For the St Norbert Green Knights, the first half has found them playing some of the iron of the NCHA on the road. A two-game series against No. 2 ranked Aurora preceded a series with WIAC contender Wisconsin – Eau Claire before SNC closes out the first half with two more road games against No. 10 Trine this weekend. In all, St Norbert will have played nine of its first thirteen games on the road setting up a second half that finds the Green Knights playing away from Tim Coghlin Rink only three times in the hotly contested NCHA.
“It is a quirk of the schedule,” noted head coach Tim Coghlin. “We had the opposite last year, and it really balances out over the two years, so we just need to focus on playing the games as they come. We break the season down into three seasons with the first being the first semester which is coming to an end. Then there is an extended break before the second season (second semester) leading into the third season or playoffs. By the time you get there you want to be playing your best hockey with your goaltending established and solid, your top seven defense group playing well and done with any tinkering on the forward group. I am a firm believer in matched pairs up front and finding the third complementary player to really solidify the line.”
Not surprisingly, the Green Knights have key players that contribute heavily to the team’s success with junior Logan Dombrowsky (4G – 10A – 14 pts) leading the offense, senior captain Dayton Deics (2G – 7A – 9Pts) playing a strong two-way game from the blueline and junior netminder Hunter Garvey (10GP – 2.00 GAA – .910 SP) giving the team a chance to win every night with his strong play in goal. Dombrowsky, who may be the prototypical power forward in D-III, achieved a significant career milestone early in his junior season as his two assists against Aurora on November 22 helped him reach the century mark in points in just seventy career games played. Deics, will soon surpass the century marks for games played as the on-ice general provides solid defense with some offensive flair. In goal, Garvey emerged as the team’s No. 1 netminder in his first-year and has continually demonstrated his competitiveness and ability to help the Green Knights win. The surrounding cast is solid and continues to evolve as Coghlin and the coaching staff still sees the team’s best hockey in the future.
“Logan lost both of his linemates from a year ago when he had over fifty points and is playing out of position with two first-year players,” stated Coghlin. “We have been down three of our five centers and Logan just stepped up to help the team. It is a testament to his hard work in playing center which is not his natural position and working hard on new things like face-offs and his 200-foot game. First year Braydon Beahm is currently our leading goal scorer, and he has been a good fit with Logan.”
“Dayton is just a smart hockey player,” noted Coghlin. “He knows when to stay home and when to go and is our quarterback on the first power-play unit. He continues to grow as a player and leader becoming more vocal and enforcing good habits especially in practice where he has called the team on sloppy passes and effort – he brings great focus.
“We have been blessed with great goaltending here at St. Norbert,” said Coghlin. “Back to [Kyle] Jones and [David] Jacobson, we have had guys that may not be the big netminder but very athletic and “quiet” (controlled) players who aren’t out-of-control and flopping around the crease. Hunter has continued to grow his game and is a player we have come to count on.”
This weekend the Knights travel to Angola, Indiana to play a two-game series against a challenging Trine Thunder squad that is unbeaten at home but only having played two games on their home ice so far this season. At 4-1-1 in the NCHA, Trine is coming off an overtime tie (shootout win) and loss on the road to Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) and will be looking to get back to their game against the team that ended their season in the semifinal round of the conference tournament in March.
“It is going to be about a six-hour bus ride down to play Trine,” stated Coghlin. “We are just focused on Friday’s game against a very heavy team that is certainly among the contenders in our league this season. Alex [Todd] has done a great job with that group and he will have everybody ready to go in their rink. Points are important and with the three-point system we have moved to we have seen OT wins cost us at the end of the year so we are only looking at Friday and playing our best hockey.”
The Green Knights complete their “first season” this weekend in Indiana and don’t return to competitive action until after the New Year when they will host Wisconsin- Stout and Wisconsin – Stevens Point in non-conference action to kick-off their “second season.”