Dartmouth is like the Nashville Predators of ECAC Hockey: it doesn’t generate a whole lot of attention most of the time, yet every time you turn around, there it is, hanging around the top of the hill. It’s a credit to veteran coach Bob Gaudet and his staff that he can regularly draw the talent they do to a place that seems so similar to Cornell: a non-Princeton/Harvard/Yale Ivy in a small town in the middle of nowhere, in an older rink with a seasoned coach and Harvard as your rival.
The credit, of course, is for the fact that there’s already a Cornell in ECAC Hockey, and the original is pretty good in its own right. And yet, here we are: Dartmouth’s still a contender, too.
“We’ve got a very deep team in terms of numbers and ability,” said Gaudet. “I think Doug Jones is a very unheralded guy — a really, really outstanding player both offensively and defensively. Matty Lindblad is a guy that reminds me of one of our really good players from a few years back, Mike Ouellette. Lindblad is a skilled guy, has excellent offensive ability, and is a very reliable defensive player. He’s stronger this year. There’s another gear to him, and I think we’re going to see that this year. I think he’s an NHL-caliber player. He’s going to be a key player for us.”
Lindblad finished last season — his first in Hanover — tied for second on the team in goals (13) and fourth in points (28). Adam Estoclet’s 16 goals and Scott Fleming’s 13 will certainly be missed, but having Lindblad, senior Nick Walsh and junior Dustin Walsh (10 goals each last year) should help settle the nerves a bit in the Granite State.
A newcomer from down the road already has Gaudet drooling, and reminds the coach of one of his former players, now skating with the Winnipeg Jets.
“Brandon McNally from Belmont Hill is going to be a fabulous player at the collegiate level,” Gaudet said. “He’s a big, strong guy — he’s a 6-[foot-]2, 185-pound kid that can score. He reminds me a bit of Tanner Glass, initially, because he plays really hard and has an outstanding skill level. Good kid, too, very down-to-earth.”
The goaltending looks sound from the get-go, as James Mello posted stellar stats en route to a 17-9-3 junior season. It’s a new year in New Hampshire, where the Green are looking golden.
About the Big Green
2010-11 overall record: 19-12-3
2010-11 ECAC record: 12-8-2 (third)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Fifth
Key losses: F Scott Fleming, F Adam Estoclet, F Matt Reber, D Evan Stephens, D Joe Stejskal
Players to watch: Senior F Doug Jones, senior G James Mello, junior F Dustin Walsh, sophomore F Matt Lindblad
Impact rookie: F Brandon McNally
Why the Big Green will finish higher than the coaches poll: Mello has a career year, Lindblad continues to improve despite extra attention, and the supporting cast makes the most of the space.
Why the Big Green will finish lower than the coaches poll: Sophomore slump strikes Lindblad, another key scorer misses significant time, and/or Mello goes out with a whimper.
It appears that the Joneses may be the ones trying to keep up this year.
With the commencement of the Casey Jones era in Clarkson hockey comes a season of long odds and immediate challenges. The Golden Knights lost more than just their seniors last spring, as top-tandem blueliner Mark Borowiecki also bid adieu to Potsdam with a year of eligibility still remaining. Combined with the graduation of Bryan Rufenach, the Knights are out an elite defensive pairing. Add to that the departure of snipers Brandon DeFazio (with his team-leading 14 goals) and Scott Freeman (second, with 10) — who alone combined for nearly a quarter of Clarkson’s goals last year — and you’ve got some pretty sizeable roles to fill.
“Obviously, from the outside looking in, there are some pieces of the puzzle that left last year,” said Jones, who took over for George Roll following three years under Cornell coach Mike Schafer. “Some of our scorers, some of our defensemen, obviously that would cause some concern. I think our strength will be our team speed, but, again, from the outside looking in, we might see a limitation that we’re going to have to develop our defensive corps. But overall, I’m excited about where we’re at right now.”
The one area of continuity for ‘Tech will be in goal, as senior goaltender Paul Karpowich hopes to play a little more like he did last fall, and less like he did last winter. Karpowich won six straight games to close out the 2010 calendar year (as the team as a whole won six of seven), but he — and the Knights — won only five more times following the holiday break.
Clarkson’s top returning forwards include seniors Jake Morley (6-15–21) and Nick Tremblay (9-11–20) as well as sophomore Allan McPherson (8-15–23). Far from slowing the game down as his defense matures, though, Jones anticipates a quick, high-pressure, and dynamic style for his new team.
“We’re going to be a puck-pressure team and we’re going to play an up-tempo style. I’ve been really impressed with our skating skills. We certainly want to use our speed,” he said. “Our guys have been responding very well in the preseason here, for what our coaching staff has asked of them. We have some nice pieces of the puzzle in place.”
As for that young defense, Jones said, “I think it’s a development spot for us, I want to clarify that. We have some veteran guys back there that are going to have to be mainstays for us, in [junior] Nik Pokulok and [sophomores] Alex Boak and David Pratt. They played a lot of minutes for us and bring a lot of experience … and it’s going to be important for them to hit the ground running.”
Look for a man of miniature stature to make some enormous contributions on the back end, too. Five-foot-7, 182-pound rookie defenseman Sam Labrecque was pegged as perhaps the most “game-ready” of Jones’ incoming class.
“Sam Labrecque is probably the most ready of our group to play a role,” Jones said. “With his stick skills and his vision, you probably have the most influential impact initially. He’ll have the opportunity to play in some special-teams situations as a freshman; we feel strongly about that. I think coming out of the gate, he’s done it before so I think that will transpire. For the most part, his skating skills and puck skills are at a high level, so it seems like the game has slowed down immediately for him here.”
New coaches have made powerful impressions in recent years — see Gadowsky, Allain, Whittet, and Appert — and Jones has the pedigree to know what’s what. How soon he can imprint his players with that knowledge is what will determine Clarkson’s immediate future.
About the Golden Knights
2010-11 overall record: 15-19-2
2010-11 ECAC record: 9-12-1 (seventh)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): 11th
Key losses: F Brandon DeFazio, F Scott Freeman, D Bryan Rufenach, D Tom Pizzo, D Mark Borowiecki (jr.)
Players to watch: Senior G Paul Karpowich, senior F Jake Morley, senior F Nick Tremblay, sophomore F Allan McPherson
Impact rookie: Sam Labrecque
Why the Golden Knights will finish higher than the coaches poll: Karpowich will steady the ship right away, the defense will mature early and the offense will play as fast as hoped.
Why the Golden Knights will finish lower than the coaches poll: No one will emerge to replace Rufenach and Borowiecki, leading to quick team and goaltender fatigue.
There will be different voices calling the shots on the bench for St. Lawrence, though Joe Marsh’s influence will be felt on each line change, goal and win for the Saints.
Due to a medical leave, this is the first time since 1985 that the Saints will start a regular season without Marsh on the bench. Associate head coach Mike Hurlbut is ready to take on the challenge.
After a couple strong years from 2008 to 2010, the Saints dropped back in the standings last year to 11th place with a 6-15-1 record (13-22-5 overall).
“We’re obviously looking to improve upon last year’s record. It was a little bit deceiving,” said Hurlbut. “We played a little bit better down the stretch.”
The Saints upset Princeton in the first round of the 2011 playoffs and defeated Yale in the first game of a three-game series they eventually lost.
Greg Carey, he of 40 points in 40 games as a freshman last year, found his way onto the ECAC preseason media all-conference team, though was missing from the coaches’ team. All eyes will be on him to potentially improve on those numbers, especially paired up with junior Kyle Flanagan.
“With 23 goals, he got a lot of attention, league-wise and nation-wise, as he should,” said Hurlbut. “He’s a good all-around player. Putting Carey with Kyle was a combination in our minds before the season even began. When Greg got open, he scored, and he does a great job of getting open.”
The Saints have plenty of other top talent coming back, such as forwards Jeremy Wick and Jacob Drewiske and defensemen George Hughes and Pat Raley.
“George had a great learning season, and once he regained his footing, he had a really solid second half,” said Hurlbut. “We’re getting good leadership from Drewiske and both Raley and Wick both had good freshman years down the stretch.”
The Saints are also excited about welcoming in Nelson Armstrong, the Ontario junior league’s runner-up for rookie of the year.
“He’s a very mature 17-year-old. He looks like he’s 21 or 22,” said Hurlbut. “He’s the type of player who likes to be involved in the rush and he’ll complement our returning defensemen well.”
About the Saints
2010-11 overall record: 13-22-5
2010-11 ECAC record: 6-15-1 (11th)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Ninth
Key losses: F Aaron Bogosian, F Sean Flanagan
Players to watch: Sophomore F Greg Carey, junior F Kyle Flanagan, sophomore D George Hughes, sophomore G Matt Weninger
Impact rookie: D Nelson Armstrong
Why the Saints will finish higher than the coaches poll: Didn’t lose too many impact players, and they are bringing in a sweet recruiting class.
Why the Saints will finish lower than the coaches poll: A 5-2 loss to Canada’s Carleton in exhibition doesn’t bode well for how the team will work without Marsh’s guiding voice.
In the wake of the most tumultuous summer in college hockey history, even insular ECAC Hockey has a few changes to adjust to.
Gone is George Roll, fired by Clarkson and now coaching at new Division III program Nazareth in Rochester, N.Y. Gone is Guy Gadowsky, who hopes to replicate his Princeton successes with Penn State in the much tougher Big Ten. Gone is Nate Leaman, who ducked out of Union mid-contract to take on a new rebuilding challenge at Providence. Gone, too, after their junior seasons, are Rensselaer’s Allen York and Clarkson’s Mark Borowiecki. Sophomore Keith Kinkaid jumped ship at Union just before Leaman’s departure.
Replacing the coaches are Clarkson’s Casey Jones, an assistant under Mike Schafer at Cornell last year; Princeton’s Bob Prier, who worked for St. Lawrence and Joe Marsh for the past nine years; and Union’s Rick Bennett, who was promoted from assistantship. That’s the easy part.
The hard part is figuring out who will replace the prematurely departed trio, not to mention the dozens who compose the newest class of ECAC Hockey alumni. Flag-bearing Yale lost a half-dozen top-flight players to graduation. Rensselaer, Princeton, Dartmouth and Union each lost nearly as many, and the programs that appear to be starting this season with the greatest continuity may also have the most to prove. Quinnipiac, Brown, Colgate and Harvard may have bid adieu to the fewest significant contributors, but following mediocre (at best) campaigns in 2010-11, will the loss of any production be too much to overcome?
James Mello and Dartmouth could compete for the league title (photo: Shelley M. Szwast).
As Harvard coach Ted Donato pointed out during the league’s preseason conference call, this is also a bit of an odd year in the ECAC for another reason. In a conference that traditionally boasts strong defense and elite goaltending, at least five of last year’s top 10 goalies are out the door: York and Kinkaid signed early; Cornell’s Mike Garman graduated in three years and left Ithaca with a year of eligibility remaining; and Ryan Rondeau (Yale), Ryan Carroll and Kyle Richter (Harvard) each picked up their sheepskins following four years of service.
It’s just another year in ECAC Hockey, where trying to make predictions feels like finding the image inside a 3D picture is another 3D picture. Where will the dominos fall this year? We don’t know, but we’ll give it a shot. (Note: Sullivan made the predictions, so spare Boyd your acid while he acclimates to the new territory.)
Some football pundits once mused that Matt Cassel might have been the second-best quarterback in the nation during his collegiate career at USC, but since he played behind Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, he never saw the light of day. Yale may very well have a stable full of Cassels, who can finally see some ice now that Broc Little, Denny Kearney, Chris Cahill, Jimmy Martin, Mike Matczak and Rondeau have moved on.
The Big Green lost some important cogs, but goalie James Mello returns after a tremendous junior year with arguably as much talent in front of him as he’s ever seen. The degree of improvement necessary for Dartmouth to claim another first-round bye looks minimal.
If they could earn a bye with the team they had last year, I see no reason why they can’t improve to third this year. This is now firmly goaltender Andy Iles’ team; it’ll be up to his buddies to find the goal support. It’s an axiom of ECAC punditry: You don’t pick against Mike Schafer.
This was a tough position to pick — well, at least as tough as any of them — because I have doubts about all of last year’s remaining “good” teams, and optimism about the “not-so-good” ones. To me, a top-four finish to kick off the Bennett era will have to be considered a success. The team knows how to win, but adjusting to life under Bennett — and without Kinkaid in the net — likely will take some time.
The Bobcats are a great unknown at the moment. They lost very little, but whether they will improve enough individually and capitalize on their cohesion is the big question mark. Another strong season by junior goalie Eric Hartzell — or an equitable rise by senior Dan Clarke — will go a long way toward securing a top-half finish.
Losing Gadowsky, Mike Kramer, Kevin Lohry, Taylor Fedun, Matt Arhontas and Cam Ritchie is bad. League coaching veteran Prier being welcomed by returning snipers Andrew Ammon, Rob Kleebaum, Andrew Calof, Derrick Pallis and Eric Meland is good. As is the two-headed goaltending monster of Sean Bonar and Mike Condon.
Having legendary bench boss Joe Marsh out of commission raises serious concerns in the early going, but the Saints return a number of tenacious and talented players who already understand Marsh’s systems and know what it takes to get the job done. Enjoy sophomore Greg Carey while you can, because if he can put up numbers anywhere close to last year’s 23-17–40 totals, he’ll be pitched some pieces of paper with big numbers separated by lots of commas by late April.
A strong finish last spring demonstrated an ability to win; the beginning of this year will quickly indicate how strong the Crimson’s desire is to make winning habitual. Donato’s immediate concern will be on goaltending, as both of last year’s starters are out the door, but another, less tangible issue has been Harvard’s annual fancy for a first-semester slide. The Crimson have cratered at one point or another in each of the last five falls.
Boy, oh boy, did the Engineers get whacked on graduation day — plus that York fella taking off for greener ($$) pastures. This year’s roster doesn’t feature a single player who has scored at least 10 goals in an NCAA campaign, nor a goalie who has played more than 420 minutes of college hockey in a season. All that said, there is ample potential in the ‘Tute locker room, and — as the buttons proclaim — I believe in Seth Appert. Avoiding a first-round road trip should be considered a small accomplishment at this point.
A team that was pegged for big things last year accomplished just that: a program-record 14-game winless void (0-13-1), followed by a truly baffling 8-4-1 rebound that carried it all the way to Atlantic City. The Raiders lost two major scorers in Brian Day and Francois Brisebois, but seem to have perfectly able replacements in the wings (no pun intended) by way of Austin Smith, Robbie Bourdon, Kurtis Bartliff and Chris Wagner. Day 1 should be considered the first day of their redemption march.
Harry Zolnierczyk wasn’t universally beloved, but you couldn’t deny him the respect he deserved for his pure scoring ability. Jack Maclellan will need someone, or a few someones, to step up and fill the gap in production that Zolnierczyk left behind. Bruno could certainly achieve well more than a second-to-last finish this season, but inconsistency has been the name of the game in Providence ever since Yann Danis left the Hill. And with all due respect to senior goalie Mike Clemente, he’s no Yann Danis.
Losing the top defensive pairing of Bryan Rufenach (graduated) and Mark Borowiecki (signed with the Ottawa Senators) will be a big early-season blow to a team that hasn’t had a whole lot of success recently. Nearly a third of last year’s goals have graduated, a new coach needs time to implement and habituate new systems, and this is not an easy league in which to learn defense on the fly. It’ll be interesting to see how ‘Tech looks in the opening weeks, compared to how it’ll look in March.
What’s to be said about the 2011-12 Colgate Raiders?
How about that there’s nowhere to go but up?
That backhanded compliment is all but literal, as the last iteration of Raiders hockey set program records for futility with eight- and 14-game winless slides, no league wins until the first week of February, and no wins by that point against opponents not named Sacred Heart or Army.
Yet as so often happens in our utterly inexplicable conference, the ‘Gate fanned its last remaining ember in early February into something resembling an inferno, going 8-4-1 over its next 13 games and knocking off playoff opponents Rensselaer and Union in the process. The miracle run ended with an utterly explicable 4-0 setback at the hands of Yale in Atlantic City, followed by a dispiriting 5-3 loss to Dartmouth in the consolation game.
“The bulk of our team is back, and expecting our defense to shore itself up. We got all of our D corps back with the exception of [graduate] Wade Poplawski,” said longtime coach Don Vaughan. “We do have a pretty good group of guys returning who we’re expecting to play as they did in the last six or eight weeks of [last] season.”
As disappointing a season as Colgate had last year, by most standards, they still possessed a couple of elite scoring threats in Brian Day and Francois Brisebois. Their time has passed now, though, as the newly minted alumni pass the torch on to a new pack of goal-hungry predators.
“Our scoring is going to have to come from other places than Brisebois and Day, since they’re no longer with us,” Vaughan said. “We’re looking to guys like Chris Wagner and Austin Smith and Robbie Bourdon and Kurtis Bartliff to pick up the slack, and I think offensively that’ll be the group that will carry the load for us, with the addition of a couple of very skilled forwards from the freshman class. Joey Wilson, John Lidgett and Daniel Gentzler will all see time early, and we’re looking for them to contribute as well.”
Wagner and newcomer Wilson earned extra attention from Vaughan in his preseason assessment: “Wagner … had a good year last year. He’s a big, strong guy, he had a great camp in Anaheim with the [NHL] prospects, and that was a great experience for him. He’s in a real good place physically — he’s as healthy as he’s ever been, he’s stronger, and I think he’ll be one of the premier players in our league in the not-too-distant future. He’s someone that we really like, and someone that others will start to take note of. He’s going to be on all situations — power play, penalty killing, and he’ll probably be on our top line with Austin Smith.”
“Joey [Wilson] has got explosive speed,” Vaughan said. “He’s a beautiful skater, he’s got a real pro stride, and he’s played with the developmental team. He actually had an opportunity to play against us in a game with the Under-18 team, and I think he had a goal in that game. That was two years ago. He just seems more ready than a couple of the other guys. I could see him starting the season on the wing with Wagner and Smith; I think those guys can help bring him along, maybe sooner rather than later.”
In the way back, sophomore Eric Mihalik and senior Alex Evin ought to be fighting for minutes from the get-go, as each has been a No. 1 netminder in the past two years.
Over the offseason, Vaughan and his returning Raiders made a team trip to Italy and Switzerland, where the team did a little sightseeing, a little practicing and played a handful of games against the local teams. A great team-building experience, of course, but will the payoff be best measured in francs or lire? The Raiders hope that the excursion has bought them a bit of a head start, but as they now know, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
About the Raiders
2010-11 overall record: 11-28-3
2010-11 ECAC record: 4-15-3 (12th)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): 10th
Key losses: F Francois Brisebois, F Brian Day, D Wade Poplawski
Players to watch: Senior F Austin Smith, junior F Kurtis Bartliff, junior F Robbie Bourdon, sophomore F Chris Wagner, sophomore G Eric Mihalik
Impact rookie: F Joey Wilson
Why the Raiders will finish higher than the coaches poll: This year’s team will show that last year’s results were completely unrepresentative of Colgate’s talent and ability.
Why the Raiders will finish lower than the coaches poll: Brisebois and Day will have proven even more valuable than their stats indicated, and confidence will never coalesce in Hamilton.
No one has to tell coach Bob Prier how much is riding on the Princeton name every hockey season.
After all, the name on the university’s home ice says everything about the history, honor and privilege involved in pulling on the Tigers colors: Hobey Baker Rink.
Prier, who was an assistant coach and associate head coach with St. Lawrence from 2002 to 2011, takes over a clean, well-stocked house from Guy Gadowsky, who left to help the new Penn State program to its Division I start next year.
“The outlook is extremely positive. I’m very excited to get started here. There was a lot of momentum that Guy and his staff started up,” said Prier. “We have six of our top 10 scorers from last year, and an exceptional goalie tandem, returning. We’re operating on a bit of adrenaline.”
With several top talents at all positions, Prier expects his team to remain near the top of the power-play heap (22.8 percent, ninth in Division I last year) and for the Tigers’ forwards to keep up their hunger (37.3 shots per game versus 27.6 for its opponents).
“I’m extremely fortunate to inherit a team like this,” Prier said. “The meat-and-potato type of power play, 37 shots per game — those are things I can utilize and build on. At the same time, I’d like to shore things up defensively.”
Opponents will be watching closely where Andrew Calof goes on the ice. The Nepean, Ontario, -born sophomore won the ECAC rookie of the year award last year, scoring 33 points in 32 games (23 points in 22 league games).
“Andrew is the type of kid who will set his goals extremely high,” said Prier. “He is someone who is now known very well throughout the league, and the challenge for him is that he’s such a known commodity [that teams will be marking him closely]. He looks at it as a great challenge. He had a great summer, he worked hard and he is coming back in fantastic shape. We’re fortunate to have him on this club.”
About the Tigers
2010-11 overall record: 17-13-2
2010-11 ECAC record: 11-9-2 (tied for fourth)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Eighth
Key losses: F Mike Kramer, F Kevin Lohry, D Taylor Fedun, F Matt Arhontas, D Cam Ritchie
Players to watch: Sophomore F Andrew Calof, senior D Derrick Pallis, junior F Eric Meland, junior D Michael Sdao
Impact rookie: F Aaron Kesselman
Why the Tigers will finish higher than the coaches poll: Strong power play; high shots on goal numbers; returning with experience at top of the scoring chart.
Why the Tigers will finish lower than the coaches poll: Growing pains with a new coach’s systems and tactics; struggle to get it going at home rink.
Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna said Wednesday was a very historic day with the announcement that Notre Dame will join the conference in 2013.
It turned out to be another day where realignment rumors were confirmed, but is this it for how Division I college hockey conferences, at least Hockey East, will look two years down the road?
“People will also speculate and write things on the Internet, but right now, nothing else is in progress,” said Bertagna. “It’s been a long summer and even with Notre Dame coming to our conference in 2013, there are still some minor details to be worked out. I can’t say much now, other than everything will be official in a few weeks’ time.
“From a logistics standpoint, we’d like to have an even number of teams and it’s not our goal to have a contrived number of teams,” said Bertagna. “That’s our guiding principle.”
And while it appears on the surface that the Irish moving to Hockey East was an idea that seemingly gained legs in just the past few weeks, Bertagna said it’s actually been bandied about longer than that.
“We had casual conversations in the spring and we were nothing more than passive partners,” Bertagna said. “We knew Notre Dame had three options for ’13 and that was to play as an independent, go to that national league or come join Hockey East. Notre Dame viewed an interest in coming here and we started talking more. It ended up being a seamless conversation.”
Notre Dame will be the 11th team in Hockey East, and that in itself will lead to talk that another team will be joining Hockey East or one may be on the move. Bertagna wouldn’t comment on speculation, but did say why Notre Dame was chosen to be the westernmost member of Hockey East.
“This sport will look significantly different in two years,” Bertagna said. “It’s safe to say that not a whole lot of schools would consider the move [to Hockey East]. It’s big for our conference any time we can grow. This is the first time we’ve ever had a school out of New England, but I think that we’re combining two strengths that will benefit both sides.”
That said, even with a TV deal with NBC Sports starting in 2013, Notre Dame did have some concerns before hooking up with Hockey East.
“Notre Dame wanted to make sure that scheduling wouldn’t compromise any of their student-athletes’ academics,” Bertagna said. “We ensured them that the scheduling would meet their needs. They’ll only make five trips a year.”
Speaking of road trips, Bertagna said that while it should be exciting for Notre Dame to venture East for away games, it will also be a thrill for Hockey East schools to make the trip to the Midwest.
“If you look at our recruiting 25 years ago and you look at past Hockey East rosters, we had predominantly New England and Massachusetts players,” said Bertagna. “Nowadays, we recruit across the country in places like California, Texas, Missouri, everywhere, and even get players from the U.S. national program. A lot of our schools have newer buildings and I think it will be a great experience when our schools go to Notre Dame and play in that amazing building [Compton Family Arena] I saw today.”
Still, amid all the excitement of the past few months, Bertagna has to take a step back now and then to realize what is in fact happening.
“A few years ago, I was at the coaches’ meetings down in Naples and we started hearing rumors of a ‘super league,'” said Bertagna. “Personally, I didn’t see the benefits and thought it was more of an overreaction to what would potentially happen with the Big Ten. Now that it’s happened, I want to see how it all plays out. Penn State joining Division I is great for our sport as it is any time you can add a team, but I just hope everyone has a place to play. It looks like Alabama-Huntsville is the only one without a home, and I hope they find a place to play soon.”
Bertagna added that he and other commissioners are heading to Grand Forks this weekend for the Ice Breaker to scout new Michigan State coach Tom Anastos, the former CCHA commissioner.
“We want to see how Tom does,” said Bertagna, perhaps tongue-in-cheek. “We want to see if he’ll give hope to more commissioners leaving their jobs to be head coaches.”
Should that come to fruition, that, too, would be a historic day in college hockey.
Here’s your latest look at what the Division I men’s college hockey conferences will look like in 2013-14, when realignment comes around. Bowling Green has committed to the WCHA and Notre Dame has said it’s going to Hockey East, which gives everyone from the current CCHA a new home.
ATLANTIC HOCKEY (12 teams, unchanged)
Air Force *
American International #
Army *
Bentley #
Canisius *
Connecticut *
Holy Cross *
Mercyhurst #
Niagara *
Rochester Institute of Technology ^
Robert Morris *
Sacred Heart *
BIG TEN (6 teams, new)
Michigan (from CCHA) *
Michigan State (from CCHA) *
Minnesota (from WCHA) *
Ohio State (from CCHA) *
Penn State (from independent) *
Wisconsin (from WCHA) *
ECAC HOCKEY (12 teams, unchanged)
Brown *
Clarkson ^
Colgate *
Cornell *
Dartmouth *
Harvard *
Princeton *
Quinnipiac *
Rensselaer ^
St. Lawrence ^
Union ^
Yale *
HOCKEY EAST (11 teams, adds 1)
Boston College *
Boston University *
Maine *
Massachusetts *
Massachusetts-Lowell #
Merrimack #
New Hampshire *
Northeastern *
Notre Dame * (from CCHA)
Providence *
Vermont *
NCHC (8 teams, new)
Colorado College (from WCHA) ^
Denver (from WCHA) *
Miami (from CCHA) *
Minnesota-Duluth (from WCHA) #
Nebraska-Omaha (from WCHA) *
North Dakota (from WCHA) *
St. Cloud State (from WCHA) #
Western Michigan (from CCHA) *
WCHA (9 teams, loses 8, adds 5)
Alaska (from CCHA) #
Alaska-Anchorage #
Bemidji State #
Bowling Green * (from CCHA)
Ferris State (from CCHA) #
Lake Superior State (from CCHA) #
Michigan Tech #
Minnesota State #
Northern Michigan (from CCHA) #
INDEPENDENT (1 team)
Alabama-Huntsville #
* – Schools at Division I level in all sports (38, 64 percent)
# – Schools at Division II level in most sports but Division I for hockey (15, 25 percent)
^ – Schools at Division III level in most sports but Division I for hockey (6, 10 percent)
Now we’re on the lookout for the next moves. Does Hockey East find a 12th member? Does Alabama-Huntsville survive its internal battle and find a conference home? What of Minnesota State-Moorhead and Buffalo, two schools that have indicated an interest in playing Division I hockey?
The NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee announced Wednesday the four regional sites for the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
The four sites and regionals, being held March 29-31, include the East Regional in Providence, R.I.; Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H.; Midwest Regional in Toledo, Ohio; and the West Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Brown will serve as hosts for the East Regional and New Hampshire will host the Northeast Regional. Bowling Green will host the Midwest Regional and Michigan will host the West Regional.
“The committee has placed an emphasis in the regional rounds on neutral-site buildings with NHL-size ice surfaces,” said committee chair and Wisconsin associate AD Sean Frazier. “All of these facilities meet those standards and we feel the arenas and hosts will be able to provide a tremendous championship opportunity for the student-athletes.”
The 2013 Frozen Four will be held April 11 and 13 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.
According to people who have time to claim an expertise in such things, the ancient Mayan civilization predicted that 2012 will bring a giant shift for humanity. Some claim that Armageddon is approaching, that when our sun aligns with the center of the Milky Way on the solstice in December 2012, civilization will cease to be.
Relax, people. Yes, the end is near — but not that near. Sure, there were uncharacteristic earthquakes and floods this past summer, but do those signs point to The End of Times? Don’t we have a better predictor of the end, handed to us by the offseason realignment?
For CCHA fans, the end of the world as we know it comes not Dec. 21, 2012, but a few months after that, whenever that last game of the 2012-13 season is played by a current CCHA member team.
Until then, though, there are two full seasons of CCHA hockey ahead and the hockey should be memorable for more than its finite nature. Call it divinity, call it fate — call it great recruiting and coaching, if you must — but every sign points to sizzling hockey in the CCHA’s immediate future.
Judgment day
For the past five years, the CCHA has been well represented in the Frozen Four. After Michigan State took the 2007 title, Miami, Michigan and Notre Dame each made two Frozen Four appearances, with the Wolverines and Fighting Irish twice playing in the same year — including last season, when each ended its campaign with a loss in St. Paul, Minn., to first-time champions Minnesota-Duluth.
The Irish lost to the Bulldogs in a national semifinal game last April, and two days later the Wolverines lost the national title when UMD’s Kyle Schmidt got by goaltender Shawn Hunwick at 3:22 in overtime.
Each team lost by one goal, and each team will be motivated by disappointing ends to great seasons — which is good news for CCHA fans.
“I’m excited about their enthusiasm,” Irish coach Jeff Jackson said of his squad, picked first by the coaches and media in preseason. “I think they recognize that regardless of what we actually accomplished, we didn’t really win anything and there is a lot of work yet to be done. The most important thing right now is to be focused for our first game.”
In addition to filling out half of the 2010-11 Frozen Four field, the CCHA boasted three of the nation’s top four scorers — all of them RedHawks. Hobey Baker Award winner Andy Miele and classmate Carter Camper are gone, but junior Reilly Smith remains. Miami returns an experienced, talented, veteran team whose mission is to return to the Frozen Four for the third time in four years and win it this time.
It’s no surprise that Notre Dame, Miami and Michigan were Nos. 1, 2, and 3 in both the coaches and media preseason polls, nor should it be any surprise that both the RedHawks and Wolverines received votes for the top spot in each poll.
Signs and wonders
Once again, CCHA fans, we have another outdoor game planned. Now that both Michigan and Michigan State have hosted outdoor games, how could Ohio State stand to be left out of the cold, so to speak?
Progressive Field in Cleveland will host Ohio State and Michigan for outdoor hockey on Jan. 15, 2012 (photo: Cleveland Indians).
This year’s CCHA outdoor offering has been dubbed the Frozen Diamond Faceoff and will be played Jan. 15, 2012, in Progressive Field in Cleveland. Please note that Cleveland and Columbus are not interchangeable, and the professional sports team that calls Progressive Field home is the Cleveland Indians, who play baseball.
Because we need another outdoor game in a venue that isn’t designed for hockey, and we need one in a city that doesn’t have a college hockey team.
“I don’t think we’re that excited right now,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said. “I know we agreed to this game because I’m a big proponent of outdoor games when they’re in large venues and it can be good for college hockey.
“This event in Cleveland is going to be surrounded by a winter carnival atmosphere. I think it’ll be more than just a hockey game, and hopefully it becomes a real special event. But right now, we’re more focused on our early season games than we are than the game in January.”
Nice to see a coach focused on the task at hand. Surely, as the season begins, Ohio State coach Mark Osiecki has a little more enthusiasm for this big, marquee event.
“It’s down the road a ways, so we really haven’t had much of an opportunity to talk about it,” said Osiecki. “Just my personal experience, I’ve been to a couple of the outdoor games and it’s a great experience for everybody, not only for the players, but for everyone involved.
“You look at the game last year in Ann Arbor and it was phenomenal, and I think that it will continue to help college hockey grow and open people’s eyes to the product that we have.”
Twists of fate
The league welcomes two new coaches to the CCHA, and each new hire was surprising and interesting.
First came Tom Anastos, the former league commissioner who was hired to replace Rick Comley at Michigan State. It’s an interesting hire because Anastos is an MSU alum … whose last collegiate coaching experience came as a Spartans assistant in 1990-91.
Anastos said the transition from commissioner to coach has gone smoothly. “The only real surprise is when I transitioned into the role, I didn’t know the players particularly well other than from afar, watching them play,” he said.
“The biggest surprise, there’s real good leadership on the team. Guys who have emerged as leaders are really strong leaders. But there’s also lots of leadership among the players we have. Guys did a good job of working together in their offseason training on their own.”
Andy Murray brings NHL coaching experience to Western Michigan (photo: Gary Shook).
The other new head coach is Western Michigan’s Andy Murray, who brings 10 years of NHL head coaching experience to the job. He replaced Jeff Blashill, who left the Broncos after just one season as head coach to become an assistant for the Detroit Red Wings.
Murray certainly understands the role that chance played in bringing him to Kalamazoo.
“They [the Broncos] were in 11 overtime games last year,” said Murray. “They had a Ferris State defenseman that fell down after Ferris had some great scoring opportunities that allowed them to go to Detroit … otherwise, maybe Jeff Blashill’s not in Detroit and I’m not here right now. That’s just the way the game works.”
Indeed, that is the way the game works — and the game is more than just what happens on the ice, as we saw clearly this past summer.
Here are my picks for the penultimate CCHA season. Click on a team’s name to get to its preview.
Quotable: “We’ve got some shoes to fill,” coach Jeff Jackson said. “That group of seniors last year did an incredible job as much off the ice as on, and that’s the dynamic you’re not sure of right now.”
Quotable: “Hopefully we can continue to improve daily, which is a part of our culture here at Miami, and hopefully we will be playing our best hockey at the right time,” coach Enrico Blasi said.
Quotable: “We need players like Chris Brown, Kevin Lynch, A.J. Treais, who all are junior forwards, to have big years for us,” coach Red Berenson said.
Quotable: “Certainly there was a standard set here last year,” coach Andy Murray said. “Coach Blashill did a tremendous job and Coach Facca and Coach Ferschweiler, with the help of players, obviously got this program going in a positive direction.”
Quotable: “Once you’re involved in a program or a family, you really look forward to the growth and success,” coach Walt Kyle said. “We all want to do well, and there’s lots of ways to measure your success.”
Quotable: “The most important thing is to find an identity for our team, and that will take a little time,” coach Tom Anastos said. “Our desire is to try and attack as much as we can offensively and defensively.”
Quotable: “Bringing in 13 new players, 12 freshmen and one junior transfer … we’re going to have a lot more gray hair and certainly will have to show a lot of patience,” coach Mark Osiecki said.
Quotable: “We’re pretty experienced in the back end and a lot of the sophomores now that were freshmen last year played pivotal roles and I expect them to take their games to the next level,” coach Jim Roque said. “We have some pretty good leadership with our seniors.”
Quotable: “Of the 19 young people that we’re going to have in our lineup most nights, most don’t have experience,” coach Chris Bergeron said. “The brand or the model isn’t solidified yet so they’re looking for someone to lead the way and we’re still trying to figure each other out.”
At the start of the 2009-10 season, Notre Dame was picked second in both the CCHA coaches and media preseason polls. After all, the Fighting Irish had gone to the Frozen Four the previous April. Expectations should have been high, right?
Well, that season ended unceremoniously with a sweep at the hands of Ohio State in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. The following fall, at the start of the 2010-11 season, Notre Dame welcomed a large freshman class and hoped for the best — and ended its season at the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn., last April.
“We’re a pretty young team and what they accomplished last year is quite a credit to them, especially not knowing what kind of contributions we were going to get from so many young players,” said coach Jeff Jackson. “So it was certainly rewarding for me, probably one of my more rewarding coaching experiences in my career.”
It is rumored that the coach smiled more than once last season, although reports of outright laughter may be exaggerated.
This season, the Irish have been given the top spot in both the CCHA coaches and media preseason polls plus the preseason USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. Jackson wants to make sure that some aspects of history do not repeat.
“Going into this year,” said Jackson, “my eyes are wide open expecting a lot of those players to come back and not just have the same level of success but to try to improve on it, both from an individual perspective and a team perspective. During poll season, getting recognized is great as long as you don’t internalize it. My focus is going to be on the anticipation of the season as opposed to expectations.”
Good omens
Not only does Notre Dame return a flat-out talented team, but the Irish bring back nearly everybody from a year ago. Jackson said that the strength of the team is its diversity up front.
“I’m relying on the fact that we are going to get great production out of a number of different guys,” said Jackson. The Irish had the 10th-best scoring offense in the nation a year ago, averaging 3.43 goals per game. Freshman T.J. Tynan led the Irish and all freshmen nationally in scoring with 54 points. His classmate Anders Lee, though, led all rookies nationally in goal production with 24, one more than Tynan scored. That’s 47 goals between two players who are both returning.
And they’re not alone. The Irish return five of their six double-digit goal scorers from a year ago, including senior Billy Maday, whom Jackson plans to move from wing to center. “I also think that a number of the sophomores like Mike Voran, Bryan Rust, David Gerths [and] Jeff Costello can all be more productive for us this season,” said Jackson.
What spells doom?
There are a couple of things that may derail the Irish this year, not the least of which is how a young team will react to such a spectacular 2010-11 campaign.
More tangible, though, is defense. Jackson has said repeatedly that the Irish have an undeserved reputation for being a defensive team, and in fact Notre Dame had just the 24th-best defense in the nation last year, allowing 2.75 goals per game on average — with the 39th-best penalty kill (80.7 percent). And someone — either junior Mike Johnson (2.62 goals against average, .904 save percentage) or sophomore Steven Summerhays (3.04, .863) — has to shore up the net.
About the Fighting Irish
2010-11 overall record: 25-14-5
2010-11 CCHA record: 18-17-3-2 (second)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Sixth
Key losses: Forwards Ryan Guentzel and Calle Ridderwall; defenseman Joe Lavin
Players to watch: Forwards Anders Lee, Billy Maday, Riley Sheahan, T.J. Tynan; defensemen Sam Calabrese and Sean Lorenz; goaltender Mike Johnson
Impact rookie: Forward Peter Schneider
Why the Fighting Irish will finish higher than the coaches poll: Given where they’ve been picked, the only thing the Irish can do to exceed expectations is to get both houses of Congress to work together toward a better America. Can they do that? Well, they do return a really good hockey team.
Why the Fighting Irish will finish lower than the coaches poll: Given how young this team still is, the Irish are capable of falling into the it-was-all-so-easy-last-season trap.
To say that Michigan State had a disappointing season in 2010-11 would not capture fully the sentiments of those in and around East Lansing. The Spartans, picked third by the media last season and fourth by the coaches, never seemed to get off the ground in any meaningful way. It took them until the end of the regular season to sweep a conference opponent — to sweep any opponent — and those two wins were over last-place Bowling Green, which MSU beat by the combined score of 4-1.
Even before that, though, coach Rick Comley announced his departure and the hunt for a new head coach was under way.
To say that the hiring of Tom Anastos, the then-CCHA commissioner who hadn’t coached at the college level in two decades, was a surprise could not capture fully the actual sentiments of those in and around college hockey.
Clearly, the recent past in Munn Arena was predicting something that MSU athletic director Mark Hollis wasn’t keen to see realized. This isn’t merely a coaching change in East Lansing; this is an attempt to re-brand Michigan State hockey.
Good omens
The Spartans have real talent and the team is largely without ego — both good things when there is rebuilding to be done. The most solid position on this MSU team last season was goaltending, and that doesn’t look to change.
Drew Palmisano and Will Yanakeff each saw time in net last season, with Yanakeff’s numbers and win percentage the slightly higher of the two. Anastos said that Palmisano is “one of the real leaders” of this year’s team while characterizing Yanakeff’s game as “emerging.”
“He’s demonstrated that he has a very high talent level,” said Anastos. “He got some game time last year. I would expect his game time to grow. He’s a big guy, very well fit, very competitive and a very good skill set.”
While the Spartans struggled offensively last season — they had the 35th-best offense in the country, averaging 2.58 goals per game — there is firepower on the team. Torey Krug was 14th nationally among defensemen in scoring; forward Brett Perlini had 18 goals.
“I’ve been really impressed with Torey in all fronts,” said Anastos. “He loves being a Michigan State hockey player. He loves Michigan State. He’s a passionate leader. His teammates really respond to him.
“I expect Brett Perlini to have a breakout year. He’s in excellent physical shape. He’s gotten leaner and quicker over the course of the summer. He’s real motivated to have an excellent senior season. He wants his team to have lots of success and hopefully position himself where he’ll be an NHL signee at the end of the season.”
What spells doom?
“The most important thing is to find an identity for our team, and that will take a little time,” said Anastos, oddly echoing what Comley said for the previous two seasons. Rebuilding with a new coach necessarily takes time, but that identity can’t emerge soon enough for folks in East Lansing.
“There’s no secret we’re going to have to try and find a way to manufacture some offense,” said Anastos, “or find some guys to emerge as offensive threats for us.”
About the Spartans
2010-11 overall record: 15-19-4
2010-11 CCHA record: 11-15-2-0 (10th)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Eighth
Key losses: Forwards Dustin Gazley and Derek Grant
Players to watch: Forwards Brett Perlini and Daultan Leveille; defenseman Torey Krug; goaltenders Drew Palmisano and Will Yanakeff
Impact rookie: Forward Matt Berry
Why the Spartans will finish higher than the coaches poll: With a new coach and new methods can sometimes come new enthusiasm and new success.
Why the Spartans will finish lower than the coaches poll: There may be a steep learning curve for coaches and players this season, coupled with a team that was already struggling in every category that counts.
Ferris State tends to run in the middle of the pack, and last season was no exception. In spite of first-team All-American goaltender Pat Nagle, the Bulldogs finished in fifth place — just one step above where the media picked them and two steps ahead of what the CCHA coaches predicted.
It is something to have the nation’s fifth-best defense, as FSU did a year ago, allowing 2.21 goals per game. It something else, however, to have the 47th-best offense in the nation, averaging less than 2.5 goals per outing.
Bulldogs coach Bob Daniels is looking to shore up an offense that boasted one 10-goal scorer with more production from junior wingers Eric Alexander and Kyle Bonis.
“Their defensive prowess they have shown, and they can play both ends of the rink very well,” said Daniels. “But we are going to ask them to step up and be a little bit more selfish, if you will, and get on the score sheet more. We think they have the ability to do it so we are going to press them to be a little more offensive minded this year.”
Good omens
Gone are Nagle and Zach Redmond, the defenseman who had a monster senior season last year, but Daniels is confident that senior Taylor Nelson can provide stability for the blue line from the Bulldogs net.
“He split time for a year and half with Pat Nagle,” said Daniels. “If you look at his numbers, they are not too dissimilar to Pat’s numbers. [Nelson] ranks third all-time in save percentage and goals against average in the Ferris hockey program history so it’s not like the cupboard’s bare.
“We are putting in Taylor. If anything, it kind of hurt Taylor a year ago when he only played four games and I think his confidence was shaken by that. We feel pretty comfortable in net and he is going to be pushed by C.J. Motte as well, a freshman.”
What spells doom?
“A year ago we led the nation in penalty kill,” said Daniels. “It’s something we take great pride in but now we have really rolled over some key components. I think that is the area that it may show up in the most.”
How much of last year’s solid defense was Nagle and a blue line led by Redmond? That’s something that remains to be seen.
Daniels is fond of reminding the media at the start of every season that one of his favorite questions of his own team is, “Where are the goals going to come from?” This year, Daniels didn’t remind anyone of his perennial question — because those goals didn’t materialize last season, as they seem to in so many other campaigns. If the Bulldogs can’t find the net this year, it may be a very long season, indeed.
About the Bulldogs
2010-11 overall record: 18-16-5
2010-11 CCHA record: 12-12-4-3 (fifth)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): ninth
Key losses: Forwards Mike Embach and Mike Fillinger; defensemen Zach Redmond and Scott Wietecha; goaltender Pat Nagle
Players to watch: Forwards Travis Ouelette and Matthew Kirzinger; defenseman Brett Wysopal; goaltender Taylor Nelson
Impact rookie: Goaltender C.J. Motte
Why the Bulldogs will finish higher than the coaches poll: This team has the potential to build on last season with its remaining talent, especially if the goal is solidified.
Why the Bulldogs will finish lower than the coaches poll: This team has the potential to prove that those key players from a year ago were the ones who made it all work.
After back-to-back Frozen Four appearances in 2009 and 2010, Miami was eliminated in the first game of the 2011 NCAA Northeast Regional after looking unstoppable in the second half of the season. The RedHawks had captured their first CCHA tournament title a week earlier by demolishing Western Michigan, another team that was rolling.
The loss was the first for the RedHawks in 14 games, their fourth of the calendar year. During their 13-game unbeaten streak, the ‘Hawks had outscored their opponents 55-21. Their season ended with a 3-1 loss to New Hampshire.
“We’ve been playing on a such a high for so long,” said head coach Enrico Blasi. “We weren’t ready to play. But let’s not take anything away from this senior class.”
Those seniors included Hobey Baker Award winner Andy Miele as well as Carter Camper, Pat Cannone and Justin Vaive, who netted 66 of Miami’s 146 total goals, or just a hair over 45 percent.
The departure of all that firepower is a bit daunting, but don’t think that the RedHawks aren’t capable of reloading — or that a superb run to a conference title is what they’ll remember most from last season.
Good omens
Perhaps the best news for RedHawks fans is that Miami’s dynamic goaltending duo of Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard returns for one last season. Each had a save percentage number that was slightly down last season from the year before, but no one wants to face either of them in net.
“They are a huge part of our program,” said Blasi. “They have won a lot of games back there. Nothing has really changed at this point.”
The two have split time nearly evenly in their three years in Oxford, and Blasi doesn’t think that’s going to change. “As coaches we can only do what they allow us to do and right now they are allowing us to play both of them,” he said. “They are unbelievable as far as preparation. They are focused and ready to go and we will have to make decisions from week to week.
“I think we have proven in the past that we are not afraid to go with either one at a particular time. They make our job difficult and yet they help each other as far as challenging themselves. It’s a pretty good, healthy competition they have going.”
What spells doom?
It’s hard to say what could spell doom for a team as talented as Miami. Reilly Smith returns as the team’s leading scorer — he was one of the top four scorers in the country last season — and the RedHawks return many offensive threats.
“We have a cast of veteran forwards that will look forward to hopefully stepping up and provide more offense,” said Blasi. “Guys like Curtis McKenzie, Alden Hirschfeld and Trent Vogelhuber are guys that are proven now and will now have some more ice time that maybe they haven’t had in the past. Its an opportunity for them to step up.”
With depth at every position, perhaps the only thing that can sink the RedHawks is the RedHawks.
About the RedHawks
2010-11 overall record: 23-10-6
2010-11 CCHA record: 16-7-5-2 (third)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Second
Key losses: Forwards Carter Camper, Pat Cannone and Andy Miele
Players to watch: Forwards Alden Hirschfeld and Reilly Smith; defensemen Will Weber and Chris Wideman; goaltenders Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard
Impact rookie: Forward Blake Coleman
Why the RedHawks will finish higher than the coaches poll: Sure, the RedHawks lost three of the nation’s top four scorers, but don’t think that this team can’t reload immediately — and don’t forget about that tandem in goal.
Why the RedHawks will finish lower than the coaches poll: The only thing that can undo the RedHawks is the RedHawks.
“In all my years at Michigan,” said coach Red Berenson, “I’ve never proclaimed to be an expert on goalies.”
At the start of the season, in his usual fashion, the CCHA’s master of understatement hit upon what few people dared question openly. For the first half of the 2008-09 season, the Wolverines were struggling in front of goaltender Billy Sauer but finding success when Bryan Hogan was in the net, even though the two goalies had nearly identical numbers.
Two seasons later — last year — Berenson was once again rotating goaltenders, with Hogan and Shawn Hunwick splitting time. Hunwick was the guy who came in for an injured Hogan in late February 2010 after playing only 18 minutes in his career. Hunwick took the Wolverines to a Mason Cup and nearly brought them to the 2010 Frozen Four. Michigan’s 2009-10 season ended with a 3-2 double overtime loss to Miami in the Midwest Regional final.
In the first half of the 2010-11 season, Hogan and Hunwick again split time in net until Hogan was injured during the warmups before the Big Chill at the Big House. Hunwick shut out the Spartans in that outdoor game 5-0, and he took the Wolverines all the way to the 2011 national championship game.
Berenson, the guy who’s no expert on goalies, said that the Wolverines brought in Hunwick “as our third goalie, with no promise to ever play and no expectations to ever play.” Last April in St. Paul, Minn., Berenson said, “He was the reason we were in that game.”
Note to the Wolverines: Ride this fifth-year senior for as long as you can.
Good omens
Michigan is one of those teams that should never be underestimated. Look at Hunwick, a walk-on third stringer. “When he got a chance to play and he got a little confidence and realized the team was behind him 100 percent,” said Berenson, “he became a much better goalie and he just continues to improve with confidence and experience.”
The same can be said of any number of Wolverines players who have done the proverbial stepping up in recent years. A team that once modeled itself after an elite European style of play has become a formidable, hard-working, blue-collar squad from which heroes — like last season’s Scooter Vaughan, who went from defense to offense — always emerge.
Berenson said he’s looking at Chris Brown, Kevin Lynch, and A.J. Treais to fill offensive voids left by graduating seniors. Lynch had 11 goals last year; Brown and Treais each had nine. David Wohlberg is the team’s returning lead scorer. “Scoring will probably be by committee rather than one or two players,” said Berenson.
What spells doom?
There are several things that can hamper Michigan this season. The team may fail to find its scoring chemistry and struggle early on. The team may also rely too much on Hunwick as the season progresses.
The defense is fairly experienced, but one guy who was expected to help lead it, Jon Merrill, will be out for 12 games for violating team rules. Berenson had high praise for Merrill before the season began, but the loss of Merrill doesn’t leave the Wolverines bereft of blue line talent.
“Greg Pateryn will also be a rock solid defenseman for Michigan,” said Berenson. “Lee Moffie came out strong last year and became a real offensive threat as the year wore on and scored some key goals for us. Mac Bennett had a strong freshman season and he looks like he’s ready to really take a big step this year.”
About the Wolverines
2010-11 overall record: 29-11-4
2010-11 CCHA record: 20-7-1-0 (first)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Third
Key losses: Forwards Louie Caporusso, Carl Hagelin, Matt Rust and Scooter Vaughan; defensemen Brandon Burlon and Chad Langlais
Players to watch: Forwards Chris Brown, A.J. Treais and David Wohlberg; defenseman Jon Merrill; goaltender Shawn Hunwick
Impact rookie: Forward Zach Hyman
Why the Wolverines will finish higher than the coaches poll: They drove themselves all the way to Detroit, and from Detroit to St. Paul. It doesn’t hurt that Red Berenson is their navigator.
Why the Wolverines will finish lower than the coaches poll: Chemistry can be a funny thing, especially in Ann Arbor.
Things did not go as planned for Chris Bergeron last season in his first year as Bowling Green’s coach.
“I think I made too many assumptions last year, personally,” said Bergeron. “I need to do a better job of developing relationships with these young guys where you can develop them through recruiting and when they get here you just carry on. Well, I didn’t have a chance to recruit most of these guys, in particular, the guys from last year.”
The guys from last year recorded the worst offense in the nation (1.80 goals per game) the 36th-best defense in the nation (3.00 goals allowed per game), a power play that converted 10.3 percent of the time, and a penalty kill that was effective at a rate of 81.6 percent.
While the team ended its season with two lopsided losses to Michigan in the second round of the CCHA playoffs, the Falcons did manage to eliminate Northern Michigan in Marquette the week before.
“I’m hoping that experience will help our guys with their confidence,” said Bergeron. “We found ways for bad things to happen in situations [last season] where we could have won games. Northern had nine more league wins than we did but our season series we went 3-3-1 so we’re pretty close. I hope that was a small step in that belief in the building of our culture and foundation.”
Good omens
There are several things working in Bergeron’s favor this season. One is the capable goaltender Andrew Hammond, who played behind Nick Eno last year. “He’s a very mature young guy and he takes that approach on a daily basis,” said Bergeron. “He’s very good at talking about where his game is, where he is physically, mentally. On top of that, knowing there’s plenty of room for improvement. He has the physical capabilities of being as good as any goalie in this league.”
Another plus for Bergeron and Bowling Green is the 10-member freshman class. That’s 10 guys who don’t remember last season.
“We have a chance to mold them within the foundation and culture that we’re trying to create. This year’s 10 recruits, with the exception of one, chose Bowling Green I hope on the basis of that culture.”
What spells doom?
The rookies aren’t the only ones who are young. The Falcons plan to play three freshmen defenders every game, and in addition to the newcomers, there are nine sophomore on the BG roster.
“You can’t teach experience,” said Bergeron. “Of the 19 young people that we’re going to have in our lineup most nights, most don’t have experience. The brand or the model isn’t solidified yet so they’re looking for someone to lead the way and we’re still trying to figure each other out.
“We want to teach experience every day and you can’t. You’ve got to live it. It’s going to sound like an excuse but it isn’t. It’s a fact. We’re young.”
About the Falcons
2010-11 overall record: 10-27-4
2010-11 CCHA record: 3-21-4-2 (11th)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): 11th
Key losses: Forwards Jordan Samuels-Thomas and David Solway; goaltender Nick Eno
Players to watch: Forwards James McIntosh, Brett Mohler, and Marc Rodriguez; defenseman Jake Sloat; goaltender Andrew Hammond
Impact rookie: Defenseman Marcus Perrier
Why the Falcons will finish higher than the coaches poll: Ten new players who don’t carry the baggage of the culture before Chris Bergeron arrived, and remaining players committed to improve.
Why the Falcons will finish as picked in the coaches poll: Ten new players, a developing culture, lingering defensive issues and no Nick Eno.
Alaska finished the 2010-11 season with a weak second-half record that contained as many lopsided games as close ones. Goal-scoring inconsistency was certainly the issue with an otherwise strong team.
The Nanooks were outscored 91-89 on the season with the 50th-best offense (2.34 goals per game) and the 48th-best power play in the nation. Only three Nanooks hit the 10-goal mark last year, but two return this season. One of them is Andy Taranto.
“We look for Andy Taranto to come in and be a guy that leads in that department as well as Cody Kunyk,” said coach Dallas Ferguson. “I think there are some other guys that we need them to take the next step as far as scoring goals, guys like Nik Yaremchuk, Jarret Granberg, Colton Beck and Carlo Finucci. I think those six forwards there have a chance to create some offense and put some numbers on the board so we’ll look for them to lead in that department.”
Good omens
The Nanooks know they’ll get solid goaltending from senior Scott Greenham. Ferguson said that Greenham made great strides during his junior season, a year in which he played every single minute of record in Alaska’s net. In fact, he’s made 77 straight starts for UAF.
“You knew he was going to give you a chance to win every night,” said Ferguson, “and there’s certainly a comfort factor with the rest of the team knowing that your goaltender is going to be on and he’s going to give you his best performance every night. But moving forward, he’s not content with what our team has done over the last couple of years and … there’s more to do and more to give from his part as far as he is concerned.”
What spells doom?
The Nanooks defense is a little young, with three freshmen expected to rotate in. Only two seniors will lead from the blue line, Scott Enders and Aaron Gens. “I like our group and when those guys [Enders and Gens] came in we had five freshman defensemen in a group of eight so they have been there before. Scott and Aaron both worked hard this summer and they are ready to make their senior season the best season that they have had as Nanooks.”
About the Nanooks
2010-11 overall record: 16-17-5
2010-11 CCHA record: 10-13-5-3 (seventh)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Fifth
Key losses: Forwards Derek Klassen and Kevin Petovello; defensemen Bryant Molle and Joe Sova
Players to watch: Forwards Cody Kunyk, Andy Taranto and Nik Yaremchuk
Impact rookie: Forward Michael Hill
Why the Nanooks will finish higher than the coaches poll: This Alaska team may have surprising firepower, and there’s always goaltender Scott Greenham.
Why the Nanooks will finish lower than the coaches poll: The consistency bug may be tagging along for the ride this year, again.
When Mark Osiecki took over as head coach at Ohio State last season, he was brutally honest about what he had inherited from the John Markell era.
“I think on the big picture of our program, we’re able to move out 11 seniors and bring in new culture and bring these kids in at a relatively young age,” is what Osiecki told the press at the start of the 2010-11 season. “Obviously, we’d like to have some more youth this year, but at least next year you can bring in some youth and create that culture that we’re talking about here.”
This year, Osiecki gets his wish with a slew of new players. He’s also able to reflect more completely on his inaugural year.
“Going through last year with an upperclassmen team, it probably turned their world upside down with a change,” Osiecki said just before this season began. “It’s just that all of a sudden, it’s a change for a lot of kids for a long period of time where we’re coming in and doing a 180 for them. I thought the kids handled that really well, and for the most part they wanted to learn and were like sponges and absorbing everything, but at some point you just kind of hit a wall with everything that we’re asking them to do.
“Now you turn the page, and bringing in 13 new players, 12 freshmen and one junior transfer, and now we’re going to have a lot more gray hair and certainly will have to show a lot of patience.”
Last season’s Buckeyes struggled to find consistency and they could barely buy a goal — 2.57 goals per game on average, 37th-best in the nation — but they never quit and they had one of the best netminders in the country in Cal Heeter.
Good omens
As a junior last year, Heeter had a career season, with numbers (2.30 goals against average, .923 save percentage) that far surpassed anything he’d done before with OSU.
“Last year,” said Osiecki, “we thrust him in there pretty much the whole year, and we’re hoping that he can come back and do similar things. It is going to be tough to match some of the stats he had, and he gave us the opportunity to be in every single game.
“The best thing that can happen for us is that he plays the majority of the games, but we’re able to throw a Brady Hjelle in there and give Cal a rest every once in a while. But you’ll see Cal play a majority of our games and he’s earned that right.”
Hjelle, a junior who played two seasons with Minnesota-Duluth, helped the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders win the USHL regular-season championship with a record of 40-8-5, a 2.21 goals against average and .923 save percentage.
What spells doom?
An inexperienced offense. That could spell doom.
“We don’t have a lot of returning players,” said Osiecki. “Some of the kids did not see much ice time, and I’m not sure if they’ll continue to see any ice time or get that opportunity yet. A lot of these kids were recruited walk-ons.”
About the Buckeyes
2010-11 overall record: 15-18-4
2010-11 CCHA record: 10-14-4-2 (ninth)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Seventh
Key losses: Forwards John Albert, Peter Boyd and Sergio Somma; defenseman Shane Sims
Players to watch: Forwards Danny Dries, Cory Schneider and Alex Szczechura; defenseman Sean Duddy; goaltender Cal Heeter
Impact rookie: Forward Max McCormick
Why the Buckeyes will finish higher than the coaches poll: After a year of growing pains under a new head coach, the Buckeyes know what is expected of them. It doesn’t hurt that Cal Heeter is in net.
Why the Buckeyes will finish lower than the coaches poll: This is a team that struggled last year to find its new team identity, and while OSU is talented, that chemistry may not be there yet — especially up front, where the improvement is most needed.
Lake Superior State limped into the CCHA playoffs last season with a three-game run of lopsided contests in which it was outscored 17-4. That capped a second half during which the Lakers registered five ties — one more than their total of second-half wins.
Yet they went on to sweep Ohio State at home in the first round of the CCHA playoffs before taking Notre Dame — a team that went on to the Frozen Four — to three games in South Bend during the league’s quarterfinal round.
Inconsistent? Yes, which is typical of a young team. LSSU had 11 freshmen last season, and one of them outperformed every freshman in the league in his position in the 2010-11 season.
“If you would have told me Kevin Kapalka would have been an all-rookie goalie last year with a bad shoulder from where he was when he came in,” said coach Jim Roque, “I would have said no way.”
Kapalka’s goals against average (2.34) was solid, but he had the ninth-best save percentage in the country (.924) with four shutouts in 32 games.
Good omens
Kapalka got the shoulder surgery he needed in the offseason, and that begs the question: If he was that good injured, what’s he going to be like when he’s healed?
“Probably the best thing for him is that he finally got his shoulder repaired,” said Roque. “It popped out a couple of times last year so now it’s healthy and 100 percent. He’s skating, training and working out. Now it’s just a matter of him not putting too much pressure on himself and our team not relying for him to bail us out.
“The thing about Kevin is that he’s pretty modest and a pretty humble kid. He’s an excellent student, and I haven’t seen anything that would tell me that he’s cocky or just expects to be good. He’s still working very hard, and wants to prove that last year was no fluke and have another great season this year.”
Kapalka’s workaday attitude meshes with the culture that Roque has built in Sault Ste. Marie, which is pure blue collar.
What spells doom?
That reliance on one or two good players, for example.
“I think our team as a whole at the end of the year kind of really leaned on Rick Schofield and Will Acton to be the guys,” said Roque. Schofield and Acton are gone, along with their 26 goals.
“We need more guys to contribute this year. I think we have the potential for six, seven or eight guys to have pretty solid seasons for us, including Domenic [Monardo].”
Monardo had 12 goals, and he and Schofield were the only two Lakers players to register 10 or more. “I think Monardo has established himself as a player who will come in and score,” said Roque. “And I also think a guy that has to bounce back is our captain Fred Cassiani, who’s a senior. He had a good last six weeks last year, and we hope that he can keep it up for a whole season.”
About the Lakers
2010-11 overall record: 13-17-9
2010-11 CCHA record: 8-12-8-5 (eighth)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): 10th
Key losses: Forwards Will Acton and Rick Schofield; defenseman Kyle Haines; goaltender Brian Mahoney-Wilson
Players to watch: Forwards Fred Cassiani, Kyle Jean and Domenic Monardo; defenseman Kyle Haines and Zach Trotman; goaltender Kevin Kapalka
Impact rookie: Forward Kelin Ainsworth
Why the Lakers will finish higher than the coaches poll: This team is as hard-working a team as any in Division I hockey, and Kevin Kapalka should not be underestimated.
Why the Lakers will finish lower than the coaches poll: The Lakers have as hard a time as any in D-I hockey scoring goals and winning close games.
The 2010-11 season ended in an uncharacteristic way for Northern Michigan — in Marquette, after losing two of three to Bowling Green in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. It was just the second time in nine years under coach Walt Kyle that NMU had failed to advance to the CCHA championship tournament.
It may have been uncharacteristic and certainly being beaten at home by the league’s last-place team wasn’t something expected, but it was hardly surprising given the second half the Wildcats produced — and that was uncharacteristic, too. In recent seasons, NMU has struggled out of the gate and finished up strong. In 2010-11, though, the ‘Cats played competently at first then fizzled; NMU went 5-8-1-1 in CCHA play in the second half of the season.
The main problem? Scoring. The Wildcats had the 52nd-best offense in the nation, averaging 2.33 goals per game.
Good omens
The good news is that NMU returns most of the scoring it did have a season ago. Andrew Cherniwchan, Justin Florek and Tyler Gron — all seniors this year — led the Wildcats in scoring last season and registered 39 goals between them, or 42.8 percent of the team’s markers. Kyle said the trio proved itself last season.
“Florek has, for his entire career, has been one of the best players we’ve had every day,” said Kyle. “Cherniwchan has been as well. I don’t think their true value comes in offensive output. It comes in a lot of other areas of the game. We expect them to score and continue to have their game grow in other areas.
“Gron has exceptional offensive ability. He’s the one guy we have who’s real dangerous around the net. He finds a way to find loose pucks and put them in. We’d like him to balance his game out a little bit and continue to score and for those numbers to improve this year.”
Kyle also has confidence in defensemen Scott Macaulay and Kyle Follmer, both juniors this season.
“Both of those guys are real good players that had real good years a year ago,” said Kyle. “They were sophomores a year ago and were asked to bite off a bunch of minutes. They got a ton of experience. My opinion, they’re real underrated players. They have tremendous offensive ability and they’re ready as juniors to have breakout years and impact the game offensively.”
What spells doom?
Aside from the question of goal production, the Wildcats are still looking to solidify their goaltending. “We think we have two guys that are still growing and getting better at the position,” said Kyle.
Reid Ellingson, a senior this year, saw the bulk of time in net last season, but Jared Coreau played significant minutes. Neither had stellar goals against averages, but that may have more to do with the defense in front of them; each had solid save percentages.
Kyle said that Ellingson has “more ability, more room to grow” and that Coreau has yet to play consistently well. “At times he was spectacular and at other times he stumbled a little bit,” Kyle said.
“We feel that position has the potential to be a strength for us,” he said. “As far as how I’m going to use them, they’re going to split early and after that I think it’s pretty black and white who’s getting the job done.”
About the Wildcats
2010-11 overall record: 15-19-5
2010-11 CCHA record: 12-13-3-0 (sixth)
2011-12 predicted finish (coaches poll): Sixth
Key losses: Forwards Phil Fox and Greger Hanson
Players to watch: Forwards Andrew Cherniwchan, Justin Florek and Tyler Gron; defenseman Kyle Follmer; goaltender Reid Ellingson
Impact rookie: Forward Dylan Walchuk
Why the Wildcats will finish higher than the coaches poll: The core of this team is tested and tough and undoubtedly wanting to put the second half of 2010-11 behind it.
Why the Wildcats will finish lower than the coaches poll: This is a team that was underachieving in every category last season, and if the Wildcats start slowly, they may not have enough to pull the second-half recovery they were accustomed to prior to last season.
