Senior goaltender Chad Beiswenger has been a key ingredient to Superior’s success this season (photo: Matthew Webb).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
With Beiswenger in net and three strong defensive pairings, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s highly unlikely the Yellowjackets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 defense will crack any time soon.<\/p>\n
The Superior offense is no slouch either, ranking second in scoring in the NCHA. Its 4.41 goals per game are also good for ninth best in the nation and the Yellowjackets rank third nationally in scoring margin, winning by an average of 2.36 goals per night.<\/p>\n
One of Superior\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s main strengths up front is its balanced attack. The Yellowjackets currently lay claim to five 20 point scorers, but none have more than 27. Juniors Braden Desmet and Chris Wilson lead the Yellowjackets with 12 tallies apiece, while senior Kevin Huck leads the team with 18 assists.<\/p>\n
A pair of sophomores — Logan Isley and Talon Berlando — as well as senior Seth Reda help to fill out the chamber on Superior\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s scoring revolver.<\/p>\n
Another boon for the offense this season has been improved production on the power play. The Yellowjackets struggled with the man advantage the past few years, scoring at a 16.4% clip a year ago, 14.6% the year before and a paltry 12.2% in 2005-06.<\/p>\n
While not setting the world on fire, they have continued to improve and are currently converting 20.9% of their power play chances, a definite upgrade over recent years.<\/p>\n
Overall, it is not an exaggeration to say this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s version of the Yellowjackets has no discernable weaknesses. On top of that, despite being a point back in the NCHA race, they are in the enviable position of controlling their own destiny.<\/p>\n
Their three remaining games are at home: after hosting Eau Claire and Stevens Point they close out the season by welcoming national No. 2 St. Scholastica to their barn. Win out and the regular season NCHA title, as well as home ice throughout the playoffs, is theirs.<\/p>\n
In a league as combustible as the NCHA, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easier said than done to string three wins together against teams that were nationally ranked as recently as a week ago.<\/p>\n
That said, there is certainly no reason to think the Yellowjackets cannot lay claim to their first NCHA regular season title since 2001.<\/p>\n
After all, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done nothing to suggest otherwise.<\/p>\n
UP in the Valley<\/h4>\n As MSOE and Lawrence were discussed last week, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time to take a look at the other two teams jammed up in the race for second through fifth in the league: Finlandia and Marian.<\/p>\n
It was a short two seasons ago that Finlandia dethroned the Milwaukee School of Engineering from its MCHA perch, defeating the Raiders to win the MCHA Harris Cup. Just last season the Lions finished third in the regular season, but made it all the way to the MCHA finals before coming out on the short end of a 1-0 overtime loss to Adrian.<\/p>\n
The strength of those Finlandia teams was a large crop of talented and experienced upperclassmen. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a little bit different of a story this year, as the Lions lost 12 players to graduation and two more to the professional ranks. All told, those 14 accounted for 205 of the Lions\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 291 points last season.<\/p>\n
With so many new faces, the Lions have struggled at times this season. They currently stand in fifth place in the MCHA at 7-7-2, five points behind MSOE for fourth place.<\/p>\n
According to Lions\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 head coach Joe Burcar, losing so much firepower from a year ago has been a large hurdle to overcome.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We lost some pretty gifted players and probably around 80% of our offense,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Burcar said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Overall, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably a combination of losing that many guys and bringing in such a large group.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Not that injuries haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t taken their toll on the Lions.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153At the same time we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a lot of injuries this year,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d explained Burcar. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been hit pretty hard this year, but I see us slowly getting stronger and hopefully that continues as we face a pivotal series this weekend.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Obviously, the Lions have had to rely on many of the newcomers to be key contributors this season, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s taken a while to get the ball rolling. After developing a reputation as a bit of a high octane offensive-minded team in past seasons, this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s edition has struggled a bit putting the puck in the net.<\/p>\n
Though goal production is down, Burcar is nonetheless impressed with some of his newcomers.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re pretty happy with the new guys,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been quite a learning curve and not to take anything away from the new guys but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been tough at times. I think the best thing about this group is that right now they are not quitting.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I really like the way Eric Schultz and Quinn McIntosh are playing. They are new guys but they are experienced college hockey players and both have junior status and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done some good things for us. Quinn really jumps out as a guy who has really stepped up our D-corps.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
He also pointed to freshman forward James Neitsch. Neitsch currently leads the Lions with nine goals and 16 points on the season.<\/p>\n
One of the main reasons the Lions find themselves in fifth place and currently in position to have to travel for the opening round of the playoffs are their struggles against the top four teams in the league.<\/p>\n
All told, the Lions are 0-7-1 against the four teams above them in the standings. Despite the disappointing results, the Lions certainly have not been getting blow out by anyone.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost some tight games but the guys have done some pretty darn good things in those games,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Burcar explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Aside from the 5-0 loss to MSOE game against MSOE we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had four consecutive weekends where we have been in overtime games.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
This is best highlighted by a recent two week stretch against Lawrence and Marian. Though the Lions failed to garner a win in either series, they were victim to two overtime losses and only outscored 15-9 in the four contests.<\/p>\n
As of now, the Lions are hoping to find a way to sneak up on MSOE to finish in fourth — good enough for a home playoff series. One thing that might work in the Lions favor is that MSOE has to close out with Adrian and Marian and any stumble by the Raiders might open the door for Finlandia.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to be in the top half and still have a chance to get home playoffs so that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the biggest thing right now,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Burcar.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have not done well against good teams,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he continued. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve talked about it in the locker room. We didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see Marian, Lawrence and MSOE until the second half of the season and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had close games with them but if we want to have any success in the playoffs we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to have to go through the good teams.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
If the Raiders should indeed struggle, the Lions will have to get the job done against Crookston this week and Lawrence in the season finale. Thanks to some heads-up scheduling by the MCHA, Burcar is pleased that Finlandia gets to close out the season with MCHA North rival Lawrence.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I like it a lot. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great series and says a lot about the parity in our league. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be a battle right down to the last weekend. There are other series where that is going to be the case as well, but I really do like finishing the year up against Lawrence.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Though the Lions will no doubt be disappointed with a finish out of the top half of the league, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s somewhat expected considering the large turnover of talent they faced last off-season. The Lions pulled it together at the end of last season and it will be interesting to see if they can make a similar run this time around — whether it begins at home or on the road.<\/p>\n
Sliding up the MCHA standings a little, one can see Marian is currently 10-5-1 and tied with MSOE for third place. The Sabres currently sit two points behind Lawrence in the race for second.<\/p>\n
Unlike Finlandia, Marian has fared well against the other top teams in the league, and has thus far posted a 4-1-1 record against the Lions, Lawrence and MSOE. In fact, four of Marian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s five conference setbacks have come at the hands of Adrian.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Obviously we like to be competing for our conference title, but with four of our five losses coming to the same team we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to finish in second,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Marian head coach Jasen Wise. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have our work cut out for us and need help from some other teams but I think being right behind Adrian isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so bad I guess.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
After defeating Adrian once — and almost twice — last season, the Sabres were hoping to close the gap on the Bulldogs this season. After last weekend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 3-1 and 10-1 losses at Adrian, however, Wise isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite sure if the Sabres were able to make any progress to those ends. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153This time last week I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have said the gap was a little bit smaller but after last weekend I think maybe that gap is a little bit bigger,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Wise admitted. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The rest of the teams in the conference have our work cut out for us if we want to compete with those guys.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n
Despite its success against the rest of the league\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s contenders, he is quick to point out that no one has been running anyone else out of the barn.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if there really is a gap between us and any of those three schools. We have found ways to win a couple, but we split with MSOE and only scored three goals against Lawrence.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n
There is certainly merit to Wise\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s point, as despite its 4-1-1 record against those foes, the largest margin of victory they have obtained in those contests is two goals.<\/p>\n
Aside from Adrian, scoring in the MCHA seems to be down across the board this year and Marian is no exception. The Sabres have tallied 56 goals on the season thus far, which is well off the pace of the 90 they put up last season.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure why that is the case,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d wondered Wise. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We lost a 25 goal scorer last year but have two freshmen who currently lead us in goals with 22 total. The rest of the guys are finding it difficult to find the back of the net and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure what it is.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
He added, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153[a] lot of it maybe has to do with teams focusing more on defense, and we face a lot of really good goaltenders in this league. I think a lot of credit should go to the goaltenders we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve played against.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
An interesting thing to follow earlier this season was the progress of Marian in its non-conference competition. The Sabres appeared to be on the brink of making some non-conference noise on behalf of the MCHA, as last season the Sabres defeated Gustavus Adolphus, 4-0, and dropped a couple of heartbreakers to really solid teams — most notably River Falls and Stout.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for the Sabres, this year proved not to be an exception, as the Sabres posted a 0-3-2 non-conference record and once again suffered some numbingly tough losses.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We wanted to get some wins for sure,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Wise. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We had chances to win most of those games and we are closing the gap but we just aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t there yet. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been talking about it every year here at Marian and maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s taking us a little longer that we thought it would but at least we are going in the right direction.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The Sabres came out on the short end of three one goal losses to Stout, River Falls and Bethel, with the River Falls coming in overtime.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think in all of those games we played well enough to win. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably the biggest difference from past years. In the past we had to play absolutely great and those other teams had to stumble a bit to keep it close.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Despite the tough losses, the quality of competition has likely served the Sabres well as they are within striking distance of a second place finish.<\/p>\n
Like Finlandia, however, the Sabres end the season with a difficult conference series as they face a home and home with MSOE. Wise wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have it any other way.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s great,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It puts a lot of pressure on us in that last weekend of the season. Also, if Lawrence loses we have a chance to catch them for second, so the way the schedule is set up really makes things exciting down the stretch.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Indeed it does.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Another week in the books and yet another week of shuffling for NCHA and MCHA teams in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll. No longer do six NCHA teams grace the top 15, as winless weekends by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and UW-Stevens Point dropped both from the realm of the ranked. Though those […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
This Week in the NCHA\/MCHA - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n