The D-III women’s season opens up with a bang in just under an hour as No. 8 Manhattanville and No. 2 R.I.T. collide in the first game of the 2011 East/West Hockey Classic at Norwich’s Kreitzberg Arena.
But before I get to the picks for this weekend’s matchups, it’s time to publicly announce that the NCAA Tournament field will be expanding from seven teams to eight this season. The addition of St. Norbert and St. Scholastica has pushed the number of D-III teams up to 49, which when rounded up qualifies for the 6.5 access ratio that the NCAA uses to determine the number of teams for the NCAA Tournament.
Now there will be three Pool C bids intead of two like there has been in previous years. Plattsburgh more than likely would have been the benefactor of this change to the format last year as the eighth team into the tournament. Now there will also be no more byes and everyone will have to play their way into the Frozen Four.
Also on the same front, the NCAA announced that next season we will be going to a predetermined site for the host of the D-III Frozen Four on a one-year trial basis. This marks the first time that there could be a chance that a school will host the Frozen Four without a team in it.
Picks for this weekend-
Friday, October 28:
RIT: 4 Manhattanville: 1
Norwich: 3 Elmira: 2
Adrian: 5 Oswego: 1
Utica: 3 New England College: 1
Saturday, October 29:
Elmira: 4 Manhattanville: 2
RIT: 3 Norwich: 2
Oswego: 3 Adrian: 2
Clarkson defeated host Bentley 3-2 in front of a full house at the JAR in Watertown. Thanks to shuttle buses provided by the University, the Falcons were supported by a large student turnout.
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After a few disappointing weeks, I finally rebounded, going 9-0-2 (.909), to bring my season record to 26-11-6 (.674). Arlan almost matched me, going 7-2-2 (.727), to bring his season record to 25-12-6 (.651). Some more big series this weekend, as North Dakota visits Minnesota-Duluth and Wisconsin hosts Boston University for a pair in a rematch of last year’s NCAA championship game.
Friday-Saturday, October 28-29
Boston University at Wisconsin
Candace: I’m sure Wisconsin will lose a few more this season, but I don’t think it will happen this weekend. The Terriers have struggled a bit, while Wisconsin looks almost invincible. Wisconsin 4-1, 4-2
Arlan: I’ve found that predicting Wisconsin will lose is a little like saying the sky is falling — it could happen, but you look like an idiot when it doesn’t. Wisconsin 4-1, 5-3
Minnesota at Bemidji State
Candace: This is a pretty tough series to call. I know the Gophers will take at least one; the question is if home ice is enough to lift Bemidji to one upset. I’m going to say it will. Minnesota 4-1, Bemidji State 3-2
Arlan: BSU has been scoring surprisingly well, but this is its first series versus a scoring defense ranked in the top half. Minnesota 3-1, 3-0
Harvard at St, Lawrence/Clarkson
Candace: The Crimson are coming off a disappointing year, by their standards. I expect they will get better as the season goes on, but I think they may struggle early. I’m calling split. Harvard 3-2, Clarkson 2-1
Arlan: Harvard never loses to St. Lawrence; guess that means the Saints are due. The ECAC version of a split. Of course, if I get the order wrong, I go 0-4. Groan. St. Lawrence 2-1, Harvard 3-2
Dartmouth at Clarkson/St. Lawrence
Candace: The other half of the North Country trip. Dartmouth is a team that should be in the hunt for the ECAC title this season. This is a pair they have to win to establish that possibility. I’ll call a Big Green sweep. Dartmouth 2-1, 3-1
Arlan: Jamie Lee Rattray (five goals, nine assists) has been in on more goals than the entire Clarkson team scored in 10 October games last season. The Big Green are too good to start 0-3 though. Clarkson 3-2, Dartmouth 4-2
Friday, October 29
Northeastern at Maine
Candace: The Huskies had looked good to start, then faltered against Princeton last weekend. Maine, having upset a Quinnipiac team that looks a little less strong than thought, got crushed by Bemidji State and split with Connecticut. I’m calling for a Northeastern win in a nail-biter. Northeastern 2-1
Arlan: The letters “OT tie” keep flashing in my brain, but I can’t make myself pull the trigger. Northeastern 2-1
Boston College at Providence
Candace: The Friars have struggled, and BC has ridden the momentum of a come-from-behind win against Minnesota-Duluth to a great start. Boston College 3-1
Arlan: Young Eagles will display some inconsistency and lose some of these games; the hard part is guessing when. Boston College 2-0
Saturday Sunday, October 29-30
North Dakota at Minnesota-Duluth
Candace: North Dakota looked impressive in dismantling Ohio State last weekend, while Minnesota-Duluth challenged the mighty Badgers, but fell short in both contests. I think Minnesota-Duluth is too young to pull a sweep on the Sioux. Minnesota-Duluth 3-2, North Dakota 4-1
Arlan: UMD has already lost three games at home; the ‘Dogs can’t afford another in October. Minnesota-Duluth 5-4, 4-3
Sunday, October 30
Maine at Boston College
Candace: Eagles raced out over Hockey East competition. Boston College 3-1
Arlan: Maine’s inconsistency is greater than BC’s inconsistency. Boston College 3-2
Game of the Week
Since I picked the first game of the season as Morrisville’s mark your calendar game, naturally I have to select it as this opening game of the week.
It is, of course, the dawn of the post-Caylin Relkoff era. How Morrisville performs early could set the stage for the season.
“He’s been a mainstay for us for four years,” Morrisville coach Brian Grady said. “We’re very confident with the three goaltenders we have.”
There is also another intriguing aspect to this game: The transfer of Todd Hosmer from Potsdam to Morrisville for his senior year. Hosmer put up some pretty good numbers his first two years (8-12-20 and 16-15-31, respectively). Many goalies will admit in private they fear his shot.
However, he had a falling out in his junior year, was benched for a few games, and his production fell off (3-9-12). Seeing no future in the North Country, Hosmer went to play for the Mustangs. And, wouldn’t you know it, in his first game for them, he gets to face his former team.
“He’s certainly going to be fired up and ready to go,” Grady said. “It’s also an opportunity for a fresh start for him.”
It’s match-ups like this one which makes my job so easy. The stories write themselves.
“Always expect Morrisville to have a discipline forecheck,” Potsdam coach Chris Bernard said. “A team that plays with a lot of physical presence.”
The Bears also have a goaltender turnaround, with Trevor O’Neill not returning, as well as 13 new players on the roster.
Lots of question marks and lots of intrigue heading into this Friday night game. I’ll take Morrisville to win it.
Other Picks
A whole slate of conference games begin right from the start. Oswego heads down to its travel partner, Cortland. Expect an easy win for the Lakers. Fredonia will get its first conference win at Brockport. Buffalo State goes to Geneseo, and the home team will get off to a grand start, but the Bengals will keep it tough.
“We want to get out there and line ourselves up against Geneseo,” Buffalo State coach Nick Carriere said.
Saturday night sees three conference games and three nonconferences match-ups. Buffalo State will rebound at Brockport for its first win. Geneseo will sweep the weekend with a victory over visiting Fredonia. Plattsburgh will beat Morrisville.
“They played us tough every game last year,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. “They’re very emotional, very physical.”
“It’s going to be a great challenge,” Grady said of the upcoming weekend.
Also on Saturday, Hobart will win at Cortland, Potsdam returns home and will beat Southern New Hampshire, while Oswego stays in Central New York to win against Utica.
Jim and I picked pretty well last week, finishing with the same record after our one disagreement (the second game in New Hampshire’s series with St. Cloud) ended in a tie.
Dave last week: 7-2-2
Jim last week: 7-2-2
Dave’s record-to-date: 19-11-4
Jim’s record-to-date: 18-12-4
Here are this week’s picks:
Friday, October 28
Boston University at Massachusetts
Dave’s pick: Is this going to be a Jekyll-and-Hyde season for the Terriers? It sure has started out that way. So rock solid against UNH to start the season but up and down since then. Either way, this game goes in the win column since Saturday’s lost to Holy Cross would have been Hyde.
BU 4 UMass 2
Jim’s pick: I liked UMass last week when I saw them play but still think that BU should be able to handle them (and will be fired up after losing to Holy Cross.
BU 5, UMass 3
Merrimack at Vermont
Dave’s pick: That was a nice bounce-back win for the Catamounts at Minnesota after getting blown out in the first game. But I’m a believer in the juggernaut from North Andover.
MC 3 UVM 2
Jim’s pick: I’m going to actually pick the Cats here on home ice. Last Sunday made me a believer this team can play.
UVM 4, MC 3
Providence at Maine
Dave’s pick: The Friars came back to Earth a bit last weekend, taking one-of-four points from Minnesota-Duluth after defeating BU and UMass to open the season. I see the Orono folk dropping PC a little further.
Maine 3 PC 2
Jim’s pick: Again, home ice is weighing my decision.
Maine 4, PC 2
Boston College at Massachusetts-Lowell
Dave’s pick: The River Hawks have taken two-of-three non-conference games, but their league schedule will open with a brick wall and a thud.
BC 4 UML 1
Jim’s pick: Lowell should have a nice crowd on Friday night that could be rockin’ and throw the Eagles off their game, but BC has been excellent in hostile atmospheres this year.
BC 5, UML 3
Union at New Hampshire
Dave’s pick: I’m going with an upset special here. The 0-4-1 Wildcats will finally get into the win column, delivering the first loss to 2-0-3 Union. Why? They didn’t look that bad when I saw them lose to BU and they were 17-6-4 in Hockey East last year. They didn’t lose everyone.
UNH 4 Union 3
Jim’s pick: I actually agree with Dave here. UNH can’t remain the doormat for the entire season and a nice upset of Union could get them back on track.
UNH 3, Union 2
Saturday, October 29
Merrimack at Vermont
Dave’s pick: I’m sorely tempted to go with a Warrior sweep, but not in this barn. The Catamounts bounce back for the second straight week.
UVM 2 MC 1
Jim’s pick: I agree on the split but have it the opposite of Dave
MC 4, UVM 2
Northeastern at New Hampshire
Dave’s pick: Four much-needed points on the weekend for the previously beleagured Wildcats. Key word: previously.
UNH 4 NU 2
Jim’s pick: I think it’s finally time for UNH to play the hockey most expect
UNH 5, NU 4
Providence at Maine
Dave’s pick: The Friars take this one to overtime, but the Black Bears come out of the weekend with four huge league points.
Maine 4 PC 3 (OT)
Jim’s pick: Maine prevails going away
Maine 5, PC 2
Massachusetts at Boston University
Dave’s pick: This weekend could set quite the tone for both clubs. A BU sweep removes the tag of inconsistency that threatens to become firmly attached; it also puts UMass at 0-4-1 in the league. A split or better for the Minutemen gives them a huge shot in the arm and tells Terrier fans to hop on the roller coaster.
BU 4 UMass 2
Jim’s pick: This is a big game for UMass, which pulls off the road upset
UMass 5, BU 4
Massachusetts-Lowell at Boston College
Dave’s pick: The River Hawks dip to below .500 while the top-ranked Eagles go to 7-1, taking an even firmer grip of first place in Hockey East and the nation.
BC 5 UML 2
Jim’s pick: Continues to be difficult to pick against the River Hawks
BC 4, UML 2
I knew it! That 2-0 Thursday night record was so sweet — and perfection so brief.
How did I do last night? Not as bad as I thought I would: 1-1-1. Seriously, I thought it would be 0-3 the moment I posted the picks.
Last Week: 4-5-2
Last night: 1-1-1
Season to date: 29-19-6 (.593)
Painful — and it isn’t even November yet.
The remainder of this week
For the Thursday-Friday series picks, check out yesterday’s blog. Here are my picks for the three Friday-Saturday series. All games are 7:05 p.m. EDT.
ND at BGSU
When Notre Dame opened the Compton Family Ice Arena (and when can I start calling that “The Compton”?) with a 5-2 win over Rensselaer last Friday night, sophomore Anders Lee recorded a hat trick, netting the first-ever goal in the new barn at 9:21 in the first, scoring at 1:09 in the second and adding an empty-net marker at 18:40, bringing his season goal total to eight in five games — one-third of his total from his 44-game freshman season. Neither he nor classmate T.J. Tynan appears to be destined for sophomore slumps, as they’re tied for second in the nation among scorers for points per game; Lee leads the country in goals per game, Tynan in assists per game. The Irish have 11 skaters who have netted at least one goal, and ND is tied for seventh in the nation in goals per game (4.20). Defensively, though … well, the Irish are a bit down on the list (28th), allowing three goals per game.
Bowling Green split with Lake Superior State on the road last weekend, winning 1-0 Friday before losing 4-1 Saturday, the Falcons’ first loss of the season. That Friday shutout, though, was Andrew Hammond’s second in as many games, as he stopped Alabama-Huntsville 3-0 the Saturday before. Hammond (1.48 GAA, .937 SV%), a junior, is posting career-season numbers and has played every game for BGSU. With his help, the Falcons have the fourth-best defense in the nation, allowing 1.67 goals per game. This is a team that finished tied for 36th in the nation in that category in 2010-11. Offensively, though … well, let’s just say that BG’s offense hasn’t yet made the same strides. Freshman Ryan Carpenter leads the Falcons in goals with three; BGSU is averaging 2.17 goals per game and is No. 41 in that category.
Picks: Last season, the Irish were 3-1-0 against BG, the only Falcons’ win coming in Bowling Green Nov. 5, 2010. ND is 19-2-3 in the last 24 meetings between these teams. BGSU 3-2, ND 4-2
NMU at WMU
At home last weekend, Northern Michigan earned four points from Michigan with Friday’s 5-3 win and Saturday’s 3-3 tie. Five different Wildcats scored in the win, including seniors Justin Florek and Tyler Gron, who between them account for nine of NMU’s 21 goals so far this season. The Wildcats’ offense is currently tied with four other teams for 14th-best in the nation (3.50 goals per game). Defensively, the Wildcats are tied with four other teams for 17th in the nation (2.50), in large part because of the solid goaltending provided by senior Reid Ellingson (2.27, .918) and sophomore Jared Coreau (2.62, .904), who have split time in net. Ellingson had the win last Friday.
Western Michigan comes into the last weekend in October tied for the 12th-best offense in the country (3.67) and third-best defense (1.50). Last weekend, the Broncos remained undefeated when they captured five points from Alaska in Fairbanks with a win, tie and shootout point. Junior Nick Pisellini (1.68, .931) earned the win; freshman Frank Slubowski (0.96, .955) had the tie. The Broncos have 13 skaters who have scored at least one goal through six games this season, and they’re outscoring opponents 22-9 overall so far. Sophomores Chase Balisy and Shane Berschbach lead WMU in scoring and have seven goals between them.
Picks: In 2010-11, the Broncos were 2-1-1 against the Wildcats, outscoring NMU 11-4 in a two-game home sweep Jan. 28-29. Neither current WMU goaltender has defeated NMU, Slubowski because he’s new and Pisellini because he’s only played them twice and lost and tied in that series (Dec. 3-4, 2010). Just a note that intrigued me. WMU 3-2, 4-2
RMU at MSU
The only nonconference series of the weekend brings Atlantic Hockey’s Robert Morris to East Lansing. The Colonials are 2-3-0 overall this season, having split at home with Quinnipiac last weekend. Junior Eric Levine (2.50, .928) made 35 saves in the 5-4 Friday win and senior Brooks Ostergard (2.74, .915) stopped 38 in Saturday’s 4-1 loss; six different Colonials scored the six goals on the weekend.
The Spartans split a Thursday-Friday home series last week with Ohio State. Senior Drew Palmisano (3.02, .902) earned his first win of the season with a 3-0 shutout in Thursday’s contest. Junior Kevin Walrod had both goals in Friday’s 5-2 loss, and he’s one of six Spartans with two goals this season. MSU is trying to reinvent itself as an up-tempo, high-offense team and that is certainly evident on the ice — as are the growing pains that accompany that effort, like an overall team defense that is still working on that transition.
Picks: These teams have never met before. The CCHA homer in me wants to pick an MSU sweep. MSU 4-3, RMU 3-1
Follow on Twitter (@paulacweston), or email ([email protected]), or comment below — but don’t be ghoulish simply because it’s the weekend before Halloween.
Josh: I practically broke my nose falling flat on my face last week. Curse Robert Morris for winning and RIT for losing.
4-2-3 last week
12-3-5 overall
5-2-3 for Brian (last week and overall). Brian will be along soon with his picks, folks, and I’ll repost these.
Princeton vs. Yale (Friday at Ivy Shootout in Hanover, N.H.)
Josh: Yale has won the last five meetings in this 247-game series that goes back to 1901. Yale has won that the last three years in a row, and based on their first overall preseason ranking, coaches and media like them to win it again.
The Tigers poured on 14 goals worth of offense in exhibition games last week, and celebrated the new captaincy of Marc Hagel after a lost season to injury last year. Head coach Bob Prier is new behind the bench. I think all this newness is going to help the Tigers.
Princeton 4-3
Brown vs. Dartmouth (Friday at Ivy Shootout in Hanover, N.H.)
Josh: Both teams enjoyed some exhibition wins last weekend, but that doesn’t really tell you much. Dartmouth has won or tied the last six meetings (5-0-1), so they have an historic edge. Neither team really brought back its biggest guns, so this could be the wild card of the week. Nevertheless, with the Big Green being the host team of the Ivy Shootout, I expect Dartmouth to skate to victory.
Dartmouth 2-0
Colorado College at Rensselaer (Friday-Saturday)
Josh: OK, here is the best chance the Engineers are going to have to break their 1-4 overall record. They went 1-1 to start the season at Houston Field House against Minnesota State before losing three straight on the road, including a role as the Washington Generals to Notre Dame’s Harlem Globetrotters when ND opened its shining, new Compton Family Arena on Friday.
The Tigers have all the power in this match-up. For starters, they scored more goals (nine) in two games against Bemidji State than Rensselaer has in its first five games (six).
The Engineers have strong defense on their side. They haven’t been blown out, giving up an average of 2.6 goals per game, and Bryce Merriam has taken care of an impressive 92.2 percent of the 134 shots RPI has given up. The Engineers should pull out a win at home. I say Friday.
Rensselaer 2-0, Colorado College 4-1
Union at New Hampshire (Friday)
Josh: I’m looking forward to getting a first live look at this Dutchmen team that could go all out against a very brittle Wildcats squad.
Nobody saw this coming, especially no one in the Wildcats locker room. Just two weeks ago, they were still nationally ranked at 15th, but it’ll be a big fight to get back into USCHO.com’s top 20. New Hampshire is 48th nationally in goals-against, giving up 4.8 per game and 24 total through five. Neither goalie, Matt DiGirolamo or Jeff Wyer, has cracked the .900 mark in save percentage yet. Offensively, the team can’t break the two-goal per game mark, sitting at 1.80 (41st nationally).
Now, they bring in a Union team that is 11th in both polls and features Kelly Zajac, who has scored in all five games this year for eight points (defenseman Mat Bodie also has points in each of the Dutchmen’s first five). In goal, Troy Grosenick is fourth in save percentage (.941) among goalies who have played at least six games.
Just one more stat, OK? You’ve got the second best power play in the country for Union (34.8) going against the 48th-ranked penalty kill (68.4). Yikes.
Union 5-2
Colgate at Niagara (Friday)/Niagara at Colgate (Saturday)
Josh: A classic home and home across the western half of New York state features two teams that have in common hot goalies. Cody Campbell leads the nation in save percentage (at least among goalies who have faced at least 100 shots) at .946. Poor guy deserves a win. Alex Evin has a win, a tie and a .927 save percentage. Will Don Vaughan, two wins away from 300, go with him or Eric Mihalik (2-1-0, .877 save percentage)?
The Purple Eagles started out anemic, offensively. Scott Arnold was in on all three goals when Niagara tied Union last week, so he’ll be a threat the Raiders need to watch. No worries about the Niagara power play – 5.9 percent won’t scare anyone.
The Purple Eagles would do well to implant a GPS device into Austin Smith’s head while he sleeps – he now has five goals and seven points in all five games for the Raiders.
Colgate 2-1 (OT), Colgate 4-1
Clarkson at Bentley (Friday-Saturday)
Josh: This series should be a lock for Clarkson, as long as they shoot, shoot and shoot some more. The Falcons’ No. 1 goalie Branden Komm stopped 20 shots on Tuesday night for his first win, but struggled in three earlier games when he saw 39 or more shots in each. Bentley has a tendency to get outshot, as they’ve yielded 100 shots to their opponents (213-113).
If Bentley is to have a hope of winning or tying, they cannot take penalties and have Clarkson send out the nation’s third-best power play (10-for-34, 29.4 percent), led by freshman Sam Labrecque. He has five points, all man-up.
Clarkson goalie Paul Karpowich is also on a hot streak with two shutouts and a 9.41 save percentage. Clarkson will have to check the top line of freshmen Brett Switzer and Alex Grieve and sophomore Brett Gensler (12 points combined in last three games).
Clarkson 3-2, Clarkson 6-1
Princeton vs. Brown (Saturday at Ivy Shootout in Hanover, N.H.)
Josh: Too close to call. Since 1900, Brown holds an 80-64-7 advantage, but Princeton has won the last two and holds a one-game lead at neutral sites (5-4). Brown beat Waterloo, which beat No. 10/6 Yale. Princeton had two big, inconsequential exhibition wins. Calling a tie. Lame, Josh.
Tie 4-4
Yale vs. Dartmouth (Saturday at Ivy Shootout in Durham, N.H.)
Josh: So, Dartmouth has the media/coaches Preseason All-League goalie in James Mello, and Yale has two media/coaches Preseason All-League forwards in Brian O’Neill and Andrew Miller. They all get to face each other with one regular season game under their belts from the previous night.
Yale has won the last seven games, and the series lead will probably rest with the Bulldogs. I think they’ll still be on a mission to put the loss to Waterloo behind them – and if my prediction of a Princeton win on Friday comes true, they’ll have additional fuel to win.
Yale 5-3
Mercyhurst at Cornell (Saturday)
Josh: My colleague Brian touched on the ECAC/Atlantic Hockey non-league scheduling. I’m fine with that league, with RIT’s Frozen Four appearance and Holy Cross over Minnesota as some great moments. But did this weekend have to include three of the worst teams at once (winless AIC, Mercyhurst and Niagara)?
In front of a sold-out crowd at Lynah Rink, and with Andy Iles back in net and Keir Ross and a cast of thousands in front of him (may as well be if you’re Mercyhurst), this one should be a laugher. Maybe Mercyhurst will make a fool out of me, at least that would mean it was a competitive game.
Cornell 4-0
American International at Union (Saturday)
Josh: Union will raise its Cleary Cup banner and NCAA tournament banner, and AIC is just kind of there. The Dutchmen are undefeated at 2-0-3 and AIC is 0-5-0. Union has powerful scoring and goaltending, and AIC … tries.
Actually, AIC’s Michael Penny and Steve Mele each had five points in their first four games before being shut out by Clarkson last Saturday.
Kelly Zajac and Co. will celebrate last season’s triumphs, do their jobs and close up shop.
Union 5-1
OK, folks, what are your picks?
Well here we are at the season’s most league game intensive weekend thus far. CC’s non-conference date at RPI and Minnesota State’s open weekend is all that stands in the way of a full WCHA schedule. There are some interesting match-ups out there this weekend and, without further ado, we take our best shot picking the outcomes.
No. 2 Denver (3-1-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) at Michigan Tech (4-2-0, 2-2-0 WCHA)
Tyler: The Pioneers just have too much talent up front with guys like Jason Zucker (3-5–8) and Drew Shore (3-4–7). Plus, Adam Murray is off to a good start in place of Sam Brittain (2.64 GAA, .917 SV%). Denver sweep.
Brian: Denver has struggled with slow starts so far (three first-period goals in four games) and was shut out by an injury-depleted Minnesota State squad last Friday before squeaking out a 4-2 win. The Huskies, on the other hand, trail only Minnesota (11) and SCSU (8) in first-period scoring with seven goals. Michigan Tech won only once after Oct. 15 last season but it was a 3-2 win at Denver on Friday, Feb. 18. If MTU can jump on Denver early, especially on Friday, and can goad the league’s most penalized team (19.8 PIM/G for DU) into some ill-timed infractions, the Huskies have a chance to steal a game. Although Murray’s been good, he might be due for a hiccup in Houghton. Split.
No. 8 Minnesota (5-1-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (3-2-1, 0-2-0 WCHA)
Tyler: Will Chris Kamal or Rob Gunderson be able to stop this vaunted Minnesota offensive attack? What about the power play? The Seawolves defense has played well defensively to this point to win games but the offense went to sleep last week in Omaha. Plus, Minnesota goalie Kent Patterson is hot right now. He let in five goals Sunday against Vermont but many of those scorers were left unmarked and he stopped a lot of pucks that should’ve went in. Minnesota sweeps.
Brian: The trip to Alaska is grueling, but Gophers coach Don Lucia has a knack for having his teams ready to play in Anchorage as his 13-3-2 record in nine trips will attest. After scoring 17 goals in getting off to a 3-0-1 start, the Seawolves managed just two goals in Omaha last week and won’t be able to match the Gophers goal for goal. I’m going chalk up Minnesota’s loss to Vermont on Sunday as a learning experience and the Gophers come home with a sweep.
Bemidji State (3-3-0, 2-2-0 WCHA) at No. 15 Minnesota-Duluth (2-3-1, 0-2-0 WCHA)
Tyler: Look for a pair of high-scoring games. Both teams have good offense but spotty-at-best goaltending, right now. Split
Brian: UMD holds a 19-10-1 advantage overall in the series but the Beavers are 8-4-1 in the last baker’s dozen and 4-3 in Duluth over the last six years. The last time these two teams met, the Beavers knocked the eventual NCAA champion Bulldogs out of the WCHA Final Five in OT 3-2 making it the fourth consecutive the two teams could not decide in regulation. While the national title means UMD has nothing to prove from that loss, I’m sure the Bulldogs have lingering memories to erase. I think they’ll do just that, they just won’t do it twice. Splitsville.
St. Cloud State (2-3-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) at No. 12 North Dakota (2-3-1, 0-2-0 WCHA)
Tyler: This week is huge for two teams trying to make a statement. For SCSU, it’s about proving its legitimacy to be in the conversation to finish in the top half of the league. I like the Huskies to win a game this weekend because their PP is hot after last weekend and the UND kill is near the bottom of the country. The Fighting Sioux, meanwhile, will try to erase the sting of last week’s losses in Madison. A sweep either way would really deliver the message but I’m calling a split.
Brian: After a 7-5 win and 3-3 tie with New Hampshire at home last weekend, Drew LeBlanc (2g, 8a) leads the Huskies to Grand Forks needing five points to reach 100 for his career. But SCSU would be wise to focus its efforts on not approaching the century mark in shots allowed this weekend. The Huskies gave up 80 shots on goal to New Hampshire last week while UND fired 42 shots in Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Wisconsin on an incredible 83 shot attempts. North Dakota is 5-0-1 in its last six meetings with St. Cloud State and the return home will suit the Sioux just fine as they rebound with a sweep.
Nebraska-Omaha (3-3-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) at Wisconsin (3-3-0, 2-2-0 WCHA)
Tyler: Alex Hudson should’ve shaken off the rust by now after his return from a four-game suspension, so expect him to have a breakout weekend. The Badgers offense scored 10 goals against North Dakota but UNO goalie John Faulkner seemed to find a rhythm against Alaska-Anchorage and Wisconsin’s freshmen goalies allowed goals on a little more than 10 percent of the shots they faced. But, it’s the Kohl Center and you have to factor in the setting sometimes. Split
Brian: Wisconsin’s youth, its goaltenders in particular, have grown up in a hurry and are paying dividends for Mike Eaves. But you have to wonder a bit about a team that allows 83 attempted shots to just 23 of its own in one game as the Badgers did against North Dakota on Saturday. After a shaky start, the Mavericks bounced back with a pair of solid wins over Alaska-Anchorage at home last weekend and Alex Hudson should be more of a factor with a couple of games behind him. No back-to-back sweeps for the Badgers as UNO leaves Madison with a split.
No. 3 Colorado College (2-0-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) at Rensselaer (1-4-0, 0-0-0 ECAC)
Tyler: Come Friday evening, no team in the nation will be more rested, prepared and amped to play as Colorado College. The Tigers haven’t played since Oct.14-15 and played only exhibitions before that. RPI is 1-4 coming off three straight losses and their only win was at home to Minnesota State. CC Sweep.
Brian: The Tigers hosted the Engineers last October as CC beat RPI 2-1 before settling for a 2-2 tie the following night. But these Tigers are a different animal a year later and are expected to finish at or near the top of the WCHA standings. A unique schedule has CC with only a sweep of a pesky Bemidji State squad under its belt but the Engineers have been shut out in three of their four losses. Take it to the bank, the Tigers will sweep.
The 2011-12 NCAA Division III women’s hockey regular season gets underway this weekend with a star-studded tournament featuring four top-10 teams in the 2nd annual East/West Hockey Classic hosted at Norwich’s Kreitzberg Arena in Northfield, Vt.
The defending national champion and top-ranked Norwich Cadets will have their work cut out for them right off the bat, with two games against ECAC West powerhouses in No. 2 RIT and No, 10 Elmira. Defending ECAC East Tournament champion and No. 8 Manhattanville will also get a crack at each of the ECAC West schools as the Classic features four predetermined match-ups to eliminate the possibility of schools from the same conference playing each other.
“We started the tournament last year to kick the season off with a bang,” Norwich coach Mark Bolding said. “I think people realize this year how important those nonconference games are. Without success in your nonconference games, you really shoot your odds of advancing to the NCAAs, so you need to play well early.”
The Cadets won’t have long to rest on their laurels after they raise their 2011 national championship banner to the rafters of Kreitzberg Arena on Friday night. Elmira will be chomping at the bit to put behind its ECAC West play-in round loss. Then on Saturday, NU will take on RIT in a rematch of last year’s national championship game at 6 p.m.
“Elmira and RIT are certainly going to bring it with their best game,” Bolding said. “Elmira is talented. They added some great freshman and a couple transfers. They always know how to get back to their winning ways, and I expect them to be very tough. RIT has also added some quality recruits, and they’re going to be very hungry for a little redemption against us. It will be grudge match for sure.”
Although Norwich lost its three-year captain and all-time scoring leader in Sophie Leclerc, the Cadets still return six of their top seven scorers from last year.
Senior forward Julie Fortier heads the list of returnees after ranking second in the nation to only Leclerc last season with 23 goals and 22 assists for 45 points. She currently sits at 62 goals and 58 assists for 120 points, and enters 2011-12 just 43 points shy of Leclerc’s program record.
Melissa Rundlett will take over the captain’s ‘C’ from Leclerc this season after establishing new career highs with 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points. She also led the team with six game-winning tallies. Lortie (Cornwall, Ontario) was named the ECAC East Rookie of the Year after leading all conference freshmen in scoring with 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points.
“Julie [Fortier], Renee [Lortie], and Rundlett are comfortable with each other, and finished last year as probably the top line in all of D-III, so we’re hoping they can continue,” Bolding said.
The Cadets’ second line though, will be one of the keys heading into the season. Junior winger Jillayne DeBus (Howell, Mich.) returns after an outstanding first year with NU after transferring in from Elmira following her freshman season. DeBus tallied an even 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points while playing alongside Leclerc and the departed Brittane Michaud.
She’ll be joined by two freshmen this year in Tyne Gove (Berwick, Ontario) and Kaycie Anderson (Maple Plain, Minn.).
“Jill can put up numbers consistently, and we’re confident we’ve got two quality freshmen forwards in Tyne and Kaycie that should be able to step up into top-six roles and give us two solid lines,” Bolding said.
Elmira will enter Friday’s match-up with Norwich looking to shrug off the ill effects of last year’s disappointing 16-8-2 season.
“Everyone that is familiar with our program understands that last year was a down year in terms of our standards around here,” Elmira coach Greg Fargo said. “There were a lot of factors to that, but primarily it came down to losing two pretty big classes in 2009 and 2010.
“We knew we were young, and I think our youth was a factor in why we weren’t able to win as many big games as we would have liked to. We had some inconsistencies along the way, and a few hiccups like losing to Buffalo State and then Utica in the first round of the playoffs.”
However, unlike the last two seasons, this year Elmira lost just one senior and has its top nine scorers from last year back.
“I think we’ve got a really good group,” Fargo said. “Everyone around this program is pretty enthusiastic on how things are going and how the team looks so far. We’re carrying a bigger roster this year, and have a little more competition within our own team. We only lost one player to graduation, and we’ve got nine faces on our roster.”
Sophomore forward Tori Charron leads the way for Elmira after leading Division III with 28 goals last season.
“Obviously Tori did a lot of our goal scoring last year, but now we’ve got a ton of sophomores that have a year under their belt now, along with some new faces who should make an impact,” Fargo said. “Our recruiting class this year has helped us add depth at every position.”
Heading the list of newcomers are two Division I transfers from Wayne State after the program was cut at the end of last season.
“Kate Gaskin and Lisa Marshall should help us right off the bat and provide some leadership,” Fargo said. “I expect them both to have good years. Overall, we’ve added some scoring depth. I don’t know if we have another Tori Charron-type player as far as numbers-wise, but we definitely have some kids that will chip in and help shoulder the burden offensively.”
“Brooke Wilgosh on defense should have a successful career at Elmira. She’s a smart defenseman that moves the puck really well. Ashley Ryan has tremendous skill at forward and great hockey awareness, which should help contribute right away.”
RIT enters 2011-12 looking to build off a banner year for the program after making its second NCAA Tournament appearance and hosting the Frozen Four, but falling just short to Norwich in the national championship game.
The Tigers will have some shoes to fill though, after losing Laura Hurd Award winner Sarah Dagg to graduation, along with two other All-Americans in Katie Stack and Traci Galbraith.
“They were the voices on the team for a couple years, and now we’re just trying to re-establish who’s going to take over that stuff,” RIT head coach Scott McDonald said.
Although the Tigers lost some horses, they still return a plethora of talent up front that produced plenty of points last season. Leading scorer Kourtney Kunichika returns for her sophomore year looking to build off a sensational freshman campaign where she tallied 15 goals and 28 assists for 43 points.
“We’re certainly not in a bad situation as we return a lot of juniors and sophomores,” McDonald said. “The core group of Kourtney, Ariane [Yokoyama], Tenecia [Hiller], Kolbee [McCrea], and Kim [Schlattman] are back, and they’ll be ready. They are going to play with a chip on their shoulders. That’s the way they have been since they got here, and I think it’s even bigger this year.”
Last year’s 5-2 loss to Norwich in the national championship game was a bit of stunner after RIT had pounded its way through the regular season, won the ECAC West Tournament, and then disposed of Adrian (10-1) and Middlebury (5-2) on its way to the title game.
“Last year happened,” McDonald said. “Fair and square Norwich won and they deserved it. We didn’t play like we deserved it that day. That’s been on my mind, and I’m sure it has been on our players’ minds all summer. Where else would we rather want to start than at Norwich. We’ll watch them hang their banner on Friday night and then use it as motivation.”
One newcomer that will help offset the loss of RIT’s big three from a year ago will be freshman Celeste Brown, who has been seeing time with Kunichika and Yokoyama early on.
“Celeste brings some size to that line,” McDonald said. “Ariane and Kourtney aren’t very big players, but they’re certainly very skilled players. She brings a different dynamic to that line with a power forward-type game.”
The Tigers will also have the luxury of stud sophomore goalie Laura Chamberlain, who burst onto the scene last year at the East/West Hockey Classic after being named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
“Having Laura back is huge,” McDonald said. “She’s seen it all too. She’s been full circle having the extreme high of winning her first career start at Norwich and then the low of losing in the last game to Norwich. What she does for us is every game we have a chance to win with her in the net. She’s the backbone of the team right now, with the ability to keep us in a game if we have a slow start, but also shut the door if we get up a goal or two.”
Chamberlain had an 18-2-2 record along with a 1.15 goals against average and a .944 save percentage to go along with six shutouts last season.
RIT established itself as the team to beat at this very tournament one year ago, and McDonald said he was excited to be going back once again.
“It’s a great early test,” he said. “It could be a national championship weekend. All four teams are certainly capable of being there in the end. Our first two games of the year are against national tournament teams, and those are the types of games you want to play. We’re going to learn right from the get go that you can’t look past anybody, because if we’re waiting for the Norwich game on Saturday, Manhattanville will embarrass us on Friday.”
Manhattanville is the newcomer to the field this year, replacing New England College as the fourth and final team.
The Valiants will be returning to Kreitzberg Arena for the first time since winning the ECAC East Tournament title last March with a 4-2 upset win over Norwich.
Manhattanville will be under new direction though this year. David Turco was elevated to the head coach position after spending two years as the assistant to Eric Lang, who is now the Manhattanville men’s coach.
“I’m very excited to be taking over as head coach, and it’s an honor to have this position,” Turco said. “We’ve got a great returning crowd that has been built here over the last two seasons. The team has been pushing itself pretty hard in the preseason after getting a taste of the NCAA tournament last season.”
Turco will have a strong returning group headed by two juniors in Katie Little and Mary Rose Morrison, who posted 34 and 28 points respectively.
“The bulk of our team is our junior class with Mary, Katie, and Lynsey Schill,” Turco said. “We also return Alyssa Taylor, who was on the team two years ago and is back this year and should add another offensive punch for us this year. We also have Haleigh Hutchinson in our sophomore class, who had a great freshman campaign and now with a year under her belt I feel she’ll do even more positive things for us.”
Turco said two newcomers to keep an eye on this season for the Valiants will be Michelle Meggiolaro and Aubrey Bachand.
“Michelle Meggiolaro is a freshman forward that will add some speed and tenacity to our lineup,” he said. “Aubrey Bachand is a big strong kid that should also help add some depth for us.”
Manhattanville also returns junior goaltender Emy Cote, who was named the ECAC East Tournament Most Valuable Player after stymieing Norwich in the finals.
“Emy is the backbone of our team,” Turco said. “She’s an assistant captain for this year, and is a leader on and off the ice for us. She does everything the right way, and we’re always confident when we have her between the posts.”
Manhattanville’s addition to the East/West Hockey Classic puts the tournament at a whole new level this year and now rivals, if not tops, the field at the Panther-Cardinal Classic.
“We’re using this tournament as a measuring stick going up against some of the top competition in the country,” Turco said. “We’re looking forward to getting a chance to see where we stack up nationally, and maybe make a couple waves early with a couple wins in two of the biggest games on our schedule.”
You couldn’t ask for a better way to kick off the 2011-12 season with four top-10 teams all converging on one arena. It will surely be worth the trip for anyone able to make it to Northfield, Vt. this weekend. All that’s left to do now is drop the puck! Happy hockey season everyone!
Congratulations are in order for Wisconsin Badgers greats Jeff Sauer and Mark Johnson who were honored in St. Paul last night by the NHL and USA Hockey as recipients of the Lester Patrick Award for their service to the game in the U.S.
The contributions these two men have made to the sport, particularly on the collegiate and national levels, have only helped to grow both men’s and women’s hockey in this country.
They, and fellow honorees Toni Rossi and Bob Pulford, were made available to the media prior to the event and both men shared their opinion of the sweeping changes to take effect in college hockey in two years.
Though their passion for the Badgers, college hockey, and USA Hockey is similar, their thoughts on the recent evolution of college hockey are not.
Let’s begin with Johnson’s take.
“I remember my freshman year, which was a long time ago, at Wisconsin and the league looked different at that time,’ said Johnson. “You had Michigan, you had Michigan State, you had Notre Dame in the WCHA at that time and my freshman year we played Michigan seven times and ended up winning a national championship.
“The league changed several years after that, it’s now changing again, and I think the scary part, or the uncertainty of the whole situation, is what are the leagues going to look like and what’s the growth going to be like in the next four to five years as these leagues start to take shape and they start playing each other? But you look around college hockey, you look around at the fan base at the different programs, you look around at the passion that a lot of the coaches have working with these players and, when the dust is all settled, I think college hockey will be fine.”
Sauer, on the other hand, admitted to being “old school” and relayed a far more pessimistic view on the subject.
“One thing that we, as old school [hockey people], have done over the course of time is protected one another,” said Sauer. “I’ll be very up front and honest; 15 years ago if Mike Sertich, Gino Gasparini, Jeff Sauer were still coaching and having programs, I don’t think this would have happened.
“I think we would have tried to protect college hockey, we always have. Amo Bessone (Michigan State, 1948 to 1979), Al Renfrew (Michigan, 1957 to 1953), all of those guys, John Mariucci (Minnesota, 1952-1966), protected me as a young coach and kept our programs going. It’s going to have a major change, not so much on the teams at the top, but some of the teams on the bottom. It will be a major blow to them.”
Sauer said the best thing about hockey is that it is a small community in which most people know each other.
“I can name 50 names to Mark, Bob Pulford, or Tony [Rossi] and they know 49 of them and that’s what’s great about hockey, it’s not like that in other sport especially at the college level.”
But Sauer nonetheless feels the sting of what he believes is the demise of the WCHA as he knows it.
“I’m disappointed more in how it happened and the fact that I think if we would have stuck together we would have achieved the same type of success and continued it,” said Sauer. “But the WCHA’s 60 years of history all of a sudden, in one swell swoop, is gone and it’s going to be tough to brand and all of that type of stuff is going to be tough to replace.”
Once again, a SUNYAC team made it to the Division III national championship weekend. Once again, it was Oswego, but once again, they fell in the semifinal round.
The season also saw Geneseo and Buffalo State recover very nicely from NCAA sanctions, Plattsburgh stumble only to come back and win the SUNYAC championship, Fredonia make another playoff run, and Morrisville continue to improve. On the flip side, Brockport never recovered from Todd Sheridan graduating, Potsdam’s season went to pieces even before it ran into the same NCAA sanctions, and Cortland got some surprise wins.
The new season ahead is a roll of the dice. Oswego should take first place, but the order behind them between Geneseo, Plattsburgh, and Buffalo State is up for grabs. If you concede Geneseo is a lock for second, you can’t count out Fredonia and Morrisville adding to that roll of the dice for playoff positioning.
Potsdam, Cortland, and Brockport probably won’t make the playoffs. Which order they finish in will be another roll of the dice.
However, it’s the start of the season, and everyone is tied for first place.
“Everyone is optimistic at this time of the season,” Morrisville coach Brian Grady said. “We’re all undefeated in league play.”
Oswego State Great Lakers
Coach: Ed Gosek, ninth season overall and at Oswego (163-47-14)
2010-11 overall record: 23-5-0
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 15-1-0
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: First
2011-12 predicted finish: First
Key Departures: Justin Fox (10-22-32), Chris Laganiere (10-10-20), Stephen Mallaro (4-15-19), Kevin Huinink (0-6-6).
Key Arrivals: Zach Josepher (D, transfer from Michigan State), RJay Berra (F), Chris Carr (F), Nick Rivait (D), Peter Rodrigues (F), Stan Smrke (F).
Key Players: Ian Boots (15-25-40), Jon Whitelaw (12-18-30), Luke Moodie (14-15-29), Andrew Mather (8-20-28), Paul Rodrigues (13-12-25), Hank Van Boxmeer (3-7-10), Paul Beckwith (2.02 GAA, .926 save percentage).
Biggest Challenge: “To control what we can control — our work effort, our execution,” Oswego coach Ed Gosek said. “We’re not content the way the last two years ended, namely because of the way we played in those games in Lake Placid and Minnesota.”
Outlook: It says a lot about a program when they are not content to make the national semifinals two years in a row. It also says a lot about the type of pressure a program is under, both from within and outside.
The Lakers are once again loaded. That’s not a problem. On paper, they are the most talented team. So talented, their number one goaltender, Paul Beckwith, often gets overlooked as a premier netminder. The question which comes up every year is do they have the right kind of talent? The proper mix of skill, discipline, physical presence, grinders, and checkers?
Often, that is questioned, as collapses against their arch nemesis, Plattsburgh, and shocking losses in the SUNYAC playoffs attest to. Despite their regular season dominance, especially of late, they have only won one conference championship in the past eight years.
However, Oswego currently holds a five-game winning streak against the Cardinals, and, let’s face it, when it comes to the national playoffs, the Lakers shine.
Oswego will score goals. Lots of them. Beckwith will be superb in net. The team will be entertaining to watch. They will also be frustrating to watch if they fall into the trap of beating themselves with mistakes and defensive turnovers.
Mark Your Calendar Game: February 17 vs. Plattsburgh. You can never go wrong with picking this game, as it’s one of the mark your calendar games in all of Division III. Plus, the annual Whiteout event is the next to last game of the season, so a lot could be on the line.
Geneseo State Ice Knights
Coach: Chris Schultz, sixth season overall and at Geneseo (67-57-5)
2010-11 overall record: 16-8-2
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 10-5-1
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: Second
2011-12 predicted finish: Second
Key Departures: Andrew Rygiel (5-6-11).
Key Arrivals: Jack Caradonna (D), Peter Mott (D), Justin Scharfe (F).
Key Players: Zachary Vit (13-22-35), Jonathan Redlick (9-22-31), Rich Manley (11-12-23), Danny Scagnelli (7-14-21), Jake Yard (6-11-17), Colin de Jersey (2-10-12), Cory Gershon (2.25 goals against average, .921 save percentage), Adrian Rubeniuk (2.72 GAA, .910 save percentage).
Biggest Challenge: “We’re a very veteran team this year,” Geneseo coach Chris Schultz said. “Keeping them focused on the task, focused on this season and not on their future after college is going to be the challenge.”
Outlook: Arguably, Geneseo had the best freshmen duo of forwards in the country with Zachary Vit (team’s leading scorer) and Rich Manley (third best scorer despite injuries). They made an immediate impact. They have size, skill, and brawn, a deadly combination for opponents. Playing with Jonathan Redlick, that line scored 33 of the team’s 94 goals.
Geneseo is deeper this year at forward than it has been in years. They have the best one-two combination in goal with Cory Gershon and Adrian Rubeniuk. They have two new defensemen coming in (Justin Scharfe and Peter Mott) who are just as comfortable at either end of the ice and on the power play. Expect them to make an impact on the blue line the way Vit and Manley did last year up front.
The Ice Knights have lost very little from last year. It’s a very experienced team with the right mix of talented newcomers.
This is Geneseo’s best shot since Chris Schultz took over a program which lost some direction to claim a SUNYAC championship, which means games at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena against the likes of Oswego and Plattsburgh are going to be the place to be.
Mark Your Calendar Game: November 4 at Oswego. The first big test for Geneseo to see if they can leapfrog to the front.
Plattsburgh State Cardinals
Coach: Bob Emery, 23rd season overall and at Plattsburgh (485-154-49)
2010-11 overall record: 20-8-1
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 9-7-0
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: Fourth
2011-12 predicted finish: Third
Key Departures: Eric Satim (13-22-35), Dylan Clarke (18-14-32), Dan Sliasis (8-9-17), Ryan Corry (5-8-13).
Key Arrivals: Brandon Beadow (D), Mathieu Cadieux (G), Mike Cassidy (F), Alex Jensen (F), Jacob Mooney (F), Adam Scuglia (F).
Key Players: Nick Jensen (8-14-22), Kyle Kudroch (12-9-21), Patrick Jobb (10-11-21), Mike Grace (3-16-19), Josh Leis (2.33 GAA, .904 save percentage), Jared Docking (3-7-10), Barry Roytman (1-5-6).
Biggest Challenge: “At the college level, it’s emotion,” Plattsburgh coach Bob Emery said. “You have to play with emotion every game. In college, it’s not a 60-game season. Second, keeping the puck out of our own net.”
Outlook: Bob Emery has been searching the past couple of years to find a way for his team to keep the puck out of their net, especially at key moments of the game. He’s going to go back to the basics this year — defense and puck possession.
Goaltender Josh Leis, who was brilliant at times and frustrating to watch at other times, is back from winning the number one spot last year after platooning with Ryan Williams the year before. Williams left, so now Sam Foley and newcomer Mathieu Cadieux will push Leis for the job.
Plattsburgh lost their top two scorers, Eric Satim and Dylan Clarke. That’s a whole lot of points. However, Nick Jensen, Kyle Kudroch, and Patrick Jobb, among others, are capable of picking up the slack.
Seven of their eight losses last year were in the conference, which is why they finished a disappointing fourth. However, they rallied for overtime playoff wins against Morrisville and Geneseo. Then, the Cardinals beat Fredonia for the SUNYAC championship. This put them in the NCAA playoffs, where they suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to Norwich.
This all goes to prove that when Plattsburgh can keep the puck out of the net at the right times, they can beat anyone. Plus, you know an Emery-coached team will be disciplined on the ice, especially during crunch time, as they routinely lead the league in least number of penalties.
Mark Your Calendar Game: November 25 vs. Norwich in the Primelink Tournament. The Cards get a shot at the team that ended their season last year. They get another shot on December 9 in Norwich.
Buffalo State Bengals
Coach: Nick Carriere, seventh season overall and at Buffalo State (61-79-15)
2010-11 overall record: 12-11-3
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 8-5-3
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: Third
2011-12 predicted finish: Fourth
Key Departures: Nick Petriello (9-21-30).
Key Arrivals: Matt Bessing (F, transfer from Plattsburgh), Tyler Nelson (D).
Key Players: Trevor McKinney (17-9-26), Justin Knee (7-15-22), Drew Klin (8-9-17), Sean Murray (2-8-10), Zach Hale (2-6-8), Kevin Carr (2.66 GAA, .921 save percentage).
Biggest Challenge: “To not be satisfied with a little bit of success like we had last year,” Buffalo State coach Nick Carriere said. “And continue to move forward, to constantly improve.”
Outlook: The Bengals lost just one regular player. Granted, he was a key player, their leading scorer, Nick Petriello, but they return everyone else.
On the one hand, this is still a very young team. On the other hand, this is a team that despite being just one game over .500 overall, knew how to win in the conference. An 8-5-3 record placed them third, a surprising and pleasant turnaround after a disastrous year when they fell afoul of NCAA infractions and their season completely unraveled.
Trevor McKinney was the team’s leading goal scorer with 17, and Justin Knee, Drew Klin, Mike Zannella, and Shane Avery all had banner years. Kevin Carr was the freshman sensation in goal.
The young team committed the third most penalties, but they had the fourth best combined special teams. The team plays with emotion and grit, so sometimes you pay the price to get the success.
In order to combat the high number of freshmen and sophomores, their leaders come from all three classes — second year captain Jim Durham (senior), and assistant captains Trevor McKinney (junior) and Mike Zannella (sophomore).
Those selections came from within, as the team has formed a strong bond up and down the classes, certainly helped by their success last year.
There’s no reason to believe last year was a one-hit wonder. The question is are they ready to make the next step up?
Mark Your Calendar Game: November 12 vs. Plattsburgh. They beat the Cardinals twice last year, which is why they finished ahead of them. Can they make it three in a row?
Fredonia State Blue Devils
Coach: Jeff Meredith, 25th season overall and at Fredonia (344-260-61)
2010-11 overall record: 14-13-1
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 7-8-1
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: Sixth
2011-12 Predicted finish: Fifth
Key Departures: Jordan Oye (17-23-40), Steve Rizer (3-29-32), Alex Morton (10-15-25), Chris de Bruyn (4-11-15).
Key Arrivals: Stephen Castriota (F), Brian Doust (F), Tyler Matecki (D), Mike Monfred (D), Jared Wynia (F).
Key Players: Bryan Ross (15-31-46), Mat Hehr (12-9-21), Ben Waldman (12-6-18), Mitch Kulikoski (6-12-18), Mark Friesen (2.53 GAA, .917 save percentage).
Biggest Challenge: “We graduated a lot of points; we graduated a lot of guys; we graduated a lot of guys who took a lot of minutes in the past four years,” Fredonia coach Jeff Meredith said. “And we graduated a lot of strong leadership. The challenge is finding a way to fill the void of that leadership.”
Outlook: How do you replace three of your top four scorers? The good news is, the top scorer, Bryan Ross returns for his senior year. You also have a number of other scorers returning who can make an impact and fill the void. Brian Doust should also help out as a freshman.
If it wasn’t for Buffalo State’s rookie goaltender, Mark Friesen would have gotten all the freshman headlines. However, just because he was at times overshadowed does not diminish his importance to the team. Fredonia desperately needed a goaltender last year, and they found one in Friesen. He had the better conference numbers than Carr — second best GAA and third best save percentage.
Fredonia had the third best power play and the fourth best penalty kill last year.
Despite finishing in the last playoff spot, sixth, the Blue Devils went on a road run in the playoffs, beating Buffalo State, then Oswego in overtime before falling to Plattsburgh in the championship.
Fredonia’s style of play is perfectly suited for the playoffs. They will need time to adjust during the season, but there is no reason to believe they won’t be in the playoffs. Then, anything goes.
Mark Your Calendar Game: February 17 vs. Buffalo State. It’s the last game of the season and it comes against their rival. It also could decide who gets to host the other in the playoffs, as these two have a tendency to meet in the first round.
Morrisville State Mustangs
Coach: Brian Grady, fifth season overall and at Morrisville (30-69-2)
2010-11 overall record: 11-13-1
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 8-7-1
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: Fifth
2011-12 predicted finish: Sixth
Key Departures: Caylin Relkoff (3.62 GAA, .898 save percentage), Tyler Swan (10-15-25), Bobby Cass (8-12-20), Rob Sgarbossa (7-11-18), Derek Matheson (6-7-13).
Key Arrivals: Todd Hosmer (F, transfer from Potsdam), Matthew Bee (F), Patrick Stillar (F).
Key Players: Geoff Matzel (12-8-20), Tylor Vince (7-10-17), James Jarvis (5-10-15), Curtis Renaud (5-10-15).
Biggest Challenge: “Right out of the gate, you look at our losses, and no question Caylin Relkoff is the biggest one,” Morrisville coach Brian Grady said. “He’s been a mainstay for us for four years. We’re very confident with the three goaltenders we have.”
Outlook: It’s the post Caylin Relkoff era. Just ask Brockport how difficult a transition like this can be.
He kept the team relevant early on and when Brian Grady slowly built a core around him, he helped lead the team to ever better results. By the time he was a junior, the Mustangs made the playoffs … and won their first game before falling in a wild contest against Oswego. Morrisville again made the playoffs last year, losing to Plattsburgh in overtime.
There’s no reason to believe they won’t compete in the playoffs again this year, thanks to the team that was built around Relkoff. Where they finish though, will depend on which goaltender is able to fill Relkoff’s skates the best — Colin Breen who was being groomed last year, Christopher Azzano, who transferred in from Wentworth, or freshman Zac McMichael.
They lost one former Potsdam player after just one year, Tyler Swan. However, they gained another former Potsdam player, Todd Hosmer, who will ironically wear the same number as Swan (10). Many goaltenders around the league will tell you Hosmer has one of the hardest shots.
They are going to need to fill the scoring gaps left by three of their top four scorers departing in order to maintain the third best offense in conference play. They will also need to cut down on their penalty minutes, which led the SUNYAC, especially since they were seventh on the penalty kill.
One problem facing the Mustangs in the first semester is a thin roster — only 21 players. This was due to last-minute unanticipated circumstances. Grady is working on remedying this, but realistically, nothing can really be done until the second semester.
Mark Your Calendar Game: October 28 vs. Potsdam. What better way to begin the post-Relkoff era than the very first game of the season. Add in Hosmer looking to exact revenge against his former team and you have the makings for a dandy.
Potsdam State Bears
Coach: Chris Bernard, sixth season overall (32-83-7) and third season at Potsdam (15-31-3)
2010-11 overall record: 6-17-1
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 4-12-0
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: Eighth
2011-12 Predicted finish: Seventh
Key Departures: Fraser Smith (12-9-21), Colin MacLennan (9-11-20), Kevin MacLellan (7-9-16), Brandon Couto (5-8-13), Matt Rhymer (3-4-7), Todd Hosmer (3-9-12).
Key Arrivals: Dave Manning (F, transfer from Northland), Max Fogel (D), Vinny Buttitta (F), Dylan Ellis (G).
Key Players: Sy Nutkevitch (9-11-20), Mike Arnold (6-7-13), Brett Waters (1-4-5).
Biggest Challenge: “Thirteen new guys,” Potsdam coach Chris Bernard said. “You don’t have a feel yet if they are battle-tested to play for 60 minutes in the SUNYAC.”
Outlook: Like Geneseo and Buffalo State the year before, Potsdam was sanctioned by the NCAA for financial aid violations involving Canadian players. That, combined with a miserable season for the Bears, prompted Chris Bernard to overhaul the team in a significant manner.
He even got a player from Australia, though Dave Manning played at Northland College last year.
Gone are not just the seniors but some key players such as Todd Hosmer, their second highest freshman scorer, Brandon Couto, and their number one goaltender, Trevor O’Neill.
In net, they are expecting Kevin McFarland to step up in his senior year. If not, Andy Groulx and freshman Dylan Ellis will be waiting in the wings. Somebody will have to get the job done, as the Bears were tied for the worst conference defense with Brockport, letting up an average of five goals a game. They were also eighth in penalty killing percentage, letting in the most goals, which was especially deadly as they committed the most penalties.
Up front, Potsdam lost five of its top seven scorers. Sy Nutkevitch, the captain, returns, along with Mike Arnold. They will need a lot of new players to step up, as they were seventh in conference scoring last year and sixth on the power play.
Geneseo and Buffalo State showed you can rebound from these NCAA troubles despite being forced into wholesale changes. Thus, Potsdam has no excuse on that front, but they are a large unknown heading into the season.
Mark Your Calendar Game:January 20 vs. Morrisville. It will take Potsdam a semester to gel with the large turnover. How they start out the second half of the SUNYAC schedule will be key.
Cortland State Red Dragons
Coach: Joe Baldarotta, 21st season overall (297-233-45) and fifth season at Cortland (32-62-7)
2010-11 overall record: 6-17-2
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 5-10-1
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: Seventh
2011-12 predicted finish: Eighth
Key Departures: Jarrett Gold (9-9-18), Dan Jewell (3.93 GAA, .904 save percentage).
Key Arrivals: Adam Bevilacqua (F, transfer from St. Norbert), Tyler Virgoe (D), Nick Zappia (F).
Key Players: Joey Christiano (10-8-18), Jake Saville (4-11-15), Michael Lysyj (8-5-13), Peter Lompado (5-6-11).
Biggest Challenge: “It’s a challenge with us every year.” Cortland coach Joe Baldarotta. “We need to put a better team than Cortland on the ice. We fully realize we haven’t finished in the playoff picture.”
Outlook: Joe Baldarotta made a concerted effort to improve Cortland’s recruiting. He actually brought in some Canadians, a rarity for Cortland. Baldarotta is taking the approach of not dwelling on what they don’t have, but on what they do have.
Jarrett Gold is gone, but the other top scorers return, including Joey Christiano, their leading scorer. They will need better production from an offense that was eighth in conference at just under three goals a game, and only the seventh best power play.
It was goaltending by committee for the Red Dragons last year. Dan Jewell and Brittan Kuhlman shared most of the work, while Mike Reilly got his fair share. Jewell has graduated, leaving the other two along with freshman Jeff Molner. Whether it’s a committee or individual effort, they will need to reverse the 4.44 conference goals against.
Cortland is known for a surprise or two … or three, as their wins over Plattsburgh (a shutout!), Buffalo State, and Hamilton show. However, they were too few and far between, leaving the Red Dragons out of the playoffs once again.
Their nonconference schedule is one of the toughest, though it makes sense. It doesn’t take much travel for Cortland to find solid opponents. They will play Hobart, Hamilton, Neumann twice, Utica, Manhattanville, and Elmira.
Perhaps those contests will better prepare them for SUNYAC play. They’ll need to be if they want to be in the playoff hunt.
Mark Your Calendar Game: February 10 vs. Buffalo State. This starts the final four-game stretch, all at home. It could be a pivotal two weekends for the Red Dragons.
Brockport State Golden Eagles
Coach: Brian Dickinson, 18th season overall (123-271-40) and 15th season at Brockport (109-223-34)
2010-11 overall record: 4-18-3
2010-11 SUNYAC record: 2-13-1
2010-11 SUNYAC finish: Ninth
2011-12 predicted finish: Ninth
Key Departures: Tom Galiani (7-10-17), Justin Noble (4-12-16).
Key Arrivals: Mike Hollander (F, transfer from Becker), Chris Marinakos (F, transfer from Wentworth), Bobby Chayka (D), Aaron Green (G), Jay Meloff (D).
Key Players: James Cody (16-14-30), Ian Finnerty (7-17-24), Adam Shoff (6-7-13).
Biggest Challenge: “Our competition,” Brockport coach Brian Dickinson said. “Our league has gotten significantly better. Everybody has done a great job recruiting. Coming off the year we’ve had, we aren’t looking back. We can only look forward.”
Outlook: Losing Todd Sheridan took a larger toll on Brockport than most expected. After two years of playoff success, the Golden Eagles plummeted last year to just two conference wins, four overall.
Oliver Wren got most of the work in goal, but he will have to up his game. Otherwise, Joe Reagan or freshman Aaron Green will have to step in and perform. Brockport was tied for the worst conference defense with Potsdam at 5.00 goals per game allowed. They also had the worst penalty kill.
However, it didn’t help that Brockport had trouble scoring, with the most anemic offense at 2.50 goals per game and the worst power play at just 11 percent.
Brockport does return their two leading scorers, James Cody and Ian Finnerty. They have transfers from Becker (Mike Hollander) and Wentworth (Chris Marinakos), as well as the Player of the Year in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League, Bobby Chayka.
Chayka is a defenseman, as are fellow newcomers Marcus Farmer and Jeff Meloff. Whether they can help stem their red light from turning on will be a key factor.
Brockport certainly isn’t shying away from competition. Their nonconference schedule includes Utica, Hamilton, Elmira, Neumann twice, and Elmira. At the very least, the Golden Eagles will be battle-tested.
Mark Your Calendar Game: December 3 vs. Morrisville. It will be interesting to see how Brockport finishes up the first half of the SUNYAC schedule, ironically against a team which has to replace a stalwart goaltender like Brockport the year before.
Thursday, October 27
Holy Cross at Connecticut – A critical early game between the two stongest teams in the Eastern part of the conference. the Crusaders took two of three from the Huskies last season, but UConn won its game at home. I think the same thing happens this season. UConn 3, Holy Cross 2.
Friday, October 28
Sacred Heart at American International – Both teams are looking for their first wins of the season. I think AIC wins at home. AIC 3, Sacred Heart 2.
Rochester Institute of Technology at Mercyhurst – Another pair of teams that are struggling with one win between them so far. The Tigers have typically played well in Erie, so I’m picking them to continue that trend, despite the loss of goaltender Shane Madolora, who is serving the last of a three game suspension from the NCAA. RIT 5, Mercyhurst 4.
Saturday, October 30
Canisius at Air Force – Canisius is coming off a great win over RIT but the Falcons are also playing well, and seem to always do at home. Air Force 4, Canisius 2.
Army at Connecticut – The Black Knights played well in a tie against No. 16 Colgate, but I think the Huskies will prevail at home. UConn 4, Army 2.
Mercyhurst at Cornell – The Lakers will have five games under their belts while the Big Red is playing its first non-exhibition game. Still, I think Cornell has too many weapons. Cornell 4, Mercyhurst 2.
American Internation at Union – Union demolished RIT last weekend and will carry that momentum into this one. Union 5, AIC 2.
Friday, October 29 and Saturday, October 30
Clarkson at Bentley – The Falcons are playing their first home games of the season against a Clarkson team that defeated and tied them last year in the North Country. This will be Clarkson’s 5th and 6th consecutive games against AHA opposition. I think the teams will split, with the Falcons coming out on top on Friday. Bentelt 4, Clakson 3; Clarkson 5, Bentley 2.
Robert Morris at Michigan State – The Colonials have the best penalty kill in the nation (a perfect 23 for 23) while Michigan State is sixth (91.3%). At full strength I think the Spartans are stronger, and have the home ice advantage. I wouldn’t be shocked if RMU pulled one of these games out, but I’m picking against it. Michigan State 4, RMU 2; Michigan STate 3, RMU 2.
Colgate vs. Niagara – The teams play at Niagara in Friday and at Colgate on Saturday. The Purple Eagles are 2-1-1 against ranked teams (Colgate is No. 16) at home in their last four games. I’m picking the home team in each game. Niagara 3, Colgate 2; Colgate 4, Niagara 1.
These series that begin Thursday are killing me. Some weeks, there just isn’t enough coffee.
So far, I’m 2-for-2 on Thursdays this season, but given that there are three games tonight, I’m sure my brief and uncharacteristic flirtation with perfection will come to an end. Here’s how I’ve done so far.
Last Week: 4-5-2
Season to date: 28-18-5 (.598)
I don’t expect it to get any better. Neither should you.
This Week
There are six series this week. Three begin tonight; three begin tomorrow. It’s a full slate of CCHA action with one nonconference offering. Here’s a look at the three that begin tonight, with two series that provide an interesting early season glimpse at reversals of fortune.
The Friday-Saturday series picks will be posted tomorrow morning. All times are local.
FSU at UM, 7:35 p.m.
Someone voted Ferris State the top team in the country in this week’s USCHO poll. It wasn’t me, but after the Bulldogs swept Miami last weekend, I can certainly understand why. FSU is being spurred on by the hottest goaltending duo in college hockey right now, freshman C.J. Motte (.333 GAA, .986 SV%) and senior Taylor Nelson (1.34, .943). These gents have split time in net and allowed five goals in six undefeated games; two of Motte’s three wins have been shutouts. What’s nice for the Bulldogs is that they’re also getting some offense, with two juniors — Kyle Bonis and Travis Ouellette — responsible for 11 of FSU’s 25 goals.
Michigan, however, is no stranger to scoring this season. Averaging five goals per game as a team, the Wolverines have the third-best scoring offense in the country; nine Wolverines have already posted at least two goals through six games, led by juniors Lindsay Sparks and A.J. Treais and senior Luke Glendening. Senior Shawn Hunwick (1.52, .944) is sporting the best numbers of his career early in the season. Last weekend, the Wolverines lost to Northern Michigan before tying the Wildcats and earning the shootout point.
Picks: The Wolverines were 3-0-1 against the Bulldogs last season and have won six of the last eight meetings. This should be a battle royale — but (let’s hope) without the antics witnessed in Marquette last Saturday night. UM 4-2, FSU 3-2
LSSU at Miami, 7:35 p.m.
The Bulldogs are near the top of the CCHA standings while the Wolverines are gracing the bottom half in the early going. That’s one of the league’s early reversals of fortune. This series represents another.
With a record of 3-1-0 in CCHA play, Lake Superior State is currently the top team in the league. After having been swept by FSU last weekend, Miami is 0-2-0 in conference play (and a troubling 2-4-0 overall) and in the bottom spot in the standings this week.
The Lakers split at home against Bowling Green last weekend but allowed just two goals in the process. Allowing just 1.83 goals per game through six contests, LSSU has one of the nation’s tightest defenses in October. Sophomore Kevin Kapalka (1.83, .926) is as steady as they come in net. The blue line is led by junior defenseman Zach Trotman, who is second in scoring to sophomore Kyle Jean — who with four goals has three more than he scored in 38 games last season.
The RedHawks have now lost three in a row, and Saturday’s 2-0 loss to FSU was the first time Miami’s been shut out since early January. Miami’s 2-4 start is its worst since 2003-04, when the RedHawks began the season 1-4-1. Uncharacteristically, Miami’s offense is one of the most sluggish in the nation, averaging 2.33 goals per game (39th). Junior Reilly Smith leads the RedHawks with four of Miami’s 14 goals. Part of Miami’s woes stems from its young offense; six rookie forwards have seen action so far, with five playing regularly. Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard have split time in net, but so far Knapp’s numbers (2.31, .916) are measurably better than Reichard’s (3.36, .857) — but each has a win.
Picks: The RedHawks were 3-0-1 against the Lakers last season, outscoring LSSU 20-6 in those contests. The one tie came in Oxford Oct. 30, 2010. Miami 2-1, LSSU 3-2
UAF at OSU, 7:05 p.m.
Alaska is making its first trip of the season to the Lower 48 after earning a single point at home last weekend with a loss to Western Michigan followed by a tie. That was a come-from-behind tie — third-period goals by Nik Yaremchuk and Andy Taranto — to help the Nanooks to a rather remarkable stat; UAF has earned points in ever CCHA series except for two during the past four seasons. With five goals Yaremchuk, a junior forward, leads UAF in scoring and the country in game-winning goals (three), and he’s just four goals short of his career-best nine in 38 games from a season ago. Senior Scott Greenham (2.17, .909) still holds court in the UAF net.
Ohio State earned a road split with Michigan State last weekend, losing Thursday before Friday’s win. The Buckeyes have split every weekend so far this season, with another conference win against Notre Dame two weeks ago. Freshman Ryan Dzingel is one of the Buckeyes to watch — and not just because of his golden locks. Dzingel, a freshman, has three goals (two game winners) and is among the nation’s rookie scoring leaders in points per game. Two other Buckeyes — sophomore Chris Crane and freshman Matt Johnson — also have three goals to their credit, Crane’s total being one shy from his output in 37 games last year. Crane is noticeable on the ice. Senior Cal Heeter (2.89, .907) is solid.
Picks: The Nanooks were 3-0-1 against the Buckeyes last season; the tie was played in Columbus Nov. 26, 2010. There was also a 1-0 OT win in Fairbanks (Jan. 28, 2011) in which Taranto scored the game winner. In the other two games, UAF outscored OSU 11-4. OSU 3-2, UAF 4-2
Call me
Well … so to speak. Email ([email protected]), tweet (@paulacweston) or comment below. Please engage in civil conversation, with me and with each other. Niceness counts.
Do you like to have access to a forecast far in advance of an actual event? I’m not talking about seven-day forecasts, but more like “The Farmer’s Almanac,” where you can read how much snow you’ll be shoveling while still basking in summer sunshine.
If so, the place to be this past weekend was AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minn. Admittedly, most teams weren’t represented, including about a dozen capable of hoisting the ultimate hardware in the same venue come March.
Nonetheless, the two teams that were competing, Minnesota-Duluth and Wisconsin, have owned the last six NCAA titles, and nine of the 11 awarded to date. Most people would concede that the current era could be classified as the Wisconsin Dynasty; the Badgers have appeared in five of the last six NCAA title games, taking four. The Bulldogs have been almost as dominant; for the last five NCAA tournaments, UMD has either won the championship or been eliminated by a Wisconsin team that did. So the season’s first series between these two hockey superpowers served as an early indicator of what one might expect come tournament time.
Both Wisconsin and UMD are in the midst of a stretch where they face the teams projected to join them in the upper half of the WCHA in three consecutive series. The Badgers completed those half-dozen games on Saturday, posting an impressive 5-1 record, punctuated by the road sweep in Duluth. They hadn’t accomplished that since January of 2002, the season before Mark Johnson became their coach.
Minnesota-Duluth is just embarking on its gauntlet and got off to rocky start. Based on the 60 minutes of hockey I witnessed from UMD, I feel confident making one prediction. The Bulldogs won’t win the WCHA regular-season title; they are too inexperienced on defense, and the league is too competitive.
“We do have seven freshmen,” UMD coach Shannon Miller said. “It’s going to be a long season.”
The long season can be a positive as well, because it offers more time to improve.
“Because I’m a teacher and I really teach every day in practice, I love more time with my team before we play the top teams in the country,” Miller said. “When you’ve got freshmen that are on the first line, and on the power play, and on PK, and on the blue line, it just takes time.”
The Bulldogs rookies possess considerable talent, particularly Jenna McParland, a 5 foot 9 inch wing from Schreiber, Ont., and 5 foot 6 inch defenseman Brigette Lacquette out of Mallard, Man. McParland, skating on the first line with a pair of Olympic medalists in senior Haley Irwin and junior Pernilla Winberg, looks likely to rack up a boatload of points once she adjusts to the college game. The problem for the UMD blue line is that Lacquette is one of four freshmen in the rotation. At times, their inexperience was displayed on the ice and reflected on the scoreboard.
“New players come in and we’re all making adjustments and trying to give those kids quality ice time,” Johnson said. “Certainly Shannon and her group, as the season wears on, are going to continue to get stronger, as those young players gain more experience, as they start to make some road trips and start playing in other buildings. Playing more college games, they’re going to get better.”
UMD is no stranger to being on the wrong end of a sweep on the way to a national title. Only the 2002-2003 edition of Bulldogs avoided being swept before ultimately being crowned champions.
After the most recent pair of losses, Miller plans to tell her team, “Hey, here’s the best team in the country. They do have more talent than us, they do have more depth than us, but we can beat them, and we’ve got until March to figure it out.”
Johnson and the Badgers, despite their fast start and top ranking, have figuring of their own to do.
“We’ve got a long way to go, and we’ve got some work to do ahead of us,” he said.
One advantage Wisconsin has is a number of proven performers that can be relied on to produce while the team is still taking shape. They have a forward in senior Hilary Knight that entered the season with over 200 career points, senior Brooke Ammerman and junior Brianna Decker have reached the 100-point plateau, and senior Carolyne Prévost is just three points shy of doing so.
“Obviously, the deeper you are, the better suited you are to win hockey games,” Johnson said. “If you have a couple kids that can step up in different areas on different nights, it’s going to make you tougher to play against.”
Wisconsin has an early edge in net as well. The Bulldogs’ Jennifer Harss is adjusting to playing every game after splitting time with Kim Martin last season, while Alex Rigsby has carried forward the momentum of the run to the NCAA title for the Badgers.
“Obviously what she went through last year at the beginning of the year with her injury — getting healthy and playing well and being successful, helped her prepare for this season,” Johnson said. “When you come in your sophomore year, that experience that you gained over your freshmen year is going to help you. So she’s worked hard and she’s put together back-to-back-to-back weekends where she’s given us a chance to win every night.”
The early indicators are hinting at another Wisconsin title. However, patterns forming on the Bulldogs’ bench suggest that they could unleash a storm on AMSOIL Arena come March, and force other teams to postpone their planned celebrations.
Holy Cross’s 4-3 overtime win against top-seeded Minnesota in the 2006 NCAA tournament was a defining moment for the school and all of Atlantic Hockey. A classic David-slays-Goliath game.
While not as earth-shattering, last Saturday’s 5-4 victory over seventh-ranked Boston University was right up there, according to Crusaders coach Paul Pearl.
“It’s fantastic for this group of guys because none of these guys were here for Minnesota,” Pearl said to the media after the game. “So this was as big as that or as big as any win we’ve had. This is a testament to these guys working hard.”
Freshman Matt Ginn made 27 saves on 31 shots, one better than BU’s Kieran Millan, who also faced 31 shots. Sophomore Adam Schmidt scored twice as the Crusaders built a 5-2 lead midway through the third period and then held on for the win.
Atlantic Hockey player of the week for Oct. 24:
Kyle De Laurell, Air Force
The junior forward had four points (two goals, two assists) last weekend as the Falcons defeated and tied Alabama-Huntsville. De Laurell leads Air Force in goals (5) and points (9).
Atlantic Hockey goalie of the week for Oct. 24:
Dan Morrison, Canisius
Morrison stopped 33 of 34 shots to help Canisius to its first victory over Rochester Institute of Technology since 2008.
Atlantic Hockey rookie of the week for Oct. 24:
Cole Gunner, Air Force
Gunner wins the award for the second straight week. This time, he posted two goals and two assists in a pair of games at Alabama-Huntsville. He’s the top-scoring freshman in the nation with nine points in six games.
While not earning POTW honors, a pair of Niagara players deserve honorable mentions. The Purple Eagles played only one game last week, a 3-3 tie against No. 12 Union. Sophomore Scott Arnold scored twice and had an assist on the other Niagara goal, while goaltender Cody Campbell made 45 saves to preserve the tie. He has a .946 save percentage this season, fourth nationally.
Air Force was 0-for-15 on the power play entering last weekend’s games at Alabama-Huntsville, but the Falcons found the power on Saturday. Air Force was 1-for-6 with the man advantage in a 1-1 tie on Friday, but scored four power-play goals in five attempts on Saturday in a 7-2 win.
“It was great to see the power play getting going,” coach Frank Serratore said after the game. “I don’t remember scoring that many pretty goals in a game. We did so because we went to the net. Yesterday, we had a lot of perimeter shots, but tonight we went to the net and scored some nice goals.”
Canisius’ 3-1 win over RIT last Thursday was the first time in nine attempts that the Golden Griffins had defeated their I-90 rivals. It was the longest continued losing streak to a program in school history for Canisius.
The Tigers were then defeated by No. 12 Union 5-0 at Ritter Arena on Saturday. It was the worst margin of defeat at home for RIT in 17 years. Combined with the scoreless tie that Niagara and RIT played in the Tigers’ previous game at Ritter, it was the first time RIT had been shut out at home in consecutive games in the program’s 42-year history.
Connecticut’s 3-2 overtime victory over Massachusetts-Lowell on Oct. 18 was the 599th win in the history of the program, which dates to 1960. Current coach Bruce Marshall has 318 of those wins. UConn is stuck at 599 after a 5-0 loss at Merrimack on Saturday. The Huskies host Holy Cross on Thursday.
RIT has been without goaltender Shane Madolora for two games and will miss him for a third as he serves a suspension from the NCAA for failing to complete some necessary paperwork.
Madolora, who led the nation in save percentage (.935) last season, had problems with the NCAA clearinghouse regarding his high school transcripts that required him to sit out the 2008-09 season. RIT thought all was in order, but apparently all the “I’s” were not dotted and “T’s” not crossed.
“Since it was viewed by the NCAA as a secondary violation, Shane is being required to sit out for three contests,” RIT athletic director Lou Spiotti said in a statement.
Madolora will miss Friday’s game at Mercyhurst but will be eligible for Army on Nov. 4. The Tigers have lost the first two games of Madolora’s suspension, a span in which they have been outscored 8-1.
It’s been a sad week for college hockey with the announcement of the demise of the Alabama-Huntsville program. I have an affinity for the Chargers, having covered them when they were playing in Division II and seeing a handful games in person at the Von Braun Center.
Watching the crowd get pumped up as the team took the ice to “Sweet Home Alabama” is a fond memory. Friendly fans, the ability to wear shirtsleeves in December and a NASA Flight Center a few blocks away always made those trips to Huntsville fun.
Unfortunately, as UAH winds down its final season, there’s plenty of blame to go around. Let’s start at the top:
UAH interim president Malcolm Portera: His announcement had all the charm and feel of a drive-by shooting. Sources close to the program have said that the elimination of varsity hockey was a personal project for Portera, something he didn’t want to leave in the hands of his successor. His claims about money troubles ring hollow with supporters who have already pledged over a half a million dollars to maintain the program and were gaining momentum. Portera’s assertion that reducing the program to club status will help preserve hockey in Alabama is reminiscent of the unnamed military commander in the Vietnam War who asserted to an Associated Press reporter that, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.”
The CCHA: The league passed on several opportunities to admit UAH. Until the recent restructuring that spelled doom for this league, it was for a time the only real option for the Chargers, and the CCHA wouldn’t budge. A conference to play in would have meant a better schedule, more fans and a good chance for a new on-campus rink. It would have made the program much harder to kill.
The game of musical chairs that’s been going on with the foundation of the Big Ten and National Collegiate Hockey Conference plus the restructuring of the WCHA still could not find a spot for the Chargers. I heard dozens of scenarios over the summer, but scant few mentioned UAH.
Teams that didn’t schedule the Chargers: Alabama-Huntsville has just 12 home games against NCAA competition this season. Its final two games at the Von Braun Center are exhibition contests. The last NCAA games at UAH are Dec. 30 and 31 when Mercyhurst plays there.
Chargers fans: This year, UAH is averaging 1,546 fans per game, which is up from last season’s 1,278. Huntsville’s best year recently was 2008-09 when it averaged 2,686. In a 7,000-seat arena, that’s still underwhelming.
Fate: College Hockey America lost its battle with attrition. Army and then Air Force left the league, and Wayne State and Findlay dropped their programs. That left just four teams and it was a matter of time on a sinking ship. No life preserver appeared for the Chargers, and college hockey has been weakened as a result.
OK, how many of you out there thought before the season started that New Hampshire would lose its first four games — three of them against Hockey East foes — and would own an 0-4-1 record?
You in the back with your hand up … you’re lying.
How many of you foresaw the Wildcats getting shut out in the first two games and scoring only a power-play goal in the third one?
Liar!
How many of you projected them to be in last place in Hockey East at this point, on the wrong end of a 14-1 scoring differential?
That’s a liar, liar, pants-on-fire hat trick, pal.
It’s hard to imagine anyone seeing this start coming for the Wildcats. In past seasons when they’ve gotten off to slow starts, the damage has primarily been in nonconference games, hurting them at season’s end in the PairWise Rankings but not so much in the league standings.
Losing to Boston University in the season opener was no shock. Even the 5-0 final score shouldn’t have raised eyebrows much since it was a 2-0 game going into the third period.
Getting shut out by Northeastern 4-0 the following weekend was a surprise, however. Following that with the home opener against Boston College in retrospect seems like abysmal timing given the 5-1 result. BC was not the team UNH needed right there.
Stung by the three losses and the eye-popping goal differential, UNH headed out West to take on St. Cloud State. The Wildcats offense finally got on track, but allowed four goals on the penalty kill, resulting in a 7-5 loss. Only a comeback from a 2-0 deficit in the following game prevented a total five-game whitewash; UNH headed home having salvaged a 3-3 tie.
The season is barely under way, but the statistics to this point boggle the mind. Including all games, the Wildcats rank last in team offense (1.80 goals per game), second to last in team defense (4.80 goals against per game), and last on the penalty kill (68.4 percent).
It’s as if the hockey gods who have blessed New Hampshire with regular season titles three of the last five years decided this time to cross-check UNH coach Dick Umile in the back of the head.
“It’s hard to believe,” Umile says. “First of all, I thought we would have scored more. We’ve had an awful lot of opportunities in the games that we’ve lost. That being said, defensively we’ve been giving up goals so that’s a bad combination, not being able to put the puck in the net and giving up [all those] goals.
“It’s been a little bit of everything. It’s been very obviously disappointing. The guys have been battling. It’s been kind of crazy what’s gone on, but no excuses. We’ve got to find a way to play better defensively. We just have to find a way to play 60 minutes.”
Clearly, the blame game points in many directions. The offense in the first three games. The team defense at St. Cloud. The penalty kill in the first game out there.
But it’s hard not to also point a finger toward the UNH nets, where Matt Di Girolamo played so well last year, starting every game and earning honorable mention Hockey East All-Star status while compiling a 2.44 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
This year? It’s a 5.20 GAA and a shocking .825 save percentage.
He played reasonably well at BU, but against Northeastern gave up three goals on six first-period shots. Granted, the Wildcats were guilty of turnovers, but when you’ve entered your senior year as one of the most highly regarded goaltenders in the country, more is expected. The Wildcats never got back in that game.
Against BC, UNH outshot the Eagles 40-25 but lost 5-1.
In the first game at St. Cloud, Di Girolamo gave up five goals on 24 shots over the first two periods, prompting Umile to make a change. Down 5-2, he called on sophomore Jeff Wyer. After the 7-5 loss (in reality, 6-5 with an empty-netter), Umile tapped Wyer for his first career collegiate start. The Wildcats once again fell behind early, this time 2-0, but battled back for the 3-3 tie.
“I pulled Matt the first night after the second period, after they got their fifth goal and they got that one late, with 40 seconds left,” Umile says. “I made the change and Jeff played a solid third period.
“I just made the decision to come back with him [on Saturday] and give him his first start. He played well and gave us an opportunity to win it. We had our chances and just didn’t put it away, but he gave us an opportunity to win it.”
Which is not to say that Umile will be exiling Di Girolamo to the end of the bench.
“I still have an awful lot of confidence in him,” Umile says. “He’s a competitor and he’ll get it back. It’s been a combination of things. A couple [soft goals] have gone in, but we’ve added to it the way we’ve played in our own end with some of the turnovers.
“It hasn’t been totally his fault that we’ve been giving up five goals a game. It’s probably a little bit of both, [goaltending and turnovers].”
UNH hosts 11th-ranked and undefeated Union (2-0-3) on Friday, followed by a rematch against Northeastern on Saturday. Since all of the first five games except the one against BC came on the road, a weekend of home cooking may be just what the doctor ordered.
And for those ready to jump off the UNH bandwagon, a recent history lesson is in order. Two years ago, the Wildcats opened the season 2-6-2. While admittedly most of the damage was outside of Hockey East, that start still didn’t prevent them from going on an 11-game unbeaten streak and another trip to the NCAA tournament.
It ain’t over yet.
“We’ve got to play good hockey,” Umile says. “If you’re going to win hockey games, you’ve got to play well. It’s all about us and how well we can play for 60 minutes.”
Say hello to the ninth-ranked Merrimack Warriors. Say hello to the undefeated, 4-0 Warriors.
Yawn.
Same old, same old.
The shocking label for Merrimack is so last year. Or the year before.
The school that took it on the chin for so long is once again a team to be reckoned with, not just in Hockey East but also on the national stage. It’s as if Cinderella hasn’t been content to be the star of the ball; she’s refused to leave at midnight and isn’t allowing anything to get turned back into a pumpkin.
And good for her.
Merrimack was a fabulous story last year; the story this year may be the Warriors’ continued success.
For coach Mark Dennehy, the four wins are nice, but they’re just the beginning.
“You go into every game thinking you have a chance to win,” he says. “Whether you do or not depends upon how hard the guys are willing to play and how well you execute. But at the end of the day, you’re trying to get better every day.
“This time of year, it’s good to get off to a good start. You’re not going to win any championships in October or November, but you can put yourself out of the running if you don’t play well enough to win some games. We’re happy we’re 4-0, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”
Merrimack got to 4-0 by diving right in. The Warriors defeated Maine at Orono 2-1 without the benefit of so much as an exhibition game.
“Well, you can argue that it didn’t give me enough time to screw them up,” Dennehy quips before turning serious. “It’s a place where we haven’t had a lot of success in the win column. We’ve played well but sometimes not been rewarded. I know that our seniors had that marked on their calendars as a place that they’d never won, and I think that was important to them.
“As nervous or as uncomfortable as I was with playing a league game off the bat, if you’re going to play one then you want to play where there’s going to be energy. That’s as energized a fan base as there is in college hockey. It was just a matter of weathering their storms.”
In the games that followed, Merrimack prevailed in nonconference contests against Army and Connecticut as well as a 4-1 win over Northeastern.
“I’m happy about the way we’ve played since [Maine],” Dennehy says. “We’ve played better every game. That trend needs to continue.”
Dennehy looks around the league and sees young teams like Providence, Massachusetts-Lowell and, to a lesser extent, Vermont integrating a lot of new players into their lineups. Last year, those teams finished in the lower half of the league — the Friars and River Hawks missing the playoffs entirely — and likely will experience the inconsistencies of youth in the early going. But they should be much stronger in the second half.
“One of the advantages we have is we do have a lot of returning players,” Dennehy says. “We haven’t been reliant on new bodies to come in and understand systems and standard of play. So that’s been an advantage, but if we just think that that’s going to be enough to carry us throughout the year, we’re going to be really mistaken. We’ve got to continue to get better as a team.”
Fortunately, the Warriors appear every bit as hungry this year as last. The same players that carried them in the playoffs — Ryan Flanigan, Karl Stollery, Elliott Sheen, Carter Madsen and Mike Collins — are producing once again. There’s no sense of contentment with what was achieved last year. No easing up on the throttle.
While that may seem like a given, Dennehy played on a team, the 1990-91 BC Eagles, that he feels was too satisfied with its trip to the Frozen Four the previous year.
“My senior year at BC, we were No. 1 in the country for 19 weeks,” he recalls. “But at the end of the day, we were satisfied with the previous year and we weren’t willing to work as hard as we needed to. So I’ve been on guard for that with our players. I told them on Saturday after the UConn game, ‘We’re only four games into this.’
“What I’ve been happiest with is there hasn’t been a level of satisfaction. Our guys have come back and they still have something to prove. I still think that everyone else [in the sport] is waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“There’s still a large contingent in college hockey that thinks we were Stephane Da Costa and the seven dwarfs. There’s a lot to prove, and our guys to this point have played as if that were the case.”
• I may have been too hasty two weeks ago in the Monday weekend wrap-up when I said that this isn’t last year’s Boston University team. Reading the results so far, it looks like, Get up for UNH and win. Relax against Providence and lose. Get up for Denver and win. Relax against Holy Cross and lose.
• Nice bounce-back for Vermont, winning its second game at Minnesota 5-4 after getting thrashed 6-0 in the opener.
• BC sure seems to be motoring smoothly along, but will have to do without junior defenseman Patrick Wey, who underwent surgery to repair a severed tendon of his right foot. He’s expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
• Too bad Notre Dame’s T.J. Tynan will have graduated (if he stays all four years) by the time the Irish join Hockey East in 2013. In the NCAA tournament, I’ve loved watching him play.
Update: I had a brain cramp and double-counted this year. Tynan, if he stays, will be a senior during Notre Dame’s first year in Hockey East. So I might get a chance to see him all through that regular season after all. Thanks to Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna for catching the error.
Minnesota’s 5-1 start to the season can be credited to a diverse scoring output, Erik Haula’s nation-leading 14 points or possibly the more-than-solid goaltending by Kent Patterson.
From an all-around skater perspective, Jake Hansen’s transformation into one of the league’s top two-way players has had just as large of an effect on the Gophers’ success to this point.
The senior has 11 points — three goals and eight assists — going into Week 4 of the season. His six-game total last year was one assist, and he floated around the second, third and fourth lines for half the season.
“It’s definitely been a huge difference for me, getting off to a hot start,” Hansen said.
One of Minnesota coach Don Lucia’s line shuffles last season put Hansen with Haula and Jacob Cepis on the Gophers’ first and second lines, and that’s where Hansen’s transformation began. Hansen finished the 2010-11 season with 11 goals and nine assists.
With one more weekend left in the first month, Hansen is halfway to eclipsing that point total.
Lucia kept Hansen and the sophomore Haula (5-9–14) together and added freshman Sam Warning (3-3–6) to make up Minnesota’s top line and, so far, one of the most lethal in the WCHA, maybe the country.
“I got to play with Haula the last half of last year and we developed a pretty good chemistry,” Hansen said.
Hansen is a member of the top unit of the nation’s best power play (36.4 percent) and the WCHA’s second-best penalty kill (87.9 percent). Minnesota is third best in the nation for combined special teams with a success rate of 62.1 percent.
“Playing in the defensive zone and backchecking hard was something I didn’t take serious enough,” Hansen said. “You can’t just be an offensive player, you have to play both ends of the ice and that’s something I finally took more seriously.
“It’s something I take pride in — getting good plus/minus numbers, blocking shots, breaking up plays on the backcheck.”
The Gophers are off to their best start since 2008, when they opened the season 7-0-4. Hansen is a member of a Minnesota senior class in danger of becoming the to go without an NCAA tournament appearance since the late 1960s.
But Hansen said there’s an attitude in the locker room and on the bench that’s been missing the last few years.
“I feel like there was a lot better work ethic over the summer,” Hansen said. “Guys want to win and coming off this start, you can tell the confidence in this group and commitment has changed. It’s definitely been a little different than in years past.”
Comparing Nebraska-Omaha’s sweep over Alaska-Anchorage this weekend to the Seawolves’ 3-0 shutout of the Mavericks in a nonconference game in Fairbanks, there wasn’t a major difference on the score sheet.
John Faulkner saw it all from the crease, and he said it was the little things that helped UNO.
“We took a whole new attitude going into last weekend and the whole week of practice, we worked on the little details and showed in the games,” said Faulkner, the Mavericks goaltender who stopped 38 of the 40 shots (95 percent) he faced last weekend. “We tried to win all the one-on-one battles and give 110 percent every shift.
“We looked back on how we played up in Alaska and we just wanted to be a tougher team to play against. I thought we did a good job taking care of things defensively this weekend. We didn’t really give up any offensive chances to Alaska and that was one of the biggest adjustments we made.”
Those little things led to shots on goal advantages of 28-19 and 40-21, a category in which the Seawolves held a 35-23 advantage on Oct. 14. Special teams didn’t factor into the score this weekend, with both teams going scoreless on the power play.
Though Alex Hudson didn’t show up in the box score, his return from a team-issued suspension may have sparked something as well after the Mavericks started the season 1-3.
“He’s an impact player and it hurt us not having him in the lineup right away,” Faulkner said. “Obviously, as a senior forward, he’s going to have an impact. Physically, he’s a good presence and he’s an offensive threat.”
Two exhibition games in two weeks. Sweep Bemidji State at home. Off. Fly out East to face Rensselaer. That’s the first four weeks of Colorado College’s odd schedule.
“It was kind of weird, we had the two exhibition games in two weeks,” said CC captain Gabe Guentzel. “The exhibition games and the off week gave us a chance to work out our kinks. It’s been different and hard to adjust but now we jump in and we start playing games for a while.”
Obviously, the poll voters are still waiting for the Tigers to prove whether they deserve a No. 3 ranking. After two real games, it’s too early to tell.
Jaden Schwartz had four points in those two wins against the Beavers. CC goalie Joe Howe allowed just one goal in 80 minutes.
“People are expecting us to be good but we have to take it with a grain of salt,” Guentzel said. “We have to go out and prove who we are as a team.”
All seven of CC’s upcoming road games are on NHL-sized sheets, and the Tigers are used to playing on the bigger Olympic surface. The Tigers are built on speed, a style to which the big sheet lends itself well.
“It’s obviously different [playing on the smaller sheet],” Guentzel said. “Our coaches have been talking about how RPI is going to play a physical game and try to use the smaller sheet to kind of beat us up a little bit.”
With Minnesota State not scheduled to play this weekend, coach Troy Jutting is taking the opportunity to go out recruiting for the future. In light of recent events, Jutting might just wish that future was now.
The Minnesota State training room has doubled as a triage unit lately, with nearly one third of the team’s skaters going down over the course of the past two weekends.
Already without senior Michael Dorr, junior Tyler Elbrecht, sophomore J.P. Burkemper, freshman Max Gaede, sophomore Danny Heath and junior Eriah Hayes for their trip to Denver last weekend, the Mavericks lost sophomore Chase Grant in Friday’s game against the Pioneers and freshman Brett Stern on Saturday.
Add it all up and Minnesota State ended the series without five of its top 11 active career scoring leaders in Dorr (17 goals, 25 assists, 42 points), Hayes (19-18–37), Grant (8-12–20), Elbrecht (1-12–13) and Burkemper (3-6–9). Not surprisingly, the Mavericks were swept by the Pioneers.
Others are likely nursing various wounds also as, according to Jutting, 11 players sat out Tuesday’s practice. Jutting said the current rash of injuries is unprecedented in his coaching career.
Although the odds were stacked heavily against them in Denver, the remaining Mavericks players gave the Pioneers all they could handle in the series opener as Zach Lehrke’s goal at 1:17 of the third period tied the game 2-2.
“I thought the kids played extremely hard and gave themselves a chance to win a hockey game against a very good hockey team,” Jutting said. “We ended up losing 4-2 with the empty-net goal, but really [had] a chance all the way down to the end of that game to get a win.”
Unfortunately for Minnesota State, fatigue set in, especially after Stern went down, and Denver rolled to a 10-2 win on Saturday.
“It’s early in the year and we had a short bench and I think that was part of the result on Saturday night,” Jutting said. “We had a short bench Friday night and an even shorter bench on Saturday night and I think we just wore down.”
Denver coach George Gwozdecky agreed.
“Scoring 10 goals was a little bit of an aberration; I know how banged up our opponent was last weekend,” Gwozdecky said in his weekly radio show. “I don’t think that there’s any team in our conference, including ours, that is eight goals better than anybody else.”
Denver’s 4-2 win over Minnesota State last Friday was Gwozdecky’s 400th at the helm of the Pioneers, and Saturday’s victory gave Gwozdecky 550 wins overall in 25-plus years of coaching NCAA hockey.
Add two NCAA national championships, three WCHA regular-season titles and four WCHA playoff titles and an already-impressive resume becomes legendary.
What has been the key to his success?
“Marry a good lady,” Gwozdecky said of his wife, Bonnie, during his weekly radio show on Tuesday.
“It is so important that in this profession, in coaching, in any sport, the time away from family is so dramatic and unlike anything else,” said Gwozdecky. “You have to be able to have that foundation at home that can take care of the things and can deal with the issues that only coaches deal with.
“Whether it’s game day, whether it’s a long season, whether it’s recruiting, you name it and certainly the No. 1 principle in my life is my wife and my family. To be around long enough to win this many games, it’s rare and to be able to have the same marriage and the same family for that long period of time is even rarer.”
Gwozdecky also expressed appreciation for his daughter, whom he said “is talking trash with me now because she’s a freshman at [Boston University] and she’s a student assistant with the hockey team out there and they beat us a couple weekends ago.”
But much credit was also reserved for the many who have served under Gwozdecky throughout his career, particularly longtime assistant Steve Miller.
“He’s been with me now for over 20 years,” said Gwozdecky. “We are like an old married couple: He knows how I think, I know how he thinks. He’s one of the best recruiters in the country, one of the best coaches on the ice in the country.
“There’s reasons why people are successful and it’s not because they’re geniuses. They have great people with them, great people around them, and you let them do their thing.”
Besides Miller, Gwozdecky mentioned fellow current staff member Derek Lassonde along with former assistants Enrico Blasi (Miami), Seth Appert (Rensselaer) and Derek LaLonde (USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers) as just a few members of the Gwozdecky coaching tree who fit that category.
“[They] have done an absolutely tremendous job over the years bringing in some quality, not only tremendously skilled players, but great character players that understood the expectations and high standards that they have to live by as a DU Pioneer hockey player,” said Gwozdecky. “Those standards are exacting, they’re not easy, but the rewards can be tremendous and when we get it going it can be very magical.”
Offensive: Drew Shore, Denver junior forward
Shore led the Pioneers to a sweep (4-2, 10-2) of Minnesota State with a five-point weekend and a plus-6 plus/minus rating. After notching the game-winning goal on Friday, Shore’s assist on Saturday’s winner was one of four in the game for the Florida Panthers’ prospect.
Defensive: Andrew Walsh, Bemidji State freshman goaltender
Walsh entered his first collegiate game on Friday night against Michigan Tech halfway through the first period with his team trailing 3-1. Not only did the Dawson Creek, British Columbia, native help the Beavers come back for a 6-5 win, Walsh made 31 saves the following night in his first college start.
Rookie: Joel Rumpel, Wisconsin freshman goaltender
Rumpel’s 38 saves on Saturday preserved a 5-4 victory over defending conference champion North Dakota and earned the Badgers a sweep of the visiting Sioux. Rumpel made 15 saves each in the game’s first two periods alone.
