Season previews for teams
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
If Troy Jutting’s Minnesota State team has shown anything over the past few years, it is that the Mavericks have a knack for playing their hearts out and using that energy to grab league points. It has to be a good sign for him, then, that despite the fact that his team is like most … Read more
Every year there is a team that surprises in the WCHA. This year’s top candidate to fill that role is Minnesota-Duluth. Sure, the Bulldogs finished a dismal ninth a year ago, but it was a rebuilding season and one that should springboard UMD into a successful 2006-07 campaign. Head coach Scott Sandelin will look to … Read more
It is becoming a tradition that the Minnesota Gophers lose an abundance of key players every year. Equally traditional, however, is that they bring in talent capable of filling those voids, and this year is seemingly no different. The Gophers lost four of their top five scorers, and defenseman Alex Goligoski is their leading returner. … Read more
Numbers don’t lie. It is no secret that NCAA men’s hockey lost a bevy of talent with the long list of players leaving college early and forgoing their last years of eligibility. But if one league was hit the most, it was the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Try these numbers on for size: In the … Read more
The 2006-07 CCHA: It’s All Academic This year, thanks to the wonderment of technology, anyone with high-speed Internet access could have viewed — and then reviewed, endlessly — the league’s preseason Media Day. Finally, fans across the league were privy to the inner workings of CCHA Media Day, from the jovial atmosphere to the short, … Read more
Last year’s Mavericks were a study in dichotomy. How could a team so talented up front be so, um, shaky in front of its own net? “Our concern is with the back end of our team,” said Mike Kemp, entering his 10th season as UNO’s first and only head coach. KEMP “Last year, we did … Read more
At the start of the 2005-06 season, I feared the worst for Bowling Green. After watching the team rally around senior goaltender Jordan Sigalet, who had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the year before, I thought that the Falcons might struggle a little for identity last year. Sometimes, I hate being right. The Falcons went … Read more
“Every year, someone emerges in this league, if not one, two, three teams. You just never know … in this league, we talk about how strong it is, but you never know which team may emerge. “Who knows? Nebraska-Omaha may be that team this year, Notre Dame, but I guarantee there’ll be a couple teams … Read more
Okay, just for a second, forget that the RedHawks ended the 2005-06 season on a two-game downer, with a 2-1 loss to Michigan State in the CCHA championship game and a 5-0 loss to Boston College in the NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal. And forget that Miami said goodbye to Andy Greene and Matt Davis. Remember, … Read more
Last year, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished 15 points ahead of where they were at the end of the 2004-05 season. Of course, that wasn’t hard to do. The 2004-05 season was the five-win year for Notre Dame — not five CCHA wins, mind you, but five wins total — and the last year … Read more
This is how I started the 2005-06 Bronco season preview: Have you heard the one about the team that can score from nearly anywhere on the ice but allows goals from nearly anywhere as well? Of course you have. It’s the recent history of the Western Michigan Broncos. Tell me, children, what have we learned? … Read more
The Alaska Nanooks, poster boys for why defense doesn’t win games. With the best penalty kill in the league and the third-best in the nation, and two goaltenders with a combined save percentage of .917, the Nanooks still managed to finish the 2005-06 season tied for eighth in the league. I know, I know. The … Read more
There is something about Jim Roque that is quintessentially endearing. “I’ve only got 25 guys this year. Last year we carried 29,” said Roque. “I couldn’t, in my heart, cut anyone who wanted to put in the time — there’s no way.” Ah. That’s it. ROQUE Last year, Roque replaced Frank Anzalone as Laker head … Read more
Rick Comley wants everyone to know that Michigan State is still Michigan State, even without Drew Miller. “I think in our locker room, we believe in what’s there,” said Comley. “We believe that we have the opportunity to be a good team, we believe that if we go through the process properly and if we … Read more
For a team that couldn’t buy, borrow, or requisition a goal last year, this was bad news: junior Tom Fritsche, the Buckeyes’ would-be lead returning scorer, probably won’t be returning. At the start of the season, Fritsche is still hospitalized in Cleveland with ulcerated colitis. Not only is this season uncertain for the Buckeye, but … Read more