The Rochester Americans players’ wives and girlfriends will be having a fundraising raffle to benefit the family of Nazareth coach George Roll, whose wife has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, during the Amerks’ game versus the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday, April 20 at the Blue Cross Arena. The efforts are being spearheaded by Amerks’ goaltender David Leggio, who played for Roll at Clarkson. Roll played at Bowling Green and also coached at Oswego.
Final thoughts and a quick look at next season’s potential Hobey hopefuls
The end of another college hockey season is upon us, and along with it, the end of another Hobey Watch. Congratulations to Drew LeBlanc and St. Cloud State on the program’s first Hobey Baker Award, and congratulations to Yale on its first NCAA championship.
Having spent a lot of time around the Yale and Quinnipiac programs during my CSTV years, it was very exciting to see the Bulldogs and Bobcats playing for an NCAA championship, and certainly, having gotten my start covering ECAC Hockey, it’s great to see the conference shine on the big stage.
It’s also great to see the Hobey Baker Award go to LeBlanc, who certainly breaks the mold established by previous Hobey winners. There’s been a smattering of backlash since LeBlanc won on Friday, but overall, I think a winner like LeBlanc is good for the award because it shows that there is a place for the playmaking forward on the Hobey stage (and given that Hobey himself was the ultimate team player, having died testing out a repaired plane so none of the men under his command would have to, I think it’s entirely appropriate that there be a place for a guy who’s best known for helping his teammates score).
Of course, as I pointed out last week, the Hobey winner was going to break the mold regardless of which Hat Trick member got the award, and the fact that this year’s Hobey went to LeBlanc means that goalies (Eric Hartzell) and small Boston College forwards (Johnny Gaudreau) are out again … but for how long? After all, as we begin to look ahead to next year, two of the more intriguing candidates are a small BC forward (Gaudreau, if he stays in school to play with younger brother Matt) and a goalie (Massachusetts-Lowell’s Connor Hellebuyck).
Hellebuyck will be an interesting case, as he posted those elusive “Ryan Miller numbers” over his 23 games in the River Hawks’ net this year, most notably a .952 save percentage. Come fall, he should be the man from day one, and if he can avoid a “sophomore jinx” or any other similar misfortune, he should have a great case to win the award.
Gaudreau, meanwhile, told reporters after the Hobey ceremony that he’s planning to return to school next season and that the Calgary Flames are giving him space to make his own decisions. That hasn’t always been the case in Calgary (see also: Chucko, Kris), but this is obviously a different regime, and for whatever else one might say about Jay Feaster’s performance up there, it’s good to hear that Gaudreau isn’t being pressured.
If he indeed comes back, he’ll obviously enter 2013-14 as a favorite for the award, and if the performance is there, he could break through for the Eagles. It’s also worth noting that BC’s performance tends to be better in even-numbered years than odd-numbered ones since the 2001 NCAA title season — five Frozen Fours and three titles in even years, one Frozen Four and no titles in odd years) — and if that form holds, the additional team success could put Gaudreau over the top.
I’m not going to get too deep into other candidates just now — we’ll save that for the fall — but I would be remiss if I didn’t note the three players named as “Hobey Hopefuls” by my colleague Dave Starman during ESPN’s intermission report on Saturday night: New Hampshire forward Kevin Goumas, Miami forward Austin Czarnik and Minnesota State forward Matt Leitner.
Goumas is an interesting case right off the bat because he’s a playmaking forward who doesn’t score a lot of goals himself, and that’s a type that hasn’t gotten much Hobey love until this year with LeBlanc. Obviously, LeBlanc’s selection shows it’s possible, and I would certainly keep an eye on Goumas, an honorable mention Hockey East all-star this season and a past All-Academic honoree, as the 2013-14 campaign begins.
Czarnik was a Hobey finalist this year, not to mention a first-team All-American and the final CCHA player of the year. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference next season, as his performance will be immune from the (never justified in the first place) criticism that “Miami never plays anyone.” He wasn’t a huge scorer this year (0.95 points per game), but there’s certainly room for a jump from sophomore to junior year, and I’ll be interested to see what Czarnik brings to the table next season.
Finally, there’s Leitner, who put up fine numbers for Minnesota State this year and could certainly be poised for an even better statistical season next year, as the Mavericks figure to be a top team in the reconstituted WCHA. That’s a bit of a double-edged sword, though: As well as Leitner might play next year, his performance likely will carry less weight than it would in this year’s WCHA, to say nothing of either of the two new conferences that are coming next year. Presuming that he stays and continues to perform at a high level, Leitner could be an interesting test case for the new WCHA as it concerns the Hobey, and I would definitely watch with interest.
But that won’t happen until the fall. For now, I’ll sign off for the Hobey Watch this year. Congrats to Yale, congrats to Drew LeBlanc and St. Cloud State, and thanks to all who read and commented this year.
Montgomery sets out to build on ‘storied past and tradition’ at Denver
In what the Denver administration conceded was a poorly-kept secret, Jim Montgomery was officially named Monday as the Pioneers’ new head hockey coach.
A 1993 Maine graduate, Montgomery, 43, is the head coach and general manager of the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL. His start date as the eighth hockey coach in Denver’s history is set for two days after Dubuque finishes its Clark Cup Playoffs run, which begins Wednesday.
“It’s a tremendous honor for me to join the Pioneer family and to lead DU hockey [with] its illustrious, storied past and tradition,” Montgomery said Monday. “I want to thank chancellor Robert Coombe and vice chancellor of athletics and recreation Peg [Bradley-Doppes] for believing in me and allowing me the opportunity to lead this fantastic program.”
Following assistant coaching stints at Notre Dame (2005-06) and Rensselaer (2006-10), Montgomery has spent the last three seasons leading Dubuque. This season, his Fighting Saints have amassed a 45-11-8 record, including the most single-season wins in the team’s history. They won the Anderson Cup as the league’s regular season champion.
Montgomery also made a name for himself in his collegiate playing career, captaining the Black Bears to their first national championship in 1993 and later becoming only the third Maine player to have his jersey number retired in Orono.
His time as a player lasted far beyond college; he played for a variety of professional teams in the United States, Canada, Germany and Russia between 1993 and 2005.
At Denver, Montgomery will succeed George Gwozdecky, who was controversially fired April 1 following a 19-year run with the Pioneers that saw the program win back-to-back national championships in 2004 and 2005.
To add insult to injury, there has been a mini-exodus of players in the wake of Gwozdecky’s dismissal. Sophomore defenseman Scott Mayfield, sophomore goaltender Juho Olkinuora and junior forward Nick Shore all signed contracts with NHL organizations following the departure of their head coach at Denver.
One bright spot for those players returning to DU and next season’s freshmen is that the Pioneers’ assistant coaches, Steve Miller and David Lassonde, are reportedly staying put. Montgomery couldn’t comment on that Monday, however, because, as he is not yet officially the Pioneers’ coach, he said commenting on that would have constituted an NCAA violation.
Montgomery did touch on his own goals for the program, though, saying he intends to build upon what Gwozdecky and Gwozdecky’s predecessors at Denver have done to make the program what it is today.
“It is my goal to ensure our program honors and builds upon the DU brand and the outstanding legacy of the Pioneer hockey family,” Montgomery said, “as well as the wonderful alumni that made that tradition of success a reality.”
He continued: “What makes this job one of the best in the country is not just the caliber of student-athletes you’re able to attract, but the institution you’re able to represent. The University of Denver is synonymous with academic excellence and integrity and a spirit of giving back to the community it calls home.
“I want to end my comments by saying to the Pioneer nation — students, faculty, staff, alumni, patrons and friends of the university — I will do everything in my power to make you proud to be associated with the DU hockey program.”
Ohio State coach Osiecki ‘very surprised’ as school buys out his contract with two years remaining
With the Ohio State men’s hockey squad headed to a new hockey conference, athletic director Gene Smith decided that it was time for a new coach.
Smith announced Monday that third-year head coach Mark Osiecki has been dismissed from his position at Ohio State.
Ohio State will buy out the remaining two years of Osiecki’s contract at just over $112,000.
“We are making a change in our head hockey coaching position,” Smith said in a statement. “There was a difference of opinion over the management of the program that could not be resolved.”
Osiecki led Ohio State to its best conference finish since 2005 this season as the Buckeyes finished fourth in the final year of the CCHA. Ohio State lost to Notre Dame in the CCHA semifinals on March 23 to end its season.
Despite Ohio State’s uptick this past season, it was a down year in the conference and the Buckeyes finished with a sub-.500 winning percentage overall.
In three seasons as head coach, Osiecki was 46-50-16 and never led the Buckeyes to an NCAA tournament appearance.
Osiecki told USCHO that he was “very surprised” of Ohio State’s decision. The timing of the decision is odd as the team ended its season over three weeks ago and Ohio State, in general, does not let go of coaches from non-revenue sports with years remaining on a contract.
“They came in this morning and told me at 8 a.m.,” Osiecki said. “We didn’t know anything.”
Despite a stagnant record and attendance, Osiecki said he thought the program was headed in the right direction.
“The opportunity that was here was great,” Osiecki said. “We felt good about where the program was headed and we felt good with the recruits, the families. The kids that we had in the locker room now are doing it the right way. A lot of good things.”
Osiecki was hired to replace 14-year head coach John Markell. Until Osiecki’s hiring, Ohio State had only two head coaches over a 34-year span.
The hockey program is overseen by Ohio State senior associate athletic director Chris Schneider, who helped hire Osiecki in 2010. When Schneider hired Osiecki, he said he was looking for the former Wisconsin assistant to lead Ohio State back to prominence at the national level, something Osiecki was unable to do in his short tenure.
“The timing of it relates to the evaluation of the programs we do,” Schneider said. “It came down to a difference in management.”
Schneider said that the university would make an announcement on Tuesday involving the coaching search.
“It is something where everyone is a candidate right now,” Schneider said. “As we continue to look at the program, we will have more information on that tomorrow.”
Recently ousted Denver coach George Gwozdecky could be a candidate for the Ohio State job; he consulted the school on the 2010 search that led to the Buckeyes hiring Osiecki but said at the time he had no interest in the job.
Whoever gets the job will have some limitations that could prevent growth of the program.
Ohio State is forced to share its facility with the men’s and women’s basketball programs that are benefiting from a $19 million project to improve the facilities at Value City Arena. The only benefit the men’s hockey program got from the improvements was a new locker room door. The hockey program also had to bus to its practice facility, cutting into the amount of time coaches could spend with players.
There are long-term plans to build a new hockey facility for the men’s and women’s programs but that has been on the back burner as improvements to the basketball facilities and a new arena for the volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics programs have taken precedence at Ohio State.
Until Ohio State announces its new coach, assistant Steve Rohlik will remain with the program as a point person for current players and recruits.
In the meantime, Osiecki is looking at his possibilities.
“I have to take the next couple of days and let the dust settle a little bit,” Osiecki said. “But obviously I want to stay in it. I’d like to coach. I’m not sure which direction, to be honest. I don’t know which direction to go or what will present itself.”
Ohio State will enter a highly competitive, six-team Big Ten Conference next season. Whoever becomes the new head coach will try to hang onto a rather small but solid recruiting class Osiecki had built for this autumn.
Headlining the class is goaltender Matt Tomkins, a Chicago seventh-round pick, and forward Zach Stepan, a fourth-round pick by Nashville.
Stepan posted on his Twitter account minutes after the announcement, “This can not be happening right now.” The Tweet was later deleted.
Travelogue: Back to real life
HAMDEN, Conn — Neil Ravin and I have landed back home and have finally unpacked. It is time to return to “real life,” as some have deemed it. There is no doubt that what we experienced the last four days was dream-like. Every day, all we did was eat, sleep and breathe college hockey. From the minute we got up to the second we went to bed, the Frozen Four was always in the back of our minds.
As much as we loved the games and the atmosphere inside the building, we could not think of a better town to host the Frozen Four. The Consol Energy Center is among the NHL’s finest, the citizens of Pittsburgh could not have been nicer and there is no doubt that Jason Grilli is one of the funniest athletes in professional sports.
Sure, the weather could have been a bit nicer, but a little cool weather never hurt anyone. We highly recommend visiting Pittsburgh; it is not the unwelcoming steel city we thought it was. Philadelphia has a lot of work to do to match what Pittsburgh did this year and, judging by the boos inside the arena this weekend when the 2014 Frozen Four logo was shown on the scoreboard, the Pittsburgh fans don’t think Philadelphia can!
