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Snobbery, similarities, and kissing in Hockey East

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These are three things I think I learned from this weekend’s games.

Three: I better rethink my stance as an admitted Hockey East snob.

It was one thing when Massachusetts-Lowell lost to Connecticut on Tuesday. The River Hawks are coming off a season that saw them finish last in Hockey East with a 4-21-2 league record and only a single non-conference win.

Boston University’s loss to Holy Cross, however, was an eye-opener. The Terriers tried to rally in the third period from a 5-2 deficit and got back to within one, but couldn’t get the equalizer. It marked BU’s first ever loss to an Atlantic Hockey team.

When one of your league’s perennial powerhouses takes it on the chin, it’s a blow that leaves a mark.

Two: old time Merrimack Valley rivals Lowell and Merrimack are winning in similar ways.

Name the league’s top two defensive clubs.

Merrimack? Lowell?

It’s early and there are all kinds of schedule disparities, but these schools rank as Hockey East’s top two defensive teams. The Warriors have allowed only four goals in four games, earning the top designation. Lowell comes in second, having allowed only six goals in three games.

Now name the league’s top two teams on the man advantage.

Again, Merrimack? Lowell?

The two old Division-II rivals share the top power-play ranking with a 22.2 percent conversion rate.   Lowell has scored four times on 18 opportunities; Merrimack six times on 27.

One: some ties are a lot better than kissing your sister.

If you disagree, try arguing with Providence coach Nate Leaman and UNH coach Dick Umile.

The Friars got off to a phenomenal start with wins over BU and Massachusetts in the season’s first weekend, but lost 5-2 to Minnesota-Duluth on Friday. Another loss, especially a lopsided one, would have further undone the previous weekend’s exploits. With less than three minutes remaining in regulation, PC trailed by a goal. But Matt Bergland’s goal tied it up and the Friars survived a penalty kill near the end of overtime.

That’s take-the-point-and-be-happy time.

For UNH, the point was no sister-kisser for another reason. The Wildcats had lost their first four games and were playing at St. Cloud, where the night before they’d lost 7-5. In that first night, they’d trailed 5-2 and 6-3 before rallying to get within one but getting no closer.

The prospect of this team opening the season 0-for-5 boggled the mind.  (And that’s before considering that their next opponent is 12th-ranked Union.) So even though the Wildcats outshot their hosts 47-24, including 4-1 in overtime, and no doubt desperately wanted a win, at least they got their first point of the year.

Not a sister-kisser at all.

Home ice has its advantages

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Three things I learned from following Atlantic Hockey this week:

Playing at home matters. The AHA is only 5-30-4 in non-conference play, but just seven of those 39 games have been played in Atlantic Hockey rinks. In those games, the league is a respectable 2-3-2. So again, that’s 3-27-2 on the road, and 2-3-2 at home. It’s tough for some schools to attract non-league opponents to come into their home rinks. So far, only Niagara, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris and Army have hosted non-league home games. But eventually, every AHA team except Sacred Heart and American International will host a non-conference game this season.

 

Who’s Hot: Holy Cross, which defeated No. 7 Boston University on Saturday at Agganis Arena. The Crusaders, who pulled off a huge upset of top-ranked Minnesota in the 2006 NCAA tournament, became the first AHA team to beat BU.

“It’s fantastic for this group of guys because none of these guys were here for Minnesota,” Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl said after the game. “This is a testament to these guys working hard.”

 

Who’s Not: Coming off an emotional overtime win against St. Lawrence in front over 10,000 fans last Saturday, the Tigers managed to score just one goal in a pair of games last week. A 3-1 loss at Canisius snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Tigers over the Golden Griffins, and on Saturday RIT was pounded 5-0 at home by Union. It was the largest margin of defeat on home ice for the Tigers in 17 years. RIT has yet to score a goal at Frank Ritter Arena in two games so far this season, the first time it has suffered consecutive shutouts at home in the program’s 42-year history.

Tiger coach Wayne Wilson says he isn’t worried…yet. ” “It’s funny how those things work,” he said after Saturday’s game. “The next game could be a big scoring game. We’ve got to work hard to get our goals. We can’t be pretty and hope things happen.”

Gallery: Durham Lightning at RIT

By Omar Phillips
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Pictures from Rochester Institute of Technology’s 7-2 exhibition victory Saturday over Durham Lightning.

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Gallery: Vermont at Minnesota

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Here are some images from Minnesota’s 6-0 Friday night victory over Vermont:
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Atlantic Hockey Picks 10/21-10/27

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Last Week: 13-3
On the Season: 24-6-1 (.790)

This Week’s Picks:

Friday, October 21
Union at Niagara – For only the third time this season, an AHA team hosts a non-conference game. But I still think No. 12 Union get the win. Union 4, Niagara 2.

 

Saturday, October 22
Holy Cross at Boston University – The teams haven’t met in three years, with BU pulling out a close one back in 2008. I think the No. 7 Terriers have too many weapons. BU 4, Holy Cross 1

Army vs. Colgate - This is a neutral site game played in Hyannis, Mass. and known as the Cape Code Collegiate Classic. The Raiders won 3-1 last season and are a stronger team this year. Colgate 5, Army 2.

Union at RIT - The Tigers are coming off the highs and lows of a wild win against St. Lawrence and an upset at the hands of Canisius. Union at RIT were big rivals in their Division III days, but the Dutchmmen have dominated games played between the two teams at the D-I level. Union 5, RIT 3.

Connecticut at Merrimack – Another ranked opponent lies in wait for an AHA team. The Huskies beat Mass-Lowell this week but I think they’ll be outgunned by the No. 13 Warriors. Merrimack 3, UConn 1.


Friday October 21 and Saturday October 22
American International at Clarkson - Clarkson had an easy time with Sacred Heart last weekend. I have a feeling AIC will be a little more competitive, but I still like the Knights to sweep Clarkson 3, AIC 2; Clarkson 4, AIC 2.

Quinnipiac at Robert Morris – The Bobcats have been ripping through the AHA, but I think Robert Morris wins at least one of these games. I’m thinking Saturday. Quinnipac 3, RMU3; RMU 5, Quinnipac 4.

Air Force at Alabama Huntsville – These former CHA foes used to play 4-5 a year, but they haven’t met in five years, since the Falcons left the CHA for Atlantic Hockey. Although Air Force is only 3-21-1 all time against the Chargers in Huntsville, I’m picking the Falcons to sweep. Air Force 3, UAH 2; Air Force 4, UAH 1

 

Tuesday, October 25
Bentley at Sacred Heart – Sacred Heart is a tough team to beat at home, but the Pioneers are struggling so far. Bentley 4, Sacred Heart 2.

 

Women’s Picks: Oct. 21-25

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Ouch. The women’s field has certainly been a lot more unpredictable this season than last. Both Arlan and I struggled again this week. I went 5-5-1 (.500) while Arlan went 6-4-1 (.590). Overall on the season, I am 17-11-4 (.593) and Arlan is 18-10-4 (.625). Once again, there are some tough picks on the weekend, so let’s get to it.

Friday-Saturday, October 21-22

Wisconsin at Minnesota-Duluth
Candace: The Badgers have certainly started their season with a bang, playing their three toughest WCHA opponents on consecutive weekends. Minnesota ended the Badgers’ unbeaten streak last week. Can Wisconsin start another? Minnesota-Duluth has been winning, though it was challenged by a suspect Connecticut squad last week. This will probably be a split, but for now, I’ll go with Mark Johnson’s magic. Wisconsin 3-1, 3-2
Arlan: Wisconsin should sweep, but it won’t; the Badgers haven’t swept in Duluth since January 2002. Wisconsin 3-1, Minnesota-Duluth 2-1

Ohio State at North Dakota
Candace: The mercurial Sioux host a Buckeyes squad that is off to a good start. However, Ohio State hasn’t faced a top-tier team yet. I’m going with the scoring prowess of the Lamoureux sisters. North Dakota 3-2, 4-2
Arlan: The first big test for the new regime for the Buckeyes, because these are the kind of games OSU has always lost in the past. North Dakota 5-3, Ohio State 3-2

Boston University at Clarkson/St. Lawrence
Candace: The ECAC squads pair off with two Hockey East squads. This is one that could be a toss-up, since Clarkson has looked good to start the season. However, I am going against the grain and picking a Terriers sweep in two close games. Boston University 2-1, 3-1
Arlan: BU will drop a game this weekend; I have no idea which one, so I’ll pick them to win both in hopes of getting one right. BU 3, Clarkson 1; BU 4, St. Lawrence 3

New Hampshire at St. Lawrence/Clarkson
Candace: The other ECAC/Hockey East pairing. The Wildcats didn’t look too good against Boston College last week, and that was a much shorter trip. I think they’ll challenge both squads, but lose. St. Lawrence 2-1, Clarkson 3-2
Arlan: UNH may get a tie, but their effort at BC was uninspiring. SLU 4, UNH 1; Clarkson 1, UNH 0

Friday, October 21

Quinnipiac at Boston College
Candace: The Eagles have been playing well, the Bobcats haven’t, and BC is at home. Boston College 3-1
Arlan: Quinnipiac will get things turned around, but not this week. BC 4-2

Sunday, October 23

Dartmouth at Boston College
Candace: I picked the Eagles to take the Hockey East crown this year, despite losing Stack and Schaus, and they are playing well to start the year. Boston College 3-1
Arlan: Not a good matchup for the Big Green to start their season. Boston College 4-2

Tuesday, October 25

Cornell at Colgate
Candace: Will the the Big Red go undefeated and untied in conference play this year? It’s a pretty good bet. Cornell 4-0
Arlan: Finally, an outcome that I think I can predict; watch the Raiders make a liar of me. Cornell 6-0

Commentary: When the No. 1 team really isn’t the No. 1 team

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Michigan is No. 1 in the latest USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, but does that mean Michigan is the best team in the country or the best team last weekend? Did routing St. Lawrence in a building that might offer the best home-ice advantage in college hockey make the Wolverines the No. 1 team in the nation?

Polls are troubling because they can be a popularity contest and at other times can be very misleading. Take last season for example. Yale was No. 1 for a long time but there were quite a few NHL scouts who watch a ton of college hockey who felt that while Yale was attaining the best results on a consistent basis it was, at best, the eighth best team in the country.

This is not a column that will thrill my colleagues at USCHO but no matter what poll is being voted on it is time for some formula to end, A, popularity contests, B, bias toward your local team and, C, picking teams with the best record over picking teams with quality wins. We’ll attack this in a later column or an intermission Twitter segment on a CBS Sports Network broadcast. Ideas are welcome.

Michigan at No. 1 with home wins over Niagara (which gave the Wolverines quite a battle despite the score), a sweep of Bentley and a convincing win over St. Lawrence is misleading. Michigan football was 6-0 before last weekend, but was it No. 1 in the NCAA football poll? No, because the reality was it beat some subpar teams, a couple of decent ones at home and — depending on your level of objectivity (full disclosure: I’m a Notre Dame football fan) — they struggled to beat Notre Dame at home. Rank that where you want to.

Looking closely, strength of schedule determines LSU is the best college football team in the nation and deserves to be No. 1. The SEC is the best conference and LSU is dominating that, having beaten three ranked opponents, two on the road, in September.

To be a No. 1, you need big-time wins. Denver beating Boston College in Boston is a big win. BC beating North Dakota in Grand Forks is a big win. Notre Dame winning at national champion Minnesota-Duluth is a big win. Minnesota’s sweep at Duluth has to be a better ranked pair of wins than Michigan’s home sweep of Bentley. That is just common sense.

Northern Michigan won at Wisconsin and swept St. Cloud State. Michigan Tech swept Wisconsin.

Now, North Dakota lost to BC and BC became No. 1, so NoDak lost to a No. 1 team. Then NoDak beat a top-20 team, Maine, in Grand Forks. That should be a better win than Michigan’s over St. Lawrence or Bentley.

I’ll give you one better, actually two. Quinnipiac is 4-1 and won at Ohio State so it has a road win where Michigan doesn’t and their schedules are pretty comparable. Colgate won at Nebraska-Omaha and split with Miami. Boston University hasn’t had a shabby start; it beat the team that beat the No. 1 team. (You can insert any other wins you deem significant here; I was trying to avoid overkill.)

You can make a better case Denver should be No. 1 as opposed to Michigan. North Dakota could have that spot also.

The point is this: Polls are misleading. Whether it be football or hockey, those voting rarely if ever see every team in the top 20 that week or even that season.

Voting based on box scores isn’t my thing. Strength of schedule needs to be a factor at some point. Road wins probably should hold some credence over home wins. The Ivies haven’t played a game yet; how are Yale and Cornell in the top 10? Good rosters, good programs, great staffs but they haven’t played yet. You can’t be ranked without playing a game!

This entire rant is not to say Michigan isn’t a good team or hasn’t had a good start. The Wolverines lost a lot from last year and have come out strong. However, even Michigan will tell you it isn’t the No. 1 team in the nation; it just has the best record.

It is a flawed system.

Then again, do we care enough to fix it?

Top ten

Recently my colleagues put out top 10 lists of forwards, defensemen and goalies. Lists are great because they stir up debate, get people talking and generally annoy die hard fanatics whose favorite player gets snubbed.

I’d like to take a second to comment on the goalie list.

The fact that Shawn Hunwick of Michigan wasn’t No. 1, let alone in the top 10, is ridiculous.

I really like New Hampshire’s Matt DiGirolamo, but if I needed to win a big game Hunwick would get my vote. The reality is Hunwick has won several big games, actually won a regional final that he wound up losing on a bad video review, and lost a national title game in OT. You can make a case that Hunwick is as sound a goalie technically as there is at the Division I level. How he was ignored by coaches that were consulted for the story is beyond me.

Is he an NHL prospect like some of the others on that list? Probably not. Is he a better NCAA goalie right now then the 10 on that list? Absolutely.

More No. 1s

On the subject of goalies, Adam Murray of Denver and Parker Milner of Boston College will have good seasons. Both are cut in that blocker-style mold of the modern goalie but both have some creativity and fluidity to their game and seem to have a grasp on how to play the position with situational reactions as opposed to letting pucks hit them.

Milner is a treat to talk goaltending with. The kid really understands the position and how it works. Murray does as well. He’ll do well holding the fort while he has the No. 1 job.

Two for the road

If I was an NHL general manager looking to fill a spot on my coaching staff at the NHL or AHL level, North Dakota’s Dave Hakstol would be on my radar.

Michigan State’s Tom Anastos won his first NCAA game with an OT win over Air Force on Oct. 8. It was good to see Ron Mason on hand for the beginning of the Anastos era at MSU. Anastos won’t eclipse Mason’s 924 NCAA wins, but keep an eye on Jerry York, who is 41 away.

Paula's picks: Oct. 21, 2011

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Hey! I’m 2-for-2 in Thursday night picks!
Last Weekend (including Thursday): 9-6-2
Season to date: 24-13-3
Win percentage: .705
When your pick percentage is as stunning as mine is over the course of a season, you cling to the little things.
This Week
The CCHA’s 41st season continues with five conference series and one nonconference game. This week’s action began Thursday night with MSU’s 3-0 win over OSU. For my take on that series, see yesterday’s quick pick post. I will tell you here that I called MSU to win last night and OSU to win tonight.
Each CCHA series previewed here is single venue, Friday-Saturday. All games start at 7:05 p.m. local time except the UM-NMU series, which begins at 7:35 p.m.
The single RPI-ND game is tonight at 7:35 p.m., and it’s the inaugural game in Notre Dame’s new home, the Compton Family Ice Arena.
A full slate of CCHA action and the Irish have a new arena. I’m giddy.
BGSU at LSSU Each team swept last weekend — but only the Lakers can claim six points in the CCHA standings going into the series. The Falcons beat Alabama-Huntsville on the road, 2-1 and 3-0, earning junior goaltender Andrew Hammond (1.47 GAA, .931 SV%) his third career shutout. Falcon freshman Ryan Carpenter (3-3–6) is tied for first nationally among rookies in points per game. The Lakers swept Michigan State at home, 5-4 and 3-2; LSSU rookie Chris Ciotti (1-4–5) is right behind Carpenter in the same category. The teams were 1-1-2 last season with the Lakers picking up the extra point in each shootout. They’ll probably split — and I’ll probably call it the wrong way. LSSU 3-1, BGSU 2-1
Miami at FSU The RedHawks split on the road against Colgate last weekend, 4-3 and 3-2 (OT). Junior Reilly Smith recorded a hat trick in Friday’s game, the second of his career in his first game of the season. As usual, seniors Connor Knapp (2.45 GAA, .918 SV%) and Cody Reichard (3.52, .848) split time in net with Reichard earning the win. The Bulldogs shut out Rensselaer twice at home last weekend, 4-0 and 2-0. Freshman C.J. Motte (0.50, .977) and senior Taylor Nelson (1.01, .952) each earned a win. Juniors Kyle Bonis (5-1–6) and Travis Ouellette (5-0–5) have the scoring touch early this season. In early November last season, the Bulldogs took five of six possible points from Miami in Big Rapids. This series is tied all-time 20-20-9 in Ewigleben Arena. Watch them split and me call it the wrong way. FSU 3-2, Miami 3-1
UM at NMU Last week, the Wolverines beat St. Lawrence 10-3 on Thursday night — and that was enough for them to capture the top spot in the USCHO poll. That win was UM’s fourth straight, giving the Wolverines their first 4-0 start since 2005-06. Senior Shawn Hunwick (1.36 GAA, .950 SV%) is the UM starter in net; senior Luke Glendening — who had a hat trick against the Saints — leads UM in goals, but three other Wolverines have three goals each. Because it’s early this is an inflated stat, but it’s worth noting that Michigan is averaging 6.0 goals per game so far, second in the nation behind Minnesota. The Wildcats swept St. Cloud at home, 5-2 and 3-2, with senior Reid Ellingson (1.92, .931) and sophomore Jared Coreau (2.53, .909) each picking up a win. Senior Justin Florek is off to a fast start with four goals. The Wolverines are 9-1-0 against the Wildcats in the last 10 meetings in Marquette. Last season, UM swept NMU in Marquette, 3-2 and 5-0, Feb. 25-26. That shut out was the last regular-season game for both teams, and Hunwick took himself out of the contest with six minutes left to give then-senior Bryan Hogan a share of that win. UM 4-2, 3-2
WMU at UAF Last weekend, the Broncos traveled to New York State and tied ranked Union twice, 2-2 and 3-3. Senior Greg Squires (2-2–4) had both goals in the first contest, the first multi-goal game of his career. Squires’ two goals are five shy of his season total last year. Junior Nick Pisellini (2.90 GAA, .919 SV%) was in net both nights. The Nanooks beat Mercyhurst, 5-2, and Nebraska-Omaha, 4-1, in the Brice Goal Rush — but lost the hardware to rival Alaska-Anchorage on a goal differential. Junior Nik Yaremchuk is off to a fast start for the Nanooks with four goals in four games, five shy of his season total last year. Junior Steve Thompson (2.00, .913) won Friday in his first game since Jan. 23, 2010, giving workhorse senior Scott Greenham (1.67, .926) his first break since then. Greenham picked up the win against UNO. The Broncos must feel like they’re always going to Alaska; it’s their fifth trip in five years to Fairbanks. The Nanooks are 6-2-2 in their last 10 home contests against WMU; last year, though, the Broncos took five of six possible points from the Nanooks in the Carlson Center with a 2-2 tie and shootout point Jan. 7 and a 2-0 win the next night. UAF 3-2, WMU 3-2
RPI at ND
Last weekend, Notre Dame hosted Ohio State to close out the Joyce Center era, winning 5-2 Friday before losing their last-ever game in their old barn Saturday, 4-3 — creating a strange bit of trivia for the Buckeyes, believe it or not. When the Buckeyes ended their tenancy in the OSU Ice Arena in December 1998, they did so with two wins against the Irish; that means that OSU won the closing game in each program’s old venue before each moved into a shiny new arena. Anyway, last weekend the Irish found themselves coming from behind in both games. Junior Mike Johnson (2.46 GAA, .900 SV%) had the win Friday and was in net Saturday for ND’s three third-period goals; the Irish did not look good in front of sophomore Stephen Summerhays (4.61, .821). T.J. Tynan (2-7–9) and Anders Lee (5-3–8) lead ND in scoring so far this season.
The Engineers have scored four goals in four games this season — but they’ve been shut out three times. Last weekend, FSU blanked them in Big Rapids. The problem isn’t between the pipes: junior Bryce Merriam (1.68, .944) and freshman Scott Diebold (1.03, .950) and the RPI defense have combined to allow two goals per game on average. These teams last met in Tampa Dec. 29, 2007, a 3-1 win for the Irish in the third-place game of the Lightning College Hockey Classic.
It’s the first game in Notre Dame’s beautiful new building, which you can read about in Ryan O’Leary’s Compton Center story from earlier this week.
Pick: ND 3-0

Hockey East picks: October 21-27

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Plenty of upsets last week led to equally poor picks records for both Dave and me.

Jim last week: 6-6-1
Dave last week: 6-6-1
Jim’s record-to-date: 11-10-2
Dave’s record-to-date: 12-9-2

Here are this week’s picks:

Friday, October 21

Massachusetts at Boston College
Jim’s pick: BC rebounded nicely from last Friday’s hiccup and I would count on the Eagles to keep rolling.
BC 4, UMass 1

Dave’s pick: Have to agree with Jim. The Eagles and it won’t be close.
BC 4, UMass 2

Northeastern at Merrimack
Jim’s pick: Merrimack on home ice? Lately that’s been a no-brainer.
MC 4, NU 2

Dave’s pick: I’d take Merrimack here, home or away.
MC 3, NU 2

Minnesota-Duluth at Providence
Jim’s pick: The defending national champs may have a rough record early but they’re a better team than the Friars.
UMD 3, PC 1

Dave’s pick: The Friars are on pace for a 34-0 season! Break up the Friars!  Duluth is on pace to go 9-25! The Bulldogs stink! An easy choice.
UMD 4, PC 3

New Hampshire at St. Cloud State
Jim’s pick: Neither team has been explosive thus far, but I think home ice advantage prevails
SCSU 5, UNH 3

Dave’s pick: One UNH goal in three games? One goal? Total?
SCSU 2, UNH 1

Vermont at Minnesota
Jim’s pick: Early test for the Cats and it’s hard to believe they’re ready to beat the Gophers on the road.
Minnesota 6, UVM 3

Dave’s pick: The Gophers swept Duluth last weekend and enter the weekend 4-0.  By contrast, the Catamounts have only an exhibition loss to the U-18 team under their belts.  Uh-oh.
Minnesota 4, UVM 2

Saturday, October 22

Boston College at Northeastern
Jim’s pick: No upsets here. Eagles continue to fly.
BC 4, NU 1

Dave’s pick: Agreed. Eagles all the way.
BC 4, NU 1

Holy Cross at Boston University
Jim’s pick: AHA had its upset on Tuesday. Don’t see it happening at BU.
BU 4, HC 2

Dave’s pick: If this is an audition for the Crusaders joining Hockey East, they stay put.
BU 4, HC 1

Connecticut at Merrimack
Jim’s pick: See above. Merrimack rolls.
MC 5, UConn 1

Dave’s pick: A few years ago, this would have been close. Not anymore.
MC 4, UConn 1

Minnesota-Duluth at Providence
Jim’s pick: Night two will make for a tighter game, but still see the Bulldogs coming out on top
UMD 3, PC 2 (OT)

Dave’s pick: Yeah, it is strange predicting that the 1-3 team will sweep the one with a 2-0 record — and on the road, no less — but I’ve got to see a bit more from Nate Leaman’s crew before I believe.
UMD 3, PC 1

New Hampshire at St. Cloud State
Jim’s pick: Wildcats finally get off the schneid.
UNH 4, SCSU 3

Dave’s pick: I can’t believe that I’m picking the Wildcats to open the season 0-5, but their early-season trips to WCHA rinks have been unkind of late.
SCSU 3, UNH 2

Sunday, October 23

Vermont at Minnesota
Jim’s pick: It’s rare there is a night off in a two-game series as is the case here, but I don’t know if that will help the Cats.
Minnesota 4, UVM 3

Dave’s pick: The Gophers go to 6-0 while the Catamounts fall to 0-2. A tough trip to open the season.
Minnesota 5, UVM 2

WCHA picks: Oct. 21-23

By Brian Halverson and Tyler Buckentine
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Michigan Tech (4-0-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) at Bemidji State (1-3-0, 0-2-0 WCHA)

Tyler:  The Beavers are battle tested after splitting with then-No. 2 Miami before losing a couple tight games at then-No. 7 Colorado College. Tech had to sweat out a couple of close ones against one of the worst teams in the land, American International, a couple weeks ago. BSU sweeps the home opener.

Brian: Bemidji State opens the home portion of its schedule hosting the league’s feel-good story. That is, of course, if you’re not a Wisconsin fan. MTU has thrived so far playing offensively-challenged teams at home while the Beavers have played solid road hockey against a pair of NCAA tournament-caliber teams. BSU will take full advantage of the home ice and take a pair of tight, low-scoring games.

Minnesota State (1-3-0, 0-0-0 WCHA) at No. 3 Denver (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WCHA)

Tyler: The Jason Zucker/Drew Shore/Luke Salazar will just be too much for a punchless banged up Minnesota State team. DU sweep.

Brian: Stealing a game inDenver would be a gargantuan task for the Mavericks under normal circumstances. But with Michael Dorr, Tyler Elbrecht, J.P. Burkemper, Max Gaede, Danny Heath and Eriah Hayes all staying home this weekend, that ain’t happening. Pioneers sweep.

Alaska-Anchorage (3-0-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) at Nebraska-Omaha (1-3-0, 0-0-0 WCHA)

Tyler: The Mavericks haven’t gotten the offense they need from its top line (Broadhurst/Montpetit/White) since the season opener but the possible return of Alex Hudson might add some punch. Hudson’s addition would be nice because UNO hasn’t gotten much from outside the top line. John Faulkner’s struggles will probably lead to another start for freshman Ryan Massa this weekend. I expect a breakout weekend from the UNO offense, which is a must in order to get a win this weekend because the UAA offense has proven to be a dynamic one so far, getting points from guys up and down the roster. Split

Brian: Although these teams met once already this season–with UAA wining 3-0 in last weekend’s Brice Alaska Gold Rush tournament in Fairbanks–Mavericks coach Dean Blais said neither team learned much about the other which would help them this weekend. With no penalties called in the game there weren’t any opportunities for special teams scouting for either team. The return of Alex Hudson could give UNO a boost but the Seawolves have been playing very well so far. UAA earns a split in its first-ever trip to Omaha.

No. 5 North Dakota (2-1-1, 0-0-0 WCHA) at Wisconsin (1-3-0, 0-2-0 WCHA)

Tyler: The problem with Wisconsin this season has been the Badgers’ inability to score, especially in the first period. The Sioux will jump on the Badgers early and if UND get a two-goal lead, Wisconsin won’t have the punch to catch up. UND’s goaltending situation will continue to solidify and the Sioux will leave Madison with a sweep.

Brian: Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves is hoping some line juggling perks up the Badgers’ struggling offense against the Sioux this week. Freshman winger Joseph LaBate, for instance, was inserted onto UW’s top line with center Mark Zengerle and RW Tyler Barnes. North Dakota has won five of the last six meetings in Madison and swept last season’s series 1-0 and 4-2. The line of Corban Knight, Danny Kristo, and Brock Nelson is the best Wisconsin’s rookie goaltenders Landon Peterson and Joel Rumpel have seen so far in their young careers and a lot more will be known about them by Saturday night. The Badgers find a way to grind out their first conference win and earn a split.

No. 15 Minnesota-Duluth (1-3-0, 0-2-0 WCHA) at Providence (2-0-0, 2-0-0 HE)

Tyler: The Friars have scored 11 times in two games and that’s not a good sign for UMD goalies Kenny Reiter and Aaron Crandall, who share an .820 save percentage. Was there too much pressure on the Bulldogs, who began their national title defense with four games in front of the home fans. Maybe a road trip could do some good for UMD. Split.

Brian: The Nate Leaman era at Providence got off to an impressive start with a pair of conference victories over Boston University (5-3) and Massachusetts (6-4). The Bulldogs, after an impressive season-opening win over then top-ranked Notre Dame, have lost three straight. The bad news is the Bulldogs must now right the ship on the road. The good news is they don’t have to face Kent Patterson until, possibly, the postseason. The Bulldogs know how to get pucks to the net and will be rewarded for it this weekend with a road sweep.

New Hampshire (0-3-0, 0-3-0 HE) at St. Cloud State (1-3-0, 0-0-0 WCHA)

Tyler: UNH has been outscored 14-1 in its first three games but the Huskies first need to get a lead early, play 60 minutes and hang on to the lead. The Huskies can’t sleep on Wildcats goaltender Matt Di Girolamo, who had one of the best save percentages in the country last season (.923) but UNH lost its top three scorers in the offseason. Huskies win.

Brian: The Huskies return to the friendly confines of the National Hockey Center for the first time this season after trips to Alaska and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Jared Festler’s six points (3-3–6) and Drew LeBlanc’s five (1-4–5) lead the way for SCSU but others need to step up and bury their chances. Junior captain Ben Hanowski comes to mind as only one of his team leading 12 shots have found the net thus far. While scoring has been an issue for UNH, it’s not for lack of trying as the Wildcats are averaging 34 shots per game so expect Mike Lee to see a lot of rubber this weekend. Lee weathers the storm and the Huskies take two at home.

Vermont (0-0-0, 0-0-0 HE) at No. 8 Minnesota (4-0-0, 2-0-0 WCHA)

Tyler: Rob Madore might be the best goaltender the Gophers will face in the first three weeks of the season, but his counterpart, Kent Patterson, is the best goaltender in the WCHA right now. Plus, Vermont hasn’t played a real game yet and won’t be ready for the much more prepared Gophers, entering their third weekend of play. Minnesota sweep.

Brian: The Gophers have never lost to or tied the Catamounts in their history. Of course Vermont can say the same of Minnesota. Amazingly, these two programs have never met before but the Catamounts have played in Minnesota as recently as 2010 when they were defeated 3-2 by Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament at Xcel Energy Center. I expect Minnesota’s first impression to be the strongest as the Gophers will sweep this rare Friday and Sunday series due to homecoming festivities.

ECAC Hockey picks: Oct. 21-22

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Last week

Josh flew solo (and aren’t we so proud of him?) last week, going 8-1-2. I think I’m in for a dogfight this year… and I’m sure that some of you will prefer his brand of prognostication to my own. Call it a hunch.

This week

Rensselaer at Notre Dame (Friday)
Brian: The Irish split at champion Minnesota-Duluth to open the season, but split at home with Ohio State last weekend. RPI, of course, split with Minnesota State two weeks ago before dropping consecutive shutouts at Ferris State. Getting blanked in three of four games is bad, but having players like Brock Higgs, Marty O’Grady and Greg Burgdoerfer still on the shelf is worse. At least the Engineers are playing well defensively, and can reasonably hope for an improvement in fortunes when they return. Not feeling too optimistic in this matchup, though.
ND, 3-1

Josh: This is not the ideal situation for an Engineers team that’s limping in off a two-loss weekend against Ferris State. They have to travel back to the heartland and be “the other team” when the Fighting Irish open up their new rink, the Compton Family Ice Arena. Rensselaer was taken to school on several fronts against the Bulldogs – it is imperative that the Engineers find some offense after being shut out twice consecutively. The energy surrounding the Papal Gold and Madonna Blue will probably be just too much to overcome on Friday night.
Notre Dame 3-1

Union at Niagara (Friday)
Brian: The Purple Eagles have scored two goals in three games… and both of those came in one loss. Local officials are considering replacing the goal judge with half a tub of leftover cole slaw to save money. They may want to hold off on that until after this weekend though, as I think the Dutchmen are likely to resemble the Army-whoopin’ team of two weeks ago now that they’re not playing a tough CCHA squad.
Union, 6-1

Josh: The Dutchmen lead this series 5-0-0 all-time, and the Purple Eagles’ unimpressive 0-2-1 start, lack of offense (two goals in three games thus far) and the Dutchmen’s 2-1 scoring ratio so far all point to a pretty good win for Union. What will the Purple Eagles’ answer be for Kelly Zajac, who has spread five points over all three of his games so far? One tip for the Dutchmen – don’t draw a penalty. Niagara’s one strength thus far is 14-for-15 penalty killing.
Union 5-1

American International at Clarkson (Friday-Saturday)
Brian: This is a good opportunity for the new readers to acclimate themselves with “The Brown Rule”: if a team has never demonstrated any indication of possessing the mere ability to be a winner, I can not pick them. Don’t take it too personally, AIC – it’s not called “The AIC Rule”, after all. But for the first time, I’m using The Brown Rule in reference to a non-ECAC team. Now AIC can take it personally.
Clarkson, 5-3; Clarkson, 6-1

Josh: Good old Yellow Jackets. They just keep plugging away, trying, often not succeeding, but trying again. They gave Holy Cross a battle last Saturday losing 2-1, and their goalie is performing fairly well despite an 0-3 record to start the season. Ben Meisner has turned away 107 of 116 shots. He’s getting bombarded, so the key for Clarkson is to just fire away and see what gets through. Louke Oakley is hot for Clarkson, scoring four goals last weekend and holding six points so far this season. Paul Karpowich looked great last weekend against Sacred Heart, but gave up seven goals the week prior on 69 shots. Clarkson’s power play and penalty kill are sharp at 30.4 and 88.9 percent, respectively, which will be a big help against any opponent.
Clarkson 4-0, Clarkson 5-2

Quinnipiac at Robert Morris (Friday-Saturday)
Brian: The Colonials dropped the season-opener to Colgate out in Omaha, and now the Bobcats have an opportunity to finish the ECAC portion of RMU’s schedule in depressing fashion. QU has enjoyed the first four of its six straight Atlantic Hockey tilts, outscoring Holy Cross, Canisius and Bentley by a 22-5 aggregate. (This weekend isn’t the end of Quinny’s 2011 AHA Tour, either: they draw Brown Rule sure-bet Sacred Heart in December.) All I’m going to say is, if the Bobcats are going to be accommodating enough as to wax nostalgic with their former league-mates, they’d better be equally gracious to their current colleagues by playing their old role to perfection… by beating the tar out of all the programs they used to dominate back in the AHA and the MAAC.
Quinnipiac, 3-2; Quinnipiac, 5-1

Josh: “Oh, great. Langlois again?” Let’s just pretend those were the words of Robert Morris goaltender Brooks Ostergard when he heard his old Eastern Junior Hockey League nemesis was making the trip this weekend to Pittsburgh. Langlois, who played for the Jersey Hitmen in the “EJ” faced Ostergard while the goalie was on the Bay State Breakers. Now, Ostergard and the Colonials are facing an EJ alum who is the leading scorer in the nation at 1.83 points per game (11 points in six – really, all six games). Good luck, Brooks. You’re on, Jeremy. Add to the EJ alumni party Trevor Lewis (Syracuse Stars), who has points in each of his first three games this year.
Quinnipiac 4-1, Quinn. 2-1

Union at RIT (Saturday)
Brian: The Tigers are likely one of the top two teams in Atlantic Hockey, but they’ve had some struggles early on, including Thursday’s first loss to Canisius in nine games. They have a lot of jump and the ability to score in bunches, but consistency (including a sub-70 percent penalty kill) have been the thorn in the Tigers’ paw so far. Union looks sharp, but can’t afford to slip up if it wants to hold onto its totally useless USCHO Poll ranking.
Union, 4-2

Josh: Game of the weekend for ECAC teams? Probably. After the show RIT put on against St. Lawrence (tying the game with nine seconds and winning it 14 seconds into OT) in front of 10,556 at Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena, the Tigers are operating on pure energy. Union just gave up two games it was winning to allow Western Michigan to come away with two ties. RIT is 12-5-3 overall in the all-time series, but Union is 3-1-1 in the last five. Cam Burt scored five points in the one game against the Saints, while Union’s Kelly Zajac has five in each of three games. Don’t call a tie, Josh. That’d be the easy way out. OK. Here goes:
RIT 3-2

Army vs. Colgate (Saturday)
Brian: Army is 0-3-0, outscored 16-3. Perhaps a tight 3-2 loss at Merrimack bodes well for the Cadets, but I’m not banking on a massive upswing in Army’s fortunes this weekend. This game is out on Cape Cod, in Hyannis, Mass, so if you’re in the area give it a look! It’s a heck of a lot closer to you coastal alumni than Hamilton.
Colgate, 4-1

Josh: The Raiders return to Hyannis, Mass., (why are two New York-based teams in Hyannis, again?) for the second annual Cape Cod Collegiate Classic. Colgate is the absolute favorite, with the Black Knights just not showing much of any power yet. It’s more than just a flesh wound. The Raiders may take off another limb thanks to potent scorers like Austin Smith (four-game scoring streak, three-game goal streak) and Chris Wagner (three-game point streak). Will Don Vaughan go with Eric Mihalik or Alex Evin in net? Mihalik’s stats aren’t exactly shining (.877, 2.96), but it shouldn’t matter against a team that’s scored three goals over three games.
Colgate 6-2

Josh is still new enough to this gig that he thought we care enough about exhibition games to add them to our workload. Cute, right?

Josh: Whole bunch of exhibitions for Ivies
Cornell’s Saturday opponent, Carleton, has had some success against ECAC opponents, tying Colgate 3-3 and beating St. Lawrence, 5-2. They’re tested and could be trouble for Cornell, but the Big Red are always a tough date. Cornell, 2-1 in that one.

Western Ontario took some beatings against Notre Dame and Michigan State, and now they have Harvard and Dartmouth. Both ECAC teams should win fairly easily.

Guelph has been struggling in its Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) schedule, and now they’re going up against Cornell and Princeton. Again, easy ECAC wins in both.

Only Carleton has beaten Waterloo, who travel to New Haven to face ever-powerful Yale. Waterloo has some offense at its disposal (21 goals in four games), and Yale is inexperienced in net and hasn’t faced opposition yet. Yale, 3-2.

Princeton and Dartmouth face Neumann College and Norwich University, respectively, in a pair of D-1 vs. D-3 scrimmages. The depth and overall skill of Division 1 should shine through in both and they should be at least three-goal wins for the Tigers and Big Green.

ECAC West 2011-2012 Season Preview

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Although there was plenty of exciting hockey around the ECAC West last season, there was almost a feeling of the walking dead as well, as fans waited for the final shoe to drop signaling the dissolution of the league.

Hope springs eternal however, and the feeling around the league is much more upbeat this October as we head into a new season. Nazareth College, located in Pittsford, N.Y., breathed an air of life into the league in June when it announced plans to add men’s ice hockey in 2012 and apply to join the ECAC West.

While the league still isn’t out of the woods, a sense of renewed optimism abounds that there are still plenty of chapters to be added to the league’s storied history.

Three teams return nearly every player from last year’s squad to the ice this fall. Elmira, Neumann, and Utica all start the year nearly intact, and will look to remain on top of the league again as they finished one, two, three last March. Even the coaches think that Elmira, Neumann, and Utica are too close to call this season, as the ECAC West preseason poll had these teams in a three-way tie for first place. Neumann and Utica each received two first place votes and Elmira one. Hobart and Manhattanville will certainly have something to say about that, but both lost important parts of their offense that might be hard to replace.

With so many squads returning basically intact, the league race should be a catfight from the drop of the opening puck. Stay tuned for the regular season ECAC West column to cover all the action beginning the week of October 31.

Team Previews:

Neumann University Knights
2011-12 Coach’s Poll: tied first
2011-12 USCHO predicted finish: first
2010-11 Overall record: 14-9-5
2010-11 ECAC West record: 7-4-1
2010-11 ECAC West finish: second
Key Departures: Matthew Valois (four goals, three assists)
Arrivals: Daniel McDougall, Chris Bournazos, Nicolas DeSousa, Matt Mazzarolo, Jonathan Gibson, Ben Curley
Key Players: Michael Rey (15 goals, 15 assists), William Lacasse (five goals, 16 assists), Steve Gervais (eight goals, 11 assists), Jordan Zalba (seven goals, 12 assists)
Outlook:
Neumann returns all but two defensemen and one forward from last year’s team, and will put a very experienced squad on the ice this season. The last time the Knights had this many seniors, they won the national championship in 2009.

Michael Rey ran away with the league freshman scoring title last year. He was the only first-year player to average more than a point a game, and led the Knights with 15 goals.

In net, Neumann returns the most experienced goaltender duo in the league in seniors Ross MacKinnon and Matt Tendler.

Neumann made it all the way to the first round of the NCAA playoffs last year, and got another taste of the postseason tournament. With such an experienced team, the Knights will look forward to playing much deeper into March this season.

Elmira College Soaring Eagles
2011-12 Coach’s Poll: tied first
2011-12 USCHO predicted finish: second
2010-11 Overall record: 17-7-4
2010-11 ECAC West record: 8-3-1
2010-11 ECAC West finish: first
Key Departures: Karl Linden (six goals, 14 assists), Rick Shrank (five goals, four assists)
Arrivals: D’Arcy Oakes, Ryan deMelo, Pascal Maeder, Eric David, Josh Burnell, Andrew Ciampichini, Jay Kenney
Key Players: Kevin Willer (17 goals, 18 assists), Darcy Vaillancourt (14 goals, 19 assists), Jesper Strale (12 goals, six assists), Darren McDonald (2.16 GAA, .920 save percentage)
Outlook:
Elmira returns a senior-heavy class this season, with six of its top eight scorers from last year now starting their final campaign.

The players the Soaring Eagles lost to graduation were character guys who provided leadership to the team, but this year’s large senior class should have no problems filling their shoes.

The Soaring Eagles return a very potent offense, including last year’s leading scorer Kevin Willer. In net, Elmira will rely on Darren McDonald, who led the league in save percentage and wins last season.

Elmira rolled to the regular season and ECAC West playoff titles last year, but then ran into a buzz saw against Adrian in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. Elmira built a 2-0 first period lead, but watched as the Bulldogs ripped off five straight goals to end the Soaring Eagles’ season.

Elmira has been stewing on that loss all summer, and enters this year with a feeling of unfinished business.

Utica College Pioneers
2011-12 Coach’s Poll: tied first
2011-12 USCHO predicted finish: third
2010-11 Overall record: 17-8-1
2010-11 ECAC West record: 6-5-1
2010-11 ECAC West finish: third
Key Departures: none
Arrivals: Mike Baird, Peter LaFosse, Andrew Balzafiore, Zach Smoot
Key Players: Tim Coffman (11 goals, 23 assists), Evan Chlanda (11 goals, 15 assists), Jon Gaffney (11 goals, 12 assists), Trever Hertz (11 goals, 10 assists)
Outlook:
Utica is in the unusual position of returning every player who scored a goal last season. They entered last season with only a handful of upperclassmen and a pair of seniors. This season, Utica steps on the ice with a much more experienced squad.

The youthful Pioneers fared well during most of last season, but their inexperience caught up with them in the final weeks.

Utica enters the season coming off a trip to Europe this past August. The Pioneers won all four games during the trip against German and Italian teams, which proved to be quite the bonding experience.

The Pioneers also sport the best goaltender tandem in the league between sophomores Evan Smith and Nick Therrien. Smith led the league with a 2.14 goals against average last season, and Therrien wasn’t far behind at 2.29.

With a year’s experience, Utica should be able to build on last year’s third place finish to contend for the league lead this season.

Hobart College Statesmen
2011-12 Coach’s Poll: fourth
2011-12 USCHO predicted finish: fourth
2010-11 Overall record: 15-10-2
2010-11 ECAC West record: 4-7-1
2010-11 ECAC West finish: fourth
Key Departures: Matthew Wallace (16 goals, 12 assists), Thomas Capalbo (eight goals, 11 assists), Patrick Moriarty (five goals, 17 assists)
Arrivals: Ian Coleman, Bronson Kovacs, John Steele, Terrence O’Neill, Brendan Fitzgerald, Ryan Michel, George Wells, Peter Ryan, Peter Quigley, Michael Malady, William Burke, Connor Brown, Tommaso Traversa
Key Players: Nick Broadwater (2.45 GAA, .926 save percentage), Greg Ciciola (11 goals, 15 assists)
Outlook:
With junior Nick Broadwater in net, you know that Hobart is once again set for goaltending this season.

The question mark for the Statesmen is up front. The seven graduating seniors accounted for 40 percent of the scoring last season. No one will be missed more than go-to player Matthew Wallace, who was second in the league in goals.

Who is going to step into the offensive role? Good question. Hobart has strong returning depth and the usual assortment of hard-working role players that fans have come to expect from a Mark Taylor-coached team.

Senior Greg Ciciola, the only other player to score double digit goals last season, will be looked to even more to help carry the offense.

Thirteen freshmen are listed on Hobart’s preseason roster, so the Statesmen might get off to a bit of a slower start compared to some of the other teams in the league.

Manhattanville College Valiants
2011-12 Coach’s Poll: fifth
2011-12 USCHO predicted finish: fifth
2010-11 Overall record: 15-10-1
2010-11 ECAC West record: 3-9
2010-11 ECAC West finish: fifth
Key Departures: Mickey Lang (16 goals, 11 assists), Lem Randall (six goals, seven assists)
Key Players: Pierre-Olivier Lemieux (2.12 GAA, .915 save percentage), Brett Skalski (13 goals, seven assists)
Outlook:
Manhattanville played like two different teams at times last season. Outside of the league, the Valiants were nearly perfect, going 12-0-1, with the only blemish a Thanksgiving weekend tie at Williams.

In league play, the story was completely different. Manhattanville struggled through league play, including losing six of its last eight games down the stretch to finish in a very disappointing last place.

Manhattanville lost seven players to graduation last spring, but the hardest to replace will be leading scorer Mickey Lang, who accounted for nearly 18 percent of the team’s scoring.

The Valiants will go as far as netminder Pierre-Olivier Lemieux can carry them this season. Manhattanville will have to rely squarely on Lemieux, as he is the only returning goaltender.

Who will step forward to score goals for Manhattanville this year? The early money is on junior Brett Skalski, who tallied 13 goals in a breakout sophomore season, but the Valiants will need others to step in offensively to help carry the load.

The other twist in setting expectations for Manhattanville is the sudden change in head coach that occurred on October 12. Keith Levinthal, who started the Valiants program 13 years ago, stepped aside, turning over the reins to women’s coach Eric Lang.

The change frees up Levinthal to concentrate on his athletic director duties He leaves the ranks of NCAA Division III college hockey coaches ranked sixth all time in winning percentage with a record of 202-84-28 (.688).

Holy Cross to Hockey East?

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There’s a story by Nick Kotsopoulos at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that reports that the Worcester city council is encouraging Holy Cross to consider a move to Hockey East by playing at the downtown DCU center.

Speculation on a 12th Hockey East team has been thought to affect Atlantic Hockey both directly and indirectly. Holy Cross and Connecticut would be good candidates if they had bigger facilities. But most of the interest seems to be around RPI, which would probably leave ECAC Hockey if invited by Hockey East. Speculation is that a few AHA schools might be interested in the vacated ECAC spot, with Rochester Institute of Technology being the leading candidate.

Hockey East says it will take its time on deciding on a 12th member, but this is an interesting wrinkle.

 

 

Quick pick: Oct. 20

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These Thursday quick picks so far this season have a Ryan Dzingel-specific theme. Last week, I apologized for calling Dzingel “Danny” in my column. This week, Dzingel is popular with the ladies.
The 12-year-old ladies.
In the eye of the adolescent beholder
A message came my way via email that’s too good not to share. A long-time Buckeye fan who calls himself “a usually reliable source” related something he witnessed during OSU’s 2-1 home win over Quinnipiac Oct. 7.
“I was sitting…three rows behind the OSU bench,” said the source, “and behind me were a mom and dad, two hockey-playing boys (around eight and ten), and their 12-year-old sister and her friend.
“The girls weren’t happy about being there,” said the source, “and made no bones about it. After warm-ups, the Bucks skated back out for the introduction without their helmets.”
It was at this point that the young ladies experienced an epiphany — Ryan Dzingel, the 19-year-old freshman from Wheaton, Ill.
“The two girls took one look at Ryan’s wavy blond hair and it was love at first sight. ‘OMG! He is soooooo cute!’ they said. They kept me entertained the rest of the game and they never missed a moment he was on the ice.”
Dzingel isn’t missing many moments, either. He leads the Buckeyes in scoring (3-2-5) with both of OSU’s game-winning goals.
OSU vs. MSU, Thursday and Friday, 7:05 p.m.
Last weekend, the Buckeyes split with Notre Dame in South Bend, taking multiple-goal leads in both Friday’s 5-2 loss and Saturday’s 4-3 win. The win wasn’t as close as the numbers would indicate; OSU led 4-0 going into the third, when the Irish began playing better in front of Mike Johnson, who took over for Stephen Summerhays in net. The Irish needed a five-on-three power play to beat Cal Heeter (3.19 GAA, .901 SV%) for their first goal in that one. In addition to the game winner, Dzingel had an assist in Saturday’s game; his classmate, Max McCormick, had a goal and two helpers in the win.
The Spartans came away from Sault Ste. Marie last weekend with two one-goal games and no points to show for it in 5-4 and 3-2 losses. Senior Brent Perlini (2-3–5) leads MSU in scoring, adding a goal and two assists Friday to give him 50 career points. Junior Torey Krug also had a goal and assist Friday, bringing his career total points to 51 in 80 games. The Spartans are still looking to solidify their blue line; MSU has allowed on average 3.75 goals per game through four contests.
Last season, the Spartans blanked the Buckeyes twice, a 4-0 game in East Lansing and a 2-0 decision in Columbus. The Buckeyes won the other two close contests, 4-3 in OT in Munn and 4-2 with an empty-net goal in the Schott.
Pick: So much transitioning for each team. Many young Buckeyes; new coaches for MSU. Statistically, the teams are evenly matched. MSU 3-2, OSU 4-2
I’m heading to East Lansing Friday, looking forward to my first game of the season in person. Say hello if you see me. Follow on Twitter and I promise to say hello to you: @paulacweston.

Northeastern’s lucky Coyne

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Ask for a show of hands of any surprised that coach Dave Flint’s Northeastern Huskies are off to a strong start, and all extremities should remain down. The Huskies exited October with records of 5-0-2, 7-1-1, and 6-1-2 in Flint’s first three seasons at the helm, and have jumped out to a 4-0-0 mark halfway through this month.

“My last few years here, second semester we’ve really run into the iron of our schedule,” Flint said. “Not to say that we don’t have good opponents in the beginning, but I think we have a lot more demanding schedule second half. Also, I think it’s a credit to the kids for their preparation and the shape that they show up on campus in and they’re ready to go. I think it has a little bit to do with leadership, getting the freshmen acclimated and getting them all on the same page as the rest of the team. I like to think it’s kind of a combination of all that stuff.”

In those earlier campaigns, the teeth of the schedule has taken a toll on the Huskies and made them unable to extend their season beyond the Hockey East tournament. What may make this season different is one new player in particular who showed up at Northeastern prepared in multiple ways.

(Tim Brule)“My route to my college decision was actually a little bit different than most,” said freshman center Kendall Coyne, of Palos Heights, Ill. “When a little situation happened last year, I ended up taking the year off and going to the Berkshire School [in Sheffield, Mass.] I felt that taking that year off to go to the Berkshire School really helped me just find myself as a student. With that came my decision to Northeastern. The academic part here has been a lot easier than if I didn’t go to Berkshire.”

Just as Coyne needed that extra year of prep school after her original college plans fell through, Northeastern needed someone like Coyne.

Flint said, “We’ve been making strides over the last three years, and in and out of the top 10 nationally, but we were still lacking that big recruit. We were real close with some blue-chip kids in previous years, and we just missed out on kids, and it was getting a little frustrating. Kendall had a lot of options, obviously could have gone anywhere she wanted to, and put a lot of thought into the process. We were lucky that she chose Northeastern. That’s going to attract other top-notch kids.”

For an example of the positive impact a player of Coyne’s ability can have on the Huskies, one need look no further than their most recent game Saturday hosting Quinnipiac, likely Northeastern’s strongest opponent to date. The Bobcats had taken a 1-0 lead in the latter stages of the middle period on a Kelly Babstock goal, spent most of the next three minutes buzzing around Florence Schelling in the Huskies net, and looked destined to skate into the second intermission with a minimum of a one-goal lead. Coyne flew up the right side with the puck, shifted first to her forehand, then back to the right and fired a low backhand that found the net.

“That goal on Saturday was a big-time goal; they had the momentum and she stole it right back,” Flint said. “That’s the kind of dynamic that she brings to our team that we maybe necessarily didn’t have in the past. It kind of rubs off on the rest of the team. After she got that goal, all of a sudden the bench is back up, everyone is pumped up, everybody is fired up and then we go pump in another goal not too long after that.”

Junior Rachel Llanes scored 49 seconds after Coyne, Northeastern was the team holding the lead after two periods, and they went on to win, 3-1.

“We’re a team that’s never going to give up; we’re going to fight no matter who is on the ice and who is not,” Coyne said. “Even with some of the momentum shifts that we had the last few games, our team found a way to come out and just fight through adversity and just come out on top. I think that’s the kind of team we’re going to be this year.”

The Huskies promise to be a more difficult opponent to face than in the past, because Coyne adds another dimension.

“She’s like that little water bug that will give you fits,” Flint says. “The abuse she takes during a game is unbelievable, because the defensemen, they’re trying just to get a piece of her when she’s flying by with a stick or a body or whatever. I certainly wouldn’t want to play against her.”

According to Coyne, so far she’s been giving as good as she gets when it comes to contact.

“I probably got six penalty minutes this weekend; I think it’s more than I’ve had in a year,” she says. “I think the body contact is a little bit less in college hockey. That’s one of the main aspects I’ve noticed. Being a smaller player, I know when I get hit. I’ve been the giver more than the receiver these past few games.”

Northeastern lists Coyne at 5 feet 2 inches, but as players like Erika Lawler, Natalie Darwitz, and Vicki Bendus have demonstrated, players can’t be measured by size alone.

“Coming into college hockey, there are other players who are like (me), if not smaller than me, so I don’t feel any disadvantage from my height,” Coyne says.

Big or small, hockey players are defined by what they do with and away from the puck. According to her coach, Coyne attracts double and triple teams, then moves the puck to open linemates who can score.

“The thing I like about Kendall is she’s not concerned with how many goals she has,” Flint says. “She’ll give up the puck because she wants to win. That’s first and foremost in her mind.”

The Northeastern schedule increases in difficulty in a month, as the Huskies close the first semester with a stretch where they travel to Dartmouth plus play twice each against Boston College, Boston University, and New Hampshire, four teams that have reached the NCAA tournament in the last year or two. Flint says there are a number of things that need to happen in order for NU to keep winning once that aforementioned iron of the schedule tests the team’s mettle.

“We need to get better every day. We need to be more consistent. Some of the young kids that we’ve waited for them to get their feet wet and get acclimated, we need for them to be running on all cylinders. Obviously, the big thing is to stay healthy. If we can do those things, I feel like we can compete with anybody. Time will tell, and that will be a tough task for us come the end of the semester and even into the next semester.”

Season primer: Part I (UPDATED)

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Here are a few notes to facilitate even greater ECAC Hockey devotion in the upcoming months.

Check the Tweets

First, for all you Twitter-ers or Tweeters or Twits or whatever you (ok, we) are, Dan Greene – creator of the Union Hockey Blog – has a new, post-grad site called “1989 And Still Waiting”. Along with posting regular content, Greene deserves a heavy serving of kudos for putting together an impressive, if not verifiably comprehensive list of ECAC Hockey Tweeters. Pick your favorites or collect ’em all, and be sure to send along to him any other accounts that he may have missed.

Also, be sure to follow me @SullivanHockey for my sporadic and tangentially relevant updates. Or to send me cyber-hate. Whatever’s good for you.

Don’t be “That Guy”

I used to pronounce the word vehement “vee-HEH-ment”. I once knew someone who thought misled (as in, past tense of mislead) was pronounced “mizzled”. Those aren’t quite as bad as people who say “exetera” or “nucular” or “irregardless”, but I’m still quite certain that we sounded pretty ridiculous when we used those words in conversation.

Lesson? Don’t be the guy who jeers Quinnipiac’s “Lang-loyss” or Clarkson’s “Kay-er”. Instant credibility negation.

Names worth knowing:

Clarkson

  • LaVeau – la-VOH
  • Pokulok – PO-kuh-luck
  • Carrabino – KARA-bee-no
  • Labrecque – la-BRECK
  • Boak – BOKE
  • Tamblyn – TAM-blin
  • McPherson – mick-FEAR-son
  • Tansey – TAN-zee
  • Tremblay – TROM-blay
  • Cayer – KIE-yay
  • Struempfler – STRUMP-fler
  • Karpowich – CAR-po-witch
  • Fuchs – FEWKS

    • Colgate

    • Bessette – bih-SET
    • Leidl – LIE-dull
    • Sinz – SINS
    • Rivellini – RIV-ell-EE-nee
    • Spiro – SPEAR-oh
    • Goulakos – goo-LACK-iss
    • Lidgett – LEDGE-it
    • Mihalik – mah-HALL-ick
    • Lefevre – la-FAVE

      • Quinnipiac

      • Bouharevich – boo-HARR-uh-vitch
      • Dalhuisen – dal-YOO-zen
      • Glaicar – GLAY-car
      • Heichman – HIKE-man
      • Langlois – LANG-lows
      • Peca – PECK-uh
      • Rolheiser – ROLL-hi-zer

        • Rensselaer

        • Angers-Goulet – ahn-GERS goo-LAY
        • Burgdoerfer – burg-DOR-fer
        • Coupal – COOP-al
        • Curadi – kerr-RAH-dee
        • Diebold – dee-BOLD
        • Koudys – COW-dice
        • Laliberte – lah-lib-er-TAY
        • Leboeuf – le-BUFF
        • Merriam – MEER-ee-uhm
        • Rabbani – rah-BAHN-ee
        • Rogic – RAH-jick
        • Schroeder – SHRAY-der

          • St. Lawrence

          • Drewiske – drew-ISS-kee
          • Logue – LOW-guh
          • Spadaccini – SPAD-uh-SEE-nee
          • Grillk – GRILL-kuh
          • Bruckel – BRUCK-ell

            • Union

            • Bodie – BOW-dee
            • Ciampini – CHAMP-ee-nee
            • Gostisbehere – GOST-is-bare
            • Grosenick – GROSE-nick
            • Ikkala – ick-UH-luh
            • Jooris – JUR-iss
            • Mingoia – MIN-goya
            • Zajac – ZAY-jack

            The six remaining teams are coming soon.

The ‘pumpkin convention’ returns to Rochester and sees a dramatic finish

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Air Force coach Frank Serratore’s description of the crowd at last year’s Atlantic Hockey finals between Air Force and Rochester Institute of Technology at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester was “a pumpkin convention” thanks to the 3,400 fans in attendance, the vast majority clad in orange.

That effect was amplified on Saturday, when RIT tied its record for a regular season game by selling out all 10,556 seats in the arena. The Tigers also maxed out the building for a game last season against Massachusetts-Lowell.

The fans got their money’s worth, as the Tigers won a dramatic 6-5 contest that saw five lead changes, with RIT’s Adam Hartley tying the game with just nine seconds to play and then Adam Mitchell getting the winner just 23 seconds later, 14 seconds into overtime.

Things had looked bleak for RIT, down by a goal and facing a five-minute major penalty with nine minutes to play.

“A game like this does a lot of things positively, mentally,” RIT coach Wayne Wilson said after the game. “One, surviving a five-minute major. Two, scoring that last-minute goal. And then winning it.”

Four different players had two goals each in the contest. Kyle Flanagan and Patrick Doherty had two goals each for St. Lawrence, while Bryan Potts and Cameron Burt each had a pair for the Tigers.

Video highlights of the game can be found below:

[youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAe_jkUTLnI width=500]

Burt’s back

RIT’s Cameron Burt had five points in the win over St. Lawrence, tying a record he already shared for most points in a game. Burt had five points in the 2009 AHA title game, also at Blue Cross Arena.

The senior from Detroit had an off year last season, scoring just six goals after accumulating 29 his first two seasons.

“I didn’t have the year I wanted to have last year,” Burt said after the game on Saturday. “I worked hard over the summer. I just wanted to come back and be a better team player and do what I have to do for the team to win it.”

Huskies picking up where they left off

Connecticut had a breakout season last year and good things are expected again this season. The Huskies return almost intact from a 2010-11 season that saw them reach the league semifinals.

UConn is off to a 2-1-1 start after a loss and a tie and Bowling Green and wins over Army and Massachusetts-Lowell.

“It’s early,” coach Bruce Marshall said when told his team was one of only two in the league over .500. “It’s not like we’re 12-0. We have a long way to go.”

UConn’s 5-0 win over Army on Friday was its first shutout in 118 games. Junior goalie Garrett Bartus stopped all 47 shots he faced. He made 39 stops in Tuesday’s 3-2 overtime win at Lowell.

“It seems we get outshot every game,” said Marshall. “It’s certainly something we want to improve on but it’s not like we were being peppered [in the Army game]. Most of the shots were from the perimeter and Garrett made some key saves when he had to. He made some huge saves in the Army game and stopped a breakaway against Lowell.”

The Huskies’ top line of Cole Schneider, Sean Ambrosie and Brant Harris combined for seven points in the Army game and have 18 points overall, including five goals already for Harris.

“Obviously, that one line has been pretty potent and has a lot of talent, but we’re balancing things out,” said Marshall. “We’re starting to grow and seeing contributions from everywhere.”

UConn has a game at Merrimack on Saturday before getting into conference play in earnest.

“It’s nice to win [some non-conference games] but in the long run conference games mean more,” said Marshall. “We try not to get overly pumped up for the non-conference games and realize which are more important. Points in October are just as important as the ones in February.”

Signs of life

After Atlantic Hockey teams combined to go 0-13-1 in non-conference games to open the season, last week’s results were slightly better, with Connecticut and RIT picking up non-league wins. The league went 2-9, to make it a still-disappointing 2-24-1 so far.

All but two of those games, however, were played on the road. AHA teams are 1-1 on home ice. This week, Niagara, Robert Morris and RIT all host non-conference games.

Players of the week

Atlantic Hockey player of the week for Oct. 17:
Cameron Burt, RIT

The senior tied his career and school record with five points (two goals, three assists) in the Tigers’ 6-5 over St. Lawrence. Burt scored RIT’s first two goals and then assisted on the final three, including the tying and winning goals.

Atlantic Hockey goalie of the week for Oct. 17:
Garrett Bartus, Connecticut

Bartus recorded his first career shutout, stopping all 47 shots he faced, in a 5-0 blanking of Army. He has a .954 save percentage so far this season.

Atlantic Hockey rookie of the week for Oct. 17:
Cole Gunner, Air Force

The freshman from Richfield, Minn., is the top scoring rookie in the conference with five points. He picked up three last weekend, including an assist on the overtime winner against Niagara.

Starting off on the right foot

Three freshman saw their first action of the season last week, and got off to impressive starts:

• Holy Cross goaltender Matt Ginn made 53 saves in his first two starts, going 1-1. He stopped 39 in a 5-3 loss to Quinnipiac and then made 14 saves on 15 shots to pick up his first career win, 2-1 over American International.

• RIT’s Brad McGowan’s picked up two assists in his first collegiate game, including a nifty pass to Adam Mitchell on the overtime winner against St. Lawrence.

• Army goalie Rob Tadazak made 37 saves on 40 shots in a tough 3-2 loss at No. 13 Merrimack.

Caple is more than capable

With Air Force goaltender Jason Torf out of the lineup indefinitely due to injury, senior Stephen Caple made his first starts of the season and came away with two wins. He stopped 39 of 43 shots as the Falcons defeated Niagara and Robert Morris.

For his career, Caple has played in 15 contests, posting a 2.28 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

Tweet of the week

“Was 9 seconds away from hanging myself on the end of the bench…. Then we scored then scored in ot for the win…Thank god…Saved my life”

— RIT goalie Shane Madolora after the Tigers’ comeback win on Saturday. Follow him @smadolora.

Early numbers promising for Michigan Tech, Alaska-Anchorage

By Brian Halverson and Tyler Buckentine
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Early season statistics and standings, while providing no particular long-term value, can be fun to peruse nonetheless if only for the “what if?” factor they present.

Will Minnesota maintain its pace of 6.25 goals per game? Is Michigan Tech’s rise from the bottom of last season’s scoring defense (4.45 goals per game) to the top (1.75) sustainable? Do the .820 saves percentage and 4.43 goals against average of Minnesota-Duluth’s goaltending tandem of Kenny Reiter and Aaron Crandall indicate certain doom for the Bulldogs? Can Minnesota State hope to solve its scoring woes while serving a whopping 21.5 penalty minutes per game and going 0-for-17 on the power play?

Of course the answer to each of those questions is no, but they are just a few of the numbers orbiting the WCHA stat-o-sphere that stand out in the infancy of the 2011-12 season.

October can also often be a time for fans of programs perennially found at or near the bottom of the conference to get a taste of seeing their favorite teams in unusual positions in the standings. This year is no exception with Michigan Tech (4-0-0) and Alaska-Anchorage (3-0-1) joining the ranks of the undefeated in the early going, joining Minnesota (4-0-0) and Colorado College (2-0-0).

How did they get there?

Getting Technical

Home sweeps of American International and Wisconsin have given Michigan Tech its first 4-0 start since 1974-75, when the Huskies last won the national title. Furthermore, Mel Pearson’s Huskies are riding their first four-game winning streak since a stretch from Oct. 14-26, 2007, spanning three series. That included wins over Lake Superior State and North Dakota sandwiching a sweep of Minnesota State.

Pearson told The Daily Mining Gazette‘s Stephen Anderson he wasn’t surprised to win both Wisconsin games but went on to caution his team against dwelling on short-term successes.

“I told people I expected to win two games this weekend — I really did,” Pearson said. “Our kids are working hard, there’s a lot of good things going on in our locker room and we see it every day as coaches. It doesn’t always go your way, and we were a couple bounces or a shot away from losing, but you know what, we won two games.

“We have to understand it’s not one weekend, one game, one month,” Pearson added. “To earn home ice and be a good team, you have to do it on a consistent basis, night in and night out. We have to now go out on the road and prove we can win on the road.”

Michigan Tech gets its chance to do just that when it travels to Bemidji this weekend to battle the Beavers at the Sanford Center.

Tournament tested

Alaska-Anchorage won both Alaska preseason tournaments — its own Kendall Hockey Classic and the Brice Alaska Gold Rush in Fairbanks — for the first time in the four years since the BAGR debuted in 2008. In non-conference wins over St. Cloud State, Nebraska-Omaha and Mercyhurst and a tie with Clarkson, the Seawolves are averaging 38 shots on goal per game but are allowing just 23.5.

The Seawolves’ 3-0-1 record matches Alaska-Anchorage’s best start (2007-08) since Dave Shyiak took over the coaching reins at UAA in 2005.

It’s way too early to tell where these teams are headed with any certainty but their progress is definitely worth a closer look in the coming weeks and, quite possibly, beyond.

A little chin music

Junior center Rylan Schwartz scored three times to lead Colorado College to a 6-4 win over Bemidji State on Saturday night to complete the Tigers’ sweep of the visiting Beavers. While the hat trick may have been the first of Schwartz’s college career, the method by which he tallied the first goal may never be duplicated.

“It bounced off my chin and then shoulder and in,” Schwartz told Joe Paisley of the Colorado Springs Gazette, adding that it didn’t hurt “after I saw it go in.”

“When he plays like that we’re a better team,” Tigers coach Scott Owens said of Schwartz’s positioning on the play. “It’s funny how good things happen when you go to the net. That got him going, and then he scored two big-time goals.”

College puck fans ‘Like’ this

When Denver hosts Minnesota State on Saturday night at Magness Arena, fans across the country with Facebook accounts can follow along online. The game will be webcast live for free on the Pioneers’ official Facebook fan page beginning at 7:07 p.m. MDT as part of what Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock have proclaimed “University of Denver Pioneer Athletics Day”.

Problems between UMD’s pipes

Many thought Minnesota-Duluth’s most glaring issue to address this season was the scoring void from the loss of Justin Fontaine and Mike Connolly. That’s not the problem.

UMD has scored fewer than four goals just once so far this season and two-time All-American Jack Connolly has a good supporting cast up front with Travis Oleksuk and JT Brown. The problem, and the main reason the Bulldogs are 1-3 going into Week 3 of their national title defense, lies between the pipes.

Reiter was a dependable goaltender last season and got hot at the right time during UMD’s title run, but after three games, he appears to have gone stone cold. The senior has a save percentage of .834 and has given up 4.37 goals per game.

Reiter gets a pass for Friday’s performance, in which he allowed five goals to Minnesota. He saw 44 shots that night. Saturday, UMD put a lid on Minnesota’s scoring chances, holding the Gophers to 16 shots on Reiter. The Bulldogs put 50 on Kent Patterson, and that should be enough to win the game and so should four goals.

It’s probably time to throw backup Crandall into the game this weekend at Providence, although his numbers (.783 save percentage, 5.05 GAA) don’t exactly scream starting goalie either. Giving both Reiter and Crandall a start at Providence will give the Bulldogs a chance to start over and re-evaluate their goaltending situation.

Hudson to make 2011 debut?

Alex Hudson, Nebraska-Omaha’s leading returning scorer from 2010-11, may not be far from seeing his first ice time of the season.

According to the Omaha World-Herald‘s Rob White, Hudson skated with the team in practice last week and might be in the lineup against Alaska-Anchorage this weekend. Hudson missed the Mavericks’ first four games because of a violation of team rules.

Whether Hudson plays depends upon what shape he is in when UNO coach Dean Blais makes a decision.

“We’ll make that decision later in the week,” Blais told White. “It’s just like someone who has been injured for three weeks — it usually takes three weeks before they’re ready. Alex has been out for three weeks.”

Hudson’s 31 points (13 goals and 18 assists) ranked fourth among UNO’s scoring leaders last season. He had a goal and an assist in a split last February at Anchorage. 

UND staying off the PK was key

Just like in 2010, Maine’s power play came alive last weekend against North Dakota. The Black Bears scored three times on eight power play chances, but the Fighting Sioux were in a much better position to win this time around. UND got a 3-1 win and a 3-3 tie.

Sure, Maine’s PP was 37.5 percent for the weekend but the main thing was that the Sioux gave the Black Bears only eight PP opportunities. It seemed like UND spent the whole weekend a man short when Maine swept the Sioux 7-3 and 4-2 last fall, a series in which the Black Bears went on the PP 19 times and scored five goals.

A star is born?

After skating in just 13 games and registering one assist in his rookie season, Minnesota sophomore defenseman Nate Schmidt is enjoying a breakout season of sorts. In just four games, Schmidt has posted six assists already this season.

Gophers coach Don Lucia praised Schmidt’s commitment over the summer, calling him the team’s most improved player.

“[Schmidt has] come back leaner, he’s probably seven or eight pounds lighter than he was a year ago, he just seems [like] a different player,” Lucia said at the team’s media luncheon earlier this month. “He seems much more confident, just the way he’s carrying himself on and off the ice.

“Last year was a struggle for him to get in our lineup on a consistent basis, whereas I think today he’s somebody that would certainly have to play himself out of our lineup,” added Lucia.

Players of the week

Here are the Red Baron WCHA Players of the Week:

Offensive: Rylan Schwartz, Colorado College junior forward

Schwartz collected a hat trick in CC’s 6-4 sweep-clinching win over Bemidji State on Saturday. Schwartz, a center, won 60 percent of his faceoffs and finished with a plus-1 plus/minus rating.

Defensive: Josh Robinson, Michigan Tech senior goaltender

Robinson stopped 44 of 47 shots in backstopping the Huskies to a pair of overtime wins over Wisconsin. On the season, Robinson is 3-0-0 with a 1.31 goals against average and a .950 save percentage.

Rookie: Kyle Rau, Minnesota freshman forward

The 5-foot-8, 173-pound Rau scored twice on Friday and netted the winner on Saturday to help the Gophers to a road sweep of Minnesota-Duluth. Rau has five points (4-1–5) in his first four collegiate games.

WCHA in the pros

Former Minnesota players Phil Kessel and Thomas Vanek have each been on scoring tears to begin the season. Both have recorded points in every game they played. Kessel leads the NHL in points (9) and Vanek is tied for second with eight. Vanek is also tied for the lead in goals with six.

Matt Read — Canadian hockey guru Bob McKenzie’s pick to win the Calder Trophy, the NHL’s rookie of the year — scored his second goal of the season Tuesday night. The former Bemidji State star has six points through five games.

Here is a full list of WCHA alumni actively listed on NHL rosters with their numbers through Tuesday:

Alaska-Anchorage

Curtis Glencross F (CGY) 3-0–3 5 GP, Jay Beagle F (WAS) 0-0–0 2.

Bemidji State

Matt Read F (PHI) 2-4–6 5 GP, Andrew Murray* F (SJS) 0-0–0 4.

Colorado College

Toby Peterson F (DAL) 0-0–0 3 GP, Jack Hillen D (NSH) 0-0–0 4, Richard Petiot F (TBL) 0-0–0 0, Mark Stuart D (WIN) 0-1–1 4.

Denver

Chris Butler D (CGY) 0-2–2 5 GP, Paul Stastny F (COL) 1-3–4 6, Patrick Wiercioch D (OTT) 0-0–0 0, Matt Carle D (PHI) 1-3–4 5, Tyler Bozak F (TOR) 0-3–3 4.

Michigan Tech

John Scott D (CHI) 0-0–0 2 GP, Andy Sutton D (EDM) 0-0–0 5.

Minnesota

Nick Leddy F (CHI) 1-1–2 5 GP, Erik Johnson D (COL) 0-5–5 6, Alex Goligoski D (DAL) 1-1–2 6, Keith Ballard D (VAN) 1-0–1 6, Thomas Vanek F (BUF) 4-4–8 5, Jordan Leopold D (BUF) 0-1–1 5, Kyle Okposo F (NYI) 0-1–1 4, Paul Martin D (PIT) 0-2–2 8, Phil Kessel F (TOR) 6-3–9 4, Blake Wheeler 0-1–1 4.

Minnesota-Duluth

Alex Stalock G (SJS) 0 GP, Jason Garrison D (FLA) 2-0–2 5, Matt Niskinen D (PIT) 1-1–2 8, Jay Rosehill F (TOR) 0-0–0 1, Tim Stapleton F (WIN) 0-0–0 2.

Minnesota State

Tim Jackman F (CGY) 0-0–0 5 GP, David Backes F (STL) 1-1–2 6, Ryan Carter F (FLA) 0-0–0 5.

Nebraska-Omaha

Scott Parse* F (LAK) 0-0–2 2 GP, Greg Zanon* D (MIN) 1-0–1 6.

North Dakota

Jason Blake F (ANA) 0-0–0 3 GP, Matt Smaby F (ANA) 0-0–0 0 IR, Jonathan Toews F (CHI) 2-1–3 5, Mike Commodore (DET) 0-0–0 0 IR, Matt Greene (LAK) 0-0–0 5, Chris Porter  F (STL) 0-0–0 2, T.J. Oshie F (STL) 0-2–2 6, Taylor Chorney D (STL) 0-0–0 0, Drew Stafford F (BUF) 3-2–5 5,
Matt Frattin F (TOR) 0-0–0 4.

St. Cloud State

Alex Gordon F (ANA) 0-1–1 5 GP, Matt Cullen F (MIN) 3-1–4 6, Andreas Nodl F (PHI) 0-0–0 4, Ryan Malone F (TBL) 1-2–3 6, Matt Hendricks F (WAS) 0-0–0

Wisconsin

Rene Bourque F (CGY) 3-0–3 5 GP, Adam Burish F (DAL) 1-2–3 5, Jake Dowell F (DAL) 0-0–0 6, Tom Gilbert D (EDM) 1-1–2 5, Davis Drewiske D (LAK) 0-0–0 1, Dany Heatley F (MIN) 1-2–3 6, Blake Geoffrion F (NSH) 0-0–0 5, Craig Smith F (NSH) 2-2–4 5, Ryan Suter D (NSH) 2-1–3 5, Kyle Turris F (PHX) 0-0–0 0, Joe Pavelski F (SJS) 2-0–2 4, Brad Winchester F (SJS) 0-1–1 4, Brian Elliot G (STL) 1-0 .929 SV%, 2.25 GAA, Jamie McBain D (CAR) 0-1–1 3, Jack Skille F (FLA) 0-1–1 5, Derek Stepan F (NYR) 0-0–0 4, Ryan McDonagh D (NYR) 1-2–3 4, Jake Gardiner D (TOR) 0-0–0 2.

* — Indicates individual played at school during pre-WCHA years.

Madigan, Northeastern put focus on improving game to game

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Three head coaches got their first victories behind the bench for their respective Hockey East schools last weekend. For Providence’s Nate Leaman and Massachusetts-Lowell’s Norm Bazin, the victories, while nice, were more business as usual, each having held the head coach moniker at other schools.

For Jim Madigan, who hasn’t stood behind the bench at Northeastern this millennium, you can’t blame him if he felt his team’s 4-0 victory last Friday night over New Hampshire felt a little bit sweeter.

“It felt good,” said Madigan. “More than anything, though, and I said this [to the team] last Friday night, was it got us to 1-1-1.”

Hyper-focused on making the Northeastern team better game after game, Madigan’s Huskies certainly came into form last Friday. Solid defense that limited Grade A chances for the Wildcats and making life easier for Huskies goaltender Chris Rawlings, Northeastern was opportunistic in cashing in on scoring chances.

Madigan said that the victory proved his team’s continued ability to improve night after night. After squeaking out a 3-3 tie with a last-second goal in the team’s opener against Massachusetts, Madigan’s Huskies were on the wrong end of a 6-3 shellacking by Maine two weekends ago. The ability to rebound from that and play a team that many believe should be incredible this season in New Hampshire is like icing on the cake.

“I thought we played very well against UNH. Guys worked hard all week long and responded in the game,” said Madigan.

Out of the gate, Madigan said he has relied on his upperclassman leadership to help guide the team and give it a personality. The most important part to that has been senior captain Mike McLaughlin. McLaughlin has not only led on the ice (he has two goals and an assist in the first three games) but he’s also been a crutch that Madigan has been able to lean on a bit as he breaks into his role as head coach.

“Immediately when I got the job I sat down [with Mike] that same day,” said Madigan. “I told him, ‘I’ve heard great things about you and I’m glad that you’re our captain.’

“The locker room is his. At this level and at the NHL, they always talk about having a good locker room and when you have that good leadership, which starts with the captain in the room, that’s tremendously helpful to any coaching staff and particularly a new coaching staff on the way in.”

Madigan looks for McLaughlin to hold himself to a high standard, something he says the senior does well both by keeping players in line and by leading the drills throughout the week in practice. McLaughlin also makes sure that everyone is doing the right thing on the ice, off the ice and in the community, says Madigan, which helps carries the coaching staff’s message beyond the simple words.

Another player Madigan will lean on as the season progresses is Rawlings. Coming off back-to-back seasons with more than 30 games played, Rawlings will have the reins of the team in goal, at least early on, with all the control in the world to keep that position.

“Rawlings has proven he’s a No. 1 goaltender in this league who has proved he can carry the load,” said Madigan. “From my end, Chris Rawlings is like my team — we’re getting better with each game.

“It’s comforting to know that you have a seasoned goaltender back there. When you’re playing some new system and breaking in some younger defensemen, he’s back there as a stabilizing force.”

Right now, the leadership of McLaughlin and stabilization of Rawlings has to be a nice luxury for a new coaching staff, one with high aspirations of carrying on a program’s recent success.

New Hampshire’s loss is Denver’s find

Last Friday night, the Boston College Eagles were frustrated by an inexperienced goaltender in Denver’s Adam Murray. While Eagles coach Jerry York might have looked out and seen a goaltender decked in crimson and gold, he might have felt like the opposing netminder was dressed in blue and white of league foe New Hampshire.

For years, York and most of the other league coaches have been foiled by fundamentally sound New Hampshire goaltenders the likes of Michael Ayers, Kevin Regan and Ty Conklin. The tie that binds these and many other famous goaltenders was their mentor, goaltending coach David Lassonde.

Last Friday, Lassonde made his coaching debut with Denver, having changed jobs over the summer after the last 17 seasons on UNH coach Dick Umile’s staff.

Having left his fingerprints on the Wildcats program, Lassonde immediately had an impact on the Pioneers club. When goaltender Sam Brittain had knee surgery in June, Lassonde needed to get backup goaltender Murray ready to be, at least for now, the No. 1 netminder.

Murray immediately faced a stiff test in the Eagles and looked positionally solid (who would expect any less, right?), making 21 saves in Denver’s 4-2 win.

After the game, when Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky was asked if he said anything to Murray to get him prepared for the game, he deferred to the newest addition to his coaching staff.

“I don’t say anything to Adam Murray. The guy to talk to is David Lassonde,” said Gwozdecky. “Dick Umile was kind enough to give David his blessing to accept a position here at Denver and he’s done a wonderful job with Adam.

“When Sam had his surgery last June, Adam has prepared not just physically but mentally. He’s wanted this No. 1 job.”

Gwozdecky joked that the only advantage Lassonde brings against Hockey East teams is knowing how to get to the arena. But he also said with all seriousness that Lassonde’s ability to step right in and work effectively with Murray has been critical.

“[David] knew that if there was one area where he could have an immediate impact, it’s in goal for us,” said Gwozdecky. “I think he’s done a wonderful job with Adam and preparing him not just from a technique standpoint but also between the ears.”

If Lassonde’s impact has been felt anywhere in Hockey East thus far it may be on the team he left, New Hampshire. Though there isn’t an immediate, direct correlation that can be drawn, statistics show that Lassonde might be missed in Durham. Matt DiGirolamo, USCHO’s choice as the top returning goaltender, has struggled for UNH in Lassonde’s absence. After three games, DiGirolamo is 0-3-0 (as are the Wildcats) with a 4.64 goals against average and a .835 save percentage.

Another voice: For Hockey East, 11 is OK

While my colleague Dave Hendrickson last week discussed commissioner Joe Bertagna’s thoughts that it might be acceptable to maintain an 11-team conference when Notre Dame is added to the league to begin the 2013-14 season, another powerful voice in Hockey East this week echoed the commissioner’s sentiments when Boston College’s Jerry York appeared on the first edition of USCHO Live!, the site’s weekly webcast radio show.

York supported Bertagna’s decision to not pursue a 12th team just for the sake of finding a member to balance the league. According to the 40-year veteran coach, another team would need to fit the mold of the current teams in Hockey East.

“With Notre Dame coming, that gives Hockey East tremendous status,” said York. “I think we can survive with 11. There’s ways to do that. Twelve would be ideal, but it has to be the right 12th team.

“It has to fit us in a number of different ways. We certainly like our geographical footprint. Notre Dame is the furthest west we could go. So it has to be a team that fits us and be willing to make the call that they’re interested in Hockey East. Right now, we’re not going to actively pursue anyone, at least that’s the feeling among the coaches.”

York was a bit nostalgic in his comments, as well, as he remembered back to his days in the CCHA while coaching at Bowling Green.

“It’s hard for me to imagine the CCHA not being as powerful as it once was,” said York. “Now it’s going to be a strange league with some WCHA teams.”

To listen to the entire inaugural episode of USCHO Live with further comments from York as well as a discussion with Boston Globe columnist John Powers, who recently authored a very complete analysis feature on college hockey’s reshuffling, click here.

And finally, not that it has anything to do with any but …

Keeping Dave Hendrickson’s tradition of closing with something completely off topic, I appeal to my Boston-area readers with my thoughts on the Boston Red Sox.

To me, the Red Sox season this year was doomed from the early going. I remember sitting in St. Paul, Minn., during the Frozen Four and talking with a number of writers, including the aforementioned Hendrickson, and they were all saying they would still be surprised if the Sox missed the playoffs after an 0-6 start. Two weeks later, that start expanded to an ugly 2-10.

At the time I said there was no way of a comeback and felt stupid as the Sox seemed in control in early September. But the Sox played as they showed they were capable in the early months down the stretch and missed the playoffs.

The Boston Red Sox missed the playoffs this year because they played poorly early and late in the season. Yes, they looked like the greatest team ever in between, but those first and last four weeks hurt the Sox.

So please spare me the talk of beer drinking and fried chicken eating. I guess if you cover the team every day you have to find something to talk about but please, to make fans believe that this team failed because Popeyes and Pabst made its way to the Red Sox clubhouse.

Oct. 25 edition of USCHO Live! features MTU coach Mel Pearson, writer Kevin Pates

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On the next edition of USCHO Live! — our weekly college hockey talk show — hosts Jim Connelly and Ed Trefzger will be joined by Michigan Tech first-year head coach Mel Pearson and by veteran hockey writer Kevin Pates of the Duluth News Tribune.

Join us for the conversation and information, Tuesday, Oct. 25, from 8 to 9 p.m. ET. If you cant listen live, check out the podcast of USCHO Live! available on the player at the right (click through if you’re reading this via RSS.)

Each episode of USCHO Live! features a look at news around NCAA hockey, a look ahead at upcoming games and events, and conversation with people who coach and play college hockey and journalists who cover the sport. Your calls are welcome at (646) 200-4305, as well as questions via Twitter at @USCHO or via email to [email protected].

About the hosts

Jim Connelly is a senior writer at USCHO.com and has been with the site since 1999. He is based in Boston and regularly covers Hockey East. He began with USCHO.com as the correspondent covering the MAAC, which nowadays is known as Atlantic Hockey. Each week during the season, he co-writes “Tuesday Morning Quarterback.”

Ed Trefzger has been part of USCHO since 1999 and now serves as a senior writer and director of technology. He has been a part of the radio broadcasts of Rochester Institute of Technology hockey since their inception — serving as a producer, studio host, color commentator and now as RIT’s play-by-play voice for the last several seasons. Ed is based in Rochester, N.Y.

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