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Wednesday Women: First looks

By Candace Horgan and Arlan Marttila
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(ed. note: Wednesday Women is a new weekly feature in which Women’s Editor Candace Horgan and Women’s Columnist Arlan Marttila discuss various aspects of women’s D-I hockey. Look for it every Wednesday morning).

Candace: Well Arlan, I’d like to start our first column by discussing a comment in response to your blog entry this week. You were talking about the rise of Cornell, and the commenter, Lenn, wrote that he didn’t understand why Cornell picked up a first place vote. Cornell’s 9-0 thrashings were impressive, but I always felt that the team might just look good in comparison to their competition. Since you see the Gophers a lot, do you think the Big Red can threaten the WCHA hegemony?

Arlan: Can the Big Red win the NCAA title? Absolutely. I got my first look at Cornell at the 2010 Frozen Four, and they were the most impressive team from the ECAC I’d seen in a number of years. Since then, they’ve added players like Brianne Jenner last season, Jillian Saulnier this year, and Rebecca Johnston returned from the Olympics. Coach Chris Wells of St. Lawrence referred to them as a “mini-Olympic team” yesterday, and that’s not far off. During their 2010 playoff run, it looked like they really came together as a team. That will be one of the challenges for them this year, minus players like Karlee and Amber Overguard, who meant so much to their renaissance. The other is will they find enough games in their schedule that force them to get better. From what I’ve witnessed of the WCHA to date, having seen everyone but North Dakota and Ohio State, the team that emerges from that grind will be tested. Cornell has to hope that they get the same from Mercyhurst, Boston University, and some of their league rivals.

Which of the ECAC teams do you think have looked most likely to contest Cornell’s supremacy?

Candace: That’s a good point about being battle-tested, and I think that definitely hurt the Big Red in last year’s NCAA tournament. Honestly Arlan, I don’t think anybody in the ECAC is capable of challenging Cornell. I thought Quinnipiac would step up this year and do the honors, but they have been struggling. Dartmouth could possibly do it, but they haven’t impressed yet. I think the jury is still out on the Harvard Crimson, who did start the season with a successful trip up to New York last weekend, and have been the traditional power in the ECAC. What do you think of this year’s edition of the Crimson?

Arlan: At this point, most of what I know I read in a box score, and there’s only been a couple of those that matter. I did see them play a year ago, and they had a lot of team speed, as Katey Stone’s teams usually do. The opportunity to play against speed will be of value to an opponent like Cornell, even if it winds up that Harvard is unable to compete with the Big Red in the standings or on the scoreboard. The Crimson have a very good blue line that includes players either making USA Hockey rosters or involved in national camps, like Josephine Pucci, Marissa Gedman, and Michelle Picard. A year ago, I was left with the impression that they needed better goaltending, so it will be interesting to see if their young goaltenders have progressed.

You mentioned that Dartmouth has yet to impress, but to be fair to them, they are only three games into their season and playing teams that are a few weeks ahead of them. I’ve been a little underwhelmed by Hockey East as a whole. Maine has had its moments, Boston College had the road win in Duluth, Northeastern’s record may be better than their overall performance — or do you think I’m being too hard on the HEA as a whole?

Candace: It’s really hard to know what to make of Hockey East Arlan. I think as a whole, the conference has traditionally lagged behind the WCHA, and even the ECAC, in terms of consistency top-to-bottom. Up until last year, even the best teams from the conference usually trailed the other top schools. HE never sent a team to the tournament until it expanded to eight in 2005, and last year was the first time two teams from Hockey East made the semis, and the first time a Hockey East team made the finals. I guess my point is that the women’s Hockey East conference is not the powerhouse that the men’s one is. I think Hockey East is improving, and could become the main rival to the WCHA, as it is on the men’s side (at least until 2013).

Having said that, I think that despite the loss to Maine on Sunday, Boston College has done a very good job in rebounding from losing standouts Kelli Stack and Molly Schaus. I thought the Eagles would actually start slower than they have. Maine has been wildly inconsistent; I think I may have overrated them for beating Quinnipiac twice. Northeastern too I think has a better record than they actually are, but that was to be expected, since their schedule has been soft so far. I think the jury is still out on Northeastern, because with Kendall Coyne just starting her college hockey career, I see a lot of potential in that squad. Actually, I think Boston University has been the biggest disappointment. You would have expected them to build on their appearance in the title game against Wisconsin last year, especially since the core of the team was back. Perhaps that is due to Marie-Philip Poulin being out since the second game of the season. I know she’s an impact player, but the Terriers still have Jenn Wakefield and Kerrin Sperry. I think we might learn a lot about both BU and BC when they play each other in a home-and-home this week. What’s your take on the Boston teams?

Arlan: Without Poulin competing in their home-and-home, I’m afraid we won’t learn as much as we’d like about either team. Yes, the Terriers still have Wakefield and Jenelle Kohanchuk, plus Isabel Menard has been a nice addition for them, but Poulin is special, and we won’t glimpse the team’s true potential until she is back and healthy. Speaking of Sperry, her save percentage is almost the same as it was last season, but she’s allowing an extra goal a game. Whether that is due to the graduation of Catherine Ward or the caliber of competition she has faced to date remains to be seen, but if the Terriers are going to improve on last year’s result, the GAA has to head in the other direction. Regarding BC, there was discussion last spring as to whether the Eagles would miss Stack or Schaus more. At that time, I thought that the answer was Schaus, and I still do. They clearly have a great rookie class, with Alex Carpenter and Emily Field leading their scoring and likely to improve, although they are going to have to get more out of their veterans up front like Mary Restuccia and Ashley Motherwell. The Eagles don’t make it back to the Frozen Four, and maybe not even the NCAA tourney, with a goaltender that stops 90 percent of the shots she sees, because upsets like the one to Maine will occur too frequently. The goaltending in Hockey East figures to be one of its strengths, assuming people like Florence Schelling, Genevieve Lacasse, and Alexandra Garcia play like we’ve come to expect, so a team needs to be strong in their own net to fare well.

A couple of teams that have had better results than I expected this soon after coaching changes are Robert Morris and Niagara. Neither have attention-grabbing wins, but Mercyhurst is going to need the other CHA schools to grab all the nonconference victories they can if the Lakers are going to secure an eighth-straight NCAA berth. Mercyhurst’s early losses to Quinnipiac and Minnesota State leave the Lakers vulnerable. Do you see MC being able to get wins off teams like Cornell and BC down the road to improve its prospects?

Candace: I knew Mercyhurst would be vulnerable this year. You don’t lose players like Vicki Bendus and Meghan Agosta and just replace them. I think Mercyhurst might be able to split with BC, but I think Cornell will be too strong for them, and this might end up being the year that the Lakers don’t make the  NCAA tournament, because losing to Minnesota State, who will probably get swept by North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota, and Wisconsin will hurt their PairWise ranking. Speaking of, to finish this first edition off, can ANYBODY stop Wisconsin? I’m beginning to think Mark Johnson is up there with Jerry York as a coach. With players like the Ammerman sisters, Brianna Decker, Carolyn Prévost, and Hilary Knight, Wisconsin looks awfully strong once again. What’s your take on the Badgers?

Arlan: The Badgers are like an expensive diamond; they may have flaws, but my untrained eyes can’t spot them. I thought that they would miss Meghan Duggan. I knew Decker would take up some of the slack, but it looks to me like Prévost has reeled in a bunch of it as well. Their young third line isn’t equal to what they had last March, but four more months of Johnson’s practices will have them close. Alex Rigsby is much improved in net, their blue line is more seasoned, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a coach or two around the country has dreams of Johnson taking his prowess to men’s hockey and matching wits with York. Having said all that, the Badgers won’t run the table from this point on. UMD will take points off of them; they always do, but were just too green to do so last month. I think either North Dakota or Minnesota beats them at some point. Bemidji State can at least give them a battle. But in terms of denying them the title, it will be tough. I’d give UMD the best chance, followed by Cornell and Minnesota in that order. Coach Shannon Miller and a Frozen Four in Duluth are a tough combination. The obstacle for Cornell is preparing for a team like Wisconsin if the ECAC doesn’t challenge them, as we discussed. The Gophers have enough talent, but they have to fully believe that they can upend the Badgers in March, and that’s a mental block that they have yet to overcome.  
 

Kelly: conversations continue with ‘four to six’ schools about college hockey expansion

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Despite the impending loss of Alabama-Huntsville from the ranks of Division I hockey, College Hockey Inc. executive director Paul Kelly remains optimistic about the expansion of the sport.

Kelly, a guest on the Nov. 1 episode of USCHO Live!, said that he is continuing to speak with “four to six” schools about moving to D-I. Kelly would like to see a couple of new teams in the southeastern U.S., including a possible return of UAH to varsity status, and teams on the west coast. He also was encouraged that more Big 10 universities might be starting programs (including women’s teams) in areas in which the USHL has made hockey popular, including “Iowa, North Dakota and Nebraska.”

In that same episode (available through the player on the right, via podcast, or at blogtalkradio.com/uscholive) Kelly spoke about the efforts College Hockey Inc. has underway to promote the college game and spoke in favor of a proposal to raise the minimum draft age to 19 after the first round of the NHL draft. Kelly also answered questions about under-the-table payments from Major Junior teams to entice NCAA-committed players and spoke positively about the D-I conference commissioners’ commitment to the sport of D-I college hockey as a whole.

Also joining USCHO Live! was Michigan head coach Red Berenson. Berenson was emphatic that completing a college career is the best road for players unless they are ready to go straight to the NHL, giving an example of a player leaving early only to spend two or three years in the minors while another player who finished his college eligibility might get to the NHL first. Berenson also talked about the Rudy-like story of goaltender Shawn Hunwick and the early success of his former assistant and now Michigan Tech head coach Mel Pearson.

Each episode of USCHO Live! airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET and is available for download or podcast. USCHO Live! is hosted by USCHO.com senior writers Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger. Updates on the program and its schedule are found at uscho.com/uscho-live.

Unproven scorers coming through early for Michigan

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When Michigan captured the 2010-11 regular-season title, the Wolverines did so with an offense that was off its game. Louie Caporusso — who had netted 21 goals his junior year — ended the season’s 44 games with 11 tallies, all of which came in batches. His classmate, Matt Rust, finished down eight goals from the season before. Sophomore Chris Brown dropped from 13 his freshman year to nine.

Only Carl Hagelin, who had produced 19 goals in 45 games his junior year, was on pace with his 18. Scooter Vaughan, a defenseman turned forward, became a scoring hero with his 14 goals, 12 more than he’d scored as a blueliner the year before … and 14 more than he scored in either his freshman or sophomore campaigns.

Through the first 10 games of the 2010-11 season — the end of the first weekend of November — the Wolverines averaged 3.3 goals per game. That number didn’t change much through the season as Michigan struggled to score by committee and, like Caporusso, in batches; the Wolverines brought the 16th-best offense in the country to the national championship game, averaging 3.2 goals per game.

This season, with offense coming from every line, the Wolverines are averaging 4.88 goals per game, second in the nation.

Wolverines coach Red Berenson said he’s a little surprised by how quickly the offense has coalesced this year.

“Last year, we had proven scorers trying to score that couldn’t score,” said Berenson, “and this year we’ve got unproven scorers that are scoring. I think that’s good.”

Good, indeed. Four freshmen have netted one-third of Michigan’s 39 overall goals while the junior class is accountable for 15. Seniors Luke Glendening, Greg Pateryn and David Wohlberg have nine between them. Glendening has four goals in eight games, half his career-best total in 44 games last season. Pateryn has two goals; he had three in 40 games in 2010-11. With three goals in eight games, Wohlberg may reach the 15 he had in 37 contests last year.

“They’re trying to prove that they can score,” said Berenson, “particularly the young freshmen. [Alex] Guptill’s come in and scored, and Zach Hyman’s playing as well as any of them, and he might only have one goal but he’s contributing, and … [Phil] Di Giuseppe, he’s playing well, and so on, so all the freshmen are helping our team.

“And then you’ve got the upperclassmen. They’re setting a good example, and then we’re getting some scoring from our juniors. It’s no surprise that Brownie [Chris Brown] is going to score, and we’ve got to get Kevin Lynch scoring and so on, and A.J. [Treais] has been terrific.”

Junior Lindsay Sparks leads the team (5-6–11); he has one more goal in eight games this year than he had in 17 last season. Treais, whose scoring picked up in the second half last year, has five goals, four shy of his season total in 42 games played in 2010-11.

In short, the Wolverines are getting production from every line, from every class. Even two of the three sophomores currently skating have chipped in a goal apiece.

Said Berenson, “I think we’re realizing that we’ve maybe got a better balanced offensive team this year than we had last year.”

And the best defense takes a hit

Heading into last weekend, Ferris State was undefeated and sporting the best defense in the country, allowing 1.67 goals per game.

Then we learned what happens when the nation’s toughest defense meets one of the country’s hottest offenses. After 5-2 and 4-0 losses to Michigan, Bulldogs coach Bob Daniels had enough perspective to make a little joke.

“I knew we weren’t going to go 36-0,” he said. “It was just one of those good gut feelings.”

It was a hard weekend for the Bulldogs, who in six games had given up two goals just once, with three shutouts to their credit. The nine goals dropped them only to a tie for fifth in defense nationally, and their average of 1.75 goals per game isn’t so bad.

Even with the four goals he allowed in the Saturday shutout loss, freshman C.J. Motte has a .948 save percentage and 1.25 goals against average. The rookie from St. Claire, Mich., has two shutouts in four games and played well in spite of the goals Michigan scored. Daniels is convinced, though, that Motte can play even better.

“I think there’s some things he can do in terms of making life easier on himself,” said Daniels. “Him being young, he can play the puck pretty well, but sometimes when he played it he kind of created some of his own issues. It’s something where, I think, given time, we’ll be able to coach to his strengths and we’ll be able to do some things that will allow him to play the puck more.

“Three games don’t make a career, and one game won’t make a career, either.”

Motte and senior Taylor Nelson (2.26, .908) have split time evenly in net. “It’s a real positive competition between the two of them,” said Daniels.

The goaltenders may be the last line of FSU’s defense, but the Bulldogs have some pretty good corpsmen in front of them. Gone are Zach Redmond and Scott Wietecha, but Chad Billins and Brett Wysopal, both seniors, lead an experienced blue line.

“We played a third of the season last year without Redmond,” said Daniels, “so guys that are playing in our top five saw a lot of minutes last year. In that group, there’s four seniors and a sophomore, so we’re a pretty veteran group in the defensive corps. And then, obviously, the goaltenders have played very, very well for us — I mean, really well.”

Daniels said he likes his team’s chances this season in no small part because he likes the team. “I do really like this team a lot. I really like the kids. I like the makeup and the personality of the group.”

That makes it easier to regroup in Big Rapids after two losses in Ann Arbor. “It doesn’t mean it’s OK to lose, but now it’s a really good learning opportunity,” said Daniels. “It’s hard to be on the edge when you’re winning. Now we can all reevaluate and get back to some hard work.”

A little perspective? Please?

When Michigan junior Chris Brown greeted the press after the Wolverines’ sweep of the Bulldogs, he began with something I found very curious:

“When we take the underdog role,” said Brown, “especially when we play in our home building, we can do anything.”

The underdog role? The Wolverines? In Yost Ice Arena? I had to know.

“Ferris swept Miami last week, and Miami’s kind of been like our arch-nemesis for the past couple of years,” Brown explained, “so to have them do that, it’s kind of like a shell shock a little bit, kind of bring you to step up and play, and we did that this weekend.”

Ah! So there was math involved! Of course I didn’t get it at first. Michigan is 3-7-0 against Miami since these seniors were freshmen (2008-09).

Then there were some comments that Berenson made that had me puzzled. “It was a good weekend for us. Those were games we had to have,” he said. “We had to establish ourselves at home and get back in the conference race, and I thought we did that. Penalty killing got better. I think we took a step this weekend.”

See, I saw Michigan as a team with one loss heading into the weekend. Berenson, though, saw the Wolverines as a team with an 0-1-1 record in conference play.

Berenson’s comments show that he’s instilling a hunger for league glory in his team and not seeing the conference play merely as a means to an NCAA-berth end.

When rumors lie

For over a week now, I’ve been getting messages about Michigan sophomore defenseman Jon Merrill, who’s been suspended from the team. The rumors have been interesting — and I won’t traffic in them here, except to make one point:

Don’t believe everything you hear.

Primarily, I’ve been told repeatedly by people who said they absolutely knew that Merrill had left the team.

Well … this week we learned through official channels that Merrill is still a Wolverines player. Berenson issued a statement Tuesday saying that Merrill has been “reinstated to participate in team activities” as of Nov. 1. “He will resume practice with the team,” said Berenson in the statement, “but remains suspended from game action indefinitely.”

Merrill’s 12-game suspension for violation of team rules was announced Oct. 1.

When rumors are the whole truth

And sometimes, getting confirmation of a quirky little rumor can make your whole day. I’m still smiling about this one.

During the offseason, before the National Collegiate Hockey Conference decided on its far-reaching name, those involved were calling for the formation of a so-called super conference.

That’s when I heard that Daniels — upon hearing this himself — said, “Maybe we should call ourselves the Super Duper League.”

“Yes, I did,” said Daniels when confronted with this delicious little rumor. “I said that.”

And he said that I could say so, on the record.

Super duper!

Players of the week

To be clear here, these are the CCHA’s official players of the week. I haven’t named players of the week — although I think that would be a fun thing to do. Since the CCHA has all of these categories covered, does anyone have a suggestion for a new category?

And another thing. At the start of the season, I wrote about how Gongshow Gear is sponsoring the CCHA’s rookie of the week award. I also promised you that I would never again refer to a player as a Gongshow Rookie of the Week. I plan to keep that promise — and I only write the corporate name because I’m leading to another point.

Last week, the league announced a new partnership, this one with Gladiator Custom Mouthguards — hence the league’s new Gladiator Defenseman of the Week award.

OK. So “gladiator” seems more appropriate than “gongshow” as an adjective for a hockey awards category, but let’s be clear about this: Neither of these big corporate sponsors is sponsoring this column. After this explanation, you won’t see their names in print here again unless and until they sponsor me as well.

If the offensive POTW and GOTW find sponsors (and don’t you think they feel left out at this point?), I’ll simply refer to this column by way of explanation.

Rookie of the week: Michigan’s Di Giuseppe, who had two goals and two assists in the Wolverines’ sweep of Ferris State, which had the No. 1 defense in the country heading into the weekend.

Offensive player of the week: Michigan State’s Lee Reimer, who had a hat trick and four assists in the Spartans’ home sweep of Robert Morris. Reimer, a sophomore, leads MSU in scoring (5-6–11). He had two goals in 29 games last season.

Defenseman of the week: Ohio State’s Devon Krogh, who had three assists as the Buckeyes took five points from visiting Alaska, keeping the Nanooks to two goals. Krogh, a junior, was instrumental on the Buckeyes’ penalty kill, which went 13-for-14 in the two games.

Goaltender of the week: Buckeyes senior Cal Heeter, who recorded his fourth career shutout Friday, with a weekend 0.96 goals against average and .968 save percentage.

My ballot

Yes, it looks different from last week. For one thing, I remember to include Notre Dame, whose exclusion last week was a total oversight on my part. For another, well, things are in flux.

1. Boston College
2. Michigan
3. Minnesota
4. Western Michigan
5. Ferris State
6. Colorado College
7. Notre Dame
8. Merrimack
9. Lake Superior State
10. Quinnipiac
11. Boston University
12. Michigan Tech
13. Minnesota-Duluth
14. Denver
15. Northern Michigan
16. Union
17. Nebraska-Omaha
18. Clarkson
19. Maine
20. Ohio State

Dartmouth’s Gaudet joins the 300 club, awaits company

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How ironic.

A player who helped Bob Gaudet get some earlier wins in his coaching career was suddenly trying to keep the Dartmouth coach from reaching the 300-win milestone.

Former Brown player Brendan Whittet, who played under Gaudet during Gaudet’s stint from 1988 to 1997, found himself on the opposing bench on Friday in Hanover, N.H. In the end, Dartmouth pulled out the 2-1 win over Brown in both teams’ regular season opener.

“He’s a great guy, a dear friend,” said Gaudet, a few days after the big win that gave him a 300-339-81 record overall. “We had a couple of chuckles about the win after the game. I think [300 wins] just means I’ve been at it long enough, where you get a few of those milestones. I’ve had good players and it’s been a lot of fun over the years.”

Since Dartmouth doesn’t face Colgate this weekend, Gaudet is pulling for Raiders coach Don Vaughan (299-298-69) to join him in the 300-win club. The Raiders face Brown on Friday and Yale on Saturday, with hopes of getting some road wins after a split weekend against Niagara.

“Every time Donnie and I play, it’s a battle, win or lose,” said Gaudet. “I have a ton of respect for him. He’s a good family guy, a good leader and a good person.”

Looking inward, Gaudet sees a lot of good people on the Dartmouth bench. It starts with associate head coach Dave Peters and assistant coach John Rose.

“We have a lot of new faces and [Peters and Rose] have brought in some really good kids,” said Gaudet, whose team fell 2-1 in its second game of the Ivy Shootout against Yale on Saturday.

The first weekend was a good non-league test before the Big Green go official in the ECAC this weekend at Thompson Arena against Quinnipiac and Princeton. Gaudet was able to pick out a few things his team will have to work on to make a serious run at the top of the pack.

“Game conditioning needs to be better. Not in terms of physical conditioning, but rather game experience,” he said.

He’s talking about the team’s ability to be “conditioned” to do the right things at the right time per Dartmouth’s team systems. A lot of this will come with time, as line combinations and power play and penalty kill sets will change with the season, at least early on.

“We had a lot of players who were on the team four years last year and were integral parts of our team. [With the new players], there will be growing pains along the way,” he added. “I like the makeup of our team. As games come, we’re going to be able to evaluate guys and see what our strengths are.”

It helps to have a guy like James Mello, a senior preseason media and coaches all-conference goaltender who made 47 saves on 50 shots in the two weekend games.

“He was really sharp. He’s a huge part of our hockey team. He’s an outstanding athlete and such a calming influence. He’s never rattled,” said Gaudet. “As our team grows, it helps to have such a stable guy and a great leader there.”

Gaudet gave a laundry list of the players he was impressed with in Weekend 1. They ranged from freshmen Eric Nieley, Jesse Beamish, Brandon McNally and Tyler Sikura to junior Dustin Walsh to junior captain Mike Keenan to sophomore defenseman Taylor Boldt. If he’s impressed with that many after two games, things are looking up for this season.

On the spot: Union’s Mat Bodie

He’s seen teammates earn player of the week and plenty of attention, but Mat Bodie will make himself known far and wide in the ECAC come March. Just watch.

The sophomore defenseman from East St. Paul, Manitoba, and younger brother of forward Kyle Bodie, is still on a hot streak that started in Game 1 of the season. In each of his seven games, he’s scored a point from the blue line, including a sweet tuck-in goal after taking his own pass off the boards against New Hampshire, Union’s only marker that night.

His teammate Kelly Zajac was scoring in each game until UNH shut him down on Friday. He responded with a hat trick the next night against American International. Bodie, however, is in fine company. Only player of the week Austin Smith (Colgate) and Kyle Flanagan (St. Lawrence) have points in every game they’ve played, among players with at least four games thus far.

USCHO: What do you think about your point streak?

Bodie: I think it just comes from playing with great players around me. I’m fortunate as a defenseman to have high-flying forwards.

USCHO: What have you learned from older players?

Bodie: Last year, [since-graduated] Brock Matheson kind of showed me that the game of college hockey for a defenseman is just about keeping it simple.

USCHO: What was working in the first five games (2-0–3) that wasn’t working in the UNH game?

Bodie: I thought we played a fairly good game vs. UNH. They had a great goalie [Matt Di Girolamo] that really shut us down. Through the first five games, it was about our team working hard and outworking our opponents, taking nothing for granted and playing good, hard team defense.

USCHO: What could the Dutchmen improve upon going forward?

Bodie: Coming out on a Friday and playing really hard for 60 minutes. The past two weekends, we’ve come out slower on Fridays, and that obviously resulted in our first loss this season.

Around the league

Brown: Mike Clemente earned an impressive fourth career goaltender of the week award for stopping 56 of 60 shots last week. Also worthy of praise was Jack MacLellan, who went 31-14 on faceoffs against both Dartmouth and Princeton.

Clarkson: ECAC Hockey goaltender of the month Paul Karpowich leads the charge here, but the power play remains potent at 12-for-44 (27.3 percent). All this has led the Golden Knights to their best start since 2006-07 (5-1-2).

Colgate: The Niagara Purple Eagles stopped Vaughan’s chase for 300 with a 2-1 victory over the Raiders last Saturday. The Purple Eagles could not stop Austin Smith from scoring his 49th and 50th goals on Friday, however. The next night, they did halt Smith (the ECAC Hockey player of the week)’s five-game goal streak.

Cornell: Joakim Ryan’s multiple-point game against Mercyhurst (two goals, assist) was the first by a Cornell defenseman since Feb. 5, a space of 11 games. The freshman’s feat was recognized with his first ECAC Hockey rookie of the week award.

Harvard: The Nov. 4 start to the season does not bode well for the Crimson, historically speaking. They went 0-5 from 2001 to 2010 in first games in November, against 3-1-1 in first games in October. Their last November opener win was on Nov. 3, 2000 (3-0 at Brown).

Princeton: The Tigers snapped a couple of series streaks recently. First, in Game 1 of their season on Friday, they snapped Yale’s five-game winning streak in that series with a 2-2 tie. However, on Tuesday night, they saw their three-game unbeaten streak against Quinnipiac snapped in a 5-2 loss.

Quinnipiac: Perhaps it was the shock at being named player of the month for October, but even in a 5-2 win over Princeton Tuesday, Jeremy Langlois was unable to reach the scoresheet for the first time in nine games. It was not for a lack of trying, as he led the Bobcats with five shots. Rookie of the month Matthew Peca’s streak, however, extended to eight games and nine points with an assist.

Rensselaer: This is the first time in three seasons the 1-6-0 Engineers weren’t able to bounce back from a rough start. Last year, they were 0-1-2 after three games, but 3-1-3 after seven. In 2009-10, they were 1-2-1 after four games, but 4-2-1 after seven.

St. Lawrence: Remember the Saints? They last played on Oct. 15 and will play Friday vs. Union. At 20 days between games, they are coming off their longest break between regular season games (not including December) since 2001-02, when they went 15 days between seeing competition (Oct. 20 to Nov. 3).

Yale: Congratulations, Nicholas Weberg. You’re officially the first Norwegian to ever score a goal for Yale in a season-opening game. That, and you’re the first Norwegian to ever play for Yale.

Top three alumni performances

First prize: Grant Clitsome (Clarkson), Columbus Blue Jackets — Wasn’t sure where he or the Blue Jackets were going this year, but a three-assist effort in a win over the Detroit Red Wings gets you on this list.

Second prize: Doug Murray (Cornell), San Jose Sharks — The former Big Red defenseman had a pretty good four-game stretch of two assists and a plus-2 rating over the last week.

Third prize: Colin Greening (Cornell), Ottawa Senators — In one four-game stretch, he doubled his points from the previous eight. He now has eight points in 13 games.

Top three recruit performances

First prize: Anthony Paskaruk (Clarkson), Brooks Bandits (AJHL) — He committed just late last week, and Casey Jones’ Golden Knights are getting a speedy, physical player with a good work ethic, according to his Brooks coach.

Second prize: Kevin Lough (Colgate), Cumberland Grads (CCHL) — This Ottawa-born defenseman had six points in six games in late October. He is a co-captain for the Grads this year.

Third prize: Michael Garteig (Quinnipiac), Penticton Vees (BCHL) — Last year’s top goaltender award winner (for Powell River) has played in 11 of the Vees’ 14 games thus far and put together a 9-2 record and a .912 save percentage.

Merrill to re-join Michigan for practice, but not games

USCHO Staff Report
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Michigan head coach Red Berenson released a statement Tuesday announcing that suspended defenseman Jon Merrill has been reinstated to be able to practice with the Wolverines, but is still not allowed to play in any games.

Merrill was suspended 12 games last month for a violation of team rules.

Per team policy, Merrill will not be available for comment during his suspension.

Red Berenson also joins us tonight on USCHO Live!

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Michigan coach Red Berenson took a few minutes to speak with USCHO Live! co-host Jim Connelly today about his early season, goaltender Shawn Hunwick, his former associate head coach Mel Pearson and the ongoing situation of players leaving early for the pros.

Hear their conversation as well as our live guest, College Hockey Inc. executive director Paul Kelly on this week’s edition of USCHO Live! tonight at 8 p.m. ET.

Listen via the player at the right (reload to see the live program) or visit blogtalkradio.com/uscholive.

TMQ: Passing tests and continuing surprises

By Jim Connelly and Todd D. Milewski
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Jim: Another weekend in the books, Todd, and for the first time this season the top team in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll escapes without a blemish. Boston College knocked off Massachusetts-Lowell 4-2 and 6-3. I was at both games and have to say that BC faced a stiff test on Friday night, getting outshot in the first period 13-5. But the Eagles proved they can withstand a little pressure and were very opportunistic throughout the weekend, another trademark sign of the best teams around.

Todd: If memory serves, the early part of this season is going along as many in the past have. The top teams experience some rough waters before we see one team start to settle in as the No. 1 team for a good stretch. It’s obviously a little premature to say the Eagles are going to be in the top spot for a while, but they’ve been tested since losing to Denver and they’ve won five straight.

Jim: I believe you are correct. A No. 1 team doesn’t always jump right out from season’s start. And while BC is excellent, there are still a number of teams that are unbeaten at this point. One that sticks out here in the East is Merrimack. Many felt this could be a down year for the Warriors, but a 6-0-0 start might say differently. Last weekend may have been their first solid test, a two-game road trip to always-difficult Vermont. Merrimack passed with flying colors. I feel that if the Warriors can keep up the winning ways, they’ll be barking at the door for No. 1.

Todd: It looks like Merrimack has a good balance going on offense — 12 players have scored, with no one having more than Ryan Flanigan’s four — and is getting the kind of goaltending expected out of Joe Cannata. I know some made a big deal out of the Warriors losing Stephane Da Costa from last year’s team, but I think they proved down the stretch last year that they didn’t need him to score to be a good team, and maybe it’s carrying over.

I’d also say watch out for Colorado College as a team that could find that No. 1 spot if BC falters. The Schwartz brothers, Rylan and Jaden, have combined for nine goals in four games and there’s enough experience there to make the Tigers an intriguing team.

Jim: While most people were concerned about Da Costa’s departure, I felt a lot of offense was lost in their senior class. Obviously, the balanced scoring and Cannata’s performance has helped.

I agree about CC and its start. Another team we talked about last week was Michigan. The Wolverines proved they can perform with their sweep of Ferris State. Western Michigan also is off to a fast start after sweeping Northern Michigan. Those are some decent surprises to me. Any others raise your eyebrows?

Todd: I think the Upper Peninsula teams continue to surprise a lot of people. Lake Superior State just swept Miami in Oxford, which no team has done since the 2006-07 season. The Lakers are 7-1 and looking like a team that could crack the upper levels of the CCHA standings.

And I’d be surprised if there weren’t a few double-takes at the result of last Friday’s Michigan Tech-Denver game. Sure, the Huskies scored three empty-net goals (in 31 seconds, no less), but the 7-2 victory sure made it seem like Tech is going to be trouble for a lot of teams in Houghton this season.

Jim: The West definitely has its share of surprise teams this season, something the East is lacking at this point. Hockey East continues to play according to plans and, if anything, Mercyhurst’s upset of Cornell is a surprise for the wrong reasons.

I should take that back when talking about one team, Clarkson. This has been a solid start for the Golden Knights. Granted, it is all non-league play and some will say their schedule hasn’t been the toughest. But 5-1-2 is a good start no matter who you play.

Todd: You’ve got to think that a 5-1-2 start is a great confidence boost for a team under a new head coach. But then again, there are a couple of teams under first-year coaches having solid starts. Michigan Tech’s 5-2-1 record with Mel Pearson and Western Michigan’s 5-0-3 mark with Andy Murray also fall into that category.

Jim: Let’s finish up by looking at some of the big games this weekend. Maine jumped back into the rankings this week, and it has to go on the road, first at No. 1 Boston College on Friday and then at New Hampshire on Saturday. And the ECAC has its first full weekend of the season, with Yale playing at Cornell on Friday. What’s on the docket out West?

Todd: I think you have to start with the old rivals, Minnesota and North Dakota, squaring off at Mariucci Arena. And we’ll see how Western Michigan does on the road at Michigan.

Career journey has given Dennehy recipe for success at Merrimack

By Roman J. Uschak
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Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy can’t say that coaching was always his calling, but he did have an awakening of sorts a couple of decades ago.

Everyone knows the story of last season’s Merrimack squad, which went 25-10-4 overall, finished fourth in Hockey East and advanced to the conference title tilt at TD Garden in Boston. The Warriors came up short against Dennehy’s alma mater, Boston College, but they also earned an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament, their first since 1988, where they were edged in OT by Notre Dame.

“Our goals were really raised our last two years, and we felt we could compete for championships,” Dennehy said in mid-October.

The story of Dennehy’s road to success in North Andover, though, goes back, at least tangentially, to his own playing days in Hockey East. A four-year standout on the blue line at BC from 1987 to 1991, he helped the Eagles to the 1990 Hockey East championship, along with three regular-season conference titles and a trio of national tournament appearances, including the 1990 NCAA Frozen Four.

After playing one year of professional hockey in Scotland, where he was the third-leading scorer for the Ayr Raiders, he returned to the U.S. for a tryout with the Fort Wayne Komets, then of the International Hockey League, in the fall of 1992. He explained that was when a dose of reality set in.

“I realized I wasn’t going to be an NHL player,” Dennehy said.

He hung up his skates and moved to Vail, Colo., where he took up skiing and worked in telecommunications sales for nine months. He labeled it a valuable experience that helped him later in life.

“It was great,” said Dennehy, now a husband and a father of three. “I learned how to sell, but I realized I wasn’t cut out to do something just because of money.”

A native of Dorchester, Mass., he returned to his home state to work on a graduate degree in education at the University of Massachusetts, with an eye toward teaching. UMass coach Joe Mallen, who had coached Dennehy at BC, then asked his former defenseman if he might like to help out with the Minutemen’s practices.

Cue the epiphany.

“I stepped on the ice, and I knew it was what I was meant to do,” said Dennehy. “All the hockey I had done beforehand was a prerequisite.”

After getting his start in Amherst, Dennehy joined Don “Toot” Cahoon’s staff at Princeton for five seasons, helping the Tigers to their first-ever ECAC championship and NCAA tournament berth in 1998. He then decided to take the plunge as a head coach himself and guided Fairfield during the 1999-2000 season.

“It was fantastic, and I was really lucky,” Dennehy said. “It looked like a stopover, but those nine months of head coaching experience were invaluable. I felt a little bit ahead of the game when I got to Merrimack.”

That didn’t happen right away, as Dennehy rejoined Cahoon at UMass for five seasons before finally taking the reins at Merrimack for the 2005-06 season. The Warriors hadn’t won more than 16 games in a single winter since joining Hockey East in 1989-90, and success did not come immediately for Dennehy’s new charges, either.

“We originally set our sights low,” he remembered, regarding the expectations. “It was, ‘Let’s make the playoffs.'”

His 2006-07 team scored just 37 goals in 34 games, though, and won just three of those contests. The foundation for future success, however, was slowly but surely being poured into place. The Warriors finally got back into the Hockey East playoff picture in 2009-10, when they pushed Boston University to a decisive third game, but even greater accomplishments were on the near horizon.

“I knew we would get better through recruiting, and we really harped on the guys here making that foundation,” said Dennehy. “You bring in enough good players and the culture will change, and good things will happen.”

Dennehy, who co-earned Hockey East’s Bob Kullen Coach of the Year Award in 2009-10 and is also a two-time New England coach of the year, admitted that he has borrowed a little bit from all the coaches he’s played for or worked with.

“The best coach is a good thief,” he said. “The best part is that you’re constantly growing.”

That growth has been reflected in his players. When Dennehy first got to Merrimack six years ago, his team struggled to score more than one goal per game. By his fourth season, the Warriors led the nation in one-goal games, and last year they tallied 143 goals in all.

“We started to stem the tide, and got some Herculean efforts from some guys,” he said of the early years. “I give them a lot of credit. They worked hard to keep it afloat, and that team worked its tails off.”

Those Warriors players didn’t get to taste the success the program has recently enjoyed, but they did pave the way for those who came after them. That includes skaters like Stephane Da Costa, who signed a professional contract with the Ottawa Senators following two seasons at Merrimack, where he accumulated 91 points and earned a host of accolades.

The cupboard wasn’t exactly left bare at J. Thom Lawler Arena following Da Costa’s departure, however, as Merrimack started off the 2011-12 season with wins against Maine, Army, Northeastern and Connecticut.

“He could be the best I ever coached, but we had a pretty good team,” Dennehy said of Da Costa. “There are enough programs that probably thought that we were Stephane Da Costa and the Seven Dwarves, though, so we’ve still got plenty to prove.”

The Warriors returned Joe Cannata in goal this fall, along with Ryan Flanigan and Jesse Todd up front, and Karl Stollery and Kyle Bigos on defense. Seven freshmen have also made their debuts so far this season.

Something Dennehy can offer his recruits right now is tangible proof of success, and not just hopes for some far-off day. The Warriors have opened the season 6-0 for the first time since 1987-88.

“It’s not storytelling; it’s real,” said Dennehy. “It’s not just talk. We’ve got a track record now, and we’ve got a good base. We’re in a much better place, and guys will come to the program now with good players already in it, and a winning culture.”

That doesn’t mean they’re expecting opponents to simply roll over, based on Merrimack’s recent achievements.

“It’s business as usual,” said Dennehy matter-of-factly. “You can’t get caught up too much, and you do have to focus on the here and now.”

He thanked Merrimack’s administration for its support, particularly president Christopher E. Hopey and athletic director Glen Hofmann. The university recently spent more than $3 million on renovations to Lawler Arena, which opened in 1972.

“Without them, nothing gets done,” said Dennehy. “It really came out nice, and it’s home.”

The summer upheaval in NCAA Division I this year left Hockey East largely unscathed, with Notre Dame’s future admission the only major change so far. Dennehy is looking ahead enthusiastically as the overall hockey landscape prepares to shift in less than two years.

“It’s an exciting time,” said Dennehy, whose contract with Merrimack runs through 2018-19. “We’ll move forward, and the future looks bright as well.”

And it didn’t take very long to get there, either.

Men’s poll has Boston College comfortably at No. 1

USCHO Staff Report
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Boston College received 42 first-place votes this week to retain its No. 1 ranking in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll.

Colorado College, with five first-place votes, moves from No. 3 to No. 2, while Michigan jumps one to No. 3. Western Michigan garnered one No. 1 vote and sits fourth this week after being seventh last week.

Minnesota cracks the top five, up three places from No. 8 last week. Notre Dame falls one to No. 6, Merrimack rises two to No. 7, while Denver plummets six notches to No. 8.

Yale goes from tenth to ninth and Ferris State, after their first two losses of the season, drops from sixth to No. 10 this week.

Lake Superior State is No. 11 this week, up seven from last week, while Boston University goes from 13th to 12th, Union to No. 13 from No. 11, Minnesota-Duluth up one to No. 14 and North Dakota down three to No. 15.

Rounding out the poll is previously unranked Michigan Tech at No. 16, Northern Michigan at No. 17, Colgate at No. 18, Quinnipiac 19th and Maine at No. 20 after receiving votes last week.

New week, same result with Wisconsin No. 1 in women’s poll

USCHO Staff Report
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Wisconsin remains the top team in the USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll this week, as the Badgers have all season long, earning 14 of 15 first-place votes.

Cornell received the other first-place vote and moved from No. 3 to No. 2 in the poll.

Minnesota falls from second to third, Minnesota-Duluth rises from No. 7 to No. 4 and Boston University stays at No. 5.

At No. 6, Boston College drops from No. 4 and North Dakota is down one place to the seventh spot, while Mercyhurst (No. 8) and Northeastern (No. 9) retain their ranks from last week.

Previously-unranked Bemidji State and Harvard tied for tenth.

MASCAC 2011-2012 season preview

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This year, there’s a bigger incentive to play for in the MASCAC.

An automatic bid to the NCAA tournament is up for grabs for the first time in the league’s three years as an organized Division III hockey conference, and the winner of the MASCAC postseason tournament has a chance to make history as the three-year-old league’s first entry to the NCAA Division III tournament.

“Our goal is to make the playoffs and try to advance to the tournament,” Salem State coach Bill O’Neill said. “The league is very competitive, though. Last year, even the last two years, it’s been very strong, right to the end and right to the last game of the season to determine the winning teams.”

However, each season, Worcester State coach John Guiney explained, it seems like whoever scores last in each MASCAC contest is going to win. Don’t expect that to be any different this season, and expect Worcester State to adjust accordingly.

Of the league’s top 10 scorers in 2010-2011, all but one scored at least 11 goals, and Salem State’s Giancarlo Capodanno, a senior forward, returns as the league’s leading scorer, with 15 goals and 22 assists last season. Capodanno will lead a Vikings offense that finished fifth in the nation by scoring an average of 4.30 goals a game (116 goals in 27 games). Three MASCAC teams were among the top 20 in the nation in Division III scoring (Salem State, Fitchburg State 8th and Plymouth State 17th).

“We have to increase our scoring,” Guiney said. “It seems that in our conference, it’s a race to five. Whoever gets five goals wins. And for us, we have to make sure to take more shots.”

Salem State
Projected finish: First
Previous season: Second, 18-7-2 (11-5-2)
Key departures: Sam Cannata, Mike Genovese, James LaCour.
Arrivals: Ace Edwards, Ian Canty, Cam Banwell.
Key players: Giancarlo Capodanno (15-22-37), Nick Lampson (12-20-32), Casey Terreri (8-21-29).
Outlook/prognosis: The Vikings’ strength will be their offense, as they return five of their top seven scorers from last season – including three players with at least 12 goals. With the graduation of Cannata, the Vikings need to establish a strong leader on defense. In goal, sophomore Ryan Sutliffe and junior Sam Avoine will play in order to fill the void left by LaCour, who had a 2.68 goals-against average in 20 games.

Massachusetts-Dartmouth
Projected finish: Second
Previous season: First, 18-7-1 (13-4-1)
Key departures: Jason Stahl, Collin Tracy, Mickey Dudley.
Arrivals: Ryan Williams, Zach Hepler.
Key players: Rob Dudley (10-5-15), Mike Owens (10-5-15), Justin Pye (0-3-3), Mike Grzelcyk (1-4-5).
Outlook/prognosis:The Corsairs graduated three All-Conference selections in Stahl, Tracy, and Dudley, and lost their top two leading scorers in Stahl (15-13-28) and Joe Hill (10-15-25). However, depth probably won’t be an issue for the Corsairs; instead, Massachusetts-Dartmouth’s biggest concern will be in goal after the departure of Tracy (18-7-1, 2.24 goals-against average, .921 saves percentage).

Fitchburg State
Projected finish: Third
Previous season: Fourth, 18-9-1 (9-8-1)
Key departures: Billy Pescosolido, Chris Riggs, Bobby Vorse, Kevin McCready.
Arrivals: None to report, via Falcons coach Dean Fuller.
Key players: Kris Threlkeld (12-22-34), Bobby Leiser (10-3, 2.50 GAA, .931 save percentage), Thomas McAleer (11-16-27), Spencer Syvertson (1-2-3), Bryan Canter (5-6-11), Travis Bertolotti (5-12-17).
Outlook/prognosis: The Falcons return three of their five leading scorers from last season, including All-Conference selection Threlkeld. Leiser is the front-runner to take over as the starting goalie after splitting time in the nets with Vorse, and the Falcons will return a experienced defense that graduated only two seniors from last year, and will be anchored by Syvertson and Bertolotti this season.

Plymouth State
Projected finish: Fourth
Previous season: Third, 15-6-5 (10-5-3)
Key departures: Andrew Stewart, David Rose, Jake Curtin.
Arrivals: Michael Freitag, Phil Arnone.
Key players: Richie Zobak (4-12-16), Kyle Greco (16-13-29), Alex Cottle (3-23-26), Jack Astedt (13-5-5, 2.18 GAA, .920 save percentage).
Outlook/prognosis: Manufacturing offense will be key for the Panthers, who had the MASCAC’s top power play last season (34 for 127, 26.8 percent in 26 games). Behind Greco and Bryan Kriner (15-9-24), no returning player scored more than five goals last season, but the Panthers look to build upon their depth, experience, and fitness level. Zobak will anchor a defense that allowed 61 goals in 26 games, which also led the league last season, but graduated four players.

Worcester State
Projected finish: Fifth
Previous season: Fifth, 11-12-3 (7-10-1)
Key departures: Chris Wallin.
Arrivals: Nathan Stanley, Steven Rock, Luke Nietenbach, Andrew Pearson.
Key players: Nick Asterito (11-18-29), John Cahalane (15-8-23), Derek Serbon (8-9-17), Bryan Kalcynski (7-11-2, 3.14 GAA, .918 save percentage), Tim D’Orazio (6-6-12), Paul Conceison (1-4-5), Tim Bowman (2-6-8).
Outlook/prognosis: Remarkably, Wallin is one of only two players the Lancers graduated from last season; Worcester State returns the bulk of its team, which looks to improve on its fifth-place finish. Behind Asterito and Calahane, the Lancers must generate more offense; no returning player scored more than eight goals last season.

Westfield State
Projected finish: Sixth
Previous season: Seventh, 6-19-2 (4-13-1)
Key departures: Dennis Zak, Drew LaCombe, Ray Monroe.
Arrivals: Did not name new arrivals, but the Owls have nine on the roster.
Key players: Vince Perreault (15-11-26), Pat Nelson (6-15-21), A.J. Shiverdecker (6-11-17), Jeff Callahan (4-10-14), Lucas Romero (5-6-11).
Outlook/prognosis: The Owls graduated their top scorer in Dennis Zak (18 goals, 24 assists), but sophomore forward Vince Perreault should step into the role Zak vacated as a result of graduation. While the Owls were thin as far as offense last year, they graduated only five players, meaning that the experience they gained should help this season.

Framingham State
Projected finish: Seventh
Previous season: Sixth, 4-18-1 (4-13-1)
Key departures: Terence Sullivan,
Arrivals: Matt Schafer, Cam Hoffman, Jordan Lehr, Ryan Lehr, Cody Blom, Billy McMullen.
Key players: Daniel Miressi (18-12-30), Eric Ward (9-9-18), Benjamin Pacific (5-9-14).
Outlook/prognosis: The Rams were hurt by a lack of offensive production last season, and were outscored 113-55, including 92-44 in conference play (more than a 2-1 margin). The lack of offense didn’t help goalies Sullivan and Nicholas Cafrelli, each of whom had a goals-against average of more than 4.60.

Five Ivies and a (premature) funeral

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Rocky Iles

Yes, sure, of course, we’re only 60 minutes into Cornell’s season, but this may be the only opportunity for me to use this catchy sub-head.

While veteran head coach Mike Schafer lambasted his team’s effort, preparedness and decision-making in a stunning 5-4 season-opening loss to Mercyhurst at Lynah on Saturday, it should be noted – for whatever little it may be worth – that goalie Andy Iles wasn’t above criticism either. The sophomore goalie pitched, statistically, the second-worst game of his young career in allowing five goals on 19 shots. As for the lowest of his lows? That happened to be the last NCAA game he played prior: March 19 in Atlantic City, in which Iles surrendered five goals on 15 shots in the game’s opening 28:37. Yale won that game – the league championship game, as a matter of fact – 6-0.

Iles is a very sharp, talented student-athlete and I am in no way trying to vilify him for either of the aforementioned losses. If anything, I am pointing out a notable (if unfortunate – for Cornell, at least) exception to what has so far been Iles’ generally stellar play. Schafer didn’t crucify him after the game, nor did the local papers, as he was put in a few very challenging situations against the uppity Lakers (and for that matter, Yale).

All I’m sayin’ is, a .737 save percentage and a 5.09 goals against average is no way to start your year.

Shootout Redux

This year’s Ivy Shootout went to… I’m not really sure. Yale, I suppose? The Bulldogs went 1-0-1 in Hanover this weekend, followed by Dartmouth and Brown (1-1-0) and Princeton (0-1-1). Notes follow:

Brown: Youth is being served – or is youth doing the serving? – for Bruno early on, as three of Brown’s four goal-scorers this weekend were underclassmen: frosh Ryan Jacobson and Massimo Lamacchia and sophomore Garnet Hathaway each tallied in Saturday’s win over Princeton, drawing Bruno back to .500 after a hard-fought 2-1 loss to heavily favored (ya know, if anyone actually set odds on these things) Dartmouth. Brown actually out-shot the Big Green in Friday’s tilt, but couldn’t find the twine on six power-play opportunities. On the other side of the coin, the Bears snuffed all six Green PP opps, as well.

Dartmouth: The hosts went 0-10 on the weekend, scuttling a very real shot at an impressive tourney sweep of Brown and Yale. The Big Green whiffed on each of six Friday power plays, as mentioned above, and tacked on four more failed advantages against Yale in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat. On a positive note, senior goalie James Mello is off to a great start, stopping 47 of 50 shots on the weekend, including 24 of 25 against Bruno. Rookie forwards Tyler Sikura and Eric Neiley each potted their first collegiate goals, with Sikura’s late strike ending up as the game-winner on Friday.

Princeton: The Tigers were the only team to return home from the Granite State without a W, but a draw against Yale is no easy feat, and for that they should feel a bit of consolation. It was also nice to see that some of former coach Guy Gadowsky’s “shoot now, ask questions later” tactics survived the summer, as Princeton wired 67 shots on net over the weekend, including 39 versus Brown on Saturday. The Tigers took the losing end of the special-teams battles, going one for six on the PP but allowing two goals in eight shorthanded opportunities. Junior defenseman Michael Sdao (a personal favorite, as an Ottawa prospect) scored a goal each day, but he was also involved in a final-buzzer fracas with Brown’s Dennis Robertson that earned them each a five and a 10. No word yet on whether the league will suspend either of them for the throw-down. Sophomore goalie Sean Bonar stopped 28 of 30 shots in Friday’s tie; junior Mike Condon took the loss in allowing three goals on 26 shots Saturday.

Yale: The champs were handed something to think about on Friday as upstart Princeton stole a point (ok, there are no points given in non-conference games, I know). Not only did the Bulldogs – who have recently been the 2007 New England Patriots on Ice – only muster two goals in each of their tilts, but not a single player finished the weekend with multiple points. The special teams played pretty well, though, going two for eight on the advantage and blanking Princeton and Dartmouth in six combined power-play chances. (Plus, the Blue enjoyed more power plays than their opponents, which is a habit that last year’s team never fully developed.) Freshman forward Nicholas Weberg scored Yale’s first (D-I) goal of the season and ergo the first of his career against the Tigers, and for the moment it looks as though coach Keith Allain is leaning toward junior Jeff Malcolm to tend the cage: the heir-potential to Ryan Rondeau’s role saved 55 of 58 on the weekend.

One and done?

Rensselaer is in a bit of a funk.

An NCAA at-large bid last year, RPI has really put itself behind the eight ball if it hopes for a similar fate come March. An opening-weekend split with visiting Minnesota State in which the Engineers outscored the Mavericks 4-2 is all but forgotten now, washed out by the wake of a five-game goal-starved struggle.

The ‘Tute offense is gasping like a landed trout, sputtering out merely four goals in its last five games – all losses. The lack off scoring support is wearing on the defense and goaltending as well (or maybe it’s the other way around?) to the tune of 19 goals against over that stretch. Losing games by a goal over and over again is depressing, but 4-0, 2-0, 5-2, 4-1, 4-1? Scoring a goal or fewer in five of seven games to start the season is a hell of a honeymoon. It might be a good time for the team to have a trial separation.

To be fair, coach Seth Appert – no babe in the woods – likes the way his guys are playing, and all accounts have them flying around the ice playing a punishing, bruising breed of hockey that is sure to yield positive results in time. RPI doesn’t schedule cupcakes, and there’s little shame in dropping those five games to three teams each ranked in the top half-dozen in the nation (at Ferris State and Notre Dame, home against Colorado College). The team has suffered some major injuries already this year to the likes of forwards Greg Burgdoerfer, Marty O’Grady and Brock Higgs, which ain’t exactly helping matters in the goal department. Appert is positive and enthusiastic to a fault, and he’s the man I’d want behind my bench in a slump, to be sure.

The defense and the goaltending tandem of junior Bryce Merriam and rookie Scott Diebold look worse by the results than they actually are, as RPI has surrendered six empty-net goals already. (RPI’s team GAA is actually only 2.14, when you subtract the ENGs.) The offense is really the biggest concern, and it seems to me a bit unfair to dismiss the Engineers before they’re tested against the rest of the ECAC.

I only did it to make a point.

ECAC Northeast Preview

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At Curry College, the expectations are no different than they have been in years past. Last season, the Colonels won the ECAC Northeast tournament championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament, and Curry coach Rob Davies believes that success will provide the foundation in creating a stronger team environment.

However, Davies said, as the quality of Curry hockey has grown, so has the quality of the ECAC Northeast.

“Over the last three, four, or five years, it’s gotten so much more competitive,” said Davies, whose team is ranked 15 in the USCHO.com Division III preseason poll. “Some of the teams in our league have gotten more solid and have gotten more committed coaching staffs. As a result, it’s also gotten more competitive from a recruiting standpoint. That’s going to create more parity.”

Salve Regina coach Andy Boschetto points to Curry and Wentworth as the league’s top two teams, but sees an improvement in the league’s remaining six teams.

“Curry’s always going to be Curry, and Wentworth’s always going to be good,” Boschetto said. “But the last three or four spots in the playoffs, it’s going to be a battle. Everyone’s improved and has recruited a better class coming into the season.”

Wentworth
Projected finish: First
Previous season: Second, 14-9-4 (10-3-1)
Key departures: Kyle Richardson.
Arrivals: Coach did not name new arrivals.
Key players: Skylur Jameson (20-15-35), Mike Paglino (12-18-30) Corey Lillie (9-10-19), Casey Shade (8-17-25), Anthony Principato (11-15-26), Shaun Jameson (5-12-17).
Outlook/prognosis: The Leopards allowed 75 goals in 27 games (2.78 goals a game), and Jameson, the Leopards’ leading scorer from last season, scored three game-winning goals. Yet with the graduation of Richardson, last season’s captain, the Leopards must find leadership.

Curry
Projected finish: Second
Previous season: First 16-9-3, (10-2-2)
Key departures: Ryan Warsofsky, Ray Nicks, Sean Mahoney.
Arrivals: Robert Kleiman, Chris Mason.
Key players: Payden Benning (16-10-26), Ryan Barlock (6-17-23), Joshua Pineiro (7-8-15), Joe Dawson (8-7-1, 2.86 GAA, .901 save percentage).
Outlook/prognosis: Ranked 15 in the nation in the USCHO.com preseason poll, the Colonels are the defending ECAC Northeast champion and look to return to the NCAA Division III national tournament. On defense and on offense, the Colonels will have to regroup from the loss of Warsofsky (9-18-27) to graduation; Warsofsky averaged a point a game in his senior season, and was one of three seniors to graduate.

Johnson and Wales
Projected finish: Third
Previous season: Third, 14-12-1 (10-4)
Key departures: None.
Arrivals: None listed.
Key players: Jeremiah Ketts (25-25-50), Domenic Recchia (3-28-31), Matt Cooper (12-8, 3.11 GAA, .901 save percentage), Jason Pietrasiak (18-13-31).
Outlook/prognosis: Recchia returns as the league’s top offensive defenseman, while Ketts scored a league-leading 14 power-play goals last season and Pietrasiak added 11. Ketts proved proficient on special teams, also scoring three short-handed goals for the Wildcats, who led the league in three categories last season: goals (107), power play (26.9 percent, 45-167) and penalty minutes (averaging 28 minutes a game). The offensive prowess must remain, but discipline will be key.

Becker
Projected finish: Fourth
Previous season: Fourth, 11-13-3 (7-4-3)
Key departures: None
Arrivals: Richard Woodworth, Nick Di Nardo, David Moore, Tim MacDonald.
Key players: Korby Anderson (15-16-31), Branden Parkhouse (9-24-33), Jake Rosenthal (10-10-3, 3.25 GAA, .901 save percentage).
Outlook/prognosis: Anderson was the Hawks’ second-leading scorer last season behind Parkhouse, and last year’s leading freshman scorer in the ECAC Northeast. Both Anderson and Parkhouse left a team that had balanced scoring, but must improve on special teams, particularly the power play. The Hawks were last among eight league teams on the man-advantage, scoring on only 19 of 140 power-play opportunities (13.6 percent)

Western New England
Projected finish: Fifth
Previous season: Sixth, 8-17-1 (5-9)
Key departures: Chris Beaudoin.
Arrivals: Adam Bristol, Nick Diorio, Andrew Cramer.
Key players: Chris Connors (9-21-30), Mike Kaselouskas (15-10-25), John Kelly (10-14-24), Cam Napolitan (3-15-18).
Outlook/prognosis: Golden Bears coach Greg Heffernan describes this year’s team as “tight-knit,” and believes that the character and attitude of the team will be key in creating success. Western New England will have to improve on its special teams, particularly on its power play, which was 56th of 71 teams in the nation (22 for 131, 16.8 percent), but last in the nation (71st) on the penalty kill (109 for 165, 66.1 percent).

Nichols
Projected finish: Sixth
Previous season: Fifth, 12-13-1 (6-8)
Key departures: Matt Sayer, Will Munson.
Arrivals: Louie Educate, Joe Sposit, Tyler Marek, Johnny Blaus, Alex Lewis, Mike Schwartz, Chris Gularte, Kyle Shapiro, Evan Jones.
Key players: Zach Kohn (11-27-38), Robbie Sorrenti (5-16-21), Andrew Ella (11-8-19), Wil Brown (5-11-16), Jacob Rinn (8-7-1, 3.49 GAA, .893 save percentage), Josh DeLoach (0-3-3).
Outlook/prognosis: Nichols coach Lou Izzi believes his defense is an upgrade from last year’s – the Bison allowed 3.65 goals a game last season, but expect to boast speed and toughness from the blue line this year. The Bison are more balanced both offensively and defensively, but with a large group of freshmen, maturing and adjusting will be key for team success.

Suffolk
Projected finish: Seventh
Previous season: Seventh, 8-16 (4-10)
Key departures: Jeff Rose, Paul Weisser.
Arrivals: Brett Roman, Andrew Ball, Ryan DesRoches, Chris Rettig, Tim Sprague.
Key players: Jon Stauffer (8-7-15), Andrew Flynn (4-10-14), Max Barron (5-6-11).
Outlook/prognosis: Offense was thin for the Rams last season – they were last in the league, scoring only 61 goals in 24 games, and don’t return anyone who scored more than eight goals. Furthermore, in their pursuit of becoming one of the league’s top three teams again, the Rams must replace goalie Jeff Rose and remain healthy as a group. One bright spot for the Rams was that they had the league’s top penalty kill, finishing 92 for 110 (83.6 percent).

Salve Regina
Projected finish: Eighth
Previous season: Eighth 2-21-2 (1-13)
Key departures: Bryan Russell, Joe Colaianni, Brett Pimental, Kevin Sullivan.
Arrivals: Chad Goodwin, Jon Scorcia, Mike Naso, Kevin Kavanagh, Cody Zweifel, Scott McMenimen.
Key players: Jacob Hutt (10-6-16), Michael Cenisio (2-6-8), Bill Gomolinski (4-1-5).
Outlook/prognosis: The Seahawks are young, and while they boast depth, their biggest area of concern is goaltending. The Seahawks used five goalies in 25 games last season, none finishing with a goals-against average of lower than 5.55, and need one to step in and take the reins of the starting position. The Seahawks will face a challenging schedule – they’ve compiled a nonconference slate that includes Bowdoin, Colby, Hobart, and Utica.

Off and Running

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Every team in the ECAC West is now in action and the season is under way.
Three teams were in action this past weekend, all with games on Saturday.  The biggest of them all was No. 13 Utica handing No. 2 Oswego its first loss of the year.  The Pioneers scored a pair of goals in the second period to take a 3-1 lead and then withstood a charge by Oswego in the third to seal the 3-2 win.
Trever Hertz and Mike Slowikowski each had a goal and an assist in the game.
A key to Utica’s victory was staying out of the penalty box.  The Pioneers were only whistled for three infractions all night long, keeping a very potent Laker power play unit off the ice.
“We came out hard and set the pace of the game,” said Utica coach Gary Heenan.  “Our guys showed some great composure with the puck, made some good decisions, stuck with our game plan and executed.  We played extremely well for 50 minutes and then with our inexperience in those kinds of games we panicked a little bit in the last ten minutes.”
Manhattanville started its season under new head coach Eric Lang against the US Under-18 team.  Trailing by a goal with less than four minutes to go in the contest, the Valiants struck twice across a twelve second span to take the 2-1 victory.
Brendan Turner scored with a one-time from the slot at 16:28 of the third period and then Brett Skalski stuffed in a pass from Scott Hudson at the post to tie the game at 16:40.  Both goals came on the power play.
“Our discipline and disposition were perfect,” said Lang. “We never got too low when it wasn’t going well or too high when we took the lead. We plotted the course and the guys played like warriors.  We have some tightening up to do for sure, but it was a wonderful team effort.”
Pierre-Olivier Lemieux made 39 saves in the game.  The only puck that got past him was a short-hander midway through the second period.
Hobart was also in action on Saturday but dropped its game against Cortland 3-2.  The teams were tied 1-1 late in the second period when a scrum gave Cortland a two man advantage.
Cortland converted twice in the final minute of the period to take a 3-1 lead.  The game almost got away from Hobart  early in the third period when Ryan Michel covered the puck in the crease, giving Cortland a penalty shot.  Netminder Nick Broadwater made the save to keep the game close and Hobart freshman  Tommaso Traversa scored his first collegiate goal at 9:51 to narrow the margin to 3-2.
That was as close as Hobart could get, though.

Buzzer beater

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The young season has already produced emergency calls to the cardiologists.
Buffalo State was cruising along in Geneseo, leading the Ice Knights, 3-1. Geneseo scored first on a Corbin Rosmarin goal at 1:18 of the first. The Bengals tied it at 5:07 with a Dave Lansdowne tally.
Drew Klin scored a power-play goal in the second, and Jim Durham produced a two-goal lead in the third. Both goals came at the 8:05 mark of their respective periods.
“In terms of our play, we were terrible,” Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said. “There were turnovers in every zone. We probably played about 10 of the 60 minutes.”
Those 10 minutes came at the right time. David Arduin scored a power-play goal with 6:20 left in regulation. Then came the inconceivable.
“With the empty net, we just threw every puck we possibly could at the net,” said Schultz.
One of those pucks thrown at the net was tipped by Zachary Vit past the goaltender. There was .9 of a second left on the clock.
“The way we managed to comeback was really something,” Schultz said. “It was awesome. I think what happened in overtime, they were still rattled by the finish and we just jumped all over them on the forecheck and they turned the puck over. And we were in the right spot at the right time.”
Clint Olson scored the game-winner just 17 seconds into the extra period for the 4-3 Geneseo improbable victory.
Quite a turnaround. The defibrillators got their workout.
There were other games that were nail biters. The next day, Geneseo and Fredonia played a hard-fought, tight-checking affair. Rosmarin again scored the first goal, this time in the second period at 3:12. Brad Nunn tied it 20 seconds into the third period. Three-and-a-half minutes later, Arduin scored the winner.
“It’s great SUNYAC hockey,” Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith said. “Two teams killing each other out there, finishing checks, battling for every inch of the ice, killing off penalties. It was  a gritty, greasy game. I was very pleased with how our guys played. They left me not wanting anything more from them.”
“It was a typical Fredonia-Geneseo game,” Schultz said. “Seems like every time we play them, it’s a one-goal game. It goes down to the wire. They play with a lot of energy. You’ve got to come to work. If you get lazy at all, they will take advantage of your laziness. For the most part, we hung there.”
Fredonia was also involved in a close, see-saw game on Friday, tying Brockport, 4-4.
After Fredonia’s Jared Wynia gave his team a 1-0 first period lead on a power play, Brockport scored three unanswered goals (Steve Sachman, Adam Shoff, James Cody) in the second to take a 3-1 lead. Then Fredonia scored three unanswered goals (Andrew Christ, and Mat Hehr at the end of the second, and Wynia again on the power play early in the third) to take a 4-3 lead. Mike Hayward then tied the game on a power play midway through the third.
Other Highlights
– Plattsburgh and Morrisville played a back-and-forth first period before the Cardinals pulled away for a 6-4 win. In that first period, Morrisville led 1-0, Plattsburgh led 2-1, Morrisville led 3-2, and then it was 3-3 at the end of the 20 minutes. Kyle Kudroch scored the last two goals for Plattsburgh, and Curtis Renaud got the first two for Morrisville.
– Morrisville beat Potsdam, 4-1. Todd Hosmer scored the final goal against his former teammates. Colin Breen made 45 saves.
– Oswego shutout Cortland, 6-0. Andrew Hare made 19 saves. Paul Rodrigues and Chris Brown each got a pair of goals.
– After falling behind 1-0, the Bengals roared to an 8-1 win over Brockport. Mike Zannella and Drew Klin each scored twice for Buffalo State, and Kevin Carr made 22 saves.
– Cortland stunned Hobart for a 3-2 nonconference upset, thanks to a pair of power-play goals 35 seconds apart in the last minute of the second period.
– Paul Manderfield wrapped up the scoring for Potsdam with a natural hat trick in the third period for a 14-2 rout over Southern New Hampshire.
– Any thoughts on Oswego taking over the national number one spot after St. Norbert lost on Friday were quickly dashed when the Lakers dropped a 3-2 contest to Utica.
– For you numerologists (like me), here is your useless stat of the weekend: In the Buffalo State-Geneseo game, each team got 29 shots; in the Fredonia-Geneseo game, each goalie made 29 saves.

Here comes Cornell

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For much of last season, it looked like a foregone conclusion that Cornell would be the team to face Wisconsin for the national title. The Big Red fell a game short of that climax in March, but they wrote the first chapter of a sequel last week, blowing out three opponents, Colgate, Yale and Brown, by a cummulative 24-2 tally. The defending ECAC champs return their top five scorers, each of whom exceeded 40 points last season, and they’ve added reinforcements to that cast. To date, the newcomer to Ithaca making the biggest impact is Jillian Saulnier. Skating with senior Rebecca Johnston and sophomore Brianne Jenner, Saulnier dented the twine four times in her first contest. Defensively, the Big Red allowed a national best 1.11 goals per game last season, and they’ve dropped that to a miniscule 0.67 thus far.

Also perfect
The Ivy League boasts the only other unbeaten team, Harvard. The Crimson debuted with a 7-1 defeat of St. Lawrence and followed it up with a 2-1 win in overtime over Clarkson.

Rematch mismatch
Boston University, the team that dispatched Cornell in an NCAA semifinal and was ultimately dropped in the championship by Wisconsin, got another shot at the Badgers over the weekend and didn’t fare much better. Wisconsin claimed 3-0 and 6-1 victories in Madison to conclude a 7-1 October consisting of series against four top-ten opponents.

Upset specials
The most surprising result of the weekend was Maine’s 5-2 thumping of No. 4 Boston College on the road. Bemidji State took down No. 2 Minnesota, 2-1, but the Beavers were lurking just outside the rankings and playing at home.

Fit to be tied
Eight games on the weekend required overtime, and only the Harvard at Clarkson game reached a decision. Niagara and Vermont enjoyed bonus hockey so much that they played 65 minutes on consecutive days.

The Patty picture
Cornell’s trio of Jenner (3-7-10), Saulnier (7-3-10), and Johnston (2-7-9) tops the points per game statistics as the only players averaging at least three or better per game. Of those who’ve played more than a week, Jocelyne Lamoureux of North Dakota (9-15-24), and Brianna Decker (12-12-24) of Wisconsin, lead the way at 2.4 points per game. Seven of Decker’s points came in two games with Lindenwood, but 17 points in her other eight games is more than respectable, highlighted by a hat trick in the most recent win over BU.

Weekend work-up: Oct. 31, 2011

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With every CCHA team in action this past weekend, we learned a little bit more about how this season is shaping up. Here are three of the scariest things that emerged from the most recent games.
Michigan’s offense is scary good. There is no other way to put this. Averaging 4.88 goals per game and second in the nation only to Minnesota, the Wolverines are finding the net often, and they don’t need a man advantage to do it; of the nine goals UM scored against Ferris State in two wins, seven were even strength, one on the power play, one with an extra attacking for a delayed penalty. Three Wolverines have five goals: Juniors Lindsay Sparks and A.J. Treais and freshman Phil Di Giuseppe. Fourteen UM skaters have recorded at least one goal. They’re fast, they’re smart, they’re four lines deep and these Wolverines beat a very, very good FSU squad. And it’s a good thing they can score without the power play, because it’s performing at 18.4 percent — tied for 29th in the nation.
Western Michigan is still undefeated. Okay, so this isn’t scary if you’re a Bronco fan, but it certainly puts the rest of the league on notice. After a 4-2 win Friday, WMU needed overtime to sweep Northern Michigan at home, but the Broncos prevailed — with senior captain Ian Slater playing the hero 28 seconds into overtime with his first goal of the season. The two victories brought the Broncos to an overall record of 5-0-3, which is Division I’s current best unbeaten streak. The Broncos’ offense is balanced, averaging 3.62 goals per game, tying them for 12th nationally. The WMU defense is fourth, allowing 1.62 goals per game in large part to the goaltending duo of junior Nick Pisellini and freshman Frank Slubowski — and Slubowski had both wins against NMU.
The CCHA is littered with good goaltenders — again. The 2010-11 season was a year in which the CCHA’s goaltending was merely mortal. This season, at least half a dozen of the league’s goalie’s are showing that they have the potential to be among the best in the nation, and that may be a slightly conservative estimate. What’s eerie is that the list of netminders off to great starts includes names that fans may not have expected, like Bowling Green’s Andrew Hammond, who’s allowing fewer than two goals per game with a .922 save percentage or rookies like WMU’s Slubowski or FSU’s C.J. Motte, without whom Friday’s 4-0 UM win over the Bulldogs easily could have been 7-0. Eerier still is the number of teams with two goalies capable of starting, like NMU, FSU, WMU and Michigan State. What makes this scary? Miami’s Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard — the two who reigned for three seasons in the CCHA — have yet to play to their potential this year. When that happens, the CCHA will be frightening indeed.

Picked to finish last, Michigan Tech clearly never got the memo

By Tyler Buckentine and Brian Halverson
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It was a weekend chalk full of upsets, comebacks, shutouts, ejections, and redemptions in the WCHA. Here’s just a hat trick’s worth of “knowledge” we gleaned from Friday and Saturday’s tilts.

1. Huskies go from pretender to contender.

Michigan Tech stunned No. 2 Denver, Friday, and most people who looked at Friday’s WCHA scores.

The Huskies are 5-2-1 overall and 4-2-0 in the WCHA after their best October in years. Tech has a good chance to add more wins and points when it hosts banged-up and last-place Minnesota State this weekend, then goes out west to Alaska-Anchorage (losers of four straight) and out east to winless St. Lawrence.

The power play is a big reason for Tech’s success so far, scoring at a 24.2-percent success rate, 11th-best in the nation. Much of how long the Huskies can keep it up relies on the continued success of the PP.

2. When you put pucks on the net, good things happen . . . in theory that is.

Despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead over Minnesota-Duluth just 7:26 into the first period on Friday night, the Bemidji State Beavers were held scoreless by the Bulldogs for the remaining 112:34 of the series. UMD goaltender Kenny Reiter shut down the Beavers both nights including Saturday’s 1-0 thriller when Jack Connolly scored midway through the third to provide the difference.

Alaska-Anchorage got off to a hot start scoring 17 goals in four games to begin 3-0-1. But the Seawolves have lost four in a row to Nebraska-Omaha and Minnesota to open the conference schedule having scored a total of three goals in the process.  Not surprisingly, UAA’s 0.75 per WCHA game ranks last in the conference and its 20 goals through eight games overall leads only idle Minnesota State (nine goals in six games).

But the Seawolves are the only team with less goals through four conference games than North Dakota. While it’s true the Sioux has managed a slightly more respectable 10 goal total, the significance lies in the remarkable degree of difficulty in achieving that mark. What’s concerning is that it has taken UND 139 shots on goal just to reach double digits. Which leads us to . . .

3. St Cloud State’s goaltending deeper than originally thought.

St. Cloud State goaltender Mike Lee was injured last Monday in practice and didn’t make the trip to Grand Forks this weekend. North Dakota, likely sensing blood, put 44 shots on freshman backup goalie Ryan Faragher on Friday.

Not one got past him.

Huskies coach Bob Motzko told the St. Cloud Times Lee will be “for sure, out a couple weeks” so Faragher is thrown in the spotlight. Joe Philipi and Nate Hardy each sat one game on the bench as the No. 3 goalie Oct. 14-15 in home games against New Hampshire but Philipi backed up Faragher against the Sioux.

Faragher made his debut Oct. 15 at Northern Michigan, a loss in which he allowed three goals on 23 shots. He allowed three goals on 26 shots Saturday against UND. Not the best numbers in those losses, but Friday’s 44-save shutout was enough for Faragher to prove he is ready.

Maine, BC and Merrimack sweeps are early season messages

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When the Hockey East coaches voted in their preseason polls, three of the top five teams were Boston College, Maine and Merrimack. All three have proved those coaches wise thus far. And this past weekend, as each sweeped their weekend series, the trio sent the message that they’re teams to be reckoned with.

As I sit here in Sunday night trying to think of the most important three takeaways I have from this weekend’s play, here is what runs through my head:

3. Let’s go obvious… Maine, BC and Merrimack are all as good as advertised: Wins may not have come easy for all three of these teams – particularly Maine and BC’s Friday wins (over Providence and Massachusetts-Lowell, respectively) and Merrimack’s Saturday win at Vermont. But the fact that each of these clubs came away with wins in these games is an early, and important, proving point that all three can win.

2. UMass-Lowell gets my vote as most improved: I haven’t seen some teams play live at this point, but of the six or so I have seen, UMass-Lowell is the most improved team thus far. Coach Norm Bazin has this team playing a high-octane game, transitioning quickly from defense to offense and shooting from the hot dog stand – every and any shot seems like a good one at this point – leading to a very changed River Hawks club. Lowell has some problems still to address. Goaltending seems to struggle, the defense makes some mistakes and there doesn’t seem to be a go-to finisher offensively. But this is a positive sign for a Lowell team that was out of the playoffs with a month to go a season ago.

3. BU and UMass, despite playing an entertaining series, have some big problems to address: For BU, it’s the slow start. Both night this weekend the Terriers fell behind the Minutemen. To their credit, they rallied for a tie and OT win. But BU fell behind early to other teams – namely Providence and Holy Cross – and those games resulted in losses. Not what coach Parker wanted. UMass, on the other hand, seems to be struggling to play with a lead and finish games. I’ll expand on both of these topics later in the week in my weekly notes column.

An all-cliche’ edition

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Welcome to a cliche’ edition of Three Things I Learned. Note that I said “a” cliche’ edition and not “the “cliche’ edition because I reserve the right to do it again.

“Ya gotta play 60 minutes.” - After Robert Morris lost to Michigan State 6-3, allowing three goals in the third period, Colonials coach Derek Schooley tweeted: “Had two really good periods. Unfortunately, the game is 3 periods long.” In Rochester Institute of Technology’s 2-1 loss at Mercyhurst, the Tigers allowed both goals in a two-minute span late in the second period, a period in which RIT outshout the Lakers 16-6. And finally, Air Force let a two-goal lead over Canisius slip away in the final 94 seconds of its game on Saturday. “The game is 60 minutes, not 58,” Air Force coach Frank Serratore said after the game. “We needed someone to dig in and win a faceoff, or someone to make a play or make save and we didn’t get any of them.”

“Ya can’t win if ya can’t score.”– RIT got a goal from defenseman Nolan Descoteaux 4:19 into its game with Canisius on October 20. The Golden Griffins would get the next three and win 3-1. The Tigers were also shut out 5-0 by Union two days later and on Friday didn’t score until 4:52 left in their game at Mercyhurst, for a school-record shutout period of 170:49. Descoteaux also scored that goal.”We tried to get pucks to the net, had plenty of traffic, and fired 50 shots, but couldn’t get a lot of puck luck,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson.  ”Mercyhurst blocked a lot of shots, but we still had our share of chances, just couldn’t get the puck in.”

“Ya gotta have good goaltending.”  - As Wilson mentioned, RIT fired 50 shots at Mercyhurst senior goaltender Max Strang, but Strang stopped 49 of the them for the win. In Colorado Springs, Canisius goalie Tony Capobianco helped his team to a 3-3 tie despite Air Force outshooting the Griffins 48-24. And finally, Niagara rookie goaltender’s Colby Drost’s collegiate career got off to a good start with a 42 save performance in a 2-1 win at Colgate.

Ya gotta love it.

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