Season previews for teams
Last year, Massachusetts certainly enjoyed high notes, particularly wins over Boston University, Boston College, New Hampshire, Colorado College and two over Vermont. In doing so, the Minutemen proved that they could beat just about anybody. There were also two three-game win streaks. UMass finished eighth in the league with a 10-15-2 record, an improvement over … Read more
Maine’s resilience shone through last year both as a program and as a team. After losing All-Everything goaltender Jimmy Howard, the Black Bears were expected by many to fall on comparatively tough times. Howard had stood head and shoulders above all others as the team’s go-to guy, its one indispensable part. Instead, Maine roared out … Read more
The Black Knights got off to a slow start last season at 0-7-1, but were able to get on track thanks to a sweep of archrival Air Force in November. After that, Army chalked up wins over the top teams in the league en route to a fifth-place finish, just a point out of fourth. … Read more
RIT had its ups and downs in its first season of Division I play, putting a scare into several top teams and knocking off St. Lawrence. Looking for the silver lining in a 6-22-2 season can be difficult, but Wayne Wilson’s squad was able to gain some solace in the fact that the Tigers, with … Read more
Youth was served at Bentley in 2005-06, as the Falcons’ crop of rookies matured throughout the season, culminating in Bentley’s first-ever appearance in the conference championship game. “We’re hopeful that the freshmen from last season will continue to improve,” said coach Ryan Soderquist. “Plus, I think we have some great new players.” Soderquist says that … Read more
Things are looking up in Storrs, Conn., as the Connecticut Huskies seem poised to make some noise in the conference. True, there were only 11 wins last season to go along with 23 losses and two ties, but UConn ended the season on a high note, upsetting Sacred Heart in the league quarterfinals before bowing … Read more
In all three previous Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches’ polls, the Mercyhurst Lakers came out on top. Coach Rick Gotkin thought that the streak would come to an end with this season’s poll. “This was the year,” said Gotkin. “I was pretty sure, based on all we lost and the success some other teams had last … Read more
American International coach Gary Wright is pragmatic. He assumed his team would be picked to finish last in the Atlantic Hockey preseason coaches’ poll — after all, the Yellow Jackets finished at the bottom of the standings last season. WRIGHT But Wright says that things are looking up in Springfield. “We’re obviously worried about where … Read more
A new season brings a new lineup for the Atlantic Hockey Association, as the addition of Air Force and RIT brings the total number of teams to ten. “We’re very pleased to welcome established programs like Air Force and RIT to Atlantic Hockey,” said AHA commissioner Bob DeGregorio. “They are great additions to our league … Read more
Sacred Heart enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2005-06, and it was no fluke. Powered by all-league forward Pierre-Luc O’Brien and Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year Bear Trapp, the Pioneers won a school-record 21 games before being upset in the league quarterfinals. Even more is expected of the Pioneers this season, as Shaun Hannah’s squad … Read more
There are a lot of fresh faces in the lineup for Canisius, but the Griffs will not be as green as one might think. “We’ll be young, but not as bad as if you just see the new names in the media guide,” said Griffs coach Dave Smith, entering his second season behind the Canisius … Read more
It’s going to be tough to top last season, but the Holy Cross Crusaders are going to try. For starters, there won’t be a team in the land taking the Crusaders lightly, not after Holy Cross’ dramatic 4-3 win over Minnesota in the NCAA West Regional. Also, coach Paul Pearl and company will be without … Read more
According to coach Frank Serratore, the key to his team’s success this season will lie squarely between the pipes. “We have to have better goaltending, it’s that simple,” said Serratore. “Last season we had statistically some of the worst goaltending in college hockey. Based on the number of shots we allowed, if we’d gotten 90 … Read more
Colorado College head coach Scott Owens didn’t pull any punches when he said this might be a retooling year for his Tigers. Losing one of the best one-two scoring punches in the league in former Hobey Baker winner Marty Sertich and linemate Brett Sterling, as well as veteran blueliner Brian Salcido, this team has perhaps … Read more
Although they are the reigning national champions and have been placed at the top of the polls by preseason voters, it seems that repeating is not the word on UW head coach Mike Eaves’ mind. “A lot of talk has been about repeating,” Eaves said. “I don’t know if repeating is the right term in … Read more
Like many other teams in the WCHA, Denver head coach George Gwozdecky is staring into the face of a whole new offense, so his plan is to build from the back line of defense, up to the front. The Pioneers platooned goalies last season with Peter Mannino and Glenn Fisher, and their opportunities will not … Read more
St. Cloud State head coach Bob Motzko is not shy about admitting that the success of his team lies mainly on the shoulders of senior goalie Bobby Goepfert. After all, with a 2.20 GAA and a .924 save percentage — which earned him first-team All-WCHA honors — he was already carrying the team on his … Read more
Even though the Michigan Tech Huskies were one of the few teams which escaped the wrath of early departures, they will be hurting for goal-scoring just as much as any other team. Gone are three key veterans in Brandon Schwartz, Taggart Desmet and Nick Anderson. But more importantly, so is Chris Conner, who was one … Read more
There sure are some young teams in the WCHA, but as far as the youngest, you have to look at North Dakota. So what is the focus this year? In a word, development. “We’re a very young team with a theme of development and overall improvement from week to week throughout the year,” head coach … Read more
Second-year head coach Dave Shyiak knows where the Seawolves have to improve to move up in the WCHA ranks; it’s just a matter of getting them there. Alaska-Anchorage has a capable goaltender in Nathan Lawson, but got absolutely no help last year as his teammates were last in the league in scoring and second-to-last in … Read more