By Brian Lester
No question the NCHA is a pretty strong hockey conference, especially with two of the nation’s best teams in it.
Reigning league champion Adrian leads starts the year at No. 3 nationally in the USCHO.com poll while St. Norbert is ranked fifth and projected to be the Bulldogs’ biggest challenger to a title. The Green Knights and Bulldogs are tied for first in the NCHA’s preseason poll.
It will be a surprise if anyone but those two are playing for the NCHA crown later this season, but teams like Trine and Aurora could prove to be surprise contenders in a league that seems to get better every year.
No matter where a team stands in the conference, an ‘any given night’ mentality’ applies and teams have to be ready to be at their best or get beat. A record might look good on paper but guarantees nothing on game day.
Adrian (24-7-1, 16-2)
A new era begins for the Bulldogs, who are now under the direction of first-year head coach Adam Phillips. Phillips takes over for Adam Krug – he left to coach in the AHL – and is no stranger to the program, serving as an assistant in the past, including during the national championship season at Adrian in 2022.
This is a team with no shortage of experience as 20 players return for a program coming off a Frozen Four trip.
Yes, the top three scorers are gone, but Bradley Somers is back after tallying 13 goals and 25 assists. Jacob Suede is also back, scoring 12 goals and dishing out 22 assists last year.
Matt Couto will provide plenty of help to the offense as well. He dished out 16 assists a year ago. And it never hurts to have a goalie with experience. Dershahn Stewart started 28 games and gave up only 49 goals. He made more than 700 saves.
Adrian is going to get every team’s best shot. The best teams always do. But these Bulldogs are poised to contend for a conference and national title this season.
St Norbert (23-7, 15-3)
The Green Knights are coming off a season where they finished as the runner-up in the conference and played in the NCAA tournament.
Expectations are always high for one of the top programs in Division III hockey, and this year is no exception.
Liam Fraser will help pave the way for a special year as he was the team’s second-leading scorer last season. A first-team all-conference selection last season, he tallied 17 goals and 27 assists. Logan Dombrowsky had an impressive freshman campaign with the Green Knights, scoring 14 goals and recording 23 assists. In fact, he was the NCHA’s Freshman of the Year.
T.J. Koufis and captain Carter Hottman are also back in the fold, meaning the Green Knights have four of their top five scoring threats back from last season. Koufis finished with six goals and 20 assists while Hottman racked up 10 goals and 10 assists. Dayton Deics, a returning first-team all-league pick, finished with three goals and 15 assists.
St Norbert should be solid in goal as well with Hunter Garvey returning. He played in 23 games and made 517 saves while recording a goals against average of just 1.90.
With the experience and talent the Green Knights have on their roster, it won’t be a surprise at all if they win the NCHA and contend for a national title as well.
Trine (20-8, 13-5)
No one can overlook Trine when it comes to discussing the NCHA title race. The Thunder bring back a wealth of experience. Sean Henry is among the key returnees after scoring five goals and dishing out 12 assists as one of the top defenders in the conference.
Like Henry, Sam Antenucci was an all-conference pick and led the team in points (34) and goals (15). He ranked second on the team in assists.
Michael DiPietra was an all-freshman team selection after tallying seven goals and eight assists, and should be even better this year with more experience under his belt.
And Josh Wright showed a lot of promise despite missing eight games due to injury. He finished with 17 points and should be even more productive this year.
Trine also has its top two goalies back as well in Kyle Kozma and Christian Wong-Ramos. Kozma played in 23 games and had a 2.33 goals against average.
The addition of Ronnie Petrucci gives Trine even more depth in goal. He played for the Little Flyers in Philadelphia, and last season, he stopped 92 percent of the shots he faced and recorded three shutouts.
Aurora (15-12-1, 12-6)
Sixteen players are back for the Spartans. That group includes leading scorer Chase Broda, who tallied 12 goals and 15 assists on his way to helping Aurora finish fourth in the league. His presence, along with the return of Hassan Akl and Jakson Kirk, who ranked second and third on the team in scoring, should have Aurora’s offense running smoothly.
Akl scored five goals while handing out a team-leading 18 assists and Kirk racked up a team-best 15 goals to go along with seven assists.
Aurora scored 93 goals last season as a team. The defense should be in good shape as well with the top two goaltenders back.
JaCob Mucitelli started 20 games and fashioned a 2.77 goals against average. Matt O’Donnell earned six starts and had a goals against average under three as well (2.97). Both stopped more than 90 percent of the shots they faced.
Newcomers Landry Schmuck, Simon Diaz and Mathis Bedard will provide added depth for the Spartans.
MSOE (14-11-2, 8-9-1)
Carson Jones leads the way for the Raiders, who hope to be one of the top teams in the conference. Jones was an all-conference pick as a sophomore. Jones stuck for 12 goals and also dished out 20 assists. Casey Roepke was an all-rookie pick last year and tallied 16 assists. Then there’s Seth Bernard, who finished with 15 goals and 12 assists while tying for the most shorthanded goals in the nation last season.
The Raiders gained valuable experience over the summer, taking a trip to Latvia and facing the country’s world junior team as well as a pro team out of Finland. MSOE also took on Castleton State. There’s no question the chance to play overseas should pay dividends for the Raiders heading into a new season.
A total of 23 players return for MSOE, as well as six newcomers. Included in that group is Nikolai Charchenko from Colorado College and Ethan Mann, a former Wisconsin commit.
Concordia (8-19, 6-12)
With 22 players back and only three players lost to graduation from last year’s squad, hopes are high for the Falcons going into a new season.
Alex Ochitwa will help lead the way after scoring the most goals last season, punching in 11. He also dished out 10 assists as he tied for the team lead in points.
Riley Klugerman shared team scoring honors with 21 points, with most of his impact being made as a playmaker. Klugerman rang up 18 assists to go along with his three goals. The duo of Ochitwa and Kluerman should make Concordia a tough team to deal with night in and night out.
The Falcons also welcome back their goalie in Gabe Rosek, who racked up 820 saves last season.
Connor Van Weelie, Jack Guvenal and Levi Carter, all from Canada, headline a strong cast of newcomers who should make an immediate impact for the program.
Concordia did drop its final five games of last season but a strong start early in the season will go a long way in setting the tone for success this year.
Marian (9-17-1, 5-12-1)
Jaymes Knee is among the key returning players for the Sabres, finishing second on the team in goals (7) and points (18) despite playing in only 20 games. If he’s healthy all season, he could very well end up as the team’s top scoring threat.
Daunte Fortner is also back after leading the team in assists (13) a year ago, and like Knee, he’s a senior.
The other key returning player to watch is Andreal Proctor-Ramirez, who started five games in goal last season and made 142 saves. The sophomore stopped 91 percent of the shots he faced, shaking off an injury he suffered in game two of the season to get back on the ice by February.
Several newcomers should help Marian’s cause as well, including Dayne Tews, who played three years with the Grande Prairie Storm and scored 11 goals and dished out 14 assists in his final 25 games there. Eemil Rautio and Brady Brenner are new additions to watch as well.
Lake Forest (7-18, 4-14)
There are 26 players back for the Foresters, including the team’s leading scorer from last season in Chase Freiermuth, who finished his season with 14 goals and 12 assists. His presence on the ice will play a huge role in helping Lake Forest take aim at a winning season.
Colin Bella is coming off an impressive freshman campaign, earning a spot on the all-freshman team in the conference. Those are among 10 players who finished in double figures in points last season. Matteas Derraugh is also returning for the Foresters after dishing out 12 assists last year. He also scored two goals. The team leader in assists also returns in Logan Kittleson, who finished last season with 18 to go along with six goals.
Lake Forest has the experience back to take significant steps forward from an offensive standpoint and there is depth at the goalie position, with Bobby McCloskey, Kohl Reddy and Dylan Kruss all seeing valuable time on the ice last season. McCloskey played the most, logging more than 700 minutes, and earning four wins.
Dubuque (3-19, 3-15)
The Spartans begin their second year as a program. Along with 13 returning players, they have added transfers and freshmen who should make an impact as well.
Chris Curr returns at goal and his in his fifth year as a college athlete. Josh King is also in his fifth year while Max Messier is a senior.
Messier and King were the top scoring threats for the Spartans, with Messier leaving the team with four goals and five assists.
King came through with a team-best five goals and three assists.
Curr started 10 games in goal and stopped nearly 92 percent of the shots he faced while earning three wins.
The roster will have no shortage of new faces as 21 have joined the team. Two of the key newcomers are Nikita Borodeyenko from Merrimack) and Layten Liffrig. Zach Burfoot should be an impact player as well. Borodeyenko played two seasons at Merrimack and appeared in 20 games there.
With a year of experience, the Spartans should be an improved team this season.
Lawrence (8-17-2, 6-10-2)
Ryan Orr is now the head coach at Lawrence, taking over for Brett Wall, who landed a job the Janesville Jets of the NAHL.
He’s familiar with the league since he used to coach at Marian and the defensive side of the ice should be strong with goalie Nolan Mahaffey back. He started 18 games and won seven games while fashioning a 3.39 goals against average. Jayden Jensen tallied four goals and nine assists as a defenseman last year and will be looked upon to help lead the way again this season.
Ethan Beaumont returns, which is good news for the Vikings. He was the leading scorer a year ago, finding the back of the net six times and dishing out 14 assists.
Cory Checco and Jack Michels are fifth-year seniors and that experience is big for a team looking to take steps forward. Michels came through with nine goals and nine assists, finishing third in scoring on the team, while Checco racked up seven goals to go along with 10 assists. He was fifth on the team in scoring.
