Season previews for teams
Quick: What do you think of when you think of Alaska hockey? Hard-hitting, up-and-down action that results in tough competition? A community that’s over the top about its local Division I team? A very long road trip for a weekend series, no matter your home base? Sure, the Nanooks can be a handful for CCHA … Read more
Michigan head coach Red Berenson has something he wants you to know. “Even though our team finished in first place and we won the CCHA championship and we got to the Frozen Four, we still have something to prove this season,” says Berenson. “We won everything but the national championship.” Ah. That little piece of … Read more
There’s nothing complicated about the Ferris State Bulldogs. They play hard. They win games. They have depth and good special teams. They’re well coached. It’s just that a Chris Kunitz doesn’t come along very often for a team like Ferris State. At the CCHA media day this year, head coach Bob Daniels was keenly aware … Read more
It’s a fact that hockey players don’t like to be referred to as elfin. It’s a theory that’s been tested on several players from Parma, Ohio, and word that was bandied about among the local reporters in the press room at the 2006 Frozen Four in St. Louis. Still, if you play for Rick Comley, … Read more
“As far as our club,” says Bowling Green head coach Scott Paluch, “we’re going to get going.” Paluch, now entering his seventh season behind the BG bench, is a sincere and genuinely optimistic guy. It’s hard not to respond to the earnestness of his voice when he talks about his team’s future — and last … Read more
The injury bug hit the Lakers pretty hard last season. Mercyhurst was without goaltender Matt Lundin for the first part of the season and lost star forward Ryan Toomey in December. Leading scorer Ben Cottreau was lost for a crucial seven-game stretch as well. But Rick Gotkin’s team played though the adversity and came within … Read more
The steadily-improving Golden Griffins are probably a year away from challenging for an Atlantic Hockey title, but things are certainly moving in the right direction. “This is the most talented team I’ve had,” said coach Dave Smith. “We’ve had two really good recruiting classes and I think we have a third. Every class has come … Read more
The Tigers didn’t show signs of a sophomore slump last season, their second in Atlantic Hockey. After winning the regular season title in 2007, RIT finished second in 2008 before falling to eventual champion Air Force in the semifinals. But gone are Hobey Baker finalist Simon Lambert (51 points last season) and Matt Smith, who … Read more
When Eric Ehn broke his leg on January 19 of last season, many saw the Air Force Falcons’ chances of repeating as Atlantic Hockey champions carried off on a stretcher with him. Ehn had been a Hobey Hat Trick finalist the year before, and was the reigning Player of the Year in the AHA. The … Read more
“It’s a goalie’s league.” I agree completely with Mercyhurst coach Rick Gotkin’s assessment. It’s shared by all the coaches in the league as well. AHA returns all ten of its starting goaltenders in 2008-2009, and only three are seniors. “Every team has a goalie that can beat you,” said Army coach Brian Riley. “Goals are … Read more
Take a team that last year defeated Providence, Army, Sacred Heart (twice), and tied Merrimack, Vermont, Western Michigan and Air Force, sported one of the top power plays in the nation (25.2%) and had 10 seniors on the roster. What would your guess be at their overall record? Probably better than 10-19-7. But that was … Read more
The Bentley Falcons’ goal is simple — recapture the magic that saw them reach the Atlantic Hockey finals three years ago. Since then, Bentley has finished in eighth place the past two seasons. Coach Ryan Soderquist says the lack of improvement last year was especially disheartening. “I was extremely disappointed in the way we finished,” … Read more
The AIC Yellow Jackets have shown steady improvement in recent seasons, but haven’t been able to escape the Atlantic Hockey basement. The problem for AIC is that everybody’s getting better. “The league has really been surging in terms of the emphasis schools are putting on their programs,” said coach Gary Wright, in his 25th season … Read more
Almost every year, the Sacred Heart Pioneers are near the top of the Atlantic Hockey standings. Losing the likes of Pierre-Luc O’Brien and Jason Smith hasn’t set Sacred Heart back in recent seasons, and the same will probably be the case this time around, as Alexandre Parent graduated and took his 141 career points with … Read more
Last season was a classic rebuilding project for the Connecticut Huskies, who rostered 13 freshmen. “We came on strong at the end of last season, and we can build on that,” said coach Bruce Marshall. “We had our peaks and valleys but this year we’ll be able to focus on some new things and not … Read more
Experience wins games. That’s the message that the coaches of Atlantic Hockey are sending in their preseason poll, picking defending regular season champion Army to finish fifth, out of a home-ice spot for the playoffs. “I think they’re looking at the fact that we lost 12 seniors,” said coach Brian Riley. “You can’t really argue … Read more
Last year, the Vermont Catamounts took a major step forward in reaching the goal of becoming a perennial powerhouse. A late-season charge saw Vermont catapult to third place in the Hockey East standings, win a hard-fought quarterfinal series over Northeastern and then upset Boston University at the TD Banknorth Garden to earn the school’s first … Read more
What a difference a year makes. Instead of emerging from an offseason that threatened the existence of the program and decimated the depth to the point where games with no healthy scratches became the norm, Massachusetts-Lowell opens this season healthy in all respects and with a legitimate shot at playoff home ice. Virtually the entire … Read more
No Hockey East team lost more across-the-board talent than the New Hampshire Wildcats. Last year’s senior-dominated team took the regular season title going away but graduated five All-Hockey East selections: top scorers Mike Radja and Matt Fornataro; top defensemen Brad Flaishans and Craig Switzer; and Player of the Year goaltender Kevin Regan. The Wildcats don’t … Read more
When the Hockey East preseason coaches’ poll was released, it looked similar to most years, with Boston College, Boston University and New Hampshire all sitting at the top. But missing from that group of usual suspects were the Maine Black Bears, whom the coaches picked ninth out of ten teams, most likely the lowest preseason … Read more