Season previews for teams
Notre Dame has a lot to live up to. After finishing the 2011-12 season tied for eighth place, the Fighting Irish topped the CCHA preseason coaches poll and were second in the media balloting. “Like everyone,” coach Jeff Jackson said, “we have high expectations going into the year. For the last two years we have … Read more
A year after Tom Anastos took charge in East Lansing, there’s one thing that seems to remain constant for Michigan State: change. “We do continue to have a lot of change,” Anastos said. “We graduated a very large class last year and we lost Torey Krug to the pros after his junior year. We have … Read more
Michigan was picked second in the CCHA preseason coaches poll, first in the media poll, third in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll — with three first-place votes — and there’s a guarantee that someone brand new will start in net this season. “We lost all our captains,” coach Red Berenson said. “Luke Glendening, Greg … Read more
Miami welcomes a dozen rookies to its roster this season, including three goaltenders. What does that mean for RedHawks hockey? Perhaps two separate seasons, altogether in one. “I’m fairly confident that the team you’ll see in January and February will be very different from the team that you’ll see in October and November,” coach Enrico … Read more
In the CCHA last season, there was no shame in finishing in the middle of the standings. Yet sixth-place Lake Superior State — a team that finished just seven points out of home ice and a first-round bye in the CCHA playoffs — seems like a team that is always just one step away from … Read more
Ferris State may have ended last season with a 4-1 loss to Boston College, but the Bulldogs did play until the very last game of the season — and who would’ve thought it? Not coach Bob Daniels. “We felt that we were better than the preseason polls indicated a year ago, and we felt that … Read more
There are very few teams that finish in last place in a season that can also carry momentum into their next campaign, but Bowling Green is a team that knows it can build on what it accomplished in 2011-12, in spite of the Falcons’ five conference regular-season wins. After tallying four wins in the second … Read more
Alaska is looking to reverse a little polarity this season. “For our group coming off last season, there was a sense of disappointment,” coach Dallas Ferguson said. “We didn’t expect to be where we were with our record and we wanted to learn from it to make us better for this season.” Alaska ended the … Read more
How do you follow up a CCHA playoff championship in your first year as head coach? Said Western Michigan’s Andy Murray, “Our basic expectation is to be ready to play every night.” The two-year turnaround of Broncos hockey is nothing short of amazing. After Jeff Blashill provided the groundwork in 2010-11, Murray built an even … Read more
Ohio State is another CCHA team in transition, with a coach attempting to rebuild a program that hasn’t lived up to its potential in recent seasons. “We’re trying to obviously build up what we’ve done the last couple of years, certainly last year,” coach Mark Osiecki said. “We’ll be extremely young again this year, but … Read more
Guy Gadowsky has a track record of turning losing programs into winning programs, first at Alaska and then at Princeton. But Gadowsky faces a different challenge as Penn State commences its first season as a Division I hockey program. Basically, the Nittany Lions are an expansion team. “We’re an expansion team but without draft choices,” … Read more
For the first time in the nine-year history of Atlantic Hockey, the American International Yellow Jackets finished out of the basement last season, coming in 10th. Even though the team recorded the same number of conference wins as the season before, not finishing last was a cause for optimism. “It was a relief after the … Read more
It’s no surprise that Air Force has again been picked to be Atlantic Hockey champions. The Falcons have accomplished that feat five of the six seasons they’ve been in the league. While 10 of the 12 AHA teams have made it to Rochester for the semifinals in those six years, it has almost always been … Read more
Army seemed poised to move up in the standings last season. Teams with 12 seniors on their roster usually get the benefit of the doubt, as you so often see squads with this makeup overachieve. Instead, the Black Knights won their fewest number of games (four) since the 1950-51 season. Army averaged fewer than two … Read more
Last season, Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist walked out of the Atlantic Hockey awards banquet with an armful of trophies including coach of the year, rookie of the year (Alex Grieve), regular season scoring champion (Brett Gensler) and four players on various all-league and all-rookie teams. But Soderquist was there without his team, which fell just … Read more
Canisius treaded water in Atlantic Hockey last season, finishing with a similar record to the 2010-11 team that was loaded with senior talent. Last year saw some new leaders emerge and a more balanced team in general. Twenty-two players return to a team that is expected to finish in the same position in the standings. … Read more
Holy Cross isn’t rebuilding but resetting this season after the loss of eight seniors. “It’s a reset of the culture of the team,” Crusaders coach Paul Pearl said. “We lost a lot of experience and leadership. We’re a very young team.” Holy Cross is coming off its first 20-win season since the magical 2005-06 campaign … Read more
Rick Gotkin is celebrating his 25th year behind the Mercyhurst bench this season, and he’s coming off what might have been one of his best coaching performances. Picked to finish seventh and featuring a huge rookie class and an unproven goalie, the Lakers tied for third in Atlantic Hockey last season, just two points out … Read more
Niagara was one of the top teams in the CHA before moving to Atlantic Hockey two seasons ago and picked up right where it left off. The Purple Eagles finished a point away from the regular season title last season and a an overtime goal away from making the league’s championship game. Niagara is expected … Read more
Rochester Institute of Technology tied for third place last season, its lowest finish since joining Atlantic Hockey in 2006. The Tigers are picked to tie for fourth in the preseason coaches’ poll, their lowest preseason ranking since being picked to finish eighth in that debut season of 2006. But don’t push the panic button yet, … Read more