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Bemidji State expects to be tested early this season

October 7, 2011

Bemidji State enjoyed all the excitement of its entrance into the WCHA and the inauguration of a brand new arena in 2010. But when the season started, the Beavers had to endure an extremely difficult schedule to open the season, and after a 0-4-1 start, it didn’t look promising.

But thanks to a goalie like Dan Bakala (.919 save percentage, 2.47 goals against average) and scorers like Jordan George and Matt Read, the Beavers were able to win key games and advance as far as the semifinals of the Final Five.

“Danny Bakala was a great goaltender for us last year,” said Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore “There were times when he won us games. We leaned on him.”

Read graduated, but Serratore expects George to be the guy to carry the load.

“Jordan George is our new Matt Read, and the goals he scores are big-time goals,” Serratore said. “Hopefully we can manufacture some offense and get some scoring by committee.”

As far as the beginning of this season’s schedule, it’s no less daunting: two games at No. 2 Miami and two more at No. 7 Colorado College before BSU returns home to face Michigan Tech. Then it’s back on the road to face No. 8 Minnesota-Duluth and Lake Superior.

About the Beavers

2010-11 overall record: 15-18-5

2010-11 WCHA record: 8-15-5 (10th)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): 10th

Key losses: F Matt Read, F Ian Lowe

Players to watch: G Dan Bakala, D Brad Hunt, F Jordan George

Impact rookie: D Matt Prapavessis

Why the Beavers will finish higher than the coaches poll: Bakala had solid seasons in goal the past two years and he will have to be a rock for the Beavers in 2010-11.

Why the Beavers will finish lower than the coaches poll: The Beavers will rely too much on Bakala with a lot of their scoring having departed in the offseason.

Minnesota-Duluth wants right mind-set to defend national title

By Brian Halverson

October 7, 2011

A year ago, the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs were still two months removed from moving into their sparkling new home and the idea of a national championship was but a dream.

Fast forward 12 months and there is a decidedly different atmosphere surrounding UMD hockey. While Amsoil Arena’s fresh paint fumes may have faded, the facility regarded as one of college hockey’s best now houses a team befitting of its grandeur: the defending national champion Bulldogs.

Senior forward Kyle Schmidt’s overtime goal to beat Michigan in the 2011 national championship game gave UMD its first title in men’s hockey and capped off a Cinderella season for the Bulldogs.

Although only two teams (Minnesota in 2002-03 and Denver in 2004-05) have accomplished the back-to-back title feat in the last 40 years, college hockey fans are a demanding lot and inevitably hunger for an encore after savoring success.

Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin acknowledged that expectations are certainly higher but emphasized the importance of keeping his players in the right mind-set for dealing with the success.

“We asked our players over the summer to keep the right attitude and work extremely hard because it’s going to be even tougher like it is every year no matter if you win or you don’t,” he said. “I think our guys had a good summer and came back in good shape.”

Not that there aren’t question marks. The Bulldogs suffered some key losses over the offseason to graduation and the NHL. Gone are senior forwards Justin Fontaine and his 58 points (22-36–58) and Schmidt (11-11–22) while junior forward — and leading goal scorer — Mike Connolly (28-26–54) signed a contract with the San Jose Sharks just days after the title celebration.

“It’s difficult when you lose the scoring that we did,” said Sandelin. “We’ve got to look to some guys to step up, and there’s still some question marks as to who those people are going to be.”

That’s not to say the cupboard is bare. Senior forwards Jack Connolly (18-41–59) and Travis Oleksuk (14-19–33) return, as does sophomore J.T. Brown (16-21–37), the Frozen Four most outstanding player. But Sandelin is looking for increased output from players like Mike Seidel, Dan DeLisle and Max Tardy to provide some supplemental scoring.

Although somewhat expected, perhaps the biggest blow was the loss of freshman defenseman Justin Faulk (8-25–33), who signed a contract with the Carolina Hurricanes and, incidentally, made Carolina’s opening-night roster. His departure combined with fellow defenseman Mike Montgomery’s graduation has left a huge hole to be filled on UMD’s blue line.

“I think we’ve got a good group that, hopefully, can defend well and move the puck up the rink,” said Sandelin. “Maybe we don’t have quite the offensive production that maybe we had with a Faulk or a Montgomery so it’s going to take some time but I certainly like the group that we have.

“We don’t really have that [power play] quarterback like we did,” said Sandelin. “But we’ve got eight guys back there that are led by Brady Lamb, a senior, and Wade Bergman, who have played a lot of minutes for us.”

Barring something unforeseen, the Bulldogs should be set in goal with sophomore Aaron Crandall backing up senior Kenny Reiter. The pair shared duties to begin the season but Reiter (16-7-5, 2.30 goals against average, .914 save percentage) emerged as the starter as the second half progressed and backstopped UMD’s championship run.

The fact remains, however, that the Bulldogs of today are vastly different from their championship predecessors, but that doesn’t mean they cannot be as competitive depending on who decides to seize their opportunity.

“We need some guys to grow a little bit,” said Sandelin. “We’ve got some freshmen that are going to get playing time and we certainly need to see where they’re going to be at through the early part of the year and see how quickly they adjust.”

About the Bulldogs

2010-11 overall record: 26-10-6

2010-11 WCHA record: 15-8-5 (fourth)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Fifth

Key losses: D Justin Faulk, F Mike Connolly, F Justin Fontaine

Players to watch: F Jack Connolly, F J.T. Brown, F Travis Oleksuk, D Brady Lamb, G Kenny Reiter

Impact rookie: D Chris Casto

Why the Bulldogs will finish higher than the coaches poll: Reiter carries his playoff momentum into and throughout the regular season while a power-play quarterback emerges.

Why the Bulldogs will finish lower than the coaches poll: Inability to find supplemental scorers and a significant drop in special teams production, particularly the power play.

Pearson’s first job at Michigan Tech: Teach team how to win

By Brian Halverson

October 7, 2011

Michigan Tech last played an NCAA tournament game on March 28, 1981, when the Huskies defeated Upper Peninsula rival Northern Michigan 5-2 for third place at the Frozen Four in Duluth, Minn. Mel Pearson, a center on that team who registered 16 points (6-10–16) as a senior in 1981, is now charged with the task of leading his alma mater back to prominence.

“It was, obviously, the highlight of my playing career to get there,” Pearson said of his NCAA tournament experience. “The goal is to try to get us back to the place that we were when I was a player here and for our players to have that same experience.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work but, with the changing landscape, you never know,” Pearson said of the conference realignments taking place in two years. “It might be more of a realistic possibility now than it was six months ago.”

Pearson, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, hasn’t done much since he left Houghton. Unless, of course, you count his 23 years helping Red Berenson guide the Michigan Wolverines to a 667-243-71 record, 11 Frozen Fours, and two national championships.

In addition to coaching alongside the iconic Berenson, Pearson played high school hockey in Edina, Minn., for legendary Minnesota coach Willard Ikola while his father competed professionally for the St. Paul-based Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association. His good fortune continued in college with the opportunity to play for the great John MacInnes for whom the Huskies’ arena is now named.

“[Ikola] was a great mentor and a good coach, and I still stay in touch with him, and, obviously, John MacInnes was one of the main reasons why I came to Michigan Tech,” said Pearson. “He was just a super individual and a great coach. Then to go work with Red, I mean, if I could just get one-hundredth of all the knowledge and success they’ve had I think I’ll be OK.”

Shortly after the Wolverines were beaten in overtime 3-2 by Minnesota-Duluth in the NCAA title game last April, Michigan Tech athletic director Suzanne Sanregret contacted Pearson about the vacancy created by the resignation of Jamie Russell and offered him the job. But the lingering emotions rooted in the season’s sudden and disappointing end were still too raw for Pearson to consider such a move and he declined.

Fortunately for Pearson, after a brief period of self-reflection and consultation with trusted peers, the job was still there to be had when he was ready. On May 6, Pearson accepted the only head coaching position it ever occurred to him to pursue.

“It seemed like this would be a great challenge at a spot that I knew and felt passionately about,” said Pearson. “I could have just stayed at Michigan, rode it out, and been very, very happy with what I’d accomplished. But this is sort of a unique place and a special place for me.”

Pearson said the initial task for his staff is to establish an elevated standard of play and expectation with emphasis on work ethic, accountability and teamwork.

“We have to come in here and really start all over and teach the players how to go about winning,” said Pearson. “We don’t have the superstars some other programs do; we have to work together as a team, all play on the same page and play for one another.”

An accomplished recruiter, Pearson is credited with luring dozens of eventual All-Americans to Ann Arbor, including several Hobey Baker Award finalists. Fifty-four Michigan players went on to play in the NHL during Pearson’s tenure. Pearson said he won’t change anything in terms of his effort and approach to the recruiting process but admitted he will be dealing with a different pool of players than was the case at Michigan.

“I think you have to understand your audience and know your audience and who’s interested in what we have to sell and then sell that hard,” said Pearson. “It might be … realizing who you can go after and not wasting a lot of time on kids who aren’t interested in a place like Michigan Tech but focusing on the kids who would be interested in Tech that are good players and good students.”

About the Huskies

2010-11 overall record: 4-30-4

2010-11 WCHA record: 2-24-2 (12th)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): 12th

Key losses: D Deron Cousins, F Bennett Royer

Players to watch: F Brett Olson, F Jordan Baker, F Milos Gordic, F Ryan Furne

Impact rookie: F Blake Pietila

Why the Huskies will finish higher than the coaches poll: Olson and Baker stay healthy and return to form while the Huskies hockey culture change begins to take hold.

Why the Huskies will finish lower than the coaches poll: Unless the WCHA can find a way to add a 13th team, it won’t happen.

Most of scoring gone, but expectations high as always for North Dakota

By Tyler Buckentine

October 7, 2011

The fan base in Grand Forks always holds expectations high for North Dakota. But no one sets the bar higher than the Fighting Sioux themselves.

“We set our own expectations,” said UND coach Dave Hakstol. “We have the great opportunity to be part of a great atmosphere in North Dakota where everyone is excited about hockey, but that’s also a big responsibility.”

The Sioux has to replace 72 percent of its goal scoring from last year, with 128 of the 177 UND goals scored by players who parted with the team. This season’s scoring has to start with Corban Knight, who scored 14 goals with 30 assists in 2010-11.

“We expect Corban to take a big step forward for us this year,” Hakstol said. “He’s ready to step into that prime-time role, and we’re going to rely on him in a lot of situations. We need him to be a strong two-way centerman for us and take on a strong leadership role.”

Defense is another key concern for the Sioux, which lost key blueliners like Chay Genoway, Derrick LaPoint and Jake Marto.

“Not only did we lose a lot of minutes and quality players back there but we lost quality people,” Hakstol said. “We have to develop a new group. With everything we lost, there’s still depth on the blue line.”

Andrew MacWilliam, Ben Blood and Derek Forbort have all made their presence felt on defense for UND. Dillon Simpson and Joe Gleason are ready to take bigger roles.

“We’ve been given some respect in the polls but I can tell you right now, performance-wise, we’re not a top-two team in the WCHA right now,” Hakstol said. “We have a lot of work to do to get to that level but we will get there.”

About the Fighting Sioux

2010-11 overall record: 32-9-3

2010-11 WCHA record: 21-6-1 (first)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Second

Key losses: F Matt Frattin, D Chay Genoway, F Evan Trupp, F Brad Malone, D Derrick LaPoint, D Jake Marto

Players to watch: F Corban Knight, F Danny Kristo, F Rocco Grimaldi

Impact rookie: Grimaldi

Why the Sioux will finish higher than the coaches poll: The Sioux will find new ways to produce offensively.

Why the Sioux will finish lower than the coaches poll: The losses of Frattin, Gregoire, Trupp and Co. will be too much for UND to overcome on the offensive end of the rink.

Veteran goalies set to take WCHA’s center stage in 2011-12

By Tyler Buckentine and Brian Halverson

October 7, 2011

It’s easy to pick out strengths and flaws, looking at the leftovers of all the WCHA rosters from last season going into 2011-12.

Colorado College and Denver both have the personnel up front to light up the scoreboard on a nightly basis. North Dakota, meanwhile, lost a ton of offensive production in the offseason. So did Minnesota-Duluth, and it will be interesting to see how much Jack Connolly produces without Mike Connolly and Justin Fontaine on his line.

And by the time you scan the last roster, if you’ve been counting, you come up with 11. That’s the number of teams that return starting goaltenders.

“There’s no question that when you look at some of the top goaltenders in the league coming back from last year, certainly with their experience it’s going to make things extremely difficult for opposing shooters,” said Denver coach George Gwozdecky.

Wisconsin is the only WCHA team that won’t return its starter.

The defending WCHA champion Fighting Sioux have the best depth and the most exposure of any WCHA team in goal.

“With Brad Eidsness, Aaron Dell and even Tate Maris, we have a really good goaltending team back there,” said North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol. “We have the depth at goal but it’s up to them to go out and prove it.”

Dell, a junior, is coming off an All-WCHA season in which he compiled a .924 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.79.

“I had chances pretty early and I did pretty well,” Dell said. “By then, I was starting to gain confidence and the guys were pretty confident in my abilities as well.”

Eidsness, Dell’s backup, is a proven goalie who would be a reliable fill-in for Dell. Eidsness lost the starting job he held for two years when he got off to a terrible start to the 2010-11 season.

“Brad is a really supportive guy and he really worked his [tail] off and pushed me to be better,” Dell said. “I push him to be better as well and that gives us the situation that we have here.”

Eidsness (.812 save percentage, 4.09 GAA in 2010-11) split time with Dell until Dell took over for good around Thanksgiving.

“Aaron Dell’s performance dictated that he play the majority of the games for us last season,” Hakstol said. “He comes in as the No. 1 but his performance still has to dictate that he remains our No. 1 guy.”

Where there is solidity between the pipes in Grand Forks, there is uncertainty in Denver.

Denver goalie Sam Brittain looks to glove a floating puck during the third period. Denver beat Nebraska-Omaha 4-2 Saturday night at Qwest Center Omaha. (Photo by Michelle Bishop) (Michelle Bishop) — Sam Brittain won't be in net for Denver until January because of knee surgery (photo: Michelle Bishop).

The Pioneers hope Sam Brittain, who made the All-WCHA rookie team, will continue his emergence as one of the league’s top netminders, but Gwozdecky and Co. might have to wait until January to see Brittain in net. Brittain underwent knee surgery in June and, according to Gwozdecky, requires a 6 1/2-month healing and rehab period.

“I don’t think anybody knew what our goaltending situation was going to be like at this time last year,” Gwozdecky said. “Due to a couple of situations with injury and things like that, Sam had an opportunity to really get some consistent playing time and really shine in those opportunities and played extremely well and really won the job last year.”

Adam Murray will be the interim starter. He played in 11 games as a sophomore for the Pioneers and posted an .879 save percentage and a 3.46 goals against average. Those numbers are dragged down by his performance against Boston College when he allowed six goals on 34 shots.

Gwozdecky went out and snatched Finnish goalie Juho Olkinuora right after he learned of Brittain’s situation. Olkinuora had a .900 save percentage and 2.70 GAA for Sioux Falls of the USHL last season.

In Minnesota, Kent Patterson stepped up and shined amid what looked to be a very dim outlook, at first, for Gophers goaltending. Alex Kangas — Minnesota’s record holder for goals against average (1.98) and save percentage (.930), both set in his rookie season — ended his college career after he tore his labrum and underwent surgery.

Patterson started every game after Dec. 4 and went on to earn second-team All-WCHA honors as a junior, stopping 92 percent of the shots he faced and allowing 2.49 goals per game.

“For us, it starts in goal with Kent Patterson coming back off an all-league year,” said Minnesota coach Don Lucia. “He’s looked sharp in practice so far and we all know how important his position is.”

John Faulkner was the guy the last two seasons in goal for Nebraska-Omaha, and the Mavericks are counting on him to be a wall in his senior season. Faulkner is a solid goalie but can be hot and cold from night to night.

He allowed six goals Nov. 19 against North Dakota and shut out the Sioux the following night. A few weeks later, Colorado College scored five times on Faulkner on 20 shots. Faulkner followed that performance with a shutout the next night.

“What John has to do is be more consistent,” said Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais. “When we have teams down we need to finish them off. He logged a lot of minutes for us last year and hopefully we can have other guys step in and give him a break.”

CC has an inexperienced blue line outside of Gabe Guentzel, Joe Marciano and Eamonn McDermott , which will make life tougher for Tigers junior goalie Joe Howe. After a so-so 2010-11 season (.903 save percentage, 2.94 GAA) Howe must improve for CC to go far, despite the firepower up front.

Defense is again a question mark at St. Cloud State, with only two upperclassmen on the blue line. Nick Jensen and Kevin Gravel made strides as their freshman seasons progressed but the Huskies need to find a way to provide goalie Mike Lee (.910, 2.75) with more help in the defensive zone.

“Mike was kind of victimized last year,” said Huskies coach Bob Motzko. “The players in front of Mike let him down.”

UMD returns Kenny Reiter (.914, 2.30) and Aaron Crandall (.894, 2.70) in goal from last season’s national title team. Reiter started twice as many games as than Crandall last year and will get the nod to start this season. He was a key to the Bulldogs’ title run, allowing no more than three goals throughout the postseason, with a save percentage of .927 in seven playoff games.

Rob Gunderson (.898, 2.75 ) and Chris Kamal (.895, 2.62) will battle for the top spot for Alaska-Anchorage. Same at Minnesota State, where Phil Cook (.903, 3.01) and Austin Lee (.911, 2.59) both have two seasons of experience.

Dan Bakala (.919, 2.47), probably the most underrated goaltender in the WCHA, was solid in net last season for Bemidji State and will be the star for the Beavers this season. Kevin Genoe (.883, 4.02) and Josh Robinson (.884, 4.56) split time in net for Michigan Tech last season.

Here are our picks for the league finish. Click a team’s name for its preview:

Tyler’s picks

1. Colorado College
2. Nebraska-Omaha
3. Denver
4. North Dakota
5. Minnesota
6. Minnesota-Duluth
7. St. Cloud State
8. Wisconsin
9. Bemidji State
10. Minnesota State
11. Alaska-Anchorage
12. Michigan Tech

Brian’s picks

1. Colorado College
2. Denver
3. North Dakota
4. Minnesota
5. Minnesota-Duluth
6. Nebraska-Omaha
7. Alaska-Anchorage
8. St. Cloud State
9. Wisconsin
10. Bemidji State
11. Michigan Tech
12. Minnesota State

Talented group of forwards puts Denver at head of pack

By Brian Halverson

October 7, 2011

Denver garnered the top spot in this season’s WCHA coaches poll, and though honored by the confidence of his colleagues, Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky knows it will take much more than that to earn a March trip to St. Paul.

“It’s nice to be recognized but, in some ways, I think we coaches like to put the monkey on someone’s back every year,” said Gwozdecky. “Last year it was our friends in Grand Forks and this year they’ve given us that weight, that burden, and that privilege.”

Gwozdecky said he is comfortable with the expectations that come with the honor.

“I think when you’ve been in this league as long as we have, as long as I have at least, you’re going to have those years where you feel you’ve got a good team and you’re going to have those years where you feel there’s a lot of question marks and a lot of unknowns,” said Gwozdecky. “I think this year we have one of those teams where I think we all feel that with the experience coming back and the depth that we have we should be a good team.”

Denver’s depth is especially evident up front, as junior Drew Shore leads a talented quintet of forwards consisting of 2010-11 WCHA rookie of the year Jason Zucker, sophomore Nick Shore, sophomore Beau Bennett, and senior Luke Salazar, which combined for 78 goals and 129 points last season.

“Those five guys are going to be key for us to be able to continue to have success,” said Gwozdecky. “All five of them had very good offseasons, they’re healthy, they’re stronger, they’re more explosive, and I think they’re going to be factors for us offensively.”

Defensively, the Pioneers must forge ahead without offensive threat Matt Donovan, who took his 32 points (9-23–32) with him to Long Island when he left last spring following his sophomore season to sign a pro contract with the New York Islanders.

Gwozdecky, however, expects key minutes out of seniors John Lee and John Ryder along with sophomores Paul Phillips and David Makowski, who likely will be asked to fill the offensive void created by Donovan’s departure.

“[Makowski is] a guy that can put up numbers for us (6-24–30 in 2010-11) and I think right now he’s the guy that I look at as maybe being able to step into Matt Donovan’s shoes,” said Gwozdecky.

What was supposed to be a position of strength for the Pioneers became a question mark in June with the revelation that sophomore starting goaltender Sam Brittain would undergo major knee surgery to repair an ACL tear suffered during the Final Five. Brittain, whose 19-9-5 record, 2.28 goals against average, and .921 save percentage earned him WCHA all-rookie honors, continued to play despite the injury until the Pioneers were eliminated by North Dakota in the NCAA Midwest Regional final.

If junior Adam Murray can provide the Pioneers with steady play in goal until Brittain is ready to return sometime in January, Denver will be in position to prove Gwozdecky’s peers to be prophetic.

“Proving that is going to be a huge, huge undertaking considering the kind of league we have and the kind of opposition that we’re going to face every night,” said Gwozdecky. “There are many teams that could win this league title besides us this year.

“It’s going to be another year, I’m convinced, that it’s going to go right down to the wire. It’s going to be one heck of a race and it’s going to be great for the fans to be able to follow it.”

About the Pioneers

2010-11 overall record: 25-12-5

2010-11 WCHA record: 17-8-3 (second)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): First

Key losses: F Kyle Ostrow, D Matt Donovan, F Anthony Maiani

Players to watch: F Jason Zucker, F Drew Shore, F Luke Salazar, F Beau Bennett, D David Makowski

Impact rookie: D Scott Mayfield

Why the Pioneers will finish higher than the coaches poll: They can’t, but they’ll stay there if Murray mans the fort well enough until Brittain’s return.

Why the Pioneers will finish lower than the coaches poll: Inability to stay healthy and goaltending concerns.

Lucia sees Minnesota as close to higher level of success

By Brian Halverson

October 7, 2011

Three seasons removed from their last NCAA tournament appearance, Minnesota’s tournament hopes were crushed last March when they were swept out of the first round of the WCHA playoffs at home by Alaska-Anchorage.

If the Gophers are to return to the Final Five and beyond in 2011-12, the path likely will be paved by senior Kent Patterson’s all-conference-caliber goaltending, reliable scoring depth, and the ability to persevere through the trials associated with suiting up as many as 20 underclassmen on any given night.

According to coach Don Lucia, however, postseason success is a lot closer than people may think.

“We were 1-1 with North Dakota, 1-1-2 with UMD and we beat Michigan,” Lucia said of three of last season’s Frozen Four participants. “We weren’t that far away. Now we have to find a way just to score that one more goal a game or give up that one less goal a game, and that’s really that fine line from week to week.”

While Minnesota lacks that one big-time scoring threat, it will have to rely on depth up front to find that “one more goal a game” Lucia seeks.

With leading goal scorers Mike Hoeffel (13), Jay Barriball (12) and Jacob Cepis (12) lost to graduation, the onus falls on Minnesota’s leading returning goal scorers — senior captain Taylor Matson (10) and classmate Jake Hansen (11) to step up their games.

Lucia said Matson did a tremendous job in his captain’s role over the summer.

“In all the years I’ve coached I don’t know if I’ve ever had a more hard-working player than Taylor,” said Lucia. “He’s relentless in everything he does, whether it’s in the classroom or off the ice or on the ice. He’s really set a standard.”

It could be argued that the single most significant addition to the team will never venture farther than the bench in any game this season: newly rehired assistant coach Mike Guentzel.

A key member of a staff that won two national titles in three trips to the Frozen Four, Guentzel replaces the departed John Hill after three seasons coaching elsewhere, most recently assisting Dean Blais last year at Nebraska-Omaha.

Lucia expected a seamless transition from Hill to Guentzel, and was not disappointed.

“We were able to pick up right where we left off,” said Lucia. “But you can see that he’s excited to be back, he’s enthusiastic … and I think that’s going to be infectious within our team.”

The bottom line for Minnesota is it does not have the luxury of relying on one player or one line to carry the team, so the Gophers will sink or swim on their ability to play a complete team game.

“You have to have the cohesiveness within the team and now we have to build it,” said Lucia. “I used the analogy at the start, it’s like a rock wall and not every rock is the same size in the wall but you have to have every rock to hold up the wall.”

About the Golden Gophers

2010-11 overall record: 16-4-6

2010-11 WCHA record: 13-10-5 (fifth)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Sixth

Key losses: F Jay Barriball, F Jacob Cepis, F Mike Hoeffel, D Aaron Ness

Players to watch: F Jake Hansen, F Taylor Matson, F Erik Haula, F Nick Bjugstad, D Mark Alt, G Kent Patterson

Impact rookie: F Kyle Rau

Why the Gophers will finish higher than the coaches poll: The seniors lead the way and the freshmen live up to the hype, adapting quickly to the WCHA pace.

Why the Gophers will finish lower than the coaches poll: Experience lacked by players expected to play key roles and any sort of health issue for Patterson.

St. Cloud State asking young defensemen to play big roles

By Tyler Buckentine

October 7, 2011

St. Cloud State’s offense went through struggles in 2010-11, but the main concern for Huskies coach Bob Motzko this season is the defense.

“If we have a spot on our team where we’re going to start with an unknown, it’s on defense,” said Motzko, who returns for his seventh season behind the SCSU bench. “We have six freshmen or sophomores on ‘D,’ so we’re going to have young guys with bigger roles.”

The Huskies have only two upperclassmen on the blue line — junior Taylor Johnson and senior Sam Zabkowicz — but they will get help from sophomores Nick Jensen and Kevin Gravel. Jensen and Gravel both made strides as freshmen last season.

“The guys that really shined for us on defense were both freshmen,” Motzko said. “By the end of the year, Nick Jensen and Kevin Gravel were outstanding.”

Mike Lee’s numbers (.910 save percentage, 2.75 goals against average) from last season were below average, but Motzko was quick to dismiss Lee from all the blame.

“Mike was kind of victimized,” Motzko said. “The players in front of him let him down. He’s ready for his time to shine, and that could be now.”

Of course, Lee and the SCSU defense are going to need more help from the offense than it provided in 2010-11. Drew LeBlanc returns for his senior season after he led the Huskies in points (39).

SCSU ranked eighth in the WCHA in scoring (2.95 goals per game) last season despite returning 12 of its top 14 scorers from 2009-10. The Huskies lost just 17 percent of their offensive production from last season to 2011-12.

About the Huskies

2010-11 overall record: 15-18-5

2010-11 WCHA record: 11-13-4 (ninth)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Seventh

Key losses: F Garrett Roe, F Aaron Marvin, G Dan Dunn

Players to watch: F Drew LeBlanc, F Cam Reid, F David Eddy, F Jared Festler, D Taylor Johnson, G Mike Lee

Impact rookie: F Nick Oliver

Why the Huskies will finish higher than the coaches poll: The young defensive corps will progress as well as Nick Jensen and Kevin Gravel did in their rookie seasons. Eddy will have a breakout season offensively after sitting out nearly half of 2010-11.

Why the Huskies will finish lower than the coaches poll: An unproven Huskies defense could leave Lee on an island again but the offense has to be a lot more productive, too.

Healthy Schwartz could mean big things for Colorado College

By Tyler Buckentine

October 7, 2011

When Jaden Schwartz temporarily left Colorado College to play for Canada in the World Junior Championship last December, his absence was supposed to be only as long as the tournament.

Then he suffered a fractured ankle in a preliminary-round game, sidelining him until mid-February. The Tigers went 8-7 in the stretch without Schwartz but when he returned CC’s power play got a huge lift, as did the team overall. He finished the season with 17 goals and 30 assists despite missing 15 games.

“We had success during that time because of guys like Rylan Schwartz and Stephen Schultz,” said CC coach Scott Owens. “[Jaden] is an offensive threat and a power play threat and he makes everyone else better. He’s a natural go-to guy and he does it as a very humble and team-oriented guy.”

Schwartz will return to Team Canada again this December, so the Tigers expect scoring output from players like Jaden’s brother and linemate, Rylan (10-28–38) and from the blue line with assistant captain Gabe Guentzel (6-22–28).

Joe Howe enters his third season as CC’s goalie and the Tigers are good at defense, but a good chunk of the scoring is gone, even with the Schwartz brothers back. Schultz (17-28–45) and Tyler Johnson (20-17–37) both graduated and leave a void that needs to be filled.

“We’re looking for secondary scoring in addition to Rylan and Jaden,” Owens said. “We’re going to use a lot of different guys right away. It’ll be tough because Stephen Schultz did such a good job for us last year.”

About the Tigers

2010-11 overall record: 23-19-3

2010-11 WCHA record: 13-13-2 (sixth)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Third

Key losses: F Stephen Schultz, F Tyler Johnson

Players to watch: F Jaden Schwartz, F Rylan Schwartz, F Gabe Guentzel, F Nick Dineen, F William Rapuzzi

Impact rookie: D Aaron Harstad

Why the Tigers will finish higher than the coaches poll: Jaden Schwartz will stay healthy and insert himself into the Hobey Baker Award conversation by the end of the year. Joe Howe will stay consistent and have a breakout year.

Why the Tigers will finish lower than the coaches poll: The Tigers will have a tough time filling the void left behind by Schultz and Johnson.

Youth, inexperience the biggest challenges facing Wisconsin

By Brian Halverson

October 7, 2011

Ask Mike Eaves to give a one-word description of his team and the Wisconsin coach is prepared with it on the tip of his tongue: Youthful. The Badgers enter the season with nine freshmen among 20 underclassmen on a roster that includes just one senior in defenseman Eric Springer.

But Eaves was quick to emphasize that referring to the roster as youthful is not to say it is bereft of ability.

“There is talent there,” said Eaves, who enters his 10th season behind the bench of his alma mater just eight wins away from 200 (192-138-42). “It’s going to be how quickly can these young men adapt to the pace and the speed and the strength and the skill of college hockey.”

One freshman who is sure to impress is defenseman and Wisconsin native Jake McCabe, whom Eaves said is mature beyond his years.

“His teammates can’t believe how mature he is for a young man that’s 17, not even 18 yet,” said Eaves. “He doesn’t get rattled, so that’s going to serve him well, and one of the reasons that he can step right out of high school and come into college. We think he’s going to be a very good player for us.”

Nowhere on the ice will the inexperience be more conspicuous than in the goal crease, with freshmen Joel Rumpel and Landon Peterson competing with junior Mitch Thompson to replace the departed tandem of Scott Gudmandson and Brett Bennett. None of the three has played a single minute at the collegiate level.

“We’re not going to have anybody with any college experience in the nets for the first time, I think, in our school’s history,” said Eaves. “So we’ll be young there and young everywhere.”

Eaves is slightly off, but it is true that the Badgers have not been this green in goal since the 1964-65 season. The last time Wisconsin was even close to this scenario was 1988-89, when senior John Lambie, and his 11 minutes of NCAA experience, welcomed a pair of freshman named Curtis Joseph and Duane Derksen. Joseph left the Badgers after one season to pursue what would be a long NHL career while Derksen backstopped Wisconsin to an NCAA title in 1990.

With the early departures of defenseman Jake Gardiner (Toronto, NHL) and forwards Jordy Murray (Switzerland) and Craig Smith (Nashville, NHL), the saving grace for Wisconsin has to be the return of junior Justin Schultz. Certain to be a Hobey Baker Award candidate for a second straight year, Schultz led the nation’s defensemen in scoring with 47 points (18-29–47) as a sophomore and was named the WCHA’s defensive player of the year.

“When you get one of the better, best players in college hockey back, it certainly boosts your blue line,” said Eaves. “And we know that he’s going to be the quarterback of our power play, and so there’s some sense of peace with that.”

Schultz, who is 31 points short of 100 for his career, was named an alternate captain and joins Badgers captain, and fellow junior, John Ramage anchoring Wisconsin’s blue line.

Wisconsin lost 70 percent of its goal scoring (76 out of 129) and nearly half of its points (174 of 357) to graduation or early departures over the summer. Sophomores Mark Zengerle (5-31–36), Michael Mersch (8-11–19) and Tyler Barnes (5-12–17) will be expected to step up and close those gaps.

About the Badgers

2010-11 overall record: 21-16-4

2010-11 WCHA record: 12-13-3 (seventh)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Eighth

Key losses: F Craig Smith, D Jake Gardiner, F Jordy Murray

Players to watch: D Justin Schultz, F Mark Zengerle, F Michael Mersch, F Tyler Barnes, D John Ramage

Impact rookie: D Jake McCabe

Why the Badgers will finish higher than the coaches poll: Sophomores Zengerle, Mersch and Barnes pick up the scoring slack and Eaves finds himself a reliable man between the pipes.

Why the Badgers will finish lower than the coaches poll: Growing pains in goal coupled with questionable scoring depth due to inexperience.

Men’s Senior CLASS Award nominees announced

USCHO Staff Report

October 6, 2011

Twenty men’s seniors from all five Division I conferences have been selected as candidates for the 2012 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award “focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.”

The winner will be announced during the Frozen Four next April in Tampa.

The 20 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, Division I men’s coaches and fans.

Senior CLASS Award Candidates (in alphabetical order)
Chad Billins, D, Ferris State
Jack Connolly, C, Minnesota-Duluth
Tommy Cross, D, Boston College
Mike Daly, D, Holy Cross
Matt Di Girolamo, G, New Hampshire
Sean Duddy, D, Ohio State
Brad Eidsness, G, North Dakota
Ryan Flanigan, F, Merrimack
Scott Greenham, G, Alaska
Chris Haltigin, D, RIT
Doug Jones, F, Dartmouth
Drew LeBlanc, F, St. Cloud State
Sean Lorenz, D, Notre Dame
Jack Maclellan, F, Brown
Taylor Matson, F, Minnesota
Will O’Neill, D, Maine
Cody Reichard, G, Miami
Keir Ross, D, Cornell
Ian Slater, F, Western Michigan
Paul Weisgarber, F, Air Force

Stockdale named first coach of Franklin Pierce women’s team

USCHO Staff Report

October 6, 2011

Franklin Pierce announced on Thursday that David Stockdale has been named the head coach of the newly-formed women’s program that will begin play next season.

Stockdale has been an assistant and head coach in the college ranks over the past 10 years.

“This is a tremendous opportunity and one that I’m eager to begin right away,” Stockdale said in a statement. “The opportunity to build a program from the ground up and recruit student-athletes that want to help in the challenge is very exciting.”

Stockdale has had two stints as an assistant at Maine and has also been an assistant at Southern Maine and Chatham. He is a former head coach at Castleton State and most recently served as the head girls coach at Seton Catholic Central School in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Stockdale also has extensive instructional experience as he has served as an evaluator and counselor at various hockey camps, including serving as an evaluator and camp coach for USA Hockey since 2006.

CHA moves forward despite step back

By Arlan Marttila

October 6, 2011

As the only women’s NCAA Division-I hockey conference without a compass direction in its name, it is fitting that College Hockey America references the entire country. No matter where a D-I program has popped up of late, they have found a place in the CHA.

The CHA’s roots stretch back to the Great Lakes Women’s Hockey Association, whose name had a limiting geographical reference, but the GLWHA provided a home for teams that had none.

“Findlay, Wayne State, and [Mercyhurst] handcrafted a schedule, and at least it was enough to get us rolling with things,” said Mercyhusrt coach Mike Sisti. “That led to the Great Lakes league, and that led to our next couple of leagues we formed with many members kind of coming and going.”

Sisti, starting his 13th season with Mercyhurst, has seen all the comings and goings. After a couple years as the GLWHA, the original three teams were joined by Niagara in 2002 to compose the first CHA.

Prior to the 2004-05 season, the rate of fluctuation increased. After two years as an independent, Quinnipiac became the fifth member of the CHA, and expansion looked certain.

“We had just had Ohio State leave the WCHA to join our league, and two weeks later out of the blue Findlay instantly folded,” said Sisti. “It wasn’t a statement that they’ll fold next year, it was just a statement out of the blue, and bam, they were done.”

Minus the in-state rival promised by the presence of Findlay, Ohio State reconsidered the move and retreated back into the WCHA. The CHA wound up with Quinnipiac replacing Findlay, no addition of Ohio State, and stuck on four teams rather than reaching the coveted goal of six, the threshold for the NCAA granting a conference an automatic qualifier for the national tournament.

The next season, the revolving door continued to turn. Quinnipiac moved to the ECAC and was replaced by the new Robert Morris Colonials. The quartet of Mercyhurst, Niagara, Robert Morris, and Wayne State soldiered on until Syracuse joined in 2008, and the CHA had finally grown to more than four teams.

No matter the composition, one fact has remained unchanged — the league has consisted of Mercyhurst and some teams chasing them with little success. The Lakers have won the CHA tournament all nine times, and they’ve been the regular season champions each year as well, though Wayne State did manage to claim a share of that honor in 2007-08.

For Mercyhurst, at least in part thanks to their domination of the CHA, the lack of an automatic-bid to the NCAA tournament has not proven an insurmountable obstacle.

“Our goals were to try to win an awful lot of games, play everyone straight up, and hope that at the end of the season when the smoke cleared, we’d be good enough to earn a place in the tournament,” Sisti said. Fortunately, we’ve been able to do that rather consistently. The auto bid was never something that defined us or was big.”

The Lakers have qualified for the NCAA tournament in each of the seven seasons it has had an eight-team field, joining Minnesota-Duluth as the only program to do so.

The 2011 offseason proved to be another turbulent one for the CHA. Lindenwood moved its athletics to D-I, including women’s hockey, Penn State added women’s ice hockey, and the CHA looked to be a likely conference destination for both.

Having viewed the CHA from the outside while at St. Lawrence, and only a member of the conference since becoming coach of Syracuse in 2008, Paul Flanagan admits to being shocked when amidst such positive developments for the league, Wayne State announced its decision in May to discontinue women’s hockey.

“I think a bit of a copout, maybe, from Wayne State’s administration,” Flanagan said.

Sisti had been through it already.

“It did look like with Penn State coming in and possibly Lindenwood, all of the struggles over the past were coming together pretty nicely, so it was just awful timing, much like the Findlay fold. Wayne State surprisingly kind of did the same exact thing. I just feel bad for the kids; it’s a tough situation.”

With the announcements in September that Penn State has been admitted into the league and Lindenwood has applied to the CHA as well, the conference may have finally achieved its elusive six-team configuration.

“I think that we felt joining the league as a newcomer four years ago that you get some name recognition with a school with big-time athletics, and certainly now with Penn State added to that, with Mercyhurst being a perennial power, and Robert Morris and Niagara being well known within our sport, that there’s a lot of good things happening,” Flanagan said.

The desired automatic bid for the conference champion to the NCAA field will likely have to wait at least a couple more seasons once the expansion occurs. According to the “2011-12 NCAA Division I Manual,” bylaw 31.3.4.2, requirements a, b and c, a conference needs six active NCAA members that have competed in the same conference for two seasons in order to qualify, excluding provisional members. Per a release on Lindenwood’s site, they will not become a full NCAA member until 2013-14.

Regardless of when the CHA is granted its automatic qualifier, it will have no impact on the national picture if Mercyhurst remains the 500-pound gorilla sitting atop the conference and dominating the competition.

“I guess what I’m proud of over the years is miraculously we haven’t had a down year, despite who we’ve lost, and we’ve lost some great players,” Sisti said. “Some might wonder how long can that last; I’d like it to last as long as possible.”

Obviously, the rest of the conference has a different wish.

“The last couple years with Mercyhurst being such a prominent team in our league, it’s been us against them, so to speak, for the other teams,” Flanagan said. “Somebody has got to knock them off.

“Two years ago, it was 1-1 with three minutes to go in the championship game. Had [Syracuse] been able to knock them off, it would have been a great accomplishment, but we would have been done. Then we came close again last year, 5-4 in the championship game. It’ll add so much more luster to not only our regular season, but our playoffs.”

Before teams can consistently compete with the Lakers on the ice, they have to be able to recruit comparable student athletes, and Flanagan sees improvement in that area in recent years.

“I don’t know if there’s necessarily that many more elite players, but there’s certainly more good players,” he said. “They all can’t go to certain schools, school X, Y, or Z.”

Now that the CHA has achieved growth, it may continue growing.

“I know that there are one or two other schools that they are in discussions with,” Flanagan said. “Even the commissioner is pretty tight-lipped with us, but he’s working very hard and it’s exciting for our league.”

“I know that RIT would certainly be a natural, but they have some of their issues with the D-III to D-I and the legislation of their women’s team,” Sisti said. “I know there has been a lot of talk for a long time with Holy Cross. Those talks are always there, it’s just a matter of those schools kind of trying to define the direction that they want to go in and also overcome any obstacles that are there.”

Overcome obstacles, just like the CHA has done over the years.

After slump-riddled season, Brown has a lot to prove

By Brian Sullivan

October 6, 2011

For a while there, they may as well have been the Brown Bear-skins, with which the rest of the ECAC warmed its feet and decorated its basement. But since the school welcomed native son Brendan Whittet back to the Meehan bench, the school has elevated its hockey program to something resembling the un-Bear-ables: unbearably physical, unbearably tough and unbearably determined to give opponents everything they’ve got … but with unbearably inconsistent returns in Whittet’s first two years at the helm.

Last year’s promising 3-2-3 start included a four-point road weekend at Colgate and Cornell, and culminated with Hockey East-stunning ties at New Hampshire and Boston University. Something failed to carry over, however, as Bruno fell into an enduring slump thereafter. A late-season surge that included a matching home sweep of the Raiders and Big Red also bore a devastating injury, as then-leading scorer Jack Maclellan was lost with a foot injury. Quinnipiac buried Brown in the first round of the playoffs with consecutive 4-0 thumpings in Hamden.

Gone, now, is high-scoring, hard-hitting and hot-tempered Harry Zolnierczyk, who finished his senior campaign as the team leader with 16 goals and 31 points (tied with Maclellan), as well as a whopping 128 minutes in penalties. Graduating with him were fellow forwards David Brownschidle (7-9–16, 29 games played) and Jesse Fratkin (6-7—13, 26 GP). Overall, the senior class accounted for 30 of Bruno’s 83 goals in 2010-11.

Meehan is still home to the likes of seniors Maclellan (14 goals in 25 games) and Bobby Farnham (eight goals, 31 games), as well as sophomore defender Dennis Robertson (6-11–17, 30 GP).

“We’ve had some successes in the past two years in terms of some big wins, and I’ve definitively seen progress in the type of players we’ve been able to attract to Brown,” Whittet said.

While not one of Whittet’s recruits, Maclellan rates high to the coach.

“Jack, in my eyes, may be the best player in the East, or one of them, in terms of his pure skill,” Whittet said. “He’s a magician with the puck, he’s a pure leader, and on any given night will produce some big plays and put up points. He’s a guy we’ll lean on heavily this year: he’ll play a lot of minutes. There’s unfinished business for this team, and there’s unfinished business for Jack.”

Senior Mike Clemente returns to Bruno’s crease with something to prove as well after last year’s lackluster 3.28 goals against average and .896 save percentage.

“Mike was up and down last year,” Whittet said. “We need him to be much more consistent this year, but he’s proven in the past that he does have the ability to win games and win series.”

With a “very, very young” team this year — 19 of the 31 players on the roster are freshmen or sophomores — the early going will be a critical time for the team … especially since one of Whittet’s shiny new prospects is at least a month or more from suiting up.

“The one guy that sticks out as maybe an elite offensive guy would be a kid by the name of Matt Lorito,” Whittet said. “Very, very skilled forward, and a kid that we expect big, big things out of. Unfortunately, he fractured his forearm the other day in a freak collision with another player, so we probably won’t be seeing him for a little bit. He’s one that I expect will come to the forefront in terms of being able to put up points at this level, and being a guy that we lean on.”

Injuries, youth, and a spotty track record notwithstanding, Whittet is not easing up on his standards one bit.

“Heading into this season, we have very high expectations as a program,” he said. “Our goal is no different from the rest of the league. We want to win the ECAC championship, and I feel we’re well on our way to being able to field a team talent-wise that will be able to do that.”

About the Bears

2010-11 overall record: 10-16-5

2010-11 ECAC record: 8-12-2 (ninth)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): 12th

Key losses: F Harry Zolnierczyk, F David Brownschidle, F Jesse Fratkin

Players to watch: Senior G Mike Clemente, senior F Jack Maclellan, junior F Chris Zaires, sophomore D Dennis Robertson

Impact rookie: F Matt Lorito

Why the Bears will finish higher than the coaches poll: Clemente and the defensive corps will jell quickly, the underclassmen will chip in right away, and Maclellan will be this year’s Chase Polacek.

Why the Bears will finish as predicted by the coaches poll: The defense won’t be able to bear the burden early, and consistent offense will never fully materialize.

High-end talent gone, but Rensselaer still has high hopes

By Joshua Boyd

October 6, 2011

Rensselaer may be the toughest team in ECAC Hockey to pin down this year. The coaches and the media like them enough to place them fourth and fifth, respectively, in the preseason polls.

However, Rensselaer has lost some mighty talent in the last 12 months, including two-time ECAC player of the year Chase Polacek and two-time All-Star goaltender Allen York.

York signed early with Columbus and stuck in its training camp late into September.

There are big shoes to fill not only in net, where coach Seth Appert expects Bryce Merriam to pick up the torch and run with it, but in terms of losing five of the top 10 scorers last year.

“I think we’re a very different team from last year,” Appert said. “We don’t have the high-end juniors and seniors we’ve had in the past few years. We don’t have the Hobey Baker finalists. It’ll be more offense by committee throughout our lineup.”

That would make Nick Bailen, a returning first-team All-Star, the chairman of this “committee.” He comes off an eight-goal, 36-point campaign from the blue line. RPI will have to watch closely after March or April to see if he’ll be sticking around or also signing a pro contract early.

“He’s one of those dual-threat players. As good as he is offensively, he wins puck battles, blocks shots, and from a power-play perspective, he has the ability to see plays and make high-end passes to free up teammates,” said Appert. “He’s the ultimate competitor and I love having him in the program. Now, we’re hoping he takes another step in his overall game.”

With the recruiting class he has coming in, Appert praised his staff for bringing in born leaders.

“Six of the seven positional players were captains on their teams last year,” said Appert. “These are good players and good leaders from good families. In four years’ time, this may turn out to be the best class we’ve brought here in the five years that I’ve been coaching here.”

About the Engineers

2010-11 overall record: 20-13-5

2010-11 ECAC record: 11-9-2 (tied for fourth)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Fourth

Key losses: F Chase Polacek, F Tyler Helfrich, D Jeff Foss, G Allen York

Players to watch: Junior D Nick Bailen, sophomore F Brock Higgs, junior G Bryce Merriam, freshman F Matt Neal, freshman D Curtis Leonard

Impact rookie: F Jacob Laliberte

Why the Engineers will finish higher than the coaches poll: The super rookies could pile on points a la Polacek, Helfrich and Bailen; Merriam will stabilize the goal picture.

Why the Engineers will finish lower than the coaches poll: No experienced, offensive leaders at forward right off the bat.

New coach Bennett won’t let Union take success for granted

By Joshua Boyd

October 6, 2011

Rick Bennett doesn’t have to look too far back to remember when the Union Dutchmen were not among the ECAC Hockey elite.

“I came in [before the 2005-06 season]. We went .500 that year and it felt like we won the Stanley Cup,” said Bennett, the head coach in his first season at Union after two years as assistant coach and five years as associate head coach for the Dutchmen. “You can definitely see there’s a lot more talent here, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to win games.

“The point we’ve been trying to stress is that we have to work harder, whether we have more talent or less talent,” Bennett added.

Last season, Union enjoyed its best winning percentage in its Division I history (dating to 1991-92). After seasons of 19, 21 and 26 wins, there’s no reason not to expect the Dutchmen to contend for a league title and a national tournament bid once again, especially with seven of its top 10 scorers from 2010-11 back. The coaches liked them so much they gave them the second spot in the preseason poll.

“I’ll let the polls be the polls,” Bennett said. “The polls don’t play, and that’s not a bad thing.”

It’s never easy to lose an Adam Presizniuk, a program cornerstone from 2007 to 2011, nor the goaltender of the year in Keith Kinkaid (a late cut from New Jersey Devils training camp, he’ll start out in Albany this year).

However, with Kelly Zajac, Jeremy Welsh and Daniel Carr combining for 114 points last year, Bennett likes the potential of his group. And it is his group.

“I have to look in the mirror every day because I had a hand in every kid coming into that locker room through recruiting. I like that aspect,” he said. “You never know how your team will perform until you get into the heat of the battle. The transition in practice has been smooth. They’ve worked hard and done everything we’ve asked.”

A young but developing D corps (Nolan Julseth-White is the only senior with significant experience last year) could also be a strength for the Dutchmen in their quest for ECAC dominance.

About the Dutchmen

2010-11 overall record: 26-10-4

2010-11 ECAC record: 17-3-2 (first)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Second

Key losses: G Keith Kinkaid, F Adam Presizniuk, D Brock Matheson, F John Simpson

Players to watch: Senior F Kelly Zajac, junior F Jeremy Welsh, sophomore F Daniel Carr, sophomore D Mat Bodie, junior D Greg Coburn

Impact rookie: F Daniel Ciampini

Why the Dutchmen will finish higher than the coaches poll: Every player will step up for new coach Rick Bennett and to make up for loss of goaltender of the year Kinkaid.

Why the Dutchmen will finish lower than the coaches poll: If green goaltenders don’t work out, that’ll put too much pressure on an only slightly more experienced defensive corps.

Cornell has questions to answer to again earn first-round bye

By Brian Sullivan

October 6, 2011

The most consistently successful team in ECAC Hockey finished the regular season in the top four for the 11th consecutive time, and despite losing top-flight talent year in and year out, Cornell played in the league’s final four for the fourth year in a row.

Coach Mike Schafer’s boys had a tough go of it in the 2010 portion of the schedule — 4-8-1 as of New Year’s Day — but they regrouped and hit 2011 running. First came a three-game winning streak to warm up to the idea, followed shortly thereafter by a six-game unbeaten run to place them firmly in contention for the first-round bye.

Twins Mike and Joe Devin were regular producers in their day, but their graduation will require some new scoring threats … especially to replace Joe’s 17-goal, 27-point senior campaign. Classmate Tyler Roeszler finished second on the team to Joe Devin in goal-scoring (12), and between that trio, the Big Red loses 35 of its 86 goals from last season.

“Obviously [junior] Greg Miller coming back, he was part of that group last year that was leading the offense, so we’re going to lean very heavily on him,” said assistant coach Ben Syer. “A couple guys here, the likes of Sean Collins, who’s a senior now, we’re looking to have him take more of an offensive role than he has in previous years. And with our freshmen group, we have a few guys who have shown they can score at the junior level, whether it be Brian Ferlin or Joel Lowry, just to name a couple. They’ll certainly be given an opportunity to show what they can do offensively right out of the gate.”

Syer continued on the aforementioned rookies: “Ferlin was invited to the U.S. Junior tryout. He obviously had a great year there in Indianapolis, he would be the first guy to come to mind” as a game-ready rookie, he said. “Joel Lowry was obviously a very offensive player and a very good player with Victoria out in British Columbia. I would say that those two guys up front [can be immediate contributors].”

Goaltender Mike Garman graduated after only three years and signed with the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles. That leaves sophomore Andy Iles as the obvious heir to the throne, after the duo split time in net last year. Junior Omar Kanji appears to be the perennial third-stringer, so long as rookie Vincenzo Marozzi justifies his recruitment.

Like so many years before, this team would have the scent of a rebuilding year … if it were any team but Schafer’s; if it were anyone but Cornell.

About the Big Red

2010-11 overall record: 16-15-3

2010-11 ECAC record: 11-9-2 (fourth)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Third

Key losses: F Joe Devin, F Mike Devin, G Mike Garman, F Tyler Roeszler

Players to watch: Junior D Nick D’Agostino, junior F Greg Miller, sophomore G Andy Iles

Impact rookie: F Brian Ferlin

Why the Big Red will finish higher than the coaches’ poll: What Devins? Devin who? Plus Iles inevitably makes like Scrivens, McKee, LeNeveu, Underhill, blah blah blah Dryden, blah blah blah …

Why the Big Red will finish lower than the coaches’ poll: The odds will finally catch up with Schafer & Co., as the goals will simply run dry.

Young Quinnipiac hopes to rise from the middle

By Joshua Boyd

October 6, 2011

The “Kid Corps” at Quinnipiac avoided a total disaster in 2010-11. Considering only one senior (defenseman Zach Hanson) played more than four games, a 6-9-7 record in ECAC play is not so bad.

Bobcats coach Rand Pecknold believes in his young team, which will have four seniors who saw significant time last year. A junior class of 10 dominates the roster, and includes leading goal-scorer Jeremy Langlois (18 last year).

“With 18 freshmen and sophomores, that inexperience at times hurt us. We lost some close games,” said Pecknold. “I’m not sure how much better we’ll be, but we will be better. Last year, our issue was scoring goals. We just couldn’t finish at times, but we do have kids with a good track record of putting points up.”

Scott Zurevinski enters 2011-12 as the team captain after leading the Bobcats in scoring last year (14 goals and 25 points in 39 games).

“He had a solid year [in the regular season] and then he was awesome in the playoffs,” said Pecknold. “He has the ability to be a dominant power forward at this point.”

Langlois and the Jones twins (Kellen and Connor) will also be expected to lead the team offensively.

“Langlois is a great player, and the Jones twins generated something every shift,” Pecknold said. “I’ve seen it already this year. They just look better.”

He’s also expecting an offensive boost from a strong recruiting class including Matthew Peca, who scored 119 points in 120 career games in the Central Junior Hockey League and helped the Pembroke Lumber Kings win the Canadian Junior A national championship.

In net, Eric Hartzell uses his 6-foot-4 frame to great success. He had a dominant year in 2011-12, taking third in the league in save percentage (.927).

“He has great feet, he moves well, he works hard every day in practice,” said Pecknold. “I believe Dan Clarke will have a bounce-back year in net.”

The Bobcats also welcome NHL veteran Steve Valiquette as their goaltending coach and former Hobey Baker Award candidate for Quinnipiac, Reid Cashman, as an assistant coach.

About the Bobcats

2010-11 overall record: 16-15-8

2010-11 ECAC record: 6-9-7 (tied for seventh)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Sixth

Key losses: D Zach Hansen

Players to watch: Senior F Scott Zurevinski, junior F Jeremy Langlois, sophomore F Connor Jones, sophomore F Kellen Jones, junior D Loren Barron, senior G Eric Hartzell

Impact rookie: F Matthew Peca

Why the Bobcats will finish higher than the coaches poll: Hartzell will have an even better year than last year; another year of experience for a young team will work wonders, offensively.

Why the Bobcats will finish lower than the coaches poll: There’s “energetic” youth and then there’s a lack of experience, and the Bobcats are still young and finding their way.

Playoff run could give Harvard push into new season

By Brian Sullivan

October 6, 2011

When you have two seven-game losing streaks separated only by a win over Army, you’re probably having a bad year.

That was the case for Harvard as last January came to a close: losers of 14 of 15, ultimately to become 17 of 19 following yet another first-round Beanpot defeat. The Crimson had mustered fewer than three goals in 17 of its 22 games to date. Fortunately for the Crimson, the ECAC loves a redemption story.

Like Colgate — and to a lesser extent, Cornell — Harvard picked itself up off the mat just in time to throw a few roundhouse blows before the playoffs. Down goes Boston University in the Beanpot consolation. Down goes Cornell at Lynah, five days later. Pop, pop, pop: Brown, St. Lawrence and Clarkson each took it on the chin in the last three tilts of Harvard’s regular season.

The price of a miserable winter came due with a trip to Potsdam to open the playoffs, but Harvard stunned the Knights with a prompt two-game sweep. The team looked good to secure another upset the following weekend with a Game 1 win at Dartmouth, but a 2-1 overtime result and a 4-3 squeaker in Game 3 didn’t fall its way.

“We felt we finished pretty strong at the end of the season. We were a bounce away from making the final four in Atlantic City,” said coach Ted Donato. “We feel that we have some real key guys returning, first and foremost with Danny Biega, who led our league in [league defensive scoring] last year, and is one of the top scorers in the league returning, period. Alex Killorn, who I felt in the second half of the season was as good as anybody in our league, up front, scored 15 goals last year.”

Biega’s 11-19–30 line will earn him a lot of attention in this, his junior year. He and the rest of the team are hoping that someone beyond Killorn will step forward with some timely strikes, as none of the other returners registered more than seven goals last time out.

With the graduation of goaltenders Kyle Richter and Ryan Carroll, the Crimson crease is a point of intense concern. Donato hopes that a highly regarded rookie out of Glastonbury, Conn., will be able to stand and deliver sooner rather than later.

“Steven Michalek could be an impact player for us at the goalie position,” Donato said. “The goaltending position — not only at Harvard, but across the league — it seems like every year we’ve got three or four high-end goaltenders returning, and this year some of the top goalies have left,” Donato stated. “I think it’s definitely a question mark for us. [Sophomore] Raphael Girard played one game for us last season, and Steve Michalek — although highly touted — has not played at this level. He’s young, he’s only 18 years old, but he’s also a guy who was one of four or five guys invited to the World Junior tryouts this summer, so he is highly regarded and capable of having an impact for us.”

There are an awful lot of variables on this edition of the Harvard Crimson, but there’s no need to re-invent the wheel. Donato & Co. just need to give this one a push in the right direction.

About the Crimson

2010-11 overall record: 12-21-1

2010-11 ECAC record: 7-14-1 (10th)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Seventh

Key losses: F Michael Biega, D Chris Huxley, G Kyle Richter, G Ryan Carroll

Players to watch: Senior F Alex Killorn, junior D Danny Biega, junior F Alex Fallstrom

Impact rookie: G Steve Michalek

Why the Crimson will finish higher than the coaches poll: Michalek will rise to challenge Dov Grumet-Morris as Harvard’s best goalie of the young century, and the goals will come in time.

Why the Crimson will finish lower than the coaches’ poll: Harvard’s young talent struggles with the league’s steep learning curve, and puts itself into another deep hole by midseason.

Yale fields roster deep in talent, but goaltending in spotlight

By Joshua Boyd

October 6, 2011

Go ahead and try to find a reason why Yale shouldn’t have swept the ECAC preseason coaches and media polls.

Astounding freshmen coming in? Check. Scoring depth? Got it. Goaltending?

Wait, what was the last one? Oh, goaltending. Yeah, that could be a reason. After all, with the departure of Ryan Rondeau to graduation, that leaves the Bulldogs with 29 total games of experience and only five last year split between juniors Jeff Malcolm and Nick Maricic.

Training camp will continue to be interesting through October, as Connor Wilson comes in after being a workhorse over 54 games for the United States Hockey League’s Chicago Steel.

“We’ll wait and see when we get on the ice who warrants the right to play,” said coach Keith Allain, who in his sixth year behind the bench hopes to lead Yale to a fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance.

“We graduated nine players last year, and we’re bringing in eight freshmen,” he added. “Although obviously we’ll have some different players than last year, I expect to once again have a hard-working, competitive, fast team. We have some excellent upperclassmen returning, and our staff has done an excellent job of reinforcing us with recruits.”

The team’s two top scorers from 2010-11, senior captain Brian O’Neill and junior Andrew Miller, are not only back, but both earned spots on the coaches and media preseason all-conference teams. Throw in sophomores Kenny Agostino and Jesse Root, junior Antoine Laganiere and senior Kevin Limbert and you realize opponents will have to dig pretty deep to find any weaknesses in the forward lines. It’s a good bet they may not find any such weak spots.

“Depth is one of the things that made us an effective hockey team the last few years. We have two lines that can score, at the very least, and we look to maintain that consistency,” said Allain. “Last year, we had some really good players who had a hard time cracking the lineup. This year, hopefully, those guys advance, and they’ll be pushed by the freshmen.”

About the Bulldogs

2010-11 overall record: 28-7-1

2010-11 ECAC record: 17-4-1 (second)

2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): First

Key losses: G Ryan Rondeau, F Broc Little, F Denny Kearney, F Chris Cahill, D Jimmy Martin, D Mike Matczak

Players to watch: Senior F Brian O’Neill, junior F Andrew Miller, sophomore F Kenny Agostino, senior D Kevin Peel, freshman D Trent Ruffolo, freshman F Nicholas Weberg

Impact rookie: D Matt Killian

Why the Bulldogs will finish higher than the coaches poll: Can’t do better than first, but they need to bring a young defense and inexperienced goalie trio up to speed to make it happen.

Why the Bulldogs will finish lower than the coaches poll: See above, regarding three goalies with 29 total college games between them. Someone will need to take the crease and run with it early on.