressing you get frustrated, and when you get frustrated you start thinking about the little things, and you stop thinking about being successful. And one of the things that makes you successful is taking care of your own end and playing defensive hockey. Hey, when you’re pressing, you’re not playing defensive hockey.

"You have to get in there and make things happen," he added.

Fridgen is also stressing another theory — keeping things simple. "You have to try to keep the game as simple as you can," he said. "You try to take care of your own game. You have to simplify the game, [because] sometimes we’re our own worst enemy."

PICKS: Vermont at Union: Can Union find a combination? Vermont 3, Union 2 Dartmouth at Rensselaer: There’s a new attitude in Hanover, but the attitude in Troy is "win." Rensselaer 6, Dartmouth 2 Dartmouth at Union: The first ECAC win for Gaudet at Dartmouth. Dartmouth 4, Union 1 Vermont at Rensselaer: Only a shadow of what last year’s games were like. Rensselaer 5, Vermont 1

Clarkson (2-1-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) and St. Lawrence (1-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at Yale (1-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Ingalls Rink, New Haven, Conn.

St. Lawrence (1-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) and Clarkson (2-1-1, 0-0-0 ECAC) at Princeton (2-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Friday – Saturday, 7:30 pm – 7 pm, Hobey Baker Rink, Princeton, NJ

The Bulldogs scored two victories this past weekend, a 7-1 win over McGill and a 5-1 win over Air Force. The players of emphasis were the Jeffs — Jeff Glew, Jeff Brow and Jeff Hamilton.

In the win over Air Force, the three of them, along with captain Ray Giroux, scored four of the five goals, and have 11 of the 13 points scored by the Bulldogs so far on the season.

"We’ve got kids with great potential," said head coach Tim Taylor.

Taylor is hoping for some of his players to be in the 30-40 point range, and it looks like he has some off to a start to reach those goals.

A good start to the ECAC season would be nice, too.

"I think we’ve been through some tough times," said Taylor. "Compared to 1993, in terms of wins and losses and rankings and the prospects, and what everybody predicted last year, we hope to have some good times."

Princeton opened the season in Omaha, Neb., against the UNO Mavericks, and the Tigers swept the series 5-2 and 5-3. Matt Brush had two goals on Friday and Jeff Halpern had four points in Saturday’s win. Both were named to the ECAC Honor Roll this past week.

Casson Masters and Brian Horst also contributed to the scoring this past weekend. "We haven’t had a prohibitive scorer since I’ve been here," he said. "We have a nucleus of people back that will at least give us some type of competitive edge."

Erasmo Saltarelli was named the ECAC Goaltender of the Week for his two wins, making 26 and 32 saves in the games.

"He’s part of the same group back there," said Cahoon. "Saltarelli brings experience and he got a lot of experience last year."

The Saints of St. Lawrence dropped a pair of one-goal games to Miami this past weekend, but head coach Joe Marsh saw a lot of good things.

"I think we learned a lot of positive things about ourselves," he said. "We played two pretty good games against a good, nationally ranked team, and honestly had a shot at winning either one of them. We obviously would have liked a win, but the way we played and kept competing will help us down the road.

"These games were a good springboard to the start of our ECAC season at Princeton and Yale next weekend," Marsh added. "We can continue to build off the improvement we showed in just a week, and hopefully get the league season off to the right kind of start.

"I certainly feel a lot better today than I did a week ago."

The goaltending situation at St. Lawrence is something that continues to be discussed in Canton and around the ECAC. Marsh has now seen all three of his goaltenders, and has some decisions that he must make.

"Eric Heffler has had the best outing so far," said Marsh on the 2-1 loss to Miami. "He was really on in that game. Jeremy Symington played well in the second game against Miami, and we wanted to give him some time after he struggled so much against Colorado College (in the J.C.Penney Classic), that we wanted to get him out there again. But then again we threw him to the wolves against CC. And Sean Coakley played well in his time."

It’s a tough decision, no question.

"I really haven’t made a decision, but Heffler will definitely get one start," he said. "He will get the start against Princeton."

Meanwhile, the road warriors continue their swing against Yale and Princeton this weekend.

"We knew that the first three trips would be the longest ones of the year," said Marsh. "But a lot of times being on the road can bring you together. I really worried about the kids missing classes the most.

"Yale’s had a good start, and they are a lot like us in terms of talent…Princeton is top four, and they have great team speed."

Marsh has yet to get his first win of the season, but he still remains optimistic. "It’ll be tough this weekend," he said. "But the guys have worked hard and that’s all I can ask for."

The Golden Knights of Clarkson tied and lost to Ohio State this past weekend. Some consider that an upset, but not head coach Mark Morris.

"Ohio State is definitely an underrated team," he said. "They played two great games, and beat us.

"We were out of sync and with a lot of inexperience in positions that you have, you just want to gain knowledge," he added. "We had some injuries and we had to move a forward back to defense. These things happen when you’re not a deep hockey team."

Defenseman Nicholas Windsor has tendinitis and is day-to-day. The Knights have eight defensemen on their roster, and four of them are freshmen.

"We certainly are thin back there," Morris said. "And you want to work to make sure that you take full advantage of your opportunities, and it’s harder to."

The Knights’ ECAC season starts this weekend at Yale and Princeton.

"It’s hard to tell what to expect," said Morris. "We want to work and play our system against Yale. We certainly didn’t play our system at all last week. We can’t worry about our opposition right now."

PICKS: Clarkson at Yale: Tougher than one might imagine, but Clarkson pulls one out. Clarkson 4, Yale 3 St. Lawrence at Princeton: St. Lawrence gets it together here. St. Lawrence 3, Princeton 2 St. Lawrence at Yale: The Bulldogs get in the ECAC win column. Yale 4, St. Lawrence 2 Clarkson at Princeton: Princeton wins one at home. Princeton 4, Clarkson 3

The Capital Skate Classic II Rensselaer (2-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) vs. Union (0-3-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Tuesday, 7:30 pm, Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY

The Capital District rivalry renews itself on Tuesday with a non-conference game at the Pepsi (nee Knickerbocker) Arena. It’s a lot different than it was last year. But is it really a rivalry?

"I’m from Massena, N.Y. What do I know about this rivalry?" said Union head coach Stan Moore last year during the ECAC quarterfinal series between the two teams.

There is a commercial playing on local television that has both Moore and Dan Fridgen stating that there is no rivalry between the two teams — each while wearing the other’s sweater.

Rensselaer and Union compete in the same conference in all other sports at the Division III level. A season is made when one team beats the other at any sport.

No rivalry? Right.

PICK: Too much of Rensselaer’s offense, and Union’s defense is not the same. Rensselaer 5, Union 2

Next week, some teams continue their ECAC seasons, while others go back to nonconference action. Here’s next week’s schedule:

ECAC Games: Friday, November 14 Colgate at Vermont Cornell at Dartmouth Princeton at Harvard Yale at Brown

Saturday, November 15 Colgate at Dartmouth Cornell at Vermont Princeton at Brown Yale at Harvard St. Lawrence at Clarkson

Nonconference Games: Saturday, November 15 UMass-Amherst at Union Niagara at Rensselaer

Tuesday, November 18 Harvard at Boston College

This Week in the CCHA: November 7, 1997

By
-

Further proof that something mysterious is taking place in the CCHA: Northern Michigan head coach Rick Comley says that this week’s series in Marquette against Michigan will be "fun."

Fun. And did you know that Comley takes fillings without anesthesia and regularly rents the movie Camille Claudel, just for fun?

All funning aside, there’s some serious hockey being played in places like Marquette and East Lansing — although you may be a little surprised by just who is being serious with whom, and where.

Still on top in the CCHA is No. 4 Michigan State, but not because of the Spartans’ stellar play at home. Last weekend, Michigan State split with — drum roll, please — Notre Dame, winning in South Bend 5-1, but losing at home 6-1. The Spartans haven’t won at home yet, but they hope to remedy that this weekend when the Irish come back to town for game three of this series.

Northern Michigan graces the number-two spot in the CCHA, beating Western Michigan 3-0 Friday and 4-2 Saturday in Kalamazoo last weekend. This weekend, the Wildcats welcome the Wolverines for a weekend that’s sure to be, well, fun. No. 8 Michigan returns from Fairbanks four points richer.

The undefeated No. 7 Miami RedHawks dispatched the visiting St. Lawrence Saints 2-1 and 6-5 last weekend. On Saturday, the ‘Hawks travel up the road to Ohio State for their only game of the weekend. The Buckeyes went to Clarkson last weekend where they — drum roll, please — beat the then-tenth-ranked Golden Knights, 6-2. They also tied Clarkson, taking home a three-point souvenir package from Upstate New York.

Ferris State came back to earth last weekend while visiting Bowling Green, tying BG 3-3 in the first game, and dropping the second 3-1. This weekend the Bulldogs travel to southwest Minnesota for some tough competition at Mankato State.

Bowling Green is relieved at winning — finally — a Division I game. This weekend the Falcons head to Notre Dame on Friday and host Western on Saturday.

Western Michigan should take out a personal ad: "Very nice hockey team with witty head coach seeks players who can score goals. Defensive skills not necessary. Goalies need not apply." All the Broncos need is offense, but Western dropped two games to Northern at home last week. This week, the Broncos swing through Ohio, stopping at Ohio State Friday before backtracking to Bowling Green Saturday.

Lake Superior hosts Alaska-Fairbanks for two this weekend. Last weekend the Lakers split with Vermont, 2-3 and 7-4.

Last week’s record in picks: 7-7 Overall record in picks: 21-20

Can somebody pass me some of what Rick Comley is drinking, please?

No. 8 Michigan (5-2-0, 2-1-0 CCHA) at Northern Michigan (4-1-2, 3-0-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Lakeview Arena, Marquette, MI

Northern Michigan is a team flexing its CCHA muscle. With an overall record of 4-1-2 and a CCHA record of 3-0-1, the Wildcats are making some noise that they’re not the doormats many people expected of a young team just returning to CCHA play.

"It’s always a combination of things," says Northern head coach Rick Comley. "We’re not making too much of it. We’re happy that we’re getting off to a good start."

The Wildcats swept Western Michigan last weekend, shutting out the Broncos 3-0 Friday, and winning 4-2 Saturday. "For the first time against Western, we had our lineup. We were able to have our Smith line back together, with Trudeau and Vigier, and that’s a critical element for our success. And that line — when they’re together — is as good as any line that anybody has."

The "Smith line," junior center Buddy Smith and sophomore wingers Roger Trudeau and J.P. Vigier, which solidified late last season, has been hampered by injuries early on this season. In Friday’s game, Trudeau had the first goal, assisted by Smith; he also picked up an assist on the last goal of the game, scored by Vigier.

Also playing well for Northern is senior defenseman Curtis Sheptak, who earned CCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors for the Northern series with Western. For the weekend, Sheptak had two goals and was +5.

Comley said his team is happy with their start, especially with taking three points from U.P. rival Lake Superior, but the coach wants to see his team remain grounded — at least for the time being. His job this week?

"Just trying to make [the players] realize that it’s great to go and win on the road; it’s great to beat Lake Superior, but don’t forget now it’s back to work. Michigan is the best team we’ll play yet and it’s another test for us."

For its part, Michigan is coming off the successful, long road trip to Alaska-Fairbanks. The Wolverines beat the Nanooks 6-3 and 4-3. The last goal of the Friday game was an empty-netter, completing a hat trick for Michigan rookie Mark Kosick — the first three goals of his collegiate career. Kosick is the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week.

Kosick is also the only Michigan player among the top ten league scorers in the CCHA. While it’s still early in the season, this statistic alone tells a big story about the turnover in Michigan personnel from last year to this.

"Obviously," says Comley, "they’ve had a great turnover in people, but they’re a good team. They work hard. Muckalt is one of the elite players, Turco is one of the elite goaltenders. They work tremendously hard, and they’re very talented. They’re one of those schools that gets the cream of the crop when it comes to recruiting, so they’re very talented, and they’re the best team that I see so far for us."

As mentioned above, Comley says this series against Michigan will be "fun," and that his team is eager to host the Wolverines.

"One of the main reasons we came back into this league was the interest people had in seeing us play Michigan and Michigan State. The University of Michigan is never going to be in Marquette unless it’s hockey, and only in this situation. People are very excited about this series."

While the Wildcats are coming on strong — and it’s difficult to pick against them — the Wolverines are not to be underestimated. In addition to Kosick, Bill Muckalt has been lighting up the board offensively, and Michigan’s defense remains one of the best in the league.

Are the Wolverines beatable? Yes. Are the Wildcats beatable? Yes, even at home. This will be tremendous test for both teams.

As tough as it is to call this one, common sense says that experience will win over youth, even if that youth is the most enthusiastic youth in the league.

(For the accuracy of this girl reporter’s common sense, just look at last week’s predictions for the Northern Michigan-Western Michigan series.)

PICKS: Michigan 5-3, 6-3

Western Michigan (2-4-2, 1-4-1 CCHA) at Ohio State (3-2-1, 0-1-0 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., OSU Ice Rink, Columbus, OH No. 7 Miami (6-0-0, 3-0-0 CCHA) at Ohio State (3-2-1, 0-1-0 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., OSU Ice Rink, Columbus, OH

The Ohio State Buckeyes surprised Clarkson — and the rest of the college hockey world — by taking three points from the then-top-ten Golden Knights in Potsdam last weekend. The Buckeyes held the Knights to just three goals on the weekend: a 1-1 Friday tie and a 6-2 Saturday win.

"We played a very patient game, a very defensive game that still gave us opportunities, and that’s what we were encouraged about," says OSU head coach John Markell. "I was very proud of our team, the way they competed. Everybody, to a man, competed, and that’s what you need to do to win.

"Both goaltenders played well," added Markell. Sophomore Ray Aho got the tie Saturday, while rookie Jeff Maund registered his second win in as many starts Saturday.

The results of the weekend got the attention of ESPN and USA Today. ESPN had a blurb on the team Monday morning, while the Monday edition of USA Today carried a piece with the headline, "Ohio State Making Waves in the CCHA."

All the attention is nice, but as Markell says, "Accolades are only good until your next game."

The attention would be even nicer if it were completely accurate. The Bucs are not exactly "making waves in the CCHA." Two weeks ago, Ohio State lost its only CCHA game of the season to Miami, 3-0. From this weekend on, Ohio State plays only CCHA teams for the rest of the regular season.

Western Michigan vs. Ohio State

"Western has a very big, physical team," says Markell. "We respect them. We know that they have a good team and this is CCHA action, and it’s going to be a tough game."

Western visits central Ohio after a losing two at home to Northern Michigan, 3-0 and 4-2. Western head coach Bill Wilkinson says his offense is "missing in action."

"We don’t have anybody putting the puck in the net right now. It’s killing us. We’re playing well in our own end, but we’re giving up way too many opportunities at the other end." In eight games played, no Bronco has more than three goals, and no one has more than five points total. And there are only five Broncos on the "plus" side of the plus/minus.

There are two bright spots for Western. One is defense. While the Broncos have scored just 14 goals in eight games, they’ve held their opponents to just 18 goals. That’s in overall play. In league play, the ratio is 10-17.

The second bright spot for Western is goaltender Matt Barnes. Barnes is allowing just 2.48 goals per game; his save percentage is an impressive .917.

As concerned as Wilkinson is about the offense, it’s still too early to say the problem is chronic. "We haven’t really panicked with it, but hopefully somebody can come through here as [the season] goes along."

Against Ohio State, Wilkinson says, "We’ll see a pretty good brand of goaltending. Probably another low-scoring game, if we play our style. It better be, for us. It’s hard for us to get into a run-and-gun type of game, because our guns are pretty empty."

No single player on the Buckeye squad has more than five points, either, but that’s five points in six, not eight, overall games. And the Buckeyes are spreading the scoring around. Eleven Buckeyes have at least one goal, and more than half the team has a point. Two of the Buckeyes’ potential big guns — Tyler McMillan and Brandon Lafrance — have yet to score this season, but it’s just a matter of time before they do.

Like the Broncos, the Buckeyes have a solid defense and good goaltending. The Buckeye defense isn’t as experienced as the Broncos’, but what they lack in experience, they seem to be making up in whatever it takes to get the job done.

In net for the Buckeyes is a pair of young but confident goaltenders, Ray Aho and Jeff Maund. Aho is picking up where he left off at the end of last season, with a 2.41 GAA and a save percentage of .899. Maund’s rookie record is 2-0-0, with a 2.57 GAA and a .927 save percentage.

As evenly matched as these teams are defensively, the difference may be the offense that Wilkinson continues to seek, and the confidence that Ohio State brings to this game with its best start in over a decade.

PICK: Ohio State, 4-2

Miami vs. Ohio State

Miami fended off a strong St. Lawrence team at home last weekend, narrowly escaping with four points as they beat the Saints 2-1 and 6-5.

"St. Lawrence was a very good hockey team," says ‘Hawks head coach Mark Mazzoleni. "I thought they had two excellent lines, a good young defensive core, and their goaltending was excellent.

"They were very competitive, hard-fought games. They play a very aggressive style of offense, and because of that, it forced our team to play at a very high level against a good hockey team."

This is the only game the RedHawks play this weekend, and it’s their first road game of the season. When these two teams played three weeks ago, Miami was on the winning end of a 3-0 game, the last goal of which was an empty-netter.

"I expect Ohio State to throw everything at us," says Mazzoleni. "They believe that they’re in a position to beat us. I’m expecting — and I’ll convey this message to our team — a very hard-fought hockey game."

Ohio State may have an advantage in its tiny rink, where the corners are tight and the lines of sight short. "In their smaller rink, things are going to happen very quickly," says Mazzoleni, "and we’re going to have to be very attentive to our defensive responsibilities against them."

Even though it’s been 11 games and four CCHA seasons since the Buckeyes last beat Miami, and the last loss is still fresh in the collective memory of his team, John Markell says he can’t see beyond Friday’s game with Western until after that game is over. Says Markell, "Right now — like we treated the Clarkson games — we have six periods. We have the first period against Western to worry about, then we’ll worry about Miami."

Markell does say one thing about Saturday’s game. "We’re going to definitely approach the game like we can win it."

With half of the CCHA’s top 12 scorers, the RedHawks will not easily give up their first loss of the season. Leading the league in overall scoring is defenseman Dan Boyle, with six goals and 12 assists; right behind him is Tim Leahy, with seven goals and six assists. In league play, Miami’s Adam Copeland has eight points, second-best in the CCHA, while Boyle and Leahy are next with seven points each.

Let’s not forget Miami goaltender Trevor Prior, whose league play has been astounding. In three CCHA games, Prior’s GAA is 1.05, and his save percentage is .946. And one of those three league games was against this tough, new Ohio State.

This one should be the proverbial barn-burner.

PICK: Miami 4-2

Bowling Green (2-5-1, 1-0-1 CCHA) at Notre Dame (4-2-0, 1-1-0 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Joyce Arena, South Bend, IN

Bowling Green head coach Buddy Powers says this weekend of hockey will be "two grind-them-out games. Notre Dame’s got a pretty big club and they’re feeling good about themselves. They’re playing well."

Playing well may be an understatement. Notre Dame is off to its best start in years and years, and the Irish split a series last weekend with Michigan State, beating the Spartans in Munn Ice Arena.

Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin says this winning is the rewarding result of working hard with a young team. Beating Michigan State at home is "a very small step…yet it’s a big step for the program, winning in there."

The Irish lost to the Spartans 5-1 in South Bend, then returned the favor by winning 6-1 in East Lansing the next night. Those were Notre Dame’s first CCHA games of the season.

"It was sort of weird having the four nonconference games before we played the conference games," says Poulin. "Some teams, it seems, had played five and six conference games.

"Playing good nonconference teams helped us. Playing St. Cloud and Boston College really helped us in our preparation."

Poulin is not fooled by Bowling Green’s early season record. "I put that all aside. Bowling Green is going to be Bowling Green. They’re going to be a Buddy Powers team. They’re going to play really hard. I think it will be a terrific game."

Playing particularly well for Notre Dame are sophomore Ben Simon, with a total of eight overall points, and junior Aniket Dhadphale, with seven points overall. In net for the Irish, Matt Eisler is playing solid hockey, with a GAA of 2.39 and a save percentage of .924.

Notre Dame’s on a streak, but Bowling Green finally, finally has a taste of victory. With all the guns on the ice, Bowling Green is going to look to even up those CCHA standings.

PICK: Bowling Green 3-2

Notre Dame (4-2-0, 1-1-0 CCHA) at No. 4 Michigan State (6-1-2, 4-1-1 CCHA): The Grudge Match Saturday, 7 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, MI

These two teams beat each other up last weekend, with Michigan State taking the first game in South Bend 5-1, and Notre Dame taking the second game in East Lansing 6-1.

Now the Irish and the Spartans meet in East Lansing for their last game of the regular season. "It’s kind of unusual," says Spartan head coach Ron Mason. "As a coach, you’d rather have any team in the league both terms — before and after Christmas. We’ve done this in the past, and I don’t think it’s quite right, but at this point it’s probably good that we meet each other again."

Good for Michigan State, that is, before Notre Dame really gets rolling this season. The Spartans haven’t won a game at home yet, and they’re eager to prove that they’re better than the 6-1 beating they took last weekend. But don’t tell Mason you think the Spartans are out for revenge.

"I don’t think there’s such a thing, really — revenge. Technically, what are you revenging? It’s early in the season, both teams are playing as hard as they can, and it’s just a question of who’s going to win the game."

With their loss to Notre Dame, the Spartans dropped a few points in the national polls, and received no first-place votes in the USCHO poll. But Mason says that his players don’t pay attention to the polls, and they certainly weren’t distracted by their ranking and overconfident when they met the Irish last weekend.

"We never even talked about it. In fact, ever since we beat Michigan at Michigan, our guys were losing some of their interest," says Mason. "We scored a lot of goals in the next two games. Then all of a sudden in the game here, the puck didn’t go in as easily and consequently we ended up losing.

"But I don’t think there’s any thought on anybody’s mind here about where we’re ranked, because whether you’re one or whether you’re ten, it’s going to be decided in January and February, probably."

Although the Irish are encouraged by having won in Munn last week, head coach Dave Poulin says he has no delusions of an easy victory this time around. "I’m sure they’ll come out. They always come out. It’ll be no different. It’ll be interesting."

The Irish are off to a great start on the season, the best in years, but the season is young. Poulin says, "You also know the long battle is ahead. It’s cautious optimism from our standpoint. You know how tough this league is every single night."

If the Spartans don’t make this game their first home win of the season, the Irish will prove that they have more than just luck on their side.

PICK: Michigan State 5-2

Western Michigan (2-4-2, 1-4-1 CCHA) at Bowling Green (2-5-1, 1-0-1 CCHA) Saturday, 7 p.m., Bowling Green Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH

The small city of Bowling Green, Oh., breathed a collective sigh of relief last weekend as the Falcons finally earned some CCHA points, and their first Division I win of the season. In a back-and-forth game, Bowling Green tied Ferris State 3-3, then beat the Bulldogs 3-1 in the recap. Both games were in Bowling Green.

"Three points is better than no points," says Bowling Green head coach Buddy Powers. "We played a lot more disciplined than we did against Clarkson, staying out of the penalty box. We got really good goaltending and some timely goals."

The good goaltending came from junior Mike Savard, who allowed only four goals on 58 shots for the weekend, raising his save percentage from .901 to .910.

Six different Falcons scored on the weekend. B.J. Adams and Dan Price each scored their first goals of the season, a welcome sign from an offense that has been struggling.

Powers says he expects a physical, defensive game from Western. "Western never changes — it’s always going to be a grind with Western."

These two teams met earlier in the season for nonconference play, with Western winning that game 3-0. "We had them early here," says Western head coach Bill Wilkinson, "but they were missing a lot of kids."

Indeed, every Falcon will be able to play this weekend, the first time that’s happened for this injury-plagued team since the 1995-96 season.

Wilkinson says that Bowling Green is a dangerous offensive team that likes to open an early lead. "That’s what they like to do, so we’ll have to shut them down, not give them any opportunities. BG really likes to open it up with their skating."

In spite of good goaltending and excellent defense, Western has struggled lately because of an overall lack of offense.

A healthy Bowling Green team is a scary Bowling Green team, even a full week after Halloween.

PICK: Bowling Green 5-2

Alaska-Fairbanks (1-5-1, 0-4-0 CCHA) at Lake Superior (1-4-1, 0-2-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, MI

Who could have predicted that an early season battle for the basement would take place between the Nanooks and the Lakers? Both teams have yet to win a conference game, and neither has shown much reason why, lately, it should win a conference game. Well, unless both of these games end in ties — a distinct possibility — someone has to win this weekend.

Laker head coach Scott Borek says, "It’s probably a decent time for us to play them. The nice thing for them coming in is that they’ve been playing at a very high pace in the two series that they’ve lost. Three out of the four games have been pretty close. They’re playing at a really nice pace right now. I’m sure they come in with a lot of confidence."

Alaska-Fairbanks dropped two games to Michigan at home last weekend, but the scores were respectable — 6-3 and 4-3. Jeff Trembecky leads the Nanooks in scoring with seven points, but Jim Lawrence and Sjon Wynia have four goals each.

"They’ll be a very difficult opponent," says Borek. "I think they’re very opportunistic. They’re very offensive when they get the puck. They’re not real big, so hopefully we can use our size. They’re very talented offensively."

Alaska-Fairbanks needs offensive talent, because the Nanooks are struggling defensively. In league goaltending, Chris Marvel and Ian Perkins have a combined save percent average of. And in league play, the Nanooks have been outscored 45-20 so far this season.

The Lakers are also having difficulty finding the net, having been outscored 19-9 in three league games, with a team plus/minus of -51. Lake Superior is finally finding its feet in the net, however, relying heavily on freshman Rob Galatiuk. This past weekend, in a split with Vermont — losing 2-3 Friday and winning 7-4 Saturday — Laker Shawn Greene logged his first win.

"We actually played better on Friday than we did on Saturday," says Borek. "I thought we played very well on Friday night. It was probably one of our best efforts in a long time. We just played big. We controlled the puck a lot. We possessed the puck a lot. They didn’t get very many good scoring opportunities except on their power play.

"That was the difference in the game. We took a couple of bad penalties back to back, and let them back into the game. Then they scored three on the five-minute major. Those were the only they got, but it was enough."

Borek says his upperclassmen, especially, have been frustrated with this season’s slow start, and Saturday’s win was a very welcome change of pace. "We needed it badly. I thought we were playing pretty good hockey for two weeks. We just couldn’t get over the hump; we couldn’t score. Against Vermont the second night, we got down three nothing, and it was kind of like, ‘Oh, gosh.’

"But we stayed with it and just kept playing and got a bounce, which might have been the first one of the year, and things started rolling our way. We got a short-handed goal by Joe Blaznek — it was three-on-five, and that got us going and slowed them down and got the crowd into the game."

This series could be decided on anything from special teams to whose offense decides to show up and play. Fairbanks has one of the better power plays in the league, while the Lakers have one of the better penalty-killing units. The Nanooks have three players among the top 20 scorers in the CCHA while the Lakers have none, but Laker players like Blaznek, Jason Sessa and Bryan Fuss may be on the verge of producing.

Buoyed by a win last Saturday, with both games at the Soo, the Lakers have the edge here.

PICKS: Lake Superior 5-3, 5-4

Ferris State (2-4-1, 2-3-1 CCHA) at Mankato State (3-3-1) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. CT, Civic Center, Mankato, MN

Ferris State came out on the short end of a trip to Ohio, taking only a single point from Bowling Green last weekend. Friday’s game was a back-and-forth affair that ended in a 3-3 tie, while the Bulldogs lost 3-1 on Saturday.

Assistant coach Drew Famulak says the results don’t tell the whole story of both games. "We played pretty well this weekend We played better Saturday than we did Friday. What it came down to Saturday is that they played better on the specialty teams than we did."

Bowling Green goal Saturday was shorthanded, and another was on the power play. Special teams is an area where Famulak says the Bulldogs need to improve. "They took a five-minute penalty early, and we just couldn’t get anything going. We need to get our power play on track. We’re holding teams to 25, 26 shots a night, three goals or less, but we’re not generating anything on our power play. It’s frustrating right now for our guys."

Adding to the frustration has been a shoulder injury sustained by captain Brett Colborne.

"He’s our captain, and our quarterback for our power play, so I think that’s had an effect on us as well," said Famulak. "He’s going to be out now — we’re going to sit him for about two weeks. He’s on the way to recovery."

Colborne has no goals and three assists in six games played.

Famulak says the Bulldogs — enjoying their best start in a many years — know that Mankato State will offer some very tough competition this weekend. "They’re a legitimate Division-I team, there’s no doubt about that. They’re coming off a split with Denver, so obviously, they’re pretty high about that." Mankato won the first game of that series 5-3, and dropped the second game 4-1.

To prepare for the game, Famulak says the Bulldogs are working on their power play. And, because it’s nonconference, a few Ferris State players who haven’t seen much time may be on the ice. "We’re going to give some other kids some chances to play some different roles — maybe some of the freshmen. We may look at our goaltending situation with [Jeff] Blashill and [Mike] Szkodzinski maybe getting some ice time this weekend."

So far this season, the Bulldogs have relied on rookie goaltender Vince Owen, whose .894 save percentage is considerably higher than last season’s team save percentage of .840. Owen’s GAA is 2.98.

Mankato State, gearing up to join the WCHA, could be all that Ferris State can handle this time out.

PICKS: Ferris State 4-3, Mankato State 4-3

This Week in the WCHA: November 7, 1997

By
-

Colorado College is proving itself to be a hard charger in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, having climbed all the way up to No. 2 in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll this week after a pair of victories at surprising Michigan Tech.

CC is now 3-0-1 on the season, one of only two undefeated teams left in the WCHA (along with Wisconsin, fresh off a season-opening sweep at Alaska-Anchorage). Even the Tigers’ one tie is a win of sorts, coming as it did at Maine in the J.C. Penney Classic final, which the Tigers claimed in a shootout after a scoreless overtime period.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota cling to the nation’s number-one ranking after a split at Minnesota last weekend. The Sioux lost a 6-5 decision Friday in their season opener, but came back to claim Saturday’s game by a score of 3-2. That win, North Dakota’s first at the new Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, was a come-from behind affair in which UND scored three times in the third period.

Those two teams match up this weekend in Colorado Springs to try to stake early-season control of the WCHA. A sweep by either team would propel them into a commanding position early on, while a split would just muddy the already-cloudy WCHA and national picture further.

Also this weekend, Wisconsin hosts traditional rival Minnesota. This is a rivalry which has been diluted somewhat in the last couple of years, thanks to the Badgers’ slide and the rise of St. Cloud as in-state competition for the Gophers. But Wisconsin is 2-0-0 on the young season, and looks like it may deserve its fourth-place preseason WCHA ranking, granted by league coaches.

Two struggliing programs meet in Denver Saturday and Sunday, as the Pioneers host the Seawolves of UAA. The ‘Wolves have yet to win a game (0-6-1), while DU is 2-2-0, but included in that record are a loss against upstart Mankato State, and a home defeat at the hands of Michigan Tech.

Speaking of the Huskies-s-s, they play one another this weekend — that is, the Huskies of St. Cloud head northeast to visit the Huskies of MTU for a pair. Tech got off to a fast start before cooling off somewhat against Colorado College, while SCSU — which is 2-3-1 overall and looking to overcome heavy losses from last season’s squad — split last weekend at home vs. UMD.

Finally, with the league reduced to nine teams for the 1997-98 season, the odd team out in the WCHA this week is Minnesota-Duluth, which hosts Hockey East school Providence for a couple. UMD has been up-and-down thus far, and comes into the weekend at .500 overall, and .500 in league play.

Next up — the games:

No. 1 North Dakota (1-1-0, 1-1-0 WCHA) at No. 2 Colorado College (3-0-1, 2-0-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:30-7:00 MT, AFA Cadet Ice Arena, Colorado Springs, CO

Here it is — the WCHA’s premier series of the new season, and arguably the premier series of the year, regardless of league. Number one against number two. The Rose Bowl of college hockey.

Except that the Rose Bowl comes at the end of the year, and lately it’s been more like number three against number 14. So let’s not push the analogy too far, eh?

Chatter aside, this should be an outstanding matchup. Colorado College, coming off last season’s surprising NCAA run, has had a spectacular start to the new season as well. The Tigers opened their WCHA season with a sweep of Michigan Tech, which came into the series at 3-1-1.

On Friday, the Tigers won 6-3 behind winger Darren Clark, who scored two goals to lift Colorado College to a come-from-behind 6-3 victory. Brian Swanson, Scott Swanson and Dan Peters — who was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts — each had two assists in the game, which made sure the Tigers would not be swept for an amazing 64th straight series. Freshman Colin Zulianello recorded the win, stopping 17 of 20 shots.

The next day, CC traded goals with Tech for two-plus periods until defenseman Calvin Elfring finally decided it early in the third. Clark recorded his third goal of the weekend in the first period.

But the victories came with controversy. Saturday’s game included a lot of chippy play and 27 penalties against the two teams, and afterward, Michigan Tech head coach Tim Watters accused the Tigers of "dirty" play.

CC head coach Don Lucia would have none of that. "We had to defend ourselves, because it was such a dirty game. That’s not the type of game we play — that’s not the type of game we’ve ever played," he said, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

North Dakota, for its part, should come into Colorado Springs on a high after taking last Saturday’s contest in Minnesota by a margin of 3-2. The Sioux showed last year’s form in the third period especially, as Jeff Panzer, Brad Williamson and Curtis Murphy scored goals in a span of 6:16 to swamp the Gophers.

All that aside, however, the real star of the game may have been sophomore netminder Aaron Schweitzer, who saved 28 of 30 shots in the contest.

That victory sets up the WCHA’s second clash of titans in two weeks.

"Just huge," is how Sioux head coach Dean Blais described the win, "as far as taking off pressure to go into maybe the second-toughest place for us to play, in Colorado Springs."

"They’ve got outstanding forwards in Toby Petersen and Brian Swanson," said Blais of CC’s lineup. "Those are the guys that they need to go, to carry them — and they do."

Carrying North Dakota should eventually be forwards Jason Blake and David Hoogsteen; the All-WCHA pair have yet to score a point between them. Additionally, the Sioux get WCHA preseason Rookie of the Year pick Lee Goren for the first time this weekend, as he comes off a one-year-plus layoff imposed by the NCAA for playing major junior hockey in Canada.

Picks: A sweep for either team would, as mentioned above, strike a decisive blow, even this early on in the year. To call a sweep would therefore be a pretty gutty pick. This writer isn’t that gutty. CC 4-3, UND 4-3

No. 9 Minnesota (3-3-0, 2-2-0 WCHA) at Wisconsin (2-0-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:30-7:00 CT, Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI

The Wisconsin Badgers are the WCHA’s only perfect team, even at this early date. Of course, the Badgers’ only two games thus far have been at Alaska-Anchorage, where UW swept last weekend, 4-2 and 3-1.

A two-week break after the season-opening Ice Breaker exhibition tourney didn’t hamper the Badgers’ performance at all, though UAA held its own. On Friday, a late 2-2 tie was converted into a Wisconsin victory by Niki Siren and Brad Englehart, both of whom scored late in the third to secure the win.

The next night, Dustin Kuk scored the first and third Badger goals, and sophomore center Steve Reinprecht notched the middle tally — the game-winner in a 3-1 victory — while assisting on Kuk’s pair. Reinprecht managed four points on the weekend, taking home WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors. Also on Saturday, rookie goalie Graham Melanson made his first collegiate start, totaling 23 saves to earn his first Badger win.

Minnesota has been struggling for consistency so far this season, but the Gophers didn’t find very much against the defending champs last weekend. Minnesota followed up a 6-5 win — made to look much closer than it was by two Sioux goals in the final minute — with a 3-2 loss that was decided by UND’s offense late in the game.

The Gophers led much of the contest Saturday before the Sioux turned it on; nonetheless, Minnesota head coach Doug Woog can take solace in the performance of his freshman class, which scored five of the six Gopher goals on Friday. Winger Aaron Miskovich had two of those, and earned WCHA Rookie of the Week distinction.

In nets, Steve DeBus has mirrored his team, playing alternately well and badly. His steadying influence, as an alternate captain and as the last line of defense, is desperately needed by a young Gopher team.

Picks: Wisconsin is playing very well so far, better than this writer might have given them credit for earlier on. Also, the Gophers can’t seem to get the engine running early on. Smells like another split. UW 4-1, UM 5-3

St. Cloud (2-3-1, 1-1-0 WCHA) at Michigan Tech (3-3-1, 1-3-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:30-7:00 ET, MacInnes Student Ice Arena, Houghton, MI

Michigan Tech started out the season with an impressive 3-1-1 record before running into the Colorado College buzzsaw last weekend. The Huskies dropped a pair, 6-3 and 3-2, to the nation’s second-ranked team.

Brad Mueller scored two goals in the losses, while Andre Savage notched a pair of assists to continue to lead the WCHA in overall scoring (4-10–14). In fact, five of the six top scorers in the league are Tech partisans: Savage, Bret Meyers (7-4–11), Mueller (4-4–8), Riley Nelson (3-5–8) and Mat Snesrud (0-8–8).

Despite scoring only five goals on the weekend, Tech kept alive its streak of power-play goals, having scored at least one in each of its seven games thus far this season. In fact, the Huskies are 17-for-47 (36.2 percent) with the man-advantage, and have scored 33 goals overall in those seven games.

Brother goaltending combination David and Todd Weninger produced mixed results against CC, with David giving up five goals Friday (and an empty-netter in the final minute) and Todd holding the Tigers to three the next day.

Head coach Tim Watters was unhappy with Colorado College’s style of play last weekend, but this time around he gets to worry about St. Cloud, which comes off a split at home against Minnesota-Duluth.

Scoring has been a problem for SCSU thus far, as the Huskies have only 16 goals in six games. That places added pressure on the goaltending of Brian Leitza (2-1-1, 2.33 GAA, .903 SV%), who stopped 31 of 33 shots Friday to preserve the win, 3-2. The second game of the series saw Scott Meyer in goal for St. Cloud as Duluth claimed the split, 4-3.

Josh DeWolf scored a goal and added an assist in the series, and Jason Goulet totaled two assists, but no Husky has more than five points so far, and that spells big trouble for Craig Dahl’s group. Making matters worse is St. Cloud’s difficulty on special teams, where the Huskies have scored just one goal on their own power plays (1-for-21) while giving up six to their opponents.

Perhaps, at least, history works to St. Cloud’s advantage. SCSU was 3-0-1 against Tech last season.

Picks: One team has plenty of offense, but a dearth of D. The other can stop ’em, but can’t score ’em. In the battle of the movable object against the resistable force, it looks like the WCHA’s third split of the week. MTU 5-3, SCSU 3-2

Alaska-Anchorage (0-6-1, 0-2-0 WCHA) at Denver (2-2-0, 1-1-0 WCHA) Saturday-Sunday, 7:30-7:00 MT, McNichols Arena, Denver, CO

Last Friday, the Denver Pioneers became the latest WCHA team to be victimized by the Mavericks of Mankato State, dropping a 5-3 decision in Mankato. DU held a 2-0 lead in that game — including a goal by sharpshooting Paul Comrie, just back from a bout with mononucleosis — but could not hold on.

Denver avoided the sweep the next day with a solid 4-1 victory. Anders Bjork tallied an assist and scored an empty-net goal in the final minute to seal the victory, but it was the play of Ben Henrich in nets that really stood out for the Pioneers. Henrich saved 22 shots while allowing a single Mankato goal to pilot the Pioneers to the win.

Interestingly, the Friday loss was head coach George Gwozdecky’s first nonconference defeat with the Pioneers, who are now 12-1-0 in nonconference matchups under his tutelage.

Across the ice, the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage have some serious problems of their own. The ‘Wolves have scored just 13 goals in seven games this season — including five in a single game, against Alaska-Fairbanks — and their 0-6-1 record is a school record for worst start.

The Seawolves are again minimizing penalties, with just 48 minutes in six Division I games, but they arent’ taking advantage of their opponents’ miscues. UAA has converted just two of 23 power plays.

Freshman Curt Malin is tied for the team lead in scoring, but with only four points.

On the upside, center Rob Douglas joins the fray this weekend, having completed his eligibility wait as laid out by the NCAA.

Picks: Semi-homeless Denver hasn’t looked great so far, but UAA is having terrible problems getting the puck in the net. That’s a good bet to continue this weekend. Denver 4-2, 2-0

Providence (1-2-0, 0-2-0 Hockey East) at Minnesota-Duluth (3-3-0, 2-2-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:00 CT, Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, Duluth, MN

When Northern Michigan bolted the WCHA after last season, leaving the conference with an odd number of teams, it forced the powers that be to redraw the schedule with a lot more nonconference games. The cards this week have the Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth hosting Hockey East member Providence.

The ‘Dogs should be somewhat satisfied with their results up to now, though a loss to Mankato State mars their nonconference slate. Of course, UMD isn’t exactly the only WCHA team having trouble with the Mavericks, as we’ve already seen.

Last weekend, the Bulldogs split a pair in St. Cloud, winning Saturday’s contest on winger Shawn Pogreba’s goal in the third period after nearly blowing a 3-0 second-period lead. For the series, Pogreba was 2-1–3, while Curtis Bois scored a goal and added two assists as well.

In goal, last year’s Rookie of the Year, Brant Nicklin, hasn’t had a great start (3-3-0, 3.68 GAA, .883 SV%). The ‘Dogs will require him to pick up the pace if they’re going to make some noise in the WCHA this season.

The line of Colin Anderson, Jeff Scissions and Ryan Homstol has totaled 18 points thus far (six apiece) to lead the UMD scoring.

The Bulldogs’ opposition, Providence College, lost its only game last weekend, 6-2 to national power Maine. The Friars are led up front by Mike Omicioli, Fernando Pisani and Jon Cameron. Captain Mike Mader anchors a young defensive corps, and Mark Kane is the main man in nets.

(For a better look at Providence, consult this week’s Hockey East preview.)

Picks: Providence has trouble with depth and experience, and the Bulldogs look solid right now. UMD 3-2, 4-3

Gophers Lose Clymer to Season Ending Injury

USCHO Staff Report
-

Minnesota sophomore defenseman Ben Clymer will miss the remainder of the 1997-98 season after reinjuring his shoulder Wednesday afternoon in practice. Clymer, the top collegiate player taken in the 1997 NHL draft, will be scheduled for surgery in the near future.

“Ben has an anterior instability in the shoulder which has not responded to protection from simply wearing a brace,” said Dr. Dan Buss. “The success rate of a full recovery from this type of injury [following surgery] is extraordinarily high, and I expect Ben will be able to make a full recovery.”

The combination of Clymer’s season ending injury with the late August signing of defenseman Mike Crowley by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, leaves Minnesota with only six defensemen on its current roster.

This Week in the ECAC: October 31, 1997

By Becky Blaeser & Jayson Moy
-

Last weekend, heavy interconference action was the name of the game. The two teams just beginning their seasons — Union and St. Lawrence — also suffered their first defeats of the season. Union lost in overtime, 5-4 to Providence, while St. Lawrence was walloped by Colorado College 12-3. St. Lawrence came back the next day to defeat St. Thomas, 8-6, in the consolation game of the J.C. Penney Classic.

Two other teams (Princeton and Cornell) played exhibitions, and both won, 8-3 and 4-0 respectively.

Colgate won its second decision of the season, but needed overtime to do it, defeating Army 4-3.

Both Clarkson and Rensselaer picked up their first wins of the season. Clarkson swept Bowling Green on the road, 4-3 and 6-1, while Rensselaer defeated UMass-Lowell 4-2.

Vermont continued its hunt for a first win after a close game with Boston University, where the Catamounts suffered their second defeat, 3-2.

This week, the focus continues on the interleague games, with the CCHA and Hockey East the sources of ECAC opponents.

Three ECAC teams take on CCHA members, while four Hockey East teams will tangle with ECAC squads. There will also be exhibitions involving Harvard and Yale, and Yale and Dartmouth will take on the service academies.

Vermont (0-2-0) at Lake Superior State (0-3-1) Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m., Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, MI

What has happened in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan? Well, for one thing, the Lake Superior State Lakers are 0-3-1 after losing to and tying U.P. rival Northern Michigan this past weekend.

With the departure of John Grahame, Scott Borek has relied on Rob Galatiuk in goal. Galatiuk made 22 and 33 saves in the two games against NMU.

Up front, the Lakers have depended on Jason Sessa and Terry Marchant for most of the offense, but there needs to be more of a balance in scoring.

For more on the Lakers, please click over to the CCHA Preview.

At Vermont, life is certainly different without the French Connection, as the Cats learned in their first two games. Scoring thus far has only come from two players, B.J. Kilbourne and Stephane Piche, and Kilbourne’s two goals were both on the power play.

That’s not to say that there is a lack of effort from the Catamounts. Against Boston University, the Cats outshot the Terriers 34-23, but failed to find the back of the net very often. Let’s also face it — the Cats have lost two games to two of the nation’s premier teams (both ranked in the top six).

James Tierney has been the goaltender of choice, throwing away all of the guessing and surmising that has been going on in this column, and elsewhere around Burlington. If that stays the course, Tierney should play at least one of the two games against the Lakers, while Andrew Allen may see action in the other. Then again, Tierney might be in net for both games, or neither.

PICKS: So what happens? Each team gets its first win.Lake State 4-3, Vermont 4-3

St. Lawrence (1-1-0) at No. 7 Miami (4-0-0) Friday-Saturday, 7 p.m., Goggin Ice Arena, Oxford, OH

Miami has been good — real good. Wins over Ohio State, Waterloo, and a sweep of Alaska-Fairbanks have the RedHawks on a course to repeat the success of last season.

Despite the loss of Randy Robitaille, the RedHawks are still very offensively gifted, thanks to such players as Vitali Andreev, Tim Leahy and Adam Copeland. Meanwhile don’t forget about Dan Boyle on defense, one of the most talented blueliner in the CCHA.

Adam Lord and Trevor Prior make a formidable duo in the nets for the RedHawks, though Lord was shaky, to say the least, on Saturday: he gave up three goals in the first 8:17 to the Nanooks — on only three shots — before being replaced by Prior, who pitched a shutout the rest of the way in a 6-3 Miami win. Lord should rebound, nonetheless.

For more on the Miami RedHawks, just click right over here, on the CCHA Preview.

The Saints gave up a lot of goals this past weekend — 18 of them to be exact. This might lead one to believe that goaltending could be a problem for Joe Marsh’s club.

With the departure of Clint Owen, the Saints were left with one returning goaltender with little game experience, and two freshmen goaltenders. Not a very enviable position for Saint fans.

Perhaps the Saints are hoping to outscore their opposition in shootouts, as was the case against St. Thomas. If they go that way, Paul DiFrancesco, the ECAC Player of the Week, should lead the charge. DiFrancesco tallied five goals over the weekend, and added two assists.

The road doesn’t get any easier because the Saints are playing a top-ten team once again, and Miami is one of the teams to beat in the CCHA. More than they can chew? Perhaps.

PICKS: The road-warrior Saints can’t match the ‘Hawks. Miami sweeps, 6-1 and 4-2

Ohio State (2-2-0) at No. 10 Clarkson (2-0-0) Friday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.-7 p.m., Cheel Arena, Potsdam, NY

The Buckeyes split a series with Merrimack this past weekend, coming back from Friday’s 7-2 loss to take a 5-3 decision on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the loss on Friday, OSU goaltender Ray Aho played a good game, and freshman Jeff Maund also performed well in the recap, making 32 saves in Sunday’s win.

The Buckeyes got goals from five different players on Sunday, plus two from Jason Selleke on Friday. That balance will have to be there this weekend against Clarkson as well.

For more on Ohio State, head over to the CCHA Preview.

The young shall inherit the earth, they say; but maybe it’s just Potsdam. Half of the Golden Knights’ goals this season have been scored by freshmen: Willie Mitchell has scored two and Murray Kuntz one, and the ECAC Rookie of the Week, Don Smith, has two.

Actually if one looks at it, the Knights got some balanced scoring this past weekend. Seven different Clarkson players scored, including Chris Clark, Dana Mulvihill, Carl Drakensjo, and two by Buddy Wallace. That team offense is something that head coach Mark Morris was looking for at the beginning of the season.

Another thing that Morris was seeking was consistency from goaltender Dan Murphy, who picked up wins 76 and 77 in his career last weekend, extending his school record for victories.

Discipline is another thing that Clarkson will work on this week. The Knights amassed over 100 penalty minutes last weekend, and Clarkson and Bowling Green combined for 206 total.

PICKS: Home cooking tastes just right for the Golden Knights. Clarkson sweeps, 7-2 and 5-1

Northeastern (2-0-0) at Colgate (2-1-0) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Starr Rink, Hamilton, NY Northeastern (2-0-0) at Cornell (0-0-0) Saturday, 7 p.m., Lynah Rink, Ithaca, NY

The Huskies are off to a 2-0-0 start with wins over Bowling Green and Providence. Sophomore goaltender Marc Robitaille has been the guiding force, as he shut out the Friars last Friday.

Justin Kearns, Scott Campbell and Todd Barclay lead the way up front for Northeastern; head coach Bruce Crowder seems to be on the way to reestablishing the Husky program.

For more on the Huskies, please check out the Hockey East Preview.

On the other side of the ice, Colgate needed an extra session to defeat Army, and that may have brought the Red Raiders back to earth after a great weekend at Michigan.

Dru Burgess netted a hat trick, including the overtime game-winning goal against the Cadets. Over three games in this young season, the Red Raiders have gotten scoring from a variety of different players.

The young defense of the Red Raiders is getting the job done, and it’s made life a lot easier for goaltenders Dan Brenzavich and Shep Harder.

Cornell begins its regular season looking to repeat as ECAC champions, and there is nothing right now to suggest that the Big Red won’t be there in the end again this year.

"I think we have enough returning players that we can make another run for another championship," said head coach Mike Schafer in Cornell’s season preview.

A lot of things have to come together for the three-peat, including the fact that new and returning players have to gel on a team which has experienced some turnover.

"The biggest thing is not the incoming recruits," said Schafer, "but the improvements within our team. But I like the blend of our players."

PICKS: Colgate continues its solid play, winning its home opener. Colgate 6, Northeastern 2. Next, Cornell leaves the Huskies winless in New York. Cornell 5, Northeastern 1

No. 5 New Hampshire (3-0-0) at Rensselaer (1-1-0) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Houston Fieldhouse, Troy, NY

New Hampshire can be counted on to produce fine play no matter what part of the country the Wildcats are in. Last weekend they swept a pair from Alaska-Anchorage to remained unbeaten on the young season.

The Wildcats are currently ranked fifth in the U.S. College Hockey Online Poll, and continue to make a point of proving that they are one of the best teams in the country.

For more on the Wildcats, please see the Hockey East Preview.

Over in RPI-land, the Engineers got in the win column last weekend with a 4-2 victory over UMass-Lowell in their home opener which gave head coach Dan Fridgen his 50th career win. The last time RPI won its home opener was in 1995 against McGill — the first career win for Fridgen.

The Engineers have returned to a philosophy that Fridgen teaches, something that was mentioned here last week.

"We were `dictatin’ and initiatin’,’" Fridgen said after Saturday’s game. "We were making things happen instead of waiting for things to happen, or hoping for things to happen."

Doug Battaglia, one of five seniors on the squad, scored twice in picking up where he left off last year — a year in which he tripled his goal total from the season before.

It seems that the Engineers now have two great offensive lines. In addition to the Eric Healey-Alain St. Hilaire-Matt Garver line, you can add Doug Battaglia-Steve Caley-Brad Tapper as an offensive force to be reckoned with.

"Doug and I know each other real well, and right off the bat, we wanted to ‘dictate and initiate’," said Caley about his line. "Brad added speed, and Doug went right to the net and we just clicked."

With one game under their belts, the Engineers have a lot to look forward to as the season progresses.

PICK: Talk about a great matchup; here we have two teams that will try to blow one another off the ice with offense. It’s close to a toss-up here, but with the home edge, it’s RPI. Rensselaer 4, New Hampshire 3

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

The Cadets had a good run at Colgate last week, falling in overtime 4-3. The Cadets always seem to be at their best playing teams at the Division I level, often in games they are not expected to win.

The two premier Cadets in terms of offense, Greg Buckmeier and Andy Lundbohm, have a new linemate in Jon Toftey. That trio combined for two of the three Cadet goals. Lundbohm is back earlier than expected from a wrist injury, which coaches feared would keep him out into November.

In goal, one can’t discount Daryl Chamberlain, the Army leader in career shutouts with 13, who is approaching the top levels of every goaltending category at the Academy.

Across the rink, Bob Gaudet hits the rinks in his new position — head coach of his alma mater. The former standout goaltender is itching to get on the ice, and this is his first opportunity. While the prospect is exciting, it is also very difficult.

"There’s untapped potential here," he said in Dartmouth’s season preview. "I’m real positive about these kids, but I don’t know them as hockey players."

Friday will be that time, because the Big Green hit the ice to start the season.

The Big Green brings back a group of players who collectively doubled their career point production numbers, with the leader being David Whitworth. Jon Sturgis, Ryan Chaytors, Jeremiah Buckley and Darren Wercinski will also be key contributors up front.

In the nets, Jason Wong and Eric Almon will battle it out. Who starts on Friday is still to be determined.

For information on the Engineers, see the Rensselaer-New Hampshire preview above.

PICKS: Bob Gaudet’s debut as Dartmouth head coach is successful, but only after a tight one. Dartmouth 3, Army 2. But in their next game, the Cadets can’t control the Engineers. Rensselaer 7, Army 1

Union (0-1-0) at Merrimack (1-1-0) Saturday, 7 p.m., Volpe Complex, North Andover, Mass. Union (0-1-0) at UMass-Lowell (1-1-0) Sunday, 2 p.m., Tully Forum, North Billerica, Mass.

Sandy Cohen was a force for the Warriors this past weekend — a hat trick on Friday against Ohio State, and one more goal on Sunday. Add two goals by HEA Player of the Week Casey Kesselring, and the Warriors have some snipers that have to be contended with.

Cris Classen and Tom Welby sure faced their share of shots, with Classen making 46 saves on Friday, and Welby 38 on Sunday.

The River Hawks opened the season with a 6-4 win over UMass-Amherst, then lost to Rensselaer 4-2 the following evening. The story for the ‘Hawks was Greg Koehler, last year’s Hockey East Rookie of the Year. He netted a hat trick against the Minutemen, and added a power-play goal against Rensselaer.

Martin Fillion played both evenings, making 19 saves against UMass-Amherst and 38 against the Engineers.

For more on the Warriors and River Hawks, please click right here: the Hockey East Preview.

As for the Dutchmen of Union, they lost a tight one in overtime to Providence, 5-4. Of Union’s 13 freshmen, 10 played in this game, and Dave Smith scored a goal and added an assist to make the ECAC Honor Roll this week.

The Dutchmen took leads on three separate occasions but could not hold onto them.

"It shows how important consistency is," said Union captain Charlie Moxham. "We got up on them, but you’ve got to keep playing consistent. That’s just a reflection of the level of experience that is missing."

"We did great things to get ahead," said head coach Stan Moore after the game, to the Schenectady Gazette’s Ken Schott. "But you saw an uncomfortable blend of new and returning player errors.

"But these are the things we decided we had to be aware of when the game was over. These are things we said we wanted to use as measuring sticks, and we felt we had to take learning out of it, one way or the other."

There are certainly going to be such ups and downs as the Dutchmen continue their season.

PICKS: A close one, but this time Koenig makes the difference as the Dutchmen learn. Union 3, Merrimack 2. Unfortunately, Union can’t make it two in a row. UMass-Lowell 4, Union 1

Air Force (1-0-0) at Yale (0-0-0) Saturday, 7 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, Conn.

New coach, new season, new results, right? Maybe, maybe not. That’s the situation in Colorado Springs, as the Air Force Academy has a new head coach in Frank Serratore.

A split this past weekend was a good result, right? Maybe, maybe not. That was the case this weekend, as Air Force split a pair of games against Nebraska-Omaha. The good news: the Falcons won their first game. The bad news: they lost their first game.

Dan Davies, a defenseman, scored three times this past weekend, but did not receive much help from his forwards. Meanwhile, in goal Aaron Ratfield made 38 and 28 saves in the two games.

Are things going to be different in Colorado Springs? Only time will tell.

The time may come soon with a trip to New Haven to face Yale. The Bulldogs split an exhibition pair with Brown, winning one 40-minute contest and losing the other.

"This is the best team since 1992-93 that we’ve had here," said head coach Tim Taylor. "We are returning experience and quality in all of our positions."

The team is led by defenseman Ray Giroux, a second team All-ECAC choice last year. "I feel that he’s a person who, when you look at it, is the total package. He’s a real quality college defenseman," said Taylor on Giroux. "I wouldn’t trade him for anybody.

"He’ll play a lot for me," Taylor added. "He’ll play in the 30-minute range per game, and he’ll double-shift all game long. We’ll utilize him everywhere."

Up front, the Bulldogs return plenty of scorers, but Taylor still thinks that there is one thing lacking.

"We feel we have a lot of kids with a lot of potential, but we need to get someone in the 30-40 point range," commented Taylor. "We realize that we have a long way to go on offense."

In goal the Bulldogs will go with Alex Westlund. He split time with Dan Choquette last year, but with two inexperienced backups, Westlund should shoulder the load.

"He’s gained a lot of confidence and knowledge over the last year," said Taylor. "He is going to be our number-one goaltender."

Taylor says that things are looking up, and that there is a sense of optimism in New Haven.

PICK: Yale gets the nod with the offense. Yale 7, Air Force 3

Princeton (0-0-0) at Nebraska-Omaha (1-2-0) Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m., Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Neb.

A split! Not a big cause for celebration, but for a team that is playing its first Division I games, that’s the biggest news. That team is Nebraska-Omaha, playing its first season of hockey at the Division I level.

The Mavericks split a series with Air Force, losing 4-2 on Friday night, and then coming back to defeat the Falcons 6-1 in a game postponed to Sunday.

The Mavericks went with two goaltenders this past weekend. John Mitchell made just eight saves on Friday on 12 Air Force shots in the loss. On Sunday, Rodney McLeod made 28 saves in the Mavericks’ first-ever Division I win.

Up front, the trio of Vic Sharma, Andrew Tortorella and Jesse Saarinen combined for eight points in the two games. Yes, it’s a new beginning in Omaha, but the Mavericks face a much tougher test this week in the Tigers of Princeton.

The Tigers seem to have a great package, on offense and defense. With the line of Jeff Halpern-Casson Masters-Scott Bertoli returning 83 points to lead the offense, and with an experienced defense coming back, the Tigers seem poised to repeat the great season they had last year.

One thing will be different — defenseman Dominique Auger will not be returning. The would-have-been sophomore is now playing the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and he will be sorely missed.

"That’s a void that we can’t fill right away," said head coach Don Cahoon in Princeton’s season preview. "Auger gave us a dimension that we didn’t [otherwise] have. Steve Shirreffs and Michael Acosta will be there, but I don’t know what will fill that void."

There will be three goaltenders battling for the number-one job again this season. Erasmo Saltarelli, Nick Rankin and Craig Bradley all saw time last season, and will be back to fill the same roles.

"To be honest, with goaltending you have to find a way," said Cahoon. "Whether it’s a platoon or a number-one guy. As the saying goes, you’re only as good as your goaltending."

PICKS: Too much, too soon, too little…Princeton sweeps, 7-2 and 8-3

McGill at Yale (0-0-0) Friday, 7:30 p.m., Ingalls Rink, New Haven, Conn. McGill at Harvard (0-0-0) Saturday, 7 p.m., Bright Hockey Center, Cambridge, Mass.

Harvard begins a season hoping to turn things around from last year, in which there were bright spots and there were dull spots.

The main bright spot was ECAC Rookie of the Year J.R. Prestifilippo. "(Prestifilippo) had an outstanding year," said head coach Ronn Tomassoni in Harvard’s season preview. "He’s a driven kid and he won’t rest on his past. The kid wants to win."

The rest of the defense for Harvard is also strong, led by Jeremiah McCarthy; also among seven blueliners coming back are Ben Story, Ethan Oberman and Matt Scorsune. But — there’s most always a "but," and for Harvard it’s offense.

"The biggest question mark is our offensive production," said Tomassoni. "When you don’t score it doesn’t give you a lot of leeway."

The Crimson were outscored by 21 goals last season, and were minus-13 goals in the power-play department.

"The power play needs to improve," said Tomassoni. "We need to be up around 20 percent."

For a look at Yale, please refer earlier in this preview. For a preview of McGill, I don’t know where you can refer.

PICKS: A McGill victory? Almost as plausible as Swaziland winning the World Cup. Yale 6, McGill 2 and Harvard 4, McGill 1

The ECAC regular season is upon us, and everyone gets into the act next weekend:

Friday, Nov. 7 Brown at Colgate Harvard at Cornell Clarkson at Yale St. Lawrence at Princeton Vermont at Union Dartmouth at Rensselaer

Saturday, Nov. 8 Brown at Cornell Harvard at Colgate Clarkson at Princeton St. Lawrence at Yale Vermont at Rensselaer Dartmouth at Union

Tuesday, Nov. 11 Rensselaer vs. Union (Pepsi Arena)

This Week in Hockey East: October 31, 1997

By
-

In recognition of this brilliance, readers will now have the option of calling 1-900-FAT-HEAD for a special Absolute Lock of the Week and a guaranteed Shocking Upset of the Week. Impress your date. Wow your friends. Put my kids through college.

On a more serious note, Hockey East now stands 11-3-1 in its interconference record. And there’s not a single game against a Division I Independent in the lot to pad the results. All 15 games have been against members of the other three major conferences.

The league’s Karhu Player of the Week is Merrimack’s Casey Kesselring, who scored three goals and assisted on three others in a two-game road trip to Ohio State.

Maine defenseman Adam Tate is Hockey East’s Rookie of the Week after assisting on five goals in the J.C. Penney Classic.

Last week’s record in picks: 11-2 Season’s record in picks: 21-4

No. 5 New Hampshire (3-0-0, 0-0-0 HE) at Rensselaer (1-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Friday, 7 p.m., Houston Fieldhouse, Troy, NY

New Hampshire swept its series with Alaska-Anchorage, 5-2 and 4-1.

"It’s a long way to go to play two hockey games," said UNH coach Dick Umile. "But I think we’ve improved from the Vermont [opening] game to where we’re at right now.

In all three games this year, the Wildcats have allowed double-digit shots in the first period and then tightened the screws in the second and third.

"It’s not like we’re giving up 20," said Umile. "We’re giving up 12 or 13 in the first period, but averaging something like four or five in the second and third, which is great. If we could play like that in the first period, I’d be really happy. But maybe that’s getting a little too greedy."

After opening against second-tier teams, New Hampshire now takes on two heavyweights in the form of Rensselaer and Boston College.

"It’ll be a real test," said Umile.

Rensselaer gained a measure of redemption for its opening stinkeroo against BU by defeating UMass-Lowell 4-2. The Engineers scored three times in the first and held a 4-0 lead until Lowell’s too-little-too-late comeback attempt in the third.

At least based on that one game, Rensselaer is more than a one-line team of Eric Healey, Alain St. Hilaire and Matt Garver. A makeshift second line of Doug Battaglia, Steve Caley and Brad Tapper accounted for five points in the win over Lowell, a potentially important development if the Engineers are going to be a factor on the national scene.

(For a more detailed look at Rensselaer from an ECAC perspective, check out this week’s ECAC Preview.)

PICK: UNH bests Rensselaer 5-3.

No. 5 New Hampshire (3-0-0, 0-0-0 HE) at Boston College (2-0-0, 0-0-0 HE)

Tuesday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

UNH (previewed above) travels to Boston College for this rare Tuesday night matchup, in which the Eagles will be playing in their third game in six nights. BC has opened the season with back-to-back 3-2 wins over Bowling Green and Notre Dame.

No doubt, the BC faithful would feel more comfortable if their Eagles had exploded more forcefully in the two contests against projected second-tier opponents. But a win is still a win is still a win. Even more importantly, perhaps, was the way BC pulled out the game in South Bend.

"It was a character-type win for our club because we were down 2-0 at a visiting rink with ten minutes left on the clock," said coach Jerry York. "I thought we showed a tremendous amount of character to come back from that type of deficit."

Freshman goaltender Scott Clemmensen, a big piece to the Eagle puzzle this year, returned from the walking wounded to play his first collegiate game. He stopped 24 of 26 shots and, according to York, "certainly had a very fine game."

The freshmen continued to contribute, with defensemen Marty Hughes and Bobby Allen setting up the first and second goals, respectively, and Brian Gionta scoring the game-winner with an assist from Mike Lephart.

Although Marty Reasoner only shows one point to date, his picture-perfect setup of Gionta’s goal was but the latest example of his playmaking talents. "Marty was dominant during the course of the game and certainly a key to the win," said York.

PICK: UNH prevails, 4-3.

Merrimack (1-1-0, 0-0-0 HE) at Boston College (2-0-0, 0-0-0 HE)

Friday, 7 p.m., Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

In last year’s playoffs, BC (previewed above) broke Merrimack hearts that had hoped to translate the school’s first-ever home ice into another first — a FleetCenter appearance. The revisiting of that match-up could be one of the top games this weekend.

Merrimack could muster only a split of its Ohio State road trip, falling 5-3 after taking the opener 7-2. The Buckeyes outshot the Warriors in both games, 48-32 and 43-35.

"[I’ve got] mixed emotions," said MC coach Ron Anderson to describe his reaction to the weekend. "It’s always tough to go into someone’s building and win two and, in particular, their building because it’s a little unique."

Although the Warriors fell short of the hoped-for sweep, several individual performances stood out. Most importantly, sophomore goaltender Cris Classen stepped to the plate and hit one out in the opener, stopping 46 of 48 shots.

"He played very well," said Anderson. "Time will tell, but he showed us what we hoped he’d show us down there this weekend."

Freshman Tom Welby played between the pipes in the second game.

Player of the Week Casey Kesselring scored three goals and three assists, serving notice that he could move into the Hockey East scoring elite. Sophomores Sandy Cohen, who had four goals and an assist, and Chris Halecki, who scored his first goal and added an assist, gave early signs of making major strides from last year’s respective point totals of 14 and one.

"I’ve said that there are sophomores that now have to take their games to the next level," said Anderson. "We were happy for Chris Halecki to get his first goal and for Sandy to get off to a good start.

"Sandy’s a natural goal scorer who went through the learning stage last year of what Hockey East and Division I hockey is all about. He got going this weekend, and we hope that continues for him. He’s certainly one of those guys we need to step up his game."

The Warriors begin a three-games-in-three-nights stretch on Friday, opening with BC and then proceeding to nonleague games against Union and Air Force.

"It’s a good early-season conditioning, tempo-building type of situation for us," said Anderson. "In a two-week period we’re going to play five games, four against non-league teams. That should get us right to where we’re at the top of our game by the time we come out of this weekend."

PICK: This one could go either way, but look for BC to have deja vu all over again, winning 3-2.

UMass-Lowell (1-1-0, 1-0-0 HE) at No. 6 Maine (2-1-1, 0-0-0 HE)

Friday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

Predictably, Maine defeated St. Thomas 6-1 to set up a championship game slugfest with then-No. 5 Colorado College. Holding a 5-3 lead going into the third, the injury-hampered Black Bears had to settle for a 6-6 tie and a shootout loss. After the ten-minute mark, they played without four regulars, including two of their three seniors.

"It was a game that exposed our weaknesses and, at the same time, gave me cause for encouragement," said Maine coach Shawn Walsh. "It was a contrast of an experienced team [with] a young team that was playing its freshmen in key situations, especially with our injuries.

"I was pretty pleased with how we held up, although I think Colorado College, with the team that was out on the ice, outplayed us. We were fortunate to get the [tie] because of a tremendous effort by Steven [Kariya]."

Walsh had originally projected Kariya to reach All-America status by this, his junior, year. After his freshman season, however, that appeared overly optimistic, even though he squeaked onto the league All-Rookie team.

But with five goals and six assists in four games — three of the four against top-ten teams — Kariya is making a prophet out of his coach.

"Based on what he’s done against Minnesota and Colorado College, he’s clearly established himself as one of the Hobey Baker frontrunners," said Walsh.

On the blue line, in addition to Adam Tate’s five-point Rookie of the Week performance, junior defenseman David Cullen also contributed two goals and three assists in the Colorado College game and played great defense.

"He’s been a dominant player in both ends," said Walsh. "He’s stepped it up a notch and taken care of the void left by Jeff Libby. He’s making a case for being one of the better defensemen around."

Maine hosts UMass-Lowell and then Providence, both of which split games last weekend.

"First and foremost, we’ve got to get healthy," said Walsh.

Walsh expects Jason Price and Shawn Wansborough (being fitted for a knee brace) to return this weekend. Scott Parmentier and Marcus Gustafsson could take another week before returning.

Before last week’s opener against state-school rival UMass-Amherst, Lowell coach Tim Whitehead joked about the Alumni Cup at his team’s kickoff luncheon. The Cup, awarded annually to the winner of the series between the two schools, has gone west to Amherst both years of its existence — despite Lowell’s higher position in the standings.

"I thought last year we really overachieved as a team," said Whitehead, stating facts before moving his tongue into his cheek. "We were picked to finish last; we did much better than that and got back to the Fleet.

"But [athletic director] Dana Skinner came to me and said, ‘Yeah, but what about the Alumni Cup?’ You know, basketball school vs. hockey school.’

"So this year, we don’t care where we finish in the standings, and we don’t care about getting back to the Fleet. As long as we win the Alumni Cup."

After the laughter died down, Whitehead expressed his admiration for the UMass-Amherst squad and indicated that winning the Alumni Cup would be no small feat.

That night, the River Hawks drew first blood, winning 6-4 at home.

"We played well, but we didn’t play great," said Whitehead after the game. "We’re not where we need to be yet… but it was a good step in the right direction." Greg Koehler picked up where he left off last year, netting four goals and assisting on one other on the weekend. Defenseman Mike Nicholishen again showed why he earned All-Hockey East honors last year, quarterbacking the power play flawlessly and playing solid defense in his own end.

The River Hawks then headed out the Mass Pike to Troy, N.Y., to face Rensselaer. After falling behind 4-0, they rallied in the third, but could only narrow the gap to 4-2.

It doesn’t get any easier, though, taking on Maine in Orono.

PICK: Banged up or not, Maine is just too strong, winning 5-3.

Northeastern (2-0-0, 1-0-0 HE) at Colgate (2-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC)

Friday, 7 p.m., Starr Rink, Hamilton, NY

Northeastern (2-0-0, 1-0-0 HE) at Cornell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC)

Saturday, 7 p.m., Lynah Rink, Ithaca, NY

Break up the Huskies.

After finishing in the cellar last year, they now share a piece of the Hockey East lead with a 1-0-0 record. While perhaps the results are a tad incomplete, wins over Providence (2-0) and Bowling Green (6-3 one week earlier) are still steps in the right direction.

"I don’t think it was a hockey classic, by any means," said Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder about the PC tilt. "It wasn’t a game that would keep you at the end of your seat, but we were happy to be on the right end of it."

The Huskies led Providence by only a 1-0 score until an empty-net goal with 30 seconds left sealed the W.

"It’s good for our kids to be in a close game like that," said Crowder. "It was good, given the youth that we have, not to buckle."

Shutting out the Friars also ranks as a significant step forward for a club regularly playing three freshmen, a sophomore and junior transfer David Dupont on the blue line.

"That’s huge," said Crowder. "As coaches, you take it from a different perspective sometime than the players, but at the same time, for them, any time you can get into those situations and come out successful, it’s just a vote of confidence."

Northeastern now travels to face the Colgate Red Raiders and the Cornell Big Red, both of whom will be celebrating their official home openers (although Cornell already unfurled its 1997 ECAC championship banner last week in a home exhibition game against Ryerson).

"It’s going to be a real learning experience for a young team going into those two buildings," said Crowder. "Both places will have the sea of red going.

"It’s going to be a good environment to take a young team early in the season. Hopefully, we can keep minimizing our mistakes, and it’ll be a great learning experience for us."

As for Colgate, it’s appropriate that this game be played on Halloween night. So far, the Red Raiders are the consummate trick-or-treat team. They opened the season by shocking Michigan at Yost Arena and gained an impressive split. Then, last week, they had to go into overtime to beat Army. What’s up with that?

Dru Burgess has the hot hand right now, netting a hat trick against the Cadets.

Cornell features junior Kyle Knopp (32 points) along with Ryan Moynihan (27 points as a freshman) at forward. Jeff Burgoyne ranks as one of the league’s best defensemen. But goaltender Jason Elliot is Cornell’s straw that stirs the drink. Elliot has won back-to-back ECAC Tournament MVP honors and posted stellar numbers the last two years (2.35 GAA, .923 SV% and 2.73 GAA, .909 SV%).

(For a more detailed look at Colgate and Cornell from an ECAC perspective, check out this week’s ECAC Preview.)

PICK: A tough road trip for the Huskies. They drop both, 3-2 to Colgate and 4-1 to Cornell.

UMass-Amherst (0-1-0, 0-1-0 HE) at No. 3 Boston University (2-0-0, 0-0-0 HE)

Friday, 7 p.m., Walter Brown Arena, Boston, MA

BU jumped out to a 3-0 lead against a supposedly rebuilding Vermont team, but then had to hang on for a 3-2 win.

"They weren’t tougher than I expected, but they might have been tougher than my guys expected," said BU coach Jack Parker. "We played real well in the first half of the game, got a nice lead and were in very, very good control of the game.

"Then all of a sudden we got completely out of our game, took some stupid penalties and let the crowd get to us. We lost our poise and let Vermont take it to us. We were very, very fortunate to win the game. We led 3-1 going into the third period, they got the only goal in the period and they also dominated territorially. [Goaltender] Michel Larocque stole it in the third period for us."

Given BU’s abnormally high reliance on its freshmen this year, attention continues to be focused on the rookies’ performance.

"Scott Perry played very well," said Parker. "He was probably the only freshman who really jumped out at me as playing solid throughout."

Tom Poti continued to stake his claim as potentially the top offensive defenseman in the country, scoring one goal and assisting on BU’s two others. He has three goals and two assists in two "official" games, but factoring in the exhibition-status Ice Breaker Invitational would give the sophomore five goals and four assists in four games. In total, Poti has scored or assisted on nine of BU’s 15 goals so far this year. Stunning numbers.

In their only game of the weekend, the Terriers host UMass-Amherst. Aside from a UMass 10-2 trouncing of BU in the 1919-20 season, the Terriers have owned this series, winning all 15 contests since. The Minutemen lost to state-school rival UMass-Lowell 6-4 in their only action last week. Specialty teams proved decisive as Lowell scored three goals in its 10 chances, compared to one in 10 for UMass-Amherst.

"I thought our rotation and our end-zone play was good," said coach Joe Mallen. "Our failure to clear the puck when we had possession was what killed us in the game."

But Mallen still remains optimistic. "I saw a lot of good things, especially in the third period," he said. "This was a game [in which] we lost some of the one-on-one battles, and we lost some of the loose-puck battles. Those are things I’m sure we can correct."

Despite the loss, Mallen could look to impressive performances by forwards Tim Lovell, who totaled four points, and Jeff Blanchard. Although most fans know Lovell well, Blanchard is an unrecognized face in the crowd. Blanchard’s intensity helped set up a Lovell goal.

"That was just a terrific effort," said Mallen. "To get the tar knocked out of him like he did and give us that second effort, I thought that was going to turn the game around right there.

"His improvement from the end of last year to now has just been terrific. If he keeps it up, he’s going to have a good sophomore year."

PICK: BU once again, 5-2.

Providence College (1-1-0, 0-1-0 HE) at No. 6 Maine (2-1-1, 0-0-0 HE)

Saturday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

Providence suffered a frustrating 2-0 loss to Northeastern before picking itself up with a 5-4 overtime win over Union. If not for the comeback, the Friars could have headed into road trips to Maine and Minnesota-Duluth with three losses in an exhibition and two regular-season games.

"[Northeastern goalie Marc] Robitaille played well, [Union’s Trevor] Koenig played well, and the kid from Guelph played tremendous — we put 50 shots on him," said Providence coach Paul Pooley after the win. "So we’ve faced three pretty good goaltenders in our first three games."

Pooley’s own goaltending had been a question, but Mark Kane allowed only one goal in the Northeastern tilt and freshman Boyd Ballard made two game-saving stops in the overtime against Union.

"[Ballard] was huge," said Pooley. "He made some big-time saves to give us a chance to win that game. That’s tremendous for his first game."

Forwards Mike Omicioli and Fernando Pisani were a constant force, scoring three of the five Friar goals. Although he didn’t score, Jerry Keefe looks to be a lock to improve on the 23 points he scored last year.

PICK: Maine wins 5-3.

Union (0-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at Merrimack (1-1-0, 0-0-0 HE) Saturday, 7 p.m., Volpe Center, North Andover, MA

Union (0-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at UMass-Lowell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 HE)

Sunday, 2 p.m., Tully Forum, Lowell, MA

Union dressed 10 freshmen in its 5-4 overtime loss to Providence last week. After graduating 13 seniors — "The Dirty Dozen" — last year, the Dutchmen are thin up front and often left All-American goaltender Trevor Koenig out to dry. Other than breakaways and deflections, Koenig consistently stopped the first shot, but too often had to face second and third chances.

(Merrimack and UMass-Lowell are previewed above. For a more detailed look at Union from an ECAC perspective, check out this week’s ECAC Preview.)

PICK: Union drops two, 5-2 and 4-2.

Boston College (2-0-0, 0-0-0 HE) at UMass-Amherst (0-1-0, 0-1-0 HE)

Sunday, 2 p.m., Mullins Center, Amherst, MA

(Both teams previewed above)

PICK: Here’s a focus test for the young BC team. If it looks ahead to Tuesday’s game against UNH, Tim Lovell and company will send them home with long faces. The Minutemen may jump on top, but BC prevails 4-2.

Air Force (1-1-0, 0-0-0 vs. aligned D-I) at Merrimack (1-1-0, 0-0-0 HE)

Sunday, 7 p.m., Volpe Center, North Andover, MA

Air Force will be hoping to use fatigue as a weapon in this game since Merrimack will be playing its third game in three nights. Whether it has the talent to achieve that, however, may be another story.

The Falcons return three of their top five scorers: Justin Kieffer (34 points), Nels Grafstrom (23 points) and defenseman Dan Davies (23 points). Last year’s top goaltender, Pat Kielb, graduated, leaving the netminding mantle to Aaron Ratfield, who compiled a 3.29 goals-against average and an .878 save percentage in 12 games.

Air Force opened its season with an unimpressive split with Nebraska-Omaha. The Falcons won the opener 4-2 despite being outshot 38-12, and then lost 6-1.

PICK: This game could be unsuitable viewing for young children. Merrimack 10-1.

Army (2-1-0, 0-1-0 vs. aligned D-I) at UMass-Lowell (0-0-0, 0-0-0 HE)

Wednesday, 7 p.m., Tully Forum, Lowell, MA

Army graduated all but three of its top ten scorers last year. Andy Lundbohm (46 points) and Greg Buckmeier (44) are the major returning players, but unless coach Rob Riley gets unexpectedly strong contributions from incoming freshmen and junior varsity players hoping to make the step up, the scoring looks rather thin.

Goaltender Daryl Chamberlain (2.95 career GAA, 889 career SV%) returns for a senior year in which he could rewrite the Cadet record book.

Although historically, teams have viewed the service academies as pushovers, Army took Colgate to overtime one week after the Red Raiders upended Michigan. UMass-Lowell can’t count these chickens before they’re hatched.

PICK: UMass-Lowell 5-1.

This Week in the WCHA: October 31, 1997

By
-

St. Cloud State, which dropped a pair at home to CCHA opponent Notre Dame two weekends ago, came back to earn three points against Mankato State, which had just split a pair in Duluth against the Bulldogs. Those selfsame ‘Dogs then turned around and put a whipping on big brother Minnesota Friday, before losing the recap the next day.

Meanwhile, the Gophers continue to show a split personality, having lost all three of their Friday games this season, but winning both Saturday contests. To top it all off, a Michigan Tech team consigned to the league’s second division is now leading the standings at 3-1-1 overall, including a storm-delayed split in Denver.

Confused yet? You’re not alone. Thankfully, two WCHA teams had the decency to perform to expectations last week.

On one hand, the Colorado College Tigers served notice to the whole country, obliterating St. Lawrence in the first round of the J.C. Penney Classic, then tying host Maine in the title game. CC walked away with the hardware, though, thanks to a 3-2 shootout victory.

On the other, the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves are showing the offensive malaise that characterized their 1996-97 season, and are winless in four games after a sweep by Hockey East power New Hampshire in Anchorage.

Lastly, two WCHA squads haven’t even hit the ice for an official contest yet. Those omissions are rectified this weekend, as Ice Breaker Invitational runner-up Wisconsin and defending NCAA champion North Dakota lace ’em up for their season openers.

And, speaking of which…

U.S. College Hockey Online Game of the Week No. 1 North Dakota (0-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) at No. 9 Minnesota (2-2-0, 1-1-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:35-7:05 p.m. CT, Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, MN

Look out, Minneapolis, here come the Sioux. The 1997 national champs make their debut in Gopher-land this weekend, and you can bet that both teams welcome the opportunity to renew acquaintances. Minnesota forward Wyatt Smith, asked Saturday if the Gophers would have any trouble with their focus this weekend, had a simple reply.

"I don’t think so."

If Smith is right, it’s good news for Gopher backers, who have watched their team battle inconsistency this young season. The young Minnesota squad, perhaps missing the leadership of a departed Mike Crowley, has often seemed disoriented on the ice. That was especially true Friday in Duluth, when several defensive lapses led to UMD goals, and eventually contributed to a 5-3 loss.

The Gophers picked themselves up the next night and won 5-1, as WCHA Defensive Player of the Week Steve DeBus made 25 saves to secure the victory. The win also came thanks to Smith, whose two goals Saturday made for a total of four on the weekend, and scoring totals of 15-11–26 in his last 23 games.

Afterward, Smith was clear about the object of his attention.

"I think we’ll enjoy this game tonight and tomorrow, but come Monday, we’re going to ready for the Green and White," he said. "They won the series last year; they won the big games [from] us last year. They’re the national champions, and everybody’s going to be gunning for them."

The Sioux did win the season series, by a margin of 3-2. But of those five matchups, it was the last game — the rubber match in the WCHA championship — which showed that North Dakota was no flash in the pan. The Sioux beat the Gophers in their own backyard (the St. Paul Civic Center), 4-3 in overtime to claim the WCHA tourney title.

You all know where the rest of the story goes — to Milwaukee, where UND hoisted the trophy after a convincing run through the best teams in college hockey.

"The big thing is to avoid complacency," head coach Dean Blais said in September. "And I think we’ve done that."

Complacent or not, there’s good reason to expect some more of the same this year from North Dakota. In fact, there are several good reasons, named Blake, Hoogsteen, Murphy, Schweitzer…

That is to say, the Sioux have most of their firepower back from last season, including MVP candidates Jason Blake and David Hoogsteen, who totaled 105 points in 1996-97. Meanwhile, Curtis Murphy, the top-scoring returning blueliner in the conference, added 42 points. Those three were all first-team WCHA selections at the end of last year.

Making matters worse for the rest of the conference, sophomore goaltender Aaron Schweitzer came virtually out of nowhere last season to establish himself among the league’s elite. Schweitzer replaced senior Toby Kvalevog as the number-one netminder halfway through the year, and came through with a 2.31 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage, both WCHA highs.

Picks: The Sioux have two things working against them. The first is rust — UND has played only one game this season, an exhibition victory over Manitoba nearly two weeks ago. The second is the new Mariucci Arena, where the Sioux have yet to win in eight games (0-6-2). Those two factors keep them down in game one, but the North Dakota of last season shows through on Saturday. Minnesota 4-2, North Dakota 3-1

Minnesota-Duluth (2-2-0, 1-1-0 WCHA) at St. Cloud (1-2-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN

This series is the story of two teams struggling to gain (or retain) respect in the WCHA. The Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs come off a solid performance last weekend against Minnesota, winning the Friday game 5-3 before dropping Saturday’s decision, 5-1.

Freshman right wing Ryan Homstol was the offensive star for the ‘Dogs, totaling three goals on the weekend. But the key to the UMD offense may be junior winger Curtis Bois, who scored the game-winning goal Friday night. Bois now has seven game-winners out of a total of 14 goals in his Duluth career, and the Bulldogs are 12-0-1 when he scores a goal. Propitious numbers, indeed.

At the same time, UMD fans may only have to watch the first 40 minutes of the game to know the outcome. That’s because the Bulldogs are 16-0-2 in the last 18 games they have led after two periods, while they are 0-26-1 when trailing after two.

For its part, St. Cloud is coming off a successful series against the Mavericks of Mankato State, winning 4-1 Friday and carrying a 2-1 lead late into the third period Saturday before settling for a 2-2 tie.

St. Cloud lost a passel of talent during the offseason, led by the underclass defections of Matt Cullen and Mark Parrish and the graduation of Dave Paradise. Consequently, the Huskies come into the 1997-98 season as a middle-of-the-pack team — at least in the eyes of WCHA coaches and one U.S. College Hockey Online staffer.

SCSU dropped a pair against Notre Dame two weeks ago before the three-point weekend vs. Mankato. In fact, the Huskies have outshot their opponents in each of their four games this season, but sport just a 1-2-1 record for their efforts.

That calls into question the Huskies’ defense and goaltending, which is anchored by Brian Leitza, St. Cloud’s new all-time leader (40) in career wins. Leitza hasn’t played badly so far, but he may have to step it up a notch if SCSU is going to make a dent in the WCHA standings.

Picks: The all-time series between these teams is tied, 19-19-5, and there’s not much to separate them now, either. St. Cloud has the home ice, but also a sputtering power play (0-for-11 this season) and a dearth of scoring (10 goals in four games). St. Cloud 4-3, UMD 4-2

Wisconsin (0-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (0-3-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. AT, Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, AK

The Badgers make the lengthy trek to Anchorage for their season opener, where they will face the only team in the WCHA to have played but not won this season.

The Seawolves are 0-3-1 thus far, having lost and tied in-state rival Alaska-Fairbanks, and having lost two to a visiting New Hampshire club. UAA’s difficulties with scoring (a league-low 75 goals in WCHA play last season) have followed it into 1997-98, in which they have just eight goals in four games.

The problem isn’t with shooting, per se. Anchorage has 105 shots on goal in those four contests, versus 111 for its opponents. Obviously, though, the ‘Wolves are still having some trouble reaching the back of the net, and that’s adding up to trouble again this season.

A bright spot for Alaska-Anchorage has been the play of its freshman class. Led by forward Curt Malin’s four points, the rookies at UAA have accounted for precisely half of the Seawolves’ production this year, including four of the eight UAA goals.

Wisconsin, in the meantime, has been off for nearly three weeks since taking the runner-up position at the season-opening Ice Breaker Invitational in Madison. That tournament was only an exhibition, but the Badgers performed very well, shutting down Clarkson before dropping a one-goal decision to Michigan State in the final.

The Badgers are also welcoming back captain Erik Raygor, who missed virtually all of the 1996-97 season with injuries, and Brad Englehart, who is coming back from offseason shoulder surgery. Mike Valley is now the main man in nets for UW, replacing second-team All-WCHA goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck.

Picks: The Badgers looked very good indeed at the Ice Breaker, but a 2,000-mile trip can take the starch out of anyone, or any team. A side note: three of the four games last year between these teams went to overtime. UAA 3-2, Wisconsin 4-1

No. 4 Colorado College (1-0-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) at Michigan Tech (3-1-1, 1-1-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:35-7:05 p.m. ET, MacInnes Student Ice Arena, Houghton, MI

Someone tell the Michigan Tech Huskies that they’re not supposed to be doing this. MTU split an unusual series in Denver last weekend, meaning that the Huskies, selected eighth in the WCHA coaches’ preseason poll, currently stand atop the conference standings.

And when we call the series "unusual," we mean it. First off, the games were played on Sunday and Monday, the result of a fearsome blizzard that raked the Rocky Mountains over the weekend.

Secondly, there was Sunday’s game. Having waited an extra day to get on the ice, both Michigan Tech and Denver did their best to make the contest a memorable one. A peek at the boxscore shows that they succeeded.

Here’s a quick review: at 18:26 of the third period, MTU’s Bret Meyers scored on the power play to break a 2-2 tie. Denver pulled goaltender Stephen Wagner, and A.J. Aitken appeared to seal the win for the Huskies with an empty-netter at 19:01. Then the near-unthinkable occurred — consecutive six-on-five goals by the Pioneers’ Gavin Morgan and James Patterson to retie the score at four with 18 seconds left.

That’s two goals in a span of 27 seconds to force an astonishing overtime. There, WCHA Offensive Player of the Week Andre Savage showed no sense of aesthetics, ending the Denver rally with the game-winner just 27 seconds into the extra frame.

"I was happy to get the win in the first game. I felt we played very well for most of the game," said head coach Tim Watters. MTU would lose the Monday rematch, however.

Savage ended 2-3–5 on the weekend, and now has 4-8–12 on the brief season. But he has plenty of teammates to keep him company atop the WCHA scoreboard, as the top four point-getters in the conference are all currently Tech players: Savage, Meyers (6-4–10), Riley Nelson (2-5–7) and Mat Snesrud (0-7–7).

Next up for MTU is Colorado College, and Watters understands what he’s getting into.

"I don’t think it’s any secret that Colorado College is an excellent hockey team," he said. "[CC] went out and won the tournament at Maine, and that’s quite an accomplishment."

Indeed, if there were any doubt about Colorado College’s lofty national ranking, the Tigers have likely put it to rest. CC stormed past St. Lawrence 12-3 before "beating" Maine in a shootout to win the J.C. Penney Classic tournament title last weekend. The CC-Maine game officially ended in a 6-6 overtime tie, necessitating the tiebreaker to decide a tourney champion.

"I wasn’t concerned with winning the shootout," Tiger head coach Don Lucia said afterward. "It was a really great experience for us to come out here and play. Hopefully, it will make our team better."

Every single one of CC’s 18 skaters tallied a point in Friday’s drubbing, the Tigers’ greatest offensive output in some four seasons. Among the scoring was junior center Brian Swanson’s first collegiate hat trick — which is surprising only in that the Tiger star hadn’t done it before now.

Three Colorado College players — Swanson, senior winger Jason Gudmundson and senior defenseman Calvin Elfring — were named to the Penney all-tournament team. Gudmundson (3-3–6) leads the Tigers in scoring, with sophomore winger K.J. Voorhees (3-2–5) right behind.

In nets, Jason Cugnet played the first two periods Saturday, but was replaced by freshman Colin Zulianello after giving up five goals on 17 shots. Zulianello held Maine to one goal in the third period, allowing the Tigers to battle back for the tie.

Picks: The Tigers look primed and ready, and even though Tech has enjoyed an impressive start, CC’s got too much talent. CC 5-3, 3-2

Denver (1-1-0, 1-1-0 WCHA) at Mankato State (2-2-1) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, Mankato Civic Center, Mankato, MN

The Denver Pioneers are coming off a slightly-disappointing weekend, losing their season opener to Michigan Tech, 5-4 (in wild fashion — see the MTU-CC preview above), before coming back to claim the second game of the series, 5-2.

The defeat in the first game means that Denver has now lost five straight season openers. However, as the Pioneers’ fourth-place finish and NCAA tournament berth last season show, that’s hardly a fatal flaw in a team. (It was, though. sophomore netminder Stephen Wagner’s first-ever defeat in Denver.)

What could have proved fatal was a lengthy absence by leading scorer Paul Comrie, who was recently diagnosed with mononucleosis and originally expected to miss three to six weeks of play. However, defying the predictions of modern medicine, Comrie is now expected to be in uniform against Mankato this weekend.

A pair of freshman forwards lead Denver in scoring. Derek Robertson (2-2–4) netted two goals Monday, while Bjorn Engstrom tallied 1-2–3 in the opener.

The Pioneers’ opponents — for the first time every — are the Mankato State Mavericks. The Mavericks are sort-of WCHA members this season, playing a primarily-WCHA schedule, and will participate in the conference playoffs at the end of the year.

Mankato is led offensively by Tyler Deis, who scored 30 goals last season for Mankato in a partially-Division I schedule. Deis and his linemates, Aaron Fox and Ryan Schrick, have scored 12 points in Mankato’s last four games, all against WCHA competition (Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud). Jason Krug, with 73 career points, anchors the blue line.

In nets for the Mavericks are senior Des Christopher, who stopped 25 shots in a 4-1 loss to SCSU Friday, and sophomore Brian Nelson, who made 35 saves in a 2-2 tie the next day.

Picks: Mankato is at home for the first time against a WCHA opponent. Denver is hurting, though the return of Comrie should help. Mankato 4-3, Denver 5-2

Next Week in the WCHA:

Friday, Nov. 7 North Dakota at Colorado College St. Cloud at Michigan Tech Minnesota at Wisconsin Providence at Minnesota-Duluth

Saturday, Nov. 8 North Dakota at Colorado College St. Cloud at Michigan Tech Minnesota at Wisconsin Providence at Minnesota-Duluth Alaska-Anchorage at Denver

Sunday, Nov. 9 Alaska-Anchorage at Denver

This Week in the CCHA: October 31, 1997

By
-

Are you scared yet?

As the CCHA enters its third week of play, spooky things are happening all over the league. Ferris State split a series with Western Michigan. Notre Dame lost yet another game by one goal. Michigan State beat Michigan in Yost, for the first time since the 1993-94 season.

And for those of you keeping track, that’s two Michigan losses at home. Scary stuff indeed.

Number-two Michigan State welcomes Notre Dame to league play this week with a home-home series. The Spartans must be high after beating the Wolverines 4-2 in Yost, then putting the upstart Ferris State Bulldogs in their place with a 6-1 victory on Tuesday night in Grand Rapids. Notre Dame let one get away to Boston College, 3-2 at home last Friday night.

The No. 7 Miami RedHawks flexed their considerable collective muscles by sweeping Alaska-Fairbanks at home last weekend, outscoring the Nanooks 17-6 in the two games. This week Miami welcomes St. Lawrence for a little interconference action.

How lucky can a team be? After dropping those two games to the seventh-ranked team in the country, Alaska-Fairbanks gets to host No. 8 Michigan. The Wolverines will be looking forward to the opportunity to prove their worth after the home loss to Michigan State.

The surprising Ferris State Bulldogs, inspired by rookie goaltender Vince Owen’s play, split a weekend series with Western but dropped the weekday game to the Spartans. This week the Bulldogs travel to Bowling Green to test themselves south of the border. Bowling Green lost twice to No. 10 Clarkson last weekend, letting the Friday night game slip away 4-3, then committing a comedy of errors along the way toward a 6-1 Saturday loss.

Western Michigan and Northern Michigan face off this weekend in an in-state matchup that could become an important and intense CCHA rivalry. While Western split last weekend, the Wildcats took three points away from Lake Superior at home, tying the Lakers 2-2 Friday, and beating them 5-3 Saturday.

In two more nonconference series, the Lakers host Vermont for two, while Ohio State travels to Clarkson for two games in upstate New York (and you thought only Michigan was the only hockey state with an "up-" something). OSU split its weekend with Merrimack, losing 7-2 Friday and rebounding for the 5-3 win Sunday.

Will CCHA fans be treated to more tricky play this weekend, or will the center finally hold? Who said Halloween was kid stuff, anyway?

Last week’s record in picks: 8-5 Overall record in picks: 14-13

Note: if another team ties this weekend, this reporter is going to give up picking altogether.

Northern Michigan (2-1-2, 1-0-1 CCHA) at Western Michigan (2-2-2, 1-2-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Lawson Ice Arena, Kalamazoo, MI

The surprising Northern Michigan Wildcats are probably more so because fans and coaches in the CCHA know so little about them. "I haven’t seen them," says Western head coach Bill Wilkinson. "Any time you get a new team in your league, they’re going to be a pretty formidable opponent."

Why is that, you ask? The early-season attitude around the CCHA is that Northern Michigan — a team that was struggling for some credibility in the WCHA last season — has renewed vigor just because it’s playing in a new conference.

"The positive of switching leagues right now is the newness that it brings," said Northern head coach Rick Comley at the beginning of the season.

After that, there’s little else to say about why the Wildcats are doing well against their new opponents, since there’s so little recent history. And after having said that, let’s talk about how the Wildcats might do against Western.

"I really don’t know," says Comley.

Helpful, very helpful. All the way around.

"I know that Bill [Wilkinson] is very confident with that team, and he thinks he can win a league championship with that team," says Comley. "For whatever reason, they’ve gotten off to a little bit slower start than they thought they would, so I don’t know what to expect."

Wilkinson has an answer for that one. "We’re playing pretty well defensively. We’re looking for offense. We’re not going to beat people 7-2. We have to stay very smart and disciplined."

Wilkinson says that there are many offensive players who have yet to distinguish themselves by scoring this season. "I expect them to contribute; you expect at least one goal from each line on a weekend and we’re not getting that."

Of the 11 goals Western has scored this season, just three have been five-on-five. Wilkinson says that this is a trend that needs to be reversed. But don’t ask him where the offense is going to come from.

"I don’t know," he says. "You tell me." Only four Broncos have scored more than one point, and two key players who can usually be counted on to score, Joe Corvo and Frank Novock, have yet to score a goal.

Comley was happy with what he saw from his Wildcats last weekend. "It was good, hard-fought hockey," he says. "It was a good effort."

Comley says he was especially encouraged "from the standpoint that it was not our best line." The Wildcats have been a bit beat up at the start of the season. Both J.P Vigier and Roger Trudeau, double-digit scorers for the ‘Cats last season, have been hampered by injury.

Comley has been readying his team to face one of the CCHA’s toughest defensive cores. "If Lake is any indication, the CCHA is going to be a physically tougher and more defensive division than the WCHA."

It’s good that Comley and his ‘Cats are prepared for a physical series, because that’s likely what they’ll get.

PICKS: Western 4-3, 4-2

Ferris State (2-3-0, 2-2-0 CCHA) at Bowling Green (1-5-0, 0-0-0) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Bowling Green Ice Arena, Bowling Green, OH

This is the first weekend of CCHA play for Bowling Green, looking for its first win over a Division I team. But don’t think BG head coach Buddy Powers is pessimistic. Frustrated, maybe, but not pessimistic. "We just gave Clarkson a couple of easy goals on Friday night," says Powers. "It was a one-goal game in the third period, and we couldn’t take advantage of opportunities to score.

"We thought the Friday night game was a game that could have gone either way. When you’re in that tight a game and you have chances, you have to score."

Bowling Green dropped two games to tenth-ranked Clarkson at home last weekend — a close 4-3 loss Friday, and a 6-1 loss Saturday. If Bowling Green just "gave Clarkson a couple of easy goals" in the Friday loss, what happened Saturday?

"We lost our cool," says Powers. Indeed, the Falcons, feeling frustrated, gave Clarkson almost 10 minutes of five-on-three hockey in the second period of Saturday’s game. Clarkson repaid the gift with three goals in two minutes. "By the time the dust settled," Powers says, "it went from 2-1 to 5-1."

At one point there were five Falcons in the penalty box. Keeping company were (in order of the time at which the penalties were assessed) Dave Faulkner, Brad Holzinger, Zach Ham, Doug Schueller and Louis Mass, for hooking, hooking, slashing, charging and roughing respectively.

That’s three forwards and two defensemen. And some of Bowling Green’s best penalty-killers.

"It ended up another game of learning for the young players and the vets," says Powers. "If we learn from it, that will be the positive. The other side of it is it’s a lesson in self-control that you have to learn. You’ve got to play your way through [frustration]."

Bowling Green is a young team, with more than a dozen freshmen and sophomores, so Powers can chalk some of this up to inexperience. "Our team has to grow up, and quickly. If it’s one guy, you can always sit one guy, but if it’s a bunch of guys…"

The youth of this club has allowed — or maybe required — Powers to work different players into different lines, in an attempt to find the combinations that work best. "We did a lot of experimenting in the first six games putting players in different situations. We’ve got to put our best lines out there Friday night against Ferris State.

"They’re a team that’s feeling real good right now."

There can be no doubt about that. In spite of a 6-1 loss to the number-two team in the country Tuesday night, the Ferris State Bulldogs are having their best start in years.

Ferris assistant coach Drew Famulak says that this success has been planned for a long time. "We’ve got nine junior forwards in the line up, and for two years we were paying our dues with them. The only way to get them experience is to play them."

Famulak says that this junior class has been the one Ferris has been banking on since it was recruited, and now, along with a little help in the net, the dividends are paying off. "Vince Owen has stepped in and played our first three CCHA games," says Famulak, answering (for now) one of the big Ferris State preseason questions: what about goaltender?

The rookie Owen has a .876 save percentage, which may not look terrific to most people, but it’s a whole heck of a lot better than Ferris State’s team SV% of .840 last season.

In addition, Ferris is spreading the scoring around. Nine Bulldogs have more than one point, and the points are coming from both offensive and defensive players, and from each class.

Bowling Green may have the home-ice advantage, but Ferris State has a confidence it hasn’t felt in years.

PICKS: Ferris State 4-2, Bowling Green 4-3

No. 2 Michigan State (5-0-2, 3-0-1 CCHA) at Notre Dame (3-1-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) Friday, 7 p.m., Joyce Arena, South Bend, IN Notre Dame at Michigan State Saturday, 8:15 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, MI

What a way to begin CCHA play. The Irish meet the Spartans for the first time this season, and in Notre Dame’s first CCHA games.

It’s early in the season, and Notre Dame has jumped out to a good start. But the Irish faced their first test last week when a resurgent Boston College came to town, and perhaps the Irish learned that they have a few things to work out.

It was shades of last season when Notre Dame went into the third period with a 1-0 lead and left the game with a one-goal loss. Sophomore center Ben Simon put the Irish ahead 2-0 in the third, but BC scored three goals within five minutes to take the game away,

winning by a final score of 3-2. The Irish could not convert on their last six power-play opportunities.

Notre Dame head coach, Dave Poulin, says that this one-goal loss does not echo last season’s one-goal games. "Last year, we had a lot of one-goal losses, but this one does not compare. Boston College is the favorite in Hockey East this year and we stuck in there with them the whole game."

Poulin was pleased with what he saw from goaltender Matt Eisler. The Irish were outshot 36- 27.

Michigan State, on the other hand, is on a tear. State leads the series with Notre Dame 39-27-4, and it would be an upset indeed if any numbers but those in the first column change this weekend.

The Spartans held the Wolverines to just 20 shots in their 4-2 win over Michigan on Saturday, but they were actually outshot by one in that game, with just 19 of their own. In their 6-1 win over Ferris Tuesday, the Spartans held Ferris State to just 23 shots on goal, but again were outshot by one, with 22 themselves.

It doesn’t seem to matter how many shots the Spartans generate. The Michigan State defense is keeping opponents to just 1.5 goals per game. Senior goaltender Chad Alban’s save percentage is hovering at .924.

Just for good measure, the Spartans are expecting to sell out Saturday’s game, the 200th consecutive regular-season sellout at Munn Ice Arena, where the Notre Dame hasn’t won in 10 visits. Dave Poulin had an assist in the last Irish victory at Munn: Feb. 14, 1981.

By the way, Michigan State has a 5-2 record all-time on Halloween, including two victories over Notre Dame. ‘Tis the weekend for superstitions, but the Spartans shouldn’t need magic to win twice.

PICKS: Michigan State 4-2, 3-0

No. 8 Michigan (3-2-0, 0-1-0 CCHA) at Alaska-Fairbanks (1-3-1, 0-2-0) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. AT, Carlson Center, Fairbanks, AK

The last time these two teams met, Michigan came out ahead by 18 goals on the weekend. "They were an experienced team," says UAF head coach Dave Laurion of the Wolverines. "We were a young team in our first playoff, our first taste of playoff hockey. It was unfortunate that we had to go to a hornet’s nest, because we did."

Even though the most recent memories of the Wolverines are unpleasant for the Nanooks, Laurion is determined to change things when Michigan travels north for this weekend series. "We played them tough in Fairbanks [last season]," says Laurion. "They beat us 6-4 and 5-3, and we gave up two goals while we were on the power play each night, and not playing our best hockey last year. They’re a team we’ve never beaten. We’re 0-12 against them, it’s time to get one.

"The only three games [in which] we got waxed last year were the three in Michigan. All the other games, we were right in it."

Alaska-Fairbanks got waxed last Friday in Oxford, when the RedHawks beat them 11-3. However, the Nanooks did not roll over on Saturday, challenging the RedHawks in game two of the weekend and forcing Miami to come from behind for the 6-3 win.

Michigan’s only game of last weekend — and its first official CCHA game of the season — was a 4-2 loss to Michigan State. Michigan coaches couldn’t be reached for comment for this preview.

Don’t expect this allegedly-diminished Wolverine team to roll over. Michigan doesn’t like to lose, and the Wolverines tend to avenge losses by beating up on their next opponents. In fact, if you are a Fairbanks fan, you should be afraid — be very afraid.

PICKS: Michigan 5-2, 5-2

St. Lawrence (1-1-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at No. 7 Miami (4-0-0, 3-0-0 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Goggin Ice Arena, Oxford, OH

Miami comes off a weekend of trouncing Alaska-Fairbanks 11-3 one night, then having to battle back to win 6-3 the next. The difference in the second game was Trevor Prior.

In a game that was 2-1 after just two minutes of play, Prior was brought in to relieve Adam Lord, who was making his first start in net this season. Lord allowed three goals in the first half of the first period, and after Prior was brought in, the RedHawks looked like a different, more confident team.

Half a dozen Miami players top the CCHA overall scoring stats, but that may be because of the big game against UAF. Miami is outscoring its CCHA opponents 20-6, led by senior forward Adam Copeland’s eight points and senior defenseman Dan Boyle’s five goals. Incidentally, Boyle was last week’s CCHA Offensive Player of the Week.

Also, keep an eye on freshman Alex Kim, who has "Rookie of the Year" stamped all over him. Meanwhile, missing Friday’s game will be senior forward Tim Leahy, who received a game misconduct last Saturday.

St. Lawrence comes to Miami with a win and a loss from last weekend, a weekend in which the Saints were outscored 18 to 11. The Saints lost to Colorado College in the first game of the J.C. Penney Classic, 12-3, and beat St. Thomas 8-6 in the consolation game. That’s little consolation if you’re a St. Lawrence fan.

For more on St. Lawrence, read Jayson Moy’s ECAC preview.

PICKS: Miami 6-2, 6-2

Ohio State (2-2-0, 0-1-0 CCHA) at No. 10 Clarkson (2-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Cheel Arena, Potsdam, NY

In an apparent central Ohio-upstate New York exchange of teams, the Buckeye travel to Potsdam to meet Clarkson this weekend. Last weekend, the Buckeyes split with Merrimack, losing 7-2 Friday and winning 5-3 Sunday.

Those were both games the Buckeyes should have won, and head coach John Markell knows it. After the Friday game he said, "There were so many bad players out there tonight that it’s not fair to single anyone out. It was a very, very, very bad game. They embarrassed themselves."

One bright spot on the weekend was the way in which the Buckeyes bounced back Sunday, even while starting rookie goaltender Jason Maund. Another bright spot is the number of offensive chances the Buckeyes generated. OSU outshot Merrimack 91-67 on the weekend. Now Ohio State has to work on scoring on some of those shots, and the Buckeyes need to convert on the power play.

Ohio State’s first line was shaken up a bit last weekend, when Brian Morrison had to sit out Sunday’s game because of a minor shoulder injury. Markell played freshman Jean-Francois Dufour in his place, on a line with sophomores Hugo Boisvert and Eric Meloche. Markell must have liked what he saw from the all-Quebec line, since Dufour will remain there this weekend.

Just as the Buckeyes are counting on youth to carry them to success this season, the Golden Knights have been looking for rookies to score. So far this season, half of Clarkson’s 10 non-exhibition goals this season have been scored by freshmen. In last weekend’s 4-3 and 6-1 wins in Bowling Green, Willie Mitchell and ECAC Rookie of the Week Don Smith had two goals each, and Murray Kuntz had a goal as well.

For more on Clarkson, read Jayson Moy’s ECAC preview.

Ohio State played Clarkson close early last year when the Golden Knights came to Columbus, and it’s tempting to pick Ohio State for an upset in at least one of these games. What the hell — and we can say that, since it’s Halloween. Scarier things have happened.

PICKS: Ohio State 4-3, Clarkson 4-2

Vermont (0-2-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) at Lake Superior (0-3-1, 0-2-1 CCHA) Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., Taffy Abel Arena, Sault Ste. Marie, MI

Two teams looking for a win.

Vermont begins its season without the "French Connection" of seasons past, and only two players — B.J. Kilbourne and Stephane Piche — have scored for the Cats in their first two games this season. However, Vermont outshot Boston University 34-23 when the Catamounts and the Terriers met, and Vermont has lost to two good teams.

Laker fans will see James Tierney and maybe Andrew Allen in net for Vermont. For more on Vermont, read Jayson Moy’s ECAC preview.

For their part, the Lakers are also trying to regroup from a different kind of one-two punch — the losses of John Grahame in goal and Bates Battaglia on offense. Retooling is still something Lake Superior needs to do.

The Lakers took just one point from Northern Michigan last weekend, tying 2-2 Friday and losing 5-3 Saturday. Lake Superior head coach Scott Borek says that his team is progressing. "I was very pleased with the way we played this weekend. I thought we moved a lot closer to playing our kind of hockey this weekend."

Borek says that some of his veterans are a little frustrated by the Lakers’ slow start. "We haven’t scored yet in the first period. Some of our older guys are trying to do it all for us."

The players are not the only ones frustrated. Where hockey is the only sport, fans are not happy with the beginning of this Laker season. "I’m trying to keep the heat off our players from the community and the school," says Borek, "so that the guys can grow at their own pace."

Borek says that Vermont is "an extremely hungry team, probably going through the exact same growing pains as we are. Their goalie is trying to take over for a great goalie, our guy is trying to take over for a great goalie. They’re trying to make up for offensive losses, we’re trying to get some offense back."

Borek says that he’s relying on rookie goaltender Rob Galatiuk as the starter.

PICKS: Vermont 3-2, Lake Superior 4-2.

Pickin’ ‘Em Green

By
-

There’s a nip in the air and some hot apple cider on the stove. Unraked leaves cover the lawn. The Red Sox have missed another World Series. It’s time to select a preseason all-rookie team.

Although half the teams have played a real game or two, these picks were made before the first “W” or “L” went into the standings. Honest. If not, may a Zamboni run over my PC and my son trade our Paul Kariya rookie card for a nose ring.

Before we get started, though — blow on that hot cider, it’s steaming — let’s take a look at how we did last year.

Last Year’s Hockey East All-Rookie Team

Forward: Cory Larose, Maine
Forward: Greg Koehler, UMass-Lowell
Forward: Mike Souza, New Hampshire
Defense: Tom Poti, Boston University
Defense: Mike Mottau, Boston College
Goaltender: Sean Matile, New Hampshire

Last Year’s USCHO Preseason All-Hockey East Rookie Team

(in order of first team through third)
Forward: Jeff Farkas, Boston College
Forward: Dan Lacouture, Boston University
Forward: Fernando Pisani, Providence
Forward: Sandy Cohen, Merrimack
Forward: Chris Heron, Boston University
Forward: Mario Leblanc, UMass-Lowell
Forward: Billy Newson, Northeastern
Forward: Cory LaRose, Maine
Forward: Greg Koehler, UMass-Lowell
Defense: Tom Poti, Boston University
Defense: Mike Mottau, Boston College
Defense: Jayme Filipowicz, New Hampshire
Defense: Andrew Fox, Merrimack
Defense: Josh MacNevin, Providence College
Defense: Dan Enders, New Hampshire
Goaltender: Alfie Michaud, Maine
Goaltender: Sean Matile, New Hampshire
Goaltender: Marc Robitaille, Northeastern

All in all, not too shabby. Picking three lines certainly stacked the deck in our favor, though we missed Souza (not to mention Blake Bellefeuille) and picked some third-liners that should have instead topped our list. Still, given the Russian-roulette nature of assembling this team, we at least didn’t humiliate ourselves.

So who is it going to be this year? Without further ado…

GOALTENDERS

Our third-string netminder is Merrimack’s Tom Welby. The primary criteria for freshmen goalies to excel is opportunity, and right now, there’s that in spades for this stand-up style, 5-8, 165-pounder, who last year played for the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Sophomore Cris Classen has the inside track, but it’s still anyone’s race.

“We saw pretty much what we thought we were going to see out of [our goalies],” said coach Ron Anderson after an exhibition game in which they saw few shots. “That being the case, we’re still not settled on who we think are our best [goaltenders] or who we’re going to play.”

For a rookie netminder, that is spelled O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-T-Y.

BC’s Scott Clemmensen broke his foot catching a football in a preseason conditioning drill, but is still our choice as the number-two guy. Unlike the diminutive Welby, Clemmensen stands at 6-2, 185 pounds. He starred for the Des Moines Buccaneers in the United States Hockey League (USHL) last year, posting a 3.26 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage, a performance which earned him a berth on the USHL All-Star team.

Providence College’s Boyd Ballard takes our top spot between the pipes. Like Welby, Ballard hails from the Saskatchewan JHL, where, to steal a line from Northeastern coach Bruce Crowder, “when the cable goes out, you watch the Northern lights.”

Ballard, a league all-star, posted regular-season marks of 23-3-4, a 2.90 goals-against average (second in the league) and a .908 save percentage (fourth in the league).

“Boyd Ballard has been a pleasant surprise,” said PC captain Mike Mader after just a handful of practices.

We think he’ll keep that up all year.

Hey, if we do as well this time as last year — Michaud, Matile and Robitaille — we’ll be very happy indeed.

DEFENSEMEN

Our number five and six defensemen are Providence’s Jay Leach and UNH’s Eric Lind. Both of these two will provide some serious size on the blue line.

“Jay Leach is a big defenseman,” said Mader. “He’s 6-4, 210, [but] he’s a mobile defenseman for a big kid.”

UNH coach Dick Umile similarly expressed optimism about Lind, who is 6-2 and 195 pounds. “He’s going to help us,” said Umile. “He’s a good, strong kid.”

Our second-team defensemen are Northeastern’s John Peterman and BC’s Marty Hughes.

In an exhibition game against Ottawa, Peterman, a first-team USHL all-star, looked like the power-play quarterback that Northeastern lacked last year. He scored a goal, moved the puck and played strong defense.

“Recruiting-wise, that’s an area that we felt we really missed last year,” said Crowder. “[Peterman] has the potential.”

Hughes, a skilled offensive defenseman, scored the game-winning goal in BC’s first official game. He faces questions about his size — only 5-10 and 165 pounds — but the rest of the package is exceptional.

“That adds such a dimension to your team when you can add an offensive threat from the blue line,” said BC coach Jerry York after Hughes and fellow freshman blueliner Bobby Allen scored in their first game. “They both have had a history of scoring goals. They’re dangerous players.”

Maine’s Adam Tate and BC’s Bobby Allen form our top pair of blueliners.

Unless you’ve been in Outer Mongolia during the offseason, you’ve heard of Allen. He’s made every U.S. Select team in memory, and was even featured in Sports Illustrated. Allen scored a goal in BC’s first game, played great defense and also became the co-captain of the All-Interview team (along with our Rookie of the Year choice).

“That was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” said a beaming Allen after the game. “Its just a dream to be out there.

“I’m gonna have fun playing college hockey. This is a blast….This is a special team. The sky is the limit for this club.”

Hey, Bobby, knock off the deadpan.

Much less is known about the 5-9, 173-pound Tate, other than his selection as his junior league’s Best Defenseman the season before leaving for Maine. Somehow, he was even omitted from his team’s roster in the Hockey East Media Guide.

Tate joined the Black Bears in midseason last year, one replacement for the seniors who left the program when the NCAA announced its sanctions. Rather than use an entire year of eligibility for a half-year with no postseason, Tate redshirted.

The scuttlebutt coming out of Orono early this year, however, points to Tate as a significant contributor.

“Adam Tate is just a terrific freshman defenseman,” said Maine coach Shawn Walsh recently. “He’s playing the point on the power play, is killing penalties and taking a regular shift.”

FORWARDS

BU’s Carl Corazzini, UMass-Lowell’s T.C. Harris and Merrimack’s Vince Clevenger make up our third line.

Corazzini comes to BU from prep school powerhouse St. Sebastian’s. With the Terriers’ many graduations from an already thin front line, freshmen like Corazzini will get the opportunity to play quality minutes — in BU’s home opener, freshmen dotted the second, third and fourth lines. We think Corazzini will contribute.

Harris could be a great bargain or a great bust for UMass-Lowell. Off-ice problems scared away most teams, and Lowell only recruited him as a walk-on. Still, the kid has some of the best hands and moves around. However, he will have some major adjustments. In high school, he was allowed to pick his spots and freelance because he logged so many minutes. That will change now, but if he keeps his head screwed on straight, this kid can play.

“He’s just getting over mono right now,” said UMass-Lowell coach Tim Whitehead, “but when he’s able to dress, he’ll be an electrifying player.”

Clevenger and linemate Ron Mongeau will try to be the poor man’s Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin. Much like that Vermont duo, which combined to form a whole greater than the sum of its parts, Clevenger and Mongeau have been joined at the hip for so long that knowing each other’s intentions is second nature.

And Merrimack coach Ron Anderson is no dummy. He has the two playing together, just as they were for years at Canterbury Prep. They’ve impressed in preseason action.

UMass-Amherst’s Kris Wallis, Maine’s Dan Kerluke and BC’s Mike Lephart form our second line.

Wallis ranked as the third-highest scorer in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League last year. No flash in the pan, he earned team MVP honors three times and a berth on the league all-star team twice. His team’s leading career scorer, he also ranks as the league’s sixth all-time scorer. This, by the way, is the same league that sent players like Paul Kariya and Dan Shermerhorn to Hockey East.

Wallis would have been joined by Minuteman teammate Jeff Turner, the USHL’s second-leading scorer last year, if not for Turner breaking his leg in the first practice this year. The two, at least on paper, represent the recruiting breakthrough that coach Joe Mallen has been waiting for.

Kerluke is yet another speedburning sniper to have migrated to Orono. Last year, he scored 62 goals and added 48 assists in just 51 games for his Brampton, Ont., team. Although many recruitniks obsessed more over fellow freshman Mattias Trattnig, Kerluke has more the style to get things done in a big way his first year.

“[Trattnig] certainly is a top player, but he’s only 18,” said Maine coach Shawn Walsh. “He may be the youngest player in the league. I’m not sure if guys like that make a big impact unless they’re real small waterbugs…”

Which is what Kerluke could be.

Lephart led the USHL in scoring with 90 points in 54 games, earning the league’s Top Forward award.

“His physical strength is impressive,” said York. “He goes to the net extremely well on offense. And he’s certainly one of the top skaters in our program, so he’ll be an immediate impact player for us, no question.”

Our top line makes no attempt to mix brawn with finesse like we did last year, when we stirred Dan Lacouture in with Fernando Pisani and Jeff Farkas. This year, we’re just gonna fill the back of the net with BU’s Nick Gillis, Maine’s Anders Lundberg and BC’s Brian Gionta and let the bad guys try to match up with us as best they can.

Gillis hails from hockey factory Cushing Academy, where one year earlier he and linemates Ryan Moynihan (Cornell) and Jayson Philbin (Merrimack) shattered records with impunity, though with a little bit of help from two blueliners named Bobby Allen and Tom Poti. Gillis headed for Commonwealth Avenue, where he will reunite with Poti, as Cushing’s all-time leading scorer. No mean feat, that.

The New England Hockey Report describes him as “a strong skater with a dead-eye shot, wonderful passing ability, and a nasty mean streak.”

Unlike Gillis, no one knew Lundberg from a hole in the wall two months ago. No one, that is, except for the Black Bear recruiters sharp enough to find him and his twin brother Magnus in Lulea, Sweden. As soon as he hit the Alfond Arena ice, though, everyone noticed.

“Anders Lundback might be the real surprise to college hockey fans,” said Shawn Walsh early in the preseason. “He’s a tremendous player. I’m speaking with just three practices under my belt, but he’s one guy that really stands out.”

Gionta, a feisty 5-6 waterbug, completes our first line and all-rookie team. He is also our selection as Rookie of the Year.

Despite playing for an also-ran in the Metro Toronto Hockey League, Gionta led the league in scoring. He’ll have plenty of help this year, however, as he opened the season playing on a line with Marty Reasoner. Opposing defensemen, beware.

Gionta also possesses a charming effervescence, much like his teammate Bobby Allen. When asked how far Boston College could go this year, he hedged no bets.

“I think we can win it,” he said.

Win what? Hockey East? Further than that?

“Further than that,” he said with a sparkle in his eyes and a wide smile.

Guess whose jersey is gonna get our captain’s C?

Thanks to Chris Warner, whose New England Hockey Report is always a great source of recruiting information.

This Week in the WCHA: October 24, 1997

By
-

St. Cloud State, bereft of much of last year’s good-for-third-place talent, was swept by lightly-regarded CCHA opponent Notre Dame, and Minnesota-Duluth lost to upstart Mankato State on Friday before clawing back for a 7-6 goalies-optional victory the next day. In the same vein, Minnesota’s early-season showdown with Maine started out disastrously with a 6-1 thrashing, though the Gophers fought back to split the series.

Colorado College, Denver and North Dakota entertained guests from the Great White North for exhibition matchups — and the Pioneers lost theirs, 2-1 to Calgary — so the only WCHA team which could call the weekend a (slightly-qualified) success was Michigan Tech, which tied and beat Northern Michigan.

The upcoming weekend features the opening of the conference season, as the Gophers head up I-35 to Duluth to lock horns with the Bulldogs and Denver begins its WCHA schedule by hosting MTU for a pair.

Meanwhile, St. Cloud receives Mankato in a non-conference series, Hockey East power New Hampshire makes the long, long trek to Anchorage to play the Seawolves, and Colorado College participates in Maine’s season-opening tourney, the J.C. Penney Classic.

Defending WCHA and national champion North Dakota and Wisconsin, second-place finishers in the two-weeks-gone Ice Breaker Invitational, sit out this week. Both schools open conference play next weekend.

And now — the previews…

No. 9 Minnesota (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) at Minnesota-Duluth (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center, Duluth, MN

Both these teams split season-opening series last weekend, and though neither was especially pleased, the Bulldogs have much greater reason to worry.

Minnesota-Duluth lost its first game of the season to Mankato State last Friday, largely thanks to an outstanding performance by Maverick goaltender Des Christopher. Christopher made 36 saves, including 16 in the third period alone, and the Mavericks scored twice in a span of 1:11 during the third period to spoil a solid effort by Bulldog netminder (and 1996-97 WCHA Rookie of the Year) Brant Nicklin.

Now, a hot goaltender can tilt a close contest, so losing a game like that is no shame, even when your opponent is just moving into Division I play. Saturday’s contest was another matter entirely.

Although the ‘Dogs came away with the win, they needed two goals from sophomore defenseman Curtis Doell, including the game-winner at 13:47, just seconds after Mankato sniper Tyler Deis (30-20–50 last season) had lit the lamp to tie the match.

The Bulldogs also needed two shorthanded goals (which came just 1:13 apart in the second period) — or one more than they scored all of last season — to overcome a miserable night for Nicklin, who was shelled for six goals on 30 shots.

A bright spot amidst the chaos was the play of sophomore center Jeff Scissions, who tallied two goals in Saturday’s win. But make no mistake: the Bulldogs will have to play much better to man up with ninth-ranked Minnesota this weekend.

For their part, the Gophers received a rude introduction to the 1997-98 season from the Maine Black Bears, who ran the Gophers up and down the ice at will en route to at 6-1 victory in the opener at Mariucci Arena. A young Gopher defense was victimized repeatedly by the Maine shooters, and senior goaltender Steve DeBus compounded the trouble with an off-night.

Ever the diplomat, Maine head coach Shawn Walsh played down the victory, insisting that the game had been much closer than the score suggested. Many disagreed with Walsh’s modesty, among them Gopher co-captains Ryan Kraft and Casey Hankinson, both of whom marked the team’s performance among their worst embarassments as Gophers.

The Gophers’ netminder concurred. "It’s like, ‘Geez, we played that bad?’," DeBus told the Minnesota Daily. "It’s like watching a bad movie, but it’s a learning experience.

And Minnesota did learn, coming back strongly on Saturday to claim a 3-2 victory. The Gopher forecheck, nearly invisible the previous night, was again in attendance, and succeeded in slowing the Maine attack considerably. Minnesota defenseman Bill Kohn scored the opening goal, his second of the season, and Rico Pagel netted the game-winner early in the third period. For Maine, Steve Kariya scored both goals Saturday after gathering two assist the night before.

"I think when you take care of the little things — hard work for one, and second, taking care of your checks — then the big things seem to fall into place a little better," said Gopher head coach Doug Woog.

The series also exacted a physical toll on the Gophers, who lost sophomore defenseman Ben Clymer to a shoulder injury Friday night. Clymer, who will be out three weeks, was replaced Saturday by Mike Lyons, whom Woog pointed out for a top performance in the clutch.

Picks: This longstanding rivalry has been dominated by Minnesota, which is 99-52-9 over its 35-year history. The Bulldogs have to ask themselves what went wrong last weekend, while the Gophers appear to have already put aside their early problems with Maine. Minnesota 5-3, 3-2

Mankato State (1-1-0) at St. Cloud State (0-2-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. CT, National Hockey Center, St. Cloud, MN

The Huskies suffered through a disappointing pair against Notre Dame, falling 4-3 Friday in overtime, then again on Saturday, 4-1. Friday’s loss was especially disappointing, as St. Cloud ran up a 3-0 lead in the second period before letting the Irish back into the game, which Notre Dame won on Ben Simon’s second goal of the game, at 1:22 of the extra frame.

Sophomore defenseman Tom Lund figured in all three SCSU goals, assisting on the first two and netting the third himself in the Husky loss.

"Lund played well for us all weekend," head coach Craig Dahl told the St. Cloud University Chronicle. "Defensively, we were strong, but we didn’t score the goals and get the goaltending needed to win."

That goaltending — from both Brian Leitza and Tim Lideen — allowed eight tallies on the series, posting an .840 save percentage. Special teams were also a factor: St. Cloud went 0-for-6 with the man-advantage, while Notre Dame was four of 10.

"Anytime you have a three-goal lead, you should win," continued Dahl in the Chronicle. "We took four penalties in the third period (two of which led to Irish scores) and dug ourselves a hole."

Forward Sacha Molin had the lone SCSU goal Saturday, the first of the young season for the Huskies’ top-scoring returnee from last year’s squad.

Also last weekend, just up the road in Duluth, the Mavericks of Mankato State surprised the home UMD team, taking the first contest and battling to a one-goal loss in the second. That may be a signal that the little-known Mavs won’t just lie down for WCHA teams this season, as Mankato vies for full conference membership.

Equally as interesting, Mankato owns the lead in the all-time series with St. Cloud (45-26-5), though the teams haven’t squared off in almost five seasons. Mankato got goals from seven different players in the series, led by Tyler Deis’ pair.

Picks: St. Cloud is down, and Mankato is coming off a very successful weekend. The safe pick is still the Huskies at home, but where’s the fun in that? Mankato 3-2, St. Cloud 4-2

J.C. Penney Classic No. 5 Colorado College (0-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) vs. St. Lawrence (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECAC) Friday, 5:00 p.m. ET, Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

Colorado College vs. Maine/St. Thomas Saturday, 4:00/7:00 ET, Alfond Arena, Orono, ME

The Tigers of Colorado College open their season on the Atlantic coast as guests of the University of Maine.

The Black Bears won this tourney last year, defeating Princeton in the final, and the format is essentially identical this time around: Maine takes on Canadian university St. Thomas in the first round, while two U.S. schools — in this case, CC and St. Lawrence — presumably duke it out for the right to face the Bears in the final.

Colorado College enters the Classic as a formidable contender. The Tigers beat Calgary 3-1 last Friday in an exhibition contest, outshooting the Dinosaurs 44-24. Head coach Don Lucia used each of his three goaltenders for a period against Calgary, but the main man in nets this weekend should be Jason Cugnet, who takes the reins from the departed Judd Lambert.

Senior left wing T.J. Tanberg (who owns the distinction of scoring the only goal in the longest collegiate game ever — CC’s four-overtime victory over Wisconsin last season in the first round of the WCHA playoffs) scored twice for the Tigers against Calgary, and senior right wing Stewart Bodtker notched the other goal in the tuneup.

Colorado College returns most of its offense from last season, including preseason Player-of-the-Year candidate Brian Swanson, twice an all-WCHA pick and a finalist last season for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

Across the ice, the Saints of St. Lawrence have some problems on defense, but are solid up front, led by Paul DiFrancesco.

"He brings everything one can ask," says SLU head coach Joe Marsh of his star forward. "He can put points on the board, and he’s a great leader."

(For more on St. Lawrence, see Jayson Moy’s ECAC preview.)

If they can get by the Saints, the likely opponent for the Tigers’ second contest will be the host Black Bears, who split a pair with Minnesota last weekend. Maine comes into the tourney as the sixth-ranked team in the land, and for good reason, as the Gophers discovered in a 6-1 drubbing last Friday.

Maine features the talents of sophomore Alfie Michaud in nets, who head coach Shawn Walsh said "was terrific all [last] weekend." Among the forwards is ever-dangerous Steve Kariya, who totaled four points, including both of Maine’s goals Saturday, against Minnesota.

(For a second look at Maine, check out Dave Hendrickson’s Hockey East preview.)

Picks:Colorado College justifies its lofty ranking in the opener. CC 5, SLU 2. Then the Tigers run into a buzzsaw in the fired-up Bears, who are buoyed by the crowd at Alfond. Maine 5, CC 3.

No. 4 New Hampshire (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Hockey East) at Alaska-Anchorage (0-1-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) Friday-Saturday, 7:05 p.m. AT, Sullivan Arena, Anchorage, AK

UAA lost the Governor’s Cup for the first time since the 1993-94 season, tying Alaska-Fairbanks 5-5 on Friday before falling 4-0 the next day at Fairbanks.

Curt Malin and Jamie Coady both scored two goals Friday for the Seawolves, who were down 5-3 in the middle of the second period before coming back to earn the draw. Doug Teskey played both nights in goal for Anchorage, but made only 37 saves.

Alaska-Anchorage also got a score Friday from Gord McCann and two assists from Stacy Prevost, both instrumental performers in this year’s Seawolf offense.

Oddly enough, UAA’s 16 penalty minutes Friday were the most recorded by a Seawolf team under Dean Talafous’ tenure. The ‘Wolves also fell to 0-4-5 in their last nine overtime decisions.

The Seawolves’ opponent will be New Hampshire, fresh off a 5-1 victory over depleted Vermont. UNH’s visit makes for head coach Dick Umile’s first trip to Anchorage.

"I’ve never taken a team out to Anchorage so I really don’t know how it will affect them, but it’s probably no worse than having to go out and play in Denver with the altitude changes. So we just have to find a way to get comfortable and get ready to play," Umile said.

Despite their win last weekend, Umile was concerned with his team’s performance, citing a soft defense early in the game. UNH features a solid offense, including the productive second line of Mike Souza, Derek Bekar and John Sadowski, and the netminding of Sean Matile.

(For more on New Hampshire, head over to Dave Hendrickson’s Hockey East preview.)

Michigan Tech (1-0-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) at Denver (0-0-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) Saturday-Sunday, 7:35-7:05 p.m. MT, Denver Coliseum, Denver, CO

Perhaps the most successful WCHA team last weekend, the Michigan Tech Huskies tied in-state (but newly interconference) rivals Northern Michigan 4-4 Friday before drubbing the Wildcats 8-2 Saturday to claim three points in the weekend series.

It could easily have been a sweep for Tech, which led NMU 4-2 after two periods before giving up a pair of scores in the third. David Weninger, the Huskies’ incumbent netminder, made 29 saves to hold on to the draw.

In the recap, Tech led only 3-2 early in the second before exploding for five unanswered goals, making a winner of freshman Todd Weninger (yes, that’s David’s brother) in his collegiate debut. The Huskies’ total of 12 goals on the weekend, combined with nine against Laurentian in MTU’s opener, gave Tech a total of 21 goals through just three games of the new season.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, nine Huskies lead the WCHA’s overall scoring board, including Andre Savage (2-5–7), Bret Meyers (3-3–6) and five Techsters with five points apiece.

The Denver Pioneers step in front of the Tech steamroller this weekend, and DU should prove a greater challenge to the Husky snipers than either Laurentian or Alaska-Fairbanks posed.

Denver is down from last season, to be sure, thanks to the losses of Jim Mullin, Antti Laaksonen and Erik Andersson. Making matters worse, star forward Paul Comrie has been diagnosed with mononucleosis, which will keep him out of the Pioneers’ first few games.

Nonetheless, Denver still boasts offensive firepower in Anders Bjork, Gavin Morgan and captain Joe Murphy, and the services of Stephen Wagner (who enjoyed an outstanding rookie campaign last season) in net.

Picks: The Pioneers will miss Comrie, who would have been counted on to lead the charge up front. Bjork and company are still competent scorers, and Wagner is solid in goal. For Michigan Tech, the question is how much defense the Huskies can play — because we already know they can score. MTU 5-4, DU 4-2

Next week in the WCHA:

Friday, Oct. 31 Colorado College at Michigan Tech North Dakota at Minnesota Wisconsin at Alaska-Anchorage Minnesota-Duluth at St. Cloud Denver at Mankato State

Saturday, Nov. 1 Colorado College at Michigan Tech North Dakota at Minnesota Wisconsin at Alaska-Anchorage Minnesota-Duluth at St. Cloud Denver at Mankato State

1...1,5171,5181,519...1,531Page 1,518 of 1,531

Latest Stories from around USCHO

‘A proud day’ as former Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey captain Brodt tabbed new head coach for St. Scholastica

USCHO Staff -

Denver sophomore blueliner, recent Wild signee Buium tabbed USCHO Player of the Year for ’24-25 season

USCHO Staff -

Western Michigan’s Ferschweiler leads Broncos to national championship, named unanimous USCHO Coach of the Year for 2024-25 campaign

USCHO Staff -

After 48-point freshman season with Boston University, Hutson adds to accolades with 2024-25 USCHO Rookie of the Year honor

USCHO Staff -

Wisconsin’s Simms, McNaughton, Minnesota’s Primerano take home final women’s hockey HCA monthly honors for ’24-25 season

USCHO Staff -

Final HCA men’s hockey monthly honors for ’24-25 season go to Western Michigan’s Washe, BU’s Hutson, Denver’s Davis, Bentley’s Hasley, Minnesota State’s Tracy

USCHO Staff -

Norwich grad Dawes named new men’s hockey coach for Cadets, leaves Stevenson after nine seasons behind Mustangs bench

USCHO Staff -

Trio of All-USCHO teams announced for 2024-25 NCAA Division I men’s college hockey season

USCHO Staff -

NHL’s Devils sign Boston University forward Lachance, who gives up last two years of NCAA eligibility

USCHO Staff -

Minnesota men’s hockey coach Motzko, who ‘knows what it takes to have success,’ named head coach of 2026 U.S. National Junior Team

USCHO Staff -

Kaplan inks NHL deal with Philadelphia, leaves Boston University after junior season

USCHO Staff -

After pair of seasons, national championship with Western Michigan, Bump leaves Broncos for NHL contract with Flyers

USCHO Staff -
©1996-2025 USCHO.com – U.S. College Hockey Online